#Vanguard Initiative

[mrn0093]

▼INFO

I illustrated the Date for the Spike Chunsoft [AI: Somnium File Nirvana Initiative] x [Village Vanguard] collaboration!

I'm really honored to be asked to illustrate again, following the first one��Thank you !

△Village Vanguard

https://vvstore.jp/feature/list/?redirect=true

△online shopping from overseas

https://shop.buyee.jp/vvstore/shopping/search/category/0?searchHis=1&query=AINI

[incorrectcfvg]

[master-gatherer]

Anyway

[transformerskinkfest]

Transformers Kinkfest Prompt List 2024

The prompt list is HERE! Thank you all for your suggestions!

Each day has one Transformers kink and one alternative, more general kink (in italics at the end) - use one, use both, combine them any way you like! (Each kink also has a little blurb, but this is just to give you a bit more context on the more unusual ones. Don't feel bound by the explanation - if you want to take a prompt in a totally different direction, go for it!!)

Please remember to tag #transformerskinkfest or #tf kinkfest when you post your work. You can also post to the AO3 collection here!

PROMPTS:

17 October: Alt mode interfacing. What it says on the tin - sex in alternate mode! (Alt prompt: Collar)

18 October: Faction play. Could be two (or more) characters of different factions, or characters pretending to be different factions than they are. Not limited to Autobots and Decepticons - if you want someone pretending to be in the Primal Vanguard or the DJD, go for it! (Alt prompt: Roleplay)

19 October: Xeno. Human (or humanformer)/Transformer pairings, or Transformers with any other sentient alien species. (Alt prompt: Threesome or moresome)

20 October: Fuel siphoning. Siphoning or pumping fuel out of or into your parter(s), and all the sensations/emotions that could go with it. (Alt prompt: Feeding)

21 October: Compatibility modes OR cultural differences. Playing with cultural differences - between citystates, colonies, factions, or Cybertronians and other species - in the berth. This is the compatibility mode concept, from the person who suggested it: "The concept is that bots for whatever reason (forged, constructed, modded, upgraded?) have "compatibility modes" that allow them to more easily interface with beings on other planets. i e Eurythman mode is more sonic focused, or Lithonian mode includes piezoelectric features standard Cybertronian mode doesn't have, or Quintesson mode has more tentacles, etc. And the bot(s) with this kink want to run compatibility mode even when interfacing with another Cybertronian for whatever reason. Like, "let's do it like they do in Menonia, or Odessyx, or Nexus Zero."... How is that mode different, how did they learn of it, what's fun about it for them now with current partner(s)?" (Alt prompt: Public)

22 October: Sentient vehicles. Driving, flying, or just being completely enveloped within your partner (or having them completely inside you) in alt mode. (Alt prompt: Overstimulation)

23 October: Tentacles. Lots of beings - and a fair number of bots - have them... maybe more than we think! (Alt prompt: Bondage)

24 October: Remote transfer. Getting thoughts/information/sensations beamed into your brain by your partner - even at a distance. (Alt prompt: Sensory deprivation)

25 October: Plug 'n' play. Sex via physically plugging into your partner. (Alt prompt: Pet play)

26 October: Obsolete or unusual equipment/abilities. Some bots may have systems that don't initially seem compatible with (or are just a surprise to) their partners - maybe because they're older models, maybe they were created for a specific purpose or person, etc. Doesn't have to be limited to interface equipment - could include other body parts (hi there, Tailgate's suction cup mouth!) or even unusual/Outlier powers. (Alt prompt: Double penetration)

27 October: Sentient weapons. Alt mode sex meets weapons play! From the person who suggested this prompt: "Either A. a bot wants a sentient weapon (gun-former, targetmaster, Mini-Cons that combine into a sword, etc) to be involved in their interfacing with another bot, while in their weapon form; or B. The character(s) who is/are the sentient weapon initiate the request to be involved with a bot or bots interfacing while remaining in their weapon form." (Alt prompt: Biting)

28 October: Tactile interfacing. Basically, sex outside of the sticky or plug 'n' play models: sex that consists of touching your partner's frame, toying with their wires, playing with their EM field - your imagination is the limit. (Alt prompt: Orgasm denial)

29 October: Body control/system takeover. Controlling or hacking your partner's body, either via plugging in or remotely. (Alt prompt: Domination)

30 October: Wing kink/kibble kink. Wings, doors, wheels, antennae - it's all good! (Alt prompt: Size difference)

31 October: Free choice!

[essektheylyss]

One thing that I feel is really interesting and often forgotten about Essek is that fundamentally, his characterization has been from the start based upon his desperation for external perspectives and connection, which, along with much of his narrative and mechanical positioning, means that he actually has an extraordinary and almost (but not actually, as I'll show) counterintuitive capacity for both growth and trust.

(Buckle in. This is a long one.)

In particular, I would argue, knowing now that many places where the plot touches Ludinus have long been marked for connecting back into the current plot, that he was quite possibly built as a prime candidate for radicalization by the Ruby Vanguard. He felt isolated from his culture, he was desperate for other connection, and he was certainly of the type to believe he was too smart to be drawn into such a thing, given his initial belief that he could control the situation and the fallout. If things had gone any other way, he easily could've been on the other side by now.

As such, he has been hallmarked by being fairly open to suggestion, perhaps for this reason, but the thing about that kind of trait is that it is both how people are radicalized and deradicalized. This is certainly true of Essek, who experienced genuine kindness and quite frankly strangeness from the Nein and was able to move from the isolation the Assembly had engendered to meaningful and genuine connection, largely propelled by his own internal reflection. By the time Nein are aware of his crimes, he's already begun to express regret to an extent and, furthermore, doubt in the Assembly, including explicitly drawing a line against Ludinus, even in a position where he was on his own and probably quite vulnerable.

Similarly, when the Nein reach the Vurmas Outpost some weeks later, he has moved from regret for the position he's ended up carrying a heavy remorse. This makes sense! He's fairly introspective, seems used to spending a lot of time in his own head, and was left with plenty to mull over. It's not some kind of retcon for him to have progressed well past where the Nein left him; it just means he's an active participant in the world who has done his own work in the meantime.

This is another interesting aspect to him. I've talked about this a bit before but I cannot find the post so I'll recap here: antagonists in D&D have significantly more agency than allied NPCs. Antagonists are active forces, against which the party is meant to struggle; allies are meant to support the PCs, which means they tend to be more passive in both their actions and their character growth. Essek was both built as an antagonist, in a position that gives him significant agency, and also was then given significant opportunity to grow specifically to act as a narrative mirror for Caleb's arc. Even when he becomes a more traditional D&D ally, he still retains much of that, though he occupies a supporting role.

I believe that this is especially true because of the nature of Caleb's arc, which I've already written on; the tl;dr of this post is that Caleb is both convinced that he is permanently ruined and also desperate to prove that change is possible. Essek is that proof, because he is simply the character in a position to do so. But this also means that his propensity for introspection and openness is accentuated! He has to do the legwork on his own, for the most part, because that's where he is in the meantime.

But he still ends the campaign necessarily constricted; he is under significant scrutiny, he's at risk from the Assembly, and he goes on the run fairly soon after the story ends. He spends most of the final arc anxious and paranoid, which is valid given the crushing reality of his situation. It would be very easy to extrapolate that seven years into this reality, he would be insular, closed off, and suspicious of strangers, even in spite of the lessons he's learned from the Nein and their long term exposure.

So seeing his openness and lightness now is surprising, but at the same time, given this combination of factors in his position in the narrative over time and his defining traits, it's not by any means unreasonable.

But one thing that I found so delightful is how much trust he exhibits, which is obviously a wild thing to say about Essek in particular, given much of what he learns is both earning and offering trust, which was something he says explicitly in 2x124 that he's never really experienced: "I've never really been trusted and so I did not trust." It makes up much of the progression of his relationship with Caleb, and the trust that he is offered by the Nein in walking off the ship is the impetus he needs to grow.

But I think it's easy to talk about trust when it comes to people who have proven themselves to you or to whom you've ingratiated yourself, and that's really the most we can say about Essek by the time he leaves the Blooming Grove. There is this sense in a lot of discussion of trust (not solely in this fandom) that it is only related to either naivete or love, but there's far more to it. Trust at its best is deliberate—cultivating an openness to the world at large is a great way to combat cynicism and beget connection instead. It allows a person to maintain curiosity and be open to experience, but it can be incredibly difficult to hold onto.

It is clear that the Essek we meet now is a very pointedly and intentionally trusting individual. He trusts Caleb and by extension Caleb's trust in Keyleth, as he shows up and picks up a group of strangers from a foreign military encampment and walks in without issue. He trusts the Hells to follow his lead moving through Zadash and to exhibit enough discretion so as to avoid bringing suspicion upon all of them. He trusts that Astrid will respond well to his entrance, but he also trusts himself and the Hells enough to execute a back-up plan in the case that she doesn't. In the end, he even trusts them enough to give them his name and identity.

He doesn't scan as someone who has spent half a dozen years living like a prey animal, afraid of any shadow he runs across in an alley, withdrawn into himself and an insular family, which would've been an easy route for him to take. He scans as someone who has learned the kind of trust borne of learned confidence and a trained eye for good will and kindness, which are crucial weapons one would need for staving off cynicism in his circumstances—as if he has survived thanks more to connection and kindness than paranoia and isolation. (If we want to be saccharine about it, he scans quite poignantly as a member of the Mighty Nein.)

So it is easy to imagine this trust and openness as a natural progression of his initial search for perspectives external to his own cultural knowledge. Though he makes those first connections with the Assembly to try to vindicate his personal hypotheses, he finds in them exposure to the deepest corruption among Exandrian mortals, which could've—and did, for a time—turned him further down that same dark path.

But it's also this same openness to exposure from the wider world that allows the Nein to influence him for the better, and in spite of the challenges he's certainly faced simply surviving over the past seven years, he seems to have held onto this openness enough to move through the world with self-assurance and a willingness to extend the kinds of trust and good will that he has been shown.

(I would be remiss not to mention that I was reminded about my thoughts on this by this lovely post from sky-scribbles and their use in the tags of 'light' to describe Essek's demeanor this episode, which is really such an apt word for it.)

[boredguitarfish]

Brother Damocle, black shield chaplain of the Deathwatch at Watch Fortress Erioch.

Formerly a vanguard veteran of the Astral Claw chapter, under the name of Koritan, he was inducted into the rank of deathwatch chaplains after a near standard century of service and apprenticeship in the Long Vigil at Eye of Damocles. Astral Claw called for his return prior to the start of Badab war, yet the message was lost through the layers of bureaucracy of the Inquision, and only reached the watch station after the initiation of the war. Koritan was immediately seized by the inquisition and was placed under intense interrogation and scrutinization due to his apparent connection with his former chapter, which was proven unnecessary as he ended up in the deathwatch predominately due to his disdain towards Huron. After his name was cleared, the chaplain rescinded all his previous connections, including his name given to him by his former chapter.

He requested the removal of his details and a transfer to other watch fortresses, which was granted. Now with the status of a black shield and adopting the name of his former watch fortress, Damocle rejoined his brothers in the deathwatch with unprecedented ferocity.

N.B. The character is extensively scarred with his jaw replaced with metal work, akin to the chaplain’s death mask’s mandible. He is a veteran to start with, and harbors a furious eager and self destructive passion in battle for the shame of his former chapter.

[lilith-of-stardust]

Mrs Chapman's Boarding House is a venerable Fallen London institution where Londoners of all walks of life come and partake of the soup and lounge in the numerous parlors. That, however, was only after the Fall. Here stands Mrs Chapman's circa 1862, significantly more Euclidean in nature.

There were some poetic liberties taken to make the canon appearance of the house play nice with the physical limitations of the Sims (The attic room was at least two hours of my life...). The bottom four photos are the parlor, Archie's bedroom, Griz's desk, and the kitchen.

Mrs Chapman's Boarding House on the gallery or search user CrownedCorvine

Some other liberties & Easter eggs (& some spoilers!):

The canon appearance of the building is a triple decker; but in-game there's mention of how few rooms are currently available. Given that the attic room is very much not a part of the triple-decker setup, the building has been shortened to two full stories + attic. There is, however, an extra room, which begs the question: why did Moss need to take Archie's room...? I guess we'll never know. Perhaps Horatia had someone in mind she was keeping it open for.

As the heart of the house - in a manner of speaking - it stands to reason that Horatia would keep the room off of the kitchen for herself, though initially intended as a the servants' room.

Horatia strikes me as someone who would be at the vanguard of health and shell out for indoor plumbing the moment it was readily available; cleanliness is next to Godliness, after all. The main bathroom on the first floor has been expanded and had a soaking tub installed in recent years.

With the rest of the house heavily decorated and cozy, Horatia's bedroom is her space to reflect and clear her head, and therefore is sparse, save for a tin-type photo of her father above her bed.

There are no directly biblical art pieces in the Sims so instead of the lion and the lamb on the mantelpiece, I went with the rooster, which historically has been used as a symbol of recognizing one's own sins and seeking redemption in Christianity. I hope Horatia doesn't mind the replacement.

The mannequin is dressed in what I usually purchase for my MCs to wear in MotR: the taupe gentleman's greatcoat and top hat.

On the desk in the attic, there's a book from which a Sim can learn the spell "inferniate" - this is as close as I could get to a Sim being able to write sigils, which burn when written on normal paper.

Griz's grew up around tenant farmers and specifically mentions horses when you ask her about her childhood; the horse statue on her desk helps stave off the homesickness for greener pastures back on the estate, though it seldom strikes.

There are glasses on Archie's bedside table, referencing the fact if you pursue the manifesto plotline, he'll reward you with the dark posing spectacles.

Horatia is known for her cooking, and, when she can, she leaves baked goods in the parlor. Here, there are some Yorkshire puddings... or, if you're a nasty American like me, some popovers.

Of course, the Sims doesn't allow for strange sprawling and recursive architectury (yet) so I will not be attempting later iterations of Mrs Chapman's humble abode. :)

[ittybittyremy]

“Orym’s family was able to heal but he was not. It’s been years but he refuses to move on”

Golly gee I wonder why… It’s almost as if Orym has been willingly cutting open old scars and putting salt in them for months

TLDR: It’s not that he refuses to move on, it’s that he can’t.

People who never watched EXU don’t know that Orym was healing and was moving on. There was a sadness to him but he was healing. His tattoo was a part of that healing. Every day was one foot in front of the other.

This mission is what is taking out years worth of healing. It was bound to happen.

The initial mission of investigating an attack that was similar to the one that killed your husband and father is opening old wounds. Everything else is just putting salt in it.

And Orym is willingly putting salt in those wounds for the sake of there being a tomorrow (C3E77) for Exandria and everyone living on it.

It would be one thing if the rest of his family was with him on this mission but they’re not. The closest person would be Leeta but that is not even close to how deep Orym is in it (as far as we are aware).

Like no shit Orym is having a hard time healing. I would be too if I was constantly exposed to things related to my husband and father’s death to that level. No matter how long ago it was

Orym could start moving on again once he’s not as exposed to his traumas. He could leave and give up on the mission but he’s not gonna do that. Not while knowing that his husband and father would be on this mission with him if they were alive.

So he really has one option: stop the Ruby Vanguard and Ludinus from releasing Predathos and potentially destroying Exandria and killing (more) people. And maybe then he can start moving on again

[casscainmainly]

Duke Thomas and the Robin Mantle

There's been some minor discussion about whether Duke counts as an 'official' Robin or not. While that discussion is interesting, I actually don't think it's the crux of the Duke and Robin issue. To me, the question is whether or not he should be Robin. And, to me, the answer is definitively yes.

This is purely my opinion, and I haven't read every single Duke comic so it's possible I've misread/missed things. Any Duke fans, absolutely feel free to add or disprove anything here!

The Changing Robin

The first thing to understand is that Robin, as a mantle, has shifted with each person it's been passed to. Tim's Robin doesn't mean the same thing as Jason's Robin, which doesn't mean the same thing as Damian's. A mark of a true Robin is the ability to shift the meaning of Robin by wearing the colours.

Duke absolutely fulfils this criteria. In fact, him and his We Are Robin crew are the biggest shift in the meaning of Robin since its creation.

Cover from We Are Robin #1. The phrase "We're not sidekicks. We're an army!" signals the shift from Robin as individual to Robin as collective; from Robin as tied to the singular Batman to Robin as a wider movement, a socio-political force. The last question, "are you ready?", is vitally important as well. Duke as Robin is meant to be different. He's meant to be non-normative, a groundbreaking turn in what Robin looks and feels like.

At the end of the first issue, a disguised Alfred (who started We Are Robin) thinks the following:

Alfred infuses the phrase "of color" with two meanings: the Robin colours, and People of Colour. By explicitly linking Robin to POC, the comic is suggesting that not only can kids of colour be Robin, but that they should be Robin. Robins of Colour are the "future of this city," and Duke is the vanguard of this future. It's no coincidence that the Robin before (Damian) and the one after (Maps) are both POC. Duke, however, is the Robin that gives the mantle an explicit direction towards diversity: him and WAR use Robin as a social movement, and in doing so transform the colours of Robin into a symbol for the diversity in Gotham and the world.

Robin as Collective

Duke doesn't change Robin alone. The point of We Are Robin is that Robin is a collective, and it's important that Duke doesn't start WAR (as much as people like to say he did). By joining late, the comic demonstrates that Duke is part of a bigger movement.

The Robin community represents POC solidarity, the necessity and ability of the oppressed to band together. Lee Bermejo ends We Are Robin's final issue with "stress on the word "we"" - Duke's arc, in one sense, is learning to rely and work with others (he initially mistrusts basically everyone). The WAR community is essential to both Duke's character development and his tenure as Robin.

So to have this page, affirming his loyalty and love for them, to be followed immediately by them being written out is... something.

Duke appears next in Batman: Rebirth, where Bruce gives him the yellow suit and tells him he's not looking for a Robin. As soon as he stops being Robin, the community around him quite literally falls apart. Izzy sticks around for a bit but fades into obscurity, Riko and Dax turn evil, Dre ends up in Arkham - all of these fates are antithetical to these characters and genuinely tragic.

Batman: The Secret Files: The Signal is possibly the worst Duke story in existence, but it's important to understanding why Robin!Duke mattered. Riko calls Signal 'Bat-Signal', highlighting his sudden reduction to a Batman acolyte. His friends turning on him shows how, by losing Robin, he also lost the community formed by WAR. In every way, his transition into the Signal was saturated by loss.

Robin Doesn't Need A Batman

Bruce giving Duke the Signal suit is borderline insulting. He already had an identity predicated on the fact that he didn't need Batman.

From Batman (2011) #45, Batman: Rebirth, and Night of the Monster Men. "Robin doesn't need a Batman" is an inversion of Tim's 'Batman needs a Robin' - in many ways, Duke is the opposite of Tim, who's rich, White, and whose Robin is the most focused on helping Batman. If Tim is the ideal Robin-as-partner, Duke is the ideal Robin-as-individual. His idea of Robin is not, and has never been, associated with Batman.

People who say Duke isn't an official Robin since he was never Batman's partner miss the point. He is Robin because he was never Batman's partner. That's what Robin means to him - a mantle free from Bruce and all authority.

"Batman is on the gargoyle. Robin... Robin is on the street." Robin is the person on the ground, who lives and belongs to the people. When Duke becomes Signal, this ground aspect - as well as his separation from Batman - is gone.

In this cover from Batman & The Signal, they gave him a Bat symbol and put him on a gargoyle. They erased every single part of his Robin philosophy.

The Original Robin

Post-We Are Robin, Bruce becomes the Batfam member Duke interacts with the most. Besides the insult of Bruce withholding Robin, this fact also strips away one of my favourite aspects about early Duke - he was tied to the Batfamily through the Robins (especially Damian and Dick), not by Batman.

It's Dick, the original Robin, who chooses him.

Dick recognises that him and Duke have a lot in common. He tells Duke in Robin War that he's "got it," and that he's a natural leader - Dick knows Duke has what it takes to be Robin, and explicitly endorses him.

Not only that, but when Dick sends Duke to jail (along with the other Robins, official and unofficial), he tells Duke that he "take[s] care of [his] family". He basically inducts Duke into the family then and there!

Dick's endorsement of Duke makes it more interesting that Bruce doesn't make him Robin. Despite Duke's disillusionment at the end of Robin War (dispelled soon after in WAR), the events in RW confirm that Duke can and should be Robin. Bruce not making Duke Robin is defying both Duke's potential and Dick's right to choose Robins.

Robin as Family

On the rooftop in Robin War, Dick tells Duke that Robin is about family. This is the fundamental connection between them both: Robin acts as the link to the families they've lost and gained.

For Dick, Robin keeps John and Mary Grayson alive, while also symbolising his connection to Bruce. For Duke, Robin is the intersection of three families: the heroic legacy of his parents, the tight-knit community of We Are Robin, and the newfound friendship of the Batfamily.

In Batman (2011) #45, Duke tries to give his friend Daryl a Robin badge. He says, "you and me, we came up together. We're fam[ily]." Even before Dick, Duke associated Robin with family, and Daryl implies in the next issue that Duke became Robin because of his parents' inclination to help. Signal, of course, also comes from his mom; but unlike Robin, Signal isn't a legacy mantle. As Robin, he constantly inducted people like Daryl, Riko, Damian, etc. into his family. As Signal, his circle shrinks immeasurably, until it's really only the Batfamily and the Outsiders if we're being generous. (Daryl also turns evil - a really unfortunate pattern for Duke side characters).

Lark and Conclusion

I'm going to end with this panel from Batman & The Signal #1, which is emblematic of the way DC has treated Duke and Robin as a whole. Bruce tells Duke that Lark is "too soft" a name. DC was probably debating between Lark and Signal, but it's telling what they went with. How is Lark too soft, exactly? How is it any softer than Robin?

By overtly dismissing the bird-like name, Bruce - and DC editorial, or whoever decided this - is definitively moving Duke away from Robin. And it's a shame. In Duke's transition from Robin to Signal, he has next to no agency. Bruce tells him he's not Robin, Bruce gives him the suit, Bruce tells him not to be Lark, Bruce gives him another suit. It's a stark contrast from his induction into Robin - though Alfred arranged it, he gave Duke a choice. Duke chooses Robin.

Duke being disallowed the Robin mantle is, to me, on par with DC stripping Cass of the Bat symbol during the New 52. The racism behind both these decisions cannot be overstated - both Cass and Duke redefined their mantles, and their mantles defined them. At least Cass' mistake has been corrected, and lots of writers and fans acknowledge how horrible that period was. For Duke, he was never given a real chance. And it's unlikely he ever will be.

This is not a knock against the Signal identity or any writers. However, it genuinely saddens me to think that all of this story potential - Duke's redefinition of Robin, his relationship to Dick, his connection to We Are Robin, and above all his ability to choose who he wants to be - has been neglected and cast aside. Even if they never acknowledge his role as Robin, I hope future stories centre him once again, because it's what he deserves.

[utilitycaster]

I sort of got off topic in the ask I just answered, and this is also a repetition of stuff I and others have said pretty frequently before but: an unbelievably consistent theme across Critical Role especially, but also D20 while we're at it, is that sitting forever in resentment of your personal traumas, valid though they may be, can very easily become a source of villainy. It leads to a mentality in which you are always the wronged and oppressed (structurally or individually) party, even when you surpass those who wronged you in power, even if you start perpetuating the same harm. We see it constantly. It's the entire premise behind how Orthax functions and both Percy and Ripley fall to it; it's Delilah's eventual motivation after her initial defeat; it's the underpinning of Wildemount's many cults and something Lucien repeatedly cites in-game (and he is more sympathetic than most when finally given more internality in the book); it's essentially what Trent relies on to indoctrinate students. It's how the Vanguard recruits and it is, above all, what drives Ludinus and his generals and (reluctant, resentful) allies. It's why Kipperlily is one of D20's greatest villains, and why Calroy betrays in ACOC. Even more so than a thirst for power on its own without necessarily the accompaniment of this resentment (Goldenhoard, Avantika, Briarwoods pre-initial defeat, Chroma Conclave) this is portrayed as the enemy.

The thing about that resentment is that it relies on the villain forever portraying themselves as powerless, as just a little guy who you can't hit because they're just a little baby boy. As, as I said last night, an NPC rather than someone with immense agency. It's a lie; don't fall for it. It's true that with great power comes great responsibility, but with any small amount of power does come small responsibility. This resentment essentially is an abdication of that responsibility to take what you have and try to improve things, and instead focusing on how everything is someone else's fault. And something I love about actual play, since power through agency is indeed at its core, is that this abdication of responsibility is consistently portrayed as something terrible.

[mrn0093]

I am very honoured to be in charge of the collaboration illustrations for [AI : THE SOMNIUM FILES nirvanA Initiative] x [Village Vanguard]. →https://vvstore.jp/feature/detail/19979/

[unlucky-phantom]

Crow x Reader SFW Relationship Alphabet

So, I tried my best with this one, I hope you enjoy it. sorry if its a little OOC. i love crow but he's a character I've not had much exposure to. its also not been massively proof read but either way I hope you all enjoy! (I've yet to add the links to the lore books but when its not 11pm I will!)

xoxo

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

At first crow is a bit hesitant with affection. What if he did it wrong? What if he was too much? What if you realised you didn’t like him? This led to a rather frustrating lack of communication with crow hesitant to initiate affection and you pulling back slightly thinking his lack of affection was in response to being overwhelmed by your own actions. After it reaches its peak you both sit down and clear the air. Crow gets things off his chest and realises you more than welcome any affection he wants to give.

At first its secretive, shy. More cuddles and kisses when you’re both relaxing in your apartment. He’ll makes you tea or coffee on cold mornings before heading out, draw you baths when you get back covered in dirt, sweat and something he frankly daren’t ask about. His affection is soft and warm.

Eventually he’ll feel comfortable enough to show a little more affection outside your little slice of privacy. His Pinky will find yours, linking them as you listen to one of Osiris’s lectures, he’ll place a hand on the small of your back, thumb making soft soothing circles.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

His mind is in two sorts. One side shies away, best case scenario guardians would be polite, but he could see the slight contempt for him in their eyes, especially the hunters. The other side, the side desperate for connection with someone, anyone, wants to reach out to you. Its this side that wins when you and crow are paired up on a routine patrol in the dreaming city to some more dangerous areas infested with taken. When he isn’t treated to the usual harshness, the malicious and reluctant compliance with being paired with him, he relaxes a little. Glints incessant chatter in his ear about how nice you were and how he should ask to do something with you in the tower, or talk to you more, or even just smile at you a little more.

To his surprise after the patrol, you offer to take him out to the ramen joint and, after getting over his surprise, he agrees and it blossoms from there.

You’re both very close, attached at the hip and rarely going on missions and patrols without one another. He’s a very protective and considerate friend. Zavala, Osiris, and a few others had shown him forgiveness and understanding but none like you. You truly cared. He’s the first to speak up if he feels the vanguard are putting too much on you and taking advantage of your willingness to help.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

This touch starved man is desperate for anything he can get.

Crows first touch from a guardian was a female titan who had spotted him as he took his first steps into the world of guardians. She proceeded to snap his collar bone and crush his pelvis with a flaming hammer and left him to die there from internal haemorrhaging. After that he decided to cover his face and very rarely sought out the touch of other guardians.

Then came you.

he trusted you enough to sleep near you, let you touch him, knowing you wouldn’t hurt him. You would sit by the campfire, leant against one another, and slowly sink into a peaceful albite short slumber.

After you and crow get closer as friends and something more, you would both find solace in each other’s arms, whether it was after a particularly harrowing mission, loss of a friend or simply a bad day full of minor inconveniences.

After you start dating, he’s so cuddly. In your apartment, he’s all over you. Cooking? he’s there behind you, arms round your waist. Laundry? Same deal. In bed? You don’t need that weighted blanket anymore, you have an awoken male shaped pillow on top of you. He’s very fond of how your fingers gently trace the swirls of light on his face as he relaxes into you.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Crow knows the possibility of being able to settle down is slim to none. Theres always a new threat, a new enemy but he can dream.

This man can’t cook to save his life. He can make edible meals but cook something and make it taste good on purpose, not so much. He puts effort into other things though, always helping out with the chores when you’ve both got the time to do them. Being house proud tends to come second to being a guardian out in the field.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

I honestly can’t see crow leaving you unless you did something heinous that he just can’t forgive. If he did it would be face to face after convincing from Osiris and saint or glint. When he does see you, you have to coax what he’s trying to say out of him because he’s just that nervous. And if you cry? That’ll just break him.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Crow is very quick to commit. As soon as he knows that you both have the same feelings for one another and that he can trust you, he will never stray from your side. Unlike Cayde who would promise to marry you when everything dies down, crow is the opposite. Nothing big or lavish and he’ll try his best to get a nice ring, but he would want everyone to know and to have that promise and commitment. A small ceremony consisting of very close friends, probably officiated by Mara, Zavala or Osiris takes place in the courtyard at dusk as the sun is setting.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Emotionally, crow is very aware. After years of picking up the subtle glares, veiled threats and reading between the lines crow is very in tuned to other people’s emotions, especially yours. He knows when your calm face remains so but your fists client and jaw sets that your moments away from punching the next annoyance that passes you, he notices the tiredness in your eyes no matter how hard you try to hide it and he always notices the glassiness in your gaze as you fight back tears. And he always knows how to help. A calming hand, a warm embrace, a hot drink, and a blanket. He’ll never dismiss your feelings.

Physically, crow is equally as gentle. Uldrens hands were tools of death, Deaths of many and he wants to be anything but that. When touching you he’s always gentle, he treats you with reverences, like you’re the most precious thing he’s held and to him its true.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

This is pretty much covered in the cuddles section. At first, he was a little adverse to touch but after you hug him out of sheer relief he was addicted and realised what he had been missing out.

Crows’ coms had gone down mid mission while the pair of you had been separated during a high-risk mission. No matter what you had tried you couldn’t establish a connection. You reach the exfil point and…. nothing. he wasn’t there. You waited and just as you were about to go and look for him, he emerges looking worse for wear, armour muddied, cloak torn a little at the edges and panting. You didn’t give it a second thought you surge forward, wrapping your arms around him, telling him how worried you were. He freezes but with a little encouragement from glint he relaxes and returns the hug.

Crows’ hugs are gentle but firm, holding you close as he buries his face into your hair or the side of your neck. Nine times out of ten you will have to be the one to end the hug or you’ll be there a long time.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Crow would be the first to say it. Hed take you somewhere scenic, you’d have been dancing round one another’s feeling for a while. He’s a fumbling mess, what you didn’t see was the 15-minute prep talk he got from glint. When he does say it, it’s quiet, he’s holding your hands as he finally says the words. His eyes watching you closely waiting for the rejection or the horror that…never comes. When you return the little 3 words, he’s letting out a breath he’s been holding far too long.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He gets jealous, not a lot but he does. He likes having your attention. You’re attentive, caring, and sweet, of course he wants to be the one you focus on. He totally doesn’t move your favourite plushie across the room because you cuddled it instead of him that night…. doesn’t matter that he got home after you’d fallen asleep, it should have been him. He never voices these things because he knows its unreasonable and this manifests as frustration and frequent berating of himself. When you notice his change in behaviour and ask him, he comes clean about his feelings, he explains how he feels bad about it and is surprised when you comfort him and explain that a little jealousy is normal and okay, as long as he doesn’t let it get out of hand.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Crow’s kisses are soft and unhurried. He likes to make the most of every single one. He’s a tad inexperienced, before he got Uldrens memories, he had never kissed another, steering away from taking off his mask. And Uldren wasn’t exactly a magnet for physical affection, so crow hasn’t had much practice. Much to his delight, you’re quick to rectify this.

Crow will kiss you everywhere but he’s particularly fond of your wrists, forehead, and nape of your neck when spooning.

Crow adores any kisses you give him, be it lips, cheeks or anywhere else. He won’t admit that he’s very fond of when you kiss a particular spot just under his jaw line that makes him melt.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Crow has a surprising amount of experience with children. Uldren would tell stories to eliksni children, even putting voices on, earning him delighted laughter. Crow misses this, he often tells glit about the times he would tell exciting tales to the children and when Eido suggests him coming to tell the children stories again one day., well…how could he turn down an offer like that, and of course you got an invite.

When he’s with the children, sat cross legged on the floor as the many eyes watch him with an alarming amount of attention, its like a new side of him peaks out, a soft and confident demeanour as he does all the sound effects and voices for the young ones who cant supress their giggles. Occasionally your eyes will meet as he tells the tales, and you don’t mis the faint blush that dusts his cheeks.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Mornings are slow and warm and cosy. Wrapped in the blankets and one another’s embrace. Words are hushed and murmured, quiet giggles and soft smiles as you each fight one another to prevent each other from leaving the warmth of the covers. When you eventually climb out of the bed, crow is making coffee while you cook breakfast before you leave onto perform whatever task the day holds. On occasion alarms will get slumber leading to panicked rushing and mad dashing around the room to get dressed. Once crow face planted the floor trying to put on socks and you laughed so hard you forgot you were late and got a very stern talking to from Zavala and had to put up with crows pouting all day.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights are spent wrapped up on the sofa. If you’ve been busy on patrols and missions, then its take out and drinks at home. Glint loves these nights, bouncing between the pair of you and your own ghost as you sit and chat. On nights when the pair of you have a little more energy, walks in the tower and trips to the few restaurants in the last city, trying new food and experiences. Crow loves the long nights sat up talking, its quiet and no one has any expectations of either of you, allowing the pair of you to just be.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Crow knows you likely know his past. Its no secret, most everyone in the tower knew, no doubt at the beginning of your friendship people warned you about him, sent you the same glares, the same spiteful words. Despite this you stick by him, and he finds himself slowly opening up to you. Small stories from Uldrens childhood, moments in the dreaming city, his experiences after being ressed and fears for the future are shared over drinks in the night.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

While crow is a fairly patient guardian, he can be a little brash. Naïve and eager to fight the fight against darkness sometimes he needs to be heled back and reminded of the risks before charging in headfirst. This is even more so if its you the vanguard are discussing throwing into the fight. If you’re sent on a solo mission, he’s pacing the tower until you’re back, until he knows you’re safe. Like Cayde, he has your armour, weapons and ship committed to memory in case the worst happens and he has to go out and find you.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

You are everything to this guardian and he’s going to try and commit everything to memory. Your favourite food, drinks, how you like your tea and coffee, your routines, birthday, anniversary. Everything he can remember he does, anything he’s worried about forgetting, well, glint is more than happy to help.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

When you and crow began to grow closer together as friends, he starts to notice…peculiar things. His heart racing when you’re near, sweaty palms, nervousness. After multiples talks with Osiris, saint and glint he decides maybe he should talk to you. He invites you on a trip to the dreaming city on the promise of showing you his favourite part of the dreaming city’s gardens. That area is, thankfully, devoid of taken or scorn. You both sit in the soft grass surrounded by plants of all colours and the amethyst hue of the surrounding rock formations. He shares some of his most treasured memories until a nudge from glint who gave him an eager whisper about how he’s stalling. Eventually through awkward fumbled words and a new hue of blue/purple on his cheeks which you eventually figure out is him blushing, he confesses his feeling to you. And much to his delight, you reciprocate them.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Very protective. Crow has lost far too much, risked far too much to lose you. Crow would go on every mission he could with you and if he couldn’t, you can bet he’ll be on coms with you the whole time. Crow would have your 6 no matter what, god help anything that tries to take you from him.

Crow won’t admit it but he loves when you defend him against the lessening but still there harsh words of guardians who refuse to trust he is no longer Uldren. Seeing you reprimand them, scolding them with words about how caring and sweet and strong he was and how they were wrong for judging him based on a life he now had no control over. He thinks he’s slick and that you don’t know he likes it, not realising the dumb grin on his face afterwards gives everything away.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He tries, bless him. But he’s not the most experienced with courting. Dates are private affairs rather than big grand gestures. Maybe he got glint to find a recipe to cook your favourite meal ready for you when you get home, picnics somewhere not infested with fallen, cabal or hive and grabbing a meal at a small restaurant. Glint is always eager to help and offering well-meaning but questionable suggestions.

Everyday tasks, he’s making you tea, running your baths, this man will do anything for you if it makes you smile no matter how boring or laborious.

Gifts include anything from a little something you spotted in the bazar but decided not to buy because your saving glimmer to a new titan mark/warlock bond/ hunter cloak specialised just for you.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Crow is incredibly self-sacrificing and at times self-deprecating. Deep down he still holds himself accountable for Uldrens actions. To repent for his actions, he throws himself into risky missions sometime with little regard for his wellbeing.  When he’s feeling the effects of nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and the horrors of Uldrens past he pulls away from everyone, choosing solitude rather than expressing to the people close and that care for him that he needs help and he’s struggling.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

After being freed from spider’s grasp Osiris gifted him a cloak made by Eva Lavante which quickly becomes one of his treasured possessions which he, almost excessively, makes sure is clean and pristine. He detests being dirty after missions and patrols so regularly showers and when he comes out of the shower smelling of your body wash and shampoo you can’t help but chuckle, his embarrassed mumbles of “it just smells nice” reaching your ears. You make sure to buy plenty of that brand from then on.

He takes care of his own hair, shaving it shorter on the side himself, very carefully with a mirror. He’s very surprised one evening when you approach him and offer to cut it for him. He eyes you suspiciously and on the promise that you won’t cut it too short or make him bald, he hands you the clippers. Soon it’s a regular thing that he lets you help take care of his hair.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

You are crows’ sanctuary. A place away from the nightmares, haunting memories, and fear. Somewhere warm, safe, and calming. You keep him grounded, from running headfirst into trouble. He hasn’t felt whole in a long time, especially after getting back his memories as Uldren but with your help, he slowly feels like he’s reclaiming his image, his life, and his future.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Glint ADORES you. I mean adores you. The second glint saw you treating crow as crow and not Uldren, he thought you were brilliant. crow wasn’t amazing at selfcare so seeing you look after his guardian kept glint buzzing. Glint regularly finds place on your shoulder or lap when you’re relaxing with crow and crow thanks you when on rare occasion glints chatting gets a bit much and you take the chatter box into the next room, talk of ‘the headless ones’’ drifting through the wall, reaching crows ears, and making him chuckle.

One mission crow returns tired and worn out. While he’s asleep you notice that there’s a clear rip in his beloved cloak that’s left resting on the chair. When he wakes up to see you, needle in hand, occasionally cursing as the needle pricks your finger. He’s surprised to see you diligently sewing his cloak as glint whispers hushed encouragements. That’s when crow knew. That’s when he knew he picked the right person.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

People who refuse to see him as crow and only see Uldren. He understands to a degree how hard it can be but when people throw Caydes death in his face over and over and over, it grates.

Crow wouldn’t like a partner who didn’t like glint, glints always been encouraging and sweet as well as protective of crow and it works the other way to. If you don’t get on with glint or glint doesn’t like you, it’s going to be a hard time getting any closer than friends.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

This guy barely slept. He would take 2-to-3-hour long power naps at best when you first get to know him. Sat in the hanger, hidden amongst the crates cloak acting as a blanket. Leant against you as you read on the sofa, one of your hands in his hair putting him to sleep in seconds.

When you two begin sleeping in the same bed together, he’s worried about keeping you up, with nightmares, restless sleep and late nights but when you both lay in bed, his head on your chest and hand in his hair he melts. And for the first time since being resurrected he has a full night’s sleep, no nightmares, no waking up only hours later, no thrashing in his sleep, just blissful rest.

[burr-ell]

I'll preface this by saying that I don't by any means begrudge anyone their own personal headcanons or interpretations, but I kinda have to get it off my chest that I'm personally not very comfortable with significant deviations from canon character design on CR, and I really tend to side-eye people who have declared their fanart to be "better".

And sure, some of that is because i'm a cranky old bastard. But some of that is that I also have an animation degree and have studied character design. Creators generally give artists a fair amount of input as to how they want their designs to connote the characters' personalities—not just in terms of clothing or hairstyle, but in the overall shape of the silhouettes and body structures. And in the case of CR in particular, that's coming from a place of much closer familiarity with the characters because the creator is actually going to be embodying them for a fairly long period of time, so when the fan response is heavy deviation from that, I think it can feed into some unhealthy fanon perceptions and projections.

Like, for example, it's not so much that I think fanartists are "disrespecting the creators" or whatever when they keep giving Imogen a sweet little round face and big hips/breasts and cute circular glasses, but I've also studied shape language in art. You're communicating something when you design her this way; if a character's silhouette has a lot of circles, visually that connotes being friendly, sweet, and cute. The person who first suggested drawing her with glasses explicitly said they thought it would look cute—and no shade to them! They can like whatever they want!

But canonically, Imogen is a woman in her 20s who's been dealing with unanswered questions, abandonment, loneliness, and sheer exhaustion from trying to hold back and control powers that she never asked for—and who simultaneously uses those powers even when it isn't necessary if she thinks it'll help her achieve a goal or prove a point. She isn't unfriendly, and she wants to do the right thing, but she's also someone who's consciously chosen to keep to herself for most of her life, and yet simultaneously she's quite adept at persuading and deceiving people. I think we're meant to pick up that sense of world-weariness and cynicism from her angular facial features and thin frame. That's...kind of just how character design works.

I think the trend of disregarding the official art and giving her softer features has had an impact on the perception of Imogen as a character. I see a lot of views of her that really remove a lot of her agency, treating her like she's only ever been a victim of circumstance who's never put a foot wrong. Some fans got pushback for pointing out that it really wasn't cool for Imogen to openly contemplate whether or not the Ruby Vanguard might be right in front of three people who were killed by Otohan, insisting that imogen was just dealing with a lot right then. And yes, she was, but that doesn't mean that the way she was dealing with it doesn't say something about her as a character. I don't know if I'd call it coddling, necessarily (even though perhaps there are some very coddling takes I just haven't seen), but there seems to be some resistance, in some circles, to the idea that Imogen isn't a put-upon martyr. And in those same circles, round friendly-looking glasses-wearing Imogen abounds, to the point of editing the official art itself to "fix it".

Truth be told I'd be willing to bet that the rounder cuter Imogen actually came about because of the initial impression of her, given how much fanon at the start of c3 revolved around poor baby Imogen with her scary nightmares needing the wiser, worldlier Laudna to comfort her and kiss it better, but those visuals also proliferated rather quickly and well beyond past the point where that fanon was feasible anymore, and I think both aspects of that fanon ended up informing each other. It's not lost on me that the rounder and cuter-looking Imogen performs the literal function of sanding down her harder edges.

And like I said, I'm not here to be needlessly negative toward what other people want to do. If you want to draw the characters differently to their official art, I don't think either the cast or the artist are especially offended by it. But I personally dislike it, in part because I think some of these trends are a way for fans to claim a certain amount of ownership over the characters, whether they intend it or not. And the ultimate outcome of that is that when creators inevitably assert their ownership over a deeply personal story in a way that fans don't like, the backlash is much stronger than it reasonably should be, which is something I think the CR fandom has seen often enough not to continue doing as often as it does.

[cryptid-jack]

Sometimes you wind up invested in an au for your already au Mass Effect fic and have to draw something for it X'D

So here's Kaidan and my he/him asari oc, Aera in a timeline where Cerberus fails to bring back Shepard. As a result, it's Kaidan that has to strike out on his own, get the team back together with Aera's help, and try to convince the galaxy that Sovereign was just the vanguard for the Reapers.

Meanwhile, initially unbeknownst to him, Cerberus' clone Shepard is tackling the Collectors and eventually comes looking to recruit Kaidan and the reassembled og squad...

[yuesya]

Chief Scientist Polus squints at the numbers on his holographic screen. Reaches out with a mechanical hand to readjust the values slightly, then continues down the rest of the page.

The lab is quiet, save for the subdued whirring of background machinery. If he were to close his eyes and relax for a moment, he could almost pretend that this was just another late night overseeing ongoing experiments in the labs. He’d be able to head home in the morning, give his wife a kiss, then promptly collapse into his bed and knock out for a solid eight hours. Then, he’d wake up in the afternoon –his lovely wife would laugh and call him a sleepyhead, then ask if he wanted to grab groceries with her. He’d say yes, and they’d walk to a grocery store together beneath the lazy afternoon sunlight.

It’s a nice dream.

His wife is dead, had been one of the civilian casualties in the initial incursion of the Swarm that descended upon Glamoth from distant stars. There had been no time to grieve. The military’s weapons and fortifications had been enough to turn back the insectoid aliens the first time, but it had only been a short reprieve –barely even a full week, before the vanguard of the Swarm arrived, following what must’ve been their scouting party.

The Swarm was truly a plague among the stars, killing and devouring everything in its wake like locusts. Multiplying, spreading decimation across the stars. For they were beloved by the Aeon of Propagation, the Dread Tayzzyronth, whose only goal was to reproduce and replicate endlessly.

The sheer number of casualties that Glamoth suffered, the horrifying hell that the Republic had been reduced to–!

Glamoth’s military power was not enough. It wasn’t enough. The Council had screamed themselves hoarse, while people continued to die, but it wasn’t until news of neighboring nations being completely overrun by the Swarm came that they finally came to the difficult decision–

We must adapt to our enemies.

Alter the essence of humanity.

It’s the only way for a chance of survival.

… No matter how heinous and reproachable the means, it does not change the truth of the matter: We must fight. Surrender is not an option! To accept defeat is to accept the extinction of our race.

And thus, Glamoth gathered its remaining scientists and set before them a task: Create soldiers. Create vast numbers of expendable soldiers to wage war against the Swarm, ones who could pilot a far more destructive version of the military’s mechanical battle suits. Numbers versus numbers.

Polus was one of the scientists who answered the Council’s call. How could he possibly turn away, when the fate of Glamoth was at stake?

…

Polus sighs, standing up from his seat. He stretches out his stiff body, and turns to head deeper into the labs –nearly tripping over Thrasos’ comatose body, from where the other man had collapsed over a half-finished spreadsheet and was currently snoring quietly. Polus grabs the lab coat slung over the back of the man’s chair and drapes it over him like a blanket, before continuing on his way.

The clack-clack of footsteps against the tiled ground seems almost unnaturally loud, with none of the other scientists accompanying him. But it doesn’t take long before Polus arrives at his destination, and he cranes his neck back to take in their creation.

Their answer, to the task that the Council had entrusted to them.

Suspended within the X-819 formula, there is a facsimile of a girl. Countless wires are attached to her body, a sign of her inhumanity –as if the hard, blackened limbs with a chitin-like gloss and antennae sprouting from her head weren’t a clear announcement of it already. White hair flows out behind her, a cosmetic effect of the C-71 injection from the earlier development cycles.

Polus looks up at their creation silently.

… Their weapon. One that was created using materials scavenged from the battlefields, using the corpses of the insectoid aliens of the Swarm. As reprehensible and stomach-turning as it was, it was also necessary if they wanted to be able harness the ability to manufacture soldiers en masse. To propagate their weapons, in order to defend Glamoth and fight the Swarm that was the avatar of Tayzzyronth’s Propagation.

Soon. Soon, the first soldiers would be ready, and the Iron Cavalry would prepare for combat. And this one here would be the key to it all –not a soldier, not a fighter, but far more important; she would be the nexus commanding all the soldiers to be manufactured in this war that Glamoth could not afford to lose.

After all… they had nowhere to retreat to anymore. The majority of the Republic's territories had already been decimated by the Swarm.

“Titania,” Polus whispers, a quiet prayer that’s a mixture of fear and desperation and tremulous hope. He raises a gloved hand, touching it to the cold glass of the living weapon, then presses his forehead against it. 

Polus closes his eyes. “… The first of the Iron Cavalry. Our final hope. Please… be the Queen that we need, and end this nightmare for us.”

[kerosene-in-a-blender]

Still thinking about Laura's answer about how Imogen is now second guessing her initial interpretations of her mother and how there is no acknowledgement of the third option (that Imogen read her correctly but Liliana still sucks), because it's really a great example of Imogen's black and white view of people: there's good people who think good thoughts/do good things, and bad people who think bad thoughts/do bad things

Because she cannot reconcile the idea that her mother wants to protect her with the idea that she's also willingly a Vanguard member and actively working to free Predathos, so she assumes she misinterpreted her mother's actions and intentions