#advanced gear forging

[cpfltvs]

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Investing in high-quality, precision-engineered high-torque gears ensures optimal performance and longevity. 💪 #GearManufacturing #HighTorque #Engineering #HeavyMachinery

[lemqnie]

ARCANE CHARACTERS + NEW YEARS EVE WITH YOU

JAYCE TALIS

⤠ loverboy texts you that he won't be done in the forge until late. you try to hide your disappointment. you're already dressed to the nines--a shimmery gold dress jayce bought for your for your anniversary last month sticks to your body like second skin. you were looking forward to partying it up with the kirammans. you move to take it off when you hear a knock on your bedroom door. heavily, you drag your feet to open it only to gasp in surprise when it's jayce. he stands in front of you, a sheepish smile on his face and pink dusting his cheeks and neck. he's in nothing but a simple white dress shirt, sleeves rucked up to his elbows. there's a hint of mechanic grease on his chin and you reach out to swipe it away, when he steps forward and pulls you close, apologising with a kiss. "what's that for?" you ask. he reveals what his other hand's hiding behind him: a bottle of champagne and a modest bag of fruits. "i thought we'd skip the party," he says, "stay here. watch the fireworks from over there." he nods at your balcony, the soft december breeze filtering through your room. "you said you'd be late," you accuse. he laughs. "i am. i wanted to come sooner, but i had meetings and then some and, well..." you don't know why you're still standing. you pull the man of progress in your room and the two of you steal kisses as you await the great clock to strike midnight.

VIKTOR

⤠ you've had plans since october. god knows viktor could never make enough time for himself to simply enjoy unless notified at least two months in advance. "nothing big," you promised him. with a roll of his eyes, he reaches forward with a free hand and kisses your forehead. "okay, láska." and exactly at eight pm on the dot, you show up at his flat, a bottle of wine and fresh sweetmilk rolls and grapes in tow. he lets you in, hair freshly damp from the shower. you make sure he's settled in before you set it up. you explain to him how your family rings in the new year: wishing on grapes and drunk. he laughs, wincing a little when the motion catches his back brace in a bad position. you reach over, brushing your thumb over his furrowed brows and he leans into your touch, kissing the insides of your wrist. "so," he says, accent thick and eyes heavy, "you brought the wine?" in the end, you didn't get to do your grapes until much, much later in the morning on new year's day after you wake up on viktor's bed, tangled in the sheets with him.

JINX

⤠ she swears to you that you'll get no better view of the piltie fireworks than above the cracks. she's waiting for you by the alley outside your workplace, gearing to go. you ask her if you need to bring anything yesterday and she grins, something mocking but rounded to sweet when she taps your nose. "just sturdy shoes and study old you," she sing-songs. as you climb up the treacherous cracks with her, you make good use of the shoes she told you to bring. you two finally make it up over the lanes and as you settle next to her, your breath leaves you forcefully. the view is beautiful. you can see the long stretch of roofs that make the end of zaun, the elevators, and the city of piltover. she nudges your shoulder and points with her arm to the councillor's building. "it'll be over there," she whispers. "colours like you've never seen!" the child-like wonder in her voice is what gets you. even if its minutes before midnight, you throw caution to the wind. what the hell, you thought as you turn and place your palm over her cheek. her blue eyes are wide, but she doesn't pull away as you lean in. when you kiss, you hear it behind you: the burst of fireworks, the cheer of children, and--best of all--jinx's relieved sigh against your lips.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN: CLICK HERE

[shiorihyugawrites]

The Devil's Bride

Aurora Jaeger, Eren's long-lost childhood friend, was taken from him when they were children. After years of suffering under Marleyan control, Aurora is reunited with Eren while he’s undercover in Marley, igniting a bond neither of them expected. Despite her gentle nature, Aurora breaks her vow of pacifism to save Eren’s life, solidifying their deep connection. Secretly married before the Raid on Liberio, Aurora is swept into Eren's world of chaos and destruction. As the Scouts learn of her existence, tensions rise on the airship home. Mikasa’s heart shatters, and Levi demands answers. And Eren will stop at nothing to protect the only light left in his dark world—his bride, Aurora.

In this journey of love, loyalty, and war, Aurora must reconcile her innocent heart with the brutal reality of the man she loves, while Eren faces the truth of what he’s become. (Eren x OC)

Chapter Fifty One

A/N: I recommend listening to “Ashes on The Fire”  from the Final Season soundtrack for this chapter.

The early morning light cast a pale glow over the towering walls of Shiganshina. A crisp wind swept in from the sea, carrying the foreboding smell of salt and steel. The Global Allied Fleet loomed on the horizon, an endless line of battleships bristling with cannons and soldiers prepared to end every life on this island. Even from a distance, the silhouettes of airships dotted the sky behind them, ready to unleash devastation from above. Paradis stood on the precipice of annihilation, but its defenders waited with grim resolve, determined to give their all.

The Attack Titan stood at the forefront. Steam curled around Eren’s enormous form, and both fists gleamed with hardened crystal, catching the faint sunlight as though they were weapons forged from ice. He did not move yet; he was waiting, as though every second of stillness was part of a plan. Around him, the other titan shifters were in position. Porco’s Jaw Titan crouched close by, its massive jaws glinting with lethal potential. Reiner’s Armored Titan, battered by past battles, flexed its plated limbs in anticipation. The Cart Titan, carrying armored plating designed by Hange on its back, belonged to Pieck. Her voice echoed occasionally, keeping everyone updated on positions or vantage points she could see. Each titan exuded a tense readiness, a unity that stood in stark contrast to the circumstances that had once pitted them against each other.

High atop the walls and scattered through strategic points along the city, the Jaegerists were poised with their newly crafted Inferno Blades and the more traditional thunderspears. Many among them were young recruits who had never faced a threat of this magnitude. Yet the determination etched on their faces told a story of courage fueled by desperation. They knew the cost of failure: if the Global Allied Fleet succeeded, there would be no survivors. The island, its people, and all they held dear would vanish into the pages of history.

Levi stood at a vantage point on the upper ramparts, scanning the horizon with icy calm. His hair whipped around his forehead in the gusting sea breeze. He spared no words for the Jaegerists behind him, only a silent nod that communicated his order. Everyone knew what it meant: hold your ground at all costs. Despite his calm exterior, Levi’s mind churned with memories of old battles, of times when the Scouts were outnumbered yet found a path to victory. This time, though, the entire world had mobilized, and the challenge dwarfed anything he had seen before.

Mikasa, stationed a short distance away, tugged on the straps of her ODM gear to make certain everything was secure. She shared a quick glance with Levi, an unspoken exchange that neither fully voiced. Her heart pounded as she stared into the distance where the ships advanced, their iron hulls cutting through the waves. She silently vowed to protect her friends, to protect Eren, no matter the cost. The red scarf that once carried a familial warmth around her neck now bore the weight of a soldier’s burden.

Hange paced along one of the elevated platforms, relaying final instructions to squads of Jaegerists. Her voice remained steady, but her eyes flashed with worry. She had studied the data Armin and the others had gathered about global forces, analyzing potential strategies the enemy might employ. Even so, no amount of research could quell the tremor of anxiety that lingered in her chest. This was it: the day of reckoning. Under her direction, the Jaegerists readied the flares and double-checked the Inferno Blades. She wanted every squad to be as prepared as they could be, though she knew it still might not be enough.

Connie, Sasha, and Jean were gathered in a small courtyard near the front lines, each weighed down by memories of simpler times. Connie let out a dry laugh as he gazed at the monstrous shapes of the allied navy, recalling the days when he used to complain about guard duty. Now, he would have traded anything to go back to those days. Sasha adjusted her maneuvering gear, determination burning in her eyes. She normally carried a cheerful spirit, but even she could not mask the gravity of this moment. Jean fiddled with a handful of flares, instructions from Levi fresh in his mind. He could sense the tension in the air, an electricity that crackled with the knowledge that many of them would not live to see another dawn. 

Far below the wall’s ramparts, Eren’s titan let out a low, rumbling sound. It wasn’t a roar—more like a subdued growl, a sign that the wait was over. The horizon was alive with the movement of ships, columns of black smoke from their funnels staining the sky. Through the smoky haze, the glints of sunlight on metal bristled with artillery. The engines of airships rumbled overhead, casting ominous shadows as they drew closer to Shiganshina.

Porco’s Jaw Titan shifted restlessly, poised to lunge the second an order was given. Despite everything, he remembered the countless hours training side by side with these very people he once called enemies. Now, they were his allies in a battle against a global foe, a foe that had once been his own homeland’s partner. He tried not to dwell on the irony, knowing it would only distract him from the task at hand. He gave a short, sharp nod to Reiner’s Armored Titan, a silent reaffirmation that they stood together for the cause of this island’s survival.

Reiner, for his part, stood heavy and resolute. He had once infiltrated these walls as a spy, living among the very people he planned to destroy. Now, he was defending them with every fiber of his being. The knowledge that the world was at their gates, hungry for their annihilation, only solidified his resolve. A flicker of guilt tore through him—memories of how many times he had broken these same walls. But those regrets had no place here. All that mattered was that he stood to protect what had become home.

Pieck’s Cart Titan crouched lower than the others, fitted with a specialized rig Hange designed for her carrying munitions and extra weaponry for the soldiers near her. She was the sole titan able to communicate while transformed, and her voice carried a steadiness that helped calm those around her. “They’re close to landing,” she said, scanning the approach with keen eyes. “I see multiple landing crafts lowering from the largest ships.” Her words echoed across the war-torn district to everyone with ears to listen.

Levi, overhead, signaled to the squads to spread out. “Positions!” he barked. “We hold them at the shoreline. Nobody crosses into Shiganshina.” He pivoted to glance at Eren’s titan. Even from a distance, he could almost sense Eren’s tension, the single-minded drive that forced the Founding Titan’s holder to remain unwavering.

A shrill whistle cut through the air: the first shell from the allied warships. It screamed overhead and crashed into one of the abandoned blocks at the edge of town, blasting debris and dust high into the sky. An uproar of shattered stone echoed around the district, marking the official start of the assault. The next shells followed in rapid succession, some landing in open areas, others smashing directly into portions of the outer walls. Shiganshina’s ancient stone ramparts groaned under the bombardment, but still they stood.

“Now!” Levi shouted, hoisting his blades. The first wave of Jaegerists sprang into action with their maneuvering gear, hooking themselves onto the battered structures to get a vantage point. Thunderspears and Inferno Blades were readied, flares erupted in plumes of color-coded smoke to signal strategic movements.

Eren’s titan lurched forward with a thunderous stomp, his crystallized fists raised as he charged toward the crumbling remains of the outer gate. The vision of the fleet’s landing crafts touching the shore spurred him onward. He intended to meet them head-on before they could fully organize. Chunks of rubble crunched under his feet, leaving deep impressions in the streets as he advanced.

Porco bounded by Eren’s flank, leaping with impressive agility that belied its bulky form. He cut a quick path around the perimeter, ensuring no infiltration routes were left unguarded. His massive jaws clenched in readiness for any soldier or armored vehicle that dared approach. 

Reiner took up a defensive stance behind Eren, plating glinting under the sporadic sunlight that filtered through clouds of dust and smoke. 

Pieck maneuvered to an elevated position near some of the smaller stone towers. “We have multiple landing teams, heavily armed with artillery,” she called out, her voice ringing with tension. “They’re setting up large-scale cannons on the shore. I see at least five, no—eight squads disembarking.”

Meanwhile, Armin was at his vantage point near the coastline, just outside the city. He stood on a stone outcropping that overlooked the beach, scanning the horizon. On the signal from Hange or Eren, he would transform into the Colossal Titan. But for now, he had to wait. The timing had to be perfect to unleash such an overwhelming power. A single misstep could cause catastrophic damage to their own side.

Cannon fire intensified. The thunderous booms became nearly constant, each echo vibrating in the chest of every soldier on the wall. Shrapnel whirled through the air, burying itself into old stone or wooden beams. Smoke blanketed large portions of Shiganshina, turning the once-familiar streets into a hazy warzone. The Allies pressed forward, disembarking from their ships and fanning out along the shoreline. Armored vehicles rolled down ramps, troops marched with unwavering formation, and overhead, smaller airships adjusted their positions for potential bombing runs.

Jean grit his teeth from atop a partially ruined guard tower. “They’re setting up artillery in a semicircle,” he observed, using a hand to shield his eyes from the dust. “If we let them get too close, they’ll pound us into oblivion.”

Connie, hovering nearby using his ODM gear, glanced at Jean. “I’ll let Hange know,” he said, firing a flare that shot a red streak into the smoky sky. The color signified urgent intel for their field commanders.

Sasha, perched on a beam for a clearer shot, loaded bullets into her specialized rifle. She had insisted on it, wanting to maintain an element of stealth while also relying on her impeccable aim as a sniper. The first wave of Allied soldiers began to step foot on the stone piers that protruded from the shallow water. Sasha took a steadying breath and took a shot, hitting one of the lead officers in the heart. A ripple of panic spread through the men behind him.

Hange spotted Sasha’s opening shot and yelled, “Squads One and Two, follow up! Target their leadership!” Another volley of flares soared overhead. The clang of grappling hooks followed as the squads launched themselves into new positions for better vantage points.

Far below, the city’s winding streets erupted in the chaos of short-range skirmishes. Brave Jaegerists, some barely out of their teenage years, flung Inferno Blades with all their might. The small devices ignited upon contact with stone or steel, spraying arcs of fire that forced Allied soldiers to dive for cover. Not all of the blades found their mark; some bounced and fizzled or created pockets of random conflagration, setting deserted buildings alight. But many soared true, decimating entire squads that ventured too far into the district.

Up front, Eren’s titan slammed a massive crystallized fist down on a group of tanks rolling from a landing craft. The impact crushed steel and bodies alike, sending shockwaves that splashed seawater and shards of metal across the shoreline. Another tank angled its turret to aim at Eren’s nape, but Porco’s Jaw Titan lunged from behind a half-collapsed archway, clamping its jaws onto the turret and ripping it off. The tank exploded in a burst of flame, its crew incinerated inside.

Reiner advanced to the left flank, engaging an entire squad of soldiers armed with rocket launchers. His armor deflected the first salvo, though shards of plating chipped away under the concentrated blasts. Gritting his teeth within his titan, Reiner pressed forward, stomping down a line of barbed-wire defenses the Allies had hastily erected. Each step fueled his guilt-scarred determination: no one else would break these walls, not while he stood.

Pieck’s voice carried over the din of battle. “They have at least three more heavy artillery pieces on the southwestern shore!” She pivoted the Cart Titan, letting the Jaegerists on her back aim a barrage of thunderspears that took out the artillery at close range. The thunderous explosions sent towering columns of smoke and debris high into the sky, but the Allies kept coming, wave after wave of reinforcements pouring from the monstrous fleet.

Levi soared through the chaos, his dual blades flashing with lethal precision. He weaved around airborne shells, slicing through pockets of Allied soldiers who ventured too far forward. At times, he used the grappling hooks of his ODM gear to latch onto the frames of destroyed tanks, zipping through smoke so thick it was impossible to see more than a foot ahead. Whenever a soldier managed to line up a shot at him, Levi vanished, reappearing behind them in a deadly slash that sent their rifles clattering to the rubble.

“We can’t hold them at the shore forever,” Jean shouted from a rooftop, frantically signaling to Levi. “There are just too many!”

Levi recognized the truth in Jean’s words. The Allies were numerous and relentless, pushing deeper into Shiganshina’s ruins with every passing minute. “Hange,” he roared, scanning for her silhouette in the swirling dust. When he spotted the distinctive glint of Hange’s goggles, he called out, “Now might be a good time to let Armin know we need him!”

Hange landed beside Levi, breath ragged as they surveyed the countless landing crafts still disgorging troops. “Agreed,” they said, wiping sweat from their brow. “I’ll send a signal to Armin. But we have to time it so he doesn’t destroy half our own forces. We’re spread all over.”

Levi gritted his teeth. “Better half than all of us. Make it quick.”

Hange fired a bright green flare into the sky. Far off near the coastline, Armin spotted the signal, his eyes narrowing. His grip on the knife to cut himself  steadied. He inhaled, preparing to let the colossal flames overtake him at the right moment. Not yet, he told himself. Another minute or two. He had to be sure the Allies’ next wave was in position, and that the lead squads from Paradis had retreated enough to avoid being vaporized by his transformation’s catastrophic heat.

Meanwhile, Mikasa and Connie launched themselves side by side through the scorched remains of a plaza near the gates, cutting down any Allied soldiers who slipped through the main line. Mikasa’s movements were almost otherworldly, a flurry of dark hair and sharpened steel. She severed limbs and shattered gear, ensuring that no soldier remained standing in her path. Connie provided support, using Inferno Blades that exploded on impact, setting entire squads ablaze. Screams of agony rippled through the Allied ranks.

In the midst of this mayhem, Sasha provided cover from a vantage point, picking off enemy officers and radio operators. Her arrows found hearts and necks with unerring accuracy, sowing confusion among the attackers. Any officer who tried to coordinate an assault found themselves shot to the ground within seconds, courtesy of Sasha’s lethal aim. Through the swirling dust, she glimpsed Eren’s titan grappling with a gigantic turreted vehicle. The thunder of steel crunching steel roared as Eren ripped it apart piece by piece.

Porco’s titan circled back to protect Reiner’s exposed flank when a wave of rocket-wielding soldiers advanced. “Porco, they’re on your nine o’clock!” a Jaegerist called from a battered rooftop. Porco whipped his titan around, lunging with razor-sharp jaws that snapped shut around the unfortunate soldiers. Screams cut short as the Jaw Titan crushed them. More rockets ignited upon the titan’s thick hide, forcing Porco to recoil and hiss in pain, but he pressed forward regardless.

Reiner, battered yet unyielding, roared as he barreled through a line of artillery. Explosions lit up the ground around his titan, chipping away at armor, but nothing could halt his onward march. “Don’t break,” he muttered to himself within his cockpit, recalling all the times he had let others down. “Not this time.”

“Reiner, watch your left!” Pieck’s voice warned from across the battlefield. She swiftly mounted an offensive, supporting Reiner by launching a volley of explosives from her Cart Titan’s rig. The blasts tore through an entire squad of Allied gunners who had been preparing to flank him. A wave of thick smoke and burning wreckage enveloped the area, but Reiner stood tall when it cleared, panting yet steadfast.

Eren, witnessing the Allies continue to come in droves, let loose a deafening roar. His mind was consumed by one singular objective: do not let them breach Shiganshina. He hurled a chunk of collapsed architecture at a cluster of Allied soldiers. They tried to scatter, but the debris crushed them in a cloud of stone and dust. Pools of blood seeped across the rubble.

Still, the Allied forces showed no sign of retreat. For each squad Paradis felled, another replaced it. For each artillery piece destroyed, two more rolled off a ship. The sea crashed violently against the beach, as though outraged at the carnage, yet it carried wave after wave of new enemies. Overhead, bombs began to drop from a pair of airships that had maneuvered into position. Levi spotted the glint of approaching ordnance and shouted, “Take cover!” A heartbeat later, bombs slammed into the southern portion of Shiganshina, turning entire streets into lakes of fire.

The blasts knocked many Jaegerists off their footing; some fell to their deaths from high walls. Others were buried under collapsing structures. Mikasa, clinging to a broken spire, coughed through the choking dust, searching desperately for Armin’s signal. If these bombs continued, they’d need the Colossal Titan’s intervention sooner rather than later. This was only the trump card. 

Plus the Allies had yet to deploy their heaviest forces. And still no sign of Zeke. Eren’s suspicion had been correct: they would wait until the perfect moment to unleash pure titans. The entire battlefield braced for that possibility.

But then suddenly, an unsettling hush fell across the battlefield.

For a brief moment, there was only the low rumble of distant artillery and the uneven breathing of soldiers preparing for yet another clash. Then, seemingly from nowhere, came a new and unfamiliar sound—a droning hum that soared above the normal chaos of war.

Levi, perched atop a half-crumbled watchtower, lifted his gaze toward the horizon. Sunlight glinted off something moving in the sky. He narrowed his eyes, trying to discern the shapes. At first, it seemed like they might be small airships, but as they drew closer, the formation of twelve moved with unsettling speed. They flew in a tight triangle, their steel frames flashing in the early light.

Mikasa landed beside Levi, her maneuver gear hissing as she balanced effortlessly on a broken ledge. “Captain,” she said, her voice echoing faintly in the wind. “Do you see that? They aren’t airships… they’re too small.”

Porco suddenly went rigid. Reiner let out a low growl. Pieck’s Cart Titan peered around a shattered building, her voice carrying across the makeshift fortifications. “Airplanes,” Pieck murmured, her tone heavy. “They’re definitely airplanes.”

Jean, standing below Levi with a group of Jaegerists, raised his voice so everyone could hear. “Airpllanes? You mean some kind of flying boat?”

From her vantage point, Pieck tried to keep her composure, but her heart pounded. “Yes,” she called back. “They’re armed. Marley and other nations been experimenting with them for years. None of us expected they'd be fully operational so soon.”

A ripple of confusion spread through the Jaegerists. They’d prepared for monstrous warships and sweeping airships, but this was something else entirely—something swift and lethal, like a hawk diving for its prey.

Levi wasted no time. “Fire!” he commanded, pointing his blade toward the approaching machines. “Don’t let them get past us!”

In an instant, the Jaegerists sprang into action. They raised rifles, shot out thunder spears, and hurled Inferno Blades. Trails of smoke and sparks streaked through the sky, but the planes proved elusive, zigzagging with startling agility. One plane dipped low, the rotating barrel of its gun spitting out a relentless storm of bullets.

A horrific staccato of gunfire tore through the air.

Down below, half a dozen Jaegerists toppled in a flash, their bodies riddled with bullets. Others scrambled behind makeshift barricades, struggling to reload. The planes roared overhead, methodically thinning out Paradis’ defensive lines. The haunting echo of screams and the clang of metal against stone battered the senses of every soldier on the ground.

Eren, within the nape of his massive titan, felt rage boiling in his chest at the sight of his comrades falling so easily. Steam billowed around his titan’s shoulders as he swung an armored fist upward, but the planes bobbed and weaved above his reach, cutting back across the battlefield to unleash another barrage.

A pair of the flying machines turned toward Levi’s watchtower, unleashing a hail of bullets that shattered stone and sent debris raining down. Levi dove off the tower just in time, grappling to a safer rooftop with his maneuver gear. He landed in a crouch, adrenaline pounding in his ears. “Damn it,” he hissed, scanning for any opening. These planes were faster than anything he had ever encountered.

Mikasa, taking cover behind a fractured wall, saw a group of Jaegerists pinned down near a collapsed archway, bullets peppering their position. Gritting her teeth, she hooked onto a nearby spire and launched herself upward, hoping to get a shot at the plane’s underbelly. She fired an Inferno Blade in midair, but the plane darted off with a screech, leaving her projectile to explode harmlessly in the distance.

More Jaegerists screamed, ducking low as metallic shells rained down on them. Jean shouted at Connie and Sasha to help flank the next wave of incoming ground forces, though it was clear the real threat came from above. The swirling chaos grew more intense by the second.

Eren felt his fury spike to an unbearable pitch. He released a roar that shook the battlefield, a guttural cry that signaled one thing to the scattered defenders: Armin’s transformation. If they waited any longer, these planes would shred them all.

Armin stood amidst swirling dust. His heart hammered at the thought of using his Colossal Titan transformation here—so close to friendly troops—but he had no choice anymore. If he hesitated, the Global Allied Fleet would swarm them.

Armin clenched his fist around his ODM gear, inhaled sharply, then sliced his hand. Light blazed, painfully bright and hotter than the sun. Soldiers from both sides halted in horror or awe, and the planes veered sharply, trying to gain distance.

Then lightning struck and the Colossal Titan emerged, colossal in every sense of the word, filling the sky with a deafening roar. Armin’s transformation was like a nuclear detonation, sending out a wall of blistering heat. The oceanfront erupted in a plume of steam and flame, instantly vaporizing countless naval ships. The front line of the Global Allied Fleet disintegrated beneath the overwhelming blast.

A chorus of terrified cries echoed over the water. One plane flew too close to the inferno and its wings ignited, spiraling out of control until it crashed in a ball of fire. Four more planes were caught in the shockwave, their pilots losing control before slamming into ships or the choppy waves below.

For a moment, it looked like a miraculous triumph. The entire shore glowed red from the catastrophic heat Armin unleashed. Soldiers on Paradis let out ragged shouts of hope—maybe, just maybe, they had won.

But then Armin, peering from within the nape of his titan, froze. Through the dispersing steam, he spotted a second wave of vessels approaching. They were larger, more densely packed, and still heading at top speed. This was the real fleet, the one intended to strike after the Colossal Titan had blown its single, devastating attack. Armin’s massive form stood rigid, horror gripping him at how effectively Marley and its allies had predicted this move.

Levi swung over and perched on the gargantuan shoulder of the Colossal Titan, surveyed the distant ocean with a pained grimace. Another line of warships, easily double or triple the size of the first. “Son of a…” he breathed, tension radiating through every fiber of his body. “We took the bait.”

Below, Jean and Connie gaped at the sight. The battered remains of the initial fleet still burned, but now a fresh terror advanced, and the scattered remains of the planes in the sky had regrouped. Their mechanical hum rose again, and more bullets rained down, forcing the defenders into a desperate retreat behind broken walls.

Then came the parachutes.

Marleyan soldiers and their allies began descending by the dozens, darkening the sky with canopies. Gunshots crackled from all directions as these newcomers touched down, swiftly taking positions among the ruins of Shiganshina. Grenades exploded, thunder spears howled, and the pop-pop of rifles filled the air. The battle was no longer confined to the sea. It was everywhere.

Mikasa soared between collapsing rooftops, slicing at a cluster of disoriented enemy soldiers mid-air. Her blades reflected the dawn light in bright arcs. “Take them out before they land!” she shouted over her shoulder to the Jaegerists, who fired flares to signal their positions. Bullets zipped by, splintering the broken walls around her.

Hange, crouched behind a crumpled artillery piece, clenched her teeth. “These damned flying boats… we can’t fight them like normal airships. They’re too fast.” Her gaze lifted to the Colossal Titan’s massive silhouette. Steam was pouring off Armin in thick waves. She knew he needed time to cool down or the Colossal’s energy would leave him immobile. For a moment, she considered commanding Armin to keep pushing, but realized they still needed him for the final blow—whatever that might be.

As the new wave of enemy ships began shelling the coastline with large-caliber cannons, the entire battlefield trembled. Water erupted in geysers around the port, and one of the old watchtowers crumbled into the sea. Debris flew in every direction, peppering friend and foe alike with shards of stone and iron.

Eren’s titan let out another roar, deeper and more furious than before. He knew that if they didn’t find Zeke, the outcome here might not matter. Zeke’s scream had the potential to transform hidden Eldian soldiers among the Allied ranks into titans, turning the tide instantly.

But then Eren caught a glimpse of something overhead—one of those planes breaking formation, climbing higher, and veering off away from the battle. His stomach clenched when he recognized the path it was taking. It was headed inland, toward the heart of the island. Toward Capital Mitras.

Eren’s mind raced. Aurora was there. So was Historia. A wave of dread nearly overpowered him. He wanted nothing more than to break away, to chase that plane down, to ensure Aurora’s safety. But he steeled himself with a snarl, reminding himself that the only way to truly protect her was to finish this fight, to end the threat at its source.

Still, a nagging terror formed at the back of his mind. What if that plane had some hidden purpose? What if it carried a strike team meant to capture or harm Aurora in a more direct manner? He felt as though he was choking on panic, but he forced himself to stay the course. He roared again, signaling the Jaegerists to hold the line. This was no time to lose focus.

Porco bounded across broken rooftops, pouncing on clusters of enemy soldiers who’d managed to form a perimeter. He tore through them with razor-sharp claws. Even as bullets pinged off his hardened jaw, he pressed on, unwavering in his assault. Reiner took blows from anti-titan artillery, staggering backward but refusing to fall. He lobbed a piece of debris at a group of parachuting soldiers, knocking them out of the sky with brutal precision.

Pieck scurried along the base of the walls, providing covering fire from a mounted turret on her titan’s back. She called out status updates, directing the Jaegerists toward weak points in the Allied forces.

All around them, the battle raged with unimaginable intensity. Inferno Blades detonated in the midst of ground troops, their small explosive charges lighting the debris on fire and shredding armor. Thunder spears whizzed overhead, slamming into the hulls of landing crafts or the flanks of monstrous war machines the Allies had brought. An acrid smell of gunpowder, blood, and burning flesh filled the air.

Levi signaled to Hange from Armin’s shoulder, gesturing at the reinforcements flooding in. Hange responded with frantic hand signals: they would try to hold them off a bit longer but needed to conserve their thunder spears. The new wave of ships was still pressing forward. The advantage given by Armin’s initial strike was slipping away fast.

On the beach, Armin was forced to slow, the heat of his colossal form wavering. If he tried to push himself now, he risked collapsing altogether. The steam dissipated somewhat, revealing the devastation he had caused—scores of ships smoldering in the bay, a wide swath of shoreline reduced to blackened wreckage. Yet, the next formation of ships still advanced, brand-new muzzle flashes indicating they were already firing a new volley.

A thunderous series of explosions erupted along the coastline, showering the defenders with saltwater and twisted metal. Several Jaegerists were blown apart, their screams lost in the all-consuming din. Connie and Sasha, crouched behind broken crates, exchanged desperate glances as they witnessed the second fleet opening fire. Jean fired a flare gun overhead, though it seemed there was little left to coordinate—everything was madness, swirling into disaster.

Eren’s titan lunged forward, swinging a hardened fist that smashed one of the newly landed Allies’ tanks into scrap. He let out a savage roar, searching the battlefield for any sign of Zeke. Not a single glimpse. The Beast Titan was nowhere to be seen. Eren’s mind raced with the grim understanding that they were up against an enemy who had planned for every contingency.

Still, there was no time to dwell on strategy. Another wave of bullets from the sky hammered the streets, the planes swooping in to strafe the positions of the scouts. Mikasa dashed behind a wall, her breath ragged. One of the planes roared low overhead, threatening to clip her if she moved too soon. Her fingers gripped the hilt of her blade tightly, anger surging through her. This was a new kind of war, one she hadn’t trained for.

Levi, still near Armin’s shoulder, peered across the horizon. He spotted the plane that had broken off, climbing steadily higher, skimming the edges of the battlefield. Something deep in his gut told him that plane spelled doom for someone. But he was powerless to do anything about it. He ground his teeth, fury fueling his every thought. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath. “I’ve got to find Zeke. This is wasting time.”

Armin turned his colossal head slightly, as if sensing Levi’s agitation. But there was little he could do. If Armin tried to chase that plane, it would be a colossal target—too slow to catch anything that moved so fast, too drained to pull off another transformation. He remained still, steam pouring from cracks in his titan’s vast frame, grimly scanning the scene for any way to help.

Below, the ground quaked as Porco tore into a squad of Allied soldiers, but several more took his titan’s legs out with heavy artillery. He let out a roar, staggering to keep balance. Reiner shielded Porco’s titan with his own armored body, bullets ricocheting off reinforced plates. Both shifters locked eyes for a moment in shared desperation, each understanding how close they were to defeat if these attacks continued.

Pieck scuttled around the far side of the battlefield, a swarm of bullets pinging off her Cart Titan. She focused on giving covering fire to the Jaegerists, but the difference in technology overwhelmed them. Several squads retreated deeper into Shiganshina, trying to lure the Allied soldiers away from the coastline and into narrow streets where close-quarters combat gave the scouts a better chance.

It was a small relief but hardly enough.

And all the while, Eren’s glare kept drifting toward that single plane that had changed course. It gained altitude, streaking away from the chaos of the harbor. Even as he fought off wave after wave of enemy soldiers on the ground, even as he smashed through an Allied tank that had slipped past the perimeter, his every thought lingered on that rogue aircraft headed inland.

Capital Mitras. Aurora. A spark of terror ignited in him, sharper and colder than the fury of the battlefield. He slammed another fist into the ground, sending debris into the air, roaring like an animal caught in a trap. He wanted to break away, to chase after that plane with every fiber of his being, but the unstoppable flood of soldiers and war machines tied him down. There was no way to abandon this front—no way to protect Aurora if he lost the fight right here.

Steam poured from his titan’s mouth as he released a howl of frustration.

Somewhere behind him, Levi and Mikasa regrouped, each breathing heavily as they reloaded Inferno Blades. Hange caught up to them, panting, her hair singed by the earlier blasts. They exchanged quick glances.

“More warships are docking on the eastern shore,” Levi muttered through clenched teeth. “We have to hold them off.”

Mikasa glanced toward Eren’s titan, seeing the distress in his every movement. She suspected what tormented him. “We can’t go after that plane,” she said softly. “We just have to trust the Jaegerists that are guarding Mitras.”

Hange swallowed, her eyes flicking to Eren. “Focus,” she insisted, gripping her blade. “We hold Shiganshina. If we fail here, there won’t be a home left for them to return to.”

All around them, the battle continued to escalate. The second fleet, unscathed by Armin’s initial blast, began a relentless artillery bombardment, their shells whistling across the water. Anti-titan projectiles hammered the walls of Shiganshina. The jagged remains of buildings collapsed under the relentless pounding, sending clouds of dust and sparks skyward.

Jean and Connie led a squad of Jaegerists in an attempt to flank the newly arrived infantry, but they were forced to take cover as yet another pass from the warplanes shredded their formation. Sasha and a few marksmen tried to snipe the planes from a distance, but their bullets were too weak against the reinforced hulls of the flying machines.

Through it all, Eren raged, scanning desperately for any sign of Zeke. But the Beast Titan didn’t appear. Armin loomed in the distance, a silent sentinel unable to move swiftly enough without risking his colossal form’s collapse. Pieck, Porco, and Reiner scrambled to keep the front line from disintegrating entirely.

As the sun rose higher, the world drowned in explosions and blood. The Allied forces advanced in a flood of brutality, determined to eradicate the devils of Paradis once and for all. Yet, the defenders of Shiganshina refused to surrender an inch.

Eren’s gaze flickered again to the plane vanishing into the horizon, fear and rage tangled in his heart. Aurora was out there, vulnerable, trusting in him to protect her. And he was trapped in a maelstrom of steel, fire, and death, powerless to stop the danger coming for her.

Still, he pressed on, teeth clenched behind his titan’s snarling mask. Whatever it took, he would end this battle. He would destroy the Allied forces. He would find Zeke, make contact, and unleash the Founding Titan’s power. It was the only way to ensure Aurora’s safety—and the future he had promised her.

His heart pounded with a savage mix of devotion and despair, and he roared into the sky, the sound echoing over the flaming wreckage and the thundering cannons.

The fate of Paradis—and the life of the woman he loved—hung in the balance, perched on the knife’s edge of a war that showed no mercy.

…

The low hum of the plane’s propeller underscored every uneasy breath Gabi took. She sat near one of the small windows, eyes trained on the horizon that stretched before them, a hazy line separating the rolling sea from the sky. The engine’s vibrations coursed through the metal floor, and each tremor prickled at her nerves. Her rifle lay across her lap, an ever-present reminder of her mission. She had never been in a plane before, never expected to be airborne. The entire experience felt unnatural, yet her resolve outweighed any discomfort she felt.

Falco was strapped into the seat beside her. He kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, his face tight with anxiety. He held his own weapon, though his hands often shook as he cradled it. Occasionally, he would clear his throat, as if wanting to speak, but the oppressive tension silenced him. The interior of the plane was cramped, the walls lined with strapped-down cargo and extra ammunition. The other soldiers aboard, seasoned Marleyan operatives, remained focused on the flight controls and on small technical adjustments to ensure they reached their destination safely.

The plane hit a patch of turbulence, causing Gabi to grip her seat and grit her teeth. Her heart thudded in her chest. She wasn’t afraid of heights or even the possibility of crashing; she was consumed by her hatred for the island devils that waited below. That hatred, fierce and uncompromising, fueled every fiber of her being. She had lost so much—her friends, her home, the life she once knew. Eren Jaeger had torn it all away, and Aurora Jaeger, in her eyes, had stood by him in silent approval.

Falco swallowed hard, casting a sideways glance at Gabi. “Are you alright?” he asked softly. His voice was gentle, almost hesitant. He felt it was better to break the silence than let the tension crush them both.

Gabi let out a bitter exhale. “I’m fine,” she snapped, though her voice quavered. She hated the shaky edge she detected in her own words. “We’re almost there. At least, that’s what they said.”

Falco’s gaze drifted down to his boots. “Gabi,” he said after a moment, “I… I don’t like this plan.” His words trembled with sincerity, and he steeled himself for her reaction. “Kidnapping a pregnant woman—kidnapping anyone—it feels wrong.”

She stiffened, glaring at him as though he were a naive child. “We’re not in the business of liking or disliking the plan,” she retorted. “We do what Commander Magath ordered. That’s our duty.”

Falco frowned. “But Aurora—”

Gabi shook her head, frustration boiling inside her. “She isn’t some innocent bystander! She’s complicit. She knew Eren Jaeger was going to attack Liberio, and she did nothing. She married him, she’s carrying his child. That baby is just another devil waiting to be born.”

Falco winced at the venom in her voice. He remembered the ruin that had befallen Liberio, the screams and terror as the Attack Titan rampaged through the streets. Yet, part of him still believed not everyone on that island was guilty of such horror. “Still,” he murmured, “is it really right to call a baby a devil?”

She didn’t answer at first. Her shoulders hunched with pent-up emotion, and she let out a ragged breath. “It’s war,” she finally said. “Nothing is right or fair.” She glared at her reflection in the scratched window, noting the fleeting shape of the coastline in the distance. “We do what we must.”

The pilot’s voice crackled through a small speaker. He announced that they would reach the oenter of Paradis, where the presume to capital to be, in less than half an hour. Gabi’s stomach twisted with anticipation, a swirl of dread and ferocious determination. Magath had made it clear: they needed to snatch either Aurora Jaeger or Queen Historia Reiss. Both were of royal blood, a fact that made them invaluable to Marley’s ambitions. If forced to choose, Gabi knew Aurora was the priority—especially given the rumors that Zeke was strangely wary of her. That alone spoke volumes.

Falco pursed his lips, staring at the seat in front of him. “Do you think we’ll succeed where Porco and the others failed?” he asked softly.

“Porco, Reiner, and Pieck are traitors now,” Gabi hissed. “They had their shot to kill Eren Jaeger and they blew it. We won’t.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he gazed at the small cargo hold where parachutes and gear were stored. They were just kids, yet here they were, on a top-secret mission that put them in the direct line of fire. His heart hammered at the thought, but he nodded to himself. They had no choice but to follow orders.

Outside, the plane dove beneath a bank of clouds, revealing the island’s interior. From above, Paradis seemed quiet, almost peaceful—far more tranquil than the storm of violence raging at Shiganshina’s shores. Rolling hills, thick forests, and farmland stretched as far as the eye could see, culminating in the distant sparkle of a sprawling city: Mitras.

Gabi’s pulse quickened at the sight. “There it is,” she muttered, voice tinged with grim resolve. “That’s where that woman is hiding.” She patted her rifle, ignoring the surge of guilt that Falco’s downcast eyes stirred in her. “We’re not leaving empty-handed.”

Falco’s grip tightened on his own weapon. He said nothing. He wished, more than anything, that this war would end. But here he was, about to plunge deeper into the conflict.

The pilot angled the plane toward a wooded area outside Mitras. Their objective was clear: land discreetly, slip into the city, and locate Aurora and Historia. The plane’s engine shifted to a lower pitch as the pilot aimed for a rough clearing, hoping to avoid detection. Gabi felt her stomach lurch as the plane descended, bouncing roughly on the uneven ground.

Her heart pounded at the sudden jolt, but her sense of mission overrode the fear. The door slid open, flooding them with fresh air. Soldiers poured out first, scouting the perimeter. Gabi and Falco followed, squinting against the morning sunlight. The pilot immediately began prepping the plane for a quick getaway. In the hush of the forest, birds scattered, startled by the intrusion.

One Marleyan officer nodded at Gabi, handing her a map with the city’s layout they gathered from their intelligence. “We’ll stay hidden here. Your mission is infiltration.” He pointed at Falco. “Both of you, remember—Commander Magath wants Aurora Jaeger above all else. Secure Queen Historia if possible, but Jaeger is your priority. Understood?”

Gabi clenched her jaw, nodding. “Yes, sir.”

Falco mumbled a quiet acknowledgment, though his stomach churned with apprehension.

With that, the two parted from the soldiers. They navigated through thick foliage, heading toward the city’s outskirts. Every step took them closer to the capital. Neither spoke, the weight of the mission an invisible chain drawing them forward.

Meanwhile, in the palace at Mitras, Aurora lay on a plush bed in the grand guest suite. She clutched at her abdomen, her face pale. War and tragedy swirled in her mind, but none of that compared to the immediate worry that gnawed at her. She was experiencing intense cramps, and the possibility of going into labor so soon terrified her. The doctor hovered close, checking her pulse and temperature, murmuring reassuring words that felt hollow in the echoing corridors of her mind.

Historia sat near the edge of the bed, stroking Aurora’s platinum-blonde hair gently. “You’ll be alright,” she whispered, though her own anxiety was evident in the tremor of her voice. “Try to breathe. Relax. The stress can’t be helping.”

Aurora swallowed hard. “I know,” she managed, blinking back tears. “I’m just so worried. Eren is out there, and everything is on the line. He’s fighting for our home, for me and the baby. I can’t do anything but wait.”

Historia’s gaze flickered with her own brand of grief. “Porco is out there too. Along with all our friends.” She took Aurora’s hand and squeezed it. “I feel so useless.”

From the ornate windows, sunlight streamed in, illuminating the room’s regal décor. Silk drapes, polished floors, and the faint scent of fresh lilies might have offered a sense of peace if not for the knowledge that a massive battle raged on the far side of the island. Instead, it all felt like a veneer of safety, a fragile illusion that could shatter at any moment.

One of the Jaegerists guarding the hall outside poked his head in. “Everything alright, Your Majesty?” he asked Historia politely, though his eyes flicked with concern toward Aurora. “Any new developments with her condition?”

Historia shook her head, forcing a thin smile. “She’s stable for now. We’ll call you if anything changes.”

The guard nodded, stepping back out. The thick door closed, leaving a heavy silence behind. Aurora shut her eyes, trying to ignore the rolling discomfort in her abdomen. Her mind wandered to memories of Eren’s face, the warmth of his arms, and the steadfast promise he had made to protect her. She whispered a silent plea: please be safe, please come back.

Historia brushed Aurora’s hair out of her eyes. “He’ll come back,” she said softly, as if reading Aurora’s thoughts. “He promised.”

Aurora nodded, tears glistening. “He has to. This war has taken so much from us already.”

Outside the suite, the corridors of the palace were strangely quiet. The squads of Jaegerists patrolled in shifts, their rifles ready. The tension was palpable even here—everyone knew that if Marley broke through Shiganshina, if their forces found a way around, this palace would be the next target. But no one anticipated an infiltration by plane. Not in Mitras, so far from the primary battle lines.

In a shadowy alley on the city’s outskirts, Gabi and Falco crouched behind crates, scanning the guard rotations. The capital had once been bustling, but now, with so many civilians evacuated underground in anticipation of the war, the streets felt eerily empty. That made their infiltration both easier and more treacherous. Fewer people to blend in with, but also fewer prying eyes to raise an alarm.

Falco glanced at the stone architecture, awe mingling with dread. “This place is huge,” he whispered. “Any idea where the palace is?”

Gabi held up the small map the Marleyan officer had given her. “It’s the largest structure near the center, heavily guarded. We get inside, find Aurora, and get out.” She looked him dead in the eye, her voice hardened by her mission. “No mistakes.”

He nodded, though his face betrayed how uneasy he felt. “Alright.”

They moved through deserted streets and quiet squares, staying out of sight whenever possible. Occasionally, they spotted a few armed Jaegerists in the distance, patrolling. Gabi found her hatred boiling up again, her grip on her rifle tightening. She could almost see Eren’s face superimposed on them—a reminder of the devils who had ravaged her home. Meanwhile, Falco’s eyes darted from shadow to shadow, always cautious, always searching for a hidden threat.

At one point, Gabi paused, pressing her back against a brick wall. She peered around the corner and spotted a pair of Jaegerists blocking a wide street that led toward the palace gates. “We need a distraction,” she muttered, scanning their surroundings.

Falco chewed his lip. “Maybe we can slip around them. I see some stairs leading down that side alley.”

She followed his gaze. Indeed, there was a narrow passage between two tall buildings that might let them skirt around the main thoroughfare. The only question was whether there were more guards stationed in that direction. Still, they didn’t have many options. “Okay, let’s try it,” Gabi agreed. “Stay low.”

He nodded. Together, they inched along the alley, footsteps silent on the cobblestones. The city’s grand architecture loomed overhead—tall spires, elegant balconies, and thick walls originally built to withstand titans. They advanced carefully, hearts pounding, each swirl of wind or clank of distant armor setting them on edge.

Meanwhile, in the palace suite, Aurora’s pains had eased slightly, but a dull ache persisted. She sat up with some effort, leaning against a headboard embroidered with royal crests. The doctor hovered, checking her pulse again. “Try to stay calm. Breathe deeply. Your baby isn’t quite ready, but your body is under immense stress.” He offered a comforting smile.

Historia perched on the side of the bed, offering Aurora a cup of water. “Drink,” she urged. “You need to stay hydrated.”

Aurora sipped, forcing down the lump in her throat. “I hate waiting,” she whispered. “I hate feeling powerless.”

Historia pressed her lips into a thin line. “I understand. But Eren and everyone else are counting on us to stay safe. We can’t help them if something happens to us here.”

The two women exchanged a solemn look. Their fates intertwined, both holding royal blood, both bearing responsibilities that weighed heavily on their shoulders. Historia was queen, Aurora was carrying a child who might shape the future in ways neither fully grasped. They drew strength from each other’s presence, even in the face of mounting dread.

Outside the room, footsteps echoed in the hall—a quick, light tread. The Jaegerist guard stationed at the door stiffened, raising a hand in caution. Another guard approached, quietly relaying some updated instructions about perimeter checks. Even though no immediate threat was expected, they refused to be lax. The capital was a fortress of sorts, but all it took was one breach.

Gabi and Falco pressed themselves flat against a stone wall, hearts pounding so loudly they feared the guards might hear. They had managed to slip around the main gates, finding a small side entrance presumably used for deliveries or discreet visitors. A single guard stood there, half attentive, occasionally glancing around.

Falco’s breath caught in his throat. “Gabi,” he whispered shakily. “We can’t just shoot him.”

Her eyes hardened. “We have to get in. We have a mission.” Yet, something twisted inside her at the thought of killing another person in cold blood, even if it was for the sake of her homeland. The memory of how quickly she had once pulled the trigger filled her mind, and she shook her head as if to banish it.

But then they spotted a chance—two more guards called out to the lone sentry, pulling him away. Gabi took the moment to dart forward, beckoning Falco to follow. They slipped past the doorway, creeping down a narrow corridor that led inside the palace’s outer structure.

The corridor was dimly lit by torches set in metal sconces. The marble floors had a faint shine, and tall windows were draped in thick curtains. Gabi led, gun at the ready, Falco close behind, praying they wouldn’t stumble upon more soldiers. Each step echoed in their ears like thunder. They navigated winding hallways, searching for signs of a platinum-haired, blue-eyed woman. Their plan was to find someone who might lead them to the suite.

In the upper levels of the palace, Aurora tried to rest again, but sleep wouldn’t come. She felt the back of her neck prickle, as if some invisible force loomed nearby. A sense of foreboding washed over her. With a shaky breath, she forced a small smile at Historia, who was polishing a rifle the Jaegerists had left behind.

“Thank you for staying with me,” Aurora murmured, placing a hand over her belly. The baby stirred slightly, a reminder of how real this all was.

Historia nodded. “Of course. I’m in no mood to be alone right now.” She let out a weak chuckle, but her eyes remained clouded with worry.

Just then, a commotion sounded from somewhere below—subtle, but distinct enough to draw the attention of the two guards stationed at the end of the corridor outside the suite. One guard stepped away to investigate, leaving the other to keep watch.

Aurora’s heart picked up speed. “What was that?” she asked, voice tight.

Historia shook her head. “I don’t know. Could just be the soldiers reshuffling their posts or checking on something. Try not to worry.”

But Aurora couldn’t help it. Her hand hovered protectively over her abdomen. Something felt off.

In the silent halls below, Gabi and Falco crouched behind a pillar, having nearly collided with a pair of guards rounding a corner. The guards chatted in hushed tones about the latest directives from Levi. Gabi pressed her back against the stone, praying they wouldn’t be discovered.

To her relief, the guards soon turned the opposite direction. She let out the breath she’d been holding. “We need to move faster,” she whispered to Falco. “We’ve lingered too long.”

He nodded. “Do you have any idea where we’re going?”

She lifted her map, though it wasn’t entirely accurate. “The top floor. The largest suite. That has to be where they’re keeping them.”

Falco’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. “If we can’t do this discreetly, we could be killed.”

Gabi steadied herself. “We’ll adapt. If we fail, we lose more than our lives. We fail Marley, and everything we’ve fought for. Remember Liberio, Falco. Remember the families we lost. Udo. Zofia.”

He closed his eyes, recalling the nightmarish scenes. Then he opened them, jaw set. “Let’s go.”

They ascended a spiral staircase, footsteps so light they barely made a sound. Distantly, a door opened. A scuffle of boots and a voice calling instructions reverberated through the corridor. The children flattened themselves against a wide statue, hearts pounding, waiting until the footsteps faded.

Eventually, they reached a long hallway adorned with lavish paintings and ornate doors. Gabi’s gaze danced from one door to the next, searching for any sign of the two women. The tension in the air was suffocating, each second ticking by with excruciating slowness.

Above them, in the suite, Aurora gripped Historia’s hand. The doctor had quietly reentered, checking Aurora’s symptoms again. “Still irregular,” he murmured. “Try to remain calm.” Aurora nodded, though her anxiety was through the roof.

Historia studied Aurora’s face. “Do you need anything? Another pillow? Some water?”

Aurora shook her head. “No, I’m just… on edge.” She exhaled shakily. “I can’t help the feeling something bad is happening.”

Historia forced a small smile. “We’re safe here. Four squads of Jaegerists are guarding the palace. If there’s any trouble, they’ll handle it.”

Neither woman realized how close that trouble was.

Moments later, Gabi and Falco spotted two Jaegerists posted outside a grand double door at the end of the hall. The door was carved with intricate designs, golden trim shimmering in the torchlight. That had to be it. Gabi nodded to Falco, then gestured for him to circle around. They quietly approached from opposite sides, steeling themselves for a confrontation they weren’t certain they could win.

Their plan was simple: take down the guards before an alarm could be raised. Falco’s hands trembled. He didn’t want to kill them. He hoped they could incapacitate them somehow. But Gabi’s expression was grim, unwavering in her determination.

As they prepared to strike, the guard who had left earlier returned, leaving a single soldier by the door. Gabi locked eyes with Falco, an unspoken question in her gaze. He gave a slight nod. They had to act now.

They lunged forward, Gabi smashing the butt of her rifle into the guard’s temple. Falco grabbed the second guard’s weapon, wrestling it away. The guard struggled, but Falco managed to trip him, pressing his muzzle against the man’s chest. A single shot rang out, echoing down the corridor. Gabi’s heart pounded. The bullet lodged itself in the stone floor as the guard jerked aside, but the noise was enough to raise an alarm if anyone was close by.

They had no time to lose. Gabi shoved the door open, gun in hand, Falco right behind her. Inside, Aurora startled so violently that she nearly cried out. Historia leaped up, reaching for a rifle of her own, but her shock at seeing two children was evident.

Gabi’s gaze zeroed in on Aurora’s swollen abdomen. Anger and adrenaline fueled her every breath. She barked, “Don’t move!”

Falco stood at her side, lips parted in horror. The scene felt surreal: Aurora Jaeger, pregnant and pale, clutching the sheets, and Queen Historia Reiss, just as startled, eyes darting between these strangers.

Historia’s weapon trembled in her grasp. “How did you—”

“We’re taking her,” Gabi snarled, jerking her head at Aurora. “And if you resist, we’ll do whatever it takes to finish this.”

Aurora’s heart hammered against her ribs. Painful cramps flared, her entire body tensing. Historia bit her lip, trying to remain calm. “She’s pregnant,” she said, desperation creeping into her tone. “She can’t travel. You’ll harm her—”

“She should have thought of that before spreading her legs for the devil,” Gabi spat. She advanced, rifled aimed at Aurora. “Now get up. We’re leaving.”

Falco swallowed, seeing Aurora’s fear. She was trembling, holding her stomach in obvious pain. Something about it made him hesitate, but Gabi’s rage overshadowed any second thoughts. He could almost see her finger tighten on the trigger if Aurora refused.

Historia, her own rifle in hand, stepped forward defensively, eyes flashing. “I won’t let you take her.”

Gabi glared at her. “If you try to stop us, I’ll shoot.”

For a moment, no one moved. Aurora felt tears sting her eyes. She thought of Eren, of the war he was fighting, of how powerless she felt here. Another cramp tore through her, forcing a small whimper from her lips. Gabi’s gaze flicked to her, a mixture of fury and uncertainty crossing her face.

The door behind them rattled—someone outside must have heard the earlier commotion. Falco tensed, turning his head. “We need to move, Gabi,” he urged quietly. “They’ll be here any second.”

Gabi pushed aside the swirl of guilt in her chest and set her jaw. She advanced on Aurora, gun raised. “We’re leaving. Now,” she demanded.

Aurora’s breath hitched. She tried to stand, but her body trembled with the strain of her possible labor. Historia angled her rifle, but Gabi jerked her own weapon toward the queen, forcing Historia to freeze.

“I said no tricks!” Gabi shouted.

At that instant, the door burst open. The second Jaegerist guard, battered and furious, lunged in with a shot fired blindly. Falco yelped and shoved Gabi aside to avoid the bullet. The shot ricocheted off the marble floor, and Gabi whirled around, returning fire. The guard slumped with a grunt, dropping his rifle, but the noise was now deafening. Surely more would arrive soon.

“Enough!” Gabi hissed, turning back to Aurora. “Get up, or I’ll drag you out.”

Historia, trembling, tried once more to raise her weapon. But Gabi swung her rifle butt, striking Historia’s arm. The queen cried out, dropping the gun. Aurora gasped, feeling tears trickle down her cheeks. She attempted to push herself off the bed, but another contraction seized her, leaving her panting with anguish.

Falco glanced between Aurora and Gabi, horror evident on his face. “She can barely walk,” he pleaded in a shaken voice. “How can we—”

“Shut up!” Gabi snapped, though her own voice wavered. She grabbed Aurora’s wrist, pulling her to her feet. Aurora staggered, breathing raggedly. Desperation clouded her eyes as she leaned on Gabi for support, a surreal alliance formed out of pure intimidation. Historia watched helplessly, clutching her throbbing arm.

Bootsteps pounded in the hallway. More Jaegerists were coming. Gabi’s gaze darted around the opulent room, searching for any exit besides the main door. A large window glinted with sunlight, but it looked like a dangerous drop to the courtyard below.

Falco clenched his jaw. “Gabi, we can’t—” He couldn’t finish. Gabi’s glare silenced him.

In the tumult, Aurora let out a strangled cry, another wave of pain coursing through her. She steadied herself against the bed, eyes wide and tearful. “You don’t have to do this,” she whispered desperately. “I never wanted—”

Gabi cut her off, voice cold. “Save it. You married the devil. Now you pay the price.”

Falco moved toward the window, drawing back the thick curtains to reveal a drop that made his heart plummet. “This is insane,” he muttered, glancing back at Gabi. “How are we—”

An explosive bang rocked the corridor door. The Jaegerists were already forcing their way in. Gabi and Falco exchanged a frantic look. Aurora trembled, leaning heavily on Gabi. Historia clutched her injured arm, tears of frustration gleaming in her eyes as she watched the scene unravel.

“Let’s go,” Gabi hissed, her voice strained. She guided Aurora toward the window as Falco swung it open. The courtyard below was two stories down, a dizzying drop. Faint shouts from below indicated that more soldiers patrolled outside. But it was the only way out.

Footsteps thundered behind the locked door. Someone slammed against it, splintering the wood. Gabi gave Falco a nod, then looked at Aurora, her gaze fierce. “Hold on,” she snapped.

Barely able to think through the haze of pain, Aurora complied, too terrified and weak to argue. In the next instant, Falco slid over the windowsill, dropping onto a narrow ledge. Gabi shoved Aurora after him, the pregnant woman letting out a choked sob as she gripped the stone to avoid tumbling.

They balanced precariously, hearts hammering. Historia lunged for them, ignoring her own injury, but Gabi kicked the window closed with a resounding thud, blocking her path. The door finally cracked behind them, allowing Jaegerists to rush in. Historia’s shout of alarm was drowned out by the splintering wood and the clash of boots as the soldiers arrived too late.

Outside, clinging to the palace’s ledge, Falco and Gabi helped Aurora inch along, tears streaming down her face, each movement a new wave of agony. The courtyard below swarmed with Jaegerists, but none had noticed them yet, their attention fixed on the commotion inside. Gabi signaled Falco to drop first, and with a controlled slide, he landed in a flower bed. Gabi followed, then turned to catch Aurora.

Aurora let out a shaky breath and, with no other choice, eased herself off the ledge. Falco and Gabi both tried to break her fall. They half-caught, half-dropped her onto the grass, Aurora stifling a scream as her body jolted with pain. The smell of crushed flowers and soil surrounded them.

“Move!” Gabi growled, hooking an arm under Aurora’s shoulders. The pounding footsteps and raised voices inside the palace echoed through the open window. They had only seconds to vanish into the maze of garden walls and hedges.

Falco led the way, scanning for a clear path. Every step Aurora took was an ordeal, her tears mixing with sweat, but fear drove her forward. Gabi’s heart thundered with a toxic mix of determination and dread. Her mission was almost successful—she had Aurora in her grasp. But the horrifying possibility of failure loomed, and Falco’s anxious glances kept gnawing at her conscience.

As they slipped deeper into the royal gardens, soldiers raced around the palace perimeter, alerted by the uproar. The garden’s thick hedges and winding paths offered fleeting cover. They could hear Historia yelling from the suite above, heard the barked orders of Jaegerists mobilizing. But for a brief, terrifying moment, Gabi, Falco, and Aurora were alone, caught in a swirl of confusion and pain, forging a twisted alliance that none had truly wanted.

Aurora whimpered softly, her cramping intensifying. She felt the child stirring, her body nearing its limit. Gabi grit her teeth, forcing aside her conflicted emotions as Falco motioned for them to slip behind a tall hedge.

Somewhere in the distance, an explosion thundered, a grim reminder that war raged on two fronts—Shiganshina and now here, in the heart of Mitras.

The fate of Aurora and her unborn child now lay in the hands of these two warrior candidates from Marley, each of whom wrestled with guilt and desperation. The dreadful hush of the garden closed in on them as they vanished from sight, the palace behind them erupting into shouts and frantic searches for the missing queen and the pregnant woman who had just been torn from the safety of her guards.

~

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[felassan]

"Electronic Arts Inc. and BioWare have provided a first-look at gameplay from the opening moments of the highly anticipated all-new single-player fantasy RPG experience, Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This bold, heroic adventure is built to deliver on what the series is best known for: rich storytelling, fantasy worldbuilding, companions and fellowship, and a world where you matter. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you’ll embark on a quest to face powerful Elven gods and stop the destruction they’re unleashing on the world. You are known as Rook, battling on the front lines alongside a compelling cast of companions with individual storylines and motivations. In true Dragon Age fashion, companions are central to the experience and as Rook, you must rise up, rally your crew and forge relationships to become the unexpected leader others believe in. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is launching worldwide to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC in Fall 2024. “We want every single moment in the expansive, story-driven experience of Dragon Age: The Veilguard to feel impactful,” said Corinne Busche, Game Director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. “Players will journey to more regions than any other Dragon Age game, where they’ll need to level up and customize deep skill trees to take on increasingly challenging enemies. Additionally, our combat blends fluid moment-to-moment action with the deep RPG strategy the franchise is known for. We’re incredibly excited to offer players around the world a first-look at this experience that embraces BioWare’s storytelling roots of carefully crafted and immersive single-player RPGs.” In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the Elven Trickster god of legend Solas wants to tear down the Veil that separates Thedas from the world of demons, restoring his people’s immortality and glory – even at the cost of countless lives. But his ritual goes awry, and his worst fears are realized, as two of his most ancient and powerful adversaries are released. They seek only to finish what they started millennia ago – the complete and utter domination of our world. Rook’s journey to stop these two powerful deities will span across all of Thedas to bustling cities, lush tropics, boreal forests, fettered swamps and the deepest depths, but be wary of the evil forces along the way like the Dark Spawn, Venatori Cultists and Demons of the Fade."

---

"Key Features of Dragon Age: The Veilguard Fellowship: Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s brand new companions come alive with some of the most compelling individual storylines in Dragon Age history. Expansive and dynamic stories navigate love, loss and complex choices that will affect your relationships and the fate of each member of the Veilguard. New companions like the Veil Jumper Bellara, the necromancer Emmrich, and the private detective Neve, come from iconic factions in Dragon Age lore, possessing individual skill trees and specialized gear for advanced team progression. You’ll see familiar faces, too, such as the archer Lace Harding who returns to the series as a full time companion. Choice and Consequences: Dragon Age: The Veilguard builds on the series’ deep role-playing roots, providing extraordinary storytelling and worldbuilding, deep personalities for each companion, meaningful choices and impactful cinematic moments. The bonds you create and the relationships you forge will be affected by your choices made throughout your journey.  A Crafted Experience: As a character-driven RPG, Dragon Age: The Veilguard delivers a crafted experience that pays homage to BioWare’s history of storytelling. The Lighthouse provides a central place where you can rest, learn more about the world through conversations, while the Crossroads allows you to traverse to separate explorable regions of the world with your companions. You’ll experience more of Thedas than ever before as your story unfolds across meticulously crafted biomes and beautiful regions including Rivain, Weisshaupt, Arlathan, Minrathous, the Deep Roads and more, each inviting you to delve deeper into the narrative and uncover the mysteries of the land. Fluid, Customizable Combat: Immersive combat blends fluid moment-to-moment controls with tactical decision-making. Players can fully customize their experience to fit their playstyle with diverse skill trees among three different classes - Warrior, Mage and Rogue - each with unique abilities and specializations. Choose two companions to join you on your quests and unleash powerful team combos that can change the tide of any battle. Make strategic choices and direct your allies to fight, heal or stay out of the fray with the newly-added ability wheel. Be the Leader You Want To Be: Dragon Age: The Veilguard features a robust character creation system that allows you to be the leader you want to be with a vast range of customization. BioWare has created the most comprehensive character creator in Dragon Age yet to make this story truly your own."

[source]

"his worst fears are realized, as two of his most ancient and powerful adversaries are released. They seek only to finish what they started millennia ago – the complete and utter domination of our world."

👁️

"All the world will soon share the peace and comfort of my reign" / "Glory to the Risen Gods. They've come to deliver this world." [x]

also:

lush tropics, boreal forests, fettered swamps, the Deep Roads ("the deepest depths")

more regions than ever before

Rivain, Weisshaupt, Arlathan, Minrathous, the Deep Roads and more

fight darkspawn, demons, Venatori cultists

the Lighthouse (our central hub) is a central place where we can rest and have conversations

We will travel around the world via The Crossroads and presumably the eluvians

companions have specialized gear (Fel note: more on companion skill stuff here)

and I love what they are saying here about storytelling and character-focus and everything of that kind here. :)

[aziraphales-library]

Hi, do you have some fic where the bentley ship them? Ty in advance

Hey, here are some Bentley ships it fics...

The Bentley Changes Her Tune by CousinSerena (T)

How will Crowley ever confess his love to Aziraphale? The Bentley helps him out.

In Love With My… Car? by freyjawriter24 (T)

When Aziraphale gets discorporated and needs a receptive body to help stop the Apocalypse, the nearest willing consciousness to where he'd been talking to Crowley happens to belong to one semi-sentient car…

A Will of Her own by SentientBentley (G)

A view through time of how the Bentley forged a friendship with Crowley, pushing him to go after the love of his life and helping him realise that maybe he is just a little bit of a good person.

Celestial Harmonies by lynamoon (T)

The story of a demon falling in love with an angel throughout time and his automobile acting as his wingman. (wingwoman? wingcar? ... you get the idea).

Driving Back in Style (In My Salon Will Do Quite Nicely) by evil_moo_bunny (T)

Crowley has been ordered to seduce Aziraphale and is panicking. Aziraphale thinks is a great opportunity to get lunch together more often. When everything seems like it may fall apart, it falls into place instead.

All I Hear is Your Gear… by herebewyverns (G)

When humans need sanctuary, they go to holy places. But Aziraphale isn’t human. He has the next best thing, though: Crowley’s Bentley.

- Mod D

[ostrichmonkey-games]

Ex Materia Reveal

Time to post about Ex Materia!

I've alluded to this game a few times here and there, but here's the pitch:

Play as debt-ridden Freelancers who pilot drone frames on extraction missions on a strange space structure.

Playbooks are semi-modular, split across your single Freelancer, and as many different frames as you can afford. Mix-and-match!

Frames are called Archons, and are going to be sci-fi funky. As a fun little preview, each Archon has what's called a Hebdomad Core, which is in-universe, the strange engine that powers them, and mechanically speaking, tied to "devil's bargains".

Missions are meant to be easy to set up and get running. They're going to be another experiment in procedural tools, and the goal is to have different "zones" be responsive to player actions.

Sponsors are who you owe your debt to, but can also provide powerful (but temporary!) augments and stratagems during missions. Will you deepen you debt to get some extra dice?

And those're the central ideas that I'm building with.

Now to talk at least a little bit what makes this game different from other Forged in the Dark games.

Archons don't have actions or attributes, they have modules.

Harm is no longer a set of boxes, it's split across two fallout clocks.

Specific downtime actions are unlockable and tied to specific locations on your (space station? space ship? haven't decided yet on that).

Freelancers don't have Stress, but they do have Bleed.

All in all, it's a lot of remixing different FitD mechanics to better suit the game goals and support a slightly different style of play.

So, specifics: Archons don't have actions or attributes, they have modules. Freelancers have actions in the expected FitD way, but Archons have a set of gear/abilities that function like actions. Each Archon has a limited memory, with modules (among other things) taking up space. Modules can be anything from "Cool Gun" to "Speed Boost" to "Cool Data Analyzer", and the rating you have in those modules gives you how many dice you roll. Want to solve a problem with your Cool Gun? If you have two points there, you get 2d6, so on and so forth. These modules also function as an Archons abilities, but in a more freeform way.

Harm is no longer a set of boxes, it's split across two fallout clocks. This is going to manifest as a simplified version of what I have cooking for Unnamed Furry Crime game, but the gist is, you have a Body+Mind clock, and a Social+Financial clock. Taking harm in any way (getting hit, spending money, burning bridges) ticks those clocks. When one fills, you get hit with a significant fallout that is going to take some time-investment to clear or fix. You can also increase the size of your clocks with advancements.

The idea is that, at least in the moment, the harm matters less than the accumulation of too much harm which then ends up breaking you. I'm also just kind of pleased with, in a game where characters are driven at least in part by debt, spending money counts as harm.

Downtime and Bleed are still cooking a bit, so I'll save those for later (plus more on the rest of the game as it develops).

The Big Goal for Ex Materia is to get a beta version released in the next several months, and then a final release later in the year. So keep an eye out for more info 👀

[hrizantemy]

if you were to completely redesign the Illyrian, how would you do it, what would their culture be and what would they look like??

The real Illyrians were an Indo-European group who lived in the western Balkans, in what is now Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia, and parts of Croatia and Serbia. Their culture was tribal, warrior-based, highly spiritual, and deeply connected to land and kinship.

1. Name & Language Roots

First: reclaim the name “Illyrian.” Instead of being a shallow placeholder for “aggressive bat-wing men,” the name should reflect a proud, tribal confederation of clans—descended from ancient highland warriors. Their language would include roots from Albanian and Proto-Illyrian dialects, with oral poetry, songs of mourning, and epics sung around mountain fires.

2. Social Structure: Tribal Confederacies

Real Illyrians lived in tribal federations, each with its own chieftains and warrior aristocracy. I would bring this into canon: the Illyrians aren’t just “camps”—they’re sovereign tribes with loose allegiance to the Night Court, and their loyalty is bought, not owed. Each tribe has a Council of Elders and Chieftains, with some practicing elective rulership where war-leaders are chosen through ritual trial, not bloodline.

Matriarchal clans exist too—older than any patriarchal power, passed through the line of sky priestesses, who once clipped the wings of men as divine penance. The current system of oppression? A perversion of ancient tradition twisted by power-hungry warlords and Rhysand’s court, who exploit internal conflict to keep them divided and dependent.

3. Religion and Spiritual Practice

Historically, Illyrians worshipped nature spirits, serpent deities, and mountain gods. In this fantasy adaptation, Illyrians would revere the Sky-Father and the Stone-Mother—two ancient beings who gave them wings and stone to live between worlds.

Wings are sacred. Wing-clipping is not just mutilation—it’s sacrilege, and the resurgence of this practice under modern Night Court control is a political weapon to suppress rebellious bloodlines. Warrior-priestesses once guarded shrines on the highest peaks where only those who could fly were permitted to worship.

Death rites involve sky-funerals: the dead are burned on high plateaus so their spirits can ride the wind to the afterlife. The wingless are buried in tombs in the valleys—a mark of shame in some clans, a mercy in others.

4. Economy, Craft, and Innovation

Instead of being portrayed as “poor savages,” the redesigned Illyrians would be fierce highlanders with a rich barter-based economy. They trade obsidian, leather, mountain herbs, and metal alloys unique to their region. They have smiths who forge armor and alchemists.

Flight gear is advanced: aerodynamic cloaks, harnesses imbued with wind glyphs, and helmets carved to honor ancestral beasts. Wings are treated with reverence—oiled with sacred resins, decorated with clan paint before battle, bound in mourning when a loved one dies.

5. Gender & Power Dynamics

Gender in real Illyrian society wasn’t well-documented, but fantasy allows us to expand. In my version:

• Warrior women are common, especially in the tribes that still worship the Stone-Mother. In some clans, only women can lead raids; in others, daughters inherit land and wings.

• Wing-clipping is not universal. It’s a divisive cultural trauma, used by colonial forces (like Rhysand’s Night Court) to weaken female power within rebellious clans.

• Marriage customs involve bonding rituals and trials of endurance. Love matches are common, but political unions are sacred treaties.

6. Aesthetic and Visual Identity

Visually, these Illyrians would draw from traditional Balkan dress, war paint, and ritual tattoos:

• Heavy layered wool cloaks, silver-studded leather, and hand-stitched embroidery.

• Feather motifs, not batlike, dominate their wings and clothing—suggesting eagle or falcon heritage.

• Skin adorned with ancestral ink, marking clan history, flight achievements, and personal victories.

• Their wings are shaped more like a bird of prey—sleek, powerful, elegant—and more distinct from other fae for anatomical and symbolic reasons.

7. Language, Stories & Music

Real Illyrians were known for oral tradition—so these new Illyrians would sing their lineage, tell stories of queens and serpents, and compose elegies for daughters passed through generations.

Their music is haunting, polyphonic, and full of harmonies sung at mountaintop festivals during solstices or blood moons. Instruments would include stringed zithers, bone flutes, and drums carved from trees.

8. Relationship to the Night Court

Here’s where it gets juicy.

The Night Court uses the Illyrians as disposable soldiers, but in this version, the Illyrians are not passive. They remember their history, their gods, and the betrayals of past High Lords. There are Illyrian liberation movements, traitor lords secretly allied, and young war-chiefs dreaming of independence.

TL;DR:

The redesigned Illyrians are inspired by real-world Balkan highland warriors—fierce, proud, complex, deeply spiritual, and politically fractured. They are not a monolith of misogyny, but a tapestry of survival, resistance, and memory.

[girlkisser13]

hephaestus cabin headcanons

children of hephaestus

• OIL, SOOT, and GREASE STAINS EVERYWHERE.

• the have the most intense games of hide-and-seek in bunker 9.

• a lot of them lose limbs, become disabled in some way, or are born that way, and they often use it as a reason to build themselves cool robot prostheses and other tools to help them get around.

• along with the athena cabin, they come up with weapons and armory specifically for disabled demigods.

• they build advanced prosthetics for campers who have lost limbs in battle.

• they’re warmer than most demigods, even if they don’t have fire powers.

• they always know when someone is in need of a weapon and they just create it without thinking about it. like they just know when someone needs a weapon before they ask for it.

• they're the only ones who can pick out stuff from hephaestus's junkyard without getting hurt.

• everything, the cabin, the forge, the bunker, is 100% handicap accessible.

• they worked with the athena and hecate cabins to upgrade bunker 9 to allow better lighting, safer rooms, new areas to test weapons, etc. they wanted it to feel like an underground space station.

• they name each of their tools and inventions.

• on birthdays, they give each other personalized gadgets that solve everyday problems, like a self-tying shoelace or a self-stirring spoon.

• they design and wear fireproof clothing.

• they actually have numerous secret hideouts and mini-workshops hidden around camp half-blood (bunker 9 is the only one we know about).

• they keep detailed journals filled with sketches, ideas, and notes about their inventions, passing them down through generations of hephaestus kids.

• they build small, mechanical pets or companions that help them with tasks around the forge, each one with a unique personality programmed in.

• they all have a set of personalized tools that they've crafted themselves, often with special engravings or modifications to suit their style.

• they have made so many modifications to their cabin over the years that none of the original material is still there, and there’s a constant debate at camp as to weather it’s still the same cabin.

cabin exterior

• the cabin has an industrial look, with a mix of metals like iron, copper, and steel. rivets, bolts, and exposed beams are prominent features.

• life-sized metal automatons, resembling ancient greek warriors and mythical creatures, stand guard at the entrance.

• they have created intricate metal sculptures that decorate the cabin’s exterior. these range from small, detailed pieces to larger, more abstract art.

• the entrance has large, reinforced double doors, that are automated.

• these doors swing open smoothly despite their weight.

• they have a pulley system for lifting heavy materials, a retractable awning for shade, and a mechanical clock tower that chimes periodically.

cabin interior

• the floor is covered in spare parts and tools that never get picked up (unless somebody wants to use them for something).

• they have underground bunkers for bedrooms.

• the walls are adorned with gears, cogs, and blueprints of various inventions. some of the gears are part of intricate mechanisms that move or serve as storage spaces.

• their cabin has several fire extinguishers and a state-of-the-art ventilation system to manage the smoke and fumes from the forges.

• emergency buttons are strategically placed around the cabin to shut down all machinery in case of accidents.

cabin traditions

• every month they hold a competition to see who can make a device that fits a certain theme.

• they’re judged by a panel of five consisting of the head counselors of hephaestus, athena, hecate, and a volunteer counselor, as well as chiron.

• each judge judges something different on a scale of 1-5: safety and usefulness, ease of use and functionality, utilization of magic, presentation/looks, and on-theme-ness. chiron calculates and delivers the final score, which is the total points given by the counselors.

• the winner receives a medal and bragging rights (until the next competition), as well as first pick when it comes to tools each morning.

• anyone in camp is allowed to participate (though it’s mostly just the hephaestus and athena kids) and contestants have a week to create their contraptions, during which they have access to all the tools and spare materials in the hephaestus workshop (and later bunker 9) that nobody has yet claimed (whether for the competition or not).

• the event is taken very seriously by everyone involved, and even athena and hephaestus have been known to show up from time to time to watch from the shadows, but they always watch from olympus.

divider by @anitalenia

[is-the-character-aroacespec]

Is he asexual?

🖤       🩶       🤍       💜

Reasoning under the cut due to length

The Metal Gear twist on James Bond, in that he's an espionage action hero but not a smooth womanizer (among other differences).

Instead he's frequently unaware of sexual implications, unaffected by sexual advances, and comes across as uninterested in sex regardless of the gender of those involved. He's immune to the seduction methods of a femme fatale, and develops romantic feelings for her through surviving life or death situations together instead. In general his romantic relationships with men and women are conducted through battle or anything but traditional courtship, and his only confirmed sexual activity with people is after forging a bond that way. His most important relationship in the series is a (quasi)platonic "secret third thing" relationship with his mentor and maternal figure. The only reason he has children is through cloning, i.e. asexual reproduction (haha).

He aims to keep the world in perpertual war because he believes soldiers "care nothing for money, or power, or even sex" if they don't have somewhere to fight. Dude that's just you and your asexuality speaking but you're making it everyone else's problem. But that's my problematic ace-coded king for you.

[cpfltvs]

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[viloxity]

ooooo you do yandere guilty gear stuff? Could you please make some headcanons for Ky? Thank you in advance!

Divine Love — Yan!Ky Kiske HC x Reader

A/N: finally had time to finish this—thanks for the request! been looking for an excuse to do yandere strive hehe. since there’s no general prompt I decided to wing my own idea—there was a lot on my mind so it stems away from HC into a mini-fic…oops? Anyway, hope you like it! feedback always appreciated. maybe sol or asuka next?

WC: 3.2k

- A prodigal swordsman in his youth, Ky Kiske was a polished gem that rose amongst the ranks in the Sacred Order of Holy Knights. His commitment to fighting alongside humanity to end the Crusades awarded him honor and nobility—he was a man who was recognized as a hero, a powerhouse that rivaled the Guilty Gear himself.

- Yet, no matter how much recognition he was given, that would never take away the burning images of horrifying expressions, unmoving bodies, and blood-soaked hands.

- The end of the Crusades was welcomed with open arms by humanity, and Ky Kiske could not help but consider society’s naivety. Their ‘peace’ was forged from mountains of corpses littering destroyed land, with some unable to be recovered. It was not only war that forged him, but war that shaped humanity, too.

- The joy, the celebrations that placed people like Ky at the frontier made him sick. As his name rung throughout the land of Illyria—thousands chanting his name to the heavens—Ky merely stared emptily.

- Then, the day he was crowned king, standing amongst his peers, he felt the knot around his heart trembling violently, as if the strings were snapping one by one.

- You are crowning a killer. You are crowning a killer that reaped more lives than could be remembered.

- The people Ky Kiske fought so hard to protect, the ones who he wanted to save so that they would never face a sorry fate that matched his mother’s, then threatened the life of him and his son.

- Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting. Perhaps Ariels was right.

- It was on a whim that Ky, wrapped in ragged clothes and cloak, visited a small town in Illyria.

- His kingly life that adorned him with beautiful white coats and an egregious amount of riches came at a price of remembering civilization’s transgressions as well as his own. One day, those same nice white suits would be dyed red as he slayed more beings over and over and over and over—

- If the next war brewing came to fruition, would he remain the same?

- Where did he stand?

“Your suffering is not in vain—we hear you.”

Your words were soft-spoken as you handed a familiar woman a piece of bread and a bottle of water. She bowed as she took the food, tears welling her eyes.

“Bless you, bless you,” She repeated, hands clasped around yours.

“May all that is holy be with you in these trying times.”

The battles with Ariels was a reminder about war and its consequences. The fragments scattered just along the borders of Illyria suffered the most—which is where you exactly resided.

The capital is too engrossed in its affairs that happens within its imaginary wall that they never noticed how you and your people have suffered. To get help from them could take months, or years—that is why the Church acts in their stead instead.

And in their stead they shall, for they have already taken initiative in providing donations to the public in need.

Picking up another piece of bread, your eyes stray away from the others to a hooded figure standing a few feet away. As if they sensed you, cold, blue eyes match your gaze and you cannot help but shake slightly. They had been watching for awhile from a distance, yet they never moved towards the Church at all. It is with honest conviction that you stride forward with hands fully spread out to help those in need.

The blue eyes shake slightly, as if almost baffled by the action. They do not shift their gaze, and do not make a move for the bread.

You smile gently. “If you are in need of something, perhaps start with this?”

The person’s lips twitch and you can make out their nose scrunched from a little beyond the darkness veiling them. There was one beat, then two, before a voice finally graced your ears.

“I would like to ask a question.” The voice spoke, sounding gravely tired but of a sophisticated timbre that flowed through your ears like water.

You nodded encouragingly, hoping you successfully masked your surprise at the stranger’s sudden inquiry and manner of speech. Were you imagining the man’s formalities?

That didn’t matter, regardless.

“What value is there to life and certainty?”

You blinked, pondering for a few moments. A heavy question, indeed, but one that you were familiar with. After all, it had been contemplated so often that the answer came almost as second-nature to you.

“Life is an embodiment of various beings and things, encompassing the Divine One’s innovation and creativity. Life is infinite and therefore its value is inherently infinite as well.”

His eyes were fully entrenched onto yours, the beautiful blues reminding you of the vivid sky above the two of you.

“As for certainty… that is a question that will always be asked by us humans. Can I or can I not, or should I or should I not? Certainty can only be answered by beings whose beliefs are as rooted as the oldest trees that remain on earth.” You said, fingers gently curling and uncurling around the bread.

The man stared some more. You wished you could see his expression, to truly know the thoughts that plagued his mind and to reassure him of his doubts. He seemed troubled, so troubled, that your heart was aching.

“Beliefs… how does one root them?”

‘I’m lost and cannot find my way.’ Words, after all, never had one intended meaning.

“I cannot say whether there is an objective right way or not,” You said, eyes crinkling apologetically.

“But, do know this: salvation is paved by hope.”

“Hope?” The man repeated, wind swaying the hood of his cloak slightly to reveal beautiful blond hair.

You smiled knowingly, having once echoed that very same word. “Nothing can be done without hope.”

- it was after this encounter, perhaps, that sealed your fate.

- The hooded man quickly became acquainted with the Church where you resided, your eyes sweeping the room where it always eventually met the familiar torn material. For every prayer, recitation, and baptism he was in attendance and was seemingly engrossed in each activity.

- When you were in attendance, he would be present—whether you noticed or not.

That crawling feeling was back again. The one that made your spine tingle and welcomed a burst of cold wind that completely tempered your body’s homeostasis. It was after the Church’s weekly activity that you traced your uneasiness back to piercing bright ocean blues.

Your discomfort lingered as you made eye contact, yet you shrugged it off to be the nervousness from numerous gazes that buzzed around you. It ended up being a motivator to excuse yourself from the circle you were in to make strides towards the man that sat on one of the bench’s near the corner.

“Greetings,” You bowed, a small smile elevating your face at the man’s head perking up.

“Ah,” The man’s cloak shook, and your eyes noticed the gloved hands curling around the Rosary Beads.

“I am happy to see you becoming well-acquainted with us.” You nodded towards the Beads. “Has the difficulty of your journey towards belief alleviated at all?”

The man—regaining composure, you assumed, as he rubbed his thumb across one of the beads—hummed.

“It is clearer, but akin to observing a picture with an unfocused lens.” His voice was more lively than the last time—purposeful.

“If possible, I would like to learn more about faith.”

‘He is eager,’ you thought happily.

“Faith is one belief that concerns itself with following that of divine authority, such as the Divine One.” Your hand gestured towards the statue placed in the middle of the Church.

“It is a pledge to that which is holy to abide by One’s teachings. In having faith, one establishes trust with that which is greater.”

“Faith, then, is loyalty?” The man surmised.

“Correct. Loyalty is how we connect with divinity.”

The end of your teaching was followed by a few pastors requesting your presence. You quickly waved goodbye to the lonesome man, ignoring the sudden tenseness that swelled past your shoulders.

“Loyalty in following…” The man murmured, uncaringly burning his gaze into your backside.

Yes, the way your hair gently swayed as the wind blew and your sparkling smiles that enchanted his dark soul instilled a powerful sense that made his entire body tremble.

His legs shook and he willed himself not to bend his knees there and then as he greedily watched your rescinding silhouette.

- You received an invitation to visit the capital of Illyria on behalf of the Church at the request of an unspecified royal.

- The capital was big, beautiful, and bold—its inhabitants were nothing less than that.

- You, accompanied by a fellow male pastor, watched in awe from the carriage as you passed by various structures and villas.

- There would be initial greetings, then a grand party hosted by the Kings to celebrate another year of peace to the kingdom.

- Exiting the carriage and entering the palace was a different experience entirely—one that you could not fully describe

- As you continued to be enlightened, you eventually stumbled upon a blond man with bright blue eyes

Ah, wait, didn’t he look—

Catching your fellow company bowing from the corner of your eye, you quickly snapped your head down.

“My humble greetings to one of the Suns of Illyria,” Your companion—Peter—said, recovering swiftly.

There was a long, dreadful pause—an excruciating tremor passing through you at what you thought was the heat of the room. Your partner tapped your foot at the king’s silence.

“My humble greetings—and apologies—to one of the Suns of Illyria.” You were silently praying the noble in front of you did not pay attention to your lapse in formality.

“It is so wonderful to see you.” The king’s response came so quickly at the end of your words you couldn’t help but peek from underneath your eyelashes.

To say that Ky Kiske was simply a ‘Sun of Illyria’ was an understatement. The illumination of the room you were standing in was not of the photons transcending beyond the glass panels but of King Kiske’s exuberant smile. His golden hair reminded you of the daisies and sunflowers that lined the gates of Illyria and his blue eyes reflected the sky itself. The king’s posture, so upright and composed, rivaled that of the still lakes which oversee a multitude of beings underneath its tranquil waters.

Still, his smile did little to cease the burning stare into your body. And did little to quell your agitation.

King Kiske tilted his head. “What have you been up to since arriving?”

“Just—touring,” You meekly replied. A flash of pain pouring out of your head made you avert your gaze away from eyes seemingly tracking your every movement.

The king’s actions made you feel nervous, yet nervous over what? You silently prayed for strength, something that used to come easily to you under the roof your home’s Church.

“The agriculture and architect of Illyria is astounding.” Peter added, posturing in front of you to block his gaze.

The downturn of the king’s smile into a still-expression was immediate. It was almost as if he was just now registering the extra body beside you.

“I don’t recall asking for your input.” King Kiske’s voice was teetering beyond his collected tone, just enough for you to catch Peter flinch in front of you.

The king ran a quick hand through his hair, an expression you couldn’t quite catch now masked under an eerie coolness. Warning chimes rung through your mind as you gripped Peter’s hand tightly.

“Forgive us for the indecency but we must get going.” You said, already stringing along your companion. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Let us cross paths again soon.” You did not bother to look back, fearing you might get even more sickly over that saccharine smile.

Once out of sight, you let out a shaky breath you did not even know you were holding.

- You both traveled around for a while before the party, killing time and distracting yourselves from admitting that conversation ever happened in the first place.

- There was a sinking feeling, one that started from the surface but was melting all the way down to your gut.

- It was a feeling you strongly despised, one that you did not experience even as individuals reprimanded you for not giving enough food or losing your loved ones to Gears.

- When it came time for the party, it was nearly ten times more grand than you could have expected it to be

- The vitality encompassing the gala simmered your experience earlier but did not quite eliminate it.

- At Peter’s request, you both separated—wandering the room so that you may see everything.

- You were distracted, to the point where you did not notice the blond male slowly trailing behind you, even with the crowd he carried with him.

- When it came time to reunite with Peter, you spent quite the amount of time looking for him

- He, too, was looking around, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

- With the crowds seeming ever larger and your breaths drawing shorter, you stepped out into the palace’s garden.

The flowers, illuminated under the translucent moon’s gaze, looked even more invigorated than they were under the sun.

…The sun. The mere thought of it made you feel perturbed. It was like an itch you couldn’t scratch, a lingering feeling that drifted far out of your reach. An irremediable state of mind.

On nights where you felt the most… unlike yourself, you snuck back into the church. A small sin, perhaps, but praying under the statue was all you could do to relieve your conscious. Others felt the same, too, as you united from time to time with fellow pastors—a shared faith between you all.

Under the crescent moon in Illyria’s palace garden, there was no statue to turn to. But, when you find Peter then you cou—

A sharp shriek filled the air, startling you off a fountain’s marble perch you were previously sitting on. As the screams echoed, their tone was tinged with a familiarity that you used to find complacency in.

Within seconds you were running, towards thick bushes in the center of the garden that resembled border walls. Navigating through various greenery kept your mind occupied as you continuously prayed the shrieking was of your imagination.

The next shrill cry sounded fainter, and this time you knew it was real.

Reaching the center, your heart sunk at familiar white robes tinged with a dark, crimson substance. The man on the floor was trying desperately to breathe, clutching his neck as more crimson drew out. Your gasp of air as you sucked in a heavy breath felt like an insult as his eyes met yours.

“Peter!” You cried out, hand reaching for him.

Desperately, his hand reached for yours, shaking wildly as his fingers sprawled out. Although fear and panic painted his features, a small sliver of relief reflected in his irises.

A small shuffle of movement from beyond the shadows made you realize you two were not fully alone, the cries welling in your throat propagating a moment too late as a sword plunged straight through Peter’s chest.

The Thunderseal, one of the eight Sacred Treasures that burned away Gears in droves on the battlefield, had splatters of blood between its white and blues. The faint sparks that emitted around the blade as it slowly pulled out of the sunken man’s chest was subservient in the elimination of its foes. In truth, the one wielding the Thunderseal is the epitome of the ‘storm’ itself—the on bringer of destruction and endless ferocity.

Encased in cloudy blue orbs was an eerie coolness; a stillness that acted as a facade for the raging tide that plagued his mind. No longer was a ‘human’ in front of you, but perhaps the true form of the man who performed the role of a king.

“With this blade I have torn lives apart; too many, in fact, that each name and face are fleeting memories unveiled only when I dream,” Ky Kiske said, gloved hand raising the Thunderseal.

Its brilliance danced under the light yet looked dimmer around the parts covered by crimson. You wanted to look away, to pretend its history was not there, but that would never take away the tragedy it brought.

“I had a purpose for fighting but it withered to the point it was unrecognizable.”

For a moment, Ky stared at his hand, gaze longing for something he could not quite grasp.

You took a step back. There was something very, very wrong with your interaction back then and you wished you left. Not only for your sake, but for Peter. The regret and fear pooling your stomach made you want to vomit but perhaps there was a chance you could still escape this. With enough faith—

Ky smiled. “I like the look in your eyes.”

“Yes, it was you who gave me meaning.” He continued, legs slightly bending.

“It wasn’t Kliff, who gave me the Thunderseal, or Sol, who I’ve fight alongside all these years… but you.

“You gave me hope.”

Your eyes widened. “No—you?”

It made a lot more sense now, the small familiarities that were piling up. The similarities the two shared… it was all connected to the same person. But, back then, he was timid; someone who exuded strength but no reason to wield it. He changed so quickly that he…?

“This is absurd! After everything I’ve taught you, this was your answer?” You cried, finger pointing at him.

“Committing murder—that’s the biggest sin of all!”

“He got too close to you,” Ky snarled, “He turned from a nuisance to a parasite so I got rid of him. The mere idea of him being so close to you…”

He drew a shaky breath, running a hand through his slightly ragged hair. Ky resumed his kneeling position a few feet in front of you, and despite being farther, you felt like he would chase you with as much ease as walking.

“The day I met you, I pledged myself to you. You are the presence I have been looking for all this time, the taste of holiness that will cleanse me of not evil, but emptiness.”

“My Goddess,” He whispered.

Ky smiled—the genuine kind—a type of smile he thought he could no longer do.

His sword plunged into the ground, the sharp scraping and clattering stronger than when he pierced Peter’s chest.

“All I ask is to be your only knight and loyal follower.”

Ky raised his head and you could see the faint blush tinging his cheeks and turbulence swirling within his eyes.

“You’re too far gone…” You murmured quietly, heart held against your chest in an attempt to still its frantic beating.

“I could never agree to something like this, especially with words bespoken from that of such a monstrosity such as you.”

His entire body flinched and he was standing upright within a flash.

“Is there more competition? Is that it?” Ky asked, ocean blue eyes widened. There was a slight quiver in his voice and visible shaking surrounding his body, as if a loved one passed away.

Ky gripped his scabbard after a minute and the trembling vanished.

“…That is reasonable. I must prove my worth to Her Holiness.”

He flung the blood still encased around his blade, clots of red scattering on the ground.

“Shall I show you why they call me lightning?”

[novankenn]

Tenuous Partnership (4)

As Glynda Goodwitch and her nephew Jaune Arc moved deeper into the Emerald Forest, Pyrrha Nikos was making one last check of her gear. She was due to board a private air-shuttle from Argus to Beacon in a couple of days. As per the discipline instilled in her from an early age, she was double checking everything.

"Is everything in order dear?" Pyrrha's mother Athena asked as she entered the private gym and training room of the Nikos estate.

"Yes, it is mother." Pyrrha replied.

"So you have everything? Silver, iron, salt, and those items have all be consecrated?"

"Yes mother." Pyrrha responded as she turned her attention from the steamer-trunks, her possessions where packed into. "Have you come to check on me?"

"Yes." Athena replied. "I want to see how my baby was doing. This is a big step. Leaving home. Going to an entirely new and distant kingdom."

"To be honest, I am a little hesitant." Pyrrha informed her mother. "But Headmaster Ozpin's offer to not only train as a huntress but also get tutelage under Professor Port was too good to pass up."

"Ah yes, Peter Port. He was quite the slayer in his prime, and even his advanced age, I doubt his skills have flagged much."

"But still... it is a long distance, and I won't have you or father nearby to assist me."

"No but you will have Peter, and your team." Athena countered. "I don't want you to leave. I want my baby to stay here at home, but you need to see more of the world, my dear, and that is just a fact of life."

"Where is father?"

"He's in our room, looking through you baby pictures and sobbing about how you're growing up too fast, and that you'll be married and having a family, soon."

"Really?"

"Yes." Athena answered a soft smile on her lips. "You're father is a very gentle soul. It's one of the reasons I proposed to him. This life is dangerous and harsh. Having someone who so unconditionally loves and cares for you... is a great reason to always come home safe."

"So you think I should search for a husband while I am Beacon?" Pyrrha gave her mother a wiry smile.

"That is your choice, my dear." Athena countered, "Though I do hope if you find... any candidates that we get introduced to them first."

"Of course mother."

"I also have a gift." Athena informed her daughter. "This was passed down to me by you're grandmother when I was your age, and preparing to step out into the wider world."

Athena undid the shining black and bronze belt that circled her waist. Wrapping the straps about the sheath she held out the kopis that had always since Pyrrha was a child, hung at her mother's side.

"Mother?"

"This is a special blade, forged by means we have long forgotten. It edge does not dull, it's sheen does not diminish. " Athena stepped forward and placed the weapon in her daughter's hands. "It will serve and protect you even when all else fails."

"I can't..."

"Yes you can, and you will. This is a gift from mother to daughter, and when you have a child of your own, you too will gift this to them."

"Thank you..." Pyrrha replied as she accepted the ancient blade and hugged it to her chest. "Thank you..."

"Love you, my precious gem." Athena spoke softly as she pulled her daughter into a warm hug.

"Love you, mom."

==> One <==> Two <==> Three <==

[ask-one-orion-pax]

sorry if this is asking a lot!! I’m wondering… how difficult is it for you to mine every day?

is it hard on your body or joints at all?

im also wondering if it’s something you get used to over time- considering the heavy machinery you have to carry each day. your physical strength must be great!!

but do you ever think it would be easier if you could transform? like hauling the carts and crates and such!

lastly!! How was your first day mining? Were you sore at all the first week?

It’s definitely hard on the frame. If a bot works too hard for too long, their gears can get stripped, which is very painful and requires replacement.

We get used to the labor, yes, but our strength is only what we’re capable of since our frames stopped growing. We don’t have muscles, so there’s nothing short of frame modifications that we can do to increase our frames’ weight limits. That’s why sometimes, a bot gets a promotion but stays in the same mining sector instead of moving to a more advanced one.

I think it could be easier! Just…not for everyone. Everyone’s alt mode is a little different, so some would be suitable for mining work while others wouldn’t be.

Oh, my first solar cycle was easy. They start us off in the least active mines so our newly forged frames don’t get shocked by hard labor and break down. I was a little sore, but mostly in my peds from standing the entire solar cycle.

[ghostlyglimmer]

Unlikely Roads Chapter 2: Ghosts on Their Tail

Summary:

Danny and his rival, Wes Weston, join forces to escape the GIW. On a tense road trip, they uncover personal truths and forge an unexpected bond while battling both the GIW and their own conflicts.

The motorcycle sputtered as they sped through the darkened streets of Amity Park. Danny kept glancing over his shoulder, scanning the shadows for any sign of the GIW. The quiet hum of the night felt too still, too unnatural, as if the calm itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to go wrong.

“How long until they—” Danny started..

“There!” Wes cut him off, his voice sharp. He pointed ahead at the road just as the faint glimmer of headlights appeared in the distance, followed by the unmistakable silhouette of a black van. The Ghost Investigation Ward had found them.

“Go faster!” Danny shouted, gripping the back of the seat tighter.

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” Wes snapped back, twisting the throttle as hard as it would go. The bike roared—well, more like it coughed—but it picked up speed, weaving between the streets as the van behind them surged closer.

Danny’s heart pounded as the van’s sleek, high-tech frame came into clearer view. The GIW wasn’t playing around. Their vehicle was far more advanced than Wes’s rustbucket bike, and it was gaining on them fast.

As if to prove the point, a sudden hum filled the air, followed by a flash of light. The van had deployed a drone, its small frame zipping toward them with alarming speed.

"Great, they've got toys," Danny muttered.

The drone flew overhead, scanning the street below with red, glowing sensors. Danny knew they couldn’t risk being seen, not with cameras everywhere. If his ghost powers showed up on any footage, it’d only make things worse.

“I’ll handle it,” Danny said, already phasing his body into Phantom mode. Wes glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening.

“Wait—don’t you dare—”

But Danny ignored him. His white hair flared into view as he shifted, floating just above the motorcycle. He reached out with one hand, concentrating hard as green energy crackled in his palm. A quick burst of ecto-energy shot toward the drone, scrambling its circuits. The thing fizzled out mid-air and crashed to the ground with a satisfying clunk.

"Got it," Danny said, transforming back before any security cameras could catch the sight.

“Are you insane?” Wes yelled. “They have cameras everywhere! If they catch you using your powers—"

“They’re not catching anything,” Danny snapped. “I took out the drone, didn’t I?”

“Not the point!”

As they rounded another corner, the van swerved sharply behind them, coming dangerously close. Danny cursed under his breath. He wasn’t sure how much longer Wes could keep the bike ahead of the GiW’s gear.

The van lurched forward again, and the back doors swung open. Two agents, clad in their signature white-and-black uniforms, stepped out, hoisting some kind of weapon that looked like a souped-up net launcher.

“They’ve got something,” Danny said, tension running through his voice.

“No kidding!” Wes yelled, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. “Do something, Phantom! That’s your thing, right?”

Danny scowled. “I am doing something.” He shifted into ghost form again, barely visible in the moonlight. With a quick surge of power, he raised a wall of ectoplasmic energy behind them. The net launcher fired, but the net bounced off harmlessly, the agents cursing in frustration.

“Nice try!” Danny called back.

The wall of energy collapsed just as quickly as it formed, and Danny phased back onto the bike. Wes swerved them into a side street, trying to lose the van on the narrower roads. But the GiW was relentless, their high-tech vehicle navigating the tight turns with ease.

“They’re not giving up,” Wes muttered, breathless. “We’re screwed.”

“We’re not screwed,” Danny said, though he wasn’t entirely sure of that. “We just need to get out of town. They’ll have to back off eventually.”

“Out of town? On this thing?” Wes threw a glance at the sputtering bike beneath them. “We won’t make it five miles before it falls apart.”

“We’ll figure it out!” Danny said, though frustration leaked into his tone. They were running out of time, and options.

A sharp turn later, the van was still close behind, but Danny spotted something—an overpass up ahead, leading to a freeway. It was risky, but if they could lose the GiW there, they might stand a chance of escaping.

“Head for the overpass,” Danny instructed.

Wes didn’t argue this time. He veered onto the ramp, the bike straining under the effort but holding together for now. The van followed, but the narrow incline worked to their advantage. It slowed down just enough for Danny to get an idea.

“Hold on,” Danny said, his eyes narrowing in focus. He phased out of his seat again, flying above the bike as the overpass loomed ahead. With a deep breath, he summoned as much energy as he could muster and let loose a pulse of ectoplasmic force. It shot out like a shockwave, sending debris and rubble from the overpass onto the road below.

The van skidded, its tires screeching as it was forced to stop, unable to navigate the sudden mess. The agents inside shouted in frustration as they were blocked by the debris.

“Ha! Got ‘em,” Danny said, flashing back into his human form just as Wes pulled onto the freeway.

For the first time in what felt like forever, the sound of the GIW’s pursuit faded into the distance. The only noise now was the hum of the bike’s struggling engine and the wind whipping past their faces.

They were free. For now.

But the silence that settled between them was heavy, filled with all the words they hadn’t had time to exchange during the chase. Wes finally pulled into a deserted rest stop on the outskirts of town and killed the engine. The bike gave a pitiful cough before falling silent.

“Okay,” Wes said, sliding off the seat, his voice tight with anger. “What the hell was that?”

Danny climbed off after him, stretching his legs. “I saved our lives. You’re welcome.”

Wes turned on him, his face red with frustration. “Saved our lives? You made this mess in the first place!”

“What are you talking about?” Danny shot back. “I didn’t send the GiW after you. That’s all on you for poking around where you shouldn’t have.”

“I was trying to expose you! To warn people about the real threat! Maybe if you’d been a little more careful with your secret, we wouldn’t be running for our lives right now!”

Danny stepped closer, the anger rising in his chest. “Oh, so it’s my fault the GIW is out there torturing people? You should’ve listened to me about them months ago!”

“I didn’t know it would go this far!” Wes yelled. “I didn’t know they’d come after me like this. But you did, didn’t you? You knew they were capable of this!”

Danny paused, gritting his teeth. Wes wasn’t wrong. He’d always known the GiW was dangerous, more than anyone gave them credit for. But hearing it from Wes stung in a way he hadn’t expected.

“We’re not going to get anywhere blaming each other,” Danny finally muttered, running a hand through his hair. “We need a plan.”

Wes crossed his arms, still fuming but clearly exhausted. “Fine. Plan. What’s your genius idea, Phantom?”

Danny let out a slow breath. “You said your uncle’s place, right? Florida or Alaska?”

“Yeah,” Wes said. “Both are pretty far. But we don’t have a choice. The GiW won’t stop hunting us down unless we get far enough away. And fast.”

Danny frowned. “Florida’s closer, but it’s still a long ride on this junk pile. We could be sitting ducks.”

“So you’d rather Alaska? You know how cold it is up there? And I doubt you have any winter clothes packed.”

Danny shook his head, frustrated. Neither option was great, and with the GIW tailing them, they didn’t have time to waste.

“We don’t have much time,” Danny muttered. “But we’ll have to pick one.”

Wes stared at him, waiting. Danny stared back. It was the last thing either of them wanted, but for now, they were stuck together.

[demifiendrsa]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard | Official Gameplay Reveal

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, formerly Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store in Fall 2024.

Title Logo

Key visual

Screenshots

Overview

About

From the storytellers at BioWare comes Dragon Age: The Veilguard, an all new single-player fantasy RPG experience. This bold, heroic adventure is built to deliver on what the series is best known for: rich storytelling, fantasy worldbuilding, companions & fellowship, and a world where you matter. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you’ll embark on a quest to face powerful Elven gods and stop the destruction they’re unleashing on the world. You are known as Rook, battling on the front lines alongside a compelling cast of companions with individual storylines and motivations. In true Dragon Age fashion, companions are central to the experience and as Rook, you must rise up, rally your crew and forge relationships to become the unexpected leader others believe in.

Story

Solas, the Dread Wolf and Elven Trickster god of legend, wants to tear down the Veil that separates Thedas from the world of demons, restoring his people’s immortality and glory—even at the cost of countless lives. But his ritual goes awry, and his worst fears are realized, as two of his most ancient and powerful adversaries are released. They seek only to finish what they started millennia ago – the complete and utter domination of our world. Rook’s journey to stop these two powerful deities will span across all of Thedas to bustling cities, lush tropics, boreal forests, fettered swamps and the deepest depths, but be wary of the evil forces along the way like the Dark Spawn, Venatori Cultists and Demons of the Fade.

Key Features

Fellowship – Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s brand new companions come alive with some of the most compelling individual storylines in Dragon Age history. Expansive and dynamic stories navigate love, loss and complex choices that will affect your relationships and the fate of each member of the Veilguard. New companions like the Veil Jumper Bellara, the necromancer Emmrich, and the private detective Neve, come from iconic factions in Dragon Age lore, possessing individual skill trees and specialized gear for advanced team progression. You’ll see familiar faces, too, such as the archer Lace Harding who returns to the series as a full time companion.

Choice and Consequences – Dragon Age: The Veilguard builds on the series’ deep role-playing roots, providing extraordinary storytelling and worldbuilding, deep personalities for each companion, meaningful choices and impactful cinematic moments. The bonds you create and the relationships you forge will be affected by your choices made throughout your journey.

A Crafted Experience – As a character-driven RPG, Dragon Age: The Veilguard delivers a crafted experience that pays homage to BioWare’s history of storytelling. The Lighthouse provides a central place where you can rest, learn more about the world through conversations, while the Crossroads allows you to traverse to separate explorable regions of the world with your companions. You’ll experience more of Thedas than ever before as your story unfolds across meticulously crafted biomes and beautiful regions including Rivain, Weisshaupt, Arlathan, Minrathous, the Deep Roads and more, each inviting you to delve deeper into the narrative and uncover the mysteries of the land.

Fluid, Customizable Combat – Immersive combat blends fluid moment-to-moment controls with tactical decision-making. Players can fully customize their experience to fit their playstyle with diverse skill trees among three different classes—Warrior, Mage, and Rogue—each with unique abilities and specializations. Choose two companions to join you on your quests and unleash powerful team combos that can change the tide of any battle. Make strategic choices and direct your allies to fight, heal or stay out of the fray with the newly-added ability wheel.

Be the Leader You Want to Be – Dragon Age: The Veilguard features a robust character creation system that allows you to be the leader you want to be with a vast range of customization. BioWare has created the most comprehensive character creator in Dragon Age yet to make this story truly your own

[block-toad]

SDMP Modlist

u/GalaxyCole wrote down all the mods on the server, shown by Lark on his stream!

direct link to the list, i'll put them also under read more

Forge 1.18.2 Grabby Mobs Copperized Beautify Player Animator Extra Trades Content Creaotr integration Not Enough Recipe Book Rubidium Mod Name Tooltip Looot Bow Infinity Fix Villager Names Duckling Golems Are Friends Not Resources JRFTL Placebo No Angled Brackets YUNG's API Another Liquid Milk Mod Extra Zombie Drops Customized Dungeon Loot Skeleton Horse Spawn Fakename Snow! Real Magic! Path Under Gates Chat Heads YUNG's Better Nether Fortresses dragonfight mod Cloth Config v4 API ChoiceTheorem's Overhauled Villages MmmMmmMmmMmm Despawning Eggs Hatch The Twilight Forest Hexxit Gear 2 Konkrete FlytreLib Farmer's Delight Curious Armor Stands Chefs Delight Ender's Delight Biommes O' Plenty Simple Shops Do a Barrel Roll TexelsPaintings Edibles SuperMartijn642's Core Lib Pop! Fairy Lights Bendy Lib Fish On The Line Highlighter Mystical Oak Tree Curious Lanterns Curios API Splashy Oculus Naturally Charged Creepers Collective Camera Mod StrongerSnowballs Villagers Sell Animals (by NoCube) Eating Animation Twilight Delight Architectury Name Tag tweaks Chimes Custom Window Title Camp Chair Detail Armor Bar FastLeafDecay CodeChicken Lib WaterFrames GeckoLib Nekos Enchanted Books Dark Paintings Sky Structures Dangerous Stone Cutter Better Advancements Drip Sounds Majrusz's Accessories Kiwi Notes Double Doors Torch Slab Mod Dice Watermedia Villagers Drops Emerals on Death Pitch Perfect DeathKnell Just Enough Items Captcha Contact Sooty Chimneys Falling Leaves Structory Silveroak Outpost Dual Riders Tumbleweed Nature's Compass Artifacts Smarter FArmers Jumpy Boats Configured CatJammies Skinned Carts Dungeon Crawl Obscuria's Tooltips Snow Under Trees Snuffles Rare Ice Food Effects Book Fishing Toast Control JEI Tweaker Blueprint Boatload Craft Tweaker Forge Passthrough Signs TheDirtyStuff Chalk Curious Lights Emotecrafft Wool Tweaks Selene Infernal Mobs Useless Sword Carpet Trapdoors [Forge] Simple Voice Chat Sound Physics Remastered TerraBlender SwingThroughGrass ExtraGore Mouse Tweaks Night Lights Emote Tweaks MMajrusz Library Creative Core Nethers Delight Chicken Chunks Special Drops Farming In Rain Iceberg Walking Canes Sit Goblin Community Backpacked Flower Patch Ambient Environment Neon Craft 2 Just Zoom AquaCulture 2 CHA&S Heartstone ExpandAbility Snowballs Freeze Mobs