#terra. interact

[mazeheart]

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 @hollowedmagic

it was like for a split second , terra forgot that starfire didn't remember their time with the titans. the blonde almost let out a sigh of relief. " it's fine , i'm fine , " she assured as she lets out a laugh. " considering it a warning. if i ever seem like a shitty friend in the near future. "

[mazeheart]

" everything is circumstantial , " tara waved her hand. she knew they'd never agree on the subject matter of lying ; but this was perhaps the closest they'd get to a middle ground. she fidgeted as mike explained the good that comes from bad experiences. maybe he had a point , but she didn't know if it outweighed the bad. " there's more than one way to learn a lesson , " she countered. " some better than others. " she wasn't sure what she'd give to be in the scenario in which she forgot her past life. as much as the past you live makes you who are today , what does it matter when you don't like who you are ?? " hey , i don't know either , " she said as she playfully gave him a light punch on the arm. " it's just a suggestion ... it's not over until you say it's over. you just ... can't give up entirely , yeah ?? " she shrugged. " she means a lot to you , right ?? she worth it ? "

◟ ★ ⊰ " it's very circumstantial, " mike emphasized, still making his stance on lying known. he didn't agree with it, but it was occasionally justified. lying to protect was one thing, but lying to avoid issues was something else entirely. it was important to be truthful, because friends weren't supposed to lie. he wouldn't press for answers on her situation, because it was her own to deal with. he figured if his input was wanted, she'd had requested it herself. " i can get where you're coming from, but the bad parts can also teach you lessons and help you avoid certain mistakes in the future, " he pointed out. he'd learned a lot since meeting el, for example. there were things he knew how to deal with now that he'd never known how to deal with before. " i don't know, " he said, shaking his head. " maybe you're right about that, i don't know. "

[teeo-sherry]

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it Markus”

[cherrytastiq]

nemesisters + air slash galactica

[lonelysa1lor]

Evil Magic Plant Woman vs A different evil guy who has a plant based curse

[mazeheart]

" yes you are , " she insisted. as he stated he never had alcohol , tara nodded. " that explains ... " she paused to take a deep breath , " so much. " she giggled mostly to herself. she reached over and playfully pinched his cheek. " such an innocent baby mikey , " she cooed as she let him go. " you better let me be there for your first drink. " her expression fell at the question. " because , " her nose crinkled as she thought. was she about to out beast boy as a shape shifter ? that felt wrong. that'd be another betrayal , wouldn't it be ?? in a way ??? " because ... " she started again , her stare blank as she looked at mike in the eye. " he's like really good with animals , " she explained. maybe it was a lame excuse , but it was all her drunk brain could come up with. it wasn't a total lie , at least. she held the stare before blinking back to her drunk normal. " he doesn't even eat animals. that's how much he loves them , " she further elaborated. she shrugged her shoulders , like there was nothing else to add. " don't you and your friends have stupid nicknames for each other ? " she didn't note his lack of response at if it was lame he was her best friend. even if it was , she didn't care. she didn't need to note that she wasn't his best friend in return. she wasn't even going to ask. if anything , she was the worst friend. i mean , what kind of person drags out her friend just to watch her drink and have fun , when they're completely sober ? maybe he didn't complain , but now he was the one taking care of her drunk ass. " yes yes ... good ... good ... options are good ... "

◟ ⋆ ❛ he  didn't  know  about  the  things  tara  had  seen  ,  he  knew  she'd  definitely  seem  some  horrors  in  her  time  ,  but  he  wondered  if  they  were  similar  to  her  own  .  maybe  then  she'd  understand  why  he  was  constantly  worried  .  he  was  always  scared  that  vecna  or  brenner  or  some  other  horrible  force  was  going  to  show  up  .  he  knew  they  didn't  have  the  manpower  to  stop  them  ,  not  yet  .  “  i'm  not  a  worry  wart  ,  ”  he  told  her  ,  squinting  .  “  well  ,  no  .  .  .  i  haven't  .  i've  never  had  any  alcohol  before  .  ”  to  him  ,  it  wasn't  really  a  massive  deal  .  he'd  have  it  eventually  ,  but  he  wasn't  in  any  sort  of  rush  .  “  why  ?  ”  mike  asked  ,  shaking  his  head  .  maybe  it  was  a  little  personal  ,  he  was  just  trying  to  understand  .  he  couldn't  help  but  chuckle  at  her  query  .  considering  the  fact  that  he  was  quite  the  nerd  in  high  school  ,  he  could  only  surmise  that  it  was  lame  ,  and  would've  likely  been  embarrassing  if  she  was  in  hawkins  with  him  instead  of  here  .  he  was  just  glad  to  be  getting  out  of  that  place  ,  really  .  mike  shrugged  ,  not  having  really  had  anything  specific  in  mind  .  “  there's  probably  a  lot  of  places  around  here  that  just  serve  both  ,  so  we  can  go  to  one  of  them  .  that  way  ,  you  have  as  many  options  as  you  want  to  have  ,  ”  he  suggested  .

[auriidae]

hello my dearest tumblr mutuals. if i were to create some form of discord server would u be interested in joining?

[strayheartless]

Don’t think I ever expressed just how much I really love Terraqua as a ship. Like there’s nothing about their vibe to me that says they are not so incredibly in love with each other. Like generally speaking I have never really been a straight ship girlie. I have a couple for shows I watch that I’m not in the official “fandom” for but like, but Terraqua is just a cut above the rest.

Because they give the same vibes as Soriku. These Two friends who have known each-other for nearly their entire lives, sharing space and loving and laughing. And sure, like with most KH ships it can be read as platonic but there’s just something about the way Terra and Aqua move in each others space, the way they look at each other that just UGH! It’s everything.

Don’t get me wrong I’ve been known to enjoy al little bit of Terrarium and Aqua flirting with Cinderella, but those two are just endgame to me. I think Partly it’s to do with how Aqua reacts to Zack Fair in the Colosseum. When he says he wants a date she’s really flattered and doesn’t say no but the whole exchange is bracketed by this sense that She’s looking for Terra and therefore can’t, while Zack is kind of not quite Terra.

He’s physically very similar to Terra and Narratively speaking Zack kind of has that air to him in Crisis Core of the hero fighting against his own internal emotions about friendship and power. But he’s not Terra.

Maybe it’s a little boy-next-door, but I sort of like that for them. This idea that they’ve been right there this whole time and they just had to see. And you only do see when dating and relationships start to become relevant to you. Zack saying “how about one date?” Is kind of like that coming of age moment in films where everyone’s starting to date and people are asking the main girl and she tries but she just wants to be with her best friend.

The best friend to lovers narrative is underrated with straight ships because the reality is, THAT IS WHO YOU WANT TO BE IN LOVE WITH!! If you are lucky enough to have a partner who is your best friend and gets all of your weird quirks it’s such an amazing feeling. It’s like coming home to yourself, or the person who is literally a warm tension melting hug personified.

And that’s all I want for Terra and Aqua man… I just want them to look at each other and be like “damn I feel so lucky that I get to love you.”

Ughhhhhhh gods I just love them so much!

[necrotic-nephilim]

this is an invitation to ramble about slade/batboy ships: sladick, sladejay, sladetim, sladedami, and other batfam member/villain ships, especially jayroman and ra'stim :)

AAAAAA this is so delightful oh my god thank you. adding a read more just because this one is going to get Long to cover all the ships and all my opinions. because my god do i love Slade.

firstly, the original Robin/villain ship, SlaDick. Slade Wilson, literally created to be a Teen Titans villains, with the original Robin he cannot be normal about ever. i'm so sad there's not much interest in Slade aside from making him a generic Evil Guy who canonically likes teenagers because i think to just boil down his complex with Dick to 'weird attraction' robs them of SUCH nuance. Slade *trusts* Dick, he trusts Dick enough to ask Dick to train his own daughter Rose. and initially Slade's complex over Dick isn't sexual, it's seeing Dick as a replacement for his dead son, Grant. that's messy as hell and i love them for it. i don't think there's a single villain that has the respect for Dick that Slade has. i'm always of the opinion Dick's attraction to Slade is rooted in daddy issues and Slade's attraction to Dick is rooted in dead son issues. do i think they could end up as an old married couple? yes but only in a world where Dick is completely broken and feels alone. my favorite SlaDick flavor is post-Jason's death. Dick and Bruce are arguably at their worst during that era to begin with so Dick is pretty isolated and emotionally unstable. and Slade would take such advantage of that, swooping in to offer Dick emotional stability and fucked up sex to get out pent up emotions. (i'm big a big fan of Dick fucking out his feelings tbh) and Slade is just. this sort of bad habit Dick will kick for a year or two then come crawling back to. you can directly track how well Bruce and Dick are getting along based on how many times Dick has slept with Slade recently. and that's the prize, for Slade. knowing Dick will come back to him, eventually. it's all about patience. and if something really extreme happened to Dick (like Bruce's fake death) i think they'd even date briefly. it's not entirely impossible for Dick to date someone he disagrees with morally (see: his flings with Helena) and i think Dick would keep trying to 'save' Slade, using the upper hand he has of filling in this role of Slade's dead son to try to domesticate him. would it work? who knows but if anyone is going to try over and over, it's going to be Dick. it's practically self-harm for Dick yet the only thing keeping him sane. i love them.

SladeJay is... an interesting one for me. because i like the *potential*. but they have no significant interactions pre-Flashpoint. and while usually i can forgive New-52 and Rebirth for their grievances if it has ship fodder i just... can't do that for Jason. Judd Winick's Jason is the only Jason that exists to me so even Slade and Jason's canon interactions matter little to me because it's not the version of Jason i care for. the upside of that though, is it's more of a sandbox to explore what they could be and there are no limitations. i can just run wild. which is fun bc. you're telling me Slade wouldn't be so drawn in by the idea of a dead Robin who's come back and is now the antithesis of Bruce's morality? i think at some point Slade would want to poke the bear, really see what Red Hood is made of. do i see them working long-term? no but i do think Jason would have zero qualms working with Slade if he got something out of it. and if he could fuck with Bruce or Dick by having a short, fucked up relationship with Slade? that's even better. i don't think Slade could ever truly respect Jason, at the end of the day the Dick Grayson standard is too high and Slade would sneer at the idea of a legacy who fucked it up so bad he got blown up. but, he'd see that as Bruce's failure more than Jason's. and for Jason to have someone look him in the eye and say that Bruce *failed* him? i think that'd just *do* something to Jason. and Slade has lost a son, he knows what that loss feels like, how you feel you failed as a father. would he have interest in being fatherly to Jason? no but i think he'd have fun momentarily manipulating Jason and seeing what reactions he gets out of what jeers. Jason's been calling himself a failure this whole time, so to have someone else say it is no real big deal, but to have someone else say it's Bruce's fault and voice Jason's feelings? they'd have the most fucked up sex with the most unhealthy dirty talk that's both gentle and degrading. i don't think Jason would ever let himself get too close, he's far too emotionally guarded. but for a second, i think he'd fantasize about having even *half* the amount of attention that Slade gives Dick. bc what has Jason always been, but in Dick's shadow.

SladeTim. my two blorbos. in one place. somewhere in my drafts i have a half-started longfic about SladeTim that's one half really fucked up porn and one half slowburn feelings. arguably Tim and Slade don't have many canon interactions, but it's fun to me that when they do, Slade always seems sort of startled by how well Tim fights back and Tim's willingness to fight dirty in a way even Dick doesn't. and to me, that's the crux of this ship. as far as Robins go, Tim should sort of slip under the radar for Slade. he's not the dead one turned villain, he's not the grandson of Ra's al Ghul, hell he's not even the child of a second-rate villain like Steph, he's not *the* Dick Grayson, he's just... the other one. grew up pretty rich and normal and fell for all of Bruce's wax poetic nonsense. so when Tim puts himself on the map as a hero, makes himself a worthy opponent against Slade that's interesting. even to Tim, Slade isn't a particularly remarkable villain since Slade cares to stay more on Dick's radar. so when they cross paths there's a lot of unexpected. neither of them have thought about the other too hard. so there's this interest and intrigue about it i love. i'm a big fan of the idea Tim is a massive masochist, both physically and emotionally and Slade is The Sadist Ever so. i like them falling into bed together and having the most fucked up sex. like Tim just being a Weird Little Freak so fucked up even Slade raises an eyebrow. because this isn't what you *expect* of a kid like Tim, who's had a pretty easy life before tangling with vigilantes. he should be like a fish out of water, but instead he's matching Slade's energy in ways even Dick doesn't. and of course, how smart he is, that's an asset. it takes a special kind of kid to have the audacity to poison Lady Shiva with hotel chocolates and pull it *off* no less. it earns a begrudging respect, and it's rare to get Slade to respect someone. i really like the idea of Tim seeking Slade out only for fucked up sex and somehow Slade falls for this weird little freak who's cold and clinical outside of sex and keeps him guessing.

i'll be honest i've only considered SladeDami in the context of seeing antis say 'omg Slade has been predatory toward Damian ewww' and going 'no the fuck he hasn't but if you want that so bad i'll ship it just to spite you all' but their canon interactions do fascinate me. a lot of how they interact is predicated on Slade as a father, even more so than SlaDick. like Slade will fight Damian and then be like 'hey be good to your old man fathers need their sons' and fucking dip. and then with the whole Respawn thing and Shadow War? that was extra crunchy. for a brief moment Slade had a son who was a brother to Damian and then he goes and *dies*? talk about the complex that would give him with Damian, the spitting image of Respawn. Make Slade Weird About Batkids That Remind Him of His Son 2024. Damian holds an utter contempt for Slade that is simply unmatched. so Slade not leaving that kid alone because of his weird issues, making sure that Bruce doesn't screw up with Damian the way he screwed up with Respawn is very fun. and Damian slowly building up a tolerance to Slade's annoying antics could be fun. Damian is, at his core, still just a kid who needs the approval of something father-shaped and he will Take What He Can Get. are they ever healthy or long lasting? no but i do think Damian would cling to Slade during his teen years for something incredibly fucked up and codependent until either Slade dumped him or he forced himself to get over it.

JayRoman. i will not lie love these two but i don't think i've read many Black Mask comics when he's not interacting with Jason. which is funny because my entire conception of Roman is him just getting humiliated by Jason and really what more is there to know about the man. Jason is so unserious in how he handles Roman and the best part is you can tell it's truly because he doesn't see Roman as a threat. Roman's just a pawn in the game of getting Bruce's attention and sure, Jason is aiming to kill Roman by the end of it, but he'll always have bigger fish to fry. and that's so *infuriating* for Roman. this new guy who's *clearly* a fucking teenager shows up, owns you so badly it shatters your empire, and then you only live bc he seems to have gotten bored of you. JayRoman is my particular favorite ship for the flavor of 'the sub in bed is in control of every other aspect of their relationship and their submission is a gift that can be revoked at any time' which we don't get enough. fucked up power dynamics always have the sub being the one lacking control. and whilst i enjoy when Roman is able to absolutely control and manipulate Jason through various means, i think in canon, it makes far more sense he's pathetic and begging Jason for even a *chance*. and Jason very specifically picking who he subs for based on someone who he could kill or destroy at the drop of the hat if he needed to is a very Jason thing to do. there will never be trust between these two. they will fuck nasty and Roman will be in love with Jason. but they are both carrying a gun during sex. the gun is probably involved during the sex.

Ra'sTim. my everything. Red Robin (2009) you will always be famous to me. what *don't* they have. forced proximity. enemies to lovers. forced partnership. one-sided obsession. ridiculously large age gap. deep unforgivable betrayal. i will never evacuate these two from my brain dear god. Ra's is another one of those villains who gets painted with one broad stroke of being cartoonishly evil with no exploration of his interesting nuance. making him nothing but a villain is boring. where is the Ra's who loves so deeply and fully and has to lose his loved ones over and over and will not let that happen to Tim. he wants to consume Tim in a 'cannibalism as a metaphor for love but also probably literal cannibalism' way. the amount of trust put in Ra's in order for Tim to be able to betray him as spectacularly as he did? that's glorious. Tim had full unfiltered access to Ra's' computers even when he was advised against trusting Tim so much. and then Tim wins against Ra's and willingly lets Ra's kill him. (obviously Dick saves him, but I'm of the opinion Tim was just committed to dying in that moment and he was Okay With That) 'i will betray you if it's the last thing i do' as an act of love. Tim is to Ra's what Dick is to Slade. you will never convince me Tim and Ra's didn't hatefuck at least once during RR (2009) with a questionable level of consent. i'm so serious i will never shut up about them. the way Tim talks about working with Ra's as if he's making a deal with the devil and Ra's talks about Tim like he's the precious, once in a life time thing, one of the only people worthy to produce an heir for Ra's. how's that not gay. what other ship involved one of them literally trying to have the other's baby to raise as an heir. Ra's would probably carry the baby himself if he could. memes aside they're just so. they're so it. i love when Tim is forced into a Situation where he has to work with Ra's and confronts the darker aspects of himself that Ra's wants to bring out but Tim wants to squash. it is The corruption kink. whether Ra's succeeds or not in corrupting Tim doesn't even matter because the real crux of this ship is the chase. it's the way the heart pounds when they reach out for each other and you don't know if it's for a kiss or a killing blow. it's very Hannigram to me, in that i don't even need or want them to kiss to know they're in love. love to them is not true love's kiss, it's the thoughtful place they decide to stab the other in. be the sheath to my dagger type ship. hold all this bloody violence i know you're capable of inside of you. let me cut the violence out of you ship. what more can you ask for from a ship. Ra's would tie Tim down and torture him both as foreplay and as a love language and Tim would be too fucked up and self-sacrificial to stop him. always playing the dangerous game of how far will the other let them go until someone tries to die or kill. listen i think i lost the plot here but my point is they're unwell about each other. Tim will make Ra's regret the day he met Tim Drake not just for the betrayal but because Ra's can never go back to a time Before Tim. before knowing what the chase felt like. they're so. them.

[mazeheart]

" i like to think i have the balancing down , but ... i guess you'll be the judge of that , " tara said with a laugh. " i can kind of already skate , just can't do anything else fun ... so i promise i'm not some loser ! that is , if you don't hate my technique. " skating was the closest she got to riding her rocks through the air. if she wasn't so scared of her powers , she'd be doing it all the time again. she shrugged a shoulder with a smirk painting her lips. " one of the good ones , " the blonde chuckled. " now i'm curious if there's bad ones. "

max made a slight face at the comment, shrugging her shoulders. "i mean, i can probably get you to something similar after like a little bit of balancing lessons or something, but it would take some time." she didn't even know if she could do a perfect sort of anything on her skateboard. she really just used it mainly to get from here to there. max nodded her head at the music choices. she could get behind angry music, it was something that made the world go 'round, wasn't it? "yeah, that's one of the good ones."

[random-dragon-exe]

Alright, but can everyone just imagine the antics we could've got if there was more time for the Covenheads to interact?

Dana said they backstab each other all the time, which means they don't generally get along well.

Like we could've gotten some really entertaining antics between them.

I'd imagine it'd be like a twisted version of The Offfice, but with queer witches and one puritanical leader.

So now have a few ideas I've come up with.

-----

Belos: Can you all just conduct yourselves accordingly for one meeting?!

The covenheads in question:

Raine is trying to keep whatever is left of their sanity while trying to separate Adrian from Darius while they're fighting with each other. (They're fighting over who has better fashion sense)

Cue Eberwolf biting Adrian’s tail as he screams in pain from the bite.

Terra and Hettie are watching, amused.

Hettie has enough of it and summons one of her scalpels and throws it, nearly missing Adrian as a warning.

Vitimir throws a sleeping mist potion at Adrian (minecraft style) only for him to teleport away and it hits Darius instead, instantly knocking him out.

Mason and Raine hover over Darius, making sure he's okay and not hurt.

Osran's recording everything on his Penstagram only to save it for himself to watch later for shits and giggles. (Along with rest of the antics he's saved)

Belos: (internally face-palming) "We'll continue the meeting, someone just get Headwitch Deamonne and prop him up."

Wait I got some more ideas! This time a few without Belos.

(All the Covenheads are walking to the main room early for a meeting)

Hettie: (whispering to Vitimir) "Is it just me or is Adrian a little less annoying right now?"

Vitimir: "I bet you 20 snails it's an illusion of him."

Hettie: "I bet 20 it's not."

Vitimir: "Fine then, prove it."

(Cue Hettie throwing one of her scalpels at Adrian only for it to go through and the illusion of Adrian dissappears)

Hettie: "What no, Titan dangit!"

Vitimir: "Pay up Cutburn."

Hettie: (annoyed) "Fine." (Hands him the snails)

("Vitimir" poofs away only for Adrian to be revealed to have been masquerading as Vitimir via illusion)

Adrian: "Thanks, I wanted a few extra snails!"

Hettie: (seething mad) "You'll pay for that Graye!" (About to attack him)

Adrian (draws a spell circle to make multiple illusions of himself which all run off in different directions so it was impossible to tell who the real one was which confuses and further enrages Hettie)

(Vitimir finally speedwalks in the main hallway)

Vitimir:" Sorry, I was busy experimenting with my latest potion, what'd I miss?"

---

(Hettie stares daggers at Adrian throughout the meeting then when Belos isn't looking throws a scalpel at him)

"Adrian": "Ow!" (Poofs away to reveal Mason hidden under an Illusion of Adrian) "What was that for?"

Okay, last one:

(Vitimir gets bored so he starts testing out a new deadly potion on himself)

(Hettie notices)

Hettie: Do you mind sharing that?

Vitimir: "No I'm not sharing, besides what do you need it for?"

Hettie: "I have my reasons." (Sadisticly smiles)

Vitimir: (slightly creeped out and sighs) "Alright fine, meet me at my door after the meeting."

Some more ideas/HCs but they're in a general sense;

Osran uses the videos he recorded over time as blackmail for each Covenhead.

Vitimir stays up late mixing potions and tests them on himself.

Vitimir acts like a shady drug dealer when the Covenheads want a potion from him.

When Raine is fed up with Adrian, they'll play their music to make him fall asleep right then and there.

Terra threatens the Covenheads when she's in a bad mood that she'll feed them to her large carnivorous plants. (Everyone is terrified of it, but never admit it to her)

If anyone of the Covenheads gets hurt, they'll never go to Hettie to get healed (she has terrible bedside manner)

This is just the tip of the iceberg, hope you enjoy my ideas.

[hive-sight]

Observation 1

Sentients of the stars, welcome back. This one’s ship has been placed among the debris field near Sol-4 for nearly two Terran weeks at this point.

This one is, unfortunately, unable to find the original comment, but one of you sentients, who is apparently from a not dissimilar race to the Terrans, commented that the size of this one’s crew would likely inform the Terrans of this one’s noble, diplomatic intentions. In addition, the species’ distaste for war would likely make them hesitant to attack unprovoked.

Bringing this up with Raxor has improved their mood. They had forgotten that other war-species have the urge to start conflicts and are driven to attack interlopers immediately. Raxor still urges that first contact should be done remotely…

A constant monitoring of the Terrans short-range communications has been underway.

Unlike this one’s own race, instantaneous communication is not reserved for the upper echelons of society. Any Terran with the resources may acquire the technology to achieve it. A far cry from the Xylokthian communications channels. These channels are reserved for Thalorix and special diplomats. This one has happy to have been given access before the mission began, although this one is many light-years out of range for it to be of use. Perhaps it was a symbolic gesture of importance.

Regardless.

The average Terran appears to give little to no thought to conflict given their communications. This has also eased Raxor’s mind. Raxor finds the Terrans to be a strange mix of Thalorix and Xyndri, in that they behave as the Xyndri but appear to think as the Thalorix.

An individual Terran can, seemingly, lose themselves in menial moment to moment tasks, much as the Xyndri. But most tend to have a view of themselves reminiscent of the Thalorix. Placing themselves in a position of greater import.

It truly is fascinating.

This one is excited to make first contact, but will have to wait authorization from this one’s assigned Thalorix ambassador, Lumina.

With that, on this TD 3rd of June, 2030, XD 4682C 4A 15L, feeling happy for the interactions, this is Elysia of Xylopthia, signing off!

[mazeheart]

" how was i supposed to know what you did ? " tara tried to argue , but knew it was a loss cause. " i was only with you guys for a little while. " and in that short amount of time she was with the titans , they really did take her in for all she was ; even if they didn't know it. she stared back for a moment , trying to process the words. they weren't quite registering. she wasn't sure she believe it. how could anyone love her ?? " slade was in my head , you know that , " she said , as if a reminder was needed. " he made me ... he made me think all sorts of things ... i didn't know who to believe. " slade said he could teach her to control her powers , and ... he did, didn't he ?? but he didn't care about her. not like how the titans made her feel ; but she didn't understand how the titans made her feel. it's not like she was accepted by her own family , so how was she supposed to know what one felt like ??

⊹  —  they  accepted  her  as  is,  a  piece  of  their  little  dysfunctional  family.  the  titan's  didn't  let  anyone  that  easily  and,  still,  tara  proved  her  worth  only  to  destroy  it.  in  that  time,  raven  felt  an  unsettledness,  like  now,  in  tara's  demeanor  but  had  spoke  nothing  of  it,  thinking  little  of  it  but  hadn't  realized  the  intensity  of  it  until  it  was  too  late.  “  that's  not  what  we  do,  ”  she  spoke  with  a  seriousness,  staring  at  the  once  titan.  “  you  hurt  us,  but  we  weren't  —  we  could  never  hurt  you.  we  loved  you,  tara,  ”  a  pause.  “  i  loved  you.  ”

[britisharmymilitaryintelligence]

TERRAN RELATED LIFE SUPPORT AND DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS IMMEDIATELY DEPORT OR KILL OR CAPTURE INTRUDERS OR INVADERS AS A GENERAL RULE AND ARE ENTIRELY AUTOMATED OR AUTOMATIC AND REQUIRE NO ORDERS TO FUNCTION OR EVEN KNOWLEDGE AMONG PERSONS AS TO THE PARTICULAR DETAILS OF THOSE TYPES OF FUNCTIONS. IT WOULD NEVER MAKE SENSE THAT SOMEONE WOULD BE GIVEN ACCESS TO TERRAN RELATED SYSTEMS BASED UPON AN INDIVIDUAL'S ASSENT AND INDIVIDUAL ORDERS MIGHT ADD TO TERRAN RELATED SYSTEMS FUNCTIONS BUT THEY ARE ALL ESSENTIALLY ROOTED IN MASSIVE BRAIN EMULATING COMPUTERS AND SO TYPICALLY ACT AS THOUGH ALL MEMBERS OF A SOCIETY HAD VOTED IN RELATION TO EVERYTHING DONE. PLEASE RESEARCH WIRELESS BRAIN MEMORY BACKUP TECHNOLOGY FOR FURTHER INSIGHT.

[minweber]

Musings on Custodes: Nobilitas Terra

Ah, the now famous “all Custodians begin their lives as the infant sons of the noble houses of Terra” line from the 8th edition codex (not reproduced in the 9th one, btw). It has now experienced the kind meteoric rise in quotation previously enjoyed only by biblical verses in times of major church schisms. Let’s talk about the part of it that’s actually interesting though.

So Custodians are drawn from the children of Terra’s nobility. It is apparently not exclusive and other sources are allowed on Custodes’ own discretion, but this is both the traditional and the main one. It seems that originally the Emperor was doing something of a mamluk/janissaries thing with them, taking infant children from the families of his potential rivals as both hostages and soldiers that could be raised loyal only to him. Later, when his power grew to so far outstrip that of Terra’s aristocracy as to make any internal challenge of it inconceivable, it instead became prestigious to submit a child of a family to this service - not conscription, but an offering to the golden idol of humanity.

So surely, in 42nd millennium, with the Emperor’s eclipsing presence… changed, if not gone, there must be some sort of interesting dynamic between the Custodians and the bloodlines that spawned them? Well, the codex seems to dismiss the idea out of hand, stating that there is no real way for nobles of Terra to recognize their scions once they become Custodians - which presumably means that there is no grounds for interaction? And sure, I can recognize why the official lore in its current state isn't interested in that: Custodians are fixated on the Emperor to the exclusion of everything else, and the Terran nobility itself is a fairly faceless thing in the lore, one of which we don't really know enough about to build any kind of investment from their perspective.

But here we are all about the things that could yet be, rather than the things that just are! And I honestly think a bit of lore expansion in this direction could be pretty interesting!

Between the origins of the Rogue Traders and the Custodians themselves it seems that, much like the priesthood of Mars, some clans on Terra were indeed once powerful enough to make the newly ascendant Emperor deal with them in terms other than total subjugation or destruction. Would the meteoric rise of the Imperium during the Great Crusade grow or diminish their powers? On one hand - the previously mentioned growth of the Emperor's power in relation to them and the whole new "breed" of imperial elite he was literally creating (I know that in modern lore there is some speculation about what were actually his plans for the Astartes and the primarchs post-Crusade, but however things would have turned out for them, had he his way, I doubt it would have resulted in even a modicum of power returning to the hands of his once-rivals)... But on the other - during times of obscene growth and expansion rich and powerful tend to grow even more so, and I doubt that grimdark future avoids this tendency. So I will go out on a limb a little and say that while during the rise of the Imperium the power of Terran nobility may have waned in relative terms, it probably grew in the absolute ones.

And the following ten thousand years of sitting at the top of a stupidly expansive feudal confederacy probably did not hurt them either!

In the days of the Era Indomitus, then, these vague "noble houses of Terra" must be some sort of force to be reckoned with - politically, culturally, and probably even militarily. Likely on a galactic scale. And the personal guard of the Emperor, the supposedly most advanced beings in the entire Imperium, the living symbol of his power - are staffed almost exclusively by the scions of those houses. Do you see my vision? Do you agree that something simply must be there?!

Custodians are the Emperor's representatives and envoys, the single most powerful military force on Terra and the organization in full undisputed control of access to the most holy site in the entire Imperium, a place from which, technically, ALL authority within its borders is derived. Even without the bloodline connection there should be some kind of a relationship between them and the other powers of the throneworld! Even if we look at the pre-codex, fully palace-bound version of Custodes that care for absolutely nothing other than the Emperor's corpse physical safety - they still recognized that the events on larger Terra influence this safety and need to be at least reacted upon. And in the modern version they have never even been that shut-off. Even before the lifting of the Edict of Restraint, Solar Watch patrolled the Sol system entire, Aquilan Shield departed on their mysterious protector missions and the Emissaries Imperatus were busy being a diplomatic corps, for fuck's sake. I find it hard to believe that they would simply ignore Terra's political players, leaving them to do whatever unless someone rolled up armed to the Imperial Palace. So there definitely would be interactions - and once that hook is in, the fun begins.

Are custodians willing to "stoop down" and play nobility's games with them? Do they even have aversion to doing so? Surely, with all the talk about their talents beyond head-chopping, they are capable of scheming with the best of them? And if doing so is the most efficient way to get the job done - why would they object? And if they are no strangers to political manipulation and the noble families desperately want the prestige that comes with having produced a Custodian - why wouldn't the demigods indulge them and use it as a tool? Especially since they - if we keep the codex idea of it being impossible to recognize surrendered infants as the Custodians they become - hold all the cards and can basically present any of their number as a scion of this or that family? And while we are at it - do they themselves actually know? I imagine it must be not that important to them, but are there any records kept? Could you be a 200 hundred year old Custodian fresh out of training (a random example - like so many things, it is not known how long the creation and training of a Custodian takes) and be suddenly told that the aging matron of a noble house with whom you have to go and negotiate is actually your biological mother? Would that stir something? Curiosity, at least? Or is the Emperor’s light so absolute that it can blind one to even the most deep-nested human impulses?

Do Custodians remember sins and glories forgotten by the tapestries of gold and jewels? Do they watch some relatively minor and unimportant house with baffling prejudice - all because someone from it almost outdid the Emperor in something more than ten thousand years ago? Do some bloodlines enjoy unseen protection due to secret deals that have passed out of all human memory?

What about the internal politics of the organization? Millenia of drafting from a relatively closed pool of families means that some Custodians are related to each other - does that matter to them in any way? Even if the golden demigods are completely free of prejudice and superstition - which their history of paranoia kinda tells me they are not - genetics do play an objectively huge part in their existence. Is more expected of those drafted from families that produce more Custodians than others, or have spawned some especially renowned heroes? Once again - is it even public knowledge amidst the Custodes?

And what about the nobles themselves? Do they seek favor of the Adeptus Custodes? Is such a thing even possible? Do they view them as another player in their political games, or are they more of a force of nature, a condition that everyone has to deal with and adapt to? How does the process of submitting children even work nowadays? Is it compulsory? How many are taken from each family/genertaion? Do any struggle against this harvest, or has the honor of the thing completely overshadowed any resentment that they might have had?

Basically what I am saying is that, for the purposes of worldbuilding, interaction between systems is always better than the lack of thereof. And if one were looking for the ways to expand Custodes' lore - this one feels like a great source of characterization for them.

[mazeheart]

" thank you. i'd lie and say i tried very hard ... but really i'm just scissor happy , " tara says with a chuckle. while she seemed to stick to a general aesthetic , she wasn't the most fashion conscious person. she wore what was most comfortable to her , is all. " oh please , the pleasure is mine , " she playfully retorts. a smile creeps on her lips as she's told there's no memory of her. " oh , no , " she lies. " i'd remember someone as bright as you , i'm sure ... but i'm also all over the place. terrible memory. " she raises a curious brow at the last statement. " oh , really ?? "

starfire blinks with amazement, gasping as she admired the tee openly. “ that’s amazing. you did a really good job, it’s so cute !! ” she can’t help but gush again, shifting her purse over her shoulder. “ nice to meet you, tara. ” she gives her hand a firm shake, head cocking to the side. “ not that i can remember… have we already met ? ” her nose scrunches, hand dropping back to her side. something about the interaction felt familiar, but she would have remembered meeting tara….. right ? “ my memory is kind of hazy these days. ”