#ugh i can rant about it a bunch i just really like the story of ror and smoothing it over to make it marketable™️ just feels like such

[cupcakepirate123]

Gearbox announcing both that there will be new DLC for RoR2 AND leaking a shitty cashgrab RoR knockoff mobile game is giving me whiplash

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Changed Future (3) : Yandere Isekai

Part 2

The parents of the protagonist were shunned by their child because of their violence and nonchalance about the practices of the higher echelon of society

Apparently, their love story wasn’t that different than the one that started with Haruko

Except that a small punishment went much further than not eating a day or two

They were much bloodier 

Much more similar to the rivals who suffered before their untimely deaths

The parents were now seemingly more in love than anything

But the cracks were there

And the protagonist was front and center for all of it

But ultimately they ran away, declining their inheritance and their parent’s wealth to succeed

Unfortunately, though it seems they’ve come to reenter their—now your life 

As though Haruko, Det.Cape, and CEO Revmere weren’t enough

“Dearest baby-child of mine~ who is this?”

“I’m Haruko–” “Shhh no stop it!” “-their lover.”

“Finally we get to meet you, they were always so elusive when they swooped in and swept you away.”

“Crazy thing about that little darling (Y/n) we too have let our new addition have some new freedoms as well. Say hi Beattle!”

“Uh hello n-nice to finally meet you.”

If there’s anything that you match with the original protagonist it’s their disgust and annoyance with their family

Their parents love story was a lot more violent when it came to ‘breaking’ the other in 

You couldn’t recall which one did what but even with meeting them now

You can tell they’re just….off

“Honey, you have something on your face! Let me lick it off!”

“Oh really then you should have something so that I lick it off too!”

“You vixen, you remind me of that one time when your covered in blood and you licked me then too.”

“Awww remember when I shot you and I licked the bullet hole.”

“Oh my gosh! Stop it!”

“Yes, please tone it down.”

If the newly arrived parents isn’t worse enough there's the new additions

“I have a lot to learn before I can truly be a part of your family but I hope we get along.”

“Right….did they kidnap you?”

“Wow! Really straightforward! They did say you were incredibly bright!”

“So they did…if you want I can call the police.”

“No! No! I’m here willingly…now.”

“Right.”

“And I hope you’ll accept your new brothers!” 

“What?!”

Could this insane author squeeze any more yanderified tropes in this story!?!!?

“Poor (Y/n) you look exhausted. Did Haruko give you a hard time leaving?”

“Not this time…it’s my…family.”

“Oh my.”

“They’ve brought their insane relationship at the worst time. I’m trying to fix myself and be better and then they just–”

“Shhh, you're safe here (Y/n)...I know you said as your ex-employer we really shouldn’t have any other relationship but I think we’re bound to be much closer.”

“What?”

“The point is you can stay here to avoid your family for as long as you like.”

“Thanks? Revmere.”

“Please call me, Filip.”

“Okay…Filip.”

The mess of it all leaves you exhausted 

And easy to manipulate

Usually with isekais the whole power of it is that you can see outside the story

Minimize characters' feelings and break it down as nothing but plot

But you're stressed 

Every which way you’ll find that a yandere is there trying to capitalize

And eventually, it’s just a matter of who can tone it down first

Naturally, that’s Revmere er Filip 

Who has the space and security to invite you someplace without the others following

And between his time as a negotiator and as someone who worked closely with the protagonist he’s perfect at talking everyone down

You just need someone to rant to and he’s perfect for it

Bashing down everyone who you call out even if he agrees

“Can you believe it?! When I finally get my parents to settle like a bunch of babies, Haruko demands we do something intimate!”

“Unbelievable, he’s such a pervert.”

“Right?! What weirdo sees that oddball freaking couple and thinks ‘maybe this is the night you let me take it farther than kissing!’ Ugh!!!”

“Like can he keep his hands to himself.”

If he were in his position–roommate? Ex-boyfriend? Tenant? (You literally won’t tell him)--he’d want to get to go far past that

But that’s just him

For now, he’ll settle to wine and dine you while you become a frequent visitor at his

It’s so easy  for Filip to offer your fifth glass of decade-aged wine and catch your falling body against his

He’s just fighting with himself about putting you in the satin pajamas he has your initials on (of course changed to include his own)

But he reminds himself to take it slow, after all, he does have the best chance at getting your heart

“You know I’d love to offer some insight on (Y/n)’s situation, maybe with my guidance you can help reunite the family.”

“I-I’d love to hear it! This Haruko is okay but I think my…partners are worried about if he can properly take care of them. Like they took care of me.”

“Well, I hope we can both provide some… much-needed insight.”

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

Remember that scene from episode 7, when Aemond tries to approach Jace on Driftmark, looking like he is about to offer his condolences but at the same time knows he shouldn't because even Jace can't acknowledge his real father? And Jace looks somewhat annoyed and Aemond leaves, then Jace glances at Aegon who is already in his cups and doesn't even notice him? There were no scenes like that in season 2. Short but meaningful, the scenes that reveal so much about the characters involved. We have Aemond who even after being mocked by his nephews still can sympathise with them in a way and the two (Aemond/Jace) can give us a 'what if' moment that creates the ultimate fallout more tragic. Then we have Jace who obviously is interested more in Aegon as a ringleader, an older boy he looks up to, and yet, it's Aemond, the boy he mocks for not having a dragon, the one who approaches him. These kind of scenes are important for the character building and also for making a stronger emotional impact on the audience when it comes to the fate of the mentioned characters. S2 had none of this and destroyed and undid whatever s1 built character and story-wise. Aemond's and Alicent's characters suffered the most, no doubt, but it was bad in general.

Also, in the balcony scene it's obvious how helaena and aemond have a great chemistry and it just made me even more mad because they had so little screentime together in both seasons. Same goes for Aegond. It's criminal they had zero good scenes , save for that one in e6 that is just used to not so subtly remind us that Aemond is a sadist. Also, why wouldn't Aemond just finish Aegon off because as long as he lives, Aemond is not safe? The answer: in the book he obviously didn't try to kill him at RR and therefore wouldn't want to kill him in the aftermath either, but these idiots just needed their shitty change to all of the sudden make Aemond a one dimensional villain, make Aegon as pitiful as possible and to show how terrible and dysfunctional the greens are as a family. However, they couldn't just kill Aegon off so early and that's why they attempted to fix their stupid plothole with that scene when Aemond threatens him. Like, what?? I'm supposed to believe that was enough for Aegon to shut up for weeks and then just leave? Nah. There were bunch of similar idiocies through the whole season and I'm sure that something seriously went wrong between s1 and 2 because the drop in quality is jarring. I'm not saying s1 was that great, but this one was abysmal. Probably Miguel leaving was one of the main reasons, but whatever it was, this season will remain a great example of what not to do when you make a TV show. I just feel sorry for the lost potential and also for the people who are planning to watch s3 because, unless you're a die hard tb stan with zero critical thinking skills, I can't see the appeal.

Ugh, I hope this rant makes sense 😅

Hello, and thank you for the ask!

You're making a very good point. Season 1 was by no means perfect; but there was at least some if not love then genuine investment in the story and the characters from the showrunners - one could feel that at least occasionally. I guess it really came from Sapochnik's end because Condal clearly couldn't care less. The show used to have a soul - and now it feels empty. And, as it has been proven time and time again through the entirety of cinematic history, it is virtually impossible to create a truly good film or TV show if you don't give a damn about its essence.

I saw some people calling season 2 "a trailer for season 3" - because of how underwhelming and lacking in substance it turned out to be, I assume. To me it feels like something in between a trailer for the things to come and a recap of an actual season that was filmed but not shown to us for some reason. Pretty much everything feels superficial - even the dragged out scenes supposedly added for symbolism purposes or whatnot. The relationships between the characters are underdeveloped at best, destroyed at most (for example, chemistry between Green siblings' actors is utterly wasted indeed); some plot points make no sense; quite a few characters seem to have got a personality transplant in between the seasons.

Actually, I can understand why people, even TG fans would still be willing to watch season 3 (some for Aegon and Larys storyline, some for Alysmond - whatever form it takes, some for other reasons which could be many). As for me though - at the risk of sounding too dramatic - I had too much heart poured into this show and got hurt too badly by what it has become to even think of continuing to watch it without feeling sick. At least, for now.

[starsurface]

Can you please do Nightwolf caregiver headcanons?? I haven't seen a single agere post with him yet 😭

I love Nightwolf!! He'd made an AMAZING CG, fr!

Also on the side note: I do not know much about Native American culture, so if I do get any of these either incorrect or ‘eeeeeeeeh’ tell me and I'll make sure to change or alter them!!!

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

CG Nightwolf Hcs

🐺 OH MY GOSH THIS MAN WOULD BE AN AMAZING CAREGIVER AND I WILL FOREVER STAND BY THAT

🐺 Would be amazing with ANY age, fr

🐺 Tiny soft baby? Oh my goodness of course!! Wrapping you up in soft furs, rocks you gently

🐺 Toddler that just likes sitting around, watching cartoons and coloring? Cartoons might not be entirely his thing, but of course he'd love to watch an episode or 17 with you!!

🐺 Excited kid that likes running around and doing things? He's all up for some tag and arts and crafts!!

🐺 Emo or Moody preteen? He use to have a emo phase back in middle school too, what's your favorite band? Do you wanna share eyeliner secrets?

🐺 ^ If your not Moody preteen (i really project on that sometimes), he still likes hanging out with you. Whether its gossiping over making those kanji (?) bracelets or letting you rant about your favorite current thing in the entire world

🐺 Adores pet regressors!!! Playing tug-in-war with a puppy, letting a kitty curl up on his lap, finding yummy treats for a bunny, etc etc

🐺 Will highly encourage you to spend some time outside with him

🐺 Outside is good for you!! Plus you can go on a nice walk, or play hopscotch, or sit on his lap and play with the grass or whatever toys you brought

🐺 If you can't handle outside for whatever reason, such as sensitivity to grass or lightness sensitivity, he is very understanding and won't force you outside

🐺 Even five minutes is good for him, but if you really can't or just don't wanna, he will never force you to

🐺 If you do like going outside, that's great!! But if your too fearful about going outside because your small and someone might judge or see, he'll make sure to find secluded spots like the Motako Woods or Fujin's Temple Garden

🐺 If Nightwolf is busy hell most likely leave you with Fujin because thats who he trusts the most

🐺 Off topic, Fujin would so spoil you if Nightwolf dropped you off to him (he's gotta keep the fun Uncle title!! Otherwise he might get the Grandpa title, like Raiden!! 😨)

🐺 I feel like he'd make you wooden toys, hand crafted

🐺 I don't know a ton about Native culture, but I know there's a BUNCH of really cool stories/legends!!

🐺 He'd love story time, sharing one's passed down from his Mama and Auntie

🐺 He doesn't mind reading from a book either, but does prefer legends passed down

🐺 Favorite CG nicknames would be Nighty Wolf (I dunno why, but it sounds cute), Cloudy (based off his true name), Papa, Bubba, and any other one you wanna call him

🐺 His favorite nicknames for you would be Little One, Young One, Cuddle Bug, Moonlight, Starlight, Baby Bear, and more

🐺 Although truly his favorite nicknames for you are your favorite nicknames because you perk up at them and have the biggest smile and ugh- His heart!! 🥺

🐺 He's a stickler for the rules though >:/

🐺 Doesn't like seeing you pout and whine but will put his foot down on very certain rules (if you use your acting skills and tear up a bit you can get past half of them)

🐺 Not a health nut, but does give you mostly healthy snacks . . . >:(

🐺 But if you ask for it, he'll give you a piece of candy on the side, he's not that mean

🐺 Doesn't let you eat too many sweets though, tries to explain that it's not the best and you might get a tummy ache

🐺 (Although one look of ‘🥺’ and he'll probably crack)

🐺 The most he's ever done for punishments is the naughty corner, and that's only if you've hurt someone or did something really, really bad

🐺 Firmly believes in talking about what you did and how to fix it

🐺 Doesn't ever yell but he has this stern voice that you know your testing his limits

🐺 And he knows it's a scary stern voice (will only use it if he must must)

🐺 Any boo-boos you have get a band-aid and a kiss, you don't have much arguing room

🐺 (^ Also kisses make everything better anyways 🥺)

🐺 On the topic of band-aids, if you have a favorite show or something, he'll try his hardest to find band-aids with that specific design!!

🐺 Really likes cuddle time because it's time to relax and he can ‘protect you’

🐺 Man has big arms, feels like he's protecting you whenever you two hug

🐺 If you ask for permission and he grants it, he'll let you play with his hair

🐺 But you must use soft hands!! No tugging whatsoever pretty please

🐺 He'd love to do hairstyles on you though!! Even if its a super complicated, he'll try his hardest to do it perfect!!!

🐺 If you babble when regressed, most of his reply are ‘Hm?’ or ‘Is that so?’ but his tone is always very gentle and loving

🐺 Feels like the type of CG that if you place something in his hands, unless it's trash that he'll throw away, he'll hold it until you need it again (even if you already forgot and two hours went by)

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Y'all there were so many amazing gifs for Windwolf. Also like 97% of Nightwolf gifs have Fujin in them??

I love this man, he's so Dad coded. 🥺

[autism-purgatory]

Soulsborne fandom rant (More specifically how the fandom is talking about the DLC)

Ngl seeing people go “Ugh I can never trust fromsoft again this ruined the game for me. Ugh it’s so lazy and shock bait-y and ugh he’s a horrible writer now. I’m refunding the game, boycott fromsoft.” makes me never want to engage in anything soulsborne fandom related again. If you think someone making ONE bad thing makes their writing objectively irredeemably bad then i don’t trust you with consuming or analyzing anything. Soulsborne games (ESPECIALLY dlcs) have always had wacky shit and somehow this is the breaking point? Now people call it bad writing all of a sudden? Yet again another side effect of more “normal” people entering the fandom after how mainstream Elden Ring got (these people would not survive og Demon’s Souls). And if it’s such a big deal, write a damn AU! Write a fanfic, even if it’s bad, just have fun! Why are people surprised that their theories were wrong and not all questions were answered? Why can’t people accept they got stuff wrong and move on and improve their theorizing with the new info they have? Why are people on the internet in indefinite denial about being wrong sometimes?

I think Fromsoft fucked up with the ending likely due to pressure from dudebros wanting a harder Radahn rematch. Fromsoft messed up, and that’s ok. Even the greatest artists have their stinkers, but instead of throwing a tantrum and saying they are irredeemably horrible and boycotting them over a story decision, I’m going to accept it and hope they improve like they always do. Demons souls had a bunch of flaws, and dark souls fixed some, then dark souls 2 fixed some, then dark souls 3 fixed some. Fromsoft has been refining this formula for years now, some silly dlc won’t make it all fall apart. I just think gamers TM have become so jaded (they always have been tbh). I’m going to continue having fun with the DLC, because other than the ending I think it’s fucking incredible.

Or this could all just be bullshit leaks and I did this all for nothing, but that would be really funny.

[siriuslysatorusimping]

WHO FALLS FIRST?? GOJO OR RINKO!!!! Thanks for all the hard work we have all been so blessed by the consistent updates and the detailed answers it’s such a privilege!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHH

First off, hi sweet Anon and thank you for your question!!

I've been spending literally all my free time writing and my friends have been asking where I've been 💀💀 But this story is just too much fun to write to resist!

Answer is below the cut as always 😊

Read Another Level on AO3 :)

SUCH A GOOD FUCKING QUESTION BECAUSE WHO THE FUCK DOES FALL FIRST?

Sweet Anon, you made me really think hard for this one.

Because honestly? Who does fall first?

My first instinct is to say Gojo, but this isn't as straightforward as it may seem.

UGH okay here we go I'm gonna rant and breakdown a bunch of shit you guys probably don't care about...

Who falls first?

I think Gojo has already tripped and face-planted by the time we get to New Memories, tbh. If we take a teeny look at this lil bit:

A small smile was on his lips as he approached her. “What are you doing here?” He shrugged, kneeling next to her. “I remembered you saying you used to spend your birthday with your mom.” He wiped the tears from her face. “So, I thought you could probably use a distraction. When you weren’t home, I figured you’d be here.”

And this bit:

His small smile while he listened to her, chin resting against his palm with his elbow on the table, brought her to reality and she took a deep breath. “Sorry,” she said, suddenly uncomfortable. “You’re probably tired of hearing about-” “I asked, didn’t I?” he reminded her, his face shifting when he noticed her withdrawing. “Rinko-chan-”

And this bit:

He stood slowly, pulling her from her seat with a small grin. “Satoru?” “Hmm?” he hummed as they walked out, his arm around her waist. His eyes were shining behind his sunglasses, a small, surprised smile on his lips. “What’s up, Rinko-chan?” “Thank you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and grinned at her. “Anytime.”

After dinner, how he has planned to take the bullet train with her back to Kyoto just so she doesn't have to ride alone, and then go back to Tokyo with zero expectations of anything. He had zero intention of staying over until she asked him to. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we know Gojo feels something for Rinko. Because you just don't do those kinds of things for someone you don't feel anything for.

And let's just talk about the sex they have before he leaves the next morning for a second. It's so fucking soft and you can just tell he's looking at her differently than he has during sex in the past.

BUT at the same time, this boy is fucking CLUELESS and he doesn't even realize what he feels. Because he's had so few friends in the past, he's kinda just assuming this is how it's supposed to be with friends because he's fucking stupid. lol

Rinko realizes pretty early on that she could fall in love with him very easily because of how he acts, so she essentially forces herself to pack everything away that could be interpreted romantically. By the time we reach canon (2017ish) she'll know she's likely in love with him, but she has accepted that they'll never be more than they already are.

SO short answer? MOST LIKELY Gojo lol

Who says it first though? GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE 👀👀👀

[eisforeidolon]

https://www.tumblr.com/eisforeidolon/718435014496354304/sure-you-can-interpret-deans-sexuality-however

I was literally called biphobic by a heller because I said in canon Dean is straight. She squalled about how she’s bi and Dean is so special to her because he is just like her, and just because he doesn’t act on his attraction to me it doesn’t mean he can’t be bi.

Like, bish please, he says he doesn’t swing that way specifically at least twice, and in other words a bunch more times. Dean. Says. He. Is. Only. Into. Women.

Also, another person on this same forum chipped in with suggesting not using the word canon because it’s triggering. 👀. Only if you hate the text of the story. 🙄

It really isn’t a difficult concept to grasp. And, for real, like whatever you want and ship your little heart out, but stop screaming how it’s canon when it isn’t, and how if you don’t support it you’re a bigot. It’s insane.

Also, you noting how he could tick a box and they’d still explain it away. Well, on the hook-up App his profile says “interested in: women.” What do they do? Photo-shop it to say men!

Ugh!!

Sorry for the rant, but I feel you on your frustration with this.

I'm sorry you had to put up with that, anon. I was a multishipper until I got pissed off at all the posts shouting you had to be a homophobe to think canon detestiel wasn't a thing, but at least it wasn't done on a personal level.

Oh, man, I just find that kind of bizarre projected overattachment-as-interpretation so fucking weird and off-putting. "I'm bisexual and I see myself in Dean, so Dean must be bisexual! I was abused as a child and John reminds me of my abuser, so John must have canonically done X type of abuse!" As if any character is remotely relatable to you then they have to be exactly like you/your experiences in all the details? What an absolutely bizarre and myopically self-centered way to engage with fiction. Like, with a perspective like that do you get that other people than you exist and have different experiences, even when they might have some things in common, too? Just ... IDGI and I don't want to.

I also just can't with the idea that the word canon is triggering. I ... can't. As if it hurts you that there's a source material that doesn't match the fantasies you made up in your head instead?! What.

Again, yeah, the problem isn't the ship at all. It's that they can't just stay in their lane and be remotely normal about it - trying to insist it's canon despite the actual canon because [giant pile of horseshit, projection, stereotypes, and wishing reallll hard] and insisting anyone who refuses to play along with their make-believe must be a bigot. I don't care if people ship a ship I personally can't stand anymore, I care when they're fucking delusional flaming assholes about it.

And don't even get me started on how they wail about being queerbaited and then do shit like photoshopping that screenshot to say men to quite possibly actually queerbait other fans into believing it's legit canon. Ugh.

[neonmetro]

HAI....SO LIKE,, OPINIONS ON MAHOU SHOJO.......... PERSONALLY IM A DIE HARD FOR IT

I've been into it since I was like 5. My parents have videos of me dancing to the music of like Precure and stuff....WHICH IS LOWKEY EMBARRASSING BUT WHATEVER

Favorite Magical Girls series 👀👀

I personally REALLY like Precure, madoka magica, and card captor sakura, and tokyo mew mew ( BUT OBVIOUSLY MORE ) I WOULD LOVEEEE TO HERE YOU RANT ABOUT YOUR LOVE FOR IT 💞💞💞💞💞💞

-Paris anon

I LOVE MAHOU SHOUJO!!!!!!!!!! i have SO MANY THOUGHTS ON IT YOU HAVE NO IDEAAA!!!!

it's so good. the tropes are so funny and endearing (the running to school toast thing is the most iconic thing ever) and its SO NICE TO HAVE A BOTH EPISODIC YET CONTINUOUS STORY LINE... I LOVE MAGICAL GIRL OUTFITS ITS PEAK I FEAR

i grew up on shit like sailor moon (good lord this changed the trajectory of my life forever), kitchen princess, pichi pichi pitch mermaid melody, and shugo chara (oh my god i am obsessed with shugo chara you have no idea) so um. so far my favorite is sailor moon + shugo chara but i really have to watch utena and cardcaptor ... those will probably make it on top

SAILOR MOON'S CHARACTER DESIGN/DRESSES ARE GENUINELY SOOOO AGUGHGHGHG i love the inbetween pages for mahou shoujo especially like. naoko takeuchi's fashion sense is genuinely peak (like i said i love her dresses especially)

i don't really remember all that much about kitchen princess? but it was cute i liked the food and how much the main character liked hokkaido and flan but i also read it out of order bc UGH OTHER people want to read it TOO (art style is so cute though augh)

PICHI PICHI PITCH LEGIT SHAPED MY ENTIRE CHILDHOOD EXCEPT IT WAS JUST THE FIRST VOLUME BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW PIRATING EXISTED AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO GET MORE VOLUMES SO I JUST REREAD THE FIRST VOLUME OVER AND OVER AND OVER i got the book at like a bookstore used and it was just peak to me at the time (i tried going back to it. genuinely cannot get past it now i fear)

shugo chara.

FUCK I AM SO OBSESSED WITH SHUGO CHARA THE CONCEPT OF EGGS AND HOW HAVING YOUR DREAM EGG BROKEN AND LEAVING YOU BROKEN IS SO DEVASTATING AMU IS A LITERAL 5TH GRADER AND SHE GOES THROUGH ALL THIS SHIT i love you utau peach pit cannot make me hate her. her arc of having her talent abused because she's just that desperate to save her brother is so devastating, AND TADASE. MY GOAT. MY KING. YOU CAN RULE THE WORLD I BELIEVE IN YOU SEKAII ITEEE his arc is also just so bad. his grandma dies. his dog dies. his adoptive siblings leave him. now he wants to rule the world so everyone in the world can be happy because he will carry their burdens FOR THEM FUCK ITS ALL JUST SO GOOD!!!!

its definitely one of the mangas i can actually go back on and read it it holds up so well and the art style is just so cute (they got a new reboot and it was AWESOME UNTIL THAT FUCKING CAT BOY SHOWED UP (unfortunately sometimes mahou shoujo is just connected with that cringe))

I STILL NEED TO WATCH PRECURE, CARDCAPTOR, AND TOKYO MEW MEW (shields my face as i'm getting tomatoes thrown at me) I KNOW I KNOW I'M SORRY

I DO HAVE A LOT OF PRECURE TOYS FROM WHEN MY MOM WENT TO JAPAN AND BOUGHT THEM FOR ME... plus a bunch of magazines i loved shifting through when i was a kid

i also did watch precure glitter force and that was. uh. well it was interesting. (um. i mean it was. partially good. i. i liked the character designs and art.)

i did watch princess tutu and that was just so fucking good. i love fairy tales and i love toxic lesbianism and some empty ass guy and his toxic yaoi with his best friend

i'll be real. madoka magica scarred me because i saw the mami scene but then i went back to it when i was like 15 and cried over homura and the last few episodes of the main series and look at me now mentally ill and gay and i have homura as my google pfp

i have Thankfully grown as a person and i now understand the hype behind madoka magica and i need every single person on this fucking earth to watch it it is the biggest influence on novaturient ever i love the concept of witches and magical girls and that FUCK ASS CAT KYUBEY HIS IS AWESOME

soul gems are so pretty. i got these perfumes in my room that look exactly like them and i put them up and i think wow... this is just like madoka magica

i have no idea how to end this post. thank you for enabling to ramble about mahou shoujo i am so glad there are people just as insane as i am about this genre

[superblysubpar]

Okay I love seeing inside people’s brains when it comes to movies because it’s like a little peek into someone’s soul so let’s go for 27, 39 and 40 ! (Sets of threes are satisfying?)

Oh my god I love it too, that's probably why my answers are so long-winded with these. It's also fun to talk about movies with people! I don't have many people in my outside of tumblr life who watch movies as much as me, or the same types of movies, so it's fun to talk about it here, because I've been asked. Also, absolutely sets of three are satisfying, three is actually my lucky number too, so I always take it as a sign 🥰

27. are you enjoying the remaking of old films or do we need to get creative and do something new?

(So sorry, I can't shut up about this topic and I'm gonna get soapboxey)

Ugh, I am definitely not. I think there are exceptions, ones that have turned out great, but I think those are ones that truly took the love people had for the original and spun it totally new and creative way (which isn't a lot of them) or they're just totally new stories but in the same universe as a franchise (the new star wars movies, Alien Romulus, etc.)

But like, really, I hate it. SO MUCH. My husband has had to listen to this rant for months, a year, idk. I've actually discussed this with a few people, but I think that's why Stranger Things did and does so well. The Duffers took a lot of inspiration from movies and shows and just the era in general of the 80s and there are so many subtle and not so subtle hints to these and they just do it so well...like that's why people like it. It's nostalgic and reminds us of those movies but it's a totally new story. A totally new concept. And I just wish more writers and more production companies understood this.

It's a HUGE thing I want to do with my own writing, particularly my screenplays. Like, I love romantic comedies, I miss the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s rom coms - BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD JUST REMAKE THEM. Why do we love them? What can I put in my movie that makes you nostalgic for those great films, but is totally new? I think that's also why Anyone But You did so well. Number one, it got a theater production budget, not a straight to streaming budget - which isn't that crazy of a difference nowadays, I'm sure - but for a rom com, it is, and it's a big deal. Plus the marketing, the time, the resources, there's just more of it. But, it also did so well because people could go see it in a theater, and subconsciously, I think this made everyone feel nostalgic for the rom com blockbuster days. We used to see rom coms in theaters guys, and now, now we get straight to streaming that are, let's be honest, hallmark rom coms. WE NEED NEW STORIES. WE NEED BIGGER BUDGETS!

This is actually why I deleted a bunch of the fics I was gonna write off of my "She's Seen All The Classics" masterlist. I think the ideas I had for those fics are actually great opportunities to spin classics on their head for a real screenplay. There's one I'm particularly excited for and I'm gonna start officially writing the screenplay for soon, but it was my Dirty Dancing/Footloose fic. I'd literally protest if they remade Dirty Dancing, but my screenplay is going to be a major homage to it, but a totally new storyline.

Anyways, long story short - no. I'm not enjoying it.

39. in your opinion what is the most underrated movie?

Oooo...okay. I'm gonna list a couple, and while they're fairly popular, I just don't hear people talking about them as often, and I think they are fantastic films.

"DOPE", "The Burbs", "Someone Great", "Yesterday", "Booksmart" and "What If"

40. a film you think everyone should see at least once

Oh my god this is so hard...um....

OH my god how do I answer this?

Maybe the movie "About Time"? I just think there's a lot of lessons to be learned from it, but it's also a sweet rom com that I think is a bit underrated?

🤓 ask me a movie question!

[unohanabbygirl]

I hope you are not overwhelmed with some of the comments as just recently I’ve seen some really uncalled for reviews and assumptions being made either about the story FMN or going so far as to make assumptions about you as a person. It’s totally out of the left field that I literally was left scratching my head as to why anyone would assume they have any right to judge you based on a fictional piece of work or think they can dictate where and how you choose to write your story. As a reader I think the best we can do is to leave a review or comment, words of encouragement or even constructive criticism but to make outlandish assumptions is utterly wrong. There is such a thing as separating the author from the work and just because an author writes something down doesn’t mean that they are okay with it in reality, don’t know why this is so hard for people to understand sometimes but idk I felt upset if this could potentially put you off or even change the course of your work. It’s your work and at the end the day a person can choose to not read it if they no longer wish to. So I hope that you still continue to write and that you follow whichever course you wish to take with your story or characters. Just because a person doesn’t like a character/s doesn’t make them bad, racist or horrible or automatically. Nothing I’ve seen in your work that I would assume you were singling out a character based on their ethnicity etc… just all around horrible review, while I can respect peoples opinions the full assumption or even righteousness that makes them feel that they own a piece of your work or character is just simply wrong. For example in my own personal opinion I don���t like Criston Cole, not because he is a person of color, in the show he just happens to be played by a person of color, I could care less, it’s the character himself that I don’t like for various reasons that have nothing to do with his ethnicity etc… ugh sorry for my small rant but I truly hope that you are alright and know that your work is appreciate by many of us. ❤️

No need to be sorry at all! If anything I thank you because you’ve put a smile on my face after a pretty crappy day dealing with some ongoing family issues that have been disturbing my peace.

I’ve seen some of the comments made and was originally going to respond with some long explanation that would’ve likely started a back and forth which is the last thing I want for this little bubble I’ve created, so I figured it was best to leave it be and move on for my peace of mind.

At first the insinuation that I was throwing a brown character under the bus to praise a bunch of horrible white people stung a little as a woc myself, but it’s the internet and assumptions will be made. Especially since I’ve never outright stated my race and certain sides of the fandom tend to spew rhetoric about Targ stans only liking blonde haired white people, so it’s whatever. But I do appreciate you checking up on me, its very sweet of you so I offer a virtual hug and kiss 🥰

I haven’t been discouraged and continue to write to my heart’s content! As i’ve said I got some family drama going on (cutting off toxic relatives is harder than I thought it would be ngl) so my updates are slow and when I think I can post I get thrown off schedule by bs which sucks. But I’m here to stay and my original plans for the future of my fics remain set in stone. Much loves babes 💕

[bohemian-nights]

So true! GRRM even mentioned recently that he would love to write a book about N so no way are they cutting her or replacing her with Rhaena.

I feel like because this show is focused on the Targ family it attracted the worst type of fans who think Targs are really gods and believe in the blood purity BS so I’m not surprised they’re into Daemyra who’re the poster child for that(no offends to those who just ship them and don’t buy into that crap but the amount of people I’ve seen on twitter making those arguments is ugh)but like exploring the relationship between D who’s a literal Targ supremacist and N a low born bastard girl and how things like class and race(I know ASOIAF doesn’t have the same construct of race as we do but N’s treatment as well as the Dornish shows pretty clearly there’s racism in their society even if the author didn’t intend did that to be the case)affect them,etc. I mean we see hints(maybe foreshadowing even?)of that conflict on the show when everyone’s scandalised over D saying he will marry Mysaria and that she’s pregnant. It also pushes her to break things off with D because she knows the consequences it would have on her while pointing out D’s privilege. Btw,I feel sorry for Matt Smith you can tell he wants D to be more dimensional and maybe the writers wanted that as well but they had no idea how to write a character like him(possibly because he doesn’t really start his character arc before he meets Nettles?)so they ended up cutting a bunch of scenes of him being more affectionate/emotional which led to Targ stans believing they have vendetta against him imo. But he was def one of the characters that suffered the most due to these time jumps the last time we see him before the first big one is him killing his wife and intending to reclaim her land but then later on he self exiles himself like why? If they wanted him to have a complicated relationship with his daughters fine we don’t really know what kind of a father he was in F&B but then make the effort of having him interact with them instead of tearing them like extras who just smile and stand around. And don’t get me started with how they treated Laena seriously WTH was that ?! You make her a black woman on the show and then proceed to have her be a second choice for her husband (with one of their daughters being ignored by him)and dying the most awful way possible away from her family while trying to make it look “empowering”.Sorry for the rant but the way the POC have been treated so far makes me very nervous about Nettles like FFS don’t treat her like a plot device and while we’re at it have her be friends with Baela and Rhaena this show needs more well developed female characters and friendships as well!

I would so love to read a book on Nettles. She(and Daemon) is/they are my favorite characters in the ASOIF universe. Her story does not end/begin with the Dance so I’d like to see more about her. Replacing her with Rhaena will not cut it.

Some Targ/Daemyra stans are willing to miss out on a fully fleshed out story in favor of Targ supremacy. There are parallels between our world racism and racism in ASOIF universe as well as classism. Writers can’t really escape their biases. I hope season 2 fleshes things out a bit because the story can be much more than it actually is.

I’m actually a Daemon stan so I think the HOTD writers do have a vendetta against Daemon. Daemon is described as less jerky to those he loves. In the show it seems like Daemon is really only there for Daemon. The only one he actually seems/seemed to love was King Dumb Dumb(Viserys), but now he’s dead so he’s got nothing.

Daemon leaves Rhaenyra alone to fend for herself multiple times. He even abandons her in a sex dungeon in the sketchy part of town. And yet she is supposed to be the love of his life? 🫠 Well I guess so since he literally murders his first wife and bangs his niece at his second wife’s funeral. At least Rhaenyra only got choked out by her man!

If I was Matt I’d be shaking my head cause the writing is just 🫠 Daemon has recieved essentially 0 character development since episode 3. Thank God Matt is charismatic because otherwise Daemon would be the least likable character on the show.

Rhaena and Baela do seem like extras/window dressing. It irked my soul when Rhaena kept calling Rhaenyra “my queen.” I understand she’s the queen, but she’s also her cousin/stepmom. It makes it look like Rhaena is the help. Some of Baela’s lines were cut which is also irritating considering the lack of screen time for both her and her sister.

The Laena situation is just 🙃 I could do a whole essay on that. The fact that you have delusional racist stans arguing that it’s somehow empowering to watch a Blackish woman light herself on fire is just🙃 I have no words. Like please go read a book on misogynoir then come back to me on it(it probably wouldn’t help, but can’t hurt to try).

That was one of the most traumatizing things I have ever watched. I am not joking when I say this. That hurt. Her book death was a 1000x more “empowering” than that crap.

What’s “empowering” for Black women is not the same for other women especially white women. Black women are rarely seen as soft, being taken care of, and loved in media.

Laena is supposed to be mixed(and the actress’s that played her were mixed as well), but the casting seemed deliberate. They picked a brown skinned mixed woman to light on fire(literally) and be someone’s unloved second choice(again not book canon, but people will gloss over this and try to claim that is somehow is). While the white woman is somehow the first choice and Daemon’s one and only love.

Having Daemon literally ignoring his Blackish kids(who by the way should look white/whiter than they do since they are at least 75% white, but the HOTD writers don’t know how genetics work🫠) is also a choice. Someone said that you could start watching HOTD at episode 7 and you wouldn’t know that Rhaena and Baela are Daemon’s daughter’s. Which isn’t far off from the truth.

You can’t make this ish up and yet people will deny it all the damn day long 🫠 They don’t have a problem with it cause if anything, it helps to solidify their wack ship. I’m going to leave it there cause I will literally start ranting all day long.

Bottom line is I hope season 2 is better and the HOTD writers see fans complaints and try to develop a more fleshed out story. I am kinda dreading what they might try with Nettles, but I’m cautiously optimistic(I love to disappoint myself). Limiting her characterization will limit Daemon’s as well since she’s his final arc, but as I stated, the writers seem like they hate him so 🤷🏽‍♀️

A friendship between Rhaena, Baela, and Nettles would be nice, but they are all supposed to be in different places during the war. Who knows what they will do.

[toonlegion]

REVIEW: Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League

"Repost from a comment I made on a video"

Meh, that the long and short of it for me. It's a decent enough shooter, fun transversal and the bosses are decent (though the Batman one could've been better, I heard Twitter gushing about the role reversal of being hunted by him, but it's just an interactive cutscene near the start of the game. The proper showdown isn't as inventive, if anything I'm annoyed they had to ruin the mystique of Knight's ending). But the story I honestly could care less about.

Suicide Squad has just been a "whatever" bunch to me across all media I've seen them in and it's usually always the same plot: forced into service, a lot of bickering while doing a mission, think they see a way out of Waller's grasp, it goes fubar, complete mission, right back where they started. It doesn't help I don't like Amanda at all, she was at least decent in the JL toon, but each appearance since then has slowly turned up her bitchiness and this game REALLY extenuated that to the point I was groaning anytime she comes back into play. No offense to Deborah Wilson, loved her since the MadTV days and normally enjoy seeing her digital self in stuff like the new Call of Duty and the Jedi souls-like games. But the writing here makes me want to tear my ears out every time she's ranting and raving, even when the squad is doing their jobs as ordered. Jesus, even Nick Fury on his bad days wasn't this bad. Beyond that, I was just shrugging, some bits did make me chuckle and most had me groaning at how try-hard to be edgy or comedic, felt like a New 52 version of this setting with the tone-deafness.

They don't really do anything with the Justice League other then being mustache twirling villains via the mind control, save Diana and even she hardly does much with her scant appearances because the plot can't work if she manages to save the day. Especially wasn't fond how some of the JL get send off, yeah Batman's death felt disingenuous and I really feel sorry for Arkham-verse fans that they now have to be reminded of this game down the line when they replay those games. But at the least his had gravatas to it (and I'm not heartless, I did like the little tribute they gave to Kevin at the end). Flash? Gets peed on after he's defeated. Lantern, decent but ruined by Deadshot's one liner, and Superman, oh that ONE pissed me off because they don't even bat an eye at him before the game moves on with he plot. Superman, man of steel, one of the most popular heroes, is just a damn footnote in this game. Are you kidding me?!

After that, I honestly didn't care anymore, about Brainiac, about the multi-verses and the Brainiacs that control them essentially pulling a Kang the Conqueror situation (and no I don't care about spoilers, this game doesn't care about the fans why should I?). By the end, it essentially ends on "Hey congrats you beat it but this is just part 1 of the story, more to come. Pay us money in the live service to see the rest of it in the season passes."

Speaking of, why did they have to make this an online only game on launch? Crashed a few times setting you back a ways, glitches that turned the enemies into statues, and several soft-locks. Ugh, there's a reason off-line modes are a thing from the start. Say what you will about Resident Evil 6, I know how many fans loathe that game, but Capcom at the least had the sense to include that mode on launch. So how is it Rocksteady didn't have that same thought process? Really only good thing I can say is it does look fun with friends from most videos I've seen and I guess that's what they're aiming for to keep it afloat. I've seen some people on Twitter liking it but let's see if those same masses will stay loyal for the long haul.

Again it's decent, the game's world is huge I will give it that, but doesn't give you much to do outside same missions of break shield, defend car, destroy cannon, take out horde, defend this routines. Nor does Metropolis feel as characterized as Arkham City and Gotham in "Knight". With those, I wanted to explore and see the nooks and crannies of it. Here, it feels cluttered and a lot of buildings look the same, very little stands out to me. Maybe because the game doesn't really let you breathe with the constant alien attacks to do so. Oh but the Riddler challenges are back.... Why? "Knight" burned me out on these, so I did not care when he returned and was wondering why he was even here in the first place. They couldn't pick anyone else for this? And level up is just, eh. You grind, you get better guns and costumes, ho hum. At the least it's faster then Gotham Knights.

Overall this is just average, a step up in presentation but really lacking that quality of the previous Arkham games. You'll either dig it or your won't, it's already divisive on social media as is. So all I can say, play it yourself if your curious and make your own judgement. At the least, it's not a must-buy, if you wanna wait, be my guest, you won't be missing anything if you do and you have plenty of other games to keep you busy in the meantime (Tekken 8, Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth, and the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth at the time of this writing).

[chaosandthe-deadblog]

at some point im gonna doodle Band AU Shadow and Maria in the sweaters like goddamn i really love how you characterized them the trans chapter still makes me tear up, I like how you rolled with the idea of sexual dimorphism between female and male hedgehog Mobians too tbh, did any of that originate from Amy's old design by chance? How she had once had her quills spiked up but later it was changed to them being slicked down? (Personally I like the echidna-hedgie hybrid theory for her but your take on it is really neat!)

I also just love how you've characterized them all. I'm gonna be ranting a bunch and it's gonna be confusing a lil but like pls stay with me i just have the Big 'Tism so my brain go hugvyfcrytjkn

I enjoy having the whole thing be very plotless tbh, there's not enough of that in fics imo and it's the exact stuff I need a lot and I love that. I don't ever really feel anxious that, say, Maria is gonna suddenly die or some shit like that, or that some cataclysmic event is gonna suddenly happen. I like that, I've needed a lotta that honestly. I just love how you've written it so much,,

I am still curious about Shadow's past, though. Was he still genetically engineered? Is he still part-alien??? Does Chaos Energy even properly exist??? Is Gerald just A Guy who is a scientist and actually succeeded at what he'd wanted to do???? Seeing as it seems his "backstory" never properly happened, and they're in modern times, I presume Gerald would be still alive or something. Is Eggman there too???? /Is there potential that younger-Eggman exists and he's like a weird internet troll to the band or something????/ Perhaps jealous that his cousin gets to meet the "cool guys" and there's a very small and non-dramatic plot of Tails being like "ugh this guy again" and Maria's like "oh yeah thats my cousin!" and everyone's like "WHAT????"

There's just so much to explore with such a domestic take on these characters honestly, and I really love that. It explores parts of their characters that often don't get touched often due to how much they're always fighting or dealing with drama. It allows dynamics to be explored that are never really toyed with in canon. Adapting various pieces of the characters to a more laid-back setting is genuinely REALLY fun and you've done it so well I just,,, wawUUUGH,,,

I'm so interested to see what goes on with Knuckles too, since his whole story is seemingly so fantastical yet so easy to adapt to a more mature and "realistic" setting. Does he simply come from a culture that's often overlooked in this world? Is his inner compass about protecting his family name? Is he actually the last echidna in this world or are echidnas moreso simply a group that are marginalized in some way? I almost feel like him being someone who's struggled through, like, immigrant struggles would almost be a really interesting take on him as a character. He's quiet about who he is, where he's from, often keeping to himself, it's why he doesn't sing on his own and why he often is seemingly just... There. But Amy knows, she's one of the only ones who does know.

And maybe if Shadow still shares that "being made in a lab" past as his canon self, perhaps he and Knuckles could end up being friends if Shadow were to learn about his past. They could relate to one another's feelings of not belonging where they are, yet having strong drives to defend WHO they are.

(I've been reading a lot of immigrant poetry recently for class and because, despite not sharing those experiences, I still always feel like I relate to the general themes of them. I dunno why, but I always imagine Knuckles being the type to write stuff like that himself, since his whole story draws a lot from very real and serious sorts of topics that can be related to some of those real-life issues. I really like that about him, how it always seems that his story is taken VERY seriously and not downplayed. That's why I liked him in Frontiers, and why I know many liked him in Sonic 2. Just mentioning this all because that's my inspiration for even coming up with this idea)

Again I absolutely do not wanna seem like im hijacking your story! I just wanted to rant about characters because hmmmmng,,, you write them so well and give me many idea and I love that,,

damn you put so much more thought into this au than i did LMAO

ummm okay i'll take these one by one

first: the trans chapter, that is ABSOLUTELY what i wanted to do and i'm so glad someone picked up on it. I think male hedgehog mobians have their quills spiked up while female hedgehogs tend to have them drip down. That's why Sonic pre-transition tied up his quills! However, I do think Amy fucks with her presentation a bit in that sense, she still spikes up her quills (though i think, similarly to how there are short haircuts that are deemed femenine by humans, the same thing could apply to hedgehog mobians and their quills)

about it being plotless... aha. haha. im gonna be honest. i love drama. there WILL be some dramatic event, and there’s gonna be drama, but it's not gonna be sudden. i'll be sure to have enough build up so it hurts a little less. a little. but its gonna take a while. so dont worry about it :)

OKAY shadow's past. okay. yeah so. okay. everything is like a lot more normal and domestic than in canon, so the whole magic and powers aspect is... altered. similarly to how it is in pirate au, the characters still have some trait thats similar to their powers/abilities in regular canon (sonic raced in highschool and regularly goes on runs, for example). I think Chaos Energy and the chaos emeralds and all that stuff is the equivalent they'd have of mythology. some people believe it, some people don't. "chaos and the emeralds" is a name that came to sonic based on one of those myths.

so... about shadow. gerald is dead. old age. i'm gonna try to explore shadow's past on later chapters so i'll keep it to: shadow was adopted by and raised by gerald until the doctor died, leaving shadow in charge of finishing raising maria. (and also, i didnt take eggman in consideration for this au because... implications. but it would be funny if he was just maria's annoying cousin that both of them can't stand)

and about knuckles! yeah, it's pretty much the former! it'd be interesting if he was an immigrant or someone from an overlooked culture. and no he is definitely not the last of his kind but i do think where the gang leaves it's not THAT common to see echidnas. i don’t think i'll touch much on that because... well i'm very much white and very much live in my birth country so i am deeply unqualafied to write about immigrant struggles, but that's definitely the direction i'd love to go to for knuckles. also you didnt ask this but he's like a big brother figure to amy, they were childhood friends

i actually hadn't thought about most of the things you asked, and this helped me do some worldbuilding, so thanks a lot for the questions!!!

[biffhofosho]

The anguish u r causing me is crazy but i truly ly so much you're SUCH a good writer OMFG. I think yours were the first OC stories I read and like u have broken me (or fixed me probably idk 😭😭) bc i simply CAN NOT get enough???? i honestly can't wait for u to get more recognition bc your skills r BONKERS ppl are missing out. Atleast im not one of them HAH 😁😁😁😁

Anyway justw anted to drop by and say you're doing an amazing job 😭 not just on the hyungwon fic but your other works as well!! They r so good 😭😭💕💕💕💖💖💕💖💕 nd I'm living for the angst solely bc of how well it is done ugh ure a genius

(⁄ ⁄•��ꇴ⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ ʏ-ʏᴏᴜ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴍᴇ?

Good golly miss molly this ask is an insane amount of jdlajsfdkaTHANKYOUYOU'RESOCUTE, it's not even funny! THANK YOU. YOU'RE SO CUTE. (♡´𓋰`♡)

Yes, I'm sorry, I know it's very angsty! :'( I actually really love suffering so long as it's for love--I'm one of those useless hopeless romantics like that--but I have many friends who really dislike it, so I know it can be a real turn-off for people. Thankfully, it seems a bunch of other hopeless romantics found their way here, too, so I don't have to feel so bad about the torment heh. :D We'll call it "suffering with purpose"? ;)

And, listen, you know what you did here? You said the ONE thing to me that makes me happiest of all--down with featureless MCs! I like flesh-and-blood OCs that I can envy and cheer for and yell at haha. I'm happy to have any converts to the cause. (I know I rant about this too much, but I can't help how passionate I am about it.)

So, seriously, this was such a warm and wonderful ask. Thanks again, a nony mouse. ;) You're great. <3

[uwuthrad]

Hi! Finally popping in to say I enjoyed this so much! Even beyond the premise of “incoming catharsis from killing Bishop very very dead”, your writing style is just very smooth and enjoyable to read. Leara’s slowly eroding sense of agency comes through both in her actions and the language used to describe them, and it just really scratches that itch of really good, emotional writing, that is still sleek and smooth and doesn’t get in the way of the action. Just. Chef’s kiss.

Onto the detailed thoughts!

Delphine finding out Leara used to be a Blade herself reminds me so much of, like, a middle-management guy finding out the guy he thought was the janitor and treated like shit was actually his boss all along. (Though, with Leara being Dragonborn, wouldn’t that make her the owner of the company in this metaphor? Hmm.)

Bishop? What Bishop? I never knew any Bishop. I’m sure he’s fine. (Sadly.)

Leara, meeting the Forsworn: I’m about to have yet another long fucking day, aren’t I.

Bitches can’t even be patient enough to wait for Leara’s blood to do its thing, I’d like to see any of them do the mojo-

If this wasn’t clear already, I get very indignant on Leara’s behalf in this part. Can’t anyone let that woman nap in peace? Do you really HAVE to solve Alduin’s wall right this minute? You all realize you only have the one Dragonborn, right? You’re all fucked if she collapses like an overworked horse.

I feel SO vindicated that Leara catches how much Delphine twists and misunderstands pretty much everything about the Greybeards. (Also, afraid of Leara? Again, projecting, much?)

Also I would like to award a special prize for the sentence “Leara stared at her as if she’d suddenly grown horns and started ramming her head into the wall like a dumb goat.” which made me laugh so hard I forgot to breathe and thus had to interrupt my reading until my airways resumed working. Bravo.

Also also, “She was too tired for this.” is basically the headline of this entire thing. Where is the GoFundMe to get this lass a vacation.

FORMER Blade? FORMER??? Delphine I hate to tell you this but she is no less a former Blade than you are. Former. The gall. The absolute gall.

Oh thank Akatosh we are free of these people, we can breathe now – oh, what a lovely little place.. I remember the quest here, it’s one of my favorites- AAAHAAHAAJZERBGIL2ERGOMVEQBQB SOMEBODY GET THE HOLY WATER

Listen I knew this was bound to happen eventually but it still gave me a jumpscare. Why does every story Bishop stars in turn into horror.

Hands to yourself, man, fuckin hell

Leara dissociating like mad when Bishop’s yelling: Lalala, I’m not here. This is not me. Nope, not happening to me. Which, honestly, girl same.

Yes, Bishop, you’re very edgy for finding the mythology of some people ridiculous. It clearly demonstrates superior thinking abilities. Look at those folk, believing dragons used to be real? Bunch of sheep, all of them. (I’m dead inside.)

“Some pretty nasty bastards are already on your trail.” we including you in that, or…

Aaaand we’re back to dissociating. Discretion is the better part of valour and all that. I’d rant about Bishop’s frankly creepy attachment to this woman he knew for… a month, in a professional setting, but honestly fuck this guy. Every word he utters is vile.

WHINING ooooooh snap you’re holding the good end of the stick now, Leara. Honestly, going to sleep as a silencing device is a chad move. I respect it.

I want to string Bishop up by his intestines. Oh HOW dare you be interested in anyone’s plight but his!

“She needed an ally” [I think there might be a typo there, btw, with alley instead of ally?] GIRL YOU DO BUT THIS MAN IS NOT ONE OF THOSE

Re: Bishop disrespecting cultural artefacts because it makes him ~edgy~. Just. Ugh. No one over the age of twelve finds that cool, my man.

“a red-blooded man like me” insert barf emoji.

Honestly, though, for all Bishop was aggressively… himself, all the bits between Leara and the ghost are genuinely touching. She has this quiet kind of empathy to her that makes her a really lovely protagonist to follow, even when you really want to talk to her gal-to-gal and tell her to throw the damn man in the trash.

Though I don’t really blame her for feeling stuck, personally. She strikes me as the kind of person who will not stir shit and endure until they physically can’t anymore, which is something a lot of real-life women are socialized to be like, and in that sense I think your depiction of the situation is quite true to life and kinda… important to be reminded of? That you can be terrifyingly competent and yet have that conditioning rear its ugly head from time to time, and that you’re not at fault for having been raised to be the way you are but that you are allowed to say no, this is where I draw the line. (And if you go beyond it, I will shout you apart, in this case.)

Anyway. Not-very-coherent ranting aside, I really like and relate to Leara’s character and her actions in this situation. I just really love everything about your writing, it really hits me right where it hurts (in a kind of, physiotherapist way, not, ye-gods-I-need-to-go-to-the-er kind of way).

I get the feeling that this is getting really long now so I’m gonna shut up. I hope you have a great day!

I Didn't Know You Were Keeping Count - Part II: Raven

ao3

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Shout out to the fantastic @ravenmind2001 for reading over this and keeping me from going nuts.

Taglist:

@ravenmind2001 @incorrectskyrimquotes @uwuthrad @dark-brohood @owl-screeches @binaominagata @dakatmew @constantfyre @kurakumi

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Delphine’s face contorted into incredulous confusion. “She’s a Blade.”

“Yes,” Esbern nodded, having already gone over this with her a couple of times. He didn’t seem to mind, though. He looked happy enough to have reunited with both women away from the danger of the Thalmor.

Leara, for her part, sat in a corner, polishing the curved steel of her katana. They left Riften just over a week ago, taking the roads at night and sleeping in the brush during the day. Every day for over thirty years was a new lesson in survival, but roughing it through the wilderness was something she’d not done since her escape from Skingrad before the end of the Great War. She took the hunter’s trail through the Jeralls. Between Esbern’s compass spell, her clairvoyance anchored to Riverwood, and her Blade’s memory of her previous trip through, they made it in due time to reach the Sleeping Giant Inn by the end of the month.

Delphine was waiting for them. Just Delphine.

Leara never thought she’d be so glad to see the stubborn Knight-Sister, but the feeling was soon dismissed when Delphine could do nothing but gape after Esbern revealed Leara was once a Blade herself. Leara was simply glad that Delphine didn’t have to know about her history in the Dominion. The mission had been so secret that the only record of it that the Grandmaster ever gave the chronicler was that she was relocated from Cloud Ruler to Alinor for reconnaissance. Anything more was need-to-know and there was no one left alive who needed to know. Not anymore.

She traced the engraved glyphs on her blade with the pad of her finger, deep in thought. She nearly missed Esbern’s scrambling for one of his books as he spoke in a rushed, almost absent whisper about Alduin’s Wall and an ancient Akaviri temple.

“I know where it is,” he was saying, flipping through his notes. "Ah, yes. The entrance seems to be near to what's now known as the Karthspire. We'll have to see what we find when we arrive."

Delphine nodded, “Then let's go.”

·•★•·

They took the Falkreath road to the Reach, the cover created by the pines and mists offering more protection than the open tundra of Whiterun. Leara and Delphine shouldered the brunt of the night watches, taking turns to peer into the shroud of night beyond their little camps. Fires were kept small and low burning, just enough to cook the occasional rabbit and ward off the damp chill that sank into their bones each night. They avoided the roads. While Leara had no choice in the inevitability of showing her face in public, the threat of being hunted by the Thalmor bound the three Blades into the shadows. Eerie noises followed them through the forest, strange lights appearing and disappearing at intervals between the trees once the sun was down. Out there, bandits and highwaymen were the least of their problems. One grey morning, before rousing Delphine and Esbern, Leara spied a High Elf in scout’s armor watching from the edge of a cliff. Even after she woke Delphine and told her, it was hours before they could leave, waiting for the scout to leave the area.

Their arrival in the Karth River Canyon wasn’t the end of their trouble. Leara found herself toe to claw with a half-woman, half-bird monster in a magic duel that only ended when the Dragonborn drew her katana across the creature’s feathery chest and sent her squawking into the river with a Fus Ro! It echoed through the valley, subduing all other sounds.

One of the remaining Forsworn stared at her from across a bridge, crude sword half raised and face full of terror. It twisted into hatred. “She-Bear!”

Then all the remaining Forsworn converged on Leara.

By the time the Forsworn were dead and Delphine and Esbern hauled her into the cave system at the heart of the camp, Leara was winded. Her lungs felt stripped, and her hands were freezing. She stumbled her way through the various traps and riddles set up by the ancient Blades to guard their temple. Her knees finally buckled when they reached the blood seal. It was a while before she could stand and attempt to open the barrier. The head of Reman Cyrodiil watched her as she hobbled to her feet and cut a gash across her palm with the heel of her katana. Her eyes met those of the statue’s, crystal on stone. It felt as if he was assessing her.

Nothing happened for several long moments as her blood dripped down to coat the seal. From the corner of her eye, she saw Esbern begin to deflate back into the hopeless state she found him in. Her hands on her hips, Delphine rolled her eyes and scoffed before pacing away. And then, below Leara, the seal pulsed golden. Fires around the room burst to life as if lit by an invisible hand. The statue of Reman Cyrodiil bowed and moved away, disappearing into the ceiling to reveal a broad winding stair.

This was Sky Haven Temple.

After that, everything seemed to click into place. They found the temple, and inside, in a place of eminence, they found Alduin’s Wall. Collapsing into a chair older than the Third Empire, Leara almost fell asleep while Esbern studied the temple’s architecture. Delphine’s hurried voice faded in and out, telling the old loremaster to focus, as Leara fought against sleep. Her bones still ached from the weight of the Forsworn piling on her. There was a pinch in her side from an awkward dent in her armor. She’d need to have it beaten out once she made it back to Whiterun. After she got some money.

Torch in hand, Esbern examined Alduin’s Wall, exclaiming over its preservation. As he read the wall, Leara lulled into a light doze. She watched a black dragon rise from behind the wall and swoop around the cavernous hall, shouting “She’s mine! She’s mine!” as Delphine and Esbern ran around like headless chickens.

“Hey, Leara.” Leara startled awake. Delphine was staring at her expectantly. Esbern was still studying the relief, but from Delphine’s frown, they were no closer to finding the answer to defeating Alduin than they were when they left Riverwood. Delphine pursed her lips, disgruntled. “Have you ever heard of such a thing? A Shout that can knock a dragon out of the sky?”

A Shout that could knock a dragon out of the sky–? Her mind raced back over everything she’d learned about dragons since defeating the first one outside of Whiterun back at the end of winter. She knew precious little about Shouting, most of what she’d learned coming from the Greybeards during her brief time in High Hrothgar. If anyone knew about such a thing, it’d be the Greybeards. She told Delphine.

The younger Blade sighed in resignation. “You're probably right. I was hoping to avoid having to involve them in this, but it seems we have no choice.”

Haunching forward with her elbows on her knees, Leara pinched her nose. Don’t ask, she told herself. Do not ask—

“Delphine, it’s obvious you have an issue with the Greybeards. What have they done to make you resent them so much?” To be honest, Leara got the impression that there wasn’t a lot that Delphine didn’t resent. Not without just cause, but there comes a point when it all becomes too much.

“Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t resent them yourself,” said Delphine. At the Dragonborn’s look of shock, she elaborated, “If they had their way, you'd do nothing but sit up on their mountain with them and talk to the sky, or whatever it is they do! The Greybeards are so afraid of power that they won't use it. Think about it. Have they tried to stop the civil war, or done anything about Alduin? No. And they're afraid of you, of your power. Trust me, there's no need to be afraid. Think of Tiber Septim. Do you think he'd have founded the Empire if he'd listened to the Greybeards?"

Leara stared at her as if she’d suddenly grown horns and started ramming her head into the wall like a dumb goat. Is that what she thought of the Greybeards’ philosophy? A responsibility to use power wisely and respect the natural balance of the world was reduced to petty isolationism and fear. She could almost see the little Breton, head too small for the Blade’s helmet she wore like a crown, begging the Grandmaster to deploy her to Summerset. Heedless of the danger and finesse involved in such a mission. The woman in front of her had grown into the skin of one used to hiding, but still lacked the insight and tact necessary to find a path back into the sun. Distrust made Delphine bitter, and Leara pitied her.

She was too tired for this. “The Greybeards,” Leara began, tone diplomatic, “teach balance and restraint. Too much or too little will over-tip the scales and upend the natural order of things. It’s not that they fear power, they respect it.” She refrained from pointing out that Tiber Septim’s founding of the Third Empire was born from his unquenchable greed.

Delphine scowled. “For a former Blade, you sound rather comfortable with their way of doing things.”

“I wasn’t aware there was a rivalry,” Leara sniffed, choosing to ignore the ‘former’ Blade comment.

“There’s not – look. There's always a choice, and there's always a risk.” Delphine gave her a pointed look. “But if you live in fear of what might go wrong, you'll end up doing nothing. Like the Greybeards up on their mountain.”

“Are you worried I’ll run?”

Delphine was quiet, Leara met her gaze across the short distance. Everything about the Breton was pale, from her platinum hair to the grey-blue of her eyes, but at that moment, in the torchlight, she was a phantom from the past. The fire reflected in her eyes was an accusation. Traitor, they screamed as the fires consumed the tower and the lake shone and burned. Traitor. Traitor.

Leara blinked, and the spell was broken. Delphine’s eyes were her own again, no longer a ghost’s.

“Just don't let them turn you away from your destiny,” she was saying. “You're Dragonborn, and you're the only one who can stop Alduin. You should remember that better than anyone.”

“Right,” Leara said. She got to her feet, casting a weak magelight overhead as she passed Delphine. “I’m going to rest. I’ll set out for High Hrothgar in the morning.” She needed some time alone.

·•★•·

A tempus spell told her it was after the fourth watch when she woke. One of the others must have built a fire after she’d gone to sleep, its coals still glowing with dying warmth. She pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders, shuddering. The old temple was drafty. She fancied she could almost hear the wind, howling like a pack of wolves up the mountainside and over the peak. Again, she regretted leaving Karnwyr in the sewer. Leara allowed herself a moment to think about the wolf before getting up. The sun was already up, but if she started off soon, she could beat the dusk out of the worst of the Reach’s mountains. Then straight to Whiterun.

She stirred the coals, adding a few more sticks brought from the Forsworn camp down on the river. Across the makeshift hearth, Delphine rolled over, hair lashing across her pallet in a tight braid. Leara sighed and began to pack her things.

Once dressed, she stopped to look over Alduin’s Wall. The white of her magelight cast it in stark relief, harsh and bold compared to the eerie shadows set to play across the carvings by the torches.

“Delphine said you were setting off for High Hrothgar.”

“Yes,” she nodded, not surprised to find Esbern off to the side, already working despite the hour.

“She found this while exploring last night. She thought you would find it useful.” As Esbern approached, she saw in his hands an ancient katana, sheathed in black. She could feel the electricity curling off it. Electricity and something else that set her teeth on edge. “From what I can uncover, this katana is particularly useful against dragons.” He offered it to her.

“Is it?” she said, not taking it.

“Yes,” Esbern eyed her. “I couldn’t help but notice that the katana you carry isn’t the one you carried before the war.”

“You want to know where I got it,” Leara stated, understanding. He was curious, and he had a right to be. Delphine carried a katana, but it was the same one she carried before everything went to Oblivion. It was rare for a Blade to take the sword of another except under special circumstances, and even then, those were usually temporary. Leara looked down, pulling her katana slowly from its sheath. “It was given to me.”

Esbern peered at the bare blade under the steady magelight. “These are Altmeris,” he said in surprise, a frown creasing his lined face. “Did you acquire this in Summerset?”

“No, High Rock.” Leara shifted from one foot to the other, for once giving into the impulse. She sheathed her katana. “I should be going. Thank you for showing me that katana, but I think it will be more useful for you two to have it on hand in case a dragon attacks.”

“Of course, of course.” And Esbern returned to where his books and papers lay strewn out on the old stone table dominating the center of the room.

Leara was at the top of the stairs that led back into the caves before stopping. Bracing a hand on the archway, she called softly back to Esbern, just loud enough to catch his attention without disturbing Delphine. “Esbern?”

“Hm?”

Hesitating, Leara swallowed. “My katana, it belonged to my great-grandmother. She was a Knight-Sister during the Oblivion Crisis.”

There was a scrape and thud from Esbern’s chair as he rose from the table. “Your great-grandmother–?”

But Leara was gone.

·•★•·

She snuck by every Forsworn hunting party and Imperial patrol while trying to keep in sight of the road as she followed the Karth back to its headwaters in the mountains. It was late at night when she spied a village situated high on a rocky embankment on the river’s north shore. Hoping for an inn with an innkeeper that didn’t ask too many questions, Leara climbed the path into the village. As far as an inn was concerned, she was in luck.

A little bell chimed, and she was hit with the comforting glow of a hearth and the smell of fresh bread. The common room was well-lit and homey, with several tables scattered around the large central hearth. Old Nordic and Colovian style weapons hung high on the walls in places of honor. She focused on a polished pair of Nordic axes in a prominent place behind the bar as she approached.

“Ah, a visitor. Old Hroldan Inn has hundreds of years of history, friend,” the woman behind the bar, a blond Nord with tired eyes, said by way of greeting. “The name’s Eydis. You'll be looking to rent Tiber Septim's room, I take it?”

“Pardon?”

Eydis smiled at her, “In the Second Era, Tiber Septim himself led the army that conquered Old Hroldan from the barbarians of the Reach. Septim would later found the Empire that united Tamriel, but his first known battle and victory was right here. And this inn has the very bed the great general slept in on his first night as Old Hroldan's liberator. As good as it was hundreds of years ago."

Oh yes, the Battle of Old Hroldan. Studying keynotes on the Tiber Wars was one of the lessons given to many young knights during their Blades training. The Battle of Old Hroldan was the first victory in a campaign that led to the taking of the Western Reach. “His room’s for rent?”

“That’s right, for ten septims, it’s yours for the night.”

Leara reached for her belt, and then into her satchel, and then she padded down her armor, even though silver plate didn’t have pockets. Eydis eyed her the whole time, a crease deepening in her brow.

“I’m sorry, I thought I—” Leara coughed, flushing with embarrassment.

“If you don’t have the coin, I’m afraid I can’t board you,” Eydis said, not unkindly, but Leara could tell the woman was tired. Divines knew Leara was tired.

“Maybe I can—”

“This will cover her board for the night, and mine.”

A chill clawed its way up her spine. An arm bound in dark leather appeared in front of her, depositing a small pouch on the counter, even as she felt another wrap around her, almost completely encircling her waist. Eydis eyed her over the counter, weary eyes darting between Leara and the man looming by her shoulder.

“This one with you?” she asked, skeptical.

“Well . . .”

“Oh yeah, I’ve been looking for her for days on the road. You know how dangerous the Reach is. Thought I’d never find her for all the damn Forsworn scuttling around.” Bishop’s words were like honey in the innkeeper’s teapot: dripped just right in the bottom. He poured the water: “I’m glad I found her. I was starting to worry she’d been carried off or something.”

Eydis nodded along, thumbing through the coins in the pouch. “Right, of course. This is the right amount. Have a good rest. She looks like she needs it,” she added, thrusting her thumb in Leara’s direction. “It's the big room with the double bed.”

“Thanks,” Bishop called over his shoulder, pulling a stunned Leara along to an open door. Beyond it, Leara could make out a large bed covered in furs. The bed Talos himself slept in while still mortal. She didn’t expect to sleep a wink.

Bishop closed the door behind them. Leara sat heavily on the bed and glanced around, searching. “Where’s Karnwyr?”

“Outside.”

“Oh.”

“You left me.” Slowly, Leara lifted her head to meet Bishop’s burning eyes across the room. Even that was too close. “You left us fighting for our lives in that blasted skeever trap!” His voice was low, probably so he wouldn’t alert Eydis at the bar, but the quieter pitch was more menacing than a proper yell. Dragons Shouted like thunder. Bishop hissed like lightning. “Against the damn Thalmor! What the Hell, woman? What did you do to have the Aldmeri Dominion hunting you down?”

“I’m the Dragonborn,” she stated, focusing on the wall. There was an old tapestry depicting an artist’s rendition of Tiber Septim Shouting apart the Old Hroldan gates. It reminded her of a mosaic she saw in Bruma years before the war, before the Chapel of Talos was rededicated to Martin Septim, sainted by the Imperial church. It was gone when she went back, replaced by golden stained glass depicting the defeat of Dagon in the Oblivion Crisis. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Yeah, I got that. You’re not exactly subtle, sweetness.” Bishop laughed, but the sound held no amusement. Not any she could understand, anyway.

“So sorry I don’t rise to your expectations.”

“Didn’t have high ones of the Dragonborn to start with.” She stared at him, stunned. “I always thought it was a good story, something to tell around the fire, but a relic of the past, just like the dragons. As far as I was concerned, the only people who could shout were those Greybeards up on the Throat of the World, leeching from the pockets of gullible people. Them and Ulfric Stormcloak.” He said the name with a faux reverence worthy of the Thalmor. “The best thing he ever did was Shout apart the Forsworn.” He began to pace, agitated. He reminded her of a predator.

“Until me,” Leara sighed.

“Until you. And now the Thalmor are hunting you. Word is they’ve got a price out on your head. Not a public one, but the word’s moving through the crime world, ladyship. Some pretty nasty bastards are already on your trail.” He stopped in front of her, and suddenly he dominated her field of vision. Leara didn’t move as he stepped closer to her. “What happened to your armor?”

“My armor?”

“The dent in your left side, above your kidney,” Bishop pointed. “And on that subject, the bruise over your eye and the cut on your lip. Who attacked you?”

She swallowed. “Forsworn.”

Bishop cursed and returned to his pacing. “I don’t think you quite understand the danger you’re in, Dragonborn or not!”

“I can take care of myself, thank you,” she said, straightening up. She’d done so since before this man was born. She would do so after he was dead

“That’s just it, you don’t have to now!” Bishop shook his head, growling. He was like a caged animal. “I can protect you! I protected you from the Thalmor in the Ratway! They’re dead now because of me.”

“Am I supposed to be thankful that you saved your life and it just so happened to benefit me and my goals at the time?”

He scowled at her. “I’ve risked my life for you numerous times in the last month when nobody else gave a damn about you! And that’s the thank you I get?”

She didn’t speak. The bottom left corner of the tapestry was frayed, like it’d been caught on something and pulled. Part of its picture was warped and faded out from the damage. She felt like the tapestry: whole for the most part with her mind and magic intact, but she’d been yanked around, and now her edges were frayed, raw from wear, and part of her was missing, an important part that she didn’t know she had before it was gone. The tapestry could be restored, but her? Leara wasn’t so sure.

Why was she even there?

Bishop cut off midtirade when Leara pulled off her boats and laid down on top of the furs, hands folded on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to sleep,” Leara said, the familiar discomfort of lying down in armor settling through her body. Her right hip ached. She ignored it. She was ignoring a lot of things lately, but that was okay. It kept her focused on her primary objective. “I am going to bed and am no longer continuing this discussion. If you wish to stay, grab a blanket and sleep in that chair. If you wish to keep talking, go outside and talk to the moons. They might have time for your whining.”

“Whining?” squawked Bishop. He sounded like that – hagraven? – when she Shouted it apart at the Karthspire. “Now listen, sweetie, I don’t—”

“Shut up.”

Spluttering. That’s how the hagraven sounded when it was drowning in blood and water. “What did you just—”

“You don’t shut up,” she said, then rolled over.

Leara ignored Bishop for the rest of the night.

·•★•·

A scream broke the still air of the pre-dawn.

Leara was yanking her boots back on as she hobbled into the common room, a yawning and stretching Bishop strolling leisurely behind her. He seemed unbothered by the scream but determined to follow Leara wherever she went, to ‘protect’ her, as he so elegantly put it the night before.

Eydis stood beside the bar, the remains of a juniper berry pie dumped on her feet and splattered across her skirt and the flagstones. The woman was as white as a sheet, eyes blown wide in terror.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Leara asked, rushing to Eydis’ side.

The woman pointed.

“Holy . . .” Bishop trailed off.

At the far table, under a nasty looking battleax black with age, was a hazy figure. Seated at the table, it seemed engrossed in the empty space before it, as if seeing something that wasn’t visible to anyone else. It moved its arms, as it would if it were eating; in their wake was a pale smoke trail of luminous blue.

A ghost.

Eydis grabbed her arm, grip fierce even through the hard silver plate and chainmail. “Do you think the ghost is one of . . . Tiber Septim's dead men?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bishop rolled his eyes. “That’s not a ghost! It’s some Forsworn black magic, and if it were a ghost, what makes you think it’s one of Tiber Septim’s men?”

Eydis glared at him, an intimidating sight despite her disheveled hair and juniper-stained clothes. “He's from the battle, I just know it! He's one of Tiber Septim's soldiers . . . back from the dead!”

Bishop’s laugh was loud and mocking. It didn’t seem to faze Eydis, much less the ghost. “That is such bull – what are you doing, woman?”

Leara sat down on the bench across from the ghostly figure. An impression of curved horns blurred in and out of focus, reminiscent of the ancient Nordic helmets she’d seen in Bleak Falls and Ustengrav. The ghost didn’t seem to be a malevolent spirit, but a lost soul. He was a warrior, and either through time or space or both, he was a long way from home.

“Hello, are you lost?”

Bishop’s “Are you serious?” faded into the background as the spirit lifted its head, alert. The embers of its eyes bore into Leara’s, arresting her movements. A chill shuddered through her, and she got a distinct impression that the ghost wasn’t seeing her, but seeing through her.

“I've been waiting for you. Hjalti.”

Hjalti struck a chord within Leara, though she couldn’t quite place it. She was sure she’d heard the name before, but . . . “Who is Hjalti?”

“You promised me, Hjalti,” the ghost said, lifting a faded hand toward her. Despite herself, Leara leaned closer. The ghost’s hand was so close, there but not; she fancied she could almost feel it on her skin, cold and warm all at once. “You promised that when we sacked Hroldan, you would make me your sworn brother.” The hand clenched, light darkening s a dying fire. “And I've waited. Even after the enemies' arrows dug into my chest and their hammers crushed my bones. I've waited. Give me your sword, Hjalti. That we may become brothers as you promised.”

Love and longing and expectation borne over centuries filled the ghost’s voice. The pieces clicked in Leara’s memory, and she knew who this was. He was one of General Talos’ men.

“What are you doing?” Bishop hissed from behind her.

She waved him off, “If you hadn’t noticed, I’m talking to someone.”

“Yeah, a fricking ghost!”

“He needs my help,” she said.

Bishop plopped onto the bench next to her. “A ghost needs your help, and so does every other Daedra-blasted sucker in Skyrim! That does not mean you should go out of your way to help every idiot that crosses your path, asking you to retrieve their hat from a cave full of vampires!”

“I’m not retrieving a hat,” she spat. She turned back to the lost warrior. “I’ll retrieve your sword.”

“I long to taste battle again,” the ghost sighed into a moan that shot ice and fire through Leara’s blood. Bishop didn’t seem fazed. “I’ll be waiting, Hjalti.”

“Of course.” Leara got to her feet with a nod and returned to the bar, Bishop cursing under his breath in her wake. She didn’t know where to start in hunting down this sword, but she had a feeling she knew who might.

Eydis stood behind the counter, hands clenched bone-white in the folds of her apron. Her eyes lit with an intrigued sort of fear as Leara approached, curious and frightened all at once. “Is it really one of Tiber Septim’s men?” she asked.

“Yes,” Leara nodded. “It seems he died in the battle with the Reachmen. He’s restless, waiting for Tiber Septim’s return. Has he never shown up before?”

Eydis twisted her apron in her hands, deep in thought. “I've heard stories that Old Hroldan was haunted, but no one’s seen a ghost here since the Great War. I haven’t, and I’ve never heard of any ghosts from the Battle of Old Hroldan showing up, either.” Eydis’ eyes trailed over Leara’s shoulder, and she turned to see the ghost milling about at the end of the hearth, warming his hands. It was an act of memory more than need. “I wonder why he’s here now?”

Leara watched the spirit. He’d called her Hjalti. Hjalti was Tiber Septim before the Nords called him Talos Stormcrown – if one believed the account in The Arcturian Heresy. Parts of Tiber Septim’s history were missing or altered, every young Blade knew that from their studies, and so all accounts were to be addressed and evaluated for historicity’s sake. But a decade in the Aldmeri Dominion and years in hiding after didn’t do her memory any favors. This ghost was one of General Talos’ men, and believed she was Hjalti, who she was pretty sure was General Talos. But why? Was it because they were both Dragonborn? Lost spirits often sought out the familiar in their wandering, looking for rest. That must be why the ghost appeared now: it felt the return of a dragon soul and came looking for help, thinking that General Talos – or Hjalti at the time – had come back for him, but all it found was her instead.

It was tragic.

“He claims Tiber Septim promised him his sword before the battle,” Leara explained, “But he was killed before he could give it to him. Do you know anything about Tiber Septim having a sword?” She pointed up at the weapons mounted along the walls. “Could it be one of these?”

“You can’t seriously believe these are from an actual battle!” Bishop said.

“They are! – well, except those axes. They belonged to my grandfather,” Eydis pointed above the bar, “But none of these belonged to Tiber Septim. Although I remember a legend that Tiber Septim had attacked one of the enemy camps before he came to Old Hroldan. It could be there.”

“Do you know which one he attacked?” Leara asked.

“Oh yeah. Do you have a map?

·•★•·

They approached the redoubt from the northeast. It was situated in the crevice of a valley, tall spires of Old Nordic architecture jutting out of the Karth’s headwaters as they flowed down from the Druadach Mountains. High on the steps, the animal skin tents of the Forsworn were visible, shielding many of the Forsworn from Bishop’s bow and Leara’s ice shards. They stood behind an outcropping of rock, watching the camp in silence. Beside Leara, Karnwyr stood, hair bristled and ears pointed forward. He’d been quite happy to see her once she emerged from the Old Hroldan Inn with a sulking Bishop and marked map, but now the wolf was all business.

“The best thing to do,” Leara whispered, careful despite the roar of the waterfalls, “is to sneak through and take out targets individually.”

Bishop’s grin was wolfish. “You want to pick them off one by one.”

Leara nodded. From what Eydis told her, Lost Valley Redoubt was once a center of deep spirituality for the men of the Western Reach, but was weakened during Tiber Septim’s campaign through the region. Legend said there were dark caverns full of black magic secrets hidden under the old barrow, but if they existed, they were destroyed or blocked off long before Tiber Septim and his army arrived to rout the remainder of the Reachmen. Now it was barely an encampment, but even so, Leara knew not to underestimate the Forsworn.

Bishop’s part in the plan was simple: snipe the Forsworn from the rocks while she snuck into the camp. Everything was okay until the man set off a tripwire and brought a giant mammoth skull swinging out of nowhere to fall on his head. The Forsworn began to gather in groups, looking for the enemy, and Leara was forced to duck into a tent for cover.

There was an alchemy station dusted with crumpled flower petals and drying mosses. A row of neat little potion bottles sat off to the side, though Leara was certain they weren’t quite as benign as they appeared. She pulled her nightgown from her satchel and, folding the bottles inside it, nestled them in the side of her bag. Perhaps the alchemist in Whiterun would buy them off her. Further perusal uncovered a few pouches of fire and frost salts.

There was a shriek outside and the explosive shockwave of a fireball. The Forsworn had a mage, or a shaman, or something. Leara prayed to Akatosh that there wasn’t another hagraven. Knowing her luck, though, there were probably two. And they probably had the sword, too.

Peeking out of the tent, she spied Bishop in the midst of a Forsworn pileup that made her ribs ache from the memory of the fight at the Karthspire. She turned to continue up through the summit. Then stopped.

Back at the inn, Bishop had been quite vehement in reminding her that he’d saved her from the Thalmor in Riften, and though she still didn’t think she needed his protection – she was a Blade, first and foremost, never mind being the Dragonborn with a power like the Voice – she owed him one. Plus, he was right. She didn’t have a lot of friends in Skyrim, and she needed an alley.

Katana in hand, Leara looked around for an idea of what to do. Marching forward would put her back where she’d been when the Forsworn attacked her at the Karthspire. After she Shouted.

Muffle cast and katana raised, Leara snuck around the rear of the tent and along the perimeter, back to where Bishop was playing chase with at least half the camp. The shaman stood back, glee twisting her already hawkish face into a dark point. Leara slipped up behind her, her Illusion spell failing as she slipped her katana into the shaman’s ribs.

The choking gurgle alerted several of the other Forsworn to her plight. By the time they reached her side, there was blood smeared around her mouth and down her side, with no sign of the assailant.

“Where is it? Where is it?” one of them shouted in anger.

“Is it a spirit?” one of the smaller girls asked.

“Don’t speak so! The spirits wouldn’t have done this to Aoife,” snapped another.

Then the shaman’s body exploded, and the air was filled with screaming.

On the next flight of stairs, a dead Reachmen at his feet, Bishop watched as an unholy fire consumed the main encampment, an unnerved fascination dancing across his face in the firelight.

From the shadows, Leara appeared beside him, Karnwyr at her heels.

“What in Oblivion . . .”

“You’re welcome,” Leara said to his dumbfounded expression. “You’re lucky I found fire salts, or they would have used you for some kind of ritualistic sacrifice.”

“Fire salts . . .?”

“Yes, do keep up. We still have to find that sword.”

·•★•·

There were two hagravens at the summit. And there was a ritual, too. It looked like they were trying to resurrect a dead man in elk hide and antlers by inserting a glowing green seed into his chest in place of the dead heart. There was something else there too, humming in the air and singing the song of the winds in her ear. She was beginning to recognize the song of the Word Walls when she came across them. Power, it sang, calling to her. Power, power, power. Not yet, she told it, looking around. She needed to take care of the hagravens first. One was bad enough, but two?

Karnwyr brushed her hand, and she followed the direction of his nose. A boulder sat precariously above the archway that led into the ritual site, held in place by a small pile of stones piled on a thin board.

Bishop hissed, “What do you think you’re doing?” as she scaled up the rock face to the ledge above the boulder. Slipping behind it, she lined herself up so the hagraven to the left of the alter was directly below and on the otherwise of the boulder.

“Fus Ro!”

Shrieking, smoke, and then a sickening crack as the boulder hit home, spraying dust and dead greenery across the clearing. The beak of the second hagraven was open in a soundless screech as her beady eyes focused at the stone where her sister had been, before darting with fiery rage to Leara as she slipped down.

“Hello,” Leara gave the bird monster a little wave.

“She-Bear! Defiler!”

“You’re an idiot,” Bishop moaned in the background.

Leara only smiled, sharp and inviting all at once as she drew her katana and charged the hagraven. The bird woman threw her hand out, and then Leara’s path was blocked as the Forsworn zombie clamored to his feet.

In his hands was the sword of General Talos!

Akaviri and Nordic steel rang out against each other, echoing off the stones only for the sound to be lost in the crashing boom of the waterfalls. Blades locked, Leara assessed her opponent: what this undead Reachman lacked in finesse, he made up for with sheer muscle, broad shoulders and thick arms bearing down on her slender frame. She wasn’t going to win this through a show of strength. She feinted, and he lurched forward, with enough momentum to swing his sword toward her neck. The sword struck the altar, steel skidding across stone in a bone-quivering wail.

Leara slipped across the ground, out from between the Forsworn and the altar. She lifted her katana.

A howling shadow swept overhead. Leara watched from the ground as Karnwyr’s front paws struck the undead Forsworn in the chest, toppling him backward. While the revenant – he wasn’t gross enough to be a zombie – tried to shake off the ravenous wolf, Leara turned to engage the hagraven. Ice coated her hand, and she hurtled spear after spear at the creature, frost meeting flame.

Steam curled through the ritual site, blooming and hissing from the collision of elements. Leara danced closer to the hagraven, mindful of her fare as she raised a frost cloak to ward off the worst of the assault. Her katana spun through the mist, gleaming with ice crystals. She struck at the hagraven.

A staff countered the strike, and her katana bounced back from the twisted wood. Letting her momentum spin her past the hagraven, she struck at the creature’s back. The staff again!

When she visited High Hrothgar, Master Arngeir mentioned a Shout that could disarm with a single Word. If only she knew it! All she knew were fragments of Unrelenting Force, Whirlwind Sprint, and—

Ah.

In a wash of fire, the hagraven swung the staff toward Leara—

“Feim!”

–and it went straight through her. Unbalanced, the hagraven went through the ethereal apparition and into the ground. Leara resolidified in the world with a single stroke to the hagraven’s thin neck.

Heart pounding against her ribs, Leara turned to find Karnwyr tearing into the fallen revenant’s chest, the glowing green seed lightless and cracked. A black arrow stuck at an angle from the dead man’s shoulder, but it was clear Karnwyr’s teeth did most of the work. Leara stooped and retrieved the sword of General Talos from where it had fallen.

It felt heavy in her hand, but not from its weight or the legacy it carried. A sense of purpose filled her, the hilt warm in her hand. This was the sword of Talos Stormcrown, and she held it in her hand.

She gave it a few practice swings as Bishop slunk up to her side.

He whistled. “Is that it, then? The sword of the almighty Talos, or whatever?”

“Yes.”

“It looks like any other old hunk of metal stuck into a crap hilt.” At Leara’s glare, he blanched. “What?”

“Oh, nothing! Only that you reduce a historical artifact to trash,” she sneered, the pale gold of her complexion hardening into marble.

Bishop laughed at her. “I really do question your intelligence sometimes, darling. I wouldn’t put my faith into any god, especially one that used to be a red-blooded man like me.”

“There are no men like you.” And she left him standing there, smirking as if she’d given him some sort of compliment. Approaching the Word Wall, her eyes traced the draconic glyph. She couldn’t understand them literally, but as she read, the song of the Words drew her to one word, Zii. Spirit. It was the second Word in her ethereal Shout. Her soul soared with her new understanding,

Bishop came up behind her. “Can we take this sword back to her ghost friend or are you just going to stand here all day and stare at the old stone?”

She deflated. “Yeah, let’s go.”

·•★•·

“Is that the lady who went to get Tiber Septim’s sword, Mama?” a boy seated at the bar whispered as Leara slipped into the barroom.

“Yes, Skuli, now shh,” Eydis said, reaching over the counter to stroke the boy’s hair.

Leara’s gaze zeroed in on the ghost, piddling at the spit where a roast was searing. He seemed uninterested in the roast, however; he was making stirring motions as if preparing dinner in an invisible pot.

Coming to his side, Leara drew the old sword. Like a moth to flame, the ghost turned, focus wavering between the Dragonborn and the promised sword. “I have Hjalti’s sword,” she said. With both hands on the sword, she offered it up, head bowed in respect.

The ghost reached for it. When his hand met the notched steel, an image of two young men locked in a sword fight flittered through her mind. The darker of the two swept the legs from under the taller blond. He went down with a grunt. When the dark one reached down to help up his friend, the blond dragged him to the ground, pulling him into a wrestling match that ended with both youths laughing.

The ghost gave her a wan smile, and she saw the laughing blond in the curve of his face. “It's been an honor to serve you, brother.”

Leara swallowed. “Likewise, brother.”

The weight of Hjalti Early-Beard’s sword vanished from her hand as the ghost evaporated from before her, at peace at last.

“Are we down now?”

Leara held back a sigh. Squeezing her eyes shut, she blinked back the ghost’s memory and turned to the room at large. Eydis and her son were still at the bar, wide-eyed in the wake of the ghost’s disappearance. But Bishop’s pale stare burned into her, expectant.

“We leave for Whiterun,” she said, gliding back to the door and the long road ahead.

[chameleon-madrigal]

Can you do one where the reader knows self defense and Camilo tries to sneak up on them but gets his nose broken or something because he forgot? I just think that would be funny

XVII | Cuentos de Camilo

(Stories of Camilo)

Title: Worth the pain

Genre: Fluff

Pairings: Camilo x GN!Reader

Warnings: Injuries

Summary: Ever since you were a kid you are trained by your father to do self defense incase you're in trouble. Camilo was so fascinated about how you look so cool doing tricks and stuffs. But one time he decided to scare you which he should regret the consequence he got from you but thought that it wasn't bad afterall.

He/him pronouns for Camilo

They/them pronouns for Reader

Note: Sorry for the delay but I love this plot its like so funny in my head and like a thing Camilo would do. I hope you love this and thank you, enjoy <3

MASTERLIST HERE!

You were 10 years old when you started training self defense by your father. One time, you were outside of your house doing some tricks you learn when Camilo showed up infront of you.

"Woah, you're a fighter?" He suddenly said which cause you to chuckle at his sudden interaction. You aren't really close to the Madrigals which shocked you at the way Camilo is talking to you right now.

"I don't know, maybe. Let's see" You said jokingly threatening him by doing a defense stance, unto which he suddenly shifted to Luisa and smirked.

"Well, show me what you got, bonita/o" You suddenly scoffed and surrendered playfully at his antics.

He shapeshifted back to himself as you both laughed at what happened.

"You know you better teach me with those things"

"And why would I do that?"

"So that I can fight the 7 foot frame person I would always see at night getting arepas" He said and scoffed as you laugh at how cute he was.

"Maybe its just some shadow you see"

"It called my name, Idk if its Tío Bruno but it has rats along his back so I really don't know! Atleast I get to fight for my arepas" He said dramatically doing a fight pose to which you laugh at.

Pretty much you taught him some simple tricks. You were shocked at the sudden interaction from the both of you but you both ended up being friends for years. Until you two started dating.

You are currently on the woods meters away from Casita getting some fruits from the trees, when you suddenly heard a sound of bush rustling. You shrugged it off, thinking it must be one of Antonio's fur friends but you suddenly heard a person footsteps. As you stayed alert incase of a suddent attack.

You suddenly felt a hand on your waist, back hugging you but due to your instincts. You bend forward from the waist. That shifts your weight forward, making it more difficult for the attacker to pick you up.

You turn into the attacker with one of your elbows and continue counterattacking. Hitting him right on his face, mostly his nose. The person then started to shapeshift into a bunch of people before he fell to the ground and at that moment you realized it was Camilo.

"Mierda, Lo siento amor. I didn't know it was you!" You said crunching down at him, checking his face as he was flinching from the pain on his nose.

"Why would you do that?" He said still in pain as you got worried.

"Did you really forget that we are surrounded by big trees and who knows if I get attacked? Ofcourse my self defense instincts went into me"

"Ahh you hit like a goddamn fighte—ugh, I think I broke a bone in my nose"

"Why did you even sneak up on me like that?!"

"I didn't know you would do that, okay? I just wanted hugs" He said pouting as you narrowed your eyes at him, sighing.

You helped him stand up and hurriedly went to Casita. Dealing with his rants and stuffs like...

"You punch as if I am a bear"

"Ugh, I think my nose literally looks like a chameleon"

"Things to add on the list I won't ever do again: Backhugging my novia/o"

"I feel like im gonna lose my mind"

"Gosh, poor me. I feel betrayed"

"Hello 911, yes my girlfriend/boyfriend murdered my nose"

"Milo, shut up. You're literally injured, how are you still so energetic and talkative"

He just playfully snuck out his tongue at you. "Well then thank you for letting me in this situation, amor"

You rolled your eyes at him, as soon as you got there you let him sit on a chair and handed him an arepa which he immediately ate. And soon his injuries was gone and his nose looks okay now.

"Gracias, amor" He said as he check on his face and stood up and went to you. "Now, can I hug you?" He asked which you looked at him dumbfounded but chuckled and engulfed him into a tight hug which he returned.

"I'm sorry. Next time, you should not scare me like that, atleast give me a warning" You said putting a hand on his shoulders as his hands into your waist.

"What kind of warning?"

"Like this. Hey, Milo look at me"

"What—" You cutted him off by kissing him on the lips, he was shocked at first but you felt him kissed back as you both smiled unto the kiss. A minute later you both pulled away for air as he smirked.

"Wow, if that's the reward I am getting after you will punch me then I guess I'll have to do it again" He said aa you just chuckled about to say something but he kissed you again.

This time, you both stopped at the sound of someone's footsteps and a groan followed after.

"Get a room you two!" Isabela complained as Camilo stick his tongue out. To which she just went upstairs not forgetting to trapped Camilo in her veins.

"Wow, seriously?" He complained as you helped him get out.

"Come on quit whining, I have a lot to make things up to you" You said to which Camilo messily got himself out of the veins which caused you to laugh.