#shoutout to a bond to duty strong than the self

[wolfythewitch]

Weight of the world- citizen soldier

For ody

Omg I haven't heard citizen soldier in so long ty

Also from the lyrics and my very little knowledge of the Aeneid, that feels very Aeneas

[siren-brainrot-boogaloo]

Seros, the Executioner, the Exile, the Winged Woodsman

Fun Fact sheet about my angelic Unicorn Overlord OC

He/Him, transmasc, 28 years old

Class: Featherbow (Precise, Offensive)

Lived alone in a roughshod cabin on the outskirts of Fontille Harbor. The locals of the harbor only know him as The Winged Woodsman, who only comes to town for the occasional purchase and mostly keeps to himself.

Joins The Liberation after offering supporting fire during an ambush by flying between the Zenoiran ruins and using them as cover while providing assists through the fight. Upon being recruited by Alain for his aid during the fight, he decides it's time to see the world again after being a hermit for years, and it's time to finally fight back against Zenoira.

Personality

Seros is socially awkward and blunt, but has his own brand of kindness and care that he readily metes out to keep The Liberation safe in their quest to liberate the world from Zenoira's grasp.

Isn't particularly well educated, though he has a natural curiosity that leads him to collecting books of all kinds, as well as asking a lot of questions of his new companions.

Years of isolation and self-sustaining have made Seros into a very skilled hunter and cook. He shares hunting duty with Rolf and cooking duty with Chloe and Renault.

Compared to many other angels, Seros is pragmatic and borderline secular after years alone in the woods. He prays to The Father after fights, wishing the souls of those whose lives he ends a safe passage to the heavens, but only then, and doesn't show much remorse for the killing.

Seros develops a strong friendship with Aubin quickly, both of them sharing a practical worldview and appreciation for the world and its various sights and cultures. They bond over doing what they need to survive, as well as their mutual desire to protect their pack; finding the two of them are much more loyal to their comrades than their pragmatic exteriors imply. Aubin's extroversion, social skills, and confidence help bring Seros out of his shell, whereas Seros's methodical, introspective, observant personality gives him plenty of insights that Aubin enjoys hearing. They broaden each others' minds and worldviews, and are similarly straightforward people. Eventually, their bond evolves to romance and a deeply mutual loyalty.

Backstory

Before the start of the game, he was an executioner for Albion, and was responsible for executing a spy discovered to be gathering information on the Pontifex.

Said spy was a man Seros had fallen for during his cover days as a civilian, and in an act of mercy, discreetly let him go before his execution date.

The spy would go on to inform Zenoira that Scarlett was the Pontifex's daughter, and where she went into hiding. For endangering Scarlett's life and undermining the government of Albion, Seros was exiled overseas, and Fontille harbor was the closest port he could get to.

Left with nothing but some rations and whatever he could carry, Seros scavenged the woods and ruins for the materials needed to build shelter, and has lived, alone, ever since.

Lil drawing of his back and how I think the angel shirts would be cut so their wings can pop out

Also. Bonus scribble kiss.

I really wanna hear more about any Unicorn Overlord OC's y'all are cooking out there, we could spin scenarios or inspire fic off of each other, yakno?

Shoutout to @a-anima and @creativegoblin for emboldening my brainrot, and @runicmagitek for showing me that good UO fanfic DOES exist and we should keep writing more of it.

[tryingthisfangirlthing]

@viennainspringtime said: May I ask about Bering and Wells Greek mythology? (I don’t trust mobile asks to go through on Tumblr, hence the reply here XD)

Of course you may, and thank you so very much for doing so!

(Also a shoutout to @fouralarmfireinanoilrefinery who expressed interest in this too!)

So this was a completely self-indulgent idea that sprung out of me naming my pet snake Myka (and probably at least a little out of Jaime Murray playing Aphrodite in Valentine).

And the idea started out with just talking!snake!Myka and like Helena wandering the world with a friend around her neck. Then I started reading and looking into mythology a bit more (specifically Medusa and the Gorgons) and it exploded. Again.

Myka went from snake to Gorgon to masked priestess of Athena (as people speculate that the Medusa myth was based on an actual massacre at a temple). I still wanted to get the snake part in somehow, though.

It’s an ever-evolving idea, but the current synopsis is: Helena is some part demigoddess (of uncertain parentage, though she hopes to the high heavens it wasn’t Zeus) with its various perks and downsides. Her daughter died of some stupid run-of-the-mill illness, which simply should not have happened to her child. Being who she is, she’s willing to walk into Hades herself and get her back. (Her daughter’s name is not Christina, because that is not a Greek name; I kind of like Acantha or Iris instead.) Not being utterly out of her mind (yet), she asks the gods, specifically Athena, for help before walking into hell.

Myka was the sole survivor of a temple massacre and has basically been beating herself up about it since, survivor’s guilt and all (maybe cue something about being late, having left the gate open for convenience when she went for a walk, some ordinarily innocuous mistake to parallel her whole Sam’s death complex). She keeps begging Athena for some way to redeem herself, and so finally Athena kind of sighs and gives her a quest, to get Helena out of Hades back alive (because Apollo will be pissed if his currently-favorite-ish daughter is killed and she didn’t at least offer some semblance of help, even if it’s really #not her problem, she’d like to avoid that particular spat, thank you).

And Helena is wondering how on earth a priestess with probably minimal adventuring skills will be of help, but she’s willing to give Myka the benefit of the doubt. They also receive what is supposed to be a smaller sort of oracle, a bit of divine guidance whispering in their ears if they need it, in the form of a talking snake. (Though it seems to want to help, said snake’s guidance is dubious at best and it mostly provides snarky commentary. They were originally going to call it Delphina, but Claudia is the one that stuck.)

Cue the journeying and the talking and the bonding and the learning about each other. Myka has her own “I will protect her with my life — for my goddess, of course” brand of denial. Myka tries to do exactly that, and when she’s struck unconscious by an animal Helena’s heart sticks in her throat, and she covers her fear with fury. Myka reads through it, though, and revels a bit in the care before she guiltily reminds herself of her duty in this. (Athena and Claudia are just shaking their heads at these two idiots.)

Myka starts wondering if she can’t take the friends she lost with her out of Hades, too, and wrestles with the implications of resurrecting a person, wavering between “Athena sent me to help Helena with this” and “she didn’t send me to get her daughter out of Hades, only Helena.” And there’s the regular heroic gauntlet through the guardians of Hades, until they have to petition Persephone. And she’s surprisingly understanding, offers the tour, even allows Helena to see her daughter again — but they can’t take anyone back with them.

Helena tries, screams, cries, but Christina (fine, maybe I will just go with Christina) can’t hear her, or see her, or touch her — but she looks so happy here, running and playing in the fields, such a stark contrast to when she was ill in bed. The hopes Myka hadn’t quite realized she’d been harboring wilt more quietly, and she keeps her promise: she helps a quietly broken Helena up the path back out again. (And it’s just as well that she had someone to be strong for, otherwise she might have just stayed down there and let herself wither away.)

And they talk and process what they’ve both lost — Helena isn’t so blind as to think herself the only one who’d been missing someone dear — and somewhere there’s a quiet kiss, more of comfort than anything else, and they promise one another they’ll start trying to live again, together.

I haven’t actually written much of it yet. I kept starting the damn thing and stopping again because I wasn’t happy with the whole rambling telling introduction thing I fell into. But I think I know how to start now. ^^

[griffinsnoir]

nb-ace-in-the-menagerie asked: We’re there any Mass Effect companions Calpernia got along really well with?

Calpernia got on well with most everyone, but her especially notable are her friendships with: 

Kaidan, Miranda, Samara, James, an Extra Special Shoutout to Garrus and Tali and a very special shoutout to Ashley!

This isn’t to say she doesn’t value everyone else, but her relationship with these guys is particularly special or different.

So let’s see:

Kaidan

Kaidan and Calpernia share a very special bond. I mean they ended up dating in Mass Effect 3 so of course he’s very special to her.

And I think it’s because they’re very much alike: dutiful, stubborn, honest... powerful human biotics...

He always tells her how he feels and for the most part she always had a clear understanding of where she stood with him. She admires his abilities and has absolute faith in him—and that trust has never wavered.

That’s part of the reason she was never really angry at him for his comments on Horizon. I mean she was hurt but never really angry.

He was the first person she opened herself up to and he keeps her grounded. So even when he was angry at her, she never stopped believing they’d be friends again.

And she was right. It took some time but they worked through everything and finally resolved the romantic tension between them!

Kaidan fell for her very early on but his interest was very subtle so Calpernia didn’t notice. She was too focused. But Calpernia did develop strong feelings of… ‘Camaraderie’ towards him.

Such strong feelings of Camaraderie, in fact, something about him not being at her side in ME2 felt wrong. She missed him a little too much and didn’t understand why he occupied her thoughts so often. (The feeling she had was love but she hadn’t noticed it yet.)

So yeah, ya girl is a little dense lol

She had a late love epiphany thus didn’t know she was in love until he broke her heart on Horizon.

Even after they became friends again it still took her a while to notice his feelings for her—he had to be very blatant about it for her to catch on and it didn't help that Calpernia didn't give him any indication of her feelings—but they got their eventually lol

Miranda

Unlike either Kaidan or Ashley, Calpernia and Miranda got off to a pretty bad start. She was difficult to get along with but they’re both remarkably similar and needed the same thing: To reclaim their humanity from the impossible standards they (and others) placed upon them(selves). For Calpernia, reclaiming her personhood and humanity was something that began in ME1. It cemented in ME2 and was tested in ME3. She wobbled but came out with her humanity (and life) intact. I imagine that the same could be said for Miranda and alot of that was because Shepard helped her. She made Miranda feel like asking for help and acknowledging her faults wasn’t the end of the world. Which is why their casino scene in the Citadel DLC makes me so happy! They’re both so efficient at what they do and it’s consumed so much of their time that neither knows how to be a civilian and have a normal Girls Night but they’re going to try! And then Miranda’s admittance that no one is perfect brings everything from their first few conversations full Circle. Miranda isn’t perfect and neither is Calpernia. It’s no exaggeration for me to say that Miranda is Calpernia’s best friend.

Samara

Now I could go on and on about the relationship between Calpernia and Samara but I’ll try to keep short as I can.

Their relationship is full of ironic parallels that Calpernia fails to notice.

Calpernia admires and Respects Samara a lot. She admires her serenity, wisdom and strong resolve.

I mean, Samara is the type of person who makes ‘getting the job done’ look easy, she’s level-headed, cool, and fearless. And though she might be, uh, intense she does bring about a sense of comfort. Because having Samara seems like guaranteed victory (ironically, these are traits commonly attributed to Calpernia herself— she of course doesn’t notice the parallel.)

But what Calpernia really likes about her, is that beneath her tough Justicar exterior is someone whose subject to the same vulnerabilities as everyone else. She loves getting to know that part of Samara and she loves that Samara trusts her with that part of her. (Again, Ironically, this mirrors the way Shepard let down her walls to let her Companions get to know her as a person. Calpernia doesn’t notice.)

But of course, there are things she does notice, like how both of them place the mission before their feelings and the way others view them as unapproachable and scary.  

But As I mentioned, Calpernia regaining her sense of self outside of the ‘Commander Shepard’ box she’s placed herself into is most of her character development and it’s really starting to take effect in Mass Effect 2. So while they’re still similar, Calpernia has begun to drift unto different path. Her mission is still first, but she’s now open to a personal life.

So having someone there who has it all together is…comforting, Even if she doesn’t take the same path.

She misses being that sure; She missed the guidelines and regulations and Carefully Executed Loopholes that informed her behavior and actions. She misses the clarity she had when she pushed away everything that wasn’t the mission.

But then her crew wiggled their way into her heart and Having them made her realized how hard it is to be alone and fight for some abstract concept. But when the people who want to protect are Right There…it becomes easier and makes her resolve that much stronger.

So, Ironically, opening herself up and making friends only made her a better soldier lol

They share different perspectives but understand each other better than most others would.

James

Being someone’s Friend or Commander is different than being their Mentor and, well, that’s what she got to be with James.

He looked toward her for Guidance and so she helped him.

But that really brings everything full circle for her.

The games begin with her under Anderson’s Wing and now she’s, more or less, taken someone under hers.

James has promise: talent, an impressive service record and is even on his way to becoming an N7! But then he’s also excitable and emotional and overall very different than she is; He likes to joke and flirt and get under her skin—I mean you’d think he’d treat someone he looks up to with a little more respect!

Still, he means no harm and Calpernia understands that—in fact, his cheerful presence is very much needed.

And that I think that, when you’re invited to join the N7 program it’s because you’ve shown the same level of proficiency in the traits other N7s share: bravery, strength, creative problem solving, etc…

Anderson and Shepard get along because they share a set of unique qualities–and I’d like to think the same could be said for Shepard and James. They met when Calpernia was grounded but he always respected her and she appreciated his support.

They went through a rough patch on the Normandy but it was easy to reconciled once Calpernia dished out the hard advice.

And though they did become friends, their Mentor, Protege relationship blossomed after the Reaper War.

I mentioned that I headcanon that Calpernia helped to recruit new N7s–and James was amongst the first bunch of new candidates.

While everyone else was impressed and/or intimidated, James treated her no different than always. He teased her about being ‘Out of Her Prime’ and probably called her Grandma at some point but he has nothing but respect for her lol

He goes to her for advice and likes to talk about how things are going and she’s extremely proud of him.

Garrus and Tali

I put these two together because they fill a similar position in Calpernia’s heart.

A list like this wouldn’t be complete without them!

Those two have been there through it all. They’ve stood with her against all sorts of impossible odds and depends on them for support.

No one else knows what Shepard’s been through like they have—like, you can tell someone about the Collector Base but the pure horror of it all? You just had to be there y’know?

And so in that sense, they’re like…siblings. Three people who came up together.

With Garrus someone she can pal around and compete with. He is 100% her best bro.

With Tali, Shepard goes full on ‘Mom Friend’ No one messes with Tali when she’s around!

And together they form a pretty balanced combat trio.

Whenever she’s feeling unsure of what or who the mission needs, Garrus and Tali are the two she’ll call first.

There’s is a friendship that will definitely last a lifetime.

Ashley 

Compared to the rest, Calpernia didn’t know Ashley for very long.

But still, Ashley reminded Calpernia very much of herself–she was a survivor, a soldier willing and ready to go, they shared an interest in old literature and Ashley wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. I already mentioned that Calpernia did try to save both Ashley and Kaidan by splitting up from her Squad but she was unsuccessful. Losing her is one of Calpernia’s greatest regrets. Before her final stand against the Reapers, Calpernia traded her usual Red Armor for Standard Alliance Blue. But then she added a very non-standard Pink Stripe on her arm in honor of Ashley and the rest of her fallen friends and allies.