#and COM is the successor

[beardedhandstoadshark]

Are you planning on attending any cons in the near future?

Probably not. There’s Gamescom, but as much as I like videogames, it seems to be more for people who unironically call themselves "Gamers“, and I’m not far enough into the scene to know what I‘d do at Comic-Con. There’s also this pretty big and free to enter bookcon focused on Turkish Literature, which I have been to before twice, but all the books are pretty much always just one of two genres (and 1 third of the con is for selling home utensils??) had pretty good lahmacun (Turkish pizza? Is that it’s English name too?) the last time tho. Tbh that’s all the cons I specifically know about firsthand XD

Theres also Japan Day but that’s more of a culture festival than con (even if the main attractions are the cosplay contest and anime shopping street). Missed the first half that had all the actual events when I was there last year, so if anything I‘d go there again.

[dragondawdles]

drawing like it's 2009

[thegirlking]

Thinking about Gil's relationship with Oswald and it's making me sad, particularly looking at their interactions during Gil's childhood pre-Tragedy... Because I do think that Oswald cared for Gil and was trying to be a decent father/mentor figure to him, but I also feel like maintaining a healthy familial or master-servant relationship was not fully possible in the Glen succession system as it was in the past, aka based around continuing a cruel cycle and imposing harmful beliefs.

No matter how much Oswald cared or was doing his best, as long as the status quo of the Baskervilles remained unchanged, his relationship with Gil would have never been able to stay purely healthy once Gil grew up and began to realize what is expected of him as Oswald's successor, particularly regarding his brother's fate.

And when you look at the events of the actual, present-day story, where their relationship does become pretty toxic and Oswald does end up hurting Gil...it's a bit complicated, because obviously, Oswald's actions come following extreme, tragic circumstances and he had lost himself for a while on his quest to change the past, so that behavior is not necessarily reflective of his real character - and I'm absolutely not arguing that he's some kind of a monster...but that's the point, he doesn't need to be a horrible person and a monster in order to continue a harmful cycle and cause damage.

Because even with extraordinary circumstances at hand, even taking into account Oswald's (mostly) sympathetic motives and qualities, the fact remains that he was quite willing to use and control Gil for his goals (not to mention he was doing all that by actively controlling Leo's body) - and I'd argue this is all very much rooted in ideas and values that had been passed down to Oswald through the Baskerville cycle (where "duty" comes first, even at the cost of sacrificing your own family) and is definitely telling of the kind of inherently toxic and exploitative power dynamic (that could very easily escalate into control and abuse) that existed within the Glen succession system.

Which is also why it's such a great and important moment for Gil when he disobeys Oswald and chooses Oz as his master - while Oz and Gil's relationship wasn't necessarily without some issues from time to time, it was most certainly not based around a violent cycle and was ultimately defined by mutual friendship, respect and a loyalty that came from Gil's own free will. Something that could have never been fully possible with him and Oswald no matter how much they might have genuinely cared for each other.

[brucewaynehater101]

Red Robin AU: Maximum Angst

Tim left to go save Bruce. It didn't matter that no one believed him. It didn't matter that his loved ones, people he trusted, tried to stop him. It didn't matter that everyone wrote his theories off as some sort of mental breakdown and grief stage denial. None of that mattered.

Tim was right, and he was going to prove it.

Two years after Tim left, Dick gets a phone call. It's from Superman.

During a JL mission, some villain gets away from a large JL team up by mentioning one fact: Bruce died in the timestream waiting for someone to save him. He had left clues, as many as he could given his circumstances, of his continued existence and predicament.

Dick, with the help of Damian and some of the JL, leaves Gotham to gather the evidence. Even after two years, art curators and museums are weirdly tense when he brings up the exact piece he wants to see.

A few months of carefully collecting his dad's last momentos occur before Dick has the realization: Tim was right.

Oh gods, Tim!

He can't believe, with all the responsibilities he had to juggle, that he just forgot about Tim!

This cues another frantic search as Dick retraces all of Tim's steps. The man allows himself a little laugh when he realizes that Alvin Draper is wanted for being an art thief.

Despite the sloppily covered trails, Dick finds himself at a dead end. The last location Tim might have gone to is in the middle of a desert. When Dick arrives at the spot, an LoA assassin is waiting for him.

Batman is glad that he's dressed in his uniform, he's glad that Damian didn't accompany him, and Dick prepares for the attack.

The assassin regards him neutrally.

The vigilante lowers his fists, but he's still tense in preparation. The assassin rolls their eyes and holds their hand out.

There's a com.

"What's that for?" Batman growls out.

Another eye roll from the assassin as they sigh. "Ra's knows you're looking for Timothy Drake-Wayne."

Hesitantly, the retired acrobat plucks up the com. After placing it in his ear, a smug voice greets him.

The Demon's Head cordially invites Batman to dinner.

Great.

Dick, wanting to find out where his brother is, has no choice but to follow the assassin to what's most definitely a trap.

Later, when Dick is haunted by the memories he desperately combs to liberate himself from his guilt, he'll darkly chuckle as he longs for it to have been a trap.

When the doors swing open to reveal Ra's al Ghul lounging at the head of the table, a feast is laid out before the young man. He forces himself to sit at the opposite end and listen to Ra's prattle on and on about how extraordinary Tim is. How the young outcast knew his father was alive. How he had to resort to taking Ra's hand in order to finish his quest.

As the evening is winding down, Dick had only spoken a handful of sentences. Ra's swirls a wine glass and gazes wistfully into its crimson hue.

"It's a shame, Richard, that it took you twenty-six months to scour for information about Timothy. I'm sure the realization of such would bring him despair."

There's a pause as the Detective's successor runs mental calculations. It has been thirty months since Tim left Gotham.

Emerald eyes, not too dissimilar to the shade of green Dick's son owns, bear down on a man too small for Batman's mantle.

"He died knowing his death would kill his father. It's a shame we lost them both that day."

[ppeonppeonhan]

So My Stand-In just ended, and We Are & Wandee Goodday end next week. We still got Knock Knock, Boys!, My Love Mix-Up!, The Rebound, Love Sea, and SunsetxVibes for a while, but...

4 Minutes (Action | Drama | Sci-Fi)

It took Bible almost 2 years to crawl out of that Build fiasco, and the fandom is primed to see him again with all of the ominous and sultry clips of the series they've been teasing us with.

Obviously, it looks promising 👀 but I'm most excited to see him in action again, and to explore another supernatural Thai drama -- this time about precognition (aka seeing the future). It'll be even more interesting to explore what it's like to be in a relationship when you BOTH have that ability. Does it prevent missteps or prove they're inevitable? We'll also get to see if Sammon, co-writer of the haunting Dead Friend Forever, will haunt us with every project.

Battle of the Writers (Rom Com)

Tutor and Yim of Middleman's Love are joined by not one, but FIVE other couples in this adaptation of a Chinese webtoon where one of them is accused of plagiarizing the other. I love a love-hate dynamic, but I can't imagine Yim resisting Tutor for long, so we'll see.

Century of Love (Action | Drama | Romance | Supernatural)

Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl. Girl dies. Boy uses magic stone to stay alive and agrees to die a tragic death if he doesn't find his reincarnated girl after 100 years. The Gods said "Ally!", sent her ass back as a boy the last year of that century, as if to say: "Oh, are you really in love? Prove it!" Boy, understandably, doesn't recognize girl. Suspense and tension ensue.

Really enjoying how the supernatural genre is slowly becoming as prominent as the high school / college romance settings. Please give me more of The Sign. But I'm, honestly, not really a fan of the actor Daou, which made it hard to endure their last series together, Love in Translation. Mostly in it for cheeky and adorable Offroad -- and the plot, obviously.

This Love Doesn’t Have Long Beans (Rom Com)

So what I gather from the trailer is that a douchey rich guy hires a model to seduce a chef into making him his successor. Fuzzy on the why, but am far more interested in how that rich guy seduces the model's very aggressive bestie. Double the love-hate. Double the fun.

The Pit Babe writers wasted NO time capitalizing on the success of their series, and their pairings. Not only is this an answer to the Jeff and Alan fandom's pleas for more, it's also a response to the ghost ship of Kim and Kenta. We've never felt so seen. Also, I'm loving Thailand's Chef era.

The Trainee (Comedy | Drama | Romance)

A production intern slowly realizes the assistant director that everybody fears is low-key kindhearted -- and a whole ass snack. PAPI!!!

Love me some OffGun. Cooking Crush was meh but I have high hopes for this one. Per uje, their chemistry is immaculate.

DATE: Mid-July 2024

[definitely-not-karen]

Wish list of what I wanna see in the next transformers cartoon vaguely organized by how realistic it is to happen from hey they could do that to, no they wouldn’t do that.

Have a more character focused transformers show. Maybe a bit less action and a bit more character development?

A show with a continued narrative, I don’t really want an episodic series.

But if it is episodic, at least let it have a good status quo to build off of and return to each episode.

I wanna see Jazz, Prowl, Ratchet, Rodimus/Hot Rod, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Bluestreak, Hound.

I’d like it to be post war.

I’d like Megatron to either be morally ambiguous or good aligned again.

I like when the quintessons are the villains rather than it just being Decepticons vs Autobots

If it is Decepticons vs Autobots, I’d like some interesting things, like Autobots turning into Decepticons and vice versa.

If Decepticons are the evil ones, I’d like to see more of a, Autobots are the resistance rather than the Autobots are good but were corrupt so Decepticons rebelled but oh no they go too far so they’re evil no and Autobots good. Like I get it, it allows for interesting stuff when Decepticons as a movement has been corrupted but I just feel like I haven’t seen that really been utilized that well.

Here’s where my wish list gets unrealistic.

Finish off transformers animated.

Adapt transformers lost light somehow.

Have Rodimus Prime be the main character, maybe even start with Optimus already dead and follow his growth as a young leader, like riff off of G1 but instead of making Hot Rod go from rambunctious kid to burnt out adult immediately, have him keep his youthfulness.

A Swerve’s sit com.

Follow a Decepticon main character. Maybe on their journey of realizing the movement they’re in is corrupt?

Do something new with Transformers rescue bots somehow? Like a completely different continuity disconnected from it but like a spiritual successor.

Just a transformers show that doesn’t have them at war. Like they can fight or whatever but just, does it have to be world ending stakes all the time?

Adapt a Thundercracker redemption to movie director arc.

Bring back combiners so they release a toy line of combiners and I can finally get a First Aid toy.

A 2d animated transformers show. I’m a bit tired of boring backgrounds of the reused assets of the 3D shows.

A proper transformers queer romance. But also I’m not adverse to them all being aromantic.

I thought I’d have more on this wish list but even then this is a lot. Anyways. Make a wish.

[florizzia]

FLORIZZIA apresenta: Liu Qingge e os discípulos de Qing Jing. [FLORIZZIA presents: Liu Qingge and the Qing Jing's disciples.] - Part. III

Shen Qingqiu - COMO ASSIM VOCÊ PERDEU A MINHA SUCESSORA E MEU DISCÍPULO CHEFE EM UM NINHO DE SUCCUBUS?! [HOW COME YOU LOST MY SUCCESSOR AND HEAD DISCIPLES IN A SUCCUBUS NEST?!]

Liu Qingge - NÃO FOI MINHA CULPA, ELES ESTAVAM LÁ E QUANDO ME VIREI JÁ NÃO ESTAVAM MAIS!! [IT WASN'T MY FAULT, THEY WERE THERE AND WHEN I TURNED AROUND THEY WERE NO LONGER!!]

Shen Qingqiu - E VOCÊ SIMPLESMENTE DEIXOU ELES LÁ?!!!! [AND YOU JUST LEFT THEM THERE?!!!!]

Liu Qingge - OBVIAMENTE NÃO! EU SÓ VIM TE BUSCAR PORQUE VOCÊ LIDA MELHOR COM AS MULHERES! [OBVIOUSLY NOT! I ONLY CAME TO GET YOU BECAUSE YOU DEAL WITH WOMEN BETTER!]

Shen Qingqiu - SEU BRUTO SEM CÉREBRO!!! Céus, eles devem estar tão assustados, sozinhos, machucados... [YOU BRAINLESS BRUTE!!! Heavens, they must be so scared, alone, hurt...]

Luo Binghe - Shizun, por favor, acalme-se... 😰 [Shizun, please calm down... 😰]

She Qingqiu - NÃO ME DIGA PARA FICAR CALMO! EU ESTOU COMPLETAMENTE CALMO- [DON'T TELL ME TO BE CALM! I AM COMPLETELY CALM-]

•{Enquanto isso...[Meanwhile...]}•

Ming Fan - [...] E é por isso que eu implicava com ele. [[...] And that's why I picked on him.]

Succubus #1 - Cara... Bullies to Lovers é um péssimo plot, garoto. [Man... Bullies to Lovers is a terrible plot, kid.]

Su Qiao - Foi o que eu disse! Mas ninguém me escuta naquela seita!! [That's what I said! But no one listens to me in that sect!!]

Ming Fan - Oh, e quem é você para falar do meu plot de relacionamento?! Hein, senhorita "poligamia com falha de comunicação" e "maluco obsessor"?! [Oh, and who are you to talk about my relationship plot?! Huh, Miss "polygamy with miscommunication" and "crazy obsessor"?!]

Succubus #2 - Agora, isso sim é um tópico quente. [Now, that's a hot topic.]

Succubus #3 - Meh, não gosto muito do plot de falha de comunicação. [Meh, I don't really like the miscommunication plot.]

Succubus #1 - Espera, volta na parte do obsessor- [Wait, go back to the obsessor part-]

[lovelystickymilkshake]

So.

I have more ideas.

Quick background knowledge:

Dick is 13 at the start,

Jason is 12 at the start,

Tim would be 11 at the start,

Damian would be 7 at the start,

Wallace is 13 at the start,

And Roy is 15 at the start.

People in YJ are the same age as the people they would normally be the same age as.

E.x.:

If Roy was the sams age as Kaldur in YJ when both are like 19, then when Roy's 15 Kaldur is also 15.

What if:

Jason is only a year younger than Dick, and Dick finds him before Batman does when he's stealing the tires off of the Batmobile (proudly dubbed the Batmobile by Dick.)

He asks future-zombie-boy whether or not he would like to become his successor.

Kid-who-will-die-because-of-this-decision agrees.

Bruce is against this, but is convinced by Dick's puppy-eyes.

About a year later, when Jason is hanging out with Dick, Wallace, and Roy, He asks Roy if his older brother and Wally have a crush on eachother.

He says it with innocent intentions, but he forgot to whisper, so the others' conversation stops immediately.

Dick, because he's (ironically) an asshole, asks Jason why he thinks that Wally has a crush on Dick.

Jason proceeds to correctly point out all of the behaviors that Wally only exhibits when with Dick.

For example:

He points out how Wally will space out into Dick's eyes as if he could see through his mask, follows him around like a lost puppy who was given food, exclusively uses the princess carry when carrying Dick, e.t.c.

Roy is currently dying (heh) laughing on the floor while Dick and Wally blush as Wally struggles to make a defence.

Dick, who was not expecting anything that accurate, begins to wonder if he was hallucinating.

Wally brushes it off, (definitely very smoothly.)

Wally asks Jason why he thinks that Dick has a crush on Wally.

Because revenge and all that ✨️Razzle-dazzle✨️

Dick, who actually learned from Wally's experience, quickly clamps Jason's mouth shut.

The first Robin was being Robin, and Y'know, chilling.

He had established the YJ team a few months ago, already extremely close

But suddenly, he's kidnapped by the Joker!

(*gasp!*)

The Joker sells him to the Court of Owls and he becomes an 'emotionless' soldier.

Back at the Batcave, everyone is worried.

Batsy had called everyone he knew in the superhero community to the batcave via the zeta-tubes and blindfolds.

This concerned the other heroes, as the batcave was famously impenetrable to all those he didn't trust, and he sure as hell wouldn't trust them like this in any other circumstances.

He explains the situation, and asks them all for help.

The Boy Wonder was well-liked by all the heroes in the room at the very least, and they all agreed to help.

It was when the Batman unwrapped his cloak that they acquired another fact.

The fact that Kid Flash, the sidekick who was commonly seen wearing a smile, was sobbing uncontrollably into the Big Bat's chest while on his lap.

And somehow more surprising, Batman was allowing it, even comforting him like a concerned parent.

Supes hear Batman whispering both to the small child he's comforting and also in a com-link.

Superman gestured to Martian Manhunter to establish a mindlink, and revealed to the others that the rumors about how Batman was heartless were unrealistic.

He relayed everything Bruce was saying, the sentence standing out the most being:

"See Kid, they'll help find him. It'll be alright."

Barry rushes in with no blindfold and scoops up his nephew.

Not that anyone else noticed at the time how he knew where the batcave was beforehand.

Unfortunately, the tracker that had been hooked up to Dick's heartbeat... stopped.

Despite this, the search continued. Partly because they were desperate, mostly because Dick G(r)ayson (that auto-corrected to arson-) was too much trouble to be killed in one go.

While looking for his beloved older brother in spirit, Jason becomes Robin and is killed by the Joker when he's 13.

This greatly affects KF, who had sworn to himself to protect Jason after his supposedly deceased bestfriend had gone missing.

As part of the deal he mentioned to Jason, he visits Jason's grave and swears to confess to Dick if he ever found him again.

Regardless of their efforts, Dick is not found until a year later, a bit after Jason is resurrected.

When Jason was resurrected, he is sneaking about the halls when he is stopped by a strangely familiar Talon.

When the Talon wraps his wings around him, he figures that he has been caught and will be tortured for sneaking out.

However, he hears from outside of the feathery cocoon, a talon guard passing by, who asks the familiar Talon if he has seen "Thalia's new toy."

The familiar Talon apparently shook his head, as Jason heard the Guard's footsteps descending down the hall.

He is rushed out of the halls and into what seems to be a larger than normal solitary confinement room.

When he is released from the Talon's wings, he sees a... nest(?) in the corner of the room.

He has not escaped the Talon's clutches yet however, as he is lightly picked up as if he weighed nothing and carried off to the nest-like-bed in the corner.

The Talon plops him down in front of him and starts to detangle Jason's hair, clicking his tongue when undoing the tougher knots.

Jason just sort of sits there, eyes wide as he recalls his missing older brother doing the same thing before he was kidnapped.

Jay slowly turns around and sits criss-cross

(-That's such a funny name for it-)

And gently takes off the Talon's mask.

He gasps as the newly-found Dick Grayson merely chirps inquizitively

(I dunno if that's a word-)

And continues brushing his little brother's hair.

'The Gray Son" is unsure of why he felt the need to protect smol child (as he had dubbed him in his head,) but he decided to trust his instincts.

And his instincts were telling him that he belonged in a home far away from here.

Maybe the fact that the black dye in Smol Child's hair had been scrapped off from the knots had helped him realize that fact.

Maybe the fact that his frozen heart had thumped one beat when he had a sudden flashback to being held in some redhead's arms had helped him realize that he needed to get Smol Child and himself out of here.

Back with the other, non-brainwashed-or-killed-child heroes, they had found that the tracker connected to Dick's heartbeat worked again, even if it was just for a single second.

Kid Flash, who had been checking the moniter borderline religiously, had easily noticed it and quickly traced it.

"Batman, Flash, I found him!" He calls out excitedly.

Batsy and (Straw-)Barry rush to his side, and quickly form a team and a plan.

Back with Dickie-now-a-literal-bird and 'Smol Child' ❤️ , Dick has been trying to speak to Jason in literally every language he knows.

Sadly, the one language he forgot was English.

However, due to being forced to train and hang out with Thalia, Jason knew that both Dick and a kid named D knew Arabic.

So at the moment, Jay was trying to tell Dick that they had to kidnap an even smaller child through charades.

Dick had trouble understanding Smol Child's interperative dance, so he went to go and get the other person who he felt the need to protect.

Incidentally, this includes jumping out of a window.

Jason may have also forgotten that his sibling could fly, and thought that he couldn't save his older brother again and began crying.

(Look, it's been a tough year for 'im, alright?!)

Dick returns to one Smol Child crying while the Not-Infant was nestled in his arms asleep.

Naturally, seeing his (albeit mostly forgotten,) little bro caused the bird part and the human part of him to panic.

He swept both smaller children into his arms and covered them and himself with his wings.

That night, all slept more soundly than ever since the start of that horrid year.

To be continued if you guys want more or have suggestions?

Here we go, this story is now on wattpad, it's called "In the Talons of memory."

Continuation:

Lost.

That's what he was.

Wally West knew that, most boys liked a girl by his age.

Most wanted to have fun with said girls.

Most were normal.

And yet, here he was.

His heart never skipped a beat for a girl he wasn't related to (Of course he worried about his family,) but instead...

He thinks that he's in love.

Not thinks, knows.

He is absolutely sure that he is hopelessly and utterly in love with a certain Dick Grayson.

The problem is, he doesn't even know if Dick's alive right now.

Back with 'Smol Child' and 'Not-Infant' and Dick, Not-Infant was translating Arabic from Dick to English for Jason.

He wanted to

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: An AU where Tim was imprisoned by Black Mask for most of his adolescence, trained to be his successor. His reintroduction to Gotham - and to Gotham's vigilantes - could go a little smoother. At least enough of his morality sticks around that he can probably consider himself safe from being a supervillain. Though he isn't quite sure he qualifies for "superhero," either.

Author: @a-large-orange-cat

[txttletale]

bundletober #8: nasty, brutish, and long

welcome to bundletober, the txttletale dot tumblr dot com ttrpg blogging indulgence that absolutely everyone. is talking about? yes! today i read a slightly longer game than most of the ones i've been talking about here, because, frankly, it captivated me. nasty brutish, and long, by not writing, is a game about rebellion.

what instantly drew me into this game is that 'rebellion' isn't abstract and it doesn't happen for no reason. a lot of games like to style themselvs as being 'about rebellion' or 'about revolution', with no actual desire to engage in why revolutions happen--there's an evil empire and you're fighting it because it's evil. but nasty, brutish, and long is clearly deeply invested in questions of class and economics--part of the first session asks you to consider the economic state of the nation:

and yet another part gives you a 36-item table to roll on for an inciting incident for the revolution in question:

i love this shit--well, firstly, because i love games that give you strong plot hooks, games that tell you about their world, games that imply possibilities through options rather than grabbing your lapels and telling you what possibilities are on the table in tedious monologue. but second because this shows that the game wants to tell stories about the realities of revolution, that it is founding itself in history as more than just an aesthetic.

another really cool thing that happens before you even get out of character creation is 'backgrounds' -- as part of creating your character, you select four backgrounds (professions your character has worked), which are separated by social class (another choice you make at character creation). while you can always choose, the game encourages you to roll on yet more tables and make a story from that--i've done it a few times, and it's great fun.

for example, in the course of writing this post i created geoffrey--born a rural peasant class, he was taken in under the wing of a preacher after his family died. the preacher recognizes his potential and groomed him to be his successor--when the preacher eventually passed away, geoffrey, who'd always been a confident silvertongued lad, became his rural township's pastor. however, although he was convincing, he'd never been a true believer--so while when on a pilgrimage a merchant approached him with a simple scheme, using the legal immunity afforded to pilgrims to have him smuggle contraband into the country, he happily became a smuggler. this worked out great for a while, and saw geoffrey make a very tidy sum--but after a particularly close call he realized that he needed to get the hell out of this arrangement. with the sum of his ill-gotten gains, he travelled to a city and purchased a bookstore, becoming a middle class shop owner. he happily lived out the next few decades selling books--but at heart, he missed the fire of a sermon, having the ear of a crowd, so in his late years he passed his shop on to his son and became an elderly teacher, bringing literacy to the village of his youth.

this is exactly the kind of thing i fucking love about tabletop roleplaying games, the feeling that the game is chiming in with me as i try to tell a story, throwing me these weird curveballs i have to 'yes, and!' to create a backstory i'd never have thought of on a million years on my own. something else worth noting is that character creation is very open for a forged in the dark game -- you're unlkely to even have the same set of attributes as someone else, and you can pick backgrounds and abilities (mostly) totally independent of one another or any overarching playbook-type restriction.

the game itself diverges from blades in a lot of interesting ways. instead of blades' system of looking for the highest die, nasty, brutish, and long operates on a die pool system, which is what allows for it to add a large pile of levers for influencing rolls, including using multiple attributes for the same roll--there seems to be some OSR influence in here, with the open-endedness of the actual moment to moment gameplay and the vast amount of opportunities to use and exchange in-game resources. that said, unlike OSR stuff, there's a lot of effort being put in here to hand narrative control to players. instead of just saying 'you succeed' on a success, it says, 'the PC narrates what happens' which is a really cool spin on the usual success/mixed success/failure trifecta. players also get the ability to make up NPCs by expending resources, which is super cool.

other highlights include a take on burning wheel's drives system, a weird version of blades' resist mechanic that lets you change, rather than avert, the consequence your character faces, and a take on 'downtime' that frames it as more of a timeskip, during which years can pass. it's pretty cool stuff.

oh, and finally--the fucking style of this game is incredible. it does a lot with very little colour--a few splashes of dark red here and there is all it needs to complement its striking black and white, rich sense of texture, and

if there's one thing i don't like about nasty, brutish, and long, it's that it doesn't have any strong ideas about what the players need to be doing. the game establishes social turmoil and brewing revolution, makes a huge point of social class and class differences, but the verbs, the substance of what your player characters do, is deliberately left totally open. and that's cool for some people, some people like that openness a lot! but for me, who appreciates a tight and specific design, it doesn't do much. the tagline says its 'an game about class and revolution'--and i'm not sure i can fully agree with that. it'd be more accurate to call it a game 'containing class and revolution'. which is a step up from a lot of games that claim to be revolutionary, as i said before--but at the end of the day leaves me feeling like something's been left on the table.

still, there's a huge amount here worth checking out--even if you don't intend on playing it, it's a great look into the different directions you can take the forged in the dark framework, and a great tool for Making Up Guys. can't go wrong with making up a guy!

nasty, brutish, and long can be purchased as a digital download through itch.io

[sukimas]

considering the fact that lenin was way more outspoken in his writings about his idea of the need for terror in revolutions and pre-communist rule but really wasn’t that good at actually executing it compared to his successor we can say that he would have been right at home on tumblr dot com

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 6: CASTIGATE THE ENEMIES OF THE GODHEAD

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time we left off, we witnessed the mecha canon entering the new millennium. While they would hold out for a good portion of the decade, it is here in the 2010's we see the canon reach something of a dark age. A lot of duds will crop up in this decade, though there are also a lot of hits that arise in this era. What we will also begin to see starting in the 2010's is the advent of using CGI to animate giant robots. This stems from two major factors when it comes to animating giant robots:

Animating giant robots in 2D is hard, and thus using CGI helps to ease the load by reducing the amount of work required to animate the giant robot.

The anime industry is starting to churn through new talent due to the increase of anime being released per season now.

As I said at the end of the last post, a lot of mecha shows listed here are generally seen as duds, though a few others also stand out as some of the greats of this new era. And if you think I'm being mean to those series, I've left out two shows that are a part of this decade due to how bad they are (Gen:Lock and Ex-Arm). The shows that I say are duds in this post at least have fans who will go to bat for them when backed into a corner.

So let us partake in some of these works, shall we?

Drink deep, and descend.

Xenoblade/Xenoblade Chronicles (2011)

In 2011, Monolith Soft, now working as a Nintendo studio, would release the third part of the Xeno franchise: Xenoblade Chronicles. Easing up a little bit on the Gnosticism (but only just a little bit), Xenoblade would prove to be a slow-growing success. Finally, Takahashi and company have a series that is relatively free of the executive meddling the last two Xeno games had.

Xenoblade would receive multiple sequels over the years, including:

Xenoblade X (2015), a spiritual successor that focused more on moment-to-moment gameplay and featured giant robots as a major gameplay aspect.

Xenoblade 2 (2017) & Xenoblade 2: Torna, the Golden Country (2018), a sequel that acts as a standalone foil to the original.

Xenoblade 3 (2022) & Xenoblade 3: Future Redeemed (2023), a third sequel that ties together Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade 2 while telling its own story.

Valvrave the Liberator (2012)

Valvrave the Liberator is a 2012 mecha series from Sunrise, and the first of our major duds in the 2010's. Valvrave is best known for being an insane ride from the word go, and I think this series really captures a lot of what mecha is going through in the 2010's.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (2012)

Even Gundam can have its bad days.

2012 would see the release of Mobile Suit Gundam AGE. Started as a multimedia project in partnership with Level-5, Gundam AGE was supposed to be a 100-episode series that spans multiple generations of characters. Instead, the series was cut down to a 50-episode run.

AGE's legacy is not a good one, as it is often touted as being so bad that it almost killed Gundam. I think, especially as someone who used to think this, this line of thinking is kind of silly. Gundam at this point is damn near ubiquitous, so to say that a dud like AGE would kill it seems a bit extreme. Besides, the Unicorn OVA begins airing around this time as well, and another series would really bring Gundam back into prominence in about a year.

Pacific Rim (2013)

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, Pacific Rim is a live action sci-fi film about piloting giant robots in order to fight and kill kaiju. Made as an homage to the giant mecha anime of old, namely Neon Genesis Evangelion, Pacific Rim would prove to be a great summer action flick that was made with a lot of love and care for both mecha and kaiju films.

The same, however, cannot be said for the sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising.

Gundam Build Fighters (2013)

Gundam Build Fighters, released in 2013, is equal parts loving homage to the Gundam franchise, sports anime parody, and shameless toy commercial. Gundam Build Fighters, despite being loosely a mecha series, is worth mentioning due to the fact that it would bring attention back to the Gundam franchise once more. This is worth noting after the general failure of Gundam AGE especially since a lot of series were trying to dethrone Gundam in order to become the next big thing.

Aldnoah.Zero (2014)

And boy, did that fail spectacularly.

Aldnoah.Zero also released in 2013. Billed as a series that would rival Gundam in terms of popularity, Aldnoah.Zero would start off strong. The problems with the series would arise in season 2, where, if I understand things correctly, things just kind of happen with little to no justification.

I do apologize to the fans of this series if what I have to say is harsh. I think a lot of that stems from the fact that I loathe series that are propped up as being an "X Killer," and I remember Aldnoah was originally advertised as specifically being a Gundam Killer. To me, that line of thinking is, at best, disingenuous and really prevents the series from standing on its own merits due to the comparison.

Gargantia on the Verduous Planet (2014)

Released in 2014, Gargantia on the Verduous Planet is a series where your standard military robot gets placed in a setting where, in comparison to everybody else, it essentially becomes a classic mecha. Gargantia gives us a pretty unique setting where the galactic-scale war has not really affected the cast outside of the main character.

Also this series has Gintoki Sakata Tomokazu Sugita as a giant robot. It's great.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Reconguista in G (2014)

Yoshiyuki Tomino would, once again, return to the directing chair for 2014's Mobile Suit Gundam: Reconguista in G. Created as a part of Gundam's 35th anniversary, Reconguista continues in the trend of post-Victory Tomino works generally having a kind of realistic optimism behind them. Reconguista is also known for being incredibly confusing in its initial TV run, though I am happy to report that the recent film version of Reconguista is, to my understanding, pretty easy to follow.

RWBY (2014, honorary mecha show 4...?)

(I mean... if we're using a broad definition like I do, then it counts. Penny is a major character in the series, but she's not in every volume. The series also has a lot of giant robots as well, though they're not as important to the plot as Penny is. Also, I'd rather talk about RWBY than gen:Lock, so....)

Created by Monty Oum and the now-defunct Roosterteeth, RWBY (pronounced Ruby like Ruby Rose... the character, not the actress) is a web animation series that wears its anime influence on its sleeve. Focusing primarily on flashy action with a fair bit of character dramas in its first seasons, RWBY proved to be a scrappy underdog that eventually would become one of Roosterteeth's primary draws until the company's closure earlier this year.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015)

2015 would see the release of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. Set in the much grittier Post Disaster timeline, Iron-Blooded Orphans would, more importantly, be the first non-Build Gundam series to air in the US since 2008's Gundam 00.

Iron-Blooded Orphans is known for, outside of being a rather dark entry in the franchise, controversy. And I'm not just talking about the 2nd season. I mean, "Japanese parents were upset Mika shot a man point blank" upset (to be fair, it was on prime time, and Gundam is considered to be, weirdly enough, a show for younger audiences).

If you want to listen to someone else talk about Iron-Blooded Orphans, I'd highly recommend checking out Taez's video on Iron-Blooded Orphans.

86: Eighty-Six (2017)

Eighty Six, the most recent iteration of the "Not Like the Other Girl" series, begins publication in 2017. Written by Asato Asato, Eighty Six struck a chord with a lot of people due to its stark portrayal of racism, which became extra poignant when the anime adaptation aired in 2020 (in other words, Eighty Six would air the same year George Floyd was murdered).

Darling in the Franxx (2018)

2018 would see the biggest dud of the decade air with Studio Trigger's Darling in the Franxx. The show started off strong, but quickly soured on viewers once the second half rolled in. To really understand why it's arguably the biggest dud of the decade, I'd like to theorize a little bit:

I think, when it comes to the duds of this decade (Valvrave, Gundam AGE, Aldnoah, Franxx), the three non-Gundam series were riding off of a lot of hype. And when I say a lot of hype, I mean like post-Witcher 3 Cyberpunk 2077 levels hype (so when CD Projekt Red went all in on Cyberpunk, but before they went gold). Franxx in particular was hit hard by this, as Trigger at this point had been nothing but hits (pre-Gainax includes Diebuster, Gurren Lagann, Panty & Stocking; Trigger proper had Kill la Kill, Space Patrol Luluco, and Axe Cop, among other hits). So for Franxx in particular, the expectations were basically "This is going to be the second coming of Evangelion." And given that even Evangelion's Rebuild films can't live up to the expectations of Evangelion, I'd say that fans inadvertently set Franxx up for failure.

That's not to absolve Franxx or the other shows of criticism. Like I said, I haven't watched a lot of these shows, so I can only really speculate. It also helps that Trigger would recover pretty quickly in like a year with their next show.

Mazinger Z Infinity (2018)

The end of the 2010's wouldn't all be duds though. As a celebration of Go Nagai's 50th anniversary in the manga business, his biggest works all got adaptations to celebrate this special achievement. Cutie Honey got Cutie Honey Universe. Devilman got Devilman Crybaby. and Mazinger Z got Mazinger Z Infinity. Set up as a conclusion to the Mazinger saga, Mazinger Z Infinity would prove to be a great conclusion to this series.

SSSS.Gridman (2018)

Coming off of the failure of Darling in the Franxx, Studio Trigger would follow up with their animated adaptation of Gridman the Hyper Agent: SSSS.Gridman. Made as an homage to Gridman and all of its variations, including Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad (hence the SSSS in SSSS.Gridman), SSSS.Gridman proved to be a return to form Studio Trigger. SSSS.Gridman's success would eventually lead to a sequel based off of the Dyna Dragon called SSSS.Dynazenon.

Lancer (2019)

(From Massif Press)

“̸̻̖̍̑I̷͔̦̒̽ ̷̩̇̅h̴̻͊͘á̴̙̹v̸͌̈ͅe̷̲͋ ̵͇̅̈n̸͙̹͆̀ë̸͉̎v̵̡̄͆ͅe̴͎̯͝ṟ̶́̄ ̶̙̒͑ͅb̸̻̋̋e̷̝̯͝é̸͕͔n̴̗̑̄ ̶̬̦͑͐h̵̲̒é̶͚́ŗ̴͎̅e̸̖̾ͅ:̶̯̩́̓ ̶̫̖̒͝I̴̯̪͑̍ ̴͚͂̽d̸͈͖̉͌ǫ̷͖͆ ̴͔̑͋n̵̂̆͜o̸̟͉̍t̸̗͇̓̎ ̴̜̠̄̑k̴̻̚͜n̸̰͙̓̊o̶̝̫͛̇ŵ̵̮̬ ̴͍̄w̴̧̢͋͊h̶��̼̐ͅe̵̼̯͠r̵̹̿è̸͙̀ ̵͇̪̉͘h̷̺͋̇e̷͙͆̓r̴̛̟̒e̷͍͊ ̴͖͒i̷̛͓̾ͅs̵̒͜͝:̵̗̪̎ ̸̥̉Ȉ̵̬̠̓t̸͎͠ ̷͙͝ḧ̸́̚͜a̸̞̗͒s̷̜͈̒ ̵̻̋̐ǹ̵͓̲͘o̸͖̥͗̿ṯ̸̉̌ ̶̻̀̉h̸̙̆a̶̡͙̍p̵̮̭͆p̸͚̘͂̀ẹ̷̮̔̊n̴̳̂͠e̴̦͖͐͠d̶̥̻̿̆ ̶̖̮͋ŷ̸̻͚ȇ̵̩̈́t̵̼̎͘:̸̖̈ ̷̤̒O̵̻̱͑n̶̙͐͐c̶̮͉̉ě̶̫̬,̸̛̬ ̷̻͋̑I̵̙̓͌ ̵̧̮́͝w̴̧͚̽̕a̵̖͆s̷̒̿ͅ:̸̫̰̈ ̴̯̦̅̈́Ḯ̷̤ ̸̛̹̀h̴̤̳͗͑ȧ̸͍̦v̷͔̘͘̚ẽ̶̡ ̶̗̍n̵͇̞̉ę̶͙̏v̵͉̥̍ė̷̝͍͂ṙ̸̗͎ ̶̩͠b̴͈̿̏e̴̤̊̋ḛ̶̙̔n̸̡̔ ̶͚͠h̴͙̀͝é̶̳r̶̙̯͊e̵̢̫̕:̸̩̬͝ ̴̭̩̈́͗Ŷ̵͇͆ò̷͔͚u̶͈̒ ̷̻̌̚͜a̵̢͐̔r̴̰̝̕e̵̼͌̂ ̵̢̓ǎ̵̠͕l̷̮̉̀l̵̝̫̀͘ ̶̣̟̈I̶͍̍ ̶̣̊s̴̡̟͘e̷̼̦̿͝e̴͚̎:̴̦̟̃̇ ̶̬̱̕H��̰̟̆̉ơ̸̰̐w̸̨͉͛ ̷͍̽̕c̴̡̋͂ͅa̶̡͂̐ṋ̵̫̈́ ̵͎̥͑͐y̷̭͉͛o̵̖͍̕ȗ̶̙͐ ̶̝̯͗b̷͎͍́̀ḙ̷̩̇ ̴͖̝̑ǎ̸̩̼l̸͙̞͌l̴̨̎ ̵̨̍I̵͓̊ ̴͇͒̀ͅs̵̗̽͒e̴̯̊é̶̥:̴̛̥͠ ̵̡̩̓̽W̸̝̦̏̈h̸͎̓̇ê̴̳r̶̻̊͜ȅ̶͓̹ ̸̖͊̕a̵̯͕͒͋m̵̆͜ ̸̙͒I̵̗̘̽:̵̼̳̉͑ ̷͖͒̈́W̵̬͒͒h̵͎͆ë̸̩́͜r̸̦̟͊͗ẻ̸̖ ̴͈͊d̵̩̕i̵̱̰͘d̵̳̗̕͝ ̴̛͖̳͒Ĩ̵̮ ̶̲̩̈́̋g̷̩̏͠o̸̱̓ͅ:̶̬̥͑ ̸̨̥̔͒Í̶̧̻͊ ̶̠̽h̵̩̘̋̓a̶͈͙̓v̸̝̊e̷̟͗̌ ̶͉̽͆͜n̵̮̭̉ḛ̷̜́v̴͓̥͛e̵͈̱̓̏r̵̪̅̌ ̶͉͌b̶̗̤̍e̶͔͘e̷͇̪̕ņ̷͝͠ ̵̥̄h̶̦̬̉̕ë̶̞́r̸̨͚̉̇ĕ̶ͅ…̵̤̘͛͝”̵̞̺͊

And to wrap up the 2010's, Massif Press would release Lancer. Set in a post-scarcity galaxy, Lancer gives enjoyers of pen and paper the chance of a lifetime: to become pilots of giant robots. None of this should be surprising though, as the game was designed by Abbadon, the guy who writes Kill 6 Billion Demons (you can tell because the IPS-N Tortuga and the IPS-N Raleigh look a lot like 10 Vigilant Gaze Purges the Horizon).

Conclusion

And that's a wrap for the 2010's. As we can see, this decade is a bit of a downer. At this point in time, it feels like mecha is dying. That's what an idiot like Gigguk will tell you. In hindsight, it's less dying and more in decline, and it's not surprising as to why.

Mecha, specifically the giant robots of old, are hard to animate, especially if you want a machine that's as intricate as say GaoGaiGar. But next time, we will finally be reaching the end of this journey. We will be diving into now, what's come out in the last four years, and what is set to potentially release in the future. Of particular note is the return of the Holy Trinity, with the 2020's in particular being a big year for Gundam.

[indelicateink]

the Interview with the Vampire kink meme continues to be everythinggggg

did you see yesterday's fill? The Interview. brain-melting.

endless thanks to @vampire-dove for maintaining this anon kink meme for us.

i'm going to share some of the prompts going on over there. We are serving VENICE! We are serving Claudeleine! We are serving Louis's first meal! We are serving whump, BDSM, pregnancy, high school au soul bonds, and more! please go add more. please fill prompts. please pulverize these vampires' cervices into dust.

Prompts [6/?]:

Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac Soul Bond, Fate, Hubris

"High school AU. Just because their soul marks match doesn't mean Louis de Pointe du Lac has to choose Lestat de Lioncourt. He can date other guys until he finds someone who is a better temperamental match. That is a thing that he can do."

--

Armand/Louis de Pointe du Lac Dominant Louis de Pointe du Lac, Spanking, Whipping, BDSM, Corporal Punishment, Rough Sex, Submissive Armand, Dom/sub Kinks: impact play, submission, dom/sub. Maybe light dub-com. Maybe rough sex, writer’s choice

"Basically the title - Louis punishes Armand. With the implements hanging in the Dubai bedroom, or with other tools in another era. For what? Writer’s choice! Maybe something as silly as his sassiness as Rashid, or his rudeness in his fight over the Stein photos. Or as serious as punishing him for Paris, as if Louis could ever punish him enough for Paris. Or maybe Paris is always an unspoken part of punishment. Armand craves to submit and get whatever punishment Louis wants to give him.

"NOTES: Monster sex is not safe, these guys don’t use aftercare or safe words! But it’s ultimately healthy, careful, and gives both characters something they need. References to Armand’ s past are fine, but please no flashbacks"

--

Armand/Lestat de Lioncourt "Can include Marius if so desired.

"Everyone knows that Marius’ pick for a successor is the handsome young French aristocrat who arrived. Amadeo is fully prepared to hate him for taking Marius’ attention away from him. But as they start to spend more time together, he doesn’t know how to feel when he legitimately likes Lestat. Emotions made no easier when Marius ‘rewards’ Lestat with him, and instead of it being a painful experience, it’s the best in his life.

"Bonus points for Armand literally driven incoherent by pleasure."

--

Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac Wedding Night, Threesome - M/M/M, Spitroasting, Extremely Dubious Consent, Mind Control, Blood Drinking

"Lestat/Louis and their dazed sailor third (dinner)

"On Louis’s first night of vampirism Lestat DOES get Louis the prettiest girl at the party.

"additional tags: mind control sex (of victim), consent not obtained from victim but he is delighted to explore his sexuality (before he dies), please make louis happy on his wedding night. optional: double penetration (lestat&sailor/louis), louis’s exhibitionism, somnophilia, necrophilia"

--

Claudia/Madeleine Celebrities, Forbidden Love, Awkward Crush, Power Imbalance

"Despite all the A-list celebrities ingratiating themselves with new rising hollywood actor Claudia, she only has eyes for her stylist, Madeleine. Her dads/managers Louis and Lestat worry it might be better to get Madeleine out of the picture before Claudia or Madeleine actually gets brave enough to flirt with the other successfully.

"Claudia's agent Armand isn't worried. He's determined.

"Five times Armand set Claudia up with a grasping A-lister and one time Claudia chose her own date. (grasping A-listers are, optionally, Eglee, Sam, Santiago, Celeste, and Basilic)"

--

Armand/Daniel Molloy Spanking, Whipping, Old Daniel Molloy, BDSM, Humiliation, Dom/sub, Mildly Dubious Consent, Submissive Armand

"KINKS: humiliation, impact play, spanking, paddles, floggers, etc. maybe bloodplay, maybe rough sex / up to author.

"PROMPT: Post 2x08. Daniel vaguely remembers the power that Armand held over him in the 1970s. He remembers the need for control. But he can’t believe he missed the other, opposite side. She was a creature who craved to surrender power. He wanted to submit. He looked a little sad and pathetic to Daniel after Louis walked out, but above all, he looked small. Daniel sees it now, this essential submissiveness of Armand, and he doesn’t care about making Armand happy, in this moment. But he does care about getting to flex some power, to humble the pride Armand showed throughout the interview, and to see the the cold, strong Armand forced to submit. Daniel knows he can crack him open. It will take humiliation, and pain, will it take some rough topping? Who knows?

"NOTES: Doesn’t need aftercare or safe words – these are monsters, they don’t need to have safe sex! Might involve some dub-con, but is ultimately healthy and careful with each other. References to Armand’s past are fine, but please no flashbacks"

--

"Daniel whump/ devils minion hurt/comfort (bringing this from my tumblr)

"Armand and Louis really think they are the only ones who see Daniel and go a full life right there I want it. I want to hear it and devour it.

"Plus while Daniel is an old man he's a bby vampire so there's still some of that Vampires desire youth thing mixed in. A group of vampires, older than Daniel for sure, decide well even actually Companions™ take breaks and take occasional lovers so surely it's cool, to mr. steal-your-man Daniel, who notably does not want to be stolen and he does fight back maybe injurers one of them.

"But ultimately the Dubai gang reunites because "Armand someone took Daniel." and Armand is like "okay time to wreck everything." Lestat meets Daniel during this and Daniel is actively working trying to escape because he's stubborn like that. Or Armand reach's out to Louis and is freaking out because "They took my Fledgling, they stole Daniel. They took my boy I will kill the world until he is returned."

"Take it as dead dove dark or as canon typical toxic with a side of genuine love and care as you want."

--

Armand/Daniel Molloy, Armand/Marius de Romanus

"Armand doesn’t know how to tell Marius he’s pregnant with his one night stand Daniel’s baby."

[stormxpadme]

Whumptober 2024 No. 21 - Spirit possession

09/02/2018

With the teenagers' crucial discovery about yet another planet-destroying weapon that the X-Men needed to stop, yet the inevitable requirement of another few hours to sit idle this night before they could make a move of any kind … All Logan felt like doing right now, actually, was picking up with his wife in his bedroom what the red alert from the sick bay earlier had interrupted. Leaving behind all the shit out there for at least a short while before things would probably go down the drain once more. The Gods knew he'd been forced to do without that treasured comfort by his side for far too long.

Just when Jean and he had finished checking on the last of their teammates and their successors via Logan's wrist com though, letting the other X-Men know they would be unavailable until sunrise, the apartment door opened.

Since Logan had just secured the door frame display against access by anyone not living in these quarters, it wasn’t too hard to guess who was about to interrupt their badly needed privacy, though Noemi had actually made it very clear to Logan earlier that she wasn’t willing to spend any more time than necessary in their apartment in the foreseeable future. Not as long as someone was residing there whose guts she hated. Accordingly, she made it a point not to grant Jean as much as a single glance from the corner of her reddened eyes, hurrying toward the door to her room with tight lips. "Never mind me. Just running low on spare clothes."

"Noemi … Sit with us for a moment, please." Logan didn’t think he'd get used to this broken tone in Jean's usually so warm, deep voice anytime soon. She'd only ever been talking like that when the terror of the demon ruining all their lives for so long now had shaken her soul. Which was not something he wanted to be reminded of when they were just trying for a while to enjoy this repeated yet still so surreal gift of being reunited again, after one of Jean's painful demises.

Noemi, sadly, was entirely oblivious to this bone-deep grief and angst or even worse, couldn’t give less of a fuck about it. And from her point of view, Logan could hardly blame her. Especially after Jean had so dumbly rejected her in the sick bay earlier. "Fuck off."

"Language, Red." His strength reserves for even one more argument close to zero for the day, Logan wasn’t too surprised to find his hand shaking when he patted his shirt down for a cigar in a gesture of routine. No, not exactly how he'd pictured things to go in the past, in the unlikely case that Jean and he would ever get a shot at a normal family life with their kid. Then again, normal had been notoriously absent from their relationship from day 1.

"Fuck you, Dad," Noemi hissed, ignoring his wince as Logan reluctantly had to admit, maybe he should have listened more often to certain admonishments by his team leader about minding your words a little around minors, at least if you didn’t want them to get thrown back in your face at some point. "Little too late to teach me decency, don’t you think?"

"I only want to apologize, Noemi." Jean quickly spoke up again before the girl could storm into her room with clenched fists, very aware that this might be the only chance to at least get this off her chest before they'd all be wiped off the star maps tomorrow. "I only told you to leave before because I can't tell if I'm safe from her this time. I just know I’ll hurt you all over when I'm forced to leave you two again. You were right about one thing ... After the Scapels moon, I lived with nothing but fear, and now, too, it was the first thing I felt when I awoke. And I’m …" A sob so quiet Logan was sure only his enhanced senses could pick up on it broke from her lips when Jean buried her face in her hands for a moment, gratefully nestling against his hand on her neck. "… I'm so fucking tired of it. I want to give the three of us a chance, even if our time might be limited. Especially then."

Noemi's hand came to rest on the door display right above the opener button but contrary to Logan's resigned expectations, after so many failed attempts of this kind in the past, she didn’t press it, not yet. She wasn’t turning around either though, not surprising given the faint fragrance of salt heavier in the air by the second. Noemi didn’t like displaying weakness even to her own family. In that regard, just like in so many others, she was so much more like Jean than she knew. "You can’t just pretend you were never gone."

Jean made no move to get up and approach their daughter in any way. Only her frail shape was tensing under Logan's soothing caress up and down her back when she, too, sensed there might be at least a small glimpse of hope in the air there. "I don’t mean to. I just want to try and be a part of this family. A part of your life, of all the beautiful things you've achieved and become without me."

Noemi snorted and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, baring her teeth still without doing as much as looking back over her shoulder. "You know shit about me."

"That’s not true," Jean hurried to assure, her dark eyes shining with reigniting energy more by the second, finally, an energy that Logan had still failed to give back to her earlier when she'd fortunately stopped trying to bite him away just like Noemi. "I’ve been allowed to watch you guys sometimes from the Further ..."

Noemi finally spun around, almost making Logan wish she hadn’t for a moment, her whole body shaking with aggression, her pale round cheeks glowing in a warning shade of orange smothering on her body, the way she'd only threatened to lose control over her gift as an infant every now and then. Good thing this damn apartment had been made entirely fire-proof ever since then. "I’m not talking about Phoenix’ mind tricks. You never fucking bother to ask! You just think. You thought you couldn’t beat her. You thought the others couldn’t deal with it, couldn’t protect you, couldn’t drive her out. You thought Dad and I couldn’t take it, knowing your mind and soul were alive this whole time. And now you think we’re too weak to handle it when you piss off again. If you want to be free of her, get rid of her arrogance first. You don’t know anything, Jean Grey."

"Then tell me. Let me get to know you." Now Jean was pleading, help- and hopelessness growing, her grip on Logan's hand on her shoulder growing tighter, but she didn’t give him a chance to speak up himself, not even once. This was her own personal battle she had to fight, and if she didn’t succeed right now, before they'd all have to work together, overcoming enmities and sensitivities tomorrow … Then they might as well have called Mystique to freely give her the missing information about that weapon that the Brotherhood held in their hands, and then sit back and wait for this damn piece of rock to fall into particles.

"Why should I? I don’t know you." Noemi leaned back against her door with her hands shoved down the pockets of her jeans and her chin raised her eyes, her pupils still faintly glowing in defiance. But at least she wasn’t trying to leave anymore and that was already more than Logan could have hoped for five minutes ago.

If Jean wanted to make this catastrophe right, somehow, this might be the only chance to start, so Jean forced herself to let this open contempt ooze off of her, straightening up under Logan's arm around her shoulders, looking straight into these angry eyes that so eerily resembled her own back then when the light of her demon had burst out from deep within her. And yet, hopefully, were so very different from that dangerous state of possession. "For your dad's sake maybe? He’s dedicated his whole life to you."

"Dad is a slave of his love to you," Noemi replied harshly, the same incomprehension as ever dripping from her tone as she watched Logan rummage in his pockets for a damn lighter somewhere next, silently, with his jaw grinding and his eyes on the ground, unwilling to let himself be infected by these destructive dark emotions that he'd always been unable to cure his daughter from them. "All you ever did was hurting him and me. You never cared. You only ever thought about yourself."

"Now who’s assuming? You weren’t there." For the first time in this debate, Jean started to sound upset herself instead of just depressed and apologetic, and maybe that, too, was cynically healthy and necessary for a chance at healing. There'd been far too much unsolved tension never accumulating into a cleansing storm in this house in the last 15 years as it was.

Noemi threw her head back with a harsh chuckle, her fists clenching in her pockets, but with a small bit of relief, Logan could also scent that she had to blink more and more tears from her eyes, the iron wall of wrath and refusal starting to crumble. "Oh yeah, that’s right. So sorry I was only a day old when you pissed off from my life. So sorry I never got to know the so-called real you."

"Do you want to?" A surprising, almost scary calmness had spread in Jean's posture, in her gentle voice, one that Logan didn’t think he'd been able to sense in his wife ever since months before Alkali Lake. Noemi's last justified reproaches of all things seemed finally have to have uncovered something in the depths of Jean's shattered and arduously mended soul that she'd almost forgotten about, after having been used physically and mentally for nothing but destruction by an otherworldly immortal entity. When she reached out her hand to her daughter, it was no longer shaking the slightest bit.

Noemi had felt the change too and surprisingly enough didn’t tell Jean to go fuck herself right away once more. Maybe less out of the desire to solve this shitty situation, than out of the same sense of duty she'd early developed without Logan ever having to do much about it, long before she'd become the leader of her own small team. She knew just like him that with all this hostility between them, they'd be fucked in the fight waiting for them soon. If this reluctant knowledge that it was her job, making sure their chances would be as good as possible, was the only reason for her at least considering giving this reconciliation a shot, rather than a real yearning for a relationship with a mother she'd long decided she didn’t need in her life? Well, then Logan would gladly take that over these unbearable smashes of hatred being exchanged here right before his eyes. "How do I know you’ll show me the truth?"

Jean's hand came to rest on Logan's shoulder on her part now, coaxing him to leave his reserve position at last and accompany her when Jean cautiously stepped toward her daughter, keeping the last of respectful distance though. "I’ll keep the link to your father active. You’ll feel it in yours to him if I’m lying."

Noemi's lips tightened, her eyes on that narrow hand hovering in front of her, the disgust even at considering touching it plain to see … But then curiosity won, one of those notions she'd very clearly not inherited from the father's side of her family. "Whatever."

One hand firmly in Logan's, Jean was quick to reach for her daughter's with the other when it finally was raised, as if she was afraid – for good reason – that Noemi would change her mind again if she waited too long.

Part of Logan promptly wished she hadn’t, being thrown without warning right into that ocean of orange and green of their mental connection all the way, a sensation as if he was yanked from his body that never failed to have his stomach turn and make him sway on his feet unnervingly, the experience joined by the still so restless, still so unshaped flickering of the pure crimson red that was Noemi's presence this time … An event that under different circumstances, he might actually have enjoyed experiencing this time, knowing that the three of them were finally, after all this time, as closely joined in their consciousness as could be.

If only Jean hadn't been forced to use that joined link to have them all go through the darkest times of her life, of what little of their lives they'd had lived together.

From very far away, with that hated sensation as if he'd had cotton in his ears, his feral perception no longer only tethered to his physical shape, Logan could hear Noemi gasp in both shock and pain somewhere beside him, and for a moment, he couldn’t help but be angry with his wife himself, close to yell at her via that deep soul connection to stop right away. To tell her that Noemi didn’t deserve to go through this shit. That their daughter wasn’t ready for that completely unreal experience of having to feel in her head what a powerful telepath like Jean was putting in there in terms of the impressions left on Jean's nerve endings at any given point in time … And yet it was already far too late to stop it, now that the journey had begun, and part of Logan was still aware enough, luckily, of just how necessary it was to soldier through it. So he forced himself to keep his eyes open and swallow down the tightness in his throat when he understood, that burning and throbbing in his lower abdomen and in every single vein was what Jean had been waking up to this morning six feet under, as Phoenix had once more brought her body back to life.

A body not half as extensively healed as back then though when his wife had arisen from the floods of Alkali Lake for the first time, the damages she'd succumbed to at her last death still torturing her. It was a mercifully brief flash only, thankfully, Logan's mind darkening when Jean took Noemi and him further with her into her memory, showing them glimpses of those last few years that she'd been resting and healing in the Further, meditating to strengthen her mind against Dark Phoenix' mental tendrils trying to get hold of her again. Dull, daily efforts, hours over hours, without any real idea if it would ever even become necessary to use those shields in a real mortal shape ever again, a routine only occasionally broken by small breaks that Jean was allowing herself to let her gaze wander afar. To the planet and the people, she'd been forced to leave behind once more. To glimpses of a life that stung in her heart like a rusty poker every time and at the same time filled her with the bitter relief that she'd done the right thing, allowing her little family happiness without the dread of an everlasting threat hovering over them. An endless string of moments witnessed, of that deep affection, pride, and limitless trust shaping Logan's and Noemi's unbreakable bond more by the day, of all these steps of their daughter's on her way to becoming that headstrong, powerful, and incredibly empathic young woman she was today.

Like when Noemi had protected fellow members of her first training group in a Danger Room session as early as at five years old, from a painful fall down a simulated skateboard half pipe. How she'd been training her complicated powers every day over until they no longer threatened to burn anything down by accident, not least by lighting Logan's cigars every morning for breakfast with a small snapping of her fingers. Giggles in the sun in some waterpark at a slide race together with her best friend, tearful apologies over using her telekinetic gift without even meaning to, to further her chances in that little competition. Apologies in the shape of an allowance wisely spent on a round of ice cream for the two girls and beers for Scott and Logan. Desperate tears of loneliness in her father's arms after they'd dropped off Saskia and Scott in their apartment across the floor that night, to the welcoming arms of Saskia's mother waiting for them to hear the tales of her little girl from that exciting day. Questions there was never any good answer to every day at bedtime hour, until Noemi had stopped asking them at some point. A daily gaze up to the sky from the Mutant High roof, with tears glistening in Noemi's eyes.

The same that were running down her chubby cheeks when Jean said goodbye to her daughter under similar desperate sobs, putting her in Ororo's arms as the agony of lethal injuries were wrecking her body. A telekinetic field fading away from around Noemi's tiny shape that Jean had had used that day to protect her baby from the very same weapons of those Clean Mankind for God bastards that had ended her latest attempt of living without her demon. Dark Phoenix' mental hold seeping through the shields around Jean's soul like battery acid thanks to that protection being paper thin that morning, because the bigger part of Jean's mental powers, she'd used to protect Noemi's entirely defenseless mind against the very same influence of that fucking cosmic bitch.

This time Logan almost did feel himself topple over, only held by the instinctive telekinetic strength from two sides at once broadening his stance. The taste of bile burning in his mouth was almost unbearable at this point, cottoned sensations or not. So this was why. This was really how he'd lost Jean last time. And he hadn’t even fucking realized. The renewed hurt and disbelief didn’t entirely fade but at least was pushed in the background somewhat, soothed by a warm tenderness in his soul when it was now the images of those few hours before this horrible battle at Ontario Lake before his inner mind's eye. The endless car ride from the hospital home, shaped by the growing anxiety if they'd make it to the protection of their team in time before the enemy would find them. A tension they'd so desperately tried to not let their newborn daughter feel, with Jean holding that tiny pale body to her chest the whole time while Logan and she had been singing for their baby along to the radio so that she would remain asleep and not have to sense the fear for her wrecking her mother's mind.

A shaking, faint squeeze of his hand let him know, Noemi might finally, after all this time, just have understood why Logan had stopped finding any kind of joy in music long ago.

Back at the hospital. Limitless hate filling both Jean's and his soul as they hurried to the jeep as fast as Jean's condition, compromised from the early birth, would let her. The memory unshakable in their heads of why they were getting the fuck out of there, against every advice by doctors and their friends and teammates.

Alright, but really only another moment. She needs her bath. The brilliant smile of some auburn-haired haggard nurse with their child in their arms, trying to leave the room with the little one several times, only held back by Jean's desperate hold on her mind as his wife, long before Logan did, realized, something was terribly off about that woman.

Logan. Take Noemi. Now. Tell that bitch we need a few minutes alone with her. I'll try to make her leave. She's had telepath defense training; I'm hardly getting through to her. Distract her. Hurry. Jean's desperate, fearful pleading in his mind, not a bit less painful as back then, followed by the gruesome vision of that very same psychotic woman fantasizing in her head, even as she had a helpless infant in her arms, about how she would drown that baby in the next best sink the moment she was alone with it and fill the IV bag that Jean was hooked to with lethal medication.

A shriek of terror that might as well have come from Noemi's shocked mind as from one of theirs before Jean quickly took them both away from that moment, another few minutes back this time only, to comfort them over the horror so barely prevented that day. Showing them instead what had maybe the only moment between the three of them when they had been really happy as a family. I love you so much … Both of you … Jean, exhausted but happier than Logan had maybe seen her ever since before Liberty Island even, with her little girl in her arms, firmly snuggled into his arms as both her and his tears fell down on Noemi's beautiful little face. That one other day that he could remember when she had been similarly smiling for him like this, as it had become so rare since she'd become the unwilling vessel for that demon bitch. A kiss in the rain, a ring on her finger. Some images from between these two occasions, from Jean's sinewy body slowly rounding, camouflaging clothing no longer able to hide her condition from the critical eyes of the world. Lying next to each other in bed for hours, to escape that hostile scrutiny out there, her hands next to his caressing her belly. Impatient curses while trying to reassemble some damn cradle ordered online because shopping in person with the woman the world knew as the face of some insane fire demon, was a really shitty idea. Dark Phoenix' menacing glow in the garage of the New York Mutant Department as Jean was reluctantly using her enhanced powers once more to protect both Logan and the innocent being in her belly from aggressive bigots trying to take revenge for the destruction of their city. Limitless hate. Endless fear. Love stronger than both of these powerful sensations combined. The three dominating emotions in that broken beautiful mess that was Jean's soul.

When Noemi pulled back abruptly, tearing the three of them out of this incredibly intense joining, panting hard, the tears were openly on her face this time. It hurt … But at the same time, Logan didn't think he'd ever heard something as beautiful as that choked little sound on her lips that she'd never wanted to pronounce Jean's way her whole life. "Mom …" Her widened gaze went back and forth between Logan and Jean several times, beholding the way, Logan was tiredly burying his head against Jean's shoulder, still trying to process everything he'd just seen and suffered through once more while Jean on her part looked as if a huge weight had finally been lifted off her heart, now that a few things had finally been revealed that she'd not been able to bring herself to back then. And for good reason as Noemi, too, now had finally been made to see. "I … I think I get it now. But I … I can't … Not right away …"

"I would never ask you to." Not letting go of Logan for even a second, Jean reached out to Noemi again, and this time, Noemi took her hand immediately. "All I can hope for is a chance, little Firebug. And that the two of us can find the strength inside to protect this world from Dark Phoenix together, the way I was never able to alone."

Noemi nodded slowly, visibly still far too overwhelmed by all she'd just seen to consider such momentous questions again already. After a long squeeze of Jean's hand, she pulled away, burying both hands in her hair, slowly shaking her head. "This … has been a lot, guys."

"Take your time", Jean nodded, carefully pulling Logan back towards the sofa with her, to show Noemi that she was more than ready to give her daughter all the time she needed. "I'm not going anywhere. Not this time."

Again this shaky, uncertain nod, this gaze into emptiness. But for now, Noemi still didn’t make any move to vanish into her room or leave for her best friend's apartment as so often in the past when she'd needed distance from this incomplete, blurred picture in these quarters of a family she'd never had.

After a few moments of cluelessness as of how to show her daughter that she'd support her in this newfound confusion in all the ways Noemi wanted and needed it, Jean softly rested her lips on Logan's, motioning him to wait, and then went over to the elegantly polished black instrument that Katja had had delivered to this apartment not too long ago, as a thank you to Noemi for helping her break free from the possession by Emma's telepathic hold.

Promptly, Logan was left once more with his mouth hanging open, his damn cigar still dangling from his fingertips, forgotten, as another secret between his wife and him was revealed, albeit this one that didn’t hurt as much as what she'd let him in on earlier. Jean had never mentioned even once she could play the damn piano.

It had probably been some time, judging by her slightly clumsy movements and the occasional mistake … But the sound of that one melancholic jazz piece that Noemi had played for Logan back then before everything had gone to shit in New York once more, was still unmistakable. Yes, his wife had very obviously been watching them closely.

Once Noemi was done blinking her new surge of tears away, without a lot of success, she strode over to her mother on unsteady knees and bent over the stool without hesitation, resting her lip's on Jean's forehead for a long moment. When she pulled away, a faintly glowing spot remained on her mother's skin, just for a split second, before disappearing.

Jean gasped, entirely forgetting about finishing her little performance, her fingertips wandering to her head. "Noemi …"

"She will never get you again, Mom," Noemi said calmly, firmly, without the smallest doubt in her voice. "She will never destroy our lives ever again. I promised Dad that, and I hold to that."

For a long moment, she paused, looking back between Jean and Logan once more, taking a deep breath as she forced her heart, too, to at least start accepting the same thing of which she'd just coaxed her powerful gifts to help make sure, it wouldn’t just vanish from their lives right again. Not now, when they'd all finally managed to feel it for the first time. "So that one day, we might finally be able to live what the two of you started back then. Maybe. I can't promise anything yet, Mom."

"Your father and me, we've always rather been friends of keeping promises, anyway," Jean answered, still completely taken aback, wiping her eyes a couple of times before finally giving it up, just staring up shyly at her so very composed, powerful and big-hearted daughter. Her hands shyly folded in her lap, she was holding on to Logan's like a lifeline when he finally overcame his own surprise enough to come to stand behind her. "I know that can't mean a lot to you, Noemi but … I'm so unbelievably proud of you."

"I think I can live with that quite well." Noemi finally brought herself to smile, somehow, and it seemed genuine. The way she briefly reached out again to squeeze Jean's shoulder and flick Logan's cigar alight finally with an almost casual movement, said more than any dramatic embrace anyway. "I … think I need to be alone for a while now. And we should all be getting some rest before tomorrow."

"Your daughter is more reasonable than the two of us combined, James," Jean realized with a wry little grin.

"His and your daughter," Noemi corrected her dryly, rolling her eyes a little. "At least about that, there's never been any doubt. Oh, and speaking of it: Just so we're clear, same rules for you as for Ororo. Every time I can hear you two have sex, my allowance rate rises by five percent."

Logan finally gathered his wits back enough to show his daughter a very good-natured middle claw before Noemi left them alone with a mischievous little giggle.

*******************************************************************************

@whumptober | @whumptober-archive

[eventinelysplayground]

A Kings Gamble

Benitoite palace corridors at night.

King Alfio slowly strode through the palace corridors unable to sleep due to the week's events.

This whole damn week has been nothing but a headache. Where the hell did that damn dog get the idea to bare his fangs at me like that! Valerio to! I never thought he'd take that damn dogs side like he has & Lidia! I mean I get that she was ecstatic at the idea of spending more time together, we haven't had that kind of time for ourselves since I was named successor. How the hell does that damn dog even know how important that sort of thing is!? That woman certainly didn't teach him, all she knew was selfish desires.

As King Alfio was turning a corner he paused as he spied Lady Emma standing there staring out a window. He ducked back behind the bend just enough to stay out of sight but still allow him to see her.

This young lady, Lidia already likes her and Valerio has done nothing but sing her praises. Valerio can say he doesn't love her all he wants but does he really think I can't recognize it! I'm not that old and doddering to have forgotten. What tricks did that damn dog use to get into her...

The faint sound of jangling cut off King Alfios thoughts and he saw Silvio coming around the corner at the far end of the corridor.

She doesn't even seem to notice that damn dog comming, is she really that unaware of her surroundings or ...

King Alfio was about to turn and leave when he caught a glimpse of something in Silvio's eyes that made him change his mind. He watched as Silvio approached Lady Emma from behind and gently wrapped his arms around her waist.

Silvio: What are you doing out here by yourself starin off like that!?

Emma: Silvio!You shouldn't be holding me like this here, what if someone comes by and sees us!

King Alfio noticed that despite her words Lady Emma leaned back into Silvio's embrace.

Silvio: So let em your my woman so it's fine, and don't go tryin to change the subject! You shouldn't be wandering around alone like this especially at night what if something happened to you or you got lost?

Emma: It's a straight line back to my room! I'm sorry I worried you though.

Silvio: I wasn't worried! If you're gonna start makin a habit of wandering off though maybe I should put a bell on your collar.

Emma: Try it and I swear I'll bite you!

Silvio: Ha! I ain't lettin you do that a third time, besides...

Ha! Serves you right you damn dog being bitten by your own prey! I'm starting to like her better...

King Alfio watched as Silvio left his mark on Lady Emma's neck and it brought to mind several memories of Lidia and himself.

Silvio: That wasn't the deal you offered originally. You don't wanna bell you gotta make a new deal with me.

Emma: If you think you can keep getting me to let things go by doing stuff like that...

King Alfios expression softened slightly as he watched Silvio lift Lady Emma into his arms.

I don't think I've ever seen that dog look so happy, delighted? No those aren't right...

Silvio: I love it when you're sassy but I love it even more when you're like this Emma.

Emma: Silvio, I love you too.

Silvio: Ya I know, but keep sayin it.

King Alfio watched as Silvio carried Lady Emma to her room and chuckled softly when her door was kicked in before turning back and heading the way he had come.

King Alfio: I know that look all too well.

King Alfio sighed and Lidia's words from days ago came back to him.

Queen Lidia: Alfio you should know better than anyone that true love can cause miracles.

Kingo Alfio gently kicked open his bedroom door. Sitting on the sofa working on some embroidery project was his Queen, the woman he had worked so hard for. Queen Lidia turned to him and smiled so dazzlingly at him his breath momentarily caught.

Queen Lidia: Alfio! Are you all right? You look as if you're going over and over an important deal.

King Alfio: Not a deal Lidia a gamble.

Queen Lidia: A gamble? Alfio are you still fretting over naming Silvio your successor? As I already said I truely do believe everything will work out fine. Silvio has many accomplishments & with the support of Valerio and Lady Emma I'm even more certain he'll be an excellent King.

King Alfio: Dammit Lidia I know all that!

King Alfio slumped onto the sofa and sighed, a comfortable silence fell between them as Queen Lidia waited him out.

King Alfio: I saw them tonight, that damn dog and Lady Emma.

Queen Lidia: You're surprised to see them together Alfio?

King Alfio: Yes, no I mean...

King Alfio trailed off trying to find the right words. Queen Lidia set aside her embroidery hoop and took his hand in hers.

Queen Lidia: Then what is it?

King Alfio: ..Us

Queen Lidia: Alfio don't mumble..

King Alfio: They reminded me of us!

King Alfio sighed again and ran his free hand through his hair before continuing.

King Alfio: This whole week I've been wondering about quite a lot of things. One that bothered and honestly surprised me the most was that damn dogs conviction when he talked about us spending more time together. I can't deny he's smart enough to know our relationships different to most especially within the royal court but the strength behind his words...

Queen Lidia smiled bright and knowingly as she waited for King Alfio to continue.

King Alfio: The way she reacted to his touch, the way she smiled at him, the way she sassed him. Hell he even called her by her name! Nothing was more telling though then that look in their eyes.

Queen Lidia: That look?

King Alfio: That look you can only get from true love. I know that look very well after all these years, and I saw it earlier tonight. Not just in Silvio's gaze but reflected back at him in Lady Emma's as well. I never thought I'd see a day when any of my children looked at someone like that least of all it being Silvio!

Queen Lidia: It took you long enough to realize it Alfio.

King Alfio: Lidia...

Queen Lidia: I told you days ago...

King Alfio: I know Lidia you don't have to rub it in!

Queen Lidia laughed as she kissed King Alfio on the cheek.

King Alfio: He's still a bastard, especially for breaking Valerios heart like that! Though I suppose if Lady Emma hadn't fallen for Valerio in all that time she never would have. I think he'll keep on the right course though so long as he has her.

Queen Lidia: Yet you still think it's a gamble?

King Alfio: Yes but now that I know the type of cards he's playing with I know it's not just a gamble he can win but that the whole nation will profit from.

King Alfio turned to face Queen Lidia and as he gazed at her smiling face that oh so familiar look was all over her, the same one he saw on Silvio and Lady Emma earlier. That look of pure unadulterated joy that only comes from true love.

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

Snare and Dead Fall

Author’s notes: Part 2 of Claude’s story. Previous  Next

Summary: Claude's on a mission.

Warnings: None?

Tagged: @sleepyfan-blog, @whorety-k, @egrets-not-regrets

Claude is humming to himself softly, it’s low enough that he won’t be scolded for making noise while he’s supposed to be in Stealth Mode. As a Primaris Marine, the roll out of them and heading to their First-Born Battle Brothers had happened seven years ago by his counting. He’s glad that he and his squad were sent to the Storm Hawks, while stealth wasn’t used much by most kinds of Astartes, Storm Hawks, as successors of the Raven Guard do use stealth as one of their primary modes of fighting against their foes.

Claude had noticed, when they were being split up among their elder brothers a certain Captain who’s armor had flashed teal for the briefest moment before settling into Ultramarine. That Captain had tried to lure him and his squad to follow him to becoming ‘ultramarines’. But the whispers giggled and cackled in his ears. He had nightmares about the flash of teal turned ultramarine. Of the twisting, whispering and Hatred enflamed and nurtured that weaves and woven within the Imperium. He blinks and snaps back to here and now. A split second and he glances left to right and picks a different team to deal with that.

He’d pointed to a different squad and informed the ‘ultramarine’ that his squad was Zeta-bresk-four, not his squad, Zeta-bresk-five. The ‘ultramarine’ shrugged and took that other squad. His comrades had frowned at him concerned, but a Storm Hawk Captain scowled up at the lot of them and they were ordered to follow them. For several years he and his brothers had been Aspirants for the Storm Hawks.

This mission that they are going on, is their first as Full Battle brothers for the Storm Hawks. They are to infiltrate and extract information from these cultists as well as to setup up traps and capture, alive, as many as possible, per the orders of the Lord Inquisitor. It was Claude’s job to set the traps and ensure that the cultists are caught, as many as he can manage, before the rest of them realize what’s going on and things get more interesting.

He finishes up setting and camouflaging the traps and sits up somewhere up high and with a sniper blaster at the ready as he watches. He waits, patiently for the Chaos Cultists to wander unsuspectingly into his traps. The rest of his squad are on radio silent, doing their own tasks. Humans, even chaos scum heretics, are mostly night blind and fall into his traps far more easily than he thought they would. After a few more are trapped. He silently snipes into the traps with a knock out agent that will hopefully keep them from trying to kill themselves, or alert others too quickly.

“Urk.”

He freezes, that came over coms, rather than from the noise of those outside of his helmet.

“Sit rep,” He whispers quietly enough that the comms barely pick it up and his brothers hear him.

There is silence, funny how it is so quiet, save for the rustling of the wind and his near silent steps, he’s learned how to breath silently, something that a person as large as him with three lungs is quite the task. It had taken a long time to be taught how to properly step silently as he was grown and raised within the ranks of the Primaris Astartes.

The silence eats at his stomach, curling it’s icy cold fingers around his hearts. He takes in a deep breath and briefly closes his eyes and extends his senses. His brothers are alive, he feels their warm-bright souls in the darkness-warp that is this Chaos infested planet. The whispering cackles are louder and he pulls back into himself with a slight shake of his head.

“Caught one of their Important people,” Talos grunts in response. “Chaos Scum nearly spotted me.”

“Speed things up,” Their Sargent says after a few moments of silence. “Better cut the operation short than to stay longer and get spotted and get dead or worse.”

“Yes sir,” All of them say simultaneously.

He’s continued to take out the trussed up and unconscious Chaos Filth and notices the different qualities of their clothing, some have fancy finery of the nobles and the elite of this planet, others have rough spun clothes of the desperate and destitute of this scum world that with their actions shall help them bring the planet back into the Light of the Imperium. Depending on how deep the Corruption runs, and how their older brothers, and the Inquisition decides for these souls, and the souls upon this infected planet.