#the people in their territory form an alliance to prevent as much as possible

[lurafita]

Shadowhunter/Downworlder teamwork to not have to suffer their leader's bad mood

Alec gets sassier and saltier the longer he and Magnus get cockblocked. At some point, his subordinates just can't take it anymore, and countermeasures need to be implemented.

Both Alec and Magnus have important positions and are often called upon to deal with various things. So when the NY shadowhunters know that their boss is on a date with the high warlock, and something popps up, they do their level best to handle the situation quickly.

And if they need to establish better relations with the Downworld in order to get the help of another warlock for something just so they don’t have to call Magnus away from Alec, then that is damn well what they do.

New York shadowhunter/downworlder alliance as a byproduct of people not wanting to deal with their leaders when they haven't been laid enough.

"You think Lightwood gets bad? Magnus pouts. It's a lot more disturbing than you think! And he keeps sighing forlornly. And then he tries to distract himself by getting into everyone's business or inventing new things. Do you know how some things sound like good ideas at first, and then turn out to be horribly annoying? It's that 24 fucking 7 every time the High Warlock doesn't get to see his boyfriend enough."

[ada-tan]

Dynamics Between the Nations of Elyos

Was gonna make this a thread on Twitter, but uh. It would have ended up WAY too long. So... here we go! The dynamics between the nations of Elyos, and my personal understanding of them from story/support dialogue, flavor text, and exploration lines scattered throughout the game.

Long post incoming!

Firene and Solm

Everything is prefaced with the non-aggression treaty between Firene, Brodia, and Solm. Firene and Solm have always had generally good relations, as stated by Alfred early in the game. The border between them seems easy to travel through, with Solm's Azure Coast being a popular tourist spot for Firenese visitors. (Alfred's comment on the Azure Coast map.)

Which is beneficial for Solm, as through tourism and trade, they can benefit from Firene's wealth and abundance of resources—particularly foodstuffs (crops, dairy, etc), teas, medicines, and dyes.

However, this relationship isn't quite so mutual, as Firene's bounty makes the country incredibly self-sufficient; in Fogado's support with Celine, he paints them in a somewhat isolated light, business-wise. Since they don't require resources from other countries, they don't do much in the way of importing, which is likely a detriment to Solm's economy.

As a desert nation with rather inhospitable conditions, it's perfectly sensible that Solm's prosperity and wealth is dependent on trade with other countries, hence their trade-based economy, and commitment to neutrality—it wouldn't be good for business to make enemies, and it falls in line with the Solmic ideology of living free, by your own rules, and being yourself.

Brodia and Firene

Brodia and Firene's relationship comes off as a bit more... tenuous. There is a connection there, as the Firene royals have visited with the Brodians in the past. But Alfred and Diamant's estrangement implies that, before the war, there had never been many chances for the two nations to form a proper friendship.

They have an alliance, but not one without tension. Alfred states early on that it "took some doing" for his mother to hash out a peace treaty with Morion, as he—and Brodians, as said by Diamant in his Alfred support—is known to be incredibly ambitious. Brodia has a reputation for warmongering and claiming surrounding territories, one of the primary motivators for their ongoing war with Elusia.

This violent reputation has existed long enough that it's even recorded in history books (Diamant & Framme support).

As such, they're likely seen by Firene and Solm as a potentially dangerous, unpredictable threat. Solm doesn't have as much to worry about as Firene would, due to its distance from Brodia, and lack of valuable resources. (Still, Solm is wary enough to actively spy on them.)

But Firene is the most abundant land in Elyos, and a veritable breadbasket. Similarly to Solm, Brodia is situated in very inhospitable lands. And even though that land hones the self-sufficiency and strength of its people (Amber/Merrin support), poverty and starvation is a prevalent issue amongst the common populace.

If Brodia ever turned its aggressions away from Elusia, then Firene could be the next prime target. The non-aggression pact, of course, prevents that. For now.

Even Diamant cites this as a possibility in his supports with Alfred, one he worries for and genuinely thinks is possible, due to the ambitions and needs of his people.

What's likely deterred Brodia all this time is Firene's connection to Lythos. As the nation most devout to the Divine Dragon, Firene and Lythos have an incredibly strong alliance and friendship. So no matter how tempting their territory might be, it wouldn't be the smartest idea to launch an invasion on a country that has the backing of the all-powerful Divine Dragon.

Brodia and Elusia

Brodia and Elusia's relationship is the one that probably gets the most focus in the plot, and will be the one people are most aware of without having to dig into supplementary dialogue and information. Still, that makes it no less interesting—even though Brodia is painted as an ally, and Elusia the enemy, I genuinely think their conflict is far less black and white than that.

Let's be clear. Brodia's primary reason for invading Elusia IS to claim the nation's territory as their own. They are the aggressors of the war between them, and it is unequivocally wrong. Not exactly the actions of a heroic nation, and definitely in line with the classic Red Empire archetype of Fire Emblem.

But there's also another reason, a motivator that definitely varies in sincerity—the Elusians' worship of the Fell Dragon, and Brodia taking it upon themselves to keep that worship in check, while Firene, Solm, and Lythos are far more tolerant of the Elusians fostering their beliefs (whether they agree with them or not; Alfred himself admits that it's "concerning").

For many ambitious Brodians (particularly the nobility, who are often painted as a problem in Diamant's supports), I feel as though the Fell worship offers a convenient excuse for them to continue and push for the war efforts, lining their own pockets in the process.

But also for many, I think the fear of Elusia, their worship, the Fell Dragon and what both are capable of is very much real amongst the Brodian populace. Of course, that fear is shared in Elusia, with one example being that children are taught to watch out for Brodian armor (Ivy/Alcryst support).

As for Elusia, one would think that people who worshipped an evil dragon were inclined to villainy and violence. And with Elusia's incredibly insular culture, it's easy for those sorts of rumors and perceptions to spread.

In some cases, it's true. There are sects of the Fell Dragon faith that are extremely violent, in the brainwashing and abuse of their followers, their glorification of pain, and tendency toward blood sacrifices. You see it in how its warped the perspective of people like Griss and Marni, in the comments of the characters in locations like Destinea Cathedral and Elusia Castle (centers of deep Fell worship), where they often note the unsettling sight and smell of blood.

But in many cases, it's not. There are certainly those who worship the Fell Dragon and are more adjusted in their lives, merely viewing it as an alternative faith to others they either don't believe in, or have been disillusioned by. And there are Elusians who don't worship anything at all. Alfred himself points out that not all Fell worshippers should be lumped under the same brush.

It's implied that Brodia's continued aggressions pushed Hyacinth into unsealing Sombron (and influences from Gradlon and Zephia as well), which leads to his return and a war that engulfs the entirety of Elyos, using the Elusian army as the main force.

Both countries have done deplorable things, but neither are fully evil—there's a level of humanity to each, exhibited in the characters that hail from each nation, that certainly paint the situation as more nuanced than it appears on paper.

But relations are certainly hostile between both.

Elusia and Solm (& Firene)

If Elusia had a positive relation to any other nation before the war, then it would seem to be Solm. And even then, it's more of a neutral, transactional relationship, seemingly based on trade.

At Givre Port, Bunet will mention that he often sought out food sent from Givre to Solm (likely to his hometown, a port city), establishing a relationship of trade between the two countries. But unlike with Firene, it seems to be mutual. Where Firene doesn't have to import because of its bounty and self-sufficiency (Fogado/Celine support), Elusia—being a cold, harsh land—very likely has to. And that, of course, benefits Solm.

Past that? They don't appear to have much of a relationship. The royal families don't seem friendly, and Solm is actively spying on Elusia (as they are with the other countries), so clearly there isn't much in the way of trust, despite the appearance of neutrality.

For Firene and Elusia, Alfred says so himself: there's very little that Firene knows about Elusia due to their distance from each other, and the latter's insular culture. What knowledge they do have seems to be from hearsay, mostly regarding some of its more notable features: the cold climate, and leaning towards Fell worship.

Neither Firene or Solm has stepped in to interfere with (or stop) the war between Brodia and Elusia, and with the recently established non-aggression pact, that possibility becomes even slimmer. I wouldn't be surprised if Elusia feels something of a distrust for the two because of it—it's certainly given them no qualms in invading both nations for their rings.

Solm and Brodia

Similarly to Elusia and Firene, both Solm and Brodia are extremely far from each other, so there's very little connection. They are members of the same non-aggression alliance, and the Brodian royals have visited the country in the past... but despite their similarly inhospitable lands, the two nations share very little common ground when it comes to ideology and values. (Saphir's comment in Tullah Desert)

I can only assume that, at the very least, both countries do trade with each other. After all, Solm is known for its spices, and it's a staple of Brodian culture to put spices in tea...

Plus, Solm's love of meat roasts? And Brodia having a deluxe brand of beef as a popular export? Where do you think THAT'S going.

But anyway, it isn't until the Fell Dragon war that more of a relationship is established, through the developing friendships of Diamant/Timerra and Alcryst/Fogado.

Lythos and Everyone

Last, but certainly not least, the Holy Land of Lythos! It is the center of Divine Dragon worship on the continent, where the ruler of Elyos resides, and a neutral force amongst the nations.

With Firene, Lythos has a very close relationship—it is the nation most devout to the Divine Dragon, with Lumera and Queen Eve having shared a friendship. This was likely the case for Firene's king as well, and the royals who came before them. Firene's throne room is specially built to accommodate Lumera's dragon form during visits.

Brodia and Solm, while respectful of the Divine Dragon, even having churches of their own, seem more neutral. Solm is stated to be a very secular culture, not deeply religious, but still fostering love and respect for Lumera as a ruler and dragon.

And Brodia respects the Divine Dragon as well, often accepting Lumera's invitations to visit the sleeping Alear at the Somniel. Diamant even states that it was through Lumera's help that Brodia was able to be established (Diamant/Framme support), so clearly they hold a certain level of respect for her and her faith, even if they aren't extremely devout followers.

With Elusia, there seems to be an indifference to the Divine Dragon at the very least, or outright rejection at most. So much that Ivy's worship of the Divine is something she sees as rebellion, and feels she has to keep secret. Some who live there are disillusioned with the Divine Dragon (Mauvier/Ivy supports), and others simply grew up with the Fell faith.

Like with other nations, Lumera is said to have invited Elusia to Lythos in order to visit with Alear (Ivy's wake up lines), but those requests were declined every time.

Though... Lumera, a living 'god', doing nothing to prevent Brodia's attacks likely did her little favors in that regard.

This is all my personal perception, of course, formed from different lines and bits of flavor text in the game. I personally think there's a lot to digest in Engage, while still giving us room to interpret and extrapolate, as long as you care enough to look.

[razieltwelve]

Are There Political Parties? (Final Effect)

This is an interesting question. 

In theory, the Arendelle Empire is an absolute monarchy although the monarch does, in practice, consult and take advice from various groups. However, it should be noted that how each planet governs itself does vary dramatically across the Empire.

On some worlds, government officials are appointed to their position by the emperor/empress. On other worlds, government officials achieve their positions via a combination of appointments and elections. And on still other worlds, government officials are a subordinate monarchy (i.e., a planet might have a king who in turn owes their allegiance to the emperor/empress).

On planets where elections are held, it is typical for political parties to form. However, these parties rarely extend beyond a star system due to the vastly different needs individual planets and star systems often have in comparison to each other. What you tend to see more are advocacy groups.

For instance, a Farmers Group would be a political group that advocates for the rights and interests of farmers. There would be similar groups for other professions or ways of life. Some of these might ally (e.g., farmers, fishers, etc.), but these alliances will be based on common needs and objectives.

Other political groups exist to represent certain demographics. For instance, uplifted animals have their own political groups and advocates due to their special circumstances. Likewise, some of the largest groups might be those that advocate for regions that share common issues (e.g., a galactic rim advocacy group or political party).

In the Empire, at least, the power of these political groups is largely contingent on their ability to present a cogent and coherent case to the ruler at the time. The Empire is not a democracy, so these political groups or advocacy groups must be able to convince the ruler at the time if they wished to be successful. A wise ruler knows how to manage the many competing interests of the people to ensure a successful outcome for the Empire as a whole.

In the Alliance, things are somewhat different. Due to the mercantile nature of the Alliance (it is, after all, the Schnee Mercantile Alliance) and the political nature of its rulership, political parties and advocacy groups play a much more prominent role. Remember, the President of the Alliance is always a member of the Schnee Family, but the title is not inherited. It must be won.

This means that securing political support and the backing of various advocacy groups is critical for any aspiring leader. At the same time, a leader who is beholden to such groups will be thought of as weak. Nobody wants a puppet leader. What people want is a leader with the strength and drive to unify and govern over disparate groups.

Over the centuries, some political groups have become fixtures of the Alliance scene. One such group that has proven troublesome in Weiss IX’s era is the so-called Independence Group that wants as much independence from the Empire as possible. They see the Empire as steadily encroaching on Alliance freedoms, and they view her marriage to Anna as yet another step toward an eventual Empire take over.

Another group that has existed for centuries is the Expansionist Group. This group advocates strongly for continued expansion and exploration. They view the identification and settlement of ever more territory to be the best way to sustain and even accelerate the Alliance’s growth. Their faction has been one of Weiss IX’s biggest backers since her decision to begin exploration of the Mass Effect Galaxy. They are concerned about the Empire but see no problem with working with them, so long as the Alliance gets a fair slice of the pie, so to speak.

The Imperialist Faction is, despite its name, not actually a faction in favour of the Empire, so much as it is a faction in favour of the Imperial system. They want the Alliance to become an Empire with the rulership becoming hereditary to prevent internecine strife.

But if you want political parties, then you need to go to the Federation. Since the Federation is, as its name suggests, a Federation, political parties are everywhere. In theory, the Federation is ruled by a Federal Parliament with every world or equivalent receiving a seat at the proverbial table. Naturally, if all planets are equal, then the only way to ensure your agenda gets to the top is to form alliances with other worlds to ensure that you have enough votes to get things rolling.

As a result, you have a bevy of political parties, some of which have existed for centuries and other which have come and gone depending on circumstances and the winds of political fortune. Of late, the Unification Party, which pushes for greater unification between worlds, has been one of the dominant parties, along with the Independence Party, which seeks to make the Federation more independent and less connected to the Alliance and the Empire. Another major party is the Consolidation Party that has been pushing for the Federation to focus and consolidate the worlds it has instead of trying to expand to new worlds while struggling to help those that are already members.

Since the Federation requires some level of consensus to operate, alliances between parties are very common and are usually along either interest or regional lines. The ruling party/parties are determined by whichever group has a majority in the Federal Parliament. In the event that no single party or group has a majority, then groups will simply continue to ally until one has been reached. The leader of that alliance is the President of the Federation. Although the president is not directly elected, it is possible to have them removed from the position via a direct vote. Direct election of the president does not take place since the Federation’s worlds are disparate enough that attempts to narrow the field to two candidates would disenfranchise many of the worlds whilst larger numbers of candidates result in the winner having a relatively low percentage of the vote.

Having the president be chosen from the ranks of the parties that together form a majority was the least bad option people could think of, and it has actually worked quite well over the centuries. That said, the president is always one of the leaders of the parties that form a majority, and all parties must formally and publicly announce who their leader is before elections. In this way, people do, albeit indirectly, vote for president.

In any case, political parties do exist in the distant future although their forms and scope vary dramatically from faction to faction.

[grizzlee30]

Hey y’all. The following is from a writing prompt I did a little while ago. Posting it here for posterity. If you’d like, let me know what you think!

TRANSMISSION: OPERATION ALEXANDIRA IS UNDERWAY.

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Being a Cataloger is no easy task, though it is an honor. Many beings from across the galaxy wish they could have the honor of knowing everything there is to know about their homeworld. Being a Cataloger means that no secret is too great, no business that isn’t theirs. They have absolute freedom and authority to investigate and record all that happens on their planet, and no government or organization is allowed to keep anything from them. Their motto was: “Posterity is the most important tool of hindsight.”

Antherumberbane, a Froxin of a more variant lineage, found the task to be perpetually exciting. The Froxins had forgone government and borders some millennia ago. The fallout of a war that nearly glassed their planet brought about the kind of perspective about self-control that one might get when you feel your balance tip just a little too far off a steep cliff. The consequential guilt that had formed in their collective consciousness brought them to a silent and official result: Anything they did, they would do for the greater good of the planet and their species. The discovery of their planet by the Collective Alliance of Planetwide Sentiance (Or CAPS for those who needed to save a minute) also helped to shift that global perspective, as that day, the world grew to an unimaginable size. Keeping home tidy seemed like a logical priority. This led to a renaissance of sorts, as every Froxin dedicated their life to the pursuit of science and the arts. Weapons and the arms race became a fleeting memory and the planet of Flotilla became a beautiful eutopia.

Antherumberbane was no different from the other Froxins. They too believed in the pursuit of a better world, which is why he agreed to the lonely job of Cataloger for CAPS. Antherumberbane did not take the decision lightly, as being a Cataloger was a lifelong commitment, not one easily broken. They had a nice life on Flotilla, for a while. They had a lovely partner that they love more than anything. But even in a world as advanced and as generous as Flotilla, sickness still existed, and tragedy was not unheard of. After their death, Antherumberbane decided to leave his post as a scribe for the scientific community and took the offer to become isolated, for that‘s what Catalogers were.

The purpose of Catalogers was not to gain intelligence to spread to other worlds. In fact, Catalogers were to take a vow of silence with anyone except other Catalogers. This was to prevent any secrets from other planets from being divulged to their home planets. Instead, Catalogers were tasked with creating a sort of galactical time capsule. Should CAPS ever fall or its members go to war, an indestructible data hold on a remote comet flying unpredictably through the stars, known to the Catalogers as “The Remnant” would be the only remains of the alliance. The records inside of it would be sealed whilst the citadel of CAPS remained to function, unsealing only in the event that the alliance had truly fallen.

Antherumberbane had questioned the method of storage privately many times in-between their duties. They understood the sentiment behind it: Create a record of every success and failure of the most advanced systems in our time so future alliances could learn from them. They were comfortable enough with the functioning of the citadel being the key to the files being sealed. It was the most defended structure in the galaxy, and no one planet could take it without serious consequences. It was even unlikely that a group of planets would have the resources to take the vessel, as it acted as its own sovereign territory governed by multiple representatives of each planet. It had its own artillery, military, software, and hardware defenses. It even had its own armada, made up of 20% of each of its member’s fighting force. It was certainly possible for the citadel to fall, Antherumberbane did not kid themselves, but it was a slim chance that anyone would ever want to. Even the warrior race of the Chibathons, who valued strength above all else to rule, saw the importance of a strong alliance within the galaxy and were able to rationalize that true strength came from such agreements.

No, what Antherumberbane took most unnerving was the location of the data. A comet kept the vault moving, surely. But it was unpredictable in its movements. There was no way to be certain it would not crash into some random asteroid and break apart, or for it come into contact with other debris or even another comet! And the Remnant itself was supposedly indestructible, sure, but Antherumberbane was pretty certain no one ever tried throwing it into a sun. Tens of Thousands of years of data could be lost in an instant, all because someone trusted the path of a frozen chunk of rock hurtling through space. The idea made Antherumberbane feel queasy like he stood up too fast from meditation. Still, he had been assured by the powers that be that, while the schematics for the vessel were vague to prevent tampering, it was unlikely that anything short of complete atomization could all out destroy the Remnant.

An alarm beeped on a device strapped around their third appendage, and Antherumberbane gave it a tap with his fourth to answer it. A message played, at first quietly in a language they could not possibly understand, followed by an automated translation in the same tired inflection and tone as the one speaking it. The recorded message played directly into their auditory bone.

“This is Stephanie Martins of Earth. I am calling an emergency assembly of the Catalogers. Please be in attendance at Primary stardate 17-85-1800.”

Hi Reddit! Rest is here:

Antherumberbane listened to the message again. Human emotion had always eluded them. Humans had the benefit of experiencing emotion brought about by chemicals in the brain, thus allowing for the evolutionary advantage of their emotions affecting the state of their body, turning anger and desperation into uncharacteristically amazing feats of strength, speed, and creativity. Many theorized this was how they became the apex predator of their planet without showing any outward traits of a common one. They had not so much fought their way to the top, but survived and out-maneuvered it. Still, there was what Froxins would describe as… sadness? No, more like exhaustion. Stephaniemartins- No, Stephanie Martins, humans had separate names instead of combing them. They could never remember naming customs of all the different planets, a weakness on their part. They had always instead defaulted to stating each members’ full name and title to be safe. Stephanie Martins had always had an air of defeat each time she discussed her home planet. Antherumberbane could understand why. They were still a primitive species when CAPS found them. They reminded them of the Froxins before the Atom Wars, petty and prideful, yet capable of change and great things. There was much to be desired of Earth, though he doubted Stephanie Martins would see it in her time. Give it a century or two, Antherumberbane thought, surely they will come around once they are comfortable with their new galactic neighbors.

Antherumberbane boarded Their private starship and activated the slip drive. They set their destination for the citadel and watched as the stars and planets warped into unfamiliar shapes and sizes. As the slip drive bend the space around it to appear next to the citadel, Anterumberbane gave pause to the message they had received. An emergency assembly was not uncommon, at least they had experienced a few. While it is true that Catalogers mainly work for posterity and they were not allowed to share information with their home plants, it did not mean that the information collected was never used. Catalogers were sometimes tasked with solving galactic issues that no combination of planets could solve. By pooling knowledge, classified and not from each planet, they could privately come up with a solution without involving politics or risking cross-contamination of government secrets. They would present the solution but not how they got there, and it was a very efficient system. Plagues were stamped out in a matter of months, treaties were drafted, and even advances in technology were spawned from these meetings. What trouble Antherumberbane is what problem Earth could have that would warrant an emergency meeting. Earth was a part of CAPS, but they still very much kept to themselves, determined to solve their own problems with no outside help, much like the impulsive adolescents they had on Flotilla. Yes, young and unabashed pride seemed to be a universal trait in sentient beings.

On the other hand, the fact that Earth’s Cataloger had called for an emergency meeting could show a sign of good faith. The humans were finally making use of the shared resources that CAPS had to offer, the first step into trusting the other planets of the alliance. This excited Antherumberbane and they became suddenly determined to put forth their best efforts to prove to Earth that they were there to help.

Slipping out of the Stream, Antherumberbane docked at their private port for Catalogers. They gathered their materials from their office on the ship and made their way to the meeting area. Along the way he met with another Cataloger, Grzx, and they walked in tandem to the meeting room. More accurately, Anterhumberbane strode on his tentacles whilst Grzx propelled himself forward with his fins using a backpack-like device that his people created to simulate swimming on air. The Yoliths were strictly an aquatic species, sporting no legs and many fins on their torso area. Though they had developed a pair of small limbs for manipulation, Antehrumber could not help but think that Yoliths had done the most effort in acclimating to an alliance filled with mostly land-based beings. Though he did appreciate their naming customs. One name, pure and simple.

“Morning keep you,” Grzx said, a traditional Froxin greeting. Antherumberbane always appreciated the small efforts Grzx would make to appeal to other species. They returned the favor.

“Good currents to you as well my friend.” Antherumberbane tilted their long neck down in appreciation and respect. “Do you have any inkling as to what Earth may be calling on us for?”

“Only that it is about time that they ask for it.” Grzx’s translator made his speech sound garbled as if he was actually speaking from underwater. “My home planet was becoming anxious in the face of Earth’s reluctance for collaboration”

“Many Froxins agree with that sentiment, though personally, I feel their reluctance is not unwarranted. Not two human lifetimes has passed since they made first contact. They are allowed some caution.”

“Regardless, their isolation bodes dark tidings. I understand their reluctance to put forward their own cooperation, but refusing it from the rest of the galaxy? That doesn’t seem natural.”

Anterhumberbane gave a slight pause before saying, “Collaboration is not something that can be easily undone. Once you invite another’s culture into yours, it is very hard to separate the two.”

“They have already chosen to enter the alliance. We did not force their hand in this matter.”

“Perhaps not, but we forget what it was like being the only sentient beings known to our homes. The prospect of such a discovery could shake the foundation of any culture.”

“True, it still perplexes me though.”

“It has also been a long time since CAPS has discovered a new sentient species. Many thought we had dried out our galaxy of such phenomena. The remote Sol System had been out of the way for many travelers, and it was a miracle they were discovered before they made it out of their own solar system. But these things take time, my friend. How long till the Yoliths came out from their watery abode.”

Grzx gave thought to that, then added pensively, “We had three generations of rulers before we officially gave our efforts to the cause. It took two more to agree to one of our own being a Cataloger.”

Antherumberbane gave a please expression. “And the humans have offered their own Cataloger in just one generation. Give them time, Grzx.”

Grzx gave a small grunt, conceding the argument. “ I supposed it does not matter now. Earth has asked for our help. Perhaps the solution we can provide today will finally allow them to come out of hiding.”

Antherumberbane gave a small girdle of approval. They headed to a large room with a large black reflective floor. In the center was a gold round table, hollow in the center making it look like a large crescent moon. In the center of the table was a small circular podium, where holograms could be displayed showing diagrams, maps, and other visual aids to assist during such meetings. It also acted as a place for Catologars to make speeches or present arguments, allowing them to turn 360 degrees to address all of those present equally. A large dome topped the room fitted with one-way glass that allowed them to see the stars dotting the expansive space that lay beyond. Many were told this room was designed so that Catalogers could always look out and remind themselves why they do this. Antherumberbane loved that idea the most out of his fellow Catalogers. It made them feel a mixture of inspired and nostalgic.

The other members had already arrived, making a total of 28 representatives of different species, humans making the 29th. Stephanie Martins had not arrived yet, her chair noticeably empty. Not surprising, however, as humans still preferred to travel at light speeds rather than using the more expedient slip drives. After giving proper greetings and asking around, it was speculated that the human should arrive any minute, as light speed was still an impressive speed and would not cause much of a delay from Earth.

Antherumberbane was speaking with Asarith, part of the small psionic Britewave species, when the doors slid open and Asarith gestured with one of its many waving policies, saying, “She is here.”

Humans were not an unusual species if unusual still existed amongst the diverse species of CAPS. While their skins could be many different tones, Stephanie Myer’s was pale, dotted with some specks of darker tones known as “freckles.” Her hair was a bright red, and her optical nerves gave a soft hue of… what was that color again?.... Ah, “hazel.” Antehrumberbane wondered why humans had a color that was only used in reference to their optical nerves, but every culture has its quirks. Everyone politely sat down, unsure as to whether to give a cheerful greeting or a more concerned one, given their unfamiliarity with human culture and the reason for this meeting. Stephanie Martins gave restrained nods of greeting as she took her place at the podium.

Antehrumberbane took his seat next to the reptilian Hamargin name KethelIkori. Harargins and Froxins shared the similar feature of having their names combined instead of separate ones or titles. He leaned over to Antherumberbane and whispered “The human seems to be in unusually low spirits.”

Antehrumberbane worried about Kethelkori’s use of the term “human” instead of her given name. That attitude did not bode well for the positive and helpful attitude that both they and Grzx had discussed earlier, but he did not take offense to his analysis of Stephanie Martins. She looked drained of all emotion. She had a great deal of moisture on her brow and was seemingly shaking. Atherumberbane tried to remember what shaking meant in human body language. They knew that could easily mean she was cold, though the EVO suit that the human was wearing should provide their preferred environmental temperature. It also could mean anger, as they remembered some of the human literature they had tried to consume in order to understand them better. The phrase “shaking with anger” had been a common one throughout. Perhaps the emergency was cause for such outrage? Though her brow was not pointing down, as is a common trait of angry humans. No, this wasn’t anger. Perhaps…

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I have a message from my homeworld that I have been instructed to read to you now.” Stephanie Martins said.

The translator mimicked her tone and emotion. Antehrumberbane put it together now. It was not sadness they had heard on the recorded message and it was not anger or cold that caused Stephanie Martins to shake so. Her voice quavered in a way that was not unfamiliar to them. It was the same inflection they had when their partner was diagnosed and the severity of the disease was revealed to them.

It was fear. Fear that was about to give way to despair.

Patreons above, this must be worse than they thought. Antherumberbane showed their full attention, as did many other who came to the same conclusion. Each was prepared to listen intently, offering any information they could provide.

Stephanie Martins took a long pause, acknowledging the shift in the room. She breathed deeply before saying, “First I want to thank you all for your help and companionship. You have become some of my closest friends and I just wanted to say that-” she trailed off, and Antherumberbane heard something unusual. For a split second, he thought he heard a high pitch tone that faded just as Stephanie Martins finished talking. He looked around. Others who had similar auditory processing showed their concerns. Antherumberbane was about to speak, but Stephanie Martins began talking again, this time with more determination to prop up the fear.

“This meeting has been called for those present to witness this declaration. For too long, Earth has felt the cold oppressive heal of CAPS and the pressure to become one with its members. For too long, Earth has been expected to give up its valuable resources to an organization whose values are heavily skewed. You talk of peace and posterity, yet you neglect the now. You talk of those who come after us and pay no mind to those who are here now. Your alliance is built on the flimsy foundation that all species should agree with you and do whatever you say. No more.”

The room was stunned silent. Many species showed anger and confusion on their faces and scoffs. Others showed concern. Antherumberbane did not know what to think. What could be gained by such insults? The CAPS has not asked for nearly as much as this speech would suggest. And oppressive? This does not make.

“As for the Catalogers, you find yourselves in a position above us. You observe all the galaxy’s secrets yet do not share them. You only use that knowledge when one of your own deems it necessary. You stay in your Ivory towers, deeming where and when you can use this power. No more.”

This broke most of the Cataloger’s calm and composed demeanor. There was a terrible uproar from those who firmly believed in the Cataloger’s purpose. Grzx was one of the most vocal, stating his discontent loudly. Antherumberbane still didn’t understand. Was this some ill attempt at humor by the humans. Stephanie Martins had moisture in her eyes now, a biological response to stress known as “crying,” Antherumberbane recognized.

Stephanie Martins continued, trembling even more. “But now we know your secrets.”

The room fell silent.

“We now know where you hide that knowledge. We will find it and we will spread it. All will be revealed for the galaxy to see. No more secrets. No more false promises. No more.”

Before anyone had a chance to react. Stephanie Martins looked up and yelled as loud and as fast as she could “THEY ARE ATTACKING THE CITADEL THEY ARE TRYING TO FIND THE RE-”

Just as soon as she had yelled, Antherumberbane heard the high pitch tone again. And as it grew to its highest note, Stephanie Myer’s head exploded, showering the gallery in viscera and broken glass from her EVO suit. Many cried out in shock. Antherumberbane shot upwards, now full-on all of his tentacles. What could this mean? Did the humans really mean to…

There was a loud scream as one of the Catalogers, a Canine-like Urgunnian, yelled and pointed at the dome. Antherumberbane looked only for a moment and realizing what he had seen, he turned on his communicator, broadcasting to all channels. Before the dome was breached by incoming fire from the unmistakable human armada, and before everyone in the meeting room was sucked out into the terrible vacuum of space, Antherumberbane broke his vow of silence and spoke a final message.

“Earth has declared war. The Remnant is not safe.”

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

TRANSMISSION: OPERATION ALEXANDRIA. PHASE 1 IS A SUCCESS. PHASE 2 IS UNDERWAY.

[kemetic-dreams]

Msiri (c. 1830 – December 20, 1891) founded and ruled the Yeke Kingdom (also called the Garanganze or Garenganze kingdom) in south-east Katanga (now in DR Congo) from about 1856 to 1891. His name is sometimes spelled 'M'Siri' in articles in French. Other variants are "Mziri", "Msidi", and "Mushidi"; and his full name was Mwenda Msiri Ngelengwa Shitambi.

Msiri's origins and rise to power

Southern Central Africa in 1890 showing the central position of Msiri’s Yeke Kingdom and the principal trade routes, with the approximate territories of Msiri’s main allies (names in yellow) and the approximate areas occupied by European powers (names in orange — does not show spheres of influence or borders). The east coast trade was controlled by the

Sultan of Zanzibar Areas of influence of other tribes and of France and Germany

are not shown.From Tabora to Katanga[

Msiri was a Nyamwezi (also known as "Yeke" or "Bayeke") from Tabora in Tanzania and a trader, like his father Kalasa, involved in the copper, ivory and slave trade controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar and his Arab and Swahili agents. The main trade route went to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika and then to Lake Mweru and Katanga

Military power

Msiri realised access to guns was the key to power, and in Katanga, he had copper and ivory resources to trade for them. He formed a militia and started to conquer his neighbours. He also married into the Luba royal family, starting his practice of using wives as spies

He depended on the east coast trade for his guns and gunpowder, which passed through the territory of his rivals, making supplies expensive and unreliable. Instead he turned to the west coast, sending his nephew Molenga to the Ovimbundu and Portuguese traders around Benguela in Angola, and a trader there called Coimbra became his supplier. The Luba people to his north-west had controlled the west coast trade, but Msiri took it over and halted their southwards expansion.

Msiri now had the power and influence to form alliances as more of an equal with warlords such as Tippu Tip, who controlled the eastern Congo from Lake Tanganyika up to what is now Uganda in the north-east, and the Nyamwezi leader Mirambo who controlled the land route between Lake Tanganyika and the coast, and he sought to emulate them. Msiri achieved what other tribes and the Portuguese had tried without as much success, which was to trade across the continent, with both coasts.

By the time of David Livingstone's visit to Mwata Kazembe VIII in 1867, Msiri had taken control of most of the Mwata's territory and trade on the west bank of the Luapula River. Tippu Tip wanted revenge on Kazembe for killing six of his men, and he formed an alliance with Msiri to attack and kill Mwata Kazembe in 1870,and Msiri subsequently influenced the appointment of his successors. Msiri's control of south-east Katanga and its copper resources was consolidated.

Msiri's strategy

In a region and age dominated by armed traders, Msiri was very successful. His control of the trade routes between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean took ruthlessness and arms (and over his neighbours, Msiri had what would be called in the west ‘superior military technology’). But it also took a strategic eye, and the guile and persuasion required to form alliances with hundreds of other tribes, rulers and traders. He did this through his wives, who numbered more than 500. He took a wife from the village of each subordinate chief, making the chief think this gave him an advocate at Msiri's court, but the wife was used to spy on the chief instead and to obtain information about his dealings and loyalty. The wife could also be used as a hostage in case of any rebellion by that chief.

Msiri also cemented alliances with other powerful trading partners through marriage. His favourite wife was said to be Maria de Fonseca, sister of his Portuguese-Angolan trading partner Coimbra. Msiri married one of his own daughters to Tippu Tip.

In 1884, wishing to gain some advice on how to deal with the approaching European colonial powers, he invited a Scottish missionary, Frederick Stanley Arnot, who he had heard was in Angola, to come to his capital at Bunkeya, 180 km west of the Luapula River. In 1886 Arnot arrived and was the first white person to settle in Katanga. After three years he went back to Britain to recruit more missionaries, including Charles Swan and Dan Crawford.

Thus, the first missionaries in Katanga did not decide to go there at their own initiative. Msiri's strategy worked: the missionaries' advice prevented him being taken in by the first British and Belgian expeditions (see below).It is also possible that Msiri had the idea to hold the missionaries hostage in case of any war with the Europeans, in the same way that he held hostage the women of subject tribes.

[luminous-grace]

DeanCas fic, ~3.5k words

Based very closely off the comic Fated by Jasmine Walls. 

.

“Your teammates are either incapacitated or unconscious. You are the world’s last hope of salvation. Your enemy is an angel, a celestial being against whom neither reasoning nor weaponry have been proven to be effective. You’ve won the initiative: what do you do?”

The question floats through the air, Cas’s low rumble granting it a unique solemnity. Every faces around the table turns towards Dean.

“Alright”, Dean grins, throwing his die down confidently. “I roll to stab him through the heart.”

Next to him, Sam pulls a face.

“Seriously, Dean? You’re a rogue. You’re not even going to try for anything, I don’t know, stealthy? You know how bad your chances are?”

Dean smirks. “Never tell me the odds.”

When he see’s the outcome of his roll, however, Dean feels the grin drop off his face. “Uh.”

“Shit.” Sam groans, as Eileen pats him consolingly on the arm. “We were so close.”

Charlie sighs. “Well, it’s been nice knowing everyone.”

“If I may, I’d like to keep this moving.” Cas’s voice cuts through the chatter, and he glares sternly at each of them in turn.

Dean flushes under his gaze, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry man go ahead.”

“Thank you.” Clearing his throat, Cas begins to steadily narrate the outcome.

“With a critical fail, the knife does make contact. However, it does not appear to have any effect. Indeed, the angel reaches into his chest and pulls it out slowly, otherwise unharmed.”

“Furthermore,” Cas adds, amusement creeping into his tone. “At such close proximity you notice that the angel is very attractive, and as he brings his hand up to grip at your shoulder, you feel a sudden spark of electricity.”

Cas reaches across the table to demonstrate the action, his hand coming to rest warm and solid on Dean’s left shoulder. Unbidden, Dean’s stomach gives a pleasant swoop, and he feels his face warm.

“Well,” he says, “my bad I guess.”

“Alright, Cas,” Eileen signs, mercifully putting Dean out of his misery. “Time to get him back.”

Cas nods obligingly, withdrawing his hand. “Very well. The angel tightens his grip, preventing your escape. He raises his other hand to put you to sleep until he has further use for you in his plans.”

Their DM shakes his dice out onto the table, a frown line forming between his eyes. “Well that is... unfortunate,” he grumbles.

Sam cranes his neck forward, trying to see. “What’d you get?”

Cas doesn’t answer right away, but Dean is well-versed in reading the annoyed slump of his shoulders. “You fucking missed, didn’t you?”

Disgruntled, Cas jerks his head in acquiescence. “Well, I suppose there’s nothing for it.”

Before Dean can ask what he means, Cas is opening his mouth to continue the scene.

“While the angel had intended to get rid of you until further instructions were received, he finds himself hesitating. There’s something about this you that is enticing, drawing him in in a way that nothing else has in his millennia watching over Earth. Perhaps it’s the shine of your soul, the brightness greater than anything the angel had seen before. The colors are beautiful, and the angel finds himself leaning closer. Where before he had been prepared to simply zap you away, he now finds himself tugging you closer.”

Dean drops his face into his hands, cheeks burning. Relentlessly, Cas’s voice drones on.

“For the first time, the angel finds himself doubting the plans of his brothers and sisters. Surely something as lovely as this human does not deserve to serve as a pawn in Heaven’s scheme. Bringing a hand up, the angel cups his hand around your face protectively, as he has seen so many of your kind do. You shiver in his grasp, and he watches as your eyes drop to the mouth of his vessel. The angel has never experienced the physicality of human attraction before this day, it’s workings seemingly unnecessary and therefore unknown to him. For the first time, he discovers he wants to find out.”

The table explodes into laughter, and Cas shrugs unselfconsciously. Dean, however, squirms in his seat. Cas describing a fictional relationship between the two of them wasn’t exactly how he had planned for his day to go, and it’s left him feeling more than a little hot under the collar. Eager to get through the scene, Dean barely hesitates before flinging his die down.

“I roll to hit the banishing sigil we set up earlier. I don’t care who I have to get through to get there.”

The die hits the table, and Cas closes his eyes at the result. Dean thinks he may be silently counting to ten.

“With another critical fail,” Dean groans, “you stumble for the banishing sigil but find yourself faltering, and end up missing it by quite the mark.” Dean grimaces, but Cas isn’t done yet.

“The angel follows you, spinning you around in his grip. Before you know it, you feel your back hit the wall and then the angel is looming over you, eyes dark. You feel your breath coming faster. Here is an ancient creature, a being of power so immense that he could destroy you in the blink of an eye. Instead, he appears lost as he gazes at you, and you feel something in your chest tighten, wanting to erase that look.”

“Reaching up, you wind your arms around his neck, tugging him downward. He ducks his head easily, millennia of cosmic power submitting to the whims of a mere human such as yourself. The pull between you is undeniable, and you know without knowing how you know that you would be great together, perhaps even something entirely new. The thought doesn’t scare you as much as it should- in fact, the thought doesn’t scare you at all. Suddenly, you know his name where seconds before it had been a mystery to you. Leaning forward to brush your nose against his, you whisper it against his waiting mouth…”

The table erupts into laughter, and Dean groans. “Please end my fucking life. Cas, why the fuck did you name your character after yourself?”

“The NPC is an angel.” Cas says snippily, but Dean can see the pink dusting across his cheeks. “I am named after the angel of Thursday. It seemed… the most appropriate.”

“Oh, really. This seems appropriate, to you?”

Cas meets his eyes defiantly, but Dean can see that he’s embarrassed. “Well, I certainly wasn’t intending to start a romance with your character, of all people. Maybe in the future you should consider your rolls more carefully.”

Cas’s words strike a nerve he didn’t know existed and inexplicably, Dean finds himself lashing out.

“Really? Me of all people, huh? What’s the matter, Cas? Afraid you’ll like it?” Dean waggles his eyebrows to cover his own reddening face.

Cas opens his mouth to respond, and then seems to think better of it, cutting himself off. He looks, of all things, hurt.

Next to Dean, Charlie snickers, breaking them out of their glaring match. “I’m so glad I have 1 hit-point left so I can see this hot mess.”

Dean grits his teeth, locking eyes with his longtime roommate and soon to be former best friend. Dean knows that if he were truly uncomfortable Cas would relent in a heartbeat. It’s fun to pretend to be people they aren’t, but not to the point where it stops being enjoyable for the people involved.

The problem- Dean thinks bitterly, rolling his die in his hand- is that this is straying dangerously farther away from “pretending to act out a romance between two characters” and closer towards “Dean Winchester confessing his long time feelings for his in-real-life best friend and promptly gets rejected” territory.

Deep down, Dean knows he has no reason to be upset. It’s not as if it’s Cas’s fault that Dean’s too chickenshit to admit his feelings. But Dean’s been pining after this guy for-fucking-ever, and Cas is glaring at him like he’s the one whose feelings are being toyed with, and Dean thinks that maybe it’s time Cas gets a taste of his own medicine.

“Fuck it.” Choosing his words carefully, Dean flings his dice down with trembling hands, holding Cas’s eye while he does so. “I roll to seduce Cas.”

There’s a beat as the table watches in rapt attention. Then everyone starts speaking at once.

“Dean-”

“Holy shit-”

“Dude, that’s a 20-”

Steeling himself, Dean meets Cas’s gaze and is startled to find that it is, for the first time, uncertain. Dean had expected him to roll his eyes, to snap at Dean for prolonging the situation, or even tell him to re-roll entirely. Instead, he looks almost… wary? Dean falters for a moment, but as quickly as it’d come the look is gone, replaced with grim resignation.

Cas raises an eyebrow challengingly, as if to tell Dean to get on with it, and the unfairness of it all sends Dean catapulting way past stubbornness and straight into spite. Any hesitation forgotten, Dean’s opening his mouth to launch into a confession as lurid and sickeningly sweet as possible when Cas interrupts him.

“With a natural 20, you shouldn’t need to tell me what you do. It is enough to assume that you were successful in your seduction.” Cas clears his throat, continuing in a clipped voice that’s jarringly different form the storytelling tone he’d adopted previously.

“Swayed by your heartfelt speech, the angel sees the error of his ways. He agrees to betray his position with the enemy and in turn help you in preventing the end of the world.”

“Furthermore,” Cas falters for a moment, before seemingly steeling himself. “He is flattered by your professed affections and offers his own hand in marriage, to further cement the alliance. In this way, you have successfully cancelled the apocalypse. Congratulations,” Cas mutters, almost as an afterthought.

Charlie starts snickering first. This is quickly followed by Eileen’s laughter, and finally Sam’s bellowing guffaws fill the room.

Reaching over, Sam smacks Dean loudly on the back. “Didn’t know you had it in you, man. Can I be your best man?”

“Yeah.” Dean grins, but it feels forced, and something about the way Cas won’t quite meet his eyes across the table leaves him with a sinking feeling in his stomach “No sweat.”

On Dean’s other side, Charlie pretends to swoon, fanning herself. “You sure do know how to spin a proposition, Winchester. I don’t even know what you said but it must have been a tempting offer.”

Eileen’s laughing so hard she can barely talk, her hands flying to cover her mouth halfway through. “I’ll pay you real gold to be there when you introduce him to your parents.”

Cas doesn’t respond except to give them all a flickering smile. When Dean catches his eye, he abruptly stands from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to start cleaning up.”

Frowning, Dean cranes his head to look after him, but Cas keeps his head ducked low, quickly collecting the dishes and disappearing around the corner before Dean can catch a glimpse of his face.

Weird.

Eventually, the other three guests bow out with various excuses, leaving Dean to clean up the mess from tonight’s session. He shakes his head affectionately.

“Fucking freeloaders.”

When ten minutes slips into twenty without any sign of Cas’s return, Dean gives up any pretense of waiting and heads into the kitchen.

Cas is standing in front of the sink, drying the same glass over and over, gaze fixed somewhere a million miles away. Dean watches for a second before making his way over, dropping a hand to his shoulder and forcing cheer into his voice.

“How’s it looking?”

Cas startles so badly that the glass he’s holding tips over, clattering into the sink and sending dirty dish water everywhere.

“Dude,” Dean grimaces, reaching blindly for a towel to scrub at his face. “You okay?”

Cas pointedly does not look at him. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Uh, because you’ve been acting like a fucking weirdo all day? Come here.” Reaching over, Dean swipes at Cas’s face with a towel. “Gross.”

“Dean, just.” Cas breaks off, catches Dean’s wrist to tug his hand away. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to be alone right now.

Hurt, Dean retracts his hand. “Jeez, okay. Sorry, man.”

“It’s fine.” Cas turns away, but something about his clipped tone sparks Dean’s earlier irritation.

“Okay, what’s your deal? Did I do something?”

Cas ignores him.

“I mean, if I did could you at least let me apologize like a normal fucking adult?”

Cas sighs, rubbing at the glass with more force than necessary. “I said it’s fine, Dean.”

“Is it about the game?” Dean presses, because Cas is pissed at him for something he started, then Dean has a right to know.

Cas doesn’t answer, but the way he tenses, entire body stiffening is a dead giveaway.

“I mean,” Dean scratches at the back of his head, not even hiding the hurt creeping into his voice. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but you started it. It’s just a game, man.”

Cas’s fingers go white on the dishcloth. “Exactly, Dean.” He snaps, voice bitter. “It’s a game. It isn’t-” Cas breaks off, flushing red and returning his focus to the now completely dry dish.

Dean frowns. He’s got a pretty good grasp on Cas over their six years of friendship, likes to think he knows him about as well as he knows himself. That’s why Dean knows Cas doesn’t feel the same way he does, that Dean is doomed to wallow in his feelings indefinitely.

But Cas could at least have the decency to not be a dick about it.

“Yeah, okay.” Dean can’t help the resentment that rises up sour and sharp in his throat. “I guess it’s weird acting out a romance scene with your best friend, but seeing as it’s all fake,” Dean adds extra emphasis on the word, vindicated when Cas flinches, “I really didn’t think it’d be that big of a deal. Sorry if I was wrong.”

Cas doesn’t respond, and Dean scoffs, shaking his head. “Alright then.” Dean turns to leave, to slink off into his room to nurse his wounded pride. “Let me know if you want to talk about it, I guess.”

Dean’s already out the door when he hears his name. Taking a deep breath, he counts to ten before sticking his head back into the kitchen.

“What?”

“I didn’t want to hear some fake confession.” Cas says, voice brittle and so low that Dean has to take several more steps into the room to hear him. “I couldn’t- deal with it. Not when-” Cas turns away, voice breaking, and Dean’s gut punched to realize that he seems to be on the verge of tears. “Not when it didn’t mean anything. Not from you.”

Dean pauses, his mind struggling to connect the dots. “What are you talking about?”

Cas spins around to glare at him. “Are you really going to make me fucking say it? I’d think it should be obvious.” His eyes are bright and red-rimmed, but his face is dry, and Dean feels something painful twist in his chest.

“Cas-”, he reaches out again, but Cas jerks just out of reach.

Dean sighs, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “I don’t understand what you want me to do, man.” He spreads his hands wide in supplication. “But if you’re gonna be pissed you gotta talk to me. I’m not a mind reader.”

His words seem to reach Cas, finally, and the latter deflates, sagging against the counter. “I apologize,” Cas says, scrubbing a hand across his face. “It is… unfair of me to take my frustration out on you. You deserve better than that.”

“I mean, if you don’t want to tell me that’s fine. But it’s clearly bothering you and I want to help make it better.”

Cas shakes his head. “It’s not something you can fix. It’s fine, I promise. I’ll be fine-”

“Why don’t you try me, Cas.” Dean says, feeling suddenly tired. It’s been a long day of being faced with the blatant confirmation of his unrequited feelings, and Dean honestly just wants to faceplant into his bed and sleep for the next week.

“Tell me what you were going to say,” Cas blurts out, and that’s the last thing Dean was expecting.

“What?” Dean asks, but Cas is already shaking his head, covering his mouth with one hand.

“I- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Ignore me-”

“What I was going to say when, Cas?” Dean presses, but Cas is shaking his head, eyes skittering around the room like he’s planning the best way to escape. His eyes linger briefly on the game table in the living room, and that’s when it clicks for Dean.

“You want to know what I was gonna say during the game? At the very end?” There’s a burgeoning hope trying to take root at the center of his chest, but Dean avoids looking at it too closely lest it disappear.

Tentatively, Dean moves a step closer. When Cas doesn’t immediately shove him away he tries for a little more, reaching out to slide his hand down to Cas’s wrist. Cas’s eyes dart down to the contact, but he doesn’t jerk away, and Dean takes a deep breath, bolstering himself with feel of Cas’s hand in his.

“I was going to say, uh.” Dean swallows. Cas’s pulse point is hammering under Dean’s thumb, or maybe that’s just his own, and he tightens his grip automatically.

“You said that Castiel had never met anything like me, that I was special and unique in the universe, yada yada,” Dean says. “Well I was gonna say that he’s got that backwards. I say that I’ve never quite met anyone quite like him. And that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, ever.”

Cas makes a noise, but Dean pushes on, determined. “I know he’s way out of my league: that I don’t deserve someone as awesome as him. But I’d tell him that if he gave me a chance, I’d spend my entire life trying to make him happy. That we could make each other happy, forever, if he’d let us. I would tell Cas that, whenever I look at him, everything feels right.”

“You said Cas,” Cas interrupts.

“Huh?”

“You said Cas, not Castiel.”

Dean lets out an exasperated breath. “Yeah, no shit, dumbass. I was talking about you.”

“Oh,” Cas says, in a small voice. He’s quiet for a moment, and Dean struggles against the panic clawing at his chest. Finally, Cas says: “You were going to say all that in front of everyone?”

“I never said it was a good idea.”

Cas stares at him. “You never would have heard the end of it.”

“I mean,” Dean laughs, “I’ve only been in love with you for like, the entire time I’ve known you, so I’m pretty sure everyone already knows-”

Cas surges forward to kiss him. Dean grunts, caught off guard, his hands flying up to grab Cas’s shoulders. Cas’s lips are soft and hesitant against his own, every movement creating a spark of electricity that Dean feels down to his toes.

All too soon, Cas pulls back, causing Dean to make a pitiful noise as he chases his mouth. “I didn’t,” Cas says, staring at him intensely, and Dean stares at his mouth as it shapes the words, feeling as if he’s missing something.

“I didn’t know.” Cas repeats, hands coming up to frame Dean’s face. “I didn’t know.”

“Oh,” Dean says, rather intelligently he thinks, and then Cas is kissing him again.

Dean stumbles forward, hands flying up to clutch at Cas’s wrists in an attempt to get as close as possible. Cas groans, spinning them around to press Dean up against the sink.

The edge of the counter digs painfully into Dean’s back but he barely notices. Not when Cas is warm and solid against him, and Dean slides his hands hungrily up his arms, across his chest. One hand finds its way into Cas’s hair, tilting his head so that their mouths slot more fully together. And then Cas’s tongue is there, curling warm and wet against Dean’s and it’s perfect.

It seems to go on forever, one kiss leading into another, and then another. It’s like a drug, every time Dean pulls back to speak, he’s struck by the sight before him. Cas, his eyes dark, his mouth spit-slick and swollen, and he has to dive back in, dragged back under as if he can’t stand to be apart for more than a second.

“For the record,” Cas gasps, an indefinite amount of time later. “I’d say that your seduction technique was extremely successful.”

“Oh yeah?” Dean grins, sliding his hand down to graze against Cas’s belt. He’s rewarded with a groan, Cas’s hips jerking forward. “You wanna show me how much?”

Cas does. He really, really does. And Dean is more than happy to let him.

.

.

.

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @casbean, @hellfire37, @mishatho, @sudo-apt-get-destiel, @charmedbycastiel, @feraladoration

[sol-chorus]

Breakfast

I have a lot of the dialog between Gabe and his father kicking around in my head and I just need to spill some of it out sooo here it is. Everything Count Verona says will be in ‘bold’ just to make things easier and Gabriel’s words will be ‘italicized’. Reminder the Count is NOT fit to be a parent and they have an awful relationship trigger warnings in the tags.

There was nothing to say, at least, not really so why were they sitting here in some room with large windows, pretending the world outside was not continuing on around them. Why did he come home when Gareg Mach fell? Why had he bothered? Gabriel’s stomach turned as he stared across the table at Count Ralouf Mercer Verona sat dabbing the filth from his mouth with a kerchief. As if that would ever stop all the nonsense that man spouted, he shouldn’t have come home he should not BE here. It was silent, his father contently filtered through letters he’d been receiving left and right, not just from the Kingdom anymore but from the Empire and the Alliance.

In a war time like this the small fertile valley their territory was settled in was worth a fortune, both to the Kingdom to keep it, the Alliance to use it perhaps to prevent violence from the Kingdom as the war progressed. Though most notably the Empire, if they could get their claws into this land they could starve out half of Faerghus in weeks. Which would be ideal because only half of Faerghus was still evading their capture, lands belonging to the families of people he’d once called friends years ago.

Ralouf was near giddy a smirk on his face at what Gabriel could only assume to be offers for compensation for his loyalty. The look was familiar to his son, it was the look he’d once borne reviewing and writing marriage proposals for Gabriel’s future, the look made him feel more ill. Finally Gabriel pushed his plate completely untouched away from him, one of the servants gave him a concerned look and he just shook his head. She lifted it quietly not wanting to cause a scene, knowing drawing the Count’s attention to the fact Gabriel was NOT eating would cause a scene for the whole house- again. The war was practically at their doorstep it had reached their lands and people were dying, yet, Count Verona seemed content to hold out for the best offer possible.

And here Gabriel sat, and did nothing, he sat quietly and fumed with disdain for his father and so much more than that but out of fear he did nothing. Not fear that his father would harm him, the man had become lazier the older he got and Gabriel was well, more of a handful than he intentionally put off. No, he was afraid of hearing his mother’s name from that man’s mouth again a fear so deep in him that he hardly understood it anymore. He was so FRUSTRATED with himself, he should be doing something, if his father did not accept Somme's offer soon he would be handing over their land and people under threat of violence to the first person who broke down the door.

He just couldn’t do this anymore, he had to do something, anything. So he did what he would have in a situation involving anyone BUT his father, he spoke.

“You are going to get yourself killed, and you’re going to drag everyone in the Goddess Crescent right to the Eternal Flames with you.” the man stood, he had sat too long, far too long.

“Hm, did you say something Gabriel?” the man looked up from the paper in his hand, he had heard, this was a standard evasion tactic for him to pretend as though Gabriel hadn’t spoken at all. Not today.

“You KNOW I did, so why do you even bother with that shit?!”

“That kind of language is unfitting of someone of our station Gabriel, don’t speak like a peasant.”

“Don’t speak like a- You have got to be kidding me. Just pick one, pick a side people are dying OUR people out there right now for as long as you don’t do something about it! You are the lord of this land I thought you told me it was a Lord’s responsibility to care for his people do you call this caring for them?! Watching them die while you wait for a bigger coffer to be placed in your lap?!”

“I am protecting them, if I make the wrong choice here this land and everyone in it will be crushed, I must side with the victor, it’s simply natural. I am currently using the resources offered to us to determine who that will be-”

“That’s enough of your shit! If you wanted to side with the victor you would side with the empire, they are the largest, they posses the most soldiers, resources for the Goddess’ sake they’re WINNING! If you cared at all for honor of your position you would side with the Kingdom, you would contact House Fraldarius or Gautier and offer your services but, that’s not it either. All you care about is your bottom line, it’s why you’re sitting here it’s why you had ME! All you care about is you getting the most you can out of any situation you’re not fit to be in charge of anyone you know that right?”

“Gabriel, hold your tounge the situation is far more complicated than th-”

“Is it? Then why are you even taking letters from the Alliance then, from where I’m standing they’re falling appart at the seems fromt he inside. Or maybe it’s because the Alliance ports offer connections to rare trade not avaiable anywhere else in Fodlan, and you are weighing THAT wealth against the might of the Empire and what we already posses in the Kingdom. I know you- as sick as you make me i know you I’ve lived with you for over twenty years!”

“Be SILENT Gabriel, your mother would not approve of you sitting here and causing such discord int his house at such a trying time as this.”

“Trying for WHO? You or the people outside, you or me because last time I checked you’re sitting here eating poached eggs and chuckling to yourself and people out there are FUCKING dying-”

“What did I say about speaking like a-”

“I AM A PEASANT! I am my MOTHER’S son and she was a COMMON woman from Duscur, you can take a long walk off a short pier as far as I am concerned father...and I use that word in it’s LOOSEST sense.”

“Gabriel I am not discussing this with you, sit down and eat your- where is your food? You are hardly going to live long enough to see the Verona house properly succeeded if you do not properly eat-”

“Stop pretending you care about whether i live or die for any reason other than your self interest! This isn’t about me this is about them this is about all the people outside...my friends I went to school with are fighting and dying right now and you’re looking for the highest bidder to sell the Kingdom out to! I don’t even CARE about Faerghus and I can see how appalling that is you know that right?”

The Count stood up and crossed the room he and Gabriel were nearly matched in height now and he still somehow managed to look down on the child. He was growing frustrated that Gabriel would not desist and running out of ways to argue with the boy as he saw him. He stepped forward and instinctively Gabriel took a step back and he smiled, but it was not a peaceful smile it was a twisted one, one that saw he still had power.

“You are a disappointment, and a continual exhausting waste of my energy do not think if you were not the bearer of this bloodline’s crest that I would tolerate your exhausting attitude problem. Please go back upstairs feel free to bleed yourself as if that will remove my blood form your body and waste the healers time again it was SO amusing the last time. You are all talk, yet you accuse me of being the same, you are MY son whether you care to admit it or not. Guards, escort the young lord back to his room he is clearly feeling unwell again.”

The guards looked at one another and then the Count, yet after a moment they began to step forward however the moment one reached for him Gabriel pulled away. Something had snapped, as if a decision had been made, House Verona was not known for it’s militant strength and the truth was in attending the Officer’s academy Gabriel had had more combat training than even the most elite among their ‘guard’. It was why they hesitated and why when the young man showed aggression rather than his usual passive misery and acceptance they drew back unsure how to proceed.

“I’m leaving.”

“You are what? You will do no such- eek.” Gabriel drew his rapier from his side, worn for so long now mostly for show and he pointed it to the throat of his father.

“I said I am leaving, I will cut my way out of this house if necessary but I’m not staying here i never should have come back. Someone hurt me at the academy, left me, someone I thought never would and that has made me weak and foolish no more. I won’t abandon my other friends the way that one abandoned me, I’m going to the front on Fraldarius territory, and you can’t stop me. Disinherit me if you like it will make it easier when once the other areas are the Kingdom are won and stable marching back here to remove the eyesore you’ve made yourself.”

“Listen to me you blasphemous brat-”

“No! No more, I'm done listening to you! You trapped my mother here with your money and influence you held her HOSTAGE to be your pretty little doll of a wife to put on a shelf with the poor financial state of her family. You won’t trap me here with her memory, I’ve let you do it too long, I’m going to do right about people that still at least MIGHT care about me but you, you stay here and ROT.”

The young man turned and he stared at the guards on either of his flanks blade in hand and stared a chaos in his eyes. They stepped back slowly, much to Ralouf’s LOUD objection and yet the man himself was too frightened by the wild look in the boys eyes to step forward, years of inactivity rusting whatever skill he might have once had in combat. Gabriel stepped into his room for what would be the last time until he returned with a small army to reclaim the valuable land and succeed his father through violence rather than age. His bag was packed, light, only what he needed, and a shard from his crystal violin, it had been shattered in a fight with his father shortly after returning home.

Enough was enough, he was going to be free of this burden he had so long lived with or he was going to die trying. He had no idea if he would be accepted back as a friend after vanishing back under his father’s thumb for so long, but, he was sure they wouldn’t turn down a blade no matter how it repulsed him to become exactly that which he hated so much.

[sunnydwrites]

Writing a War

(P.S.A. Before We Begin: While the above GIF is from Captain America: Civil War, I won’t be including any superhero factors in this post. I just really love the movie and this scene specifically :P Enjoy!)

Hello friends, Abby here with another writing post! I’ve noticed that the concept of war tends to play a large role in many of the novels I’ve read in the past. Due to this and the fact that my own series (Smoke Shadows) will include its own war of sorts, I was inspired to make this post. Without further ado, let’s get started!

What could cause a war?

There are, of course, many causes that can lead to a war, and it would probably be a little strange if one occurred in your story for a single reason. Let’s go through a couple of general causes that have played major roles, starting with the M.A.I.N.:

Militarism. Some countries take excessive pride in their militaries and continue building and displaying them, even during peacetime. Often nations that would perceive an action like this as a threat find these acts of militarism unsettling; this can worsen relations between the two nations or can lead the threatened nation to make a preemptive strike of sorts.

Alliances. These can be dangerous, especially secret alliances. A small country might have made secret alliances with several larger nations in secret; someone picks a fight with them and suddenly there are six other nations on their case about it. Alliances made like these are the ones that can and probably will lead to conflicts involving more countries.

Imperialism. Simply put, imperialism is the process of “stronger” nations taking over “weaker” ones for control of some sort, and usually without the consent of the country they’re taking over. (Imperialistic nations don’t seem to care much about that last part, though.) Imperialism could lead to conflict in the form of a “turf war” of sorts between imperialistic nations or to a fight for independence by the nation that’s been taken over.

Nationalism. This one is dangerous, because it often comes from a feeling of unity in a nation. This pride can range anywhere from slight to intense and can be created in whatever way you want, but a historically proven way to use this method is through things like propaganda and yellow journalism.

At least one of these four reasons play some sort of role in the starting of a war, though of course there are many other causes you could choose from. Some of these possibilities can include completely unprecedented attacks, economic/territorial gain, religion, revenge of some sort, and (intense) internal disagreements.

How to “Structure” a War

Wars are usually won not through brute force alone, but by strategy. You’ll want to keep this in mind when you think of how your war plays out; whoever is the better strategies will have a higher chance of coming out of this whole thing victorious. It will probably help tremendously for you to draw a map of your world and include every place that will be affected, then get some different colored markers to represent the different sides.

It’s especially helpful if you can make two maps, or one that you can edit easily. On one you’ll want to create a plan for each side. If you were planning out something like this, what would you plan for? Include things like:

Attack points and any (possibly) ensured victories

Retreat plans

Key areas that this side will need to win

Other people that will be travelling with the troops

Amount of troops sent to each place

Methods of communication and transportation

Weaponry used

Any rules going on (ex. don’t go after civilians, leave injured soldiers to be healed since they are no longer a threat, etc.)

There are, of course, other things to consider, but if you’re just looking for the basic information then all this should be a good starting point for you. Next up comes the results, where you take the time to figure out how each battle/conflict/whatever you’d like to call it turned out. Think of things like:

Casualties

Injuries

Prisoners of war or any M.I.A.s

Total resources used

Damage done to the surrounding area

Whether each group should completely invade, draw back, or stay where they are

Essentially, whether the conflict was a victory, defeat, or stalemate for each side

From there, you’ll want to figure out how each side will adapt to this result. The best strategizers respond to the events of this conflict will often assess their side and the other side, and change their plans a little to try and help their side regain (or keep) the advantage.

Rinse and repeat until you’ve created a war.

The Home Front

What is everyone doing at home to help this effort, if anything at all? How are people responding to the war? Consider things like governmental actions and the civilian response, and what people at home might be asked to do to aid the cause. From a governmental perspective, think of things like:

The possibility of a draft

How they would get their funding

How much control (if any) it would take over everyday life

Any new laws that might be passed

The changing of alliances

Deciding on whether or not to declare war (additionally, admitting defeat or making an attempt to find peace)

The need to prevent something like an economic depression afterwards

Trading with countries they’re not actively fighting against

You’ll also want to consider things like propaganda. It’s often a “strategy” used to increase morale at home and to help unify the nation during wartime. This can be used for a lot of purposes, but it’s often to 1) encourage those who would be able to enlist to do so or 2) encourage those who can’t enlist to still find ways to help the country.

Some other things that might change in the home life include:

Work and education standards

Anything that goes into and out of a person’s bank account (or the equivalent); things like taxes and pay grades might change

The possibility of rationing, if needed

People spending more free time helping out in the effort

How people would react to family being sent away to fight (and the possibility of bad news being brought back)

The demand for different jobs and how this demand might be met

Any major changes in priority for the people as a whole

Ending the War

And finally, we’ve made it to the end! One way or another, things are going to come to a close on this conflict. It might have been a month, a year, or a decade since the initial declaration of war, but we’ve made it. What comes with the end of a war can vary in essentially every way you can imagine. You’ll want to consider things like:

Treaties (including things like alliances that might have been formed or come to an end, war reparations, punishments, etc.)

Any measures meant to prevent another war of this nature

Things being done to help any countries on which the war was fought, if anything at all

Lasting feelings that might lead to future conflicts or developments

And that’s all I’ve got for today, I hope this helped! If there’s anything you want to see me write about in my next post, please don’t hesitate to leave a message in my ask. Until next time, much love! <333

[pudgy-puk]

so um. random question, but do you have a hot take on what is even up at the garlean leadership considering the 4. 0 stinger and that the 4. 2 trailer has asahi trying to offer an alliance with the empire? if you don't mind sharing, that is?

i DO have a hot take! i don’t feel i can go into as much detail as i’d like because my Hot Take re: the emperors of garlemald relies on other things i had been meaning to make a post about but haven’t yet because i am the world’s greatest procrastinator. but anyhow, the short version is: shit’s fucked. not irrecoverably so, and frankly not as much as eorzeans would LIKE, but shit is fucked.

now part of my belief re: this is that if there’s one thing i know, it’s that dynastic empires are REALLY FUCKING HARD. i have frankly lost count of the number of times i’ve read the “highly capable and effective man builds/conquers/acquires a huge swathe of territory, rules over and administers it well, dies, leaves it to his useless children/grandchildren, said useless offspring cock it all up, possibly losing most of the territory in the process, and inside of 30ish years after the original founder died, his descendants are being exiled or jailed or killed while another ambitious, capable person takes over” story. honestly it’s the most common way this shit goes. now, it’s certainly not the ONLY way this shit goes--sometimes this or variations thereof work--but it sometimes makes it hard for me to make the analytical leap over from realworld to fictionland, where those thousand-year empires on which the sun never sets are the rule, not the exception. 

now, that being said, solus was the founder of his dynasty and the architect of garlemald as an empire, not just a regional power--and after he died, there was an (offscreen, but) apparently very vicious succession war, which the ultimate victor, solus’s grandson varis, won via killing most of his family. and now varis is embattled, with two large occupied territories (ala mhigo, doma) lost and more vassalage-esque relationships (e.g. red kojin, hingashi) broken or weakened, the biggest obstacle to the empire (eorzean city-states) are stronger than they’ve ever been, esp with the addition of ishgard*, he’s discovered that a region/people he had dismissed as beneath his attention does actually pose a threat (the xaela of the steppe)**, AND he’s minus one crown prince (zenos)*** to boot. this is a bad situation. but it is not unsalvageable for him.

(* i honestly think ishgard entering the field of conflict is something garlemald absolutely wanted to avoid. the ishgardian state was intensely militaristic, had a large army, was regularly improving their martial capacity, and was accustomed to fending off threats airborne and armored on the land and all capable of shooting fire and lighting. as long as they were tied up with dravania, with fighting the broods of midgardsormr’s brood, that was GOOD for garlemald. and now that the war is not only over but they’re agreeing to ally with the other city-states and also pals with hraesvelgr’s brood--hraesvelgr being the child of midgardsormr--as far as garlemald is concerned, that should be considered a worst-case scenario).

(** i never had the occasion to talk about this on the blog, but i am very pleased that stormblood seemed to validate the answer i considered most likely to the question circulating among me and friends/acquaintances after the xaela were revealed in the leadup to HW: the question being “if they’re all from the steppe in othard, which is all up in garlean shit, then... why isn’t there any mention of the empire fucking with them in their lore bits?” and my considered guess being “because the empire’s probable reaction to fifty-plus weirdo tribes constantly warring with each other over a grassland is likely along the lines of ‘these stupid, base savages are uncivilizable, and their territory is a scanty grassland only useful for feeding their nags. punish their incursions and lightly reward their favors, otherwise they don’t deserve our attention’.”)

(*** i’d just like to uh. to observe the fact that a violent monster like zenos was never removed via institutional means from the line of succession does not exactly fill me with confidence regarding the power, wisdom, and discernment of the governing laws and institutions of the administration of garlemald. not at all).

now, the reasons why this is not unsalvageable for varis! first off, while losing a prince is still generally Bad, tbh there’s a good chance that this means the remaining princes are The Sane One(s) and thus zenos’s death is a net positive in terms of preserving the dynasty. second, while i did list off a lot of bad things that happened for garlemald, there were good things too, particularly concerning R&D and tech advancement. thirdly, garlemald has put down rebellions and insurrections before, and winning back lost territory, re-intimidating marginal powers, and weakening their enemies is still perfectly doable, which is what i think the “we want to negotiate an alliance!” bit is about, especially using eikons/primals as the wedge.

i am absolutely certain that this is not an honest effort by the emperor to learn to live with the people of eorzea and doma. this is an attempt to get some time and space to rebuild, recuperate, and re-evaluate the strategies. eikons/primals are the wedge, because this is the one issue where there is overlap between the goals of the protagonists (primals hanging out in our mortal plane of existence is Very Bad for said plane of existence) and the goals of the empire (godless subjugation of the globe to technocratic order and perfection). if the tip of the wedge can find a good landing spot, it can be used to divide the diverse peoples of the far east and gyr abania alike: a reasonable concern regarding sri lakshmi can be turned into suspicion and resentment of ananta in general, despite all the help the vira gave to the resistance, and a perfectly rational fear of susano can be used to manipulate opinion against the kojin in general, even though they were instrumental to the salvation of doma. indeed, as i understand it this was part of garlean campaigning against eorzea in 1.0, fomenting suspicion of people like the amaljaa that then turned into strife. so i see the “negotiating an alliance” as “buying time to regroup by getting our enemies to be quiet for a while, and if we’re lucky divide and destabilize them.” 

remember: as i hinted at in the bit on ishgard, in the situation i’m describing varis’s win condition is not limited, in the short term, to “total and utter subjugation and turning enemies to his unwavering allies.” he just needs their passivity. to use the steppe xaela as an example: varis doesn’t need to conquer the whole steppe and break the spirit of every tribe there, nor does he need to turn magnai and sadu and cirina and all the rest into his fearless soldiers. all he needs to do to win in the short term is to prevent them from honoring their pledge to hien for long enough for the empire to deal with hien. and there are many ways he could accomplish that. the emperor of garlemald cannot stand against the world united against him. if he’s smart, he won’t try to. instead, he’ll try to stop the union, via prevention or breaking it up as it forms. and the attempt at offering alliance suggests that he may, in fact, be smart.

but, of course, if he’s too transparent about his attempts to divide and conquer when he’s currently dealing with opponents who--absolutely crucially--have first-hand experience in how rebellions fail as well as how they succeed. he’s making plans, but against veteran opponents who know what they’re doing. 

and that, roughly speaking, is why i think “shit is fucked” re: garlean leadership. the position is bad, but can be recovered from, but also they’re starting to run low on things that can be sacrificed or losses endured in the process of recovery.

i said this was going to be short, and i lied

[schicksalserbe]

              ( Canon information & personal headcanons are merged in this post.                     Prone to changes and regular updates since this a masterpost                    for my own/my roleplay partners reference.  Do NOT repost, reblog etc. )

TERRITORY. Ever since the first songs were sung and the sunlight touched the sacred land, the Oronir had their settlement near the Dawn Throne, a symbolic monument and tribute to their Father, Azim. Whilst the Dawnthrone was not always occupied by their tribe in specific, the Oronir take some pride to call it their rightful home for decades. Nevertheless, also due to the limited space provided, it is a privilege to live on it. The land the Oronir live upon is fertile and vast; and the many streams flowing there are supporting fishery and the raise of livestock. The tribe generally dislikes it to see strangers crossing their sacred land uninvited; and those unlucky who dare to make such iniquity, will be properly punished.

>Settlement. The settlement is located in the shadows of the Dawn Throne, not far away from the waters flowing below their Father’s monument. About eighty percent of their tribe live there. The settlement itself is similar build like most which can be found in the Steppe; a sturdy stone wall protects what lies within and the many lookouts surrounding it provide even more safety.  Most elder Oronir live here and also the youngest children with their mothers. Albeit their strongest warriors live on the Dawn Throne, there are a few responsible to protect the settlement through day and night.

>The Dawn Throne. Only the strongest of their warriors are allowed to live on the Dawn Throne, the sacred fortress created by Azim himself. It is the safest place in the entire Steppe since there exists only one entrance from the ground below – and the high location of its top is quite helpful to locate potential enemies, no matter which kind. Most settlements have to be guarded day and night to prevent the many beasts to steal their valuable resources and claim innocent life and albeit the Oronir guard the Dawn Throne with much care, they do not have to worry about any beasts. Since the current Khan, the most radiant brother Magnai, forged the alliance with the Buduga, more people currently reside on the Dawn Throne. More so since it was also one of his orders for all children to be brought to the Dawn Throne at a certain age, whether their parents were privileged enough to live there or not, to first prevent their early death and secondly to hopefully support their growth into decent warriors. By now, depending if there are any visitors or hostages, around forty up to sixty people live there.

TECHNOLOGY.

Compared to other tribes, the Oronir’s weapons are primitive and old fashioned. Their weapons are often made from bones of great beasts simply with steel attached or carved out of study wood. Sometimes, particular to properly equip their strongest warriors, they happen to trade some goods in for better weapons, forged and crafted in different tribes, or even lands. A few of them, however, wear traditional weapons which are several decades old - and whose origin is unknown. One could say the Oronir have quite a disadvantage due to their shape of weapons (for example the Dotharl have the most advanced weapons of the entire Steppe) yet they are fearsome warriors, nonetheless. And no ne shall foolishly happen to underestimate any of them.  Since the Oronir are foremost warriors, their knowledge of medicine is lacking when it comes to cure common sickness. They use some traditional methods known for hundreds of years, often in form of some special meals, to ease these. However, they know much about properly treating wounds and even poison, if given enough time - albeit their methods are, nonetheless, quite traditional still and less modern. Albeit some modern medicine, particularly from Kugane, slowly find their way to the Steppe due to the many merchants in Reunion, the Oronir are not fond of these. 

ALLIANCES.

The Oronir have very few bonds. They take some pride in the very fact that they are capable of winning the Naadam by their own strength - and naturally also to rule. Nevertheless they are not deaf to reason and always willing to listen to other tribes who happen to understand the supremacy of theirs. One knows that the Oronir are always fair and just; and they do not betray someone. 

>Buduga. The all-males tribe who only increases their ranks by tasking hostages is their current closest ally. The tribe found some greater organization than the many years prior after Magnai had offered them to stay under the Oronir in exchange for their loyalty. All of the Buduga are fine warriors of admirable strength; they do not have much value for weaklings, either. It is why their bond with the Oronir happens to fit them so well; particularly because Magnai is generous enough to give them any male hostage. 

>Qestir. The Oronir have no alliance with the Qestir per-se; they rather share one and the same interest in a certain matter. Ever since Reunion unites all tribes in one place - now even strangers from outside the Steppe - the Oronir have the interest to maintain such peace. In fact they offer their protection and guidance for the many travellers in exchange for some local goods. Since the Qestir do not speak - which often causes some trouble with other tribes who do - they gratefully accepted. 

COMMON QUIRKS.

Most Oronir, in particular those who live on the Dawn Throne, are extremely arrogant. They know how strong they truly are – and they do not hesitate to prove their strength if necessary. In that way they are even more irritable than other warrior tribes, for example the Dotharl.

The Oronir dislike it to be in someone’s debt due to their strong sense of pride. They will pay for such as soon as possible.

Oronir males grow up with the mindset that they have to show their strength to their women - and not their gratitude. It is why males often, not always, show more hints of arrogance than actual gentleness – albeit that can apply to a many female Oronir as well. Since only males can become their Khan and some trials are held for their men only, the will to be stronger than anyone else is commonly more spread among the males. In fact the warriors who receive the honor to fight for their entire tribe during the Naadam are often males as well, even if a few women are just as strong and also participate in the annual tradition.

The Oronir’s life is dependent on the following:  >LIFESTOCK. >HUNTING. >FISHING.

HIERARCHY. Everyone among the Oronir should be treated as equal – however, the reality looks quite different. Only the strongest are of true worth; and those who cannot properly fight are inferior in their opinion. Only those who do decent work and have proven themselves useful and strong are truly part of their tribe. Their Khan always stands above them all, however, and should never be questioned. Everyone is referring to each other as “Sister” or “Brother”, whether one is blood related or not. 

>The Oronir’s Khan. The Oronir’s Khan, always a true son of their Father Azim, is superior to all of their blood. He is always the strongest and wisest of them all - and only one who succeeds in the annual trials and is called a true warrior of the Steppe is worthy enough to become one. However, to have conquered Bardam’s Mettle and to be victorious in the annual trials held among all males of the tribe do not automatically give someone such important position. If the current Khan is still alive, he has to approve of it; and also the majority of the tribe. The most radiant son of Azim, the only one who can lead and guide their entire tribe by their Father’s will, has to be someone who everyone respects. Since the Khans are said to be Azim’s closest sons, it is common belief that their Father, the Sun, will reveal them over time – because they were born to rule. As for Magnai, for example, people started to joke about him becoming the next Khan ever since he was a boy already; because he was already stronger than some grown warriors. So when he succeeded in the trials later years and proved his loyalty to the tribe, the decision fell quite easily.

TRADITIONS.

Tributes to Azim. Four times a year, the Oronir tribute the flower of a Chaochu growing on their heads. Not even one petal shall be missing or it will not be suited for tribute.

Trials of Azim. Once every year all brothers will have a contest of strength. No Oronir shall be allowed to not participate. 

Azim’s Fingers. If one succeeds to conquer Bardam’s Mettle, the Oronir are allowed to spill milk on the gigantic stones surrounding the Dawn Throne known as Azim’s Fingers. They are allowed to speak one wish - and Azim will grant it if they are ambitious.

Lighten the laterns. The male Oronir are responsible to lighten the lanterns scattered across the entire Steppe to guide all tribes during the darkness of the night.

[nebris]

World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. In a state of total war, directly involving more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries, the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities. Tens of millions of people died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), premeditated death from starvation, massacres, and disease. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, including in the use of strategic bombing of population centres, and the only uses of nuclear weapons in war.

World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and the United Kingdom. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours: Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. Following the onset of campaigns in North Africa and East Africa, and the Fall of France in mid-1940, the war continued primarily between the European Axis powers and the British Empire, with war in the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain, the Blitz, and the Battle of the Atlantic. On 22 June 1941, Germany led the European Axis powers in an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the largest land theatre of war in history and trapping the Axis, crucially the German Wehrmacht, in a war of attrition.

Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific, was at war with the Republic of China by 1937. In December 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States as well as European colonies in East Asia and the Pacific. Following an immediate US declaration of war against Japan, supported by one from the UK, the European Axis powers declared war on the United States in solidarity with their ally. Japan soon captured much of the Western Pacific, but its advances were halted in 1942 after losing the critical Battle of Midway; later, Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy, and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis its initiative and forced it into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and turned towards Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key Western Pacific islands.

The war in Europe concluded with an invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops, the suicide of Adolf Hitler and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. Following the Potsdam Declaration by the Allies on 26 July 1945 and the refusal of Japan to surrender on its terms, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August, respectively. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago, the possibility of additional atomic bombings, and the Soviet entry into the war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria on 9 August, Japan announced its intention to surrender on 15 August 1945, cementing total victory in Asia for the Allies. In the wake of the war, Germany and Japan were occupied and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.

World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the globe. The United Nations (UN) was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts, and the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States—became the permanent members of its Security Council. The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the nearly half-century-long Cold War. In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion. Political integration, especially in Europe, began as an effort to forestall future hostilities, end pre-war enmities and forge a sense of common identity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

[kuriquinn]

Penthesilea [18/20]

Cover & Disclaimer:

Chapter Summary: “The path to peace is never smooth. Sometimes what is necessary doesn’t always keep our hands clean.”

Chapter Beta: None beyond my own two eyes and at the moment. Since I’m finishing the fic this week, I’d say all edits will be forthcoming within the next few weeks as my beta has time to look through everything. 

AN: It’s a bit of a time-skip chapter, but to be honest, the big dramatic confrontation was last chapter. This is sort of the mandatory dark moment, gearing up to the climax of the story chapter…

Sasuke spends a day confined to his bed as Rin does her best to heal the injuries he sustained in his fight with Sakura. She doesn’t speak to him, instead exuding a judgemental, angry silence that says volumes; Obito has no such qualms.

His older cousin rages at him without end, insulting and castigating and threatening him with violence.

Sasuke tunes it all out, lost in his own thoughts.

His fury has calmed somewhat, enough to offer him a shred of perspective. He can admit to himself that the accusations he made to Sakura were wild and likely unfounded—from the logistical standpoint, malicious deception is not in her nature— but her refusal to stand beside him hurt more than he would like.

It was the final clue that their ill-fated affair could not continue.

He doesn’t regret the confrontation; it was necessary. He can’t afford to see her as his lover any longer, not if he is to succeed in his endeavours.

Because Danzō, for all his spite and vitriol, was right.

Both can’t exist at the same time.

As soon as he has the strength to dismiss Rin and her healings, Sasuke calls together a session of all the remaining vassal clans and Uchiha allies, the infantry and camp-followers. Standing above everybody else and imparting his will is not the station he was prepared for as a child, but he commits himself to it now.

He is quiet as everyone takes their place before him, the air crackling with unease; there’s barely any talking, and even that peters out as he stands before them and begins to speak.

“We have all been fools, allowing this war to continue as long as it has,” he tells coolly. “Misguided notions of seamless harmony. Rivalries across the lines which become friendships but never translate to change. It has dragged this conflict out over the generations.” He waits for this to sink in and then continues. “We have become complacent in this battle, and because of that we have lost much. This will end.” He searches out his cousin’s face in the crowd and adds quietly, “The path to peace is never smooth. Sometimes what is necessary doesn’t always keep our hands clean.”

Obito’s scarred face morphs into an expression of incredulity.

“To end this war, there will be no rest or respite. No mercy. No quarter for traitors,” Sasuke continues. “Our purpose must be to not only bring about the end of the bloodshed, but to replace the system with one that will prevent it from happening again. Even if we must fight to the last man. We will bring this land under one authority, and we will do so as one unit. Now is now a time for division or dissent. Inabi.”

He addresses his other cousin, who has been sharing significant glances with his cronies in the corner, and indicates that he come forward. Frowning at the address, Inabi complies, stepping to the front of the assembly.

“From the beginning, you have been a staunch enemy of the Senju,” Sasuke tells him. “You have fought against them with the same ferocity of our ancestors, and they would no doubt be proud.” Inabi smirks at this, eyes gleaming at the acknowledgement. “This is the world you have fought for—the goal of the utter destruction of the Senju and the Uzumaki. There is no one as determined in the pursuit of this as you.”

“Not one,” Inabi agrees, earning scattered cheers of appreciation from his associates.

“That determination was such that you sought out Danzō after Shisui was killed,” Sasuke goes on, watching his cousin’s face carefully. “And instead of killing him for the murder of your kinsmen and the theft of his eyes, you instead told him how to infiltrate the peace talks.”

There is a ripple of shock amongst the crowd, and Inabi’s smirk freezes on his face.

It’s a suspicion he’s been harbouring since Danzō mentioned traitors among his people, if only because no one expressed as much dismay at the idea of peace as Inabi and his ilk.

“In doing so, you not only betrayed your clan, but put your leader into a situation that resulted in his death.”

Inabi looks around in surprise, panicked, noting the looks of dawning realisation and anger on people’s faces; even some among his own group look scandalised and disgusted, most likely because of his complicity in allowing the thief of a Sharingan to walk free.

“You are about to die,” Sasuke informs him. “You may as well choose how you do it. Denying the truth or running like a coward would be expected, but for once in your godsforsaken life be honest.”

Inabi’s eyes snap to his wife, Yumi, who is watching the proceedings with a cold expression, and he nods.

“Itachi was weak,” he snaps. “He’s not like you and I, Sasuke. He didn’t know what needed to be done.”

“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees. “He didn’t.”

Without warning, he summons a blade of chakra to his hand and shoves it through Inabi’s heart.

His cousin chokes in surprise, blood spraying from his lips and hitting Sasuke’s face. “You…you…!”

His face slackens and he falls to the ground; in the crowd, Yumi emits a noise like she has been punched, but Sasuke ignores her.

“No quarter to traitors,” he repeats, and disperses the electricity as he considers the people watching the spectacle in shock. “Know that this is the fate awaiting anyone whom I discover colluding with the enemy.” His eyes rest on Obito and Rin, and then moves across to Hinata, who stands by her clansmen looking stricken. “Make yourselves ready. The next time we march into battle, it will not be border skirmishes and single-combat. We will lay siege until there is one clear victor.”

And he turns and goes back to his tent.

戦国時代

Of course, things are rarely that simple.

The Senju forces are not as keen on fighting unto their end, and appear to pursue a strategy of retreat. Soon Sasuke forces overrun the traditional territories of the Senju, laying claim to them and hunting the enemy across the vast land beyond their usual borders. But the enemy’s skills in survival are strong.

Periodically, the Uzumaki or Senju will send an envoy attempting to establish peace talks; Sasuke orders them all beheaded and sent back.

Soon, there is no more talk of peace.

The next weeks inch by, turning into months, and Sasuke allows himself to exist only in moments defined by rage, grief and war. He pushes the men onward, through the rainy and wet winter without break. Respite gives the enemy a chance to regroup, and that is unacceptable. The forces of the Uchiha are ordered to burn settlements and villages, anywhere that might supply the enemy with materials of shelter.

There is dissent – Obito and Rin are vocal objectors, despite their continued presence by his side, and even the Hyūga are wary despite honouring their alliance with him. Others who doubt remain silent; Itachi’s death and memory continues to be a motivator, and even those who do not agree with Sasuke’s methods wish to shed blood in recompense.

Some more than others.

During the course of the winter campaign, Sasuke is forced to deal with a badly executed assassination attempt from Inabi’s Yumi, as well as the men who were still loyal to him. In this area Obito is willing to put aside his resentment of Sasuke long enough to help quash it. It was he who advocated destroying Inabi and his followers long before the peace, and Sasuke wonders how the story might have been different if Itachi had allowed it.

Spilling the blood of his own causes him to lose some support among the older generation, to whom blood means everything, but most take it as a warning against mutiny. 

Sasuke never encounters Sakura or Naruto or even Kakashi directly again in the field.

The latter two appear to avoid him for their own reasons—obviously influence by sentiment. Kakashi won’t want to face his best friend in battle, and perhaps Naruto still holds on to enough of that deluded notion that he and Sasuke are friends. As for Sakura…

Once, during a battle that Sasuke surveys from the sidelines, acting the general instead of the foot soldier, he sees her in the distance. While Naruto’s clones form a defensive line to impede Sasuke’s offensive forces, she coordinates an evacuation and retreat. Despite the grey winter and the heavy, cumbersome cloak around her body, she is radiant – hair longer, face glowing and full. Somehow, where the war has made him gaunt and tired, it has caused her to thrive. She looks in his direction, as though she can sense his eyes upon her, but at this distance he doubts she can see him. Still, before she turns away, he doesn’t miss the anguished look on her face.

It’s the last time he sees her, because in the months afterward she is conspicuously absent from the battlefield. Other medics flit through the trenches, but she is nowhere to be found.

A churlish part of him wonders what could possibly keep her from the field, keep her from helping others. She has always cared more for the plight of the unfortunate than her own safety, and if she is so affected by the end if their affair so as to avoid battle, she isn’t the woman he thought she was.

He tells himself he is unbothered by this.

Sasuke grieves and fights endlessly, sometimes taking on entire enemy units on his own. These are groups sent specifically to distract him while the main Senju army flees, and every individual there knows that when his eyes gleam with the Mangekyō that they are not long for the world.

A vicious monotony in his life emerges.

There comes the day when his eyes begin to fail—when blood drips down his cheeks and the world around him blurs painfully. It becomes difficult to ignore the dizziness and weakness when he tries to use his dōjutsu. Rin treats it as best she can, but he knows that without Sakura’s forbidden technique he will not be long for the world.

This doesn’t bother him as it might have once.

戦国時代

Everything changes the day that Hinata disappears.

The alarm is raised in the Hyūga compound one morning, and Sasuke’s presence is demanded. It’s clearly serious if they presume that much, and upon arrival he hears the words “kidnapping” and “treachery” bandied about.

Hiashi clamours for blood, his fury and fear over his daughter’s well-being causing him to lash out at Neji for allowing her to be taken. Sasuke’s comrade cringes on the ground, the mark in his forehead burning into his brain at the command of his clan leader. Hiashi is only stopped from killing the young man when Sasuke intervenes.

“This will not return your daughter,” he tells him blandly. “I have sent a search party.”

“And why are you not leading it?” the leader of the Hyūga demands. “She is your betrothed—though you obviously have lost interest in such things with your military pursuits. You might at least pretend to honour that alliance.”

“Your daughter has shown herself to be a capable warrior,” Sasuke replies. “She has mastered the teachings of your people, even without your attention, and has never been receptive to this betrothal. That you believe someone might have kidnapped her without suffering for the trouble implies you are not only blind, but a fool.”

Hiashi narrows his eyes. “What are you suggesting, boy?”

“He’s saying she left of her own free will,” Hanabi Hyūga says quietly. “And when he said he sent a search party…”

“He meant an assassination detail,” Neji realises darkly, getting gingerly to his feet.

“The punishment for her will be the same as any other traitor,” Sasuke tells them, turning to head back to his own camp. “Be grateful I do not judge your clan on her actions. At least you still have one heir to your main house. The favourite, as I recall…”

Though he cannot sense another’s chakra, he hears the swish of movement through the air, and throws up the ribcage of his Susanoo around him. Inclining his head, he sees Hiashi glowering at him, the veins in his eyes bulging furiously. His hand is broken against the vibrant barrier.

“I won’t judge you on that, either,” Sasuke informs him. “Take the time you need to grieve if you require it. But I expect your forces to be ready at dawn tomorrow when we move out.”

“Uchiha…what the hell are you doing?” Neji asks him quietly as he passes him. “This is not how things are done.”

“Because tradition has always brought happiness?” Sasuke challenges, eyeing Neji’s marked forehead with a frown of disgust.

“If you keep going as you are, it won’t just be assassinations you’ll have to worry about,” the other man warns him. “You’ll have your entire army turn on you.”

Sasuke shrugs and continues walking away.

If that’s what it takes to end this.

戦国時代

A week later, one of the general’s bursts into his tent while he discusses strategy with an ever-reluctant Obito.

“The Hyūga!” the man cries, appearing panicked at the idea of giving Sasuke bad news. “They’re all gone—every sentry within view of their compound has been neutralised.”

Sasuke doesn’t allow his face to betray his feelings on the matter.

“Double the guard shifts and send a unit to follow them. Deserters won’t be tolerated.”

“But my lord—”

“Do it,” Sasuke insists. “And send an envoy to Oto. Without the Hyūga, we will need more men. They can provide that for us.”

“Sasuke, what the hell?” Obito demands. “You know how Itachi felt about Orochimaru. And even without that, trying to pursue the Hyūga as deserters? Even you’re not so foolish as to think that would work?”

Sasuke ignores him and glares at the general. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

The man almost squeaks, and vanishes from the tent.

Obito shakes his head at him.

“You’ve really lost your mind, haven’t you?”

“You would recognise it,” Sasuke responds, and returns his focus to his plans.

In the coming months, he finds new allies to replace those has lost.

With the help of Yakushi Kabuto, a treaty is negotiated with Oto, which furnishes Sasuke with a mighty mercenary force. For the most part they are little more than canon fodder – whenever the fleeing Senju are forced to fight, Naruto appears in droves of fiery clones and decimates them.

Without Neji, he lacks the little social interaction he had before, but he finds a replacement in an unlikely individual—the youngest Hozuki swordsmaster.

Unlike other vassals who fear him or pretend to respect him despite dislike, Suigetsu doesn’t bother with any of this. He follows Sasuke for the opportunity to improve his skills in battle and the possibility of renown. He also has a blunt way of speaking to him that Sasuke appreciates, especially in the face of so many who quiver in fear or disdain.  

At the end of winter, Sasuke begins to cough up blood.

戦国時代

Within weeks of the Hyūga defection, the news is reported of the Hiashi approaching the Senju and declaring a truce. Although they have no power to sue for peace for the overall conflict, not without the Uchiha, they will remain neutral until a final peace can be brokered. It’s a half-hearted attempt to not violate their oaths of alliance any further than they already have.

The Hyūga are the first, but not the last.

Over the course of the year, more and more of Sasuke’s vassals and allies abandon him. Some he catches before the act, and makes grisly examples of them, but more defectors succeed than fail. Soon, all that remain by his side are a handful of fighting men. Jūgo, a giant from Oto with a deadly temper, and Suigetsu, who insists he has nowhere better to be. Then, of course, there are Obito and Rin.

Sasuke knows they are simply there out of duty to Kakashi, but there is a small, barely there shred of himself that relies on their presence in his life.

戦国時代

In early summer, intel reaches them of a massive army of Senju and their allies uniting to fight against Sasuke. Half-blind at this point and beginning to suffer from the same mysterious illness as his brother was in the end, Sasuke makes a decision.

“You have fulfilled your obligation to Kakashi well,” he tells his cousin and his wife one evening. “You said you were here to ensure no one would kill me, regardless of your personal feelings. And there is on one left that I have to worry about. Take your daughter and go.”

Rin bites her lip, torn between the instinct to protect her child and unwillingness to leave someone to face death alone. Obito, on the other hand, considers him with an undecipherable look.

“I didn’t realise what the hell you were doing for the longest time,” he tells him gruffly. “It’s a risky move, little cousin. Your brother would hate it.” The tiniest of smirks appears on his ruined face. “But he would have been proud, I think.”

“We’ll never know for sure.”

Rin seems confused by this interchange, but Obito shakes his head.

“I’ll explain it all one day,” he tells her softly, and motions for her to leave the tent.

“Obito,” Sasuke says just as he reaches for the flap of the tent. His cousin turns back. “It’s of utter importance that you understand. This is not a gift or a mercy on my part. Once you walk away, you cannot return. We will be enemies. And you leave the Uchiha name with you.”

Obito offers him a hard smile. “I can think of worse fates, little cousin.”

戦国時代

Suigetsu and Jūgo refuse to leave him, insisting there’s nowhere else they ought to be, and it’s for this reason alone he allows them to accompany him to the spot that he has chosen to make his last stand.

There is a valley in the heart of the country where the Senju and Uchiha have fought for so long, one spoken of in his family’s scrolls and legends. At its edge, a towering waterfall overlooks land that has been touched by their war for generations; inside there is a cave-shrine known only to a select few.

The shrine behind the falls holds a special significance to him, though he doesn’t speak of it to his last two followers. Instead, he orders them to wait for him at the base of the falls, murmuring that he will fetch them at dawn.

He doubts they believe him, but they leave him to his devices anyhow.

Sasuke scales the cliff, racing up the incline with something akin to the wild abandonment and enjoyment he once felt, enjoying the feel of the wind and spray on his face. At the top of the falls he pauses, looking out on the dark horizon where a vast army of Senju and Uzumaki gather with the allies and vassals that once belonged to him. Warriors and civilians unite together, carrying torches and weapons, all united for one purpose: to destroy him.

Once, he would have been flattered at the notion of an entire army being required to take him down.

Now, he simply smirks in dark amusement, and turns his back upon them. He disappears into the shrine, intending to await his fate in quiet reflection. Incense and the smell of damp earth surround them, bringing with them a sense of finality and calm.

It’s apropos.

He senses Naruto long before he materialises behind him, chakra burning with brightness and warmth.

“Sasuke,” the leader of the Uzumaki says. “Enough. This has to end today.”

“It will,” he replies.

“I’m bringing you back,” Naruto informs him. “I made Sakura a promise, and I will keep it.”

“Promises mean nothing now. It is too late.”

“It’s never too late!”

“Do you know what this place is, Naruto?” Sasuke asks, choosing not to argue with the other man.

Naruto looks around. “Uh…a creepy shrine under a waterfall?”

“This is where the remains of Hagoromo were brought,” Sasuke intones. “Rikudo Sennin. The father of all ninjutsu. The father of Asura and Indra.” Naruto startles, gazing upon the shrine as if with new eyes. “The valley below is where our ancestors fought. Where Madara killed Hashirama, where Mito bound a demon to herself and tore Madara to pieces. This is where our birthright was formed.” He turns to face the other man. “It is fitting that it should be ended here was well.”

“It can end without a fight,” Naruto says, a hint of pleading in his voice. “We can make our peace without fighting. It makes more sense than anything else, you have to see that!”

Sasuke remembers a moonlit conversation far too long ago, and smirks.

“Humans tend to do things that make no sense,” he says, more to himself than Naruto. He unsheathes his sword. “Not that that will be a concern to one of us. Either you die today, or I do. Whoever it is, it is up to the other to ensure it is meaningful.”

“None of this is meaningful!”

“You still don’t understand,” Sasuke says, and summons his Susanoo to throw Naruto through the wall of the cave.

He shoves him through layers and layers of rock and stone, until they break through into the valley. There is a glowing flare of chakra and then Naruto hovers before him, pupils burning orange and form flickering as if on fire.

They each know the other’s moves by rote, after a lifetime of fighting one another. Even with their strongest moves, they are evenly matched—a violet leviathan and a giant nine-tailed fox, battling across the hills and valleys of this land drenched in the blood of their ancestors and countrymen. In the distance, the allied armies watch the battle, ready at any point to throw themselves into the fray should Naruto give the signal.

They are both powerhouses, pushing the limits of their chakra reserves through ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu. When they can no longer draw on this, they balance above the giant waterfalls, their swords drawn and relying on the most basic method of combat.

Their battle feels like it lasts for days, but can’t be more than two or three hours; their blood and sweat soaks the rocks beneath their feet, battle cries making their throats raw.

And then comes the point when something within Sasuke simply gives out. It feels like a tangible snap, as if some unnameable organ has exploded or given out, and he falls to his feet before Naruto.

The blond boy pauses, sword raised, temporarily unable to understand what has just happened. Sasuke is quicker on the uptake—he knows the limits of his body, and the fact that his vision has just given out tells him that he’s shattered those.

He smirks, unseeing. “It seems I’ve lost this fight.”

Naruto pants in reply.

Sasuke straightens up and holds out his arms in invitation. “Strike the final blow.”

“Sasuke—no!”

“If you let me live, you jeopardise the peace and cooperation you desire,” Sasuke tells him, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the idiot’s voice. “I know nothing but warfare and bloodshed.”

“You stupid idiot!” Naruto snarls, lashing out and punching Sasuke in the jaw. His head whips to one side, but he doesn’t react otherwise. “You had a brother, so you knew what it was like to have a family—that’s more than I ever had! You had Obito and Kakashi and Shisui! And you had Neji, who’s a stuck-up dick, but respects you even now! Even that guy with the teeth cares about you! And you had me, because I’ve always been your friend whether you like it or not. All I’ve ever wanted was for that friendship to exist without us constantly trying to kill each other. And…” He trails off for a moment here, inhaling deeply. “And even if you had none of that, it wouldn’t matter, because you had the love of an amazing woman, who would forgive you in a heartbeat if you just abandoned your pride! And you have a…” He hesitates here, like he’s struggling with a word or concept, and finally decides on it. “You have a family, Sasuke. And you didn’t need to fight a war to keep that.”

Sasuke’s eyes burn at this, but he clenches his fists and snorts. “As usual…you see nothing. This was never about me.”

“Bullshit!”

“Danzō was right,” Sasuke tells him. “There can be no peace as long as both the Senju and the Uchiha walk the earth.”

“I don’t get you!” Naruto shouts, furious. “You’re supposed to be a genius, so why can’t you figure out that us fighting will not solve anything?! Half of the decision’s you’ve made this past year, I though were coming from someone else! It’s like you’re trying to get killed—”

His voice cuts off with an audible click, and Sasuke knows that the other man finally understands.

“That’s what it is, isn’t it?” Naruto whispers after a beat; there’s a sound of metal brushing against cloth, like a sword being lowered to one side. “That’s what you’ve been trying to do since that day in your camp.”

“People cannot be trusted to create peace on their own,” Sasuke tells him in a low voice. “They cannot be led to it. They have to want it. They have to fight for it. They need an enemy to unite against. Peace does not unite people. Only the fear and threat of something worse.” He inclines his head in the direction of the people he can no longer see. “They are all here, united behind you. Not the Senju or the Uchiha. A dead last loser of an Uzumaki.” He smirks. “With my death, they’ll look to you for leadership, because you will be the vanquisher of the enemy. And this land will fall under one authority—yours.”

“I—you—that’s...!” Naruto stammers, and the growls. “I will not go down in history as the damned hero who killed you!”

“You have no choice. You must become the one who saves them, as I have accepted becoming the enemy who unites them. Both roles require sacrifice. And I have less to lose than you do.”

“Less to—you idiot! Even if I was capable of killing my friend, Sakura would never forgive me. After everything, she still loves you, and you have a—"

“If you do not kill me, all of this will be for nothing!” Sasuke snarls. “All this suffering, all the death and bloodshed and betrayal—they have to see the old order done away with. Otherwise any peace you contrive will be doomed to fail from the outset. Some things are worth the sacrifice.”

He remembers Itachi throwing himself in front of Sakura.

Naruto is quiet, and Sasuke can sense him stewing angrily in front of him. He imagines him glancing out into the valley where countless men and women watch their battle with baited breath, knowing that victory for either side will irrevocably change the future.

“If I don’t kill you, you’re going to kill yourself, aren’t you?” he asks in a flat tone; Sasuke narrows his own in reply. Naruto snorts. “You manipulative bastard. Even when you’re doing something selfless, you’re still an arrogant prick.”

“And you will always be a halfwit.”

“You should have found a way to speak to Sakura before this. If you knew…you wouldn’t do this…”

“You understand why I have to do this,” Sasuke counters. Then, in a softer voice, he says, “When you see her…tell her it had to be this way. Now she can live in that world she dreamed of.”

Sasuke doesn’t see the blow that will kill him, only feels it rip through him like a razor and his body fly through the air like a ragdoll.

As Naruto’s chakra passes through him, he imagines he can hear a voice—ancient and reedy.

My sons…finally you both understand…sacrifice born of love…

Pain encompasses him, gathering in his chest where Naruto strikes the blow and radiating outward, as if the other man’s chakra is shredding his veins from the inside. His lungs seize and he can no longer breath, but instead of the instinctual, primal panic and need to struggle against impending death, Sasuke relaxes into it.

He smiles up at the sky he can’t see. As the vision fades, he imagines soft hair tickling his cheeks and her damned green eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs to the blackness, or thinks he does. He doesn’t think he’s actually capable of speech any longer. “For everything…up until now.”

His eyes drift shut.

You damned well better be…idiot…

つづく

I know. Sakura was not very present in this chapter. But I think you all know the reason she was conspicuously absent...

And the way I see it, Naruto and Sasuke got their big celebrity death match in the anime. I don’t feel the need to rehash it blow-by-blow here. Also, it was really hard keeping Sasuke detached and vague because he had a big-damn-plan. Uchihas and their martyrdom *sigh*. It’s a good thing we all know how good Team 7 are at following rules, huh? Or else you guys might be doing something silly like panicking right about now…

In any case, I hope you guys liked it 😊

Reviews and constructive criticism are much appreciated! Also, if you are in a supportive mood, I have a ko-fi button at the top of the page, or you can find my tip jar here.

Thanks for your interest in my work!

クリ

Next Chapter

[nekodracones]

The castle-focused Atlas economy: How it’s contributing to Atlas stagnation by rewarding the wrong achievements

When Atlas first launched, it was presented as a high-octane conflict rich battle royale.  Seen here:

The reality is, of course, far less exciting.  While Atlas conflict still occurs in the form of an occasional raid or sniper jaunt and even the rare large-scale castle battle, the average team is unlikely to see any serious castle battles on 5ta castles, or conflicted castle turnovers within a typical month.  (Unless, of course, said castle was poorly manned and an obvious target.  Then you’re just asking for it.)

When asked for an assessment of the above excerpt in the context of our current reality, my friend Titan commented as such:

20:09 Cat I need you to describe this (the photo above) in the context of our current Atlas situation 20:09 Titanium it appears to be describing a much better game than the one we get to play.

Indeed.  But why is reality falling short of expectations such a problem?

...---...

Expectations vs. Reality

It wouldn’t be a problem if PG devs could admit that their Atlas reality falls short of their ideal Atlas and adapt their season ranking method to suit the current state of Atlas.

This is the scoring system for the Lotusbloom Atlas season. (here) A quick read shows that the leaderboard is based on the most valuable 20 castles.  In any competition, something has to be competed for.  This leaderboard reads like it was concocted in an ideal environment where castles are fought over, and the longer a team holds a castle or the number of castles a team conquers within a season are a valuable measure of their competence.   

This is fine...if castle ownership and conquering were actually based on any sane standard metric of performance and activity.

In real Atlas, they are not.  How so?

...---...

1. Basic Economics 101

I’ve spoken to a lot of people in my time playing this game.  A shocking majority of people didn’t even know you got team rewards for completing an Atlas season, beyond a few Cat-triggered realisations that that’s where they got so-and-so portrait from.

Why?  For said majority of the atlas-playing population, said rewards are marginal to the point of being unnoticeable, to the point that for most, there is no incentive to go past 3.6m glory and waste troops fighting for castles.

Here are the rewards for the Lotusbloom Atlas season.  Notice how rewards drop off dramatically after the 26th-50th bracket, arguably even after the 11th-25th bracket.  Don’t forget that such highly-ranked teams are likely to home players who probably won’t even notice such insubstantial rewards for completing a three-month long season.

When your competition rewards are irrelevant for 95%+ of your atlas population, they’re badly scaled and you probably shouldn’t be surprised when your competition ends up being irrelevant and ignored.

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2. Shooting Yourself in The Foot to Kill a Fly

The following mechanic was intended to encourage conflict and incentivise getting one over your opponents via retaining castles all while conquering theirs, but in reality, this actually backfires.

Given how difficult and costly conquering castles actually is, it’s better to sequester yourself away on castles and maintain peace with your neighbours once you have the castles you want, to prevent getting attacked.  Conflict isn’t rewarded enough to risk a conquer; when infrastructure bonuses are far more significant than any benefits the paltry Atlas season prizes (for most teams) could provide.

Below rank 25, there’s also no reason for teams to make conquer attempts on rivals’ castles in order to reduce their victory point potential, as it is unlikely to put them into a new bracket on the leaderboard, to get more prizes.

All in all, this mechanic just reads like a cruel, ironic joke in the context of how Atlas really is.

...---...

3. We came, We saw, We (did not) conquer

Conquering castles is an extremely costly time and troop investment.  With the existence of mega alliances, any given team has a limited number of viable castles that could be conquer targets, and it’s perhaps more costly than PG might expect to conquer a single castle. To expand on this, as part of a mega alliance, teams within the same mega alliance are socially contracted to not target each others’ castles, even though they may be vulnerable, or strategically easy conquers.  This reduces attractive conquer targets for individual teams drastically.

On top of this, mega alliances tend to send lots of teams to defend castles from conquer; the better positioned the contested castle, the more teams are summoned.  This is a point that has been belaboured multiple times in multiple channels, so I won’t expound too much on it: hitting ten times and only having one hit land is not fun.   Castle conquers are not fun.

Furthermore, the work needed to conquer castles is not worth any advancement made in team prizes unless you’re on the brink of the next bracket, which is...again, a marginal increase in prizes.  Season ranking honestly only really matters to the people already at the top (within the top 25 ranks), and at that level you probably already got all the castles you wanted in previous seasons and decided that further advancement via conquer wasn’t worth it.  Don’t forget how a majority of the people ahead of you are from your very own alliance, and you can’t conquer from them.

Social factors aren’t fully PG’s fault, but it’s irresponsible for season design to not consider these factors’ effects on player behaviour.

...---...

4. One Atlas Season, Disguised as Many

Castle ownership isn’t reset between seasons, and the churn is so low that it makes no sense to pretend that we expect any changes to the castle ownership-based leaderboard in each season.

Before some of you pick up your pitchforks and run me through for blaspheming and suggesting seasonal Atlas resets (which is an entire different discussion that has seen a lot of sane discourse on both sides, and deserves a whole series of posts)- that’s not what I’m saying.

Without touching the issue of whether castles should be a resource that carries over between seasons, it makes little sense to me to award discrete seasonal rewards for achievements made in past seasons that carry over into new ones, with such a low loss rate that basically all most teams need to do is ‘don’t fuck up’.

If you’re not doing much beyond maintenance work between and during seasons, and possibly expending less effort on expanding and maintaining your territories as compared to smaller teams that actually see significant/insignificant changes to their real estate holdings within a season, should you really be rewarded prizes that are tens of times as valuable?

(Cue the pitchfork mob coming @ me to tell me how much they worked for whatever castles they have.  Sure.  That’s a whole other debate, and I’m not going down that hole yet.)

Point being, the static nature of a team’s castle holdings throughout different seasons make them a poor metric as an assessment of seasonal ‘team performance’, and trying to pass them off as a good ranking system for discrete seasons is a Bad Idea.

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5. Easy Lies the Head that Wears the Crown

Last but not least, we must consider how alliance plays a big part in terms of the castles teams have the ability to hold.  Amongst the 25 teams on the castle ownership-based leaderboard, PaleHorseRider is the only longtime non-Dread Friendly team.  (EXITIUM/ theMovement is politically relatively new on the scene, and the ownership of castles involved with them are still shifting, so let’s not talk about them yet)

Before this season, all the teams that were on the top 25 leaderboard were Dread-friendly teams.  We can probably thank(?) theMovement for PHR’s move up the ranks.

By virtue of having a stronger alliance behind them, Dread Friendly teams are less likely to lose their castles as it is more risky for opposing teams to make conquer attempts on them.  Conversely, it is more attractive for their stronger alliance to go after attractive castles that teams with weaker alliances own. Certainly PG devs could argue that this is intended.  But to what extent does PG want heavily influential social factors to play into a team’s individual leaderboard ranking, which one could argue should mainly be a measure of a team’s individual competence, performance, and activity within a season?

Just as PG’s castle ownership-based season scoring system assumes the setting of PG’s ideal Atlas world, is that same ideal Atlas world as heavily influenced and bound down by politics as the reality of the game we actually play is?

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6. Ships of Theseus

If one were to gradually repair a ship and replace every single component of it as time passed, would the ship with all parts replaced still be the same ship?  Similarly, if one were to replace members on a team as time wore on, would the team, with a majority of players replaced, still be the same team?

Castles, however, follow teams, not individual players.  Would a mostly-replaced team with a wealth of inherited castles truly deserve the seasonal rewards that said castles would grant them, when the goal of each season should arguably be to reward competence, high performance, and high activity in teams?

When you use a castle ownership-based seasonal ranking, how do you differentiate grandfathered advantage from true competence?

You don’t.

You choose a better metric to measure seasonal competence by.

...---...

Data Analysis: Elementary, my Dear Watson

Let’s take a look at the Atlas seasonal team rankings from past seasons.

It’s been the same since the first Atlas season, and these results could have been predicted long before the first season was even announced.  You may notice that this ranking also matches the current influence ranking.

I’ve made a point about how the castle ownership-based leaderboard seems like a single season arbitrarily divided and rewarded as many.  Arguably, the castle ownership-based leaderboard assumes that gaining and keeping castles = activity, so, as a general guideline, these top teams’ castle holdings should align with their all time troop kills, no?

In the format: Influence. TeamName [ ATK / ATK rank ] 1. DREADNOUGHT [ 2.21B / 1 ] 2. LethalDescent [ 1.96B / 2 ] 3. JAPANeeeeZE [ 1.02B / 19 ]

Clearly these are all top teams who have consistently performed well since the release of Atlas.  While I regrettably have no way to obtain the full season’s worth of data on these teams, let’s check out their monthly troop kills.

In the format: Influence. TeamName [ MTK / MTK rank ] 1. DREADNOUGHT [ 45.7M / 5 ] 2. LethalDescent [ 22.8M / 105 ] 3. JAPANeeeeZE [ 33.2M / 32 ]

This is unfortunately less valuable data than the last set.  As it’s the last month of the Atlas season, most players on top teams have finished their seasons and wound down their Atlas activity, having most likely finished it within the first month, specifically within the first two weeks of double glory.

(This is actually indicative of another problem within the Atlas season, this one about personal glory- there’s very little incentive to go past 3.6m glory; the atlas chest return on troops is paltry.  This is another factor that has discouraged conflict this season- it’s more worth it to save for the next season than make an attempt to change one’s team Atlas ranking by attempting to conquer castles for the reasons provided above.)

While the data comparison above doesn’t really prove anything beyond proof that atlas seasons are really a sham and it’s just all one season arbitrarily chopped up into three-month durations, the following data will hopefully demonstrate how the castle ownership-based season structure fails to reward high-performing high-activity teams for high seasonal activity.

In the format: Influence. TeamName [ MTK / MTK rank ] [ ATK / ATK rank ] 22. PaleHorseRider [ 40.0M / 14 ] [ 1.40B / 8 ] 27. RoyalRoad [ 31.4M / 39 ] [ 1.51B / 7 ] 30. ButWeAreBetter [ 39.7M / 15 ] [ 1.71B / 3 ] 46. ProjectGhost [ 33.3M / 31 ] [ 0.56B / 73 ] 71. ANGELSnDEM0NS [ 66.2M / 1 ] [ 1.25B / 10 ] 113. WarEnforcers [ 64.5M / 2 ] [ 1.05B / 18 ] 346. UnitedinHonor  [ 32.0M / 35 ] [ 0.46B / 110 ]

The first three entries are the three non-Dread teams with the highest power ranks in the game.  One may notice that while they’re well ranked and comparable to LD, Dread, and NeeeeZE both in terms of monthly and all times troops killed (they’re consistent!) their influence ranks are significantly lower than teams higher-ranked than them on the seasonal leaderboard that have killed fewer troops in both areas.  Is this truly fair?

As the largest team in Arachnid, ProjectGhost holds their own troop-kill wise and surpasses many teams on the seasonal leaderboard.  Their all time kills are lower; they seem to have come into their own niche more recently.  Nevertheless, their influence ranks are similarly noticeably poorer than lower-performing Dread Friendly teams.  On top of this, the juxtaposition of their ATK vs their MTK highlights how teams can adapt and change and increase their performance seasonally instead of simply maintaining the same standards throughout their Atlas careers.

ANGELSnDEM0NS and WarEnforcers make for an interesting comparative case study.  The former is a Sine Nomine team, arguably the crown jewel in the Dread Friendly empire of alliances.  The latter is a founding team of the Libertas alliance, a semi-independent anti-Dread alliance.  They beat out 70 and 110 higher-influence ranked teams respectively to rank as the top and runner-up in terms of troops killed this month so far.  In terms of all time kills, both are ranked higher than a majority of teams occupying the top 25 seasonal leaderboard.  Clearly both teams have been demonstrating consistent, long term high-performance atlas activity, and yet both of them are comparatively low on the seasonal leaderboards.  It’s also interesting to note the disparity in team influence, which can probably at least be partially attributed to their political allegiances.  I can’t definitively speak for why either team never chose to attempt to break into higher ranks, with their activity, but I suspect that their reasons are varied, can probably be derived from my previous points, and will likely culminate in the conclusion that the effort just isn’t worth it.

Finally, UnitedinHonor is personally a fascinating team to me.  At rank 346, if the seasonal leaderboard was an accurate judge of a team’s activity, one would expect their performance to be solidly middle-of-the-pack.  Instead, they come in at rank 35 on the monthly kills leaderboard and 110 on the all time kills leaderboard, which puts them ahead of certain teams on the seasonal leaderboard itself.  This is no small feat for a platinum team with a lower power rank.  Additionally, noting the lower comparative ATK, we can make an assumption that this team has come into its own more recently, which would easily explain why they don’t have as many castles- they likely haven’t been prominent for a long enough time to receive gifted castles, as many higher influence-ranked teams have.

Of course, all these specific analyses are pure conjecture.  I cannot pretend to understand fully every team’s situation, but I will suggest that these stats shed a light on the veracity of my points.  These teams’ individual situations and positions on the seasonal leaderboard can all at least be partially attributed to a few of the points I’ve made in this post.

If PG would be willing to consider using a better metric to measure team competence, performance, and activity next season, I’ll be a happy Cat.

[zenosanalytic]

Reply-Reply to Shonasof: Discovering Klingons

shonasof replied to your post: DS9: Political Writings III: Worf

It’s still a HELL of a lot more interesting that what Discovery is doing to the Klingons.    

Who knows what this is in response to given how comments work these days, but I really don’t see Discovery as contrary to what I was arguing. Rather, I see it as “getting it” in a way 90s Trek never really managed to(TOS can be excused since those were totally different Klingons who were more expys of Earthican colonialist powers or, occasionally, the USSR than a weird, vaguely defined, imperial space-feudalism). Discovery runs with the 90s Trek concept of “Houses” and the implications of it, which is basically what I’m also doing. This is Long :| :| :|

In ep 2 of Discovery we see heads of 7 Great Houses respond to T’Kuvma’s summon to face a threat to “The Empire”. But the thing is, there is no real “Empire” to speak of. An “Empire” is a polity with a unitary leadership or rule, and the Klingons lack a central government. Rather, the Klingon “Empire” is a corporate(meaning made of smaller autonomous bits, not “a business”) entity made up of a few large Corporate governments, the Great Houses, plus hundreds or thousands of smaller corporate governments(the not-Great Houses) of varying size and importance contained within or allied with those Great Houses, all fighting one another over that “Empire”, as a territory, in pursuit of their own interests. That’s was a “Feudal” society is. If one could unite all the Houses behind them, then it would become an Empire in the functional sense, and that’s obviously what Kol is attempting to do.

T’Kuvma also tries to unite the Houses into a true Empire again, but his attempt is not a self-aggrandizing one that exploits the feudal logic of the House system to make himself overlord(as Kol’s does with his passing out of cloaking technology to proven loyalists, and poaching of feudatories), but rather one that seeks to route around its tendency towards internal conflict through an appeal to shared cultural values and a shared external enemy(sort of like The Church and The Crusades). Which makes sense, considering that their “First Contact” was the Hur’q conquering and plundering Qo’noS, then hightailing it with troves of Klingon artifacts and natural resources(an Era possibly reminiscent of 70s Heavy Metal apocalyptic sci-fi-fantasy album-covers. We just Can’t Know u_u). That experience would tend to make a culture pretty hostile to and suspicious of outsiders, and rallying insiders around attacking outsiders a significant cultural trope. Casting the Fed -an ideologically anti-militaristic alliance of prosperous, loot-rich worlds- as that enemy is particularly effective as it also appeals to the more mercenary aspects of Fedual systems. “Feudal Obligation” as a concept can be boiled down, 7 times out of 10, to the promise “If you kill and rob people who I tell you to, I’ll give you a cut of their stuff”. This leads to what you might call “plunder economies”: a person becomes a lord by promising, and successfully delivering, wealth to others(being a “ring-giver”, in the explicit parlance of Beowulf) then must continuing delivering wealth to maintain that loyalty, necessitating more raiding, plundering and -whenever land and the people to work it become vital or commercial resources- eventually conquest. Plunder economies are, as a structural matter and by definition, expansionary, internecine, and aggressive; looting outsiders when a strong center is present to prevent internal conflict, and looting each other(along with everyone else) when one isn’t.

Discovery takes this feudal dynamic seriously and explores it. For instance, this is why Kol could so easily gain the loyalty of Voq’s followers. Voq couldn’t defend T’Kuvma, couldn’t even feed his followers, let alone give them plunder and wealth, and Kol could. By the terms of political morality a feudal society like that of the Klingons operated under, Voq failed T’Kuvma as a follower by not keeping him alive, and failed his surviving followers as a lord by not providing even the basics of food, drink, and a safe place to sleep. Kol could and did, so they switched to following him instead. There’d have been little or any internal moral sanction on their parts about this; it wasn’t a betrayal to them he deserved to be abandoned. Kol’s snide comment to Voq on his return about his followers switching their loyalty for such paltry food isn’t an insult to them for the ease with which they were won; it’s an insult to Voq for his inability to provide as a Lord should.

What’s particularly cool here to me, though, is that Discovery doesn’t treat the Klingons as a flat culture with just a single moral philosophy; T’Kuvma’s House existed within the Klingon system, but it was built around loyalty to a political, spiritual, and moral philosophy which sought to transcend the feudal House system and its worldview through the cult of Kahless and the more egalitarian ideals of his myth. Thus Voq’s refusal to scavenge from the Fed ships. Scavenging is the obvious choice by the Klingon political/warrior morality of the Houses -if you’re strong enough to take something you should- but an impossible one by the equally Klingon spiritual/ethical morality which T’Kuvma preached, and which Voq favors. So, too, Voq’s inability to see Kol’s approaching and obvious betrayal; Voq and Kol are operating in two Klingon -but different- moral universes, and what appears “impossible” and “inconceivable” to do and remain Honorable to Voq appears obvious, necessary, justified, Victorious(and thus Honorable) to Kol. This is a sort of cultural complexity 90s Trek rarely allowed, and even more rarely explored, in non-Fed, non-Human cultures. Ironically, Worf seems, in retrospect, more like a T’Kuvmaite than most Klingons(minus the extreme Klingon Chauvinism) -emphasizing the universal aspects of Khaless’s life and teachings, and a personal ethic of Honor inspired by his example, rather than the practical Warrior’s life most Klingons we see prefer- and for that he’s called “Unklingon” throughout the 90s Trek Era.

So how does this relate to the House of Mogh? In 90s Trek what we see is an Empire in the sense that a central government’s pronouncements are generally recognized throughout a set territory, but structurally it is an Aristocratic, Feudal Democracy: A High Council of the Great Houses rules the Empire, led by a Chancellor elected by the council from among its members. That, during the Civil War, Kurn brought ships to Gowron’s cause, and could just as easily take them away again, shows that the Houses(and, very likely, Houseless captains who have proven themselves able providers to their followers) provide the ships and soldiers which defend the Empire, rather than being granted ships from a central Imperial Fleet. That Grelka’s House was put under direct economic strain by the Cardassian War suggests that Houses not only provide the ships and soldiers but maintain and supply them(none of the fighting happened in Klingon territory, so the strain only could have come from war costs), rather than having them supplied through a centralized military bureaucracy[1]. When the House of Duras rebels against the rightfully elected Chancellor Gowron, the majority of Klingon ships and troops follow them into rebellion, showing that Feudal obligation and connection carries greater importance in Klingon politics and society than loyalty to the central “Empire”[2].

Obvsl, the writing in the shows is simply convenient to whatever story the writers and showrunners want to tell. Luckily we, as fans, have the luxury of getting to pretend it’s supposed to have internal consistency, and try to imagine it into a form we like that does(which is to say: we get to make it convenient to our own storytelling) >:] So, assuming that Klingon concepts of Honor and morality are just as Feudal as the evidence suggests for their political structure, I figured that Worf’s second Discommendation wouldn’t be as clear-cut as DS9 presents it. Gowron is feudal lord to both Worf and Kurn. Worf, as an individual, refuses to join the invasion on the basis of his Duty to the Federation. He took an Oath to the Federation, Feudal relations are based on Oaths, forsaking an Oath would dishonor him, so he refuses to, and people living in a Feudal system would Get that. Kurn, living within the Empire and bearing no complicating Obligation to the Federation, joins the war-effort and takes his House into the war. Gowron, to punish Worf for his choice, discommendates the whole House. Discommendating Worf alone he could probably get away with(there are other cultural reasons I think that ought to be difficult, but this is all hc anyway so whatever), but doing so to Kurn, a member of the High Council and life-long warrior with friends throughout the Fleet, and the whole House of Mogh, one of the richer and more important in the Empire since the Civil War, would violate his Obligation as Lord to them as Feudatories, and without either having even come close to violating their Obligations to him.

Such punishments aren’t unheard of in Feudal systems, but usually they exist in more centralized ones where military power is concentrated around the Executive, whatever they’re called,  making it easier to destroy Houses that have fallen out of favor. When the military is directly controlled by and loyal to the Nobility, and only loaned to the Central government, that makes forcibly dissolving their Houses much more difficult(and usually impossible unless they’re widely hated or very small). In the more distributed and corporate Aristocratic state that the Klingons have, it’d have not only generated ill-will(because if he can do it to them, two of his oldest allies and the House that saved him in the Civil War, then he can do it to Anybody), it’d have been seen as foolish(and it’d be questionable that the House of Mogh would just accept it lying down to begin with). The thing about overlords is that very few people are usually personally loyal and obligated to them. Rather, people are loyal and obligated to them second-hand, through the upper-nobility who choose to follow them. So the majority of Gowron’s powerbase would be in his support among the Great Houses; not necessarily in his own House, and certainly not in his office. Impoverishing, dishonoring, and exiling form the Empire a House(and its feudatories) that was such a significant part of his powerbase, naturally shaming their allies and infuriating their admirers in the bargain, would have looked, politically, like him cutting off his own foot and sticking the stump in an anthill. Even those Houses with grudges against the House of Mogh(for instance, Duras loyalists) would have thought less of Gowron for weakening himself so massively and unnecessarily over the decision of one man, who is a pretty unconventional Klingon living within the Federation anyway.

Like: Imagine what would happen politically in the US if Bernie Sanders were declared a traitor, had all his property seized, and was exiled from the US for opposing a war with Iran. Then imagine how that would go down if he trained, equipped, and led a sizeable portion of the US Army(many of whom grew up under Bernie’s political and social patronage), owned large stakes in many US firms, and personally managed numerous US cities. Now imagine a Democratic President doing that and what it’d do to the Party’s voter base. That’s the sort of situation Gowron is creating for himself by discommendating Kurn and Worf, and DS9 treats it like it’s nothing because things are easier that way. As someone with an Inveterate interest in politics, I think that’s boring.

And Gowron’s power rests on him being seen as smart and savvy. A consistent part of his characterization since his first ep in TNG has been that he’s a political animal and outsider, not really accepted by the Great Houses, and too much of a plotter and deal-maker, too indirect and ambiguous, for the liking of the Klingon aristocracy. So starting a war by weakening his internal position, alienating his friends, and making himself appear foolish before his enemies, in a society where promotion in most walks of life is handled by killing the person ahead of you for their incompetence, would be a very Bad Look for him.

[1]It’s possible these were exactions which then went to such a central bureaucracy, but that would still mean the central government cannot extract resources directly, but instead must extract them through the Houses, meaning the Klingon economy would still be, structurally, Feudal in character.

[2]and possibly that “The Empire” and the central government aren’t considered synonymous in Klingon culture. Given the mythic quality of Kahless, how inseparable he is from “The Empire”, and the way “loyal to the Emperor” is used even when no Emperor exists, making it more of a saying seeming to mean “a good Klingon”, this could very well be the case. “The Empire” could just be a sort of nebulous geonational concept: basically “Klingon Space”. Sort of like “Christendom”.

[supercoolgamesstuff-blog]

Building Stronger Communities - Game Informer

Introduction Ever play an online game and feel your blood pressure rise over complete frustration with poor sportsmanship, or even worse felt your anxiety spike due to harassment and bullying taking place right before your eyes? A game is only as strong as the community that supports it, but what happens when a few bad apples disrupt the flow and prevent others from having fun? Most gamers have a story where they’ve experienced griefing or team-killing, or even worse had another player verbally insult them in a way that goes well beyond “trash talk.” In fact, a recent study by anti-bullying organization Ditch the Label reported that 57 percent of the young people it surveyed experienced bullying online while playing games; even more alarming was 22 percent said it caused them to stop playing. Instead of drawing people to games, are more people turning away from them due to these unpleasant social interactions? Negative experiences playing games online aren’t anything new; you can go back to the earlier days of commercial MMORPGs, such as EverQuest and Ultima Online, and find plenty of examples of these scenarios. A common perception among gamers has been it just comes with the territory if you want to play online, but that doesn’t make it okay. Playing games should bring people together, and as gamers, we all know how powerful these experiences can be. Nobody should have to tolerate hate speech or threats to their safety to simply engage with their hobby online. This issue has only continued to heat up as more games are evolving and becoming online-centric. The extra emphasis on their social aspects has forced developers to get creative to help encourage players to “play nice.” With more initiatives and efforts in this area, we chatted with leaders across the industry, from developers figuring out solutions to companies that specialize in moderation, to gain insight into the ever-growing and complex issue.

Riot has experimented with many different design tactics to address disruptions in League of Legends It's About Disruption

It’s About Disruption

The word “toxic” seems to go hand-in-hand with online gaming and has been used as a way to describe problematic, negative players who go out of their way to make the experience unpleasant for others. Maybe it’s a player who’s purposely throwing a match in Dota 2, or spamming insults in League of Legends’ chat to make someone feel bad about their skills. This is what many developers consider “disruptive behavior” and is the preferred term when discussing these types of individuals. No matter the phrasing, it still all comes down to one thing: They are getting in the way of how the game is meant to be experienced. Every developer we spoke to for this feature commented on this specifically and why it’s a bummer. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to make playing their games a fun, happy experience because that’s why people go to play these games – they want to have a fun time,” says Overwatch principal designer Scott Mercer. This also extends to keeping players invested in a gaming experience. If something doesn’t feel fun or pleasant, why stick around? Dave McCarthy, head of operations at Xbox, puts forth a simple comparison to illustrate how important it is that these digital landscapes feel safe and protected: “I just think it’s as simple as, ‘Would you walk into a physical space, anywhere where you face harassment, or are made to feel unwelcome by certain imagery or language that’s used there?’ No, of course you wouldn’t; you get out of that space physically. And the same is true for the digital space.”

Overwatch When players log into games, they look for the social norms to get an idea of what’s acceptable. Is it a more laid back, jokey atmosphere? Is it composed of serious competitors wanting to get down to business? That’s why it’s extremely important the tone is set early in games and services. Chris Priebe, founder and CEO of Two Hat Security, a company that provides moderation tools, says that a community’s identity forms on day one and that’s why it’s so important for those behind the games to build and inform the culture. “When people launch a game, they need to be thinking about, ‘How am I building the community and putting people in the community?’ I think too often in the game industry it’s just, ‘Launch it and the culture will form itself.’” Priebe discussed how oftentimes moderation and chat features are thought about far too late in development, without much consideration going into how to shape the community. He compared it to hosting a party and how it takes shape once you set the tone. “If you don’t set a tone, it can go very, very poorly,” Priebe says. “That’s why people have bouncers at the front door. Somehow with games, we don’t think we need to put bouncers at the front door, and we wonder why things go so terribly wrong.” While this might seem discouraging, in more recent years. Priebe says he has seen an increased effort going into changing this. People across the industry are working hard to find answers, whether that’s more transparent guidelines, better moderation tools, or designing solutions within the game. However, it all comes with time and experience, using the community as a testing ground.

Blizzard most recently introduced role queue to help bypass team composition disputes in Overwatch

The Fair Play Alliance’s Mission

As developers seek solutions, it’s become apparent that collaboration is going to be a huge tool moving forward. Here’s where The Fair Play Alliance, a global coalition of game companies, plans to “unlock the best possible online experiences for players everywhere.” Over 120 companies are represented with a great mix of key players around the industry, such as Blizzard, Mixer, Roblox, and Epic Games. “The Alliance is about driving lasting change for game design” says co-founder Carlos Figueiredo, who also is the director of community safety and trust at Two Hat Security. With an eye toward making games more “positive and productive experiences,” The Fair Play Alliance is in place to detect problems before they snowball. “Something people can miss is the way you design your game can be conducive to the experience,” Figueiredo says. “The environment in the game can influence negative behavior. This is at the very top mind of the Alliance … if you really think about game design and how it can be used to facilitate and foster those positive interactions.” The goal is to better understand the needs of players and how to ensure online games are a positive experience for everyone.” For more information, visit fairplayalliance.org. The Learning Process

The Learning Process

The more people we spoke to about this topic, the more it was clear how complicated and difficult of an issue it is. Most companies are experimenting with different features or tools to see what works, and some are even still deciding where to draw the line between “okay” and “not okay.” “It turns out that calling something toxic is difficult to design for,” says Weszt Hart, head of player dynamics at Riot Games. “It’s difficult to make decisions on, because it’s so subjective. What’s toxic to you might not be toxic to somebody else. Trash talk could be for some people considered toxic, but for others, that’s just what we do with our friends.” Working on League of Legends, a team-based game that earned quite a reputation for its toxic community, Hart says it was challenging for the team to figure out where to focus to mitigate these issues. To figure out what the community considered “good” and “bad,” Riot presented the now-defunct Tribunal, where players logged in and reviewed cases, deciding if an offender should be disciplined or pardoned. After this, Riot tried encouraging more positive interactions by rolling out the honor system, a way to give your teammate kudos if you thought they did a good job. “But then we realized that all of those systems were after-the-fact, they were all after the games,” Hart explains. “They weren’t helping to avoid potential transgressions. We needed to identify where the problems were actually happening, maybe even before games.”

Rainbow Six Seige Enter team builder. “Team builder was looking at addressing, I suppose a way to put it is, a shortcoming of our design,” Hart says. “Because as the community evolved, the concept of a meta evolved with it. Players started telling us how to play and the system wasn’t recognizing their intent, so in an effort to play the way they wanted to play, they were essentially yelling out in chat the role that they wanted. We needed to find a way to help the system, help players play the way they wanted.” Riot created team builder for matches to start out on a better note, as a way to decrease players entering matches already frustrated, which often just increased the chance of negative interactions. While Riot isn’t the first to deal with players treating each other poorly, the influence of its systems can be seen around the industry. Take Blizzard’s cooperative shooter Overwatch, for example. Overwatch launched back in 2016, and while being considered one of the more positive communities, it dealt with its share of problem players, which game director Jeff Kaplan often had to address in his developer update videos. Kaplan finally put it bluntly: “Our highest-level philosophy is, if you are a bad person doing bad things in Overwatch, we don’t want you in Overwatch.” Since launch, Overwatch has received several improvements to the game: better reporting tools, an endorsement system encouraging positivity, and most recently, role queue, which took away the extra frustration and bickering that often erupted over team composition. The latter two are very reminiscent of League’s honor system and team builder. Overwatch is far from Blizzard’s first foray into the world of online gaming, so the team anticipated some issues, but it also charted new territory. “I don’t think we were expecting exactly the sort of behavior that happened after launch,” says senior producer Andrew Boyd. “I know that there were a lot of new things for us to deal with. I think this is one of the first games where we’re really dealing with voice as an integrated part of the game, and that changed the landscape a lot. That said, when we saw it, obviously, addressing those issues became very important to us very quickly, and we started to take steps to make the game a better place for folks.” While developers can try to catch potential issues ahead of time, most of the time they really don’t expose themselves until the game is up and running. Ubisoft Montreal experienced this first-hand with Rainbow Six Siege, forcing the company to crack down on bad behavior and get creative with its solutions. A player behavior team was created to “focus on promoting the behaviors we hope to see in the game,” says community developer Karen Lee. It’s here that the team worked on Reverse Friendly Fire (RFF) system to help with team-killing. “RFF was first concepted to help contain the impact of players abusing the game’s friendly fire mechanic,” Lee says.

Rainbow Six Siege’s developer updates openly discuss toxicity and the solutions going forward RFF makes it so if you attempt to harm an ally, the damage reverses straight back to you. Since then, Ubisoft has iterated on it to ensure it works on all the different operators and their gadgets. Now, before any new operators go live, the player-behavior team reviews it, trying to determine all the ways they could be used unintentionally by the community to cause griefing. “We also have weekly and monthly reports that go out to the entire team,” Lee explains. “These help everyone gauge the health of the community, and we highlight the top concerns from the week.” Many different game companies and organizations have been coming together to share ideas and work toward change. Even though developers have learned much of what works and what doesn’t, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, as all games are different, whether it’s the audience or genre. “The problem space is too big to look at any particular feature, and say, ‘This is how you do it,’” Hart says. “There aren’t best practices yet for what we’re calling player dynamics, which is the field of design for player-to-player interactions and motivations. Depending on your game and your genre, some things may work better than others.”

EA community team senior director Adam Tanielian speaks at the Building Healthy Communities Summit at this year’s EA Play

Streaming, Gaming, And Mixer’s Example

Mixer has become a big force in the streaming world, which was only amplified by a partnership with Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who has now amassed over 1 million followers on the platform. Gaming and streaming are so intertwined that it’s a big part of how people discover games nowadays. That means the needs of moderation are only increasing in these areas both for streamers and their viewers. Mixer came onto the scene back in 2016 when it was called Beam, and it has taken a stance against toxicity and vowed to improve tools to help combat it. The entire tone of Mixer has been much more friendly and inviting than its competitors. General manager Chad Gibson thinks it comes down to Mixer’s focus on community from day one and thinking about ways to foster it. “If there was one thing that’s probably had the most profound impact, it’s been transparency and consistency,” he says. This means making the rules of what’s acceptable as clear as possible and constantly striving to improve upon that. Mixer just recently launched a new system called Toxicity Screen, which allows streamers to determine the words and type of communication that is allowed in their chat. Streamers can also fine-tune it to be more restrictive to new members and loosen it for longtime viewers they’ve built a trust with. “It’s important for us to give the streamers the ability and the tools to foster the type of growth they want,” Gibson explains. Gibson thinks Mixer openly speaking out against toxicity has only helped it achieve the community it wants to foster. “We want it to be really clear what is allowed on the platform, and the more we can be consistent about this, the better our streamers can help push their community in that direction as well.” Putting The Power In The Community

Putting The Power In The Community

Building healthier communities doesn’t just fall on the developers and publishers. Sure, designing different mechanics and improving moderation tools are steps in the right direction, but they also need the community’s help to be successful. It makes sense. The people that play your game make it what it is and know it the best. That’s why more and more developers and companies are depending on their communities to give feedback and self-moderate by reporting bad player behavior. “Everyone needs to be involved,” Priebe says. “The gamers need to say, ‘Look, I’m sick of this.’” Priebe was quick to point out that he thinks most gamers already feel this way but feels more need to put their foot down and be vocal to help shift the culture. “It will take some gamers to say, ‘No, that isn’t cool. You can’t be in our guild unless you have good sportsmanship,’” he says. Many believe the community should be just as involved with the process as they are when giving feedback on games for betas. “We need to work with our players and say, ‘What do you guys think?’ The same way we do when we develop our games,” says EA community team senior director Adam Tanielian. “We think the same idea should apply to our communities. How do we keep them healthy? And how do we build tools?” EA recently held a summit devoted to building healthier communities to start getting feedback from gamers and devs alike. Born from this was a “player council,” which Tanielian says meets regularly and is similar to the ones they have for their various franchises, but this focuses on feedback for tools, policies, and how EA should categorize toxicity. “We know that we have to take action,” Tanielian says. “We can’t just talk about it and not do something. Some things take longer than others, but there are always things we can be doing. There are always areas that we can be addressing.”

Most platforms have parental settings, like the Xbox One (pictured here), to give parents some control over their child’s online experience Many people we chatted with discussed how easy-to-use reporting tools have been essential, but players need to be encouraged to use them. If they’re hard to find, require players to visit a website, or are needlessly complex, developers and moderators simply won’t get the valuable information they need. Reporting also helps developers learn what the community values. “The community itself is sort of driving what’s good and what’s not great for it in terms of communication, in terms of that play experience,” Mercer says. “I think the most important thing about the reporting is it’s a way for the community to help police itself, to help determine amongst itself what they find acceptable or not.” Players often feel more encouraged to report if they know it’s facilitating change. Sure, giving players the ability to mute or block players that rub them the wrong way helps, but once the Overwatch team started following up on reports and letting the players know action was taken, they noticed it led to an increase in reporting. “That was important, reaching out and building that trust,” Mercer says. “Saying, ‘Hey, as a member of the Overwatch community, you are part of the solution to dealing with issues of players acting poorly within a game.’”

Xbox allows players to search for others with similar goals so they can team up in games While self-moderation has certainly been key to helping get problem players out of games, Microsoft saw an opportunity to take it one step further. For those who just want to play or converse with like-minded individuals, Microsoft created the “clubs” feature (online meeting spaces) on Xbox One, where people with similar values, interests, and goals can come together. McCarthy says Microsoft has seen great success in this area. “We discovered the strong communities are not only ones where you provide kind of a safe space and a set of norms, but they’re also the ones where they get some degree of self-governance,” he explains. Microsoft has also used clubs as a testing ground for new moderation features, which McCarthy says are in the works. A long-term goal for Xbox is to give you more choices and tools in how you play. “What I mean is put the dials and sliders ultimately in your hands so that you could decide, ‘Hey, I want to filter out stuff that is detected as harassing-type messages,’ or I’ll be silly, like, ‘I want to filter out the word ‘peanut butter’ and never see the word peanut butter again.’ You could customize down to whatever level you felt was appropriate as a user.” Involving the community and putting moderation tools in their hands is a step in the right direction, and it’s encouraging to see more companies put forth ways for the community to help. After all, this is too big of an issue to be tackled alone, and it will only grow in complexity as games continue to get bigger and are turning more and more into social activities. Building A Better Future

Building A Better Future

The industry doesn’t get better if it’s not constantly finding new solutions, and many companies are realizing that more needs to be done as our technology grows. “This needs to be a solved problem,” Priebe says. “Because games are more and more voice-driven, especially as you need collaboration more than ever. People are realizing that if you have social games, that’s where your friends are.” While game developers are still behind in this area, there is plenty of hope for the future. “What we are facing in gaming is more of a cultural shift over the last 10 years ... and it is on us to react more quickly than we have in the past to stay ahead of the curve,” says Rainbow Six Siege community developer Craig Robinson. “Right now, we are playing catch-up, and that’s not where we need to be in order to get toxicity under control. I expect for there to be a ton of improvements over the next 5-10 years across the industry, especially with the various publishers and developers sharing their learnings and insights through the Fair Play Alliance.”

Minecraft, the best-selling game of all time, is available across 20 different platforms, making community moderators and parental controls essential And plenty of people tackling this issue have already been thinking ahead. Right now, we’ve depended largely on reactive measures to moderate people. The problem with that is it’s after the fact, as in the damage is already done. Many have an eye toward being more proactive, which means trying to anticipate problems before they happen, whether that’s designing to combat them or depending more on filters and A.I. “I think one of the biggest challenges is being stuck in the ways we’ve done things before,” Hart says. “We have the social needs increasing for players online; we need to think of our games differently. We need to be much more proactive. If we wait to have a game to be thinking about how people may interact with each other within that game, we’re already behind because then we have to retrofit systems onto an existing game as opposed to proactively designing to reduce disruption and to help produce those successful interactions. A short way of putting it is we need to move from punitive to proactive.” What’s encouraging is that technology is only going to get better, and many feel optimistic that A.I. will be a great asset in moderation going forward. “A.I. is something that could really be a difference-maker with regards to how we’re able to moderate and how we’re able to enforce its scale across the community,” Tanielian says. Companies like Microsoft have already been investing in this area by trying to get as much data as possible to ensure the A.I. is accurate. “There’s actually goodness in those models getting trained more and more by more data,” McCarthy says. “As an example, we’ve done something called ‘photo DNA’ at Microsoft, where we tag certain images and we actually share that database with a large range of other companies. This is where I think collaboration is actually really important in the industry. Because if we can start to share some of these models and learning, then they get more sophisticated and accurate, and they actually can help a larger range of users overall. That’s just something we have to keep chipping away at: How do we utilize powerful technology like that in the right way? And to get it trained broadly across the industry to do the things we want it to do?” These are big questions, but they’re the ones we can’t afford to leave unsolved, as we’re spending more and more time in these online spaces. Read the full article

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Forming An Alliance Part 5- Bellamy Blake x Reader

(GIF credit to owner)

Masterlist

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 6

Summary: (Y/N) is finding it hard to face Bellamy after he tortured the grounder. A lot of people notice the change in her behaviour too. The 100 soon find out that a big change is about to come their way which may either save them or kill them.

Meanings: (Y/N)= Your name

Characters: Bellamy Blake x Reader, Clarke Griffin x Reader (platonic), Raven Reyes x Reader (platonic), Finn Collins x Reader (platonic)

Warnings: Arguments, little sad

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey, (Y/N), did you hear about…oh, sorry.” Chris entered the tent as Bellamy and I embraced each other, jumping away once we heard a voice.

“I should get going.” Bellamy nervously laughed.

“Yeah, I’ll see you in the morning.” I smiled before he walked out of the tent.

Chris turned to me smirking.

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“Oh really?” he knew that this was going to get on my nerves.“It seems that our leader may have a soft spot for the clumsy cleaning lady.”

“I’m not just someone who cleans after everyone.” I snapped suddenly.

“Sorry…” Chris realised what impact his words had on me.“Anyway did you hear about what happened in the dropship?”

“I was in there, Chris.” I mumbled as I slipped off my jacket.

“Really!? What was it like?”

“Horrible.”

“What’s with the short answers? Are you annoyed that I interrupted your session with your one true love?”

I stopped undoing the laces on my boots.“Chris, I’m not in the mood.”

He was silent for a few seconds and I actually thought he had stopped. “(Y/N)?”

I groaned.“What?”

“You would tell me if something was happening between you and someone else wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would. Which is why I’ve not said anything about Bellamy.” I got under the covers, trying to stop the conversation.

“Just checking. And you never know,” he also slipped under the covers with me,“it could happen.”

“Goodnight, Chris.”

“Goodnight.”

“…..are you sure you weren’t escalating to something back there?”

“SHUT UP!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The camp seemed a bit tense the next day. We were still picking up the mess that the storm left behind, delaying the other tasks that needed to be completed. But everyone had found out about what happened to the Grounder, some thinking that it was a bad idea to keep him here for much longer. Though I had forgiven Bellamy, his actions were still fresh in my mind, it even prevented me from a decent nights sleep. He had really scared me as I had never seen him that way plus someone was tortured right in front of my eyes, even if it was just another grounder.

As I neared the dropship, I saw Bellamy who was talking with Clarke, his eyes glancing over at me. We stared at each other for a few seconds before I broke away, carrying the box of scraps left over from the storm. I felt a little bit of tension but tried to brush it off.

“Hi guys.” I sighed as I entered the tent that Monty and Jasper were in.

They wanted all pieces of scraps found given to them to see if we could make any use out of them.

“Hey, just put the box next to the others.” Monty instructed, not looking up from a piece of metal.

Bending down to place it in the corner, I felt a strain in my back, especially when I straightened up again. A groan came out as I stood up, Monty and Jasper looking at me questionably.

“Are you alright?” Jasper asked.

“Yeah, I just,” I took a deep breath which just made it worse,“hurt my back.”

“Has Clarke checked it?”

“No, it’s not serious.”

“Have you looked at it?”

“Uh, no.”

“How did you hurt it?”

“What’s with all the questions?” I left it at that and exited the tent.

 As I rushed out of the tent, I bumped into someone knocking me over. I stood back up quickly, pulling my top down which had slipped up. I craned my neck up to see Bellamy, a look of shock on his face.

“Sorry for getting in your way.” I mumbled before trying to run away. He grabbed my upper arm guiding me behind some of the tents and out of everyone’s sight.

“Turn around.” he demanded. I did so and felt his hands pull up my shirt. I jumped away, wondering what the hell he was doing.“Relax, I just want to see your back.”

“What? Why is there something wrong?” I panicked turning back around.

I felt him lift it up.“I did this.”

“Did what?” I tried to turn my body to see it but it just caused pain.

“You’ve got a huge black bruise on your lower back.”

“It was an accident, we’ve been over this.” I sighed tugging down on the shirt and getting ready to leave.

“You’ve not even looked at me today. What the hell happened about last night?”

“Why are you making such a big thing about this? I’m injured, you didn’t mean to harm me, I’ve already forgiven you, end of story.”

“You’re afraid of me.”

He knew I was right when I kept silent.

“You know that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you-”

“Of course I do! But you did hurt me. I’m going to lay down for a bit, don’t let anyone disturb me.” I stormed away before he could say anything else.

                  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a small nap, I woke up to a lot of noise. I was still drowsy but tried to get up as quickly as possible. It didn’t sound like arguing or if we were under attack but there was still a lot of shouting, laughing and…singing? I groaned as I stood up, the pain in my back still being there but I pushed through it, it was only a bruise.

It was a little darker now, it would probably be time to start making dinner. As I walked outside I saw the others stumbling about the place, each doing different things. They seemed to be out of it, as if they were on drugs or something. A light tap on my back forced me to turn around, where I saw Jasper holding a stick.

“Jasper, what are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m making sure the grounders don’t get in.”

“With a stick?”

“It’s an anti-grounder stick, Octavia gave it to me.”

“(Y/N)!” I heard Raven’s voice.

“Do you have any idea what’s happening?” I asked as I approached her.

“You know the jobi nuts we collected?”

“Yeah?”

“Turns out they cause hallucinations. That’s what all of this is.” she gestured her arms out to the scene around us.

“Do you think it’ll wear off?”

“We can only hope.”

“Hey, I’ve destroyed what was left of the jobi nuts.” Finn suddenly appeared.

“You are supposed to be resting.” I pointed out but smiled at the sight of my friend looking well.

“But we seem to have a problem.”

“What else is going on?”

He glanced between Raven and I.“Octavia helped the grounder escape.”

“She did what!?” Raven fumed.

“She is going to be in so much trouble when she gets back.” I sighed.

“But the grounder said that everyone will be fine. The jobi nuts should wear off.”

Raven went wide eyed.“You talked to him?”

Finn looked sheepish.

“You let him go. How could you let him go!?”

“Guys, let’s just calm down, ok? We need to keep an eye on everyone else, they could end up hurting themselves.”

It was another hour or so before everyone finally began to get back to their normal selves. They all complained about having headaches or feeling sick; we were relieved it was nothing worse. Raven, Finn and I explained what had happened, warning them that if they came across any more jobi nuts that they were not to be eaten. Suddenly Miller stared to shout above the chatter.

“The grounder, he’s escaped!”

Everyone started to panic. I couldn’t blame them. What if he came back with more reinforcements? Surely he owed Octavia now? Especially after she saved his life.

“They’re gonna come back to attack!” another person shouted out.

“Let the grounders come.” Bellamy’s voice silenced the place as he and Clarke emerged from the crowd, carrying a number of bags with them.“We’ve been afraid of the grounders for too long. And why? Because of their knives and spears? I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being afraid.”

They both lowered the bags onto the ground and it was clear to see that they were guns.

“These are weapons,” Clarke spoke,“ok, not toys. And we have to be prepared to give them up to the guard when the dropship comes. But until then, they’re gonna help keep us safe.”

“And there’s plenty more where these came from. Tomorrow we start training, and if the grounders come we’re gonna be ready to fight.”

                     *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey, (Y/N)?” I heard Clarke call me as I finished cleaning some cutlery.

“Yeah?” I replied, drying my hands on my trousers.

“Bellamy said that you’re injured and that he thinks I should check it out.”

“It’s literally just a bruise. He’s so dramatic.”

“Are you ok? Like, not physically but ever since Bellamy and I came back you’ve been really tense and snappy.”

I sighed, slowly getting back up again and cursing the pain in my back.“I don’t think the guns are a good idea.”

“What? Why not?”

“It’s going to initiate a war.”

“That’s what the grounders want.”

“Not on purpose. Think about it Clarke, some strange people have just landed in their territory after hundreds of years of being at peace. Don’t you think they are going to be a little bit defensive? They want to protect their people as much as ours.”

“Are you siding with them now?”

“Of course not. But you can see why they’re doing this.”

“I know I just don’t want to give them any sympathy.”

“I’m going to be awful, Clarke. I’m going to get myself killed.” I suddenly started crying.

“What do you mean?”

I sighed and looked down at the ground.“With training. You’ve seen me, I trip over thin air, I drop everything and I….I’m terrified Clarke.”

When I looked back up, I saw Bellamy instead of Clarke.“A majority of us don’t have experience with a gun or even fighting. We’re all in the same boat here.”

“What if we can’t get it in time? What if the grounders come back, what if they come back tomorrow!?”

“(Y/N), look at me.” he grabbed onto my shoulders, trying to get me to stop talking.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t want anyone getting hurt. Why can’t everything just be so-”

Apparently the only way he could shut me up was by kissing me.