#Miranda deserves to see a woman during canon

[withasideofshakespeare]

Transfemme Ferdinand (The Tempest) NOW

[otemporanerys]

Spectre Requisitions ‘23 - The Rec Post!!

It’s that time of year again! I took part in the Spectre Requisitions Rare Pair Exchange @spectre-requisitions-exchange (link to the collection here) and man. SO MUCH good shit.

I can’t reveal what I wrote (yet) but I have been reading through the collection and here’s a few incredible works that I really enjoyed! Remember to kudos and comment if you find anything you like 💖

(NB: I focused on fic, but honestly every bit of fanart I’ve seen for it is also incredible, please go check it out)

Gifts for Me

I was SO lucky this year - loyal friends will know that I’ve been suffering from a massive dose of Lawkarian brainrot, and I got not one, but TWO long-ass Garrus/Miranda fics!!!! honestly still can’t get over it, incredible

Between the Devil and the Deep, Garrus/Miranda, 20K, E

Set pre-ME2, Miranda recruits Archangel for a job, fucks him to keep him sweet.

This is just. Pure filth, and I love it. Aliases, power plays, both Garrus and Miranda being amoral little weirdos. What more can you ask for?

The Woman in White, Garrus/Miranda, 16.9K, E

Set pre-ME2, Miranda recruits Archangel for a job, doesn’t really do ANYTHING to keep him sweet (but they fuck anyway).

:chinhands: This is just. GORGEOUSLY written, and the begrudging way in which they start to like each other (but not too much) is incredible. Top-notch Garrus POV

Gen

loose ends, Maelon & Mordin, 9.9K, T

Set during and after ME3, canon-divergent AU. Maelon finds Mordin in the wreckage after Tuchanka and nurses him back to health.

I love their relationship in this - Mordin’s so aware of Maelon’s weaknesses (or what he perceives to be his weakness) but there’s still so much caring, despite the huge gulf between them. Also the easiest way to make me a teary mess is a Urdnot Mordin cameo 😭

The Stories We Tell, Joker & Tali, 3.1K, T

Set during ME1. Tali forces Joker to be her friend.

Really great dialogue for everyone - it’s very cute and fun until suddenly it’s not!!! which is rude!!! but still very good, A+++

Care and Maintenance, Kaidan & Tali, 2.2K, T

Set during ME1. Kaidan and Tali bond over dads, tech and Shepard’s reckless driving.

This one was just nice! And also who doesn’t love a bit of Shepard driving slander

F/F

swear, this one you’ll save, Nyreen/Solana, 1.5K, G

Pre-canon: five times Solana has a secret about Nyreen.

I’m only slightly obsessed with these two, and this fic was so perfect. Childhood friends to lovers is a god-tier trope, and it’s so deliciously bittersweet

Real, Beautiful, f!Shali, 0.7K, G

Post-ME3, A morning on Rannoch.

The post-war fluff we deserve, imo!

A Knife in Starlight, Morinth/f!Shepard, 1K, M

Set during ME2. Character study with a side of smut.

I think Morinth is incredibly interesting as a character, but the real standout of this fic is the Shepard - Ruthless, stone butch, wonderfully jagged.

M/M

Collide, m!Shakarian, 4.1K, M

Set during ME2. Friends-to-lovers and mutual pining.

I love m!Shakarian anyway, but mutual pining?? Sexually charged pining?? LOVE CONFESSIONS?? Good shit

M/F

Change of Command, Garrus/Miranda, 3.6K, M

Set during ME2. Epistolary fic, a series of comms transcripts between Garrus and Miranda.

Yes, someone else wanted Lawkarian!! The (verbal) sparring is so much fun, and the format is perfect.

Beauty Like a Raging Flame, f!Shaeed, 6.2K, E

Set during ME2. Shepard gets into a fight in Afterlife, and Zaeed has to go pick her up.

There’s a lot of Shaeed this year! But this one is my favourite. The Zaeed voice is great (appropriately crusty, not too soppy, just the way I like it) and it’s nice seeing him paired off with a Paragon Shep. Plus, Zaeed’s turned on by violence. Smutty perfection

only echoes in the melody now, Kasumi/Keiji’s Greybox, 3.4K, E

Post-ME3. Bittersweet porn with feelings.

God, this one really blew me away. The prose is incredible, and there’s so many little bits that really land how fucked up the greybox concept really is. The ending is great, too. Can’t recommend this enough.

Longing Makes a Thief, Kasumi/Rolan Quarn, 17.7K, E

Kasumi and Rolan run into each other during a job, and realise they’ve met before - sort of.

This was so much fun - bubbly like a glass of champagne. The banter’s great, the smut is great, it’s all so good. Run, don’t walk!

Poly

An Unfortunately Sexy Man, Addison/Kandros/Kesh/Tann, 6.6K, M

MEA. Addison, Kandros and Kesh all have one thing in common: a devastating, inexplicable crush on Director Tann.

I’m not really one for crack, but this is definitely an exception. Genuinely funny, and the Tann voice in particular is incredibly on-point.

[misseffect]

read your garrus/miranda piece it was AMAZING omg you have such a way with descriptions and details!!! do you have any thoughts abt how that relationship might play out for the rest of ME2 and 3?

hi anon!!!!!!! thank you so much 🥰🥰

I was actually sketching out up to the end of ME3 when I first started working on the prompt and have been chatting with @otemporanerys about it since.

Under the cut because I have Long Thoughts

(y'all can read The Woman In White here)

For Garrus, the initial shock is sort of eclipsed by the whole Shepard thing and then by the whole rocket thing, so the first time they really talk is when he's already on the Normandy.

He goes to her office after he gets out of the medbay, metaphorical cap in hand, to thank her for putting him on the crew.

M: if I'd had my way you wouldn't even have made the shortlist. get out of my room. G: aaaaand we're back to normal

Miranda stays juuust on the professional side of openly hostile from then on. Shepard picks up on the rancid vibes (obviously) and Garrus comes clean about the job.

S: you helped send experimental super-weapons back to cerberus?!? G: I didn't know she was cerberus S: give me strength

Out of sheer necessity, they end up doing each other's loyalty missions because Shepard is too paragon busy, and that's how things start to thaw.

M, realising G wasn't just on some kind of blind, ego-fuelled vendetta and actually really cared about his squad: .....shit G, realising M isn't the heartless, unattached shell of a person he thought she was and actually really cares about her sister: .....crap

Garrus even offers to set Ori's family up with some cyber security stuff; Miranda's looking for an ulterior motive like

They sleep together again before the suicide mission, obviously, because they learned nothing from the last time they thought they'd never see each other again.

This time Miranda doesn't leap out of bed immediately, and after a moment or two Garrus realises she's fallen asleep on his arm and - crap - if that's not the most disarming thing that's ever happened to him.

G: maybe we'll both die in a hail of bullets and I won't have to deal with the fact that I'm maybe possibly slightly in love with someone who hates my guts Narrator: they did not die in a hail of bullets

They go off to do their separate things after ME2. Garrus is on Palaven writing and deleting a hundred variations on "still finding time to date now the universe is ending?" and each one sounds worse than the last. He's not sure he'd like the answer anyway.

For ME3 I think their overall roles are still as per canon (Garrus on the Normandy and Miranda is sneaking around after Cerberus) so they just kind of stew until Sanctuary.

Miranda gets injured during the fight with Kai Leng (Shepard didn't pass along the warning so Garrus did it behind her back) and Garrus, feeling a Very Normal amount of fear as Miranda bleeds out on the floor, shoots Henry Lawson in the face. like he deserves.

They evac back to the Normandy and Garrus spends the next few days trying to figure out what a non-suspicious amount of time to spend in the medbay is.

Shepard: just so we're clear I do not want her on my ship and I'm doing this as a personal favour to you G: to...... me? S: I'm a pretty busy woman vakarian and even I can see you're in love with her G: * spluttering *

And that's how Miranda gets invited to the party at Anderson's apartment (never let it be said that Commander Shepard is a bad wingman) and they end up on the balcony, a little drunk, talking about ✨the future✨

Garrus doesn't want to assume, but he's getting That Night In Luminesce vibes.

M: there's going to be a lot to do, even if we win. I'm sure I won't be short of work G: that's it? just more work? M: * shrugs * G: hey, maybe you could get that cat you always wanted

And Miranda - drunk, sad, exhausted, and standing next to this person who, for whatever reason, keeps insisting that she deserves good things - bursts into tears.

She comes clean about the men she was seeing on Omega and future she desperately wants - which isn't achievable and never will be, whether they survive the war or not - and that's about when Garrus realises he's completely and utterly fucked.

I'll speed through the rest because this is getting l o n g SO

1. they bounce to go and have a lot of intense and entirely-too-sincere sex in a hotel room (again)

2. Garrus tells her he loves her (sort of by accident but not really) which goes about as well as you'd expect

3. They're both too stubborn to reach out first ofc but, facing down the final run to the beam, Garrus leaves her a heartfelt voicemail and she misses calling him back by all of 5mins

4. They make up over Shepard's now twice-reassembled body (thanks Shep) adopt a few kids, and get then set about the serious business of getting old and hot together

FIN

[doctorbluesmanreturns]

Re8 pacifist run edition would have to have events switched up to make it actually function, but I think it would go something like this:

Since it would be actively marketed as a pacifist run unlike Undertale which kept the fact that that was an option hidden until 3/4 through the game, you start out equipped with a taser and flash grenades in order to drive away lycans that try to attack you. Later on you find out that they are being mind controlled into attacking and without Mother Miranda’s influence they’re mostly peaceful albeit terrifying werewolf people.

The first Lord you come in contact with is Heisenberg, who offers you the chance to team up right after claiming to Mother Miranda that he is planning on a spectacular public execution for you. Your new goal is to get the flasks back but also convince each Lord to join the rebellion. You can still screw up and end up battling them to the death, and the game gives you the option of either continuing on or trying the encounter again for a better outcome. Heisenberg gives you some of MM’s journal entries he was able to steal in order to prove her intentions.

Next up is Moreau, whose mutations are largely caused by both his own self-loathing and the feelings of disgust onlookers have towards him. Convincing him that he deserves better than the woman who callously transformed him into a fish monster takes the form of staying alive long enough to show him the journal entry as well as genuinely showing compassion. If successful, Moreau not only becomes an ally but loses some of his more monstrous aspects with the implication that over time he will become more and more human.

Following that, you visit Donna and upon discovering her trapped within her anger and grief, must help her see that MM was behind so much of it that helping her is the completely wrong path. This section has to walk a delicate path of not making it seem like grief is something that can just be abandoned, but also that allowing it to consume you isn’t healthy. Eventually after some extremely bizarre hallucination sequences, Donna finally stops carrying the blame for her family’s deaths, and for the first time interacts with you herself rather than through Angie.

Next up on our journey is Castle Dimitrescu, in which you have to befriend all four inhabitants separately and since they all actively want your blood this is the most challenging level yet. One way to accomplish this is by, when chased into a room with a broken window, taking the time to fix the window as the Daughter chasing you goes dormant from the cold (in a reverse of canon re8 where you actively break windows to cause them to become vulnerable to attack). Another way to accomplish this is by locking them in rooms where it will take awhile for them to get out, and talking with them through the door. The Daughters it is revealed are unaware of MM’s scheme and upon hearing that their mother was considered a failure by MM, become enraged enough to join your side. Then you have the final confrontation of Castle D against Lady D herself, in which you need to stay alive long enough for her to discover that you didn’t kill her daughters (for which she is initially enraged at you for seemingly having done since they stopped attacking you) at which point you can break through the mind control of MM by telling her that the grief and rage she felt at the thought of having lost her daughters forever is exactly what you have been feeling and that as a parent herself she should realize that MM’s plan, while understandably also coming from a reaction to grief, is the wrong solution. At this point Lady D also joins the alliance.

It should be noted that even with all four Lords and their allies as part of the rebellion, the final battle is not just “MM gets thrown into the sun immediately”, as satisfying as that would be to watch. You must become a sort of commander and direct a targeted assault against MM’s own forces that does include the Lords using their extreme mutated forms to fight. The battle finally ends NOT with your death in an explosion, but in a similarly explosive manner as MM is seemingly defeated, attempts to rise again as an immense demonic monstrosity, and is taken out by a boulder punched by a hugely powerful weapon wielded by Chris Redfield, who in this version has grudgingly helped but constantly told you that allying with superpowered mutants is a Bad Idea so his helping now is one of those Moments.

In the end with the mind control of MM totally gone, the Village is basically just a normal albeit very creepy and goth place again, with the mutated townsfolk going about their business with potential cures being sought for the more severely impacted, and you are reunited with your wife and daughter and can either choose to stay on or leave, with the teaser for the next installment being an older Rosemary demonstrating her extreme powers and then being recruited for a mission….

Also the Duke is featured in this version too but as he was your ally anyway, not much changes beyond he offers some tips and essential gear towards befriending each Lord and using his teleportation abilities is able to help during the Final Battle by getting you into MM’s stronghold undetected.

[nightwishesworld]

A Better Way

Because I am unhappy with our beloved wife’s death I decided to write my own.

That being said...SPOILERS!!!!!!!! I wrote this based on and referenced canon events in the game. If you wanna skip this and wait for the game’s official release in a few days I completely understand.

Alcina’s form trembles atop the pile of rubble she created during their fall. Somehow that lowlife Ethan survived the fall as well. Fuck, what does it take to kill that man? Even in her monstrous form, she failed to stop a flimsy little mortal man. Is he really that powerful? Or is she simply the weak little rat Mother Miranda always said she was? The answer is obvious now.

Alcina knows this is it for her. There is no winning or even recovering from this. She’s lost way too much blood and is in no state to replenish herself. She hears him stumble to his feet somewhere beside her and grab his gun. It doesn’t bother her anymore. Even now as she turns to stare down the barrel of a shotgun she knows she deserves what’s to come. She failed in her task.

Everyone that depends on her is now in grave danger and it’s all her fault. Because she wasn’t good enough to protect her family from a single human man.

Her family....

Images of her beautiful daughters' lifeless piles of ash lying abandoned on the floor like yesterday’s garbage hurt her more than any weapons could hope to. What kind of mother let her daughters, her own flesh and blood, get slaughtered because she was too incompetent to take care of a little pest? A failure of a mother. Their blood is on her hands, not Ethan’s.

Mother Miranda will have to make the call to Heisenberg to let him know why Ethan is on his way to the factory. And about them. After everything that this woman has done for her and her family and this is how Alcina repays her? How pathetic of her. And her little brother as well. She’s failed everyone she cared about on this god-forsaken earth.

Alcina sighs as Ethan cocks his gun and inches closer and closer to her. After letting out a long exhale she opens her eyes and stared down at him. He’s in shit-shape but he’ll survive. Suddenly that doesn’t sound so bad. If he can finish the job, at least.

“Do it,” she whispers, and her voice cracks. Alcina will not cry in front of this vile creature; she refuses. “I am nothing without the love of my daughters. I’d rather die than live a day without their presence.”

She could have sworn she saw a hint of remorse flash across his bloodied features before he grounded himself once more. He probably didn’t even believe her. Why would he? All he sees is a hideous beast that needs to slain. Not a broken-hearted mother mourning the loss of her darling children. No one has ever seen them for who they really are. Pity.

Her head hangs and she catches a glimpse of his shadow, his arms raising.

“I deserve this,” Alcina thinks to herself.

BANG!

Karl Heisenberg was sitting in his office, legs stretched atop his desk glazing over files. Pretending to work so no one would bother him. He was so lost in his own little fantasy land that the phone ringing next to him nearly started him out of his chair.

He let out a dramatic groan, knowing full well it was Alcina calling to continue their petty argument from earlier. A chuckle escaped his mouth remembering how he told her to drop dead before hanging up.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and begrudgingly brought the phone to his ear.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier to-“

“Heisenberg!” Mother Miranda’s voice spoke. The man nearly choked on air when he heard her voice.

“Miranda! Apologies, I thought it was Alcina calling me.”

Mother Miranda paused, but only for a moment. Her tone was as it always was; calm with a hint of disappointment. “That is what I am calling about, actually. Alcina failed to keep Mr. Winters under control and he escaped. I can only assume he is making his way over to you now.”

“Alcina and the girls, are they-“

“No longer assets we need to be concerned about. The Ceremony will continue on schedule with or without them, is that understood?”

He was completely floored. His beloved, pain in the ass, older sister is dead. And what of his adorable little gremlin nieces? They’re gone too? How can Miranda possibly expect him to just-“

“Is that understood, Heisenberg?”

He cleared his throat and nodded as if she could see him. “Of course, Miranda. The preparation will continue as-“

She hung up.

Heisenberg put the phone down and buried his head in his hands. He didn’t feel anything. Only numbness. The longer he sat there thinking about them the harder to became to think about the stupid ceremony. Or that human parasite on its way to him.

His anger got the best of him and he slammed his fists down on the desk. “To hell with Mother Miranda.”

He called one of his lackeys in and filled them in on the basics of the situation, warning him about Ethan mostly. Heisenberg was to depart for Castle Dimitrescu as soon as possible. Let the lycans have fun with their new incoming chew toy until his return.

The ride up to the castle was ghostly. He expected to hear the girls’ laughter as he entered the main doors as they always do when he visits. They were always happy to see their dear Uncle Heisenberg.

Cassandra’s ash pile was the first to be found. Simply because it was out in the open by the entrance leading down to the basement. It was obviously her because the smell of her lilac perfume was still infused in her ashes. He kneeled beside it and stroked it gently between his fingers, whispering apologies and words of comfort. Both for him and Cassandra. Then he took an old pendant necklace from his pocket and ever so gently, scooped some of her ashes into it.

“There you are, Cass. Safe and sound with me.”

On a hunch he decided to look around the basement before searching the rest of the castle for Bela and Daniela. He already knew where Alcina was resting. Bela was indeed laid in one of the extraction rooms of the basement. She collapsed behind a pillar as if she were trying to hide or shield herself. Heisenberg did the same thing and scooped up her ashes in his necklace, this time kissing the pads of his fingers and laying them on the ash pile.

Daniela was next. She was in the library, literally on the other side of the door. Heisenberg cursed himself for unintentionally spreading her ashes as he opened the door and nearly stepping on the poor girl. He stayed with her longer because of this, whispering a thousand apologies to her. The way she was laid down made Heisenberg think Daniela tried to escape and came really close to doing so.

A few tears streamed down his cheeks as she gathered her ashes in his pendant. That man will pay for what he’s done. For taking such innocent souls from the world that had so much more in store for them.

His beloved sister was last. She wasn’t where he thought she would be, which he found odd, but taking a closer look around it all made sense. The damn burst behind his eyes and he openly cried for the first time in decades.

“Fuck,” he sobbed, soothing his sister’s large heap of ashes. “I didn’t mean literally, Alcina.”

He grabbed a fist full of ash and clutched it to his chest. “I’m so sorry, sister. I should have helped you trapped that rat when he escaped me the first time. But I won’t let that happen again.”

Just like with the girls, he scooped up some of her ashes in the pendant. But this time instead of putting it back around his neck he gave it a few delicate shakes, mixing the four of them together as one.

“There. Now you’ll always be together; in this eternity and the next.”

He stayed there next to her for the rest of the night. They talked for hours (though it was a one-sided conversation) and watched the stars flicker into existence as the sunset. When there were enough of them out he pointed out the various constellations to her. The entire night went on like this; acting as if nothing had changed since they were children.

The sun was just starting to rise over the grassy green hills. Radiant shades of pink and gold colored the sky like never before. It was almost like looking at heaven itself. Early birds sang their song of the morning as they flew swiftly across the sky to wake the rest of the woodland creatures and the residents of the village.

Heisenberg exhaled a shaky breath. “I better be off, Sissy. Miranda will have my head if I don’t deal with that rat before the ceremony. But don’t you worry, I’ll take care of all four of you once this shitstorm has passed. You’ll be given proper burials and everyone will have a chance to say goodbye.”

He could feel the tears starting to build up again. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you or the girls. You’re a royal pain in my ass, but you’re still my big sister and I love you.”

The ride back to the factory was comforting. There was still a heavy weight on his shoulders, but he never expected it to go away. It will only go away after exacting his revenge. When he finds that man, oh boy is he in for a treat. The lycans should have done some damage to him already or at least exhausted him. Ethan is weak now. It’s time to strike back.

No one harms Karl Heisenberg’s family and gets away with it.

[screechthemighty]

An Essay About Resident Evil: Village That No One Asked For But I’m Posting It Anyways

So, the Beneviento House is my favorite part of Village for two reasons. One: it’s the scariest part of the game, don’t @ me. Two: On a second play through, it actually reveals a lot about the issues in Ethan and Mia’s marriage. There’s a lot to unpack here with that, but the tl;dr of it is this: I believe what Ethan experiences in House Beneviento is trip into Ethan’s psyche rather than an actual, physical event, and this trip confirms that his arguments with Mia were made worse by a) him worrying about Rose more than he worries about himself, and b) him assuming that Mia is worried about the same things he is; thus, his hallucinations of her are more a reflection of himself than they are of reality.

All of my logic and evidence is under the cut. Fair warning, it’s very long, I am so sorry, I really am. Aso, please note this is NOT a Mia-bashing post. We do not engage in Mia-bashing on this blog. Please go to someone else’s blog if you want to engage in Mia-bashing. Thank you.

There’s two important things to establish here. First: I think that 99% of what Ethan experiences in House Beneviento isn’t real, and is at least partially a manifestation of Ethan’s inner psyche. The evidence is as follows:

It makes no sense that Ethan would lose his entire inventory within the space of 0.5 seconds after the lights shut off. It makes much more sense that mind control made him think he no longer had a gun.

Several of the items and information used in the puzzles are things that Donna, logically, shouldn’t have access to. The music box was still in their home when Chris arrived (which wasn’t that long ago, keep in mind), I doubt Miranda cared enough to find out Rose’s preferred toys and the identity of who gifted them the music box, and there’s no way Donna would be able to get that picture of “Mia’s” dead body. Mia’s wedding ring is tentatively on this list, too; Donna would have access to it, since Mia was being held captive at the time, but I can’t remember if Mia is still wearing it when Chris saves her, so put that one down as a “maybe.”

You stab Angie (or, more properly, stab Donna) for the final time in the back room by the elevator. However, right after stabbing and killing her, you are suddenly by the front door again, the main part of the house is in shambles in a way that suggests a struggle, and you’re not holding the scissors anymore. If you try to backtrack to check the elevator, the door leading to that part of the house is locked (presumably From The Other Side, as they often are in RE).

Additionally, your entire inventory is spontaneously back in your pockets. In Biohazard, if you had inventory taken off of you, it had to be retrieved from a box later. Not this time (though, granted, this game doesn’t HAVE inventory boxes, but it’s an interesting detail when combined with everything else).

All of this, to me, points to Ethan having probably never left the main foyer throughout the majority of that mind trip. As for the hallucinations being fueled mostly by his psyche, a diary entry from the gardener mentions that the plants made him hallucinate his deceased wife, and as mentioned above, a lot of the puzzle relates to things specific and personal to Ethan. While I don’t doubt that Donna could and probably did influence the hallucination a bit (she is a puppet master after all), the building blocks were all there in Ethan’s head.

Second Important Thing to Establish: Ethan was completely missing the point during his arguments with Mia in the lead up to Village.

I’m of the opinion that the fights Ethan mentions in his diary were not a constant thing. I think they only started, at the earliest, while Mia was pregnant, but for sure after Rose was born. This is because pretty much all the canon evidence we see about their fights circles back to Rose. The diary entry where Ethan describes the fight they had is dated four days before Ethan’s death; meanwhile, the flashback fight (which is most likely of that very fight) is triggered by a conversation about Rose’s doctor’s visit and uses language that implies a lot of their talks (and presumably arguments) about “staying positive” have to do specifically with Rose and the move.

It’s also worth keeping in mind how much of Ethan’s thoughts about Dulvey and moving past it are related to Rose. Like, yeah, I’m sure he wants Mia to heal for her own good and he’d like to heal for his own good. That’s to be expected. But whenever he talks about moving to Europe and healing from Dulvey, it’s also about doing it for Rose and for her benefit (“so we can live our lives with Rose without it hanging over our heads” in the diary, “We moved here so that she wouldn’t have to deal with any of that” in the argument with “Mia” at the start). Additionally, in the flashback he says, “[Rose]’s going to be fine, I just know it. What else matters?” Rose is Ethan’s #1 priority and much of his concern is focused on her.

But—and this is the important thing here—not all of Mia’s is. The end of the game reveals that Mia knew, most likely as a result of her pregnancy with Rose, that Ethan was a megamycete hybrid.  In the flashback fight, she says, “I keep telling you, it’s not Rose that I’m worried about”, and the one moment when she truly explodes on him is after he implies that the only thing that matters is Rose’s safety. “We matter, Ethan! YOU matter! You just won’t-” Her exact words. We never find out what the won’t is, but I have a feeling what she’s getting at is that Ethan is unwilling to look past his worries about Rose and always circles the argument back to her. Now, we don’t see this directly, as we’re only privy to one real argument of theirs (Miranda being bitchy doesn’t count), but there’s past evidence to suggest this was probably the case.

The thing about Ethan is that he can be single-minded in his protective instinct, and we’ve known this since the last game. There’s a little throwaway moment in Biohazard where Mia thanks Ethan for choosing to save her over Zoe. He responds “Who the hell else was I going to choose?” with like, zero hesitation, and she seems taken aback by the response. Now, of course, Mia being his choice makes sense, she’s the whole reason he came here, But Zoe did still help him out, and she is still a victim in all of this. She deserved to get out of there as much as Mia did. But Ethan chose Mia without any hesitation, would have chosen her every time, and while he did promise (and keep said promise) to help Zoe, Mia was his top priority. He lost a limb (or two, depending) and dragged himself through hell for Mia—and keep in mind, this is despite him being on some level aware of the fact that she was involved in all that mess (he POINT BLANK ASKS, “You had something to do with all of this, didn’t you?”) and after she’d behaved aggressively towards him (granted, that was while she was under mind control, but that would definitely give some people pause).

Ethan cares about other people in his life first and foremost. Ethan barely cares about himself. He focuses on saving Mia at the expense of his own safety and someone else’s, and when things start getting bad again after Dulvey, his sole focus is on how it could affect Rose. I have a feeling a big part of the reasons the disagreements happened, in addition to Mia keeping information from him, was Ethan focusing on Rose’s safety, as if it’s the only thing that they could have to be worried about, and how frustrating that must have been for the woman who has seen first hand what Ethan is like and how much trouble his intense protectiveness can get him in. (Note: this does not excuse Mia from not just like. Telling him the truth, but I have my own theories about that, so we’ll leave it at “they were both talking past each other in a big way and that wasn’t helping the marriage any” because my analysis of Mia as a character is WAY beyond the scope of this post.)

Now, you’d think, you’d think with Mia having repeatedly telegraphed that Rose isn’t the problem here, that Ethan would on some level be aware of the fact that something else is going on. But he isn’t, or at least, he isn’t aware of the right things, and Beneviento House proves it.

So, Ethan is having a hell of a bad trip based off of his own insecurities and fears: his unresolved issues with Mia and his daughter’s safety. We have established above that Ethan has completely been misreading his arguments, and with that in mind, everything that Hallucination!Mia says from the second you see her gets really interesting. Starting with:

“Rose feels different. Ethan, you have to fix her” and “That’s a kick. […] She’s so energetic, it’s crazy.” Mia most likely caught on during the pregnancy that something was different about Rose. They were already ordering medical reports, including fungal pathogen testing by the BSAA, and her health was a definite source of anxiety for Ethan (his response to reading her medical file being a relieved sigh). Mia notices something is different about Rose, probably works it out, and realizes what the wider implications are for the family. Ethan is just plain worried about his daughter’s health, assumes Mia’s worries match his own, and that assumption is reflected in both the memories that come to the surface and the words his psyche put in Mia’s mouth.

“I can’t tell Ethan anything about this”, “Everyone leaves me, even Rose. I don’t want to be alone” and “I didn’t want to keep it from you. I didn’t want to lose you again. I didn’t want to destroy this family. I love you both so much. I had to. I had to do it.” Now, I don’t think the last two are anything Mia has directly said, but they all could be Ethan’s interpretation of her recent behavior. As mentioned above, he’s already aware that she’s kept at least one secret from him, and seems to know something is going on with Rose. If Mia’s not telling me, it’s because she’s worried about both of us, and doesn’t want to break up the family.

This one is a bit of conjecture and my own personal interpretation of Mia, but you’ve come this far, so hear me out: through these hallucinations, Ethan reads the aggressive secret-keeping as an attempt to keep the family together so that Mia won’t be abandoned again. I think he’s probably at least partially correct in that assumption. However, I think it’s also partially a projection of his own desires and motivations (keeping his family together at any costs). On top of that, he’s definitely missing the fact that Mia knows something is up with him as well. Telling Ethan doesn’t just potentially mean wrecking the family; it could wreck him on a personal level, and put him in a lot of danger. So while Ethan assumes it’s just about the family, there’s a lot more on Mia’s mind. That a lot more just isn’t reflected because Ethan doesn’t know.

The final bits of audio you hear are Mia crying for Rose, then repeating to herself that everything is going to be fine. Again, we know that Mia was worried about more than Rose. Ethan doesn’t. Ethan is worried about Rose first and foremost, has misread Mia due to his singular focus and lack of vital information, and in misreading Mia has created this version of events where Rose is the one who’s really in danger. Despite Mia indicating there’s more to it, he still reads what’s going on as being Rose-centered, and the fact that Rose is now genuinely in serious danger doesn’t help with that.

At the end, when Ethan says “Mia. I’ll make things right”, he’s talking about the wrong thing. He’s saying he’ll protect Rose, he’ll save her, he’ll keep her safe in a way he hadn’t been able to with Mia.

What he’s missing is the fact that, while he might’ve been just worried about Rose, Mia never was. That’s one part he can’t make right. Mia would’ve had to; she just never got the chance.

(Sidebar no one asked for, but I personally think she would have, either of her own accord or because the BSAA fungal reports (which seem to be the test results the doctor wanted to talk to them about if I’m understanding the timeline right) would’ve blown the whole thing wide open for her. It was basically inevitable. Doesn’t excuse all the secret keeping up until that point, but I like to think she would’ve come clean. Freaking MIRANDA JUST HAD TO GO AND RUIN IT THOUGH - )

[extasiswings]

for the character ask: Karen Page, Liam Jones (TDH/TRAT), aaaand Wyatt Logan.

Karen

1: sexuality headcanon: I do hereby declare my girl to be a card-carrying member of the Demisexual Club. We have cookies. It’s rad.

2: otp: Lmao, woman, as if you don’t know. First of all, Karen Page is a Strong Independent Woman who Don’t Need No Man and also Karen x Happiness should be everyone’s otp. That said…look, I can’t help that I love me some Kastle. They’re just so good.

3: brotp: Karen and Foggy! But I also liked her dynamic with Trish a lot in Defenders and would love to see more of that.

4: notp: …*coughs* That…one ship. Can’t recall quite what the name was. Think it may have involved a certain hypocritical Catholic asshat who doesn’t deserve her.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: Maybe cliche, but I’m pretty sure James Wesley is not the first person she’s killed.

6: favorite line from this character:  “Because a hero isn’t someone who lives above us, keeping us safe. A hero is not a god or an idea. A hero lives here on the street, among us, with us. Always here but rarely recognized. Look in the mirror and see yourself for what you truly are.” 

7: one way in which I relate to this character: I feel like I really connect with her drive and desire to discover things that no one else cares about because they might be unpleasant or unhappy and her ability to see the grey areas in the world.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: Basically everything involving the aforementioned notp which shall not be named. 

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Problematic fave all the way. 

Liam

1: sexuality headcanon: Bless his heterosexual heart. 

2: otp: In TDH? Well, Regina naturally. (Although, lbr here, Sam Bellamy is shippable with absolutely everyone and if he’d had eyes for anyone but Miranda during those scenes on the Whydah, I could have made that work mmkay)

3: brotp: David! But also obviously Killian since they are, of course, actual brothers. 

4: notp: I can’t really think of anything? I suppose Liam/Jennings would be a Hard Pass. 

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: This is hella random but I bet that man gives excellent foot rubs. 

6: favorite line from this character: "Of course you don’t see the distaste, because you are the one benefiting from it. Those wounded by it, those damaged, those destroyed can tell you all they wish, but you still won’t believe it until it happens to you – because from your safe place, of course it is not real. That is a position common to many powerful men. The suffering of others does not trouble them, and when it does trouble them, it is too late.“ -TRAT, XXVII.

7: one way in which I relate to this character: Um…idk, I’ve never really thought about it? Gosh, I feel like we’re so different. But maybe if I had to pick something I would say I relate to his desire to protect the people he cares about at all costs, even if it means keeping things from them, and of course, having to learn that that isn’t the best way to help anyone. 

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: Oh Lord. I’m not sure I’d say embarrassment, but more like cringeworthy future-looking dread? I seem to recall a couple of times in TDH where Killian said things that were very important and relevant and got shot down and ultimately ended up being very unfortunately proven right about everyone being terrible and everything sucking…or something like that. I have to read it again XD

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Problematic fave. 

Wyatt

1: sexuality headcanon: That boy is bi-Bi-BI. Fight me. 

2: otp: Well, ot3 is obviosly Garcyatt, but this was otp so Flogan.

3: brotp: Wyatt/Rufus

4: notp: I’m just gonna say that there are things I don’t ship outside of poly ships and leave it at that. However, I will also acknowledge that fanon interpretations are often better than canon. 

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: The man occasionally struggles in the regular kitchen, but can grill like nobody’s business. 

6: favorite line from this character: “Oh, god. You’re gonna talk us to death, aren’t you?” (Love me some quality sass) 

7: one way in which I relate to this character: I also speak German and am Tired.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: The way he’s supposed to be in charge of taking out Flynn and yet gets his ass kicked on a regular basis.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Problematic fave.

[midknightmasquerade]

Chapters: 1/1 Rating: General Fandom: Radiata Stories (PS2) Characters: Miranda & Clive & Kain Additional Tags: Fictional Religion & Theology, Confessional, Olacion Order, Canon Compliant, Platonic Relationships, Male-Female Friendship, Mentor-Pupil Relationship

Summary: When Miranda is offered the opportunity of manning the confessional for one day, she finds a shameful and shocking lack of sincerity amongst the congregation's confessions. Yet, perhaps hope can be found in the prayers of one the world would least expect.

"Confess thy trespasses to one another that ye may be purified. The effective, fervent prayer of the righteous shall availeth much." Gospel of Saint Celesta 5:16

---

How many times had she heard that scripture? How long had her lips formed those same syllables during every late night sermon and early morning ministry? How ardently did she desire to follow in the footsteps of the saints, despite the sacrifice required?

Yet, here she stood, prepared to practice what she preached, completely incapable of moving a muscle.

"Ease yourself, disciple. There is no pressure to put on a perfect performance, for me or for Our Lady Etherea," the High Priest advised. The radiance of the cathedral in the early mornings caused his soft smile to shine all the more lustrously in the light. "Simply listen to them, Miranda. Comfort them. Soothe their troubled souls. You have healed the bodies of many a wounded man - now it is time to heal their hearts, as well." In that moment, with compassion creasing his brow, Kain seemed all the kinder, if such a thing were possible; kind and encouraging and...and somehow hopeful, somewhere behind those war-worn eyes. "You can do this. You need to do this - for yourself, and for them."

Standing outside of the confessional booth now, she wasn't so sure. You can do this, Miranda. Master Kain said that you can do this, that you need to do this. Somehow, the words lost their luster when not uttered by another.

All that had been asked of her was to receive the confessions of repentant sinners desiring to come home to the order of Olacion once more; that and the priests making their rounds, repenting of vices they surely would succumb to as soon as they left these hallowed halls. Simple, yes, but not easy.

Still, she sought not escape. If Master Kain entrusted her with this honor, the blessings of Masters Achilles and Godwin bestowed upon her, then she feared no evil.

But oh, how she prayed for success in her struggle.

With a shaky breath and a whispered prayer, Miranda stepped inside the confessional booth.

And may the gods have mercy on my soul.

---

Many a man and woman entered that room, weary with the weight of their grief and anger. Some spoke of pain -- of lost children and shattered dreams. Others whispered of fears -- of war and Algandars. And there were those who wished away their strife and suffering, who begged the gods as though they were genies, to grant them the lives of wealth and luxury they rightfully deserved.

Yet was there no one who prayed for repentance? None who sought reconciliation with Celesta? Did any exist who desired sanctuary with their Lady Etherea?

Was there not a single vice-less soul in this once-innocent city of sin?

Only an hour remained until the rising of the moon signaled the end of her shift. Yet, in the entirety of her time inside this one-way window into the hearts of humanity, not one solitary follower spoke with any conviction!

Fernando offered the gods his rage, but bumping into Anastasia outside afterwards proved his repentance momentary. Dwight's plea for funding seemed awfully insincere when his smilodon medicine had made the confessional smell like a bloodied mutt. No one could take Eugene's apologies for alcoholism seriously when his breath reeked of beer, Lulu gossiped more than she gave thanks, and even Alvin's offering seemed self-seeking.

Could there not be one pure of heart? Had such humans been lost in this ever-changing world? Or had they never really existed at all, living only in fairy tales?

"Forgive me, Father, for ah've sinned."

The words shook Miranda from her mental reverie. Had someone entered without her noticing? Goodness! She really ought to get a grip, lest this training be for naught. Refocusing herself, she noticed the speech seemed...somehow strange to her. The words didn't flow well, an accent cluttering the common script. For most, she assumed it might've been an embarrassment to their traditional confession. Miranda found it refreshing -- something to break up the monotonous repetition of unmeant admissions.

Still, she listened.

"Ya see, I...I fear ah've failed ya, Father. I don't know if I can keep up with these here city slickers. They all look so, so fancy! What with their robes and their spells and all that shiny jewelry. Ah wish I could help people like they can, but ah dunno if I could." A pause. A sniffle. A withered exhalation. "I'm tryin' mah best, I promise! Ahm readin' the scriptures every day, just like Flora told me I ought to! And ah've been prayin' mornin', noon, and night to try and get y'all's approval, but ah...ah can't tell if yer there...if yer happy with me. Ah just wanna make ya proud, Papa..."

And then, stillness. For a second, silence saturated the empty space between this confessor and she who heard his hopeful plight.

Her hand rose to her heart, clutching at the broach that fastened her cloak. Perhaps, there is still hope. It might not sound sweet, it might not look attractive, but potential is determined not by what is pleasing to the eye, but what is purifying to the spirit. Maybe salvation could be found even at the so-called bottom of the barrel.

"Our Lady Etherea forgives you. Our Lord Celesta forgives you. And so, too, do I. Go, and sin no more."

A breath of relief from the other side of the confessional. "Thank goodness! Ah was worried the gods mighta given up on me." Just as the door on the other side of the wall opened, Miranda swore she heard one final word of supplication. "Ah...ah can do this! I know I can!"

And then Miranda was all alone, with only her own sin to swear to the heavens above.

That night, for the first time since...well, long since she should have done so, Miranda knelt at the foot of the altar and offered her apologies for the impurities she knew not had existed within her, now exposed in the light of an unknown follower. It was there, seated inside of a crumbling confessional, that Miranda swore she heard the words from on high she always longed to listen to:

"I, Lady Etherea, forgive you. Your Lord Celesta forgives you. Now go, and sin no more.

You can do it, dearest daughter, in whom I am well-pleased."