#prison healer spoilers

[imjusthere-leavemealone]

Prison healer <3333

I loved Caldon!!! He was such a fun character?? Oh, and I so shipped him with Tor…

Kinda bummed they didn’t end up together 😞 I thought they suited each other pretty well, too. I think Tor is straight, tho? I mean he liked Ashley and that’s the literal only person he shows interest in. Imagine he wasn’t, he was bi, and simply did not vibe with Cal 💀 I know Cal’s would be wounded if that was the case.

That said, I did like Cal and Cresta together :3 they also suit each other!!! The teasing, will they won’t they thing they had was really entertaining. It provided some levity when Kiva was actively losing her mind over Jaren.

Ashley and Tor… not many thoughts on them. I don’t think they had enough page time for me to form an actual opinion on them as a couple. Just… two neat people, I suppose.

Kiva and Jaren are sooo cute. Kiva needs more confidence in general because she was such a team player and much more forgiving than I would be… Jaren, too, is super forgiving. These people are too good. Like a literal healer and the kindest man you’ve ever met.

[offtorivendell]

My thoughts on the Bryce, Azriel and Nesta HOFAS bonus chapter...

Disclaimer: as suggested by the title, the following discusses the Walmart HOFAS bonus chapter featuring Azriel, Bryce and Nesta. I haven't read the main text, so it won't feature anything related to that, but there are massive Maasverse and HOFAS spoilers ahead regardless. Please beware.

These are just my initial thoughts, not expanded upon in any substantial way and, as usual, I could always be way off the mark.

Also, yes, fair warning that I'll be mentioning the ACOTAR characters a lot. If that's not your jam, and you'd rather avoid any of the possible implications of the crossover, then I'd give this post a miss. On the other hand, if you're interested in how CC/HOFAS may affect Prythian going forward, please read on.

Music:

The Stone Mother song has me 👀 especially as the stone and water were "talking" at the start.

@cassianfanclub and @wingedblooms have already posted about the Stone Mother (here and here); @ladynightcourt3 has found the Phrygian goddess Cybele, also known as the "Mountain Mother," who sounds very relevant.

That being said, am I crazy to think Elain could have been listening in? Is Azriel stone and Elain water? His stone siphons - which Elain called beautiful, did she hear their song, as kin? - and Elain possibly as water? Was she using salt water to boost her powers, or a reflection pool to scry, and keep tabs on her sister and friend?

Or is it the space between linking worlds? Are the old gods talking?

Alternatively, could stone be referring to Nuala and Cerridwen, who are capable of manifesting stone around themselves and others (ACOTAR).

Is this what SJM meant when she said we'd see Elain in "some form" in the next book?

@psychee92 said she wished that SJM had somehow included Mr Brightside, and now I wish the same; even a mention of indie rock. 😭

Josie and Laurel - "He/god will add/increase" "(laurel) trees/victory"? Elain? Lol sorry, but it's either giving gardener, or Elain killing Hybern.

Wraith-like harmonies? After the description of Josie and Laurel's voices? It's crack, but is it a metaphor for Nuala and Cerridwen?

The musical similarities between what Juniper dances to and Prythian's music?!

Azriel's humming/singing made the shadows dance, once more suggesting that shadows dancing is a response to power, not mate bonds

The music Az liked was death metal. Could this link to any sort of metal artefact, like an iron crown for grounding? Or wyrdstone jewellery?

The glass coffin?

"Nineteenth century literature presents the glass coffin as a prison within which sleeping women are frequently mistaken for dead or vice versa." (Source). It's giving Sleeping Beauty (credit to @elriell for the OG SB theory), and a little Snow White.

Check out this tale from The Brothers Grimm, which sounds... suspiciously relevant to Elain.

@cassianfanclub also suggested that it's giving necromancer vibes, and I'd love that for Elain.

Feyre once said she could sleep for a hundred years after coming back from the Prison, right before going to the Hewn City in ACOWAR. After Elain had left the room, and before Feyre went to check in on her to find her "asleep—breathing."

Let's not forget Elain's assistance in rescuing the human COTB, Briar, from Hybern's camp.

Will Elain prick herself while weaving?

I was tired enough that I could barely summon the breath to ask, “Do you think the Cauldron made her insane?” “I think she went through something terrible,” Lucien countered carefully. “And it wouldn’t hurt to have your best healer do a thorough examination.” I rubbed my hand over my face. “All right.” My breath snagged on the words. “Tomorrow morning.” I managed a shallow nod, rallying my strength to rise from the chair. Heavy—there was an old heaviness in me. Like I could sleep for a hundred years and it wouldn’t be enough. “Please tell me,” Lucien said when I crossed the threshold into the foyer. “What the healer says. And if—if you need me for anything.” I gave him one final nod, speech suddenly beyond me. I knew Nesta still wasn’t asleep as I walked past her room. Knew she’d heard every word of our conversation thanks to that Fae hearing. And I knew she heard as I listened at Elain’s door, knocked once, and poked my head in to find her asleep—breathing. - ACOWAR, chapter 27

Azriel specifically said Nesta "beheaded" Hybern, after looking down at Truth-Teller.

This is not Azriel giving Nesta credit for the assassination. If anything he's hiding Elain's involvement.

I've said before, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done so, but I would expect Azriel to protect his LI with silence, whoever they are.

He had to have been thinking about Elain, who I've theorised could now/soon be known as "The Shadowsinger's Knife" after she became the "knife in the dark" in Azriel's place at the end of ACOWAR.

The young girl sitting on the mushroom:

I'm still looking into the carving of the young girl sitting on the toadstool with the hound sprawled on the ground beside her, as I find it really interesting. My initial thought was that it seemed like a convenient place to drop a mention of a garden-like fairy carving with a hound right after Bryce had quizzed Azriel about his hypothetical mate, or lack thereof (Elain being both heavily associated with plant life, thanks to her "little garden," as well as dogs, after Nesta called her one in ACOSF).

I also wonder if it has anything to do with the Czech tale that amanita muscaria - while psychoactive/toxic - are said to protect from lightning and other ill fortune. If this is correct, it reminds me a little of the markings - wyrdmarks - on the Archeron cottage.

I don't know where Bryce and co were walking, as I have only read this bonus chapter and the prologue, but given it was carved on an underground wall, and I suspect that there are underground portals in at least the Hewn City and the Prison, and maybe the waterways... could it have been for protection against the invading lightning Asteri? Or did the Asteri (Daglan?) put them there to protect against Thunderbirds, or whatever Hunt is?

Miscellany

Maybe Bryce hadn't been sent there by Urd? Who then? Was @silverlinedeyes right all along?

The mention of pleasure halls seems like a call back to Azriel's bonus chapter, but it's also likely that they aren't all brothels (see Rita's).

Azriel listening closely about Nesta now liking being Fae; he could extrapolate her responses to Elain. Maybe she's no longer miserable, and in need of their pity. And maybe she's changed her mind from ACOFAS, when she said to Feyre "I don't want a mate, I don't want a male."

Azriel said "no" to whether or not he has a mate rather quickly. Hmm... the shadowsinger doth protest too much?

It's also potentially important that Nesta said "yes, WE are" curious about Azriel's mate status. Her, Azriel and most of the fandom! 😂

"Okay, okay," Bryce said. "But it'd be cool to know something about your world. Or about you." They were both silent. Bryce asked Nesta, "You have a mate, right?" She nodded to Azriel. "Do you?" "No." Azriel said quickly, flatly. "A partner or spouse?" "No." Bryce sighed. "Okay, then." Azriel's wings twitched. "You're incurably nosy." "I think that's the nicest thing you've said about me." Bryce winked at him. "Look, I just... I'm curious. Aren't you?" Azriel didn't answer, but Nesta said, "Yes. We are." - HOFAS, Bryce, Azriel and Nesta bonus chapter

All in all, while there were no overt mentions of Elain - and really, why would SJM do that in a series that wasn't Elain's own - imo we got the Elain-shaped holes in the text that I was hoping for, and I can't wait to see if there are any more in the full book.

[lgvalenzuela]

6 & 13 for Rook prompts!

I can't belive some else sent me prompts thank you so much 😭

Very late game spoilers be warned.

6. Healer's summary of treatment of Rook's wounds.

(After Rook is pulled away from the prison)

They've been searching for weeks, and when they finally pulled him out he- He wasn't breathing. Two of them, the Crow and the Warden acted quickly, maybe it was part of the training but what I know is that they resucitated him while the others came running for me.

I don't know if I'm doing a good job, but I'm the only healer here since lord Pavus forced me out of the Eluvian (to safety he said) I'm a better Necromancer than I am a Healer. I hope I'm enough.

I wish...father was here...

-Leah Hawke

Rook woke up after a couple of hours, he still seems lost. He tried to tell us but he's been told to rest for a moment, mister Dellamorte brought him some food and water.

I've been talking to him. He has completly lost his sight on his right eye from the wound he got at Weisshaupt. It was okay before any of this happened. Whatever I was doing wasn't enough.

I wasn't good enough as a Shadow Dragon either. Lord Pavus- Dorian. Wherever you are, please be okay.

-Leah Hawke

20. A message between two companions about Rook.

(Notes found in Lucanis' pantry)

I'm worried about Rook after Minrathous and Treviso. Do you remember how he used to stop to talk to every beggar and pet every animal he saw?

I understand your feelings, it could've been Treviso. But please try to understand him too.

-Lucanis

You don't understand because you drove the dragon away from Treviso. But I get it, I worry too. I've been talking with Bel, and she's right, there was no right choice, was there?

I'll talk with Rook, eventually. We're in this together.

I like that side of him as well, and I want him to keep finding the strenght to be kind even after all of this.

-Neve

Thank you Neve.

He asked me to make fried fish for today, he's trying, he really is.

-Lucanis

Well isn't he sweet?

-Neve

[odditycircus-2002]

Medusa!Reader and Shang Tsung MK 1: Part 5

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Spoilers for Story Mode: Proceed with Caution

The Imperial soldiers aren’t too gentle when they throw you into a cell; luckily, Johnny Cage’s unconscious form broke your fall. You were still blindfolded and tied up, yet you quickly picked up Baraka’s familiar grave voice. He asks what happened as he removes your gag, but you stop him from removing your blindfold by putting a hand over his. You first explain that you lost your mask, so it’s not a good idea for him to remove the blindfold yet. Then you recall what happened upstairs, although Kenshi is the one who reveals it was Mileena being treated for Tarkat. You hiss at Kenshi for disclosing such sensitive information casually. He’s lucky he’s already injured, else you’d give him a good reason to see a healer!

While understandably upset by you withholding the truth, the Tarkatan can’t find it in himself to be mad at you. You were only upholding your vows and doing your duty diligently for the Royal House.

Baraka then asks about your welfare, carefully skimming his hands over your form to check for injuries. You reply that you’re okay before asking Baraka to close his eyes so you can check over him, too. The latter insists it’s some scrapes and bruises, so there's nothing to care for; nonetheless, he complies with your request when you press. After preliminary checking on Baraka, your hands lingering around his face longer than necessary, you look over Kenshi.

However, there wasn’t much you could do for the now blind man since your apothecary bag was confiscated besides using your minimal magic to stop the bleeding. There wasn’t anything else you could do for the others besides wait for them to come to; you were able to turn your attention to the horrors right outside your prison.

You have treated soldiers during your training on the front lines without falter. You have carved open your fair share of cadavers without so much as flinching while digging around in their insides for medical studies. You had even helped dispose of your fair share of cadavers by gathering them to be burned in a pit without issue. Yet what you saw before you trumps all of that and more.

The first thing to hit you was the smell, by the gods' awful smell of death, both new and old. Which mixed with a sickly sweet smell reminiscent of mildew. It was intensified for you since you and your snakes could TASTE it on your tongues. You gagged as it threatened to be the only thing you’ll ever taste again. Then the sounds you’d only ever expect to hear from the Netherealm’s damned souls languishing in eternal torment.

Empty cages hang from the ceiling, with cells lining the walls on your side. You could see arms poking out from between the bars of these cells, desperately trying to scrape for the bloody remains all over the stone floors, which were stained with freshly spilled and hardened blood. From the position of your cell, you could see giant tubes filled with a mysterious green substance and malformed bodies obviously inflected with Tarkat. You felt bile rise in your throat from the dread filling your stomach.

You... you recognize some of the experiments from your mind. All those times you shared your theories and hypotheses with Shang Tsung... Is this all because of what you put into his head??? No! You always, ALWAYS, explicitly expressed how they would be crimes against nature! You did not create such depravity with your hands! Yet, it did nothing to alleviate the guilt already burrowing into your head.

Still, the amount of information that must've been gathered from these- NO! NO! You will not even indulge in such dark thoughts! Shang Tsung has twisted your research beyond recognition of their original intention! This whole lab shouldn't existed! After putting your blindfold back on, you desperately get to work to assist Baraka in breaking out of your prison in more ways than one.

Despite hours of effort, the bars were too thick and deeply embedded in the stone to rip apart. Kenshi eventually speaks again, asking you and Baraka to help take his mind off their current situation. You listen to the ill man retell his life before his disease, about his family and former vocation. Though you have heard it many times before, your heart broke for Baraka when he reiterated how Tarkat took his entire family. Not for the first time, you say that you would've loved to have met Baraka before his misfortune, met his family since they sound so lovely, and seen him happy. You then add how you two would've been good friends even then.

You don't see Baraka's thoughtful expression as both Johnny Cage and Kung Lao begin to regain consciousness. The first quickly remembers Kenshi's condition and rushes to check on his state. You explain to the actor that you did your best, but your apothecary bag was confiscated. Johnny and Kung Lao had understandable reactions when they realized the nightmare they'd woken up in. All your attention then turns to a lone figure entering through a heavy sliding door.

You let out a gasp as you recognize the figure to be none other than Syzoth, Shang Tsung's "assistant." You call out to him, catching the Zaterran's attention. Judging by how his eyes widened and he took a step back, he wasn't expecting you, of all people, to be down here.

The Zaterran avoids looking in your direction out of guilt; even if it was safe to make eye contact, he wouldn't be able to look you in the eye. He then turns his attention to the now blind Kenshi crouched on the stone floor and inquires about his condition. Syzoth then digs around in your apothecary bag next to your cell to pull out a jar of cream you made to dull the pain. He then hands the pot to you first, asking if this is correct. After opening it to give it a sniff, you confirmed he was right before handing it over to Johnny. Johnny offers you a pair of his shades to pay you back, citing you'll need to see. While the latter cared for his friend, you could feel Baraka's questioning gaze.

After commenting on how Syzoth is vile to be a part of Shang's schemes, he questions how you two know each other. You explain that you thought Syzoth was a lab assistant Shang brought along and a friend, the last part you add bitterly. The Zatteran looks at you and the rest in remorse before firmly stating that while you are Shang's prisoners, he is his slave. Your eyes widen behind your new sunglasses as Syzoth explains that the Sorcerer has his family hostage. While he's genuinely sorry for what Shang did to you and everything he was forced to do, he must obey Shang to keep his family alive. You felt conflicted in your sudden urge to strangle Syzoth and your sympathy for his plight. It does dawn on you that having his family hostage explains Syzoth's behavior around Shang Tsung. You weren't surprised to learn that Shang learned shapeshifting from Syzoth, as the latter has demonstrated the ability to you before.

However, you did try to warn Syzoth that, given what you know by now, Shang won't keep his word to him. Baraka assures you that you don't need to show your form if you don't feel comfortable, but you insist otherwise. That's when you removed your hood and cloak from your form to reveal the true extent of what Shang Tsung has done to you, reminding him of the day your life changed forever. The Zaterran barely swallowed his gasp in horror at the sight before him. Your entire body was covered in scales; you had a nest of living and slithering snakes atop your head; your teeth were sharpened points; you had some small spikes on your shoulders and on your forearm; you also had two bat-like wings reminiscent of a Vaternian's, flare from your back.

Shang teleports in front of you not long after revealing your new body. He glances in your direction briefly, taking in your changes with a look of interest. Baraka growls at the Sorcerer before moving in front of you as you put your hooded cloak back on. Shang scowls at the Tarkatan before happily informing the rest of your fellow prisoners of the gruesome fate that awaits them. He directly addresses you after boasting about how he can't be apprehended so easily.

"I truly did want to spare you of your fate, my sweet. Rest assured, my benefactor has told me you are still needed alive for her goals. I will be back soon, dear Y/N."

"... I hope the Netherrealm claims your soul."

After instructing Syzoth to "take care" of you, he teleports away, leaving the rest to their doom. After you and Baraka implore Syzoth that he doesn't have to obey Shang, the Zaterran glances toward you before restating that it's either you or his wife and son. When he raises your cell's gate and a cell containing dozens of Tarkatan abominations, all of you fight back. You finally put your petrifying gaze to use in combat, stopping three combinations in mid-pounce before they could pile on top of Baraka. Kung Lao watches in a mixture of horror and amazement when the three stone hybrids shatter to the ground.

After Baraka defeated some of the larger hybrids, you and Kung Lao assisted him in freeing the others who were put in electrified cells, much to Syzoth's dismay, who knew that Shang Tsung would torture his family to punish him. Before Baraka shifts his stance to fight the Zaterran, you tell him not to blame him for Shang's evil doings. Baraka acquises by not killing Syzoth, informing him that he would've done the same if he were in the Zaterran's shoes.

You go to help up your scaley friend right when Shang reappears. The Sorcerer scowled, displeased at seeing his prisoners free and his experiments killed. You and the rest stood ready to fight as Shang berated Syzoth for ruining his plans for vivisection. Seeing he's surrounded, Shang then uses his magic to release what you instantly recognize as poisonous gas. After revealing that he's killed Syzoth's family long before, Shang teleports away before the enraged reptiloid can grab him.

However, the Sorcerer quickly appears behind you, forcing your mask on your face before you bite him. However, one of your head's snakes managed to nick him on the finger. The last thing you hear before teleporting away is Baraka screaming your name.

[writingquestionsanswered]

So Im currently trying to write my first big story - big as in I'm trying to make it a book - But im overwhelmed with what to do:

I want to write, but first I have to work out the acts and plot. But to do that I have to do some research as it's historical fiction. And that's where I'm failing, because I'm making very slow progress and it's frustrating. It also takes away the last of my motivation.

Do you have any tips on how I should proceed now or what might help?

(I might want to add that I'm working full-time outside and often can only work on weekends on it)

De-Motivated by Story Research Prior to Plotting

Research prior to plotting can be overwhelming and frustrating, so here are some tips that might help:

1 - Start with a General Summary - Before you worry about plotting out scenes and figuring out the different acts, try writing a beginning to end summary of what you want the story to be. Don't worry so much about specific details like dates, places, proper terminology or events, etc. Use general terms to fill those in. It might look something like this:

[[ SPOILERS for the novel Outlander by Diana Gabaldon ]]

A former English military nurse in the 1940s travels to Scotland and inadvertently travels back in time, to the 1700s, via standing stones near the inn where she's staying. There she encounters a band of smugglers and is taken captive and brought to the local laird's castle. Despite the suspicions of the laird and his war chief, they see her value as a healer and she settles in as the castle's healer-in-residence. During this time, she tries to figure out a way back to her own time, but also forges a friendship with one of the smugglers she patched up when she was first captured. Eventually, she is summoned for questioning by a British captain (who happens to be an ancestor of the husband she left in the 1940s) who suspects her of being an English spy, and the highlanders try to protect her by having her marry the highlander she patched up. Despite her attachment to her new husband, she runs away to the standing stones but is caught and imprisoned by the British captain. Once she is rescued by her new husband, they return to the castle where she gets wrapped up in a witchcraft accusation and narrowly avoids being burned at the stake. Finally, she and her new husband travel to his family castle, but since her husband is a fugitive, he is captured by British forces and taken to prison. The nurse is able to rescue him with the help of some of his clan, and they eventually escape to France.

[[ END SPOILERS ]]

While this is a fairly complete beginning to end summary of the first book in the Outlander series, it leaves out a lot of specific details related to time, setting, world, character development, etc.

However, going through this summary, it would be easy to see places where research needs to be done. Just looking at the first part of the summary, we can already see a lot of questions we could ask about specifics:

A former English military nurse in the 1940s travels to Scotland and inadvertently travels back in time, to the 1700s, via standing stones near the inn where she's staying.

-- Who is this woman? (Where is she from, where did she serve? Why does she go to Scotland?)

-- Where are the standing stones? What do they look like? How do they transport her back through time?

-- Specifically what year in the 1700s does she travel to? What is happening during that time?

This would give you some ideas about what, specifically, you need to research. Breaking it up in this way not only makes it less daunting, but gives you specific things to research instead of trying to learn a bunch of unnecessary data.

2 - Learn How to Research Historical Details - My Guide to Internet Research offers some general research pointers (though I probably need to update it, tbh). Also, I have a post specific to Researching an Historical Topic. Furthermore, there are some good books that guide you through researching historical fiction, as well as helpful books about specific time periods that are geared toward writers.

3 - Make Use of YouTube - I can't express enough how helpful YouTube can be when researching historical details. For example, if Diana Gabaldon were preparing to research and write the first Outlander book today, she could find videos about British nurses in World War II, specific places in Scotland where the book is set, videos about the history of the Scottish highlands, video about Scottish highlander culture, videos about clothing and fashion in 18th century Scotland, videos about the history of witchcraft in Scotland, videos about the British occupation of Scotland, videos about 18th century healing and medicine, videos about healing herbs of the Scottish highlands... you name it.

4 - Know Your Time and Dedicate Accordingly - One of the hardest things to remember when researching, plotting, and writing long fiction is that there is a certain amount of time it's going to take you, no matter what, and if you overestimate how much time you actually have to dedicate to your WIP in a given day, week, month, or year, it's very frustrating and de-motivating. One thing you might try is taking an honest look at your calendar for a particular week or month. For each day, subtract the number of hours you'll spend sleeping. Then, subtract the number of hours you'll spend working, commuting to work, traveling for work, etc.. Finally, subtract the number of hours you know will be dedicated to other necessities, like taking care of family, doctor appointments, workouts, etc. This may only leave you with barely an hour a day, but knowing you have that hour to dedicate to writing is important. Not only can you block off and fiercely guard that hour, but you can be more realistic about what you'll get done with the hours you have available in a given week.

5 - Don't Feel Like You Have to Rush It or Figure It All Out Now - We have a tendency to imagine a ticking clock where one doesn't exist. If this is your first long fiction story, especially, there is no reason to feel like you need to get this done post haste. Give yourself grace to take the time you need to get it done. Putting unnecessary pressure on yourself only demotivates you. Instead, try to look forward to that hour a night where you can dive into learning about the time, place, and world of your story. Also, don't feel like you have to know every specific detail before you start plotting or even writing. It's okay to research as you write--as you come to things you need more information on--or even to use placeholders in your first draft, allowing you to go back and fill in the research later.

Happy researching and writing. You've got this! ♥

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[tree-obsession]

HSR and Scars+other physical trauma marks HCs

I haven't seen anyone do this yet, but lmk plz if someone has!

Minor spoilers for main plot

Arlan- scars in a lot of places, implied that he could fight as a child and was poor, canonically has a prosthetic arm (at least I think, but works as hc too) and scars on his arm and nose at least. likely has more, esp on arms since using a greatsword doesnt give great defensibility and his moveset involves cutting HP(judging by the animation, using electricity, so electricity scars too? are those called lichtenberg scars?). he's short, and again the childhood implications mean he was probably malnourished.

Asta- probably minor things from working with untested equipment, and has likely burned her hands with her own powers- but, since she's a noble, she's likely expected to be neat, so idk. I like the burn idea tho.

Bailu- she's a healer, so I think what she does get she can get rid of too. But maybe her dragon tail has unhealed bits from failed assassination attempts, or smth?

Blade- canonically has scars basically everywhere. literally got tortured for a really long time, had home planet destroyed as a child and likely didn't get out unscathed (we NEED to talk abt that more), was a forge worker (burns) and did fight on occasion as Yingxing, and then was on the run for about 1000 years or something, and canonically died even more during that time. also has a skillset that involves cutting his own hp. likely doesn't have to eat, but he's unhealthily skinny because of it anyway. chronic pain. somebody give this guy a hug please.

Bronya- she's a soldier, so callouses, blade scars, bullet scars, emergency first-aid scars, and probably desensitized to cold more than the average human bc belobog. really high disregard for pain that concerns seele on a regular basis.

Clara- her. her feet. are they ok. but also some scars from working with mechs and being in the cold, but svarog made sure nothing too major happened while she was in his care. before, though... likely got beat up for being a "pushover" (im crying plz).

dan heng-... chain scars. we NEED to talk about the fact he spent most of his life chained up in prison with guards and people who hated him (minus jing yuan). probably none of the guards would have stopped some of the more violent ones from getting physical- how else would he tear his clothes that much? probably wasn't fed enough or allowed to exercise much. and the chains- listen, i know we joke about the light cone a lot(honestly why was that specifically made into the light cone) but that was really how he lived for a long time. the desc even said he "writhed" and "gasped for breath". he definitely has huge scars from rubbing skin raw around his wrists, ankles, stomach, and maybe his neck? his arms are definitely majorly scarred over and stuff from this, and probably his ankles+legs too. also his eyesight is probably shit from the dark, unless Vidyadhara magic somehow helped that.

bonus: there is a fic on ao3 called "you're looking into their eyes (and find you're looking into your own)" by robyndoesntlikeyou that deals with dan heng having scars that i only found after drafting this post. plz rec any more fics you have on this...

Fu Xuan- i really don't know for her. probably small ones that wouldn't have scarred, but she saw them as unimportant and didn't treat them...

Gepard- similar to Bronya, but maybe not as many since he's a shielder, but more of the lack of cold sensitivity? he's on the front lines lots

Guinaifen- burn scars on forearm and hands. probably can't feel much on her hands too. idk her lore but she's a street performer, so probably not always enough money for food.

Herta- we basically know nothing about her! seriously, she's so mysterious, and her character stories are vague about her past. i can't think of anything, but maybe there were some more dangerous experiments?

Himeko- considering she rebuilt the Astral Express, there were probably dangerous components involved there somewhere... and her backstory still seems pretty mysterious

Hook- diggertron probs caused burns, and life in the underground is dangerous- plus, moles could apparently go to the fight club? which seems like an issue

Jing Yuan- he's a general- lots of war scars. and probs lighting burns because he summons that entire lightning lord/chronic pain.

Jingliu- she definitely has a lot- i'm pretty sure she's the oldest of the hcq, and also got mara-struck/ fought in wars and was on the run and exiled for a long while. canonically constantly in pain due to mara. also really, really needs a hug, except the only person she would probs let hug her is baiheng, who is dead! and also she isolated herself and tortured yingxing/blade. hcq enjoyers are in literally so much pain.

Kafka- would have a lot of callouses, but idk about where scars would be. she would probs cover them up to avoid drawing attention (as she is an assassin), but idrk where exactly. she seems really sneaky, and considering she has no fear there's no reason for her to hesitate in battle. maybe scars on arms from electricity or stray bullets?

Luka- canon that he has scars from wrestling and stuff.

luocha- again, he would probably just heal whatever scars he did get. i really don't know for him, sry ):.

lynx- most calloused hands ever and even more of a weird cold tolerance than others because she's an explorer. probably just doesn't have feeling in some places. and there are probs scars somewhere from when she ran into fragmentum beasts but she's also a healer so...

march 7th- from careless accidents, sure- dropping glasses and stuff, maybe from a few close fights. but her body was wiped like her memories, plus she's a shielder and archer, which is code for not in the thick of the fight and not taking much damage herself, although she has been careless a few times. also, bowstring burns.

natasha- again, she would heal it. but has chronic pain from lugging around that heavy gun and due to age- i think she's in 50s? she's a respected person, and raised seele in the orphanage, but i dont think there's an official age.

pela- cold resistance. maybe some scars from mechanical accidents? and also there were likely some attacks right after she was born since so many of her mother's coworkers were killed.

Qingque- she's clumsy, so accident scars- breaking glass, falling down too many stairs, etc.

sampo- cold res! and probably some close calls since he's such a rat and has enemies, so most scars are on his stomach.

seele- again, growing up in the underworld was tough, so fighting rings + orphanage scraps + street fights, plus some malnourishment since she often gave her food to smaller kids and ran all the errands. was always a fight-first person, but cares a lot and so would protect automatically. has scars all over- many knife ones, some bullet or burns, and electric ones from fixing up mechs.

serval- electric ones from when she was just starting to fight with the guitar. do i need to keep saying cold resistance for the Jarilo-vi ppl?

Silver Wolf- definitely got some, but can aether hacking erase them? either way i doubt she would actually care enough to try unless she was really bored. but also has terrible eyesight, even by punklorde standards. idrk where her scars would be, so spread out mby?

sushang- spent her entire life training and canonically is brawns over brains, so probs more than a few. also her sword is heavy so she probs had some accidents. mostly on her arms and stomach.

tingyun- probs some from people blowing up amicassador ships, since they want to interrupt peace talks and things- but she's fast and experienced.

topaz- had bad lungs, but had a surgery after getting promoted to fix them. some burns on her hands and her sense of smell is a bit screwed up, so numby is often her compass for that (i love numby SO MUCH)

trailblazer- massive scar from getting stabbed through. none from before game started, since apparently they're a puppet. i think they would heal faster, but messily because of that, so a bunch of smaller scars on their torso, face and forearms.

welt- lots and lots from soldier time, especially from debris and the honkai energy probably has some kind of physical drawback. hands are a bit screwed up too, and gets a lot of chronic pain.

yanqing- what the heck is his family history? will it become relevant later? kind of curious how that may affect these hcs, but hands are super calloused and while he often doesn't retain major injuries, he'll only care for them if jing yuan tells him to, so a bunch of smaller scars just from that. mostly on his arms and hands and neck (ppl probs try to stab there often...)

yukong- so many- was huge in the war, so lots of bullet scars and maybe even some that were previously mara-infected and made worse. hearing is shot, uses hearing aids in her fox ears. a bit irrelevant but she is totally awesome.

[besiegedhunter]

Upcoming Sui thoughts and theories

Because 4.5 Anniv for Global is so soon it'd be a good time to delve into my random thoughts regarding the Sui in a more uniform manner. However this is going off CN information and so contains spoilers from the next Sui event, which as of this has yet to come out for Global.

(Also I'm not Chinese nor am I that knowledgeable. Please fact check these for yourself or take it with a pinch of salt.)

So first thing is first, what we currently know about the Sui siblings. I will be basing a lot of thoughts off this shot from the Yan: Wars of Ruin PV:

Which orders them as such:

Now of these we know:

Chongyue

Wang

Ling

Unknown

Jie

Shu

Ji

Unknown

Nian

Unknown

Dusk

Chef Brother

Now we do have some information about the identities of some of the unknown Sui siblings, being the 4th, 8th and 10th.

In "Invitation to Wine" IW-7 After, Ling says:

The first younger sister is Dusk but the younger sister in words of gold doesn't have any good options of the known sisters. Jie would've been a good guess but Ling knowns she's dead by this point as she references it later. Shu has some fortune telling, which could be a stretch on 'making it so' however the phrasing seems unlikely to be her. Nian is even more unlikely as nothing about her is connected to words.

Further to the point we know of the siblings we haven't seen yet that only 4th, 8th or 10th could be this sister with words of gold and of them we know of one confirmed sister.

In the same event, in IW-ST-3:

Further context has confirmed that the "third sis" mentioned here is Jie, the fifth Sui sibling. As Ling, the third sibling is also the first sister, that means that the 4th sibling must be the second sister.

We don't have any definitive information as to what the 8th and 10th siblings are and seeing how both the words of gold sister and the fourth sibling being the second sister were planned at the same time since Invitation to Wine, it's probable but unconfirmed that they are one in the same.

The second mentioned sibling we have was mentioned in "Where Vernal Winds Will Never Blow" in WB-8, where in a conversation with Jieyun's dying mentor Chonyue says:

So we have a Brother with healing capabilities. Now Chongyue to date is the only playable Brother but we know at least two quite well. The first being Wang, the second brother who if he wasn't in prison right now, is a gambler and his ability is learning skills. The next oldest Brother Ji one might make a case for however I don't think it's him.

Ji claims to be able to grant wishes but it's in his capacity as a business man. He uses his resources to grant wishes and mostly to secure his own gain, the crux of "Here a People Sows" is on a deal he makes and uses his business to accomplish. His ability is using fabrics to make sentient beings. He's no healer.

The best bet of the siblings we know anything about is the Chef Brother. If you look at Gummy, food can be used to heal and so the thought could be that he could be capable of healing similarly. But I have a different proposal: the eighth sibling:

Eighth Sibling

Bear with me. So to start, this is the image of the Eighth sibling:

As you can see, they are holding something which for the point of my theory we will say is some kind of string instrument. We'll come back to that but just keep it in your mind.

So I got into looking at Chinese Numerology in regards to the Sui Siblings and I found that it does seem to match very well, identically with them. I suggest looking it up yourself to confirm these but to run through them:

Can symbolize loneliness - Chongyue

Doubles are used to emphasize a certain thing (come back to that) but it can also mean 'easy' or 'bright' - Wang, and I want to draw attention to his ability to learn skills to a masterful degree

Sounds like the word for 'to live' but also 'to separate' or 'to part ways' - Ling

Skipping 4.

5. Sounds like 'Me' and combined with other numbers would have meanings like 'My life' 'My death' 'My prosperity' and was connected to the Emperor and the five elements - Jie

6. Sounds like 'good fortune' - Shu, again her ability is fortune telling

7. Can sounds like 'deceive' and 'penis' - Ji

Skipping 8 for now.

9. Historically the number most connected with the Chinese Emperor. It has lots of connections there but it can also mean 'long-lasting' as well as 'penis'. Apparently as opposed to 7, 9 is an erect one. Including that just because - Nian

Skipping 10.

11. As I stated for 2, a double of a number will emphasize the original's meaning, so for one symbolizing loneliness, 11 does as well - Dusk

I'll skip 12 because it's a bit complicated but to my understanding it as a combination of 1 and 2 and further meanings to them, 12 symbolizes harmony.

So as I said, for the most part these meanings to can see in the Sui siblings characters but I skipped 8. That's because 8 means 'to prosper' and 88 means 'double joy'. It's very common for multiple 8s to be used because of how lucky it is seen to be.

Now I could leave Eight there. 'To Prosper' 'Joy' etc, works well for Doctors and Musicians but I do want to take this further by pointing to these Chinese pictograph characters:

I hope that the similarities are obvious. These are:

樂 : This character depicts a wooden string instrument with the 木 at the base being for tree and the 幺 at either side being thread. 白 means white and maybe I'll come back to that but anyway, it has meanings for music, laughter and happiness.

I'm sure it can be seen the connection between eight's connection to happiness and joy and then to the character 樂. The Eighth sibling being depicted with specifically a wooden string instrument possibly in that image confounding this.

Now what about 藥 and why do the two of them look so similar?

藥: This character means drug, cure, medicine etc. The addition to the character means 'herbs'. Now I don't know enough to say for certain why music makes up such a large part of the character for medicine. From what I can gleam it's believed in Chinese medicine that negative emotions can cause illness and so music and by extension happy and positive emotions as the they are linked are capable of healing. I'm also aware that as in China there are five elements and five organs there are also five sounds corresponding to them and,

as I said I don't know too much. I just think that it's possible this is why the Eighth Sibling might be the healing brother because of these elements.

I don't have anything for the 10th sibling besides that they're the only sibling whose horns are outright visible in that image, which I'd post if not for the image cap. But to go for my thoughts on the Siblings:

Chongyue

Wang

Ling

Law Sister

Jie

Shu

Ji

Healing Brother - Musician

Nian

Unknown

Dusk

Chef Brother

Weiqi

So here's something that has been picked up for the Sui siblings and that's the fact that each Sui appear to have either a large amount of 'white' or 'black' on their design and we're getting a Sui sibling with one of colour after the other colour.

Nian (White) > Dusk (Black) > Ling (White) > Chongyue (Black) > Shu (White)

It seems to be playing into the Lunar New Year event's theme around Weiqi and possibly Arknight's recurring theme of Chess, with the turns of the board akin to how Wang, our primary antagonist, is seeing his war against Yan.

Speaking of, it's interesting to me the sprites of both Ji and Wang because they were introduced in that order and according to their sprites Ji is (black) while Wang is (White) and we'll come back to that because going off of the order so far which even Ji and Wang's appearances play into and assuming all 12 fit into this theme then after Shu we'll be looking at:

Black > White > Black > White > Black > White > Black

Meaning that: 4th Sibling, Jie, 8th Sibling, 10th and the Chef Brother could be placed into this order and were we to get every Sui sibling, that we could use this to predict them, right?

So for example, the second to last slot is a white and Wang is a white Sui. Ji being black could either be the next Sui, three, five or seven down the line.

Also I mentioned that character for wooden instruments had the character for white and I'm connecting it to the Eighth and healing Brother so with these all in mind maybe the brothers are looking like:

Ji? > Eighth? > Ji? > Eighth? > Ji? > Wang? > Ji?

Except maybe you notice something odd about this, which is that black is the last one? But Wang is white? How does it make sense for Ji to come after Wang? Well that's what's interesting about it because the odds are that the final one is probably instead Jie who currently lacks a colour but here's another thing to think about:

In Weiqi the colour who makes the first move is in actuality Black. Now the first ones to make the move in the story you could argue are either Wang, as the one who set the events in motion or Nian, as the one who introduced us to this storyline. But that similarly doesn't make sense...

Unless you consider Jie's death as the catalyst for either Wang or Nian to move in response. Which is an interesting way to look at someone's death as a strategic move on a Weiqi board...

I still think it's possible for Jie to have planned her death in some capacity with the thought in mind that Wang was going to do what he is. Here's where I say Jie is really interesting and I find the numerology behind five being 'me' as so interesting. 'My life' 'My death' 'My prosperity'. Whether it's her story or what meaning is given to her in her death it's fascinating to me. Anyway.

I think it'd be weird if Ji after joining Wang is immediately the immediate event's Limited so let's say:

Black > White > Ji? > White > Ji? > Wang > Jie

Then

Black > Eighth? > Ji? > Eighth? > Ji? > Wang > Jie

Can we narrow this down any further? I'm unsure. My bets would either be on the 4th Sibling or the Chef Brother but I've talked enough.

Before we go though, please look at the 4th sibling, the 2nd sister:

I want her playable yesterday.

Those were my thoughts.

[reyreadersblog]

SPOILERS FOR THE PRISON HEALER!!!

OH. MY. GOD.

I JUST FINISHED THE PRISON HEALER.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK...

(Draft)

[revserrayyu]

2.5 Xianzhou continuance thoughts [part 1]

**SPOILER warning** for everything covering the very beginning of the mission, the conversation down in the Shackling Prison & Jiaoqiu’s hostage situation. Keep in mind that I’ve already finished the entire story at the time of writing this and did slightly mention certain events that happen later on, so if you haven’t reached the end of the 2.5 story yet, I’m gonna suggest to come back later since I wouldn’t want to ruin your own experience by spoiling anything.

So right off the bat, I’m already unfocused as to what these npcs are talking about as I spy a certain General just chilling out in the background.

Sharing a meal? With Feixiao? Oh my~ Is this a date ma’am? If so then I accept!

I love it when characters have this unspoken trust in each other, like Huaiyan tells Yukong not to worry about Feixiao leading the wolf hunt and madam already knows quite well that her friend is going to be perfectly fine. Also, yay! More Yukong!

Jing Yuan recounts a short tale about a campaign he followed Jingliu on centuries ago and bruh.. what a slap in the face this is now. After all the times the previous patch mentioned her name and even teased us by showing “her” in the 2.5 story trailer.. and ice queen really never actually shows up! I’ve been played for a fool.

I’m pleased they at least made some more sense of Hoolay being trapped on the Luofu rather than the Yaoqing. I can imagine Jiaoqiu studying this beast endlessly trying to find a cure if he was made more accessible for the Foxians to visit. You should never devote all your efforts to one single thing, no matter how admirable and if Jing Yuan also meant poison in the literal sense then being around Hoolay so often would no doubt be dangerous.

I love how this “mistake” is perfectly placed in the foreground of this frame. And between the Trailblazer and Dan Heng, why did it have to be the latter who stayed behind for all this questioning? The boy has terrible memories of this place already, I’m sure he doesn’t wish to stay here a moment longer! Although with how sweet he was being to us last patch, I’m sure he offered to accompany Jing Yuan and Lingsha here just to spare us of any lingering danger.

A bit amusing and surprising that Dan Heng himself didn’t even know his memories were restored, but I guess it does shed some light on a problem I never really thought of until now? The Astral Express trio all have hidden backgrounds that we really weren’t aware of at the start. March and the Trailblazer simply don’t remember anything about their respective pasts and by all means, Dan Heng shouldn’t have know anything either since his hatching rebirth, but thanks to Lingsha’s mentor, he did learn about everything anyway. We were just kept in the dark until all the drama happened during our first Xianzhou adventure.

We skip on over to our precious hostage and thank heavens he’s still alive.. and giving advice on how to handle children who are picky eaters. I know he’s just stalling for time but surely there must be another way aside from joking around! He’s clever though, as this advice does come back into play later on with the poison.

Bro I thought leaving Penacony behind would save us from seeing the frightening red text again. Acheron really gave us ptsd with this.

So um.. I spoke to all the people the map told me too and picked the red text options out of habit and.. well, let’s just say those three people aren’t exactly doing too great right now. Yeah yeah Hoolay told us not to do anything sneaky and it was heavily implied that he had spies keeping an eye on us, but I didn’t actually think something terrible would happen!

After that display of cruelty, I decided to play it safe so that our dear healer wouldn’t end up as a pile of bones next.. but it’s not like that choice mattered I guess since Hoolay decides to harm him anyway! A true monster indeed. How dare he. Kudos to Jiaoqiu for not screaming out in pain though because I most definitely would’ve.

Right away I figured it was gonna be this moon heart that ends up being the cause of the final Feixiao boss fight and while that ended up being half true, it instilled immense panic in me without fail. Also, a brief side note.. how many of y’all are now fans of Hoolay after seeing this foxian form of his? It ain’t my cup of tea but I understand why some might fancy it enough to say "smash"."

Oh Moze.. good, sneaky and reliable shadow man. Thank you for watching eyes.

Damn, if she gave me this kind of smile before she ended my life I’d probably say thank you.

More lore, huzzah! Her voice was especially nice here. Oh, and I might as well mention it now, but THANK GOD Feixiao was voiced for this patch! I know her trailers were dubbed in JP and there was some pointless drama revolving around Anairis recently (none of those baseless assumptions I believed either, by the way), so I was very pleased to hear our General once again. At first I feared they could’ve made her silent like they did to Argenti in previous patches, to which I would’ve been so upset considering how much this patch revolved around Feixiao compared to Argenti who was just.. sorta there in Penacony, but thinking about it now, they most likely had everything for this patch recorded ages ago. So whatever the real reason for the JP dubs was, I don’t really care as all of Feixiao’s voice actors do a lovely job anyways. Anairis seems to have returned to twitter/x as well, so I’m glad she’s doing okay now.

Aww she cares! I mean, I knew she did of course, since we’ve seen how close of a bond the Yaoqing has, but to see more of it had me kicking my feet all giddy. So yes, if anyone’s wondering, the ending scene with the three of them together after the chaotic wolf hunt ended had me in shambles. But that’s for another post.

Okay so I’m like.. 99% sure this random npc line was voiced by Camden (Aventurine’s va). It’s not even because he just so happened to say “doctor” and how it instantly reminded me of the “doctor.. you’re huge” scene but I will admit it’s a funny, little coincidence.

I’ll be honest by saying that it took me a few seconds into this flashback to even realize that the person Jiaoqiu is saving right now is indeed Feixiao herself. I know the red accessory on her ear is in plain sight but the handsome foxian healer caught my eye first, okay? Poor guy though, learning from someone else that saving this girl is basically General Yueyu’s last wish. He’s supposed to be the General’s healer but not being able to save her life when she’s so determined to stay on the battlefield to protect the Cloudpeer Telescope (whatever the heck that is) must’ve hit him hard.

Being a healer is far from easy, especially when you devote your whole life to save people only to watch them charge back into battle and see them get injured again or worse, to not see them return at all. I know it was once mentioned in his drip marketing (or somewhere else, I can’t remember right now) that Jiaoqiu once had a broken heart, but instead of that being caused by one specific person in a relationship kind of sense, I feel like it’s a result of all the deaths he’s had to witness and endure as he tried to save several others over the years. All the effort and concern he had for all his patients effectively gone in an instant time and time again without fail.

Oohh noooo.. looking back at this line now and knowing fully well that he won’t be seeing anything anytime soon hurts so bad! I’m not really certain if his lost sight is a result from the poison he took or from Hoolay’s attack, but if it was caused by the latter because he didn’t want Jiaoqiu to see his defeat, the peaceful Wardance or a cured Feixiao, then that’s so cruel.. but a clever move on Hoolay’s part if anything. Still hate it though. (90% sure it was because of the posion after looking into things more)

Moze.. why didn’t you just stay on the roof?? Or at least hide inside a shadow somewhere if you really needed to get closer to hear the conversation? Seeing him stand out in the open like that is so silly. Oh, I also forget exactly when Hoolay bit the random civilian and turned him into a Borisin amidst the many flashbacks, but I’m not at all surprised the warhead is capable of doing such a thing. Definitely introduces another level of fear into this whole wolf hunt knowing that anyone could be changed into an enemy now.

Damn.. I can’t imagine how bad must Moze feel after being forced to abandon Jiaoqiu for a second time. The regret at the end of all this must be unbearable.

Alright, I’m gonna stop here for now. With the amount of screenshots I got left, I need.. three more posts to chat about everything else.

[monsieuroverlord]

X-Men #1 Thoughts:

Wasn't bad. I thought it was more on the expository side, but for a first issue of a new era, that's not a negative.

Spoilers:

I'm very happy we haven't completely forgotten Krakoa. A police chief comes and visits the X-Men base (an old Orchis Sentinel factory in Alaska) and Beast gives her a tour.

He makes a subtle comment about how he sorta missed out on Krakoa (you'll know what he means if you've read X-Force).

Glob Herman is also there, running the greenhouse for food! No sign of his chickens, but there's still time.

There's also a discussion of the tension between the town and the X-Men base, as the sentinel factory shutting down cost a lot of people their jobs. To me, its very reminiscent of how building privately-owned prisons near small towns often creates a lot of stable jobs and is seen as relatively favorable by the community at first, but it also makes the town heavily reliant on it, and if it ever shuts down, the local economy absolutely tanks. Not to mention, there's a huge stigma that comes with being a prison town and no new growth occurs and the area stagnates. (Definitely a phenomenon in US rural towns, one of my Honors classes in college had a unit on prison systems in the US and it was eye-opening, to put it mildly).

Xorn is also at the base, and he's the team healer. For some reason, he's back in the Morrison jacket.

Finally, on he roof, Magneto introduces himself, and he's going by Max again, which is his original name, I believe. He also has a cool hover chair, much like Xavier's hovering wheelchair thing. He intimidates the police chief a bit, but McCoy manages to make sure everything goes relatively well. No blood was shed, so the better than usual.

Cyclops and field team are out on an Orchis-related mission -- six mutant signatures have just cropped up and they initially assume its a few newer mutants captured by an Orchis remnant calling themselves "Fourth School". They believe they need to become a mix of AI, Human, and Mutant to overcome all three.

Wolverine was close enough in the area, so Cyclops asked him to check it out, and then they received s physic distress call from him after he was captured. The Fourth School had tortured him a bit, harvested some organs for genetic material, etc.

Cain and Illyana already have a hilarious dynamic, bantering back and forth, playing rock-paper-scissors and trying to one-up each other in the fight.

Idie and Quentin have a conversation about Krakoa in the midst of fighting. Idie makes a comment about how the X-Men failed her and how she was thrown in the Pit, making a jab at Quentin for doing X-Force sanctioned crimes and pointing out the hypocrisy. There's also a callback to the Jean Grey School days, and even Quentin mentioning how he used to do Kick.

Idie is the real powerhouse of this issue, both freezing and melting all sentinels and Orchis members in her wake. Absolute star of the show.

I also sincerely hope this doesn't lead back to another romance between Quentin and Idie. I just think Idie needs a chance to grow on her own, maybe meet back up with Nekra for some advice on occasion, you know? I really liked that dynamic in Exiles.

Psylocke grabs Wolverine, and he's healing back up. She doesn't have a lot of dialogue this issue, but there is a really cool moment where she comes out of the shadows and psychically wrecks the Orchis agents.

It turns out the six new mutants are actually Orchis agents and full grown adults. The new suspicion is that genetic tampering is at play, but the question is how did they successfully activate 6 different people all at once so well that Cerebro pinged them as mutants?

Regardless, The X-Men quickly defeat them as they don't have the combat experience to use their powers well.

There's also a secret round table of benefactors for the Orchis Fourth School, and they're not happy with the X-Men defeat. It seems like they are set up as the new "Big Bad" of this era.

Mission is complete, Beast is tasked with investigating the Fourth School and all their fancy tech. Logan heads off back toward Canada, and we got some insight on his current feelings, which I found particularly interesting:

Positives: Its not explicitly related to Akihiro (I'm still being a huge worrywart about Hellverine). And weirdly, this mindset feels more in-character to me than the conclusion of Wolverine #50. Logan's a tired old man who has had to rebuild so many times in his life. It makes sense that seems to be exhausted and burnt out right now, but still willing to help the X-Men on occasion.

Like, he went through a hell of a lot in the Sabretooth War. Maybe it makes sense that he doesn't have the healthiest coping mechanisms and buried it down while the war was going on, but now its over and its all bubbling to the surface.

I hope we see more of that in the upcoming Wolverine run. And Hellverine is still heavily on my mind, so I'm cautious as fuck right now. I still maintain he was not sad and self-hating enough by the end of Wolverine #50 -- we were pretending he had "fixed" everything with his son during Krakoa. He should be even more devastated then he ever was before. And this is including the times he killed his own son, because it means in his dumb macho-brain, he had "earned forgiveness" and it was BRUTALLY taken away (AGAIN), but I digress.

The issue ends with a shot of giant frozen sentinel, as Beast requested a team to help dismantle it, but Cyclops said to leave it for now to remind the town what they owe the X-Men (implying that they saved the town from this massive sentinel).

My Overall Thoughts:

Like I said, its very exposition heavy, but I don't think that's a bad thing. This issue does a really good job in setting up characterizations -- individual voices, their motives, current contexts post-Krakoa, etc. It also sets up the tensions, potential future conflicts, dilemmas, interpersonal fights, etc. Its all set-up and gives you a pretty good idea on what this book is going to be about without requiring you to go back and read too many previous issues. And if you want to, the key words like "Jean Gray School" are there, so its not too subtle as to get you too confused with different runs.

Like I said, Idie is the star here and I love her.

There are some fun moments, and I think this run has potential.

[certifiedfantasyreader]

Ok I know I did a poll asking you guys to choose my next read, but ,I've already started reading the prison healer by then ( I was really desperate for a book). And now I finished the first book .......HOLLY SHIT!!!! This book deserves all the hype .....the ending slaps hard.

4.5 🌟

Definitely worth the hype.

Kiva and Jaren😮‍💨😮‍💨.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I knew about Jaren the moment he was introduced. And, Kiva being a healer was also obvious....it was right there😭. Idk why I didn't connect the dots of her being the rebel princess like coran...smthn heir😭😭 I can be slow like that.

I wouldn't say it shocked to me my core or anything, but it was still something.

The guard being tooo easy on Jaren and Kiva herself was also pointing out several hints , so that why I wasn't that surprised.

I can't wait to see how Jaren will react lmao.

[slothquisitor]

I Know the End

Confronted with a final choice to defeat the Netherbrain, Astarion is sure he knows how this ends. Major endgame spoilers. Work title comes from I Know the End by Phoebe Bridgers. Astarion x Liv, 4.1k, mostly angst.

Also on AO3.

The elder brain is close. Astarion knows this because the damned thing won’t shut up. The closer they draw to the morphic pool, the whispers layer over each other, crescendoing until he feels as though its commands are echoing through his entire mind.  

–OBEY– fulfill – anomaly – BECOME –

As the brain rises from the morphic pool, Astarion wonders if it was this big the last time they saw it beneath Moonrise. The pain in his head feels like it might cleave him in two, the way it reverberates all the way through his teeth. He clutches his head on instinct, but it doesn’t seem to help. Liv staggers forward, the netherstones floating above her hand, and she throws everything she has at the brain. Her magic glows, great bolts of red, crackling energy flow out of her and straight for the crown.

And he watches it not be enough. 

It had never occurred to him that they might get this far and fail. It had never occurred to him that Liv could fail. At every juncture, he has watched her do the impossible. He doesn’t believe in much, but he does believe in her. When he watches her fail, it feels like the cruelest of jokes. 

The brain mocks them then. Tells them they had been just another cog in the Grand Design. Gods, he’s so tired of being a pawn in the games and machinations of others. 

He rushes to Liv’s side as he sees her crumble, falling to her knees as the final blast from the netherstones does nothing, again. There is a screaming, clawing pain in his mind, it is staggering, it orders him to give in, to become . It is taking all of his energy not to give in. He is trying to help Liv up when the brain blasts them back, and he braces for an impact that never comes. Instead, he finds himself floating in the soft blue expanse of the Astral plane, the Emperor interceding once again.

I pulled you out just in time. The situation is worse than I thought, the Emperor says, voice echoing in their heads. It has always been strangely disconcerting, the way the Emperor communicates, mind to mind. This is an elder brain no longer, the magic of the crown has caused it to evolve. It has become something more - a Netherbrain. 

Astarion almost laughs then and there. Of course, it has. This whole bloody quest of theirs has just been one complication after another. First, they looked for a healer for their tadpole, and then no healer could help, and neither could the githyanki creche. And then all the answers were supposed to be at Moonrise, but instead, they discover it’s all one big plot put together by the Chosen of the Dead Three. On and on and on. He feels stupid for assuming that simply wielding the netherstones would bring them victory. It has always been more complicated than that. He thought he knew better than this. 

“I thought the netherstones were supposed to allow us to dominate the brain,” Liv says, her words hold no curiosity, just barely contained rage. 

I thought so too, but that was when I believed it was still an elder brain. It has been anticipating our every move from the start. I underestimated it. We will need to rethink our plan, the Emperor says before floating down towards Orpheus’ prison. 

Liv glances at him, frustration clear on her face. “Something isn’t right,” she says, voice low. 

Of course, something isn’t right, the brain should have been destroyed by now. “We don’t exactly have a Plan B.” 

She nods and looks thoroughly resigned before jumping down to join the Emperor. He and the rest of their companions follow. This is an arena they know well, the corpses of Orpheus’ honor guard still lay scattered amongst the rocks. 

As they approach, the Emperor regards them impassively. I have assessed our encounter with the Netherbrain from every angle. I know why we failed. The problem was not the stones. The problem was you . You can make only one move at a time, but the Netherbrain calculates every possible move at once. It knows what you will do, it knows everything you could possibly do. You cannot outmaneuver it. To defeat it, you would have to think like an illithid. Better yet, be one. Your mind is not capable of this. Mine is. You will give the stones to me. I will assimilate Orpheus, and then I will be able to leave this prism to face the brain. 

Liv steps back, and Astarion recognizes the look on her face. She’s figured out something. “So this was it? Your plan all along? Use me to retrieve the stones for you and then send me to fail so that you could claim them for yourself. It’s obvious, really. Only ask me to turn them over when it’s clear I can’t use them.” 

If they weren’t so totally fucked by this reveal of information, Astarion would want to cheer Liv on for so completely laying out the plan. She’s right, it is obvious. Especially now that it’s too late.

You still don’t trust me, after all we’ve been through. Remember, I have been your salvation from the very beginning. Your knight in shining armor. I freed you from the nautiloid, prevented you from crashing to your death. I have protected you ever since - at no small cost to myself. 

Liv’s eyes narrow. “Oh yes, you are always quick to remind me of everything you’ve done on my behalf. On how we have no more secrets between us, and yet I still keep discovering things you haven’t told me. You claim we’re allies, but I’ve seen how you treat your allies. What you did to Stelmane and Ansur. Is this where you kill me too? Or will you simply turn me into a puppet like Stelmane and force me to do your bidding?”

In a blink the Emperor closes the distance, tentacled face just inches away from Liv’s. She holds her ground, and Astarion represses the urge to draw his daggers, to step between them. He has never seen Liv be cruel, but there is an edge to her words, she is looking to be cutting. He knows she has been suspicious of the Emperor’s relationship to Stelmane since finding that book in the cellar, but she has never told him her theory, never said it out loud in case the Emperor was listening. But its reaction gives the truth away, Liv has guessed right. 

That was the alternative relationship we could have had. Aren’t you glad I finessed my methods? Make no mistake. You are my puppet. Without me, you have no value. Now, release the netherstones to me. 

Gods, he hopes she doesn’t do it. Doesn’t give in. She had argued with the Emperor over Ansur’s corpse, gone to the House of Hope despite its protests, but this is something else. This means abandoning their best shot at defeating the brain. He’s glad the choice isn’t his. 

“No,” Liv spits out the word, glaring up at the mind flayer. Astarion prepares for a fight, and prepares for the Emperor to force her to give up the stones. But then, it surprises him.

  Fine. I told you that the githyanki would want to kill you for what you are. Even united the Netherbrain was going to be an impossible enemy. But apart, we have no chance of survival. Since you will not work with me, you work against me. You leave me no option but to join the Netherbrain. 

And then, just like that it is gone. Portalling away. Liv stands tall until the portal closes, and then she doubles over, clutching her chest as breaths come in great gasps. For a moment he worries that she has been injured, but he can see no injuries, magical or otherwise. 

“I sure as hells hope I didn’t just sentence the entire realm to death with that choice,” she manages around gasping breaths.

Ah, so it’s panic then. “It wasn’t to be trusted,” he says, but his words come out far less reassuring than he hoped. He’s never seen her like this, so…unmoored. She is always calm, always steady. He used to find her utter unflappability annoying, gleefully awaiting the moment she might break. Now, her obvious panic almost scares him more than the Netherbrain.

Liv straightens, looking at their stunned companions, still breathless. “Well, let’s hope that Orpheus isn’t actually interested in killing us. Lae’zel?”

Drawing the Orphic Hammer, Lae’zel approaches her prince and frees him from his prison. Astarion stands beside Liv, wishing he had words to combat the rising panic he can feel in her. He takes her hand, an attempt at comfort he suspects they both need. 

Her grip is tight as the githyanki prince crashes to the ground and takes up his blade. And then their minds are ripped apart, a silent cry piercing their heads. It’s all Astarion can do to remain upright. 

“You reek of illithid,” Orpheus snarls. “You slaughtered my honor guard and abused my power. Nonetheless, it seems we must be allies.”

“Your Majesty, The Prince of the Comet, Gith’s true heir. It is an honor,” Lae’zel says, bowing her head voice full of awe. 

The Prince glares at them. “Do not patronise me. You rejected the illithid when it no longer suited your needs. No doubt you freed me because it suits you now. I will neither forgive nor forget your abuse of my powers.”

Liv lets out a breath. “I’m sorry. We were deceived…we should have attempted to free you sooner, but we believed that without your powers, we would die.”

“That is true, and it would have been the honorable outcome for one destined to become ghaik . You had the opportunity to surrender yourself to my honor guard. They would have given you a noble end. They would have freed me, and I would have stopped the elder brain before it evolved into a Netherbrain. All that suffering - avoidable. Were it not for the choices you made,” Orpheus’ words are laced in accusation and righteous anger. 

A sort of devastation shadows on Liv’s face. He’s never seen her be this open with her emotions. It’s almost as if rejecting the Emperor has broken something within her, and she cannot seem to rein in back in. “We…we cannot change what is past. We can only move forward. We need your help to stop the Netherbrain.” 

“In this we are aligned…I am obliged to overlook your transgressions. We will destroy this Netherbrain together, and put a stop to this nascent Empire before it expands into the stars. The ghaik was right about one thing - the Netherbrain’s power is beyond us. At this point, it will take an illithid to unleash the full power of the netherstones. You have the rare opportunity to right your wrongs, to sacrifice for the greater good.”

“What? You can’t be serious.” The words escape him before he can stop them. Orpheus isn’t really asking this of her, is he? 

“One of us must become illithid, I am afraid it is the only way,” Orpheus says, and the githyanki prince has the audacity to sound sorry even as he asks Liv to surrender her soul. 

Liv glances his way, and there is fear there, real genuine fear. She turns back to Orpheus. “I…I suppose if it’s the only way…” Her words are reluctant, edged with regret. She doesn’t want this. She can’t want this. 

He steps between her and Orpheus. “Let’s not be hasty about this. I think this warrants a more private discussion, away from our new friend.” 

Liv looks to Orpheus and then back at their companions apologetically. “If you’ll just give us a moment.” 

He stalks away, trusting her to follow. He’s looking for somewhere, anywhere they can have a semblance of privacy.  There aren’t a lot of options here, and a glance back at their companions shows him that they’re in a deeply heated discussion themselves. 

They come to a stop and he rounds on her. “Tell me you’re not actually considering this.”

Liv’s face is pained, brow furrowed. “You heard Orpheus. The fact that the Grand Design made it this far…it’s our fault. But I can make it right, I can wield the stones and save the city and…I…I can fix it.”

“There are other options.” Like Orpheus for one. He doesn’t give a shit if the prince lives or dies. He could be the illithid. It should be someone, anyone else. Just not her. Not her. 

Liv shakes her head. “He has been imprisoned here for so long…to ask that of him…or of any of our friends. I can’t do that.”

Damn her and her selflessness. This is it, this is where he loses her. There is yet to be a heroic choice she has been faced with that he has seen her flinch away from. Liv is the type of person who would set herself on fire to keep everyone else warm. He just wishes he had told her more often that she doesn’t have to. No one is requiring that from her. But he knows how this ends. 

He knows her. And he knows that no matter what he says, she’s going to do this. 

“I wish I was surprised you’d volunteer. But I’m not…it’s just so perfectly you . Tell me that this is what you really want, and you have my unwavering support.” He hates the way his voice quivers, the way it gives his every emotion away. He’s trying to mean the words, to force them true. If this is really what she wants then well…he’ll try. 

There are tears pooling in her eyes as she stares up into his face. The moment catches, drags on horribly. Her eyes close, the tears running down her face. Finally, she whispers, “I don’t want to be a mind flayer.”

He cups her face, brushing the tears away with his thumbs. “Then don’t. Let someone, anyone else do it. Please .” He rests his forehead against hers, and when she reaches for his forearms, he can feel the way she trembles. They stay there for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes. He can see the turmoil in hers, and he hopes she can see the pleading in his.

“Astarion-”

“Don’t,” he says because he cannot bear to hear her apologies, her justifications for this. 

She kisses him then. It tastes like goodbye.

***

The end of the world feels a lot different than she thought it would. She feels a hells of a lot more guilty than she thought she would, for one. She also feels as though something has broken inside of her, the ability to repress, to push emotions down, and simply keep moving, keeps eluding her. She’s aware that every emotion she feels is too obvious, too open, but she cannot seem to fix it. 

Perhaps it is for the best. With the Emperor’s true nature exposed, their alliance in shambles, and Orpheus explaining that someone must become illithid, a deepset resignation joins the chorus of emotions all demanding to be felt, all at once. Of course freeing Orpheus means sacrifice, as if they all haven’t given enough. 

Which is why it must be her, mustn’t it? She cannot possibly ask any of her friends to do this. She has led them across Sword Coast, to the Hells, and across planes, and they have followed her. And it had all been wrong. They have been misled and manipulated at every step, played into the plans of the very entity they sought to destroy. She could make it right, with one last sacrifice.  But she doesn’t want to. No part of her wants this. 

When Astarion pulls her away from the group, he begs her not to do this. She wishes she could tell him she won’t. She wishes that this was all different. She has no words to make this okay, so she kisses him instead and tells herself it’s going to be okay. 

She’s aware that Astarion is trailing a few steps behind, but she’s doing her best not to look at him. She’s sure if she does, she’ll lose her nerve. As she approaches the group, Wyll steps forward, looking earnestly between her and Astarion. “We’ve been talking. We have an idea.”

Karlach nods. “Maybe you don’t have to. It…it should be me. I’m dying. My heart feels like a living grenade - gonna blow any minute. You still have a life to live. I don’t. If this is the end for me, let me be the motherfucker who saved the world.” Karlach’s words say she’s willing, but Liv can see it in her eyes, Karlach wants this about as much as she does. 

“I adore you,” Liv says, echoing the very sentiment Karlach has so often expressed. “But we’re going to find a fix for that engine of yours, Karlach. I won’t let this be how your story ends.” Liv just needs time, and Karlach doesn’t have to die, not if she goes to Avernus…not forever…just long enough for Liv to solve this problem. She knows she can do it.

Gale steps forward. “I think it’s time we reconsider the orb then. With its power, I could put an end to this whole thing. Crown. Netherbrain. Absolute. Everything. No one will have to surrender their soul to become an illithid.”

“No one is blowing themselves up!” Shadowheart says, heatedly. 

Their group dissolves into a myriad of conversations. Everyone talking over everyone. Liv tries to follow them, but somewhere she loses the thread of it, and the conversations have taken on an angrier tone, arguments rising. 

She turns away from her friends, and takes a few steps closer to Orpheus who stands watching the exchange with sharp eyes. He doesn’t seem thrilled at his would-be saviors, and who can blame him? They have apparently stumbled their way here, blundering along, losing the forest for the trees. And yet, she doesn’t regret it. She has done what she thought was right all along the way, even when it cost her. Sometimes, especially when it cost her. 

But perhaps…perhaps she has given enough. Perhaps she deserves her life, her future, her soul. Astarion had asked her this morning what she wanted to do after this was over, and she hadn’t had an answer, not a real one. But faced with this choice, she is shocked by how much she wants to live her life. She wants to see her future as it happens to her. She wants it more than she’s ever wanted anything. 

It is the most selfish thing she has ever done, but she slowly approaches Orpheus and asks, “Are you willing?”

The arguing behind her immediately ceases. Some part of her is disappointed in this moment, that she was unwilling to accept Karlach’s sacrifice, that she’s unwilling to do this herself. She hates that she is asking Orpheus to become a thing that he despises, the very entity he has been fighting against for millennia. But another part of her keeps insisting: enough. She has done enough.

The githyanki prince closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Just as I was free…” And then he raises his chin, noble and dignified. “I will become - illithid. I will sacrifice my soul for my people. I will end the Grand Design.”

“My Prince, you cannot. It is not your burden to bear,” Lae’zel grabs at her arm. “Please, my people need him.”

“Do not ask this of her!” Astarion snarls. “I don’t see you volunteering, Lae’zel!”

At that, Lae’zel pulls away, head down. No…she doesn’t like this, but she’s not willing to sacrifice herself either. Liv looks back at Orpheus. “You are a true hero.” And she is not. 

She watches the ceremorphosis process take Orpheus. She forces herself to stand witness to every snapped bone, every elongated limb. She will not allow herself to look away from this. This is her doing, and her doing alone. She wishes that it hadn’t come to this, to a choice between giving up her soul and saving the world. But as Orpheus straightens in his new form and the netherstones float into his open palm, all she feels is a profound sense of relief. 

She doesn’t know what that says about her.

All to wield these… Orpheus stares at the stones. Let us seek out the Netherbrain and finish this. Once the Grand Design is ended, kill me. It is the very least you can do. 

“You don’t deserve to die.” 

Orpheus floats close, orange eyes flashing menacingly. I took this burden so that you did not have to. You will grant me this . 

She glances over to Lae’zel who only gives a small, dejected nod. “Alright.”

Orpheus opens up a portal for them, but Liv hesitates for a moment, casting one last glance over the tranquil beauty of the Astral Plane. She takes one final moment before she is thrown back into chaos and battle and unknown. 

Astarion steps in front of her, his eyes full of relief, pride even. He captures her lips in a kiss that is not soft or careful. This is a kiss for the battlefield, all passion and teeth. It burns bright and fierce and fast, over so quickly, she almost questions if it happened at all. 

“We’d better survive this because I never want to stop doing that,” he says, and then he’s gone jumping through the portal. 

She follows and finds herself thrown directly into the mess and chaos of battle. The Netherbrain floats over the Upper City, nautiloids fly beside it, and the streets and gardens are filled with the Absolute’s forces. It is a long and bloody fight up to the Watch Citadel. 

When Kith’rak Voss intercepts them on the steps of the Watch Citadel, she worries that their luck has finally run out. Lae’zel has accepted Orpheus, his new form, but Voss has been planning and plotting for so long to free Orpheus. How must it feel to finally see your friend, your prince, free only to discover that they are a mind flayer? To lose the best chance for githyanki liberty? 

She expects it to feel as if the guilt will swallow her up, but then they open the doors of the tower, and waiting behind them are allies and friends they’ve made along the way. Dammon and their owlbear cub, who is a cub no longer. Jaheira and Halsin. Valeria. Ulma. Arabella. The Gondians. Duke Ulder Ravengard and Counselor Florrick. Dame Aylin and Isobel. Barcus Wroot. Mol and Rolan. Volo and Zevlor. Nine-Fingers Keene…and Percy.

“Liv!” Percy calls, and then her brother appears out of shadow in front of her, arms pulling her into a tight hug. It shocks her, and it takes a moment for her to return the gesture. He holds her close. “No one had seen you since the fighting began. We feared the worst.”

His concern feels real and genuine. “We…uh…had to make a stop and free an ally.” She pulls away and gestures to the mind flayer beside Kith’rak Voss, hanging back from this scene. Their allies are understandably concerned about having a mind flayer in their midst, but Withers, appearing as always at the strangest of times sets everyone at ease.

She turns back to Percy. “What are you doing here?”

Her brother grins. “I promised I’d come when you called, but well, you didn’t call, so I took the liberty of showing up anyway. I’ve got your back.”

And it doesn’t erase all of the hurt and the pain and all of the years of suffering, but it is something. “Thank you.”

“Your little group has managed to amass quite the collection of allies,” he says, a sense of awe in his voice. 

And as she looks around, she realizes it’s true. All these people, friends, and allies. Oh, they might have made mistakes along the way, but they’ve also built this. It is a relief and a comfort to find that they are not alone here at the end of all things. “Yeah, we really have.”

“Credit where it is due, darling,” Astarion says, stepping close. “This is almost entirely Liv’s doing.”

Her brother nods as if he believes it. As if he’s not at all surprised. “I’d expect nothing less.”

Some sort of understanding passes between her brother and Astarion, but she’s not quite sure what it is. It’s gone in a moment. “Now, shall we go kill a brain?” Astarion asks with a smile. 

She nods, as ready as she could ever be, even though she doesn’t know the end.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Thoughts on Arcane Season 2 Episode 4.

Spoilers below.

I know you and Vi basically broke up but still damn you didn’t even wait before moving on.

You thought complete massacre of a people was gonna be quick? That’s concerning.

Love how Jinx had found her true calling as a WWE announcer. Good for her honestly.

I do wonder if we’re gonna find out who this kid is.

Awh it was pretend that’s adorable.

And the matching blue hair.

So I’m guessing the rune took Jayce and the others.

I wonder if she ever tried looking for Viktor.

THE entrance.

Oh shit that was the kid too.

No theatrics my arse did you not see the fireworks.

Oh Commander, she really is running the joint.

It’s nice that Cait still has that diplomat in her but she just sounds like a hypocrite. “Why is peace always the justification for violence” I dunno let me go ask the kid you tried to shoot.

You do not have the moral high ground here.

I do love that Ambessa calls forgiveness a strength that she doesn’t have.

A healer huh? Is that what we’re calling Viktor.

Jinx unintentionally becoming a symbol to unite the underground is really interesting.

Her trying to flip off Sevika but her fingers gone. Ah it’s the little things.

Harsh words but it’s true can’t hide out here forever. Especially when everyone wants you gone.

Ayy we finally got a name for this kid.

I don’t even blame blue haired guy for giving em up dude went through a lot.

Sevika makes a way better speech I’m sorry Ambessa. But of course the public wants Jinx. Go Isha for playing the part.

…and yeah they got given up.

Is that the dude from the ending scenes? And they grabbed Isha oh they’re fucked.

Chaos.

Please keep this bunny kid safe.

Didn’t know I needed a Sevika and Jinx prison break but apparently I do.

The “half eaten circus tent” bit is hilarious.

At least she can flip people off now.

And Ambessa is here that’s not good.

God that one person reaching out to hold Jinx’s shoulder and the smile oh my heart. They’re just glad she’s really here. That you aren’t alone and we’ve got your back.

So powerful.

Isha! Hugs! Yess!

Ain’t out the clear yet guys might wanna head home now.

Oh shit the wolves are here.

What the hell did this man do to this wolf? Hey dude maybe come get your boy?

Wait does the wolf recognise her well who she was?

Is that Vander?!

[bmacreadz]

"The Blood Traitor" by Lynette Noni

"The Blood Traitor" is the third (and final) installment in "The Prison Healer" series, and it is a truly grand finale.

"The Blood Traitor" relies heavily on the theme of addiction to tell part of the story. So, if you're sensitive to that, tread lightly.

This final part of the series begins with Kiva facing the fallout of her sister's scheme. She's abandoned and broken, but she befriends an unlikely ally, who seems to be hiding her own secrets. They get through some pretty tough situations until they are separated and the story really begins to take off.

I realize the more I get to know Kiva, the more I cannot understand how she's survived so long on her own. It's actually unbelievable. She's not the fierce heroine that she should be due to her experiences; at least not in my opinion. I wasn't too bothered by this, but it was a little annoying for her to be in constant need of someone's aid - especially after she supposedly survived by herself for so long in Zalindov.

Caution: Spoilers Ahead

Speaking of Zalindov, I was a little disappointed in this series as a whole due to the lack of Zalindov in the second and third books. The series is called "The Prison Healer," but the prison is only briefly revisited in the last book. I would have loved to see more of the story play out in Zalindov - this prison that is supposedly impenetrable, yet somehow these characters keep getting out. The prison was fascinating in book one. It made for a very unique story, but that was about all we got from it.

This book also lacks in the romance department, quite like the others did, but I never felt like I missed it. There were enough platonic interactions with so many of the other characters that it made up for the two main characters who were essentially ignoring each other.

"The Blood Traitor" was definitely more intriguing than "The Gilded Cage," in my opinion, but neither of the books hold up to "The Prison Healer." Despite that, "The Blood Traiter" was faster-paced and genuinely entertaining. The reader got to experience more of Wenderall, however, I would have loved for that to not have been so rushed. Those other kingdoms were truly fascinating and I would love to see a spin-off where Lynette Noni writes more about them.

I also have to say that some of the plot points and resolutions were a bit elementary. I would have wished for things to be less... superficial? Alas, I think that's the YA element once again giving me just a smidge less than I want. So, the novel can't be blamed for that one - I think that just comes with the territory of YA.

I'm not dissatisfied with this book, or this series. It turned out how I hoped, and I really liked these characters and their endings. There were so many plot twists that I didn't count on and I was kept guessing throughout. Lynette Noni really did a wonder with this series. Though it's not on my all-time favorites list, I'm glad I read it. And I'm still glad for the recommendation (sorry for the time it took me to get through it).

[vanillaheartzxx]

OKAY HI YAY THE PROMISED POST OF MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS!!

(very very long post! i tried to section everything incase there is only certain things you care about hearing my opinion on.♡︎) and i did put the name of the video(s) i was mainly talking about at the top, but i’m talking about other videos as well, so please be aware of that! and apologies for any grammar mistakes, i tried to read through it, but i like to have inspiration af late hours of the night where i can barely type 🙂 (i also won’t be talking about project meridian just because i haven’t even caught up to the most recent video, nor vega because i don’t feel like rewatching atm!)

⚠️SPOILERS TO LIKE EVERYTHING⚠️

index…?

1. hush

2. avior

3. brachium

4. solaire clan

ꨄ

1. HUSH⇩

•You Save A Mysterious Stranger’s Life

•There’s A Stranger In Your Apartment

•Getting To Know Your Mysterious Stranger

okay i absolutely adore the voice erik has been using for hush like it’s super like ‘plain’(?) but it’s like perfect for his character. it’s not crazy deep, high, monotone or anything like that. (it’s sweet!)

when his first video came out i wrote some things about it, and here’s what i said (with a couple of edits LOL)

(intial thoughts!)

hush is very, VERY intriguing. but most importantly,

WE’RE EMPOWERED!!!!!!!!

YESSSSS AT FIRST I WAS SCARED WE WERE HUMAN

WE ARE A FUCKING HEALER YESSSS

IM SO SO HAPPY

HE CALLS US DOC YES PLEASEE

(i was feral??)

anyways my hush first episode deep analysis 🤗 (bullshit)

now for hush, i feel like we’ll guess everything under the sun, from that he’s a sovereign, he’s a shade, he’s a demon shade hybrid whatever, and then come to find out he’s actually david’s left asshole hair but i do have some small theories of my own

i feel like he is genuinely a part of the meridian. like a chunk of it. i don’t know what he looks like, (probably a human like body, obviously, or the listener wouldn’t have tried to help). the only reason i say this is because when he was giving the ‘complicated’ answer of what he was, i couldn’t even begin to tell you what the fuck the visuals might have been. (if there were any) i don’t know what the meridian looks like, but maybe that’s what it sounds like? also he has no core.

i would like to mention when the video might have taken place. we have no clue is what i wanted to point out. this could be before the inversion, the day after, the next decade after, the decade before, hundreds of years before, etc. it has become a bit troublesome in that department as erik likes to drop random time and date drops in his story push videos. (ex; avior and elliot, which is very convient i might add)

i’m scared of hush’s intentions like he tied us up after we saved him and i hate when i like evil kind of guys 😭

—————————————————————-

i didn’t finish writing everything i was thinking, but with the most recent videos this is what i have to add on.

hush literally told us straight up ‘i can understand why they think (the articulates, chorus) they have to (send articulates to kill him). oh that’s easy. because they think i’m going to free their god from the prison they’re in. well they think that because that’s *exactly what i’m going to do.*’

UHM OKAY?? huge bomb dropped on us. BUT that solidified to me he was a chunk of meridian. no core, not exactly human, not a demon. (okay thats probably wrong but what the fuck else 😭)

and besides that all i have else to say is for the timing thing, i still have no idea, i want to think it’s after inversion but i’m not sure. (if you have any theories on the timing please let me know what you think!)

but besides all that i think he’s sweet and its cute he’s trying to learn stuff for doc especially cooking 😭💓

ꨄ

2.AVIOR⇩

•Facing a Disaster With Your Demon Lover

there was definitely a lot happening in one episode. (also i watched it when it was released so my memory of every detail is bit iffy, spare me 🙏) it was like heartbreak all over again, hearing lasko stressed out and all the people screaming and yelling definitely wasn’t pleasant, but it was interesting seeing what else happened on the outside besides what we already know.

also, the inversion has been almost two years ago now. so i really wonder how starlight and avior are doing in present time. i would say ‘hopefully peaceful’ but present time isn’t even peaceful 🙃

honestly its been a while since i’ve watched all avior lore, and i think when the next lore(?) video of him comes out i’ll theorize a bit more, this post is definitely long but i don’t want it to be too extensive. (bullshit)

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3.BRACHIUM⇩

•What Lies Below

WHY DID HE AGREE WITHOUT KNOWING 😭

my heart broke when he agreed to that ‘deal’ just to find out why blake’s lover would die and HE DIDNT KNOW WHAT HE WAS AGREEING TO. AND THEN TO FIND PUT HE HAS TO HELP THEM?? WHY

now he has to do whatever they say to help?? why 😭

and why do the sovereigns need to use blake and bestie(?) i only ask because is hush not going to free them? well to be fair we have no idea when this thing with hush is even taking place, or when bestie is set to die, or what blake is even going to do when he ‘breaks’ to free them.

and what if his will is strong enough and he doesn’t break? or his listener doesn’t die? 🤗 (wishful thinking guys!)

but actually going back to the audio whoever brachium was talking to DID say,

‘He is a tool. One that has to be broken so that it can be refashioned to a new purpose.’

KEY WORD: REFASHIONED. maybe hush is a chunk of meridian, but with blake’s body..? but he has not core. OKAY IDFK BUT he must be related to hush somehow i just don’t know how. i’ll think on it more. but blake is only a seer so i really don’t know what he could do with his current power, but who knows really.

also the entity (that’s just what i’m calling him idk) brachium was talking to said (in response to: ‘Accept a deal that I have no details of?’) ‘You’ve done it before. The blind choice to become a deathwalker.’ that has me so very curious on what the process of becoming a death walker was like. (okay it probably was explained sort of somewhere, but i don’t remember.) the entity also said ‘You say it was in service of lives.’ whose lives? i have no idea! wow great! 😀

but actually i have no ideas so hopefully everything will be explained eventually 😭

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4. VINCENT, PORTER, MONARCHAL SUMMIT⇩

•Supporting Your Vampire Prince Lover

•Drawn In By An Alluring Vampire

•The Vampire Boys Have It Out

•The Monarchal Summit

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A LOT A STUFF HAPPENED REGARDING THE SOLAIRES

i’ll start with first vincent’s video regarding the summit. WILL IS ACTING FISHY AS FUCK?? he’s hosting the monarchal summit, but he’s just NOT GOING TO BE THERE?? and is leaving everything to vincent?!? how does that even equate?? and then his fishy attitude towards ALEXIS?? that just seems sketch. (i want to get into william more, but talk about porter rq, ig.)

porter solaire. HES BRITISH.(🎊🎉) he’s quite charming, (when he wants to be,) but i can see where vincent and porter’s disagreement came from, but it was semi-resolved (they still have a bit of conflict) so i’m not going to go into and i’m just gonna dissect the summit!

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okay the beginning made me so freaking happy to see the boys hanging out with each other!! and especially the friendly banter 😭💓

AND VINCENT GIVING LOVELY A CROWN MY HEART AUGH 💗🥲

and idk if michaela (william’s secretary!) with have anything to do with the story but it’s cool when characters have names even if you don’t know them 👍

anyways into the more not so heartwarming parts, alexis solaire.! SHE HAS THE PERFECT PERSON TO VOICE HER. that is EXACTLY how i’d imagined she’d sound. and honestly how’d she act as well. i didn’t think she’d be nice to darlin, but i was definitely thinking more of a nasty glare, growl, show of teeth or something and not full on banter, and insults, but i guess that’s just how she acts.

WHERE IS WILLIAM SOLAIRE?? WHERE. like there is no way he just was like, ‘yes vincent, take of the entire planning of the summit, that i’m supposed to be hosting. 😊 and also, i’m not even going to tell you why! and the day of i’m not even going to talk to you! let alone on the phone! 🥰’ LIKE?? AND THEN SOMEONE DIES?? (we’ll get to that.) SERIOUSLY?!

and then ‘House of Baz(?) (truly not sure how it’s spelled) starts saying ‘Make sure Quinn burns.’ ‘It’s not only your pack who wants him dead.’ ‘Quinn has friends and you can’t count on William to keep them at bay.’ (not quotes btw just a summary!) EXCUSE ME??? 😭 WHAT DO YOU MEAN?? DROPPING BOMBSHELLS AND WILLIAM ISNT EVEN THERE TO SAY ANYTHING. AND NOT ONLY BUT HE HIS DISSING ALL OF THEM 💀 ‘Even the golden prince Vincent has spent most of his afterlife as a covert risking menace to the region.’ AND THATS A DIRECT QUOTE. HE IS FLAMING THEM 😭 and with each sentence i swear he is backhandedly insults William and he can’t even be there to defend his name LMAO

but, it does say a lot about him. (i guess if this guy is a semi-reliable source.) ‘William is a horrible judge of character.’ ‘He can throw a fabulous party but can’t surround himself with the right people.’ ’He shields and excuses Alexis and her misgivings.’ ’He apparently delights in trusting the wrong ones.’ HE IS VIOLATING HIM. VIOLATING. this is not me saying all that is not potentially true, but damn 😭 i mean he’s 500+, give him a break? but then again WHERE IS HE??? (lowkey concerned for his safety)

a small little thing with alexis and porter, then the main event.

alexis and sam still must have a small little understanding since she decided to leave darlin alone (as she said at least) but alexis full on said that darlin was dog and he didn’t say anything 😭 i mean i guess he wasn’t trying to argue further but i just took notice.

i was trying to theorize where porters info came from, and all i can think of is a seer. (boring way out ik) now if it was a seer he talked to before the event, (which is why he came back in the first place, possibly, maybe.) he knew they were going to have that conversation, and so he told sweetheart to spy, but then im not sure if he knew that death was going to to happen, but im not sure. or maybe he heard rumors, or overheard them saying they may had that conversation which makes more sense, but hopefully more will be revealed.

WHAT WERE THEY TALKING ABOUT??!

‘If we had waited for you to make decisions two years ago “King” then the entire Inversion would have been for nothings” EXCUSE ME??! okay, okay, i kinda don’t believe this. maybe they had some connection to it. and yes i skipped some so let’s talk about them funding closeknit.

okay so they are funding closeknit because they want to people to join, but the amount of people joining and staying are plummeting because the inversion was two years ago. i have a sneaking suspicion that the reason they were like ‘the inversion was for nothing’ was because closeknit had convinced them somehow that they were the cause, and it would draw people in, and then they’d(house of bennett) would have power. there isn’t a lot of context, but definitely eye openers.

the only thing we have right now to go on is that the sovereigns caused the inversion, (releasing the dead ig? idfk too much shit to keep track of) and i don’t know if they have the power, (or closeknit even) to cause the inversion.

also regarding the timing thing i said about hush earlier, i do believe his whole shabang is in present time because nothing is happening. everything inversion related, sovereigns related, whatever is happening is IN THE PAST. which means in present time blake’s listener could already be dead AND he could have already have ‘broke’ and has something to do with hush (possibly) to help free them.

i was trying to think if closeknit didn’t actually cause the inversion (what i think) but tried to convince the house of bennet to fund them, (if they weren’t already,) it would be showing them the shade. idk bro im grasping onto loose strings here 😭 but PLEASE let me know your theories (that might be the case that blake ‘broke’ in maybe 2022 and he was being kept for a while like the articulate who came to doc’s apartment said.)

(back to the summit♡︎)

DEATH OR MURDER??

okay so the obvious suspect is sweetheart right? king of bennett and prince(?) of bennett having a VERY interesting and PRIVATE conversation, sweetheart goes in to spy on said conversation, those two hear a sound, it wasn’t just a mouse, and then the king of bennett is dead. i think it’s easiest to assume murder. and what could have naturally killed him…? nothing. to my knowledge. 😊

MURDER ( only viable option..?)

first i want to quickly talk about porter and vincent’s interaction before i talk about how the king may have died. porter tried to start a fight with vincent which i assume was for one of two reasons. one, to make a distraction so people would pay attention to them and sweetheart had a chance to leave, OR because he had something to do with the murder and maybe a distraction was apart of the plan. i think the latter.

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i don’t think alexis is the killer. ‘but she knew he was dead before anyone!’ what motive did she have? none that i know of, and neither did porter(well maybe he knew that conversation was happening could be one but whatever.)

BUT i guess sweetheart may have had a tiny ass motive as they might have been angry at what they heard, (after all milo went through) BUT i don’t think they would do that. and even if they got caught they would have to murder both of them for them not to get in trouble. now my tiny theory is that sweetheart DID get caught spying and maybe the prince thought the king sent someone to assassinate him and then yk but whatever (far fetched 😔) IDFK we don’t even know the cause of death. 😭 Alexis just said he’s dead, not ‘the king of Bennett was killed’ or some shit so we don’t even know. and as a vampire, how many causes of death could he really have? does garlic and wooden stakes apply?? can he get murdered in regular human fashion?? WAS HE EVEN MURDERED??

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as you can tell this post has many questions and zero fucking answers. like could he have been poisoned?? what can vampires be killed by in the redacted universe?? i’m guessing the number one suspect is the person who was in the room with him ‘alone’, but i feel that’s too obvious. and i mean we don’t know the exact time jump from when the king was killed, from when porter was trying to instigate a reaction from vincent, from when alexis found the body, when sweetheart went to spy, etc. we don’t even know exactly where the body was found. 😭 so i’m not going to settle on any one person being ‘the killer’ for now until another video is released but i have a feeling it won’t be like an exact continuation of the summit and maybe like an aftermath type video. idk but we’ll wait and see i guess.

Random(er) Thoughts + Conclusion

HE POSTED AN OLLIE VIDEO?? THAT MEANS WE’RE FUCKED‼️

(calm before the storm, great!) 💔

also credits to kilarthmac in the youtube comments!! i don’t know if you have a tumblr but your comments helped with this post immensely, (and many others,) thank you! 💓

im also interested in when the wedding might be!! i know the timing is usually around a year of engagement before marriage so maybe in early spring 2024!! just a thought! (super exciting)

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anyways i hope maybe my thoughts and opinions could help you with any of your theories or anything, maybe expand them or something idk. if you read the entire thing thank you for doing so! i hope it was somewhat enjoyable 👍 (and my apologies for it being so long ♡︎) i’m excited to see what comes next with everything, erik is very talented with his writing and acting so we’ll see what’s to come. if you have any comments about anything i said (adding on, reasons why things may or may not be true) PLEASE SHARE THEM WITH ME!! i would truly love to hear them! thank you!!

BYE BYE!! ♡︎

[vengeanceofthenight]

Am I the only one really disappointed with that? Spoilers below for the Barriss arc of Tales of the Empire

Like honestly, tales of the empire was really a let down. We finally get Barriss back as a character and an opportunity to really see her continue down the dark path she put herself on in the Clone Wars and the writers seem like they were too cowardly to actually show a previously good character do some dark shit? In star wars of all things????

We get Barriss as an inquisitor for barely even a day before she dips.

The episode shows her being released from prison by the fourth sister, trained once (that we see) by the grand inquisitor, after she passes her test by tapping into the darkside and killing a fellow inquisitor applicant she gets her first mission .

She fights some random Jedi who she feels sorry for and immediately shows mercy to, then kicks the Fourth Sister down a cliff and escapes to what looks like Ilum of all fucking places and becomes a healer and ages like 100+ years in the process? Then we get teased that Vader could have tracked her down and is there to do the deed, it isn’t even him, just the same Fourth Sister inquisitor because shes sooo important to Barriss’ story?? Who then on top of it all kills her by accident and feels bad about it😒

We could’ve had so much better. They don’t even tease/mention Luminara, we could’ve had a real master and apprentice reunion that showed Barris taking her down which ties directly into how they captured Luminara at the Spire. They don’t even show Vader having any reaction to knowing who Barriss is at all and he doesn’t even have any interaction with her period!

Barriss basically gets her character and her story thrown away for the sake of them both wanting to actually show a good person doing bad shit for any longer than the five minutes it took for her to kill a fellow ex jedi and then welp she remembers shes a good person and with the power of good thoughts and disney bullshit shes gonna immediately stop being an inquisitor after one fucking mission. Like they forget this is the same character that quite literally BOMBED THE JEDI TEMPLE, FRAMED HER BEST FRIEND FOR IT, AND STRAIGHT UP PICKED A FIGHT WITH STAR WARS JESUS WITH RED LIGHTSABERS SHE STOLE FROM A SITH ASSASSIN??? And now they’re like oh nah she was just mad at the jedi. Okay that makes sense but how do you let someone go from that, to “oh no this Jedi is hurt they may die we gotta save them” fuck all the way out of here.

I’m thoroughly disappointed. What a thematic waste of potential.