#and while mages DO tend to Know quite a bit

[sparkerinparadise]

oh btw im a maid of heart, sorry to be cringe or w/e. this is the ONLY part of [redacted] i still like interacting with, sorry

[thelostgirl21]

How to solve the whole situation once they've found Ciri...

Jaskier: I think Ciri should marry Radovid.

Geralt: Are you insane? He's way too old for -

Radovid: If I may, he's talking about a purely political alliance. I can assure you I'm gay, and I've got absolutely no matrimonial interest in your daughter. I do, however, so happen to have a kingdom that I'd very much love to abdicate from in favor of a queen that might actually have an interest in running it.

Ciri: I could use a kingdom! One that would treat elves, dwarves and humans as equals...

Jaskier: See? She'd make a great queen! They get married, Radovid renounces the throne, they divorce, Ciri inherits Redania - and with it the most powerful army in the North to keep her safe... Oooh! And Yennefer could be her mage adviser!

Yennefer: You sound like you've been giving this way too much thought...

Geralt: Wait. Redania legalized divorce?

Jaskier: And gay marriage, too. *Tries to sound casual about it.* Not that this is, you know, at all relevant to the the current situation.

Geralt: And why should we believe the King of Redania would be keen on giving up power so easily?

Radovid: Look, all I really wanted was a pretty song...

Geralt: *Eyes him suspiciously*

Jaskier: No, he's being honest. Had my doubts, too, but turns out all he really wanted, at first, was a pretty song.

Geralt: *Slowly realizes what this is about, an amused glint in his eyes as he looks back at him.* I thought you didn't do pretty?

Jaskier: *Dramatically throws his arms in the air, slightly annoyed.* Well, apparently I do now, don't I?

Radovid: *Smirking smuggly* I'm "pretty".

Ciri: *Totally missing the innuendo* You really are!

Radovid: *Delighted and preening* Thank you.

Yennefer: *Snorts*

Yarpen: *Points to Jaskier and Radovid* Wait. Has the lute-playing walloper been fucking a King?

Geralt: *Groans and sighs* Again, real subtle, Yarpen.

Yarpen: *Whisling while looking at Jaskier, somewhat impressed.* Didn't think you'd have it in you, friend!

Radovid: Well, technically -

Jaskier: Aaand on that note! I'll also need Ciri to divorce him, so I can marry him after.

Ciri: *Excitedly* You two are getting married?

Jaskier: Only if you are! Which, I'm aware, makes very little sense...

Radovid: I actually did offer to marry him first - and have Redania become the first kingdom to have two kings - but that triggered a bit of a panic attack.

Jaskier: Look, I stopped using that viscount title and left nobility behind for a reason. If Ciri can make room in the castle for a retired king and his traveling bard, I'd be fine spending a few weeks or even months living at court from time to time. Especially at first, so Radovid can help her get settled and update her on the most important issues that need to be addressed and resolved in the kingdom.

Ciri: Of course you'd always have a home here, and I wouldn't just kick Radovid out! Actually, would it be okay for me to let him keep his prince title? Just in case anything happens to me, and -

Yennefer: *Firmly* Nothing's going to happen to you.

Ciri: Yeah but -

Geralt: No buts. We won't allow it.

Ciri: What if I accidentally portal myself to another dimension? Wouldn't want to force me to leave the Kingdom unattended until I get back, would you?

Jaskier: Hate to say it, but she does have a point.

Radovid: Look, if that would give the Princess some peace of mind to have someone willing to be holding the fort in case of emergencies... But, if that were to happen, I'd be needing Jaskier's help.

Jaskier: *Shrugs* I mean, I guess that would work. It's not that I don't want to get involved in making people's lives better in the kingdom, or share in any of those responsibilities. It's just that, no matter how much I love any of you guys - and I really do love you - I tend to get quite antsy and unpleasant confined to a single location for too long.

Radovid: And personally, I've always wanted to travel, meet different people, and experience some of the tales that have inspired Jaskier's songs for myself.

Geralt: You know he makes a lot of those things up, right?

Radovid: *Shrugs* I think Jaskier's always told those stories the way he sees them - for what they are or mean to him according to his own emotional truth, rather than facts. For example, I've always thought that "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher" was about how the world tends to forget that, behind every larger-than-life heroic figure, there's often just someone that needs to be looked after, too, offered a drink from time to time, listened to, and treated as a friend. If accuracy or factually reporting events had been his goal, then he'd have become a historian, not a bard.

Yennefer: That's... surprisingly insightful.

Jaskier: *Swooning* I know... *Sighs happily* He really is quite brilliant, isn't he?

Radovid: *Blushes brightly* I take it my humble interpretation's not too far off?

Jaskier: *Leans in to whisper into his ear.* I'll let you know just how close you got later...

Geralt: *Confused* Okay, what's actually happening here?

Ciri: *Chuckles* It's called poetry.

Jaskier: *Dreamily, mostly to himself* You'd have to be a spoon to get it...

Radovid: *Now also confused* Wait. What? Now I don't get it.

Jaskier: *Winces slightly* Sorry. That one's on me, you're missing context. You're a spoon, Geralt's a hammer - just...

Radovid: ...different tools for different purposes?

Jaskier: *Makes a half strangled noise, as his legs threaten to give up on him.*

Yarpen: *Motioning to Jaskier while looking at Yennefer, bit puzzled* Does your bard usually do that?

Yennefer: *Looking deep in thoughts, seemingly analysing the situation* Not that I've ever been aware of.

Geralt: Yeah, no. That's new.

Ciri: *Incredulously* You've been travelling with him for, like, over 20 years, and you're telling me you've never seen him have a crush before?

Yennefer: Oh! Oh. Yeah, that's um - okay. I think you're right - I mean, I can see the nuance.

Jaskier (*slowly coming back to himself*) & Geralt: What nuance?

Yennefer: *Innocently* Nothing! Just enjoy your spoon, bard. I'll explain it to the hammer later.

Geralt: *Huffs thoughtfully*

Jaskier: *Still looking unsure* Alright...

Yarpen: You know what, I think it's safer if I don't know.

Radovid: I'm actually not entirely sure I follow...

Yennefer: *Uses magic to telepathically communicate with Radovid, making him blush even brighter.*

Radovid: No, I mean, that seems...

Yennever: *Continues to telepathically communicate with him, looking fondly amused, and just the slightest bit smug.*

Radovid: *Bashfully* I'll ah, I'll take your word for it, and thank you...

Jaskier: What did she just say?

Radovid: Nothing bad, and I'll tell you one day, when the time's right, I promise.

Jaskier: *Doesn't look quite convinced.*

Yennefer: *Rolls eyes* I promise it's fine, Pankratz. Now stop pouting!

Jaskier: *Sighs dramatically* Fine!

Radovid: But,to go back to the whole political royal union thing, I did look to see if I could just hand the kingdom over to Ciri - simply name a successor and step down. Sadly, changing the laws of succession would appear to be a complete nightmare!

Geralt: Meaning we have to trust that you'll honor your end of the agreement, and -

Yarpen: What? You really think that King's going to attempt to stay married to your kid with the amount of eye fucking that's been happening between him and your bard?

Geralt: *Groans* Yarpen, for fuck's sake!

Yennefer: That's a bit of a crude way to put it, but he's got a point.

Geralt: You know Dijsktra and Philippa won't be happy about this, right?

Jaskier: Yeah, well, good thing you and Yennefer are scarier than Dijsktra and Philippa.

Ciri: *Crosses arms on her chest, pointedly looking at Jaskier* Why are you overlooking the fact that I'd totally rip their spines out if they tried to come after you and hurt my family?

Jaskier: Gods, I love you kid! *Pulls Ciri into a tight hug*

Radovid: Didn't you say Yennefer was the scary one?

Jaskier: Like mother, like daughter.

Yarpen: *Proudly* I actually taught the cub how to rip out spines.

Geralt: *Gives two vigorous pats on Radovid's shoulder, almost making him fall over* Welcome to the family, Radovid! *Whispering omninously* But, should you ever try to hurt Jaskier or Ciri, trust me, you'll be wishing she ripped out your spine.

Yennefer: Yes, because I know how to eternally trap souls into an infernal dimension.

Radovid: *Hesitating* That's... oddly reassuring. *Visibly relaxing while looking at Jaskier* You were right, love - Dijsktra and Philippa aren't so scary after all, are they?

Jaskier: *Smuggly* Told you!

Yennefer: Are we sure we shouldn't have been warning Jaskier not to hurt him?

Geralt: Hmm... I was just thinking that, too.

[lilbittymonster]

OC Smash or Pass: Vaisha Soveniss

You already know how this works. "Other" option is for some sort of incompatibility or you'd just rather be friends or study them under a microscope or some secret fourth thing

Yoinking an open tag from @hazelkjt

Basics:

Height: 6'11"/~209cm

Age: 34

Gender: wizard

Pronouns: They/He

Sexuality: Grey asexual with heavy masculine preference

Pros:

Herbalist and apothecary with a broad working knowledge of plants for both medicinal and arcane uses

Well versed in basic survival skills

Enjoys a good book and loves taking recommendations

Very nice voice. Very. Nice.

Will not mind one bit if you decide to infodump to him

Cons:

Heavily prejudiced against Gridanians, especially conjurers

Has no limits they will not surpass in pursuit of knowledge, particularly occultist powers

Frustratingly private about themself

They don't shy away from violence as a solution

Details:

Grew up in part of a Gelmorran settlement that was later taken under the protection of the Redbelly Wasps.

They're a Hearer, but due to their fire aspected aether and existing while Duskwight, they've been thoroughly rejected by the conjurer's guild numerous times.

They leave the Shroud to continue their self-taught thaumaturgy skills and become a black mage. WoL!Vaisha continues on to Limsa and eventually becomes a summoner. They prefer magic that does not rely on an external source, as learning magic is something that cannot be taken away from them at any point.

They will use any form of persuasion in conversation, from genial manners to underhanded blackmail, all with the same serene smile in pursuit of their goals.

WoL!Vaisha's Echo power is to control the emotions of the people around them, for good or for ill. They cannot create new emotions, only suppress or amplify.

They enjoy the finer things in life. They relish the notoriety that being the WoL/a powerful mage gives them, and will often dress in fine linens and silks and drape themself in jewellery to supplement their natural arcane ability.

While travelling is not off the table entirely, they do prefer to stay in one place for extended periods of time.

They prefer to be nocturnal, so early risers will not see them very much.

They don't tend to put much effort into maintaining connections much farther than how useful one is to them, so creating an actual bond is quite difficult and requires a lot of patience and even more luck. So far there has been one exception.

Sexually dominant and will adapt to whatever their partner wants but mostly uses sex as a tool to further their own ends.

[adelarsims]

Hi XD

I actually do wanna learn more ab them! And I have a few specific questions if you don't mind!

How old are they really?

They seem a bit obsessed with looking young, is there a reason for that?

Why don't they use a wand if it helps keep their hands looking younger?

What changed them from a snob to a slightly more uhm personable person?

What do they teach?

Also here is your excuse to ramble about world building and magic cus I love this stuff

Another more vague one, you mentioned their childhood was rough, can you talk more ab that?

Finally because I feel like I'm overstaying my welcome, how did they discover they have feelings for Caleb?

1. let’s just say over a hundred. caleb once told cassie that 100+ years old feels better than 97 or something, because there's something romantic about being 'over a hundred', like straight out of a fairy tale, while 97 is just a really old grandpa :D

2. when they imagine looking in the mirror and seeing their hair grey and face wrinkled, they're terrified. it’s not a simple vanity - many spellcasters share this fear, when you don't see the constant flow of time when you look in the mirror, your image of yourself freezes like a fly in the amber - and going back into that flow gets more and more terrifying because it feels like suddenly the end nears faster. not all spellcasters choose to prolong their life, but those who do find it hard to stop. as for the youthful look... i think Morgyn just craves to feel at their peak, being the perfect image of themselves in everything. they were deprived of feeling worthy in their early years, so they keep proving and proving otherwise. especially after some discoveries about themselves that upended their understanding of who they are and thrown them into a deep identity crisis – they would grasp at all perfection that is still within their power to maintain. well... maybe it's also a bit of vanity, too.

3. it’s just more natural for them to cast with their hands and gives them access to much stronger magic. a wand doesn’t hold any magic itself, it’s like a laser pointer for magical energy, helps you focus and direct it. spellcasters need wands, innate mages don’t, though they of course can use them too. hand magic is raw, it’s more powerful but requires mastery and precision, and allows to weave spells that aren’t accessible to wand users, because wand is a single-channel magic focus, so to speak, and hand magic allows multi-channeling it (so basically, there's a limit that former humans who learned magic can do, and for innate mages this limit is very far, if existing at all)

4. oh no, don’t mistake a snob for an insufferable asshole. they were always personable. they’re likeable, cheeky, warm and affectionate to those they’re close with, especially those who appreciate and accept them, even though their position as a grand sage and academia headmaster naturally made them more reserved. and they’re still snobbish about magic, they know no one will do it better than them when it comes to spells, tend to nitpick mistakes in others' spellcasting, and get annoyed when someone is being lazy or unreasonably cocky with their magic. they just were hot-headed about people doubting their prowess as a student, but they have matured a lot and have good self control now.

5. mostly advanced elemental magic, and a few arcane disciplines i’ve yet to find names for. magic schools in my morgynverse are quite different from what they are in the game, for example, practical school isn’t about cleaning dishes. it covers healing, herbalism and potions, enchanting equipment, crafting amulets, like that. the new jewery creating pack will work so damn good for my story, i can’t wait!

6. i already gave bits and pieces here and there on this post. i can tell you a couple minor things if you want. there’s a plant that is used in potions, it’s called cyclop’s brain, it has huge leaves and massive seed pods, and tiny tiny seeds. also, every four years, on 29th of february, “the day that does not exist”, the academia holds a huge event called Masquerade of Mysteries, it’s grand and magical and everyone is allowed to go all out with enchantments and costumes, every student and teacher is looking forward to it.

7. i’m not sure how much i should say considering that i hope to start telling my story one day and it’s a spoiler, but let’s just say they weren’t really accepted for who they are and were considered dangerous even though they never gave anyone any reason to be afraid of their magic (it’s not simply about them being a mage, that wouldn’t be as much of a problem as their origin)

8. slowly. eventually. they were physically attracted to Caleb from the beginning, but it’s doing right by one another that truly brings people together. Caleb was there for Morgyn when they needed it most.

[ofdarklands]

level 90 at last!

so! about black mage

i've been thinking how to describe playing black mage, and i think the simile i used this morning in chat works well enough:

black mage feels like trying to run with a pot full of boiling water in my hands. with other jobs i feel light and agile, but black mage plays like how seeing emet selch as solus run would feel. look at that guy go. i didn't know spines could do that! you can hear his knees crunch, also

mechanically, it's really not nearly as bad as i feared it to be, even though i don't think i'd managed to figure out a decent rotation myself on the first or even third try so, thank you internet people for the guides!

anyway, the boiling pot wheezing trot sensation is not unique to it, though it is the most noticeable of all the casting classes i've played. i'd say rdm>summoner>whm>>blm in increasing awkwardness

so, while i acknowledge that blm is an optimizer's paradise to get the Biggest Booms, probably, playing it feels like it's almost fighting against the game instead of flowing with it and due to that it's just not very enjoyable, for me. it's got the same inflexible rotation that makes dragoon my least played class despite it being very canon for mitr'a

and from a physical perspective my fingers are not very precise on the keyboard, so i tend to fuck up the routine by accident quite often and then i have to correct it or start over and eeeehhhhhh. and my can't-remember-to-click-despair situation. dunno what the problem is with that one, to be quite honest. brain said no i guess :( that one's on me

woops this got longer than i thought so have a readmore

the good:

aforementioned big damages, when i manage to keep the rotation on track. sadly not as much of a plus for me, personally, but it's relevant still

against one enemy, getting immersed in the rotation can be pretty fun, until the 5 aoes come, the boss leaves the arena, and i sigh deeply while creakily running around, not casting

lasso spell goes brrr. it's got a very funny sound effect, in my heart

the 'return to leylines' spell is also great. i've used it mostly to instantly dodge when there's more than 2 sequential aoes. you can play around with these two spells

shoutout to the simplified job gauge for letting you actually understand anything about it. sure it's 3.5 things to keep track of, but for 2 of them you get informed about their readiness with convenient sounds and flashing borders so whatever

big staff to hit people with

cone hat funny

big lb meteorites. very good very cackling

the bad:

moving feels heavy, even when using the instant cast abilities. i keep lagging behind the group even in normal content, and sometimes clicking the right person to yeet to can be a bit hard in alliances or wall to walls. this class needs to do some cardio

clicking fire IV 3 times, then 1 fire I then fire IV 3 more times is. very boring. sorry. rotation 40 years long and rigid like the brutalism. the funnest parts are the thunder procs and the ice phase before going back to fire and the occasional instant cast. oh you sneezed and misclicked and dropped your fire badge thingies on the floor? sorry idiot you get to start over from the top, but sadder this time

this one i only noticed here at the end, but i feel it's very important, maybe more than the rotation: the best and biggest animations it has are the ones for the ice spells, which you use the least. xenoglossy, foul and flare are also good. amplifier, manafont and triple cast feel nice and dramatic to use. paradox i just got but it's also nice with the color mix. the rest i don't even remember, had to go cast them on a dummy. it's fireballs and fire columns it's all fireballs! the blm animations have a lot of boom but they need more heft, if that makes sense? more flying shit going from you to the target, shit shrapneling from the target, rings of fire, fiery eldritch runes, anything. if rdm can shoot 50 explosive roses at a guy for some reason and drk can summon shields of runes, blm can do something fancy also. casting a finisher skill called 'despair' should look like i'm sucking their souls out through a straw

also more casting positions. summoner has a lot and they're pretty different! they got floating symbols and shit. blm has 'slightly crouched' and 'staff held high' in variation 1 and 2, and that's about it from what i can tell besides the selfbuff ones. add some evil runes at least. the paradox wide armed one (i think you float a little?) is a good addition though

anyway, final verdict: it's a good class, but it's very rigid and inflexible to get Big Damages, which is not an exciting exchange, for me. i prefer to be nimble and do less damage but have a more varied and forgiving rng based rotation. also more utility skills! i miss peloton or having a group shield or heal, or even rdm's rez; makes me feel actually useful instead of being just a giant cone hat that produces flamethrower on command. i don't think i'll play it too often, i'm afraid, even though it's a perfectly alright class, and i'm sure i'll get better with time

HOWEVER. if dawntrail allows blm to throw meteorites outside of lbs i might reconsider. they can be small! even magical molotov cocktails if we must. but i want physical flamming objects to hit my enemies and i want to see the animations do that with some flair. just ole fire and spite booms and a couple icicles is not enough. i want to flatten them

[moonflvver]

Soft Kaeya headcanons agenda, inspired by your Kaeya abandonment anxiety ramblings. May I have some headcanons on a reader who often defends and praises Kaeya even behind his back? Like, reader keeps trying to show Kaeya how loved he is, and they put their money where their mouth is, and step up in their actions?

character: Kaeya Alberich x reader

warnings: none! (fluffy stuff)

a/n: I am always down to further the soft kaeya agenda! I ended up turning this into a little drabble... enjoy <3

w/c: 851 this wasn't supposed to be so long

Kaeya is familiar with the slew of insults that often come his way. He’s been called a lazy drunkard by Diluc more times than he cares to count, and he knows that most people look down on the fact that he spends many of his nights nursing a Death After Noon at the Angel’s Share. He’s seen quite a few people glaring at him mumbling about how he should be out patrolling at this time of night. But Kaeya does his work in the shadows, he keeps Monstadt safe without caring about the praise and fame that comes with a flashy win against the Abyss mages that threaten the outskirts of the city. He’s the one that helps to silently take care of threats that work against the peaceful harmony that the Anemo Archon has worked so hard to spread throughout the country. And most people don’t tend to see that, but you do. 

Whenever he comes back from yet another thankless job you’re the one who comes to knock on his office door and commend him on his hard work. You’re the one who gives him a pat on the shoulder and a word of congratulations after the two of you take care of some treasure hoarders that set up camp a little too close to the city. He’s never really had anyone praise him so consistently, so he’s not quite sure what to say. After a while he quits trying to come up with a flirty one-liner and you see a light blush spreading across his face as he mumbles a thank you. At one point Kaeya convinces himself that this is just how you are. You’re kind, you’re encouraging, you’re loved by practically every citizen of Monstadt. So he chalks up your compliments as nothing more than a result of your generous personality. 

That is until one day when he’s about to round the corner to visit your office he hears you berating a few of the newer members of the Knights of Favonius. He’s a bit taken aback at first. He’s never heard you raise your voice like this, and his curiosity gets the best of him so he inches closer to where you’re yelling at the two men standing in front of you. “The two of you have no idea what you’re talking about. Captain Alberich is far from lazy, he’s the one who keeps everyone safe. Including you two. He’s the one who regularly puts his life on the line to collect intelligence on the Abyss so that we can stay one step ahead of them and prevent countless lives from being lost. He’s a pillar of the Knights and he has more bravery and honor in him than the two of you have combined. So if I hear another insult about him coming out of your mouth, I’ll make sure that the both of you spend the next month patrolling the Whispering Woods.” The two men are silent as you berate them and then you finally sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose while you say, “Dismissed.” 

Kaeya is shocked to say the least. He never realized just how highly you thought of him. The mere idea of you defending him even when he isn’t watching makes him feel like for the first time someone truly sees him. He realizes that maybe you do actually care. You’ve made that much clear through your actions. His recognition that your praise for him is genuine causes him to pause for a moment. He thinks back to each time that you’ve been there to offer a gentle word of encouragement and he realizes that it’s okay. It’s okay for him to trust you and allow you to be there for him because you’re not going anywhere. 

The two men move past him, and he finally walks up to you. It’s then that you realize he’s been there the entire time so you greet him with a sheepish smile and say, “So I’m guessing you heard that.” And at this point he’s giving you the most shit eating grin but it’s not because he’s trying to be condescending. He just can’t hold in how elated he feels now that he’s finally recognized that your actions are genuine. “Yeah I did.” He laughs as your cheeks redden. He continues, “And I just want to say thank y-” but before he’s able to finish you interrupt him. 

“I really meant what I was saying. So there’s no need to thank me for just telling the truth.” And at this point he’s short circuiting as he struggles to find the right words. So instead he settles for placing a hand on your waist and pulling you in for a gentle kiss. His lips are feather light on yours and as he pulls away he says, “I know, but thank you. Not just for that but for everything else you’ve done for me.” And honestly, Kaeya doesn’t think that he’ll ever truly be able to trust that the people in his life will always be by his side but with you, it’s different.

[typingatlightspeed]

TF2 Fanfic - Dear Mama

The letters Heavy's written to his Mama since the start of 1970, giving her and his sisters some life updates, and responding to theirs. He's come to an important decision.

Ao3 Link! Part of Monstrous Intent!

I've been wanting to do something with Heavy and his family for a little bit, and just kind of his side of everything that's been happening. Because he's generally such a quiet guy sometimes he tends to react to things rather than drive them, and most of the time when I have him drive action it's sex, lol. Wanted to showcase some more of his internality and the poetic way he wields his native language. Giving his family life updates while artfully dancing around the fact that like 60% of his free time is sucking and fucking, lmao. Also: spot the Simpsons joke!

---------

Dear Mama,

I hope you've been well. I'm sorry I haven't gotten a letter to you in a while; it's hard to get mail down off of the frozen mountain where I'd been stationed since the start of the year. You know how it is. Thankfully, we've been reassigned back to the desert, so I'll have easier access to the postal system. So my letters should once again be more frequent.

I've been well, all things considered. The team didn't take as well to ice-rimed mountains as I did, so while it'll take some time for me to adjust to the temperature change, the team's been overjoyed. Especially Scout. He's a very thin man, so his tolerance for cold only goes so far. He's from cooler climates, but even so, the mountains had him nearly rattling apart from shivering! Ludwig, however, was unflappably enthusiastic, as always.

Speaking of Ludwig; his magical training has been progressing swimmingly, and he's developed into quite the nascent mage. It's truly impressive what he can do when he sets his focus on it. His determination is beyond dogged, and his passion boundless. I can't argue with his results!

Which brings me to interesting news: Ludwig has mastered an old spell from seiðr traditions that allows him to harness the jotun blood that runs through my veins, and give me the form of a full jotun, like Papa. When the excitement of discovery and novelty calmed down, however, I found myself struck by how strong my resemblance to Papa was. And though I haven't voiced it to him, it's made me realize how far divorced I am from that side of my ancestry, save for how it's shaped my appearance. I know Papa had a bit of ice and storm magic at his disposal, but also that he didn't use it much. He was far more invested in the movements of the world and the politics of men, I know. So that's something I might try to do some reading on in the near future. If you have any knowledge, Mama, I would love you to share it. I know Papa tried to keep us sheltered from the world of monsters, but like it or not, that world has come to me, and I feel it irresponsible not to explore that side of my own nature.

On a similar, but less somber note, Ludwig gave me a ring last week.

Don't get too excited, Mama. It ended up not being what I'm sure you hoped. I admit, I hoped the same, but I think my dear doctor isn't the type to think of such gestures of his own accord. He's a man of passion, not tradition. It'd be almost frustrating if his obliviousness weren't deeply endearing.

The ring is a magic item, a way to activate that seiðr spell on command should I choose, and he enchanted it himself. It's the culmination of quite a bit of work, and honestly I feel like that in itself is as much a statement of intent as a ring of more traditional meaning. It in itself is a promise.

It's no secret that our lifespans will differ, now. Ludwig, as a garuda, can live forever if he's careful. Scout, as a faun, can do the same. Their lifespans are functionally infinite. Ageless, timeless, and beautiful for eternity. Meanwhile, though I know my life will be longer than a human's, it does have a limit. I think that knowledge has been weighing on Ludwig a bit, and making him dig into my supernatural side as a result. Whether that will yield fruit, who knows? But it warms my heart to know that he desires to be by my side for all of eternity. Whether he realizes it or not (and knowing him so well, I deeply suspect not), that ring was a proposal, phrased in different terms.

I'm sorry, Mama. I'm sure I'm boring you with such fanciful thoughts when I should be keeping you updated on my life. But I suppose my life might have taken a turn for the fanciful.

Ludwig sends his love, and his thanks for a lovely Smissmas together. Scout hopes to meet you all someday sooner than later, but isn't sure when he'll be able to join me for a trip. He has a large, very tightly-knit family, so holiday travel is unlikely to deviate away from his mother's house. I hope to meet her someday. He speaks highly of her, and she sounds like a lovely woman. Certainly, she raised a wonderful son. Something the two of you have in common!

Give my best to Zhanna, Yana, and Bronislava, and let them know I can easily receive mail again. It's been a strange kind of lonely so far this year, unable to write with you all, and I'm eager to read what my dear baby sisters have to say.

All of my love, Misha

*

Dear Mama,

Thank you for your last letter. I hadn't realized just how much variation there was in jotunkind. I'd thought all of us merely hrímþurs, the frost giants, so it is honestly eye-opening to learn of the others descended from the jötunn. I'll have to do more reading on the subject, sometime. I'm sure Ludwig would appreciate learning more as well. Perhaps that wizard he bought his first magic book from might have something.

That said, I hope this letter finds you well. Work's been stable, with a few minor transfers across the region but staying largely in the desert. We've mostly been stationed at one base and then taken transports to satellite bases as the need arises. It's been less hectic than packing up and moving bases entirely constantly, but I won't deny that the times we don't use teleporters between our home base and the satellite bases make for terribly boring mornings. The team's taken to singing on those trains and busses, seeing how long it takes the driver to yell at us.

The train conductor is surprisingly resilient.

We've been helping Scout learn to control his small bit of magic lately, which has been an interesting effort. It's definitely been building teamwork between us, however, and been very good for our cohesion overall. And Scout's been quite happy for the extra attention.

Ludwig's been working on healing magics, and trying to replicate the effects of his specialized medical equipment using magic. To what end I'm not entirely sure, but it stands to reason it'll be helpful should an emergency arise when he doesn't have his equipment ready to hand. He's very clever about never letting himself be completely caught without a way to improvise a Plan B for situations.

That's all I'll say about Ludwig this time. I promise. After Zhanna's scathing letter and Yana and Bronislava mocking me endlessly, I'll spare you all the gooey romantic musings of a smitten old man.

Aside from work, life's been quiet for me. I read that romance novel that Yana sent with her letter, and enjoyed it far more than I expected! I'll be sending it back along with a novel that had a similar description on the back cover, which I found in town recently. I haven't had the time to read it, though, so please, Yana, don't hate me if it isn't very good.

Lastly, I hope you enjoy the small box of shortbread cookies I'm also sending with this! They were baked by our team's Demoman, who sends his best. He takes care of his elderly mother, and when he heard I was sitting down to write my mama a letter, offered to make sure it came with a gift. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

All of my love,

Misha

*

Dear Mama,

I'm glad you enjoyed the cookies! I'll be sure to let Demoman know, and give him your thanks. As always, Ludwig and Scout send their love.

Things have been busy of late. We finally had a nice, week-long furlough, our first of the year and entirely too overdue. I took the opportunity to simply spend time with Ludwig, though I'll admit I've slacked on the research I said I intended to do. Following Yana's next book recommendation, I ended up visiting a local bookstore and walking out with far more novels than I'd intended. I won't lie; I used to look down on books like these, but as the years go by I realize more and more that not every word committed to page needs to be come world-changing insight. Sometimes a story can simply be fun, and that's enough.

Also, I don't need a French-to-Russian dictionary in hand for these books, which is a blessing in itself. I don't miss those long, sleepless nights working on my doctorate! And I like to think this has been helping my reading skills in English, which is its own reward. Scout isn't a particularly strong reader, so I hope to help him practice. As such, I need to improve as well. It's good motivation so that I don't get lazy about language acquisition.

After our furlough, there was a company event. A gala of sorts with all of BLU's various teams, at a rather nice venue with a frankly obscenely expansive bar. They even had cocktails I enjoyed, and you know how rare that is. The news was sprung on us quite abruptly, but thankfully our Spy was able to outfit us with custom suits, thanks to being a shapeshifter who knows an excellent tailor. Ludwig gets clothes made by the same person; they do wonderful work. I've never seen my dove so elegant. The whole team looked very handsome, dressed in such fine clothes. We almost looked like a bunch of gentlemen! Very unlike us, I know. We even managed to not make too much trouble at the event itself, which was a small mercy. (I was on my best behaviour; don't worry, Mama.)

We took a few photos before leaving for the event, so I asked our handler for some copies. I'm including a group shot of all of us, and one with Ludwig, Scout and I.

And before she writes back anything about that photo to me, please tell Bronislava, again, that our Sniper is not single, and to please stop asking me about it. He's dating our Demoman. Don't ask me about that, either. I'm not about to divulge the details of my friends' love lives.

All of my love,

Misha

*

Dear Mama,

Please tell Yana that our Spy is also taken, and to please stop asking me questions about him and his love life.

Also please tell Zhanna that I'm not hogging every handsome man on earth for myself. She's being ridiculous.

That said, I hope this letter finds you well. Thank you for your sweet words about my photos. I've passed on the compliments to Ludwig, Scout, and the rest of the team, who were all very flattered and grateful.

We recently had another week-long furlough, which we ended up spending on-base, mostly for lack of plans. It was nice to be able to relax, though. I read the next book Yana sent, and have sent a few more with this package, as well as a letter for her to discuss the books in-depth. I'll spare you and the whole family our ramblings. I'm glad the trading post there has been sourcing more books for her voracious literary appetite, though. It's been nice to read fiction in Russian again. It's more relaxing than practicing my English, to be sure. I'll be sure to return her books with the next package. I fear this one is already too large.

Scout was away for the week, off with our Sniper and Spy on an outside job in Japan. It sounded very eventful, though in the interim our Demoman, who I think I mentioned is dating our Sniper, was inconsolable most of the time. It was pathetic, yes, but also very sweet. I would like to think I would be in better spirits should Ludwig have to spend a week away, but to say I'm sure would be hubris. After all, we go together, as I like to say.

It turns out that the Japan job was to help Spy's sister with a mess that had ended up on her doorstep thanks to his own past. News of this, among a few other things, has had me thinking. Getting in and out of Russia has always been difficult, which is why I attempt the crossing so rarely. It's only by the grace of the power of Builder's League United that I'm afforded such frequent correspondence with you all. And I can't help but worry that my own larger profile on the scene of mercenary operations might find you all, remote as your hiding place may be. I still worry that your location is less secure than I think. And I worry that if something should happen to me, or to my employment here, what sort of lurch that would leave you four in.

Also, Zhanna has been most vocal on the matter of men. Where are the men? When do I get to meet any men? Why am I not meeting any men now? And so on.

As such, I've decided to begin the process of working toward bringing you all to America in the next few years, where you will be truly safe from the KGB, and able to flourish as you deserve. It's not enough anymore just to try and keep you safe at home. Not when you deserve so much more.

It's with no small amount of guilt that I make this decision. While I have been working hard, and sending you the majority of my money, I feel as though my idleness such as my last furlough is cruel when you all yet live in fear and isolation. I'm here working for you, but in doing so, I have a surprising amount of leisure, like a great predator lounging between hunts, and it worries me that I'm being unduly selfish. After all, I have two beautiful lovers, a team of close friends, food and comfort when I want it, and peace when there isn't bloodshed. We fight a war with no personal stakes by day and play by night, eating and drinking our fill and passing our free time with games and romance, far away from the civilized world, in a place so private that Ludwig can walk about on talons with his wings proudly on display, and Scout can prance on hooves and try his best not to clatter his antlers into the lower doorways. It's our own private, violent Eden in its way, and it feels cruel to enjoy this life when you still hunt bear meat for your meals.

Ludwig's tried to assuage my feelings, to explain that being with him and Scout merely expands my family, and that I shouldn't make myself miserable as some penance, but I find it hard not to hold that guilt within me regardless. Especially when I use his ring to transform and see a bald reflection of Papa staring back at me in the mirror.

You four are the most important thing in the world. Not just my world. The world. And I want to give you that world. I've already requested information from my handler regarding the steps I would need to take in this, as she would likely be the conduit through which all of this happens. The process will be slow, and delicate, but I'm hoping that within two years, you will never have to eat bear again.

Zhanna, no dirty jokes.

I know this is exciting news, and I'm sorry it's on such a long timeline, but I wanted to make you all this promise now, so that you know there is an end in sight—a light at the end of this frozen, lonely tunnel. In the meanwhile, if there's anything you'd like me to send in these packages, please don't hesitate to ask. As it is, I've included some cakes Scout brought back for me from Japan. He says they're called 'manju', and are quite tasty.

All of my love,

Misha

[seerofaspects]

A lot of my class/aspect stuff comes from the base comic and not from the post canon stuff. I know some folks look at the post canon stuff for classpecting stuff, and while some of it is neat, I would rather just look at the main source for the time being. This is somewhat due to me forming a lot of head canons and stuff from this material. Wanted to just lay that down before I dive into this here! I will be making statements that sound definitive, but this is from my own perspective!

I want to start off with classes, but I want to go into a little bit about passive and active classes. A passive class is one who gets interaction from other people in relation to their aspect and what their classes role is, either on the giving or receiving end of it. A passive class also may have massive chain reactions from the giving and/or receiving side of things, which results in their class roles taking a lot longer to prosper. An active class is a character who directly interacts with their aspect in a way in which the effects or influence towards their aspect could be seen at a moment's notice. An active class will act more like an independent who is able to fulfill their class role without needing influence from outside sources. This isn't to say a passive class can't do things on their own or an active class can't do things in a group, it's just passive has more external influence and active has more internal influence.

Prince - Active Destruction/Destroyer - The Prince is going to be someone who causes active destruction toward their aspect and will tend to display personality traits that seem opposite toward their actual aspect while also having some relation to the aspect itself. The Prince can be someone who destroys with the aspect or makes a target out of their aspect. A Prince of Doom for instance could cause destruction causing doom to all who oppose them or could oppose the aspect of doom itself and be some sort of healer in a sense. You can see this with Eridan killing angels because he thinks he is supposed to defeat them, and Dirk being quite sacrificial of his alternative selves/souls. A Prince is going to have a 'take charge' attitude towards things and will try to be in control of the situations they are in. However their controlling personality traits do tend to lead to more destruction with them being directly responsible.

Bard - Passive Destruction/Destroyer - The Bard is going to be someone who embodies everything the aspect stands for (Cronus) or is going to come off as an opposite of their aspect (Gamzee). An external force is going to be introduced to the bard (Failure to beat the 'dark wizard' or Dave sending Gazmee ICP music videos) which is going to have them reconsider their values over their aspect or lack of aspect, causing them to seek and destroy their aspect or use their aspect to cause destruction. Cronus sought to destroy the aspect of Hope where as Gamzee used the aspect of rage to destroy. In the case of Gamzee he caused a lot of rage filled destruction in the active sense by killing Equius and Nepeta, but a perfect example of him using the bard class would be to try and make it so Terezi thought Vriska was responsible for these deaths. There is a lot of chain and effect type stuff with Gamzee such as abusive relationships, emotional manipulations, raising a cherub who would soon be known as an immortal time demon, etc etc.

Bard's are said to be total wild cards as well, and the wild card factor probably comes from you have no idea if the destruction they are going to cause is going to be beneficial toward the group. There is a reality where a Bard of Rage is someone who causes chain reactions to destroy the inner demons and aggression that folks have.

Mage - Active Understanding/Experience - If Seer's are spoiled rotten, then Mage's are sitting in a desert begging for it to rain during a drought season. There isn't a lot of information about the Mage, but I think they are the active understanding class and their way of getting the information comes from coming into direct conflict with their aspect, allowing them to be more knowledgeable. I actually think Meulin is a much better mage to explore than Sollux. She had shitty things happen to her with partners, with one of those things causing her to be deaf, but through her experiences she ended up becoming an amazing shipper who is perfect at setting people up together.

Seer - Passive Understanding/Experience - The Seer is a class who is going to take information from external sources, recontextualize it, and then allow that information to be utilized for others. The Seer class is pretty spoiled as there are a lot of moments throughout the comic which give away what being a Seer is. I think the easiest example would be Rose playing with John at the start of the game and making a game guide. This game guide eventually made its way to Kanaya which was crucial into letting the trolls play through their session. Another example is Terezi using her mind powers to think of pivotal moments in the past for John to go back to as well as instructions to change the choices made there, allowing her to assist in setting up the new timeline.

Witch - Active Manipulation/Change - I think this is another freebee, but the Witch is the active manipulation class. They are given abilities and just do witchy magic things with them to change stuff. A witch just sort of knows what to do with their grand power once they get it, and even before they get it they show a pretty strong connection to it. Feferi using her connections to get the dream bubbles set up to manipulate the realms of death for life to get a second chance. Jade doing her space abilities to make planets the size of marbles at the snap of a finger.

Sylph - Passive Manipulation/Change - I'm one of those pesky people who pairs Witch with Sylph, when the more common classpecting analysis was probably Sylph/Maid & Heir/Witch. I think Aranea sort of messed people up when she introduced herself as a healer, but as mentioned before a destruction class could come off as a healer if under the right circumstances. A sylph is someone who invokes change into other people with their first attempts being through passive 'meddling', however once the meddling isn't enough and things need to be taken care of, the Sylph will show a more vicious side of them that will take controversial action in order to get the job done that needs to be done. Aranea to me always came off to me like she had the ability to manipulate someone's character sheet and changing attributes about them. Healing Terezi's blindness was the same as just rewriting her wiki to say 'oh yeah she was never blind'. Same thing with Jake when she 'accelerated his abilities' in some way.

A sylph is a passive class though and simply using abilities on other people doesn't make a class an active or passive. The passive part of a Sylph is that when they do show that more vicious side of them, it starts a nice snowball effect that gets results. Without Aranea popping into the Game Over timeline, the events the led to Terezi, John and Roxy getting together and doing a bit retcon of the timeline to a reality with a higher chance of winning would not of been possible.

Knight - Active Exploitation/Usage - A Knight is a class which takes their aspect and is going to exploit, weaponize, and 'use' their aspect to its fullest. They may be a literal fighter who fights with their aspect, but they are going to use it to their fullest to sort of 'gain the system' with it. The best example of this is probably Dave using time abilities to exploit the stock market to get a bunch of money in the account. Karkat exploited how the various bonds in his group were in order to succeed as a leader to keep folks unified together. I do think Knight's are challenged with an insecurity to their aspect in some way, something happens as they are using their aspect which causes them to become insecure over it.

Page - Passive Exploitation/Usage - I've seen some very different interpretations of the page, but my personal interpretation is the Page starts off as someone who is not competent with their aspect and needs to be motivated by external forces to really use their aspect. For each Page there tends to be a harsher person encouraging them (Vriska, Dirk, Damara) and a kinder person encouraging them (Aradia, Aranea, Rufioh) in some capcity. The page will strengthen their relationship with their aspect and be able to use it in a way which is beneficial towards those who encourage them up. A good example of this is Aranea going to Jake to have his powers all changed up so she could use him as a tool for her own benefit. Tavros leaving dream bubble Vriska only to come back with a ghost army he convinced of joining their cause is another one of this. Pretty much a Page is used by others as if they were a tool for their end game goals.

Thief - Active Stealing/Movement - The thief is a super easy to understand class, they are a class who is able to take the aspect away from a source and steal it for themselves. I think the idea of stealing though also involves the idea of 'moving it' around from one location to another. When you're dealing with the more abstract aspects though you could have it so a thief is 'stealing' something like the portion of the Light aspect which is knowledge, and sort of duplicate it. You see Vriska do a lot of this by stealing knowledge from other people so she can be luckier in combat.

Rouge - Active Stealing/Movement - A Rouge is going to be someone who steals/moves their aspect, but usually their personality is more aimed towards a Robin Hood like persona where they are taking away their aspect and giving it away. A good example of this is with Roxy taking Pumpkins from the past and making them appear in her present. The concept of movement comes away here as she is technically giving away 'void' by trading it with something. The opposite of this happens though when she gets god tier abilities and is able to just make objects appear out of nothingness because she is moving the nothingness to create something!

Maid - Active Protection/Guide - I don't actually think there is a straight up 'healer' class, but rather the Maid is a class that's all about protection with their aspect or protection of their aspect. Aradia used her time abilities countless times to help protect and aide her session through using several doomed Aradia as fodder for the trolls session or using her time abilities to protect people from Jack by freezing him in place. I think maids are an active class that work in a really passive way, they are always in the background doing stuff but whatever they are doing in the background is stuff thats on their buisness. Jane (when not mind controlled) is a healer who showcases her abilities by going around healing other people. As far as her presense in the fight goes she is a passive member, but she is acting as an independent with only her alternative grandma version of herself being next to her side.

Heir - Passive Protection/Guide - An Heir is going to be someone who is given their aspect to guide them and protect them through their journey and eventually they will be able to use their aspect in a way that causes protection and guidence for others. John is the main Heir of the story here as Equius and Mituna don't really have strong roles within the story which showcase their classes. All four of the original human characters had trolls messaging them, but John probably was influenced the most to sort of go out and do things under a certian path. I think him being told to do 'the windy thing', being given the bunny which protects him from Jack at the right time, and even things like Davesprite coming back in time so he doesn't get killed by Terezi's plan for him to kill the Denizen are all examples of him being guided into the right direction. This of course is returned back as John is left to be the one to guide everyone back into the right direction with his abilities thanks to the aftermath of Game Over. An Heir overall is an investment of protection and guidence of their aspect for them to return the same protection and guidence when grander stakes are needed.

I don't really feel like diving into the aspects too much because I think those are documented well enough and I actually like some of the post canon stuff for these (those quizes really help with things such as aspects of blood). I don't have any hard disagreements with other folks interperations of the aspects, so not putting that here for now. I wrote this on the reddit thread on https://www.reddit.com/r/homestuck/comments/1dl6rz2/ive_been_studying_classpects_aspects_classes_ect/, sharing here!

[broken-clover]

Safe Harbor

The problem with trying to write something as you play a game is that it's really hard for things to synch up nicely. I wasn't sure if there would be a point to finishing this now that we're out of Neksdor, but I really liked the idea of having some little plot tweaks and I couldn't help myself. There's another one right after this about the start of the Fae Realm (as I mentioned I want to also redo the meeting with Bang) but it seemed wiser to do it as two separate ones

She noticed how the smile escaped his face as soon as dinner ended.

These humans were strange. Blue wasn’t even sure if all of them were humans. The only one she felt reasonably sure of was their so-called leader, yet he seemed the strangest of all. Them, all four of them, they had only known one another for a brief amount of time. Even moreso for her- in the eons-long tapestry of a Diamond’s existence, this was barely more than an absentminded blink. It felt foolish to say that she knew all of them incredibly well.

Though she had at least understood the cursory basics. I-no, the red one, was quite fond of trickery, and possessed a short temper when things bored her or went incorrectly. Taokaka was the energetic one with strange ears, so vibrant at times that Blue wondered if she and Pink would have been the best of friends. And, of course, Phoenix. Puzzling Phoenix. Of what she did know, he…’wore his heart on his sleeve,’ as humans tended to say. He made it very easy to tell when something upset him. Lies came out stilted and unconvincing. His aptitude for planning frequently interrupted by a lack of confidence. Fretful, but analytical and detail-oriented. He would have made a quality Agate. Perhaps, with a bit of work on his persuasive skills, even an Emerald?

Blue shook her head. No, no, Gems could be whatever they wanted now, the caste did not mean anything of substance now. Remembering that could be difficult still. In any case, Phoenix was human, a squishy, peculiar thing that even something as majestic as a Diamond struggled with understanding. He made it very clear that their journey of ambiguous purpose frightened him greatly, but still their little group traveled across the desert, and he poorly masked a look of terror all the way.

So when he made no attempt to hide his frown, it had to mean something unpleasant.

Would it be impolite to say so? Sometimes, being impolite was a necessity with humans. They could tiptoe around issues rather than speaking frankly and simply. Even if they made their intentions obvious. Such as with their current sleeping arrangement.

Phoenix had clustered them all close together. Even the horse was right next door, every odd snort audible through the wooden wall. It was distracting, but it was clear that was intentional. No matter. Any sleep she had was voluntary. A few hours of waiting until sunrise was an easy task, she’d done it last night, too. Just pantomime what the organics did. Climb into the bed, lie down, and close your eyes. Simple. Rather comfy. 

Just a matter of time until his attempt at a facade cracked. 

“Blue?”

Tiredness was tangible in his voice, but he was clearly still awake. Worrying about things made it difficult to sleep, or so she had heard.

“What is it?”

He squirmed under the covers until his face pointed toward her side of the room. “Can I talk to you?”

“Is that not what we’re doing right now?” She asked. “What is bothering you, Phoenix?”

The bed creaked as he flinched. “I- y-...that obvious, huh…”

“Indeed.”

“Well…” The man mulled over his words.  “Are you okay staying in Neksdor for a while?”

Blue thought for a moment. “I take no issue with it, why?”

Once more, he hesitated to speak. “What happened last time, when we left Greenhorne…that’s when I lost them.”

Ah, yes. His prior group. Phoenix spoke plenty of them. Joe the very handsome cook, Sin the very loud knight, and Ro-myo the bothersome mage. Though some of their epithets weren’t particularly flattering, he spoke of them with such warmth that it was clear how close they had been. Something had happened upon his arrival to the desert. That ‘Dark Lord’ individual had whisked them away to who-knew-where. Phoenix’s constant fretting over her, Taokaka and I-no had seemed quite clearly to her some extension of that.

“If we leave Neksdor, I’m worried…” He swallowed. “You aren’t…you’re not gonna…”

Blue looked at the man in silence. He turned away from her, staring up at the ceiling again. “We’ll stay here. It’s safer here.”

What was it that he planned to do here? Though it was true, she was fine with staying, all her time spent with these people was through the lens of battle. What was there to be done with it ended so abruptly? 

“What of the Dark Lord, then?” She wondered aloud. Maybe he had thought of that already…? 

His expressions shifted in the dark. From off the bedside table, he plucked the strange, shiny charm that she’d seen him carrying around. A scarce bit of moonlight caught the metal and illuminated it.

Phoenix unceremoniously hurled the trinket away. It narrowly missed the open window, thumping against the wall and clattering against the ground.

“Forget it. Someone else can save the world.” With a huff, he bundled the blankets up to his ears and twisted to face the wall. “Good night, Blue. See you in the morning.”

As she tried to think of some sort of response, nothing particularly helpful came. “...Goodnight, Phoenix.”

Back to feigning sleep. Of course, she could still hear him shifting uneasily in his bed, and the words he tried to mutter under his breath.

“I’m not losing you, too. I can’t lose more friends.”

------

“Mornin’, Blue.”

Phoenix sat up from his tangle of pillows, blankets and messy hair. A hand attempted to push away the hair and blurriness from his eyes.

“Blue?”

Her bed was empty, blankets pushed back. 

“Guess she got up early…” He mumbled, feeling for his glasses and slipping them on. Based on how high the sun was in the window, dawn must have been hours ago. 

Everyone was probably at breakfast already. Might have even finished. Hopefully they were polite enough to leave a bit for him. Phoenix left the bedroom behind him and headed for the stairwell down to the dining room.

“Blue? Tao isn’t giving you too much trouble, is she?”

The table was empty. An inn employee was sweeping the floor, but there was no sign anything had been put on the table and cleaned away.

If Blue wasn’t there…

“Y…you’re just in the bathroom. Yeah.”

Gems had no need to eat, and thus no real reason to use that, either. He had never seen her step foot in one.

“I- I’ll, I’m gonna go check on the others, okay?”

The inn was quiet. Even the sounds of the staff moving about felt muted. No, that was just his imagination. He was just imagining things. His mind tended to get carried away when he was nervous, everything would be fine as soon as he saw his friends and realized just how ridiculous he was being.

“You up, girls?” When the door to the next bedroom from his was within arm’s reach, Phoenix gave it a hearty knock. “Rise and shine! Breakfast is gonna get cold, Tao!”

That should have gotten her attention immediately. When he pressed an ear to the door, though, there were no scuffling claws, no eager kittyish chirps.

“Are you still asleep?” He felt for the handle. The door was unlocked. Phoenix let himself in.

No signs of life. Both beds as equally empty as Blue’s.

Phoenix approached what he assumed was the cat’s bedside, based on the numerous bananas piled on the floor close by. He pulled the blankets back as far as he could. She wasn’t hiding beneath them, ready to surprise him for her own amusement.

“...Tao’s just playing with Fluttershy.” Sweat was already gathering the curves of his palm. “I-no just went to go buy a new spear. She’ll be back soon.”

Phoenix was a poorer liar to himself than he already was to others. Dryness in the back of his throat joined the clammy palms. He tried to keep his breathing even. Tried. Failed.

“This isn’t real. This isn’t real. I’m just dreaming.”

Back to bed. Under the covers. He’d wake up soon enough, and all four of them would laugh over the ridiculousness of it over breakfast. Tearing out of the room, the door to I-no and Tao’s room slammed shut only after he’d already made it back to his own. The world went dark as he shoved his head under the pillow and clenched his eyes shut. 

Time failed to function in his cramped little cocoon. No matter how he tried to close his eyes and dredge up any tiredness, Phoenix stayed awake, but he refused to climb out again. The feeble hope of dreaming was all he could think to cling on to.

Though not an impatient man, there was still a point where he recognized that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. It just didn’t come. No, forget it. He’d meet everyone on the road. They were waiting for him. They had to be. How rude of him for making them wait.

The blankets were pushed aside again, and he grabbed his lab coat from its place tossed over the footboard.

His lab coat felt…wrong.

When a job’s set of garments matched, there was a subtle, energizing aura it instilled in the wearer. Though he knew they were just lab coats and fabric vestments, that little hum under his skin told him that he would be protected. He knew what it felt like. And he knew what it felt like when he was wearing something that didn’t work.

He knew how it felt.

Because that’s how it had felt the last-

In a frenzy, he tore across the room to where the mirror was hanging. Every inn had one lying around. Useful for admiring new armor when he bought it. He had looked at this set not too long ago, recently enough that he immediately recognized how awkward and bulky it now looked on his shoulders.

The lab coat slumped to the floor in a sad pile, letting Phoenix get a good, long look at what was underneath it.

Plain clothing. Traveler’s robes.

[crows-of-buckets]

finally deciding to make an about me post yippee yay!!

Hi my name is Crow! Most of what I reblog is fandom stuff, and I jump between fandoms quite frequently <//3 I have a few that I tend to come back to regularly however (Somehow I manage to have a dragon age obsession at least once a year. it is very consistent)

If I don't respond to something, it is either bc 1) I genuinely don't know what to say and social interactions terrify me, 2) I was too tired to respond to something when I saw it then I promptly forgot about it or 3) got anxious and convinced myself that the person who sent it hates me or something. Deepest apologies I'm just awful at stuff like that and have pretty bad anxiety I do try though <//3

I block very very generously! If you do end up blocked by me it may not be for any actually bad reasons, you could have just worded something in a way that mildly annoyed me, please dont take offense to it lmao. Me and the block button are madly in love, and I do not hesitate to press it. This is mostly just to curate an experience that is fun for me, and also to avoid me getting overly mad about random bad takes i see. Bigotry of any kind is not tolerated and you will be blocked.

I tend to ramble on about my ocs a worrying amount. As of right now, I am rather focused on my dragon age ocs, but i also have personal ocs and ocs for other fandoms

About tagging

Generally I try to tag things appropriately, although sometimes i am not the brightest and forget. If I do that's my bad I'll normally notice before too long

I tag all my art as "#my art". If you only want my art stuff, I have an alt that is solely for reblogging all my art. That is @bucket-of-crows

My rambling tag is "#crow rambles" half the time this is me yapping about my ocs, other half is me complaining about something lmao

I tag my ocs using "oc: *oc name*" as a way to organize stuff. I also use "worldstate: *worldstate name*" for dragon age worldstates, since I have a few. Any posts I make about my ocs/oc playthroughs is tagged "#my ocs"

While I don't tend to reblog sexual stuff, anything with excessive nudity is tagged as "#nsfw" just to be on the safe side

I tag all Dragon age: The Veilguard spoilers as "#dav spoilers" I will probably continue to tag this as spoilers for a while. I also tag anything critical of the game as "#dav critical" Anything critical of other dragon age games / bioware as a company is typically tagged "#bioware critical" or "#da critical"

About my ocs

Im gonna ramble about my ocs a bit, so I'll put this under a cut so this doesnt look too long lmao

I accidentally posted this instead of saving to my drafts so this section isn't done my bad

Aviae Surana

(she/her)

Aviae is my main dragon age origins oc, and I talk about her quite a bit. Shes specializes in spirit healing/arcane warrior/battle mage. Technically she also takes a little bit of levels into keeper, but I don't really consider it one of her canon class since I never use it with her like I do the others.

She romances Morrigan, and does the dark ritual with her. She puts Alistair on the throne due to her distrust of Anora. She feels guilty about it, but she would do it again in a heartbeat. Her closest friends from Origins are Zevran and Alistair, but she considers all of the people she traveled with dear friends. From the Awakening crew, Anders is practically family to her (they grew up in the Circle together, and shes always considered him like a brother), and Nathaniel becomes someone she ends up relying on. Her and Justice also get along very well, even if they butt heads on occasion.

For important decisions, she sided with the mages, made Bhelen king of Orzammar, made a truce between the Dalish and the werewolves, helped Redcliffe and saved Connor without Isolde dying. She kept Avernus alive (I'm still in the air about whether she allows him to continue his research), let the Architect live as well, and saved Amaranthine. Vigil's keep stood its ground with the upgrades she had provided it.

This is my girl! Sadly I don't have a better reference for her current canon outfit (she has an old outdated reference sheet though), so this will have to do.

In some of the older posts, I refer to her and Alistair as exes. Sadly, while this is a fascinating dynamic, it is not canon anymore. As much as I love Alistair, Aviae would not trust him enough to fall in love with him due to him having trained as a templar. Eventually they become close friends, but never more than that. She is part of my "Mage rights" Worldstate. I tag all of her posts as "oc: Aviae Surana"

Wolfe Amell

(he/him)

Lucio Hawke

(he/they) (probably) (its not like hes figured it out yet lmao)

Selene Adaar

(she/her)

Revari Mercar-Surana

(they/them)

Ena de Riva

(he/him)

Tyrian

(he/him)

Varamis

(she/her)

Other Ocs

Some ocs I either don't have a lot of content for, or dont post about enough to warrant me giving them their own section, so I'm going to put their tags down here. All posts about my ocs are tagged as "#my ocs". Some of these ocs may eventually get full sections if I get the motivation for it

Athiman Mahariel (he/him) (Dragon Age)- Morrigan romancer who made the ultimate sacrifice. Tagged as "#oc: Athiman Mahariel"

Veloura Mahariel (she/her) (Dragon Age)- Leliana romancer who got Alistair to do the dark ritual. Tagged as "#oc: Veloura Mahariel"

Viara Hawke (she/her) (Dragon Age)- Merrill romancer who sided with the mages. Tagged as "#oc: Viara Hawke"

Yvette Hawke (she/her) (Dragon Age)- Isabela romancer who sided with the mages. Tagged as "#oc: Yvette Hawke"

Zel (he/him) (Dragon Age)- Part of Selene's mercenary group. Has an au where he's Inquisitor, but that one isn't canon. Dorian romance. Tagged as "#oc: zel adaar"

Vashoth (she/her) (Dragon Age)- Part of Selene's mercenary group. Tagged as "#oc: vashoth"

Solmummer Adaar (she/her) (Dragon Age)- Josephine romancer. Tagged as "#oc: Solmummer Adaar"

Tyrian (he/him) (Pathfinder WOTR)- Tiefling, Daeran romancer, Lawful good turned Neutral good. Mystic path went from Angel to Legend path. I do actually have a lot of posts about him I just don't feel like writing a blurb about him <//3 I do adore him though. Tagged as "#oc: tyrian"

Uvara (she/her) (Pathfinder WOTR)- Dhampir, Arueshalae romancer, Chaotic Good, Azata. Tagged as "#oc: uvara"

Watcher Nyxtra (she/her) (Pillars of Eternity)- Pallegina romancer (the lack of a canon romance cannot stop me), tagged as "#oc: watcher nyxtra"

Arphae (she/her)

Grisvald (he/him)

Kaid (he/him)

Zayan (she/her)

[jukkariart]

DA4 - Rook/ OC - Alectris

You know what, I'm gonna be a bit insane on here. Tagging as spoiler, just in case, but it's mostly just info dump on a character that's probably not even gonna be Rook really but a separate OC.

I thought her up initially last year and now with all the DATV things coming up she's been taking up most of my brainpower.

Details under the cut, ask me anything I guess?

Name: Alectris (possibly will stick with Mercar, it's a good surname me thinks)

Nickname: Tris

Age: 29

Nationality: Tevinter

Family: Comes from a Laetan family

Long standing mage family but with no confirmed links with the ancient dreamers, so they never made it to Altus status

5th child

Her siblings are all older than she is, 2 sisters and 2 brothers

Looks: Rather tall at 178 cm Alectris is average build, yet quite physically strong for a mage. With slightly off torso to arms and legs proportions, people sometimes compare her to a young foal. She has fair skin with freckles, which are most common on her face and shoulders, but can be found on her whole body. 

Her shoulder length dark brown hair usually in a semi up-do to keep them from falling over her eyes. She has brown-amber eyes.

Skills:

(Based on the mage skill tree and whatever the heck i want) Primarily a spell blade, front line combatant using sword and casting shields.

Skilled elemental mage, primarily focused on lightning magic with fire to fill in the mix.

Crap at hexes and couldn't heal a paper cut if her life depended on it.

Personality

Alectris is rough around the edges. Witty and sharp, she prefers to deflect personal questions with sarcasm instead of addressing her feelings head on, very much unlike her approach to pretty much anything else in her life. She's resilient and focused when needed, but needs a goal to channel her energy into or she becomes restless and apathetic. Pragmatic and self-sufficient she tends to prefer simple solutions that she can count on herself to complete.

In the field she tends to favor group effort, after years of military service, she has learned the value of a good team that she can rely on. A front line fighter she specializes in close combat and shields to keep her team out of harm.

Background

Alectris has managed to fumble through most of her early life with a mix of bad luck and surprising resilience.

The youngest child in the family, she didn't produce any magic until the "ripe old" age of 11, making it the latest in the recent family memory.

She's been taught at home since then with barely any breaks to catch-up to her peers and when deemed satisfactory she has joined the circle of magi in Vyrantium by the age of 15, where she's remained for the next 4 years with mixed results. While determined and sharp, she's excelled in evocation magic, but fell short in most other fields like hexes and healing, making her a rather uninteresting protege. As she was aging out of the circle slowly without the scientific inclination her family has decided to push her towards military service. If she could not support the family's good standing by her apprenticeship she could at least show their devotion to Tevinter at the border.

After signing up she's done her first 4 years by various imperial borders, spending most of her time by Nevarra and Anderfels. Faced with either returning to the capital and her parents who would see her join the nobility on the salons or signing up for another military contract she chose the latter, this time initially stationed by the Free Marches she ended up sent to Seheron where she's spent nearly 2 years, fighting for Tevinter.

By the end of the second year there was not much left in her to give thus, ultimately she's been discharged at 27 and sent back to her family in Minrathous, where shortly after her return they've made sure to parade her around as a proof of their devotion to the country. Having already lost nearly third of her life for the service, Alectris fails to blend in with the socialite, who are either too arrogant or too stupid for her tastes, while they in turn see her as someone too brutish for their refined sensibilities.

About 2 years pass by the time Solas' ritual happens and Tris feels disconnected from both her fellow soldiers by the nature of her background and the higher society by the lack of shared experiences. At this juncture she finds herself drawn to both Lucerni in the magisterium and the Shadow Dragons as a means of carving out some space for herself in the world that does not seem to be used to people in her position.

Trivia:

Morning person (extremely morning person, usually one to be up first)

Loves storms and rain

Loves the sea

Loves watching the sunrise

Has a lot of physical ticks (taps fingers on the table, taps heel on the floor, bites nails)

She plays piano (always wanted to play violin, but her eldest brother was made to learn it first and why would you have multiple children playing the same instrument?)

Loves fruits, sour the most

Dislikes sweets

Loves herbology, alchemy and poisons studies, she can craft basic potions if needed, but best keep her out of any laboratory (or kitchen, this lady doesn't know how to cook)

[shepherds-of-haven]

Hi, Lena! Red ended up being one of my favourite characters in ShoH (he's such a sweetheart!) and I have a few questions about his family, if you didn't mind answering them. No pressure of course! Where does Red's family live? Are Red's sisters much older than Red? What are the mage specializations in Red's family? Do any of the family members share Red's red hair? How intentional was naming Red "LiefRED" by his parents? What were Red's parents's occupations before their retirement (?)? Have a nice day! <3

Hi anon, I'm so glad you ended up falling in love with Red! :) He actually talks quite a bit about his family in Chapter 7 if you choose to share a room with him and ask him the right questions, as well as during his first day off interlude, so some of this information is in the game itself (just in case you're curious to hear it straight from him)! And in case you haven't seen this post, here's that as well! To answer your questions:

His parents/family home is in Stroud!

Idalia is 6 years older than Red, Isodel is 5 years older, Lydda is 4 years older, and Gwyn is 3 years older!

I haven't concretely nailed down his parents' specializations (I think his dad tends towards Binding and his mom towards Conjuration, but don't hold me to that too concretely); as for sisters, Idalia is talented in the astral arts and favors Elementalism, though she's a fair hand at Battle Magic and Healing when she has to be; Isodel is strong in both Shifting and Wild Magic; Lydda is mostly a Scryer; and I'm pretty sure Gwyn is a Binder!

Red gets his vivid red hair from his dad, whereas his mom is more of a strawberry blonde/faintly reddish-goldish, so technically everyone in his family has red hair, it's just to varying degrees! Idalia's hair turned darker as she grew older and is now more brownish, Isodel has dark red hair, and Lydda and Gwyn both have goldish-reddish strawberry blonde hair, with Lydda's hair being a bit paler/more yellowy than Gwyn's?

Here are some visual references because I realize I described that kind of terribly lol:

Idalia's hair (ish, it's probably a bit darker):

Isodel's hair (ish, without the different streaks/highlights):

Lydda's hair (ish, it's probably a bit paler and more yellow in tone):

Gwyn's hair (ish):

Actually, Red's name wasn't intentionally chosen because of his hair color, they had already picked it before he was born and didn't know he was going to have such red hair until he came out! Liefred is kind of an uncommon, old-fashioned Mage name that is typically shortened to "Freddy," which was what they were originally planning to nickname him LOL. I think the girls might have picked it out of a baby name book and were like 'omggg we can call him Freddy, wouldn't that be so cute <3' while all excited about the prospect of having a baby brother, and his parents, a bit worn after having four strong-willed girls, were kind of like *shrug* yeah sounds good to me!

I think his parents are semi-retired, but still work a few days out of the week. His father works as a court scribe/trusted advisor to a local mayor, while his mom works as the bookkeeper and master of records for a Healer's clinic, though she used to work for a physicker when he was a kid! Right now they're mostly concerned with tending to their garden and hosting reading circles (aka book clubs) :)

[h-worksrambles]

I have no idea if Kingdom Hearts will ever give us a proper solo Kairi game, but it’s still something I like to think about and I was recently thinking about who would be the party members if that was the case. I see a lot of people say the wanna see all the KH girls in a party together, Kairi, Namine, Xion and perhaps Aqua as well. That could be really fun, but I have a different idea.

Sora and Riku’s party members are classic Disney characters who reflect their roles in the series. Riku, the archetypal JRPG hero is paired up with Disney’s golden boy. Sora’s character is basically what would happen if a goofy, Joey Wheeler-esque best friend character ended up being the protagonist. So he’s paired with the funny sidekicks, Donald and Goofy. So Kairi would make sense to pair with your archetypal princess characters. And there are two ladies-in-court in Disney Castle who haven’t done much in the series yet…

Why not make Kairi’s travelling companions Daisy and Minnie? Not only is it a way to give all three of these characters stuff to do but I think they’d slot into a typical JRPG party structure pretty well. Minnie has already been portrayed as a mage with an aptitude for light magic. She’d be the White Mage to Donald’s Black Mage. Plus, it makes sense for Minnie to help Kairi with her magic since, being a Princess of Heart, Kairi also has an aptitude for light magic (see Re:Mind). As for Daisy? Well Dream Drop Distance implies that all the Disney Castle gang (sans Mickey) are from the Country of the Musketeers world, and that Mickey met them there while world travelling during his training (at least that was my understanding). So why not have Daisy honour that by acting as a Musketeer? Give her a rapier and let her by the team fighter. That way you have the same all rounder/Mage/warrior dynamic as Sora, Donald and Goody but a little different.

You’ve also got a good balance of personalities. Minnie is usually portrayed as a very sweet, sunny, demure character (though the more modern shorts show she absolutely has the potential to be crazy). Daisy’s got Donald’s capacity for temper, but tends to be a bit more sophisticated and worldly. A little drier and sassier. This gives you two more contrasting personalities. One a bright people person, and the other who takes nobody’s crap. And then Kairi’s who’s been shown to be able to be both very sweet but also quite sassy, fits in nicely between them.

It’s also not very hard to think of a premise post Melody of Memory and it’s one I’ve suggested elsewhere already. Kairi gets sent out to look for the other members of the New Seven Hearts. She gets to meet these Disney characters with a role like hers, and reflect on what her status as a Princess of Heart actually means. But, like Sora in KH3, you’ve also got that conflict where all the while she desperately wants to go and help her friends, despite knowing she’s not currently strong enough to do so. It’s a simple premise, but it capitalises on what we have to work with for Kairi, and turns her lack of agency into the basis for a character arc. And now she’s got some fun new companions to bounce off of. Giving her more friendships and relationships outside of Sora and Riku.

I highly doubt this will ever happen. But if Kairi does properly get her due, then I think this would be a fun way to go about it.

[nightmarist]

its been fucking years since i thought about godtiers but lets try.....

bg3 x homestuck classpects

Astarion — Knight of Heart he has deep intimacy issues and is greatly guarding his own heart and desires. in fact, he barely knows what he wants. he knows how to manipulate people and use it to his advantage. he needs to get over said issues and learn to trust people that care about him and get a better grip on his own wants and needs.

Gale — Prince of Void hes an intelligent man who loves to learn and reveal knowledge, thus destructing secrets and revealing truths, and especially believes in knowledge being available for mortals. he has the Netherese orb, which is quite literally an orb of Nothing that can destroy half the world. he needs to learn to let things be, put down hubris, not everything needs to be revealed and taken and touched.

Lae'zel — Maid of Doom she is strict and follows a paradigm that has been thrust upon her without question. she is also strategic in the way she approaches destruction, no matter who it is that needs to die - such as her cousins in K'liir. she needs to learn how to break free of convention and make her own rules to live by.

Shadowheart — Witch of Void an expert manipulator in secrecy and nothingness, especially by way of her willingness to remove her own memory and knowledge. she has hidden herself inside herself multiple times and needs help finding her true self or else she will be confined to a lie of her own making made to bury the truth of her kidnapping.

Karlach — Maid of Rage her anger is her conviction, her strength comes from her rage while she also empowers others through that rage, it is righteous and raw and powerful and protective. she is in dire need of emotional support and making connections beyond pain and anger.

Wyll — Heir of Blood he feels responsible for helping others, and by mizora we see he can be manipulated into doing self destructive if not awful things as long as it can help someone else, especially by way of his lack of close personal bonds as the fabled Blade of Frontiers. he needs to be guided on the right path by the people who care about him, and needs to learn to make and trust real bonds.

Halsin — Mage of Life he is an excellent caretaker and knowledgeable in health and life as a druid and a healer. however, he has an obsession with the shadow curse feeling responsible for it as though fixingit would also fix him, and simultaneously over-sacrifices himself for others. he needs to learn to balance helping themselves and others correctly.

Minthara — Thief of Blood she manipulates others in order to reach the top, no bond is too sacred to be severed, blood and bonds are merely tools to achieve her goals. she is proud to her very core, she knows what she wants and she Will get it. she needs to learn to worth doesn't require status.

Minsc — Page of Breath hes almost childishly idealistic and an excitable free spirit, more than happy to support and cheer others on. he wants to do absolute good to protect the lands from evil. tends to follow the will of others to an extreme degree. he needs to learn to think for himself a bit more.

Jaheira — Page of Heart shes jaded to the events of the world, dry but not yet out of hope. she tends to have a flippant view of the world while still acting compassionate towards others. she can put up the necessary front of being an excellent leader but tends to be emotionally distant. her leadership is necessary but superficial, especially as a parent. she needs to balance sincerity.

The Emperor — Lord of Mind the literal embodiment and manipulation of the mind. controlling others through manipulation like puppets, making the people around them believe his subliminal ideas are their own original ones inorder to get others to do his work. needs to not be a dick.

Gortash — Lord of Void the embodiment of lies, manipulation, and, well, tyranny. rules with an iron fist, manipulates others through carefully placed conspiracies and lies, uses a network in order to get what he wants. needs to learn to accept the truth of matters and his own situation.

Ketheric — Prince of Breath oppressive destruction. keeps all things regulated, in perfect alignment. seeks to usher a new order for the sake of his goals, including taking away the freedoms of his only daughter. needs to learn to let go.

Orin — Heir of Rage embodiment of anger, she is explosive and unpredictable in her rage and petulant anger. acting out to create dire and violent consequences. inspires others to join her and commit acts of violence for the sake of rage, not for the sake of Bhaal. needs to learn to channel her anger in the right direction.

Durge — Heir of Blood embodiment of unity and bonds, as well as literal blood. either as embrace or resist the Urge, durge is driven by the bonds that inherently tie them to Bhaal and Orin, as well as chasing the threads that once bound them to other people (ketheric, gortash, potential others they knew prior to their lobotomy or prior to their bhaalspawn awakening). needs to choose a side, to choose the people they consider close.

Tav — Heir of Space the embodiment of creation and creativity. they go with the flow of the world thrown at them, influenced by the people around them and the ideas of others. they can drastically change the substance of the world around them with a single decision. the world is quite literally in their hands. they need to learn responsibility for their actions.

Zevlor — Page of Hope an excellent leader and harbinger of hope. he gives people hope but never leaves any left for himself. deeply self sacrificing to the point of self destruction. needs to learn to have his own hope.

Raphael — Bard of Hope he sees others as his personal playthings to get what he wants, dangling hope in front of them to lure them and manipulate them, ultimately leading them to their doom and destruction. at times, creating a false hope is just as fun if only to watch others unravel themselves for a morsel of it. putting up a front of hope, he is internally wrathful and petty. contradictorily, he needs to learn hope is not just a useful weapon of falsehood, but a very real thing.

Haarlep — Bard of Heart they see desire and want as their personal plaything. they have desires of their own, and uses what they're good at (sex and embodiment of desire) to manipulate others into destroying themselves for their sake. desire is both their cage and key, the very thing that allowed them to be the personal incubus of a prince, and the thing that entraps them to the very same petulant prince. they need to learn desire isn't just a useful tool or weapon, but something real and good.

Isobel — Sylph of Light as a cleric of selune, she heals through light and knowledge - including the obfuscation of that knowledge. if it is better to help someone to hide information, she would do so. withholding secret knowledge she could save people and cause them less harm. she needs to be less drastic and trust more easily.

Dame Aylin — Heir of Rage the embodiment of rage. when rage exists especially through means of injustice, she cannot simply stand by, she Must act, and act out with all her heart, pouring all her hatred and frustration into everything she does. she is also just as deeply passionate. she gives in to her emotions readily and easily. she needs to not let it consume and destroy her.

Withers — Muse of Time as all things are written, fate sees what is to come. he is patience itself. he can rewrite loss if it is necessary but will allow fate to run its course. he needs to learn to take a more active role in protecting fate.

Volo — Bard of Void the embodiment of obfuscation, secrets, and lies. he is a con artist at heart and Will tell the better story no matter how improbable it is. he hides lies within nuggets of truth because it tells a better story or has better excitement. likewise, he is simultaneously terrible at keeping secrets. as a seeker of knowledge and contradictorily a faux bard in search of fame, he would use the truth and spin his own web of lies to make up whatever outcome he desires.

[anruraiocht]

miranda and her friege-isms

We know precious little about Ulster!! It's fine though!! I'm the only person alive who cares, but I care quite a bit!!

What we do know is that anywhere from 762 (765 if we think kaga is insane for thinking a two year old and three year old had enough developed long term memory to be able to recognize each other a decade later. Engage confirms this later timeline, more or less.) House Friege executes the king of Ulster and then Bloom moves right into his house.

Where does that leave the princess of Ulster, who was taken hostage?

Mental illness.

Whether she likes it or not, Miranda was more or less raised by House Friege (and Conomor) from age 2~5 to age 13~14* and this has irreversibly changed her as a person, reflected through gameplay.

Mage Knight

Miranda's promoted class, Mage Knight, is overwhelmingly associated with House Friege. As in, almost every other named Mage Knight throughout both Jugdral games belongs to House Friege, with the sole exceptions of Azelle and Miranda.

I stress the named part because one of Conomor's NPC bozos (Ulster aligned) in chapter 19 is a Mage Knight. He has Tornado and a Great Sword, if you're curious. The Mage Knight (Friege aligned) associated with Amalda in chapter 19 has Thoron instead, consistent with most of the other Friege aligned Mage Knights.

...Of course, we must remember that Ulster has been under Friege control for 13 years at this point, which muddies the waters on whether we can consider this sufficient evidence that Mage Knights are also common in Ulster or if this too is another case of adapting to the environment.

At most, we can prooooobably assume that one or both of her parents were a magic user in some way? Just due to the way class inheritance tends to happen between parents and children in Jugdral.

Wrath

While in her native FE5, Wrath as a personal skill is kind of just handed out to whoever (Miranda and Sara are the only two girls in FE5 who have Wrath as a personal skill, fun fact), in FE4, Wrath is locked to the playable members of House Friege minus Amid, plus Julius... who is neither playable nor a member of House Friege, betrothal aside, but I thought it was funny to bring up. Two ships passing in the night.

The Ethnia Issue

I just think Umemura made a really poor choice in reusing names here lmfao. Miranda has no Holy Blood to speak of, is unable to wield the Bragi Sword, and the timelines simply just don't line up. We know that Miranda was in Ulster at the time of the assassination attempt because that's how she knows Leif and co. This would have required Ethnia(F) to abandon Miranda by herself in Ulster to run away with Linda and Amid to Silesse and then be dragged back to Ulster with Linda anyway.

This also would create an awkward situation where Linda, who would also be one of Ulster's heirs, is able to act freely (I use this term very loosely lol) while Miranda is treated fully as a hostage which ?????????

And...to be quite honest, I think Miranda's base E rank for thunder magic just does not track with having Thrud blood. Tine and Linda start at B and A respectively, while Arthur starts at B and Amid.......who mysteriously only has access to thunder magic on promotion, will then get it at rank A. Miranda does get thunder magic weapon experience on promotion (along with fire magic weapon experience, which she already has a head start in), but it's certainly not enough to take her from E to B.

It's an interesting hc for sure, but I think it's genuinely more impactful for Miranda to not be related to House Friege in any way. I am much more invested in Miranda's relationship to her captors being based in nurture rather than nature and the stress of turning out more like the people who raised you than your actual parents.

*Did you know that promotional material lists Miranda as 14 but in 16A Conomor explicitly refers to her as "only 15" implying her birthday happened sometime after the start of the game but before May (17B)? I think that's so funny way to continuously kick her down the stairs kaga. you can only find out her birthday passed if you leave her to rot isnt that so foul

[innerchorus]

What do followers of the King Snake look like in terms of appearance and personality?

Followers as in the sorcerors of Team Zahhak? There's not a whole lot of detail on physical appearance from what I recall, at least as far as the disciples are concerned. You'd have to comb carefully through the novels for crumbs of info there but I wouldn't expect any specifics like hair or eye colour (though there were a few references to their eyes glowing — I wasn't sure how literal Tanaka intended this to be but it obviously informed the way Arakawa draws them in her manga... and come to think of it, their eyes also had a red or blue glow in the anime too).

Their personalities largely share the same negative traits. They tend to be sneaky (favouring what would be considered dishonorable methods of combat such as trickery, poison, sneaking up on others from behind, etc), generally negative/critical even of their own comrades (they're working together but they do not appear to be fond of each other and it feels more like a competitive relationship than true teamwork), spiteful, short-tempered, easily frustrated, cruel, etc. You get the idea.

I obviously paid more attention to Gurgin in particular as he's my favourite and easily the most interesting of Team Zahhak, and I do think you get to know him more in the novels. He's an ambitious smooth talker who enjoys feeling superior to his fellow disciples and is keen for his talents and efforts to be recognised by their Master. He's also the only disciple with backstory which you may have already read about, but I'll link to anyway. Like the others, he's willing to commit some truly awful acts to accompish Team Zahhak's aims, but every now and then there are glimpses of what little humanity he has left, though he does lose those traces progessively over the course of the story. I'll stop myself there before I write a whole essay on Gurgin, anyway.

Of the others, Gazdaham probably stands out a bit more than the others, partly because of his rivalry with Gurgin. He also loses an eye during the second half of the series, so there's a tidbit of physical description for you. Honestly, in a way he becomes quite a comical figure especially in his struggles to control Ilterish, and his fervour for Zahhak often verges on the ridiculous. He's a bit of a contrast to Gurgin, who even Ilterish takes more seriously. Ilterish mocking Gazdaham is fucking hilarious though.

Oh, it's worth mentioning that in the novels their cloaks are grey, though I've adopted the black they are shown with in the manga personally.

Hm, what else? In the novels, Pulad was the mage killed by Isfan during the night raid, and he was said to be inexperienced. Arakawa switched the mages around so in the manga it was Gurgin who died in that scene and I am still not over it.

I know this has been shared before, but here are Arakawa's designs for the disciples, with the translation of their names added by me (don't talk to me about the fact that Gurgin would almost certainly be 'Gurgan' if he had ever been referred to by name in the manga).

They don't wear masks in the novels, either.

Okay, now for the Unholy Master. In terms of appearance he's very beautiful (though it's apparently an artificial kind of beauty). Even Gieve acknowledges that he's handsome, lol. He has long blond hair and blue eyes. He's a bit of a mysterious figure and I won't go into the novel's eventual reveal of his origins here but I will say I hope we get to hear about it in the manga, too.

To speak of his personality, he appears content to use his disciples as tools, and while he is the one who teaches them magic the fact that Tanaka once stated he's careful not to teach them anything that would allow them to equal him speaks volumes about the kind of person he is. He is clearly drawn to power (the same is likely true of all the disciples though it's very evident with Gurgin, whose interest in Zahhak's power even goes back to when he was a trainee priest). He usually seems composed but he's not immune to feelings of bloodlust (this is probably common in members of Team Zahhak; again it's something we see with Gurgin) and he can be provoked to anger by Gieve of course ahaha. That he is manipulative goes without saying.

I guess this probably covers the question to the best of my knowledge, unless you're interested in figures like Ilterish or others who have been given Zahhak's blood, or the body that hosts Zahhak (even if you hide the shoulder snakes I think the person looks a bit... off. I would have to check specifics but as far as I can recall they were described as having purplish lips and reddish eyes; see this Shinobu Tanno illustration from Book 16).