#Anima Rescue

[perenlop]

okay so as a gen 5 stan who does adore the story in bw and bw2, and now that gen 5 has experienced both a vicious hatedom that wouldnt hear a single positive thing about the games, and now a super protective fandom that insists they were perfect and had zero flaws... can we admit now that the bw1 story at least was. a little mid.

[animaxvi]

will we rescue Cloud today? 😱 Continuing FF7 og playthrough 💚✨🐥

💚 twitch.tv/animaxvi 💚

[funnycartoons]

Super Cow’s Epic Rescue: Giant Bison vs Farm Animals Attack! 3D Animal C...

[funnydinos]

White Bison vs. Evil Black Bison | Donald’s Farm Animal Heroic Rescue Ad...

[hindikahaniyacomedya]

3 Giant Color Cows Save Mini Wild Animals from T-Rex | Animal Rescue Adv...

[plusanimablog]

Chapter 35: Sairando's Law

So Crystal's caravan takes goods from town to town, even foreign countries. Some other Animas introduce themselves to Cooro and Nana, named Rapid and Chera. They're acrobats and put on performances for money. One of them see Cooro's Anima mark and immediately identifies him as a bird-type. They say that's good (and Nana's bat type is pretty good too.). They say they're good for work...then leave, the freaks (They're squirrel types in case you're wondering.).

Too good to be true, right? Yeah, it's at that this point we spot the kid in the cage. According to Daisy, he awakened as a porcupine Anima and he wasn't imprisoned for being dangerous or fucking up, it's because he crawled in there one day and wouldn't come out. He feels like he's dangerous now and occasionally acts like how he thinks. Daisy said she felt the same at one point...but Crystal swooped in (now identified as a woman by someone with a cleaner track record than Nana) and Daisy fell in love so angst gone, I guess. Nana steps in to point out that Daisy is talking like she needs Crystal to live and, considering she saw Anima working with no problem within Sairando's borders, that clearly doesn't need to be the case. Daisy flips, screaming that Nana doesn't know what the choker means.

So...back to Husky and Senri. Senri is eating leaves while Husky snaps and demands to know where Cooro and Nana are. Then they are shot at with arrows. When they escape, they're chased on horseback!

So back to Cooro and co. Daisy has calmed down and is teaching them about Sairando's caste system or rather, "The Pyramid of Sairando". At the top is the king, then the aristocrats, then the military, then the commoners with the enslaved Animas and Kimunkles all the way at the bottom.

(Senri and Husky are still being shot at. Senri is shot in the back with an arrow while protecting Husky. Back to the hierarchy.)

Anima and Kimunkle have to become somebody's property. That's what the choker is for. A slave can live as long they work for their master. Without the choker, you're caught and you get sold in the slave market. That is the law of Sairando. Nana is understandably not too jazzed at the prospect of being literal property, much to Daisy's outrage. Daisy says Crystal is a gift from heaven and...I get it if we're going by looks alone but Daisy, other situations exist, you know? Still, Daisy says every Anima in the caravan was "rescued" by Crystal and she is their savior. Crystal comes walking up and asks Cooro and Nana if they want to stay or leave. If they do leave, they have to leave the chokers behind because Crystal's rep is attached to the seal. Cooro confirms they aren't staying and asks if the caravan is heading to Stella which Crystal confirms. Cooro then says they're travel with them.

BUT they need to get Husky and Senri too so Cooro asks if they can go get them. After pointing them out, Cooro is told by Crystal to hurry and get them before the caravan leaves in the morning. When they fly off, Crystal hands two chokers to Daisy, telling her to take them to them and to be careful...

Back at the campsite, Cooro and Nana discover that Husky and Senri are missing and they were attacked. Following footprints, they are led out to a dry stretch of land where Daisy runs up to them. After inspecting the arrows, Daisy asks if one of their friends is a Kimunkle and when they respond in the affirmative, she guesses they were targeted by hunters. Slave hunters.

The chapter ends with her fears being confirmed, Senri and Husky being transported in sacks while the slavers say they'll fetch a high price...

[quirkwizard]

I've been getting a lot of asks about the various futures of the characters in this setting, specifically Class 1-A. So I thought it'd be fun to mix them all up together and toss in some headcanons about the various students in the future. And yes, I will change some of the hero names and titles to what I believe are better versions. Because I like to think that someone from the Management Course got to these kids before they went public.

The Fresh-Picked Hero, Vineyard: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Defense Popular Product: Sticky purple orb toys that you can throw around.

Mineta eventually grew to a more decent of a hero. He learned to properly apply himself rather than coasting on what little talent he had and worked to put on a brave face when fighting villains. He was hoping his growth would improve his image with the ladies. It did not.

The Super Sweet Hero, Sugar Ray: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A line of sweets designed and endorsed by Sato himself.

In spite of his brutish power and appearance, Sato found himself loved among old folks and housewives that loved the recipes he came up with. He'd always spare his treats with anyone he helped in his hero work, always brightening the spirits of anyone he came across.

The Taping Hero, Cellophane: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A brand of tape supposedly based on Sero's own tape.

While never the most popular or successful hero, Sero was always the most approachable one of the class, remaining down to Earth in spite of his past and lifestyle. This ended up making him more of the "working man's hero", finding fans in blue-collar workers. His power may have played a part in this.

The Fighting Hero, Martial: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A line of fur coats inspired by his tail and costume.

Ojiro was never going to be a popular hero, yet found a hardcore audience in niche communities. He would go on to found several dojos that would help young heroes learn how to apply themselves as marital artists, with or without their Quirks, and would accept many of them as his sidekicks.

The Unseen Heroine, Ultraviolet: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A shoe line inspired by the ones from her costume.

In spite of the massive controversy when she appeared on the hero scene because of her power, Hagkaure has taken to stealth-focused hero work well. Still, she tries to gain as much attention as possible as not to be left in the background. Surprisingly, this does not interfere with her work since no one ever sees it coming.

The Petting Hero, Anima Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A playset featuring various animals Koda works with, including little information cards on them.

While Koda had a role in the Heteromorphic moment, he found himself far more preoccupied with animal protection and conversation, working to endorse several zoos and sanctuaries. The once shy boy found his voice in sharing his love of animals. He remains popular with young children.

The Tentacle Hero, Sixth Sense: Rank: 50s to 60s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A mask and headpiece set resembling Shoji's costume.

True to his word, Shoji helped foster and repair the relations with the Heteromorphs. He worked tirelessly as the public face of the movement and as the hero who would help deal with cases of Heteromorph related crimes. In time, Shoji started to feel like he didn't needed to hide his scars.

The Illustrious Hero, Rayonnant: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A clothing line heavily inspired by his own fabulous wardrobe and costume.

In spite of his flashy looks and grandiose persona, Aoyama was always one of the more empathic heroes. He would always help encourage "lost causes", becoming an icon and true hero for those that felt alone and afraid. He wanted to make sure they all grew to shine as bright as he did.

The Astonishing Hero, Paradigm: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A toy version of his masks that distorts your voice.

Preferring to stay away from the limelight, both for himself and his Quirk, Shinso made a valuable underground hero for the world at large. He's been immensely helpful in deescalating dangerous situations and assisting police in doing wet work to gather evidence. In spite of that, he never once felt like a villain.

The Stun Gun Hero, Chargebolt: Rank: 70s to 80s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A toy version of his disk launcher and glasses

While not as lazy as he was in his youth, Denki still takes a laid back attitude to hero work and tends to treat it more like celebrity work. Less out of any selfish desire and more that he's surprisingly good at that part of it, especially with teenagers. Still does little electrical shows and short circuits himself sometimes at the request of fans.

The Hearing Heroine, Treblemaker: Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: Various musical equipment themed after her, especially headphones and musical toys.

After her injury, Jiro focused less on hero work as a whole. While she still went out and landed her ear when she was needed, she instead used it as a platform to prop up her music to a resounding success. She'd often use her music and concerts to help raise money and attention to disaster areas she had worked in. Eri has been and always will be her biggest fan.

The Alien Heroine, Pinky: Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Various health and beauty products, especially skin care ones.

It's been said by her fans that Mina was built to be a hero. And they'd be right. Between her flashy power and friendly personality, she quickly gained a following and shot up the ranks. She remains a fan favorite among the crowds, earning the fan name of Alien Queen. Tends to gossip a lot about her fellow heroes and causes undue drama.

The Sturdy Hero, Red Riot: Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Defense Popular Product: As much as Kirishima wants it to be his workout equipment and videos, it's his hair care products.

Kirishima became a noble and courageous hero, always being the first to run into whatever danger was in his way. In spite of his simple ability, his overall brand helped him garner the attention he deserved. He became an icon for young men around the state, inspiring them to be brave, to improve, and to protect the ones they love.

The Everything Hero, Refine: Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Support Popular Product: A junior chemistry set that actually taught quite a bit about chemistry.

While never at the front of any one operation, Momo's plays a pivotal role in organizing and planning many operations, both big and small, and is considered the resident "mastermind" among the heroes. When she isn't doing that, she is assisting Uraraka, helping to provide the resources for needed to help those who can't afford the needed support equipment.

The Jet-Black Hero, Tsukuyomi: Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Various plushies designed after Dark Shadow

In the shadows of the night, this dark hero would strike out giving all villains a true terror for the dark beast inside him. Yes, Tokoyami is still a massive dork. His own phrase of "Revelry in the Dark" became his catchphrase in the public eye, especially among his massive chunibyo fan base, much to his embarrassment. He thinks he could have come up with something cooler.

Rainy Season Hero: Froppy Rank: 100s-150s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A collection of Froppy themed water accessories, like goggles and water guns.

Tsuyu still patrols the coastline with her sidekicks, the Tadpoles, searching for anyone in need. While her niche work keeps her from the limelight, she is still extremely popular with small children. This is helpful whenever she helps Uraraka with her Quirk Counseling endeavors, helping to educate younger children on the matter.

The Turbo Hero, Ingenium Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: An Ingenium themed car for the action figure to drive around, much to Iida's confusion.

As Tenya grew older, he began to mellow out more, becoming more like the man Tensei was than the man Tenya thought he was. Still, he holds himself and his sidekicks to the high standards of the Ingeium family name. Hopes to instill those values in the younger generation and works extensively with Uraraka with her efforts in Quirk Counseling.

The Lighthearted Heroine, Uraravity Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A series of space themed toys based around a space mission storyline her brand did.

Uraraka went on to participate in and champion the act of Quirk Counseling. She helped to push for the implementation and personalization of the process across many schools. She wanted to make sure that no one would feel hatred for the Quirk and would regularly go around to help teach kids to understand and accept their Quirks.

Great Explosion Murder God, Dynamight: Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Toys inspired by his bracers that light up and shoot out plastic darts.

Ever the firecracker, Bakugou remains a solo hero through and through. He fails at having any real media presence and is well known for his tumultuous relationship with the press. Still, he remains one of the most impressive heroes in terms of incidents solved and time spent patrolling. Tends to take in "troubled kids" and whip them into shape as his sidekicks.

The Thermal Hero, Shoto Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A limited edition model based off of his first costume.

Shoto became the pro hero he was always meant to be, moving on from the shadow of his family. However, in spite of his time and dedication, his public image keeps him from the higher rankings. He still cannot talk to people to save his life, and the awkward interviews are legendary in the hero fan community. Still manages to rank high among the "Hottest Heroes" listing.

The Greatest Hero, Deku: Rank: ??? Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A short-lived action figure from his time as a hero. It is considered a high-value item that any fan would kill for.

Deku's time away has led to endless speculation on what happened to him and why he left. However, with his big splash back on the hero scene, he's made huge waves in the hero world and is fully expected to shoot up the ranks. Many fans watch on in excitement to see what will come next of the young hero. Though for him, he's still eager to help teach his adoring students.

[msfcatlover]

Reverse!Robins/Titans Timeline

Still trying to pin this down. Not bothering with time intervals, just order of events.

(Gee, can you tell which parts of this team I’m still ironing out, and which ones I’ve put the most thought into?)

Batman: Zero Year

Joker debuts. (Duke’s parents caught in one of the attacks)

Duke starts patrolling/searching for his parents.

After running into Duke several times, Bruce makes Duke his crime-fighting partner to both train & keep an eye on him. Duke chooses the name “Moonbeam.”

Yara Flor becomes Wonder Girl. Bruce & Diana encourage their proteges to become friends, so that they have someone their own age who understands their vigilante problems to talk to.

Connor Hawke reunites with his father, and becomes Marksman (Green Arrow’s first sidekick.) Connor is also encouraged to join this friend group.

(Clark occasionally asks the teens to babysit his son Jon, when the adults are busy.)

Damian shows up in Gotham, making a huge splash & overturning the Batfam status quo. After killing a few criminals, Damian is forbidden from patrolling until he proves himself trustworthy.

(Damian does not join the group, but the others know about him because Duke complains. Damian does become friends with Jon after a little while.)

A ship crashes while the JL is busy. The teens go to investigate it, finding a single survivor who turns out to have speedster powers & complete amnesia. They use the Batcomputer to trace the ship, trying to help their new friend.

Damian sneaks onboard the shuttle the teens “borrow” to follow their trace, still trying to prove himself.

This team finds an illegal alien market and breaks it up, rescuing Pam in the process.

Upon return to Earth, the JL commends the kids for their work. A new team is formed with Yara as their leader, and named the “Teen Titans.” The lineup is:

Wonder Girl (Yara Flor)

Moonbeam (Duke Thomas)

Marksman (Connor Hawke)

Kid Flash (Bartholomew “Tolly” Taurus)

Menagerie (Pamela “Pam” Merlo)

Damian does not get to be part of the team, deemed too young, but he has proven himself enough to officially join Batman & Moonbeam on the streets. He goes by “Shadow.”

Arthur Curry asks if his protege, Kaldur'ahm, can join the Titans. Aqualad is added to the lineup.

Pam’s sister, Sonja, tries to get in contact. Whole arc occurs of Pam struggling with her own transformation and the two of them reuniting.

Chimera (Ra'ut L'lwer) joins the Titans.

Yara’s arc where she’s manipulated by Eros & Hera happens here.

Jon becomes Superboy, and joins the Titans.

Damian joins the Titans.

Tolly’s past comes to light, throwing his relationships with everyone in the community into chaos. The team barely manages to pull themselves together in time to mount a defense and keep him from being punished for the crimes of a life that was not his. 

Tolly still feels the need to pull away from the Titans a little out of guilt over what he’s done (especially to Pam.)

Barry Allen dies, and Tolly becomes the Flash.

Yara is at this point over 20, and feeling out of place at the head of the team. She starts to pull back a bit, trying to figure out where her life is going next.

Cassandra Cain is adopted by Bruce Wayne. Duke is the only one who can train against her, as his precognition lets him just about keep up with her body-reading abilities. They bond, and he introduces her to the team.

Spoiler debuts in Gotham. Batman tells her to go home.

Damian decides to make Spoiler his apprentice.

Anima (Courtney Mason) joins the Titans.

Yara announces she’s officially stepping down as leader of the Titans. Duke steps up, announcing his own change of name to “The Signal,” and officially passing his mantle to his little sister, Cassandra.

Anima & Chimera manage to figure out how to free Pamela from her swarm. Duke’s first official mission as team leader is facilitating this.

Pam leaves the Titans for a normal life with her sister. Many tears are shed.

[I’m just double-checking my current lineup.]

The Signal (Duke Thomas)

Marksman (Connor Hawke)

Aqualad (Jackson Hyde/Kaldur’ahm)

Chimera (Ra'ut L'lwer) 

Superboy (Jonathan Kent/Jon-El)

Shadow (Damian Wayne)

Moonbeam (Cassandra Wayne)

Anima (Courtney Mason)

Steph’s mom goes to rehab. Bruce fosters Steph in the meantime, and this is how she discovers their identities.

Damage (Grant Emerson) joins the Titans as community service, after his powers manifest by going completely haywire.

(Yara decides going by “Wonder Girl” is undermining her attempts to be an independent adult hero. She changes her name to “Diadem.”)

Damian introduces Steph to the team. Spoiler becomes a Titan.

Chimera announces she’s going independent and leaves the team.

Just like in canon, Grant’s trauma catches up with him and he has to step down from hero work. Connor takes Grant under his wing formally and they both leave the team.

Emiko Queen takes Connor’s place on the team, going by the name “Red Arrow.”

Duke is too overwhelmed by being Gotham’s only daytime hero and running the team, as well as feeling guilty for not giving Grant more support. He goes independent, leaving the team.

Jon & Damian step up as co-leaders of the Titans.

Roundhouse (William Wu) & Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) join the Titans.

Anima is stranded in another dimension on a mission with the team, in a dramatic act of self-sacrifice to ensure everyone else can make it home. Everyone is very upset, but they comfort themselves knowing she’s still out there being a hero, just... somewhere else.

After a lot of introspection, Aqualad decides to dedicate himself full-time to his studies & duties in Atlantis, and steps down from the team.

[Double-checking the lineup]

Superboy (Jonathan Kent)

Shadow (Damian Wayne)

Moonbeam (Cassandra Wayne)

Spoiler (Stephanie Brown)

Red Arrow (Emiko Queen)

Roundhouse (William Wu)

Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes)

Damian & Jon decide to go independant together, becoming Bluhaven’s new superheroes as Nightwing & Flamebird. Damian formally passes his mantle to Steph in private before they announce the change to the team.

Steph & Cass take over as co-leaders.

Steph meets Tim at school, and they become fast friends. After a couple months of being study buddies, they start dating.

Jon introduces his adoptive younger siblings, the Super-Twins, to the team.

Vaporlock (Natasha Irons) joins the team.

Atom (Ray Palmer) is de-aged. He temporarily joins the team until he can recover his memories.

Argent (Antonia Monetti), Static (Virgil Hawkins), & Power Girl (Tanya Spears) join the team.

Atom goes back to normal and leaves.

Cass takes on Tim as her apprentice after catching him following the Bats around Gotham. Steph is a bit thrown by this discovery, but training together only stengthens her & Tim’s relationship.

Until Cass decides Tim’s ready to follow them on patrol (if not fight anyone yet,) and gives Tim the Spoiler mantle without asking, assuming it’s just a placeholder name and not realizing it has any special meaning to Steph.

(This is the beginning of the end, though they don’t realize it yet.)

Steph feels betrayed by the theft of her old identity and it compounds with her initial uneasiness over Tim befriending/dating her without telling her he knew their identities. She tries to put it aside for the good of the city, but can’t.

The sudden rockiness between Steph & Cass bleeds over into the Titans. When the team meets Tim, it becomes clear something about his apprenticeship with Cass is what has lead to the rift, though none of the Bats will clarify.

Emiko introduces her own apprentice, Mia Dearden, the second Marksman.

Steph & Tim have a really nasty breakup.

Steph has the same death she suffered in War Games.

The entire Batfamily are left reeling.

Tim gets fired.

Cass struggles to go on as both Moonbeam & the leader of the Titans, when she’s supposed to be part of a matched set. She ends up quitting both, and the team completely falls apart.

Cass puts together a new costume, made originally from old Batman suits, and gains the street name “Black Bat.” (She didn’t choose it, it was given to her; Batman has the yellow belt & circle, where Cass’s suit has neither. So which Bat is attacking? “The black bat.”)

Tim gives the family until after Steph’s funeral before dropping by (to argue his case, but if that doesn’t work, to pick up his stuff.) He sees Steph’s memorial, and is furious that Bruce would reduce Steph’s legacy to that.

After weeks of arguing, Tim throws on his own version of the Shadow costume (back to Damian’s original black, but the cloak is lined with Steph’s signature purple) and eventually forces his way into the role, refusing to let Steph’s dream die with her.

Damian is incensed by the whole mess that’s happening with Tim. That’s his mantle Tim is taking, and Damian’s still wracked with guilt that Steph died, blaming himself for not training her thoroughly enough. Damian demands that before Tim ever goes out as Shadow, Tim has to go to Bludhaven every weekend to train with Damian. 

The training is absolutely brutal, but Tim refuses to give up. Eventually, Duke finds out about it and goes to ream Damian out for taking things so far (and Jon, for not having already given Damian this same lecture.) Duke essentially tells Damian that Damian’s no better than the people who originally hurt Damian and storms out.

Duke tells Tim he doesn’t have to go back the next weekend. Tim shows up anyway. Damian stares blankly for a few seconds, then takes a very confused Tim out for ice cream.

(Damian spends years trying to be better, to make up for what he’s done, but he never manages to get over that double-dose of guilt. He veers hard in the other direction, being incredibly supportive whenever they’re around eachother, but also avoids Tim whenever Damian can justify it to himself, because it just... eats at Damian.)

Tim also pulls the Titans back together. Or, more accurately, he pulls Vaporlock, Marksman, and Blue Beetle back together, before he ends up recruiting... well, basically the Young Justice lineup to be his new team.

Tim’s parents die. Tim tries the whole fake uncle thing, but Damian rats him out.

(Somewhere in there, Tim ends up on Ra’s al Ghul’s radar.)

Jason tries to steal the Batmobile’s tires.

Jason manages to convince the family to let him help. They offer him Moonbeam, but Jason doesn’t want to be Moonbeam. First of all, Jason can’t do any of that weird precog stuff Duke & Cass have going on; second, Jason’s personal hero was always the Shadow with the Crime Alley accent.

Tim gives Jason Spoiler instead (Tim himself thinking Spoiler is a training-wheel mantle, but more importantly, it was Steph’s.)

During a public event, Tim is shot by an assassin who took a contract from Ra’s. Laying in the hospital, Tim all but begs Bruce to go out on patrol and Jason to put on the Shadow costume, not wanting Tim’s injury to be the reason their identities got outed.

Tim’s spine was clipped by the bullet. While he’s not completely paralyzed, he’ll never be able to walk unassisted again, and even with mobility aids, Tim suffers from chronic pain thanks to the nerve damage.

(Tim finds a get well card from Ra’s, inviting Tim for a dip in the Lazarus pit whenever Tim’s ready to admit he “needs” it. Tim borrows Jason’s lighter and burns the note. Only Tim & Jason ever know about it.)

Tim becomes Oracle.

When Jason joins the Titans, it’s assumed he’ll be their new leader, as Shadow and/or Moonbeam have always been one of the leaders of the Titans. He also suffers a lot from the comparison to his predecessors, and with how people perceive the speed at which he took up Tim’s mantle.

Jason does win that place and prove himself as a leader, but it is a rough ride to get there.

[Jason’s Titans lineup]

Inherited from Tim:

Wonder Girl (Cassandra Sandsmark)

Impulse (Bart Allen)

Miss Martian (M’gann M’orzz)

Joined while Jason was Spoiler:

Red Devil (Edward Bloomberg)

Ravager (Rose Wilson)

DC (Daniel Chase)

(Yes, Danny thinks hero names are stupid and only ever used one to fake his own death. But, frankly, Danny used his real name as his spy code name, which makes him mocking everyone else for having hero names just… so goddam insufferable. I’m cutting the middle ground here; it’s not a full-on alias, but it’s not just shouting his real name in a high-stakes/arguably undercover situation.)

Joined under Jason’s leadership:

Beast Boy (Garfield Logan)

Raven (Rachel Roth)

Cyborg (Victor Stone)

Halo (Gabrielle Doe)

Risk (Cody Driscoll)

Redwing (Carrie Levine)

Prester (Jonathan Levine)

(I found a pair of twins I both know & like better than Jade & Obsidian. Seriously, John & Carrie are the best part of the entire Team Titans fiasco, and given we do see some overlap between the timelines, I’ve no idea why they got wiped from reality but fucking Mirage didn’t.)

Steph comes back to life. 

Cue the Lost Days/Red Hood arcs.

Steph does try to scare Jason out of being a hero with the fight at the Tower. She shows up in her Death Mask costume and frames it as a fair duel--“More fair than any other rogue will give you.”--to prove that non-powered (non-ninja) kids like them can only meet a nasty end. The fight doesn’t stay “fair” long, as Steph fights dirty to make her point, and throws both her own history & Jason’s insecurities into his face. Jason adapts, but doesn’t win, eventually left reeling by the reveal of Steph’s identity.

The fight is interrupted by Eddie, who gets back early from an off-planet mission and therefore was not factored into Steph’s contingencies for the other Titans. Steph escapes by first holding Jason in front of her with a knife to his throat, then driving the knife into his thigh, forcing Eddie to choose between going after her and keeping Jason from bleeding out.

Red Devil stays behind to cauterize the wound, and Death Mask gets away.

.

After that, the chronology gets a lot more muddled.

Steph reunites with the family after saving Jason from the Joker.

Bruce takes in Dick after Dick’s parents die, but it’s a very rough transition. Then Bruce dies, leading to the family falling apart all over again, Jason getting the Red Robin (”Bluejay”) arc, Cass becoming Batman, and Dick becoming her Moonbeam.

When Bruce comes back, Bluejay joins the Signal as a daytime hero.

When Bruce can eventually no longer be Batman and Cass steps up again, she’ll offer Jason Black Bat if he wants it. He accepts, and everyone assumes Dick will be Bluejay when Dick graduates from being Moonbeam.

When Dick grows up, his final hero identity will be Robin.

[fixfoxnox]

Okay, I have been thinking... What if Ghost and Anima Roach got separated for a long time (because idk, Ghost got captured by the enemy and for some reason Roach couldn't stay with him)? And because they weren't meant to be separated for a long time, Roach was FREAKING OUT and venting to Soap the whole time. Soap, who couldn't handle seeing Roach so desperate to get Ghost back (and also not-so-secretly very desperate himself), started to plan a rescue mission or something and boom.. happy ending :3

I'm lowkey craving some hurt/comfort GhostSoapRoach recently I'm sorry 😭

- 🥀

So this isn't...exactly what you asked for, but it's something that I've been thinking about for a bit and really the only way that I can see Anima Roach being "separated" from Ghost in any way. I have twisted it to give you some GhostRoachSoap hurt/comfort, but I will admit it is very heavy on the Ghost/Roach side of things.

A Year (Anima AU)

Pairings: GhostRoachSoap, GhostRoach, Ghost/OC, Roach/OC (yes please welcome two new OC's to Luke's extended universe lol)

Warnings: Angst, Slight nsfw, discussion of nsfw hurt/comfort, slight suicidal ideation/thoughts

They were arguing. It was quite possibly the first time that Soap had seen them argue. He didn't like it in the slightest.

Roach was always smiling or giving some sort of mischievous grin. It was just who he was. The only time that Soap had seen him not smiling was when Ghost was injured, the first time he'd seen him. Every time he was blessed with the sight of the Anima after that, he'd always been wearing a grin. Roach wasn't smiling now. His lips weren't even quirked up a bit, his face was serious.

Ghost looked angrier than Soap had ever seen him. His face was stormy and he'd been laying into Roach since they'd gotten back from their last mission. Soap understood why. He also understood Roach's side of things. He couldn't get a word in between the two men to try to help solve the issue.

"You shouldn't have gone ahead," Ghost hissed out. He ripped his mask off of his face and turned back to face Roach with gritted teeth. The black of his grease paint was faded from the mask and had spread in little streaks across his cheeks. Still, Soap could see how red his face was. "You could have given our position away!"

"No one could see me but you," Roach reminded Ghost with a hiss, "I was checking ahead, that's all! Nothing happened!"

"Nothing happened," Ghost scoffed, "Soap was nearly shot!" He motioned in Soap's direction and Soap wanted to point out that it wasn't true. Sure, he'd been seen because Roach had opened the wrong door at the wrong time, but he'd been able to dispatch the man before anything bad happened.

"Soap was and is fine," Roach stepped forward with a growl and pressed his finger to Ghost's chest, "You were fine. I was making sure that it would stay that way."

"You should have listened to me," Ghost countered, "I was leading the mission." Roach scoffed at the words and Soap could see the way that Ghost clenched his jaw in response.

"My job isn't to follow you," Roach crossed his arms over his chest, "That isn't why I was there. I was doing my job."

"Well," Ghost snapped, "I wish you wouldn't. My life would be much easier if you weren't running around trying to do your job and getting in my way."

The effect was instant. Roach reeled back at the words, his face crumpled and Soap could see the beginnings of tears gathering in his eyes. Ghost's reaction was just as quick, regret spreading across his face only moments after the words left his mouth. There was a moment where the two just stared at each other silently. Soap tried to find the words to help, but he found his own shock and horror seemed to sew his mouth shut.

"Roach," Ghost's voice was weak. He took a step toward Roach and Roach took a step away from him. "I didn't-"

Roach disappeared from Soap's sight and the only indication that he got of the Anima leaving the room was Ghost rushing to the door, calling out his name in a desperate voice several times. Ghost didn't leave the room, he just collapsed against the door frame. His grip on the wood was hard and he seemed to shrink in on himself, one of his hands came up to cover his face.

"Ghost," Soap stepped forward carefully, his own voice soft, careful. He didn't know quite how to approach the man at the moment, but he was determined to try.

"I can't," Ghost's voice was shaky and he took in several desperate gasps for air, his entire body keeling over, "I did it again. I can't believe I did it again. I didn't- I didn't mean-"

"Again?" Soap reached out, slowly placing a hand on Ghost's back to rub soothing circles against him, concern eating at his chest. He'd never seen Ghost this stressed. "Ghost, what do you mean, again?"

"You're overbearing and annoying and overprotective!"

"I'm doing my job!" Roach hissed, his hands slamming onto the table in front of him hard. "My job is to protect you!"

"What if I don't want that?" Ghost hissed back, his hands balled into tight fists at his side. "I've made the decision, whether you like it or not!"

"Don't you understand how dangerous joining the military is!" Roach reached up to tug at his hair, frustration eating at him. So much could go wrong if Ghost went into the military. There were so many ways for him to be hurt. So many things that Roach wouldn't be able to properly prepare for. "Are you trying to make my life difficult!"

"Are you trying to make mine difficult?" Ghost snapped, his face going a deep red color. Before Roach could respond Ghost was speaking again. "I've never had a break from you! You're always hanging over my shoulder and making decisions for me to try to protect me! Well, guess what? I don't want you to protect me! I don't even want you around half the time!"

Roach's heart jumped up to his throat and it felt as though a terrible weight slammed into his chest, taking his air away. "Ghost," he choked out, his eyes stinging with tears already.

"My life would be a million times better if you weren't in it!"

Silence settled around the room. It hung over them thickly and neither of them spoke for several moments, the words just hanging between them. Roach was fighting back the desire to cry, a hand covering his mouth to keep any sobs that threatened to escape inside. Ghost still looked angry, his jaw clenched tight. He wouldn't meet Roach's eyes. He wouldn't even look at him.

"If that's," Roach took in a shaky breath, "If that's what you think."

"It is," Ghost confirmed, his fists clenching at his sides.

Roach was Ghost's anima. That was the bottom line of things. He was made with the sole purpose of protecting Ghost. Of keeping Ghost happy and healthy. That was his job. That was what he would do, it was what he had to do. If leaving is what it took to make Ghost happy, then that was what he would do.

Roach didn't say another word. He rarely ever changed himself. He rarely ever made himself invisible to anyone but Ghost. He'd never had a reason to, Ghost's family had always treated him like he was one of them. Not like he was some sort of creature, but like he was a person. Now, though, now he made himself disappear.

Ghost wanted a life without him. Roach couldn't provide that, but he could make himself virtually as invisible as possible. To anyone else, Ghost would be normal. Roach would allow him that.

He quietly slipped away, leaving the kitchen to make his way out of the backdoor of the house. He took a moment when he was outside, leaning up against the small house as he choked on his own tears. The air ripped from his lungs as sobs pulled at him. He didn't need to breathe, but it still wasn't comfortable to go so long with no air.

He pushed past it. He pushed past it all. Quietly, as tears continued streaming down his face, he tried to evaluate where the best place to go would be. He needed somewhere close, somewhere where he could still watch Ghost, could still watch the house, but far enough away that he could stay out of sight and out of mind.

He landed on the old treehouse in the backyard. It was a rickety old thing and, if he made himself present, there was no doubt it wouldn't be able to hold his weight. If he stayed invisible though, if he stayed as essentially a spirit to everyone but Ghost, it wouldn't even move an inch. It would be like he didn't even exist. That was what Ghost wanted. That was what he would do.

Roach hated basic training. He fucking hated it. He hated the military. He wanted to hate Ghost. He couldn't. He could never hate Ghost.

But weeks upon weeks of watching Ghost be whipped into a soldier, be trained into something dangerous and fierce, it was hard for him. There were injuries, there were times when he wanted to step in and smash the face of some army officer in, there were times when he just wanted to drop to his knees and beg Simon to quit. To just go home. He never did.

He stayed back. He stayed out of sight. He just watched. He just watched Ghost turn himself into someone stronger and more skilled. He just watched him excel in nearly every class and training exercise. He watched and he knew that Ghost needed him that much less.

Of course, he learned as well. Any opportunity to pick up more skills, any opportunity to learn things that would help him protect Ghost and he would do it. He would watch during the day then, at night, when everyone was asleep, he'd practice things himself.

He hated it. He hated all of it. Most of all, he hated that Ghost seemed happy. He hated how content Ghost was while he wasn't around. He hated the way that the other recruits made him laugh. He hated the way that Ghost hadn't looked at him in months. He hated it. He wanted to rip himself out of existence, to tear and destroy the strings connecting him to Ghost. Ghost was happier without him, he saw that he was doomed to know it for the rest of his existence. His existence was a burden on Ghost and he could do nothing about it. How was he supposed to make Ghost truly happy when he was the thing causing that unhappiness?

It was worse to feel. Seeing Ghost being happy and content was one thing, but feeling it was something else entirely. It had never been clearer to him before which emotions belonged to Ghost and which belonged to him. Ghost's were happy, light, strong. His were like a weight trying to bash that to pieces. Trying to create dust of any of the positivity he was forced to feel so that it could float away from him, carried by the wind. Roach wanted peace. He wanted to disappear for Ghost's sake. He couldn't.

Worse than basic training was clearly the squad that Ghost was placed on. Roach hated how much they liked Ghost. He hated how much Ghost liked them. He hated one member of the squad, in particular, more than anyone else.

"It isn't healthy for you to sit out here like this." A shaggy blonde-haired man slid down the wall, sitting next to Roach. Roach knew the other man was feeling exactly what he was at the moment, he hid it much better than him.

"Ash," he acknowledged, turning his head to watch the other Anima light a cigarette between his fingers and bring it to his mouth. Roach knew the smoke wasn't going to be a problem. There was quiet between the two as Ash took a long drag from the cigarette before holding it out for Roach. Roach took it from him gratefully.

"Seriously," Ash blew the smoke from his lungs, his eyes carefully watching Roach as he took a drag from the cigarette. It wouldn't hurt either of them, so there was no harm in smoking. At least, that's what Roach told himself. "You shouldn't sit out here like this."

"I'm waiting for Simon," Roach passed the cigarette back to him and folded his hands over his knees, picking at his nails. "That's all. Just doing what I'm supposed to."

Ash gave a low chuckle at those words, "Yeah, just protecting the guy who doesn't even want you around." Roach flinched at those words and tucked into himself further. He refused to meet the other's careful eyes. "Simon will be fine, you know that. Just pick up watching him in the morning." He moved closer to him, shuffling until their legs were pressed tight together, "Don't make yourself sit here."

There was a pause. Roach wanted to listen to him. He wanted to go as far away from the room as he could, to be so far away that he wouldn't be able to feel everything that Ghost was. All of the emotions. Everything. He knew it wasn't possible. He had to stay. It was his job, that was it.

The door beside them opened and two laughing figures stumbled out, straightening their clothing. Roach didn't look at them, he didn't think he could stomach it.

"Ash! What are you doing out here?"

"Sorry," Ash gave a grin up to his bonded, "Just sitting with Roach for a minute. All good?"

"All good," Todd, Ash's bonded, confirmed. "Simon and I are all good. We took care of each other." The words seemed directed at Roach more than Ash and Roach glared down at his pants. His fists tightened into balls against them.

Ghost didn't acknowledge him, "Let's go get something to eat, I'm fucking starving."

"Oh, right," Todd turned back toward them, "You two keep doing whatever, we're going for food."

They set off down the hallway together. Roach gave them a moment, allowing them to get a decent distance away before standing up to follow. Ash stayed seated on the ground, just watching him.

No words were spoken until Roach had started after the two men, until he was only a few feet away. "You have to stop doing this to yourself." Roach paused, freezing for several moments, "You and I both know that you'll just end up killing yourself."

Roach glanced back at Ash for a brief moment and took in how serious his face was. He turned away and didn't say anything else before taking off after Ghost and his...paramour. The implication of the action stood between the two Anima, though. They both knew what Roach's response was to the idea of his death: good.

"I'm not letting you do this."

Roach looked up at Ash, his vision feeling a bit hazy. He was tired, which was a first for him, though he considered it a good sign. "You don't really get to decide that," he replied lazily. He tucked into himself further, still leaning up against the wall next to the door. Waiting for Ghost.

Ash rolled his eyes at him. "Stand up," he ordered, his face serious. There was a moment of silence between the two. Roach didn't move. "I'm serious Roach, I'm not letting you do this. Stand up."

There was another long moment that passed between the two before Ash sighed and stepped forward, hauling Roach up from the ground easily. Roach struggled slightly against his hold, fighting to be dropped back down to the ground. Ash wouldn't let him and, seeing as they were both Anima, it wasn't easy for Roach to break out of the sudden hold.

He found himself pinned back against the wall with Ash's body pressed tight to his, keeping him from struggling. "Ash," Roach met his eyes with a stern look, "I have to stay focused, let me down."

"Staying focused," Ash pushed even closer to him, "Is what is going to get you killed. I'm going to distract you. I'm going to give you a break from worrying about Simon."

Roach snorted, "Yeah, good luck with that. What's your plan? Hold me here until-"

Ash slammed his mouth against Roach's, cutting off his words and catching him completely by surprise. The other Anima didn't give him a moment to think before licking into his mouth and nipping at his lips. One of his legs shoved between Roach's his knee pressed just slightly against his crotch to give the slightest bit of pressure.

Roach, surprisingly, relaxed against his touch. He and Ash knew one another, they'd been in the same boat since their bonded had been transferred to their current squad. They understood each other probably better than even their bonded ones knew them. It was an odd thing to think, but it was the truth. And, as Roach wrapped his arms around Ash's shoulders and pulled him further into the kiss, he thought that it was nice to be wanted again, in whatever way that meant.

The kiss was harsh and biting and filled with all of the frustration that had been building within the two for the months and months that they'd been cast to the side. They took out their frustration on one another, biting and nipping and tugging at their hair until the other was groaning and pressing even closer. They were desperate to feel, desperate to distract themselves and they were doing a damn good job at it.

"Ash! What the hell?"

Roach and Ash broke apart from one another, their heads turning quickly to meet the eyes of their humans. They just stared blankly at them for several moments, their minds running circles.

Roach let his eyes trail over to Ghost and, for the first time in months, the two locked eyes with one another. Ghost looked...hurt? That wasn't right though, he wouldn't look hurt by this. Roach reminded himself quickly that Ghost didn't want him around. He reminded himself how happy Ghost had been for the past several months without him.

He shoved down the rising anxiety and upset in his chest. What sense did that make? Ghost would cut him off then feel upset when he finally did something other than follow him around silently? It didn't make a lick of sense, so Roach pushed it down. Ghost was probably just embarrassed that Roach had been doing something like this in such a public area. Not that it mattered, no one could see him or the man pressed against him.

"Are the two of you going for food?" Ash's breath was heavy as he spoke, but he still managed to get the words out.

"Probably," Todd responded by crossing his arms over his chest, "But what the fuck are the two of you doing? Don't you know-"

"Great," Ash pushed off of the wall and wrapped an arm around Roach to tug him with him, "You two enjoy your food. We're going to take over your room for a bit."

"What?!" Todd's face went a bright red as Ash shoved past him, pulling Roach along behind him.

Ash shoved Roach toward the bed in the room before turning back to the door and the men on the other side, "You may want to stay in Simon's room tonight, we're going to be a minute." With that he shut the door in their faces, muffling any noises from the two men out in the hallway and leaving himself and Roach blissfully alone.

"You seem uncomfortable," Ash looked down at him, his eyes scanning across his face carefully. Roach shifted again, trying to resist the urge to just fully hide his face in the other's shoulder. "What's going on?"

Roach sighed and peeked away from him again, his eyes immediately catching on to Ghost's from across the long training yard. He looked away quickly. "Simon keeps looking at me," he whispered the words, as though he was afraid to speak them out loud. "And, he hesitated for a moment, his hand raising to his chest, "He's been feeling different."

"Different how?" Ash tucked him closer to his side, one of his hands coming up to rub soothingly across his arm.

"Like...sad," He tilted his head a bit, "Regret too? I don't know it's like...similar to before but, he just feels more upset."

"You're having trouble separating his feelings from your own, aren't you?" Ash didn't speak the words in a judging manner, he didn't seem smug or upset about the fact. He seemed like he understood. Roach nodded to him slowly, tucking closer to his side.

He hated it. He'd been so sure that Ghost was happy without him around, he'd been so sure of it. And yet, now, when he could tell that Ghost was upset...it felt like things had only slightly changed. "I just...I don't know what to do."

There was a silence that hung between them for several moments, Roach couldn't tell what Ash was thinking. "You could try talking to him," Ash suggested quietly, his eyes focusing on Roach's face, watching for his reaction. It was apparently quite obvious based on the amused glint in his eyes. "I'm serious. You two haven't actually talked in, what? Over a year? Maybe it's time that you try to talk with him again."

Roach jerked away from him at the words, blinking with wide eyes at the suggestion. "What? No, no way. He said-"

"A year ago in the middle of an argument he told you that his life would be better if you weren't in it," Ash finished for him, watching his face with close eyes, "Maybe now that he's lived a year without you in it he's reconsidered." He paused for a long moment, just watching Roach's shocked face closely. "What's the worst he could do," he reached up to brush a bit of Roach's hair out of his face sweetly, "Confirm what you think you know? At least you'll have tried and," he hesitated for a long moment, "I'll even do the same."

"What?"

Ash shrugged and Roach could see him swallow nervously, "I'll talk to Todd if you talk to Simon. If, well, if things don't work out then I say that the two of us leave."

"Leave?" Roach blinked wide at him.

"If they decide they don't want us here? Why should we stay? Why shouldn't we go live our lives somewhere?"

"Can," Roach hesitated for a moment. He didn't know how he felt about what Ash was suggesting. Not being wanted was one thing, but could Roach actually be able to leave Ghost? Whether Ghost wanted him around or not, Roach loved him. He didn't want to give him up, even if Ghost wanted to give him up. "Can we even do that?"

"I've heard of other Anima who have," Ash spoke quietly, "When they were rejected by their bonded."

The two were silent for another long moment and, even without saying it, Roach could see that both of them were unsure about what Ash had suggested. Still, Roach reasoned, there would be no harm in at least talking to Ghost. Like Ash said, the worst that could happen is that Ghost would tell him he didn't want him around anymore again.

"Okay," he spoke quietly and Ash seemed to relax at his words, "I'll talk to Simon."

Roach waited until Ghost was alone. He was in his room cleaning a few things up and Roach had stood by the door for nearly thirty minutes, trying to work up the courage to actually go inside. He just had to step inside. That was it.

Still, actually moving inside of the room was possibly the hardest thing that Roach had done in his existence. When he finally did, he was quick.

He opened the door, stepped inside, and turned quickly to shut the door behind him. He just stared at the wood for several moments, terrified of turning around to meet Simon's gaze. He was too afraid of the hatred that he'd find there. The anger.

"Roach?"

He turned quickly at the call of his name, his eyes wide from having been acknowledged. Roach couldn't figure out how to get his voice to work. The words were right there at the back of his tongue, trying to leave his throat and failing.

"What are you doing here?" Ghost dropped the sheets he was pulling at and started around his bed. He only stopped when he was almost directly in front of Roach, standing only a few feet away from him.

They stared at one another for several moments. "I," Roach took in a shaky breath and leaned back against the door for support, needing something to help keep his knees from collapsing under his weight. "I came to talk to you."

"To talk?" Ghost asked quietly.

"To ask," Roach corrected himself, "To see if...if you're still sure about what you said. About not wanting me around. I know that you've been happy without me around and more than anything I just want you to be happy," it was like once the words started, he couldn't get them to stop. "But I had to check, I had to know because lately I feel like something has been different and I couldn't not ask. I just care about you so much and I don't think you understand how important you are to me, so if there was any possibility that you wanted me around again I had-"

Ghost stepped forward to place a hand over Roach's mouth, silencing him both physically and mentally thanks to the sudden proximity. There was silence between them for several moments, both of them just staring at the other. Finally, Ghost spoke.

"Roach," his voice was soft and it sounded weak to Roach's ears, "I am so sorry." He moved his hand away from Roach's mouth, leaving him gaping at the words. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear.

"You? You're sorry?"

Ghost nodded his head slowly, "I was angry. I didn't mean what I said, I swear I never meant it. I just," he looked away from Roach and Roach could feel the shame from Ghost blossoming in his chest, "I wanted to hurt you I guess. I didn't..."

"You didn't think I'd actually leave," Roach pieced together quietly.

"I was too afraid to tell you," Ghost moved carefully, as though he was afraid of scaring Roach off. His hand ever so slowly made contact with Roach's face, cupping at his cheek. Roach couldn't stop from leaning into the touch, "I was sure that you hated me."

"I could never hate you," Roach was quick to the words. They were the truth. He didn't think it was possible for him to hate Ghost, it just wasn't something he was capable of. "I thought you hated me."

"No," Ghost stepped closer to him, "I could never hate you. I need to make this up to you, please let me make it up to you?"

Roach nodded his head slowly, still nuzzling into Ghost's hand. His entire body felt warm at the contact and his ears were tingling with the sound of Ghost's voice speaking to him! Actually talking to him! He could have vibrated with the excitement of the entire situation. Ghost didn't hate him. Ghost wanted him in his life. "Just," Roach looked up at Ghost with wide eyes, "Please don't say anything like that to me again and...if you do," he looked away from Ghost briefly, "don't let us go so long without talking about it. I don't think I can survive another year like this one."

Ghost nodded his head and, in one quick move, he tugged Roach against his chest. Roach tucked himself close to Ghost and gave a contented sigh as he was tucked against the other's chest carefully. "I really missed you," Ghost whispered against his hair. There was a moment and Roach could feel him hesitating, he could feel that there was something else the man wanted to say. "You," he cleared his throat nervously, "You and Ash, are you?"

Roach understood immediately what Ghost was asking and he almost scoffed at the man. That was his question? What did it matter, especially now? After all, Ghost had Todd. "I don't know, are you and Todd?"

"No."

Roach shot back, pulling away from Ghost to look up at him with wide eyes, shock running through him. "What?"

"I broke things off," Ghost admitted nervously. There was a quiet moment before he shyly added, "For you."

Roach stared at him silently, unsure of how to respond. Ghost had broken things off...for him? Why would he have done that? Sure, Roach didn't like Todd, but that shouldn't have-

Suddenly things clicked for him. All of the emotions he'd been feeling over the past few weeks, over the time that he and Ash had started their little affair, it all suddenly made sense to him. He didn't have the context. He had the context now. Jealousy.

He stared at Ghost for several long moments, just trying to make sure that he was reading the other man's face correctly. When he'd determined that, yes, he was reading the situation correctly, it was quite an easy choice of what to do from there.

His hands pressed hard to Ghost's chest, shoving him backward until his knees hit the edge of the bed and all it took was another good shove to knock him onto his back with a small groan from his lips. Roach didn't give him a moment to recover, he just climbed onto his lap with a grin on his face.

"Roach," Ghost's voice was a bit higher than normal and there was a high blush rising on his cheeks.

"You wanted to make it up to me, right?" He put his hands on Ghost's chest and used the leverage to grind his hips down. The effect was immediate with Ghost's hands flying to his hips and his head tilting backward with a gasp. Roach gave him another grin."How about, to make it up to me," he ground his hips down again, "You let me ride your cock?"

The answer from Ghost was almost instantaneous, "Fuck yes."

"You went an entire year without talking?" Soap's voice was filled with horror. He'd never even realized that such a thing was possible for Anima and their bonded. He thought they always stuck together, that nothing like that could ever happen because of the bond. He supposed he didn't know as much as he thought he did.

"Yes," Ghost rubbed at his face and stood from his seat. He snatched his mask into his hands and took to shoving it over his tear-stained face. Speaking with Soap about his past, about that year, and those words that he always knew he would regret and feel guilty over...it made him realize that he couldn't do it again. He had to find Roach. "I can't let that happen again," he turned to Soap, "I have to go find Roach."

"Let me help?" Soap stood from his seat as well, his eyes wide, "It might be easier with two people and, it will probably help both of you to have someone else around." He leaned forward a bit, trying to hint to Ghost that he was offering his presence to try and comfort the two men. Ghost seemed to get what he was saying a shot him an appreciative look.

"Thanks, Johnny." With that, the two men left the room, trying to track down their missing boyfriend.

"Roach," Soap called carefully. He couldn't see Roach, but he had a pretty good idea of where the other man was. He'd learned fairly quickly into dating both Ghost and Roach that, when Roach wanted to be alone, he tended to move into dark quiet spaces. That was exactly why Soap had gone almost immediately to one of the record rooms on base.

No one ever really came in, no one would be able to bother Roach. It was the perfect space for when he needed to get away. He called out for the man again, desperate for any sign of him. Just as he was sure that this wasn't the right room, or at least that he would need Ghost to be able to properly check it, he felt a pair of arms wrap him up from behind.

A face buried itself against his neck and he could feel and hear Roach's quiet cries. "Roach," Soap's voice was quiet and he was quick to turn around in the man's hold to wrap him up in his arms. He stayed silent for several moments, just holding tight to him, trying to provide as much comfort as he could. "Ghost is looking for you," he finally whispered.

Roach choked a bit on his cries and held tighter to Soap, "He's? He's looking for me?" It was as though he didn't believe what Soap was saying and, based on what Ghost had told him, Soap could understand why.

"Yes," Soap pressed a kiss to the side of Roach's head, "he wants to apologize. He didn't mean what he said and he's very upset with himself." He paused for a moment before adding, "He was crying."

He figured that Roach could have guessed that, considering he could feel Ghost's emotions alongside his own, but he also knew that Roach sometimes had trouble reading the emotions that he could feel from Ghost, so he decided it would be better to tell him rather than just leaving it up in the air.

Roach took a moment to respond, just burying his face into Soap's shoulder harder. "Can we go to the room?" he asked after a moment, still wrapped tight in Soap's arms.

"Of course," Soap hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you want me to tell Ghost?" Roach hesitated for another long moment before giving a slight nod of his head against Soap's shoulder. "Okay," Soap wrapped an arm around Roach and started guiding him to the door all while pulling his phone from his pocket to shoot a quick text to Ghost, "C'mon, let's get you back to the room."

Ghost was waiting for them when they finally made it back into the room. It was clear to see how nervous he was by the way that he shot to his feet as soon as the door opened.

His eyes landed on Roach almost immediately, watching him with wide and apologetic eyes as he froze in the doorway to the room. There was silence for several moments and, despite Soap's desire to encourage the two to talk, he stayed silent and let them work at their own pace.

"Roach," Ghost choked out after a moment. His face was twisted up into a picture of regret and Soap could see how glassy his eyes were. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean it like that, I swear to god I didn't mean it like that. I shouldn't have said it in the first place I was just worried and angry. I know it doesn't justify it." He paused for another moment before taking a step closer to Roach. Roach watched him carefully, his own face a mess of red and tear stains. "I'm sorry."

After a long moment, Roach took a few shuffled steps forward and buried his face in Ghost's chest, tears streaming down his face again. "I don't like it when we argue." He grabbed tight to Ghost's shirt, using it as a safety blanket of sorts.

"I don't either," Ghost responded by wrapping him up in his arms and cradling him tight against his body. After several moments, he lifted Roach into his arms and turned toward the bed. Roach didn't even react, he just stayed with his face buried against Ghost's chest.

Soap reacted quickly to the questioning look that Ghost sent his way, understanding almost immediately what the man wanted. He moved across the room in quick strides and threw himself down onto the bed, happily wrapping his arms around Roach and Ghost when they settled next to him on the bed.

They lay together silently for some time, Roach just quietly pressed between them. There were clearly things that would have to be handled, more discussion to have, and more apologies to be made, but for now, they just laid together.

"I'm sorry you had to see us fight, Soap," Roach threw out after a long moment of silence.

"It's fine, Bug." Soap assured him, "I'm sure we'll fight at some point. It's just part of life, unfortunately."

"I hate fighting," Roach's voice told Soap that he was pouting and he couldn't help but chuckle. Even like this Roach was still his same old self. "There's only one thing fighting's good for."

"And what's that?" Ghost asked, sending Soap an amused look over Roach's shoulder.

Roach slowly unburied his face from Ghost's chest to shoot both of the men a bright grin, "Makeup sex."

Soap couldn't help but laugh.

[bestworstcase]

Does/Will tdt Cinder practice Khime?

no. although hellebore’s crossing itself is a very mixed community—like a third or so of its full-time population are fauni, many of whom practice khimerism—so cinder is a lot more familiar with what khimancy is than the average human. (one of the people in her contact list in burnt roses ch1 is a turnskin.) which isn’t to say she knows very much in detail, ’cause it’s a closed tradition, but she could define it accurately.

this is also why she recognizes the white fang safety mark on roin’s truck in ch5, since sable rescued her from the glass unicorn situation she’s grown up in an environment where it’s safe for fauni and specifically khimeric culture to just exist openly around their human neighbors. which translates into knowing how to signal that she’s a Safe Person.

lonán is a practicing khimancer (albeit one with no formal training); roscoe march and raymond altansarnai are as well (both formally trained); rue has khime for religious rite-of-passage reason, but she’s secular and not really interested in pursuing the art itself. the other fauni students in the spring class (bella marshal, garth saille, scar tybalt) don’t have khime. roscoe is REALLY GOOD bc he learned from his mom, who’s a turnskin.

cinder’s religious Situation is smth called strigism by like. religious scholars. it doesn’t have a name though, the people who practice it just refer to it as ‘our way’ or similar turns of phrase—it originated in the vitrine peninsula (where hellebore’s crossing is) and is more or less only practiced there.

and then oak is a kairoist—which is the dominant religion in anima, although a plurality of mistral’s urban population are draconites in some form, kairoism is Much Older (as in, predates ozma’s first reincarnation by a couple thousand years). [pyrrha is not in burnt roses because she is eleven but kairoism is conceptually just an elaborate riff on the mantra she uses to unlock jaune’s aura in canon, to give a sense of the vibe]

gretchen’s religion is folk draconism (<- the brother-cult) pejoratively called sanctimony by normative draconites because it is WILDLY HERETICAL and revolves around worship of various ‘saints,’ largely regional folk heroes syncretized into draconism as sacred heroes who inherited or otherwise obtained slivers of divine power after the dragon-brothers, who became mortal through the act of creating the world, died. (WILDLY. HERETICAL.) (fretting abt folk draconism keeps ozpin up at night.)

larkspur and rani both grew up reform draconites (<- aka the lucent church. reforms happened under king osiander and mainly involved imposing a separation between the valean aristocracy and the church and pushing a much greater theological emphasis on peace and inclusion. this got him briefly excommunicated but proved so popular with the common people that the church had to walk that back to save face. orthodox draconism is the radiant church. the vermeils were the only noble family to support the reforms and that was partly a political move to empower themselves over rivals and partly because the winter maiden at the time was a vermeil.)

filemot is an indifferent madagian (<- worship of the four maidens) which means he attends services on the equinoxes and solstices and that’s basically it.

and sacnicte practices ixtuan ancestor worship, which is very funny for her for reasons that we’ll get to Later. :)

[princess-of-the-corner]

Hitman/RWBY crossover: "Agent 47, tonight you will be visiting Schnee Manor to deal with four priority targets. There names are Arthur Watts, Hazel Reinhardt, Tyrian Callows, and Cinder Fall.

"Arthur Watts is a disgraced Atlesian Scientist, presumed to have perished in the disastrous 'Paladin Incident' many years ago. However, we recently uncovered that he wrote the computer virus that allowed Ms. Fall to hijack the Vytal Festival broadcast, and our sources indicate he will be personally meeting with Jacques Schnee during tonight's gala.

"Hazel Reinhardt is the only surviving family member of the late Huntress in Training, Gretchel Reinhardt. He blamed Ozpin for her death, and has been murdering Huntsmen and Huntresses across the globe in an attempt to destroy the system that took his sister from him. That might seem contradictory, but he appears to be acting under the direction of Watts' benefactor.

"I'm sure you're aware of Tyrian Callows. The most infamous serial killer to ever plague the continent of Anima. He mysteriously vanished in a Grimm attack while being transported to prison, but it would appear as though the Grimm were actually rescuing him, under the direction of Arthur's and Hazel's leader.

"Cinder Fall is somewhere in the vicinity. The mastermind behind the attacks on Beacon and Haven Academies. Or at least, that's what she wants us to think. In actuality, she's taking orders from a higher power.

"This is Salem. The agent who sent us this photo perished, and he wasn't even the one to take it. She cannot die. If you see her, RUN! She can control the Grimm, and she turned Ms. Fall into something that isn't entirely human, granting the young woman abilities beyond your imagination. She is not a target. Avoid her at all costs. In a worst case scenario, take off her head. That should keep her busy for a few seconds.

"This jellyfish-like Grimm is called a Seer. Salem uses them to communicate with her subordinates, and coordinate her Grimm minions from a distance. Only take it out if it is the only way to prevent Salem from seeing you, as Salem WILL notice if one of them dies.

"Your mission? You need to kill all four of her known direct subordinates. Her goal is the complete erasure of our species, and I can imagine you understand why we don't want that.

"Good luck, Agent 47, the fate of Remnant is in your hands."

HELL YEAH

[brineffxiv]

Back in Garlemald, we have quite the story to tell.

While we've been away, many of the tempered have been moved, with the assistance of our fellow Scions, to various allied nations for treatment, as we have neither the resources no ability to treat them all here.

Excitingly, our defeat of Anima seems to have caused the other towers to disappear. The rescued captives are now in the care of their own peoples, who have been taught the magics necessary to cure the tempered! I am very pleased with this development, as it empowers the people of the tribes to act on their own, and not need to be trapped in a perpetual relationship of needing to turn to us for charity.

Some of the Ilsabard contingent have been given leave to return home, though Lucia and Maxima will remain along with a smaller force to continue offering aid to those who still call Garlemald home.

Oh boy, Lucia, you are not ready for what we have to tell you. I apologize in advance. This is about to get both very weird and very bad.

Lucia is taking this much better than I did. Props to her. She is willing to pass on the information to the Alliance leaders (that's a yikes task if ever there was one, "Just wanted to let you know, the apocalypse has begun") and even has the presence of mind to release the rest of the Scions from their duties so that we can all confer in Sharlayan and get to work saving everyone's bacon.

Before we leave, Maxima wants to talk to me about my bestie, Zenos. He has an idea to send scouts out looking for him, seeing that it's likely Zenos returned to Garlemald after leaving the moon. I think that's a terrible idea, because while Zenos doesn't delight in bloodshed, he'd have no qualms with killing anyone who stood in his way.

That second option would also have been a good one, because, yeah, I don't expect Zenos to be randomly wrecking havoc throughout the countryside. He's too... introspective. Too bored. None of that wanton destruction stuff would hold his interest. Honestly, I don't think Zenos is a realistic danger to the common citizen of Garlemald at this point; so long as anyone who sees him stays away from him, he's more likely to leave them alone.

Ahhh... Finally. I wondered when that name would pop up. Been waiting for that since Stormblood when I first saw it as a tag suggestion.

Back in Sharlayan, we fill in the rest of our friends on all that has transpired. Estinien says what we're all thinking.

Once we rule out pursuing the ancients' solution - sacrificing half the star's population to re-summon Zodiark - we're left with trying to find the root cause of the Final Days. A daunting task.

...Y'shtola gives quite a bit of shade to the ancients for having made the choice they did, but I've always gotten the impression that it was a last resort type of deal. That by the time they got to the place where they had to realistically consider it, the catastrophe had reached the point where it was either lose half their number or lose everyone. We have the benefit of knowing it's coming and taking action before our entire star is engulfed in a world-ending cataclysm. By comparison, we're in a rather lofty position. And, thanks to the Convocation, we both know a major symptom (stagnation of aether currents) and a method that solved it (having a primal regulate the star's currents) and continued to solve it for thousands of years. We just have to figure out what was causing those currents to stagnate in the first place. We are leagues ahead of where the ancients were at this point, and thanks to their knowledge can potentially find a better solution. It's not right to judge the ancients for the choices they made, in a situation we will never be in, when we are the beneficiaries of those choices.

Too bad we murdered everybody with firsthand knowledge of it, eh? Ironically, the Ascians would probably have made good allies in solving this problem. Though, their being tempered might have forced them down the path of re-summoning Zodiark... Maybe it's for the best they're not here.

That is a good point. I haven't the slightest clue. But, I am sure it will be horrifying!

Y'shtola suggests asking the Forum, now that we know what they're up to. But, before we can do more than contemplate this course of action Tataru interrupts with news: the Forum is holding a public assembly!

I wonder... Have they suddenly gotten a message that the time is nigh to evacuate?

That appears to be exactly what has happened. Prompted by a message from the moon, the Forum has unanimously voted to release the enchantment upon themselves and inform the public of their great duty and the imminent exodus.

I can't fail to notice that this entire scene is backed by the peppy "bad guys doing stuff" music (I really must learn the proper name of that track, lol.) makes me highly suspicious of the Forum, it does.

Fourchenault, of course, has been chosen to supervise this great endeavor. Yay...

I am uneasy that, at no point in these grand speeches does anyone broach the topic of, say, informing any of the other nations what is about to happen. Or of evacuating their people. It's Sharlayan, Sharlayan, Sharlayan. Much as I suspected, Sharlayan is only concerned with saving and preserving their own. All else will be left to burn in the Final Days.

It's difficult not to contrst what Sharlayan has chosen to do with what the ancients did. I remember Emet-Selch claiming that half our number would never voluntarily give up their lives to save the rest... At the time, I agreed with him, and I am unsurprised... And yet, still gravely disappointed, to find that he was right.

The twins have words for their father before we retire to the Baldesion Annex. They are good words, well worth saying. But I find I am distracted by Fourchenault's complete non-reaction to finding out we have no only been to the moon, but that Urianger is still up there and working with their collaborators. The man doesn't even blink. I can't say whether he already knew via the message they received, or whether he thinks we're full of shit! Ah... if only we'd been able to confront them before they'd opted to tell everyone. I'd have loved to see the looks on their faces.

You are so close, Thancred. Say it. Say that Zodiark wasn't evil. All along he'd been our protection against the Final Days. Hydaelyn lied to us. Lied to Minfilia, who gave her life to serve a God that wasn't one. Under false pretenses. Aren't you angry? Aren't you tired of being manipulated?

...Maybe you're right, maybe I do need some sleep.

Back at the Annex, in my room, I am hallucinating the Final Days again.

Suddenly there comes a knock on my door!

Not gonna lie, when this happened I tried to stop and post a little poll for you all to choose who should be at my door. I thought it would be fun XD. But the minimum time to hold a poll for is one day, and I didn't want to wait that long... sooo...

I mean, I couldn't not choose G'raha.

Oh G'raha, you remind me why I love you! You make my heart happy. Darling, stay the night, won't you?

Meanwhile, in the Ala Mhigan quarter, there is something bad happening...

There's also a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by my DNC and RDM mentors! Omg omg! What are you two doing? Together??

Also meanwhile, in Ishgard, Erenville spots something ominous.

Don't say that, omg. Nothing good comes after people say that!

Oh no, oh no, Thavnair.

[archetypesanalysis]

Tech's Anima

This is the second part of the character analysis for Tech. You can read the first part here. I will be referring to “Gods in Everyman” and “Goddesses in Everywoman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this analysis.

Tech’s anima is Athena, or Minerva as the Romans called her, and she is the Goddess of Wisdom, War and Crafts. She is the protector of cities and the patron of military forces. She is also the goddess of weavers, goldsmiths, potters and dressmakers. Her values involve rational thinking, strategy, practicality, tangible results, and the domination of will and intellect over instinct and nature. Athena is often depicted with an owl, a bird associated with wisdom and prominent eyes, which are her traits. Tech has these two traits as well for he has the appearance of an owl. Besides that, Jean Shinoda Bolen views Athena women as “preppy” – their outfits are practical, durable, and not uninfluenced by fads. Many fans depict Tech to have a “preppy” look in the modern alternate universe, which is fitting for him.

The Athena archetype exists in people who are ruled by their heads instead of their hearts. This archetype can be an ally of other archetypes, like Athena is the patron of Greek heroes such as Achilles, Odysseus, Perseus, Heracles, and Jason and the Argonauts. Athena is the best strategist during the Trojan War, and her tactics and interventions have helped the Greeks to win many battles. People who are like Athena have their intelligence geared towards the practical and pragmatic, and their actions are not done out of emotions. They know what must be done and figure out how to get what they want. They thrive in business, academic, science, military or politics. Diplomacy, which involves strategy, power, and deception, is a skill that Athena excels in. Tech is the strategist in the Bad Batch who regularly gives the team an edge over their enemies. He is sensible, grounded and practical. The team, especially their leader Hunter constantly seeks his advice. Besides that, Tech regularly advises Wrecker to restrain himself, like in “Faster”, he warns Wrecker not to rescue Cid and take on Millegi because Millegi will seek retribution. Furthermore, in “A Distant Echo” and “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Tech uses his diplomatic skills to establish and maintain good relations between the Bad Batch, Rex, Anakin and the Poletecs.

As the Goddess of Crafts, Athena makes things that are both useful and aesthetically pleasing. She is well-known as a skilled weaver. Any activity that emphasizes foresight, planning, mastery of a craft and patience are all expressions of the Athena archetype. Tech sometimes builds useful tools like the inhibitor chip scanner, in which his hands and mind work together. There are many headcanons that depict one of Tech’s love languages is creating gifts that are practical and useful. There is also one headcanon where he takes up sewing, which is fitting for his Athena anima.

As the favourite child of Zeus, Athena is the archetype of “the father’s daughter”. Athena women are attracted to powerful men, especially those who resemble the patriarchal father or the “boss man”. These women usually form a mentor relationship with these men. Like Athena, they become “the right-hand women” of these powerful men once they give their allegiance. Being the father’s daughter may make Athena women defenders of the patriarchy. They usually support the status quo and accept the established norms as guidelines of behaviour. In the myths, Athena casts the decisive vote for Orestes, who has killed his mother Clytemnestra to avenge the murder of his father Agamemnon. She votes to acquit Orestes and uphold the patriarchal principles that the men predominate over the women. In another myth, Athena is furious that Arachne chooses to illustrate the amorous deceptions of Zeus on her tapestry. The goddess tears it into pieces, which drives Arachne to hang herself. Athena then takes pity on her and turns her into a spider.

In “Aftermath”, Tech briefly takes on Athena the father’s daughter when he initially defends Palpatine’s actions of wiping out the Jedi because the Jedi have attempted to take his life. However, when given the choice to follow the Empire’s orders or Hunter’s orders (both the Empire and Hunter have the Zeus archetype), Tech chooses to follow Hunter as they have been working together throughout their lives. The loyalty shared between them goes two-way – Hunter trusts Tech in carrying out his orders, while Tech trusts Hunter in prioritizing the squad’s interests. I believe that Hunter gives Tech the authority to look after Wrecker and Omega before he and Echo leave to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets in “Faster”.

People who identify strongly as Athena have a natural tendency to do everything in moderation. They live within “the Golden Mean”, which is the Athenian ideal. They usually monitor events, note the effects, and change plans once the initial course of action appears unproductive. Moreover, when Athena emerges from Zeus’s head, she is a full-grown woman, wearing flashing gold armour. People who identify as armoured Athena use their intellectual defences to keep themselves impervious to feeling pain from themselves or others. In the competitive world, Athena people have an advantage over Artemis people. Since Artemis the Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt is unarmoured and only wears a short tunic, people who identify with this goddess archetype are likely to take any unexpected hostility or betrayal personally. They may become outraged and emotional. However, in the same scenario, Athena people stay cool and plan their next action.

Tech usually lives within the Golden Mean as most of his actions and words are not motivated by intense feelings or needs. In “Faster”, when TAY-0 asks whether Tech wants to challenge him, Tech humbly and calmly declines because he does not have enough information about the race to determine whether he will win against the droid now. When the plan goes awry, Tech can calmly and quickly change his course of action. This is most evident in “The Crossing” when Tech remains calm despite the mission has gone seriously wrong. Furthermore, Tech resembles armoured Athena as he seems to be unaffected by unexpected situations that are detrimental to him. For example, when the Marauder gets stolen, Tech deduces that the ship is unlikely to be recovered and the team can acquire a new ship. When the Bad Batch asks Cid for help and Tech reminds her that they have helped her settle her problems with Roland Durand in “Infested” and Millegi in “Faster”, Cid says that she can come in a few days, unconcerned about their wellbeing as they are stranded on a planet with limited resources to survive. Tech calmly accepts the truth that Cid is an unreliable ally and decides that they should find a way out by themselves. If Crosshair (who has the Artemis anima) was in this situation, he might harbour anger and react emotionally towards Cid once the team got back from the mission.

Work is important for Athena people, especially when the job requires strategy, logical thinking and practicality. Athena people not just excel in math, science, business, law, engineering, education and/or medicine, they also excel in domestic arts and/or craftsmanship. They prefer jobs that give them a challenge and where they can put their skills and talents in good use. This explains why in “Faster”, Tech thinks Cid giving Hunter and Echo the job to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets is a waste of their skills and talents. Besides that, Tech efficiently runs the Marauder, which serves as the squad’s household. Despite not having any secure support after they run away from the Empire, Tech takes it up as a challenge and does it well. In “Cornered”, he leads the team to Pantora so they can restock their rations, refuel the ship, sell some items for money, and adjust the ship’s signature key so he can scramble the ship’s signature to avoid Imperial detection. In “Aftermath”, Tech wants the ship to stay organized as he tells Wrecker that there is not enough room aboard for more ammunition and that he does not want a projectile near his rack. Though, the squad’s barracks is a mess and Tech is seemingly unbothered by it. It is possible that Tech sees the Marauder more like their home than their barracks since they do not stay on Kamino long. This is seemingly confirmed when Tech tells Wrecker to go easy with his ship, which kind of offends Wrecker since the Marauder is the squad’s ship. Furthermore, Tech likely focuses more on the things that ensure their survival as seen in “Replacements” when he is not bothered by the ship getting thrown out of hyperspace since it is not affecting life support. This may explain why he is also not bothered by the mess in their barracks because to him, survival and training take priority over comfort and enjoyment.

Athena people can be great teachers as they can explain things clearly. They are also probably demanding teachers that expect and get the best performance, and do not accept excuses. They do best with students who intellectually challenge them. If Athena people become parents, they are the ones who cannot wait for their children to grow up to the age when they both can have discussions and do projects. They may treat their children as miniature adults. Tech is a great mentor and teacher to Omega as he trains her to become a good soldier like him. Since Omega is intelligent and a quick learner, Tech has high expectations of her. Omega sometimes finds Tech to be highly demanding of her. In “Devil’s Deal”, she tells Hera that she can only start flying the Marauder once she can recite all of the ship’s specifications from memory. At the beginning of “Spoils of War”, Tech disapproves her from taking a study break as she tries to learn every ship in the Imperial fleet. In “The Crossing”, Tech tells Omega that he trusts her to extract the ipsium because he knows that she is fully capable of the task. This indicates that Tech treats her like an adult because her capabilities are almost on par with the rest of the Bad Batch, but he forgets that she is still a child and should be treated as such. Nevertheless, Tech does take on the best Athena trait by valuing Omega for thinking outside the box like in “Retrieval”, she suggests that they try to track Gonky to locate their stolen ship, and he praises her for the ingenious idea.

However, to identify as only Athena means to live in one’s head and to act purposefully in the world. They only live for work, seeking power and authority. This one-sided development may cause people to be cut off from the full range and intensity of human emotions, sensuality and instincts. They may lack the capacity to empathize with anyone’s deep feelings, to enjoy art or music, and be moved by mystical experiences. They usually look down on people who are imaginative, sensitive, emotional and kind. They are usually out of touch with their body to the point they are unaware of their physical health until they get sick or hurt. It is important for people to grow beyond Athena by developing other aspects of themselves. To do so, they have to be receptive to other people’s perspectives, and this can lead to a gradual growth. Sometimes this growth can come unexpectedly or traumatically through circumstances that flood them with feelings from the unconscious.

Tech’s Athena anima does not resemble the goddess purely. He does not seek power or awards. He accepts people who are sensitive, emotional and compassionate. It is highly possible that his Hades and Hermes archetypes have helped him to grow beyond Athena as they help him to connect with his sensations and instincts. For example, his connection with Hades allows him to find a weak spot in the wall using the sensations he feels from his fingers, while his connection with Hermes grants him the instinct to protect and rescue people.

Besides that, Tech is expressive like the rest of the Bad Batch. In “Aftermath”, he smiles when Omega chooses to sit with the Bad Batch and that she likes them because they are all misfits. In “Battle Scars”, he is delighted to find Wrecker awake from his operation. Tech is shown to have a temper when he gets annoyed at Wrecker’s whining. He expresses his anger and frustration by rolling his eyes, shaking his head disappointingly, giving the side-eye or squinting his eyes as seen in “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, “Aftermath”, “Cornered” and “Retrieval”. Although Tech is holding back his anger in “Faster”, he clearly becomes increasingly annoyed at TAY-0’s arrogance and the droid’s constant need to put down his intelligence and advice, and he expresses his frustration through exasperated sighs. I feel that Tech will be the scariest when he loses his temper, and this is due to his Hades archetype. In one Greek myth, Theseus and Pirithous go to the Underworld to kidnap Persephone because Pirithous wants to marry a daughter of Zeus despite the goddess is already married to Hades. Hades imprisons them with chains of forgetfulness and/or by causing the rocks they sit on to grow into their bottoms. He then lets the Furies or Erinyes to torment them for eternity (Theseus is later rescued by Heracles, but his bottom is left attached to the rock, while Pirithous is left behind). With his intellect, it is possible for a livid Tech to be merciless as he tortures a person with various methods of punishment.

Tech sometimes can live in his head for so long that he becomes disconnected from other parts of himself, especially from his body. In “Replacements”, Tech is the only one who is not seen eating as he is focused on building the inhibitor chip scanner. He also views his work to be more important than helping Echo to repair the ship. As a virgin goddess, Athena has “focused consciousness”, which helps a person to concentrate their attention on their goals and exclude everything unrelated to their goals. Sometimes their focus can be so intense that they ignore the needs of people around them, and their need for food or sleep. It is probably a common occurrence that Tech does not sleep much, especially when he is focused on a task.

In “Ruins of War”, Tech’s left femur is fractured under a falling container. He is helped by Echo and Omega, and the three of them take shelter in Romar’s house. When Omega goes after Dooku’s war chest by herself, Tech and Echo go to find her before the Imperials do. Romar expresses his concerns about Tech’s injury but Tech insists that he can manage. He pushes past his excruciating pain and focuses on taking down the clone troopers. He even gets into a physical struggle with a clone trooper. He pushes all his efforts to the limit until his body and mind become so exhausted that he can no longer ignore the pain. The intense pain from his injury returns, causing him to collapse onto the ground. Thankfully, Romar arrives to help him up, and they both work together to save Omega and Echo.

On her breastplate, the goddess Athena wears a symbol of her power – the aegis, a goatskin decorated with the Gorgon’s head, the head of Medusa, a monster with serpents that can turn anyone who gazes on her into stone. The Gorgon is an aspect of the Athena people. Through their focus on facts and details, and their need for logic and rationality, Athena people can take away the spontaneity, vitality, and creativity of people who are not like them. They can be insensitive, demeaning, unempathetic, intolerant and critical. This is the Medusa effect. Usually this Medusa effect may bore or infuriate others in a social setting. However, when the Athena people are in the position of authority and judgment, they may go full on Gorgon Medusa to intimidate others.

Often the Athena people who is having this Medusa effect is unconscious of their negative power. They have no intention to terrify anyone – they just see themselves doing their job well – gathering facts, examining facts, challenging facts and using evidence for support. However, their objective mindset means that they damage any efforts to create a friendly, harmonious relationship, unknowingly killing the heart of the matter or the soul of the person. Moreover, Athena people tend to use their intellectual defences, their authority and critical gaze to create emotional distance from others. It is like wearing Athena’s armour with the Medusa aegis on the breastplate, showing no vulnerability. They end up giving a lifeless, numbing effect on other people, like Gorgon Medusa turning them to stone. Fortunately, the armour and aegis can be put on and be taken off. This means the Medusa effect will disappear once the Athena person takes them off.

Tech at times has the Medusa effect. He can look intimidating even with his helmet on or off, which is evident in “Faster” as he gives Millegi an intimidating look. Sometimes, Tech’s objective viewpoint makes him emotionally distant. For example, in “Reunion”, when Omega asks him what the war was like, he describes it as “a primary mission objective comprised of battles on various fronts”. She wants to know what the war felt like, but Tech’s objective mindset limits him from feeling the impact of the war. Furthermore, Tech’s Medusa effect sometimes scares Omega when he gives out facts and logic. At the end of “Cornered”, Tech tells Omega that she is the target of the bounty hunter they fought earlier, which scares her. In “Metamorphosis”, he deduces that the Zillo Beast is not hungry after it has eaten the ship’s crew, which terrifies her.

Tech’s most notable Medusa effect is shown in “The Crossing”. In this episode, Omega is unwilling to lose the Marauder like she loses Echo. She is devastated that Echo is not with them and that they are supposed to be a squad. Tech counters that the Bad Batch already existed before Echo and will exist after him, and asks what her issue is. His full-on Medusa effect takes away the emotions surrounding the conversation and damages his relationship with her. Omega feels numb by Tech’s words as if she has been “turned to stone”. She thinks that he is insensitive and unempathetic towards her grief, and walks away to be alone. When Tech defends that he merely told her the truth, Hunter explains that she is upset because she already knows the truth. Of course, Tech never intends to hurt her feelings – he just chooses to stay “above” his emotions when dealing with change. When he realizes how the Medusa effect has hurt his loved ones emotionally, he learns to be more careful of his words, effectively “taking off his armour and aegis”.

While Athena turns people into stone, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty turns a statue into a living woman for Pygmalion, which demonstrates her ability to bring spontaneity, vitality and creativity into a conversation or a relationship. Whenever Tech’s Medusa effect devitalizes the conversation, Wrecker, who has the Aphrodite anima, helps to reverse the Medusa effect and revitalize the conversation. In “Cornered”, when Omega is terrified to learn that she is the target of a bounty hunter, Wrecker tells Hunter, Tech and Echo to stop scaring her. In “The Crossing”, after Tech shuts Omega down with facts and logic, Wrecker tells him to talk to her so they can reconcile. In “Metamorphosis”, when Omega is terrified to learn that the Zillo Beast has eaten the ship’s crew, Wrecker places a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, and asks Tech how this fact is helpful.

When solving a problem objectively, Athena people can be crafty and “do whatever it works” in achieving their goals or defeating their rivals. This craftiness is a characteristic of the goddess Athena. In the climatic confrontation between the Greek hero Achilles and the more noble Trojan hero Hector, Athena uses “dirty tactics” to help Achilles win. When Hector faces Achilles, Athena tricks Hector into believing that his brother is at his side as his spear carrier. After Hector hurls his only spear, he realizes that he is alone and knows that his end is near. Athena does not care about fairness or morality as she only prioritizes on an effective strategy, which serves as the dark side of Athena people. They may also struggle to understand why people become outraged over unethical or immoral behaviour, especially when it does not affect them personally. Other people may perceive them as morally indifferent, when in true Athena’s nature, they are just not moved by the feelings of themselves and others.

Tech is a very crafty person as he likes to come up with effective strategies to help the team or accomplish a goal. His craftiness does put himself and the team in dangerous situations like in “Retrieval”, he proposes infiltrating the mine through the factory stack which puts them in the risk of being burnt alive. Besides that, Tech is capable of putting aside his moral code when carrying out mercenary jobs. This is helpful in “Common Ground” when he states that their client being a Separatist is irrelevant as they are here to do a job. However, his focus on finishing the job for a decent amount of credits can make Tech look like he is morally indifferent. For example, in “Rampage”, the Bad Batch is tasked to rescue Muchi from Zygerrian slave traders. Tech seems to be more motivated by the credits, while Echo is more motivated by his personal values that slavery is wrong and the need to free the slaves. In “War-Mantle”, Tech reminds the team that they are in the middle of a job for Cid, and they will not be compensated if they deviate to help Rex to save Gregor, and that they need money to buy food.

Sometimes, Tech’s fascination on the workings of the Empire can make people mistake him as a supporter of the Empire. For example, in “Cut and Run”, Echo thinks that it is ironic that clones wanted names rather than numbers, but now people are signing up to be given numbers. However, Tech thinks that it is an ingenious idea as the Empire can create a database to identify anyone in the galaxy. Echo looks quite conflicted at Tech’s response, but he knows that Tech is a good person and that he can be impressed by the tactics used by their enemy while still holding onto his morals. We know that Tech does care about morality and ethics because he tells Cid that the Bad Batch leaves the Empire due to a fundamental difference in ideology. Besides, he does not mind changing the plans or going against the rules if that means doing the right thing.

There are three ways for Athena people to grow beyond the Athena archetype. One way is to turn inward. Athena people who are out in the world can get consumed by work and find their mind never rest. To balance it out, they can take on Athena the Goddess of Crafts to get their mind off work. They can take up weaving, sewing or making pottery as a form of therapy. In “Aftermath”, Tech seems to be tinkering with a machine in his barracks after he and his teammates return from their missions. This may be his method to get his mind off work and seek inner balance. Besides working on machines and devices, he checks on his datapad and plays strategy games (even against himself), which are all methods to help him turn inward. Moreover, his Hades archetype helps him to focus on his interior world and to appreciate the inner riches, which also helps him to relax and recharge.

In the Greek myth, Athena is born as an adult, and this metaphor is experienced by many Athena people as they learn to figure things out or they are smart about everything since young. They often lack subjective experiences that they may later want as adults. They need to recover their child self who can be confused or delighted by something new. To do this, Athena people must stop approaching new experiences like “sensible adults” and become wide-eyed children who are fascinated by everything. They may have to abandon their skepticism, labels and preconceived notion of what it should be. They have to allow themselves to imagine, play, laugh, cry and be comforted by others. Tech’s Hermes archetype balances out his Athena anima as Hermes is the archetype of the eternal adolescent. He is a sensible adult that is used to knowing everything, yet he is also a curious child who is excited and fascinated by new things. In “Faster”, Tech focuses wholly on Riot Racing like a wide-eyed child as he cannot determine who the victor will be due to the unpredictable nature of the race course.

In the Greek myth, Athena is a motherless daughter who takes pride in having only her father Zeus. She is unaware of her mother Metis, whom Zeus had swallowed when she was pregnant with Athena. Zeus swallowing Metis serves as a metaphor of the matriarchal feminine values being swallowed up by the patriarchal culture. Just like the myth, many Athena women usually have depreciated their own mothers, especially if their mothers do not resemble the goddess Athena. They need to discover and value their mothers’ strengths, and allow themselves to be mothered. They must connect with the Demeter archetype, which is the maternal archetype, so they can discover their femininity and the wise mother archetype Metis. Through his close relationship with Hunter, who has both the Zeus and Demeter archetypes, Tech develops paternal and maternal instincts, which makes him a great parent. Furthermore, his Hermes archetype helps him to unite his masculinity and femininity for Hermes is an alchemist, a guide of souls and the rescuer of the child.

Tech’s archetype combination is Hades, Hermes and Athena. His Athena archetype helps him to think objectively, while his Hades archetype helps him to think subjectively. His Hermes archetype helps to unite both his objective and subjective mindsets, allowing him to create something new like the art of alchemy that turns lead into gold. His archetype combination grants him a wide range of intelligence and transformative qualities, which makes him highly resourceful and adaptable.

[carolinayourspiritmaster]

Artober Posts, #0018

October 23 · Thank You, Artober!

With an image of the painting I'm donating to a local horse rescue, already framed and finished, I am saying thanks and goodbye to Artober for this year. Because of the upcoming Noche De Animas, and other art projects, I have plenty of extra work ahead for the next weeks.

It's been an amazing experience, challenging and demanding, but also extremely satisfying, and a wonderful teacher. I have learnt so much about myself as an artist through this month, that I could not be more grateful!

[travelingcentaur]

Writing Frustrations

Frustrating moment:

Naming the various fantasy races in your story you want to publish for monies.

Elves -> Perfectly fine. Night Elves -> Gets you nailed to the wall, legally. Dark Elves -> Fine but watch your back as that puts a optional target for a big name company to hit if bored enough. Dragon(s) -> Perfectly fine. Dwarves -> Perfectly fine. Hobbits -> Their won't even be a scrap of your body left for search and rescue to find. Firmly held copyrighted name by Lord of the Rings movies and the company that owns D&D. Anima: aka wolf people, cat people, horse people, bird people, etc -> Surprisingly its copyrighted by way of a manga series I didn't know existed till late night googling. Fur-Folk-> place holder name for the time being till I come up with a better name that isn't a touch awkward to say.

Secondary frustrations when you want to mention a certain type of music is playing. Can name the genre, can make up song names to your heart content, but writing lyrics have to be unique enough so no one band wanting their chance to be a dick to nail you to the wall.

I.E. see the very real bit of news of the metal band Iron Maiden suing a game company for having their game name being "Ion Maiden'. Suing for over $2-million dollars. This took place back in 2019, interesting but concerning read for those bored enough to look it up.

T.L.D.R. version is thus: Names and lyrics have to different enough in order not to get sued out of existence by washed up companies and bands that haven't seen glory in decades.

[tmnt-reticent]

The songs that fit each silly the best from their respective playlists because I’ve been brainrotting over some of these songs so much recently (Raph, Casey and April barely have any songs IM SO SORRY ILL FIND MORE FOR THEM SOON- whenever I get a song rec it’s almost always for Leo or Donnie I was just lucky to find a decent amount of Mikey songs on my own cbsjcbjshcjd-)

You can guess why they fit them but I won’t tell you if you’re right fbsjbcjshck

Leo:

Streaks (ANIMA!), PIN-EYE (Jhariah), Oh No! (MARINA), Memento Mori (Will Wood), Passing Through (Kaden Mackay), Everything I Ever Thought I Knew (Zachery Levi), What The World Needs (Ride The Cyclone), A Sadness Runs Through Him (The Hoosiers), Goddamn Staying Power (Mother Mother), Explode! (Mother Mother), End Of Me (Mother Mother, specifically first verse and chorus), despair (leo.), She Used To Be Mine (Sara Bareilles), Top Of My School (Katherine Lynn-Rose), I/Me/Myself (Will Wood), Days (Mother Mother), Magic (MILGRAM)

THERES TOO MANY THAT FIT HIM PERFECTLY ISTG 😭😭😭 There’s so many others on his playlist (he has almost the entire Grief Chapter Album, same with Mikey) but these are the ones I feel fit him the best

Out of all of these I would say Passing Through, Streaks or PIN-EYE are his theme song but bro has way too many choices

Raph:

Maybe It’s My Fault (WILLOW), So Big/So Small (Rachel Bay Jones), I Really F**led It Up (girli), I’d Give Anything (Mandy Moore), Meteor Shower (Cavetown)

I wasn’t lying when I said there wasn’t a lot of Raph songs it’s bad fr 💀💀💀 ILL FIND HIM MORE EVENTUALLY

His theme song is 100% Maybe It’s My Fault, it was my top played song on Spotify last year because I was literally brainrotting over it for him for MONTHS. Bro feels so guilty 24/7/365 and none of it was even his fault.

Mikey:

God’s Plan (Mother Mother), End of Me (Mother Mother, specifically second verse and chorus), Nobody Escapes (Mother Mother), Normalise (Mother Mother), Wrecking Ball (Mother Mother), Sunsets (Jhariah), Art Is Dead (Bo Burnham), Look Who’s Inside Again (Bo Burnham), Love, Me Normally (Will Wood), Sweet Hibiscus Tea (Penelope Scott), Mirror Man (Jack Stauber), 2econd 2ight 2eer (Will Wood)

Mirror Man has basically been his theme song since I started writing Reticent but God’s Plan, Nobody Escapes, Art Is Dead and the end of Love, Me Normally fit him SO INSANELY WELL (especially God’s Plan and Nobody Escapes I have been listening to those constantly since they released partially because I was about to go see Mother Mother but also because I was brainrotting over them for Ret Mikey SO HARD)

If I had to pick one it would probably still be Mirror Man but God’s Plan is SO close to overtaking it

Donnie:

Outliars and Hyppocrates (Will Wood), Rät (Penelope Scott), Partner In Crime (Madilyn Mei), Interlude:I’m Not Angry Anymore (Paramore), Boys Will Be Bugs (Cavetown), dumb dumb (mazie), brutal (Olivia Rodrigo), Rule #4 - Fish in a Birdcage (Fish in a Birdcage), Waiting in the Wings (both of and reprise, Eden Espinosa), Sparkbird (Sparkbird), Laplace’s Angel (Will Wood), BlackBoxWarrior - OKULTRA (Will Wood), I Can’t Handle Change (Roar), What’s Wrong With Me? (Ashley Park), Run Rabbit Run (The Hoosiers), Magic (MILGRAM)

Most of these fit Season 2 Part 1 Donnie in particular so I’ve been having a hard time picking a specific one as his theme song but I think Boys Will Be Bugs would fit pretty well

April:

Hayloft II (Mother Mother), Lew’s Lullaby (Ritt Momney), Cut The String (Mother Mother), Feel Better (Penelope Scott), Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You (Anna Kendrick, Jeremy Jordan), Meteor Shower (Cavetown), Anybody Have A Map? (Rachel Bay Jones, Jennifer Laura Thompson)

April has the same issue as Donnie where a lot of her songs are more specific moments rather than her as a whole, but it’s worse for her since she has way less songs than he does dbskcbkshc- Cut The String is probably the one that would fit the best as a theme song though since even though it is meant to be for a specific moment she does have a tendency to run away from her problems instead of solving them

Also side-note, I do have an unfinished April animatic to Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You because my The Last Five Years hyperfixation came back shskvcjsgfjd- I’m unsure if I’ll finish it cause it’s pretty old now but even if I don’t finish it I’ll still post the WIP!

Casey:

Little Big Boy (Madds Buckley), Bring It On (MILGRAM), Good Kid (Chris McCarrell), Sunsets (Jhariah), Meteor Shower (Cavetown), YELLOW (Yoh kamiyama), Dead Mom (Sophia Anne Caruso)

Him and April have the same amount of songs that fit them the best out of their playlists omigosh twinsiesssss dbskcbskhcjd

His theme song is Little Big Boy absolutely 200% it fits him so perfectly I love it so much for him