#act 1 main quest masterpost

[da2transcripts]

Act 1 Main Quests

Prologue - The Destruction of Lothering

Pt. 1 - Tale of the Champion Pt. 2 - Our Story Begins... Pt. 3 - Witch of the Wilds Pt. 4 - Gates of Kirkwall Pt. 5a - Mercenary Employment Pt. 5b - Smuggler Employment

Main Plot

A Business Discussion

Pt. 1 - Varric Tethras Pt. 2 - The Hanged Man

A Friend in the Guard

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A New Home?

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Act of Mercy

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Blackpowder Promise

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Enemies Among Us

-

Long Way Home

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Shepherding Wolves

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Tranquility

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Wayward Son

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Friends in Low Places (optional)

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The Deep Roads Expedition

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Act 1 Secondary Quests Act 1 Side Quests Act 1 Companion Quests - Act 2 Main Quests Act 3 Main Quests

[ma1dita]

partners in crime

luke castellan x fem!dionysus!reader [the trouble!verse]

MAIN SERIES MASTERPOST [COMPLETED]

summary: few things are certain in this life as a demigod, but one thing is for sure— you can’t fight fate when it pulls you and luke castellan together, over and over again. two young people who hate the gods are more like them than they think, for better or worse. annoyances to best friends to lovers

things to know: dionysus!reader's nickname is trouble & mostly canon-compliant (mostly.)

here's a playlist (spotify & apple music links now available!)

child of dionysus headcanons!

trouble!verse moodboard 1 & moodboard 2 & college!trouble by the lovely @24kmar

deleted scenes from a different universe (AUs)

play the extended cuts (blurbs from in-between)

character study: luke castellan & trouble

any works, updates, thoughts, musings, etc about this series will be tagged under #trouble!verse !

key: fluff - ☼ angst - ☽ smut - ☆ jo's favorites - ᥫ᭡

[rewind to before] pre-established relationship

trouble always finds me (trouble!reader origin story) 1.7k ☼

The one where he could tell you were trouble from the day he met you. (You're an annoyance, but not an enemy)

entropy 3.6k☼

The one where you both blur the lines between annoyance and admiration. (the promise of becoming partners in crime)

buddy system 4.2k ☼

The one where he comes with you to rescue your younger twin brothers, Pollux & Castor. (this is as close to a real quest that Mr. D will give you--might as well take someone you trust!)

somebody's angel 4.4k ☽

The one where you convince him he’s pretty, even with a scar. (songfic - Die Alone - Finneas)

feed the fire 1.2k ☼

The one where his focus is not on spilled food, but on you. (Luke realizes this is more than playful banter)

bedtime stories 2.4k ☼

The one where night shift with him runs late, but you don’t mind at all. (the both of you have feelings you want to admit, but duty calls!)

crazy little thing 3.4k ☼

The one where he uses all his drachmas to make you smile on Valentine's Day. (the Apollo kids are better matchmakers than Aphrodite, sometimes)

anything you want 1.6k ☼

The one where you and him have your first kiss. (You've always loved teaching the story of Orpheus and Eurydice; except when your Orpheus runs away from you)

said he likes crazy 2.1k ☼ ☽

The one where only he can help you with a bad day, even if he's avoided you since your first kiss. (For being a son of Hermes, he has a way of calming your nerves)

[pause and remember us like this] established relationship

play pretend 5.1k ☼

The one where Mr. D catches you two in the act, but you and him aren’t exactly together yet. (Drunk words are sober thoughts. Your dad just wishes Luke told you instead of him)

a wish your heart makes 1.4k ☼ ☽

The one where you share dreams, burn cookies, and it still reminds him of home. (The dryads will probably ban you from the kitchen after this)

star crossing 4k ☼

The one where both your dreams come to life for a night (Crossing the stars for love is easier said than done)

to see the chaos through 4k ☼☽

The one where he remembers he was never a good guy, just yours. (Luke makes the ultimate deal with the devil in order to save you)

not your goddess 8k ☽

The one where you both know the best of days eventually have to come to an end. (songfic - Goddess - Laufey)

don't blame the kids 7.6k ☼

The one where you both chaperone a trip to Mount Olympus. (the Olympians are bigger gossips than you thought they'd be)

trouble's coming for you 3.7k ☼

The one where Percy meets his two favorite counselors at Camp Half-Blood. (three times Percy is oblivious (and in the way) and the time he realizes you and Luke are in love)

now that we're older 3.5k ☼

The one where he asks if you can stay the night even if all of cabin 11 makes fun of him. (Luke is tired of the routine. He just needs his girl)

if you need to be mean (be mean to me) 1.5k☽

The one where he leaves before you wake up. (songfic - I Don't Smoke - Mitski )

[fast forward until we meet again] post-tlt

lovers, or partners in crime 2.1k ☽

The one where Annabeth and Percy think you’re guilty too. (the last day leading up to Luke's betrayal)

love like a blister: the five stages of loving losing luke 4.7k ☽

The one where you learn to mourn someone even if they’re still alive. (the five stages of grief after facing a loss)

to catch a thief 3.7k ☼ ☽

The one where duty calls at Camp Half-Blood. Again. (Your reunion with Luke isn't quite what you expected.)

solipsism 5.3k ☽

The one where you finally pray to Hestia to keep your home safe, even if he's also trying to destroy it. (the four times Luke uses Backbiter to visit you during college ft. the first time you trust a god to help you)

forever falling: luke castellan & his four great loves 4.3k ☼ ☽

The one where he falls from grace and still thinks of you. (the four great loves of Luke Castellan’s life and how it will end up killing him)

love me dry 4.5k ☼ ☽

The one where he meets you at his mother's house, though both of you didn't expect the other to be there. (a glimpse into May Castellan's idea of a perfect day)

when the curtains close 5.3k☽

The one where you lose two people in the Labyrinth that day. All strings are cut. (Annabeth and Pollux find out the biggest difference between you and Luke.)

asking for trouble 7.8k ☽

The one where Luke's final wish is to see you. (He's himself again, and all he wants is to find out if the trouble was worth it all)

as above, so below 10.4k ☽☼

The one where you plead your case with the gods of Olympus. (The one thing the fates didn't expect was how much you'd both be like your fathers; in a way, you and Luke didn't see it coming either)

roll the credits [ a tribute through webweaving]

[tealgoat]

✨In Tales of Time Main Masterpost✨

An Odile Looping Au!

For the Miscellaneous Masterpost you can check it out over here!

At the Favor Tree

Right After the Favor Tree

Sleepover Reminder

Taking Notes on Loop

Identity Reveal

Group Hug

Sadness Death Part 1

Defeating the Tutorial Sadness

End of Family Quests 1

End of Family Quests 4

End of Family Quests 2

End of Family Quests 3

Loop Hangout

Siffrin Secret Quest

Isabeau Secret Quest

The King Grabbed 1

The King Grabbed 2

Face Touch

Act 5 Loop Talk

Clocktower Talk

Perte de Pays

Perte de Pays 2

Siffrin Blast

End of Act 5 Falling Part 1

End of Act 5 Falling Part 2

Meeting Loop Again

Reunion

Act 6 Loop Meets Everyone

Nightmares

[izumiphoenix]

Getting Closer

(2/? part of “Astarion: In Search of True Self” — [masterpost here])

In my first playthrough, I was worried that if we slept too often, we would all turn into mind flayers, so I went through the Saving the Grove quest almost without resting in camp. Unfortunately, that meant I missed some of the early interactions with companions, including Astarion. That’s also why, when my Tav spent the celebration night with him, she still had no idea he was a vampire.

Honestly… I actually prefer that. It makes the story flow more naturally, in a way. But as with most things in BG3, it works either way.

Why I loved it, though, because it made so much sense for Astarion to want Tav to start getting attached before revealing what he truly is - a vampire spawn. It also meant that the morning conversation was the one where he told more about himself and his past and the conversation felt less rushed and more genuine. But maybe it is my nostalgia speaking.

First Steps

One of the first proper camp dialogues with Astarion happens when he admits Tav is more impressive than he initially thought and says he'd like to keep seeing them as an ally (the Stars cutscene). As always, he's surprisingly honest - so much so that I doubt it can be considered a manipulation.

But this is also where he begins putting his famous "simple plan" into motion: seducing Tav to ensure his own safety. As we established earlier (see Part 1), his main goal is security. So now that he's confident Tav is strong and useful, he starts using the tools he knows best - suggestive charm and witty jokes.

This eventually leads to him inviting Tav to spend time together during the celebration night at camp (or even earlier, depending on approval). That's where the romance seems to begin… or so we think.

Flirting or Strategy?

Even if Tav is already smitten, from Astarion’s side this is manipulation - at least on the surface. You can clearly see and hear how different his behavior is during these moments: too smooth, too controlled. Not like the moments when he's genuine and real - when rough, unkempt words come spilling out of him freely, with wide gestures or a calm, serious demeanor.

Still, even though he later admits that he was trying to make Tav an ally so they wouldn't turn on him, I do believe that even then, he'd already started to care a little, especially depending on the following nuance.

If this conversation happens at the celebration party, approval doesn't actually need to be very high. His motivation there is more about survival after he confirmed once again that it would be better to have Tav on his side. But if you do raise his approval high enough in Act 1, you might get that flirty conversation even earlier - and it runs differently, too. He admits he’s starting to like "the whole package," and says he wants to reward Tav for sharing their blood with him. Not just complaining about boredom and bad wine anymore, huh?

So maybe his motivations start to shift, even just slightly. He might genuinely want to keep Tav near in the only way he knows: giving them what he thinks they want. It can still be part of his strategy, but there's something more complicated beginning to form underneath.

Looking Back

There’s one thing I now feel a little uneasy about. When Astarion first flirts and invites Tav to spend time with him during the party, I chose the dialogue where my Tav teases him a little - she makes him say "please" before agreeing. And when he does, she calls him a "good boy." He actually approves of that line and seems a bit (pleasantly?) surprised that Tav can be so sassy. It felt playful and bold at the time, and I remember how I was like: “Oh! He likes that??”

But after learning about his past… it feels different. Because this was how he survived. His body, his charm - these were tools he had to use. And now it's not just that Tav flirted - it's that she made him beg for it, in a sense, while Astarion was trying to keep himself safe. This thought feels pretty awful.

Still, I try to comfort myself with a few points:

We had no idea at the time!

He did approve of it!

Maybe it showed that Tav wasn't desperate for his body - it was more about their interaction. It felt like she was genuinely enjoying the banter, not just trying to sleep with him.

So… maybe it’s not that bad (^^;)

What Got Me Hooked

To be honest, back then I was still skeptical about Astarion as a love interest. I knew he was a popular character, and I thought he was a bit overrated - mainly because all the media glimpses I'd seen of him were about his very sexualized image. But something about him piqued my curiosity.

By the time he started flirting with Tav, I was already like: "Nooo, stawp~ …nevermind, keep going." Kind of not admitting I was interested even to myself - but still feeling giddy when believing he was "interested" in my Tav. (Which… wasn’t quite true, as we know now.)

But then came the moment after their first night together - my Tav noticed his scars. I expected him to deflect or change the subject, but instead he told her. Honestly and openly. That he was a slave. That his old master left those marks.

That was the moment I felt something shift, noticed his depth. And from there, I really wanted to get to know him better.

(*cough* And that's how my obsession started *cough*)

<previous part>

<next part>

<back to masterpost>

[miscreantsmadness]

Main quests Day 1

Summary You arrive to Jorvik Riding Camp and get introduced to Maya, who's your riding instructor. You also get introduced to the horse you'll be riding. Lisa takes a lesson along with you on her horse Starshine.

You get the basics of riding down and after the lesson Lisa shows you around an introduce you to her friends.

After a cozy campfire you go to your cabin for some sleep but have a weird dream...

MC - Main character, that's you.

SH - Starter horse, that's your horse.

Masterpost - find all the parts of the main quests here.

The read-through posts works best on desktop where the formatting is shown correctly.

Complete quest dialogue below the cut.

Maya: Hi, MC! Welcome to Jorvik’s riding camp!

I’m Maya, the manager and lead instructor. Today we have two students starting together! Allow me to introduce you to each other.

MC is new to Jorvik! Lisa moved here a while back, but she’s been traveling lately.

Lisa: Hi, MC! It’s a pleasure to meet you! This charming fellow is my horse, Starshine.

I had… well… a scary experience when I was younger. But now that I have Starshine I want to regain my confidence, so I’m going to take a few lessons again.

Maya: That’s the horse you’ll be riding, MC.

It’s a Jorvik Warmblood that has been stabled here by a generous sponsor while we look for a permanent home, but the horse hasn’t taken to anyone.

It goes against the grain here to put a human and horse together if they don’t share a strong bond.

Lisa: It’s true. When I moved to Jorvik, people kept telling me that the bond between human and horse is stronger here than anywhere else in the world, and I’ve come to believe it.

Most locals say that Jorvik’s special relationship with horses is all thanks to Aideen’s gift, which is either Jorvegian mythology or the Truth with a capital T depending on who you talk to.

Maya: The horse is acting very excited today! You can approach it, MC. Maybe you have the right touch to calm it down.

MC goes up to SH and pets them.

Lisa: Wow… beautiful! Aw, Starshine, it reminds me of when we met.

SH: *Whinny*

Maya: Congratulations, MC! It looks like you have made a friend for life. The first thing you need to do is mount your horse!

MC mounts SH

Maya: You definitely belong together. What name are you going to give your new companion?

MC: I was thinking SH. Do you like it?

SH: *Nicker*

Lisa:  It’s perfect. You and SH are bound to have many fine adventures, MC.

Maya: Alrighty, then! I can see that you are seated well. Have you spent time on a horse before?

Choice alternatives: Yes No Yes picked

Maya: Great! We’ll follow your pace, so you can move through the lessons as you please.

Now let’s take SH for a spin.

I’m going to guess you are a full-on galloping kind of thrill seeker, but you have to walk before you can run, am I right? Let’s move through SH’s gaits.

Lisa: Come on, let’s do it together!

MC, SH, Lisa and Starshine does a lap in the paddock

Maya: Great! Everything that moves has to know how to stop.

Ride over here and stop as abruptly as you can!

MC rides and hits X to stop instantly.

Maya: You and SH are working really well together!

Let’s try something a little more challenging.

First, I want you to pick up that bar over there.

And then place it on the obstacle I’ve prepared!

MC picks up the bar and places it on the obstacle to prepare a jump.

Maya: Excellent! I’m sure you can guess what’s next! 

Now you will jump over the obstacle you just constructed.

Lisa, please go first. MC, please follow. 

Lisa and Starshine jumps first, followed by MC and SH.

Maya: Great work! You’ve finished today’s lessons. I feel good about letting you out of the paddock.

I really want you to meet our friend Alex. I have a strong feeling you will be good pals. 

Lisa: Oh yeah, you’ll love her! She makes me laugh til I snort.

Maya: I have a few things to put away. You two go find her and I’ll catch you later.

Lisa: I’ll ride with you; lead the way!

The gate to the paddock opens and you and Lisa ride off to meet Alex.

Depending on if you picked yes or no earlier on the following dialogue differs a bit, but as far as I can tell it’s about the same info.

1.Yes:

Cutscene of Alex

Alex: Hi! You must be the newcomer to Jorvik! I’m Alex.

Nice to meet you, MC. Long time no see, Lisa!

I just arrived from Moorland; it’s right across the bridge here.

I’m sure you’ll get to explore it to your heart’s content once you’ve settled in, MC!

Lisa: Why don’t we take a little hack to look around the campground before heading to the stables?

Choices: 1.What’s a hack? 2.Sounds perfect!

2. picked

Alex: Excellent!

Alex jumps on behind Lisa on Starshine and you ride off together, getting some dialogue while on the hack.

Alex: The riding camp’s cabins are pretty cozy.

Misty Grove is nice to explore…in the daylight. It’s only a small forest but still kind of creepy at night. 

Have you gone shopping, yet? You probably haven’t had time. Definitely have a look later!

Here we are at the stables! Time to give Starshine and SH a rest.

Lisa: I promised to call my dad. Will you water Starshine for me, Alex?

Alex: Yeah, of course!

Look how thirsty SH and Starshine are! We’d better get to it.

Just take this bucket and fill it at the well, then pour water into the trough.

There’s always chores to do around the stables. This is a fairly easy one if the bucket doesn’t leak.

Camera pans over to Linda, sitting on a barrel reading

Alex: Linda! Gah! You snuck up on me just by sitting too still! Make a little noise when you’re reading quietly, will you?

Cutscene of Linda, just camera panning around to introduce her

Alex: Get your nose out of that book and come meet MC.

Linda: We’ve already met. Hiya.

Alex: When did you meet?

Linda: Ages ago.

Alex: Impossible! MC just arrived in Jorvik to attend riding camp.

Linda: Huh, strange. I guess I’m just experiencing a little déjà vu. It’s nice to meet you!

It’s probably a good thing you got me to put down my book because Maya asked me to help her with tonight’s campfire.

Alex: The chores are endless!

MC, the rest of us still have some chores to finish. If we chip in some shillings, will you pick up the food for grilling?

The food vendor is close by. You can choose whatever you like!

Get enough food for six. Maya, the instructor you met this morning, will be there, of course, and our friend Anne is coming!

2. No

Lisa: Oh, that’s not Alex, that’s Linda! What a fun surprise, I didn’t know she was here as well! 

Cutscene of Linda where Alex sneaks up behind her and scares her.

Linda: Gah! By Aideen’s Light, Alex. You scared me half to death!

Alex: Haha, serves you right for ignoring me in favor of books! Again!

Cutscene of Alex

Lisa: Alex, be nice. And Linda, get your nose out of that book. I want you both to meet MC.

Linda: We’ve already met. Hiya.

Alex: When did you meet?

Linda: Ages ago.

Alex: Impossible! Seems to me MC is new to the camp.

Linda: Huh, strange. I guess I’m just experiencing a little déjà vu. It’s nice to meet you! 

Alex: Yes, it’s nice to meet you, MC. Long time no see, Lisa!

I’m here to help out at camp – the horses always need to be fed and brushed – and Linda was supposed to join me before she got stuck in yet another book. So now my tasks include bothering her as well!

Choices: 1.Nice to meet you both! 2.Hi! Let me know if I can help out

1. picked

Lisa: Don’t enable Linda, MC! But that’s very sweet of you.

Alex: Anyhow, it’s good to meet you, MC. And you too, SH!

MC, the rest of us still have some chores to finish. If we chip in some shillings, will you pick up the food for grilling?

The vendor is close by. You can choose whatever you like!

Get enough food for six. Maya, the instructor you met this morning, will be there, of course, and our friend Anne is coming!

From below here it's the same no matter if you picked yes or no earlier.

Choices: 1.Cheese 2.Carrots 3.Marshmallows 4. Chicken drumsticks 5. Sausages

1.Cheese picked

Linda: Great choice; I know the others will love the cheese!

We’re going to feast tonight! Thanks for picking this up!

Feel free to explore the area a bit, MC! It might be nice to spend a little alone time with SH.

Find us by the campfire when you’re ready for dinner!

Cutscene with the camera panning over to the campfire

Lisa:

MC, you’re just in time! Please, come sit.

Cutscene with the camera panning over all of you sitting together at the campfire

Lisa: Hmm… we’re missing someone.

Ah, look, here comes Anne! Now we’re complete!

Cutscene of Anne riding up to you. Camera panning over her and Concorde.

Anne: Hi, there! I’m Anne, and this is Concorde. I’m here as a guest instructor today. Giving lessons keeps us in tip-top competition shape. We’re heading to a big one next week!

Alex: How are you feeling, MC?

Choices: 1.Exhausted and happy. 2. Can’t wait for the next lesson!

2. picked

Alex: I’ll remind you of that when you wake up stiff and sore tomorrow! Lisa, will you sing us a song before bed?

Lisa: Yeah, of course!

Cutscene of all of you sitting by the campfire, the camera panning around. Lisa singing in the background.

Maya: *yawn* I’m going to bed. C’mon, Mc, I’ll walk you to your cabin.

You and Maya ride over to your cabin

Maya: Here we are!

You did great out there today, MC. We’re all glad you’re here. Sweet dreams!

MC: Where...am I?

You and SH are by the lake at the riding camp, but in a dream-like state.

MC: Is this a dream? And what’s that over there? I think it want me to follow…

You and SH follow the ghost-like …squirrel? Through the grove to a strange rune stone. Out to sea you can see giant ghost-like tentacles.

End of day 1.

—————————————

Thanks to Cynn on youtube for some of the screenshots as well as being able to provide dialogue for the different choices. Find the video referenced here.

Masterpost - find all the parts of the main quests here

[not-a-space-alien]

Two Sides of the Same Coin: Chapter 1

Story Masterpost

My writing hiatus is OVER!!! I'm super excited to come back and share this Baldur's Gate 3 fanfiction I've been working on. It will have 6-7 chapters. The main focus is on Astarion. Karlach is also here a lot, and Wyll and Gale are supporting characters. It will also have elements of giant/tiny for the middle chapters!

You can probably figure out from context clues, but the setting for this fic is a playthrough universe where the party does NOT do Astarion's personal quest in act 3.

If you'd like to be tagged when new chapters come out, leave a comment or message me to say so and I'll put you on the taglist :) Or Subscribe over on AO3 （＾∀＾) 👉 AO3

Chapter 1 doesn't have any warnings besides typical Astarion-levels of angst.

***

“We'll do it after all this, Fangs. I promise.”

They wouldn't, of course. Astarion knew better than that.  They weren’t going to help him kill Cazador to be finally free once and for all “after all this crazy shit with Netherbrains and mind flayers and tadpoles and the world-destroying cult is over.”  They were just telling him whatever it took to get what they wanted out of him, which was his help in defeating said cult.  Astarion was very familiar with it because it was how he operated basically all the time, just telling people what they wanted to hear.

If they were all still alive and standing after all this, Astarion very much doubted any of them would want to keep him around, let alone help him with his goals.  All of them had turned down his offering his body to them, and once they no longer had use of his skills with a blade, there would be nothing to keep them around.  Certainly nothing to motivate them to help him.

Everyone had helped Gale with what he wanted because understanding the Netherese magic might help them destroy the brain.  Everyone helped Wyll with what he wanted because his father was a powerful lord and needed to be saved to stop the Absolute.  Everyone helped Shadowheart with what she wanted because she had that whole thing going on with Aylin and Selûne, which they’d needed to do to defeat Ketheric anyway.  Everyone helped Lae’zel with what she wanted because she was a gith warrior and an expert in slaying ghaik and knew about the relic and everything.  Everyone helped Karlach with what she wanted to do because, well, Gortash was one of the chosen three and they needed to kill him anyway.  Everyone had helped Jahira and Halsin and Minsc and Minthara and basically everyone Astarion could count until he ran out of fingers to count on.

But then when it came his turn to ask for help?  The way they kept assuring him it was okay to do?

Apparently defeating Cazador wouldn’t help.  It wasn’t necessary.  Because Cazador wasn’t affiliated with the cult, or the hells, or the mind flayers or the tadpoles or the undead or the Sharrans or the anyone that needed to be dealt with to prevent the sky from falling on them.

No, he was only affiliated with Astarion, and of course nobody would die if Astarion kept living in paralyzing fear.

Gale, Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Karlach–they all seemed to agree it could be put off until after the more pressing matters were dealt with.  Astarion maybe thought he hadn’t communicated well enough how pressing this was for him, personally, but he wouldn’t humiliate himself by getting down on his knees to beg.  He stopped asking after that–he couldn’t bear to be told no anymore than he already had.

“My be-fanged friend, I think we have matters a touch more urgent to attend to first.  Your vampiric sire will be top of the list as soon as getting distracted might not have such disastrous consequences.”

“This vampire lord is chraith, for sure, but our most urgent enemy is far more of a task.”

“You helped me with Viconia, so it’s only fair I help you with Cazador–but after the detour to the Sharran temple, I think everyone feels we’ve wasted enough time on things that can wait right now.”

“We'll do it after all this, Fangs. I promise.”

They wouldn’t, of course.  All this momentum that had built up to stop the cult would dissipate as soon as the Netherbrain was destroyed, and then suddenly nobody would have the interest in staying together.  They’d been talking about going their separate ways after this.  Nobody would want to keep going for yet more high-risk hijinks, especially not to help some random vampire spawn who, all things considered, wasn’t even of much value to the group.

He’d managed to get into a group of people who seemed to care about him, who told him it was okay to ask for help, and then he’d found it to be still another lie.

Astarion found the one member of the camp who wouldn’t judge him for it, Scratch, curled up with the dog in his arms, and wept as quietly as he could.

“I’ve had an infinite parade of lovers.  But a friend? I can’t think of a single one.”  He still couldn’t, not anymore. 

***

They did it.  They actually did it.

They’d managed to somehow beat down the cult of the Absolute, face the Absolute itself, and win.  They’d destroyed a netherbrain.  Astarion could hardly believe it.  He was, somehow, a hero who’d saved the world.

He was riding the high and the tidal wave of mixed emotions so much that he’d almost managed to forget about his problem.  He was only forcefully reminded as they stood there on the docks, in the sunlight, and the sunlight, well.

He’d managed to forget that the sunlight was his enemy, waiting with hungry, pricking fingers for him to let his guard down.

He started slapping at his own skin like he was on fire and had to put it out, while his companions stood by in horror and urged him to find cover.

He ran blindly.  It was a miracle he didn't fall off the dock into the water.  Ha managed to find shadows under a pile of crates.

He curled up and rocked himself, trying not to let himself fall back into despair.  His life in the sun was gone, burned up just like the sun had burned his skin.

He could very faintly hear Karlach yelling–apparently she also was getting her reward for all her hard work, which was also burning alive.

What a world.

Astarion managed to use his cloak to shield himself from the sun to move away from his hiding spot and go deeper into the ravaged city.  He wanted to get away from his… companions.  He knew no help was coming, and he wouldn't subject himself to the humiliation of being refused help while also having to hide from the sun.

He had enough gold in his pockets to buy passage on a boat when the sun went down.  He had to just get as far away from Baldur’s Gate as possible.  Get somewhere Cazador wouldn’t be able to reach him. 

It was madness that Astarion hadn’t done that in the first place.  He should have just put as much distance between himself and Cazador the second he was free from his command, consequences and mind flayers be damned.

He skulked about in the darkness of the under-city until it was night, then went up to the docks. His companions were gone, which was good. He couldn't face them.

Now he just needed to find a boat leaving Baldur's Gate, any boat whose crew he could talk to here after hours, maybe talk them into letting him below deck now so he wouldn't have to board later in the sun.

He was so busy frantically stretching his neck to find such a target that he didn't notice the presence at his elbow.  But damn if he didn't recognize the voice.  It was the voice driving his nightmares.

“Where exactly do you think you're going, boy?  I've been looking for you everywhere. We've got places to be."

[fayesemblemring]

Faye's Fòdlan Journal: Season 1 - Episode 4: Jeralt left the lens cap on

<- Previous Masterpost Next ->

Hey. It's been a while, but I guess that's what happens when a master procrastinator at writing tries to do a project like this. Unfortunately I either lost or forgot to record footage for this chapter, so there won't be any footage for it. Whoops.

Last time we officially became the professor of the Blue Lions, and we are now tasked with preparing our students for the mock battle between the three houses next week.

So we have to engage with the dreaded Calendar, but for now our only option is to explore the monastery. Talking to Dimitri will have him give us a brief rundown of what we're supposed to do. Because yes, no one in the staff even bothered to brief Byleth on what they were supposed to be doing as the new professor, so the future king of Faerghus has to do it instead. The most esteemed academy in Fòdlan, everyone.

Anyway, he tells us about quests, which are basically characters in the monastery asking us to either bring them something, deliver something to someone else or take part in a special battle. More on that next chapter. You can do most quests whenever you want but some have a deadline and are, for example, only available on the month you get them. And that's... pretty much it, really.

The other main thing is special activities that you can take part in to gain various advantages: choir practice to train Byleth and two students in Faith, cooking for some extra stats for the rest of the month and sharing meals to raise the support and motivation of two other students. Each activity with very few exceptions costs 1 Activity Point to do and cannot be done again, and you gain more Activity Points for the day by raising your Professor Level, which also grants other important bonuses. And since your Professor Level is raised by engaging in those very activities, that translates into a feedback loop.

Well, that or you can spend hours fishing which slowly raises it, your call.

After a long day of wandering aimlessly around the monastery talking to people (everyone has something new to say every month which I find incredibly neat. It's even fully voice acted too!), it's time for the mock battle.

It's a very small map, with four students and one professor for each side, and the whole battle is being supervised by Jeralt, who is... giving us advice during it. So much for impartiality, old man.

Needless to say, we wipe the floor with Edelgard, Claude and the rest of them. But unfortunately, Jeralt forgot to take the lens cap off so none of it was recorded. Disappointed by the loss of footage, they decide to do this again bigger and better in a few months during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. But we won't see that one in quite some time yet.

Overall, not a bad first week for Byleth and the Blue Lions. They may not know a thing about teaching yet, but luckily they had their experience leading others as a mercenary which let them scrape by.

Next month, it's time for the first real battle where we go kill a familar face.

<- Previous Masterpost Next ->

[davtranscriptions]

Main Quests

A list of every main quest, sorted by Act. Will be edited as transcripts are made. Some quests listed here will also be listed on the companion quests masterpost.

Quests with completed transcriptions will be marked with a ★

If I missed any, please let me know.

ACT 1

0/23 transcribed.

The End of the Beginning Shadows of Ancient Arlathan In Entropy’s Grasp Shadows Crossing The Singing Blade The Enemy of My Enemy Into the Crossroads Sea of Blood Winding Ways The Smuggled Relic Case Friends in Hidden Places Shadows of Minrathous In Peace, Vigilance A Warden’s Best Friend On Deadly Wings On Blighted Wings Completing The Veilguard The Dragon Slayer Where the Dead Must Go Shades of the Blight Something Wrong A Change on the Wind The Siege of Weisshaupt

ACT 2

0/17 transcribed

After The Storm Bloodbath The Cobbled Swan Case The Cauldron A Fighting Chance Fire and Ice Unwanted Guests Grim Bonds Blood of Arlathan Words of the Wolf Legacies and Legends For the Love of Treviso To Act as One When Plans Align The Shadowed Sun Isle of the Gods A Cage for Gods

ACT 3

0/4 Transcribed

The Dragon and The Dread Wolf The Last Gambit One Last Breath The Dread Wolf Rises

[literallink]

Not sure if anyone has asked already, but I would love to learn more about your SUPER BIG little linked universe warriors fanfiction. :)

HEEHOOHEEHOO OHOHOHOHO YOUVE DONE IT! YOUVE INDULGED ME! I AM ABSOLUTELY VIBRATING WITH SO MANY IDEAS MWAH I LOVE YOU I AM KISSIM YOU ON THE MOUTH!!/p

n ee ways WAHOOGA this "little" idea started around 1 month ago. Upon finding out that Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition is NOT canon BOOOOOOOO i have decided that fuck it if hyrule warriors isn't canon ANYTHING is canon. or rather, you can do anything in hyrule warriors and it would be supposedly canon in its own universe.

and that's how my most genius idea began: "Warriors is Hylia's OC Do Not Steal," the series. Wait no come baCK I SWEAR ITS GOOD-

"Warriors is Hylia's OC Do Not Steal" is a series about Warriors being absolutely ANYTHING, mostly due to Hylia's interference. It's like those "Prince Wild" or "Legend is Fable's brother" fics, except those are more noticeable trends while Warriors isn't really worked upon beyond the canon events inside his game. Aside from that really good Storyteller!Warriors fic, amazing Mailman!Warriors series and your local wingfic Warriors is pretty much a dot on the Linked Universe AUs. While yes there are LU aus including the whole chain, it's hard to find a Warriors-centric one that wasn't last year or 2020. So god bless silvercaptain they deserve this mention.

To touch more on the WHODNS series (a working title send help) ill have to explain the series within the series first. Basically, I am going to put Warriors into so many situations and some of them will end up getting me so hyperfixated that I will be forced by my own hand to make a series for it. I actually have a series inside WHODNS in the works right now called "Seventeen," I might make a masterpost about all my ideas sooner or later. You're free to ask for now though!

Seventeen is a Warriors-centric series wherein his connection with the royal family and therefore the Zeldas seem to be more intimate than one would think. And no, not THAT kind of intimate. All ships are the canonwise ones currently and never the main focus of the story.

The Zeldas play a somewhat important role in this story, considering the fact that they're actually joining the chain for their adventure. Why? Connected to the plot I can't say shit (..I need help to come up with a name for a group of Zeldas though).

Here's a sneak peek of the first work in the Seventeen series called "I Used to Kid Myself in this Dress." Yes. It's based off of the MARINA and the Diamonds song.

The portals are acting weird. And by that, they’re forcing all the Zeldas to join the chain on their quest to…no one’s really sure, actually. Every Link agrees that they’re happy to finally have their lover, friend or even sister by their side. Except Warriors.

Because his Zelda isn’t even with them at all.

Or 9 times the Zeldas had a less than pleasant interaction with our resident “ladies’ man,” and one time a Zelda actually took the time to understand him and break that stereotype

Not my favorite work of the series (I have like, 2 more), but it IS the first one. The one after this is called "Rise of a King (Fall of a Queen)," which has my favorite summary so far. Both are currently in the works! "I Used to Kid Myself in this Dress" will have 10 chapters, while "Rise of a King (Fall of a Queen)" are still undecided.

Maybe if people like the idea I'll release the summary for "Rise of a King (Fall of a Queen)."

Alright! Time to rant. Warriors' game is a GOLDMINE for multiple situations. As sad as it is that its not canon it baffles me that no one has thought of the possibilities for it in writing (I have a post for it right here! Although it's more or less just cluttered thoughts).

I hope this post sums it up! Sorry if there are instances where my words don't make sense haha, I'm just really happy that someone bothered to even like my post. My brain was just telling me to write EVERYTHING down but that would spoil the surprise. Have a great day!

[violethowler]

The Heroine’s Journey of Sora

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks writing out my thoughts on Kingdom Hearts and the way the series follows the framework of the Heroine’s Journey. Rather than a bunch of drabbles or a single long-winded post, I’ve decided to break up my explanations of the Heroine’s Journey and the way Kingdom Hearts fits into it as a series of ten essays posted weekly. I will put up a masterpost once all of them are finished, and in the meantime I will have all of them on my blog under the tag ‘Kingdom Hearts and the Heroine’s Journey.’

Due to the length of this essay, I will be putting the full thing under a cut. 

What many Kingdom Hearts fans do not realize is that while Tetsuya Nomura does sometimes make up the details as he goes when it comes to the writing of Kingdom Hearts, he does do things with a plan. 

In the KH3 Ultimania [1], he talked about how he’d had the conclusion of the Dark Seeker Saga outlined by the end of Kingdom Hearts II’s development. In an April 2012 interview [2] with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, he indicated that he’d had a general framework up to Kingdom Hearts II planned out when the original game was first announced. And in a 2004 interview after the original Chain of Memories was released on GameBoy Advance, he mentioned that he’d already come up with the “last scene” that would serve as the definitive ending of the entire series[3]. 

So while some details may be hard to predict because Nomura comes up with lore and backstory details as he goes, he does have a plan in mind where the overall story is going. And the central arc of the series is entirely predictable once you understand the framework that the story fits into. 

Since the late 1800s, scholars have been studying the common patterns that repeat in stories, legends, and myths across different cultures around the world. One of the most well known templates developed from such research is the Hero’s Journey. In his 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, literature professor Joseph Campbell published a 17 step formula of storytelling. Campbell held up this framework as the monomyth, an ultimate narrative archetype from which all other stories are derived, and in discussion of his work expressed his view of The Hero’s Journey as a universal framework that showed how people grow from youth into adulthood.

However in the 1980s, Maureen Murdock began work on her own narrative framework. Believing that Campbell’s view on the universality of the Hero’s Journey did not encompass the experiences of every identity like he claimed, Murdock developed what she called The Heroine’s Journey as a critique and response to Campbell’s monomyth. Other authors have shared their own variations of the Heroine’s Journey, but for the purposes of this analysis, I will be focusing on Murdock’s model. Hers is both the oldest one I know of, and the one that I personally have the most familiarity with. Though originally conceived as a therapy tool, the core concepts of Murdock’s template have resulted in its use in storytelling for narratives about protagonists overcoming the ingrained biases and preconceptions of society. 

Some notable examples of stories that follow the Heroine’s Journey template, albeit most with different formulas, include 

Beauty and the Beast

The Hunger Games trilogy

The Princess and the Frog

Tangled

Howl’s Moving Castle

Labyrinth 

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy*

Voltron: Legendary Defender*

*Note: Voltron: Legendary Defender and the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy are examples of 3-act narratives that followed the Heroine’s Journey framework in the first 2 acts only for behind-the-scenes conflicts to result in the formula being abandoned in the final act. 

Despite the name, it is possible in theory to have a male protagonist follow the Heroine’s Journey, much like how you can have a female protagonist in a Hero’s Journey.  While nearly every story I know that follows the Heroine’s Journey template has a female protagonist in the lead role, Kingdom Hearts is the first example that I’ve discovered of a male protagonist following this formula. Sora’s arc across the series follows Murdock’s framework so precisely that I was able to correctly predict the broad strokes of how Re:Mind would go three months before the DLC was released. 

Part I: The Beginning

While the Heroine’s Journey mimics the Hero’s Journey in its early stages, it ultimately goes in its own direction. I plan to go into further detail about the differences between the two in a later essay, but for now I will say that while Campbell’s monomyth describes physical plot points and the themes they represent, the Heroine’s Journey formula focuses on the emotional conflict of the narrative and the psychological development of its main characters. The pattern of the Hero’s Journey is fluid and doesn’t have a fixed central theme, while the core element of the Heroine’s Journey is a protagonist coming of age in a society that consciously or not regards them as lesser because they do not fit in with the expectations of the dominant social group. 

I know that some people who decide to read further will be put off by the fact that the names and descriptions of the Heroine’s Journey feature gendered language and focus on discussions of masculinity and femininity, so allow me to explain. The reason for this is that in a Heroine’s Journey, the protagonist is attempting to conform to a set of traits that the audience’s culture values. In pursuing this external validation, the main character has to suppress a vital part of who they are, cutting themselves off from achieving their full potential. The traits they are suppressing are the ones which are often regarded as feminine, while the ones they are trying to conform to are typically associated with masculinity. We see this pattern frequently in movies where the female lead tries to succeed in a male-dominated career field, only to feel lonely and unfulfilled when she finally gets what she wants because she sacrificed the parts of herself that made her who she is along the way. 

Now that I’ve given you a relatively brief summary of the Heroine’s Journey, I can get down to business and walk people through the steps to this template and how it fits with the story of Kingdom Hearts. Note that this is only a basic rundown of the steps of the Heroine’s Journey and how it relates to these games, and I will be posting additional essays shortly which go into greater detail on the themes, character archetypes, and other different layers of the framework that are present in the series. 

Murdock’s version of the Heroine’s Journey begins with the “Separation from the Feminine”. This is the stage where, as mentioned, the protagonist suppresses a core part of themselves in pursuit of external validation. It often takes the form of the protagonist sacrificing their emotional strengths and focuses exclusively on proving themselves in the physical sphere. Sora has demonstrated again and again that his greatest strength is his empathy and his willingness to make connections with others. It makes him a strong unifying force because of how well it complements the people around him. But because this isn’t something tangible in the same way that physical strength is, he doesn’t see the value of it, believing that without the strength of his friends he’s nothing. 

From the way the other kids on Destiny Islands talk about their competitions, Sora’s focus is on trying to prove that he’s just as strong and capable as Riku is. But he’s so focused on proving himself in physical challenges that he doesn’t notice the signs of Riku’s jealousy that lead his friend into the arms of Maleficent. And we see through Anti Form and Rage Form that Sora is still repressing his own negative emotions in Kingdom Hearts III. His narrow focus on external skills has cut him off from achieving the full potential of his internal ones. 

When Sora awakens in Traverse Town after the destruction of Destiny Islands, we come to the second stage of the Heroine’s Journey, “Identification with the Masculine and Gathering of Allies”. This is where the main character chooses to align with the traits and roles that the dominant social group sees as desirable in order to achieve their goal, and where they acquire the allies who will help them in their quest. With the adults around him focusing on his ability to destroy the Heartless, Sora latches onto the Chosen One status that implicitly comes with having a Keyblade. His interactions with Phil and his disappointment with the status of Junior Hero in subsequent games paint Sora as being focused on heroism in the sense of overcoming obstacles with force. Even Donald and Goofy, in the beginning, are focused on Sora’s value as a Keyblade Wielder in terms of how their fight against the Heartless can lead them to King Mickey’s location.

By setting off with Donald, and Goofy, Sora embarks on the “Road of Trials” stage of the Heroine’s Journey. This is one of the few points of similarity between the Heroine’s Journey and the Hero’s, corresponding to Campbell’s “Tests, Allies, and Enemies” stage. This is where the main character faces the initial obstacles and challenges of their quest. In the first few Kingdom Hearts games we have Sora face off against Maleficent, Ansem, and the Organization, before reuniting with Riku and Kairi in The World That Never Was. The final stages of Kingdom Hearts II correspond to the “Finding the Boon of Success” stage of both the Hero and Heroine’s Journeys. 

Part II: Interlude

In a Hero’s Journey, the Boon of Success is the end of the story. They slay the dragon, save the princess, and go home to live happily ever after. I suspect this is one reason why a lot of gamers in the KH fanbase tend to think of Kingdom Hearts 2 as the best game of the series - because in their minds Sora’s quest had been completed now that he had found Riku and Kairi like he set out to do in the first game. His journey, as far as they were concerned, was done. 

(This may also have an affect on how some fans reacted to Kingdom Hearts III, expecting it to be a grand epic finale that wrapped everything up with a bow and left a completely blank slate for the future of the series)

But in a Heroine’s Journey, the Boon of Success is not the end of the main character’s story. They have achieved their external goal, but they have not addressed their internal motivations for seeking that goal in the first place. And as their story continues, they find themselves facing challenges that their attitude thus far has failed to prepare them for. Finding The Boon of Success typically occurs early during the second act of the story. Usually it is achieved in the second half of Act II, but can sometimes happen as early as the end of the first act. For Sora, this was of course finding Riku and Kairi so that they could all go home to the Destiny Islands together.

But because the protagonist of a Heroine’s Journey has not addressed the underlying insecurities which set them on their current path, they “Awaken to Feelings of Spiritual Aridity”. 

They begin to learn that the conflict they find themselves involved in is not as clear cut as they previously believed, and the challenges that come with this new knowledge are ones that their current way of doing things has failed to prepare them for. They may have found their boon of success, but things quickly begin to go wrong until they are ultimately forced to sacrifice their reward. 

The first game already showed through Riku and Mickey that Sora was not the only person able to wield a Keyblade, but because of his heroic deeds the story still framed him as the Keyblade Master and treated him as having a more significant role to play in important events than anyone else. It’s only after he hears from Mickey of the Keyblade Wielders who came before him that it begins to sink in for him that being a Keyblade Master is not a special Chosen One status. He thinks that because of all that he’s accomplished, he doesn’t need the recognition that comes with the official title, and because of that he’s careless and almost gets himself Norted at the end of DDD. 

His failure in the exam is a blow to his self confidence and shows that despite what he had said at the start of the test, deep down he really does want that kind of external validation. His insecurities and doubts continue to eat at him over the course of KH3, culminating in his breakdown at the Keyblade Graveyard. Outside of battle, we see him bottle up his doubts and other negative emotions because his friends (Except for Riku. More on him later) brush his concerns and problems aside. It is very much like Joy from Inside Out doing everything to keep Rylee happy and refusing to let Sadness take the controls. 

When their current way of doing things ultimately costs them their boon, the protagonist tries to go back to the way things used to be. To return to a simpler time and avoid the pain of the present. When literally going back to where their journey began isn’t possible, a Heroine’s Journey story will use this stage symbolically. The main character will cling to a person, object, or relationship that they associate with a simpler time. But as comfortable as the sense of familiarity they get from that is, it ultimately cannot truly address their inner pain in the long run.

This is reflected in the Re:Mind DLC, where Sora goes back in time in order to find the pieces of Kairi’s heart and bring her back. One of Kairi’s most consistent character traits is her fear of change and desire for things to remain the way they were. 

At the end of the DLC, Sora compares his connection with Kairi to the bond between Ventus and Chirithy, a friendship explicitly strained by distance, time, and Ven’s amnesia. In an interview at E3 2018 [4], Nomura commented about Kingdom Hearts III tying into a theme of childhood friendships changing as one gets older, a plotline that Merlin calls attention to after Sora’s visit to the 100 Acre Wood. And in a 2006 book titled Character’s Report Vol. 1, Nomura specifically calls attention to Kairi’s anxiety about growing apart from Sora and Riku as they get older. [5] All of these details combined frame Sora’s quest to save Kairi as an attempt to symbolically recover the innocence he lost when he began his journey.

But while he is able to find a way to renew his connection to Kairi, it can never be the same as it was before, and attempting to go back to how things used to be is ultimately doomed to failure. By the time he brings her to The Final World at the end of Re:Mind, Sora has realized that he and Kairi cannot stay on the same plan of existence anymore as a consequence of his actions. So he takes her on a tour of the worlds to re-establish their connection before fading away at the end of KH3. Thus, we come to the final act of the Kingdom Hearts narrative. 

Part III: The Future Story 

It is at this point that the protagonist of a Heroine’s Journey begins the “Initiation and Descent to the Goddess” stage. Having failed to achieve meaningful success through their old way of doing things, they must look inward and examine the cause of their insecurities and accept that in order to move forward they need to heal themselves. In this step, the main character travels to either a dream world or a physical location that is closed off and forbidden to them, like the West Wing of Beast’s Castle in Beauty and the Beast. In Jungian psychology, this metaphorical dark cave represents the main character’s subconscious, and entering it triggers a dark night of the soul for our protagonist as they are forced to confront the parts of themselves they’ve been keeping locked away.

While Sora knows in his head that darkness is not inherently bad, he continues to rely entirely exclusively on light, on his connections to others, and has not properly accepted it in his heart. In order to truly finish his coming of age narrative, Sora must learn to balance his inner light and darkness the same way that Riku has. And to do that, he needs to look inside himself and figure out why he feels so badly that he needs his connections to others in order to be strong. And in order to achieve that level of understanding of himself, he needs to understand his Animus. 

Derived from the psychological theories of Carl Jung, the Animus in a Heroine’s Journey is an external representation of the protagonist’s masculine-coded traits in physical form. While not every Heroine’s Journey features an Animus, many of the stories I’ve seen that follow the formula do. Usually the Animus appears in the form of a deuteragonist who often functions as the protagonist’s Shadow, an archetypal character that embodies the aspects of the main character’s personality that due to their immaturity they either aren’t aware or don’t want to acknowledge that they have. 

In order to complete their character arc, the protagonist must symbolically integrate with their Shadow by learning to embrace the parts of their psyche that the Shadow represents. In many stories the protagonist has more than one Shadow figure, all of whom challenge the protagonist by forcing them to become faster or smarter to stay one step ahead, giving their interactions with the main character a push-and-pull dynamic as they drive the main character to grow. Shadow figures who fill the role of the Animus also challenge the protagonist to look inside themselves and examine their own emotional needs. With an Animus, the push to grow runs in both directions, with the main character motivating their Animus’ growth just as much as the other way around. 

In these types of stories, every aspect of the character is tailored to make the Animus and the protagonist fit together like Yin and Yang. In visual stories such as film, television, and video games, the Animus’ entire look is designed to complement the main character and they are framed in the narrative as the protagonist’s equal physically, intellectually, and spiritually. This serves to emphasize that despite their surface differences, much of the conflict between the protagonist and their Animus comes from the ways in which they are fundamentally similar. While their circumstances may have led them to drastically different lives, the characters are ultimately two sides of the same coin, and their character development is driven by learning to balance their contrasting traits.

And within the structure of the Kingdom Hearts series, there is only one character who fulfills all of these qualities in relation to Sora’s journey. 

The same character who Testuya Nomura said in the KH1 Ultimania was designed to balance Sora; [6]

Who series producer Shinji Hasimoto said was part of the core of the series alongside Sora [7], as has been repeatedly emphasized by the number of games where he is given a major focus and is a playable character alongside Sora. 

[Image Description: Riku walking towards a door to light in the opening of Kingdom Hearts III. End Description]

While Sora and Riku have addressed some of the latter’s behavior in the first game during their conversation on the dark beach at the end of Kingdom Hearts II, they have yet to truly dig deep into why Riku felt the way he did in the first game. Riku has not told Sora about how he felt like he was being left behind and forgotten. And since that conversation, Riku has gone to the opposite extreme, dealing with his emotional problems on his own instead of lashing out at others like he had done at the start. Likewise while Sora has accepted that darkness is not inherently evil he has yet to apply this to his own negative emotions, as seen in Kingdom Hearts III. Neither character has truly achieved an ideal balance yet, and they cannot until Sora completes his journey. 

After the protagonist returns from their spiritual journey, they experience an “Urgent Yearning to Reconnect with the Feminine.” As the main character recovers from their period of soul searching, they embrace the parts of themselves that they had neglected in their pursuit of outside approval. Their Descent allowed them to recognize their value as a person and an individual outside of their ability to fulfill the role that they were expected to fill. Following this realization, they go about “Healing the Mother/Daughter split”. Reclaiming the aspects of their personality they’ve been repressing gives the protagonist the clarity necessary to gain a different perspective on their old way of thinking. This new understanding is what will allow them to find the inner balance needed to truly complete their journey. 

The Japanese version of the “My friends are my power” mantra often repeated across the series is “Connected hearts are my power.” For Sora, who has long relied on his connections to others as a source of strength, he should come to realize that these connections go both ways: that his friends draw strength from him just as much as he draws strength from them. This should help him come to accept that he is still strong and worthy all by himself. Ven’s version of the mantra from the English version of BBS summarizes it best: “My friends are my power. And I am theirs.” After he accepts this, Sora will finally be able to use the full extent of his emotional abilities.

After achieving that new perspective, the protagonist’s next step is “Healing the Wounded Masculine Within”. This is the stage of the Heroine’s Journey where the main character, having come to understand themselves, reconciles with their Animus, thereby symbolically integrating the aspects of their psyche that the Animus represents and permanently healing the rift between the two characters. This will be where Sora and Riku need to have a longer, more in-depth conversation than the one they had on the Dark Magin at the end of KH2. Where they talk about why Riku acted the way he did and finally address the underlying reason for why he was so jealous of Sora in the original game. 

The final stage of the Heroine’s Journey is the “Integration of Masculine and Feminine”. This is the point at which the main character and their Animus finally achieve a perfect balance between them. They are united both internally and externally. There are no more secrets between them, and they are now free to move forward and overcome the main antagonist together. 

Part IV: Conclusion: 

While there’s too many different possibilities to completely predict every twist and turn of the series’ lore in future games, once you understand how Kingdom Hearts fits into the framework of the Heroine’s Journey, the broad strokes of how the story will go in terms of Sora’s growth and character development are entirely predictable. When Re:Mind first released and the rest of the fandom was reacting on Twitter, I was sitting back with a smug smile on my face thinking:

[Image Description: Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi sitting aboard the Death Star II with the caption ‘Good, Good. Everything is going according to plan.’ End Description.]

While I didn’t expect the precise mechanics of how Sora went about saving Kairi, Re:Mind was exactly what I expected it to be in terms of themes and its place in the Heroine’s Journey framework, and then the Secret Episode came along to reinforce that the next game is going to be Sora’s Descent.

While there isn’t a complete guarantee that the series will continue to follow the formula, I find it extremely unlikely that it won’t. Kingdom Hearts follows the stages of this framework too precisely for me to ever believe it happened by accident. So as long as there is no corporate interference from Disney like what happened to Voltron, I’m confident that Nomura’s plan for the finale of the series will be exactly what the Heroine’s Journey predicts it should be, no matter how unexpected future additions to the lore may be.

Special thanks to @dragonofyang and the rest of Team Purple Lion for everything I know about the Heroine’s Journey. I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about analyzing the story of Kingdom Hearts if they hadn’t taught me the vocabulary to realize the kind of story that Nomura has been telling right under my nose for the last 18 years.

Sources:

[1] “Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania interview with Tetsuya Nomura”; March 12, 2019

https://www.khinsider.com/news/Kingdom-Hearts-3-Ultimania-Main-Nomura-Interview-Translated-14763

[2] “Iwata Asks: Nintendo 3DS: Third Party Game Developers, Volume 12: Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], Part 3: Square’s Intentions”; April 2012.

https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/creators/11/2

[3] “2004 GMR Nomura Interview 2004!”; Translation by Kingdom Hearts Insider posted May 5, 2012. 

https://www.khinsider.com/news/GMR-Nomura-Interview-2004-2563

[4] “E3 2018: Tetsuya Nomura on If Kingdom Hearts 3 Is the End of Sora's Story”; June 14, 2018.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/06/14/e3-2018-tetsuya-nomura-on-if-kingdom-hearts-3-is-the-end-of-soras-story

[5] “Character’s Report Vol. 1 Translations”; Jul 16, 2014

https://www.khinsider.com/forums/index.php?threads/characters-report-vol-1-translations.195560/\

[6] “A Look Back: Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Gallery Comments Part 1″; August 30, 2019;

https://www.khinsider.com/news/A-Look-Back-KINGDOM-HEARTS-Ultimania-Gallery-Comments-Part-1-15519

[7] “How Kingdom Hearts III Will Grow Up With Its Players.” September 24, 2013

https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/how-kingdom-hearts-iii-will-grow-up-with-its-players

[X] “The Heroine with a Thousand Faces”; June 13, 2019;

https://www.teampurplelion.com/heroine-with-a-thousand-faces/

[X] Murdock, Maureen. The Heroine’s Journey. 1990.

[X] “Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey Arc”. The Heroine Journeys Project. https://heroinejourneys.com/heroines-journey/

[kirkwallgremlin]

30 Day Warden Challenge

I found this 30 day challenge while looking for something else and I've decided to do it for one of my wardens, Frankie! I found the questions here, although that doesn't seem to be the original source 😊

I’m going to try and do one every day (let’s see how far I get lmao) with the intention of this one being the masterpost <3. 

1: Basics. 

2. Appearance. Write a detailed description of your Warden’s appearance.

3. Personality. Write a detailed description on your Warden’s personality.

4. Companions. Describe your Wardens relationship with each member of their party.

5. Romance. Who is your Warden’s romantic interest and why are they attracted to them? Describe their relationship. If your Warden has no romantic interest explain why.

6. Sexuality. What is your Warden’s sexual orientation? Describe your Wardens past sexual experiences [if any].

7. Choices [Part One]. Describe your Wardens choices in the five main quests: Arl of Redcliffe, Urn of Sacred Ashes, Broken Circle, A Paragon of Her Kind & Nature of the Beast.

8. Choices [Part Two]. Describe your Wardens choices later in the game: The Alienage, the Landsmeet and Morrigan’s ritual. Bonus Question - describe your Warden’s decisions during the DLC quests: Warden’s Keep, The Stone Prisoner andReturn to Ostagar.

9. Joining The Wardens. How did your Warden react to being recruited? Include your Wardens thoughts about Duncan and whether or not they were conscripted in your answer.

10. Motivation. Describe why your Warden made the choices they made during the Blight. Go into detail about who influenced them and how any key events from their past influenced them. 

11. Spirituality. What does your Warden believe in? Describe your Wardens Religion or their Atheism. Go into detail about how they practice their beliefs, if their beliefs cause conflict among their companions and how their beliefs guide them morally. 12. Tattoos. Does your Warden have any tattoos and if so how did they get them? If you Warden has no tattoos explain why not. Also include how your Warden views tattoos - Include their reaction to the Dwarven Casteless brands and the Dalish Blood Writing. 

13. Viewpoint [Part One - Race & Social Class]. Describe how your Warden feels about the Dwarven caste system, Human nobility and Elven alienages. Also go into detail about your own Wardens race/social class and if they are proud/ashamed of where they come from.

14. Viewpoint [Part Two - Mages Rights]. How does your character view Mages? Apostates? Blood Magic? How do they react to Morrigan’s shape shifting? How do they react to Wynne being a abomination? If they are a Mage describe their views of the Circle and if they believe they should be free or not. 

15. Leadership. What is your Warden like as a leader? How do they lead and how do they handle companions disagreeing with them?

16. Fear. During the quest Broken Circle your character is trapped in the Fade by a Sloth demon If you could personalize your Warden’s nightmare what would it be about? And why?

17. Regret. During the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest you will be introduced to the Guardian who will ask the Warden if they regret something from their past. If you could personalize the Guardian’s question what would he ask? And how would your Warden answer?

18. Moral Alignment. What would your character moral alignment be and why? 

19. Fighting Style. Describe your Warden’s fighting style and how it improves during the Blight. Make sure to include what specializations they trained in and why they chose them. 

20. Weapons/Spells. Describe your Warden’s favourite weapon/spellsand describe what their favourite weapons/spells say about their personality.

21. Meeting Your Warden. Your Warden has been transported into your bedroom through a magical portal. How do they react to meeting you? Do you get along? What is their opinion of your bedroom? Explain the meeting and go into as much detail as possible.

22. Favourites. Make a list of your Warden’s favourite things [Colour, Food, Music, Animals, etc]. Explain why they are their favourite. 

23. Talents & Hobbies. What did your Warden like to do before they were recruited and what do they like to do now when they’re not battling Darkspawn? Also include any talents they may have.

24. Going Out For A Drink. The DA:O writers were asked in a interview how each companion would act if they went out for a drink [To see responses go onto the Dragon Age Wiki – Character’s Page – Trivia].How would you character react if they went out drinking with their companions and why? What drink would they order?

25. Food Comparison. The DA:O writers were asked in a interview to compare each companion to a type of food based on their personalities. [To see responses go onto the Dragon Age Wiki – Character’s Page – Trivia]. What food would your character be and why?

26. NPCs. Choose four random NPCs in the game – they can be anyone you want – and describe what your warden thinks of them and their relationship.

27. Family. Describe the members in your Warden’s family and what your Warden’s relationship with them is like. Note: Family doesn’t just have to who you’re related to. If you Warden doesn’t know their family describe their parental figures and who they were close to growing up. 

28. Playlist. Write out a list of songs that describe you Warden and their journey to defeat the Blight. You can include songs you think describe your Warden’s relationship with specific companions if you want to. Make sure you explain why you have chosen each song.  

29. Backpack. Name 5 items in your Warden’s backpack and explain their significance to your Warden.

30. Happily Ever After…Or Not. How does the Blight end for your Warden? Describe who killed the Archdemon, How they reacted to Morrigan’s offer, If they lived or died and what boon they asked for if they did live.

[cloverwriteswords]

WIP Introduction: All of Them

I’ll eventually make proper intro posts for all of my wips, but until then I want to have something people can refer to when I talk about my projects, so here it is, my wip masterpost! A.K.A angsty fantasy found family trope: the series. I guess I have very specific desires when it comes to fiction lmao. Please please please ask me about my babies! Apologies for the big block of text, I can’t for the life of me get the readmore to work.

Curses, Cats, and a Coffee to Go:

A very recent idea, and what was supposed to be my camp nano July project, until I spent the first half of July on holiday in California and the second half in Israel visiting family. Zuri Zahav gets turned into a cat, meets Ashoka, a tiger from an alternate dimension, and Mrrthra, a totally normal cat, who agree to help her break the curse. Mallory Fords, Zuri’s partner at work and best friend, seriously regrets taking a sick day. Fantasy, everyday magic, carnival music, impending sense of doom. Angsty fantasy found family rating: 6/10 suprisingly little angst

Mirrored:

The Champion fulfilled the prophecy and destroyed the demons, and the Monster seeks revenge. Two magical kingdoms, respectively inhabited by what are known as angels and demons but bare little resemblance to either, have been at war for eons, and the Champion, an angel, has finally succeeded in wiping out the demonic threat. All but one of them, that is. The Monster is, needless to say, pissed. Colour symbolism, heroes and monsters, justice and revenge. Angsty fantasy found family rating: 8/10 like no found family

The Princess and the Dragon:

Also two rival kingdoms, this time east versus west instead of north versus south, where Tairya is the Princess of the “more advanced, better” eastern kingdom, and Briar is the daughter of a powerful clan leader in the west. Also Briar has a dragon. The west is very nature and wilderness magic, the east enchantments and spells and rituals. A cult attacks Tairya’s family and a guard smuggles her to safety, and also accidentally into the west. Briar and Slatewing- the dragon- are off on a magical quest, and guess who they stumble across. Cultural barriers, nature, free will, pressure and expectations, unlearning lies, sapphic love saving the day. Angsty fantasy found family rating: 7/10 could be more angst, bonus! Dragon count: 1

Love and War:

Temporary title, but close to my heart. Derrin is the nephew of the king and suddenly finds himself in an arranged marriage. Except he’s gay. Oops. Derrin and his best friend/crush Arian go to his betrothed’s kingdom, where, wait for it, there are dragons, but like, little ones, and oh it turns out his betrothed, Princess Ariza, is gay too. Her gf is Danneal, the spymaster’s daughter, and she accidentally discovers a plot that threatens not just the four main characters but the entire kingdom. Young love, arranged marriages, politics, magic, different kinds of courage, did I mention Ariza’s pet dragon? Angsty fantasy found family rating: 10/10 it’s got it all, dragon count: 2

The Unlikelies Trilogy:

Caroline Michaels is the Chosen One, but she’s 11 and thinks this entire thing is bs, thank you very much. Niere and Dea are mages from the House of Talons, except Niere totally flunks their initiation ceremony and runs away. What a coincidence, that is, because Caroline ran away, too! She’s being chased by Prophets desperate to control her and fulfill the Prophecy of the Sun Hero, and Niere’s being chased by half the dark belly of the magical world. Also features Baltos, mage from the House of Dreams, who is very much Not Okay, Mitiel Light-Handed, Prophet with Doubts tm (not that anyone can know), and XNBE, a robot on board an alien spaceship heading straight for earth! Fun times abound. Space, glowing motel signs, looking over your shoulder, quests, sacrifice, fate and free will. Angsty fantasy found family rating: 8/10 could make it angstier but I’m already killing off half the cast whoops

The Chains That Free Us:

Historical steampunk fantasy extravaganza! In fantasy!Philadelphia, 1741, Comfort Whitelock is the sole provider for three younger brothers (Samuel, Cyrus, Asahel) and a girl (Frances Fields) they took in, so he uhhh tries to rob a really rich dude and it backfires. Rich dude is Enoch Buckston’s father, Enoch catches him in the act, and Enoch’s repressed gay self convinces his father the best way to fix everything is to make Comfort work in their, wait for it, dragon stables. Bonding ensues, as does family drama! Also it’s steampunk so Samuel has an apprenticeship at a factory making steampunk dragons, which are different from the actual dragons Comfort works with. Yeah. Also Buckston Sr. is a homophobic **** and that goes about as well as you’d expect. Also there might be pirates. This one’s a series but it doesn’t have a name yet. Class differences, freedom, escapism, dragons!!, loyalty, tender hearts broken and healed. Angsty fantasy found family rating: 9/10 not enough found family for the perfect score, dragon count: 3

Unnamed immortals WIP:

Percy’s been around for so many centuries he’s bored. Ainsley’s a vampire, Willow’s a dryad, and Viktor’s in Uzbekistan. With the gang all split up and doing their own things, Percy takes an interest in Matthew, a human who just applied for a job working in Percy’s bookshop. Except Matthew doesn’t know Percy’s an immortal and starts to fall for him, and that does not go well. Hard choices, regrets a thousand centuries old, ot3/ot4, doing the right thing even when it hurts, the deep aching sadness of living forever. Angsty fantasy found family rating: 9/10 somehow this is just short of the full fantasy score, dragon count: 4 (but shhh it’s a secret)

There’s technically a handful of others (cough Outsiders cough Not Gay as in Happy cough cough) but this is already very long. Feel free to hit up my askbox and talk about my babes with me! Half of them have dragons, what’s not to love?

[moss-quest]

A funny webcomic I'm working on.

It is a "parody" being made in response to @mossimacaron's webcomic, Magebound @mageboundywoundy . But think of it as less of a companion piece to her comic and more of a complete fucking 180 in the direction she's going in. Also, yes you can make Homestuck comparisons.

Besides that, if you misgender the characters I will most likely block you.

By the way, the information below here is outdated, as now the comic is hosted on mspfa instead of Tumblr.

You can find Moss Quest here now:

Anyways the usual masterpost stuff:

Chapter List (Index):

Prologue

Act 1

Characters (so far!):

Chole: They/Them - Non-binary || Hero of MIND || [???]

Shara: He/She - Bigender || Hero of BLOOD || [PPG] poppygun

Luinor: He/Him - Demiboy || ?????? || [RUI] draconae

"Pearly": ?????? || ?????? || [???]

Armless Wizard: He/Him - Male || Chole's Guide || AW

"Empress YN": ?????? || ?????? || [???]

Extras:

Devlogs

Credits:

@spikira Main Writer, Main Artist, and Composer

@yukliyo Composer

@mossimacaron For showing us her unfinished webcomic, which we then proceeded to parody despite it not even being out yet

[calligraphist-artemisia]

I’ll Take Her Place (Chapter 14)

Summary:  AU. When Allura breaks the news that she is to wed Prince Lotor in order to continue the peaceful relationship between Altea and Daibazaal, Pidge knows that she has to do something to change that. And so, with a little help, she comes up with a new plan. A better plan

Pairings: Keith/Pidge (main) ; Shiro/Allura (minor), Hunk/Lance (minor) ; Lotor/Allura (one-sided)

Chapter 1 - Previous - Masterpost

Also on AO3 and fanfiction.net

Chapter 14

There were alarms blaring in the castle.

Keithir rolled out of bed and onto his feet, sliding his dagger out from beneath his pillow in the process. He strode forward, nearly smacking into his bedroom door before it had the chance to open. “Thace!” he shouted into the next room.

“It's the castle's alarm system. Something has happened,” Thace said tersely. He stood across from Keithir near the bedroom he shared with Ulaz, staring down at a tablet in his hands. “Kolivan's orders are to dress and meet him on the bridge.”

Keithir gave one short nod, turning back to change into his uniform. The alarm quieted after a few minutes, lowering in volume before shutting off completely as Keithir joined Thace and Ulaz and they set off for the rendezvous point.

Thace led the way to the tallest point of the castle, keeping to one side as the castle staff frantically walked the halls, some with a sense of purpose and others bustling about their small children, reminding them to keep their voices down as some of them wailed about leaving behind a favorite toy. Keithir personally witnessed one father scoop up his daughter in his arms, press a kiss to his wife's cheek, and then race off down the hall with his giggling child to retrieve the toy in question. The wife tutted with a fond smile and took their son by the hand, reminding him they'd meet up outside before they hurried on their way.

Keithir quickened his pace to walk alongside Thace. “What's going on? Why is everyone leaving?”

“Standard evacuation for a ship of this nature, I imagine.” The response came not from Thace, but from Ulaz, who watched the proceedings with interest. “Whatever has happened, it's enough to warren take-off from the Castle of Lions. Only those with the proper clearance will stay on board.”

Keithir gaped at him for a moment. “The castle is a ship?!”

“Compose yourself, my prince,” Thace calmly reminded him.

Keithir slowed up and went silent, his ears flicking back in discomfit.

“It was constructed six-hundred years ago when the Black Lion was rediscovered by a team of Altean alchemists,” Ulaz explained. “They knew its paladin would one day need a base capable of traveling long-distance and wanted a safe place to keep the Lion until they could be found. Four other hangars were built in the hope they would one day house the other Lions.”

“That's a lot of hope put into finding one Lion.”

“That hope is the reason the paladins are so well respected. The Lions would not pick a pilot they found unworthy of carrying such a burden,” Ulaz said.

Keithir thought of Shiro, who reached out to him and welcomes him warmly. Of Hunk, who seemed wary of him but happy to lend a hand when it was needed. Of Lance, who could be a little abrasive with his cockiness, but was also willing to put aside his pride when he needed to. Of Katie, with her quick wit and determination to do the right thing. The way her eyes lit up when it came to technology. That little quirk to her lips when he said something she found humorous.

Wait, that wasn't...

He frowned, dropping his gaze to the floor.

“We are here,” Thace announced.

The door slid open before them. Kolivan was already there, looking more serious than Keithir had ever seen him. He was quietly speaking with Shiro and Princess Allura at the front. The rest of the paladins were there as well, seated at their stations in full armor, trying to keep busy as they waited for instructions.

Katie looked back when the door opened, giving him a tiny smile before getting back to her work.

“There has been an attack,” Kolivan informed them as they approached.

Allura's hand trembled as she pulled up a video feed of an Altean communication satellite under clear duress. A weak particle barrier surrounded it in an attempt to keep it from further harm, but as they watched it was very clear from the debris floating around it that the power wouldn't hold for long.

“We received the call half a varga ago. All power has been diverted to sustain the particle barrier, including... including life support. There are no survivors and currently no clues as to who the assailants are.” Allura paused to take a breath. “We will be launching the moment the civilians are clear of the Castle of Lions. If you wish to leave with them, Prince Keithir, you are welcome to stay with mother and father at the main castle.”

“I may be a prince, but I'm also a member of the Blade of Marmora. I'm going with you,” Keithir said, not waiting for Kolivan's approval.

Thace rested a hand on Keithir's shoulder, offering his silent support. “What is our heading, Princess?”

“The Napamku Quadrant, near Nyrydya,” Allura responded. “They are one of the few people in the area who will welcome both the Galra and Alteans. We've already sent a request to Queen Toryné asking for permission to land on her planet and she has been kind enough to grant it.”

“The attack on the satellite has them just as worried as we are. If it goes down, that's an entire sector without the ability to communicate beyond their own planets. It's imperative that we find out who did this and stop them from causing any more harm,” Shiro said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Pidge, any luck accessing that security feed?”

She shook her head, her fingers flying over the holographic keyboard. “Nothing from here so far. It would be a lot easier if I was actually there and not trying to transfer data from so far. We're either really lucky the transmission reached us with the station so damaged, or someone wanted us to get it.”

Keithir guessed that “someone” wasn't someone actually meant to be on the satellite, but whoever orchestrated the attack.

“But why would they want us to find out?” Lance asked.

“It could be a trap,” Ulaz suggested.

Allura frowned as she turned away from them. “We will proceed with caution. Trap or not, this is not something we can ignore.”

“Then we leave on your command, Princess Allura,” Kolivan said.

It was an event they had trained for, but that didn't stop Shiro from worrying as they set down on Nyrydya and prepared to disembark. He, Allura, and Kolivan would be meeting with the Nyrydyan queen to thank her for her hospitality. Meanwhile, the rest of the Blade of Mamora, along with Pidge, Hunk, and Lance, were to take a shuttle up to the satellite and begin assessing the damage.

Until that day, all they'd ever been called upon for was to assist with a planetary evacuation due to the natural shedding of the outer crust of the planet or lengthy escort missions through dangerous parts of space or that one time Coran set up what they thought was just a standard training exercise but turned into some crazy quest that ended with them fighting a world-destroying beast.

Shiro didn't doubt they were capable of handling whatever was happening in Napamku, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the attack than what they thought. Something about the situation just felt... wrong. There was every chance that Ulaz was right and they were walking right into a trap, but whose trap was it?

Queen Toryné seemed an unlikely culprit, given Nyrydya's peaceful history with Altea and Daibazaal. They were a race who deeply appreciated peace and tranquility and to even consider that they would attack without provocation was a grave insult to them.

There were other nearby planets and moons to consider. Netka, a planet of vast stretches of desert which was only broken by deep gorges and jutting mountains, whose people had not taken kindly to Daibazaal's attempts to create a settlement there. The Rujanvymir's were quite outspoken about any foreign satellites in the area. And then there was Taabaher, which was home to a people who prided themselves as great warriors, but they had formed a tenative peace with Daibazaal and flat-out ignored the Alteans as long as they stayed away.

Shiro couldn't help but consider a more recent problem. One which was steadily growing to become the source of all his frustration.

Lotor.

He didn't want to believe that the Galra prince would outright attack an Altean communication satellite. To do so would be akin to declaring war! And surely that wouldn't fit in with the prince's desire to win Allura's heart.

Shiro scowled. He would never let that happen.

A feather-light touch settled on his hand, barely registering through his gloves. He looked to Allura, who kept her gaze straight ahead and acted as though she was doing nothing out of the ordinary.

The reminder of her presence next to him was enough to calm him and help him focus on the task at hand. First, he had to thank Queen Toryné for her hospitality. Then he would worry about all of the different possibilities surrounding the attack.

Pidge frowned as she played the footage again and again, viewing it from as many angles as she could. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something wasn't adding up. If only she still had Hunk with her, but she'd shooed her friends off ages ago so she could try and make some repairs without him hovering over her and making concerned sounds whenever she touched something. He'd taken Lance with them, leaving her utterly alone.

Pidge sighed, slumping back and shutting her eyes, already feeling the exhaustion settling in.

“Taking a break already?”

Pidge shrieked in surprise, clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. She spun her chair around to face the one who interrupted her, ready to tell them off for sneaking up on her, but all of her fight died when she found Keith standing there.

She cocked her head in curiosity. “Shouldn't you be with Keithir?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, no. No, he's fine,” Keith said as he walked into the room. “Should you really be alone here?”

Pidge hummed noncommittally as she turned back to the security feeds. “Well, I'm not alone anymore. Come help me with this.”

“How many times have you watched these?” Keith asked.

“Apparently not enough,” Pidge muttered. “I've tried everything I can think of, but this is all I could salvage. Just these few minutes of video. It's like... it's like someone deliberately went through and wiped it all clean, but left this behind, which makes no sense. Why leave anything? Why take that risk?”

Keith frowned as he focused on the screens in front of them. “Maybe they were going to do more, but ran out of time?”

“Time...” Pidge narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, rapidly flipping through the cameras in search of something.

Keith watched her with a growing sense of confusion. “Uh, Katie?”

“There's no time.”

The cryptic statements were not helping. Keith had no idea what she was trying to accomplish or how he was supposed to help her. What exactly did she mean “there's no time”? They had plenty of time. Days of it, as long as they made progress.

“Maybe it's time for you to take a break. Rest your eyes? Drink some water?” Keith wondered what it would take to get her to at least blink.

Pidge finally tore her gaze away. “Keith, there's no time. On the feeds. They're supposed to keep a record of the date and time, but there's nothing! Look at the bottom of the screen! Doesn't it look like it got cut off?”

“Oh,” Keith breathed, his eyes widening as he took a second look. “I think you're right. But how did they get on board and do all of this before we arrived?”

Pidge's expression was grim. “I think... and this is just a hypothetical situation, but what if someone got on board and delayed the alarm from being triggered and edited the security feeds while they were here? That would have given them enough time to do all of this and get away without us seeing them.” She banged her fists on the desk in frustration. “I thought I could find something here, but if they really wiped the memory...”

“Maybe we can't find out what we need here, but I know something else we could try,” Keith said, already forming a plan. It could be dangerous an there was no way Kolivan would ever approve of what he was about to suggest. Even Thace wouldn't be able to get him out of trouble if they got caught, but it was a risk worth taking, in his opinion.

He held out a hand to help her up, thoroughly ignoring the way his heart fluttered when she took it.

“Why do I get the feeling that Shiro's going to be really disappointed in us after this?” Pidge asked with a teasing smile. “What's the plan?”

“There's a Galra fueling station in orbit around one of Taabaher's furthest moons. We're going to sneak on board and see if they've picked up on any strange activity in the area,” Keith told her. “But first, you'll need a change of clothes.”

Hunk wiped the sweat from his brow as he carefully closed the hatch and stood up. “That should hold until the actual repair crew can get here.”

Lance eagerly dropped out of his yoga pose. “Does that mean you're done? Can we go get Pidge and get out of this creepy place?”

“Yeah, just let me...” Hunk hit a few keys on a nearby console to get it to reboot. He grinned when the panels lit up with a familiar blue light, letting him know that the satellite itself was back up and running smoothly, letting communications resume. “Alright, now we can go get Pidge.”

“Finally! This place gives me the heebie jeebies. Like, I get that it's import for us to come up here and look into it, but I'll be happy if I never have to come back,” Lance said, leading the way out the door.

Hunk followed him with an amused expression.

They back-tracked their way through the halls, passing by only one member of the Blade along the way. It didn't take them long to reach the security room where they had left Pidge to work her magic, but instead of seeing their small friend there, they found Shiro, Allura, and Kolivan.

“Uh, where's Pidge? Did she head back to the Castle without us?” Lance asked.

“We thought she was with you!” Allura said, turning to Shiro in alarm. “Where could they have gone?”

“They?” Hunk asked, an uneasy feeling curdling in his stomach.

Kolivan crossed his arms over his chest. “Prince Keithir is missing as well.”

Dread settled in Lance's chest. His mind raced with the implications of what that might mean, ranging from the lewd (his usual go-to) to something more serious. Like a kidnapping. Though on second thought the lack of obvious struggle made that theory unlikely. Pidge would absolutely leave some kind of clue behind and Keithir was skilled enough that he wouldn't have gone down without a fight.

“Maybe she found something and they both went back to the Castle?” Hunk asked hopefully.

“Except we just came from the Castle and we didn't see either of them or the shuttle they were using,” Allura said.

“Don't those shuttles have tracking? Can't we, I dunno, use that to find out where they're at?” Lance asked.

Shiro shook his head. “We thought of that, but one of them must have disabled it. At the moment, we have no way of knowing where they are and Pidge isn't responding to my attempts to contact her.”

“Then they've gone dark,” Kolivan said, sounding calm despite the situation. “We have no choice but to wait until their return.”

NEXT

[just-dread-wolfing]

Writing Months Masterpost

Because I’m crazy and don’t know how to deal with myself apparently.  I’m going to be taking on the challenge of writing a little bit every day according to the prompts listed below.  During October, I’ll be writing the prompts for DA:O, November DA2 and December DA:I.  They won’t be full stories, but rather just whatever I’m able to barf up that day.  They also won’t be in any real particular order.  So just keep that in mind.

I’ll probably die.

If you want to get notifications, I’ll be posting them on AO3 here!

October - Dragon Age Origins

Day 1: Hero of Ferelden

Day 2: Awakening Warden

Day 3: Favorite origins

Day 4: Humans

Day 5: Elves

Day 6: Dwarves

Day 7: Qunari

Day 8: Warrior

Day 9: Rogue

Day 10: Mage

Day 11: Templars

Day 12: Circle of Magi

Day 13: Ostagar

Day 14: Dalish

Day 15: Orzammar

Day 16: Alienage

Day 17: Fav DA:O companion

Day 18: Fav DA:A companion

Day 19: Favorite romance

Day 20: Fave Side Character

Day 21: Found Family

Day 22: Royalty

Day 23: Main DA:O party

Day 24: Main DA:A party

Day 25: Favorite DLC

Day 26: Betrayal

Day 27: Redcliffe

Day 28: The Joining

Day 29: Spirits

Day 30: Final assault

Day 31: Fate of the Warden

November - Dragon Age 2

Day 1: Hawke

Day 2: Twins

Day 3: Fate of Bethany

Day 4: Fate of Carver

Day 5: Humans

Day 6: Elves

Day 7: Dwarves

Day 8: Qunari

Day 9: Warriors

Day 10: Rogues

Day 11: Mages

Day 12: Act 1 Hawke

Day 13: Act 2 Hawke

Day 14: Act 3 Hawke

Day 15: Mages vs Templars

Day 16: Legacy

Day 17: Hawke family

Day 18: Family memories

Day 19: Favorite DLC

Day 20: Favorite romance

Day 21: Favorite companion

Day 22: Favorite quest

Day 23: Main Party

Day 24: Fate of Isabela

Day 25: Fate of Anders

Day 26: Fate of Fenris

Day 27: Blood magic

Day 28: Betrayal

Day 29: Victory

Day 30: Loss

December - Dragon Age Inquisition

Day 1: The Inquisitor

Day 2: Humans

Day 3: Elves

Day 4: Dwarves

Day 5: Qunari

Day 6: Spirits

Day 7: Warriors

Day 8: Rogues

Day 9: Mages

Day 10: Red Templars

Day 11: The Advisors

Day 12: The Wardens

Day 13: Haven

Day 14: Skyhold

Day 15: Halamshiral

Day 16: Here Lies The Abyss

Day 17: Inner Circle

Day 18: Fave romance

Day 19: Fave companion

Day 20: Ferelden

Day 21: Orlais

Day 22: Tevinter

Day 23: Favorite DLC

Day 24: Well of Sorrows

Day 25: Hope

Day 26: Betrayal

Day 27: Main party

Day 28: Rest

Day 29: Camp

Day 30: Final assault

Day 31: Post-Trespasser

[dirtycreekwater]

Masterpost for The War is On

hey @gloomy-goober hope you don’t mind but i figured id make a masterpost of all the parts of the story we wrote together so it’d be easier to read ! (also do you like the title? i can change it if you want it to be called something else!)

~

Part 1 by: A (gloomy-goober)

I Didn’t Do Anything

-

Virgil wasn’t really sure why he got the urge to do it but it seemed like a good idea. Split second decisions weren’t fully his thing but the annoyance he felt after today kind of shoved worry out the window. Sometimes it could be good (?) to let out some annoyance in certain ways. Either way his projectile had hits its mark and stopped the person mid-word.

The anxious side looked around the very empty kitchen innocently right after his paper ball hit the back of Logan’s head. He could feel the man’s glare on the side of his face as he observed the ceiling. He casually, least as casually as he could, glanced back down at Logan to see the glare still there.

“What?”

Logan raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“I didn’t do anything,” Virgil’s voice was a little high from the very obvious lie he was telling but he didn’t care, “I didn’t…somebody’s throwing stuff. Probably Roman…you should be more careful.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed and the anxious trait scoffed.

Yeah, he was guilty, but did not mean he liked the teacher’s stern gaze. He slid from his seat on the counter and started towards the door. Virgil was not going to stick around for a lecture about how ‘he was the only other person in here’ or that ‘Roman would have made his presence known’.

“So you gonna get that study snack or whatever? You can’t sit around glaring at people for no reason all day that is unproductive. Than you will fall behind and everything will go to shit.”

Virgil hurried down the hall before Logan could get a say in; a feat he was very proud about.

~

Part 2 by: Oliver (it me)

Logan’s Revenge

-

“These are merely my own observations, Virgil. I’m sure you see it in a completely different point of view. We should work on changing your view on certain things. You have a tendency to be very irrational which is quite unhealthy.” Logan finished his lecture about todays issue, not knowing how much he was annoying the already annoyed trait.

The silence that followed felt a little unusual to Logan. Usually the snarky trait would reply with, well, something snarky.

“Ignoring me won’t make you feel-”

Logan was cut off as he felt something suddenly hit the back of his head. He turned to face the boy sat on the counter from his place at the table to find the culprit acting oblivious. He glared at him, and waited patiently for him to acknowledge his existence.

“What?”

Logan really wanted to say something, but instead he let his body language speak for him. He wanted to hear what excuse Virgil would come up with. So, he crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow as if to say “Care to explain why you threw something at me?”

“I didn’t do anything…”

Though it was already obvious Logan could immediately tell he was attempting to appear innocent by lying from the increased pitch of his voice.

“I didn’t….somebody’s throwing stuff. Probably Roman… You should be more careful.”

Logan narrowed his eyes at the lying trait as if to say “Really? That’s the best you can come up with?”

Virgil just scoffed, and slid off the counter.

“So, you gonna get that study snack or whatever? You can’t sit around glaring at people for no reason all day. That is unproductive. Then you will fall behind and everything will go to shit.”

Virgil left no room for an answer as he sprinted out of the kitchen, and into his room.

Logan rolled his eyes, muttered “I’ll get that insufferable little brat back at some point.” under his breath, and turned his attention back to his book.

A few days later the promise Logan swore to himself was kept as a stress ball was suddenly chucked at Virgil’s head.

“Hey!”

Logan smirked as he picked the stress ball up from the floor.

“Don’t dish out what you can’t handle, Virgil. Especially if you’re in a bad mood. Bad moods lead to destructive thinking which leads to destructive behavior. Perhaps we should have some anger management, and self control lessons.”

Virgil’s glare hardened the more the logical trait rambled. He had the urge to throw something at his stupid head again.

“Oh. Here. You’ll probably need this.”

Logan’s smirk widened as he placed the stress ball into Virgil’s hand then simply walked away.

He couldn’t help but chuckle as he heard the grumpy trait mumble indignantly, and repeatedly squeeze the stress ball.

He was proud of the way he managed to work a lesson, and some help into his payback. He had a weird way of getting revenge, but it was revenge nevertheless. It was Logan’s revenge.

~

Part 3 by: A

This Means War

-

Virgil had been having one of his more O.K. days.

Sure there had been a small spike of anxiety when Thomas almost walked across the street without looking but that had been the biggest thing. The side had not suspected anything as he entered the kitchen and started to look through the place for anything worth eating. Main option was dry pasta noodles.

He had started to reach up to grab his dinner-snack-when something soft smacked into the back of his head.

“Hey!” He was about to say more as he turned around fast to face the culprit but the words died on his tongue as he spotted a very smug Logic.

The man kept that smug look on his face as he strolled across the room and picked up what had hit the back of Virgil’s head. A dark blue stress ball.

“Don’t dish out what you can’t handle, Virgil,” Logan said cooly as he stood back up with the ball in hand. “Especially if you’re in a bad mood. Bad moods lead to destructive thinking which leads to destructive behavior. Perhaps we should have some anger management, and self control lessons.”

Virgil glared harder at the man in front of him as if that would get him to shut up. He got it. Logan did something sneaky and childish in retaliation to his childish action the other day; big woop.

Where is a spare piece of paper when he needs-

“Oh. Here. You’ll probably need this.”

All thoughts going through the side’s head stopped as soon as Logan did something he never expected.

With a smirk still on his face he placed the soft ball into Virgil’s slowly closing fist. The little ball’s foam squished under the pressure.

“You did not just-,” Virgil mumbled under his breath as the ball started to get abused.

He could not even finish the sentence seeing how Logan’s face just got more smug.

Anxiety’s blood boiled as Logan turned and walked out of the kitchen with a chuckle. The abuse on the foam ball just getting more and more violent as he tried to keep himself calm.

“Oh he has it coming. He sooo has it coming,” Virgil muttered under his breath. Every word was punctuated with a squeeze of the ball.

“What are you mumbling about now, Dead, Goth & Beyond?” a new voice asked. “Run out of eye shadow again?”

A chuckle ended that question as the person who spoke started to search the fridge.

Virgil did not have to look up from where he glared at the floor to know Roman had just walked into the kitchen. He could see the smirk on the royal’s face without having to raise his eyes. It only made him abuse the ball more as he tried to escape into his thoughts.

The fridge door closed after a moment and the pop of a soda went over Anxiety’s small mumbles to himself.

“You not talking today or something?”

Anxiety snapped out of it at that moment and looked over at Roman.

“This means war,” the anxious side mumbled and the Prince stopped mid-sip of his drink to stare at the other confused. Anxiety shook his head and started towards the doorway to the kitchen, still mumbling to himself about something that Prince could not understand. Probably something trivial, was all Roman could think as he turned to see if there was any hot fudge pop-tarts left.

His hand froze as he reached for the box when something soft, yet held a pretty hard punch, hit the back of his head. The regal side turned around fast to see the tail-end of Virgil’s jacket slip down the hall and at his feet was a stress ball that had been covered in the nail marks.

Roman made an offended noise and swiped up the stress ball.

“Why you little-!”

Roman only took one step towards the enterance of the kitchen when a familair chipper voice perked up behind him. “What’s going on, Kiddos?”

“Patton!”

The princely trait span around to almost come nose to nose with Morality. Roman moved back a little, he had not expected Patton to appear that close to him.

“Roman!” Patton laughed, “What’s up? I just heard Virgil slam his room’s door…you two aren’t fighting again are you? I told you, let him like whatever Disney song he wants.”

“He keeps taking all the good one-” Roman caught himself and shook his head, “No! No! No!”

He pointed at Patton’s face and than held up the stress ball that had hit the back of his head.

“No, this is what he was fleeing from.”

Patton looked at the ball confused and took it from Prince’s outstretched hand.

“Logan’s stress ball?”

“Yes! He threw it at the back of my head for no reason!” Roman huffed and crossed his arms.

“No reason?”

Roman held back a pout and stood up straighter. “Yes, no reason! I just came in here for a pre-battle snack, tried to strike up a normal conversation that he did not engage in, and then he left with a mutter about war or something but not before he threw that at me.”

Patton kept staring at the stress ball in his hands. He turned it over to observe the nail marks that seemed to be stuck in the foam.

“Strange,” Patton mutters to himself. He keeps his gaze on the ball for a little bit longer before looking up at Roman with a bright smile and pats the royal’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry about it. He probably is just got into one of his moods; I’ll go check on him in a bit once he has calmed down.”

Prince seemed happy with this answer and thanked Morality before returning his quest for the poptarts. He did not see Morality’s smile drop and his gaze return to the stress ball. He could sense something brewing in the mind between two certain sides but he could not put his finger on wha-.

“Patton would you like the last packet of poptarts?”

“Do pigs fly?”

Roman frowned and glanced around the room a little uncertain. “Well…um…”

“That means yes, silly, hand ‘em over.”

As the two sides munched down on their snack, Anxiety sat in his room and began to plot. Logic was not going to get away with that act. He would have accepted it if it has just been a simple throw in retaliation but no, the man had to turn it into a lecture.

Well, if it is war Logan wants. It is war he is going to get.

~

Part 4 by: Oliver

Progress

-

Logan went to bed that night feeling quite proud of his little lesson. He felt he was finally starting to make some progress in helping Virgil. He had no idea what he had actually started.

He found out the next morning when something hit him in the head as soon as he left his room. Confused, his eyes wandered to the object on the floor, then up to find a self satisfied Virgil staring him down.

“You wanted a war,” was all the culprit had said before darting down the hall, and into the common room.

War? When had Logan ever said that was what he wanted? He simply gave revenge, and a small lesson. Surely, that should have been the end. Of course Virgil doesn’t really know how to let things go. He should have expected this.

Sighing, Logan continued his walk into the commons, and was relieved to find only Patton sat there. Virgil must have teleported somewhere else, but he’d worry about that later.

“Hey, Logan!” Patton greeted cheerily, and watched as Logan came to sit next to him.

Logan gave him a polite nod before suspiciously looking around the room for any, well, suspicious activity.

“Something wrong, buddy?”

Logan snapped his attention to the father figure, and smiled sheepishly as he realized how silly he was being.

“Oh, no. I’m fine, Patton.”

Patton eyed him suspiciously, but thankfully let it go. Logan sighed in relief, and relished in the unusually peaceful & quiet atmosphere.

“Oh!”

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

“I have your stress ball.”

What? Why would Patton have it? He gave it to Virgil. Maybe Virgil forced Patton to take it away from him in a fit of anger. So much for progress. Two steps forward, one step back. He’ll just have to try-

Logan’s thoughts were interrupted as the stress ball was gently placed in his hands, and a worried voice pulled him away from his mind.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, Patton. Just thinking about the work I have to do today. No need to worry.”

Patton nodded in understanding, but there seemed to be something else he wanted to say. Logan wished he would get it out already.

“Why did Virgil have your stress ball?”

Wish granted.

Wait.

So Virgil did give it to Patton? How disappointing. He really thought he helped. At least a little. Why couldn’t he-

“He threw it at Roman for no reason so he complained, and gave it to me.”

Oh. Well, that’s better. Sort of.

“Oh, um.. I thr- gave it to Virgil. I figured it would help him.”

Once again Patton eyed him suspiciously, and once again let it go. Even still Logan could practically see the gears turning in his mind. He knew Patton felt something bad was happening, and that truly bothered him being the embodiment of morality.

“Well, that was nice of you.”

Nice? No, nice would have been actually giving it to Virgil. Not throwing it at him, and starting this so called war he was warned of. Nothing about this was nice, but he wouldn’t let Morality know that.

“Yes, I suppose. Excuse me.”

Logan stood, and placed the stress ball on the coffee table then entered the kitchen. He hadn’t expected to see Virgil once again sat on the counter yet there he was. The boy fiddled with a small plastic spoon, but stopped when he met Logan’s gaze. Unsurprisingly his mouth twisted into an evil smirk.

“Hey, Logan.”

There was something akin to mischief in his tone, and it made Logan slightly nervous.

“Greetings, Virgil.”

He slowly made his way to the fridge, and grabbed a water bottle.

“Patton said he was gonna start breakfast soon. You seen him?”

Logan turned his attention to the boy as he shut the fridge, and nervously adjusted the bottle in his hands.

“Y-Yes. He’s in the common room.”

Why was he so nervous? Virgil was being his usual self. Sort of. No, he was. The object thrown at him, and comment about war earlier was nothing to fret about. Just Virgil being Virgil.

“So, about that war thing I said earlier…” Virgil trailed off as he tried to gauge Logan’s reaction. He seemed attentive so he continued. “I-I didn’t really mean it. I’m sorry for starting this whole thing, and.. and you were just trying to help with the whole stress ball thing. I shouldn’t have gotten mad. Plus it was kind of funny. Kudos.”

Logan almost choked on his water. That was the last thing he expected to hear out of Virgil’s mouth. He wasn’t sure if he could really believe him.

“You.. You really mean that?”

Virgil looked genuinely apologetic for a moment. Just a moment. Of course moments like that couldn’t last very long when it came to the sides. Virgil’s apologetic look shifted to a mischievous grin.

“No, idiot. Who do you think I am?”

Before he could respond Virgil chucked the spoon he had been fiddling with at Logan’s chest.

“The war is still on. Bring it, nerd.”

Virgil slid off the counter then sunk down to, Logan assumed, his room.

Fine. If a war is really what Virgil wants then a war he shall get. Logan could entertain his little game. Especially considering he figured it could serve as a pleasant distraction from his constant negative thinking. Maybe this is the progress he was looking for.

A few hours later after everyone had finished breakfast, and was focused on their own respective duties Logan finally thought of his next attack.

He smiled smugly to himself as he sat in his desk chair, and tossed a little rubber eraser in his hand. He’d have to carefully plan the timing of this attack. Virgil seemed to do the same, and he was probably always watching his back. He’d have to be sneaky. His eyes wandered to the clock on his wall. 2:00 pm. Virgil was most likely following his normal routine, and was currently sat on the coffee table in the common room watching tv. Logan never fully quite understood Virgil’s coping mechanisms, but that was a problem for another day. Now would be the perfect time for his attack.

Without a second though he sunk down, and appeared in the commons. Sure enough there sat on the table was Virgil. Parks and Recreation was playing on the tv at such a soft volume Logan was sure Virgil would have heard his sudden arrival. Luckily he didn’t, and he was able to carry out his plan.

With some hesitation Logan finally chucked the eraser he still had in his hand at the boy’s head. His reaction was instant.

“Ah! Hey!”

Virgil smirked as he suddenly realized what had just happened. Logan was finally playing along.

“Oh, you’re so on, nerd.”

Virgil grabbed a couch pillow, and dove behind the couch so fast Logan almost missed it. He had to make a decision, and quickly. After a moment he ducked behind the other couch, and searched for an object that could act as his weapon. His eyes landed on a paperback book that had been long forgotten. This would have to do.

He carefully lifted his head over the couch to observe his surroundings. He found Virgil doing the same, but with the couch pillow raised in his hand. He had no time to duck as the pillow suddenly, and not gently at all, landed on his face. He quickly adjusted his glasses which had been pushed off his face slightly, and tossed the book into Virgil’s direction. He smirked as he heard the somewhat loud ‘thud’ the book had made against Virgil’s head.

“Really? A pillow? That the best you got, Virgil?”

Logan felt surprised at his own words. He wasn’t really one for teasing or challenging but this was actually starting to interest him.

He almost laughed at Virgil’s loud scoffing.

“Nah, I got a lot more, teach. Be careful who you challenge.”

Logan watched as Virgil swung himself over the couch, and landed harshly on the cushions. He felt that his actions contradicted his words, and well, that just wouldn’t stand. If he had “a lot more” like he says he does then where is it?

“Then bring it on.”

Virgil looked shocked at the challenging words. Logan thought he was about to protest, but instead he shrugged his shoulders.

“Fine, but ya can’t blame me if you get hurt.”

Without another word Virgil sunk down leaving Logan confused, and slightly worried. He was really starting to wonder what he, well Virgil really, had started. This could get real ugly, real fast.

And so it did.

The next day the common room had once again become a war zone. Logan and Virgil’s battle had only gotten more intense as random objects flew in every direction. Logan thought that it was surprising that no one had gotten hurt. He unfortunately thought too soon as he threw a somewhat heavy textbook without thinking, and winced at the rather loud ‘thud’ it made against Virgil’s head & the pained cry.

Before he could even fully process what had happened Patton and Roman were rushing into the common room.

“What in Zeus’ name is happening here?!” Roman dramatically cried out as he observed the chaos the common room had fallen victim to.

Logan was about to answer, but stopped as he watched Patton rush to Virgil’s side.

“Dad, stop. I’m fine.”

“No, you are not fine! You have a red bump on your forehead. What are you two doing?”

Logan ignored the question, and looked down at the floor as guilt settled in. He hadn’t meant to hurt Virgil. He would never even think of hurting any of the sides intentionally. He cared about them, and it just wasn’t in his nature.

“We- I started a war- game. I started a dumb game with Logan, and it got out of hand. Sorry.”

Virgil was taking all the blame? No, he couldn’t allow that.

He was about to speak up, but was once again cut off.

“Well, I’m putting an end to it. Both of you go to your rooms. You’re not allowed near each other. At least not while I make sure you’re okay, Virgil. I’ll be in your room in a minute.”

That was a little ridiculous, but Logan knew not to argue with Patton when he went into full dad mode. It wouldn’t end in his favor.

So, after giving Virgil an apologetic look, he sunk down begrudgingly. He’d have to actually apologize later.

Logan huffed a heavy sigh as he flopped down on the couch in his room. He sat there for quite a while until a soft whooshing sound caught his attention. He looked towards the spot the noise had come from, and frowned when he saw Virgil standing there awkwardly with a bag of ice pressed to his head.

“Hey.”

Logan didn’t responded, and instead watched as Virgil hesitantly made his way to where he was sitting. He looked away as he felt the spot next to him dip.

“Cat got your tongue, nerd?”

Logan scoffed at the phrase, and decided to meet Virgil’s gaze.

“No, I just..” Logan paused to take a deep breath. “I apologize for hurting you, Virgil. It was never my intention. I should have been more careful.”

Relief washed over him as Virgil gave him a rare, genuine smile.

“Oh, shut up, it’s fine. I should be the one apologizing for starting this whole mess in the first place.”

Logan felt a strange feeling rush through him. Virgil was showing him a much more laid back, genuine side of him. Sure, he showed that to Thomas and the others when they had found him after he had “ducked out,” but something about this was different. Something about this felt like another wall was crumbling, and he suddenly became more vulnerable. Maybe, just maybe, he had made some real progress these past few days.

“Well, I shouldn’t have allowed it to continue. My revenge was..” Logan paused to grab his contemporary slang vocabulary cards off the table, and shuffle through them. “..petty. I was.. doing the most.”

Virgil laughed, genuinely laughed, and he felt strangely pleased with himself.

“You are a really good tryer, Logan.”

Logan found it strange that he felt slightly offended when Thomas had said the same thing, but when Virgil said it he felt.. proud. Happy even.

“Well.. thanks.”

His thanks this time wasn’t sarcastic, or rude. It was genuine, and nice. Logan could get used to that.

“Still though.. I was only trying to help you in my own weird way. I shouldn’t have turned it into a petty little game.”

Virgil’s expression softened to something akin to sadness which worried Logan for a moment.

“Yeah, um, about that. I’m sorry I was so grumpy over it. It was.. It was actually really nice of you to do. Ya know, offer your help, and give me your stress ball. It just felt like some kind of personal attack at the time, and I was already in a bad mood so.. yeah. Sorry.”

The worry left Logan, and was replaced with a weird warm feeling. He couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but he liked it.

“Well, I care about you, Virgil. I’ve been worried about you ever since you “ducked out.” I want to help you with your issues instead of letting you bottle them up.“

Logan could swore he saw a glint of tears form in Virgil’s eyes. He would have felt bad, but he assumed-hoped-they were tears of happiness.

“I.. You c-care about me?”

“Very much so. I care about all of you.”

“I thought you.. I thought you didn’t ‘do’ all that feelsy, cutesy crap.”

Logan chuckled, and moved to fully face Virgil.

“I don’t usually enjoy indulging in what you call “feelsy” or “cutesy,” but I do still feel those things. It’s confusing, and frustrating, but I’m okay with it.“

Virgil nodded in, what Logan assumed to be, understanding, and let the words hang in the air. A comfortable, but kind of weird silence fell over them, and for a moment that was okay. Comfortable, but weird seemed to be their thing.

“Thanks.”

Thanks? That was quite unexpected.

“For what?”

“For being a total nerd, and helping me when you can. You, uh.. You actually help me a lot.” Virgil paused to take in a shaky breath. “Your sense of reality grounds me when I start thinking too irrationally, and you actually.. try to understand me.. Ya know? You have weird methods, but you try. So, thanks.”

Logan wasn’t sure, but if those were tears he felt building up in his eyes Virgil didn’t mention it, and for that he was grateful.

“You’re welcome, Virgil.”

He wanted to say more, but there was a strange feeling in his throat. Like if he were to say what he was actually feeling they’d get caught, and the dam holding his tears would break. So, he just allowed the comfortable, weird silence drift over them once again, and enjoyed it.

He was a little startled when he suddenly felt Virgil’s head and something cold lay on his shoulder, but he allowed that too.

“Hey, nerd.”

“Yes?”

“A textbook? Really?”

Logan couldn’t help but laugh. Yes, his quick decision was quite stupid.

“I realize that was quite a stupid decision, but it was the only thing I had. I didn’t have time to look for anything else. You are chaotic, and relentless.”

Virgil genuinely laughed again, and Logan realized he shouldn’t take it for granted. Who knows when the next time he’d hear it again would be.

“You would think the logical side would be better at quick thinking.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Seriously, though. Stick to soft things. Like the stress ball.”

Logan smiled at the mention of the stress ball, and this time he knew for a fact that he had made some real progress. It took a war, and some wounds, but he did what he had set out to do. He still had a long way to go, but right now Virgil was content, relaxed even. He decided that was okay for now.