#headcanon tag in the process .

[turtleblogatlast]

Leo learns something about himself 🏳️‍⚧️

Based roughly on this old post.

Bonus:

[Leo is taking the fact that he was born biologically female simultaneously very well and also not so well but overall he’s mostly coping with the fact that it was Draxum that just essentially gave him the turtle equivalent of ‘The Talk’.]

[remxedmoon]

y’know what? fuck you. *UNGRAYSCALES YOUR ISATS*

no wait come back there’s greyscale versions under the cut :(

[lemonisntreal]

okay @biaweck brought this old piece to my attention in their recent post, and also made me go through all my old uploads to double check [horrific]. But apparently I never actually uploaded this one, so:

My bad! 😛

This was started all the way back on January 27th of 2023, so it's like a whole year and a half old. Honestly, didn't age too horribly, I might redo this one at a later date [also Mike smokes, and you can't convince me otherwise [well kinda [see tags]]]

This redesign also REALLY needs an update or two, it was really hashed together at the time [which is a reason why it wasn't ever uploaded, if I were to guess]

[quintiliusheartripper]

Needed to finalize the t4t voice and claw of koda and here they are.

[ninjagirlstar5]

can I request… chodarking/chocolate orange….

Damn, Chosen, how come you get TWO partners? (reference)(light-hearted)

[kurakuradon]

twst oc: papa shroud

[beauzos]

i understand why people say, like, that Amara can always channel Dhurke as needed for Rayfa or Nahyuta or Apollo or whatever, but i'm also like... would they not prefer for him to rest. cause like, it seems clear to me based on the way it's talked about in 6-3 that there is a sense of guilt in summoning the dead from their eternal rest to deal with MORE bullshit in the land of the living.

i don't think Dhurke would mind, confusing as it is for him, but i think Nahyuta would. idk. it's not like he doesn't want to see his dad. there's so much they haven't talked about, so much that Nahyuta wished he could have told his dad, wished Dhurke would have had the time to forgive him maybe, etc etc. but after 6-5, after Amara gets out of the hospital and they're off to the races trying to overhaul this country, i just think Nahyuta in particular would get this feeling that the ship has sailed. he can't keep clinging to the past, though it'll be a long time before he ever forgave himself for not talking sincerely with Dhurke one last time before it was over.

he had his shot to reconcile, he missed it, and that's something to reckon with. i think it just isn't something he feels is worth continually dragging Dhurke back to the living world over, though one could also chalk it up to a discomfort and unease with finally facing everything and talking it out. there's no telling that Amara wouldn't force the subject and channel Dhurke anyway, but, y'know.

Im not saying these kids don’t deserve closure, but I sort of think the lack of closure is the point to me? That they had to find closure through the trial and through their own actions, I guess? They could channel Dhurke one more time but I just don’t think that’d be the end of it if they did. Let the man rest. it's the least they owe him, even if it's hard to accept. otherwise, you're just picking at the scab forever.

[quigzahhutt]

I was tagged by @autumn816 to post the last lines of anything that I wrote :)

Logan wishes Alex would stop looking at him like that– like he's expecting Logan to leave. He realizes that's probably a big ask, so Logan instead inches closer and wraps an arm around Alex's torso, effectively trying to pull him into his scent glands, praying that it'll still be calming despite how sorrowful it might smell right now. Logan almost expects Alex to go tense, avoid eye contact and wait awkwardly for the moment to be over; instead, Alex shrivels, curls into Logan's side like he's been waiting to do it for hours. Alex presses his nose against Logan's primary scent glands, inhaling like it's salvation, and then exhaling with a throaty, broken sob.

silly omegaverse drabble I wrote after bouncing ideas around with a friend :3

I already tagged people in my other post so I'll just leave an open invitation! if u have anything you wrote recently that you want to share, please do :)

[em-allay]

I just finished watching Philza’s vod about the syndicate’s finale, and I really liked it! I really appreciated Philza and Niki giving their characters a good ending, how they went out of their way to mentioned that Ranboo and Micheal were also safe. Hell, we even got an appearance of ghost!Connor, which I thought was really funny and very on brand. I think it is safe to say, that this ending is by far my favorite out of all the one’s I’ve seen from the Dream smp.

However, I’m now going to talk about the hard part.

Right at the beginning of Philza’s stream it hit me that this was the first, and now only, syndicate stream I’ve watched that wasn’t from Technoblade’s perspective. And that hit me hard. I had to pause the stream to collect myself enough so I could finish watching, but I can assure you, I had tears in my eyes through most of it. I loved when Phil walked around and fed the dogs, I loved seeing Steve, seeing Techno’s base again, and I laughed so hard when Niki and Phil rang the bell. I know it must have meant a lot to them, as well as all of us.

And at the end, as Philza looked around the syndicate room one last time before he jumped into the end portal, it made me start thinking about Techno, and how much he loved this server and the stories within it.  How he wouldn’t shy from cracking jokes even in the midst of it all, how he would go out of his way to make sure people were included, how he was working towards creating more stories.

I don’t know how much of this is actually canon, but I do remember seeing somewhere that Techno’s character went on a journey as a way to explain his absence within lore. Whether it was to train, to find something, to explore, I honestly can’t fully remember. However, I would like to think that, within this journey of his, he made some discoveries. He found yet another stronghold, and maybe this one had more information about what lies within its walls. Maybe he found a book within the long abandoned library that talks about some kind of portal to an end. Maybe he took this book with him since it peaked his interest. Than maybe as he kept searching around the stronghold, he turned a corner, and hey look! Another cool looking table! Except as he looked at it this time, he realized that it was similar to a sketch he saw in the book. Maybe, out of curiosity, and maybe with the slightest feeling of adventure, he chose to test an old legend he found in an old book.

After Philza’s leap of faith into the end portal, and after falling through what felt like time and space itself, Philza finds himself on a platform. Before he can even get his bearings, he hears an utterly familiar voice say-

“Hulloooooo”

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: risk taking behavior / circumstantial self harm kinda / ignoring of injuries / self-depreciation / slight ooc-ness but for a reason! / ]

Post invasion, Leo is fine.

More than fine! He’s better than before, even. That is, if you don’t count the slightly cracked shell and still healing bones, but those are only a problem when the weather wants them to be!

Leo really is better in the ways that matter.

He’s not as cocky, not as self-centered, and overall just more heroic in general if he does say so himself.

Raph even said he was proud of Leo!

So obviously things are going well.

But.

It’s not enough.

Leo’s better, sure, but he’s still got work to do.

So - and here’s something that will probably make his brothers faint on the spot - he needs to train.

_____

His brothers do not faint, but it’s a near thing for Raph. Mikey has to fan the snapper’s face and Donnie almost brings out the smelling salts before Raph shoots back to his feet with an excited grin.

Leo’s big brother gets teary eyed soon after and envelops him in a bear hug, saying once again how proud he is that Leo is growing up.

Leo lets himself be hugged, even hugs back as fiercely as he can, because unbeknownst to Raph, this marks the end of Leo’s childhood.

He lets himself be hugged like a kid one last time, looking through the hole in Raph’s shell all the while.

_____

Leo only trains the regular way with his brothers and occasionally April and the Caseys, but most especially Raph.

But of course that’s not enough, it was never going to be.

So he goes through the motions of the stretches, the spars, the meditation, and then he leaves.

He makes sure to have his excuses ready, usually defaulting to Hueso as his go to since his brothers are easily bought off with the promise of pizza. Leo hasn’t yet found the tracker Donnie installed in him, but when he does that’ll be dealt with too! But for now, this should be good.

See, the invasion made him realize something.

It’s not about him, but it was his shortcomings that led to everything going to hell.

So he just…needs to get rid of those shortcomings.

He’s working on it, gaining fighting skill in training, but there’s more he needs to do, more skills he needs to train.

Leo watches intently as Repo Mantis swindles someone, he memorizes the sleight of hand that Hypno performs, he sneaks back into the Mystic Library and is so quiet the hush bats forget he’s there, he talks Big Mama into honing his manipulation, and he even sneaks into human hospitals and reptile veterinary clinics to get a clue on more serious injuries.

And after any of these, he heads to Run of the Mill to compete in the Maze of Death.

_____

This is his twelfth time going through the (newly remodeled and even more deadly) Maze of Death, and would be his fifth time winning. The first three times had him waking up in Hueso’s office, and each time he wakes his old persona shines through.

He always waves off Hueso’s annoyance and questions and insists on trying again next time before he steals some pizza and bails.

The skeleton actively tries to stop him from entering the Maze after the first time, but hey- mystics are allowed before you enter.

It’s easy enough to teleport on by.

Harder to meet Hueso’s - and later his brothers’ - eyes when he fails again.

When he first actually won, Hueso congratulates him in that typical deadpan tone of his.

“Ah, felicidades, Pepino. Now you can move on, sí?”

“Hm? Nah, boneman! That run was sloppy!”

And then Leo runs off before Hueso can stop him.

He doesn’t even look at his picture on the champion wall when he next comes around. It’s not much to look at anyway.

_____

His second win is much like the first, and only his third win is actually acceptable.

But he knows the field too much now. He needs a challenge.

When he attempts to go through it blindfolded, he’s quickly shown how much he doesn’t know the Maze. So, obviously, he loses again.

He got a bit more banged up that time around.

“Pepino, basta ya, you’ve already won. Where are your brothers?”

“I can’t stop yet, señor! This is for my brothers - no les digas, please.”

Even if Hueso wanted to tell Leo’s brothers, they haven’t been in enough for him to get to, and it’s not like Hueso has their number since Leo’s the one Hueso usually contacts. For now, Leo’s safe to continue as is.

Though his injuries are getting harder to hide, and there’s only so much his shell in particular can take.

So to speed things up, he incorporates the blindfold into his regular training.

His brothers question it, of course, but hey, he initially got the idea from seeing Lou Jitsu do it in the third best Lou Jitsu movie, so it comes as a great excuse now.

He’s only a little put off by how fast Mikey adapts to it when the others try.

“I dunno-“ Mikey shrugs when asked, “You guys shine so brightly anyway, a mask doesn’t do much.”

Seeing their mystic energies is pretty cool, Leo can admit.

He just wishes he could grasp that himself - and that it was useful for a death maze.

_____

Leo’s training pulls off eventually, and soon, after a few more losses, he wins a forth time. But it’s a near loss, and a near loss is the difference between someone living and dying.

He’s gotta go again.

Hueso’s more insistent than ever, though.

“You must stop, Pepino.”

“But I can do better-“

“You don’t have to! Your shell is bleeding - ¡por tu propio bien, poner fin a esto!”

“I told you, this is for their own good! For everyone’s own good!”

He forgets the pizzas when he leaves. He claims sickness when he hides under his covers.

He ignores how childish the act makes him feel.

_____

Leo’s getting better, and his reflexes and tact in training shows this. His other training of his subterfuge and medical skills also prove to be useful.

He’s pretty good at hiding injuries, now! Though not so good at hiding a pained shell. Even Donnie looks at him with blatant concern (and understanding) when Leo can’t help but take a sharp breath whenever he lands on his back.

It’s hard not to go right back into waving everything off with jokes like he used to. Deflections are easier when they’re annoying!

But- this is just another reason that he needs to get better, right? So his brothers won’t worry. He doesn’t need the spotlight anymore - he’s over that, thanks.

He squashes down the part of him that perks up when Splinter says he’s growing up. He actively kills the part of himself that cries at the same phrase.

_____

So. Yeah. This’ll be his twelfth time running the Maze. And, hopefully, his fifth win. Maybe he really will move on after this.

The Hidden City is pretty big! There’s probably a bigger challenge somewhere.

Maybe Big Mama has a more secret Nexus hidden away, out of the public eye.

Well, whatever. That’s a future problem for him to figure out, yeah? For now, he carries on like usual, teleporting to the entrance of the Maze and diving right in.

Even blindfolded, he works his way through, dodging and weaving and feeling as he goes. He even tries to evoke his inner Mikey and calls on his mystic energy. Not enough to cheat, but enough to feel.

Usually, when Leo teleports, he swears he feels every part of himself disperse into particles. Now, with energy thrumming under his scales, he can feel particles everywhere.

It’s not refined enough to tell him everything, and he gets a fun new burn and a nice whack to the back by getting distracted. Still, it gives him more than he had before. It makes him more aware of everything, like he licked a finger and held it in the air to feel the direction of wind, but every direction blew wind, all in different ways.

He makes it to the end with minimal injuries after that, and sure, his shell is screaming at him now, but he thinks he did a shell of a good job.

…Ah, he needs to cut that out, huh? Man. Maybe Donnie’s collar idea was a good call after all.

Leo needs to be a hero. Not a face man. Not a failure.

Not a kid.

_____

Leo doesn’t smile when the Minotaur takes his picture again for the champion wall, and he doesn’t listen when she tells him to “go home and never come back.”

He doesn’t plan to, anyway, yeesh.

He’s tired as he trudges out of the exit, and Hueso catches him when he stumbles.

Hueso doesn’t say anything. Leo doesn’t either.

Or, he doesn’t, until he feels a familiar large hand helping him up as well.

Leo’s face whips up as he flinches back, eyes wide as they meet with a worried (so, so worried) Raph’s.

“You told them?” Leo asks Hueso in betrayal, heart thudding wildly in his chest.

“Pepino…”

“Told us what?” Mikey pipes up from behind Raph, coming closer to get a better look at Leo, “Leo, what’s going on?”

“Your shell has been having pretty big setbacks on its healing, is this why?” Donnie demands, glaring fiercely as he motions toward the Maze.

Leo feels unmoored. “I-“

“Leo.” Raph interrupts, and no Leo doesn’t want to hear it- “Are you okay?”

And Leo wants to say “it’s not about me”. He wants to say anything that proved he learned his lesson, that he’s not a liability or worse, an active danger to his own family.

He wants Raph to continue being proud of him. He wants his brothers to trust him.

Instead, he passes out.

_____

The next time his eyes open, Leo’s on his side, staring at his blue lava lamp.

He knows without looking that his shell is re-bandaged. He knows his other injuries have been dealt with too.

And unless Leo learned how to do some pretty impressive medical sleepwalking, he knows he’s not getting away this time.

All three of his brothers being in his room prove that.

“What’s been going on, Leo?” Mikey asks, and his voice cracks partway through.

He’s looking at Leo like he’s searching for something, but Leo doesn’t have anything to show. Nothing’s hidden, he just did some light spring cleaning is all, throwing out all the parts he didn’t need.

All the parts they didn’t need.

And yet despite everything, he can feel himself falling back into old ways, a grin tugging at his beak and lackadaisical deflection on the tip of his tongue.

Maybe he should let that part of him show, just for once. It wouldn’t seem like too much of a setback would it? And he could really use a fun pun right about now-

No.

No it’s not about him. He needs to remember why he did all this in the first place.

“Okay- sorry, guys.” He smiles, softly, quietly, “I guess I got too caught up in training. I’ll work at it some more, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I see. Training. That’s all it was, huh? Training.” Donnie hisses more than says, nearly vibrating in anger.

“…yeah?” Leo nods slowly, because, uh, that’s literally the most honest thing he said. It was training.

“If it’s just “training” then why the secrecy, hm? Why in Curie’s good name did you prefer to sneak around rather than, oh, I don’t know, tell your family?”

Leo feels his shoulders rise at Donnie’s aggression, defensiveness welling up in him, “It was my training! Nothing went wrong, I’m getting better!”

“Better?” Raph asks incredulously, “Leo, you’re wasting away. A tap to the shell stuns you for minutes, you lost weight, and your dark circles are worse than Raph’s ever seen them! You aren’t getting better-!”

“YES I AM!”

The words rip out of Leo before he can stop them.

The room is silent as his brother look at him, all wearing expressions of hurt that Leo put there again.

“Yes I am.” Leo reiterates, shaking, “Because- if I’m not-“ He squeezes his eyes shut. “If I’m not-“

Then what was all this for?

Arms slowly wrap around him, and he knows now from the feel of the mystic that it’s Mikey.

“You’ve gotten faster, and sneakier.” Mikey says quietly. “When I accidentally cut my hand, you knew exactly how to take care of it.” His voice grows firm, and he backs out of the hug, “But those are your skills. You, though, you’ve been…you’ve been…”

“You’ve been dilapidating before our very eyes, and trying to hide it.” Donnie finishes, jaw tight. “You think we wouldn’t notice? After everything?” To Leo’s horror, Donnie’s voice is hoarse with tears, “You absolute dumb dumb.”

“I- but I need to train. The Maze is-“

“Leo, we don’t care that you ran through the Maze. We care you did it alone.” Raph says quietly. “We could have joined you, any time.”

“But- but I’m doing this for you-“

“Listen to your brothers, Blue.” They jump as a new voice joins the fray, heads turning to see Splinter make his way into the - frankly crowded - room.

“Dad, I-“ Leo begins, but trails off, suddenly more unsure than ever in the face of his father.

“It’s good you’re finally picking up training! Especially for your brothers’ sakes! But there’s such a thing as going overboard, you know.” Splinter pokes a sharp claw into Leo’s plastron, “Just because you’re dragging it out this time, doesn’t make this any less of a sacrifice. My son, you’ve taken after Karai an awful lot, haven’t you?”

Leo just looks at his father. At his brothers. Then, he looks down at his calloused hands, bandaged and scarred from overuse.

He swallows dryly. “Is that a bad thing?”

He feels his family crowd in around him, feels his father’s hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not wrong to want to be better, Leonardo.” Splinter says, softly and with so much grief and guilt that Leo can never begin to understand, “But you were never bad to begin with.”

Leo’s breath hitches.

“And-” Splinter’s hands rise up to frame Leo’s face. “You are much too young to ever consider sacrifice the best answer.”

“You got me to relax, Leo. So I’ll do the same for you.” Raph grins, eyes wet, “We’re still kids, right?”

And-

Leo smiles, watery but genuine. “Yeah, Raph. We are.”

[dootznbootz]

I’m so curious, do you have any hcs for Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus post-odyssey? I just love their little family so much, and like, the olive tree bed scene where Penelope tests him gets me EVERY time

SO MANY! They kind of get...dark though, because they're a LOT about his PTSD. There's PLENTY of Fluff in between but...I plan for it mostly to be about them all helping him with his PTSD. It's a lot of "Comfort" fics.

I plan for Odysseus to be restless and try to force himself to be normal. There are times when he'll be like "I'm going to go run around the island. I would like for you to come with" as being alone kind of stresses him out sometimes. Penelope and Telemachus usually go with him for RUNNING but he will walk with his dad :) It helps with his restlessness. and also just staying active. (especially as this was something OdyPen did often in their youth) It also is a way for him to reassure that "Hey, I'm not going to disappear on you. That's NOT what I want. I just need...release." basically. Fuck the Telegony

I actually have it where he doesn't tell Penelope about Circe and Calypso at first...It's something he's ashamed of and just...it's HARD for him. He's so focused on the fact that he's with Penelope and that's ALL he's wanted all these years. It's who he's longed for. I even have him make an Oath about how she's all he's wanted...He's not struck down...So that's true. It's why Penelope doesn't push too hard with asking at first because she knows him. Eventually, she has a moment of "Hey...I know it's probably painful...but you have to stop hiding this from me...I love you, you silly man. I know that you love me too...I just want to help."

He overhears Telemachus talk about Menelaus and he's happy they're well and that they're happy together. and Penelope mentions how "OFC they're well. They love each other and any good spouse would understand that when the gods are involved they have no choice" and Odysseus gets quiet as Telemachus rambles on and hides his face. He's just... so happy. Penelope would probably understand! Yet he still is afraid to share.

OdyPen had a conversation in their youth about how Tyndarius is such a good man for loving his children equally and understanding Leda didn't have a choice. Odysseus asks Penelope if she still thinks that. She's had an idea something happened and ofc she says yes, she still feels the same way. And he just cries into her chest. He doesn't spill everything yet. but it's a start :'D

He gets nightmares a lot. He tries and hides a lot from Telemachus (especially the Circe and Calypso stuff) because he wants to focus on being a DAD now.

(Ofc, I have it where Penelope invites Menelaus and Helen to Ithaca for Helen and Odysseus to talk about what THEY went through. And Penelope asking for advice from Menelaus...)

They all have "normalcy" eventually. But it's HARD. :') Love and patience help though.

[floweyheadcanons]

God damn, that's sad that he realized only after that fact that Clover died that he cares for them. How did he cope with that fact? Does he fall any resentment about the fact that Frisk got to live instead of Clover? (Or in Undertale Red and Yellow, is he happy he has them back?)

(MY BOYYYYY!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!! I HUG YOU FLOWER FRIEND!!!!! YOU AMAZING!!!!!!)

🌹

I think he'd probably cope by trying to distract himself from what happened to Clover, distancing himself from their old friends (except dalv, dalv is cool) and overall trying to think about them as little as possible.

I want to at some point make a post undertale yellow Flowey (idc that it's a prequel, flowey would've been different if he had met clover) that yk is more in depth. I think Frisk would indirectly remind him a lot of Clover and he kinda hates them for it.

I think in his darkest moments he'd taunt them about how their friends don't really care about them and are fully willing to let them die for the "greater good" because he'd be very salty about what happened to Clover. He'd be so pissed that people are trying to stop Frisk from dying when no one cared to do that for Clover, what makes Frisk so special anyway?

(idk much about undertale red & yellow, excuse me if i get anything lore innacurate) In the case of Undertale Red and Yellow he'd be so surprised because "omg both of my best friends are here?!?!" he probably ignores Frisk more and tries to talk to Clover and Chara. Just the sort of situation that's like "I don't care about you, I'm only bothering you because you have ghosts tied to your soul that are my dead friends."

Sadly, no psst today...

[cloud-the-forgotten]

Concept: Put Meta Knight, Dark Meta Knight, Galacta Knight, and Morpho Knight in the same (inescapable) room. What would happen?

Meta Knight stands in a corner for the first 30 minutes because he doesn't want to be here, and is eventually lured out by Dark Meta Knight wanting to fight. Galacta Knight stands in a different corner staring at Morpho Knight who is sitting on a couch wondering What Is Going On And Why Can't I Leave.

Galacta Knight sees Dark Meta Knight and Meta Knight fighting and kinda wants to join in, Morpho has to go into a corner at some point because the fight destroys the couch and they're disappointed. Galacta Knight joins the fight after that and Morpho lets out a sigh of disappointment because they just Want To Do Their Job For Void's Sake!

At some point, someone's (Meta or Dark Meta's) phone goes off and their ringtone is rock music (or something similar), and now all of them are bonding over music taste.

TLDR: Don't. Or at least have some music playing.

(Alternatively: Meta, Dark Meta, and Galacta all huddle in the same corner staring at Morpho Knight who has no idea why they're scared of them.)

[iorekbyrinson]

thoughts on bcs characters and their pullman-universe daemons

James McGill - Weasel or stoat family. The long sleek shape of the mustelid can squirm through any hole after its quarry, taking down prey several times its size. Folklore associations with being untrustworthy, unscrupulous, despite its diminutive size. Also known as the family from which Pantalaimon, daemon of Lyra Silvertongue, heralds from - associations of the protagonist.

Kim Wexler - Jackal. A desert animal with associations of the howling prairies, independence, a looming threat in a familiar canid form. However, jackals have a little known quality of centring the majority of their social behaviour around a monogamous relationship; marking out territory together, forsaking packs mostly for the pair bond. Cunning, determined, opportunistic.

Chuck McGill - Porcupine. Like all Rodentia, porcupines are intelligent and frugal, not carnivorous by nature but certainly with enough natural advantages. Unusual tree-dwellers that live far above the rest of the creatures on the forest floor, the porcupine's most notorious trait are its barbs, shaped so that they stick in the skin and cannot be pulled out.

Howard Hamlin - Golden retriever. Exactly what it appears to be to a fault, the ubiquitously loved animal has a few significant traits; it is above all a retriever, an animal that works in tandem with a master to seek out prey and skilfully return the prize, and any attempts to isolate this intensely social breed go awry - the animal withers away.

Nacho Varga - Rusty-spotted cat. The smallest wildcat in the world, to mistake this feline for its domesticated counterpart is a mistake; it is a predator of its lands, feeding on rodents and any creature beneath it, and has the hallmark of being one of the most successful predators relative to its size in the world. However, this elusive, nocturnal little wildcat has its weaknesses as a daemon; it will not stop until it is at the top of its food chain, even if it exists in an ecosystem where it will be swallowed alive. It has the typical feline traits of aloofness, independence, and particularly beautiful eyes.

Lalo Salamanca - Vampire bat. Largely associated with the handsome, deadly supernatural creatures of mythology, vampire bats do, in truth, hold blood as the superior tonic above all, and are also vastly social creatures; grooming, feeding, and raising families within a group that has strong ties to family members, but also makes room for non-relatives too. They hunt entirely in the dark. Like most of the bat family, their need to communicate means their high pitched chirps are constant when flying through the night sky. An unusual daemon for an unusual man; be watchful of his reflection in mirrors. It may not always be there.

Gus Fring - Coati. A daemon can sometimes settle in the appearance of an animal of meaning to an individual; and the mercurial and mysterious Gustavo Fring has inferred the coati's importance as much in his fateful recollection. However, the coati is also no insignificant animal; it is preyed upon by nearly every major predator in the Americas, but the coati has a tough hide attached to its underlying muscles, making it extremely difficult for teeth to get a hold. It is a contained and somewhat elegant looking small mammal with a handsome pair of spectacles around its dark, round eyes, and a reputation for intelligence rivalling that of its opportunistic cousin, the raccoon.

Mike Ehrmantraut - Badger. Whether of the European badger flavour; forest-bears of quiet and solitary pursuits, devoted to the burrows of their families, or of the American type, the fearsome ratel or honey badgers that face down mountain lions without a second look, badger daemons carry the traits of strength, perseverance, and an undeniable aggression that make them the animal that never backs down. Badgers construct setts that go deep below the earth, a vast underground system of resources that belies the staid, unemotional appearance of these creatures. Man + mountain indeed.

[blackjackkent]

Me> [struggling to unravel a very annoying UI bug]

My brain, entirely unprompted> H E Y. IF JAHEIRA HAD USED SOME MORE MINOR VERSION OF THAT RITE OF THE TIMELESS BODY ON RASAAD TO EXTEND HIS LIFESPAN, IT WOULD RESOLVE THE MORE FINICKY TIMELINE ISSUES ABOUT RION BEING THEIR KID.

Me> ...ok? I didn't ask right now but thank you for working that out I guess.

[idolbound]

De Facto Viscount

Okay, I'm continuing my discussion with Meredith 'subtly' taking on the role of de facto Viscount, during the opening scene of Act 3, when Orsino is trying to rally support from the nobles, Meredith arrives as Hawke does, and this bit of dialogue really demonstrates Meredith's mentality:

"How well did you guard your own mother? Did she not die at a blood mage's hands? [...] Cold corpses speak louder than abstract freedoms, do they not? As long as that's true, Kirkwall needs its templars more than it needs a new ruler."

In this sense, Meredith portrays the Gallows and the Templar Order as a necessary martial force to control the city until the apostates and blood mages alike are brought to heel. She has been doing this for a few years since the qunari attack; unrest and dissent are starting to rise amongst the mages and nobles alike. As Orsino succinctly says, "And when will that end? When will you stop seeing evil in every corner?"

To which Meredith replies, "When it's no longer there." This speaks to her increased levels of paranoia, due to the proximity of her new sword made from the red lyrium idol (which we see her carrying from this point already. Whether that's for the sake of the game having just one model of Meredith in Act 3, or if she already acquired the idol sometime between Acts 2 &3 is debatable, but I like to believe her already existing paranoia has increased slowly but surely over this period of time).

Of course, Meredith justifies the efforts of the Order by stating that "You know as well as I that temptation prays on every mage, no matter how noble their intentions." This of course, is likely in reference to her own sister (which at this point, Hawke is not aware of), who in Meredith's view was an innocent child who still lost control to the demon that took over her body. Regardless of intent, Meredith cannot fathom a mage having the will power to survive such temptations of power.

Interestingly, also, Hawke can ask Meredith to respond to Orsino's accusations of her trying to take control of the city, to which Meredith answers, "The City! I am trying to keep order until there is a ruler capable of succeeding where Dumar failed." With the history behind Elthina and Meredith choosing Dumar for his 'spinelessness', as someone malleable to their influence and instruction, it is quite clear that this is what is happening again, only this time the delay in choosing a new Viscount is because they claim to the citizens that they want someone capable (rather than someone compliant).

Orsino pushes it further, asking "And if not? Will the templars rule Kirkwall forever?" to which Meredith justifies her position more so with "We will not stand idle while the city burns around us" Again, Meredith brings it back to mages solely being at fault for the issues in the city, and that finding a new Viscount won't matter until that problem is dealt with.

Again, Orsino pushes to say that the Templar Order exists to guard the Chantry and Circle, suggesting that Meredith should let the nobility rule the city. Which of course, he's right in saying so, and at this point, many of the nobles would be in agreement. Meredith, of course, gets on the defensive in response. "I do not need you or anyone to tell me what my duty is, mage." She's well aware of her role in the city, but isn't letting Orsino of all people remind her of what her station is, and what she must do. But she knows this goes above and beyond, but she continues to enforce that the responsibility of the city is still hers despite that fact.

At this point, Hawke can tell Meredith to step down, or to let the nobility decide, though if Hawke offers to step in, Meredith immediately shuts it down ("That is not going to happen") clearly defending her choice and decision to continue with herself in charge under martial law. Hawke at this point, as Champion, is a viable threat to Meredith's control and plans for the city, and positioning them as Viscount would stand in direct opposition to her interests.

Of course, before this gets even more heated, Grand Cleric Elthina finally makes an entrance to temper things down and keep the peace - and to rein Meredith in as the only person capable of doing so at this point. Elthina makes a point to say that Meredith's actions also demean "us" as in, the Chantry and Order, and to go "back to the Gallows and calm down, like a good girl", which in some ways is a humiliation tactic (to emphasize their pseudo-maternal relationship but also to associate Meredith's behaviour as something child-like) but one Meredith knows she cannot fight against.

As I've said, enforcing martial law and blocking the election of a new Viscount, while positioning this decision as a matter of finding someone competent by her standards and enforcing that the mage problem must be solved first and foremost, Meredith effectively positions herself as the de facto Viscount of Kirkwall in all but the title itself, maintaining power and control over the key institutions in the city-state - the Templar Order, the Gallows, and the Viscount's Keep.