#what does it mean for a dragon to “fall under the power” of a specific source dragon anyway

[agenericplaceholdername]

Not sure what the connection is here, but they're trying to get at something right?

[utilitycaster]

if you're up to elaborating, i would love to hear more about your complicated feelings on Taliesin's reads of this campaign, because that's something that's been itching my brain but I'd been having a hard time pinpointing why and I'm interested to hear your thoughts!

So I think it's best summarized in part as a combination of what was said in this post I just reblogged and these tags from @kerosene-in-a-blender on this post:

#yeeeaaaahhhh#ngl it seems like the characters and parts of the cast got so caught up in the potential moral dilemma of interventionist gods#that they forgot the gods of exandria aren't particularly interventionist#critical role#critical role spoilers#cr spoilers

Ashton feels like they learned something about their own arrogance and assumptions with Shardgate...and then it just vanished. And the fact that Taliesin genuinely read that as what was supposed to happen when like 3-4 authority figures, some of whom (Allura) have existed since Campaign 1 as People To Listen To had said "This is a bad idea" in plain language does give me pause because like...with all due respect, I get why Ashton would do this anyway! But come on, man, how do you hear that and not go "oh maybe it's a bad idea."

I don't want to read in too much to cooldown and 4SD either but I really do just feel that like...some of the cast, and Taliesin isn't alone in this but definitely seems to be using it the most in-game, have come under the impression that the purpose of this campaign is specifically to upend everything we knew...but that idea is just an assumption that is not supported, and as I've said repeatedly, there is no situation in which the world is not drastically changed - there's going to be either a hostile alien invasion, or a friendly alien migration, but either one will be monumental within Exandrian history, and that's not counting the establishment of the Accord/the collapse of local institutions in both the Dwendalian Empire and Bassuras/ If one cannot see any possibility for vast change within the world other than killing/driving out the gods, I don't know how to address this nicely. This is an uncreative and stupid position that I can't engage with because it's so stupid. It's like saying World War II didn't change anything in our world because at the end of it the US and USSR both still existed largely intact. So the over-focus on only one means of change in a way that feels based on an interpretation of this campaign's purpose that isn't even stated anywhere is telling and deeply frustrating.

As the second post indicates, it feels like some of the cast, Taliesin especially, got caught up in a theological argument of divine intervention that personally I had a great time debating in Hebrew school when I was 13, but is not ultimately true in Exandria (or reality, for that matter). On some level it's like maybe read some Harold Kushner and you'll calm down; it feels like you're arguing against like, some very real religious tenets (that are not exclusively Christian for once) but in a story where that's not actually a problem.

I'd throw in that Bells Hells sit in this awkward place of not being nobodies (or Nobodies) anymore but many are still acting like it and Ashton is at the forefront. Indeed, look at the name "the Nobodies." The problem is that Ashton is a Somebody now. He's not like, the ruler of a city, or an ancient dragon, or a god. But they're someone who has the personal raw power and the connections to survive an ill-considered second shard absorption. They're someone who is easily going to survive a fall out of a window, and who can't be bound into service. They are someone who has been entrusted by the world to assist in saving it, and they're too fixated on the gods not personally saving them to consider the vast potential harm to others, and I think it's not inherently out of callousness but rather that they've rather abruptly risen from "orphan criminal who expected to be dead by 30" to "guy tasked to save the world" but they have no option but to rise to the occasion, as the Raven Queen said. To change the world, he must change himself, and I feel like Taliesin, who often enjoys the idea of characters who don't change, is perhaps too wed to that concept for this particular narrative. And, for what it's worth: I've said it before that my personal preference is to keep the gods in place...but I would genuinely be MILES happier with a party that decisively had decided to kill the gods. I would not agree with their decision, but anything is better than this indecision. And since Ashton is pretty staunchly in favor of killing the gods and the rest of the party is varying degrees of strongly against (Orym, Braius), weakly against (Chetney, Fearne, Imogen, increasingly Laudna) and unsure but worried specifically about the mortal impact (Dorian) at some point it's like. Either say "I don't like this, but this is the party's plan" or leave. The decisiveness matters on an individual level too; because Bells Hells does not have good internal methods of resolving conflict for reasons stated above and below, at some point it's like. You have to give it up because no one will make you. If Ashton genuinely cannot or will not yield on this, either commit to betraying the party (totally valid, could be a great story) or have them leave; if Ashton does trust the party, have them reluctantly give in. A party-wide choice must be made and fast. The party is aimless because they are all pulling in different directions and it all cancels out, but Ashton is definitely contributing extensively to that agonizing stasis.

I suppose I should wrap up with what I've been saying a lot but should probably go on this post which is that a lot of the flaws in this campaign are not any singular person's fault. I really do feel like they began with the fact that Matt was clearly building to this specific story, and Bells Hells were not a party terribly suited to it in the first place and then were given an earlier narrative that, because it was heavily on rails to get them to the solstice setpiece, failed to give them the tools to become people who would be prepared for this endgame. I think Matt really wanted the cast to make the decisions here, and did not have a specific decision in mind, and now they're all finding that they're playing characters who can't make that decision. It's a culmination of a lot of smaller out-of-game choices that have failed to gel into a coherent whole. When I say the Raven Queen was right, and if they are not ready for this, to go home, I don't think the party should be tpk-ed or anything, but yeah, if they can't decide what to do when they are essentially tasked with killing the BBEG and diffusing the universe-shattering bomb, they should abdicate. I don't think a story in which the heroes fail is a bad one. I know Call of the Netherdeep has been a touchstone in the fandom throughout this campaign and there's one possible ending to that that's sort of unsatisfying, but the unsatisfying nature itself makes it an interesting story to me. I think this campaign ending with the party saying "we can't do this" is vanishingly unlikely, and complaints aside I think they will probably make a decision now but it all feels exceedingly doylist - Bells Hells are the characters the cast happens to be playing for this climactic final moment so I guess they will play those characters, and those characters will have to make a choice so that the final moment happens, but it doesn't feel terribly organic.

[g0lightly]

Visenya and Rhaenys; Rhaena and Alysanne; Sansa and Arya: An analysis of older and younger sisters' relationships to love and duty in Westeros

While Arya may be the more obvious Visenya comparison at first glance due to her inclination toward warfare, bear in mind that both Rhaenys and Visenya were warriors; arguably, Visenya's impact on Westeros is more defined by her diplomacy (an art Sansa has been learning her entire arc, specifically in the Vale and the Crownlands, the places Visenya conquered) while Rhaenys' impact is one of a warrior (specifically in the place that Arya's direwolf's namesake once ruled). I think that Sansa will ultimately be the Stark sister to fall into the Visenya archetype while Arya is more of the Rhaenys.

To be clear, this analysis is more about the Fire and Blood characters' roles in the story than their actual personalities since the text inherently leaves F&B characters' personalities way more open for interpretation than any POV character. With that in mind, I will be commenting on choices made by F&B characters that demonstrate character traits that the Stark girls also demonstrate and situations/events that mirror their stories. I also do not think that any character in ASOIAF is ever anything even close to a perfect 1:1 of any other character and do not intend to imply that this is the case.

Here's a previous reblog with my commentary on this subject, some of which I will repeat here. To summarize that commentary, I believe that Visenya and Rhaena (who directly compared herself to Visenya while comparing Alysanne to Rhaenys) establish a pattern of eldest sisters who were sought-after wives due to their place in the line of succession but ultimately choose to buck the rules when they realize their sense of duty to the system they live under will never truly help them. I strongly believe that Sansa is on her way to a similar arc and that this is (at least partially) what Lady's death means for her story.

Though one may be quick to think of Rhaenys as a more dutiful wife than Visenya since she is framed as the more traditional of the two women, I would like to remind my fellow readers that Visenya married Aegon for duty while Rhaenys married him for love. Visenya also established the first Kingsguard along with its vows because she believed that Aegon's guards were not attentive enough -- not unlike Sansa establishing the Brotherhood of the Winged Knight in the Vale to protect the young Lord Robert Arryn. While Sansa does not wish to be a warrior herself, she loves everything to do with knights, tourneys, and heraldry -- that is more of the way I see her emulating Visenya.

Regarding Visenya's diplomacy in the Vale specifically, I think it is notable that the Vale during the conquest was ruled by a regent on behalf of a boy king, not unlike Sweetrobin and Littlefinger. Though one might expect Visenya and Vhagar to burn the Eyrie to a crisp, as they had previously done to ships in Gullstown, she instead invited the young King Ronnel onto Vhagar to amuse the boy. The dragon's presence was also an inherent threat to Queen Regent Sharra Arryn, don't get me wrong. Without dragons in Westeros, the Eyrie was impenetrable. With dragons in Westeros, it was not -- and Visenya chose a very diplomatic way to remind Sharra Arryn of that fact. This is the kind of approach I expect Sansa to come away with from the Vale: Tactful and courteous but no less effective. She just needs to wield the power to back it up.

If Rhaenys had been more duty-minded, perhaps she would have married into a great house to give the Targaryens more allies in their conquest of Westeros. Instead she followed her heart and I believe Arya would do the same -- especially if she had a goddamn dragon. Additionally, because Alysanne and Jaehaerys are remembered in the histories as this perfect couple, it is easy to forget that they defied Alyssa when they married. Because of the reaction to Rhaena's marriage to Aegon, Alyssa reasonably worried that Jaehaerys and Alysanne's marriage would be unpopular. Nevertheless, Jaehaerys and Alysanne overcame this and went on to be remembered as the most beloved rulers in Westerosi history.

Sansa, on the other hand, pursues a man she actively dislikes (Harry Hardyng) because she believes she must marry him to retake Winterfell. This same pattern can be seen with Rhaena as well -- despite Rhaena clearly being a lesbian, she marries her own Aegon and has his children. Not unlike Sansa, Rhaena's place in her family's line of succession leads her to become one of Maegor's Black Brides. Though Sansa did not marry Joffrey, like Rhaena she experienced physical and sexual abuse from a cruel king at the Red Keep. Both Sansa and Rhaena had to mourn their fathers and brothers -- their most trusted male protector figures -- during their time in the Red Keep and were forced to marry into the political faction responsible for their deaths.

After Maegor's death, Rhaena shocked her family when she married the simple second son of the modest Fair Isle rather than making a match that would benefit House Targaryen. Of course, it was Elissa Farman that Rhaena loved rather than Androw Farman. As the closest thing to a canonically lesbian character in the ASOIAF-verse, Rhaena's place in the Targaryen line of succession meant that love and duty would always be at odds for her. When Rhaena fulfilled her duty by marrying Aegon, she was rewarded with the loss of her lover (Melony Piper), the loss of two of her brothers (one of whom happened to be the father of her children), being separated from her daughters, and her marriage to Maegor the Cruel. I can't blame her if that experience made her decide that a woman's "duty" in Westeros is a trap, because it absolutely is. After all of the losses she has endured, I would not be surprised if Sansa goes on to feel the same.

Since Rhaena is one of the more fleshed out characters from Fire and Blood, we also know a bit about how she dealt with her emotions. Like Sansa at the Tourney of the Hand when a young knight from the Vale was killed, Rhaena is noted to have had stony reactions to the many tragedies in her life (I believe this is because she was a dragon dreamer; that's for another meta but I mention this because Sansa was also emotionless for a reason that may have been related to her magic bond with her magic pet). This creates a little triad with Sansa and Alyssa Arryn, for whom Alyssa's Tears was named. Rhaena also had a favourite from the Vale named Alayne Royce, I'm just saying.

Just as I believe Sansa will have to kill the idea of being a lady to become the leader she needs to be, I think that Arya had to break away from civilization as her direwolf did to grow into someone who can lead her own pack just as Nymeria does. Like Alysanne, I think Arya will use her power to help the most powerless people in Westeros. Like Rhaenys, I think her impact on Westeros will be one of a warrior. However, I think Arya's unique experiences and personality will ultimately make her more effective than either Rhaenys or Alysanne were in both warfare and welfare. I especially think this will be true if she is able to work closely with Sansa and Bran -- they're the real trio that mirror the conquerors of the Starklings IMO, sorry Jon. With Arya the warrior, Sansa the diplomat, and Bran the greenseer king, they would be unstoppable in ruling Westeros.

A pair of sisters from Fire and Blood that make for a more obvious comparison to Sansa and Arya would be Rhaena and Baela. Unlike the other examples, however, their place in the line of succession does not shape their lives in the way it does for Visenya, Rhaena, and Sansa. When the matter of their place in succession does come up in choosing an heir for the young Aegon III, however, his regents argued that Rhaena would be the more suitable choice despite being the younger twin. When they suggest that the "willful" Baela make a proper match as a possible future queen consort, she defies them by sailing off to Driftmark where she marries Alyn Velaryon. Rhaena, however, agreed to marry Lord Corbray per the regents' wishes.

Sadly, Rhaena suffered miscarriages in her effort to fulfill her duty to the realm as heir. Some time after Baela bore a daughter, the two sisters united to present Daenaera as Aegon III's queen consort. Alyn also brought back to court an heir with a better claim -- Viserys II -- taking the pressure off of Rhaena to endure more miscarriages to provide heirs. I believe that for Baela, presenting Daenaera and Viserys to court was in part an act of love for her sister, to free her from the demands of being heir. I believe this most likely also took the pressure off of Baela because her own daughter would be Aegon's heir if anything happened to Rhaena and I don't think she wanted that for Laena.

Baela and Rhaena were not the first twin girls whose place in the line of succession was determined by their own choices rather than their birth order, however. Assuming you believe that Rhaella and Aerea (which sounds a bit like Arya) really did switch places at their mother's wedding to Maegor, these two little girls determined their own places in the line of succession by seizing one of the only scraps of agency they would realistically ever get in their lives. Both Sansa and Arya repeatedly demonstrate this same willingness to seize whatever agency they have in the books, though the form that agency takes looks as different for them as it did for Aerea and Septa Rhaella. The twin switch means that the twin who wanted to live with the Faith got to do so and the twin who wanted to explore could do so as well. For Septa Rhaella, I believe there was a certain freedom in giving up her claim to live a quiet life.

I firmly believe that both Sansa and Arya will be significant leaders of some kind by the end of the series. Assuming Bran is king at the end, I think they will have a lot more agency in shaping their own titles/roles as leaders than they might in other circumstances. Or at least that's my hope. Even though I am first and foremost a Sansa fan, I don't think her story needs for her to be Queen in the North. I love the idea of her becoming a leader outside of the traditional power structure she initially wanted to be a part of. As for Arya, I love the idea of her bringing what she learned in her life outside of that power structure to be an effective leader within it.

I think Ned put it best:

"Sansa is your sister. You may be as different as the sun and the moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you … and I need both of you, gods help me." - A Game of Thrones, Arya II

Shoutout to this ask on @atopvisenyashill for kicking me back into hyperfocus about Visenya's commonalities with Sansa so I remembered that I was ever even working on this... this meta sat unfinished in my drafts since the summer! Many such cases in my drafts, I'm afraid.

[akvmanoko]

hi loves, i recently finished watching bungou stray dogs and the hyperfixiation was so strong that it prompted me to write something, more specifically some d/s dynamic between dazai and chuuya. when i write about characters i've never written about before the first drafts are mostly to assess the characters themselves, since i like to keep them canon with just a few twists of mine here and there, at least at the beginning and especially if the universe they're in is the same as their novel of provenience

a little scared posting this (says, as an ao3 writer) but here i am i guess!

enjoy some (soft and definitely unspoken) dom/sub dynamic between dazai and chuuya featuring a first kiss and dead apple references ☆

~1.7k words

— note: i haven't reread this, be patient

Trust? (How beautiful...)

«You looked pretty, you know, Chuuya.» Dazai’s face is relaxed, beholding that smile that has quite the number of meanings to it, really – however, it always stays unreadable, until the very last moment.

«What’s wrong with you?» he scoffs, looking up at him from where he's sitting on the stairs of the abandoned basement.

They met up because Dazai said he had urgent information to share, and a plan – he always had a plan, and quite spectacular deductions that would make anyone wonder his powers; if they went beyond what everyone was aware of.

Now, in the humidity of the place, heavy with danger – not between them, not this time, but rather of the situation that seems to be escalating quickly and worryingly by the second, judging by the just acquired news – they're across each other. Dazai is standing at a couple metres distance, Chuuya sees his right side where he's resting against the wall, arms folded to his chest.

«What are you even talking about?»

«That time you fought against the Dragon. Your Corruption is beautiful.»

«Right.» Chuuya says, stern, because he can tell Dazai is being elusive.

«I’m not lying.»

«You’re not telling the full truth, either.» he counters. «You know what?» he stands up, then, brushing the dust off the back of his coat when he walks towards him, one hand on his hip. «I don't want to know. You're weird.»

Dazai chuckles, he shakes his head softly and only then he looks up at Chuuya. «You’re right, I’m not. Ah… I guess you know me too well after all these years.»

«You’re just not too hard to read when you don't want to hide something. It depends on if you want to be understood or not.» Chuuya sighs, crossing his arms to his chest when Dazai’s hands fall inside his pants’ pockets.

«See? You know me too well.»

Chuuya dismisses him with a wave of his hand in the air, a brief flick of the wrist, before placing it back on his arm. «So what, do you plan on telling me any time soon or do I have to kick it out of you? If you want to be punched you can just say so, I’ll gladly do it.»

«How acidic, you know I don't like pain.»

«Whatever.» he begins to step away, but then Dazai finally speaks.

«You looked gorgeous... drowsy, after I stopped you.»

Chuuya’s nose scrunches in annoyance, he looks away. «You’re insane.»

«You looked even more beautiful with my hand on your cheek, with your face between my legs.» Dazai carries on, and he steps away from the wall, enough to get closer – closer to the point Chuuya can't turn around to look at him, or else their faces would be too close. «Below me.»

The addition renders Chuuya warmer, redder under Dazai’s attentive scrutiny. He's thankful for the poor lighting of the basement. His breathing loses its rhythm – it's ridiculous, he thinks. A ridiculous power play. And it's even worse, he realizes, the fact it makes his heart run up to his throat.

«What the fuck is this.» Chuuya’s voice is rough and strained when he speaks.

«What do you want it to be?»

The question takes him aback.

What does Chuuya want it to be?

Does he want it to be anything at all, really?

«You don't have to answer.» Dazai tells him like he's reassuring him – and he is, Chuuya realizes, when he takes one step back that allows him to breathe easier.

They don't move.

For infinite seconds they just stand in front of each other, tension tight as a violin's string. Chuuya doesn't look back, but he knows Dazai’s gaze never strays away from his face. He feels it.

Below me.

The words resound through his chest in this thrum that is both pleasant and unsettling, overwhelming either way when he moves unconsciously to sit down on the last step of the staircase. He looks down to his gloved hand dangling between his thighs, and then he takes his hat off, gently placing it next to him.

An offer.

«Chuuya…» his name is whispered, and it sounds like a warning that he doesn't listen to, however. It takes a long time for Dazai to follow his cue, as if he's only now hesitating – halting because Chuuya did first, and even if he always does what he wants, anyway, he would never dare overstepping where he knows he would be cut off. He thrives on breaking confinements, on acting like the uncontainable presence that he is, but even then he does have limits that he only ever surpassed when he didn't have any care for them, himself, or anyone else, for that matter.

Dazai steps in front of him quietly.

Chuuya closes his eyes.

Dazai’s fingers are cold when they graze the skin of his cheek.

It's a déjà-vu.

Bittersweet.

He tilts Chuuya's face upwards, to watch him, to properly hold the weight of him in his palm when his head lolls to the side, indulging him. Vulnerable, weirdly so. Out of character, if Dazai didn't know any better. If he didn't know him any better.

«Is this what you meant… earlier.» Chuuya's hushed question is interjected by an exhale, something soft that betrays him when it leaves his mouth.

«Yes.»

Dazai sounds calm. He is, Chuuya believes, even when he feels the ever so slight tremble of his fingers as he tucks a loose strand of hair behind his ear before holding his jaw once more.

«Why.»

Dazai stays silent for a beat, he doesn't immediately respond, like he's thinking if he should confess it – like a sin, really, something so unspeakable that it'd make his crimes grow paler in comparison to the scarlet emotion that swirls within him.

Within them.

«I enjoy having you in a position where you can give up your power to me.»

Chuuya’s eyebrows pinch together when he speaks. «You want me to submit to you.»

«Sort of, but not quite.»

«How so?»

Dazai hums, reflective. Then he sighs, and emits a soft sound once more, deep in his throat, something pleased. «I don't want you to, not really. I wouldn't make you. It only makes sense if you do it willingly, do you understand?» Chuuya only barely shakes his head. Dazai thinks that he does, really, he understands, but that's Chuuya's only way to get more words out of him, so he complies. «I wouldn't force you to allow that power into my hands. I would want you to do it of your own accord, consensually. Like that time.»

«You get more insane each time we meet.» Chuuya doesn't mean a single word of what he speaks.

Dazai knows it, and he chuckles, breathy. «It’s the unbounded, blind trust. The way you let me in control, over something delicate and crucial, like your life.»

«It’s because I know you’ll be there.»

Dazai shakes his head, even though Chuuya still has his eyes closed and can't see him. «You didn't know, back then. The chances I had already died were high. But you still did it.»

«I knew.»

«How?»

«I just did.» and it's resolutive, leaving no space for further countering.

«Alright.»

Dazai’s tone is gentle.

Chuuya is unusually pliant, especially when he's asked to open his eyes and obeys only after a few seconds of hesitation.

Dazai's head tilts to the side, and slowly he sinks, bending his knees until one of them is on the ground and he's kneeled between Chuuya's legs. His palm never left the side of his face. One of Chuuya’s hands is curled around his wrist.

«Dazai.»

Chuuya is the warning one, now, but the terrified tilt to it – unnoticeable, but then again Dazai does know him intimately – makes it ring dangerously between his eardrums like ultrasound.

«Oh, Chuuya.»

They breathe slowly, deeply, in unison.

Chuuya shivers and the goosebumps reach the top of his throat, below Dazai’s fingers. He feels them prickle and then disappear under the bandages around his wrist.

«Don’t.» Chuuya doesn't plead, but that's how he sounds. «Unless you mean it.»

Dazai's gaze flickers downwards, letting it wander loosely enough for it to be untamed. Chuuya's hold becomes tighter.

«Dazai.»

The sole name stands as everything he represents altogether.

Dazai nods, and leans closer.

Chuuya's mouth parts to ask again, to remind him, to make sure he's not playing – because Dazai is always fucking playing.

Not this time.

Warmth washes over him, making him tremble when he blinks, too close to Dazai’s to see his face. Too close, together in a kiss. He melts, suddenly, as he realizes. His eyes flutter close and his lips embrace Dazai’s, following his lead, because he doesn't know what he's doing – not because he has never, that wouldn't be the case. Rather, he's entranced. Lost, perhaps. Somewhere between that and given up.

It hits him, then.

How Dazai is cherishing him – him and the way he's allowing him to direct, to guide them through the intimacy they're sharing, until it's over.

They part and Chuuya feels tired. His head feels heavy, clouded, and he sighs before his forehead rests against Dazai’s humid lips, like it had over his thigh that night.

«Thank you, Chuuya.»

The words are whispered, begging to not disrupt the precarity of the delicate instance they're in.

Chuuya doesn't reply. However, his other hand also moves to touch Dazai. His fingers slip over the bandaged throat, they skim over the front until they hang around the back, below the nape, anchoring himself there.

It is, he thinks. Beautiful.

[flimsyscript]

So about that prophecy

I've spent the past 2 weeks blasting through the Akatsuki no Yona manga, and I'm ready to drop a theory on the prophecy.

TL;DR — It's actually been about Yona and Hak the whole time.

Spoilers up to chapter 259 under the cut

First, let's break down that prophecy, yeah? (I'm using the translation that's been posted on MangaDex Chapter 255 since I've found lots of different versions online):

Darkness falls upon the great earth Through the blood of dragons A revival comes again Bound by the covenant of old When the four dragons assemble The sword and shield that protect the monarch shall awaken And the red dragon shall return at dawn

Clearly, Kija, Shin-Ah, Jae-Ha, and Zeno are the four dragons.

For the sword, shield, king, and red dragon, I think it's a bit more complex.

What we know at the start of the manga is this: That the soul of the red dragon king has been reborn and that person is Yona. Yona thus goes looking for the four dragons because of this prophecy, and she finds them! And it turns out, except for Zeno, they too have been reincarnated — over and over and over again. So, the assumption we make here is — this is a cycle. That the dragon's and red dragon king's souls will continue to be reincarnated forever, and each time the red dragon king is reincarnated there will be a "darkness" that has fallen over the land.

However, what if the prophecy wasn't about the red dragon king’s soul, but about Yona specifically?

In 255, King Hiryuu speculates about the prophecy with Zeno, passing it along because he knows Zeno will go on living. When he does so, King Hiryuu confesses that even he doesn't know what it means:

However, while pondering the prophecy, King Hiryuu comes to a realization after repeating the words "...the red dragon shall return...":

"...when the red dragon shall return..."

"Return" here suggests that someone has left at some point, and then has come back. So, instead of the prophecy just generally being about the soul of the red dragon which reincarnates, it's actually about Yona. This is further highlighted when Yona visits King Hiryuu in her dream:

They are not one person — the red dragon's soul — but two separate people. And so, the prophecy can only be about one of them.

And after King Hiryuu realizes the prophecy is about his reincarnation/Yona, what does he do?

He points his sword at the dragon who will not die — who will be there when the red dragon returns. At this point, I assume King Hiryuu has realized that Zeno will have a role to play in the threat that faces the red dragon, likely as he knows about the power of the chalice and thus the deeper meaning in the words "...the blood of dragons...when the four dragons assemble..."

Another thing that supports the theory that the prophecy is about Yona and not the red dragon's soul (meaning Hiryuu, Yona, and subsequent reincarnations) is that King Hiryuu could have ended the four dragons lives at any time, but doesn’t because of Yona’s request. We learn this when Yona has her vision of the past where she speaks with him:

"Should I instead put an end to everything here...?"

To which Yona replies:

"Don't bring an end to them now." = Acknowledgement that King Hiryuu has the power to do that.

"I want to be reunited with everyone again." = Yona specifically wants to be reunited with the four dragons.

So, if King Hiryuu has the power to end the dragons, why wouldn't he have the power to have them reincarnate? And, reincarnate until they can meet Yona? King Hiryuu doesn't know how far in the future Yona lives, either, and so what if the three dragons keep reincarnating until that time? And Zeno keeps living until that time, as well? Having the possibility of reincarnation introduced to us in this world makes us think it's just something that happens naturally, but this would make it a very specific act with an end date — when they meet Yona.

But, okay, so let's say the “red dragon” in the prophecy is about Yona. Where does Hak come in?

Well, he's the king.

Walk with me a moment. We've already experienced one misleading part of the prophecy — who's to say there isn't another? We assume the "king" and the "red dragon" are the same person because King Hiryuu is both. But we've just established that the "red dragon" is actually Yona, so the "king" could very well be someone else.

Let's go back to the sword and shield now.

When King Hiryuu is talking with Zeno, he is confident the "sword" in the prophecy is the sword he was given by the dragon gods. And while he's unsure of what the shield is meant to be, he thinks it might be a protective charm, even going to suggest the crest he gave Zeno is the “shield”:

But what if the crest is also a red herring? What if the "shield" is another protective charm?

What if it's Hak's pendant?

Something to support this: the pendant is heavily featured in many panels in chapter 259. We see it constantly throughout the chapter:

Which suggests it’s something Kusanagi wanted us to see as present in this final showdown. So, why not?

If this is the case, this is what we're left with:

Four dragons: Kija, Shin-Ah, Jae-Ha, Zeno Sword: King Hiryuu's sword Shield: Hak's pendant King: Hak Red Dragon: Yona

Personally, I’d love to see Hak as the “king” in the prophecy. Throughout the manga, Hak has felt as if he just exists to support Yona and Soo-Won, or that they are people that are above him in some manner. For him to also be of importance I think would be a moment where he recognizes that he’s always been walking alongside Yona and Soo-Won, and not behind.

Plus, Kashi did have her premonition about Hak. We assume she saw him protecting Yona as her bodyguard. But what if she saw that Hak becomes the king?

And so, that's why I think the prophecy — and the reincarnation of the dragons and the red dragon — has actually been about Yona and Hak this whole time. The implication of this is that when the prophecy comes true/comes to fruition, I think it'll also mean the end of this reincarnation (and Zeno's long lifespan). Meaning, the dragons and red dragon’s soul won’t be reborn anymore.

One last item to throw in here: I think Soo-Won will protect Hak with the sword. I'm less certain of this, but Soo-Won is of King Hiryuu's blood, and that hasn't come much into play yet other than being a complicating factor for who should be on the throne. But what if Soo-Won weilding King Hiryuu's sword awakens it in some way? I don't know!

That's all I got so far, but would love to hear what y'all think!

[philomaela]

Jaehaerys's approach to the dragons is an interesting thing because I think it's yet another case of him learning from the "mistakes" of his elders.

Rhaena loved her baby brother and sister, so she put dragon eggs in their cradles. She essentially gave Vermithor to Jaehaerys and Jaehaerys being a male dragonrider is what allows her and her daughters to be shunted aside as easily as they are. In a world where Rhaena is the only dragonrider (and not simply the eldest) she has more leverage in the argument of who gets the throne. There are no cradle eggs for Jaehaerys and Alysanne's children, because to do so would give them power and freedom as children. Incidentally that power and freedom is what allowed Jaehaerys to become what he did, but me thinks that was kind of the point for him. It's a do as I say, not as I do sort of thing.

Not sure how to segue here but, I think it's interesting how Aerea's claiming of Balerion is framed similarly to Elissa Farman and the dragon eggs, as Rhaena's failure to prevent a theft when the dragons are under her protection. Because the dragons don't belong collectively to House Targaryen, they belong to the King. That's part of why Jaehaerys does not allow Rhaena to hold Dragonstone by right imo, because control of Dragonstone falls in line with control of Dragons. Hence confining Balerion and the younger dragons to the dragon pit later as well and creating the dragon keepers to guard them. This prevents the theft of the dragons that happened under Rhaena's watch and also under Maegor's watch. Remember how Rhaena and Aegon the Uncrowned crept into Kings landing and claimed Quicksilver? Yeah, that's illegal in Jaehaerys's world, I mean Maegor probably would have thought it illegal but the point being, he's going to take active measures to make sure no one gets a dragon without his explicit consent. When the dragonkeepers directed Alyssa away from Balerion, maybe it's because Jaehaerys had explicit orders at the time that no one gets Balerion (Maegor and Aerea both deeply worried him after all).

So, when it comes to his children, fundamentally him allowing them to claim a dragon comes down to two things: adulthood and their role in House Targaryen/in relation to the crown. Claiming a dragon is explicitly linked to adulthood, Aemon and Baelon are able to claim dragons after being knighted, Alyssa gets a dragon after she is married. Specifically, after she is married to her brother, ensuring that all dragonriders are of House Targaryen.

I bounce between Jaehaerys going "all my boys gets dragons as long as they remain of House Targaryen" vs "the heir and the spare get dragons". Both options seem plausible and both explain Vaegon's lack of a dragon. Vaegon never becomes a knight, he becomes a maester instead. He is given to the citadel and by doing so gives up his position in House Targaryen. Is that why he is never offered a dragon? Or was Jaehaerys never going to offer him a dragon at all, even if he became a knight, since his place in house targaryen would be more nebulous and thus Vaegon had no drive to conform. Why bother being a knight (a role that did not interest him) if it would not offer him the freedom of a dragon. I'm not saying Vaegon had this burning desire for a dragon, but like it is some sort of incentive isn't it? Well anyway, I think both options have interesting implications and in the end, the outcome is the same. Vaegon leaves his family, he does not get a dragon.

Either way the outcome for the daughters was always going to be the same imo, they are married into other houses, they will not get dragons and neither will their children. Fire and Blood provides an easy explanation of the younger daughters as being unsuitable to ride a dragon. Daella has no desire for a dragon, she's afraid of everything! (We could perhaps think of how Aenys was a sickly baby who grew stronger or Rhaena was a shy girl who grew confident after they each claimed a dragon, but those are not possibilities under Jaehaerys, dragons do not help you grow as children they are given after you grow up). Meanwhile, Saera and Viserra are willful, Magella is destined for the church and Gael is childlike. Back up, Saera and Viserra are willful... so was Alyssa, she wanted to claim Balerion after all! IDK, I think it's interesting how, in all their airs and shows of defiance, Saera and Viserra never express a determination to claim dragons. Almost like they know it's not an option for them. Saera tries to get into the Dragonpit as a desperate, last ditch effort, but she never asks her father for a dragon before then. She whines for an elephant but not a dragon.... that's interesting isn't it? When Viserra preens after Baelon, maybe she does that knowing that Alyssa got a dragon by remaining in the family? Again, just like with Vaegon, I'm not saying that (the lack of) dragons are like, the point behind Viserra and Saera's actions, I'm just saying that maybe it factored in.

I get that Rhaenys claiming Meleys can seem to be in contradiction to everything I've just said. She claims a dragon and then promptly marries out of House Targaryen. Personally... I read it as having to do with Aemon and Jaehaerys. By that I mean, Aemon is the heir and a grown man at this point, his father places a level of trust and autonomy in him and allows Rhaenys access to power as Aemon's (presumed) heir. It's kind of like... I wouldn't do this for my daughter, but my son has the right to do with his family as he sees fit. Again, at this point, he's expecting Aemon to succeed him when he dies and after that Aemon will be king and can name who he wants (regardless of what Jaehaerys wants). Jaehaerys is pragmatic enough to realize this is going to be out of his hands and that if he forbids anything like this, he's potentially creating discord between him and his heir for something that's out of his control and will only create more problems later. That's the motivation I've created in my head anyway and I don't think it contradicts anything I've read in the book.

I think... weirdly, the thing that solidifies this all in my head is Viserys claiming Balerion, when Jaehaerys was (I think) against anyone claiming Balerion before. Yes yes, Balerion was old and slow so there was not as much danger in someone claiming him now. But the timing is still important. Viserys claims Balerion after Aemon dies, after Baelon is named heir. Baelon is named heir and Viserys is Baelon's heir. I think it would have made sense for Jaehaerys to want Viserys to claim Balerion as a symbol of legitimacy for Baelon's line over Rhaenys who now had a dragon despite Aemon's line being disinherited. I'm not saying that's why Viserys wanted Balerion, but I think it's why Jaehaerys allowed it, is all I'm saying.

One anomaly in all of this for me is actually Seasmoke... how tf did Laenor get Seasmoke within this interpretation of things, I admit I have no clue. I don't want to just cast it away as an authorial (by that I mean the actual author GRRM) attempt to somewhat balance the scales when it comes to the Great Council of 101, no matter how tempted I am to read it that way. Maybe this was a sign that even Jaehaerys was not sure about who should rule between Viserys and Laenor, so he thought Laenor did have some right to a dragon? Issue with that is, if that's the case he might as well wait on things and grant the dragon after the council. Or maybe it was a consolation prize because the outcome of the council was a forgone conclusion in Jaehaerys's mind. Ooooh! or most interesting of all, Baelon is the one who advocating for this as hand of the king, an apology for disinheriting his brother's line. So like, Baelon advocates for Laenor to be allowed a young dragon as a gesture (notice it's a gesture offered to Laenor heir of Driftmark and not Laena), Jaehaerys acquiesces since Baelon has Vhagar it's not really a threat, but then Baelon like immediately dies after. Whoopsie Jaehaerys, maybe you should have stuck to your original policy! (I get that this part seems like a stretch, personally I'm just attached to my interpretation at this point and I'm trying to make it fit, I acknowledge that)

This meandered a lot but anyway I think my overall point is that I think Jaehaerys had a clear strategy when it came to the dragons and it was based around the family history of Rhaena placing the egg in his cradle, Aegon the Uncrowned's claiming of Quicksilver, Elissa Farman and the dragon eggs and finally Aerea and Balerion (also misogyny, there was a lot of that too). I think the fact that he learned not to do what his sister did is the saddest thing imo. He won't make the same "mistake" as his sister did with him and just give his children a dragon out of love. Love has nothing to do with it because he is a king and these are his heirs (even though love still has everything to do with it because he is a father and these are his children).

[zoneofsmites]

Wotc lore i am throttling you, shaking you, punching you.

I am trying my best to make sense of the deity system - and specifically what the Dark Urge qualifies as, what their power level could realistically be being a creation from a Quasi-deity.

So originally. a Quasi-deity would usually be the child of a proper deity - or a dragon ascendent. A demi-god, contrary to the name is not a half-god but a full deity. They are however the weakest gods - typically only have one domain of power and not that many followers or grander godly abilities. After this you have lesser, intermediate and greater deity (and overdeity but that is kind of Ao specific in Faerun).

As of the Second Sundering however...

Quasi-deity, Lesser Deity, Greater Deity. That is what is left.

These days a Quasi-deity is described as: 'a powerful being of divine origin that had potential to acquire true godhood' (as cited from forgottenrealms wiki). Demigods (offspring of a mortal and deity), titans(creatures created by deities), and vestiges (dead gods) fall under types of quasi-deity.

I am however having trouble finding information on Demigods that doesn't sound like it's from the old system - it seems Jergal qualifies as a demigod btw.

Bhaal, Bane, Mykrul, and Tchazzar (a dragon ascendant) are the only listed notable quasi-deities. Which doesn't help clear anything up for me.

By definition alone it sounds like the Dark urge is a Titan (creature created by deities) and also every bhaalspawn could technically be a demi-god. Either way durge would meet the qualifications of being a quasi-deity, which puts them on the theoretical same playing field as their father/creator.

What does it all mean.

(if anyone can explain this to me I would be forever grateful and owe you my 4th born son)

[localsharkcryptid]

Dream and Wilbur are getting married : what was it supposed to mean for the kingdoms ? Were they supposed to fuse, was Wilbur prince consort to Dream ? (I'm guessing Dream, being XD's heir, wouldn't become Wilbur's consort)

Is that why Tommy became the Antartic heir ?

Okay so! The marriage is one for political benefit, which means it basically forms an alliance between the Antarctic Empire and the Kingdom of Orborus - It makes it to where it would be treasonous if the Empire started a war with Orborus and the other way around, and both leaders can rely on one another if they had to deal with an outside threat for instance. There isn't any fusion of power, but instead XD gets like the ultimate thing to calm his paranoia - being allies with the Empire allows for security even if the Empire is exactly who XD is afraid of.

And yeah! If Dream were to become king, Wilbur would be king consort - though that's only if Dream becomes king, for now they're both still princes.

And no, Tommy is heir for a whole other reason - long lore story short, Wilbur for years has shirked his duties as heir and has no interest whatsoever in being emperor. Tommy was nothing more than a street rat that Wilbur was friends with originally, though Wilbur decided one day to be a little shit and went "fuck you dad and your stupid rules" so he ended up stealing a dragon egg for Tommy. The Antarctic Empire, well Phil specifically, keeps it to where dragon riding is a very rare thing in the empire so this was in fact a major rule break and one that definitely pissed Phil off initially. The egg Tommy is given does end up hatching, and thus Tommy gets begrudgingly put under Phil's wing since SOMEONE has to teach this kid how to handle a dragon - technically Phil and Nikki both teach Tommy but it's mostly Phil who mentors him. This leads into Phil taking the opportunity to 'replace' Wilbur, since he doesn't want the Empire to fall if anything happens to himself and frankly he's a rather shit father gonna be real - Tommy though shows interest and promise, while not the best with responsibilities or owning up to things he at least seems to care about potentially ruling. Much unlike Wilbur who'd rather spend his time as a poet and singer of the people than taking up his birthright. So Phil proclaims Tommy heir, claiming that the kid's egg hatching was a sign that he was destined for greatness or something like that- it just being something to get the people of the empire to believe him and to get them to support Tommy's technical 'claim'.

[envihellbender]

Assign a Fear to each Dragon Age Inquisition companion.

Spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. If you don’t want to read them I strongly recommend skipping the Solas section at the end.

Dorian: the End

Necromancy and the Mortalitasi are strongly connected to the End. They are specifically necromancers trained in Nevarra who all have different specialities, mostly involve working with the dead and many involve tending to the necropolis itself. It is about the inevitability of death, and reusing the vessel that people have left behind. Necromancers do not need to create corpses for their magic to work, they are everywhere and there are always wisps and spirits ready to fill them. That is the same motivation for the End, it does not need to cause any ritual or anything else. Death is inevitable. It comes to us all.

Whilst Dorian is not from Nevarra, although Tevinter also has quite the strong ties to the End, it is confirmed by Emmrich in Dragon Age: The Veilguard that Dorian was trained as necromancer for a term in the necropolis. His connection to the End is so strong he was sent across Thedas to study it. When we first meet Dorian in Dragon Age: Inquisition his main ally is Felix, a young man who is infected with the Blight and for whom death is inevitable. We know he has an issue with substance misuse, particularly alcohol. Whilst addiction is not associated with the End the stagnation as Dorian wished his sexual desires would drown could he connected. We also know that his father intended to “fix” his sexuality with blood magic, another indication as to how finality and death has been stalking Dorian most of his life.

Vivienne: The Corruption

The Orlesian Aristocracy was a breeding ground for the Corruption. To most it simply looked like extravagant wealth and elitism, the elite drinking and scheming whilst the world outside burned. What people didn’t see was the Corruption and the Crawling Rot’s disease which filled their lungs and blood. They no longer had a sense of identity, each requiring a mask in order to declare it to those around them.

Everything Vivienne did came from a place of protecting herself as well as other mages even if this did not always seem clear. Ever since a Vivienne was taken into the Circle she was not allowed a sense of individuality, she was one mage in a tower of many. She was an insect under a microscope to the Templars so she had to build herself up to be strong, well-behaved, and in control. The picture of what a mage should be, a part of a loyal collective and the blood of the Chantry. The other part of the Corruption she falls into is unhealthy love - her paramour is Bastien de Ghislain. He preyed on Vivienne, a young nineteen year old in the Orlesian court causing a scandal due to him being already married. She was devoted to him, despite how against the relationship the court was and the fact he prioritised another woman. A tragedy that ended when a disease filled his aging body, and nothing Vivienne did would save him.

Four years after they met Vivienne was appointed Empress Celene’s Court Enchanter. This was her being fully brought into the virus of the Aristocracy. She no longer had her own mind or identity, even though that was something the Templars stamped out of her long ago.

Sera: the Web

The Friends of Red Jenny are Avatars of the Web, their mischievous but almost moral nature means they are not obvious candidates as they only strike fear in the aristocracy. Their power is terrifying, the control they can have over several countries is something everyone should be wary of regardless of whose side they’re on. The first indicator of the Friends of Red Jenny is a letter found on an Antivan Crow, that leads to a painted box in the Fereldan First Enchanter’s office, which can be delivered to a door where only the letter box opens in Denerim. The second time is with a woman in the Hanged Man in Kirkwall who wishes to be rid of the groups of thugs killing civilians at night. Both of these show subtle acts that control the narrative from afar, pulling at certain strings to result in a desired outcome. Perfect for the Mother of Puppets.

Sera was taken in by the Friend’s of Red Jenny at a young age, she had an almost unnatural talent with the bow. Being an archer involves controlling the battlefield from a far, and being able to disappear at a moments notice. This is built upon by her Tempest specialisation where she can use alchemical flasks to expand her tactical style of combat. Upon first meeting her she sends this a series of clues around Val Royeoux which leads to a noble who is an enemy of the Inquisition. Sera does not know why the Inquisition needs to deal with him, she just knows. This feels remarkably similar to how Avatars report their connection to the fears manifesting.

Cole: the Eye

Cole was always an avatar for the Eye, even before the spirit of Compassion found him. He didn’t like his abilities back then, he hated seeing exactly what his father thought of him, and knowing precisely what he did to his mother. It made Cole bang his head against the wall repeatedly until he felt dizzy trying to make the sounds stop and the visions disappear. People didn’t like it when he voiced them either, they’d call him a liar, a sneak, an eavesdropper, a cheat, or worse… A mage. That was the worst one, because Cole knew he had magic. Ever since it first showed itself his mother said if they knew they’d take him away. And he knew they would. He saw it inside their minds when some poor child was dragged away by Templars. Cole probably knew what happened to them better than anyone else.

Perhaps it was the Eye that attracted Compassion to Cole when he was abandoned in the tower. It certainly played a part in the twisting Cole into being a killer, or saviour as he saw it, of the mage victims of the Templars. You could understand why, he could see into every single mind in the tower. He felt their agony and pain overwhelmingly, and whilst he could manipulate their minds into being calm it wasn’t enough. That’s why he had to kill. Thankfully, when he managed to get a good grasp of his abilities he started being able to use them more effectively. It was amusing really, that that was what led him to the Inquisition. An appropriate place for the Eye to end up.

Varric: previously the Web but was one of the rare types to change to the Lonely

Previously I’ve stated that in Dragon Age 2 Varric is the Web. To carry on from that, in Dragon Age: Inquisition Varric evolves from just the Web to the Web and the Lonely.

After Varric had to leave Kirkwall, his strength as an Avatar of the Web began to wane. His realm became a mixture of the Web and the Lonely in Skyhold, something which solidified when Hawke was left in the fade. He’d always had some affinity for it, the family was essentially his responsibility after all - no one else would deal with their mother’s drinking. Addiction is tied to the Web, but the sheer loneliness of being alone to care for his mother, with no father or brother willing to help, he became wrapped up into himself. He was like the spider at the centre of the web who was wrapped in a cocoon of silk rather than one who ventured too far out. With his business deals, his suite at the Hanged Man, and Hawke his ability to tell stories whilst keeping everyone at arms length began to fall apart.

Of course, when the Chantry exploded all of that changed. Varric had to leave the city that he’d known his whole life, his home. His book, his lies he’d made truth was what protected him for awhile, it gave him a strong position within the Web. Of course, then was dragged in cast irons with Cassandra to the Conclave. The final nail in the coffin to cement Varric desertion from the Web to the Lonely however was Hawke’s death. It was the proof he needed for how allowing anyone too close would only result in pain. The cocoon of web and fog would keep him safe.

The Iron Bull: the Eye mixed with the Slaughter

The Iron Bull was born into the Eye and had the strong desire to be apart of the Slaughter. Or rather, Hissrad was apart of the Eye, and Iron Bull belonged to the Slaughter. Hissrad found it quite simple, ever since he was a small child he could read people. That’s what Tama said anyway, in reality it was more like he just heard more than everyone else did. He didn’t have to do anything, he just heard all of there thoughts. Everything from what they wanted to breakfast to the kind that would get them thrown in prison. It was exhausting, overwhelming, there were too many thoughts in his mind and too many sounds surrounding him. That’s when he learned to fight, or rather hit things. He smashed and threw them, finally finding someway to express the pain that he was too small to deal with.

When he began his work with the Ben-Hassarath, becoming apart of the Eye was a natural extension. It caused him to become better at his job, he didn’t even need the training he sped through. He didn’t need to learn how to examine micro-expressions he simply knew exactly who was lying, why, and what they actually thought. To begin with he’d had to physically prove it but eventually everyone just accepted Hissrad just knew things. Eventually it began to destroy him, and when he put himself in for re-education he realised that the re-educators were like him. Every single one of them. They had the same abilities as him. The ones he’d been desperately pushing down because he was terrified he had some latent magic ability, the re-educators had them. That was when he learned all about the Eye.

When Hissrad began the Bull’s Chargers and became the Iron Bull, that was when he desperately wanted to become something else. He saw the Slaughter, and he knew he wanted that. He didn’t want to be a person anymore, just a mindless thing. He didn’t want to know what everyone around him knew and thought, he wanted to just think about how to kill them if they decided to be a threat. Even his name the Iron Bull was a symbol of the Slaughter. His own personal army even had a song. And to his delight, the further he got from the Qun, the more he found himself becoming one with the Slaughter… even if he would never lose the Eye, it had distorted into something unique.

Cassandra: the Dark

The Pentaghasts were very closely connected to both the Dark and the Hunt. Being from Nevarra there were necromancers and dragon hunters in her family - the latter being self explanatory. The necropolis is constantly shrouded in darkness even in the gardens. Whilst it is primarily a city of the dead, it would feel almost sacrilegious to have it be anything other than the underground sanctuary it has become. Cassandra discusses how her uncle sees her as a doll, someone to dress up and put on the shelf to display. One interpretation here is one of child abuse, which is also an interpretation of Maxwell Rayner from the Magnus Archives canon. If we take this to be representative of the Dark, then there’s a clear parallel.

Cassandra kept up the family tradition of being an Avatar for the Dark even though it took her a long time to realise it. The Seekers are a group that work from the shadows, they are usually associated with the Eye but for them to have connections to the Dark is not unheard of. However, this is primarily due to the initiation ritual that each Seeker has to go through. It is essentially a form of the Rite of Tranquility for a non-mage, cutting someone off from their emotions and the fade itself. This feels almost like an internal form of being trapped in the dark, the light inside of the person has been extinguished leaving them hollow and numb. It is a sense of coldness and emotional blindness with which the Dark is associated.

Thom Rainier/Blackwall: the Stranger

Thom Rainier had always lived in the shadows, mimicking other people. That was why when he saw a group of children killing an innocent dog as a child he was unable to say a word. He was too busy acting like other people, too busy working on being accepted and becoming apart of something to break the illusion. When he was a chevalier, that was why he did whatever he was told and gave whatever orders meant the biggest payday. The only truly important thing was the mask, and he got so remarkable at it that he stopped recognising himself.

The way Thom Rainier was able to replace Blackwall was reminiscent of the Not Them. There was many, many clues that he was not a Grey Warden: his knowledge of the order had holes and inconsistencies, he seemed more preoccupied with being a motivational speaker and training thieves than he did fighting darkspawn, he couldn’t detect darkspawn, he did little to cover his appearance beyond growing a beard (a noble at the Winter Palace actually recognises him), he didn’t know anything of the real Blackwall (he doesn’t seem to know even his first name or what he was from), and despite all this he managed to convince a great deal of people. He managed to convince Alistair, lie his way through saying he knew Duncan, and when you are at Adamant he speaks as Blackwall to an entire keep of Wardens. Despite all of this, he manages to some how trick everyone that he is a different man - almost exactly like a Not Them. It was as if everyone couldn’t remember Blackwall ever looking or seeming different.

Solas: the Extinction

Solas never wanted to be the Extinction. He had been associated with several Fears, he had connections to the Slaughter, the Web, and the Stranger. He felt particularly comfortable alongside the Mother of Puppets or Mythal as she was known. Of course, she pushed him to take a physical form, to war with the titans thus killing them and cutting dwarves from the fade, and when he helped unleash the blight upon the world… All of these things went beyond the End. It wasn’t something he ever wanted to be, Elgan’arn had been desperate for the place of Avatar of the Extinction of the Slaughter and the way he executed spirits en masse, almost mindlessly he was almost there. The issue was it was mindless, it didn’t mean a thing. Every single time Solas cut something else from the world it came with meaning and pain. Not that that stopped him.

As much as Solas tries to right his wrongs, how much he declares he regrets so much, he still keeps acting this way. He refused to side with the Evanuris but he did send many spirits to their deaths in order to enact his plans. He imprisoned the Evanuris, and when he finally became reunited with Mythal he attempted to erase her from existence and consume her power.

[idyllwave]

Wahh, blade already seems so whipped for y/n in the bite au. 😭😭, I feel bad for himmmmm

——

So let the questions roll in?

Bite Jing yuan has lightning lord?

Blade and Jing yuan beef this time?

What kind of role does dhil play?

Would dhil still be a dragon? (Eyy, it rhymes)

Has blade already fallen for y/n?

Any side characters you plan on adding for bite like in the emperor au?

From the way blade talks to Jing yuan, it looks like yuan’s city has work/ class system? That just sounds dystopian af 😭😭. It also has the name capital like in hunger games 😭😭

Is geppie gonna be in this fic?

It sounds like blade used to work under yuan in their military days?

Yanqing in this fic too.

*phew* that’s a lot of questions.

Jing yuan strikes again, he gonna steal y/n from blade. Tho I feel like he didn’t have a lot of moments with y/n in pure imagination so maybe this is his time to shine?

And I think blade, dhil, and Jing yuan are your top fave characters cuz they have a lot of word time with your fics. I hereby name them idyll’s holy trinity 😂

We have baldie: depressed emo guy who can’t seem to get a happy ending and ends up falling for y/n in all of the fics

And Jing nyan : greedy man in almost every fic but ends up scaring y/n away in all of them. (YOU HAD ONE JOB JING YUAN!)

Lastly, Daniel : guy who doesn’t know how to express himself and a bit shy 🙈 but secretly very yandere.

——

And and! The scene of blade and Jing yuan talking in bite where yuan mentions house hubby literally makes me think of house husband! Jing yuan.

Oh I would spoil him rotten!!! I’d let him take my credit card and buy him anything. He wants it? He got it!

The way he’s have freshly cooked meals for you when you come home so tired and eepy. He’d let you bury your face in his hair and he’d coo and cuddle you.

House husband Jing yuan was not something I thought I needed but I do.

——

Rereading pure imagination made me kinda wonder, why a marriage contract specifically to break the stellaron hunter’s employment contract with y/n?

And WHERE TF ARE THE LABOUR LAWS???

I also think I’d take jing yuan’s marriage proposal buttt.

Back then if I was y/n, I would have dan heng prepare a really really old guy from his gang to have a contractual marriage with me. Cuz 1, stellaron contract broken and 2, jing yuan loses his chance. Big brain move.

——

Whew, this is long, I hope you don’t mind reading!!!

Blade will probably keep taking L's in my fics, I mean- who said??? He definitely gets a happy ending in this one

-

No he does not 😔 this is a type of modern au so paths and such to do not exist. He's just really fast so when he threw that knife it really did look like lightning which may elude to a nickname he has within the capital 👀 (in other words he may or may not be referred to as "the lightning lord" by everyone-)

They will have beef 😔

Dan heng will either be a) a survivor like y/n b) someone who works closely with jy c) someone like blade or d) part of a different group that call themselves the trailblazers

Drumroll please 🥁 he is human !! (Sadly no dragons in this au, just humans and zombies), but who knows? Maybe science experimentation create dragons later on....

He has not (yet) but he definitely cares for her if only a little (i say this, but watch him basically fall at her feet next chapter)

There will be a few side characters here and there

It does sound dystopian, doesn't it? I hope nothing bad happens to it 😔

Gepard might make an appearance here and there

Blade did work for him ^-^

Yanqing surprise appearance?!

It is definitely jy's time to shine!! (Maybe)

Oh yeah, when those 3 showed up, they were my all time favorites 😍

But now a new 3 threaten the top spots!!! (Mydei, phainon, and anaxa) though, I'm sure blade, hy, and dh will be able to hold my favorite spot easily

-

Here's some pure imagination lore for ya!

Jy is super influential and powerful! A marriage contract would basically change fate itself so it wouldn't just work with anyone. That's why the marriage would have to be with jy. (In that au, jy was a very big deal and super dangerous, a shame I didn't highlight that a bit more...)

Labour laws? 🤨 what are those? (I'm joking)

Lol

-

I always love reading!!!

[campingwithmonsters]

Up to the skies sprouts a pair of wings. Ah, the mighty Brigantine flies fourth!

Once the mighty base of “The Brigantine”, the airship in living form of the old Captain Cinderella’s Crew, the dragon was powerful but friendly, only listening to the command of she who tamed the monster. But when members were dropped one by one off the back with little she could do during “The Red Ambush”, she knew only one instinct; go to the water where they would fall in and survive. But it all happened too quickly, and the lady in red who tossed members overboard had some hold on Brigantine too, causing her to lose control and only get there in time as one last member slipped off— The Captain herself. And as she fell to the water… Brigantine and the shell of the airship she were lost deep in the skies, unheard of by the lonesome Captain for years to come. And like the rest of her crew was confirmed, Brigantine herself was assumed dead too.

As luck would have it, Brigantine still has life within. But now? She’s more of a husk of what she used to be. Stripped of her identity as Cinderella’s and stolen by that Mary Jill, under her unruly control and forced to serve as an intimidation tactic even more than a weapon of mass destruction like she is still technically capable of. Though because of her massive size, she doesn’t show up very often. Only when Jill calls upon her to scare others into biddings. Likewise, very few know about Brig’s current existence and whereabouts. But it’s not looking good for anyone that the rag-tag group of vessels of villainy have quite the firepower on their hands, and aren’t afraid to use to to get what they want.

———

WOW. OKAY SO I DREW THIS FOREVER AGO. But the art still holds up so I mean. Alright! So, technically speaking, this is the final character of importance in Duck Duck Goose! Yeah! The last one! While there technically are still designs that exist like some specific mice of Piper’s, other members of Cinderella’s deceased crew, and a couple of other brief creature appearances… this is the last of what I’d consider “THE cast.”

Idk why it took me forever to get to her bio, but here she is! This is what Brigantine is! A fun fact about her— so Cinderella mentions her a couple times throughout the plot before her reveal, but it’s written to where the characters assume she means an actual ship and Cinder assumes they know she’s talking about a dragon. So the fact that Brig’s a DRAGON completely catches everyone off guard, haha.

The idea is that she does have a giant set piece that was basically like a ship that she adorned on her body, but I haven’t gotten around to drawing that out yet. One day, maybe!

I still feel like there’s some things I could play around, but she’s not supposed to look like anything specific other then a dragon. You’d think I’d go with trying to make her look like a ship but… believe me I tried. I think when I officiate the set piece she has it’ll be cooler.

edit: okay I lied it’s not the last character of importance but it’s the last one I need to upload myself cause the last few are ones that belong to my friend lmao

[felikatze]

binding blade thoughts (again), abt religion this time. so the elimine church is one of only TWO major religions in the ENTIRE FRANCHISE to not worship dragons, alongside whatever ashera's religion is called in the tellius games

and the elimine church is specifically EXTREMELY christian. elimine is basically jesus. she is considered to be the incarnation of god on earth and stated to have ascended to heave after her passing, which also tells us the elimine church has a concept of heaven as an afterlife

additionally from various supports we see that priests hold regular mass, and that proselytizing is also a part of the religion (though, fortunately, the bishop yoder frowns upon forced conversion, and will just leave anyone of other religions alone, cuz they already have something to worship)

yoder's supports also confirm that the elemental affinities are not just something for players, but rather the characters know about them in universe, and there ARE diverging theological beliefs in how they came to be. the elimine church state that the affinities were a gift from god (specifically, a nameless all powerful creator god, which drew me to the obvious christianity comparison to begin with), and the sacaen spiritual belief states that the affinities come from the earth itself and act akin to protective spirits

people also have some means to discern which affinity they fall under, as dayan directly states he is protected by the anima affinity

i dont think other games have this direct integration of game mechanics into theology? which is wild. it's so fascinating for support bonuses to have lore.

as a result of that, the elimine church also seems to have a strong "love thy neighbour" ethic, especially since belief in elimine is associated with the healing arts. staves are considered holy tools of elimine. all characters who start with staves are either direct members of the church, or troubadours. both troubadours (clarine and priscilla) come from etruria, where belief in elimine is a state religion

that casts a fun light on druids usint staves... call it a hunch, but i don't think niime is a very devout person.

ALSO! DRAGONS! so, yoder, our leading bishop, remember, seems to not mind dragons very much. he says that the return of dragons must be "prevented" and if it cannot, then dragons should "return to their own world", which is all very gentle phrasing.

however, our only non-mario kart depiction of elimine, in heroes, is WAY MORE VIOLENT?

"Never forget that dragons are but destruction given form."

Whereas Yoder seems wary of dragons out of a fear it may restart the Scouring, Elimine straight up advocates for killing em. It seems that her endless compassion does not extend to them.. huh...

It honestly seems like that aspect of her character just got watered down over the thousand years between the Scouring and Binding Blade. With dragons all but gone for the world, people stopped worrying about them, and they became objects of legend. Notably, the perception of dragons as demons does still exist - in Niime's support chain with Fae, she retells the Scouring just so, substituting demon for dragon, but soon drops that belief once she sees Fae is just a wee little baby, and just as much a person as anyone else.

Honestly, the belief in a god who created the earth, alongside the terminology of Divine Dragons - I want to know the relationship between those so bad. Unfortunately, Sophia and Fae have no supports with any priests. The only one who does is Igrene, with Saul.

And in that one, she says that she doesn't believe in god anymore, but that before she became an atheist, she specifically believed in a different god. Alongside statements that Sophia is a priestess of Nabata, this clearly indicates that Nabata, and perhaps dragonkind, have a different main religion, with a different god. There is like, zero lore, on what they would have worshipped, but i do wonder if that is where Divine Dragons come into play.

From the Igrene/Saul support we also see how the god of the Elimine Church is characterized. Mainly, as a kind god, yet one who will not intervene in mortal affairs out of belief that humans can make their own path. If you don't believe in god, god still believes in you, that type of stuff. Works well with the healing angle that priests do good in the name of god and all that jazz.

I ran out of things to say.

TLDR; the cast of the Binding Blade and the Blazing Blade are the only FE characters who can and will say "Oh my god"

[alltheotherblogs]

DBZ What If: Gohan, Born Evil. (Part 3)

Chapter 4, Falling Into Place.

Goku can feel he's nearing King Kai's planet, he feels power... Someone stronger than even HIM! It scares him, but excites him. He's not sure how to feel about King Kai, if he's gonna be a huge scary guy or some little bug, but he's going to be brave and train so he can save his wi-

"HIYYYYYAAA" He hears from just out of sight, beyond a yellow cloud. The distinct cry of someone performing Chinese style martial arts... A woman. A woman he knows very well.

(Goku's immense combat IQ showing, knowing specific cries of specific martial arts) Goku goes faster than he has ever gone before, fading in and out of Super Saiyan as his emotions go crazy! Sadness, anger, love, happiness, and hope.

Chichi on King Kai's planet is shrouded in a bright red aura, and she's blasting through training with a mother's fury. That's when she senses this massive fluctuating power that reminds her of her husband... It's approaching fast. But not fast enough! King Kai is humming, reading a magazine, then he looks up and sees Chichi going into Kaioken x10, only to fly off the planet and towards that power. Towards her husband.

Chichi and Goku fly into that massive yellow cloud at the same time, and as they collide Goku erupts into Super Saiyan, they form such a massive shock wave that it blasts the cloud away, Chichi actually overpowering Goku and tackling him onto snake way in a tight hug, smothering him with kisses. "I missed you so much!!" Chichi said through the tears, pulling back to look her husband in the face. Goku didn't have to say anything, but that's when Chichi realized he had golden hair. "What's with the new hair color, honey?" Chichi questioned with sincerity, Goku hadn't gone Super Saiyan since his fight with Gohan. "Oh-, I'll explain it later. Let's get to King Kai's. I have a lot to tell you Chichi." The two fly off holding hands, telling each other stories along the way. Chichi had apparently learned something called the Genki Dama and the Kaioken, among a few other techniques, and had been perfecting them while waiting to be wished back.

King Kai hadn't yet offered communications with the living world and saw that Chichi did so much better in training when she was anticipating something... When she was going to fight Goku in the tournament, she trained harder than ever before. King Kai remembered that tournament, he was of course watching.

King Kai was happy to see Goku, but saddened by the appearance of another Super Saiyan, Goku powered down after his emotions calmed. "You still have a lot to learn Goku. But I'm glad you aren't destroying everything like the first of your kind." King Kai regaled. "First of my kind? You mean the first Saiyan?" Goku said, the information from Radditz being fresh in his mind.

Kai shakes his head, "No Goku, you are the legendary Super Saiyan. I know why you are here, it's time to train."

Going around King Kai's house, Goku would find Tien and Chaotzu, each of them were about as strong as Chichi, and they were meditating in the Kaioken.

Goku wouldn't be trained excessively in the Kaioken, and he couldn't use the Genki Dama in Super Saiyan, so there wasn't any point in teaching him that either. He only had to master Super Saiyan, and catch up to his friends.

This goes like you'd expect the typical two week training arc to go.

Meanwhile on Earth, Yamcha is training pretty hard himself... He's redoing his entire turtle hermit training under Roshi, only, he's turned it up a notch to match his current level. He's also pursuing other masters, and in only two weeks, a motivated Yamcha is able to train under almost every master from the original Dragon Ball using their documented methods, surviving pupils, or the masters themselves.

He also pursues Kami for extra training, and Kami does admit he has something to show him that he had remembered from his distant past. He takes out a book of Namekian origin...

"I don't know how I can read this, but it says within it's texts many techniques that I should be able to perform to release built up potential and allow your Ki to flow fully throughout your body. It's of Namekian origin, I believe that may be what me and piccolo are."

"Theres that name again, Namekians. Is that where Piccolo went with Gohan? To their planet?" Yamcha asks. And Kami nods.

"Well, what better than to use his peoples technique against him? I'll do it Kami, if you'll let me." Yamcha says, his resolve having changed significantly since they last spoke. Kami even thinks Yamcha may have grown more pure of heart.

And he had, his mind solely focused on training, bettering himself, and becoming the protector of Earth... His mind had been off women for the entire time. Off material needs, wants, in fact, Yamcha looked wild again. He was dirty, unkempt, and the last time he cleaned was in a river, a river in Mount Paozu. Yamcha went to Gohan's house, and saw the destruction from Goku turning into an Oozaru. He also recovered texts that Gohan had from master Mutaito... And he studied them hard. Yamcha also noticed something else, a page with the same language as was in the book Kami had. He told Kami this, having almost forgot it. And Kami asked him to go see if he could find it. But Yamcha wanted to decline, he said it would be wrong to take it.

"But Yamcha, it's not stealing, it isn't looting, this is a page, likely taken from one of the first ever fights against Piccolo. I think it could be valuable to me and thus valuable to earth."

Yamcha sighs, "Alright, I just-... Grandpa Gohan, he seemed nice. So much different to-... You know."

Kami nodded, "Yes, but it's our duty to change that."

And with that, Kami studied the technique while Yamcha recovered the page.

Yamcha arrived back at Gohan's house, but he detected a presence. He landed and approached, and then opened the door. Inside was a group of three people.

"No, no, it MUST be here. Shu, you checked the map right?" Shu nodded to Pilaf. "Of course Emperor Pilaf! I-" As Shu reached into his bag for the map, he turned just enough to see Yamcha, and screamed.

"Oh, it's just you guys." Yamcha said, everyone turning around, and seeing Yamcha, rugged, handsome, toned, looking like a wild animal.

"Oh my Kami! Yamcha? Is that you?!" Pilaf was more surprised by Yamcha's development than anything.

"It sure is Pilaf, what are you doing here...?" Yamcha asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow.

"We-we-we-!" Pilaf stumbled, and Mai interjected "We were looking for food! You see, this is very far in the mountains, theres nothing for miles and we aren't strong enough to hunt the monsters here for sustenance, we thought perhaps this humble abode would have a nice old lady to cook us a meal." Mai expertly lied, but Yamcha already had the map from inside Shu's bag. He'd snagged it without anyone seeing, despite being right in front of their eyes. It was a map of all the last known locations of the Dragon Balls.

"Sorry guys, but you won't have any luck finding the Dragon Balls. Plus, the one you are looking for, the four star ball, it's off world."

Pilaf sighed, "It seems it's just not meant to be..." He looked genuinely defeated, Yamcha felt sympathetic for the little guy...

"What are you trying to wish for anyways Pilaf? Aren't you an emperor? What the heck do you need wishes for?" Yamcha asked in earnest.

Pilaf looked up in anger, but not at Yamcha, it was like Pilaf saw someone else in Yamcha's place. "No! I've lost everything looking for these stupid balls! I don't have a castle, a kingdom, I have nothing to my name! All I want is to wish my life back!" Pilaf says as honest as he has ever been.

"And for my faithful companions, I wish for them to be properly rewarded, so that they can go and live their lives... Outside of my influence. Reach their full potential." Pilaf said, looking back to his companions.

"Shu, you wanted to open up a daycare for cats." Shu nods and bashfully rubs the back of his neck.

"And Mai, you wanted to start a fashion line of practical clothes for women." Mai smiles, "Yes emperor, seems all the women's clothing I find is too tight, and has fake pockets, I desire a line of clothing based on what I wear." She presents, cargo pants, pockets, a unique design for all her tools, and it's flexible without being uncomfortably tight.

Yamcha admires, and for once, he isn't ogling her, which Mai actually finds strange, and yet... Attractive. Yamcha used to be such a brute, fawning after the first woman he saw, being a gross pervert with Oolong. Seeing Yamcha like this, respectful, strong, and wild, it waslike seeing a whole new man, seeing Yamcha as a man was a feat in and of itself, but now...

"Say, what were you doing here anyway, Yamcha? You weren't lookin' for us were ya'?" Asked Shu.

Yamcha shook his head, "Looking for a page with a weird language and a diagram of an alien--, person! A person on it with pointy ears."

Pilaf nods and reaches into his pocket, "This old thing?" He pulls out the crumpled paper, depicting the biology of the Namekians on it, along with a lot of words, and the symbol of a tree on the namekian's chest.

"That's the one!" Yamcha gleefully states, but Pilaf retracts his hands away from Yamcha.

Pilaf waves his finger, "Uh uh uh, what's it worth to you, Wild Man?"

Yamcha ponders... "Well, I haven't got anything on me." He shrugs "I don't even have pockets, they tore off. In fact, this Gi used to be orange." He said, the Gi now stained dark green.

Pilaf sighs... "Okay, Yamcha, promise me something then."

Yamcha nods, anticipating.

"If I give you this paper, promise you'll let us have our wishes? Please?" Pilaf pleads, genuinely.

Yamcha smiles, seeing Pilaf's ways have finally changed...

"Sure dude. Anything."

Pilaf hands Yamcha the paper. And he leaves, Mai watching and blushing as Yamcha left

"He looks so good..." She mutters

"What was that Mai?" Pilaf asks

"Nothing sir!"

Their stomachs growl...

Meanwhile, back in the Saiyan space pod, piloted by Gohan & Piccolo. The pair are in hibernation, when suddenly, the pod starts flashing with alerts.

"Alert! Alert! This pod is being intercepted by Frieza mothership #4! Prepare for dock."

Piccolo shoots awake, and Gohan's eyes slowly flutter open.

"Huh...? Free-zuh? What's happening Mr. Piccolo...?" Gohan weakly asks.

"Nothing Gohan, keep resting." He says frustrated, and worried.

The Frieza Mothership comes into view, and the pod enters the docking bay, slowly coming to a stop, then opening. The sudden pressure change causes atmospheric moisture, making mist cover the area. As the mist clears, Frieza sees something unexpected inside the pod. A Namekian, and a Saiyan...

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't send you to your graves for crimes against the emperor of the galaxy!" Frieza demands.

"I'm sorry-, I uh, I'm from Earth. I don't know how all this works, my l-... my liege." Piccolo sputters the words out, disgusted, but he has to comply, Frieza's power level is stronger than even Gohan's by hundreds of thousands...

"Hm... A Namekian from earth? And then the Saiyan?" Frieza asks.

"Well, my lord, this is an earth born saiyan, and he's been hurt, he needs healing. That's why I was going to Namek using this Saiyan pod."

Frieza smiles, "Then, I assume the recipient of the pod has been killed?"

Piccolo, sees his opportunity, and nods.

"Yes, my liege, this child killed the pilot of this pod." Piccolo lies

Frieza cackles! "Well perhaps the saiyans still have their use! I hated that rebellious Vegeta... Hrm... Come, we can heal the child, and I want to talk to you. You see, we have the same destination... Perhaps you and I could learn from one another."

End of Chapter...

Hope you like it so far, I have big ideas coming up.

Chapter 5, The Heroes Arrive.

Back on King Kai's planet, Chichi is showing off her INCREDIBLE use of the Kaioken.

"Well she's a natural!" King Kai explains "it's like her particular mind is perfect for the Kaio Ken! Tien, on the other hand... It just doesn't blend. And Chaotzu, uhh... Seems to not help Chaotzu."

Tien scoffs, "It's just not my type of technique, but I feel I could modify it." Tien states, King kai taking this as a bold statement, "Oh yeah wise guy? You think you can modify a technique of the kai's- WAHH!" King Kai is blasted away as Tien erupts into a green aura. Tien bulks up, but he's calm... Meditative.

"What was that, King Kai?" Tien says with sass.

Chaotzu admires! "Wow Tien! You really did it!" He claps

Tien smiles, "It amplifies my power in a calm state. It's perfect. I'll have to think of a new name for it though..."

With this boost, Tien is also stronger than Goku, making Goku feel more motivated than ever. Chaotzu on the other hand seems to enjoy just helping Tien get stronger, at least, he seems to...

The entire time, Chaotzu has been secretly learning King Kai's magic. He wanted to surprise Tien. But Tien has been so focused, Chaotzu decided to keep it a secret for now.

Meanwhile Chichi was pushing the kaioken all the way to kaiken x25. She couldn't get it past that, not safely anyways, but she was using it consistently at Kaioken x20.

(When Goku first used Kaioken, you should remember he was much weaker than Chichi is right now. I think it'd be more accurate to say her limit is somewhere in the 30's.)

Goku didn't seek the Kaioken, and felt he couldn't properly use it like Chichi, he wanted to master this new power. Super Saiyan. he'd been training Super Saiyan the entire time since arriving. Using anger, remembering that tragic feeling of his own son killing his friends. That green aura Gohan had when he did it... It enraged him. His own flesh and blood! How could he!!

Goku went into super saiyan and his eyes went white again, he let out a primitive roar and the whole planet began to shake. Goku began to barrage the air and shadow box using ten ton weights. King Kai was terrified... But kept his eyes on Goku.

Chichi, she was powerful, but controlled. Goku was like an unleashed beast, and it scared King Kai, he worried what Goku would do, he worried about Goku's pure heart.

At the end of the day, when everyone was tired, King Kai brought them all together.

"Well, i'm sure you haven't noticed, but it's been two weeks, and Kami says the Dragon Balls are ready. You can all go back, except for Chaotzu... I'm sorry Chaotzu, you'll have to stay up here with me."

Chaotzu nods, "I accept this, but, I have a surprise Tien." Chaotzu looks to tien, "I can help you all from here. Now that you are done training, I can tell you, I can use magic like King Kai! And I've learned how to do it very far away."

Tien is surprised and gleeful, "Oh my gosh, Chaotzu that's amazing! Will you be helping us on Namek?" He hugs his friend.

Chaotzu nods "Yep!" he giggles, "I can faintly sense Namek from here, but by the time you guys arrive, I'll be much stronger."

Tien ends his embrace. "I'll call you every day, okay?" He promises, half jokingly.

The group of three each look at one another and all share a knowing look. "King Kai, we're ready." Chichi says.

"Well, I hope I don't see you again-- Under these circumstances, you can feel free to visit me any time. You are all welcome here, and in fact I might ask you back for something coming up... I digress! I'll be watching you all on Namek, good luck!"

And just like that, in the blink of an eye they all appeared on the lookout, and immediately sensed an incredible power...

"What?! Is Piccolo back?!" Tien scrambled into a fighting position, but what he saw shocked him and surprisingly, made him look up...

Goku and Chichi each gasped as the three layed eyes on Yamcha, who was towering over the three of them.

"Yamcha, you got BIGGER?!" Goku asked, astonished!

Yamcha looked down, "I did?"

He was insanely ripped, I mean Broly ripped. Yamcha had been doing incredible training. And he had been focusing harder than he ever did before. It was unlike any other time in his life, sure when he was getting ready to fight Tien, but this went beyond a petty fight, this was protecting the world. And Yamcha fit the bill. Roshi had even taught Yamcha his Giga-buff form, which Yamcha had learned to use PERPETUALLY! He even SLEPT in this form.

"Oh my god... Your power." Tien mutters. Yamcha had undergone the potential unleash. And it had boosted Yamcha into the upper limit. Making him stronger than even Chichi, who was currently the strongest. When Chichi used her maximum possible Kaioken, she only barely got stronger than Yamcha. Tien and Goku had a new goal to strive for, and Tien especially felt the need to out do his old rival.

The four got ready for their trip. Yamcha trusting Kami and Krillin with the protection of Earth while he was gone. And surprisingly, they'd find the Pilaf Gang at capsule corp excited to see Yamcha off. Yamcha had sort of become a Hero of the trio, you see, while Yamcha trained he didn't need any of his possessions, giving them all away to who else but the Pilaf Gang. Allowing Pilaf to finally get back on his feet and start fixing his life. Mai wanted to see off Yamcha for another reason, she had caught feelings for Yamcha, and seeing him in this Buff form made her swoon. Especially since the new Gi he wore barely fit on his frame.

(Sorry but I have to hype Yamcha. It's a fan-fiction/what if rule.)

Bulma says she'll have to come along to service the craft, and the Dragon Radar, and the four reluctantly agree, Yamcha being one of them since he's pissed off Bulma pretty bad by just neglecting her. That's when one last person comes out of the shadows, wearing a new set of Saiyan Armor without but pauldrons. Vegeta.

"I'll be coming too. I owe that brat a wallop after he damn near killed me." Vegeta snickered. He couldn't sense power levels accurately just yet, but he had been training in Bulma's gravity chamber, which she had made for the new space ship by reverse engineering Nappa's pod before he took it and left... The gravity chamber was based on recounts of the room of spirit & time, as well as King Kai's world which supposedly had crazy gravity. She just rolled with it, after all, it was a simple process. "Simply blah blah blah, and then blah blah blah..." Nobody understood as Bulma explained the process.

"Whatever, woman, lets go already." Vegeta demanded impatiently, Yamcha getting a little defensive.

"Hey, show her some respect, aren't you supposed to be a prince?" Yamcha said. Surprising Bulma a lot, in fact it made her feel really seen by him for the first time in a while...

Vegeta scoffed, "Oh, what? You think after my training you could stand up to my power? I'll say what I want earth boy! And I'll say, you smell disgusting! There better be a shower in the space ship." Vegeta couldn't sense just how strong Yamcha was, but Yamcha could sense that Vegeta was a LOT weaker than him. Beat Gohan? Yeah right.

As they loaded up onto the ship, Chichi heard a familiar gruff voice calling out.

"WAIT! Chichi!" It was the Ox King! Chichi's father, come to wish her a goodbye with a very special bag of things from her mother... A little something from himself included.

"Your mom wanted you to have these in case you ever went on a journey like this. I don't think she ever expected you to go see the Galaxy though! Hahaha!" He smiled and laughed with her. Sure, Chichi had done some incredible things, but she'd never trained under a master. Chichi was always such a naturally gifted fighter, something Gohan had really inherited.

Speaking of Gohan, back on Frieza's mothership, Gohan had recovered excellently and was being observed by Lord Frieza in the training room. Piccolo had been briefed on Frieza's plan and they agreed Piccolo would be the envoy, however Piccolo had no intention of reporting back to Frieza. He would meet his people, learn their ways, and hijack a ship back to Earth once he had grown strong and made his wishes on the Namekian dragon balls. Frieza had given Piccolo an idea, Immortality sounded pretty sweet... And, hey, ruler of earth was cool, but he'd been there done that. He'd defeat Frieza, and make Gohan prince of the Galaxy, and Piccolo would be the emperor.

Gohan finished his training, drenched in sweat and wearing brand new frieza force battle armor. Gohan was actually the Frieza forces strongest warrior, then piccolo, and then the Ginyu Force Mercenaries, then Zarbon & Dodoria, and so on. Of course none of them were on Frieza's level, but it was marvelous. Frieza was beyond happy, he had ditched those filthy Saiyans and gotten back a civilized monkey and a namekian in their place. Not only that, but they were far stronger than what he had to pay for them...

Gohan came out of the training room, immediately feeling the effects of normal gravity, and almost launching himself into the ceiling with a single step.

"Whoaaa! Enhanced gravity is really something! Thank you, Lord Frieza, I'm very thankful for everything you've done for us. You're a really nice guy." Gohan said, heartfelt, and honestly nobody had ever spoken to Frieza so genuinely. It touched him... Lord Frieza chuckling. "Well, I think I'll have to treat you even better for being such a good little monkey! Tell me, what did you like to eat on Earth?" Frieza said, walking away from Piccolo and showing the little Saiyan to Frieza's personal dining room. Frieza loved his new pet, quite a bit in fact!

Frieza fed Gohan anything he wanted, which just so happened to be the whole menu. Frieza was astonished at how much this tiny kid could put away. And not only that, after resting for such little time, Gohan would get up and go train again.

Finally, Frieza's forces would arrive on Planet Namek, scouts reporting back exactly what they had expected, weaklings, all but one. A surprisingly strong Namekian warrior who was called Nail. Frieza sighed... "Very well, deploy the little monkey and the big green. Send Zarbon and Dodoria with them to keep an eye on things..."

Frieza knew full well neither of his lackeys could defeat the pair, even if they teamed up against one of them, but that wasn't what they were for. Frieza sent them so that he could spy through their scouters. Gohan knew what the scouter did though... And actually remembered what the old models looked like when they were recording or showing a live feed, like most earth cameras, they had a giveaway, a small blinking light on the side, and Gohan knew frieza was watching him, but decided not to acknowledge it, yet...

"Mr. Piccolo." Gohan asked

"Yes, Gohan?" Piccolo acknowledged.

"Am I a bad guy like my dad said? Is Lord Frieza?"

Piccolo shook his head, "No Gohan, you aren't a bad guy." But he didn't answer the second one.

"You have good intentions. When I wanted to rule the world, I just wanted power." He admitted

"You don't want to rule the world anymore? I thought that's what we were doing Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan said sadly.

"No, we're still gonna rule, don't fret Gohan."

Of course, Piccolo had increased his size by this point, but it took a while to get big again. Piccolo actually found increasing his size even beyond his normal state allowed his Ki to flow better and his body to move more fluidly. Seems there really was a benefit to growing into a giant besides the surface level strength improvements.

(I'm literally retconning DBS Super hero. I do not care for the retcon of "grow giant doesn't increase power" it does in the games, it does everywhere else. It does throughout the series. it literally does and I'm keeping it that way.)

Obviously, Gohan and Piccolo being stronger than the Ginyu force has some SERIOUS implications for their powers. But Frieza's training has been intense. He's had access to all of the utilities of a Frieza Mothership and more. This has been the time of Gohan's life, and Piccolo hasn't been slacking either. Training alongside Gohan the whole time.

Stepping foot onto his home planet for the first time felt... Remarkable. Piccolo felt an immediate rush. Like he was stronger all of a sudden just by being here. And to be fair, he was. These were ideal Namekian conditions compared to the rather lackluster Frieza ship. With enough water to feed Piccolo as much as he needed, he could feel it flow into him from the soles of his feet. It was like the grass was feeding him.

They sensed the power that was defeating all the other Frieza Force scouts, and flew towards it at high speed, leaving Dodoria & Zarbon in the dust.

Once arriving, they found Nail, who thought Piccolo was there to save him...

"Oh, good- Wait, I don't know you. What's your name Namekian?" He asked, clearly a bit tired from dispatching the squad of Frieza scouts.

"Piccolo." He responded. "You need to play dead. Can you do that?" Piccolo said

"But- What? What are you-" Piccolo interrupted but powering up to full and yelling

"JUST DO IT!"

Nail obliged. Lowering his power all the way and pretending to be dead, to really sell it, Piccolo ripped off Nail's arm, causing him to scream, but then continue to play dead. Gohan the whole while knew exactly what was going on, and played along. Piccolo liked that about Gohan.

When Dodoria and Zarbon arrived, they questioned what happened. They saw Piccolo's power rise tremendously, then Nail's drop. When they saw Piccolo holding Nail's arm, they assumed it meant he was dead. Nail had a power level of 0 now after all...

"Shame, if you captured him alive I think Ginyu would've liked that body. What was his power level? The scouter didn't read it in time." Dodoria said.

Piccolo shrugs, "Pretty big I guess. Not big enough. Guess that's mission complete, unless... Theres probably a dragon ball here. You should go look for it. You two go that way, we'll go this way. We'll surprise lord frieza."

Dodoria and Zarbon actually jump at the chance to win back some of Frieza's favor. After all, the pair had really fallen out of the limelight since the arrival of these two. They went away from where Piccolo sensed life, and towards a bunch of empty houses. Piccolo then turned back around and dragged Nail into the house with all the hiding namekians, and this villages elder.

"There. I bought you all time." Piccolo stated, then he had them explain everything about Namekian society and their way of life that he could, he then heard the others coming back...

Nail spoke up, "Wait, I have an idea! You said Frieza likes this kid? Well what if we pretend to hold him hostage!"

Piccolo sighs, "No, it'll never work. Besides, then you'd just provoke Frieza. He's stronger than you and me combined."

That's when elder guru spoke up, "Well..." He started.

Elder Guru explained the process of potential unlock and fusion. Nail sighed, if it was the only way, he'd be okay with it. It wasn't like he'd be dying anyways. He'd just be a part of a stronger warrior.

Piccolo obviously agreed. Anything for the power to drive away Frieza from his precious dragon balls and keep them from hurting his people.

Piccolo may be acting a little prematurely, but he was pretty sure these people were the closest thing he had to a family besides Gohan.

Piccolo & Gohan's potential are unlocked, but Guru is skeptical as he unlocks Gohans...

"Child, you have anger within you, a deep anger that goes to the roots like a rot. You must purge yourself of this anger if you ever hope to access all of your strength, and if you ever hope to do good in this world..."

Gohan smiles, and nods, but he was honestly just happy to hear how deep his anger went. Gohan liked being angry...

After the unlock, Frieza felt a little shiver. "What was that...?" He asked, checking on the scouters of Zarbon and Dodoria, only to see them heading back towards Piccolo, and then suddenly vanish. Their scouters offline.

"What-?" Frieza turns on his own scouter and looks towards the direction of Piccolo, as he locks on, he sees two power levels that scare him... "Oh my..." He chuckles, "Good thing they don't know about my forms..."

Piccolo's power was higher than the scouter could read. And that was stronger than Frieza's first form by quite a bit. Gohan's was stronger to, but Frieza suspected that was the one which gave him the chill...

Back in Guru's hut, piccolo explained what he was doing. How he'd be wishing on the dragon balls for himself and gohan, and how he'd then beat frieza. At this point, the namekians were happy to help Piccolo if it meant the end of Frieza.

Piccolo and Gohan hid their power levels, but it was way too late. Frieza knew, and when they came back suppressed, he grew a little suspicious...

"We killed them." Piccolo started, "But one of them played dead and destroyed Zarbon & Dodoria, sorry."

Gohan spoke up, "We looked for a dragon ball too! But we didn't find one, we can cross that village off, lord frieza." Gohan happily said.

Frieza hummed... "No dragon ball? Hm. Okay. I like that you two took an incentive, and I honestly could care less about Zarbon & Dodoria's deaths! Hahaha!" He patted his prize pupil on top of his head

"However if I lost you, I think I'd be quite sad... How interesting. I've never encountered something-... Or someone, I wouldn't want to destroy..." He hummed, "What would you like to eat today, Gohan?" He asked, gesturing for Piccolo to leave them.

"Oh, I want bacon! It came from pigs, these gross creatures on earth, but they were so fatty and tasty!" Piccolo heard as he walked away, and left the ship. Masking his energy entirely. Flying to another namekian village, where he'd begin warning everyone to go hide at Guru's and take their dragon balls, they'd be getting invaded soon... Some were harder to convince than others, but he'd bring out Nail to help. Everyone knew nail! And they listened, but some warrior namekian's wanted to help fight. Piccolo offered them only two options. Go hide, or merge. Some picked to merge, joining piccolo. Others did back down eventually and went to join Guru. After all, Guru did need protection, but Piccolo needed power...

By curfew, piccolo had nearly doubled his power again, and all but one Dragon Ball was secured, and he couldn't find where it was kept... He went back to the ship, but he was late.

Frieza was waiting for him when he returned.

"So, what were you doing, Piccolo?" Asked Frieza, rather perturbed by his absence...

"I call it extra curricular activities. Enjoying the planet, exploring, exterminating..." He grinned, and let out some of his evil side. It helped convinced Frieza of his honesty.

Piccolo had many Namekian warriors leave behind limbs. They'd just regenerate, or merge with piccolo afterward. It made the sites each look like a battle happened. Piccolo would then blow a few things up, shadowbox a fight, and make it look believable.

The day after, it seemed it really worked. Every explored site was deemed as a credit to Piccolo.

Piccolo gave them as much intel as he could afford to give away, but explained he couldn't find any dragon balls, and said that they must've hid them somewhere they wouldn't look. Perhaps under the water?

Piccolo would regret this, when one of the scouting parties reported back finding a dragon ball... This was bad...

Meanwhile, on the way to Namek, training is going just as planned, but Vegeta is being a little reckless...

"Vegeta, I SWEAR if you blow up this ship, killing us all, I'll make sure you die FIRST." Tien spitefully spat at Vegeta.

Vegeta smiled, "Oh, is that a challenge baldy? When we're on namek, let's fight. I wanna see what you're really made of when you aren't protected by a black void, and a stronger big brother."

This really pissed Tien off. Insenuating Yamcha was his better? Well, it was true... But Yamcha didn't have the same skills as Tien, at least he hoped... Apparently Yamcha had actually studied hard and learned the Dodon Ray and even the Tri-beam, it really worried Tien. Tien didn't want to be replaced... He was insecure. He had gone to a world with greater gravity, and he came back to Yamcha being the one to get stronger. How could it have happened? It ruined Tien's meditation, and made him have difficulties training. So Tien focused on other means of training while Vegeta was around, and when Vegeta slept, he meditated.

Yamcha really impressed Goku and Chichi, it was remarkable how far he'd come from that little boy they met in the Desert. Bulma especially was enamored! But... Vegeta really peaked Bulma's fancy, and vice versa. Whenever they found themselves alone together, Vegeta would open up to Bulma in a way Yamcha never did. And with Yamcha the way he was now, it just didn't feel right anymore. Not to approach Yamcha, or to try and be with him still. Bulma decided to not let anything happen in a confined space. But she was going to officially break it off with Yamcha once they were on Namek.

Goku and Chichi didn't have to deal with ANY of that drama! Two lovers happier than ever, traveling through space. It reminded them of their honeymoon! They had so much fun, and it only made them stronger.

After not long, they'd arrive on Planet Namek, right around when Frieza's scouts find the Dragon Ball. Everyone would sense the insane power level of Frieza, but next to it was a far stronger one, and it felt angry and unstable...

"Gohan." Chichi said.

"Gohan." Goku agreed.

He was stronger than either of them had expected, and at this point... They didn't know if they could do it. That's when they saw the Dragon Ball by carried away by Frieza scouts.

They attacked the Frieza Scouts. Chichi lead the assault and obliterated the first with a flying kick. Goku took down the next one with a kamehameha, and the last couple were childs play for Tien and Yamcha. That's when Vegeta came in and started finishing them off.

"VEGETA!" Yelled Yamcha, "You CAN'T do that!"

Vegeta scoffs, "Oh c'mon, you want them to go tell Frieza? You can sense him, can't you? Well I can now too. And I don't want that coming after us. I told you how the scouters work. They'd transmit to him immediately, and we'd be dead the next second cause of that brat."

Yamcha hated admitting Vegeta was right. "You could've just blown up the scouters." Yamcha said

"Yeah, and let the messenger go straight to Frieza, pissing him off even more cause now he has to deal with unwelcome lackeys in his chambers." Vegeta said.

Tien chuckled, "I'm sure you must've put a lot of unwanted lackeys in Frieza's chambers, Vegeta." Tien joked, pissing Vegeta off.

"Oh it's on baldy. Right after we hide that Dragon Ball, it's fucking on."

Goku kind of wanted to see this, but Chichi, always all business, didn't want anything to do with it. "C'mon Goku, let's go get our son back. Bulma, hows that new Dragon Radar going?" She asked.

Bulma smiled, "It's going alright, going on your face! I modeled it off the scouters. If we're lucky, they'll think you're a Frieza force member!" Bulma really felt proud of herself for this one.

Chichi clapped, "Well done Bulma! I'm glad Goku met you. You know what? I'm sorry for being so jealous of you two." She admitted, "I get it now."

Bulma blushed, "Jealous? Of me and Goku? Hahaha!"

Vegeta and Tien's fight got underway, and expectedly, Tien won. But surprisingly not by much... Vegeta managed to keep up with them, but Tien was just so much more skilled. Raw power alone wasn't enough, and even if it was, Tien didn't even have to use his Green Kaioken. Tien still hadn't named it.

"God, I can't believe this! You should rename your stolen move Kaio-cunt. I can't stand you, I'm going to look for the other dragon balls, Bulma, give me one of those silly doodads." Vegeta said, having picked up 'Doodad' from his long conversations with Bulma, which made her smile that he was starting to immitate her speech.

"Sure Vegeta, don't go alone though, take Tien." She said, trying to get them to leave so Yamcha and her could talk in private...

"Oh no that's okay, I'll go with Vegeta-" Bulma shook her head, and Yamcha, knowing Bulma pretty well, knew what was up.

"Oh, yeah you better go Tien. You guys don't have to talk, don't worry. Just find us some balls. You're good at finding balls, right Vegeta? I heard something about finding Frieza's balls while you two were alone in his chambers." Yamcha said. Which pissed Vegeta off even more...

"When I'm stronger than you Yamcha, I'm going to make you curl up in a lump on the damn ground." Vegeta threatened and then flew off, Tien groaning, understanding the signals, and leaving with Vegeta. Besides, Vegeta was actually starting to grow on Tien. He liked the attitude.

"Alright Bulma. I think I should tell you, I don't think i'm fit for a relationsh-"

"I THINK WE SHOULD BREAK-... Wait, what?" Bulma started, but then quickly stopped.

"Oh! Well that's great! Haha! Gosh, I was worried this would get really awkward but you wanting to makes it way easier!" He smiles, genuinely happy that they are breaking up...

This actually made Bulma kind of mad.

"Ugh, really? Whatever..." Bulma stormed off.

"Wait-, what? I thought-... Ugh. Women." Yamcha groaned.

Piccolo left the ship to go meet up with Goku and Chichi, he was hoping he could convince them to join in on his plan under false pretenses. But, honestly, he was surprised. They were far weaker than he thought they'd be.

They finally encountered each other, and when Piccolo wasn't immediately hostile, or with Gohan, it surprised them...

"Where is Gohan?" Asked Chichi.

"With Frieza. Don't worry, they are big fans of each other. I can't say I like the emperor, I think he's a stupid prick." Piccolo smiles.

Goku grins in return, "You seeing too much of yourself in the tyrant?" He asks

Piccolo nods. "Honestly, yeah. It pisses me off to have someone think they hold any power over me. I wanna kill him. Stop his tyrannical rule of the Galaxy, and I think I can. I'm way stronger than he is." Piccolo admits.

"You aren't the only one..." Goku says, slyly smiling, before powering up into Super Saiyan, and then Chichi enters Kaioken x20, which she has redubbed Mastered Kaioken.

Their powers shoot up, nearing Piccolos. "I think you are outnumbered. But we'll let you talk." Chichi says.

Piccolo explains everything, and asks to wish on the dragon balls for the sake of defeating Frieza. Goku and Chichi decline, needing to wish back Chaotzu. But Piccolo explains that there are three wishes on the Namekian balls, and with only two wishes taken up, theres a free third one that they can use on their son. This lie manages to convince them, playing to their insecurities... Well, lie is actually not right. Piccolo was beginning to fear Gohan himself, and realizing the error of his ways from comparing himself to Frieza, he's decided to give up on ruling the earth or the galaxy. He tells them this confidently, but he doesn't admit he's going to wish for Immortality...

Back with Tien and Vegeta, they fly over one of Piccolo's destroyed Namekian villages.

Tien groans, "Another one. At this point it'd be weirder to find one in tact."

Vegeta sighs, "You still don't get it, do you? There won't be one in tact. We're dealing with Frieza, the planet destroyer."

"You know she likes you, right?" Tien shifts the subject, the thought making him uncomfortable... If Gohan was stronger than Frieza, the only thing keeping him from destroying the planet was his anger... And Tien had no idea how little it took to set off Gohan.

Vegeta snickers, "What? You jealous?"

Tien smiles, "Hell no."

Vegeta scowls, "You better not be insulting her."

"You mean more than you disrespect her? Not quite. She's not my type, that's all."

"What is your type, four eyes?" Vegeta asks, finally just making conversation.

"Full of spunk, ready to throw down no matter what, and a lot of attitude. Oh, and if you are thinking I'm gay, think again." Tien says, suspecting Vegeta may think his relationship with Chaotzu goes further than their brotherhood really goes.

In describing his ideal woman, he basically describes Launch... Who he finds himself missing from time to time. He wonders where she is...

"Huh? What was it you said about not finding an in tact village again?" Tien asks. Turns out Piccolo did make one mistake, it was not leaving some rubble in Guru's village.

They also found all the dead Frieza scouts.

"Heh, you've got me there, Tien." Vegeta says

Tien is flattered...

The two explore the village, and are confronted by Murry. Who asks if they are Frieza force. But the two explain that they aren't wearing scouters, and they have nothing to do with the Frieza force, that they want to stop them. When Murry decides to trust them, mostly cause of Tien, the pair reveal that they are wearing Dragon Ball finders, and they detect Dragon Balls in that building.

Murry concedes, yes they are, but they are for Piccolo. And that Piccolo has a plan for defeating Frieza.

Tien and Vegeta explain that they want to defeat Frieza too. And that's when they receive communications from the scouters. Goku and Chichi explain everything to the team.

"Oh good, and you already found Guru? Perfect! I heard he'll unlock our potential. You should ask for it!" Goku chimes. But Goku clearly doesn't want anything to do with it, Vegeta is ALL over that though, and Tien reluctantly decides it'd be for the best... After all, it's just unlocking his own Ki that is already inside his body. Guru releases Tien's potential, but doesn't like Vegeta.

Vegeta has to appeal to the Guru, but finds it easy. "Come on, you need all you can get against Frieza, you have no idea how strong he really is. I've heard he's only using half his power, and you can sense that. If that's half, that means he's stronger than Piccolo."

How little they knew...

Guru finally agreed to Unlock Vegeta's potential. And he relished in the new power.

Meanwhile, Chichi tried to pressure Goku to do it too, but he flat out denied it. "No way! Haha! You can, I'm not gonna hold ya' back. I just... I'd like to get that power unlocked on my own is all." Goku admits.

"Alright Goku, always so stubborn, I love that stubbornness." She smiles and kisses her husband, who accepts with glee.

Piccolo tells them to mask their power, and go see Guru. Piccolo will tell Frieza they were weak, scouters can detect anything beyond 600,000, and they must be well in the millions. (Rough estimate. There is no canon scouter max. But Frieza gives a specific number, so I assume it's only a bit higher than that number.)

Piccolo will deal with Frieza, Chichi will get her potential unlocked, and so will Yamcha, who just received the transmission.

They all abide by this and arrive at Guru's. Guru sees Yamcha and his eyes almost bug out of his head.

"My goodness, is that... Tell me, are you a God?" Guru asks Yamcha

"Huh?" Yamcha questions "What do you mean?"

Guru shakes his head, "I'm sorry. You have such an energy to you, it's as if you are infused with the life of so many other beings... I'm sure this is the energy of Earth you bring with you."

Yamcha looks at himself, and is surprised. Yeah, he guesses so. He trained in every martial art on earth, he trained amongst the plants and animals, trained with the earth and sky, he even remember Kami telling him something about his strange energy.

"It's as if you have a power within you I cannot sense, a power that is clean... It's strange and foreign to me, but I can feel it."

Yamcha also decides to speak up, "I've actually already done this ritual back on earth, but Kami said I might want to see if you can do anything more. He said something about a hidden power that he couldn't unlock..."

Guru shakes his head. "I don't think I can do anymore for you, Yamcha, but if you'd like I can try."

Each of them have their potential unlocked, besides Goku, and then Guru tries Yamcha...

However, this allows everyone to catch up to Yamcha. They finally feel on his level! But... That's when Guru is surprised again.

"My goodness... I feel it! I'm pulling!!" Guru calls out, and that's when Yamcha's Ki explodes out in a massive serene aura that makes Tien envious, Goku is shocked, and Chichi remarks that it feels like the Genki-dama... "My goodness... Is Yamcha a God?"

They ask, and they receive an answer.

Yamcha is covered in a white light and his ki can no longer be sensed. What Guru has pulled out of Yamcha is pure God Ki that he built up training and being one with nature. This is God Ki that was dwelling within the Earth.

The reason Guru can draw this out is because the Earth God Form is based on Enlightenment! Guru is the closest thing to an enlightened being, and Yamcha is close to this enlightenment along with Tien, Tien isn't there yet because Vegeta keeps pissing him off, and he still has a lot of very human emotions. Tien's flaws prevent him from godlihood. But Yamcha overcame all his flaws in those two weeks training on Earth. He overcame the need for power, the need for women, the need for food. Every human need, Yamcha defeated.

Also, according to Daima, Namekians are from the Demon Realm, namekians are the closest thing right now to having experience with godly ki, after all, they once knew the glind!

The light dissipates and Yamcha is revealed, a pure golden being, akin to the Buddha. An eye opens on Yamcha's head like Tien's, and four extra arms come out from behind Yamcha as though he is a Buddhist God. Yamcha's aura is so peaceful, it makes the entire room seem like an open field with a gentle breeze.

Everyone stares in awe, with a new goal in mind. Overcoming Yamcha.

They were on his level for only one moment before he yet again overcame them in a way they couldn't even feel. Yamcha was on a whole new level, and then he slowly faded out of his godly form. They could feel his normal ki again, but only barely, after all, he was masking it.

Meanwhile, on a distant world... A cat stirs, his dreams change, he sees a golden warrior, and a planet that he's never even heard of... And some really good food! This is almost enough to wake Beerus, but then, he'd rather keep dreaming of food.

Back on Frieza's ship, Frieza & Gohan are training together. Gohan has been keeping secrets from Piccolo, and Frieza has seen how much fun Gohan has, and how much stronger he's become. Frieza has allowed himself to be convinced of such silly games. After all, this was pretty fun! Frieza loved destroying things, and enjoyed Gohan. And so, he had been secretly training with Gohan, which is how Frieza learned to sense Ki and hide his own... Frieza suspected Piccolo though, and so did Gohan. The two had been hiding this from Piccolo, and Frieza had maintained a power level of 560,000 the entire time. Frieza was actually impressed with his own ability to control ki. Seemed he was a natural at all this! Gohan's compliments only made him feel better about his natural abilities and sheer potential.

Gohan had of course already explained the entirety of piccolo's plan to Frieza. Not wanting to lose what Frieza gave to him... But Frieza figured he could just let Piccolo collect his balls, then surprise them with his maximum power as soon as they are about to make their wish! And steal it! Frieza decided he'd wish for immortality for him and Gohan. For his third, he'd probably wish to rule over the entire universe. He thought that sounded fun.

Gohan bounced a Ki Ball back at Frieza, who then bounced it into the wall, and charged a the little monkey. They clashed like crazy. But it was all so fun for the both of them. They loved the thrill of the fight and were so excited to show their prowess to Piccolo and the rest.

In fact, Gohan was most excited. He felt betrayed by Piccolo, who hadn't even asked him for a single opinion of his own since making all these plans. Meanwhile, Frieza would actually let Gohan in on what he was going to do, he'd be straight forward and tell the truth to Gohan. This was pretty much how King Cold and Frieza were when Frieza was a child. Frieza loved this feeling. The feeling of having a disciple, and the feeling of getting stronger!

"You know what Gohan! I was all wrong! Training truly is such a great activity!" Frieza gleefully states.

"Yeah! I'm so glad you like it! I think you might be my best friend Frieza... Piccolo says you are a bad guy though, but, I like you. And I wanna rule a Galaxy too! Am I strong enough...?" Gohan bashfully asks.

Frieza can't help but think this is actually kind of adorable.

"Of course! But you need to be more fierce! None of this cutesy 'Am I strong enough.' More of that anger from before!"

The two then roleplay a scenario of what it'd be like for Gohan to be the ruler of the galaxy, Frieza feeling like a child again. Reclaiming all the joy he hadn't gotten to feel when he was Gohan's age.

End of Chapter...

So I hope you guys are having fun thus far! This is really everything I want it to be so far, and i've finally got Piccolo switching sides. Yamcha hasn't just been done justice, but he's attained something for all of humanity. Something that we really wanted krillin to have, especially cause of DBS filler.

Unfortunately. DBS isn't gonna get any better. That's it. And the few good things we have from it, I am going to explore in this what if story, this little what if is also getting a lot of other fan content I want in other what ifs, but I'm gonna role with it. this story is becoming more my own every day.

After all of this, I need to mention something...

This story is very inspired by Gohan's character, how he's repeatedly depicted, how his character arcs seem to conclude. But, also I've realized I'm getting inspired by Toriyama's life during the Cell Saga. "Give us more Goku, change the villain, gohan can't be the main character, you can't end it here, change the villain again, that's too ugly."

You can imagine how hard it must've been, how burnt out Toriyama must've been. No wonder he wanted to end it there. It sometimes felt like Gohan was the enemy. The enemy of Toriyama's entire career, the catalyst that started all the stress. But, like it or not, Gohan was the beginning and end of the future for dragon ball. When the cell saga concluded, that's when Dragon Ball began to fall. When the Buu saga showed just how horrible Gohan's character would fall, that was when Gohan became the enemy to me. A character I related too so much, suddenly disappeared and became replaced with this shallow husk. It wasn't Toriyama's fault and respected his story till the very end, I just like from the start of Dragon Ball till the end of the Cell Saga personally, and prefer not to read more past that. I hope you can see where I'm coming from. And how my various inserts are sort of justified. Making Yamcha a better person, helping Tien & Chaotzu stay in the story, guys, I even MENTIONED Launch! I'm making it seem like God Ki wasn't another "you are a saiyan" esque retcon.

Throughout the whole series, I've been carefully crafting every story element to make sure it abides by my main goal, but I don't think "What if Gohan was evil" is an appropriate title anymore. I'm gonna retitle this story to Dragon Ball O, for Dragon Ball Others. Gohan will stay evil! Don't worry. I have a lot planned for the nesxt few chapters. So look forward to them :)

[loumandivorce]

here again. smarter people than me have said this (including that one guy who wrote an academic article on merlin porn manips) but magic in most of history/popular culture and in merlin specifically is heavily associated with women. most of the important and powerful magic users in the show are women (morgana, morguase, nimuah, freya) and the old religion has an implied matriarchy with high priestesses.

merlin is the protagonist of the show but also the subject of very early 2000s jokes about his gender and sexuality, mostly by arthur. from the very beginning of the show, merlin is emasculated by arthur by being physically beaten and then! made his servant!!! a role heavily associated with women because they were assigned domestic duties throughout time. like although technically, historically, it would be common and accurate for a lord or prince to have a manservant, the modern connotations of merlin bringing him food and helping him get dressed etc are... like yes its gay to service another man but one of the reasons why is bc of the emasculating nature of it. merlin's magic also contributes to the effeminate qualities that arthur mocks -- his inability to fight (he can just use magic) and unwillingness to hunt. plus non magic related qualities like being emotional, a mama's boy, sensitive, etc. his magic gets him in situations where hes "caught" with a dress or jewelry--his Big Secret has, like everyone has pointed out, very queer undertones. because this is an early 2000s show, queerness = femininity. merlin experiences crazy homophobia at the hands of his own show.

also, inherently the positioning of "two sides of the same coin" means there needs to be a split of feminine/masculine, magic/strength, dark/light between them. and on a surface level it feels pretty obvious who is who? But. merlin is our protagonist and having magic powers is Cool. so the magic simultaneously allows him to cement his masculinity over the Evil Sorceress characters. merlin being the Most Powerful Magic User Ever is mostly used against characters like nimueh, morgana, and morguase, all shown to be extremely powerful but falling under the might of his magic. merlin is called the "light to morgana's darkness", which positions them similarly to him and arthur, but in this situation merlin is the "masculine loving light" to morgana's "hateful feminine darkness" like in the traditional yin-yang symbolism.

but hold on ✋ a second if merlin is the masculine light to morgana's darkness, what exactly does that make him and arthur 🤨. the beginning of the show has everyone believing arthur is a "rough-tough save the world kind of guy" who gets all the girls while merlin is in the background doing everything. but arthurs propensity for getting knocked out and needing to be saved + ignorance and situational idiocy puts him in the damsel in distress position that needs to be saved almost every episode. hes constantly enchanted and thus emasculated by female sorcerers. so with the secret of his magic merlin is also kind of hiding another Secret, of arthur's, which is that he fails at performing masculinity. its an intensely embarrassing thing to know about someone: arthur DIDN'T slay a dragon, arthur DIDN'T complete this quest alone, he needs merlins help. arthur's aggressivee attempts at appealing to the patriarchal figure of his father and expectations of him leads to this almost childish bully of a character: his performance and privilege means he has no idea how to really talk to women or form meaningful relationships or do anything for himself. im not saying its womancoded to be incompetent but for this show w baffling politics his inability to do anything other than kill stuff (which he needs to be pushed to do by his father) is weakness and thus Feminine. hes trying so hard to preserve his fragile masculinity that it loops back around to being kind of gay (derogatory 2000s tone). his position as crown prince and eventually a king means that arthur's more effeminate qualities are ignored while merlin is the subject of much bullying by the knights. i do also think that the power imbalance in merlin-and-arthur's relationship and arthur not having to worry about merlin being a threat to his masculinity is one of the reasons he can be more vulnerable and intimate with merlin in a way arthur can't be with his knights.

meanwhile merlin is the most powerful sorcerer to walk the earth, a dragonlord, etc. merlin calls himself the "brighter side" of the merlin-and-arthur coin, which is the masculine side by yin-yang rules and also the rules of the show in regards to him and morgana. it was a throwaway comedic line and the show does prop arthur up as the Golden Boy with plenty of admirable "masculine" qualities (courage/strength/leadership), but i do believe the show genuinely meant for him to be the 'light side" especially in the pilot where we've seen zero positive traits of arthur's. is this to say arthur is womancoded... well no hes a white man in a position of patriarchal power. But i do think the show is saying that merlin's sensitive masculinity and arthur's traditional masculinity needs to be combined to make one perfect man. which is probably obvious and could be said in less words but that's kinda... gay...

t shirt that says ASK ME ABOUT GENDER IN BBC MERLIN (2008)

[wyrmwinds]

Finished Dawntrail a couple weeks ago so here's a few thoughts! Divided between meta thoughts and thoughts for my own oc lore. Note that I've only played through base 7.0, and am still working through the patches.

OC Lore

I think I'll go with Sayin taking the lead in this expac. There's not really any reason why the protagonist has to be the WoL for the story, and in fact I think it makes more sense for Sayin to provide mentorship -- While Ava has been in positions of power, she has never governed a country, while Sayin was Khatun of the steppe for a year.

Any upcoming inter-shard travels (Which I hope isn't the direction we're going in soon for writing reasons) mean that Ava will have less power there, as her ability to call upon the First Brood is greatly diminished in other shards.

I think Sayin being the one G'raha has his gondola talk with also adds an interesting dimension to it -- Like he's scared of saying this to Ava's face. It makes me think about what Sayin was doing in the alternate timeline he remembers, too... I feel like she would have outlived Ava. Sayin being a healer... Perhaps G'raha reached out to Sayin since she knows the pain of doing everyone for the sake of another's life. I also don't think G'raha and Sayin had connected previously, but thinking about their dynamic is interesting, with them both being people Ava took under her wing and has a protective instinct over.

I do still kind of want Ava to do the Arcadion... Her dragon powers + greatwyrm trances fit right in, and she lives more for the spotlight compared to Sayin. At the same time, Sayin's no stranger to bloodsport and I think she'd have her own charm as a stage combatant. Ava coming back just to coach Sayin would also be fun. Ava's already got a lot of titles to herself and she would probably just reuse one of those for her ring name, but Sayin would have to come up with one for herself. The only one that comes to mind is Celestial Noise (from Rise's AST reference) but I don't think that really suits her... I'll have to think about it

Meta/Overall

I really wanted to like Dawntrail (and there were parts I did like!) but the execution felt lackluster. I rambled for many paragraphs on the parts I thought brought it down on Discord, but in summary, I think they didn't actually put effort into developing Tural's cultures beyond one-dimensional aspects, there's very little actual gameplay in the rite of succession which makes it feel very slow, and the scions feel like they're only included to fill space, and for the most part don't interact with the new cast, which feels like a huge missed opportunity for character development.

As mentioned in my OC lore section, there isn't any reason why the WoL specifically has to be there in this expac -- Despite Wuk Lamat's request, a lot of the rite does not require combat prowess, and while we are there as a mentor figure, Wuk Lamat already is a skilled combatant, and what she needs to learn is how to become a ruler -- something that the WoL has no canon experience with.

(I also don't think the whole Dimensional Fusion thing bodes well for future MSQ, but that's more about what I want from the story -- When we go to Meracydia, I want to learn about Meracydia, not about a Meracydia that has been overtaken by the Second or whatever)

Wuk Lamat as a character is fine, in the first half she falls victim to the writing making her very one-note, but I liked seeing her come onto her own and make decisions in the second half. There's an interesting foil with her and Sphene regarding war and grief, but I don't think it was fully touched on.

There's a lot more thoughts I have on how DT fell short but I don't want to make this too long. I did like Living Memory and some sidequests, and how lalas in Alexandria are originally from the Source was an interesting way to share lore about Source and Alexandria lalas at the same time.

Anyways aside from lore, I personally don't like the brand of cyber Solution Nine brings, while XIV has had tech in the form of magitek and allag, I feel like there's a line between that and Cyberpunk Gamer World, like the difference between Low Fantasy, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, etc. I just feel like other than the electrope patterns (Which I did like, which was part of why I liked seeing Living Memory shut down and the cold electrope underneath) Solution Nine lacks the fantasy aspect. Also not too big a fan of modern fashion glams, but that's more because my personal glam taste leans towards the fantasy-esque glam pieces. Never been an Indigo Shirt/Casual Jacket kind of player.

[paranormal-potatoes]

about

you can find me on twitch here -> Twitch here is the youtube vod channel -> YouTube here’s my moodboard blog -> blog here’s my AO3 -> link

CURRENT STREAM SCHEDULE

True Fear Part 3 - whenever the fuck i feel up to it lmao

21+

I block empty blogs. if you don’t have an icon or blog title or anything to indicate you’re a real person and not a bot, I’m going to block and report you. if you’re a real person, I’m sorry about that but I implore you to at least put “lurker” in your bio. something to say you’re real

call me Will, Eli or potato idc

he/they

queer masc nb

currently crying about Outer Wilds and Bloodborne

currently on a Devil May Cry kick

ask me about literally anything idc as long as you’re civil about it

feel free to babble in my inbox about something you love or are enjoying

I have a writing/art blog (its just moodboards tho)

some tags! (now with links!!)

if you want to look at cute things check out my cute tag (literally just #cute tag)

if you need a laugh look at #laugh tag or #for bad days

my own text posts are tagged with #potato talks, feel free to rb them as long as they aren’t tagged with #personal

DEFINITELY feel free to ask about my ocs

my various (unfinished or general musing) writings are tagged with #potato writes fic

stuff that’s just dialogue is #potato writes dialogue

finished stuff goes in the tag #potatoes finished fics

I also have a crafts tag #potato does crafts (and more specifically, if you want to see a cool glow in the dark dragon I’ve been embroidering for the last few years go to #the dragon)

if you’re on mobile, you can find all these tags in the search bar, I have them as my recommended tags

Various writing things under the cut (tags to be added later when i'm not falling asleep)

current OCs I am on my Bullshit™ about:

Lunu (Outer Wilds OC/the Protagonist) (my sweet child)

Teagan (Elden Ring/Bloodborne OC/main character) (my bastard™ child)

Astra (literal embodiment of the Void. end of everything. has a flock of immortals they protect)

Ekkehard Reiher (DS2 protag) (very gay) (adores his daughter)

WIPs/AUs I’d love to talk about:

old man hunter & his eldritch child — bloodborne au where Gehrman + Teagan get yeeted into the past bc Teagan refused to abandon him and in doing so, uses up a lot of power and turns into a child 🥰 they bite people 🥰 it’s a comedy of errors. everyone is convinced Teagan is Gehrman’s biological child. they are not

Teagan kills a bunch of gods — what it says on the tin. Teagan returns to Yharnam after the hunt to piece their memories together

Teagan in the Lands Between (or Teagan doesn’t realize becoming Elden Lord means they’ll be nobility again) — takes place after the previous fic. contains Teagan being awkward and relearning how to be a human or at least how to pretend to be human. also contains Teagan adopting/being adopted by old men. its a running joke at this point

Lunu, Hearthian, Troublemaker, Traveler — novelization of an Outer Wilds playthrough

unnamed romcom without the romance. there will be no romance — a Bloodborne AU that takes place earlier in the timeline of the general hunt. Teagan gets forcibly dragged back to Orilon and their mother tries to marry them off. Maria’s cousin goes “yeah sure I’ll get fake engaged to you :)” and they go from having attempted to kill each other to grudging friends. he makes heart eyes at his actual partner in the background a lot. i do not have anything actually written down for this but its fun and I’m enjoying it

Dragonborn — skyrim fic. Jeven, my Dragonborn, returns to Skyrim to figure out the deal with her weird dreams and gets more than she bargained for with dragons. feat. Sheogorath making comments in the back of her head, Jeven stealing cheesewheels and forks, Jeven adopting almost every child she comes across, avoiding going to High Hrothgar for months, mod quests + locations, Jeven being gay for Lydia, dragons who refuse to shut up in Jeven’s head

Dragonborn time travel — because of Reasons™ Jeven, Miraak and Alduin get thrown into the past to before Torygg’s death. Alduin is extremely upset about this as he is now a small mortal and helpless child because of Reasons™. Miraak is trying to seduce Jeven’s brother. she is very horrified by this