#scouting legion veterans

[pickalilywrites]

After reading that Oluo vs Gelger drinking competition, could you do a modern version of one? Where they're all college students on a holiday vacation together. Pairings: Rivetra, Mikenana, Eld x his fiancée

wow, i wrote that one like 5 years ago. it was fun to kind of revisit and write an au of a fic i've written, haha. thanks!

that's the holiday spirit!

scouting legion veterans. eld x fiancee. mikenana. rivetra. college au. 1690 words. read on ao3.

“Alright, let’s get this competition underway!” Abel announces with a huge grin. His cheeks are flushed from the many cups of spiked hot chocolate he had downed earlier. In his hands he has a large bottle of peppermint Smirnoff that hasn’t been opened yet. He shakes it a bit before making of show of twirling it around by its neck only to nearly drop it on the floor. Luckily, he catches it at just the last second. “Wow, it’s a good thing I didn’t drop it!”  

“Oh, stop the theatrics and let’s just get this started already!” Hanji calls. They pushes Moblit towards the table where the participants will be drinking. “Come on, Moblit! Let’s go! You can win this!” 

Like everyone else, Moblit’s cheeks are flushed and his eyes are glassy. He stumbles on over towards the table. Strangely, his expression isn’t fierce or determined like his competitors. Rather, he seems like he wants to get this over with as quickly as possible. “Shouldn’t we have started this when we were all sober? Some of us have drank more than others at this point. I don’t think it’s a fair competition.” Despite all the drinks Moblit has polished off so far, he’s impressively coherent. 

“Are you trying to back out of this, Berner?” Auruo accuses. He squints as he points at someone that he thinks is Moblit but is really Erwin. Gunther gently guides his friend’s finger towards where Moblit is standing. 

Gelgar lets out what he must think is a threatening laugh but what sounds like a strangled gurgle. “I can outdrink everyone no matter how many drinks I’ve had!” he chortles, but he sways where he stands and Nifa has to hold him upright lest he collapse on the floor.  

“Let’s just get this over with,” Moblit mutters. He’s the only one of the participants that seems to have control of his limbs. It’s clear who the winner will be even though the competition hasn’t even started. 

Everyone cheers as Abel pours the vodka messily into the shot glasses. He leaves pools of alcohol on the table, but the three competitors pick up the shot glasses without complaint and down them as quickly as possible. As the vodka slides down their throat, Gelgar and Auruo gasp and gag. Only Moblit doesn’t seem to have any reaction. 

“Oh my god,” Auruo chokes, pounding a fist against his chest. His eyes water as his throat fills with the sharp aftertaste of peppermint that only accentuates the trail of fire that the vodka has burned down his throat. Even as he tries to regain his composure, his eyes water. “Oh god, it hurts. It hurts so good.”  

“Oh, fuck yeah,” Gelgar gasps. His fist clutches the shot glass so hard that his knuckles turn white. He had only just swallowed his last shot but he seems to be swaying even more than he was before and Nifa is having trouble supporting him. “Oh, fuck. Jesus, that’s a lot.”  

“God, why the fuck are you so heavy?” Nifa grumbles. 

Moblit simply slams his empty shot glass on the table and slides it over to Abel. “Hit me again,” he says as the rest of his friends cheer.  

On the other side of the room, Eld and his fiancée Rosaline are observing with amused smiles on their faces. Eld had suggested that he and Rosaline go on a separate vacation instead of going away to a ski resort with his friends, but Rosaline had insisted. Even though she only hangs out with Eld’s larger group of friends every once and a while, she always enjoys spending time with them. 

“They’re as amusing as always,” Rosaline says. She leans her head against Eld’s shoulder and snuggles even closer to him as he wraps his arm around her.  

“I can’t believe you chose this over an intimate winter getaway with me,” Eld chuckles, his warm breath tickling her cheek. He leans in close to press a kiss against Rosaline’s temple.  

“We can always sneak away later,” Rosaline says with a coy smile. She taps a finger against the rim of the cup Eld holds in one of his hands. She takes a careful sip as Eld brings it to her lips. Her lipstick stains the rim. “Hm, I’ve been wondering this entire night. Is this ... interesting concoction your doing, Eld?”  

Eld raises his eyebrows and lifts the cup to his lips to hide his mischievous smile. He drinks exactly where Rosaline’s lips had been. “What gave it away? I followed the recipe: peppermint schnapps, vanilla vodka, and hot chocolate. Well, maybe I did make a slight improvisation.” 

Rosaline wrinkles her nose at Eld. “Perhaps that splash of gin that doesn’t quite go with everything else, although it seems like everyone else is enjoying it.” She laughs as her fiancé leans in to rub the tip of his nose against hers lovingly.  

The drinking competition is still going on although Gelgar and Auruo are looking more green with sick than flushed red with drunkenness. Still, they continue to persist even though Moblit is the only one with a real chance of winning. Every time it looks as if they are about to hurl, they swallow down the bitter bile that threatens to rise from their throats and quickly call Abel to pour them another drink. 

“You should be up there,” Nanaba says, nudging her boyfriend with her elbow. Her cheeks are flushed from the drinks she’s had that night. In her hand is cup of Eld’s spiked hot chocolate that’s only half-finished. She had downed the other cups quickly, but she takes her time with this one as she enjoys her current mellow, drunken state. “You could easily take on Moblit, don’t you think?” 

Mike chuckles and shakes his head. Even though he’s had his fair share of drinks, he’s probably the most sober person here. The slight flush of his cheeks is the only indication of alcohol in his system. “Moblit is an entirely different species of human. I can handle my liquor, but Moblit’s blood is 90 percent alcohol at this point. Apparently, only drinking can greatly relieve the stress of a neuroscience student.”  

“Poor guy,” Nanaba says with a click of her tongue. She looks up at Mike affectionately, leaning against him. “Still, don’t you think it would have been fun? You could have at least tried.”  

“For what? I don’t even think there’s a prize for first place,” Mike chuckles, and Nanaba can feel the low rumble of his laughter as she presses against his side. He reaches out to affectionately brush her hair from her face.  

“Hm, bragging rights?” Nanaba asks.  

“Then next time I’ll partake in any competition regardless of the prize so you can brag about me,” Mike says. He cracks a smile as Nanaba giggles against him and soon his laughter mingles with hers.  

On one side of the room is another couple observing the competition. Petra giggles drunkenly as she watches Auruo take another shot, spilling most of the vodka down his mouth because he’s so drunk that his hand-eye coordination is almost zero. She turns to find Levi watching the entire drinking game with an unamused expression.  

“Worried about the mess?” she asks. Everything she says is punctuated with a little giggle at the end. She can’t stand up straight and tries to lean against the wall only to find herself slipping. “Oh!” 

“I’m always worried about the mess. We’re only renting this place, after all. We can’t leave a mess,” Levi replies. He wraps an arm around Petra’s waist and pulls her against him. He doesn’t bat an eyelash when she drapes herself against him, leaning against him like a pillar and wrapping her arms around his neck. He glances over at her and brushes her hair away from her flushed cheeks. “How much have you had to drink?” 

“More than you, I’m guessing,” Petra giggles. She presses herself against him even more like she means to permanently fix herself to Levi’s side. She turns her head so that her face is pressed against his neck. As she speaks, her lips brush against his skin. “Levi, you shouldn’t worry so much. You’re the only one who isn’t having fun.”  

“Who says I’m not having fun?” Levi asks, but his tone is so flat that it’s difficult to believe he’s enjoying himself at all. A sigh escapes his lips when Petra sticks out her lower lip in a pout. He reaches out to tilt her face up towards his. “Well, do you have something else fun in mind besides watching this inane drinking competition?” 

Petra bites her lip as she tries to hold back her smile. “I might have something in mind,” she says as she pulls Levi in by the collar of his turtleneck sweater.  

Petra leans in just enough for their lips to brush against each other. Levi is the one to pull her in to close the distance between them completely. He wraps one arm around her waist, bringing Petra flush against his own body as their lips slot together. The other hand he has tenderly cupping her chin, and he gently guides her lips against his. She tastes of sweet chocolate and peppermint schnapps. Levi has never cared very much for the taste of alcohol, but he loves the taste of it on Petra’s lips so he kisses her harder to savor the flavor on her tongue only to hear something that makes him freeze. 

He can try to ignore it as much as he wants, but it’s the noise of someone being sick. From the sound of it, the person was unable to make it to the restroom.  

“It’ll bother you if you don’t clean it up, huh?” Petra whispers against his lips, and Levi nods. She knows him too well. Petra doesn’t seem bothered in the least, only amused as she pulls away from him. She reaches out to fix his hair. “To be continued, I guess.”  

Levi groans as he leans his forehead against Petra’s collarbone. “I fucking hate the holidays.”  

“Now that’s the holiday spirit,” Petra laughs.  

[bryonyashaw]

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𝙍𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 - 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙫𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙩.

𝙒𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢

Two of the three of my children took part in the local Parade through town - my eldest is a Scout and my middle child is a Cub. My eldest also laid a poppy wreathe.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙒𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙩 11𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙣 11 𝙉𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 1918. 𝘼𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙇𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 (𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡) 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨. 𝙏𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝘼𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙩 11𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 11𝙩𝙝 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 11𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡-𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡-𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙮𝙢𝙗𝙤𝙡, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙮𝙢𝙗𝙤𝙡 𝙗𝙮 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡 𝙃𝙖𝙞𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙨.

𝙒𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙨, 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝. 𝙒𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧

[animementrash]

AOT Veterans red flags Pt.1

Characters: Levi Ackerman, Erwin Smith, Hange Zoe

Tags: headcanons, implied established relationship, annoying things I think they would do, they/them pronouns for Hange <3

A/N: Listen, I don't know about you but I can't enjoy anything without trying to find something bad about it No wonder why I've been in therapy for 4 years, so this is me trying to find annoying things they would do when in a relationship. I will also post the cute/nice things version soon, so don't worry! :p

Levi Ackerman:

Will snap at you when mad. Even if you manage to get him to date you and even if he really loves you, when he’s mad, he doesn’t make exceptions on anyone and will most likely snap at you if you’re nearby or if you’re the reason he’s upset.

Will give you the cold shoulder after arguing. He may be a strong and composed man but most definitely lacks of some emotional intelligence so if you have a fight his first response is to back out and ignore you until he’s sorted his mind. It may be hours, days or even weeks until he starts reaching out to you normally.

Will never admit he’s wrong. Following with the arguing theme, if you guys are fighting about something he is wrong about, he will rather leave you talking to yourself than to admit he’s wrong. He may reach out to you and admit it afterwards but will never do it at the moment you’re arguing.

Will expect you to adapt to his lifestyle and not the other way around. He’s been very independent since a young age and his lifestyle is ruled by very specific ideals and schedules, which means he will most likely expect you to understand and adapt to said rhythm instead of asking for your way of doing things or even try to adapt to yours.

Will not “get out of his shell” for you. He’s a very reserved, quiet and simple man; no, he will not eventually start to like going out and meeting new people and no he will not suddenly change his attitude to be a friendly sunshine just because you’re like that or you want him to be like that. He is who he is and will not change for anyone, take it or leave it.

If he must choose between Erwin or you, he will choose Erwin. This isn’t even a question for him, and it’s not even an Eruri kind of thing, it’s just that for the most part of his life his only reason to keep going has been Erwin’s ideals, the only constant in his life has been Erwin and for him to choose something or someone else above that is almost impossible.

Will not like the things you like just to make you happy. If you like drinking coffee instead of tea it’s alright for him, but don’t expect him to start liking it too just because you offered him a cup. Also, if you are a social person and love to go out and befriend everyone, he will not stop you but won’t go out of his way to be friendly either.

Will most likely ignore you if he gets too overwhelmed. He will not do it on purpose or without a warning but if he’s tired and you keep on rambling about something that may not necessarily be interesting to him, he won’t hesitate on asking you to stop talking or to let you know he’s not interested.

Erwin Smith:

King of gaslighting. Erwin is such a great strategist, he’s smart and analytical, of course he will find a way to make you believe you were wrong when arguing even if he’s actually the one who messed up.

Will neglect the relationship more than expected. Whether you’re dating or married, you really should understand the role he plays inside the walls. He is the Commander of the scouting legion and will almost always be drowning in work, he may not like to do it but will sometimes put aside your relationship for the sake of his job, even if this makes you upset.

Won’t tolerate too much bs. Another practical man who’s been alone most of his life and already has everything figured out the way it works for him. If he dates you and you start to try to change his way of living or his routines, he will break the relationship without hesitation. He needs someone as mature and practical as him who will understand him without fussing about trivial things.

Will flirt and court other ladies if needed. I previously posted a HC about Erwin knowing he’s handsome and using that to his advantage sometimes and I firmly believe he would keep doing so even after he is in a relationship, he may not go all the way and cheat on you for the sake of the scouts but will probably accept an invitation to dinner or a flirty kiss on the cheek if he knows that can be beneficial to the legion. He isn’t trying to make you jealous or upset you, but don’t expect him to pass on an opportunity if the time is right.

King of mansplaining. He does not do it on purpose, I promise. But very often he will explain the most basic thing to you as if you were a toddler who just learned how to talk. He will also use that slow and condescending voice when explaining things that makes your blood boil.

Is a very jealous partner. Yes, he may flirt with a lady on a ball but that’s just because it’s for the sake of the scouts; your sweet greeting to that seller at the market isn’t saving the world so why do you need to greet him in such way?

Will leave to expeditions without saying goodbye. This behavior may appear only the first two or three times after you get together, this man is afraid of dying outside the walls and leave you waiting for him forever, so what does his smart yet dumb brain tells him to do? Leave without saying goodbye. that way if he does come back, he can always apologize and if he doesn’t, well, hopefully you’re too mad at him to notice he didn’t make it back home this time.

Hange Zoe:

Will prioritize their projects above anything. And yes, that includes you. If you’re expecting them to push everything away and come running to you just because they’ve been secluded in that office for too long, think again. Because they won’t.

Does not understand boundaries at all. Oh, you’re sleeping after a tiring shift? Don’t care, come look at this cool rock I found. Do you have an irrational fear of titans? Close your eyes, I will show you something so cool you will forget you fear them! (They will take you to see a real titan up close).

Will look down at you if you don’t understand them. They will constantly ramble about things that sometimes may be too complicated to understand, and if you dare to tell them that, they will stop talking and go find “someone who’s smart enough to understand”.

Hygiene isn’t their priority. They will run and hug you even if they just came back from training and they’re sweaty and smelly. Your clothes will never be clean again because they will randomly wipe their hands on whatever surface is near and, sadly for you, that will be you most of the time. “No, I don’t need to shower just yet, I did it a few days ago”

Will zone out when you’re talking. This isn’t necessarily their fault; they are just so invested on that new formation they suggested for the next expedition and can’t stop thinking about it that your childhood story about that bruise isn’t worth the time.

Will steal food from your plate without asking. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were saving that piece of meat as your last bite, it seemed so delicious that I thought I’d take it before it went cold”.  “What do you mean it’s disgusting if I put my hand on your soup? I just wanted to fish that tiny potato and eat it!”.

[nixie-writes-aot]

Reactions to S/O with Abusive Family

Warnings: mentions of abuse and trauma, abuse of power/status, mention of murder, threat of bodily harm, hurt/comfort, fluff

Characters: Levi Ackerman, Erwin Smith, Hange Zoe

Author's Note: The third and last part. Honestly these headcanons were so fun so I might do more hurt/comfort in the future!

Levi Ackerman

Levi, like Mikasa, is also not terribly surprised. I don't think any of the veterans would be honestly

They all are too used to what the world is like and how cruel it can be even to those who don't deserve anything like that. Especially Levi

Now there are two different reactions Levi might have depending on which Levi 

If its Levi from the Underground, sorry but your family is dead

Thug Levi has killed for much much less. Hell, he killed a group of thugs just for getting in Isabel's way and upsetting her. So the chances of actual abusers surviving after you told him what they've done? Not bloody likely

Levi will, of course, hold you close and bury his face in the crook of your neck all to comfort you

He's very emotionally repressed so you shouldn't expect much else 

Now Captain Levi?

Much different story. For example, unless they were an active threat, particularly in s3, he wouldn't kill them. But oh boy 

Levi is someone who can easily, and will without hesitation, calmly rip into someone just for wasting his time. After all, Levi is one hell of a composed and stoic motherfucker

Now, the worst he might do for non-threatening is harsh words and maybe his own threat, albeit empty

But an active threat? Much different story. Levi learned from Kenny and the Underground that active threats must be taken out

Now regardless of him killing your family or just making them hate him, he is dragging you into his office. The one time he doesn't sweat the potential filth on your clothes, simply pulling you into bed with him and burying his face in your chest

"I wanted to kill them."

His statement is meant to be reassuring, that it would always be you and never them in his eyes

But also Levi is one very emotionally repressed bitch 

Erwin Smith 

Honestly Erwin probably already knew you had a rough home life, not many parents would just sit by and let their children become Scouts under Keith Shadis

The Scouting Legion is still viewed poorly when he takes over, don't get me wrong, but we're talking about a man who had a mental breakdown in the middle of the street and in front of not only all his men but the public too

Erwin would never

Now Erwin knowing and being told is two different things. Erwin could probably only think about his own childhood when you told him so he pulls you close, into his lap and starts playing with your hair and massaging your scalp. As he does, Erwin tells you about his dream and the will of his own father way back when

Erwin has accepted what happened by the time he's Commander Erwin but he still doesn't feel great about it, obviously, so its a moment of weakness for both of you

And thats exactly what Erwin wanted you to see. That you opening up and being vulnerable didn't have to be so one sided even if he was your commander

Now Erwin has a lot of power to throw around, especially if your family weren't anyone like the merchants or nobles or the Wall Church

So Erwin uses that power, lets you see how beneficial he can really be with that always so polite smile on his face even if he's currently ruining the lives of those who ruined your own life

"There are some that simply do not know how to behave, those should either keep quiet or have every dirty little secret spread among their peers."

Like I love Erwin but dude lowkey manipulates a lot of things into happening. Especially when it was concerning Levi in the No Regrets OVA

Hange Zoe

Hange is probably the only shocked veteran when you open up

They are appalled 

"But why!? Titans should be the concern, not each other!" 

And you even almost hear them swear but when you only shrug, they pull you close and sigh. They are well and truly refusing to let you go for even a minute. Hange is very clingy during the night you tell them and even the following day

Only Levi, Miche, or Erwin would be able to pry them away. Maybe Moblit 

They just want you to feel reassured and comforted by their presence

Hange probably takes you out to train with the ODM gear just to give you a proper outlet. They know they like training when upset

Dear god if they see your family? It is one of the very very few moments you see them angry. Even Levi seems nicer in comparison. Hange storms right up to your parent, decks them and stands over them 

"If you touch them again, I will personally make sure you don't have a hand to do that with again."

You probably have to pull Hange off your parent actually

And afterwards, Hange is clingy all over again. They're wrapping their arms around you, shoving their face into your back and sighing loudly 

Hange probably spends the next week making sure you know how much they love you and how much they would do just for you

Normally, you're an average soldier but Hange keeps dragging you away from your squad to their own squad, doing science stuff with them and Moblit

[tlatia-the-radiant]

Continued from @forgottnseccnd's post here

There were many questions plaguing Tlatia, but there was one that stood out.

Why?

The situation she had been presented with had too many question marks, too many pieces of missing information. Why had Aurelius waited so long? Why did he seem to be in so much pain? Why reach out now? She'd thought that finding the Ursa Major would answer some of her questions, and it did, but only ones like What sector has Aurelius been in all these centuries? and Will I even be able to find him? In exchange, it had offered up even more questions to ponder. Why were there no bodies from the attackers? Why would they leave weapons behind? Why were there no bodies in the hangar, but so many in the Great Hall?

Too many questions. Too few answers. Every footstep just highlighted how strange this was.

An entire Star Fort, garrisoned by Astartes, completely scoured of life. Many were Psykers, but the Sisters of Silence were never called--Krole would've told me if they were. Plus, there isn't a single non-Astartes body-

"Look. Body with flak armour," Xenhuan called.

...nevermind.

"Actually... make that bodies, plural," Xenhuan amended. "There's six of them."

"Died defending their positions, lasguns in hand," Cotaya said, stepping over a decapitated Astartes. "Poor sons never stood a chance. Not on a battlefield like this."

"The Stars were desperate," Citalicue guessed. "Threw everyone they could into combat."

"That wasn't Aurelius's style," Tlatia replied.

"The armor's customized. Not a rush job, either. These were veterans," Xenhuan observed, kneeling over the bodies. She paused for a moment, then chose to continue. "For all the good that did them."

"Show some respect for the dead, Xenhuan," Laura half-chided, half-ordered. "They died defending their position. That's as honorable a death as we'll receive."

"It's still a death," Xenhuan sighed, pushing herself back to standing.

"Don't Guardsmen usually operate in squads of nine?" Cotaya asked.

"Usually, but tell me one thing about this battle that seems typical," Laura countered.

"Good point."

"Let's move," Tlatia ordered. "The day isn't getting any younger."

The team continued on, past more ruined fighting positions and makeshift barricades. A few notches cut into the walls spoke of hidden emplacements for ambushes. The lack of a silver finish and the rough rockcrete spoke of emplacements constructed in haste.

"Stars above, is that a destroyed Rhino?" Nau asked, pointing to a twisted piece of slag with plasma burns down the side.

"Sure looks like it," Laura confirmed. "The Stars Repentant must've set up an anti-armour position nearby."

"I think I see it. Near the banner at the end of the path." Citalicue had been a member of the Scouts before she became a member of the Tecuani, and her eyesight was sharper than a monomolecular edge.

The six warriors gathered around the colossal sword-spear, with the banner of the Second Legion still fluttering in a light breeze provided by the constantly-recirculating air. It was at least twice Tlatia's height—perhaps even more.

"That's a big spear."

Xenhuan was nothing if not observant.

"Look at the bodies," Laura pointed out. "Fighting positions, sandbags, towers... all clustered around this banner. Heavy boltors, multi-plasmas, lascannons, all set up to defend it. The fields of fire aren't clear, though. This was put together in a hurry." She looked at one body--an Astartes, prone, finger still on the trigger, with a comrade beside him with his chest facing the ceiling. Her first thought was of the dead gunner drills the support teams sometimes ran. "Not to mention, bodies strewn everywhere."

"This banner was important to them," Cotaya murmured, looking up at the delicate embroidery that had survived so many battles.

"It was more than just important." Tlatia laid a hand on the auramite shaft, tilted backwards just slightly. "This was Aurelius's personal sword-spear. That banner was the first one made for the Stars Repentant, during the Unification Wars on Terra. He stood here. Fought with it."

"I can see why they fought to the last," Cotaya replied. "Stars... look at this. Chainsword strike cut through ceramite plate. How in the hel..."

"Russ." Tlatia dropped her brother's name the same way she spoke of the Captain-General. "The Emperor's Executioner."

"There's more bodies here than we saw anywhere else," Laura noted. "And the halls beyond here look... barren."

"This was their last stand," Tlatia breathed.

"Why?" Nau asked. "Why here? If this was their last stand, where's the Primarch?"

She cast a glance at Cotaya, kneeling beside the banner.

"I think I know why they made a stand here," Cotaya said. Her voice held an edge of black sorrow.

"Why?"

She held up a small femur. "This isn't an adult's bone--along with about half the bones in this pile."

The conclusion didn't take a genius to piece together.

"Civilians," Citalinue whispered. Her voice rose as she began to count the bones. "Palnakyo Wolves! There have to be at least sixty dead here!"

"More," Cotaya grimly confirmed. "Seventy-two children alone."

The team fell silent as the full extent of the crime hit them like a ton of rockcrete.

"Let's go," Tlatia murmured, voice hollow. "There's nothing we can do for them."

The team continued on.

The market sector, somehow, was more depressing than the Great Hall.

The Wolves had not stopped at killing the Astartes of the Stars Repentant. Decayed clothes, made of both silks and cotton with bleached bones within, were scattered throughout the marketplace, like macabre decorations for the overturned stalls. Torn fabrics fluttered in the breeze. Some trinkets remained, but none would've been worth more than a single Throne Gelt. Everything more valuable than that was gone--stolen, Tlatia assumed. Once again, bolt-shells littered the ground, but there was only a single gun, clutched by the broken form of an Astartes thrown through a shop wall. Xenhuan darted over to check the magazine.

"Empty," she reported.

The Wolves are nothing if not thorough.

With every step, her heart melted just slightly more as a spark of white-hot anger slowly turned into a flame.

Dreadnoughts. I'll inter them all in dreadnoughts, deprived of weapons. They deserve to never feel the wind in their hair or the sun on their skin ever again.

Whatever deity existed, it must've partially heard Tlatia's thoughts, because the next corner the team turned they came face-to-visor with a destroyed Stars Repentant Mark IV Castaferrum-type Dreadnought.

Each and every Astartes only barely managed to avoid recoiling. Citalinue and Cotaya made signs of protection. Xenhuan swore. Laura fully froze.

"N... Norim?" the First Captain whispered.

"You know this thing?!" Xenhuan hissed. "How-"

Tlatia placed a hand on the upstart Marine's shoulder and shook her head.

Laura darted towards the Castaferrum, peering close. Half of the casket was shredded, exposing wires and servomotors and even the mangled pilot within. Melted metal had seared the exposed skin.

"Norim?" she asked, voice wavering. The Dreadnought shuddered.

Every single member of the squad raised their weapons. "Laura! Get back!" Xenhuan shouted, turning up her flashlight's intensity until it was closer to a spotlight. Cotaya hit her boltor's mag-release and swapped in a magazine of armor-piercing rounds. Nau grabbed for her plasma pistol.

"L-LAU-R-RA?" the Dreadnought struggled.

"Norim! It's me! Laura, from the Dawn Legion? By the sun, what have they done to you?"

"LAURA. I... CANNOT SEE YOU."

The First Captain swallowed hard and set her boltor down, wiping away the heavy layer of dust on the Castaferrum's visor slit. Her hands shook just slightly as she reached up and pressed the releases on her helmet, letting her dark brown hair fall freely.

"Can... can you see me now? Norim?"

"I CAN." The Dreadnought's waist rotator joint creaked painfully loudly, echoing off the shattered stone. "AS BEAUTIFUL AS EVER, LAURA."

"Now is not the time, Norim!" Laura hissed. "What the hel happened?"

"THE SPACE WOLVES." Norim said this like it answered everything. "I CANNOT MOVE."

"We'll get you out of here," Laura promised.

"NO. THE PRIMARCH FIRST."

"Norim, we don't even know if he's alive--"

"THE PRIMARCH LIVES. YOU MUST RESCUE HIM."

"I'm not going without you!" Laura growled. "You... idiot!"

"Just end his misery if you care so much," Xenhuan spat, rolling her eyes. Laura turned a glare that would scare a Bloodthirster on her sister, and crouched like a prowling tiger.

"I should shoot you where you stand," she snarled, hand hovering dangerously close to her pistol.

"We are wasting time," Xenhuan argued. Her brow was furrowed. "Put him down--"

Like a flash, Laura drew her pistol on Xenhuan, and Tlatia jumped in between the two.

"Laura! Stand down!" she ordered, before turning to face her other errant child. "Xenhuan--what the hel is wrong with you?"

"If we're going to find your brother, we can't waste our time with broken Dreadnoughts," Xenhuan argued. Tlatia tried to speak, but all that came out was mild shock at her daughter's callousness.

"PLEASE REFRAIN FROM PUTTING ME DOWN," Norim requested.

The Primarch took a moment to compose her words, then spoke. "You, Xenhuan, will leave Laura alone. I will let her explain to you--later--why Norim is important to her. For now, you will drop the topic, and you will not speak of it again until Aurelius is safe and onboard the Dawnbringer."

Beneath her helmet, Xenhuan scowled. "Understood, mother."

"Good. Now--Citalicue, help Laura get Norim moving and functional. The rest of you--with me. We're following Nirisch's directions into the maintenance corridors."

"Right into the Zone Mortalis," Nau murmured, checking her ammunition instinctively. She looked back at Nroim's broken casket and shuddered. "Lovely. Let's go."

[corner-stories]

a round with me

Captain Mikasa Ackerman. Commander Jean Kirschtein. Sparring. Late Nights. Eventual Smut. 3286 words. (ao3.) <- full content warnings in link

When not exploring the world outside the walls, the soldiers of the Survey Corps were often saddled with various tasks. There were horses to be cared for, ODM-gear to be checked, and rookies to be trained. 

So on a day in between expeditions Captain Mikasa Ackerman had been tasked with teaching the new recruits. 

Ideally, she would have preferred to show them combat techniques, thoughtfully explaining the time-tested formations and tactics most commonly used by the Scouts. However, the information that needed to be disclosed could not technically be demonstrated in-person. Instead, it was much better communicated through diagrams on a chalkboard. 

So instead of working outdoors and flying free with the ODM-gear, the almighty Captain Ackerman spent her day inside of a classroom, explaining the ins and outs of the new riding formations to a group of doe-eyed rookies. 

She didn’t particularly loathe the task, but she could acknowledge that things like this were more up Armin’s or even Sasha’s alley. What Mikasa excelled at was leading her squad or sinking her blade into the neck of a Titan while making it look easy — not showcasing the intricacies of the Long-Distance Scouting Formation 3.0 to the new recruits. 

But with the Section Commander busy in his office and her Squad Vice Captain being granted a day off, Mikasa was the one to step up. 

At least the rookies were attentive and focused, knowing well the risks that came with being a scout. Slacking off during lessons benefitted nobody and the fact that they seemed so keen on learning gave Mikasa hope for the future. 

After the lesson, the Captain ate her dinner alone in the section of the mess hall designated for the higher ups. With most of her fellow Veterans busy elsewhere, she dug into her potatoes and stew in silence. 

She wasn’t surprised that Armin was still locked in his office. His work often ate up most of his non-expedition time, and with that in mind Mikasa reminded herself to bring him some food. As much as she loved him, she couldn’t deny Armin’s habit of forgetting to eat while wrapped up in his job. It would certainly be a shame if Section Commander Arlert perished from starvation, of all things. 

Additionally, Mikasa could understand Sasha’s absence. Her second-in-command had scheduled the day off weeks in advance, expressing a desire to visit Connie in Ragako Village. Ever since her old friend had lost his right leg to a Titan’s jaw, he had been honorably discharged from active duty and lived a quiet life in the countryside. It wasn’t shocking that Sasha wanted to spend every second she could with the person she considered her second half. 

The only absence she felt the most wistful about was Jean’s, the empty space in the chair next to hers wasn’t helping. 

Perhaps it had to do with the Commander being quite the presence wherever he went. Nowadays he stood tall and broad, usually towering over most of his comrades and subordinates. Even the way he spoke — the forcefulness he could put behind his “Commander voice” — added to the persona he put on for the sake of the Legion. 

Perhaps Mikasa had gotten so used to him being around that his vacancy only felt stronger. 

With a sigh, she reminded herself that the title of Commander came with even more duties than of a Captain. Jean had been scheduled for a meeting with the leaders of the other military branches — an occurrence that existed so each Commander was on the same page. As mind-numbing as they could be, Jean had no complaints as he boarded a carriage in the morning and rode towards the Stohess District. 

The trips usually took him the whole day, whether it be because of the journey between Wall Sina and the Scout’s HQ, or because Commander Brzenska liked to be thorough during the annual meetings. 

So after finishing her dinner, Mikasa left the mess and walked through the torch-lit hallways. She made sure to follow through on her task and delivered a bread loaf and a tankard of ale to Armin’s office, setting them on the floor before knocking gently on the door, lest she disturb his flow of work. 

Now officially off-the-clock, Mikasa contemplated what she would do with the rest of her evening. She didn’t feel as tired as she usually did — in fact, she felt strangely energized after spending a whole day inside of a classroom. The vitality she usually retained during most of her day had yet to burnt up. So she forgoed the idea of running a hot bath and turning in early, instead making her way to the training room of the HQ. 

Truthfully, the Survey Corps didn't have much use for the room, as most of their combat skills were geared towards Titans. But the space was still there and filled with enough mats, wooden training weapons, and punching bags to keep any brawler in shape. Mikasa felt better knowing that the equipment was being used instead of being left to gather dust. 

She made her way to the basement, noting that the hallways she walked through felt peculiarly quiet. She guessed that the soldiers not resting or unwinding were heading over to the taverns at the nearby village, perhaps their own sense of ease could be found at the bottom of a stein. 

As Mikasa got closer to the basement, she heard a familiar sound behind the stone walls. Said sound was unmistakably that of someone punching one of the sand-filled bags in the training room. The noise became louder and louder as Mikasa approached the door. It was slightly ajar, which allowed her to peek inside. 

Jean Kirschtein stood illuminated by the lanterns on the wall, the jacket and shirt of his formal uniform were discarded on the side. Bare-chested and with cloth wrapped around his knuckles, he thrusts his fists against one of the burlap sacks hanging from the ceiling. It seemed that even the leader of the Survey Corps — the military branch known for fighting ten meter monsters — was keen on keeping his personal combat skills as sharp as his blades. 

It hadn’t been the first time Mikasa happened upon in his state, so she stepped into the room and didn’t hesitate to make herself known. 

“I didn’t see you at dinner, Commander.” 

Jean stopped striking the bag to look at his Captain. “I ate at Stohess,” he explained, catching his breath and running a hand through his sweaty hair. 

Earlier in the morning, Mikasa could recall Jean looking well-groomed and dapper in his formalwear, his beard being perfectly aligned as his hair was slicked and parted to the side. Even without his cape or ODM-gear, he retained a sense of authority, an image of honesty and truth in an unpredictable world. It was never a surprise that a man like him could stand alongside Commander Brzenska and Commander Dawk and still be considered equals. 

But now Jean looked closer to his usual self, appearing utterly ruffled and unkempt under the lantern lights. Even his beard looked especially scruffy in this state.

And Mikasa would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t prefer him this way. 

“How were the rookies today?” he asked, turning away from the punching bag. 

Mikasa had to remind herself to look at his eyes as she approached him. “Attentive,” she ended up answering. “By the next lesson they should have all of Armin’s formations memorized.” 

Jean gave her a simple smile. “Seems like they had a good teacher.” 

“I… suppose so,” she agreed, though fought the urge to say that classroom lessons were better off left to someone else. 

Under the light of lanterns she observed certain things about him, like the way his shoulders seemed more built, how the muscles in his back looked more defined, or how most of his skin was marred with faded scars. 

Some were the product of his ODM-gear, as intense use of the contraption could lead to the straps digging too deep and breaking the user’s skin. Jean was no exception. The other scars on his torso seemed to be remnants of previous battles, debris he couldn’t dodge or scuffles he barely survived. 

Mikasa had similar scars, though she couldn’t help but note that Jean seemed to have slightly more than her. 

“How was the meeting?” Mikasa asked to stop herself from staring. “Does Brzenska still scare the shit out of you?”

Jean let out a chuckle. “Only when she glares at me,” he replied. “So… all the time, basically.”

Mikasa looked amused. “I still don’t know why she freaks you out. You’re a foot taller than her.” 

“I know, but… those eyes of hers,” Jean admitted, and in his gaze Mikasa could see him briefly reliving the experience of being in Garrison leader’s icy presence. “They’re just so… intense.” 

Mikasa smiled very subtly to herself and made sure to add little Commander Brzenska to Jean’s list of phobias. She wasn’t sure if Rico would rank above or under spiders on said list. 

After looking respectfully for long enough, Mikasa turned around and made her way towards the training mats in the middle of the room. 

“Do you want to keep hitting the bag?” Mikasa asked, shrugging her jacket off her shoulders. “Or could you go for a round with me?” 

When she turned back to him, her Commander appeared both intrigued and amused. 

“I certainly hope you mean sparring, Captain,” he said, approaching her with small steps. 

As she unbuttoned her blouse and stripped to her undershirt, Mikasa couldn’t resist the urge to give him a sly smirk. “You’ll have to find out.” 

One of their usual practices involved a pair of wooden training knives. One “blade” would be dipped in red chalk while the other was dipped in blue, then the two combatants would stand barefoot on the training mat, positioned across from the other with their weapons in hand. 

To give credit where it was due, Mikasa thought Jean’s knife skills were improving. Over the last few months he had been getting better at using his length to his advantage, utilizing his longer arms to maintain a good distance between him and his opponent. It was certainly harder to score a point on someone who was always just out of her reach. 

But Mikasa wasn’t one to hold back — in fact, Jean’s developing skills simply meant that her own technique needed to be perfected. So she maintained a lower stance as she faced him, wanting to retain a sense of balance in the match. 

The Captain and her Commander remained on their ends of the mat, watching each other intently as they waited for the first move. 

After a few beats of silence, Jean lunged forward and swiped his blade towards her. Mikasa was quick, stepping to the side and narrowly dodging the attack. Quickly, Jean maneuvered his blade in his hand and held it in an ice-pick grip, preparing to force it into the rib of his opponent before Mikasa kicked his knee. 

Jean lost his balance, stumbling forward as Mikasa slashed her knife towards his back, leaving a line of blue chalk between his shoulder blades. 

Managing to not fall on his face, Jean stood up straight again and turned to his opponent. 

“I thought this was supposed to be a knife fight,” he asked, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead. 

“It’s a fight,” Mikasa emphasized, twirling her blade in fingers as she took her stance again. “Use what you can.” 

Jean nodded before getting into position once more. 

This time Mikasa moved forward for an attack, aiming the tip of her blade towards Jean’s torso. But he was just as fast, managing to parry her knife with a well-time swipe. Clouds of red and blue chalk flew in the air between them. 

Mikasa tried another jab, so Jean struck her wrist with his own and redirected the knife. Like before, he transitioned his weapon into an ice-pick grip and raised it up to aim it for the neck. 

Mikasa raised her free hand to block the incoming blade, but she wasn’t quick enough to stop the tip of the weapon from poking her neck. She was strong but so was Jean, and it seemed that had the knife been real he could’ve easily finished the job. 

She felt his pressure against hers, noting the several times they had stood like this before. A part couldn’t shake the idea that he was operating at a fraction of his usual power. He knew that she liked it rough, as close as they could get to a real battle — because the scrapes would heal, the bruises would fade, and the pain was temporary. She had a habit of not holding back on him and she could only hope that he did the same. 

“Do yourself a favor,” Mikasa whispered to her Commander. “Don’t go easy on me.” 

Jean smirked. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Captain.” 

Despite the dot of red chalk on her neck, Mikasa kept moving forward. She forced her knee to his stomach, and as the air in his lungs was forced out she wrapped her arms around his waist and forced him to the mat with a suplex. 

Though both combatants dropped their knives, Mikasa wasted no time. With Jean on his back she tried to settle on top of him but he was more than capable of fighting back. On the mat the two grappled, Mikasa attempting a submission only for Jean to pry himself out of it at the last second. He seemed stronger on the floor, utilizing his legs against the mat to assist his upper body.

But Mikasa wasn’t one to give up so easily.

Soon she had him on his back again, this time settling on top of him. Her hands were pressed firmly to his shoulders, pinning him down to the mat as she hung above him. A rush of air left Jean’s lungs as he hit the floor and his hands found her forearms — he held them tightly at first, but as seconds passed and labored breaths were let out, his grasp on her began to ease. 

Mikasa eyes were affixed to Jean’s, taking in the hazel hues under the warm lights, the kind of hazel with the slightest bits of green.

She could feel her muscles beginning to ease, becoming less stressed as she slowly bent her elbows and brought her face closer to his. The heat and pressure between the two was becoming more and more palpable, an existence they couldn’t deny as Jean reached up to graze his palm over her shoulder. 

Mikasa’s instinct told her to move downwards, inching closer and closer to him until their noses barely brushed. One of her hands went to his hair, her fingers running through the ashy brown stands. She couldn’t deny liking him in this state, having him submitted and in her control, the sensation of her weight on him. It sent a certain feeling through her, one that gave her comfort in acknowledging her more salacious desires. 

Though Jean’s face was stoic, Mikasa could see his composure faltering just slightly, if the pressure she felt against her leg was any indication. Eventually, his focused look softened into one of a smirk, even if it was a subtle one. 

There was a beat, then Jean finally spoke up. 

“So uh… bedroom?”

Suffice to say, Mikasa was very quick to nod. “Yes, please.” 

The Captain and her Commander promptly rolled off each other, dress themselves, and exit the training room. 

…

…

…

She pleasured him on her knees, running her lips where his blood ran hot as her hands grasped his backside, squeezing his taught flesh while she worked. 

Jean’s breathing was labored as he stood at the point between his bedroom and private bathroom, bracing himself by grasping the door frames on both sides of him. He was without a stitch, bare-assed and stark, and slowly moved his hips to her rhythm. 

Selfishly, Mikasa savored all of him — his touch, his taste, the grunts and groans that erupted from his throat. She liked having him like this, where she could render him into mere putty in her hands, running her tongue over his sensitive flesh until he fell apart. 

She could hear him saying her name, his breaths becoming more arduous. So she moved one of her hands and pressed it against his stomach, dragging her palm against his skin to keep him at bay until he finally reached his peak. He panted, cursed, and grunted, then overwhelmed by his own ecstasy, his fingers tightened around the door frame as a groan of pleasure escaped his lips. 

She kept her hand on his abdomen, easing him through his climax as she finished the job. 

Then once it was all over, Mikasa got back to her feet, feeling prideful to have brought the valiant Commander Jean into such a state. Without shame she even pressed a kiss to his lips, then walked to the sink to clean up. 

He caught his breath slowly, wobbling slightly as he leaned against the doorframe. He always needed a moment like this, time to come down in the aftermath. Once she wiped off with a wet washcloth Mikasa walked past him, her shoulder brushing his as she entered his bedroom. 

The place was lit by candles and the moonlight, the warmth of the first clashing with the colder hues of the second. Mikasa made her way to Jean’s bed, lying down and letting out a sigh once her body hit the mattress. She was still decidedly more clothed than him, having only discarded her pants before getting onto her knees. Her blouse remained on her torso, and gently she reached up and began undoing the buttons. 

Soon Mikasa heard the sound of the sink running again. When she turned her head to look at the doorway, she could see Jean having finally regained his senses. Unabashedly, she admired the shape of his bum as he ran a wash cloth over his bare body. She also noticed the line of blue chalk still between his shoulder blades and made a mental note to wash that off him later. 

After a few moments Jean finally rejoined her on the bed, settling next to her and lying on his back. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and immediately Mikasa began nuzzling her head against his chest, where she always liked to be. 

Despite the night being quite young, a part of her already felt content, comfortable to stay as she was against him, sharing his heat during such a cold evening. 

“How do you do it?” he asked breathlessly, smiling as he continued to pepper her forehead with kisses. 

“That’s my secret,” Mikasa murmured, her voice teasing him just slightly. 

One of Jean’s hands played with her hair, the other grasping the material of her shirt and slowly working it off her shoulders. In no time the garment had been completely removed, hitting the floor just as Jean began trailing his kisses onto Mikasa’s neck. She closed her eyes and let out another sigh, relishing in every bit of him and everything in between. 

Jean shifted slightly, soon putting himself on top of her as he continued to kiss her collarbone. His lips began trailing down her chest, moving between her breasts before grazing her stomach. She felt parts of herself tightening as he continued to go lower, making it clear to her what his intentions were. 

She could tell that he was grinning when he said — 

“Your turn, Captain.” 

She always did like it when he called her that. 

[f0xgl0v3]

Camp Jupiter Reimagined

(It took me the uppermost(?) of two days to write this because of school-)

In the last post I was ranting in I mentioned a lot of a project I was doing to Re-Imagine Camp Jupiter (and maybe share my re-imagining of the whole PJO concept and the characters- does that qualify as an AU? Maybe, I don’t know. But I like the world and I like being able to branch off existing concepts and make my own interpretations).

Some set dressing before I get into this; I love Camp Jupiter and the greater PJO franchise and world-building. It’s pretty well-done in my opinion, and it’s how Rome became one of my special interests (or maybe it just added to my greater Greco-Roman world interest and I just really like Rome) *But* how Camp Jupiter and New Rome is done just kind of feels a little underwhelming. It’s super cool and a great concept, and it fits. But I feel like New Rome and Camp Jupiter weren’t really thought out, just kind of happened and then we all just accepted it. Now; I’ll probably update some opinions when I read ToA (I’m currently reading the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid beforehand) but characterization doesn’t feel consistent to what is told before. There are things I don’t see happening; like an example being the legion being shrunk to 5 cohorts (Roman legions had 10). While that is for plot reasons to not make Camp and the Legion huge for reasons. We are told that Romans dislike change to the point they had a *mutiny* over a *name change* for the legion. But I have to hold my disbelief that they would *get rid of 5 cohorts*! So I decided that I would just Re-Imagine Camp Jupiter (and the Campers, and down the line PJO in general). So uh; here is some of the things I’ve defined in my brain for my re-imagination of the Camp/legion,

things, all the things,

I added back the 5 removed cohorts; HOWEVER, what I chose to do that made sense in my brain was make cohorts 6-10, *outposts* or Roman settlements around the Americas. They are mainly used in my mind for scouting, expanding the glory of the New Roman Republic (not a Empire for now, maybe a future fanfic, idk). But they’re there to scout out areas, help transport demigods across borders to the main camp, etc.

Along with that I decided they all had SETTLEMENTS (little tiny towns) that had thematic naming to it (still deciding on that)

Speaking of which; the outposts aren’t really respected; at least not how like the main 5 are respected. Sure they do important things, but no one takes them *as* seriously

They also act as reinforcements (auxiliary troops?) but I’d assume it would go; main 5 cohorts, 5 outposts, and then the veterans. In how they are called upon.

Maybe there is some conflict on the leaders (the Consuls? I think, I’m writing this while still doing research and while everything is still in the primordial soup stage) of the outposts divided on helping Octavian or if he didn’t assume power correctly and therefore wasn’t the leader of the legion.

It adds a sense of more overwhelming dread to facing Camp Jupiter in the big battle (which; I will be kind of mixing up) because in my idea it’s a bigger body of groups. We get a more ominous build-up of slowly watching and having to just hear or see in visions more cohorts (which the outposts are smaller than the main cohorts; I figure that’s also important) slowly congealing together with very shaky loyalty to Octavian. Being slightly disjointed from each other and the main cohorts.

Along with that; if I do like re-imagine HoO (which; would mostly be character work in my opinion, I don’t have *too* many qualms with the plot. I’ll probably say more when I get around to that). But if I do re-imagine and like half edit-half fanfic through the books I would love to include a Camp Jupiter POV in at least from MoA onwards, but that’s random here uhhh cohorts-

I’ve sort-of re-categorized the Cohorts (might also take some inspiration from what we know of the legions that share the same number in personality, if that makes sense?)

But each Cohort gets a sort of more defined personality to each other rather than the sort of muddled greater characterization we have for the groups in canon. (I’ll probably have another post that goes more in-depth on the ‘personalities’ of the cohorts)

Main 5 cohorts

First Cohort; I decided that this was going to be a very selective group in who gets accepted into the Cohort. I decided that along with a minimum of 2 letters of recommendation, legionnaires have to show some outstanding quality to them that the first Cohort wants (this takes from the ‘elite troop’ idea with the first *legion* and I needed a way to differentiate the 1st and 2nd, while this also plays off of all the 1st cohort legionnaires being said they had *something* special about them; Octavian and his talking stuff and prophecy, and Michael Kahale for uh, football and being giant? I’ll workshop it) while this of course means the 1st cohort is on the smaller side; they make up for it in general prowess and ability. On the rarest of rare occasions (like Jason, or maybe even Percy for my re-imagining) the first cohort will try and request recruits to join their legion (there’s probably a technical term, but basically what Dakota did for Percy in SoN; I’ll have to re-read HoO) but this isn’t a very common occurrence.

Second Cohort; I really like my concept of the Second cohort because it just really amuses me- simply put, their the rejects from the first cohort. Snobby kids who had good letters of Recommendation and were looking to ride off the coattails of their relatives. They are the ones with recommendation letters but nothing too crazy and special about them that makes it reasonable for the 1st Cohort to want them.

Third cohort; I decided on a whim that the third cohort would be the kids that are SUPER into the fighting parts of Camp; training? They’re down, the War Games? they want to win, they will win. They aren’t too into the political side of camp, they mostly are there for protecting their home.

Fourth Cohort; the fourth cohort is the one I have been purposely putting off characterizing Specifically because of the Camp Jupiter classified book where the protag is 4th cohort and I want to read that before making my conclusions. But if anyone currently were to ask me, they’re the trouble makers :]

Fifth Cohort; I kept the characterization of the Fifth cohort being the ‘rejects’. The unwanteds, however I decided to include the fifth cohort taking in legionnaires that had to get transferred cohorts. They are the largest cohort and there is a very varying personality to the cohort but the general idea is ‘Everyone doesn’t like us but hey, at least we can hold a sword :]’

Five outpost cohorts

My fan created cohorts based on concepts I discussed earlier on in this post :]

I chose in these to keep them relatively away from any important areas that are in the books (why Cohort six isn’t close to someplace like Quebec, or why the Eight cohort isn’t on an Puerto Rico or an island super close to Puerto Rico)

On that note; let it be known that these Outpost Cohorts also do help find legionnaires (i mention it in some of the descriptions for the cohorts)

These cohorts are much, much more rough around the edges currently because I’m still in the primordial soup and research stage; these are the roughest concepts for these Cohorts. I will first then out more… hopefully.

Cohort Six; the sixth cohort i decided would currently be stationed in Canada (I decided it would be in Canada so I could have a Frank tie-in and because I needed one in the north that wasn’t in Alaska) I also currently have the outpost at Great Bear Lake; close to Port Radium and Cameron Bay; though that might change. While the cohort is there with the Settlement New Britannia (name may be subject to change)

Seventh Cohort; The Seventh Cohort, which is considered the ‘best’ out of the outpost cohorts, located at the Sierra de pénjamo mountains in Mexico; along with the ‘New Hispania’ settlement. They deal with a lot of monster outbreaks along the equator.

Eighth Cohort; located on the Inagua Islands (I chose the larger one with Lake Rosa though might be changed) unlike the Seventh; the Eighth is the outcast of the legion; being the legions big naval force that deal with the islands on the east of South America, settlement possibly called ‘New Hispania Balearica’

Words about the ninth and tenth cohort; I had a sub the day I was working on their notebook pages so I don’t have very set locations for them.

Ninth Cohort; located in, somewhere Brazil. Meant to scout the eastern side of South America not including the islands

Tenth cohort; The tenth cohort is located in somewhere, Argentina. Does what Ninth does but just for the west side of South America

——————

Aaaaaaah, so sorry for the drop in quality at the last two but I’ve been writing this for like 2-3 days, I’ll write more about (probably Octavian) and my Camp re-imagining

[spiralcass]

NEW MUTANTS: LETHAL LEGION #2 - THOUGHTS

I had so much fun covering the first issue, I thought, “Why Not?” and decided I’d do similar breakdowns for the rest of the series as it comes out. With its sapphic trans lead, Escapade, and writer, @charliejaneanders​, there’s no book I’m more eager to support and help spread awareness of right now. 

This issue sees multiple plots continuing here, with Escapade, Cerebella, Honey Badger (I’m still not calling her “Scout”), Morgan, and Wolfsbane still our leads as of this issue, but with the set-up and solicits we’ve gotten, it’s clear Dani and Karma will be getting more involved for the rest of the book. 

Starting with the A-Plot, probably my favorite thing about the previous three issues of New Mutants to star Shela, and this book so far, is how in nearly every scene, we get to see a new layer of her character. So often, fans will defend bland new characters by saying they “Just Need Time”, and my counterargument is always, “No, there are numerous modern characters who came out fully realized and captivating almost immediately.” 

We got a bit of this in the previous issue, but it’s made even more clear here that despite Shela often coming off as a typical quirky, goofy, teenage hero, she is an adult, she is an experienced veteran in her field, and she has lived a hard life with much more down-to-Earth trauma which has built responsibility. She may not like having to be all these things, and getting to act more like a kid is probably something she appreciates about Krakoa, but if she’s only teamed with less experienced heroes, this is gonna show. 

I’m unsure of what the writing is going for with Gabby so far. Gabby being excited and enthusiastic about beating up a bunch of villains? Nothing weird there. Being snarky? Right up her alley. But she has a weird mean streak throughout the issue that doesn’t feel right. Just a couple lines that don’t sound like things she’d say. 

I do like how she handled Nefaria’s tournament though. 

Sadly, Martha doesn’t get to do much this issue, and it’s to its detriment. While Shela and Gabby’s fights are fun, they take up so much of the A-plot that there’s no room for her. And with me not being particularly interested in Nefaria and his antics (mostly), sidelining the character who’s the whole reason this adventure is happening, and who’s emotional struggle is our hero’s primary motivator, hurts the issue. 

With that all said, now I get to talk about my favorite part of the A-plot, and the part that has me the most excited. 

To the shock of literally no one, it’s the part which involves Emma Frost. 

Not once, but twice in this issue, Shela directly compares Nefaria’s persuasive skills to Emma’s. Once is a joke. Twice tells me our young thief still has some unresolved issues regarding her former idol. 

In tandem with her other insecurities, it really is no wonder she allowed herself to get drunked-up by Nefaria. Against Emma’s speeches, she was able to bite back with bitterness. Against Nefaria’s, despite knowing what he’s doing, she still likes what he’s saying enough that she eases herself. 

Anders confirmed to me before this book started that Emma would not be appearing in it, BUT I really, really hope this is all going somewhere post-Lethal Legion. 

Onto the B-Plot, let’s start with the funny stuff because WOW did this get real dark, real quick. 

Of COURSE there are doomsday preppers for Mutants, of course there are.  Wonderful way to start the issue. 

 Cosmar basically realizing Shela has taken her place in the Lost Club’s main girl trio is sad, but also pretty funny in a meta sense. Hopefully Tashi can find another team to join. 

Also, Charlie, I know you read these, so I’m gonna ask one of the most common questions fans of these characters have: How old is Anole supposed to be? Shela and Martha are young adults, Gabby and Tashi are teenagers, and Rain Boy can go either way since it’s unclear if he died or not post M-Day, but no one really cares. Anole meanwhile is a longtime fan favorite, and between him simultaneously bartending at the Green Lagoon and hitting on Ahkiro, while also acting no older than Gabby and Tashi, and being referred to as a kid by one of his old classmates within the pages of New Mutants, fans have been deeply confused for years. 

I know writers sometimes aren’t allowed to speak on ages, so if that’s a thing here, I get it. If you can give an answer though, so many fans would love to know. 

Tangents aside, Dani and Karma’s entrance to the plot confuses me. I get Dani worrying about her kids, but are her and Xuan really freaking out because they don’t know where two grown women and their highly-deadly teenage friend are for more than a day? Hey, Dani, if you want to check on someone, how about your adopted son you haven’t spoken to in the last decade? If Josh has time to flirt with Gwenpool, he has time for you. 

Everything mentioned above is completely forgivable, however, because Dani and Xuan get the best damn panel in this issue.

Transitioning into the more dramatic stuff, we have Rahne. Wolfsbane has consistently been wonderful under Anders’ pen (really, she’s gotten consistently better writing in the past 3 years than she’d gotten in the prior 20), with so many great moments in this issue alone. I love how she helps calm down the sewer creature, wastes no time arguing with the doomsday prepper’s leader’s garbage, and is able to separate him from the rest of the mostly innocent people living in the sewers who need her help. 

Oh, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan. Since your first appearance, I have not liked you. I still don’t like you, even if you being Chinese, Jewish, and Asexual on top of being a trans man is pretty cool. 

However, progress may finally be getting made on making his less insufferable. At the start of this issue, he’s still his usual self, with 0 comprehension of what Mutants have been through (honestly though, man, with all your other identities, you shouldn’t be THIS blitheringly ignorant), but then...

...we get to the big “Oh shit” part of the book, as it seems like Rahne may be about to teach Morgan about The Massacre. 

This data page is amazing. I’m not sure if it actually fits the book tonally, but I love it. I’m not gonna go over the details of it just because it’s such strong prose, and you should really take it in for yourselves. It really makes you just imagine Jared walking through the woods on Krakoa, and seeing Greycrow, one of the people who brutally murdered him and his friends, making out with Kwannon, one of the War Captains charged with protecting everyone. Of course he wouldn’t believe he was safe on Krakoa (you know, along with all the OTHER reasons not to feel safe on Krakoa if you’re not one of the big, special Mutants)

Despite the various complains I had, I still loved this issue. With multiple issues now out I feel comfortable calling this my third favorite X-book right now. And when your competition includes Red and Immortal, third place is still a triumph. I can’t wait for the next issue, and I can only hope Marvel greenlights more just like this. 

[madscientist008]

Who is Bear Grylls?

If you are a fan of adventure, survival and outdoor challenges, you have probably heard of Bear Grylls. He is a British adventurer, writer, television presenter and businessman who has become famous for his daring exploits and wilderness skills. But who is he really and what makes him tick? Here are some facts you may not know about him.

He has a royal connection

Bear Grylls was born Edward Michael Grylls on 7 June 1974 in London, England. His father was Sir Michael Grylls, a Conservative politician and member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. His mother was Sarah “Sally” Ford, a descendant of William Augustus Ford, a first-class cricketer. His grandfather was Neville Ford, another cricketer who played for Leicestershire. His sister Lara Fawcett gave him the nickname “Bear” when he was a week old.

Bear Grylls attended Eton College, one of the most prestigious schools in England, where he started its first mountaineering club. He also studied Spanish and German at the University of the West of England and Birkbeck College. He is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

In 2000, he married Shara Cannings Knight, a former model and author. They have three sons: Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry. They live on a private island in Wales and also have a houseboat on the River Thames.

Bear Grylls has a close relationship with the British royal family. He is friends with Prince William and Prince Harry and has taken them on several adventures. He is also the youngest-ever Chief Scout of the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories, a position he has held since 2009. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019 for his services to young people, the media and charity.

He has a military background

Bear Grylls joined the British Army in 1994 and served in the 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve), or 21 SAS. This is a reserve unit that trains and supports the regular SAS, one of the most elite special forces in the world. He underwent rigorous training in survival, combat, parachuting, climbing and explosives.

In 1996, he suffered a serious injury when his parachute failed to open during a free-fall training exercise in Zambia. He broke three vertebrae in his back and had to undergo several surgeries. He was told he might never walk again.

However, he defied the odds and recovered from his injury. He left the army in 1997 with an honorary rank of lieutenant colonel. He later said that his military experience taught him discipline, resilience and courage.

He has broken several world records

Bear Grylls is not one to shy away from challenges. He has embarked on numerous expeditions that have tested his physical and mental limits. Some of his most notable achievements include:

Climbing Mount Everest at the age of 23, becoming one of the youngest people to reach the summit.

Crossing the North Atlantic Ocean in an inflatable boat with five other men, facing storms, icebergs and sharks.

Flying over Mount Everest in a powered paraglider, setting a new altitude record.

Trekking across Antarctica on foot and by kite-skiing, covering 1,700 miles in 94 days.

Leading a team of injured veterans to climb Mount Everest again, raising funds and awareness for wounded soldiers.

Hosting a live TV show from the top of The Shard, London’s tallest building.

Completing a solo paramotor flight over Angel Falls, Venezuela’s highest waterfall.

Eating maggots, snakes, spiders and other disgusting things on camera.

He is a media star

Bear Grylls is best known for his television shows that showcase his survival skills and adventurous spirit. His first show was Man vs. Wild (also known as Born Survivor), which ran from 2006 to 2011 on Discovery Channel. In each episode, he would be dropped into a remote location with minimal equipment and demonstrate how to survive various scenarios.

He also hosted other shows such as Escape to the Legion (2005), Worst Case Scenario (2010), Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls (2013), The Island with Bear Grylls (2014-present), Running Wild with Bear Grylls (2014-present), Mission Survive (2015-2016), Bear Grylls: Breaking Point (2015), Bear Grylls: Survival School (2016), You vs. Wild (2019) and World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji (2020).

He has also written several books based on his experiences and expertise, such as Facing Up (2000), Facing the Frozen Ocean (2004), Born Survivor: Survival Techniques from the Most Dangerous Places on Earth (2007), Mud Sweat and Tears (2011), A Survival Guide for Life (2012) and Soul Fuel: A Daily Devotional (2019).

He has also appeared in movies such as Ghost Flight (2014) and Animals United (2010) as well as video games such as Man vs. Wild: The Game (2011) and Kinect Sports Rivals (2014).

He has also launched his own brand of clothing, equipment, food and drinks that cater to outdoor enthusiasts.

He is a philanthropist

Bear Grylls is not only an adventurer but also a humanitarian. He supports various causes that are close to his heart, such as:

The Scout Association: As the Chief Scout, he promotes scouting as a way of developing young people’s skills, confidence and character.

The Prince’s Trust: As an ambassador for this charity founded by Prince Charles, he helps disadvantaged young people achieve their potential through education, training and employment.

Global Angels: As a patron for this international charity founded by his mother-in-law Molly Bedingfield, he helps provide clean water, health care, education and protection for children in need around the world.

Tusk Trust: As an ambassador for this conservation organization that works to protect Africa’s wildlife and natural habitats.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution: As an honorary life governor for this charity that provides lifesaving services at sea.

The Jo Cox Foundation: As an ambassador for this charity that honors the legacy of Jo Cox MP who was murdered in 2016 by promoting social cohesion and combating loneliness.

He is an inspiration

Bear Grylls is an inspiration to millions of people around the world who admire his courage, passion and spirit of adventure. He has shown that nothing is impossible if you have faith, determination and perseverance.

He has also shared his wisdom and insights on how to live a fulfilling life through his books, speeches and interviews. Some of his quotes include:

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is just that little word - extra.”

“Survival can be summed up in three words - never give up.”

“Don’t listen to the dream stealers.”

“The rules of survival never change whether you’re in a desert or in an arena.”

“If you risk nothing you gain nothing.”

“Life is an adventure - live it.”

So there you have it - some facts about Bear Grylls that you may not have known before. He is more than just a TV star - he is a man who lives life to the fullest and inspires others to do the same.

What do you think of him? Do you have any questions or comments? Let me know below!

[theblackbookofarkera]

Colthites

Do not let the agents of the Black King hear you referring to this deep desert tribes as “the Scarlet Terror” or you are certain to suffer a horrifically painful and slow death. The Colthites are a mysterious people with mentions of them going back to the Old World where they allegedly once ruled a hidden desert city named Colthicar. It is unclear if the modern Colthites are truly the descendants of the people of Colthicar or have simply adopted the legend.

The Colthites have been harrying the legions of Urakkad for centuries racking up tens of thousands of kills. Striking quickly and carrying off their dead Colthite war parties range between ten and one hundred including men, women and adolescents. Their red robes and lacquered masks have earned them their much reviled moniker throughout Urakkad. The Colthites employ numerous deadly weapons favoring javelins, sabers and bolas but are most known for their spike-throwing rifles and poison gas grenades.

Thought to dwell in the Zobna Mountains it is unknown how the Colthites sustain themselves in the desolate region. Another mystery is their numbers with estimates being anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands, it is simply impossible to determine. You are likely not surprised that little is known of their culture or religious traditions with what is known having been learned from examining the rare corpse that is left behind.

“The boy couldn’t have been more than twelve and he killed seven of my meanest veterans before I split his head open. He was well fed, strong of build and his skin was covered in queer tattoos. Otherwise his appearance was unexceptional, looking no different than other tribes of the deep desert. I am certain now they dwell amongst us spying and plotting their next murderous rampage.”

-Rawat Bindah, captain of the Yawin Scout Company

[deflare]

Day 19 brings us the last of the loyalist First Founding legions,* so everyone give it up for the XIX Legion, Raven Guard!

The XIX Legion were the Rogues of the early Space Marine legions. They specialized in stealth actions, infiltration, and reconnaissance, quickly and quietly murdering key opponents of the Imperial regime. They developed a pretty dread reputation in the process, mirroring their flesh-flaying cousins in the VIII Legion. They acted as support for the other legions, providing intelligence and wreaking havoc on enemy supply lines and HQs.

Meanwhile, their father Corvus Corax was saying “fuck you” to the prison industrial complex. He’d landed on the moon of Lycaeus, a prison colony whose people were used as slave labor by the tech guilds who lived on the planet Lycaeus orbited. The prisoners took in baby Corax and taught him how to be real sneaky, with the help of his ability to cloud people’s minds and render himself effectively invisible. He rallied the prisoners and launched a guerrilla war against their captors, eventually driving the slavers off the moon. He then went a bit Dark Side, using nuclear weapons to finally defeat the tech guilds and renaming the moon Deliverance.

Right as his work was done, Corax was swept up by the Emperor, and after a training period, he took over his legion. One the one hand, the newly-dubbed Raven Guard (yes, Raven Raven leads the Raven Guard, the names are bad) fit into his vibe in terms of being a bunch of sneaky bastards. On the other hand, he wasn’t really on board with the terror tactics side of things. Corax quietly split off a lot of the more unseemly elements of the legion--mostly the older Terran veterans who he didn’t think were worth saving--and sent them off on a long crusade at the edges of the galaxy; these are the likely ancestors of the Carcharadons. The remainder, he reformed into the premier covert operation forces of the Space Marines, specializing in sabotage, assassination, and backline disruption.

At the start of the Horus Heresy, the Raven Guard were one of the legions sent into the initial battle against the traitor legions, where they got backstabbed and devastated (along with the Iron Hands and Salamanders). The Raven Guard spent the rest the war scrambling to recover. There was a whole thing with trying to quickly recruit some new Space Marines, only for the geneseed to be sabotaged and turn the new recruits into bird monsters. They didn’t have much impact on the rest of the war, though they managed to do some Raven Guard stuff to the traitor supply lines. They went along with the subsequent division of the legions, becoming the modern chapter. Corax himself was filled with guilt for what he had to do during the Heresy, and as penance, he wandered off into the Warp to try to assassinate one of the traitor Primarchs. He may be a weird mutated bird-monster now?

The modern Raven Guard continue to be a bunch of sneaky bastards, relying on skilled scouts to identify key points to hit. In other words, they operate the way that a unit of 1,000 supersoldiers SHOULD work, rather than having them try to stand as a phalanx in the middle of nowhere like a bunch of dinguses. Militarily, they’re iconically associated with jet-packs, lightning claws, and beak-shaped helmets. They’re known for being grim and brooding, with the chapter being full of Edgar Allen Poe references. Their geneseed makes their skin bleached-white, and gives them black eyes, making them even spookier. But they do also retain a core of compassion for non-supersoldiers from Corax’s days championing the oppressed, even as they become enforcers for the most brutal and oppressive regime in human history. They’re not... good at being the Good Guys. Especially since right now, they’re fighting the actual good guys, the Tau**.

The Raven Guard! They’re the Reasonable Marines, but they’re also easy to overlook. Honestly, I find them deeply disappointing; Corax had the potential to be one of the Primarchs who looked at the Imperial project and went, “Hey what the fuck,” but he got roped in just like everyone else. There’s some commentary in there, maybe.

*There’s a non-zero chance that GW has a very funny surprise in store for me tomorrow.

**The Tau are not the good guys.

The Tau are one of the newest rising powers in the galaxy. They’re blue humanoid aliens who live out on the eastern edge of the Milky Way. Not too long ago, they had stone age technology and were fighting internecine battles that threatened to wipe themselves out. Then some prophets rose up and rallied the Tau together under a new philosophy, that of suppressing their individual wants and needs to instead serve the Greater Good. Since then the Tau have developed new technology at a truly astounding pace, carving out their own space-faring empire.

The Tau are split into five different castes. The Air Caste act as their pilots and spaceship crew. The Water Caste are traders, administrators, and diplomats. The Earth Caste are scientists, engineers, and farmers. The Fire Caste are soldiers and police forces. And the Ethereals are descendants of those prophets; they’re the leadership and clergy, guiding the other Tau toward the Greater Good. (The Ethereals may be aided in their leadership by mind-influencing pheromones; it’s not clear.)

One of the things that makes the Tau unique in the galaxy is that they don’t kill every new alien they come across. When they encounter a new species, or one of the bazillion human-controlled worlds, the Tau will patiently build up trade relationships with them and try to incorporate them into the Tau Empire. Several alien species have accepted the deal, most notably the Kroot, bird-like hunters who can incorporate the DNA of things they eat into their genetics, and who thus serve as frontline melee combatants in exchange for first pick of enemy corpses. A number of human worlds have also voluntarily joined the Tau, seeing a much better deal there than in the Imperium.

The Tau have developed sophisticated weapons systems, including high-powered railguns and plasma weapons significantly better than what the Imperium uses, and an ever-more-complex array of battlesuits (effectively, mecha). A mix of good luck and unexpected tenacity have kept the Tau alive against Imperial assaults; while the Tau Empire could obviously never stand against the full weight of the Imperium, there are always bigger fish to fry.

Like I said, the Tau are not the good guys. They are, however, maybe the least evil faction in the 40k setting. They’re imperialistic, culturally chauvinistic, and strictly theocratic. They employ mind-control technology on their own people and on their alien auxiliaries (most notably the insect-like Vespids), and subject rebellious worlds to cruel punishments. They’re also growing increasingly erratic as their leadership struggles to handle the outside-context problem of Chaos and the Warp. But, they’re not genocidal fascists, and that makes them good guys compared to the bastards in the Imperium.

Master post here

[tes-trash-blog]

Report to Spymaster Aurelius of the Dragoneye, 28th of Last Seed, 2E589

I would like to preface this report with news that will doubtless be discouraging: While my mission was completed, being the confirmation that the Graverobber listed as Secundinus was neutralized as a threat, I am afraid I must request a discharge from the Dragoneye. There are no words in this language or any other that may prove adequate in my shame, and I only pray to the Eight that, upon reading my dispatch, you may find it in your mercies to allow my honorable discharge.

My journey to the Alessian Tombs was met with little resistance. Veteran as I am to the Planemeld, I am no stranger to the threat of Daedra or the invaders of the Three Banners, and so traversing the sewers evading the eyes of our enemies was a trivial matter. The few who may have caught me, including three of the Xivkyn race and two Ebonheart Pact scouts, met with a swift end. Of the journey I shall report little more, and instead focus on the task given to me.

When I crossed the threshold into the Alessian Tombs, immediately there was a chill in the air and surroundings; indeed, the iron and wood of the barricade were cold to the touch even in the heat and humidity of the sewer in summer. This was the first indication that the villainous Secundinus may had yet been performing his foul craft away from the eyes of god and emperor. I entered the catacombs and confirmed as such. Bodies in varying states of decay laid in the catacombs, including my missing comrade Pentus, who as you may recall disappeared on a similar such scouting. I attempted to put my distress aside to better focus, though it was, admittedly, a great struggle. I must confess I found some cold relief in the fact that he was not raised, however I cannot say the same for the others who had also gone missing in recent months. Among those I could still recognize by face were Arius Richton of the City Legion, Helane and Turuk Munia of our own Dragoneyes, and who I believed to be Zelanus Endario, though the face was swallowed and sunken one could nonetheless make out his distinctive birthmark about the lip.

But I digress. To my shame, I found myself frozen in the midst of our profaned comrades, unable to proceed. Though I felt in my innermost self that this was the work of Secundinus, my orders were to visually confirm as such, and on this I very nearly failed. It was only the clamor of battle, the sudden pull of the undead away from me, and the cries of a ghastly language -- one that defies description-- that spurred me on. 

I willed myself to proceed, and found the cause of mission upon the top of a floodway: Secundinus himself, having gained a second life as a wraith, engaged with, of all beings, an Elf unlike any I have ever beheld. Clad in armor that was of no army or mercenary to my knowledge, armed with a spear of a build that similarly evaded my knowledge, she-- and I do attest to this Elf’s gender presentation as female -- was the source of the undead’s sudden attraction. Secundinus, in what I can only assume was his power over his thralls, summoned his small army to assist him against his assailant. Of these she dispatched with a sharp movement of her spear; her attention, save for one moment, was set upon this wraith.

I would like to bring to the attention of my Spymaster this moment. There was but one instant, only one, in which her attention broke, for it was in that instant that she saw me. It could not have been more, for the battle with our common foe demanded no less than her full attention, the work of her spear too quick to allow any more than that instant, but her eye was upon me then. It may as well have been an eternity to me, still as I was as the battle before me raged.  It was then that she spoke in a voice unfamiliar with our language, “Look! Away!”

Secundinus, demon he was, set upon this woman the force of our comrades and other profaned dead. Though magic and spearcraft sent many back into the arms of Arkay, she was soon overpowered, and the clamor of battle stilled to a deathly quiet, broken only by the laughter of Secundinus’ shade. It was then that the wraith turned and set its eyeless sights to me. I looked about wildly for the way in which I arrived, but soon found myself beset upon all sides by raised thralls. I drew my sword, ready to fight to the last breath, when no less than a miracle occurred.

It was a song. That is the only way I can describe it. A song cut the air, and it- forgive how ludicrous this may sound - felled the thralls that surrounded me. My head began to ache, my ears began to ring, but I willed myself to find the source. And find it I did.

The Elf, whom I knew to be dead, had returned to her feet, staggered and limp about the body, but standing. She moved as if she were a marionette with limp strings, jerking and uncertain, a parody of her sureness before, but it drew the attention of Secundinus away from me and back to his combatant. He cackled -- and the song became a scream.

The wraith became no more, and so too did his thralls. There was no clattering of bones, no sifting of dust in the air or final breaths of air. There was only silence, myself, and the Elf who was dead a moment before.

She did not acknowledge my presence as she did before. When she did look to me, it was with the same eyes of fallen Pentus, and when she spoke, it was not with a voice but with an urging that reached my very core.

‘Run.’

And so I did. I did not stop until I reached my base, much to the shock and concern of Commandant Pallia. And now, one week after the completion of my mission, I write this dispatch. I ask of you with all humility, and beseeching all mercy within you, to not allow me to go within the Sewers again, and to accept my resignation from the Dragoneye.

[chaosprinceundivided]

Breaking the Siege

Rulek’s face sneered when he saw one of the Imperial regiments’ cannon manage to crash against a fortification, sending it tumbling while the wall defenders were moving about. The summoned Blue Horrors returned their hail of flickering warpfire bolts across a great distance but the mortals were a bothersome lot with advancements into their gunpowder and munitions, distance were their salvation. They have been besieging the outpost for a month, enough to have a desperate lord send a fury for aid.

Now, the Daemon Prince - after his day of surveying and calculating - gestured. His outriders, fresh still of their torturing and entertaining of the Imperial scout battalion, were speeding along the deep snow with their mounts’ taloned feet barely sinking. They made barely a sound, the Dark Outriders were Rulek’s most trusted of Daemonettes that have served him since his conquest of the Norscan mountains. Even after his sundering, they remained true with him, even coercing that of another sisterhood of warlike pain-dancers that were now maneuvering, gliding through the shadows. 

Rulek flexed his throats, exhuming a sharp sound that rolled with the flesh-cutting winds. 

The mortals seemed to catch on to the sound but in the madness of the North, many unnatural sounds flowed through the winds but it was too late when they finally heard the buzzing of great wings coming from above. The exalted daemons of Nurgle laughed as their armoured rotflies swept on the already unnerved horses, throwing their riders off or snatching them with their long proboscis while Death’s heads were hurled into the riflemen not too far.

“Daemons! Daemons!” The cries relayed before the symphony of pain. The back lines were swept through by the Heartseekers giggling their sadistic glees and singing their desires. Their steeds bounce and kill as gracefully as their riders.  The exalted Gilded Depravicants were not too far behind, catching the distractions of the infantry with a song of deprivation, their musks filling fearful nostrils and dazzling into further weaknesses. 

The Southlanders were in a hurry, caught unaware of their flanks’ failure. This far from their precious lands and supply line severed some days ago. Rulek hunted little by little for this foolish expedition, now he came for their general and his men. The loud firing line of muskets going off. Swords to be drawn and halberds fighting to throw the daemonic calvary, but they found the black forests to be unveiling the true horror; 

The legion of daemons and men were emerging with one great warcry known by many veterans of the Kislevite bulwarks and cultist incursions.

“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS OF THE SKULL THRONE!” 

The crimson regiment of Chaos warriors armed with twinned axes and great shields partnered by the heralding charge of Bloodletters with their burning hellblades slamming into the defending formations, their fury twicefold at allowing the Slaaneshi to spill first blood and now desired to greaten their score. To turn the snow a melting crimson. For heads to be relieved from shoulders and to surpass their swifter cousins. Even while the rolling multitudes of giggling mischiefs in the form of Nurgle’s mites were biting and tripping soldiers into the many possibilities of ends.

Rulek cared not of their hatreds, for they bound to him and branded to know their master foremost. It was the only thing to keep them from turning on each other when they weren’t deep in the balm of war. The Daemon Prince himself flared his wings and took flight.

His wings beated solemnly but they carried his great form as easy as a soaring eagle. Gilded arms burning of gathering magics, Rulek released an abhorrent blight upon the mortal fools. Whilst brave men were lifting their shields, they bent, crumbled and exploded into glittering rust before cruel weapons. Their swords swung and halberds thrusted, only to become dust to infernal hide and armament. 

What was a coordinated force became a death sentence in a moment, before the monstrous manipulator even landed in their midsts nor the defenders in the fortress to sally out to join in the slaughter. 

Rulek claimed this victory and the Dark Gods knew, as they turned the cowardly lord within the wall into a cursing spawn to forever speak of the failure of champions and sing the praises of true Lords of Chaos through his nine maws.

[gorgonarcher]

Game 5 - Band of Blades

This one is going to be a little bit different. Since this game is very much based around the idea of a unit. More than a unit, this game focuses on the idea of a full company of storied mercenaries.

The idea is that recently a terrible being known as the Cinder King appeared and raised an army of undead. The gods Chose a champion to bring down this threat, but that Chosen was Broken and became the first of several such lieutenants to this monster. Your Legion was part of an offensive seeking to destroy the Cinder King but things went badly and now they are in retreat with the undead at their heels, and a fraction of their former numbers.

And there will be a two variations of the Gorgon Archer here. One of them is going to be one of the leaders of the Legion and one will be either a soldier or a specialist.

Band is a bit unusual in that it combines a campaign premise with the core rules. So instead of generalized setting leaving the GM to create the scenario, this comes with a set scenario. There is a chapter on adapting the game to different genres or scenario, but the assumption is that the fighting retreat is the one that will be used.

Okay, the game does make some statements about the world, namely in the type of people available.

That would seem to be a case where I'd have to do an epitet rather than a legitimate gorgon here, and we honestly can't do a full on gorgon but we can do a person with serpentine features because of one of the traits available to someone from one of the heritages:

Also note that the game assumes the use of rifles rather than bows. And that's fine, I've made that substitution in the past on the earlier incarnation of this blog.

Each character chooses two traits for their heritage, so we can definitely take Marked as one of the traits for a Panyar individual.

Now, there are five Legion roles, three required and two optional. This means that the the game should have at least 4 players: the GM and the three Legion players. And can have as many as 6: the GM and five Legion players.

The required roles are:

Commander - Chooses the missions. Tracks Time and Pressure.

Marshall - Chooses who to send on missions, Tracks XP.

Quartermaster - Chooses campaign actions. Tracks Supply.

The optional roles are:

Lorekeeper - Chooses tales to tell. Tracks dead legionnaires.

Spymaster - Deploys spies. Builds spy network.

I'm going to choose one of the required roles for the gorgon archer and for the soldier version, I'm going to start with a Rookie and proceed with her through Soldier and Specialist.

Legionnaire Gorgon

Character creation is summarized as follows:

Step One

We've chosen our Playbook: Rookie so let's go to that and hit Step Two.

Step Two

First let's choose our Rookie Special Ability, there are some very interesting ones, but I think I'm going to go with "Every Inch a..."

Step 3... sort of

This means that we kind of skip step 3 because... well, our character just gets ALL the heritage traits.

+1 means "add one die". The way this system works out is that you roll a number of dice equal to the relevant action or Attribute, plus any benefits such as those from special abilities or heritage traits.

Step 4

Now we come to step 4, assigning Actions and Attributes.

As a rookie, our character gets three points right off the bat:

And then we can 4 dots to the remaining shared Actions (not the Specialist Actions.

In this case, we're going to add 1 to Scout, 1 to Rig, and 2 to Shoot

The Attributes: Insight, Prowess, and Resolve are equal to the number of actions with dots in the first row, ie, the number of Actions that the character has any stats in.

So, our completed character looks like this:

Azure Dancing Glade: Rookie

Insight: 2

Rig: 1

Scout: 1

Prowess: 3

Maneuver: 1

Shoot: 2

Skirmish: 1

Resolve: 1

Consort: 1

Abilities

Every Inch a..: You start with all the traits from your heritage. If taken as a Veteran advance, it must be the first ability selected during character creation.

Heritage Traits

Artisan: Rig can advance to 4

Traveler: In normal load you’re considered fast and quiet, as if you had equipped a light load. This may make a difference in position or effect when running, jumping, climbing, (maneuvering), or sneaking (scouting).

Shrewd: When you resist with insight, take +1d.

Marked: When you resist corruption, take +2d.

Look: Scaled skin and snake eyes, long braided, wild hair.

When you play a Rookie, you earn xp when you stay out of the way and survive despite the odds. Every squad member is a Rookie until they earn their stripes and are promoted to Soldier.

Promotion to Soldier

The first playbook advance a Rookie every gets is to be promoted to Soldier. At which point she will gain one rank in the Soldier special Action: Grit and one special ability from the Soldier list. However, I'm concerned by the Resolve being a bit low, so let's assume she advances her Resolve a couple of times before advancing her playbook into soldier.

In this case I'd look at this one:

Iron Will: You can spend grit as special armor vs. fear, paralysis, corruption, and fatigue.

And the end result will look like this:

Azure Dancing Glade: Soldier

Insight: 3

Grit: 1

Rig: 1

Scout: 1

Prowess: 3

Maneuver: 1

Shoot: 2

Skirmish: 1

Resolve: 3

Consort: 1

Discipline: 1

Marshal: 1

Abilities

Every Inch a..: You start with all the traits from your heritage. If taken as a Veteran advance, it must be the first ability selected during character creation.

Not a Rookie Anymore: Promote to Soldier.

Iron Will: You can spend grit as special armor vs fear, paralysis, corruption, and fatigue.

Heritage Traits

Artisan: Rig can advance to 4

Traveler: In normal load you’re considered fast and quiet, as if you had equipped a light load. This may make a difference in position or effect when running, jumping, climbing, (maneuvering), or sneaking (scouting).

Shrewd: When you resist with insight, take +1d.

Marked: When you resist corruption, take +2d.

Look: Scaled skin and snake eyes, long braided, wild hair.

When you play a Soldier, you earn xp when you help your squad through courage or determination. Whatever the cost, you are there to finish the mission and bring recognition to your squad.

Second Promotion

Now, promotion is done by taking a special ability. Each character can get up to two "Veteran Abilities", acquired via experience. Rookie abilities and starting abilities don't count against this limit, so they will end up with four special abilities (assuming they live that long.)

So if, in the course of leveling up, this character were to take two more Soldier abilities, then they will be a Soldier for-ever. In this case I'm going to assume that they'll head for a Specialist ability as soon as they can rather than taking a second Soldier ability.

There are five specialists in the base game (with Mercy and Alchemist added later). As the focus is on "Archer" I'm considering Sniper first and foremost, but Scout and Officer are both possible... actually, given one of my most memorable XCom runs was with a Sniper who had medic abilities (Training Roulette) that kinda puts Medic on there as well.

But, I think I'm going to keep this simple and go for Sniper.

Now, she would have to reach the basic actions of a Sniper, which would be Scout 1 and Shoot 2... which we already have, so that doesn't have to be advanced. But I would still move to increases some of their Actions/Attributes as well.

There is a cap: 6 Abilities and 20 points of Actions, hitting either of these would mean that the character can no longer promote.

Currently Glade here is running at:

Abilities: 3

Actions: 10

I'm going to assume she'll go for Sniper right away as her next Advance. With that I will take one of the "Standard Abilities" available to each specialist and soldier. In this case: Elite

Elite: Gain mastery of two actions (up to rank 4).

In this case it will be Scout and Shoot

It will look like this:

Azure Dancing Glade: Sniper

Insight: 3

Aim: 1

Rig: 1

Scout: 1

Prowess: 3

Maneuver: 1

Shoot: 2

Skirmish: 1

Resolve: 3

Consort: 1

Discipline: 1

Marshal: 1

Specialist:

Grit: 1

Abilities

Every Inch a..: You start with all the traits from your heritage. If taken as a Veteran advance, it must be the first ability selected during character creation.

Not a Rookie Anymore: Promote to Soldier.

Iron Will: You can spend grit as special armor vs fear, paralysis, corruption, and fatigue.

Specialist Training: You can promote to a Specialist (Heavy, Medic, Officer, Scout, or Sniper). Make a new playbook: mark one special ability of the appropriate type and a rank of the starting Specialist action.

Elite: Gain Mastery of Shoot and Scout.

Heritage Traits

Artisan: Rig can advance to 4

Traveler: In normal load you’re considered fast and quiet, as if you had equipped a light load. This may make a difference in position or effect when running, jumping, climbing, (maneuvering), or sneaking (scouting).

Shrewd: When you resist with insight, take +1d.

Marked: When you resist corruption, take +2d.

Look: Scaled skin and snake eyes, long braided, wild hair.

When you play a Sniper, you earn xp when you help your squad with keen observation or key shots. Somewhere on the field of battle is the foul mind directing these troops, and a bullet of Black Shot is the cure.

On to Champion

Now, I'm going to go ahead and push this character to Champion status and max out her stats. This will be with one more special ability and a total of 19 Action points, since she will max out once she hits her next special ability.

The game says it is rare to see a character hit Champion in a single campaign, and given how lethal the game feels from reading the rules, that makes it doubly unlikely that someone will survive to hit this level.

As a note, the maximum of 6 Special Abilities accounts for the Rookie and Soldier abilities that purely function as gateways for the change in playbooks. If a character starts as a Soldier, they'll end up with 5 special abilities when they hit their maximum of 2 Veteran abilities. And if they start as a Specialist, they'll max out at 3 Special Abilities since they won't have the starting Soldier one or the starting Rookie one.

Azure Dancing Glade: Champion Sniper

Insight: 3

Aim: 2

Rig: 1

Scout: 4

Prowess: 4

Maneuver: 1

Shoot: 4

Skirmish: 1

Wreck: 1

Resolve: 3

Consort: 1

Discipline: 1

Marshal: 1

Specialist:

Grit: 2

Abilities

Every Inch a..: You start with all the traits from your heritage. If taken as a Veteran advance, it must be the first ability selected during character creation.

Not a Rookie Anymore: Promote to Soldier.

Iron Will: You can spend grit as special armor vs fear, paralysis, corruption, and fatigue.

Specialist Training: You can promote to a Specialist (Heavy, Medic, Officer, Scout, or Sniper). Make a new playbook: mark one special ability of the appropriate type and a rank of the starting Specialist action.

Elite: Gain Mastery of Shoot and Scout.

Cover Fire: If you set up someone with shoot or provide covering fire, they gain potency on their next action.

Heritage Traits

Artisan: Rig can advance to 4

Traveler: In normal load you’re considered fast and quiet, as if you had equipped a light load. This may make a difference in position or effect when running, jumping, climbing, (maneuvering), or sneaking (scouting).

Shrewd: When you resist with insight, take +1d.

Marked: When you resist corruption, take +2d.

Look: Scaled skin and snake eyes, long braided, wild hair.

When you play a Sniper, you earn xp when you help your squad with keen observation or key shots. Somewhere on the field of battle is the foul mind directing these troops, and a bullet of Black Shot is the cure.

From this point on, Glade here can't gain anymore XP.

Leadership Gorgon

And from here, we move on to creating our Leader gorgon archer. In this case, we're going to go for the Quartermaster, and have an archer who was a scout that moved from gaining food up to managing the supplies for The Legion as a whole.

As this role isn't one that acts on the tactical level, they don't really have special abilities, so this comes down to a look.

Russet Growing Weald

Heritage: Panyar

Reputation: Prepared

Personality: Kind, Resourceful

Look: Scaled, Colorful, Scruffy

Closing Thoughts

Haven't done this before in this new incarnation of this blog, but this is a new game, so adding to this.

This game feels a bit like it treads the line between board game and TTRPG. Most of the time I see games like this, they come to this region from the direction of board games. Descent is a good example of such a game, or Touch of Evil. Band of Blades is very much a TTRPG, but the very set scenario is probably what gives me the idea.

Also, the game seems aimed at short-term campaigns: a few months. By comparison, Monster of the Week, Fate, and D&D 5e are more aimed at a mid-length campaign (1-3 years), with a lot of classic TTRPGs, including Hero and older editions of D&D, being aimed toward long-term campaigns (in the neighborhood of a decade or more).

It's an interesting thing and, to be honest, a concept I was toying with for a bit. In fact, my first MotW campaign was originally going to be X-Com themed. I see a lot of the X-Com DNA in this game and it is listed as one of the inspirations so it's great to see someone took this idea and ran with it this far.

[deck16]

This is a continuation of the campaign journal of Adventures in Lyria. The first entry is here and you can see all entries here.

Act 9: Port Cissylvania

The heroes head to a sleepy fishing town, and bring an inglorious end to General Magnus Strabo.

It was at this point I moved the game from Roll20 to Foundry. You can read more about my thoughts on this here.

Before Port Cissylvania

Garo and Zeke were all that was left in the adventuring party after the events on Silvercap Mountain. They took a well-deserved rest, leaving clean-up duties to General Salvius (first seen in Act 2).

When they woke, the General informed them that the Umbralenses (developed in Act 7) did indeed cure lycanthropy. The enemy forces were being cured.

But there was fresh trouble: a ship had come ashore on the nearby coast. The heroes were sent to investigate.

Meeting Alexandros and Surkiv

The players of Cyrus and Flutter had new characters. Taking Cyrus' place was Alexandros the half-elven drakewarden ranger. Flutter's spot was now filled by Surkiv the dragonborn path-of-the-beast barbarian. These two had been captured while defending the homelands of the boreal dragonborn, fighting against invading forces led by Magnus Strabo (mentioned in Act 7). Surkiv was native to those lands, and Alexandros was a sort-of warrior pilgrim from a distant island of dragon-worshippers.

Both of these new characters were prisoners on the very ship that Garo and Zeke have been sent to investigate. The ship had been abandoned when Alexandros' drake companion, Ion, loosened his muzzle and used his breath weapon to tear a hole in the hull.

The two prisoners were freed, and the group investigated the boat. Documents onboard suggested that the contents of the boat were items stolen by Strabo in the invasion that were being taken to his private collection. Dragonborn weapons, cultural items, dragonborn eggs, and even Alexandros, Ion, and Surkiv themselves! The heroes had a dim view of a man who would steal eggs!

Some of Strabo's men appeared on the scene: veteran soldiers from the Second Legion. These men had been sent to collect things from the wreckage. After a tense stand-off, combat ensued, the soldiers were defeated, and some even killed. Somewhat controversially, Garo dipped into the party's precious supply of diamonds to revivify them.

The Forest Hag

General Salvius urged the party to carry on to mainland Cantia. Strabo was landing there (as noticed in Act 8). His reputation suggested he would punish the local population for their recent uprising, and since the False Moon was now gone, they would have no ability to fight back.

After travelling across the channel, the party met a kobold bard called Algo, who belonged to a new player to the group. Algo had been displaced by the war, and was just trying to survive; he tagged along with the party, grateful of their protection.

The group were preyed upon by a forest hag. Feigning to be under attack by wolves, she appeared in the form of Media Bellicent, the last of a royal line of Cantia, ousted by the lycanthrope rebels. Truthfully, though, the hag's home had been taken over by the real Media Bellicent and her were-bear bodyguard. The hag tried to trick the heroes into fighting the were-bear but failed; she was killed.

The heroes learned that the hag had been working with the lycanthrope rebels, and was keeping other members of the Bellicent family captive in her basement. These poor children had perished and now haunted the basement. The heroes put these ghosts to peace by dispatching the spirits and burying the remains. Zeke, however, used his sword Asurath to "claim" the soul of the young girl Alula Bellicent; he could now summon her at will. (She was not especially powerful as a combatant but was potentially useful as a scout or distraction. During later dream-visitations to his sword's "interior", he'd find her living happily with his paternal ancestors.)

Media encouraged the party to help her defend the people of Cantia. She had a number of plans how they could help. But Garo was convinced the party could do better elsewhere. He wanted to investigate Strabo's legally-dubious personal collection, believing that it would be easier to tarnish the man's reputation and have him removed from his position than it would be to fight him and his soldiers. It would be unlikely that his replacement would be as harsh and merciless.

Media wished them luck. The party returned the Bellicent family torc (first found in in Act Two) to her. As she was of the Bellicent bloodline, she could use its full powers. Media made arrangements for the party to fly on to their next destination on the backs of griffons.

During this flight, Garo would reveal his past. His blood-line was thought to trace back to that of the god St Cuthbert. This was quite a prize, and Magnus Strabo had arranged for his daughter Katarina to marry him. It was to be an important political marriage. But Garo was not exactly into women, and he turned her down rather than live a lie. This made him something of a pariah. He threw himself into his crusader duties and tried to keep out of the public eye.

(This came as a surprise to me as DM. But it was so good, I absolutely ran with it.)

Port Cissylvania

The documents pointed the heroes to a sleepy fishing town called Port Cissylvania (Port CS). They would spend a long time here, doing various things. As I did with Act 7, I'm going to document things by “quest-chain” rather than chronologically. In reality, these stories were interleaved.

This is the map I used for Port CS. It's actually a map of Carrickfergus. If you search for maps of the place, you'll find lots of drawn art for it from different time periods.

Roster Changes

Some players would change characters during this Act.

Clever Clover the tabaxi rogue would replace Algo. Then Clever Clover would depart late in this act as the player left the game. (This was a player new to TTRPGs, and this was a tough game to join in part-way through. There was no drama in this exit!)

Trystan Valerius, a human, would replace Alexandros. Trystan was a bard at some point and a bladesinger wizard at another as his player experimented with different classes.

Myra's player returned from a hiatus to play Aden Heskin the half-elven warlock.

Flutter would make a return late in this chapter, displacing Surkiv.

And, of course, not all players were present for every adventure.

Barry the Baker

As the party arrived at Port CS, they were met by a familiar figure: Barry. Barry had joined the lycan forces on Cantia as footsoldier, though he was not a lycanthrope himself. The heroes spared him in Act 5 at Fort Nelisa, and Cyrus had given him gold so he could start up a civilian life.

Turns out, he'd done exactly that! He was now the owner of a bakery in Port CS, and his signature pastry was called the "Sticky Cyrus".

Ship Fiends

The party were approached by Karl Burr (first seen Act 4) and Felix Spurius (first seen Act 1). A Lyrian Guild Society ship -- the Absolute Advantage -- anchored offshore had been overrun by fiends. The evacuating crew had alerted Karl Burr, the local Guild representative. Karl in turn alerted Felix, as the ship was transporting a magical stone tablet and a kobold called Taklak (first seen Act 2) for him. Karl wanted the situation dealt with quietly -- without the authorities asking questions. Felix wanted Taklak and the tablet saved. The heroes leapt in a longboat and rowed across.

On the way over, an imp teleported on the party's longboat! The creature was delivering a parchment to Zeke -- a contract. This, of course, made the party quite curious, but no actions were taken. Zeke would surreptitiously sign the contract while on the Absolute Advantage, while no-one was looking.

This represented the contract in-game, made with Foundry's tools.

On-board the ship, the heroes had several run-in with devils: spiked and barbed devils, a duplicitous incubus/succubus pair, and two powerful bone devils. Surkiv brought the arrogant bone devil leader down to size with incredible grappling and pinning moves, holding the fiend down while his comrades dealt with other fiends.

The party would find a cowering kobold called Bilgewurm, one of the Absolute Advantage's crew. This poor kobold was the reason for the fiends: he had activated Felix's stone tablet (similar to the spell tablet in Act 2), summoning a fiend. This fiend forced Bilgewurm to keep activating the stone, but luckily Bilgewurm managed to escape with invisibility. Unable to swim, the poor kobold just had to hide and hope for the best.

At some point, the topic of Zeke's contract would come up. It was discussed. Most of the party disapproved that Zeke had signed it, but did not take any action. Garo quite strongly disapproved.

Ultimately, the ship was cleared. Taklak, Bilgewurm, and the tablet were recovered. Garo was not happy that the tablet was going to be studied, rather than destroyed, but Felix assured him that the local Imperial College campus had a very secure anti-magic lock-up for such things.

College Fiends

Despite being a small fishing town, Port CS had a large Imperial College campus. The wizards there enjoyed the relative isolation. Trystan was an accomplished student there.

A cambion named Laila enacted a plan to steal from the college. She wanted the fiend-summoning stone from the Absolute Advantage. She also kidnapped the college's fiend expert, Archmage Spellwatch. She used Zeke's contract to allow succubi and incubi to access the vicinity of Port CS. From there, these cunning creatures infiltrated the college and charmed or impersonated the staff.

But there was a problem: the vault where the stone was kept was protected with anti-magic to suppress any magic items kept there. Charmed agents would be un-charmed in such a field, magical disguises would cease, and her succubi and incubi allies were not powerful enough to defeat the golems that guarded the vault. So, she decided to send a charmed Felix, and then later a charmed Trystan, to lie to the heroes and have them dispatch the golems.

Laila's plans didn't work, though. The heroes managed to undo the charm on both Felix and Trystan. They proceeded to free the staff and students from charms, rooting out the fiends in their midst. The heroes suffered a lot of weird magic thrown at them by charmed and confused students and staff. At one point, Flutter separated from the group and had to fend off multiple fiends alone long enough for help to arrive, making good use of the sunbeam spell.

I made a macro in Foundry to randomly select spells. I figured students at the college would not necessarily have prepared spells for combat, but rather would have prepared strange spells related to their studies.

A final confrontation happened in the basement of the college. Laila, it turned out, was Zeke's cousin (though a distant one)! She entreated Zeke to join her so they could remake their ancestral homeland of Laconia together!

Zeke refused, a battle ensued. Efforts were made to capture Laila, but she slipped free using fiendish powers of teleportation, taking Archmage Spellwatch with her. The fight with Laila's remaining minions was a hard one, but the party managed to win out.

Burt Cobb

While attending to other matters on the island, the party would sometimes run into an older human male called Burt Cobb. Burt was guiding a group of refugee orphans who had fled the war on Cantia. He taught them to fish and generally survive.

Cobb was a devout follower of Pelor, and spoke about religion to Garo.

Museum

The heroes pursued a lead regarding Strabo, and found he had contracted a local taxidermist to preserve some dragonborn corpses. She was kind enough to draw a sketch of the person Strabo sent to do the transaction.

Using scrying magic purchased from the local branch of the Lyrian Guild Society, the heroes saw this man was on the western coast of Cissylvania Isle, along with a number of dwarves.

In hot pursuit, the party arrived at Foxtail Grotto. This was a location of historic importance, as the last emperor of Lyria was held hostage here in his youth. Strabo had funded a museum to be built here.

Foxtail Grotto, once a bandit hideout. The story was inspired by something that apparently happened to Julius Caesar.

The museum area was being carved out underground by the dwarves. An illusionist, Ellyjobell Timbers, was creating an illusory hologram-like recreation of the historic events at Foxtail Grotto. Another mage, Wyns Rand, had been paid to create a permanent teleportation circle at the site.

Supervising all this was Claduis Ensis, the man from the sketch. And with him was Katarina Strabo -- Garo's spurned fiance!

A very tense moment ensues. The party are very suspicious of Claudius, and he of them. Katarina and Garo, of course, share an awkward meeting.

During this, Surkiv and Zeke explore the museum. They find exhibits that enrage them both. Survik finds souvenired "prizes" from his homeland, including dragonborn eggs. Zeke sees an exhibit about his ancestors' failed rebellion, and finds tiefling skulls, including one of his grandfather.

This animosity turns into a fight with Cladius, but Katarina and Garo calm the situation down. The party leave Foxtail Grotto.

Cassia

The visit to the museum had clued the heroes in on the likelihood of dragonborn children being raised somewhere on the island of Cissylvania. Claudius, apparently, was routinely visiting these children who were being cared for by a figured called "Cassia". The heroes managed to learn from the orphans in Burt Cobb's care that a suspicious figure matching Cladius' description would head into a particular forest on the island.

And so the heroes went to this forest. Two faerie dragons -- Sunflare and Corona -- tried to confuse and disorient the party but failed, and the party arrived at Cassia's home. No-one was home so the party intruded to search for (and find) a number of clues.

Cassia did eventually return home, with a number of dragonborn children in tow. She was very hospitable, explaining she was a reluctant carer for the children. Though she loved them, she did not approve that Claudius was training them to be spies against their own kind. But she felt powerless: as a druid and hence part of the church-outlawed Tetrarchy, she was essentially a fugitive and owed her freedom to Strabo (and therefore Cladius).

Cassia's home was near Lake Nemi, a beautiful secluded body of water hiding a sunken temple. Inspired by a real place.

The Flooded Temple

Cassia mentioned that Strabo stored some items in the nearby flooded ruins of a temple. The heroes, eager to get some dirt on Strabo, set out. A naiad called Syrinx guided them, giving them water-breathing, and pleading with them to help her lost love Iphianassa.

The nereid Iphianassa was the guardian of the flooded temple, magically forced into the job by Cassia. In turn, Iphianassa had charmed a number of aquatic animals to guard the temple. The heroes prevailed, freeing Iphianassa from her duties, and allowing her to reunite with her love Syrinx. The party also found Strabo's stash, and apart from treasure and magical gear it contained a lot of contraband items from the Tetrarchy.

Betrayal and Capture

When the party returned, Cassia invited them to have a meal. This was a trap. The food was laced with a sedative-like poison. Moreover, Claudius had been called, and was able to make the distance in the time the heroes explored the sunken temple. Claudius led a small army of legionaries to Cassia's house and surrounded it. Cassia pleaded with the heroes to surrender, not wishing for them to die.

Poisoned and surrounded, the party had little ability to win. Some fled. Garo and Alexandros remained to be captured -- defiant not to leave.

Claudius accused Alexandros of war crimes, both further back assisting dragonborn against the legions, and more recently killing legionaries on the shipwrecked boat. By name-dropping the names of killed legionaries, Claduis tried to rile up the legionaries, but Garo countered with a speech on morality and justice, and no legionary volunteered to execute Alexandros. So Cladius did the deed himself, slitting Alexandros' throat and throwing his corpse off a nearby coastal cliff. The rest of the party watched on in horror from the tree-line.

(Alexandros' player was okay with this, as the player wanted to change from Alexandros to Trystan. Alexandros' corpse would be fished from the bottom of the cliff at an early, safe, opportunity by Zeke.)

Animal Form

The heroes would later return to Cassia's home, for reasons explained in the next section.

Cassia was devastated when her dragonborn "children" were taken away. As a powerful druid, her sadness bled into the forest around her home, turning it dark and unwelcoming. The party had to battle a malevolent fey entity called The Spirit of Lake Nemi to proceed through the forest.

The heroes arrived at Cassia's home. Corona and Sunflare sought to keep the heroes away from Cassia, and used a one-charge wand of mass polymorph to turn the heroes into small animals. Undeterred, the party worked together in their new forms to conquer the obstacles and animal guardians in Cassia's home.

I had made several stat blocks for the occasion. Stewart the cat, Bertie the snake, Cherry the crow, and Vincent the (relatively) giant crab. These were past pets of Cassia's that the faerie dragons had known. The players had to work together as these animals to navigate the "dungeon" of Cassia's home and battle some of the animals inside.

The heroes would confront the faerie dragons and break Corona's concentration to undo the polymorph. From there, they made a dark discovery: Cassia, alone in her bedroom, was dying! She had tried to take her life with a herbal poison. The heroes, working fast, cured her.

Cassia and the heroes were both victims of Magnus Strabo. The heroes convinced Cassia to help them (see more below).

Strabo's Arrival

Things were heating up in Port CS. Garo was taken prisoner for killing Strabo's legionaries. But Garo had sent for help prior, and it arrived. Not a charging brigade of mounted crusaders, but rather, a Pelorite priest named Vincent Pearson.

Meanwhile, Surkiv had decided to leave. Paying to be smuggled out by sea with the unbroken eggs from the museum, he left in the early morning.

Three large transport ships loom out of the mist. Your little boat's pilot mutters to himself as he wrenches the rudder to keep clear. Taking care to stay under the canvas, you watch the middle vessel sail past. Standing near the ship's fore is a Lyrian officer. You've seen him before, leading the forces which attacked your homeland. Stocky, balding, but still severe in his uniform. His cold gaze is directed forward, but as you pass he turns to glace at your ship. You can swear he is looking right at you, despite the distance.

Magnus Strabo had arrived at Port CS with a large number of his Second Legion troops. The heroes' investigations and interferences had given cause for the general to come sort matters out first-hand.

It was impossible to keep this from the public eye, and the eye of Port CS officials. Legal accusations were being flung both ways, essentially boiling down to Garo versus Strabo. A court date was arranged. Pearson arranged for Garo's freedom, confident that Garo was not the type to run.

Felix, who had once represented the heroes in court before (see Act 3), could not guarantee his presence. Instead he managed to get Trystan Valerius, an accomplished student at the Port CS Imperial College, to be Garo's legal representative. So began a rush for evidence and witnesses (including Cassia, as mentioned above).

Trystan and Garo had a tense meeting with Strabo in the general's war camp just outside of Port CS. It was mostly a psychological clash, each side trying to goad and rattle the other, with neither succeeding. Strabo made his disdain clear: Garo's meddling had endangered the Lyrian Republic by distracting him from his war against the lycanthrope rebels. He also expressed his dislike for the dragonborn, and wondered why Garo should champion their cause.

Some of Strabo's men had contracted lycanthropy in the battle against the rebels, and he used these men in a suicide attack on the heroes. The heroes defeated the werewolves, and spared their lives, managing to cure them with one of the Umbralenses. They were so grateful they became witnesses on the heroes' side.

Court Case

The date of the case arrived. It was a big event, the town's small temple to Minerva was packed. The local priestess acted as judge. Both sides were given access to a quota of zone of truth spell usages.

Garo takes the stand as Trystan's witness.

Strabo was represented by Aemilius Lepidus, one of his top captains. Lepuidus tried to defuse claims that Strabo was involved in an illegal war against the dragonborn by producing official orders from the Lyrian Senate. He also cited laws around prisoners of war, intelligence gathering, and other such activities.

Lepidus's next tactic was to paint a picture of Garo being an obsessed individual, hounding Strabo over minor things. He called upon Karatina Strabo, and asked questions about their failed engagement and subsequent fall from prestige. Lepidus insinuated that Garo's obsession was fuelled by a desire to see revenge upon the Strabo name.

Cladius then testified, quoting Garo's determination to bring Strabo to justice, painting those comments as obsession and fixation devoid of presumption of innocence. Cladius alleged that Garo wanted to besmirch Strabo's reputation by any means to force a legal clash.

Lepidus called Ezekial to testify invoking the zone of truth. As a known ally of Garo, Zeke's tiefling heritage and family history were used to suggest that his feelings are motivated by revenge.

Finally, Garo was called to the stand, zone of truth invoked again. Garo was forced to admit he was given no official orders to pursue Strabo, and that he had done so on his own accord. It was insinuated that this was a trivial folly, at worst a minor matter, hardly worthy of a crusader's time; all this fortifying the case that Garo was motivated by revenge.

Trystan counter-examined each of these witnesses, and when it was his turn to call, brought in a number of witnesses and submitted considerable evidence. Trystan's strategy was to paint Strabo was clearly involved with some Tetrarchy materials and affairs, which apart from being illegal were highly damaging to his reputation. If Strabo was to leave the court with a mild penalty, his battered reputation would at least mean he was stripped of rank.

(As a DM, I have notes about Lepidus' actions, and only memories about Trystans. Hopefully that explains the disparity in details.)

It was a fierce contest, but as Trystan got going, his strategy gave him bonuses in the dice-rolling mini-game that represented the court's opinion. Magnus Strabo's case fell apart as he himself took the stand under a zone of truth.

Strabo, furious as opinion turned against him, launched into a tirade that only worsened this.

"You crusaders hunt demons and undead and pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. Good for you. But do you have any idea what real war is? Have you battled the sharp teeth of a dragonborn, or the hulking mass of an orc? Have you seen hordes of them, serried arrays howling for your blood? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. I am the thin steel line that keeps these threats from the doorsteps of your churches and homes. As Naso once said, 'let them hate us as long as they fear us.'"

He gave Katarina Strabo a meaningful look. She cast a spell (word of recall) and she disappeared along with her father and his legal team.

Strabo's Coup

Moments after this disappearance, horns began to sound. Garo looked to the priestess acting as judge. She confirmed: Strabo was now an enemy of the state to be captured. The heroes sprung into action. Stepping outside, they saw that Strabo's men were launching an assault on the town!

First concern: one of Strabo's naval destroyers had flung a burning trebuchet shot at the temple! Zeke, with Flutter's help, managed to fling a fireball to deflect the shot enough to miss the building, giving enough time for everyone to get outside.

Legionaries assaulted the temple grounds, and the heroes fought to hold them back long enough for everyone at the court case to get away.

Elsewhere, the town was under strong attack. The heroes made a plan, and tackled each of the front-lines, moving as a group from one location to the next.

First they went to the harbour. Venturing to the end of the pier, Flutter used reverse gravity on the naval destroyer. It rose in the air, turning about listlessly. Flutter mercifully waited for the crew to swim away, then released the spell, causing the vessel to crash down and break. Strabo's forces lost their artillery.

Next they went to the town square. Port CS had a small garrison of elite troops, and a number of border guard, and these forces were -- for the moment -- holding back Strabo's troops in the choke-holds of the city streets. The heroes dove into the fray, helping even the odds, and allowing the local troops time to retreat and regroup. Meanwhile, Trystan summoned a magnificent mansion in the middle of the town square into which many of the town's civilians could seek shelter.

After a quick detour to help Felix, and the party headed to the town's small castle. Strabo had entered into the keep through a hole earlier punched in the outer wall by the destroyer. Local troops tried to re-take their keep, clashing with Strabo's at the front gate. That distraction allowed the heroes to mostly (but not entirely) enter without opposition.

They arrived at the Aediles' chamber. Strabo was sitting in one of the chairs normally occupied by the ruling Aediles. One of the Aediles was hurt and unconscious on the chamber floor. With Strabo was Katarina, Wyns Rand, Lepidus, and a number of soldiers.

Strabo offered a truce. He would claim that the town was set upon by lycanthropy, killing anyone in a position to disagree. In return, the heroes would stand down.

Strabo: "Come in. Let them in. There's been enough violence today. Clearly I've won. I'm not a heartless man. Why don't we hammer out an agreement? We'll go along with my story. That this town had been infiltrated by lycanthropes. I get the two Aediles, Salvius and son, and the judge at the temple here. You can go by boat or teleporter, after staying as my guest for a while to ensure you don't cause further trouble. Oh, and I want that sword. I won it fair and square. Katarina: "Garo. I made him promise to let you live. Father's right, there's been enough death today."

Of course, the heroes did not agree.

Combat broke out. The hectic fight saw some cross-interference, but largely the battle consisted of a few smaller battles or duels. Clever Clover duelled with, and defeated, Aemilius Lepidus; who died ever the loyal right-hand man to Strabo. Katarina mostly flung supporting spells, not wishing to commit to more deadly combat.

Garo shines with a powerful holy spell as the rest of the party battle around the chamber.

Flutter and Trystan had to first deal with Wyns Rand, who used his favourite tactic of casting greater invisibility and throwing high-level spells with impunity. They eventually managed to corner him, frying him with a lightning bolt. The pair also held back reinforcements from the castle, flooding the main entrance with nasty magic and dealing with those soldiers who entered via other ways.

There was a moment where Flutter used a scroll of mass polymorph to turn many of the foes into creatures. Flutter's mind must have been remembering the underwater temple, because he chose to turn them into something he'd seen there: horse-sized giant pistol shrimp. This threw the room into chaos for a while but had limited long-term effect between Katarina's dispel magic and the fact that the shrimps reverted after enough damage was dealt to them.

It was a glorious fight. Strabo's "gimmick" wasn't that he was a raw powerhouse of a boss. Rather, his wide range of abilities was meant to reflect a highly strategic thinker and master swordsman. I couldn't have done all those Recharges without Foundry to help! (All of those "strikes" could replace any of his four attacks. I know it was wrong of me to put them in the Actions area, but hey, until now no-one but me has seen this NPC sheet.)

Zeke and Garo fought Strabo. Claudius joined into this localised fight, springing from his hidden location. This was a tough battle, especially against Strabo whose attacks were debilitating.

"Was that your father who was stupid enough to seek me out on the plains of Skala? He thought a general a soft target. Even decades on I will show you just as I showed him, I can carry myself in a fight."

In the end, Ezekial managed to strike a killing blow on Claudius, knocking him out a second-story window in the process, avenging Alexandros' death. Strabo was struck down by Garo; there were thoughts to heal him but Katarina pleaded that he be allowed to die.

What officers remained in Strabo's army did not have the dedication to carry on this fight without their leader, and stood down.

The heroes had saved Port Cissylvania. Strabo's attack only cemented his nature as a villain that the court case already had exposed. The heroes were lauded, and would have a monument built to them in the town square.

Four bas reliefs are carved, each into a face of a square fountain-base in the town's main street. The designs are artful, and depict a scene's events more than any sort of realistic perspective or proportions. The work is richly detailed and features a consistent and clear style. The first image depicts the interior of the Temple of Minerva when it was used to hold Magnus Strabo's trial. Central to the scene are Trystan and Strabo. Trystan extends a hand with pointed index finger, while Strabo glowers back, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword. Around each main figure are their supporting posse, and the artist has included Ezekial, Garo, Flutter, Vincent Pearson, Katarina Strabo, and Aemilius Lepidus. A concerned judge and crowd fill out the image. The second image depicts a crowded town street. On the image's left, Second Legion soldiers clash with Evocati and Limitanei. Ezekial and Flutter support the defenders by blasting Second Legion soldiers with magic. On the image's right, an opulent tower is shown, and Trystan guides fleeing civilians inside. Garo helps carried an injured civilian toward the tower. The third image contains an image of a boat suspended above the water. Sailors fall from the boat. The artist has drawn the tilting boat firing a flaming catapult projectile to the right of the image, where Ezekial Zarken is shown blasting it with magic. To the image's left, Flutter raises his feathered arms toward the levitating boat. The final image depicts the Aedile's chambers within Fort CS. In the centre, Ezekial duels with Magnus Strabo. Garo stands behind Ezekial, glowing with holy light, weapon raised. Katarina stands mirroring this position, posture and illumination behind her father. On the image's right, Trystan whips Aemilius Lepidus, who raises a shield in defence. On the image's left, Flutter holds a Second Legion centurion and several soldiers at away from the slumped form of Aedile Daetris Meliscient with blasts of magic. Hidden away in the corner, under one of the chamber's thrones, is a pistol shrimp.

Fisherman's Festival

The upcoming Fisherman's Festival in Port CS was given extra importance this year as the town celebrated not being destroyed by Strabo. The heroes, of course, were the main celebrities.

There were some pieces to pick up before the heroes could celebrate...

The heroes would examine Cladius' body. He had a curious hidden magical tattoo, and other strange magics about him.

Alexandros, whose body had been recovered prior, was restored to life by Garo's holy magic.

Ezekial's dreams now included Claudius Ensis battling with his ancestors. Zeke theorised that the soul of Claudius was also "inside" the sword now, fitting with its behaviours in the past. This was troubling.

Cassia, who had been held in a cell due to her Tetrarchy links, had been tormented by Claudius after Strabo's forces had taken the keep. In an effort to extract information, Claudius had tortured and killed the faerie dragon Corona. Cassia left Sunflare with Flutter (becoming his familiar), and she and Alexandros took the dragonborn children and ventured by boat to catch up with Surkiv.

Strabo's funeral pyre.

Strabo's funeral was held, and many made the trip to be present, including those harmed by him such as the now-Queen Bellicent. The queen's torc had helped her hold her people together against Strabo's invasion and the aftermath of the war. Katarina spoke as his body was cremated, mentioning his impressive military career, his patriotism, but also his darker side: in battling monsters, he became as relentless as one.

This chapter comes to a close with the heroes enjoying the festival games and dancing. Ziffy (first seen Act 7) arrived from the Feywild to spend some time with Zeke. We see Flutter and Garo slowly turning around the dance floor, with the short kenku standing on the crusader's armoured boots.

The Battle Atop Arcadion's Ladder

I'll squeeze one last thing in that happened during the wrap-up period. The heroes used legend lore to learn more about Ezekial's sword Asurath.

The heroes saw an epic battle from times long past. Mortals had risen up against the fiendish tyrant Arcadion; an alliance of tieflings, elves, Cuthbertine crusaders, and others. A band of mighty heroes ascended a mountain-side staircase to battle Arcadion at the peak as a battle raged below.

(The players took the roles of these level 20 heroes. They were given pre-made characters, but could pick prepared spells as they battled. They also had secret orders, which would come into play later.)

The mighty heroes were led by the tiefling Ezekial Charillos. With him was a winter eladrin called Zephyra, a previous student of Lady Xilo with powers similar to Cyrus (first seen Act 1); a Cuthbertine crusader who looked a lot like Burt Cobb; and a druid whose name has been lost to time.

At the start of this scene, the heroes witnessed the sword Asurath being gifted to Ezekial by the drow blacksmith Celle Brimbor. The necromancer Cazna (first seen Act 5) was present an ally: her undead army kept the fiend reinforcements off the heroes' back so they could confront Arcadion without distraction.

It's at that moment that a drow pushes through Cazna's little army. She rushes up to Ezekial, a sheathed sword in hand. "I got here… in time…" she puffs. "It's here. It's ready. Asurath." She presents it to Ezekial. "A blade forged from three sources. Carburised ironwood from the Outrunner's oldest grove, near-impervious but still growing. The zinc-heavy metal of their own soul-snaring blades, to keep them from rebirth. And wrought iron from the Shadowfell, to render those trapped within despondent and calm. You must land the killing blow on Arcadion with this."

Arcadion summons a barrier, thinking he has trapped Ezekial. But the plucky tiefling replies "I'm not trapped in here with you. You're trapped in here with me!"

Eventually the heroes defeat Arcadion, and seal him within the sword Asurath.

But then those secret orders kick in. Arnus demands Ezekial hand over Asurath, claiming it is too dangerous and must be cleansed by holy magic. Zephyra, seeking to disrupt Asurath, plays the role of "referee" to this argument and tricks the pair into taking the sword, shattering it to pieces with her chaotic magic. Arnus scrambles to pick up two of the pieces before magically teleporting away. (This became in-game history, and will come into play in later acts!)

[lily-of-rabanastre]

Minfilia/Galbana Lily Bodyswap Excerpt

Gonna workshop that title, lol. This teaser isn't quite the best slice of the fic to present. But I write linearly, so it's literally all I have done at the moment. Just wanted to show I've made some progress on the promised story. Without further ado.

As the sun hung low upon the western skyline, a cool summer breeze slipped into the port of Valnain from the southern bay. Night would soon fall on the people of Dalmasca, the stars twinkling to life far above Valnain’s wooden and stone piers. It was a sight Minfilia had never grown tired of seeing no matter how many years passed, and tonight was no exception.

A week short of three months ago she had come back from the dead, her soul carried out from the depths of the aetherial sea in the bosom of her shining beacon of light—the Warrior of Light, Galbana Lily. After reuniting with the body Hydaelyn had crafted for her, she remained in Sharlayan for a time, that she might acclimate to mortal life once again. But restlessness was quick to set in for the both of them, and after just two short weeks they departed by sky for these distant lands.

They had been here for about nine weeks now. If they weren’t fighting in skirmishes between the Dalmascan resistance forces and the scattered remnants of the IVth Legion, then they were putting their minds and means to good use supporting Princess Ashelia’s restoration efforts. Just a week prior, they aided in putting down an attempt to seize the docks by the remaining soldiers under the command of Origa rem Brunyasch—an aging Hrothgar lioness and veteran of countless battles across Ilsabard’s southern seaboard.

With her defeat, the ships needed to reopen trade with the outside world remain in Dalmasca’s possession. More than that, Ashelia and her entourage were able to set sail for Thavnair, where they could begin laying the groundwork for a brighter tomorrow.

That’s what they were here for, more than anything else. Whatever glory there was to be had in fighting the IVth Legion paled in comparison.

All that said, it was rather refreshing to be out on the frontlines for a change. To step out from behind her desk, from behind her duty, and live a life all her own. So she didn’t mind it too much that Lily—or Ktjn, rather—suggested they set aside their names for the occasion. She swore it was just an alias, and Minfilia saw no reason not to humor her. But it was amusing, seeing her get flustered whenever she mispronounced it.

And as for herself…

���Ascilia, look over there!” exclaimed the soldier beside her—Zulal was her name; an Auri farmgirl with teal blue hair, a passion for winemaking, and a mere twenty-two summers behind her. “I think I see a ship on the horizon!”

At Zulal’s request, Minfilia had transferred to her unit two weeks prior. Before then they weren’t even acquaintances. They hadn’t even met, in fact, and while Zulal knew of the mercenary calling herself a Warrior of Light through gossip, Zulal herself was just another rank and file scout and sniper. If not for a fortuitous encounter Minfilia might never have met the girl, nor learned of her gift.

“Hold a moment,” Minfilia told her as she reached for her pack. After producing from within it a simple but high quality spyglass—a parting gift from her brother, Thancred—she brought it up to her right eye and peered across the horizon to the southwest. “... You’ve a good eye, Zulal. ‘Tis indeed a ship, and it’s flying our colors, too. Seems Her Royal Highness has concluded her business in Thavnair.”

“Really? May I see?” As Minfilia silently handed her the spyglass, Zulal took it and peered through the crystal lens on the small end. “Oh thank Faram. When I’d heard where the Princess had run off to, I was worried sick. Er, do you think she’s alright, actually? That’s where the Final Days kicked off, after all...”

“According to my partner, Thavnair managed to weather the Final Days better than most afflicted nations,” Minfilia explained, recalling the stories her kith and kin shared of the event. “But if you’re truly curious, why not listen in on them?”

Zulal gave her a quizzical look. “Weren’t you the one who stressed using my power responsibly?”

“Setting your mind at ease is a very responsible use of the Echo,” Minfilia answered, nodding sagely and giving the girl her most innocent smile. “Though if you feel you’d be crossing your own boundaries by doing so, then put the thought out of your mind. We must simply imagine the Princess safe and sound.”

Handing the spyglass back to Minfilia with a heavy sigh, Zulal turned to face the ship in the distance and closed her eyes, appearing to concentrate. Her mind was elsewhere now, a curious manifestation of her Echo. Where most could only glimpse memories of the past, she was able to experience them as they were being made. Power such as this would ordinarily require specialized equipment and powerful magicks—yet for an ordinary girl like Zulal, it was almost effortless.

But it was not always so, nor could she control it when her Echo first awoke in the tail end of the FInal Days. The girl had shared plenty of stories of losing consciousness for hours at a time, her mind adrift like a leaf on the wind. Yet through Minfilia’s own guidance and training, she was able to master this sliver of power bequeathed unto her by her own sundered soul. Even better, she was able to make good use of it in her duties to the Resistance.

Well, most of the time.

Several minutes had passed before Zulal’s eyes fluttered back open, her cheeks flushed red as her gaze slid to the floor beneath them. “W-well, she’s safe and sound, alright. But I think that surly attendant of hers might have a few words for me after they make landfall…”

“What makes you say that?” Minfilia asked, her curiosity piqued. “Whose mind did you anchor yourself to?”

“Princess Ashelia’s,” Zulal admitted, tapping her forefingers together sheepishly. “She, um, was sleeping. And cuddling a little stuffed lion.”

“That’s adorable, hm hm,” Ascilia softly chuckled. “But surely that wouldn’t trouble you so much. What happened?”

“Her attendant was glaring daggers at me the whole time,” Zulal began to clarify, looking Minfilia in the eyes like a scared doe. “At first I thought she was just keeping a close eye on the Princess, but as I was leaving she, she called out to me.”

“... By name?” Minfilia asked, somewhat incredulously.

“Mhm.” Zulal nodded. “I didn’t think she even knew who I was.”

“Mayhap she knows you better than you think,” Minfilia offered, though another possibility came to mind.

If this attendant was able to identify the presence of a wandering mind by name, then it suggested a unique talent in her own right: The power of soul sight. A gift able to be replicated, just as Zulal’s projection, but not quite to the extent the attendant had demonstrated. Of course, this was no more than an educated guess.

“Anyroad, don’t worry yourself sick over this,” she continued, clapping her young friend on the shoulder. “If she comes asking, state your case calmly and be sure to mention my role in getting you to spy on her, alright?”

“Thank you, Ascilia. Faram help me, I could face off against a dozen IVth Legion dastards, but the thought of getting on Her Majesty's bad side…” With another heavy sigh, Zulal shook her head. “We’d best stop slacking off. Only an hour left ‘till shift change. Any plans for the evening? One of my friends invited me to play cards, and you’re welcome to come along.”

“Actually, I was planning to seek out my partner,” Minfilia beamed. She wouldn’t have minded joining Zulal, of course. But it had been some time since she and Lily had been intimate, and she was feeling a little needy tonight. “Would you mind looking around the city for her? I’ll repay the favor next chance I get.”

At this, Zulal’s skin began to pale. “Y-You want me to spy on the B-Black Vulture? But d-doesn’t she have the Echo? She’ll see me for sure!”

But Minfilia merely shook her head. “Ktjn isn’t that gifted. So long as you don’t try anything funny with her, she won’t even notice.”

“O-Okay…” With a heavy swallow, Zulal turned around, scanning the breadth of Valnain’s rooftops. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find her, at least. Even someone like me could make out a soul with a presence like hers…”