#bc i don't canonically consider him -the- commander

[yesimwriting]

Midway

a/n a small-ish fic of someone comforting aegon bc i feel bad for him 😭

Summary: You did not choose to be Aegon's wife, and yet you seem to be the only one choosing to be there for him during his recovery.

Warnings/info: forced marriage turned to awkward, subtle pining masquerading as uneasy friendship, vague descriptions of life threatening injuries, canon compliant incest (reader is rhaenyra's daughter)

read part 2 here: A Matter of Timing

----

Hushed whispers, as stale and sterile as the fresh gauze being stretched and pulled taut against his skin. The rasp of his breathing scrapes at the air that manages to pull itself into your own lungs.

"It is..." Alicent stalls, her gaze never leaving her eldest son, "A lot, I know." Her eyes are wide, glossier than you've ever seen them. An odd sort of empathy presses itself against your chest, making a full breath feel like even more of a fantasy.

Your sympathies and courteously vague expressions of understanding and mutual hurt are things Alicent has no use for. She's tolerated you like an inherited dress that doesn't quite fit, only begrudgingly acknowledging you when surrounded by family.

These days, her barely there tolerance for you has grown even weaker, considering the reports your handmaid had delivered to you of Alicent's attempts to convince the council to lock you away after your mother's retaliation to Aegon's coronation. An imprisonment only prevented by Aegon's command.

She lets out a breath, her attention briefly dropping to the ground before settling on you. "But you are his wife."

A fact she's only come to accept because of your blood. As Rhaenyra's daughter, your marriage had been a compromise, a final attempt at merging a divided family before your grandsire's passing. If your mother had known how quickly Aegon's supporters would have pushed him towards the throne...

You nod your head slowly, dismissing thoughts of yourself. For the first time since your union, the context of your arrangement does not cloud all else. "Yes."

There had been no attempts made to gloss over the extent of Aegon's injuries. For once, the heart of the Red Keep prioritized reality over projecting strength and invulnerability. The maesters had warned you, had detailed the damages left behind by the flames and the fall. An attack strong enough to kill a dragon.

"I um...I tried to visit him earlier, when he first returned." The surprise of your own honesty is an afterthought, a barely there thing attempting to occupy the little space left in your mind. "They said he was not yet stable."

Alicent is silent, some distant quality hollowing her stare as she watches the maester. His movements are succinct, precise as he quietly instructs a maid to bring him a salve left on the table. How many times in these last few days has he gone through this process? How many more times will a maester need to dress Aegon's wounds and rebandage him?

"Stable seems relative." Alicent blinks, her attention returning to what's directly in front of her. She turns to face you. "I trust that you'll sit with him, keep him company after the maester is finished."

Aegon's thoughts on your company have shifted several times throughout the short time you've been married. He often goes through periods of indifference followed by fleeting displays of interest that feel eerily close to companionship. Not quite a friendship or a romance, but something warm and comfortable. Mutual glances shared over supper, peaceful moments in the hall, occasionally crawling into the other's beds at night like children that cannot find sleep on their own.

Some skeptical part of you wonders if Alicent's sudden interest in your wifely responsibilities has more to do with punishing you than caring for Aegon. You doubt she considers you some great source of comfort in her son's life. At least you don't mind the thought of staying here, away from prying eyes and whispers that your privileges within the Red Keep should be restricted until the realm is no longer so divided. "Of course."

She nods once. "There--there is much to be decided upon in Aegon's absence." Alicent lets out a rigid breath. Perhaps Alicent really does want to know that someone's with Aegon. "I should go."

"I will keep him company, your grace."

With that, Alicent spares Aegon a final glance before turning to leave. You remain near the entrance of Aegon's bedchambers, far enough away to not impact the maester and his work.

You watch the process openly. Aegon's burns and other injuries are meticulously cleaned, white cloth stained dark as it is dragged against his skin. Salves and balms are lathered onto his wounds, concoctions meant to promote healing and ward off infection. The final step of the process involves the freshly cleaned wound being rebandaged.

The maester works at an expert pace, treating Aegon's body in sections. Before you know it, he's stepping back to assess the results of his efforts. The maester then looks over at you.

You've never been in a position to be responsible over someone so injured. Are you meant to...dismiss him? Approve his work? Ask something? "Is he..." Well seems like a terrible overstatement. You force yourself to take a few steps forward. "How is he?"

He briefly presses his lips together. "Much more stable than he was previously, your grace. I am afraid that I cannot yet predict much about his recovery. As of now, the priority is preventing infection."

You allow your gaze to fall onto Aegon. There's something about the way he's lying there, immobile and broken and smaller than he should be. "Right. Well, thank you."

The maester nods, "It is my honor, your grace."

He begins to gather his supplies before leaving. At the maester's absence, the maid that had been assisting him turns towards you. "Is there anything you need, your grace?"

You briefly consider sending her out for water or asking her to bring you a book you left in your own apartments. A menial task would ensure her return, which would mean you'd have a temporary reprieve from being alone with Aegon like this. "No, I'm alright. You are free to go."

She nods at the dismissal, "Thank you, my queen."

Queen. The title that belongs to your mother in her own right, not as a position inherited towards marriage.

The girl leaves, her quiet footsteps nearly drowned out by Aegon's unsteady breathing. You watch her until she's disappeared through the doorway, and then for awhile longer. When you can no longer justify your silence, you step forward.

Standing so close to the foot of Aegon's bed tugs at something deep inside of you. He is so still, so without defense. Like this, he does not seem like a man desperate to cement his position, or the person you never wished to be bonded to in this way, or even the only one who you allowed to enter your apartments after news of your brother's death arrived at the Red Keep. Now, he only seems like a boy trapped midway between where he lies and death.

Though bandaged and burned, the entirety of Aegon's features have not been destroyed. The shape of his nose, the part of his lips still familiar. His hair had not been a priority, and while the maester did brush it back to work on him, the disheveled strands have fallen forward again.

You move away from his bed's edge with careful steps. Before you can overthink the act, your hand moves to his forehead. As gently as you can will yourself to, you unplaster the hair stuck to the oily salves on his forehead. Your fingers catch themselves on silvery knots. You begin to pick apart the largest tangles as best as you can without a comb.

It's not an easy task, sweat and product cementing the knots into place. "I'd hate it if no one brushed my hair." The words come out on instinct, the desire to justify your proximity the way you would if he was awake. In all honesty, you're not sure if he can hear you.

The process is slow and clumsy, nails separating strands for you to comb through. Up close like this, you can almost pretend that this is restful for him. He still doesn't look well, but from here you can focus on his shut eyes and parted lips. Your hand drifts away from his hairline, fingertips fluttering over bandages and brushing against unmarred skin.

Something awfully sentimental attempts to claw its way up your throat. "I'll go get a comb." You pull your arm away from him. "I'll--I'll be back, I promise."

You take a single step back before turning your back to him. The maester deemed him stable, which means that he will not spontaneously pass if left alone for a moment. You'll only leave to fetch a comb and maybe a book so that you have something to read aloud. He's never loved your novels, but it's the only way you can think to keep him com--

A soft sound, so gentle and brief you could almost convince yourself you imagined it if it wasn't for the distinctness of the word. Your name.

You stall. Perhaps you misheard something else, maybe a stuttering of his breathing or the room settling. You turn.

He remains unchanged--body in the same position it's been in this entire time and eyes still shut. The supposed whisper should be dismissible.

You step forward, voice fragile as you ask, "Aegon?"

For a moment, pressed between the audible strain between his breaths, a faint optimism pulses through you. Weeks of being a bride, a queen of the realm hated by all those around her, and your only form of protection has, ironically, been the man that's bound you to this place.

The hope fluttering in your stomach quickly morphs into something closer to dread. He is not awake. He is not well enough to call for you or any--a shift, a turn of his outstretched hand so small and inconsequential you likely would not have noticed if it was any less needed.

Ignoring the blurring edges of your vision, you move towards his bedside in quick strides. Without thinking, your hand finds his. "I know that this union is not one you entered willingly. I am also aware of the fact that you know I did not ask for this either." You've not often held Aegon's hand, but now you're glad for his tangibility. "But you--you have not been cruel. You've actually been surprisingly patient, even when I have given you reason not to be."

His palm is warm against yours, the familiarity of it strangely assuring. The few times you've laid together for the sake of duty, the heat of Aegon's skin had been one of the few aspects of the process that you were reluctantly drawn to.

"At times, you have been kind..." You blink in an attempt to dismiss the stinging behind your eyes. "Friendly, even." Your hold on him tightens. "And I miss that. I--I miss our friendship."

The grief in your chest is a hybrid thing, made up just as much out of your empathy and fear as it is by your hurt. It's a sensation so dizzying, you nearly pour your panic out to him. You have to bite your tongue to avoid asking him to not leave you alone here.

Tears are beginning to prick the corner of your eyes when you feel his fingers bend around yours. Aegon squeezes your hand with a barely recognizable force.

He's--he's awake. "Aegon?"

His hold on you does not falter as a faint sigh escapes his lips, a midway of his own.

- - - -

a/n not to offer a part 2 to everything i write but i have an idea for a second fic that’s connected to this so if ur interested lmk :)))

[soclearlytosee]

What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)

I feel like ST fandom on here has converged on a couple primary theories about Will’s powers: creation/manifestation powers (see @/pinkeoni here) and electricity powers (see @/threemanoperation here and @/mIchaelwheeler here).

(ofc there are more than these but these are what’s relevant to this post)

It is emphasized repeatedly throughout the show that the opening of a gate requires an enormous amount of energy.

According to the show’s telling to this point, the s1 gate opened because of the “psychic contact” between El and the Demogorgon. and the mechanic by which Vecna opened his curse gates in s4 also involved psychic contact between him and his victims.

El has made "psychic contact" with others at various points throughout the show without either unleashing a huge surge of energy or opening a gate. Maybe one party involved in the “contact” has to be in another dimension, or part of the Hive Mind?

Or...maybe the "energy" came from another source? (Dustin does say "somehow" there...)

if we're framing this in the context of Will having energy powers (yes, that's what this post is actually about, thank you for taking that walk with me), this would bring us to something more time-bending going on there. Dustin also does say "time and space," after all. I would point to a timey-wimey scenario possibly involving 1983 Will, who we know we're revisiting in s5, see @/willbyersabyss for some exploration of that possibility

tbh I don't expect this logic to end up all lining up with perfect internal coherence but just thinking through possibilities

the most exciting contemporary energy sources (light, fire, electricity) are associated with “the spark of creation” throughout our full range of canons: lightning/electricity is what animates the monster in Frankenstein*; “Let there be light” is God’s first command in the Genesis creation story; in some versions of Greek myth, fire-stealing Prometheus also was the one to mold mankind out of clay.

*I know this actually comes from the movies/pop culture images of Frankenstein, but there is some connection with the original text just roll with it ty

"The Spark of Creation" is also the best song Stephen Schwartz has ever written from one of his weird bible musicals <3 sorry wicked ily2

That final image brings us to atomic energy, which has lurked throughout the show bc of Cold War set dressing and Russians. but I think we're queuing up for a bigger presence on that front both thematically and plot-wise considering our narrative origin point is now Nevada in the '50s, per The First Shadow.

In the US nuclear program, the launch of nuclear missiles and submarines requires two keys (we know this, the Soviet Key machine under Starcourt functions according to the same principles).

these are on the same keyring bc they are souvenirs but choosing as my illustration here bc there is a Minuteman Missile NHS Easter Egg in the WSQK bunker

For Alexei and his team, the two "keys" were energy and location. for Mothergate were the two keys El's psionic portal opening ability and someone else [Will]'s energy generation ability?

Vecna should have had prime opportunity to "steal" the latter even before he had access via the Meat Flayer's bite to get after the former. (I also have so many questions about this mechanic)

I think what I'm arguing basically is: creation and electricity (energy) powers might not necessarily be mutually exclusive in Will's case. generation and amplification, yes?

My vessel, my builder

This broader category of “energy powers” intrigues me for Will bc of potential overlap with being a vessel as a supernatural metaphor. Especially if the flavor of energy powers he has involve him being able to give energy to others (in a manner that might drain him, like perhaps the state we saw him in a certain date announcement teaser teaser).

All of my other vessel reference points in fiction come from Supernatural it's so embarrassing. But in that version of vessel lore, it was all about consent. being a vessel involves opening yourself up to another entity, totally and completely. Will's equivalent supernatural experience was an extremely nonconsensual, invasive experience, and obviously one he carries with him.

Utilizing a version of "energy amplification" or whatever it would end up being would involve Will making himself vulnerable - but a version of vulnerability where he would have to consider his own needs and set boundaries.

in addition to powers metaphorically = queerness, and therefore coming to terms with that metaphorically = self acceptance, a lot of the above sounds directly in response to the patterns of behavior the narrative has set up for Will to overcome. you can't help others (give your narratively positioned psychic twin access to your well of energy augmentation abilities) until you help yourself (make sure you don't overexert yourself and end up with a dead psionic battery), as the saying goes.

[doueverwonder]

okay you've gotten me hooked on the military branches in WTTT, I'm seriously considering making designs for them all now 😭

in the meantime tho

Do you have any headcanons for Marines? Would he be friends with any of the states? (Maybe Texas? Idk he was my first thought)

Also him crying about a box of limited edition crayons in the other post u made is AMAZING and so so real 🙏

if you are considering making designs for them i offer my faceclaims for them as basis maybe 👀

okay so, i don't particularly think the branches are markedly close with any of the states or even Gov tbh (minus Nash obviously). They're busy and all over the place, including regularly outside of the country, they speak way more often with other federal personifications. Think the way CDC comes around sometimes but we all know he's gotta have other stuff going on behind the scenes, (the branches main points of contact are IDC, Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs.)

That's not to say they don't/can't/won't get to know or hang around the states its just kinda far and in between stuff. and they DO tend to know the states that have spent extended periods of time in the military better than others (all states have probably been in/heavily involved in the military at some point some just made it a whole thing while others did what they had to and got out). (like obsessed with @and-the-flame-burns NY was in the navy hc and think bc of that NY and Navy are somewhat closer than Navy would be with the average state)

okay I'm done, that was a rant, onto Marines HC :)

I could see Texas and Marines being friends but its probably less of a traditional friendship and more,,, picking on each other (tx was/is in the army), pissing contests, and a healthy dose of mutual respect. Kinda guy you could go out for a beer with and have a good conversation, but not the person you're going to call first for anything y'know.

so obv u can see my faceclaim but ALSO Marines in my head is based off one of my dads clients who was a marine and hated carrying around the battering ram so he learned how to knock down doors without it then convinced his commander to let him leave the ram behind; he agreed on the condition that they better never come across a door he can't open. and they never did. his entire 12 yrs in the Marine Corps there was never a door stronger than him. that is to illustrate when I say Marines is big and intimidating I mean it.

stereotypes ik but he is,,, not the brightest crayon in the box. Which he's not a total idiot, so much as he just doesn't think shit through entirely before doing them, he's a man of action not thought.

He's Gay thank you for your time.

(Only attracted to men but got through 240 years of queer people not being allowed in the military just fine, while Navy's bi ass was STRUGGLING despite having dated multiple women (he's got a girl in every port ;))

speaking of Navy, codependent motherfuckers. The loui and flo of the branches. are they dating. are they best friends. will they die if they're separated for more than 20 min. maybe. they sure acted like it when it got out there would no longer be marine detachments on most navy ships. coast is praying he never ends up in the DOD under the dept of the navy bc he is NOT getting stuck between these two.

(also this post by @floridagirlboy is canon to me)

"do i even weigh anything to you" "no, its like holding a couple of grapes" is Marines with Air and Space Force

(Dept of Defense walking into the meeting and seeing them sitting on his shoulders: Air, Space, you have planes and satellites if you want to see from up high. Stop asking Marines to pick you up.)

uhh that's all I think.

Those crayons are his prized possession bc Space Force is little and new and has a whole lot of stuff to figure out and YET she still remembered his birthday and got him something. cuteness aggression like never seen before incoming/j

[mongeese]

No one asked but EYE think that although Spock and Jim fell in love during the 5 year mission, they never did anything about it. Spock couldn't bring himself to, probably couldn't even admit to himself that he was in love, and Jim wouldn't make a move on someone who was under his command. I feel like maybe Kirk thought they could stay together after the 5 year mission, maybe become something real after he was no longer Spock's captain, but Spock sprung on him the news that he was going to undergo Kolinahr and would never see him again (something he planned to do before ever meeting Kirk, but his feelings for him and the associated shame certainly contributed to his decision to do it immediately). Kirk's heart is broken, so is Spock's but he's working full time on repressing it, and so on for 2.5 years until the events of The Motion Picture. Only after meeting V'Ger could Spock accept the emotions he had and initiate an actual relationship with Kirk. And then they get married, and then Spock dies and Kirk's grieving all over again, and then he gets him back for a second time. And then the rest of the TOS movies happen, and then they grow old together :) (I do not consider any Kirk appearances in the TNG movies to be canon bc I don't like them <3)

[siilvan]

bloodsport – III

prologue | part one | part two | next

characters: vladimir makarov

summary: after a successful escape, you try to convince yourself that the prison and makarov are behind you. things just never seem to go to plan, though.

genre: angst, slowburn, enemies to ?, fem!reader (callsign: petra, no desc.)

warnings: not proofread, cursing, canon-typical violence, poorly written combat, allusions to trauma and stress, mentions of typical murderous behavior from makarov (∶__∶), OG mak's backstory bc we don't know shit about the reboot lol

word count: 5.9k

note: my birthday's on the 3rd, so pls take this as a gift from me to you :) the support on this series has also been insane 😭 you guys are so sweet!! <33

also big shoutout to @roosterr bc i completely copied the way she writes texts in fics LMAO i hope it's okay with you bestie ilysm

"anyone else would be dead already."

what the hell does that mean?

you're lying on your back, absently staring up at the ceiling, those words replaying in your mind over and over again. yet another week has passed since "the incident," as the guards in the corridor so kindly put it.

clearly makarov had given his men a new order after you killed the younger doctor. not only did they avoid touching you, but they hardly even looked in your direction outside of required monitoring. doctor tarkovsky was singlehandedly providing your medical care, as well. the next time you saw the doctor - the morning after the incident - proved to be an interesting experience. while treating you, he made a comment about "the commander seeming angry."

you add it to your ever-growing list of questions.

blaring alarms interrupt your somewhat peaceful pondering. you shoot up, instinctively reaching for your belt to grab your gun, only to be reminded that you're unarmed. the guards in the hall are shouting at each other, appearing just as surprised as you are.

carefully, you rise from the bed and cross the room, trying to listen to what they're saying. if there was one benefit to your captivity, it was the small bit of russian that you've picked up on. amongst the frantic chatter, you can make out a few words:

attack. small team. breached. combat. prisoner.

your chest tightens as you step back from the door. the base is under attack, and whomever is leading the charge is enough of a threat to raise the alarms. a small team could never hope to contend with an entire ultranationalist stronghold, though. there's only one man, one team, that could succeed despite being so heavily outnumbered.

the one-four-one.

it has to be them. they're the only ones bold enough to stage an attack, and the only ones capable of pulling it off.

even if it's someone else, they're your ally now, and your only hope of making it out of here alive.

you can see the guards scrambling outside your cell, frantically following whatever orders were being barked at them through their radios. for now, they seem to disregard your presence in favor of organizing their forces to combat the threat, but you know it won't last. contrary to the size of the prison, you're the only captive being held here; any mention of "prisoner" is referring to you.

the area quiets down as most of the men rush to aid their fellow soldiers, leaving only the alarm to keep you company. you mentally curse as you consider your very limited options. without a set of keys to escape this cell, you're stuck here.

a purposeful set of footsteps rapidly approaching makes the decision for you. quickly, you dive just out of sight of the door, pressing your back to the wall. the person stops just outside and grumbles to himself as you hear the sound of keys jingling in the lock. the iron door swings open, and you bite down on your bottom lip to keep quiet as he stares into the empty space, confusion evident in the grunt that leaves him.

a second passes before he steps into the room, scanning the far side of it. your eyes fall to the knife on his belt, easily removable if you're fast enough, and you dive for it before he can turn around.

you tear the blade from its sheath and swiftly plunge it into the side of his neck, ripping a strangled cry from the soldier as he reacts too slowly to save himself. you pull him to the ground and lay his body flat, releasing a sharp breath once you confirm the kill. temporary relief floods your system, hastening your movements as you collect as much of his gear as you can.

immediately after you secure the last strap of the armor vest, you hear voices calling out from somewhere close by. searching for the guy you just killed, you assume. with one final gear check, you move to the same spot against the wall and wait for the group to get closer.

the first of the bunch steps into the room and freezes at the sight of the other man, and you take the opportunity to drop him with the rifle you had collected. the remaining members, two or three men, are quick to respond once the gunshots ring out. you peek around the corner as they rush forward with their guns drawn, electing to start the gunfight yourself.

you manage to shoot one down before the others notice you. a bullet whizzes past your head as you aim down the barrel and shoot another, forcing you to duck back into cover.

"you're cornered. come out and i'll let you live." the final soldier says, frustration lacing his command. you sit still, lying in wait until his impatience overpowers his better judgement. a tense silence fills the air between you, only broken by the soldier groaning and coming to you instead.

he circles the corner, weapon at the ready, but scans the room in too wide an arc. you finish him off and peek out into the hall again, finding it completely vacant.

the radios on the soldiers bodies suddenly come to life, and you hear a familiar voice on the other end. you pick one of them up and attempt to decipher the question to no avail. however, there is one word that you understand. prisoner.

"you should've sent a bigger group," you speak into the radio, feeling your lips twitch into a smile at the way makarov stops short.

he merely chuckles, though, and the smile drops. "you continue to impress me, lieutenant. let's see if you can escape." he replies, relaxed as ever. he switches channels, and the radio goes silent.

you travel down the path you took the first day, when makarov was accompanying you. there's little resistance beyond a few stragglers that you dispatch with ease. most of the forces are focused on the invaders, too busy to properly deal with you as you attack from behind. the number of enemies ahead of you increases the further you go - a sign that you're heading in the right direction.

eventually, you reach an exterior door and push it open.

to say the situation is chaotic would be an understatement. soldiers are hurrying across fields, arming themselves and their allies, shouting out various commands and information. you duck low and stick to the shadows, doing your best to avoid a firefight now that the enemy solidly has the advantage.

you make some distance and perk up at the sounds of gunfire. you've stumbled across the main battle. with a renewed sense of hope to push you forward, you go towards it, ending up crouched next to an APC as you search through the chaos for any friendly faces.

one of the nearby vehicles erupts into flames moments later, catching you off-guard and stealing your attention from the fight. scrambling to your feet, you stiffen as something smooth and cold is pressed against the back of your skull. the barrel of a gun. you raise your hands in surrender and pray that the person holding the weapon can be reasoned with.

"wait," a deep voice, husky and all too familiar, speaks from behind you. "petra? 's that you?" the man, captain price, lowers his gun, allowing you to spin around and look at him.

you're almost ready to shed tears upon seeing his face, equal parts concern and relief etched into his hard expression. he grabs ahold of your shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze as you nod, silently answering his question. a dark figure emerges from behind one of the vehicles at price's back and catches your eye.

the stark white skull mask instantly gives away his identity: ghost. he stops at your side, eyes crinkling behind the mask, and you can tell that he's giving you a happy look.

your eyes leave the pair and scan the area, hunting for the last two members of the team. there's no movement aside from the fighting and chaos in the distance. your gaze flits back to price as a lump begins to form in your throat and every scenario that you've cooked up during your captivity floods into your mind.

"where's soap and gaz?" you ask, voice sounding meek compared to the way you spoke earlier. price, clearly sensing the deeper meaning behind your words, pats your shoulder in a comforting gesture before withdrawing his hand.

"they're here, no need to worry," he starts, motioning for you to follow him. "the sergeants are protecting our backsides, making sure the chopper has a clear path. we're gonna meet 'em at the southside of the prison and exfil from there."

you fall in line with the two, muscle memory all but taking over as you repeat your prior strategy; keep to the shadows and only engage the enemy if absolutely necessary. the location that price described isn't terribly far and shouldn't be difficult to reach, so long as you don't get caught up in too many fights.

ghost contacts the sergeants as you move, updating them on your position. you learn through the conversation that the team came for you, and only you - makarov isn't a concern of theirs, even once you inform price of his presence. we'll slot the bastard once you're back on your feet, he says.

"we're gettin' close, it's just up here." ghost mutters lowly. you tighten your grip on your gun, anticipation steadily building inside of you the closer you get to the rendezvous point. you're this close to freedom, this close to putting this hellish place in the past and reuniting with your team. al-mazrah, the missile, your capture, makarov– all of them would sequester themselves to nothing more than memories.

a black hawk flies overhead before touching down at the designated spot. one of the back doors swing open just as it lands, revealing gaz's smiling face. he steps aside to allow the three of you to board, giving you an eager side-hug as you shuffle past him.

"petra, happy to see you in one piece!" soap's exclamation startles you as much as it overjoys you to hear, and you're suddenly swept up into a bone-crushing hug by the scotsman upon passing gaz.

"soap–! johnny, you're squeezing me too hard–!" you gasp out, still attempting to hug the man back despite your bones being turned to mush from the pressure. he releases you almost as quickly as he scooped you up and mutters an apology. said apology barely registers in your head due to the sight he greets you with, though.

there's a nasty scar over his left eye, jagged and obviously still in the process of healing. soap hardly seems to care about it, instead grinning at you like you were revived from the dead. you tap the area below your own eye to signal to him, brows furrowing in confusion. his hand mirrors your action and his face lights up, an audible "oh" falling from his lips.

"got it in al-mazrah," he says, waving off your worried look. "makes me look pretty cool, right?" he adds with a glance around the cabin, earning an affirmative hum from price and a shrug from ghost.

gaz snorts, slumping down on one of the seats and giving him a thumbs-up. "looks wicked, mate."

you collapse into another seat with a breezy laugh. "i'm just thankful that you're alive, all of you. i was starting to doubt whether you'd come." you confess, sharing a somber look with the rest of them.

ghost breaks the mood with a shake of his head. "'course we came. we're a team, no man left behind." he keeps his gaze locked on you as he talks, bringing an appreciative smile to your lips. your attention shifts to the window at your side, watching the stronghold fade away as the helicopter lifts off the ground and departs. you refuse to tear your eyes away until it disappears over the horizon, allowing you to take a deep breath for the first time in weeks.

⋆⋆⋆

upon arriving in safe territory, you're almost instantly pulled into a brief, but strong hug by laswell, who was waiting on the airstrip as the team landed. you're ushered into the base's medical wing by her and price for a proper checkup, which, thankfully, goes by swiftly. you've had enough of doctors and medicine to last you a lifetime.

"you're sending me home?" you ask, practically jumping up from the examination table you were sitting on. your gaze darts back and forth between price and laswell, irritation boiling under your skin as they try to placate you.

"y'need to rest, petra. you've just been through two weeks of hell." price responds, putting his hand on your shoulder and urging you to sit back down. you shrug it off and shake your head.

"captain, i was given a clean bill of health!" you argue while waving your arms in front of yourself. your wounds from the missile had mostly healed, reduced to minor marks on your skin and a raised scar on your side that was gradually fading. "i just want to get back in the field– i've been out of commission for weeks!"

laswell steps toward you, meeting your gaze with a sympathetic look. "it's protocol, lieutenant. you may be fine enough to work for now, but we can't put you or the team at risk." she counters, crossing her arms over her chest. "you need to recover." she adds a second later, earning a frustrated huff from you.

you know you'd be saying the same thing in their position. if it was price, ghost, soap, gaz– if any of them were captured, you'd be forcing them to take time off, too. you can't shake everything that's happened, though. you don't have much to show in the way of torture-related injuries, but the isolation alone was enough to make your head spin. you never felt safe, always waiting and anticipating makarov's next move. the longer you went without seeing or hearing about him, the more your suspicions grew.

a break would give you the chance to collect your thoughts and break yourself out of the doubt that's been stewing in your head ever since that first meeting. in the field, you need to be confident and decisive. there's no room for hesitation and self-doubt.

"we'll keep you updated," price starts, regarding you with a reassuring smile. "and, this won't be forever. just long enough for you to get your head on straight, yeah?"

you deliberate on it, eyes falling to the floor, and nod slowly. he's right. you're not reliable in this state.

"okay." you concede, focus shifting back to the two.

you're heading out again by the evening, saying your goodbyes to the squad on the very same airstrip that you landed on earlier in the day. soap nearly crushes you in another hug, forcing price to yank him off before you suffocate, gaz reminds you about ten different times to call if you need anything, and ghost runs down a lengthy list of relaxation techniques whilst loading your bags in the helicopter.

it's nigh-impossible to be upset about the situation when it's made clear that they don't want you to go, either. after two weeks of constant stress, everyone just wants to be together again.

you get so caught up in your impromptu partings that you fail to notice the unidentified soldier watching you from across the field. even the ever-attentive captain price misses the soldier dialing a number on his phone, his eyes narrowing as the chopper lifts off with you inside.

⋆⋆⋆

you step foot in your flat well after the sun's gone down. it's silent, save for the soft padding of your socks against the floor after you kick off your boots. your bags are abandoned at the end of your bed, something you'll unpack later, and you shed your jacket before tossing it on top of the pile.

makarov... what's his story?

with a low sigh, you rub at your tired eyes with the heels of your palms and try to erase the question that's been plaguing you for longer than you'd like to admit. between laswell's intel and the stories price has told, you can paint a picture of who the man is.

a person ruled by his ambition, you've determined. while price's stories were more focused on his own experiences with makarov and his allies, what laswell provided was concrete: he massacred civilians like it was nothing. what could possibly drive a man to that point?

the trip back home proved fruitless, with most results online simply listing information deemed "safe" for the public. you need to know more about him - you need a source that isn't going to sugarcoat or hide the ugly truth. most importantly, you need someone who can get you personal details.

you fish your phone out of your pocket and scroll through your contacts list. laswell is an option, but she's not likely to give you anything while you're supposed to be taking time off work.

a name - or rather, a codename - pops up in the list. your thumb hovers over the contact, debating on whether or not to call.

you give in and click the "call" button after a moment's consideration. the line rings until a cheerful voice greets you.

"ah, lieutenant!" nikolai beams, sounding far too energized at this hour. "price told me about the successful prison break, congrats on surviving the ultranationalists."

"thanks, nik." you chuckle at his enthusiasm. "is there any chance i could ask you for a favor? i need information, stuff that i think only you can get." you nervously shift your weight while asking the question, worried that you might be hitting a dead end.

"information? about what?"

"makarov."

nikolai goes quiet, and you think he's going to deny your request. but, just as you open your mouth to justify it, he speaks.

"you want private informaton, yes?" he mutters, causing you to let out a deep breath. "price hasn't told you everything, and you want to research the man that captured you. that is to be expected."

"give me a little time, i'll send you whatever i can find." he continues. you can hear typing in the background after, signaling that he was following through with it. you tell him goodbye with a small "thanks" and hang up, an immense weight lifting off your fatigued shoulders.

a hot shower would be nice right now. you haven't had one in weeks, and nikolai said that gathering everything would take a while. you might as well use the break instead of sitting around and twiddling your thumbs while waiting for him.

you trudge to the bathroom and turn the water on, stripping out of your clothes and leaving your phone on the counter. you hop in the shower and feel your aching muscles relax as soon as the warm water washes over them, soothing weeks of pain and discomfort. when you get out and wrap a towel around yourself, you finally feel relatively at ease for the first time since your escape.

your phone buzzes from nearby, and you blink at the screen after picking it up. a message from nikolai stares back at you.

sent what i have, hope it helps 22:43 pm

thanks, appreciate it! 22:43 pm

i'll let you know if i find anything else 22:44 pm

you quickly dry off and get dressed in more comfortable clothes, grabbing your laptop as you stroll into the living room and get settled on the couch. it only takes a couple minutes to access the files that nikolai sent, and upon seeing a page of folders to look through, you're left shocked at the sheer amount of information he gave.

it's overwhelming, just how much makarov has done in his career - if you can even call international terrorism a "career." you decide to begin at the top of the list, shaking off the uneasy feeling that settles in the pit of your stomach.

the contents of the folder go from typical, almost expected, crimes from someone like him, to acts that make you understand why price is wary of him. you sift through each file, studying the contents as if you're going to be quizzed on them, each word acting as another nail ripped out of your coffin.

the list of crimes seems endless. kidnapping, torture, trafficking, bombings, assassinations, mass murder... not only are you lucky to be uninjured, you're lucky to be alive. the privilege of being a "special" target, you presume. if not for your position in the task force, you'd be lying dead in a ditch or tortured to the brink of insanity. your stomach churns at the thought.

eventually, you reach a folder named "personal." it lives up to its name, as when you access it, the files are all details about the man himself. some of the basic information is known to you already, but most of it is entirely new - stuff you're sure was intentionally hidden away from curious eyes.

what you can find of his life before he began his reign of terror both answers your questions and adds more to the list. he was a paratrooper, a captain in the spetsnaz, regarded as a master in the field despite the list of complaints on his file. many of the men under his command considered him a natural leader; charismatic, cunning, but harsh in his methods. he received several comments from the higher-ups about his alarming behaviors, but it all came to a head when he was investigated for war crimes. he left the military to avoid the charges.

somehow, the crimes that got him discharged seem mild compared to what he's done since. you can't wrap your brain around why makarov treated you so... kindly, given everything you've read. he should have ended your life or made it a living hell, but instead, you got regular medical treatment, decent conditions, and mostly left alone during your imprisonment.

you sit back from the screen, sluggishly running a hand down your face. makarov didn't fight to keep you captured. if anything, he was happy to let you escape. it doesn't make sense. he went through the effort of capturing you alive and gained nothing from it. for a man that favors the zero-sum game, he's not playing it well.

unless this is his gain. getting in your head, confusing you, forcing you to think about him when you should be focusing on recovering. he's bogging you down, preventing you from being reliable for your teammates.

or, maybe you're looking into things too deeply. overestimating just how clever one man can be.

your phone buzzes from its spot on the cushion, and you blink at the bright screen, squinting to read the notification. it's a text message from an unknown number. a few different people flash through your mind, potential allies that could have changed their numbers recently, but no one stands out. you exhale and click the notification to open up the message fully.

feeling well? 12:35 am

you stare at the message for a minute. it can’t be price or any of the boys, you already have their phone numbers. you highly doubt that laswell changed hers without updating you, and nikolai probably hasn’t change his in the two hours since your last conversation. just as you go to type a response, two more messages pop up.

recovering at home is preferable, isn't it? 12:36 am

much more comfortable than a medical wing. 12:36 am

who is this? 12:37 am

take a guess - m 12:37 am

a chill creeps up your spine as the realization dawns on you. it's makarov; not only does he have your phone number, but he knows you're not at base. he's managed to track your location in less than six hours.

you drop your phone on the coffee table and shoot a wary glance around the room before checking to make sure your front door is locked. once you're sure of it, you start to pace around the room, wringing your hands together. the smart decision would be to call someone - price, laswell, one of the boys, someone that can get here quickly or send a person in their place.

you're not defenseless by any means, but there's no telling what makarov knows. he could be halfway across the world or in the very same city, and you have no way of finding out without putting yourself at risk. you may have gotten lucky in al-mazrah, but you can't rely on luck.

your phone lights up again, and from your position a few feet away, you can just barely make out what the screen says.

let's talk, lieutenant. 12:40 am

no fucking way. you're not entertaining the madman that you just escaped.

you need to get out; take a walk, clear your head. makarov knows where you are, but that doesn't mean he's actually here. for all you know, it could be a lucky guess. you throw on a jacket and slip on a pair of shoes before shoving your phone in your pocket, hastily stumbling out the door. the crisp night air hits you the second you step out, making you draw your jacket tighter around yourself as you start down the sidewalk.

your brisk - practically panicked - walk does little to calm your nerves initially. you have to force yourself to slow down, strolling along at a more leisurely pace. after a couple minutes, your shoulders droop and the panic begins to dissipate.

the late hour means that you're the only person out right now. all you have for company is the occasional breeze that sweeps past, and you think that you prefer it this way.

until your phone buzzes. you stop dead in your tracks and pick it up, letting out a relieved breath at soap's name flashing on the screen. you answer the call with an easy smile.

"hey! i didn't expect you to pick up," soap laughs on the other end. "realized how late it was after dialin' your number." he adds, pulling a chuckle from you.

"haven't been able to sleep, so i figured i'd take a walk." you shrug, as if he can see you.

"ah, figured you'd pass out the second you landed." he concedes while you absentmindedly toe at the ground, eyeing your surroundings. "just wanted to check in– make sure everything is going okay with you."

for a moment, you debate on mentioning the messages from makarov. logically, it's the right thing to do; your team needs to know about any potential threats. however, there's a little part of you that hesitates to say anything. you feel the urge to keep it a secret, to wait and see what happens. makarov's given you useful intel before, maybe you can get more out of him.

"yeah, i'm doing all right," you mutter, reassuring soap. "just want to get back to work as soon as i can. i miss you guys."

soap gives you an appreciative hum. "y'just gotta heal up quick, l.t.! we're all missing you here. ghost and price are meaner than you are."

"they're not 'mean,' they just don't tolerate as much nonsense from you and gaz as i do." you counter with a playful laugh, pulling a groan from soap.

"it's not nonsense, it's– what?" soap suddenly stops talking, and you hear a voice in the background of the call. he says something to the person before exhaling dramatically and speaking into the phone again. "sorry 'bout that, it was price. apparently we've got somethin' to handle– a wrecked shadow company transport, i think. i'll send a message after we're done, yeah?"

you wave your hand while talking, again, as if he can see you. "don't worry about it, just stay safe out there. let me know how it goes."

the two of you exchange quick goodbyes and you end the call with a smile still plastered on your face. your brows furrow as you immediately receive another call, though. the number that flashes across the screen makes you grip the phone tighter, your knuckles turning white from the strain.

makarov, of course. you decline the call with an irritated sigh and spin on your heel, heading back to your apartment. another one comes through seconds later, which you choose to simply ignore this time. you speed up the short walk to your front door and slam it closed behind you, locking it just as quickly.

"you are surprisingly difficult to get ahold of, petra."

you whip around and press your back to the door, locking eyes with the man you tried so desperately to avoid. makarov stands in the middle of the room, a smug grin on his face, his arms loosely crossed over his chest as he stares you down.

"how the hell did you find me so fast?" you sneer at him, hand tightening around the set of keys in your palm. he's wearing a thick vest and armor plates - they won't save you, but the keys might buy you enough time to reach the gun in your bedroom.

"i have my ways," he tilts his head to the side, moving to lean against the back of your couch. "i needed to speak with you, and you weren't answering the phone. this was my only option."

you scoff at the claim, briefly loosening your grip. "no, you also have the option of leaving me alone." you argue, stepping further into the room. "besides killing you, we don't have any business to discuss."

"is that so?" makarov chuckles, glancing over his shoulder. you follow his gaze and land on your laptop. it's turned on again, with one of the pages detailing his personal history displayed on the screen. "you'll be very interested in what i have to say, lieutenant."

you bite your tongue, shifting your weight and dragging your focus back to him. "fine. tell me, then."

makarov straightens, his gaze flitting back to you. the edges of the keys dig into the skin of your palm, the bite of the cold metal keeping you grounded as he stalks toward you, like a predator approaching a prey animal. those alarm bells start going off in your head again, every instinct screaming at you to preemptively strike or run.

when he's a few feet away, you lunge. jabbing your keys forward, you try to hit one of the weak spots of his vest, aiming for the one of the gaps near the straps.

the training he underwent years ago is made readily apparent as makarov easily grabs your wrist and twists it, disarming you in one smooth motion. you try to use your other hand to break free, only to end up with both hands in his iron grip. you're spun around and shoved against the wall with your hands behind your back, trapped between your bodies.

you struggle, but that only encourages him to tighten his grip, firmly pinning your hands. he presses forward, using his own body weight to prevent you from fighting him off.

"you're predictable, petra," he mutters, the comment making you thrash against him. "you can't see past yourself– i am freely offering you information that your allies would die to gather themselves. take advantage of this generosity."

"i hate you," you seethe, writhing and trying to break free of his hold. he doesn't budge even a little, chuckling softly next to your ear as he leans in closer.

"good. i like that." makarov murmurs, his voice low and controlled, warm breath fanning over your skin. heat floods through your veins when he speaks, which you attribute to anger towards him.

until he nudges you again, his upper body falling almost perfectly in line with the curve of your back, his hands loosening slightly and providing your red-marked wrists with some relief. it just now occurs to you how close he is, the steady rise and fall of his chest against your spine forcing your own staggering breathing to calm itself and match his. his cropped hair tickles the side of your ear as he hovers next to you, his side profile visible in the edge of your vision.

you bite your tongue again, though for a different reason than earlier. holding any feelings but hatred and contempt for your enemy - you might as well mark yourself as a traitor if that happens. you can't allow yourself to fall for the games that he's definitely playing with you. the task force needs you, and they need whatever intel makarov can provide you with right now.

"i can be civil," you concede, barely above a whisper. "i won't attack if you don't." you add a moment later, pursing your lips.

you can see the edge of his lips twitch from the corner of your eye. makarov releases your wrists after a beat and steps back, giving you enough space to turn around and face him, pressing your back flat against the wall.

"do you trust the commander of shadow company?" he asks, bluntly. you narrow your gaze, huffing at the thought.

"graves? not by a longshot. i can trust him enough to shoot your guys before he shoots me, but that's it." you reply in an equally blunt tone.

"do you believe he is attached to the general's plans?" he says, and you deliberate before shaking your head. it wouldn't make sense, given graves' recent allyship with urzikstan. makarov continues, appearing satisfied with your answer. "you're correct. the shadow is not aware of shepherd's plans any more than your team is."

"how does this help me?"

"you will need him to cooperate in order to take down general shepherd," makarov asserts. you tilt your head curiously, urging him to elaborate. "which means, unfortunately, that you will have to work with him. my men can handle the general's lap dogs, but commander graves is the only person that can locate the general himself."

of course. your catalogue of enemies that you have no choice but to work with just keeps expanding.

"i see." you mumble, fingers twitching at the prospect of working with graves. tolerating his soldiers is one issue, but the commander is a whole other ballpark. "i still don't understand– why are you giving me all of this?"

makarov finally tears his gaze from yours for the first time since you separated. he walks over to the front door, right next to your spot against the wall, and unlocks it with a small twist of the lock. he turns toward you, though his eyes do not lift to yours again.

"the enemy of my enemy is my friend," he utters, swinging the door open. "we'll be in touch. do not ignore me next time i contact you."

you nearly miss his eyes flicking up to your face, the action so short that it feels like a trick of the light. he walks out of your apartment, closing the door behind him with a soft thud, stopping you from watching him as he disappears into the night. you don't think you want to know where he goes, but one thing that you can say for certain is that it won't be the last you see of him.

you'll be seeing him even sooner than you can imagine.

taglist: @sofasoap, @roosterr, @rohansregret, @lonesome-doves, @thorrsexual, @miss-nob0dy, @woodeelf, @fbs-fc-ur-mommy, @soap-mactavish, @itsyellow, @johfaam0, @cumbermovels, @chxe-zdechnac, @imagineswritersblog, @emorgz33, @k4rthon, @ponyboys-sunsets, @frazie99, @chensipstea

⋆ feel free to ask to be added to/removed from the taglist! (18+ only please <3)

[lukkabloom]

Fun Facts abt the residents according to Ikevamp Radio (ヴァンなま) Part 1

Found a playlist of Ikevamp Radio that occurred multiple years ago so I decided to collect my findings about the residents in a list. I haven't seen anyone translate it or talk abt it so I decided to do it for a bit of fun. Anyways, here are episodes 1-3!!

Some quick things to note before:

Vincent/Aramaki Yoshihiko (Makki) is the MC, Sebas/Morishima Shuta (Morishi) is a guest (but he’s in every episode he might as well be the 2nd MC). They also have other people as guests in some episodes (other ikevamp VAs or others related to the game itself)

Episodes 1 & 2 occur before Ikevamp’s release

most of my findings are from a segment from the livestream where the residents (mainly Vincent and Sebas) talk to each other & ask each other questions about the lives while they spend some bonding time in the thermae. The segment's called "I love yu" which is a pun on "I love you" and yu (湯) which means "hot water" or "bath"

There are also other segments where the VAs draw based on a designated theme & the viewers vote on the best art (van Gogh's drawing section), and another one where the VAs read the summary of the game in their in-character voices (but the VAs interrupt and make it funnier & less romantic) called "Ikemen Vampire, a guidance for you" (I won't talk abt these sections much tho)

ALSO!! This is not a translation of the whole livestream, just bits and pieces of it. I don't have the time and energy to do that

Episode 1: feat. Leonardo's VA Tsuda Kenjiro

Question: Which historical figure/genius do you respect the most?

Napoleon: Oda Nobunaga

Mozart: Johann Sebastian Bach

Leonardo: Michelangelo (which I thought was interesting since real-life Leo and Michelangelo had some beef w each other)

Morishima (Sebas’s VA): Newton (bc of the apple & theory of universal gravitation), Edison

Tsuda (Leonardo’s VA): van Gogh

Aramaki (Vincent’s VA): Liu Bei, Zhao Yun (I think that's who he was talking abt? I'm not familiar much w/Chinese figures' names in jp---they're read differently in Eng)

The other VAs joke that Aramaki’s similar to Napo in the sense that they both admire soldiers/military commanders

Question: Favorite part of a woman’s body? (This sounds so wrong in both jp & eng)

Napoleon: from the neck to the shoulder, he's prob talking abt the shoulders to the neckline or vice versa（首から肩まで）

Mozart: voice (so he can understand what his partner’s thinking & feeling)

Leonardo: thighs (bc it’s soft & he likes lap pillows)

Tsuda said Leo’s a bit of a pampered/attention-seeking child (甘えん坊), and not an ore-sama (which he thought Leo would be), an unexpectedly cute reason considering how reliable Leo looks

Vincent gets a bit sad when he’s bathing alone

Leo can sing a song that he’s only heard once (as expected of a genius)

Sebas can be seen hanging the sheets outside from Vincent’s room

Leo’s unsatisfied that there’s only men in the mansion (this was before MC stumbled to the mansion)

Vincent doesn’t want women in the mansion bc he wouldn’t know how to act in front of them

Sebas thinks Leo is an expert in handling women, Leo is confused when he became one

Leo’s weak against Vincent’s pleas/suggestions (honestly who isn’t??)

Sebas thinks it’s impossible for a woman to stumble upon the mansion (foreshadowing)

Leo thinks that fate will play a trick on them, his mumbling confuses Vincent and Sebas (more foreshadowing)

Episode 2: feat. Jun, singer of Ikevamp theme song "Rouge"

Jun is a repairman who fixes things around the mansion… HE'S ALIVE IN THAT ERA???? (Idk if its canon)

He also sings “Rouge” while he works which means the song exists in the 20th century (again idk how much of this is canon)

Jun also sells milk in the mansion, acting as a different person as the repairman, although Sebas & Vincent are suspicious of him (he literally just enters the bath to sell milk to Vincent and Sebas lol)

Vincent and Sebas talk about MC, she has arrived @ the mansion

Vincent worries abt her since she is surrounded by vampires in an unfamiliar environment, but to Sebas, it looks like MC enjoys her life and is headstrong (aka Vincent is just nice to others, nothing new)

Vincent believes that Sebas is cool and can do anything, to which Sebas indirectly disagrees (he coughs)

Sebas is weak to Vincent’s innocent eyes (just like Leo from the previous episode, again, who isn't?)

Sebas breaks the 4th wall talking abt a popular romance game where you can fall in love w/vampire-turned historical figures

This is literally the beginning of how Sebas goes ooc (becomes weirder) throughout the series (is it even ooc if it’s basically approved by official??)

Sebas says that Theo is overprotective of Vincent, Vincent comments that he’s supposed to be the older one

they also introduce my fav segment (Can you tell me... your name?) where they have listeners vote on quotes they want the VAs to say, and they will say the line w/the listener’s names so it sounds like the VAs are speaking to them. Vincent's & the guest (if there is one) will have legit cool lines (like “(y/n), Don’t let go of me” or “(y/n), you’re the only one in my eyes”) but Sebas always has one funny line as one of his options (ex. “Hey, do you wanna have a takoyaki party?” or “Do you want to fry one more sanma?”) and every single time the weird line gets voted and ITS FUNNY AS HECK

Also in the same segment the viewers will sometimes submit funny names for the VAs (especially Sebas) to say & it adds to the laughs

Ex. for Sebas’s “Hey, do you wanna have a takoyaki party?” some viewers gave names of Anpanman characters (a children’s anime in Japan) so Sebas will literally say things like “Jam-ojisan, hey, do you wanna have a takoyaki party?”

There was also one whose name was Tako (octopus in japanese) so Sebas would say “Tako, do you wanna have a takoyaki party?” so he’s asking the octopus to have a takoyaki party where the octopus will be eaten (the irony as well as the dark underlying meaning behind it is very funny)

Also the way the other people are laughing while Sebas’s VA is trying to keep his cool is so hilarious

It’s predetermined and agreed upon the Ikevamp staff that Sebas (or Morishi) is willing to do/say weird things for the audience

This whole segment is a whole ride in and out of itself

Episode 3: feat. Leonardo’s VA Tsuda Kenjiro once again

Sebas once again breaks the 4th wall by referencing episode 1 of the show

Sebas teaches Leo the basics of manzai (a type of japanese comedy)

Leo says “Vannama” (the name of ikevamp radio) and “tendon” (the food and a manzai phrase)  in a weird accent further proving that he doesn’t understand Japanese (or maybe it's bc the two phrases are too specific idk)

Sebas tells Leo to ignore what he’s saying as he is saying metafictional expressions (メタ発言) basically how he is breaking the 4th wall, and Leo just accepts that as another one of Sebas’s quirks

Vincent comments that Leo’s very manly, Sebas further compliments him saying that Leo is a man amongst men

This episode has one of the funniest (imo) “Can you tell me… your name?” segments ever. Vincent and Leo’s VAs had amazing lines, but Sebas… oh gosh where do I even start. (ok Leo’s VA did say “Ushi (cow), wait for me by the bed,” and “Namamono (raw food), wait for me by the bed” & that was funny too but…)

One of the options for Sebas’s lines (and the one that was ultimately chosen to be said) was “Do you want to fry one more sanma (a type of seasonal fish eaten in fall)?” and the viewers got crazy with this one.

There were some legit names but most were for jokes, choosing names going along with the theme of fall foods and creatures (tuna, matsutake, karaage, grasshoppers, etc.)

There was “Akashiya, sanma mouipikki yaku?”(Akashiya, do you want to fry one more sanma?) which was the funniest one. Akashiya Sanma is a very famous Japanese comedian and it’s very genius of the viewer to connect the person with the food. I laughed straight for like 10 min when I first listened to this (I still laugh just remembering it. The double-entendre!!!)

Literally any episode with Tsuda is chaotic (this isn’t the last time where he shows up)

At the end of the episode, Vincent’s VA couldn’t stop laughing and messed up his lines multiple times (I don’t blame him everything is just so funny)

[radlyradar]

my g.i. joe headcannons are (this is going to be SO LONG but you asked for it so I feel only a little guilt <3)

Bazooka is autistic (if you watch 'a real american hero' he tends to only speak a few words at a time)

Bazooka isn't supposed to be away from alpine or else bazooka will do some wild shit (again, if you watch the 80s one you know he's wild)

Shipwreck has gotten at LEAST 3 male g.i. joes to wear skirts/dresses (canonically there's only one so far)

Scarlett makes everyone watch Spider-Man with her (cannon one-off background scene I took to heart)

Gung-ho got his outfit at a stripper store and still hasn't noticed (no one says anything bc it's funny and the people who would say something don't know)

Cover girl and Shipwreck are in a wlw/mlm alliance

Spirit got his nickname bc of Spirit the horse (based off the fact anytime I'm like 'yeah they named the native american character Charlie Iron-Knife and gave him the nickname spirit :/' everyone goes 'like the horse???'

Destro, Cobra Commander and The Baroness are in a poly relationship. So are the dreadnoks. (Cannon. It's cannon.)

The reason Barbecue has a like, radio announcer type accent (i think its him? Its either him or a seperate guy whose in a similar big suit) is because when he's in the big suit he started talking like that as a joke and it stuck

Wild Bill isn't actually from a ranch or whatever in Texas. He's from like, the middle of Austin and has just been pretending. (I dont know his actual story but I'm from Texas and he's a goofy stereotype so it's funny to think he's just.. lying and that's why he's like that)

yippee!!!!

first off, I totally I agree, I’m pretty sure I’ve said it before that I think bazooka is catholic and my only proof is that he’s from Minnesota lol. He’s like my GI to projecting character because he’s one of my favorites.

also yeah, I don’t think it’s like a spoken thing that he’s not supposed to be with Alpine, but everyone knows that if he’s seen by himself or just with quickkick (theres an episode of them together and doing crazy shit) other Joes immediatley go ask him what’s up because he’s probably gonna cause a ruckus.

I hc Shipwreck as bisexual, the only reason for this is because it would be so funny, I just wanted to say that. But yeah I agree. I sincerely doubt it’s out of a place of goodwill, this guy is getting them the worst dresses you’ve ever seen.

ALSO AGREE, I hc this along with footloose is one of those guys who will always do the most god awful dance then try to get someone to join (oftentimes dusty because they’re paired up a lot).

The Gung-Ho one is fucking hilarious, when you consider his circumstances. He was in the marines right before GI Joe for years, he lived in the middle of a swamp, the other Joes are mostly confused on how the fuck he could have gotten ahold of that?

I love covergirl and Shipwreck but she’s totally a lesbian, no way the former model, turned army mechanic, likes men, she’s been surrounded by too many sucky ones her whole life.

Ough Spirit, the 80s did that poor guy dirty

ITS CANNON

dude, I love him because he’s supposed to be from BOSTON. WHAT IS THAT ACCENT. You may also be refering to Blowtorch who’s Irish and from Florida for some reason??? 😭 what’s wrong with them?????

As a fellow Texan, I think he fits the rich Texan stereotype. Most folks aren’t like that, but I’ve met people who honest to god act like that.

[winnie-wine]

Minish cap thoughts part 8

Cutscene time! So the first one was where Ezlo and Link leave the sanctuary and are ambushed by Vaati who exposition dumps about tracking down the lightforce. Doylist: This gives the player more information Watsonian: Vaati is a grown ass adult beefing with an old man and a child and that's just hilarious. I will note that Vaati and Ezlo talked to each other like it's been a while, and since my basis for the "Vaati was STILL Ezlo's apprentice" thing was the cutscene where Vaati steals the in which Ezlo is like "Vaati? What are you doing?" like Vaati's a kid getting in trouble. Um so that's unfortunately not holding up which sads because that was fuckign funny. However! Screenshots!

Image: Vaati as a minish. I really don't really know how else to describe this without taking up a whole paragraph

Minish Vaati is so fuckign adorable. He's trying to be menacing and it just isn't working bc he's literally tiny with those big ol eyes and pencil bangs which im gonna be honest just make him look like a 12 year old lmaoo.

Image: Vaati's human form, with cloak billowing His human form, by contrast, has the emo fringe covering one eye bc he's a dramatic motherfucker, and long billowing hair and a cloak. It's a human "form" but like he has purple skin and is still the size of a minish so like. Also i like the way he assumed this form and Ezlo was like "of all forms you coulda taken why'd you choose a fucking ugly one" He calls it "vile." Unclear if its because he thinks hylians or vile, or if it's Vaati's fashion but still. Noted.

Also, this means that Vaati and Ezlo had to use the minish portals to grow big, and since Ezlo was a hat at the end of this cutscene, he had to struggle across town and to where we found him in that form and considering we found him alone and i doubt any Minish who helped him in travelling would abandon him, i like to think he specifically like. Avoided being seen by people on that journey bc he was embarrassed.

Next!

Image: Ezlo telling Link "What you call the Picori Blade was the first of those gifts. The second...." Note: Ezlo's beak is open wide enough to swallow Link's head whole. That's not like important to the lore but it's a funny detail.

Image: Ezlo saying "Well, you call it the light force, but it is a source of limitless magical power." And Vaati had said that this power runs through the "Ladies of the royal family" So. Interesting lore implications because this visually looks like the power every princess wields. This is retconned in Skyward Sword to be from being Hylia's descendents but it's from teh minish! Which. Did SS Zelda ever use that kind of golden glowy magic? She sealed herself in amber, but I can't remember the kind of forcefields like what MC Zelda used against Vaati, or what BOTW Zelda did to the guardians. Either way, it's canonically limitless.

Next cutscene: You leave town to the west and then go south and Ezlo and Link are like "my spidey senses are tingling" and then you get the cutscene where Vaati turns the king to stone and takes his place.

Image: Left, Vaati in the firm of King Daltus commanding "I want it!" (it being the limitless magic power Vaati doesn't know is the light force and therefore is literally right next to him) "It is somewhere here in Hyrule! Go now, and bring me this power!" Right: Question marks above everyone's head bc King Daltus has fucking lost it I love the detail that apparently Daltus never has this little composure and so everyone is immediately skeptical bc he's being greedy and rude. In my first run through, I thought that Vaati had like kinda taken over Daltus. Like I also knew something was up but no. This is literally just Vaati and how he talks to people.

Image: Ezlo saying "Hm... Maybe it's just the wind... But I hope nothing bad has happened." Literally it's so funny to me that the developers were like "yeah we need this scene in somewhere, but the main characters can't know" and so their solution was this. Alright. That's all I've got for now. I might not get more screenshots for a bit cause I'm trying to track down the sensei brothers. I forgot where their locations are, and I never found all of them in the first place but I'm pretty dang sure that one of them is on mt crenel somewhere. Also, I need to remember how to get to Syrup's hut, which means I need the digging mitts, and i forgor where those are.... I'll figure it out.

[basket-of-cats-and-witches]

OC Ramblings: Kitty Hale (or Kit)

Unsurprising that this is happening considering how hard the Love and Deepspace brainrot has hit.

I'll tuck it under a read more (so I don't clog up everyone's dash...) but I've been having some general thoughts about her.

For those in the L&Ds fandom, Kit is my non-MC who's romancing Sylus. Clearly I write a lot about them, but he's her boss, and she's his assassin second in command. I actually didn't know this was a common trope until after I created her.

Oh, well. I love her too much to care, tbh. We can't all be unique, but putting your own spin on a classic can freshen it up a lot.

So now, to the Read More, and the ramblings. If you enjoyed this, please leave a like. It brightens my day when I see people enjoying my content.

Kit's general stats

Height: 5'11/180cm

Name: Camilla Kitty Hale (she goes by Kit)

Age: 26

Hair: Black, loose curls

Eyes: dark purple/brown (not heterochromia, just the particular shade I chose looks almost brown)

Birthday/sign: January 1st/Capricorn

I really enjoy Kit as an OC, and as a companion to Sylus. There's something about the ✨yearning✨ that's tasty, of course, with the canon story for Sylus and all our other LIs, but I opted for extreme slow burn and like recognizes like.

Kit's...a lot. She's been refined again and again so that she's not just my trauma dump character. There's always one, and you just gotta sort of shape them into their own thing.

She's fierce, loyal to a fault, and deeply vulnerable. I think that she's viewed herself as a tool for so long that it's created a sense of naivete, which is something Sylus clocks immediately.

When you're in survival mode for that long, most things get tossed to the wayside, and that includes relationships and intimacy.

This doesn't just mean romance, although it is a big part of it especially for Kit, but it does create some good tension and back and forth between her and Sylus. She's extremely skilled on the battlefield, well enough to keep pace with him (which is honestly a feat in itself), but when it comes to flirting, courtship, and what's in the bedroom, Sylus leads their strange push and pull.

I don't have the patience to write a true slowburn (especially bc a two year slowburn would be like 50k and I...hngh. I can't brainrot myself like that. I wouldn't get any work done. I'm already writing fic like crazy). But! It would be genuinely interesting to see it.

Sylus is a very direct character. He seeks consent from those he cares about, is blunt to a fault, and exceptionally intuitive. Whereas Kit knows her way around a battlefield, but has a tendency to bottle up and not talk about what's bothering her unless pushed. Probably because her backstory features her getting punished for expressing her personal thoughts.

There's a fun scene that I don't actually remember if I posted here where Sylus and Kit actually talk about it and her trauma a little bit.

-

“Is it okay for us to do these things?” She mumbled. Her hands dropped over his, smoothing over the ridges of his knuckles and finding the calluses of his fingers. “I just have a hard time feeling as if it's not some sort of…weakness. People like us aren't nice, do we deserve nice things? Do…I deserve things? What happens if I let myself relax and be…”

Kit hesitated for a second, before pushing on. “What happens if I want to be cute and girly, and someone uses that against me? Sometimes I feel like I'm only allowed to be the…” she trailed off, sighing.

Sylus smiled wryly. “The monster?” He supplied, his tone quietly bitter. “I've had a bit more room to come to terms with it, Kitty, so listen.” He spun her around, his hands settling on her shoulders. His eyes were dark, hollow and sad in a way that reminded Kit why they matched so well. “You're human, Kit. Specifics aside, you are, in fact, human. No matter what anyone says, you have a heart that feels deeply, that bleeds and beats like anyone else's. And it's because you have a heart that you deserve the same things as anyone else.

You're not a weapon, baby.” His soft voice made her lips tremble, her stomach twisting with the heavy weight of her emotions.

“Unfair of you to use that nickname now,” she whispered hoarsely.

Sylus smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We're not monsters,” he said. It seemed to be as much to himself as it was to her. “And if anyone tries to use your joy against you, you have me, the twins, and even Mephisto.”

She laughed wetly, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.

-

I've always loved the idea of two people teaching each other to move past their traumas. Honestly, in my personal opinion, part of growth and recovery from trauma is teaching someone else. My therapist talks about "parenting oneself" a lot, about being the parent to yourself that you may not have had in a way to sort of...help guide your brain towards healthier habits. And I apply that here as well. Mentoring someone who's not as far along as you but has similar trauma can help you, as well (be careful with that and consult professionals, I'm just a writer with my own baggage).

In teaching Kit to love and be loved, to be human again, it feels like Sylus is teaching himself as well. Not to mention that she often calls him out on his bad habits and keeps him in check. It's a push and pull, they're on relatively equal standing. I think that's why it's so easy to write them as a relationship, and why they mesh so fast even as a new thing. There's established rapport and even, dare I say, friendship that builds a very solid foundation for romance. There's good communication between them even when they're being stubborn, and the two never really have many misunderstandings.

-

“You-!” She bites out. “You've been grumpy and short with me since I got here!” Kit shoves the towel back at him, furiously wiping him down even as she snarls.

“I have been trying to follow your orders all day. ‘Kit, teach this kid’ ‘Kit, pour water on me’ I'm doing my best, Sylus! I want to be good for you! I want to follow your orders! I came out to the middle of the desert, no questions asked, on a dime, because you told me to! Cut me some slack and put those gentling gloves on, because I know you can! Now, lean down so I can dry your hair!”

Kit glares at him, and she instantly knows she's well and truly fucked. Sylus's eyes are a bright, burning red, the right one beginning to glow in a way that is as annoyingly arousing as it is terrifying.

And yet, he leans down quietly, bowing his head for her.

Without a word, she sweeps the towel over the wet strands. Her hands tremble. Despite her harsh words, despite losing her temper, she is, as ever, gentle with him. As if she were handling fragile and delicate glass.

Larger hands cover her own, and she can't help but flinch.

“Are you scared of me?” Sylus’s voice is ever-so-soft, almost tentative. There's a strangely raw edge to it, as if he anticipates the worst possible answer.

“No,” she whispers. “The ones I flinch from are ghosts, not you. Are you mad at me?”

As if he can hear her silent permission, Sylus steps forward, crowding her against the wall. His head drops to her shoulder. For a moment, all she can hear is the steady sound of his breathing.

It takes a moment, the heat of his body seeping into hers, Kit’s thin undergown the only physical barrier between them. Then, he speaks. “It’s…complicated. I'm not mad at you. You're not the only one with ghosts, Kit.”

(from my Lost Oasis piece)

-

Sylus made himself snap back to attention.

“Talk,” he said forcefully, his eye glinting. “I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong.”

Kit wilted further.

“...riod,” she mumbled.

Sylus tapped her forehead reprimandingly. “Louder.”

“I'm on my period!” She whined, her cheeks flushed bright red. “So please, kindly, can you fuck off? I hurt so much and I took medication and it's not helping!”

His eye twitched, and his hands settled on her hips, flexing in irritation. “I understand that you're hurting,” he said firmly. “You still don't have the right to talk to me that way.

I'm well aware you only snap at me like this when you need something but you feel embarrassed, so just tell me. Or I will leave you, and you won't be happy with me when you're done with your cycle.”

Sylus's tone was icy and flat, in a way it hadn't been in a long time.

Kit deflated. She looked down at her lap, the tip of her nose turning pink as she fiddled with her fingers.

“Sorry,” she whispered, swallowing hard. “You're right. I'm being unnecessarily cruel. That's not okay or fair to you.”

He leaned forward, kissing her forehead. “Thank you for apologizing. Now, tell me what you need.”

(from an unreleased fic that I probably won't post bc it's VERY nsfw)

-

Anyway, I genuinely love this pairing because, ironically, it's a very healthy relationship. They communicate, they hold each other responsible, and they help each other out. Despite the fact that they're both very much criminals, lmao.

Kit comes from a place with a lot of trauma, she was born in the Vagrant's Quarter, and she's very much another person who was once a kid desperate to survive despite the odds. Just because she has a healthy relationship with her adopted father and foster sister doesn't mean she's not constantly in the thick of it, and due to lots of backstory reasons, she can't stay away from the N109 zone and the career she was forced to have (not by Sylus).

There's something about abuse and "going back to what you know because it's easier than fighting against it and going it alone", and that's very prevalent in Kit's life.

If I were to do guesswork, I think that Sylus may have been the same when he was younger and more vulnerable. Even the terrifying leader of Onychinus was a child, once.

This is such a solid pairing to me, no wonder I have brainrot about them both.

If you've made it to the end of this rambling, thank you!! I hope you enjoyed all the little snippets and heavy topics. You're wonderful!

[withered--s0uls]

https://youtu.be/tucb78DNmTI?si=8eIaAbtRcS1oHWFH Here's that cover I mentioned, so I can beam upon you the Vision of Capochin Penelope /j /j but giving him the waiting leitmotif makes me explode.

Luck Runs Out would fit Vib very well I feel! Capo is already mega devout after all.

[Cover Link]

Honestly Capo absolutely would go to any lengths in order to stay loyal 😭 heck, this man still cared about Hector after the Godpoke did make him realized how much Inspekta hurt him (wheter Spek meant to or not doesn't really matter at that moment, they probably work that out post game).

So yeah I can see him trying to do something like Penelope did. Especially considering the detail of the bow in question being a type of bow that's really hard to string unless you know how to -- being rather different from average bows. Which I feel is a very thought out way of buying time.

Yeee, for the Luck Runs Out idea I'm still thinking. Overall for the Apocalypse edition of the AU.

[cut bc long text]

The basic idea is that the end of the game didn't end the way it did, instead Inspekta did do his thing and cause the apocalypse.

I'm debating if in this timeline the Godpoke would have managed to get through to Capochin or not. If not then he would stay on Inspektas side, alongside whatever BizzyBoys and other Grove Civilians would be on his side for one reason or another.

Meanwhile my Oc Micah, who was essentially adopted by Inspekta way before things started getting this way (meaning Capo & other Bizzyboys also raised them!), would end up in the position of having to now fill in the role of the leader for the ones who don't approve of things (amongst this side would be Patty too). Probably would team up with the in-game rebellion team (Lulu & co) to try and take down his father from his divine throne.

Things wouldn't go great, and the whole situation is stressful and traumatizing for this boyo. So he would eventually start spiraling too. If I have Capo stay with Spekta, then Vib would take the spot as another leftover OG member who would possibly see the signs.

In this version Lulu would also take a mentorship role towards Micah, because whilst he did learn leadership skills from his parental figures they wouldn't be enough for the situation at hand. (Which fun fact, him being good with team leadership actually in the regular canon-complaint timeline also plays a role Post-Canon. Because of people expecting Micah to take his fathers old spot amongst the gods, whilst he really doesn't want to after what happened leading up Inspekta stepping down)

However, if I decide to have Capo not side with Inspekta, maybe instead hoping that the rebellion can somehow get through to Hector, then I think Capochin being the one to see those signs and red flags would be interesting. Especially because he would be far more familiar with them than Vibiano and co, as he was the one who would talk to Inspekta directly. Him & Lulu would BOTH mentor Micah to some extent, but them having two different relationships with him [stranger vs essentially second dad], that would be an interesting thing to explore. Also something something about Capo going from second in command to Hector/Inspekta to second in command to the boy he helped Inspekta raise... (then again, Vibiano becoming the new second in command because he's the only OG-Founded BizzyBoys member left on their side, so Micah trusts he knows best how to deal with things. Hm... )

Regardless of which route I go, Micah wouldn't want to have to kill Inspekta. That's still his adoptive father who used to care and be so different.

I think Lulu would see it as necessary at that point, whilst Vib/Capo (depends on who I go with) wouldn't want to go that route. They still care for Hector and would prefer a peaceful solution if possible.

But that's all stuff I can and will decide further down the road, if I actually make this AU of my AU ahaha.

[saerins]

I feel like if it were the canon sae in bl, the story of priceless would end so fast lol bc he would for sure tell bianca to fuck off when she tried to imply that she doesn't want to see anyone else with him even after he made it clear that he doesn't return her feelings. this is the guy who ruthlessly dismisses anyone who doesn't hold him interests for more than a few seconds (see the jfa association director and that poor interviewer). he's the chief commander of the idgaf war. if he doesn't care, he doesn't care. man is his own boss and can't careless abt your feelings imo. But I understand that the sae in your fic is your personal interpretation of him. Since this sae is an adult, you can say that time has mellowed him out and allowed him to communicate with others without insulting or offending their existence.

Unlike rin, sae is very independent, individualistic and very sure of himself so I personally think his situation in priceless is what occurs when he doesn't act assertively and set boundaries, so he and bianca happens. as long as he doesn't put his foot down and be firm with her, i don't think bianca will just stay put and watch her boy crush get taken away from her. unless she wises up, i feel like a bloodbath is bound to happen. thoughts and prayers for yn.

haha yes this is definitely my take on him like, around 8 years at least after where the current manga is at :) i thought he might grow a little with media training and whatnot since he’s not that young anymore (even if he’s already 19 in the current manga stage haha). but honestly even if he said fuck bianca … priceless would still be a little long because /spoilers can’t say/ hahah i will say, the end result does not hinge on bianca’s presence :’)

but you’re right in that he wasn’t assertive enough - i think he personally tried his best to talk it out with bianca (considering that he thinks of her as a friend and she’s outside of that “just sports” circle, if that makes sense) but yeah that would’ve gone a lot different if he was his current younger self at 18/19. probably would’ve chewed her out for trying to control who can talk to him :’) he put his foot down gently in that extra, but now that he actually has a reason, you can bet he won’t be as gentle. his reaction depends on bianca’s though so heh & yn … i’m not worried for my girl (cries sobbing throwing up) </3

[blue-bird1967]

Do you have any Sayid/Kelvin hcs you can share? I love your fanart it’s so 💫💫💫

Omg hii! thank u sm for this question anon!! but you don't know what you've signed up for bc these two have been locked in my head for several months, and now I've finally put some of my favorite things into digestible words!!👁👄👁

It should be noted right away that I consider this ship in two versions: realistic and delusional.

The first one is more canon and it's tougher, more painful and doesn’t assume any close to normal relationship between Sayid and Kelvin.

The second option is AU, where Sayid finds himself in America after a couple of years of service and his meeting with Kelvin in Iraq. And this option was invented just for more soft and everyday hcs bc I would really like to see both of them in a domestic civilian environment where there’s no need to fight for survival. However, the specifics of their past affect them all the time, and I'm not sure if this ship will ever be close to normal :”)

So it's just going to be a mix of different hcs i’m sorry T_T

• If Desmond hadn't killed Kelvin by accident on the day of the plane crash, and Sayid and Kelvin had met on the Island, I think it would have been a private meeting with no prying eyes. 

Because unlike Desmond, who locked himself in a hatch and waited, Kelvin would have continued his forays outside and kept an eye on the survivors, taking his time to gather information out of habit. By this point Sayid is more than qualified to notice even such discreet surveillance during one of his jungle forays.

So he would have taken Kelvin for one of the Others and started following him in turn. But I need to see Sayid's reaction when he realizes who he's following. I think the effect would be worse than if Sayid saw a ghost.

And there would probably be a fight and a lot of comments about how Sayid has changed and matured, but Kelvin still remembers him as a scared for his life boy from the American-occupied base.

I seriously wouldn't dare to predict who would win this battle, but there are many possibilities that could drastically change the course of the story.

• Since Kelvin is in intelligence, I like to think about an alternate scenario in which he would have been captured a year or two after the end of the Gulf War. And of course, it would be Sayid’s responsibility to interrogate him.

This is the moment where the tension between them would have reached its peak, and boy, do I love it. Sayid already had interrogated and tortured people, but he isn’t yet completely broken by his guilt. He still has a long 3-4 years of service ahead of him. And now he has the man who made him live through that terrible night when Sayid’s hatred turned against his comrade and he used torture against his own commander.

And most likely Sayid already knows about Kelvin's other war crimes, and this would be the moment of his absolute downfall. I would like to see Sayid went crazy in the second of third week of interrogations and break down into bare emotions, as it was in the moment with Ben in the hatch in s2.

Honestly, for a very long time I've been haunted by the image of Sayid, kneeling exhausted in front of the beaten to death man, who made Sayid this way

• This is kind of a weird and random one, but I hc that Kelvin had a wife, and there's something about Sayid that reminds him of her.

Actually, I have some thoughts about Kelvin's previous life and especially about his marriage, which are reflected in his relationship with Sayid. In Sayid’s flashbacks in ep14s2, we can see that Kelvin is wearing an engagement ring.

However, since Kelvin joined the Dharma Initiative shortly after the end of the Gulf War, I assume that he had no one to return to after his service. This suggests that his wife either left him or is dead which is more likely, and he wears the ring as a memento. 

This is the point where my own hcs begin, as I have completed Kelvin's past to enhance his interactions with Sayid.

The fact that Kelvin is fluent in Arabic, having served in intelligence for 10 years when he met Sayid, led me to believe that someone close to him might be from an Arabic-speaking country, and it could be his wife. This would only add to the brutality and inconsistency of his lore, given the fact that he continued to serve in the military during the Gulf War.

WELL after such intense and angsty things it's strange to write something soft and everyday, but I'll write it anyway!!

• Kelvin likes to twist the curly strands of hair around Sayid’s face with his finger whenever they're lying or sitting together doing their stuff

• They both know how to cook, but Sayid likes to express his feelings through acts of service, including cooking, while Kelvin does it on a daily basis. And Sayid just can’t hide his frustration or annoyance when he fails to master a new dish.

• Fighting is flirting. Even in the most soft AU they’re definitely not the most peaceful couple. And while Sayid isn't a big fan of solving relationship problems through fights, Kelvin sometimes provokes him with his fake calmness and mockery, pushing Sayid to the brink and then engaging in a good fight that usually ends in the bedroom. Additionally, during their arguments, Sayid constantly makes this gesture, as if trying to press his finger into the air between them to reinforce his point, which Kelvin finds really amusing.

•Kelvin is actually a yapper when he's in a good mood, and Sayid is good at listening, as far as we know

[symphonic-scream]

I understand if you don't want to but could you explain how you come up with the diffrent arcana scenarios. i wanna know bc i love the p1-2 characters and it could be fun for me to come up with an au like that for them but i dont know how to start ^^;

Skipping the others in the queue cause this is like. Different

Okay! Hi! I've always been big on character analysis in literature and shit, and I'm also very socially inept autistic (I scored below bottom 20th percentile on Social. I suck at it lmao) so I got very good at breaking down character traits and connecting them to events as causality

So for Arcana Swaps, I try to identify what I consider the Building Block traits of each character. The baser traits, the ones their whole attitude and personality are built on, and pick out why that exists. Makoto is easiest for me so for this post I'll use Makoto Niijima as an example

Makoto has a self esteem issue a continent wide. She's the daughter of a taskforce cop who always strived to do good and create a world his daughters would be safe in, and the younger sister of the youngest (very successful) prosecutor in the city office. And she feels this big pressure to follow them and be great. Anything less and she's, y'know, useless

But we also see Makoto has this inner anger, through her rebellion costume of a hell biker. And the fact her element is nuclear.

So, next step? Identifying key factors of the arcana itself and how it's played up in the game

Let's look at the Chariot. This is the arcana associated with Victory, Command, War, and Self-Confidence. In P5, it's Ryuji, who is more physical based, and seems to focus more of the pursuit of Victory and regaining Self-Confidence through Self-assertion

Let's apply this to our chosen character, while keeping in mind our base traits. For a Chariot Makoto, what I did was pair her with a Temperance Sae. Makoto, as a student, is always compared to her sister, putting her down and in a place of needing to achieve above. Then, an incident where Kamoshida turns the faculty on her and accuses her of fighting him for a higher grade. No one takes Makoto's side, not even her sister

So this brings out the anger, and a decision to abandon the need for validation through others, since it'll never happen. She becomes more like Queen in canon, with piercings and a more punkish attitude, and doing things to distance herself from her sister. She's still super smart, and still overly bullheaded, still Makoto. But, with different circumstances, she's, different

So yeah that's how I do it. I try to keep in mind which arcanas do what to the main story (like how Chariot and Lovers in P5 have conflict with the first Palace Ruler, and how the Devil helps the Thieves to find the third)

But yeah. I like character studying it's fun for me :)

[zuko-always-lies]

@pleasehitmewithabus, even though you randomly decided to block me rather than continuing the polite discussion we were having, I figured I would at least record my responses, although it seems rather unlikely you'll ever see them.

(1/2) Okay sorry I saw your messages out of order I'll address them as I see them 1. I do believe that zuko and iroh specifically should have to at least pay reparations or some sort of service. Big huge emphasis on iroh, bc as much as the fans love iroh (me included), he did a lot of Really Messed Up shit and was drinking the fire nation colonizer Kool aid hard when he was a general. I do think that because with his age a lot of his wrong doing he tried to make up for (joining the white lotus, trying to lead zuko down the right path etc) but that doesn't really matter to the families of the people he killed either directly or indirectly does it? I think zukos situation is a Lot more nuanced than anyone else's in the entire fire nation. He never showed any pleasure in the tasks he was made to perform and conducted himself honorably even when no one was holding him accountable (leaving the swt alone in book 1 and defending that village against their own soldiers in book 2, etc). He also worked very hard to redeem himself. If he did kill anyone (doubtful imo, he didn't even kill his abusive father when given the chance in book 3) I do not think it would've been something he wanted to do, maybe self defense? As for mai and ty Lee, I believe reparations or service of some sort but if you think their crimes are as severe as azula then yes to some extent I do believe mai at least would need to face jail time (Ty Lee is a difficult one bc I genuinely believe she was coerced by azula to join her little 'elite force', source is the circus scene).

If you believe that everyone needs to make reparations or whatever, not just Azula, I have less of an issue with that. It's at least logically consistent. However, I feel honorbound to bring up that Zuko's "opening" act as an antagonist was ramming his ship into an indigenous village, manhandling an elderly woman, and terrorizing defenseless women and children. His second major act as an antagonist was burning down Suki's village, and so on. The narrative framed Zuko and his actions in a very sympathetic manner, since the writers wanted people rooting for his redemption, but he in fact was a brutal person who did a lot of brutal things. He's not necessarily much, if any, better than your average Fire Nation commander.

2. I do consider it canon, since they meant it to be implied. Which Im pretty sure makes it a canon off screen event, like Suki taking over that one giant fire nation balloon in the finale (it wasn't explicitly shown but implied), but if you don't want to believe that, that doesn't bother me. @zuko-always-lies (2/2) 2. Continued: Okay so again we can argue morality in war all day every day but people who are actively being oppressed or murdered on a genocidal scale (the north pole, The literal last Airbender) have a right to defend themselves. The fire nation was invading the north pole when Aang Without A Doubt opened a can of whoop ass on them and killed basically all of them. Aang also, as the literal last Airbender and the victim of a genocide Definitely had the right to go supersayain on azula or whoever (although it's worth mentioning that he never Wanted to kill anybody despite probably having literally killed people but by your definition canonically has not). The difference is Azulas role. She is the oppressor, the colonizer. She is in the wrong, there is no ambiguity about this fact. Yes she's a child, but children can still do wrong. She was open about her desire to kill people and her willingness to do so, even for people who she considered her friends (Ty Lee again, the circus scene). In my opinion that makes her in the wrong. She wasn't just a soldier defending her home or culture, she was a soldier destroying other people's homes and culture.

I think viewing the Gaang's actions as "more just" than Azula's (or Zuko's actions for that matter) is totally justified. The Fire Nation is a colonizing power, after all. That being said, from the perspective of military ethics, soldiers are very much not expected to judge the overall morality of the wars they fight. That's why ordinary German soldiers got off scot-free after WWII, for instance.

Applying this to Azula specifically, Azula is an indoctrinated child soldier. Of course she thinks the Fire Nation's cause is just and justified! It's not, but Azula doesn't know that, and expecting her to be able to judge overwise.

As for Ty Lee, Azula didn't expect her to die. The entire point was to recruit Ty Lee (in accordance with royal Fire Nation tradition), and Azula couldn't recruit Ty Lee if she died.

Hey friend, no one said anything about mountains of dead people off screen, but it's pretty silly to act like someone who was trained to be a lethal weapon didn't kill anyone ever y'know? And her kill count isn't zero, it's at least one. Aang, right? No, the worst that I can say about her is that she killed the avatar the symbol of hope and peace and The Last Of His People. Y'know, furthering the whole colonizing and genocide thing. But hey, your opinion is your opinion. No one's forcing you to agree with me. At this rate we are running in circles bc I am saying that yes, these characters (iroh, zuko, azula, ozai all of these bitches) did wrong and deserve to be punished and help rebuild the countries they actively destroyed, and that they, Despite being part of a war, Were responsible for their own actions. And you are staunchly defending a character who was morally gray at best, and didn't care about who she hurt or killed in her desperate bid for power and love. I mean, let me ask you this, what is your take? She's innocent? She did nothing wrong? She... Is wrong but shouldn't be held accountable for it? What are your thoughts?

It's perfectly possible that Azula has an off-screen body count, just like it's perfectly possible that Zuko, Ty Lee(ok that's a little less likely) or Mai (who throws knives at people!) have offscreen body counts. Hell, Aang, Sokka, Toph, Suki, etc. have onscreen body counts.

That being said, Azula is a character who we see prefers deception and subtilty over brute force as a means of accomplishing her objectives, and who is pretty consistently merciful. If she does have an offscreen body count, it's not likely to be a large one.

And yes, Azula is not a good person. She's morally grey at best. She's just not necessarily a worse person than many fan-favorite characters who are not the least bit held accountable by the narrative or the fandom.

At this rate we are running in circles bc I am saying that yes, these characters (iroh, zuko, azula, ozai all of these bitches) did wrong and deserve to be punished and help rebuild the countries they actively destroyed, and that they, Despite being part of a war, Were responsible for their own actions. And

This is actually a philosophical issue, of what is required to redeem yourself. The narrative of ATLA gives an answer, which is that all you need to do is stop doing bad things. You don't need to actively make reparations or anything, you just need to stop doing bad things and everything is OK. Iroh gets his tea shop in Ba Sing Se at the end, after all. This also gets into the issue of restorative vs. punitive justice, with the ATLA narrative apparently saying neither is required.

A lot of people (including myself) find this all kind of dissatisfying and questionable. That being said, I personally think that child soldiers who were only involved in very, very tail end of a 100 year old war that began long before their births bear a pretty minimal moral responsibility for the whole war. It's not really their fault. People like Ozai or Iroh, on the other hand...

So let's assume that post-canon Zuko controls/confines/punishes Azula in some way

what exactly he does doesn't matter much for the purposes of this poll; I would like to note that almost all post-war fanfics have some version of this.

[beetrootpatch]

A timeline with Cesaria’s outfits through the years, most of which are based on in-game looks. It seems black and red are his go-to colors, also gold if only he could get his hands on any.

Some more info on each more or less major point in his life lies under the cut:

Sapling 1313: 

Awakened in the cycle of night and soon proved to be quite a handful for a sapling. He had a typical fondness for shadows and dark places and would rather pickpocket guards for his own amusement or attempt to sneak out instead of sitting around listening to some mentor. It was around a year later that he eventually left the Caledon, driven by his dream of far away lands.

Burglar 1315-1321: 

Having been taught by a gang of bandits he joined on his travels, a life of crime was a natural thing to settle into as Cesaria found his way to Divinity’s Reach. Though rather than for wealth, his interest in being a career thief lie more in the job itself as well as causing trouble. Any excess gold he would give away to the poorer folk of the city and he eventually made a name for himself.

Vigil 1321-1325: 

After getting in serious trouble with a Vigil officer, he found himself at an unexpected crossroads and given the choice, enlisted to join the fight against dragons. The start was bumpy since being ordered around didn’t come naturally to him, but once he started to fit in it seemed that he had both the skill and a tactical mind to actually make something of himself. In three year’s time he made it up the ranks all the way to Warmaster.

Pact Commander 1325- present time: 

When the discussions of the major orders uniting were underway, Cesaria was quick to volunteer himself to join the new coalition. The idea was attractive not only because of the advantage cooperation would bring, but also because a well-respected firstborn was taking the lead. His view on the war had changed and was bordering on idealistic at this point and later the hard earned victory against Zhaitan that turned them all into heroes didn’t diminish that spirit.

Heart of Thorns: 

With the Pact having set it’s sights on Kralkatorrik, a change of targets came as a surprise but it made no difference to Cesaria which dragon they would conquer next. Though flying into Maguuma with high hopes and too much confidence proved to be a mistake. After the ships crashed, many lost their trust in a sylvari leader so with only a handful of soldiers he pressed on into the jungle to find the lost marshal who could pull the army back together. That mission was ultimately a failure, which he took very personally, and the whole experience is still a sore subject.

LWS3: 

Taking time off was recommended after the Maguuma campaign and a brief chase of bandit kidnappers, but it proved difficult. Since sitting around in the Grove trying to relax wasn’t really doing much for him, Cesaria soon went back to active duty and took his squad to accompany a colleague on an excursion to Bitterfrost Frontier as protection. Without a war to fight or a clear plan of action, the best he could do was help those who had the smarts to figure out what to do next.

Path of Fire: 

The arrival of a new threat to Tyria with four dragons still around couldn’t have been less welcome, but once Balthazar started a war, it was impossible to ignore. Frustrated by the insufficient action of the Pact on the matter, especially since it involved Kralkatorrik, Cesaria and his squad took on an independent role in Elona. No longer tied to a chain of command, they did as they pleased to help the local humans and hunt the rogue god until he was brought to justice.

LWS4: 

With both Kralkatorrik and Joko causing trouble, challenges were mounting up and even after the lich king’s defeat, peace didn’t last for long. The Shatterer’s attack in Jahai forced Cesaria to cancel a long awaited vacation and stay put instead to help contain the damage in the area. Easier said than done with portals popping up left and right and the looming fight against another elder dragon has him on edge, especially after the last disaster.

[crossdressingdeath]

#i think about this a lot#it adds a very interesting layer to wyll's characterization imo#bc it shows his tendency to see the best in people (which i find to be a wonderful quality usually) going awry#i see a lot of ppl on reddit say wyll would be a bad leader#and i vehemently disagree for many reasons#but i find it strange that ulder is upheld as the superior alternative when the game shows us many things i believe wyll would improve#in a meta sense forgotten realms wiki says ulder can be harsh and exacting and sort of blinded by his own sense of justice#which we see in the way he exiled his 17yo son no questions asked...#and ofc wyll is very principled and opinionated but he's also very analytical and thoughtful and open to others' input#anyway i find this rly interesting sry for rambling in tags (tags via @wildmelon)

Personally I think Wyll would be a bad leader, specifically because as the game stands he follows Ulder's example, which isn't actually a good one to follow. Like, there's a whole thing in the epilogue if Ulder survives and remains duke (I don't know if Wyll makes the same decision if he's duke, I vaguely remember seeing something saying he does but a) I don't really remember it and b) I've never done it myself) where Ulder pardons all of the Flaming Fist for their actions during the game because "Gortash made them believe there were assassins in every shadow" and Wyll praises this as the decision of a good and just leader when a) the Fist are infamous for being bullies and thugs who abuse the citizenry and have been since long before Gortash was born, b) they almost certainly knew there was a Bhaalist presence in the city before Gortash said anything so the presence of assassins shouldn't have been a new thing, c) as commander of the Flaming Fist who the charges heaped on them wouldn't reflect well on (and even more so one who has been doing nothing about their abuse of their authority under his leadership for some time, as we see from this book) Ulder shouldn't be unilaterally deciding to pardon them, and d) Ulder himself admits it isn't just to pardon them all. Like, he straight up said in Wyll's hearing that the god of justice would not approve. Wyll parrots that to the player as a sign that Ulder is a good and just leader who cares for his people. Which, making the only black lead all in favour of pardoning the corrupt law enforcement for their abuse of the lower class citizens those in power can't be bothered to defend from them is a fucking choice that someone at Larian made. But basically I think Wyll would be a bad leader because he thinks Ulder is a good and just leader when Ulder's primary concern seems to be... not letting his mercenaries get in trouble. He'd be a bad leader because Ulder is a bad leader and he'd follow his father's example. ...Also because he doesn't actually seem to understand what leadership and politics entail, Wyll darling you can't go around stabbing everyone in the upper echelons of political and mercantile power just because you consider them monsters, you have to work with them. If the game respected Wyll enough to give him a goddamn character arc I can definitely see him becoming a truly fantastic leader, but in canon not so much. He probably would be a worse leader than Ulder as he appears in canon, because he's got a lot of the same beliefs without the experience or knowledge. I can definitely see him becoming an infinitely better leader than Ulder ever was if he had literally any better examples and advice to pull from, but canon doesn't allow for that.

But remember, the Fist only did anything wrong because that mean ol' Banite tricked them.

I really don't understand what Larian was thinking. There are so many moments across all three acts that make a point of talking about how the Fist are incompetent at best and actively abusive as a general standard and then we're still expected to buy that Ulder is a saint and the Fist were innocent victims of Gortash's manipulations. Sure, based on this Ulder didn't personally take part in the abuse the Fist heap on the populace but it's such common knowledge that they're awful that... yeah, there's no good explanation for him missing it. Either he didn't pay any attention to what the people he commanded were doing despite their long history of being generally awful, or he chose to ignore what they were doing. But the game just... refuses to engage with that. The whole game seems to be setting up a story where Gortash and Durge only managed to get as far as they did because the Fist and the city's leadership were too incompetent to catch them or too afraid of Bane and Bhaal to challenge them or just benefited too much from their presence and non-Absolute-related activities to want them gone (Bhaalists are the best assassins in the business and Banites are great for helping people gain power, and neither church tends to attack the nobility) and then... nope, apparently those mean old cultists did all of this right under Ulder—before anyone mentions it, his little sojourn into Avernus happened the same year as the events of BG3; the plan was definitely well underway by then—and the Fist's nose! They were innocent! Don't ask how none of the city's law enforcement or leadership noticed them, those horrible manipulators were... horrible! And manipulative! Ulder and the Fist are totally innocent and were not wilfully blind or incompetent in the slightest!