#your brother has potentially lost an ally

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

'heroes'

WTF Saadi

[brucewaynehater101]

I have a vent fic wip that I may or may not finish so I just need to tell someone that I am...feeling so many things all the time about the consequences of the 16th birthday but...

primarily, right now, at this moment. without Robin/Bruce, Tim thought he would lose Dick and everyone else he knew through Robin. and then a little bit later when he quit for Jack, he got radio silence for Months until he became a potential victim, and even then it was just Cass stopping in to give the message and be like "I'll watch you to keep you safe 👁️👁️ ok bye" and he had actual Proof that without Robin, he would lose everyone.

and then. Dick "you're my equal (even tho I'm drastically changing your life without your knowledge or permission), you're my closest ally (even tho you don't even have a name to go out in the field to assist me as backup), I need you (even tho, as mentioned, I made a huge decision without your input because I didn't need it because I know best actually)" Grayson.

skipping over the fact that Dick didn't even have the time to say "you're fired" or anything resembling that, when Tim lost "Robin" to Damian, he felt like he lost everything else too. it didn't matter what Dick said about "equals" or "allies" or "needing". he already had Concrete Proof that it was all false. cheap words that are easily disproven do nothing in this situation, Dichard!

(disclaimer: I love and respect Dick Grayson, I just also think Dick Stopped Existing as soon as he made Damian his Robin for the most pathetic stupid illogical risky-ass excuse he could ever give for making anyone Robin (or a vigilante in general). "because he'll kill someone again". who the fuck says that?? who thinks "oh no oh god oh fuck this kid is gonna go off the rails he's gonna kill someone, I need to Put Him In A Place Of Power Over Oblivious Innocent Untrained People Who Are Expecting A Kind And Empathetic Hero To Save Them" hUH???? ok sorry, I just wanted to rant about what Tim "losing Robin" meant)

I agree with ya. Dick Grayson is fantastic, but it seems weird that he nuked his entire relationship with Tim (a very strong one that other fans have referred to them as "The Brothers") for the new kid.

Yes, Damian is a ten year old traumatized kid who just lost the dad he didn't really have the chance to get to know. Yes, Damian needed guidance, boundaries, and compassion.

But DC spent so much time and effort building up Tim and Dick's rapport only to obliterate it once the "blood son" came in (I also love Damian. This is not hate on the kid. This is confused commentary on DC's choices). It's just a strange idea, but that's also why it hurts so much when Dick does that to Tim.

Then you tie in Tim losing Robin by Dick to Tim's experiences before? Fuck. You are so right for that.

As far as the RR run, Dick could've handled Tim believing Bruce a bit better. I don't necessarily blame him for that one. I get why he wasn't supportive in the way Tim wanted, even though I would've chosen differently for my siblings.

Dick taking Robin, though? That was fucked up. I, honest to the gods, do not see how that was a justified course of action. I can understand his perspective, but it's still not okay. At all.

There's your very adequate analysis:

Robin, for Tim, is his tie to his loved ones. He has proof (twice) that without it, he does not have access to the people he cares about and his support system.

Dick said a lot of pretty words about "equals," but his actions were precisely contradictory to his "intentions."

Tim has had Robin taken from him before or had to give it up. He chose to go back despite this. He obviously feels strongly about being Robin

Damian has not proven, at this point, to be trustworthy as a vigilante (someone in power without oversight). He has instead shown use of excessive force

This isn't even going into the way he found out. That's just an extra layer.

The way Tim has repeated lost and regained Robin (even after RR) as well as his title as Red ROBIN are, to me, a sign that he's still trying to hold on. It's my belief that he would have moved onto a new title, like his predecessors, if it hadn't constantly been an unsure role.

His start was rocky as hell due to Bruce not initially wanting it. Tim had to prove himself and put himself into the costume.

He "quit" twice before it was taken from him in a traumatic way (nothing like being instilled with the fear that the position you've held for four years can suddenly be yanked out from under you without warning)

Damian and Jason both vehemently protested to him being Robin

It would make sense if all of these factors combined to Tim's unwillingness or inability to just let Robin go, especially when we factor in his reason to be Robin. Since Bruce never really gets "better" and continually falls back into bad habits, Tim needs to maintain his task of pulling Bruce back from the edge. We could also throw Jean Paul into this to further how Tim is forced to play as the barrier between a grown adult and their desire to harm others in the name of good.

So, Tim's time as Robin is marked by consistent instability while contrasted with his inherent position as Bruce's leash and the batfam fixer. While the other Robins did have times of doubt, the predecessors of Tim did not have the pervasive role insecurity with regards to Robin.

They had their big moment at the end and some smaller moments in-between, but not quite on the continous scale of Tim. Tim had three big moments and was still sucked back into Robin when Damian quit.

To be Robin is to earn Bruce's love and the ability to be part of the Wayne family. To lose Robin is the risk of losing that (at least to the perspectives of the Robins if not 100% the reality).

I'm not sure I'm articulating this accurately. Regardless, no wonder Tim clutches the title of Robin with bleeding hands no matter how much it cuts him and costs him.

[hildergard]

BLOSSOM OF THE BLUE SOWING: TEASER ★ AEMOND TARGARYEN

SUMMARY | The peculiar behaviour of the dragon Grey Ghost leads the Greens to believe it is courting a potential rider. With Rhaenyra seeking to tame more dragons, the Prince Regent does not have a choice. Aemond Targaryen will win this war⏤even if it means sullying his legacy of Fire with the filthy blood of the Sea.

PAIRING | Aemond Targaryen x Pirate!Reader

NOTE | This is going to be a big one-shot. I can't know for certain when it will be published but I hope around August 15th. If you wish to be tagged when it comes out, please say so <333

READ A SNIPPET BELOW ↓

“We must craft a plan, Your Highness. Sunfyre has not been sighted since Rook's Rest and we cannot solely rely our forces on Vhagar. The dragons are the key to this war. Without them, we are lost. Rhaenyra’s seat may be Dragonstone, but she does not hold power over all beasts. Perhaps it would be wise to try and tame new dragons as well. We now need to look beyond Targaryens."

“Are you suggesting I give up my birthright to filthy blood, Ser Criston?" Aemond gritted. “The dragons are the last remains of Old Valyria. They will not be seduced by vile paupers who bow down at their feet, speaking nonsense in broken High Valyrian."

The tip of a cane rasped against the floor and put an end to conversations. A man, his back to Greydon, straightened up as all heads turned towards him. He hummed and finally deigned to look at the Prince Regent.

“Whispers say otherwise, Sir. The dragon Grey Ghost has been spotted off Driftmark. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, but fishermen in Blackwater Bay also report seeing a white creature flying through the clouds. This has never happened before. The dragon is growing restless and its behaviour is changing. Something is driving it to travel. We all know dragons are sedentary and only migrate for one reason. It would seem the dragon is courting a potential rider, Your Grace, a potential ally for the Greens.”

“The Bay, you say? Hmm... If Grey Ghost is prowling around, there is a good chance its rider lives in King's Landing. Dragons only accept Valyrian blood as riders. Do we have any idea who this person might be? The Gods know my uncle and brother have their share of bastards in Flea Bottom.”

The members of the Council exchanged glances and fidgeted. The man, the one with his back turned to him, cleared his throat.

“No, Your Highness, but the beast avoids the coastline and retreats into the waters. Clearly, the one it… covets is not in the capital, otherwise it would certainly be approaching the city.”

“Grey Ghost is notoriously shy and feeds on fish," Prince Aemond retorted. “It is a peculiar creature. We cannot rely on its movements alone.”

Greydon raised an eyebrow.

“But never mind," the Prince continued. “I rely on your sources, Larys, to find the dragonseed, whether it lives in Flea Bottom or Duskendale. You are right. Our ranks are in dire need of another dragon. If Vermithor and Silverwing are indeed tamed and the Blacks decide to send all their dragons on a single front... I'm afraid even Vhagar will not be enough.”

The Prince stood up and paced in front of the windows. Clearly, this plan was bothering him. Or perhaps it was the weakness of his ranks. There was nothing more fragile in this world than the ego of a nobleman, and nothing more dangerous than a threatened Targaryen.

He turned to the assembly.

“Send heralds and summon the remaining dragonseeds to the Keep.”

[queenvhagar]

helloooooooo! your thoughts on aegond and all the lost potential

I just think the book and even season 1 (for the most part) really set up a united Green front: one family within the larger Targaryen family who only has themselves. Alicent, whose strongest allies were her own children, whose rights and safety she stood up for at every turn. Aegon, a reluctant leader who rose to duty when his family's lives were endangered; Aemond, who trained his whole life to be a weapon his family could yield to protect themselves; Helaena, a dragonrider in her own right and loving mother to her children, queen to her people, sister to her brothers, wife to her husband, neurodivergent yes but capable and loving and insightful, determined to support her family through it all and who helped to convince Aegon to take the crown. Cole, a cunning knight who rose from the very bottom, against all expectations, now sworn to defend this family to the end.

For me, Aegon and Aemond, especially following Blood and Cheese, were the fiercest proponents of the Green cause and were united in their goals to get vengeance for the horrifically murdered Jaehaerys and his traumatized family. They planned Rook's Rest together with Cole, they rode to battle on dragonback together, and when Aegon was injured beyond belief and many doubted his survival, Aemond stood behind him and upheld his position as the rightful king.

The Greens weren't perfect, but their loyalty to each other and commitment to their family was a key redeeming quality of theirs. They were a family that fought for survival in a political nightmare thrust upon them by their own family's incompetence and entitlement as well as the feudalist medieval patriarchal system in which they lived. It's supposed to be tragic that their determination to their cause and connection to each other was not enough to save them.

Except of course HOTD removes basically all of that to create surface level drama and reduces all of them to be cartoonish one dimensional versions of themselves. No family here! Or loyalty. Or love. They're just evil incompetent freaks who apparently deserve to lose from the get go and who "stole" a crown for no reason except they all hate women I guess. Just wow. Talk about prestige television guys. Absolutely phenomenal work. Millions of dollars into this show. And of course all the critics including the author himself don't know what they're talking about 🤪

[towriteloveontheirarms]

heyyy, if you take requests pleaseeee write a Aemond×reader fic, but reader is the daughter of Daemon and Rhaenyra, she is a young woman with Rhaenyras beauty and Daemons behaviour, she was an ally to Aemond when they were children unlike her half-brothers, but after the night he lost his eye they got seprate thanks to going and living with her family in the dragon stone ( i dunno if i am writing this right english ain't my first language) and after some years, they meet each again and the point is she haven't been sending any letters to him and stuff. i know it's long but i would appreciate you writing anything like this😭❤ and pleaseee if you do accept, make it dark Aemond.

I´m so sorry it took me so long to finish this bestie, but I hope you are still interested in it and will like what I wrote<3 Especially with it being spooky season I love writing/reading all the dark fics I can get my hands on!

I will not let you go again

pairing: Dark!Aemond Targaryen x Daemyra´s daugther!Reader

synopsis: “I love you, my sweet wife.” He murmurs into your ear afterwards.

There once was a time where these words would have made you happy beyond believe, but that was a long time ago. And he wasn´t the only person that had changed for the worse.

warnings: dark themes, mentions of non-consensual sexual acts, forced pregnancy, forced marriage, afab reader

word count: 0.9k

His one seeing eye burns through you during the entire dinner. The truth is you have felt his eyes on you from the second you had arrived at the Red Keep with your family. And while at first it was trying to find out who you were and where he knew you from, now at dinner, it glowed hot with either anger or something more carnal, you aren´t entirely sure. As if the tensions between your families hadn´t been high enough already. Every time of the little times your mother and father take you and your half-siblings back to the capital you are reminded once more as to why your mother had took you away to Dragonstone all those years ago. The sparks of dislike that flew between your half brothers and your uncle flew were enough to set all of King��s Landing on fire, but the hate between your mother and her former best friend had the potential to destroy all of Westeros. It comes as no wonder when the meal escalates in a borderline brawl. Jacaerys has always been bad at controlling his temper and your once beloved uncle Aemond gladly took advantage of that. You would like to say you were not surprised by who the once sensitive, bullied boy turned into, but it didn´t come as much of a shock. Before you had been taken away from your former home you had considered your uncle a friend. That was off the table now.  Yet even as you saw this change in him, saw the strength and cold in his singular seeing eye, you would have never trusted him to go this far.

You walk to your chambers after your mother had told you so, in a slow pace. Careful eyes and ears paying attention to the hallways around you. However Aemond still manages to surprise you. His large, rough hand clamps over your mouth to silence you, the other holding you against his body so you don´t even have a chance to struggle against him. Once he has you in his chambers and you are able to whip your head around you truly see him for the first time. Not only has he grown from the sensitive, bullied boy, not only did he have a cold, strong aura surround him, he seemed downright obsessive. In that moment you can see it in his eye… your doom. He walks towards you without saying a word. His movements similar to that of a lion. Then Aemond finally speaks.

“I believed us to be friends. I considered you the only person able to understand me…” He whispers.

“We were, uncle. I was, I do. We could be again.” You take a step back for every step he takes towards you.

“Yes? And how do you propose we are going to do that?” he growls. “You could not even send me a single letter.”

“I tried to. You have to believe me, dear uncle, but my mother wouldn´t let me…” A gasp escapes your lungs when you feel your back hits the cold brick wall.

“I do not believe you. There have been many chances, but it is all alright now. I will not let you go again, now that I have you. You will be mine. Forever.” Aemond´s breath is hot on your ear. As if it wants to burn you.

“I do not understand…” You shake your head at what he is saying.

“Do not worry, sweet niece. You will soon enough.” He cups your cheeks in his hands and kisses you passionately.

The rough kiss is just the beginning of a night that would haunt you in your sleep for the unforeseeable future. Aemond carries you to the bed and makes sure to breed you thoroughly. Making sure that his seed would take, while making sure you don´t get away from him. And he needs to, because you refuse to give up the fight. He knows that if you end up with child your mother would most likely try to make you wed the child´s father and as much as his mother hates yours, how high are the chances she refuses when he shows himself to be willing to. He knows that you know.

And what feels even worse is, that the seven or fate or whatever the one responsible is called, seem to be on his side.

Without any access to moon tea and a guarantee that no one would learn of what had occurred that cursed night, your pregnancy starts to show a few moons later. Your parents are beside themselves and immediately ship you back to the capital. Signaling the start of a long and rather tedious discussion between your families. At the end of which waits a sept and a marriage bond that is about as wanted as the whole pregnancy. Yet you are in no place to speak up. You don´t get the chance to. You should have made better choices if you did not want this, are your mothers only words on the matter towards you. All the while there is the smuggest of smiles securely on Aemond´s as well as Aegon´s faces. You wished you could wipe it off their faces with your fists.

But you don´t do that. You swallow every bad feeling, aside of a few tears during your vows, until you feel entirely empty and cold.

Once you are pronounced man and wife Aemond kisses you so gently, it´s almost impossible to feel his lips on yours and yet it still makes you feel sick.

“I love you, my sweet wife.” He murmurs into your ear afterwards.

There once was a time where these words would have made you happy beyond believe, but that was a long time ago. And he wasn´t the only person that had changed for the worse.

“I love you as well, my dragon.” You reply. The words devoid of any emotion.

[katenikii]

JJK is about cooperation.

There's nothing I disagree with more than "JJK Is individualistic" takes. Other shonens(and shonen protagonists) are a lot more individualistic because everybody depends on one person, and this person is key to literally everything (Bleach, Naruto, OP, AoT are just like that). JJK is different.

Loneliness is one of the major themes in JJK, especially Hidden Inventory/Premature Death: Geto's descent to madness, Gojo's awakening, Toji's resentment towards the "gifted" ones, Shoko's isolation are all tied to that feeling. It's never a good thing to be lonely in JJK.

Gojo's "You die alone" view is debunked as of right now (thanks to the airport scene) and when you go back, you understand that Gojo has always taught his student to not waste their individual potential. Gojo's teaching his students to never resort to sacrifice as a mean of achieving something. But he never said anything about cooperation and weakness being equal.

The villains in JJK are also strong individually AND collectively. They never really operated alone too. Kenjaku has always had strong allies. Even Sukuna has always had Uraume by his side. And when JJK villains do operate separately, they fail. Naoya lost thrice: to Choso, where not only their techniques clashed, but their views on family, and Maki, where he underestimated her once, and then repeated his mistake .

The current narrative shows, that you have to have individual strength in order to bring something to the table, when it comes to the final fight. Gojo wouldn't have nurtured weak students. In order to rely on each other his students have to be reliable, Gege explicitly shows us when all individuals are weak, their collective effort is useless, that's why Kyoto High is a total wreck, and that's why Todo's technique works so well with Yuji, who was just a beginner sorcerer when he fought a special grade curse Hanami.

Yuji's "cog mentality" plays a huge part in this. He has come a long way, so now he's able to fight alone and take on opponents as strong as Choso. We often see him lose, but that's because he is facing opponents objectively more skilled and expirienced than him. He is motivated to get stronger not because everyone counts on him, but because in order to fullfill his duty as a cog in the mechanism, he has to be strong.

There's a pattern in Gege's writing, that miscalculation WILL cost you something, even your life(e.g. Choso's brothers, Yuki, the Zenin clan, Curse Naoya, Miwa and her binding vow). But being reliant on each other has never been seen as a weakness by Gege. If so, Gojo wouldn't have lost and we wouldn't have witnessed how Gojo's effort helped weaken Sukuna. Additionally, Gojo explicitly told us in the very beginning of JJK that he can, in fact, kill the higher-ups, but that wouldn't change much, because he needs strong allies to change the Jujutsu World.

That's why Shinjuku Showdown arc ending in real collective effort against evil is essentially proving the point that JJK is about comradery, not individualism. We'll see where this will lead us to. P.S. I would say that there is a certain type of collectivism, that Gege is criticising, that's tribalism that is so prominent in the Zenin clan and rural Japan, where there is a strong prejudice against sorcerers (Mimiko and Nanako's story) and anyone who's different (Kugisaki's flashback). Gege praises anyone who recognises that and is able to leave it *all* behind, by maybe not giving them the happy end, but a dignified conclusion. P.P.S. As of right now I think JJK really is more about collectivism than a new character becoming the strongest and Gege just mislead his readers with this plot line. Final chapter showing Sukuna choosing to go North shows exactly that.

[nagarashi]

Always resented the way Logan was treated in Fable 3, didn't you?

Long post ahead...

Fable 3 has always been an example of controversy, at least I used to stumble upon it all the time. Some branded it a disgrace, while others said it wasn't that bad because of the potential it had, which unfortunately was never realized.

I've always been on the side of the second. Just recently I settled on a marathon and went through the entire trilogy. Just like the first time I was "burned out" from that missed potential. In particular I am always saddened by the king - Logan.

For me, Logan is pretty much the only character I really feel sorry for and care about in Fable 3. Yeah, even Walter I feel pretty cold towards.... but that's partly because I'm on the King's side from the beginning of the game, even though they try hard to turn me against him (which is what turns me away from the other characters). And it's the reason I really dislike the Hero (Princess in my case), she's blind, infantile and driven, she doesn't think with her head (probably like all the Heroes in the fable).

The game does our brother one hell of an injustice. I felt it especially strongly when I finally played Fable 2 after many years. The faceless queen (in my case Sparrow Woman) mentioned in Fable 3 suddenly took on a face for me and became something important... I know what she was like and what her life was like. And I'm sure she would have loved Logan, because she was deprived of parental love early on, and didn't want brother and sister to be against each other, because she lost her sister, her only sibling, at a young age.

Logan was the firstborn son of Sparrow and as the firstborn, the eldest, all expectations were to be placed on him, everything was to be left for him... What does the game tell us?

The game does, however, show and give the impression that Logan was some sort of outcast in the family. And for some reason, the Guild seal was supposed to go to the youngest. You say she's a hero? What was her Heroic talent until she got a gauntlet to use magic? Broke sword in training? I may be biased, but I have a feeling Logan has broken more than one sword in training as well.... But for some reason, all the excitement goes to the youngest one.

Speaking of magic, it used to be used without any gauntlets, does that mean that it weakens the blood of Heroes? That would be... logical. That's where Reaver and his still strong bloodline would come in handy, lol.

Back to Logan. Not only was the seal not for him, but for some reason, even in the Sanctuary, the note from his mother was left for Jasper, not him. What?!

There's a strong and unpleasant feeling of ignoring the fact that Logan even exists. Why does he deserve to be ignored? From a game perspective, I understand that it demonizes our brother, but from a logical perspective, I don't see how it's justified, at least not when it comes to things involving family.

That and the way everyone hates him only made me get more attached to him.... and the fact that he's the closest thing we have to family. You can't just walk away from that fact, giving in to calls for a stupid revolution without even trying to talk to your brother before doing so. Was the princess angry with him? That anger is some kind of unfunny joke. She didn't care about her brother, why should she care about some random dudes she's being asked to execute?

The game shows that even the sister didn't care about Logan. She doesn't notice the changes in him (which by the way even Elliot notices, in my case) and doesn't even try to talk to him to find out what's going on.

And as if that wasn't enough, when we get to a certain point and find out the truth of what's going on with our brother, why he's changed so much, instead of talking to him in person, for some reason we let Walter take him away and have a trial where all those bloodthirsty critters from our allies come out when they wish Logan dead (except Page, surprisingly, I don't like her, but she shows a lot of common sense at the trial).

On top of all that, Logan has seen with his own eyes what Crawler can do, he saw the deaths of all his men when they faced the Darkness for the first time and subsequently experienced the horror that Crawler is capable of, and we have seen what he can do through our example and Walter's. He brings out the deepest nightmares.... Now imagine facing the death of your home, your people, your family, the one person you care about. And then with the knowledge of all this you come back and try to tell people the terrible truth, but they just think you are crazy, you are powerless to convince them. But the sheep have to be saved from the wolves, no matter how stupid they are.

Logan obviously has severe PTSD after the incident, recurring nightmares and obsessive thoughts of what will happen if he fails? Thoughts that he MUST succeed no matter what. Wouldn't that drive you crazy?

It makes everyone think you're a monster and hate you..... Imagine what it's like to live under that kind of constant pressure every day? And then your dearest person, your flesh and blood, goes against you... It's like the last drop to break the stone already broken by despair and depression.

I don't know how Logan can be executed at the end of the trial. Personally, I've never done it, although I watched that scene on youtube for the sake of interest. It's just horrible in my opinion... It's so soulless. I love playing Fable as an evil character, but even by my standards this is just too much... Logan's execution isn't evil or even justice as the crowd screams, it's murder besides being very vile, even for me.

I really dislike that at the end, when he leaves, we aren't given a chance to stop him. He will always be a brother to Hero and they will always need each other. Anyway, after everything that's happened, I wish Logan was by my side so he could finally have peace and love instead of hate and despise. I don't want him to wander the world and die in an unmarked grave somewhere.

P.S: I always liked the moment at the trial, when all those who were crying the whole game, what victims of Logan's cruelty they were, immediately turned into a pack of vicious dogs, as soon as they felt the power and opportunity to grab Logan's throat with no punishment, literally siccing you on your own brother.

P.S.S: Screw Teresa, I hate you for what you did to Sparrow and her kids.

[awinterrosesstuff]

What do you think of Izumi Uchiha? Personally, I don't see her as a friend, let alone a possible romantic partner for Itachi.

Hi !

Thank you for the ask.

To answer your question, it's a bit difficult to have an opinion about Izumi. She's not even mentioned in the manga by name. Obito just said "his girlfriend" for her. The name "Izumi" isn't even canon at this point.

'His girlfriend' doesn't appear in canon, neither in Obito's telling nor Itachi's flashback. I assume you read the light novel Itachi Shinden: Book of Bright Light or watched the anime. I didn't watch the fillers (I only remember Izumi eating dangos with Itachi from it) but I've read the light novel in which she appeared. To be honest, even after reading the story, I didn't have a strong opinion on her. She was nice enough and her death was sad. She isn't very complicated. She's half Uchiha, lost her dad during the Kyubi attack and lives with her mother. She's around Itachi's age and likes him. Itachi gets interested in her because she already has the sharingan. He kills her by putting her in a genjutsu. She grows old and dies from old age in the genjutsu.

To be honest, I have a hard time believing Itachi was in a relationship. At 13, Itachi was torn apart between his clan and his village. His father was trying to use him as link between the village (the power in place most likely) and his clan. And the elders also were using him and Danzo ordered him to massacre his clan. The only known friendship he had is with Shisui, who died before the massacre, and was his only "ally" in this situation. Shisui's death made everything worse for him (his clan suspected Itachi killed him)... We know Itachi didn't have the time for Sasuke (or to be more precise didn't allow himself the time to spend with his baby brother), the one he loved the most. The only person he couldn't kill. It's a bit difficult to imagine Itachi (who had other worries) involving himself in a romantic relationship. What do you think ?

As for Izumi, I don't know... in a world where the Uchiha aren't ostracised, maybe Itachi would have other bonds than Shisui or his family. Maybe ! But Izumi needs to be more developed for me to think of her as a potential friend or romantic partner for Itachi. I've read one or two fanfictions with Izumi. The authors expanded more on her background and her personality and it didn't bother me. Actually, I liked it.

[the-starry-seas]

what's one of your fics i could binge tonight?

hmmm, what are you in the mood for?

running with the wolves to get to you, 10k, rated G

Jango and Obi-Wan have been keeping an important secret as their relationship develops, which is that they’re both werewolves. Besides that minor detail, things are going great – at least until their car breaks down on a road trip and the only place they have to stay is an abandoned hotel. The day before Halloween. Which is on a full moon. No way this could go wrong, right?

who you are makes me who i am, 10k, rated G

Boba isn’t the kind of person who forms connections with people. ‘Friends’ are a foreign concept, and the idea of love is even more confusing. Then he saves a woman’s life, and she saves his, and he starts to wonder if it’s all as strange to him as he thinks.

the arms of the ocean delivered me, 11k, rated G

Two years ago, Echo was badly injured by humans, and taken to the Skako Minor aquarium. It's only after he's lost all hope that he finally has a chance to get home, thanks to meeting the Batch - the only other merpeople he's seen since losing his family. When the Batch drops everything to protect him and get him home, is it really any surprise that he wants them to stay?

ghosts have voices, 16k, rated T

Still reeling from Order 66, Obi-Wan finds an even bigger problem on Mustafar: a powerful Dark Side entity that feeds on the life force of Jedi. He’s lucky to escape with baby Luke and Leia, but his regret at their parents’ deaths isn’t the only thing that follows him from the lava moon. The entity is on the hunt. Stranded on a poisonous planet, the odds of surviving aren’t in Obi-Wan’s favour. At least he has an ally in Cody – but even if they manage to escape, Obi-Wan doesn’t know how to ask the man he secretly loves to stay.

if i don't make it back from where i've gone, just know i loved you all along, 23k, rated T

A movie AU where Leonardo travels back in time with Casey. Because even though Leonardo doesn’t want to live any more, Casey doesn’t want to give up on him, and maybe, just maybe, Casey has enough hope for both of them. Or, from my rambling while planning this fic: “future Leo is just so much fun because he's spent the past 22 years demonising his past self for starting the apocalypse but then when he travels back in time to the day it happened so he can stop it, he realises his past self was just a dumb naive kid who had no idea of the potential consequences, so future Leo decides to be gentle with him and it's the only self-love he's ever had because he's always hated himself a little”. As well as “Leonardo trying to break the cycle by being kind to his past self (while still hating his current self) makes me want to put him in therapy and I think makes Dr Delicate Touch want to use him as a piñata”.

this family can bear any weather, 30k, rated G

When Donnie gets his hands on the Arc Capacitor after the events of Out of the Shadows, he decides to repurpose the tech for his own use. Unfortunately the first test run doesn't go well, and he's accidentally transported to a different dimension. His first thought is to find the new reality's version of Donnie, so they can work together to find him a way back home, but while trying to find their lair, he finds a much different version of his brothers instead. At eight, nine, and ten years old, the young turtles are hopelessly lost in the sewers beneath the city, and their only chance at getting home is Donnie. Between finding a way to get four lost turtle kids back to their dad, and finding a way to get himself back to his own reality, he's got a lot to do. AKA the Rise/Bayverse crossover that exactly nobody asked for but I'm writing all the same. Updating Fridays.

Clever Girl, 50k, rated T

A year after defeating Commander Krang, the turtles discover that the Foot Clan intends to bring Shredder back to life. Hoping to stop this plan before it begins, they travel to a secret base, looking for the intended project head, Baxter Stockman. They find the base, they don't find Stockman, and more important than either of those things, they find dinosaurs. Four turtles, four Utahraptors - what could go wrong?

or if you really want a long read, one of my favourites:

two's company, three's a crowd, four's a love story, 91k, rated T

post-BOBF canon Din Djarin/Omera/Cobb Vanth/Paz Vizsla

There’s some BOBF spoilers/references in here, and it's set post-show, but tbh you probably won’t be able to tell canon from headcanon unless you’ve seen the show and know the difference already. Boba, Fennec, the Armorer, and Luke Skywalker make brief appearances in a few scenes. Anyway this is just me in denial of Paz’s BOBF characterization and the fact that Cobb and Omera have only existed for like 15 minutes total in live action. Welcome to my immense amount of headcanons! The majority of this fic is from Din's POV, but there's also a few chapters each from Paz's, Omera's, and Cobb's POV.

[baldieboi]

Primarch OC Introduction

Sarathiel Augustus

@ghrgrsfdesfrfg

the golden boy with a storm inside

The Basics

Name: Sarathiel Augustus (just Sarathiel works)

Legion: Thunder Knights (they're the ones in shiny armor)

Found: early (daddy's early favorite)

Psyker Rating: Mid-strong (with a thunder aesthetic because subtlety is dead)

Titles

Lord Primarch of the Thunder Knights

Knight Primarch

Thunder Lord

Lord of Thunders

"The Good Son" (unofficial but accurate)

The Look™

Height: 9'6" of noble intimidation

Build: Built like a fortress with the shoulders to match

Aesthetic: Silver-grey haired knight with daddy issues

Eyes: Bright azure (they see your potential AND your failures)

Hair: Long, silver-grey that somehow stays perfect in battle

Scars: Beige skin marked by honorable combat (each one has a story)

Voice: Deep enough to make you confess your sins

Weapons&Style

Metallic silver armor with royal blue accents (coordination is key) the picture below shows how different was my plans with him in the beginning (armor color)

Radiates powerful aura

Thunder-based psyker powers (the Emperor's gift with style)

Personality

The Golden Boy Facade

✅ Kind, respectful, honorable

✅ Loyal to a fault

✅ Natural born leader

✅ Inspiring presence that makes mortals weep

The Cracks in that Facade

❗ Desperately needs approval (especially from his brothers)

❗ Stubborn as a mule when he thinks he's right

❗ Unforgiving when you betray his trust

❗ Secretly insecure despite being literally perfect

❗ Reckless when protecting others

❗ Confrontational when his honor is questioned

Backstory

Found on planet Ravus (early discovery)

Had a fairly good life (translation: one of the least traumatized primarch)

This makes him the family therapist by default

Burden of being the good example is slowly crushing his soul

Desperately wants his brothers' love but some of them are... gestures at the galaxy burning

Goals&Desires

Be the perfect Primarch (pressure? what pressure?)

Earn daddy's continued approval

Keep his brothers from murdering each other (failing spectacularly)

Defend the Imperium with honor

Secret goal: Just wants a family hug that doesn't end in betrayal

Master his thunder powers without accidentally smiting allies

Legion Highlights

The Thunder Knights are

Shiny boys in matching armor

Psyker specialists who make the warp their bitch

Disciplined but not stick-up-the-ass disciplined

Will die for their primarch (please don't)

Basically space paladins with lightning powers

Abilities

Tactical genius (the Emperor's gift)

Supernatural battlefield awareness (big brain energy)

Thunder psyker powers (Zeus wishes)

Inspiring presence (mortals literally fight harder just being near him)

Can read people like books (emotional intelligence king)

The Tea (aka what makes him interesting)

The 'perfect son' who's slowly cracking under pressure

Desperately trying to hold his family together while half of them plot galactic genocide

His kindness is both his greatest strength and most exploitable weakness

Thunder powers + emotional storms = very dangerous combination

The brother who still believes in the dream while watching it burn

Probably has a secret stash of letters he's written to his brothers but never sent

Ignore the armor color. He was very different when I started planning him. And I lost the original art so changing it would be problematic. Buuuuut, at least he is handsome, ain't he? (took me literally days to draw ugh)

[pancake-breakfast]

Time for the next write-up for the Dragon Age: The Veilguard companions:

Bellara Lutare

(These are just me talking about each of the companion characters, my impressions of them, what I liked/didn't like with their stories, etc. I'm writing them in the order I recruited the companions. Master post with other companion essays can be found here.)

Warning: Major spoilers below...

Bellara, my sweet, nerdy, awkward, ADHD babygirl.... I just want to put you in my pocket with some potentially dangerous elven artifacts for enrichment and keep you safe. I'll check on you every once in a while to see how you're doing, and you'll go on a rant about your project that will turn into fifteen rabbit trails, and I'll be like, "I didn't catch half of that, but I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Let me know if you need anything else in your enrichment center!" And then I'll leave you to it.

After some thought, I've decided Bellara is my favorite companion in Veilguard. Her thoughtfulness and curiosity make her a great addition to the party, as she's able to bring both exposition and levity to the story. But she's not written carelessly; her companion quest is one of the most well-written in the game, deepening the world for the player and also allowing us to understand her character better. There are always some nitpicks, but it ties into both the overall story and the themes fairly cleanly, and carries with it a weight that many of the other companion quests fail to fully achieve.

While Bellara's introduction implies that she's a bit quirky with something of an orange cat leap-before-you-look approach to veil jumping, her first companion quest is quick to dismantle that. You realize that what seems like carelessness is more that her brain is thinking of so many things she doesn't always explain them all adequately, or explains the wrong ones for the situation, or is so caught up in a thought rabbit trail that she forgot to explain it at all. But when things get serious, she pulls herself together to focus, insist, and persist, even if she's still not quite sure of (or lacks the courage to speak) the right words for the situation.

We learn quickly about her regrets over her loss of her brother, and how that heightened her misgivings about her own competence. She has always struggled to focus, but he helped center her. She continues to chase his centering presence by throwing herself into the work the two of them were doing before his death, and when it's revealed that he's still alive, she doubts the balance within her heart, worrying that his presence so far from where she thought the two of them stood together might cause her to stumble to the path he's on. We can see how her heart aches for him, for all she lost and thought she'd never have again, and how that all gets twisted up inside of her when she sees him allied with Anaris.

In Anaris, we get to see a shadow of some of the more horrible things the Evanuris could do. Whether or not they did such things is irrelevant; Anaris is one of the Forgotten Ones, which makes him technically part of the elven pantheon, which implies that regardless of whether any of the "good" elven gods had the skill to do what he does, they definitely had the power, even if Anaris currently only able to do so on a very small scale and using heavy emotional manipulation. (I could probably write a whole post just on that, but I'll save it for now.)

And yet fighting Anaris means fighting Bellara's brother. For her, it's more directly personal than fighting the distant semi-historical, semi-legendary figures that make up the "good" pantheon. Whether she succeeds or fails in this fight, she's still going to have to face a brother who, as best she can tell, is sold on following Anaris's path. She is forced to contend with the very real possibility that she'll have to subdue, one way or another, the person who represents stability, direction, and unconditional care and support in her life. This dynamic makes her quest the only one where a companion finds themselves questioning whether the fight is really worth it, and if it is, if they'll be able to see it through... and heal from the potential cost.

This would have made it an excellent choice for playing hard into that theme of regret if the rest of the story had actually held up that theme, but I digress.....

Bellara's also a wonderful portrayal of ADHD. As I mentioned elsewhere, the Dragon Age Setting (Thedas) doesn't really have words for things like "ADHD" and "autism," but just as our world still had people who would qualify for these diagnoses before we codified them, so Thedas has people who'd fall into the diagnoses with ease if they had them available. Bellara provides a particularly good look at it because, unlike another companion I'm pretty sure could land the diagnosis, she's had her brother around to help her learn to recognize and accept her "hummingbird" behavior patterns, and from there learn both how to mitigate and articulate them so she can retain her focus when she needs to (even when there are fifteen other things of equal interest that she's constantly having to remind herself not chase down just yet) and articulate to others where and how she struggles, allowing a place for sympathy if not empathy or direct help.

I could probably write about Bellara at length. (This is already the second draft of this post, and I had to delete the first draft entirely because it got very rambly very quickly.) I know her personality isn't going to click with everyone (After all, whose personality really clicks with everyone they meet?), but she reminds me of several people I've been close to in real life and I love her balance of quirk, intellectual enthusiasm, and growing wisdom in things that are both emotional and practical. Given that, it might surprise people to know she's not currently on my "to romance" list, but I really don't need to romance her to enjoy her presence. I'm glad they wrote so much love into her story regardless of whether she and your Rook are friends or something more.

And there really is a lot of love written into Bellara's story. She loves her brother, of course, but she also loves her people, whether they are the Veil Jumpers, the Dalish, or the other members of your team. She does what she can to look after them, applying her love of ancient elven tech to find ways to protect those around her and those who will come after her. She is passionate about looking after others not only because of the trauma of losing Cyrian, but because in her heart, it's the right thing to do. Whether that's in disabling or fixing magical things that might explode or, like Lucanis, fixing people the right foods, it's all still a manifestation of the care she has for others.

Because she cares so much for others, I want to care for her, so she can just keep living in my pocket where she'll be safe from stupid Evanuris pulling her through mirrors or whatever, and I'll get to eat all the tasty food she makes. Or, at least, that's how it plays out in my head.

[sleepyfan-blog]

Reaper

Author’s note: this is the fifth part of Cedric’s story. Previous. Next.

Warnings: major character death, murder, canon-typical violence, descriptions of body horror

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets

Summary: Cedric learns that small wounds can be devastating, even to Astartes if Chaos is involved.

"You… You're certain that it must be this way, sir?" Cedric asked his mentor, staring down at the sanctified blade that the much older Brother Apothecary had handed him. It was a master-crafted weapon, with a double-edged auramite blade, hilt and pommel. The hilt of the blade was made in the likeness of the God Emperor's sacred Aquila, and the young astartes could tell that the blade had been anointed with holy oils from the way it gleamed in the artificial light of one of The Sigismund's medical bays. The medical bay that Dessias, Dovo, Angrald, Rodron and himself had been quarantined within for the past three days, after Cedric had come to his mentor, asking for assistance with a puzzling set of symptoms and vital signs readings from one of his squadmates. "There is nothing else to be done?"

Brother Xonfried shook his head, reaching up slightly as he placed a gloved hand on one of his shoulders. "If we had allied witches, they might have been able to give him a little more time, but as we shun witches and burn them for their potential or actual Heresy… This is for the best. If we let things continue as they are, his soul will be corrupted by the poison that foul heretic stabbed into his system, and he'll twist into a mockery of all that he stands for, all that he wants to be. The poison is already affecting his mind, but his soul has yet to be tainted to the point where it won't rejoin the emperor's light. But every moment you wait, the more likely it is that his will and soul will be corrupted by the poison in his body, in addition to it starting to twist his body as well."

"… What do you mean by that, sir?" Cedric asked, his hearts lurching, eyes wide as he sternly reminded himself that he needed to listen closely. The temptation to plug his ears and ignore this warning from his mentor will not help his afflicted Brother.

"I've seen this particular Chaotic poison in use by foul cultists twice before. The first time it was used against a small population of mortals. The communal well had been tainted with it's poison. The rash on his legs and arms will turn into bony growths that will twist his body into fleshy vines that will sprout deceptively sweet smelling and beautiful looking flowers. He will seek combat with others, trying to inflict the poison on them as his mind and soul is further warped by chaos. He will find ecstasy in the pain and glory in the vile monster he has become. If left unchecked, this body and soul corrupting curse will seek out all of us. Flamers are effective against such a creature, but at that point, his soul will be lost to the God Emperor, having been corrupted by Chaos." Brother Alvros explained, forcing Cedric to keep looking him in the eye by catching the younger astartes' chin with the hand not on his shoulder. "That blade is meant to cut down those afflicted by deamonic poisons, so their body will not immediately corrode into a Chaotic mess once their soul leaves it. As the Apothecary assigned to his squad, it is your duty to cleanse him before he is corrupted by chaos."

"… Oh." Cedric managed out through the ten-ton weight that had suddenly landed on his chest and stomach. His eyes were getting blurry again, and with a titanic effort of will, he took in a deep breath. The dagger in his hands was deceptively light, considering what it was meant for. "I… I see."

"If you find yourself unable to do this, I will step in. But I will be… Disappointed. His mentor has been informed of his condition, and that the one who did this to him has already been killed." Alvros informed him, the hand on Cedric's shoulder tightening for several seconds as he spoke before relaxing again. "As apothecaries, part of our duties is to ensure that our brothers are able to seek out the Emperor's Light at the end of their lives… And certain circumstances, that means ensuring that they go to the Emperor's Embrace personally. Do you understand, Cedric?"

Cedric swallowed hard, closing his eyes for several seconds as he struggled with numerous emotions. He opened his eyes and nodded, before glancing away from his mentor, shoulders slumping a little "I understand, sir. I will. I will do my duty to my suffering brother, so that he is not corrupted by the forces of chaos… But I must confess that I will need to speak with one of the chaplains and likely seek absolution for… For some of the thoughts and feelings running through my mind, sir." He hated how small and weak his voice sounded. But… He'd so far been taught hundreds if not thousands of ways to protect and care for his brothers. The task set before him now felt like a betrayal of all of that, though his mentor would not ask this of him, would not set this test before him, were it not necessary.

Surely, he wouldn't.

Brother Apothecary Xonfried's eyes were gentle as he squeezed Cedric's shoulder again "Such thoughts and feelings are understandable. It is never easy putting down a loyal brother due to an unescapable curse or poison laid upon him by the foul witches that are set against the Imperium. I will arrange for you to speak privately with Brother Chaplain Renhardt once you have completed this task… And remember, every moment you tarry, the more likely he is to be corrupted beyond the blade's ability to purify upon death. Once he is dead, message me using this communicator." the older apothecary instructed Cedric, giving him the hand-held device.

"Yes sir, I understand. I'll… I'll explain to the group and then… Then send him to the God-emperor." Cedric vowed, voice trembling a little but his hands were steady as he walked to where his squad mates were currently sitting, as he had been pulled into a sound-proofed side room. His mouth was dry and his hearts ached… But he would do his duty to his brothers. He briefly squeezed the communicator before putting it in a pocket, as he suspected that he would need both hands to complete the grim task set before him.

~

"You're back! Hey Cedric, did they tell you why we've been stuck in quarantine for the past… However long we've been stuck in Quarantine for?" Dovo asked, looking up from where he was seated on a medical cot. He, Dessias, Rodron and Angrald were playing a card game, as they'd been very sternly told not to spar in the medical bay while they were under medical watch.

"… Why do you have that? The rest of us had all of our weapons - and armor - confiscated upon being put in time out." Angrald asks, gesturing to the auramite dagger in Cedric's hand.

The young apothecary couldn't suppress the full body flinch at the other's words, unable to look any of them in the eye. His mouth was so dry, the lights were so bright. His clothes were too tight and too restrictive and scratchy. Nausea and lightheadedness warred with his sense of duty, and the urgency that his mentor had spoken of "I… I-"

All four of them startled up to their feet and Rodron, who happened to be the closest rushed over to Cedric, reaching out and grabbing one of his shoulders "Easy! Easy. Slow your breathing, I think you're hyperventilating. Sit down. We're safe here, Ced. We're in space, on a battle barge, surrounded by our brothers in one of the medical bays. The only possible way we could be safer is if we were in our armor too." He started to rub circles into Cedric's back, a worried frown appearing on his face.

An ugly, awful sound threatened to claw it's way out of Cedric's chest, and the young apothecary shook his head, as his eyes burned. He blinked rapidly, feeling something warm and wet fall onto his cheeks. He took in a deep breath - there wasn't enough air in this room. Not enough air on the ships. By the Emperor's teeth, how was he going to tell them? Guilt and shame warred with his sense of duty. "I… Dessias the… You've been… Do you remember when you got stabbed by that chaos cultist?"

"Yeeeah? That was weeks ago. It was barely a cut, and apart from a weird rash on my leg, I've fully healed. I'm fine, so why are you freaking out so badly?" Dessias answered, a look of confusion appearing on his face.

"There was apparently a Chaotic poison on the blade. You're going to get worse, and it's going to… To corrupt your soul and damn you to be a plaything for the false gods… Unless… Unless you die before the cursed poison warps your body and twists your soul. I was… Given this dagger and… Ordered to ensure you wouldn't fall to the chaos forcibly corrupting you, brother."

Confusion was written all over Dessias', Rodron's and Angrald's faces.

Dovo's face was briefly confused before grim understanding dawned, given the way that the sergeant walked over to where Dessias had jumped to his feet, and pressed a hand to the other's shoulder. "You're going to want to sit down, Dessie. Angrald, Rodron, come with me. We need to give Cedric and Dessias some privacy."

"… Thank you, Dovo." Cedric murmured quietly, grateful beyond words that he didn't have to do this in front of the others. Watching Dessias stare in confusion as the other three left the main room to lurk in the lavatory was difficult enough. He really didn't want to make a spectacle out of this.

"So… Am I about to lose a leg? Is that what the dagger's for?" Dessias asked, looking curiously at Cedric, after the other three were out of sight. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I could rock a prosthetic leg. Brother-Sergent Mallius has two, and he's got a secret compartment built into one of them that holds a weapon, in case some fool manages to disarm him…. Uhhh… Ced… Cedric? Talk to me, brother. You've got a very strange look on your face."

Cedric shook his head a little "I… You're going to be losing more than a leg, Dessias. I asked if there was any other way, but Brother Xonfried says that… That what I'm about to do is the only thing that can be done." He wanted to ask for forgiveness, either Dessias' or the God-Emperor, but he had to keep in mind that this was for his own good. To protect their brothers. He had to do this, even as his hearts trembled before the task set before him.

"… Am I losing both of my legs, then? Ced, Cedric, where are you going with that dagger?" Dessias asked, a nervous edge to his voice, despite the smile plastered on his squad brother's face.

As Cedric approached Dessias, the other swung his legs back over the side of the bed and started to stand. Cedric cleared his throat and ordered "Get back on the cot, Dessias" In his most commanding tone of voice.

Dessias froze for several crucial seconds on instinct, having heard a tone of command, and all of them being drilled to obey, even in their sleep.

Those few seconds were enough time for Cedric to close the distance between the two of them. He shoved Dessias the rest of the way down onto the cot with the hand not holding the dagger - the latter not resisting as he had no idea what was coming - as the hand wielding the dagger flashed forwards and down with all his strength and speed, slashing open his throat.

Dessias gasped in shock, struggling as Cedric used his weight to pin the other to the bed, blood gurgling up in his mouth. "HEL-" The other started to yell.

Cedric covered the other's nose and mouth with the hand not holding the sacred dagger, keeping his voice low and quiet "You've been cursed by Chaos. I've been ordered to kill you before your soul is forcibly corrupted away from the God-Emperor's light. There is nothing else to be done, not even the strength of a witch's magic could do more than delay the worst of the transformations that would have warped your body, Brother." He could feel the tears trying to fall from his eyes again. But he needed to be clear sighted.

Dessias struggled beneath him, trying to shove him off.

Cedric reached over and pressed the button that automatically shackled an unruly patient to the bed with cuffs that extended and wrapped around Dessias' arms and legs. The other's healing factor was starting heal the gash in his throat, so the young Apothecary slashed Dessias's throat, deeper this time, before moving off of his still struggling body. He distantly noted that both of his hands were covered in blood, but there were other vital organs that the robes the other was wearing did nothing to protect against the sanctified blade in his hands. Both of his hearts were pierced in their upper and lower chambers. Cedric then deliberately counted Dessias' ribs, noting the way that his breathing was much faster and shallower, before he pierced each of his three lungs.

Stabbing his kidneys and spleen was next. The cold, clinical portion of Cedric internally wondered if he should remove Dessias' gene-seed now, or if it had been tainted by the chaotic poison that necessitated his brother's culling. The entire time, Dessias was sputtering and growling, struggling against his bonds, glaring betrayed and confused holes into Cedric's very soul. The wet, gurgling gasps eventually faded into silence. Cedric double and triple checked to make sure that Dessias was actually dead before pulling out the communicator and messaging his mentor "It is done, sir."

"Well done. Inform the rest of your squad that they are free to move about the rest of the ship, then clean yourself up and report to me. The morticians will handle the disposal of the body." Apothecary Xonfried ordered.

"Yes sir." Cedric's mouth responded. Cedric himself felt as if he was both thousands of miles away and, at the same time, far, far to present. His body straightened up from where he'd been leaning over Dessias' body and turned, heading to the same lavatory that the rest of his squad were waiting in.

~

"By the Emperor, are you okay? You're covered in blood!" Rodron spluttered, the young sniper having spotted Cedric come into the bathroom first.

"This isn't my blood. We are no longer in quarantine." Cedric heard himself say. "You should go, I'm sure that you'll be glad to finally get some more sparring practice in."

"… You sure you don't want us to help you out with…" Angrald gestured to Cedric, a worried frown on his face.

"I'm fine. I just need to clean up. Go." Cedric huffed, walking over to the sink and starting to wash his blood-soaked hands. The fluid was still warm. So, so warm.

"… We'll be in the usual sparring room, if you need anything." Dovo said, grabbing Angrald and Rodron "We'll be there for the next several hours. I'll… explain what happened to these two, and why."

"Thank you, sergeant. Your cooperation is much appreciated." Cedric's mouth said, confusing the shit out of two of his remaining squad mates as they were dragged off by Dovo.

Finally, a moment alone. To reflect, while he scrubbed his hands free of his brother's blood.

[rosewoodroad]

All 1, 2, 5 and 18 for Wysma 👀

1 was answered here ⭐

2. Who is your commander closest to now?

Caithe! But it took a lot of time, work, and co-parenting chaos to get to where they are as friends. Caithe could single-handedly destroy Wysma's badass reputation with stories of all the dumb shit he did trying to make Aurene happy.

I go into more detail here, but in essence, after all the drama with the egg incident, they began seeing each other’s earnest vulnerabilities through their interactions with their new ward. Both were totally out of their element with Aurene (Caithe doesn’t meet many infants, and Wysma had a somewhat detached parental figure) so there was a lot of bumbling, arguments, and eventually camaraderie while they worked out their dynamic with Aurene and each other.

Currently, Wysma and Caithe feel the most at ease with each other; to one another, they are less leaders and more people, parents who loved and lost and are still trying to do the right thing.

5. Which death caused your commander the most grief?

Blish, for a good long while.

Wysma has seen the deaths of many allies: Trahearne, Eir, Almorra, Tonn, Forgal. They were, at their core, soldiers, sworn to their duties with their lives. It was a pact they’d made, and Wysma knew that, for all the lost potential and lost lives, they would have given it up all over again for Tyria, everything and everyone they loved. Wysma himself would have done the same.

But Blish was different. He was never a soldier, not even a fighter. To Wysma, Blish and Gorrik were just regular kids they picked up because they had nowhere else to go. They were exactly the kind of people Wysma fought to protect, but then Blish chose to sacrifice himself for him.

He’s supposed to be better than this. He’s supposed to be the strong one. But he couldn’t even protect Blish. The worst part is that he had to directly face the consequences of his failure: Gorrik, left without a brother.

Like everything else, though, time heals wounds, and Wysma honours Blish’s memory by looking after Gorrik in his stead.

18. How does your commander handle stress?

That stoic face he has 90% of the time? That's his stress response. It’s like Schrodinger’s emotions where maybe if he doesn’t acknowledge the stress, the stress will go away. He busies himself with anything he can to take his mind off himself.

Wysma is generally just not great at handling or addressing vulnerability, especially when it’s his own. Ironically, Dragon’s Watch knows when he goes rigid like that, he’s under some serious pressure. A relaxed Wysma is a gentler and goofier Wysma.

He’s very aware of his coping mechanism and how unhealthy it is, but is still having some trouble dropping the idea of ‘needing to be strong’ all the time.

[blackjackkent]

Epilogue time! The narrator sets the stage:

Narrator: When the invitation came, you were hip-deep in lemure slime, swarmed by hellwasps, and about to drive the killing blow on a magma claw. Cutting through the dreadful buzz of the wasps and the screamed of the damned, a familiar comforting voice echoed in your mind - Withers.

Narrator: He requested your attendance in Faerun, to gather with your friends and allies, those who stood against the Absolute at your side.

A couple things:

a) Six months has definitely given them time to settle into their new life as Avernus's mutineers, and it seems like they're doing pretty well! No one's lost any limbs or anything so that's nice.

b) That sure is an outfit you're wearing, Hector, lololol. I guess the monk robes didn't work so well in Avernus after a while. Karlach however looks fantastic.

c) Hector and Wyll have definitely become much closer friends during this whole thing and I think Hector probably considers him more like a brother by now. I do also really hope Wyll hasn't just been third-wheeling it this whole time; I think if I do write a fic about their post-game adventures I will set him up with some nice rebellious devil they end up allying with or something. (Potential for interesting angst there with his history with Mizora perhaps? :D )

d) I am standing by the fact that Hector is quite content with their new life. He already knew he was never going to be able to go back to the monastery and live quietly again, so being able to keep fighting at Karlach's side against the forces of evil is basically the best possible outcome for him. I like to think, too, that it's not ALL combat forever; they find some hideout that they're able to make at least reasonably homey and have some happy times too. That being said - he's very excited to see his friends again.

e) We'll have to see how the epilogue dialogues here play out but I kind of want to say this isn't the first time he's seen them (or at least communicated with them) since the brain battle. Perhaps Hector keeps leveling cleric during the fights in the Hells and tosses another four levels in at which point he gets access to Sending.

Anyway, HI EVERYONE! HI WITHERS!

"Thou wert called here. Some from above, some below. For with thine bond, together thou hast kept the Wheel of Fate spinning, when it threatened to halt. Though thou wert drawn far apart in the months after the collapse of the Absolute, tonight Fate renews thy bond once more. Thou shouldst take care to preserve it; it is a great weapon wielded in the hand of good. Go, know one another once more."

Ahhhhh, it's our old camp from the first map way back at the beginning! <3

Let's get to chatting!

[caffeinated-moogle]

⬆⬆⬆ Perceive Aeryn's early-Stormblood black mage glam! ⬆⬆⬆

I'm still on my black mage AU kick, so I'm gonna ramble out some brainthoughts on my lore for this iteration of Aeryn's story.

Mostly generic, but there will be one StB BLM class quest spoiler below.

Aeryn does not handle the events of the Vault well in any universe, canonically or otherwise. In canon, grief drives her to pick up dragoon again as what I like to call her "rage" class. But in her black mage AU, she takes a different approach.

Aeryn feels her "magic block" has become a deadly hindrance, regardless of Hydaelyn's gifts (or lack thereof at that point in the story). If she's to protect herself and her allies from enemies capable of wounding them with un-healable dark magics, she wants the knowledge and skill to do the same. She approaches the thaumaturges of Ul'dah for assistance. Cocobuki and the others, recognizing Aeryn's potential (and her need), set about to understand the source of her magic block and a means of breaking it. They determine Aeryn cannot easily wield magic in Eorzea due to some other, foreign source of magic inside her - one that is intertwined with her soul in such a way that it seems to "shelter" her from most outside magics. Though they none of them fully understand the source of such power, they all agree that Aeryn will likely never be able to properly channel magic without first severing her connection to that inexplicable power within.

The brothers are concerned at the potential dangers of this process. There's a possibility her soul and the magic surrounding it are inextricably linked, and given the mysterious nature of its existence, they have no way of knowing how its removal might impact her. They warn her it might sever her connection with the Mother Crystal. (Aeryn argues she has already lost that connection.) They warn her she might die. (Midgardsormr again taunts her with threats that there will be further losses - greater sacrifices made.)

Aeryn, however, is determined.

I believe it would have been a brutally painful experience. The notion of ripping away a magic embedded in your soul doesn't sound pleasant.

But they succeed - and in doing so, Aeryn opens herself to a floodgate of new magic all at once. Further, the magic that had threaded itself through her soul does not immediately disperse upon removal. It lingers within her. The combination of so very much magic, and the sudden influx of new magics, are too much for her. Though it overwhelms all her senses, at first, she finds the one most challenging to adapt to is a new sight - the ability to see the use of aether with her naked eye. The brothers acquire enchanted cloth for her to cover her eyes, which helps dull the sight of it enough for her to get by.

I'm not sure if Aeryn will ever learn the whole truth of her existence and the magic she was "born" with. (I'm waiting out Endwalker to see if story canon gives me anything to work with, there, before I decide.) But in both canon and AU, Aeryn begins getting flashes of memory throughout Shadowbringers that might help her piece together the story: the magic that was fused with her soul was the remnant magic of her dying star (what I've lovingly been calling the Fourth, though I have no idea if future game canon will break that for me). Her connection to her lost world had, in essence, been blocking her all along from fully connecting to the magic of the Source, as it continues to do in her canon.

[Spoiler for the StB BLM class quests below!]

As mentioned, the remnant magic extricated from her soul does not disperse, and she progresses through the rest of HW and most of StB bound by a lingering connection with the stars from her past life. So in the StB class quests, she is in a unique position to also sense the nearing of the comet, though she of course can't fathom why. When there is concern in those pivotal final moments of its approach that their efforts have not worked to redirect the comet in time, Aeryn inherently uses that lingering power to connect with the comet and further divert its course.

This act expels the vast majority of remnant star magic within her. The yellow fades from her hair, and as the comet draws away, Aeryn senses a great change within her and reaches up to remove the cloth from her eyes. With much of the excess magic gone, she is able to see as normal once again.

(If I had a way to change Aeryn's hair color for just one glam, her black mage look would not have yellow highlights! Her star magic is what makes her hair turn yellow when cut, so as a black mage, post-Stormblood, her hair would be entirely brown.)

That's it. That's the AU. \o/

[popart-vvv]

Arcana Analysis--Miles "Tails" Prower (Magician, Strength, Star)

It's my son!

Miles Prower, better known as Tails for obvious reasons. Sonic's longtime partner and best friend, with a surrogate brother connection between them. He's a considerably younger kid with many talents, but at his age, he has confidence issues stemming from constant dependence on Sonic. Case in point:

"Whenever there's a crisis I'm either running away or standing on the sidelines! You're always rescuing me when all I do is follow you around!" (Source: Sonic Frontiers, 2022)

Three cards tell his story best:

The Magician--The card of talents and skills, which speaks to Tails and his multiple array of skills. Whereas Sonic is an accomplished speedster, acrobat, and combatant, Tails is more on the mechanical side of things. Among his inventions are the Tornado, a plane prominent for traveling from place to place in the franchise, and the Miles Electric, a communications tool that even has a built-in translator to communicate with aliens. Just as well, he has moments where he shines all by himself, best shown in the Adventure duology where he fights Eggman solo in two separate boss fights. That said, however, Tails is a kid. At his age, he's not quite as strong in spirit as Sonic, which leads into Magician Reversed: the waste of one's potential. Part of this stems from the fact that he spends so much time with Sonic, leading to an amount of dependence on Tails' part. As such, Tails' emotions go haywire whenever one of two things happens: 1. Sonic isn't around for the next crisis (Sonic Forces, when he's MIA), 2. Sonic ends up glossing over Tails' contributions (Sonic Lost World, when a temporary alliance with Eggman stirs some insecurity for Tails). Eggman even notes in one of his memos that Tails' relationship with Sonic is squandering his potential.

Strength--The card of courage and taming of one's emotions, it speaks to Tails' age-appropriate mental state and his growth to become strong as his own person. As mentioned above--previous paragraph--Tails is quick to break down when Sonic ends up MIA. This leads into what the fandom calls his low point in writing: he fails to completely repair his robot ally Omega, and when faced with Chaos, an antagonist he previously faced, Tails freezes with fear and cries for Sonic's help. All of this indicates Strength Reversed, when your confidence levels are low. Think about it this way, however: this is the tipping point of Tails' reliance on Sonic. All those previous solo fights were more because Tails was the only one capable and available at the time, and the way Sonic was defeated at the beginning of Forces was definitely a step up from anything Tails faced beforehand. The domino effect that ensued must've done a number on the kid's mental health. And if anything else, Sonic Frontiers shows that Tails is ashamed of that moment and has realized just how harmful his dependence on Sonic has become. Thus, he makes plans: "When this is all over, I think I need to go it alone for a while. I can't grow into my full potential if I always fall back on you."

The Star--The card of hope and faith, which relays Tails' personal development in Frontiers. At the start, he's in the reversed state--lack of faith--regarding how he feels about himself after the war in Forces. After Sage questions him about his faith in Sonic, which Tails reaffirms, the young fox approaches the hedgehog and asks if he's a burden. Sonic reminds Tails of his own unique skills, like his intellect and his tail-propelling flight ability, and says that his dependence is just a natural part of growing up. Tails' decision to go solo indicates the card turning upright--the moment when his self-confidence begins to return. And it helps that Sonic supports Tails in his plans so that he can grow into his own hero.

Everything here relates to Tails' development in recent years. Despite his intellectual prowess, as a child, Tails is prone to depending on others and not controlling his emotions, both of which hit their peak in Sonic Forces. As a result, he decides to go off on his own to fully realize his potential. This decision is sure to pay off as Tails grows into his own person and steps out of Sonic's shadow.

"I've changed a lot since I started hanging out with Sonic, but I can't depend on him forever. I know I can do this by myself!"