#if they are destined to die why not let them die after the battle

[zephyrins]

The saddest part of the final boss is that summoning Thiollier and Ansbach makes the fight only more difficult.

They are too squishy, don't do much damage, and usually die during early phase two, but the boss with them has more health. Even if they are designed to die and say their lines, I cannot read what they're saying because I'm too focused not to miss a hit

I love summoning NPCs, it makes the world feel less empty and gives me a moment to breathe, but in this case, I defeated the boss only by NOT summoning these two

[powdermelonkeg]

But Mystra WASNT right to ask Gale to kill himself. She still told a guy who cared about her "hey. if you love me, destroy yourself for me"

You're right, she did do that. And that's horrible, and shows exactly how little value she places on Gale's life.

And that's the point. She thinks she's in the right. She thinks hurting him is worth everything else she would take out in the process. She thinks she's giving him the best option.

It's very hard, from a mortal perspective, to picture how the gods see things. You can throw analogy after analogy before them to try to comprehend it, but in the end, the gods have power on such a scale that we, as readers and players, do not have an equivalent answer to compare them to.

What we bring to the table, through Tav, is that mortal perspective: we don't care about the greater good of preserving Faerûn's Weave. We don't care about the grand battle between Shar and Selûne that's lasted since the beginning of time. We don't care about the balance of life and death. We're so far beneath eternity-spanning events like that that the here and now are what we care about most.

And that's what the Origins need most. That's what Gale needs most.

Mystra's perspective, what goes on in her head, is a measured, calculated list of facts, weighed against each other:

Gale would do anything for her.

Gale possesses a weapon that needs to be destroyed.

Gale is going to die of that weapon without divine intervention.

The Dead Three are a threat.

The Dead Three have Karsus' crown.

The Dead Three could kill her again.

The scope of her power is such that a single mortal life is worth very little. Ketheric was onto something when he said "We are copper pieces in their belts. Tokens to be traded for scraps." Because that's what Mystra's doing, isn't it? She's cashing in on Gale's devotion to her.

Mystra sees a problem. She realizes she holds the solution. She thinks she's making it right by offering eternity. She fancies herself as being patient and kind by letting that solution choose to work for her.

That's the divine perspective.

The mortal perspective, the perspective that matters most, is best summed up by two lines of Gale and Mystra's conversation in the Stormshore Tabernacle:

Mystra: You discovered what lies at the Heart of the Absolute—the Crown of Karsus—and you disobeyed my instruction. Why?

Gale: Because you had no right to ask that of me!

She didn't. She doesn't.

The divine perspective is the one that lacks love. It lacks the ability to see value in a person, for being a person. It quantifies what worth something has by what it can do for you. And it is dangerous, because it cannot be told it is wrong.

Gale and Mystra were always an unbalanced relationship. When he was young, she was his teacher: she knew things he didn't, withheld them until he was ready to learn them, and directly controlled his interaction with her craft.

When she was his muse, she was the font of his creativity. He made things in her name, for little but attention in return. He gave, and gave, and was wholly devoted to her. Such is the nature of gods that it's foolish to expect them to give back to you at all.

And then she was his lover. And she was untouchable. She cannot be told "no" definitively; the only guarantee that she'll adhere to a "no" is her own personal moral code, or lingering admiration for the person who says it. She can't give herself to someone. She can spend time with them, but she can never give equally. She is a god. She exists to be served.

Gale's life, before the tadpole, was defined by Mystra. He was destined for greatness, spoke personally with Elminster, wielded the Blackstaff—and yet, he says he had no friends, and few colleagues. He's had mortal lovers, but they barely get a footnote in the story of his life. His social circle was "the size of a pinhead."

Mystra, by nature of being a god, intentionally or not, isolated Gale from his peers. You could argue any number of reasons why—my own personal bet being that he was so enamored with her that everyone else fell to the wayside—but he is alone. Even Lorroakan, down in Baldur's Gate, knew about him, and defines him only by nature of his relationship to Mystra.

The nature of gods is that anyone they speak with is now worlds away from anyone once called friends. How do you hold conversations with people when you're everyone at the table's god's favorite?

Mystra's very presence eroded away Gale over time. His friendships suffered. His joy in mortal sides of himself withered. His outlook on his own merits was restricted to what he could do with the magic at his command—did Mystra only see value in that, or did his peers and former lovers only care for what she gifted him? Both are likely. Especially with this line in his romance: "To know you love me for the man I am, and not the magic I command—none have loved me so purely."

And that isolation tore him open after his claim of the Netherese Orb, because he locked himself in his tower for a year. He didn't have those connections to reach out and ask for help, because being a god's lover burned that all away.

And then, after silence, after her fury leading to his terrified misery, after he thinks he's going to die any day, she comes in with a double-edged sword, putting the Orb to rest, at last, while telling him to fall to it anyway. The power imbalance is on full display, here: her expectations are so unrealistic that it will destroy him, in the name of forgiveness. If he loves her, he should give everything for her.

And he is going to do it.

There's such a tangled mess of emotions that explode from that.

She stabilized him. She could have done that whenever. She didn't, because it didn't serve her needs.

A year of silence, Gale thinking she'd taken everything from him and Mystra not caring enough to explain otherwise, and the first thing she says is die.

He's a pawn. Literally. She wants him to go to the other side of the board and trade his life for the winning move.

He doesn't want to die. But he's terrified that that's what's best for the world.

The divine perspective is that he gets what he deserves. The divine perspective is that she's being merciful, because she's giving him a home afterwards with her.

The mortal perspective is that she's cruel. That this is cruel. That Gale is only worth what he can give to her. That his death is more useful than his life. That ending that beautiful man with all his wants, and hopes, and dreams, at the drop of a pin, is nothing to her.

If you explode Gale at Moonrise, the Sword Coast falls to the Mindflayers. Mystra is a god, she can see that outcome. But she is a god of magic, and as such, it's not her problem. Her problem has been dealt with.

Let me go back to Withers' question:

Withers: And so, I ask again: what is the worth of a single mortal life?

Tav: Each life is of infinite value and merits sacrificing everything for.

Withers: And thus, balance is achieved.

Mystra cannot answer this question correctly. A single mortal life could never be worth the sacrifice in her eyes. She uses people as a means to an end, because the ends justify the means retroactively to her. Dornal Silverhand's suffering and Elué Silverhand's death begot her seven powerful Chosen. Two people for the wellbeing of many. She'll continue to use people like this, because that's what she is. That's what godhood entails.

Gale could likely answer this question properly, though not act on it perfectly. If his Netherese blight could save people, even if it's terrifying, he would blow himself up. He has to be talked down from it. He doesn't realize that he is one of those lives of infinite value.

What about God Gale? Can he answer it?

Of course not. He wouldn't sacrifice his godhood to come back home to mortality. He looks down on mortal life. He thinks he's above it. He, a newly minted god, is a perfect window into the basis of how gods perceive things.

Mystra asking Gale to kill himself betrays her lack of value in him as a person. Like God Gale, she looks down on mortality, just much, much more subtly. He's a means to an end. All mortals are.

Pawn to Cleric Four.

[sickeninglyshoujo]

God you’re gonna hate me for this thought but after reading dad!simon all I kept thinking was

What if the daughter did die? Like id imagine reader being fuckin PISSED and kinda being closed off with Simon cus she didn’t want her daughter being in the army and Simon wasn’t hearing her concerns

oh

oh i do hate you

but i had to write it

teared up twice writing it and said i cant cry tonight about this

part 1 - dad!simon

word count: 750

warnings: death, grief

buy me a ko-fi

They brought your daughter home in a plain pine box.

They wouldn’t let you see her no matter how you wept and tore at the lid that had been nailed tightly shut.

“Just let me see my baby, I need to make sure it’s her…Let me see her just once please…” You cried to her C.O. The man gave a pained look above your shoulder at your husband, ever your shadow, who took his silent plea and wrapped his hands around your shoulders and pulled you into his chest.

He didn’t know you could scream like that.

The days immediately after the funeral are the worst. You sit in the kitchen chair where you woodenly placed yourself after returning from the graveyard. Your eyes stare into the air in the space in front of you, unfocused and unseeing.

The kitchen hurts the most.

This was where you had so many family dinners, first with your messy baby in her high chair, a headstrong toddler demanding her own utensils, a gap-toothed child rolling her eyes at her parent’s sneaking kisses over lasagna, a moody pre-teen who insisted that she be allowed to go to base with Simon, a teenager too pretty for her own good asking her father about his time spent in the field.

You knew it was a matter of time. She took after her father more than you. When you argued with her, it was like staring into your husband’s face. Quiet determination and a total lack of regard for anything except their motives.

At 18, she enlisted. She laughed at your worried frown as her father clapped her on the back and shook her hand, “Welcome, Recruit.”

Her training with the SAS was supplemented by her father, making her truly a force to be reckoned with when put against her fellow recruits. She began bragging to you on her phone calls home, telling you all about how she planted the men flat on their asses in sparring!

Then she was no longer a recruit, but a fully enlisted member being sent onto missions with real gunfire and real danger.

You had never been one quick to prayer, even when Simon was in the service but that changed when your daughter started getting sent all over the globe in order to serve her country, until she makes one final journey home.

Simon stops eating at the table. He can’t bear to watch you sit there, eyes staring into nothing. Any words his mouth could form wouldn’t fix this. How he groomed your daughter for military duty from the cradle. Which of those trips to base was the one that had lit the spark that destined her for service? Was it one too many war stories told to her in the cradle when he was explaining where he had been? Why he hadn’t heard her first words, but that he was here now and ready to hear her talk his ear off.

You start to slowly leave the kitchen table: Perching yourself on the sofa in the living room, watching the corner she usually sat in.

Simon stops sitting in his recliner, opting instead for his office. He can’t watch you stare at the empty seat even if he had been doing the same.

It comes to a head nearly a month after her burial.

“Why can’t you look at me Simon!”

His head whips around, you hadn’t spoken much for weeks and now you were yelling at him, just this side of hysteria.

“I lost my daughter and now my husband can’t even look at me! I’m hurting Simon! I never wanted her to enlist, but you had to play war hero! You always had to be her hero and now she’s gone Si! She’s gone and I’m losing you at the same time!” Your tears are overflowing now, you’re swiping at your eyes and trying to not let them travel down your cheeks in a losing battle.

Simon’s mouth is agape, “Dove, I-”

“Don’t ‘Dove’ me! You haven’t talked to me Simon! You haven’t held me! You haven’t tried to tell me it’ll be ok and that we’ll get through this! We haven’t even slept in the same fucking bed together Simon!”

He had hoped you wouldn’t notice how he had opted for the uncomfortable loveseat hidden in his office. He had hoped you were too lost in your thoughts and grief to notice.

“Simon I can’t do this with you if you won’t help me. I need a break. I’m living with two ghosts now.”

[gortashs-skidmark]

There are many brilliant ideas about Gortash and Durge. I would like to point some out below. Not all are mine.

HEADCANONS -

!! Some bulletpoints were taken from sources, from Gortash Fanficition. I have highlight the ones I know I got from fanfiction, I’ve linked all original source posts !! READ PLS !!

!! I do not want to be a plagiarist! if it's your fanfic, pls let me know if it makes you uncomfortable and I will remove it !!

*Orange means it's canon

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

The way Durge and Gortash know their doom is inevitable, but it was nice while it lasted trope.

<3

Durge’s Prayers to Bhaal for forgiveness: Every time durgetash do the nasty, Durge whispers little prayer of forgiveness to their god.

<3 found reference!

Durge is the “good child” out of Bhaal’s children. Which means they have an image to keep up, and keep up with Bhaal’s plans. They’re under constant stress and fear from their father. Treating him like a father and God gets tough.

<3

Gale’s line “with you, I forget my goddess” I love the idea of applying that to Durgetash: “You scare me. You make me feel like an individual, not like the spawn I am destined to be. I should not see you as an equal or take your companionship. But when I’m with you, I forget my god.” Something along those lines.

<3 found reference!

Durge is a fierce maniac but in no way competitive. I think there’s a laziness Durge and Gortash share. Unkempt. Uninterested in competition. Gortash just makes them an employee instead of killing them.

I love the idea Ketheric is just done with their bs. They’re two reasonable individuals but little giggly school girls in love at a catholic boarding house.

This headcanon is shared across Durge lovers! I will add one example but it is not unknown across the community!

<3 example!

Durge has personality. Scared to lose the rest of themself but scared to indulge when they’re with Enver. On one hand- handsome tyrant who wants to rules the world with them and peepaw. The other- fulfilling the worlds suffering for their father. Do they want either outcome. Durge’s neutral is to feel bittersweet or somber. (Or carnal damning lust)

When Durge has all those holes poked in their brain, and they’re with their travelling companions. They get nauseous after battle, they gotta sit down for a few. Sickened with themselves, or, feeling too much lust at once. Gale doesn’t ask why they need a rest, his knees need a break.

Durge has unusually soft spots on their skin. Made from Bhaal’s balls. Or from Bhaal’s inner arms, like the inner bicep or forearm. Soft and plush, possibly looser, where the skin is tougher. “He made me in his own image” fucked up kinda stuff.

Durge doesn’t harm Gortash. “When I like something I keep it good condition, I cherish it, I hone it, I keep it polished”

Durge is a clean person. Sloppy perhaps but their room is made up of minimalist decorations. A bookshelf and a small desk. They sleep on the softest fluffiest bed, anything to try and sleep as an insomniac. Bottles of empty angelic sleeping potions around the bed and on the side tables. They make their room up themselves. Some part of them wished they could share as much personality as their room does, so openly.

Durge has a hobby. Only hinted to those who are close. Cooking, cleaning, knitting, whatever you like. But it’s not something they share so much. They might comment on the poor stitching quality at Carmen’s Garms. Or how the fishermen on the docks will lie about the cod being sea bass, only a real cook would know.

Durge did/does temple services. I think they said that in the game. Lead everything. But also the Bhaalists are LAZY AS FUCK. And the Bhaalspawn spends hours cleaning the alter and other parts of the temple. The blood and guts and possible diseases?? Bhaalists def die off from blood diseases.

Being a Bhaalist means that it’s about the number of kills and the suffering of their victims, something Sarevok prefaced in game. Durge takes a different stance, placebo-ing themselves so they only kill a small number to last for awhile without blacking out and losing control. Like “I killed them in a manner I haven’t before- I’ll take satisfaction in their unique death more than usual”- spiraling and trying to make up for their guilt. OCD behavior.

Sarevok and Durge are toxic besties. Sarevok hates Durge but Durge comes back bc they’re lonely and need friends to relate to. Until Gortash.

Durge takes a liking to the Intellect Devourers before their fall- that special one named “Us”. Their brief interaction on the Nautiloid Ship when they lose their memories, Us was something they felt connected to. Adored it like a puppy. They feel a sense of incredible loss when they wake up on the beach without Us. But why? It’s a nasty brain with scaly claws, they shouldn’t feel sad.

[ant111fragile]

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii. Ok let me introduce myself. my name is seri. I’m a master shifter and my main destinations are different points in history. I have no idea why history isn’t more popular in the shifting community. Like the things I’ve experienced first hand are amazing. Like I’ve seen things with my own eyes that we learn about in history textbooks. It’s the most amazing experience. I’ve been to alot of drs too like hogwarts, mcu, fame, love dr, avatar and so many more but nothing compares to seeing our worlds history for myself.

Some of my fave times I’ve been too: ( I changed my gender to a boy for most of these drs because I wouldn’t be able to experience it properly as a woman because of the time periods and I didn’t want to change history )

The making of the pyramids

Cleopatras ruling

King Tutankhamen

The making of the Great Wall of China

The first man to land on the moon ( I scripted I was a part of crew for the mission )

Queen Elizabeth the firsts ruling

The independence of America

The battle of Hastings

Ancient Greek

Ancient Rome

Seeing the Mona Lisa being made

Meeting Vincent Van Gogh

The Black Death ( I didn’t go to see people die I lived as a part of the government cause I always wanted to know how they tried to deal with it. There was so much panic )

Seeing Martin Luther kind jr give his “ I have a dream” speech in person

The crowning of queen elizabeth the seconds coronation

Meeting William Shakespeare

The Christmas truce

Pompeii before it way destroyed ( it was beautiful )

Seeing the 7 wonders of the ancient world

Hanging garden of babylon

Seeing ancient structures when they were actually In use ( the colosseum, temple of Hera, so many more I can’t even list )

Getting the great honour to learn kalaripayattu in ancient India

And genuinely just getting to live life seeing these people go about their own lives. Beautiful

I’m not going to list anymore cause there so many but I have experienced the beginning of the first humans millions of years ago to the making of the I phone. I am so honoured I get to experience these events and meet the people in the stories we learn. It’s crazy because to us it’s this amazing history we can only imagine but to them it’s just life. They no nothing else. They don’t know how truely incredible they are in our history. I can’t wait to experience more. Maybe one day I’ll even go into the future. Who knows.

Also something else I did was meet Van Gogh and take him to the dr future to the Van Gogh museum so he can see he wasn’t a failure. So he could see he made it. I took this idea after watching doctor who and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I still get chills. To see this man who died thinking he was nothing getting to see a the future where he is known as one of the greatest artists of all time. My favorite shifting experience ever

Woooaaahhhh!! That's like suppoerr cooll!! I'm so happy for you and that is such a cool idea ajajajsk😭❣️

[ryin-silverfish]

The FSYY Drinking Game

In case you actually want to read Investiture of the Gods, and need something to help you endure the monotony.

Take a sip whenever someone says it was all Fated to Happen/Heaven's Will.

Take a sip whenever King Zhou cannot control his simp behavior and goes after a woman he really shouldn't be courting.

Take a sip whenever his officials try to make him see reason with a lengthy, boring speech.

Take two sips if the official in question meets a gruesome end.

Take three sips if it's via Daji's suggestion.

Take a sip for every pre-battle speech where one side decries their opponents as unfilial/honorless traitor scum, and the other side responds with extensive justification about why their rebellion is totally righteous and not violating any anachronistic Neo-Confucian moral standards.

Take a sip for every description of cannonballs fired in fantasy 11th century BCE China.

Take a sip every time a character blames all the problems on those wicked, wicked women.

Take a sip whenever someone gets killed and is instantly resurrected via Daoist magic.

Take two sips if that "someone" is Jiang Ziya.

Take a sip whenever someone has to get through That One Pass, and is blocked by an enemy general.

Take a sip whenever someone goes against their masters' instructions, with disastrous results.

Take two sips if they suggest those results themselves, in the format of "If I do X, then let Horrible Thing Y be my rightful punishment!"

Take a sip whenever a new foe is here because of Shen Gongbao.

Take a sip for every formation built by Jie Sect Daoists, because this time it's gotta work, right?

Take a sip whenever a Jie Daoist shows up to avenge their friends/family/sectmates.

Take a sip whenever Yang Jian survives something that would've killed any other characters, because his Ninefold Mystics power is just that OP.

Take a sip every time Yang Jian acts as the Chan/Zhou faction's errand boy and goes to an immortal's abode to ask for their aid.

Take a sip every time Yang Jian's dog takes a bite out of someone.

Take a sip for every magical treasure/spell that sucks people and things in, literally.

Take a sip for every treasure/spell/ritual that rips someone's souls out of their body.

Take two sips if they try to use it on Nezha, and he's not affected by virtue of being made of plants.

Take a sip every time someone tries to destroy Xi Qi, the Zhou dynasty capital, via magical means.

Take a sip whenever someone is about to finish off a foe, only for a Western Sect guy to show up, say they were "destined for the West", and whisk them away like Pokemons.

Take a sip whenever the novel suggests that popular Buddhist deities are all just Daoist sages in trenchcoats.

Take a sip whenever a named character shows up, only to die and be deified seconds later.

Nope, don't take a sip for every soul sent into the Investiture. You'll quickly die of alcohol poisoning, and we already know there's 365 of them, which kinda defeats the whole point of a drinking game.

Do take a sip if the job they end up getting in the Celestial Bureaucracy is especially absurd or comedic——for example, King Zhou being deified as a minor star of romance.

(By the time you are done, your liver would probably look like King Zhou's Pool of Wine.)

(Please don't take this seriously, you don't get deified for drinking yourself to death IRL.)

[djpachipikachu]

SONGS THAT U RELATE TO UR ITERATION . pls . blinking at u .

FOAMS AT THE MOUTH OH GOD SO MANY

definitely the biggest one for the tmnt themselves is “little soldiers” by the crane wives

its difficult to explain in detail Why but a lot of the tmnt’s story in uuau is the fact that their entire existence was doomed from the start , no matter how they used to hold hands when walking through crowded streets so they wouldnt lose each other, no matter how they understood they were the Only mutants around (plus their mom, splinter) so they had to stay together, In The End , one of them becomes their enemy, and they are almost destined to die together because love wasnt enough when they were younger

a song for the general energy of the story however would be “empire now” by hozier !

bc usagi comes from the Future, where the earth had survived a world-ending war, he goes back and fights in the very war that ended everything and created his home ! also the sun is a very important motif in the story , seen as both creator of the new world and destroyer of the old, lots of duality in its power 🫡🫡and this song jusy sounds like a rly epic amv tbh

anddd here are songs for some of the tmnt (plus usagi) that i think represent them very well

usagi:

usagi knows what happens eventually with the war but he keeps fighting the losing battle anyways bc of ? blind hope ? devotion ? having nothing else left to live for since his home wasnt smth he had anymore ? who knows

(i dont have a good singular song for leo whoops)

donnie:

after the 4 turtle brothers went down to 3 , donnie didnt cope well lol ,,, hes emotionally neglected like severely . youngest child moment🤪🤪

(i also dont have a good one for raph whomp whomp)

mikey:

dont mistake the amount of attention to mikey for favoritism i hate this guy and im not explaining his songs but if you do listen to them um . Hope his character becomes more understood

and “army dreamers” is also rly good for this iteration

trying not to spoil much about this iteration but also its kinda impossible to spoil anything bc there is So Much LMAO

[firelightmuse]

8. What do they think about romantic love? Do they have baggage surrounding it? Do they idealize it? Is it an object of longing and wanting, or were they really not thinking about it until they started falling for the other character? What are their expectations like?

I would be especially interested in your headcanons for Zenos on this subject!

Ohhhh very good question!!! I’ll try to tackle it from both of their perspectives.

Yume: For Yume, romantic love was something she always dreamed of since she was a little girl, but she thought it was unattainable for her, as she was always expected to marry for political purposes due to her father being a daimyo and she was destined to follow in his footsteps. After she was banished, she became lost and was in search for a new purpose in her life, and although romance was now more attainable than ever before, she still put it on the back burner. It also was complicated by the fact that she never had found anyone that she was sexually or romantically attracted to, well, until she found herself strangely attracted to Zenos, and more and more so every time she encountered him.

Even after she had recognized that she had a very strange attraction to him, she never thought a relationship would ever be possible, because, well, he was her enemy and he was hell bent on doing whatever it took to fight her again, and she would do her duty as a Scion and kill him if she had to.

But then came the moment when they were both dying at the edge of the universe, and she just couldn’t bring herself to let him die out there alone, not after all that he had done for her. She recognized that in his own way, he had been trying to reach out to her in the only way he knew how, and he had traveled all the way to Ultima Thule, just for her. She didn’t realize it in the moment, but she unconsciously thought that perhaps there was a chance to save his life, to save his broken soul, and that there might be a chance at something more. Perhaps romantic love was possible for her, for Zenos, for them.

Zenos: Keep in mind that I’m still doing my own “research” on Zenos’ characterization, and I’m still trying to evaluate him in order to properly write him as a character in Yume’s story, so this is definitely a work in progress and this characterization is subject to change. That being said…

I believe Zenos would absolutely be on the ace/aro spectrum, and I don’t think he ever put much thought, if any at all, in romantic love for most of his life. He likely read some romance novels in his youth, as I HC that he is extremely well read and he read those books along with everything else in the palace’s library, but he likely just thought that romantic love was either not real, or even if it was real, it didn’t affect him in anyway and paid it no mind whatsoever. He never felt much of anything else besides the pleasure of The Hunt*, and so he ignored the idea of romance altogether.

Whenever Zenos fought Yume, he started feeling pleasure from the thrill of battle with her, and he never gave a thought to what exactly he was feeling besides that it made him feel an overwhelming sense of joy, and he didn’t think he could ever feel that way in his life ever again, hence why he kills himself at the end of 4.0. When he finds himself alive once more, he is driven to fight Yume again, but because he is denied the chance for so long, he begins to feel a sense of longing, a pining for her that he had never experienced before. He recognizes that his feelings for her have become more complex, but because he had never experienced any kind of love before, let alone romantic love, he doesn’t know how to fully comprehend it, let alone express it in a healthy way.

It isn’t until Yume brings him back with her to the Ragnarok following their near death encounter in Ultima Thule and during his long recovery that he wants to figure out why Yume saved his life when it was completely unexpected and, in that moment, unwanted. In his therapy, he begins to realize that what he feels for Yume is romantic love, and that she might feel the same for him, and it takes him quite some time to figure out what that means and what he actually wants in this life that he somehow finds himself living once again.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Thank you so much for the great ask @otherworldseekers!! 🥰💖

[alexlestar]

Jerk Rivals = Just young boys with bad/no family lives

I'll be covering the following "Jerk" Rivals -Blue Oak -Silver -Gideon -Bede -Arven (at first)

Secondly, why do you think they are jerks? What is the one thing all 5 have in common? Shitty or no families. Thirdly I am not covering Carmine since she's more of an "I don't want my home to become a tourist destination," kind of jerk

Let's get into this Blue: In the games (not counting let's go) Oak shows he likes Red more then Blue. When the Professor take you to the lab and Blue say he was sick of waiting, Oak makes it know he forgot Blue was even waiting for him and allowed Red to pick first.

In FR/LG if you lose to Blue, Oak says it's disappointing that Blue won. How much do you think it hurt to hear your own grandfather put you down for winning your first every battle?

When you become champion after beating Blue, Oak tells his grandson how disappointed he is in Blue and that he doesn't love his Pokémon which is why you win. It doesn't matter that Blue worked as hard as we did to reach the same point.

Silver: Having Giovanni abandon him when he was only 7/8 years old had to be hard on Silver. More so when he was raised to only see Pokémon as tools. Having to unlearn all of them while he's still a child might have been easy, but it could have could still have been a hard lesson to learn.

Gideon: His father went missing which sent his mother insane causing her to be obsessive of both him and his sister Lillie.

Bede: A orphan boy who was take on by Rose, only to be thrown away after one big mistake. Who knows how long he was orphaned for or if he saw his parents die.

Arven: Having one parent be a workaholic and the other get up and leave while he was still young basically left him with no family. Then to have the workaholic parent be killed (Arven most likely saw it) and having his best friend almost killed would make him hostile to anyone who has Maridon/Karidon

So all in all, I don't think they wanted to be jerks. They just had shit home lives and lashing out is all they knew till they could improve.

(I have missed something Gideon and Bede so if I have let me know)

[reticent-writer]

hear me out

reader who is a hashira who encounters akaza during the mugen train arc and unlike rengoku who declines his offer to become a demon. And reader accepts his offer. reason unknown who knows why but i think this would be pretty cool to write about?

demon slayer masterlist

I have another request that will be a part 2 when i finish it

✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･**･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿　　

The mission started out so well but it started going downhill once you gained your mark. You didn't tell anyone.

'The 2 Hashira and three kanoe ranks defeated a lower moon.' If only the mission ended right there.

Akaza showed up and came straight for Tanjiro who was injured and laying on his back.

"why would you go after a wounded person first over me?" Rengoku asked as he blew back the demon.

"I thought he would get in the way of our little chit-chat is all."

"What is it that you would like to discuss. While this is our first-time meeting, I already dislike you." Rengoku said with a straight face.

"Is that right? Well, I dislike weak human beings. The mere sight of them makes my skin crawl."

"If that is the case, I do not believe that we will ever get along."

"Be that as it may let me make you an offer. Why don't you become a demon as well."

'Become a demon? Can a person just become a demon like that? What about the people counting on them? What about their family?' You thought as you readied yourself for the upcoming battle.

"No thanks." Rengoku said, straight forward as always.

"I can tell just by looking at you that you're strong. A Hashira Huh. Your fighting spirit has been tempered like quality steel. Your name?"

"I'm the flame hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku."

"I am Akaza as you may already know. Kyojuro, despite being a Hashira your strength is not enough because your merely human is destined to grow old and eventually die. Become a demon Kyojuro, doing so will allow you to better yourself for a hundred maybe two hundred years." Akaza waisted his breath trying to persuade the purest human you've ever met.

'If I can become a demon then maybe I can help the crop from the inside' You thought about it more. Turning into a demon is starting to sound like a good idea.

"Both growing old and passing away, these are things that make being human beautiful. Those may seem like weaknesses to you, but our lives are all the more precious and honorable because of them. You see true strength does not refer to the physical body. This boy is not weak, don't insult him. Let me be clear: the two of us will never see eye to eye no matter your twisted reason. I will not yield."

"I'm going to disappoint you Rengoku. I'm truly sorry my friend." You whispered hoping that he could hear you despite his busted ear drums.

"I see. Technique development: Destructive death compass needle." Akaza got into his signature fighting stance. "I guess I'll just have to kill you then."

"WAIT!" You jumped into the battle, "Nobody has to die here."

"Ah another Hashira. What are you suggesting that you become a demon instead?"

"Only if you promise to not hurt anyone else." You step in front of Rengoku and the others, shielding them from Akaza's view.

Akaza smiled reaching his hand out and saying, "Then come on."

You took his hand.

And just like that, you were gone never to be seen until the final battle

✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･**･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿　　

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

What happened to Kyoshi/Rangi theory

So before Reckoning of Roku comes out I have 3 theories. The first one is what I had before I saw a slightly spoilery bit of information, the other two were after I had a that small spoiler (it's from an Amazon preview?).

I'll start with the first one (so that people can just not read the other two if they don't want to). Basically the theory will focus on 1) Why/How Kyoshi died, 2) What happened to Rangi, 3) The fuck was going on with the Chin the Conqueror situation. 4) Father Glowworm shenanigans ;D (Avatar Realms Collide might like this)

Obvious spoilers for Rise of Kyoshi and Shadow of Kyoshi (and a small preview excerpt for Reckoning of Roku)

Theory 1: Kyoshi's tragedy

Kinda partial to this one cause of absolute premium grade AAAA Angst, of course the Roku novel might nuke it.

Rangi dies at around 30ish years (just before Chin's whole deal/Kyoshi island creation, which happens when they should be 40ish). It'd explain why she's not in the art for "Birth of Kyoshi Island" and other such things. I know she was made AFTER the fact, but making it so she died before that period would make it a much smoother retcon.

Is Kyoshi's grief also a reason why she let Chin fuck about? A bit. I think it and the reason Rangi died go hand in hand. They were cleaning up spirits and spiritual issues. I don't think the dark spirits stopped at Kuruk. I think there were some that 1) didn't rebel until after Kuruk left, 2) Kuruk just didn't get a chance to fight.

It'd make a lot more sense them being absent because of spiritual fights and it not being reported to the public (cause the same thing happened with Kuruk).

Who was the Spirit? Could be a new one, could be Yun. Bonus theory! When Kyoshi killed Yun, she killed his body but not his spirit. His and father glowworm's spirit went back to the spirit world. Which means they weren't killed for good (like how Kuruk killed spirits).

So Kyoshi stayed alive for 200ish more years because of either Rangi asked for it, her duty, and/or also because of the whole spirit thing.

Btw what I explained for Chin and Yun can be applied to the bottom two theories too.

NOW FOR THE SPOILER STUFF! You can turn back now if you want to go into Reckoning of Roku completely blind!

Before I get into the two theories, here's the passage that lead to them being made:

Now that's the only thing we know. Nothing stating Rangi learnt it. But......... ;U

Theory 2: Rangi learned to extend her life

Kyoshi taught Rangi to extend her life. So why did Kyoshi die at 230?

Option A: Rangi died in an battle. Kyoshi either died in the same battle, or just couldn't taken living after her death and died soon after. Who was it that killed them? Dunno maybe Yun. (not partial to this, theory 1 is a better angst imo, but option B I think capitalizes on this a lot better).

Option B: Kyoshi died in battle (maybe protecting Rangi). And Rangi is STILL ALIVE (same with Lao Ge) even in modern Korra times. She travels between the real world and the spirit world (and can still visit Kyoshi's spirit, it's not the same-same but it's damn near close enough). She's still fighting, possibly Yun (Raava/Vaatu? Lol no the real battle of good and evil are two down bad teens after one Kyoshi).

Theory 3: Hei-Ran is the one who extended her life

Dun dun duuuuuh. To combined Theory 1 and theory 2, and make it a plot twist. Rangi died in a similar fashion in Theory 1. Hei-Ran, just destined to be dragged into Avatar bullshit, has Kyoshi teach her how to keep living. So she can support Kyoshi (until whenever Kyoshi is killed or chooses to die). I dunno, I feel like they both would be there to support each other. Is Hei-Ran alive even after Kyoshi died? :0 Who knows!

[nobodieshero-main]

kinda an intense question but for new and old followers would you give a basic rundown of What Nobodies Hero Is? id love to have smthn to reblog bc im terrible at describing things myself i just start going ‼️‼️‼️ NOBODIES HERO ‼️‼️‼️

this was harder than it had any right to be and idek if this is any good but it's what i've got. bon appetite.

anyway Nobodies Hero is a fantasy series i've been working on for years, centered around a quest for a dragon and the clusterfuck of destinies-gone-wrong.

the story begins when the quest is already in full swing, when an adventuring party (Atlas, a noble who spent his life seeking adventure; Cecily, his partner in crime + Ahria, a sword-master and faithful wife) arrive in a town that shouldn't exist. (arlet, the only civilisation at the end of the world, my beloved)

we're introduced through the eyes of the towns librarian, an acerbic man with a complicated past (Keika) who the party hires to act as their guide. after he's only slightly guilted into it.

they need an impossible man from an impossible town to get them to an impossible destination. The Mahina Woods are an ancient and terribly magic stretch of woodland staining the bottom of every map of the continent; it's a place no one has ever returned from. It's also the only place that might have anything to say about dragons-- a creature long extinct.

Keika's job is to get them in and out of the woods without any of them dying. He succeeds! That is where his story is supposed to end.

Unfortunately (for more than just him), it is only the beginning; and he finds himself dragged through all manner of ordeals and trials as he struggles to keep up with his new companions while battling his own grief and increasing loss-of-self. (and dealing with falling in love for the first time. loser.)

Nobodies Hero explores a lot of things regarding identity and stories with fixed endings; but my favourite thing about this series is the way it plays with it's own story <3 there are two paths: what was supposed to happen (as written in the stars), and what ends up happening because of one little change to the narrative (the story that i am writing).

NH looks at a story with a fixed ending and decides to see what happens when you switch the unimportant bits around. What if the sister dies instead of the brother? A lamb reared for slaughter is left to wander loose, a scholar is handed a sword too heavy for his hands, an adventurer locks himself behind a desk, a friend becomes a traitor.

The story, unchanging, says that a sibling, a dragon, and a king will die. These are facts no matter what else changes. but I love how everything else has to twist itself into knots to make it happen. (the mordred and ahuru connection still makes me insane)

The world of NH is set within an unnamed continent split into 4 countries: Omos, in the north; Miednic, in the west; Nevmones, in the south; and Kauae in the east. Each has their own histories and relationships with one another, their own customs and cultural norms (poppies as a symbol of death in nevmones you will always be famous) BUT i couldn't fit all of it into the main parts of the story which is why i also created the side quests!! aka: stories that let me play with my world-building without impacting the main series <3

(i don't count the splintering as a side quest seeing as it has A Significant Impact On The Main Series, Actually.)

anyway yeah it has spooky dragon myths and a two-faced ruler, there's a queen who's rumoured to eat babies to remain eternally youthful, love curse shenanigans, found family, magic, humour and romance. like all my writing it explores every kind of love there is: family, friends, romance, the love you hold for your favourite type of bread, for your pets, for your favourite seasons or the way sunlight dances over the scales of a fish.

it seems dramatic, and at times the story is pretty heavy, especially the deeper you get into it but there is always always warmth and kindness and moments that offer a soft landing. a place to rest. i love these characters and this world too much to deny them that.

OH ALSO the gods aren't separate from their domains (eg. the goddess of mountains is quite literally the mountains), magic is called stardust bc it comes from Vietua (the night sky) and magic-wielders are called casters (atlas, cecily + keika are all casters) the terms for shapeshifters (werewolves, selkies etc) and halflings (harpies, centaurs etc) can depend on where you are on the continent, same thing with the undead; other magical creatures that dont fit in those categories are usually called tani or just referred to specifically (RUAHOI MY BELOVEDS)

um. i hope this is helpful. 🙏🙏

[blackjackkent]

Highlights from Rakha's further explorations in the tiefling camp:

She terrifies the group of small children trying to train for battle when the trainer asks her to encourage them. "Soak the battlefield in blood. Do not resist death, but embrace it!" The trainer is unimpressed by this: "Good job. Now they're even more scared." Rakha doesn't see why that's her problem.

The super inept fellow striking at a nearby training dummy has a slight panic attack on seeing Rakha's face; apparently he's not too familiar with orcish folk. Rakha is pretty fucking angry about this (especially in light of Aradin's 'half-breed' comment); she doesn't care about her own heritage but she knows what an insult is and is starting to realize that from some people she garners them just by existing. There is no option to punch him in the face, which she totally wants to do (and more, and more, spill his blood all over the training floor) but I suspect Wyll probably steps in instead and starts helping him, so she contents herself with sarcasm from the sidelines. "Try hitting the target."

She chats with Bex and Danis, who ask about her plans after reaching Baldur's Gate. "How can you make plans? I can't remember what I ate for breakfast," Rakha says. Bex, excited for their new life ahead, encourages optimism. The Narrator purrs in Rakha's head: "Surely destined for the slaughter. What would be more perfect than to die by your love's side, and know love was not enough?"

Okta, the woman at a giant cauldron on the camp's lower level, offers Rakha a bowl of gruel for having helped them fight the goblins off. The scent of the food triggers something strange in Rakha's head - memory. "Grey goo. I think I ate things like this in the past. When I was desperate." No image comes along with the thought, but the scent is familiar and goes along with a feeling of bewildered loneliness. She half-expects the woman to take it as an insult, but strangely, she doesn't, just offers the bowl more firmly and asks if Rakha has had similar hard times. Rakha feels tremendously perplexed and has no answer to offer, but she suspects the answer is yes.

INCREDIBLY unexpected little interchange: Another old woman near Okta - human, not tiefling - is selling potions. Ethel has a Durge-specific response to how tore-up-from-the-floor-up Rakha looks: "Oh! You're twitching something fierce, love. And your eyes! You look like you don't know the meaning of the word sleep." True enough. Rakha's two long rests have been scattered and fitful at best. This attention to her well-being from this stranger startles Rakha enough to admit: "I've had such a pounding headache recently." The woman of course has more questions, and slowly, Ethel manages to draw out from Rakha all the salient facts: she has no memory, she has intrusive thoughts, she sleeps with dreams of blood and slaughter. Ethel tuts and offers crooning words of sympathy and concern along with a healing potion. "Were you hurt recently?" she asks. Rakha shrugs sharply. "All I know is that right now, I'm imagining drowning you in the boiling stew over there." Her companions, who have never heard Rakha speak so candidly, all look at each other in bewilderment. Ethel laughs. "Oh, you cheeky pup," she says, and pokes Rakha playfully in the arm. "That might scare someone else, but I know what naughty girls need - a bitta love and care. If I was back at my teahouse, I'd make you a cuppa and tell you to put your feet up. Alas, here I can only tell you to be kind to yourself, petal. And encourage you to browse my bits and pieces, of course. Let me know if anything catches your eye." She chuckles and gives Rakha a wink. "Myself included." Rakha stares blankly at her. Any subtext is pretty much lost on her, but the strange kindness completely undeterred by the knowledge of Rakha's violent cruelty is... perplexing. "Thank you. For being nice to me," she hears herself say gruffly. "Sure! What else am I here for?" Ethel says airily.

-----

"Well," Gale says cheerfully as they wander away. "That was a refreshing bit of kindness in this little wilderness waystation, was it not?"

"Chk," mutters Lae'zel. "Platitudes and insipid benevolence are no solution; they merely invite carelessness." She squints at Rakha. "Do not be taken in; our business has not changed. We have no time for such prattle, or a visit to this 'tea-house.' Let us find Zorru and be gone from this place."

Rakha shrugs and says nothing. No doubt Lae'zel is right; it was a wasted conversation.

'Be kind to yourself' - what does that even mean? The words rattle in her head like scattered caltrops, stinging, painful for some reason she can't define. There is no kindness to be had in her, not for other people and certainly not for herself - nor does she wish it.

She wants vengeance and she wants answers. And she agrees with Lae'zel - this strange old woman can provide no answers; certainly not the ones she needs.

So why did Rakha thank her? Why did she even listen at all?

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Endure XVII: Armin

Series Synopsis: You and Eren Jaeger have been best friends since the age of two, but the two of you are destined for an inevitable tragedy. The world you have been born into is cruel; it is one where friends are traitors and enemies are allies, one where you find yourself doubting everything you've ever known. In this life, mistakes are fatal, and you must be careful, lest you make one too many.

Chapter Synopsis: A look into Armin Arlert’s thoughts and feelings, as well as the aftermath of the Scouts’ return to Shiganshina.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Eren Jaeger x Female Reader, Armin Arlert x Female Reader

Chapter Word Count: 4.2k

Content Warnings: swearing, canon-typical violence, sexual abuse (non-explicit), major character death, angst, original characters included

Armin Arlert was a boy surrounded by miracles. He had been saved, time and time again, and he did not know why he deserved it. Was it because he was smart? Was it because he was friends with Eren? He didn’t know.

What he did know was that he was here, and he was alive, and there were so many other people that weren’t. The veterans of the walls. Mr. Orion and Mr. Hannes. Y/N. All of them had died, but he hadn’t yet. There was only one thing he could do with this knowledge: he had to reach the sea.

This burning desire to reach the sea consumed him. It fuelled him, it was the only reason he was able to keep pushing forwards. He would not die until he saw the sea, of that much he was certain. He had to, and not just for himself but for the girl that had believed in him, too.

She was gone now, leaving him behind, so he vowed that he would see the sea for the both of them.

If only he knew the price he would pay to keep that promise.

After battling the Colossal Titan and burning to death, Armin resigned himself to not being able to fulfill his oath. Eren would do it, though. He had faith in Eren, more than he had ever had faith in anybody before. The world went bright and then dark as he was charred to a crisp, but the only thing on his mind was wondering if there was a sea in heaven. Maybe he and Y/N could go to it together.

Yet such a thing was not to be, it seemed. An eternity passed, though it had not felt like more than thirty seconds. Time was a bubble, he had no clue how it passed in that strange grey limbo. He was floating, with no way to tell what was up or down or right or left. Some heaven, if this was truly the afterlife.

He blinked his eyes open, the sun assaulting his vision. It was bright, too bright, his eyes needed time to adjust.

This couldn’t be the afterlife, either, because he was just sitting on Wall Maria, and Eren was running towards him, and Mikasa was crying, so clearly he had somehow survived, though he couldn’t be sure how.

Or could he? There was a new electricity, a kind of power, thrumming through his veins now. It had not been there before. He flexed his fingers thoughtfully, wondering what the source of the energy could possibly be.

“Armin!” Eren shouted, dropping to his knees and hugging him tightly.

“Eren, how did I survive?” he said, slowly hugging his friends back. Eren let out a choked sob.

“You...you weren’t going to. You stupid, brave idiot! We used the serum on you and fed you Bertholdt,” he said.

“Yeah, used it on you instead of Commander Erwin,” Floch scoffed.

“The Captain chose me instead of the Commander? Why?” Armin said.

“He got soft and emotional. He shouldn’t have used it on you,” Floch said.

“He just woke up, Floch. Give it a rest,” Tullia said. Armin could tell she had noticed the tensing of Eren’s muscles and the way Mikasa’s eyes had narrowed. Floch must have as well, for he did not argue, instead looking away, though he muttered something that was most likely snide.

“I couldn’t lose anyone else. Not again,” Eren whispered, hugging Armin tighter. Armin frowned. It had been an emotional choice. Commander Erwin was undoubtedly the better option, wasn’t he? But it remained that he was here and the Commander wasn’t. He should be dead, but he wasn’t, because for the millionth time, Eren had saved him.

“It feels wrong to be going home without you and Y/N,” Eren said, exchanging looks with Mikasa, who was frowning as well. Armin shrugged.

“I still need to rest. I’m in no shape to go anywhere. As for Y/N, well...maybe we can visit her afterwards and tell her what was in the cellar,” he said.

“I think she’d like that,” Eren said quietly.

“I think she would, too,” Mikasa said.

“Then it’s a deal. Go on, now, we can’t exactly tell her if we don’t know ourselves,” Armin said, motioning for his friends to join Captain Levi and Commander Hange in uncovering the secrets of the Jaeger family home.

He would have never expected to hear what they returned with, and he knew that Y/N wouldn’t believe it if she were here. Still, the day after Commander Erwin’s funeral, the three friends made their way to her grave to tell her about the news. In their hands, they held flowers: a campanula from Mikasa, a sunflower from Armin, and a pink camellia from Eren. All three so different, representative of how all three of them had loved her in their own separate, strange little ways.

“After all of this time, we finally found out what’s out there,” Mikasa began, laying her flower down, “Other civilizations. Cities and countries of people that have never even heard of titans.”

“It turns out that all of the titans were once people that belonged to a race of people called Eldians. We Subjects of Ymir, when injected with titan serum made of spinal fluid, turn into mindless titans like the type that terrorized those of us within the walls. Because of this, the Subjects of Ymir are hated and mistreated in the entire world,” Armin said, placing his own flower next to Mikasa’s.

“The titan shifters are weapons of Marley. My father, he was the one that brought the Attack Titan here before feeding himself to me. He got it from a man named Eren Kruger, who gave it to him and told him to save you. Looks like he failed at that, or more like I failed in his place. Regardless, Eren Kruger also told my father that titan shifters only live for thirteen years once they get their titans. It’s the Curse of Ymir; it means I’m only going to live for a few more years no matter what,” Eren said.

“That’s a depressing subject to bring up at her grave! This is supposed to be a happy visit!” Mikasa hissed. Armin knew it was distressing her. After all, in thirteen years, nobody from her childhood would be left. She’d be all alone. Sure, she’d have Sasha and Tullia and Jean and Connie and Marco, but they weren’t the same. They hadn’t been there through the fall of Shiganshina, they hadn’t known her before she was a soldier. Mikasa would be alone indeed, and he wished that there was something he could do to comfort her about the inevitable truth.

“I doubt she cares. After all, she’s dead already. Death should hardly bother her,” Eren said, rolling his eyes.

“Mikasa, it’s not worth it. Besides, she deserves the full truth,” Armin said when the girl opened her mouth to argue.

“Fine. I’m just worried for you guys, that’s all. I don’t want to lose you, either,” she said.

“It doesn’t look like you’ll have much of a choice,” Eren said bitterly.

“Yeah,” she said sadly, “Doesn’t look like it.”

The trio rode back to the castle in record time, not wanting to be late for the awards ceremony but barely making it in time anyways. Captain Levi raised an eyebrow at them as they came rushing into the throne room, skidding into place as Queen Historia entered in her royal finery, the golden crown on her head matching her blonde hair, elegantly twisted into a chignon.

“Almost didn’t make it,” Eren whispered.

“I know!” Armin said, still panting from running through the halls of the castle, his face pink from the exertion.

As Historia went down the line, Armin watched his comrades. Floch glared at him. Jean seemed defeated, his normal smug aura dimmed. Tullia was grim, her brow furrowed as she accepted the medallion. Connie and Sasha’s joking demeanors were gone, and even Marco was not smiling. Mikasa’s face was blank, and Eren looked tired.

Armin gave Historia a friendly nod after kissing her hand, and she gave him an exhausted smile back. Being the queen was weighing down on the girl, he could tell, but what could she do besides grin and bear it?

Next after him was Eren, and later, Armin would point to this moment as being when things went so horribly wrong. As his best friend kissed the girl’s hand, his eyes went wide, and he inhaled sharply, beginning to tremble all over.

“Eren, are you okay?” he hissed. Eren stayed frozen for a second before letting go of Historia and weakly nodding, though it was not convincing anybody.

“It’s nothing,” he said, even though it so obviously wasn’t nothing. Historia moved on to Mikasa, but Armin continued to gaze at Eren in worry. Eren noticed and smiled, though it was more of a grimace, really.

“Seriously, Min-Min. Don’t concern yourself with it.”

And so Armin didn’t, but maybe he should have. If he had tried a little harder, been a little more attentive, would things have gone the way they had? He couldn’t be sure. It was a moot point now, anyways.

Because now, after so many years of dreaming and planning and talking and pining, the Scouts were finally galloping towards the sea. This was it; this was the moment he had been waiting for nearly his entire life. He had been born to see it, been born to reach it.

Do you see me, Y/N? I’m at the sea. The sea that you said was ours and ours alone. I’m here. I did it. Are you happy? Are you proud of me?

The sea was nothing like what he had expected yet everything like he had expected. It was vast and wondrous, the large, shimmering blue expanse stretching as far as the eye could see, just as his book had described. The breeze was salty and cool, blowing his hair back as he stared off the edge of the cliff into the water.

Tying the horses up, the Scouts raced down to the beach, discarding their boots and socks, rolling their pant legs up and feeling the warm sand between their toes as their feet sank into it.

A laugh of sheer delight left Armin as he waded into the water behind Eren, reaching down to pick up a shell and staring at it in wonder. The outside world. So this was what it was like. This was what the titans had been denying them for so long. He laughed again.

“See, Eren? You never believed me, but it’s just as I said it. On the other side of the wall is —”

“On the other side of the wall is the sea,” Eren said, cutting him off. Armin furrowed his brow as the boy continued to speak, “And on the other side of the sea is freedom. We believed that for so long...but it’s not true. What’s waiting for us on the other side of the ocean is the enemy. Everything is as I saw it in my father’s memories, right?”

Everyone was silent, watching as he raised his hand to point at the horizon, giving them all a desperate, pained look. “So if I kill the enemy, the one waiting for me on the other side, will I...finally get to see Y/N again?”

See...Y/N again? Eren, what the hell are you talking about?

Barely any time at all passed from the moment they found the sea to when the first Marleyan ship arrived on their shores. They took the crew members hostage, but it wasn’t enough to deter the rest of them from continuing to come ever closer to the beach.

“Eren, you shift into a titan and carry one of the ships over here. I think we should try to talk this out. We could gain valuable information,” Commander Hange said. Eren nodded dully before walking a safe distance from everyone and biting his hand. The hulking form of the Attack Titan appeared, giving all of them a sharp look with his glowing jade eyes before nodding once and then disappearing to follow Hange’s orders.

The world began to shake as the large titan stomped back towards the rocky outcropping that they were waiting on. Armin covered his ears, wincing at the noise. His friends did the same, and he knew they all didn’t like this any more than he did.

“Hellooooo, Marleyans! It’s a pleasure to meet you all! Your friends from earlier have been quite pleasant, too! Ah, wait, I’m being silly. Let me introduce myself! I’m Hange Zoe, Commander of the Survey Corps. Would you like to come join us for tea? Niccolo thinks our tea is delicious, don’t you?” Commander Hange trilled. Captain Levi poked the blond Marleyan in the back with his blades, and the man whimpered.

“Don’t do it! They’re devils, let me die! Please, Commander, don’t give in!” Niccolo gasped out. Commander Hange gave him a perplexed look.

“Eh? Now what is this?” she said.

“You disgusting devils! No Marleyan would ever associate with the likes of you! Keep your filth to yourself and drink pig-piss with your foul friends, but stay away from us!” the Commander of the ship shouted. Commander Hange gasped in outrage, and Captain Levi seemed similarly irritated, most likely because of the insult to his tea. Armin frowned, watching the display. This wasn’t looking good. If they had any hopes of attempting diplomacy with the countries of the world, they needed to get people on their side, but it seemed the people didn’t even want to try and hear them out.

“Are you sure you should be being rude to us?” Commander Hange said, eye wide in surprise, “Don’t you see the titan behind you?”

The Marleyans whipped around to see Eren’s monstrous titan grinning down at them, his pointed ears pinned back in a gesture that was undoubtedly hostile. His teeth were on full display, and the steam made the glow of his eyes all the more unearthly looking. Eren looked like a creature straight from hell, and if Armin hadn’t known that it was his friend in the titan, he would’ve been terrified. Even with the knowledge that it was just Eren, he could not help but feel a little bit of instinctual fear creep down his spine at the sight.

“I will not be ordered around by some Eldian dog!” the Commander shouted, aiming his gun at Commander Hange, who yelped and ducked behind a rock. Captain Levi did the same, yanking Niccolo down with him as well. Armin and the rest of the 104th were far enough away that they were not in danger, and so they were able to see what happened next without any obstruction.

A blonde soldier cocked their own gun and then pointed it at the Commander before shooting in one swift, fluid, graceful movement. The man keeled over, dead as soon as the bullet entered him. Armin and Mikasa exchanged confused looks. What had just happened?

“Hands up, Yelena! You’re a traitor!” a different soldier said. Yelena, the blonde, nodded at the man. All of a sudden, half of the soldiers broke off from their ranks, restraining the others as if they were enemies, not comrades. A man with dark skin took off his helmet and gave Yelena a meaningful stare.

“That’s all of them,” he said. She gave him a pleased smile before bowing at Commander Hange, who had cautiously peeped her head up to survey the situation.

“Commander Hange! My name is Yelena! I apologize for that man’s rudeness. If you’ll still have me, I’d be delighted to accept your offer! Let’s have tea!” she said.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Tullia muttered.

“So do I, but what choice do we have?” Jean said with a sigh, pulling the girl closer. She groaned, leaning against his chest in defeat.

“I know, but I just don’t trust her. Something about that woman...it’s suspicious. I don’t know what, but I can’t shake off this awful feeling that she’s going to lead to our ruin,” she said.

“I agree with you, Tullia, but like Jean said, we really don’t have many other options. We need to find some way to join the world at large. Yelena and her crew just fell in our lap and seem fairly willing to help us. We’d be foolish to deny them,” Marco said.

“Marco’s right. Still, I wonder...what will their help cost?” Armin said.

The answer, it turned out, was everything. The Anti-Marleyan Volunteers, or so they called themselves, came with news from none other than Zeke Jaeger, the Beast Titan, the reason why Commander Erwin and so many other Scouts were dead. Zeke claimed that he was on their side now, that he wanted to help them rejoin the world.

Yelena spoke of fantastical technology, of aerial warfare and rifles accurate beyond their wildest dreams. She told them about the Rumbling, and though she admitted that she did not know all of Zeke’s plan, she informed them that there were ambassadors that would soon come to explain everything to them in greater detail.

Armin could tell Commander Hange and Captain Levi were reluctant to go along with her, but as the 104th had already established, they had absolutely no choice. The only way to ensure Paradis’s survival was to do this, unwilling though they might be.

And unwilling was the only word to describe Armin as he waded into the vast sea, his beloved sea, this place of peace and freedom and wonder and dreams. The rest of the Marleyan ships were unaware of their demise in the form of a teenage boy, sailing towards the shores placidly. A lone tear slipped down his face.

He was no Eren. He was not a fighter, no force of nature. No, Armin Arlert was a gentle, kind boy, repeatedly chosen by the world to be the recipient of miracles. It was this very gentleness in him that wept, wept for the loss of his humanity and the loss of his goodness.

Because he was no longer a good person, if he had ever been considered such a thing in the first place. He was a monster; a terrible, cruel monster. As he bit his hand and transformed into the Colossal Titan for the first time since the burden had been placed upon him, he cried. As he stepped on the Marleyan ships full of innocent soldiers (was that an oxymoron? Soldiers were not innocent, but Armin wasn’t so sure that he should be allowed to play judge, jury, and executioner), he cried. And as he exited the nape of his enormous titan, the very same titan that had kicked a hole in Wall Maria, destroying his life and home forever, he wondered.

Do you see me, Y/N? I’ve destroyed the sea. The sea that you said was ours and ours alone. I’ve destroyed it. Was it wrong? Are you still...proud of me?

“The ambassadors are finally arriving!” Sasha said excitedly.

“I know, I can’t wait to finally get some answers as to what Zeke’s truly planning. Yelena’s been mostly unhelpful,” Jean said.

“Onyankapon’s a real stand up guy, though,” Connie said with a smirk, “and you’ll not believe what he said.”

“What?” Marco said curiously as they watched the ships reach the newly-constructed Paradis Port.

“One of the ambassadors, the princess of Triura, is hot. Like, smoking-hot. I think if I turn my charm up, I’ll be able to bag myself a royal wife!” Connie said.

“Didn’t he also say she’s engaged?” Tullia said dryly. Connie wilted at this.

“Well, yeah...but that’s because she hasn’t met me yet! I’m sure she’ll leave her fiance once she gets a good look at how absolutely and utterly handsome I am,” he said.

“Try not to creep her out, Connie. We need Triura and Hizuru’s cooperation if we want Zeke’s plan to work,” Eren said. His face was serious as he watched the ships in fascination. Armin had noticed that his friend adored watching ships, even if he had had to destroy many of them.

“I’m not going to creep her out! She’s going to fall for me naturally, just you wait and watch. It’s going to be simple,” Connie said, affronted at the fact that Eren had even considered him being creepy. Armin snickered at this. Connie, for all of his bravado, had never had much luck with girls. Jean had Tullia, Mikasa and Sasha had each other, Historia had had Ymir, Eren had had Y/N, but Connie had never had anyone. Well, to be fair, neither had Armin, but that was a choice Armin made. He was too busy for things like that, though he had been trying to make time to visit Annie recently. He felt bad for the girl, after all, abandoned by her comrades and hated by the people containing her, stuck frozen in a crystal for possibly the rest of her life.

“Connie, she’s engaged to some dude from Marley,” Tullia said.

“Marley? Wonder why she’s helping us, then,” Mikasa said with a frown. Tullia shrugged.

“Who knows? There’s been rumors, though, that they don’t exactly have the happiest relationship. From what Onyankapon told me, she was kind of forced into it,” she said. They all made noises of sympathy.

“Poor princess,” Sasha said, her voice small and sad.

“Yeah, nobody deserves to be forced into a relationship. Hopefully the guy at least treats her well, but...I don’t know. Anybody that’s willing to force a girl to marry them can’t be good news,” Tullia said.

“At least she’s helping us. Maybe we can help her, too,” Marco suggested.

“We should do our best,” Jean said. Armin knew that there was nothing Jean despised more than those that hurt people weaker than them, and he also knew that the lanky boy was already feeling protective and furious for the princess, who he had not yet even met.

“This is it. Time to see if she lives up to the hype,” Connie said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

“Connie, you heard about her situation and you’re still going to try and seduce her?” Mikasa scoffed.

“Hey! It’s just more of a reason for her to come to the dark side! The Connie side!” Connie said.

“He’s not wrong there,” Sasha said.

“Now presenting, Lady Kiyomi Azumabito of Hizuru!” a herald shouted. The ambassador from Hizuru was an older woman who smiled at the gathered Scouts before nodding and heading into her carriage, her guards flanking her and ducking in beside her.

“And now, her royal highness, the Princess Y/N L/N of Triura!”

They all froze, their faces going very, very white. It was a coincidence, but far too large of one. Y/N L/N? What were the odds that the princess of Triura had the same name as their long-dead friend?

The princess stepped out of the ship, a different woman beside her, and their doubts were erased. Eren sucked in a breath.

“Long hair that curls at the ends,” he whispered, “Pretty eyes, like the stars.”

It was her. It was Y/N, their Y/N, and she was alive somehow, not dead. Armin gaped at the girl, whose lovely face was serious as she stared at her former comrades, her eyes unreadable.

“I’m hallucinating, right? She’s not really there,” Tullia said, her hands shaking.

“No, she’s there alright,” Jean said.

“Guys, what is going on? Y/N’s the princess?” Connie said.

“Y/N’s the princess,” Eren agreed, a slow smile spreading on his face, “Oh, Sina, Y/N’s the princess. She’s alive. She’s alive!”

He ran towards the girl before anyone could stop him, not that they would have. They leaned forwards in anticipation, wondering how the reunion between the two childhood friends would go. After so long, they were finally together again, as they should be. Armin smiled as he watched. He was a boy often graced by miracles, and it seemed the universe had just granted him one more, bringing his best friend back from the dead for the second time.

“Y/N!” Eren said. Before he could reach her, he was tackled by her guards, who had been glaring at him the entire time, daring him to get close. He struggled against them, but their grip was too strong.

“Let go of me, bastards! Let go, I’ve waited two years for this! Y/N, tell them to let go! Come on, tell them we’re friends!” he said. She frowned at him.

“I’m sorry?” she said. Armin’s heart sank. Was she upset with them for not protecting her from whatever she had had to face at the hands of Reiner and Bertholdt?

“It’s me! Eren! You know me!” he said. The girl looked bewildered.

“No,” Armin breathed, horror filling his entire being. His friends looked confused, but soon they, too, came to understand what he was feeling when Y/N opened her mouth next.

“I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t.”

taglist (send an ask or dm to be added): @futuristicxie

[sansacherie]

153 A.C.

They say that the eldest son is often dearest in the hearts of his parents, and an only son is even more cherished.  At least that is what she has always heard.

Lady Jeyne Bulwer is neither the eldest boy nor an only son.  She is a girl, and the only son the Mother gave her parents within their eight years of marriage.

She will remain that way, as Queen Alicent Hightower no longer bled.   So Jeyne will one day be the Lady of Blackcrown, as Father gently explained to her.  It is not so much a promise as it is simply the law.   It is simply what is owed to her, as his trueborn daughter and only heir of his body.   She has no brothers, all three of her aunt’s children are girls.

Father would be completely witless telling her the same thing if he ever sired sons.

But that is unlikely to pass, although is certainly not unusual for men to take a second wife when widowed.  Jeyne’s lady mother was once a second wife.  But Jeyne would be more ready to believe that Mother will be the one to outlive Father.

After all, she has outlived so many of her family already.

Jeyne’s family.

Could you still consider yourself an only child when you did have siblings, even if they were dead?

Jeyne sometimes dreamt of them.  Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron.

Sometimes she dreamt she flew with Helaena or Daeron on their dragons.

Not Aegon, though.  Aegon had been a king.  If she accompanied him on Sunfyre.... it would be like…. like trying to sit on the Iron Throne.  It would not be right.  And Vaghar… Vaghar was probably always destined to die in battle to make no matter, anyway.

But Jeyne liked to imagine Helaena and Daeron indulging her once or twice, their adoring little half-sister.

Warm pride often stirred in Jeyne whenever she remembered how the egg that hatched Dreamfyre belonged to a queen, so it was no wonder the she-beast had accepted Jeyne's sister, the true queen, as her rider when the time came.   Aemond was the last rider of a dragon that was once Queen Visenya’s, the wife of the Conqueror, the same dragon that his grandfather was once worthy of, who was the rightful Prince of Dragonstone when he died.

That had to mean something.  And if it did, then the Princess’s sons were fortunate that their eggs hatched.  Because their trying to claim a riderless Dreamfyre or Vaghar would be almost as big a disaster as it had been for the Princess when she refused to relinquish her grasp on the Iron Throne.

Although truthfully, the war was such a disaster for almost everyone.

If things had been different, it is unlikely that there ever would have been a Jeyne Bulwer.  Aegon was already past his majority when King Viserys died.  There should have been no need really, for Alicent Hightower to ever remarry.

But remarry she did, and it was not during her son’s reign.  It was after.  After Jaehaera.  Jaehaera was the last of Aegon and Helaena, and when she died, the court had expected that it would be the last of Alicent Hightower.

Jeyne could understand why.  Her mother had not been… well in the days leading up to her granddaughter’s death.    For that reason, she was confined to her apartments.

When Jaehaera died, some of Aegon’s council had not wanted to tell Alicent.  But the rest dissented, and Alicent Hightower’s septa took her gently by the hand and told her the little girl was with the gods now.

The Hand came to her as well.  “Nobody wishes to bar you from your dear granddaughter’s funeral,”  Unwin Peake had said gravely as Alicent refused to look at him.  “But there are some concerns…”  He let the word hang in the air between them.

The Dowager Queen then raised her head, and stared at him blankly, “I do not wish to attend,” and Septa Margaery inhaled sharply at her words.  “I only ask to sit vigil with Her Grace’s body the night before.”

The Hand granted her request, so Alicent spent the eve of the funeral in the Great Sept.   She would not sleep that entire night, as she knelt before the body of Jaehaera.  I’m sorry, Alicent offered with every prayer.

When it was time for her to leave, Alicent took out a knife and cut a few strands from Jaehaera’s silver hair.  “Do not worry,” She whispered in the dead child’s ear.  “Your mother will still know you.”   She then placed the strands away and went with her awaiting guards.   The service would commence soon.

With the Crone’s view, everyone saw how foolish it was to attempt to take Alicent’s life as they traveled back in a procession to the castle.   It was too suspicious, everyone said.  A necklace was torn from Alicent’s throat as if to make it out to be an act of thievery before he pressed a knife against her pale throat, and for a moment Alicent thought how sweet it felt.

Even if they were genuine thieves, there would have been less conspicuous targets to choose from.

If Unwin Peake had truly been guilty, perhaps he should have waited longer to avoid such suspicions before proposing his daughter as Aegon’s new bride.   There were already whispers about Jaehaera.  Perhaps he had nothing to do with it all, but he still had the nerve to present the match when poor Jaehaera was barely cold in her grave, so to Jeyne he had deserved to die for that.   She was glad that Mother was able to watch.

After Peake was dealt with, there had been another surprise when Alicent accepted the hand of Lord Bulwer.  Jeyne could not understand why that was so shocking.    Of course, she would leave.    Some thought it easier to understand if she departed for a motherhouse.  Once Jeyne asked Father why Mother didn’t become a septa instead of marrying him, and Father told her that one day Mother would explain it to her, for he would not speak for her.

But Mother never got the chance, for she died when Jeyne was only ten.

Jeyne had curled up in Mother’s bed, clutching her doll.   It was one of several that belonged to Jaehaera, once.    Mother took them with her when she left Kingslanding,  as well as gifting the rest to an orphanage that Helaena had frequented.   She gave them to Jeyne for her sixth or seventh name day when she began to be old enough to understand what was lost.

To understand that terrible things had been done.

That is why Jeyne has no desire to ever go to court.  It might have been different if Jaehaera had lived.   She would have gone for Jaehaera.   Not some Velayron woman and her stupid brats.

But that is what Father wants her to do.   In truth, it is actually more for her and her husband Aegon’s niece and nephew.    Prince Aegon is to wed his younger Naerys,  in the tradition of their house.

“He is not even the heir,” Jeyne scoffed.  That was little Prince Daeron, a boy of nine.  At least she thought he was nine.  Jeyne certainly wasn’t bothering to celebrate his name days. “Why should I leave Blackcrown for him?”

Father sighed and rubbed his forehead.  “Sweetling, Aegon- indeed none of the royal children- ever knew Rhaenyra and Daemon.    That foul woman is rarely spoken of there I am told.”

“Being told something is not the same as knowing it.”

Father gave a half-smile at that. “Perhaps.   But my point stands, Jeyne.   And King Aegon’s claim derives from your half-brother, not his own mother.   You are the closest kin to the last true king before him.   You would honor them with your attendance.  You would honor your mother.”

Jeyne dug her nails into her palm.  “How?”  She choked out.   She cannot imagine Mother ever being happy about something like this.

“Because when you go to court, not everyone will know who you are at first.  But when they do learn who you are, I know you will show them that you are a true Bulwer.  Death Before Disgrace.”

“And a true Hightower, as well,” Jeyne whispered.

So, Jeyne went.

She is dressed in a glory of a gown and styles herself with her finest courtesies.   She is asked to dance, although she makes sure that her ladies-in-waiting are asked as well.   Jocelyn and Tanda were much shyer than she.

Soon, it was easy to forget how terrible this place truly was, and how much Jeyne longed to leave as soon it was appropriate.

And then she found herself dancing with Prince Aegon.

“My warmest blessings to you and your bride,” Jeyne tells him, as he spins her around.  “I wish you and Princess Naerys a happy marriage.”  To her surprise, she realizes that these were not empty words.  Of course, all of Aegon and Viserys’ brood could die sudden and violent deaths for all she cared.   But nobody deserved to be locked in a miserable marriage.

Aegon smiled.   He did have a beautiful smile, Jeyne thought.   But she did not like it.

“If there are any blessings, I will not be the one to enjoy them.  I had not wanted the match.”

“You did not?”  Didn’t all Targaryens want to marry their sisters, if they could?  They were queer that way.

They continued dancing.  “No.  I had no wish to marry anyone, least of all Naerys.”     She could smell the disgust in his voice.  It was not disgust with the notion of marrying his own sister.  It was disgust at Naerys herself.

Jeyne did not understand.   She had attended the princess’ wedding breakfast and seen her.   The gods had not been unkind to Naerys when it came to her looks, although she was thinner than she ought to have been.   They said she was gentle and good and loved the gods.   “She would have become a septa if Prince Viserys permitted it”, Tanda had told her.   Perhaps Aegon knew this, and that was the cause of his objections.

“What did Princess Naerys think of it?”

Aegon’s lip curled.  “What does it matter, what she thought?  Or our darling brother.   He thinks too well of Naerys."

Prince Aegon’s candidacy discomforts Jeyne.   She does not want to be privy to this.   But her discomfort is not alone.   She feels anger, bubbling underneath.   It is not as though she cares about Naerys herself being insulted or dismissed.    Naerys is still the granddaughter of the vile man who helped destroy Jeyne’s sister, just as Jeyne will always be Alicent Hightower’s daughter to Viserys and Aegon, even if their mother was a usurper and if the rumors really were true,  ready to advance the interests of her bastards over their true-born half-brothers.    Nor does she feel sorry for her not being allowed to be a septa.   Likely she will get over it, in time.

But she feels angry, all the same.

“Your brother,” Jeyne replies pleasantly.   "He is older than you, yes?"

Aegon scowls.  “He is my father’s second son.”

“Apologies, my prince.  My mistake.”  It was no mistake.

Aegon then pulled Jeyne closer.  Too close.    “A mistake easily remedied if I were to see you later tonight.  After the bedding is done, of course.”

Bile rises in Jeyne’s throat.  He does not mean to enjoy her conversation; she knows that much.  She is a lady, not some common serving wench.   How dare he?“I am not a whore,” She hissed, not caring that he was a prince.

“Really?  I thought perhaps with...." He trails off.

Jeyne wants to knock his teeth out.  She knows who is alluding to, the worm. “You seemed confused as to what a whore is, my prince.   Are you also confused as to what to do with your cock?  Perhaps you should postpone your bedding, so one can teach you.”

Aegon reddened and looked as if he wanted to say something, but before he could, someone tapped Jeyne on the shoulder and asked her for the honor of a dance.  

Jeyne smiled sweetly at Aegon, thanked him, and let herself be spun away, out of his reach.

[writeious-hand]

Holding Out for a Hero: Part 5

Beep Boop - I rewatched the movie on Paramount + (its an extended cut, btw) and found inspiration to continue on.

Xenk X Cleric!OC, expanding the movie further along with Sword Coast, using dnd logic in a story format.

As always, No Beta, we die like Edgin's Wife.

IDK how to link the previous parts, I don't post THAT often so you should be able to find them on my page.

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His head felt... cloudy. Light.

Actually, his entire body felt that way.

Immediately sitting upright and opening his eyes was not his best idea, however.

He could feel the tenderness of a freshly healed wound, the phantom pain that tended to linger after a wound was healed with magic.

The battle. The cursed Nor'enth. Alariel!

His last memory was of her leaning over him, hair falling from the braid to frame her concerned face. He had said something to her, but he wasn't- No. How many times had he told the same advice to recovering criminals? The most harmful lies are the ones you tell yourself.

Xenk could remember his blather, the weakness he had shown at being close to her again. Of course, he had just been stabbed in the back by an assassin, but that was no excuse. Had she noticed?

Looking around at the tent he was in, he was surprised to see the chair by his bedside was occupied by the object of his thoughts. At first, he had felt his heart jump at her open eyes, until her lack of movement or focus on him made her state of trance apparent. He hadn't traveled with many full-blooded elves since they had traveled together. Xenk had for a moment forgotten the trance of the elves, their ability to go for much longer without a full sleep as mortals did.

He had been lost in his memories, seeing her sitting there. Xenk had reached a hand towards hers, which lingered on the edge of the cot he had been placed on when there was a quiet *ahem*. Not quite sure why he felt embarrassed being caught in the situation, his hand jerked away from it's intended destination and he had trouble looking the bard in the eyes.

"If you were wondering why it's me and not say, Simon, its because we drew lots and I got the short stick."

"I would expect you to want to bask in my discomfort."

Edgin uncrossed his arms and moved to help Xenk by passing him his overcoat. "Yeah, but when Little Miss Sunshine over there stormed in earlier, she scared Holga."

"I find it doubtful that it was true fear."

"Yeah well," Edgin turned his back as Xenk finished getting his clothes together "Let's just say Holga thought her small-clothes were in a twist."

Xenk turned sharply, "Holga could see her undergarments?"

"No! No, she could just tell how upset she was. If you had been awake for the tongue-lashing you were given - and no she didn't actually hit you with her tongue - you wouldn't have been staring at her like that when I walked in." Edgin moved to his side, "What's up with that, by the way. You certainly weren't looking at her like you were the one to end the relationship."

Xenk turned back to the sleeping elleth. He could not hide the tenderness in his eyes, nor the deep sadness. Even if his oath forbade it, Xenk was a bad liar. "Weakness. She was always my weakness."

"Oh," Edgin paused with him "You didn't like feeling weak so you ditched her. At least I now know what makes Mr.Perfect-"

"That is not why I had to leave Alariel."

Edgin was egging him on, "Well if you say it like that-"

"You also know my surname is Yendar."

"Maybe you should explain it a bit more, to make sure no one gets the wrong idea." Edgin sat in another empty seat by a thankfully empty cot.

"I once gave you advice. To drag your lady... Your lady-love back to her old life is to deprive her of her new one. Alariel and I had started our journey together under the guise of traditional party members. There were others with us, but they came and went, our missions were so aligned that it made sense to stick together. Until it wasn't."

Xenk could feel the memories threatening to drown him. "But somewhere in-between that you two fell in love." Edgin looked confused.

"That's what I said."

Edgin was confused.

"So you loved her because she had the same goals as you?"

"No."

"Okay, maybe start at the beginning."

So Xenk began the tale of his engagement with Alariel.

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See where this is going? Now I get to write knight fluff. :)