#what about Blue-Eagle Shipping?

[askingsprigattio-beepz]

[accidentally sent before editing more so yeah oops]

This fic was inspired by @tommysm0ondust's post.

[emacrow]

Siren song of Space by emacrow/the og prompt creator

The assignment has gone all type of wrong for the justice league.

They were investigating a mass sudden disappears of a town called Amity Park after finding out a neglectful person(*cough cough* flash*cough*) thought they were prank calling about ghosts and some group called GIW until John Constantine heard one of the voicemails.

The area where Amity Park was now a Mass ocean that looked like galaxy was dipped into it even if it was daytime and fog covered the greenish tint sky inside the Barrier.

This was deep world ending shit, but unfortunately, none of the adults could even enter at all nor high tech ships not even John constantine could pass through, but old wooden ships with food supples can easily slipped through, along with the except J'onn.

Who tried float a foot deeper in without gripping his head from the pure mass empathetic overload and pushed back out by an unknown force, going through an internal shock until one curious Robin tried stepping a foot in and successfully went through, stepping on the ship easily.

Seeing that only kids and teenagers could go leads to mass arguments between the Justice league until John cut in that the abnormal sea space dome is expanding, sucking in more ground until the very earth itself is swallowed whole.

Grumbly, internally, Batman called in the young justice league, teen titans, and a few robins to find what had happened and come back in 1 hour.

Now, the entire young justice league, main teen titans, and robins were on a wooden ship sail into the space like sea.

Cyborg and blue beetle had to stay behind due to being mostly technology along with miss Martian who might also had the dame reaction as J'onn earlier as Red Robins pulled the sail with a compass, Starfire, Raven, Super girl, Super boy and Tranformed eagle Beastboy flies around as the scout.

Aqualad couldn't get in the water the moment he tried to stick his head only to immediately pull away gasping for air. This water was too dense yet suffocating like space itself submerged in it.

Kid flash helps around with arrangements, tying up knots and untying when the wind blown hard with the help of bat girl, robin, and Artemis

The only sound they could hear was the sea roaring, the ship creaking with each wave they sail over, and an odd electric sound buzzing around, as the ominous greenish fog seemed to roll in.

Starfire, Super Boy, Super girl, Raven, and Beastboy flies back onto the ship the moment their vision was blurring by the Fogs. Super boy and girl couldn't detect any other elses' heartbeats others than their group, and that alone sent chills of what could have happened to the Amity Park residents.

The sense of danger was shivering up everyone's backs as they could hear a voice, low and quiet, that began to grow louder.

Beautiful like yet haunting young male voice that nearly pulled their attention towards as Raven yelled at them to cover their ears with ears plugs from one of the wooden boxes now.

Something massive white was swimming in the star filled sea near their ship.

There couldn't be anything alive in this sea, but their eyes couldn't betray what they have saw.

It was humanoid, with multiple arms with webbed fingers with white massive hair longer then foot ball station, a large slender body that had thousands upon thousands of green spots and hundreds scars too neat and professional align to be normal cut and a very long tail with shredded fins.

Super boy and Girl eyes widen seeing that the green spot weren't for show as they were bubbles with people sleeping, encased, young and old, most of them were green colored or off color humaniod while the rest were living human people asleep.

They all kept their ears shut with the ear plugs, But super boy and Girl could still hear the most beautiful yet haunting voice that sound like a Siren enchanting his next victim.

Red Robin could see Super boy swaying in a dazed like state while Super girl looking enchanted nearly floating, motion the others to help tied the two to the pole with lightly laced Kyptonite rope to stop them from going over board toward the Entity.

Raven could see that this was likely the Entity that trapped the Residents of Amity parks, but the questions remains as how it got here and why this space dome was here.

Bat girl was signing that this creature seemed desperate, hurt, confused, traumatized, hopelessly scared, yet dazed in some typed of trance like over protective like state.

[loojii]

Constellations as blue aliens! I made these last year, only uploaded them on Patreon Aquila, Cygnus, Pavo, Canis Minor, Canis Major, Boötos, Minor Leo, Lepus, Lupus, Cetus, Centaurus, Orion

For more info about them see the lore dump under the line ~

Aquila the eagle constellation. A myth tied to the constellation tells about Zeus, who transformed himself into an eagle, and kidnaps a pretty boy to be the cup bearer of the Gods. This boy was of course Aquarius. So the characters are friends! Or well, Aquila pressures Aquarius into doing dumb stuff and Aquarius can't say no (in a way kidnapping him for a good time). Aquila's outfit is based on an eagle as well, with white on top and dark on the bottom. He, and other bird constellations, have feather like hair! He is the younger brother of Cygnus and Pavo, and the older brother of Columba and Corvus (they're a big bird family!)

Cygnus the swan constellation. A myth tied to the constellation is that about Zeus, who again transformed. He got a woman pregnant and from that a set of twins were born, one mortal and one immortal. The twin being Gemini, of course. So the character here is best friends with Gemini (she seems to be the only one that is able to handle him). Since Gemini's alpha and beta star are actually the twins, she often visits them and favors Pollux, the immortal twin from the myth. She's like a fun aunt! Another myth tells about a lover being lost or something, drowned in the river depicted by the constellation Eridanus. So she probably doesn't like her that much.

Pavo the peacock constellation. One of the myths tied to the constellation tells about a monster with many eyes that was able to act as a spy for Hera. As a thank you she put his eyes on the peacock feather and the monster himself in the sky. The constellation also depicts the captain of a ship, who are also depicted by several constellations. I don't know what to do with that part yet for this character, maybe those constellations admire Pavo as a teacher? But as for the spy part; this guy obviously loves gossip and always knows everything about everyone. He is the oldest of the bird siblings!

Canis Minor the lesser dog constellation. In the sky the dog is seen hunting Lepus, together with Canis Major and Orion. So all three of them, the characters, dislike her of course! He is always seen hanging out with Orion, following him around and being his yes-man. He's the younger brother of Canis Major naturally

Canis Major the dog constellation. Another yes-man of Orion. I like to take inspiration from myths and science when it comes to their personality / relationships but sometimes I just go by vibes too. And what I feel is that Canis Major gets awfully flustered when Ursa Major is around (yes its solely based on the fact that both of them are the only ones with Major in their name). He does not know how to deal with her overly friendly demeaner and gets kinda angry

Boötos the herdsman constellation. In the myth tied to this constellation a herdsman was killed due to his bad whinemaking skills and his daugther and dog moarned him so much that they died too. The daughter was seen as Virgo and the dog as Canis Major. So the characters are friends! Boötos also has Canes Venatici (the hunting dogs constellation, no design yet) next to him, but the reason that constellation doesn't take on the role of the dog in the myth is because it was first known as Bo's staff. So that character would also be friends with him of course! Maybe part of the dog family? But I'm not sure yet. Boötes has multiple friends but he especially adores Virgo, in his eyes he can do nothing wrong and is the depiction of perfection. Many see Virgo that way but Bo is just a bit more extreme about it. The constellation is also seen hunting Ursa Major in the sky, so maybe they don't have a good relationship?

Minor Leo the lesser lion constellation. I was actually unaware this constellation excisted until I did this project. He is Leo's biggest fan and follows him around. Despite the name they are not related, they're just great buddies! The constellation at one point was planned to be changed into the lioness constellation, but eventually this didn't catch on. So this guy here is sometimes mistaken for a girl!

Lepus the hare constellation. In the sky the hare is seen being hunted by Orion and his two hunting dogs (Canis Major and Minor). So this character of course hates them. She's very quick on her feet and tries to outdone Orion every time she can.

Lupus the wolf constellation. The wolf is also being hunted in the sky, this time by Centaurus. So he dislikes him as well. But he's almost always silent and hangs out with Lepus a lot. It has nothing to do with their myths or anything. They just have similar names and are both being hunted, so I declared them buddies. Lepus always knows what Lupus means, without saying a word, and they are often spotted hanging out (Lupus following Lepus around)

Cetus the whale constellation. Cetus is the unofficial 14th zodiac sign, having the sun in its constellation for just one day. To represent this Cetus (the character) is engaged to Sagittarius, to one day become part of the Zodiac family (but he said yes when they were children and doesn't want to anymore, because who in thei right mind regocnizes Cetus as a Zodiac sign). The myth tied to Cetus is that of a sea monster who only came out of the sea to eat a beautiful maiden. Cetus (the character) is very insecure and never leaves her house. She's the big sis of Ophiuchus, the 13th Zodiac sign

Centaurus the centaur constellation. No, it's not Sagittarius. Both Sagittarius and Centaurus are depicted as centaurs in the sky and because of that their myths are sometimes mistaken for one another. So this guy here is very often mistaken for Sagittarius. But he's taller, better looking, stronger, more mature, etc. The myths of Centaurus go crazy and he's literly tied to everyone. In the discord server theres the ongoing joke that Centaurus is actually the main character. So this guy is just a very popular guy that everyone (excepts Sagittarius, who hates him with the might of 30 suns) likes! He is actually nice and unaware of Sagittarius hatred. Lupus, the wolf constellation, also doesn't like him but he's not as vocal about it as Sagittarius.

Orion the hunter constellation. Orion's myth he was a great hero who was defeated by a little scorpion. He and the scorpion were put in the sky but he's still avoiding the scorpion till this day (they are never seen in the same sky). The scorpion in question is of course Scorpio. Orion (the character) absolutely hates Scorpio and avoids him at all costs. He is seen hunting a hare (Lepus) in the sky together with his two hunting dogs (Canis Major and Minor). So this character of course is buddies with the two dogs and they all hate Lepus.

[grimrevolution]

Words: 1,108 Characters: Davrin x Rook - Radhika (pre-relationship) Rating: Gen Summary: In the midst of chaos, everyone needs a break every now and then.

Deep in the depths of Arlathan Forest, Davrin could smell the sea. The creak of the people frozen by magic sounded like the ropes of a ship, lake water lapped at the shore of a beach, and salt sat on the tip of his tongue. Sunlight filtered, dappled, through the tree tops, spreading out a pattern of seashells across hunting trails long trampled flat by halla hooves.

He had been dreaming about the ocean lately. The spray of the water, the sight of waves rising and cresting, the sound of it brushing against boat hulls and beaches and naked feet racing across the sand. Brushstrokes painted the sky in aquamarine with swirls of cerulean.

On the lucky nights, he dreamed of long, black hair veiling the sunlight. Of fruit-stained lips pressed against his own. Of palms braced against his chest.

Davrin breathed in. The salt became dirt and decaying plant life, the call of gulls turned into the sharp singing of woodland birds. Squawking and chuckling tugged him from his thoughts. The peace not broken so much as changed.

He turned.

Rook—‘you can call me Radhika, if you’d like,’ she had told him quietly during their first walk through the woods, digging for truffles—was holding a length of twine away from a bouncing, chirping griffon. Freshly caught fish hung from it, rainbow scales catching the sun. Trousers were rolled up to her bruised knees, sleeves to her scarred elbows, and neither had helped keep her clothing dry.

Out here, in the golden light of Arlathan, Radhika looked like something enduring. There was no slim plate armor hiding her slant of her shoulders, no shield weighing down her arm, no everite sword in her hand. Just the twisting, ritualistic scarring up her left forearm, geometric lines tattooed across her face, and sweat-smeared kohl that hid the bags beneath her eyes.

She was smiling. A worn thing that reminded Davrin more of the brand-new post-joining Warden recruits than the boisterous Lords of Fortune. Assan bounded at her dirt speckled, bare heels, chirping, warbling, and crooning. The fur and feathers along his belly and legs were dripping with the river.

Davrin stepped a bit further into the trees, letting the shadows of the boughs and leaves hide him from view. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Radhika smile. Or perhaps he never had, and they were all stolen away by the attacks on Treviso and Minrathous.

“No, Assan,” she said, sternly but fondly. Her grip was gentle as she grabbed the griffon cub’s beak before it could catch one of the fish. “These are for supper. Besides, let me gut and debone them before you stuff your face.”

Ears and wings dropped. Baby-blue eagle eyes widened. If he was an elven babe, the damn beast would be pouting.

Good thing he was born with a beak and claws. Davrin hated to think what he would get up to if he had thumbs.

Radhika merely laughed. It was a tender, quiet sound, all lotus blossoms and mud-stirred water. “That won’t work on me as much as it does on Neve,” she told Assan, brushing her fingers gently across the speckled silver feathers on his forehead.

He warbled at her and nudged his head into her touch, giving up on the fish. For now. There was something divine in the way the sunlight fell across her hair that not even the so-called gods could touch. Up in the ruins, the shadow of Ghilan’nain’s likeness glared at him for his so-called blasphemy.

Mother of the halla. Mother of monsters. Davrin hadn’t given her much thought after taking his vallaslin. Not until recently when her hand dealt the death blow of a thousand wardens.

“Davrin?”

Turning away from the shadow of the tyrant, he glanced towards Radhika.

Her shoulder length black hair was pulled up into a messy bun. A white and blue lily stuck out of the tie holding it together; a gift from one of the younger veil jumpers they had rescued mere days ago. It looked like a guiding star.

It softened her. Not with the plushness of rabbit fur, but like how dusk lessened the heat of the day. Twilight wiping away blood and dirt and the horrors the light revealed to firesides, drinks, and steadfast company.

She had tilted her head to the side and was watching him, checking in that way she always did for injuries, then for anything else.

“I’m alright,” Davrin said stepping out of the trees. “Got caught up in my own thoughts.”

Assan bounded past to go wiggle underneath the tarps that had been set up. The camping idea had been shamelessly stolen from Harding. Or, rather, Davrin had mentioned his plan to Harding only to get it whole-heartedly approved.

They were still waiting on news from the Crows, information from the Shadow Dragons, as well as whatever Antoine and Evka could scrape together. They had a small bit of time. Not a lot, but enough to go camping out in the wilderness.

Take some semblance of a break.

“If you need to head back—”

“I don’t,” Davrin told her, firmly. He carefully took the twine and the fish. “You said gutting and deboning?”

Radhika watched him. Her eyes were not blue despite the fact that she smelled of the sea. Even out here in the dirt, even at Weisshaupt when they were surrounded by blight and blood and death. It followed her, a phantom dogging at her heels.

There were some who believed that humans had come from across the sea. Perhaps had even come from it. All dirt and bones and light. A heaving, churning reminder that everyone was filled with a deep, restless soul. Elvens born from spirits made flesh. Humans born from water made to walk.

Whatever Radhika was looking for made her expression soften. “Yes,” she admitted. “Preferably before Assan decides to try and steal one.”

Davrin glanced down and—sure enough. “You heard the boss,” he said to the griffon that was trying to slink through the trees, eyes on the fish. “Nothing until supper.”

Assan warbled and flopped down on the dirt with a huff.

“You—” Davrin almost started before shaking his head. They could deal with the filth later. Probably back in the river. He spared a second to glance back at Radhika.

She was no monster to track through the wilderness nor a halla that needed patient herding. Something old lurked beneath the surface and he was no fisherman but he could learn. He could try.

“Shall we?” Davrin motioned with the fish.

Radhika smiled at him. “We shall.”

[vasito-de-leche]

crawling back from a hole to GEEK about suitcase gang members that would get along the best 💁‍♀️

- x, medicine pocket, and sotheby: lethal IRB nightmares

- med poc and sotheby: explosive concoctions

- centurion and tennant: harbingers of serial bankruptcy

- mesmer jr. and 6: orderliness

- dikke and 6: law and order (dun dun)

- melania and bkornblume: the thief and her gal in the chair (they're a ship too)

- eagle and shamane: shamane is MAD impressed at this girl's wilderness skills + will also be willing to teach her stuff

- horropedia, an an lee, and blonney: it's always horro and blonney / horro and an an but never these three together. you can bet that blon and horro surrounds an an to ask about her ghost vacuum

- blonney and desert flannel: she's in patch 1.5 but her design tells me that she's rocking her closet which is a bonding topic with blonney

- lilya and jiu niangzi: girl is in patch 1.6 but all that is known for now for global players is that she makes killer alcohol. cue lilya as her willing taste-tester

- sputnik 1 and 37: just 37 marvelling this perfect sphere

- alien T and 37: this girl again eyeing the ufo's circumference

- kaala bauna and voyager: kaala has a question or two about the heavenly bodies

- dikke and knight: s w o r d

ohhh fun! here's a few dynamics and characters I think would get along since you've shared your own!

Baby Blue and every character younger than her--especially Balloon Party

Baby Blue is just 17 but I do like to think that, bc of her connection with Wonderland and innocence, she would act as a big sister for many of the younger arcanists. especially Balloon Party since the two reject adults or the idea of growing up!

Blonney and Bunny Bunny

both characters have a focus on movie or hollywood as a concept, both are also girls around the same age range who know what it's like to be put into very restrictive stereotypes (the blonde bimbo, the southerner). I think they'd get along, and it's very funny to think about Blonney go straight to Bunny Bunny for help if Jessica ever needs help, since Bunny Bunny's family had a farm lmfao

but I also just rlly love girls who are total opposites on a surface level being close friends bc of the small little things they do have in common

Sweetheart and Bette, following the same reasoning as the Blonney and Bunny Bunny

THE MOST FAMOUS ACTRESS AND A STRUGGLING ACTRESS...BEING FRIENDS... SEEING EACH OTHERS PERSPECTIVES....

sorry I'm very passionate abt Sweetheart being so jaded and tired of the way hollywood treated her and warped her image to be nothing but a product for the audience's consumption. and very passionate abt Bette near-delusional hope of making it into the industry

Sonetto and Zima, both being poets

I could've added Charlie or The Fool since the idea is similar, but I feel like Zima would work best?

all three of these characters cherish the power of the written word and have used it against injust systems, but I think that Charlie's insecurities would hold her back a lot from truly bonding with Sonetto thru poetry, and The Fool is too much of a revolutionary--his very open and vocal "down with the monarchy, every person in authority is a fucking fool" vibe would clash with Sonetto's obedient dog aspects. Zima, however, feels perfect to act as another poet for Sonetto to befriend and a mentor to slowly introduce her to more open ideologies

SURE hes a recluse and socially inept bc of the years of isolation in exile, BUT HES NOT SHY WHEN IT COMES TO SHARING HIS VIEWS AND THOUGHTS OR WORK. hes the perfect idea of subdued and quiet strength, I rlly think Sonetto could really benefit from having him as a mentor or responsible adult figure

Pavia and Centurion

YES, I KNOW TENNANT IS VERY OBVIOUS FOR CENTURION BC SHE SCAMS PPL AND CENTURION IS VERY LUCKY SO SHE WINS AT EVERYTHING AND PUT MANY PLACES INTO BANKRUPCY

but I'm NEVER letting go of casino dealer Pavia from the artificial somnambulism stages. these two? theyre ABSOLUTE MENACES together, the luckiest girl in the world addicted to adrenaline and thrills? with the most deranged "who gives a shit" mafia guy who does whatever he wants?

they'd be playing an extreme version of buckshot roulette together, they'd ruin the economy together just bc its funny. they dont know each other's full names. they hang out and bitch about life together. they dont care abt their respective life stories. they're the first person they call when they're bored. they've been in many many life threatening situations. they dont know each others favorite colors

do you see my vision!!!

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

From the Ashes Pt.50

Pairing(s): Pairing(s): Rhaegar Targaryen x Lannister!Reader, one-sided!Jaime Lannister x Lannister!Reader, Jaime Lannister x Cersei Lannister

Warnings: slow burn fic, changing povs, MC POV, long chapter ahead, the big 5-0 :)

Words: 6445

Part 1 Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12   Part 13  Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20 Part 21 

Part 22 Part 23  Part 24  Part 25  Part 26 Part 27  Part 28  Part 29  Part 30  Part 31  Part 32  Part 33  Part 34  Part 35  Part 36  Part 37  Part 38  Part 39  Part 40 Part 41 Part 42 Part 43 Part 44

Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48 Part 49

When Rhiannon and Ray arrived at Asshai’s harbor, the temple ship was already mostly submerged in the inky black water. A local harbor master had been peering out of his window and saw the whole thing, according to Inniros, who interrogated the slightly scared old man. Darkin didn’t make it a habit to go into the dark city. They stayed in the mountains, but one could tell what they were with one glimpse.

The salted old man told Inniros how giant tentacles pierced through the water and dragged their vessel down, as did whoever was on it. There were no survivors. No planks of wood breached the water's surface in a last-ditch attempt for salvation.

“So it was just some. . . Freak accident?” Jalsolin asks, something of hesitant disbelief crept onto his sharp features.

Loviisa shook her head. “No. It was anything but an accident. The harbor master said there were three hooded figures standing on the dock just before the sea creature awoke. They summoned it.”

Master Batur and Lady Nazneen, who had been sitting next to each other in matching arm chairs, glance at the other. A silent conversation danced in their eyes.

Logs in the fireplace snapped under the intensity of the flames that could never quite warm you enough. Especially now you realize you and everyone else were stranded in the Shadowlands. Unless another ship was procured in the city, if the harbor master had been so hesitant to talk to Inniros and Ray, then others might not be keen to help out foreigners allied with shadow dancers.

“Nothing to note on the way back?” Syzhal asks. The scars that disfigured her face flicker garishly against the orange and yellow afterglow of the flames.

Ray shook his head. “All was quiet. Perhaps a little too quiet but that’s how this whole land seems to be. Like you’re constantly being watched.”

“You are constantly being watched here.” Lady Nazneen taps her ringed fingers against the arm chair’s cushion. Her eyes, the only visible part of her face, are looking far off; like she can see the hidden spy of Asshai that carries whispers and secrets.

Melisandre purses her lips, considering what Lady Nazneen had said. “Do you or Master Batur have an idea of who those cloaked figures were?” She stood next to where Ray sat, her hands clasped in front of her. Weles stands at the fiery priest’s other side, for once biting his tongue. Carefully he observed the master darkins’ faces for any sign of deception.

Batur, with eagle sharp eyes, catch this and he levels his own ice blue eyes against Weles’ ones filled with accusations. “We have an idea of what it can be. Living in the Shadow Hills, we’ve come across many of Asshai’s residences. Both mortal and monsters alike. Creatures like them, they’ve lived here far before us. Far before the city of Stygai’s destruction. Their power is ancient and formidable.”

“From the attack we can ascertain that they know about (y/n). There were other ships still intact in the harbor.” Inniros immediately adds in, circling back to the concern both you and Rhiannon had whispered about before going to tell the masters.

There were many reasons why someone you had never met would want to kill you. Assassins sent by Cersei. Poachers that enviously eyed your beautiful dragon. Terrorists against the Faith of R’hllor. Many more could be added to the list that you weren’t even aware of. These old monsters of the Shadowlands though. . . You wondered what their reason was to maroon you in Asshai.

“Yes, that is certain.” Batur agrees with his pupil’s assessment.

The echoing sound of someone knocking on wood steers attention to mute Ulian. His pale face was full of concern. Right hand in front of face, palm facing him, his index finger and thumb form a small circle. It goes to clench three times before shape shifting with his index and middle finger looking like legs skating on an icy lake.

You still couldn’t decipher what his hand gestures could possibly mean. Always watching intently when he spoke through gestures, you had learned nothing from doing so.

Whatever it was made Syzhal’s nose curl up in disagreement and Qheen straighten his spine like a rod. Syzhal’s small eyes dart to her mistress. “My lady, I understand this girl is Azor Ahai reborn, but to actively go and look for the Morghons-“

“We are well aware of what it means. To make them an enemy would be ill advised but they have threatened the safety of Lady (y/n).” Nazneen silences the argumentative Syzhal.

Morghon. That sounded very close to the Valyrian word for vulture.

Master Batur gets to his feet in such a quick motion that has Inniros, Loviisa and Ulian flinching. His tone is clipped when he announces “The Lady Nazneen and I will search for the three assailants. They couldn’t have gotten very far.”

“Please take one of us with you.” Syzhal hastily looks to Nazneen, not liking the idea of the woman who raised her being in any sort of danger. “While the two of you have more power than any of us, it is still not wise to go in two against three.”

Lady Nazneen regards Syzhal thoughtfully before turning to Batur. “We do lack Ameer’s shadows. It wouldn’t hurt to take two others with us.”

A click of his tongue was the only sign of his acquiescence. Lady Nazneen turns to Syzhal and nods. “You will come along with us. As will Inniros.”

That caused a moment of thick silence as Inniros turns to the darkin masters. “With all due respect, I desire to stay here to protect (y/n).”

Qheen derisively scoffed from under his mask. Batur only stares at the one-eyed darkin. Their pale blue eyes were near identical to the other’s. Their high cheekbones also gave them mirrored features.

Not even Nazneen dares to intervene between master and pupil. Their relationship had always been a tumultuous one since the day Batur pulled Inniros from his dying mother’s arms. It was his mother though to give him up to the darkin master without a fight.

Batur’s lips were pressed hard together as he fought to initially reject this request. He glances over to you though and seems to come to a decision.

All but ignoring Inniros and pretending he had never asked, Batur calls out for Qheen to join them. The masked darkin bows respectfully.

“What do you plan on doing when you find them?” You abruptly ask.

”We will decide when we find them.” Was all Batur had left to say before leaving the room. Lady Nazneen and the picked two follow shortly after.

Weles takes his turn to address who was left, mainly your original group from Volantis. “Are we just supposed to stay here?”

“It’s safer here than out there.” Rhiannon points out. “I’m sure it won’t take long for veteran darkin to find who they’re looking for.”

“We need to send some sort of message to the temple.” Ray murmurs more so to himself but it’s loud enough for everyone to hear. His usual jovial air had dried up leaving his eyes dark and contemplative.

He wouldn’t say what everyone was thinking though: even if a ship was available to them, what would stop the Morghons from doing the same thing.

Jalsolin sighs and leans his head back, making it hang over the chaise lounge. “It’s best to wait for the masters to return. While we haven’t been on friendly terms with them, they respect the power and history of the darkin. There’s a slim chance that Lady Nazneen and Master Batur can talk reasonably with them.”

Ulian grimaces, a flurry of hand motions weaving into a sentence which only the darkin understood. Loviisa offers him a strained smile. “Master Batur knows better than to be surly with them. He can be a diplomat if the occasion calls for it.”

Melisandre’s red skirts flutter as she moves to her feet. “I must look into the flames for guidance.”

The Fiery Priest nods to his female counterpart leaves with her. Melisandre had paused at the door to cast you one last look. You’d been slacking in her training to read flames. You never liked the idea of someone being able to look into the future. Witches in Westeros knew the art of divination and many of those stories never end well for either party. But it was how Thalina found you. R’hllor deemed her worthy and gifted her with the natural born talent of transcribing flames. Her skill was below Alizah’s; the blind girl was able to view full body apparitions, crystal clear.

Turning to the ginger darkin, Loviisa asks him “Any word from Ameer or the other two?”

“You know how long it takes to contact those in the field. They’re good at remaining hidden. I think Syzhal was able to get in touch some way with Osana.” Jalsolin shrugs. “She doesn’t really share any of her methods.”

Loviisa rolls her eyes at Jalsolin and corrects him. “No, you just never paid attention in Master Ameer’s classes.” The darkin, much like the rest of Westeros, used a system of hand raised ravens that lived in one of the towers. These ravens were bred to be specifically larger and more aggressive so that the only people who could ever become into contact with them safely would be other darkin. They wore harnesses with special wards and charms that kept the carnivorous bird on coarse until they reached the destined recipient. To enhance the leather of the harnesses was what took the longest time. A darkin had to bind a bit of their shadow to the leather as well to ensure that they would be alerted when their missive arrived safely. It required patience which Jalsolin had always lacked when it came to his studies.

Ameer wasn’t just a master darkin. Born in the City of the Winged Men. One of Tyrion’s book had mention of the neighboring city and how those who were born there possessed leathery bat wings. His wings, Loviisa stressed, were not the only thing that made him the most prolific darkin in history. Ameer also had a natural talent for magic and alchemy.

Your fingers itch to write to your younger brother. Tell him all the stories he had read as a lonely child were all true.

Weles didn’t care about this legendary darkin. His priorities were to let the Temple know what had transpired. “Then I’ll need to commandeer one of the ravens.”

One of the darkin would need to go with him. Loviisa volunteers and she ushers the Fiery Hand captain down the hall to the set of stairs that led to the ravenry.

Those who had remained in Batur’s sitting room follow you back outside to find Latilth seemingly on edge.

She circled the mountain courtyard, her long neck craning to the sky as if she expected something to pop through the gray clouds. Low trilling noises vibrate deep in her throat. Maybe she was feeding off of your own anxiousness. Whatever it was disturbed the youngling.

When she spots you, she wastes no time in scampering over to you. You hold out your hand and she immediately presses the tip of her snout against your palm. It hadn’t been that long ago that her head had been smaller than your hand. The Asshai’i air seemed to be nourishing her and making her grow exponentially.

“It’s okay.” You tell her. “We’ll find a way back.”

Her startling flame orange eyes close with content and she presses her nose further against your hand.

Smiling, you run your other hand along her sparkling scales of her cheek and along her neck. Latilth shivers in delight, her whole body trembling under your touch.

“She acts like an overgrown dog.” Jalsolin chuckles in amusement. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen a dragon do that.”

“But you have seen dragons before?” Rhiannon asks but keeps her golden eyes on you and your dragon.

“From afar yes. Don’t normally make it a habit of getting up close and personal.”

You turn around and grin at him cheekily. “Would you like to?”

All swagger fled from him and Jalsolin swallows hard. Not wanting to look like a coward in front of Rhiannon, Jalsolin nods and with one foot in front of the other he stands a little behind you.

Latilth’s eyes shoot open from the new scent. She pulls away from you and stands tall on her mighty two limbs. Her mouth opens a little bit in a growl, several sharp teeth poking out that gave a slight hint of the terror hiding inside of her beautiful body. The rows of small spikes that ran from the top of her head down to her tail rustle warily as you move and urge Jalsolin forward.

His legs were stiff as he positioned himself next to you. To show Latilth that he was a friend, you put one hand on Jalsolin’s forearm and stroke it gently. “See Latilth? Friend. Jalsolin is a friend.”

You hear Rhiannon giggle from behind you. It was easy to forget that Latilth was a dangerous creature. Your group had been around her since the moment she hatched. Latilth never showed aggression for those she remembered from being a hatchling.

“Hold out your hand.” You instruct Jalsolin. “And breathe. She can tell if you’re nervous.”

“‘Course. Nothing to be worried about right?” Jalsolin dryly forces out a chuckle to overcome his nerves. “It’s just a dragon. A fire breathing dragon who could decide to eat me at any moment.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” You could hear the grin in Inniros’ voice. “Latilth has much finer tastes.”

You saw the a slow, shaky breath leave from his chest as he follows your instructions. he raises his left, freckled hand toward Latilth. Keeping your own on Jalsolin’s arm, you nod toward Latilth. “Māzigon, Latilth. Issa raqiros. (Come, Latilth. He is a friend.)”

In response to your soothing tone, Latilth lowers her body into a less threatening posture. Still, she keeps her wings ready to leap into action if she disagrees with Jalsolin. Inside you knew she wouldn’t hurt Jalsolin, at least not while you stood so close to him.

Her heavy steps could be felt from the soles of your feet. You really got a look of how big she’d grown since Volantis. The horns on her head and jawline weren’t mere stubs anymore. They looked deadly like the tips of swords.

Slitted nostrils inhale his scent before blowing it back out in a hot gust of air making Jalsolin’s bright orange hair sweep back from his face. In the spray of his hair you caught the golden gleam of blonde hair hiding among carnelian. His tan cheeks bloom brightly, heating up from Latilth’s natural body temperature.

Before contact could be made, an ear piercing shriek shakes the trees and has everyone wobbling, struggling to remain upright.

Latilth’s scales lift in agitation and she lets out her own roar although it had no chance in outmatching the first one. The Shadow Hills become deathly silent, not even Latilth appeared to breathe. You doubt for a moment that anything ever happened. Then a familiar flap echos in the clouds like claps of thunder.

So slowly the body of a large shape became clearer to reveal a dragon.

Air hitches in your lungs, unable to escape. An image of Balerion’s skull flashed in your mind. This dragon had to be the same size as the Black Dread. Something was wrong with it though. It didn’t fly straight. Gait wavered as if it was intoxicated and couldn’t see straight.

“Will the barrier hold against a dragon that large?”

A few trees bent in the dragon’s erratic path but it was getting closer until you could see a light purple glow atop of its back.

Seafoam green scales were now distinguishable on the dragon.

“AZOR AHAI REBORN.” Someone’s raspy voice could be heard as the dragon settle among the leaf stripped trees, smashing them into mere splinters. It’s deep set eyes were in a hazy daze, large head bobbing from side to side. Such a magnificent creature reduced to a disgraceful state. A nerve in you flares with indignation as it did in Latilth who let out another wail.

You reach for her, not wanting Latilth to get into a fight she could not possibly win.

The dragon lowers its head and three figures with glowing staffs climb off one by one. Hoods on their cloaks were pulled over their faces. You knew who they were though. The Morghons.

You couldn’t really say that the Morghons had faces. Not exactly. Where there eyes and nose should have been was a smear of molten flesh, disfigured by the fires of the Seven Hells by the looks of it. Lips were also missing or if they did indeed have them, then they were very thin. Black lined their mouth though and pulled back to reveal sharp teeth. Their flesh, gray like a corpse, was pulled tight against their skeletal forms.

“You are forbidden from leaving the lands of Asshai.” One of the rasped out, a crooked finger sticking out in your direction. “For we have seen the chaos you will bring upon the world.”

Chaos? No, you were meant to prevent chaos.

A near identical Morghon steps forward as well to speak. “Thanks to you and your dragon, the magic in the world has been renewed tenfold.”

“That’s good though. Why do you have a qualm against that?” Loviisa shouts. The crawling of darkin shadows make the ground almost pitch black as they lurched and wove into one large expanse. They inch like sharp fingers towards the trio of Morghons and the dazed dragon.

Hisses seethe from them at her impudence. They were ancient and compared to Loviisa, she was just a baby to them. She needed to be careful with the way she spoke to them. “Watch thy tongue girl. We can level this pit in mere seconds.”

Just to prove a point, they stamp their staffs agains the ground and the sea foam colored dragon lolls it’s head up. Everyone took a step back as it aims it’s head at the mountain range behind you and releases a furious stream of flames from it’s mouth. The dead trees that clung to the mountainsides immediately took to the flames. Shrubs and whatever other foliage could thrive were set ablaze.

They kept going until the entire western side of the hills was scorched black.

Latilth moves to lunge, but you put a hand on her heaving chest. Her feral eyes turn and acknowledge you as she lets out a shrill whine.

“Because you have submerged the world into one where magic reigns all powerful, the universal struggles for power will be turned upside down.”

“Not everyone should be able to wield powers that divine those like us.” First Morghon motions to their triad.

You still weren’t seeing what the exact issue was. “I don’t understand.”

Third Morghon cackles cruelly. “You don’t understand because you are but a child playing a game she shouldn’t.”

Chillingly, the Third Morghon sounds like a distorted version of your father’s voice. “I’m meant to stop the Others, meant to stop eternal darkness. How is my presence also doom?”

“You, Azor Ahai Reborn, hatched the first dragon in centuries that was not in the Shadowlands. Not just that, you hatched it with your ethereal flames bequeathed by R’hllor.” Second Morghon points an accusatory finger at you. “A union like that sparked the flame of magic into action. It could be used for wars to come in the future.”

Darkly aware of the implications they were leading up to, you grimace but breathe steadily through your nose. If you freaked out, Latilth would feel it and acct without thinking. She was already chomping at the bit and you were highly aware of how obedient she was being. One thing you were always told in stories about them was how dragons could never truly be tamed. The Targaryens learned that early on in their history. Yet there she was, your Latilth, acting like an anxious pup and not a lethal animal. Easily she could have bitten your arm off at any moment.

Weles mimics your breathing style to slow his racing heart. These ancients beings meant to kill you. Not budging an inch, his fingers incessantly drilled against his leg yet ready to reach for his weapons in seconds.

“Why do you care so much?” Questions Jalsolin.

“The pestilence of selfishness and war will bring them to the shores of Asshai. Magic is a child of the Shadowlands. There is nowhere else where magic has been stronger than here.” The Secong Morghon clicks it’s tongue against fine pointed teeth.

That makes Jalsolin bark out a bitter laugh. “So you figure it’s better for the entire world to end than for others to come to Asshai?”

The primary Morghon, nods. “Yes. Better for the world to end. You have not seen what we have.”

You shake your head, unable to believe their words. If what they said was true, theen it was already too late; even if they did kill you. Magic will have already been felt amplified around the known world. Pointing out this flaw did nothing to persuade them.

“You are a beacon of magic. That’s how we found you so easily when you stepped foot in Stygai. All those monsters sensed it too. Wherever you are is where magic will be strongest. We can’t let you leave Asshai and we cannot let such a pure concentration of power reside in this world.”

Latilth, understanding the tone of the Morghons, angrily screams at the trio before taking off after them; flying above your arm. You fell aside from the gust of wind she sent down with her wings.

A wave of their unified staffs had the dragon behind them rousing back into action.

There’s a ringing in your ears thanks to her earlier shriek preventing you from hearing the others scream after both Latilth and yourself. You were on your feet already and running for Latilth. That dragon could easily rip her apart. Here winning any fight against it was hopeful thinking.

You didn’t want to lose her.

You couldn’t lose her.

Inside you, you felt like if you died alongside her, nothing else would matter. As long as you tried to save her. What did the rest of the world matter to you if the one good thing to happen to you is once again taken away?

She was your greatest accomplishment. Your greatest love.

Morghon controlled, their dragon opens its mouth right in the path of not just Latilth, but everyone else that was standing in horror.

The present darkin grabbed the closest people next to them and disappeared into their shadows seconds before the flames came at them.

All you could manage to do was brace yourself and shield your face from the intensity. Instead you feel a wave a nausea take hold as a cold hand grabs your ankle and drags you down into utter darkness. You tumble around in nothingness as the hand still has a grip on you.

You’re spat back out in a flurry of visual confusion. Inniros is next to you, secure fingers gripping your arms and attempting to steady you.

“Latilth!” You cry, adjusting your eyes back and registering your new surroundings. Slim trees go on relentlessly for miles. You don’t know how far you are from the original sight, but when your gaze wobbles up to the skies, you see the emergence of wings above the tree tops a few feet away.

The flapping wings are desperate though as they messily flap and strike down closeby trees. Under you the ground trembles. Fire was spreading fast and smoke was curling upward.

A horned head could be seen though shaking violently; trying to get something off of it. Pale glinting of her scales verified the nuisance as your Latilth, her talons viciously clawing at the Morghon Dragon’s face. She had managed to make one of their eyes raw and bloody. Too small and too fast Latilth flits around it, the large dragon was unable to shake her off.

Inniros quickly pulls you back when you move to go after her again. When you turn you find that his eyepatch was missing, singed remnants fluttering ash. Where another blue eye should have been was a red, empty socket with thick keloid scaring around the rim.“Wait. Wait (y/n)!”

“I can’t wait!” You shortly snap at him. “Whatever happens to me. . . I just need to get to her! That’s all that matters to me right now.”

He arcs his face above to follow where your eyeline had been so glued to. “Do you have a plan?”

“No.”

You knew the Morghons would probably be waiting for you, lurking and hiding easily with their waif thin bodies. They wouldn’t let you escape with your life. But there was no way you could take on whatever they were. Old masters of the Shadowlands should be feared rightfully so. Even you wouldn’t be able to kill them.

“Alright.” Was all Inniros said. “We better hurry then.”

Fervently nodding, the two of you start running toward the furious roars and screeches that followed random flashes of fire as each tried to maim the other. Inniros hooks his arm with your’s and again, you sink below the surface of the earth.

You full the propulsion of your body flying fast through the depths of the universe. A protective arm loops around your front and instinctively you hold on until the blur of trees rights itself into a clear picture where you could see seafoam wings flail and two clawed feet restricted from any movement by thick, black pools. The other darkin were trying to keep it from causing anymore damage. But while they kept it from moving, they were completely vulnerable to attack from the Morghon, wherever they had run off to. You didn’t doubt that they were nearby. Rhiannon and Weles stood off to the side to let the darkin do their thing while also keeping an eye out for the hooded figures.

When spotting you, she picks up the singed hem of her dress and runs to you. Relief has her face relaxing enough for a smile to prosper. You meet her in the middle, returning her embrace. The smell of smoke was perfumed into her hair. “You’re going after her?”

You nod against her shoulder before both of you release. “Not my best idea. I don’t even have a plan but I can’t let her fend off that dragon by herself.”

Rhiannon looks over her shoulder to the three darkin that were doing their best to contain such a large beast. Their brows twitch from the strain and you even see Ulian’s pale cheeks burning from the effort.

In the distance you could vaguely make out two voices.

“Melisandre and Ray.” Inniros knowingly says as he caught up to you. Giving you and Inniros encouraging pats to the back, she lets you pass to get closer to the large talon feet. The leg mujscles in the magnificent beast quiver with its fury. Latilth was no longer in it’s face but had started to peck at the nape of it’s meaty neck. Was she trying to dislodge something?

Cupping your hands around your mouth, you call out her name as loud as you could. She stops her assault, head shooting up in realization that it was you. Removing her nails from the grip she had, Latilth dodges a leathery wing; swooping underneath it. Her snout was a mess of blood but you didn’t see any wounds that would tell you it was Latilth’s blood.

You’re about to reach a hand out to pet the smooth scales on her forehead until Latilth sweeps you off your feet and onto her back. She barely gives you enough time to register what was happening and cling on to her ivory dorsal horns for dear life. You squeeze your eyes tight at the feeling of your body turning upside down, your weight almost ripping you off from Latilth. Things happened in a matter of seconds, your throat couldn’t even muster up a scream.

Her body was sluggish with the extra added weight, but Latilth struggles on until she reaches the top of the dragon that was still thrashing about but growing weary from its attempts for freedom.

Nails dig into the nape of it’s neck and you finally slide off of her while blindly grasping for some support to prevent you from flying off.

Cracking your eyes open and digging your nails into the massive scale under, in front of you is a raw crystal crudely jammed right into dragon flesh. The stone, at first glance appears black in color, but catching the light it turns out to be a blood red crystal. Torn, pink skin was paired with the fresh red of blood from various deep gashes.

Gritting your teeth, you dig your feet and fingers deeper and make your climb up to it. Was that what Latilth had been trying to get at?

Confirming your suspicion, Latilth is once again pouncing on it in with claws and dragon fire which enraged it even more. The crystal was deeply rooted, all of Latilth’s attacks were futile.

A dark energy pulsates against your fingertips when you brush them out, inches from a mirror-smooth surface that whispered of control and pain. Your arm quakes under the pressure of such an aura.

This reeks of Morghon.

That was how they were controlling this stumbling dragon that was mentally fight against their dark magic.

When you try to force through the barrier, a sharp grip immediately squeezes around your arm and Latilth’s ear splitting shriek nearly has you going deaf. She rips your into the air as pain in both your arm and leg have you crying and clawing at Latilth’s leg as you hold on for dear life. You barely catch the image of two of the Morghons on the seafoam dragon; exactly where you had just been.

Clenching your back molars, you manage to swing yourself up on Latilth’s back; almost slipping when she evades the snapping of jaws.

What should have been a momentous occasion, you couldn’t afford to spare a second thought to the fact that you were riding a dragon. Just like the Targaryens of old. No Lannister ancestor could boast that. You would most likely be not just the first, but the only one of the Lannisters to succeed in such a feat.

All you could focus on was holding on tightly for dear life as Latilth has to make a sharp redirection as the flapping of a colossal wing nearly smacks into the both of you.

She was nowhere near big enough to comfortably ride and Latilth wasn’t accustomed to the added weight of your body.

Past the gaps of wind that hisses past your ears, you hear the warning shouts from down below. You dare to look over the side of Latilth to see three figures being propelled away from the Morghon’s dragon and flat onto their backs.

Now untethered, the large body gains wind and propels itself upward. Right to you and Latilth. Legs curl into it’s torso so that clawed feet are aimed and ready to skewer you.

Latilth roars and lets out a stream of fire. Smart to use the distraction to her advantage, she swoops under it’s belly.

At the speech Latilth was flying at, there would have been no chance for her to come to a quick stop even if she had seen a barbed tail swinging toward her.

In slow motion, a green tail descends upon you and Latilth.

Rhiannon watched the whole thing in horror and felt the guttural scream leave her stomach as she watched both (y/n) and Latilth be struck down by the Morghons’ dragon.

Burning tears spring forth and blur her vision when she starts to run in the direction of where they had fallen. She could just hear herself sobbing violently “PLEASE R’HLLOR” in a repetitive chant.

When pitch black envelops her sight and a coldness crept up on her, she thought it was death itself. Rather it turned out to be Inniros shadow dancing them until they sprung back up to the surface. Latilth’s body lay still in a tumble of branches and broken trunks. Deep gashes leak blood over her normally glittering cream scales.

Both Rhiannon and Inniros hurry to Latilth’s body. Inniros instantly goes to check the young dragon’s breathing. All the while Rhiannon holds her breath, hands stuck to her mouth. Wildly she runs her eyes over their surroundings. The dragonling had wrapped her wings around the front of her body in a protective manner.

Inniros’ shoulders sag in relief. He mumbled something in that weird Asshai’i language before switching to Valyrian. “She’s breathing. Latilth is breathing.”

At the sound of his voice, one of Latilth’s eyes opens. Slowly, she unfurls her wings to reveal (y/n), unconscious but otherwise fine.

“Latilth protected her.” Rhiannon gulps down the gross sob she had nearly let loose into the world. Sinking to her knees, she crawls closer to (y/n) who looked like she was sleeping.

The other darkin, having lost control and needing to evacuate the others, appear. They appeared ragged and drained of color from their face. It had taken a lot out of them trying to wrangle in the charmed dragon. Melisandre and Ray take in the sight in seconds and are already next to Rhiannon.

Weles stared, his dark eyes flicking nervously up to the sky.“We need to move her.”

Melisandre shakes her head. “We can’t-“

Weles snapped his dark gaze at the red woman, his nose crinkling like a feral animal. “If we don’t move her, they will find her and kill her.”

Staggering forward, Loviisa addresses Inniros “Take her back to the manor. She’ll be safer there. The wards are strongest there.” Then she turns to regard Latilth. “I’ll try to shadow dance the youngling.”

Rhiannon helps Inniros gather (y/n) into his arms while overhearing Weles ask Loviisa credulously “Are you able to do that?”

“Can’t say if I am, but I’ll try. Jalsolin, you can handle transferring two people at once, right?”

“Yes but-“

“Good.” Loviisa paid no attention to whatever Jalsolin had to say next as she instructs Ulian next. She realized early on that there weren’t enough darkin to get everyone to safety all at once. Ulian was too young to carry more than one passenger and Inniros had his hands full carrying (y/n). Jalsolin might have to dash to get the rest once he dropped off the first two. “Ulian, escort Lady Rhiannon alongside Inniros.”

(y/n) began to rouse from the fall. Her bruised eyelids flutter lopsidedly in her struggle to gain further consciousness. “L. . .Latilth?” She breathed out.

Inniros’ one blue eye softens. “It’s alright. We’re getting the both of you out of here.”

“Latilth.”

Rhiannon crowded next to Inniros. “Latilth’s breathing. She’s still alive.”

Pulling through, (y/n) successfully keeps her eyes open. “Where. . .”

“My lady, please stop talking. Conserve your strength.” Melisandre begged.

Latilth limps up onto her hind legs and hobbles to (y/n) with a coo. Insisting that she be put down, Inniros gently stabilizes her on the soles of her feet. They met halfway, each half of the soul they shared. (Y/n)’s arms wrap around Latilth’s horned head, pressing her forehead against hot scales. A whisper is shared that Rhiannon couldn’t hear but felt the sentiment.

“Hey guys,” attempts Jalsolin once more “we really should get the hell outta here.”

Ray nodded. “Yes, he’s right. Melisandre and I will go with him. Nuha kosh, Inniros is going to take you back to the Manor of Shades. Loviisa says she can take Latilth.”

She broke contact with her dragon and frowned. “But the Morghons. . .”

“There’s no fighting them. Not while they have both a dragon and powers we cannot even begin to fathom. Darkin are not invincible. We are still human.” Loviisa told her patiently.

“They will keep coming though.” (Y/n) replied quietly. “If their goal is to kill me then they will not stop until it is accomplished.”

Uncertainty has Ulian shifting from foot to foot. His hands anxiously move, catching Loviisa’s attention.

“Maybe. If they were to listen to any of the masters, it would be Master Ameer, but he’s not even here right now. Master Batur and the others must have realized by now that they were misdirected and heading back.”

”We thought you stupid, child, but you speak wise words.”

Latilth opened her jaws in a deadly scream and nearly knocked over (y/n) trying to get in front of her. A rebuke from (y/n) once again has the youngling back in line but her teeth are still bared at the three Morghon that abruptly appeared out of thin air. In immediate response, a ring of protective fire sprung forth from the ground by the praying of Ray even if he knew that any and all endeavors were useless.

To her credit, their champion didn’t cower before the ancient ones. Fear kept no home on her features. Green eyes smolder to a violent firey hue and her skin glowed with whispered of divine flames.

“Hand over Azor Ahai, Children of R’hllor.” Nails of ice run down Rhiannon’s back at such a voice. “In exchange we will spare your lives.”

(y/n) pushed back the protesting hands of those who only desired to keep her safe. They shirk away at the sight of determination blazing about her. “Azor Ahai is right here, Ancient Ones.” Easily she passed through Ray’s flames without a sign of scorching on her. “You, who have foreseen the dread I will spread on the world with magic. Yet where is your proof? I cannot simply take your word for what it is.”

They hiss and almost descend upon her with claw like fingers, but somehow they restrain that indignant part of themselves. “You doubt our power?”

“Of course I do. You say one thing while those who have similar powers as yourselves say something entirely different. And so far from what I’ve experienced, they seem to be right on a lot of things.” A risky move to be saying such disrespectful things to the Morghon. Taunting their power was unwise. (Y/n) stood off against them. “Show me then this future that you see.”

Taglist:

@boywivlove

@esposadomd

@domoron

@yentroucnagol

@enchantingcupcakecollectionfan

@bregarc

[lazywriter-artist]

Only skin deep

Warhammer 40k writing || Original character mini fic

Al’vah rested amongst the guardsman, gently rubbing his aching legs. Their regimes of exercise were no joke! He stretched out his legs before something caught his eye, he glanced now to the semi exposed back of another soldier. Hesitating, the young T’au tramped over, glancing at the large marigold yellow-y eagle head that peaked from under the man’s tank top. Al’vah made a small noise pointing to it, “what’s…that?”

He sheepishly asked, his voice still fresh and new to the oddities of the high gothic language most humans on the ship spoke. The guardsman, a bit startled at first, glanced back around before he got this big grin. Off came the tank top as he flexed his muscles, showing off an intricate design that took up a large portion of his back. A huge double headed eagle, clearly meant to be the golden one plastered all around the imperium but the color of the thing a bit faded and naturally no where near as shiny, claws reaching forward with a banner in its grasp which held lettering that read ‘Purge the unclean’. A few other imperial and inquisitional symbols the young T’au didn’t really (aside from the inquisitorial rosette of course) rested around the Eagle creating a sort of triangle about the large winged creature. He flexed his arms forward squishing his pecs a bit as he showed off the picture

“My inks, ya like it?” He smirked with another flex of his muscles, the sweat trickled down the Eagle and made such a strange glimmering effect. Al’vah, ever curious, carefully approached the man further as an absent minded hand reached forward to touch the strange composition. He felt the muscles of the guardsman bristle under his touch, a low noise from the man as Al’vah brushed over the lines of the design. The shapes created by the wings of the two headed creature, spanning over the skin and strangely almost feeling as if the Eagle was bout to leap from the man’s back! He had heard of the imperial soldiers scarring themselves, some T’au did the same after all, and he had felt and seen the strange implants other imperials used for these— pictures. Though, those were mostly the strange robot ones and they felt much different. As he traced over the intricate designs of the Eagle they felt…well like skin! The muscles tensed and flexed with ease as the guardsman chattered with the other two guards members, who looked over Al’vah’s shoulder admiring the thing with the T’au. Much different then the other…skin decoration he had seen. Electoos he seemed to recall? They buzzed with energy and seemed to rise ever so slightly from the skin, pulsing with energy. Solomon had a few actually! This, was much different.

“What- is this?” he blinked in confusion looking up now to the guardsman as he finally lowered his flexing arms.

“Tsk, a tattoo! Don’t ya blue skins got em?” he smirked some as Al’vah shook his head, blinking as he took in the strange shapes “no…not like this— ours are…not this….” he couldn’t find the word, his hands tracing gently over the shapes, a low sound from his throat as he muttered something in his language, finally recalling the words Solomon had used “elaborate…”

“Ah yeah! Hurts like a bitch tho!” he chuckled seeming to confuse Al, and already the guardsman knew he needed to explain “Tch, this ain’t that fancy implant shit, real men and womens’ inks are done with these tattoo guns, some little needles that put the ink right in ya!”

Al’vah’s eyes widened in slight horror, blinking as he looked down to the large tattoo again “w-what— that must hurt-“ he blinks as he looks on thinking of the size of the tattoo…how long was he being- stabbed for?! “Did— Didn’t you fear bleeding out?!”

“nah! No worse than the scarring most folk do!” the guardsman shrugged with a chuckle “sides I thought you blue skins are supposed to be tough little buggers?”

“No we-“ Al began before pausing for a second, shifting some as he thought for a moment. A low noise came from the little T’au again. He supposed the guardsman did have a point, even if he didn’t fully understand why.

He muttered to himself, his hands again gently tracing the tattoo in awe as the guardsman conversed. He was lost deep in his thoughts now, such stunning and strange creatures humans are….

[wayfinderships]

Ok one more Panchi Post for tonight I prommy <3

I was thinking about the fact that D.imitri gives Panchi a dagger during the events of the Pre-Timeskip and Panchi keeps it with them during all of those years, it becomes one of their most treasured possessions.

If the player feels really evil, in the Black Eagles route you can make Panchi be the one to kill Dimitri with the dagger he gave them. You get special dialogue just for making the two fight-akfnsjfd It's so good and angsty but that's a topic for another day

As I was thinking of the dagger, I kept wondering what it would look like and I think I decided on it! It would have a floral design! Specifically the flowers would be Forget-me-nots! (pictured below)

Not only are they blue but they also mean True Love among a few other things so I think it just really suits the dagger and the ship itself 👉👈 Hehe a perfect match methinks!

[ninanoone]

This is probably going to be my second and last written post. Because I’ve got to talk of this crack ship that I don’t know if I was the first to think of it, but I thought of it since at season 4 and now here we are. The brain worms have overcome me. Anyways point taken, the crack ship that I don’t know how the hell, I came up with in some sort of moment of insanity, was Peng. With the Jade Emperor/Yu Huang/Yudi.

Hear me out, please. It has some foundation.

It started with the though “why is Peng even part of the brotherhood?” It didn’t make sense, the prideful, vane, pesky, sassy wine aunt. Why was this sassy bird in a group all about unity and freeing the realms? Weird. Peng doesn’t seem like a character who would be with “oh yes, let’s bring down the higher ups” because Peng is a higher up. See In the original myth Peng is Dapeng, or the Golden Winged Peng, who’s literally Buddha’s political uncle, son of The Original Phoenix Fenghuang an ancient and very powerful being. Peng is maybe the only character who in the novel Wukong doesn’t defeat, but instead Buddha has to go over there and drag Peng’s ass back home.

“So why?” I wondered. And then an idea came to me. Peng’s the type of character who would absolutely join a revolution for some petty reason, just look at how he was with Macaque.

And knowing Peng is literally of the highest, wouldn’t that mean he could’ve gotten to meet the Jade Emperor?

And so I fell into the rabbit hole.

Because it’s even worse if we consider the fact Peng is a harpy eagle, and that they don’t do matting dances or shit. No, they are attracted to power, and who’s more powerful than the Jade Emperor? Buddha? Yeah but he’s out of the question. And it also would be funny to imagine Peng writing a letter to the Jade Empero finally after centuries of stalking the man and swooning over him, they confess their attraction to him, but being rejected because the Jade Emperor is married.

Which could then entail to Peng getting all pissed, because “how dare he deny them? When their obviously the better option? Isn’t it wrong to have a demon as a wife? Why does he break the rules when he wants?” And well imagine an angry Peng suddenly being approached by a certain blue lion telling him something about some rebellion and bla bla bla. And of course they would say yes to the offer. They want revenge. They are going to get revenge.

Bonus: Why did Azure approach Peng? Well it is said that phoenixes appear when a new emperor rises to the throne symbolizing it’ll be a good Emperor and bring prosperity and more. So it could’ve been Azure knowing that, and trying to approach Peng because of that reason, because of Peng’s lineage being Fenghuang’s firstborn so that they were the brotherhood very technical symbol of them rising up to be better.

Bonus 2: Peng’s VA implies they had an angry crush on Macaque, and if that’s true and they did what they did with macaque just for an angry crush, who doesn’t say they wouldn’t go crazier for another crush?

[diaphin93]

Thank you for pointing out the Dimidue vs Dimilix thing. I get loving angst and why people ship the latter. But what really grinds my gears is the fact that Dimidue has less fanfiction than Dimiclaude. Dimitri and Claude barely even interact together in game. They interact more in Hopes. Meanwhile Dedue and Dimitri are practically inseparable. Their paired ending has Dedue being the royal consort. I can't help but wonder if it's because Claude is lighter skinned and more "conventionally" attractive.

The Edelcrit crowd keeps trying to pain her as racist, but it's hard not to say the pot's calling the kettle when you look at how often they forget about Dedue when discussing Black Eagles vs Blue Lions.

Honestly? I think Dimidue has alot more high quality angst potential than Dimilix in my opinion. It makes me think of the impression a friend of mine had when first playing Azure Moon. During her first playthrough, she speculated that Dedues attitude was some act and it would be revealed that he wanted to get close to Dimitri to get revenge for his people, because he seemed to be just too calm and subservient for what was done to his people by Faerghus, while also keeping a distance from Dimitri during their supports. And I totally get this, I personally also would have initially assumed that Dedue hides more anger than he shows, because why set up the dynamic of him being a survivor of genocide by Dimitris people, if not for some pay off, especially considering Azure Moons themes of revenge and being haunted by the dead? Alas, it didn't came to be because the game instead has Dimitri just play Faerghus police by squashing the Duscur Rebellion without another genocide, instead of turning against the nobles who commit it to begin with, and Dedue is effectively written out of the story in Part 2, due to being an optional re-recruit you can easily miss and so that Dimitri can have his loner boar arc.

Also I'm not really saying that I want Dedue to ultimately turn against Dimitri and become his enemy, but some messy complicated feelings and resentment would have added much needed depth to both the plot and Dedues character. Usually you would expect it to be like Dedue claiming to actually hate Dimitri for what Faerghus people did to his, while having conflicting feelings because over the years he grew to genuinly love and care for him, while it would have been a good growing experience for Dimitri, becoming much more aware of the pain and resentment others feel, similar to his own hatred against Edelgard, and how he as the King ultimately shares his own responsibility for Faerghus bloody history. Sadly the game never challenged Dimitri to this extent and makes his entire character development purely centered around Byleth and Rodrigue, but I think the set up has alot of potential for some introspection and alot of Angst when shipping those two.

But alas it shows the Fandoms strong racial bias against men of color, especially those who present as very masc. Instead they go for your typical two light-skinned Bishonen options for the most part. When it comes to Dimitri and Claude, I have my own problems with the ship. It is for all intends and purposes basically just Dimigard in Yaoi, the ship centers usually purely Dimitris values and validates his feelings and perspective over Claudes, enforcing this very white savior-esque perspective on themes of racism. I would say Hopes even made this much more clear, considering how their interactions are fairly awkward and Claude practically promises Dimitri to turn on him when it comes to taking out the church, something strongly hinted at in AG's ending. Alas, I also think they lack alot of chemistry and I have a problem with how Claude inside Blue Lions routes is always marginalized and turned into either a sidekick or PoC in Distress for Dimitri to act as a white savior towards, with little agency and respect for his own perspectives and ambitions. It is different in the case of Edelgard and Claude, where superficially people claim that he just follows everything Edelgard says, ignoring the larger context of him acting the entire time to push forward his own ambitions and that there differences are much more nuanced, them agreeing in their opposition against the Church and Crests but otherwise having distinct goals.

But back to the topic, I would say, yes, Claude being a more conventionally attractive in anime terms, which means bishonen, and lighter skinned PoC plays strongly into it. Claude being smaller and presented as physically weaker than Dimitri also usually pushes him into the position of the Bottom or Uke in that ship, which is another problem in the way PoC's are often represented, namely that Brown Men are usually only validated when they can be contextualized as emasculated and the more effeminate part of a ship compared to the stronger and more dominent white partner. We see this Dynamic play out in one of the most notorious Edelcrit ships, which also features DimiClaude. It generally reveals a strong racist element inside Fandom by erasing Claudes culturally middle eastern inspired heritage by recontextualizing Almyra as Japanese, a culture that white supremacy often contextualizes as the Model Minority, and presents him as the submissive to Dimitris dominant, while also being used to elavate Dimitris status as a white savior to further glorify him. I think this happening in one of the most popular FE3H Fanfics, that goes into alot of religious apologetics as well and involves strong misogynistic themes both surrounding Byleth and Edelgard, reveals a strong anti-MENAT (an extended acronym to also include turkey) bias inside the community.

As I said, FE3H is a true microcosm of fandom and its typical biases, bigotries and problems, which is thanks to its diverse cast. The top list of AO3 ships also showed so much, it was predominantly white and light-skinned asians and alot of Harry Potter.

[redcomet-stims]

Hullo internet people, I've decided to make a sideblog to try making stimboards, just wanna keep everything organised :)

This blog has NO DNI, and will take ALMOST any request you want. With that, though, comes no discourse. Or arguments. I want to make visually stimulating moodboards, not fight with you.

I'm not completely child-safe all the time...but I'm not NSFW at all...I'll take requests with "adult" sources, but won't use blatantly adult content at all :)

Do not expect consistent posting, but I try to post frequently!

Also, if you are requesting a character that isn't from something in my fandoms list, I would prefer you add a theme(s) (or maybe tell me a bit about the character if you so desire 🤫). It's not required, but it would be nice and would help me out! If you don't, I'll be fine though, but I might have a few inaccuracies, may go more off of appearance, or generally may not make something as high-quality as I could. I'll try my best to gather information and make it accurate nevertheless ^^

And just a note: if the things I write on my stimboards don't make sense, are rambly, or sound weird, it's probably because I make a lot of my stimboards late at night 😭 I am a massive night owl and like working on them later in the day because I feel like I can focus better on them, but sadly I am also not always the greatest at putting out my thoughts coherently at night 🙏 And yeah my image IDs might not always be the best due to working on them later too (or because I just genuinely don't know what the actual hell something is)

Inbox: 6

Tionishia (Monster Musume) (anon)

Equius (Homestuck) with horses and violent themes (anon)

Bald eagle therian with themes of snow and the Philadelphia Eagles (anon)

Yung Kai with soft blue, beaches, and flowers (anon)

Blue heelers (non-anon)

Piglin (Minecraft) with warped forest colors (teal, cyan, bright orange in specific) (anon)

Requests: Open

If I forget warnings, I'm so sorry and I'll edit it in as soon as possible.

I don't warn for hands, food, and uncommon phobias, but I will ALWAYS warn for blades/other weapons, medical imagery, gore/blood (fake or not), and flashing images!!!

My older boards don't have alt texts as of the moment!

Blacklist, whitelist, and fandom list under the cut so that this post doesn't IMMEDIATELY look a mile long!

My blacklist and whitelist! My blacklist is stuff I either don't feel qualified to do or just don't WANT to do. My whitelist is stuff I would love to do or am interested in.

---

Blacklist (only a few things):

Countryballs/Countryhumans (Hetalia is cool, though ^w^)

Agere/petre boards for fandoms I'm not familiar with or don't have a theme

Shipping real people

Most darkships (if I had a greylist I would put this on here. I have nothing against you guys (I'm profic *sob*) but I just don't know if I would end up wanting to make boards for ships like these myself. However I'm not stopping you from requesting things of this nature, honestly go for it if you'd like, there's just a chance I'll decline)

Whitelist:

Anything on my fandoms list, of course

Pride flags

Ships, as long as it's easy to find information on them!

Alterhuman stuff (FYI, alterhumans (fictionkin specifically), I'm one of y'all 😁👍)

Real people and V-tubers, as long as it's not in a weird way.

NSFW sources, but only if it would be relatively easy to find SFW pictures

Sources that people usually don't accept (whatever people put on their blacklists all the time, idk. I see Hazbin Hotel and Boyfriend to Death and stuff like that all the time on those lists so stuff like that?)

Niche medias!!! I wanna know!!!

Music-themed boards

Slightly suggestive themes (no sexual nudity involved please why would I want to put that)

Fandoms:

Vocaloid/vocal synths in general

Touhou Project

Mobile Suit Gundam

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Cowboy Bebop

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun

Project Diva

Needy Streamer Overload

Project Sekai

Bandori

Idolmaster

Girls und Panzer

Hetalia...

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Urusei Yatsura

Patalliro

Kaze to Ki no Uta

If what you wanted to request doesn't fit the whitelist or fandom list but isn't in the blacklist, STILL feel free to request!

[dcggersedge]

there she is! the starry-eyed, star-adorned professor one black eagle’s been meaning to talk to. and what better night than this one, with the ambiance of glowing lights and phantom figures in their midst, to make a memorable introduction?

“professor!” here comes the sun, gilded in that morning gold, poised to strike the appropriate pose—a slight curtsey, head bowed respectfully—before she looks up with a beam.

“to think that we've been passing ships in the night for who knows how long! a proper introduction's been long overdue.” a hand instinctively raises to comb through her locks, on instinct, to ensure she presents a most impressionable image. “i’ve heard so much about you! i’m dorothea.”

She doesn't react, at first. There's lots of professors here. The title could go to anyone, and she hasn't spotted any of her Blue Lion students just yet. Yunaka only realizes that it's her that's being called when a flash of gold enters her vision, making her flinch and turn.

Woah.

"Holy- that costume is amazing!" No way that's just for something like this! Something that elaborate belongs on the stage, in some kind of grand performance! The troupe could've never afforded something like this, it would've been too likely to get damaged while they traveled. "Is it from something? Did you make it, or rent it? What other costumes are there- oop."

Yunaka cuts herself off with a little laugh. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't expect to see someone pulling out all the stops." Passing ships? Were they? Yunaka's seen her around a few times, sure, but was this student really that eager to meet her? Huh.

"Nice to meet you too! The name's Yunaka. And...uh...." She laughs nervously. "What was it that you heard about me, exactly?"

[raijintosworn]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Cyan

Pronouns: she/they/he

Birthday (no year): 28/05 (I share my birth with Siegbert and am between Mercie and chrom!)

Where are you from? What is your time zone? From France, live in England so like 5 hours ahead of the toa clock so I miss a lot

How long is your roleplay experience? Like 15 years now??? What the fuck

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? So I had a friend in school who was a weeb and asked if I RP. And I thought he meant. You know. Nsfw. So I was like Ew no :( I am a teen that is gross. Then he explained he meant like fandom RP and how it works and then I joined him on GaiaOnline YES I'M THAT OLD THANKS AND YES I STILL USE GAIA. I started with hetalia. Yes I'd still like to die

How were you introduced to TOA? Lailah hinted at me for like 2 weeks with lines like "I joined this group and you know Gerome misses Cynthia" and I kept going "sounds fun :)" and did not realise they were hinting until they straight up asked. wow I have been here 6 months

Do you have any pets? No :( I don't have the time for them

What is your favorite time of year and why?(Season, holiday, general period) Summer despite you know. The bugs. But I can actually function in summer

What is your IRL occupation? Data entry; it's why I'm on the discord server most of my day now

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? I like cooking, baking, oh and I'm a cosplayer! I've been at it for 3 years and yes it's mostly fire emblem bar ONE (soon to be two)

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Tales of (WHERE ARE MY TALES FRIENDS AT), Persona, critically acclaimed mmorpg FFXIV, octopath, ?? I'm not sure what else? I tried playing dragon age but it crashes constantly even with the fixes

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: I don't think I have a fave type but I really really love Dragonair 🥺

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! I once wrote about the ships I hate for an English exam. Got an A. But at what cost. One was a hetalia ship (I was a child.) and another was Bart and Milhouse. 😑 Yes that Bart and Milhouse.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? I was told to play Awakening because I'll love it and I'll totally love all these characters. Um. I never finished it. Then Fates came out, twitter didn't shut up about that and I refused to play it. Then 3H came out. I saw Edelgard and it was joever for me. So I bought it and I've been here ever since.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? Engage, 3H, Fates (all three routes baby), Awakening, Echoes, Warriors, Sacred Stones, a little FEH until I was put off cause I summoned Easter Xander, a little FE7 and I WILL. FINISH. PATH OF RADIANCE. I SWEAR TO YOU ALL RIGHT NOW.

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: first was technically Awakening but I didn't like it so I dropped it until 2022 I wanna say? So really my first FE was 3H. My favourite? Depends on the day.

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series!

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason!

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays?- Awakening:- Fates:- Three Houses:- Engage:

Favorite Fire Emblem class?

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable?

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran)

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent?

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon)

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?)

Current TOA muses: Cynthia and Ryoma!

Past TOA muses? Alas :(

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Cynthia! My beloved. I didn't think she could be such a strong muse I picked her up cause I was bullied into it. Now she bullies me daily

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I don't know actually? I love posh assholes. I love sweet girls. I love chaos characters. I dunno you should see my muse list on my indie it's a wild mix

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? I wanna write unrepentant assholes but I can't :( I struggle with that. I'm trying tho

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) um. Well. I like intimate stuff if you're picking up what I'm putting down. But then I run away about 2 replies in so I write fanfic usually. I like kissing too. Um. I love high emotional scenes too. If I could describe my writing style, it's "My Dinner With Andre - the novel" (I've never seen the film but I get the gist)

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? I want Ryoma to be happy. Like genuinely I want him to be in a place where he can forgive himself, maybe even forgive the nohrians. I want him to move on and have a peaceful life as a teacher. But I also want him to fall in love which is. So silly. But. My brain is a shipper lol. As for Cynthia? Hm. I have thoughts for her but that's a whole arc

Favorite TOA-related memories? I dunno! I've had a lotta fun here but I can't think of any specific stuff offhand? Maybe how welcoming everyone was when I joined that was nice 🥺

Present or past tense? Present! I live in the moment! I tend to tense match but present. I like third person and second person POV too but I can't RP in second person BC it feels weird? I mostly write in second person if I'm writing a vent fic. Why? I dunno

Normal size text, small text, no preference? I like tiny text but again I size match. I snoop to see what my partner does and copy them :D

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉  I am working towards the worst fucking creature. 0/10. I hate him (Innes. Yes he's my discord icon rn why do you ask). If someone else grabs him, hm. Tana? L'Arachel? I had more but I'm gunning for my moron mullet man ngl I have THOUGHTS

[verseandrhyme]

TOA Anniversary Munday

Thanks Neffi!

Name: Vivi

Pronouns: They/Them

Birthday (no year): December 22nd

Where are you from? What is your time zone? Canada, TOA Standard Time.

How long is your roleplay experience? I've been roleplaying on Tumblr specifically for about 9 years now, but on the internet as a whole since I was first let on here unsupervised so who knows. If I had friends to play with as a kid, probably a lot sooner irl too.

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? I think it was first through Gaia Online roleplay forums for Kingdom Hearts, then later I moved to Quizilla where I was actually kinda semi-popular.

How were you introduced to TOA? Ree showed up in my dms and said "quit modding FERP. Join my new server." and then later that month I was there.

Do you have any pets? No, but I have two cats back home with my parents.

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Fall and early Spring, because most of my wardrobe is geared towards then.

What is your IRL occupation? Customer Support Specialist for a video game company, but I just transferred out of Quality Assurance.

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? Video games in general, musical theatre, mythology, fairy tales.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Suikoden, Persona, Planet Zoo/Zoo Tycoon, Eiyuden Chronicles, In Stars and Time, I can go on forever.

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Fire and Vulpix.

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! (Optional bonus challenge: if you filled this out last year, try not to repeat what you said back then!)

I trained in theatre and studied sword fighting/stage combat.

I'm allergic to peanuts.

The doctor told my mom to avoid all nuts as a result, and aside from the Nutella they made me eat during my latest test, I have yet to eat any nuts willingly.

I have multiple scars on my right knee.

My mom lost me on a cruise ship when I was 4.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? My friend was playing Awakening and would let me try it, but not let me make any save files, so I played the first few maps over and over until I was able to eventually get my own copy and make it past the first three chapters.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? Tellius games, Awakening, Fates games, Shadows of Valentia, Warriors Games, Three Houses/Hopes, and Engage.

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: First: Awakening! Favorite: Fates!

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Setsuna, Mitama, Saber, Reyson, Yunaka.

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! Gaius! It was on sight I completely abandoned my plans to S-rank Frederick for him. It's the VA, he keeps getting me like this.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 Crushes, no.

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Gaius / probably still Gaius - Fates: Kaden/Laslow/Silas / Ryoma/Kaze/Setsuna - Three Houses: Ferdinand/Seteth/Sylvain(?)/Claude / idk probably the same - Engage: Pandreo / Still Pandreo but also Yunaka, Gregory, Diamant, Rafal, [...]

Favorite Fire Emblem class? Thief!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? I want to be one of those incredibly stupid villager units that you have to keep alive but keep running towards the enemy.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) Black Eagles.

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boons: Swords, Gauntlets. Bane: Heavy Armor, Flying.

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) uuuuh Firene.

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) Separate letters.

Current TOA muses: Mitama, Yunaka.

Past TOA muses? Bernadetta, Saber, Setsuna, Charlotte, Sylvain. I'm probably forgetting someone.

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Bernadetta! I think I'm satisfied with what I did with her, she can rest.

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) People who say one thing but mean another and won't communicate their feelings clearly. This doesn't say anything about me as a person.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? I want to try an antagonist at some point but I lack the emotional willpower to go up to three muses for long. I also don't think I could handle writing a lord or someone important, I like my guys who don't matter.

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I don't know how to explain this because it's v vibe base. I like when there's emotional tension. I like seeing interactions between other characters weave together. I like building towards something bigger. Scenes where someone breaks and finally talks about something they've been holding back.

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? I want to force Yunaka to talk about her past with people I want that shit to get dragged out to the open I want that shell cracked open to the meat baby.

Favorite TOA-related memories? Happyland2024 was a lot of fun and I'm glad that was my first lore event back, I had a great time with everyone. Team Justice will always be dear to me, as that was the moment that really got me hooked on TOA. Getting Nat's Innes' name in babe hunt just to beat Lilly's Cynthia and Lilly's reaction always makes me laugh.

Present or past tense? Lately I've been doing present more but the thing about me is that if I stop thinking for two seconds I change tense without noticing.

Normal size text, small text, no preference? Normal text, but lately I've just been matching whatever other people cook.

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 Saber quieted back down, sorry guys. I still think about trying Peri one day, and I would like to try and see if Setsuna vibes again because I miss her. I thought about Louis out of nowhere the other day, that was weird.

[dustedmagazine]

Liam Grant — Prodigal Son (VHF Records)

How does one go about making music not usually understood as “punk” sound like punk? How best to apply the DIY ethos, the construction by destruction, of punk art to other genres? How can the guide-fires that have been lit by past iconoclasts of the underground illuminate explorations in different styles? Maine-based fingerstyle guitarist Liam Grant provides his answers to these questions in the form of his sophomore LP, Prodigal Son (out 2/21/2025 on VHF Records), a collection of anti-tradition-traditional-style music — American Primitive with a capital A and P through a dirtied lens — kindly and perhaps counter-intuitively dedicated to his parents.

The opening track, “Palmyra,” starts with a gong-like bang on the open strings of a Weissenborn lap dobro prior to dipping into a sunny, up-tempo Fahey-style postmodern country blues jam. A typical start for a post-Jack-Rose guitar soli record, except that it sounds like it was run through the same amp and pedals Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein used while recording “Where Eagles Dare”, with the gain on the tape machine dimed à la Bowie recording Raw Power. The disconnect between the refinement of the playing and the fidelity of the recording is striking. It isn’t circumstantially lo-fi, nor is it an attempt to sound vintage like a dusty 78 rpm disc, going back to the source — it’s an intentional push into distortion, taking something pretty and covering it in mud.

This distressed audio technique works well with the blues style music, you can situate the gritty sound of the slide in some kind of smoky Roadhouse scenario — trade out the casual violence for folks talking over each other about obscure records from Western Massachusetts while the guitar wails. It takes on another dimension of abstraction when Grant switches out the slide for the twelve-string and gets in raga mode. The lightning-like knots of fingerpicking on the moody, roughly thirteen-minute eastern-infected journey “Salmon Tails Up The River” dissolve into flattened fields of blown-out tape fuzz, blending with the textured booms of the low end strings to create a speaker-straining mass of sound. Another lengthy twelve-string piece, “Insult to Injury,” opens the B-side with a meditative counterpoint to the sturm und drang of “Salmon Tails”,twinkling riffs cutting through the sonic haze like a gentle ship passing through ocean fog.

The last two songs on Prodigal Son show different ways of approaching folk, in a broad sense, in a punk way, first by paying tribute to an originator, second by an invocation of the DIY lifestyle. “A Moment at the Door” is a take on a composition by a master of boundary-clearing, broke-down blues guitar playing, Loren Mazzacane Connors. The overdriven recording here finds a comfortable middle ground where Grant ably recreates Connor’s minimalist electric guitar style on his six-string acoustic, magnetic hiss filling the stretches between notes. The album closer “Old Country Rock” is a loose and joyous live cut from the Grant/McGuire/Flaherty old-time trio. This is where the DIY lifestyle aspect of Grant’s project comes in. Last year this trio embarked on an extensive Southeastern US tour, booking it and conducting business in a way that would’ve been familiar to Black Flag in 1981, if you substituted phone calls for Instagram DMs. Twenty years ago, the original incarnation of Old Crow Medicine Show were constantly touring road-dogs bringing Beale Street jug band songs from the twenties and thirties to places no one had ever played them before. The *music* wasn’t punk, but they were – not because of how they sounded but because of how they did things. Patti Smith, asked likely for the millionth time what punk was, said “To me, punk rock is the freedom to create, freedom to be successful, freedom to not be successful, freedom to be who you are.” Punk has never been an aesthetic genre. It’s a way of being, and Liam Grant literally slides into it on the first track of Prodigal Son.

Joshua Moss

[adventure-showdown]

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

City of Death

Synopsis

While taking in the sights of Paris in 1979, the Fourth Doctor and Romana sense that someone is tampering with time. Who is the mysterious Count Scarlioni? Why does he seem to have counterparts scattered through time? And just how many copies of the Mona Lisa did Leonardo da Vinci paint?

Propaganda

even if your not a classic who fan, you have seen moments from this, “wonderful butler, he’s so violent”, “youre a beautiful woman, probably”, “if you wanted an omelette I’d expect to find a pile of broken crockery, a cooker in flames, and an unconscious chef”. The location shooting, iconic, the music, iconic, the plot, so iconic I was once watching something (non doctor who) that referenced it as a fake historical event. Dare I say duggan is the greatest side character of all time. Romana’s outfit, the design of scaroth, the implication time lords can fly. it’s not my favourite overall, but its damn near close, it deserves AT LEAST the semi finals, AT LEAST. If you’ve not seen it or any classic who, go watch it, its so good, one of the best of the era. Also, how could I forget, the most watched episode on broadcast out of all of doctor who, including new who. (yes it was because itv was off the air due to strikes, but im glad its this episode that holds the record) (anonymous)

Doctor Who and the Pirates

Synopsis

All aboard, me hearties, for a rip-roaring tale of adventure on the high seas!

There'll be rum for all and sea shanties galore as we travel back in time to join the valiant crew of the good ship Sea Eagle, braving perils, pirates and a peripatetic old sea-dog known only as the Doctor!

Gasp as our Gallifreyan buccaneer crosses swords with the fearsome Red Jasper, scourge of the seven seas and possessor of at least one wooden leg! Thrill as Evil Evelyn the Pirate Queen sets sail in search of buried treasure, with only a foppish ship's captain and an innocent young cabin boy by her side! Marvel at the melodious mayhem which ensues as we sail the ocean blue!

And wonder why Evelyn still hasn't realised that very few stories have happy endings...

Propaganda

DOCTOR WHO AND THE PIRATES MY BELOVED Just. A masterpiece of somehow very sad nonsense with an entire episode full of Gilbert and Sullivan songs, all about trying to stop a young woman from committing suicide. Of course it is. The subtitle is ""The Lass Who Lost a Sailor"" which makes me feel emotions (HMS Pinafore's subtitle is The Lass Who Loved a Sailor). (@mischieffoal )