#7 wonders duel

[whovian223]

May 2024 Gaming

May 2024 Gaming #boardgames @BGStatsApp @real_QueenGames @wizkidsgames @_dailymagic_

May seemed like a really dead month for gaming. Hell, we missed out on two Sunday game days (Mother’s Day and a marathon the week before) so I thought it was going to be almost as bad as April. When I looked at my BG Stats app, though (and you should really get this app if you record your plays at all!), it turns out that I had 21 plays in May, as opposed to 10 in April. What the hell…

[virtual-board-game-room]

7 Wonders - Duel

7 Wonders: Duel is the two-player version of the well-known board game in which the aim is to construct 7 Wonders of the World by skillfully collecting, constructing and selling buildings and human achievements.

You can achieve victory in three different ways. In a military way, through scientific superiority or through a civilian victory. All three victory variants are well balanced and it is always very exciting to see who is striving for which victory.

The game is played over three ages during which the players take turns drawing building cards from a partially face-down pile and have to decide whether they want to build or sell. You should never lose sight of exactly which resources you need to build your wonders of the world and which properties can be combined to create powerful synergies.

At the end, guilds can once again turn the tension around and it is often open until the end which party can gain the upper hand.

Profile:

Game Typ: Economic development game

Player: 2

Age: 10+

Play Time: 30 min

Autor: Antoine Bauza & Bruno Cathala

Publisher: Repos Production

Find cheap physical versions of this game here. 

VBR on Patreon

[oatmealaddiction]

Okay but the weirdest thing about the whole "Brotherhood is better you should skip 03" discourse that's become commonplace now, it sort of forgets the world Brotherhood came out in and why you should watch the original Fullmetal Alchemist. When Brotherhood came out, the original Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the most beloved and most watched animes of all time. Brotherhood assumes you the audience have already seen it because of course you have, everyone has seen it, so it skips important information and speeds the story up because it doesn't want to bore you with things you already know. Have you ever wondered "hey why does the first episode of Brotherhood kind of suck, and why am I being introduced to like 50 new characters, and why are they acting like I know what the hell an alchemist is?" It's because Brotherhood thinks you've seen 03.

The first 7 or so episodes of Brotherhood constitute dozens of chapters in the manga, and the first 25 or so episodes of the original Fullmetal Alchemist. The Nina Tucker episode in Brotherhood, in FMA 03 takes up nearly three episodes. Yoki gets a backstory in 03 and it's genuinely one of the best episodes and taken directly from the manga and Brotherhood glosses over it because: duh, you've already seen it. And so if you skip the original you miss out on dozens of really great character building episodes like Ed and Al meeting Hughes for the first time and getting to spend a whole episode helping him free a train from terrorists, or Ed and Roy having a duel that expands on the relationship they have, or episodes where the brothers just help out random people in towns before the major story gets going.

The original also paces itself quite a bit better than Brotherhood and is more in line with the mangas storytelling. In the manga we don't find out about The Gate until nearly two dozen chapters in, and the same goes for the original anime. Like, that's a twist reveal in those stories, and it's weird that the most watched series is the one where they tell you all about The Gate in the first two episodes because they assume you've already seen the original show.

What's more, people don't know that Hiromu Arakawa helped write for the anime while she was still in the middle of writing the manga, and as a result was inspired to write scenes in Brotherhood that the anime did first. That scene of Edward getting impaled by a falling beam? Directly inspired by a similar scene in the original anime. There's a lot of little instances of that and they're great when you can recognize parallels and things in Brotherhood that are direct references to the original anime, but people don't notice any of that anymore. Because the original anime is just an automatic skip these days, and it's a bummer because people don't realize what a giant it was back before Brotherhood was released. They treat it as *bad,* not realizing it was one of the most beloved anime of its time and the problems people take issue with have a lot more to do with personal taste than any kind of actual flaw in the writing. Brotherhood was never meant to dethrone it, and the original anime was always supposed to be part of the viewing experience which is why those first few episodes of Brotherhood are so fast paced. So like, please stop telling people Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 is a skip, or it's bad, or you don't need it because Brotherhood is better. Regardless if you think Brotherhood is better or not, the original wrote Brotherhood's check. It was huge, it was beloved, and Brotherhood is *banking* on the knowledge you've seen all of it and loved it. And trust me when I say there is so much to love about the original series. It's still my favorite branch of the FMA franchise, and it's worth your time, I promise you.

[girls-and-honey]

the parasocial relationship between me and my opponent in every online two player game

[the20thangel]

The Dragon and Raven Masterlist

Note: Hello, wonderful people. I created a master list of my series, The Dragon and Raven. Linking the ongoing chapters will make it much easier for you all to follow and keep track of the story. I hope you enjoy it!

Story Summary: After the Battle of BurningMill, Samwell and Davos Blackwood are gone, leaving Davos' twin Benjicot, the new lord of House Blackwood. Queen Rhaenyra and her council decided to show sympathy and gratitude to House Blackwood for their stance on the Black Faction of the War. Crown Princess Aemma, Rhaenyra's oldest daughter and supposedly Ser Leanor's only child, volunteers to fly to Raventree Hall to show the Crown's Respect and Support to House Blackwood and their newly appointed Lord.

Tags: Fluff, Smut, and angst.

Chapter One: Aemma Velayron

Chapter Two: Benjicot Blackwood

Chapter 3: Raventree Hall to Harenhall

Chapter 4: The Duel

Chapter 5: The Dragon Princess and her Raven Lord

Chapter 6: The Wedding

Chapter 7: The Battle of Rook's Rest

Chapter 8: The Cursed Gift

Chapter 9: Seasmoke

Chapter 10: Dragon seeds

Chapter 11: The Dragon Prince

Chapter12: Funeral Pyre and New Beginnings

Chapter 13: The Dragon Princess

Chapter 14: Warging Lessons

Chapter 15: Luring the Beast

Chapter 16: The Vale (Current Chapter) (Newest Update)

One Shot: The Pearl of The Realm

[cosmerelists]

How Kaladin Would Flirt With Other Cosmere Characters

As requested by @cam-ulu29 :)

Hot off the back of my post about other characters flirting with Kaladin, cam-ulu29 asked if I could also write about Kaladin being the big flirt with other characters. So let's just say that Kaladin had the ability & the desire to flirt...how might he do so?

1. Lyn

Kaladin: I'm glad that there are women Windrunners now. Lyn: Man, me too! Kaladin: And specifically I am glad that you. A woman. And a Windrunner. Are here. Lyn: Awww, thanks! Kaladin (visibly sweating): Yes you. As a woman. Who is a Windrunner. And is here. Lyn: Are you...are you having a stroke right now?

2. Renarin

Kaladin: Hey, Renarin...back when you first joined Bridge 4, did you have a crush on me? Renarin: ! Renarin: W-Was it obvious? Kaladin: N-No, not really! Syl told me. Later. That she thought you did. Renarin: Oh... Kaladin: ... Kaladin: Any chance you still do?

3. Leswhi

Kaladin: Hey, uh, Leshwi? I was wondering if you would be free for an honorable duel, maybe Tuesday night? Leshwi: Certainly. I will assemble the shanay-im. Kaladin: Oh, well, I was actually thinking of an honorable duel with just you and me, you know? Syl: And me! Kaladin: And also Syl. Leswhi: ... Leshwi: Tuesday you said? It's a date.

4. Rlain

Kaladin: Ugh, all these women keep coming to the clinic to flirt with me. Kaladin: I can't get any work done! Kaladin: I bet if they knew I was in a relationship already, they'd stop. Kaladin: Hey Rlain...do you want to hold hands? Rlain: ...Are you asking me to pretend to be your boyfriend? Kaladin: Pretend?

5. Laral

Kaladin: Crazy how we're both single now. Laral: ... Laral: You mean because you got dumped and my husband DIED? Kaladin: Uh... Laral: ... Kaladin: So...not the right moment to see if you want to get a drink and catch up? Laral: NOPE

6. Adolin

Kaladin: I think horses are mean and scary. Adolin: That's just 'cause you haven't been around them enough! I swear! They're cool and friendly! Kaladin (continuing as if Adolin said nothing): But I would accept being around horses. Lots of mean horses. Kaladin: If it meant. Kaladin: Being around you. Adolin: ...? Kaladin: ... Adolin: ... Adolin: Oh! Adolin: Nice.

7. Shallan

Kaladin: [sighing dramatically] Shallan: What's wrong? Kaladin: I want to flirt with someone, but she's much wittier than I am, so I don't know how to even start. Shallan: Oooh, that's exciting! Can I give you advice? Kaladin: I would LOVE advice. Shallan: Well, it depends on whether you can match her wit, or whether you think she's entirely too witty for that. Kaladin: I think I could. Sometimes. Probably not while also flirting, though. Shallan: Sure, sure. Well, you can always just enjoy her wit and let her enjoy how smart she is. Kaladin: Yeah? You think making her feel smart is a good tactic? Shallan: Well, it certainly can't hurt! Kaladin: [significant look] Shallan: ... Shallan: Oh! Shallan: Nice.

8. Moash:

Kaladin: You know...I bet I could swallow a WAY bigger sphere than you could... Moash: MY BED IS UPSTAIRS LET'S GO RIGHT NOW

9. Szeth

Kaladin: You know...I've been thinking that maybe this trip is a chance to find what I really need. Szeth: I feel the same way. Kaladin: You...you do? Szeth: I do. Nightblood: (Me too!) Kaladin: Well, good...because I think what I really need is... Kaladin: You... Szeth (simultaneously): Vengeance. Nightblood (simultaneously): The eradication of evil! Kaladin: ... Kaladin: I don't know what I expected.

10. Jasnah

Kaladin (talking to someone else): I mean...being partnered is fine, I guess, but the sex stuff I don't really get. Jasnah: ... [...] Kaladin (to someone else): Darkeyed Radiants is good and all but, I mean, we still have slavery. Anyone who really cared about social change would do somehing about that! Jasnah: ... [...] Kaladin: (to someone else): I like Wit, but storms can he be annoying sometimes. Small doses, you know? Jasnah: ... [...] Kaladin (talking to someone else): So then I convinced the ardents that locking up the insane in dark rooms was NOT a good thing--they're gonna change the treatment! Jasnah: ... Jasnah: Has Stormblessed always been so attractive?

[youngchronicpain]

We ended up having a really good night. We ate yummy food and I won at 7 Wonders: Duel. I felt a little bad because I kept talking about pain and not wanting to be in so much pain, but I think it was a really nice night nonetheless.

(I kind of forget that it is okay to be in a lot of pain. I am not annoying. I am hurting. It is okay to struggle with high pain levels. I don't have to act like I'm unaffected by my body feeling like it is in an electrical fire.)

Today is a really rough nerve pain day. My back keeps catching and is shooting lightning-like nerve pains down my bad leg. It is also causing patches of my skin on my leg to feel like I'm being stung over and over. I know I need to rest but I am so fucking tired of laying in bed. I want to clean, and make good food, and visit my garden and chickens, and play board games with my partner.

My partner is totally okay having a chill Sunday in bed instead of getting dinner and going to the game store to pick up a new board game to play. But. Ugh. I want to do things!!!

[sweetsaladpainterranch]

Challenges in Raising a 6 Month Old Demon

Daddy Duty (your p.o.v.)

...

It was 7:30 am in the lobby of the Hazbin Hotel and you were preparing to leave to accompany Charlie and Vaggie. to the Vee Tower in order to conduct a new interview with Katie Killjoy for the furtherment of the redemption project. However, this means that you must leave your husband alone with your fawn in the hotel for the entirety of the day for the first time since she was born. To say that you sensed some amount of trepidation from the buck was an understatement, but you knew he’d rather kiss Angel before he’d admit to any weakness. (Plus the spider demon promised to assist if needed.)

“Darling, you’ve absolutely nothing to worry about.”, he promised you again with a tense smile while you placed the latest report of redemption numbers and notices from Heaven into a travel case, “But are you quite sure that you are required for this venture with our fearless leader?”

You sighed and finished gathering your paperwork, “Alastor, you know how Charlie is with logistics documents. She doodles across all of them and no one can figure out what in the hot sauce is on them. Not even her!” You grimaced when you remembered the last meeting at the Heavenly Embassy when the princess passed out her crayon version of the documents to the awaiting angels. However, none could read them and she broke out in another duet with Emily. So, you, with an administrative background, took the role as logistics coordinator for the hotel and forbade her from touching any more paperwork.

“It’s just one afternoon, love.”, as you walked toward the entry doors and to the waiting car, “There are spare diapers and clothes in the nursery for Evangeline, but she shouldn’t wake until 9. I have every confidence in your abilities.”

You leaned in and whispered low in his ear, "Do NOT let me down, Alastor."

You didn't miss the strained grunt of static that echoed within his throat as you placed a tender kiss goodbye on your mate's blushing cheek.

...

They're fine. They're fine. They're probably fine... You chanted to yourself throughout the entirety of the interview. It went exactly as you thought it would.

Katie says something cutting to undermine the hotel

Charlie slowly loses her confidence and temper

Vaggie encourages Charlie (which leads to an upbeat, determined song about friendship)

By the 2nd chorus, you stood by the camera with raised cue cards, with the redemption numbers that you had prepared in case things got off track, and made eye contact with Vaggie to return to the matter at hand. She took a deep breath to calm herself and began to rein her girlfriend in with a gentle hand to the shoulder. The princess instantly relaxed and shot the small moth a grateful look full of love before continuing to list off the successes of her project on your cue card.

You knew that look well and sighed with relief that things would be fine (in spite of Tom Trench somehow spontaneously combusting and collapsing onto the floor).

But your mind continued to wonder back to Alastor and your daughter. She must have woke up by now and he must've gone to tend to her, but what if she didn't want to feed? What if you didn't leave the correct formula or what if they try to burn down the kitchen again and destroy the entire hotel??

You cringe as you remember the last sparing duel between the two deer demons (over who got the last cookie from Rosie's) that lead to an entire floor of guests being trapped in the shadow realm for a week...😑... The idiots loved each other fiercely as father and daughter ought to but they were far too much alike. Always ending up locking horns (or antlers) in, what you can only assume to be, a futile attempt at familial communication.

Your mind flooded itself with possible worse case scenarios involving the entire city falling prey to shadow nonsense.

No... they'll be fine. He knows how important this interview is and I've only been away for the afternoon. How much trouble could they possibly get into?

Fortunately you grounded yourself in Alastor's promise when you caught Charlie finishing up the interview with the video from Sir. Pentious in Heaven attesting to his new life. Emily had asked that he work with her on behalf of the Hell Embassy to properly integrate newly redeemed souls. You handed the disk to the tech director and smiled when the princess cocked her eyebrow at Killjoy in victory as the video proved her capabilities.

The loveable snake angel had just made his stuttered introduction when the large screen surged to show the city center. Katie shot up to cut off Vaggie and Charlie's protest with a middle finger in their faces, "We now interrupt this holy shit-fest with breaking news from the heart of our lovely city."

Everyone looked at the screen in confusion and, then, continued with a sneer, "It seems that our dear Princess's own hotel manager is currently tearing a war path through the city while holding a the famed pornstar, Angel Dust, hostage along with his daughter, Evangeline!" She noticed how your aura darkened considerably at the mention of your child and snickered the rest of her broadcast. "I guess the Radio Demon is teaching his spawn to torture the unsuspecting guests of Hazbin Hotel from a young age after all!" She casted a side eye to the dumbfounded Charlie, "Seems like such a good idea to check in, dear viewers...", sarcasm and venom dripped from her mouth.

Vaggie cursed in Spanish and rose from her seat with a spear as you could only stare in sheer disbelief (and raising anger) at what you were seeing.

Sure enough, it was indeed an airal shot of a large, black and red blur waving around tentacles through buildings as another, much smaller but still giant, blur hopped in-between the appendages with a flailing Angel Dust caught in one puggy hand.

You were gonna kill them!

...

Hey everyone, this is not my best work but I just needed to write something fun. I think I'm goin crazy with these babies in my house 😂😂

-SSPR

(Sorry, I didn't have time to edit it 😅)

[greenerteacups]

I wonder often why Deathly Hallows as a book is so fascinated with wandcraft and wandlore, especially after the series has spent six volumes being more or less disinterested in it (with the exception of the Twin Cores plot in Book 4). A weirdly high % of the plot depends on who owns whose wand and why: the wand mixup with the Snatchers, Harry's wand being broken, Draco's wand, Bellatrix's wand, and of course, the final rigmarole over who's the "rightful master" of the Elder Wand, which ends up being a weird combination of killing/disarming/fist-fight to disarm someone who... wasn't even wielding the Elder Wand at the time he was disarmed, which begs the question of what it counts to "disarm" someone of a weapon they're not technically wielding? Also, are we to assume that Dumbledore was not disarmed once in the N years since his fight with Grindlewald? Or — here's a harder one — that Draco wasn't disarmed once between Dumbledore's death and his fight with Harry? That's plausible, but it's kind of weird that I need to believe it for the rest of the plot to make sense.

And like, I can think of a few Doylist reasons for this to be the case. The first is that JKR wants Voldemort to kill Snape in the boathouse, which allows Harry to get Snape's memories and retroactively justify why Snape's acted this way since PoA (and explain where the sword comes from in the lake in DH, too). I can think of better, more character-driven reasons for him to kill Snape (just... blow Snape's cover? reveal him as a double agent? have him try to kill Nagini? idk), but let's suppose, for subtextual reasons, she wants Voldemort to think Snape was loyal to the end. Having him die by Nagini's hand muddies the already-opaque water of what constitutes "disarming," because Nagini is a living creature. What if I drop someone into a pool of piranhas? Do I get their wand? Yeah, Voldemort commands her, but then — okay, what if I Imperius someone and make them disarm someone else? I get that it's not like DH has time for Harry to sit down with Ollivander and go through all of the tiny procedural rules for wand usage, but also, are these not relevant questions? Is this not the central mechanic of the final battle, this one piece of magic? Am I not supposed to wonder how it works?

The other reason I can imagine is that Harry wins a duel against Voldemort 1v1, which is not terribly believable unless there's some kind of magical advantage working in his favor. We know the Elder Wand's failure to execute the Cruciatus means Harry can't be harmed by spells the Elder casts, because it's his "true master." This is a really weird quirk in wandlore — why does it work this way? Is it the only wand that works this way? By that logic, shouldn't everyone Harry disarms be incapable of casting spells on him? — that emerges in Book 7, apparently for the purpose of giving Harry a buff in the final duel. Functionally, that's weird, because on a technical level it works the same way as Lily's protection — it's a reason that Voldemort can't hurt him. So why get rid of Lily's protection at all? It's not like he duels Voldemort between Book 4 and Book 7. The graveyard scene artificially hikes the stakes for Harry by making him physically vulnerable, pretty much only so he can die at the end of DH... except again, not for real, because Voldemort only ends up killing the piece of Harry that's a horcrux, so it doesn't even count!

And then Harry replaces the wand in Dumbledore's tomb. Which would be a nice moment if the lore hadn't established that anyone who disarms Harry, ever, will become the master of the Elder Wand by default. Harry knows this. He also knows that this knowledge is out there in the world; sure, Grindlewald's dead now, but do we think that Grindlewald never told anyone else about the Elder Wand? And he learned about it from somewhere, didn't he? So Harry might naturally assume that someone else would eventually come looking, in which case Dumbledore's tomb is far from the safest place to put this equivalent of a wizarding nuke. (Not that it seems to be all that powerful anyway; the coolest thing it does is fix Harry's other wand, and we're left wondering why the Elder Wand is considered "unbeatable" when people who own it seem to be getting disarmed all over the fucking place.)

Also, in retrospect, this makes it incredibly odd that Dumbledore allows Draco to disarm him, because he's giving the Wizarding Nuke to a 16-year-old servant of Lord Voldemort. Suppose that he's trying to prevent Snape from getting the wand, because he doesn't want Snape to be a target: okay, fine, but does he know Draco's going to give Snape credit for the kill? What if Draco lies? What if LV just... accepts the fact that the wand recognizes Expelliarmus as a point of transfer, and either disarms or kills Draco? And in any case, no matter what the answers to these questions are, why didn't he just ask Harry to disarm him before he went to the lake?

I'm usually not one to be an asshole about plot holes — mostly because, taken by themselves, I don't find them that interesting — but they become interesting to me when I see several of them in the same vein, because they tell me that the author's trying to do something. And they want to do it so badly they're willing to strain other parts of the story to make it happen.

[avayarising]

Deaths of Cassandra Cain

Part of the Batfam Death Project.

Cass has two very definite deaths and one implied death. She also spent several days in the Spirit World. Total time dead: up to a couple of days, plus Spirit World time.

Verifiable deaths

1. Beaten in the chest by Lady Shiva (Batgirl 1:25, 2002)

Cass asked Lady Shiva (her mother, though at this point she didn’t know that) to train her because she was losing her ability to read body language. Shiva agreed, but in return asked for Cass to come back in a year and duel her to the death. Cass agreed to this. When the time came, they fought on a rooftop, and Shiva quickly killed Cass with what looks like a pre-cordial thump.

Cass was raised to life again by Lady Shiva some unspecified time later through some unspecified technique (though she did say she had prepared for years to be able to do it) involving punching her in the chest again.

Time dead: Unclear, but probably of the order of hours. Since the location where Cass was resurrected was not where she died, Shiva must have had to move her corpse, so probably at least a few hours, plus however long it took for Shiva to do whatever she did to resurrect Cass.

2. Took a sword for someone else (Batgirl 1:72–73, April 2006)

So before Cass was born. David Cain made other attempts at creating the Perfect Warrior, and he started out by taking existing children (from Ra’s Al Ghul) to train, rather than attempting to breed one. One of these became known as Mad Dog: very skilled but almost mindless and uncontrolled. In a forest in the middle of nowhere, he attempted to stab someone, Cass leapt in front, and:

Even though it looks from this picture like that big fat knife goes right through her ribcage, heart, and spine, she still managed to kick Mad Dog in the face before collapsing and dying.

After Cass died, she awoke being carried by Steph.

Steph told Cass something she couldn’t have known (that Blüdhaven had just been destroyed), indicating she was really present and not just a near-death hallucination.

Of course, it later turns out that Steph was never actually dead at all, but at this point in time she is dead, and her presence is meant to be an indicator that Cass is truly dead.

Lady Shiva raised her (again), this time via a Lazarus Pit. (At this point, Cass has only very recently found out that Shiva is her mother.)

Cass came out angry with Pit Madness, but Shiva trapped her in a net and coached her through it. Cass calmed down in a matter of minutes.

Time dead: between several hours and a couple of days (Shiva had to carry her out of a forest on foot and get to the Lazarus Pit before she could resurrect her).

Bonus extra deaths

(Implied, inferrable, ambiguous and arguable deaths)

1. Probably died in Death Metal along with everyone else (Death Metal 7, 2021)

Cass probably died in battle when the Dark Multiverse invaded and destroyed all the worlds of the multiverse. All the remaining heroes came together in a hopeless fight against an army of their worst nightmares, including an apparently never-ending swarm of groblins (mindless evil Jokerised Robins led by the Robin King, an evil child Bruce Robin).

Cass’s death isn’t shown on panel and neither is her dead body, but she is definitely in the group of Bats standing ready to fight (far right, in an oddly ill-fitting Orphan outfit):

And later Evil Child Bruce Robin tells Batman that everyone else is dead, so that seems like Cass is dead too.

On the other hand, Evil Child Bruce Robin probably doesn’t know what’s going on away from his immediate vicinity, so it’s possible that Cass was drawn away during the battle earlier on and is still out there fighting in a different part of the field.

After this, Wonder Woman persuades the Creators to remake the world and everyone is fine again.

Time dead: unclear; might be up to an hour, or longer if it takes longer to remake the world.

2. Perhaps was shot by Lady Shiva at some point (Spirit World 3, 2023)

Thank you to @fantastic-nonsense for pointing this one out! During Cass’s trip to the Spirit World (see below) she was bitten by a kitsune spirit and regained the memory of a previous encounter in the Spirit World when she was dead. The flashback montage panel shows Shiva shooting Cass in the chest, followed by Cass’s revival in the Lazarus Pit in Batgirl 1:73 with its very distinctive hook and chain.

Although it’s most likely that this is just a conflation and reinterpretation of Cass’s previous two deaths and resurrections, the new method of death suggests that this could be an additional, off-panel, death and resurrection.

More details in @fantastic-nonsense’s original commentary here.

Afterlife visits

1. Pulled into the Spirit World (Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate, 2023; Spirit World, 2023)

When the Lazarus Volcano erupts and rains down Lazarus Water on the whole earth, it stirs up a lot of undead. In a graveyard in Gotham, Cass joins John Constantine and Xanthe Zhou (a ’spirit envoy’ who died as a child and was partially resurrected and is now both living and dead) in a fight against hopping vampires (jiang-shi) and a ‘ghost collective’ (a big ball of angry ghosts).

With Constantine’s and Cass’s help, Xanthe exorcises the collective, but on its way out the collective grabs Cass’s ankle and pulls her into the Spirit World with it.

In the Spirit World, she more or less gets adopted by Xanthe’s granny, who has also adopted another ghost, Bowen. (It’s not clear in this panel, but Po Po is tiny and only comes up to Cass’s waist.)

A kitsune spirit she meets there tells her they have met before, when she was dead, though she clearly doesn’t remember her time dead. (The spirit doesn’t clarify which of Cass’s deaths it is referring to, but since she was with Steph all through her second death, it is likely to be her first – but it might be a completely different one; see above.)

Of course, John and Xanthe go in after her and they eventually reunite. After a great quest, the freeing of the ghosts from their collective, and major reorganisation of the politics of the Spirit World, they all leave together through a portal.

Time in afterlife: several days.

Batfam Death Project Masterpost

[gegengestalt]

131 useless or often forgotten facts in The Brothers Karamazov!

This 27 of April is the second anniversary of the day I finished this book for the first time. To do something special, I reread it over the last 20 days and as I did it, I compiled little things that are easy to forget in these 1000 pages filled with food for thought. Let's go!

1. Mitya fought in a duel, though it's most likely that nobody died in it.

2. Ivan's journalist pseudonym is "Eyewitness".

3. Alyosha, in his own words, came back to Skotoprigonyevsk to visit his mother's grave.

4. Fyodor Pavlovich owns several taverns in the district.

5. Grigory was the one who gave Sofia Ivanovna a proper gravestone.

6. Alyosha is one deduction away from becoming a communist.

7. The Brothers Karamazov begins in late August.

8. Kalganov is supposedly Alyosha's friend. This is never mentioned ever again.

9. Kalganov gave one coin to some beggars and told them to divide it among themselves.

10. There is a rumour that the previous elder beat people with sticks. This is false.

11. Alyosha is the only person in the monastery who knows that Rakitin is an atheist, and keeps his secret.

12. Four years ago, Pyotr Miusov divulged a fake story about a saint making out with his own decapitated head. Fyodor never forgot.

13. Madame Khokhlakov is only 33 years old. She has been a widow for 5 years, meaning Lise lost her father at age 9.

14. Zosima's serenity in front of the woman who confesses to a murder may foreshadow his later recollection of having a murder confessed to before.

15. Zosima likes to make jokes.

16. Lise and Alyosha last saw each other two years before.

17. Reminder that Grushenka met Mitya because Fyodor wanted her help to throw Mitya into a debtors' prison.

18. Kuzma Samsonov is the mayor of Skotoprigonyevsk.

19. Ivan rambled to Dmitri and Katerina about how he thinks Rakitin will be a failed journalist turned landlord.

20. Fyodor Pavlovich's house is filled with rats.

21. The Miusov family had their own private theatre.

22. Lizaveta Smerdyashchaya was a bit over 142cm/4'7 tall.

23. In 1842 there was a runaway convict called Karp commiting crimes in Skotoprigonyevsk.

24. Marya Kondratievna's mother is missing a leg.

25. Mitya ghosted a girl in real life.

26. Katerina's mother died when she was young.

27. Mitya had a fever for two weeks once because of a spider bite.

28.Mitya thought Grushenka was "nothing striking" the first time he saw her.

29. Mitya was squatting in his neighbour's rented room.

30. Fyodor Pavlovich has a portrait of the former provincial governor in his house.

31. Fyodor Pavlovich goes to sleep at 3- 4AM, like Dostoyevsky himself.

32. Sofia Ivanovna was being courted by a rich man called Beliavsky while she was married.

33. Who was the woman coming from the alley that Mitya mistook for Grushenka? I still wonder.

34. A cheap glass jar was destroyed during Mitya's frenzied break- in.

35. Katerina sends two detailed reports a week to her surrogate mother figure who lives in Moscow.

36. Katerina has an aquarium.

37. Alyosha sleeps using his monk habit as a blanket.

38. Father Ferapont survives eating nothing more than 1,6kg of bread a week.

39. Ivan had told his father about his feelings for Katerina, for some reason.

40. When Alyosha kissed his father, he had the impression that Alyosha was thinking that it was their last conversation.

41. Madame Khokhlakova owns three houses as property.

42. Madame Khokhlakova and Katerina Ivanovna are supposedly great friends.

43. Ivan reads Schiller when nobody is looking.

44. One of Snegiryov's daughters, Varvara, is invested in feminism.

45. Captain Snegiryov's childhood friend is a lawyer.

46. Mitya spilled cognac over the table of the summerhouse.

47. Smerdyakov sings in falsetto.

48. Marya Kondratievna is the only one who ever calls Smerdyakov 'Pavel Fyodorovich'.

49. Ivan uses Smerdyakov as a messenger.

50. Dmitri and Katerina had been engaged for around six months.

51. Ivan's right shoulder looks lower than the left one when he walks.

52. Smerdyakov often moves the tip of his right foot from side to side when he stands (adorable).

53. Dmitri's favourite death threats are "pounding in a mortar" and "breaking legs".

54. Grigory suffers from paralysis three times a year.

55. The real name of 'Lyagavy' is Gorstkin.

56. Zosima's real name is "Zinovy".

57. There was actually another old German doctor before Herzenstube and he was named Eisenschmidt.

58. Zosima has known Brother Anfim for forty years.

59. The Bible is thrown once.

60. Madame Khokhlakova asked Rakitin to go to the funeral as her eye.

61. Alyosha was hiding behind the grave of starets Iov, who lived 105 years.

62. Zosima was harshly criticized for telling a monk hallucinating to take his meds if praying doesn't work.

63. Both Grushenka and Rakitin are children of deacons.

64. Samsonov is the only person that Grushenka seems to be completely and clearly sincere with.

65. Likewise, Samsonov only trusts her when it comes to counting money.

66. Samsonov has the entire first floor of his house for himself.

67. Mitya tells many of his secrets to his landlords, who are fond of him.

68. Alongside eggs and bread, Mitya grabbed and ate a piece of sausage that he "found".

69. Mitya and Perkhotin first met at the Metropolis tavern.

70. Mitya's dueling pistols are his "most prized possessions".

71. Madame Khokhlakova apparently borrows money from Miusov.

72. The brass pestle was 17 centimetres long.

73. Mitya spent exactly 300 rubles in food and alcohol in Mokroye, and it would have been 400 if Perkhotin didn't help.

74. Mitya gave a glass of champagne to a kid.

75. The owner of Plotnikov's shop is called Varvara Alexeievna.

76. Two thousand villagers live in Mokroye.

77. Trifon Borissovich makes his younger daughters clean up the messes of every guest of the inn.

78. Pan Wroblewski is 190cm / 6'2 tall.

79. Madame Khokhlakova gets a migraine whenever she has to talk to Mitya.

80. The ispravnik's elder granddaughter is called Olga, and the night of the murder was her birthday.

81. The prosecutor's wife seems very interested in sending for Mitya often, for reasons he doesn't know.

82. Mitya does not know that the epidermis is the outer layer of the skin.

83. Nikolay Parfenovich is the only person in the world who trusts Ippolit Kirillovich.

84. Mitya often dreams that a person that he fears is chasing him and searching for him.

85. Nikolay Parfenovich wears a smoky topaz ring on his middle finger.

86. Pan Wroblewski is a dentist without a license.

87. Kalganov had visited Grushenka once before, but she seemed to dislike him for some reason.

88. Kolya's father died when he was a little baby.

89. There was a plot going on in the background about the doctor's maid having a child out of wedlock.

90. Rakitin often talks with Kolya. Seems like the only person who takes his ideas seriously is a literal child.

91. Smerdyakov and Ilyusha met and talked to each other.

92. Alyosha rarely gets colds.

93. Katerina befriended Snegiryov's sick wife.

94. Kolya was taken to a judge for teaching a guy how to efficiently crack the neck of a goose.

95. Kolya is against women's rights.

96. Mitya and Grushenka spent five weeks secluded and away from each other after the arrest.

97. Grushenka went to see Grigory to try to convince him that the door wasn't open.

98. Rakitin made up in an article that Madame Khokhlakova offered Mitya 3k rubles to run away with her.

99. Madame Khokhlakova doesn't remember Rakitin's patronymic, and calls him "Ivanovich" instead of "Osipovich".

100. Madame Khokhlakova didn't know of the judicial system reform until two days before the trial.

101. Lise sent chocolates to Mitya in jail, even though there's no reference to them ever interacting before.

102. Alyosha has had the same dream about the devils that Lise has.

103. Alyosha is friends with the jail inspector, who often discusses the gospels with him.

104. Mitya spent two entire nights awake since he discovered ethics.

105. Ivan cleans his own room.

106. Smerdyakov shared a hospital room with an agonizing dropsy patient.

107. Mitya's letter had the bill on the other side.

108. Smerdyakov uses garters with his stockings.

109. There is an apple tree in Fyodor's garden.

110. One of Ivan's "most stupid" thoughts is being the fat wife of a merchant.

111. Ivan had a friend named Korovkin when he was 17, the one he told the story of the quadrillion kilometres to.

112. Ivan has another poem named Geological Cataclysm.

113. Alyosha was the first person the distraught Marya Kondratievna ran to.

114. Ivan is mistaken for "the eldest son" twice in the trial.

115. Grigory did not remember he was in 1866.

116. Rakitin knows "every detail" of the biography of Fyodor Pavlovich and all the Karamazovs.

117. Grushenka's surname, Svetlova, means "light".

118. Mitya once dropped 100 rubles while he was drunk.

119. Ivan saw not just the Devil, but people who had died while he walked in the street.

120. Ippolit Kirillovich died nine months after the trial, the first and last day he received applauses.

121. Marfa is dismissed as a suspect simply because they can't imagine her killing.

122. There is a partition wall in Mitya's lodgings.

123. Mitya mostly stopped staring at the floor during the prosecutor's speech whenever Grushenka was mentioned.

124. Fetyukovich bends forward in an unnerving manner when he speaks.

125. An 18 year old street vendor committed axe murder earlier that year.

126. The verdict was given past 1AM, making the trial last almost 16 hours.

127. Katerina kept the sick Ivan in her house knowing it could possibly be harmful to her reputation.

128. Rakitin tried to sneak in to see Mitya in the hospital twice.

129. Lise sent the flowers that adorn Ilyusha's coffin, and Katerina paid for the grave.

130. Snegiryov cries seeing his late son's little boots the same way one of the women at the monastery in the beginning of the book did.

131. At the end, Alyosha mentions "leaving the city for a long time" soon. Where to? We don't know.

If you read this far down, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing all of these down.

[whovian223]

Friday Night Shots - Drafting Games

Friday Night Shots - Drafting Games @iMandooGames @ReposProduction @ArtipiaGames @czechgames @RavensburgerNA @Capstone_Games

It’s been a week since my last post. And wow, what a week. Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but I just needed a bit of a recharge and decided not to think too much about writing this week. More stuff coming next week, definitely. I thought I would get back in the swing of things with another regularly-scheduled visit with you at the bar! It’s getting dark so early now, but that’s why I keep it so…

[iamnmbr3]

i wonder what draco would say if he found out harry spent half of book 7 pitying and worrying about him. during book 7 he must think surely harry truly hates him now. after the astronomy tower. even if harry probably didn't really mean to hurt him like that during the duel in sixth year he must surely want to now. and draco can't help but agree he deserves it. he would never imagine anything else. picture his shock when harry pulls him out of the fire and at the trial when harry comes to testify not against him - but on his behalf.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

You wanna know what I just realized....You know how in chapters 1-4 MC/Yu kept asking Crowley to go home. But Once Chapter 5-7 they stopped asking to go home and gave up. Why? Did they just change their minds once they got friends or did they just give up on trying completely until Orthro put it back in their brain? Or Did they just gave up on asking adults period?

Oooh, interesting topic 🤔 I went back in each book to see when instances of Yuu asking about going home were brought up and (shockingly) this actually happens very little, maybe a few times max in the main story (not counting the prologue):

***Main story spoilers (INCLUDING book 7) below the cut!!***

In 1-19, Yuu does NOT ask Crowley; Crowley is the one who brings the topic up. He claims he is in the library to research a way to send Yuu home, and definitely is not reading the latest edition to a new novel before anyone else (which, come on, we all know Crowley is just giving a convenient excuse for himself). Crowley's presence here is then used to inform us of a way to dethrone Riddle via duel.

In 2-4, Yuu DOES ask Crowley when summoned to his office. Crowly then says he is busy preparing for an inter-dorm Magift/Spelldrive tournament, so he hasn't made any progress for Yuu. In 2-14, Yuu also wonders about when they will be able to go home while talking around the campus at night, but does not discuss it further with others.

In 3-6, Yuu does NOT ask Crowley; again, Crowley is the one to bring up the topic when trying to get Yuu to convince Azul to stop his shady dealings. He uses their rising food bills and all that "effort" he's putting into researching as a means to guilt trip Yuu into agreeing.

In 4-2, Yuu DOES ask Crowley if he's actually researching. This occurs because Crowley is all decked out for vacationing in a tropical destination, so Yuu of course questions whether he's doing any real work. Crowley defends himself by saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!" and that he's broadening his knowledge base by researching in a southern region.

After book 4, there are no new explicit or even implied scenes of Yuu asking Crowley anything about home. However, 5-33 does feature a flashback to the prologue in which Crowley is struggling to find Yuu's home on a map.

There isn't really a strong mention of Yuu going home in book 6, unless you want to count Yuu talking to Mickey through the mirror and wondering what's on the other side.

7-10 and 7-11 has Ortho to concluding that the mirror with Mickey could be a "connection" to Yuu's original world, and can thus serve as a route home.

Most discussion of Yuu going home is concentrated in the prologue (as it is an important piece of the set-up and explanation for Yuu's presence in Twisted Wonderland), as well as book 7, when the issue becomes very relevant again. There is the occasional instance of Crowley using "oh, there might be information here about a potential way home" as an excuse to rope Yuu into an event's story (ie Glorious Masquerade), but nothing meaningful ever comes from it. These are just contrivances to bring Yuu and Grim along for a more immersive self-insert experience.

If you want a boring answer as to why Yuu asks/seems to care so little about going home and stops completely by the start of book 5, I would wager it's the metacontext. Even in books 1 through 4, Yuu going home is mentioned like maybe once and then is dismissed for the rest of the book. You’ll also notice that in these instances where Yuu going home is mentioned, they are almost immediately then used as a springboard to propel the problem of the week onto them to resolve. Yuu going home isn’t a plot point for most of the main story, it’s a plot device to force Yuu into an OB boy’s path.

There is very little urgency granted to finding a way home because you, the player, WANTS to be in this magical world even if Yuu, the actual in-game character, may be uneasy being away from their friends, family, and home world. Yuu's unease is most likely not depicted or not frequently brought up because it would interfere with the player's enjoyment of the escapism to another world. These desires very obviously clash with one another. However, because the game itself is trying to tell you its story, it has to provide a reason (no matter how nonsensical it is) for there to be no progress made in the search (thus keeping Yuu in Twisted Wonderland), and that reason often happens to be Crowley's incompetence. This is not true of all iterations of Yuu (as the light novel has a strong focus on Yuuya’s anxieties about being in a new world), but it must be this way specifically for in-game Yuu since they are the most easy one for players to project into.

If you're looking for a meatier answer, consider this: book 5 is the turning point in the main story. Before book 5, Yuu seems to defer to Crowley for finding a way home. They don't really wonder or investigate into this area on their own. By the start of VDC/SDC training, it's mid to late winter, or about halfway through the year. Given that Yuu is incentivized by the promise of renovations to let the NRC Tribe boys use Ramshackle as their base of operations, I get the impression that maybe Yuu thinks they'll be stuck in Twisted Wonderland for longer than initially anticipated. Rather than an "I give up", it feels like a "boy, this is taking a while so might as well upgrade the accommodations and make myself as comfy as possible while I wait it out" This thought is helped by the fact that book 5 is also the first time when both Yuu and Crowley don't mention them going home, but also nothing disparaging or hopeless is referenced. As I've said before, we still get a flashback from Yuu which is centered on them going home, so it's clearly still a topic on their mind. It's just not consistently shown to us so as to not interfere with players self-inserting or to avoid making the gaming experience not fun by focusing on Yuu's distress or worries.

Many other significant things happen in book 5 which makes it the "turning point": Malleus reveals his true identity to Yuu, Grim finally going a little feral from the blot stones, and Yuu seeing and speaking with Mickey clearly. From there, Yuu starts thinking about the mirror and how it could lead into another world. They begin to take more agency in their own return, later confiding in their friends about Mickey and what he means for them.

Book 6 mostly glosses over Yuu going home because... well, let's be honest, there's a lot more immediately at stake with six students being kidnapped and experimented on. Yuu's focus and concern is on getting them (and especially Grim) back safely. They weren't thinking about themselves or their own situation back then, they were thinking of others.

Going home returns in book 7 because it has story significance once again. Yuu going back to their own world adds to the growing dread and sense of loneliness that our OB boy for the evening, Malleus, feels over Lilia's departure. It helps to push him closer to the brink of snapping. What's more, this contributes to the overall themes and questions that book 7 poses: those of farewells, change, and leaving friends behind. These are sentiments that Ace, Deuce, and Grim discuss in 7-17, and they parallel Malleus's own anxious thoughts. In all previous books, Yuu's own quest to get home is not closely tied to the themes of a particular book, or it simply was not relevant to mention (it would disrupt the ongoing conflict or pacing).

Finally, to more address each of the specific things asked by the asker (since I know the information in this post is sort of all over the place and might be hard to match up to each question):

[Yuu] stopped asking to go home and gave up. Why?

Yuu did not frequently ask about going home to begin with. (Again, likely because on a metatextual level, the story needs an excuse for Yuu, ie the player, being present in Twisted Wonderland and experiencing its happenings.)

At that point, it comes down to individual interpretation as to why, but personally I believe Yuu realized that the solution was more complicated than just poofing up a portal home, so they decided to make themselves comfortable while they waited for updates rather than keep asking only to be constantly disappointed. Later on, events going on around Yuu become too hectic for them to focus on their own wants.

Did [Yuu] just change their mind once they got friends?

Wouldn’t this imply that Yuu didn’t consider Adeuce and Grim “real” friends until the start of book 5??? I just don’t think that’s true; they were friends way before this point, not hanging out with each other for convenience’s sake. Why would they sit together at lunch every day? Why would Yuu try to help Ace make amends with Riddle? And why would Ace defend Yuu when Riddle insults their upbringing? Why would Yuu try to free the idiots of their anemones at the risk of going homeless themselves? Why would Adeuce use public transportation to go all the way from the Queendom of Roses to Sage’s Island because of a SOS text from Yuu? The same logic goes for the Ramshackle Ghosts, who are very friendly with Yuu and Grim. They play games with them, tell them about the school, and even do Yuu’s chores for them while they’re held hostage in Scarabia.

I also think gaining friends isn’t necessarily a strong enough reason for Yuu to renounce their old life and suddenly be committed to staying. Yes, it can be said that this could change depending on individual interpretation of Yuu—but assuming a very basic backstory, a regular person would not be so quick to forgo their old friends, family, etc. I don’t think new friendships are a significant motivator for Yuu no longer asking about home.

Or did they just give up on trying completely until Orthro put it back in their brain?

Yuu didn’t stop thinking about going home just because they stopped asking about it. Post book 4, they are shown to have flashbacks to earlier discussions of going home. Yuu hardly ever expresses thoughts about their original world or wanting to go back (most likely to not break the self-insert immersion of their character), so it’s easy to perceive this as “Yuu gave up completely/Yuu forgot about it until book 7”.

Or did they just gave up on asking adults period?

I believe Crowley is the only adult Yuu really asks about finding a way back. I doubt Yuu actually thinks all adults are as useless in this endeavor as Crowley is, but we aren’t ever shown Yuu communicating in this manner to other adults. Crowley is the only “required” adult to interact with on account of being the headmaster typically forcing you into the plot anyway. In conclusion (I know I keep bringing this point up, but it’s because I truly believe in it), this is all probably done for convenience and/or to allow the player to fantasize and imagine themselves or their own Yuusonas navigating these circumstances. They don't want to constantly keep the story gloomy by having Yuu angst about how they miss home or how badly they want to go back. They want you, the player, to enjoy the world and the people of Twisted Wonderland and never want to leave, even if it may be contradictory to what Yuu themselves fails to express in the narrative. This is 100% intentional, and it's made clear because it ties in very deeply with the themes in book 7, which is when the idea of Yuu going home becomes extremely relevant again. Book 7 creates an analogy between a digital pet that Malleus owns and how sad he is that its lifespan has to end, that the digital pet is just "fiction designed to amuse". This is also true of what Twisted Wonderland (the game) is. The player is in the same circumstances as Malleus, who is too attached to his fiction and doesn't want to let it go.

As much as the game's structure encourages self-inserting, it cannot be denied that, ultimately, the perspective of the player ≠ the perspective of Yuu. The player does not actually have to worry about never returning home or being stuck in a foreign world, at the mercy of strangers (which, if not for entertainment purposes, would be something truly terrifying to deal with). The player is glimpsing into this other world for fun and can step away whenever they want. Yuu can't.

askhdvasoydvuealalf I know this was a lot, but I hope it made sense and properly communicated my thoughts ^^

[windmaedchen-oceanhorn]

Since Valen's tales changed... one (two) stood out particularly for its most cliché content. xD Not that I doubt for a second, though, that Valen could and would do this. ;-)

The following old tales are recorded from memory. If you have them saved or can make suggestions, please do and I'll edit it. (@noisette-tornade?)

EDIT: I found the old Tales recorded and corrected them below.

Valen's Tales - OLD versus NEW

1. OLD: Valen once had a duel with the swordsman hired by an evil lord. Skillfully, he dodged the swordsman's ferocious attacks and won the match.

NEW: Valen once had a duel with a swordsman hired by an evil lord. He skillfully won by slicing off the man's belt and pantsing him. Everyone was impressed by what they saw.

2. OLD: Lately, Valen's success rate in surveillance missions has dropped a bit because villagers always warmly greet him while he's undercover.

NEW: Recently, Valen's clandestine missions have been less successful because the children he saved before always run up and warmly call out to him!

3. OLD: "Mr. Valen's handsome face has been etched in my mind since he rescued me from the bandits". - Ms. Mary, a resident of Holistone

NEW: "Ever since Sir Valen rescued me from those awful bandits, his dashing image has been etched into my mind. I even dreamt of him a few times. Don't tell my husband." -Mrs. Mary, a resident of Holistone

4. OLD: When a waiter at the Traveler's Light tried to learn one of Valen's battle moves, the sword fell out of his hand and poked a hole in the tavern's iconic barrel.

NEW: When a waiter at the Traveler's Light tried one of Valen's signature moves, the sword flew out of his hand and poked a hole in the tavern's iconic barrel, almost slicing off the head of the patron that was sitting next to it.

5. OLD: Valen once removed a despot for some villagers, who put together their savings as his reward. But Valen took only one egg, his favourite food.

NEW: Valen once removed a local gangster for some villagers, who put together their savings as his reward. However, he refused their gift and instead asked for a basket of eggs. He told them he loves omelets and egg muffins.

6. OLD: The owner of a gang-related casino turned pale in fright in jail when he realized that his interrogator, Valen, was none other than the customer who had won a fortune from his poker table.

NEW: The owner of an underground gambling house was shocked when he discovered that the person who arrested him was none other than Valen, a regular at poker tables. "If you start a poker club in prison, let me know." Valen smiled innocently.

7. no changes: "We've discussed it for a while, but no one knows the full story. How on earth did General Hogan catch the captain?" -A member of the Solitaries

8. OLD: "Valen is way more reliable than he appears." - General Hogan

NEW: "Valen is more reliable than he looks. He once fought off a group of brigands with a mop and a pot lid." -General Hogan

9. OLD: Girls in Holistone gather to gossip about Valen's love stories, although no one has ever seen him successfully court a lady.

NEW: The girls in Holistone often gather to gossip about Valen's love life. However, none of them admitted to actually having seen him with a lady. It makes one wonder what they're really gossiping about.

10. OLD: The sword "Stormcaller" is missing to this day. According to some underground market traders, they claimed to have seen someone resembling Valen at the auction that night.

NEW: The infamous sword "Stormcaller" is still missing to this day. According to some illicit peddlers, they claimed to have seen someone resembling Valen at an auction one night. When asked, Valen replied, "There are a lot of handsome guys in Esperia."

[cressidagrey]

Indelible Scars - Chapter 7

Summary:

Azriel knew pain. So did Galena.

Also known as: Azriel’s mate is a healer and the first time they meet, he nearly dies on her.

Warnings:

Irresponsible use of Sleeping Potions, Rhys bashing (literally and figuratively), Broken Nose.

(thanks to @cafekitsune for the super pretty dividers!)

But if I see you panting after her again, I'll make you regret it. 

So you will leave Elain alone. If you need to fuck  someone, go to a pleasure hall and pay for it, but stay away from her.

The words were clanging around in his head. Every single word stab wound to his fucking chest. 

He had grabbed Rhys and dragged him upstairs and out to where the training rings were, because he didn’t trust himself to not destroy half of the House of Wind with a bad burst of pure killing power. 

He had wanted to. Oh, how he had wanted to. 

“Cassian,” Rhys said sharply but Cassian had fucking enough. 

He let go of his brother in one of the training rings, clenching his hands into fists. He had half a mind to just break Rhys’ nose, but then, that wasn’t even nearly enough for what he had done. To what it had nearly resulted in. 

“I spent the last day wondering when exactly during the last few years I had become so blind that I didn’t even see that Azriel was fucking miserable. When I started to just take my brother for granted,” Cassian hissed. “When all my help to him becoming more and more quiet and withdrawn was me telling him to go to Rita’s and blow off some steam. I could have actually tried talking to him. But I didn’t. That’s on me. ”

It was on him. He could tried to talk to Azriel but he hadn’t. He hadn’t tried to fucking talk to his brother about what was happening. He had just…shut that down. Not even thought about it. Been so obsessed with his own life that Azriel had fallen to the wayside. 

But Rhys…Rhys? 

“But you? What you said to him…that was. All. On. You.”

“If he was really feeling that bad, he could have said something.” 

The first punch, the first grapple…Rhys hit the sandy floor in one second, midnight dark magic welling around them, being met with Cassian’s own blood red. 

“But here is the thing, Rhysand,” he snapped, ignoring when Rhysand’s nose gave a surprisingly appealing crunch under his fist. “ Why should he? Clearly, we can’t be trusted with his feelings and the things he cares about. At least you can’t.”

“Azriel thought he was owed Elain.”

That was the most ridiculous thing Cassian had heard in years. The laughter that broke out of his throat wasn’t amused in the slightest. “Azriel hasn’t felt that he was owed anything a fucking day in his life.”

“Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another,” Rhys quoted at him. “ Azriel said that.” 

“And you have never wondered about that? I have,” Cassian asked acerbically. “Of course, I have thought about it. It’s a weird coincidence. And don’t you think Az, who thinks that he is never good enough for anything, wondered about it as well?” 

Rhys growled at him. 

“And even if he did feel entitled to her, that still doesn’t excuse, what the fuck you said to him! You know Az. If Elain didn’t want him, she could have turned him down. That should have come from her, not from you, Rhysand.  You had no fucking right to say anything about the private life of anybody in this court!” 

“I have when it could have led to a fucking war!” Rhys roared. “What about Autumn or Day? Beron and Helion or for cauldron’s sake even Eris . Lucien could have called a blood duel!”

He could have. If Lucien was a fucking idiot. Which he wasn’t, for the record. 

“Azriel could have won that with two broken legs and an arm tied behind his back,” Cassian seethed. 

“Which could have led to a fucking war.”

He could argue that point, but he didn’t even bother with that. Instead he met his brother's violent purple gaze.  “So you put your political needs over our brother’s happiness,” he said evenly. 

“I put the lives of thousands over his happiness, yes!” Rhys agreed hotly. 

“So that goes for Azriel, but for yourself, it’s different?” he asked, his voice bone dry, hands still clenched in his brother’s jacket. They were wrestling in the dirt like a couple of younglings that didn’t know any better, and Cassian couldn’t find it in himself to care. 

At least he had had the thought that putting live steel in either of their hands right now was a bad fucking idea. 

Rhys reared back like he had slapped him. 

“I have never… ” he started and Cassian interrupted him. 

“What about Feyre and Tamlin?” 

He should have expected the punch. 

But he could work with that, taking his brother’s momentary fury to press a forearm against his throat. 

“Feyre is my mate,” Rhys hissed at him. 

“So because she’s your mate, you have that right to fight for her,” Cassian summarised. “And because Azriel wasn’t Elain’s mate, he had no right? For a male that’s all about choice, you are not making an awful lot of sense right now,” he snapped.  “The mating bond isn’t the do-all, end all. It worked for us . It doesn’t mean that it works for anybody else. Your parents are probably the best fucking example of that,” he hissed at Rhys. 

“But it doesn’t fucking matter anyway, does it? Azriel should just get over himself, right?” Doesn’t matter if he self-medicates with sleeping potions, you still have your spymaster. It doesn’t matter how he feels as long as he functions .”

And that was maybe making him the most furious of it all. Azriel had walked around with a cough for weeks and hadn’t even thought about taking a break. And none of them had cared, because clearly he was fine if he still did his work!

“He’s our brother , Rhys,” Cassian hissed. “You don’t even see anything wrong with what you said to him, do you?” he demanded. 

“It was a means to an end.”

“And so the end justifies the means?” Cassian asked near silently. 

It hadn’t mattered that it had ripped Azriel apart. As long as it meant that Rhys got what he thought he needed. As long as…it suited his purpose. And still…it was so mean . So outright cruel. 

“You could have told him exactly that, Rhys. You could have told him that you were worried about the political ramifications,” Cassian whispered. “You could have told him that he should be careful. You could have told Elain to have an actual conversation with Lucien at that point in time…but you didn’t. You had other options. And you still chose that one. You still chose to hurt our brother like that .”

Rhys stared at him, wide-eyed. 

“You wanted to protect your Court? So Azriel was your lamb led to the slaughter. And you don’t want to face the fucking consequences of your actions,” Cassian spat out. 

“You know what? Azriel never talks to you again? He has every fucking right to it,” he hissed. “And I’ll defend that right to the end of the earth. He wants to go off and live in the wilderness because maybe, maybe there is nobody there that is going to hurt him? He has every fucking right to it!” he snapped. “And if he ever meets his mate and keeps her as far away from you as he can? He has every fucking right to it, Rhysand. Why should he trust you anymore? His shadows clearly don’t. Not anymore.” 

And then, then he used that one thing that he knew was going to make Rhysand listen. 

“They already spent decades working for one High Lord who only cared about his own purposes. They know how it ends.”

It was unfair, Cassian knew that. 

But he didn’t fucking care. 

Rhys had been unfair to Azriel as well. 

Rhys had been outright cruel. Even when there had been other options. 

“I can’t change what I did now,” Rhys hissed and Cassian snorted. 

“No, you can’t.” he agreed. 

“What am I supposed to do? Elain is happy in Day. Am I supposed to destroy her happy mating bond so Azriel gets what he wants?”

He rolled his eyes, getting off his brother gaining his feed, ignoring the bruises that were soon to bloom on his body. He didn’t fucking care about them right now. Not really. 

He cared about Azriel, still sick, laying in that bed, taking sleeping potions because that was the only way how he could get his mind to shut up…all of that was a result of what Rhys had said to him…

He didn’t fucking care. 

“You could start with an apology to Azriel,” he suggested, his voice icy. “You could hope that he somehow finds it in himself to forgive you, even when you don’t fucking deserve his forgiveness. You can pray to the cauldron that somehow he gets better and we figure out a way that he’s happy or at the very least content. If I lose him because of this, Rhys, you are not gonna be down one brother. You’ll be down two .”

He clenched his jaw as Rhys gained his feet slowly, blood still trickling out of his nose…

And Cassian had thought that he had made himself clear. Crystal clear. 

He had made that calculation without his mate. 

He had no fucking clue from where Nesta even appeared. He had known that she had trailed after as he had dragged Rhys out of Azriel’s room, but he hadn’t…

He hadn’t allowed himself to think about it. 

But now, there she was, suddenly in front of Rhys…

And Lady Death punched the High Lord of the Night Court straight into the jaw, viper quick. Perfect form. Azriel would have been fucking proud. Cassian definitely was. 

“That’s for Az,” Nesta hissed. “Because he’s too fucking good to do that himself and you deserve so much worse.”

He was pretty sure he had never been more attracted to his mate than he was at that point in time. 

“Go home, Rhys,”  Cassian said with a sigh, suddenly bone-deep tired. “You can tell Mor and Amren what happened…If you don’t, I will. And don’t you dare lie to them, Rhysand. I think we had enough fucking secrets for the next few decades,” he drawled. 

He was done. 

He just wanted to check on Azriel. 

He held out his hand for Nesta who came to his side, not even bothering to spare Rhys another look. 

“How’s your hand?” he asked her lightly as they made their way back to Azriel’s room. 

“It’s fine,” Nesta said, but he still lifted it to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her bruised knuckles. She had really put some strength behind that . 

Feyre was waiting in the doorway, watching as Galena did…something to Azriel, her hands slightly glowing with her magic. 

“Cassian?” Feyre asked, eyes widening as she took him in. 

“He’s upstairs. You should probably take him home and pet his feelings,” Cassian said drily. 

“I have no intention to pet his feelings,” Feyre shot back. “Not after that line with the pleasure house...” she mumbled under her breath. 

Cassian just shrugged, eyes once again pulled towards the healer that was sitting at Azriel’s bedside, his shadows slowly trailing over her, like they were fascinated and couldn’t possibly part themselves from her. 

He had never seen them behave like that. They had scurried away from Mor and from Elain as well…like they hadn’t wanted to be near any female Azriel was attracted to. But with her…

“They seem awfully taken with Galena,” he said with some amusement. 

They didn’t hurt her and as they clearly were intelligent and sentient of sorts, he trusted them not to do so either. 

“They said they needed her to help Az,” Feyre said. 

It was more than that… Cassian just couldn’t put a finger on it. Not yet. 

“I’ll go…You’ll let me know if anything changes?” Feyre requested and he nodded. 

Instead, quietly he entered the room, where the shadows had started to weave themselves under the scarf Galena wore wrapped around her head, tugging at it nearly playfully.

“Are you going to leave poor Galena in peace?  She’s only trying to help Azriel,” he told the shadows drily.

They happily ignored him. 

“They aren’t bothering me,” Galena said, her voice quiet, a tendril curling itself over her forearm at her words, her sleeves rolled up, showing even more horribly scarred skin...

“You know, you may be the only person who has met Azriel‘s shadows and hasn’t flinched away from them,” he told her honestly. For a moment she seemed to freeze, surprise echoing in her scent, but then she continued with crushing up something with a pestle in a mortar. 

She turned her head to take him in, not even seemingly surprised by the blood that he knew would fleck some of his skin. 

“Any broken bones?” she asked, nonplussed and he shook his head. “What about your nose?” she asked drily. 

It was still throbbing dully where Rhys had gotten him. 

“You should see Rhys’,” he tried it with amusement and she just snorted, putting her mortar on the other bedside table and leaning down to search through her bag for something. 

She gained her feet, holding onto the back of the chair for balance, the shadows immediately moving to assist her, clearly doting on her, as she held out a potion bottle for him, “Here, drink that,” she told him pointedly. 

“Oh, are you even going to give me pain relief before fixing it?” he asked her with a wide grin and she rolled her eyes. 

He downed the potion bottle, feeling peppermint sharp magic, just like he did every time he took one of Madja’s potions. Now he realised that Galena must have made them for the last century or so. 

He leaned down to her height, and she reached out with a small, scarred hand, clearly waiting for him to recoil. He didn’t. She put it on his face and he could feel bones and skin knit themselves back together. It was a weird feeling, but there was no pain. 

“I am not in the habit of torturing people that don’t deserve it, General,” she said pointedly as she pulled her hand back. 

“Cassian. My name is Cassian,” he corrected her gently. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she responded before she turned to Nesta. 

“Would you like some Bruise Balm for that hand of yours?” she asked calmly. 

Nesta blinked, clearly surprised by that offer. 

“Yes.”

Galena hummed her agreement, rummaging through her bag, until she found it, holding it out for Nesta to take. “You can keep that jar if you want. I have more,” she said easily, as she regained her seat, taking her mortar back up. 

“Thank you,” Nesta responded. “I am Nesta. I don’t think I introduced myself.” 

Galena hummed softly, putting whatever she had just crushed into a bowl that started smoking silently. Then it stopped. 

“He needs to drink all of that,” she told Cassian quietly. “It’s going to clean his blood of sorts.”

Right. 

He moved to help her, getting Azriel to sit up slightly, as she hesitantly pushed the shallow bowl against his mouth, shaky fingers tipping open his brother’s mouth as she poured it down his throat, gently massaging there to get him to swallow. 

He did it. Not a single problem, not a single choking sound…Azriel swallowed it down and Cassian carefully lowered him back to the bed. 

“You can go to bed, I’ll stay up,” Galena offered quietly. 

But he couldn’t…He couldn’t handle that. Not right now.

“No,” he said quietly. “What’s one more sleepless night? I want to be here,” he said. “Have you eaten yet? You said you needed sugar to fuel your magic,” he realised. She had been here since midday and hadn’t taken a single break. 

“I could eat," she agreed softly. 

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