#rt random thoughts

[kshert]

Of all the endings for Heinrix (with the romantic RT), the endings where Rogue Trader swears allegiance to the C'tan are my favorite. And this is not about which fate is best for Heinrix or anything.

There are two options for the final slide: 1) option is the same for a romance when Heinrix remains in the Inquisition and without a romance.

2) a true romance when he leaves the Inquisition.

I consider both slides important if there is romance. In short, I think both slides are about loyalty, but one is about RT and the other is about the Inquisition.

In the second option of the epilogue, staying in the Inquisition, Heinrix does what he must. He tries to kill the traitor. Even with a romance (which was a revelation for me when I was checking out different endings). His loyalty, despite his love for RT, belongs to the Inquisition and the Imperium. Does he mourn RT? I think yes. But duty and service to humanity are above any feelings. Now about the first option, which I love dearly and which gives me a lot of thoughts. (but mostly I make incoherent sounds of admiration.)

(And it is important to say that I perceive the epilogues as the records of an Imperial historian-chronicler. And from this point of view I confirm to us that Heinrix is a traitor for the Imperium. As he himself said.)

Woman he loves more than life betrays more than just him. RT is a traitor to the Imperium, to all of humanity, to life. And instead of killing her, as Heinrix does in the not-true-romance. He tries to appeal to heart (which is nonexistent) and mind. He is the only one in the retinue who does so. And he doesn't try to join the traitor, like Jae tries to do. Heinrix still has principles. "Working for the good of humanity" and serving the C'tan are contrary to that. RT has become everything to him, he trusts her and believes in her, loyalty bordering on obsession. And consciously or not, the attempt to convince her looks like a mirror image of what RT did to him. She appealed to his heart and mind, appealed to his humanity, saved him from himself. And now he is trying to do the same for her, to save her.

Could it be that the sudden betrayal has deprived him of common sense? Especially considering that he abandoned the Inquisition, became a heretic and replaced everything with serving RT. And now that she has betrayed him, he has nothing left. Only a desperate attempt to bring her back. (I can imagine that his thoughts at this moment are saturated with a desperate "please come back"). As an Ordo Xenos, Heinrix should know that convincing someone who has no heart and soul is objectively stupid.

There is so much angst, hopelessness, desperate faith and loyalty here. For me, this is the height of romance.

(I threw a lot of words and now I shut up :D And sorry for the mistakes if there are any.)

[dairine-bonnet]

When Marazhai makes some ambiguous offers or seems to threaten RT, what does Heinrix think about it?

Marazhai: Do you want to know my world better? *Pushes RT off the edge of his speeder, then catches her hand* Do you want to look at my whip? Do you want to experience my agonizer?

Me: Heinrix, why are you silent now??? This xenos is trying to steal your lady right in front of you!

[setyourfireonme]

fic recs that feature sex worker dean for free space @spnficrecfest

✨💖✨

trade by chinablue (John/Dean, Dean/OMCs, 771, E) (part 1 of tradeverse)

You'll hide from mirrors until the marks fade away.

quiet room by chinablue (John/Dean, Dean/OMCs, 1.9k, E) (part 2 of tradeverse)

This is what love looks like.

love is by chinablue (Sam/Dean, John/Dean, Dean/OMCs, 2.3k, E, Rape/Non-Con)

Love is all you are.

halo (in reverse) by poisontaster (Dean/OMCs, Dean/OFCs, 4.9k, E, Underage)

Adulthood has a taste.

the black line below me by smilla (Dean/OMC, 4.1k, M, Underage)

It's not about money

march madness in carson city by egipci (John/Dean, 1.5k, Not Rated)

Dad just saw him, he’s pretty sure.

pragmatics by deadlybride (Sam/Dean, Dean/Others, 4.3k, E, Underage)

Dean tells Sam about the work he used to do; he hopes Sam understands why he did it.

it's a mile from here to glory by ivyfic (Dean/Others, 7.6k, M, Underage) (part 1 of after school special)

John found it when he was doing laundry. When John dug into the bottom of Dean's duffel to get the last of the dirty socks that had been sitting in there, probably, since the last time John had caved and done the laundry, he found a roll of bills. Tens and twenties, mostly, held together with a black binder clip. It was close to five hundred dollars.

dear lovey hart by ivyfic (Sam/Dean, 5k, M, Underage) (part 2 of after school special)

"People I've fucked," Sam said nonchalantly. Dean almost did a spit-take. "I have had sex with eight people. Lifetime total." He waved his hand in the air over his head, probably trying to show the number eight on his fingers, then gave up and let his arm drop like a rock back to his side. He scrunched up his face like he was thinking hard. "Make that nine…no…eight and a half." Dean rolled his eyes. "Your turn," Sam said.

hitchhikers by glorious_spoon (795, T, Underage)

Some ugly facts about life on the road.

monsters are out there by connivingophelia (Dean/OMCs, 4.6k, E, Rape/Non-Con, Underage)

When Dean is ten-and-a-half, he learns men will fall for his pretty mouth, his fuck-me eyes. When Dean is twelve-and-a-half, he discovers how to use this information. Dean longs to be a hunter like Dad, to bring monsters to their knees. This isn't what he had in mind.

feel like i should have said something by karaokeburial (John/Dean, 1.3k, E)

John's come home exhausted from a long hunt, and they're broke. Dean, thankfully, is always good for making a little bit of money down at the hunter dive.

so goes the song by aeli_kindara (Dean/Lee, 21.7k, E) (+ jackalopes)

The first time Lee meets Dean Winchester, it’s courtesy of a chokehold.

the landscape after cruelty by hearthouses (Sam/Dean, Dean/Others, 16k, Rape/Non-Con, Underage)

Dean leans into Sam's touch, instinctive, too exhausted to fight the part of him that enjoys the attention Sam gives him, a shameful dirty secret, how much he loves letting Sam do this, when it should be the other way around. No one else would ever take care of him like this. OR Five Times Sam Took Care Of Dean In The Aftermath + 1 Time He Got Revenge On Those Who Hurt Dean.

there are worse things i could do by amiwritesthings (John/Deanna, 5.2k, E)

It’s cold and windy, the bite of first snow in the air, a strange yellow glow in the sky that tells Deanna winter is coming and it’s coming soon. Her breath billows in a cloud of white, and she pulls the thin leather jacket tighter around herself, rocks on her heels to keep the blood flowing. It’s a little past midnight, and the streets are quiet—too quiet—for all of them to get to the other end of the night with some cash in their pockets. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last, but she needs the money tonight, for a hot meal and a fix and maybe a new jacket that isn’t more holes than fabric.

discovery by reapertownusa (John/Dean, 1.1k, E)

After a hunt John is looking for a release and finds it an unlikely place.

+ the rest of the past is a foreign country verse (John/Dean, Dean/OMCs, 13.1k in total, E, Rape/Non-Con)

as if we'd never met by thatotherperv (John/Dean, Dean/OMCs, 6.7k, E, Underage)

AU. Dean Winchester was kicked into the foster system when he was 4 years old…when he was 14, he kicked himself out of it. Bottom line is, men enjoy fucking little boys all across this great nation. Dean figures if he's gonna spend the rest of his life with sick fuckers staring at his mouth, he'd better be making some cash.

sharp teeth of the one you love by vintagedean (John/Dean, Dean/Others, 2.3k, E)

The ogre at the corner table right by the door has been eyeing Dean all night. John watches the way the beast’s eyes track Dean as he works different patrons at the bar with no luck. Dean tries for a shifter and a vampire before he starts flirting with a human man playing pool by himself, but John knows there’s no way his boy is unaware of the behemoth of a creature tucked into the shadows behind him. He’s been moving slowly in his direction, never engaging or tossing a smile, but angling his body with every interaction with someone else so that his ass faces the monster. Dean’s a professional, and he’s good at what he does. John keeps to himself and lets his son work as he nurses his beer and thinks through what he’ll need to have ready for after Dean’s done his job. Ogres have relatively small dicks for their size, but they’re usually barbed at the tip. It means Dean’s going to have some internal damage when he��s through, but not too much if they use enough of the right kind of lube. It also means they can charge a small fortune. Dean knows this, so John’s not worried about needing to intervene. His kid can handle it. He is, after all, a professional. 

first night as the prince of hearts by karaokeburial (John/Dean, Dean/Jean Renault, 1.9k, E)

John's made the drive all the way across the border from Twin Peaks into Canada, coming to visit his eldest on his first night at his new job.

[vanlegion]

A while back after I found the QvA PSAs and watched them all in a row. . . and just cacking at the time about how they just embraced the Grimmons. . . There was one about the Best Villain. It was funny as hell and I laughed. Just, Caboose. BUT... some time shortly after I kinda had a thought. Something kind of made me go 'hmm'.

Simmons thinks The Director was the Best Villain. . . . . Do you think he thought The Director was the best villain because his own life and experience the worse villain he's dealt with personally was his own abusive fuck of a father who's expectations he could never meet? Or do you think it's simply because Dr. Leonard Church pretty much fucked over not only his own family but had a reaching negative impact across countless people's lives?

Eh, I kinda see it being both, but there's defiantly some personal animosity there.

[ncutii-gatwa]

watching something you used to love get slowly squeezed to death is just heartbreaking. i hope those laid off from roosterteeth can find good work

[kshert]

Here's a useless fact about RT. The game has game time inside which can be viewed when editing saves through Arcemi Save Game Editor.

So, if you complete all the quests and use the red warp paths, then RT arrives at Epitaph 6.5 years after the start of the game.

If you only do the main story quest (I actually did a couple more companion quests), then in about a year.

I don’t know how much time actually passed according to canon.

Personally, I like the idea that a lot of time passes between events. Then the slow burn with the interrogator becomes even more beautiful. In my save, MA only happens after 3 years.

Screenshot of save from MA.

[kshert]

Well, here's my thoughts on my RT's warp nightmares.

I think Tessera's nightmares would mostly focus on her Darkest Hour - Shadow of Torment. (I made up her backstory that the Inquisition tortured her for trying to separate from the Imperium of Man and she miraculously escaped).

The stronger the connection she had with Heinrix, the more often she would dream of him torturing her.

Or another option:

The Lord-Captain was found on the lower decks distributing food to the poor. She blasphemed the Emperor's god and advocated independence from the Imperium of Man. Lady von Valancius was returned by force to her cabin. In the morning, she remembered nothing. All listeners to the heretical speeches were neutralized by order of Seneschal Werserian.

So, the warp nightmare post by @cawyden-gaming and a question posed by @andrigyn got me thinking about what Visenya's warp nightmare would consist of.

She has a lot of fears and anxieties around the concepts of autonomy and individuality, specifically when it comes to memory and mental factors. Memories are extremely important to her, and she sees them as a way of defining her sense-of-self.

I'm pretty sure her nightmare would revolve around servitorization and having her body remain alive while her memories and autonomy are stolen.

The concepts of individuality and sense-of-self are also what leads her to bond so strongly with Abel and Pasqal - and I'm so excited to start exploring these relationships very soon in-fic.

Give me your Rogue Trader OC warp nightmares! Consider yourself tagged.

[chewysgummies]

Ngl, I thought it was weird of me to put Nero's day at Disneyland in the R-T playlist 💀

[fourraccoonsinacoat]

Heinrix van Calox Lore & Headcannons

Don't mind me, I'm just over here chewing on some random thoughts about our favorite agent of the Inquisition. Playing around with some of it for a fic and writing it out because it helps me organize my thoughts.

Knight World Culture & Heinrix's Internalized Hatred of Psykers

Having grown up on a Knight World, Heinrix would possess an internalized hatred for psykers (generally called "witches" on Knight Worlds) that we see him continually struggle with.

In Warhammer lore, many Knight Worlds survived the Age of Strife due to the fact that these worlds tended to shun psykers and not take advantage of the benefits of advanced machinery. So, when the warp imploded and AI told humanity to get fucked, many Knight Worlds were spared from the horrors of the Age of Strife and went on existing as they always had, led by a doctrine of tradition.

The noble families that lord over Knight Worlds hold to a rigorous belief in honor, fealty, social status, obligation, discipline and self-mastery. This creed is only reinforced by the Throne Mechanicum when, at 18, a prospective Knight pilot bonds with their Imperial Knight suit. The Throne Mechanicum is the cybernetic control hub of an Imperial Knight, and it connects to the pilot via neural interface implants in the pilot's brain. Through this neural connection, the Throne Mechanicum implants positive associations with the concepts of honor, fealty, etc., when the pilot bonds with their Knight. And it continues to do so over the course of the Knight's life. This is why these beliefs are so ingrained in Knight World nobles - because it is constantly reinforced by their bonds with their Imperial Knight suits.

On Knight Worlds, being a psyker is to be something impure, rotten and dangerous. They are the antithesis of everything the nobles hold dear and their shunning of psykers was what kept many of those worlds safe during the Age of Strife. Psykers are seen as unpredictable, violent and corrupted by the warp, and thus have no place in Knight World society. If not outright killed, they are always exiled and sent away on the Imperial Black Ships, just as Heinrix's family did with him.

Though Heinrix never went through the Ritual of Becoming - the rite to bond with an Imperial Knight suit - he was certainly being prepared to and would have grown up with the belief that psykers are corrupted and dangerous. Thus, when his psyker abilities manifested during his adolescent years, everything he believed about psykers was turned inward and became truths about himself.

Time and experiences have altered and evolved his beliefs, and we see him show empathy and understanding for other psykers like Idira and the RT, if they are a psyker. However, at his core remains the belief that psykers are inherently lesser.

We see this time and again, especially on his romance route, with how he talks about himself and psykers, in general. During his romance scene in Commorragh, if the RT questions why he remains loyal to the Imperium, Heinrix will say that the Imperium "deemed me stable enough to keep me as a sanctioned psyker" - refering to the Imperium's sanctioning process for psykers the Imperium wants to enlist. In Heinrix's mind, it's only through the grace of the Imperium that a corrupted individual like him is allowed to live. Which brings me to...

Heinrix believes it's his duty to die for the Imperium.

Heinrix literally believes he owes his life to the Imperium of Man. He grew up believing psykers were evil and corrupt individuals, likely deserving of death. And then his own powers manifested and suddenly he was one of those evil and corrupt individuals.

Something to understand about the Imperium is that sanctioned psykers are rare in Warhammer lore. While there are not any concrete numbers, conjecture from Warhammer books, etc., puts the ratio of those identified as psykers by the Inquisition as one in one billion. Then, in order to sustain the Astronomican, roughly 1,000 psykers perrish daily after being locked inside coffin-like devices bound to the Golden Throne. Inside, their essence is extracted and used to power the Astronomican. Psykers are constantly being shipped to Terra in order to fuel the Golden Throne, and the Imperium is, of course, holding onto backlogs of psykers in case ships don't come in or Terra gets cut off. This is what the majority of psykers in the Imperium are used for, and not many psykers are deemed worthwhile enough to go through sanctioning, which is also limited by the number of sanctioning implants available. Remember, no one is making these devices anymore.

The existence of a psyker in the 40k universe is not a happy one. If you manage to not get sacrificed to the Golden Throne, or used as a test subject or whatever else the Imperium is doing with psykers these days, the most common way to serve as a sanctioned psyker is to become an Astropath. Which sounds like it sucks. Very few are chosen for other service.

Considering all of this, it's hardly surprising that Heinrix feels he owes his loyalty to the Imperium. The Imperium allowed him to live. And then the Inquisition came along and saw something in him worth making him an acolyte for.

After being disowned by his family and having his implants ripped from his body, Heinrix likely thought all that awaited him after the Black Ship was death as a sacrifice to the Golden Throne. And yet he was pardoned and given another chance at life, as long as he uses that life to serve the Imperium.

If the RT passes a Persuasion check to get Heinrix to talk about what happened when he used the cogitator on Kiava Gamma, he even concludes his explanation by saying his "path leads to one place, and one place only."

This man fully expects to, and is ready to, die for the Imperium. The Imperium is the only thing giving him purpose. The Imperium accepted him after his family disowned him. The Imperium is all he has, and he will use the life they allowed him to keep and serve them faithfully until that life is used up. In his mind, he deserves nothing more and ought to be happy to be given the opportunity to exist and serve.

Heinrix is extremely self-concious about his appearance.

We get a hint about this in Act 5 when talking to Tanakia, a member of Calcazar's retinue. She mocks him by talking about the attention he paid to his hair and eyes, a sore point for Heinrix considering that, by the time he joined the Inquisition, he's lost an eye and had a chunk carved out of his head in order to remove various implants.

During his romance scene in Commorragh, he refers to himself as a "maimed freak" and talks about how he used his biomancy to repair his damaged cranium and eye in order to "look more like a human again."

If you're romancing Heinrix, he even leaves after you release him in the Anatomical Opera. When you find him in the Pit, he talks about how he didn't want the others, or the RT, to see him in the condition he was in.

Considering his childhood as a noble on a Knight World, care for appearance would be something strongly instilled within him. Knight Worlds are feudal worlds with highly aristocratic societies, so the concept of presenting a buttoned-up and well-kempt appearance would be important for children of noble families.

Heinrix talks about spending years working to reconstruct his eye, which I think also hints at him having a fastitidious and perfectionist personality. I have a personal headcannon that he dislikes the fact he wasn't able to perfectly match his original eye color, and it's a sore spot for him.

Okay, this is a lot longer than I originally intended for it to be. I've got more, but need to stop turning this man over and over in my head and get some actual work done.

[dairine-bonnet]

Me *before meeting Calligos Winterscale three times*: Why do some people romance their RTs with him?

Act 4:

Me: Oh... That's why...

(at least the very episode nearly broke my heart)

P.S. This is a random screenshot from Google pictures to demonstrate the dialogue (thanks a lot to that one who posted it!) because that time I've chosen the version with Russian translation. My RT is still Lynette von Valancius.

[kshert]

Character drops if killed

Common:

Fancy Leg Prosthesis [void piratest trophies]

Broken Aquila [void heretical trophies]

Gold Jewelry [jewellery]

Uncommon:

Gems [jewellery]

Stimm [consumables]

Tactical Monocle [equipped] +25 logic

Rare:

Eye of Hecaton [weapon]

Drukar Venome Dagger [weapon]

Gold Pendant with Two Strands of Different Colored Hair [equipped] -50 logic +50 willpower

Feeling bored so I think I’ll put this out here. If your RT is defeated what items would they drop?

Starting with the three most common.

Three uncommon

And three most rare.

[just-another-pigeon]

I gathered some random thoughts about Heinrix's inability to face hard truth.

It's one of his more intriguing traits—to me, anyway. He is precise, logical, and highly skilled at identifying corruption in others, yet his emotional blind spots prevent him from facing painful truths about those he cares for. For someone so pragmatic and rational, it's surprising to see how often he is in denial.

He avoids acknowledging the challenges in his relationship with the RT, clinging to the present despite assuming there can be no future for them, never addressing the inherent challenges in their relationship—be it the power dynamic, their conflicting roles, or the impracticality of such a union in the Imperium.

When RT chooses to become part of the shard, Heinrix's denial reaches its peak. Unlike other companions who see her transformation as irreversible and stand against the monster that used to be their friends and mistress, Heinrix refuses to believe the woman he loves is gone and clings to the belief that she can be saved. It's touching, tragic, and ultimately futile.

It also shows in his relationship with Calcazar. He claims he is “closer than anyone else to the one I call my personal teacher", and justifies Calcazar's action later by saying "Keeping acolytes ignorant of all plans is a legitimate tactic". But Tanakia and Aishara clearly knows, while Emilina has guessed part of it. Amongst all the acolytes we meet in the game, he is the only one completely in the dark. Big oops.

I feel like the reason Calcazar keeps his big plan from Heinrix is because he knows Heinrix wouldn’t approve its radicality. And Calcazar so clearly doesn't care for him. His line evaluating Heinrix's talent immediately set off my alarm. It's the equivalent of "Girls are better in kitchen than they are in school".  

I also feel like Heinrix's assignment to von Valancius might be a suicide mission. Tanakia says Theodora would kill her if she rules her out as an Inquisition spy on her ship. Calcazar pulled her back in time, but sent Heinrix in afterwards.

Additionally, Calcazar sent Heinrix to Kiava Gamma without any reinforcement after confirming the presence of traitor Astartes there. No Deathwatch, no Space Wolves, not even Astra Militarum. Had RT not equipped with the thickest plot armor imaginable, everyone is going to die there.

But then again, Calcazar basically treats everyone as dispensable. Heinrix could just be the only one that convinces himself otherwise.

[civilotterneer]

Civ Plays: Baldur's Gate 3

With Livic out of the way, and a terrible thought of him going to his room to 'enjoy himself' tainting my angry mind, I returned to my computer to check what had happened.

With the game kicked back to the main screen, I checked to see the game save state.

And...I couldn't find it.

There were previous save games for my other playthroughs of the game, but no signs of the game save from just a moment ago. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find even a whisper of the strange, yet pleasing playthrough I had just had.

"What on earth?"

I tried to make a new game, and found a pop up from The Reality Room device came onto screen:

START GAME WITH PREVIOUS SETTINGS?

I pressed yes, and quickly jumped back into the game.

To my surprise, once in the game, I quickly remade my druid bard character and checked the active game settings. To my surprise, I found both Honour Mode and Experimental Mode had been activated.

"So that's what happened to the save.... Damn you Livic, it must've been you. I NEVER turn honour mode on!"

I stepped back out of the game to do some research on The Reality Room and this 'Experimental Mode'. I found that the magic of the box would add a sense of randomness to the game that no developer could do from their own design. The mode allowed magic to interpret the game and add new things intelligently, and Experimental Mode grew in power the more complex the game.

Beat Saber? It added a couple cool new notes that required weird slashes, and allowed you to take songs you knew by heart and turn them into levels. Starcraft 2? I was surprised when the game allowed me to control individual soldiers and fight the zerg personally in Wings of Liberty on top of the usual RTS game it was. Helldivers? Well, that one works less, as it seemed to do much less for online games, but it still felt awesome to fight the bugs while actually being on the ground.

But Baldur's Gate 3? Apparently it can change huge sections of the game, including the existing origin characters in ways that are nearly unpredictable. Gale's a cat instead of an otter, the goblin tribe is actually already hostile no matter what you do, Gortash can be found wandering the city instead of sticking to just his castle (albeit he had like 10 Steel Watchers following him).

But no mention of this odd Durge run. Nothing I could find would show a version where Durge was a fighter and sexually charged towards the main character. According to what I found online, people were saying that Experimental Mode provided a "Completely Unique Experience every time you played the game". And no one had been able to get a previous experience to repeat.

I started trying a few random runs and ending them early just to see if I could get this Durge to spawn again, but I found myself beginning to hate the "Completely Unique Experience every time" part, as I never could get that Durge to spawn again.

Although there were plenty of fun runs after it, just none like that.

<<Last Page - Page 26 - Epilogue>>

[saltyprincessblog]

omg wait ok i just had a sad and heavy thought, what happens if part of the reason he was so obsessed with this birth rate thing (more than the casual person) was because for some time due to his accident, he actually couldn’t even be intimate. i recall in his reddit responses that he mentioned dealing with numbness in his groin area due to his back injury which of course is debilitating. he did end up having surgery and based on his Reddit responses, seems like it went ok (but again, we don’t really know what happened after he went awol in July 2024). so it’s like him wanting to contribute, but not really being able to. and maybe him getting into his head about it even after the surgery because he hadn’t been able to be intimate for quite sometime, maybe the insecurity of it all. like it’s one thing flirting and completely another thing being physically intimate. it seems he felt part of being masculine was having children with women and protecting them, but if he felt that was cut off from him for some time? idk y’all lulu and his back pain just makes me sad sometimes.

Im thinking it from a male perspective (as much as I can empathize). If he thought the idea of masculinity is tied to being a protector of wife and kids and having a legacy then his health issues might have made him think he isn't able to do any of those. Ahh that makes me sad. The intimacy issue is also another point because with his back pain I believe he'd want a partner he could trust to be able to experience intimacy without feeling insecure (mens worst fear is being mocked by women for being not man enough) and I get why it'd be not ideal having casual sex with his condition as you can't really trust the other person ( I personally don't understand why people would do hookups with random people but then again Im a hopeless romantic lol). He rt something about men not feeling valued by society (him probably projecting) and the devon tweet mentioned women not being able to understand men's lived experiences

[kshert]

No sex in the dump in Commorragh. Tessera takes a lot of stimulants and painkillers and can't sleep + Tervantias sewed her another man's leg instead of a prosthesis. This leads to her having constant hallucinations fertilized with fear of mistakes, regret and remorse for the sins of the past. (and it's also just dirty and not in the way I prefer.)

And Heinrix quietly (sometimes loudly) complains (worries) about her condition and excessive use of stimulants. They both have no time for sex. Tessera remains an unyielding leader, and Heinrix spends his strength to keep her from dying of exhaustion and cardiac arrest.

On Janus they are waiting for the voidship. Tessera is still taking a lot of stimulants and working a lot. Heinrichs takes the initiative (is still worried) and comes to distract her from her fears and convince her to have a good rest. And generally to provide moral support (in bed, in a horizontal position). Moral support was successful :D But it was still all with a taste of despair and fear for life.

Already on the ship, after finding out the status of their relationship and another quarrel over Yrliet, they normally have sex. And subsequently after each mission and landing, because either duty or death will cross out their relationship. Every time feels like the last one. And to a greater extent, this is usually Heinrix's initiative. (Tessera has a moral crisis and reassessment of values. She needs something a little different - for example, confidence in the future and a partner who will not leave her in the near future)

After the 4th act, sex is less frequent, but more gentle, long-term enjoyment of each other. And not an attempt to get everything possible in a short time. And then I have Alexis, the dogmatic bitch psyker-pyromancer. She fucked poor Heinrix in the dump. And then avoided him on the ship.

Alright Heinrix friends, I want to know your headcanon about sex and Commorragh

Time probably passes a bit differently there, but I've got to imagine that once the RT was reunited with Heinrix, they had at least a week together before escaping (I then headcanon that they were gone for 3 months in the regular universe)

Was the post-sex conversation a one time thing for them? Did they start having sex in quiet corners as much as possible? Curious minds want to know!

With Nova and Heinrix, they only had sex the once in Commorragh. She has far less control over her psyker abilities than he does, and with the emotion and desperation of the moment... Let's just say when he made her come, they were a lot closer to a warp event than either of them liked. But even so, lots of kissing and cuddling late at night afterward

Charity and Heinrix fucked like rabbits after the first time. Any time they found themselves alone (which was a lot because the other members of her retinue simply did not want to deal with them) they were having sex. Which made it hurt that much more when he tries to pull away in the beginning of act 4

What about your Rogue Trader? :D

[major-comet]

The Music in RvB: Restoration Kinda Sucks. Here's how I'd fix it.

I gave this as a presentation the other night after my first re-watch of the finale, and it was a major hit so I thought I would share it with other people who think too hard about Halo fanfiction.

Red VS Blue has some truly fantastic music in it's 21 year history, and I think that the music here was pretty weak. Obviously this post has major spoilers for RvB19 / Restoration, so be warned.

So, under the Read More is a typed up and fleshed out version of my powerpoint presentation where I will dive in and not just bitch about the musical choices, but explain how I would fix things. This is...really long, but I hope you all enjoy my thoughts :)

This will be best enjoyed if you listen to the songs I'm talking about as a refresher. For your convenience, I have input links to the songs on Youtube when necessary

So what's the problem?

Since the development of the finale overlapped with Rooster Teeth getting shut down, it's very likely that they had minimal funds. (EDIT: Yes, the finale itself was done by the time the announcement rolled around. However, the decision was almost certainly already in the works at WB. RT was shut down in part for financial reasons. It’s all connected.) I personally think this was part of why Burnie/RT was/were [reportedly] so insistent on using stock music for part of the season rather than a whole soundtrack done by Trocadero - I'm not sure they had the money to properly compensate for a full soundtrack. And maybe it was just a stupid / dick move, and had nothing to do with money at all, but that's what I choose to believe if only because it makes me feel slightly better about it.

This means that besides the stock music, the new score by Carl Thiel, the Zero song for that cameo, and Waning Moon (the Barenaked Ladies song), all we have are four re-used songs from earlier RvB - these songs being the Trocadero Grifball theme, I Say Ooh and Round One by Jeff Williams, and Vale Deah by Trocadero. There's also a David Levy composition in there somewhere according to the credits, R U Ready, but I have no idea what it is or where it plays. It's bothering the hell out of me because it does not appear to be a reused piece as far as I can tell - at least not reused from RvB. If anyone has any leads on this please reach out, because it seems crazy that there's one random possibly original David composition mixed in there. I've checked Apple Music and Soundcloud, nothing by that name.

In this very Meta focused film, neither of The Meta's themes play in any shape or form - [When] Your Middle Name is Danger by Trocadero or Plagam Extremam Infligere by Jeff Williams.

Nor do any of the character themes, really. Most of the series' iconic recurring tracks are completely absent. Tex's various themes, Carolina's theme - hell not even Blood Gulch Blues or the iconic intro music.

Were there any highlights?

Of course there were!

Considering I was going into the finale having only been spoiled on Vale Deah, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Jeff tracks! That was totally unexpected, and really lovely.

Speaking of, I thought the use of Vale Deah was a really lovely touch. Fun fact: that song was used for the end credits of the Season 1 DVD, so it really felt like a sweet full circle moment.

I think that using a Barenaked Ladies song for that very sweet scene of Caboose, Grif, and Simmons reminiscing about Blood Gulch by the fire was a very lovely choice, and quite honestly it was my favorite scene in the whole thing. The BNL have been close to RvB and RT since damn near the beginning, and it was very nice to hear them attached to the finale in that small way.

I should also point out that the composer for the season is Carl Thiel - known for his work on Hot Fuzz and the second and third Spy Kids movies. I think he did a totally fine job. I liked the bugles that were under Sarge's death, but the rest doesn't really stand out much. Perfectly serviceable.

So, now that that's out of the way, let's break down those four returning songs a bit more - shall we?

Grifball Official Theme - Trocadero

This was a really funny choice. It's such a quick bit, but I respect Burnie's dedication to get in one last Grifball joke. Obviously, I would have preferred to hear a different song for something else, but this was totally harmless.

Vale Deah - Trocadero

Lo-fi Hip-hop beats to get divorced to.

God that scene was heartbreaking. I love this song a lot - I think a lot of Trocadero's strongest stuff is the stuff that just feels kind of melancholy. It's something Nico does really well, and I think Vale Deah is one of my favorite examples of that. Like I said above, I think this song was used really well - if I had to pick a different track for that same scene I would probably choose Half Life. While it was written during the Blood Gulch era, it wasn't really used in the show until Seasons 12 and 13 - notably, a version of it plays under Kimball's rally speech to the troops after Doyle's death. I just really like it, tbh. There's absolutely other songs that could work, but I think having it be a BGC-era track served the scene really well.

I Say Ooh - Jeff Williams

My feelings about this are pretty similar to Grifball. It was cute, it was nice to hear, but I wish they had used a different Jeff track somewhere else. Ultimately, it's pretty harmless. It is kind of an odd choice though - I'm pretty sure Jeff didn't write it for RvB. This was a song that he composed that was used in two RT Shorts (live action sketches that RT used to do). I think it would have been nicer to use one of his RvB tracks for the introduction of Niner - could have been a cute spot to use a track like I Am The Best or Forge World or hell, Come on Carolina would have been cute.

Round One - Jeff Williams

...Actually, I have a lot to say about Round One, so let's get everything else out of the way first.

Other Scenes that *should* have had returning tracks before I talk about Round One for a billion years

Sarge's death should have been scored with a version of Rally (Sarge's Speech). My vision is a version of it that's just the string section - familiar, but not enough to be distracting, and absolutely soul crushing if you do recognize it.

The scene with Wash and Dr. Grey in the hospital needed a hint of what Nico so lovingly calls the "Wash Trauma Theme" - which is closely related to the Trocadero Meta theme, fun fact. I think Limited Duty from the scene in Season 16 where Carolina tells Wash about the brain damage could have worked pretty well there.

The scene at the end with Wash and Carolina talking about Doc and the Freelancers really needed something. I think one of the variations of the Shisno trilogy Carwash theme could have worked very well.

Obviously the big scene with Tucker and Sigma on the ship would have really benefited from [When] Your Middle Name is Danger or one of the many themes that incorporates it, but I'd also throw Soul Clef XI into the ring! I think it's so interesting that the work around they came up with for not being able to get Elijah Wood back was to have epsilon!Sigma take on a more Felix-y type of voice. Partly because Felix was an incredibly ambitious villain so he fits it pretty well, but more importantly that was a very smart voice to pick to fuck with Tucker in particular! I think that was really smart, and I think having some version of Felix's theme playing during that scene would have been really cool.

Bolt by Trocadero was never used in the series proper. However it was used in this ten year retrospective that they released alongside Season 10. I highly recommend giving it a watch, because watching it now that it's Over - RvB, RT, all of it - it's honestly kind of heart breaking. They're all filled with this deep optimism about the future of the company, and hindsight is a bitch on this one. They use it in a really sweet sequence at the end where they're showing a bunch of old photos. Anyways I think this should have played in the credits after Vale Deah finished. "We only want to have a good time."

Miscellaneous Trocadero Songs I would have liked to see them find a place for that I haven't already / will not mention elsewhere

Steady Ride (Gunmetal Green) - this is THE Grimmons song ever to me. I love it so much. Also fun fact: as of the interview Burnie did with Nico on the season 10 (I think?) dvd/bluray, this was Burnie's favorite Trocadero track. And you can tell when you watch the DVD cuts of the first 6-ish seasons - it plays all the time.

I like Good Fight a lot, not sure there was a great spot for it? but still would have been nice - It's used a few times as a Wash theme, I believe.

No One is my favorite Trocadero song and I wish it could've been there Somewhere. It was the elevator-music type song that played behind Vic in BG once or twice, I think was in the season 4 credits, and also played during the weapons demonstrations in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle. I just like it a lot, lol.

Okay let's get back to Round One.

Why they shouldn't have used Round One for the big fight in RvB Restoration

AKA: The actual bulk of the presentation

Okay so we've got some pros and cons to this track. Starting with the Pros;

It's a song from an iconic scene - the 3v1 training room fight from Season 9

Tex and Maine are both in the fight

Was a great "Oh FUCK yeah" moment for the fans

Great track

Cons;

Not really a song for Carolina or the Meta (or y'know. Tucker. He's there too), and only kind of a song for Tex

Honestly the fight makes me think about York more than anyone else, since that's the fight where he gets hurt

Not a cool thematic moment besides just Tex being a badass

Started too late into the fight - it's sad that Carolina got a cool track when she (finally!) showed up, but Tex just got generic music. Show my girl some respect :(

So what would be better?

It has to be something that makes you think of at least one of the fighters. A track that's good for multiple would be better, but not required.

I think it should start when Tex first shows up, not when her armor changes. that’s a cool moment, but it still means most of the fight is working with Thiel’s score.

It should be something with a note of thematic relevance - for example, the big moment right at the end of the fight is Tex reminding epsilon!Sigma that she's not based on the Director's memories of her failure this time; she's based on the memories of Grif, Caboose, and Simmons. And she Always kicked their asses.

Still needs to be a big "Oh FUCK yeah" moment.

While incorporating Carolina's theme would be nice, I think it's more important to get at least one of the others - but we'll do our best here. I think this is moreso a Tex v meta!Tucker fight in my heart than it is a Carolina fight.

So let's look over a few options, shall we? These are in no particular order.

Spiral - Jeff Williams

This is the song that plays during the Season 9 car chase when Maine gets shot. It incorporates Carolina's theme, because in PFL her theme is never too far behind whenever a Maine/Meta song is playing, which has always been interesting to me. It has all that freaky choral stuff that Jeff loved to use, and generally is just a great track.

Fragments - Jeff Williams

This plays during the Freelancer break-in in Season 10, and it just rocks so hard. Anything from the break-in would be cool because that was the last time Tex, Carolina, and Maine/The Meta were all in the same place, and of course was when The Meta was properly created. I think it was so sad that they used the instrumental of Round One, because the vocals are part of what makes the Jeff era of RvB soundtracks so iconic, and god this song delivers! Also this song has a kickass trumpet solo at the end.

Slingshot (from the Death Battle) - Trocadero

Man this song rules. This of course plays in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle from Season 14. It's a very different energy from the Jeff picks, but it rocks so fucking much. This is a fight between Carolina and The Meta, and would of course be a callback to a (marginally) more recent - and extremely popular - episode of the show. If you haven't watched the Death Battle in a while you really should, it still kicks just as much ass now as it did back when I was in high school.

Literally any other song from the 3v1 Training Room Fight - Jeff Williams

This includes;

Round One (feat Lamar Hall)

Just the Bullfight part

On Your Knees

I just think the instrumental to Round One is the weakest choice from this fight tbh! Bullfight is my favorite out of the three, because it sounds the most Tex-y. The guitars are very her, and it incorporates part of her Agent Tex motif. And On Your Knees would have had the biggest "Oh FUCK yeah" factor. But honestly even just using the version of Round One with the vocals would have been way better.

EDIT TO ADD: a quick note - while it’s listed in the credits as Round One/Bullfight, that’s just how the instrumental is packaged on the OST. As far as I could tell in my two watches of it, they never actually make it to the Bullfight part of the track.

A Girl Named Tex - Trocadero

hold on, walk with me on this one.

I had a vision of Tex fighting meta!Tucker set to the "Yellow rose of Texas clad in black, lonely star tattooed upon her back. Double Tex she'll hit you like a truck. Double Tex and she'll mess you up." bit right after I watched 19 the first time and it's been haunting me ever since. (That bit starts at about 02:19)

This is her theme for the first chunk of the show - which just so happens to be the time period Grif, Simmons, and Caboose were primarily reminiscing about. It would have been cool as hell, and I can See the beginning of the fight in my head - the opening strums (what my brother so lovingly calls the Out of Mind music) when caboose is saying his line about how he brought back someone even worse than church, and then the fight starts! I can see it in my mind, it would have been so cool!

I just think there should have been more Blood Gulch era music in here.

100 Tex Battle - Jeff Williams

This doesn't get you any Meta points, but obviously it incorporates little bits of Tex's, and a lot of Carolina's theme. Twisting a Tex vs Carolina fight - obviously, Carolina vs all the Tex bots in Season 10 - into one where they're fighting alongside each other would have been really lovely and a cool full circle moment.

This song is really cool, it's such a good fight. I do think it maybe sounds a bit goofy at points for this fight, but still a cool option.

Okay so now let's go over my top three-ish picks

Ice Fight (or maybe the revelations suite?) - Jeff Williams

Jumping to the end of Season 8, we have a fight that involves Tex vs The Meta! And Wash, Doc, and all the Reds and Blues (barring Donut and Lopez. Hmm. Doesn't that sound familiar.) are there! Ice Fight rules so hard, it's so good.

And it has some of that narrative theming I was looking for! While yes, Tex does technically lose this fight - so does The Meta. And how does she lose it?

By going into the recovery unit.

The main reason I suggest the Suite instead of just Ice Fight is because I think having a touch of Red Vs Blue would have been really nice.

Mental Meta Metal - Jeff Williams

Genuinely my favorite track from season 10. If you let the song play the whole way through, it has Jeff's themes for The Meta, Carolina, and Tex in it. This plays the first time we see Maine in a fight in Season 10, and is also Sigma's first time in the field after we see him pondering Meta-stability in the classroom.

It incorporates elements from both Spiral and Plagam Extremam Infligere, which is kind of Jeff's theme for the Meta that he established back in Season 8. It also plays during the Freelancer Break-in when he's tossing Carolina off the cliff. The Latin on that translates to “to inflict an extreme blow”.

It also has a very strong statement of Carolina's theme, which could have been a great opportunity to bring her in with her theme!

Now, before I go over my final pick, let's go over what we need again;

We need a song with thematic relevance to the fight, that’s from an iconic scene, has a good energy to it, and would give fans a big “OH FUCK YEAH” moment.

Well, isn’t it obvious?

Agent Tex (/ Tex vs Tank / Hell's Angel) - Jeff Williams

The first instance of Jeff Williams’ Tex motif, later used in Hell’s Angel and Tex vs Tank, etc. I would add the opening strum commonly heard in the later iterations, but keep it generally the Agent Tex version which was used in the S8 Warehouse fight, as seen above.

This is like. The RvB scene ever. So many people saw this before they watched the show, and many more never even watched RvB - just this fight, since RT uploaded it separately from the episode because they knew it kicked so much ass. It also helped draw in folks who may have been fans of Monty Oum's other work. Fun fact: This was RT’s outro music for a really long time, too. So it really has history with the company.

Part of why I think this pick would work so well, beyond it just being Tex's theme for the Jeff Williams era, is that it would be so interesting in terms of narrative theming. The Season 8 warehouse fight was Tucker, Grif, Simmons, Sarge, and Caboose against Tex.

This whole sequence was Grif, Simmons, Caboose, Carolina, and Tex against Tucker.

This was one of the other scenes being reminisced about around the fire - you can see it as one of the clips shown during the scene. I think it would have been a really powerful moment, and a fantastic "FUCK YEAH" moment for everyone whose stuck around this long. This track is so good, and I really do think it would have been the perfect choice for this fight.

It's not even my favorite, if I was just choosing favorites I'd have picked Mental Meta Metal or A Girl Named Tex.

What have we learned? Why Were We Here?

Red vs Blue is a show with a lot of really fantastic music in it's book, and a really strong history of musical callbacks - particularly with the Meta's theme and how it's so closely tied to the motif Trocadero liked to use as "Wash Trauma" music. Making a clever callback to a song you've used before can help strengthen the thing you're trying to get across to your audience. I think it's somehing that Restoration really struggles with, which is pretty sad. But I hope you found my deep dive / analysis of what could have been interesting.

I'd really like to dive in and do a long reflection about the series as a whole, but as it stands this is around 3,000 words and if I get started on that, this post will never end. I'll probably work on that once i've actually Finished this rewatch.

Thank you for reading all of that!