#The Weapon's Refrain Ultimate

[finalfantabee]

FINALLY!

Thank you to my bestie, Eden and Rhydian for helping me get my clear, and to my friend Calum for putting up with my shit! Big smooches!❤️

[sirensongsea]

guess what i did today

[st4rd1ver]

Ultimate Legend btw

[burger-goblin]

i know i've been MIA since nuking all my social media, but lookie what i got~

my boy is an ultimate legend 🥹

[desertdragon]

Deathbringer ugly but DB Ultima so beautiful 😭

[dremurrs]

i love how ffxiv fans abbreviated one of the ultimates as uwu

[auraski]

[anneapocalypse]

On the Former Scions and Leadership

Something that's kind of interesting to me about the Warrior of Light, which has always been there but which Dawntrail has me thinking about in a new way, is that the WoL really isn't a leader.

(Disclaimer: Obviously everyone has their own version of the Warrior of Light and is free to headcanon over and rewrite parts of the story to suit their character, and so what I'm saying here may not apply to everyone's character! For our purposes here, I'm just talking about The Warrior of Light as written.)

(Further note: I understand that there are a variety of feelings out there about the new characters and everyone is entitled to their own opinions about that; however this post is not an invitation to trash those characters in the notes so please refrain from that here; thank you.)

The Warrior of Light is a hero, but not a leader. Thanks to the linear nature of FFXIV's storyline, the game can't really offer us the conceit of making real choices, and so pretty much everything the WoL does is a result of someone else asking them to do it. So many of our major relationships with NPCs are with leaders: Minfilia, Nanamo, Kan-E-Senna, Merlwyb, Aymeric, Raubahn, Hien, the Exarch, Vrtra, Fourchenault, Wuk Lamat and Koana, every guild leader in our job quests. The WoL is someone called upon by leaders rather than being a leader themselves.

The Scions themselves have an interesting relationship to leadership in general. I've written before about how much the Scions feel like they're living in the shadow of Louisoix, especially in ARR, and how this affects their actions. As the leader of the former Circle of Knowing, Minfilia steps into the leadership position in his absence. I love Minfilia dearly; I think she has a true gift for bringing people together, making people feel welcomed and not alone, and helping them find purpose. I think all those skills probably availed her well as the leader of her Echo support group. It's when the Scions suddenly find themselves in the spotlight on an international scale following the defeat of the Ultima Weapon that I think the cracks start to show. I think that, very understandably, Minfilia is not prepared for the weight of that situation, and that's part of the reason she allows Alphinaud to step into such a leadership role himself (and also, and I say this with all the love in the world for both Alphinaud and Minfilia, why she even kind of lets him push her around at times). For Alphinaud himself, his experience of leadership with the Scions is disastrous, for which I think some responsibility also has to be laid upon the adults around him, who might have seen the red flags but didn't stop that train.

When Minfilia disappears, I think it's so telling that no one else steps up to fill the role of the Antecedent. Alphinaud is no longer so eager to take on that burden, and no one else is jumping at it either. Certainly the Warrior of Light isn't going to do it. (They're the boots on the ground, and the Antecedent is largely an administrative job.) The Scions instead just kind of agree to keep carrying on doing what they each do best, without an official leader. If anything, the glue holding the Scions together at this point is Tataru, who keeps the books and manages the budget and does her damnedest to keep certain people from putting overpriced purchases on the company card.

And that's not to say that none of the others have leadership skills! But it's interesting how, for those who do take on leadership positions, it's generally away from the Scions. After years of hiding under her sister's identity and "Papalymo's little shadow," Lyse takes an active role in the Ala Mhigan resistance, and helps to lead her people to freedom--a journey which ultimately takes her out of the Scions as she decides to stay in Ala Mhigo.

I'm counting G'raha as a Scion here since he does become one eventually, though not until after his hundred-year stint as the Exarch. It's clear both from the community that has grown up around the Crystal Tower, and from some really great G'raha moments in Endwalker, that he has real skills both at bringing people together for a common cause, and at taking charge in a crisis to protect the vulnerable. For the most part, though, he seems quite happy to take on a sidekick role after he returns to the Source. After a hundred years, I imagine anyone might be ready for a break from being in charge.

Y'shtola is harder to analyze because she's gotten less direct character development than most of the surviving Scions, and has remained largely in a supporting role thus far (though she remains a very interesting character to me, and I am hoping for a bit more of her in the Dawntrail patches given the setup for a cross-rift-travel solution). Y'shtola has always seemed reserved and a bit of a loner, and never seemed particularly interested in leadership until she threw in her lot with the Night's Blessed in the First. By the time we meet her again, she's become a trusted figure among the Blessed and the others clearly look to her for guidance and leadership. (It's also kind of interesting to me how both of the characters who wind up in leadership positions in the First are Seeker Miqo'te, and it probably was just a coincidence, but it'd be interesting to analyze how Seeker culture might prime a capable person to be willing to rise to the occasion where they see a group of people need.) Yet Y'shtola too seems perfectly content to settle back into a support role when she returns to the Source.

Endwalker is all about standing together, working together, the necessity of hope to overcome despair not merely individually but as a collective effort. The Scions all rally, each bringing what they have to offer, and they do so without ever appointing a new leader. They go where they see a need, like Urianger choosing to stay on the moon, or Thancred watching over the Warrior of Light and the twins when things go south on the relief mission to Garlemald, or the twins later taking a personal interest in the rebuilding efforts there. They also defer to leaders within the Eorzean Alliance where appropriate, happy at this point to work alongside the nations' armies rather than attempting to command one.

And the more I look at the Scions' history this way, the more their disbanding at the end of Endwalker seems inevitable and the logical end to the organization. In a very real sense they have completed the work that Louisoix and Minfilia set out to do. They've been leaderless for some time now already and it has not stopped them from doing good where needed. They are not leaders. Their goal was never to steer the course of world events indefinitely. They've all learned a lot about applying their individual talents for the greater good and having faith in one another to do the same, without having to be directed by one charismatic leader every step of the way--a major point of growth from where they were in ARR.

And all of this makes our role in Dawntrail really interesting to me, because it's all about leadership! And the Warrior of Light and their companions are, as characters, perfectly primed to take a supporting role and take initiative in that role where needed (see: Thancred and Urianger doing what needs to be done behind the scenes during the second act crisis). What the former Scions aren't, as a whole, at this point in their story, is people inclined to step up and take over. And this is a good thing for this story. Both Wuk Lamat and Koana need to learn and grow on their own, and in the context of their own cultures. The former Scions can help, they can support, and they do, but they aren't going to take over. Sure, they have opinions! At various points, we see characters on both teams (including the Warrior of Light) make some pointed faces at one another indicating that they have some doubts about the direction in which their candidates are taking things. But they withhold direct judgment or criticism for the most part and I think that makes sense both for their characters, and for the nature of the story.

I also think it was probably intentional that the former Scion with the most extensive leadership experience, G'raha, is not one of the characters hired by the claimants and doesn't come back to the plot until later. While I love G'raha and I did miss him, I understand story-wise why he couldn't be here; his unique circumstances mean that he has had more leadership experience than most people could ever have in a single lifetime, and it's probably for the best that that doesn't overpower the experiences of our young claimants who need to learn their own lessons on their own terms.

The support role of the former Scions also makes sense in other ways, I think, in terms of allowing the Turali characters and especially Wuk Lamat, as the main character, to shine in their own right and to avoid what could otherwise have been some problematic tropes. But I also think it works pretty well as a natural outgrowth of who these characters are and have grown into over multiple expansions, the Warrior of Light included.

[katanablue]

Hi, could i get a bayverse leo x gn reader? :) Leo has been crushing on the reader and as an attempt to get to know them better he invites them into the dojo to teach them some moves.

He wasn’t sure what to expect but ultimately falls for them harder when he realizes how muscular they are. They’re short with toned arms, back, and thunder thighs he never noticed before since they tend to wear more flowy/oversized clothing.

It could be sfw or nsfw. Whatever you have the motivation for!

-🦉🌸

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE BABE, I need to write more for Bayverse. I got some ideas in mind 🧐

Leo knows better than most than to judge a book by its cover; to take things with a grain of salt and feel it out before placing any impressions upon the first few seconds, even though those beginning initial moments are crucial.

And he should’ve put those practices on you, his friend and recently turned crush.

He thought you were so lovely, with your lively laughter whenever Mikey told a joke, your curiosity piquing when Don went all brainiac explaining his latest invention, or when Raph and Casey talked about their latest goon run and you shifted into their number one cheerleader.

He wanted to get to know you on a deeper level, finding it hard to get any sort of personal one on one time with you since Mikey tended to grab you as soon as you came into the Lair.

Today he was determined to do so, waiting by the entrance and occupying himself with cleaning his swords while he rehearsed how he was going to go about his little plan for you.

He asked you last week if he could do some training with you, wanting to teach you some moves just in case you ever found yourself in trouble and they couldn’t get to you in time. Of course he wanted you to know how to get yourself out of sticky situations, but deep down he couldn’t deny the fact that the opportunity to get closer to you physically was very enticing.

He’s mindlessly wiping his katana when he sees you from the corner of his eye coming in. He puts his weapon down and turns to greet you.

“Hey, glad you could—“

Leo was one that prided himself in being able to mask his emotions, able to hide even the most minuscule of twitches that crossed his eyes or mouth. But one look at you put all of that to the test.

He was used to seeing you in baggy clothing; oversized T-shirts and flowy pants because you stated that it was more comfortable to move around in and who was he to argue with that?

His eyes nearly bulge out of his head when you came strutting in wearing form fitting shorts and a tank top, showing off your very impressive muscles and thick thighs that he had absolutely no idea about. He takes a moment to clear his throat, plastering on a welcoming smile for you.

“Hey, you made it.”

You grin brightly at him, continuing to walk until you’re close enough to reach out and touch. “Yeah! Wouldn’t miss a ‘Leo Lesson’ for anything.”

It’s a silly little statement but one that makes his chest tighten just a bit. He smiles at you again, gesturing with a sweep of his arm for you to lead the way to the dojo.

It was just a quick lesson— he’s a ninja for Christ’s sake, is he really gonna let the sight of your physique get him distracted?

—-

Leo was never a religious man but if he had to chose a time to believe in any or all gods, it would be now.

You picked up on his demonstrations fairly quick, replaying it back to Leo and then trying it out on him. The leader in blue had to bite his tongue to refrain from complimenting your muscles, even though it would be perfectly normal in a scenario like this. God, have you always been this toned? Has your back always been that defined? Have your thighs always been—

He’s snapped out of his daydream when you manage to tackle him down and onto his shell, a very harsh grunt sounding into the air from the impact. Leo barely has time to compose himself when he realizes that you’re straddling him, your strong thighs on both sides of his waist and he finds himself instinctively placing his hands on your hips.

You smile down at him, taking heavy breaths to regain yourself, doing your best to ignore the way Leo’s pretty blue eyes stare up at you in a certain way and how his grip on you nearly makes you just bend down and steal a kiss.

“How was that?”

He flexes his three fingers just barely against you, resisting the urge to squeeze harder and feel your flesh mold beneath his touch and—

“Great,” He coughs, internally cursing at the way it came out raspy, “Let’s do it again.”

He was gonna schedule more training sessions with you for sure.

[quixtrix]

let's talk BL manga lore; on grooming, identity, and racism

spoilers for the official captain laserhawk bl manga ofc, plus brief discussion of grooming I've refrained from speaking about it because of spoilers, but it's been well over a month and I believe that it's time to openly discuss it. if you would still like to read the manga before reading this discussion, here's the link to buy a physical copy and you can search up 'Captain Laserhawk: Crushing Love' in your digital book store for it. okay time to talk about two, basically three subjects; racism, identity, and grooming. i'm starting with the grooming first, because that's the main focus of this manga. i would have to preface this by saying i've already discussed this topic in an earlier post (albeit it is a prediction, but it is a spot on prediction.) i'll briefly elaborate on it right now with what we know.

dolph's very first day with alex was carefully calculated to where dolph would be exposed to the world, but heavily rely on alex. he is shown around to alex's friends and is able to buy his own clothes, but it is under the heavy scrutiny of alex. alex ultimately decides what dolph wears, alex decides how the day goes, alex leads dolph. even when they have a beach day, take note of how alex holds dolph, dragging him around.

even the romance and the events leading up to when alex takes dolph's virginity are calculated. note how alex grasps dolph's hand, grabbing on tight enough to almost press down on his knuckles, loosening his hand, making dolph relinquish control. the context for the fight page is that after their sweet lil beach day, alex takes dolph down an alley where alex knows that he'll come across people who aren't the fondest of him. this event was calculated, alex knew it was going to happen, and he used it to test out his new lil boytoy.

also, alex taking dolph out to fight isn't just so he can get in the pants of a barely 18 year old. while holloway notes during this flashback that adrenaline is the greatest aphrodisiac, this is a test to see how good the new weapon he picked up is. how the new boy works, to see how eden's boy robot can benefit his group, not just him. its literally in the morning panels we get where alex talks with that woman, anna. they're talking about how loaded he is with tech, and while alex does consider that, he still actively thirsts over dolph.

also im jus saying if i personally was talking with one of my greatest confidants and they refer to someone i'm thirsting over as KID, i would personally be icked out. i would have a conscious and not do some weird shit, like literally refer to dolph in passing as kid in the next page. dolph aint even the first one who alex has done this shit to, as evident by this line by one of his friends, grace.

alex is a groomer and groomed dolph, case closed.

anyways! time to get on with what i really wanted to talk about, how racism and loss of idenity ties into dolph's character!

in this manga, during pillow talk between dolph and alex, we get dolph's backstory. dolph literally has only known this man for a day and he's giving him lore because alex treats him more normal than eden did. god. ANYWAYS ENOUGH DWELLING ON DOLPH BEING A VICTIM IN ALL WAYS INCLUDING BEING ONE OF THE OXFORD STUDY, we get to know about his brief life before eden took him in.

now let me turn for a moment to the show, and how we were told about dolph's backstory. this is VASTLY different than what we got in the show, with it being implied that dolph's parents were a white prostitute and a darkskinned immigrant man. this adds onto the idea that this supposedly impoverished, crack addicted boy came into this world not as an act of love, but as a mistake. not just a mistake though, his parents are supposedly the epitome of immoral, a prostitute and a criminal. not to mention that this also ties into the idea of the uncultured brown man and pure white woman, basically a racist idea that the scary immigrants who aren't like us good white christian americans (and honestly jus any homogenous group in general, though in america its ofc more applicable to white people), are corrupting our mother marys, our women. eden takes on this perspective in order to subconsciously frame in the minds of post american viewers the idea of this man as an other that they are helping and didn't at all snatch up from his mother for child experimentation. the concept of other is something that finds it's origins in fascism, and in order to mask the presence of said fascism, someone who is seen as apart of the other is given a seat at the table with the collective us, (as in the majority, or the ones that are supposedly superior), and will ultimately serve as an example of why the other are labelled as such. i go into this more with my rayman analysis. I brought up the specific portrayal of dolph's backstory from eden's documentary to showcase how eden has manipulated the view people have of this man. eden has not only manipulated the view of the in universe audience, but eden has manipulated our view.

in the propaganda documentary, we are shown photos of this man being a captain, someone of relatively high rank in the military. you can't even normally earn that through having an education, you'd have to have years of experience. he's portrayed as older than he is.

another thing, dolph fans, let's be honest with ourselves; before the manga, it was not uncommon to headcanon that man as a FREAK. with both the supposed images of dolph at a nightclub and the flashback of alex and dolph meeting outside a club, it wasn't too hard to think that the hottest man alive in that show who was fully born human was a freak. a sexual deviant. someone that a christian mother would be horrified enough by that she faints. the manga however, shows us that dolph really isn't any of that. hell, he didn't even get to go to a club before he met alex. in reality, he's around 18 years and his only sexual experience is his groomer.

say that again with me, he's around 18. he's just around 18, he's a young adult, and the environment he's grown up in has stunted him by treating him as a subject, a thing, cutting him off from anything that would humanise this child by not allowing him to see his mother. hell, even his childhood best friend serves eden by being the one in his ear, having him at her beck and call all in the name of eden.

we get none of dolph's true backstory in the show for any number of reasons. maybe it's on purpose, maybe it's a result of having to possibly cut down episodes, who knows? what matters though is that this adds a layer to the core problem defining dolph's life; the perspective others have on him warping who he is.

back to the pages with dolph's memories of his mother, we see dolph as he was when he was just a boy. he's his mama's boy, her son, a child. even when eden takes him in, he stubbornly clings to that bit of him that's pure, untainted by the idea of him being an experiment, a tool. this bit of him, this hint towards who he is supposed to be as a person, is something he clings to desperately. it leads him to follow eden's orders again because they promise that they've found his mother.

and yknow what happened with who dolph was told was supposedly his mother?

she was just a random ass indian woman.

wasn't even the right woman. they just used his identity issues because he's indian, and she was indian and in a cult that eden needed to take care of.

this, while admittedly is kind of funny, (like the confusion is funny in the moment look at ts) is actually fucked up crazy racism. they literally said that this random ass woman who happened to be indian was his mother like HELL!?!??!?!?

this insane fr. lucy didn't even double check LIKE GIRL THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR FRIEND'S MOTHER WHO HE HASNT SEEN SINCE HE WAS LIKE 6 AND YOU DIDNT EVEN DOUBLE CHECK IF SHE'S THE RIGHT PERSON?!?!?!?

moving on from that, this actually brings up a deeper layer of dolph's identity issues; the lack of cultural identity.

i want to preface this by saying that i am not entirely sure if this is the right term for this identity issue nor am i claiming to be an expert on the type of identity crisis that i am about to discuss. that being said, this specific disconnect of cultural identity that dolph has is actually reminiscent of those adopted from other countries, or transnational adoptees. there seems to be a need within these adoptees to find out more about their own heritage or their own mothers and families that they now struggle to find. while dolph does not actively go out to reconnect with his heritage, he does exhibit desires to find his birth mother. this type of identity issue seems to ask the question of 'what could I have been if...?,' and it tends to mess with the idea of the self. adoptees that struggle with this question hold a desire to go back, to almost reclaim what would have been. yes, dolph is not adopted into a family, but he is still a child under the care of eden, which became like his family, which is why i believe that this kind of identity issue could reasonably be applied to dolph. it explains why he does what he does in the manga, and how it's ultimately wrapped up by him losing this desire and moving forward. albeit he moves forward by alex instead becoming his main purpose, but this serves as the first chain of the past that he leaves behind. with this, he severs a tie that would have made him continue to be stuck under eden's control, and possibly find himself. he answers the question of what could have been with 'it doesn't matter anymore.'

but actually, he doesn't answer that question. he leaves it be.

i am reading way too into this tho lol. i would say that he doesn't explicitly say it, and that we do see a lack of dolph's past being used against him in that way because dolph has freed himself from that part, but in reality, it's because eden can't pull the same trick twice. im aware that the manga focuses HARD on dolph's grooming, but i feel like they really could have properly wrapped up dolph's identity arc with his mother if it was acknowledged at the end, but i fear we are left unsatisfied. that's one of my gripes with the manga. it gives us things that tie up loose ends, but some of these ties have entirely missed the holes they were supposed to secure. but what is done is what's done, and here we are.

tl;dr, dolph was groomed by alex. dolph's identity has also been warped by eden heavily, by how they dehumanised him as a child to be a weapon internally, to how he's shown to the public to be a case that they've saved, and yet he still becomes something that is "disgraceful." textbook example of this poor boy that we have saved that is actually jus like all the others that we know. dolph also suffers under similar identity issues as adopted children do, and this specific issue of his is let go in order to allow him to begin moving on and finding himself.

as always, im open to discussion and critique! my askbox is open as well if you want me to yap abt smth else in the show :P

[wordsandrobots]

Huh. Actually -- since I'm stuff home sick and my brain refuses to shut up and let me sleep -- apropos of reblogging @superhelltubedotsys' post citing Barbatos Lupus Rex's status as a werewolf Gundam, I'm now thinking about the significance that has within Iron-Blooded Orphans (some spoilers follow).

Because Barbatos the demon has no association with wolves in the Ars Goetia. The nearest applicable part is "He giveth understanding of the singing of Birds, and of the Voices of other creatures, such as the barking of Dogs", which is fitting for Mikazuki and plays into the comparison between mobile armour Hashmal and a bird, but pointedly does not imply 'appears as a giant fuck-off wolf monster with a knife-tail'. That description would seem more appropriately applied to Amon, the immediately prior demon, number seven: "He appeareth like a Wolf with a Serpent’s tail, vomiting out of his mouth flames of fire . . ."

But of course, Gundam Barbatos' steady revision towards the Lupus Rex form is a drift away from its initial design. Exactly how much influence the Ars Goetia descriptions had on the Gundam project and how much they were just used as a naming convention is a little up in the air. Some do seem to be applicable (Zagan being a 'bull with gryphon wings', Flauros switching between the forms of a leopard and a man, etc.). Others . . . well, Bael is supposed to appear as either a toad, a cat, or a man, or all three at once, and while that has some applicability to McGillis' whole deal, it's not really a match for Gundam Bael's angelic form. Nor do the Gundam's abilities evoke demon!Bael's power to render someone invisible. However, I think we can safely conclude that, in-universe at least, the goetic demons are only pertinent to the Gundams' initial appearances and capabilities.

Barbatos' revisions throughout Season 1 are instead a gradual cannibalisation of various different sources of technology and weapons to get it back into fighting shape (Teiwaz technically restores it to its original appearance, but that doesn't last past the Dort arc; thereafter, we're back to bolting on any spare armour going). Barbatos Lupus then represents a significant step towards redefining it in line with the Chief's goal of creating an 'ultimate' version based on Mika's battle data, with Barbatos Lupus Rex being the end-point for that progression.

Put simply, Barbatos gradually becomes more and more tailored to Mikazuki, specifically. To digress for a moment, this forms a big part of my reasoning that Mika being able to use the katana properly at the climax of Season 1 represents the influence of Barbatos' original pilot; after this, he ditches that kind of weapon entirely. Even while fighting Hashmal, he reaches for the biggest club available (technically, a broad-sword, but so ridiculously huge nobody could call it a precision weapon). It's another interesting detail that Mika can't beat Ein in their final face-off by fighting like himself, which comes back around again as the back half of Season 2 kicks into gear.

Anyway, my point is this: being a werewolf is not inherently part of Barbatos' deal. Rather it represents Mikazuki's growing influence -- as you might thematically expect for a union with a character named after the moon (crescent moon, specifically, though I can't imagine the association wasn't intended given Tekkadan are wolf-coded in the text). And that's fascinating because as I've written about before, Barbatos and Mikazuki are the most blatant example of a devil's bargain in the show. The kid literally sells and arm and a leg (and an eye) for the power Barbatos can give him. And yet, the bestial aspects Barbatos takes on are rooted in Mika.

There's an echo of Gundam Wing's 'Gundams are a curse' refrain in IBO. These machines bring bad luck to everyone who pilots them, as a function of representing humanity subsumed by war. The inherent gamble of the Alaya-Vijnana, the overwhelming nature of the conflict they were built to end, the fact Gundams are never sufficient on their own to change the world -- it forms an unspoken counter-argument to McGillis' zealous faith in their status as symbols of transformation that is actually very in keeping with the demonological tradition from which they take their names. What they offer is costly and potentially damning, while also largely illusory when it comes to anything other than utter destruction. Indeed, Mikazuki is a living testament to how 'cursed' their pilots are.

It just happens that he was able to curse Barbatos back.

Because that's what Barbatos Lupus Rex is, isn't it? Put side by side with its original form, this is a clear degradation of a proud warrior into a savage beast. The same design elements persist, of course, yet by the end, it's near impossible to picture Barbatos as an elegant fighter making precision strikes with a honed sword. It has become a true berserker, tearing into its opponents with teeth and claws (well, claws and knife tail). As Tekkadan in general tend to, Mikazuki strips away the affectations of nobility and 'honourable' warfare in favour of brutal reality.

The detail of the Lupus Rex form merging parts of a mobile armour into a Gundam only heightens this. Weapons are weapons, whoever they serve and whatever guise they wear. Mikazuki is always honest about that. His awed response to Hashmal is of a piece with how easily he fits within Barbatos. He sees himself as equivalent to them -- has, in fact, constructed his entire identity around being so.

Thus, the lycanthropy he inflicts on Barbatos is of a kind that merely reveals the truth lurking under the skin. It was always an instrument of devastation. Now it looks the part.

[fandomgirlz01]

This Can’t Be The End Pt. 1

Nick Stokes X Reader

Imagine on my fandom instagram?: No

Prompt?: No

Request?: No

Requested prompt?: No

Edited: Yes

Word count: 5,502

Ko-fi

Masterlist

Warnings here

You can listen to the story be read out loud here.

Post Date: November 22nd 2022

Post Time: 11:09 pm

Summary: When Nick gets kidnapped, the reader is forced to fear the worst for her husband as she and the team work the case with hopes of bringing him home safe. 

Please refrain from stealing our work, thank you and please enjoy it!!!

Nick’s Pov:

I close my locker after grabbing my gun along with my extra clips. I sit down and start the process of reloading the clips as Warrick walks in. He smiles at me before walking to his locker and taking his shirt off. 

“So I took my girl to that ultimate fight championship on Saturday night,” Warrick tells me as he clips his gun on his hip, then reaches into his locker to get a shirt. 

“Oh, yeah, yeah, down over at the, uh, spur? I was tellin’ y/n about that the other night. We were thinkin’ about going, but she ended up working,” I reply as I reload my gun clip while Warrick puts his shirt on.  

“Yeah. Almost ended up getting into a smack down of my own,” he tells me and I look up at him from the bench. 

“No way. You almost got into a beef?” I ask and he looks at me before nodding as he rolls his sleeves up. 

“You know, Tina doesn’t like me carrying a gun. I play down the fact that I’m a cop when I’m with her anyway,” he tells me and I go back to loading my gun clip as he turns back to his locker. 

“Yeah, yeah, you play the scientist card. I don’t have to do that,” I joke and he scoffs as he grabs his gun. 

“That’s ‘cause your wife works with you,” he says with a smirk and smile. 

“And I love it. I can see her whenever I’d like. You’re a ‘copologist,’” I joke and he nods his head, laughing and I laugh too. 

“Man, you’re whipped, man,” he tells me and I chuckle with a smile. 

“Hey. If it’s y/n, I don’t mind being whipped,” I reply with a shrug. 

“So, umm, we’re standing out in front of the hotel, making out and this guy walks up to me, gets in my face, and asks me how she is,” Warrick explains to me as he loads his clip into his gun then cocks it. 

“No, he didn’t,” I say in disbelief and he nods as he puts his gun back in his holster. 

“So?” I prompt him to continue. 

“I tell him to get lost,” he says with a wave of his hand. “He says, ‘make me.’ So I took a step forward and out of nowhere, his big, fat bodyguard, looking like wimpy from Popeye, walks up and starts to close in on me.”

“This fat boy is looking like he’s obviously carrying some sort of weapon and I'm standing there naked as a porn star with my girl,” he finishes his story and I look up at him. 

“Did you tell them you’re a ‘cop’?” I ask him as he now starts to roll his other sleeve up. 

“They didn’t seem to care,” he tells me as he shakes his head. 

“One of the guys sounded Russian, like he was wanna-be mafia,” he tells me like it’s a matter of fact as he finishes rolling his sleeve up. 

“Fat boy was obviously his bodyguard,” he says and I hum in agreement before looking back up at him. 

“So, uh, you know, I wasn’t physically afraid of the guys, but something was kind of sinister about them,” he tells me as he leans his hand on the shelf part of his locker and puts his other hand on his hip. 

“They were provoking me, but they weren’t making a move. It was almost like they were waiting for me to make a move. Say if I smacked big-mouth, fat boy would’ve come over and stabbed me or something,” he explains and I let out a puff of exhortation as I turn and pick up my gun. 

“Even fat boy was vibing me not to take the bait,” he says as I put my clip into my gun. 

“So what happened?” I ask as I turn to look at him again. 

“Well, valet finally brought Tina’s car up,” he tells me. “So, I maneuver her around these guys and I put her in her car, and I turn my back to them and let ‘em talk this smack,” he explains to me as he turns towards his locker, demonstrating what he did. 

“I’m calming Tina down. Tell her everything’s fine, she drives off and I walk away,” he continues as he turns back around now and I mess with my vest pocket. 

“I called Tina later on,” he explains as he grabs his jacket from his locker then closes it. 

“And I tell her, uh, you know, if she got any problem with me being a cop, she needs to get over it, ‘cause now I’m packing,” he finishes and I look up at him as I readjust my holster on my hip. 

“Yeah. Yeah,” I agree with him as I continue to readjust. 

“What’d you do on Sunday?” I ask him as I lean back and look at him again. 

“Scoured the hotel looking for these punks,” he tells me with a chortle before he turns and starts to put his jacket on as I get up to walk with him, letting out a laugh as I do. 

“Well, hey, I don’t blame you. I probably would’ve done the same if it was me and y/n,” I tell him as we walk out of the locker room. 

“No. You probably wouldn’t have waited to beat on them,” he says while rolling his eyes and I chuckle. 

“Nah, that’s where you're wrong, buddy. Y/n would’a beat me to it,” I say as I clap him on the shoulder while we walk through the halls of the lab and he chuckles. 

“You're probably right on that one. Y/n got a really good uppercut,” he agrees with me and I laugh. 

“Oh, my two favorite guys,” Cathrine says as she comes out of her office as we just walk into the hall. 

“So, I’ve got an assault at stripperama and a trash run at Flamingo and Koval. I’m too busy to play favorites so duke it out. I gotta go meet y/n at our scene,” she tells us as she hands Warrick the slips for each scene before starting to walk off. 

“Tell y/n I told her to call me!” I shout out to her and she smiles while nodding at me before fully walking off. 

“Duke it out! Boy better flip a coin. I’ll hurt you,” I say as I turn back to Warrick as he looks over both slips. I put my hand in my pocket to grab a coin. 

“Yeah, you better flip that coin,” Warrick jokes with a smile as I pull the coin out. 

“Call it in the air,” I tell him as I flip it. 

“Heads,” he says and I catch it before flipping it onto the back of my hand. 

“Have fun at the trash run,” he tells me as he rolls his tongue in his cheek and I grab my slip. 

“You know, I’d do two out of three, but you got a gambling problem,” I joke with him as I walk backwards away from him. 

“No, hey, you know what?” I say as I turn away from him. 

“You keep this,” I joke as I turn back around to face him with the coin held up. 

“It’s bad luck,” I finish off before tossing him the coin and he reaches up to catch it. 

I chuckle as I turn back around and head to my GMC SUV to head out. I hop in the car and my phone starts to ring. I pull it out of my pocket and smile when I see my wife’s number. 

“Well, hello, sweetheart,” I croon with a grin as I answer the phone and I hear her chuckle. 

“Hello to you too, my love. Cath told me you wanted me to call you?” she parrots my greeting and I can hear the smile in her voice. 

“Yeah. I just wanted to hear your voice. Haven’t seen you since you went into work this morning,” I explain and she giggles. 

“Aw, Nicky. It’s nice to hear your voice too. Are you on a case?” she asks and I hum as I put my key into the ignition. 

“Yeah. Just got into my SUV to drive to it,” I muse and I hear her hum. 

“Are you on your own for this one or are you with Warrick?” she asks and I sit back in my seat for a moment. 

“I’m on my own, babe,” I admit to her and I hear her sigh. I imagine her shaking her head. 

“Be careful, then. Ok, honey?” she asks me and I chuckle, nodding even though I know she can’t see me. 

“I promise I will be. You be safe out there too, ok?” I tell her and I know she nods even if I can’t see her. 

“I will. I’ll see you back at the lab, yeah?” she asks and I grin, imagining her leaning against a wall. 

“Of course you will,” I promise her and she giggles again. 

“Ok. Well, I have to go, hon. Cath needs me back in there. I love you,” she tells me and I smile again, nodding even though she can’t see me. 

“I should go too. Gotta get to that scene. I love you too,” I respond and picture her smiling.

“Ok. Bye, baby,” she says and I parrot her before we both hang up. 

Once I’m off the phone with her I buckle my seatbelt before setting my phone in the cup holder. Turning the key makes my SUV come to life and the music from earlier comes on. With a smile on my face I pull out of the parking space and start to drive to the scene. 

♪ It was Christmas in Las Vegas, 

when the locals take the town ♪

♪ Theresa hit a streak And laid her waitress apron down She’d been playing penny poker over at the old gold spike she’s won at Texas hold ‘em So she switched to let it ride ♪

♪ Then over on Fremont street, Six pits won her a car 

She rode it up the strip to where the flashy hotels are 

At first, she hit a royal, Not a dirty one this time 

And then she drew four deuces… ♪

I sing along with Bob Neuwirth as I drive, drumming my fingers on my steering wheel. About half way into the song I arrive on the scene and turn my car off. I put my camera around my neck as I get out, grabbing my CSI case from the back seat before starting to walk over to the officer on scene. 

“Nick,” the officer addresses me as I walk up to him. 

“D.A.,” I greet him back as we continue to walk. 

“What’s going on out here?” I ask and look at him. 

“Well, anonymous, 911 caller reported body parts in this area. I rolled and find this,” he explains until we come to a stop and he lifts his flashlight on the supposed body parts. 

“Hmm. Tasty,” I sarcastically joke before setting my case down and lifting my camera for a picture of what seems to be a pile of intestines. 

He keeps the light on it as I take a couple photos before bending down to my case. I start to throw out the cones I use and get ready to work. 

“Have any idea how long it’s going to take you to get this stuff out of here?” he asks me as I look up at him for a moment. 

“Well… I can’t move the, uh… the ‘body’ until the coroner releases the scene,” I tell him as I pause to look over it again. 

“It’s a busy night. It’s probably gonna take a while, man,” I explain as I lift my camera up to start taking more photos of the intestines and blood. 

“Great,” he replies in an annoyed tone as I continue to take photos. 

“Hey, you mind if I step away for a second?” he asks and I stop what I’m doing to look at him. 

“I need to get some fresh air…” he expands and I look back at the scene. 

“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, take your time,” I tell him and he walks off as I continue to take pictures. 

I let out a puff of air at the smell and just as I do, the officer lets out a retching sound and I turn around as he pukes. I watch for a second, making sure he’s okay before pulling some gum out of my pocket. 

“Hey, you uh… want some gum?” I ask him as I hold the gum out. 

“No, thank you!” he tells me as he waves me off. 

I smirk as I turn back to the scene, taking the piece of gum out and sticking it in my own mouth. I then bend down and grab one of my small orange cones before lifting my flashlight up. He continues to cough as I start to walk around the scene, looking for any clues. 

I walk a small ways away before finding a smashed cigarette bud. I stop and put a cone down before taking another picture. I stand back up again and start to walk around some more before finding tire treads. I put the cone down again along with my flashlight before taking pictures of the treads and I look up to where they lead. 

When I look up, I see what seems to be a bag with a cup in it and I turn my gum over in my mouth. I pick my flashlight back up and shine the light over at the bag in confusion. I look at the bag, trying to figure it out for a moment before setting my flashlight back down. I pull some gloves out of my pocket and put them on before walking over.

The officer coughs again, making me stop and look at him for a moment. I turn back the other way as I shake my head in amusement and continue walking.

I walk over to it and bend down, setting my camera aside to look over how oddly placed it is. The officer coughs again and I turn back for a moment to look at him again before turning back to the item. I pick it up and look closer at it. 

“Well, that’s peculiar,” I think out loud before suddenly everything goes dark. 

Reader’s Pov:

“No. I’m telling you he really wants to go away for the weekend,” I tell Sara as we walk into the lab, both looking for Greg. 

“I don’t believe that for a second. Nick barely takes time off,” she disagrees with me, shaking her head as we walk through. 

“No. I’m telling you. He told me himself this morning that we're going to finally get our honeymoon that we didn’t get,” I explain and she shrugs as we walk into Greg’s office. 

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Sara replies coyly and I shake my head. 

“Believe what when you see it?” Greg asks as he looks up at me and Sara. 

“Y/n here says that ol’ Nicky promised her to take time off so they could go on the honeymoon they never got,” Sara explains as she jabs her thumb over at me. 

“I fully believe him! Nick just wants me to take time off is all,” I argue back with a shrug, even though I know that isn’t really one hundred percent true. 

“Sorry to tell ya y/n, but Sara’s right. Nick really doesn’t take time off. Heck, you should know that. You’ve been married since high school. You’ve been with him since you both started working here,” Greg sassily chimes in and I let out a huff as I cross my arms. 

“I’m telling you guys, Nick means it this time,” I promise them and they both just hum at me. 

“Anyway, Greg, were you able to find anything off the clothes?” Sara asks, changing the subject as she walks over to look at her victims' clothes. 

“And have you done the test on that paint found at our scene?” I ask him and he nods as he rolls over to get the paper and hand it to me. 

“Well, I went over them like you asked me to. The paint at first wasn’t matching too much, but I figured it out for you,” he tells me before walking over to Sarah as I look over the paper. 

“The blood on the shirt was a little weird looking, but I figured it out. I also found-” Greg explains to Sara but gets cut off when Catherine walks in. 

“Y/n, can we talk?” she asks as she looks at me. 

“Umm… sure. Can it wait like two minutes?” I ask her as I look at Sara, who shrugs and gives me a look begging me not to leave. 

“No. It can’t wait,” Catherine replies as she puts her hand on the table. 

“Really, Catherine, I need-” Sara starts, but stops when Catherine holds a hand up. 

“It’s about Nick…”Catherine speaks up and I freeze. 

“What about him?” I ask and she pauses as if trying to think of how to say it. 

“He’s disappeared from his crime scene… Grissom and I are about to go out and look it over,” Catherine breaks it to me easily and my heart drops. 

“I’m coming with you guys,” I immediately reply and she shakes her head. 

“Gris says you're off the case. You're too close to this one,” Catherine tells me with a shake of her head. 

“Where is he?” I ask her and she shakes her head. 

“He’s in his office getting his case,” she tells me and I bolt out of the room in a fast walk. 

I walk quickly through many corridors and labs before coming to his office. I storm in and he looks up at me from his desk. 

“I’m coming to the scene with you,” I demand and he shakes his head. 

“I can’t let you do that. You know how that would look,” he tells me, shaking his head and I sigh dejectedly as he looks at me from over the top of his glasses. 

“Gris, this is my husband. Let me at least come out to the scene, then I’ll stop,” I plead with him and he sighs before pausing to think it over. 

“Ok. Just to the scene. Then you’re done for tonight,” he pointedly tells me as he raises an eyebrow at me over his glasses. 

“Ok. I can do that, but I’m not going home. I wouldn’t be able to bear being there alone without him,” I admit and he nods in understanding. 

“Of course. Stay here or go home with one of us for the night. Warrick should be back in when we get back, maybe you can stick with him,” he tells me and I nod as I start to back out of his office. 

“I’ll go get my case. Are we all going together?” I ask and he nods. 

“Yeah. That might be best,” he agrees and I nod before walking completely out. 

I walk to my GMC SUV that exactly matches Nick’s and click the unlock button before opening the back door. Next I pull my case out and close the back door just as the door to the garage opens. Warrick walks through the door and looks over in my direction. 

He makes eye contact with me and then stands up from leaning on the door. He immediately rushes over to me before pulling me into a much needed hug. 

“I just heard. Just got back. How are you doing, sweets?” he asks me as he pulls back to look at me and tears make way to my eyes. 

“I'm scared, B. Really scared,” I tell him, using the nickname I know is reserved solely for me. 

Ever since I’ve known him, I had tried to find a nickname that would fit him well, but I couldn’t so together we decided that I’d call him B. It’s the first initial of his last name and when I had started using it, it just stuck. 

“I know. I know. Nick’s going to be fine. I’m sure he’s off somewhere and his phone just died again,” he sympathizes with me and I shake my head. 

“No. This is different… he would have found another way of communicating. You know that…” I reply and he sighs, nodding as he sticks his hands in his pockets. 

“I do know that. I’m sorry. I just thought it’d reassure your mind to think positively,” he explains and I smile softly at him. 

“And I thank you for that B, but unfortunately my mind can only think something bad has happened…” I trail off and he looks down at my hand. 

“Gris is letting you go on the scene?” he asks as he points down at my case. 

“He’s letting me come out to the scene, but that’s it. He told me I’m strictly off after. Told me to go home and obviously I told him I’d just stick around here. I’m not leaving and going home to a Nickless house,” I point out and he nods. 

“You can always hang around me. I’ll probably be here for most of the time,” he notes with a shrug and I nod. 

“I know, B. Thank you,” I tell him just as the door opens again. 

“Anytime,” he promises as Gil and Catherine walk through the door and over to us. 

“Ready to go?” Catherine asks and I nod, standing up as straight as I can. 

“Yeah. Let’s go…” I breathe out and they all give me sympathetic looks. 

“I’ll see you when you get back. Come find me if and when you need me, ok?” Warrick asks me and I nod as I purse my lips. 

He then pulls me into a hug and I melt into the brotherly embrace that I know so well. He holds me for a moment, rubbing my back lightly like he knows Nick does, but it only makes me choke up a little more. I hold back my tears as he pulls back and gives my arm one last squeeze before he walks back into the lab. 

Catherine walks over to me and wraps her arm around my shoulder. Together we walk over to Gil’s SUV and she clicks the unlock button. She opens the trunk door and slides her case in first. 

I then slide mine in after hers and she goes around the front to the passenger side. I follow along, but stop at the passenger side back door. She gets into the passenger seat and I get in behind her just as Gil walks out the garage door. 

He looks around for a moment before he makes eye contact with us and then he starts to come over to the SUV. He gets into the driver's seat and it’s quiet as he puts the key into the ignition, effectively starting the car up. After driving for a little while we arrive at the same scene Nick was supposed to be at. 

Together we get out of the car before going to the back to get our cases. Once we have our cases, we all walk up to Jim Brass, who’s already on scene. 

“Think. Did you see anybody else in the area?” Jim grills an officer before looking away from him. 

“I didn’t see anything, sir,” the officer tells him and Jim sighs, rubbing at his face before turning back to the officer. 

“I mean I only took my eyes off him for a couple seconds…” the officer explains and anger courses through me. 

“You’re not supposed to take your eyes off him ever,” Jim tells him in a very strict tone and I go to talk to the guy, but Catherine puts a hand on my arm to stop me. 

“Just be calm…” she softly tells me and I sigh. 

“How can I be calm, Cath? He took his eyes off him. He’s the reason my husband is missing and possibly even worse…” I choke out and she nods. 

“I know honey. I do, but you have to remain calm,” she reminds as she rubs her thumbs over my forearm in a soothing manner and I nod at her while wiping just under my eye. 

“He’s been gone maybe 25 minutes,” Jim tells us as he walks past us with anger clear on his face. 

Catherine keeps her hand on my arm as Grissom reaches up and puts his hand on her upper back as he nods at Jim. Grissom leads Catherine and Catherine leads me as all three of us walk over to the “crime scene.”  We stop at the intestines and Grissom takes his flashlight out to shine it on them. 

He then moves the light up as we all notice a cone by some tread marks. Catherine and I look at each other and nod. Together we get our flashlights out as well and we all slowly start to follow the tread marks. 

We follow them some more and find more cones laying out, telling us that Nick indeed was here. We keep walking until we come up to his vest laying on the floor and I let out a small gasp. Catherine bends down and sets her case down as she shines the light on his name tag, the one that exactly matches mine. 

I let out a puff of air and Grissom looks at me. He grabs my arm and rubs it for a moment as Catherine takes some gloves out. 

“You gonna be ok? Or do I need to get Jim over here to take care of you?” Grissom asks me as he rubs my upper arm lightly. 

“I’ll be ok…” I promise him and he nods before letting go. 

Catherine starts looking at his vest as Grissom continues to walk farther away from us. Catherine seems to find something so she pulls her tweezers out and grabs it. 

“I got some white fibers on Nick’s vest,” Catherine tells us as she pulls it off and looks closer at the fiber. 

She smells it before pulling it away from her face and looking at it some more. She looks up at me before turning back to her case. 

“Smells like alcohol,” she comments before she pulls out a bag and bags it up. 

Grissom walks a little further before coming to a stop and looking at something. I anxiously watch as he walks over to something else before bending down to it. Catherine looks up and over to Grissom as well. 

She then looks at me with confusion and I shrug. She stands up and together we both walk over to Grissom. As we get closer, we can see him holding a crime scene evidence bag up with a cup in it. 

“Why’d you bag that?” Catherine asks as we get a little closer to him. 

“I didn’t,” Grissom tells her and she looks at me again. 

“It’s the wrong color tape,” Catherine points out as we both bend down next to Grissom. 

“No initials on the seal… that’s not Nick's evidence,” Catherine continues to point out issues with it all as Grissom keeps it held up. 

“Maybe it’s a message…” Grissom observes as he looks over the evidence bag. 

“I’ll go try the garbage can,” Catherine chimes and Grissom nods. 

She walks over to the dumpster and I let out a sigh. Grissom looks up at me before turning around for a moment. He looks like he’s contemplating something before turning back around. He bends back down and I look with him, trying to see what he’s seeing, but all I can think about is Nick and tears well up in my eyes for a moment. 

I take a small step away and try to get my emotions under check. Once they are, I turn back to Grissom who still looks over the intestines very thoroughly. He keeps his light on them as he tries to figure something out. 

“Dumpster’s clean. No apparent blood or body parts,” Catherine announces as she stands fully upright inside of the dumpster before getting out and coming over to us. 

“Take a look at this…” Grissom tells her and she bends down next to me. 

“This seems contrived to me. The blood pool is too perfect. There’s no splatter. Like somebody placed these entrails,” Grissom points out as he shows us what he means with his flashlight and I gasp quietly. 

“You think…” I trail off, unable to ask what I know he’s saying. 

“A lure. To grab Nick…” Catherine confirms and I choke on air. 

“You’re saying you think they wanted Nick?” I ask and all goes fuzzy for a moment. 

“David, get this stuff to the doc,” Catherine declares as she turns to David, who’s behind us. 

“Look, I’m… I’m really sorry I didn’t get here sooner. Maybe if I had…” David apologizes, looks at me and I put a hand over my face. 

“Is she doing ok?” he asks when he sees me sway a little bit. 

“She’ll be fine. Don’t worry about her. We’ve got her and we’re gonna get him back,” Catherine promises as she wraps her arm around my waist to help steady me. 

“Gil, Catherine, what is she doing here? She’s too close to this, Gil,” comes the voice of Conrad Ecklie, making us all look at him as he walks up to us. 

“She’s only here for this. Then she’s done,” Gil explains and Ecklie sighs. 

“Ok. Only out here though. No farther…” he demands as he points at me and I nod. 

“Anyway, I want you all to know as far as I’m concerned, labs only got one case tonight. Same for the rest of the department,” Ecklie tells us and some relief makes way to me. 

“Thanks, Conrad,” Gil replies and I just nod at him. 

Another GMC drives up and Warrick gets out. He slams his door shut and quickly walks over to us. 

“Hey. You texted! What do you need me to do?” he asks as he stops in front of me and Catherine. 

“We need you to follow the dogs. Y/n needs to leave, she isn’t doing too well. Me and Griss are going to drive her back and let her sleep for a bit in the break room,” Catherine explains to him and Warrick nods before coming over to me. 

“Hey. Go sleep. I know you won’t probably be able to, but just try, ok? I promise we’ll find him,��� he reassures me and I nod at him. 

He sighs before pulling me to him and giving my forehead a light kiss. He holds me in a tight hug for a few minutes before the K9 officers walk over with the dogs. He pulls away and looks at me for a moment and I nod lightly at him to tell him I’ll be ok. 

 He finally pulls away and walks over to the K9 officers. Catherine slowly starts to lead me away and back to the GMC. She helps me get in, seeing as I’m in a daze and then she and Grissom are putting the kits in the back. Once the kits are in the back, both her and Grissom get in. 

Grissom drives us back and when we get to the lab, Catherine leaves our kits in the GMC. She helps me in and walks me to the break room. 

“Here, try to get some sleep while we go over some of tonight’s evidence. Do you want to be there when I tell his parents?” she asks me and I sigh, nodding my head. 

“His… his mom… she’ll feel more comfortable with me in the room. His dad… he’s like my dad too. So yes, I want to be there please,” I tell her and she nods as she rubs up and down my back. 

“Well, I have to go see Dr. Robbins, then I’ll come get you when they get here, ok? Feel free to walk around if you can’t sleep,” she tells me and I nod numbly at her. 

She gets up and walks away, leaving me with a light blanket and small pillow. I sigh as I grab the pillow and lay the blanket over me. I curl up into a small ball and that’s when the tears start. 

I cry until slowly I can feel myself slip into a light sleep. It’s only a little while later that I wake up and blink my eyes. My eyes are sore and most likely red, but I don’t care as I stay laying on the couch for a bit. 

To Be Continued…

As of right now there is no tag list for this series, but if any of you would like us to make one we totally can. For now we have decided just to see if any of you like this one.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Im sorry if this sounds dumb but I was scrolling through your ur asks and I saw on one the tags something like: “following:why romanizing the mafia is actually bad” and idk if you meant it as a joke but if you didn’t,did you ever write something about that topic? I would love to read your perspective on that

Hi! You're talking about me mentioning that romanticizing mafia is actually bad, right? (From this post?) It's not dumb at all! It makes me happy to know you're willing to learn more on the subject.

No, I didn't mean it as a joke. No, I never wrote on the topic, either. I'm flattered to know you would like to hear my perspective!! I don't know how serious I was about writing about it back then (it's been more than one year), but right now I would rather refrain from delving into it for the time being.

Perhaps, maybe there's really nothing much to be said about it at all? Mafia organizations are criminal organizations that corrupt and deteriorate states, on par with terrorist organizations (the difference being that the latter have political goals, whereas mafia organizations' aim generally is to hoard money). They deal with drug trafficking, human trafficking, sex trafficking, weapon trafficking, money laundering and so on, and they constantly use illegal means that harm and kill civilians. In areas with deeply rooted presence of mafia, people can't make the choice to be honest citizens, because mafia organizations will coerce civilians to pay tributes to them. Why the romanticization of all of this is detrimental - and, honestly, insulting to anyone that has to put up with this kind of reality - is pretty self-explanatory. Portraying them as some kind of vigilantes that may act illegally but is ultimately benevolent, that cares for people and works for a “greater good” of society is straight up disrespectful. They're not philanthropists doing crime as a side gig. There's no benefactor boss who acts to “prevent uncontrollable violence” and “avoid useless bloodshed”. Saying they use to bring balance in the city or that they care for the city's well being and stability, or that they want to protect the city, is not only perfectly counterfactual, but also unbearably insulting. The fact that mafia organizations don't do people's good goes without saying. In fact, doing as much harm to society as they can is like, their whole thing. And it's something that destroys lives in the real world.

So y'know. Portraying the mafia in that kind of positive light. It isn't the best.

[moltz23]

The Achilles Heel of Fodlan's Most Fantastic Weapon - Analysis & Theory.

As a mere concept, futuristic missiles showing up from nowhere in a medieval-western fantasy setting like Fire Emblem makes for some pretty neat spectacle. In Three Houses, though? This unfortunately comes with some questions left unanswered, forcing people (like me) to come up and find answers of our own. So after considering what 3H tells the player about these fantastic weapons, as well of our current world’s (known) weapon development, I think I might have finally stumbled across why, as cool and seemingly overpowered the “Javelins of Light” appear to be, are ultimately highly impractical pieces of tech which should honestly get whoever worked on them fired.

I feel I must stress however, that at the end of the day, no matter how much in-game evidence I used to back things up, a portion of this analysis should fall into the theory spectrum. Also, I’m not a weapon/missile expert by trade, so there’s that.

So without further ado, here’s the introduction to our topic at hand:

What are the “Javelins of Light”?

Live footage of the things in action.

In Three Houses’ Fódlan, the “Javelins of Light” are “those who slither in the dark” ‘s trump card; highly destructive yet suggested to be impractical (more on this later) missile-shaped objects that fall from the sky and explode upon impact.

Lore-wise, the Javelins of Light - or Pillars of Light, as the Agarthan that wrote Romance of the World’s Perdition (found in the DLC Shadow Library) calls them - are mentioned to have been built by the civilization of Agartha over 1000 years before the main story, for the purpose of killing Sothis. And in spite of all the destruction and death caused, they weren’t enough to do the job, forcing Agartha’s survivors to flee and hide as Sothis erased their civilization from the map. Many centuries later - after Nemesis’ defeat, but before the War of the Eagle and Lion -, “those who slither in the dark'' attempted to use the javelins to blow up the Holy Tomb, but were redirected thanks to a spell Sothis had placed in the area which disrupted their trajectory, blowing up Ailell instead and turning it into Fodlan’s equivalent of Lethal Lava Land.

Afterwards, TWSITD refrained from using them ever again… For a few more centuries at least.

in the Verdant Wind & Silver Snow routes, the trump card returns once the story mission that takes place in the Empire’s Fort Merceus is beaten, blowing up the fortification to smithereens just as Byleth’s faction luckily avoids the danger by chasing the Death Knight (who was all to aware of what would happen, luring the gang on purpose). After Edelgard’s death, Hubert reveals post-mortem that he detected the exact moment when the sorcery triggering the missiles was used, and somehow used that to find the Agarthans headquarters, which he discloses in a letter. And once Shambhala is invaded and Thales (TWSITD’s boss) is defeated, as a last resort, the dude summons multiple missiles to destroy his enemies, but fails due to Rhea literally tanking some them for Byleth and his crew, causing Thales to die from random debris, and Rhea to be wounded lethally (whether she dies or not in SS depends on the player’s choices).

This shot will never not crack me up. Honestly.

In the Crimson Flower path, Thales - masquerading as Edelgard’s uncle, Lord Arundel - arranges a few javelins of light to drop on the Kingdom’s Arianrhod as revenge once he gets the confirmation from Edelgard that Cornelia’s death - in truth, Cleobulus and an Agarthan plant - was fully intentional, and the choice of words used (“I will be praying [...] that the Empire will not become another Arianrhod”) make clear his move was meant to be a deterrent against future backstabs. Given how Edelgard quickly covers up the event and later unleashes the Imperial army over the Agarthans sometime after dealing with Rhea and the Kingdom anyways, Thales’ gambit ultimately ends up being for naught.

Lastly, no javelins of light are ever used in the Azure Moon branch, though incidentally, it’s also the only non-Edelgard route which kills Arundel before Byleth’s chosen faction makes their way to Fort Merceus…

…Oh, and as far story-purpose goes, in Verdant Wind and Silver Snow, they’re used to having Byleth and co. go to Shambhala, while in Crimson Flower they’re used to explore further Edelgard’s relationship with the slitherers.

The Implications Behind the Trump Card

First, let’s go over what the game suggests about the things which make them so damn impractical:

Two routes point out that the weapons can't be abused at their leisure. For what’s worth, TWSITD blows up Fort Merceus in Verdant Wind and Silver Snow only because they were confident Byleth and co. would be there, and not to mention, both Hubert and the Death Knight knowing it would happen all but states Byleth’s group was intended to be killed there).

The only other instances where the “pillars of light” are used rashly are either because: 1. Thales has been cornered and has nothing left to lose (VW/SS): and 2. Thales is visibly pissed over his “pawn” killing his spies like nothing, and is trying to exert some control over her (CF). This stands out a lot given the Agarthans have a serious problem of hubris clouding their judgment at times, so seeing them being so careful with their usage implies a lot of how much they value them.

Thales has exclusive access to them: He’s seen summoning them in Shambhala in the Verdant Wind and Silver Snow routes; in Crimson Flower, he alludes something will befall Arianrhod upon finding out the circumstances behind Cornelia’s death - which turn to be the his trump card-; and in Azure Moon… Thales dies before everyone goes to Fort Merceus, and no missiles ever rain over the location. Thus, it would be criminal to ignore him entirely for his analysis given how much the story points out all the “javelins” employed are due to his will.

Whatever happened with Ailell was an exception, not the rule: Ailell by the time the plot takes place is a living wasteland of lava due to the “javelins of light”, and yet, none of the missiles used in animated cutscenes or even described in person carry this much destructive potential. Meaning, either Ailell was a dormant volcano before missiles fell on it, or the specific “javelins” used were, simply put, “built different“ and are no longer an option.

How a ballistic missile works, courtesy of Wikipedia.

By now, it goes without saying that the biggest criticisms the “javelins of light” have as a plot device, is that their weaknesses are never openly addressed and just merely “suggested”, and that’s understandably an issue if one’s trying to convince beyond reasonable doubt that there’s a good reason why the slitherers use them so seldomly, and prefer to scheme and attempt to manipulate important people in Foldan instead.

So in the end, how do we prove these fantastic weapons have an achilles heel at all? Well, I think we can reach a highly likely (yet ultimately theoretical) answer to this dilemma… By answering yet another question:

What truly are the “Javelins of Light"?

I’ve seen many, many people call the “javelins of light" online as nukes or ballistic missiles/ICBMs. But given what in-game evidence we have, both proposals just can’t be true:

First, and as previously mentioned, none of the weapons deployed in the present ever reach a comparable amount of destruction to a nuke, and Aillel’s aftermath being such a peculiar case makes it more of an exception rather than the rule of thumb.

And second, none of the missiles are even seen being launched from the ground. In all cutscenes they appear, the first thing that pops up are purple rings, which are then followed by the “javelin” falling through the path those rings set for it. This happens even near Shambhala, where one would otherwise expect them to launch from the ground if we go by the assumption these are indeed ordinary ballistic missiles/ICBMs Hubert used to find Shambhala’s location through analyzing their trajectory…

How a ballistic missile works, courtesy of Wikipedia.

In turn and, by process of the elimination, this leaves us with one kind of missile that fits behavior of the Javelins of Light to a tee, which as of this post, is still just hypothetical.

The Kinetic / Orbital Missile.

The idea behind them is simple; have missiles fall from the sky anywhere you would ever want, and let the kinetic force - AKA, the fall - do most of the job. And not only that, these can be - design wise - as simple as a giant pillar as a result, leading many people to nickname this idea as “rods from god” due to the weapons being seemingly launched from the heavens themselves. Sounds familiar?

If all this sounds too good to be true, then that’s because it is. As stated before, the concept behind this type of missile is still - currently - just an idea due to the logistics behind them being nothing short of a nightmare. Most importantly for the topic at hand though, a key step in setting them up involves sending them to space first, so they may later be launched from a satellite or something floating in the atmosphere.

And it’s right here where 3H’s lore screws the Agarthans hard, as the only existing reports where there’s anything remotely hinting the missiles were launched from the ground at some point (knowingly, implied, or otherwise) comes from “Romance of the World’s Perdition”:

"The False God must be defeated before the world sinks into a watery grave. To this end, the children of men have erected pillars of light upon the land. Thinis, Malum, Septen, and Llium were utterly destroyed. Those lands have vanished from this world. Yet even still, the False God stands. And soon, a flood aptly named Despair will drown this world."

As a quick reminder, this book is pretty much a relic from the era the Agarthan civilization that existed over 1000 years before the main story, as all of the cities being blown up mentioned in the book no longer exist in Fodlan. The missiles clearly were once on land before, but not anymore, given how they always drop from the sky…

The Achilles Heel of the “Divine Retribution”

In the end, with all the evidence at our disposal, I believe it’s possible to identify - to a theoretical level at least - why the “Javelins of Light” aren’t truly a “press the button to win” for the Agarthans. This achilles heel is split into 3 key points:

Finite number: If TWSITD doesn’t have the means to send new “pillars” into space, then logic dictates they just simply have a very finite number of missiles they’re forced to work with, so it’s best to make every one of them count. After all, if they had found a solution to the javelin problem (which didn’t give away the location of their HQ so blatantly, like teleporting them through magic or something), chances are they would have already used it.

Thales: Besides being the one that calls the shots on the javelins used, people often forget that the dude at his core is a schemer, not a fighter. Unless you really force his hand/piss him off, he will give the missiles the most strategic use possible, and will refrain from abusing them if he sees value in other methods and ideas, such as in CF where he wants to keep his partnership with Edelgard and the Empire going post-war and even have her potentially conquer the world later (it never pans out, but it’s the thought that counts).

Garreg Mach/Holy Tomb has a jamming spell. Sothis did something to the area so it’s 100% invulnerable to missiles, thus forcing the Agarthans to come up with another way to get rid of the Church and Rhea. Incidentally, this is why Thales never uses the missiles during his final fights in both Scarlet Blaze and Azure Gleam routes from the Warriors: Three Hopes spinoff; because it would be a resounding failure.

Thales, probably having to remind his cronies every century or so why blowing up Fodlan up with missiles isn't an option.

So in Conclusion…?

Whatever FE game we get later down the line that puts similar emphasis to lore as 3H did really needs to be clear on why your antagonistic forces can’t brute-force their way into victory. Truth be told, It’s not a dealbreaker to me (more so once I figured all this out), but it definitely adds to the frustration and belief the Agarthans should not have been in Three Houses to begin with (which is easier said than done, but that’s a topic for another day…)

And like always, many thanks to those who have kept up with all this wall of text up until now! If I had to ask a question to y’all though, it would be something like: if you had the choice to change something about the “Javelins of Light”, what would it be?

[melishade]

For the darkest hour timeline you stated that there’s gaps of information for Optimus, and though his real action with Marley is fragile. Will he use his holoform to survey for in information or will a second party tell him like gabi because she grateful for him and he innocence or Lara because i believe she would be in the military (while her family is moved elsewhere ) sees a lot of her brother in Optimus.

Previous episode of the Darkest Hour Timeline

Because Optimus doesn’t have the full context of the situation and is having information hidden from him on purpose, he’s going to refrain from saying anything about his backstory, his capabilities, and the holoform. He knows he needs more information, and the humans weren’t going to provide it. They feared him.

However, Optimus still remained compliant, remaining seated in an outside crystal prison constructed by Lara, with the War Hammer Titan keeping a close eye on him. Optimus notices behavioral patterns of the humans and realizes that secrets are being kept from him and there is some heavy discrimination against him, but he keeps his cool. Part of him can’t blame the humans in the moment. Their home was turned into a battlefield.

Optimus does try to engage with the humans to ask questions, but they quickly avoid him. That’s when Lara finally speaks to him and tells him not to bother. Humans of their world feared the titans. Optimus is confused and asks why, but that confuses Lara. He’s a Titan. He should know. Lara questions how he doesn’t know, but Optimus just says that he’s from another world far from here. He can’t tell her too much because he still has information kept from him.

(Now you might be asking why Optimus is willing to withhold from Marley but not Paradis. That because when Optimus was dropped in Paradis, he was actively made aware by his surroundings that humanity was on the brink of extinction.)

Lara does relay this information back to Magath, who is still apprehensive about Optimus, but Pieck makes a comment of Lara continuing to talk to Optimus to try and gain more intel and determine if he’s a threat or not. Which Magath ends up agreeing to. If they can find a way to turn his weapon towards Paradis and gain control of the island, then fine.

Lara does let this happen, and she and Optimus continue to be around each other. Optimus does confess about his energon problem and how he needs to locate some on this world and fast if he is to survive. Lara relays this information to Magath and they begin to search for some. But once they realize they can’t find it, they have to talk to Optimus and ultimately let him out. Optimus is heavily guarded by Lara as he uses his internal units to find a small energon pocket. The Marleyans are actually stunned to see him chew a small peace without any negative reaction. He didn’t eat humans, and it considerably puts them at ease. However, they remember what Optimus did to Eren and quickly have him back in his prison. They are still surprised and suspicious when Optimus doesn’t choose to break out. Optimus tells Lara that he is grateful for her help. Lara merely states that he had saved her life, so she was obligated to return the favor after he saved hers from Eren.

Optimus finally prompts to ask why she was almost killed in the first place. Who was that human that attacked? Lara immediately shuts him down. That wasn’t a human. That was a monster that attacked her country and killed her brother in cold blood. The people of Paradis were a threat and were going to continue being a threat until they were extinguished. Optimus doesn’t say much, but apologizes for the loss of her brother. Lara is stunned. No one has really given her any condolences regarding her brother.

However Magath is in a corner as the world leaders are asking more about Optimus Prime and his overall usefulness in this conflict they currently have. Can they be trusted? Magath is ultimately frustrated at this, but he knows he has to talk to him directly. Magath ends up going with Lara one day and demands to know where Optimus is from and who he is. Optimus refuses to answer and will only do so until he is given an explanation about what’s going on. Magath gives him the information that’s in the history books, not the info that Willy told the public. And both Lara and Magath can see Optimus seems distrusting of this information. Lara doesn’t like the fact that they were lying to him, but Magath insists that it’s true and that they had attacked their home and were responsible for the deaths of innocent people. Optimus then calls out Magath on his lie, because he’s heard the chatter of the soldiers about how the King of Paradis intentionally wiped the memories of the people of Paradis. The ancestors might be guilty of deaths they had forgotten about, but the generation now were innocent.

Magath retorts that they are hardly innocent. Optimus counters that they should be given a chance and that there should be a peaceful compromise. Magath is frustrated and shouts at him, demanding why he let them go in the first place?! He had the power to shoot that blimp down and end the conflict! Prevent the Rumbling from being used and millions of lives from being trampled! Why did he choose to hesitate?!

Optimus replies that he refuses to harm human life, but Magath just calls him a coward and a hypocrite before storming off. Lara leaves Optimus in his prison. Optimus knows that he can’t stay here anymore and he needed to find a way to escape, but he needed to do it in a manner where he wouldn’t be physically wounded, he had no idea how powerful the Titan shifters were.

Meanwhile, Magath tells the Marleyan scientists to start experimenting with the energon they managed to acquire because of Optimus. If this could be used to attack the power of the Titan shifters and even kill them, then they would use it.

Meanwhile, Megatron is dealing with shit on Paradis but that’s another issue. Great way to start off the new year!