#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.

[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!

[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)

[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).

[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.

[horizon-verizon]

https://www.tumblr.com/miss-dollette/751777149185376256/wake-up-call-for-ballistic-team-black-and-rhaenyra?source=share lol

Lucky for me, I never thought that Rhaenyra was Daenerys or Daenerys-like. (my "Rhaenyra and Feminism" tag) I have said these things about these two:

Rhaenyra is not a feminist because no one can be at this time and feminism as a movement began in the 18th century under specific conditions of a particular philosophical movement and under specific economic conditions whereas Rhaenyra, Catelyn, Alysanne, even Daenerys all live in a completely different world, a medievalesque/"ancient" own.....does that mean we shouldn't care how any woman before the 18th century (or those in fiction who would exist out of a feminist-minded/included society) or who aren't full blown feminists do to try to gain autonomy for themselves or to help others altruistically? Misogyny still exists, and it existed "back then"; we need to understand these women and the contours of the sexist conditions under which they live which both helps us to define and trace sexism as well as understand and connect ourselves to these characters to understand oppressive structures' effect on individual who then go on to affect and respond to their oppressive societies. And thus, some women, because they are people too (novel idea) are going to be more selfish than others, and partly bc they have been subjected to this double standard and the socially-justified abuse done against them since young (Alicent-Rhaenyra, esp in the show with how fans kept saying "Alicent is queen, se can demand to see thr baby all she wants, Rhaenyra didn't have to go up there", ignoring the fact that Alicent is trying to humiliate her and she herself knows that she wouldn't like it if someone did the same to her when she birthed her kids; in the bk, she turns against Rhaenyra when R is about 9-10, after Aegon is born and Viserys kicks Otto out for protesting against his choice to keep Rhaenyra as his heir) So yeah, she became more self-focused.

but that doesn't give us license to blame things that were not her fault or her doing or came form people who existed way before she was born; ignore the fact that she loved her kids and vice versa; that she died by femicide and bc of systemic sexism against overt female rulership; that she is one of the only woman and one of the last woman who actually had more political power than her husband and chose him (Rhaenys was the other one who got to choose); that after her death and fall, magic in the world took another hit and the dragons that could have been used to fight against the Others was lost before Daenerys Targaryen reawakened them and gave a reboot to magic in general; [🖇rhaenin-time] that after Rhaenyra's fall, after the fall of one of the few women who a Targ male relative actively supported in away unlike most men of her society instead of just abusing, sidelining, and using up, most if not all other Targ women--who never able to choose their husbands--were not protected from Andal patriarchy and its licens eof spousal abuse because the dynasty itself has fully assimilated into Andal patriarchy with the loss

that fans discredit Rhaenyra's victimhood and problems stemming from sexism how they discredit Daenerys' past victimhood; and then they go on to say Dany wasn't a revolutionary figure bec she's a Targ and a child of incest and can ride "nukes" and profited off of slavery -- people will move goal posts to for their anti-woman agendas and the Dance is coming from and centered around that -- these two women are dehumanized both in-world and the fandom/real life because those do not like they are women who have both acquired power over men or "equal" to what men are granted/obtain for themselves

talked myself to death about how "bastard" is a legal and sociopolitical term that can be "fixed" or argued agianst, how only a King/Monarch could legitimize, how Viserys decided--with Corlys--to accept Rhaenyra's kids into his household and thus include in the line of succession, etc. etc.

Some Master Posts with a List of Links Where I have Argued for Rhaenyra & Why We Should Care about Her

POST

POST

POST [esp against Criston Cole and the Idea that Show!Rhaenyra was Predatory]

🖇la-pheacienne's words:

This is a story about how even the "realm's delight" could not be considered worthy enough to live compared to her rapist scum of a brother, because even the "realm's delight" will always be just a woman so she will always be inherently inferior to any man however pathetic or incompetent he may be. This is a story of tragic irony because it is a woman, and Rhaenyra's descendant specifically, that is currently bearing the Targaryen name, it is a woman reconstructing the Targaryen legacy, it is a woman that brought back the music of dragons, almost two centuries after Westeros would rather have them perish and destroy everything in their passing than allow a woman on the throne, the very dragons that are now meant to save Westeros from its impending doom. And this feels like justice to me. I'm sorry that some people are so blind in their contrarianism that they prefer to make up a bazillion nonsensical headcanons than acknowledge that this is the actual theme of this story.

PRIME POST

If no one wishes to read from those links I give here, that's really not on me. It's be ironic, too, if they took the time to read all of that OP's long post anon' links, though.

[camping-with-monsters]

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"

[paranormal-potatoes]

about

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21+

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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

[torgawl]

once again finding a connection between the crimson moon, remuria and the concept of purging and i need to write it somewhere!!!

the golden troupe artifact set tells the story of remuria's golden age and its destruction, and there's two specific things that caught my eye. to kind of summarise remuria's history, before adding the bits i want to highlight:

after the "first era", likely the primordial one's, humanity began to desire things that belonged to celestia and attempted to break away from their fates, and so they were punished and buried underwater ("drowned all sin and arrogation"). for a long time, no true civilization was built until remus arrived on meropis. he conquered the other islands in the region and scylla, the “great dragon beneath the abyssal depths”, yielded to him.

he believed that so long as the "harmonious symphony of prosperity" continued to play, remuria would prosper forever. however, remuria was prophesied to face "the most utter destruction" and its people to return to the primordial sea. to escape the prophecy, remus aimed to eliminate all who might have brought destruction or who did not accept his rules, which were lochfolks, vishaps and barbarians.

hoping to make remuria's people escape the flood, he mixed the primordial water with an immortal stone to create a golden ichor (ichor is fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the god, according to greek mythology) who would contain the souls and minds of his people and placed this ichor full of souls into golems, and tried to replace the entire primordial water with his golden ichor.

continuing remuria's history, barbarians and vishaps eventually started a rebellion under the leadership of the dragon scylla against remus. remus eventually realized his wrongs while remuria was being destroyed and gave out his final orders, attempting to restore peace but it was already too late, the harmost boethius saw his retreat as a betrayal, stole the golden ichor and sealed the dragon scylla with it.

this is also very likely the reason behind petrichor's name, as seen in bravais' hidden study - a place that requires arkhium lumenite to unlock. arkhium, by the way, has a very interesting description. some say it can bring disaster and misfortune (fortuna - the goddess of fortune/luck and fate - is very associated with fontaine's story, for example with remus) and it's said to have "immense energetic potential" and the "power to shatter the shackles of the earth" while being considered "the key to the gate of salvation".

so what exactly is interesting about this? remuria and its people were curiously swept away by the abyss at the same time the dragon was sealed. yes, the abyss, also known as the void realm. there's not any further information about this, as far as i'm aware, but isn't it just really interesting that a civilization that challenged celestia (remus shared divine power with the harmosts, who were human) was swallowed by a realm that's currently incompatible with the others?

but moving on, the golden ichor was eventually corroded by the primordial sea and the survivors turned back into "barbarism and annihilation" until the hydro archon egeria appeared and settled the conflicts between tribes.

there's one specific moment during the conflict where the word "purged" (which means to cleanse or purify) is used to assign the fate of the tribes that were deemed unworthy, which led to the fall of the golden age. and it makes a lot of sense for a land where its history is tainted with sin.

now, if anyone is reading this you may be asking "okay, but where does the crimson moon relate to all this?" and i got you.

the place musicians used to play in remuria, which is now underwater, is described as a faded golden castle. there'es this one book found in fontaine called the fall of the faded castle which is very obviously about remuria. at the end of that book/poem, the faded castle is swallowed by glimmering waves and you know what happens next? a blood moon re-appears in the sky!!!

i don't think i'm crazy to think there's a significant connection between this crimson moon, which is also the name of the khaenri'ah dinasty before the cataclysm, and concepts of sin and purging. there's also different ways khaenri'ah and remuria intersect, even outside the whole arlecchino symbolism that i went through already, one of them is this relation to the abyss.

i also want to add here the last stanza from volume 2 of the book: "and all before his eyes would be turned into dust, the souls of his guests, and his own, included, as tribute to that dark, ancient world". this is where my research started diverging into other topics, which i would like to make another post about, because this reminds me a lot of albedo's character details. it includes this line: "the universe is heaven reversed, and the earth is a dream lost to time. this is dust, the most basic form of complex life". we all know rhinedottir (also known as gold), his creator, is a researcher from khaenri'ah and practitioner of the art of khemia. dust is also associated heavily with guizhong, who's associated a lot with flowers - a form of life. i won't go too deep on this right now but i thought this idea of a population returning to an almost elemental form was very interesting considering the theme of destruction and death. especially because if this dark and ancient world is the abyss, it's described as diametrically opposed and incompatible with the light realm - that of vishaps and dragons. but we know abyssal creatures possess elemental powers (which hilichurls also venerate, despite not venerating gods) and we know gold created some of these creatures like the rift wolves. maybe it's nothing but something about this, although a bit unrelated to the rest of the post, is interesting.

i was a reading a bit more on purgatory and purgatorius ignis (cleansing fire), which is a concept that existed even before the notion that purgatory itself was a third other-world domain, similar to heaven and hell, when i suddenly remembered dante's la divina commedia and decided to revisit the story a little. and i found something interesting as i was scrolling through the wikipedia page.

so, purgatory is the second part of la divina commedia, following inferno, and is an allegory telling of the climb of dante up the mount of purgatory, guided by the roman poet virgil. alegorically, purgatorio represents the penitent christian life (and christianity, as we know, is one of the core themes of fontaine's archon quests that arlecchino was a part of). while describing the climb dante focuses a lot on the nature of sin, examples of vice and virtue, as well as moral issues in politics and in the church. what's interesting, though, is that the poem posits the theory that all sins arise from love – either perverted love directed towards others' harm, or deficient love, or the disordered or excessive love of good things.

why is this interesting, you ask? let me add here a few quotes before i contextualise it:

"she is a god with no love left for her people, nor do they have any left for her" - dainsleif about the cryo archon, the tsaritsa

"her royal highness the tsaritsa is actually a gentle soul. too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself. likewise, she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace. and because she made an enemy of the world, i now have a friend in you." - childe about the tsaritsa

"everyone praises her for her kindness and benevolence, but they forget that love is also a form of sin. what if she's just trying to compensate for something?" - wanderer about the tsaritsa

the tsaritsa, the cryo archon and the person arlecchino is devoted to, is theorised and hinted multiples times to be the god of love. yes, the love that is said to be the origin of sin in la divina commedia. we can also draw parallels between the idea of perverted love talked about in the poem and the relationship between arlecchino and others, for instance the kids of the house of the hearth.

arlecchino's drip marketing including an excerpt where the scene goes from a gentle warm environment, seemingly mistaken as a loving family home full of innocent looking children, that quickly shifts into a somber and dark atmosphere under her authority - the children answering instantly, without hesitation and completely obedient -, is the perfect illustration of the duality within her character. there's an obvious exploitative and manipulative system making use of the house of the hearth and the orphans under its roof, where arlecchino (as the one running the orphanage) is the provider and the kids are brought up to be dependable and further dispatched as fatui soldiers when "potential" is recognised. and we can deduce that there's ways that their education is done from a very young age so it prevents or punishes any sort of dissent, something not hard to imagine when we know from freminet that arlecchino doesn't like when the kids cry or show emotional vulnerability, something she sees as weakness, for example. but if there's this dark side to her, there's also certain attitudes that demonstrate her care for the children or even her care for the world around her. arlecchino helping freminet get closure on his mother's death, the reformation of the house of the hearth (which we know used to have a much more punishitive and strict leader before arlecchino took over) or even her devotion and deep respect towards the tsaritsa are some examples of the way she shows care for other people. now, we can theorise that these good deeds directed towards the orphans under her care are very much purposeful to better manipulate them, but i think that's exactly what the notion of perverted love in la divina commedia tries to hint at.

besides this concept, there's something else that peaked my interest in dante's poem. dante pictures purgatory as an island at the antipodes of jerusalem, pushed up, in an otherwise empty sea, by the displacement caused by the fall of satan, which left him fixed at the central point of the earth. it's a cone-shaped island that has seven terraces on which souls are cleansed from the seven deadly sins or capital vices as they ascend. at the summit is the garden of eden, from where the souls, cleansed of evil tendencies and made perfect, are taken to heaven.

as we know, arlecchino is being introduced in fontaine, her homeland, and the idea of purgatory as an island in the sea leading its way to heaven caused by the fall of a sinful being sort of reminded me of remuria. remuria was the civilization in fontaine which directly preceded the previous hydro archon egeria's rule. its downfall occurred as a result of remus' attempt to avert its predicted destruction, and in particular, by his act of sharing his power and authority — reserved only for gods — with the four human harmosts he appointed to govern his cities. remuria eventually ended up being sunken into the abyss, devouring everything including the people and remus himself. we know there's still a region in fontaine's map that wasn't yet released, so how odd would it be that the last part to be revealed in fontaine might just be the land that was once sunken? after the little note about the samsara cycles near the tower of the narzissenkreuz ordo, which referenced a cycle called remuria, i would not be surprised at all. it's also particularly funny that fontaine is directly below celestia. yes, the floating island in the sky above teyvat which is the residence of the gods, the same gods that made remuria fall. as the contemporary philosophers of our time have said, that's sus!!!

i don't want to get too ahead of myself because i don't have a theory about what's going to happen or what role arlecchino will play exactly but i don't think it would be shocking if we got to know more about remuria during her release. and still in the purgatory idea, i think the angel of death (azreal) might be an interesting parallel to make with arlecchino. azrael's role is seen as benevolent, transporting souls after death. it fits perfectly well with the idea of purgatorius ignis, that signifies transformation. in different cultural and religious contexts, fire can also symbolize destruction renewal and even rebirth so i'm very very curious to see what arlecchino's story will be like.

[tratserenoyreve]

random question but do you know about the lores and theories surrounding venti? like the thousand winds of time and istaroth? if so, what are your thoughts on it? its funny that most people, despite focusing on lore in genshin sometimes miss how important venti is and he's the first character you see in game, even me hhh

venti is definitely integral to a lot of ongoing plot threads! it is pretty much being beaten over our heads by now with recent events and quest dialogue that we are meant to connect barbatos, one of the thousand winds, to istaroth, a goddess of time.

gonna get long so under the cut we go!

the name istaroth is likely meant to be following the demon naming scheme, astaroth is a great duke of hell, one of a trio with beelzebub and lucifer. (which has its own curious ramifications in genshin but i digress) but, in enkanomiya, we see -kairos- namedropped as an alternative name to istaroth. characters in genshin, particularly archons, tend to have multiple names. kairos is associated with luck and opportunities. i say -a- goddess of time for a reason, as istaroth is likely specifically the god of moments. fleeting memories and instants.

this particular definition of time matches the few quests we've so far seen istaroth be namedropped in. especially raiden ei's second story quest, where we learn makoto had used istaroth's power to ensure the sakura seed would reach her sister and bloom when it was most needed, centuries apart. in linear time, it makes no sense, but in -opportunistic- time it does. the seed appeared when it needed to and the sacred sakura tree grew when it needed to.

barbatos was (and at his core probably still is) a wind sprite, one of a thousand tiny winds who stem from... istaroth!

mondstadt is also home to the temple of the thousand winds, wherein you can find a sundial (stylized like both a crossbow and a compass which i think is Neat) that is inscribed with text that reads "seeds of stories, brought by the wind and cultivated by time". there's a recurring use of plants in genshin as symbols for memory, with sumeru being especially direct with seedpods acting as memory storage capsules. mondstadt's unique among the regions we've explored so far tho where, rather than a flower or a grand tree being its common symbol for memory, we're often pointed towards dandelion seeds.

yeah, windrise's grand tree does exist and is prominent in the landscape but it's associated with the memory of specific people. dandelions are treated as the symbol of the entire nation's memory, fleeting and small wishes and dreams carried by the wind over time...

venti, mondstadt's often absent archon, always manages to be present when he is needed most. convenient, isn't it, that the Traveler meets him shortly after venti awoke from his own centuries long slumber, just in time to help rescue dvalin? and what fortune it was that barbatos had woken up in time, 500 years ago, to fight the poisonous dragon Durin and save mondstadt. or how he happened to be around in time to meet vanessa and help overthrow the corrupt government that had taken over mondstadt, etc.

very fortunate timing he has there!

venti also canonically knows every song that has been and will be. which, thanks to the still thriving bardic tradition across the nations, likely means he already knows the stories that will be told about historic events and people like the Traveler.

he's the only companion so far who, as his greeting, jokes that it's nice to see the Traveler again and teases them for forgetting him.

"*Yawn* That was a refreshing sleep. Ah, Traveler, we meet again! What? You don't remember me? Ahaha, well, allow me to join you on your quest once again. I must see to it that the bards of the world tell the Traveler's tales!"

people tend to interpret this as venti implying that he knew the star twins before the fall of khaenri'ah and their attempted escape, but i don't see it likely that he knew the Traveler as the Traveler twin was asleep for a long time and was only awoken by their sibling to try and escape teyvat together. i think what's more likely is venti is already well aware of the Traveler's future adventures and how they become friends and thus already treats them as an old friend.

venti is also often an instigator, ensuring major events play out as they "should". conveniently telling people just enough to have them interested in pursuing a future venti has already seen coming. like, venti is the only figure in the entire game to tell the Traveler that vision bearers are called allogenes by celestia. allogenes in the context of gnosticism are "half human, half divine" and able to perceive aspects of the world others cannot. this is not knowledge any regular people in teyvat seem to have! nobody else has ever casually referred to a vision bearer as an allogene!

the anemo archon may be one of the last remaining of the original seven, with morax being the other, but he doesn't seem particularly loyal to the throne of celestia. he is also one of the only characters to describe celestia at all, saying;

"Celestia... I'm not sure even I could fly that far. In any case, the water there tastes foul and the fruit is bland. You know what that means? No cider! Haha, in that case, I wouldn't go there even if I was invited."

he seems uncomfortable with them, perhaps fearful. and it's interesting to note that, despite being an archon, it seems that it isn't normal to just go to celestia.

another big barbatos plot thread: the abyss order stole one of his statues specifically for the purpose of creating their own god-killing weapon. the first Traveler chapter quest is you finding this statue inverted and imbued with some negative power that has already killed at least one unfortunate explorer. and that statue is still out there! the Traveler never destroyed it!

the anemo archon's gnosis is also, intriguingly, a queen chesspiece even tho venti swears he is the weakest archon. we see this much more clearly in the fatui trailer where pierro has barbatos and morax's gnosis pieces on a gameboard, actively playing out a real chess game. specifically the first ever chess game won by the computer Deep Blue against the world champion Garry Kasparov. this is covered more late in this video by ashikai (27 minutes mark) who points out this and how there are a couple differences and that celestia seems to be represented by the ai while the fatui represent the human player...

like, these are all things that just Have Happened in the game so far, not really a lot of conjecture needs to be made to see that venti is going to remain involved in genshin's overarching plot. guy has some extremely cryptic dialogue, like how he implies he knows that albedo's powers will inevitably lead to Something Bad happening in mondstadt, but then he shrugs and is like "eh but you all will work it out, i'm sure!" like!! venti you can't just say these things and not tell me what you mean!! get back here!

theory wise, my main thing is that venti has potential to really fulfill the martyr role. either the abyss order will succeed in making their god-killer and venti will be their example or celestia will make an example of him to stamp out potential rebellion from below, venti having carried the Traveler just far enough to See what is happening and that being the final push that decisively involves the Traveler in the conflict for the throne and future of Teyvat.

both scenarios have a lot of narrative weight. if the abyss order slays the anemo archon, succeeds in taking mondstadt, that forces the Traveler to fully be at odds with the Abyss twin. it goes from seeking reconciliation and understanding to full blown conflict as they stand at opposing ends despite their shared enemy.

if celestia strikes venti down, smites mondstadt with a needle to silence the dark secrets that threaten to spill out from it, they concretely become the target of the Traveler's fury. to have another home taken, to witness such destruction and loss, may drive them to better understand the Abyss twin...

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Dark Shenanigans - Nandor x (f)reader

Summary: It’s Nadja’s something hundredth birthday, with that said, you’re on a mission to make it great.

Warning: fluff, general vampire nonsense

Masterlist

“Yeah being a half vampire half human does have its perks. I mean for one I can do all that cool vampire shit and I can go out in the sunlight...so that helps for when they’re all being really annoying.” You admit with a casual shrug to one of the documentary cameras before turning to an isle of party supplies. “So anyways we’re at this store.”

The camera shifts to the multiple arras of supplies and materials at the local supermarket in Staten Island that you and your vampire lover’s human familiar, Guillermo, currently are. Specifically on the hunt for birthday decorations for Nadja and ghost Nadja who’s possessed a strange looking doll for the time being.

Since the other four actual full vampires can’t shop for themselves at this time of day or really in general, you and Guillermo have been given such an honorable task in making Nadja’s birthday the best one yet. Considering she’s the most well balanced in the head out of the four of them and is the only other lady of the manor.

“Hey Y/N, how’s this look?” Wonders Guillermo as he holds up a bunch of Mardi Gras beads of yellows, purples, and greens. “Comments, questions, concerns?” He adds with a small smile.

Eyeing up the beads, your head shifts over to the other various colors, “Hrmm, G I’m feeling the vibe you’re going for this year and I like it, but let’s go with Nadja colors.”

Guillermo’s dark eyes light up at your positive suggestion, “Right! So the red and black ones then?”

“Yup. She’ll love that shit.” You state with a satisfied nod of approval, “Let’s get some black and gold confetti from over there and oh, those masquerade masks look cool as fuck.”

You pick up and test out various masks in the background as Guillermo adds some bits of dialogue for the documentary crew, “Um yeah she’s really cool isn’t she.” He says with a smile while glancing at you then back to the camera, “Which is kind of odd since Y/N’s been with Nandor since 1793 so you’d think she’d be a little more like them but no, she’s super chill and really nice.” Suddenly his face goes a bit serious as he leans in to whisper, “But she did kill a whole street gang once when they threw a slur at me so I wouldn’t mess with her. For your safety.”

The camera pans back over to an oblivious you who’s put on a masquerade mask and is swinging a plastic light saber around with a whole lot more accuracy and grace then would a normal person. The camera then pans back to Gullimero, “Um, I’m just gonna....make sure she doesn’t smack anyone.”

——

Arms full of groceries of food for you and Gullimero, as well as random party decorations for Nadja’s birthday tomorrow night, you use the bottom of your boot to skillfully open the door as the documentary crew and Guillermo follows suit. Guillermo now on the verge of falling over with the large heart shaped pillow in his arms that’s covering most of his body.

You don’t feel tired in the slightest due to your half vampiric abilities so this is nothing to you, “Alright.” You state, turning on your heel to face the crew and Guillermo, ��They’re asleep so we gotta be extra sneaky now, I don’t want Nadja catching us with all this cool spooky birthday shit. Everyone to the attic!” You whisper yell before leading the charge to the attic.

They all follow as quietly and as quickly as they can and then soon enough in no time are you and Guillermo back outside in the sunny garden trying to figure out if you should blow up the giant sea monster pool floaty.

“I mean it would look cool as hell and no doubt out-do whatever the fuck boring thing Lazlo probably has planned.” You quip with a shrug while the two of you stare thoughtfully at the small gloomy dark pond. “He’s got no chance with us. I’ve won best decorator and card maker for two hundred years in a row.”

Guillermo side eyes you in honest amazement, “Wow that’s a lot of years. And cards.”

“I know. I was an artist in the 12th century but my no good terrible good for nothing piece of garbage trash sexist human husband, who I was forced to marry when I was only sixteen, took all the credit for my artwork in that era.” You confirm with a growl, “But it stings less because once I finally grew into my powers and strength at eighteen I simply made his untimely demise look like an accident.” You add with a smirk.

“Oh, wow.” Mutters the intrigued familiar.

“Precisely. The old fool was thrown off his horse because I told Philip, the horse, to throw him off. And he did. Which killed the idiot so I got the house and all of his money.”

“That’s......neat.” Mutters Guillermo as he shoots the camera crew from behind you and him a nervous look. “Uh the suns going down so I should probably help Nandor out of his coffin.”

Raising your head to the sky you immediately see how the sun has begun to paint the clouds in beautiful colors of oranges, reds, light pinks, and darkening purples. “Oh, how bout that. Yeah alright let’s get inside.” You nod to Guillermo before turning to walk towards the manor’s giant mahogany doors.

——

Turning the handle and walking a couple feet into the large main room that holds itself as a sort of crossroads for all the other various connecting hallways and staircases. You don’t make it even three more steps towards the left ascending staircase before you hear the highly recognizable voice of your one and only.

“Y/N! My lovely wife and favorite person still ever so lovely!” Announces Nandor loudly with a grand smile showing off his pearly white fangs, “How I have missed you and your morning kisses. Where have you been off to?” He wonders softly as you smile a big dumb love-struck grin right back up at him, you’d absolutely die to hear that accent one last time.

“I can’t tell you right now it’s a secret!” You whisper yell back, causing his thick dark brows to scrunch up in confusion.

“But I am your lovely strong puff dragon Y/N.” Whines Nandor adorably as you roll your eyes at the cameras before looking back up at him.

“Fine. Come here then.”

In an instant he’s at your side, excitedly awaiting what secretive news you will tell him, “Okay, so we know it’s Nadja’s birthday tomorrow right?”

“Yes. I remember because she hasn’t shut up about it.”

“Right. So me and Gullimero got some fun surprise birthday party decorations and they’re in the attic and we can’t tell Nadja.”

Nandor gives you a knowing look of affirmation as he leans in closer to you, his demeanor suddenly shifting into a more saddened one, “You went shopping without me?” He says quietly.

Leaning up to give him a quick peck on the cheek your hands instantly find his, “Just for a little while, but I still need to find more stuff so....you wanna come?”

Nandor’s big dark eyes light up with joy as you hand him a kind smile, “Yes! Let us go in search of unknown treasures for our lady friend Nadja so she will not be mad at us for terrible dull gifts of friendship.”

Laughing you give his hands a playful squeeze, “Come on I’ll race you to Party City!” You say before leading him past the camera crew and Guillermo who simply watches the two of you leave, glad to have an hour of peace.

“There’s a whole city for partying? Y/N why have we never been to this place?”

——

“Y/N there are no people partying here.” Whines your vampire lover in puzzlement as he follows you from the entrance to a side isle. “You said this was a city for partying.”

“That’s just the name of the store Nans.” You retort with a small chuckle as he looks from right to left at all the color coded party plates and napkins galore.

“Well the title is very misleading.”

“Agreed.”

Turning to the right you guide him towards the decretory pirate themed isle in search of something that will peak his interest. Also you wanted so badly to make it to this spot but Gullimero was a man on a mission so your intention was thwarted for when you had Nandor with you.

Speed walking down the pirate themed isle you quickly halt all movement as Nandor’s large body stops within less than an inch from your back. Smiling brightly you snatch the desired object in front of you and as swift as a cat turn to face him.

“Have you come for a dual my old enemy?” You speak slyly, eyes narrowed as you hold the foam sword right in front of his face. “I sense a nervousness about you. Tell me, are you ready to face your inevitable bloody end?”

Staring at the pointy foam, his dark puppy eyes shift over to you as an adorable fangy grin breaks out across his pale face, “Seems you have come prepared, oh radiant and alluring seductress. Well, so have I!” Shouts Nandor before grabbing two foam swords from off the rack and swinging them in both hands like a mad man.

Taking a cautious step back you hold your pathetic five dollar sword in both hands like a true warrior ready for battle, “Only one shall leave this place alive.” You affirm with a smirk, “And it’s not going to be you.”

“Arrrrrggg.” Bellows your lover as he charges you like the true conqueror that he once was. But all to soon do you swiftly duck under his arms and swat him over his stomach with a confident thwack sound.

He makes a puny little “oww” as you turn around to face him once again, “Y/N you hit me kind of hard.” He complains, looking rather defeated and genuinely hurt that you could have intentionally injured him on purpose.

Bringing the plastic weapon down to your side once again, your face suddenly softens as you walk over to him, “Come here you big baby.” You quip sincerely as he leans down so you can give his cheek a quick kiss.

Rising back to his full height, Nandor almost blushes as the corners of his eyes crinkle into a happy smile, “Actually it didn’t hurt at all I just wanted you to kiss me.” Reveals the vampire with a proud grin as you simply roll your eyes.

“Should have known.” You add before turning and snatching up four more plastic foam pirate swords for the others. “Alright let’s get outta here, follow me my love, to the checkout line we shall purchase our weapons of war and partying on the high seas.” You announce with gusto as Nandor stands proudly at your side, ready to follow you anywhere.

“Yes. To check out.”

——

Kicking open the unlocked door, Nandor bursts into the vampire residence with bags full of goodies for Nadja’s birthday party. You right behind him but less dramatically, “We’re back!” You shout to no one in particular as Colin Robinson suddenly appears from out of nowhere, looking ready to leave with his funny little hat and usual beige jacket.

“Oh hey guys,” He starts with a friendly nod, “I’m just heading out on the town tonight. I guess there’s a fair or something in the park and I wanted to test my skill at the ball toss. I’ve been reading up on the body mechanics and how the game is set up which seems pretty basic all in all. Also I really want to win a stuffed bear this time, it might add a little pizazz to my room. Welp see ya’round.” Adds Colin before walking past the two of you without another word and out into the night he goes with some of the camera crew following close behind.

Nandor turns to you with a look of annoyance, “Jeesh I thought he would never leave. Let’s go to your room I want to kiss you some more now.”

“Why my room?”

“Because since you are half vampire you get to sleep in a bed and because I am a full vampire I sleep in a coffin.” Inquires Nandor while looking at you with those big beautiful dark eyes of his, “And my coffin is too small for cuddles so your room will suffice.”

“Yeah that’s a fair point.” You shrug before following him to your room.

After many cuddles leading to other more rated R type activities that lasted until just about sunrise, you finally got some well needed rest while the sun shone high in the sky until she began her dramatic descend back into oblivion. Opening your eyes you slowly rise from out of your comfy bed, already missing the presence of your obsidian eyed lover.

He gets too nervous about your closed windows for fear that the sun might burn him which would be impossible because you black out the glass. But alas, he’s very cautious about these types of things and won’t risk it for anything, though he feels bad about leaving you in the morning, you understand.

Suddenly it dawns on you that today or perhaps tonight, is Nadja’s birthday and you completely forgot to set up any decorations. Shit, how stupid. Throwing the blankets off of you, your feet move quick as you speedily change yesterday’s outfit for something a bit nicer and more clean.

Racing out of your room and into the dimly lit manor hallway, you make a bee line for the attic but before you’re able to reach the steps, Guillermo runs into you, just about knocking you into a wall of various stolen ancient weapons. Sharp ones at that.

That was close.

“Y/N are you okay!” Worries the familiar as you quickly gather your bearings.

“Guillermo! The decorations! Nadja’s birthday!” You whisper yell as the human man simply smiles. “Why are you smiling, this situation does not call for smiles.”

“Don’t worry. While you were sleeping I set up all the decorations.” He replies with a shrug, “No problem.”

“What? But that must have taken you all day, you could have asked me for help. I would have come.” Your brows furrow as he shakes his head, though you still feel bad for not helping with anything.

“Well I did try, but um,” Gullimero awkwardly clears his throat, giving the camera a quick glance, “Nandor was with you and last time I asked for you while you and him where having alone time he threatened to carve out my eyeballs and force feed them to me.”

Pinching the bridge of your nose in annoyance you take a deep breath, “Sounds like him. Very creative when he wants to be, alright, well....where’s everyone?”

“Oh, they’re not up yet. I was actually on my way to get you. I made blood popsicles and the pool floaty is all done and in the pond.” He says with a sense of pride for his decorating skills. “I think she’ll like what we’ve come up with this year.”

-

Standing in the living room with your three fellow immortals you search a dresser for her card, “Oh shit where’s my card? I could have sworn I had it yesterday on my dresser but I don’t remember seeing it there in the morning. Maybe it’s in this one?”

“Witches!” Hisses Nadja as you huff in frustration, where the hell did you put that damn card?

“Oh, Y/N my love,” Intervenes Nandor with a gentle tug of your sleeve, “I took it with me when I left your room before sunrise because I wanted to put my name on it too so she would know it’s from us.”

“What?” Replies Lazlo dramatically, “Now hold on just a damn minute, this card competition is individually scored so I won’t be having any of this nonsense. I worked really hard on mine this year.”

“Oh lick a donkey’s arse, look here,” You retort with, quickly holding up the card for Nadja, “there are two separate drawings on ours so either way if one of us wins she gets both our pictures. So you better hope your drawing doesn’t resemble a night clubs bathroom wall.”

“Yeah.” Mutters Nandor, who’s hiding behind you while resting both hands on either one of your shoulders as you glare at Lazlo.

“Fine.” Agrees Lazlo begrudgingly, “And mine will be amazing, this bitch of paper took me a whole six months to plan and produce. Can’t get quality this good anywhere else I guarantee it.” Adds Lazlo with a firm nod of self approval as you glance at the nearby camera.

“Right, okay everyone sit it’s time for presents. I want to know what you all got me.” Beams Nadja excitedly as she smiles a fangy grin in delight, plopping herself down in one of the arm chairs. Lazlo quickly finding the other one while you and Nandor seat yourself on the large couch. Colin and Guillermo finding somewhere to sit close by respectfully.

“Well, all I can say is hold onto your socks my dear cause this is going to blow you away.” Smirks Lazlo as he pulls a small box from out of his jacket pocket.

“If it’s a self made business card that says invitation to sexy town I will puke.” You deadpan while Nandor laughs from beside you, causing Lazlo to lose his smirk as Nadja hides her amusement the best she can manage.

“He he, sexy town, nice one Y/N.” Mutters Nandor with a proud grin as you raise a brow at Lazlo who’s giving you a hard glare.

“Oh, my dear pumpkin pie love, don’t listen to Y/N I will love anything you gift me.” Encourages Nadja with a bright welcoming smile, no doubt immediately boosting Lazlo’s once irked mood.

Rolling your eyes you shift a bit to find yourself leaning into Nandor’s body as Nadja opens up the rest of the vampire residents various gifts. A joyous fangy smile gracing her pale features every single time, revealing this birthday party was a thrilling success.

After much more fun that just about lasts throughout the whole night, and some rare but hilarious attempts at dancing between the five of you vampiric individuals. You’re feeling rather sleepy and you can tell Nandor is ready for a trip to dreamland as well.

Swaying to the lowly playing record instrumental, you hold Nandor tight while simultaneously enjoying the feeling of him so close, him doing just the same as he keeps you firmly pressed against his chest. His long dark hair tickles your face as he presses his head to your cheek, doing his absolute best to keep the flow without tripping up.

Sensing his growing fatigue, you gently squeeze his hand, “My love the sun will be up soon, let’s get you to bed, yes?”

A small lazy smile tugs at the corners of his lips while he looks down to meet your gaze, “But my dark angel I’m not tired. I want to dance with you a little longer.” He whines adorably before failing to conceal a big yawn.

Giggling, you lean back to slowly lead him towards the door, “That yawn says otherwise.”

“That wasn’t a yawn Y/N, I was just smiling really big.” He protests, though he still follows your lead to the door.

“I’ve never seen anyone smile like that.” You add with a raised brow.

“Well maybe that’s just how I smile.”

Letting out a breathy snort, you pull away from him to at last take his one hand, “Come. I can’t have a single ray of that dreaded sun to get a taste of your precious skin. Not on my watch.”

Glancing at the closed front door, Nandor squeezes your hand, “Well um, now since you’ve mentioned the sun...I think I’d like to go to my crypt now.” He says, the flash of worry crossing over his face for only a brief moment.

“You sure? I mean a sunrise is pretty beautiful if I’m being honest and I know you never get to see them...”

“Not funny Y/N. And not fair, you know I can’t because I am full vampire.”

“And you’re missing out.”

“And I’d like to stay alive Y/N.”

“Aren’t you dead?”

“Yes and I am your only husband so I need to stay not burnt to a crisp.”

Chuckling, you follow him down the hallway, “Oh really? Don’t want me finding myself with another vampiric lover? Some new beast to sweep me off my feet and take me away into the night.” You tease.

Side eyeing you, he frowns, “No. Don’t I sweep you off your feet?”

Stepping into his crypt you stop him with your hand against his bicep, “Always.” You whisper sincerely with a quick wink, causing him to break out into a big fangy grin.

“Good. And if anyone would try and whoo you I would make sure there would be no more whooing again!” Exclaims Nandor, making the candles rise in flame for only a short second at his rise in emotion for how much he loves you.

“I don’t doubt they would fall by your blade. Not for a second.”

[celepeace]

A monster-taming game recommendation list for fans of Pokemon

Whether you're a pokemon fanatic obsessed with all things pokemon past and present, or a veteran fan disillusioned with GameFreak's recent adoption of monetary philosophies and strategies reminiscent of other major game publishers, or looking for a monster-taming fix as you await new Pokemon content...

I'm compiling here a post of little-known games in the genre that Pokemon fans are likely to enjoy!

Under readmore cause long, but some of these games really don’t get the attention they deserve, so if you have the time, please read!

(I am also likely to keep updating and editing this post)

First up is Temtem!

Temtem is a game made by and for Pokemon fans, from the spanish indie developer Crema. Temtem is currently in early access on Steam and PS5, and is likely to remain in early access until sometime late next year. Full launch will include a Nintendo Switch release, too. Despite this, it has plenty of content to explore before full release. The developers are active, release new content on a semi-regular basis, and are responsive to the community as a whole and individuals if you happen to come across a bug you want to report.

Temtem boasts a wide variety of monsters to collect and train. It takes place in the Airborne Archipelago, a system of floating islands that orbit their star, the Pansun. The monsters inhabiting the archipelago are called Temtem, or tem(s), for short.

As far as game mechanics go, it has many similarities to Pokemon, but also many important distinctions. The biggest one, in my opinion, is that the element of chance has been removed from battle entirely. Moves cannot miss, have the same power constantly, and status afflictions have an obviously displayed countdown to when they will wear off (for instance, sleep lasts as long as it says it will last. Not 2-4 turns). PP does not exist, either. Your tems can battle for as long as their HP holds out. In place of PP, a new system called Stamina exists. Stamina is an individual stat, like HP and Attack. Each move costs a certain amount of stamina. If you go over the amount of stamina your tem has, the deficit is detracted from your health instead, and that tem cannot move next turn. Stamina passively regenerates a certain amount each turn, and items and moves exist that can heal stamina. All battles are also double-battles, you and your opponent will typically have two tems on the field at a time. This is just a few of the differences Temtem has from Pokemon, but they're some of the biggest ones.

Temtem is also a massively multiplayer game. You complete the storyline independently (or with a friend through co-op!), but in the overworld you can see other, real players moving around and interacting with the world. There is also public and area-specific chat you can talk to other players through. Despite this, all multiplayer functions are (currently) completely optional. You do not need to interact with others to complete the game.

Overall, Temtem is suitable for the Pokemon fan who is looking for a more challenging experience. Temtem is not a walk in the park you can blaze through with a single super-strong monster. For one, individual tem strength is more well-balanced than it is in Pokemon. There are very few (if any!) completely useless tems. Even some unevolved tems have their niche in the competitive scene! Aside from that, enemy tamers are scaled quite high, and you typically cannot beat them just from the exp you get from other enemy tamers. You have to do some wild-encounter grinding if you want to progress.

Temtem is a very fun game and I've already gotten over 100 hours out of it, despite only 3/5-ish of the planned content being released!

However, I do feel obligated to warn any prospective players of one thing: the current endgame is quite inaccessible. After you complete what is currently implemented of the main storyline, there is still quite a lot left to explore and do, but much of it is locked behind putting a lot of hours into the game. You kind of have to get perfect temtem to do the current PVE (and this is also somewhat true for the PVP too). By perfect I mean you have to breed a good tem and then train it to get the preferable EVs (called TVs in temtem). This takes... well, for a whole team... tens of hours. Of boring grinding. Some people enjoy it! But I don't. Regardless, the game was still worth buying because the non-endgame content is expansive and fun.

So overall, pros & cons:

Pros

Battle system is more friendly towards a competitive scene

Cute monsters

Lots of gay characters, also you can choose pronouns (including they/them) independently from body type and voice

Less difference between the objectively bad tems and good tems than there is in Pokemon

Lots of stuff to do even in early access

Most conversations with dialog choices have the option to be a complete ass for no reason other than it’s fun

Having less type variety in your team is less punishing than in Pokemon due to the synergy system and types overall having less weaknesses and resistances

At least one major character is nonbinary

Cons

Falls prey to the issue of MMOs having in-game economies that are only accessible to diehard no-life players

Related to the above point, cosmetics are prohibitively expensive

Endgame CURRENTLY is inaccessible to most players unless you buy good monsters from other players or spend tens of hours making your own. However I must add that the grind is great if you like that kind of thing and is quite easy and painless to do while watching a show or something.

Here is their Steam page and here is their official website.

Next is Monster Hunter: Stories!

This is a spinoff game of the Monster Hunter franchise released for the 3DS in 2018. If you're anything like me, and you've played the core Monster Hunter games, you've often thought "Man, I wish I could befriend and ride these cool dragon creatures instead of killing or maiming them!"

Well now you can! In Stories, as I will be calling it, you play as a rider rather than a hunter. Riders steal monster eggs from wild nests to raise them among humans as companions and guardians. And yes, egg stealing is a whole mechanic in of itself in this game.

This game works pretty differently from most monster-collecting games. You do battle (usually) against one or two wild monsters using your own, except you fight alongside your monsters too. With swords and stuff. There's armor and weapons you can smelt to make yourself stronger. Type match-ups also kind of don't exist in this game? Except they do? But not in a way you'd expect?

The vast majority of attacking moves you and your monster use fall into categories reminiscent of rock-paper-scissors. Moves can be categorized as power, speed, or technical. Speed beats power, technical beats speed, and power beats technical. The matchup of your move vs your opponent's determines how a turn will go down. If one move beats the other in matchup, then the winner's move will get to go and the loser doesn't get to do anything. If you tie, you both get hit, but for reduced damage. There's also abilities and basic attacks, with abilities basically being the same as pokemon moves, and basic attacks just being "I hit you for normal damage within this category". Also, you don't control what your monster does all the time in battle. You can tell it to use abilities, but what kind basic attacks it carries out is determined by its species' preference. Velicidrome, for instance, prefers speed attacks, but Yian Garuga prefers technical. Stamina also exists in this game in a very similar manner to Temtem.

Overall this game carries over a lot of mechanics Monster Hunter fans will find familiar (how items and statuses work for instance). You don't have to have played a core Monster Hunter game to enjoy Stories though! It's fine and is easy to understand as a stand-alone.

The story has some likable characters and is rather long (it was actually adapted into an anime!), for those of you who enjoy a good story.

I'd really recommend this one especially. If it sounds fun to you and you can drop $30, just do it. I bought it on a whim and I got a few weeks' worth of playing almost nonstop out of it, and I didn't even get to do everything! (I got distracted by Hades, oops)

Stories is also getting a sequel later next year on the nintendo switch! How exciting!

And yes, you do ride the monsters.

Pros & cons:

Pros

Large variety of cool monsters to befriend and raise

Pretty lengthy story

Every tamable monster is also rideable

Deceptively simple combat mechanics, easy to be okay at, hard to master

Incorporates some mechanics from early turn-based party rpgs like Final Fantasy for a nice twist on the monster collecting genre

Cons

Many monsters are objectively outclassed by other ones, making what can be in an actually good team more limited than you’d expect

3DS graphics inherently means the game looks like it was made 7 years before its time

Here is the Monster Hunter Stories official 3DS product page.

And here is Monster Sanctuary!

Monster sanctuary is a game that just had its 1.0 launch- meaning it was in early access and no longer is! Although the devs say they still plan to implement a few more things into the game in future updates. It is available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4.

Monster sanctuary is a metroidvania twist on the typical monster collecting game, meaning it is also a sidescrolling platformer in which you use abilities you gain throughout the game to explore the world around you. The abilities in this case are the monsters you get! Every monster has an ability that helps you traverse the sanctuary.

Speaking of the sanctuary, the game is set in one. The monster sanctuary is a magically shielded area, cut off from the rest of the world, created by an order of monster keepers, people who befriend and protect the mystical monsters inhabiting the world. Humankind encroached too far on the natural habitat of monsters and were hostile to the native wildlife, so the keepers created an area of varied environments to safely protect and preserve the remaining monsters of the world.

Unlike many other monster collecting games, this game only has 5 types: fire, water, earth, air, and neutral. However, the types themselves do not possess resistances and weaknesses. Instead, each monster has its own assigned weaknesses and resistances. And yes, this can include things like debuffs, physical vs special attacks, and the typical elemental types.

All battles are also 3 vs 3! And unlike in pokemon, where you can only hit the enemies nearest, all monsters have the ability to hit any opponent they want. Turns also work a little differently in that speed doesn't exist, you just use 1 move per monster in your turn and then it goes to your opponent's turn. Your monsters hit in whatever order you want them to.

There is also a quite important combo system in this game, where every hit builds a damage multiplier for the next. Moves often hit multiple times per turn. Healing and buffing actions also build this combo counter. So what monsters you have move in what order really counts!

But the main mechanical difference between this and other games in the genre is how it handles levels and skills. Instead of learning a set move at a certain level, this game incorporates a skill tree, and you get to allocate points into different skills as you grow stronger. And jeez, these skill trees are really extensive. Monster sanctuary is a theorycrafter's dream. Each monster has a unique, specially tailored skill tree, making every monster truly able to have its own niche. You can make use of whatever monster you want if you just put thought into it!

And like Temtem, this game is not made to be beatable by children. I'm sure a child could beat it, but it's not made to be inherently child-friendly like pokemon. It's honestly quite difficult.

On top of that, you are actively encouraged to not just be scraping by each battle. Your performance in battle is rated by an automated system that scores your usage of various mechanics like buffs and debuffs applied, type matchups, and effective usage of combos. The rating system directly influences the rewards you get from each battle, including your likelihood of obtaining an egg from one of the wild monsters you battled (no, you don't catch wild monsters in this game, you get eggs and hatch them). If you're not paying attention to how the game works and making good, effective use of your monsters, you'll have a hard time expanding your team!

The music is also really good, it's made by nature to be able to play over and over and not get old as you explore each area, and the composer(s) really did a good job with this. Some area songs, namely the beach one, I especially enjoy, so much so I've actually played it in the background while I do work.

This is a game I would really recommend. If I made it sound intimidating, it is by no means unbeatable, you're just gonna have to put some thought into how you play. At no point did I actually feel frustrated or like something was impossible. When I hit a wall, I was able to recognize what I did wrong and how I could improve, or I could at least realize something wasn't working and experiment until I found a solution. It's challenging in a genuinely fun, rewarding way.

Pros & cons:

Pros

Extremely in-depth combat system

I genuinely don’t know if there’s an objectively bad monster in this game

Evolution exists but is completely optional, as even un-evolved monsters can be great

Entire soundtrack is full of bangers

Large and diverse variety of monsters to tame

Cons

Story is a little lackluster, but passable

That’s the only con I can think of

Here’s a link to their Steam page and the game’s website.

A kind of unorthodox recommendation is the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series!

Likelihood is that everyone reading this has heard of this series already, but just in case anyone hasn't, I thought I'd include it! I would categorize this as a hybrid between the mystery dungeon genre and the monster collecting genre, because you recruit pokemon as you play and can use those pokemon on your team!

If you're unaware, the mystery dungeon genre is a small subset of dungeon crawler games where you progress through randomly generated levels called mystery dungeons. Throughout the dungeons, there will be enemies to fight and items to collect. The challenge of these games is mostly due to the stamina aspect of them, in that you have to manage your resources as you progress through the level. If you go all out in each fight, you will inevitably lose quite quickly. You have to learn to win against enemies while balancing your use of items and PP, so you have enough for the next fight, and the fight after that.

Pokemon mystery dungeon in particular is famous for its stories, the likes of which isn't seen often in Pokemon games. They are hugely story-driven games and are notable for the emotional depth they possess. It's pretty normal for the average player to cry at least once in the span of the game. There's lots of memes about that specifically.

This entry in my list is also unique for being a series. So, which one should you play first? It actually doesn't matter! Each storyline is entirely self-contained and requires no knowledge of prior entries. The quality of each entry varies and is a point of contention among fans. I say you should play all of them, because they all have their merits (though some more than others.... coughgatestoinfinitycough). They're mostly distinct for the generation of Pokemon they take place in. Rescue team is gen 3, Explorers is gen 4, Gates to Infinity is gen 5, Super Mystery Dungeon is gen 6, and Rescue Team DX is a remake of a gen 3 game but has the mechanics and moves of a gen 8 game.

My only real caution is that you play Explorers of Sky, not Darkness or Time. Sky is basically a combination of the two games with added items and content. It's an objective upgrade over its predecessors, and I honestly wouldn't waste money on the other two. 

I’m not going to include a pros and cons list for the PMD series because I’m incredibly biased and it wouldn’t be an honest review.

Next is Monster Crown!

Monster Crown is a monster collecting game that seems to take heavy inspiration from early-gen Pokemon games in particular. It is currently in early access on Steam and is not expensive. I learned about it through the developers of Monster Sanctuary, when they recommended it on their official Discord.

The game has lots of charm and interesting creature designs, and an entirely new take on monster typings as well. Instead of monster types being based off of natural elements like fire, water, electricity, etc. Monster Crown uses typings that seem to be influenced by the personalities of the monsters. For instance, Brutal, Relentless, and Will are all monster types!

It also captures a lot of the charm many of us look fondly upon in early GameBoy-era games. The music is mostly chiptune, with some more modern backing instruments at times, and the visuals are very reminiscent of games like Pokemon Crystal in particular. Monster Crown is definitely the monster collecting game for fans of the 8-bit era!

The thing that stands out the most to me about this game is the breeding system. Instead of one parent monster passing down its species to its offspring, you can create true hybrids in this game.

However, it is very early access. I would consider the current build as an alpha, not even a beta yet! So temper your expectations here. I have not encountered any major bugs, but visual glitches here and there are quite common. The game also could definitely use some polish and streamlining, and is quite limited in content currently. But the dev(s) seem quite active, so I fully expect these kinks to be worked out in time!

The reviews are rather positive, especially for being in early access. I'm all for expanding the monster collecting genre, so if you're looking to expand your horizons in that sense, I would recommend you at least give this one a look! I personally had quite a bit of fun playing Monster Crown and am going to keep an eye out for updates.

Pros & cons:

Pros

Charming artstyle, appealing monster designs

Faithful callback to a bygone era of gaming

Controls are fairly simple and easy to get the hang of (and are completely customizable!)

Cool breeding and hybridization mechanics

There's a starter for each monster type!

You can choose your pronouns, including they/them!

Cons

Inherent nature of being very early access means can be clunky and unpolished at times

Also not much content as of right now, see above

User interface could use some redesign in places

Here’s their Steam page and the official website!

Here’s an oldie but a goodie, Azure Dreams!

This is one I actually haven’t played, mostly because it’s really old and therefore only practically accessible if you play it on an emulator, unless you're one of those old game collectors. Azure Dreams was developed by Konami and released for the PS1 in 1997. My impression of it was that it either didn’t sell well or only took off in Japan, because it’s actually really hard to find any comprehensive information about it on the internet.

Azure Dreams is a monster collecting - dating sim hybrid. You can build relationships with various characters and can pursue some of them romantically, although that isn’t the main draw of the game. There is also a stripped-down version that exists for the GameBoy Color, which forgoes the dating portion of the game entirely.

Azure Dreams is kind of like a mystery dungeon game in that you progress through a randomly generated, ever-changing tower using the help of the familiars you have accrued throughout your adventure. Similarly to Monster Hunter: Stories, you yourself also take part in the fighting alongside your monsters. Each time you enter the tower, your character’s level is lowered to 1, but your familiars keep their experience. Thus, progression is made through strengthening your monsters. To obtain monsters, you collect their eggs, just like in Monster Sanctuary (which, turns out, was at least partially inspired by this game!)

Due to this game being very old and on the PS1, the visuals leave a lot to be desired... but if you can get past that, Azure Dreams has lots of replayability and customization to how you play the game. To this day, it appears it has a somewhat active speedrunning community!

If you don’t mind the effort of using an emulator, and like old games, Azure Dreams just might be that timesink you were looking for in quarantine.

Honorable mentions:

Pokemon Insurgence (or any Pokemon fangame/ROMhack, really!) is a Pokemon fangame that introduces Delta Pokemon, which are really cool type-swapped versions of existing Pokemon. It’s sufficiently challenging and has a lot of variety in what you can catch in the wild, so you can pretty much add whatever you want to your team! The story is quite good, and the main campaign is multiple times longer than a typical Pokemon game’s campaign. Download it here!

ARK: Survival Evolved is NOT a monster collecting game BUT you do get to tame and fight alongside a lot of really cool extinct species, including but not limited to the dinosaurs we all know and love. This game is genuinely fun as hell, especially with friends, but I must warn you: never play on official servers. I highly recommend singleplayer, playing on a casual private server, or making your own server. Here’s the Steam page.

[favoriteginger]

Empires Worldbuilding

The Empires brainrot is real lately, so here, have some worldbuilding that came to me when I was trying to make angst:

The Empires world is filled with a bunch of different types of nature spirits. These spirits tend to stay in certain areas and tend to do their own thing for the most part, but they are willing to help the people living in the world with certain things if it benefits them in some way. I don't really have any specific ideas for Joel, Pearl, Joey, and Gem, but I have ideas for the rest that I'll go through in some detail. Idk much for the jungle yet, and I'll have to see how Joey's series progresses, but the jungle is full of life, full of growth and death and rebirth, which is why spawn is there, why it still has the bones of an old civilization that is once again starting to be populated by people.

(this one is kinda iffy imo but) the ocean spirits are generally happy with the ocean as it is, but they also kinda desire the ability to change and grow and adapt. When Lizzie comes along and starts setting up the beginnings of her kingdom, the ocean spirits see the opportunity available. They can use the infrastructure that Lizzie has put together to grow and change, in return offering Lizzie citizens to fill her realm and warriors to protect it (the villagers, the axolotl golem, her axolotl knights).

I'm thinking that the spirits can also change people over time too, so as the ocean spirits get closer to Lizzie and help her expand her kingdom, she begins to take on some of the same appearance as her citizens, the ocean spirits sometimes deliberately helping it happen so she can more effectively rule her realm (axolotl Lizzie go brrr). The main spirit in the flower forest is the Overgrown (or maybe it's more a collection of spirits that exists and acts as one being). Katherine settles in the area and is called by the spring, a slightly lesser spirit, to protect the Overgrown and help it prosper. in return, she is able to use some of the bountiful life that springs from the Overgrown, using it to make her kingdom look more beautiful and to forge and maintain peace with the lands around her.

As time goes on and Katherine becomes more familiar with the overgrown, the animals and plants become almost attuned to her. She tends to have flowers and vines woven through her clothes and hair, and it isn't unusual to see her surrounded by various animals while tending to her lands. (I also want to incorporate some sort of faerie type lore into Katherine's area but I'm still working on that)

(warning for mentions of death in the next paragraph or two, for any who want to avoid it. nothing specific, and it's not any of the empires members)

(adapting some ideas a friend had here) The swamp doesn't really have any major spirits inhabiting it, and I'm still figuring out what the ones that do live there are like, but it is full of the spirits of the dead. All of these spirits died at different times and for different reasons, but they were all drawn to the swamp and reside there long after any trace of their previous homes is gone. These spirits don't want much, mainly just company and peace for as much of their eternal lives as possible. When Jimmy first settles in the swamp, it seems to be empty of any sentient life, but as time goes on he begins to see the ghostly forms of people long dead and he begins to be able to hear their voices. The first spirits he's able to fully see are a group of children playing in the water with the cod. As more and more spirits appear to him and he gets to know them, he starts working to help them. He does his best to stay on peaceful or friendly terms with the other kingdoms so his land and the people in it can live in peace.

As time goes on, Jimmy starts to look like part of the swamp in a way. It isn't unusual to see him covered in slime and seaweed after playing with the children in the water, and sometimes he has vines woven into his hair, or a crown made of sticks and mud atop his head.

The spirits of the desert are quiet and unmoving, happy to stay where they are and watch the world change around them. Pix is one of these spirits, though he took a more human form long ago because he was curious about the people living in his land and watching from afar wasn't enough. Now, the people he used to be a part of are long gone, and he's left alone in the remains of their once great empire, watching over the world as it changes and keeping vigil over the other empires, still occasionally venturing out to get a closer look at the surrounding lands, and bringing goods to help them when he does.

Now, Pix is also a dragon (because dragons are fun), and though he exists in his human form more often than not now, he still occasionally stretches his wings to fly over the desert, stirring up sandstorms in his wake. He still burrows under the sand sometimes, looking to nap in the warm dunes, and he still hoards copper and emerald ore, using them to ornament his buildings when he isn't able to ornament himself with the treasures as he once did.

(I gave Scott a bit of a corruption arc because they're fun I guess idk) The mountains tend to be populated by wind spirits, forever moving and forever free. Their main desire is for more land to fly over and explore, and they see a way to achieve that though Scott. They offer him the freedom of the wild mountaintops, away from people and connections that could tie him down and cause him pain. As time goes on and Scott starts to hear them more clearly, they begin to tell him that having too many connections would be bad. According to the spirits, alliances are good, since they would mean that other empires wouldn't encroach on the mountains, but actual close friendships would just trap Scott in obligations and promises and do nothing but hurt him down the road. They tell him to expand the borders of his empire and give himself more space to roam free and do as he wished, as well as provide a buffer between him and the people who could hurt him. (I'm thinking that 3rd life ties into this, and after loosing Jimmy in that series, he's afraid of being hurt in that way again, which is why he listens to the spirits)

As time goes on, Scott becomes more cold, both in personality and physically. He extends nothing more than basic pleasantries to the people around him, maintaining alliances but that's it. His skin grows paler and cold to the touch, and his hair grows lighter, starting to look more like frosted ice than the rich cyan it had been before. His fingers and ears also grow kinda blue at the tips and he finds he's sometimes able to manipulate the flurries of snow falling around him or ride the winds across his growing empire.

Fwhip settles in a plains biome and not long after, he comes across the spirits of the stone and darkness, who tempt him with glowing redstone and promise him all the riches held underground and the power that could come with them. Fwhip, having spent most of his recent time alone in a hardcore world, is maybe a tad bit paranoid, and takes these spirits up on their offer, thinking he can use the riches underground to build himself and his people a beautiful city, and to make armor and weapons and trade offers and alliances to protect himself. However, in agreeing to the deal, he gave the spirits a connection to work with and they began corrupting him, making him treasure the dark deepslate and shining redstone even more, convincing him that the heads he mounted around his base were his citizens and friends, that he had to expand his empire and gain more power, or it would all be taken from him. Over time, the corruption starts to take a physical form, and not just in the land that grows darker as redstone-laced spires emerge from the ground, deepslate making it's way through the grass. Fwhip's eyes begin to take on a red tinge, glowing slightly like the redstone he cherishes so much, and his skin starts to appear grey in patches, matching the darkstone consuming his land.

So yeah, worldbuilding

Feel free to add on or whatever if you want I guess