#like in her mind she’s killed too many people and not evened out the scales to people saved

[waruins]

…anyways, she has some really deeply interwoven k.inks I’m not sure I can divulge on the dash…but outside of that, she’s the most tender wealth of endless softness for others but if that’s flipped on her during sex and intimacy, she will break.

[daylite-writes]

Traitor readers always hit different! How about traitor reader with all of the harbingers (but I got a special bias for Pierro) 😫. Like betraying one is bad enough betraying and hurting all? Oh boy

Oooh I like this! I am gonna split it up into separate little instances of what I think they’d be like though for my sanity. I may expand to a few other full traitor fics (esp the Pierro one I really popped off on that damn) later on if I get ideas!

Certain characters take it MUCH better than others, varying from a scale of “Oh that’s Lowkey Hot” to “DIE”.

cw: yandere (?) behaviors, murder, manipulation, imprisonment, forced marriage, forced experimentation

~~~ Harbingers reacts to Traitor!Reader (ordered best to worst ~~~

Childe definitely takes it the best. In fact, this is honestly preferable for him. He’ll let you escape back to your leaders after you find out, giving you a head start before chasing you across Teyvat. The adrenaline is the hot part. He can’t get enough. He’s so easily bored. Come on baby, run a little faster. Make it fun. And after he follows you to your master’s base of operations, he’ll slaughter them and offer you an official place within the fatui’s ranks. Under him, of course! He won, after all, and the winner takes all.

Pantalone doesn’t see this as the worst thing. He’s very familiar with traitors, spies, and secrets. Though how you got around him for so long is a mystery. Once he finds out he’ll just be so sweet. Come on, treasure, just tell him everything and he’ll protect you. No? Oh well. A pretty enough price—or a favor from his more violently inclined coworkers—will have them abandoning you forcefully or not. Then he can scoop you up and… convince you to come home with him. It’s just more leverage to have over you, and it’s perfect for a man with control issues.

Pulcinella just… drops you. He has a nation to run, and his proximity to important information is too valuable. Unlike many of his colleagues he is not willing to bend the rules for feelings. He’s old, and he knows whatever feelings he feels towards you (platonic, romantic, familial, whatever) will pass with time. He reports this information to the proper place, and trusts the people he commands to take care of you properly. It hurts, but most things do at first.

Signora really thought you loved her. She hasn’t felt passion in centuries, and now as soon as her frozen heart thaws it’s revealed you're a traitor? Her heart can hardly take it. It hurts so much. Leave. Go now before she changes her mind and kills you. She cannot bear to have another lover dead in her arms. So take this chance and go, if you don’t, ice will encase her heart and she will slaughter you.

Columbina goes the kidnapping route essentially immediately. You can’t be a spy if you can’t report back to your masters! She’s very gentle though, running her fingers through your hair, humming happily, showering you with beautiful outfits and clothes. Even if you’re paralyzed from her haunting melodies, and feathers and eyes unfurl from the corners of your vision. Like a bird in a cage. It’s really your fault for catching the attention of someone so insane and powerful.

Arlecchino reacts similarly to Capitano, she is very proficient at breaking people down, ruining them, and turning them into what she thinks you ought to be. How dare you? This is a betrayal she will have to remedy. Loyalty is necessary. She’s crueler than him about it. Less patient. You will not be coming out of this unscarred. It’s better to just give in quickly, convincing her you learned your lesson, that you’d never betray her again. Reguardless of what you do though, several house of hearth members will be stalking you whenever you’re away from her, so don’t even bother trying to get back to your masters. It will not end well.

Pierro. Oh Pierro. You’ve never seen the man so sad. For a second, he looks almost pathetic. That is, before he motions for his men to drag you down to whatever dungeons are within the palace. He doesn’t visit you for weeks, but as soon as you start to think he’s never going to look at you again, he’s there, outside your freezing cell. The sadness so heavy in this man is wiped away by fury. He, personally, drags you from your cell. You can’t even walk as he pulls you along, stumbling every time you try to get your footing. He drags you for what seems like forever, ignoring you. Eventually, you’re in the Tsaritsa’s cathedral, with the ice goddess herself standing where the priest was. She smiled at you, and fear floods your body as he forces you down the aisle. He mutters something about how lucky you are. How many strings he had to pull with his god to allow this. You’re married there, ice freezing your ankles as you stand where a bride would, heart heavy in your throat. You know then that the only option is to say “I do”.

Scaramouche does not and will never take this well. Another betrayal? Typical of humans. He will go into a rage when he faces you, and chances of you escaping that rage in one piece is slim to nothing. If you don’t, ice floods his veins as he curls around your body, just asking why why why. If you do, he’ll drag you to the infirmary, force some poor healer to fix you, and then toss you in the dungeon similar to Pierro. He won’t visit you, thinking that this is a proper punishment. You abandon him? He’ll abandon you. He’ll come around sometimes though to yell at you or sob on your lap. Other than that, expect a life of imprisonment with mild favoritism and some physical scars.

Sandrone doesn’t take it well at first. When faced with your crimes, she immediately lashes out, destroying several of her newest machines and scarring you physically. After she calms down, though, she’ll calmly figure out everything that you leaked, who you leaked it to, and begin to work while you stay in a cell in her lab. She comes back to you a few days later, in which you’ve been completely abandoned, with some sort of mechanical collar and a tracking chip. Oh calm down, she’ll say as she rolls her eyes. The surgery is quick, but done without any anesthesia. The collar records everything and will shock and paralyze you upon exiting her laboratory. The chip is for tracking, but it can also release poison into your bloodstream. There! She was being so nice, not turning you into a machine. Say thank you, it might make her more likely to feed you.

Dottore has a breakdown almost immediately upon hearing this. He’d cackle, pacing in front of you, rambling on about how bold you were to try this shit with the cruelest of the Harbingers. Really? Playing with his heart is probably the worst mistake a person could ever make. He’s never been too enamored with human bodies, but monsters? Abyssal creatures? He finds them so beautiful, and he’s been needing a new subject. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt! Just be quiet and let him make you into the ideal version of yourself. He’d never dare do this to you if you weren’t a traitor, he loved you, but all bets are off as soon as you sabotaged his work and smuggled information. And the worst part? You’d still be his lover. Forever bound. Just more monstrous than before.

~~~

Lowkey I can’t believe I wrote for all of them. I didn’t think I do them all but then I had IDEAS. Which is somewhat uncommon for me. Everyone clap!

[owlets-outlet]

my mouthwashing good ending headcanons:

on the tulpar:

1. anya tells swansea and daisuke about the assault pretty much immediatelly after the crash. the crew seals jimmy in his room with insulation foam until they get rescued.

( i was thinking about letting the crew kill j*mmy, however. he doesnt deserve that mercy. so he lives and is jailed forever. )

2. the crew dont know what to do about the baby. anya doesnt want to use pills for diy abortion, mainly because thats what jimbo told her to do and she doesnt want to listen to him.

in a dangerous twist of fate, she miscarries, because of stress and low bodyweight. its not a dramatic miscarriage, the fetus just dies in the uterus. anya suspects she miscarried, but doesnt tell the crew so they dont worry about her.

3. the crew gets rescued just in time- anya was on the verge of dying from the infection that started festering inside her from the miscarriage.

immediately after rescue:

anya and curly are rushed to the hospital. they got treatment on the rescue ship already, but that was only the bare minimum. pony express pays only for the bare minimum treatments.

curly is hooked up to a sci-fi mind reading communication device. its not perfect, but they manage to find out what happened. jimmy is arrested.

swansea:

after losing his job and breaking his dry streak, hes surprisingly okay. using his severance pay and his savings, he opens a small business, becoming a freelance electrician.

he doesnt drink as much as he used to, but he drinks regularly. he still buys himself sneakers on his soberversary though.

daisuke didnt even have to beg him too hard to be accepted as his apprentice, really.

daisuke becomes his other child, basically, he visits daisuke and regularly treats the him and the crew to meals, just like he does with his bio kids.

he also takes daisuke thrifting sometimes, judging his outfits on a scale of 1-10.

daisuke:

hes back to living with his parents.

daisuke really wanted to continue being swanseas apprentice, not just because he liked swansea, but because he really wanted to feel useful somehow.

he doesnt really vibe with most swanseas kids, but hes polite everytime they visit the shop where he helps swansea.

him and anya do gaming nights, often hopping on discord call in the late evening.

he still struggles with impostor syndrome, feeling like he didnt do enough for the crew of the tulpar.

curly:

he struggles with his mental health extensively. hes traumatized by being forced into being a bystander and his new disability keeps reminding him of that fact. his old crew encourages him to keep going though, and daisukes family pays for his therapy sessions.

he underwent many surgeries, mainly skin transplants (he still looks. uncanny though), rhinoplasty (more like. he just got a whole new nose altogether) and added eyelids (made his eye look smaller than before) and lips.

while this IS the Future, many of the cool 'solutions' to his disability are too expensive. pony express only paid for curlys wheelchair with a communicator and a cheap pair of prosthetic arms. the motor abilites of these arms are limited, as he cannot even write with them. theyre purely there just so he can operate his wheelchair by himself.

he wants to save money to buy new legs and arms, mostly just because he'd love to get back into weightlifting again.

after being fired, he mostly relies on disability pay and benefits.

he dropped many of his old friends, because they sympathised with jimmy, but he still has a close knit group of friends, with whom he lives.

he wanted to quit being a pilot long before the crash, and his old crew convinced him that he should pursue something new, to help him move on.

with the financial support of daisukes parents (daisuke begged them), curly enrolls in med school. he chose a proffession where he would help people.

thanks to this he grew even closer to anya.

anya:

tried to distance herself from the crew, because she felt like dead weight, but they didnt let her. daisuke talked her and curly into therapy.

she couldnt afford to try to get into med school again, and even then, she wasnt sure if she even wanted to do that anymore.

but, due to his disability, curly needed a notetaker and, well. the stars just aligned.

being his notetaker, anya gets to attend all the lectures with curly, helping him with his studies while she absorbs all the knowledge. this gave her the confidence she needed to decide to try again, sometine in the future.

asides from this, anya took up running again. she runs regularly, planning to run a marathon one day. she also gained a lot of weight after coming back, resulting in a mean bulk, gaining quite a lot of muscle.

sometimes she runs together with curly and daisuke, and curly also coaches anya in the gym on occassion.

the whole crew regularly meet up for brunches and birthdays. :)

[bimobuddy]

Learning to Trust

SFW Hazbin TK fic

Alright people hear me out with this one

Major Spoilers

CW: Brief mention of anxiety disorders, swearing

Lee!Vox, Ler!Alastor

It's kind of a ship? The Aromantic 'Squish' equivalent of a ship. Well not yet anyway, they're still rivals in this, but I might make a part 2 that explores that a little more

It was gonna be Valentino and Vox, but I'm mad at Val so he got his boyfriend privileges taken away >:(

This might get kinda angsty, sorry in advance

Summary: Vox is glitching out and having connection issues, so he bites the bullet and asks help from the only other demon who can help him. Unfortunately with that demon being Alastor, they run into some issues.

It had started happening after the battle between the exterminators and the sinners. The War between Heaven and Hell. Vox had been watching it all happen on his TV, mostly keeping an eye on Alastor. Originally the plan was to watch by himself, but Velvet insisted they all watch together, and he couldn't really think of a good enough lie to tell her no, so he gave in.

He had spent the whole night playing up how much he hated Alastor, which is easy when your entire life and afterlife, you've been a TV Show Host. Many years of acting. At one point he even hoped if he got too obnoxious, the other two might leave, but used to his antics, they stayed.

But inside he was immensely stressed out. Yes he and Alastor were rivals, but there was something about the rivalry he needed. Something about it he liked. He couldn't really explain it himself, and he preferred not to think about it, preferring to tell himself that he just enjoyed hating the Radio Host.

So when he watched Alastor almost get killed by Adam, seeing him actually vulnerable for once... It scared him.

Then started the glitching. He knew it was from stress, the feeling was very familiar to when he was a human with an anxiety disorder. Only instead of a racing heart and suddenly feeling faint and warm, his anxiety came in the form of glitching, as his mind couldn't process everything, and showed it visibly on his screen.

He had tried for hours to make it stop, to try and fix it himself, but he couldn't see the mirror properly through all the glitching. That and the glitching made it hard to think.

He considered going to Velvet, but despite her phone and social media use, she didn't actually know anything about the tech itself. There was one more option, but he really didn't want to even consider it.

Though as he started to glitch out again, he decided to just bite the bullet.

-

Vox found himself scaling up the side of the Hotel, climbing toward Alastor's radio tower.

He'd rather fall to his death than use the doors and ask to see him. As he reached the top, he frantically tapped on the window, feeling another glitch about to happen.

Nothing.

He started tapping again, even faster this time.

Still nothing.

He made a fist and drew his arm back to just break the window in-

*click*

"Well this is quite the predicament." Alastor said, leaning over the windowsill. "Shut up asshole, just let me in." Vox grumbled. Alastor's grin seemed to widen. "And why shouldn't I just give you a little nudge?" The radio host questioned, placing his cane lightly against Vox's screen.

Vox couldn't help but notice that his cane had been seemingly glued back together and.. bandaged up? He didn't have time to think about that. "I uh.." He trailed off, only for Alastor to push his cane a little harder into Vox's screen. He tried to speak again, but he glitched, losing his grip and slipping.

But he didn't fall. Through all the TV static, he felt his wrists being grabbed, as he was pulled upward. He still couldn't focus much, but he recognized that he had dropped to a hardwood floor now.

"My, this certainly is quite a problem.. For you, anyway, I find it entertaining." Alastor chuckled. Vox pressed a palm to the cool floor to try and ground himself. Gradually, the static cleared itself. "You know what I found interesting? That someone as strong and as feared as you got cut down by an angel." He said, glaring.

The room got deadly silent, Alastor's smile much more strained now.

"... I need your help, okay?"

"And why should I help you? Especially after that nice little comment you made."

"Listen, I'm- Ugh. Forget it, I don't know why I even both-øťhəred-" Vox had stood to leave, only for another glitch to have him leaning against the wall for support.

"It appears neither of us are in great shape." Alastor said, begrudgingly lifting Vox by his upper arm and setting him in one of the swivel chairs. He crossed his arms and waited for Vox's glitching to pass.

After a solid minute, Vox groaned, his head starting to hurt. "So what made you think you'd come to someone who famously hates television boxes for help? Especially when that person is a rival, an enemy, someone you've fought in the past?" Alastor asked.

Vox looked up at him, feeling that pit of anxiety in his stomach again. "I didn't know who else to go to. Valentino is useless, Velvet doesn't know shit about tech, and you're the only other demon who has seen me weak before."

Alastor took a moment to process that last part. He considered it. If he helped Vox, he risked being seen as soft. But if he didn't help him, what if it got worse, and he lost his nemesis, the pettiness that kept him going at times, that pushed him to be the best Host?

He sat down in his seat, across from Vox. "Do you trust me?" He asked. Vox thought for a moment. Did he? He must have if he came here. "I have to."

"Good enough." Alastor went to get started... "Wait how the hell do I do this? I'm more familiar with my own equipment."

Oh, right. Vox sighed. "The back of my monitor comes off. Just open it, and I'll instruct you from there." He said, turning around and removing his hat.

Alastor curled his fingers around the back panel of his monitor, causing Vox to jump a little. "If you want me to help you, sit still-" "I am, shut up." Alastor pulled the back panel off and was met with what to him looked like Alien technology.

After Vox had instructed him on what to do, he got to work. Though he didnt like working in silence, it felt a little too intimate, especially with his hands inside someone else's head.

"So what exactly caused this, if I may ask?" He questioned. "Stress. I start to glitch out when things are hard to process and I overload. Sometimes if the glitching gets too bad, I shut down, which I'd rather avoid."

"Shut down," Alastor repeated, "I thought if you 'shut down,' you'd die or something?" "No, no.. I can more closely compare it to burnout but ten times worse. Last time I shut down, it took me a week to recharge."

"Hm. And what caused you to become so stressed this time? Sure I've seen you briefly buffer and glitch during our fights, but never this bad." Alastor asked. Vox noticed the radio filter in his voice seemed to fade out. He was genuinely curious.

He didn't know what to say. More like he didn't know how to say it. How do you tell your rival of all people you were stressed because you saw them get hurt?

"Well? With how close I am to all these wires, I'd answer if I were you." Ah, his filter was back. "I just.. Got overworked." "Need I remind you how easy it would be for me to unplug some of these wires? Hm, this yellow one seems awfully loose-" "I was worried oka- Aha!"

...

"What do we have here?" Alastor asked, a smile evident in his voice. Vox froze. He actually didn't know 'what they had there.' That had never happened before.

"I-I don't know, but Alastor I swear to Satan himself- wahait- grr- Don't!" He gripped the armrests of his seat in a desperate attempt to hold still. He worried if he pulled away too fast, he'd accidentally rip a wire out.

It felt so weird. He could actually feel Alastor messing with the wires in his head, specifically the ones down at the bottom that ran down his neck and into his back. Each time the Radio host rolled one between his fingers, it sent what felt like electricity into his system. Thousands of little shocks that made him want to pull away and- No. He wouldn't, it was dumb, it was weak, and it wasn't like him.

Alastor grinned wider, finding it fun to mess with him. "Why Vox, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were ticklish." He said, rubbing the wires again, watching as Vox gripped the armrests tighter and scrunched his shoulders up. Alastor only grew more amused as he heard the other's fans whir to life as his ventilation system tried to cool him down.

Vox, however, felt like he was fighting for his life. His shoulders were shaking, his chest was spasming, and he felt his screen overheating. He was actively fighting back any noise that tried to escape. He refused to be seen as any weaker than he already was. "T-Tickl-what? The f-fuhuck is that? Thihis isn't a vihirus??"

Alastor paused. "You seriously have never heard of tickling? It's childsplay. Children often have tickle-fights with their siblings and friends. You've never even seen it?" "I never really had any friends."

There was a beat of silence.

"What about the other V's?"

"Gross, you think I'd let Valentino get anywhere near me? You know where his hands have been?"

"Where haven't they been is the real question."

Fuck, that got a laugh out of Vox. A real one too, not the fake rehearsed one he used in public or on TV. It was lighter than Alastor expected, genuine, and almost had a warm sound to it if you can imagine that.

And Alastor found himself wanting to hear it again. "I suppose I should get back to maintenance now shouldn't I?" He said, returning to his work, get making sure his hands brushed over the wires and cables occasionally. More than occasionally.

"A-Alastor- fuhuck- wahahait- *wheeeze* ahahahaha!" Vox found himself stomping the floor a little, since he was unable to pull away. He felt light scritching at the base of his neck, obviously intentional. "Yohohou ohold tihihimey prihick! I'll d-dehehe- dehehehahahaha!"

"Oh I'm sorry, you're going to what now? I can't exactly hear you." Alastor grinned. Both hands, or claws one should say, suddenly scritched at the back of his ribs.

Unable to control himself, Vox tossed his head back and laughed, and slammed backward, pressing his back into the seat. Alastor was quick to pull his hands back with a chuckle.

Vox's fans were whirring loudly. "You ahasshole, just finish fuckin' repairing me." "Oh I finished that ten minutes ago!" Alastor answered cheerfully, popping the back panel back into place in Vox's monitor.

Vox groaned, irritated.

"I still find it hard to believe you've never heard of tickling! Everyone knows about it. I'm even more surprised no one's ever found out by accident. Not even while reparing your monitor?"

"I fix myself, I don't trust anyone to touch me."

"You trusted me."

Vox turned his swivel chair around to face Alastor. "I did, yeah.."

Alastor tilted his head a little in curiosity. "And maybe you could trust me again. You never did tell me what got you so stressed." Vox rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because you started assaulting me before I could."

"Voxius."

"That's not- Did you just assign me a full name?"

"Yes, now quit stalling." Alastor said, latching a hand onto Vox's side. "WAIT-" He shouted before batting at his hand, huffing out chuckles. Alastor only crawled his hands up Vox's ribs before targeting his underarms.

"WAITFUCKTHATSWORSE!" He cackled out, slamming his arms down, trapping Alastor's hands. The Radio demon only chuckled. "You'll learn that when it comes to tickling, much like real fights, you're not supposed to let your opponent know exactly where your weak points are. Now I can do this." He stated before drilling his thumbs into Vox's underarms.

"FAHAHAHACK!" He shouted, kicking a leg out, much like a dog, whilst also trying to curl up in his chair to protect himself. "Thihihis ihihis rihihihidiculohohous!!"

"What's ridiculous is that you still haven't answered the question."

"YOHOU WOHONT LEHEHET MEHEHE!"

"Hm, fine." Alastor stopped and pulled his hands away. Vox tried to kick him but of course a tendril came out and grabbed his leg, as he expected.

Vox muttered something. "I'm sorry?" Alastor asked, leaning closer. Vox sighed. "I was worried." "About?"

"About you."

Alastor's eyes widened ever so slightly. Vox had been violently glitching out over him? "Why is that?" His voice was normal.

"You're my rival, so obviously I tuned in to watch the battle. I wanted to see if you'd get killed. Part of me obviously wanted it to happen, but when I saw that Angel snap your cane and actually hit you-" Alastor flinched at the memory, "Seeing you actually vulnerable like that.. I realized I didn't actually want to lose my one and only rival. As much as I hate ya, you do push me to come up with newer and better shows in order to compete with you."

"I... can't say I haven't thought the same thing. Because of you I have to write better scripts and find the best topics for my broadcast. Even though it's no question that I'm the best," he grinned as Vox frowned, "But I am the best because of you."

Vox wasn't sure what to say to that, having mixed feelings. Before he could overthink it, Alastor held a hand out. He took it, as the other demon helped him up. "Now, it's quite late, and you have a tight schedule, I'm sure." He opened the window, as a large tendril waited outside for Vox.

"I do appreciate you coming to check on me." He said before hurrying Vox out the window, as he sat on the tendril. "If you tell anyone I said that, I just might broadcast this newly discovered sensitivity of yours." He threatened.

There was the Alastor he knew and loved to hate.

"I won't, don't worry. I don't feel like explaining to anyone why I was over at your Radio Tower anyway. You hurry up and heal, Alastor, I want you in top shape for our next fight," He smirked, "Even I'm not low enough to kick someone while he's do-OOOWN-" The tendril suddenly dropped, pulling Vox down with it, where it would drop him off safely on the ground.

Alastor shut his window, and watched the TV show host leave down the hill. Never in a million years did he think Vox would ever trust him, nor did he ever think he'd help his rival.

But he couldn't deny that he had had a little fun that night, not only tickling him, but just talking and getting to know him a little.

This night might have made their rivalry slightly more complicated.

[mai-komagata]

why not neither?

I have seen this fandom idea that either galadriel manipulated halbrand into seeking power again and brought him back, or halbrand manipulated galadriel into all the events of season 1

I posit its neither. Or maybe it's both. But I don't think is as unbalanced a situation as people make it out to be.

Like i've seen this sort of feeling that halbrand is choosing to just go to numenor to have some peaceful retirement and was not gonna be evil sauron anymore... And like... where are people getting this? We see in episode s2e1 that as soon as Halbrand got his body he was gonna march to get his revenge on Adar half naked if need be. Then he ran into men escaping the southlands and thought better of the plan. But like, he doesn't become just a random member of these people. He seeks out the man with the emblem and makes sure to take it from him as people were dying around him. He doesn't care if people around him dies. He is very aware of whom Galadriel is when he rescues her on the boat. The FIRST THING he does when he gets to Numenor is try to get access to the forge. Halbrand isn't begging for guild access because this is the only way he can scrape money for stew. He is a powerful magical being who can enslave all of middle earth if only he has access to the right materials and a hot enough fire. The fact that this is his priority when he has no other plan makes me think he isn't without guile even at this stage. I think Sauron is lost right here -- he doesn't really have a plan. But I don't think for one moment he doesn't want to be Sauron, or doesn't believe in his mission to be Morgoth's heir, the Savior of Arda. He is just lying in wait, trying to figure out the best plan of attack. And Galadriel gives it to him. Twice over. And the flip side of this is Galadriel. She is neither being manipulated at every step nor is she solely responsible for the return of Sauron. She is *being lied to* of course, but she isn't being mind controlled or something. You can say it's understandable that anyone would lie if someone threatened to kill them, but regardless of it is understandable for a fugitive to lie about his identity, it doesn't change the fact that he is lying and assuming a false identity. She is making decisions to include him in her plans based on this lie. I still haven't rewatched s1 recently, so I don't have perfect recollection of all events like I do season 2, but Galadriel isn't being manipulated into wanting to attack Adar and the Southlands, or convincing Numenor to attack with her. I do suspect that Sauron is heavily pressing the scales as to what decisions are being made in Numenor, but I haven't rewatched it for hints on what those could be. But at the end of the day, she is a good general and has a good plan Sauron can latch on to, and he recognizes her skill. Later, Galadriel brings Sauron to Eregion, and there Sauron's plan really takes shape. He has access to the most powerful smith in elvendom and the facilities to match. He is made privy to a plan to make magical rings to harness power. He would not have access to these things without Galadriel.

But I think its gets tricky to say Galadriel bears *moral* culpability for Sauron's actions. I think she is complicit in his plans and inadvertently helps him. Had she been more deliberate in her decisionmaking, less bloodthirsty and determined, she might have realized something was up before Eregion. While their goals were aligned she was willing to not ask too many questions, and only asks those questions when she isn't at the center of events. (which we see happen over and over again -- when people's ambition blinds them to not inquire as to who this charismatic stranger is. You cannot fool an honest man and all that) But I think it's a fallacy to say Sauron would not have found different plans or done something else to rise to power without Haladriel. I don't believe for a moment he was seeking a quiet retirement. I think he would have put in motion events in the Akallabeth much sooner if he had stayed in Numenor. (also ps i sometimes hear: If sauron is evil why did he [save this person][do this good thing][do this thing when nobody was watching]? Like, being Sauron doesn't prevent you from doing good things. He isn't omniscient, he cannot predict all ends. Sometimes he does things that might bear fruit later, for one. Sometimes there is no point to the evil thing. Sauron always believes he is saving middle earth, at the end of the day. He isn't wantonly destroying things or doing evil for the sake of evil. He is trying to bring things to order and under his control. And you get more flies with honey than vinegar. The only person he really is full on hating in season 1 is Adar).

[dracobrooklyn]

Wait, wait

That trope of human (or maybe dragonborn) sacrifice to appease the angry dragon

That with dragon!Durge and Tav

He refuses to eat them cuz they're too cute for that. Now they just sit on top of a pile of beautiful, soft cloth and bedding, his most precious treasure

Dragon!Durge 👀

|| MDNI || 18+ NO MINORS

Durge has been called so many names, The White Death, the Icy Tyrant, the bloody white wolf. But his real name is Durge.

His mother a white dragon that yes mated with Bhaal and she conceived her son. Named him Durge. Once he was old enough his mother was going to drive him out so he may take care of himself now but he actually left on his own. Sorry mom your not gonna get the satisfaction of kicking him out.

Durge found a Bhaal Cult in a city not in Baldurs Gate but in another part of the world. Though he had no problem proving he is the son of Bhaal, his red eyes gleaming with murderous intent. Killed a few followers just to prove a point and put the fear of god in them.

Just to add he is NOT a lazy dragon like Smaug from the Hobbit. He is very active. Yes he will sleep in his mounds of treasures and maybe clean his cave a little bit. He don’t mind a few bones here and there but he like to make an good impression to potential mates so he may spread his seed.

The Cult decided to start doing sacrifices, so they would steal virgin women (even though Durge could care less if they were virgins, just give him a poor sorry mortal he can feast).

Well… it backfired. Cause the first virgin sacrifice they saw was you. A young lady kidnapped in Baldurs Gate. You were so scared, frightened even. Crying that hoping someone would save you, perhaps a knight? An adventurer? But your stomach dropped hearing the wing beats of a dragon, a white dragon that looked as if he was stained with red on his scales as if blood was never washed from him. You had silent tears down your eyes and watch in horror, how he landed blowing cold air in your face, stalking towards you as his chest rumbles softly showing his red blood eyes glowing down at you showing nothing nothing but pure pride as if his face was saying “pathetic……” and his head tilts “and….pretty.”

The cultist chant praying for their Dragon god to take the life ready to be blessed… only for them to see Their mighty Durge snap the ropes free with his claw and snatch you away, while you screamed in fear leaving his cultists confused af… maybe he prefer to eat alone don’t like people watching him?

“So no Sacrifice?” One asked looked at each other

You on the other hand fainted. Thank Bhaal, he wasn’t sure if he could take anymore… then again it was amusing to see the fear and watch you pass out.

Later you would have woke up with fine pillows, silks, and a pile of dress’s that were just left for you. You thought maybe you could sneak out but Durge made himself known that he was curled around you staring at you as you stared back.

“Are you going to kill me?” You asked

“Do you want to die?” He ask bluntly

“N-no please don’t kill me.”

“Then I won’t, besides, I don’t want to already lose my new pet.”

New pet!!? Now you just realized that you were stuck here with a monster… who kills innocent beings. Oh gods she hoped someone come and save you…

I definitely took some inspiration from my favorite Dragon artist/Writer Ciruelo who made a book of Dragons and talked about how Dragons male Dragons would get Lonely easily since they mate once a year and it’s not easy for male Dragons to become friends since they are territorial. So they pick up favorites, women of any race to keep them company, tell stories, sing songs, and cuddle………… also Fucking but Ciruelo didn’t want to put that in a kids book which I understand but I honestly can tell that was another intention the dragons had.

Kinda wanna do more… send me more ask’s about this 👀

[your-turn-to-role]

so, was rewatching s1 of lovm, got to episode three again. and i'm thinking about percy's backstory. and also because of sylas briarwood, thinking about dalen's closet

and percy's got a real interesting relationship with the concept of drowning, huh

i mean first of all he's almost drowned (or actually drowned) three major times in the story. and all of those had similar themes, though different outcomes

so to explain what i mean, let's look at these in chronological order

1) the river. one of the worst days of his life, if not the actual worst. watching your entire family murdered, being locked up and tortured, your siblings bodies dumped in the cells next to you, just to rub it in. after weeks of this, you learn your youngest sister is alive, and she helps you escape, it's the first tiny bit of hope you've had. and then they kill her. you realise you're on your own all over again. you're hurt and you're lost and you don't know what to do, you run because you can't do anything else. and then you trip and before you know it you're in water and it's freezing and you can't breathe or move and you're so scared and so tired- and you don't remember much after that

when that fishing boat finds percy, he's basically in a fugue state, he has no idea what's going on and is barely responding to anything, his mind just couldn't take it anymore and left. and it doesn't get any better when he comes back to himself, because he survived, but for what. they're all gone. he couldn't do anything about it. he couldn't even save his sister like she saved him

and yes, they eventually save whitestone, and get cass back, but that experience stays with him

because then we get 2) duskmeadow.

percy's just learned that ripley bought up near industrial amounts of gunpowder, and he's terrified. he doesn't know what she's planning, but he knows what she will do with his weapons will change the world for the worse. it'll get countless people killed. and he made the decision to let her go, because at the time his personal revenge mattered more to him. he's feeling that "i survived for what" more than ever, because now not only did he survive when his family didn't, he didn't deserve to be the one that survived. none of the others would have caused destruction on this scale. he's not just alive for no reason, him being alive made things worse. (this is kinda explicitly his most suicidal point in the campaign, to the point of he literally wrote a goodbye letter that evening, and then just kept it on his person knowing vox machina would find it when his mistakes inevitably got him killed)

and so he goes to ask the raven queen for help. he's not yet reached the point where he's stopped trusting in gods (this meeting is about to be what sparks that), and he knows she's helped vax, so maybe she can help him, tell him how to fix this, he'll do anything

but there's only one way to talk to the raven queen. and that's to willingly let yourself drown in the communion pool.

and he tries, he tries so hard. he's putting every bit of trust he has in the raven queen right now, that this will be okay. but it's freezing and he can't breathe and he's so scared and so tired and all he can think about is how he survived and he shouldn't have, and then he has a panic attack. the only reason it eventually works is because he hits his head on the stone of the pool and then he's too confused and hurt to fight it

and when he finally talks to her, she tells him he can't fix it. that he was a broken person right from the start.

so far his two experiences with drowning have not only caused him lasting trauma around the whole experience, but continually affirmed that he's not only incapable of saving anyone he cares about, he actually makes the situation worse just by getting involved. and drowning honestly in itself makes a pretty good metaphor for how overwhelming and out of his control all of this is

but 3) dalen's closet. god, this was so good for percy and vex in so many ways, you can keep meta-ing about this episode for years. and in this case, sylas' attempt to murder vex and percy? chain them up and drop them from a cliff into the ocean

they're both drowning. there's no easy way out, and no one around who could rescue them

their attempts to free themselves, while clever, don't work

vex loses consciousness

it's just percy, alone, about to lose the person he loves most in the world, again. to a man who only knew vex even existed because percy got her involved

and percy doesn't panic

by all rights he should have, he's certainly got more than enough reason to. but he manages to stay calm enough to figure out a way to get his head above water, and to yell for help, because his fault or no he is not losing anyone else

and because of that, their friends can find them in time. he didn't get vex killed, he saved her

he's not helpless underwater anymore. and he's certainly not broken beyond repair. and it's only now that he's come far enough to realise that

[remimibanana]

A bit about Scales that Burn Flame!

I wrote a story about Sol Badguy!

It takes place during Revelator, around the time when That Man and his servants come to talk to Sol, Ky, Leo and Dr Paradigm. It focuses on what might have happened after Ky threw Sol out the door.

Mostly, it’s just Sol going through it and Ky trying to help alongside Jack-O’ but it’s kind of questionable if they actually did help at all in all honesty.

If you’d like to read it, please click here!

I wanted to talk about my thoughts in more detail, thinking that maybe you’d be interested to hear my thoughts as well! It's just me blabbing about how much I love Guilty Gear, mind you.

All under the cut!

Conception

It all started when I watched all of Sign, Revelator, REV 2 and Strive’s story and arcade modes after reading the digest mangas because I wanted to learn about Guilty Gear lore.

Is it a little crazy? Maybe.

I love Guilty Gear so much, you have no damn idea how it tickles my brain in the good way. All the characters have such depth to them, I have no clue how Daisuke does it but I bow down to his power.

The music is AMAZING as well. You don’t even have to be into the games to enjoy the sheer bangers that come from them. My favourite song is Freesia, the amount of emotion in it always takes me aback when I listen to it.

FREESIAAAAAAAAA HERE I AMMMMMMM—

My favourite story is the one that whole Xrd line of games tells! I think it’s one of the better ones in terms of how it’s told over the course of (technically) three games.

I also like Overture’s story for Valentine and the ending where Sol has to kill her but then learns that she was a clone of Aria…I think it has a great one. The game isn’t that bad to play either, I’ve done about half of the missions!

And Strive’s one too because it ends off Sol’s story and he gets to actually be with Jack-O’ by the end! Axl and Megumi too!

Fun fact, I’ve cried at the end of Sign, Revelator and Strive after watching their stories. They were all so good in many ways!

One of my gripes with the story in general is that we don’t get to see much of the in-between before major events, which is really apparent in Strive. Sometimes characters just appear out of nowhere and it’s a little jarring.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but I wished we got to see more of certain characters and how they got to the major events happening. I wanted to learn more about their thoughts and feelings that would give everyone so much more than they already had and make the overall story even better!

This is especially the case with Sol and Jack-O. I really think that they should have had more interaction during Revelator and Strive since their relationship is so important to both their characters.

For example, we get nothing from when Sol was thrown out the door to when they’re on Johnny’s ship on the way to where Elphelt is. You’re telling me that they did not interact once in between all that and that Sol was somehow okay with the whole idea of who Jack-O’ was just like that?

They deserve better and so I decided to take it all into my own two hands. I would write it out myself since I realised that I can cook my own meals and so I cooked (hopefully well)!

Why Sol’s point of view?

I chose to write in Sol’s point of view since he’s one of my favourite characters. I didn’t think I would like him so much when I first got into Guilty Gear, but once I learnt about his backstory….

THIS POOR GUY.

YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT HE KILLED ARIA MULTIPLE TIMES AND IS A SCIENTIST WHO IS SMART AS HELL????

MAN, I LOVE HIM. HE IS PERFECT TO ME.

I’ve never written someone like him before, so it was a fun challenge. I don’t know how well I managed to portray him in all honesty, I wanted a good mix between his whole asshole personality and the humanity that’s underneath it all.

I tried my best!

There’s a whole bunch of swearing everywhere as you can tell, I think Sol’s one of those people who swears more internally than he does externally. It was fun dropping a bunch of bullshits and fucks all around, but I hope I didn’t overdo it.

I’m sorry to whoever clicks on it without reading the tags and is just bombarded by swears. Sol swears and there’s nothing I can do about it. It wouldn’t sound like him otherwise.

The story was originally was going to have a different plot where I alternated between Jack-O’ and Sol’s point of views while focusing on their pasts but I scrapped it since couldn’t work out how to bring Jack-O’ and Frederick into it without making the flow of the story weird.

It also wasn’t meant to be this long but my stories always tend to be long as hell. I think this one is borderline close to my magnum opus, Paradox which is impressive!

I remember at around the 15k point, I thought I would be done and then subsequently kept on writing and writing….

I hope you all still enjoyed it none of the less!

Beginning

We see that the story starts off with a bit about Sol himself for the readers. We learn right away about his stances on various things and how he hates Asuka and how much he loved Aria.

It was the perfect place to start the story, providing the right amount of information I could work with for the rest of it! I thought it would also work for someone who didn't know too much Guilty Gear and wanted to still read it.

I liked writing the whole section where Sol just calls the whole thing bullshit. I think it’s a fun word, bullshit. Ah, bullshit.

The most important thing to this part is that it builds up to one of the main major scenes that features a wonderful person named Ky Kiske and his long wonderful hair who tries to help.

Why did you cut it in Strive????

Sol and Ky

This part here could be read as Sol/Ky in my opinion, because you can’t tell me that there isn’t something between the two of them. I didn’t really intend it to be but you really can’t miss the possibility of such things in the way I wrote it.

Anyway!

As we know, Ky threw Sol out the door and Sol let out his huge scream we see in the main story.

I think it’s strange that no one ever mentions it happening at all. There’s no way in hell that they didn’t hear from behind the door and yet it’s as if it never happened.

Once again, since we never got to see the in between…we wouldn’t ever know. I had a lot of creative control over here, but I tried to make it realistic so it could sound like something you’d see in the actual story if we got it!

Sol breaks down, consumed by his own damming thoughts that only told him how it was all his fault at the end for killing her. It’s the only logical conclusion after learning what he learnt from the person he hates the most and the girl who was technically Aria.

You can tell that Ky is pretty worried about Sol, because he’s never seen him like this. Sol’s not one to show much emotion aside from grumpy and royally pissed off.

Unfortunately for Sol, he keeps telling him to breathe over and over. I think that Ky’s trying his best to comfort his rival but it’s not working out since Sol’s not even listening.

Sol hears the words from Jack-O’ and Asuka behind the door, and well…all hell breaks loose. I don’t know how accurate his reaction would be, but I tried my best based on how he acts!

In After Story A, we find out that Sol was actually scared of Ky back in the days of the Crusades. I had to bring that into the story here, using that gaze as a way to snap Sol out of his state at times.

My favourite part I wrote was when Sol yelled at Ky that he killed Aria. I think it’s something that takes even you aback, because you don’t expect him to say it to anyone, let alone Ky.

I think I cooked here.

You can tell that I keep bringing up the concept of the headaches. We see them mostly in Overture when Sol is near Valentine (and when he sees Jack-O’ for the first time in Revelator and it’s mentioned in his win quote for Ram in Sign). I feel like we never see them again after that and I think it’s important!

I imagine his head hurts because of the fact that it is Aria in a way and he’s reacting to it (amplified thanks to the Flame of Corruption + the probable instincts that came with becoming a Gear).

How could I not use it?

Sol’s intermission by the fountain—

He breaks. Again. I’m sorry Sol, I swear I do love you, it’s just that it’s for the plot.

This is probably the most emotional part of the story, one where Sol is quite literally going through it.

You can tell that the style of writing is different here. It's more faster, more messy, almost chaotic. That's what I wanted, to reflect how Sol was feeling throughout all this.

I chose the Royal Court for this! I was thinking about where Sol could go after storming off from everyone, and all I could think about was a fountain. I had some ideas of using his reflection, but I wasn’t sure if there was a place in Illyria Castle that had it.

I searched it up and boom! I even played Xrd and checked out the stage, and there was definitely a fountain and a walkway that lead to it, so I went straight to writing!

During the part with Ky, I mentioned how Sol’s hand started to smoke twice. That was foreshadowing for him losing control of his powers. I think his power is linked with his emotions, flaring up when he’s more angry as an example.

I think he would simply transform into his Dragon Install if he’s overwhelmed, as you can see that happening at the end of this part.

I used quotes from the original game, Overture and Sign for the flashback scenes. I remember I was searching up for the script for Sign, but found this website instead where it had some of the messed up things that happen in the series.

I never played the original game, but seeing “Sol, the Guilty Gear, stared at his bloodstained hands and prayed. Prayed for the soul of the grotesque sacrifice laying before his feet.” made my heart drop in a good way.

IT’S SO GOOD.

I had to use it. I thought it would be painful if I mentioned every single time he killed Aria or she’s mentioned explicitly in the story, just to hammer it all in ehe

You can see that Sol punches himself at the end to knock himself out before he can fully transform. I think he ultimately does care about his actions and how he can affect everyone, and he didn’t want to become that monster he kept calling himself.

Poor guy….

Sol and Jack-O!

I wanted the two of them to interact one to one. We only got that at the end before Jack-O’ merged with Justice and that was only for like 30 seconds tops, which is so unfair!

I needed an excuse for her to come back to see him after she left.

I feel like Asuka would be monitoring Sol from the shadows like some creepy person. He probably has something that can tell him about Sol and the state of the Flame of Corruption inside of him.

The whole breakdown surely would have raised some alarm bells and so, he sends his remaining two servants out to see if Sol was okay. Asuka had an inkling that it was related to what Jack-O’ probably told him before she came back.

He’s probably like that.

This whole section jumps from one thing to another, which suits Jack-O’ perfectly. Poor Sol’s emotions are going from one end to another thanks to her antics and wonderful words.

I really like Jack-O’ Valentine, if you can’t tell. I wanted to show that more philosophical side we see in Jam’s story mode that we barely get to see otherwise in Revelator. Strive gives us a lot more of it, at least.

“Don’t be pushed around by fate, don’t be swept along by the time, don’t be fearful by parting, don’t run away from death, and go towards the future you believe in…Frederick.”

“As long as you remember me, my story will never vanish.”

These lines here are from Honkai Impact 3rd! It’s a game I absolutely love and I was playing through some more of Part 1 and these lines that Mei says when she talks about the Elysian Realm were perfect and I stole them.

I always keep stealing things from the game, don’t look at me lol

It sounded like something Aria would say. She would tell Frederick this if she had the chance to, giving him the hope he needs to continue on.

Sol (kinda) cries! I don't think we ever see him crying in any of the games but I thought that hearing such words would make him cry in some way. I made it up that it was the Flame of Corruption's fault that he can't have actual tears, since it would make sense!

High temperature + Tears = Evaporation after all!

You can see that Sol was thinking about kissing Jack-O’, just for a second. Look, you can’t tell me that he doesn’t see his lover (technically) and he doesn’t want to kiss her again as he used to?

Of course he doesn’t, he would never do anything to her without her permission. I think Sol would be a stickler about that, as seen when he asked her about if she wanted to go on a vacation or do work in Strive at the beginning.

I don't know how in character this is, but it's there.

The end makes me laugh because of how quickly Sol shifts from being (somewhat) happy to pissed off in a split second (LOL).

Candy, Candy!!!

We have Sol and Jack-O’ looking for the kitchen for candy, how fun!

This part wasn’t meant to be as long as I made it, but I got heavily invested into the plot I made up and it kept flowing out of me….

I think I overdid it, so much crazy shit happens in this part but I think it’s funny so…it’s okay? I hope you all liked it!

I like how Ky and Jack-O' have a little fun friendship here. I think they would good friends at the end if they had the chance to communicate, like so!

I think Sol would be jealous of them. I mean, they act like goodie goodie friends out of nowhere? I like how they mostly gang up on him and he gets all mad.

We have Alyssa in the story! You know, that one girl from After Story C that made that giant pudding. I just wanted to make Sol have beef for no reason and she sounded like the person for the job. He absolutely hates her for no reason.

We have a chocolate fight too. Uh...this idea just came up in my brain and I had to write it. I thought it was so damn funny that Jack-O' is attacking him a whole block of chocolate for no reason. The worst part was that Sol would actually get into it.

I think it was at this point that it started getting a little crazy but I think you could plausibly see this in game. I mean, after all the crazy stuff that happens in After Story C, anything is possible lol

Raven here is a little shit of course. I think he would shoot Sol with one of his needles for fun, and of course no one cares. Ky is sort of just there but he gets his parts too!

I had fun writing this part!

Leo.

Leo.

I mentioned how Sol was going to get a mouthful from him since he kept destroying public property and I couldn’t help myself from writing it out.

I just wanted to make Leo freak out and faint. I hope it made you laugh!

That’s a wrap!

Thank you for reading all this if you do!

I had a lot of fun writing this story while being very Guilty Gear brainrotted about literally everything and anything with this series.

These characters make me very happy. I could go on day about Sol and Jack-O', and it's not funny.

-Miku

[lxke02]

SERPENT STYLE

—soshiro hoshina x fem! iguro obanai! reader

PROLOGUE [1/3]

MASTERLIST | NEXT CH. | NAV.

I was born into a family of thieves. There wasn't a single female born into this family for many generations, there wasn't a single girl until I was born. These women are the spouses of the original family members, these woman came outside the family.

My family was rich, although, this wealth didn't come from their hard work. In fact, this riches was stolen by my family from the Kaiju that my family worshipped.

Yes, hidden from the public eyes, there's a snake-like Kaiju living inside the family mansion. In exchange for wealth, my family offers sacrifices, whether it be a spouse, a son, or a brother.

This Kaiju kills people and in return my family stole those poor victim's riches.

Ever since I was born, I was kept in a cell. Imprisoned, the Kaiju took a liking to me and wanted me to grow older. It took a liking to my strange and heterochromia eyes-turquoise and gold.

My family lavished me with jewelry and food. Yet, I barely had the energy to stomach the food they gave me nor wear the jewelry they gave me. The grease fills my small cell, a disgusting smell I grew to hate. The jewelry was too heavy for me and I have no use for it.

When I was 12, some family members took me out of my cell and brought me to the Kaiju.

It was terrifying, her snake-like eyes looking at me with hunger, scales covered her body, her upper body human-like yet the lower half was like a snake. I could only look at her in fear, my small body shaking and trembling. Fearing for its life.

"What's going to happen to me?"

"Am I going to die? Eaten by her?"

Those thoughts kept on repeating inside my mind.

She wanted me to be like her. I cried in pain when family members held me as the Kaiju slit my mouth. A chalice underneath me, collecting the dripping blood from my face.

She took a sip of the chalice. Watching a bit of crimson staining her wide lips after she removed the chalice.

She ordered my family to take me back to my cell.

And I was, I was thrown back to my cell, all bloodied and in pain.

Crimson staining the white yukata I was wearing.

I tried to make myself smaller as I sat at the farthest corner of my cell, rocking my body back and forth, crying silently as I felt the stinging and painful sensation on my cheeks-where the Kaiju cut me, that's where I met Kaburamaru-an albino snake that slithered into my small cell.

Instead of fear, I was curious and the snake didn't seem to be wary of me and gently slid into my arm and wrapped around my neck-surprisingly not choking me.

"You seem nice, I guess you're my friend now." I mumbled to myself, hugging my knees, "What should I name you? How about Kaburamaru?" I asked and I watched as the snake's fork-like tongue slithered out of its mouth. I smiled softly, wincing slightly as I felt the cut on my cheeks.

I tried looking for ways to escape, I somehow managed to chip away the wooden bars of my cell. My thin and malnourished body was able to squeeze through.

I ran.

But it seems like my family noticed my disappearance and immediately alerted the others.

Including the Kaiju.

Thankfully, I was saved.

By a woman who introduced herself as Hikari Shinomiya.

I watched how easily she killed the Kaiju.

I also found out that Kaiju killed all of my family members-except for my cousin.

Hikari-san brought me to my cousin in which he slapped me.

Telling me that I should've allowed myself to be eaten.

Telling me it was my fault for getting my family killed.

At that moment, I felt anger. Anger for my family, and anger towards kaijus.

My last remaining family member left. Stomping his foot as he walked away. My heart numbed yet aching. My face is still stinging in pain from the lack of treatment to my wound.

Yet I watched my cousin's form slowly disappeared into the distance. My eyes dull and blank. The only thing I can think of is, the audacity.

I don't even know his name yet he had the nerve to slap me? I sigh softly, my head heavy and falling into the older woman's shoulder. I'm too tired to think, too sad to care.

I let the older woman carry me into her arms.

"My, that was very harsh of him." Hikari-san says, her hand patting my small back.

"It seems you have nowhere else to go, how about you come with me?" she asked me softly and I looked at her, emotionless and nodded.

That's how I was adopted by the Shinomiya family.

I was welcomed warmly by the Shinomiya family, they treated me like I was their own daughter.

Kikoru was a cheerful and energetic child, she treated me like her own older sister.

They also welcomed Kaburamaru, although they were hesitant at first but they eventually accepted it.

Within the Shinomiya family, they found out I was talented when it comes to the sword.

Mrs. Shinomiya found me swinging the sword, I do not know why she was surprised when I was just swinging it around. I just copied what I saw from watching tv.

I didn't know I held and swung it perfectly with pinpoint accuracy.

Mr. Shonomiya, decided it upon himself to train me.

Although it didn't last long as it seems I freeze up every time he is near me.

They realized I developed a fear for men after what happened to me with my biological family.

Hikari-san urged me to call her mother and Isao-san as father and I accepted her wish.

My mother started to train me herself as it seems I can't train properly with my father due to my phobia of men.

It's not exactly fear, it's more like I grew to hate men. My cousin's voice kept echoing inside my mind, mocking me and reminding me of the past. How disgusting I am, how absolutely dirty of me for the sole reason of my family's death.

I continued to train and train. Promising myself to become stronger to eliminate kaijus. I developed my own techniques, techniques that are inspired by snakes.

The irony of it all.

I began wearing bandages around my face, covering the hideous scar on my cheeks.

Not long after, Mother soon died. Dying to the hands of a Kaiju.

My relationship with my adopted father slowly deteriorated, there was barely any to begin with.

Thankfully, I kept my relationship with my adopted sister intact.

Father changed after mother died. He wanted me and Kikoru to strive for perfection.

Father began to have favorites, that of course being Kikoru.

Father told me to give up on my dreams of becoming a defender, telling me the era of swords was long gone and if I wanted to succeed, I should stick with long range.

"Give up, [name]. We live in a modern era where Kaiju's are only eliminated via guns and canons. Your sword cannot pierce a Kaiju's skin."

Father's voice echoes into my mind.

Unfortunately, my attack power for long range is mediocre but with the sword however, was powerful.

I made sure to hone my talents despite what my father said. I continued my path of the sword. I made sure to be there for Kikoru while maintaining my studies.

I swing my sword a thousand times, I swing my sword till I pass out. I swing my sword till I bleed, crimson staining my hands. The very crimson that stained that Kaiju's lips as she drank my blood through a golden a chalice.

The very memory serves as my motivation, my anger continues to burn.

My hands are too small to hold a canon, my arms are too weak to hold a gun.

But its grip is fueled by anger, each slash filled with intent to kill, intent to kill Kaijus.

Burn that memory into my mind, the horrifying grin of that snake-like Kaiju and the very memory when I heard the news of my beloved adopted mother passed away.

Each swing of my sword, my body continues to burn. I ignore it. Maintain my breathing, make sure oxygen reaches every nook and cranny of my body, make sure every muscle, every blood vessel received oxygen.

Fight, continue fighting. Fight for a future without Kaijus. Fight to serve as motivation for others.

I chant internally, perfectly aware of Kikoru's innocent eyes looking at me with awe as she sat at the engawa of our house as I trained at the garden.

That's right, Kikoru. I know you'll be strong. Your older sister is very proud of you. I hope my image is burned into your memory.

I thought to myself as I grinned underneath my bandages, my arms swinging in the air as I gripped the wooden sword tightly with my hands.

When you swing your sword, you must follow through.

Make sure each slash serves it's purpose.

With one final stance, I slash my sword one last time for the day.

My chest heaves up and down as I panted. A drop of sweat rolled down my neck. I gently relaxed my body and turned to the side to look at my little sister.

She knows I'm smiling at her, with how the sides of eyes crinkled.

"Onee-san! You're so strong! Onee-san was like pow! Boom! And whoosh!" Kikoru says excitedly, animatedly trying to mimic my previous moves, swinging her tiny arms around as if she's holding an imaginary sword.

I chuckled softly, walking towards her.

"Really now? Do you think onee-san can defeat those scary Kaiju's?" I asked her, tilting my head slightly and Kikoru nodded, jumping up from her seat. Spreading her arms widely as she grinned.

"I know onee-san is strong so I know she'll defeat those scary Kaijus!" she says excitedly.

I nodded, my eyes closed as I pat her head, feeling the strands of her golden hair weave through my fingertips.

"Yes, onee-san will defeat those Kaijus."

I decided to leave home and train somewhere else, I couldn't stand being near my father.

"Kikoru, onee-san will now be going somewhere far." I say softly, hugging Kikoru as she silently sobbed into my shoulder. Kikoru nodded, she knows how harsh their father was and as much as she didn't want her older sister to leave her, she knows their father is holding her older sister back.

And leaving home is the only way for her older sister to grow then she'll allow it.

"Make sure to keep in touch, dummy." Kikoru says in-between hiccups and I smiled, "Of course, be a good girl okay?" I say and she nodded.

I waved goodbye to my little sister as I moved away to somewhere far, where I can study and learn without the pressure of my father.

It wasn't long when I got into the Japan Anti Kaiju Defense Forces's third division unit, passing with flying colors and coming on top. Showing the third division unit what she's capable of despite using the blade rather than guns or canons.

That's where I met Soshiro Hoshina, the very person who came after me when it comes to ranking.

Another person who uses a sword when in combat and someone who caught her interest.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

• [Name] didn't take the Shinomiya last name and continued on using her birth last name despite the painful memory it comes with.

• I didn't put any clear ages with the characters because I don't know any of the characters ages, aside from Kafka.

• [Name] and Soshiro would be somewhere around 18 years old during this—specifically when they're about to take the entrance exam.

• Grammatical and spelling errors are present within this fic and improper use of writing symbols (?).

• Following chapters after the prologue chapter may or may not be written from a third person point of view.

[sketching-shark]

Okay so I’ve now seen multiple posts arguing about whether Clytemnestra of The Oresteia fame is one of the world’s first girlbosses or just a power-hungry monster, but personally (and keep in mind that this is my impression after just reading Agamemnon) i think there’s something more interesting and horrifying on a society-wide scale going on with her.

Because right after she murders Agamemnon and the chorus reacts by saying she’s done an “evil thing” and will “go homeless now/crushed with men’s bitterness,” she responds with:

“Now it is I you doom to be cast out from my city

with men’s hate heaped and curses roaring in my ears.

Yet look upon this dead man; you would not cross him once

when with no thought more than as if a beast had died,

when he ranged pastures swarmed with the deep fleece of flocks,

he slaughtered like a victim his own child, my pain

grown into love, to charm away with winds of Thrace.

Were you not bound to hunt him then clear of this soil

for the guilt stained upon him?

Yet you hear what I have done, and lo, you are a stern judge. But I say to you:

go on and threaten me, but know that I am ready,

if fairly you can beat me down beneath your hand,

for you to rule; but if the god grant otherwise,

you shall be taught--too late, for sure--to keep your place.”

So in other words, one of her main reasons for killing Agamemnon was for killing her daughter, but it also seems that somewhere along the way she became convinced that any claimed adherence to justice, morality, honor, and even love were complete bullshit, that the only thing which mattered was how you could wield raw power to get what you wanted. And in the context of Agamemnon, you can understand why she would come to think this. Agamemnon, after all, was a lauded king even though he had murdered his own daughter so that he could go wage war against Troy, he does in fact put this entire city to the sword (and goddamn do a lot of works go into the minute brutality of that slaughter), and his entire household runs on slavery, with him bringing back even more enslaved people from Troy. And in the eyes of their society, all of this is understood as completely fine and good, or at least something that shouldn’t be challenged.

So if Troy and its people were destroyed because Menelaus was pissed at Paris, why shouldn’t Clytemnestra kill Agamemnon because she’s pissed at him? If it’s okay for a king to spend ten years waging war, why not kill one’s husband and take his throne? If we’re working in a social system that ultimately always falls back on a “might makes right” way of organizing itself no matter how much human pain and death may be the result, why not take power however you can and then tell anyone who objects that you’ll kill them too if they step out of line? And who even has the right to act like you’re in the wrong when they made it clear they were perfectly fine with so many other atrocities?

So no, Clytemnestra is not a good person. While I haven’t read it yet, my understanding is that she acts in more and more monstrous ways throughout the other plays she’s in, even going so far as to continually abuse her surviving daughter Electra. But her individual monstrous actions also seem to be the direct result of her concluding that the fine sentiments others claim to be acting upon are nothing more than a tissue-thin veneer for their own greed and lust for power, and that she at least wasn’t going to pretend that hers weren’t.

The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies, but I do think it’s one that’s made even more discomfiting by the idea that this was tragedy produced just as much by the allowances of society as the individual actions of its characters.

[starguardianniom]

Shadybug and Chloé

So I read that many people were peeved that Chloé Bourgeois got namedropped when Shadybug was ranting to Ladyfly about how she didn't have a good life and only knew pain and suffering at the ends of Chloé and well, I feel like it kinds of fit though?

Hear me out first before branding your pitchforks please.

In Shadybug and Claw Noir's world, Betterfly says that any forms of mutual aid is a CRIME.

So let's just say that probably shades some lights on why Shadybug is so angry and bitter and jealous of Ladybug, she has no one to turn to but her partner who tries to backstab her constantly and wouldn't mind killing her off without a second thought if she pushed her luck too much.

If helping someone else is a crime in their world, it would probably explain why Shadybug has no friends, the girl squad trying to comfort her back in Derision the year before and Socqueline standing up for her would probably get them in serious trouble and it wouldn't be with just Chloé, but probably the teachers and other students witnessing them help Emonette in any way.

No idea what would be the punishment, but most likely something they don't dare to try to chance it.

So they are not close to Emonette and don't befriend her, so she is really alone to face her bully.

Who is probably worse than the actual Chloé if there is really no one stopping her from making Emonette feeling even worse.

The Supreme being the main villain and not Gabriel changed some stuff in their world, and it starts with different laws and views on some things, and one of them is helping others in any way is seen as criminal.

Apparently being decent in that universe makes you a pariah or something like that.

That might also explains why Shadybug says she doesn't have a nice mom, her mom probably doesn't dare to do anything against her bullying, or even if she is maybe concerned about it, can't help her because again it's a crime to help others in that universe apparently.

Not that even if she did try, Chloé is most likely still the daughter of the mayor in that universe too and can get away with it while probably having Emonette and Sabine being punished for any perceived slight against her, weither she is in the right or wrong. We saw several examples in the show of her doing just that, and some where before and after she became Queen Bee so.

And let's not forget that Emonette doesn't have Alya either, so she probably went through what Marinette went through 4 seasons with Chloé on a different scale, given there are no heroes but Betterfly to defend them and inspire them, and since helping others is not acceptable, Chloé has no one to look up to and idolize and wanting to be better, this universe seems to encourage people to be worse instead of better and anyone thinking the opposite becomes a criminal.

Again, their universe is quite different from the one the show takes place in and maybe it would help to remember that.

Sure it sucks for all of Chloé's fans to have her name dragged in the mud again it seems, but it's a different Chloé from quite a nasty piece of work of a universe as far as I can tell, so to me it checks out.

Because at the beginning before Marinette heard about Adrien and he becoming Ladybug to save Paris her biggest concern was Chloé Bourgeois.

She had known Chloé for years and was her favorite target, and given she was a normal teenager back then, her bully being her biggest source of angst, given how nasty Chloé is and with her father's name backing her up, seems to have it big on her plate.

Because the only person who ever gave Marinette a hard time was Chloé, never the others students, until that one time in Derision with Kim but well we're not gonna dwell on that anymore.

So it makes sense Emonette's biggest concern who made her life horrible was also Chloé Bourgeois until she got her miraculous from the Supreme, if no one else was willing to being marked a criminal for daring to help her via actual laws.

Because if people forgot about it the Supreme had no problem using two 14 years old teenagers to become his enforcers while also hiding the fact that using their powers for evil would destroy them, and those kids were fucking working for him willingly, so imagine how other 14 years old kids (mainly the class) would fare if they dared breaking the law for Emonette by helping her in any way?

Not much better it seems, given the Supreme was willing to let 2 teens die slowly despite their loyalty to him it means most likely being a kid isn't an excuse to break the law.

Gabriel said people lived in fear of the Supreme, I got a pretty good idea of why when thinking about it all.

I'm legit scared of Emonette's universe not gonna lie.

Helping people being a crime there, think about it for a second.

Chloé would have no reason to change for the better unless she would want to have problems with the actual ruler of the world.

Sounds far fetched but then again the Supreme was also able to prevent people from making a wish with Gimmi, aka the actual top god so yeah, it sucks but it's how it is in that universe.

BUT. BUT.

Doesn't mean that Emonette can't make Chloé change to become a better person in the future, but we probably won't see that happening if we ever see her again, or if we do it will probably just be mentionned quickly, or they will have bigger concerns to deal with.

[gotstabbedbyapen]

I don't know the story of Cadmus. But why was he turned into a snake? I don't want the pjo that its say after cadmus killed ares dragon. Ares is so angry that he turned him into a snake together with his daughter harmonia (because hes angry she marries him thats why he turn her into a snake too or something like that?? can't remember)

I haven't read the PJO series so I didn't know that. But please keep in mind that the series, and many others, are a modern works based on Greek mythology. They should not be considered legitimate sources like actual texts from ancient Greece. I'm assuming you've also read my Harmonia headcanon post, so please know that those ideas were also purely my imagination.

With that aside, let's get in the myths!

For the full story of Cadmus' life and heroic adventure, I recommend you checking out this video. It's a fun summary/illustration of the myth that feature excerpts from the literature texts (I know the title sounds weird but trust me, the guy did his homework)

Now, I can get why PJO would choose the route where Ares turned Cadmus and Harmonia (his daughter) into snakes out of rage. That was one version recorded in "The Fabulae" by Hyginus.

Cadmus, son of Agenor and Argiope, along with Harmonia his wife, daughter of Venus and Mars, after their children had been killed, were turned into snakes in the region of Illyria by the wrath of Mars, because Cadmus had slain the dragon, guardian of the fountain of Castalia. - Hyginus, The Fabulae 6.1

If people prefer this version, it's their choice. I may not agree with it but hey there is no "right" and "wrong" source in mythology.

I'm going with Apollodorus' version more, and this is the one where I based my "Cadmus became Ares' servant and Harmonia had a crush on him during that time" headcanon on (if you've read my Harmonia headcanon post)

But Cadmus, to atone for the slaughter [of the dragon], served Ares for an eternal year; and the year was then equivalent to eight years of our reckoning. After his servitude Athena procured for him the kingdom, and Zeus gave him to wife Harmonia, daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. - Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Bibliotheca 3.4.2

As for how Cadmus and Harmonia got turned into snakes, I know not everyone likes Ovid for his reputation with certain unsavory myths, but I really like his version of their transformation.

After many years of tragedy befalling on their family, Cadmus and Harmonia left Thebes. Cadmus cried that their misfortune must have came from the time he killed the dragon and wished to become a snake. So the gods turned him into one (it wasn't specified who did it). Harmonia, in turned, wished to become a snake as well.

[...] Cadmus spoke; “Was that a sacred dragon that my spear impaled, when on the way from Sidon's gates I planted in the earth those dragon-teeth, unthought-of seed? If haply 'tis the Gods, I only pray that I may lengthen out, as any serpent.” Even as he spoke, he saw and felt himself increase in length. His body coiled into a serpent's form; bright scale's enveloped his indurate skin, and azure macules in speckled pride, enriched his glowing folds; and as he fell supinely on his breast, his legs were joined, and gradually tapered as a serpent's tail. And his wife bewailed, and smote her breast, “Ah, Cadmus, ah! Most helpless one, put off that monster-shape! Your feet, your shoulders and your hands are gone; your manly form, your very colour gone; all—all is changed!—Oh, why not, ye celestial Gods, me likewise, to a serpent-shape transform!” So ended her complaint. Cadmus caressed her gently with his tongue; and slid to her dear bosom, just as if he knew his wife; and he embraced her, and he touched her neck. All their attendants, who had seen the change, were filled with fear; but when as crested snakes the twain appeared in brightly glistening mail, their grief was lightened: and the pair, enwreathed in twisting coils, departed from that place, and sought a covert in the nearest grove. - Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.7

Even though they were turned snakes, they were at least soothed from their pain and, in the end, were taken to Elysium to live happily ever after.

But afterwards he was, along with Harmonia, turned into a serpent and sent away by Zeus to the Elysian Fields. - Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Bibliotheca 3.5.4

And there you have it!

[demonsbanebard]

It’s time!! I finally get to share some of the writing I did for the @bg3tarotdeck

First off, the Wife, Jaheira! For Temperance

An unfamiliar group of adventurers. Heavily armed and road-weary. Illuminated by the light of Selune’s Veil as they shook off the darkness behind them.

The vines in these cursed lands responded slower than usual to Jaheira’s magical coaxing. They felt slick and oily under her command as they seized the intruders. Their thorns grew longer and sharper, but they ultimately accomplished her goal without too much blood spilled.

“They helped us against the shadows!” one of the surviving Harpers interjected.

Jaheira eyed the supposed saviors warily. Thankfully for them, she was not inclined to kill without question, but they may well have come at the end of her mercy. Rescuing her Harpers had tipped the scales, but trust had never been something she gave freely. Not when so many lost lambs were under her protection.

Perhaps they had saved these Harpers to get into her good graces. To infiltrate this group of survivors. She had not been blind to the blighted creatures sniffing at the veil of magic that stood between life and death. Dark thoughts and darker doubts slithered through her head faster these days. The idea that the malice of this place was corrupting her very thoughts from within the barrier was… worrisome.

As she pondered, she felt movement from one of her many leather pouches and barely reigned in a sigh. If that creature was active, it meant that these trespassers were infected. So called “True souls”. It was vexing when her instincts proved correct.

Jaheira fished the jarred tadpole out of her pocket and presented it to the unfortunate adventurers within her grasp. Their reaction to the creature spoke volumes. It was a rare person, indeed, who could identify mind flayer spawn by sight. “These worms know their own kind. I know what you are. You should never have come here, True Soul.”

So much death. So much killing. It seemed these shadows delighted in crushing souls as much as they enjoyed harvesting them.

“Wait! Our minds are our own! Let us explain!” They struggled harder as the vines constricted, sliding up their legs and restraining their limbs as they tightened like snakes to crush the air from their lungs.

She had been lenient. Perhaps too lenient recently and it had cost good men and women their lives. If she had been faster to bare her teeth, would it have saved more lives? She could become a beast without trading skin for fur if it meant fewer people perished under her command. “I am not so foolish to believe mindflayer spawn could keep their own mind. You True Souls have pulled an old cat’s tail one time too many.”

Jaheira’s hand was an executioner’s axe as she raised it. The warm green glow of magic around her arm was reminiscent of the sunshine she missed so much as she touched the vines again, preparing to end the interlopers. At least their deaths would be quick.

Merciful.

She could only hope those under her command would experience the same swift end. The old Druid had long ago accepted that she would not die quietly in her bed.

“Wait!” came a child’s voice. The leader of the little thieves’ band with the missing eye. “These were the ones! They saved us at the grove!”

The vines paused, poised to strike. So these newcomers were not charlatans, but true saviors.

Perhaps they could be saviors once more. Could they be the secret to killing a man who even death did not want? Surely, there were worse places to search for a miracle.

She could spare them, it seemed, yet she was still hesitant to allow them free reign. Without knowing their true intentions, she could be letting a canine into her flock. The truth herbs she carried with her could be used to lift the wool. To see whether a wolf or a guardian roamed amongst them.

“It seems today is your lucky day,” she observed, letting the vines sink back into the putrid soil. They could all use more luck in their lives. “You must join me for a drink in celebration.”

Inside of Last Light Inn was not safe, but the splintered wood provided shelter, and feeling less exposed earned her a small measure of calm. The truth-telling herbs were rather pungent and rare, but the small pouch she pulled from her pack was more than enough for her purpose. The well-dried and prepared plant lifted the ever-present scent of rot and she savored the reminder of a greener world. With a measured hand, she poured both the powder and a dash of hope into a strong red wine.

The drink would cover the worst of the smell, and the alcohol could do nothing but help. Thankfully, it did not have much of a taste to accompany the scent. Even she was not so uncivil as to taint a decent wine.

They joined her at a long wooden table and she passed them a cup. They sniffed at the goblet and shot her a knowing look. “You’ve added something.”

Truly, they were after her own heart. Equal parts open and suspicious. Too bad their caution was interfering with her plans.

She reclined in her chair and served them her most charming grin. “Just something to let me know your true intentions. One cannot be too careful. Do not worry, it does not sour the flavor.”

Recognition flared in their eyes and they sighed heavily before draining the cup.

Relief. It had been too long since she had felt such a thing. The simple gesture of trust, of willingness to compromise, pulled hope from her wild heart.

“We are here to help,” they assured her.

Jaheira allowed herself to enjoy the small victory for a single moment before sitting forward, once again The Commander.

“Good. Because I have one hell of a task for you, my friends. What do you know about killing a man who cannot die?”

[illarian-rambling]

Character Introduction: Izjik Meautammera, End-Made-Flesh

Above her, death crouched. Under the skylight and with the backing of that uncanny brilliance, Izjik’s form seemed to be the silhouette of a darker, older thing. Something waiting. Something cruel.

In the sky, in that blank, incalculable space between stars, that something moved.

Izjik was blind to this. All she saw in that moment was the prone form of her Chosen prey. No thoughts of vengeance filled her mind, nor anything of similar noble sentiment.

I hunger. No, we hunger.

Izjik cocked her head slightly, as if making a study of the terror beneath her. Almost gently, she brushed the hair from the panicking siren's face. Unfortunate abomination.

In one casual movement, she tore the woman’s throat out with her teeth.

And for a moment, in this little chunk of the cosmos, all was right. All was beautiful. All was empty.

All was gone.

Djek holds his title of unlucky close, but if there's anyone in the Outcast quartet to which that title truly belongs, it's Izjik. If she'd been born on any other night, in any other place, she might've lived a normal life as a hunter for her enclave. However, a fell star shone on the day she came into the world, and so the godeater being known as End was able to claim her as the latest in a long line of its mortal conduits. This unfortunate shift of fate would come to define Izjik’s life, as well as the life of Illaros as a whole.

Izjik was born in the halawemavar (scale selkie) enclave of Edeme’eneha, tucked away into a rural portion of the N'Diki swamp. Halawemavar raise their children communally, so she grew up surrounded by many caring figures and mischievous friends. Later, when she was old enough to apprentice under someone, she was taken in by an older hunter named Dzako, who taught her the ways of tracking, snare-setting, and combat. It was a good life and young Izjik took to hunting with ease. She had many friends, and many more ill-advised romances. She was perfectly content, until one fateful day during her sixteenth year.

It was during a party for a successful rainy season when Izjik first felt the pressure of the stars above. Being a curious and adventurous girl, she followed it, navigating alone to where the strange sensation felt the strongest. There, in a distant bend of the Jeshwin River, a horrific sight greeted her. A monster with backward joints and many faces tore into a human child. When it spotted Izjik, it sprang at her, heedless of her flimsy spear. It should've heeded that spear though, because when Izjik stabbed it through the chest, it died in a burst of black ichor.

The girl was terrified, of course. There was a human child dead in selkie territory and a monster on her spear that she'd never seen the like of before. She went to Edeme’eneha's shaman immediately and led the spiritual leader to where the monster's corpse bled black into the water. Instead of congratulating her on such a spectacular kill however, the shaman ordered Izjik to be locked away. As it turned out, unbeknownst to the young hunter, what she'd just killed was one of the swamp's many spirits. These spirits were immortal and unkillable, yet Izjik had killed it anyways. A few days later, merrow guards from the Trench came to take her away. Her only crime, as they said it, was being "End-Made-Flesh."

The Trench is where the people of Illaros throw two kinds of things; people who deserve worse than any execution a government can give, and monsters such governments are too afraid to try to kill. Izjik likely would've died down there in its twisting depths, except for the fact that she's just too damn good at making friends. Even such a suspicious, bitter siren as Sepo Kaiacynthus, imprisoned alone for two years before Izjik arrived, couldn’t resist her earnest charm. The pair stuck together for eight years before they were able to escape. After making it out, they found a little island to hide on, away from all the divine nonsense Izjik still barely understood. But, of course, such a mighty fate never stays away for long.

Honor's Outcasts picks up here and as the story unravels, more and more is revealed about End, Izjik’s mysterious overlord. But I'll save that for a later time.

Izjik herself is a down-to-earth woman with provincial manners and a crude sense of humor. She's very much a trades girl and has worked, over the course of three books, as a roofer, a longshoreman, a hunter, a delivery person, and a bouncer. She prefers physical pleasures to anything more highbrow and loves nothing more than punching a guy's teeth out in front of a bombshell babe. Despite this violent streak, she is very caring, even maternal, and functions as the peacekeeper within the group. She's very much everyone's stubborn, tough-as-nails big sister, and all of the other Outcasts know that if they have a problem, they should go to her first. Izjik might not be the cleverest of the bunch, but she's deeply emotionally intelligent and always tries her best to get a smile out of people. The one thing she'll never do, though, is burden someone else with her own struggles. Izjik prefers to ignore her problems, even the eldritch, godkilling ones, until they either go away or make themselves unignorable. This policy does not work well for her as the story progresses.

As for what she looks like, on land, Izjik stands at around 5'2" and is built like a brick shithouse. She's got strongman muscle and the fat to power it. Many scars crisscross her dusky, freckled skin, and her hair is a silver mop of curls. Her eyes are a dark slate when they aren't shining with unnatural starlight. Her teeth are pointed like a shark's and a cloak of silver scales always adorns her shoulders. She's 26 in the first book, 29 in the second two.

In the water, Izjik takes on a decidedly less human form. Her face turns flat and dun scales take the place of skin, barbles growing in place of hair. Fins spring up along her back and arms. Her tail is a dull silver and is built for dexterously maneuvering within a swamp. Picture a catfish mermaid, make it scarier, and you'll have a good picture of her aqueous form.

Now here are some fun facts!:

Izjik is illiterate. Halawemavar have no writing system, but instead rely on extensive oral records kept by their enclave's shaman

She fights with a washava, a rope weapon with a carved stone attached to one end, and a short spear. Her go-to move is to lasso someone with the washava, then stab them

End doesn't really give her any powers, just a divine vibe sense and the ability to kill things that shouldn't be able to die

She once made a bet that she could eat half a raw pufferfish, ate the entire fish because she was hungry, and then couldn't talk for a week because it made her lips so numb

She's an incredibly picky eater. Halawemavar are mainly carnivorous, so anything with gluten or lactose in it just doesn't agree with her. The rest of the quartet gives her a lot more shit about this than she probably deserves

She's a fantastic dancer

She's really, really butch and is pansexual, though she heavily prefers women

She's an awful liar, but can spot a lie told by someone else from a mile away

Given the very communal nature of halawemavar child rearing, she took easily to raising Twenari and saves every spare coin for the girl's education, even thought she doesn't know what in the hell a degree in 'runic engineering' is

And there we go! With the world's chillest harbinger of the apocalypse out of the way, we're done with the Honor's Outcasts quartet. Lmk if you have any questions! From here, I'll probably move on to the Mortal God folks or maybe do a few side characters from Honor's. I don't think I've even mentioned Daedryn yet, now that it comes to mind.

Anyways, hope you enjoy! Have a bitchin day <3

(Tag list: @amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks @bard-coded @carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast @goldxdarkness @the-angriest-author @mk-writes-stuff)

[forever-and-whats-left]

Power-scaling phantom of the opera

(Because I’ve gone insane)

First off, it’s too difficult to analyze the power levels and put them on a list. Instead, I’m going to put them on a smash bracket.

Fight one:

Spooks Erik VS Bootleg Erik

This might be incorrect, but from my viewing of spooks I swear Erik killed his Christine(Christine takes off his mask, and he chokes her. She never reappears after that scene).Which makes him possibly the first Erik to KILL his Christine. And, bootleg Erik sits at a solid zero kills if memory serves. So…

Spooks Erik wins!

Fight Two:

Winslow VS Susan Kay Erik

The fairness of this fight ultimately depends on which age Susan Kay Erik is. I doubt baby Erik would win, young adult Erik perhaps, but old man Erik is on his death bed. So to give K!Erik some leeway (and because adult erik is basically leroux with a heart problem) we’ll assume it’s a more youthful Erik. Meanwhile, Winslow is technically indestructible. Winslow has a solid, if not a little impractical, head on his shoulders. The real question is would he kill K!Erik before he finds out the limits of his contract. The answer? It’s a coin toss in my mind. Yes a literal coin toss.

Winslow is heads.

I guess Winslow wins! Gg K!erik, never did like your ending anyway.

Fight Three:

Hammer horror Erik VS Gerik

Automatic win for Hammer Horror Erik(I haven’t even seen the Hammer Horror Erik). Gerik can’t even choke someone and loses a sword fight to a twink.

Hammer horror Erik wins!

Fight Four:

Chaney VS Cherik

What are the odds that in a random bracket the two guys who die by mob fight eachother? Since there’s not much to go off out of livability, I’m going to scale them by kill count. As far as I know, all of Cherik’s kills are accidental, not to say he’s innocent, just that at one point he does does play peekaboo with a dead body (poor Carlotta). Meaning that Cherik is not above using violence to get what he wants. I think some people over estimate his innocence(he is kinder in the grand scheme of Eriks). Love you Lon Chaney Erik, but you absolutely fumbled your death. At least Cherik went out with a little dignity, bro threw a fake grenade and said “that’s all folks!” 

Cherik wins!

I just realized I hit the image cap so there’s gonna have to be many many parts 

Anyway! Discuss amongst yourselves while I make the next part. That is supposing somebody wants this except for me, but I would love to argue with somebody about who would lose/win because my memory is so foggy.

[ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask]

Fatal Flaw

Based on this prompt from @promptsforthestrugglingauthor.

Tagging my AF crew; @valhelos, @thefinaljediknight, @makowrites, and @weeinterpreter

=-=-=-=

The maximum security cells of Howler’s Peak were a dismal sight. Neat, tidy rows of solitary confinement cells stretching as far as the eye could see in the dim lighting. Some cells emitted angry shouts, others whispered threats, still others whimpered pleas. The cells that one typically had to really concern themselves with, however, were silent. Their occupants were too busy to bother with bargaining or threatening. They were planning.

The door Commander Trouble Kelp found himself standing outside was quiet as a grave.

“Are you, uh… are you sure, Commander?” the young guard who had accompanied him into the depths of the prison asked. She was a young goblin with bright eyes and an exceptionally intricate scale pattern. She shifted nervously from foot to foot, her tongue nervously flitting out to wet her eyes at a rapid pace. “I’ve heard things about the person behind that door. About some of the things they did. They say -”

“I’m sure,” Kelp cut her off. He noticed the young guard flinch at the sharpness in his voice and felt a certain sense of guilt for frightening her. He offered her the closest approximation to a reassuring grin he could muster. “Just open the door, Corporal Xyan,” he said in a softer voice, reading the name on her freshly pressed uniform. 

The young goblin nodded doggedly, unlocking the door. It slid open on well-oiled, whisper-quiet hinges. The cell beyond was pitch dark. For a moment, the animal side of Commander Kelp’s brain felt inclined to shy away. To stare into the unknown and flinch. It was the other side of his brain that carried him into the darkness.

It took his eyes several seconds to adjust to the lack of light. Even when they did, all he managed to pick out were the shrouded silhouettes of the very spartan furnishings of the cell. A cot along one wall. Lavatory branching off the other. A heap of laundry in the corner. No. Not laundry. A prisoner, their body curled up against itself to the point of looking nearly deflated.

Kelp’s hard boots clicking against the floor were the only sound in the room. Even his breaths seemed stifled and inadequate in the oppressive, weighty silence that permeated inside. Finally, the shrouded figure shifted.

“I didn’t think you’d come see me,” it hissed, its voice rough with disuse.

The commander fought the urge to wince. He fought down the terrible weight of guilt that threatened to overpower him. He fought the cloying sense of responsibility he felt over the person he now hardly recognized even as it clawed at his throat like an adolescent troll eager to earn its first kill. He fought these things down because they would do him no good here… he had no doubt they would return to haunt him in the dead of night.

He spent several moments trying to find his voice. When he did, he curtly responded, “Yes you did. You knew I’d come.”

A terrible, hissing laughter bounced around the cold cell walls, broken only by a few coughing fits as the prisoner’s atrophied vocal chords struggled to keep pace with their sudden use. “You’re right,” they admitted. “I knew you’d come. But I’d bet it wasn’t an easy decision to make.”

Commander Kelp frowned. An easy decision? No. No, it hadn’t been. But it was no harder deciding to come than it had been convincing himself to stay away. Three years, the prisoner had been down there. Over one thousand days. And each day, Kelp’s mind and heart had played host to the dueling urges within him - one to rush down there immediately, and the other to lock the door and throw away the key. But he’d always known he would be there eventually. It was his fatal flaw… he wanted too badly to believe in people.

One of the many things he’d picked up from his predecessor Julius Root. The closest thing he’d ever had to a father, considering that his own had died when he was barely two decades old. The fairy that Commander Trouble Kelp had molded himself after. The fairy who, despite all of his claims to the contrary, believed in his very core in the goodness of people.

This was the very flaw that had killed Julius. Commander Kelp harbored no doubts that it would claim him as well someday.

He couldn’t help but wonder if that day wasn’t today.

“No,” he finally answered aloud. “Not easy.”

“But necessary,” the voice hissed, issuing forth another fit of terrible laughter. “Commander Trouble Kelp. The youngest fairy to ever hold the rank. One of the most decorated fairies in the LEP’s history. Nothing if not self-sacrificing.”

“Well you would know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Kelp bit back, his ears flattening angrily against the side of his head. “As I recall, you took a fair run at sacrificing me yourself.” His left hand was clenched into a fist. His right itched for the cool, familiar feel of the tri-barrelled, water-cooled blaster he’d been forced to leave behind in the weapons lockup on the first level. ‘Protocol is protocol,’ the gnome had said with an apologetic shrug. In truth it didn’t much matter. Kelp knew he’d never have been able to draw on his current cellmate anyway. He was too attached. Too close to the issue. 

Too weak.

It took several moments for him to calm his breathing and refocus his eyes. When he did, he saw that the prisoner’s posture had shifted. Rather than the indifferent slouch of defiance, he almost thought he saw the resigned slump of remorse.

“I never meant to hurt you.”

The words were quiet. Broken. He wasn’t sure whether they’d been spoken aloud or if he just hallucinated them because they were what he wanted to hear.

Only he hadn’t wanted to hear them. Because those words were his very weakness. His fatal flaw. The sign that there was still some semblance of good in the pitiful being before him. He had hoped to find nothing but murder and hatred in this cell. Proof that he’d done the right thing. He didn’t want to hear… he couldn’t bear to hear something that shook his foundation to the core yet again. That made him rethink everything he’d been trying to tell himself he believed for the past three years.

“You sure did a good job of it, whether you meant to or not.”

The prisoner shifted, casting their eyes in his direction. Those eyes had once been bright, eager, earnest. Not unlike the eyes of the young Corporal Xyan outside. Now they were different. They looked tired. Dull. Sunken.

He stared at them, no matter how badly he wished he could look away. Looked at every square nanometer. The discoloration in the left eye, clouding its blue hue. The flecks of black in the right eye, the ones he used to count on particularly boring days of his youth.

The eyes studied him back. No doubt taking in the noticeable dulling of his own once-vibrant violet irises. The extra worry lines that had grown in the place of his old smile creases. He watched their gaze slide from one eye to the next. Up to his forehead. Down to the blotchy, discolored scars that covered the right half of his face.

“You told me you were staying home that day,” they hissed. “You weren’t supposed to be there.”

Kelp sighed, shrugging in mock casualness and began to pace back and forth in the small cell. “A lot of things were supposed to be different,” he said dismissively. “I wasn’t supposed to be held captive in a human dwelling for the better part of a day and lose most of my magical potency, leaving me without enough to even heal a few burn scars. Julius Root wasn’t supposed to go into that tunnel and get himself killed. Opal Koboi wasn’t supposed to be able to travel through time and send the world back to the stone ages for two years.”

The commander turned a hard scowl on the prisoner. “And you weren’t supposed to leave an explosive device in LEP Headquarters,” he growled harshly. “There’s a lot that should have been different.. Too bad we’re left with what is.”

The prisoner let out a long, pained breath. They almost looked like they were collapsing in on themselves. His pathetic heart be forever accursed, Kelp had to fight the urge to kneel beside them and take them into his arms. To make it alright. To tell them that he knew they were still good somewhere, deep down.

Instead he turned and slowly marched to the doorway of the cell. “Corporal Xyan,” he said, forcing the words out through clenched teeth and blinking in the comparatively blinding light of the hallway.

Xyan appeared in a moment, standing ramrod-straight and at attention. Despite her perfect, practiced posture, she couldn’t help but glance nervously over his shoulder into the darkness. “S-sir?” she asked, stammering anxiously.

“I’m told radios don’t work on this level,” Kelp said more collectedly. “Retrieval One was supposed to be here by now to transport the prisoner; I need you to head up to the Ops Center and find out what Major Gum is holding them for.”

Xyan’s tongue nervously wet her wide eyes in rapid succession. “Sir, that would leave you alone with the prisoner,” she protested. “It’s against protocol to -”

“I understand the protocol,” Kelp cut her off with a cutting motion of his hand. “Unfortunately, the good Major did not see fit to send another guard to accompany us. As such, we’ll have to make do with what we have.” When he noticed her fidgeting hands and obvious discomfort still pervaded, Kelp sighed. 

“It’s alright, Corporal,” he said, offering her a half-grin. That was all the grin he could offer… the nerves in the right half of his face having been severed by the explosion and improperly healed by his weak, faulty magic.. “Tell Gum that I ordered you specifically. He won’t give you any heat for breaking protocol.”

Xyan hesitated a moment longer, her fingers twitching nervously. Finally she reached for her belt to unholster her buzz baton and offer it to the commander. “At least keep this, Sir,” she said plaintively. “For my peace of mind.”

Kelp nodded, accepting the device. “Much obliged, Corporal. Now go.” He waited for her to hem and haw one last time before nodding and dutifully marching back down the corridor.

The commander hefted the baton in his hand, taking a few swings with it to feel its weight. The buzz batons were lighter than they used to be. He didn’t like it. They didn’t feel durable enough for the role they were designed to fill. Still… if he couldn’t have his blaster, the baton was better than nothing.

Finally he slid Xyan’s baton into the holster on his own empty belt and took a few steps toward the prisoner. “On your feet,” he grunted.

“And here my cell was just starting to feel like home,” they hissed back sarcastically. They stared up at him in silence for several pregnant moments, eyeing his hand that trailed close to the holstered baton. Finally they groaned and began hauling themselves to their feet.

“So, where to now?” the prisoner asked casually, brushing nonexistent dust off their knees. “Atlantis? Or maybe Lyonesse… I’ve heard their security is second to none. Or I suppose they could be sending me off to -”

“No,” Kelp cut off the stream of speculation. He swallowed loudly, the action painful on his bone-dry throat. “After Turnball Root and Opal Koboi, the Council is less inclined to offer mass terrorists life-in-prison sentences anymore.”

Confusion was written across their features when they turned back to him. “So, what? They’re turning me loose?” they asked, snickering at the incredulity of the situation. Then the realization and the weight of the situation seemed to fully hit them. “Oh,” they said, nodding slightly. “I see.” Their lips turned up in a sneer. “How very… human of them.”

Another oppressive silence stretched between them. Kelp fought the urge to say something… to try one last time to bridge the gap that had grown between them.

It wasn’t him who broke the silence.

“I’m not sorry for what I did to them.” The voice was soft again, though it had lost some of its roughness. This time when a word or two caught in the throat, it wasn’t from lack of practice, but from strangled emotion. They took a step toward him, facing him directly. “But… I am sorry for what I did to you. I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to betray you. I didn’t want -”

He held his hand up to forestall another word. He stared into those eyes. The same eyes he had once known. One sky blue, the other chocolate brown. For a moment they weren’t Commander Kelp and the Prisoner anymore… they were just them.

Trouble.

And Holly.

He wanted so desperately to wrap her up in his arms. To press his lips to hers so fiercely and so forcefully and so powerfully that everything else would just cease to exist. To make things right again, and refuse to ever let them be wrong.

Instead, Trouble took hold of the buzz baton. He drew it from its holster. Then he handed it out, handle first.

Holly stared at the offering curiously. “What is this?” she asked skeptically.

Trouble offered her whatever hideous impersonation of a smile he could. “Retrieval One is still fifteen minutes out,” he breathed. “Foaly will have taken care of whatever doorways you need to have a chance to make a clean break out of here.” His breath caught in his throat. Despite having spent weeks planning it, he still couldn’t believe that he was springing a convicted enemy of the People.

Then she smiled at him, and her eyes sparkled in the way that they only ever had for him, and he believed it.

She took the baton from his hands. Then she stepped forward until she was pressed against his chest, and their arms automatically found their way around one another. “Come find me,” she whispered, staring deeply into his eyes while her fingers found their way into his hair. “Someday. Promise.”

He wanted to say no. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to beat his fatal flaw.

“Wait for me,” he breathed. “I’ll find you. Someday.”

She leaned up on her toes to kiss him. He could only feel half of her perfect lips pressing against his own broken, desensitized pair. After three years of torturous nightly dreams… half was enough. “I will,” came her answer. “I’ll wait for you.”

The crackle of the buzz baton against his chest made every muscle in his body contract simultaneously as electricity surged through him. He let out a pained grunt, then collapsed to the floor. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was her eyes. The eyes of a criminal.

No.

Holly’s eyes. The eyes of the only fairy he’d ever loved. The eyes of a good fairy. No matter how hard he tried to tell himself otherwise, that was what he truly believed at his core. That people were good. It was his fatal flaw. It was going to get him killed someday.

All he could do was hope that today wasn’t that day.