#just got adopted by the scions ....

[candycryptids]

OOOH BUDDY WHEN I FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT THIS THOUGHT INTO AN ORDER THAT MAKES SENSE TO THE COMMON FUCKIN MAN……

I cracked Tangy’s background :3 at least a little? Somewhat crunched it. The very early stuff is still fuzzy and I’m still juggling oranges on some details but I feel like i smashed a pot in Legend Of Zelda and found 5 rupees in it :3

[bitterseadrop-a]

uHhhuhhHhH i talked with violet abt this already but me thinks i might move milou's ffxiv verse to a side blog bc . . . i feel like her wol verse ( the wol in general ? ) has so much potential that it'd deserve it's own space . . .

[ecosystem-administrator]

Listen, l i s t e n, every few months or so I get reminded of this scene that happens after Aymeric drives a bunch of angry rebels out of The Vault, and I go completely feral with emotions

Edmont tells Aymeric this won't be the last time that happens if the current political climate continues as it has been, and that he needs to make sure to take care of their people and of himself, then drops this line. and just walks away.

Aymeric is standing there stunned and awkward trying to be appropriately honored by a grieving father who's also right about the politics of the situation, and apparently unlike Edmont has probably not forgotten that Artoirel is right there.

Artoirel steps forward behind Aymeric to follow his father, but before he passes the point where Aymeric could see him

he stops still and turns his head, obviously conflicted and gathering himself, and the camera focuses entirely on his face even though he hasn't got any lines in this scene at all. the father he respects and admires is obviously not bearing up well under all the recent changes, and just all but adopted a surrogate for the beloved son he's recently lost without even acknowledging his eldest son's presence. not even so much as a look. his father needs him now more than ever. his father is taking him for granted and always has.

he probably daydreamed as a child about the relationship he might have had with Edmont if Haurchefant wasn't there to be the favorite, and now he has the bitterest proof that it would never have been better, is not going to get better.

and he still walks after his father, away from Aymeric and Lucia and the gathered Scions. Edmont never looks back to see if he's coming, but he is. someone still has to hold this family together.

The Fortemps family are so fucked up you guys. the drama of it. it just makes me gnash my teeth and wail every single time.

[capriccio-ffxiv]

Suddenly very upset that Lyse never got to go visit Old Sharlayan with us.

That's as much her childhood home as Ala Mhigo -- much moreso, even. Yda took her to the Sharlayan Colony and then much like Thancred, they were basically "adopted" by Louisoix and taken to the mainland to study. I figure Lyse probably *did* go to school alongside Yda, but being much younger than Yda never got her Archon Marks. Possibly she was working on it when Yda died, but then in her grief and depression couldn't finish it (extremely relatable; I know so many people who never finished university because of circumstances like that).

And I just.

Lyse is done so dirty by the narrative. The Yda reveal is poorly handled and means nothing to us (and apparently didn't mean much even to 1.0 players, which was baffling to me when I found out.) At the same time, when you actually read the short stories and her backstory, it really is a powerful story about grief, about impostor syndrome... but the game just. Fumbles the ball on that.

I just... can you imagine? Now-adult Lyse, having liberated Ala Mhigo, finally returning to Old Sharlayan. Lyse meeting Papalymo's father. Lyse, meeting Moenbryda's parents (Yda and Moen had been close, iirc, and Moen knew about Lyse's deception just like the rest of the Scions).

I know why the larger fanbase isn't super into her, Stormblood is the black sheep of the expansions (I liked it, but it's followed by freakin Shadowbringers, y'know?), but I just wish the game devs would give her another chance. Maybe during or after Dawntrail (maybe she can show up in the New World at some point initially as an ambassador from Ala Mhigo or whatever)

[niennawept]

I want to combine my two favorite unhinged fan theory factories into one:

Gil-galad is Adar's son

Okay, now that I have your attention, let's go on a journey that starts with two things:

Thing the first: I really love people's unhinged theories that Adar is a canon character. I don't think he is; I think he's just some guy that Rings of Power made up but it amuses me to no end when people come up with convoluted theories to make him a guy from canon.

Thing the second: The Silmarillion fandom has a long-standing in-joke about who Gil-galad's father really is. Christopher Tolkien told us that it was Fingon in the Silmarillion and later regretted it, because there was so much confusion in his father's notes on the subject and so many different candidates. Cue all kinds of cracky theories of who Gil galad's gil-gal-dad is. I would like to submit mine.

How does this theory work?

Well it's quite simple actually. Adar and some elven thrall lady hit it off in Angband and have a kid together kinda by accident through weird Angband-based magic. That is a problem because now she's got this like elf-looking baby that has black blood and also Angband is no place for an elf-looking baby. This could get them both into extremely capital 'b' - Bad - trouble.

So, Adar takes that baby and he sneaks into an elven camp and he does that old movie trope where he leaves the baby on the doorstep and then makes a noise so that that people inside the house will hear it. Only this time, it's a war tent and the person inside is Fingon.

Fingon picks up this adorable baby and the baby kind of looks like him and he's like well - I could adopt this baby right? So he goes back to a fort with this baby and Fingolfin takes one look at his son and takes one look at that baby and says to himself "my very gay son did probably did not produce this baby. However, it is probably the only grandchild I will get from him and he is my heir." So welcome home, son and grandson.

Is there any evidence?

Exhibit A: The GIF set that started it all. Look at the similarities! Connect the dots! And thank you, @fukutomichi, for starting off this crazy unhinged theory.

Exhibit B: During Season 2, Episode 1 "Elven Kings Under the Sky", there is a moment where the camera lingers on Adar while Gil-galad is singing his song. Now they actually probably did that because they wanted to remind the audience that Adar was formerly an elf, but this is an unhinged theory, so we're going to ignore the obvious reason they did that and assume that they're trying to connect them for some reason. Yes, that's right. They're trying to tell us that Gil-galad is Adar's son.

Exhibit C: Their their armor matches. The gorget that Gil-galad is wearing in Season 1, Episode 5 "Partings" is a perfect match to the river pattern that Adar is wearing on his armor. Coincidence? Normally, I'd say yes, but in this unhinged theory, I think not.

Exhibit D: In one version of the story, Gil-galad is his mother-name. Is that because his father-name is not elven? Is it because it's potentially uruk in origin?! And don't come at me with that Ereinion nonsense."Scion of kings?"* Sounds like someone's trying to underline a point there, eh? Almost like they're worried people won't think he's kingly enough.

Exhibit E: Gil-galad, despite ample time and opportunity, never marries or produces an heir. Why? Because he knows. He knows that if he does, some one will be close enough to learn his deep, dark secret: he has black blood and his child might too.

Are there holes in this theory? Absolutely; all the evidence is circumstantial at best. Do I care? Nope. This is for the pure, unhinged fun of it. Anyhow, if you need me I'll be headcanoning this for the rest of the run of Rings of Power until they show me Gil-galad's blood, mmmkay?

Thank you to @hellofeanor, @fishing4stars, @baddybaddyadardaddy for spitballing with me.

[lady-quen]

Numen, "Love" of Jormag, the scion of Ice. Also known as "The One Who Opens the Door". (He/They)

I don't have their norn design (nor name) yet, but imagine the most innocent blonde boy of short stature with striking blue eyes and the softest smile :) Character backstory below cut! Pspspspsing at all angst hound Commanders out there!!

An orphan rescued from an abandoned village in the Deep Shiverpeaks. Though losing entire settlements to the savage Sons of Svanir was a common occurence, there were no signs of attack, no blood, no slaughter, it just seemed like the inhabitants simply got up and left merely moments before a norn patrol arrived to rest at the local inn. Doors and windows were open, rendering interiors freezing.

The child, naturally, had no known name and was of an unsettlingly pale complexion. He was taken in by the warriors and brought to Hoelbrak, where he grew up more or less normally.

Though he did fit in, he was frail and unfit to pursue his legend, or even be a hunter, despite clearly wanting to. Instead, he was an elementalist with the rare affinity for ice, something the elders theorized to be a result of the near death experience in his infancy.

The boy joins the Commander's party relatively early on, perhaps as an adoptive younger sibling/childhood friend to Braham, and makes himself useful with his unique magic. It's during S3 that things begin to get weird, with Jormag stirring from slumber leading the young man to run off as though following a silent call, before eventually returning seemingly with no memory of whatever happened.

During IBS, he starts acting even weirder, with people mysteriously going missing when left alone with him, as though spirited away. The Commander and Braham confront him, wishing to get to the bottom of what's happening to their friend, only for the reveal to happen.

He was never a norn, but the shapeshifter Numen, the One Who Opens the Door. Every cycle this happens, the scion's memory is wiped and they're found and taken in by the living races, they come to be loved, grow into an identity, only for that love to become everyone's downfall. In Jormag's own words,

"You'll sleep now, and be their child. But you will always wake, and be my child first."

The character could go a traditional villainous betrayal route or (maybe preferably) an "I never wanted this but I can't refuse my creator" tragic route. Two personalities fighting inside, the servant of the Ice Dragon and the personality developed during his time in Hoelbrak and then, with the party. But most importantly, the Commander has to make a choice between saving many people via slaying Numen during a Dragon Response mission or trying to save him, in whatever way they might devise.

Naturally, if they do slay him, Jormag's only got one thing to say: "I see you're more than willing to discard love... if it only aligns with your heroic ideals. Weighing lives on a scale when patience cannot be afforded. Well, no matter. Raven taught you well. I wonder just how easily you could do the same to Aurene?"

"Tell me, o Commander of Tyria, what's worth more to you? The world, or her?"

[autumnslance]

Heya

I always like your analysis/view of characters and the Story so I would like to ask you something.

Yesterday I talked with a friend about how I kinda miss Lyse, and than I got the idea that she and Wuk Lamat would probably get along quite well.

Lyse wasn't prepared to step up on the role she has now while. Wuk Lamat is young and "lively" as Lyse, but she had a chance to grow and learn about her upcoming role as a leader of the nation during our journey with her. So I think these two would have some interesting conversations and might learn from another.

I hope, that in future patches, we get a meeting of all the Leaders interacting with another now that we have Thavnaier, Tuliyolal and Garlemald new to the table.

Do you have an opinion on this? Especially since your understanding of SB and it's characters is deeper than mine.

Oh heck you got me rambling about Lyse and Wuk Lamat, so this is going under a cut. Spoilers for Dawntrail 7.0 MSQ and everything leading to it.

I've seen a lot of comparisons between Lyse and Wuk Lamat, being young, energetic women whose stories involved a lot of growth into leaders. How they get there is different, and I do think the writers learned from how they framed Lyse's story, and how Wuk Lamat's needed to be different even if there are ways they are similar.

Lyse spent years hiding from herself and her grief, happy to let Papalymo be "in charge" for the most part (though I noted he deferred to her when it came to actually interacting with and understanding the Sylphs and Moogles, and probably other people in the Twelveswood, as "patient" and "personable" weren't exactly his best traits). Lyse was also the person who noticed things weren't quite right with Thancred in ARR, that he was working himself to the bone, but she didn't seem to know how to approach him about it, regretting it later when they realized he'd been possessed.

And in Stormblood, Lyse spends a lot of time trying to understand her countrymen's reticence, their fears, their lack of hope. She worked with Conrad's Resistance cell all through Heavensward, but it seems like the first time she really interacts closely with civilians is Ala Ghanna. In the Far East, Lyse spends time talking to the Domans, and the Mol--her scene with the children is a major one, determining what is "home" and what that means, why Hien (and Lyse) fight for a place.

She feels she isn't a leader, she's just one of the team, and as she gets pushed toward leadership, she feels it's based more on who her father and sister were, the weight of her family legacy. And part of that is that lingering grief, that literal imposter syndrome, that knowledge she isn't the woman Yda was.

Because of course she isn't. She's Lyse. Not an Archon, but a Scion of the Seventh Dawn. Probably still better educated than many, having grown up in Sharlayan, despite book smarts not being her forte. She's very good at punching things. And she has a heart and more optimism and stubbornness than most.

She grows into it, with the help of her friends (which she does, repeatedly, acknowledge the WoL as the hero who defeated Zenos and made it all possible, don't fall into the trap of memeified rewrites of the actual canon). She is only the leader of Conrad's cell (a failing of Stormblood and it's split storyline was talking about multiple cells, but only having us interact with 1 ever before it all became 1 military). And she happily lets Raubahn take command of the army when it forms, calling herself simply the commander of Rhalgr's Reach--but given her role in the war, as a former Scion, and her connections, still acts pretty much as Raubahn's Marshall in all but name.

Lyse was not raised for leadership, not raised to take command, and had to rise to the occasion. And without losing her determination, her caring, her optimism.

Wuk Lamat was born to rule; the Xbr'aal initially, but when circumstances put her life in danger, Gulool Ja Ja adopted her as his Third Promise. Wuk Lamat is a cheerful, optimistic, loving girl who wants to understand and learn about people. She's a "people's princess" we see almost from the instant we arrive in Tuluyollal, friends with nearly everyone. But it's also not hard to see, even in 6.55 and the adventures in Sharlayan, that she's young and green. She has few supporters, and no great deeds or expectations from most of the people. She struggles in the shadow of her older accomplished brothers, wondering a few times what her strength is, what she has gained from their father.

She has not been raised to rule, necessarily; while the Dawnservant has expectations for all his children, and recognizes all of their strengths, he also sees their weaknesses and where they lack. Some of that, perhaps, is on him as a parent, but he knows their potential and possibilities, if they seek the chance to grow and learn. He can only guide them, not do it all for them, if they are to reach those potentials.

And Wuk Lamat does seek, with a zest not seen since Lyse was central, and beyond her, even. Wuk Lamat is not bound by the grief of familial loss and the disconnect of diaspora; she was too young to remember the tragedy that led her to leave Yak T'el as a toddler, and her life since has been a kind and happy one. She's been educated and trained well.

But there are limits to what a girl can learn in a single city, with only one or two visits to other villages now and then. And Wuk Lamat, like Lyse, takes the time to try to learn and understand. She picks up faster than Koana the point of the contest--while Zoraal Ja ignores it entirely, and Bakool Ja Ja has other pressures he's dealing with.

There's another comparison; Lyse's determination to understand Fordola, to change her mind, making her a symbol of all the collaborators. Lyse's determination that all Ala Mhighans must be free and begin anew, to rebuild their society together. To acknowledge the pain but not let it bind them into cycles of violence (which continues in the Endwalker healer role quests, as Raganfrid and Arenvald take up the specific task of reintegrating the collaborators).

Wuk Lamat, meanwhile, struggles to understand the bandits of Kozama'uka, the Chirwagur Yok Huy of Urqopacha, and the Mamook of Yak T'el. She changes Bakool Ja Ja and earns his respect, by perhaps being the first person to demand to know what he wants--and then following through on the promise to find a way to make that wish happen. To find a way all Turali can be free and happy, including the Mamool Ja (who may have tried to kill her as a toddler).

Lyse spends all of Stormblood fighting to free her people from a decades-old foe, forcing her to become a leader. Wuk Lamat's fight comes after she has grown into the kind of leader that can defend Tuliyollal from the threat of Alexandria and Zoraal Ja's betrayal. And even though Sphene can't change her mind thanks to her programmed nature, Wuk Lamat never stops trying to reach the caring personality encoded within.

Because the other person Wuk Lamat compares to is the Assumed Default Warrior of Light. She's a determinator in a similar way; she doesn't easily give up or give in, despite her doubts and the difficulties along the way. She makes friends wherever she goes, forming bonds and connections that come back to help, time and again. She goes from novice adventurer to epic hero, as WoL had to do in ARR; the entirety of Dawntrail seems a compressed version of that story for her, with adventure and events happening in the first half, and then the other shoe drops. For WoL, it was the Waking Sands massacre. For her, the first assault on Tuliyollal. WoL didn't have the benefit of a mentor--with Louisoix long gone and most of the Scions captured--but WoL could be there for Lamaty'i.

How often has that been a fear and regret of the Scions and other friends? How happy they were with the warding scales letting them help with those burdens! How at the edge of existence, the only thing that kept the WoL walking to the end was the memories of their friends and the hopes they had, and in the final battle, the Scions were still with the WoL regardless of distance.

(And Zenos was there. Still the most hilarious entrance ever.)

We stand with Wuk Lamat to the end--and she breaks through to find WoL and Sphene, because Lamaty'i won't give up on her friends. And Sphene could have been, if she had still been alive.

Anyroad. I DO think Lyse and Wuk Lamat would have a lot to talk about, in how they grew to be leaders, in similarities and differences, in their relationship with the Scions and the WoL, about the adventures they've had. I loved seeing Vrtra and Azdaja in Tuliyollal, and that Koana formed a treaty with them, which may indeed mean more interaction with Thavnair in the future. For that matter, the Leveilleur twins' quest to help Garlemald rebuild and reintegrate with the global community may bring some familiar faces from there around...though from the Island Sanctuary quests, we also know those people have never taken vacations and don't know what do to outside of "survive" and "duty." But there's a lot to learn, and seeing how diverse people can live together in peace, after most of a century under Ascian propaganda, would be good for them. Sharlayan tends to have diplomatic relations with various foreign powers, and Tural's no exception, and the use of Labyrinthos research to aid Mamook could become more of a thing to bring some of those characters in for cameos (for that matter, helping the Alexandrians integrate, and studying that phenomenon, as if those scholars could resist!).

I'm a little wary of having all the leaders in a single space; generally that's a plot point reserved for some terrible world wide event or circumstance arising! But it would be nice to have the opportunity to visit with old friends on some kind of tour, to see Tuliyollal make other allies and diplomatic connections, and give such characters those chances to interact.

But if the game doesn't take those opportunities on screen (people often forget that a lot happens out of WoL's POV, too), we've always got fanfiction to make it happen in!

[teecupangel]

We have put Desmond in a lot of situations, but seeing the recent ask about Ratonhnhaké:ton becoming a Templar got me thinking: What if after a few years on the run, Desmond gets discovered by Abstergo early? But instead of kidnapping him, they set up a scenario, where Desmond gets offered a job by them and he accepts. Eventually they convert him to the Templar mindset(wanting order isn't a bad thing, right?) and maybe a cell of assassins find out about Desmond working at Abstergo and rush to try and kill him. This, alongside his shitty upbringing, gets Desmond to finally fully throw himself into becoming a Templar(he was reluctant before, Templars are the bad guy, that' what his father slways said... right?). He could even train with Daniel and become an assassin hunter. :D

Everyone knew who Desmond Miles was.

It was hard not to considering he was William Miles’ son.

But no one would ever dare say that to his face.

William Miles was a forbidden topic in the presence of Desmond Miles.

Vidic ordered it himself.

Daniel hated him before he even met him.

He only heard the gist of it from Vidic.

A sixteen year old runaway who didn’t even know just how dangerous the real world was, found by Abstergo because he caught a fever that left him bedridden and sent to the nearest free clinic which was, fortunately for Vidic, under Abstergo control.

And now he was finally meeting Desmond Miles, 6 years later, to be his instructor.

6 years was a long time to indoctrinate someone but Desmond Miles was supposed to be a skittish boy so Vidic made him his pet project.

A son.

He called him.

How laughable.

Daniel knew how that play goes, having been the focus of it before.

But unlike Desmond Miles-

No.

Desmond Vidic.

The name made Daniel want to vomit.

Unlike that idiot, Daniel had no choice.

The trigger they place on him made him kill the last mentor. He was the Brotherhood’s number one target.

And Daniel’s sanity could only be preserved by the Animus under Abstergo.

He had no choice and he didn’t give care.

Dr. Sung always furrowed her brows whenever he said that.

Was it the truth?

Was Daniel lying to himself?

Who knows?

Who cares?

What he does know is that he hates Vidic’s adopted son.

He had the choice.

He’s just stupid enough to fall for the indoctrination.

No.

He was weak.

William Miles and his lovely (his neck throbbed at the reminder of that bitch managing to graze the side of his neck, that sniper rifle only missing its mark thanks to Daniel’s quick reflexes and Eagle Vision) wife had made him weak.

And now he was to become like Daniel.

An Assassin turned Assassin Hunter.

He sees him before he even got to the meeting room they were supposed to meet.

A nice suit that hugged his form, most definitely tailored and expensive.

He could afford it.

Daniel saw in his files that he had a salary larger than a supposed assistant for someone like Vidic should have.

Another way to keep him in their grasp, he supposed.

Money.

Connection.

… Family.

Vidic really went all out.

Why wouldn’t he?

Desmond was the perfect Animus candidate. The scion of the Ibn-La'Ahad and the Auditore. What mysteries they could uncover from the memories of his ancestors.

Vidic was bidding his time though.

He still had other Animus subjects to torture and Desmond was better off hunting what remains of the Brotherhood in the meantime.

“Daniel Cross?”

Daniel’s feet stopped before he knew it.

Their eyes met as Desmond slowly turned to face him.

His lips curved into a polite smile.

The kind of smile the receptionist always gave whenever she had to talk to someone.

But his eyes.

Those were the eyes of someone who had killed before.

For a moment, Daniel thought that Vidic had ordered him to kill someone.

But no.

Vidic was more meticulous than that.

He must have orchestrated the situation in which Desmond would have no choice but to kill someone.

And then he would come in moment’s later, pretending he had rushed to the scene as soon as he heard, perhaps even bring a few men with him in an attempt to make Desmond believe he had tried to save him.

Yes.

That was more like Vidic.

Daniel hated the fact that he wanted Vidic’s acknowledgment even after knowing the man that he was.

And here was the boy who held Vidic’s ‘fatherly affection’.

Would he break if Daniel was to tell him Vidic orchestrated it?

Or would he not believe it and try to kill Daniel?

Daniel won’t tell him though.

Because that would only disappoint Vidic.

So he took a step towards the young man.

“Call me ‘mentor’.” He ordered.

Something appeared in Desmond’s eyes but it was snuffed out before Daniel could see what it was.

Annoyance?

Amusement?

He couldn’t be sure.

Desmond’s (fakefakefakehehatesitfakefakefake) polite smile stayed as he replied.

“Sure. If you’re into that kind of roleplay.”

Daniel’s lips twitched as he remembered.

The annoying thing about Vidic’s adopted son was that…

He was a brat.

(this can totally be the ‘prologue’ to this idea if you want to add time travel to it)

[zaprowsdower27]

The Scions returning from Lost Memory after the final boss of Dawntrail:

Alisae: "What could possibly happened over there? You look lot look more like somebody stabbed your baby coeurl than a group that just saved the star again!"

Krile, Emotionally Crushed: "I met my birth parents... and killed them all over again."

Wuk, Emotionally Crushed: "I met my adoptive mother... and killed her all over again."

Erenville, Emotionally Crushed: "I finally reunited with my mother... and she made me kill her all over again."

G'raha, Perkily: "I got to go on a romantic gondola ride with [insert WoL name here]!"

You can kinda tell who was on that mission for character moment reasons and who was on that mission to fill out dungeon role slots

[goldenheart-supremacy]

Nimona AU - How to train your Dragon

@kestrel-wylde I kinda went nuts here...

During a dragon raid, the chief of Berk, Valerin's husband died.

They were both alternating battling dragons and helping their people.

When Valerin found her dead husband's body, she saw that he'd been burned badly.

Then she found that the reason his arms were tucked into himself was because he had been doing his best to protect a small bundle in his arms.

It was a baby. Since his parents seemed to have died in the raid as well, Valerin had decided to take the child under her care and adopted him since she and her husband haven't the chance to conceive yet.

Time skip to the future.

Ballister was an only child to his biological parents but if he ever did have siblings, he would've been considered the 'runt of the litter', as he didn't seem as well built for a Viking child his age.

At least, compared to the other Viking children his age.

Maybe Valerin and Ballister has a better relationship than Stoick and Hiccup did in the start of this AU story.

The conflict for Ballister is getting the village to accept his as the chiefess's scion and future chief.

Maybe when Ballister finds out and starts training Nimona, his reason for wanting to keep the secret is as to not make his reputation worse. [I don't know yet how he ends up injuring her like Hiccup did Toothless in the movie]

I just added my OCs for more character dynamics, like the original team had in the movie but feel free to use them or not or make your own OPs for the AU hahaha 😆

Some dialogue ideas...

Ballister, voiceover as a narrator: [Tomorrow, when training begins, I'm going to prove myself and show that I can stand at par with the others. Aerin Shieldstone, Connor Silverlock, Todd Sureblade, Abigail Swiftfeet, Atticus Valorarm and...]

Ambrosius was running away from some dragons, and he jumped over some barrels as a Zippleback launched a fireball at him.

Ballister, in a dreamily way: [... Ambrosius...]

Avoiding the impact of the blast, Ambrosius used the remaining leverage from jumping over the barrels to backflip away and ended up landing unto Ballister's arms...

Ambrosius, grinning: Good looking out, Bal.

Ambrosius pinches Ballister's cheek affectionately before leaping out of his arms, grabbing his axe and a bucket to see if there's anywhere else he needs to be...

Ambrosius: Look alive, Bal! Let's get rid of these beasts! Ballister, grabbing a sword: Right behind you, Ambs!

Trainer: Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight! The Deadly Nadder! Atticus, mumbling: Speed: eight; Armor: sixteen. Trainer: The Hideous Zippleback! Atticus: Plus eleven stealth times two. Trainer: ...The Monstrous Nightmare! Atticus: Firepower: fifteen. Trainer: The Terrible Terror! Atticus: Attack: eight; Venom: twelve! Trainer: CAN YOU STOP THAT?! Trainer, sighing: And the Gronkle. Atticus, more quietly: Jaw strength: eight. Connor, smirking: Someone's done some advanced reading... Ambrosius, chuckling: Only about a lot, too Atticus, smiling sheepishly: I read the book seven times. Ambrosius and Connor: Wow.

During training with the Gronkle to avoid getting hit...

Aerin, keeping his eyes on the Gronkle's location: Todd, keeping his eyes on Aerin: So, I moved to my parent's basement. Todd: Got some weights in there, you should come over some time to work out. Aerin, barrel rolls away: Todd, calling out to him: You look like you work out!

Then, the Gronkle hits a shot on the spot Todd was standing at...

Aerin and Connor - my OCs, besties Atticus and Abigail - OCs I remembered reading from your fic 'Love At First Fight', I just gave Atticus a temporary last name. Unless, you know, @kestrel-wylde wants to make it final haha I didn't write Abigal yet since I don't know much how to write the character. Atticus is based off the otter knight from the movie, so I kinda headcanon him as someone nerdy with animal facts, so I made him like Fishlegs here.

Edit: Please check out Kestrel's Httyd Nimona AU art!

[allymcfee]

OC Deep Dive

Thank you for tagging me @andromedaancunin ! So sorry it took me so long. This evil run has been hard to get my head around. I have had 14 OCs with 13 being Durge. I am once again attempting an evil Embrace Durge run. I’ve tried twice before only to abandon them due to the evil run making me sad. I almost picked Sol for this. She was my resist Durge honor mode non-modded run OC that got me my golden dice, but I think I need to commit to my current Durge otherwise I won’t finish again. So here she is.

💜💜 Jynx 💜💜

What common/uncommon fear do they have?

Common fear: Falling in love

Uncommon fear: Cats. She knows they can sense what kind of person she really is and she doesn’t want them to give it away.

Do they have any pet peeves?

People knowing who she is but not telling her. I’m looking at you Raphael with your killing moon comment, Kethric, and Sceleritas Fel. Literally Gortash’s only redeeming quality is he is honest with her about who she is.

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

In her bedroom in Papa’s palace, you’ll find blood, body parts, and her journal detailing her romance with Gortash. And by romance, I mean her getting railed on his desk since he doesn’t have time for anything outside of world domination (right, Larian?). I swear men cannot multitask 💅💅

What do they notice first in a person?

Their weaknesses and the best way to kill them.

On a scale from 1-10, how high is their pain tolerance?

11 considering Kressa’s whole bullshit.

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

Fight and it is feral as fuck. She will not fight fair so you better use every advantage you have.

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

She doesn’t know at the moment. Later she will find out she is Bhaal’s scion made from his body (like Zeus/Athena). She had adoptive parents but she murdered them. She dreams about it, but doesn’t know who they are - just that she is sad when she wakes up and doesn’t know why.

What animal represents them best?

Honey badger or Wolverine.

What is a smell they like / dislike? 

She loves the smell (and taste) of blood which bonds her closer to Astarion. It’s something they can enjoy together. She hates the smell of cinnamon.

Have they broken any bones?

Oh yes many times. Oh do you mean had her bones broken? Then also oh yes many times.

How would a stranger likely describe them?

If they are racist, foulblood or hellspawn. If they are not, a pretty tiefling with one broken horn and eyes like the sun.

Are they a night owl, or morning bird?

Night owl for sure. She’s the last one in camp to get up for the day and the last one to go to sleep. They normally have to wake her up which has resulted in a few near misses when she pulls her dagger when jolting awake. Gale has taken to using mage hand to wake her up to keep everyone safe.

What’s a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

She loves blood and dwarf flesh. She hates treacle tarts, which is why she decides that they have to fight Ethel - not because she’s holding Mayrina captive but because she’s force feeding her treacle tarts. That’s an indignity that cannot stand.

Do they have any hobbies?

Besides trying to impregnate Gortash and then Astarion? She enjoys leatherwork. She collects dragonskin and enjoys creating new leather clothes and weapons.

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprise?

Lots of stabbing. So probably don’t do that.

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

Messy as hell. She can barely read it.

What are the two emotions they feel the most?

Rage and sadness

Do they have a favorite fabric?

Not a favorite fabric but her favorite material is leather. She’s an expert on leather and can tell the difference in calfskin, sheepskin, and dragonskin by smell alone.

What kind of accent do they have?

Lol can I make it southern like Blanche Devereaux from Golden Girls? It’s all English accents in game but there is something terrifying about a southern accent saying Durge lines. “They’re dyin’ for me. All of ‘em.”

No pressure tags @pinkberrytea @scrapsovereign @emmy-dekarios-bg3 @oonalovesastarionssimpleplan

[horizon-verizon]

If they were determined to merge characters and wanted one of them to be a dragonseed, it should have been Laenor and Addam. I would have applauded the boldness and it's not like it would be more ridiculous than the other changes they've made and there are actually interesting ways to take it that don't technically contradict the book.

But these cowards take themselves too seriously I guess.

Unless you don't mind the plot deteriorating and are going to watch for spectacle whether or not you genuinely, already thought the show's writing was always good OR you're here watching the show bc you love having a live version (however flawed) of the Dance story...I mean sure yeah, why not?

If you're expecting "improved" storytelling:

How does Rhaenyra order Laenor's (who replaces Addam) arrest? It's pretty critical that he is known as an "outsider" by Rhaenyra and her entire council....Laenor is not and she'd know. We'd have to rewrite how Rhaenyra and her council turn on the Dragonseeds and diminish her part there, and that would just diminish Rhaenyra's agency with it. Which is more of the same stuff that is very non-entertaining/enjoyable for me personally. Or if they go through with that, it will make Rhaenyra look very very stupid or just actually out of her mind instead of paranoid and spiritually beaten, for her to suspect Laenor of betraying her. He is a trueborn scion of the Velaryons & her one-time husband who both got along with more or less and does not have the reputation Daemon has AND there is no Nettles in thsi show (for those who will try to argue that Daemon was also her husband and she still suspected him)...

Addam's arc is very much different from Laenor's, as like Nettles, he's lowborn and through the suspicions of the council he loses his "in" towards glory and a monetarily better life. He seizes the chance to prove his loyalty and honor (which was put into question/soiled by the accusations after the Betrayals at Tumbleton) by trying to take down a green in the Reach.

And bc the pacing of this show is always an issue and will most liekly always be so, how would Laenor-disguised as Addam even interact with Alyn?! A head nod and a passing understanding of his parentage? Resentment towards Corlys that's passed off as resentment for Marilda and being relatively alone their lives to anyone witnessing such interactions? (Sure, he still could save Alyn from Seasmoke, but it doesn't have the same effect as with Alyn's lifelong brother who grew up with him as a commoner do that).

But perhaps Laenor could grow a desire to protect alyn in ways he didn't his own adopted sons, but I don't trust the writers to really take that opportunity.

[melimatters]

Final Fantasy Write 2024: LEND ME YOUR EAR

LEND ME YOU EAR

Edmont de Fortemps entered the Forgotten Knight with nary a fanfare, just as he liked. It was late in the evening and the decks of cards would be out before long, that’s why he came on these nights, a time when he could just be a noble man, and not the nobleman he was expected to be at all others.

As he crossed the sparsely lit room he could see the Publican Gibrillont already pouring a mug of frothing ale just waiting for Edmonds arrival.

“Evenin.” Gibrillont said warmly as he pushed the mug over to Edmont. 

The elder Ellen man took a long smell of the ale “Something new?”

“Aye, it was brought back here in the latest shipment from Ul’dah, that little Lalafel woman in the pink sent it thinkin we might like it.”

Edmont took a look pull and let the deep amber liquid pour down his throat, it was different that the usual stuff that was served in Ishgard, this had a nuttier less bitter taste to it, he supposed it was to do with the different plants used to make it there.

“It’s lovely, definitely different than your usual brew.”

Gibrillont nodded slyly “That’s fer sure, apparently she says she can get it on the cheap for me, though I think if I stopped serving the regular stuff some of these gents would have me head on a lance end.”

“Then you are going to carry both?” Edmont asked quizzically, he couldn’t let such ambrosia get away.

“That’s the plan” Gibrillont said pouring himself his own mug “hopefully the new stuff catches on with the other regulars as well or it might prove to be a bit of a costly endeavor.”

 “Well if that ends up being the case I’ll take it off your hands, each and every barrel!”

The two men laughed heartily and clunked their mugs together and took deep pulls sighing contentedly.

“Now that not a face I expected to see here so late at night” a voice said huskily.

Edmont turned the direction of rhe voice and saw an olive skinned Miqo’te woman sitting at one of the tables, she had her usual long white jacket on, her staff leaned up against the table with care. 

“Mistress Y’shtola, pardon my rudeness I hadn’t seen you there.”

Y’shtola chuckled throatilly “First off, you needn’t be worried you missed me, you clearly had other things to attend to, and secondly don’t call me mistress this late at night and here of all places.”

“Then at least allow me to buy you a drink?” Edmont said his voice filled with mock apology “it would not be good if it got out that the former Count of House Fortemps had insulted a member of the Scions.”

“You are so dramatic Edmont, but I’ll never say no a dashing man like you.”

Edmont smiled broadly and signaled Gibrillont to get another mug and then went and sat down at the table next to the Miqo’te woman, he noticed there were already a pair of empty mugs on her table, apparently she had been enjoying a night out.

“So why brings you here tonight Edmont?”

“A chance to not be a nobleman, and cards.” Edmont smiled broadly “and you?”

Y’shtola’s white furred ears twitched, a sign Edmont had seen in his adopted granddaughter K’yla on more than one occasion when she was being evasive. 

“Nothing really, just thinking, and meeting someone for a drink or two.” Y’shtola said with ever so little quaver in her voice.

Edmont looked down at the already two empty mugs on the table “Seems you got started early, a bit of ale to calm your nerves?”

Y’shtola sat stiffy upright in her chair her ears angled back tensely, Edmont guessed if he could see behind the chair her tail would be lashing furiously “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Pardon me then for making assumptions, I will leave you then to your thoughts.”

As Edmont stood and turned to leave he felt a hand tug on the sleeve of his shirt.

“Would you…mind staying and lending me your ear for a couple?” Y’shtola said her voice sounding small and anxious.

Edmont turned and sat back down at the table, he had known Y’shtola for some time now and had never seen her like this before, she was always self assured and calm. Suddenly he had a thought of what might be going on and smiled internally, if it was what he thought it might be he was more than willing to listen and help.

“You know, I have always kept my distance from most people, even those I consider family, I never want to get complicated with emotions.” Y’shtola said timidly “It probably has something to do with how I was raised I suspect.”

“Interesting parents?”

“Edmont, I was essentially raised by a crazy sorceress who lives in a cave with animated brooms and frogs, my knowledge of relationships is a bit muddied.”

The Elezan man slapped himself internally, he had been told about Y’shtola growing up with. Master Matoya, that couldn’t have been easy, and not very sociable.

“Yes I can see how that would prove challenging.”

“I don’t like being remote.” Y’shtola continued her voice still anxious and small “But it’s been easier, don’t get tied down, no way to get hurt right? I should make clear I have had my fun, with companions before, be it in a bar such as this or between the sheets, but I never let it get to the point of connection emotionally.”

Edmont nodded, it was what he was thinking, and he was pretty sure about whom too.

“But recently I have been feeling…drawn to someone…And not just physically, but emotionally as well, it’s all so messy for me, and I don’t want to distract them from their duties, or me from mine as it were.”

“I am sure Melisande won’t get mad at you.” Edmont replied before he realized the words had come out of his mouth.

“Twelve! How did you? Have I been that obvious?” 

“Not at all, but based on what you said I felt it was a safe bet.” 

Y’shtola raced to regain her composure “I haven’t been like this before, I am a wreck, this isn’t me and I hate it.” The Miqo’te woman said annoyed “I mean, I don’t hate how I feel about her, but I hate how muddled it’s making me act.”

Edmont smiled and placed his hand on Y’shtola’s lower arm “Love can do some funny things to us can’t it?”

“I didn’t say I love her!” Y’shtola responded blushing, even with her olive skin it was clear as a noon day sun.

“You didn’t need to.“ Edmont chuckled lightly “It’s written all over you.”

“So what do I do with it?!” Y’shtola exclaimed as she turned around quickly to see if anyone else had heard her, if the other patrons had they weren’t showing it.

Edmont cleared his throat “live in it, find a way to tell her and let it go from there. Life’s to short to wonder what might have been, you don’t need to go through your whole life alone.”

“I’m scared.”

“And that’s a good thing.”

Y’shtola bristled at his response “And why is that?” She spat annoyedly.

“Because if you weren’t scared I would be asking if you truly love her.” Edmont responded gently “Fear like this means she means enough for you to be afraid to lose her, afraid what might happen if she doesn’t feel the same way. If that doesn’t say how much you love her I am not sure what does.”

“This is making a shocking amount of sense.” Y’shtola said flatly.

“I’m glad, now if you’ll excuse me, my friends are ready for cards, and YOU have a companion coming.”

-Fin-

[akirakirxaa]

Final Thoughts on Dawntrail

Final thoughts on MSQ. There are some positives that I will open with, but as I do have many criticisms and overall did not have as good of a time as I've had in other expacs, I will put it under a break. This will also be quite long.

I will start off by listing some of the things I enjoyed. I liked the overall themes of found and adoptive family, as well as family in general. Most of the plot threads and cutscenes around these themes tended to be quite good. I will admit, I bawled like a baby when they introduced baby Gulool Ja to Koana. I also very much enjoyed the plot revolving around the milalla and honestly wish there were more; I love Erenville's mom a lot as a character, but I feel like she took up comparatively a lot of narrative space when Krile's parents were much more plot relevant. I also liked Bakool's character arc as I'm just a sucker for the bully becoming a big well meaning lug. This is another plot I wish we'd gotten more about since, once we left the woods, we never see him outside of combat again; I'd have liked to see him struggling to connect with the people in non-life threatening situations and learning to not react to everything with violence.

Unfortunately, that is the end of what I actually enjoyed without a "but" that isn't "I'd have liked more". I am so sorry, but by the time I got to the end I did not like Wuk Lamat anymore. The sheer amount of time we spend with her and the sheer amount of that time spent on the same exact speech again and again grated by the end. There were some moments where she really shone though, and that's why I'm putting this to poor writing and misuse of her character than her character actually being bad. I loved her in the whole bit with Zarool Ja, and during the Rite it was fine because her learning to grow up was the point. Which leads to the second thing I really did not like; that we existed to be a camera for her story. 99% of the story could have happened even were we not there, and the last 1% is honestly iffy. I understand letting her have her time, and despite finding it excruciatingly dull to my tastes, the rite was fine and she should take point during it since it's to test her abilities. But...there was not one moment where we got to be the hero. Not one. Hell, in several cutscenes I could barely even see my character because it's her show the whole time. Even at the end, where it finally matters that we're here, because we have the magic crystal that lets us call backup and stay and fight...it still didn't, because she just broke into the fight anyways. Once again, we might as well not even be there.

"Well what's the problem with that!" I hear you cry, and the problem with that is this is a Final Fantasy. I'm here to play the protagonist. I'm not here to control the camera while the writer's NPC does everything. She can be the main character of the expac, but I should not be able to remove my character entirely and have everything go the exact same way. Literally any scion could've done the same things we did while we drank on the beach and nothing would change. A great example of this was when Gulool Ja Ja was killed. Not only did we just stand there and not even attempt to interfere (this could have been a good moment to push the difference of another culture by having an ally stop the WoL), we barely had any reaction at all to it and were covered up most of the time by NPCs. At that point, just have us not be there, have us out protecting civilians and we arrive too late. We've had cutscenes from other PoVs before where we show up right at the end (for good or ill) so no excuse.

I very much did not like any of the plot around Alexandria and Living Memory. It strikes me as that meme of "can I copy your homework?" "Sure, just change it a little so it doesn't look the same". Tell me if you've heard this one before. Immortal being, unable to bear loss, creates a city full of the memories of their lost loved ones in a recreation of their former home. They want to sacrifice the people of the Source to restore these loved ones. When we try to reason with them, they tell us that they cannot give up on their fallen loved ones and refuse to move on. They show us their memories of their loved ones in their former home. At the end, they turn into a big damn monster that we fight. We're close to losing when an ally falls from the sky to our aid. When we win, they ask us to remember.

It's knock off brand Shadowbringers.

Not to mention it seriously feels like the writer forgot while doing Living Memory that, not only does no one remember these people we're erasing, but their souls were eaten so that people can not worry about, idk, falling pianos and such. These people literally just do not exist anymore and we are now the only people who remember them. What's worse, there are probably millions more people we didn't get to meet that we still erased, so they're just gone forever. That's...literally the opposite of the plot of Ultima Thule from EW. We, in this case, are playing the role of Meteion, and not a single Endless seems to have an opinion on it outside of Erenville's mother and Krile's parents.

Never mentioning Dynamis really bugged me too. I was kinda hoping that Wuk Lamat's "specialty", the thing that set her apart, was maybe she was just very good at subconsciously wielding dynamis, letting her easily befriend others and draw greater strength when she needs it. But, like many many pieces of lore, it's never even suggested. In fact, if a piece of lore was in EW, you can almost guarantee it isn't mentioned. Like the boy with a lightning aether imbalance. We literally have the cure for that, but say nothing at all, not even to our allies when we meet back up. I'm hoping this will be addressed in a later patch since it was specifically pointed out (chekov's gun and all) but still. It felt over and over that things we learned in ShB and EW were glossed over at best or outright ignored at worst. The pacing of everything after the dome appeared was strange; some parts went too fast, then some went on forever.

Unfortunately, this comes in as my least favorite expac. Even below SB, which I famously dislike. I'm hoping moving forward we'll see some more interesting stories that once again require us to be present to be told, and I am curious about why the key bears Azem's symbol, but I will not be rushing to play through this expac again any time soon. And will most likely be tweaking the scenes in anything I write to make more sense, flow better, or actually require Akira's attention.

[pocketramblr]

Ask Game : How about an au in where Manual is a Todoroki (Any type of relative)

oh, you mean like when i said Fuyumi should adopt Manual as her brother? Or when we just made Manual the oldest todoroki sibling here, here, (and then...) here? or the separate fic where he's the oldest sibling and also the personification of water and the water cycle itself? Or the series where Tensei and Masaki are Vampire Fuyumi's scions and they're members of the Todoroki clan?

Just kidding, im sure everyone who saw the family tree reblog knows which one i'll talk about here.

1- Masaki, eldest Todoroki Himura child, does not have the quirk his father wanted. He also did not have an ice quirk useful to the Himura family. But he is the eldest, and an eldest son at that, so he's still trained and included by the family. Growing up though, Masaki knows that he's not quite right, not quite what people wanted of him, and tries hard to overcome it. He trains, a lot. He studies the family tree the Himuara clan is so proud of, and then branches out more, as if that'll earn their approval. (he knows most of the whole chart ehehe)He trains to the point that he doesn't just have the ability to manipulate water, but create it too, as his parents create fire and ice. Unfortunately, he can only do this by drawing on his body's stores, so he ends up out of breath and dehydrated too easily when he tries, and wielding large amounts of water is terrible for finesse. Touya, a bright firecracker of a second son, is trained instead. He hurts himself in training too, but can keep going, unlike Masaki. Masaki eases off, still training, still going to be a hero, but giving his little brother more of a spotlight. He's satisfied with what he has. But his brother and father aren't.

2- Masaki stops caring about training with overwhelming power, and focuses on learning how to move small amounts of water with better grace. He dives into the detective part of the job, even as Enji largely neglects passing this on to Touya. He uses his weird knowledge of his family tree for connections- why does he keep getting invited to such high level meetings, missions, and parties?? oh well, you see, Captain Celebrity's sibling married one of Masaki's mom's siblings, so they're in-laws-in-laws, and Ryukyuu's uncle married another one of CC's siblings, so of course Masaki got an invite. He isn't even bragging about his connections, or using them for ill, he just shows up and if people ask why, he says it so matter of fact that they're like 'oh yeah of course, i mean if Manual were my cousin's cousin's aunt's neighbor i'd invite him too, cmon in man." It's amazing how most heroes are more likely to know how they and Masaki are connected than to be aware of the fact that Masaki is straight up Endeavor's son. He doesn't need to be networking this hard. he's doing it anyway. He likes, after all, to be treated normally. He just has a skewed view of normal- but i mean, so does Fuyumi! they're just different skewed views.

3- Sadly this is not a Tensaki au for the simple reason that on one of Endeavor's parent's side, Masaki is distantly related to the Iidas. Now that would not be a problem for literally anyone else, but Masaki took the advice of "if you know how closely you're related, you're too closely related and applied it to his life, not thinking that most people do not in fact have a full knowledge of all of their relatives up to tenth cousins four times removed, and a partial knowledge up to fifteenth six times removed. Tensei is bemused when Masaki asks him how the crawler vigilante is doing, since they never officially partnered, and even more so when Masaki explains "Oh, no, it's just that he's been mentored by my uncle Oguru, has my grandparent's speed quirk and he's like, sixth cousins with your mother, only three or four times removed, so i thought maybe he might have mentioned it to you. But i hope he's doing alright, seems like a good guy and i know that bee bombing thing last month was rough."

4- Masaki dyes his hair brown to look more normal, and because he feels like his natural pink hair clashes with his costume too much. (Hey wonder if all that sexism in the family maybe impacted his view of it too. He very much disapproves of Touya's actions and words but maybe he doesn't want a girly pink hair color either.) Anyway, he also didn't stay at his father's agency for clear reasons. Once his own agency is set up, Fuyumi asks him if he'd consider taking in Natsuo- because he's completely neglected by their father, mom's in the hospital still, touya's dead, and Fuyumi's busy with school, Enji, and Shoto. Masaki agrees, and Natsuo ends up going into school for logistics with a science minor, still considering med school later.

5- "hey uh pocket is dabi not touya here" well that chart was made before the reveal. by not a whole lot of time lol. So, MASAKI doesn't think Dabi is Touya. After all, Touya is Dead. and Dead People do not attack school camps and set trees on fire. Dabi is, therefore, infinitely more likely to actually be Masaki's half uncle- he's pretty sure there are other kids on the fire side of the family, and it gives him a reason for hating Endeavor and his kids so much. Masaki stands by this even as his other siblings start cottoning on to the true identity of the arsonist. He's too normal to believe Dabi could possibly be Touya. After Jakku, he gets a call from Tensei like "hey man, i just heard about the news and i'm so sorry, you know you helped me a lot with my brother and family mess so i'll help you with your brother and-" and Masaki goes "OH THANK YOU i know other things like Eraserhead cutting off his own leg are more important, but i cannot believe my uncle would steal my dead brother's identity like that, with that awful dance-" and Tensei is like 'ah, right.' and just... lets him rant a bit to feel better, before he sniffs and goes 'its actually touya, isn't it.'

[artbyblastweave]

There’s a thread on r/parahumans right now where someone floated the hypothetical: “What’s the plan if the Endbringer refuses to leave and just keeps going indefinitely?” While a lot of people are saying something to the tune of “everyone would be fucked,” I think the more insightful answers are highlighting an interesting aspect of the Endbringer’s invincibility, which is that a lot of it is tactical. It’s about how they fight. 

Endbringer Fights don’t last long; they rarely involve more than a few hundred capes, because that’s all the defenders have time to scramble; and the stakes, while high, are specific. In the New Delhi fight, they hit a point where the worst thing Behemoth was capable of doing had already happened, and the sole goal was to evacuate with the expectation that he would now leave. No additional resources were being poured in; no new things were being tried.

All of this limits the opportunities for an Endbringer to be in genuine danger; and an Endbringer can be in genuine danger from the right power synergy or the right giant-killer cape. By Word of God, String Theory was capable of killing and Endbringer, and the Endbringer response was to have Simurgh coordinate things so that she’d never have an opportunity to try. But If the presented stakes become infinite- an Endbringer that destroys the city but then just keeps going- it increases the odds that eventually, everyone is going to try everything, and one of those things will work.  And even if they don’t? If an Endbringer keeps rampaging in a straight-ish line for days or weeks, Scion will notice eventually, and an Endbringer that stands its ground against Scion is a dead Endbringer. 

So in a sense, the Endbringers aren’t really exempt from the setting politics; they endure for similar reasons to the Slaughterhouse 9, which is that on top of being very hard to kill, they’re slippery. They pick fights they can control; they try to run the second those fights look like they’re going south, and they avoid escalating things to the point of overextension. Khonsu got close to being an Endbringer who wouldn’t go away, and rather than focusing on total extermination of his targets, his fighting style was built around causing some damage but never hanging around long enough to become vulnerable to Scion.  I wouldn’t be surprised if, once they adopted the “hit dozens of targets at once” game plan, the factor deciding at what point they left became whether Simurgh predicted that they were about to stumble up against circumstances where someone could get lucky and put them down.