#just to be abandoned at peak devotion and guilt and hotness ��

[guinevereslancelot]

what was with cameron house md she spends 90% of the episode saying she wants their patient to die bc he's a genocidal dictator and her colleague husband says "babe it bothers me for ethical reasons that you want our patient to die :(" and she said "hm maybe you're right :/" but when it comes down to it the genocidal dictator lays a finger on her in an aggressive manner and chase instantly commits medical malpractice to murder the guy and then when he tells her she LEAVES HIM bc boo hoo he's a murderer now like GIRL he killed a man for you!!! he's wracked with catholic guilt!!! he's being crushed beneath the weight of his sins because he chose his devotion to you over his devotion to god!!! he literally could not get any sexier at this moment in time!!!

[greenmagic-oilspill]

Fragments, Pt. 3

The Sandsea…

Granny and Azionne knelt on the floor across from each other, their eyes screwed shut in concentration. In the basement, upon the open sparring mat, the two women meditated. Azionne gathered her aether and channeled it to Granny, who felt their aether churning around her, intertwining and giving her power.

Their Echo allowed Granny to do this.

"Edge and Yue are far out of our reach, no matter what we do," said Granny.  She placed her palms down on the tatami mat, picturing her Cluster mates in her mind's eye.  "The other four, however… it is time for them to come home."

Gyr Abania, the Peaks…

Often, Siz'ir found himself wandering. At night, especially, when he knew his comrades must be sleeping, he found his mind journeying to them, guiding the rest of the Cluster through their sleep. Weaving them into each other's memories. He had no control over it - Azionne would cross his mind, and then Edge, and he would be viewing Edge's dreams through Azionne's eyes. Sometimes, Gogo would experience Azionne's nightmares - he felt bad for the young Lalafell the most, as Azionne's sleep was the most fitful.

Curiously, Yue did not seem to dream much, so none of the Cluster dived into her memories often. Siz'ir was not sure why, but when she did dream it was always from after she joined the Riskbreakers.

He felt a little bad, sometimes. His Cluster's worst memories and private moments, their dreams, became shared nearly every night. He didn't think they could see Siz'ir's own dreams, however, which was fine with him.

He sat cross-legged on the ruined Temple of the Fist's stone floor, one of many abandoned temples strewn about the Peaks. He drank an awful concoction from a bowl that tasted vaguely of onions and something sweet, perhaps a fruit, that his teacher insisted would energize him. His living situation was sparse, and the temple had not become any more comfortable since he and his teacher moved in temporarily, but something about it had become comforting to him. A carving of the Destroyer watched them always, and after a few days of explaining the Eorzean Twelve to his teacher, Siz'ir found that he liked it. He was never a spiritual man by any means, but something about the Destroyer's eyes felt safe… perhaps coupled with Menphina gazing at him through the hole in the roof every night. He was a Keeper, after all, even if he was never welcome to a tribe.

His teacher, Tatsumiya, said that his dreams were the result of his third eye awakening. Siz'ir argued back that it was the Echo, and that he was not becoming Garlean or anything.  But the old crone shook her head, called him an idiot, and claimed it was an ability of the Samurai. That was when she finally consented to training him.

The blade she had given him, a katana, felt awkward in his hands at first. For a long time, he swung it with reckless abandon, but Tatsumiya's strict instruction and frequent beatings by her own wooden katana eventually made the blade feel like an extension of his own arm.

He had a long way to go.

Siz'ir forced the last of his drink down his throat, and was just about to stand when Granny's aetherial form materialized in front of him.

"Siz'ir… the Riskbreakers are in trouble. The Reach is fallen. Come home."

Kugane…

As Yue walked through the city with her companions, she felt herself being awestruck by just about everything. Its colors - bright crimson towers, golden lanterns, robes and kimonos of lavender and pink and yellow. Its smells - the salt of the sea, the rice wine in the hot springs, foods cooking in street stalls as they passed. Its people - sailors and merchants from all the world over, Roegadyn and Hyur and even Au Ra like her, all different styles of clothes and adventurers. It seemed that in the past thousand years, Hingashi had changed more than she could ever believe. And yet…

And  yet…

So much of it seemed familiar to her, though she didn’t voice that to Sima or Helisent. The hard-faced woman at the Shiokaze Hostelry, with the silky hair and the eyepatch, seemed like someone she met in a dream. She and Yue had even caught each other's eyes as they passed, and Yue noticed a brief flicker of recognition that passed just as quickly. But how could they have met before, when Yue had not been here in a thousand years?

Yue even found herself suggesting that she and her companions go see the theatre, but how had she even known Kugane had one? Kugane did not even exist yet when she roamed these lands.

Lady Azionne had bid her to travel to Doma, to see how much the land had changed.

But Yue feared that she'd find it didn't change at all.

Outside Little Ala Mhigo…

The trio of Red Mages sat inside their crimson tent, sharing food and drink and stories with each other. Baithin learned a lot about Lunelle and their teacher, Aldrich, and their travels together before they came across him and he took the red with them. Aldrich was a jovial man, one who left the group known as the Crimson Duelists before they were massacred during the Mad King Theodoric's reign. As such, he was spared, though Baithin sensed a hint of melancholy and guilt underneath his eccentricities.

Lunelle was an Ishgardian woman, and though Baithin assumed she was from a noble house due to the way she carried herself and her dress, it turned out she was lowborn. Before coming across Aldrich on his journey to Ishgard, Lunelle was a devout priestess of Halone and a talented arcanist besides, charged by the Church to devote her life and her skill to the war with the Dravanians. Upon meeting Aldrich, who showed her what a life of adventure could be like, she exchanged her alb for a crimson chapeau and joined him, scarcely looking back at her old life.

"So I tell Edge, 'Listen, you accidentally stole an Ul'dahn nobleman's laxatives instead of his Fantasia, so you don't get to yell at me for stealing top-secret Garlean intelligence!' That shut him up real good," said Baithin, chuckling. Aldrich roared with laughter.

"Oh, my!" said Lunelle, giggling behind her hand. She brushed her chin-length brown hair behind her ear. "What a story! It is quite crude, though..."

Baithin nearly jumped to his feet when Granny suddenly materialized in front of him, and the look on her face immediately made him worry. "Baithin, come home. Vegnagun was fake. The Reach has fallen."

She vanished, and Baithin stood. Lunelle and Aldrich looked up at him, startled. "Vegnagun was fake…?" Baithin said aloud. No, it couldn't be… that was the intelligence he had discovered, he was the first Riskbreaker to have heard of the Garlean superweapon in development. He hadn't even known that Ashe went to pursue it, or sent members of their company - he had been in the deserts of Thanalan for far too long. Guilt gripped his chest. If Vegnagun wasn't real, what did that mean for the Riskbreakers? "I have to go home," he said to his companions.  He immediately went to gather his things. "This isn't one of those situations where if I leave I can never complete my training, is it?"

Aldrich blinked. "No, son, of course not. Do what you need to."

"But you'll come back to us?" Lunelle asked, her heterochromatic eyes hopeful. She stood with him. She was short for an Elezen, but he was tall for a Midlander, so he had a few ilms on her. "Perhaps I could come with you!"

Baithin shook his head. "No… this is something I have to do alone. I think I've made a huge mistake."

The Azim Steppe, Reunion…

Edge sat in deep meditation, the events of the past few days churning in his mind.

Their party had decided to take refuge in the homeland of the Xaela tribes, and Sylvan Rain had managed to find them, bringing two strangers with her that joined their strength to the Riskbreakers' cause. Their initial traveling party now reunited, Sylvan brought news with her - that their mission in Doma was a lie, that there was no Vegnagun, and it was all a Garlean ploy to fracture the Riskbreakers' strength. They had immediately feared a retaliation on the Gyr Abanian front, so Edge was in a panic, worried for Ashe's safety.

It was Arae'sae Evlo who came to his aid then, casting a spell that connected Edge to Ashe through the aetherial sea. He didn't know exactly how it worked, but it allowed him to send a short message to his wife. They were safe… at least for now. And because they were able to find Ashe in the aether, Edge knew she was, too.

He trusted in her strength. He knew he would have to - especially since the Riskbreaker party decided to stay in the Far East to aid the Doman Liberation Front. In that sense, their mission had not changed. Luckily, in Reunion, they had come across Aisling Lee, another ally, and she would guide them to searching for Lord Hien, heir apparent to the Doman throne. That was how they would aid the Liberation Front, by bringing their leader back from the Azim Steppe.

Until then, they would bide their time. Arae'sae was working on long-distance communication with everyone back home, using magically-encrypted linkpearls… whatever that meant. He hoped he would be able to connect to Gogo, at least, all the way up in Azys Lla…

Azys Lla, Gamma Quadrant…

Lini and Gogo stood together against their foes, with Pikna Popp the moogle behind them trying her best to offer support. The Elezen, a man with an enormous greatsword, continued to harry Lini as much as he could. His swings were slow, but heavy, and Lini's only advantage was her smaller size and speed. That would only do her so good… just one misstep and he could kill her. On top of that, his dark magic caused her no end of struggle.

The Xaela Warrior was a timid fighter, clearly holding back. Lini had almost forgotten his presence multiple times while faced with Geoffroix's onslaught, until he came out of nowhere with a halfhearted swing. Lini cursed to herself and just barely managed to dodge, deciding once and for all to remove him from the fight for being little more than a nuisance. She had to help Gogo fight Invidia, who was doing all he could to match her spearcannon with his gunplay and machinery.

Lini slashed the Xaelan man across the chest, letting out a spray of crimson blood that stained the rocky ground. The Warrior stumbled backward, hand drawn to his chest more out of shock than fear.

"Dagasi!" Invidia shouted. Lini was startled by the pitch of her voice, which showed shock, concern, and… a little fear? The Garlean woman glared at Lini. "What have you done?"

Lini was about to answer, but she barely had time to raise her shield and block a savage axe cleave, the strength of it sending her flying back several fulms where she fell to the ground, her shield arm numb. "By the Twelve, that strength!" she exclaimed.

She barely had time to react when Dagasi was on her again, all timidity gone - he was the picture of ferocity, his eyes afire with rage. He snarled, hefting his axe for a killing blow that Lini just barely rolled out of the way to avoid. His attack decimated the ground beneath her, sending up a spray of rocks and dirt.

Granny appeared, then, materializing in between Lini and Dagasi, throwing her arms up instinctively to defend herself when the Xaela launched himself through her to attack Lini. "Oh, my!" Granny exclaimed. "Linini, what is happening? Is that… Invidia?! You've found her?"

"Not now!" Lini shouted, diving away from another blow. She glanced up at the airship full of adventurers and Ironworks engineers, ready to leave this disastrous expedition to the Gamma Quadrant behind. She and Gogo needed to leave now.

She heard Gogo's panicked yelp and saw him trapped in some sort of electric vice, metal clamps tight around his arms and legs and holding him immobilized on the ground. Lini cursed again, and in the chaos of the moment she didn't notice Granny vanishing, nor did she see Geoffroix resuming his attack until he was on her again.

She weakly parried his blow, but Dagasi snarled and was on her again. This time, Geoffroix was in his way, and the Warrior went on a rampage that didn't differentiate between friend or foe. She used the opportunity to run away from Geoffroix and Dagasi, now locked in combat with each other, and went to Gogo's aid.

"Lini, don't worry about me!" the boy shouted at her from the ground. "I'll be okay! You need to get on that airship!"

She clenched her fist. "I refuse to leave you behind!"

"I'm not scared!" he said, and somehow, Lini believed it.

Pikna Popp fluttered in the air around Lini. "C'mon, kupo! We don't have much time!"

"But Gogo… he's just a child!" Lini argued. "I was supposed to keep him safe here!"

Invidia knelt at Gogo's side, giving Lini a smirk that said she was the victor here. Lini grit her teeth, not knowing what else she could do. In front of her, Gogo was trapped, and more Garlean soldiers were arriving to the fray. To her left, Geoffroix was slowly but surely subduing Dagasi, and he would be coming for her next. Behind her, the airship to safety was readying to leave her behind.

For the second time in her life, Lini fled.

Granny opened her eyes, and judging by the look on her face Azionne knew she didn’t see anything good. “What is it?”

“Lini and Gogo are fighting Invidia as we speak,” she said. “It... does not look good.”

And then the old woman collapsed.