#this man is not young in my canon he'd be in his 40s if he were a human. if you wanna have him as a young adult

[orfeoarte]

being a middle aged faendal truther is so hard

[slamsuckingslut]

r6 spetsnaz head canons (SLIGHT NSFW)

my 4 favorite beefy Russian men... Just little head canons i have about how they look (for tachanka and kapkan mainly, but glaz and fuze included anyway)

CREDIT TO ALL ARTISTS WHOS ART I HAVE USED IN THIS !!

TACHANKA / ALEXSANDR SENAVIEV

He most likely has graying hair, being in his 50s I believe?? Late 40s to early 50s, this man is graying, he's been through a divorce and has like 3 kids i think. His hair is a dark brown/black with gray streaks and roots, his eyebrows having already grayed with bits of black in them still. Very salt and peppered. He definitely isn't all muscle anymore in his older age, having a bit of pudge around his stomach, hips, chest and arms. Pretty much a super fucking muscular dad bod but better cause its our lord. He might have a few stretch marks hidden in the scars from battle on his body, but isn't ashamed if you point them out. I don't see him as the type to have a beard, maybe a mustache if you think about it too hard, but I'd guess clean cut just very stubbly. but LAWD he is most definitely hairy as hell everywhere else if we ignore the animation for his elite skin and how oiled up he looks... hnnggg.... BUT he most def has very hairy legs, some chest hair but not much, gotta show off the tats, and a happy trial. He is most def packing a monster and keeps his pubes slightly trimmed, just enough to be bearable, he's getting older, he cant be bothered to be as smooth shaven as when he was young.

10/10 would chew on him like a teething toy.

KAPKAN / MAXIM BUSADA

love of my life, apple of my eye, can do no wrong, babygirl... Okay so, he's in his late 30s, not so much graying yet but def getting there. He's got dark roots and light brown ends, most likely no beard just very long stubble. 5 o'clock shadow king. He's still quite fit, not as much squish as tachanka but most def still a bit squishable. he might have slight stretch marks around his arms or thighs. HE ALSO IS SO HAIRY. Literal Russian bear, okay?? This man is a hunter, he def stays hairy because quote, "A true hunter can be an animal himself." or some mystical quote about being a true hunter like that. But he's got hairy arms and legs, chest hair and a thick happy trail leading down to barely even trimmed pubes and again an absolute monster schlong. he seems like the type to go all natural with his shaving habits, only trimming it a bit if you ask. He most definitely has lots of scars around his body, and isn't afraid to tell you about them whenever you ask.

11/10, would put him in a jar and shake it around like he was a little bug.

GLAZ / TIMUR GLAZKOV

He's 30, and DAYUM does he look good.. his hair is black, you can tell that be looking at the obvious beard thing he's got. He doesn't seem like he'd be very hairy, being i think the youngest of the 4, he stays pretty clean shaven besides the beard. Not much body hair besides legs, arms, and a thin happy trail leading down to a medium monster and very well trimmed pubes. they aren't completely shaven, but are very short. He seems like he is mostly made of lean muscle, so he isn't the squishiest but is still very soft. I don't think he's really started to get stretch marks yet, but definitely has loads of scars, considers his body a canvas and the scars the art on it that tell the story, and of those stories he will only share a few with you if you ask cause most of them he doesn't really remember how he got either. Considering he's an artist, I like to think that he'll just have mystery stains on him. Like dude, why are your fingers lime green today?? He doesn't know either, he was just simply painting.

10/10, would tape a picture of him to my pillow and hump it. (only jk guys i swear...)

FUZE / SHUHRAT KESSIKBAYEV

My favorite partially mute, weirdly closed off, awkward and most likely autistic bbg. Based off the skin where you can see his face, he is clean shaven but is another 5 o'clock shadow KING. I think he'd either have very light brown hair, or black hair, no in between. He's in his early 30s but is most def getting squishy like tachanka already. he is a big boy guys. He doesn't have the dad bod type squish like tachanka does, maybe more like a bit of a tummy and THICCCKKKKK thighs and bulky arms. He has a few stretch marks, hates them, and also hates most of the scars he has. To him, they are only a reminder that his job involves a lot of pain, some of it permanant.. *cough cough* accidentally cluster charging that hostage *cough cough*.. but he wouldn't mind telling you about a few if you were close enough with him and asked nicely (bribed him while he was drunk). Considering his face is pretty clean shaven, he probably doesn't have much body hair but definitely enough. Hairy legs, arms, a little bit of chest hair and a somewhat thick hair but thin shaped happy trail leading down to a medium but THICK LIKE THE REST OF HIM monster and an absolute mess of pubes. He seems like a lonely man, he's got no real reason to shave em, so why should he?

12/10, is autistic like me, we would go nonverbal together and do some wicked shit like have a staring contest.

[luvrsbian]

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐄

A/N: she's finally here!!! this was initially supposed to be a one shot but has kinda turned into a draft up of a pretty plotless, sweet, fluffy mini series. it follows canon for the most part minus eddies death ofc but because im bad with canon lore and science shit, its not heavily mentioned (some minor canon lore was changed but it's not super important.) this is a fem!reader, no use of y/n, set in 1992, 4k words, and i've kept reader pretty vague for inclusivity minus some background lore. this series is not 18+ (yet) but my page is, so please do not follow if you are a minor. thank you sweet baby mona @enam3l for beta-reading for me (ily)

MASTERLIST ✿ PART TWO

Eddie Munson liked his life. He liked his friends, even if a lot of them have now dispersed across the continental United States for school, jobs, general life (minus Robin who has somehow managed to make her way to Australia doing God knows what.) He liked his home, a house on the edge of town – slightly bigger than the old trailer – which he still shared with his uncle. He liked his style and hobbies and taste in music and movies that haven’t really changed much in the last 5 years since his final senior year. 

He really liked his job. 

Which felt odd for him to admit to himself.  It wasn’t anything like what he thought he would be doing. A younger Eddie Munson would imagine himself traveling city to city, adored by fans, living creatively and free spirited.  

But a middle school janitorial gig kept him young. One could argue 26 wasn't even that old, however, compared to his friends (who he'd already been older than) with their careers, relationships and growing families, he felt like a lonely old man. So, yeah, the awkward, funny, and extremely honest pre-teens made him feel young.  

Initially he thought the job would be lonely. It’s a small town with even smaller schools. Besides him, there was only one other night janitor that he alternated weekend cleans with and only really ran into during day-to-night shift changes. Ron was nice enough, older than Wayne, with a far higher patience for children. Unsurprisingly, behaviours from high school died hard and the teachers and administrative staff all kept to their own little cliques. Resulting in Eddie keeping to himself, rarely speaking outside of his custodian duties or the occasional faculty meeting. 

He didn’t even think he’d interact with the students aside from cleaning the odd vomit or getting stuck balls out of the gymnasium rafters. He unintentionally found himself yet again the outcasted mother goose to a small hoard of pre-teen metal heads when their unofficial leader, Matty Sherman, caught site of the various posters Ed keeps hung up on his office (custodial closet) door. The seventh grader quickly forcing himself under Eddies wings and refusing to budge. Matty was a good kid. Reminded Eddie a lot of himself at that age. He was loud, abrasive, and way too confident for such a gangly frame in ill-fitting clothes. Matty had hair though which 13-year-old Eddie couldn’t relate to. 

There was also Ms. Virginia Wagner. The eccentric, nurse who has been working at Hawkins Middle since Eddie was attending. Maybe even before that, he wasn’t quite sure and whenever he asked anything close to finding out her age, she quickly shut him down. She was sweet. She was funny. She was also a mean old hag sometimes, but God did Eddie love that about her. If he was just 20 - or more realistically 40 - years older and wasn’t almost certain she swings the other way, he’d shoot his shot.  

The Summer season was extremely uneventful for Eddie. Due to the kids being out of school, his hours were cut in more than half with only the yearly repairs and deep cleaning needing to be done. He went into work about 3 days a week, spending the extra free time to do some manual labour gigs here and there around town. When he wasn’t working, he was hidden away at home watching movies, listening to music, trying to plan out ongoing and future campaigns for Hellfire meetings that have begun to be fewer and far between now that everyone has dispersed. On some rare occasions when he didn’t feel like a complete shell of a person and was able to leave the house to socialize outside of life obligations, he met up with the few friends that remained in the Hawkins area (which at this point in time was really only Steve Harrington and Gareth Emerson.) 

It was now the Monday of the week before students would return back to these fluorescent lit halls. That meant all other faculty were now gracing the school to prepare for the year ahead. Organizing and prepping and finalizing lesson plans and class rosters.  

Eddie had a slight pep in his step as he walked through the halls, scuffed up sneakers squeaking on the shiny, extra polished tiles. He whistled a silent tune that clashed with the jingles of his keys that he swung around his middle finger. Getting to the janitors closet to put on his navy coverall and put his hair into a low bun. He zips up the stiff material, covering the self-altered muscle tank top that had the logo for some local band down in Indianapolis he saw a few years back before things went to shit. A cracked and stained mirror hanging up over his work sink being used to make sure his hair looked casually messy in the bun. With a final once over, he hooks his keys to the belt loop of his coveralls and preps for the day's work. A glance at his wristwatch, the one that has somehow survived hell and back just like him, reads 7:58. Just 4 hours and 2 minutes until lunch.  

He couldn’t wait. 

Eddie used those 4 hours and 2 minutes to check each stall in all bathrooms were fully stocked with toilet paper and the likes, clean the actual toilets themselves, and make sure the water was running properly in every sink. Once that was taken care of, he began on his biggest task of the week of dragging desks and chairs out of the back storage building to be put into classrooms. Sheryl from the administrative team having left the small packet of papers indicating how many seats each room would need for the coming year.  

He could move the chairs in stacks at a time but could only really stack two - maybe three if he was careful - desks on his hand truck before it became a safety problem. Once moved into the main building, he had to wipe them down, tighten any loose screws that could make them wobble, and make sure they were still in usable condition. Eddie had completed almost 3 of the 32 classrooms before lunch finally rolled around.  

He grabbed his lunch sack from the custodial closet and whistled on his merry way to the nurse's office. He’s been eating lunch with Virginia for as long as he can remember. Of course, there was those 5 years of High School and then the year of recovery following the events of his second senior year, and the summer breaks of course, but besides all those he’s been eating with her for a good 7 years.  

This ritual beginning in his 6th grade, the first year he moved in with Wayne, all sad eyed and past aside due to events outside of his control. Kids he had grown up with suddenly not wanting anything to do with him. He wouldn’t really make any friends again until 7th grade, and his first band of misfits was created, Corroded Coffin. 6th Grade was the worst year of his life until 1986 and now it’s about tied.  

Sadly, in middle school who you ate a meal with or gave the time of day too was so integral into maintaining the hierarchal balance of the ecosystem. It was bullshit. With everything that happened that lead to his father going to jail and him burdening his uncle, the kids of Hawkins middle school decided Eddie wasn’t worth risking their own reputations. He doesn’t remember exactly how it happened, his brain kicking the memory out at some point to make room for more important stuff like D&D lore. But he does remember he went from eating lunch in the bathroom to eating it in Nurse Wagner’s office.  

Even after being integrated back into the Middle school social circle, he couldn’t just leave her to eat lunch by herself. She needed him with his alternative music education and retelling of the fantasy books he’d been reading lately and his strong headedness that could keep up with her dry and sarcastic quips many interpreted as rudeness. Although Eddie would still refuse to admit it, in actuality he probably needed her more than she needed him. 

He doesn’t knock, just moseys his tall frame into the nurse's office, wide dimpled smile on his lips as he hears rummaging coming from the actual office area that was blocked off by a wall. He looks at the two plastic-y beds covered in paper sheets, inhaling that antiseptic smell that can only seem to be found in medical settings. No fluorescent lights were on, only natural light being let it from the two big windows.  

There are curtains on them now which surprises him. Floral pinks and yellows with lace on the edge that really fit the grandma vibes Virginia has but refused to acknowledge. The windows all have blinds, but curtains were deemed a non-necessary commodity by the school board budgeting team, meaning if you wanted curtains, you’re gonna have to fork money out of pocket for them. Eddie had asked Virginia about it once, commenting about how it would help spruce up the place. Make it look a little less sterile. She told him to go to hell, that she’s a nurse not rich. Any out-of-pocket money she spent on work only going towards things that actually matter, like the allergen friendly laundry detergent and the nicer, name brand candy for the candy bowl. 

Putting his lunch on the side table of the first bed, he lays down in a relaxed position. Hands behind his head, legs crossed, eyes closed, he lets out a relaxed sigh. 

“Virginia, dear, I really love what you’ve done with the place,” he calls out to her, hearing the close of the filing cabinet and footsteps soon following, “feels all homey now, dontcha think.” 

The footsteps stop. 

“I'm glad you like them. You feelin’ comfy there?” 

That was most definitely not Virginia Wagners voice. 

Eddie jolts up, eyes wide and cheeks red. He’s not one to get embarrassed easily but since recent events he’s been a bit more reserved in how comfortable he gets around strangers. And you were most definitely a stranger. A pretty stranger. A very pretty stranger in a teddy bear patterned scrub top and an oversized cardigan with embroidered sunflowers. You’re a disorienting mess of patterns and colors but you’re also, like, really pretty and Eddie isn’t sure how to go about this. 

“You’re not Virginia,” is all he can get his voice to come out with. 

“I’m not Virginia.” You give a chuckle. A positive response, Eddie thinks. 

“Where’s Virginia?” 

Eddie is now standing away from the bed and closer to the door, ready to run from the situation if needed (something he’s learned to embrace in the last few years.) You give him a friendly smile, hands in your cardigan pockets, the sleeves bunched up. You look cozy.  

“Florida. She’ll be in the Caribbean by the end of the month,” you supply. He can tell your fingers are fidgeting in your pockets. His hands are fidgeting at his waist, pinching at the material of his coveralls.  

“Why?” 

You shrug your shoulders, “Retirement.” 

“Oh,” Eddie sighs, eyes breaking contact with yours for the first time since standing, shifting to look at your white - almost pristine - sneakers on the tile floor her spent all summer mopping and waxing and removing scuff marks from. “That sucks.” 

You snort. Teeth biting your bottom lip to stop from laughing at him further during this awkwardly endearing meeting. Your own eyes looking him over now that he isn’t completely focused on you. He’s cute. His cheeks stained your favourite shade of pink once he realized you weren’t the now retired nurse he had been so fond of. Hands covered in jewlery. His inability to stay still so natural it makes you think he doesn’t even realize he’s been shifting his body weight back and forth from his toes to his heels this whole time. Tall, lean, maybe with some extra fluff hidden under the baggy attire. He’s got some shadow of hair on his cheeks. And if you weren’t a civil person and he wasn’t a stranger, you’d be begging to kiss at the column of his throat. 

Your gaze moves to look around the waiting part of the office to avoid thinking even more things about this guy. A brown paper bag chicken scratched with the words ‘ED LUNCH’ catches your eye. Before you have a chance to speak yourself, he starts his interrogation again. 

“Who are you?” 

Your attention cuts back to him quickly. With a smile that shows all your teeth and a hand leaving your pocket, held out for him to shake, you give your full name. 

He takes it with his own reserved smile. His hands and rings are warm, but they still tingle your skin from the unfamiliarity of the metal. You enjoy it you think. Before he can introduce himself, you beat him to the punch. 

“You must be Edward, right?” 

He grimaces, “Just Eddie,” your handshake falls. His hand back to his hip and your hand back into your pocket, “Just Eddie is fine. More than fine, actually. Preferred, really.” 

Another chuckle from you. Eddie knows he’s funny when he wants to be but if it’s this easy to make you laugh, he doesn’t ever want to stop. 

“Well, just Eddie,” you smirk at his eye roll, “you can join me for lunch if you’d like. I feel like my presence may have ruined your initial plans,” you let out a huff of a laugh and gesture to the lunch sack by the window. He grimaces again at your wording and shakes his head. 

“It didn’t ruin any plans just was shocking ‘sall,” his hand moves from his hip to rub at his slightly scruffy chin, pretty brown eyes back on yours, “but um, yeah. Yes, I’d love- like to join you for lunch.” 

You smile. He smiles back. 

Eddie has sat in this chair, in this office, and eaten his lunch for years. Today it feels awkward and unfamiliar.  

It might have something to do with you sitting where Virginia used to sit. Same chair, same desk, same office, but completely different. Virginia didn’t decorate her space, leaving it functional and impersonal, if people wanted to know about her life they could ask her. She wasn’t going to flaunt it.  

You were very different. An orange, gaudy looking vase filled with fake flowers. A matching candy bowl with various sugary, little treats. A picture frame of you and what he could only assume was your family based on the similar features shared between each person. A decorated Coke can with the top cut off and trimmed with glued on lace and covered in holographic stickers of vibrant cartoon animals, sparse enough to still see the iconic red drink logo, was now holding an assortment of colorful gel pens.  

Even the chair wasn’t safe from your interior decorating, a purple knitted blanket folded over the top of the rolling seat. The seat itself now adorning a red, white, and black cushion of an ugly faced bulldog with a spiked color and cap with the letter G, the words ‘GEORGIA BULLDOGS’ splayed above him. A sports team he assumed.  

The conversation hadn’t started back up since the introduction in the sick room. Both of you taking your respective seats in the office area, opening your lunch bags and digging in.  

Eddie being a creature of habit brought his usual bag of pretzels, a can of Pepsi, and a sandwich made of whatever he could find in the kitchen. Today it was two slices of whole wheat, mayo, lettuce, the last piece of deli ham, and shredded cheese.  

Your own lunch seemed much more put together. For starters, you had an actual lunchbox, a bulky and vibrant plastic thing with Snoopy sleeping on his dog house on the front. Inside, there was your own ziploc bag of green grapes, a can of Coke, and a sandwich cut into triangles. White bread, crunchy peanut butter, and grape jelly. A Little Debbies Swiss Rolls pack sitting on the corner of your desk for dessert. 

He’s mid chew on the final bite of his sandwich, half his Pepsi left, his pretzels being the first thing devoured, when you speak up. Your own sandwich having on triangle section left, grapes gone, and Coke untouched. 

“Have you always lived in Hawkins?” 

You’re wiping your mouth with a folded paper towel, curious eyes focused on him. You’re very good at that, he’s realized. Eye contact. Focusing on your center of attention. Eddie has never been good at it, having to remind himself to look at the person talking to him. It’s polite, Wayne would say, shows people you’re listening and interested in what they have to say. Eddie gets so worked up in remembering to seem focused, he loses it and doesn’t hear what’s being said. He hasn’t had that problem with you so far. He thinks he could look at and listen to you all day if you let him. 

“Born and bred,” he swallowed his bite and shrugs his shoulders, rubbing his hands together to get the crumbs off, “you’re not though, are you. Feel like I’d remember you,” he raises an eyebrow. Feeling a little more confident in himself, especially with the obvious signs of you not being a local, and gives a playful smirk. 

“You got me,” you hold your hands up in mock surrender, moving your arms back to rest your elbows on the edge of the desk, “I’m from Georgia.” 

Eddie nods, the seat cushion making sense now. It’s your home team for… sports. A sport. Probably football. Eddie mentally pats himself on the back for guessing it was a sports team. Good on him for knowing sports. (Eddie doesn’t know sports.) 

“So,” Eddie lulls, small talk never being his forte. Much more interested in getting into the nitty gritty of conversation when interested in someone but he doesn’t know you yet. He needs to find something to relate with you on and he can’t do that with tidbits he may know from growing up in town like he could other people his age or older here. “You’re like a southern chick,” it was your turn to grimace.  

“You’re really bad at this,” you snort and shake your head, finishing up the last of your own sandwich. Tidying up your desk, throwing away the ziploc bag and sandwich wrapping and paper towels. Opening the coke can and moving the swiss rolls pack to in front of you, looking back to Eddie. With a tilt of your head and saccharine grin you ask, “Splitsies?” 

He nods at the opportunity to get a sweet little treat before addressing your initial comment, “Small talk requires talking and I just don’t really do that anymore with people who don’t already know me or just have a preconceived idea of who I am,” he shrugs his shoulders again, voice softer, slight regret in being too real. Eyes watching your fingers open the package, folding another paper towel (which he has now realized are coming from a roll kept in the lowest drawer of your desk), and setting one of the processed roll cakes on the indented paper before placing it in front of Eddie’s seated and slouched body. “Thank you,” He looks back up to you and you’re already looking at him. 

“Virginia told me a lot about you,” you smirk, lifting your own cake to take a bite. Your eyes not leaving his except for split a second to give an appreciative glance and hum to the cream filled ‘pastry.’  

“We’ve been corresponding for months,” you snicker at your own use of the word, making you feel like some sort of 18th century countess or captain, rather than a young nurse taking over the position of an older nurse.  

He looks panicked at this reveal. Which is cute considering he had a bit of white cream on his upper lip. Although he looked so pretty when his brow furrowed, it was clear he was frightened so you were quick to reassure him. 

“All good things, of course. I think she’s just worried about you. It’s cute, really, just really cute.” Another kind smile on your lips and your hand holding out the paper towel - his now eaten roll was sat on - as hint for him to clean his mouth off. 

Eddie knew Virgina wasn’t one to gossip but the prospect of a rare new person in town he’s actually interested in, being privy to all his shit-uations without him telling them himself, scared him. But Virginia did love to meddle and that may be worse. She was a big supporter of Eddie needing friends his own age.  

Letting out a sigh of relief that his tragic history had yet to be exposed, Eddie returned your smile with his own half one. You reach into your desk again, pulling out a letter instead of paper towels this time. ‘Edward’ scrawled in a familiar, loopy handwriting with blue ink on the white envelope caught his eyes. Eyebrows furrowed in confusion and intrigue.  

You hold it out for him to take like it was something precious, “This is for you.” From Virginia, is unspoken but recognized between the both of you. Who else would it have been from. Eddie flushing as he realized, Virginia never told him about you. Virginia never even told Eddie she’d be leaving. They didn’t speak much, or really at all, during the summer unless they happened to run into each other outside of these brick walls.  

Callused finger pads grazed your palm when he took the letter from you, he kept his eyes focused on examining the letter. A sad smile on his lips appreciating the loops of the E and W and curves of the D’s. Realistically he knew Virginia probably wasn’t gonna be gone from Hawkins forever, she had roots here. A son. That’s son kid or maybe kids now, he wasn’t sure, hadn’t checked in on Rick since he got out of jail in ‘88. But it still hurt that she was gone, without a word, and was happy enough to talk to her replacement about him but not to him about her. You. 

“I’m gonna read this later,” he mumbles and puts the offending but appreciated letter in his deep pocket. A quick glance at his watch read it’s been about an hour since making his way into the nurses office, lunch was over. He threw his trash out in the bin by your desk and gave you a friendly smile, standing from the seat in front of your desk. 

“Maybe we could do this again sometime,” eyes shifting around the office again, not really taking things in, just needing to not get trapped back into your gaze. “Ya know, with my lunches free now and everything,” he humorlessly chuckles. 

“Eddie,” you spoke softer than you had before, a more sympathetic smile on your lips, “I’d really like that.” 

He looks at you now. You have really shiny eyes. What a weird observation, Eddie thinks, but it’s true. With a quick wave of his hand before retreating them back into his pocket, fingers playing with the paper edges of Virginias letter. He begins his trek out the door.  

“Hey, next time though,” he stumbles in a spin to walk backwards while speaking, “We’ll speak more about you than about me. Feel’s like you know too much about me,” he huffs with a smug smile before spinning back to look forward. “See ya, Peach.” 

Your sweet laughter follows him out into the hall. You call out, “See ya, Eddie,” to his retreating back, watching the door long after he’s left.  

“Peach,” you snort and shake your head, teeth tugging on your bottom lip to stop from smiling too wide. 

the clean up crew (taglist): @avobabe87 @bakugouswh0r3

comment or ask to be added to the clean up crew!

[jamelslivres]

Hama

Let's start with the canon(ish) timeline:

Assuming that the young woman with the hair loopies is Katara's grandmother Kana and she's around the same age as Hama, I'm going to say that both are in their early-twenties. This is because Kana needed time to emigrate from the Northern Water Tribe. Yue got engaged at 16, and the healer Yagoda thought Katara was old enough to be engaged at 14. Judging by these engagement customs, Kana was probably engaged and then left around 16/17. To give her enough time to cross the world and settle in, I'd say that she and Hama must be around their early 20s.

During "The Puppetmaster", Hama says "the raids started over sixty years ago". Based on this, Hama is in her 80s during the events of this episode.

As she is describing her escape, Hama says she "walked free for the first time in decades". This could mean anything, but given that she hasn't started graying yet, I'm going to say two decades. Making her in her 40s when she first escaped.

Now, when did Hama get to the village we see in "The Puppetmaster"?

I've collected the relevant pieces from the show and discussed them. I truly can't make up my mind on this point, so I'd love to hear what others think. Let me know if I missed anything or if you guys have different interpretations of the evidence.

Here is what is said in the episode:

A merchant explains to a customer that he won't have any ash bananas until next week. The customer then says 'oh right, the full moon'. The merchant then says that he can't lose another two delivery boys to the full moon.

This interaction, to me, can be used to justify that Hama either has or hasn't been kidnapping people in this specific village for a long time:

Kidnapping in the short time interpretation: The merchant looks to be around sixty or slightly older, so he'd have been around when Hama came to the village (if she arrived immediately after escaping in her 40s). Let's assume he's been running this business for that long. If Hama started kidnapping people near immediately, I'd assume the lost delivery boys incidents happened near the beginning of that time. In this case, up to four decades ago. The merchant might not bring up those incidents to a customer who is (two?) decades younger than him and might not remember that incident. Since telling the customer is kinda bad marketing and makes the merchant look irresponsible or reckless. This could imply that these incidents are more recent.

Kidnapping in the long time interpretation: The customer doesn't need to be reminded that the full moon is that night. He knows it instinctively and doesn't need the merchant to connect the dots between the two day journey and the full moon disappearances. This awareness of the moon phases could imply that this has been happening for long enough that people have been habitually paying attention to the moon for a long time.

2. The guy who tells Aang, Sokka, and Toph about Old Man Ding says he's the "only one person who ever saw it and lived".

The word "ever" here implies that this might have been going on for a long time. However, local legends are quickly made and inflated, so the timing might just naturally be exaggerated.

3. Old Man Ding interaction, in which he says, "I'm not ready to get snapped up by any moon monster".

Honestly, I don't know what to make of this. To me, this reads like a semi-recent event, but I don't have anything to really back this up. Apart from maybe Ding saying he's not ready to get snapped up by a moon monster in response to a conversation about his age, which could imply that he was already old when this event happened.

Fun fact: the credits say "old man dig" even though the subtitles and voices clearly say "old man ding" (: 

Now for some speculation:

If Hama escaped in her 40s, the earliest she could have gotten to the village was forty years ago. In my opinion, that is a LONG time to be kidnapping people and not get caught. However, she does only have the opportunity to kidnap people once a month, but still that seems like a really long time. This brings me to the part of this that is just me asking questions (so again, please let me know what you think!)

When did Hama start kidnapping people?

Did she go to other villages before she came to the one we see in this episode? If so, did she kidnap anyone in those previous villages (I'd guess yes)? If she was in other villages, was there a point before she started kidnapping people, or did she start immediately (I think it could be interesting if she struggled with it for a bit, then gave into the urge. Or even if the urge didn't appear immediately)?

Did she ever try to go home? If so, did she find that she wasn't able to let go of the need for revenge, and leave again?

[gabrielsbubblegumbitch]

OOHHH Ive already been thinking about How the order of who Valentino meets First, Vox or Angel would realate to Vox's Jealousy:

Like, If Val and Angel are together since before the partnership their relationship has been going on for so long no wonder Val is so attached to him! is a form of comfort to him, something he is so used to having that the threat of losing it scares him, and something Vox has been "rivaling" for a while, but in that case i feel either Vox would have already done something about it or get "used" to it, so idk

NOW If Valentino’s relationship with Angel happens after he was already “with” Vox that would mean his jealousy even more interesting, cuz Angel is a new interest of Val that he clearly treats different from previous ones, at least from Vox reactions, maybe he was just as jealous of Val's previous "toys" but i don't think that, i think he notices how much more intense Valentino's obssession with Angel Dust is, and he doesn't like It one bit

Don't know witch of this scenarios are closer to canon but both are interesting enough i guess

done something about it or get "used" to it I mean the man is PETTY, I don't think he'd used to it. And if Val was attached to Angel, Vox wouldn't be able to do shit about him.

Why do I think Angel met Val first? Because to me, it makes sense that Angel fell for him when Val was still a nobody. Angel is neither dumb nor evil*, and in my opinion, the Overlord (or even a mobster with a position established enough to hang out with Vox) would be a major red flag for him. But a young, aspiring porn producer just looking for his first big star? Not so threatening. One can truly believe in the idea of a fruitful partnership, especially if love is involved. Since Angel has 40 years more experience living in Hell, I can't imagine him being easily tricked into the contract. The only way I can see him signing off his soul would be based on the conviction that Valentino won't hurt him.

Babe, for this whole plan to work for us I will need your help. A little power boost, let's call it. Don't freak out, that's not that big of a deal, but we need to do this if we want to kickstart our project. Treat it like an investment in our future, amorcito.

*it was pointed out to me that's a terrible oversimplification from my side and I agree. Lemme clarify: I excluded the possibility of Angel being simply desperate - as probably many people that fell for Val - because I think before Valentino wrecked it, his life had been good enough to not take such risk. Like, Angel is - and always has been - the one making money, Valentino is just parasite leeching on his talent.

[hibischush]

Idk if we’ll ever get canon ages of the bachelors and bachelorettes for FoM. But do you have exactly any headcanon or idea of how old they are?

You know I was just thinking about this! I have a few ideas but still unsure so feel free to put your input in the tags 🌺

Bachelors

Balor 🪙

26 or 27

He's a merchant that has built a reputation around the town and outside of it, he needs a few years to do that

Especially considering he was a ""former rouge,"" he'd either have to spend a few years to regain trust or change his identity lol

He looks young but acts older if you know what I mean? Idk I guess has a lot of experience

March ⚒️

I'm giving the pretty confident answer that he is 22

He acts like an angsty teen so he's younger but definitely not over 25

For historical accuracies, a quick search claims that blacksmith apprentices would start around age 13 or 14 and would last from 4-8 years (this is from a quick google search so the source is....trust me man...)

I think he would have started at 14 and the apprenticeship would last at least 6 years (he's an "award-winning" blacksmith so I would assume that the two years after he graduated he would build up his fame)

Hayden 🐔

Anywhere from 35-42

I feel like 30 is too young for Hayden but's that just me

He could be a younger silver fox you never know

For maximum DILF points he has to be 35≤

I think a happy little median would be 38

Ryis 🌲

I like to think he's 23 but 22-25 also works

He definitely looks young but I don't think he's at his mid twenties just yet

Eiland 📜

23

It makes sense to me, he still looks young and has some youthful outlooks on life or on his dreams

and that's not a bad thing!

If he ended up getting education as a historian/archaeologist then it puts him at the end of his education

But his age depends on Adeline's since I'm not sure if he is the older or younger sibling (or if they are twins)

If they are twins they both would be 24 but if he is younger then I would keep him at 23

Bachelorettes

Celine 🌼

I know that a lot of people would hc her as younger (like 21) and like

her looks fit the bill

but I think she has a baby face and I think she'd be 24

Juniper ♨️

Juniper gives the "fun wine aunt" vibes

So I think her age range is 28-30

Reina ��

I think that Reina would be the youngest out of all of the bachelorettes

I think she'd be 21

I don't have a great reason other than she just seems lost in a way

Like doesn't know what she wants her "niche" to be

She likes cooking and that's great! I think she'd make an excellent chef

But as long as she stays a part-timer at her parents inn she just reminds me of a dove that hasn't left the nest quite yet

Valen 🩺

38-42

Medical school and residency explains most of this

She just gives a very mature vibe so I think she'd be on the older end

However, I think she would be older than Hayden so if Hayden is 38, she'd be at least 40

Adeline 🌷

25

She gives older sister vibes and with how stressed out she is that just solidifies my opinion that she is older

She's getting to the age where she's figuring most things out but some things still escape her y'know

Some things are learned with age (like learning how to relax)

Bonus: if Caldarus does end up becoming a romanceable then (they?) would be the oldest by a long shot. Easily 1,000+

Some of the romanceables look/act super young, but since you can get married the automatic age minimum is 18. But honestly even that is pretty young to get married (at least in the modern day)?? I want to hear the rest of the communities thoughts too.

[scrufflebolt]

my personal sven svensson headcanons

- he would most likely be 24-26 in canon but hes 23 to me, why not?

- isnt actually physically weak, he was just too busy talking to actually get ready to fight henry so he was caught off guard

- average height, maybe 5'9, or 5'10. just a bit shorter than swedish average though which is 5'11

- more than likely canon, but he's VERY talkative. stay in a room with him too long he'll rant to you about his opinions and interests for hours

- it'll take him a while to notice but he'll stop talking if you're uninterested

- lets his hair grow out a lil (as shown in the drawing above) and cuts it after a while

- usually cuts his own hair but whenever he doesnt he lets earrings cut it

- fluffy hair, and by that i mean its real soft and nice. he gets annoyed if its oiley because it feels weird

- has like 2 moles on his face

- joined the toppat clan at a young age, perhaps 16. ive jumped on the conclusion that he was taken by rhm while they were robbing a bank/store while sven, himself was attempting to steal something

- was those stereotypical troubled teenagers. hes changed a lot as an adult now and is more mature and is a respectable young man. however he still has little bits and pieces of his past personality now he'll show off duty. like he'll be a little playfully mean and tease you just a lil.

- kinda sassy lmao but also unintentionally rude sometimes

- actually laid back when he's not stressed or angry. but he gets stressed out easily, especially ever since he's been a leader.

- is up for new things but HATES having to be forced to change things

- he either perceives mr macbeth or rhm/reg as a father figure. they call him "son" and give him advice occasionally. its one of them, i just havent decided which one i wanted it to be yet.

- it's just a father-son like relationship but it's not an actual one because i hc reg/rhm to be in their late 30's/early 40's

- hes not THAT obsessed with sharks. yeah i say he'd like sharks but he wouldnt know the answer if u asked him a specific question abt sharks.

- very prideful. very open about his identity, nationality, opinions, blah blah blah, all of it. he'll talk all about it

- gets embarrassed easily, especially if hes proven wrong in an argument or if he was wrong about something but hey, at least he'll admit it

- looks like a child in some pictures of him and hates it (he looks like a little kid in some endings from thsc but looks like an actual adult in others)

- thinks dogs > cats

- real tired, the adjust to him becoming leader is too much to handle

- WANTS to rest but doesn't because if he finishes all his work then he could get it all done with then rest after

hope u enjoyed these hcs, haven't seen anyone else headcanon or perceive sven the same way i do yet (i will occasionally edit this post to add more)

[apoptoses]

thinking about our threesome 🫶🏼

46. How much do bad interpretations of this character upset you? for Daniel 🫢

48. What’s your favorite physical/design feature for this character? for ARMAND

49. What’s your favorite personality trait in this character? for Lestat

idk why i stayed in the 40s those seemed like the most unique questions to me

46. Lmao god, a LOT.

I think the thing about Daniel is that he's one of those characters with a lot of blanks to fill in, right? He's only present for 10% of the entire VC at best, we don't know much about his background, we only get a handful of chapters from his POV and one of those contains a lot of montaged shit.

But when he's portrayed as a being without agency, or someone who never cared for Armand at all, it really grinds my gears.

It says directly in the text how he loves Armand. He begs for immortality because he wants to be with Armand. He loved the luxury that Armand provided, he loved having fine things, he loved their travels, he loved being lord over Night Island. There was a lot he loved about their relationship and the intimacy they shared.

And I think that as a society we're just starting to really identify abuse, right? But often people forget that there's a spectrum between '100% healthy relationship' and 'victim/abuser', that relationships can fall into the middle. That sometimes it takes two people making shitty choices to make a fucked up relationship.

That's why their relationship is fascinating, because it falls into those shades of grey and slides up and down that spectrum. Daniel demanded and belittled just as much as Armand withheld and was selfish. He had agency. He was never some helpless puppet or a damsel in distress.

And yeah everyone can have their own reads and their own interpretations, and their own head canons. But to insist that the opposite of what is in the text is true and to take this character and remove all of his agency- that makes me nuts lmao

48. Listen. You know that I love Armand as a beautiful androgynous vampire but I also love him as a young man, with all kinds of masculine attributes. The juxtaposition of a soft, pretty face with hair under his arms and on his legs, the delicate features but hidden strength.

He practiced sword fighting and so he'd have had strong thighs, some muscle on his shoulder blades, fuckin biceps!! He climbed bridges constantly in Venice so he would have had strong calves! Maybe Armand has the face of an angel but give me and Armand with a beautifully strong body beneath the clothes and a little body hair and I'm gnawing at my enclosure ♥

49. I think above all things, I admire Lestat's tenacity. We make fun of the bimbo shit he does and how he's openly a cry baby, but at the end of the day he always scrapes it together and takes action. Just like Armand he has the strength to endure deep down- Lestat, more than any vampire, always finds something fascinating about the new age. He finds that he loves mortals more and more, he interacts with them in a way that can be so kind and benevolent. And in spite of putting on a facade of self love when he's mired with self loathing Lestat carries on and adapts to the times, and I love that.

[animentality]

Hello, my most favorite Durgetash connoisseur,

I have one question - what age do you think Gortash is? (If this was already answered I apologize.)

It's hard to picture him anything under 45, and I saw some fanmade timelines but the numbers didn't seem very reliable.

I guess that all his stress and exhaustion and mourning could add five years or even more to his appearance, and there is also the fact that in fantasy political setting "young" could easily mean 50. Then his questionable posters, which are inaccurate for reasons, but still...

So despite the fact that he looks like a well maintained racoon, I can't be objective. I mean... I like my villains older, so there is that, but I'm also very puzzled about Enver and his canon age. I desperatedly need another opinion and/or any of your wisdom.

Have a good day and thank you!

I have seen people who speculate he's forty, and I think he's at least 40, if not closer to 50.

Now I personally side with you. I love old ass men.

Gortash being 60 is not a problem for meeeeeeee.

Old man yaoi is the best yaoi.

But. BUT.

I know the Dark Urge is at least 40. And I suspect Gortash is younger than them.

So I'm going with a healthy 44.

Closer to 40 than 50, but still trying to cling desperately to his youth.

He'd buy a Maserati to cope with his mid life crisis.

Or to feel better about his wife passing, I don't know.

[stargazer-sims]

I need to make more frisky old folks to live at Windward Shore Estates. Grandpa's going to need some neighbours to get up to no good with. Plus, I'm seriously loving the idea of an independent elder community.

I realized that Victor's grandfather, Michael, is from Brindleton Bay as well, but after meeting a woman at Grace & Julian's wedding, canonically he moves to Willow Creek to be nearer to Grace and Victor (and of course his girlfriend Juliet). Michael and Juliet might live in a place like this, but it'd be in Willow Creek.

So yeah... I have to think about older characters.

__________

For anyone wondering why Nikolai's grandpa is still around and active, here's the story. Also, Nikolai's grandfather is called Nikolai too, so to avoid confusion while I'm explaining this, I'm going to just refer to him as "Grandpa" even though he was a teen/young man through some of it. (Within their family, our Nikolai is called Kolya to avoid confusion, and Grandpa is called Nikolai)

The simple version of the story is that Grandpa was a young and dumb stud back in the day, and became a father at sixteen. The baby's mother was fifteen and her parents were trying to force her to give the baby up for adoption, but Grandpa, despite his irresponsibility, was not happy with the idea of his son being given to strangers. He said he'd raise the baby, which his own parents were not happy about but ultimately agreed to. His own mother helped him with little Mikhail so he could work and continue to go to school.

Eventually, Grandpa met another woman who he fell in love with and later married. He continued to pursue his education and work as much as he could, which was much easier with his new partner taking care of Mikhail. Grandpa and his new wife had three more children, so Mikhail ended up with three half-siblings.

Unfortunately the marriage didn't last. When Mikhail was twelve, his parents split up. She took the three younger children, and once again it was just Mikhail and his dad.

Fast forward to when Mikhail is seventeen and Grandpa is the tender age of thirty-three. With his doctorate in biochemistry and a yearning for some sort of change in his life, he looks for international opportunities and gets offered a job in Canada. He and Mikhail are excited about the possibility of immigrating, but there's a snag. Mikhail is madly in love with a girl called Elena and they don't want to be separated. Luckily, Elena is eighteen and can legally immigrate without her parents' consent, so Grandpa agrees to get the paperwork done for her to come with them as well.

But, the thing is, Elena has a secret which grandpa doesn't find out until they're already in Canada. Elena is pregnant. With twins. Like Grandpa, Mikhail is about to become a teen father.

Mikhail gets a job, does his best to learn as much English as quickly as he can, and asks Elena to marry him. Just before Christmas, twins Natalya and Nikolai are born. The family's first year in Canada isn't even over yet, and it's already been a total whirlwind.

So now... fast-forward to the present day, when the twins are around 40-41 years old. If my math checks out, this makes Grandpa 74-75 years old in the present storyline. Definitely still young and spry enough to have a good time and make trouble in the neighbourhood.

[mariyekos]

As Azure Fades Analysis, Part 1

Azure Dragoons: Aging and the Impact of the Eyes

@scrollsfromarebornrealm made an EXCELLENT analysis post about the newest short story from the official FFXIV sidestory website, and in my attempt to respond to it I ended up with something so long it probably won't fit in a single post. So, I decided to split it up before i hit the image/text limit.

And yeah, in case you didn't know there's a new official FFXIV short story out relating to Estinien and Haldrath. Go check it out, because it is AMAZING.

First things first, as is typical of me: I will be discussing both canon and headcanon here. I will do my best to make it very clear when I am discussing something explicitly stated or heavily implied in canon, and when I am discussing headcanon. Some of this will come from the new short story, but I will also make references to the whole game, so get ready for sources galore!

Introductory Sources:

(Above: from the new story)

(Above: from the quest Heart of Ice)

(Above: from the sidequest Thar be Dragons)

Hraesvelgr's Line, and the Lifespan of Elezen

Alright with my sources out of the way, I actually interpreted the new story and Hraesvelgr lines differently! First, when I read Hraesvelgr's line, I took it as him saying that Estinien would be old and unable to effectively fight by age 50, rather than that Estinien would be dead by then.

Elezen live to be 100-120, but Edmont and Charlemald use old face models by age 56 I believe, so it's not like they stay spring chickens forever. I'm taking the fact that Haldrath and Aureniquart have young faces as the devs wanting them to be recognizable, or maybe aging a little more gracefully. It's been 20 years, so I would put them at mid 40s, maaaaybe mid 50s since Estinien and Aymeric are 32 in HW, which means 32 is a perfectly good age to still be fighting. If elezen live to 100-120, then 45-55 could definitely fit for "a brawny man well into his middle years."

In canon, it is heavily implied if not outright confirmed that transformed heretics can live for centuries (see: Thar be Dragons). In my long-established headcanon, Estinien ends up aging slower because of Nidhogg's power. In that HC, Hraesvelgr doesn't necessarily know of the impact that Nidhogg's Eye had on Haldrath, since Hraesvelgr basically peaced out after handing Nidhogg his own Eye. This new story is making me re-evaluate that HC... In Canon, the actual Eyes of Nidhogg are gone at this point, but Estinien spent some time a few days according to Lucia, but it's months/patch time in my HC again possessed by Nidhogg with the Eyes in his flesh, and there's no denying there have been lasting effects. Going purely on canon, Estinien can do the clone thing now, and is a huge powerhouse. The dragons recognize the bit of Nidhogg that resides within him too. Stuff like scales is pure HC that I happily accept but acknowledge isn't canon as far as anything we've seen. But imo that could partly the modelers being lazy since that would require excess effort .

(Above: Estinien making clones, à la Nidstinien. Source, with video)

Haldrath, Estinien, and How They Age

Now, Estinien's lifespan might not be impacted at all by what happened with Nidhogg. But since heretics can live centuries, and we know Estinien has been impacted somewhat...I think it's possible Hraesvelgr's assessment about Estinien being spent by 50 was wrong. Especially if we go with the idea that in his isolation he didn't know what happened to Haldrath beyond just that Haldrath had the Eyes (general had, no knowledge of the merge). Plus, his "spent" assessment came before Estinien ended up melding with the Eyes. If we go with the assumption that Hraesvelgr does know about what the Eye did to Haldrath, it could also be that Hraesvelgr told Estinien he would be old and infirm by 50 because he assumed Estinien would get rid of the Eye before it had any lasting effects on him, like all the other Azure Dragoons. By getting rid of it, he'd get old too.

(Above: from the new story).

Haldrath was still able to slay dragons during his middle years, after all. He collapsed because of Nidhogg's growing influence. Which admittedly could've been better-able to get him because maybe in aging he was growing weaker, but I think you could say it was more prolonged exposure to Nidhogg making him vulnerable than aging-induced-weakness.

(Above: Thordan upon revealing Haldrath in the quest Heavensward)

In the new story, Estinien mentions Haldrath's aging corpse. In the quest Heavensward, Archbishop Thordan VII makes reference to the body's lack of decay. This preservation is why I HC that maybe Estinien would end up aging slower- maybe the aether would be enough to maintain him as he is, just as Haldrath was. Now we didn't take of Haldrath's armor so who knows what lies beneath, but what I find interesting is that his corpse apparently did not change. He most definitely didn't turn into a full-on dragon. He's still an elezen (albeit with an eye in his chest, which is notably smaller than the Eyes bound to Estinien! I really wonder if there is meant to be a lore reason, like the Eyes tunneling deeper into the flesh over time, or if that was just a visual thing to make possessed!Estinien seem creepier). It could be that Haldrath neither decayed nor transformed because Nidhogg's power could only transform living beings, not dead ones. Haldrath's body never rose on its own to return to Nidhogg, after all.

Dragon Eyes and Consciousness/Control

Which brings into question how much consciousness is afforded to the Eyes... Vrtra can operate Varshahn and his true body separately, but given the scene when he freezes as Varshahn while he calls to Azdaja with his true body, maybe Dragons can only instill consciousness in one Eye-containing vessel at once. Haldrath kept both Eyes, even if only one merged to him (and why only one...? just to make sure the story could happen, or maybe because Nidhogg was weakened by the attack and only one could...?). Estinien had both Eyes when possessed too. When Nidhogg speaks through the Eye to Estinien in the lv50 DRG quest, we don't see his true body (with Hraesvelgr's Eye) and whatever that's doing. Maybe Nidhogg can only keep his consciousness in one place/with one Eye (so it's rendered moot when both Eyes are together).

Maybe dragons can only use their Eyes operate living beings (Varshahn is made by alchemists, so he's special). Maybe there was some sort of seal on Haldrath's dead body that kept Nidhogg from making it rise and deliver the other Eye unto him, even after Berteline/the next Azure Dragoon(s) held the Left one. Maybe he just didn't feel like going through the trouble to reclaim it because he could wage his war perfectly well with Hraesvelgr's Eye and wasn't going for extermination/didn't need full power until HW. Maybe the writers just needed an Eye in Haldrath's body and let the reason for Nidhogg not reclaiming it slide to make an awesome story moment.

(Above: comparison of Eye sizes. Also Estinien's Eyes move)

Summary on Aging, HC and Canon

In any case! Back to canon: 1) Transformed heretics can live for centuries. 2) Haldrath's body ceased to age and did not decay after the Eye merged to him. 3) The Eye was able to remain in Haldrath's body for a thousand years and was still functional when it merged to Estinien (it wiggles in the CSs).

HCs from this: maybe Estinien will age slower and be able to maintain his form. Maybe he will gradually be transformed into a dragon or more draconic being over time. Even a drop of dragon's blood- supposedly- is enough to transform an Ishgardian, and Estinien got fully blasted with Dragon Essence upon possession. We even see a middle form during the Nidstinien fight! Nidhogg's shade (dragon form) might just be an aetheric projection rather than flesh. But back to HC, I interpret that as Nidhogg attempting to actually warp flesh, before going to his Shade and then returning to the form that his body- Estinien's body- recognizes best as its own.

...All of this is a really long way to say that I don't think Estinien would necessarily be dead by 50. Well. Unless we take it with the idea that Nidhogg would have taken full control of him, and that the "youthful vigor" he would lose would be his ability to reject Nidhogg's influence before being lost as Haldrath was. For some reason that did not occur to me until this very moment, over an hour into writing this, despite the fact that that was probably what scrollsfromarebornrealm was implying... And/or that scrollsfromarebornrealm just meant that Estinien would probably get himself killed by 50 because yeahhhh, that man did NOT seem to care about himself enough to be safe and survive that long. Especially if aging meant he grew weak and then said weakness had him fall in battle (rather than Nidhogg's corruption straight up killing him by 50. Which is also an intriguing possibility).

"Becoming the Azure Dragoon is a death sentence."

The quote above comes directly from @scrollsfromarebornrealm's post. While I'm not looking at it as dragoons being too old/weak to fight by 50, I do wholeheartedly agree with the idea that (nearly) all Azure Dragoons die young. Partially because of the dangers of their job, partially because of the risk of Nidhogg's influence.

First, Alberic. Alberic retired 20 years ago and he's fine! But two things: 1) Alberic was 24 when he retired (don't feel like taking a picture, but in my Encyclopedia Eorzea it says he's 44, and it's been 20 years). 2) Alberic is a hyur. Haldrath held onto BOTH eyes of Nidhogg for 20 years before he could no longer handle it, and drank of Ratatoskr's aether. Most Azure Dragoons were probably Elezen given the racial distribution of Ishgard. Alberic, a hyur, does not bear elezen/dragon blood (as long as he's purely hyur, which I am assuming he is). In addition, he probably only had the Eye for a handful of years at most, since he was only 24 when he rejected it. It makes sense that he would walk away from Nidhogg with relatively few impacts. He didn't die in battle and he firmly rejected the Eye when it threatened to take control of him. I think retirement for an Azure Dragoon (followed by at least two decades of survival) is EXTREMELY uncommon in Ishgard's history.

(Above: from the new story)

A few things here. I'll start with the point I was trying to make: "While the Eye lent him strength, in harboring Nidhogg's undying malice, it was also slowly corrupting his being. Ere long it would finally consume him..." In other words, the Eye is most definitely a death sentence. It will kill Haldrath eventually. Possessing an Eye long term- at least as a part of one's own flesh, though since it seems possessing it long term binds it to the Azure Dragoon's flesh you could just shorten that to "long term" only- will corrupt the Azure Dragoon to the point of no return. The only options left at that point seem to be Getting Consumed And Becoming Nidhogg's Puppet (Estinien) or Being Killed As To Not Become A Puppet (Haldrath). It was too late to reject the Eye, which is what Alberic did to make his escape.

Back into HC territory, I now want to pick up an old fic of mine about a previous Azure Dragoon basically having to be put down upon being too far gone due to Nidhogg's Corruption. Not to the level that the Eye melded to their flesh as it did Haldrath and Estinien, but mental corruption, and maybe attacks like the one Haldrath has. Ishgard would be wary of another Azure Dragoon being claimed by the Eye not only because they don't want Nidhogg to have a new pawn, but also because they can't afford to lose the second Eye with the first still bound to Haldrath. They also probably wouldn't want news of the Azure Dragoon's corruption leaking to the public, since the Azure Dragoon is supposed to be a hero and that would be Not Good for the Azure Dragoon's image. So maybe Ishgard kills Azure Dragoons who are too far gone (whether they're actually too far or whether the people in power are paranoid about it).

A different HC I'm not sold on but thought of is that the stress of being Azure Dragoon could lead to an early grave. Yes Dragon blood does extend the lives of transformed heretic, but it could be that without the transformation, the stress of it all causes damage to the insides of Azure Dragoons in a way that prematurely ages them and/or just causes them to die young. Alberic at 44 has some white hair. Which 44 year old men can definitely have without anything bad happening, don't get me wrong! But that could be a fun HC interpretation of that.

So yeah. I HC that Azure Dragoons die young as based on 1) them potentially needing to be killed to avoid falling to Nidhogg, 2) their jobs being so dangerous they're killed in battle (and the Eye retrieved) or die from wounds, 3) the stress of the Eye causing irreparable damage that leads them to die young even after relinquishing the Eye. Plus, as @scrollsfromarebornrealm points out, Valeroyant died 2 years after fending off Nidhogg. We don't have many named Azure Dragoons so even one early death is suspect!

Haldrath and the Two Eyes

(Above: from the new story)

Yes, one of these is a repeat of the one above. But I really want to empahsize something in this because my eyes (haha) are SO wide at this. Haldrath refers to an Eye, singular, being what is corrupting him. Not the Eyes plural. And only one of the eyes has fused to his body, which matches what we know. At first I thought that maybe he only had one or something. Yet he tells Berteline that he will "entrust [Nidhogg's] eyes" plural to her.

So this is odd. Haldrath only mentions drawing on a singular Eye, and only a singular Eye has fused to his body. But he entrusts both to Berteline. My thought here is that maybe he stopped drawing on the power of the second one once the first fused to him, unwilling to give up the strength afforded by the first, but wary of drawing on the second lest it fuse to him too. I do wonder if he thought Bertiline would be able to pry Nidhogg's Right Eye from his corpse (in addition to presumably taking the Left Eye from him, which is the one Estinien has), or if when he said he was entrusting the eye to her he meant he was entrusting his dead body (containing the Eye) to her to...keep away from Nidhogg, or something. In the Echo Flashback to Haldrath following the events of The Aery, we can see Haldrath holding both Eyes and then storing them. It's heavily implied (if not outright stated) that Haldrath never met with any of the Knights Twelve again, save Aureniquart on his deathbed, so I assume Haldrath would've also had the Left Eye on him at his death even if only the Right had fused to him.

But yeah. Haldrath says he's been corrupted by One Singular Eye. It could be that the second just isn't mentioned here because it hasn't fused to him, and maybe I'm reading too far into this (see: me going feral over Estinien saying "Then you and Alphinaud threw my eyes off a bridge, and I’ve never known peace since."). Yet he must possess two to entrust both to Bertiline. Interesting.

I do wonder if anyone ever attempted to pry the Eye from Haldrath's body. It is possible they thought he was a Holy Object and didn't want to disturb him so never tried. It's possible that those who knew of him were worried they might also be corrupted if they touched the Eye, so they didn't want to try. It's possible they tried and failed. Who knows. But it seems like the Eye remained undisturbed within Haldrath's ageless corpse until Thordan used Primal Powers to fuel his ascendance to a God-King.

End Note

I honestly don't know what to say anymore other than Wow.

This one short story has blasted my mind open. I'm not sure how many words this giant essay is, but it's been about 3 hours so I think i should stop for now, despite the fact that I've hardly even begun to talk about some of the most intriguing parts of the short story! (See: Estinien being able to see Haldrath's memories and attributing it to Nidhogg, a more in-depth analysis of corruption, being able to hear Nidhogg and him sounding like the wind (hey remember that dragoon helmets are designed to make the sound of the wind going through it seem like a dragon scream, thank you levequest), whatever the hell was in that drink (I think it would be fascinating to explore it being an intentional flashback on the part of the Alchemists, using the blood they took from him...maybe fic worthy hmmmm), the parallels between Haldrath and Estinien losing their burning passion to fight, Aureniquart and the pain of being told to kill your liege-lord plus potential backstory there and some lines about loyalty...needless to say there's a lot more to talk about!)

So for now I am going to stop here. There's a lot to think about. Haldrath did not die in battle as I'd assumed, but due to the Eye's corruption. He entrusted the Eye to a successor, as Nidhogg had already begun to call out to others. He asked to be killed. This has big repercussions.

If you've read this whole thing, thank you! I hope my rambling was somewhat interesting. If you want to discuss anything here, reblog or reply and I would love to talk xD. I don't have every lore piece memorized, and I've definitely forgotten some things, so if I'm missing some crucial information I would be happy to know!!

[daz4i]

wait okay. instead of going to sleep like a normal person. here's how I'd change the ages in bsd (for those that have a canon age), bc no one looks their age/it makes the timeline feel weird, i wanna let at least some major past events breathe a little between one another. possibly controversial takes ahead:

atsushi: i like that he's 18 actually. he looks and feels 16 but no yeah 18 works better. I'd say 20-21 would be nice but that'd reallyyyy throw his backstory's timing off unfortunately

dazai: 25

kunikida: around 27-28

ranpo: 28 also, maybe even 29 (his whole thing is that he looks young for his age anyway)

yosano: 28 as well

tanizaki: like. he does look 18. but also 16 and 21 at the same time. i like him as a bit older than atsushi so let's say 19-20, and naomi as well while we're at it

kenji: why is he 14. it's not that he doesn't look 14 it's that i simply did not expect a child to be the muscle in a detective agency. so please make him like at least 16 which is only just slightly better tbh

kyouka: yeah 14 is chill in her case imo. makes her more tragic 👍

katai: 27-29ish as well

fukuzawa: at least in his 50s. maybe 55ish, or even more. he def looks like it and it fits more with having a son in his 20s

akutagawa: i do want him to be older. but making his age gap with atsushi bigger is weird. so keeping him as a 20 y/o it is, maybe 21 at most

chuuya: 25

kouyou: 30s. early 40s even. she is already so milf coded. finding out she's 26 in canon was straight up offensive i swear. come on.

higuchi: 21

tachihara: 22 or 23 maybe? (the hunting dogs don't have canon ages but i like jouno and tecchou as 26ish so that way he's still like the baby of the group)

hirotsu: how is that man 50. make him 65 at least. jfc. the whole point is he's been with the mafia a long time. ik they keep recruiting teenagers for some reason but give me a break. my dad is pushing 70 and looks younger than him

q: actually my issue with them isn't that they don't look their age (tho they do look a bit younger ig) but that timeline wise?? they're so weird?? why did the mafia have a 6 y/o on deck that's just inconvenient for all parties involved. like i can excuse kyouka at 11ish but come ON. at least make them 10 in fifteen. or just bring them in later bc i just realized the timeline doesn't line up with the dazai and chuuya changes otherwise. man idk

odasaku: girl that man was NOT 23 when he died he should've been like at least 27 then

mori: late 40s or early 50s. keep the few years gap from fukuzawa maybe but he should still be older

ango: 29ish in the current timeline. or even 32. idk why but that number feels right.

francis: 45 at least. how is a 32 y/o man supposed to have a daughter old enough to study abroad...

poe: 29

melville: actually he is the only one aged correctly in this entire manga. bestie 🔥🔥🔥🔥

steinbeck: 24. maybe even older

lucy: 20-21ish. same issue as akutagawa really

louisa: 25 at least please 🙏

nathaniel: 34 maybe.

margaret: also early 30s. how the fuck is she 20. like kouyou this is straight up insulting 😭

mark: ageless for he is the spirit of youth and joy (yeah 22 is chill for him actually. he's like the taylor swift song. he'd love that)

mushitaro: tbh I'd make him more around 29 or even older than 30. like he would be a believable 35 y/o to me if needed.

nikolai: actually him being 26 is chill too. tho i wouldn't mind making him around 28-29ish too since i already aged up most 26 y/os so may as well go all the way.

shibusawa: yeah he can stay 29 too idm. i actually didn't know he had a canon age until now. cool!

i think that's everyone who has a canon age (excluding lns bc i haven't gotten to them yet)? aside from sigma maybe but his age is more of a plot device than a fun fact. and fukuchi is implied to be the same age as fukuzawa so, yeah just make them the same in this case too.

i did mess up the timeline myself with this. so lemme clear it up:

The War and the whole thing with mori and yosano still happened when she was 11, so 17 years before canon. that means mori was still in his 20s back then, no big change

untold origins still happened when ranpo was in his teens, honestly we can keep it 14, so 14 years ago, meaning fukuzawa was in his late 30 or early 40s. again not too big of a change I'd say

fifteen happens when. well. dazai and chuuya are 15. ten years ago. i don't want q there get them out of my sight (for now) let them be a kid for a bit!!!!! but yeah like in canon that means the previous boss's murder was a year before, 11 years ago. also while we're at it, stormbringer is also the same aka a year after 15

now this is where we shake things up just a bit. rather than occuring when dazai is 18, i think we can push the dark era to when he's 20 and still maintain the whole childlike thing he has going on there, it's not that big of a difference imo.

that means, 5 years before canon instead of 4, making akutagawa 15 back then, and ango 27 like odasaku.

also yeah q comes in at some point in the middle between those^ I'd say close to dark era than fifteen.

originally i wanted to make skk 26 but this started stretching things even more. bc now we gotta figure out how long dazai spent in hiding. and ig we can keep it 2 years and just make it so his entrance exam was 3 years before canon. again imo not that big of a stretch 🤔

idk why i said this changes the timeline a lot i think this is p simple. also lets ppl stew in their situation for just a bit longer which i like more.

thank you for reading. you are very brave and strong for pulling through. feel free to disagree with my takes but just be nice about it please. I'm also open to hearing other takes if you have any that i didn't consider 🫡 but again just be nice okay?? 🥹

[cagedchoices]

Okay so this is a second attempt at trying to make kind of a age/appearance reference sheet while also tying in a small amount of verse info so here's hoping that it will actually kind of make sense this time?? Especially since I don't really use icons very much anymore and I get the feeling that sometimes it can be hard to get a feeling for what Caleb would look like outside of the context of W/estworld. Even I kinda forget from time to time so this is for my benefit as much as anyone's. Under a cut because it's long.

SEASON 3 PRE-CANON

ignore the fact that this is a 40 year old man for just a second, everyone keeps casting him in projects that involve playing characters who would've looked significantly different when they were younger and we all just. keep letting him get away with it?? (lookin at you E/l C/amino... also the B/CS cameos...)

Realistically, Caleb would've looked around THIS young when he went into the army, This was a 19/20 year old actor in this case playing a 17/18 year old character. Appearance-wise, he will look more or less like this in any verse I'm writing where he's a teenager, and also in College V1 since that's a verse where he goes to college instead of joining the army.

By the time Caleb gets OUT of the military, he'd be around 25 or 26 years old. This is what he looks like in flashbacks in the show...

This is roughly how he would look instead, although I do keep in mind that the actor was about to turn or had recently turned 30 here, he at least looked young enough to be playing a character who was 24/25 years old.

I generally envision Caleb maintaining an appearance similar to this any time I do threads in verses where he falls between the ages of 25 and 30 years old, mainly Modern V1, and maybe my yet-to-be-developed S/tar T/rek verse. When it comes to canon, it helps put into perspective just how young he still was when Serac's system completely destroyed his life. He wasn't really a kid anymore, but in a lot of ways he still kind of was.

SEASON 3 CANON

As season 3 canon goes, Caleb is 35 years old, being played by an actor who is 40 but looked pretty much the same way when he was 35. This used to be the age and appearance I'd default to for any thread based in W/estworld canon or post-season 3, and I'd also use it when I had no idea what verse I wanted to use.

SEASON 4 PRE-CANON

From the end of season 3 to roughly 1 year later, Caleb is 36 and not changed much from before, although he does seem to have let the beard grow a little longer and actually kinda be a beard. His hair grows out a little more while he's in the hospital and starts to lay flat, and he gains a small scar on his left cheek from a laceration which is held closed by butterfly stitches until it heals. We never actually see it, but I headcanon he has a scar on the right side of his abdomen, from where he got shot and had surgery to remove the bullet fragments.

I haven't used this particular appearance for much outside of a few post-season 3 threads set during the riots/war waged against Incite, as it's really not that different from season 3 canon. But maybe I should use it more?

SEASON 4 CANON

Season 4 Caleb is at least 42 years old, pretty well synced up with the actor who would've been the same age when this was filmed. I will often default to writing Caleb at this age in particular because in my experience, muses over 35yrs tend not to get as much attention as young 20-somethings or early 30-somethings, and muses over 40 frequently get even less attention in the first place.

For specific threads, I mainly use this appearance, who I call "Scruffy Caleb," in my season 4 canon and post-canon verses, and then I also use it for the verses Fidelity, Modern V2, T/LOU, P/eaky B/linders, and R/ed D/ead R/edemption. Like before, Caleb has a scar on his left cheek, and he has a scar on the right side of his abdomen. If I'm writing any sort of AU where the events of season 4 happen but human Caleb manages to survive, he gains a new scar on the left side of his abdomen.

[hauntedliz]

For the BG3 ask, for any except your durge (only because I've not played one yet and am dancing around spoilers, so I guess if the answer wouldn't be a spoiler then go for it!)

6, 15, 23, 40

Aye aye captain! I will keep this durge spoiler-free. Thanks so much for asking! Probably going to be pretty Phoebe-centric just for time's sake.

6. What is your Tav's origin story?

Drama timeeeee.

Phoebe is the oldest daughter of Helene (elf wizard) and Silas (human bard). She has a younger sister named Arden and two younger brothers named Gilbert and Leon. Her father taught her to play the violin and love music. Though he was a bard, he never went out adventuring like he'd planned to as a young man. He met his wife and started pushing back his plans to leave. Then Pheobe came, so he never did. He got a job in town at a shop. Unfortunately, one day the shop caught fire and he was unable to escape. Pheobe had aspirations to go out and study music in Baldur's Gate, but once her father passed she wanted to stay and help take care of her siblings. In her grief, her mother could not bear the thought of her daughter having the same fate as her husband, so she studied and prepared until she was able to use magic to alter Phoebe's memories. Helene took Phoebe to the city and erased her memories of where her hometown is. As hard as she tries, Phoebe cannot remember the place where she grew up. She has all the memories of her family and her life, but where it happened she cannot recall, so she can never return there. In the city, Phoebe goes all into her studies. Eventually she starts travelling around, playing in taverns. That's basically what she's up to when she gets scooped up.

15. If your Tav could/does multiclass, what other class would they choose?

I have not multiclassed before so this is all what ifs and could very well not be good decisions lmao.

Phoebe- a couple options here. Wizard bc of her mom (and because she sorta maybe sent Gale away during act 1... don't hate me please I was young!!!) or rogue because I think the idea of couples picking up little things from each other is cute. I could also see ranger.

Lapis- Barbarian or fighter

Honeylark- Cleric maybe?

Pippa- Paladdin maybe? Really not sure for Pip. Rogue?

23. What is your Tav’s favorite moment they’ve had with their lover?

Probably any moment post-game where Phoebe and Astarion are sitting together and she realizes they are truly relaxed. No one is coming after them, there is nothing to fight. Astarion's guard is down, and they are just existing together in a moment laughing and talking.

40. What is the biggest mistake your Tav ever made?

So funny story actually... The biggest mistake my Tav has ever made was entirely my fault, but it is canon to her run so... When I played Act 2 I kind of didn't understand the fact that I needed to go to Moonrise Towers to save the tieflings before the final battle. I kind of thought I would just do it all when I got there at the end. So the tieflings in Moonrise Towers did die. And it is Phoebe's fault and totally not mine and she has to live with that not me. (IT JUST FELT LIKE SO FAR TO GO BACK!! I DIDN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THE GAUNTLET AGAIN I'M SORRY). And also I didn't realize Zevlor was there in the mindflayer colony, so I literally walked past him and Orin did some terrible things to him. Act 2 was traumatic for Pheebs. Luckily this is not canon to the LTFU (liz and toad fanfic universe).

[overhaulsleftglove]

Chrono: definitely feel like he'd be quite younger than Overhaul but still close enough that they'd know each other as kids and why he's so devoted to him in a "crush on my upperclassman he's so strong and handsome" sense, so about 24. gives off sassy Leo energy, so I headcanon his birthday to be August 5th. The shortest member, 177cm / 5'10.

Mimic: definitely late 30s to early 40s, like 38. this man is so angry all the time but also a go-getter and I know it'd be cliche to say he's an Aries but like.... come on. this man is an Aries. March 27th. 6'2!

Nemoto: man's seems so young and tbh very naive, one of the youngest at 22. gives me Cancer vibes, so birthday is July 13th. also 177cm / 5'10!

Deidoro: idk why but he feels 34. he and Setsuno give the most crackhead Gemini vibes, so I'd say he's June 4th. I'd give him a good 180cm / 6ft

Rikiya: TALL, BASTARD OF A MAN. LOVE HIM AND HIS LONG, STUPID ARMS. he's also apparently Overhaul's childhood friend so they're likely the same age, 28. birthday is January 30th. his height REALLY varies throughout the manga when he's not using Trigger, so it's hard to actually give a good size??? he's bigger than 8'10 Fatgum but he's always slouched, so idk. 9'4??

Rappa: 29. idk any Sagittarius who DOESN'T love to talk shit so he has to be one, December 2nd. Fatgum is canonically 8'10, Rappa isn't as tall, but definitely towers over every other member (besides Rikiya) so maybe like, 7'6??

Tengai: I'm SO VERY normal for him. I actually think Tengai is the youngest Shie Hassaikai member at 21. I feel like he's also a Cancer, so his birthday is June 26th. pretty tall actually, 6'1.

Setsuno: he's giving absolute feral Gemini, June 18th. I think he's actually the youngest of the "Trash" trio at 23. 5'11!!

Hojo: I wish I liked him more. 34, very Dad™ coded despite Setsuno being the leader of their trio. I'll give him my birthday August 23rd. I'd say he's 6'5!!

Tabe: I am SO NORMAL for this man. i PROMISE I'm VERY normal for him. I just get such sad, brainless vibes from him which means he's a Pisces, so February 28th. idk how he made it this far but I definitely feel he's 25. a quarter way to death and not a thought behind those eyes. COMPLETELY non-canon but this man just FEELS 6'7 with such a slouched humpback he looks 6'3. making him any shorter than that just seems WRONG. he's SO slenderman coded, come ON. Realistically though he's probably like... 6'2.

I need the shie hassaikai fans here~

what are y’all’s headcanons on ages, birthdays and heights for the bullets?

I got some hcs myself but I’m curious what others think

[brightgoat]

Do you have any headcanon voices for the unbound prometheus cast???

HAHAHHAHA AN EXCUSE TO SHOW YOU MUSIC I LISTEN TO YEAAHAHH

it's funny when people say 'headcanon' cuz technically... I own this au, these wouldn't be headcanon, they're just canon haha

But i guess, these aren't strictly canon, and more like if i had to imagine their voice, thats how they'd sound:

Victor: something like this but i guess he'd have to have a fat French accent Henry: I am stumped on this one, I have no good example or idea in my mind, but still French accent Liz: something like thiiisss i guess? this is all i can give

Creature: I have not found an example I'm happy with but a very deep low voice that can still be soft, accent varies on language mostly cuz he learns several language very close back to back so he can imitate accents

more under cut

Walton: THIS but SPECIFICALLY AT 1:46 Talbot: the male singer in THIS Fukayna: ehhh the female singer from the song above but deeper?? Safie: the female singer in THIS (also the male singer quite fits Talbot so that can work too) Pretorius: just Pretorius from the original Bride of Frankenstein film, here (god i love him so bad dies)

Brier: i had a better example but i lost it so all i can give you right now is this and this sorta,, but with a VERY fat British accent Silus: ehhh idk kinda maybe male singer in this but maybe not AS deep? Also British very Chet: my favourite to imagine a voice to, THIS (skip to about 0:45) and/or THIS (skip to about 1:50) but with a notable Thai accent Abi: something like this? Sometimes i like to imagine her with the voice of the female singer from this though ahaha (skip to about 1:10) Reid: something very ordinary, just imagine an average depressed man in his 40-50s FRAN: something like this? But more raspy, coarse, whispery almost Vernon: like THIS or better maybe, THIS, but again, with a fat British accent Ygor: just Igor from Young Frankenstein, like here

That's about all I got, any character I have not mentioned is cuz I haven't really thought of a voice for or don't care enough to add to this already long list.