#you'd have to understand my lore (read: older posts) to get it

[bat-the-misfit]

ah yeah... the year i was born

[aliquistis]

On Mystra and Gale

Okay I gotta say it.

tl;dr: Gale is too old to have been groomed by Mystra (unless you headcanon him as 30 or younger), bc she was dead until 1479 (game year is 1492). I am not defending Mystra. Mystra is a mess. Her (FR) writing is a mess. But for this at least, the timeline doesn't add up.

Disclaimer: there is absolutely nothing wrong with people disregarding/tweaking lore for fan works/fanfic. God knows I do it all the time when I GM. That's your story now and you can do whatever you want with it, including exploring problematic relationships like what if Gale was groomed by Mystra? This is just a post for general information. Write what you want. Explore those dark recesses of the human heart. Fly free, you beautiful butterfly.

Too long but still gonna read explanation under the cut.

Let me preface this again: This is not a post in defense of Mystra. I have, in fact, been very loudly complaining about Mystra since long before Baldur's Gate 3 was even hinted. This is simply pointing out timeline discrepancies that it seems many newcomers to Forgotten Realms aren't aware of (totally understandable! You should not need to ingest 30 years of lore to enjoy a game and I'm not saying you do.) Additionally, FR literally kills Mystra every new edition and it gets dumber every time.

Anyways. It is highly unlikely that Gale was groomed by Mystra. This is not a statement of morality, it's a statement of timeline. Mystra died in 1385. She was in pieces (like bits of her magic were still in artifacts/her Chosen, such as Elminster in lore that I absolutely despise) and that, as far as I can tell, is how magic subsisted until 1479, when she was reconstituted by Elminster (in lore that I absolutely despise) This is a gross oversimplification of an event called the Spellplague. I am open to correction on how magic worked here because I moved to Pathfinder during the 4e era and you could not make me read those Elminster books if you put a gun to my head.

Regardless, from 1385-1479, Mystra was dead/missing/asleep. BG3 takes place in 1492. If Gale is 40 years old, he was born in 1452. This means, if Gale is 40, the youngest he could have been was 27 when Mystra contacted him. This lowers, obviously, if you think Gale is 35 or even 30. If he's 30 then Mystra could have contacted him at 17. Yes, a 17 year-old is a child and this could have led to grooming, but Mystra wasn't at full strength when she first returned and she most likely wasn't seeking new Chosen until the next year, 1480. Regardless, this is the reason I put grooming as Highly Unlikely instead of Impossible. I personally believe Gale is older than 30 (I say this as a person in their 30s), I believe he was written with the intention of being a man older than 30, and I cannot see him being in his 20s. (more power to you if that's your headcanon, he's an archmage, he could be 600 for all we know, fly free, etc)

OKAY THAT SAID. Would she have groomed him? Fucking probably! Mystra is a mess. I have been playing in Forgotten Realms in tabletop and video game settings for going on 25 years now and let me tell you. Mystra is a mess. I could make a whole long ass other post on all the many problems I've had with her writing over the years. Even without the "Mystra banged a minor" angle here, there is a serious power imbalance and very obvious manipulation on her part. And I'm here to tell you Gale isn't even the first wizard she has done this to! She's done much worse! Mystra has a ton of flaws (I could write a BOOK on Mystra's flaws) but it remains highly unlikely that grooming Gale in particular is one of them.

If you'd like more FR lore this person has some amazing lore write-ups that I really enjoyed reading during EA. And here is Mystra's forgotten realms wiki page, already linked to her death and return.

(my friend told me to post this after I kept bitching to them about Lore on discord and They Know Who They Are)

[conniemb]

The difference between "fanatics and gamers"

So basically I'm just gonna word vomit about this topic in regards to destiny because it's been on my mind a lot recently since I've came back to destiny and I've been watching a few vids on the whole discourse surrounding destiny and it's state as a game and feel like I've kinda come to a resolution in my mind about why a lot of this is happening and why some people feel differently about the game. PSA this post isn't supposed to be some big angry discussion trying to say people's concerns about the game is wrong or invalid I kinda jus wanna spew my thoughts out there but do feel free to comment your thoughts about it if you wanna discuss it!

So I start by differentiating between "fanatics" and "gamers" which probably seems like a cringey way to put it but it's the only kind of physical representation of both sides that I could think of. So fanatics are people I'd describe as being absorbed in every aspect of the game, lore, art comics, gameplay, characters etc the type of people who are out here writing fanfics and creating ocs where as gamers are people that are here solely for the game itself. They are playing a game for its mechanics and enjoyment and their involvement in the greater community doesn't span much further than that. They might be interested in the lore (obviously you'd have to enjoy the story to play the game in the first place) but they're not out here making their own content in regards to the game i.e reading/creating fanfics and ocs etc. Now after establishing what each side means from what I can tell the people most upset by the state of the game are the gamers while the ones defending the Devs and just having a good time within the game and it's universe are the fanatics.

So why are people mad?

Well both sides seem mad in the current situation of destiny. The gamers are upset that the contents running dry and the fanatics are getting upset about the gamers constant anger and bashing directed towards the game and the Devs. Like don't get me wrong I understand where people come from when they're annoyed about bugs, it makes the game harder to play and then there's the issue of content running dry and then the vaulting of older content (something that I find extremely upsetting). But I think the constant negative approach towards these issues isn't always healthy to the game, play wise and the actual players mental health wise. I recently watched Mr Fruits video on this talking about the video Datto made and I think the main message there is something that so many gamers need to keep in mind and it's that if your not having fun playing a game and you can't find anymore satisfaction from it play something else. If your playing a game for the content it's Devs are providing you and that content isn't as fulfilling and entertaining for you anymore then just play something else for a while. I think a lot of people have these really unrealistic expectations as to what the Devs can produce within the game and I think if you believe the Devs are seeing the discourse going on in the community and people voicing their issues with the game and are just deciding to sit back idly and do nothing about it then you're a fukin idiot. The people at Bungie are just that, people. People with limitations. There's probably an infinite amount of reasons as to why the issues that're there are there and these things will take a long ass time to fix. If they were easy to fix everyone and their nan would be making bestselling games. In terms of content running dry for people of course this is gonna happen. There's a limit on people's creativity and the amount of content a single group of people are able to produce. And with the amount of content already in the game it's gonna be extremely hard to make new content that's cohesive and makes sense in the greater universe of the game. So yeah it might've only taken you a couple tens of hours to complete the campaign content with your clan full of experienced players but that's not what it's there for in my opinion. The game isn't there to just be played it's there to be enjoyed fully and completely. This is content that the creators have poured months of their lives into thinking up and designing. If destiny was pumping out content at the rate some people seem to think it should come out the game would be a shit show. It would be riddled with plot holes, stuff that just doesn't make sense and would eventually fuck up the game even more gameplay wise. I'm sorry but I don't want this game to turn into some sci-fi Fortnite. I want the Devs to take their time making compelling content that's actually engaging.

Superiority of the fanatics

Please hear the sarcasm in that subtitle but the point of what I'm saying is the fanatics are the ones winning here and I think this is the fangroup that the games actually directed towards. Destiny is a storytellers game, that much is obvious from the games expansive lore and world building. Your given a platform to create your own character and create their story following the campaigns that the company themselves are providing which is something very reminiscent of ttrpgs like dnd or lancer. Obviously it's not got the same customisation as those games but the idea is there. The reason why a lot of fanatics aren't getting super upset about the "lack of content" in the game and it's bugs is because they understand that the content is fucking there but sometimes you gotta warp the content yourself a little to keep up that sense of enjoyment. People do this by writing fanfics, creating art, creating ocs etc. When Bungie aren't directly giving us content to play we are making our own content and sharing it with others because this is what destiny is for us it's not just a game it's a world we're experiencing and being a part of. And that's my point, destiny isn't a game for gameplay mechanics sake and if your playing it for that reason and getting upset then it should be obvious your playing the wrong game and maybe it's time to take a break and try something new. If your wanting a game that spoon feeds you content to keep you hooked then I don't think Destiny is the game for you it's never been that sort of game in my opinion. When I came back to destiny I was hyped to dive head first into lore books, video essays, blogs because I knew I had a lot to learn and create myself and that's what I expect from destiny and tbh it's what I'd think any newcomer to the game should expect. And in terms of bugs in the game obviously they're annoying but I feel like from having a greater respect for the Devs and the content they're making your in a mindset that makes it easier to digest that these things take time. For a company to be making all this content, world building, server mechanics, game mechanics and so much more it's gonna be rough to get to every single bug in the game. And tbh I've been playing the game again for almost a month now and I haven't actually experienced that many bugs in the game, no more than what I've seen in other games I've been playing but I want everyone to take that with a heavy pinch of salt because obviously everyone's experience within the game is different.

The issues of paywalls and vaulting content.

Now this. THIIIISS. I get it, I really do having to pay for seasonal content and constant dlcs is probably the most frustrating thing about modern gaming. But that's the thing it's not just a destiny issue this is a modern gaming worldwide issue. Fucking hell even Pokémon is drifting into the dlc hell hole and paywalls with many of their services. Like it's just apart of gaming now and it can be frustrating but it's something you kinda gotta accept and it's not something you're gonna really be able to avoid no matter what game you play that isn't an indie game. As for the vaulting of older content and the removal of game aspects as seasons progress this is probably the single most frustrating thing about the game right now for me especially as a returning player but I also see why destiny is doing it. The game is reaching a size which is becoming unmanageable and the removal of some content is a necessary evil to keep the game going in my opinion. And to Bungies credit they have announced they will be no longer vaulting dlc content going forwards since last year I believe. And look yeah you can't play the content anymore but it's still out there to enjoy in the form of lore and video essays and play through videos. It's not the same but it's something and I've been enjoying sifting through the content available to me. Again I feel this is where the difference in destiny fan comes in. Gamers aren't satisfied with just consuming content about the game which is a totally fair stance to have on the game but there's also a number of games out there that aren't doing this sort of stuff cus they dont have to and maybe those are the type of games that you should play.

The state of the game for new and returning players.

Now this is probably my biggest fukin gripe with the gamers side of the community because in my opinion the biggest thing that's damaging the experience for new and returning players isn't the games bugs, it isn't the games slow approach to releasing new content or the vaulting of content, it's the constant negativity being emitted by that side of the community in regards to the game and the Devs as well as their attitude towards people wanting to learn more about the game. When I decided I wanted to make a return to destiny I did what I'd say a lot of other people have done and taken to sites like Reddit to ask questions about the game so I'd have some idea of what to expect coming back in and the responses of got of people who are meant the be "fans" of the game were sickening. Id have to sift through maybe 15 responses telling me to delete the game, I'm an idiot for wanting to play it, the games at its worst state than ever, there's no point even trying, before I found even one post actually giving me the information I was asking for and giving me tips on how to get back into the game. The only thing that actually made me contemplate not getting back into destiny was the constant negativity being emitted by that side of the community during that time. Not the negative aspects of the game that're definitely there, it was just the sheer miserable energy I was receiving from these people. And that's the thing while yes the game really isn't at its best state for new or returning players there are still ways to make it work and I found those ways buried underneath all the bullshit negativity the others were spouting. This is what's hurting the games ratings in my opinion. The games not at its worst state it's ever been for new and returning players entirely because of what the Devs are doing, a huge chunk of that issue is the negativity coming from this side of the player base.

In conclusion.

If your not enjoying destiny at this moment in time then stop playing for a bit. Maybe consider that this game isn't for you. Voice your opinions and concerns in a respectful manner. And for new people wanting to get into destiny jump right in! If you wanna get the most out of the game then it's gonna take some effort ima he honest. It's gonna take more than just hopping on the game and playing. And if that's not your vibe then that's totally fair not every game is gonna be for every player. And take my advice if you do wanna learn more about the game and how to get into it please stay away from Reddit. Stick to Tumblr people are actually nice here and wanna educate you in a positive and reaffirming way that is healthy for the state of the game and it's community. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[batteryrose]

ULTIMATE ADAM LORE DOCUMENT

This ones gonna be a doozy (I AM NOT KIDDING. THIS IS A LONG LONG POST), and you may call me insane afterwards, but anyway,

This one's for the Adam likers out there that may want to know more about him. I have a longfic in the works, but well, let's be honest, that thing's not gonna get finished any time soon :) so, if you'd like to know the Deep Lore this is the post where I summarizes everything that's living inside my head.

Hopefully you've heard of Adam before or this post might not make a whole lot of sense, but I try my best........

the Yashpari

Referring to an ethnic group of people living around the Obsidian grasslands.

Yashpar is their land's name in their own language. Other countries call the area ‘Jasper.’

The land is very important to Obsidian for having very rich and fertile 'black earth' (coloured deep green here. I’d imagine Jade has most of it). The Yashpari tribespeople farm and raise livestock instead of living nomadically.

The ethnic group might have originated from somewhere distant south.

They're known for their art, including textiles art, music, and many kinds of dances and performances. 

The tribe survives because they were willing to submit to Obsidian instead of engaging in a losing war against them.

Leading up to the war with Rhodolite, they’ve been depleted of resources and morale, among other things, and were starting to rebel harder against their occupiers. 

Obsidian had turned one of their older settlements into a small town and military fortress near Rhodolite.

Mochammad Adam Kain: Background

He is the son of a Rhodolitian noble and a widowed Yashpari elder.

His father was very sympathetic to the tribe’s fight against Obsidian and was directly supporting it.

To weaken the family’s power, the local Obsidian nobles and military needed to create a rift between the family members.

Marquis Kain’s family

(old art, sorry lol)

The marquis married the widow out of genuine love. She has had two daughters with her previous husband (who was the village chief/elder/whatever.)

They live separately, with the marquis travelling back and forth constantly between Rhodolite and Yashpar. The two places are at least a day apart. 

Together they had four more children: three sons and a daughter. Adam is the eldest son, followed by his younger-by-a-year brother, Ajisaka (can also be spelled as ‘Adjisaka’.) I’ll be focusing on them two for now.

Adam and Adji

They're opposites personality-wise. Adam is the quieter kid, less out-spoken, and he was able to learn to read, write, and understand different languages faster. He quickly became his father’s favourite. 

Ajisaka is the louder one of the bunch, and he grew up to be quite charismatic. He is well respected amongst the Yashpari youth. Adam didn't have the same popularity!

The Obsidian military were recruiting young Yashpari boys. They saw potential in these siblings. Potentially also turning them against their own father.

Adam received a military education, and when he got older, a position as a low-ranking officer.

They could groom Adam into their side much more easily than they could Ajisaka. Adji joined the revolutionary fervour. His gang of violent youths harassed Obsidian forces often, which eventually became a big nuisance. He came to be known as a notorious brute.

The brothers don't really get along. They think the other one is stupider. The family was torn, and while they were originally well respected by the Yashpari people, the sons' actions polarised them. 

During and after the war with Rhodolite, Marquis Kain couldn't travel across the border and into the village anymore. 

Adam: Upbringing 

As a kid he was seen as sort of meek and 'feminine.' He didn't have many great friends. Otherwise, he was very smart.

He was always in charge of taking care and watching over his younger siblings.

Knowing different languages got him able to speak and negotiate out of trouble. Specifically troubles with the Obsidian people. 

He was a bit of a pushover. When hanging out with Adji's friends they liked to embarrass him. 

He often watches over his little sister playing with her friends instead…

He only started gaining friends, respect, and confidence in the military environment. He mingled well with fellow Yashpari soldiers there.

Yashpari people that served in Obsidian Military

Older Yashpari people are usually here because they were paying a debt to the (Obsidian) government, paying a fine, or were otherwise poor and in desperate conditions. Leading up to the war, many younger boys were conscripted.

Adam met Suraya here, an old private. 

Adam also was able to hang out with the Obsidianite soldiers. 

Boys will be boys…he might’ve even fallen in love with one of the younger officers.

He actually liked it here. At this point, he's a bit alienated from his family. Though his father still writes to him. 

Additional character: Suraya

(She shows up in the On Violence longfic)

She and many others like her were a demographic of, what you could probably call 'drag performers.' They perform Yashpari dances and theatrical plays as women.

These sort of traditional performances were popular amongst the Obsidianite elite, but at some point in the past they were banned from being performed openly. 

Some of them got convinced to serve in the military and make a decent living after their livelihood was taken away. 

Suraya served since way before the war with Rhodolite. She was proficient in the bow and arrow, and eventually the arquebus, and the musket rifle. 

Many of her friends had died, but she stuck around in the military. 

Adam is technically above her in rank but she's a mentor to him.

The reason she stuck around is��� she has a 'hobby' for injuring many of Obsidian's own officers and soldiers without getting caught. Mainly by aiming from a great distance. 

She will get caught eventually, though she's able to run away.

If asked about her gender she would say "I live in the woods, I don't know." Adam would say "well, she mostly lives as the 'old woman living in the woods', so."

In writing I would refer to her with she/they pronouns. Adam exclusively refers to her with she.

The battle with Rhodolite, or the 'Bloodstained Rose Day':

At that point Adam would be around 17 years old, and he was placed in the position of a second lieutenant (lowest ranking officer.) 

Adam had to lead his Yashpari comrades into the frontlines. He even personally witnessed Chevalier and Co. doing their thing. 

He had noticed that the Yashpari troops were constantly getting pushed into the very front of the line with little to no backup, and they were getting killed off very quickly.

He caused confusion in the army because he wouldn't let more people go forward. They had to be forced to go with it by the higher ups. 

Obsidian lost, and Yashpari had great losses and casualties. Adam was quite lucky to survive. 

Him and the survivors were disillusioned with the military after the battle. Morale was on an all time low. They staged a mutiny. Just wanted to raid the military supplies for all the food and booze and whatever. Stick it up to the big guys. 

The higher ups found out what the sentiments amongst the troops were. They singled Adam out as the cause of these ideas, due to his actions in the battlefield.

To further humiliate him they dragged out his relationship with the young Obsidianite officer into light.

His was accused of ‘acting indecent’ towards the officer. He was publicly punished to both discourage the rebels from acting out and to likely ruin his reputation amongst them. 

They also wipe out his records from the books, pretending he never existed, to protect the officer's reputation.

'Death'

Just for a clue, the punishment was what gave him those scars on his back.

The military didn’t take care of him after and left him gravely injured. Pretty much leaving him to die. 

There was a lot of uncertainty and rumours. People, including his family, thought Adam was dead. 

Despite their relationship and the shame, Ajisaka wanted to look for him anyway, or at the very least get to the bottom of it all. 

He and his gang made a lot of ruckus. Harassing the fortress, taking in mutinied soldiers, etc.

(Suraya (still acting like a loyal soldier) got caught shooting into her own army in this event. From here on out she's a fugitive living in the woods.) 

In the end, Obsidian baited Adji inside with a fake rumour regarding Adam's whereabouts. Of course, he just got captured as a result.

They exiled him somewhere instead of killing him to still keep a semblance of good relations with the Kains.

Although, most people just assumed that he's also dead. 

(Adam was only saved by Suraya. She brought him to hide with her somewhere within the woods bordering Jade.)

The rest of the Kains

After the events of the battle, Adam's mother, sisters and youngest brother were still living within the fortressed town. Obsidian were willing to pretend that they have some sort of authority, but in all honestly, they're just being held hostage.

Obsidian was still recovering from the war, they don't want the Marquis attempting anything.

Mission?

Adam can't live easy until he could get the rest of his family out of there. His life purpose is pretty simple from here on out.

Adam and Adji: working together

Adam found out what happened to Adji. He contacted his father, because there's nothing else he can do.

His father sent a lot of people to look for Adji and any information about him. This caught Rhodolite's attention a little. (What's he doing sending out people to Obsidian…) 

Months and months of searching and they found him in the northern mountains. The brothers reunite. Adji thought it's all basically Adam's fault, but, well, they're too tired to fight it out. And the cold kinda mellowed him out anyway.

Fortunately, some of his old gang members were still alive and kicking, spread apart in hiding. They managed to rebuild, and they operate outside of the fortress, keeping their bases near Jade's border. 

Adam, meanwhile, was still presumed dead by most of the public and he wants to keep it that way. 

(this is why in On Violence the Rhodolite princes couldn't find any information about him.)

Adam knows that there's no chance he and Ajisaka's people alone could attack Obsidian successfully with what they currently have, so they needed… something.

Getting weapons

At this point, it had been years since the war with Rhodolite. In a brief moment of weakness, Adam reconnected with his old friend from the army.

(the boyfriend that got him in trouble.)

The young man had long gone home and retired from the army. They never heard from each other until now. Adam sent him a letter.

He was quite happy seeing Adam basically risen from the dead. Or terrified. One of the two.

Adam comes to find out that his friend's family had ties to Obsidian's weapon manufacturing companies, particularly, their distribution company. 

He also comes to find out that love is… very easy to take advantage of and manipulate.

(Gilbert somewhere in the distance, saying again ‘we’re not so different after all’ :') )

Adam slowly convinced his friend to pull some strings, and now, more weapons were going to be sent to the Rhodolite-Obsidian border, especially the fortresses.

Ajisaka dealt with the extraction. This is a shockingly successful arrangement, and eventually, they ended up with a big surplus of weapons and ammunition on their hands. Unfortunately with increasingly less space to hide them. They also can't use them themselves all willy nilly. 

Adam hatched a plan. 

Working with Rhodolite (the beginning of 'On Violence')

Marquis Kain soon died of natural causes. This forced Adam's plan to run earlier than intended. 

They deliberately buried his father deep into Yashpar lands, gaining the attention of his father's Rhodolitian family, who wanted him resting close to home. 

Conflict between the marquis' soldiers (now controlled by Adam's uncle) and Ajisaka's men sparked. It was a minor battle, happened way out of Obsidian’s watchful gaze. 

Ajisaka got away without much casualties, however, Adam gave himself over to Rhodolite. 

The events of 'On Violence' began.

His plan:

Rhodolite managed to defeat Obsidian in the past, but now they’re still gearing up in case there will be another attempt of invasion. Adam wants to take advantage of this. He is willing to arm Rhodolite with his stolen weapons, and in exchange, Rhodolite will use their army to take over Obsidian’s fortress. Technically a win-win for both sides.

Getting his family out is the priority. Unfortunately, he does not think of anything else.

Ideally every Yashpari folk should gain freedom and asylum in Rhodolite until everything is settled.

Adam and Nokto :

Nokto wants to dig up most of this information about Adam to make sure he's not an Obsidian psy-op or something. Adam wants Nokto and ultimately Rhodolite to obey him as much as possible. Of course, only with subtle ways and manipulation, otherwise it wouldn't work. 

Somewhere along the way they sympathise with each other more than they expected. 

I'd like to think Adam's objectives are successful eventually, and in all the one-shot fic I make they're both just goofing around after everything is over :} Everything is nice and cozy, and nothing went wrong at all! I swear to God

PHEW. THAT'S IT. I left things out on purpose. You’re welcome to assume your own interpretations. Or, if you want, you can also wait as I Begrudgingly finish my long-fic that will Definitely take Forever (or at least read the available chapters first). You can also ask about more things in the comments bellow or through my ask box! (I turned off anon for personal reasons though, sorry about that)

[walpurga-nacht-academy]

EVEN MORE BLACKFLAME THOUGHTS AND HOW EP6 PERSONALLY HURT ME

Ignihyde final update finally dropped and I've never been more hurt by a piece of TWST media than I have been ever since I finished reading it. In terms of execution, themes and character development Ignihyde currently stand head and shoulders among my list of favourites and I don't think anything will be able to dethrone it for a while. It's just that good, both as a piece on its own but also as a homage to the original movie and even to the myths themselves. My literary critic ass will eventually get to dissecting those concepts too soon, likely during the following week, but now I would like to yell a bit about Blackflame, EP6 and how it all pans out because these ideas have had me in a vice grip, haha.

I've yelled a bit about these ideas here and here and here before too, if you'd like to check them out (and I encourage you too because this post builds off that a lot) but for now, here are my ramblings:

IDIA, VITA AND HOW THE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS TROPE WINS

As I mentioned before, Idia and Vita are childhood friends who grew up together due to the fact that they've been engaged to each other from an early age. As the Watchmen of the Underworld and facilitators of OB experiments, the Shrouds believed that having the Dies, a family who specializes in medical magic and necromancy, under their thumb would be paramount to their own work. This was easily achieved by having the heir of the Shroud family and the heiress of the Dies engaged when they were 5 and 6 years old respectively, with the expectations that the two would eventually marry and take over the research facility. It's why Vita was also given a Kerberos breed guard dog in order to ensure that it would be made clear what her betrothed's family expected out of her. And given that they were the only ones who encouraged her interest in the family lore, though for their own benefit, she devoted herself to becoming of use to them.

Much of Idia's and Vita's childhood was spent in each other's company, alongside Ortho, as they were pretty much the only children their age they interacted with. Idia and Vita started off on an awkward foot, with him finding it difficult to understand how he'll eventually marry Vita when they grow older, and Vita finding all his interests a bit incomprehensible but still trying her best to engage with them. It eventually turns out that she is quite proficient as a fast learner so while she's not exactly a fan, she can hold her own and support Idia as backup in his endeavours. That transfers to real life as well, since she encouraged him to do as he pleased before the strain of taking over the family became too much for him. As his future wife, she decided to become proficient enough in anything Idia might need in order to ease his burden, even if just a little. Hence why Vita seems very capable in current times of a number of feats, as she trained herself to be this sort of person.

Vita and Ortho's relationship was quite different as young children as well, as Vita tended to dote and spoil him quite a bit and felt closer to him than to her actual sisters. The two would sometimes also team up to encourage Idia, which he found really embarrassing growing up, but did secretly enjoy. Ortho was really taken by the idea that Vita would become his older sister, and because he had difficulty pronouncing her name at first, he ended up calling her "Vita" instead. Hence her current nickname which she introduces herself by. She thinks it describes her better than her full name. And it's the one memento that she has from him after he dies.

If Vita was set on becoming Idia's support once they grew up, this becomes even more pronounced after Ortho's death. She was devastated by it. She was not present during the incident, but was informed later, and went to see Idia once he woke up. He looked so broken that Vita felt that she had failed miserably in being a supportive partner and had to work even harder to make up for her 'mistakes'. During this time she began to close herself off emotionally, not allowing herself to properly mourn his passing, thus never properly grieving him as she should have. Much like Idia, Vita continues to have unresolved issues with Ortho's death, but while he is wrecked by guilt and overindulges in his hobbies, giving up on his future, Vita goes the opposite. She throws herself in her work, becomes overly independent and focuses almost exclusively on Idia and his well-being leading to a slightly imbalanced relationship. His focus on the interior world clashes often with hers on the exterior world, leading to the two having a number of arguments over the years as they cannot reconcile with Ortho's passing and the impact it had on their relationship. Yet, that also bonds them together as they feel like the other is the only one who properly understands how important Ortho truly was.

It eventually all comes down to their platonic love for him being so strong that they feel they cannot escape the past any longer.

Things then take a complicated turn when Idia rebuilds Ortho. His inspiration was the Dies' own tradition of reviving their dead ancestors to have them around the house as living corpses and he even tries to approach Vita with the idea at first, only for her to categorically shut him down. What the Dies do is revive the body for utility purposes, the thing that walks their halls is no longer their family but just the husk. The soul has passed on and become one with the world, returning to the source and attempting to force it back would be akin to forcing somebody to live through torturous pain. This is something Vita would never want for Ortho, who she loved dearly. It also would force her to confront her own feelings regarding his loss which she is not ready to do under any circumstances yet. Meanwhile, Idia, blinded by the desire to fix what he did, disregards her refusal and goes ahead rebuilding Ortho as a robot despite the taboo nature of the act. Vita is horrified to find this out which causes a rupture in their relationship as well, as they stop seeing each other for a while. The next time that they do is after Vita finds out that she's been accepted as a student to WNA and goes over to inform Idia. They keep in touch afterwards, with both constantly dodging any discussion that involves Ortho until Vita comes back for a visit and meets him too.

When this new Ortho called her 'Vita', the same as the real Ortho used to, she thought she would break down. All her feelings and regrets came rushing back up and trying to overwhelm her, just by then she'd managed to train her mask well enough that it would slip.

The changes that she went through during her first semester at WNA meant that while she became more physically affectionate, she also turned towards tough love as her main means of dealing with situations. She continued to support Idia the best way she could, but it usually meant making sure to remind him that while he might end up becoming the head of the Shroud family, he shouldn't let it define him either. He was still free to do as he pleased. That he continued to wallow in misery bothered her a lot since she wanted him at least to fare better than she did. When that couldn't be possible, she felt even worse about her inability to help him.

Because they are childhood friends, they continue to understand each other quite well, and make a very strong team, but their stubbornness and inability to deal with the situation at hand means that they clash when it comes to dealing with issues. Vita needs to learn how to become more open and rely on others, while Idia needs to deal with the guilt that he feels over Ortho's death. They need to reconcile with this otherwise they can't move on and fix their own problems.

Still, their loyalty to each other is unmatched. Idia respects and loves Vita despite being too awkward to show it and does his best to support her research and make life as comfortable for her as he can, which means mostly through gifts, while Vita is his most vocal supporter, even defending him against her mother when the latter expressed disgust at the thought of Idia bringing Ortho back as a robot, despite Vita herself not being alright either with his actions. Most of their bonding moments happen through their shared hobbies and Vita doing her best to 'collect romance flags' along the way, which Idia claims it's 'normie stuff' but actually really likes.

He still feels quite insecure about how exactly someone like Vita would find attractive or interesting but also prefers to just ignore it and focus on enjoying her company instead.

All this changes post EP6 when the two open up about their inability to get over Ortho's death and find comfort in the fact that the other understands this tragedy better than anyone else could. Vita admits that she just wants to be a good wife and support Idia the best way she could, and Idia also admits that he should have appreciated her affection and support more and that he also was at fault for the whole situation. Once the OB incident is resolved, the two reconcile and come to terms with Ortho's death and the fate of the new one.

As the new Ortho is no longer the result of Idia's poor coping mechanisms that means that Vita becomes just as affectionate with him as she would be if he continued to live, finding comfort in the idea that rather than this being a fake trying to take the real's place, it just a memento of the Ortho they loved and now is its own person who will grow into a different being, this reconciling with her family's own traditions in a way. Along with Larna the four end up making for their own family unit, with Vita learning to be more reliant on others and Idia finding it in himself to become ambitious again to some degree.

EP6 AND NOTES ON BLACKFLAME

As mentioned in the other posts, as a member of S.T.Y.X. Vita is present during the events of the episode as one of the scientist and part of the "Persephone" branch that oversees the medical side of things. She checks the OB victims' statuses and is currently on not so good terms with Idia due to the fight they had during VDC. They continue to remain civil with each other despite everything and work together, though it's quite clear to the NRC boys that something is up, even though Ortho seems oblivious to it. During all this, she is accompanied by Larna, who, sensing the tension, is on high alert and quite fretful since he hates to see his parents fighting like this.

Things proceed as normal until Ortho turns off the security system and Idia seemingly disappears and chaos is instilled over the facility. Worried for him, Vita tries to find him but due to the Phantom breach, she is momentarily stopped from advancing any further into Tartarus than the second charge station. Much like some of the scientists she ends up in a sticky situation as she can't risk using too much magic for fear of OB and her UM doesn't help her either, since it is ineffective against the creatures. The only one at her side is Larna, who gets injured badly while trying to protect her, but they are eventually found and rescued by Vil's group.

This is important due to the fact that Vil and Vita share some common ground, with both being mom figures in group, keen on tough love, confident and tactical people. They have the sort of relationship where their banter tends to be quite friendly and they see each other as equals despite their differences. Thus, it's easier for her to accept help from them. And it also means that she trusts them to be capable people.

Aware that with Larna injured like that she'll have to stay behind to help the pup, Vita shoves down her pride and asks Vil for help to save Idia, telling them as much information as they need and making him promise to bring her husband back alive. Had it been any other group she wouldn't have trusted them, but because it was him she decided to take a chance. After all, both Vil and Vita's flaw is that they are emotionally closed off to others and too stubbornly independent, and thus Vil being the one to help Vita overcome this is in line with his own character development as he learns to put his trust in other people and become more emotionally open.

Thus, Vita ends up working communication and evacuation during the rest of the episode, ensuring that the groups have the support that they need to save Idia, while also tending to Larna who due to the severity of his wound loses one of his hind legs.

Once the OB fight is over, and Idia is saved and everybody escapes from S.T.Y.X. she and Idia have a discussion together, still raw from the whole situation. When he catches his first glimpse of her, he's wracked with guilt for putting her in danger and then relieved to see that she's not injured. That goes out the window when he sees Larna's state especially since the dog is overjoyed at seeing that his father is safe and doesn't bear him any ill will whatsoever. Idia promises to make it up to him any way he can and apologizes for putting them both in danger, only to be completely shocked by the sight of Vita crying.

For as long as he's known her, he's never seen Vita cry like this and it just momentarily breaks him (especially because of the moe gap of his usually stoic and playful wife suddenly bursting out crying in such an open way). He's even more stunned when she rushes to hug him and confesses how scared and worried she was about him and how sorry she is for not being able to do anything to actually help him. She was terrified of losing him just like they lost Ortho and wasn't sure what she'd have done if that was the case and that she's unbelievably happy to see him safe and sound.

They end up actually acknowledging their issues and how they haven't reconciled with the death they couldn't mourn properly, and Idia tells her about his meeting with Ortho on the other side and what he told him to do and they realize that it's time for them to move on and learn from their mistakes and both working towards fixing the situation instead of dancing around the issue. All the while Larna is yapping happily around them because his parents are reunited again and no longer fighting.

This results in Vita no longer opposing the creation of a new Ortho, and treating the new version much like how she'd treat a real little brother, and learns how to be more emotionally open with him, while Idia comes to terms with his brother's death, becomes more emotionally supportive of Vita as well, and creates a bionic leg for Larna, making him and Ortho 'match' now.

In essence, they become a proper power couple, haha.

They go from childhood friends who have romantic feelings for each other but also face a lot of issues, due to their emotional states, to lovers who learn to be more open with each other and work out their problems together. 💙 

[moonflower-31]

You Found Me - Gabriel x Reader

Warnings: Language? Somewhat? Oh and some self doubt, but not a lot. There is a looot of angst though. This is part of a two part oneshot. Hope you enjoy the feels.

Pairing: Gabriel x Reader

Character(s): Gabriel, Dean, Sam, Castiel

You were worried, to put it simply. Gabriel had told you three weeks ago he'd start to change. That he would take you out more. See you more in general. Not go off to Chuck knows where, doing who knows what.

You were worried. Yeah. That's the word. You were also pissed. Pissed he hadn't answered your prayers at all in those three weeks. Dean and Sam and Cas had all been through all the ways to try and bring him back, figure out what was going on, except to summon him. You had insisted that be the first thing they do, but Cas had intervened. He had said that if Gabriel was gone somewhere, that it was probably good reason. And that he would answer them in other ways.

But look where that got you?

"Look, kid, I know you miss your archangel douche of a boyfriend but-" Dean starts, looking up from the table he sat at in the main library. You rolled your eyes and looked up from your lore book on angels.

"But what? Dean? He might actually be in real danger! And you're sitting there--eating take out!" You exclaim, gesturing to his heart-attack-inducing food in front of him. Dean immediately gave you an offended glare and wrapped an arm around his food. You rolled your eyes again, and then put your eyes back to the book you were reading. No one would tell you the summoning for an archangel. And since the only archangel that would be able to be summoned would be Gabriel, you figured your chances of getting his ass back here were pretty good.

"Come on, let him live a little! I mean, I don't like the guy but every now and then, a guy has to have his alone time. Find himself. I did it. Sam's done it more than once." Dean reminds. You shake your head. Dean continues. "What I'm saying is maybe you should stop trying to summon him and let him come when he's ready. I'm sure he's fine, alright? He would have let you of all people know he was in danger if he was." Dean reminds again.

You grumble and slam the book in your hands closed. "You know what? I'm done. Done with you, and Sam, and Cas's petty excuses! It's like you don't even care!" You exclaim, and stomp out of the library.

You stomp off and slam the door to your room closed, locking it behind you as you collapse onto your bed, wishing and praying for Gabriel to return.

He hadn't returned in three weeks. Not even when you were in danger on hunts and you prayed to him. It made you question if he even loved you anymore. The thought of it made you sick. But it was possible.

You felt your chest heave and tears began to pour from your eyes as you sat back up and pulled the book from where you had dropped it beside the bed. You began wiping away your tears only for new ones to take their place. You opened the book and kept scouring the pages as a knock came to your door.  You immediately hid the book under your sheets and then stood up, and went to the door.

"Who is it?" You ask.

"Castiel. Dean said you were upset."

"Go away Cas. I'm fine. Just distraught over your damn older brother, nothing new." You grumbled, walking away from the door and sitting back on your bed.

A flutter of wings sounds and you look up, finding the trenchcoated angel standing at the foot of your bed. "Y/N... Gabriel will be okay. I promise." He says, looking at you with as sincere enough eyes as an angel can probably muster.

You let out a sad chuckle. "Really Cas? Same speech as last time? I just want him back... I don't want to lose him..." you say, hugging your arms for a moment as you fight the incoming tears. Castiel walks over and wraps his arms around you in a comforting hug, letting you wrap your own arms around him as he holds you. You're appreciative of the gesture as he lets you cry, and lays you down on the bed when you fall asleep. Your first real sleep in days.

~~~~

When you reawaken, it's later in the day, around midnight. You sigh and check your bed, seeing the book still there. You bring it out and start flipping through it, until you find it. And after a few quick translations, find out what you needed for summoning your absent boyfriend.

You write a quick note of the ingredients you needed, and then got up. You had some of the ingredients. But lacked two. You needed some herbs and some leaves that were hard to come by. So you needed to talk to someone.

"Yeah, those'll do. Thanks. I'll be down to pick them up in a few hours. Thanks." You say, hanging up on the friend who owed you a few favors. He had some of the ingredients that you needed. And all you needed now was to put it all together. And say the chant, of course.

You were walking out of your room, when Sam stopped you. You raise an eyebrow as the tall, moose-like man stood in your way.

"Uh...Sam? What are you doing?" You ask, a bag of essentials on your back.

Sam gives you a bitch face. "Really? You really don't think I didn't see you sneak that book into your room? I've read it. And it has what we've been telling you we shouldn't be doing. Wait it out. Alright? I promise, it's all gonna be okay-" Sam starts.

At this point, you were done of hearing that. After so many instances of Dean, Sam, Cas, hell, even Charlie saying it, you were done. Absolutely done. So you snapped.

You immediately shoved Sam out of the way as soon as his guard was down, pinning his sleeve to the wall with one of your knifes. Sam calls out to Dean to alert him of your escape, but you're too quick. You race up the stairs behind you and then you exit the bunker, racing down the road as adrenaline fills your veins.

You didn't dare take the Impala, knowing Dean would kill you if you did.  He rarely let Sam off the hook when he took it. So what's to say he wouldn't kill you?

You finally slowed down near a gas n' sip, and found an abandoned car. You went into the store for a moment, and picked out a few of Gabriel's favorite sweets. You took them to the counter and payed for them before going back outside, and hotwiring the abandoned car.

The adrenaline had finally left you after you'd been on the road for awhile. You'd left your phone at the Gas n' Sip, so you weren't able to be tracked. Damn Sam and Charlie's hacking abilities.

You finally pulled up to your buddy's place around 4 am, and parked in their driveway.

"Damn, Y/N, you look great for three years gone." Your old pal Brad said as he opened the door. He opened the door for you to come in soon after, drinking a beer.

You smile but shake your head. "I'm sorry, but this is an urgent hunt. I need those ingredients now." You say.  Brad chuckled.

"Really? You ain't gonna sit down and tell me how you've been with those... those uh.." Brad starts.

"Winchesters." You remind, nodding a bit. "Yeah uh... not now. I don't exactly have the time. But uh... I promise, ill come by soon. Okay?" You promise. Brad chuckled.

"I'm just messing with ya. I know you're busy. Just lemme know if I can help at all. Okay? Any time of night or day. I've got open ears." Brad says, smirking at you with a broken smile. You smiled and nodded.

Brad soon disappeared behind the door, and after five minutes returned with the herbs you needed.

"Take care now. Call me if you ever need anything else." He says as he sees you off. You nod, and wave back at him as you climb back into your stolen car and pull back onto the dark road.

It wasn't until 5 am that you found the place. It was old, it was rusty. It was perfect. You found an old table and set everything up. You used your lighter and lit up the ingredients, soon after uttering the chant.

"Rah ah gah ee oh es Vee nu nohno kee ah seh peh teh poh ah ma lah deh zod" you utter, and a bright light enters the room. You shield your eyes and wait a few moments before you hear him.

"Really? You're resulting to summoning me?" Gabriel grumbles, looking at you annoyedly. "Im busy, Sugar." He says.

You weren't listening. You were merely relieved that he was okay. You walk around the table, and then wrap your arms around him, almost too tightly.

Then he pushes you away.

"Sugar, please. I'm busy. Can't this wait?" Gabriel asks. You look up at him dejected.

"Busy? You're just 'busy'?" You ask, venom and hurt in your voice. Gabriel looks a bit hurt by your words, but doesn't react otherwise.

"You promise me that you'll spend more time with me, cuddle more, hang out more, watch more movies, but no. No you're 'busy'" you hiss, looking at Gabriel with tears in your eyes.

"Yeah, I am. I’m not gonna keep having this conversation right now. Like I said, I'm busy. I have somethings I need to do." He says, looking at you.

You furrow your eyebrows. You stomp forward and you grab his collar. "You know what would have been appreciated? Gabriel? If you would let me know you were okay! I've been worried about you this entire time! 'What if he's been kidnapped and he's being tortured? What if it's my fault?' Wow, but you're too busy!" You spat, shoving him back and turning away from him.

Gabriel sighed. "Y/N, please, okay? I couldn't get back to you. And besides, this isn't something you should be worried about. I don't understand why you were so worried-" he says. You nod your head as you turned back around. You were done.

"Why am I so worried? Gabriel I have lost so many people, so many. So yeah, im sorry that I just don't want to lose another. Especially not you. But no, you can't understand that, can you?" You growl back. Gabriel rolled his eyes and went to speak again.

"Don't twist my own words against me-" he starts. You shook your head and pointed in his face.

"No, no you need to listen. You, don't understand how hurt you've made me. How badly, I kept thinking about myself. Thinking that you just didn't love me anymore. So you know what? I'm done. I don't care of you still do, or still don't. I'm done." You snap, shoving him back as you toss the altar over.

Gabriel goes to speak again, panick filling his eyes. But you shake your head.

"No, Gabriel. You've done enough damage." You hiss. "Come find me when you understand how I felt." You say before you cut your hand and start drawing a sigil on the wall.

"Sugar, please, we can talk this out-" he starts, walking towards you just as you finish the sigil and hit against it with your hand, sending him back wherever you'd summoned him.

You felt tears re-emerge from your eyes as you walk out of the building and climb into your car. You turn it back on and start driving down the road, sniffling a bit as you decided that enough was enough. You stopped by another Gas n' Sip and walked up to the pay phone.

You dialed a number in after using the last of the money you'd brought. After a few rings, the line picked up.

"Hey Brad... mind if I cash in that favor?"