#and every time they're rezzed

[ampleappleamble]

getting raised or healed by a

priest of Berath: there's an oddly ambivalent feeling of logic and certainty to being raised by a priest of Berath– you feel foolish for having been scared of dying because it's so obvious to you now that it wasn't your time yet, but you can't quite shake the feeling that you're living on borrowed time. getting healed by a priest of Berath tends to make one feel rather melancholy for a time afterward, leaving even the rowdiest roustabouts contemplative and somber.

priest of Magran: an intense, fiery determination surges up inside you, and you arise eager to face your next challenge head on. you also feel a flash of extreme heat over the wounded area as the priest's magic heals you. sometimes particularly bad wounds healed by a priest of Magran leave behind a shiny, puffy burn scar.

priest of Eothas: the healing comes on slowly, like the rays of the sun as it rises over the horizon. it's just as warm and invigorating as sunlight too, and you wake up from a rez like you might from a beam of sunlight finding you in your warm, cozy bed, peaceful and content, full of hope, feeling grateful for a second chance, another new day– although you can't help but feel just a little bit sad, too.

priest of Wael: bizarre images and phrases flash through your mind as you try to comprehend what's happening to you while you're being healed, and although you're sure they're all connected somehow, you just can't make sense of your own thoughts at all. sometimes when waking from a rez administered by a priest of Wael, you have a striking revelation about something that's been nagging at you in the back of your mind for years, but then you fully come back to yourself– and you can't, for the life of you, remember what it was.

priest of Skaen: hatred and contempt boil up inside you, and you wake with a burning need for revenge against not only those who harmed you, but against anyone who might wield power over you, oftentimes including even the priest who healed you in the first place. sometimes those healed by a priest of Skaen come back to their senses to find themselves literally licking their own wounds, and the taste of blood doesn't leave their mouth for hours.

priest of Rymrgand: the heal is cold, not like ice soothing a welt, but like rubbing alcohol evaporating off of your skin. sometimes instead of knitting the edges of a gaping wound together and revitalizing them, the skin surrounding the wound bloats and festers before withering and falling off, revealing the healed flesh beneath. being raised by a priest of Rymrgand is a harrowing ordeal, for to evade death at the whim of the Beast is to tremble helpless beneath his hoof for a time before he finally snorts and looks away, choosing to savor your soul another day. one tends to wake from a rez chilled to the bone, an oppressive weight on their shoulders and the stench of rot caught deep in the back of their throat.

paladin: fills your mind with thoughts, images, and/or feelings related to the paladin's object of zeal, eg. a Brother of the Five Suns laying hands on you makes the faces of the Ducs Bels flash before your mind's eye, and you feel a burst of awe and respect for the Vailian Republics; being raised by a Bleak Walker has you waking up with a brief but overpowering feeling of cold determination to kill every single person on the battlefield who'd dare raise a hand in violence against you or any other kith.

chanter: the events detailed in the chant used to raise or heal you play out in your head as you come back to your senses or feel your wounds close up. a common joke amongst seasoned adventurers is to tease one another about how well they recall the plot or lyrics to Rise Again, Rise Again, Scions of Adon!/...And Face Your Foes (implying they're very familiar with it from having heard it so often due to needing to be rezzed frequently).

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Endgame...

I have no real notes on the 'escape from the dungeon' sequence, other than that it IS going to be fun to have an epic 'galloping away from total urban collapse/tidal wave' sequence in the anime.

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This is technically accurate-ish but also totally not, nobody but Laios (and we the reader) knows what happened in that final confrontation, and I wonder if he'll tell them? He has no reason not to, other than it being...deeply Weird(TM) in the way that only Laios really is.

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Namari expresses many feelings, including love, through violence, and I respect and appreciate that.

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I tagged this before, but: future royal advisors lmaoooo. (I know Shuro has his own princedom to rule, but not yet, okay, and even once he inherits, lbr every time he visits Melini for diplomatic reasons, Laios is going to be like, "Shuro!! :D Come to dinner! Do you have any ideas about [infrastructure taxes/crop rotation/vigilante assassinations/etc issue of the day]?")

(Note 2: I also know his name is "Toshiro" but the characters haven't stopped using the mispronunciation, so I'm going with what's dominant in the story.)

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He Suffers for this friendship :)

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CHILCHUCK IS BEING MEAN TO HIS FRIENDS AGAIN! NATURE IS HEALING!!

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THEY'RE BESTIES YOUR HONOR!!

Fun fact: this specifically, screenshot at 4:46am, was the point at which the combination of visibly lightening sky, mortifying threat of my roommates waking up early and seeing me still up, and the fact an eager Shuro/Laios hug signalled that clearly everything was going to be basically happy from here on out, all combined to make me finally close my laptop and get ready for bed...whereupon I read the rest of the comic in bed, because I REALLY needed to see Falin safely rezzed, for my own peace of mind.

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Hell yeah time to eat! our! girl!!!

And btw, shoutout to Laios for, indeed, eating the Winged Lion. King shit. (/Yaad voice) (ah shit, is someone going to have to break it to Yaad and all the other villagers that their "prophecy" was a demon's manipulations? Or has Yaad picked that up by now while traveling with Izutsumi?)

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Kabru: You know what you were doing, right?

Laios: 8|

Kabru: Never mind, don't answer that, so I can sleep at night ever again. Actually, never answer that, especially in front of any sort of press and/or foreign nationals.

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I really like how the orcs aren't offering Laios kingship so much as sanctuary. The underground here is theirs, because nobody else ever wanted it, just like nobody ever wanted them. If Laios is going to be arrested by elves if he stays above ground, and Pattadol and Flamela with their oh-so-polite and flattering invitations trying to do, then he's an orc in all but name and form, and he's welcome among them for the rest of his life.

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Laios: I need you to help me eat my sister!

The rest of the party, as one: We know this sounds insane and we're sorry about that.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS PANEL:

Marcille resignedly headlocking Izutsumi so she doesn't maul anyone in response to being swarmed

Shuro, under duress, defaulting to strangling Laios (again)

Laios rolling his eyes because he's so accustomed to and tired of everyone reacting overdramatically to his perfectly reasonable requests

Kabru just rubbing his temple. He has a headache. He's so tired that he's not even trying to talk anyone down from anything.

Chilchuck closing one eye like maybe if he pretends to be asleep he doesn't need to be involved in this.

Holm nervously saying that he can't because he keeps gnomesher (gnome kosher)

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[happy sigh] politics!

I just love love love the 'all the random disparate allies you made along the way rally together at the end for an epic battle to defeat the big bad" - except the big bad is already defeated. USUALLY the way that works is:

Core hero party faces pre-plot climax interparty conflict, then resolves it

Rally disparate allies made throughout the journey to fight the Big Bad (note: allies may rally themselves; still counts)

Fight Big Bad first as a group, then winnow/isolate down to core party, then down to single Main Protagonist who faces and defeats the Big Bad in a character foil-heavy, extremely thematic final confrontation

Everyone lives happily ever after, the end!

In Dungeon Meshi, however, it was:

Disparate allies made throughout the journey rally together to...help the core hero party deal with their pre-climactic interparty conflict! (Marcille's monster army - which does still come down to the core party, of course)

Core party, then isolated to single Main Protagonist (Laios) faces and defeats the Big Bad in a character foil-heavy, extremely thematic final confrontation

Rally disparate allies to accomplish what Laios explicitly says was the TRUE goal all along: reviving Falin! (Via eating as a group because that's live! understanding! connection! life!!)

Everyone lives happily with continuous hunger, because that's what it means to live ever after, the end!

I JUST THINK IT'S NEAT

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It is sooo notable, though by this point unsurprising, that the elves' chief consideration of the consequences of all of this is that "things" (magic, international politics, etc) may end up "harder to keep under control."

My personal theory/headcanon-until-proven-otherwise is that mana levels above-ground will simply never fully subside to their dungeon-era levels again, and dungeon mana levels will be correspondingly lower - it'll all even out, basically, though underground will still have generally higher levels. This means:

there will be more monsters on the surface, especially large ones

magic will be easier for all races (though limits on how much they can hold at once will remain)

"dark" ancient magic, which (I headcanon) is particularly defined by an assumption that there is a Shit Ton of mana to draw on, will become easier and thus more common...which is okay because "need huge power source to draw on" is no longer the first step on a slippery slope to "let dungeon demon consume the world."

corollary: Marcille is going to live her best damn life studying and innovating with the above

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This micro-interaction is so sweet. Kabru isn't even talking to Laios, but he's still keeping him in mind, and he so casually says "my friend."

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TO LIVE IS TO WANT!!! CONTINUOUSLY! YOU JUST GO ON!

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It's so great and interesting how much the Canaries care about Mithrun! It'd be so easy for him to just be their royally-imposed boss, or their weird mascot that they have to take care of, and both of these things are part of the dynamic. But they also all care about him as a person! Fleki was smothering him like a doll a minute ago, but the instant there's real hope for his life, she's jumping on it breathlessly! They're all suggesting hobbies he could take up, and standing around rapt and breathless waiting to see if Kabru's speech works to get him back on his feet!

There's definitely parallels to be made with Laios here, in terms of adventurin party rolling their eyes affectionately at their leader and saying, "yeah, we WOULD follow this total freak into hell. That's our day job, actually. #onlysomeregrets".

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Mithrun... /single tear

I just wanna see this panel in color SO BAD, though. The green grass, the pale brown earth and the paler birch trees, and the semi-translucent ice fracturing the dark red dragon meat, with Mithrun's pooling green cloak and these 2 guys standing amids all of it... It's going to be so striking.

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I've decided that the one (1) headcanon I'm holding in total defiance of explicit canon is that TO ME, Yaad was the original concept art where's she's a fairy princess in aesthetic, the perfect princess-in-the-tower for a brave knight to rescue and so earn the right to kingship of the land.

She still ends up possessing her grandfather's body, to be clear, and having this and every other conversation. It just intensifies the "I survived 1,000 years of being a ghost by focussing all my hope on THIS TROPE and you are going to play it out!!" Sure, marriage isn't an option anymore but that's fine, that wasn't the most important part! If Laios doesn't know how to govern, then she (in her grandfather's body) will teach him! Or else!!!

TLDR Yaad's gender is Princess and I will not be taking counterargument unless it's very compelling.

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Lol @ how 1 of these guys is the actual, legally appointed ruler of the island and 1 is the top local crime boss, and everyone, even Laios, know they're on equal footing (at best - the Island lord is not a competent man.)

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Kabru of Utaya, PR Professional :)

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This really is a fun little chapter, with Izutsumi's struggle to figure out what to do next mirroring Laios's. She's wandering freely, insisting on her own freedom - and nobody is arguing with her! Everyone takes it for granted, so much that she feels a little unwanted! While every conversation she walks into involves responsibilities to others.

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Holy shit, forbidden civvies!Chilchuck. He has his sleeves rolled up and collar open and everything, sluttily baring his collarbone and a hint of chest hair... He's even implicitly about to get his forearms blood-splattered, while doing a domestic chore and explaining the importance of responsibility to his teen(?) adopted catdaughter. If he still looked like the 50yo tallman with 5 o'clock shadow that he equivalently is, he'd be the hottest sexyman on tumblr right here.

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Even though it has vegetables! Because it's made with love and life!!

[isa-ghost]

do you have hc's about how the Polycule would save q!Phil from EK's possession?? Would they work on their own or work together?? these hc's are so good btw!!

I didn't at first but now that I sat down and thought about it, I have exploded. Enjoy.

Edit: This exploded so hard I'm now planning a 5+ chapter fic about it. Here's a link to the fic.

Previous qPhil headcanons

Ender King possessed Phil headcanons

Since you specified polycule, these will be Missa/Fit/Etoiles centric. However, the fic I'm writing will have guest appearances from Chayanne, Lullah, Pac, and potentially some others. We'll see where it goes.

It seems impossible at first. He's. So. Strong. So merciless. So overwhelming. They know Phil would never forgive himself if it was his hands that hurt any of them. They can't afford to get close. They can't afford to be poisoned by the clouds of dragon's breath. They can't afford to be struck by his scythe or sword. They can't afford to be sniped by those eagle eyes. Phil would never forgive himself, and he's already so hard on himself.

They don't know what to do, they don't know what they CAN do. They have no choice but to back off, and let EK escape with Phil's body off to wherever the hell it is he'll hide out while he readjusts to having a physical form again and continues to further wrestle Phil into submission. Missa's absolutely inconsolable over it, Fit & Etoiles have to restrain him while EK dips for the sake of making sure Missa doesn't get himself killed. Fit is LIVID. Etoiles is equally pissed, but it comes out more as distress rather than rage.

Missa is overwhelmed by the idea of caring for Chayanne & Lullah alone. Chayanne comes in clutch, he somehow snagged the stock of cookies from Phil's bag before EK took full control of him. Fit offers to look after them too, he just can't feed them. Ramon is already pulling out all the stops in an effort to comfort the two & is more than willing to let them sleep in his house. They all know Phil will be mortified that the two witnessed any of what happened.

Phil is missing for at least a week, maybe more. No one knows what EK is doing with his body. Their only solace is that Cucurucho & presumably the higher ranking feds are strong enough to prevent him from leaving the island. At least they know he's findable.

That doesn't make it easier. Knowing he's out there somewhere, trapped in his own mind, living his greatest fear every second they aren't helping him claw his way back into control of himself, potentially hurting people he cares about or doing things he'd never do with his own hands. It's unbearable.

Whenever it is that they finally find Phil, he's a shell. Thinner, paler, as gaunt as a corpse. Eyes purple and cruel, dark circles under them. Features sharper, somewhere between skeletal and draconic. Patches of his skin have blackened like char, some spots have cracked and look like they're bleeding purple. He looks like he's slowly becoming corrupted by crying obsidian. His wings are raised at all times, threatening. But they shake, unmistakably and visibly so. It's clear they're in so much pain, under so much strain. Has the Ender King been flying with Phil's damaged wings? Missa, Fit and Etoiles feel like they're staring at a ghost of their long-dead friend.

Phil's body is weak but the Ender King isn't. The fight, while more feasible now, is still hellish to pull off. It takes more gapples, potions, rezzing each other, and enough sets of armor broken for Etoiles to lament for a month, but eventually, after near-constant bombardment from three people (& a little "help" from a handful of mobs as things go on into the night. Which EK gets stronger during btw), the trio finally downs Ender King. Fit and Etoiles keep him pinned on his stomach while Missa desperately shoves potions and gapples down his throat like you would to cure a zombie villager. They have no idea if that's actually helping let alone doing anything at all. But how the fuck do you exorcise an evil deity from a mortal body?? They're grasping at straws.

Somehow, after trying every last thing that comes to mind (which is. A lot of desperate half-baked ideas bc they're pretty sure they're on a time limit & this is not the time to be elaborately plotting a solution), it turns out that soaking Phil in water like a drowned rat & forcing him to drink more water than any crow could dream of via hydrochecks is enough to overwhelm Ender King into giving up control of Phil's body.

During their scrambling for solutions, Etoiles very smoothly quips about how if only they had "Potion of Purge Ender King" btw, it gets a laugh out of Fit. And Missa, even through his hysterical crying because he is So Scared And Guilty about potentially hurting Phil right now. They needed the palette cleanser while doing something so grim and stressful.

Phil goes limp like a noodle as soon as EK gives him up. Missa fully panics thinking his husband just fucking died in all their arms until Reaper Brain kicks in and he realizes Phil's soul is still working, it's just extremely weak. Another witty remark from Etoiles about getting his shit together re-centers his focus.

Surprise! Phil's not unconscious though, just Extremely weak. And Ender King still isn't going down without a fight. Water hurts like a bitch but it isn't deadly. Not unless they risk drowning Phil. But now EK has been weakened enough that Phil starts to fight for control of himself for the first time in ages. It gets ugly.

Fit, arguably the physically strongest of them all, holds Phil hostage by the underarms while Missa and Etoiles keep desperately trying everything they can think of to keep making Phil purge EK from his system like an illness. Whatever is coming up is a disgusting viscous purple. Phil won't stop screaming. They can tell it's simultaneously Phil's pain and Ender King's rage.

And god is the process a long, torturous ordeal for everyone involved. Phil is very palpably in agony, Missa is a wreck, all 3 of them feel horribly guilty they're subjecting him to so much but it Has to be done. Fit's seen so much after living in the 2b2t Wastelands and even he's finding it hard to watch this.

By the end of it all, blood, sweat, tears, and vomit have been shed, and not just by Phil, in an effort to bring him back to his senses. They're all miserable, exhausted, and overwhelmed. They're not even entirely sure that EK has been "exorcised" completely, nor do they know how the Fuck to confirm that. And purging EK from Phil's body isn't where this stops either, but none of them can even think about what the recovery from this will be like.

Getting this far is only possible because they put all their strength together. No one would have stood a chance against the Ender King alone. Despite barely being conscious and looking convincingly half-dead, Phil is terrified he's hurt or killed someone he cares about as it is. Honestly, Missa, Fit & Etoiles are shocked it seemingly only took 3 people to take on an apparent god. This very much doesn't feel legit, Etoiles doesn't feel right saying gf yet. It feels like the fight isn't over.

[tobiasdrake]

So. Jean's here.

The Wolverine follows The Last Stand chronologically, which means that Logan killing Jean to protect the guys making anti-mutant genocide blasters is something the film has to deal with.

My memory may be fuzzy on the timing, but I remember this film coming out not long after a comic where Logan has to katana-fight Death every time he takes too much damage, and if he defeats Death in the katana fight then he gets to resurrect.

Something that initially seemed like a weird-ass element to add to his powers, but was actually done for the purpose of dialing back his regeneration. It was added to his lore so that the ability to katana fight Death and be resurrected could then be removed. Essentially powering him down so he can't regenerate from a fingerbone anymore and his fights could have stakes again.

One of those attempts at Fix Ficcing a character that's just so cute because. Like. You can write "And then he DIDN'T have infinity regen anymore" all you want but that's not gonna stop the next guy from having him regenerate from a fingerbone. This is just how sandbox writing works. You can't fix the way other writers use the character no matter how many in-universe patches you nail to him.

But I digress. The way this film uses Jean reminds me a lot of that comic, because Logan would see Jean whenever he goes to katana fight Death. Because of the many endless deaths and rezzes that Jean's had, his subconscious mind associates her with the experience of dying and being revived.

Yeah, Jean dies and comes back so much in the comics even by comic book standards that it's an inside joke in the X-Men brand. Even her tombstone for a while had "She Will Rise Again" as her epitaph. I don't know if it's still there, or if she's even dead right now. It's been a while since I fell out of comics.

The point is, all of this was fresh in my mind the first time I watched this film. So I don't actually remember how this movie uses Jean's ghost, because my mind was full of "THEY'RE DOING THE THING".

It will be interesting to see what they're actually doing with her. As introduced in this scene, Jean's memory is haunting Logan.

You know what, I have to give Jean's trauma ghost credit for her comedic timing. Like, she's clearly enjoying herself here. The joke is on Logan. She's just waiting for him to realize his claws have been knuckle-deep in her gut through this entire conversation.

A horrifying vision for Logan, to be sure. But Jean's dead and also not actually here so it's no skin off her back. She gets to play around at his psychological expense.

It's what I'd be doing if I was a trauma ghost inside the memory of my killer.

[finite-breakpoints]

trembling (Angstpril 2024, #19)

Cyrus doesn't know how long he's been plugged in.

This isn't his data rig, or even like the ones the other processors use. Theirs are buffered, with transfer rates tightly controlled. Those neat little data jacks along the base of their necks and down their backs, implanted before their training, to be removed when they move on. Two input, sixteen pins each; single eight-pin output; eight-pin monitoring. It's less risky than letting the regulator circuits form on their own.

Someone's speaking -- to him? -- as the steady hum lowers, the onslaught of information -- no, malicious data, blatant lies -- lessening just slightly. They must be bringing him back up now. A voice he almost recognizes… but it's out of reach. Another cycle down, then. He's lost count.

This train of thought is as much a distraction as it is a reminder. Because he can feel himself slipping, under the weight of all of it.

All he has to do is ignore it. Let it all pass unacknowledged, unfiltered. And if not, then it must be challenged. Remember that every bit of it is false by design.

The ISOs were never the problem.

One program's perfection is another's prison.

There is nothing wrong with me -- with any of us.

He'd rezzed in with the regulator circuits, albeit with that slightly-idiosyncratic bandwidth characteristic of the Encom processors. So they'd given him one of those rigs, pulled from storage somewhere. Two input, one output, forty pins each; eight pin monitoring. Direct access, no external hardware to get in the way of the connection. Not the one he'd asked for. It's a fraction of what it could be. But it's safer that way, apparently.

Not like this, what they're doing to him now. Constantly just under his maximum capacity, something he'd never worked up to. Something Yori had said was too dangerous for him to try -- it was why she hadn't given him the data rig he'd asked for --

"Cyrus. Can you hear me?"

Yori…? No. That's not right.

She'd never do this to him.

Demeter.

"Are you back with us now, little script?" Still blurry, but yes, it's definitely her. A smile in her voice, but there's nothing kind in it. "Your throughput's been dropping. Maybe it's time for a break."

"My throughput's fine." Those bright lights sting as his vision returns. Eyes refocusing slower than they should. "Not my fault it's all garbage data."

"Is it?"

"Sure. Garbage data, propaganda… Same thing."

Her smile turns sharp for just a microcycle, before shifting back into her usual false cheerfulness. "You look exhausted. Poor thing. Let's get you something to drink, hm?"

The sudden voltage drop rips through him -- the sharp silver pain of yet another improper disconnection. He clamps down the scream in his throat as four hundred and eighty pins retract from his back, his whole body trembling.

He knows what to expect from here. The lukewarm energy held to his lips, which he now knows not to refuse. Her quiet, false sympathy as she loosens the restraints just enough that they don't hurt, and tells him that he's only making this harder for himself. That she doesn't want to hurt him -- that it would be completely painless, if he would stop fighting it. That it's his fault, really, that they've left him here alone for cycles at a time in this cold and windowless room beneath the Archives.

"You're just so stubborn," she says -- and this time, the pity in her voice is genuine. "You know who you remind me of, sometimes…"

"This will be good for you, I promise." The memory's dim -- somewhere far away, all the way across the Grid. Maybe he's only been there a few times. Can't remember -- but he should. A sense of safety, a soft voice he can only imagine raised in laughter. "Be careful out there -- and listen to Yori, alright? I'll miss you."

"Yeah. I get that a lot."

Does he? If his memories are starting to slip… it might be working. There's an empty space on the other side of the room, where there used to be a second unit. Sometimes he wonders whose it was. Feels like maybe he should know that.

"He was good at this. I think you could be, too… if you'd just apply yourself a little more."

"Can't spread your lies without an amplifier, can you? And you don't have many of us left, not now."

"You'll come around eventually." Demeter presses the restraints back into place, patting his hand. "But in the meantime… the only program you're hurting is yourself."

"I know." He takes a deep breath -- steeling himself against what he knows is coming. "That's the whole point."

"How much longer do you think you can keep this up?"

"Good question." He looks up at her, meeting her gaze with as sharp of a grin as he can manage. "Let's find out."

And then it takes him down, back into the waiting current of hate and baseless fear.

Cyrus reaches for the half-formed image in his mind, but it's a fuzzy one. A gentle smile with just a bit of mischief in it -- "See you soon, kiddo. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Something tells him that he isn't.

On the bright side… he's finally gotten the data rig he wanted.

[xivu-arath]

4 and 19 for Omen and Shen?

omen-5

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

the dark age my beloved!!! the fact xe was rezzed very early on during that time informs xyr focus on xyr Purpose as a risen because the collapse was such a fresh wound. xyr attitude towards violence and to other people, and xyr difficulties in communicating or asking for help, also stem from this. xe was very used to mostly fighting and killing people when encountering them! omen's first and only solution to problems was Disintegrate (and if disintegration fails, rip apart with bare hands) for a very long time. communication and collaboration and trusting people to not shoot first took a very long time to get used to

it's still omen's internal standard of reference, and it distorts a lot of xyr current thinking and mindset.

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

omen's main use of solar is to warm up xyr body just a little and make a good basking spot for animals

shenrihn

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

being raised in the infinite empire is the Big Thing. they grew up with no knowledge of anything but the dark side of the force. they only lived as a literal tool of further conquest, and had to consider themselves fortunate for that much. the rakata controlled every aspect of their existence, and even in their current life as a jedi the echoes and scars remain. it's why shenrihn is so desperate to be a good jedi, to find peace and stability in the force. it's also why they're aggressive and insecure and feel constantly adrift in a galaxy that has so easily forgotten everything that has shaped them

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

they're often a petty little shit. a favoured tactic of theirs is complaining about or insulting whatever tiresome official or republic duty they're presented with in ancient rakatan, and playing it off as an old proverb. no one ever programs their translators for that (((:

[abidethetempest]

3 for Niamh, 5 for Sigil, 8 for Fenris~

3. Is their house/"home base" mobile, interim, or permanent? Do they invite people over?

Niamh has her own apartment before joining Fireteam Tempest but it's a huge mess and she only sleeps there half the time bc she's too busy working thru the night. Once she joins the team tho, she moves into Sigil's big place and it becomes her permanent home.

5. What's their favorite [or least favorite] Small Talk Question? ("Where were you rezzed?" "What's your favorite color?" etc.)

Sigil is not normally a person for whom small talk happens (bc a lot of folks think he's cursed 🥲) but honestly it would be "how are you" bc he hates lying to people, even little white lies, but he's never gonna answer w the honest "Actually life kinda sucks rn :)"

8. What would they wear to a formal event?

Fenris had a Formal Kell Outfit: nice robes instead of the bodysuit she wears in combat, her usual armor and banner, a fuckton of jewelry, and full kit of weapons (shock daggers, throwing knives, arc spear, the whole nine yards). I think the weapons might not fly at every event ,but she would take a LOT of convincing not to bring them. They're part of the Image (tm).

[makuta-tobi]

Destinytober 2023 Day 3: New Lights+Off-Duty

Tobi-17 pulled up a chair to a railing overlooking the main Tower courtyard and watched. He had just recently heard on the comms about three jumpships with new transceiver codes all entering City airspace, and he knew what that meant. It wasn't a particularly rare occurrence. New Guardians were rezzed every few days, though those numbers had slowed substantially in the past few months. But the nostalgia couldn't be ignored. His eyes tracked Zavala as he crossed the courtyard to the landing platform where these New Lights would be unceremoniously dumped onto the ground, as was normal. The blossoming soldiers would have no idea how to properly position themselves to land once they were transmatted outside of their ships, and Zavala would have to wait patiently for them to dust themselves off.

The three craft, all of which were fitted with new drives, were all piloted by veteran Guardians, who had likely discovered the newly revived humans wandering the wastes. He wondered where they were from. The last one he had met fresh out of the grave had come from somewhere southeast, very hot and arid. His skin was covered in intricate tattoos that he had immediately decided were too important to try and remove. Nice guy.

Soul materialized alongside the Warlock, and tracked the incoming craft with his single eye. They were being escorted by a pair of City Hawks, and would take a few more minutes to arrive.

“No patrols today? Nothing exciting happening on Europa?” his Ghost asked half-annoyed. It was true that he had dragged his companion to the frozen moon a few times over the past few days, after hearing reports of new House Salvation activity, but that hadn't really panned out. Not much was changing over there. Besides, this was far more interesting.

“Naw, don't feel like going out today. Now quiet down, I wanna watch.”

The ships slowed as they approached, and the Hawks broke off, turning and returning towards the City to fly patrols. The jumpships briefly stopped over the landing pad, and as predicted, three figures in cheap blast plating and scuffed cloth hit the deck, the three pilots who brought them materializing behind them a moment later, toes touching down first, then heels. The three fresh Guardians, one of each class, it seemed, clambered to their feet in Zavala's intimidating presence. The Commander just oozed authority, and anyone new was sure to feel it. From this distance, he could only hear so much, but Tobi-17 couldn't help but grin as the Titan Vanguard dove into his well-practiced spiel.

“Always a pleasure to see, isn't it?” a voice said from beside him. The Exo allowed his optics to glance up momentarily, and was met with the visage of his own Vanguard. The sudden shock caused him to fall out of his chair, knocking it to the ground.

“Lady Ikora!” he stammered, trying to collect himself, and his abused chair. Perhaps Zavala wasn't the only one whose mere presence demanded respect. “Uh, y-yes, it's enjoyable to uh, to see fresh faces join us.”

“It's so very impressive to watch how they will, just from this meeting, begin to shape themselves into the Guardians of the future. I think Zavala takes great pride in knowing that this is all it takes to motivate them.”

Tobi-17 took a deep breath and nodded. He still remembered his first time meeting the Vanguard in the old Tower. The experience had pointed him to this place now, but it was the Speaker who had helped him solidify his resolve. Zavala did his best to fill those shoes, but the Titan was always looking for new ways to change up the formula to best suit the new generation coming in. Even he knew he wasn't a replacement for the figurehead of the Guardians.

“Look, they're already exploring,” Ikora chuckled as Zavala motioned for them to go, and the three of them ran off in different directions. The Titan was immediately attracted to the Gunsmith, the Warlock half skipped towards Eververse, and the Hunter made a beeline for Lord Shaxx. Ikora, still smiling, plugged her ears.

“WELCOME TO THE CRUCIBLE, NEW BLOOD!” Shaxx's voice boomed across the courtyard. The Warlock at the shop seemed to stumble back at the shocking sound, but the Hunter only leaned forward. “HERE, YOU WILL TEST YOUR METTLE-” Shaxx was very proud of what he had built. Tobi-17 didn't need to sit around here to keep listening, he was sure he could do it from his own apartment.

“Excuse me, ma'am,” he bowed deeply to his Vanguard, and began walking back towards the doors, when Ikora spoke up again.

“Don't forget, I may be their guidance, but it is you, in the field, who will be their teacher.” Tobi-17 grinned again and nodded. He had come across plenty of fledgling Guardians in his time out in the system. When a priority target had been identified, and he had signed up for the Strike, several times the computer had paired him up with new faces ready to test themselves against a challenge. Even though he almost never saw those particular blue dots on his motion tracker ever again, he hoped that maybe they had walked away a little braver, a little smarter, and a little more adventurous after working with him.

He made his way down the stairs and headed for the corridor that would take him to his semi-permanent housing. He pushed the main door open and walked to the elevator, pressing the button and stepping back. As he waited, he undid the strap across his chest and shed the robe, draping it over his arm. No need to be fully armoured here, not when he wasn't planning on going anywhere. He swore, he could still hear Shaxx's monologue from the lobby, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

Turning his head to the transparent glass of the front door, the new Warlock ducked his head back out of view. But the Awoken's long black and white striped hair wasn't so easily hidden, and Tobi-17 simply stared at the door, waiting for the new Guardian to peek and see if he wasn't looking anymore. The elevator dinged as it arrived, and the Exo ignored it. As predicted, the new Guardian peered back into the building, and Tobi-17's optics met his eyes. The Awoken fell back against the wall again, and the elder sighed, walking to the door and opening it.

“If you want my advice, get some Void fragments, you can actually turn invisible for a bit. It's much more helpful if you want to spy on someone.” The fresh Warlock seemed like he was going to run, but he was well and truly caught, and sighed.

“I'm sorry, you just... seemed like someone I could relate to,” he muttered.

“Was it the robes?” Tobi-17 lifted up his arm to gesture to the bundle of clothes he held. “They certainly don't stand out as much as some of the flashier guys around.”

“No, not that, I can't explain it, you were someone I saw that just felt like you belonged, and... I guess I was impressed.”

“I dunno if I should be honoured or offended, but I'll take the former. Don't worry, give yourself a little time with your Light and a good gun by your side and you'll feel like you belong soon enough.”

“O-oh, that's good to know,” the Awoken man smiled a little, and dropped his head. “Um... would you be willing to maybe show me a few things?” Ikora's words echoed in his head. I may be their guidance, but it is you who will be their teacher.

“Yeah man, sure thing,” Tobi-17 nodded. The new Warlock's head shot up.

“Do you think we could go practice?” His grin was almost blindingly perfect.

Tobi-17 swung open the door to the building. “Not today!”

“Uh, b-b-but why?” the New Light stood in the doorway as Tobi-17 loaded himself into the elevator.

“Cause today I'm OFF THE CLOCK” he called as the doors closed. The Awoken Warlock stood with his mouth agape as the Exo disappeared from sight, off to floors unseen. He wondered if maybe the buildings were segregated by class, and if so, would he see the pitch black Exo again. He backed away and let the door slowly close, then made his way down the corridor, to go see his new Vanguard leader.

[oersteds]

So I got this in a comment. You have forced my hand, @harpykurry

Twiz Lore Summary (With Shitposts)

Massive amount of "jesus christ, dude" energy below the cut. You've been warned.

This. is Twiz. (Art by this person on Toyhouse go check 'em out they're cool)

Twiz has magic. A lot of magic. She's also stupid with it. Unfortunately, she has a very powerful brand of magic...

The dumbass can ressurrect anyone she wants. Do not give her a corpse, she will ressurrect it, even if she has no idea who she's rezzing.

Even if she ends up ressurrecting a Demon King.

Okay, I know he turns to dust in the game, but SHHH. He got a corpse because someone else fucked up with a ressurrection. They weren't even trying to ressurrect Oersted, which makes this dumber!!! They ended up casting Summon Random Corpse From Literally Nowhere because ressurrection magic is a Complete Fucking Bitch to use for most people.

So, Oersted, after the events of the game, ends up having his corpse wash up on a beach. Cool.

Twiz sees this. She decides to ressurrect him. She has no idea who this shmuck is, or what he's done, or what he might do when ressurrected. She just wants to be ""helpful"" and ""kind"" by ressurrecting EVERY GODDAMN CORPSE SHE CAN FIND. TWIZ. NO.

By the way, for Twiz, ressurrecting someone is very painful. It's like her personal brand of Bone Hurting Juice. There's no serious long-term consequences for it, but it just fuckin' hurts, man. So poor Oersted gets rezzed, and the first thing he sees is Twiz, collapsed on the sand, quietly whining in pain. She goes "ow oogh my bones," probably. He's utterly flabberghasted at these events, too much to even angst about his life right now. Not to mention that he feels like he got woken up from a good nap.

(I HC that most ""afterlives"" are just the dead people going to bed. Forever. This is why ressurrection magic is legal in my goofy little world, since around 85% of the time, you're just waking them up from the Big Bed In The Sky. Good morning, Oersted.)

(The 15% rate of a Not Sleeping afterlife comes into play.)

Twiz recovers from the Bone Hurting status effect she placed on herself. She only sometimes questions why she hasn't been killed by a freshly-rezzed person while in that state. Maybe they're just sleepy? Not everyone's all too grateful to be rezzed, after all. "You denied me my warrior's death!" is one she gets a lot from, well, warriors. Anyways. She says hi to Oersted, maybe does a little Chrom from Fire Emblem Awakening impression while helping him up to his feet. Y'know. The usual Twiz shit.

Shockingly enough, Oersted... sorta enjoys not being dead. Go figure, considering the events of the game. They pal around a little. Twiz shows him around the nearby town, and before Twiz decides "hey, who even is this guy?" she instead helps him get settled in an inn for the night.

That night, Oersted starts wondering: "hey wait a sec. How The Fuck Am I Alive." and then he asks the innkeeper (Twiz went to bed for the night. Plus, she's a very heavy sleeper. And she's deep in a dream convo. More on that soon.) So the innkeeper exposition dumps onto Oersted regarding ressurrection magic. How it's a bitch to pull off properly in most cases, and how Twiz is, to be bluntly honest, a fucking moron for ressurrecting a stranger. They finish by noting how people can't be ressurrected without a corpse to ressurrect. So, surely someone got his corpse from somewhere... but who would...?

Well. That doesn't matter, right now. What matters is that a certain Magical Bastard (Straybow) is Sliding Into Twiz's Dreamscape DMs right now, as we speak. And he wants something. Something very specific.

He wants to be rezzed. He just started calling every healer on his dumb little Ghost Phone in his dumb little Not Sleeping afterlife, asking the same question to each of them. He doesn't care who's rezzing him. He just wants to be rezzed. He's gotten a lot of "yea sure ok" from various healers, not realizing that he can't really be rezzed without a corpse... There is an exception, though he doesn't know this either.

That exception is Twiz. Yep. When I said "anyone," I fully meant "ANYONE." She's just the Rez Mage, I guess. She does have some offensive spells, so yes, pun fully intended.

The next morning, Twiz is in a liiiiiiittle bit of a magic coma. Y'see, she can ressurrect anyone she wants... But rezzing someone without a corpse is Very Fucking Tiresome. Being the exception sucks. Not to mention she just ressurrected someone else the very same day. She's totally spent, knocked the fuck out, so she can't do anything about the total goddamn shitstorm she just reignited.

Before the inevitable fight gets physical, the dragons attack. Yep. Part 2 coming. Eventually.

[death-rebirth-senshi]

I've joked before that Ezra in dragon age would be a bad spirit healer/blood mage in that he can barely do them, but that's mostly because he spends too much time studying every other "regular" (Ezra's own massive sarcasm quotes) school of magic. "Sorry I mostly learned to throw elements out instead of better healing but you're welcome for freezing that guy who was about to get you. You're also welcome for me blinding that guy."

He's a black mage at heart forced to work as a healer and despite doing a pretty decent job everyone complains, much like a certain duck.

He also really really hates calling on spirits of faith to do spirit healing and will only do so if it's absolutely necessary, so if he has to rezz you he's gonna be pissy. (He just finds faith spirits annoying. Perhaps they're often very preachy, and there's something about briefly brushing against such total faith and being left without it afterwards that leaves him feeling empty and guilt-ridden. Just a physical and emotional drain.)

The fact that you're locked out of doing other magic while faith spirits are on the premises is also annoying.

[descentintosiblingcon]

Episode 5: Mansion of Terror

Posting opening, we see a bunch of nerds dorks kids talk about a player being able to Data Drain, correctly guessing he's using Kite's model. We then overhear them planning on luring him out to a secluded area to snatch his bracelet...

But fuck that, to the beach. Shugo is hit on by a gay guy in the least cringiest scene so far before the rest of his group come over in their bikinis (save Ouka, who shows up in her wolf form to troll). Sanjuro shows up (in full uniform) to talk to the twins. At a table, he asks them a good question: why they on this damn game all the time? In real life, this would be a perfectly sensible question. Sadly, Sanjuro has an ulterior motive: Balmung has instructed him to tell the twins to quit the game due to events making the game legitimately not fun for noobs. The twins are reluctant but Sanjuro insists, even compromising to just stop playing for a while instead of quitting altogether. The twins hold fast but Shugo does tell Sanjuro about the origin of his bracelet and his meeting with Aura, which stuns Sanjuro. Giving up, Sanjuro tells the twins to tell him if anything weird comes up, contact him. And stay out of unknown areas. And don't accept back rubs from strangers. He leaves the confused twins behind.

The two then stop some bullies from messing with a little girl (and Shugo gets fucked up). While returning the girl's ball to her, Shugo is unknowingly tagged due to that girl being one of the players we saw in the beginning!

Later on, the group gets a SOS from the girl and go off to save her. Using the gate, they go to the murder house from the manga, the same inconsequential mansion that freaked out Rena. Sanjuro shows up with them and the game is afoot!

Meanwhile, Balmung and Reki are chatting before they are accosted by the Cobalt (Cereulean in the anime but I will use Cobalt because I am not spelling Cerulean every fucking time) Knights. Reki has to bitch them away before Kamui shows up to call them off. Kamui backs off but Balmung knows that's not the last time they're seeing her...

Back to the mansion, the group looks for the girl. Things go according to beat: Rena's scared, Kamiya is there to perv, Rena fucks Kamiya up, etc. The group gets ambushed by monsters while Rena is lost somewhere, eventually finding a room. Getting locked in, she is ambushed by a ethereal girl who reveals herself to be the players who were trying to lure out Shugo. Back at the monsters, Sanjuro tells Shugo to go and get Rena who is probably more screwed than they are. Shugo does go to get her and Rena is currently being attacked by an invulnerable Reaper who deals her a mortal wound. Shugo Data Drains it but our poor Rena can't be healed...or rezzed. Fading away, Rena is dragged into the walls of the mansion, Shugo crying her name as the two futilely reach for each other...

The episode ends with the reveal Rena has been comaed in real life.

So yeah...this is where the canon diverges for the anime.

THOUGHTS

And there it is. From here on out, we're flying blind. This is where the series set itself apart from the manga by getting fucking grimdark. Let's see if they can pull it off.

[isleofancients]

an echoed huff, equally venomless. "told you," they mutter, gratefully accepting the cookie- which they turn briefly over in their hands, reflecting on what they know, and what they've seen. "he had really, really bad experiences with someone. I know he's dead. I know he was a sadistic bastard. if I didn't think it would be a betrayal, I'd be tempted to try rezzing the bastard, just to spend a few days carving him into pieces."

they inherit a lot from their mother, but the lack of understanding of hate, or of an understanding of willingness to cause pain for pains sake? yeah, no. that skipped them. a sigh, their eyes closing. "I'm not looking forward to meeting the queen of this place. I know it's going to happen sooner or later, I just get the feeling I'm going to have trouble not telling her to her face that I think she's a selfish fucking bitch, who could have prevented a lot of pain if she'd been honest with Huitzi ten years ago. the king would already be back, she never would have died, Rasse would-"

"...I know I don't know everything, but I may need an interference run to keep me from starting a national incident, whenever it happens. because unless a lot changes, my first instinct is probably going to be to punch her in her face. and I'm pretty sure that will turn out badly for everyone, me included. and not be a great welcome home for the king. 'oh, yeah, sorry, i punched your wife.'"

"plus there's that whole, her magic plus Kracken's magic is apparently something of a bitch..."

if she had told him, Huitzi never would have been taken. Q, never rescued. would Flare have found his way here, if their mom hadn't been searching for their lost friend? Umbra, Mo, Flare, Morris... Green... would have probably been consumed by the nothing. Nouveau would still be a threat out there...

...but it's not the first time they've run into that. knowing that without a terrible suffering, something precious to them could have never existed. they've faced that before, and it doesn't change what she did, or the blame that lays at her feet.

"I think I'm just gonna keep avoiding her." cookie, finished. they're a bit more relaxed, even if still bitter over the queen. "better question... you said Cyan was with Aiden. how's he doing?"

"You have every right to be angry." Green says simply, kissing your cheek. "But just give me a call and I'll be happy to be your bitchpunching inhibitor."

"I am very good at restraining people." He murmurs slyly, with another smooch.

He sighs, plopping his head on top of yours.

"The kid is... kinda out of it. Not really talking. Cyan got him playing a bit at least, so hopefully that'll perk him up some."

[caithyra]

Cousin in the North?

So, GRRM has said that the characters will end up more or less in the same positions in ASoIaF as they did in GoT. If you’ve seen me in other fandoms you know what that means...

Random Theory Time! (Or: How Sansa ends up ruling most of Westeros in the books, maybe?)

So, when Robb is looking at the chain of inheritance, Catelyn suggests distant cousins in the Vale of Arryn. Anyway, turns out Lord Frey is the biggest FoBzilla there ever was and now Sansa Stark is considered the only legitimate Stark alive (no one in the North believes Jeyne is Arya ffs, they watched these girls grow up! All that’s needed is for the Starks’ bannermen to be called and they take one look at Jeyne, who is the wrong age and presumably not with a long “horse-face” or she wouldn’t have thrown so many stones in that glasshouse, and boom).

Here’s the thing: Sansa Stark is not just the last legitimate Stark. She is also first cousins with the young and sickly Lord of the Vale and the niece of the dethroned Lord of the Riverlands, which is currently going through a famine in a ten-year winter, while the Vale’s granaries and larders are so full they might burst.

Yes, Edmure has a baby, but this is Westeros; if grown women like Minisa, Joanna, Lyarra and rest are dropping like damselflies, I fully expect kids under the age of 3 to drop even faster, and Edmure was probably traumatized over the whole Red Wedding thing and not in the mood to lay with his Frey wife (if the High Septon doesn’t go “weddings are not massacres!” and annuls it for a tidy sum that may or may not have the prints of “small” fingers on it). Alternatively, if Edmure dies and baby dies after him, Sansa would inherit from a cousin in the Riverlands as well.

Things Catelyn says/wants sometimes comes true (see wanting to keep Bran in the North before his fall, and then he even goes further north!). She talks about inheritance, cousins, the North and the Vale.

And the gods, whether they’re the Seven or Old, listen to Sansa’s wishes/curses at times, and Sansa wanted Harry the Heir thrown by his horse (depending on when it happens, that’s a guaranteed trampling, maybe even by several horses, sometimes not very survivable, it could also happen on the side of a mountain on a trail, even, and, well, the Moon Door is a death sentence for a reason).

What if Sansa wont be Queen in the North?

What if she will become the Queen of the Northern Kingdoms? The North, the Vale and the Riverlands?

Heck, we have the “Younger, more beautiful, Queen”-prophecy and Jaime’s quest for honor, so lets thrown in the Westerlands as well by the Western bannermen abandoning Cersei after Tommen/Myrcella’s deaths (maybe she flees King’s Landing for Casterly Rock and opens the gates to Greyjoy in exchange for becoming his wife and instead ends up a saltwife?), and going to swear fealty to Jaime, because by now the world is upside-down enough and they don’t care about some silly Kingsguard vows he already broke in the most spectacular way possible (also, they all seem to like him, so...).

Except, he pledges his sword and shield to Sansa Stark. Basically becoming her bannerman. Which makes his bannermen, her bannermen, too.

Tywin: “Muhahaha! I shall steal the North via Sansa Stark by forcing her to marry my most hated child!”

Sansa: *Yoinks the Westerlands and his favorite child from underneath his most successful child’s feet by playing much fairer than him.*

"Queen you shall be . . . until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear."

“Dear” -> Jaime’s loyalty, the adoration and fealty of the kingdoms, queen in her own right without having to marry, is called beautiful the most in the books, would get Casterly Rock through either her marriage to Tyrion or by Jaime’s vow, as well as under the tutelage of Littlefinger becomes the Queen of the Chessboard of the Game of Thrones.

Heck, with Brienne of Tarth and the Baratheons dying out, lets add the Stormlands as well!

Though those are an even longer shot, since it wouldn’t have poetic justice behind it (on the other hand, Joffrey Baratheon abused her and Stannis Baratheon wants to steal her birthright, hm...).

Basically, we don’t know who Brienne’s mother is, but she could be a Baratheon aunt, which would make Brienne next in line! ^_^ How fun! Okay, we’ve got 5/7 kingdoms now...

The Reach will probably devolve into civil war because the War of the Five Kings is pretty much half-exported from the Reach (Hightowers/Tyrells supports Renly and Joffrey and Tommen, while the Florents support Stannis, via their queens, Selyse and Margaery). Depending on how destroyed the Tyrells are, and how busy the Hightowers will be with the Greyjoys, it might end up becoming a three-way within the Reach’s borders alone.

The Iron Islands might end up swearing fealty to Sansa to pay for their transgressions through Theon and Asha, or this will be the conflict that finally gets rid of the cockroaches that should never have survived this long with their stupid culture...

Dorne will probably remain independent.

The Crownlands will burn with wildfire, but from the ashes the shoots of a new spring might grow...

Okay, so Iron Islands and the Crownlands! There, Seven Kingdoms of the North (of the Reach and Dorne). Okay, so those were a reach, but eh! This is Random Theory Time! Strict logic and accuracy need not apply!

And so you have witnessed the birth of The Queen of the Northern Kingdoms Theory. Move over BoltOn, Varys the Little Mermaid, Septa Lemore and the rest! There’s a new Queen in the North! Lol.

[flowers-of-io]

I keep thinking about what made Immaru resurrect Savathûn in particular, what was his thought process behind and had he planned it or. What if beforehand he was just a little guy. A little bit bitter, a little bit a bully, but he was just flying around looking for his Guardian, and suddenly he sees this heap of bones and chitin on some cliff in beautiful sunset glow and thinks 'well that certainly wasn't here 5 minutes ago' but now there's this pull he can't ignore and, being Immaru, goes 'ey, fuck it' and rezzes this weird dead thing and it sits up and gasps and looks at him wide eyed and he's like IS THAT--

But again, he's Immaru, so he just rolls with it. And he's got no idea what to do with a hive god on his hands so he just tells her 'hey, you're Savathun, a hive god, any ideas where we go from here?' And she tilts her head and asks 'what's a hive god' and he's like well fuck that's gonna be harder than I thought. But hey there's a database!! in the vanguard network!! and the entirety of the World's Grave is there because our Ghost downloaded it back in D1!! So he frantically browses through zettabytes of data to find something on Savathun's brood, and they both head out in hopes she's left some groundwork as not to have her return be *as* much a surprise (and it's a smart decision, especially that she'd been openly disassociating herself from the Darkness for a while now). So they go and find her brood. There's probably some pike chase with an eliksni gang in the meantime. They don't know shit, Savathun's like two days old, Immaru's probably hated by every Ghost he's come in contact with in the past five centuries, they're having the time of their lives.

[chosendestiny]

A bit about Rogue! Rogue is old. Really old. He's been alive since the dark ages when he was first rezzed. He was one of the few Guardians who fully remembered their past at the time. Before the Vanguard was made, he was a warlord with other Risen, with who he made a fireteam. With everything that happened during the Dark Ages, he had hope that it'll be over, with the help of other Warlords. Some from his team were killed, while very few suddenly disappeared. Rogue stayed away from the temple, spending most of his time protecting a rescuing those in need of help, sending them to a refugee camp where they can be safe. Most of them were from dangerous places. In turn, he risked his life more and more. During his life as Risen, he tried to become friends with others, earning nothing but stabs in the back. Rogue stayed distant from anyone, doing missions solo. Gem (his ghost) assured him that someday he will find people who wouldn't betray him. When the Vanguard formed, Rogue became more involved with people. They helped him remind him who he was, who he can be. Rogue knew this is where he belonged to. He is loyal to The Vanguard, facing and completing every mission thrown at him. His past and the dark ages never left him back then, it hasn't left now either. It haunts him, becoming the bane to his new life. He regrets what he has done. He wasn't able to save his fireteam. He wasn't able to save his family. He swore as soon as he remembered everything that he will change. He promised to his wife, his fireteam, everyone who fell to the darkness. Rogue then became the leader of Fireteam Neptune, soon realizing he grew a soft spot for the members. He is strict when teaching, but he teaches them everything he learned. He becomes protective of each of them, helping them take care of themselves. He considers them his family. If anything happened to them, whether they're seriously hurt, kidnapped, anything. All hell will break loose, and he will do whatever means necessary to get them back.

[xivu-arath]

Take this as your free go-ahead to ramble about Chirraek!! I am conducting research for no reason whatsoever, none at all, but just as a completely hypothetical question with no bearing on anything, what do they think of the Lucent Brood?

what a completely innocent query! regardless, I'm always happy to take about my fave wizard

chirraek is initially pretty sour on the lucent brood. they might be very practical but they were raised in the sword logic, and the sound of hive turning to the light still feels like a betrayal - a soul-deep, visceral one. and especially given the context that they're toughing it out with their handpicked group of hive, trying to avoid notice from xivu's army and keeping everyone from ripping each other to pieces and like. wow this could have been an option the whole time? they go every day struggling to get their peers to not fuck everyone over in shortsighted schemes and you can just get light and power and safety that easily??? :///

once they hear about it being savathûn who got it, things make a little more sense and they soften. chirraek's still a bit salty but I figure they would eventually head to her throne world and align back with her simply because sav is the leader they know and can... not predict, but trust to a certain extent. they're used to working with and under her, even if the lack of memories throws them off a bit here

plus, having the light does grant a lot of benefits - the additional security, the lack of desperate stupidity that worm-hunger incites, having ghosts around to literally help with all sorts of fussy and fiddly tasks that would usually get messed up by acolytes... chirraek might clash at times with the brood itself as everyone still figures out structure and what's necessary and what's just pointlessly old ritual... but they are pretty cordial to lucent ghosts (usually. immaru tends to grate on them quite a bit)

they have the dubious fortune of having many transferable skills and a lot less work required from their old role since the lucent brood is relatively smaller, which means... they get to manage way more details than they had to previously! joy!! I think I mentioned this on discord but I'd see them handling a lot of the records. not just the newly hatched broods but also new rezzes, as well as how the young hive growing and changing in the throne world's ambient light are doing. and probably some other stuff I haven't thought of yet!