#lucia is also the only other person who knows

[youssefguedira]

Some prompt ideas for you!

Nicky and Quynh as best friends, doing some ritual or activity together that they used to do before, again after she escapes from the sea and is healing

Andy as a baby immortal, doing some dumb dangerous shit. Maybe she's doing it to help someone and it's an external pov a la your "I have seen angels in my time" series?

Joe and Lucia after he and Nicky go back to find her. Maybe he's tentative about whether she'll understand or accept them being in love, they have a serious conversation, and then it turns into her telling him embarrassing baby/teenager Nicky Stories?

Absolutely love your writing and your Lucia stories are currently some of my absolute favorites ❤️

hellooooo i know you sent this forever ago but i have been thinking about family and Them lately so. this is set a couple years after the end of if i ask you to stay wherein nicky and joe have returned to stay with lucia for a bit ! it's not quite joe being nervous about whether she'll accept them or not (she largely already has) but it DOES turn into embarassing teenage nicky stories so i hope you enjoy

"Yusuf, come help me with this," Lucia says.

It's become something of a ritual, and so Yusuf is now comfortable joining her at the counter as she splits the dough into two parts and passes one to him. Outside, Nicolò is herding the goats towards the hills and having only partial success; one of the kids splits off from the herd and starts charging back towards the house, making Nicolò curse loudly enough that they can hear him faintly through the window. Lucia chuckles.

"I am glad he will have you, you know," she says. She tosses a handful of flour over the counter and begins to knead the dough. Yusuf follows suit. "After."

They don't talk about after often, even if all three of them know. For the most part, Yusuf tries not to think about it, and he knows Nicolò does the same, though it haunts every single thing they do, a constant shadow. There are still nights where Nicolò barely speaks, overcome by it.

"Did he ever tell you why our father sent him to seminary?" she continues.

"Enough," Yusuf says.

Lucia hums. She's quiet for a while. Outside, Nicolò resorts to picking up the wayward kid and carrying it with him while he herds the rest; it busies itself chewing on his sleeve.

"I only ever wanted him to be happy," she says. "When he left for the seminary I had hoped that it would bring him some kind of peace, even if it was not what he chose. But then he decided to go to Jerusalem, and, well. He never did tell me why. And I did not think about it beyond the fact that it was taking him away, and that I would likely never see him again. He has not told me many details about what happened to him - to you both - there, but I understand enough. But even despite all of it, I am glad he found you in the end."

"I am too," Yusuf says quietly.

"He was always so..." She waves one hand in the air as if searching for the right word, scattering a light cloud of flour that shimmers in the morning sun. "Uncertain. But he seems so much more settled, around you." She smiles at him, and Yusuf cannot do anything but smile back.

There is not much more to be said, after that. Nicolò has put the kid down, and now it bounces after him, dancing around him in circles and almost tripping him up at least three times. It makes him curse again, but he's smiling too much for it to be convincing. It makes Yusuf smile, too. They finish kneading the do

"He spent almost all his time with them when he came to visit," Lucia says, nodding towards the window. "The kids loved him. He would sit down and let them climb all over him. They used to chew on his hair."

Yusuf can imagine it clearly: fifteen-year-old Nicolò, still growing, letting five or six baby goats clamber all over him.

"There was this one doe, though, who hated him," she continues. "She would let anyone else near, but not him. She used to bite at his heels every time he came near. She chased him up a tree, once. I found him halfway up. He'd forgotten that goats climb trees, too."

Yusuf laughs out loud, and it's at that moment that the door swings open, and Nicolò's voice echoes through the house. "No, no, piccola," he's saying, "you have to stay outside."

When he comes into the kitchen, he's holding the kid, who has given up on chewing his sleeve and is now trying to reach his hair, refusing to be deterred even though he keeps pushing her away. He's so caught up in this task that he doesn't notice them both watching him straight away, and when he does pauses like he's been caught doing something he shouldn't. "What?" he asks, looking between them.

"Nothing," Lucia says before Yusuf can say anything. Nicolò looks between them again, before shaking his head and carrying the goat over to the table.

"New friend?" Yusuf asks him.

"She won't leave me alone," Nicolò says.

"Nicolò," Lucia says, "do you remember the name of that goat that chased you up the tree? I couldn't seem to recall."

Nicolò blinks, then sighs. "Tell me you didn't tell Yusuf that story."

"Not all of it," Yusuf says innocently.

Nicolò groans. Yusuf laughs, and so does Lucia.

The shadow is still there, yes. But even though he complains, for a moment Nicolò's shoulders seem more relaxed, and the sun seems just a little brighter.

[elizabethrobertajones]

🗝

Send 🗝️ to see them in private.

"What are you doing in here? Get out!"

Free Company houses are for politically neutral snuggles.

[countingdots-tc]

TEACHER/STUDENT BOOK RECS

*if you want me to add a forbidden romance list, let me know*

𓃠 This is a list with links to books that have teacher/student, age gap, and experienced/less experienced themes that I have read! These are in order from most recommended to least recommended based on my opinion.

𓃠 This will be updated as I read more! Think something should be added to the list, then let me know!

𓃠 To find the Age Gap/TeacherxStudent Movie list, click on the link on my pinned post!

⭐️= highly recommend/changed my life

😇= no smut

🌶️=contains smut

💦=read to really get your rocks off

highlighted=warning

PROFESSOR/COACH BOOK LIST

The Unrequited by Saffron A. Kent-⭐️😇

ProfessorxStudent & mental health themes

Cute little poet embarrassingly falls for her grumpy professor. Beautiful slow burn and perfectly describes what it feels like to want someone and not feel enough for them. She is such a realistic female lead and reminds me a lot of y’all 😂. This is THE teacher crush community book. If you don’t read anything read this!!

The Professor by Invi Wright-⭐️🌶️

ProfessorxStudent

Cute romance by young, new, and self published author. Very relatable female lead. If you enjoyed The Unrequited, you will like this book for all of the same reasons. Quick and easy read, only 240. She isn’t perfect, she clumsy, and I wouldn’t even say she’s socially awkward, she just a normal college student in her early 20s. She’s a fun narrator. This author has a lot of potential and her writing will only get better.

Gabriel’s Inferno by Slyvain Reynard-⭐️😇

ProfessorxStudent

Such a good dark academia book. Beautifully written and actually has a movie adaptation. I would definitely recommend this if you want a realistic couple but a bit more serious. Characters have so much depth

Off Balance Series by Lucia Franco- 💦

CoachxStudent

Warning: female lead is age of consent NOT legal age.

If you want something really forbidden and fucked up, read this. If you want the MOST insane sex scenes, read this (MINORS STOP). I really don’t even want to add this series to this list but for the girls who wanna go there, have fun. I started this when I was still in high school, read the 3rd one as an adult, it’s not as easy to read now. Take that info as you please

Lessons In Sin by Pam Goodwin-🌶️

TeacherxStudent with 18 Y.O female lead

Troubled rich girl gets sent off to a catholic boarding school and falls for the asshole Dean of the school. Smut is pretty good, plot works. I’m not going to say it’s bad, I think whether or not it’s enjoyable depends on the person. It wasn’t bad, I just wasn’t obsessed. If you’re just trying to live vicariously through her (aren’t we all), then it works!

Teach Me by L. L. Ash-🌶️

ProfessorxStudent

Really good start, and I do mean GREAT start… I just feel like the sex scene came too soon (Ch. 9/32) and it threw me off but I also like SUPER slow burns. It’s still a good book. I enjoyed the male love interest, Professor Harlo. They’re cute together. Grump and Sunshine.

Dark Notes by Pam Goodwin-

TeacherxStudent & themes of abuse

Probably DNF-ing

AGE GAP BOOK LIST

Something In The Way Series by Jessica Hawkins-⭐️😇

Sister’s Boyfriend/Husband & “I saw him first”

Most beautiful romance series I’ve ever read, best written books by Jessica Hawkins. I recommend all of her other books. Lake is 16 when she first meets Manning but nothing sexual happens between them for another 3 books until she’s in her 20s. Beautiful slow burn with characters full of depth.

Sinner by Sierra Simone- ⭐️💦

Brother’s Best Friend & religious themes

Amazing character creation and mapping. These characters feel real! This book is about “teaching” a girl about sex before she becomes a nun. It’s not just a bang bang, hump hump book. It has heart and it really good. If you enjoy religious themed romance, you may enjoy Priest by Sierra Simone too. I didn’t 💀

Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas- 💦

Ex’s Dad

Most popular forbidden romance so whatever you’ve heard about it, dump it. This might be the most tame book on this list. Pacing is good, well written main character. Insane amounts of smut but it doesn’t drive the story forward so feel free to skip it if you get tired.

Love Unexpected by Q. B. Tyler- 💦

Ex Stepdad & parent death

This book is HOT! However after the first few scenes, I got a bit tired of the smut. Well written enough female lead with a rushed ending. However if you just need something to read and not despise it, it’s good enough.

Strictly Off Limits by Jessica Hawkins-🌶️

Dad’s Best Friend

Jessica is my favorite author so I’m a bit biased but she definitely isn’t a smut writer. This novella would’ve been better without smut however it isn’t super present and doesn’t really drive the story forward so don’t feel like you’re missing anything if you skip the smut!

The Doctor by Nikki Sloane- 💦

Ex’s Dad

personally didn’t care for this book, smut starts off way too quick and I’m more of a slow burn girl. It is a novella however, it was still too quick. However! You may love it <3

𓃠 If I’m not reading fast enough for you and you want to see what I will be reading in the future here is my Amazon TBR, have at it!

𓃠 If you want to see a more organized bookshelf of what I’ve read, here is my Goodreads!

[yumeka-sxf]

According to this tweet from Endo, today's new chapter will be the final installment of the "Henry x Martha backstory" arc...and it definitely went out on a high note! The part where Martha meets Henry's wife was absolutely heartbreaking...in particular the below page, starting with an upside down view of the scene, showing how the world is literally warping for Martha, followed by shards and shreds of her various memories with Henry, all the while the "throb, throb" of her heart is overlaying all the panels. Definitely one of Endo's best portrayals of a truly shocking moment.

It's also interesting that we never see Lucia's face, despite her having a big panel when she first appears.

Endo has done this before with other characters, Loid's parents being the other big example. We also never see their faces, despite them appearing several times during his flashback arc.

With the few examples we've had, to me it seems like Endo hides the faces of characters who 1) appear as flashbacks only and 2) who have had a significant emotional impact on the character whose memories they appear in, but at the same time, that character has since done their best to get over the painful memories associated with them. So they basically represent some past trauma for the character (even if they don't necessarily dislike them) but in the current time, they've more or less left that part of their past behind. Hence why their faces are obscured in the character's memories. This is also why I think we'll never see Loid's parents or Lucia's faces outside of flashbacks. This is just my interpretation of course, and I'm curious if there will be more examples in other characters' flashback arcs.

But back to Henry and Martha, I also liked the fact that, despite her broken heart, Martha still saw Lucia as a good person and became friends with her. Henry seems to love her as well. This actually ties back very well to what Martha tells Becky at the end of her story about how dangerous it is to latch onto preconceptions and prejudices without knowing the truth.

In Becky's simple world, she would see Lucia as the "evil seductress who stole Henry away" and Martha has to get him back. But as Martha said, things aren't always that simple and don't always adhere to our preconceived notions. Sometimes things can't end up exactly how you want or expect, so you have to be grateful for what you have and see things as they truly are, despite living with lingering regrets. In fact, this whole speech from Martha at the conclusion of her flashback was extremely deep and profound. Not many people can write both comedy and drama so well, but Endo is certainly one of them.

Also, is this Wiesel's first appearance? Still waiting for the doggy play date chapter with Wiesel, Bond, Max, and Aaron! 🐶

Since it's been so long since I read the first chapter of this arc, I couldn't remember if Martha had actually revealed the identity of her lover in her story, but makes sense that she didn't. I can imagine Becky storming into school yelling at Henderson and causing total embarrassment for all 😅 Funny that she almost guessed correctly though.

I'm surprised we never found out how Martha started working for the Blackbells, but that's an easy enough mystery to solve - she needed work after the wars were over, and being a bodyguard suited an ex-soldier. Also seems like she never told Henry her true feelings either...maybe by the time Lucia died, it was too late and they had both grown somewhat apart by then, and/or they had some additional falling outs about Martha joining the other wars, etc. It just wasn't meant to be and the message of the story was Martha coming to terms with that and being wiser for it.

In conclusion, this was a great arc that really shows Endo's range as a writer who can do both comedy and drama very well. Despite Henry and Martha being side characters, I have a feeling that the struggles they experienced will have relevance later in the series. But for now, I look forward to seeing the Forgers and other characters again (and getting back to the last major uproar of Anya telling Damian about her powers...seems like ages ago, lol). Endo will be taking a well deserved break, so the next new chapter will be on August 19th!

I also have some new posts planned in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for those as well 😀

[tare-anime]

SxF Mission 102

(Beware spoilers)

The dreaded panel is finally here....

My reaction.....

Same.... Becky.... Same 😔😔🤝🤝🤝

We know it is inevitable, and yet, it doesn't hurt less.

But I didn't cry at that panel..... instead I cried at this panel:

The moment when Martha finally able to achieve her dream. With the help of none other than Mrs. Lucia Henderson herself. Showing that Mrs. Lucia was indeed a wonderful person.

I-......

And I assume they remained as friends. And both women respect each other, so that they can respect Henry. Their friendship was so strong until Martha still visits her grave every year for the past 15 years to give respect.

Gosh. Women friendship is amazing.

(I can't wait to see Fiona's character development to go somewhere near here.... tbh)

Anyway, I was right. Martha is indeed teaching Becky some wisdom of how to view the world.

Just like Twilight monologue back then during chapter 50.

Human always fears the unknown, but this unknown should also be the motivation for one to search the truth, first by accepting that one might not know everything.

So deep.

Becky and her family are so lucky to have Martha as her butler.

This woman who not only nearly died during the first war, but has the gut to participate on the second war too!! And still standing up until today.

Gosh. Highest respect to her!

And of course, Martha has to emphasize the theme of this series, huh?

*enter Bond's narrator voice here*

"Every one has a secret they don't want to share..."

Anyway, that's the end of this wonderful arc.

We got a more clear world building, especially the past war:

There has been 2 wars.

Both Twilight and Yor has been involved at the second war.

Donovan's idea of war is very concerning.

The next chapter will drop in 4 weeks, I guess Endo is preparing for vol 14 releases.

Endo, please make Henry and Martha as the cover, please!!!

Also, on a positive note, I can still hold unto my M4 ship! Martha and Matthew might meet each other during the second war 😏😏😏

[shiroganeryo]

DGM 252: New perspectives and confirmations it has given us

⚠️First of all, I'll be tagging this under DGM spoilers so if you have somehow stumbled upon this even if you're avoiding spoilers for Chapter 252 (or the most recent DGM talks as a whole), this is your warning to turn back now!

And secondly, I'm under the effect of allergy meds so please pardon me if I'm talking gibberish 😂 But the latest chapter has given us some food for thought and I've been mulling it over.

There are two points I want to cover in this post; the first one being much extensive while the other is rather short.

1. Bookman Jr.

The reveal that the guy we had thought to be Past!A all along was actually the former Bookman Jr. in one of the best twists Hoshino has given us in a while - she sounded very proud of how we were all misled by her narrative and honestly I tip my hat at her for such genius - has also fueled questions about his identity.

I'll start by saying I do not believe he and Cross are the same person. That's not what I'll be talking about so I'm playing this card right off the bat. This theory, although popular, has always had way too many gaps for my liking and after the latest chapter, the chances are practically null that it's true.

If you want a discussion as to why, this post has put it into words better than I could and I agree 100% with OP's point, hence why I don't see the need to say anything on the matter.

But there's one thing that I'm yet to see people discussing and it's about the talk Lucia had with Joe back in The 222nd Night: Searching for A.W. - Hypokrisis.

(I'm showing what I believe to be the official translated English version by Viz and there's a reason why)

For a long time, people have debated about this small exchange between Lucia and Joe. There's no doubt the one they're talking about is old man Bookman, so we can confidently affirm he's the one waiting at the Campbell Mansion.

And what about Lavi? This is where the next dialogue from Lucia comes into play:

Since this is probably the version a lot of people have read, I must make it clear that the like "Junior, his successor, isn't here" was a mistranslation. Here's the original:

Lucia: Koukeisha to naru Jr. wa mou imasen. (The one who'd become his successor, Jr, is no more.)

I've double-checked with the Brazilian Portuguese translation because it tends to be as close to the original as possible, and surely enough, it's translated correctly:

(image courtesy of the volume I own by my so-so phone camera 😋)

"Junior, who was his heir, is no more."

The literal translation for what Lucia is saying is "isn't among us anymore", but that's an expression in Portuguese that means that someone has died/doesn't walk on Earth anymore.

While the mistranslated English version and the original Japanese/Brazilian version have similar meanings, the way it's worded gives the sentence a completely different meaning: in one we're led to believe Jr. isn't physically there at the Mansion, while the other two make it clear that Jr. has died.

And that's exactly why that, after Chapter 252 dropped, this scene is given a new perspective - because Lucia was referring to the former Bookman Jr, and not the current one.

We don't know the whereabouts of current Lavi - cue in the chair jokes, I unfortunately love them all - and while I might be wrong, I have my reasons to believe he's alive.

It just doesn't feel like Hoshino to kill an important character off-screen, plus she has said we'll see him again eventually and that the mystery of what's behind his eyepatch is still to be revealed (and will only happen once Bookman passes away, something that will possibly happen before the story reaches its end).

I have the feeling Lavi still has much to contribute to the story and he's actually one of the characters that, to me, seem to have the highest odds of making it alive until the end. It also isn't mere coincidence that Bookman picked the same alias for both Juniors, since Lavi has mentioned in a discussion room that the aliases refer to their record logs and the Holy War is being recorded under 'Lavi'. There's unfinished business to be taken care of.

Using the mistranslated version to illustrate was important because I've seen people wondering where Lavi is if not in the Mansion, while others were afraid he has died. He's very likely in a predicament, but dead? I don't think so.

So that only leaves us with one viable subject for that dialogue, that being the former Bookman Jr. (now affectionately dubbed Lavi Sr. by the fandom).

"But how come they didn't know Bookman already had a new apprentice back in Chapter 222 if the Zoogles mentioned it in Chapter 251?"

Yes, it's a little odd. What I can infer from this is that they either 1. Didn't know Bookman already had a new Jr. because he had been unconscious and only after they stabilized his situation they could talk, or 2. Did know about the current Lavi but believe him not to be ready to take on the mantle yet while Lavi Sr. was (but unfortunately deserted the clan).

Since only the Bookman and his appointed apprentice, who was born with the seal, can exchange information and records via their blood, it might be not that off the chart that the Zoogles weren't up-to-date on his affairs since they're not Bookmen themselves but rather a bloodline of people scattered across the globe who are supporters of Bookman's mission like Lucia has explained. Yet, even if they aren't all-knowing, it seems odd for them not to know something as vital as that about the person they're supporting.

And of course, there's also the possibility of option 3, something else that I completely failed to consider right now. Time will tell which one.

Note: By the way, the Lucia in 222 and the Lucia in 251/252 are indeed the same person; Hoshino seemed to hint there's a reason behind her sudden aging that we don't know yet. It's important to make this clear since what I've said is related to dialogues delivered by her.

2. Past!A = current Allen

(image courtesy of Kougeki Scans' Chapter 251's translation)

There were theories around and people still considering the possibility of our current Allen being a clone and all sorts of theories because of the unexplainable age gap between him and Past!A, but it seems the deaging theory has been fully confirmed by Chapter 252, as we saw it taking place before our very eyes.

There are still some mysteries surrounding it, but seeing how Apocryphos mentioned the "Helix", we can't help but be taken back to the explanation we've previously seen about the Helix of Life (The 221st Night - The Clown's Joke).

Since that's a topic that feels like there's more to it as of now, I won't be discussing the how and why Allen deaged, especially with the unseen variable in the mix that is Innocence; who knows if that might make the Helix energy behave differently.

I was on the "deaging theory" train because Nea was able to recognize Past!A all right when he looks in the mirror (The 214th Night: Searching for A.W. - Awakening) and also questioned the presence of Innocence on his body as well as how he hadn't aged but instead had gotten younger (The 215th Night: Searching for A.W. - By Your Side).

There are many mistranslations in the official English version of these two chapters (214 and 215) that have fueled countless misconceptions within the fandom but I won't be pointing those out in this post since I'm not here this time specifically to talk about it.

Note: Mangadex seems to have nicely translated versions of these chapters if you want to check them out for a recalling - I can't confirm fully but what I read of them looked consistent and faithful to the original.

Anyways, back on track; now that we've seen what took place 35 years ago in Chapter 252, Nea's bewilderment at the current situation of Allen back in Chapter 214/215 makes a lot more sense.

And even more interesting is that as soon as he noticed the Innocence lodged into Allen's left hand, we see the image of Apocryphos, as if Nea could feel its presence. Turned out that meant more than just Apocryphos being able to resonate with all Innocence, but rather, that the very reason why that Innocence had found home in Allen's body was by its intervention.

Just what the hell, dude. That was, once again, extremely well-played on Hoshino's part. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter!

[rottenpumpkin13]

I used to see Sephiroth and think “damn he’s the Marilyn Monroe of video games and anime,” but after delving into his backstory and seeing Crisis Core/Reunion and Ever Crisis I just feel sad.

I mean when you think about it he really had no one. He only knew Glenn, Matt, and Lucia for that one mission but he never forgot about them, despite all of them leaving him behind. Then Angeal and Genesis who- I’m sorry, I know this is also an unpopular opinion- also treated him like crap. To me it always seemed like Genesis didn’t really care about Sephiroth at all. We’ve never seen him being nice to him, even prior to degrading. During that one spar we saw of them three Genesis really seemed like he was going for the throat and like he was letting his rage and jealousy take over, and Angeal had to break them up. At first I used to think that at least Angeal was a decent friend to Sephiroth, but the more I think about it the more it seemed like he was on Genesis’ side because he was his childhood friend and simply acted as a peacekeeper between them three than anything else. Sephiroth didn’t hesitate to offer his blood/cells when Genesis needed it and Angeal even commented on how Sephiroth had lost weight when he sees him the last time, probably from stress and depression.

So not only did he never have friends who cared about him and who he always cared more for than they cared for him, he was also raised in a lab his entire childhood by a psycho who’s his biological father (he didn’t know about that part but it’s still horribly messed up.) And even with all of that he still grew up to be a good person- before all the trauma drove him crazy. He still wanted to genuinely help and save people, and he got attached so quickly. Even with every reason to be horrible he wasn’t, until the whole dam of emotions and mistreatment broke.

Sorry for the long post. I was just looking back at the Seph lore and started feeling really sad 😕

Sephiroth is a very tragic character, and he was failed by every adult in his life from the very beginning, first by his parents—one being an unethical twat and the other being his mother, someone who he would later come to really yearn for and had no idea she was part of the reason why his life was the way it was. He was Shinra's lap dog from birth to Nibelheim, and the only respite he had from it all were his friendships—and he was an extremely loyal friend to everyone. He was loyal even to SOLDIER despite the program being part of the problem.

It appears Glenn, Matt and Lucia were his first friends who really taught him what it was like to care for other people. The thing is: the FS trio were as much of Shinra's pawns as Sephiroth—albeit to a lesser extend because Seph was their golden boy. And so were Genesis and Angeal. They were victims of the Jenova Project too, and had every right to be angry, and Genesis' actions are more understandable (not excusable) once you take into account how the degradation likely preyed on his mental state. Genesis and Angeal are complex characters, but unfortunately we don't have as much narrative context and content for them as we have for Sephiroth, which ultimately makes Sephiroth easier to sympathize with despite what he goes on to become later. He's an incredibly tragic character who everyone rightfully adores, also because of who he was as character Pre-Nibelheim, before he understandably lost his mind. It's a damn shame so many people disregard the compilation, because there's so much of Seph's backstory to be explored that adds even more depth to his character.

I think Genesis and Angeal were good friends to Sephiroth, but you have to understand that they were both degrading while Sephiroth was (physically) fine. So of course they latched onto each other and left Sephiroth behind, especially if they thought Sephiroth wouldn't understand their desertion and wouldn't abandon Shinra to come with them. I don't think they were bad friends, but they—Genesis especially—underestimated how good of a friend he was to them. I hope chapter 2 of FS can show Sephiroth and Angeal's (fingers crossed Genesis too) friendship before the crisis ever started. Only then will we know what their dynamic was like.

[theitaliansalad]

(rant start)

obviously the dismembering of The Dinosaurs and “The Sextet” is intentional and the docu clearly left a bitter taste in someone’s mouth. a very, very, bitter taste.

some players are there for their performance, others are there for convenience and compliance, otherwise we wouldn’t have Lucia Garcia being constantly called up even after I’ve seen with my own eyes how incompetent she can be with a ball at her feet.

divide et impera.

I don’t doubt for a second that Alexia or Aitana would also be cut from the team if it was up to Montse. she can’t get rid of them without loosing her job, those two ballon d’or they have each are too shiny. she cuts Alexia, she loses the whole dressing room. the next logical step is to get rid of Alexia’s support system, which is Jenni and Irene, and that’s convenient. two birds with one stone. she shuts up those who talk too much and isolates Alexia in the process. and that is psychological abuse.

it’s rage inducing.

and Pina. is she there as a replacement because the beloved Athenea is out? who knows. I’d like the people who were calling out her honor and such to have for her return, which she totally deserve btw, the same energy they had for the other players who also returned to the NT, the same ones who were being called traitors and other insults.

all in all, I consider myself lucky that I got the chance to see Jenni in person, if those were her last games with the NT, even if that woman kept her on the bench. the only hope is that somewhere along the line something will be learned from the odyssey that the Spanish players have been put through. it’s a very faint hope.

(rant over)

[creative-heart]

"In the arms of love"| Enzo Vogrincic

Lucia’s notes: This One Shot was fueled by my lovely @lastflowrr who said she heard the song “Nothing’s gonna hurt you baby” by Cigarettes after sex and wanted to see it in writing. So here goes nothing. I hope you enjoy it, especially my girl Lucy. I also suggest you listen to the song while reading this. 😘😘

+18 MDNI: Please stop reading after the cut if you don't want to read the smut part.

Content Warning: Mention of past relationship trauma, Sex scene, a short mention of heavy social drinking, some degrading name calling.

Word Count: 1.2k

Enzo knew from the moment you two got together for the first time, that getting you to overcome your fears and traumas wouldn’t be easy and he had been trying for the past three years to help you get past what you had lived through. The dark-haired man had to admit, that he liked the little dynamic you had established for yourselves, he didn’t mind being a little bit of a dominant person when it came to you and apparently, it helped you stay centered.

When he saw the way you were drinking at the party in Mati’s house, he knew he needed to tread lightly with you or it could go southways. So he approaches you from behind wrapping his long arms around the middle of your body and whispers “Be careful now baby girl, if you get too drunk I won’t be able to fuck you when we get back, and then I will have to punish you won’t I?” and as soon as you hear those words coming from his lips you can feel your skin filling up with goosebumps, and even through the fog of your brain courtesy of the alcohol you’ve consumed already you are now burning with the anticipation his words brought into the mix. You know full well that Enzo means what he said and so you nod softly before turning around and looking up into his now dark brown eyes biting your lips “I’ll be good, I promise”. The only problem with this is, that you kind of enjoy it when he punishes you because you know he would never actually hurt you, as he’s repeated to you tirelessly, nothing’s gonna hurt you, as long as you’re with him, you’ll be just fine; you know this is true, you trust this man with your life.

When you walk away from his embrace, you’ve already devised a plan for how you will push his buttons and test how serious he is about the punishing part. The first step of this plan is locating the guy you know is going to drive him the craziest you flirt with; you slowly scan the room until you find your target, sweet Santi is sitting on the couch having a beer and you make your way to him, your hips swaying honestly a little more than they should, you sit down next to him your leg crossed in a way your knees are brushing slightly. “Hi Santi, did you do something different to your hair? it looks exceptionally good tonight” You smile playfully playing with his blonde curls. You can already see two things happening, first, Santiago’s already blushing like crazy, and second, you can feel Enzo’s glare drilling into you from across the room.

Of course, it doesn’t take more than 5 minutes for your boyfriend to make his way to you and bend down to talk to you at a volume he knows no one else will hear above the blasting music “What did I say about behaving baby? now we’re gonna have to go home and I’ll have to do something about this” You can already hear the lust filling his voice and you can’t help but bite your lip looking up at him, you can’t help it, you love being a bit of a brat sometimes. Even if you know this may come at a price.

As soon as you walk into the apartment your back is against the wall and your hands are up and out of the way held by one of Enzo’s big hands, the other resting on your hips squeezing just enough to make you feel it. “You enjoy making me jealous by flirting with my friends, don’t you princess?” It’s the tone of his voice matched with the sweetness of the pet names he uses which makes you weak at the knees, your breath hitching at the back of your throat as you nod softly looking at him through your lashes. “No no, use your words, baby girl, you know I like hearing your voice”. Just as you’re about to talk back you feel his right knee pressed up gently against your center and through your opened mouth instead of words comes a whiny, needy moan, your eyes fluttering closed. Just as your eyelids close you feel the grip of his hand on your hip tightening and you know that  to be your final warning so you force the words out of your mouth “Yes Enzo, I enjoy it” you say barely above a whisper. 

Just as you finish saying that Enzo picks you up tossing you firmly yet gently over his shoulder walking straight to your bedroom “well then… I guess that means there’s no orgasm for you tonight then, that’s what you get for being a little slut” He puts you down on the bed taking your clothes off before folding them neatly on the chair beside your bed. “Come on babyyy” you whine aching for some release between your legs, when he catches you  through the corner of his eye he turns his head clicking his tongue admonishingly shaking his head. Once you’re both in your underwear he grabs your legs behind your knees bringing you to the edge of the bed and without breaking eye contact with you kneels down between your legs “now… you know not to flirt with my friends, it’s not respectful to me” he says in his low sultry voice in between kisses up your inner thighs just before depositing the last one right on your already pulsating nub. When you feel his mouth making contact with your already slick aching center you close your eyes a loud moan flowing from your lip before you can even stop it digging your nails on the heels of your hands leaving crescent shapes on them knowing better than to tug at your boyfriend’s hair.

Enzo might enjoy this a little bit too much if he’s honest with himself, but there’s something about having you like that, laying on the bed and at the mercy of his skillful fingers and mouth begging for some release that just drives him crazy. He’s been at this for almost an hour now, his fingers moving in and out of your dripping center which so lusciously tightens around them as he accompanies each thrust of his digits with alternating sucking and lapping at your throbbing core and once more when he feels your breath hitching in the back of your throat and you trying to move your hips into him trying to look some release and pulls away before you can get the so coveted release you so much desire. As he gets back up to his full height he looks at you seeing how distraught you look and smiles softly “Come on babygirl, let’s get you into the shower, a nice warm soothing shower to get you better”.

Before you can protest he’s disappeared into the bathroom running the water, once  he’s back by the bed Enzo  picks you up in his arms cradling you against his chest and walks to the shower standing under the water gently placing you down as he proceeds to wash your hair and body making sure to give you a soothing massage until he feels you relax under his touch. It's become a habit now, after one of these sessions of yours, he likes taking care and pampering you, he knows sometimes he can get a bit taken away in the situation and more than anything, he wants you to remember nothing’s gonna hurt you as long as you’re with him.

Lucia's notes: I relly hope you enjoyed this little one shot, as usual, reqs are still open for a bit longer until I get in the mood to start my new series.

Taglist: @madame-fear @cyliarys-starlight @castawaycherry @luceracastro @espinasrubi @koiibiito @candycanes19 @nperoconelcositoarriba @lxdyred @deepinsideyourbeing

[geddy-leesbian]

A Miracle Too Good To Be True (one-shot)

Leon exits the elevator, expecting to be confronted by yet another abomination that mutated itself beyond recognition. Instead he's greeted with a miraculous sight for sore eyes, an old friend that must be in Valdelobos for the same reasons Leon is.

But sometimes you have to be wary of a miracle too good to be true.

(This isn't a first draft but also isn't quite the final version either. Eventually I'll post a more complete version of it to AO3 that's more polished and has more of the Krauser fight on screen, as well as a longer conversation at the end. I'm just too excited to wait to post this 🤭)

-

Leon would be lying if he said he wasn't annoyed when the elevator doors opened and he saw that Luis wasn't alone this time. Even though she was small and huddled in a corner behind Luis, who was shaking the container with the suppressant and talking, Leon's eyes were drawn to the little girl immediately because she stuck out like a sore thumb. Leon may have been inclined to think she was Luis's daughter if it weren't for the fact she looked nothing like him. She looked nothing like anyone in Valdelobos. She was the first child, dead or alive, that Leon had seen during the mission. Her hair was a bright red, and her skin was pale; not the sickly pallor complexion some infected took on, but simply the healthy pale shade that tends to come packaged with red hair. Leon couldn't get a good look at her face, but he could see that her clothing was also unusual. She wore a bright yellow raincoat that appeared to be too big for her small body and a pair of pink sneakers. Nothing like the dreary old clothes he'd seen on Valdelobos's other residents.

Leon wasn't upset at the girl, nor was he annoyed by her specifically. It was just that an extra person meant another layer added to his already difficult mission. Get Ashley back from Saddler. Protect Luis so he can remove their plagas in his lab. (While Luis wasn't exactly a basket case, he's still not the greatest in fights.) And then, protect a child. A child Luis was tight-lipped about, only saying that her name was Lucia, they had to take her with them, and that she wasn't infected. Leon accepted it, but he still wasn't happy about the new wrench in his plans.

But much to Leon's surprise, Lucia's presence didn't interfere with anything. Half the time he forgot she was even with them. During quieter moments she either walked behind Luis, clinging to him like glue, or rode on his back. When there were fights that couldn't be avoided, she ran away from Luis and found a crevice or nook she could squeeze into, only coming out of hiding when the sounds of gunfire ceased and Luis called out that it was safe.

Luis wasn't entirely useless either. He didn't contribute much when they were just fighting ganados, but once they started running into invisible bugs, Luis was suddenly more useful than Leon. Leon heard buzzing and looked around, scrutinizing and shooting at rocks, shooting into the air repeatedly like a madman, and nothing happened. Luis heard buzzing and after just one or two shots from his Red9 a bug would suddenly become visible and then fall to the ground, dead.

Somehow they made it to the elevator miraculously unscathed. Lucia didn't have a scratch on her, and the only injuries Leon and Luis acquired were superficial and easily treated with herbs.

“Okay, Luis, time for you to finally give me some answers,” Leon demands after he's treated his wounds, reloaded his arsenal, and gotten the elevator moving. “Talk.”

“Lucia was an Umbrella test subject,” Now that Leon really has him against a wall, almost literally, Luis drops his frustrating habit of dodging questions and isn't beating around the bush at all. Lucia is standing in front of Luis, and he covers her ears with his hands as he starts to talk. Leon almost laughs. The kid's been watching them brutally fight their way through the mines, seeing god knows how many ‘people’ die in gory ways, and yet Luis is trying to shield her from a conversation. “She was an orphan Umbrella scooped up from foster care. The parasite implanted in her was a slow growing one, it would take years to fully mature. So it was decided she needed to be treated differently from other test subjects to ensure behavioral issues wouldn't be a long-term hindrance. I was her… handler, for lack of a better word. I pretended to be her adoptive father and built a relationship with her, that way she wouldn't resist procedures or tests if I reassured her. At least, it was supposed to be pretend. I was too soft for the job, I got attached and actually did love her as a daughter. I left Umbrella when her parasite was nearly mature and she would die if I didn't remove it soon. I managed to smuggle her out. I promised her she would never be anyone's experiment again. I promised that, once I removed the parasite implanted in her, there would be no more needles. I promised she would never be a test subject again. That's how I ended up working for Los Illuminados. It was a real deal with the devil type of situation. Saddler said that if I didn't work for him, she would be given to another team to use as a test subject. But as long as I worked hard, he wouldn't let anyone touch a hair on her head. What was I supposed to do? If I left the village with her, Umbrella would eventually find us and I would be murdered and Lucia would be at the mercy of evil scientists again. And if I stuck around here but refused to work for Los Illuminados, same thing. They would take her away from me by force and she'd become the newest test subject to torture. Working for Los Illuminados was the only way I could keep my promise.”

“I still don't get you though. Why are you helping us? You just want to keep your… daughter safe and get out of here, why not just do that now instead of staying longer to help out me and Ashley?”

“Because what I did was selfish. I worked for Los Illuminados just to save my daughter. I contributed to the deaths of hundreds to save a single life…” Luis pauses and looks away from Leon for a moment, trying to wrangle his thoughts. Suddenly he looks like shit– or maybe he's looked like shit this entire time and Leon just hasn't looked closely enough to notice until now– regardless, Luis looks weathered beyond his years. There's far more gray in his hair than a man of his age should have, there's dark circles under his eyes, his face is gaunt and ragged… It's a shocking contrast to the little girl in front of him, with her wavy red hair, pale skin with a healthy pink tint, and full cheeks. Leon is sure that at least some of Luis's worn appearance can be attributed to him regularly skipping meals to make sure his daughter never went to bed with an empty belly. “At the time, I felt justified. I never made any promises to keep the world safe, I made a promise to keep her safe. But still, maybe it was wrong. Maybe saving hundreds of lives would outweigh the wrongness of breaking one promise. But I can't turn back time, I have to live with what I have and haven't done, and helping you is my way of-”

Lucia suddenly slaps Luis's hands away from her ears.

“Monster! Outside the elevator.”

Leon looks at her skeptically, and Luis explains. “The thing about her being an Umbrella test subject? Yeah, she's got a sixth sense that senses BOW's. That's how I was able to shoot all those invisible bugs easy, she told me where to aim because she could see them,” Done addressing Leon, Luis kneels down to talk to Lucia. “What kind of monster?”

“Not the ganados or bugs, someone like… Méndez? Saddler? Not them, like them.”

“Great. I was starting to worry that we'd make it outside without having to fight one more mutating freak,” Leon quips, double checking that all of his weapons and herbs are ready to go. “You stay in here, I'll go check it out.”

“Major Krauser?” Luis hears from within the elevator. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Luis is aware of who Krauser is. He doesn't need to ask Lucia if the man Leon is talking to is the monster she's sensing, he knows that Krauser was host to a dominant plaga. What he doesn't know is how Leon knows this guy. And what Leon doesn't seem to know is that this guy is, in fact, the BOW Lucia warned him about.

“Long time no see, rookie.”

“What? Why are you here?” The dominant tone of Leon's voice is still disbelief, but there's also a hint of relief to it. “Are you on some other top secret operation to stop Los Illuminados that no one bothered to tell me about?”

“Were you really all by yourself in that elevator, pretty boy?” Pretty boy? Luis already had enough questions, he did not need to hear that. He dares to poke his head around to catch a glimpse of what's happening. Krauser slowly circles Leon, eyeing him up and down like he's a piece of meat. “I wanted to see my pretty boy again, but that was just a nice bonus. I came down here to recover some stolen goods, and kill the rat that took them. I thought he was with you.”

“You mean Luis?” Krauser's back is currently turned to the elevator and Leon glances over his shoulder at Luis who is gesturing wildly, making a knife slicing motion against his neck. Leon seems to pick up all of Luis's intended messages. “I killed him. Found out he was Umbrella, and you know what those assholes did to me and my friend, so I killed him.”

Luis feels a wave of relief wash over him. Leon understood Luis's message, and he's playing the situation perfectly.

“Just like that? You really snapped and killed him that easily? That doesn't sound like the rookie I knew,” Leon's hand inches towards his knife. “But maybe you have changed. How about you show me what you're made of now?”

Luis readies his pistol, and then watches helplessly as Leon and Krauser begin to fight. He wants to help Leon. It's the first time a fight has truly been neck and neck. Luis was used to watching in awe as Leon decisively won every fight, watching a fight with no clear winner made his stomach churn. Leon should be sweeping the floor with this guy like usual. He wants to step in to tip the scales in Leon's favor, but both of them are moving far too fast for Luis to get a clear shot. If they're still talking, Luis can't hear it over the clanging sounds of knives clashing.

He whispers to Lucia to turn around or go back into the corner of the elevator, but she doesn't listen and continues watching anxiously. Luis doesn't argue further, he can't risk drawing Krauser's attention to himself and Lucia. Right now Krauser believes that Luis is dead and Leon has no one to back him up, he's not going to throw that advantage away.

Eventually Luis gets an opportunity to act. Krauser has Leon on the ropes. He's dangling over the abyss, and will fall to his death when Krauser takes his knife to his hands that are desperately holding onto the edge of the platform. Luis springs out of his hiding spot, shooting a volley at Krauser's hand and hoping at least one hits its target.

Krauser isn't as surprised by the “surprise” attack as Luis hoped. A bullet does appear to graze his arm, but he doesn't even flinch, let alone drop his weapon.

“I knew I smelled a rat,” Luis at least accomplished his main goal, Krauser's attention is now focused on him, giving Leon time to climb back up onto the platform. “And I knew that rookie wouldn't have had it in him to just cut someone down.”

-

As the arm around his throat tightens and his vision begins to blur, Luis desperately prays to a god he doesn't believe in that Lucia followed his instructions and stayed in the elevator and wasn't watching all of this. But suddenly Krauser releases him from the chokehold and shoves him to the ground. Not prepared to do anything to break the fall, Luis groans in pain as his body hits the ground, and there's a crunching sound as his glasses are smashed between the ground and his face. But broken glasses are the least of his worries…

“You know what, rookie?” Krauser walks over and puts a foot on Luis's back, lest he start thinking there was even a chance he could get to his feet and flee. “Killing this rat was my job, but I think I'll let you do the honors instead. Come finish him off. Think about what his employer did to you and your friend. Think about what he did to us in the jungle. You remember. All those things Javier sent at us were from Umbrella Europe. Come get your revenge. Then you and I can settle our score on a more fitting battlefield I've been preparing just for you,” Leon takes a step towards Luis, and Krauser takes his foot off of Luis. “That's right. Come finish him, then I'll be waiting for you in our arena.”

Luis hopes that Leon is considering the offer. Neither of them are in great shape, Luis can't imagine a situation in which they both leave alive. The best he can hope for is that Leon comes and kills him, buying himself some time to patch himself up, get Lucia from the elevator, and then fight Krauser with better odds than he has in his current state.

Suddenly Luis hears and feels a heavy object hit the ground a couple feet away from him. Luis opens his eyes in time to see another object, a brick, come hurling towards Krauser, making contact with his shoulder. Leon and Krauser both look confused.

Lucia. It must have been. A normal girl of her age wouldn't have been able to throw a brick that far, but Lucia isn't a normal girl. Luis looks up at the platform where he left her, and up at the various crates, but doesn't see her. She must have hidden herself. Hopefully Krauser can't see her either.

Finally a third brick hits, and it's a bullseye, bonking the top of Krauser's head. Krauser's far too tough to be incapacitated by a single brick, but he is annoyed.

“I don't have time to play with some brick throwing coward who won't show his face!” Krauser yells. “I'll be waiting for you, Leon. Your little friends are welcome to come to the battlefield too, but they'll have to show their faces and play fair.”

The moment Krauser vanishes from sight, the only people who exist in Luis's world are him and Lucia. He ignores both his own injuries and Leon's as he scrambles to his feet and rushes to Lucia, who came out of her hiding spot. He fusses over her for a couple minutes. He knew that Krauser didn't touch her, but it didn't stop the paranoia. Then he heaps the praise on her for her quick thinking and bravery. Once he's satisfied that Lucia is okay, he finally turns his attention to the slumped over Leon, kneeling on the ground next to him. 

“You better not be dying on me. I watched you walk off a chainsaw injury, a few stab wounds aren't going to keep you down,” Luis says, looking over Leon and then readying some supplies to tend to his wounds. Leon's eyes flutter open and he, for reasons he will choose to believe are related entirely to some blood loss clouding his mind and the emotional impact of seeing Krauser again, finds himself looking up at Luis and leaning up to kiss him. Luis gently pulls away and tries to focus on the wound on his shoulder, the rejection making Leon pout. “We can do that again when you're not at risk of bleeding out, okay?”

Leon mumbles out a yes and lets Luis focus on tending his wounds, the worst of them being stitched up by surprisingly delicate hands, the rest getting a can of first-aid spray. Then he gets Leon to eat a few herbs. It's only when he's done that he realizes he had an audience, Lucia sat cross legged with a concerned expression a couple feet away.

“Is he okay?”

“He will be, princess,” Luis reassures with a pat on the head. “He just needs a bit of rest.”

“Yeah, I'll be fine,” Leon says, already a bit perked up from the herbs. “Thanks to you and those bricks. Me and your dad would have been toast if you hadn't stepped in.”

Lucia beams at the praise and scoots over, resting her head on Leon's uninjured shoulder. “We can rest here. There's no more monsters.”

Luis is shocked by her behavior, not only talking to someone but trying to cuddle. Due to her having spent the majority of her life in an Umbrella laboratory or Valdelobos, she was scared of people. Méndez had tried talking to her when they first came back to the village, before he was infected, but she wouldn't say a word to him and would try to hide behind Luis. Luis was the only person she wasn't scared of. But even though he wants to encourage this breakthrough, he doesn't want her to pester Leon. Before Luis tells Lucia to give Leon space, Leon gently pushes her head off his shoulder, but only temporarily– he moves his arm to wrap it around the back of the girl's body and then leans his head against hers. She's exhausted and can barely keep her eyes open. Luis makes himself comfortable on the other side of her and idly runs his fingers through her hair.

“Can you promise me something?” Luis asks after Lucia eventually dozes off.

“Depends.”

“If something happens to me, don't leave Lucia behind. I know you already have a lot on your shoulders without a kid to look after, but-”

“That's a promise I can make. It's not like she's deadweight, she saved our lives. We would have walked right into an ambush and Krauser would have killed us if it weren't for her powers. He would have killed both of us if she hadn't started throwing those bricks. She's a good kid.”

“What about me, Leon? Am I a good man? Despite the shitty life I've led?”

“If you're a shitty person, so am I. I'm not a government agent because I want to be. I was in Raccoon City that day,” Leon doesn't need to say the date, Luis is smart enough to know. “I found a little girl there. She was implanted with G. I got her a vaccine, we got out of the city just in time. Then the government came and ‘rescued’ us. We were taken into custody. They told me Sherry was valuable because of her infection. They had scientists itching to experiment on her. But I was valuable too, surviving Raccoon City showed I had a lot of potential. They told me that if I worked for them, they wouldn't experiment on Sherry. So I did, even though I had learned the government aren't the good guys. I've killed people who hadn't done anything wrong because the government told me to. I've been on missions with an unnecessarily high amount of civilian casualty because the government didn't care enough to minimize who was caught in the crossfire. Every time I rescue someone, I wonder if I'm actually rescuing them or if it's like when I was rescued and I'm just taking them from one nightmare to another. But I just keep following my orders, because Sherry will get hurt if I don't. A lot of people are dead or fucked up because their lives meant less to me than Sherry's life.”

“Shit,” Luis's eyes start tearing up. “I haven't even thought about what the hell I'm going to do when we make it out of here. What will happen to her.”

“I won't let the government get their claws into her, I promise. Don't know if you've heard of the BSAA or TerraSave, but they're organizations who deal with bioterrorism and victims, and aren't following the US government's orders. I've got friends in both. I'll write down contact information for you. You'll have to take Lucia and run before the helicopter comes to get me and Ashley to make sure you're not on the government's radar.”

“That's a disappointment-” Luis cuts himself off, wanting to reword his statement. “No, that doesn't sound right. It's a relief there's help and hope for a safe future for Lucia and I. But it's disappointing that you're not in that future. I wanted more opportunities to kiss you when we're not filthy and injured.”

“This isn't something I can promise, but maybe I'll try and take a look at my situation again and see if there's any way I can get out without putting Sherry in danger. If I'm ever at a point where it's safe, I'll find you again.”

[nautls11]

my rambles about the tmk finale (SPOILERS, obviously)

whats up tmk famalam, im sad and im gonna talk about it

I cant even begin to describe how incredible the finale was. The players and the dice both had a story to tell and it created an end that brought me to tears.

The acting.

Genuinely some of the best ive seen in the entire show and I’ve been watching since convergence. Every single person absolutely killed it, Condi especially. Lucia’s moments with Mary, and Milo’s acting during the final scene was absolutely phenomenal

“Humanity’s weakness.” Empathy.

Empathy plays such a vital role throughout this entire story. It’s Lucia’s drive to try and save Everett from becoming her sister. It’s Jin’s drive to save the people who had those horrible fates he experienced when he was young. Everett’s lack of empathy was what pushed him away from his hunting party, seeing it as nothing but weakness.

Everett’s lack of empathy was what isolated him from the rest of the hunters. Yet, it was Everett’s empathy that made him choose to save Trey by turning him into a monster (albeit against Trey’s will), knowing that he wouldn’t survive otherwise. It was Everett’s lack of empathy for humanity that made him join the monsters, yet it was Everett’s humanity that made him spare Jin and Lucia during the monster siege.

Jin couldn’t kill Everett because he desperately wanted to keep alive the last bit of humanity Everett had left in him. Because Everett spared him, Jin only saw the only right thing to do was to spare his life as well, even though it led to the summoning of the Moonbeast.

It was empathy for Pebble’s losses that led Lucia and Jin to trust him, and he was able to prove himself more than capable.

It was Lucia’s empathy at the end that revealed Everett truly did still have a fraction of humanity and empathy left inside him, enough to destroy the heart and give one last goodbye. In the end, humanity’s weakness was also their ultimate power.

Mary’s internal conflict.

Lucia recognizing Mary but Mary not recognizing her, and the instant Mary realized it was her sister, her entire demeanor changed into that of a scared and traumatized child, because she never got to grow up. She was seen as a monster and became a monster. That was all she knew, and when those emotions filled her chest again she knew nothing but panic. She sees empathy as a weakness, just like all the other monsters do. Even to the point where she recoils from her own older sister’s sincerest apologies. Until Lucia has gona through what Mary has gone through, so long as they are different, Mary sees no place for reconciliation. And that id what causes her own downfall.

And the ending. The falling ending.

I think the fact that it ended with them all still falling makes it such a beautiful finale. It’s open-ended, we don’t know what faits await them. Do they fall as the starlight dapples across their skin and fall into the earth, becoming part of the cycle once more? Do they survive the fall, and the three of them live, watching as the moon slowly falls across the horizon and not into the maw of a beast, crying sobs of relief that their world was saved? Does one of them drag themselves out of the ocean to find their companions cold and motionless on the shore? I think the fact that we don’t know gives us so much more to think about, even though the campaign is over.

anyways thank you council + milo for making another incredible campaign and fuck you for adding to my cry counter (/nm ofc it was absolutely incredible)

[lightsnowydreams]

Yandere Female x Gender Neutral Reader

cw: yandere themes, delusional coworker, implied social isolation, kidnapping, non consensual kissing, stalking and murder

—————

a/n: Yayy a girlie this time!! I hope you guys enjoy!

———————Minors DNI———————

‘Another day, another dollar’, is what you think as you walk towards your little locker after clocking in. Putting your things up, you bring a hand up as you yawn. You weren’t a morning person but you had bills to pay so here you are. Adjusting your work shirt, you pull your name tag out of your pocket and put it on your shirt before closing your locker door.

“Hey!”

You jump in surprise, turning to see who decided to scare you. You see your coworker, and friend, Lucia. Her bright brown wavy hair, framing her cute little face, reaching her back. Her beautiful hazel colored eyes looking up at you brightly. She was also wearing the uniform for the job, a red polo shirt and blue jeans with sneakers.

“Lucia, you scared me! What the heck?” You asked in an annoyed tone, while shooting her a small glare, not wanting to deal with this so early in the day. She giggled before responding “Lo siento but I just couldn’t help myself! Your reaction was funny.” You can hear the teasing tone in her voice as she continued to giggle.

You could feel your eyebrow twitch as you heard her giggling.

‘There she goes messing with me again.’

You let out a sigh as you straightened out your clothes. “Alright, giggles, let’s go, we have work to do.” You proceeded to walk towards the main floor, patting her shoulder as you walk by, getting ready to start the day. Not noticing how she stopped giggling and the small blush that appeared on her face.

The morning went by normally, helping customers out, stocking shelves and etc. Lunch time finally came around and you went to your usual spot outside, with your lunch on hand, which was the curb behind the building. There you see Lucia, waiting for you. She turns around and smiles once she sees you. You walk towards her.

“Hey, you’re late!” She says with a small pout at the end of her sentence. “Ah, sorry, I got caught up helping a coworker.” You respond with a sheepish smile. Lucia’s face has a look of concern, she’s well aware of what you really meant. “Helping or doing their job for them, mi vida?” She’s got you. “You know me too well, Lucia.” A small chuckle escapes from your lips. “Well let’s forget about that and eat our lunch.” Lucia sighs and reluctantly eats her lunch, occasionally sharing with you.

If only you knew.

Once your lunch break was over, you guys went back inside and continued to work. Lucia took one last look at you before walking away. It seemed like she made up her mind about something. You went back to the floor and started to help customers, the best you could. Some being thankful for your help, most being complete headaches. You just wished the day would be over.

Lucia would come by and check up on you, asking if you need any help or offering you a snack that you’d love. If a customer was being rude to you and she was there, she was quick to make them leave you alone. For someone so small, she was scary when angry. You’re just glad that was never aimed at your direction. You were thankful for her, she was your only friend in this job.

You often wondered what happened to your other friends.

Checking the time, you noticed that your shift would be over in a few more minutes. Not wasting time, you head to the back room where the employee area is and walked to your locker. Taking your stuff out and putting your equipment in for tomorrow, you close your locker and go to clock out. Once your card was punched, you start to walk outside.

A cool breeze greeted you as you stepped outside, the night sky looming above your head. Taking a deep breath, you began to walk towards your car. Just wanting to go home and take a long nap. Seeing your car nearby, there was a small pep in your step and slight smile on your face.

As you look at your car, a blur of white flies across your vision. You feel something on your face. A cloth is pressed against your nose, trying to make you smell something. You struggle against the person, trying to not inhale the odor but they somehow manage to keep the cloth on your face. Unfortunately, you needed to breathe. Every breath you take, makes you lose your vision and strength. Until you finally go unconscious, only catching a glimpse of brown hair from the corner of your eye.

———————

“Ah, you’re finally waking up! I was getting really worried”

A groan escaped your lips as you began to open your eyes, immediately being blinded by the lights. Trying to rub the drowsiness from your eyes, your hands were suddenly stopped. As your eyes adjusted to the light, you noticed something on your wrists.

“Do you like them? I made sure to get the perfect size for you, mi amor!”

They were handcuffs.

Panic began to spread over your body, your heart beating fast, as you quickly shot up and saw her. Lucia. She was sitting at the foot of your bed, just staring at you with a smile. You around at your surroundings briefly. It looked like a basement. Strong grey rock walls surrounded you, with no window in sight. The light source from the top, just barely lit up some of the room, while the rest remained dark. Giving it an eerie feel. The only good thing was that it was a fairly clean place, like she was preparing it for someone. In that case, it would be you.

“Mi amor?”

Her voice made you snap out of your thoughts and turn your attention to her. In the small moment that you were distracted, she got closer to you. She was now in front of you, the look in her eyes never faded. “You look so cute when you’re scared..” She said in a dreamy like tone. “I would’ve loved to see you on my bed, but I have to make sure that you don’t try to run away from me or scream for help,” her hand reaches out to caress your hair, “after all, I worked really hard to bring you here.” The hair at the back of your neck stood up. What does she mean by that?

“Lucia? Why am I here?” You managed to ask without your voice wavering too much. Even though you were visibly shaking from fear.

“Porque perteneces a mí, mi amor.” She said as her hand stopped caressing your hair and cupped your cheek instead. You noticed how her face was inching closer to yours. You wanted to move or push her away but you were to shocked from what was happening. Her soft, plush lips met yours. You could tell that she wanted to deepen the kiss, but didn’t, not yet. This was a magical moment for her, but a dreadful one for you.

Finally snapping out of your trance, you rip away from the kiss and turn your head to the side. Not wanting to look at her. Just the fact that she had kidnapped you, and kissed you like you were her lover, made you feel sick. Before you could turn around to start telling her off, you stopped midway. Something had caught your attention, in the corner of the basement there was a weirdly shaped object. You squinted your eyes, trying to adjust them to the darkness, wanting to see what it was. Hoping that it wasn’t anything that she was planing to use on you. Once your eyes adjusted, you could finally see what it was.

It was a corpse.

Your eyes widen in horror as you open your mouth, about to scream, a hand covers it. The scream came out muffled instead. You feel yourself being pulled to her chest as tears start to buildup in your eyes. “It was a surprise for later but since you saw it now, what do you think? I probably should’ve cleaned the blood, huh?” From the corner of your eye, you could see her looking at the corpse with a disgusted look. “This was the guy who was being rude to you earlier today. To make sure he doesn’t do it again, I killed him.” She sounded like she was proud of herself, but that made you all the more terrified of her. Just what was she capable of? You couldn’t help but think if she was going to kill you too. As if reading your mind, she started to speak again.

“Don’t worry, mi amor, I’ll never lay a hand on you.” She started to caress your cheek again, trying to distract you. “Unless you try to escape, but I know you won’t, because you love me as well.” She tilted your head upwards, making you see her lovesick expression. “I’ll never let you go.”

Tears spill from your eyes as she said that, knowing that she was right. This was your new life now.

[twinkle-art]

Andromeda's garlean, or at least raised in garlean society, right? How'd she take the whole Varis/Anima thing in Endwalker? Or just the Garlemald section as a whole? If you've done all the EW role quests, how'd she feel about that last blasphemy?

unfortunately for her, she sure is! she was raised by her garlean mother and spent her entire childhood in the capital city so coming back to that under the circumstances that she did was, frankly, the worst experience of her life. just a profoundly miserable, harrowing time for her.

wrt to the anima stuff, i don’t actually know how strongly it hit her through the noise of every other horrific thing she was seeing, but i think the revelation that the people of her homeland had been devoured by their own nationalistic fervor nauseated her first and foremost because of how it almost felt like a foregone conclusion- a sort of “of course that would be what destroyed them” reaction that, in the face of how gruesomely it actually played out, makes her too unsettled to really feel any sort of vindication at the karmic comeuppance. mostly it just makes her sad. 

(the particular way she personally suffered at the hands of garlean fascism did little to harden her to the many, many cruelties of war she both witnessed and participated in in her capacity as the warrior of light- she has always done what she must without complaint, but she has never been able to turn off the way she instinctively sees humanity in those she cuts down for the sake of justice, knowing they’re probably a lot like the kind of people she was raised in tenuous community with. she just tries not to think about it too hard.)

of course, within the larger context of the arc, it’s ALSO pretty hard for her to view it as any sort of divine retribution when she knows not only what real, tangible person is responsible for unleashing this disaster on them, but that he all but says he did it to get under her skin, specifically. she might even feel culpable for the massive civilian casualties, if she let herself think about it for more than ten seconds. good thing there’s always something else for her to be doing!

anyways, more broadly, the garlemald arc was when her elaborate lies about being a normal eorzean girl completely and utterly collapsed under the strain of actually returning to where she came from. the psychological toll of keeping up the façade with the ilsabard contingient (though the scions, lucia, maxima, and some others have all kept her secret for a while now) And being treated by the garlean populace as a foreign invader (which strikes a nerve she was surprised to realize was still raw after all this time) And not knowing if her mother, who she had very recently accepted might’ve been a more complicated figure than she assumed, was even alive was, frankly, just way too much. the jig is extremely up. she’s taking out her anguish by cursing out some uncooperative military guy who probably reminds her of her step-father in her native language. she keeps asking everyone they meet if they know a woman named lucretia eir caecus. she’s finding any reason to avoid regio urbanissima because if she sees her old home she’s probably gonna have a panic attack. it went Extremely Bad.

the one and pretty much only spot of hope for her during all this is that it did help to get it through her thick skull that her friends like, really really love her. alphinaud and alisaie were basically glued to her side as much as they could be and each had their own approaches to trying to protect her from something that they pretty obviously couldnt. and, for what it’s worth, even as word began to spread through the ilsabard contingient that Hey I Think She’s From Here? i simply don’t think it destroyed their respect for her the way she had convinced herself it would. if anything i think a lot of them just felt bad for how much of a toll this was clearly taking onher.

…sadly i have not actually done all the edw role quests (i’m REALLY bad about doing role quests. i didn’t even do the shb ones until i made that video essay in june. and we all know i’m a huge shadowbringers guy) so i can’t comment on that but i’m sure it’s probably in line with all of this. yeah <3

[yukasyukasyukasyukas]

Random valorant agents headcanons bc I'm sleep deprived

(this means I didn't get my 12 hours of sleep today)

Brimstone

Hugest ally on the VP (which, lets be honest, doesn't mean much since they're all gay)

First person KJ came out to and he was so emotional about it

Constantly tries to get the agents to get closer or at least respect each other but after Cypher mentioned how him and Breach treat one another he gave up

Calls some agents (Viper, Sage and Killjoy) by their first names on the everyday and calls Sova, Chamber and Deadlock (the other ex militars) by their last names

I wanted to hc him an American football team but idk any💞💞💞

Viper

Brimstone and Vyse are the only ones to call her Sabine bc they know her since before the "incident"

KJ also used to call her Sabine before the VP but Viper was bitter abt agents calling her by her first name

Scared for her life of failing Reyna, not because she actually fears her, but because she actually cares about Lucia

Older sister who lost contact with her family

Aroace

Has a snake named Viper that is older than the protocol

Omen

Is annoyed by people mistaking knitting with crochet

Very kind to the younger agents

In his own way though

Killjoy

Has an older sister who doesn't talk to her since she was a teenager

HOW DOES ONE BECOME THE LEAD OF A WHOLE DIVISION ON SUCH A HUGE CORPORATION AT THE AGE OF 18???!$+2+_(not a hc, just a concern)

The fact her dad died before she was born probably has something to do with her closeness to Cypher and Brimstone

Rich af but rents an apartment with another girl and that place is absolutely precarious

Pays the rent monthly even if she doesn't spend a single night there

Has a huge lesbian flag on the living room and that has gotten her very straight roommate into delicate situations with her boyfriends

Her roommate is Brazilian from São Paulo bc I want her to

Very easily impressed by anything Raze does even if it's something she can do a thousand times better

I feel like she would main a duelist if she played val, probably Reyna or Raze

Cypher

Has a picture of his wife and kids on his bedside table

He keeps Nora's favorite clothing and his children's baby toys

Girl dad obv

Killjoy reminds him of his oldest daughter and sometimes he calls her his daughter's name

Hates kingdom but since he joined the protocol he learned how to convive with their workers, even if he doesn't like it most part of the time

Scares little kids on Roblox for fun

Wouldn't mind having a relationship with a man but after Nora he can't imagine himself in another relationship so he doesn't give it a try

(I love him and Nora😭)

Sova

Calls the other agents by their first names

Was friends with Sage since before the protocol

Recommend Sage to Brimstone

One of the only coworkers Viper enjoys the company of

Once he tried to speak Spanish to mess around with Reyna and Raze swore he was speaking Portuguese bc of the accent

Trans bc I want to project into my fav characters

Morning walks

Sage

Calls everyone by their first names

Has two younger siblings but she hasn't had notice of them since she started the monk training

Misses them

Met Skye when researching about her healing powers, Skye was doing the same

Born radiant

Great at cooking but Jett gaslit her into thinking it was bad as a joke and she still believes it

After Harbor joined the VP she got back into cooking

Lesbian bc I said so

Not much close to the other women in the protocol, only Skye, Jett, Neon and Reyna

Closer to the men on the VP (Sova, Brimstone, Cypher, Iso, Omen etc)

Doesn't have a clue of why Clove doesn't like her

Phoenix

Nerd

This man is a canon theater kid, he absolutely LOVES musicals, specially Hamilton and Jett and Raze tease him Abt being British and liking it

Bi

For some reason Jett gaslights him into thinking he's actually gay, obviously never worked

Him and Jett break up for the most ridiculous reasons, they've already broken up more times than one can count on fingers

Banned from every kitchen he steps on

Learned Korean só Jett would shut up about her being bilingual while he only spoke English

Once he let Astra undo his dreads to give him braids, it was the saddest day of his life

Raze bullies him for his style💔💔💔💞

Jett

Can cook five stars dinners but insists on eating leftovers she finds on the fridge and steals from the other agents

Doesn't dare touching Chamber's "monstrosities of dishes"

Makes people their favorite dinner and a special breakfast on their birthdays

Cooks for the whole protocol on weekends

Most my hc surround on the fact she's always eating something and was a chef😔

Gaslights everyone into believing the most random and/or stupid things and has actually convinced Gekko that dog is a common dish in east Asia

First thing she asks every east Asian she meets outside of east Asia is if they eat dog

Sage was mad at her for this

Also bi

Reyna

Actually very caring and worried for most agents

Siblings relationship with Yoru

Randomly starts speaking Spanish to Sage just to annoy her

Learned Chinese just to mess around with Sage

Lesbiana

Flirts with Breach as a joke

Iso actually believed she and Breach were a couple when he arrived

Homophobic to Raze and Killjoy

Non ironically has offered to find Raze a better girlfriend than Killjoy

Wants to be a mother but can't because of her duties and Sage doesn't like children

Raze

BRAZILIPPINES

Hugest anarcocomunist

Grafitti artist

Has sent Kingdom, Killjoy and Viper dozens of blackmails before joining the protocol

Didn't like Killjoy for her first years in the protocol

Boombot was created as a "rebellion" from Killjoy's tech with an alarmbot that Kingdom placed near her house

Has a younger brother who is her absolutely whole world

Capoeira.

Breach

Actually speaks Portuguese very well

Dad jokes

Hates children and the only exception is Raze's younger brother

Please please please please please read the joke I posted😭

Didn't get along with Deadlock nor Chamber at first

Gets along well with Cypher, Harbor and Fade

Likes men and makes it everyone's business and is very annoying to homophobes about it (bi)

Has kissed Harbor once just to see the look of terror on a homophobic guy's eyes

Skye

Lesbian

Owes a personal gun that she uses to scare bigots and idiots in general

Was guilty about rejecting Yoru

Still is very close to him

Skyelock beloved

The ship name should be changed to Hiking Buddies or something

Can make a cat with her powers and it plays with Nightmare when it's starting to affect Fade too much

Closer to Fade than most agents think

Morning walks with Sova and Deadlock

Yoru

Has a huge knowledge on east Asian culture in general

Speaks ainu and a little uchinaguchi

Values culture and tradition more than his life

Constantly educating Jett on Korean traditions???

Mansplains a lot

Neon (single) teases him for being single

Has the "lesbian curse" in which every woman he likes is a lesbian and it's starting to develop into an "aroace curse"

Homophobic to Killjoy

Misogynist to Killjoy

everything you can think that is bad against Killjoy

And Reyna is with him on these

Astra

Pansexual

Nerd on physics

Knows a lot about quantum physics

That was me projecting, sorry

I need more astra content to make more headcanons 😔😔😔

Galaxsea/ astrarbor/ Neptune/ sea star

Born radiant

KAY/O

Doesn't actually have feelings, he's just programmed to make humans feel loved (besides, obviously, being a war machine)

It was a way of keeping the non radiant soldiers hopeful during the radiant war

He's a robot, of course he doesn't have feelings

Killjoy is absolutely fascinated by him and wonders if it was her who built him or at least made his project

The "hatred" he has for the radiants is also a way of keeping the non radiants feeling safe and appreciated

Sage is the exception from his radiant hatred because she's always appeared to be against Reyna's radiant dominant ideal world and he read that as a powerful ally to his cause

He's AI ofc he's gonna be a little dumb even though he's from like 2060

Chamber

I refuse to

Does he like men?

Was homophobic to Killjoy and Raze when they started dating and to Sage and Reyna

Was actually homophobic

Turned out he likes men???

I'm confused

I don't like him

Neon

BRAZILIPPINES

She probably knew Killjoy before the VP or at least heard about her not as an professional but as a person

Definitely likes women

Since she became a radiant at such a young age and os so powerful there were probably lots of accidents

Was mostly isolated from the outside for a long time before the thing that is sticked to her back was finished

That'd explain why she doesn't like making new friends, she doesn't know how to

Knows a lot of stuff involving quantum physics and science since her parents work at kingdom and she has worked with them

Fade

Constantly found sleeping on the floor

Sometimes she leaves Nightmare out of her bedroom to get a peaceful night of sleep

Goes to sleep on about the same time Skye is waking up

Fadelock goes hard too

You'll rarely see her awake but when you do she looks like she hasn't slept in a decade

Doesn't actually sleep, just take 30 min naps throughout the day

Took a while to stop calling Harbor "agent Batra" during missions

I just checked and that is lore inaccurate but idc

Likes men and women, never stopped to think of it as "oh, I'm lgbt" that's just one more small detail about her

Had a cat that her brother gave her when she was a kid, it died of kidney failure a few years before she joined realm

Harbor

History and architecture nerd

Also a philosophy enthusiast

Has a tattoo that says "Memento mori et memento vivere" and that's what caught Astra's attention at first

Him and Astra spend a lot of time just nerding around

He's very caring yet not much protective to the younger agents

Randomly throws water at people who walk by

Breach and Deadlock learned on the hardest way not to be around him with a glass of water

Calls Fade Hazel because at first he thought that was how it was and never corrected it

Older brother of two sister

Pansexual

Gekko

Grafitti artist

Is an only child but is very close to the children is his neighborhood

Gay

That guy looks so gay I'm gonna cry

Has a dog named Lizard

Him and Raze talk to each other in Spanish and Portuguese and it's an absolute nightmare for others to decifrate their alien language

Asked Sage if people actually eat dogs in Asia and was punished for a week, Reyna had lots of fun

Jett still teases him about it

She told Iso about that and every time Gekko asks him what he's eating he says it's dog

Him and Deadlock are actually chill about each other for as long as one doesn't cross the other's boundaries when it comes to his radivores

Deadlock

This woman doesn't have a drop of heterosexuality on her body

She thought she liked Iso but it turned out he was just the only one not asking her to get along with radivores and radiants

Hates when she's called by her first name

Skye, Sage and Sova call her Iselin or Ise

Lost contact with her family and legally got rid of her last name Legally got rid of her last name as a way to try to protect her parents from potential threats related to her missions (edited bc apparently Frøya and Anna were indeed Iselin's sisters and I was too stupid to notice)

Fadeskyelock(?)

Used to go on lots of missions involving radivores before the VP but after the polar bear she didn't trust herself near them again

Graduated in biology

She wanted to be a scientist when she was a kid

Used to be obsessed about radivores and radiance before the bear

Iso

Can't cook for his life

Used to think he liked Deadlock but it was just compulsory heterosexuality

Aroace

Not much close with most agents but Sage and Deadlock

Him and Raze are absolute nightmares to go in mission with, those mfs listent to music so loud they can't hear anything else

KJ was scared of him

Only listens to music that are on languages he doesn't speak

Raze showed him Brazilian funk and he started listening to it during missions

Clove

Don't give a shit if they're misgendered

The pet rock is to throw at those who insist that they're a woman even after they correct them

Sleeps the whole day and is awake during the whole night

Immortal, queer, sleeps during the day... Are they a vampire?!

Randomly dresses up fancy and stays on that fit for the whole day, they can be seen wearing a suit during missions in breeze

Spends all their time awake doing unproductive stuff

Vyse

Was a physicist and later got into engeneering

She can't really remember those last years before the scions took her

Was took by the scions by Omen but none of them know

Doesn't like Iso

Her and Viper used to be very close friends, their friendship cou be compared to Jett and Phoenix's, they were very spontaneous

The "incident" was something involving her but no one really remember how it was

Ace

Had a cat named Jaguar

[nonbinaryspy]

Meta: Elincia's Trolley Problems

Elincia's arc comes into sharpest relief when you consider both PoR and RD together. From living a sheltered life as a secret princess, to watching her parents get killed as her country is invaded, to eventually rising to the challenge of her unexpected role as queen, she has to deal with important decisions at every turn. Every action she takes is out of love for Crimea's people and a desire to secure them safe and happy lives. But what happens when she has to choose between the life of a loved one and the future of the overall populace? Both PoR and RD test this with narrative beats that form a perfect mirror, ultimately reflecting Elincia's development.

Path of Radiance

Throughout PoR, Elincia has been separated from her usual support network, particularly her retainers. After returning to Crimea, she finally finds them—however, in chapter 24, before she is able to reunite with Geoffrey, he is left behind to fend off Daein troupes so that Elincia can escape. Elincia is naturally horrified.

Bastian: Geoffrey's acting as a decoy. You must continue on this road to the southwest. Lucia: So the enemy's found us, eh? Lucia: Nothing to do about it but change course. I'll lead you to another hiding place. Elincia: Wh-what are you saying, Lucia? We must help Geoffrey! Bastian? Lucia: Luck was not with us, Princess. We have no choice. We'll have to abandon our companions in Castle Delbray. Elincia: No!! We will not!! Geoffrey and the others have survived so much already... I will not abandon them! Lucia: Princess, please understand. If we could do so without danger to you, we would gladly risk our lives to go back. Elincia: We cannot do this! Please, Lucia! We must go to the castle! ...Bastian! You must not do this thing! Bastian: Geoffrey is a knight. In the name of our friend's honor, Princess, you must escape. Elincia: No... No! They've survived this long! They're alive! NO!!!

When Ike gives her the chance to instead save Geoffrey, she affirms that this is what she wants.

Elincia: Yes. I don't want... I don't want anyone else to be sacrificed.

Lucia and Bastian respect her wishes and agree to help Geoffrey, at which point she is able to get her feelings across.

Elincia: Because the two of you think to put me above all else, you say you will sacrifice your lives for me. Yet... Even if I'm able to borrow of Ike's strength and win back Crimea... If the cost of that victory is the lives of the two of you, I shall never smile again. And joy? Never again would that emotion fill my heart...

Elincia is a leader, but she's also a person—one who never asked for this role. Until recently, she has not had to make decisions that would affect the future of a whole country, as opposed to only living within her personal sphere. In fact, the main political decision made re: her life—the decision to keep her birth secret—was made for her. She has already lost her parents and, as far as she knows, her beloved uncle.

Since then, her choices have all been for the sake of Crimea. In reality, she has had little choice in how to go about that goal, considering she has been fleeing for her life while at the whims of Begnion politics. Being able to return to Crimea and reunite with her retainers is the first time she has been running toward, rather than away, from something, and still part of that goal is being held from her reach. Nothing will stop her from working hard for Crimea, but individual losses will still give her permanent grief. So here, she finally takes a stand against the choices other people try to make for her, and insists on protecting her loved ones and regaining some of what she lost.

What happens next depends on the player, but considering her retainers are alive in RD, the duology's canon here is that they all survive this fight. Due to Elincia getting her feelings across, her loved ones are saved, and the campaign continues.

After this experience, the cost of individual lives in war is hammered home, and Elincia decides it's not enough to order others to keep her retainers safe. Regaining her inherited pegasus and sword, she takes to the field despite the mixed feelings of her retainers.

Elincia: Even though I'm dressed like this, I have no experience, and do not expect to fight as well as the rest of you. But…this constant waiting behind and doing nothing…it sets my heart beating with such unease I fear it may burst. Even if I cannot fight, I could use a staff to heal the wounded. If I could save just one soldier, it would mean so much to me.

This quote shows her resolve and compassion, but it also shows that she still lacks experience and confidence, especially when it comes to conflict. Despite being trained in swordplay, she instead emphasizes her ability to heal, and sets a fairly low bar for what her contribution will mean. Although, given that this plot demonstrates the importance of saving an individual life, maybe I shouldn't call it a low bar. Either way, at this point, there is still plenty of room for her to grow and change, and RD will challenge her to due so.

Radiant Dawn

Part two of Radiant Dawn focuses on Ludveck attempting to usurp Elincia's throne by stirring up reactionary attitudes toward her policies, specifically with regards to her alliance with Gallia, to threaten civil war and pressure her into giving up her throne. Because she fears the conflict that could come out of taking direct action against a noble, and because his followers are also citizens of Crimea for whom she feels responsible, she approaches the situation carefully. Ludveck takes advantage of this hesitance to eventually kidnap Lucia.

Once again, one of the Delbray siblings is in peril, and this time, as Crimea's queen, Elincia does not need to convince anyone to save her. Instead, she takes to the field herself. As with PoR, she had not immediately done so—in this case, because of the delicacy the situation called for. But with Lucia's life at risk and Ludveck's forces at Elincia's door, she decides the time for delicacy is past.

Elincia: “Lucia… Lucia, I’m sorry. Somehow, I promise you… I will save you!” ... Elincia: “…Very well. I must prepare as well. I had hoped this day would never come… Amiti, the treasured blade of House Crimea, will awaken from its long slumber.”

Unlike in PoR, rather than focusing on her healing ability, she mentions Amiti. She no longer needs to make disclaimers or doubt the importance of her role commanding the field. The wording of "I had hoped this day would never come" and "awaken from its long slumber" emphasize that she has already been through the horrors of war once, and never wanted to again. She despises violence, but she is resigned to doing what she must.

Despite holding out against Ludveck's forces and throwing him in the dungeon, she is not able to do anything about his trump card. With Lucia as hostage, he tries to use her life as a bargaining chip for his release, as well as the country. After the incident in PoR, where her retainers saw their own lives as disposable, she convinced them to realize how valuable they were to her. So with the Delbray siblings' situations reversed, Geoffrey now asks Elincia to save Lucia.

Geoffrey: “…Your Majesty, you can’t… You have to let me do something about this.” Elincia: “…” Geoffrey: “Lucia would willingly die fighting for her country, I know… But you have to help her, Elincia. If you were in her position, she would surely do the same. Please, just give the word.”

Again, Elincia is at the point where she is taking action herself instead of entreating others. Rather than order him to do anything, Elincia visits Ludveck in what is one of the most defining scenes of her arc. The non-extended version is below as I think it gets the point across quite well, but there are more dialogue beats in the extended version.

Ludveck: “Queen Elincia, you’re so naive. Cold and callous decisions are sometimes required of a nation’s ruler. …I was testing you. We all wanted to know if our queen would have the power to stop a civil war.” Ludveck: “But, no, you were too hesitant and too concerned about harming the people… Now look what has happened. The rule of Crimea cannot be kept in your hands! Please, Your Majesty! You must abdicate and cede the crown to me!” Ludveck: “And considering Lady Lucia’s life is on the line, you haven’t much choice. Now, let’s have you free me from this prison cell, and then we can discuss any further details…” Elincia: “I don’t think so.” Ludveck: “What?! Are you truly willing to sacrifice Lady Lucia?!” Elincia: “…Lord Ludveck, all your dissatisfaction and misgivings about me are well founded. However, do you realize how many lives you’ve simply thrown away?! Strength without compassion does not a ruler make. You care nothing for the people, sir. You cloak your desire to rule with pretty speeches, but it is petty avarice nonetheless!” Ludveck: “…So this is how it shall be? Very well… But Lady Lucia cannot be spared without my order.” Elincia: “Allowing you to plant the seeds of rebellion and play havoc with the lives of my people is a failure for which I must answer. But I will see Crimea through this trial. I will give my people the future they deserve, no matter the cost.”

Ludveck patronizes Elincia for her compassion while pretending he has the citizens' best interests at heart, but Elincia doesn't bow to his demands. She maintains her compassion along with her resolve. However, no matter how caring someone is, the fact of the matter is that decisions that help even a great deal of people still come with consequences. Elincia realizes this, and is prepared to make that sacrifice while taking responsibility—even though, as she said in PoR, she "shall never smile again."

In the beginning of PoR, Elincia lost almost everything in one fell swoop. When she was finally reunited with her retainers, the thought of sacrificing even one of them was unbearable, even if it could potentially have derailed her goal to retake her country from an invading tyrant. Now, though, she is in a position of greater power, and she is fully aware of the responsibility that comes with it. Compared to PoR, where she was so often at the mercy of others, the only thing tying her hands now is the threat to Lucia. Of course, Lucia is immensely important to her, but after spending three years working to rebuild Crimea, nothing can convince her to let it again fall to ruin under another power-hungry leader.

Thankfully, Lucia's life and Elincia's smiles are saved, thanks to Bastian secretly calling in the Greil Mercenaries. Despite her resolve, Elincia's conflicting priorities are still apparent, as in the extended version (translation on Serenes Forest provided below) she expresses wonder at her decision. As for her retainers, though their feelings on how she should handle such situations have shifted over time, they don't begrudge her decision.

Elincia: “…When Lucia was captured… It was as if I lost my other half. Even now, seeing her by my side, I feel so strange… Wondering how, at that time, I could make the decision to abandon her…” Lucia: “Lady Elincia…” Elincia: “Still… If the same scenario occurred… I believe I would make the same decision. Lucia’s life is important, but it’s not on the same scale as protecting the country. As the Queen of Crimea, I must accomplish my duty to the country foremost.” Lucia: “Of course. Seeing Lady Elincia being able to make this decision, it truly makes me happy. As if I would hate you.” Geoffrey: “My thoughts exactly.” Elincia: “Lucia, Geoffrey… I value your lives more than even my own. But it’s my duty to protect this country, even if that means losing you. I’ve learned a lot from all of this. I hope to keep them out of harm’s way, and I’ll never make the same mistakes again.”

By the end of this section, the bulk of Elincia's arc is complete. She has decided what matters to her and what she will do as queen when put into high-pressure situations. She resolves the situation by deciding to be openly harsh in punishing Ludveck's followers despite the fact that it will gain ire toward her, as refusing to do so before gave him the opening he needed. She has decided to be uncompromising in the face of reactionary politics. Not everyone in Crimea will agree with her decisions, but those closest to her will never waver in their loyalty, to the extent that they are both willing to live and die for her. It's no wonder that, as her epilogue says, "Her reign was remembered as a golden age."

Conclusion

Because I touched on the topic of Elincia's agency and how she maneuvers within the limits of it, I want to give a brief shout-out to her actions in part three. She is Gallia's ally and does not want any more bloodshed in her lands. However, due to Begnion exercising its imperial power, she cannot fully stop its army from entering her lands in pursuit of the laguz alliance. The action she ultimately takes, dropping her weapon in between the opposing armies and essentially daring them to murder a queen of a country with whom they're both allied, all without betraying her own nonviolent ideals, is an unparalleled power move.

Getting back to Elincia's trolley problems, what I find interesting is that though Elincia's decisions are different in PoR and RD, neither game condemns her for her choices. She cares for both the mass of strangers that comprise her kingdom and the loved ones who she's spent her life beside. Her situation in each game is different, so she handles each situation differently in ways that make sense given her roles, pressures, and motivations.

FE in general, and Tellius in particular, asks the characters and players to care about the fates of individual lives as well as whole worlds. Both PoR and RD present the question of what someone would or should do when these personal and political goals conflict, without giving one black-and-white answer. Elincia's arc is just one impactful example of this.

As for me, I'm not gonna lie—though Elincia doesn't have the option to reset the game whenever someone dies, I probably always will.

[viviennevermillion]

Welcome to my newest AU: Lost but everyone who ever stepped foot on the island has some type of usable magic power from that moment on. Rules for this is every power has a drawback and it only activates at a critical moment to their character arc. Here's what powers I assigned them:

Jack Shephard: Can heal people using his own life force. He can only give up to 50% of his own life force to do this, if the injury can't be healed by that, he can't save a person. Jack's power doesn't activate until way into Season 6 because he didn't have faith in the island.

Kate Austen: Has the same power as Blake Belladonna in RWBY. Both are characters who are established as people on the run because of their past. Their powers reflect that. Whenever Kate is attacked, if she reacts fast enough, she can leave behind a shadow of herself to take the hit for her.

James "Sawyer" Ford: The angrier he gets, the more damage his punches do. On the other hand, if he gets genuinely sad and devastated, his physical abilities are significantly stunted and damage is almost non-existent.

Charlie Pace: Can focus on a person and play or sing a song that reflects their true nature. This can be used to gather information about them. He can only do this once per person.

Claire Littleton: She can sense danger, even when there otherwise isn't any indication of it.

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes: Can speak to the dead. Activates off-island.

Sun-Hwa Kwon: Can accelerate the growth of plants and the natural healing process of animals and people. She has to know and understand the species to do this.

Jin-Soo Kwon: Can communicate with the ocean to go with the "son of a fisherman" theme. If his head is underwater the ocean tries to kill him tho.

John Locke: Is the only one who doesn't have a power. He's like Mirabel Madrigal. He's deeply important to the story but he has 0 magic. He himself and other characters throughout the story think that he does during varying points of time but it's always the MiB messing with him. He realizes this at the end. Can you tell I like angst yet?

Michael Dawson: Can create a magic shield using his own stamina. Shield disappears when his stamina runs out.

Walter "Walt" Lloyd: Astral Projection. Self-explanatory.

Vincent: Ages normally and can die of old age but is otherwise virtually indestructible. Usually animals don't get any powers but Vincent's was given to him by Jacob directly to assist the survivors.

Sayid Jarrah: Can burn a person with his touch when he wants to. Doing this inflicts an equal amount of emotional pain to him as the physical pain he causes. I like angst.

Shannon Rutherford: Can master any skill within 30 minutes if she puts her mind to it. Never figures this out because she has been told that she's useless all her life and believes it. Only uses this once when she translates French but thinks those are lucky guesses.

Boone Carlyle: Blood-bending. Mostly gave this to him because everytime he angrily stares at someone you can tell that his blood is boiling. Never uses this once during his lifetime though.

Rose Henderson Nadler & Bernard Nadler: Have a soul link with one another. They can always tell how the other is feeling and neither of them can die while the other still lives as long as they're on good terms. Virtually indestructible unless you kill them at the exact same time but why the fuck would you.

Ana Lucia Cortez: Pyromancy. Fits her vibe. Also bound to stamina.

Elizabeth "Libby" Smith: Can read people's emotions.

Mr. Eko: Precognition. Can tell what he needs to do when and can anticipate things a couple seconds before they happen.

Benjamin Linus: Everytime he lies (to convince someone of his lie, sarcasm not included), it slightly alters reality in an unexpected way to make his lie appear like the truth. This is how Anthony Cooper gets to the island after Ben tells John about the magic box. The result of his lies is always unexpected and can backfire. He can't make something specific happen intentionally. His power activated during the purge.

Juliet Burke: Ice-bending. This has nothing to do with her character but I've previously seen Elizabeth Mitchell in Once Upon A Time and The Santa Clause and both times she plays a character that has something to do with winter. Also bound to stamina.

Ethan Rom: Superhuman strength. Self-explanatory. It actually takes multiple shots from 6 guns to take him down in this AU.

Harper Stanhope: Can see people's time of death over their head. Was very confused that Juliet's said 1977 and Ben's was way past his normal life expectancy.

Goodwin Stanhope: Idk what his power is but it's certainly not danger sense. 💀

Roger Linus: Can sense fear. Terrible power for a terrible man. I love Ben, I promise. I also love angst tho. The moment Ben killed him was the only time he didn't sense any fear from him, which scared the shit out of him.

Desmond David Hume: Activates his power after the events of "The Constant". Can see glimpses of people's past and future upon touching them. Can only do this once per person.

Frank Lapidus: Always lands safe. Literally always lands on his feet like a cat. Also applies to planes / helicopters he flies.

Charlotte Staples Lewis: Can speak any language after hearing it spoken once. Growing up with this was very confusing off-island.

Miles Straume: Reading the final thoughts of the dead. Self-explanatory.

Daniel Faraday: Stopping time for up to an hour. After using this power, he can't use it for 24 times the amount of time he stopped time for. Only can use it in present time.

Illana Verdansky: Able to tell when people lie.

Danielle Rousseau: Her bullet or arrow always hits the target unless the target specifically blocks it.

Alexandra Rousseau: Can make herself invisible. Used for stealth.

Karl Martin: Can accelerate his speed. Bound to stamina.

Mikhail Bakunin: Telepathy.

Eloise Hawking: Chain Reaction. Once a day for 5 minutes she can see the effects of every action of hers she thinks about.

Charles Widmore: Can take a glimpse at people's destiny. Only can do this once per person.

Richard Alpert: Can't be killed by anything ever. Can't even die of natural causes. Can't die.