#how many generations of cids took care of her

[smallest-turtle]

WAIT WHAT HAPPENS TO MAGGIE IN THE DARK END LIKE- WHO DID MAGGIE GET PASSED DOWN TO MY PET MAGITEC REAPER MAGGIE

[universitysunflowers]

So how are we feeling right now? (TBB Spoilers)

Episodes 10 & 11 may be some of the darkest we've seen this season. We all knew the storm was coming but wow that was such a dramatic shift. I definitely had some thoughts and realizations after watching the latest release.

Okay first off lets talk about the elephant in the room: Tech. A lot of people thought that Identity Crisis would be about Tech and his struggle with having been made into the shadow clone CX-2, but it was actually about Emerie (I'll get back to her in a bit). Even though we don't know exactly who that shadow clone is yet, I do think it could still be Tech. In episode 11 (plus 6 and 7) we saw a lot of hints towards Tech as we knew him in seasons 1 and 2; things like the way he spoke, his leg getting crushed, his flying, and his use of Cid and Phee to get to the others on Pabu. One thing that really stood out to me when he was on Phee's ship is the way he put his hands on the flight controls while downloading her data, almost like it was second nature to him, something familiar he did without thinking (I know this is a stretch but it really jumped out at me as a parallel to the countless scenes of Tech flying the Marauder, it just felt like him again). However there is a dark side to all of this. If CX-2 is Tech that means that:

Tech destroyed the Marauder; the ship that was a home and refuge for CF 99, both during the war and after the Empire took over. It was the one real constant they had in their lives and he would be the reason it's gone.

Tech destroyed peace on Pabu; a place where he and the others felt safe and grounded for the first time since Kamino. It also means he would be at least partly responsible for destroying the lives of everyone who helped and supported them in season 2 (CX-2 was ruthless in ep 11, they made that very clear).

Tech used Phee to accomplish all of this; a friend who trusted and cared about him and rest of the batch.

Tech would be the one who hunted down and eventually captured Omega, whatever that may mean in the future.

There are a lot of people who think that bringing Tech back would make his death meaningless, which I completely understand. Some characters should die and stay dead as a way of furthering the story and development of other characters. However, in this case I do think that revealing CX-2 to be a brainwashed Tech would have huge implications for the narrative. It would mean that one of their own was responsible for so much of the destruction we have seen this season, and that just because Crosshair resisted imperial experiments, does not mean that the others have similar abilities/plot protection. It would also bring immense emotional conflict into the rest of the season (however they might do it) and could be a deciding factor in the rest of the batch's fate; would they realize what he's done and treat him as the enemy, or would they see him and hesitate, possibly losing even more than they already have. Revealing Tech as the shadow clone would be incredibly dark, especially after all of the cruel and deliberate things he has done this season that contrast to the mild tempered and caring persona we previously knew (even if he didn't always show his feelings outright). While I do think there is a possibility that he is dead and not coming back, I definitely would not put it past the writers to do something so drastic as a way of adding to the season's narrative value with a conflicting and completely jarring revelation that would have so many significant implications for so many main characters. I did not mean for this post to be so long but let's keep going anyway.

Some other more general realizations I had:

As of right now, Hunter and Wrecker don't know that Omega was taken again. That said, we might not see them finding out and the next episode could definitely jump ahead like they have done with other significant moments like Crosshair's return.

Crosshair could be blamed for letting Omega give herself up and missing the shot to put a tracker on the ship, especially if they never see her again (but I'm choosing to believe that won't happen). There is no way Hunter wouldn't have something to say about that, even after they have mostly patched things up over the last few episodes. This also contributed to the tone of the episode 11 ending; he missed the shot, meaning they have no way of tracking her and are no closer to finding Tantiss. It was a very bleak note to end on in general, not at all like some hopeful purpose driven endings we have seen previously.

Just because Omega gave herself up does not mean that the Empire is going to leave Pabu intact. She distracted CX-2 by letting him take her back to Tantiss but the other troopers were still there, and I doubt they will just pack up and leave without a fight now that Omega is back in their control.

There are only 4 episodes left; what if they don't reveal CX-2's identity at all, and just leave us guessing (I still think there could be merit to the possibility of it being Cody or a Crosshair clone but that gets less likely every time we see him). Or worse, what if they keep hinting at it to make sure we know who he is, but never give us proof; instead just leaving us with the knowledge of what happened to Tech, and what he has done, without any other closure.

Ok let's talk about Emerie. I was definitely not expecting her to be the focus of Identity Crisis, but I thought that was a really interesting twist. We haven't seen her in a while so it was nice to get her perspective, and to get a better idea of what project Necromancer is all about (though I am still not totally sure where they are going with that so I'm reserving my judgments until later). As the title implies, she is definitely starting to question her place with Hemlock and the Empire, and I am also wondering how she is going to react to Omega being captured again, especially knowing what she knows now. I definitely think Emerie will be more sympathetic towards Omega's independence and desire to help the other clones. We might even see the two of them working together on a future escape attempt? Overall I enjoyed episode 10 and I am glad Emerie is finally getting her moment to contribute to the plot, especially after her importance was so obiously revealed in Crosshair's escape attempt during season 2.

I'm sorry this got so depressing but unfortunately I think that is what we can expect for the rest of the season unless something really unexpected happens. Also if you read that entire novel then thank you I swear I didn't think this post would be so long when I was writing down my thoughts earlier but here we are.

[phoenix-flamed]

Alright, time to put my nose to the grindstone and write out a post detailing my "From the Fire" verse. Or try to, at least.

During The Night of Flames, in Elwin's efforts to see Joshua escape from Phoenix Gate, he was beheaded by traitors to the duchy. The trauma of the scene, compounded by Clive's last words to Joshua being that he was counting on him to protect their father, was too much for the child to bear, and he lost control -- transforming into Phoenix.

However, Joshua had little to no control over the Eikon's powers in his distressed state, leading to indiscriminate death for both foe and friend.

But Phoenix's power is over both life and death -- and it was this fact that spared some, most notably the Archduke. The regenerative magics mended his fatal wound and breathed life back into his body just enough that he was able to cling to life by a thread, unbeknownst to either of his sons. When all was over, and Anabella and accompanying Sanbrequian soldiers arrived to the scene and apprehended a devastated and half-conscious Clive, they also found Elwin amidst the rubble. And much like they had done with his eldest son, they took him prisoner.

Unlike Clive, however, Anabella made sure that he would not be made a soldier for the Imperial Army. No, that would be too good for him, and allow him to retain some semblance of his pride as a skilled swordsman. The former Archduke had always held a kind and soft spot for the Bearers and Branded of Rosaria, so why not let him join the gutter rats he so loved? And so he was branded and made into a common slave.

He spent his years in Oriflamme under the name of "Miles", working as one of the Holy Empire's many Branded, and treated with every bit of disdain, contempt, and cruelty as any other -- as one would expect, given that his true identity had been stripped of him(not that anyone would believe who he was, even if he said). He watched from afar as the Iron Kingdom invaded Rosaria and slaughtered and enslaved his people, and as Anabella sold out their homeland to further her own agenda, effectively dissolving the Grand Duchy and turning it into just another territory of Sanbreque. He watched as she married Emperor Sylvestre Lesage and became Empress, and as she undid or twisted every bit of good that Elwin had done for Rosaria all while knowing that he would see her work and suffer in powerlessness to stop her.

It was not the despair of a jilted lover that he felt towards his former wife, but the despair of knowing that she would ruin and end so many innocent lives just to spite him.

And so it was, until eventually Cid Telamon's Cursebreakers smuggled the small group of Bearers and Branded that he happened to work with out of Oriflamme and beyond Sanbreque's borders. They found themselves in Hideaway, liberated.

It was here that "Miles" learned of Cid's grand dream for a changed world, and his ongoing efforts to overturn the long-standing order and traditions in favor of establishing and normalizing equality for all. Needless to say, Elwin was quite taken by this ambition, for it was something he too had dreamed of. He was also quite taken by the people of Hideaway and their dedication and determination to seeing this dream become a reality, and how they worked together in harmony to keep their makeshift home blooming despite the Blight that surrounded them.

Unlike him, their struggles and traumas, far greater than his own, had not broken them, nor had it driven them to give up. It had only made them that much more resilient and determined and hopeful for a brighter tomorrow -- a tomorrow that they themselves may not see, but nonetheless planted the seeds of for future generations.

And like any other seeds, with cultivation and care they would eventually grow and bear fruit for all to enjoy.

He wanted to help them. He wanted to do what he could to aid their cause, and so "Miles" chose to pledge his skill with a sword to the Cursebreakers, undergoing the surgery to have his brand removed and joining their ranks.

As a personal desire, Elwin does want to liberate Rosaria, though not to reclaim his family's right to rule. He simply wants to see his people freed, especially from Anabella's treachery. He is aware of the Guardians of the Flame hiding in the shadows outside of Port Isolde, but he does not visit them in person, and he certainly does not try to reveal his true identity to them. Instead, he helps them from a distance, watching over their order and keeping track of their movements and actions.

There is much that he feels extreme guilt for, but he doesn't expect nor seek forgiveness for his deeds; he only wants to do his part for the future, to help rectify the mistakes of his past actions as Archduke of the Grand Duchy of Rosaria.

[ultimateutopia-old]

@inmiasma:

for garnet and kuja? ∗ 15﹕ sender  and  receiver  make  eye  contact  across  a  busy  room .

The room is too loud. Too full. Princess Garnet, barely fifteen, keeps a soft smile, some gentle words to any noble who approach her, nodding and accepting compliments, words of encouragement, birthday wishes, but behind her kind tone she feels like she's suffocating. She could barely share a few words with Cid before he was dragged away to join in an important conversation regarding his airships, and while she was glad her mother's mood seemed to be improving in the past few days, to the point she could swear she heard her laugh in more than one occasion in that day, an occurrance so rare Garnet didn't dare to interrupt, she truly hoped she would've been on her side.

You're not a child anymore, Brahne told her when she dare to comment about how many people she didn't know, and Steiner and Beatrix will keep an eye on you. Isn't that enough?

Keeping her head down, the princess didn't dare to speak up. But, inside, as the umpteenth stranger gave her their pleasantries, she couldn't help but feel... wrong. Alone, despite being surrounded by so many. Silenced, even as she kept running her mouth. A bird in a cage, taught to sing for the audience's joy, uncaring of how her wings were tattered.

And yet, despite the general sense of unease, even if she was both the center of attention and the last person anyone seemed to care for in the room... suddenly she felt a shiver go up her spine. As if, even between thousands glances, she could feel a very specific pair of eyes digging into her, as if they were staring directly into her soul. An odd sensation, that's for sure - one that made her blink and finally turn around. Her mother gave her her back, chatting lively with the owner of said eyes. A man she never met before, who now stared right back at her.

For a moment, yet for an eternity, the room went quiet. The stranger wasn't like anyone she ever met before - beautiful, no doubt, the kind of beauty that seems so... alien, so distant to the typical standars she was used to. He dressed in typical Treno attire, colorful and daring, but even those clothes felt wrong on him. She didn't even notice he was smiling at her. A sincere smile, maybe, but one that didn't mirror in his eyes, his look cold, collected.

Like a predator happy to find his next meal.

It took Garnet much longer than she wanted to realize she ended up staring. With a nod, she was quick to lower her gaze.

And yet, that weird sensation of drowning didn't show any sign of leaving anytime soon.

[runicmagitek]

I will ask Ashe right back at you because I want to hear your thoughts!

Why I like them. I always loved how unapologetically angry Ashe was. After everything that was torn away from her, she took it upon herself to make things right, by any means necessary. I loved how it wasn't until she was ALMOST at a point of no return that she had a change of heart, but DAMN, I always loved that for her. Be angry, girl. Be violent.

Why I don’t. I also wasn't big on the ending with how she reacted to Balthier staying behind. I felt like there was a scene or two or ten missing to lead to That Reaction.

Favorite scene. I know Ashe has a ton of badass/important scenes, but I always loved the opening wedding parade, just because she's smiling and so happy. It's like the calm before the storm, but it warms my heart to know she at least had that before everything went to utter shit.

Favorite line. "I desire its power. I want, yet I also fear. I must protect Dalmasca. I can't afford to fear anything."

Favorite outfit. Again, her wedding outfit is gorgeous.

OTP. I'm forever a sucker for Ashe/Basch, mostly for the loyalty kink, but also just how utterly tragic and bittersweet they are. They are introduced in the game on SUCH the wrong foot and yet Basch continues to do his best to aid her, even though Ashe wants nothing to do with him. And just when she's starting to warm up to him, they part ways and tend to their sworn duties because of course they do. Just gets me right in the feels every time. Also forever amused by Al-Cid swooning for Ashe and her just playing along for shits and giggles.

Brotp. I guess the main party, in general? Almost everyone Ashe trusts either dies or betrays her :'(

Head Canon. I always imagined that when the group confronted Ultima, the esper saw into Ashe's heart, knew exactly what she desired, absolutely approved, and thus offered her powers to aid them. I've wanted to write a fic about it for ages ;~; maybe one day

Unpopular opinion. LET HER BE ANGRY. LET HER LASH OUT ಠ_ಠ

A wish. I hope she has a peaceful reign as queen and many lovely naps.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen. No more people she cares about dying on her

5 words to best describe them. Proud, resolute, blunt, unflinching, and enduring

My nickname for them. From my last playthrough, my bf and I called her Berserker Badass, bc we accidentally left berserk on her with… I think Excalibur and some items that upped her white magic or something… aaaaand so she murdered zodiark in literally under 10 seconds

[thebadbatch]

The Bad Batch: Soft Universe

Chapter One - Just like you.

Sudden waves of calm sent drastic waves throughout the Havoc Marauder, the newly dubbed Attack Shuttle that five advanced clones called home along with a smaller clone, a child with pure generation I DNA who also called the ship her home.

The calm waves were well welcomed among those within the ship, they had only just completed a mission that had been given to them by Cid, a rather dangerous mission at that. Yes, they were used to blaster fire, it was in their blood to adjust to it.

They were literally made to contribute their own blue fire to intertwine and drown out the blazing red bullets that threatened many on an unfortunate daily basis. Despite how they were made, every clone needed a break after a while, especially the young clone - or so they had thought anyway.

"That was Amazing!" Omega Squealed, rushing over to the others who had thrown themselves into their assigned seats in the cockpit absolutely drained after their Solid twelve hour mission. "Don't you guys think So too?" She took a Sharp breath in, channelling her energy through her legs as she rushed to each individual member of the batch. "You were all so Cool! And did you see me with my bow? I'm getting so much better at it, aren't I crosshair?" Her large eyes darted toward crosshair who was currently slumped against his chair, a new toothpick against his teeth. 

"I Suppose so." He mumbled, looking away from her energy filled eyes and focusing on the calmer view of the billions of Stars that littered the Space before them. Omega's previous smile Somehow got even bigger at Crosshair 's mumbled praise. 

"You did great, kid!" Wrecker beamed, going toward Omega and patting her back with a lot less force compared to the other members, but due to her Small size she still stumbled a little which caused a laugh to leave her lips. "And it's the end of the mission so you know what that means!" She practically became the beaming twin Suns of Tatooine at this point.

"Mantell Mix!" She Shrieked, bouncing in her Place as Wrecker laughed at her enthusiasm. Suddenly Hunter chimed in, turning around in his chair and rubbing his head, the Previous mission leaving him with a Simple patch of bacta on his arm and an absolute killer headache due to the planet's atmosphere messing with his senses. 

"Is Mantell Mix really the best idea with Omega?" His voice chimed in, "She's already excited enough I don't think Sugar will help." Omega and Wrecker Stared sadly toward their Squads leader, Pouting a little at his disapproval.

"But it's tradition!" Wrecker intersected, a bouncing omega next to him clinging to his side to encourage him to change his mind, they just had to have their Mantell Mix It was the only option. "And it makes the kid happy." Hunter let out a Sigh, rubbing his head a little more and giving them both a rather Persistent gaze.

"Are you sure it's just the kid that makes it happy?" He asked, referencing Wrecker who's eyes always lit up at the sight of the sweet tasting treat, he just crossed his arms in response though.

"The Mantell mix should be fine, She seems to be experiencing an adrenaline rush due to the intensity of the Mission." Tech Paused for a moment, fiddling with the datapad that laid within his grip. "Symptoms may include a rapid heart rate, Sweating, heightened senses and of course the most obvious ones of rapid breathing, decreased ability to feel pain and what's intriguing is there's actually an increase of Strength and performance - hence her bow Skills seemed to improve rather drastically during that mission." Tech paused again to type a little into his datapad browsing through the various load of knowledge before making eye contact with a fidgety Omega, still bouncing on her feet. "Oh and of course, the most prominent symptom in Omega is feeling jittery or nervous and can't Sit Still. It helps the excess energy I presume." Wrecker had of course stopped listening half way through, but was a little Worried about their Omega. It was a very chaotic and tough mission, they had a few close calls which probably made things worse if She didn't have enough adrenaline already rushing through her tiny body, the other clones could handle it though due to their training and they were a lot bigger compared to her, hence the numbed effect on them.

"Yeah yeah." Wrecker rushed, "Can she have the Mantell Mix or not?" 

"In Short- Yes." Tech replied, shutting off his computer and turning back in his seat to set the Marauders Coordinates. A large cheer shattered the Previously Soothing Silence followed by a Soft wince from Hunter, his headache presumably worse. 

 "When are we landing!" She rushed Over to the control panels, desperate to do Something to get them there quicker. 

"Woah there kid," Echo gently lifted her up, Moving her away from the control panel and gently placing her next to Hunter, "We'll be there soon. Why don't you rest up for now?" Once Echo's gentle grip left her, She moved into Hunter's arms in what appeared to be a protest.

"But I'm not tired!" All of the nightmare training they had to endure never prepared them to care for a child, so whenever she protested It was always a shock. Soldiers were made to follow orders but what they kept forgetting was that she isn't a soldier, she's just a child. 

"You will be once the adrenaline leaves your system." Tech warned, "I Suggest you leave to rest now ready for another day of adventuring." She signed and nodded, her excitement already beginning to leave being replaced with a rapid heart rate and a lot of sudden anxiety which caused her to shuffle further into Hunter's arms.

"Yeah, okay." Omega agreed, gently holding onto Hunter's arm as he gave her a small smile, it was late anyway. They'd arrive by morning which meant that they could go Straight to Cids to retrieve their Credits and quite possibly their next mission. Hunter soon stood, softly holding her smaller hand and guiding her to her room aboard their ship. Pulling back the grey curtains, a small room was awakened with stars being shown among the large window. It was a tight fit, but it was worth losing the space so Omega could have her own room. She slowly climbed up the ladder, her eyes always fixating on the orange glow of the fairy lights hanging around the room. She always looked at the soothing tone before searching beneath her blankets to find her clone doll and Lula. Once both toys were securely in her arms, she smiled softly at Hunter, shuffling herself into the blankets and the bigger sleeping bag that lay in the centre of the room so when she laid down against the pillow, she could roam her eyes among the stars. 

"Are you comfortable?" His voice whispered, chuckling gently at her small body bombarded with blankets. 

"Yeah!" She smiled in return, a sleepy haze replacing her previously energetic gaze. Hunter noticed her heart race was starting to drop quite quickly and her breathing had begun to slow itself down, the adrenaline rush Tech had previously mentioned was definitely starting to wear off. "But can you stay for a little while?"

"How come?" He questioned, sitting on the edge of her room with his familiar grin. "You're supposed to be sleeping." She sighed a little, clinging to her clone doll and staring at him with those curious eyes he could just never say no to. 

"But I want to hear more stories about you and the others!" A pout formed on her lips, a pang of guilt filling Hunter for even wanting to leave. "But if you don't want to tell me then that's okay! I'll ask Tech." An instant gasp left his lips as he remembered the last eight times he had woken during the night to find Tech sitting with Omega and rambling about the variety of planets there are, missions, the past and pretty much anything she could think of. She's a curious girl and that always interrupted her sleep Cycle - her racing mind never stopped and Tech was the only one who could keep up and enjoyed doing so. 

"Fine, okay." He chuckled, secretly loving to tell her stories about her brothers. "Did I ever tell you about our missions during the clone Wars?" She shook her head, gazing at him with wide eyes. "We were assigned to help assist Anakin Skywalker and Rex to find Echo."

 "Anakin Skywalker?" She asked, tilting her head at this newly learnt name. 

"He was a Jedi and a great commander, but obviously we were better and cooler." He paused to clear his throat, "Anyway…" Hunter continued to jumble on about how they fought and how each enhanced skills helped them on that mission that surprisingly went amazingly well. 

"Hunter?" A sleepy voice asked toward the end of his story, a little surprised that she interrupted a story - this must be important. "What's my enhanced skill?" She questioned, squeezing Lula close to her chest. In all honesty, he had absolutely no idea What her skill was, only that she had pure first generation DNA from Jango Fett which was pretty fascinating, but a skill like theirs? He was stumped.

"Well you're getting great with your bow now Omega!" He grinned, remembering how much the accuracy of the shots she took had improved rather significantly. Hunter was definately proud, just like the rest of the Bad Batch were.

"No." She whined, sitting up a little. "What's my enhanced skill like everyone else has?" Omega paused for a moment, a worried yet sleepy gaze coating her eyes. "Don't I have one?"

"I'm not sure, kid." His eyes lit up as he smiled, "Why don't we find out soon?" She nodded with a big grin plastered along her face. "Now get some sleep ready for that, Okay?" In return he got a smaller smile and a nod as she snuggled herself back dawn with her two toys, almost instantly falling asleep before a gentle sentence left the bundle of soft blankets.

"Goodnight Hunter." A soft voice whispered before finally falling into a deeper sleep, unknowing to Hunter's next words.

"Goodnight, Ad'ika." Hunter softly drew the curtain to the room filled with a soft orange glow, blocking it out before walking toward the others and sitting back into his chair with a sigh. Staring forward, he allowed the passing planets to fill his mind as to what memories he had made at the ones he and the rest of the batch had  visited. Many of course not among the greatest circumstances but memories nonetheless. Wrecker soon stood and Stretched with an abrupt yawn. 

"I'm getting Pretty tired, who's on first watch anyway?" The brothers gazed around at each other, eyes eventually falling toward Tech for an answer as he had always been the one to memorise their sleep cycles and plan out a well organised chedule on who would take watch and when.

"According to my calculations, Echo will be the first to keep watch followed by me, Wrecker, Crosshair followed by Hunter. Is that satisfactory to you all still?" A mumble of sleepy nods were shared in response as Wrecker smiled and moved toward their shared bunks. 

"I'll be off then!" He spoke, unable to suppress his yawn as he wandered away to prepare for bed.

"Are you all heading off now then? I think it's best to sleep now for the day we'll probably have tomorrow." Echo spoke, replacing himself with Tech in the pilot's seat, ensuring he was comfortable. The others had agreed and shared their various goodnights and moved away to their bunks, settling down and Just like Omega had, they all drifted off to sleep- replenishing their energy for the morning. 

Hours had passed to the stage in the sleep cycle where Crosshair was keeping watch, his feet thrown by the controls which he knew Tech wasn't awake to see so it didn't really matter. He was pretty relaxed chewing against his toothpick, adjusting to himself functioning awake. Crosshair had always struggled to keep the physical effects of steep at bay once he had awoken but don't think for a second that it dampened his skill. What had startled him though were the soft footsteps behind him followed by a very gentle voice that followed.

"Crosshair?" Omega whispered, "Are you awake?" Removing his feet from the control panel, much to sleeping Tech's glee, he turned in the chair to see a rather tense looking Omega Clinging to both her doll and Lula. Great,he'd rather deal with blaster fire then with a kid's problems. Maybe that was a lie, but regardless he wasnt really experienced with kids and he didn't want to mess her up like he felt he was. 

"Yeah, kid." He spoke, voice thinned out and a little tierd. "What do you want?" 

"I don't think I feel great." Her voice mumbled, "My heart feels fast and my mind won't let me sleep." He sighed a little knowing he'd have to take care of the worried child before him, he seemed cold-hearted to everyone around him but he knew his brothers know that that isn't the case. He supposed this was his chance to let his little sister know that too.

"Anything on your mind?" He asked, trying to rid his voice of the sour tune that he had grown accustomed to using. She seemed rather lonely shuffling on her feet, gripping her toys closer to her chest. 

"I think I'm nervous about tomorrow…" Crosshair gave a soft gesture to let her know that it was okay to carry on, he was there. "Hunter promised me that he'd help me try to find my enhanced Skill! I really want one so I can be more like you guys. That way I can be more helpful too!" Omega drew a sharp breath inward, "But what if I don't  have one? What if i'm even less helpful because of it. What if I'm not like my big brothers?" Her smaller Kamonian thick accent began to shake as a bundle more 'what ifs' left her mouth.

"Hey," Crosshair interrupted, a shot of genuine physical pain shooting through his heart at the tears which began to loom over her usually bright and hopeful eyes. "No more What if's. You're always going to be apart of this team with or without an enhanced skill. We may not find it Straight away if you do have one, but even if you don't have one it's nothing to get worked up about." His attempt to soothe her didn't work the way he had wanted it to, but she did seem calmer than before.  "You'll do fine, kid." Something amongst his heart encouraged him to open his arms despite everything in his mind telling him to just make her go back to bed. Before he could gain control of his half-awake mind, his arms had opened and those words left his mouth. "Go back to bed, Ad'ika." Omega had thrown herself into his arms, hugging him tightly with the doll and Lula present. He thought that he should feel embarrased or angry - but if anything he just felt a wave of pride wash over him. She wanted to be like them? Even after everything that had happened? For Sure She had a very compassionate and empathetic heart, but he didn't think that it was as Strong as this.

"I want to stay with you." Her muffled voice mumbled as she gently climbed to sit on his lap clearly in a sleepy and stressed out daze. Crosshair didn't respond to her heart-filling request as he watched Hunter gently approach by them both. Both brothers Shared a understanding nod, eventhough Crosshairs was a little hesitant. He didn't mind holding his little sister for longer, but she needed her sleep. She was overtierd and anxious enough. Hunter lifted Omega Softly from Crosshairs arms as the sniper dusted himself off returning to taking watch until she was back in bed. Luckily, Omega had already fallen asleep against Crosshair, so Hunter putting her back to bed was no problem at all. Once he returned, he stood behind his brother.

"Thanks, you can head back to bed now." Hunter hummed, taking the freed Seat as Crosshair left with a soft mumble and scrowl as per usual. Once he was out of sight, he leant back with a gentle sigh knowing how upset she'd be without an enhanced Skill of her own. Though at this point, he was pretty certain it was stratedgy. Things would become clearer by morning though, he knew Tech may be able to find out before she woke. "All in due time." he mumbled softly, waiting for the planet they were waiting to land on to appear, desperate to get their credits. This wouldn't take too long, they'd find out soon doing anything to make his Ad'ika happy.

[thatpanbastard]

Rescue on Ryloth

Warnings: bad batch episode 11 and maybe 12 major character injury angst hurt/comfort

“Chopper what are we gonna do?” Hera whispered. The astromech chirped in response.” I can’t just leave them Chop.”

“Miss Syndulla.” Hera whipped around her hand closing around a small knife. Captain Howzer put his hands up in surrender.” I’m here in peace.”

“You arrested me; And my parents I don’t believe you.”

“I was wrong. The Empire has been lying. Hera please listen to me. I can help you rescue your parents but I need help to do it.”

“Give me your blaster. No funny business.”

Howzer handed over his blaster and clipped his helmet onto his belt. Hera let him into the speeder.

“Any idea on who can help us?”

“Maybe.”

—

“Dark and broody come here I’ve got another job for you.” Cid barked

Hunter handed the sleeping Omega to Echo. Cid tapped her fingers impatiently as he walked across the bar.

“The insurgents on Ryloth have run into a spot of trouble. Cham and Eleni Syndulla have been captured by the Empire. Senator Taa has been executed.”

“How do you know this?” Hunter frowned deeply. Cids been withholding more and more information.

“I got a call. That’s all you need to know. There daughter is willing to pay a lot for our help so get a move on.”

Hunter pivoted on his heel and put on his helmet. The rest of the batch was standing outside the door all geared up.

“Where are we headed Sarge?” Wrecker grinned.

“We’re headed back to Ryloth.”

“Did they order more weapons?” Omega took his hand.

“Not exactly.”

—

The batch stepped of there ship and we’re greeted by Hera; Captain Howzer was not far behind his hand bound. Hunter stared at the clone Captain before whipping out his blaster leveling it at his scarred face. Hera stepped infront of the barrel stress lining her young features.

“He’s with me.” She reassured.

“Does he still have his inhibitor chip?”

“My what?”

“He won’t know about it.” Echo put his hand on Hunters blaster.” Are you armed?”

“No sir.”

“You’re the pilot kid.” Omega popped out from behind Wrecker a grin spreading across her face.

“My name is Hera.”

“I’m Omega and we’re here to help.”

—

“Syndulla honestly you should have known better.” Crosshair drawled. Eleni stared down the lithe clone her lip curled in disgust.

“You think you can take our daughter and we’d do nothing. You’re nothing more then Admiral Ramparts pet.” She spat. Crosshair glared at her.” A pawn like Senator Taa. Maybe Rampart will dispose of you the same way. Wouldn’t that be ironic.”

“Funny I was going to say the same about you and your family.” Eleni slammed her hand into the ray shield right in front of his face. Crosshair stifled a flinch.

“You better hope that doesn’t happen.”

Crosshair laughed slightly and walked off.

—

“That’s where they’d be held.” Howzer pointed at the high security prison sector.” The refinery is a cover.”

“We know we’ve encountered them atleast twice.” Echo was running low on patiences at the moment.

“We’ll get your parents out.” Omega beamed her fingers curling around her bow.

“Wrecker you’re with Howzer and Hera Tech Echo Omega you’re with me. We’ll attack in two waves. One a diversion the others will get the Syndullas and the rest of the freedom fighters out. Understood.”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Wrecker your group is focusing on the prisoners. We’re going to cause some mayhem.” Hunter grinned slightly.

“Save some trouble for me Sarge. Be safe kid.” Wrecker held out his fist to Omega who bumped it with a grin.

—

Howzer set the pace -his hands still bound- with Hera not far behind panting slightly Chopper by her side. Wrecker bringing up the rear had his eyes out for Imperials.

“You alright kid?”She nodded.” How much farther Captain.”

“Not far. They should be holding the freedom fighters and the General down this hall.” Howzer turned into one of the rows of prisoners.

“Captain Howzer.” Chams Syndullas voice was garbled slightly by the ray shield.

“Father.” Hera laughed.” We’re here to rescue you.”

“Ksa’a?” Hera turned and smiled at Eleni. Howzer began opening cells.

“General I’m so sorry. I was wrong. I don’t know how you can forgive me”

“You’ve kept Hera safe I can forgive you for now.”

“It seems like our distraction is working but I think we should go.” Wrecker interrupted.

“Lead the way Howzer.” Cham smiled pulling his wife close.

“Of course sir.”

—

“Admiral Rampart clone force 99 is here. They’ve freed the Syndullas and it seems they’ve taken Captain Howzer captive. Shall I take my squad after them?” Crosshair fiddled with the toothpick in his hand standing stiffly at attention.

���Not yet make them think they’ve made it. Set up your squadron in the courtyard. I want their heads.”

—

“Mrs. Syndulla, General Syndulla Lieutenant Glie Cid sent us.” Hunter explained as the two teams met hardly 15 feet from the exit.

“I appreciate the rescue Sergeant.” Eleni but in before Cham or Gobi could get a word in.

“That’s what we do ma’am.” Wrecker puffed out his chest slightly.

“Let’s get moving before they realize you’re gone.”

Howzer looked up and darted infront of Hera. A single shot rang through the silent courtyard.

“Howzer.” The Captain dropped with an agonized cry. A smoking hole in his leg.

Hera and Omega were both pushed behind the closet adult.

Only one person could’ve made a shot like that. Crosshair was here.

“Get them out of here I’m going after Crosshair.” Hunter snapped.

“Let’s get moving sir.” Echo urged. Wrecker pulled Howzer up slinging the injured man over his shoulders.

“Clones have defended Ryloth for far to long. Take Hera out of here. Your Sergeant is going to need help.” Eleni took Howzers blaster from Hera. Cham took one of Wreckers many weapons. Echo faltered.

“I’ll keep them out of too much trouble.” Tech assured.” Get the ik’aads out of here.”

“I’m not so little Tech. Be careful.”

“Always am ad’ika now go.”

—

The rest of Crosshairs special forces stepped out of the shadows of the courtyard. The later walked out a slight limp in his step that wasn’t there on Bracca.

“What a shame Sergeant I thought you would’ve learned.” Crosshair jeered.

“Don’t make me do this Crosshair” Hunter pleaded with his littlest brother.” This isn’t you.”

“Isn’t it?” He laughed.” Look what you did to me Ori’vod.” Crosshair spat the last word like a curse pulling off his helmet.

Omega let out an audible gasp. Hunter faltered. They all stared at the deep healing burns on the side of Crosshairs head.

“Cross-“

“Open fire.” He barked pulling the helmet back on. Tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.

—

“You two stay here and stay down.” Echo snapped. Wrecker lowered Howzer to the ground and handed Hera a blaster he left another by Howzer.

The two of them open fired on the imperials joining the 5 others in the fire fight.

Hera watched Omega curiously. The younger girl having now reaction to the near deafening blaster fire. She recognized the similarity to her own reactions to the noise after being around it for so long.

“Keep an eye out.” Omega snapped her bow ready for any Imperials headed their way. Howzer struggled to his feet.” You shouldn’t be up yet. You’re hurt.”

“I’ve got a job to do kid.” Howzer picked up the blaster he was given.

—

Hunter snuck up behind Crosshair the former to busy with Gobi to notice his Ori’vod behind him.

He lined up his shot and fired. He hit a target just not the one he was aiming for.

—

Chams scream rang out through the court yard as Eleni crumpled like a puppet who’s strings had been cut. A smoking blaster wound right through her heart.

Hera scrambled from cover sobbingand screaming for her mother. Howzer wrapped his arm around her smaller frame pulling her back. Omega stared horrified at the body and her friend.

Hunter stunned Crosshair taking down his unprepared brother with ease. Guilt gnawed at him as he watched Cham scramble for his fallen wife. He pulled Crosshair over his shoulder. They would be over run shortly.

“Cham we have to go.” Gobi wrapped his hand around his friends shoulder. Wrecker pulled the limp form of Eleni into his arms as Cham stumbled to his feet. They raced for cover as the Imperials poured into the courtyard.

Tech rolled a bunch of smoke bombs behind them covering their escape. The group was silent except for Heras stifled sobs.

—

The remaining two Syndullas hadn’t spoken since they boarded the Maurader. Cham stared blankly at the white sheet covering Elemis body. He held her limp hand hoping and praying she would move.

“General.” Howzer interrupted the silence.” I’m sorry sir.”

Cham nodded slightly not tearing his eyes off of Eleni. Silent tears streaked down his face. Howzer held his shoulder in a silent support.

—

Hera sobbed openly into Wreckers cuirass. Gobi stared at his feet guilt coursing through him. That bolt was meant for him. He should be lying on that bunk not her.

“Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la” Echo looked tiredly at the white sheet.

“Not gone merely marching far away.” Tech translated. The ship lurched as it exited hyperspace.

“Rex is waiting for us on the surface Captain. He’ll be able to get your chip out. He’s arranged a shuttle for you four General to get you to a safe house until calms down some.” Hunter explained. He frowned slightly as he watched Cham

“Thank you Sergeant.”

“General could we have a word.”

“I’d rather stay here.”

“Sir please I think it’s important.” Hunters eyes flashed to where Wrecker was sitting Hera sleeping restlessly against his armor.

“Alright.”

—

“I mean no disrespect sir you’ve just went through an unspeakable tragedy but your daughter needs you.”

“She doesn’t need me. She needs her mother.” Cham scoffed.

“If I may sir she idolizes you.” Hunter placed a hand on his shoulder.” Don’t push her away. Don’t loose her too.”

—

Rex watched as the Maurader opened. The Silver Angel was sitting off at the side. He felt a pang of grief as he watched Eleni Syndullas body get unloaded off the ship. He’s never met her personally but she was a kind women.

He offered Cham and his daughter a small smile. Rafa and Trace took them in with open arms.

“I’ll meet you guys at the rendezvous point.” Rex smiled at Trace.

“We’ll see you later Cap.” She beamed.

“Rex I can’t thank you enough for this.” Hunter pulled him into a hug.

“Of course. You said you had two people with you who needed a chip removed. Does Omega have one as well?”

“No a reg Captain we rescued on Ryloth.” Rex pulled back from Hunter his heart caught in his throat as he watched Howzer and Echo step out of the Maurader.

“Rex?” Howzer frowned slightly before he let out a loud laugh.” You son of a Sith you made it.”

“Vod’ika?”

“Shove off vod we’re the same age.” Rex took Howzers arm and dropped it over his shoulder.

“Let’s get your chip out.”

—

Authors note I’m working on a fluffier part two with the batch and the Rex Howzer au love yall

[maddiebiscuits]

Personal Opinions on FFXIV Villains (in general order of appearance)

As a note, I will not be including any pre-A Realm Reborn villains (as I did not play the original Final Fantasy XIV) nor will I be including any one-off primals, raid bosses, etc. I will be trying to focus on villains as they appear in main or side storylines, in cut scenes, that have some over-arching influence on the story they participate in with something akin to a clear presence - Garleans, Ascians, and so on. Also SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS.

Rhitahtyn sas Arvina

Rhitahtyn gets the shaft out of Gaius’ three main players in A Realm Reborn. A conscript from a Empire-conquered land who rose to power and respect, directly honored by Gaius himself, and possessing an even temper and noble ambition really helped to level out Nero and Livia’s general nonsense. Unfortunately, Rhitahtyn is provided almost no screen-time, development or exploration, and as years have passed, his in-game 8-man trial can now be completed in a regular synced party in mere seconds. He deserved a lot better than what he got, yet remained too sidelined to really leave me feeling invested in wanting to see what sort of story this character could be used to tell.

Livia sas Junius

When first playing through A Realm Reborn my feelings on Livia were...tepid, but optimistic. Of Gaius’ three main players, Livia was easily the most active and ruthless, lacking the shady “long game” and self-serving ambitions of Nero or the more honorable, measured personality of Rhitahtyn. Suffice to say, the dawning (and then confirmed) realization that Livia’s sole motivation seeing the plan of the man she loved through to completion by any means, to the point of tunnel-visioned, murderous intent, was...disappointing. Add to that Livia was raised by Gaius in her backstory, the man being a father figure to her, and the romance motivation becomes even more unhinged (especially since it is largely considered to be a reciprocated romance, at least physically, by Gaius - barf)

Nero tol Scaeva

Nero has become a fan favourite character over the years, thanks to his continued development into Cid’s boyfriend foil rather than outright villain of the main storyline. This development was easy to spot early enough though, as it was clear Nero’s fealty to Gaius was largely self-serving. He didn’t care much about conquering Eorzea or felling primals/eikons - he just wanted to show that he possessed the brilliance to build weapons capable of doing so. His speech/squabble with Cid during the Praetorium sequence paints that picture even more clearly if the players missed the not-so-subtle implications for Nero’s character already. The man lived, breathed and seethed with inferiority when compared to Cid, and in the end he did ultimately prove his engineering mastery, even if the Warrior of Light took it (and him) down. Ultimately though, Nero serves as a much better supporting and “redeemed” character than a villain, so I do have to rank him pretty low.

Gaius van Baelsar

Aside from whatever...weird...thing was going on between him and Livia (again - barf), Gaius in A Realm Reborn was a pretty solid villain, with clear-cut motivations that I actually understood, and begrudgingly agreed with to a small extent. As legatus, Gaius was still the tyrannical arm of the Garlean Empire, but a level-headed one who was more interested with the purging of the primal/eikon threat from Eorzea than subjugating other peoples. Further development of this character into something of an anti-hero and glimpses of how other characters viewed him in flashbacks in later expansions ends up providing his A Realm Reborn rendition with more strength in retrospect. The heads of the three city-states deciding to accept Gaius off to willingly join the Empire is a pretty good sticking point for the validity of his plan as well. Ultima Weapon is...you know, pretty impossible for Ul’dah, Gridania and Limsa Lominsa to face down if they refuse, but more enticing is its ability to, indeed, single-handedly defeat primals/eikons - something the city-states desperately need at their disposal, having been plagued by such threats constantly, for years and years.

Gaius cuts a pretty direct swath to the truth of the Twelve as well - they’re no different than the primals/eikons he seeks to eradicate, and the more stock Eorzeans put into them, the more empowered they become should someone ever try to summon one, making Eorzeans no better than the beastmen and their ‘gods’. Join the Empire and have protection from such powers, and put faith into the leadership of man, versus that of fictional deities that can be given terrifying form...in the world of Final Fantasy XIV, that’s not a terrible proposition. But it would still subject thousands of people to the Empire’s tyranny, so even if Gaius has the oft-coveted ‘Point’ that most villains wish they had, he still must be stopped. Eorzea will simply find other ways to endure the primal/eikon threat rather than bend the knee, and I like that defiant angle the Warrior of Light represents to counter Gaius’ character. Also, Ascian meddling and Hydaelyn shenanigans, sure, but I don’t feel that takes away from the core conflict that Gaius presents. He was a good villain, and I’m happy to see him return and go through the motions of penance for his past deeds and aid the supporting cast now, elevating him even higher into a good character, in general.

Lahabrea

I admit I have a soft spot for Lahabrea, only because he seems to be a universal punching bag for heroes and villains alike in Final Fantasy XIV. He lacks the more subdued, long-term planning of Elidibus or the explored nuance and sympathy of Emet-Selch - he’s sort of the odd one out between the trifecta that make up the unsundered Ascians. Just a blindly-tempered zealot of Zodiark, seemingly more enthused by the ancient primal’s return than the promise of the world being set back to how it was before The Final Days. Even the other Ascians don’t seem to like Lahabrea that much - Elidibus seems keenly aware that Lahabrea has gone off the deep end, constantly needing reminders and wrangling-in to keep the plan in motion. But I will admit, he serves his purpose well enough, and the additional side-story that reveals that Lahabrea was a brilliant scholar unmatched in the Amaurotine field of ‘phantom creation’ was a nice touch to explain why he’s pretty dang good at getting people to try and summon primals and conjuring or corrupting monsters himself. By no effort of Square Enix themselves, I sort of feel bad for the guy. He really was just Doing His Best, and getting no respect for it. His end was also anti-climatic, but by the time it happened, there were far more interesting characters and stories to tell, and he was unnecessary - it was just better this way, Lahabrea.

Nabriales

This one-bit player served one substantial purpose, and it was to see an Ascian get obliterated permanently and thus provide the means and understanding to battle Ascians in the future. Except that the cost to do so was a throw-away villain, a throw-away damsel-in-distress 8-man trial, and turning Moenbrya, a character with a lot of potential to be great, into a throw-away character who has to make an untimely sacrifice because the script says so. Nabriales you’re boring, you’re bad, you’re a waste of time and your mutton chops are dumb as hell.

Ilberd Feare

You know what, I like this villain. I absolutely want to punch his face in, but I figure getting that sort of rise out of me on sight is intended, since, you know: villain. His motivations aren’t bad either, even if his methods are deplorable. The speech he gives at the very end of A Realm Reborn to rile up Raubahn is pretty effective too. Despite both being refugees of Ala Mhigo, Raubahn fought his way to wealth and status, and Ilberd was never afforded that chance, or at least never quite managed. Raubahn pledged himself more to Ul’dah and the Immortal Flames with his new privileges, however, and Ilberd was perhaps right to resent that, with Ala Mhigo still under the yoke of the Empire, and so many refugees left to flounder in The Black Shroud and Thanalan both, Raubahn seemingly unwilling to step in. Ilberd saw the opportunity to change the status quo and took it, and proceeded to rally others to reclaim Ala Mhigo. If the city-states would not help, then they would be forced to help, and for all his dirty tactics, punch-able face and Shinryu-summoning finale, Ilberd’s plan did work: he forced the hand of the city-states to fight against the Empire to reclaim Ala Mhigo, and did indeed remind Raubahn and other passive Ala Mhigans that there was still an important job to do. So, good job Ilberd. Gold star. Now perish.

Teledji Adeledji

I thought the politics at the very end of A Realm Reborn were intriguing, and Teledji’s heel-turn pretty fun, since of all the Monetarists, he seemed to be painted as the most reasonable. Though I found his game plan a bit...suspect. Yes, a poisoned goblet assassination attempt on the Sultana that he could frame on someone else, while usurping control of the Crystal Braves so he could make a bid for full Monetarist control of Ul’dah (with him at the helm) makes sense on paper, but I’m not sure why he sought to frame the Warrior of Light for it, and implicate the Scions either. While it’s true that the Warrior and the Scions would be an obstacle and want to investigate the death, and would prove tenacious foes, if you think about the scenario a bit more, it seems unnecessary. The Warrior and Scion efforts were likely going to start swinging towards Ishgard and the Dragonsong War, to better embellish the northern city-state’s relations with the Eorzean Alliance, nor are the Warrior or Scions people you’d want to make an enemy, especially with the Warrior being one of the only people who can defeat primals (a very active threat in Thanalan).

Framing Lolorito would have been a wiser idea, as he was already disliked and untrustworthy in the eyes of many, powerful and dangerous to compete with though he is. If Lolorito had been framed, Raubahn and the Scions may not have questioned it, and Teledji could have enjoyed planting himself in the eye of the power vacuum that was to come while the Warrior of Light focused their energy up north. Instead, Teledji bet on the wrong chocobo and paid dearly for it - his plan fell apart (and so did he) in more ways than he could anticipate, but on the whole? This was a pretty intriguing and entertaining storyline, I enjoyed it.

Lady Iceheart / Ysayle Dangoulain

I debated putting Ysayle on this list because by the first act of Heavensward, she’s not a villain - but, she certainly was in A Realm Reborn and going into Heavensward, so we might as well just keep representing how good Heavensward is and include her here. Aside from Minfillia, this is one of the only ever characters you meet early(ish) who shares The Echo with the Warrior of Light. Unlike Minfillia or the Warrior, though, Ysayle doesn’t really adhere to the call of Hydaelyn. Instead, her powers allowed her to hear and learn the truth of Ishgard’s history: that it was a lie, and that King Thordan broke the peace in a bid for power for Ishgard, turning Nidhogg to rage and setting the Dragonsong War into motion. Having witnessed Ishgard’s cruelty at a young age when her home was destroyed by snow and ice after the Seventh Umbral Calamity, and knowing what she knew and maintaining close bonds with dragons throughout her life, it’s sort of easy to see why Ysayle would be set upon the path she is. She wishes to end the war much like how Thordan does: ending it, with the dragons as the victors.

Her slap in the face is when she confronts Hraesvelgr though, her bid to sort of not only take the form of Saint Shiva but embody her memory being dismissed as a pale imitation. Saint Shiva wished for true peace, whereas Ysayle demands it through bloodshed - she realizes this, and changes her current course. This is why I debated to list her as a villain, because her gradual change into a supporting character and hero is a logical conclusion as she and Heavensward’s story develops. She starts a villain and dies a hero.

Igeyorhm

Full disclosure: I completely forgot this character existed. And I still don’t actually know why they exist. They’re a second to Lahabrea during the events of Heavensward, and is easily shut down by the Warrior of Light before being annihilated permanently by Thordan. Despite this, I don’t find their existence as offensive as Nabriales’, so...that counts for something.

Archbishop Thordan VII

When I first encountered Thordan (”pope grandpa”, if you will), I thought “oh, he’s evil”, because “church bad” isn’t exactly and uncommon trope and it’s apparent that Ishgard is a broken and unjust society, with this man sitting at the highest seat of power and consorting with Ascians. Yet to my surprise Thordan was...pretty reasonable. At least to start. He makes his audience with the Ascians known and seems unaffected by them and their schemes, is polite and cordial to the Warrior of Light...he doesn’t seem so bad. But the gut feeling remains, and slowly builds as Thordan’s true plan is revealed, becoming a primal-esque deity. And much like Nidhogg, I do get his motivations. Trying to broker peace with the dragons, to him, is just not going to happen - in fact, it’s insulting to ask dragons and Ishgardians both to make a bid for it, when so many people have died and live with the burden of hatred and grief. His solution is more direct: end the war entirely, by winning it for Ishgard.

After assuming his new form and powers, him and his Heavensward have the power to thwart any dragons that oppose them, perhaps even Nidhogg himself if the dreadwrym were to re-appear. Fueled by the generations’-worth of prayers from the Ishgardian population, Thordan was set on ending the war and ousting the dragons from the land, ushering in peace and prosperity. But the Ishgard he sought to protect and defend was built on a history spun of bloodshed and lies, and the dragons were not the true enemy and did not deserve to be put to the sword. Thordan’s plan would have worked in the way he envisioned it, and he made a good argument for it, even if it was ultimately wrong, and that’s a good villain.

Nidhogg

Having come to Final Fantasy XIV from World of Warcraft, a giant, scary black dragon that rants on and on about suffering and misery and pain and vengeance was something of a red flag for a Very Bad Story. Imagine my surprise when Nidhogg was given the screen-time to be properly fleshed out and explored, his motivations and hatred more sympathetically-human than his giant dragon body would have one believe, his presence menacing and well-paced, and his overall being representing the true, dark heart of the Dragonsong War: the cycle of hatred. For dragons, centuries are like days, and the pain Nidhogg feels is no less than what he felt when the Ishgardians brutally broke their pact. Because of this, with each re-emergence of him and his brood, the wheel of suffering turns anew, breathing new hate-filled life into the ongoing Dragonsong War, generation to generation. Time has no effect on his turmoil, and his existence ensures that no other Ishgardians will ever be able to move on from the war either, even as generations continue on.

I find Estinien being consumed by Nidhogg’s rage very thematic as well, Estinien truly embodying the countering hatred the Ishgardians feel towards the dragons, and it makes the final trial with Nidhogg bittersweet. He defeats Hraesvelgr, because as long as Nidhogg exists even the brightest hope for peace will be squashed under the cycle of malice and war. The Warrior of Light must put him down because he cannot be saved - but Estinien still can, and can choose to move on and pursue the peace that Nihogg strived to prevent and Ysayle died to see come to fruition. And he does, and it’s touching, and Heavensward is SO FUCKING GOOD I LOVE THIS EXPANSION.

Quickthinx Allthoughts

I don’t care much for timey-wimey storylines, but I found the Alexander plot easy enough to follow, and the timeloop it creates to be manageable. The truth about the Enigma Codex and the journal Quickthinx has isn’t exactly hard to figure out though once time travel becomes a part of the plot, and beyond beind a fun goblin with a cute kitty cat friend...there’s just not much in the way of compelling character writing here for this gobbo.

Diabolos

Big ancient demon is revived and wants to wreak havoc. Uninspiring, but its also not necessary for Diabolos to be anything more than what he is either. The heart of the Void Ark storyline is the tribulations of Cait Sith, the sky pirates and the history of the Mhachi, Diabolos just being an excuse to explore those characters and lore.

Regula van Hydrus

Regula deserved better damnit. This is the last Garlean villain with nuance and humanity before Stormblood turns everyone who is so much as associated with the Garlean Empire into a cartoonishly-evil, absolutely twisted, reprehensible confusing mess of a person.

Fordola rem Lupis

Stormblood has a lot of story, pacing and character problems. A lot. It has its moments and some people love this expansion, but I do not and its villains are a very large reason why that is. Fordola, for example, had the potential to be quite interesting. She was raised to believe in what her father did: that Gaius and the Empire were not all bad, and then watched her father die trying to protect her from angry, almost barbaric Ala Mhigans who decided that pelting a little girl with rocks because her parents were Empire-sympathizers and supporters was an okay thing to do (as the Garlean soldiers just watched on and let it happen without intervening because they didn’t feel like it - a fact that Fordola knows and remembers). You would think this event would have a sort of polarizing effect on her, feeling betrayed by both her people and the Empire her father believed in, feeling caught in the middle, in need of finding her identity and sense of self. Instead she...basically throws her entire stock in with the Empire, deciding that if she’s a good little soldier for the Empire, then Garleans will have to change their minds about Ala Mhigans and respect them because, see, look: an Ala Mhigan is a respected Garlean asset.

Except this backfires over, and over, her Ala Mhigan team nothing more than vicious dogs that never bite the hand that feeds them, turning their teeth on their own people instead. Fordola is constantly belittled and ridiculed for her heritage and even her gender by the Garleans, and at no point does she ever stop and go “wow maybe the Empire sucks hot ass and I’ve been terribly wrong about my motives this whole time”. And yet, no...Zenos offers her power in some magitek-aether experiment, she kills her own Skulls team, she finished the expansion jailed for her crimes, believing until the very end that the Garleans will win (they did not). She utilizes her anti-primal abilities once, and vanishes from the plot entirely, only to re-appear in a bad side-story where the Immortal Flames have her hooked up to some penalty-of-death submission collar so she doesn’t act out so they can use her synthetic Echo abilities to fight a re-summoned Ifrit.

Bad character, bad writing, and a waste of her new, game-changing anti-primal abilities.

Grynewaht pyr Arvina

This is such...a stupid character. His design, his voice and dialogue...I can’t tell what Grynewaht is supposed to be. Is he comedic relief? Because he’s not funny. Is he a character that you’re supposed to pity or despise? Because I felt nothing towards him. Is he supposed to be a rival? Because...no. I had to look up what his name was. The only thing I can clearly remember about him is that he was the final boss of the Doma Castle 4-man dungeon. That’s it. If you removed him from the plot entirely, nothing of value would be lost.

Yotsuyu goe Brutus

Between the two female villains of Stormblood, Yotsuyu is the more popular. It’s easy to see why: she has a cool design and a lot more screen-time and development, with a big 8-man trial to finish things off. But like Fordola, something is just off about her writing.

I don’t understand her motives or how she even came to feel the way she does about Doma, specificially. And anything bad that could happen to her, has happened to her. She suffered an abusive childhood under her adoptive parents, was sold off to an abusive husband, then sold off again to a brothel after her husband died to repay his debts. She later became a spy for the Garleans, rose in rank and was appointed acting viceroy of Doma, to keep the masses terrified and under her heel. At first, it seems pretty reasonable for her to turn against Doma, and lash out as she does on its people - her Doman upbringing left her used, abused and powerless, and with the Garleans she found power and strength. But this reading falls apart when you quickly realize that Doma was already occupied by the Garleans during the course of her upbringing, her family obedient to the Empire and her suffering just as much the fault of the Garleans. There’s an argument to also be made that not enough time was really spent portraying Doma as the disgusting place Yotsuyu sees it, as from the onset of Stormblood’s story journey into the Far East, Domans are only ever portrayed as a terrified, broken people, scared of the Garleans and Yotsuyu. I also don’t personally care for “character was abused, so now they’re sadistic and crazy” clichés either.

What does work well for Yotsuyu is the theme of power and control. Yotsuyu is a woman who lived a life not her own, weak and frail, until she obtained power. Now that she has it, her drive is to do anything to maintain it and survive - yet for some reason the story is written in such a way as to downplay this much stronger theme of her character, and play up this slightly confusing, all-consuming hatred for Doma instead. Her transformation into Tsukiyomi is also a bit odd (though decently thematic, with her ‘cold, uncaring and distant as the moon’ comparison), with not enough time paid to explore her understanding of Doman deities and why the mirror would trigger this change (and why would she even keep Doman deities in her mind, with her supposed hatred of Doma?)

I also take some issue with her “Tsuyu” arc, where she reverts back to the last time she was ever truly good or innocent, and has the personality of a child while still being an adult woman (and suffering amnesia). I find these infantilizing tropes pretty offensive, especially when Yotsuyu’s arc here is largely just to reinforce and reiterate what cartoonishly terrible people her family were, and provide Gosetsu with some development instead. Aside from killing Asahi and having a cathartic death herself, everything about Yotsuyu just baffles me. Every time I think I like something about her, athe bad writing twists it around.

Zenos yae Galvus

I don’t like Zenos, he’s a bad character, and I hate that Square Enix decided this limp-haired sullen-faced clown was going to be their poster-boy villain for Final Fantasy XIV.

What is the appeal of this character? Yeah, some people find him attractive. I don’t, but I also didn’t find Sephiroth attractive so, okay, whatever - like what you like I guess. But what else does Zenos have going on besides people seeming to think he’s their buff bishonen thicc daddy or whatever the kids are saying these days? His entire character can be summed up in one sentence:

“While the Warrior of Light was practicing empathy, Zenos studied The Blade.”

He’s a Garlean lordling with a bland and cold upbringing who likes katanas and blood sport. That’s it. He’s a sociopath, finding no joy or meaning in life for whatever reason: he just wants to collect Cool Swords and push his bizarre love-hate fight narrative on the Warrior of Light. Because they are opposites, you see: the Warrior of Light is a cardboard cut out of a Good Guy and Zenos is a cardboard cut out of a Bad Guy. He’s not even entertaining about it. He doesn’t want to watch the world burn, he just wants to fight the Warrior because the battle will make him Feel Something. Meanwhile, all I feel whenever I see him in-game, either in a cut-scene or when I’m locked in an unskippable “survive the drawn-out battle!” sequence with him, is a groan coming on. And sometimes villains who are evil just for the sake of it can be fun! But Zenos is not fun - he’s dull, he doesn’t get me hyped up for a fight...I feel nothing.

When he died after using his uber-synthetic Echo to possess Shinryu by taking his own life I thought, “well, at least that’s over” and I felt relieved. And then he came back, bigger and worse than ever! Yippee! I love confusing, unrelatable, boring villains who are recurring. Whatever Square Enix wants to do with Zenos, they need to hurry up and get it done. I care so little about him and just want to explore other stories and characters. I’m assuming he’s going to like, possess Zodiark or something, and then the Warrior will possess Hydaelyn, and there will be some big anime light fight showdown where Zodiark and Hydaelyn both shatter for good and Zenos dies and the Warrior lives another day and uuuugggghhh. How the hell did an expansion like Stormblood follow up Heavensward? Who let this happen?

Asahi sas Brutus

Bowl-cut twink hates his sister because he’s a Zenos fanboy and is angry Yotsuyu got all of Zenos’ attention instead of him. Filled with spite and piss, cartoonishly evil just like everyone associated with Yotsuyu or the Empire in Stormblood. Rest in pieces you little shit.

Varis zos Galvus

I’m lukewarm on Varis. He’s a better villain than Zenos, but that’s like saying a flat three-day-old glass of soda is better than sewage water. The bar is set very, very low. He’s ruthless, but not entirely unfair in his thought processes. Hell, he doesn’t even seem to like his own son (and really, if Zenos was my kid, I wouldn’t like him either). But Varis is a bit too...static, in my opinion. He doesn’t feel like a major player, and his batshit “let’s all just burn so the world resets and we can stick it to the Ascians” is pretty asinine and plays so transparently into the Ascian’s hands. I was originally bummed that Zenos killed him pretty unspectacularly, but...like with Lahabrea, it was probably better this way. 

Omega

I don’t have much to say about this villain, really. The heart of the Omegascape storyline hinges on Cid, Nero, Alpha and the abstract concept of free will and accepting imperfection. It’s almost hard to say if Omega really is a villain, simply acting out a series of programs and statistics in a cold, robotic way, not really with malicious intent, so I think where Omega sort of shines is just as a being to build this sort of story off of, and provide a lot of fun boss fights as well. 

Ran’jit

I had no strong opinions on Ran’jit for a long time, so I guess he improved for me as I now have An Opinion of him. He’s fine. He’s an okay villain. His Zenos-esque “survive the timer” encounters are annoying, but I find his persistence and presence more inspiring than any time crummy ol’ Zenos showed up. The biggest issue with Ran’jit is the lack of time devoted to developing him. This is a man who lost his home in the Flood of Light (which was the First’s equivalent to the Source’s Far East), and has essentially trained and raised numerous Minfillia reincarnations to battle Sin Eaters, just to watch these poor girls he saw as his own daughters die and die and die again. That cycle of loss would break down anyone, and make Vauthry’s postulations of paradise in Eulmore until the end finally comes appealing. Ran’jit pursues the Scions and Minfillia/Ryne not because he’s resolute in following orders, but because he just wants to bring this one psuedo-daughter back and keep her safe - something he could never do for the others who came and went in his tenure.

Naturally, this protectiveness leads to giving in to Vauthry’s nihilistic promises and stifles Minfillia/Ryne as a person. Thancred eventually learns to let the Minfillia he knew go so that Ryne could floruish into her own person - she was not ‘his’ Minfillia and it was terrible of him to ever impose that upon her. But where Thancred can move on and let Ryne develop into the wonderful person she is, Ran’jit cannot. And I’m disappointed this aspect of his character couldn’t be more at the forefront of his narrative.

Vauthry

If you ask me, this is more in line with how I figured Zenos might be. Vauthry lived a life or privilege and power, a child born of divine providence with no true regard for life, just his own desires. He’s spoiled and unreasonable, but his nihilism isn’t really nonsensical in the world of the First. All but a fraction of the world is destroyed, and Sin Eaters are a constant, devastating threat, so why not just relax in luxury, in the safety of Vauthry’s control over the monsters, and live in peace until the world truly ends? The battle against the Sin Eaters is exhausting and has no hope of victory anyway (until the Warrior of Light/Darkness arrives, that is). Even without the meol subplot, it makes sense why so many would flock to Eulmore once Vauthry takes over. Goofy as he can be, I do think Vauthry’s embodiment of just giving in to nihilism, hedonism and annihilation stands as a good thematic contrast to Shadowbringers strong themes of stubbornly striving for hope in even the darkest, bleakest hour. His trial is also fun and a slight swerve. All the Light Wardens up to that point had been monstrous, and Sin Eater transformations the thing of nightmares (Tesleen), so to see Vauthry take on the form of Innocence (ironically appropriate, as he truly believes he is blameless in all he has done) and become a golden-haired, angelic being of beauty - how he likely has always seen himself - is very entertaining, and defeating him feels great.

Emet-Selch / Solus zos Galvus / Hades

Ah yes. The Big One. Most people like Emet-Selch and his involvement in Shadowbringers. He’s sardonic, he’s entertaining, he’s honest, he’s explored, and he’s even sympathetic. The revelation of how Zodiark (and Hydaelyn) came to be, Amaurot and The Final Days is truly tragic. Emet and the rest of the Convocation were trying to save their world, and the cost was staggering - the lives of so many of their own, their minds, and eventually even their own world in the Amaurotine schism that followed. Being able to see a shadow of what Amaurot and its people were like really helps drive home the sorrow of it all, and Emet himself admits that he did try to learn to appreciate what the fragmented world had become. He’s also one of the most “successful” villains in Final Fantasy XIV - his intertwined association with death and masterful ability to raise up and lead empires like the ancient Allagans and modern Garleans to their self-destructing, Calamity-inducing downfalls (of which he was almost successful did with Varis and the Black Rose in the latter’s case) is pretty impressive as far as villainous plans and activity is concerned. Being forced to work alongside him in Shadowbringers because your goals are aligned while attempting to guard yourself from his inevitable schemes - which he’s pretty blunt about admitting he has - is an interesting way to develop him as a villain too. He spends most of Shadowbringers actually helping you rather than outright antagonizing you.

His conundrum is sympathetic as well, if not entirely relatable. If you had the ability to bring back your world, your friends and loved ones, at the cost of countless lives that are trivial in the grand scheme of the cosmos and start again, anew, in a better world that could repair and rebuild, would you do it? Tempered by Zodiark or not, Emet would, and while I don’t agree with him, I don’t entirely blame him either, for feeling how he does. Similar to Ran’jit and Vauthry too, Emet is nihilistic: he clings to something long-gone and will burn the current world down to get it back. To him, the Rejoining and Zodiark’s return is inevitable, and people like the Warrior of Light/Darkness are futile, frustating obstacles that cannot understand not only his plans, but just how he feels. They don’t remember what they lost. Emet does.

And yet in his final moments, Emet seems at peace. He seems to realize, as he is fading into oblivion, that the Warrior of Light/Darkness isn’t just the reincarnation of Azem, but what Azem believed in that made Azem part from the Convocation. Fractured life is still life, and Azem believed that the world and its beings was worth learning about, loving and protecting, capable of great things even when faced with insurmountable odds. The last act of good will Emet can do after requesting that the Warrior not forget about Amaurot, is to free the Warrior from Elidibus’ binds so that the last unsundered Ascian can be put to rest at last. It’s a very emotional throughline for Emet’s character, rather than a more logical one, but it works very, very well and really helps push Shadowbringers into that amazing high its story can get to.

Elidibus

I never liked Elidibus all that much for the longest time. It’s not that his character was “bad’, per se - he’s polite, diplomatic, and enigmatic, providing a much more leveled, intriguing villain to counter-act Lahabrea’s more active plays and cackling. But Elidibus’ long game always left me sort of wanting: I was never really sure what he was trying to accomplish expansion to expansion and how it related to the Rejoining that would bring about Zodiark. His plans also seemed to just regularly...fall through. Sending the Warriors of Darkness to antagonize the Warrior of Light in the Source ended up bringing about the halt of the Flood of Light on the First entirely. Picking up Zenos’ body and squashing Garlemald uprisings while nudging Varis to make and use the Black Rose was promptly halted by the true Zenos making an unspectacular return. I don’t know, I just feel like any plan Elidibus sets into motion gets stopped before it really gets started.

My opinion of him did change, however, during the course of the Shadowbringers expansion. Being the heart of Zodiark, manifesting as the First’s...uhh, first, Warrior of Light, summoning them from across the other shards to wreak havoc and empower himself, only to finally be put out of his misery not just be the true Warrior of Light/Darkness, but Emet-Selch’s last act of will and revealing that he had been an over-working, sad youth who just wanted to save the world he knew was...well, sad. And his first (and last) real gameplay with the various hero summonings was a pretty amazing set piece too, though it also tells me how devastating Elidibus could have been earlier on if he’d taken a more pro-active approach, access to the Crystal Tower notwithstanding.

Valens van Varro

Much like how I wanted to punch Ilberd, because Ilberd is a deplorable person but an effective villain with decent motivations, Valens is just...I just want to punch him, in general. He’s just Disgusting On Purpose. And since we still haven’t shaken Stormblood’s insistence that Garleans are Evil So Evil Oh My God Evil You Guys they’re trotted out a demented borderline sex-offender who forces his child wards to brand subjects who are out of line with red-hot irons. Valens is...entertaining, I guess, in that regard. And Valens does serve as an appropriate counter-part to Gaius in this storyline, the themes of which seem to largely deal with fatherhood and penance for past misdeeds. I just...really miss Garlean villains with nuance.

Fandaniel

Oh god damnit Asahi is back. Square Enix stop doing this, stop bringing back bad characters. Though it is unfair to say Fandaniel is anything like Asahi. Oh sure, he’s using Asahi’s body (and therefore the Brutus’ family inheritance to fund his machinations), he fawns over Zenos, and he’s cartoonishly evil, but at least this go around there’s a certain...goofy charm to it. Fandaniel is a sundered Ascian - he doesn’t care about the Rejoining or Zodiark, he’s aware that he’s a broken being and he is, quite frankly, loving it. He lays his intent out pretty plainly to the Warrior of Light/Darkness: he’s evil, he loves destruction, and he’s doing it because that’s just what he feels like doing. Don’t reason with him, don’t try to understand him, just fight back and cry about it. On some basic level I appreciate that brutal honesty, so much so that I’m comfortable writing my thoughts about him now because I don’t think they’re going to change. What you see is what you get with Fandaniel, and he’s just having such a good time. He’s a terribly-written villain but gosh darnit I just can’t bring myself to hate him.

[scrawnytreedemon]

Cid Highwind and/or Vincent V!

Oooohhh!!! Bringing in The Boys? SNkkkkk, I’d expect nothing less of you, Enide <3 I’m not that well-versed in them as I’d like, buT!!! here’s trying!!!! Love a good challenge :)) 

Cid:

First impression: Grumpy tea DILF that swears his ass off. For some reason I keep forgetting Cid is a lancer and not a gunman because??? Usually it’s the gunmen that get depicted all vulgar and rugged, with stubble and cigarettes.

Impression now: Grumpy tea DILF that swears his ass off. Lmao, nothing much has changed, but there’s certainly a free-spiritedness to him; makes sense, the man is a pilot and would’ve been(got to be?) an astronaut. He’s very tough-love in a way that both meshes and manages to be distinct from Barret’s flavour-- I think they’d be good bros :) One thing that sours his character a bit for me is how he verbally abuses Shera :( I’d normally chalk it up to his usual tough-love, but with the major plotpoint of him blaming her for his crushed dreams and how she essentially fulfills the role of an abused wife... I, I’m not so sure. Overall, I like Cid, but it’s a shame.

Favorite moment: Ohh!!! I have a few, such as the way he joins the party, him calling Vinny back to their room, his return to the final fight-- But my favourite has to be on the Materia train hijacking sequence and the dialogue that follows if you pick Yuffie and Vincent as your party members. The dialogue is downright hilarious and you really get the sense that they’ve gotten to know each other behind the scenes(love that about FFVII <3) :)))

Idea for a story: To STEAL an idea from my bud @alunchboxofsushifries she had while we were whinging about DoC, but having the game’s storyline entirely revamped so that it’s Vincent, Cid and Yuffie doing it all together. We don’t know the finer details(and DoC being DoC quite frankly I’m scared of knowing just w h a t might we be changing), but I love the idea alot!!!!! Again, this is my friend Vee’s idea, so major credit to them!!!!

Unpopular opinion: Lmao I don’t think I have enough opinions on him to really have an unpopular one??? Dont get me wrong-- Love the man to bits, however as of yet my focus has been all over the other party members(Barret, Nanaki, ect.) and so I’m not as well-versed in what is the common fanon of this man-- Most I could say is I wished they handled his resentment towards Shera better :(

Favorite relationship: I think him and Vince are such a fun dynamic-- I lean heavily platonic, but I’m sure you know I’m cool with a more romantic connotation. Vince calling him chief and being this affectionately dry almost-sidekick to Cid is the absolute best and its what made me love the train sequence along with Yuffie calling him old man lmaooo-- Adding onto that, I think him and Yuffie could have a snarky grumpy old dad and snide-teenager dynamic where he gives her lectures and she goes “yeah okay, paps”.

Favorite headcanon: Sadly I don’t have really any(I am NOT giving you good food today, am I, Enide? :( ), but I personally think that he’s got the only functioning airship on the Planet. I headcanon Gaia to be roughly the size of our moon, so large enough to hold a fair amount of people but also small so everything’s just a stone’s throw away-- Hell, they only have one major ocean! How wild is that???

Now!!!!! Onto Vince :))))) I have alot more to say(hopefully lmaooo)

First impression: Cool edgy gunman who stands in a corner and mumbles huskily. Drinks only black coffee, if he even drinks at all. Desperately needs a hairbrush.

Impression now: This man is??? SO awkward I???? I lOVE HIM???? He’s also got such a sweetness in my eyes and it’shdfjkjhkjhjg!!!! Like mAN, he’s an outwardly chill if slightly skittish older friend who keeps to the sidelines most of the times but when he does chip in it’s a l w a y s good and very Wise. The man is a bit of a sod, though, sometimes to the point of debilitating self-pity. First thing this guy did was tell you to fuck off and go back to sleep. He rags on himself heavily for his sins and I want to!!! Give the poor fucker a hug because lord knows he hasn’t had one in 27~ years :((( All around, swell guy, WOULD love to have a chill garden-bonfire chat with him :) Still needs a hairbrush, lmao. Also g o l d - p l a t e d  c l o w n s h o e s .

Favorite moment: I must, again, bring up the train scene for reasons mentioned in Cid’s section-- But to get onto another that caught my eye, was when he returned, and Cloud was surprised, having got the feeling that Vince was cold an detached. It’s both sweet, and sad. Vince cares deeply about all of this, about all of them, but because he’s a bit of a poker-faced recluse he doesn’t express it very much. I wonder how he felt, hearing that.

Idea for a story: OF COURSE, once again, Vee’s DoC rewrite(even more so because Vince is the main character), but I think a Seph adoption!AU, whether pre or postgame where in the former he takes Seph in and they’re constantly on the run together, constantly awaiting Shinra’s wolves like stalked deer, or the latter where there’s a tender, redemptive atmosphere but also a psychological, almost-horror element where he loves his Lucrecia’s son so much but also has to serve as his warden lest he be unleashed once more.

Unpopular opinion: I don’t think he’s Sephiroth’s biological father, and, with the nigh-omnipresence of this theory, I’ll be honest and say I find it a little grating? I think it weakens Hojo’s character and makes Vince this Real Fix-It Parent Who’d Never Hurt You :) -- And I understand the appeal, of that, but honest to God it really feels like most of this comes down to Hojo Stinky Baf adn UGLIIII!!! Vimce Good adn Sweete adn Pwetty :333 Facetiousness aside, I can appreciate this being done well, as with anything! Just wish it wasn’t taken as almost canon in fandom spaces :(

Favorite relationship: The man is SO fun to platonically pair up with everyone it’s INSANE, though I don’t think I have a favourite ship??? Like yeah, sure him and Lucrecia had a thing once, but that whole ordeal was more of a human rights crisis and just generally a painful, tragic mess. I don’t think Vincent could really love like that again, not for many years. He aches, even in places he forgets aren’t meant to ache. Especially those. I think he gives everyone a little love in the help he hands out. Vincent’s heart is big and broken, and he fears that if he fills it too much, it’ll burst, and he’ll be left a beast. He needs to learn that he is worthy, but that is a task he must undertake.

Favorite headcanon: Can’t really think of any, as despite his mysterious nature, Vince doesn’t leave too many loose threads in areas of My ConcernTM-- Though if I’m gonna make one up, him, Barret and Cid get together on Saturday nights to hang out around a fire with some beers and have some good Dad Talks-- Peak DILF solidarity, tbh. 

But yeah!!!! Took awhile to write out, hopefully these are sufficient enough for you, O’ Valenwind Extraordinaire beloved! Again, as always, feel free to tack on any further thoughts of your own! Love a good discussion <3 Makes this little corner of the fandom feel warmer.

[autumnslance]

Overall 5.4 Impressions

So I’ve said enough words about 1 story. The rest of the patch though I liked.

The VAs obviously had a rough time with alternate recording options and direction making many of them sound different, and it’s been so darn long since Cid’s gotten to speak--Heavensward patches!--and we’re all more familiar with his ARR voice out of Prae, that it really sounds off.

I’m neutral on catboy, so am fine with him running around doing Scion things with us. Honestly, if I start to feel fandom is negatively impacting me toward a character, I change up my social media consumption, who I interact more with for a time, and do my own things with the char. I’m also generally far more likely to go from negative on a character to positive thanks to fandom enthusiasm, though--I’d rather be neutral to positive on characters and their place in narrative than not.

(In any case, Aeryn keeps catboy at arm’s length; things are weird, but he means well, even his methods weren’t great, and she’s happily in a relationship so doesn’t even notice his crush/hero worship, which isn’t any different from a lot of other popular NPCs reactions to the WoL, anyway, so easy to wave off.)

I LOVE EDEN’S PROMISE. I’ve been through it twice now and the parallels with FFVIII killed me. I still wish Eden’s Verse got as much emotional resonance, but the usual end of the 8man raid story paid off well here. The reveal of the “Faerie”’s true identity works, tied back to MSQ and the main plot of the First well, and makes sense from a lore standpoint in every way. It’s bittersweet in how it validates a lot of headcanons concerning reincarnations and how it resolves on that angle. I am sad the daughters seem to be back behind the NPC Plotwall again, though. Gimme my girls, SE! I want to see them being cute around Norvrandt. Ryne’s little line about it’s unlikely she’ll ever see Thancred again did break my heart a little, please, I want our family to be together!! Also her calling him her knight in shining armor, and thinking how he would react to that, amuses me. I love how his gunblade was relevant, though, and again tied back to those FFVIII parallels.

YoRHa’s little story bit this patch I felt OK with taking care of Konogg, and like how the WoL spends a lot of time talking gently with him, and/or teasing him to try and cheer him up. The injured dwarves story is very sad, and their anger understandable, though Konogg is just a kid. I’ve got theories and ideas and talked things over with a friend who’s played more NieR and I am intrigued for the final wing of that quest. And creepy as it was in the end, I was less creeped out than by Werlyt. Maybe cuz I expected weirdness and some tragedy in NieR but also there wasn’t anything really overt going on here.

The Role Quest and following Void Quests were all I have ever wanted for the Virtue Hunters, for Cyella, and for Unukalhai. I love them all being friends and working together. I enjoyed getting yelled at by a rightfully exasperated Beq Lugg, especially when choosing the silly dialogue options. I want more of this plot and these characters going forward; it feels like it’s a setup for more coming, and I very much hope that’s the case.

Fandaniel’s nihilism is interesting, and I wonder if a cover for something else. A friend calls him “very Kuja” and it really is that vibe; learning you’re “not real” and deciding the world can burn for it. Zenos is just...there for me. I really don’t care one way or another. He mostly irritated me through Stormblood and I eye-rolled he came back (like everyone else in that expac) and am now like “guess we’ll see where this is going.” I’m interested in where the MSQ’s going next but with a .4 patch I am scared for characters again. A little salty they took the boys off to the Empire right away, and what could happen there; a “Meanwhile” might have been nice. Hopefully we get them back in 5.5 (if nothing else for tank and healer variety in MSQ trusts again). We just got the family home, and off they go! At least their shippers got some nice food, though.

Speaking of trusts, I love Matoya, and I love the dungeon. Took me a bit to get the second boss’ mechanic, but overall a lot of fun, neat design, cute music. I’m glad Alisiae finally got a win and has made frickin’ history. Everything with Limsa and Merlwyb was fantastic.

So yeah, I enjoyed it! It feels like I do more than some, but I try not to tie myself too tightly to specific characters or places, and tolerate chars I’m indifferent to all right. I’m glad a city-state and leader outside Ul’dah got some time finally. We checked in with a lot of folks, at least briefly, and so it really felt like “welcome home, immerse yourself in original Eorzea again” even as it’s threatened by a rogue Ascian.

So yeah, ready to see what we get in the next patch and how it leads us to 6.0!

I may make more posts about Eden’s Promise and the Role/Void Quests later, IDK yet.

[artisticflutter]

AU August - Day Twenty-Two: Sci-Fi

Yoohoo! This one took a while because... it just did. I’ll have notes one things that help visualize what everything looks like dooon’t worry~

Series: Final Fantasy IX Rating: T Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi Pairing(s): Zidane x Garnet (Zidagger) Summary: Garnet’s anxious. She knew she was meant to be wedded to the ruler of Terra, but this would be her first time properly meeting them. Warning: A prequel to a previous crossover fill! (aka the Miraculous Ladybug one)

Garnet held her hands daintily folded one over the other before her, though her fingers hidden beneath twitched slightly. It hadn’t been that long since she’d been crowned, but by the law of the crystals, the time had come.

Gaia and Terra - two planets that orbited the same sun and shared two moons between them. It hadn’t always been like this - Terra with many of its advancements years ahead of Gaia had managed to move through space. It wasn’t always cordial between them either as Terra had been hostile, their superior technology however finding itself matched by Gaia’s magic. But when a Gaian and a Terran came together, the fighting had stopped. The crystals which all life came from, but Terra’s had been dying. It was by choice the two saved the crystal and brought peace between the worlds; and by the crystals it continued, the two planets as a collective coming to be known as Gaea.

Chosen by Gaia’s Crystal at birth, Garnet would wed the King of Terra and together, they would continue overseeing both planets. Even though they ultimately would, she still wondered what her betrothed would be like. Terra’s crystal wouldn’t choose someone terrible, but both of them would have to see past mortal problems and see the natural and extraterrestrial. Even if they were ‘good’, she was worried - what if the King was a cold and affectionless individual? They still had to care about the Kingdoms on each planet and their citizens to a fair degree; and they should be capable of caring for each other.

She remembered going to Terra once and it was quite the opposite of Gaia. It had felt cold, and it was difficult to tell what was nature from the machine; however, she had felt life pulsing from the planet. And thinking back to that visit, she did manage to recall they never left the main Kingdom of Bran Bal. There could’ve been more to Terra such as natural elements that she just hadn’t seen. Perhaps after she was wedded, she could see more of it?

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts and it opened soon after.

“Your Majesty, Terra’s ship approaches,” her General, Beatrix, informed with a bow. Turning away from her window, Garnet nodded.

“Thank you, General...” Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. “... I’m ready.”

Stepping outside her door, Captain Steiner was waiting to escort her together with the General. He snapped a salute to Garnet and she nodded her head back in acknowledgement. These two had been her knights and personal advisors since her childhood - she was going to miss them. Whoever became her new knights after the union, she hoped to get along with them.

The grand crystal of Alexandria shimmered as always in the sunlight, its radiant brilliance also a reflection of the planet’s health below. Today, there was a difference - not that anyone could see it, but the way the lights danced from its surface in cool waves, it was greeting the sleek blue ship descending from the sky in its own way. It was easing its entry into their atmosphere and lower, stilling the lake as it came to hum above the water.

Garnet mentally noted that the design of the Terran ship was very much their planet. Still, perhaps Regent Cid just liked to over design his ships with unnecessary bits. She resisted a giggle and trained her expression as the teleport circle appeared before her, Beatrix, and Steiner.

The first to appear was a woman around her height with fair skin just a touch darker than Garnet’s own and wearing what was a deceptively simple attire with rosy geometric shapes upon white material. Her golden blonde hair just barely reached her shoulders and her green eyes gazed around the stone platform briefly before catching Garnet’s eye. She bowed, “Your Majesty, Queen Garnet, I am Mikoto, the King’s Advisor. On his behalf, I greet you first.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mikoto,” Garnet replied, giving the woman a smile. “I welcome you.”

With a deep bow, Mikoto stepped off the teleport circle. And with her aside, it glowed again and the next figure emerged. They were tall - much taller than Garnet herself, and even standing above Steiner. Long silver hair, cool blue eyes, their complexion was paler than hers and Mikoto’s, and his attire was more. It was closer to the attire of a nobleman of Gaia than what she would expect of Terra, but she could also see the sharp, geometric elements in the accents.

“Your Majesty,” they - he - said with a deep bow. He had a look when he stood, but she couldn’t decide if it was a smile or a smirk, but it wasn’t malicious. “I am Kuja, the King’s Strategist. On his behalf, I greet you second.”

“Pleased to meet you as well, Kuja,” Garnet answered, smiling at him too. “I welcome you.”

Now with a slight nod, he moved aside and Garnet felt her heart speed when the circle glowed again. Was the King coming now? Were the Advisor and Strategist their guard then? She almost wanted to check her dress over to make sure nothing was out of place, but it was too late, another body was appearing.

And she felt her face turn red.

Standing taller than Mikoto, but shorter than Kuja, he had dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and his skin suggested he might be far more familiar with sunlight. And there was plenty of skin to see, more than Garnet had purposely seen exposed on anyone. The off-shoulder cloak exposed plenty of chest and the skirt he wore - while long on his legs - was quite low at his hip. Was that a tail, too? She couldn’t even focus on the blue designs or trim; she was struggling to focus on his face. And out of the corner of her eye, Kuja was smirking.

Oh, strategist indeed.

“If I may, Your Majesty,” Mikoto’s voice cut in, almost making Garnet jump. “Introducing His Majesty, King Zidane of Bran Bal and the Chosen of Terra’s Crystal.”

“Ah… Um, yes. Greetings, King Zidane…” She was doing her best to maintain her composure, but he smiled. Oh dear, he was the very opposite of that cold personality she was concerned previously about. “Welcome to the Kingdom of Alexandria and Gaia. Shall we attend to matters in the conference room?”

“Hold on a moment.”

Garnet blinked and watched, slightly flushed still, as Zidane reached under his cloak. In a moment, he pulled out… a flower, covered by a glass dome and set on a pedestal. Wait, that flower… she’d seen it before.

“I don’t know if you remember, but even if you don’t, I believe I should present my wife-to-be with a gift.”

“Oh…” Garnet gazed upon the flower longer, stepping closer. “... It… looks like the buildings around Bran Bal. Though, the blossom curls up… Wasn’t it glowing before?”

“They shine in the dark, but look purple under Terra’s moon,” Zidane explained, beaming as she accepted the pot. “But that’s probably why you don’t--”

“... No, no, I do recall a boy handed me one. I was awfully rude that day, but a meeting had gone past my bedtime. I was half-asleep… and didn’t you run away once you did?”

“What? Me? Run away??” Zidane gasped, but then, he scratched his cheek. “I… may have done that. I was a little nervous when I was a kid. Most of that is my Strategist’s fault.”

There was a look shot Kuja’s way and the taller man looked far too pleased with himself. Garnet was bewildered by how casual the two seemed to be, but again, she was trying not to laugh. It wouldn’t be appropriate even if their antics were amusing. Zidane rolled his eyes and shook his head before smiling her way. “Right, I guess we should proceed with preparations…?”

“Mmm, yes. Come, this way.”

Handing over Zidane’s gift to Steiner, she accepted the King’s hand when he held it out to her. Meeting his eyes, and then walking alongside him, this marriage ordained by the Crystals may not be as bad as she feared.

---

Notes: Terra’s very much like itself in-game, but most plants and vegetation is outside of the cities save for specially domed zones that can raise/protect more delicate flora/fauna.

Meanwhile, imagine Gaia more like Treasure Planet movie in technological advancements enhanced further by magic. So still Victorian fantastical future sci-fi.

The flower is based off Jade Vines (look it up~).

[afteriwake]

London, Oxford, Causton

And here is the fic I wrote for Holmestice! It’s a Sherlock/Inspector Lewis/Midsomer Murders crossover with some of the loyal DIs at a police conference. Enjoy!

London, Oxford, Causton - Every year, Sally gets to see two of her favorite coppers from other cities, and this year is no different.

READ @ AO3

It was that time of year again, when coppers all over the country gathered to learn new techniques, swap stories, and commemorate those lost to the job. Sally wasn’t a particular fan of the lessons to learn, but she was a fan of the company, especially the company from Midsomer County and Oxford.

And as she waited in her favorite pub, she was glad this year they were all meeting in London. New Scotland Yard wanted to show off, and admittedly, so did she. Last year the conference had been in Oxford and Hathaway had gotten to play host. Jones always commiserated that unless they were to hold the conference in Causton he’d never get to show them where he spent his days.

But she had plans for her two mates and her tonight. They were going to have a proper night out in London town. Drinks, then a meal at her favorite Thai place, then a nice film noir movie at the theater Greg had introduced her to when they’d had that bad case last year.

James Hathaway arrived first, his height easily making him stand out in the crowd. Not that he was taller than most blokes there, but he carried himself almost regally, which served the Oxford DI right, she supposed. He was an intellect and a good man, sometimes seeming too good for a copper’s work. He should really have been an academic, but if academia had taken him, she’d had never had a good friend in him.

“Sally,” he said, and she stretched up to kiss each of his cheeks in greeting. “You look a sight for sore eyes.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she said with a cheeky grin, smoothing down the front of her black dress. It wasn’t one of those little black dresses, meant to titillate and stir up emotions, but it was nicer than what she generally wore on the job. The shoulder covering jacket accented the look, but it did nothing to keep her warm, just make her look as smashing as she could while still looking mildly professional.

“Not everywhere, I’ve found,” he said. She could see his fingers flex and she knew what he wanted. They all had their vices and Hathaway’s was high tar cigs. She smiled and nodded her way to the door, and he relaxed. As soon as they were outside and a few feet away from the entrance he dug out a crisp pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, getting a lighter next and lighting up. He knew better than to offer one to her, or one to Jones whenever he arrived. This was one vice not shared equally among them. Jones's was gambling, low stakes of course, and hers was messy, no good relationships.

Speaking of, Sally looked over and saw Ben Jones getting out of a cab. He paid the driver and then flashed her a smile as he caught sight of them. He was tall, too, but more solidly compact than Hathaway was. She had to admit she fancied them both a bit, but Jones was warmth and humor and liveliness while Hathaway was coolness and intellect and sly smiles like they were both in on a secret. Push come to shove Jones was more her type, but she never pushed things farther than friendship with either of them because she didn’t want to risk things. Maybe it made her a coward, but she kept her blokes and for that, she was happy.

“Sally!” Jones said, opening up his arms for a hug. Oh, she loved being hugged by him. He always smelled so nice, like he was trying to impress, but there was also the scent of his shampoo and his aftershave and she had to admit, it was a comfort. She wrapped her arms around him and inhaled, happy to find over the last year some things hadn’t changed. He held on a bit longer than normal but when he let go he clapped Hathaway on the shoulder and Hathaway nodded back.

“I see you couldn’t wait,” Jones said, stuffing his hands in his jacket pocket and then leaning forward to put his weight on his toes.

“I always want a smoke before I have a drink. At least in Oxford, there are still places where I can sit outside and drink.”

“One of the downsides of London,” Sally said. “Smoking seems to have gone out of fashion, even at businesses with outdoor drinking. But we’ll let James have his cig and then we’ll have a pint or two before Thai food.”

“Thai...sounds good to me,” Jones said. “Causton could use half as many restaurants as London’s got.”

“But then I wouldn’t get to show you my favorites,” Sally said with a mock pout, and Hathaway’s grin and Jones’s chuckle washed it away almost as quickly as it settled on her face. “And besides, don’t we have things to talk late into the night about?”

“It’s a good thing this is a four-day long convention,” Hathaway said as he took another drag of his cigarette.

“Well, it might be my last,” Jones said. “At least, coming from Causton.”

“Oh?” Sally asked, genuinely surprised at the news, and slightly dismayed as well. She didn’t want to lose her yearly time with her boys. She didn’t want things to change. “What’s happened?”

“Well, you know how Tom left, and his cousin took over? John Barnaby recommended me for a position as a DI outside of Causton CID. I might have a chance.”

“Oh, that's good,” she said. “Where at?”

She swore there was a twinkle in his eye when he spoke. “Brighton. You know, where next year’s conference is supposed to be held.”

“Congratulations, you bastard,” Hathaway said with a much warmer grin, clapping Jones on the shoulder. “Next year, drinks and dinner are on you.”

“So we’ll still get to see you?” Sally asked.

“Like I would abandon the two of you to each other. I make this trio what it is, after all.” Sally smacked his arm but she was pleased. Promotions and transfers apparently wouldn’t pull the three of them asunder, it seemed. That was good. “Whenever you have enough nicotine in your system, James, then we can get a pint to celebrate. I’ll even make it my treat if dinner is still on Sally.”

“You’re on,” Hathaway said, dropping his cigarette on the ground and stubbing it out, then picking up the butt and slipping it into his cigarette pack. Sally knew they couldn’t be too careful with things like that; she remembered people being caught with a fingerprint of a cigarette butt in the wrong place. Nailing a cop to some crime would be a coup for some of the enemies they might have in the woodwork. She knew that by working with Greg that meant working with Sherlock, and while they were civil now, Sherlock had enemies she could only wonder about. Her association with him didn’t put her at risk as much as Greg’s did, she hoped, but she couldn’t be sure.

But melancholy thoughts were washed from her mind when Jones offered her an arm and Hathaway one as well, and she linked an arm with each of them as they headed back to the pub. Thoughts of the future could keep for the time being. For now? It was time for them to take London and give it a whirl.

[a-world-in-grey]

Take My Breath au - Roadtrip (Cleigne I)

This is broken into two parts because the last part decided to run off in a completely different direction than I originally planned. And got stupidly long while it was at it.

Also, @swiftyue - tissue warning!

.

-Returning to Lestallum and discovering Niflheim came and took Jared... Sola wishes she killed Ravus when she had the chance. And Ardyn too.

-Talcott is inconsolable. Axis takes one look at the kid, and Sola feels the man soften. She’s not surprised. Axis has kids of his own about Talcott’s age. Axis tells them that he’ll take Talcott to his family. They’ll take care of him. Gladiolus frowns, opening his mouth to argue on behalf of his family’s retainers, but Sola tells Axis to stay safe.

-Gladio is not pleased. He knows they can’t take Talcott with them, the kid’s even younger than Iris and doesn’t have any combat training. It would be too dangerous. But Gladio doesn’t know Axis, and the Hestor family has served the Amicitias for generations. Gladio is responsible for Talcott. Axis catches Gladio’s expression, and the way Iris is biting her lip as she glances between them. Axis sighs and tells Sola in Galahdian that if she could explain... Sola nods, and Axis bows to Noctis and Sola before leaving to join Pelna in packing Talcott’s things.

-Sola tells Gladio that Galahdians are protective of children. Talcott will be well cared for. As for the rest, well, that can wait until they get to Cape Caem.

-Iris rides in the Regalia. Gladio only tries once to get answers out of her, but the fierce glare she levels at him as she all but growls, saying that she promised, means he doesn’t try again.

-The journey to Cape Caem is interrupted by the sight of Fort Vaulleny. Iris is ordered to stay in the car. Prompto, Gladio, and Sola cause one hell of a distraction while Ignis and Noctis infiltrate. Sola and Aranea face off, glaive against spear, half the fight in the air before Sola forces Aranea to flee.

-Cid is waiting for them at Cape Caem. Iris settles in and the others hear of the lingering issues with the ship. Then Gladio sits Sola and Iris down and demands that explanation from Sola.

-Sola doesn’t know how to break it gently, and with everything weighing on her shoulders she doesn’t have the energy to try. So she tells him flat out. Axis’s identity as Clarus’ bastard, when Sola found out and why she never said anything. Why Axis didn’t want to acknowledge his Amicitia blood. And why Axis chose to become her Shield when he never wanted that duty. Gladio turns to Iris and says that she knew. Iris sniffs and says that she has eyes, and Axis looks like Grandmother. Her eyes light up and she says that they have nieces and nephews! She’s an Aunt!

-Sola watches with no little amusement as Gladio reels from the information. She tells Gladio that at least no one will try to insist on Iris being Sola’s Shield. Though Sola supposes Iris still could be a Shield if they end up finding a wayward LC bastard. Gladio twitches, horror spiking through him, likely at the thought of trying to run herd on another royal. Gladio glares at Sola and tells her not to tempt fate, before getting up and searching for a drink. Sola winks at Iris and states that is a tactical retreat. Iris giggles.

-Dinner that night starts out somber, until Cid and Sola break out the stories from her months in Hammerhead, throwing out lightning bolts with every Six-cursed sneeze. Sola and Cid snark back and forth until the others are practically on the floor laughing - and Prompto actually is on the floor wheezing through tears.

-Sola isn’t surprised when she finds Cid waiting for her in the kitchen, when she ghosts down the stairs late that night. Everyone else is asleep - but it’s been a while since Sola truly needed a full night of rest. And Uncle Cid knows when she’s keeping secrets. After all, he was there for her hanahaki.

-No, she’s not surprised that Uncle Cid is waiting up, two steaming mugs on the table. She simply asks what tipped him off, and Cid snorts. He tells her that she never wears her sleeves long. No, always pushed or rolled up above her elbows, jackets included, and Cid can’t remember Sola ever closing her jackets or shirts. He eyes Sola’s oversized shirt - one of Libertus’ old flannels, Galahdians hated Insomnian winters with a passion - with the buttons done up to the collar and the sleeves falling past her fingers, and extends a hand with a demand to see what Sola’s gone and done now.

-Sola sighs, but shimmies out of the shirt, letting Cid see the black lines threading up her arms and stretching up to brush her shoulders. She’d hoped if she gave herself time, her magic would beat it back. But it’s only gotten worse. Sola puts her shirt back on, but tells Cid what she knows. Including the increasing likelihood that she will die. Probably in a matter of weeks.

-Cid hugs her, calling her a dumb self-sacrificing idiot of a Lucis Caelum and entirely too much like Reggie. Sola chokes out a sound that is half a laugh and half a sob, ignoring the wet patch growing on her shoulder. If she doesn’t mention it, Uncle Cid won’t mention the wet patch on his shoulder.

-She’s dying. Sola knew, but realizing just how little time she has left... it makes it so much more real. And it hurts. Because she remembers what it felt like, losing Mama to illness, to something she couldn’t fix, helpless as she wasted away. And Papa’s death is still a gaping wound in her heart.

-She’s going to inflict that same grief on her brother. Her uncles. Her Clan. There’s nothing she can do and she hates it.

-Sola stares into her mug, before she asks Cid for a favor. Because if Sola is going to die, she wants to die without regrets. Which isn’t possible, there are too many things she’ll regret, but if she can resolve some of them...

-Well, there’s no time like the present.

-When the Chocobros and Iris wake, Sola is gone. Cid tells them that she has business to take care of that can’t wait, and if needed to sail to Altissia without her. Cid tells that Sola is leaving everyone in Gladio’s care as the next most experienced warrior. Noctis frowns, because... sure, that sounds like Sola, but there’s something off about this whole situation. But he doesn’t say anything as they make plans to head out to find the mythril they need to repair the boat.

-Gladio firmly pushes away his insecurities about being able to protect Noctis. Sola is counting on him, and he can’t leave everyone when Sola is already gone.

-Sola meets Cor near Taelpar Crag, infection hidden beneath her leather jacket and gloves. She demands that spar from him, because if she wins this is the only time she’ll have to fight Gilgamesh. Cor nods before he unsheathes his katana, and Sola summons her glaive. The fight is fierce, and the two go at each other with lethal intent. It’s only their own skill that allows them to avoid serious injury, though Sola loses a chunk of her hair - not her braid, she’d probably break down crying right there - and Cor gains a magnificent broken nose even as he opens a cut on Sola’s outer thigh. But Sola wins, barely managing to disarm Uncle Cor and leveling her glaive at his throat.

-Even so, Uncle Cor lingers at the door to the Trials, and he gives her a fierce hug and tells her that he’ll see her when she’s done. Sola smirks at him and wonders how much that fanboy of his will pay for Genji. Cor swats at her head but Sola ducks it with a cackle even as she steps past the doors and they close behind her with a heavy and final thud.

-The spar with Uncle Cor was one thing. Against the undead that rise to face her, Sola uses everything and anything. Magic, weapons, and every dirty trick she ever learned from her Clan. She pushes up her sleeves and opens her jacket, uncaring of the infection. Not when there are no living souls to see. She carves her way through and emerges into the wide cavern Uncle Cor described so many years ago, and the massive hulking figure at the other end is impossible to mistake.

-Gilgamesh rises, and Sola’s eyes lock on Genji held in his only hand. But then Gilgamesh is speaking, calling her another challenger. Sola steps forward, senses and magic pricked for any warning of an attack, and introduces herself as Sola Lucis Caelum, the Ardent, Sword of Noctis Lucis Caelum the Chosen King, Chief of Clan Astrum, Captain of the Kingsglaive, and Princess of Lucis. And Sola will never admit that she’s glad for the protocol lessons her tutors once crammed into her head, because Gilgamesh actually pauses, head tilting in a way that can only be thoughtful.

-Gilgamesh replies, simply with his name and title of Shield to the Mystic and Founder King. And Gilgamesh asks Sola what brings her to challenge him. Sola simply states that she made a promise. And she moves.

-Her glaive screeches as it clashes against Genji. The spar with Uncle Cor was difficult. The fight against Gilgamesh is terrifying. Magic and steel clash, and Sola cannot count the number of times she escapes death. But Gilgamesh is Immortal, and Sola... is not. Exhaustion catches up with Sola despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins. And Sola wonders... if dying here would be preferable to wasting away.

-Gilgamesh’s blade whistles by her hair. Sola retreats, heart hammering as she raises a hand to feel what she already knows she’ll find.

-Libertus’ braid-joiner, hanging from one braid and clasping the bottom half of the other, sliced clean through.

-Gilgamesh watches her with emotionless glowing eyes. Sola... is numb. Because that was a targeted strike and she doesn’t know of Gilgamesh knows the significance of Galahdian braids. Sola finds she doesn’t care.

-She pockets the bead where she won’t lose it, drops the jacket on the ground, then lunges for Gilgamesh’s throat. This time though, she speaks, coldly furious even as she heaves from exertion. Sola states that she is disappointed. Gilgamesh’s descendants are highly honorable and here their founder shames their name. No Amicitia would ever serve a Kinslayer, and yet that is exactly what Gilgamesh did.

-Gilgamesh’s arm catches Sola in the chest and sends her across the cavern. He demands to know how Sola knows that, appearing in the blink of an eye to loom over Sola. Sola laughs, bitter and resigned even as she warps away from Gilgamesh’s decapitating strike. She didn’t, Sola tells Gilgamesh, but she’s not surprised. After all, when she reached for the Crystal to protect her people, her King’s people, her dear grandfather’s response was to put his sword through her heart. Sola wonders when Somnus stopped caring for his family and his people. Did he ever care? Or did he only ever concern himself with power and authority?

-Gilgamesh flinches. Sola takes the split second opening to cleave Gilgamesh from shoulder to hip, nearly severing his physical arm. The immortal Shield staggers, but doesn’t fall. And yet, he does not continue to attack. He stands there, Genji in his ghostly grasp and... shoulders hunched?

-He asks if Sola loves her king. Sola is nonplussed, but she answers that yes, she does, more than anyone else. He’s her little brother. Gilgamesh asks if her brother returns her love. Sola doesn’t know where this is going, but every second talking is another second spent healing so she’ll take it. She tells Gilgamesh that he does. Gilgamesh bitterly states that once, Somnus had an elder brother, a brother he loved dearly and who loved him in return. But the Astrals set them to fight the Starscourge, and over time... that bond was forgotten. And when they met again, it was not as brothers but as enemies, for while the scourge had infected the Healer’s body, resentment had infected his king’s heart. And so Somnus cut down the daemon with his brother’s face, and locked it away from light and warmth when it would not die.

-Sola knows she’s gaping. But there’s so much... She says that the scourge turns people to daemons?! Gilgamesh nods and Sola thinks back to Ardyn’s passing comment about how she’ll go. Gilgamesh says that Bahamut declared the Chosen King would come from Somnus’s line, to destroy the Accursed and free the world from the Starscourge. And Bahamut cursed Somnus for his Kinslaying and the slaying of the first Oracle. For his line would end as it began, with a sword to the heart.

-Sola cannot breathe. Because the parallels are weaving themselves before her eyes. She chokes out that she is the red-haired healer with golden magic, and Noctis is the dark-haired warrior with blue. Gilgamesh nods, and says that Sola is even named after the Healer, and already the scourge infects her flesh. Sola asks why Gilgamesh is telling her this?! Gilgamesh is silent, radiating sorrow and regret, and he tells Sola that in cutting down the Accursed, Somnus cut out his own heart. And it was Gilgamesh who pushed Somnus to such a course. Gilgamesh bears equal guilt for the curse upon his king’s descendants, for the cruel fate requiring them to slay their own kin. He cannot change the past. He cannot regain his honor. But he can do this one small thing for them, and hope that if he joins his king in death Somnus will forgive him.

-She stares at Gilgamesh, who has gone from a terrifying unstoppable force to... a grieving and tired man. A giant of a man, but Sola cannot help but see the same grief in Gilgamesh’s shoulders that she’s seen in Uncle Cor’s ever since Insomnia fell. Since Papa died. Only, Gilgamesh has shouldered his grief for two thousand years.

-Sola lets her glaive disappear into her armiger and strides over to Gilgamesh. She tells him to kneel, even as she gently takes Genji from his grasp. She tells Gilgamesh that he betrayed his oath to protect his king, and betrayed the royal family through his actions. Gilgamesh says nothing, head bowed so she cannot see his face. Sola says that as one of those he betrayed, as Sword of the Chosen King granted with his authority to act in his stead, she declares his immortality nullified and sentences him to immediate execution. Sola lifts Genji and asks what Gilgamesh’s last words are. He lifts his head, eyes no longer glowing, and simply thanks her. Sola brings Genji down in one swift strike.

-Gilgamesh’s head hits the ground with a dull thud. His body collapses and does not rise.

-Sola falls to her knees and weeps.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Chapter Five of my dark Kairi story entitled “Swallow”.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21456412/chapters/66099568

Falling

Sora's PoV:

"Come on, Yozora," Sora complained. as he grabbed onto his prison door and shook it with all his strength. "Don't lock me up, because you know I'm right in saying that… locking Stella in that box—no matter how she betrayed you is wrong—deep down, you know it's awful... because you're me."

And that must have meant something to Yozora, because he gave Sora something to eat then—to help stay conscious for once, in this awful place—and it was dropped at his feet.

It was a banana.

Kairi's PoV:

Kairi and Riku decided to go to Radiant Garden, to ask the Restoration Committee and Tron for help. But it left a bitter taste in Kairi's mouth to do so, because to her it was just pointing out to their friends that they hadn't found Sora yet, and that she had failed in another way.

So Kairi found herself leaving this to Riku—even if she would have loved to meet this non-corrupted version of a friend that Sora had loved so much: Tron—and took a moment to relax for the first time in ages.

As she did so, a kid named Ben—who she would learn the Restoration Committee had taken in—sat down and talked to her, as she dipped her toes in the fountain.

"…Kairi, I think that's your name… I'm sorry if I'm ruining your privacy, or whatever, but I'm Ben. And Radiant Garden's new leader, Leon, told me a little bit about your story with this 'Sora'… and how you now think he's in data world or something? …All I'm saying is don't bet on the wrong horse. I tried to recreate my mom, via this intelligent house that we had... and that was a disaster. Sometimes it's better to have a flawed reality, than to hold onto a scary dream."

If Kairi was being honest with herself here, she was spooked by this entire one-sided conversation. Though she did wonder if the gods of the different worlds had perhaps sent her this boy to her to give her advice...

She was about to ask him how a "mom" connected to an automated home—was that what she was getting here? could even exist to become a disaster, but Pip was having none of that.

"…Why would you tell Kairi that, to get her all scared and defeated?!" Pip demanded. And Kairi pet his fur in order to calm him down, as she contemplated and yet sent a small smile Ben's way.

And she was glad that Ben was holding his hands up defensively for Pip's anger. Because Kairi didn't want her new best friend to be mad at the child… even though she was sad he was kind of confronting her with her worst fears here.

"Hey, Miss. I just don't want anyone to say I didn't warn you. But it could work out. Like, even though we were fine without her… Pat's got her bugs worked out now, so sometimes she gives us chocolate chip pancakes!"

And that was all that a little kid would worry about, wasn't it? Kairi almost giggled at those words about pancakes… almost.

Instead, she decided to speak calmly to Ben and use some of his own terminology back at him. "Don't worry about it, 'Mister. 'Pip here is just a little protective of me, like he was with his mistress, Giselle, but I see that you only want to help me. Thank you."

Pip crossed his arms over his chest defensively here—because Kairi had bemoaned some of his efforts to coddle her heart?—but she knew he really didn't mean it, which she was glad for… because she still needed one friend in this world, after all.

Speaking of friends—or former friends—it was when Kairi was having these depressing thoughts and twiddling with her thumbs, that Riku finally returned.

"What did they all say?!" Kairi demanded, as she sprung to her feet and began assuming the worst. They're not mad we took some months off in looking for Sora, are they? …They really don't think I'd sacrifice him again so easily, do they?"

And Riku sent Kairi a small smile here, that was so much like their old bond, that Kairi could have cried. How she wished their connection was that strong again. And maybe they were getting somewhat close to it again, but…

"Relax, Kairi. Of course they're not upset with us… with you. And they're worried about the Master of Masters and his flunkies, but I told them we can handle it. They also told me what everyone else is doing, and I can tell ya if ya want. But most of all… Cid fixed our phones like we wanted him to... And I should have said this all when that kid wasn't here, huh?"

And this time, Kairi did have to laugh. It was a rare sight to see Riku flustered, but she definitely appreciated over the arrogant boy he had once been on the Islands. "This is Ben, Riku. He's cool. It sounds like he's in cahoots with the Restoration Committee. But on the subject of youth... did the Restoration Committee look any older to you? If so, we must have somehow traveled to the future when we were in the Caribbean. But if not… then we only moved ahead in time in that world, for some reason."

Overhead, a seagull was flying by… perhaps trying to see if there were some French fries nearby that it could eat. And for just a second, Kairi was taken back to Destiny Islands: the place where Sora had climbed a tree to get a seagull egg… and the place where many times—even though Kairi had enjoyed talking to Sora (she always would)—she didn't want to relish in his company if Riku wasn't with them. She missed those days…

"The Restoration Committee is the same age, Kairi. Don't worry." And again… Riku treated Kairi with such patience, that she hated him for it. She didn't deserve it…

But deciding that they probably should have these conversations away from Ben—just in case—Kairi and Riku bid their new friend goodbye and went back to Riku's gummi ship to discuss things more. Apparently, King Mickey had picked up Kairi's own ship from the Caribbean and had taken it back to Disney Castle. So, it seemed that she would be staying with Riku for a while…

Which was fine. More than fine, really. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Cloud, and Tifa had missed seeing the guilt that she bore, and now she and Riku were safe to talk about Sora away from prying eyes.

"So, what are all of our other friends doing now, Riku? And don't spare me any gory details."

And Riku didn't, as he set the ship in auto-pilot and walked around to look at the stars. Kairi wondered if he imagined Sora in one of them like she did, but she thought he might also be picturing Naminé on one of them, too.

"Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are following Sora's lead and going to sleep… to try and find hints of him in their dreams, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua are taking on apprentices, thinking the next generation may hold the truth to finding him... Lea and Isa are looking for a friend that they lost, but think it might connect to Sora. And Roxas and Xion are apparently trying to going as high in the Ocean Between Worlds as they can, to see if they can see Sora from that vantage point… And Naminé's not doing anything… because she thinks you and Sora aren't together now because she tore you apart before."

Wow, her friends certainly had better ideas than she did. Kairi had no doubt that they'd find Sora before she could even dream of it—like usual—though she would still try… and her heart broke in hearing that the girl she thought of as a sister was blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault at all.

Kairi even thought about getting her gummi phone out, to demand that Naminé cut it out that instant… but she couldn't do it yet. No, the only pain she could think of at all anymore was her own. Because Sora, the light of their World, had died for her (again). And even if by miracle of miracle, they happened to save him… that would always be true, and she could never wash the blood off her hands.

Kairi could tell the question Riku was dying to ask her now, as he seemed to look at her with bated breath... what was it about him that now bothered her, that made her push him in a way that she never had before?

And Kairi would tell Riku one day, she promised herself now, and would attempt to make amends... just not now. Never now.

So instead, she changed this subject about their friends and feelings.

"Is your gummi phone picking up any data worlds now?" Kairi asked, being careful not to look at Riku, but rather at all of the parts of the gummi ship around her. The seats that Riku had in his own vessel here were jade, and Kairi loved that aesthetic choice, as they matched his eyes.

But somehow, even before he'd spoken Kairi knew that Riku would disappoint her. "...No. But I may be picking up something else."

Well, the "something else" was news to Kairi. She wasn't even sure they'd get that lucky. So she stood from her seat and peered at the gummi phone he held in his hand, as she took in what appeared to be some sort of jungle pictured there.

And Kairi grinned… she couldn't help it, even though these memories now hurt her. She recalled, after all, bits of when Sora had been in Deep Jungle. She thought he may have even fought about Donald on whether or not to go there… and in the end, Sora had made them crash so that he could look for her and Riku.

If they had to go to such a place to save him now—or at least get some kind of clue about him—Kairi thought that it was only fitting.

"Then full speed ahead, maestro!" Kairi encouraged Riku, whilst she pointed her Keyblade out towards the sky.

And for just a second, Kairi again felt like the girl who had built a raft with her friends, jumped off a balcony, and fought in a Keyblade War.

…

The first thing Kairi noticed when she and Riku eventually landed on the new world, was a strange fruit that she had never seen before.

And suddenly realizing just how ravenous she was, Kairi ate the yellow, C-shaped piece of food and even shared some of it with Pip.

"This is delicious!" Kairi sang, just as the flavors and textures really hit her taste buds for the first time.

But Riku seemed to be staying far away from it, though Kairi couldn't imagine why. He must have been as hungry as she was, if not hungrier since he was a growing guy.

"...Kairi, you know what that is. Right?" Riku asked, with some strange tone in his voice that she couldn't figure out for the life of her. "An aphrodisiac."

Truthfully, Kairi wasn't entirely sure what that was. She thought it had to do with romance and fruit together, somehow, but that was about all she knew. She may have been going to school some, while Sora and Riku had been out adventuring, but she hadn't always been paying attention in class… Not when she'd been worried sick about her missing friend and the boy she couldn't remember. "Aphrodisiac?" Kairi tested the word on her tongue. "Like the paopu fruit?"

"Err… You know what? Nevermind."

And here, Kairi couldn't help teasing Riku a little—as she felt some of her old self come to the surface again, just a tiny bit. "Riku, even if you're worried about falling in love or whatever—because you want to die an Old Maid, instead of getting married, I don't think this fruit is as strong as to make you propose to Naminé the next time you see her, or anything like that. So, c'mon! Give it a try!"

But, perhaps, Riku even did Kairi one better than that, when he saw a yellow coconut lying around that Kairi had missed and opened it and ate at the milk inside…

Right. Yellow coconuts… She had once ordered both Riku and Sora to find them for the raft. So were Riku and she finally becoming those fourteen-year-old kids together, then?

The two teens finished eating—eventually playing a game, where they told each other what they wished it was. Because they wanted meat right now more than anything—but then finished off and began walking again.

And before Kairi knew it, she and Riku were nearing a mountain that was very much shaped like an ape… Kairi probably would have told Riku something about it, if it that moment she hadn't seen something that caught her eye even more!

A lovely lady and an ape-like-man—not unlike Tarzan from Sora's time in Deep Jungle, that Kairi remembered from being particularly active in his heart there—were having dinner together, as a giant monkey (a gorilla? An ape?) talked to them and served them food!

There were even breathtaking twinkling lights around this treehouse… and even in the light of day, they took Kairi's breath away.

Everything about this scenario was just beautiful. To Kairi… as silly, and romance novel sounding as this thought in her head was becoming, it was like what her life could have been like with her mate, Sora, if things hadn't gone so horribly… As she knew that he had wanted to show her a magical world, too.

And so even though Kairi didn't know this couple at all, she couldn't help rooting for them… and she saw that Riku felt the same way, when he was quick to assure the woman that everything was fine, when she began to panic: "Oh, no! You're not with Lyle are you?! You don't think I've been taking hostage by a madman, who will try and steal my autonomy, will you?"

"Not to worry, ma'am... we're just here to see if this world—err, place—needs any help at all. And if it does, we're only too happy to aid it. I'm Riku, and this is Kairi."

Kairi was about to proudly tease Riku that he was acting like Sora again, as she smiled up at him, but just as she was about to, some other people entered the scene… At least one of which who looked like he might try and tear the lovers apart, if his look of outrage in seeing them together was anything to go by…

And then the one that Kairi had been worried about (and surely Riku, as well) was pulling a gun, and shooting at Ape-Man, just as the pretty girl cried, "Lyle, no!"

Guns… Kairi hated him. And she knew that Sora had come up with that same sentiment when he saw Clayton with one, and she could easily understand why.

Before it was too late, Kairi tried to jump in front of the lady's lover, but even with her warping ability she didn't make it in time!

And then there was a panic. Some of the dark-skinned men present were angrily pulling the shooter way, and insisting that he would have to go to prison for shooting another human… Meanwhile, the girl—and the ape who had been waiting on them—were worrying over the shooting victim. And Kairi and Riku were quickly there, too… Though they also wanted to give him some air.

Kairi thought about trying to use Curaga on the man, but she knew that wouldn't work. Cure spells always healed depleted energy more than anything else…

The woman was on her own phone, desperately trying to get service—whatever that was, Kairi thought—so people would come and give George (apparently that was the man's name) the medical treatment he so desperately needed… but the crying woman said that it would still take time, and George might not make it.

So, it was then that Kairi made a decision… because she'd seen too much like this in her lifetime, and had of course felt this way herself.

"We've already ruined the World Order in so many other worlds we've been in, Riku. What's one more? Let us help this man get the best medical treatment available."

Riku might have whispered something about the old Kairi being back then, but if he did she didn't completely hear it. No, she was too busy creating a Corridor of Light to get everyone where they needed to go faster.

But she didn't just leave it at that. Naturally, she walked up to her new friend and whispered gently in her ear, ""I know I'm probably just some crazy magical girl to you now, so who would believe me? …But if you walk through this path and think desperately of where you want to go as you do so, it'll take you there."

"Magic… after a talking monkey?" the woman with the slight accent—or was it lisp?—echoed back to Kairi, with a sort of unhinged quality in her voice. Kairi was about to question it. But, hey. Hadn't she been about the same when Sora had disappeared after using a Keyblade on his own heart, and Riku had seemed gone forever? "Why aren't I surprised? Thank you."

And so, the woman, Kairi, and Riku (who had stepped up to be the main one carrying George here) walked through the Light, and left everyone and everything else behind for the time being.

A pity, that, because looking back on it… Kairi thought she'd felt something of Sora when she'd bitten into that fruit.

But now was the time to be selfless again… to be the girl he surely loved: the Master of Masters had to be right.

…

Once they exited the path, Kairi found herself in an area that reminded her a lot of Giselle's world, oddly enough, which gave her the confidence to see this thing through… And she wondered if the two worlds of towering skyscrapers were once one, before the World had been split into parts.

Taking the brunt of George's weight herself now—as Riku seemed to be getting tired, and Kairi could hardly blame him—Kairi helped Ursula (introductions had been made on the three—four, counting George's—way here) get George into her apartment complex. And she thanked every god she could think of that they took the elevator to get to the penthouse, for even as a Keyblade wielder she didn't know if she could have carried George up all those flights of stairs.

Kairi laid George down on Ursula's bed, as the girl called for a doctor to stop by and see him… And it was as she did, that Kairi understood how rich Ursula was—even moreso than she had been as the mayor's daughter, because her family hadn't been able to afford to persuade doctors to make house calls—unless there were just different protocols here…

And it was at this point, that Riku seemed to get uncomfortable… as he seemed to shrink away from all the expensive things around him.

And Kairi wondered for the first time if her own wealth had used to make him uncomfortable… Even in their golden years, had they not been as close as she'd thought they'd been.

"Riku…"

But Kairi's best friend was interrupting her before she could finish her thought. "If you don't mind, I think I might go back to the place we just left and see how that Lyle's doing… There was something about him. I don't know."

Well, that made sense. If Riku thought there was something sinister about him, it made sense that Riku would want to investigate… even if Kairi herself felt called to stay here for whatever reason. "…Of course, Riku. But stay safe. We don't know what we might be up against in this world…"

Riku waved to Kairi as he was walking through his own Corridor of Light… though he didn't promise Kairi he'd be back soon, and she didn't tell him to come back as fast as she could. They weren't quite there yet, after all, and this knowledge made her impossibly sad.

Though Kairi tried to hide it, when she walked up to George and put a Cure spell onto him for good measure.

"Thank you," he told her—with a smile in his voice—as consciousness returned to him.

And Kairi couldn't help beaming herself—reminded, as always, of Sora—as she replied, "Of course."

Kairi then made a show of becoming the Invisible Girl, as doctors and Ursula worried over George. Though even in her solitude and loneliness at the moment, she couldn't help feeling grateful that Ursula had yet to ask what she was… or any other fair question like that.

Kairi wondered how she would even answer that. As the physicians performed their magic, Kairi went outside and did her own—fighting the tiny shoe-like Heartless that she could find if she looked hard enough, though it was clear that this world didn't have much darkness in it… yet—but the whole time she did, she couldn't help feeling like she was the real monster here.

'Sora… If you can somehow sense me, and sending me these alerts about your presence… does that mean you can see the new me and think I'm someone worth something? Or are you blinded by your love for the old me, and are blind as a bat?'

The last group of Heartless that Kairi fought, ganged up on her and tried to grab her by her leg and pull her away… And while Kairi would say she'd had to stab at her thigh to get rid of them all, the truth was that she had wanted to cut herself for some sort of relief.

And it was exactly for that reason, that she was able to return to Ursula acting sane… as ironic as that was.

"Thank you for helping him, for helping us!" Ursula exclaimed, the moment that she saw Kairi again—as she took her hands in hers, and Kairi was reminded of her friendships with Selphie, Olette, Naminé, Xion, Aqua, Giselle, and Carina… the friendship between girls. How she'd been missing it. And maybe it was exactly what she needed to get out of her funk… or so she hoped. "Gosh, I barely even know you, but you've been a truer friend to me than you had any right to be! Know that if you ever need anything—anything!—and if it's in my power to get it for you, I will… Though I'm afraid I have to ask you one more thing… do you think you could stay with George some? At least until he completely heals?"

"Of course!" Kairi readily agreed. But she wondered if it was not her voice speaking, but Sora's… for didn't she have better things to do—like finding Sora—if this world panned out to mean nothing?

But still… Kairi couldn't turn down someone who needed her, could she? What kind of Princess of Heart would she be, if she did? …If she was even still that at all.

"I'm sure you must have a job and stuff. And this city… must be culture shock to George. I'll keep an eye on him as best I can."

Ursula laid a hand on Kairi's shoulder then—in what she could only presume was thanks—and if things had been different… Kairi might have been happier than she'd ever been.

After that—while Kairi and Ursula both kept an eye on George for the time being—Ursula and Kairi ended up playing a game with apple cider (because Kairi still didn't quite drink, thank you very much), where they took a swig from their drink every time one of them said something awful the other had had to go through for being born into the world with certain advantages.

And though George didn't seem to be able to understand a lot of what they were talking about, as they talked (and Kairi feared that he might somehow be getting hammered on the cider), he seemed to be having as much fun as they were… which Kairi was glad for, because she was charmed by her new friend and wanted him to enjoy life. Yes, that was true.

But through their game, Kairi recalled just how many creepy guys had hit on her just for being the mayor's daughter… and how she had one had to defend her virginity with a hairbrush, when Sora and Riku had been away… She pondered if Sora and Riku (saviors of the galaxy) would be impressed by her achievement there or not.

Kairi knew that she herself wasn't. As always, she should have been better and stronger… and done more, so she'd never been in that situation to begin with. Or really incapacitated him in a form of revenge.

…But none of that mattered now. Happy game time was over, and it was now bedtime.

But as Kairi slept… she dreamed. Dreamed of things that she got the sense were supposed to happen in this world, in a few days' time, but that she was somehow seeing now.

She saw Ursula going to her own engagement party—oh. She'd been engaged to that Lyle guy?—and instead falling for George, as he ran with the horses… She witnessed George saving someone from falling from a ridiculous height… And Ursula realizing she loved George and admitting it to her mother…

And then… and then the softest waves all about her, and suddenly a Foreteller. Kairi ran towards that Foreteller, standing on a single stone in a roaring sea now… and then seemed to teleport there.

Before Kairi's very eyes, was a girl in gorgeous rose-colored robes, that the princess herself wished she had. And while Kairi wanted to attack her—because that was just the norm now in dealing with what might as well have been this new Organization XIII, wasn't it?—Kairi found her heart resisting that notion now, for whatever reason.

And instead, in the softest voice she'd ever used with one of her enemies, Kairi asked with a hand held under her chin, "What do you want? What does your Master want? Please tell me."

And thankfully, this woman-with a very sweet voice, Kairi would come to see—thought it appropriate to answer her, as she herself glided closer to Kairi. "It's good that you somewhat separated me from the Master with that question. Because my wants and his don't exactly line up. For a time, the only ally I had was myself... And I wish it could have stayed that way. But now, I find I'm reluctantly on his side again. Since, despite everything, he is still my father."

Of course… even though Kairi could try to sympathize with this lady here—and her heart was screaming at her to—this made her furious, because no matter what… right was still right.

But then again, maybe she only thought that because she'd never had to choose before. All the stars twinkling around Kairi now seemed to call her a liar. Because the truth was… if she had to choose between the World and her adopted father or her grandmother… would she choose as Sora did? Kairi honestly wasn't sure anymore.

Thankfully, the small Foreteller missed Kairi's moral dilemma here and carried on with what she had been saying… and Kairi was thrilled. It wouldn't do to let the enemy know they had a faltering Princess of Heart on their hands, after all.

"But as for what the Master wants... I won't say all of it—because I don't want to fully ruin his plans. Some of his ideas are good—but more than anything, he desires unity. Since he knows what being without it has caused."

Kairi wanted to argue that the history books from the Islands told her that when most people started wanting this kind of thing, it always led to bloodshed… but she didn't.

Instead, Kairi was focused on the pastel pink Keyblade that was now pointed at her chin. There was something about this Keyblade that reminded Kairi of her own, Destiny's Embrace, but she couldn't imagine why… because they weren't that similar.

She also couldn't understand why the girl was aiming her Keyblade at her now, when until now she'd mostly seemed the pacifist… unless she was trying to show her something now. But whatever that was, Kairi could only begin to imagine. So, she thought she might tell this stranger something instead.

"I think you had the right of it before… going against your dad if he's planning some evil things, is the right thing to do. It's like how I couldn't fully forgive my friend Riku for some of the awful things he did, even if it was for my sake."

And that was a truth she'd never admitted to anyone before. Barely even herself. So why was she saying such things now?

The woman smiled sadly at this. She then leaned in and kissed Kairi on the cheek, entirely shocking her. And Kairi felt Pip come out of her hood here—to try and defend her honor, perhaps—but the woman swiftly showed that she wasn't aiming for anything crooked here, as she whispered into Kairi's ear. "Time heals all wounds, don't you think? You should let that go, Kairi. Listen to Ava."

And Kairi woke up to see George standing before her, with bruises all over his body—clearly from exertion—and it seemed to her that he must have already saved the man she'd seen briefly in her dream.

…

At first, Kairi wanted to believe that she'd just somehow had psychic visions here—even though that would have been scary in its own right—but it was when Kairi started reliving some of the things that she'd dreamt about, that she realized that some sort of time travel was in effect here: because even Ursula would sometimes turn to her, as though she was having déjà vu.

Right now, Kairi was at Ursula's engagement party—something she was enjoying, because it felt good to take a break from the doom and gloom and having to worry about the World's safety again—and she was watching George run with white horses, alongside Ursula and her friends.

…George looked attractive while doing this. And if her heart didn't belong to Sora, she might have been moved by it. So, she certainly understood why everyone else was.

But Kairi soon found that it was George's kindness more than anything, that was moving Ursula—as he walked over to them and explained, "I just thought the horsies here might get bored, if no one played with them."

So, he hadn't been doing that to be manipulative and look powerful. Really, Kairi knew she should have supposed that that was the truth. But with how she'd been abused so much by men in the Organization—and now the Master of Masters—she sometimes forgot that there were decent ones out there.

"Someone named Yozora is also awful," Ursula said to Kairi then—as if she'd read Kairi's mind—whilst she ruffled George's hair. But she'd spoken that as if she'd been in a trance.

And Kairi was completely baffled by this, because she was starting to understand that this "New York" didn't have many sounding names like that, if any. So, who was this Yozora… and why had Ursula felt the need to speak of him?

Was that what she was supposed to find out here, that was connected to Sora? The name sounded like Sora's, that was for sure. And as she whispered it now… Kairi almost felt as though she was saying Sora's name, like sometimes she thought of herself when she heard "Naminé" now.

But this discussion of Yozora was swiftly forgotten about, when Ursula's mother—who seemed off to Kairi—came outside to have a private word with George.

And somehow, Kairi wasn't surprised at all when George was gone the next day, having left again for Bukuvu to save Ape.

"This just reeks of my mother! I know she did this!" Ursula fumed, as she paced back and forth in her bedroom.

And Kairi told her the honest truth, as she laid down on the bed and wished to sleep… She'd been wanting to sleep a lot since coming to this world. And while Kairi wanted to believe it was because of a spell that Ava was perhaps putting on her, she knew it was really because she was depressed. "…She probably did… As silly as it is to say this, I figure she did because this is the plot in so many books and movies. And you have everything here… I can understand why your parents would be leery of you throwing that away. Mine would probably behave the same way… though they may not have strong-armed someone like George so much."

Honestly, Kairi missed George—well, as much as her heart could miss anyone who wasn't Sora—since last night, she'd planned on trying to show George some slides of modern things, like Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jane had shown Tarzan… though she'd near instantly learned that George didn't need them. He'd been very thankful of her efforts, however.

"I'm going to go have a word with her!" Ursula bellowed. "And then you and I are going back to George's home, and are going to help him heal his surrogate father! …And if your friend really went back there for Lyle, we're going to help him get over his crush on him, too!"

"Wait… what?!" Kairi demanded. But Ursula didn't clarify what she meant by that. Instead, she was going to the room that her parents were staying at here after the engagement party had ended late.

Just a few rooms away, Kairi could hear Ursula's mother unintentionally making her daughter realize she was in love with George (just like in her dream), and the two of them arguing about it… but Kairi couldn't focus on that right now.

Did Ursula really think that Riku had somehow gained feelings for Lyle?! Now that she made herself think about it, perhaps Riku had had feelings for Sora for some time—man, did they ever need to talk, if that was true—so if Lyle somehow reminded him of Sora… then maybe.

But Lyle seemed like a vile person, so if Kairi had to save Riku's heart from being broken by him, she would!

Kairi was walking towards where Ursula and her mom were still yelling at each other—to insist that they leave now, if they could—when Kairi bumped into Ursula's dad: she'd met him the night before.

And he seemed to be much more level-headed about his daughter's feelings than her mother was. "I support whatever decision makes Ursula happy, of course," he started as he saw Kairi. "But do you really think this is the best decision for her to make?"

And Kairi grinned, somehow reminded of her decision to do everything she could for Naminé and to give her the chance to live to the best of her ability. "Just… love your daughter. Love is the reason we're here, after all."

Kairi then approached the room that Ursula was in, grabbed her arm—because it looked like she was ready to leave anyway—and whisked her away.

…

This time around, Kairi agreed to fly on Ursula's private jet to get to George and Riku. As this time, she didn't think they were in too much trouble. Ape seemed to be, but hopefully George was already taken good care of him.

But even if she didn't feel much like a Princess of Heart anymore, she had a duty to the worlds and the World Order, so it was probably best to not screw with it once more in this world.

She supposed she was also somewhat doing this to try and stick it to the Master of Masters some. Because if he wanted unity… maybe he wanted the worlds to know about each other again. In which case, she wasn't going to give the evil man what he wanted… how she hated him.

Pip thought that Kairi was being reckless, too. He came out and talked to her while they were flying back to the much more flora-filled part of this world. He had seen her cut herself, and since then he'd kept quiet to see what she would do next… and he wasn't impressed with some of the choices she'd been making.

And here, Kairi couldn't help but sigh and to try and hide behind her hair some. Great. Now even her knew best friend hated her.

At was at this point that Kairi escaped to fight some Shadows that were on the jet—thankfully, Ursula was completely missing them as she flew—and as she swung each one, she couldn't help being terrified that they were actually drawn to the darkness in her heart, if there was some there. A troubling thought, indeed.

As was the situation Kairi and Ursula walked into when they made it back to the tree house. Some poachers were trying to take Ape with them, in having learned that he could talk—clearly, they had never seen other anthropomorphic beings before—and George was trying to stop them, of course, and Riku, too… Something that made Kairi's heart sing, because it reminded her of Sora.

But then it all went into Hell in a handbasket, as it would have. "You have got to be kidding me!" Ursula was complaining now. "Lyle, they let you out of prison. Or did you escape?"

And before Kairi could blink, he had darted over and grabbed Ursula with a gun pointed to her cheek. "I am now certified to perform wedding ceremonies, Ursula. And we're going to get married. I have our vows right here."

"Ursula!" George called. And it was clear to see that he was torn between saving his father or the love of his life.

Kairi would have tried to rescue Ursula—and Riku too, she was sure—if at that second, the poachers hadn't sent their own bullets flying at everyone.

As time seemed to slow down to a crawl, Kairi did her best to deflect them all with her Keyblade. And Riku was doing the same thing ...which was enough for the poachers to give up and run away, as they witnessed the two's powers…

But while Kairi didn't think that the thieves were working with Lyle, what they had done was the perfect opportunity to take off with Ursula.

Riku pounded his fist on the ground angrily here. And as pathetic as it was to say, Kairi was completely at a loss on how to comfort him. Maybe because she wasn't entirely sure where his emotions were at here. "Dangit. I thought he was a little like me—and had gotten on the right track, but could be saved—…I was wrong."

"If your choice of action was to try and be someone's hero here, you couldn't have been wrong, friend. In fact, I know what I have to do now," George said, while he patted Riku on the shoulder before heading off in the direction that Lyle had taken Ursula, with Ape right behind him.

"Riku… we need to talk now," Kairi told her friend, as she helped him to his feet. The mulch he'd been sitting on had stained Riku's jeans a slight brown color, that wasn't completely unlike Sora's hair color. Kairi swallowed. "You love Sora, don't you? You seem to think I pushed you away… but you've done that to me, too. Is this why? And what? You wanted to help Lyle because he reminded you of him?"

Riku glared at Kairi. And for the first time she could remember, she found herself almost being afraid of him—and had to take a step back—but the look dissipated just like that, and instead a single tear fell from his eye. "Yeah, Kairi… I do love Sora. Or did. I don't know. I do have some feelings for Naminé now, as you've noticed. I also used to like you… And I wanted to help Lyle, partly because I thought he was like me. But there was a bit of Sora, too… Lyle exudes a gay energy. And I'm sorry… You know I think Sora's completely straight in his love for you, but you've got to admit that he's the same that way. But that failed. So I failed again. But oh well.

"But since we're talking about painful topics here… do you mind telling me what. I did to piss you off so much?"

Kairi did not want to answer this. But she supposed she had no choice, since she had just forced Riku to talk about such painful things.

She wanted to use the excuse that they needed to save Ursula, so she wouldn't have to talk about it… even though Kairi knew in her heart of hearts, that she would be fine. But she didn't, in knowing that she owed Riku and their old bond more than that.

"Riku… you were willing to kill for me. Pinocchio, for instance… You also didn't care what was going to happen to the worlds through Maleficent's plan—and your helping her—as long as it got you me… You also kidnapped Princesses of Heart. But I'm going to shut up now, because I swear I'm not here to read you all your sins. Especially since I probably have you beaten in that category these days. And while I appreciate that you were trying to do that to save me. I also hate that you would have made me an accessory to murder that way. At least I did… And maybe I was somewhat jealous of all the time that you got to spend with Sora lately, that I didn't. I don't know."

Kairi crossed her arms over her chest here, feeling very uncomfortable. She was even about to go hide in the treehouse, if she needed to. But Riku startled her just as Ava had, when he was suddenly before her and kissed her on the cheek—but almost on the lips, and maybe that had even been his intention—and somehow, she thought everything that had just happened between them was exactly what had needed to transpire to make them good with each other again.

"There, Kairi. Was us treating each other siblings again really that hard?"

Kairi laughed. Because even though she got where Riku was coming from—he had only kissed her cheek, after the two of them had spilled their hearts out about their romantic love for Sora, essentially—siblings didn't almost kiss each other on the lips… and not after they admitted they'd once had feelings for each other. And yes, Kairi had had feelings for Riku for a hot second, long ago. So this probably was the perfect closure that they'd needed.

"No, Riku. I guess it wasn't."

And feeling as though he was the wing beneath her wings, Kairi glided towards a waterfall nearby, where it looked like Lyle still had Ursula kept hostage. And she landed on the boat to free her from it… only to realize that George had Ursula in his arms on the cliff above them, and Lyle had just said his vows to Ape, who was now kissing him.

Her work here was done… Kairi let herself fall back into the water, and float away—feeling completely blissed out for the moment.

…

Things happened pretty fast after that. George and Ursula were getting married, of course… and they were doing so here.

Ursula's family—and maybe even her friends—were flying out to witness it. And Kairi and Riku decided to stay for it, after they were asked to.

And Kairi agreed pretty easily. She knew, not that long ago, she'd somewhat regretted staying in the Caribbean so long, when Sora needed them. And she'd even been afraid that the Restoration Committee would hate her for that choice. But now she realized just how self-absorbed that sentiment had been. This was all part of the journey to find Sora, after all. So, of course, she would stay for her new friends on their day. How often had Sora got distracted on his adventures?

So, a few days later, everyone was having a grand old time. Kairi was even nearly convincing Ursula's mother to give the pair a chance… though the alcohol she was encouraging the older woman to drink might have been a large part of that.

Speaking of, RIku—who said he was almost eighteen now—had decided to try some champagne, and had quickly fallen in love. He was even offering to sing a song for the married couple now, so Kairi knew he must have been a little tipsy.

But of course, when things would start to feel alright again… they would all fall to pieces.

Kairi saw the Master of Masters standing a ways away from her now—in a more secluded part of the forest—and Kairi found herself going to him, as if she were a puppet on a string.

"Have you again taken a break from looking for Sora? You disappoint me, Kairi."

Kairi summoned her Keyblade to hand, but it was different from Destiny's Embrace this time as she'd put a Keychain on it. A Keychain from this world, that turned the teeth into a groom and bride from a wedding cake: probably because there had been so much romance here.

"Yeah, well… I'm sorry to disappoint. Actually, I'm not. I will find Sora—though I don't know why you would want me to, since he's your enemy who will undo all your plans—but I'm not going to lose myself to do it. Not when you apparently want me to be angry for some reason."

"…Even though, more than once, he's completely lost himself for you."

And despite everything that Kairi had just promised herself, she found herself attacking the Master of Masters for this, as she screamed.

No doubt, she was inviting a lot of attention her way—on George and Ursula's happiest of days—but she hoped that no one would come after her… that the music would drown this out, because they all deserved to be happy. She would deal with this mess herself.

He summoned Xehanort's disgusting Keyblade, because of course he did, and sent an "X" bathed in fire her way, but Kairi was quick to jump over it.

She then sent her light Pearl attack—though actually created from real pearls: an impressive technique that she'd recently taught herself—at the Master's face, but he dodged by doing a backflip out of the way.

Once the man was on his feet again, he kicked at Kairi's legs and she was ashamed to admit that he actually knocked her down.

He had his Keyblade poised over her head then, but before he could decapitate her with it—or whatever he might have planned to do—Kairi grabbed his arm with all her strength, so he couldn't move it. Much like Xion had done to save Axel from Xemnas' ethereal blades.

"Why are you even here?!" Kairi growled. "You already sent your Ava after me here. I thought only one minion per world would bother me."

"…Because this isn't some perfect little story, Kairi. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

And before Kairi could react, the man slammed his Keyblade down on the pressure point of her neck so that she passed out… And when she woke up, she found he hadn't done anything to her. Hadn't kidnapped her, as a Princess of Heart, to further his goals or anything. And somehow… that was the biggest insult of all.

What? Had he beaten her in a fight just to humiliate her?

And as Kairi became furious at that notion, she expected her insanity to come back in full-swing… but it didn't. Kairi's mind felt sane. And that horrified her more than anything. Would her new strength be gone if her mind worked right again?

In her hoodie, Pip had laid his paws on Kairi's shoulder—clearly trying to keep her from going over the edge—but she didn't want him to be.

She wanted to fall… in this happy world, or no.

Author's Note: This chapter gave me fits, so that's why it took me so long to finish and post. I'm sorry about that:(

I always wanted this world in here. Partly because, so far, the worlds Kairi have gone to are somewhat similar to Sora's ones from KH1. Enchanted was two worlds (Andalasia and New York) like Wonderland is (Wonderland and England), the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are full of Greek mythology like Hercules is. And now George of the Jungle is clearly a lot like Deep Jungle/Tarzan.

But then when I decided that Kairi and Riku would believe that Sora is in a data world… I didn't know if this would fit, because would it still seem like filler? I thought about skipping this world altogether, but in the end I'm glad I didn't. And I hope you all feel the same way, too.

Another issue I had, is that this movie is mostly comedic and this story… is not. Hopefully I struck some sort of balance here, but IDK.

I almost feel like there should have been more dialogue and stuff from the George of the Jungle characters here—and more George—but whatever. This chapter is finally done, and I'm glad about it.

…I feel like there was a lot I wanted to say here, but now I kind of forget. If I remember, I might add on.

Ben is from the Disney Channel Original Movie "Smart House". Originally, I was going to have FFX-2!Yuna to somewhat beware Kairi of chasing dreams… but then I realized that that didn't work for obvious reasons, so Ben it became.

Oh. And since Re:Mind isn't canon to this story, I tried to have everyone looking for Sora in ways that they aren't in canon… though Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are doing what Kairi is in Melody of Memory. Haha.

And I'm sorry if there are a ton of mistakes here (though hopefully there aren't). I rewrote most of this… and am too lazy to go back and reread those sections. So, yeah.

Welp, see you all soon. I hope.

I hope everyone's having a great October thus far!

Edit: I'm also going with that Destiny Islands didn't have bananas here. So shh.

Edit 2: I swear there isn't going to be a lot of time travel in this, if any more at all. It was only "there" last time-though not even that-because I wanted Kairi and Riku to be in Dead Men Tell No Tales. And while it's sooooooooooooooooomewhat story important here, I mostly did it to try and spice up this comedic movie some. Yeah.

Edit 3: Kairi defending her virginity with a hairbrush is a reference to sunflowerb on fanfiction's amazing "Smile and Nod" story.

[baidar-oroq]

23-Shuffle

(The Rising Stones, Mor Dhona)

Thancred watched as Urianger laid his cards out again on the table in front of him for the fourth time in the last half hour, closed his eyes, and selected one with an extravagant gesture before replacing it and shuffling the deck again. 

It made for something remotely resembling entertainment while he waited for Y’shtola to finish imbuing cartridges with aether for his gunblade, but as an application for an astrologian Thancred had wondered about its practical use. He crossed his arms over his chest as Urianger laid the cards out again and yet again selected one, looking at it with satisfaction before replacing it and re-shuffling the deck for a fifth time. “You would have a fine career at the Gold Saucer dealing cards if we ever find the world at peace, you know,” he pointed out. That drew a modest and entirely unmuffled snort of laughter from Y’shtola. 

“‘Tis not for gambling that I assay such maneuvers,” Urianger replied, laying out the cards again. “In times of direst strife, being able to locate the correct card for the situation is of utmost importance. One doth not have the time to search in battle, after all.”

“Ahhh, I see. And the dramatic poses as you do?” 

Urianger selected another card again, looked at it, nodded, and then reshuffled the deck again. “Allow me the rarest of moments of vanity, Thancred.” 

“You think it looks dashing,” Thancred replied. 

Urianger’s reply was interrupted by the chime of Thancred’s linkshell, and he raised a finger and said “Hold that thought,” as he answered.”Yes?” He frowned as he listened. “Baidar? Were you trying to get a hold of Y’shtola?”

“For once, no, I didn’t call the wrong person. Got Alisaie the first time, she was...amused. No. Actually, I have a problem down here in Vesper Bay and it seems more up your alley than mine.”

“Is this about your investigation for the Ironworks? Y’shtola told us what you were doing.” 

“Oh, yeah, it is. Dug into it and turns out that the shipment that was stolen had been stolen by Garlean soldiers.” 

Thancred blinked. “I’m sorry, did you say Garleans?” Urianger looked up from his cards, while Y’shtola finished imbuing a cartridge and frowned. 

“Yeah. We were questioning the clerk that allowed the theft and he said he’d been hired by someone named Servius pyr Verrus. Shortly after that, we got jumped by three Garlean soldiers. LIkely left behind to kill the clerk if he ratted them out. Had to kill them, they were shooting first and not even bothering to ask questions.” 

“A Garlean cell active in Vesper Bay? That’s decidedly bad news. What do you need from me?”

“Your expertise. I was in Othard for most of the Ala Mhigan war, and you spent your time infiltrating Garlean bases. Not going to lie, I’m over my head dealing with military intelligence matters.”

Y’shtola threw him the bag of imbued rounds, which he caught one handed, having anticipated what was coming next. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, then. See what I can bring to the table. Keep your eyes open.” 

“Generally do. See you soon.”

Thancred disconnected and looked at Y’shtola. “Your boyfriend has a knack for finding trouble, you know that?”

“He’s a Warrior of Light, Thancred. Trouble finds him well enough on its own..” 

“He was right to call me, though. I’ll notify you if things are really out of hand.” He walked past Urianger and patted him on the shoulder. “Keep practicing, Urianger.”

Urianger’s expression was best described as sour.

(Vesper Bay, later that day.)

Thancred found Baidar and Darya, along with another Viera woman who was clearly keeping an eye on a lalafell that he recognized as a worker at one of the local warehouses, beside a charred and burned wagon. In front of them in pools of dried blood were three bodies, covered by burlap sacks. A  few of the locals were ringing the scene, talking among themselves in whispers that increased as he arrived. “Hey Thancred,” Baidar called. “Thanks for coming.”

“Garleans active in our old home base, I wasn’t about to miss that. Darya, was the wagon your work?” She nodded. “I see Y’shtola is teaching you well then. And who might this beauty be?” 

He had directed this at the other Viera, but she nudged the lalafell with her toe and said “This would be the source of your problems, Jajariku. I’m Mist.” 

Thancred knew when a flirt had failed to land properly. “Well played, ma’am.” He knelt by the nearest body and pulled the burlap from it, examining the remains. “Hmm. Definitely the uniform of the XIIth Legion, though they’ve removed their insignia. Fairly typical of Garlean soldiers when they’re on deep penetration missions into enemy territory. Can’t hide their origin, but if all we’re left with is bodies like this we have no idea of their rank or much anything else.” He searched the pockets and came out with a coin purse, opening it. “Local currency, stamped in Ul’dah, generally used. They’d been operating behind lines for a while then. Long enough to have exchanged coin here. Has the feel of being here for a time.” “In Vesper Bay?” Baidar asked, scowling. 

Thancred dropped the purse on the body, covering it up with burlap again. He brushed his hands off and stood. “Vesper Bay, unlikely. No doubt the XIIth learned of the location of the Waking Sands from the XIVth Legion, which is why even after we relocated-and we Scions who were scattered after that unfortunate business with the Sultana returned-we kept an eye out for them. Raubhan had been doing it for a while, and after he decided to stay in Ala Mhigo that passed on to Pipin. No, this unit was likely operating in Western Thanalan and their presence here was a more recent thing.” He looked down at Jajariku, who was moving nervously from foot to foot, likely expecting the Garleans to try to kill him again. “You said someone calling himself Servius pyr Verrus contacted you?” 

The lalafell blew out a long breath. “Yeah. Biggest fucking mistake of my life. Told me to keep an eye out on any military shipments, or magitek, or Ironworks shit, and arrange for him to get a hand on it.”

“Hmm. If I had to wager a guess, this pyr Verrus was assigned to mapping Alliance supply lines during the Ala Mhigan uprising. Probably contacted a great many people in doing so. Thanalan is rife with people willing to put gil before patriotism, after all. I imagine he had no idea what he was taking, just that it was Ironworks.”

“Could they have, I dunno…” Baidar thought about it for a moment, clearly searching for a term. “Some kind of order to get their hands on Cid’s work?”

Thancred nodded. “Standing orders, most likely. If this was an intelligence unit-if they were spies-they could very well have been told to make acquiring Ironworks technology a priority. Highly likely that this unit has no idea what they stole.” Thancred looked at Baidar. “You haven’t mentioned what was stolen to this upstanding gentleman, have you?” 

Baidar shook his head. “Just what shipment was stolen. Not about to let a thief find out what was taken.”

Thancred smiled. “Very good, Baidar.” He thought about the situation for a moment, arms crossing over his chest as he was wont to. “If they were with the XIIth, odd that they’ve not been recalled by the Empire and are continuing their mission. Didn’t you say the VIIth had taken over on attacking at Ghimlyt Dark, Baidar? With this Weapon Project?” 

“Pretty much. The XIIth basically fell apart after Zenos was defeated and pulled out of Ala Mhigo.” 

“Perhaps the VIIth took over their infiltration operations, then.” Thancred thought about this for a moment. “Unless there was so much chaos when Ala Mhigo fell that this unit was lost, left behind, and they’re just following their most recent orders until they get new ones.” He looked up and noticed Darya was frowning. “Is something troubling you, Darya?”

She started, surprised at being questioned, before she said “I was, uhm. Just thinking, Had an idea, wasn’t sure how valid it was.”

“What were you thinking?” Baidar asked. “Right now you’re having more ideas than I am.”

She brightened at that, as she usually did at Baidar’s attention. As if your personal life isn’t already complicated enough, Baidar, Thancred thought. “Ahh. The idea, the thought I had was...you said that this man was keeping track of shipping to know what Alliance supply routes were?” 

“The Garlean commander, yes.”

She pointed at Jajariku. “Does it seem likely, then, that he’s the only one in the area he used?”

Thancred’s eyes widened, as did Baidar’s. “Oh. Oh, very good, Darya. That does seem highly unlikely. I still have contacts in Ul’dah, of course. Can start asking them. Baidar, would you mind delivering our ambitious clerk to the local authorities? I suspect little will come of it but it is worth a try.” 

“I’ll do it,” Mist said, nudging Jajariku in the back with her knee. “Try to get in the good graces of the locals, maybe get some work out of it.” She started to walk away, but she stopped beside Darya. “Take care of yourself, Darya. Looks like your life is very interesting these days.” She kissed Darya lightly on the lips once, then led Jajariku away.

“I feel,” Thancred said after a moment, “that is going to be an interesting story, whenever you get around to explaining it, Darya.”

Darya could only blush in response.

[latristereina]

On this day in history (June 30, 1478) the long awaited male heir of the Catholic Monarchs, John of Aragon and Castile, was born at Seville.

Now everyone was waiting to see what would happen, a full eight years after she had given birth to Isabella. ‘One single hope for the future shone brightly in the hearts of Castilians, the long-desired delivery of Queen Isabella’s child,’ wrote Palencia, who said Isabella hoped for a son. Ferdinand, conscious that he would soon be king of Aragon, also prayed hard for a son – but he worried more about his wife. ‘As the pregnancy looked as if it might run the danger of a miscarriage, the king was especially anguished, moved by his indescribable love for his wife, preferring above all outcomes that she should emerge safely from the experience.’ Others might have put the birth of a male heir first. Perhaps Ferdinand was frightened by the size of Isabella’s expanding womb and the dangers that pregnancy and childbirth brought to her. A rumour spread that he had ordered the beheading of a man who had joked that the Queen would ‘either give birth or explode’.

- Giles Tremlett, Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen

In March, a letter from an agent of Juan of Aragón to Fernando conveyed a general atmosphere of expectation and the widespread hope that the royal child would be a boy: ‘It is good, Your Excellency, for here is the most grave and grand matter of Spain, and nothing is more necessary or desired.…’ The hope was fulfilled. On the morning of June 30,1478, Isabel gave birth to a son and heir. Present as the child was born was a midwife and, by royal order, numerous courtiers and city officials, for it was a state occasion and there was to be no question that the child was the queen’s. Court and city celebrated for three days and nights. That Isabel’s second child was male crowned the successes of those years and was widely interpreted as a sign from God of his approval, and of yet greater victories to come.

Seville resounded with fiesta. On July 9, the baptismal procession made its way from the palace to the cathedral through thronged streets, the prince nestled in brocade cloth in the arms of his well-born nurse, Maria de Guzmán, the mule she rode flanked by eight councilmen bearing staffs of office and wearing great cloaks of black velvet ‘provided by the city.’ Alvaro de Stúñiga, the late great rebel, walked directly behind. Three of the queen’s pages strode along at the head of the procession. One held a gold jar, another a gold cup; the third, carrying the customary candle, baby cap, and money offering on a tray, was “so small that he bore the tray on his head, holding on to it with both hands.” All the nobles at court accompanied child and nurse, on foot; so did many knights and other people. Silver crosses gleamed above, and trumpets, hornpipes, and sackbutts played ceaselessly.

The prince was baptized Juan in the cathedral, ‘very triumphantly.’ That observation was made within the description of those proceedings by a new chronicler of a new sort, Andrés Bernáldez, a militant Andalusian chaplain much less concerned with political relations, much less critical of anyone both orthodox and powerful than Isabel’s earlier chroniclers could on occasion be; Bernáldez exuded a crusading patriotism. Officiating at the baptism was Seville’s archbishop, Pedro González de Mendoza, chief among courtiers. The godparents were the constable, Benavente, Nicolò Franco, the papal legate, and Leonor de Mendoza, duchess of Medina Sidonia. A second procession, even grander, took place a month later, on August 9, when the queen went ‘to present the prince to the temple as was the custom of Holy Mother Church. She had waited until then as was also customary, for a woman was not to enter a church after childbirth until “being purified of her blood.’ Fernando led the way on a small silver-grey horse. He was opulently regal, wearing heavy brocade lined in gold and trimmed in gold and black velvet, and a broad hat also lined in cloth of gold. (It was sweltering midsummer in Andalusia; little wonder that Fernando reputedly said that all he wished to his enemies were winters in Burgos and summers in Seville.) At the center of that procession rode Isabel, dressed in brocade shimmering with pearls, mounted high upon a white trotter, its saddle of gold encrusted with more gold and with silver. Accompanying her on foot were most of the city’s council and many nobles. The constable, Haro, held the right-hand bridle rein of her horse; Benavente held the rein on her left. The infant prince, again swathed in brocade, also rode, carried by his nurse upon a mule with a saddle of velvet. Musicians kept pace, playing trumpets and hornpipes and many other instruments.

She centered much affection and her dynastic hopes on her son and heir, Juan. She paid great attention to his education and did not stint on his court, his activities, his clothing, and his retinues, nor on his participation in court pageantry and festivities. He was given his own household and there waited upon as befitted a great prince, with exact protocol maintained from rising to retiring. A hierarchy of servants made a ritual of dressing and undressing him; grandes attended him. She attached to his household her own mentors: Gonzalo Chácon, now known as el viejo—the old one—and whose grandson of the same name was one of Juan’s companions, and Gutierre de Cárdenas as Juan’s mayordomo mayor and contador. Juan’s tutor, Diego de Deza, who had taught theology at Salamanca, was a nephew of yet another of her longtime comptrollers, Rodrigo de Ulloa. She arranged her son’s daily routine. Each morning there were prayers with Deza, then mass, then lessons. Since Juan particularly enjoyed music, she would often send to him during his daily two-hour rest period her music master and four or five choirboys, and he would sing with them, tenor. He was given his own musicians as well and he owned and played a number of instruments, among them the first Spanish claviorgano, a combination of organ and plucked string instrument, made by one Mofévrez, a Muslim grandmaster from Zaragoza; it was a present from his half-brother, young Alfonso de Aragón, archbishop of Zaragoza, Fernando’s son. Yet Juan’s health was always delicate. Isabel had his diet and regimen carefully monitored. Each morning doctors visited and he reported to them on how he had slept, and on his digestion and bodily functions. Münzer, indicating physical disability, wrote of having saluted the prince in Latin and of Juan’s understanding it but ordering Deza to reply for him since, said Münzer, he suffered from a weakness of the lower lip and tongue that impeded his answering plainly. Isabel spoke of her son as ‘my angel’, and had him sent treats considered good for digestion: strawberry conserves, lemon blossom candies, other sugared sweets, and jars of quincemeat from what she referred to as ‘Valencia del Cid.’ Juan’s upbringing tells a good deal about Isabel. One of his pages later recalled that in his education the queen had cared as much for letters as for other abilities and, above all, for virtue. Manly virtue included proficiency in arms. Juan was given a master of arms, and the prince slept with a sword at the head of his bed and was instructed in its use. His father had knighted him before Granada. His mother had even earlier provided as companions for him ten knights, five mature, five young, ‘a species of colegio.’ One, who had fought at Granada, dedicated to the boy a translation into Castilian of Caesar’s commentaries, avowedly to convey that arms would not benefit him without good counsel. Juan corresponded with the humanist Marineo Sículo and with the poet Juan del Encina, who adjudged him as learned in sciencia as in empire. Juan was, that is, raised in the atmosphere then permeating the royal court and compounded of a fervent and militant piety, a resurgent chivalry, and a rising vogue for humanistic classicism. Isabel gave much thought to Juan’s education, designing what she conceived to be the ideal upbringing for a Christian prince. She followed principles akin to those of the Siete Partidas and the mirrors of princes as though glossed by current usages and humanist studies, but their essential base and hers was orthodox religion. That unusual attention to his education and her ideas about what constituted it were reflected in a treatise written by a courtier close to her, Alonso Ortiz. Ortiz composed the work as a dialogue between the queen and Cardinal Mendoza. Surely echoing her own concerns, the principal question the treatise raised was how to achieve the spiritual health of the prince; the answer it gave was through learning good habits in childhood. In that treatise, Mendoza presents a highly traditional Christian rationale with some humanistic overlay. Thus he cites a Christian Platonist and somewhat Pythagorean understanding of purification in stating that the stars incline us and the wiles of the demons push us toward vices, that original sin infected everyone, corrupting the flesh and weighing on the soul; that the flesh submitted to the influence of the stars but the will remained free, subject only to God, yet needed instruction in order to gain wisdom. Training in will power, he explained, would develop natural abilities and correct bad inclinations; it could purify. Accordingly, he advised an education consonant with the stages advocated by Plato and Aristotle, an education leading to virtue both moral and intellectual, and so to the happy mean. Virtue and vice he declared within human power, life a pilgrimage toward blessedness and bliss, toward the eternal life of which Saint John speaks. That dialogue was itself a guide for a prince’s education, as it simply assumed much of what such guides had heretofore customarily stated, that the monarch’s spiritual health was the same as the common good. Taking for granted the importance of the prince, it concentrated on this specific prince’s personal development in wisdom, justice, moral qualities, and high character. In passing it revealed a good deal about humanistic education as understood at the Spanish court in the 1490s.

- Peggy K. Liss, Isabel the Queen: Life and Times