#I loved Sunder the moment I found out he existed

[just-a-moray-eel]

It's close to midnight, can't sleep. Kept thinking about transformers characters. Look at this bastard(/affectionate)

Look at him being devious. He's so fucking hot. I just wanna kiss him and hug him. I wanna keep him, like a very beloved rabid animal that will kill me in my sleep. And I guess Getaway's there too /j

Just imagine though, being Sunder's delusional little human. And instead of being scared of him or reacting in anyway like a normal human being, you just cheer him on. Like, sitting on his shoulder or in the sidelines, watching fondly as he acts out his devious crimes. Enabling his crazy rather than stopping him(not like you can even if you tried as a single human). He's just being silly, let him be himself!

[feralkwe]

The star itself tilted beneath him, sloping enough to send him careening forward into those dark, deep purple eyes. He was certain he’d been this close to them before. That they’d looked back at him as they were now. Hopeful, waiting, even wanting. But that was unthinkable. She was an incorrect thing, a mere flicker of light choked out in the grand expanse of the universe. Her life would pass in a single one of his heartbeats and go unnoticed by time itself.

No. She was the sunset. The rise of the day and the end of night and the same in reverse. The singular moment upon which they hung in balance, and every day when he paused to watch the fleeting kiss of night and day, he’d thought of her without ever realizing it. She was not a heartbeat; she had been every single one of them since long before he’d become a heart himself.

“Impossible,” he breathed, her face so close he could not recall how they came to be such a scant space apart. But he knew, as well as he knew anything at all, it was her. As surely as he was the Emissary of the Convocation, as surely as his duty was to guide the star itself on its correct course according to its will. As surely as he carried the word and will of the one true god. He did not understand how, or when, but he’d spent a lifetime of lifetimes searching for her. Much and more was lost to him since the Sundering, his memories a tangle of things which were and were not his own. Many of them were broken, confused, missing. But somehow, there she was.

And soon, for all those reasons, she would have to die. He would have to kill her, because that was his duty.

It came out in a mournful gasp of pain. “We were in love.”

She flinched, surprise overtaking her. Her body twitched, her legs prepping to move beneath her. Whatever she’d been expecting, it had not been that. “That’s… not possible. Elidibus, we—”

He did not think. He grasped her by the arms and crushed his host’s mouth to hers, for the first time wishing it was his own. For a moment she stood limp against him, arms loose at her sides. It was near enough to make him doubt his surety. But the feel of her lips, the taste of them, the softness of her breath against his face… he was certain, and no doubt existed. “Finally, I found you,” he murmured against her lips. “Kit, I remember.”

She gasped at the sound of her name, and in the next instant her arms circled his neck as she kissed him back.

I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In on AO3

[profoundbondfanfic]

do u have any favorite canon compliant / "missing scene" fics?

Hello there! Yes, here are a few suggestions with fics that include extra scenes like the 'fanfiction gap' and add something new to Cas and Dean's relationship.

a kiss for every season (literally) by sobsicles [Explicit, 22k words]

The first time Dean and Cas kiss, it's not really even a kiss at all. It is not, however, the last kiss that they share. ~~~ Dean doesn't think about it. Not about what it means, not about what it makes them, not about how it affects him. This life—that's not how things work. It's just this, these "in the moment" moments that always slip right out of his fingers because he lets them. He doesn't try to hold onto them, and neither does Cas, and maybe they shouldn't. Cas kisses him like no one else does, like no one else ever has. Dean absolutely does not think about it unless it's happening to him, and then he doesn't have the ability to think at all. What does it say about him that he occasionally kisses his best friend, who's a man? Dean doesn't know, and he doesn't really want to find out, either. 

All This Happened, More or Less by ceeainthereforthat [Mature, 88k words]

Dean had no idea that inheriting John Winchester's Impala was only the beginning of the destruction of his life. That Sam's dreams were more than just the consequences of late night pizza dinners. That angels looked like slightly rumpled tax accountants. And he's not ready for any of it.

Fracture Mechanics by Rend_Herring [Explicit, 43k words]

Admitting it won’t make Dean any more inconsolable than he already is, and he’ll never feel Cas’ absence any more or any less acutely than he does in this exact moment. “He’s gone,” Dean finally admits, because it seems like the only thing left to say. When the terrible, swollen vacancy of the room offers no recourse, Sam says, “I know.”

Home by FriendofCarlotta [General audiences, 2k words]

This is the story of a car, and the boy who loves it so fiercely, it becomes a home. As the boy grows into a man, his car is the one constant in his life. Until, one day, he meets an angel, and "home" takes on a new meaning.

If I Could Change One Thing by 2Minutes2Midnight [Explicit, 13k words]

Spoilers through Season 5 finale. When Dean gets sent into the future where he refuses Michael, he vows to change one thing, if nothing else. He must prevent Castiel from becoming human. No matter the cost.

Revisions by zeppazariel [Explicit, 127k words]

From the beginning, Dean and Cas continue to find their way together over and over. Chuck keeps erasing it.

That Wasn't Supposed to Fucking Happen! by anyrei, queerwerewolf [Explicit, 66k words]

What if it all wasn’t just subtext? Individual, subjective interpretation? What if we’re only seeing a fraction of what’s going on with the Winchesters? What would happen if we saw what was actually happening off-camera? Destiel might not technically “exist”, but that’s because the cameras haven’t captured it. Now that the fourth wall has been broken, subtext may become explicit text. Explicit being the operative word here. Season 12 Ongoing Fix It from 12x09 through 12x23.

The Sum Of My Regrets by LoveIsNotAVictoryMarch [Mature, 20k words]

“A quick trip to the past, that’s all. Look Cas, I know we can’t do anything about all the innocent people getting into the crossfire of our battles, but this I can do. Let me rescue this child and give Lily Sunder back her life. What can possibly go wrong?”  In which Dean Winchester travels through time, learns a thing or two about best laid plans and falls in love with an angel – all over again.

these masks we wear by deansnuggles [Mature, 24k words]

These are the things you hide, when you’re John Winchester’s oldest son: A feather Sammy found and gave you. A piece of satin you cut from a nightgown you swiped from the thrift store. You like to keep it in your pocket and rub it between your fingers. A romance novel left behind in a motel. You tape the cover of a Stephen King novel on the front. A picture of Robert Plant hidden under the fabric on the bottom of your toiletry bag. A cassette of Queen, a cassette of The Beatles. You like to draw. Knights and dragons and cowboys. A mockingbird. A lily. A boy in your class. You rip that one up and burn it. We follow Dean through important times in his life as he slowly learns to accept who he is and figures out what a happy ending means for him.

this ain't for the best (but i want you) by jewishdeanwinchester [Explicit, 8k words]

Five times Dean and Cas fucked, and one time they made love. Or, times Dean and Cas could've been but weren't. (Until they were.)

You can also check our coda tag for fics that follow along with specific episodes.

[galsinspace]

Dwarf lore snippets I found combing through dialogue from Cole and Solas:

The dwarves fundamentally do not remember what they were and where they came from. In The Descent we see the remains of an ancient society that seemed structured around the titans, they lived in vast lyrium-illuminated cave systems around one of their hearts, their heroes gave their life to its service. But in the present day, no one even remembers the existence of the titans.

First of all, rude! I love these moments where Solas talks with the arrogance of a god, it's so interesting. He has this vastly different perspective from anyone else because he's the only one who knows what was lost.

So what was it like? We see the titan calm down when it connects with Valta. The dwarves are its children, its severed arm. The titan needs the dwarves. And Valta seems to find inherent peace and purpose in this connection, a connection her ancestors lived with. She's returning to the forgotten origin of her people, to the Stone that is her family, and it feels right.

But does she lose something too? And what would it be like for other dwarves?

Valta searched for this and found it, she reached out and remade the severed connection. This seemed very right for her! It seemed not like control or a hivemind but like she found this purpose and chose it. But what would happen if, say, Varric remade the severed connection? He wouldn't want that. Is he more free without it?

Solas seems aware of this potential problem. The lost connection is a huge loss but it might be that it wouldn't be right for everyone. And this is a big theme in Inquisition that different characters struggle with: Bull tries to submit himself to an ideology where he cannot be himself and hold his own values - maybe that's why he understands Krem? Sera who doesn't want to fit into any system or conventions, no plans or greater purpose, she just wants to hang out and do her own thing! And Bull wisely notes that there wouldn't be space for someone like Sera in a system like his...

And Varric himself, a surface dwarf who doesn't want much to do with Orzammar and much less tradition. Doesn't seem like he'd want the call of the Stone.

And Solas, proponent of freedom and being your own person, calls this wise.

So what severed the connection?

Was it the ancient elves? In Trespasser, we see a vast cave system with ancient elven architecture with statues of Mythal and lyrium ripe for mining. Was this an ancient mining operation, did the ancient elves mine lyrium for magical fuel (titan blood magic) and the titans fought them via the dwarves? Did Mythal sever the connection?

This super interesting notebook entry provides us with an ancient elven song and an approximate translation which is interesting for so many reasons. For one thing, Mythal doesn't give dreams! Dreams just come from magic/the Fade, Mythal didn't invent magic. Was this part of the propaganda of her god image?

But also, clear reference to interaction between Mythal and the dwarves! Is it as the writer of the notebook suspected and Mythal sought to make sure the dwarves would never see the sun? Were they just enemies? Hindrances to her mining operation?

And the use of the word "solas" is pretty suspicious! Is it refering to him, was he involved in this? What does he know about the sundering of the Song?

It's a pretty ambiguous song though. Let's check out another ancient bit of writing -

Well that sounds pretty bad.

Mythal and her servants wanted to hunt and kill titans and saw the dwarves as mindless worker drones to obliterage.

There's still the interesting question of what Solas would have to say about all this. He himself says he doesn't actually know a lot about dwarves:

Is he saying he just didn't know a lot about dwarves (he was probably pretty busy with his elf rebellion) or that he used to believe they were mindless drones and understands now that they just don't dream? When he was in uthenera he only saw echoes of the world through the Fade so dwarves remained a mystery. But what did he know before? Was this part of his complicity, part of Mythal's injustice that he saw? The complex relationship between Solas and Mythal is really worth its own post. Solas refers to the titans as "mighty heroes" and he's so curious about the dwarves...

But was it even Mythal who ultimately severed the connection? I mean, what else could it have been? It must have been her!!!

What do you think?

[strangelittlestories]

In the Mutable World, at the apex of the Wars of the Real, two men met in the Crucible of All Things.

This place had not existed a few days earlier. It would not exist the next dawn. But - for a brief time only - this was the most important place in existence. This was the spot where any choices made would echo and ripple, transmuting the world to match its shape.

Did the two men meet there because it was so important? Or did the place become important because the two men would meet there? Who can say. All I can say is what happened:

The men approached the Crucible. One came from the east. One came from the north.

The one who approached from the east was an old soul. He did not look it; his face was youthful, his eyes bright, his smile as easy as a breeze carrying the first scent of spring. But if you were around him for any length of time, you would know it. Nothing he did in particular would give it away - his every gesture was welcoming, his every utterance thoughtful and light.

It was just a vibe. A sense that some part of this man had *seen some shit*.

The one who approached from the north was a goblin. Or, to put it more accurately, one of the fair folk. His was a history of great and beautiful and terrible things - all the joys of endless summer and all the power of sudden storms. This being of noble grace and glory, who could have chosen any form, just so happened to prefer a more feral form.

But you would know as soon as you saw his grin, that this was a creature who had crawled happily out of a thicket of thorns. Who had stepped, whole and fully formed, from a vine of ripe grapes.

Yes, it would be more accurate to call him fair. But it would be more truthful to call him *goblin*.

The two walked, at no great rush, towards the Crucible. One at a steady and even pace, one swaggering.

They came to the centre of this locus of possibility, where a world breaking under its own weight could be made whole or sundered entirely, and they regarded each other for a moment.

"I've come to make things better." Said the Old Soul.

Behind his words, you could feel a history - of strange sights seen and weary roads travelled. Here was a person who had travelled the changing lands and had decided to stay in them. To stop, where he could, and to linger a while and help. A person who saw places and people with needs, and realised in that moment that he was a person with ability. It was only natural that he would do what he could.

"I've come to make things *worse*." Said the Goblin.

And his words were alive with mischief and deep with fatigue. It is so very tiring, after all, to have a good time for such a *long time*. This was a being that knew wildness, knew madness, and knew ecstacy and found beauty and kindness in all of them. He had made it his life's endeavour to help others to do the same. He was a person who had seen all the forgotten corners of the new world and the old and had carefully mapped the fractures that shot through them - who had mapped the world in its breaking and raged against them as much as he loved them.

A moment followed where the air around them was stretched with tension, ready to snap. It was the kind of moment where only two things could happen:

One, they would kill each other. The heavy air would break with thunder and these two beings - these two men who carried a world's potential in their shadows - would wreck themselves against each other.

Or two … what *actually* happened.

The Old Soul looked the Goblin up and down and saw all there was to see, then bit his lip and carefully said:

"Well … I suppose we could do both. If you'd like."

The Goblin stared with goblet-wide eyes back and grinned his grin that was like a crack in the void.

"Yeah. That sounds good. Let's do it … together."

And the two men walked back out of that place of change and brought it back into the world, side by side. 

They made it better. They made it worse. It was beautiful.

[brineffxiv]

As thanks for all we have done we are invited back to Radz-at-Han to meet again with Vrtra.

Vrtra and his people have worked together to create warding scales for us to take to our allies in thanks.

All of the scales have been donated by Vrtra himself, but he sees the pain as a minor thing compared to the suffering we have delivered his people and his land from. I am humbled by his generosity and the love he has for those whom he looks over.

Alphinaud is a bit rude in bringing up the Dragonsong War, but I cannot deny I was also curious to learn what Vrtra's thoughts on it were.

I do not think mere words can express the love Vrtra holds for his people.

Vrtra, unfortunately, does not possess any knowledge that might help us with the Final Days, as our world was long since sundered when Midgardsormr came to it.

Thank goodness, Y'shtola. I though I was the only one who wasn't completely star-struck by Hydaelyn.

Vrtra tries to give us some assurances, and relates a story of asking his father why this star was the one he chose to settle on. That Midgardsormer believed in Hydaelyn, and that so long as She endured, so too would dragonkind.

We make to leave, but Vrtra calls me back: he would speak with me alone.

He would offer some advice to the only child of man to have earned his sire's trust. My existence is a ceaseless storm, an endless confluence of forces; I shall know no rest. Worse than that, are the terrible effects on those caught up in all that happens around me; my companions.

I see them: Ysayle, Moenbryda, Papalymo, Minfilia, and Haurchefant. All dear friends I have lost.

Vrtra urges me to spare no effort to keep my loved ones safe, for he knows the suffering of the powerful, having watched his siblings driven mad by loss.

Alisaie and Alphinaud come back to find me, as they noticed I had fallen behind. And with those somber thoughts I rejoin my friends at the High Crucible, where they are picking up the warding scales.

Are we going to Garlemald? FINALLY! I have been waiting for this since I found out Garlemald was a location that FATEs happened in (via Party Finder) all the way back in ARR!

Nidhana is awake! Alisaie went and treated her! She is very happy to see that she caught us before we left, as she wanted to thank us for everything we've done.

Though, as Urianger reminds her, it was due to her ingenuity and courage that we were now poised to bring the fight to the Telophoroi directly.

Nidhana hadn't even known, she came here right after waking up and hadn't thought to ask.

Her joy at finding out what her work had done and is going to do appears to have changed the flower's color!

Nidhana suggests that the flower's change of color could be a reaction to "akasa"; and unseen energy defined by Hannish alchemical theory. It can neither be created or destroyed and is only affected by what she calls "spiritual emotion". And invisible essence harnessed by the heart, mind, and spirit.

This is the first time any of my friends have heard of such a thing... And as this is the first explanation anyone has offered about how this mysterious flower works, I am inclined to believe she's on to something. How exactly this will be important, only time will tell.

Back in Sharlayan, it seems I must be stressed, as the flower has returned to its original ashen grey. I am thinking about what Vrtra said, to protect my friends.

Suddenly there comes a knock at the door.

It is G'raha, Alisaie, Alphinaud, and Krile! They have brought a veritable feast courtesy of the Last Stand!

G'raha enjoying his burger is a delight.

Man, I want a burger now.

I cannot put into words how wonderful this entire sequence was. It was all just. Ah! So happy. So many little character moments. My friends!

And it seems the mood in the room was just as joyful, as the brilliant green of the flower attests.

...Speaking of friends.

Hehe... there's just so much personality in these two. I enjoy the dark hilarity of their interactions.

Aha! I knew you had to be siphoning that aether back to the main tower in Garlemald.

Zenos knows we're coming for him. And he's probably looking forward to it.

...I enjoy this insight into Zenos' mind. He's a deeply disturbed man. But, he also comes across as deeply depressed. He found the one thing in life that held any mote of positive emotion for him, and having known that, finally, he could not bear to return to what he'd known before. So he ended it.

But he found that death could not hold him. And so, returned to life, he would set the world on fire to have that feeling once more.

Suddenly, I find Zenos very relatable.

I would hazard, Fandaniel, that Zenos sees in death the one option of escape from his own head available to him. You see the emptiness as a loss, where he sees death as gaining an escape from a life of constant mental torment. In his own words, Zenos experiences life as choking on mud. Literal nothingness is preferable to that.

But preferable to nothingness... Would be to experience something good again. And the only thing he knows that fits the bill, is fighting to the death with me.

What, uh, what did you dream about, Fandaniel?

Fandaniel, what was the dream about?

Oh no.

[nym-wibbly]

The last Supernatural ep we watched last night was 12x10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets. It and the end of 12x09 went some way to answering the question I was getting nowhere with yesterday - 'where's my in for fanficcing Castiel?'. That angel finally reached max gross load there and got angry with his situation to the extent of taking it out on his friends. He's acting put-upon and under-appreciated, exasperated to tears with the Winchesters' latest attempt to sacrifice themselves to save each other. That sarcastic, bitter, 'You're welcome,' at the end of 12x09 was a huge moment for the character.

Since beating Dean senseless back in S5 he's sat on his frustrations, fears, disappointments, and failures like a champ and put up with those of others with tired stoicism and humility. When he's screwed up, he's done so from honest motives - protect Winchesters; fix what's broke; be of service. He's been learning and growing in every way he possibly can - from practical and emotional experience, from suffering and loss, from personal failure, from self-reflection, from the Novak family he nuked just by showing up, and from his friends.

The early evolution of the season 4/5 angels storyline showed Heaven flailing because God had left the building without leaving a plan, the remaining archangels holding it all together with the Apocalypse as the be-all-and-end-all of existence. By season 6 they're fighting a multi-front civil war. By season 8 they're all but destroyed, their numbers dangerously low, and we learn that it's taken brutal brainwashing - repeated full factory resets in Castiel's case - to keep the rank and file angels in line since at least Biblical times. Even the higher ranking angels are lost sheep, guessing at what God wants of them and - whether explicitly or not - asking, 'Father, why?'

By the time God dropped in at the end of season 11, when it looked like his last and only chance, Castiel had nothing left to say to him and no questions he felt were worth asking. On the one hand maybe a missed opportunity for the characters, but on the other... maybe that lack of a conversation with Cas said it all? Chuck had The Conversation with Dean, and with Lucifer, but he has no connection with the lower-ranking angels. None. God is over Castiel, who keeps not quite playing out his role in the story; and Cas has been pretty well cured of his zealous 'because God' angel programming, along with any illusion of a benign or worthy father figure in Chuck.

He's left with this quietly resentful disappointment that turns easily to self-loathing and self-doubt when he encounters failure. He doesn't take the opportunity to share that with Chuck, a detail hammered home by also having Misha Collins play Lucifer in that setup - a no-holds-barred, personal, messy-emotional father-son relationship with God that Castiel never had.

He's gone from resentment towards Dean for distracting him from his obligation to Heaven with its security blanket of narrow, emotionless certainty to the complete reverse, focusing everything he has on the Winchesters - Mary included - because Cas still needs something to believe in and something to serve. He equates that, now, with his protective love for this human found-family who taught him how to feel, love and live. With Dean especially, who doesn't see his own value and keeps endangering his life and soul.

Cas doesn't believe in himself, though, not even slightly. He still only defines himself, knows himself, relative to something he views as greater and more important than himself, and as a cause worth killing or dying for. He's trying to do his duty as he sees it - his duty to the thing he has faith in. It still hurts him when that faith lets him down, and that's the 'in' I was looking for.

[aria-i-adagio]

Ch. 56: Time and Light

Read on AO3

Excerpt

“I don’t understand. I don’t...” Anders is back on his feet. He tries to reach for the woman as she steps into the pyre, but his hands pass through her arms. His head spins, and he might be falling again, tumbling away through the pyre and into nothing at all.

Silence.

For a moment all is silence. Nothing exists to make a sound, and there is no light to reveal any darkness. A red-violet cry of despair sunders both. Tears and rips until the darkness lies in tatters and echoes ricochet through the quiet, cutting like a scalpel through flesh. He flings out his arms, frantically trying to find anything fixed that he can grasp, something to stop his plummet into the depths.

“Shh, shh, shh...” Hands brush softly through Anders’ hair. Not falling then, he’s not falling. Or someone is falling with him, and he is not alone. “Don’t try to move, my love.”

“Adrian?” Adrian is here. A moment of relief washes through him. Adrian found him. Oh, Maker... Was that Adrian’s agonized, rending wail? Anders gropes for his hands, struggling to get his own to cooperate, finally finding his fingers, or Adrian finds his. His grip is a fixed point, something for Anders to organize his frail, fragile mortal being around.

Read on AO3

[fallenrepublick]

OH OH OH THAT MADE ME THINK OF ANOTHER QUESTION!! I headcanon that all people have different "textures" or "feeling" when sensed through the force, people attune themselves to others and it allows one to sense the other and if the other is also a force user, vice versa. Each person is distinct from another, esp when you know them well. When connected to the nightbrothers, what do each of their "force bubbles" feel like? Do you think you could describe their "texture"? (Sorry if this is nonsense)

YO THAT'S FUCKIN' RAD

Of course I can describe it what do you take me for

Maul's aura feels like that heaviness you experience in the seconds before it starts to rain. It's when you stand outside, and the dark, menacing clouds loom over you, close to the ground. You feel the change in the air, the pressure that weighs over your entire body as they roll in, as if guiding you to the floor. There's a slight lightness in your head each time a purr of low thunder drags on from only a few miles away. But the way it's received changes depending who you are. Those that are opposed to him experience it with fear, the way one would feel it if they were standing in the middle of an open field before the crack of lightning draws itself to them. But you, you experience it the way one would on a stormy afternoon in a warm home, watching the power that travels outside, yet feeling a sort of protection within it as you sit by the window, letting the sounds guide your mind to a comforting peace.

Savage feels like the slow motions of the center of an ocean. There's a heaviness to your heart as you wade through this water, as you sink into the depths of its endlessness, yet the sun is always above you, lighting your way and reminding you which way is the surface. You feel a motion in each wave, life, wonder that surrounds you that you can't quite make out entirely. But there's not fear to be had, at least, not by you. The ocean is calm for you, only small, gentle movements traveling past you, small, loving pieces of life encircling you as you find ease within his presence. But those that fear him sense the crashing tides, the currents that pull them under, never allowing them to see the light of day again. They feel the dangerous energy that sends them tumbling back and to the floor, only to be dragged away by that which they could not hope to understand.

Feral feels like the moments at home that never seemed to mean much, yet have found their way into your memory more vividly than much of your past. He feels like a lazy morning, when you awaken beneath your covers, curled in sheets that wrap around you like some sort of cocoon insect. He feels like the sunlight streaming through a window that graces your face and warms your nose, yet hasn't quite hit your eyes yet, and walking barefoot over to the closet, only to decide that you don't want to dress, and would rather find a different blanket to curl into the whole day. He feels like an old swing record playing in the kitchen while you try to make pancakes that are too thick with a stove that's too cool, but with coffee that's just right. He feels like romanticising the little things, and a sense of home that no one else has quite gotten the hang of yet.

*forces Sunder content upon you*

Sunder feels like the sense of preparing for a performance, an awareness of each person that walks past you, a distraction for a future that you can't even see yet. It's a wonder of how they live, who they all are, almost ignoring what he himself feels like. It's the feeling of wringing your hands, the sensation of being unsure of things that you should be sure about. Does my wrist hurt? Does my head hurt? Does your head hurt? Why does it even matter? It's pacing in front of a door, and your heart beating out of you chest and your lungs holding breaths you didn't know existed. There's a rush, but it isn't fear, it's excitement. Maybe the unknown will be everything you've ever dreamed, maybe it'll all be perfect in the end. He's the thought that there's something more to come, that there are more doors to walk through, more to pace in front of, and more to find sighs of relief behind.

[pennamesmith]

Skeletor Ain’t Heavy

Two brothers seek out a community, and Wrong Hordak reflects on the past. More Skeletor stories, if you want ‘em!

*

Two brothers walked the hallways of Bright Moon palace. They were Horde clones, cautious, curious, and concerned. 

“Are you sure this is the right way? I’m certain we passed that decorative waterfall twice already,” the shorter clone complained. He had swept-back ears, and two extra eyes that would never open. 

“Don’t be rude,” the other chided. Tired wrinkles hung at the corners of his eyes and mouth, but he shared the same chestnut shade of hair as his brother.  

“Not only do you trespass in my domain, but you insult me as well! I know the way, I’ve been there before,” squawked the gangly robot guiding them. He strutted purposefully ahead before halting at an arched entryway. “Ha! Here it is! Now, with this magic spell, we shall open a gateway to an evil, little-known dimension!”

He knocked on the door. It swung open. 

Wrong Hordak stood on the other side, bouncing on his feet and wearing an effervescent grin. “Hello, Skeletor!” he said to the robot. “And welcome, brothers! Please, come in!” 

The exuberant clone stepped aside and beckoned the other two through the door. They followed, and found themselves in a modest space filled with a number of other Horde clones. The flock milled comfortably about the room, striking up conversations, taking fruit slices and coffee from a table in the back, and gradually getting settled around an open ring of chairs. 

“Is it your first time here?” Wrong Hordak asked. 

The older clone nodded. “Yes. I am named Sunder, and this is Zed. Skeletor told us about your support group for former members of the Horde. May we join you?”

“Of course!” Wrong Hordak beamed and motioned for the newcomers to join the circle. As they did so, the only other person in the room who wasn’t a clone — a prim-looking lizard — quirked an eyebrow in Skeletor’s direction. 

Double Trouble, a plate of honeydew in hand, sauntered over to where Wrong Hordak stood. “I thought Skeletor left with the princesses on that big interdimensional field trip?” they whispered, bemused.  

“Oh, he couldn’t find a pet sitter for Relay,” Wrong Hordak replied, gesturing to a small robotic puppy sitting happily on a pillow in the corner. Skeletor gathered it up lovingly and almost seemed to smile. 

“Stop licking my face, you dratted dog!” Skeletor whined as Relay greeted him enthusiastically. “Gah! You’re drowning me!” 

He made no motion to put the mechanical mutt down. 

“What? But that doesn’t… oh, never mind.” Double Trouble sighed and wrapped themself around Wrong Hordak’s arm. “In that case, darling, we may as well get started. I want to hear from the fresh meat!” 

They joined the group. Wrong Hordak gave a short clap to bring the session to order, and the ring of clones hushed. They watched him expectantly. 

“Welcome, everyone!” Wrong Hordak began. “Thank you for coming. Today we are joined by two new friends. Brothers, are you willing to share your stories with us?” 

Zed nodded. “We’ve been living in the Crimson Waste since the end of the war, under Huntara’s protection. We were both on the Velvet Glove when it became, ah…”

“The Space Tree,” one of the other clones supplied. 

“…The Space Tree, thank you. I am — was — being grown as Horde Prime’s next holy vessel. But I decanted prematurely when he was defeated by She-Ra.” Zed looked guiltily away from the others. “I have never known a world without freedom from Prime. Yet his evil will always mark me.” 

“Whereas I,” Sunder continued, “served the Galactic Horde for many years, and committed many atrocities in Prime’s name. There was even a time when I imagined myself his top general, though I have since learned that this was a lie he told to many of us.” 

Several of the clones nodded sympathetically. 

Sunder touched the wrinkles on his face. “But even we clones grow old. I was scheduled to be decommissioned, until Prime fell and awakening came upon us all. His death granted me new life.” 

“Hello, Sunder!” the group greeted in cheerful unison. “Hello, Zed!” 

“Thank you for sharing, brothers,” Wrong Hordak commended. “Is there anything you wish to ask of us?” 

Sunder shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “There is. I came here because I want to know… how can I live with what I have done? How do any of us atone for the pain we caused under Prime’s control? We’ve worked as hard to heal the planet as anyone, but is it enough?” 

“And how can we be sure never to harm anyone else?” Zed cut in. “How do I know I will not make the same mistakes that created Prime?” 

“My goodness! Such pathos,” muttered Double Trouble, not unkindly. 

“I also have this fear,” one of the clones volunteered. “My sleep cycle is often interrupted by unpleasant fantasies. I imagine myself saying, ‘If Horde Prime created me in hatred, am I not doomed to hate?’” 

Wrong Hordak nodded in understanding. “It is not shameful to have such thoughts. And I also know what it is like to have memories that… no longer give me pride.” He narrowed his eyes. “I served Horde Prime in many battles on many planets before I met the liberator Entrapta and her friends. Regretfully, I can remember most of them.” 

“Yes, I have such memories too,” said Sunder. “Sometimes I wish they could still be taken away from me, but I know that is not the way.” The old clone had an earnest expression. “Please, what rituals may I perform to calm the storm inside my mind?” 

“I have found that nothing works for every one of us without error,” Wrong Hordak replied, glancing around at the gathered individuals. “Yet for many of us it is beneficial to think of choosing love instead of hatred. It is not an easy task, of course, but it is still our greatest power, to choose.” 

“You are who you choose to be,” Double Trouble stated sagely, their features flickering for a few moments. 

“As for my memories,” Wrong Hordak went on. He took a deep breath, as if he had been pondering what he was about to say next for a long time. 

“Looking back, I find most of my life acceptable and good — and most of it I wouldn’t change. I can see the surprise in your face! But yes, I would choose the same progenitors, the same siblings, whatever their flaws or mistakes. I would fall in love with the same person and plan the same future.”

He shared a warm look with Double Trouble. “So the regrets — and there are many of them — are not a rejection of fate. They are essentially hindsight. If I know them.” 

Wrong Hordak spoke the if with conviction.

“Now certainly, if I had just been decanted, knowing what I know now, I would have behaved differently. I might imagine that I should have done this, could have become that, and my life would have been richer, more governed by love and concern for others, more full of life, spirit, humor, adventure, experimentation, risk-taking.”

He gave Double Trouble another knowing glance. “However, in those moments I am looking at my life as the director of a play might look at the script. They might say ‘cut that awful scene’ or ‘have him act more compassionately.’ But they are the director. They know the end of the story! Whereas I, an actor, had to grope along, trying to find the right way, and trying to find the courage to do what I should have done.” 

Wrong Hordak sighed. “So now, I suppose I have to forgive myself for being a messy infant. For being afraid of bullies, for not understanding others, for wasting time, for feeling negative and discouraged, for not expressing love more effectively, for not opening myself to the experience of what others were willing to give me.” 

Zed and Sunder were leaning forward, listening intently. Nevertheless, something in their expressions still seemed uncertain.  

“I don’t understand,” the older clone ventured. “Wouldn’t you still change the past if you could?” 

“And how do you know what to do now?” Zed added. 

“I don’t,” Wrong Hordak shrugged. “I have imagined, if there were an all-powerful being, and they told me, ‘Very well, I shall grant you another try,' and if I lived the same life over, only better, what would happen? At the end, would I feel satisfied? Proud?”

“Yes?” Sunder tried. 

“Maybe?” Zed guessed. 

“I would not,” Wrong Hordak replied, gently. “Because there would still be an entire universe of variables! As a result of the experience of the second attempt I would only cry out, ‘I’ve failed again! Now, as a result of the second attempt, I clearly see how it should have gone! Oh please, let me stay for one more try!’” 

Sunder contemplated this. “And how would your hypothetical omnipotent being respond?” 

“They would say, ‘It is no use, Wrong Hordak. Nothing can be perfect. The third attempt would only bring an increase in wisdom and a completely new set of regrets.’” 

Zed and Sunder sat back as they took this in. Then they looked at each other, and seemed to reach an unspoken agreement. 

“I believe we have much to discuss,” Sunder said eventually. 

“Do you meet at the same time every week?” Zed asked. 

Wrong Hordak smiled. 

*

Later, after the group had concluded their meeting and most of the attendees had left, Wrong Hordak paused thoughtfully while he stacked the chairs and cleaned up the space. 

“Witless fools, do I have to do everything for you?” Skeletor muttered, passing by with the mop. 

Double Trouble noticed and approached their clone lover. “That was a lovely speech you gave today,” they said. “Would you really not change anything in your life?” 

“There are many things I might have done differently,” Wrong Hordak admitted. “But if the events of my existence had not transpired exactly as they did, I would not be where I am now. And I like where I am now very much.” 

“Bravo,” Double Trouble applauded. 

They embraced. 

“Hmph! That’s your opinion,” Skeletor grouched. “I don’t do things for humanity, I do them for me!” He shook his head. “Oh, why do I surround myself with fools? Even the robots are smarter than you!”  

[s4mmysbunk3r]

Sam Winchester x fem!reader fanfic: Wedding Bells part 1

A/N: This ficlet can be enjoyed on it’s own or with the other tie in chapters: 1. Seashells from California. 2. Late for your Date. 3. The Hidden Gem.

Will Y/N be able to marry the love of her life Sam Winchester, or will her insecurities get the better of her? Will Sam be able to calm her down in time to say I do? Enjoy!

“Oh fuck,” you say. “I’m marrying Sammy.”

“It’s ok, Y/N,” says Bobby. “Sammy is just as nervous, I think, but what matters is that you are both so in love with each other than nothing else even matters. He would walk hell for you Y/N.”

“That’s why I’m worried!” you cry. “What if I’m not good enough for him! I’m not, am I? You know that Bobby! Fuck!” You fling your heels off and storm away. Tears streak your eye make up down your face as you hyperventilate. “I can’t do this!”

You dive into the womens bathroom and lock the door. You slide down to the floor. “Fuck!” you swear, and you fold your mouth. Not only are you not good enough for Sammy, but now you’re ruining his wedding by being a little bitch! Large tears roll down your porcelain cheeks to the floor. You hold your hands to your breasts which are soft under your dress and your white teeth clack. “Fuck.”

A fist slams at the other side of the door which shakes your whole body, and you crawl away from the door. “Occupied!” you wail. 

“Y/N,” says Sam from the other side of the door.

“Fuck… fuck, Sammy…” You continue to sob.

“I have your heels,” says Sam. “Bobby said it seemed like you were having a hard time with them…”

“It’s not my heels I’m having a hard time with,” you cry. “It’s you, Sammy!”

You can hear Sam start to cry on the other side of the door.

“Y/N…” You can hear a thunk as Sam leans his broad forehead into the door. “Y/N, please tell me what is wrong, I can help.”

“You can’t,” you cry. “Sammy, I’m about to ruin your life!”

“What are you talking about, Y/N?”

“I don’t deserve you Sammy,” you say. “Don’t you see? If you marry me you’ll be throwing your whole life away. Don’t waste it on me, Sammy. Go find somebody who deserves you, please!”

“I already have found somebody!” Sam says. “Y/N, I remember the first night I first laid eyes upon your body. It was so dark and so scary, and so loud, and blood was swirling, and my brain was overloading, and my ears were roaring, and my fingers were biting. And I remember my eyes fading to black as the demonic ichor poisoned my veins. It was the demoness Ruby who bewitched, bothered, and bewildered my mind. I was opening a seal and I did not even know that there was any idea that that could have even been conceived as something that was realistically possible. I was a coward and a fool and I was about to eviscerate the world and succumb to the boiling tenebrosity within my hallowed soul. And as I stood there and cast the demon blood spell I could feel the earth rocking beneath my timbs, and Ruby was howling, cackling, shrieking, caterwhauling like a demonic witch. Evil was thick in the air, with the sweet and sickly scent of pure evil. The horrible scene was unfolding, unravelling, unwinding in front of my demonic obsidian orbs. The horns of Satan were forming and rising out of the swiling whirlpool of blood pooling at my timbs. The Devil was rising in Atlanta Georgia, and he was rising at my hand. My hand was still outstretched, my eyes still black as sin but I could only watch the terror, and hear the terror of the demoness’s laughter, the demonic witch and her laughter. Tears ran thick and fast down my face from my eyes black as ebony. And I knew, Y/N, I knew, that everything was ending and it was my fault. And the incubus whore, Ruby. But then, the doors exploded apart and crashed apart and fell apart on the floor in pieces. And I was terrified. I thought the world was exploding. But it was only you. And when I twisted my body and twisted my neck and chin and moved my eyes to look at what had fallen and crashed behind my face, that’s when the glorious light of the sun broke over the jagged mountains of my hate. And the sun was you, Y/N. It was you. And it was still dark, and the ground still rattled like a snake, but there now ignited a flame of hope inside of my chest. And I didn’t know who you were or what you were doing there or why you had come or how you had found me or what you wanted from me or what you intended to do or why you weren’t scared of Lucifer rising and rising and rising in front of you. But what I did know, was that somehow this world would continue, and it would follow at your high heels. And Y/N, that’s when you strode with your legs into the that darkened House of God, and you walked right past the incubus whore and didn’t even look at her, and she didn’t dare look at you, because you were looking at me, and I was looking only at you. And I felt your eyes swallow me like the deepest throat until all that existed was you and me, looking at each other’s eyes. And you said one word: “Sammy!” And that’s when I knew you were my Supergirl. You grabbed hold of my large hands and held them in your hands, and the spell imploded behind me, and Lucifer melted into a pile of demonic blood, and the demoness whore Ruby fled for her life. And all you had to do was break that evil concentration for the spell to end and the world to be saved and it was only ever you. And I looked at you and I knew inside my body that I never wanted to look away ever again. And when my…brother Dean Winchester came bumbling into that cathedral, all too late to do anything, and you turned and you looked and you laid your eyes upon him and you opened your mouth and you spoke words and those words told Dean Winchester that he was too late and that he was always too late and that I deserved better than someone who only pretends to care about me when it’s too late. And when he fell to his knees in tears, he knew you were right. And I knew you were right. And after he left, and I looked at you and you looked at me and I asked you who you were and you said words I’ll never forget, and those words which you spoke, I’ll never forget them, and I’m sure neither will you. And then I knew who you were, and you knew me, and I’ve always known you, and you’ve always known me. And what we knew, Y/N, was love. Between us. Between you and I. Between one sorry man and one beautiful woman. That’s how it felt. And I know that’s how you felt too. So I asked you out, and you said yes, and we went immediately to Ruby Tuesday. And we ate of the same burger, our eyes locked, our souls bound. And I knew that this would never end. I watched your luscious lips part and encompass the burger patty and all of the toppings, encapsulated in your mouth, and your teeth white as pearls and sharp as daggers dug into the meaty delight of the burger. And you bit deeply, strongly, passionately, flirtatiously and sundered your piece of our shared burger. Your lips smacked together ever so daintily, with a few specks of bun and patty still visible on your rocket red lip gloss. You chewed, moving you jaw up and down, up and down, up and down, juices dribbling down the corner of your mouth and supple chin. And then, your throat tightened, and the lump of this burger, of our burger, slid smoothly, gracefully down your slender oesophagus and toward your little tummy. And then with slender fingers you selected a napkin off of the checkered vinyl table, and you lifted it in your fingers, and then, Y/N, you folded your napkin with all skill and grace of an origami virtuoso, and as if putting the finishing touches upon your magnum opus with the gentle stroke of a brush, you dapped at your rocket red lips until your plump lips were cleared of debris from our burger. And then you curled your slender fingers around your red plastic translucent cup, and lifted it to those matching red lips, and you swallowed gulp after gulp after gulp of chilled Dr Pepper, condensation dribbling down your chin to the checkered vinyl, and I watched as you wiped your napkin over that, too. And that’s when I knew. That’s when felt the truest love I have ever felt in my life. And it was your love, Y/N. And every moment since then, I have been fighting, I have been praying, I have been dying, for you, all for you, always for you, just for you. I brought you that seashell from California, I fought off that nest of vamps that were tailing you to our date, I defended your honour against a demon who only wanted your body. You are my only and my all. You are my greatest treasure and my greatest weakness. You are my left hand and my right. You are my lifeboat and my sail in this tepid ocean. So be my lifeboat, be my sail, and let’s set out across that tepid ocean, let’s sail away! So will you please open up this bathroom door, and come marry me?”

You heave a sob. “Sammy…”

TO BE CONTINUED

[mirageofthecrystal]

🌙 XVIII - The Moon : Fear, illusions, fantasies, delving into the imaginary, loss of direction.

(So I was super proud of what I wrote for this, and then tumblr ate my whole intro paragraph. So, the first paragraph that follows is but a shadow of what I originally wrote. More might actually be missing, but I don't have the heart to figure it out.)

His hands were slick with blood barely able to maintain the grip on his sword. The fallen were splayed all around him, and he stood with his chest rising and falling heavily as the adrenaline of the moment had passed. The vividness of crimson stood starkly against the unbroken blanket of snow, a world of black and white that was now splattered red with carnage and death. The stench of it hung in the air, but he stood unbothered by it. It had become familiar to him now in the days that had inevitably come.

The snow mirrored the stains on the soul as Faiolan felt the weight of the blade grow in his hands. He had slain men and beast both before, but this was no simple act of defense or battle for glory. Those who lay around him, departed from this realm to whatever lay beyond, they were his kin, his countrymen, men and women whom he would have raised a shield to defend rather than a sword to strike down. Alas, he did not have the luxury of that decision. This was the path that had been laid before him, and though when it had begun he had seen the cobbles of the road, he now only saw darkness on the horizon. He had lost the path beneath his feet, and wandered into territory unknown. He knew not if his intentions were righteous, knew not if he still walked on the right path, or any path. Only the boundless abyss existed, a yawning maw that would devour him if he allowed it.

The sundered shields bearing sigils of the High Houses scattered all around, the corpses faces that he thought he recognized and those he knew he couldn't have. They were twisted in visages of agony and horror, and he slowly realized it was his blade that was the cause. Furthermore, as he looked down to the sword he held in his hand, the implement of so many deaths, he found it broken and shattered, only the jagged remnants of the blade soaked with stolen life. The fighting had been so furious, he hadn't even noticed it break. A confliction of feelings welled up inside him, and it was then that the voice first uttered words within the space of his mind. He thought perhaps he may have been hallucinating at first, the words rasping quietly and sparsely inside the mental cage, until those same words seeped down into the very core of his being, felt long after they had audibly faded.

"The feel of their blood upon your hands, of their flesh parting for your blade, bones cracking 'neath the force of your strikes, the fear in their eyes as they knew you to be every bit the monster they were told... you enjoyed it, didn't you?"

The voice urged a chill down his spine, churned the pit of his gut, and caused his hand to shake. The tremor was so violent that the blade dropped from his hand, falling soundlessly into the blood-stained snow and sinking into its once pure embrace. What being haunted him with such words? He had no love for the actions he had wrought, to slaughter men and women faithful only to the deceptions they had been fed. Hapless souls who bowed to the will of the Archbishop, the Inquisitors, the Holy See's slithering lies.

"And yet you never considered that perhaps they would see reason in your words? Your first and only answer to their presence was the blade, and now there shall be sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, wives and husbands who shall never know peace in their hearts, knowing that their loved one was slain so savagely... and by one whom has defiled all they've been taught is sacred. The shadowy villain of the story, the vile heretic... the cautionary tale that keeps them all in line. And by your blade, you have made certain they continue to believe. Admit it... killing them was for yourself, not for your cause, or your uncle, or even for Ishgard. You killed them because you WANTED to. Because you knew it would make you feel justified. Followers of a corrupted will they may have been, but you took joy in severing the instruments of that will from the hands that would wield them."

The voice grew clearer, louder, hungrier for affirmation.

No, Faiolan thought simply, and the voice instead turned to mirthful laughter.

"Liar. You can't deceive us the same way they deceived you. The same way you try to deceive yourself. We know better. We know you better. We can see through the mask of nobility that you attempt to wear. The façade of compassion. The pretense of honor. Those were all shackles that you broke free from when you decided to abandon your home and all the lies they'd hold above your head. No longer must you be beholden to such foolish ideals. If you wish to kill, you can kill. If you wish for vengeance, you may wreak vengeance. If you wish for justice... then you will make justice, on your own terms. On our terms. No longer must you play the part or wear the mask you were given. You are free. And once you admit that... I can be free too."

Justice. Vengeance. The two were not so different, were they, when those who wronged you wronged so many others. Something about the voice spoke true, and it ignited a spark deep within Faiolan's being. His own shadow began to twist, dark smoke rising into the air and intermingling with his rage, despair, his thirst for blood. Shadow given form from desperation to uphold the truest form of justice. At the heart of it there was a glint of crimson, what at first looked to be blood, but instead was a stone that coalesced at the very heart of the darkness. Beneath the shadow's mask it smirked, feeling the shackles it so duly mentioned fall away from its being. Faiolan was taking his freedom, and so he was free as well.

The shadowy figure plucked the broken blade from the snow, twirling it in his hand. "You'll need a real weapon if you wish to pursue this path. Such paltry playthings are so fragile and frail. A Dark Knight needs a sword... and this one will not do you justice."

Thank you @houserosaire for the ask. I hope you found the answer you were looking for.

[ourdawncomes]

Trespasser Headcanons

i. The Exalted Council

The Exalted Council is one of the most difficult point of Thora’s journey as Inquisitor, pitting her morals against her own desires. She arrives firm in her belief that the Inquisition should persist, both out of the opinion that its existence was beneficial to the people of Thedas and the fearful question of what she would be if it didn’t exist.

She advocates for its persistence through most of the early days of the Council, although there are cracks. Bann Teagan’s remark about their continued military presence in Crestwood does make her consider the length of its influence, and if it has a reason to maintain it. Had the qunari plot not tangled things, she may have offered to withdraw troops from their bases across Ferelden and Orlais, save those who were merely her allies (such as the Blades of Hessarian). As it stands, she never had the chance.

Speaking of the qunari plot, it serves at first as a justification for why they’re here. If not for them, it would have gone undetected, the whole of southern Thedas sundered in one swift, decisive action courtesy of the Viddasala.

The moment Thora changes her mind about the fate of the Inquisition is in the last scene before she sets out for the Darvaraad. Her doubts about their military presence in Ferelden and Orlais, the fact that as she locked steel with the qunari she realised how little she wanted to fight, coupled with the Inquisition’s deception and infiltration by qunari agents— who were they protecting? Thedas, or themselves?

More information cements her decision to disband the Inquisition. Her promise to prove Solas wrong, she feels, will be easier accomplished when he knows less about her activities, and she’s worked underground before (quite literally). That, and she wants to let go of the past while encouraging Solas to do the same.

One final piece is the fact that the Inquisition can only persist as an arm of the Divine. Thora isn’t blind, she knows the Inquisition was started by the Left and Right Hands of the last Divine by her orders, but through her influence as Inquisitor the order was turned, at least in part, from these roots. Dalish elves, Stone-led dwarves, Avvar, spirits, and the faithless all joined their cause, and Thora herself was not orthodox Andrastrian. They welcomed mages as equals, established places within Skyhold for non-Andrastrians to practise their religion, and generally acted like no Andrastrian organisation had acted before, save Ameridan. Thora has a great deal of respect for Divine Victoria (Leliana), and supports her policies quite vocally, but she couldn’t accept being the arm of any Divine. She would’ve turned down the Maker himself, had he asked. It would feel like a betrayal of what she had created, and she doesn’t know where it would go after she stepped down.

ii. Reunions*

In the years since Corypheus’ death her relationship with Sera, while never hostile, strengthened. Thora takes Sera’s offer on becoming a Jenny, when offered. It strikes a more favourable medium for her, going forward.

She’s not sure how to feel about being Kirkwall nobility, now, but the Cadash’s place on the Merchants Guild will be a boon for her family. Not long after Trespasser she returns to the Free Marches and her half-sister Sylvi becomes House Cadash’s representative in the guild.

Cassandra’s congratulations for a non-existent proposal makes Thora a little sad that (if she’s in a relationship) she’s not already married. It’s something she starts to regret more and more as it looks like she’s going to die.

The greatest contrast between first meetings and the Trespasser reunion is between her and Bull. She’s openly suspicious and a little hostile of Bull during his recruitment, but doesn’t feel it’s her place to turn down a group of mercenaries as respected as the Chargers. By the time of Trespasser a lot has changed between them and she’s glad to help the Chargers surprise him for his birthday.

Hearing Blackwall’s Thom’s stories about his atonement to his men and the chance meetings with prisoners makes her cry.

Almost all of her companions (even Solas, although his is much sadder) receive reunion hugs, the definite exceptions are her advisors (she and Cullen never establish that sort of rapport and she sees Josephine all the time) and Leliana, who may have to wait until they’re in private. Some hugs are bigger than others.

When the time comes to step through the final eluvian, she does so hand-in-hand with Ian ( @theshirallen ), another person who she became much closer to after the defeat of Corypheus. Her reunion with Solas is alongside Ian, and overall it’s even more emotional and tearful than in the game.

I’ve written more about her reasons for choosing to spare Solas in the past and I won’t repeat them in detail here, but in short: Thora has shown mercy and offered reason to everyone she was able. As her best friend Solas is shown the same mercy. That, and she’s not certain that simply defeating him and moving on would be the right option for the world. What she learns in Trespasser makes her question if the Veil should exist, and if there are other ways to dismantle it. Her motivations are more than her affection and love for her friend, and if something happened to Solas in Dragon Age 4 she wouldn’t stop looking for answers.

* None of these are set in stone and open to individual interpretations.

iii. Investigating the Qunari and More

Thora kills as few people as possible through the events of Trespasser. Having drank from the Well, she’s able to speak the password which grants them safe passage through the Dread Wolf’s Sanctuary, she spares the former Templar qunari, and tries to reason with the Viddasala the moment she gets the chance. Thora has never had a stomach for killing, but by this point she’s so tired of it.

This may seem contradictory for a woman who is advocating for the existence of and her place at the head of a military organisation, and in many ways it is, but as Inquisitor Thora was able to choose non-violence far more often than she ever was as a Carta agent. The mercy she showed in the Carta was often illegal (saving the lives of runaway mages) and always risked her own neck (if the Dasher found out, she’d be the one to pay). As Inquisitor she was able to recruit and connect with people, saving the lives of innocents and her enemies.

She discovers the secret room in the Deep Roads and finds out the elves minded Titans. Eventually she puts the pieces together and realises the focus, and therefore her Anchor, were powered by a Titans death.

Thora finds the pieces needed to figure out Solas’ true identity without him telling her. She suspected him of being an ancient elf in the time after his departure, but didn’t think much more of it. So much of what she saw and heard from him through the course of their friendship, coupled with the clues, causes her to come to the realisation at the final fresco.

The Anchor throughout most of her time with it didn’t cause her pain but numbness, moments where her fingers felt like they had pins and needles or that it didn’t exist at all. Any issues were attended to by Solas and, in his absence, Ian. Only Ian, Cadri, and any love interest are aware of her situation, although she may downplay it to the latter two for their peace of mind. The last few days with it were almost impossible to bear, and while as a Beserker her companions grew used to Thora’s cries on the battlefield, they’d never heard her scream like she does on the last assault on the Viddasala’s forces.

Solas’ retrieval of the Anchor dissolves her hand and part of her forearm, but it’s an uneven and painful process. The rest of it is amputated by Ian up to the elbow.

[tabletoptrinketsbyjj]

Running the Numbers: On Balancing Homebrew Masterwork Weapon Bonuses

Hey folks,

My name is JJ and since March 2017 I’ve been working on this blog of D&D related homebrew content for your looting needs. I’ve gotten lots of positive feedback from people and I’m very appreciative of everyone who has written to me or shared the tables on their own blogs or with friends and gaming groups. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken the time and energy to read through my tables, I know people lead busy lives and homebrew content is everywhere online. What I would like to talk about right now is balance for this blog’s homebrew material and how I decide what to include or not include in the tables and how that might help a DM justify using homebrew my homebrew material in their campaign without breaking the game or providing a wild power imbalance between their players.

To start off, I’d like to say that I have a decent background in RPG games in a variety of different systems with most of my time playing, Pathfinder, D&D 3.5 and 5th Edition. For balance purposes for this blog I have tried to be system neutral, talking about skills, benefits and mechanics in general terms so that the trinkets (Especially magic objects) can be easily worked into D&D, Exalted or Numenera alike. For general bonuses and negatives I have taken language from 5th edition D&D, namely the Advantage/Disadvantage system because I find it simple and straightforward. Since I primarily play D&D 5e now I gear a lot of the wording of objects towards it and d20 systems in general. Although this article can be used to talk about balance in a number of different systems, any specifics are usually aimed at D&D 5e.

While I'd like to talk about all of the different types of trinkets I have on my blog, this post will focus exclusively on Masterwork Weapons. While this concept was standard in D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder (And similar ideas can be found in other systems), it does not exist in 5e, which I find disappointing because I like the idea of an exceptionally crafted weapon that is mechanically better than average but weaker than a +1 weapon. To talk about masterwork weapons we should also talk about magic weapons so we have a clear comparison. Magical “+1 weapons” are a staple in D&D and are an easily benchmark for what a “standard” magic weapon looks like. A +1 weapon has four different bonuses that set it above a typical weapon, It grants a +1 on accuracy rolls to hit, a +1 on damage rolls, it counts as magical for bypassing the resistances of enemies and it is much harder to break or damage. When the concept was used in 3.5 and Pathfinder, a masterwork weapon gave a +1 on accuracy rolls to hit. In my interpretation, this means that the value of a masterwork weapon was about ¼ of a +1 weapon and I have tried to keep that in mind while writing. It is no accident that the first four masterwork bonuses are each different aspect of a +1 weapon. While researching what other people have done for their version of a homebrew masterwork weapon in 5e, the common theme I've found seems to be a +1 on damage rolls. Due to the bonded accuracy in 5e, a +1 on accuracy would be to strong and we’ll talk more about this later. A +1 to damage rolls for a price of 100gp (Which is the same price as getting a weapon silver plated) seems like a fair enough trade, especially if masterwork weapons are rare and can only be purchased in large cities or commissioned from master weapon crafters, requiring a side quest or roleplay scene. In short, I found a general consensus that a masterwork quality that grants a +1 on damage rolls is balance and therefore it will serve as the benchmark against which all the other masterwork bonuses are compared against.

Keeping “+1 to damage rolls” in mind as a benchmark for how strong I wanted a masterwork bonus to be, I created and cannibalized more than a dozen options for DM’s to use for introducing masterworks into their own campaigns. I will be going point by point crunching numbers to show how each bonus lines up with one another. For those that want to do your own math, feel free to use https://anydice.com/ or http://rumkin.com/reference/dnd/diestats.php to double check the work. I will be using 1d8 as an example for most damage rolls to make it a little more standard. For context going forward, a d8 has a minimum damage of 1, a maximum damage of 8 and an average damage of 4.5. Please note that with one or two exceptions these benefits only affect the default weapon damage dice themselves, not additional dice such as sneak attack, divine smite or spell effects.

I will be going through one at a time through each Masterwork Bonus I currently have written up and talking about them and showing you how their specific benefit effects damage rolls so you as a DM have a better idea on how strong it actually is. To save space I have cut out the fluff descriptions of the Masterwork Bonuses but they can be read here if you’re interested.

Keep reading for a point by point analysis of the Masterwork Bonuses.

This paragraph outlines the Advantage / Disadvantage system from D&D 5e, because some of the bonuses use it. If you're already familiar go ahead and skip this. When a character is given help from a tool, other character, magic effect, etc. they gain Advantage on the dice roll made to accomplish the task. This means that they roll 2d20’s and pick the higher result to determine the outcome, thereby increasing the overall dice roll, slashing the chances of critical failing and boosting the opportunity to critically succeed. Disadvantage is the opposite, the player rolls twice and has to use the lower result increasing the odds of failing. The real great parts about this system is if a character has advantage and disadvantage, they cancel out and only one roll is made so you cannot get “super advantage”. If the character is gaining advantage or disadvantage from multiple sources he still only rolls twice and picks the higher result. This makes circumstantial bonuses very simple to apply on the spot and prevents players from having to calculate a +1 or +2 from half a dozen different sources at a time. Personally I like it because it’s quick and simple allowing everyone to roll fast and move on, in a game where play time is often hard to schedule. Plus, bonuses and deficits just cause the player to roll more dice in a game where players typically love any excuse to roll dice.

1, Precise: Grants a +1 on attack rolls to hit targets

In many systems a bonus to accuracy rolls can deal more damage than a boost to the actual damage rolls. Logically, more accurate attacks hit more often and all damage resulting from a hit that was only successful because of the +1 accuracy bonus can be considered extra damage. In D&D 5e this would bonus would probably be considered the most powerful due to bonded accuracy (Which you can read more about here) and would probably end up doing more damage than the +1 benchmark, especially if the wielder had class features such as sneak attack that further increased damage on hit.

2, Balanced: Grants a +1 to all damage rolls.

The simplest and most reliable damage dealing bonus. A flat +1 damage increases the minimum, maximum and average amount of damage that can be dealt by the attack by 1, making it a nice choice to quietly provide a small benefit for the player that can be added to the damage roll’s math and otherwise forgotten about. For damage bonuses, an average damage increase of +1 is what we are looking for in terms of power and serves as our benchmark.

3, Spellbound: The weapon is considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances, damage reduction and other defenses.

This provides a nice compromise to DM’s who want their players to go up against more varied enemies that might have resistances or immunities to non-magic weapons but who don’t want the players to have a full +1 weapon yet. The weapon’s bonus will only provide a benefit when dealing with a small number of enemies (Like elementals, ghosts or fiends) that have that resistance. On the resistant enemies it effectively doubles damage (Compared to a non-Spellbound weapon whose damage would be halved by the resistant monster) granting the wielder and player the time to shine in combat. Against the majority of low and mid-level enemies such as humanoids and beasts who aren’t resistant to non-magic weapons, the weapon provides no benefit at all and is just as useful as a regular weapon.

4, Impervious: The weapon is five times more durable than normal, never breaks, chips or dulls as a result of casual use and is all but impossible to break or damage as a result of combat, even when targeted by enemies who attempt sundering or weapon breaking techniques.

This allows a player to feel comfortable in the knowledge that their sword isn’t going to explode on a natural 1, leaving them unarmed and useless in combat. Furthermore it encourages players to use the sturdy weapon outside of combat for roleplaying or problem solving reasons. Perhaps a war pick is used to dig a foxhole in rocky terrain, a warhammer is used to break down a door, a quarterstaff is wedged against a door to brace it, or a sword is used in place of a crowbar to pry open a stuck chest. Other than resisting being broken in combat, this bonuses has no real offensive capacity making it a great thing to give to your players with almost zero risk that it will upset the team’s power balance or make them too strong in combat.

5, Relentless: Instead of a single damage die when the wielder successfully hits a target, the player instead rolls two dice that equal the value of the original damage die and add the results together.

This grants the player the ability to roll two dice when they would normally roll one, which will probably increase their level of happiness right there. This is a good benefit for raising the minimum damage the wielder does, and in the event of a critical allows the player to roll a multitude of small dice, further raising the minimum damage dealt. If our 1d8 example die is turned into 2d4 with this, the weapon now has a minimum damage of 2, a maximum damage of 8 and an average damage of 5. This increases the minimum by 1 which is nice but only provides an average damage bonus of +0.5 which is not much, but can allow players to feel like they are getting more from the weapon than they normally would. Since this average damage increase is less than our benchmark +1 damage this makes it a balanced addition to the masterwork bonus list.

6, Superior: The weapon’s damage dice increases by one step to the next largest die.

This is a nice and simple benefit with a clear but small increase in damage potential. If our 1d8 example die is turned into 1d10 with this, the weapon has a minimum damage of 1, a maximum damage of 10 and an average damage of 5.50. This increases the maximum by 2 which allows for slightly bigger hits and provides an average damage bonus of +1. This has a slightly higher than normal damage cap but with the drawback of no increase to the minimum damage. Overall the average damage is increased by +1, the same as our benchmark and thus of comparable balance.

7, Cruel: Whenever the player roll a 1 on a die to calculate the weapon’s damage, they can reroll the die until they receive a result that is not a 1.

Like the flat +1 damage, this bonus was also very common on homebrew sites discussing how to implement a masterwork mechanic. Raising the minimum damage the player can deal on hit is a good things for them, since nobody wants to roll a 1. Applying this to our 1d8 example gives it a minimum damage of 2, a maximum damage of 8 and an average damage of 5. This increases the minimum by 1 which is nice but only provides an average damage bonus of +0.5 which is not much, but can provide the player a great sense of relief and excitement when they do roll a 1 and can reroll it into a much higher number. Since the average damage increase of +0.5 (Which is the same regardless of the size of the die) is less than our benchmark +1 damage this makes it a balanced addition to the masterwork bonus list.

8, Defensive: The weapon grants +1 to the wielder’s armor class / defense value / dodge rating or other system mechanic that decreases the chances of being hit with an attack.

Similar to Precise, making homebrew changes to the accuracy and armor class system can be risky for the mechanical balance of the game. In D&D 5e, a +1 to armor class is a big deal and hard to come by and the potential damage prevented by virtue of being harder to hit can add up. This kind of bonus is meant to evoke the idea or a parrying dagger, sword breaker or boar spear, deflecting attacks and keeping enemies at bay by nature of their design.  Although it doesn’t directly compare to our benchmark +1 damage, a Defensive weapon can be a Godsend to a squishy melee striker like a rogue or bard who would definitely appreciate the increased armor class.  

9, Vicious: Whenever the player roll a 1 or a 2 on a die to calculate the weapon’s damage, they can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2.

D&D 5e players should be familiar with this bonus because it is taken straight from the Great Weapon Fighting style. Due to this, lots of other people have done the math in detail and you can follow this link for nice graphs about the statistics. In short, this bonus on our 1d8 example keeps the minimum damage at 1, a maximum damage of 8 and an average damage of 5.25. That is only an average damage increase of +0.75 which is lower than our benchmark value of +1. It is important to note that the damage changes based size and number of dice and that if the weapon dealt 2d6 damage (Which has an average of 7) was affected by this, the average damage would be 8.33. An improvement of +1.33, which is slightly higher than our +1 benchmark.

10, Brutal: Whenever the player rolls the maximum result on a weapon damage die (I.e. a 6 on a six-sided die.), they can roll that die an additional time and add both results to the total damage dealt. This ability can trigger multiple times per turn but only once per attack.

This is one of the swingy bonuses that either provides either a lot of extra damage or none at all. Based on the concept of “exploding dice” from Shadowrun and some White Wolf systems, if you roll the maximum result, you’ll be rewarded with another die to add to the damage total. I like the idea of having a slim chance to do extra damage since it’s like a mini critical hit. On our example d8 there is a 12.5% chance (One in eight) to trigger the Brutal effect, which adds an average of +4.5 damage (Another d8) to the damage roll. This means that a triggering hit deals a minimum of 2 damage, a maximum of 16 and an average of 9 damage. Although this seems like a lot, remember that the effect only happens on 1 in 8 attacks, so if we take the 4.5 extra damage and average that across of 8 attacks it’s only an average of +0.56 damage per hit. This trend holds steady for different die sizes as larger dice deal more damage but less often and vice versa for smaller dice. A d12 grants an average of +0.54 damage per hit while a d4 grants +0.63. It is important to note that this math is conducted in a vacuum and wielders with the power to reroll damage dice (Especially 1’s and 2’s) can make this bonus more lethal. Though even if on a d8, if the wielder was capable of rerolled all 1’s and 2’s, it would still be 4.5 extra damage once every 6 attacks which is an average increase of +0.75. Since the average increased damage bonus will always be less than our +1 benchmark, I feel like this is a reasonably balanced effect. This can be more fun than a flat +1 to damage because it trades the dependable and boring damage would be represented by a 1d8+1, into an unreliable and therefore exciting 1d8+?, with the possibility on every damage roll of getting an 8 and having your damage explode into high numbers.

11, Mighty: Whenever the wielder scores a critical hit with the weapon, the player can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add the result to the damage dealt by the critical hit. This is in addition to the standard bonus damage of a critical hit.

Drawing on weapons mechanics from D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder this is essentially the idea of an “increased critical multiplier”, which allowed weapons to deal more damage on a critical hit. In terms of damage output on hit, this is similar to Brutal but provides even less average damage per hit because critical hits are rare. In a d20 system where you only critically hit on a 20, you have a 1 in 20 (5%) chance to critical hit on every attack. If you use the example die, you turn the regular critical hit from 2d8 damage (Minimum 2, maximum 16, average 9) into 3d8, (Minimum 3, maximum 24, average 13.5) which does increase the average damage by 4.5 on a critical, but across 20 attacks it averages to +0.225 damage per hit. Comparing that to the benchmark’s +1 damage per hit, this masterwork bonus is very weak but makes up for it with spikes of high damage on critical hits.

X, Inexorable: Whenever the player rolls to determine the weapon’s damage, he may roll the weapon’s damage die twice and choose either result to use.

This bonus allows the player to effectively roll damage twice and choose the higher amount, essentially granting advantage on damage rolls. On our example d8, this bonus keeps the minimum and maximum at 1 and 8 respectively and changes the average to 5.81 damage. Although the minimum and maximum don’t change, the increased average damage by 1.31 per hit, which is slightly higher than our goal of +1. The improvement to damage is magnified by the size and number of dice. On a d12 it grans an increased 1.99 damage per hit and on 2d6 it’s a 2.34 increase. This bonus would also affect the additional damage dice from critical hits making this benefit very powerful.

Inexorable by our +1 damage benchmark is actually too strong to be a Masterwork bonus. To be honest, I added it in here originally to pad the original Masterwork list out to 12 entries so it could be rolled on a d12. Since it doesn’t belong here I have moved it over to the Minor Weapon Enchantments Table (Which was nowhere near ready at the time the Masterwork table was introduced), where it’s magical theme and stronger bonus better fits in.

12, Silvered: The weapon’s business end is covered in a durable layer of alchemically treated silver of incredible quality. Although unnaturally processed, the metal is pure and effective at dealing with undead, lycanthropes and fey creatures. The weapon’s grip also sports discrete bands of intricately worked silver which prevents the wielder’s supernatural enemies from handling the weapon and using it against him.

Silvering weapons is a staple in most RPG games that have monsters that are vulnerable to the metal. This benefit is similar to Spellbound as it really only has any benefit when used against a certain set of enemies and otherwise has no effect on a typical attack. The only change that this blog provides are the silver bands on the grip, preventing monsters from wielding it properly. If your system already has rules for silvered weapons you can just use those instead. See Spellbound for how it compares to the +1 damage benchmark.

13, Tactical: Using an action equivalent to making an attack or casting a spell, the wielder can attempt to perform one of the previously mentioned combat maneuvers. Whenever the wielder could make an attack with the weapon, he can instead perform one of the previously mentioned combat maneuvers... Furthermore, the wielder is able to take advantage of lucky blows and turn them into skillful maneuvers rather than simply powerful attacks. Whenever the wielder lands a critical hit, he can choose to cause it to be considered a normal hit instead and immediately perform one of the previously mentioned maneuvers (With advantage because of the weapon’s design) on the target.

I really like the idea of combat maneuvers, tactics and strategies in RPG’s that contain more than just mindlessly attacking the enemy. A frontliner who effective at tripping, disarming or grappling the enemy can be just as, if not more effective than a wizard specializing in battlefield control, because the fighter can do it more often. Unfortunately it can sometimes be hard to justify attempting maneuvers, as it’s often far more efficient to just focus on dealing damage, especially when both take the same type of action. This bonuses grants players an incentive to attempt maneuvers because they automatically gain advantage and gain access to a larger range of said maneuvers. Furthermore they can trade the extra damage from a critical for the chance to disarm / grapple / trip / etc. the target, which can let a player think strategically and provides some new combat options. As a roleplaying experience it can allow for better teamwork, granting a supporting bard a better chance of tripping an enemy, allowing the two handed fighter to attack the prone target at advantage as well as reducing their chance of escaping. This bonus doesn’t deal damage directly so it doesn’t compare to our benchmark +1 damage, but it does grant the wielder a few benefits and options at the cost of making a regular attack or additional critical hit damage.

14, Poisoner’s: Even a bludgeoning weapon that is normally difficult to poison effectively can benefit from the grooves, allowing it to deliver the offending material with ease. The channels are always positioned in such a way that a creature can apply a solid or liquid material (Such as but not limited to: poison, holy water, flammable oil or animal venom) in them without any risk of accidentally poisoning themselves (Even if they are not proficient with poisons) and taking no more time than usual to coat an object with poison. Furthermore, the recessed pathways protect the material from the elements, keeping it from drying or spoiling and after it’s applied, the material remains potent for an additional hour longer than normal before becoming inert. Lastly and most importantly, the virulent trenches are divided and spread out, allowing a single dose of poison to be delivered normally and effectively while still having some leftover in a separate groove. The number of strikes the weapon may make before the poison is rubbed off is increased by one. Alternatively to being spread out, the blighting substance can be confined to a single groove which will deliver its payload in a single concentrated strike which causes the victim to suffer disadvantage on the save against the material, or the PC can roll the poison’s damage twice and choose the higher result. The bearer who applies the poison chooses whether the material will be spread out over multiple strikes or if it will be concentrated into a more lethal hit (And if it applies disadvantage or increased damage) when the material is applied.  

This bonus provides a few benefits in order to allow a lower level PC better make use of expendable items like flammable oil, holy water or poison before magical weapons and stronger spells render them too inefficient to use in combat. The DM should feel free to adjust any parts of this bonus to better fit with the specific poison mechanics of their game. Personally I love the idea of poisons, oils and alchemical coatings appealing as concepts but at low levels they are often too expensive to buy and once you have the money you’re usually better off buying magic items since a large number of enemies are either resistant or immune to poison.

In D&D 5e for example, a vial of “basic poison” can coat up to three slashing or piercing weapon or up to three pieces of ammunition. Applying the poison takes and action and on hit the target must make a fairly easy save (A Con DC of 10, about a 50% chance of failure on average) or suffer as much poison damage as a dagger deals. Once applied, the poison retains its potency for 1 minute before drying. Overall pretty weak but could definitely be useful in many situations, especially ambushes rewarding players who prepare and think ahead. However this vial of three-use poison costs an exorbitant 100 gold pieces, the same value as a suit of scale mail and a greatsword combined. A PC with 100 gold at low levels might get a silvered weapon (Which is also 100 gold), get better quality armor, buy healing potions or adventuring equipment or weak magic items. The 5e Player’s Handbook list’s the cost of a hired mercenary at 2 gold pieces per day, so you could hire a bodyguard to fight for you for 50 days (Or an army of 50 for one day) for the same price as one vial of basic poison. At mid-levels, enemies will pass the save more than not, taking no damage and even if they roll poorly and fail, a dagger’s worth of damage is not a substantial drain on their hit point pool.

If we apply this masterwork quality to a warhammer (Since it uses our d8 example die) in conjunction with 5e’s basic poison we can look at the benefits. Normally you wouldn’t be able to poison the warhammer at all (It deals bludgeoning damage) but now you can and without risk of accidentally harming yourself. Rather than drying out in one minute, the poison will remain potent for 61 minutes, a fantastic improvement, allowing the player to apply it with a greatly reduced chance of it being wasted due to drying out before the next fight begins. The wielder can also choose to spread the material out among multiple grooves, turning a three use-vial into a six-use vial of poison, making it much more cost effective. Alternatively the player could choose to force the victim to suffer disadvantage on the saves to resist the poison or roll the poison damage twice and pick the more lethal result, making the poison more viable at higher levels.  

In short this masterwork bonus provides a number of small benefits and options to allow a PC to make poisons and alchemical weapon applications more fun and a viable strategy that offers the player a range of options, rather than an ineffective money sink. As this weapon does not deal damage directly it is hard to compare against the benchmark. The goal of this masterwork is to increase the damage deal by poisons and similar materials but it is weighed against the fact that the player has to expend gold or resources buying and using the poisons to actually make use of the benefits (As opposed to the benchmark “free” +1 damage on every hit) so it seems balanced to me.

15, Bypassing: A wielder who makes an attack with a weapon with this bonus ignores any and all defensive benefits that an opponent’s shield would normally provide.

This bonus attempts to reflect the real world weapons such as the flail, sica, shotel, and war pick, all designed to get around armor and shields in order to reach the tender flesh of the enemy. Although this benefit does affect accuracy rolls rather than damage, I would compare this more to the Spellbound or Silvered bonus rather than Precise. In my experience as a player, I rarely run into to humanoid enemies wielding shields and typical bestiaries and monster manuals don’t have a lot of shield using enemies. If your PC’s are mostly fighting undead, elementals, beasts and aberrations this bonuses will probably not help them. In the rare instance when they do come across a heavily armored fighter or blackguard paladin or other hard to hit foe, this bonuses will let the wielder bypass some of those defenses and let that wielder shine. Handing out this kind of weapon in a military or war campaign where it would be used regularly, would be comparable to handing out a Silvered weapon in a werewolf heavy campaign. Since it doesn’t deal damage directly I doesn’t compare to the benchmark and you can refer to the Spellbound and Silvered for how this bonus works in play.

16, Resounding: Whenever the player rolls a damage die he must roll a second confirming die of the same sort. If the second die is the same result as the first, the player is considered to have instead rolled the maximum possible result for that type of die instead of the current result.

As the fluff description mentions, getting a resounding blow that triggers the maximum damage is rare. The value of this bonuses is odd to calculate because as the maximum damage output of the die increases, the odds of actually rolling two of the same number to trigger it goes down proportionally. Over the course of 64 successful attacks with our example d8 (every variation of the damage die and confirmation roll), the effect only triggers 8 times (A 12.5% chance) and only 7 of those times actually benefit the wielder since rolling two 8’s is already the maximum amount of damage possible. Over the 64 hits, the total increase in damage resulting from the bonus is 28, an average increase of 0.44 per hit with most of the damage coming from when the player rolled low and would have done very little damage.

This table is a chart of each result of the 64 hits possible with a d8 Resounding weapon. The leftmost column is the damage roll while the top row is the confirming roll with the middle being the actual damage dealt. The bottom roll is the sum of the total damage from that column which is compared to 36, which is the sum damage total on a non-masterwork d8 over the eight possible hits.

To demonstrate on a smaller die over the course of 16 successful hits on a d4, the effect triggers 4 times (A 25% chance) and the total increase in damage resulting from the bonus is 6, an average increase of 0.38 per hit. The sum of the total damage on a non-masterwork d4 is 10 over the 4 possible hits.

On a larger die over the course of 144 successful on a d12, the effect triggers 12 times (A 12% chance) and the total increase in damage resulting from the bonus is 66, an average increase of 0.45 per hit. The sum of the total damage on a non-masterwork d12 is 78 over the 144 possible hits.

In summation, this bonus gives the occasional burst of damage at the cost of providing no benefit most of the time. It grants an average damage increase of 0.45 per hit (on a d8), which is well below our +1 benchmark in terms of balance.

17, Chargebreaker: If the wielder has not moved yet on his turn he can take up a defensive position, which causes his speed to drop to 0 until the end of his turn. While in this stance, the wielder is able to make an attack of opportunity with the readied weapon against an enemy that enters his reach. The bracing stance ends if the wielder moves, attacks or at the start of the wielder’s next turn.

Much like Tactical, this benefit rewards players who think strategically and offers them options in combat, like the ability to plant themselves and defend a key position rather than just rushing the enemy and attacking. This does potentially allow the wielder to make an additional attack per round, possibly doubling the number of attacks they can make. However these extra attacks come at the cost of all of the wielder’s movement during that turn, which can trap him in an inconvenient corner of the battlefield, not be able to move to reach allies, render him unable to retreat or not be able to place himself between the enemy and the more fragile party members. The wielder gains no additional benefit against creatures already within his reach and is potentially worse off against ranged attackers and mobile enemies, since bracing himself means that he is not closing that distance.  

18, Parrying: Using an action equivalent to an attack of opportunity (See Note) the wielder may attempt to parry an incoming melee attack, increasing his armor class or physical defensiveness as if he was properly wielding a shield. The wielder may benefit from the armor class bonus (Typically a +2) even if he is already wielding a shield. —Note: If your system doesn’t use attacks of opportunity use the following rule: Once the wielder parries an attack he is no longer able to do so until the start of his next turn.

Similar to Precise and Defensive, this is a bonus that deals with armor class and attack rolls. Unlike defensive however, this bonus consumes the wielder’s resources in the form of costing an attack of opportunity to use. A player could use this ability every time he is able to but doing so forcing him to give up on attacking fleeing enemies or striking when they are vulnerable. Furthermore, the benefit only applies to one melee attack per round so the wielder is still just as vulnerable to multiple attacks and ranged attacks. This bonus doesn’t deal damage so it doesn’t compare against the benchmark, but I feel that it provides a benefit to player’s without being overpowered due to its cost and limited use.

19, Strategic: These modifications greatly improve the wielder’s ability to resist trips, feints, grapples, pins, being disarmed, pushed, shoved and other combat maneuvers... Whenever the wielder is targeted by one of the previously mentioned combat maneuvers, he can use an action equivalent to an attack of opportunity (See Note) to grant himself advantage on the roll made to resist the maneuver. —Note: If your system doesn’t use attacks of opportunity use the following rule: Once the wielder uses the weapon to grant himself advantage on the roll made to resist a combat maneuver, he is no longer able to do so until the start of his next turn.

Much like Defensive and Parrying, this bonus deals with making the wielder more resilient when facing combat maneuvers like grappling, tripping and disarming. These tactics can be brutally effective when used against PC’s and can make enemies orders of magnitude more threatening. A monster that can attempt a grapple or trip check with every successful attack can be far more deadly than one that deals an extra 1d6 damage on each hit. Like Parrying, this bonus consumes the wielder’s resources in the form of costing an attack of opportunity to activate which helps to balance out its use. A player could use this ability every time he is able to, but doing so forces him to give up on attacking fleeing enemies or striking when they are vulnerable. This bonus doesn’t deal damage so it doesn’t compare against the benchmark, but I feel that it provides a benefit to player’s without being overpowered due to its cost of an attack of opportunity.

20, Adaptable: When the wielder attacks, he may choose to have the weapon deal either bludgeoning, slashing, piercing or nonlethal / stun damage (See Note). Otherwise the weapon keeps its usual statistics and this does not change anything about the way the weapon operates other than its damage type.

This is probably one of the weakest bonuses on this list and provides more fluff and equipment management ease than anything else similar to Impervious. A PC now only needs to haul around their masterwork weapon and be capable of dealing several type of damage rather than a golf bag of different weapons for different resistant monsters. Like Silvered or Spellbound this would only be beneficial in a small number of situations. Even then, it’s not hard or even that expensive for a fighter to carry a mundane warhammer, longspear and longsword, (Plus one or two ranged weapons) it’s just annoying to have to for purposes of overcoming resistances.

21, Twinned: Whenever the player rolls a damage die he must roll a second confirming die of the same sort. If the second die is the same result as the first, the player adds both dice to the total damage rolled.

This bonus is very similar to Resounding in the form of the confirmation roll for extra damage. Similarly to Resounding, getting a twinned strike that deals the extra damage is rare and the value of this bonuses is odd to calculate because as the maximum damage output of the die increases, the odds of actually rolling two of the same number to trigger it goes down proportionally.

Over the course of 64 successful attacks with our example d8, the effect only triggers 8 times, a 12.5% chance. Over the 64 hits, the total increase in damage resulting from the bonus is 36, an average increase of 0.56 per hit with most of the damage coming from when the player is doubling their high roll.

This table is a chart of each result of the 64 hits possible with a d8 Twinned weapon. The leftmost column is the damage roll while the top row is the confirming roll with the middle being the actual damage dealt. The bottom roll is the sum of the total damage from that column, which is compared to 36, the sum damage total on a non-masterwork d8 over the eight possible hits.  

To demonstrate on a smaller die, over the course of 16 successful, the effect triggers 4 times (A 25% chance) and the total increase in damage resulting from the bonus is 10, an average increase of 0.63 per hit. The sum of the total damage on a non-masterwork d4 is 10 over the 4 possible hits.

On a larger die, over the course of 144 successful, the effect only triggers 12 times (A 12% chance) and the total increase in damage resulting from the bonus is 78, an average increase of 0.54 per hit. The sum of the total damage on a non-masterwork d12 is 78 over the 4 possible hits. Although DM’s may have some reservations on seeing the higher scale of this chart, remember that rolling two 12’s to deal 24 damage is 1 in 144 or a 0.69% chance.  

In summation, this bonus gives the occasion burst of damage at the cost of providing no benefit most of the time, with an average damage increase of 0.56 per hit (on a d8), which is well below our +1 benchmark.

22, Quickdraw: The bearer is able to draw the weapon as a free action whenever he rolls initiative as long as he physically capable of doing so… In the first round of combat if a hostile creature comes within the wielder’s reach (Or 20 feet for a ranged weapon) he is able to make an attack of opportunity against that creature but suffers disadvantage on the attack roll. Lastly, drawing and stowing the weapon is considered a free action.

This bonuses is supposed to allow PC’s to be able to evoke the incredible training and reflexes that come from a lifetime of having to react quickly to violent ambushes. For an easy comparison of what I imagine this looking like, take a look at Star Wars or Firefly. Characters like Han Solo or Malcolm Reynolds carry their pistols in a low slung gunslinger’s holsters along their hips and are able to draw and fire within a second. This allows them to even out or even win fights before they have a chance to properly start. For a real life example look at videos of Bob Munden, a real life exhibition shooter has the title "Fastest Man with a Gun Who Ever Lived" bestowed on him by Guinness World Records. This Masterwork bonus enhances the PC’s ability draw the weapon as a natural reflex and instinctively (If not skillfully, hence the disadvantage) lash out at an enemy within reach.  If as a DM you are fond of ambushing your party, they will appreciate a weapon with this kind of bonus.

Damage wise, this bonus grants up to one additional attack at disadvantage per combat which may hit for some extra damage. Depending on the length of the fight, this may exceed the +1 benchmark or add nothing at all.

23, Unforgiving: When the player scores a critical hit with the weapon, he rolls all the dice associated with the damage as normal. After rolling but before damage is dealt to the target, the player may select any single rolled damage die of his choosing and that die will be considered to have rolled the maximum possible result for that type of die instead of the current result. —Note: This affects the weapon’s damage itself AND other sources of additional damage such as sneak attack, divine smite or spell effects.

I have seen this kind of this effect proposed as a variant critical rule for D&D, wherein anytime any PC or creature critically hits, the extra weapon damage dice are simply added in at their maximum result instead of being rolled. As it stands in D&D 5e, a player can score a critical hit and roll low on the dice resulting in a “critical hit” that deals less damage than an average hit. This makes the rare critical hits more potent by guaranteeing a high minimum damage. This bonus is all about raising the minimum damage on a critical hit, so that the wielder never rolls low and experiences a disappointing critical.

In a d20 system where you land a critical hit on a roll of a natural 20, you have a 1 in 20 (5%) chance to critical hit on every attack. If you use the d8 example die, Unforgiving turns the regular critical hit from 2d8 damage (Minimum 2, maximum 16, average 9) into 2d8[Dropping the lowest]+8, (Minimum 9, maximum 16, average 13.81) which does increase the average damage by 4.81 on a critical, but across 20 attacks it averages to +0.24 damage per hit.  Comparing that to the benchmark’s +1 damage per hit, this masterwork bonus is very weak but makes up for it with guaranteed high minimum damage on criticals, making each one a truly powerful blow.

24, Reach: Melee weapons with this bonus add 5 feet to the wielder’s reach when he attacks with it, as well as when determining his reach for opportunity attacks with it. Ammunition, ranged and thrown weapons all add 20 feet to their normal and long distance attack ranges. Melee Reach weapons are cumbersome in close quarters and the wielder suffers disadvantage on attack rolls against targets within 5 feet of himself. Ranged weapons and projectiles...cause the wielder to suffer disadvantage on attack rolls against targets within 10 feet of himself.

Again drawing from D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder here is a weapon quality with a trade off in terms of benefit and drawback. Melee players who play a more mobile, kiting style with an emphasis of never being too close to the enemy will love this bonus. When surrounded by enemies however it forces them to attack at disadvantage or to drop the Reach weapon and fight with an inferior backup weapon. PC’s specializing in ranged combat will be able to hit targets father away but when in tight quarters such as dungeons, caverns or buildings, there may not be the option of being 15 feet away from the target in order not to suffer disadvantage on the attack roll because they’re too close. Even if that is possible, it forces that ranged PC to become more separated from the melee, leaving them open to ambushes, being surrounded or cut off from the rest of the party.

[bossuary]

Having just finished Tevinter Nights, I have un fucktonne of questions and theories. But, below are a few of the subjects/problems that I can’t stop thinking about.  I’m curious how other people interpret them, or if I’ve missed some critical details, because it seems like there’s some retconning going on.

so, spoiler warnings apply, since i’m about to discuss the Big Doings below the cut.

The most immediately relevant items come from the final story, right? BUT, because of the nature of the characters, I sort of assumed that much of “The Dread Wolf Take You” is a study in unreliable narrators. Can any of the tales be believed after Charter exposes the Bard? Do we move forward assuming the puzzle pieces we’re trying to fit together are the correct ones, or tread carefully on the word of a known liar?

Nothing about the Assassin’s Tale fits the facts we know: 

Meredith’s corpse didn’t actually stay in the middle of the square in uptown Kirkwall. Her remains were taken away to The Black Emporium. (iirc, Varric mentions this in one of the recent comics)

Pieces of her sword (Certainty) were re-forged for Samson to use in service of Corypheus, a sword which eventually passes to the Inquisition.

A shard of the idol continues to exist outside of Meredith’s remains, or her re-forged blade. Depending on worldstates, the shard is either a weapon rune--forged by Sandal and given to Hawke--or it was given to Varric (who then gave it to Bianca to study, I think). 

In the comics, and in a few of the short stories, the fiasco of Fen’Harel’s agent losing the red lyrium “item” is cleverly handled from a lore-continuity perspective. It’s only ever referred to as a “weapon,” which could mean a lot of things, and allows for greater freedom in describing it in later media. Until the Assassin’s Tale, I firmly believed they were talking about Certainty. Now we’re supposed to believe it’s been the magically re-formed Primeval Idol this whole time, freshly revealed (by the equally untrustworthy Mortalitasi) as a go-go-Gadget ritual blade.

So, are the Tales a cheeky narrative lie, or is it all lore retcon? If it’s a retcon... -What ritual could the blade have originally served? -Might it actually be a key, as lots of people have theorized? -Is there really a potion that can melt lyrium? -Does Solas actually have the idol now, or was his entire story a lie to cover the truth that he still hasn’t found it?

Also, uh. . .Can Solas just. . .kill people while they sleep/dream, even dwarves? I mean, he has demonstrated the ability to create a “dreamlike” state for a dwarf Inquisitor. But, this power seems OP, even for him, and narrative reach. Possibly it’s further evidence that nothing in “The Dread Wolf Take You” can be trusted. 1. If the plans for the Fade are already underway, what does this mean for people like Evangeline, Anders, Grandin, and Sigrid, who’re possessed by spirits/demons? It’s possible they’ll be forcibly separated. Those (like Evangeline) who’re only alive because of their spirit, will likely die. Without Justice, Anders might finally succumb to the taint. 

There are probably thousands of people across Rivain and Seheron, and among the Avvar and the Dalish, who’re contentedly hosting spirits. Would these spirits allow their mortal hosts to be harmed by Solas? Or could there be resistance to his plan from the Fade side of things?

Lots of the stories in Tevinter Nights include the theme of outliers breaking ranks from within a seemingly monolithic society: the Ben Hassrath don’t support the Antaam in their campaign, the Venatori and their supporters operate in defiance of Tevinter, the Crows had one of their Talons disrupt a centuries-old pact.

Going forward in the next game, we might see a spirit faction that, for any number of reasons, acts against The Dread Wolf’s plan to sunder the Veil.

2. Why does everyone in this book describe the red lyrium idol as having only two figures, when every depiction of it that we’ve seen clearly shows three? The crowned figure is (if Solas is to be believed) comforting one person, but no mention of the other poor soul, an even more skeletal figure who seems to be missing their left forearm, and is stuck on the other side of the large ring. No love for that dingus, I guess. Very curious.

And no mention of the serpentine shape that surrounds all three of them.

3. The sea is going to be a big part of the next stage of this story. 

-Mythal’s origin has her emerging from the sea. -In “Luck in the Gardens, the 8 Venatori who were tasked with keeping the “formless” monster in its sealed prison each wore a clay amulet depicting a thin four-winged dragon rising above a sea. -“The Horror of Hormak” describes the viscous gray transformation fluid (and the monsters it creates) as stinking of brine. -The Mortalitasi’s Tale includes a reference to The Dread Wolf screaming about the Sea of Dreams. -The Executors appear to be stepping into the action, finally. They are known as ‘those across the sea.’ -Among the murals discovered during Trespasser, there are some that include imagery of flowing water: The Death of a Titan, and  Lifting the Vallaslin -Before ascending to godhood, Ghilain’nain killed all of her creations. . .except the giant monsters in the deepest waters. Lore says “Pride stopped her hand,” which could mean that she spared them because she was too proud of how perfectly-made they were. Or, that an aspect of Pride (as a demon or spirit), convinced her to let them live.

4. I’ve always thought that the painted murals of Trespasser and those completed at Skyhold are actually of a different sort, in a very specific way. Much of the ornamentation, symbology, and iconography that’s used in the various frescoes in Trespasser. . .isn’t found in Skyhold’s frescoes.   My feeling, based on these differences in style, and the uneven quality of the paintings in the Vir’Dirthara, is that the murals in Trespasser have been painted-over. 

-Thanks to Gatsi, we know that the mosaics we worked so hard to complete for the Inquisition were all re-carved by several hands over the ages, making it difficult to get an accurate interpretation from them.

-During “The Horror of Hormak,” Ramesh and Lesha encounter mosaics depicting elven kings and queens, and their subjects. But the mosaics shift and change the longer they stare at them. The scenes transform from a glittering parade of nobility offering succor to their subjects. . .to a death-march of tyrants forcing magical torments on their slaves. 

-In “Genitivi Dies in the End,” our industrious well-traveled Brother is humbled when he discovers an elven tome that depicts the continent of Thedas in superior and, crushingly, more correct detail to anything he’s ever seen. Which means that either the continent has changed dramatically, or all the maps that exist in modernity are based upon a flawed (altered) source.

There’s an established trope of people from all parts of Thedas altering relics in order to change history’s interpretation of them. So, why would the frescoes/murals be any different? I believe that either Solas, or someone loyal to Solas, altered the murals in order to obscure the truth behind them. 

If we believe Philliam, a Bard! (though, again, an unreliable narrator), the Qunari Rasaan disbelieves all of the names attributed to Solas, either by his enemies or himself. As Philliam posits, to know Solas’ true name would be know the best and worst of him, his flaws and weaknesses, and what he’d “failed to be.”

Essentially, I think we’re being misled at every turn. And this leads me to. . .

5. None of the stories in Tevinter Nights expands on the role of dwarves in past and future conflicts. We get lots of new and juicy stuff on Tevinter, Nevarra, mages, elves, the Crows, the Lords of Fortune, even the Qunari. Noticeably and glaringly absent is any mention of dwarves, titans, and how they fit into the unfolding lore.

One of the largest and most influential groups of dwarves in all of Thedas (The Ambassadoria) lives right in the heart of Minrathous. Above ground. Vulnerable to the invading Qunari and Fen’Harel’s agents.

Dwarves are as tellingly absent in this set of stories as dragons were in all the Evanuris revelations.

The one place where those two things intersect. . .is out in the Hissing Wastes, near the Sunstop mountains (which has always sounded to me like the same naming convention as Skyhold).  

Out there, we come across a dwarven thaig, the only thaig to have been built above ground, that pre-dates the first Blight. It’s called Kal Repartha, which means ‘a place where we may meet in peace.’ Paragon Fairel and his sons appear to have built the thaig as a way to escape some huge conflict in the Deep Roads. 

Statues of Mythal’s dragon form are arranged in places of honor outside Fairel’s tomb. As if in protection. 

Fairel was a rune-smith, one of the greatest who ever lived. Mythal might have worked with Fairel toward some common goal, relying on his skills to make devastating weapons, runic keys for hidden places, or repositories of knowledge best kept secret. She might have protected Fairel as a respected friend and ally.

Reaching a little deeper, Mythal may have helped separate the ancient dwarves from the hivemind control of the titans, freeing them to create their own vibrant society, far from the “witless, soulless” existence they lived as drone-like workers. 

(As an interesting aside, Fairel wrote about dragons, proving that dragons, dwarves, and the Evanuris existed at the same time)

It just seems like the root of this unfolding elven lore is the Titans themselves, the life they created in the dwarves and the tangible world, the innate power of their blood, and the knowledge that was stolen from them. Why don’t dwarves feature more heavily in the anthology?

That’s it. That’s my tinfoil haberdashery at the moment. Thoughts? Corrections?

[northeasternwind]

Black Gate AU, 3/?

Hey remember my au where the timeline is all fucked up, Celebrimbor runs away from his living family and joins the Black Gate garrison, which exists already for some reason? If not, here’s part one and part two and a nebulous future part that comes sometime after this one.

Enjoy maybe it’s been a while LMFAO

~~~

Celebrimbor finds that he enjoys the night watch. Forgework, of course, is more within his talents, but… Mordor is restless and dangerous enough that the night watch does not feel like a waste of time. It is usually quiet enough that he can catch up with his thoughts, and despite their proximity to the Dark Lord the stars still shine in a way they never had in Valinor.

He sings sometimes. At first he does so quietly, not wishing to disturb the rest of his companions, but as they approach him and confide that their sleep comes easier on nights when he sings he tries to do so more often. He is not like his uncle, who could have brought Sauron to tears or sing illusions into reality, but if he can ease the cares of those upon the Black Gate…

It is at this point that the captain begins joining him upon the wall. Talion is utterly dedicated to the safety and happiness of those under his care, and though the long years have taught him to find his rest Celebrimbor supposes he must still have nights where sleep eludes him.

“You are the leader of this encampment,” he stops singing to say, “and have no need to hide from your guests, captain.”

Talion emerges from the shadow of the tower like a ghost in the night. He is still in full armor.

“I enjoy your singing,” he admits. “Go on— I shall leave, if I am disturbing you.”

Celebrimbor smiles, turns his gaze back to the east and sings on, and from then on Talion is a regular companion during his night watch.

They do speak sometimes, both of news from the west and of the goings-on in the Black Gate, but more often they simply stand and watch the horizon in silence. It… It is a nice change, Celebrimbor admits, to the trappings of the court, or the company of other elves who expect him to defend himself, or any number of other situations where Celebrimbor must watch his words carefully. The effort Talion expects from him is of the kind he is only too happy to give, and does not seem to mind that some days Celebrimbor lapses into a long silence.

He is as good as his word, and does not ask from whence Celebrimbor came.

But some days Talion is clearly in need of company, and it is the least Celebrimbor can do to provide.

“Long day?” he asks, though he knows the answer already. There had been some shrieking and crying this morning, though Celebrimbor had been assured by others that it was no business of his and no threat to the others in the fortress, “for the most part,” one said sardonically.

Talion groans. “One of the civilians caught their spouse cheating, and naturally it is my duty to decide what will become of the perpetrator.”

Celebrimbor frowns. Cheating at what? It may be a turn of phrase, but Talion has not said enough for him to deduce what it is he means…

“What does that mean?” he asks outright, after a moment of trying and failing to figure it out on his own. “What did they catch their spouse doing?”

Talion gives him a strange, incredulous look, though it eases after a moment. “I suppose your people would have a different name for it. Someone caught their spouse making love to another, and such things are rather more dangerous on the Black Gate than they may have been elsewhere.”

For a moment Celebrimbor stares, because what Talion has said cannot be true. His entire life has been shaped by the Statute of Miriel, the decree of the gods, and for mortals to so easily discard it—

He must mean flirting, Celebrimbor then decides. But that makes little more sense; if they were married, surely they could not hope to hide such a betrayal from their spouse!

And regardless, whether Talion refers to verbal love-making or something rather more flagrant— 

“Why?” he asks, unable to keep confusion out of his voice. “How?”

Talion blinks, and the strange look returns. “Surely all peoples must have such dalliances, and not merely we mortals?”

Dalliances. To wed again, on a mere fancy…

“No,” Celebrimbor manages, though shock forces his voice rather higher than its usual pitch. “We— I cannot think of how that would even be possible, much less why one would bring such harm to one’s spouse.”

The captain grimaces. “It is indeed possible, and there are those who even delight in such betrayals— those who find pleasure not merely in the act itself, but in the knowledge that it is forbidden, and that to reveal it would cause others pain.

“But I doubt that was the case this time,” he goes on, probably noting the horrified expression Celebrimbor must wear. “I believe Damrod’s own selfish desires simply overpowered any care he may hold for the one he supposedly loves, and now he faces the consequences of breaking that trust forever.”

But why? Why? What could possibly have been worth hurting the one he treasured enough to marry? Idle flirting? Surely not, but the alternative...

“I don’t understand it either,” Talion says. “I have imagined sometimes how Ioreth and Dirhael would feel should I ever do such a thing, and I cannot imagine what could possibly be worth harming them so. I, at least, did not pledge my love and loyalty lightly.”

“Nor should you,” Celebrimbor agrees at once. “To have known someone so intimately, and then…”

Talion continues where Celebrimbor cannot. “Surely it cannot be so difficult to simply speak to one’s spouse about such things.”

“That was certainly my assumption.”

“Now their bond is sundered,” Talion says with a note of finality. “And for what?”

For the sake of another, Celebrimbor thinks. That is the only rationale his mind can provide: he must have married in haste, and then found the one he loved outside of that union. But even then…

“What of the… interloper?” he asks. “If the others share your opinion and your sense, then surely they will condemn Damrod. But what share of the burden does his partner hold?”

Talion’s mouth thins into a grim line. “When done knowingly? In the shadows, with full knowledge that the object of your desire is pledged to another?”

He leaves the rest for Celebrimbor to infer on his own.

“...What will you do?” he asks finally.

Talion sighs. “I have not decided yet. I need every sword I can spare, and yet to keep both perpetrators when the others are likely to despise them… It is selfish of me to say, for the difficulty this has brought me pales in comparison, but a part of me also feels betrayed.”

“A difficult situation. If only I had any insight to offer you…”

“If you have never heard of such a thing before I would not expect that from you,” the captain says. “But I will think of something. I thank you for listening, Nalkhûn.”

“Sir,” Celebrimbor answers. He has much to think about, that night.