#also death and resurrection; so you know--I have my excuses

[silence-burns]

The Death of Me //part 1

Fandom: Aquaman

Summary: (very small spoilers for the movie) Finding Orm on your doorstep was not something you expected. Having him move in was even worse. But the effect he still had on every part of your life would be the death of you.

The sun was blinding, but unfortunately, not enough to make the man standing before you disappear.

“You're in surprisingly good shape for a dead person,” you said.

“And you look terrible for someone supposedly alive,” said Orm.

You shrugged and immediately regretted it. The tight bandages keeping your shoulder in place worked as a poor reminder it was out of commission for the next few weeks.

“How I've missed that princely charm. Piss me off some more and, half-dead or not, I'm gonna kick your ass back into that desert I got it from. It might be the last thing I do, but if I become a ghost, I'll brag about it for eternity.”

Your mood soured further with every minute you remained conscious. Surprises and resurrections, you could deal with, but your ability to be polite left long ago. There were a lot of impolite and certainly unprincely words bubbling in your chest, but they all disappeared when the most magical, impossible, and straight-out-of-fairy-tales thing happened.

Orm, of his own volition, smiled.

The sun was still doing its best to blind your already red and swollen eyes—it failed yet again. You examined the strange occurrence, with the furrowed brows and all the small wrinkles and tiny folds in the skin that usually accompanied a person’s smile looking perfectly normal on his face. It was a genuine smile. You could only blink at him for a moment

“I thought scowling was the only expression you had. Like a factory setting, you know.”

“I'm glad to hear you are as sharp as ever, despite your current shortcomings.”

“Excuse you, I'm in great shape.”

The man in front of you politely didn't argue. It was rather clear from his expression that he had some serious doubts about not only the state of your body, but also about your mental capacity of acknowledging said state, but he made the wise choice of keeping these thoughts to himself.

Wise was your middle name; therefore, you allowed the silence to confirm your words. At the same time, you shifted more of your weight against the doorframe, hoping your grimace came across as menacing rather than painful. Your leg needed a bit of rest, nothing serious. It totally wasn’t almost crushed to pieces a few weeks ago.

The smile on Orm’s face, an expression you could get used to seeing, started to shift into a look of concern as he watched your eyes. You looked away, afraid of how much he could see. Before you could react, he picked you up and carried you inside the house.

It was a pretty house, very spacious, just like old rich men tended to enjoy—which might explain why Batman bought it a long time ago as a safehouse far from any prying eyes, and why he allowed you to occasionally use it as such.

Yet, despite all the initial spaciousness, it was rather easy to clutter if the person living inside had a few cracked bones, general lack of energy to move, and never invited anyone around to see the mess.

Orm raised an eyebrow when he noticed a sofa dragged into the kitchen area and the amount of empty, crushed packaging laying around it. You hated how much could be expressed without saying a word.

“Put me down.”

Your words came out weaker than intended. Orm held you in a bridal carry which put immense pressure on your cracked ribs and sent flashes of pain every time you inhaled. But he was so warm and close that your anger sizzled and faded.

With your head on his shoulder, you had the perfect view of his perfect profile and the perfect frown deepening the wrinkles between his brows.

“So, this is how you live now?” was all he said, in a controlled tone.

“I know you're not deaf and heard me the first time. Put me down. Preferably on my beautiful and completely normal kitchen bed, thank you.”

You sighed with relief once he finally listened. Even though the pressure of his arms around you disappeared, somehow you still felt his warmth, as if it seeped into your battered, bruised flesh. You felt your face getting hot and decided against following that train of thought.

Your heart, for a reason you also chose to ignore, skipped a beat when Orm turned on his heel and walked back to the front door. It took him comparatively less time than when you had to drag your ass to open it a few minutes ago.

But rather than walking outside and disappearing from your life again, Orm only closed the door. And then turned the lock too.

“I don’t like where this is going,” you said, in vain hope that all of this was just a bad dream you'd soon wake up from.

“What a shame,” Orm said with no shame whatsoever in his voice.

“Why are you here? I might be a little late with that question, but I'd still love to know the answer.”

Orm took measured steps to the kitchen table, assessing the seat with the least amount of trash surrounding it, and sat down. He sat upright, posture uncompromised in the face of a backless stool, and folded his hands on the table. How he looked royal surrounded by trash and cold leftovers was beyond you.

“As you have witnessed, thanks to Arthur, after that final battle I got a way out of my old life. I enjoyed it for the most part, and even wandered the surface world for a while. And then I heard about your accident and came to settle my debts.”

“You don't have a debt to me.”

“When I was awaiting sentencing for my crimes, you were the one that took care of me. And not so long ago, you helped Artur break me out of that prison. That alone guarantees my utmost respect.”

“Your debt is paid, you owe me nothing.”

“That's not how it works.”

“I don't need a nurse, especially one who isn’t wearing a sexy costume.”

“I'm afraid that part is not negotiable.”

“Wait.” You squinted, doing your best to focus your thoughts despite a rising migraine. “This cottage is in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest town a few hours on foot and only if you already know the way. And the only people that knew I got… a little roughed up, were those in the Justice League. Did Artur give you a ride here because he felt guilty he didn’t stop that building in Venice from falling on me?”

“Every day I am thankful that I don't know the inner workings of my brother’s mind.”

“So he did.”

You let your head fall back onto the makeshift kitchen-bed. It was too much for you.

You grabbed the pills from your secret under-the-pillow stash of meds and swallowed some painkillers.

“I'm going to kill your brother.”

“May you have more luck than I did. Now, do you even own any clean clothes?”

[olrinarts]

Day 3: Rise From the Dead, featuring both my godform lamb and a bonus short:

Narinder had never died before.

Even when the Lamb fought him, he hadn’t died – he’d been humiliated, he’d been reduced, but he hadn’t died.

As he watched the cliff edge race away above him, the watery air of Anchordeep doing nothing to slow his fall and the monster that had tackled him now tumbling in his wake, Narinder had time to wonder if it would hurt.

It did. The first crash snapped his spine, and wasn’t even kind enough to numb him; he felt every broken limb after, and the first blinding instant where his skull caved in – and then it was done.

Only, it wasn’t. The pain was gone, but he was still in a jumble of limbs in the darkness. For a moment, he thought that he had simply gone numb and was dying slowly. Then something touched him. Fingers. Very large ones. Some were warm skin; some were smooth bone; some were soft velvet.

Narinder was picked up by six hands and tenderness, and by the time he was set back on his paws, he knew both where he was and what was happening.

‘You spoke truly, when you described how you looked as a god,’ he said, looking up at the Lamb’s godform and doing his best to ignore the sense of vertigo. ‘It is… unusual.’

The Lamb laughed, voice no louder than usual but much, much bigger. ‘Thanks, you sure know how to flatter a god,’ they said dryly, poking him very lightly with one of their doll fingers. ‘I take it something went wrong? The missionary pendant didn’t work?’

‘I imagine it had some difficulty mitigating a fall into a near-bottomless chasm.’

‘Oh, yeah, that’d do it,’ they said, nodding. ‘And you’re doing okay?’

‘You have resurrected me, so yes.’

They poked him again. ‘You know what I mean.’

He looked away. He’d been Death for millennia; something so paltry as a single death wouldn’t shake him. He refused.

They sighed. ‘Alright, I’ll make you a deal,’ they said, and he looked back up at them. ‘You know and I know that you’re going to need a minute, and as much as I’d like you safely home, you’re also safe right here. So if you’re willing to pretend you’re doing me a favour by staying a while, I’ll tell you a secret.’

He’d been about to refuse, but much to his annoyance, that caught his attention. ‘What kind of secret?’ he said, all three eyes squinting up.

‘You’ll have to find out, won’t you?’ the Lamb said lightly. ‘I’ll let you go home instead, if you’d really prefer. But then you don’t get the secret.’

He huffed. ‘Very well,’ he said, ‘since you are looking for an excuse for company.’

‘Yep,’ they said, nodding seriously, but their eye was twinkling. ‘It’s not like most of me is Above, and all the rest of me is meeting every other soul that’s dead. So? You want the secret?’

They set their left hand down (well, their flesh left hand. They did have two others.) It was only for the sake of the secret that he let himself sit on it, lifted in the cradle of their fingers, the way he’d once carried them. No other reason. ‘Well then?’ he asked.

‘I’m going to tell you my name,’ they said as they set him against the right side of their chest, where the wool was. He could hear the steady beat of the red sateen heart in their ribcage, and he supposed that someone else might find it soothing, if they were inclined to such things. ‘But there’s a story that goes with it first, before I’ll tell you. Ready?’

‘If you insist,’ he said, because he knew they wouldn’t.

[triptychgardener]

Hello sorry if this is a bother but I am asking in good faith where is the reading for transmasc nepeta. I’m asking this cuz of your last ask (the June one) and I see aradia Dirk and Jane. Thoes all I have seen post and analysis about. But I have not really seen anything about nepeta.

Okay so first thing you gotta understand is that gender in Homestuck, for lack of a better way to say it, can be understood in how characters reflect and relate to each other. That being said to understand Nepeta's gender, we gotta understand the gender of at the very least one other person.

Dave.

And more specifically.

Davepeta, Homestuck's very own first(ish) trans character.

Davepeta is noted to be a sort of platonic ideal of existence for both Dave and Nepeta. Somehow, through a strange series of cosmic coincidences, these two end up making an odd sort of parallel. Both having a strange relationship to a man who loves him some goddamn horses. The whole Akwete Purrmusk thing. I mean, Dave canonically engaged in semi-nonironic furry roleplay with Nepeta offscreen, and given what we know about what becoming a furry in Homestuck means, it's not a leap to describe this as their ideal form.

But, although we don't see a lot of Nepeta's character arc, we do see a lot of Dave's. He struggles his whole life under an incredibly oppressive masculine force (both of Bro and, indirectly, Lord English), and once the game is over ends up deconstructing and largely rejecting that.

So when Davesprite, who's also probably been thinking about this for even longer, bereft of purpose or identity, finds a kindred soul in a spunky catgirl... well the rest is Davepeta.

And similarly, there are points in the story where Nepeta acts kind of uncomfortable with how others see her as exclusively something to be protected. The whole "Dear, sweet, precious Nepeta" grates on her early on, as Equius uses it as an excuse to control her actions. The whole of moiraillegience as it is originally explained (i.e. one party helps to calm down an especially brutal and violent person from outbursts of anger, and in turn that person will protect the more docile, even-tempered soul from external harm) even kind of FEELS like the way heterosexual relationships are portrayed in a lot of conservative spaces, where women are nuturers and caretakers while men are protectors. And Nepeta is supposed to, in this situation, be the person who helps Equius manage his emotions, which she feels some consternation at!

Now, over the course of Hivebent, their relationship appears to evolve and get a bit more balanced, but it still carries these overtones of "I will protect you, and you will handle my outbursts." Notably, when Equius goes to seek the Highb100d, and leaves Nepeta behind.

And of course not after roleplaying as each other.

Which. I mean come on.

But notably, Nepeta doesn't just stay put! She doesn't really want to be protected all the time! And when push comes to shove, she leaps out to defend, or at the very least avenge, her best friend.

And then, we don't really see Nepeta for a while!

Until we get to the end of the comic.

During their whole "date", Nepeta seems a little uncomfortable with Jasprose's affections. She may be a bit flattered, but Jasprose also fully admits later that she was frankly looking for any girl she could fall in love with after the tragic death of her girlfriend and possible more tragic untimely resurrection.

But then the pivotal handshake happens, and we get to see who is perhaps the most happy being in all of Homestuck.

Then we get into some of the only actual discussion of gender in Homestuck. We don't get much besides that, for both of their lives, Dave and Nepeta both felt something was missing. Something felt wrong that they couldn't quite place that made them both miserable. I don't think it's a massive stretch to say this could be gender dysphoria.

And when they combine, they feel the fullness of the gendered experience they were missing, melded together like a two-piece puzzle.

Now while the abovementioned "strong identities as a boy and a girl" might throw you off, I would point to what Victoria Lacroix said about this passage: note the lack of the word "respectively." I rest my case.

Now full disclosure, my personal headcanon for Nepeta is genderfluid transmasc. The whole affinity for roleplaying lends itself to a more shifting identity and I just think Nepeta, given more time, would love exploring the little nooks and crannies of gender.

This isn't going into the more complicated shit with Gender when it comes to Equius and Dirk and all that other stuff. Here's a quick summary so you can see exactly how my brain is broken.

Anyways, thanks for the question! I hope I answered my thoughts on the topic adequately! If other people have more to say about this, please feel free to add on!

[darling-i-read-it]

Reunion Part 2

Part 1  

Trevor Philips x fem!reader, Michael Townley x fem!reader 

Word Count: 3,4k

Warnings: general gta things, murder, the mission where tracey is auditioning for fame or shame, violence, heavy allusions to smut 

Author’s Note: Trevor Philips <3 Trevor <3 T <3 (also I don’t plan on continuing this idea but would love requests for this game if anyone has any :)) 

Tagging: (hope you guys don’t mind me tagging you! You showed interest in a second part and I finally was able to finish what I had <3): @pngxxx, @ugh-why-ugh, @raspberriesbbylol 

Summary: The reader and Trevor go to confront Michael.

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director/creator

(not my gif)

When he pulled up to Michael’s house it was with a slight amount of tension. You were more nervous than him. You had decided the two of you would crash at his friends place while you were away from Sandy Shores, though he made you swear you would go back to the trailer. You weren’t sure why he had fallen in love with the place but you were willing to oblige. You just wanted him to shower first. 

“So this is where Michael Townely is living out his days,” Trevor grumbled. He shut the car door aggressively. You crossed your arms. There was a car in the driveway. You wondered if it was his or Amanda’s. Maybe the kids. They would be so old by now. The last time you had seen them they were just little ones, running around, finding personalities. 

“Michael Townely leaves the door unlocked,” you noted as you pushed the front door open. 

“Fuckin rookie.” 

Trevor pushed past you. You could hear the buzz of a conversation happening in the other room. You followed him as he followed the noise. 

“Stop it you two! You’re ruining my fucking yoga!” You recognized the voice of Amanda. The shrill was hard to forget. 

“Somebody say yoga?” Trevor stepped forward. You remained back a bit, watching to see how they would react to him. Plus, you knew Trevor wanted his moment. There was a long stunned silence. 

“Trevor?” Michael asked. Even hearing his voice made you angry. You didn’t know how Trevor was holding it together. 

“Michael…” “Hey..it’s good to see you man.” 

“Hmm yeah I bet it is. ‘Course, I’m not the one that’s been resurrected.” You stepped into the room, causing another gentle stunned silence. 

“Nice house you got here Mikey.”

Michael had gone to your house. He had waited there and you never came. He figured you had skipped town at the very noise of something happening with the job but he should’ve known better. He should’ve known you would go to Trevor first. You would always go to Trevor first. 

Michael put his son behind him subtly. You tilted your head at the silent insult. You had held that kid the day he was born. 

“I got in a bit of an awkward situation.” 

“Hmm you’re telling me bro. One of those…fake your own deaths to your best buddy and then run off with the dough..live in a big mansion. Awkward. Situation.” Trevor approached him. Michael eyed you. If he had the capacity he would be stunned by the look of you. He had missed you so much. A part of him had even missed Trevor. Maybe he just missed the then. 

“That’s one way of looking at it.” 

“Yeah? Do you have any other ways of looking at it?” you asked. You crossed your arms, leaning against the wall beside a man who had an unnaturally large bun in his hair. You recognized the others in the room but not him. Maybe he was Amanda’s boytoy. You almost snorted. 

“It’s been a long time. I’ve been in witness protection, I still am.”

“Save the excuses Michael,” you argued. You pushed yourself off the wall. 

“Where are our manners!?” Trevor exclaimed. “We come waltzing in and don’t even say hi to old friends. Amanda, it is good to see you. I missed you. You used to be fatter. Nice new tits by the way,” he said, approaching her. She backed away as he walked forward. You eyed her evenly. He pointed at Jimmy. “Jimmy, you used to be thinner. But ah, can’t blame you.” He gestured to Jimmy’s parents. 

You stared, reminded of a life you could have had and never got. 

Trevor stopped at the man with the man bun. 

“Who are you?” 

“Namaste. I’m Fabien.” You snorted. Trevor turned to you.

 “You all remember Y/N! Except you Fabien.” You waved. “You know, she thought I was dead. I thought she was dead. I wonder who would’ve pushed that idea!” Trevor was standing in front of Michael again. You walked forward. 

“You look good Michael,” you mused. “Amanda, are you fucking Fabien? I’ve gotta know, I’m sorry.” Amanda gasped and tried to stammer out half thought up answer. Trevor interrupted her. 

“Where’s Tracey?” 

“Jim, where’s your sister?” Michael questioned. 

“Uh..um…uh she’s..she’s trying out for TV.” Everyone turned to look at him. The tension dissipated. 

“She’s what?” Michael asked. 

“Yeah, she’s auditioning for Fame or Shame.” 

“The fuck you talking about?”

“You know, it’s that talent slash skill show. She loves it, you guys know that.” “What’s her talent?” “Dancing.” 

“Oh Christ, she’s a horrible dancer.” 

“She might disagree with you on that.” 

“Jesus Christ, now. Now? Where?” 

“Um..the Maze Bank Arena.” 

Trevor jumped into the father son conversation. 

“Our little Tracey being humiliated, let’s go. We go get her.” 

“We?” Michael asked. 

“We,” you agreed. “You gonna stand there and argue while your daughter becomes a national laughing stock? You’re worse than I thought.” Michael held your eye contact. 

“Fine.” 

-

You grabbed Tracey, who was ecstatic to see you and Trevor until she wasn’t. Then you followed some dick head through Los Santos. Trevor punched him, stripped him, then recorded him doing some shitty dance. All regular Trevor things. 

“You comin’ babe?” Trevor asked, hoping into the front end of a semi. 

“I’ll meet you back at the apartment,” you promised. “I’ll have this asshole drive me.” You gestured to Michael.

“Don’t put any bullets in his head without me.”

“Yes sir.” 

“Don’t be long!” 

Trevor took a hard turn but before he left completely he leaned out the window. 

“Hey Michael!” 

“Yeah Trevor?” 

He leaned forward, a small smug smile on his face.

“She fucked me. She fucked me.” Nine years of that lingering question and there it was. There was the truth that Michael had been hanging off of. The way Trevor said it, he knew it was true. The eye roll on your face was too obvious. ���See ya soon.” 

He drove away. You were left in his dust, in the Trevorless hole. You looked at Michael.

“That true?” he asked, like he didn’t know the answer. 

“Nine years. All our money. Death certificate.” He nodded slowly. 

“So you found the easiest psycho on the block?” Your jaw hardened. 

“I found my best friend.” Michael knew he was being hard on you. He shouldn’t be. You weren’t insane like Trevor. You were insane with Trevor. He might’ve been able to build a relationship with you if he had told you he was alive sooner. 

You were offended. Michael was acting like he hadn’t just waltzed back into your life after being resurrected. He had no right to judge you and Trevor. 

“I thought you were dead,” you told him. He nodded once, gesturing to the car. You got in the passenger seat. There was something to be said about you trusting him enough to drive you around. He could cap you and leave you, you knew that. He was capable of it. But he wasn’t going to, not now that he finally got you back. 

“I couldn’t exactly tell you I was, after it all went down.” He started the car. 

“Where are we going?” 

“I ain’t taking you back to Trevor if that’s what you’re asking.” You rolled your eyes. He avoided your question. “I knew you were out there, I figured Trevor was. I knew Lester was. It was better for everyone if I stayed dead.” 

“Brad went to jail.” Michael gave you a side eye. You squinted at him, confused. Finally your eyes opened wide in realization. “They killed Brad.” 

“Brad died,” he said, like it was any better. 

“Who is in that jail cell?”

“No one.” Your mouth dropped a bit in amazement. All this time, the grave you had been mourning at was not Michael’s but Brad’s. You felt a pang of guilt. He deserved your grief all this time. You looked straight ahead. He was driving through the heart of Los Santos. 

“Damn,” you muttered. “Still can’t believe you’re alive Mikey.” 

“Me too girl. Me too.” He took a sharp turn. “Thank you for helping me with Tracey. Not that I needed it.” 

“You had it handled, I know.” You rolled your eyes. You glanced over at him. Your Michael Townley, alive again. You shook your head. “Amanda seems happy.”

He scoffed. 

“You met Fabian. She’s clearly happy.” You snorted. 

“I never liked her and then Jimmy came along and…”

“Yeah well I wanted a family,” he admitted. “Fat lot of good it’s done me now. Both my kids hate me and my wife cheats on me. I’m back in the world of crime with my formally dead best friends.” “We were not the dead ones.” 

Michael thought of Lester’s words. 

She deserved better than both of you. But you have to know she would’ve always chosen him. 

He shook off the haunting thoughts. He didn’t let himself feel how much he had loved you. 

“I went to your apartment,” he said.

“Stalker.” 

“Yesterday,” he corrected. “I waited for you. I had Lester tell me where you lived and I waited,” he explained. “You never came.” 

“Yeah I think Trevor cleared that one up for you,” you muttered. “I was in a shitty trailer bed in Sandy Shores.”

“You were always welcome in my bed  in Rockford Hills.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Townley, you’re a married man!” He glanced over at you. You met his gaze. The joke hung in the air and slowly became more serious. You pursed your lips and a sense of melancholy went over his eyes. “What a life it would’ve been though huh?”

“It doesn’t have to be-”

“Yeah Mikey. It does.” Your voice was serious. The one you used during business. He pulled into the parking lot of the boardwalk. He wasn’t sure what made him come here. He just didn’t wanna go home yet. Kids passed in front of the car, going towards the rides. The car stayed running. “You died on me.”

“I’m not dead now.”

The look you gave him was not a forgiving one. You reached across the center console, grabbing his hand. You smiled sadly at him. 

“I gotta go.” 

“No you don’t.” 

“Yeah, I do.” 

For a moment he thought you were gonna kiss him. Your lips were so alluring and so close. The same lips he had fantasized about when he was still a kid technically, early twenties, filled with hormones. Your look was too fucking sad. He had gotten you back, your lips were right there. What had he always sworn he was going to do if he saw you again? Damn Amanda, damn Trevor? 

He kissed you. It was feverish. Fast, passionate, filled with years of tension. You kissed him back for a moment. There was a moment in that kiss, maybe longer than a moment, where it was all okay. It was the kiss he had always wanted and it felt as good as he had always thought it would. 

You pulled away and got out of the car. You didn’t speak, you didn’t break that moment for him. He was still leaning across the console when you left the car and he lingered there for a moment too long. You took out your phone, walked towards the amusement rides, and called a cab. 

-

You tossed money at the cab driver, enough for a tip as well. The driver left you quickly, back at his job just as quickly as he had come. You were grateful the drive wasn’t long. 

Michael’s lips still stained yours. You wanted to kiss Trevor. Bad. 

It wasn’t that the kiss with Michael wasn’t good. In fact, it was great. It was a good kiss with a guy you had once loved, with a guy you could’ve built a good life with. But now it tasted like betrayal and lost worlds.  

You didn’t bother knocking. The door opened slowly into the hallway. You could hear voices coming from inside the apartment. 

“Debra isn’t gonna like this,” Floyd said nervously. 

“Debra isn’t gonna like any of this. Don’t fuckin worry, I’ll make sure you’re man of the year in way of making girlfriends angry,” Trevor’s voice responded. When you turned the corner you could see Trevor was writing on the walls. The main entrance that had once said live, laugh, love, was now crudely covered with eat, shit, die. You recognized the handwriting. 

“I really would prefer it if you didn’t,” Floyd said. Trevor turned around to answer him, some sarcastic answer hanging on his lips. He didn’t say it when he saw you. His face immediately softened and whatever snarky comment he was going to say died in his mouth. 

“That was quick.” 

“Michael’s fast,” you muttered. He narrowed his eyes on you. 

“You didn’t-”

“No. No.” He nodded once. He felt relieved to hear that. You were his. He wasn’t gonna share you any more, he was sick of sharing you. 

“Do you think you could get him to stop?” Floyd questioned. You looked at the walls, covered in black markers. You shook your head. 

“He doesn’t have a leash.” 

“My girl.” He waltzed back over to you, cupping your cheek with his hand and kissing you. It was the kind of kiss you were wanting. You melted into it, not caring that Floyd was watching. 

Floyd wanted to make a comment about how you deserved better. But the way you leaned into the kiss was something Debra had never done for him. Maybe he could take some notes from Trevor. 

“I grabbed the guest bedroom. King bed.” 

“That’s Debra’s bed,” Floyd muttered, but neither of you listened. 

“That sounds fancy,” you admitted. You smiled up at him, happy to be back. It was like a dream. All of those fantasies you had about what life could’ve been had started to mold into this weird perfect situation with Trevor. “You test it out yet?”

“I wanted to wait for you m’lady,” he said, lowly. You rolled your eyes but it didn’t seem genuine with the smile on your lips. He put his hand on the small of your back. 

“Did you take a shower?” He was the one to roll his eyes this time. 

“You’re askin a lot of me doll.” 

“We need to go shopping too. I can get you all snazzy,” you promised. “I’ll steal some of Townley’s money to do it too.” 

“You had me at steal.”

He was like a love struck puppy. It read in his eyes. Trevor fell in love with every girl who gave him a passing look. This one was looking right at him, always had been. He was so exhilarated with winning the game he and Michael had played for so long that he couldn’t feel anything else except lust and love. 

“Shower.” He groaned, long, dramatic. 

“You wanna come?” Your smile was playful. You pushed him towards the bathroom. He took it as a no. His hands lingered on you for as long as you let him. “I’ll be five minutes.” 

“Scrub between your toes too T.” 

“Yeah yeah.” He walked into the bathroom, waving. He hadn’t brought clothes in with him. He would either walk back out in the same outfit, defeating the purpose of the shower, or he’d walk out naked. You walked to the guest bedroom and grabbed some clothes for him, feeling Floyd’s eyes on you. 

“How long do you think you guys will be staying?” he asked nervously. He could read Trevor but you were harder to understand. You seemed normal for the most part. He was worried you might blow up on him. 

“Hopefully not long,” you promised. You could hear the water running so you opened the door. 

“Ocupado!” Trevor called. You put his clothes on the sink. 

“Wear these.” 

“Is it lingerie?” You rolled your eyes and shut the door behind you. 

“I’m sorry we crashed like this. Been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

“He doesn’t exactly care for boundaries does he?”

“Don’t say that too loud Floyd,” you joked. You looked around. Everytime you entered this apartment it was slightly dirtier. You wondered what would happen when Debra returned, storming through the door. “We’ll be out of your hair as soon as possible,” you lied. 

“Okay,” he muttered. He looked down at the table, smeared with pizza sauce and other substances he didn’t want to identify. 

“Sorry about him. He’s just kinda..like that.”

“So you two haven’t seen each other in a long time?” he repeated. You nodded once. 

“I thought he was dead. He thought I was dead. Life of crime is not for the faint of heart,” you said offhandedly. You wondered if you should run to your apartment and grab some clothes. You wondered how long Trevor planned on staying. 

“Yeah I don’t think I wanna be involved,” he explained. You shrugged. 

“Happens to the best of us.” 

You walked into the guest bedroom to look around for some clothes of your own to change into. You tossed your phone on the sheets, noting the new contact in it. Michael De Santa. There was a text from him. 

You looked at it from afar, like reading it through a squint would make it less real. 

It doesn’t have to be like this. 

That was it. He knew it had to be like this. You had told him. You had a text from Lester as well. His faceless contact made your phone screen bright. 

It’s safer to stay out of this, was all he said. You rolled your eyes. When had you ever cared about how safe something was? Your bullet wound in the shoulder ached with the memories. You didn’t like being warned or being persuaded. You turned your phone around. 

The bathroom door opened. You were standing beside the closet, moving aside some of Debra’s things. Thankfully she seemed to have brought most of it with her, wherever she went. 

Trevor walked into the room, closing the door lightly behind him. You met his eyes. He was clean, wet from the humid water. Finally wearing clean clothes, sweatpants and a shirt. He dipped his head to kiss you like you were giving him his last breath. 

“I wanna get married,” he muttered against your lips. He was leaning against the bed, his back legs flush with the sheets. You laughed. “I’m serious. It’s been too long. We would’ve done it ages ago.”

“Slow down cowboy.” 

You gently pushed him onto the bed. He looked up at you with the most devoted eyes. You straddled him, pushing your hair so it was out of your face. 

“Aren’t you wanted by the FIB?” you questioned. “You think they’re gonna sign our marriage certificate?”

“We can get an Elvis. Get drunk. Have a month long honeymoon.” His eyes wandered your body. His body reacted quickly to you being on top of him. The thought was alluring, you couldn’t lie.

“Okay,” you breathed, kissing him. “Later. We have all the time in the world now,” you promised. “I just wanna stay right…here.” He moaned as your lips nipped his ear. 

“Whatever you want.” 

[worthyprnce]

i saw this post and I had an idea (for a fic maybe?) but I don't have the time for it right now, so I'll try to summarize it. I also don't even know if this will make sense or if anyone else will see my vision, but anyway... (I'm also going to ignore the premise of stopping a wedding because it's the love of you life's wedding, I'm going to give merlin another reason)

arthur is about to marry a random princess. uther continues to insist on bringing princesses from allied kingdoms for his son to marry, to form powerful alliances and ensure heirs. and, after so many discussions, uther managed to convince his son to a marriage of convenience, which broke the hearts of both arthur and gwen, the true love of the prince's life.

merlin knows that this marriage shouldn't happen, it simply can't happen, and he was determined to stop it, even if he had to take drastic measures. not only because he's the number one arwen shipper we have in the show, but because he and gaius discovered that it was just another plan by the princess's father to overtake the throne of camelot. so he runs, desperate, to the church where the wedding would take place, his eyes wide, his lungs pulsing against his chest, heavy and tired.

his magic was agitated because his body,mind, soul and heart were agitated, so when he opened the doors of the cathedral and shouted with all his strength "I OBJECT!", the last thing he expected to see was a collection of pairs of unknown eyes and a decorated coffin in the middle of the people instead of arthur and his future wife. in fact, the last thing he was really expecting was to see the deceased slowly rise from his coffin, dazed like a hangover, scratch his eyes and look around, confused.

some women screamed, but it didn't seem to be out of fear, it seemed more like irritation, as if they had been caught in an old prank once again. but what really made the deceased come to his senses, were the angry cries of "you scoundrel! there's no use playing dead, gwaine, you'll pay my money!"

that was what made the deceased, gwaine it seemed, get up, his energy renewed, and run away, tripping over flowers and candles while merlin remained standing in front of the door without understanding what had really happened, stunned and lost.

gwaine ran out, passing merlin like lightning, and merlin had to run after him, because now the resurrected man's collectors were thinking that merlin was part of his plot. which wasn't true, but merlin needed to understand what had happened. there was no way merlin could have unintentionally used his magic to bring someone back to life, right? there was no way, he would know if he could do it. but he needed to get this straight.

the two ran to a hidden alley, where they caught their breath.

"what the fuck was that?" merlin asked.

"and do I know? one minute I had a knife in my heart, the next I was at peace and then I saw you like in a dream and now I'm here." gwaine replied. "I think I really should stop drinking, for a minute I thought I was dead and you brought me back. like an angel or something. you sure do look like one."

merlin didn't know what to say, so he stared at gwaine for a few seconds while the latter's mind calculated the events.

"I died. I died, I'm sure I died, I was cold and weak and when I woke up we were in a church, I was in a coffin." gwaine said, finally merlin was afraid that he would need to find some quick and plausible excuse in case gwaine threatened him. he didn't know that man and didn't know what his reaction would be to someone using magic, even if it was to bring him back to life.

that's why merlin was very surprised when gwaine hugged him tightly.

"man, you literally brought me back from death! ha! I can't believe that really happened, I owe you a huge debt now. let's have a drink, we can get to know each other better and you can tell me about these jesus-like acts of yours."

merlin's mind was racing, he almost didn't notice the sound of the church bell, the right church to stop arthur's wedding.

"listen. if you want to repay me for something, give me your word that you won't tell anyone. I brought you back to life, I can kill you again, I know your name and I for sure can find you anywhere" merlin said, pointing his finger at gwaine and trying to sound intimidating. gwaine smirked and raised his hands.

"oh, I wouldn't be that stupid," he replied.

"apparently you're only stupid enough to get yourself into too much debt."

"it's a complicated life, you know how it goes." gwaine's smile was too wide and playful for someone who had only been dead for a few minutes, but it was a beautiful smile, and merlin couldn't help but notice it.

"yeah, sure… uh..." merlin shook his head, as if that would put his thoughts in place "okay then, it was nice meeting you, but I need to run now."

"wait!" gwaine grabbed merlin by the wrist before he could even take a step "I don't even know your name, and that can't be all that you need from me. I don't have much, as it's already obvious... but I can be useful. I'll do anything, you literally gave me my life back. please, let me repay you somehow. I'm serious." merlin thought for a few seconds, the church bell ringing in his ears, the weight of a wedding that wasn't even his on his shoulders, his best friend's broken heart, the fate of an entire kingdom. merlin sighed. "whatever, what else do I have to lose?" he thought to himself

"I'm merlin, and I need your help to stop a wedding."

[paisholotus]

Bonding with Jason Todd....

Vivica's Pov

I woke to the sound of rain pounding against my bedroom window, the gray Gotham morning casting shadows across the antique furniture of my guest room at Wayne Manor. After yesterday's unexpectedly pleasant lunch with Tim, I felt marginally more settled, like I'd found at least one tentative foothold in this strange new world.

Bruce had returned late from his board meeting, and we'd managed a civil dinner conversation that carefully avoided any mention of bats, caves, or vigilante activities. Progress, I supposed, though the distance between us still felt vast and uncertain.

I pulled myself out of bed and padded to the window, watching raindrops race down the glass. The manor grounds looked misty and ethereal in the downpour, Gothic architecture rising from the fog like something from a Brontë novel. Dramatic, just like its owner.

After showering and dressing in jeans and a simple sweater, I made my way downstairs, following the scent of coffee to the kitchen. I expected to find Alfred, maybe Bruce if he hadn't already left for the day, but instead discovered Jason Todd sitting at the island counter, a motorcycle helmet beside him and a half-eaten piece of toast in his hand.

"Morning," he said, his expression neutral but watchful. Of all Bruce's sons, Jason was the one I found most difficult to read—and the one whose story troubled me the most.

Bruce had told me the basics: Jason's death at the hands of the Joker, his miraculous resurrection, his years of anger and vengeance before a fragile reconciliation brought him back into the family fold. But the details remained hazy, spoken in Bruce's clipped sentences that always seemed to hide more than they revealed.

"Good morning," I replied, moving to the coffee pot. "I didn't expect to see you here so early."

Jason shrugged, taking a bite of toast. "Had business nearby. Figured I'd stop for Alfred's coffee before heading back to my place."

I poured myself a cup, trying not to feel self-conscious under his appraising gaze. Unlike Tim's analytical observation or Dick's friendly openness, Jason looked at people like he was searching for weaknesses—old habits from a hard life, I guessed.

"Bruce around?" he asked, too casually.

"Still asleep, I think. Board meeting ran late."

Jason nodded, a flicker of something—relief, maybe?—crossing his face. "And you're... what? Just hanging out at the manor these days?"

There was an edge to his question, not quite hostile but certainly probing. I leaned against the counter, meeting his eyes directly.

"Trying to figure some things out," I answered honestly. "It's not every day you discover your ex-fiancé is Batman."

That earned me a short, surprised laugh. "Yeah, I bet that was a hell of a revelation." He studied me over the rim of his coffee mug. "Tim said you two had lunch yesterday."

"We did." I smiled, remembering. "He's a good kid. Terrifyingly smart."

"They all are," Jason said, something like pride in his voice. "Different flavors of genius, but all smart as hell." He paused, setting down his mug. "Tim also mentioned you're some kind of tech wizard."

"I wouldn't say wizard," I demurred.

"He would. Kid doesn't impress easily." Jason tilted his head, considering me. "So what's your deal? You sticking around this time?"

The bluntness caught me off guard, though it shouldn't have. From what Bruce had told me, Jason wasn't one to dance around difficult subjects.

"I don't know," I admitted. "It's complicated."

"With Bruce, it always is," Jason replied, and there was a world of history in those words.

We fell into a slightly awkward silence, the rain drumming steadily against the windows. I sipped my coffee, wondering if I should excuse myself and leave him to his breakfast, when he spoke again.

"I'm heading into the city. Got some errands to run." He paused, seeming to debate with himself before adding, "You want to come along? Get out of this mausoleum for a few hours?"

The invitation surprised me. "You sure? I wouldn't want to intrude on your day."

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't mean it," he said flatly. "Besides, I'm curious about the woman who's got Bruce walking around like he's seen a ghost."

"Charming," I said dryly.

The corner of his mouth quirked up. "I've been called many things. 'Charming' isn't usually one of them."

I considered his offer. My original plan for the day had involved hiding in the library with a book, but the thought of another day confined to the manor made me feel restless. And despite his rough edges, there was something about Jason that intrigued me—perhaps because Bruce spoke of him with a mixture of pride and pain that suggested their relationship was the most complicated of all his familial bonds.

"Alright," I decided. "I'll come. But I'm warning you now, if you drive your motorcycle like Tim does, I'm going to need a helmet with excellent life insurance."

Jason's smile widened into something genuine. "Tim drives like an overcautious grandmother compared to me." He stood, grabbing his leather jacket from the back of his chair. "But don't worry—it's raining, so we'll take the car."

"Which car?" I asked, suddenly remembering the extensive collection in the Batcave garage.

"Mine," he said. "Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done."

Thirty minutes later, we were cruising through the outskirts of Gotham in what Jason modestly called "nothing fancy"—a meticulously restored 1969 Dodge Charger, all gleaming black paint and rumbling engine. The rain had tapered to a drizzle, and Jason drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting casually on the gearshift.

"So this is 'nothing fancy'?" I teased, running my hand over the immaculate dashboard.

"Compared to Bruce's collection? It's practically a Honda Civic." He downshifted smoothly as we approached a stoplight. "I rebuilt her myself. Took almost two years."

"It's beautiful," I said sincerely. "You have a gift."

Jason shrugged off the compliment, but I could see he was pleased. "Just something to keep my hands busy. Helps me think."

"Bruce used to be the same way," I mused. "He was always tinkering with engines when we were younger. I guess now I understand why—all that precision and focus probably helped with the... other work."

Jason shot me a sidelong glance. "Still getting used to knowing about the night job, huh?"

"It's an adjustment," I admitted. "Sometimes it feels like everything I thought I knew about him was just... I don't know, the surface layer of something much more complex."

"Bruce has more layers than an onion with a personality disorder," Jason said wryly. "But for what it's worth, the guy you knew back then—that was still him. Just not all of him."

I pondered this as we drove deeper into the city, the gleaming towers of downtown Gotham rising through the mist ahead of us. Jason navigated the increasingly crowded streets with easy confidence, seemingly unbothered by the aggressive Gotham traffic that had always stressed me out.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked, realizing I had no idea what his 'errands' entailed.

"First stop, Park Row," he said. "Need to check in with someone."

Park Row—better known these days as Crime Alley, though polite society tried to avoid that nickname. The place where Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, where Bruce's life changed forever... and, if I remembered correctly from Bruce's halting explanations, the neighborhood where Jason had grown up.

"Is that okay?" Jason asked, noticing my silence. "We can skip it if you're not comfortable."

"No, it's fine," I assured him quickly. "I'm just... Bruce never took me there. Even though we grew up together, that part of his life was always off-limits."

Jason's hands tightened imperceptibly on the steering wheel. "Bruce has a complicated relationship with Park Row. Can't say I blame him."

We fell silent as he turned down a side street, the scenery gradually changing from Gotham's glittering financial district to older, more weathered buildings. Here, the effects of the rain were less charming—potholes filled with murky water, garbage collecting in soggy piles against chain-link fences.

Yet there were signs of improvement too: fresh paint on some storefronts, a new playground gleaming wetly in a small park, community gardens tucked between buildings. Jason seemed to notice my observation.

"Wayne Foundation's been investing here," he explained. "Bruce may avoid the place physically, but his money doesn't."

"And you?" I asked carefully. "You come here often?"

Jason's expression grew more guarded. "I keep tabs on the neighborhood. Old habits."

He pulled the car up to the curb outside a modest brick building with a faded sign reading "Park Row Community Center." Through the rain-streaked windows, I could see children playing inside what looked like a gymnasium.

"I'll be quick," Jason said, putting the car in park but leaving the engine running. "Just need to drop something off."

Curiosity got the better of me. "Can I come in with you?"

He hesitated, then shrugged. "Sure, why not. Just don't mention the Wayne connection—I'm just Jason here."

We dashed through the drizzle to the entrance, where Jason held the door for me with unexpected courtesy. Inside, the community center was warm and surprisingly vibrant—walls covered in children's artwork, the sound of basketballs bouncing and kids laughing echoing from the gym.

Jason moved with purpose toward a small office, where an elderly woman with steel-gray hair and kind eyes looked up from her desk. Her face brightened instantly.

"Jason! I wasn't expecting you until next week."

"Had some business nearby, Dr. Leslie," he replied, and I was struck by the softening in his voice. "Thought I'd drop this off early."

He pulled an envelope from his jacket and handed it to her. She accepted it with a knowing smile. "The kids will be thrilled. The last batch of art supplies was gone within a week."

"Add some more to next month's order, then," Jason said casually. "Whatever they need."

Dr. Leslie's gaze shifted to me, curious but not intrusive. Jason cleared his throat.

"This is... a friend of mine," he said, and I noted his careful avoidance of my name. "She's in town for a while, wanted to see some of the real Gotham."

"Well, you've come to the right place," Dr. Leslie said warmly. "This neighborhood has Gotham's truest heart, despite what the tourism board might tell you."

"Leslie runs the free clinic next door," Jason explained to me. "And somehow manages to keep this place going too."

"With help," Dr. Leslie corrected, giving Jason a meaningful look that made him shift uncomfortably.

"We should get going," he said. "Just wanted to drop that off."

"Of course," Dr. Leslie stood, coming around her desk. "But bring your friend back sometime when you can stay longer. We're having an art show next month—the children have been working on self-portraits."

"We'll see," Jason said noncommittally, but there was genuine affection in his voice.

As we were leaving, a small boy of about eight careened around the corner, nearly colliding with Jason's legs.

"Mr. Jason!" the boy exclaimed, excitement overriding his near-fall. "Did you bring more books?"

Jason's entire demeanor changed, softening in a way I wouldn't have thought possible. He crouched down to the boy's level. "Not today, Miguel. But I'll bring some next time. How'd you like the last one?"

"It was awesome!" Miguel gushed. "The part where the spaceship crashed on the alien planet and they had to build a new civilization—that was my favorite."

"Mine too," Jason agreed solemnly. "You keeping up with your reading?"

Miguel nodded eagerly. "Dr. Leslie says I'm reading two grades above my level now."

"That's because you're smarter than all those other kids," Jason said, ruffling the boy's hair. "Keep it up, okay? I want a full book report next time I see you."

"Yes, sir!" Miguel beamed before dashing off again, presumably late for whatever activity had brought him running down the hall in the first place.

Jason straightened, and when he caught me watching him, his expression closed off slightly.

"What?" he asked, defensive.

"Nothing," I said, unable to keep the smile from my face. "It's just... you're good with him."

Jason shrugged uncomfortably. "Kids in this neighborhood need to know someone gives a damn about them. That's all."

We said goodbye to Dr. Leslie and headed back to the car, the rain picking up again. As Jason started the engine, I couldn't help but ask, "Do you fund this place?"

He kept his eyes on the road as he pulled away from the curb. "Some of it. Bruce handles the clinic, mostly. The community center's... a side project."

"And the books for Miguel?"

Jason's mouth twitched. "Kid likes sci-fi. Can't let his education be lacking."

I smiled to myself, seeing another piece of the puzzle that was Jason Todd fall into place. Bruce had told me about Jason's troubled childhood, his life on the streets before Bruce took him in. What he hadn't mentioned was how that experience had shaped Jason into someone who quietly, almost secretly, tried to give other children what he had lacked.

"So, errands done?" I asked as we merged back into the main traffic flow.

"Not quite," Jason said, a new edge entering his voice. "Got one more stop to make. This one's... different, though."

"Different how?"

He glanced at me, seeming to debate something internally. "Look, I don't normally bring civilians along for this kind of thing, but since you're in the loop about the family business now... might be educational."

A flutter of apprehension stirred in my stomach. "Jason, what exactly are we doing?"

"Just checking in on someone," he said, too casually. "Guy who might have information about a case I'm working."

"A case," I repeated slowly. "As in, a Red Hood case? Not an 'I need to return my library books' case?"

That earned me a genuine laugh. "When's the last time you saw me in a library?"

"Apparently you visit them enough to keep Miguel supplied with science fiction," I countered.

"Touché," he conceded. "But yeah, it's Hood business. Nothing dangerous—just a conversation. You can wait in the car if you want."

I should have said yes. I should have insisted he take me back to the manor, or drop me at a coffee shop, or anywhere that wasn't "Hood business." But curiosity—the same curiosity that had led me to hack into Bruce's supposedly secure files all those years ago—got the better of me.

"I'll come with you," I said. "But if anything seems even remotely sketchy, I'm out."

Jason's expression was unreadable. "Fair enough. But stay close and follow my lead. And if I tell you to get back to the car, don't argue."

We drove in silence for a while, turning away from the main thoroughfares into an industrial area near the docks. The buildings here were all warehouses and abandoned factories, their windows broken or boarded up, graffiti climbing their walls like urban ivy.

"Charming neighborhood," I commented as Jason pulled into an alley behind what looked like a derelict automotive shop.

"Not exactly on the tourist maps," he agreed, cutting the engine. He reached into the back seat, retrieving a worn leather jacket different from the one he'd been wearing. When he put it on, I noticed it was heavier, reinforced somehow.

"Body armor?" I guessed.

"Light version," he confirmed. "Like I said, this is just a conversation, but..." He reached into his jacket, removing a sleek handgun and checking it with practiced efficiency.

My eyes widened. "Jason—"

"Just a precaution," he said firmly, tucking the weapon away. "I'm not planning to use it. But in this city, it's better to have options."

I swallowed hard, suddenly questioning my decision to accompany him. This was so far outside my comfort zone—tech and code were my weapons, not whatever Jason carried in that jacket.

He must have seen the apprehension on my face because his expression softened slightly. "Look, you can still wait here. I won't think less of you."

Something in his tone—the hint that he expected me to back out—firmed my resolve. "No, I'm coming. But I'd like to point out that Tim just took me for chili cheese fries, not... whatever this is."

"Yeah, well," Jason said with a grim smile, "Tim's the good one."

We exited the car, and I followed Jason to a rusted side door. The rain had stopped, but water still dripped from gutters and puddled on the uneven pavement. Jason rapped on the door in a specific pattern—three quick knocks, pause, two more.

After a moment, the door creaked open, revealing a narrow-faced man with nervous eyes. When he saw Jason, his expression cycled rapidly through fear, resignation, and forced casualness.

"Todd," he said, voice carefully neutral. "Wasn't expecting you today."

"That's the idea, Malone," Jason replied coolly. "Can we come in?"

Malone's eyes flickered to me, questioning. "Who's the lady?"

"None of your concern," Jason said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "She's with me. That's all you need to know."

Malone hesitated, then stepped back, allowing us to enter. Inside was a cramped office space that smelled of cigarettes and motor oil. A desk cluttered with papers and what looked suspiciously like betting slips occupied one corner, while a worn couch and coffee table with numerous ring stains filled the other.

"Make it quick," Malone said, glancing nervously at a door that presumably led to the main garage. "I got actual business to attend to."

Jason moved with casual confidence, perching on the edge of the desk. "The shipment that came in through Pier 19 last night—tell me about it."

Malone's face tightened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't insult my intelligence, Malone," Jason said, his voice dropping to a register that sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. It wasn't the voice of the man who'd joked with me in the car or kneeled to talk to a child about science fiction. This was someone else entirely—someone dangerous.

"Sionis has been moving product through the docks for the past month," Jason continued. "And somehow, magically, the GCPD never seems to show up at the right pier at the right time. Almost like someone's feeding them bad information."

"And you think that's me?" Malone asked, affronted. "I'm just a mechanic, Todd."

"You're a bookie who runs a chop shop and happens to have a cousin who works dispatch at the GCPD," Jason corrected. "And Sionis is paying you to keep his shipments off the radar."

Malone's eyes darted to me again, clearly uncomfortable having this conversation with a stranger present. I tried to look as unobtrusive as possible, leaning against the wall near the door.

"Look," Malone said, lowering his voice, "even if I knew something—which I ain't saying I do—talking to you is bad for my health. You know how Sionis operates."

"I also know how I operate," Jason replied, his hand drifting casually toward his jacket. "The difference is, Sionis will make it slow if he finds out you talked. I'd make it quick—if it came to that. But it doesn't have to, does it?"

The threat hung in the air, and I felt my heart racing. This was a side of Bruce's world I hadn't considered—the intimidation, the casual violence implied in every word. I knew Batman didn't kill, but Jason... Jason played by different rules.

"Next shipment," Malone finally said, breaking under Jason's steady gaze. "Tomorrow night, Pier 7. Supposed to be chemicals this time, not guns. That's all I know, I swear."

Jason nodded, satisfied. "If you're lying to me..."

"I'm not," Malone insisted. "But if Sionis finds out I told you—"

"He won't," Jason cut him off. "Not from me. But I'd lay low for a few days after tomorrow, if I were you."

He stood, moving toward the door where I waited. "We're done here."

Malone's eyes followed us nervously. "Todd," he called as Jason reached for the door handle. "The Bat doesn't work the docks much these days. That why you're handling this alone?"

A muscle in Jason's jaw tightened. "Let's just say we have different approaches to problem-solving."

We left quickly, Jason scanning the alley before ushering me back to the car. Once inside, he started the engine and pulled away with more haste than strictly necessary.

The silence between us stretched taut as we put distance between ourselves and Malone's shop. Finally, when we were back on a main road, I found my voice.

"Was that... normal for you?"

Jason's expression was unreadable. "What do you mean?"

"The threats, the intimidation..." I gestured vaguely back the way we had come. "Is that how you usually operate?"

He glanced at me, then back at the road. "Sometimes. Not always."

"Bruce doesn't know about this, does he?" I guessed. "About you working this case?"

A bitter smile twisted Jason's lips. "Bruce and I have an arrangement. I handle things my way in certain parts of the city, he handles things his way everywhere else. We try not to step on each other's toes."

"And when you do?"

"It gets complicated," he said simply.

We drove in silence for several blocks, raindrops beginning to spatter against the windshield again. I processed what I'd witnessed—the easy way Jason had slipped into the role of enforcer, the clear fear he inspired in Malone. It was so far removed from the man who'd gently discussed science fiction with a child just an hour earlier.

"You're thinking pretty loud over there," Jason commented, breaking into my thoughts.

"Just... reconciling different versions of you," I admitted. "The guy who brings books to kids in Crime Alley and the guy who just threatened a man so effectively I'm pretty sure he needed a change of pants."

Jason's laugh held little humor. "Welcome to the family business. We're all split down the middle—day selves, night selves. Bruce just pretends his halves aren't connected."

"And you don't?"

"I stopped pretending a long time ago," he said, a darkness in his voice that reminded me of his history—death, resurrection, years as an adversary rather than an ally to Batman. "My way's more honest, even if Bruce doesn't approve."

I considered this. "The information you got—about the shipment tomorrow. What will you do with it?"

"Stop it," he said simply. "How I do that depends on what I find when I get there."

"Will you tell Bruce?"

Jason was quiet for a moment. "Probably. Eventually. But I handle the docks my way."

"Which means?"

"Which means," he said carefully, "that I don't always follow the same rules he does."

The implication hung between us. I knew, from what Bruce had reluctantly shared, that Jason wasn't opposed to lethal force when he deemed it necessary—a fundamental difference that had driven a wedge between him and Bruce for years.

"I'm not asking you to approve," Jason added when I remained silent. "Just to understand that Gotham has dark corners Bruce's methods can't always reach. Someone has to be willing to step further into the shadows."

"And that someone is you," I said softly.

"Someone has to be," he repeated, his tone brooking no argument.

We lapsed into silence again as Jason navigated through downtown Gotham, the rain intensifying. I stared out the window, watching pedestrians hurry along with umbrellas and raincoats, going about their normal lives, unaware of the shadow war being waged around them by Bruce and his sons.

"I've made you uncomfortable," Jason observed, breaking the silence again. "That wasn't my intention."

"No," I said thoughtfully. "Not uncomfortable, exactly. Just... I'm seeing the full picture of what Bruce's life—all of your lives—really involves. It's a lot to process."

Jason nodded, understanding in his eyes. "For what it's worth, the others aren't like me. Dick, Tim, even the demon spawn—they follow Bruce's rules more closely than I do. I'm the family outlier."

"I don't think that's entirely true," I said. "You follow your own moral code. It's just... calibrated differently than Bruce's."

He shot me a surprised look. "That's a remarkably generous interpretation."

"I'm not judging you, Jason," I said honestly. "I can't pretend to understand everything you've been through or why you make the choices you do. I'm just trying to see the whole picture."

"Fair enough," he conceded. Then, after a beat: "Hungry? There's a good noodle place near here, if you want lunch before we head back."

The abrupt change of subject caught me off guard, but I welcomed it. "Lunch sounds good. Lead the way."

Twenty minutes later, we were seated in a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant with steaming bowls of ramen in front of us. The place had maybe six tables total, all mismatched, and decorations that hadn't been updated since the 1980s, but the aroma was heavenly.

"This place is amazing," I said after my first bite. "How did you find it?"

"Patrol," Jason said simply, slurping noodles with unabashed enjoyment. "Best part of the night job—you get to know every corner of the city, including where the good food is hiding."

I smiled, trying to imagine Jason in his Red Hood gear, stopping for ramen between criminal confrontations. The image was incongruously humanizing.

"So," Jason said, changing the subject, "Tim mentioned you're going to help him with some tech upgrades for the cave. That mean you're getting more involved in the family business?"

I stirred my broth thoughtfully. "I'm not sure yet. It's one thing to help with encryption protocols, another to actually be part of... all of it."

"Bruce would have a stroke if you tried to put on a cape," Jason said with dark amusement. "He's protective that way."

"I have no intention of putting on a cape," I assured him. "I like my bones unbroken, thanks."

"Smart woman." He nodded approvingly. "So where does that leave you and the big man? Just curious."

I sighed, pushing a piece of pork around my bowl. "Complicated. We're... talking. Sort of. Circling each other, maybe."

"Bruce doesn't know how to let people in," Jason said matter-of-factly. "Not all the way. Even the kids—he keeps parts of himself walled off. Always has."

"I know," I said softly. "That's why I left last time. I couldn't marry someone who was keeping half his life secret from me."

Jason studied me across the table. "And now that you know the secret?"

"Now I'm trying to figure out if knowing makes enough of a difference," I admitted. "If we can build something real this time, or if there will always be parts of him I can't reach."

"For what it's worth," Jason said, uncharacteristic gentleness in his voice, "he's different with you. Has been since you came back. Less... Batman, more Bruce."

I looked up, surprised by both the observation and the fact that Jason had chosen to share it. "Really?"

"Really," he confirmed. "And speaking as someone who's been on the receiving end of full Batman mode more times than I can count, that's not nothing."

The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard. For all his gruffness and danger, there was something fundamentally honest about Jason—a quality that made his insight feel particularly valuable.

"Thank you," I said simply. "For saying that."

He nodded once, then returned his attention to his food, clearly uncomfortable with the emotional turn in conversation. We ate in companionable silence for a while, the rain drumming steadily on the restaurant's front window.

"How about you?" I asked eventually. "Anyone special in your life? Or does the Red Hood work solo in all things?"

A shadow passed over Jason's face. "Relationships are... complicated in our line of work."

"So I've gathered," I said dryly.

"There was someone," he admitted after a moment, surprising me. "It didn't work out."

"I'm sorry," I said, recognizing the pain beneath his casual dismissal.

He shrugged. "Occupational hazard. When your job involves getting shot at on a regular basis, it tends to strain romantic relationships."

"I can imagine."

"Can you?" he asked, a sudden intensity in his gaze. "Because that's what you're walking back into with Bruce. It's not just the secrecy anymore—it's everything that comes with it. The injuries, the late nights, the constant danger. There will be times when he doesn't come home, and you won't know if he's dead in an alley somewhere or just working a case."

I swallowed hard, caught off guard by his bluntness. "I know that."

"Do you? Really?" Jason pressed. "Because Bruce won't change—can't change. Batman isn't something he does; it's something he is. If you're going to be with him, you need to understand that completely."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked quietly. "Are you trying to warn me off?"

Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No. Just... making sure you go in with your eyes open this time. Bruce has lost too many people already. If you're going to leave again, better to do it now than later."

The protectiveness in his voice—for Bruce, not for me—was unexpected and oddly touching. For all their complicated history and different methods, Jason still cared what happened to his adopted father.

"I appreciate the concern," I said carefully. "But I'm not making any decisions yet. That's why I'm still here, getting to know all of you, seeing what this life really means."

Jason nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "Fair enough." He checked his watch. "We should probably head back soon. Bruce will be wondering where you disappeared to."

"Does he know you picked me up this morning?"

"Nope," Jason said with a hint of mischief. "And his face when he finds out should be entertaining."

I laughed despite myself. "You enjoy needling him, don't you?"

"One of life's few consistent pleasures," Jason confirmed, signaling for the check.

As we drove back toward Wayne Manor, the rain finally clearing to reveal patches of blue sky, I found myself reflecting on the day's contradictions. Jason Todd was dangerous, complicated, haunted by his past—and yet there was something refreshingly direct about him, an honesty that cut through the layers of protection Bruce wrapped around himself.

"Thanks for today," I said as the manor came into view, its Gothic spires rising against the clearing sky. "Even the... intimidating parts."

Jason glanced at me, surprise flitting across his features. "You're thanking me for dragging you to a criminal interrogation?"

"I'm thanking you for showing me your Gotham," I clarified. "Not just the parts Bruce would approve of."

He was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Well, in that case, you're welcome." He pulled up to the manor's front entrance, leaving the engine running. "I'm not coming in. Got some preparations to make for tomorrow night."

"The shipment," I remembered. "Will you... be careful?"

A sardonic smile crossed his face. "As careful as this job allows."

"And Bruce? Will you tell him what you found out?"

Jason hesitated. "Eventually. But this one's mine to handle first." His expression grew serious. "What you saw today, what you heard—that stays between us, okay? Bruce and I have a fragile truce these days. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Of course," I agreed. "It's not my place to get involved in your working arrangements."

"Appreciated." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "For what it's worth, I can see why Bruce never got over you."

The comment caught me completely off guard. "What?"

"You saw the ugly parts today," Jason said simply. "Didn't run, didn't judge. That's rare." He shrugged. "Anyway, see you around."

Recognizing the dismissal, I stepped out of the car, closing the door behind me. "Goodbye, Jason. And thanks again for lunch."

He nodded once, then pulled away, the powerful engine of the Charger rumbling as he disappeared down the manor's long driveway.

I stood there for a moment, watching him go, thinking about the layers of complexity in this strange family I was cautiously circling. Bruce and his sons—each damaged in their own way, each finding different paths to channel that damage into something purposeful.

And where did I fit in all of this? Could I build a life alongside Batman without losing myself in his crusade? Could I love Bruce Wayne completely while knowing the darkness he carried within him—the same darkness I'd glimpsed in Jason today?

I didn't have answers yet. But as I turned toward the manor's imposing front doors, I felt something I hadn't expected after my outing with Jason: hope. If Bruce and Jason could maintain their complicated, fractured relationship despite their profound differences, perhaps there was room for complexity in my relationship with Bruce as well.

Inside, Alfred greeted me with his usual impeccable timing, appearing in the foyer as if summoned by my footsteps.

"Good afternoon, miss," he said, taking in my coat.

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Hey, Alfie, what's for dinner?"

[thewisaaaaad]

Hey, i know its been a while, and uh. I have no real reason for that I'm just lazy.

and also kingdom hearts has taken over my life again lmao.

so naturally, i smushed my two hyperfixations together into a delicous, angsty combo platter!

So here goes!

-----------------------

Lamb did not want any of this. They did not want the crown. They did not want to be death.

they did not want to kill Narinder.

They had wanted to rest, and their lord had been more than happy to grant them it.

Yet here they were, building a tomb to their God, burying the body of the One Who Waits, who waits no more.

Lamb had tried the resurrection ritual, of course. But, seeing as the crown was the reason he was dead to begin with, the lamb was unable to bring him back.

stupid crown. Why did it have to choose them? A perfectly good bearer was right there!

Whats done is done, no matter how everyone involved despised it. All Lamb could do now was make sure he wasn't forgotten.

... At least he recognized what happened, and forgave them before the final blow.

Lamb wouldn't have to live with being a traitor, too.

His last words still echoed in the unwilling usurpers head.

"Ah, I see... how your hand trembles, yet remains glued to the blade... It was not you who betrays me. How funny...

Know that I forgive your weakness, my Lamb. You will make a wonderful Death."

------------------

Years pass, and still Lamb champions Narinder's teachings. They work hard, making sure that the land is swept clean of the old faith, the newly resurrected bishops being surprisingly supportive of the new death.

Strangely, Visitor, the odd being who appeared in the temple ruins, seemed weirdly on edge recently. It had promised a gift for the lamb, beyond what had already been given, yet it seemed... skittish, when pressed on when they would earn it.

No matter, unless it decided to involve the Lamb eventually. There was nothing they could do to but wait and gather power.

then, lamb got an interesting prayer directed at them.

It was made in their name. A name long forgotten, and the only one who knew it was...

"Narinder?" Lamb whispered hopefully. They had learned to speak through their effigies, much as the bishops had when they were in purgatory. Maybe, just maybe...

The prayer continued. It was distant, quiet, yet full of faith. It was nearly drowned out by all the other prayers directed at them from all over the lands of the Old Faith, but the use of Lambs secret name helped them hold on to it. As did the direction the prayer came from.

up.

"...I do not know if this will reach you, my dear vessal, but..."

Lamb sat up at their desk, staring at the ceiling. Their heart thudded loudly in their chest, eyes blurring a little from the tears.

It was him.

"Narinder!" Lamb cried, leaping from their chair, sending it clattering to the floor. The prayer stopped suddenly, but the faith that flowed from it spiked, letting the lamb cling to it, follow it back to its source. With just a little more power...

"Lambert?" Narinder breathed. They could see him now, through the... Idol? Charm? Whatever representation of them that he held in his hand.

"Its really you. You're..." Lamb couldn't think of what to say. They just stared deep into those piercing red eyes that they thought they would never see again, relished the feeling of sitting in his palm, as they had once done after successful crusades. He stared back, his surprise slowly settling into a gentle, relieved smile. The sun behind him cast his face into brilliant relief, and the desert walls behind him complemented his eyes.

"My Lamb, my dear Ramses..." He sighed. "I fear I do not have much time to talk, and I mean to send warning." His face hardened, glancing away for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I need you to check on my body, if it is still there."

Lamb blinked. "...Um, excuse me?" they let out a bleating laugh. "Aren't you using it right n- Wait I buried it... In the tomb..." Lambs incredulity cooled rapidly, as they began to process what him speaking to them- alive, no less- meant.

"Actually, no." Narinder corrected, sending Ramses back into confusion. "This body is something called a 'replicant', and it drew in my soul after I was slain. I can only imagine that it was because it lay at the heart of an ancient battlefield." He coughed, glancing to the side with a grimace. "I have recently encountered... Nobodys- monsters formed from the soulless bodies of those with strong wills."

At that point, the gears in lamb's head clicked into place. "You want me to make sure that your body- your REAL body- isn't roaming around." Ramses said, the gravity of the situation settling on them.

Narinder nodded, a smirk appearing on his lips. "Yes. I do not know if it will resemble me or not, or if one has even formed- nevertheless, I would have you check for me. I was, after all, quite willful."

Ramses slowly opened their own eyes, and turned from the desk, the crown settling on their head as the Lamb prepared for battle. "Of course, my lord. I will deal with this immidiately, and then come for-"

"Ah. Right." Narinder's voice popped back into their mind, the connection not yet severed-draining as it was. "I would not have you come for me. Instead, I will try to find my way home."

Ramses, of course, stopped dead in their tracks. "How? Actually- where are you?"

"Somewhere far away, my lamb." he soothed. "But do not fear. Just take care of your own world, and we will speak again soon. I promise."

The phrase 'your own world' gave them pause, but their master had never led them astray before. "Alright. Is there anything I need to know before I possibly encounter an alien monster?"

"Magic works best on them, as i cannot guarantee that even weapons forged by Kudaai can permanently destroy them, let alone harm them efficiently. Use extreme caution, my dear vessel."

"Got it." Ramses said. "... I'll talk to you soon, Nari." they finished.

A short silence followed as the Lamb walked to the now pointless tomb, making them worry they had overstepped with the nickname.

"...And I to you, my love."

The whispered prayer once again halted Ramses entirely, their face flushing red as Narinder finished the prayer with that gentle admission.

After a moment, they shook their head, resuming their march toward his grave.

They HAD to talk to him soon.

------------------

from the forest, a silent shape watched a small woolly figure storm out of the empty crypt, rage burning in their eyes.

It said nothing, silently gliding into the trees.

why did they stir something foreign within it?

It should kill them. That will stop it.

[yallemagne]

This might be a little disjointed because it's been a few days since I watched it, but my thoughts on season 2 of X-Men: The Animated Series:

Episode 1 & 2: Till Death Do Us Part

I know they’re having Logan going ham in the Danger Room because he’s in love with Jean, but lalala I can’t hear you, he’s ACTUALLY beating up fake Cyclopses in the Danger Room because of Morph’s death. 

Damn if Logan weren’t, frankly, acting like a little bitch, we could have gotten the Morph reveal much earlier. This is what angsting after a married woman does, Logan. You miss out on precious time with your resurrected bestie with benefits. 

Morph is my silly little pumpkin. Sinister is such a bastard that he lets Morph have temporary self-awareness just to torture them with it. That, or he is just very bad at maintaining his mind control. Anyhow, Morph declares that they’ll have their revenge and switch through different forms “Cyclops! Storm! Wolverine!” And upon turning into Wolverine they fall back on their bed and writhe in agony because that’s their BEST FRIEND. AHHH. 

Morph sending Cherik to the Savage Lands for a deadly date. This is like The Parent Trap but nefarious. 

Morph desperately trying to fight against the mind-control :,0. It's always when they're presented with the promise of being accepted back into the family. All they wanna do is be an X-Man again. 

"You kept me alive! And the evil that's in me! But the worst of us still has some good!" I'm sobbing.

Also yeah. The title is obviously referencing Scott and Jean’s wedding vows. But what if— lissen hear me out hear me out, it’s actually about Wolverine and Morph and their unbreakable bond.

Episode 3: Whatever It Takes

Mjnari, you scared me, boy. He kept getting himself into situations where I was like “YOU BETTER NOT BE MAKING A HEROIC SACRIFICE” and thankfully, no heroic sacrifice, just winning. 

Storm just casually having a son that she's not told anyone about and Rogue being like BABE WHAT??? Babe why did you never tell me you have a child with another woman??

Logan grabbing Morph’s wrists and restraining them behind their back in the weirdest hug imaginable. Gonna headcanon that that’s just how they normally hug because Logan is weird. Gotta use “I’m restraining you” as an excuse to get his arms around someone.

Morph changing between several exes arch enemies of Wolverine while trying to get him off his trail. Hoooo. Morph knows the Deep Lore. 

Episode 4: Red Dawn

Imagine being so stupid you make an indestructible super human who represents your values so well he resolves to murder you for not abiding by those values. And then imagine thawing him even though you couldn’t control him the first time because you want to restart the Soviet Union. Imagine getting through so many steps without thinking of the consequences even once.

Colossus is my sweet baby boy. I love how naively good he is and how it plays off Jubilee, who is also naive as hell. It’s perfectly demonstrated when Jubilee is just like “I’ll just leave a note! ‘Off to stop the reformation of the USSR, food’s in the fridge.’ Okay, let’s go!” And Colossus is like “Yes! Let’s!”

Wolverine gets home from Morph throwing Omega Red in his face during their confrontation to a note saying the runt went ahead to stop Omega Red with no backup?? The timing. 

Episode 5: Repo Man

Canada tries to steal Wolverine’s skeleton what the fuck. 

I appreciate that his old team steps in to save him because they never wanted to drag him back into experimentation, they just wanted their buddy back. 

It’s implied in the flashback in this episode and later on that Wolverine never had bone claws, they’re just a result of the adamantium? Yeah no. Makes no sense. His claws are literally what identify him as a mutant in several interactions. 

Episode 6: X-Ternally Yours

Dog, this weird cult-gang shit makes no sense to me. It’s good that Gambit got away from that nonsense. 

Lol Rogue getting upset that Gambit is getting married but immediately being like AHA when it’s revealed he’s there against his will. 

Episode 7 & 8: Time Fugitives

Absolutely genius having a time travel episode followed by a second time travel episode to fix the previous episode. They got to reuse so much animation, and frankly, I'm proud of them for the creativity they employ to be unoriginal. 

Episode 9: A Rogue's Tale

I already knew Rogue’s backstory, but hell, they really capture the dread of Rogue being forced by her mother to kill another person. There was so much innocence in her voice yelling that she didn’t want to hold on, that it felt wrong. God, I hate Mystique so much for this. Rogue is right in saying Mystique only cared about her powers. Sure maybe she does see her as a daughter, but would she have even spared the girl a second glance if she weren’t such a powerful mutant? Hell no. 

Episode 10: Beauty & the Beast

I was literally musing about how this episode's themes reminds me of Beauty and the Beast... and that's literally the title. 

Graydon Creed: “MUTANTS AND ALL THOSE RELATED TO THEM MUST BE DESTROYED!!!” Me: 👀 are you sure about that you dumb bitch.

Logan infiltrating the Friends of Humanity? Amazing. Showstopping. He did so amazing, bravo. Get this man an award. And y’all know he’s been sitting on the info that Creed is Sabretooth’s son for so long lol. It’s so cathartic of a reveal. 

I wonder… how does this affect Creed? After all, at the end of ’97, it’s said he’s got people rallying behind him as a political candidate. Did people just forget what a dirty snivelling little hypocrite he is? Did news of his parentage never reach the general public? Is it like water under the bridge bc he technically denounces his parents? What’s up with that?

(Aside: they call Sabretooth Graydon Creed Sr.. Yeah, I’d change my name to Victor. The real kicker is that he named his son after himself. No wonder Junior is so mad at his pops.)

Anyhow, even though it’s technically not canon to anything but the movie continuity, I’m gonna keep headcanoning Sabretooth and Wolverine as estranged brothers because I would love to see Logan continuing to hold this over Graydon’s head by telling him to call him ‘Uncle Logan’. 

Episode 11: Mojovision

I Dream of Jean fucking got me. Looks like Mojo’s programming is geared towards me. 

After reading Exiles I’m just sitting here like “:((( I wish Morph was here... Morph would be slaying…”

Episode 12 & 13: Reunion

See, Wolverine uses his claws here, and they have him say his claws aren’t a result of his mutation. Baby what? Now, I think it totally makes sense for his claws to still be functional even in a place where mutant powers are cancelled out. After all, they’re a part of his skeleton. Like if Nightcrawler were there, he wouldn’t lose the ability to move his tail, yeah? Just no teleporting. Is there really like a continuity where the claws aren’t a mutant trait???

Also his hands gotta really hurt doing that without his healing.

Anyhow MORPH MORPH MORPH MORPH

I love Wolvie meeting a fellow Wild Man. 

Morph is my sweet babe I love them so much, you go bitch, you fight that mind control, you shoot at Sinister so Cyclops can hit him with his beams. Go off queen. 

I haven’t really been giving notes about the Savage Lands before now because I found everything about it boring till this episode. And that’s because while I love me some Cherik, those fucks were getting absolutely nothing done. Besides like that one funny moment where Magneto was throwing rocks at a dino and calling it a stupid lizard. 

Love Charles briefing Erik about the steps he's gonna be taking to aid in Morph’s recovery?? So random. Like the present parent trying to get the absentee to get involved in their children’s lives. "We're gonna take Morph to Muir Island... 👉👈 if you want to visit..."

Magneto does not take the hint and bails on family like a coward. We'll get you yet, Magneto, even if it takes killing Charles to get you to provide for the kiddos.

[EDIT: oh yeah btw my thoughts on season 1]

[beforethekniferusts]

hello!!! welcome to my oc blog!!!! :3 a little quick introduction for my little guys below (i love them with all my heart,,,)

Setsuna Mochidzuki:

A quiet, reserved girl who prefers the company of books over people. She used to have a happy relationship with Aika—until she got too attached. And by too attached, I mean practically glued to her. Unsurprisingly, this led to a breakup, and Setsuna did not take it well. She spiraled so hard she literally lost her mind.

Noisy:

A deranged magician who causes trouble just because she can. Loves loud noises, big crowds, and any excuse to make a scene. She hosts flashy magic shows in her tower, but beneath all the theatrics, she’s desperately trying to bury her past—especially anything to do with Setsuna. No matter how much noise she creates, little pieces of her old self refuse to stay buried.

Jorou Sokoshita:

Smug, rich, and a complete narcissist. When he was a child and his parents passed, Jorou inherited a stupid amount of money and lives in a temple-like mansion full of absurdly expensive stuff. He tries to act sophisticated and above it all, but deep down, he’s just as much of a loser as the rest of us. Also, do not mention his tiny height. He hates that.

Rena:

Aika’s jealous, try-hard older sister who wishes she was as loved. She acts snobbish, classy, and important—but she’s really just a loser with a superiority complex. She even dated Jorou once, which says a lot. No matter how hard she tries, she’ll always be second place, and she hates it. She’ll never admit it, but deep down, she knows she’ll never be her sister. And she hates that more than anything.

Oni:

Fought in a brutal, cold war over a thousand years ago and has zero tolerance for jokes, nonsense, or anything that reminds him of his past trauma. Was dead for centuries until some unknown person decided to resurrect him. Now, he just goes by "Oni" (he's not that creative) because no one knows his real name—including him.

Toka Tomoyoshi:

The definition of "no-bullshit." Toka has a strong sense of justice, a serious demeanor, and a tendency to drink a little too much. As an officer, her mission is to take down Noisy once and for all, and she is not in the mood for any tricks, jokes, or distractions—except maybe another drink.

Miyoko Tsugimachi:

A silly little clown with a talent for accidental dangerous stunts (shes a little air-headed). She means well, but her circus performances tend to involve increasingly dangerous stunts—like setting the building on fire. Somehow, this has landed her on the wanted list. She doesn’t try to cause chaos; it just happens.

Knife:

A moody, introverted teen who avoids people like it’s a full-time job. Spends most of her time locked in her room and never goes anywhere without her knife—not just for protection, but because it’s 'comforting'. No one knows her real name, so they just call her 'Knife.' (again, very creative) She’s cool with that. Also, has anyone ever seen her smile? No, they have not.

Pachi-Ko:

After years of relentless bullying, she snapped, trained herself, and almost beat her tormentors to death. One year in prison later, she’s changed her name, identity, and entire life to stay hidden. She’s stronger now, but sometimes she wonders—did she really change, or is she just running from herself? Either way, she refuses to let anyone get too close.

Aika Suzumeyama:

Aika is that one person everyone loves—kind, gentle, motherly, the sweetest person you would ever meet. She was devoted to Setsuna when they were together, but when Setsuna became way too clingy, Aika had to end it. She thought she handled the breakup well, but, uh…yeah. She had no idea just how badly it messed Setsuna up (well, clearly.)

thats all for now!!! i hope you guys enjoy them as much as i do :3 this post took me too long to type out shdjfjfkgkggoglgltl

[superkooku]

Theseus being the "dumb muscle" is so accurate, lmao. He needed help getting out of a labyrinth, a singular path that just curls in on itself. AND HIM GOING ALONG WITH PIRITHOUS' STUPID KIDNAPPING PLAN

This is gonna be fun 🤣. Thanks for the ask.

I initially said that because Superman is associated with the dumb muscles guy superhero, which doesn't represent him well at all.

And Perseus is shown in the same way in some retellings : as a guy who can't think things through, is bad with women and screws everything up, which is just as inaccurate.

Heracles is very strong but can also scheme, Achilles is more "angry muscle guy", Odysseus is mr. Schemer (except that one time he doxxed himself), etc...

Theseus ? Sorry buddy, but you have the attention span of a goldfish. He and Pirithous are like "Dumb and dumber", istg 🤣🤣🤣. Exactly for the reasons you mentioned.

The Underworld plan was so stupid !! Trying to kidnap a goddess in her husband's domain, which is the realm of the dead. And you guys are mortals. They're lucky they didn't end up in Tartarus 🤣. I guess Persephone was in a good mood. Instead, Hades gave them the funniest punishment ever. It's one of my favorite stories because it's so hilariously dumb.

Other not so smart things Theseus did (though we can explain them, they're still dumb)

Ordering his son's death after an accusation without proof. I know he was shocked after Phaedra's death, so his emotions were strong and that Aphrodite orchestrated the whole thing... but he seriously thought the guy who adamantly worships Artemis and doesn't get near from women raped his stepmother. At least the exile idea was better, because he could backtrack. But no, he had to die. He's either a terrible father and doesn't spend time with Hippolytus or has a bad memory. Tbf the second option is more likely 🤣.

And I love how, in some latin sources, Asclepius resurrects Hippolytus but at Artemis' demand. Not Theseus', even when it's technically his fault. Did he just forget about that ?

Well, at least he felt bad about it and Hippolytus had the time to forgive him in Euripides' play.

The black sails thing. Zero excuse for this one. Aegeus should have been more patient but still, Theseus was warned about his dad's decision and yet forgot. You'd think he'd try to avoid forgetting things after leaving Ariadne on the island 🤣

Anon, you're so right about the Labyrinth thing. Without Ariadne's help, he would've just been stuck. With 6 other people who counted on him. And Minos laughing.

The abandonment of Ariadne is debatable. Sometimes it's divine intervention (tbf, seeing Theseus' future probably made Dionysus/Athena too worried not to take her out of this mess). But I'd totally picture Theseus just forgetting to take her out of Naxos, because, again, memory of a goldfish. And then just confusing Phaedra for her and marrying her instead 🤣. Yes it's a funny headcannon backed out by zero source, but I'm sorry : marrying your ex's sister is weird.

Kidnapping kid Helen isn't dumb. Just veeery weird and icky. Fortunately, Castor and Pollux could pull her out of Theseus' palace when he was stuck in the Underworld.

A funny coincidence : Theseus wanted to marry a child of Zeus. Instead, it's Ariadne who did and built a family with him, while Theseus failed 🤣. Is it a coincidence, or was he jealous that his ex got someone better and deemed himself more worthy of Zeus's descendants ?

The first option is 100% the correct one, but the second would be funny (though not backed up by any source)

One I don't see mentioned : Poseidon offers him three wishes at one point. He only uses one of them... to kill his son. He didn't think about using one or two to, idk, regain the throne of Athens after it was stolen from him. Not making wishes when needed is a true proof of goldfish memory.

And then he died pushed from a cliff.

Does Theseus have qualities ? Yes. He's a decent king and he still saved the Athenians from getting eaten by a monster. My arguments show why Theseus is kinda dumb, not that he's evil or morally wrong (except the Helen one maybe).

If anything, it makes him human. Dumb people exist, dumb leaders too, even if they make great things.

(btw Jason is a good contender for second place, though. Abandoning your witch wife, who killed her brother for you, is NOT a smart move.)

[sunflowerhazel]

If someone ever tried to make tv show out of The Arcana I think the best solution would be playing with time line paradox thingy. Like Spiderverse or Everything Everywhere At Once style . Just my opinion because I can't choose it in the poll.

Ok I've been thinking about this a lot so thank you for giving me an excuse to speak on it lol.

Before we start, I have only read through Nadia, Asra, Julian, and half of Muriel's routes, but I still think that's enough to make a timeline.

I agree: Although there is still the same throughline in each of the routes, they all work as their own universe. For example, in Muriel's route, Lucio makes deals with the courtiers, gaining a physical (albeit goat-shaped) body that way. In Asra's route, you successfully take back your body from Lucio and the courtiers eat what remains of his spirit. In Nadia's ending, both you and Lucio regain your bodies, but Lucio is banished from the lands.

I guess one of the first questions we should ask ourselves, as theoretical showrunners, is what ending do we want to give Lucio? Is he alive? dead? Does he end the show still swimming in the in-between, with no way of returning to the physical world?

Secondly, we need to establish what kind of story we want to tell. In the prologue, we are told by Nadia that Julian killed Lucio, and she needs our help to track him down and bring him to justice. Because of this, it makes the most sense to me if we bring a large focus to Julian; through his route, we learn about the Red Plague, the MC's death and resurrection, and all of the atrocities committed by Valdemar. This is also where his plan to be hung to talk to the Hanged Man gets explained the most. However, if we only follow Julian, we never learn of Asra's past with their missing parents, or his childhood growing up orphaned with Muriel. We won't learn of Nadia's rocky relationship with her parents, or much of anyone else's backstory, for that matter.

Therefore, I propose to you this mish-mash:

The A plot mostly follows Julian and Asra's routes. That first night, you talk to Asra through the fountain and confide in them about the investigation. The next day, you talk to Portia at her cottage, and she admits that Julian is her brother. You tell her you'll keep her secret, and Portia is happy. As you leave her cottage, you see a red stream and follow it, where you find Julian. He tells you the stream is no longer contagious, and he wistfully tells you there's no need for a plague doctor without a plague. You hear Malak scream, and as you try to run away you slip and fall into the stream, being bitten by an eel. Julian pulls you to safety, and once you're away from the guards he tends to your wounds. He shows you his mark, claiming it's a curse from Asra. You go back to the palace, where Asra is meeting with Nadia for the first time. He hugs you and asks if they can take you out for the day. You agree and they take you to their personal oasis and talk about the realms of the Arcana.

As the A plot unfolds, I think the B plot should be roughly Nadia's route, with Portia taking the place of the MC. Portia admits to knowing how to read and write after Nadia's sister shows up at Vlastomil's mansion.

Finally, the C plot should be Muriel and Morga hunting Lucio's ghost together. Here we learn about Muriel's past and his ties to Morga. They reconcile after one last fight against Lucio.

Everyone reconvenes in time for the hearing. During Muriel's route, Nadia tells you that they found Valdemar's secret lab. This should be where Julian regains his memories of his past, and where you, Asra, and Julian go to the Lazaret to learn once and for all about your death. Asra and Julian fight once more, Asra telling Julian he should have done more to protect you from the Plague. Julian runs away, turning himself in to Nadia. You talk to him behind bars, and he reveals his plan to talk to the Hanged Man. I also think that Valerius should accuse Nadia of conspiring with Julian here.

Nadia and Julian both take a stand. Julian gets pronounced guilty, with Nadia successfully proving her innocence and embarrassing Valerius. After the hanging, you, Portia, and Asra go to stay with Julian's body while Nadia gets the palace ready for the masquerade. Julian jolts alive, telling you of his meeting with the Hanged Man, and of Lucio's return with the plague.

Eventually, the Devil tracks you down and steals your body. You and Asra meet in the realms of the Arcana as Muriel and Nadia try to find out where the ritual took place. Asra finds his parent's prison, and you free Aisha and Salim as well as their familiars. As you let them leave, you are approached by the different courtiers. You unbind them from the Devil. Lucio shows up and begs to be unbound. You do so, regaining your body. You go back to the physical world where Nadia has imprisoned Lucio. You go to the Devil's feast where Faust and Asra secretly put your blood in the wine. Everyone drinks, but the merging of worlds does not happen. The Devil goes back to his domain where you follow with all your friends, binding him once and for all.

At the end, Nadia and Portia get together (obviously), maybe Asra and Julian reconcile, or the MC gets with one of them depending on the specifics of the story lol. Morga takes Lucio away, presumably to punish him on her own terms, or maybe to reconcile. Muriel, no longer bound by his chains, is happy :) maybe he and Asra kiss idk

Ok this was really long and I am fully aware it's a jumbled mess, but it's really hard to put something cohesive together when each of the different routes have such good storylines. At the end of the day, I really like the end of Julian's route where everyone comes together to help you bind the Devil. I think it's quite cinematic, albeit cliche. I also like the part of Nadia's story where you unbind the courtiers one by one (the little Volta creature has my whole heart). And of course, we can't forget about Asra saving their parents. I'm not too sure about an ending where Lucio is unbound-- I think the way Asra's route deals with Lucio is really cool. At the end of the day, I think the easiest way to do this is to figure out what you want from Lucio and work backwards from there.

Ok this is the end I promise thank you for listening to me talk about my new hyperfixation :)

[chipchopclipclop]

love ur baldurs gate 3 oc so much. idk anything about the game but i genuinely likes him. i wish hes a real character bc i would buy the game for him

thank you anon i know this message is weeks old but ily and also im going to use this ask as an excuse to dump information about him now (swagdor lore (swaglore)) for anyone who cares

general stuff;

hes 49 years old as of game time

necromancy wizard, learned scholar, heavy interest in the boundaries between life and death and undeath, researching different types of resurrection unrelated to god worship (just not a big fan of asking for favours yknow)

stoic even keeled personality, reacts neutrally or stone faced to most things (this does not mean hes uncaring, hes got a curious nature). he used to be very showy and loud when he was younger, he finds that now very embarrassing

used to be a leader of an adventuring band in his 20s, fell apart when his group were defeated in battle leaving him lone survivor, wasnt a necromancer back then

has a distinct lack of self regard, half of him believes he'll be more of use untethered to the chain of mortality (undead in some fashion, or just thinking his corpse more functionally useful) the other half is just still struggling with survivors guilt (lol)

wanders around looking for old crypts and tombs to help his arcane pursuits, do-good's alot accidentally while he does, though most people get scared of him when he reveals the necromancy magic so hes got a mixed reputation (has some sort of misnomer like The Specter of so-and-so that wyll probably recognizes and laughs about)

will go along with just about anything if it amuses him, and has a weird sense of humour. hard to catch off guard or fluster, he yes-and's people alot to see how far they'll go with something or out bluff them (sometimes this causes them to try and beat the shit out of him)

truthful about his feelings when asked, but rarely volunteers his thoughts on things of his own accord, this gives him a weirdly mysterious image at first to most people

treats his raised corpses with care befitting living beings outside combat, and used to even raise some for company even if they were functionally just puppets.

he likes skeletons more than zombies (smell…)

his fake in game quest line is called 'The Wandering Necromancer' and involves inquiring about his old adventuring days of times past and learning why he's so into skeletons. He eventually reveals his past and you can bring up his groups old misadventures (oh my god you were the backstreet boys???) and he is very embarrassed by it. He reveals his group was felled by a lich, and he never found their bodies so hes always been curious on a way to speak with them again somehow.

plot continues BLAH BLAH eventually you find out that lich is still around and swagdor's old friends are now in its undead service so you go to kill it <3 but on the way he considers if he should take the lich's place so he can have his old companions around again (even if they're in his undead service) and try to give them some semblance of new twisted life again. You either help him with the preparations (yay phylacterys) or go bro you need to Move On. Man. and instead choose to release their souls when the lich is killed.

swagdor is stronger as a lich but also becomes even more detached from concepts of mortality (his sense of danger is basically nill now regarding others... its okay if u die ill bring u back somehow :) <- unnerving smile) and also all his dead friends are talking to him in his ear so he's constantly got a sense of being away from everything.

unliched swagdor moves on properly and begins The Healing Process (better late than never king) and seems more present in current ongoings, finding a place he can really set his feet. He's also less obsessed with death but sees his necromancy instead as a means to help and speak with wayward souls of the dead.

useless trivia corner: his names swagdor bc i based him off an old div2 oc i made when i was playing that game with aqua, where i used one of the randomly generated names they gave me and put the word swag into it (lol) i now am using his div2 swagdor's adventures as a semi basis for his new bg3 versions background thats why his younger versions outfit is based off that one captain armour set i never took off in that game

[euthymiya]

sighhh you’re so right about fontaine but i’ve seen so many posts where they make the skin tones of nathan characters darker and suddenly their colour palette pops and they look amazing (even ororon) (i think they were designed to have darker skin and it wasn’t approved or something bc of the main market etc etc)

Okay bear with me. I have lots to say. In fact I have so many opinions about natlan I don’t even know where to begin

The skin tones primarily are ofc such a majorrrr bummer. But yes, I agree that a lot of why it is the way that it is mainly boils down to appealing to the main market like you said, and that’s its own separate issue—but I also sort of walked into natlan heavily expecting/preparing to be disappointed by the lack of diversity, especially after sumeru. I had already anticipated that the skin tone ranges would be far from impressive so while it doesn’t necessarily excuse it to me, it’s not something I counted on being happy with to begin with

But what did surprise me was the writing. I think after Fontaine, I was really really expecting the writing to be as impressive if not better, and idk it didn’t come close to me in my opinion to the bar they set with Fontaine. I don’t think any of the characters in Natlan are really close to being as well written as the ones in Fontaine, and the main quests don’t give us the same feel of vulnerability from them either, and it’s a bit shocking to me bc this particular nation deals with war so you’d think we’d get some serious heaviness but. Idk. It just didn’t feel heavy. Like canonically some of the characters have died and been resurrected but none of it was dealt with in a manner that felt serious or even that important. It wasn’t really given much attention besides maybe Kachina, but even then we only really saw one character be outwardly bothered by Kachina’s situation to the extent you’d expect it to bother someone

I suppose my major let down was that mortality wasn’t as big of a theme as I had expected with the nation of literal war. Every mention of death felt underwhelming in emotion and quickly brushed aside afterwards too, so it was a) not heavy or emotionally appealing and did not touch on grief the way I had hoped and b) was just not intriguing to me as Fontaine was with its darker themes. Chasca’s sister’s death was a VERY underwhelming death as sad as it made me, the writing for that part was arguably really bland. The deaths throughout the main quest during the abyss invasion were also rather bland and a bit boring and we didn’t get to interact with the main cast as much for it to really sink in how heavy it was. We didn’t get to see desperation or grief or even regret as much as I think you would during war. I think with Fontaine we sort of saw ALL the cast get progressively more desperate to do something about the prophecy that you could tell it was a very critical situation. Natlan doesn’t feel that critical to me. I’m not anxious over the abyss and I’m not worried about what’ll happen to the main cast. I don’t think we get as much attention to the characters individually as we did in Fontaine either. Lyney and Lynette we got to see some really big things with right from act one. Navia and neuvillette had some GREAT scenes early on, too. Wriothesley we got a really good backstory with and his story quest was also very very intriguing, though I do accept that maybe I’m a bit biased with him, but still I do think that even despite loving Ayato, I was bored with his story quest so I don’t think I’m that biased. Furina was SO well executed and the most compelling archon so far to me. It just feels like this cast falls soooo short in comparison to the old one and they just aren’t as easy to get attached to. Kinich has so much potential with his backstory and yet his “story quest” was not very mysterious nor did it add much overall weight to his character or show much personal growth, so overall it just felt like we watched him fight a beast and save his tribe for the 50th time.

I guess so far natlan just feels like wasted potential. Each of the characters have some mildly interesting things about them like kinich’s backstory is very easily one that could make him interesting. Kachina being an underdog whose very determined is super easy to be fond of. Chasca being raised by literal mystical beasts and having abyssal contamination is so very intriguing and mavuika is a human archon who managed to resurrect herself in a completely different era than when she was born but still. We just don’t see much of the interesting parts of any of them 😭 and the main quests has some super cool lore drops and the plot on pencil and paper is a pretty good one—but again, everything is so slowly built up and then underwhelming at its climax that you’re just like ok….what now 😭

MAYBE that’s just me. Maybe I just am being overly critical and hard to please but I think for a war, we have far less emotional turmoil than we did in Fontaine over a prophecy of death so idk I’m just really bored more than anything in Natlan. I was rushing to finish the quest like I was in Fontaine and normally, a very good story line could make me overlook a very disappointing selection of character designs, but we don’t even have that so it just falls short on all sides to me 😭

The only good thing about Natlan is all the new updates that give us better quality of life in the actual gaming aspect of it all but even then, hsr had half of those implementations from patch 1 so it just feels like we’re finally not an after thought 😭

[shadow-fell]

Ulder Ravengard

have you met Ulder and gone dude why are you so mean to your son? do you want to write some fun angst for Wyll? well then do I have some meta for you.

This is a summary of the events of Murder in Baldur's Gate, the adventure that introduced Ulder + a lot of other plot points for BG3, plus some bits from his later appearances in Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus and Rise of Tiamat. MiBG isn't widely run, but this is heavy spoilers, so reader beware!

Murder in Baldur's Gate is an adventure very few people have heard of and also one of the most critical to the plot of BG3 (aside from Descent into Avernus which it was introduced as a direct companion/sequel to). It was part of the D&D Next playtest for 5e, and was written so that it could be played in 3e, 4e, or with the playtest rules, and is thus a really weird but fun adventure to run.

The core concept is this: Grand Duke Abdel Adrian (AKA Gorion's Ward AKA Charname from BG1/BG2) is attacked by the last remaining Bhaalspawn. One of them kills the other, and the survivor is turned into the Slayer, who the party is introduced helping to take down. What no one knows is that this also led directly to the resurrection of Bhaal, who proceeds to lurk in the shadows, manipulating events.

The main structure of the module is that there are three characters vying to take control of the city in the upheaval - Duke Torlin Silvershield who wants to consolidate power for the patriars and himself, Rilsa Rael of the Guild who's trying to start a populist uprising, and Ulder Ravengard, who's vying for the open Duke spot and trying to get the Flaming Fist more control over the city.

They're also all three touched by Bhaal, slowly driven over the deep end to drive the city into chaos. There are 10 stages, each with a mission from one of the three. If things go off as written (either because the party, working for that antagonist, did as they were told, or if they failed to intervene) they gain a rank of 'Bhaal's Favor' - with the winner ascending as the Chosen of Bhaal and wreaking havoc on the city.

Who is Ulder Ravengard at the start?

"Ravengard is not a zealot or a fascist - not yet, anyway."

Blaze Ulder Ravengard is the fourth son of a lower city smith, who is intensely loyal to the Flaming Fist, believing them to be the backbone of the city. He's repeatedly described as being disciplined, focused, and utilitarion. He has "no interest in domestic matters" and his soldiers respect rather than love him.

However, unlike most of the Fist, his goals are for the good of the city. He "seethes over the eagerness of ill-doers to control others, steal the fruits of honest folk's labor, and otherwise misuse hardworking people" - what manifests mainly in a crusade against the Guild, but he's no fan of the patriars and their corruption either.

Specifically, he plans to "wage war" against the Guild - and is aware that "wars aren't won without casualties or collateral damage" - pointing out his blind spot that "he excuses all actions taken for the public good while simultaneously deploring identical deeds that others carry out for less altruistic reasons"

Ulder's main flaw is that he thinks the ends justify the means, and that he's willing to do anything to protect the "honest" citizens of the city against crime. He's fine with intense methods if they produce results. That is to say, he's a cop.

To be honest my whole meta on Ulder really can be summed down with "ACAB" but we'll keep going anyways.

Murder in Baldur's Gate

It's Uktar 1482, at the Founder's Day celebration, and Grand Duke Abdel Adriain is dead. Ulder was his right hand, and was there for the death - but unarmed, because the Flaming Fist don't have authority in the Upper City, only the City Watch, who due to poor planning were too far away to do anything to help.

Ulder is the only one of the three antagonists to meet with the players openly, and invites them to Wyrm Crossing where he offers temporary membership in the Flaming Fist. His plan is to regain order, investigate the death (he thinks the Guild is behind it) and put himself up as Adrian's replacement.

Most of the module occurs in "stages" where each antagonist has their own plan going, which the party can either help or hinder.

Ravengard shuts down two gambling dens run by the Guild in the lower city, boarding them up and bringing the owners in for questioning.

Ravengard sends extra Flaming Fist to patrol the docks to check on workers from the Outer City he believe to be behind recent vandalism and tax robberies - they proceed to enact some police brutality.

Several statues (including the Beloved Ranger) are vandalized by a group of patriar youths. Whoever the party turns them over to gains a rank of Bhaal's Favor

Ravengard begins campaigning for Duke. Traditionally, the spot has ties to the Lower City and the Flaming Fist, but the Parliament of Peers wants a patriar instead - Wyllyck Caldwell. Ravengard blackmails Caldwell to get him to step away.

Ravengard convinces the Harbormaster to raise tariffs on luxury items (in response to the stage 2 sumptuary laws Silvershield enacts)

The Court of the Fist is set up - an illegal military tribunal where the Flaming Fist begin capturing suspected Guild members and sympathizers,

Ravengard closes down the Baldur's Mouth under suspicion the Guild is using it to communicate.

Rioting in the city breaks out, the Flaming Fist cracks down violently if the players don't intervene

Ravengard declares martial law. Not complying with the Flaming Fist is grounds for execution.

Ravengard sets up public executions. Over a hundred are killed within the first hour.

It Ends With Blood: if Ulder Ravengard is the Chosen of Bhaal, he reigns death on the city from above using the trebuchets in the Seatower of Balduran.

Event 10 occurs for the top two of Bhaal's favor, and Event 11 for the chosen - which is canonically Silvershield. So, we know events one through nine were at least ordered, even if circumvented - martial law is the only one that can't be averted.

Given that he ends up "winning" (becoming Grand Duke) I think the executions probably didn't happen (and instead Rilsa Rael staged her prison break) but it doesn't actually break canon.

Rise of Tiamat & Descent into Avernus

Sometime around or shortly before 1485, Ulder is named Grand Duke. 1485 is the year Wyll is banished for his pact with Mizora - which means he was only the Duke's son for maximum a few years.

In 1489, Ulder represents the city on the council to deal with the threat of Tiamat, where his traits are:

Ideals: Responsibility, glory ("I am trusted with protecting thousands of lives, and I will not betray that trust no matter what my personal desires.") Interaction Traits: Honest Pledged Resources: Flaming Fist warriors and expert advisers to train conscript troops

In Descent to Avernus, he's described as having been elected "backed by idealistic commoners and enemies of the other established dukes" and that his concerns are the "stability and prosperity" of the city. He's the "voice of reason and common sense" but not egalitarianism.

The central tenet of DIA is that Ulder Ravengard is an honorable man, and without him to keep the Flaming Fist in line, they exercise their power cruelly (guided along by Vanthampur as she tries to consolidate power)

In Elturel, Ulder has taken charge of the city's defense. You meet him as he has tried to recover a relic and been caught by a psychic attack from Baphomet, that is mostly grounds for him to give a lore drop.

Okay, that's a lot of information. Summary please?

Ulder Ravengard is a cop.

He's not a bad cop. He's not interested in power, wealth, or fame. He wants what's best for the city...and he believes that the Flaming Fist, with the right motivation and guidance are it.

But, like, he's still a cop. He's inflexible, and doesn't see much nuance in situations. He's Lawful Neutral, in a genuine sense, he believes in the righteousness of Order, and can't see the nuances or the downsides.

If he's a righteous man, why hasn't he put work into reforming the very corrupt Flaming Fist? Because Good Cops don't fix anything, and I don't think he actually has a problem with most of it. Sure, the punishment is extreme, but you were committing a crime - Mercy is a virtue for a judge to hold, but it isn't a right. He's more concerned with the corruption vis a vis bribes from patriars and the Guild than the police brutality angle.

He's a good man to have running your army. He's a good man to marshal your defenses as your city goes plummeting to hell. Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate? The only thing he has going for him is that everyone else is just as bad.

Of course he exiled Wyll - if you're not guilty, you have nothing to hide. There was nothing more damning than not being able to speak (which Mizora knew; she is, in fact, good at her job). Ulder's views of patriar corruption (and status as being from the lower city) also has him uniquely positioned to be very harsh - he can't be the person who lets his son's crimes slide, not and clamp down on the patriars doing the same thing.

But once he had the context, he accepted him immediately - the ends justify the means. Ulder Ravengard is a man who would make a deal with a devil to save his city...so long as he knows the price.

(now, on the 'leaving 17yo Wyll in charge...look, this gets complicated, but the only way it works is if he's put in charge of the Flaming Fist, not as 'heir to the Duke' mostly because Ravengard doesn't trust most of the Fist to not be corrupt. Even then, I think it's likely to be a bit more of Wyll's POV (I have to step up!) and less an official chain of command, but he could easily have been an official member).

There are definitely places with Wyll that you can see how he has and hasn't taken his father's ideology. He's got some naive views (Baldur's Gate, welcoming refugees??) that suit someone who was taught the theory but never actually practiced politics, but he definitely has a leaning towards some of Ulder's views about law and order and ends and means.

And as for Grand Duke Wyll Ravengard, well....

...let's just say, with the right people pushing buttons, I could see him going down the 'declare martial law' route too.

[archetypesanalysis]

Why I believe Tech is alive

For this analysis, I will be referring to “Goddesses in Everywoman” and “Gods in Everyman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen. I will be talking about the Bad Batch Season 3 Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer. I will also refer to the titles of Season 3 episodes for this analysis. I will make some predictions for Season 3, so if you do not want to read into it, you can just scroll away.

We know the traumatising scene in “Plan 99” – Tech severs the connection between the cable cars and he falls. Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Omega mourn for their fallen brother. However, many fans believe that Tech is alive, and he will return in season 3. I am one of those people. After watching the Season 2 finale, I mourn for the loss, but I also want to cling onto any possible hints that he is alive. With that, I delve deeper into archetypal psychology (while I was ill at that time), and I have discovered many interesting clues that make me believe that Tech is alive.

To the people who do not believe that Tech is alive and do not want him to return in Season 3 due to personal reasonings like finding meaning in death and dealing with grief, I understand and respect all your opinions. I just do not like the excuses of “we need more suffering” or “I like suffering” to “justify” why Tech should not come back in Season 3.

With that said, I am mainly using my understanding of archetypal psychology to explain why I believe Tech is alive. Some points have been discussed in my analysis of the 3 seasons, but I am going to expand these points here.

1. Voluntary descent into the Underworld

In the myths, most people descend into the Underworld involuntarily. This is done either through death or abduction. In psychological terms, people involuntarily descend into the Underworld when they go through a traumatic experience, or they lose meaning, hope or purpose in life. However, there are myths where people descend into the Underworld voluntarily.

Some heroes take on this journey with love as their motivation. In the myth of Eros and Psyche, Aphrodite ordered Psyche to enter the Underworld with a small box for Persephone to fill it with beauty ointment. This was Psyche’s fourth and final task that she must do if she wanted to reunite with her husband Eros. In the myth of Orpheus, he went to Hades seeking his dead wife Eurydice. In one myth of Dionysus, he entered the Underworld to resurrect his dead mother Semele.  Besides love, some heroes are motivated by wisdom. In the myth of Odysseus, he ventured into the Underworld to seek help from a blind seer named Tiresias, so he could find his way home. In Roman mythology Aeneid, Aeneas entered the Underworld to seek the shade of his father, and he had a prophetic vision of Rome’s destiny. The journey to the Underworld is part of a heroic task. For example, in Greek mythology, the twelfth and final labour of Heracles was to capture and bring Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld. He was able to overpower the beast with his bare hands and bring it out of the Underworld, thus completing his twelve labours.

By enacting Plan 99, Tech voluntarily descends into the Underworld – and he is the only one to do so in Season 2. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bad Batch involuntarily descend into the Underworld through grief or abduction. Tech’s sacrifice is described as “heroic” and “intentional”, which are keywords for a voluntary descend into the Underworld. Besides, Tech is motivated by love and wisdom as he makes this descent. He wants to seek out information about the whereabouts of Crosshair and Omega, so they can finally reunite with Hunter, Wrecker and Echo.

However, voluntary descents are done at great risks for there is no guarantee of a safe return. As Tech voluntarily descends into the Underworld, his fate becomes uncertain, which will explain why ambiguous wordings are used to describe his fate: “he’s gone”, “he’s not coming back in this episode at least”, “sort of sacrifices himself”, “my life as a soldier has come to an end”, “it’s kind of a loss, it’s complicated (with averted eyes)”, “plummeted out of sight”, etc.

2. Broken goggles indicate dismemberment

As the Bad Batch mourns for their loss, Dr. Hemlock arrives to capture them. He throws a pair of Tech’s broken goggles to Hunter, saying that this is the only thing they could salvage from the wreckage. Judging from the state of the goggles, it seems that the goggles were smashed on impact and were later removed. Moreover, some fans see this as mirroring the last time we saw Echo after his apparent death in the Citadel, in which we saw Echo’s charred helmet being left behind.

The goggles have always been a part of Tech’s identity. He is the most recognizable for wearing it. Cid even gives him the nickname “Goggles”. Besides the goggles, his eyes also formed part of his identity. When Phee first meets Tech, she calls him “Brown Eyes”, hinting that she is drawn to his eyes despite all clones have brown eyes. Losing the goggles means that Tech has lost part of his identity, which is a form of psychological dismemberment. In Jungian psychology, anything that has been “dismembered” is thrown into the Underworld and it becomes part of our Shadow, which consists the parts we have deemed as unacceptable, shameful or even traumatic. I have seen fanarts about Tech being alive but he loses his sight, which can be considered as a form of physical and psychological dismemberment.

We have seen 3D models of Tech without his goggles, and he looks different from his usual look. When he wears the goggles, he looks friendly and approachable. Without the goggles, he looks serious and intimidating. We know that the goggles records everything, and in addition to giving Tech a friendly and approachable look, it enables him to get close to anyone and gather vital information. This is useful most of the time, especially during the Clone Wars as Tech acts as the bridge between Clone Force 99 and other people. However, this will become difficult during the rise of the Empire as the galaxy becomes more dangerous. A friendly look will likely draw unnecessary attention and people are more likely to pick on you. This may have been a problem for Tech in some mercenary jobs. For example, when Phee brings the Bad Batch to a cantina to purchase an artifact, Tech stays in the Marauder to provide them a getaway. I think Tech being assigned to this role is not just due to his piloting skills, but the fact that he looks “too friendly” to blend in with the crowd that mostly has questionable morals. Instead, Hunter and Wrecker are chosen as Phee’s muscle as they can blend in with the crowd so Lanse Crowder and his henchmen will let their guard down (as for Omega, she acts as Phee’s young apprentice).

If Tech needs to sneak in and acquire confidential Imperial files, an intimidating look will help. Without his goggles, Tech can easily take on the serious and intimidating look to blend it with the Imperials and/or scare off the low-level Imperials. This new look can also be useful for Tech to blend in with pirates, smugglers, mercenaries and bounty hunters – to show that he is someone you should not mess with.

I do believe that we may see Tech taking on a different look (and a different identity) in Season 3. I once imagined his new appearance to resemble a figure wearing black armour (quite similar to the one shown in the official Season 3 trailer). His different look may indicate that “the old friendly Tech is gone”, but this does not necessarily mean that Tech will be brainwashed by Hemlock and become a clone assassin. It will just mean that he has to suppress his friendly side in order to find Crosshair and Omega.

3. Tech’s archetype combination: Hades, Hermes and Athena

In my two-part character analysis of Tech (innate archetype and anima), I identify Tech to have three main archetypes: Hades (the God of the Underworld), Hermes (the Messenger God) and Athena (the Goddess of Wisdom).

Since Tech is innately Hades, this means that he is used to the Underworld as his exceptional mind already serves as his Underworld. Based on the footage shown in the Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer, I can see that each member of the Bad Batch is in their own versions of the Underworld: Hunter is loss of purpose, Echo is loneliness, Wrecker is monsters, Omega is abduction, and Crosshair is hopelessness. This leaves me a question: what is Tech’s Underworld? The answer is… I do not really know. His mind already resembles the Underworld and he can easily spend long hours by himself – as if he is familiar with this dark and mysterious territory. If you try to subject Tech with the Underworlds experienced by other members of the Bad Batch, he will most probably be unaffected by it. He is probably aware of these aspects of the Underworld, and he is not afraid to face them. Since the writers intended to bring the Bad Batch into the Underworld and keep them there for some time by the Season 2 finale, it would explain why they had to take Tech out of the picture. Tech would have made their journeys to the Underworld at least bearable and he would have brought them out of their dark places quickly. Without Tech, the Bad Batch would have to struggle for months (since there is a time jump hinted in the trailers). Moreover, Tech’s disappearance resembles Hades wearing the cap of invisibility – Tech has become Hades the Unseen One, “invisible” to everyone.

As Athena, Tech is a powerful strategist that gears towards practicality and pragmatism, which enables him to get an upper hand over his enemies. His craftiness and emotional distance can lead him to “do whatever it works” to accomplish his goals or defeat his enemies. With this in mind, I believe that Tech already has a strategy in mind when he decides to enact Plan 99. Although he is well-aware that his action will hurt his teammates, he does it because “it is the only way” he can succeed in his mission of finding Crosshair (and later Omega). In Greek mythology, Athena is the ally and guide of many heroes. When Heracles is tasked to capture Cerberus, Athena and Hermes act as his guides to the Underworld, helping him to complete his final labour. In orphic theology, Athena is depicted as a rescuer of Dionysus, the God of Wine and Ecstasy. In this myth, she managed to save the heart of the infant Dionysus that had been torn into pieces. She then gave the heart to Zeus, who sewed it to his own thigh, allowing Dionysus to be reborn. By taking these two myths into consideration, Tech takes on the guide and rescuer of the Bad Batch, who are heroes.

Among his archetypes, I find that Hermes is the strongest in Tech. As the messenger, Tech can easily travel through different places to gather information, just like Hermes who can swiftly travel between Olympus, earth and the Underworld. As the trickster, Tech can sneak around, make an escape, steal data, hack into machinery and break through confidential files with ease. As the alchemist, Tech can create new things and strategies to help him and his teammates.

Hermes is known to be the guide of souls and the rescuer of the child. As a psychopomp, he accompanies the souls of the dead to the Underworld (psychologically, he is the archetype that helps people during significant life transitions). In his myths, Hermes has rescued Ares who was trapped in the bronze jar, has brought Persephone out of the Underworld, and has saved Dionysus at least twice. These two roles have been present in Tech since his first appearance. It is highly likely that these roles would become more prominent in Season 3. I believe that Tech would lead Hunter, Echo and Wrecker to rescue Crosshair and Omega. Once the team is reunited, Tech would become the guide of souls as he helps the Bad Batch (and himself) to find meaning in their sufferings, to integrate all aspects of themselves, and to be transformed by their journeys to the Underworld: Hunter would learn to embrace human seasonal changes and become a hero; Echo would learn to become more assertive and be unafraid to revisit his trauma; Wrecker would learn to think before he acts; Crosshair would learn to be vulnerable and let love be his motivator; Omega would become more mature and assertive as she guides others through dark times; and Tech would learn to be more in touch with his emotions.

According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, Hermes has the innate potential to become a guide of souls and a seeker of meaning. This potential can be unleashed by venturing down into the depths of the Underworld, which will lead a person to undergo a spiritual evolution. They will gain valuable insight from this journey and will return to pass down what they have learned. This is similar to Hermes bringing Persephone (the soul) out of the Underworld and back to her mother Demeter. This myth became the basis for the Eleusinian Mysteries, which was the most sacred and important religious rituals of Ancient Greece that celebrated the return of Persephone from the Underworld. The ancients believed that those who were initiated into the mysteries would gain a reason to live in joy and die without fearing death.

In Season 1, Tech is more focused on monetary gains to support the Bad Batch after they defect from the Empire. They start to work for Cid by taking up mercenary jobs. For example, in “Rampage”, the Bad Batch is tasked to rescue Muchi from Zygerrian slave traders, which is the right thing to do, and according to Tech, they can earn a decent amount of credits. In “War-Mantle”, when the team discusses whether they should deviate from their job and rescue Gregor, Tech reminds them that Cid will not compensate them if they choose to deviate, and they will go hungry without the money to buy food.

I believe Season 2 is when Tech starts to undergo a spiritual evolution. In “Spoils of War”, the Bad Batch agrees to Cid’s promise to free them from their debts if they succeed in retrieving one of Count Dooku’s war chests. Although Tech’s left femur is fractured during the mission, he is determined to retrieve the war chest and use the fortune for the team’s benefit. However, I believe Tech’s meeting with Romar is what changes him, which initiates his spiritual evolution. Romar has survived the bombardment of Serenno City, and he now lives in the woods alone. He is not interested in Dooku’s war chests, and instead, he is more interested in persevering his Serennian culture, which gives him meaning in life. When Tech manages to fix the datacore and restore data about Serennian culture, Romar is overjoyed because his life now has meaning once more – as if his soul is rescued from the Underworld. This may have initiated him into the Eleusinian Mysteries, giving him the reason to continue living in joy and gaining the bravery to help Tech and Echo to find Omega before the Imperials do. Before the Bad Batch leaves, Romar tells Tech that he is staying behind as he is a survivor, which seems to have impacted Tech. I believe that Romar has acted as a wise elder that sends Tech on the spiritual journey, making him realize that helping others is more meaningful than carrying out mercenary jobs to make ends meet. Even though Tech gains nothing from helping Romar, he finds it meaningful.

However, Tech is not as vocal as Echo because of his loyalty to Hunter (motivated by his Athena anima). Hunter wants the team to lay low and not get involved in the fight against the Empire. Tech knows Hunter has the team’s best interest in mind, so he does not object. Though, it is possible that Tech is starting to become frustrated. In “Faster”, Tech complains to Cid that giving Hunter and Echo the job to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets is a waste of their skills and talents. He also does not want to follow Cid for another mission, but he goes for it because of Wrecker and Omega. When they must win the race to free Cid and her debt to Millegi, Tech reminds Wrecker and Omega that Cid’s dealings with individuals of questionable integrity have caused her to repeatedly use the Bad Batch to solve her problems, which has become a problematic pattern. It does seem that Tech is starting to get tired of Cid and he begins to find this current life as meaningless. He probably wants more of this life but he cannot.

After Echo leaves the Bad Batch, Tech turns all of his energy to work, which is his way of dealing with the loss. I also believe that Tech becomes intensely focused on work because he is determined to fully pay off the team’s debt so they can be free and do whatever they want in life. Since Echo leaves to join Rex’s resistance network, which gives him meaning in life, Tech may have become more motivated to achieve that goal for the Bad Batch (and himself). However, by focusing intensely on work, Tech has become emotionally withdrawn, which leads to tensions and misunderstandings. In “The Crossing”, Omega thinks that Tech is unbothered by Echo’s absence and that he is unsympathetic towards her grief. When Tech realizes that his intense emotional withdrawal has inadvertently hurt his loved ones, he learns to understand himself better and learns to grow.

In “Retrieval”, the Bad Batch goes to retrieve the stolen Marauder in Mokko’s factory. Tech points out that Mokko appears to be using his power and means as a leverage over his workers, which consist of adolescent miners. He finds Mokko’s operation to be similar to the Empire. After the Bad Batch manages to free the miners from Mokko’s oppressive rule, Omega realizes that there are other threats besides the Empire. Tech reassures her that there are many good people out there like them. Their actions of liberating the miners have helped them to reconnect with their souls – they once again find what gives them meaning in life.

Since Cid refuses to help the Bad Batch after they lost the Marauder during the mission to acquire ipsium, the team begins to keep a distance from her. They probably begin to feel that Cid is taking advantage of them and she would never release them from their debts. In “Metamorphosis”, when Cid provides intel about a downed ship that they can scavenge for parts, the team demands a higher share of the cut and threatens to not return. Tech knows that their agreement with Cid is not mutually beneficial, but they cannot sever ties so easily because Cid knows compromising information about them. Hence, Tech proposes to treat this mission as their last for Cid – which means they are going for a strike. Perhaps Tech hopes that the strike can teach Cid a lesson, and it can give the Bad Batch alternative options to earn credits like working with Phee.

It does seem that all goes well once the Bad Batch teams up with Phee – they are taking on more meaningful jobs (which involve retrieving artifacts that are mostly culturally significant to the people on Pabu), and they now have the option to stay permanently on Pabu. However, in “Tipping Point”, Tech realizes that Crosshair is being held captive by Dr. Hemlock and that Crosshair has sent Plan 88 to warn them that they have been targeted by the Empire. Tech now probably realizes the severity of the situation faced by the Bad Batch. He is probably well-prepared for the possibility that he has to carry out Plan 99 if anything goes wrong. Surprisingly, Plan 88 is called “The Seeker”, which makes me believe that this serves as an initiation for Tech to become Hermes the Seeker of Meaning. After all, Tech is now motivated to seek out Hemlock and his base in order to find Crosshair.

When the mission to Eriadu goes horribly wrong, Tech realizes that he must venture down into the Underworld (the Empire) so he can seek access to the mysteries hidden in the forbidden depths of the Empire (since the location and purpose of the Advanced Science Division led by Hemlock are hidden). With that, Tech carries out Plan 99, which is equivalent to him being initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries as he “no longer fears death”. Before Heracles descended into the Underworld to capture Cerberus as his twelfth and final labour, he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries to ensure that he would be able to safely return. He was also accompanied by Hermes and Athena on his journey. Since Tech is innately Hades, he is no stranger to the depths of the Underworld. Moreover, his Hermes and Athena archetypes are powerful enough to act as his guides to the Underworld. With that, it is highly possible that Tech survives the fall as he undergoes a full spiritual evolution, and he would return wiser than ever in Season 3.

4. The Abduction of Persephone: Hecate, Helios and Hermes

In the Greek myth, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades with the approval given by her father Zeus. Her mother Demeter heard echoes of her cries and rushed to find her. Demeter spent 9 days and 9 nights searching for Persephone across the earth (Coincidentally, 9 days and 9 nights can sound like 99 – Clone Force 99, Plan 99). At dawn on the tenth day, Demeter met Hecate, the Goddess of the Dark Moon, Crossroads, Witchcraft and Ghosts. Hecate told Demeter that she had heard Persephone screaming for help but did not know what happened to her. She suggested that they both go to Helios, the God of the Sun who shared this title with Apollo. Helios, who had witnessed the incident, told Demeter what had happened. Feeling betrayed and grief-stricken, Demeter ceased functioning as the Goddess of Grain, plunging the earth into an eternal winter that threatened to wipe out the human race. No gifts or honours could appease Demeter as she made it clear that she would not allow anything to grow until Persephone was returned to her. Zeus finally gave in and sent Hermes to bring Persephone out of the Underworld and restored her to Demeter. After the mother and daughter reunited, Demeter restored fertility and growth to the earth.

At the end of “Metamorphosis”, Lama Su (Zeus) tells Dr. Hemlock (Hades) that he needs to capture Omega (Persephone) if he wants to control Nala Se (Demeter – though not as strong as Hunter) and force her to carry out a project for the Empire. At the end of “Plan 99”, Hemlock successfully kidnaps Omega, and Hunter (Demeter) is too late to stop him. Despite not knowing where Omega is taken to, Hunter is determined to get her back and he will not stop searching for her. Since the trailers show Omega’s hair has grown longer to resemble Emerie’s hairstyle, and that Hunter’s hair has also grown slightly longer, this means that Hunter has sent months searching for Omega. His armour becoming more worn out with colours fading away indicates that he has not stopped to rest in his frantic search for he does not want Omega to wait for another day – like Demeter did not eat, sleep or bathe as she searched for Persephone.

In the Celebration Europe trailer, Rex tells Hunter “That kid (referring to Omega) may be the key to whatever is happening on Mount Tantiss”. I believe this scene is from “A Different Approach”. We know that anything about Mount Tantiss and its experiments are confidential. When the ships heading to Mount Tantiss encounter problems such as extensive damage of the ship or hijacking, the Imperials will erase the databanks to prevent anyone from discovering the destination and the purposes of the experiments. The Imperials will also commit suicide, taking all confidential information to their graves. The databanks are also heavily encrypted, which provides extra protection for anyone who manages to retrieve them before deletion.

Based on Rex’s sentence, it seems that someone has provided him the information about Mount Tantiss and the experiments being conducted there. However, Rex only suspects that Omega may be related to the experiments on Mount Tantiss – which means they are still uncertain about her precise location (even though the audience knows that she is there). So, who could have sent such confidential information to Rex? I do not think it is Scorch or Emerie because if it was either one of them, they would have confirmed that Omega is on Mount Tantiss. Perhaps it could be one of the undercover clones working for Rex’s resistance network? It is possible, but any information about the Advanced Science Division (Hemlock, Mount Tantiss, cloning experiments, clone prisoners) are heavily encrypted and Hemlock is certain that nobody can break through these safeguards. However, there is one person proven to have the capability to do so – Tech.

I believe that Tech would take on the roles of Hecate, Helios and Hermes. As the Goddess and Protector of the entranceways, Hecate was worshipped in ancient Athens as a protector of the household, alongside Zeus, Hestia, Hermes and Apollo. In Hesiod’s Theogony, she was depicted as a goddess of great honour with domains in sky, earth and sea. By the fifth century BCE, she has taken on a darker depiction as the Goddess of Witchcraft, Ghosts and the Dark Moon. Some sources represented her as the guardian of the gates to the Underworld, or as the keeper of keys to the Underworld. As the Goddess of the Crossroads, she took the form of a triple-goddess or a triple-faced goddess. Due to her association with being ‘between’, she is depicted as a “liminal” goddess that has the ability to cross from the Underworld to the physical world with ease. She also acted as a mediator between the Olympians and Titans, and between the mortals and the divine. Her liminal role is reflected in a number of her cult titles: Apotropaia (that turns away or protects); Enodia (on the way); Propulaia/Propylaia (before the gate); Triodia/Trioditis (who frequents crossroads); Klêidouchos (holding the keys).

Tech may have taken the role of Hecate when he finds out that Crosshair is being held captive by Hemlock but he does not know where Crosshair is. This sends him on a journey to find him. It is possible that Tech would have come to know that Omega has been kidnapped by Hemlock. This would push him further to locate them. Like Hecate, Tech would stand on the crossroads between the Empire, the pirates and smugglers, and Rex’s resistance network. He would sneak into the Empire (the Underworld) to find any information regarding Hemlock and the Advanced Science Division, and then he would send that information to Rex, who would later inform Hunter about it. I believe that Tech found out information regarding Mount Tantiss and the cloning experiments being carried out there. He would have related this information to the Bad Batch’s discovery of a downed ship in “Metamorphosis”, in which the ship contained Kaminoan technology and a cloned Zillo Beast, which was later captured by the Empire. This discovery led Tech to theorize that the Empire destroyed the cities of Kamino to take control of its cloning technology for nefarious purposes. With that in mind, Tech would suspect that Hemlock is associated with these cloning experiments on Mount Tantiss, and that Crosshair and Omega are being held captive there. This information would give Hunter, Wrecker and Echo a different approach to find Crosshair and Omega.

Of course, suspicion would not be enough for Tech. He would need confirmation that Crosshair and Omega are on Mount Tantiss. He would also need the layout and floor plan of Mount Tantiss so he could precisely locate where Crosshair and Omega would be held captive. By studying the security measures of Mount Tantiss, Tech would be able to find the best infiltration point, devise the best method of escaping, and prepare for any traps that could hinder the rescue mission like the poisonous gas created by Hemlock in “Tipping Point”. He might gain this information through confidential databases or through a secret communication with Emerie and/or Scorch (though Emerie might be more likely). I believe “The Return” is when Tech reveals to the Bad Batch that he is alive. This time, Tech would take on the role of Helios as he could definitely confirm that Crosshair and Omega are on Mount Tantiss. He would provide the layout and floor plan of Mount Tantiss, allowing Hunter, Wrecker and Echo to plan out a rescue mission. I believe that “Infiltration” and “Extraction” would be the rescue mission, and Tech would take on the role of Hermes, or more specifically, as the guide of souls and the rescuer of the child. Tech would lead Hunter, Wrecker and Echo to infiltrate Mount Tantiss, and they would successfully rescue Crosshair and Omega.

When I analyse the Bad Batch arc in the Clone Wars, I discover that Tech has taken on the roles of Hecate, Helios and Hermes. In “The Bad Batch”, the Bad Batch, Rex and Jesse manage to infiltrate the Cyber Center on Anaxes, which the Separatists are using it to receive Rex’s battle strategy algorithm to predict the Republic’s tactics. When Tech hacks into the computer system, he discovers that the algorithm is not stored inside the center’s memory banks. Instead, the algorithm is being broadcasted from another planet called Skako Minor. This discovery is shocking to both Tech and Rex. Right here, Tech has taken on the role of Hecate as he is now at the crossroads between Anaxes and Skako Minor, and he is providing Rex a different approach to stop the Separatists from winning. Tech then takes on the role of Helios as he digs deeper and finds an audio signal that sounds like a human voice. Under Rex’s request, Tech sends a transmission requesting the person’s identity, which turns out to be “CT-1409” – Echo’s identification number. Tech also drops the voice’s masking so they can clearly hear that it is the voice of a clone trooper.

In “A Distant Echo” and “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Tech takes on the role of Hermes. As the guide of souls, Tech brings the Bad Batch, Rex and Anakin to Skako Minor, which serves as the Underworld to Echo (and Rex). He flies into a storm but manages to safely land on the planet’s surface. When Anakin is captured by a keeradak, Tech gives the coordinates so Crosshair can shoot a grappling hook at the flying reptile, which allows Hunter to use it to track down Anakin. After rescuing Anakin from the Poletecs, Tech becomes the translator (or Hermes the god of speech) that helps the team and the Poletecs to understand each other. When Tech loses Echo’s signal, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Anakin begin to fear that Echo is actually dead and the Separatists are using him to lure them into a trap. However, Tech does not believe in that, and neither does Rex. This can be interpreted as Tech helping Rex to hold onto hope. After Tech and Rex manage to find Echo in a stasis chamber, Tech uses his expertise to safely disconnect Echo from the computer. Then, as droids begin to surround Anakin and the clones on a long narrow pipe, Tech uses a recording to summon several keeradaks, allowing all of them to escape using an alternate route. Thanks to his powerful Hermes archetype, Tech ensures that the rescue mission will be a success. As Hermes the rescuer of the child, he plays a vital role on rescuing Echo, who has the Persephone anima. I believe that he would do it again for Omega and Crosshair.

5. Tech vs Hemlock

Tech and Hemlock share the same archetype combination, but they take on different sides. Tech is the good Hades as he is willing to share his inner riches to others (as Hades the Plouton) and he is able to understand and respect other people’s decisions and subjective values (as Hades the Good Counsellor). Hemlock is the evil Hades as he takes on the archetype of the abductor and the shadow of the father archetype (or the Shadow of Zeus). The Empire and Palpatine, with all their might, power and control, represent Zeus. Imperials like Tarkin and Hemlock take on the Zeus archetype as they are prominent figures of the Empire (even having a meeting on the Summit, which is where Zeus resides on his throne). The Empire announces that the clone troopers will be sent for retirement, but they are acting out a terrible secret in the shadows. Hemlock represents the Shadow as he is the one requesting the Empire to send him dissident clone troopers for his inhumane experiments as he believes that eliminating them will not root out the problem of rogue clones within the Empire. Hemlock is abducting these clone troopers into Mount Tantiss, which is the Underworld. He even abducts Omega, who is innately Persephone, so he can force Nala Se to carry out an important project for the Empire. He even threatens to torture Omega for Nala Se’s defiance and failures.

Tech is the good Hermes as he is the guide of souls, the seeker of meaning, and the rescuer of the child. On the other hand, Hemlock is the sociopathic Hermes as he takes on the negative side of the trickster. This is evident when Hemlock pretends to be Hermes the rescuer of the child as he tells Omega that he is here to return her to Nala Se (like Hermes restoring Persephone to her mother Demeter). Although he is right to some extent, Omega does not want to go back to Nala Se because she does not want to be separated from her brothers, and she does not want to be turned into an experiment by the Kaminoans. Hemlock is aware of her resistance, so he resorts to kidnap her. Hemlock does restore Omega to Nala Se, but he actually traps both of them in the Underworld, preventing them from escaping and forcing them to do whatever he wants from them.

In the trailers, we see Hemlock walking beside Palpatine as he commences a project for Nala Se. It does seem that Hemlock has become Palpatine’s right-hand man, making him Athena the archetype of “the father’s daughter”. He upholds all of Palpatine’s commands no matter how horrible they are. Tech has this Athena archetype on him as he is loyal to Hunter, but he also has a tendency to deviate from Hunter’s orders when he thinks it is necessary. Besides, Hunter being a good leader also influences Tech to take on more positive traits of Athena.

Hemlock seems to know how to psychologically break the Bad Batch: he tortures Crosshair with an interrogation droid; he throws Tech’s broken goggles to Hunter and points out his failed leadership; he imprisons, restrains and tortures Omega until she starts to lose hope. Since Tech and Hemlock represent the opposite sides of their archetypes (good vs evil), I feel that Tech is the best candidate to take down Hemlock.

6. Tech’s wrath

I have seen headcanons describing Tech’s wrath as the scariest, and I agree. Although Tech is calm and collected, there are times we can see Tech holding back his anger and frustration. His exceptional mind is one factor why you should never hurt Tech or his loved ones, but I believe there is another factor – his Hades archetype.

In one Greek myth, Theseus and Pirithous both wanted to marry a daughter of Zeus. Theseus chose Helen of Troy while Pirithous chose Persephone (despite she was already married to Hades). They both enter the Underworld and become trapped there. One version of the myth stated that they sat on the rocks and snakes coiled around their legs, which turned their bottoms and legs into stone. Another version stated that Hades had prepared a feast and invited them to sit, and they unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were ensnared by chains or snakes. Heracles later encountered them when he was on a quest to capture Cerberus. Heracles managed to release Theseus, though some of his thigh and bottom are left attached to the rock or chair. However, the earth shook when Heracles tried to free Pirithous, serving as a sign that he was doomed to stay behind because his desire to have the goddess for himself was extremely insulting. Taking this myth as reference, I feel that Tech would psychologically torture anyone who dares to hurt him or his loved ones – giving them trauma and possibly ruining their entire lives.

We know that Tech is very protective of his loved ones. In “Aftermath”, when a clone shock trooper whacks Hunter in the stomach with a blaster, Wrecker and Tech are angry and ready to square off with the shock trooper. I believe that Tech loses his cool when he is unable to prevent a regular clone trooper from knocking Echo out with a tray. He may have become violent, causing Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Omega to stop the food fight, restrain Tech, and bring the unconscious Echo to the medbay. I do believe that the Bad Batch knows that it is the end of the world when Tech loses his temper.

I believe that Tech would play a vital role in rescuing Crosshair and Omega from Mount Tantiss. I suspect that this would happen in the mid-season 3 episodes, which are “Infiltration” and “Extraction”. This rescue mission could be interpreted as Tech’s wrath was upon Hemlock. Once the Empire realized that the Bad Batch managed to infiltrate Mount Tantiss and break out two clone prisoners, this would indicate that the security and confidentiality of the Weyland facility had been severely compromised. Hemlock would lose his job, high status, respect and reputation. He would also lose funding and support for his experiments. If Emerie Karr did secretly help Omega and Crosshair to escape, it would rub salt into Hemlock’s wound because she was his assistant and he trusted her. This rescue mission would ruin Hemlock’s life forever, stripping away his purpose and meaning in his life – as if Tech had dragged him into the Underworld and chained him there as punishment.

7. Tech already knew Plan 99 has to happen

This is my theory of what happened to Tech: he uses Plan 99 to fake his death and uses Hemlock’s overconfidence to his advantage.

As the Messenger God, Hermes can travel across the sky, earth and the Underworld with ease. As an archetype, he helps a person to be aware of the past, present and future (the sky is associated with the present and future; the earth is associated with the past and present; the Underworld is timeless). Since Tech has a strong Hermes, he is able to make connections with the past and present to predict the future, which makes him an excellent strategist.

In “Tipping Point”, Echo seeks Tech’s help in decrypting data from a file aboard an Imperial ship carrying clone prisoners. After Tech manages to decrypt the data, he discovers that the Imperial ship was assigned to the Advanced Science Division, but there are no records of its location and purpose. He also discovers that the Advanced Science Division is headed by Dr. Hemlock, who has been expelled from the Republic Science Corps for his unauthorized and unorthodox experiments. Although Tech does not understand why clone prisoners are sent to Hemlock, but he is shocked to find that Crosshair is one of them, which indicates that Crosshair has turned against the Empire. Tech also checks all comm channels and finds a recent distress signal from Crosshair’s old code, which states “Plan 88 – the Seeker”. Tech believes that Crosshair is warning the Bad Batch that they have been targeted by the Empire, or more specifically, Hemlock.

Since clone prisoners are being sent to Hemlock, Tech probably believes that the Advanced Science Division is carrying out cloning experiments like cloning the Zillo Beast as they have discovered it in “Metamorphosis”. The Empire is now replacing Clone Troopers with Stormtroopers, so why would Hemlock need clones for? Tech would suspect that it has something to do with Clone X, a clone trooper with his identifying markings removed and is brainwashed to become an assassin. If that is the case, why would Hemlock be targeting the Bad Batch? Tech would suspect that Hemlock is after Omega because she has the unaltered genetic template of Jango Fett, which is why a bounty is placed on her head in Season 1. He may think that Hemlock wants the genetic template for his cloning experiments.

Moreover, previous records of clone prisoners reveal that Crosshair has been sent to Hemlock a few rotations ago. Then, the Plan 88 signal is sent recently, possibly from Hemlock’s base. Tech would suspect that Crosshair has heard that Hemlock is after the Bad Batch (especially Omega) and he manages to send them a warning. This would mean that their attempts to lay low have been futile. It is possible that their missions to Serenno, Coruscant and the downed ship with the Zillo Beast have caught the Empire’s attention. To make matters worse, they have left AZI with Cid, and AZI is a Kaminoan medical droid, which will attract Hemlock’s attention. Since they have crossed Cid by refusing to work for her, it is only a matter of time before she sells them out to Hemlock. It would be dangerous for them to step foot on Ord Mantell or to carry out any mercenary jobs because the Empire is now after them.

Since Hemlock is a high ranked Imperial, his base of operations would have tight security, and Tech may find it surprising that Crosshair managed to send the Plan 88 signal to them. Tech probably begins to wonder if Crosshair’s actions would serve as proof to Hemlock that the Bad Batch is alive, and he is now waiting for them to come and rescue Crosshair. This would serve as a trap as Hunter has suspected. Although Tech is determined to rescue Crosshair, they would have to do it in secret. Echo reports that Hemlock will be on Eriadu, and they can plant a tracking device on his shuttle so they can locate his base and Crosshair. It is a risky plan, especially with the knowledge that the Empire is targeting them, so everything must go smoothly. At this moment, Tech is probably preparing for the worst-case scenario. If the plan goes wrong, their position would be compromised, and Hemlock would suspect that they are involved in this because they have received Crosshair’s distress signal. Hemlock would have known about Clone Force 99 by now, and he would tighten all security measures, which would make it more difficult for them to locate and rescue Crosshair. Furthermore, a failed mission may result in all of them getting captured by the Empire, which is not an ideal outcome. With that, Tech is well-prepared to carry out Plan 99 if the mission goes wrong.

Surely enough, the mission does go wrong and Tech carries out Plan 99. Being the smartest one in the team, he would find a way to survive the fall. He also left his broken goggles at the wreckage to make Hemlock assume that he is dead and the Bad Batch did come back to retrieve his body (but they forgot the goggles). After all, clones do not leave their own kind behind. As the cable car speeds up and carries Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Omega away, Tech probably would have predicted that Omega would get injured because she is not wearing any armour. This would prompt the team to bring her to Ord Mantell because AZI would know how to save her life. They would not have the time to search for Tech. Besides, with Hunter’s pessimism, he would assume that Tech did not make it, and as the leader, he would convince others that Tech is dead.

Now that the team is back in Ord Mantell, Tech would have predicted Cid’s betrayal. He also would have predicted Omega being kidnapped by Hemlock, which would force Hunter to join Rex’s resistance network for he needs all their help to rescue her. As Hemlock sees the grief on the team’s faces, he is convinced that Tech is dead. With the smartest team member ‘dead’, Hemlock thinks that he has won, and he is now unstoppable. He now has Omega, and he firmly believes that the rest of the Bad Batch will not be able to find out Mount Tantiss, where he has imprisoned her and Crosshair. After all, all data associating the Advanced Science Division is heavily encrypted and he believes that no clone can break through his security measures. This explains why he is not worried about the loss of an Imperial shuttle carrying clone prisoners and he disregards the possibility that the clones will have access to the confidential data. However, we all know that Tech is able to bypass his security measures.

It seems that Hemlock is overconfident of his abilities, and this would be his downfall. He certainly has underestimated the clones, especially on how paternal they can be. I believe that he also has underestimated Tech’s intellect. After using Plan 99 to fake his death, Tech would go on an undercover mission. He would take on a new identity and a new appearance. He would venture deep into the Imperial files as he searches for Crosshair and Omega. Once he found any information linking to them, he would deliver it to Rex, who would later inform Hunter about it. For now, all Tech needed was time and patience as he waited for Hemlock to become so overconfident that he finally slipped, allowing Tech to take advantage of it. Right now, Tech is playing a game of chess, and everyone has taken their designated positions, just as he has intended them to do. After all, he is the mastermind.

[newx-menfan]

X-Force # 5, GUYS 

*SIGH….Spoilers*

Let’s just get over, probably, THE WORST X-issue to drop during an ELECTION NIGHT…

The issue starts with Forge and Storm seeing each other for the first time since Krakoa (I DON’T think they interacted much THEN either though…)

It goes about as well as you would imagine- with Storm ATTACKING HIM…😂🤣

Apparently it’s not this 616 universe Storm, but an alternate reality Storm and apparently alternate reality Forge is a TERRIBLE father (checks out considering the X-Men’s record of abandoning kids…) 

Surge stumbles on Storm and Forge and tells him to “seal the fracture”, also reminding him that she’s already seen enough killing (OH Nori 😭)…

Apparently these Avengers worship the Phoenix and Rachel is able to trick them (that’s actually a cool plotline and a good usage of Rachel!)

Apparently these Avengers world was destroyed by a golden giant (Nuklo)and the giant killed their version of Man-Thing.

Nuklo wakes up and vanishes!

We find out the fractures are Nuklo’s fault- that he’s been opening portals and is planning on creating a nexus point, so all the portals stay open…

Sage determines that he’s headed to the portal in Quebec, while monsters leak out all over the world.

We learn that Nuklo is vulnerable to “electricity” (OH NORI 😭😭) but find that Nuklo has already opened the nexus…

Nori basically decides it’s up to her because Storm is incapacitated (honestly this plot point is DUMB, but whatevs…)

Sage tries to stop Noriko, but it’s too late…

Nori pointlessly dies while the portals are all still opened 

The issue ends with Sage quitting.

Review:

So you PROBABLY already know what I am going to say….

It’s pretty much THE SAME THING I said when they killed Santo and resurrected him as “Wrongslide” to “raise the stakes” in a deathless era…

I’m fine with characters dying in stories, what pisses me off is when it’s a pretty lackluster story.

If it had been KYOST killing Noriko off during the Nimrod arc… that story would have clear  weight. It would have mattered.

This just feels tacked on to create tension with Sage.

I have already talked about this being a mediocre “X-Force” run and all the characters except Forge and Sage being adequately developed.

I would forgive this if the writer had done proper build up but again, Noriko’s sacrifice feels pointless.

The problem with this isn’t JUST the death, but that this book has been pretty fucking boring 😑.

I DO think she will be resurrected…but honestly…I am only giving this book probably ONE or Two more issues…

The fact is- this has been a lackluster X-Force run, after years of X-Force being objectively terrible, and the ONLY reason I was continuing to read it was for Surge…

I don’t really care if it gets dropped and I would rather put energy into NYX than this pretty boring book.

Theories:

Hopefully Surge is brought back and she isn’t “wrongslided” (I will lose my SHIT if we get stuck with AU Surge 😒)

Really glad I didn’t buy the Surge variant cover and all the ones that I have bought have been NYX lol 😝 

Now excuse me while I read Batgirl to cleanse the pallet lol