#or is it because she's not a Force/magick user

[jeannetheblonde]

here are my two cents about Tales of the Empire:

1. although it was short and simplified and could use a little bit more work, I liked where they went with Barriss;

2. Morgan's character just breaths and breaks the lore, I can't wrap my head neither around her nor her motivation, girl doesn't make any sense, she's not convincing and somehow she's still here, WHY.

[irenesweirdpinkstaff]

Shadow Knight Headcanons

general

Shadow knights spend about a year (Nether Time) in the Nether before being allowed to do their ritual to gain immortality, Sasha is the only recent exception to this.

the reason they make the shadow knights wait a year is because new born shadow knights are very unstable, i also don’t consider season three cannon at all personally

they are in cocoon like sacks and the inside is filled with a sleeping drug. the sacks are submerged in the lava fields and left alone, watched over by guards who report if any knight has woken up for the first time

they are in the cocoons for the same reason a butterfly would be, their bodies come apart and reassemble

once they wake up, they are moved to cells and their armor growth is monitored

their armor is a shell, physically fused to their skin, when a shadow knight betrays the shadow lord, they are given a drug that makes them afraid, forcing them into their armored state and they cut off the armor as a form of torture. that was one of the torture methods used on Vylad

like zebra’s stripes, and human finger prints, armor is unique to each knight and can be used to identify them

shadow knights have a poor sense of taste, but incredibly sharp ears. they also have absolutely no sense of smell. there is nothing but losing it entirely that can block out the stench of Hell

Shadow Knights also take time for their final armor pattern to come in, all shadow knights are reborn with the same pattern

Scorpion knights (mentioned in season 1) are called that because they actually have tails similar to scorpions, all shadow knights did when they were first reborn but it falls off after a few weeks. it doesn’t actually do anything.

The reason scorpion knights still have them is because the transformation from human to shadow knight was too much, and they went insane shorty after emerging from their cocoon

emergence is what the shadow knights call coming out of their cocoon and emergence day is the day. it’s not celebrated, just used to keep track of time

i could do this forever but i’ll stop now

Gene

Gene was the first of the main group of knights we focus on to emerge from his cocoon.

he had a hard time with the transition but didn’t fight it at all. he lost his ability to fully control his magicks after his emergence so he had to hone it again.

He established himself as having great potential early on

his armor has dark bluish gray markings, showing he is a magicks user. he hates them because they remind him of his brother. he is being permanently reminded of his accidental executioner

He killed Sasha on purpose. the reason is entirely unrelated to the battle

Xenix

He was the first to die, but second to emerge

he has no blue markings and his armor is mostly red, showing his little control over his shadow knight abilities

He died by an artificial land slide in his home village. a few boys his age did it

there was a prophecy made about him, saying that the next boy born in the village would reign destruction. many people didn’t like him because of it and said that he should outright be executed, those boys took it upon themselves. he was fifteen when he died

his tail never fell off on its own and he actually had to cut it off

Xenix actually didn’t know Sasha, Gene, or Vylad very well, other than what he had heard about them

Sasha

her tattoos were after her death, actually given to her by a merchant in a village. she chose them because from a distance, a lava river looked purple through the haze one morning. it was the last day she, Gene, and Vylad had spent together before being sent on their mission.

Sasha has more but those are her only visible ones. she gave one to Kenmur, and she has the matching one.

Sasha has blue on her armor, she has a unique affinity for potions. she’s able to brew them better than most with the very little training she’s had. her magicks help her make them.

Vylad taught her the basics on the ocarina

Like Gene, she also made herself known through the Palace. she and Gene were paired together.

Vylad

He died at sixteen. he had heard that Garte was attempting an assasination on him and he tried to run away. he died near the walls of the city.

He went through metamorphosis relatively fast, and gained his immortality about two years after his death, making him the youngest in his trio (Gene, Sasha, and him) (Sasha gained immortality at 20 and Gene at 23)

he has blue markings, but is unsure of his magicks and if he actually had them. the markings are faint

he doesn’t actually feel love for his family, but he can remember that he once did.

he gained immortality by slaughtering a small costal village. he actually has the record amount of kills out of his trio, and ranks rather high overall.

in the village he found sheet music for the ocarina and he took that immediately.

Trio headcanons

a shadow knight’s battalion is their new family (battalion used so loosely here)

they truly love and care for them, even if over time they become enemies they can’t bring themselves to hurt each other. they are so mentally bonded it would destroy their minds to kill each other

Every person with Aphmau doesn’t understand that and gets confused when Vylad is so unwilling to allow them to torture Gene for information despite all he’s done. (they don’t want to but still)

Gene just grins sadly.

When they do it, Sasha while in Tu’La feels hurt and Vylad, witnessing it, outright screams

the only way to temporarily remove the bond is by administering a strong drug, but it feels odd. Gene and Sasha took it, and forced Vylad to before his torture

Vylad saw Sasha’s escape, and let her do it.

[gffa]

Hi, I was wondering if you have any thoughts on how to reconcile Merrin's character with the way we're meant to see the dark side as inherently corrosive and damaging? Other Nightsisters made sense as dark side practitioners but I don't know how Merrin fits in. The JFO games don't seem to be ignoring the dark side thing, considering Cere's whole arc in the first game. Merrin as a dark side user seems dissonant to that message?

This is going to be the most unsatisfying answer because I think the only way to really reconcile it is "magick is somehow fundamentally different" from how the Force works for other Force-sensitive. It's not a great answer, because it does still break the worldbuilding because magick is still sourced in the Force, and the dark side is inherently corrosive, but I'm willing to go with it because I don't think a Nightsister could use the Force the way a Jedi could and a Jedi couldn't use the Force the way a Nightsister could, I'm chalking it up to how both come from the same energy field, but the way they tap into it is fundamentally different and unique to each other, and that's enough for me to go, eh, fine, I just won't think about how it breaks narrative themes. I mean, Talzin said that she never could use the Force like a Jedi would, she didn't have the ability, but we see how powerful a magick user is, which tells us that there must be some fundamental difference in how you tap into things. Like, Nightsisters may not be Force-sensitive at all, but magick-sensitive. (Or maybe anyone can do magick if they undergo the Nightsisters' rites? we never saw Morgan use magick before the Great Mothers changed her, right? ETA: @emmettarthur-blog is right that Morgan used magick on Seatos before that, even if they seemed greatly amplified by that.) Maybe, by going through magick, it's not the same kind of connection to all living things in the galaxy, it's not the same tapping into the flow of the energies of life and death, that it's not dependent on your emotions and thoughts. So, Merrin can use magick in anger and it doesn't have the same blowback that it would if Cal used the Force in anger, because they're entirely different types of connection to the Force.

[laurancezvahlslefteyebrow]

here comes the girl~ hello girl~ welcome~

Cadenza! Redesigned! Lets Go!

you know the drill. headcanons and canon changes here we go:

first off it has always bothered me how it is mentioned in canon that she has magicks but it’s never specified what or anything so let’s change that.. in my au, she is a siren. no, not a mermaid. a siren. a siren is a type of magicks user, essentially a very talented hypnotist. (lillian is also a siren) they have great power of suggestion, and that power is even more potent when done by singing (though it’s much more obvious). cadenza however, is also originally from Zerimar. this means she has rune tattoos, giving her a trait based on her name. the name cadenza means beautiful voice, and so that is her power. not only is her voice literally beautiful, but she can make anything, even the most gut wrenching sentences, sound beautiful. she can essentially make anyone do anything she wants. but she doesn’t, because she has a pure heart.

she originally started by making doll dresses for her younger sister, Eseryt. After being separated from her she decided to make as many dresses she could to somehow honor her sister. its therapeutic, and reminds her of a simpler time.

her fingertips are often colorfully stained from dying fabrics… or laurances hair…

the necklace she wears was her biological mother’s. Eseryt had (has) a matching one. once it broke and she went crying to laurance asking if he could fix it. he couldn’t so she had to figure it out herself

she loves painting, especially flowers.

after being turned into a chicken, she went vegetarian.

before becoming lord she had a boutique, where she sold all the clothes she made.

after becoming lord she stopped selling them and simply gave them to villagers in need of some new clothes.

she always and inexplicably smells like cinnamon and roses.

she used to force laurance to dress up and wear makeup and jewelry and braid his hair as a kid. as they grew up, she realized she could stop forcing him because he actually loves to feel pretty.

she never cuts her hair but she takes extra good care of it.

as a child, she had a cat named cricket. she named her cricket because her meow sounded more like a chirp.

after alina is born, she calls her cricket because she’s so full of energy just like that cat was.

garnet calls her auntie cadenza (or just auntie denza until she’s old enough to say it right)

alina calls her aunt caddy.

after becoming lord, she becomes a lot more conscious about covering her rune tattoos. if word got out that she was from zerimar or that she had magicks that could potentially be used to manipulate others she could be overthrown, abducted, or even assassinated. or worse.. o’khasis could declare war on New Meteli

next up is actually an oc..

[halfagonyandhope]

when the skies catch fire │ch. 41

first chapter (x); previous chapter (x)

Ahsoka excuses herself to return to her bunk a few minutes later, and Obi-Wan shifts as Ventress moves to sit next to him on the padded bench in the lounge. There’s still a meter or so of space in between them, but they can converse in hushed tones now, without fear of waking the others at the early morning hour.

“How exactly did you do it?” asks Obi-Wan.

Ventress smirks. “Return from the Dark side, you mean?”

He nods.

“Intense reprogramming,” says Ventress. “Mind you, this was something I wanted. If Vos doesn’t want to return to us, there’s no hope for him.”

Obi-Wan hesitates. “How bad was it?” he eventually asks. “When you saw him?”

Ventress sighs. “His eyes had changed,” she admits. “His entire Force signature was shrouded in darkness. It was like the Vos I knew was dead.”

As he takes in her words, Obi-Wan begins to remove some of the pieces of his beskar’gam. Ventress is clearly no threat to him, and she’s more than capable of fending off any external threat that could still appear.

And the beskar’gam is heavy.

Ventress watches as he sets his vambraces to the side. “What are you thinking?” she asks.

Obi-Wan glances up at her as he removes the chestplate. “My wife, Satine…she’s Force-sensitive in a way that I hadn’t known was possible,” he begins to explain.

Ventress scoffs. “The Duchess of Mandalore is Force-sensitive?”

“Believe me, I was as surprised to discover it as you are. The Mandalorians have their own Force sect, just as Dathomir does. Mandalorian Force users often have the ability to hide their Force signatures from others. It’s not powerful in the same sense as your Nightsister magick or the Jedi’s ability to wield a lightsaber, but it is immensely powerful. Her abilities…”

Obi-Wan trails off, considering.

“She and I began to wonder what else we don’t yet know about the Force.” He gestures at himself. “Exhibit A. I’m the first Force-sensitive, at least in documented galactic history, to sever their connection with the Force so completely that I cannot call upon it again.”

Ventress leans back, resting her arm atop the back of the bench. “You’re thinking there’s a way we can use these discoveries to bring Vos back from the Dark.”

“I’m not just thinking about the possibility,” says Obi-Wan. “I’m entertaining it. The reason I knew you were still alive is that I was contacted by my master, Qui-Gon Jinn - ”

Ventress lifts a manicured brow. “Jinn is part of the cosmic Force,” she says slowly, as if daring him to contradict her.

Obi-Wan doesn’t. “He appeared before me and Satine, and he told me that you and Quinlan were alive.”

A look of half-relief, half-anguish crosses Ventress’ face.

“How long ago did you speak with Jinn?” she eventually manages to ask.

“Only a few days prior,” says Obi-Wan.

Ventress presses a hand to her mouth, leaning forward, her eyes haunted. Obi-Wan watches her shoulders shake slightly, and he reaches out to brush a finger to her elbow. “I haven’t received news of Vos in months,” says Ventress, her voice shaky. “I wasn’t even sure he was still alive.”

“Master Qui-Gon confirmed that he is. He also told me that he’s learned much about the Force over the past decade. I think he might be able to help us figure out how to sever Quinlan’s connection to the Force.”

Ventress’ head snaps up, and her icy blue eyes lock on his. “We’d be able to release him from the hold of the Dark side.”

“What you said before, about Quinlan needing to want to change…that might not apply here. We might be able to force the change upon him. If he’s really far gone, we can’t take chances on trying to bring him back, just hoping he’ll have a change of heart. I can’t expose the members of the Rebellion to that.”

Ventress nods. “I understand. Before he was corrupted - that’s what Vos would have wanted us to do. He would have wanted us to bring him back, no matter the cost.”

“I’m glad you think so,” says Obi-Wan grimly. “Because if we sever his connection to the Force, there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to get it back. It’s been months and I haven’t been able to reforge that connection.”

“Do you believe it will be permanent?”

“Master Qui-Gon didn’t seem to think so,” says Obi-Wan. “But it will take a time-intensive journey of reflexivity and self-discovery before it’s possible. I don’t believe such a journey would allow Quinlan to re-establish a connection with the Dark side of the Force. It feels to me that this journey can only be made toward the Light.”

Ventress folds her legs underneath herself, crossing her ankles in front of her, as though to begin meditation.

“I’m familiar with that path,” she says. “And it’s what Vos would want,” she repeats. 

Then she nods, and Obi-Wan watches as a steely expression returns to her face for the first time since their reunion. This is the Ventress he knows.

“Where do we start, Kenobi?”

---

With Serenno being as close as it is, they decide to conserve fuel and remain on Dathomir for the time being. The lounge becomes an extension of Phoenix Base’s conference room for the next week, and they plan their operation.

Ventress takes the lead, informing the group of everything she remembers about Dooku’s fortress on Serenno, down to the changing of the guards and when shipments are delivered.

“Will Dooku expect another attempt to free Master Vos?” asks Ahsoka as she pores over blueprints that Ventress had sketched out. “You said you made a prior attempt to rescue him, right? What if Master Vos has been moved since then?”

“Then we’ll focus on extracting Cody and any other prisoners,” says Ventress, “and hope someone has intel on Vos’ whereabouts." 

A life-size holoprojection of Satine stands at Obi-Wan’s side, studying the maps and schematics over his shoulder. “Bo-Katan has been in touch with contacts in the Serenno system. The Count has essentially been under house arrest since the Republic fell. Officers of the Empire can come and go from his residence freely, but Dooku and his ensemble have not been allowed to leave. It seems likely that Quinlan will still be there.” She looks up at Ventress. “How did you get in last time?” she asks.

Ventress smirks. “I had a distraction.”

“Leave that to me,” says Obi-Wan.

---

“You’ve got the kyber crystal, right?”

Obi-Wan lowers himself down on his bunk aboard the Ghost. He has a cabin to himself, but he knows the walls aren’t terribly thick, so he keeps his voice low.

He holds the necklace up for the holoprojection of Satine to see. “Yes, my dear. And I’ve been practicing, doing exactly as Qui-Gon has instructed. We all have been. The plan will go smoothly.”

Satine sits next to him. “It’s not your part of the plan that I’m worried about.”

Obi-Wan sighs, wishing he could brush his shoulder against hers. “I know. There are…many variables.”

“You’re sure about Ventress?”

He nods. “She’s saved my life before, you know,” he says. “And she has more to gain if this goes well than she does if it goes poorly.”

“I cannot imagine what she must be feeling,” Satine whispers. “To lose the one you love but have the slightest possibility of getting them back…”

Obi-Wan gives her a wry smile. “I think you know that feeling all too intimately,” he points out.

“Touché,” says Satine. She breathes in slowly, then breathes out. “You’re thinking that if this plan works - if you get Quinlan back - then you can try the same thing with Anakin.”

Obi-Wan looks over at her, taking in her open expression, her kind eyes.

“I don’t know,” he admits. “The two cases could not be more different. Quinlan hasn’t murdered anyone - at least that Ventress knows of. He has not betrayed the Jedi, though he has betrayed himself. Anakin slaughtered every last youngling in the Jedi Temple, as well as many other Jedi. I get the feeling he hasn’t betrayed himself. His and Quinlan’s situations simply aren’t comparable. And if I’m being truthful, I know that if something goes wrong on our path to bringing Quin back, we’ll be able to contain him. I don’t think we can say the same for Anakin.”

Obi-Wan runs a hand through his hair. It’s still cut rather short compared to how he’s been used to the past few years, but it’s growing back, now about the length he’d worn it as a padawan.

“I don’t know if it’s worth the risk,” he admits. “The Jedi may not have been right about everything, but one thing they were right about was the importance of letting go. I think that is what I must do with Anakin.”

“There is wisdom in honoring our limits,” says Satine. “But, someday, someone will have to face him. Someone will have to take him down, even if it’s not you.”

“Hence why I’m working on letting him go,” Obi-Wan replies. “Though I suspect it will be a lifelong struggle.” He shakes his head. “But Anakin is a problem for the future. I must focus on the here and now.”

They sit in silence for a moment, and then Satine holds up her hand.

Obi-Wan immediately mirrors the image with his own fingers, as close as he can get without disrupting the holoprojection. “Call me as soon as it’s over,” Satine whispers.

“I will,” he promises. He clears his throat before adding, “I love you.”

“And I love you,” Satine murmurs. “May the Force be with you, Obi.”

And then her holoprojection fades, sending the cabin into darkness.

---

They take Ventress’ ship, the Banshee, to Serenno. Unlike the Ghost, which they’ll pick up on the way back to Dantooine, the Banshee has holding cells - Obi-Wan suspects they saw quite a bit of use in Ventress’ bounty hunter days - as well as a top of the line cloaking device. 

Tech examines the cloaking device without bothering to hide his glee. “This must have cost a small fortune,” he breathes as Ventress passes him.

She waves a dismissive hand. “Worth every credit in my line of work.”

She and Obi-Wan head to the cockpit. As they move through the pre-flight checklist, he says quietly, “It’s alright to feel apprehensive about returning to Serenno.”

Ventress checks over her shoulder, but the others are out of earshot, down the ladder and in the galley, strapping themselves in for the flight out of Dathomir’s atmosphere and the initial jump to hyperspace.

“So your keen perception was not a byproduct of your connection to the Force?” says Ventress, in a tone that tells him she’s both annoyed and impressed that he’s picked up on her emotions.

Obi-Wan chuckles. “Keen perception has very little to do with it. I’m just remembering how I felt on my way to get Satine away from Mandalore.”

As Ventress pilots the ship up, she glances at Obi-Wan. “You know, I never pegged you for someone who’d renounce their vows to the Jedi.”

“And I never pegged you for someone who’d break their bonds to the Sith,” he shoots back as the ship climbs into the hazy atmosphere.

Ventress shrugs. “We’re clearly more alike than we’d initially realized.”

Obi-Wan has to laugh. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

Ventress grins. “That’s yet to be determined.”

They’re silent for a while as they leave the planet behind and then perform calculations for the hyperspace jump. Once the stars have begun to bleed around them and the ship lurches forward, Ventress turns to Obi-Wan, looking pointedly down at his wedding band.

“The beskar ring suggests you had a traditional Mandalorian wedding.”

Obi-Wan examines the ring and has to smile. “Quite the opposite, in fact. There was no scarification ritual performed. Satine and I agreed we’d both suffered enough scars for a lifetime.”

“Ah, yes, ever the pacifist,” says Ventress, crossing her arms over her chest. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“She’s more of a fighter these days than I am,” Obi-Wan admits. “I wasn’t conscious at the time, but she took the Darksaber from Maul. She disarmed him.”

Obi-Wan can’t remember a time he’s seen Ventress more surprised, and he laughs deeply.

“I’ve underestimated her, clearly,” says Ventress. “You said your Rebellion has organized an operation to get Mandalorian Force-sensitive children to safety? I assume Kryze is the mastermind behind this?”

“No, and yes,” says Obi-Wan. “Satine is behind it, but she organized the operation years ago, before the Rebellion was even a thought.”

Ventress taps her foot, considering. “There are Force-sensitive children beyond Mandalore who are in danger, as well.”

Obi-Wan’s brow furrows. “We’ve begun planning to expand the scope,” he says. “My brother is a pilot - ”

“There’s two of you?”

He nearly cackles at the look on her face. “He was never a Jedi,” Obi-Wan explains. “But he’s an ace pilot. We managed to find him - and my parents - soon after the Republic fell.”

Ventress’ expression softens at his mention of his family. “I’m…glad for you, Kenobi,” she says. He must give away something in his expression because she adds, “Spit it out. Whatever it is you just thought about, let’s hear it.”

Obi-Wan chuckles at this. “The Rebellion is my family, in more ways than one,” he says. “Satine and I have a daughter, Léa, born just a few standard months ago.”

Now that is the most incredulous he has even seen Ventress. “You weren’t kidding when you said we had a lot to catch up on.”

“If we survive this - and we must or Satine will kill me - you can meet her,” says Obi-Wan. “You can’t take Quin back to Dathomir permanently; it won't be safe to have him constantly be surrounded by Dark side magick. You both can stay with us at our base. Hibernate there, keep an eye on him as he heals.”

“When we survive this,” says Ventress, “I’ll take you up on that offer. And I’ll raise you this: make it permanent, and Vos and I will lead the charge on smuggling other Force-sensitive children to safety. I think it’s the kind of mission he’d like.”

Obi-Wan bites his lip, unable to articulate his gratitude.

Ventress cackles. “I enjoy making you speechless, Kenobi,” she says.

---

Hours later, the Banshee descends into Serenno’s spaceport, the formidable spires of Dooku’s fortress visible in the distance.

The team doesn’t need to go over the plan again; they’ve rehearsed it ad nauseam. Instead, they disembark - with the exception of Echo, who will man the getaway ship - in silence, with Obi-Wan heading to the palace’s opulent and imposing main entrance and the rest of the team headed to the delivery area tucked to the side, relatively hidden by a bunch of trees.

As he peels away from the others, he nods at Ventress. He knows that Dooku's arrogance will be the reason he won’t be expecting another rescue attempt staged in the same way as her previous one.

But that doesn’t help him still his shaking hands.

Obi-Wan fiddles with the tabards he’s wearing. The Rebellion has resources enough that new clothing is now not a luxury; they have a weaver and tailor who’d been able to make something akin to the Jedi robes Obi-Wan is so familiar with. He’d decided against wearing the beskar’gam from Satine, and he’d placed his beskar ring back within his lightsaber - the less Dooku knows about Obi-Wan’s relationship with Satine, the better.

But she’s still with him. Her kyber crystal necklace rests against his chest, not touching his skin but hidden within layers of fabric.

Obi-Wan steps up to the entrance, where he looks the guard in the eye. “My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi,” he says, surprised at the strength of his voice. “The Count is expecting me.”

Again, he’s surprised, this time at the nod he gets from the guard, who opens the palace gate and ushers him inside. Another guard leads him throughout the palace, and Obi-Wan hears Ventress’ voice over his earpiece.

“We’re in position,” she breathes, and at the same time as the second guard in front of Obi-Wan says, “So the Count is expecting you?”

Obi-Wan wants to roll his eyes. He knows he doesn’t look like much anymore, but this is practically insulting. “Affirmative,” says Obi-Wan, and he knows Ventress and the team will begin to move at his green light.

The guard leads Obi-Wan into a grand dining hall, and immediately he’s hit with the smell of just-cut fruits, the scent of freshly baked pastries, the aroma of roasted meats. Obi-Wan catches a glimpse of the lavish artwork on the walls, hears the soft music playing in the background, and then he spots Dooku.

His grandmaster is seated at the head of an ornate table. He locks eyes with Obi-Wan and stands.

“Master Kenobi,” he says calmly, as if he hasn’t haunted Obi-Wan’s nightmares.

“Dooku,” acknowledges Obi-Wan. Over his earpiece, he hears the sounds of lightsabers igniting, the melody of plasma cutting through metal, and somehow this calms him.

“I did not think you’d come,” says Dooku, stepping away from the table gracefully and moving to head toward Obi-Wan. There’s a slight stutter to his steps, but he recovers quickly, and Obi-Wan realizes Dooku has noticed that he cannot feel Obi-Wan’s Force signature.

Obi-Wan sends silent thanks to the Force for this, this small blessing - that Dooku cannot sense the fear he'd had walking into the hall.

Dooku stops in front of Obi-Wan. “You look like the ghost of the man I last met,” he says, just as Obi-Wan hears a loud, metallic grinding sound over his earpiece - what he suspects to be the door to a cell opening.

“Now,” comes Ventress’ voice, and Obi-Wan imagines her and Ahsoka lunging for Vos.

Obi-Wan doesn’t answer Dooku, but Dooku doesn’t seem to care. “Perhaps now you’ve realized you were wrong as well? To turn down my offer?”

Obi-Wan’s eyes narrow. He’s heard Dooku speak these words before, of course, in those same nightmares.

“You’ve broken,” continues Dooku, but Obi-Wan is concentrating on Ventress’ voice in his ear. He pictures her hands on either side of Quinlan’s head, Ahsoka helping her to pin him to the ground.

“Retreat,” orders Ventress, and Obi-Wan knows she’s not speaking to Ahsoka. 

She’s speaking to Quinlan.

It’s the strategy they’d decided on with Qui-Gon, who’d asked Obi-Wan to describe the primary emotion he’d felt when he’d cut himself off from the Force. To his surprise, Obi-Wan hadn’t immediately thought of fear. Rather, he’d described it as a feeling of needing to retreat, to hibernate, to rest.

And Qui-Gon had instructed them to try the same with Quinlan.

Obi-Wan hears a loud thud, and he guesses Quinlan has fallen unconscious.

Obi-Wan meets Dooku’s dark gaze. “On the contrary,” he says, “I’ve never felt so whole.”

Dooku laughs at this. “Come now, Obi-Wan. The Jedi were wrong. They dug their own graves, covered themselves with sand, and then waited while they suffocated. Admit it.”

“I’ve never shied from admitting my mistakes,” says Obi-Wan, his voice firm, “and there have been plenty.”

Now Dooku scoffs. “Such weakness. Perhaps Qui-Gon was wrong to speak highly of you.”

“We’ve got him, Obi-Wan,” comes Ventress’ voice. “And Hunter’s got Cody.”

There’s static for a beat before Ventress continues.

“We just got word from Tech. He and Wrecker found the medical equipment. We need a few more minutes, and then you can disappear.”

Obi-Wan takes a deep breath. “Or perhaps he was wrong to speak so highly of you,” he says, and he doesn’t take any pleasure in the flash of uncertainty in Dooku’s eyes. “You must have known how your apprenticeship with Sidious would end, Count. And now the prisons in the lower levels of your fortress have consumed you, too.”

Dooku shifts, one hand resting on his saber hilt, and beats of silence pass. Obi-Wan’s eyes flash to the elaborately carved cabinet behind him, and understanding floods over him.

“Why are you here, Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan smiles. “Why, you invited me, of course.”

Ventress’ raspy voice fills his ear again. “We’re clear and making our way back to Echo. We’ll pick you up out front.”

Obi-Wan reaches up to grab the kyber crystal around his neck, pressing his palm against it.

He grins at Dooku’s look of astonishment, knowing he’s succeeded in making himself invisible to Dooku's eyes. Dooku scans the room in a panic, clearly wondering where Obi-Wan has moved to, and he ignites his lightsaber. “Guards!” he yells, and his entourage swarms him, giving Obi-Wan time to head to the cabinet behind Dooku. In the chaos, Dooku doesn’t notice Obi-Wan open it.

Having guessed what is inside, Obi-Wan isn’t fazed. Instead, he calmly reaches for the collection of stolen sabers, clipping them to his belt, each saber disappearing into thin air as he touches it. Then he moves slowly, quietly, the long way around the table, avoiding Dooku and his panicked guards.

It’s not a long trek back to the entrance of the fortress, but Obi-Wan is breathing heavily, his joints aching, by the time he reaches the doors, which have been left open. There’s no longer a guard outside.

He breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing Ventress' ship hovering just meters before him outside the fortress.

“Lower the ramp!” Obi-Wan says into his comlink. He sees Echo in the cockpit, knowing Echo can’t yet see him, but Echo dutifully extends the boarding ramp. Obi-Wan jumps aboard, yelling into his comlink again, and his legs tangle beneath him as one of his knees gives out. The ramp rises as he falls onto the cool metal. The ramp closes with a hiss, and Obi-Wan tries to catch his breath, remembering when he’d found Qui-Gon in a similar state after his first duel with Maul.

He lets go of the kyber crystal, feels the ship lurch into the atmosphere, and passes out.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

ahem ahem Nana lore? :3 (or Dante idrc any lore from you is cool)

nana lore :3

'of course, below the cut, because i don't like taking up too much space.

tw, forced labour

Nana is, of course, canonically an immigrant from Tu'La, which has a lot of political tension with Ru'Aun. She's made pretty good for herself, however, using the magicks that originally inspired her to flee in order to make a living.

in early LR, Tu'La is in a bit of a civl dispute, with the new King trying to impose a kind of rule, and religion, upon the region that the people are often opposed to. There's the monarchists, and the rebels. Most monarchists, of course, are in the good graces of the Tu'Lan king, and thus live in the lusher areas, the rainforests and the planes, by rivers and lakes. They have access to good, fertile land. But the rebels are often exhiled into the deserts, where the sun, dehydration or starvation would kill them.

Nana's family was never particularly well-off, but since she had a lot of siblings, they all worked hard in order to earn enough to keep afloat. As one of the middle children, Nana didn't often get much attention, too young to work and too old to coddle, and so she took the company of dolls instead. At a teen age, she realised her ability to manifest a form of animation in forms built to resemble living things, which got her attention from her parents, and meant her family would only need to pay the money for materials in order to have workers in their shop, and they wouldn't have to pay actual workers. Still, it only saved so much money. Nana began working at a local tavern as a waitress in order to get more money, and would cook for her younger siblings often as she tended to have the most free time of the older kids.

When the king's missionaries came to her village, which was up in the mountains, they came with the news that all magicks users were invited to the capital with the promise of a hefty compensation for their families. Of course, being the only magicks user of her siblings, nana agreed to go. She left without really knowing what was going to happen to her family, and she never really finds out if they did get the money promised, but she went down to the capital just in case it might be true. It was there that she learned that magicks users were being put to labour, forced into performing 'miracles' that were attributed to the king, or the religion he was imposing, and generally performing tasks that wouldn't be otherwise possible.

of course, the ability to animate life is one that was heavily desirable, as it could create a near-immortal army. However, Nana was not very fond of the idea of being used to force a religion onto people, much less at the idea of her dolls being used to harm anyone, and so she ended up befriending a rebel who managed to smuggle her out of the capital. She ended up travelling into the desert, where she had to adapt to an entirely different style of living, but she managed to make food from the few resources that they had, which earned her some appreciation among her fellow escapees.

Eventually, she wound up along the Bridge, the piece of land that Tu'La and Ru'Aun were initially fighting over, which lead to the later war, where she was taken over to Ru'Aun. Her and the other refugees all travelled in a caravan for a while, until they decided to split ways. The refugees wanted to stay in Scaleswind, and Nana wanted to continue onto O'Khasis, and it's about then that Nana encounters Avra, when she's set up her wagon just some ways outside of Scaleswind.

No maid cafe, but she eventually does run the tavern in PD. Also, no rivalry with Lucinda, bc i just don't know when they'd have had the time to meet up, with Luci in Pikoro (in the east), and Nana around Scaleswind (in the south).

but alas.

Her magicks apply to anything that resembles a living form, and has articulated joints. If it cannot move, she cannot make it move. It also takes a lot of energy out of her, and if anything happens to the dolls, she can feel it. (not in the same way she might if it happened to her, but it's like a discomfort, and she's able to distinguish what happened based off of how uncomfortable she is.)

[gil-estel]

what I hope happened:

thrawn, whose imperial sidequest is prolonging skywalkers' abilities, hears word of the Nightsisters, a group of all-female Force users whose powers seem different from the Jedi's. this thread leads him to morgan elsbeth, one of the few surviving nightsisters. she teaches him about her culture, and because, in typical thrawn fashion, he very sincerely wants to learn, this endears him to her. possibly some weird force magick stuff happens. she, in turn, helps him acquire resources for the tie defender project. as usual, people who work with thrawn either absolutely despise him (thurfian lol) or become obsessed with him (thalias). obviously Morgan is the latter.

what I think will be canon:

literally none of that lol

[godtier]

hi guys, i been busy but i needed to rant about the trashfire that is FFXVI. so an obvious warning: this is spoilers for FFXVI, proceed with caution, read at your own risk, etc

so i am at the point in the game where dion is in bed and joshua is awake from his injuries. he has a conversation with clive and jill, discussing ultima and his plans.

clive, being the dumb slut he is, is like “BUT WHY ME” wrt to being ultima’s target vessel (as if ultima didn’t talk to him about it directly back when cid got murked but idk i guess i can forgive him for not remembering since his bf had just gotten filled with holes) and joshua has to explain the fucking obvious to him by saying that dominants are beholden to their eikon’s elemental affinity. meaning, joshua can only cast fire magicks, jill can only do ice, etc. clive is different for this reason, since he currently shares a headspace with now five eikons and can use their powers at will (concurrently with his blessing of the phoenix, which i still get confused about that. maybe i forgot or missed an explanation but it’s just weird to me idk)

that’s all well and good, because it’s what i had assumed from the start. eikons represent a specific element. if you’re basically the vessel for that eikon, it makes completes sense that you only have access to their elemental prowess. 

HOWEVER

this creates a hole. a minor hole (unlike the ones that were put in cid lol), but a hole nonetheless. an oversight that, while minor at a glance, kinda throws off the lore and logic the game has established up to this point.

what, exactly, does this information contradict? well, i’m talking about this scene in particular (clipped to the correct timestamp): 

if the video doesn’t load for whatever reason, the scene i’m talking about is when benedikta is talking to that group of magistrates or whatever and then decides to light her pipe with her finger, using magicks.

the issue? benedikta’s eikon was garuda. garuda is the eikon of wind. 

HOW THE FUCK

DO YOU LIGHT A PIPE

WITH WIND

well you don’t, silly

because it’s very clear in the scene that she wasn’t using wind, she was using fire.

which begs the question: HOW.

HOW did she use fire if she supposedly is beholden to garuda’s element of wind? if what joshua was saying was true (which admittedly, it makes sense given the rest of the framing of how magick seems to work in the world) then why wasn’t this seen as a bizarre quirk she was able to do? 

i’ll tell you why

it was a lazy oversight. and though it was a minor scene, it was one that was framed in a way that drew direct attention to the action itself and used to clearly define the differences between people in this world. 

right before she lights the pipe, a man was using a crystal in the foreground to fill a cup with water. the scene was meant to illustrate the disparity between those who are not magick users (thereby forced to use crystals for simple magick tasks, or bearers if they can afford them) and those who are magick users. it was framed to show that benedikta wasn’t beholden to the limitations of using crystals for magicks. she could do it herself. 

but she shouldn’t have been able to.

the problem therein is that you used a character who, by the self-proclaimed logic of the game, would have no way to use fire like that naturally. though the scene itself was very effective and framed well, imo, it ultimately breaks apart the rules of the world building they’ve established (or at least come to fully establish by the point i’m in; it was pretty much implied if you ask me).

from the start, i had figured that eikons were only able to use their assigned element. when i saw benedikta do that, i had thought “oh... maybe there are some exceptions? it was a pretty small flame, maybe they can only do minor magicks that aren’t associated with their eikon?”

but then i thought about it more. if their power comes directly from eikons and not the crystals (which to my understanding is how bearers are able to cast magicks) how would garuda bestow even a slight ability to produce a flame? garuda is entirely wind. there are no powers she has that hint at being fire-adjacent (such as in some games classifying water and ice magic as the same “family,” is what i’m getting at). there was nothing to indicate any cross-contamination, of sorts. their powers are from the eikons and the eikons alone, not the crystals directly.

so while this is a scene that many may forget about or brush off, i think it honestly creates a larger hole in the logic than most might first think. it totally contradicts everything joshua had said, it also makes clive not that special if benedikta was able to use fire as well.

ultimately, i think that it was a very lazy oversight. they wanted to show the disparity between regular people and bearers/dominants. but they thought about it for a min, and went “well the only other dominants that can use fire wouldn’t be in this scene. we can’t use them to illustrate this. and we can’t exactly have benedikta use her wind powers to make a mundane action more convenient... so let’s just have her light it with her finger and move on.”

OR 

the game was so disjointed in its logic/world building that they just straight-up forgot that they had benedikta do that at the start of the game by the time they got to writing out the rest of the story. i think this one is the more likely option; they just were so bad at keeping a lore bible or referencing it at all that they stupidly forgot that they had benedikta do something she should not have been able to do by their own established rules. or the rules weren’t even established at all until the point joshua talks about it! who knows!

to get an idea of my immediate reaction to joshua’s lines, please witness this conversation between myself and @sapphire-weapon​

anyway, i’m not ready for how bad the game apparently gets as it goes on. it’s such a shame because overall? i do like this game. it’s fun to play. i like the characters a lot. but my god the story... the backbone of any game, imo, is the story. it could play like shit but have a banger story, i’d suffer through it. but it’s so much worse to me to have a game that has really fun gameplay and characters, but an abysmal story. 

don’t get me wrong, i like the overall idea of the story. i like the overall framing. it’s the details that pile up, the weird choices in narrative movement (like clive’s coming to terms with “killing” joshua??? makes no sense at the point i’m at anymore!) that are really wrecking it for me.

anyway thanks for comin to my rant. enjoy ur day pls.

[capriccio-ffxiv]

@selene-ffxiv and I play A LOT of Puzzle Games / Walking Simulators -- I took them through Obduction, they've taken me through The Room series (no relation to the films, lol); we went through Superliminal together, we're BOTH big Myst fans (and really need to go back and check out the user-created content for Uru Live!) -- and I just keep thinking, our Azems (tbh Selene's 'the' Azem, but Hyperion's her First Officer, basically) would absolutely make horrible space-warping puzzle boxes as gifts for Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus.

Emet would outwardly bitch and moan about this HORRIBLE PUZZLE BOX which has TRAPPED HIM in a SITUATION while secretly being intensely enamored of the entire thing. Enrichment in his enclosure. He's going to complain the entire time, but every time he solves a puzzle he'll be like haHA! NO MATCH FOR MY SUPERIOR INTELLECT.

Hyth is like "haha neat" and doesn't put any effort into actually solving anything, but manages to accidentally brute-force several puzzles (... put in by SelHype for this reason) much to Hades' consternation.

Both of them put in silly little symbolism to represent their friends. Hyperion is Sunshine; Selene is Moonshadow; together they're Eclipse. Venat's Starglow/Earthglow. Hades is Gravekeeper. Hyth is Hypnos/Sleepwalker. Sappho is Poet and Lover. Etc etc.

... and then I think to myself, did Emet-Selch keep a little puzzle box? Even after Selene 'disappeared', and Hyperion outright defied him? Kept it in his pocket, unsolved out of spite?

... was (in our story, at least) that how he got the Azem Crystal? In our story, Hyperion made it -- a solid representation of that Calling magick, which happened to be in the shape of a memory crystal because that was the simplest way to store it. It has a twin, made by Selene, for her precious, brilliant Sunshine...

At first, it was the way they called to each other. But when a stranger in Elpis showed Hyperion the very crystal he made, but from twelve thousand years hence... he gave that stranger the crystal Azem had made for him. "You know who this belongs to," he said.

So.

Did Emet-Selch keep that box? The last thing Azem gave to him, before she left without a word? In the dust and despair after the Sundering, as the broken crawled on their bellies, did he solve it, for lack of anything better to do?

Did he see Azem's First Adjutant in each twist and turn, in the angles of the cuts, the casting of the gears? Did he weep for his daughter student friend Azem when he held the treasure the puzzle hid in his hands?

[sorcerese]

This meta post will be discussing my take on magick in the Fire Emblem universe ( mostly centered around SoV ). This headcanon is exclusive to how Delthea sees it as she is inherently unwillingly a talented prodigy who does not essentially believe in the mere act of believing and has to see some form of explanation or rationale for her to accept it. Which is why sometimes Delthea tends to be confused when handed a tome during combat and ignorant when taught how to cast magic; going as far as to think she’s being belittled. Due to her never having to directly use a tome to support her casting, she understands tomes are for grasping the concept of certain spells but Delthea, herself, has never used a tome to learn anything thus far and is more of a visual learner when it comes to magick.

Note: I make a very specific distinction between “Magic” and “Magick” as most attribute the former to stage magic and sleight-of-hand whereas the latter denotes sorcery, witchcraft, and everything that is seen by mages in Fire Emblem. Another word to describe “magick” is “thaumaturgy” which is a more accurate description, but for simplicity’s sake, I’ll mostly be denoting to magick for this post. I will also be ignoring a lot of the gameplay mechanics from Fates/Engage because it fundamentally breaks a lot of conventions due to its lack of tome/weapon durability and lack of “HP Drain” mechanic which is an important aspect of this meta.

Magick and Its Costs

In Fire Emblem, magick is wielded in a number of methods depending on the game. Most situations, magick is harnessed via tomes that eventually break after a certain number of uses. For FE Echoes, magick is available by offering one’s stamina/energy/life force in exchange for power to realize the application of spells in real life. This can also apply to weapon combat arts, Where it is the physical exhaustion they incur on the user in Echoes, thus draining HP. While in Three Houses, a result of the academy teaching students to let the weapon take the brunt of the force so that it suffers damage instead of the wielder.

In many cases, casting spells will create lasting damages to one’s body, a testament to why many mages wear gloves in order to conceal the direct damage their bodies—namely their hands—endure when offering a piece of themselves into their attack; these injuries are usually relative to whatever spell one uses, but that is not always the case ( Fire leaves horrific burns when used improperly, Aura forces one to collapse as if pressured by an overbearing weight that threatens to crush their body ). Exceptions to this are Celica, Delthea, and Luthier who likely have built-in resistances due to their long lineage of ancestors attuned to magick, and having lived in a magick-oriented community for their entire lives or in Celica’s case, divine blessing of some degree, this doesn’t exactly mean their immune to injury it’s just less likely to have their magicks get out of control compared to non-lineage mages.

Magick in SoV essentially follows the law of conservation of mass, where any system of of transferring energy to mass, and vice versa, must remain consistent over time; for example, an ice cube has a set mass and when it melts into water, that mass—now volume—remains relatively consistent over time ( e.g. think of like FMA’s rule for alchemy ). For magick in SoV, one uses their life force and converts it to a spell equal to how much life they give up, which is why spells like Fire take practically nothing whereas spells like Aura, Sagittae, and Ragnarok, while powerful, require more of one’s life force in order to properly initiate the spell. As for the reason why this the case, it is likely because the more “abstract” and complicated a spell is, the more energy it requires for the spell to not only take shape, but to also have actual potency. With tomes, mages are free from giving up their life in order to cast spells because the tome serves as the medium through which energy is converted and expelled as a spell. This is why tomes have durability and why more powerful spells have a limited number of uses compared to their weaker counterparts ( e.g. Thoron vs. Thunder ).

Rituals are also not exempt from this system; if anything, they’re the class of spells that require the most in terms of sacrifice. This can be seen with Tatarrah kidnapping Delthea and brainwashed her into a Witch. On a larger scale, this also can be seen when Berkut offering Rinea to Duma in a last-ditch effort to attain the power to defeat Alm by letting Duma transform his beloved into a Witch. Sacrifice is a large aspect of Magick, and in SoV it’s a question of how much are you willing to give up in your pursuit for strength? Such is the recurring theme in many Faustian tales, and while the devil may not always be present, the temptation remains.

Magick as an Inherited Trait

A thing to also know about mages is that not everyone is born with the potential to be a mage ( of course ignoring Fates’s marriage/friend seals and Three Houses’ class/seminar system ) nor is everyone born with the ability to be an excellent mage. This disparity is especially visible in SoV where some characters are downright horrible at being mages whereas others absolutely excel. Characters like Gray and Tobin would perform horribly as mages due to their limited repertoire of spells while Kliff and Celica are naturally better and have a larger library of spells to work with ( Kliff especially so because he learns the most spells out of all the male mages ). Much of this relates to one’s bloodline as legacy and social stratification are fundamental topics SoV attempts to tackle in its narrative—where the bonds of fate seem so inexplicably intertwined and those chosen by it daring to break those foundations all at once.

Luthier and Delthea mention that their affinity for magicks is due to one of their ancestors being an exceptionally powerful sorceress, that affinity having carried on down her bloodline and resonating best in females. This is not to suggest that such an affinity is gender-locked. It’s likely that magick affinity is a mutation in humans in Fire Emblem and when it occurs, it becomes a dominant trait that becomes linked to one’s DNA and only unlocks depending on whether someone matches similar traits with the progenitor of the magick affinity trait.

Learning Magick

However, one can only do so much with simply being born with the talent; magick is something that needs to be cultivated in order to truly become a force to be reckoned with. Going back to the law of conservation of mass, one must have enough vitality in order to power their spells, meaning that physical training and maintaining one’s health is paramount; it’s likely that endurance exercises are at the core of a mage’s training in Valentia as opposed to muscular training ( such exercises might include: running, daily stretches, yoga, etc. ). Training the physical body allows one to have the resources required to cast a spell, but in order to conjure anything one must understand the science and intricacies behind the spell.

Spells are can be learned through tomes, although sometimes an individual might be able to cast spells from the get-go ( albeit in an unstable form, depending on one’s ability and talent ). While certain spells can be hailed down as a divine revelation, due to having no real physical tome of said spells like, Ragnarok & Ragnarok Ω.  But beyond learning, one must understand what it is that they are casting and envision with absolute clarity its existence and function lest it backfire on the user or their allies. For simplicity’s sake, we will take a look at Fire.

Fire—as in the concept—is generally understood as a force of warmth: a phenomenon that heats everything around or in it and has the ability to destroy or heal certain injuries. Fire burns brightly and serves as the cornerstone on which mankind is able to survive and evolve, for without fire one cannot cook their meats or warm families during hostile winters. Fire stokes the furnaces with which mankind is able to create weapons, it finds home in the sun and the stars which illuminate the path when darkness nears. In understanding fire and how it behaves on an intimate level, a mage is able to convert their vitality into heat and light and create a ball of fire.

The more tangible and concrete a spell is, the easier it is for a mage to cast it without risking their health. This truth applies just as well to spells which take on more abstract or complex forms such as Sagittae and Aura; while powerful, these spells require a certain level of imagination in order to come to life. While light exists and is what enables one to see, to create that which is intangible tangible is something else entirely. For spells like these, part of one’s vitality goes into actually making the spell corporeal and the rest go into the spell’s potency and allowing it to take flight in the direction of one’s enemy.

Tome Magick vs. Unassisted Magick

Tome users have it easy compared to those who perform magick without a medium as they can simply use the energy imbued within a tome in order to cast a spell. Of course, learning magick from tomes is still a difficult task, but the method of execution is generally much safer ( albeit less potent ) compared to unassisted magick which is why most cultures favor tome magick; it’s uniquely in Valentia where the law of conservation of mass seems to be upheld like a religion ( e.g. offerings to rejuvenate one’s health or sacrifice your very being in exchange for power ).

Tomes are created through careful crafting in order to prevent the magick inside from becoming unstable and it’s a craft that is heavy in demand due to their limited nature. The making of the book itself is not so important as the ink that is used to inscribe text and sigils adorning every page. The ink is made with specific types of ores ( crystals ) or other substances believed to be capable of storing magicks—the rarer the material, the better it will be at holding large quantities of magick ( and more expensive )—and depending on what is written denotes the properties of the spell contained in that specific tome. As stated prior, tomes can only do so much before the ink loses all of its magick and the book becomes inert, but this method alleviates any risk of the user losing their life when attempting to fight for said life.  Sometimes, special weapons maybe preferred to use weapons as catalyst in order to help reduce the burden of magic  ( as seen in classes such as the Priestess/Enchantress/Harrier. These classes would specialize in both forms of combat but exchanging tomes for rings and sword mediums )

Unassisted magick is the reverse with being inherently more powerful at the cost of one’s vitality; that being said, another difference between the two is that tome users are not able to alter the properties to the same extent as unassisted magick users. In other words, tome users have less freedom and control of their spells compared to unassisted magick users as the spells they cast are limited by what’s available in the tome of their choosing. Hence why Celica is able to freely cast fire magic in order to light the way as she wanders through dungeons. While Valentian mages do, in fact, use tomes, they are only ever used for training or spells that are not meant for battle as they are also just as unreliable in combat due to it’s lackluster power and often rely on the power of special magick rings to alleviate or mediate any harsh backlash that casting may set.

Healing Magick

Healing magick ( white magick ) functions similarly to their destructive counterparts with the only difference being that staves are used as a medium for casting magicks to their intended target. It can only be assumed that healing magick functions much like a wave and thus dissipates when it is cast without a medium, so by having something like a staff, one can simply point to their intended target and heal them without worrying about the effects trickling elsewhere. This can also explain how Saints are able to heal units all around them through Renewal and how the spell fortify heals a large area in a wavelike fashion.

Other Forms of Magick

As seen in SoV and other games, magicks unrelated to combat exist such as illusions, divination, scrying, and projection. These magicks aren’t explained or seen as often so it’s hard to really provide an explanation, but in most cases these spells are cast far from battle and often demonstrated in the form of a ritual. For entities like Jedah who have offered themselves to Duma for power, such magicks can be used without a ritual and likely cost them little ( as they have already offered their entire selves to Duma ) whereas other mages likely offer certain items with magical properties as an offering rather than using their life force to conduct these otherwise arduous rituals.

[garrothromeave]

i would actually argue that making shad the big bad of mystreet would be less impactful for his character than the ending he got!

i WOULD agree that micheal is kinda... boring, but at least it makes sense. the demon warlock was defeated easily in mcd - he still has pent up rage, desires for power, etc.

i think that making shad the villain again would be a bit disregardful of the character behind his villainy. shad is a tragic character; he was dealt an unfair set of cards. he's already the main "bad guy" of mcd, even while not being the main antagonist until season 3. s3 was clearly building up for this big fight with shad, especially with how focused it was on him as a character & the divine. shad was outcasted as a young adult. he was a magicks user in a time where it was still not understood, and all he was seen was was as a monster. it's all he knew. and then he met irene, was given a chance, shown that he could do good, and he did his best to do that.

and then he was given the relic of the destroyer. and then his daughter was killed. and then his friends try to kill him. and then he loses his mind. and then is stripped of his body, his humanity by the one person who had once extended that hand, and due to the nature of the relics' promise of immortality, was forced to rot in hell with no physical form for centuries. did he deserve that?

now, this could seem like an argument as to why he should have been the villain of mystreet - that's a lot of anger, why can't it carry on for centuries after mcd - but to that, i ask of you, look to the ending that was given to him in mystreet.

at this point, ""shad"" no longer exists. when we see him, it's upon irene/mcd aphmau's death, and he is known as "judgement." he is still shad, but he has a much different role.

there's issue in the fact that we don't get to see the inbetweens. we don't get to see how shad got here, how he was able to let go of this rage that fueled him from centuries, we dont know what happened. but it did, and he's here. i speculate we would have seen the beginning of this or at least the seeds planted had mcd season 3 ended, because it's clear by mystreet that this is the story that jess wants to tell.

had shad been the big villain of mystreet, he would be deemed as - well, irredeemable, and would likely get the same fate micheal got. obliteration. the bad guy was killed! woop!

but that would not be satisfying for shad. such a tragic villain, seemingly never able to crawl out of the hellhole that he was imprisoned within. doomed to forever hold hate. doomed to never change. doomed to be trapped in the box irene forced him into.

by the time we meet judgement, he now has the ability to fully separate irene & aphmau. this in itself is important - he doesn't really get there in mcd, but this distinction is one of the most important. i think that's because aphmau did have an impact on shad. not as irene, but as aphmau. they're seperate beings to him by this point - imagine that, irene was the one who imprisoned him, and aphmau being the one to help set him free.

obviously, we don't know what actually happened or if she actually had any hand in it, but if shad can move up to such an important role such as JUDGEMENT itself - this means something changed. he was given a chance and he took it. just like he once had - but he's not the same. he doesn't hold the same resentment. this is truly the perfect role for a reformed shad, someone who would understand the nuance of ALL the actions we make in our lives. sure, it remains unsatisfying that we don't know HOW he got to this point, but at least its an ending to his story! i would kill to see how it happened too, goodness.

but that isn't it either. he's not just forced to immortality in a different light, trapped to be judging those in purgatory forever - at the end of irene's life, the daughter he was never able to see grow up takes him by the hand and brings him through the doors. "we can be with mommy now," she says. irene has died. shad, going through those doors, dies. his time is over. the episode is called "the end of a lifetime" - this is the end of BOTH of them, not just irene. shad, irene - they're through, and they can finally die, despite their curses of immortality. with all of these relics being destroyed & their separations from them, finally unbound, they can move on. shad was given the mercy he deserved.

if jess wrote ANYTHING right in mystreet about mcd, it was this. shad's death. i'm so so happy he wasn't the villain. he was given an ending that subverts expectation and is equally as compelling. i love him mwah

(that being said shadow knights would be cool. i think it coulda been utilized had they been not directly tied to shad as a puppeteer/creator of sorts

As much as I enjoy the lore the later seasons of mystreet provide, I would have much rather Shad be the antagonist that came back, rather than Michael. I already feel like Shad is a way more interesting character (Having a fairly good reason why he is the way that he is.) and with his return, you could have access to the shadow knights, easily one of the coolest parts of MCD.

You don’t even have to use the same characters you used as Shadow knights in MCD. Like for example, what if Gene accidentally got Dante killed somehow and he came back as a shadow knight. That could be a really cool parallel to what happened in MCD.

Or maybe some of the immortal shadow knights could be brought to mystreet, like Vincent, and try to aid Aphmau and friends to defeat Shad.

You could also use this as a way to tell the audience what happened to Shads character and more of his backstory and motivations (considering that MCD s3 was cut short.)

There are so many ways you could take it, and I have so many ideas, I might make this it’s own au or something.

[through-being-a-christian]

i’ve never really Told my testimony before, because i’m not sure how much of one it is to even be called one?

but this my story / testimony(?), but vague enough for privacy:

I grew up in church, always dressed up and whatnot by my mom for Sunday school and our church’s biblical version of Boy/Girl Scouts. And being honest, I don’t remember much of these years ( Not for any bad reason I assure you!!! ), because I was young and had/have bad memory about the mundane parts of my childhood. I think that I believed in God? But maybe I only did because that’s what my family and friends all believed in, but I’ll never be sure.

When I moved states in 2016, I was probably cursing God because “How could He do this to me? To rip me from my friends and family so suddenly? (it was a period of a few months btw). I’ll never recover from this and will never forgive my parents >:(“ I lost all my friends and family in a matter of months, and was forced to make new friends at this prison-like middle school all alone, knowing absolutely no one and being so alone. This was probably when my depression started to make its way into my mind. I would like to mention in advance that I have been diagnosed with ADHD and General Anxiety Disorder since just before the Move.

I would say seventh grade is when I realized I was apart of the LGBTQ+ community, and this was a big realization. I wasn’t unaware of the community, my uncles were gay and they were married, so why would I have a problem with it? Then the Internet told me the whole “The Bible says its a Sin and its best not to associate with Christians as a queer” debacle (Not even going to talk about Westboro like dang). And that is probably when I started to question my faith.

I was listening to the anti-religious queer users online, and never looked at the Christian side of the argument, and yet I was trying to decide what I’d devote my time to. It ended up that I decided I was going to live for myself, not for others, and certainly not for God. The only reason I was still going to youth group, and church in general, at this point was because I had made a really close friend. That should be great, right? Except looking back, she only enabled and encouraged my turn to witchcraft in high school.

In high school, I was so deep into social media under the name Haelea because my name wasn’t “given to me with consent,” and I had started an altar and began my journey down witchcraft while simultaneously still going to church and hiding this massive secret of magick and queerness from my parents and family (big mistake obviously). I kept it going, and didn’t look back at what I Thought would (not actively Was) going to cause me pain when I would come out.

Then Covid hit. First round of quarantine was fine, because I had time to improve myself and improve my knowledge and craft, and I did some spells that ended up working (self-love spells due to insecurities). Summer was great too. Then fall came, and my mom’s Snapchat recommended my account to her. (I was NEVER allowed social media, and I never knew how to delete that snap account after one month of having it). She was pissed as all of everything. Came into my room (while watching TikTok mind you), asked for my phone, and left. I cried in my bathroom for however long it was, and thinking back I think it was my first anxiety attack.

As practically a digital citizen at that point, I was dying and crying without my phone and access to the internet. I was already years into s*icidal ideation, and for a moment I really truly considered it. Never had the guts nor balls to do it, even before this point. But in the state I lived in, it was entirely legal for parents to kick their kids out for being gay, and I was so terrified of being homeless that I started thinking of ways to get It done fast.

Skip some time, and part of the deal to get my phone back was by going to church, and being able to explain What was being preached during service. Essentially I was being quizzed on church. Eventually I had good behavior enough that I earned back my phone, only now it had a parental-controlled VPN and no internet access. I could call, text, or play mobile games that didn’t need wifi or internet. I was no longer netizen Haelea, I was just American Me.

Do I regret going behind my parents backs and lying for five years? Of course I do, but I felt most guilty because I didn’t follow one of the Ten Commandments of “Honor thy father and mother,” because now (still selfishly thinking), I would never “live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you” (Ex 20:12).

It took a while, but by junior year I started believing again, and I was repenting so much, but not for selfish reasons anymore. Briefly junior year, I joined my school’s color guard, and made a new family that I could discuss religion with, and I think that helped one person go deeper (maybe not, maybe it was the Spirit working) and it helped me go deeper. I was going to church because I wanted to now, not because my parents made me. I wanted to go so I could learn for myself. I would go so that I could experience the community we as Christians are called to live. I learned so much that year, and I am eternally grateful for the Spirit to move me so much towards returning to the church of our Lord. This one university, the Christian one i attend, kept advertising at my high school, and I decided to visit as many of their meetings as I could. Not necessarily to dedicate my college-life to this school, but to open my mind to more than public or state-run schools.

Then senior year is when it became hard again, but not in a non-believing or witchcraft way. It became hard from asking “Why? Why is this happening? Why are you making this difficult?” At this point, I had to start enrolling in universities so I could graduate. The school mentioned previously, I almost didn’t apply to. I almost solely applied to state universities because of their acceptance rates being more doable for my low-academic-mind. I almost went to my state school too, because that’s where my friends were going. Why would I want to start anew all alone again?

Anyways I’m at the Christian university after a split second “No. Let’s dedicate myself to a Christian education. They have multitudes of degrees anyways, so I’m not limited to Bible study or ministry work if that is not what I am being called to do. If I am, great. If not, I’m still here and dedicated.” Somehow this surprised my parents. I think they expected me to choose the school with my friends and cheaper tuition because I have familial financial insecurity even though they tried to make sure I never noticed. They still want me to have the “full college experience” and so I am in a dorm on campus. I have a Biblical study class taught by a Dr, and it has helped my faith grow steadier than before.

This was my story, and we are caught up to the present. This blog is to document my journey and the difficulties I have and will deal with in my faith in Christianity.

I do not judge, because I will be judged (Rev. 20:12).

I care because I am called to love and show compassion (1 Cor. 13:4-10) (John 11:41).

I believe because God is good, and there is no doubt to be had in His plan.

I will struggle, and I will fall, and I will stray from the path. But I have to try my darnedest to stay on path and to get back up and regain balance. If I do not try, then I will have don’t nothing with this life intended of worship that He has gifted to me. I will be unworthy of his love if I do not try to follow.

As of now, I stand in my faith, even if it is more of sand than stone that reaches my chest. Beneath the sand is the foundation, and I will wait for the sand to blow away to reveal the stone that which my life was built upon. I will stand as sturdy as I can.

Thank you for reading. May your day/afternoon/night be blessed, and I will pray as well as I can for you.

Sincerely, Me.

[brooklynislandgirl]

💋 Cisco with jokes about Irish being luck force users or something

Tabhair póg dom, is Éireannach mé || Accepting

"Oh…my….Cisco, ya know how incredibly…I mean jus' t'ink about dat for a minute. If we did have dem powahs, alla Star Wars would'a gone different. Not t' mention da Troubles, an' da illegal occupation of Nor'd Ireland, an' you know I'd currently be some idle Duchess of some really awesome castle." She'd bet dollars to doughnuts that Barry or Iris planted the idea in his head, just the tiniest of seeds, and then his beautifully vivid imagination ran with the rest of it until he couldn't help but blurt them out. She would blame the green beer being shared around the lab ~they really do need to find somewhere better to hang out sometimes~ that she hadn't touched and wouldn't let him either. While she's sure that it's just food dye, she can't prove it's not some other nefarious villain plot to make them all sick and leave everything and every one unprotected. Okay, so maybe she doesn't really have the right to make fun of Cisco's far-fetched ideas, when her own are pretty silly. But if they have to be scientific she'll tell him horror stories from the ER one of these days. At least no one's pinched her ~emerald earrings and her own eyes are really the only green she needs to wear~ and she hasn't heard a single person try to sing Danny Boy, and perhaps that's Paddy's latest miracle. The whole thing about snakes seem pretty sketch or at least a metaphor for something else. It's probably a fifteen hundred year old joke celibacy and penises. Of course if she said that he's likely choke on the mudslide milkshake they've been taking turns sipping at. And that's another thing that should really occur to her. Here they are in a corner, sharing a drink and a straw between them, talking about magickal powers ~he knows, she knows he knows, and he just won't call her meta-human to her face out of his own sense of chivalry, she's positive~ and the Force rather than dancing or playing party games with the others. Maybe…just maybe, no one would notice then, if she dragged Cisco into a darker little corner just out of sight. Not that she's ashamed of the thoughts spinning on her head but it would be hard to explain the why of it all. Maybe just maybe she doesn't want anyone else to see the invariable disappointment that will cross his face after. Because somewhere in the course of all her thoughts, Beth relents. Admits, if only to herself, that maybe there's a shred of truth to it all. So when his back is against the wall, when she's on the tips of her toes ~he IS half a foot taller than her~ she finds herself being honest. "I dunno how much luck ya can get, because I'm hapa…only half." With that said, she slips both her hands into his, lacing their fingers together and gently presses her lips to his.

[forbidding-souda]

Hey Mod Souda! How are you? Can you please do Mikan, Sonia, Kirumi, and Ibuki with an S/O who has a healing factor like wolverine but they still worry about them?

Mikan Tsumiki, Sonia Nevermind, Kirumi Toujou, and Ibuki Mioda with a S/O who can heal like Wolverine

my favorite artist posted an instrumental probably snippet of a song thing and it really just boosted my mood enough to force me to write. very exciting. new music from him coming soon? i hope. the last album came out when i was in high school.

-Mod Souda

Mikan Tsumiki

❤ Her fingers will wrap around your wound, her eyebrows knitted in worry as she watches it close on its own.

❤ "Is-Is-Is there any pain?"

❤ "None at all." You respond softly, moving your muscle to show her that it is completely gone.

❤ Still, she wraps bandages around the area ("playing it safe").

❤ Her brain tries to find an explanation. Something scientific. Something that can go beyond supernatural tendencies.

❤ She even walks in the cold morning, a jacket around her shoulders (one of yours), heading to a hospital off her shift to ask her coworkers if they have ever seen anything like it.

❤ She talks about you a lot to other people. You are like a crazy anomaly.

❤ Whenever you get hurt, there's always the thought that pops into your head: should I hide it from her? You know the wound will eventually just go away. Is it worth keeping her sane?

❤ But there's also the fact that she finds pride and happiness in bandaging you up. It makes her feel useless. Shouldn't you give her that?

❤ When she asks why you heal so fast, you simply respond with a don't worry about it - which promptly embarrasses her enough to get her to stop talking.

❤ It has never crossed her mind to be scared of you and your abilities, though. She just accepted you for what you are, not overthinking it, not wanting to put you in danger.

❤ If you're something beyond human then that just makes her even more special: you choosing her to be with.

.

Sonia Nevermind

❤ She heals surprisingly fast. But this is because she lives her best, healthiest lifestyle, getting tons of sleep and eating healthy foods. So when you told her that you heal fast, she didn't think anything of it.

❤ But when Saionji had pushed you down onto concrete, making you scrap your elbow horribly, Sonia came rushing to your rescue. Her cheeks were red with anger but she didn't lash out on anyone. Her soft hands lifted you up, to which she examined the wound, eyeing it as it slowly patched itself.

❤ It was magical.

❤ Her mouth was agape and she ran her hand over the area, feeling your new skin.

❤ She thinks about Tanaka and his alleged healing spells. Maybe you're like that - dark magic and occult-like? A magick user?

❤ She doesn't ask about it. But the longer the two of you spend together, the more she realizes that this might be something a little strange for a human.

❤ What if you weren't a human? The idea makes her flustered. Are you a vampire? Some sexy monster like that - oh, how she loves them.

❤ Whenever you get hurt and bleed, she will always gasp and go to your rescue. In the midst of the moment, she forgets what you are, and the fact that you aren't actually in danger.

❤ For when other people are around, she is going to pretend to patch you up.

.

Kirumi Toujou

❤ When you first got hurt around her, she immediantly went to the first aid kit.

❤ "No, no, no," you tried to explain, "I don't need it - really."

❤ "I am making it my job to take care of you."

❤ You stand up, putting your hand over hers, standing close to her. "No, seriously, I don't need it."

❤ Throughout the many times she has seen you heal yourself, she has never commented on it. She just nods and puts the first aid kit away, going to busy herself with whatever chore she was doing before.

❤ It makes you a bit insecure. Has she even noticed? Or is she purposely ignoring it - the things she doesn't understand?

❤ Now, you notice that when you get hurt, she's stopping going for the first aid kit. She will glance your way until you give her a thumbs up. And then she will nod.

.

Ibuki Mioda

❤ Her gasps are loud and they are filled with worry.

❤ When you hurt your arm, she will kiss all around it (forgetting bandaids even exist - is this sanitary) and hold your hand. You let her do this, of course, and you wait it out until the moment your arm heals itself.

❤ It feels like an eternity before it does, too.

❤ When she notices the wound isn't there she assumes she just made up the fact that you were injured.

❤ She doubts her own reality like - every time until you explain it to her.

❤ "Like a superhero!" She exclaims, covering her mouth with her hands.

❤ That's better than a monster, certainly.

❤ You agree with her, letting her bask in her admiration before kissing her cheek and telling her to keep it a secret.

❤ "Ibuki is amaaazzing at keeping secrets - so don't even worry about it, babycakes!"

❤ When other people see your get injured, she just smiles, knowing that the two of you are in on a secret and absolutely loving that fact.

❤ She hates seeing you in pain, however. So she will hold your hand and cover you with kisses until the wound and all its neurons leave.

[eorziapple]

Name: Pippena Pipp

Parents: Unknown, Pippena was discovered abandoned in a wicker basket of a stall in the streets of Ul'dah, no one ever took the time to try and track them down, and little was done to track them down. This wasn't an entirely uncommon act in Ul'dah, with the economic hardships made raising a child impossible for many. With the Orphanages full to bursting, she was shuffled around several foster homes she barely remembers before being taken off the streets by Rengedi Rangedi, a gangleader who trained her to be muscle for shakedowns. She was taught how to fight, mostly by being made to defend herself, and just enough letters to let her get by.

Hometown: Ul'Dah, she knows every corner of that city, from the highest halls to the darkest alley.

Primary job: Martial Artist, bodyguard, combat school instructor

Reason for Adventuring: Pipp was driven off by her gang after growing a deep dislike of their methods, having taken on several jobs that ended in murder by her fellow gang members. Upon trying to leave, the bulk of the gang attacked her, and after fighting her way through them she fled the city, awakening to the Echo soon after and running into Thancred out in the wilds of the desert, who had caught her trying to steal from him. He took pity on her, letting her tag along on some scion business he had in the area before becoming impressed enough to call in some favors to get her honest work with Gage Acquisitions, oftentimes reaching out to hire her himself. She mainly adventures because it pays well, though she certainly enjoys getting to face off against danger and best mighty foes!

Special Skills: Pippena is a mixed martial artist, especially adept at observing styles she sees others use and mimicking them to an almost uncanny level. She's an adept blademaster, able to wield a greataxe, lance, and especially her own fists as formidable weapons. She also has a deep well of aether, and would be a very talented magick user... if she had the head for it. She instead channels her magicks into purely destructive thaumaturgy, and, in her words, "hits people with the hardest heals they ever saw!" as a conjuror, though spends much of her time as one conjuring stone to hurl at enemies rather than healing her allies.

Current friends: She honestly doesn't have many close friends with how aloof she is, barging her way into conversations but not having the attention to really hold a long one with anyone. She gets along well with Thancred, cetainly, probably as she reminds him a bit of himself, and she certainly has his youthful bravado. Lyse is a natural kindred spirit and frequent sparring partner. She is -very- popular with her students at her newly gifted "dojo" and is actually a very talented instructor, and her bravado has led to her having many short lived romances and flings. Time will tell if she befriends more of her coworkers or remains a bit of a force of nature at GA.

Current Pip facts: Recently impressing some financiers in Kugane with a demonstration of her combat prowess chasing down some pickpockets in the city streets, she was gifted her first hom in Shirogane.... a basement underneath a tacky theme restaurant called "The Taste of Eorzea". She's converted half the space into a martial arts school, teaching her own blend of Ul'dah pugalism and Ala Mhigo monk mixed martial arts to aspiring students.

(@driftward) Hey, actually, can we get a general character sheet for Apple and Pip? Like where they're from, what their parents were like, their primary job, why they adventure, maybe some special skills they have, current friends/close friends/more <3, where they live now, that sort of thing?

Lets do this!

Name: Apple Silverberg

Parents: Leon Silverberg (deceased), Lucrezia Formante, Jermaine Archembault (stepfather). Leon was a rebellious figure amongst the Sharlayans and a master Arcanist. A student of Louisoux and companion of the current scions, he was drawn to the study of history and cultures, spending much of his early adult life at the Sharlayan Colony in Eorzea, the continent being a prime location for his studies in the conflicts surrounding the war of the Magi. Lucrezia, on the other hand came from a rather poor background, and had made a name for herself as a fencer after stealing a blade from a Ishgardian merchant vessel and being caught in the process by the blade's owner, who took pity on the child and began teaching her bladework whenever her position saw her docked at the wild port town. Those skills saw her soon apprenticed on a pirate vessel within the Kraken's Arms colors. Her parents converged in a moment of fate when Lucrezia's ship was drawn into a conflict with Leviathan, which had been reported to be attacking vessels along the main shipping route to northern La Nosca. Losing much of her crew, and the ship's captain, Lucretzia rallied the survivors, rigging the ship to ram the worleater in a successful maneuver now known as the Sahagin's Folly. The two met in the wreckage of thier scuttled ships, Leon's research vessel having been sliced in twain a few hours before Lecrezia's ship arrived. They managed to ride some floatsam to a nearby island where they survived for three weeks before flagging a rescue vessel. Lucrezia discovering she was with child soon after, and Leon putting aside his grand designs to help raise their child. They doted on Apple, sparing no expense (Limsa's bounties on Primal Slayers were exceptionally high at the time) to see she had the best education they could provide.

Hometown: Limsa Lominsa primarily, but early schooling at the Sharlayan colony

Primary job: Researcher/Adventurer. Apple works for Gage acquitions in both the Gageverse and the WoLverse, the two mainly differ in the time Adventuring/Researching time split.

Reason for Adventuring: Apple's father was killed in Bahamat's rampage in Carteneau, taking the role of the original Warrior of Light. Apple was devastated, and frustrated by her lack of direction and promise. Not taking well to her mother's physical training as a child, the couple had ensured she would be well educated, but the young girl abandoned her higher education to join the arcanists guild, hoping to follow in her father's footsteps. Unfortunately, her innate Aether reserves were insufficient to advance past the summoning of a simple carbuncle, and she feared her lack of power would not allow her to make an impact on the world, at least not one as wide reaching as her parents. She took to her father's notes concerning the war of the magi, and in doing so came upon a rather interesting discovery in his diversions to Allag, and a type of militarized magical force that used enchantments to draw in and channel aether into some sort of crystal, using its power to reign destruction. Setting out to the field to track down what she could, Apple inadvertently came across a Mi'quote researcher named Y'shtola, setting her on a rather fated path...

Special Skills: Apple is an accomplished scholar in her own right, and one of the more knowledgeable historians, especially after awaking to her echo, which helps her piece out the histories of ancient civilizations she studies. She is a practitioner of the lost art of summoning, having studied ther creation of enchanted garments and especially the summoning horns, she can make up for her lack of aether by drawing it in from around her, making her a formidable magic wielder specializing in aetheric -control-. In addition she's become something on an aetheric artificer, reverse engineering ancient aetheric devises and even creating altogether new ones, which is her primary role as a researcher for Gage Acquisitions. In addition, she's classically trained on the harp and piano.

Current friends: All the Scions knew her father, and though many are around the same age as she is, her lack of experience and their connection to him see them taking the roles of older siblings to her at times, if not fatherly and motherly towards her themselves. This of course isn't the case with the twins, which, despite having the better part of a decade on them, have more of a peer-like friendship with her. Of course, all of her coworkers at Gage Acquisitions have earned her fondness, though she can be a little shy around so many people. She especially is good friends with the researching department, Zoissette, Rhysswyn, C'orette (though goodness she's a bit forward and out there!) and Aeryn. She has a particular fondness for Dark Autumn, who tends to be the responsible big sister of the organization in general, and taught her a bit about bardic magics. Of course, she likes her boss, Erick, but it feels weird for her to think of him as a friend and not a boss.

Current Apple facts: Apple lives on her house boat, which she currently moved from La Nosca to docking near Sharlayan while she studies there. She spends more time in her office at Gage acquisitions, though, sleeping at the facility herself in her office or several little reading nooks she ferrets away in the research lab. She recently became and Archon, her thesis being primarily on Allag magical theory and the art of summoning.

@autumnslance @biot08 @erickgage for the mention

Pip will come later in a reblog!

[shipwreckinabottle]

Last Line Tag Game (but more like multiple paragraphs amirite)

(tagged by @tiny-increments (thank you!)

Kind of a late one as I was pretty busy the last two months, but I’m back to writing and have so, so many stories going, so here’s me taking advantage of the tag to share a bit of everything I’m currently working on (and seeing if anyone else is interested :D).)

NSFW warning.

MCU Matt x Jen one-shot.

Summary/premise: Essentially Jen going >

;

“Seriously, Matt? I had dinner plans. Not eating-microwaveable-dinners-in-my-pajamas-while-watching-Friends-reruns sort of plan, but like actual plans. With an actual person. A date plan. Which I have to cancel now. Because some inconsiderate asshole just had to show up at my place half-beaten to death and bleeding my blue Ikea couch purple!”

-

MCU Steve x Jen time travel AU one-shot.

;

“Bruce?”

Her cousin picks up on the first ring this time, his voice sounding tinnier and squeakier than usual, though Jen suspects its more from the connection of wherever he is, rather whatever shitty reception she usually gets around here.

“Yeah?”

“So… you know that age-old situation where you come across a time machine, but instead of breaking the space-time continuum by killing Hitler or meeting your great-great-grandparents, you decide to use it for selfish reasons instead like trying to see dinosaurs or figuring out if D.B Cooper was a real person and getting onto his plane, but then the plane takes off and his seat is empty and you’re starting to think the whole story’s a crock of shit when a turbulent hits the plane and a flight attendant spills her drink over you and they move you to another seat and you look down and realize you’re in Cooper’s seat seconds before the time machine refires and sends you to another-”

“Jen. Calm down. I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me. Are you in trouble? You-”

“Steve,” she says, a little breathlessly.  

“Steve?”

“Yes. Steve”

“Steve… as in Rogers? Captain America, Steve?”

“Yes.”

“What about him?”

“So… about that time machine thing…”

-

Sandman: Johanna x Morpheus.

;

She focuses her thoughts, she focuses like she’s about to cast a spell, but instead of Latin script or Demon-tongue or Elder languages long lost to sanity and time, she speaks instead of images: or his cock squeezed between her fingers, of heated breaths and nails through flesh, of the way he would whimper, would beg and moan as she fucks him exactly the way she wants. She focuses it all into a sharp, mental ball—full of spikes, defiance, and a good-ol-fuck-you—and wills it right into him.

She sees it as it happens. Like the erosion of a great cliff, the exact moment it falls into the ocean, the immense waves flooding civilizations and creating new landscapes.

There’s a twitch in the corner of his eyes. A hitch in his breath. The action causing a strand of hair to fall out of place—and there it is: a sole piece of imperfection bared to the world, and she stands at the precipice of it all, this foreign landscape, only missing a flag to stake her ownership.

Johanna grins, triumph.

-

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Spock x Chapel. (For those who watch the show, I’m writing a fantasy-AU one-shot revolving around Pollux x Audrey from episode 8 😂)

;

There was a bed; a desk with material for writing; a few books and tomes; and a strange, smokeless torch to read by—the bright, circular lightings found often in this strange kingdom: the Ever-lights he suspected powered by otherworld forces rather the temperance of fire, that could brighten and dim, could adhere to the user’s whims and desires; too precise, too clockwork, too perfect to be of nature or the caprices of magicks.

He was somewhere within the Eastern lands of Elysian, beyond the fields of flower and song, the lands of a thousand vibrant petals; colors said to rival even the beauty of their queen monarch, colors more radiant than the forever dance of the cascading midnight stars, the luminescence of nebulas colliding across space and time.

Not that he would get to judge any of it.

He was buried deep underground, layers of dirt and bones between him and the rumored radiance, with no sunlight nor breeze, no telling between the days nor dusks beyond the glow of the peculiar lightings. Nor even a strict, potbellied jailer to spar with words, to pass time with banter and foolish defiance, lighthearted jabs at peasantry and the lives of their betters; not as insult, but truth.

Pollux would know. He grew up poorer, weaker, and having less in his pockets and stomach than most. Perhaps the catalyst for his hunger, almost juvenile and desperate, always clawing at the tables for scraps, for any semblance of power he could find.

Decades spent honing his craft, uncovering magicks beyond one’s wildest dreams—all the power and knowledge a man would ever need or wield in his lifetime—and yet it was never enough. He was the wizard with powers of the Old, the Imperishable of a Thousand Lives, who tamed the Swamp of infinite deaths; he had everything, feats of legends, accomplishments rivalling Kings and perhaps even Gods, and still, he wanted more, more, and more.  

And now, there was nothing left but his own greed and hubris; his tools confiscated, his being trapped behind magick-dampening walls; he was nothing more a man behind iron bars, weak and alone; the helpless wizard in his ivory tower, buried the wrong way up, deep beneath the golden fields of the East, with nothing but his dingy surroundings and the occasional passing rodent for company.

And sometimes, he was reminded as he looked down at his bandaged arm—her.

-

HotD Aemond Targaryen x older OFC one-shot

premise: look i just wanna see Aemond get fucked up by an older lady, alright?

;

She strode across the room, footsteps nothing more a whisper against the marbled floors, dark robes billowing in her wake like a raven unfurled, an image of dark omens and darker tidings, a glint of steel by her side: a long, serrated blade adorned with bright rubies and the memory of dried blood and the wails of a tortured man inflicted over a thousand flesh-cuts. The blade was clean now, the clear steel reflecting off the evening sunlight, beautiful and deadly, much like his mother’s appointed assassin herself.

Was she the one who poisoned him?

Would her blade still be clean by the end of the night?

Aemond tried to move, but his arms would not comply. They remained where they had fallen, outstretched like a man inviting death into his embrace, though as much he reveled charging into uncertainty, into odds his tacticians scoffed at and bards exaggerated, a brave man welcoming his judgement—he was not.

He didn’t want to die. Not this way. A pathetic death imprisoned in his own body. By poison and not blade, not glorious, bloodied death.

She walked around him, watching, nothing but the dart of her eyes through the slits of her silken shroud.

How easily could she slit his throat right here.

She found the cup, eventually. Picked it up and sniffed it. Then she looked at him—and sighed. A look of disappointment. An almost mirror-image of his own mother’s. Perhaps too familiar, too practiced, like she knew exactly what infuriated him the most.

Pity.

Like he was a child who had hurt himself.

Disappointment.

A good-for-nothing boy who could do no right.

He knew she was doing it on purpose, and yet he couldn’t stop the anger that boiled red-hot within him; rage born of nothing but his own hubris, his own shame. He strained against his paralyzed muscles, but accomplished nothing but a weak whimper and a spittle of drool.

Pathetic.

She walked past him, sitting down behind the bed where he laid, the smell of gardenia and the brush of fabric beyond where his head could turn. Her words flittered by his ear, a low whisper passing through his bones, “Your mother did not pay me to save dying men,” her fingers slid past his jaw as she spoke, gliding past hair only starting to peak. Her skin was warm, her touch gentle, but there was nothing tender in the action, more akin an undertaker prepping a corpse for their final journey.

Then her teeth clicked, “My mistake. A dying boy, really.”

-

Original story

Original story one-shot where the two protagonists have won the battle (and defeated the baddies, so to speak), but are also bleeding out at the end.

;

It really wasn’t easy thinking straight when you were dying. Harder to think of whichever God to pray to. And there were so many. So, so many.

She interrupted me, of course. “For a man so firmly against the beliefs of a higher power, you’re awfully religious all a sudden.”

I frowned. Or tried to. It seemed even things like that were harder to accomplish when you were bleeding out on the ground, much less trying to alternate between holding a conversation and pray.

“I’ve always been religious,” I argued, what I normally lacked in faith clearly not in sarcasm. “We visited what, twelve temples before the battle?”

“No, my Prince, what are you are—is desperate,” said my loyal Princeguard, a smile baring her blood-red teeth, giving her a frenzied appearance similar to depictions of one of her seventy-three warrior Saints, just missing the improbable third arm and eye. “You don’t believe in any God, any Deity, any Saint, and yet you pray to all of them; you worship at every altar, appease at every temple; you know more words of prayer than most faithful abbots, and for what reason? Not because you believe in any of them, no. But because you think it might help if just one of them happens to be real, happens to be listening.”

“Well, not all of them,” I tried to say dumbly. I might be dying, but I’m not foolish enough to put all my eggs in one basket praying to the Saint of Harvest. I mean, even if he were real, what could he do, offer me some corn while I die?

“Just the ones that count, huh?” she asked.

A keen-minded and highly-trained warrior’s brain was something amazing to behold; astounding in both combat and out. Including being able to lecture me on my apparent lack of faith even while bleeding out from over half a dozen fatal wounds and a longsword (not so long anymore since half of it is-) protruding from her gut. Not to mention she was correct as usual, of course.

Meanwhile, I was so delirious from the loss of blood I thought that piece of pudding wobbling on the floor was a chunk of someone’s heart refusing to stop beating even separated from its body. Not that there was a shortage of dead bodies around us. Nor pudding. Not my fault the assassins attacked during the Autumn feast.

“Look, the sun isn’t a Deity,” I said between coughs, more blood running down my chest like rivulets of wine, the stains surely to invoke the wrath of the royal tailors in the morning; I wonder how precise, how deep their words would cut, with how their scissors did the same. Funny what the mind thought of on the precipice of death. “The sun isn’t going to judge us at the end of the Lonely Path. If the philosophers are right, the sun is just a ball of gas. It doesn’t give a single fuck about us. And if someone is on the Lonely Path, the best way out of it perhaps isn’t finding god, but a goddamn brothel.”

“Perhaps,” she said. “But Solia of the Lonely Path is only one of many. What about the other Gods you ‘worship’?”

“That,” I grinned. “Is what we gamblers call hedging.”

She laughed, though it came out a little airy, likely from the blade that had pierced through her lungs. Not the long-slash-short-sword in her gut, no. This was another. Another of many, in fact, she had taken while cutting down men multiple times her number. “Not just a cripple,” she said. “A usurper, a soon-to-be dead man, but a degenerate, too. What fine company I keep.”

I dragged my way across the floor to where she laid. Our shoulders bumped. “Ah, but what better company to have at the end.”

“I can think of better,” she said, in a way that was so serious it might actually be.

-

also pairings with no plot just vibes that i want to write for

The Recruit: Owen / Max

Rings of Power: Sauron / Galadriel