#thus technical recruitment

[freesia-writes]

Ch 38: Festival #2

Master List ~~ Previous Chapter ~~ WC: 2.7k

Song: “All I Want” by Kodaline

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A few more weeks passed, rather uneventfully. Hunter immersed himself in work as he waited for… something. They had been on the island for more than two years at this point, and yet he felt as though he were just as wobbly-legged as the day they’d arrived. His family seemed to have no trouble whatsoever, having settled into their various niches with some struggles amid the overarching contentment. Wrecker was busier than ever, undertaking such a large expansion project at the school that he’d had to recruit an entire team to work alongside him, and his architectural creativity had grown through the years of experience.

Tech was still “freelancing”, as they’d come to call it, and his days consisted of adventuring with Phee, providing technical help around the island, and pursuing various research endeavors for the pure joy of it. He’d come up with a way to genetically modify some of the local crops to solve a few of the problems that had plagued them, and he found himself obsessing over the next possibility in that area. 

Echo had never been happier, thoroughly established as the island expert in all things military, training, and defense, and his program had been refined through class after class of participants, many of whom were now coming from other islands to take part. A handful of students caught his attention in each batch, and he had eventually pieced together a special defense team for the island. He called them The Fives Force.

Crosshair’s involvement at the observatory had been consistent and bearable enough that he’d accepted a full-time position, where he sincerely enjoyed the mix of nature, precision, and company that it offered as he worked alongside the elderly Xyloan and the younger Zygerrian, whose leonine features and sharp wit intrigued him. Crosshair had kept his distance for a long time out of sheer repulsion for all that his people stood for. The Zygerrian, however, agreed entirely with the clone’s assessment of his planet and its practices – thus the reason he’d been exiled. His intelligence was as helpful as it was intriguing, but most of all, Crosshair appreciated his ability to work in complete silence for hours on end. 

The warm months were in full swing as the next Festival approached, when the locals celebrated the annual event of all three moons being full at once. As before, visitors from across the planet began to fill the island; everyone from families to vendors to entertainers were contributing to the general air of excitement as the day approached.

Finally, it was time. The Xyloans conducted their ritual procession, followed by music and dancing, and the smells of a million different foods filled the Town Square. Hunter leaned back in his seat at the large table his family had claimed, resisting the urge to cover his ears as he leisurely observed every unique individual that made up the enrapturing tapestry of the crowd. The rest had ventured out for fun and games, leaving him alone with Crosshair and a shared enjoyment of relative quiet.

“You look like you’re ready for bed,” Crosshair said from beside him, a smirk on his thin lips. 

“Well, it’s nearly eight o’clock,” Hunter deadpanned, exchanging a warm look with his brother, who chuckled under his breath. 

“Maybe we should rile up the crowd with some of our ‘demonstrations’,” Crosshair suggested, referring to their sparring practices for the Academy that occasionally still turned into legitimate scuffles. 

“I’ll demonstrate you all over the place,” Hunter grinned, suddenly slinging an arm around Crosshair’s neck, bringing it down beside his chest and rubbing his knuckles back and forth in the short, silver hair that he’d grown over the last couple of years. The indignation spluttering from beneath his arm was increasing in vitriol to the point where Hunter was concerned for the rage that awaited him when he actually did let the sniper go. But the appearance of a tall, feline creature shocked him into releasing him. 

“I must be interrupting something important,” he said, lips curved as he Crosshair sat up. The sniper’s face went completely white as he scrambled to fix his hair then realized how he looked in the process. With a last few attempts to smooth it all down, he rose to his feet far too quickly, and Hunter stifled a chuckle as he heard his brother cursing under his breath.

“Nothing,” Crosshair said, his pulse quickening subtly as he brushed off the front of his shirt. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I didn’t either,” the Zygerrian said with a shrug. “But my apartment is too hot so I figured I’d get some fresh air… and a chalupa.”

“What the kriff is a chalupa?” Crosshair asked, pulling his signature toothpick from a pouch and slipping it between his teeth with an air of forced nonchalance.

“Want to come and see?” he invited, his slanted eyes sliding from him to Hunter. “I’m Ky’tal,” he introduced, offering him a pawlike hand which Hunter shook as he stood beside him. 

“Hunter. Nice to meet you. We’ve heard a bit about you… your work at the observatory,” he corrected quickly as he felt Crosshair’s eyes burning into the side of his head. “Thanks for putting up with him.” He jerked his head at his brother. 

“He’s pretty handy himself,” the tall feline purred, flickering a glance with unmistakable warmth in Crosshair’s direction. “Would you like to join us?” Hunter pressed his lips together as he felt the wave of emotion from the sniper, and he shook his head affably. 

“Thank you though,” he offered, sinking back into his chair at the now-empty table as the two of them disappeared toward the food trucks. He took a deep breath, reaching up to free his hair from the messy bun atop his head, and ran his fingers through it a few times, relishing the relief as it fell around his face. He’d chosen a thin button-up shirt that had apparently grown too small during his excessive workout phase with Luciana, and it clung to the muscles in his shoulders and arms as he reached above his head to finish massaging his scalp. 

A nearby crash caught Hunter’s attention as Lyra dropped one of the plates she was carrying, having been watching his effortlessly attractive movements as she approached. A curse fell from her lips as she looked at the mess around her feet in absolute disbelief that the simple sight of him in such a position had momentarily short-circuited her brain. Frantically looking for a nearby table to set the remaining plate on, she was pulling a handful of napkins from her bag when Hunter turned to see her a few feet away.

“Damnit, no, don’t look,” she spluttered, scooping up what chunks of food she could salvage and tossing them into a nearby trash can. Hunter couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Need some help?”

“No,” she said indignantly, flinging the last bit of napkin off her now-sticky fingers and looking at him as though it were his fault. All things considered, it kind of was his fault, although he had no idea. Finally done with her panicked clean-up, she picked up the one remaining plate and stood pathetically in front of him. “I got… I got one for you… Because you loved it last time… And to say thank you, again… But I know you said don’t worry about it… But… Kriff, never mind.” Her exasperation won out, and she turned to go, cheeks unmistakably red. 

“Come here,” Hunter said, a mixture of playful familiarity and warm invitation in his voice. “Come on, sit.” He patted an empty seat beside him, which she slowly perched herself on as though it could collapse any second. He hadn’t been intentionally avoiding her for the last few weeks, it had just been easy to… well, avoid her, as he went about his business. It had been his hope that some uneventful time spent in the mundane rhythm of daily life would afford him some clarity, and yet he hadn’t had a moment of peace since it all hit the turbine on that fateful evening. 

“I just… I don’t know how to act around you anymore,” she confessed, finally relaxing back into her seat a bit with a hand over her face. “I’m not very good at being ‘chill’, you know?” She laughed at her own words with a self-conscious cringe. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he soothed, and she took a deep breath, then unwrapped her fork and spoon from the napkin they were tied in. 

“Fine,” she said, sticking a spoon in his direction. “Want to share this plate with me, then? It’s that combination of meat and veggies and pita bread we had…”

He considered her for a moment, then took the proffered utensil and helped himself to the delicious array, mumbling his thanks as they took a few bites in silence. 

“I feel like I need something cute or witty to say, but I’ve got nothing, but I also don’t want you just sitting here listening to my chewing,” she began, blushing immediately at his fondly incredulous look. 

“First of all, it’s so loud here that I’m not just listening to you chew,” he pointed out, and she glanced down with a shake of the head.

“I still don’t know how your ‘enhancements’ work.”

“Second of all,” he continued, irresistibly drawn to her with every fiber of his being as he dipped his head to entice her eyes to fix on his. The reward of her defenseless gaze struck him to the core, and he lingered before finishing his thought. “You don’t need to be anything or anyone to me.”

“But what if–” She stopped and averted her eyes. “Never mind. How’s the food?”

“No,” he pressed, lighthearted yet intent on her words. “What if what?”

She sighed, took a deep breath, and looked up to face him fully. “What if I want to be someone to you?”

He was surprised at her forwardness, and his eyebrows climbing up his forehead did nothing to hide the fact. Her cheeks were a deep red now, and she was muttering at her plate. He was grateful for those ‘enhancements’ as he made out her words. 

“...said to say it. Told me to be bold. Easy for him to say…not him having to do it.”

Her complete and total fluster was disproportionately endearing to him, and he felt a surge of bravery as he sat up, reached forward, and gently bent a few fingers beneath her chin, inviting her to meet his eyes again. She gave in immediately, mouth slightly open at the sudden intimacy of the gesture. A wave of tingles crashed through him as well, and he fought to keep his mind on his words. 

“Who told you?” he asked, the hint of a crooked smile teasing one of his cheeks as his eyes softened into hers. 

“One of the Elders,” she said, her head stock still as though the touch of his index finger had her in a trance. “They offer ‘readings’ at each Festival, where they… kinda predict your future…” He hadn’t thought it possible for her to blush any more, and yet he could feel the increasing heat radiating from her face. “He told me to speak my mind… to you.”

Hunter slowly lowered his hand from her chin, heart fluttering in his chest at her admission as she buried her face in her hands. Yet he could see her smile peeking out from the cracks, and he found his own mirth growing as he watched her, delighted. 

“I should have made him do it himself,” she said from behind her hands, her words muffled and indignant. He laughed, each passing second inviting him deeper into the exuberant joy that was threatening to burst out from the carefully guarded cage of disbelief and doubt that he’d locked it in. 

“I think I’d rather hear it from you,” Hunter said quietly, drawing her out of hiding as she looked at him. 

“I just… I miss you,” she confessed, every word precious to him. “I don’t know if things can ever be the same… And I’m sorry…” She hung her head, eyebrows arched in sadness and regret now. “I understand if the trust is irreparably broken.”

He carefully rested his fork and knife on the table, fingers loosely clasped around each as his gaze drifted over the mild curves of her brown hair where it had fallen slightly over her face. He didn’t know either, if he were honest. It felt foolish and risky. And yet somehow not at all? They’d both kept things from each other, for good reasons. But what if there was more? He didn’t sense that there was, and yet he’d made so many foolish and careless mistakes recently, both in his leadership of his squad and in his personal life, that he was feeling less and less confident in his abilities to make the right choice in any given situation. She returned her gaze to him with a softness and compassion that made him feel weak. 

“Either way… I just want you to be happy,” she whispered with absolute conviction.

He couldn’t speak, overwhelmed with the way he felt irresistibly driven to a single conclusion that he was scared to admit. A crystallizing moment of clarity crashed over him as he realized the root of it… fear. He was afraid… of making the wrong decision, of not being vigilant enough, of letting others down, of being… hurt. And yet somehow, when he allowed himself to think of the supreme comfort, contentment, and joy he’d felt with her, all the doubts seemed to fade behind the warmth and peace of reassurance. 

His hand seemed to move of its own accord, releasing the fork and reaching for hers. A question.

He touched the back of her hand, which she instinctively turned over. An invitation. 

His heart flipped in his chest as his fingers slid perfectly between hers, both hands gently relaxing around each other. 

Acceptance.

.

They finished their meal, which was enjoyable but not entirely filling, and perused the rest of the food vendors, looking at the offerings but not really focusing on what they were seeing. Hunter held her hand snugly, occasionally pulling her closer as the crowd jostled all around. It was hilariously awkward and comfortable all at once; they’d share some quiet words and then fall silent. Sheepish and content. They grabbed some basic wraps that they could eat as they walked, and without discussion they found themselves heading out of the Town Square to a quiet little clearing of trees with some houses surrounding it. There was a gentle glow from the windows of the homes nearby, as well as a large log that provided an ideal seat. 

Gazing at the lights from the Festival, they wrapped up their snacks. Hunter wanted her to settle into him, to feel the warmth and weight of her body. He wasn’t sure why, other than an ever-increasing desire for the comfort they’d had with one another. It had been a tumultuous journey, but his doubts and hesitations had been repeatedly smoothed over by the constant reflection in his mind, the advice of others, and, most importantly, the consistent, reassuring gut feeling that had settled deep within. 

Some bushes rustled and branches cracked nearby, startling him out of his rumination, and he immediately zeroed in on its source. A fathier ambled out into the clearing, slow and steady. It was fairly old, judging by the way it moved and the graying hairs around its muzzle, and there was something immensely soothing about it. Lyra rose to her feet with a little “oh” of delight, approaching it respectfully and offering her hand, which it snuffled inquisitively. She looked back at Hunter.

“Want to ride up to the observatory and see some kind of crazy nature phenomenon and go on a wild cave adventure and find some magical glowing flower that radically changes your life in inexplicable ways?” she offered, cheeks curved in a mischievous smile. 

He stretched, then came to stand beside her, running a hand along the animal’s furry neck before meeting her gaze. A gentle breeze rustled through the tree canopy and brushed his hair out of his face. He took a deep breath, shoulders relaxing a bit, and gave the animal a tiny push with his hand, inviting it to continue on its way. 

“Absolutely not,” he grinned.

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[dragonagitator]

How to help Karlach in your post-game fix-it fics:

Assuming you didn't skip a lot of content, we end the game at character level 12 with enough XP to be this >< close to level 13. Level 13 Clerics gain access to the 7th-level spell Regenerate, which can regrow missing body parts.

So Karlach really only needs to chill out in Avernus for like a week while we take Shadowheart out adventuring to get enough XP to level up. Then we can use Helsik's ritual to portal into Avernus and grow Karlach a new heart.

The D&D module Descent Into Avernus has a bunch of useful info on the setting if you want to write about the process of tracking down Karlach once you arrive in Avernus. Since she lived there for 10 years, if this plan is hatched before she's forced to return then she should be able to recommend a meeting spot or somewhere you can leave her a message that you've arrived. Regardless, the Infernal Rapture restaurant in the Wandering Emporium is apparently the only place in Avernus you can get a meal that doesn't taste like ash, and thus that seems like a good spot to plan to meet or wait for someone to eventually pass through.

Removing the infernal engine first to make room for the regenerated heart might be tricky, so take Dammon with you. Since it's been functioning as an artificial heart and Faerun hasn't yet developed the artificial life support technologies used during heart transplants, Karlach will almost certainly briefly die at least once during the process, so also load up on Revivify scrolls.

You may need to cast Revivify more than once if she technically dies multiple times during the process because death and resurrection in D&D aren't just biological processes; they're also recalling the soul to the body. BG3 was very generous with the time limit (IIRC it just has to be done before the next long rest), but standard D&D rules are that it must be cast within a minute of death. To be on the safe side, I'd recommend spamming Revivify once per minute until the "surgery" is complete.

Getting back out of Avernus could also be tricky, so you likely need to leave someone behind in Baldur's Gate to periodically perform the ritual to reopen the portal for your return.

(My "Modern Girl in Faerun" self-insert WIP was originally going to be just a retelling of the events of the game, but I've already got enough post-game plotlines for a sequel and I'm nowhere close to finish writing the first story yet lol. Like yes Gale I will return to Waterdeep with you, but we gotta do a thing for Karlach first. And then even once we're back from Avernus, wedding planning in Waterdeep might hit a few hiccups with the events of Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage unfolding in the background. Damnit, Volo, we're on our way to a cake tasting appointment, we don't have time for this shit, go recruit someone else.)

[gallusrostromegalus]

AEIWAM question, how exactly DID Aizen recruit Gin and Tousen (soul society equivalent of sliding into their DMs? Weird conversation during an academy study sesh?) and why did he choose those two to be his henchpeople rather than say Momo, who probably could have been talked into some gnarly stuff.

Kaname made a slight misjudgement in who to trust while investigating Kakiyo's death, and now he's been cursed with something so bad the demons in hell are going to have to invent new laws about it to deal with Aizen when he gets there.

On the other hand, Gin is technically the one who recruited Aizen- not for the treason thing, Gin doesn't give a shit about that- he's just in the process of developing Aizen like one fattens up a goose for paté.

As for Momo- Aizen isn't quite as smart as he thinks he is and one of his greatest intellectual failures is his rampant misogyny. Momo would have delivered Yamamoto's head and/or nuts on a platter to Aizen if he was remotely capable of thinking of her as a person and not just a toy. Rangiku could have kicked open the door to the royal realm and solo'd most of the royal guard if he'd given her a spare thought. Hell, Aizen is responsible for Kakiyo's death, and she had the most potential out of all of them in terms of bringing down the soul society and changing the shape of reality! But no! He's a moron!

... Kaname's shifty-bastard countermeasures do deserve an honorable mention though. He figured out how to give Momo *exactly* enough information to reveal that there was a massive rice subsidy scam going on, but not enough to name names and thus kept Momo busy investigating ass-random farms out in the rukongai (and physically and emotionally far away from Aizen) for the better part of twenty years.

[flightdale]

When Academy reopens all our officers will look like above who is Tactical Master and Instructors in addition to doing their patrol duties has rank of Inspector with extensive street experience also means Force's command structure changes previous officers and recruiters are to be enhanced to this new level which include staff at Academy too but several technical developments have delay proposed start of upgrade such as our recently negotiated deal with State Government to take operational responsibility for 1 of largest prisons established, No it is not nice easy place with street criminals but high security for hardened serial offenders with long sentences who did violent crimes and murder We said to Gov that can rehab these people into full obedience of law and useful members of society but never said how it will be done and they were afraid to ask just knew whatever it was will be good for everyone involved so are to deploy new staff soon replacing what exist now

Despite human exterior Our Guards are identical to Ultimate Man underneath (see July 15 post) and we do know that inmates will definitely not like how these New Guards perform assigned tasks to meet rehab claims but soon realise men have relentless intentions to break them and cause as much mental damages as possible so will obey anyone in authority totally without question (only how) while we see prison as input for Academy and storage site of its outcomes thus are to move it there along with full scale hospital including emergency services plus to conduct research into developing new products for Force enlistment

[empressofthewind]

something that I find so interesting and important about Mello’s character is the way he gives us a glimpse into the perspective of a criminal organisation in a world under Kira’s reign. up to this point, L has been the main antagonist to Kira with the task force presented as support in achieving his goals, so we have primarily seen the perspective of people who are in law enforcement/generally on the side of justice. it does, of course, make perfect sense for law enforcement to be against Kira, as Kira both threatens their roles in society and also commits crimes of his own in doing so. when Near is introduced, his perspective is shown to be similar, as he recruits a team of FBI and CIA agents to work alongside him.

but it follows that criminals in Death Note would also feel threatened by Kira’s reign given that they are his primary targets. Mello uses this to his advantage by teaming up with a criminal organisation whom he knows will have a motive to aid him in his goal of defeating Kira, and who will also be harder for Kira to track down and kill. the way Rod Ross, as the leader of the mafia, reacts to and talks about the Death Note is very unique compared to what we’ve seen from L and the task force up to this point. he sees Kira as a threat to his gang, and believes that by acquiring the Death Note, the mafia will only continue to become more powerful. this perspective is super interesting to see, and it also shows how intelligent Mello is given he recognised this opportunity to exploit the gang’s resources by getting them onboard with a goal that is easy for them to agree with.

this is also another way in which we see Near and Mello depicted as the two halves of L. L teams up with anyone who he believes he can use to achieve his means, whether that be the police, death row criminals like Lind L. Tailor, or minor criminals he has recruited as allies over the years - namely Aiber and Wedy. Near exclusively works with members of government organisations, law enforcement and anti-Kira groups to fight against Kira (though the SPK does technically become an illegal organisation), while Mello exclusively works with criminals or through illegal means, thus each representing one subgroup within L’s allies.

[writingwenches]

HOTD AU Character Maesterlist

Just a place to house all the headcanons for my own personal mini-verse of the Dance of the Dragons era that I am writing my fics and OCs around! Would love to hear anyones thoughts! Or even how your own OCs would fit into this universe LOL~

warnings: violence against mythical animals

Current Targaryen Rulers of the Seven Kingdoms

Queen Regent Alicent Hightower

With lighter competition for the throne, Alicent was not made to marry off her only daughter at the age of 14. Alicent allowed her daughter to grow up as a unmarried lady in the court of the Red Keep, as she had always dreamed of. It was Queen Alicent's idea to flood the Keep with nobles from all over the known realm, a decree that any second son and noble merchant with a marriageable, noble, lady or son would be allowed to live within the walls. The Red Keep quickly became one of the centers of the world's society.

King Viserys Targaryen — lives 5-10 years longer to age up everyone

(This one is more silly, and to spice things up. I’ve been thinking about Ancient Rome lately…my true Roman Empire rip) Why not have a little fun with it? Everyone hates this man, why not give them a reason to really hate him. Dragons have been hatching at an alarming rate, after Viserys recruited blood mages from Asshai into their service. The dragons are hatching, but are malformed and unable to fly, some even unable to walk, crawling on their bellies like Wyrms. What's a king to do? With so many nobles to entertain, thus the Coliseum was born, a giant arena in the expanded parts of King's Landing, home to gladiator battles of epic proportions. Flanked with its own dragon pits, fighters from all over the world test their skill against the deformed beasts, for the enjoyment of all. You don't think the gods will have a problem with that, do you? Many have profited off of his fighting pits, better parlors have become popular destinations, giant Targaryen banners fly over the Coliseum on days of fighting. The fighting pits are used as a way to cull the massive crowds of the capitol city. With so many nobles at the Keep, King's Landing has become overcrowded with everyone trying to make it in the world. The city is practically bursting at the seems, and new constructions are always expanding the lands around the gates.

Team Black — Canon Characters; Alternant Universe Variant

Princess Royal Rhaenyra Targaryen

The heir to the Iron Throne, by order of King Viserys. Does it matter that she was named before the birth of his first born son? Not in her mind. This is a new world, they will accept her, or they will burn. She will start a war for the throne, not because she must, but because she can. There will be no question of her right to rule. I love the idea of Rhaenyra owning all her actions, if men can have scored of noble bastards at court, why couldn't she? I love the idea of her children while married to Laenor were known bastards, Rhaenyra always claiming they will be legitimized once she is crowned queen and I even love the idea more if King Viserys publicly legitimized them during his reign.

Ser Laenor Velaryon — "RIP"

While bastards can be legitimized, double marriages could not be. In my personal favorite version of magic users, there is always one way to rid yourself of magic (if you aren't born with in inherently, to get technical lol). If someone knowing, willingly, and earnestly gives up their magic for something better, the magic will allow you to part. The main feature of this bug, is living in a world where NO ONE would willingly give up such power, such as this world. Technically, in this AU, Laenor could still be alive, even if someone else claims Silverwing, because the power of love. (lol)

Ser Harwin Strong — RIP

He is super dead, that is for sure. No one knows who done it, except for Queen Alicent, who unknowing ordered his death. Larys could not predict the clusterfuck of succession created in the aftermath, but he is happy to watch them all burn.

"Prince" Jacaerys Velaryon Waters

It was not hidden that he and his siblings were of bastard birth, though sometimes he wished it had. He never liked the way people looked at him, how people spoke of him. His mother promised that when she became queen, she would name him a true born, and name him heir [or] King Viserys has officially named him while still alive. To better his station, he was engaged to Lady Baela at a young age. He is grateful that he loves her, as it could have been much worst, but he is worried about pulling her into this game of thrones with him.

"Prince" Lucaerys Velaryon Waters

As a way to better their claims, Luke was betrothed to Rhaena, a girl many years his senior, at a young age, and remained at her side ever since. Many people joke that he is Rhaena's ward. While he doesn't like these jokes, he sometimes thinks of her as more of a mother than his own. Lucaerys was the one blamed for Aemond losing his eye.

"Prince" Joffrey Velaryon Waters

A noble born bastard of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and her lover Harwin Strong while she was married to Ser Laenor Velaryon.

Prince Royal Daemon Targaryen

He did have sex with Rhaenyra that night in the brothels, and even after their marriage, neither he more Rhaenyra admitted it.

Prince Viserys ii Targaryen

a true, noble born, Targaryen prince, legally the heir to Princess Royal Rhaenyra, until his older brothers are legitimized.

Prince Aegon iii Targaryen

a true, noble born, Targaryen prince.

Lady Baela Targaryen

After becoming a ward to Princess Rhaenys, Baela and Jace would fly to meet one another on a craggle of rocks in the gullet, she dreamed of flying away with him, but he dreamed of honoring his mother's wishes.

Lady Rhaena Targaryen

She loves pink, a frills and all things girly. And what's more girly than witchcraft. I don't know about you, but there's more than one way to hatch a dragon egg, and it couldn't hurt to try a little blood magic, right? She felt the power of the blood magic once. When she took the eye of the dragon stealer, Aemond Targaryen. He was too weak to claim Vhagar, and Rhaena knew the only way for a dragon to be claimed was if her previous rider was dead. Rhaena wishes she had taken more than his eye that day. But, she allowed her little betrothed, Lucaerys, to take the blame for her actions. Aemond did not object, not wanting the entire world to know he was bested by some little girl. disney song inspiration — Friends on the Other Side from Princess and the Frog

Team Green — Canon Characters; Alternant Universe Variant

Prince Royal Aegon ii Targaryen

Viserys had plenty of time to name him heir, but still has not done so. Viserys lives years longer (perhaps thanks to the sacrificing of dragons' blood) and he still has not named Aegon heir. Prince Aegon's idea to take himself out of the running for the throne is to marry the only child of Lord and Lady Redwyne, and become the Prince of the Arbor. The Redwynes are already constructing a Dragonpit for Sunfyre on the beach.

Princes Aemond Targaryen

No matter which way you slice it, he is a second son and has no hope for a chance at the throne. In a world filled with dragons that don't grow larger than hatchlings, Aemond holds the fiercest power in the realm by far. He was raised with the affection of ladies in his mother's employ. For as long as he could remember, he has wanted to marry Lady Cinda Lannister, ten years his senior, and at his every proposal she has turned him down.

Princes "Ser" Daeron Targaryen

There are many things acceptable in this new world, but an overly effeminate man is still not one of them. Queen Alicent knew she needed to send him away for his own protection, and with the help Gwayne, Daeron was sent away to grow in Oldstown without her. He has grown into a a proper Knight of the Reach, with the "friendship" of his many, many fellow knights. He is a legendary trick rider of horses, because of this people often joke that he will be the fiercest of dragon riders. He is quite popular with the ladies in the region, as they know he can help them attract the man of their dreams. #makeovermontage disney song inspiration — LeFou in ["Gaston" from Beauty and the Beast sung by two gay men at a "Broadway Villains Party"]

Princess Helaena Targaryen

She claimed a dragon in secret, against her mothers wishes, Dreamfyre remains tethered in the Dragon Pit and Helaena is forbidden from riding. She is made to wear uncomfortable gowns and parade around the Keep for the enjoyment of others ladies and lords. She is an adventurer at heart, and a dreamer the way ever reader is, she dreams of flying off and exploring the great wonders of the world. She is fascinated by Old Valyria and dreams of solving its mysteries. Her favorite story is that of Princess Aerea Targaryen, who was burned from the inside out by the horrors of what lives within the ruins of Old Valyria. Also she's queer, and maybe grows exotic herbs and mushrooms...

[kiivg]

Ketheric redemption lets GOOOOO!! Had the same thoughts because the idea of camp grandpa is so silly to me hehehe

.Ngl, the first conscious BG3 thing I had in my mind was could I kiss him hahaha, then I found out he was evil, and thus unsaveable, and I was just so sad, rip. Genuinely so disappointed, but at least Tristan is heavy proficient in persuasion, so I could see that little soft moment where he surrenders, mwah kisses. Also the bit when he falls into the ugh brine goop pit idk, big feelings for rushing forward to save him and watching him fall anyway. Idk if that happens without his surrender? Since I persuade him as Tristan and intimidated him as a Durge.

.On a technical idea though, you'd save him from Dame Aylin, pass a few checks or something, she'd brand you a traitor, vow to destroy you when you next meet, and she'd fly off with Isobel. Ketheric, with no other option (since you've already pried the netherstone from his chest) accepts your invitation to join, or he gives you the netherstone in surrender, and you recruit him. Pretty much everyone would disapprove, maybe not Astarion (Ketheric gives an advantage on Elder Brain command/knowledge) or Lae'zel (military tactics etc etc.). Dame Aylin and Isobel aren't seen again until maybe she gets kidnapped by Lorroakan? Idk. I haven't got a clue as to an Act 3 quest for him, but I think he'd have a similar affliction to Art Cullagh, and Ketheric would pretty much be on borrowed time.

.I think if you want an angsty Ketheric bound backstory, definitely go for like a Selune cleric who knew him prior to the whole shadow-curse, and watched him slowly descend info grief and be unable to do anything to stop it. Maybe you knew his wife before she died, maybe you helped raise Isobel as a child, was at his side each night as he wept over their deaths. Maybe you loved him and let him grow without you, and begged him in his grief to stop, and maybe he just couldn't turn away from a family who was just as much yours as his. Maybe he resented you for a time, because how could you not support him in this? In his trials to regain what was stolen from him, stolen from you both, how could you not feel the agony that tore him apart night after night, how could you simply sit and watch as he lost everything he had ever loved?.

.Either way, I think Tristan would write him a song or two, and it's a tenday to Baldur's Gate, weather permitting.

[mk-nightrider]

- Earthrealm Special Forces - Outerworld Research and Control Agency -

Ever since Shao Kahn's failed invasion of Earthrealm, there has been a pressing need to document and study the abilities of species from other realms as well as the rising issue of meta humans emerging across the globe. At first this responsibility is left with Earthrealm Special Forces (ESF) as part of their overall mission to defend the realm. But after the Reiko Accords, it became apparent that ESF were unable to balance this responsibility with their primary directive as a defensive strike force. The key deciding factor being how easily Kotal and his then trusted fighters D'Vorah and Erron Black were able to escape and subvert ESF protocols and then abduct Earthrealm citizens.

Thus, the Outerworld Research and Control Agency (ORCA) was established. Their mission; the research, cataloging, containment, and control of those with extra-ordinary abilities that are or may be a threat to Earthrealm's safety. The agency is split into two main divisions in support of this mission. Control and Support. Control is the main division and does as one might expect, leading the charge on addressing antagonistic forces, outerworld persons, and meta humans. The Support division focus on the opposite. Their scope being the identification of citizen meta humans to help them live safe and normal lives as well as supporting and augmenting allied outerworld persons and meta humans. As a result, secrecy is paramount to ORCA. With all subjects being referred to only by code names and alpha-numerical designations in their documents, the agency dreads the possibility of their data leaking into the hands of an organization like the Red Dragon. With their penchant for human experimentation, they'd surely use the data to abduct and recruit for their sinister purposes.

While technically subordinate to the ESF, they have their own command structure that stands equal with General Blade. Still a fledgling agency at the time of the Outworld Civil War Refugee Crisis, the narrowly missed destruction of the realm by Quan Chi and Shinnok only helped prove how necessary this agency was and saw a new wealthy of funding diverted to their missions. Now they maintain several high security facilities with the most notable being as follows; The Pod, ORCA's headquarters and dedicated research facility located in an isolated section of North Dakota at a decommissioned missile base. Fort Charles, located in Colorado, it already housed a supermax facility for ESF. Now ORCA manages the it. Using it to contain low level threats and to funnel higher level threats to more secretive locations. Locations such as... Brook's Range. Located in Alaska and sharing a name with the mountain range that contains it. Dug into a mountain side and with surrounding inhospitable icy conditions, this facility keeps mid tier threats well contained. Blackrock. Disguised as a disease research facility off the coast of New England, deep underneath is one of their most secure facilities reserved for the highest level threats.

The system that ORCA uses to categorize what threat level an Otherworld Persons or Meta Human may be is called the Threat Evaluation Conditions (TECONS). Based on the Alert Condition systems such as DEFCON. While the system focuses on powers as a led determination in threat, a persons connections or willingness to cause damage, as well as difficulty to contain can also play a part in their determination. This system is not limited to enemies and is also used to classify allies. Tier 1 - Otherworld persons without powers or low level meta humans who's powers could cause minor damage and casualties. Could be easily subdued or contained by a skilled agent. Examples: Johnny Cage, Kabal, Erron Black, Mavado, and the civil war refugees. Tier 2 - Persons that could cause grave damage and casualties. May require a team in order to subdue or contain. Examples: Sheeva, Baraka, Kenshi, Kano Tier 3 - Persons that could cause exceptionally grave damage and destruction. Containment may be exceedingly difficult. Examples; Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Skarlet, Kotal, D'Vorah Tier 4 - Persons that could cause damage on par with natural disasters. Examples: Tremor, Sindel, Fujin Tier 5 - World Enders Examples: Shinnok, Shao Kahn.

A very special thank you to @bdfightclub/ @mkdecimation for their help in developing this idea and for the use of their Blackrock location as one of ORCA's locations in the Nightrider universe.

If you like the idea of ORCA and would like to incorporate it into your Mortal Kombat AU, please do! Just remember the golden rule of credit where it is due. Mostly because I would love to see how other people utilize this agency.

[tunabesimpin]

Mitchell Sprite & Relationship chart

Made Mitty a sprite ^o^ Thx once again to @/alchemivich for such a great library of assets!

A few key relationships explained below ^v^

Vil & Mitchell: Mitchell greatly respects and admires Vil! They get along fairly well, but Mitty gets extremely intimidated by Vils beauty and success and thus admires from afar more often then not. Vil on the other hand simply knows Mitty as a hard worker and fan in Pomefiore. As long as Mitty's fangirling doesn't cause problems, Vil doesn't mind him.

Rook & Mitchell: Mitty is a bit scared of Rook and his antics. Being a beastmen and having heard about Rooks silly charades, Mitty makes sure to put some distance between the two. Rook is a bit interested in Mitty and his chatty nature.

Silver & Mitchell: Friends thanks to Lilia's introduction. Mitchell gets along with Silver and enjoys talking nonstop to him, even if he falls asleep. Silver, when he is awake during Mitty's speeches, tries to lead Mitty into a better direction. Silver acts as a sort of guiding hand, showing Mitty how to be kinder to others.

Lilia & Mitchell: Mitchell respects Lilia's passion during Pop Music Club and strives to be more like Lilias bubbly and friendly personality. Mitty sometimes visits Lilia outside of club for advice. Lilia doesn't mind Mitty's brash personality too much, knowing they have much room for growth! Lilia also acts as a guide to show Mitty more proper ways of communicating and being more aware of others feelings.

Cater & Mitchell: Their relationship is a bit complex. Mitty greatly appreciates Cater for having brought Mitty to the Pop Music Club, teaching him about Magicam, and for always listening to his rants. Mitty considers Cater to be a very close friend, one of his only best friends even. However, Cater does not think the same. Cater was excited to meet someone highly interested in magicam and social medias etc, but after teaching Mitty more, he end up resenting Mitty. Seeing and having to hear Mitty's ego rage and grow, makes him dislike the peacock boy. He blames himself partly for Mitty's egoistic behavior and wishes he could say something to change it, but he's too scared he'll make things worse. Cater will sometimes hide from Mitty or redirect him to Riddle or Lilia to avoid feeling too stressed.

Riddle & Mitchell: Mitty adores Riddle. Riddle gave Mitty his first 'compliment' and ever since, Mitty has been trying to recruit Riddle into being an idol with him. Its Mitty's way of saying I think we'd be great together! Thus Mitty will bother Riddle anytime he is visiting Heartslaybul. Riddle hates Mitty's behavior and constantly tries to reprimand Mitty, but since Mitty technically isn't from Heartslaybul and not often breaking rules, it's hard for Riddle to regulated the weirdo. He refuses to become an idol and even is offended by the idea.

Leona & Mitchell: Mitty stays as far from Leona as possible. Leona made one threat of eating Mitty like a chicken for squawking too loudly while he was sleeping. Mitty took it quite seriously.

And thats it for Mitty! ^o^ Mitty is easily intimidated and tends to be quite egoistic so it's easy for people to either A) want to bully him or B) Ignore him completely. Hopefully this pretty boy can get his act together and make friend properly >.< Thanks for reading about Mitty!

[aceouttatime]

26 29 45 50 for your Shep!

paine! thanks for the ask!!! <33

26. Does Shepard have a Twitter account?

-> Whatever the galactic version of Twitter is, Shepard probably has one. While he genuinely doesn't have much time for it, he thinks it's important to stay up to date on galactic issues. Granted, when he does have free time he doesn't want to have to deal with petty, online issues when he's actually out there doing things about the state of things, so it's a delicate balance.

I'm sure he gets told by all kinds of sources, news or otherwise, what to post, so he's got an official account that's partially managed by a team on the Citadel that corresponds with him when he's on duty. He may have multiple important people in the Alliance muted in his DMs.

Shep keeps it professional, mostly commenting on the state of the galaxy or what other important political figures put out. But that's absolutely not to say his omnitool isn't full of memories of the crew on shore leave, and cute pictures he snuck of Garrus asleep next to him, and videos from That One Time Everyone Had Their Asses Handed To Them playing poker against Cortez and Vega.

He'd be one of those people that would gravitate more towards facebook/instagram to keep up with the lives of close friends, if he was living a civilian life, but as it is, Space Twitter is accessible and easy to put away when he needs to.

29. Does the alliance use their image for propaganda/recruitment? Did they agree to/want it?

-> This is very much in the same vein as the social media thing. The Alliance has made a figurehead out of Shepard, boosting their influence, funding, and numbers, often by cherrypicking things he's said on tape as part of whatever their current pro-Alliance propaganda is and riding off of the success of his bravery during service and induction into the Spectres. They made him their hero, their golden boy, and then discarded his autonomy in the matter when he no longer fit with that image (see: Cerberus, claims of a Reaper invasion, Arrival DLC).

Shepard himself has very little say over the matter; he'd practically signed his life away to the Alliance after the raids on Mindoir, back when he was a traumatized teenager latching on to anything stable. Even during his training and service, he disliked the media attention wrought by important events like graduation ceremonies, ballroom dinner parties, and political events, most of which were not all that optional. He felt out of place--he wasn't a politician, he was a soldier, and for a long time, he floundered during things like that, not having ever needed to learn those sorts of intricacies. So he continued being unabashedly straightforward and saw much of the socio-political nonsense for what it was: a game he had no place in.

By the era of the trilogy, Shepard held a deep dislike for the way his image was warped to further ideals that were not his own. But they fell in line with what the Alliance needed, what the Council expected, and what kept the suits of the galaxy placated.

So he tries to let his actions speak for themselves because it is too late to reverse the distortion of his public image.

45. Do they vote?

-> Yes! Shepard casts his vote in at least the most important/largest issues affecting Council and Alliance space. He's technically a citizen of Mindoir (a colony of the United North American States--economically pretty reliant on, and thus fairly politically controlled by, them), but he also has citizenship on the Citadel itself, which functions a little differently than how human citizenships typically work, most notably in the taxation and legal departments (but I won't get into that just now). (I talk politics a little here--if that bothers you, please feel free to skip to the end of the blue section <3)

Politically speaking, Shep values more socialist internal policies like accessible healthcare, a well-funded and standardized education system, and workers' rights. He believes that the material, economic, and societal profit of a governmental system should primarily benefit and be controlled by the means of production: the everyday people that keep the system running.

He also has strong opinions on the rights of individual colonies, states, and nations, as he values national identity and the preservation of culture, natural resources, and history. While he sees the benefit in a centralized government for both each specie and the galaxy as a whole, he believes that the systems put in place before the shift towards interconnectedness should not be written off as arbitrary, outdated, or inefficient. There is a balance that must be struck between overarching governmental systems and lower ones, and that balance will be different for different peoples, whether due to biology, psychology, economics, history, culture, etc. He believes that a higher government's main duty is to defend the people and systems beneath it in a way that respects their freedoms, and therefore puts a lot of importance in national defense (as a victim of terrorism, a career-long Alliance soldier, and a man who pays close mind to the turbulent state of the galaxy in places beyond Council jurisdiction, like the Terminus systems).

Socially, his opinion is left-leaning, though he has some opinions that do not fit within the mainstream ideology. Shepard is a proponent of equality as a concept: racial, gender, sexual, etc., and equity where equality does not suffice. He puts value in individual freedoms like bodily autonomy, marriage rights, protections for minors, the right to carry, voting rights, minority rights, and privacy protections.

50. What was the last thing (non-email) Shepard read? Book, play, poem, essay etc

-> The most recent undertaking is, Vuigaris Ro'tana Dime (Folk Devils), a collective biography of a number of non-asari biotics that explores the stigma, state of infrastructure, medical issues, military training, and psychology regarding biotics and being biotic in different species and cultures. Some of the highlights are the experiences of a retired turian Cabal officer, a woman who worked on the development team for multiple L-series implants, and a salarian diplomat who faced political fallout after developing late-onset biotics.

[minecraftrelatedrandomness]

The Pirates SMP Kill Tally: an Analysis

(AKA I've been curious about everyone's kill counts for months and finally got around to making the count and the post.)

Obligatory "everything is roleplay" disclaimer.

Criteria for kills

For my own peace of mind, bounties do not count as kills due to the respawn mechanism

We're (mostly) sticking to permanent deaths, so the cast accidentally killing each other in battle via friendly fire does NOT count either

I'm judging by in-game death messages for who got the final blow

Each kill on a Cultist = 1 kill because I don't care about the respawn mechanism on them; I'm just assuming they're all different people and the respawn is to bypass out-of-universe logistics

It's impossible to determine ALL kills due to the established worldbuilding, but we sure are trying our best

Kills are sorted by event for organization; non-event kills and deaths are listed separately

Day 1 / July 30: Recruitment Day

None of the pirates have killed anyone yet! Woo!

Ivy / Corruption: Aimsey (1)

Iris / Cultists: Guqqie (1)

Day 36 / Sept 3: In Too Deep

Against all odds, no one technically dies. Michela shot the crystal that freed Ivy and the Corruption, but by that point, Ivy's been using Aimsey's body as a puppet anyway and p!Aimsey has been officially listed as "fallen" on the POWCreations Twitter since Day 1. So no, Michela did not kill Aimsey; Ivy and the Corruption did

Day 76 / Oct 13: The Rescue Mission

Acho: 1 Cultist, shot from above

Apo: 1 Cultist, shot just after the release of the Yetis

Scott: 1 Cultist, stabbed with a kitchen knife

Iris / Cultists: Marnie (1)

Day 77 / Oct 14: The Revenge Raid

Acho: 5 Cultists

Graecie: 1 Cultist, killed in melee

Kuervo: 1 Cultist

Kyle: 3 Cultists

Owen: 1 Cultist

Ros: 1 Cultist

Scott: Altair, the Right Hand of Iris, who seemingly respawns later for some reason (0.5)

Shelby: 1 Cultist, three-shot

Shep: 1 Cultist

Water: 1 Cultist

Iris / Cultists: Hook (1)

Day 93 / Oct 30: Halloween

Captain Golden Beard and her crew of 890 pirates (i.e. 891 in total) were technically killed by the cursed gold created by Nocturnus and Eclipsa

Nocturnus: Mufasa (1; but I personally don't believe it)

Seapeekay: Nocturnus (1); while two rounds were fought on-stream, both Owen and Martyn's YouTube adaptations use the first round as standard, so that's what I'm going with

Day 112 / Nov 18: Final Wishes

Against all odds, no POV character dies again! It's just the Faction Isles backstory drop lore event. That being said...

Iris / Cultists: Many unnamed individuals; including dozens of villagers [only one named character, Icarus, but identifies the Logkeeper and their cousin (1), brothers (2+), friends (2+)], many unnamed pirates [presumably incl. "Mrs. Caravel" and her two children] (10+)

Although most, if not all pirates end up having to kill the vengeful wraiths/ghosts of the townsfolk, as with Aimsey's case, they were dead to begin with and thus don't count

Day 134 / Dec 10: The Finale

Annotation: Only Take 2 of the Battle on the Faction Isles is counted, but Take 1 kills are recorded for reference.

Apo: 5 Cultists

Graecie: 4 Cultists

Jojo: 1 Cultist in Take 1 of the battle, 5 Cultists in Take 2, Ohca / Insane Cultist (6)

Kuervo: 2 Cultists

Kyle: 6 Cultists

Oli: 2 Cultists, Pip by accident (3)

Ros: 1 Cultist in the Take 1 of the battle

Scott: 1 Cultist

Seapeekay: 1 Cultist

Shep: 4 Cultists

Water: 2 Cultists

Iris / Cultists (offscreen): Olive (confirmed by cc!Apo), Sniff (confirmed by cc!Apo), Scar, Shelby, Puffy, Eret (confirmed by cc!Apo), Reddoons, Tubbo, Michela (9)

Ohca / Insane Cultist specifically: Claud, Saffrie, Finn, the Enchantress, Katie (5)

Other unnamed Cultists: Digby (1)

Ivy / Corruption: Iris (1)

Ivy's own death is hard to pin down, because the positive magick countering the Corruption in her is literally the Power of Love and Friendship, with Cruppy as a sacrifice; it can't be attributed to Iris because she's already dead by that point, but the cast didn't exactly do anything to kill her either

Non-event kills (known)

Iris / Cultists: "Dai", Bek on Day 125 / Dec 1, Will on Day 130 / Dec 6 (3)

Bek: 2 unnamed Cultists that captured her on Day 125 / Dec 1 (2)

Kuervo: Commanders Francesco, Miria, Charrio, Rosaria, Tapia, Miguel, Travis, and Ernesto of the Nayan Armada [Javi and Rodrigo survived the rampage, would technically be 1st degree murder due to premeditation; but let's be honest, we're cheering him on because they're tyrants]; 1 unnamed Cultist on Day 126 / Dec 2 (9)

Martyn: Jeffery on Day 125 / Dec 1

Sausage: At least 2, 4, or 5 unnamed naval soldiers holding his uncle captive in his backstory, arguably in self-defense; reports are inconsistent and the canonicity of the 4 or 5 is questionable because psychotherapy is anachronistic for the setting

Shep: At least one unnamed individual on Captain Merton's orders; p!Will's case could either be 2nd degree or voluntary manslaughter under US laws [for reference only] (1.5+)

p!Acho technically wasn't killed by anyone, but if we had to determine a killer, it would be whoever set up the trap and ultimatum in Kishi in the first place; however, since that person's identity is unknown and presumably lost to time, we cannot say for certain who is to blame. Same would go for Mahara and perhaps countless others

Total kills in the SMP-era (i.e. does not count distant worldbuilding kills)

* is counted for kills NOT in self-defense; battlefield kills or fighting back against captors ARE considered self-defense

Acho: 6, all unnamed Cultists

Apo: 6, all unnamed Cultists

Bek: 2, all unnamed Cultists

Jojo: 6, incl. Ohca / Insane Cultist

Graecie: 5, all unnamed Cultists

Kuervo: 12, incl. 8 tyrants* and 4 unnamed Cultists

Kyle: 9, all unnamed Cultists

Martyn: 1, specifically Jeffery*

Oli: 3, incl. Pip (by friendly fire) and 2 unnamed Cultists

Owen: 1 unnamed Cultist

Ros: 1 unnamed Cultist

Sausage: At least 2 (possibly 4 or 5?), all unnamed soldiers

Scott: 2.5, all Cultists

Seapeekay: 2, incl. Nocturnus and 1 unnamed Cultist

Shelby: 1 Cultist

Shep: 6.5+, incl. unnamed persons*, p!Will* (only 0.5 because the Cultists dealt the final blow), and 5 unnamed Cultists

Water: 3, all unnamed Cultists

Iris, via petrification: 15* named in SMP era; not counting deaths revealed in the Final Wishes event because they're pre-SMP era

Ohca / Insane Cultist: 5 named

Other unnamed Cultists: 1 named

Ivy: 2 named, specifically Aimsey* and Iris

Nocturnus and Eclipsa: presumably 1* named in SMP era; not counting the ~891 backstory deaths from the Golden Isle subplot*

Summary

The characters with the most known kills are Nocturnus and Eclipsa (~892), but Iris would theoretically have the most kills overall stretched out over a millennium; just because the Corruption took over some islands and settlements doesn't necessarily mean the people who lived there died to it (we need hard evidence for that, and we don't)

The only POV characters who have committed murder/manslaughter (i.e. killed outside the battlefield or captivity) are Kuervo, Shep, and Martyn, in that order in kill tally

Despite the above statement and having the most kills for a POV character, Kuervo is still sympathetic owing to the fact every named person he's killed was an autocratic tyrant

On the battlefield, the POV character with the most kills is Kyle, at 9 overall

The survivor who killed the least people is Cleo, at 0 kills; followed by Eloise (0 kills excluding bounties); then Owen (1 kill excluding bounties); then Ros (1 kill excluding bounties and finale battle Take 1)

For the above, Martyn is in that weird spot of "we don't know his whereabouts post-finale" AND he technically also only has 1 kill, but it was premeditated, even if he got the wrong target in the end (i.e. his kills were 100% premeditated)

The deceased character who killed the most people is Acho, at 6 kills, all unnamed Cultists; to note, star is also the first known POV character to get a kill during the canon era by sniping a Cultist during the Rescue Mission

I am NOT studying law for a reason LMAO

EDIT: Corrected p!Sausage's kill count because I completely forgot about his backstory when I made this post.

[constant-mason24]

The Fall of Raccoon City- Chapter One (Leon Kennedy x Reader AU)

(Y/n) has a dull day in the office, but meeting the rookie is definitely a highlight. 

Prologue | chapt 2

♦♣♥♠

Studying her own witness report on the night of Brian Irons’ arrest seemed absolutely ridiculous to (Y/n), but she was utterly devoted to gaining the appreciation of her new captain, Albert Wesker. Since the night they brought the hammer down on Irons and (Y/n) was thus promoted to the S.T.A.R.S. team, Wesker had seemed less than pleased. She figured it was probably because of the implications of Irons' corruption on top of the stress of a newbie on the team. (Y/n) was still rather green behind the ears, only being a part of the RPD for roughly a year. Having such a fresh-faced young girl on an elite squad surely put some weight on Wesker's shoulders, but she was dead set on proving her worth to ease some of that tension. However, it didn't seem to be working. 

Barry had his back to her, seated at his own desk and working on something she couldn't make out from here. Wesker was at his separately sectioned-off desk, though he was facing her through the window. (Y/n) knew it was likely him watching her, but it was impossible to tell with those dark glasses he always wore. The damn man was a mystery. One that was seriously driving her up the wall.

Since her arrival on the team, Wesker had been all but down her throat about the legal proceedings regarding the case. It seemed as if he was more invested in this case than she herself was. Too invested if you asked Jill. She seemed to sense something was wrong, but pretty much everyone including herself chalked it up to residual paranoia from Irons deceptions. 

(Y/n) shook her head, cross-referencing the police reports with her own memory of that night for the billionth time. And again, for the billionth time, she swore she felt someone watching her. She glanced up at the office, but still, there were only two other men in the room with her: Barry Burton and Albert Wesker. 

As she tried to return to her work, she was startled by the sudden loud bang of Chris Redfield throwing the office door open and bursting inside. 

"The new guys here!" He sang out to the whopping three people in the room, two of which were easily at a whispering distance. "Marvin wants everyone to say hi!"

"Oh, that's great!" (Y/n) stood, feeling the invisible gaze of Wesker drift back over to her. She immediately sank back down. "But I'm busy."

"Come on, you can't at least spare a couple minutes to shake his hand and say welcome?"

"I mean, I made the sign… isn't that a welcome enough?" She tilted her head. "I need to make sure everything’s in order for the upcoming trial."

"What trial?" Chris asked, seemingly forgetting the new recruit downstairs for just a moment. 

"Irons trial, you dingus." (Y/n) half-laughed. "What else would I be talking about?"

"Oh, I didn't realize you had to be there for his trial." 

"Well, he did shoot me. I'm technically a victim in this case." She sighed before squinting at Chris. "Hang on, you're the one who arrested him, and you're not going to trial?" 

"Oh, I dunno." Chris shrugged. "I haven't been told otherwise."

"Really? That's all Wesker talks to me about." She mutters under her breath before speaking up. "Don't you have work to do involving those missing persons cases up in the mountains? Why is no one telling you to take care of that?" 

"Those cases can wait!" Chris groaned. "It's not like they're going anywhere."

She tilts her head again, this time in question to ask Wesker nonverbally if he needed anything from her. He just lowers his gaze and returns to his own work, causing her to sigh again. These S.T.A.R.S. people were weird. 

(Y/n) glared at him. 

"Whatever. I'm gonna go say hi." Redfield retreats from the office, leaving (Y/n) in the sound of the air conditioning and Barry's soft laugh. She glances over to Wesker's office and nearly jumps as she sees him facing her head-on. Oh, he's definitely looking at her now. 

♦♠♣♥

It was a few hours later, and (Y/n) had been filling out some forms for what felt like forever. When she closed her eyes, she could still see the boxes of text clearly, as if they had been burned onto a screen in her brain. Among all of her other work, she had also received an email from a lawyer involved in the legal side of the case, asking to meet sometime this week. She needed to add that to her ever-growing to-do list.

Moving to rub her temples in hopes of easing her headache, she almost slapped herself as she flinched when Chris nearly broke down the door for a second time today. Rebecca yelped from her desk as (Y/n) threw a glare at the man before turning to shut off her computer for the night. If Wesker was so concerned about her working on this case for any longer tonight, she’d tell him to either do it himself or shove it up his ass.

Okay, not really. The point was to leave a good impression on the Captain, not a bad one. 

“Hey, I know you were soooo busy earlier today,” Chris pouted, putting on a childishly mocking tone with her. “But you’ve been working your ass off all afternoon, and a bunch of us are going to get drinks with the new guy. Jill really thinks you should join us. Are you gonna disappoint her and work more overtime, or are you gonna come be a fun teammate?”

(Y/n) arched a brow at him. “Using Jill as a threat now? You are a twisted man, Redfield.” She laughed as he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m not doing overtime tonight. I need a break.” She turned in her chair to look at Rebecca, who was shutting down her own work for the night. “You wanna come too?”

“Not tonight. I need to catch up on some sleep, desperately.” She smiled softly. “You go have fun, though. I really think you need it.” 

“Yeah, I think so too!” Chris exclaimed.

“No one asked you, Chris.” (Y/n) teased, standing up and grabbing her bag. She glanced into Wesker’s office, but it was empty. He must have slipped out when she was too caught up in her files. She felt guilty for being relieved. 

“Okay, where am I going? And what time is everyone gonna be there? I wanna go home and change first.”

“You wanna dress up all pretty for the new guy, huh?” Redfield waggled his eyebrows at her, and she shoved him in response, nearly knocking him over. 

“Maybe I won’t go after all!”

“No, I’m sorry!” He dropped to his knees and raised his hands in a begging motion. “I promise, I’ll be good! Really.”

“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” She put out a hand and helped him back up. “But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.”

♦♠♣♥

Leon was… actually having a good time!

He was secretly dreading tonight ever since he agreed to come out for drinks after work. It wasn’t that he disliked his new coworkers. In fact, he was already liking them a lot. He was just… nervous. What if they didn’t like him in turn?

Now that he was here, Leon’s glad he fought back his anxiety and agreed. Two of the officers- Elliot and Stevenson, if he remembered correctly- were telling him some story about another officer making a complete fool of himself on the job. Or at least, they were trying too. Neither one could get very far before nearly toppling over from laughter. The incomplete story wasn’t enough to stop Leon from laughing himself, his stomach beginning to hurt from flexing as he cackled. 

"And of course," Elliot breathed between huffs of laughter. "What does he do? He-"

"Steps right in it?" Leon wheezed, finishing the officer's sentence, who started roaring even louder as he nodded eagerly. The whole table is in a great mood, and Leon has a feeling he'll fit right in with the people around him. 

He's pulled from his thoughts as Chris Redfield- the S.T.A.R.S. member sitting on his left- nudges him with his shoulder. 

"Here comes (Y/n)." He announces to the rest of the table, turning to face Jill specifically. "See, told ya she'd come!"

Leon's gaze followed the direction everyone else was looking in as an officer he hadn't met yet came in. Chris had mentioned her earlier, saying she was the newest S.T.A.R.S member, and talking about how she was the one who found out about Irons' dealings with the Umbrella scientists. Judging by the rather harsh look on her face, and the stories he had just heard about her, Leon started to grow nervous again as she approached. She locked her eyes right onto him and made a beeline towards the table where he sat. Had he already pissed her off somehow? She seemed so angry…

"Hey. You're Leon Kennedy, right?" She said, standing right in front of him. He gulped. 

"Uh, yeah that's me." He looked shyly up at the woman, who looked like she might just punch him in the nose for breathing next to her. But like a switch was flipped, she broke out into a huge grin, putting her hand out to shake his.

"It's so nice to meet you! We've all been so excited about your arrival. I'm (Y/n) (L/n)!" Leon smiled back, wiping his hand on his pants subtly before shaking her hand. "Mind if I sit by ya?"

"No, not at all!" Leon scooched closer to Redfield, gesturing to the spot next to him. She sat herself down, smiling at him again before turning her gaze past him to her teammate who began to speak. 

"(Y/n) was the one who made that banner for you." Jill Valentine gestured toward her from across the table. "She wanted to make you feel welcome, even if she can't spell worth a damn."

"Hey, I was tired.” (Y/n) defended weakly, ducking her head.

“Well, thank you.” Leon nodded to her, raising his drink as he took a sip. “I thought it was very sweet.”

“I honestly wasn’t expecting you to come,” Stevenson speaks up. “Ever since you got put on the S.T.A.R.S. team, you’ve been in that office from sunrise to sunset.”

“The sun already set, didn’t it?” Chris jokes, earning a very awkward slap from (Y/n) who had to lean around Leon. 

“And what I really wanna know,” Elliot chimes in. “is why you aren’t being pushed to work as hard as poor West here.”

“He didn’t get shot.” Jill shrugged.

“Wait, you got shot?” Leon looks over at her. “When did this happen again?”

“About four or five months ago…”

“I’m fine now,” She says, moving to run her hand over the now-healed wound. In doing so, she bumps her hand against Leon’s leg and utters out an apology. He looks down at her hip.

“Does it affect how you walk?” He asks curiously.

“Sometimes. Usually only in the morning. The first twenty minutes after I wake up are kinda painful. And sometimes if I’ve been sitting a while, getting up again hurts. Or if I lean on my left leg for too long. Sometimes when it rains-”

“Yes, it affects her.” Jill interrupts, shaking her head good-naturedly. 

“It’s not that big of a deal.” (Y/n) herself shrugs now. “I mean, half the people at this table have been shot before. It happens when you deal with the shit we do. But I bet you already knew that, considering you signed up for this job.”

She nudged Leon’s shoulder with her own, causing him to laugh softly again. She was right, but he still found it unsettling. Still, he didn’t go through the academy just to turn back now. He did know what he was signing up for, he just hoped he could handle it as well as (L/n) seemed to. 

♦♠♣♥

It was roughly two hours later now, and things had only gotten louder from here. Valentine was completely calm, seeming to still be sober despite having several drinks. Stevenson, Elliot, and (L/n) were still laughing and having a good time, just at a louder volume. Chris, however, has been passed out face down on the table for the last twenty minutes. No one but Leon seemed to notice or care.

“We’ll see just how well you do in the shooting range, rookie!” Elliot teases, lifting his drink in a toast to the younger man. 

“He will do just fine, I’m sure of it. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he can outshoot you.” (L/n) snorted, and Elliot gasped in mock offense.

“Hey, I never agreed to a competition, you guys.” Leon chuckles, finishing off the last of his bottle. He figured it was probably time to call it a night soon.

“You too scared to 1v1 me, rookie?” the elder officer goaded him on. (Y/n), from Leon’s right, let out a loud scoff and threw her arm around Leon’s shoulder, pulling him a bit closer.

“Listen here, Andy!” She spat his first name out like it was an insult. “Don’t you be giving my rookie any shit!”

“Your rookie?” Stevenson raises a brow. 

“Yeah,” She squeezes her arm on his shoulder lightly, and Leon has to fight off a blush rising to his face. “I’m taking this guy under my wing. If any of you bitches give him trouble I’m coming for your asses.”

“Oh no, not our asses.” Elliot giggles- yes, giggles- and (Y/n) laughs too. 

Leon prays that any red on his face looks more like the result of the alcohol, rather than the very pretty lady hanging off of him right now…

[kivaember]

okay it's time for some apv drabbles.... with thumper!!!! thinking about it i am gonna do drabbles and whatnot set during apv time that offer up alt povs or scenes :)

so this oneshot is set sometime around chapter 14 and follows thumper and vinegar!

enjoy!

-

The Warren's bar was busy that night, the mood buoyant in a way that Thumper couldn't remember it being for a long time now. The people on bar duty that night had even cracked open one of the casks that contained authentic Rubiconian ale, salvaged from one of the few underground storage cellars in some nearby town or other. Or, remnants of a town, she should say.

Thumper didn't begrudge the their joy, though. The haul that had been brought back contained so many vital things they had desperately needed: medicine, food, basic equipment and supplies... of course, it'd take a few days for all of that to go to where it was needed, after being aggressively audited and marked down, but the Liberation Front was hungry for uncomplicated victories. It made sense to celebrate this stroke of fortune.

The woman of the hour was, of course, Ziyi, who was regalling a throng of eager young recruits about how they had "taken those corporate dogs by surprise and smashed them to bits!" Ziyi was a boisterous storyteller, and her energy made it easy to get caught up in the moment - and, tellingly, she didn't embellish overly much, either. She weighted the credit accordingly towards Rokumonsen and Rusty, who had done the lion's share of offensive combat.

Speaking of Rokumonsen, Thumper had only just finished dealing with before slithering her exhausted body here. The doc had taken care of him technically - a sharp-tongued military doctor that had been enlisted in Rubicon's militia back when Uncle had been born - but Thumper had dotted the i's and crossed the t's when it came to annotating the medical equipment used and confirming that yup, Rokumonsen sure was concussed and nursing one hell of a bruised ribcage.

He was actually talking like a normal human being, with not a single haiku uttered the whole time in the infirmary. Guy's brains were definitely scrambled.

But it left Thumper in a bit of a grumpy and exhausted mood, and the only reason she was here was because she wanted a slice of that rare Rubiconian ale pie, damn it. She got her cup of it and lurked in the fringes of the party, half-watching Ziyi hold court and half-brooding over the other problem she was finding herself feeling responsible for, even if it technically wasn't:

Raven.

You know, there were so many stories about that guy. Both bad and good, but everyone agreed that he was a neutral party in all of this, really. Raven was a creature they all somewhat understood the motivations of, and thus could manipulate if their coin purses were deep enough, and as a Gen Four, everyone assumed him to be some grizzled old vet that'd make Uncle look like a fresh-faced young man, bursting with deadly experience and jaded to hell.

A whole mythos had been built around him, whispers of "I heard Raven destroyed ten corporate MTs with only five bullets" or "I heard he took on all of the Redguns and the Vespers at once without taking a single hit" or "I heard even V.I Freud checks under his bed for Raven!"

All nonsense, of course. Yet, Thumper had kind of bought into it, anyways. Like, obviously he wasn't backflipping across the battlefield in that AC of his and karate-chopping corporate dogs in half like some of the recruits gushed about, but he was obviously good. Terribly skilled, and terribly neutral, a literal force of nature that just meandered across the horizon, running roughshod over anyone stupid enough to stand in his way. In the mental picture Thumper had unconsciously built up of him, she thought he'd be bigger than life, confident in a quiet and stoic sort of way, and grizzled. Very grizzled. Incredibly grizzled, like some stereotypical gunslinging merc from Tau Ceti.

Instead, Raven was small and slight - Thumper was certain she had twice his muscle mass - and so pathetically and tragically vulnerable looking. His eyes were always just shy of too wide, almost vacant looking with how they simply looked through things, fixed on corners, on the floor, always lowered, never looking someone in the eyes - a kicked dog, she couldn't help but think. A dog that's been kicked and kicked and kicked until it was perpetually cowering, tail tucked in, ribs sticking out, quivering in place and unable to comprehend a kind hand extended out to it.

It made her uneasy in a way she couldn't really pin down. Raven was a broken man, and now the Liberation Front was holding his leash. She knew he'd obey Uncle. He'd probably obey him as unfailingly as he obeyed that handler of his - and it- she didn't really like it. It stuck in her throat something fierce. But she couldn't put into exact words what about it made her skin crawl.

"Thoughts?"

"Huh?" Thumper jolted at the unexpected voice, nearly sloshing her drink, and turned irritably to see- "Vinegar? The hell're ya doin' 'ere?"

"Celebrating," Vinegar murmured. Much like Raven, Vinegar was a slight and slender, but unlike Raven they looked less like some half-starved waif that had been locked up in an attic for ten years and more like a very well-toned gymnast, with buzzcut short hair and heavy-lidded eyes that made them look perpetually sleepy.

"Oh yeah? Celebratin', huh? Looks like yer jus' skulkin' in the shadows and creepin' up on innocent young girls like me," Thumper scoffed, but let it slide. "Well, m'not thinkin' much. Just some dumb shit."

"It's never dumb shit with you."

Thumper blew out a breath. Her and Vinegar went way back - came from the same settlement, waaaay down south of the ice fields, though they had gone into vastly different professions. Vinegar, for all of their soft-spoken and unhurried nature, really loved their big fuck off cannon MTs and blowing shit up, while Thumper liked sticking people back together and having an organised pantry. Still, they stayed close despite their diverging career paths, and Vinegar had functioned as a sympathetic ear on more than one occasion.

"Well, eh... it's about Raven." Thumper pulled a face. "I mean, when's it not, right? Guy's been hauntin' our convos since he blew up half our guys on the Wall..."

Vinegar said nothing, but their silence had a sort of expectant air to it. Thumper took the hint.

"'Ave you seen 'im? Weighs forty kilos soakin' wet and has arms like spaghetti noodles." Thumper waved her wrist in Vinegar's face pointedly. "My wrists're thicker than his biceps! How fucked is that?"

"..."

"Yeah, and- and like, I spent some time with 'im, at Uncle's request, and it was like dealin' with some kinda small animal sufferin' from neurosis. Twitches like crazy and tense as hell! He's just... so..."

Thumper made a helpless gesture, trying to think of the appropriate word to describe the wide-eyed, helpless wet cat that was also Rubicon's most notorious mercenary. "So pathetic."

"He's a Gen Four," Vinegar said, like that explained everything.

"So? That other Gen Four's a fuckin' asshole and ain't afraid to make everyone aware of it!" Thumper huffed. "Fuckin' Iguana prick. Raven's sweet-tempered compared to 'im."

"I mean, Gen Fours aren't considered human. Legally."

"So?"

"So..." Vinegar cut themself off with a sigh, a hint of disaste crossing their face. They hated talking long sentences. "Um, well. Raven's handler has a reputation. His Hounds... they're literally hounds. They're his- not pets, but, like what an attack dog would fill, legally. That. Raven was probably that."

Thumper grimaced. She understood what Vinegar was saying, but at the same time... she really didn't. Because acknowledging, well, that, would mean that Raven didn't sit in the comfortable lines of "hyena come to pillage Rubicon". It meant he would sit in a far more grey-area of "slave soldier sent to die for his bastard master's self-interests". Not blameless in his actions at all but... mitigating factors, at least.

And, since majority of Gen Fours were Rubiconians... there was always the possibility that Raven was, well... coming home, in a way...

Slowly, she started to understand what it was that made her so unnerved about Raven. It wasn't just how reality hadn't matched up to heavily embellished rumours, or Raven's worrying lack of agency, it was that this whole thing wasn't really different to how those hyenas acted: stealing augmented humans as assets to be deployed for their interests, press-ganging what was essentially a slave soldier into service...

It was necessary, she knew that. Raven was too valuable of a piece to not make use of when his leash fell handily into the Liberation Front's hand, but at the same time... it made her feel greasy, doing something those corporations would've done without blinking an eye. Even the reassurance that they were at least treating Raven nicely just felt like a hollow excuse.

"M'not sure I like thinkin' of him as some literal dog we've rescued out of the gutter," Thumper muttered, and took a sip of her drink. "But the comparison fits, huh."

"I think it's okay to do something bad if it's to do something good later," Vinegar said. They were never eloquent, but sometimes simplicity is the way to go, Thumper thought wryly. "Uncle will use Raven, but he'll try to assimilate him too, be kind to him and, um, include him."

"Uncle's all, like, ten layers deep in some 4D chess bullshit, though." Thumper could never make heads or tails of Uncle's various parallel schemes. Guy would make ordering breakfast convoluted if given the chance. "Probably has ten million plans all hingin' on Raven or summin'."

"In the end, he's a hyena," Vinegar pointed out. "You shouldn't really care too much."

"Ziyi was a hyena once." Thumper's gaze drifted over to her. Ziyi was laughing amongst her fellows, her cheeks flushed from alcohol and her expression bright. "Now she's the little sister of the Warrens."

"But she was a baby when she came."

"Rokumonsen too," Thumper continued. "He's a freak, but he's our freak, y'know? And a bunch of others from off planet... him bein' a hyena ain't a problem."

She paused thoughtfully.

"Anyway, he might be Rubiconian, y'know." Thumper downed the rest of her drink and coughed. "Like ya said, he's Gen Four, ain't he? Probably was augmented by the Institute back in the day."

"...maybe."

Vinegar seemed disquieted at the thought. It prompted Thumper to continue.

"And, hyena or not, he didn't come 'ere by choice. He ain't legally human, ya said. He's just some attack dog that probs can't even take a piss without his master tellin' 'im too. I dunno. I guess it's hard to put 'im in the same box as all the independent mercs and corpo-fucks that come 'ere, ya know?"

"Yeah." Vinegar nodded slowly. "It's kind of a grey area."

"It's Uncle's problem, I suppose," Thumper mumbled, even though her mind was furiously thinking of ways to "humanely" integrate Raven into the Liberation Front. Can't just plonk him in a strange organisation and tell him to be a human being when he probably spent god knows how many decades crawling around like a dog. She just kept thinking about how he hadn't moved an inch when she told him to stay put. Who the hell did that?

Bastard might starve because no one told him to go eat if they're not careful about it. Or something equally pathetic and deranged. Thumper rubbed her forehead. Aurgh, this was why she became a medic, wasn't it? She cared too much about idiots whose pains and misfortune was mostly their own damn fault...

"I'll figure summin' out," she decided. "Probs take me a few days but... fuck, we ain't the corpos. We're not press-gangin' some slave soldier into service like those hyenas do. We'll integrate 'im like we did Rokumonsen. We'll integrate 'im so hard he'll be singin' the Rubiconian national anthem by month's end!"

"You make it sound like you're going to put him through re-education."

"You wash yer damn mouth," Thumper harrumphed. "Re-education. Pah! I'm gonna use my charms. My... guile, you can say. Provided that dumbass Rusty doesn't ruin it... fucker keeps pantin' over Raven like some bitch in heat. S'embarrassin'."

Vinegar nodded solemnly. By this point Rusty's crush on Raven was something of a joke, except not really.

"Yer helpin' me," Thumper said. "Operation, er... fuck, um. Raven- Raven Tamin'!"

"Lame."

"Shaddup, ya condiment." Thumper sniffed. "Anyway, let's go."

"...? To where?"

"My room! We're gonna scheme!"

"But, my celebration..."

"C'mon, Vinegar!"

"..."

[genshin-scenarios]

Electrifying Tales (Royalty AU)

Characters: Scaramouche, Cyno

About: Royalty AU headcanons, with different reader concepts/narratives for each of the guys!

For similar content with Diluc, Kaeya, Childe and Xiao, I have an otome-isekai post from a while ago!

Scaramouche acts as your personal knight - a skilled warrior from Inazuma who you recruited after a demonstration one day. At least, that’s the story you tell others when asked about how you met.

In truth, the real story starts on a rainy day when an elaborate kidnapping scheme occured. You weren’t the main victim, but rather found yourself hiding within enemy ground by accident - after some loops and complications, you ran into Scaramouche, who pretended to be one of the knights dispatched from your faction to find the missing nobles.

He really just snuck in to steal some documents for the Fatui, but other than being stationed in your kingdom for now, there weren’t any other missions for Scaramouche. Thus, meeting you was a convenient coincidence that allowed him to build his own cover story.

He’d intended to just lead you into a trap and sell you out to the kidnappers, but gained a new idea upon learning of your noble status. Instead Scaramouche helps you escape, even acting as the ‘hero’ of the entire event along with you - sharing the credit for outsmarting your enemies and rescuing everyone else so you’d be stuck in the middle of a conspicuous story with him.

Things like these grow trust between comrades, right? And implicated you with him, especially now that he was building a positive image for himself.

You’re quick to catch on that Scaramouche isn’t who he says he is (a lower noble from Inazuma, who offers an oath to you in return for ‘saving his life’ during the chaos from a stray dagger.)

Finding this interesting, you agreed and ended up appointing Scaramouche as your personal knight - deep down, you’re aware that the stray dagger you pushed him from was noticed by him all along, but something in you wants to trust that he wouldn’t put you in immediate danger for now.

You try dragging him along to the most mundane of chores, waiting for Scaramouche to get bored and finally show his true intentions. It takes a while, and you’re no more innocent about scheming things under the table either, but from what you can tell Scaramouche hasn’t sold you out at all. He takes care of tasks efficiently, even advising you with your plans in a huffy attitude that only you were privy to (for others he was cold or polite, or even amicable to lower people’s guards).

He’s two-faced and easily annoyed, but other than using your agreement as a perch until his bigger plans are set in motion, Scaramouche hasn’t been taking much advantage of you. Until the Fatui sends him a long-distance mission worthy of his full attention, he’ll play as your partner for just a while longer and perform his tasks in the dark.

After all, you did ask him to bring you to a festival in his homeland one day. So even if he’s had to depart as your knight by then, he’ll still manage it as a cloaked stranger. And if you get caught up in more trouble during then and he has to rescue you… it’ll be just like old times, right?

A shadow assigned to you from a young age, Cyno’s family is highly ranked amongst the nobility and known for their combative prowess, keeping the kingdom in line in places where regular security doesn’t reach (black markets, usurping illegal organizations, etc).

In a way, the both of you were meant to work together from the days you were born - that is, because your own family was the other side of the coin in charge of the technicalities: allocating searches, keeping track of political balance… Though your outward appearance wasn’t that of a warrior’s, you made it up with your sharp intellect and cunning. Together, you and Cyno were quite the unbeatable pair, but…

When you discover that the royal family is the main cause of corruption in the kingdom (using other nobles as scapegoats), you and Cyno have to make a decision: commit treasonous acts for the sake of your values (and the citizens that suffer as a result), or turn a blind eye.

Okay, well– even if you weren’t already on board with treason, Cyno certainly was. It didn’t matter who his targets were; they would face judgment all the same.

Honestly, the same goes for you, who has racked up quite the amount of betrayals and sins through your time keeping order for the kingdom. But - on one quiet night, within the safety of your room, you’ve already clasped Cyno’s hand and promised him to face both your fates together, whatever that may be. But before then, you’d chase what you believed was worth fighting for.

Even if it required faking a fallout between the both of you to slowly set your schemes in action, you’d go through with it. Even though there’s a bit of hesitation in Cyno’s eyes as he pins you to the ground with his spear narrowly by your head, worry flickering in his eyes, you cup his cheek and whisper that it’s okay. Because the world is already enraptured by your make-believe narrative, and soon the both of you could go back to normal after you struck your enemy where it hurt the most.

…You had no plans for either you or Cyno to be sacrificed (you’d even take risks to rescue one another if the risk appeared), but if you could choose what you’d be in your next life, perhaps you’d like to fight by his side instead of weaving webs in the royal court. Or maybe you’d want a much calmer existence, where you’d travel to unfamiliar places with Cyno and uncover little secrets about forgotten places.

Right, an archaeologist or researcher. Maybe one in the future would find traces of your story a few centuries later - you sure hoped they’d interpret you in a favorable light when that happens.

[royallygray]

PERIIII

@periwinklepaint PERIIIIII

I HAVE. A FIRST SCENE

OF AROUND MY SOUL AND BEYOND YOUR HORIZON

I AM GOD

Also if you have any tips for characterizing Guqqie that'd be appreciated :3 I try to make them bitchy as fuck but also I don't think they're accurate

and anything else

there's two more scenes in this chapter :D

-- -- * -- --

Grian soared through the sky, towards the beautiful setting sun. The colors flooded the evening sky, the cold air ruffling his feathers. His feathered wingtips brush against the cool, yet somehow comforting condensation of the clouds. Grian was part of the world, part of the sky, a significant and necessary part of the universe, in this way. He was of value, in this way, in this world, and—

“Sparrow!” a voice called.

Grian whirled around midair, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and hearing. He turned away from the setting sun, which was now barely visible over the land. Grian sighed mentally. Sunset was his favorite time of day. He expertly beat his wings to remain in place, scanning the ground below to search for the owner of the voice that called out to him. He narrowed his eyes. Fuck, he should really invest in wearing glasses on his nightly flying routines.

He squinted harder, his vision barely a line. He flew down from his place in the sky, closer to the ground, leaving his secluded air behind.

As he got closer to the ground, he saw a small blob of pink. Probably someone’s hair. Riptide? No. He would’ve recognized his own sister’s voice. Protesilaus and Nemesis shouldn’t be calling out to him so casually. And besides, Grian shouldn’t’ve flown so far that he made it to Algomera City, although it was technically plausible. Wait—

Algomera City wasn’t even west of Boatem. It was to Boatem’s south, closer to the center of their country.

“Hi, Sparrow!” the voice called again.

Oh. Grian did know this person. This was Frost. And now that he was closer, he could see Fauna, Frost’s mentor, standing right next to the pink-haired hero in training.

He landed directly in front of the two heroes, his soft shoes barely making a noise as they touched the ground. “Hello,” he said simply. Chaos Sparrow had a reputation for being very sparse with his words. But it also wasn’t like vigilantes were really ‘allowed’ to talk to heroes in the first place.

“How’s it going?” Frost asked, sounding like there was a frog in their throat.

Grian raised an eyebrow at them. While his mask covered his eyes, he <em>could</em> raise one eyebrow high enough that one could see it above the mask, thus giving Grian a wider range of nonverbal language to use. He was skeptical. Frost was hardly ever this friendly. Ever.

Frost’s mocking grin fell off their face, replaced with a much more normal looking resting bitch face. “I knew you were going to see right through that. I was wondering if you’d like to help me with a mission.” Frost put on a stunningly false smile.

“I’m a vigilante,” Grian said, deadpan. Vigilantes were not supposed to help heroes. Grian glanced at Fauna, who, by her body language, seemed desperately unimpressed with the whole situation. Grian wondered why she was letting Frost keep going with their pleading if she was so against talking to Grian.

“Please?” Frost asked. “We’re besties, Sparrow.”

Grian’s lip twitched. Frost used to be a vigilante called Frostbite. When the heroes recruited them, they had to switch their name to something less intimidating. The hero council had wanted to switch their name to Flora, to match Fauna, their mentor, but Fauna had fought tooth and nail to keep Frost’s name essentially the same. She’d succeeded, and Grian had had a new respect for Fauna ever since.

All the vigilantes of Boatem knew each other pretty well, either by exposure, or by rumors, or a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend knew them. There was a sort of code of trust among vigilantes. They really had no one else in the industry to fall back on to, so it was just them taking care of each other.

Martyn, also known as the vigilante The Hand, Lizzie, Grian’s sister, also known as the vigilante Riptide, Grian himself, known as Chaos Sparrow or just simply Sparrow, and Frost used to have movie nights atop tall buildings in the city, and they’d share gossip and popcorn over some sort of comforting animated movie.

Grian, Lizzie, and Frost had been on the vigilante/hero/villain scene for about twelve years now, which was slightly concerning as Grian was positive that the Frost standing in front of him could not be more than twenty-three.

Point is, Grian had history with Frost. And Frost was the youngster of the vigilantes. And Grian sometimes <em>(sometimes)</em> had a soft spot for young ones.

“What’s the mission?” Grian relented.

Something dangerous twinkled in Frost’s eyes. “Well, Fauna and I here were going to the Underground,” they said, nodding at their mentor, who was still stoically looking at Grian. “Care to join us?” they asked, flashing Grian a smile with all their pointy shining teeth.

<em>Oh. That’s why they want me.</em> Chaos Sparrow had all the information about the Underground that anyone could ever need, second only to the villain Scarlet, who was the ruler of the Underground and brought it back to some semblance of respect.

“What’s in it for me?” Grian challenged. He couldn’t have word getting out that he just did anything for anyone without a cost.

“I said please,” Frost said, tilting their head and jutting their chin out slightly. The motion reminded Grian of Jimmy, his own little brother. It was one of Jimmy’s favorite motions to get what he wanted.

Grian sighed. “Fine.”

“What the fuck?” Fauna asked, her first words of the interaction so far, but Frost wasn’t listening, and Grian pointedly ignored her. He was agreeing to this for Frost, not for Fauna, and not for the fucking hero company.

Frost grabbed Grian’s forearm and started pulling him along to the nearest Underground entrance, which Grian knew to be at the nearby shitty taco place. Frost gestured behind them for Fauna to follow.

When Grian glanced back behind himself, he saw Fauna following them, her steps on the earth as silent as if she were walking on air.

The streetlights were on, the sun gone, and the moon and the stars watched as the three made their way to the lawless land below the surface.

[mariacallous]

Public discussions following Vladimir Putin's May visit to China largely focused on exports of obscure tubers and beef cartilage to Beijing. But despite the lack of a public breakthrough in the sphere of military assistance, China remains an essential partner for the Kremlin in its war in Ukraine. Military supplies from other allied authoritarian regimes — North Korea, Iran, and Belarus — sometimes even surpass those Ukraine receives from the West. As Russia’s own reserves of armored vehicles dwindle, support from the Kremlin’s axis of authoritarian allies is only expected to grow.

Belarus: A launchpad for attacks, training of mobilized troops, tanks, and fuel

For the first six years of Russia’s war in Ukraine — i.e. 2014-2020 — Alexander Lukashenko's regime in Minsk managed to maintain a relatively independent policy. There was even limited military-technical cooperation between Belarus and Ukraine, with Belarusian petroleum products refined from Russian oil going to Ukraine for use by its armed forces at a time when they were busily fending off attacks from Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region. However, everything changed in August 2020, when a wave of popular protests swept over Belarus, exposing Lukashenko’s political vulnerability at home. Vladimir Putin responded by allocating a reserve of Russian law enforcement officers to suppress the demonstrations, thereby maintaining the regime in power in Minsk while leaving it almost wholly dependent on Moscow for survival. In February 2022, it was time for Lukashenko to repay his debts by becoming an accomplice, if not an outright ally, in the Kremlin’s full-scale assault on Kyiv.

In the early days of the invasion, forces from Russia's Eastern Military District and Airborne Troops, which had relocated to Belarus under the pretext of conducting training exercises, thus securing a foothold on the right bank of the Dnieper River, launched an offensive on the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv’s main government buildings and other “decision-making centers” are located on the right bank (the western one), an area of Ukraine that became accessible to Russian invaders largely thanks to the fact that they were able to stage their attack from Belarusian territory. Furthermore, Belarus became a reliable rear base for the Russian army, which received fuel and lubricants directly from the Mozyr refinery, had its wounded soldiers treated in Belarusian hospitals, and launched missile attacks and airstrikes from Belarusian soil and airspace.

Notably, Ukraine refrained from striking Belarusian territory, likely to avoid provoking Lukashenko into direct participation in the war. As a result, Russian troops in Belarus felt even safer than in Russia's border regions, which were subjected to Ukrainian strikes from the first days of the full-scale invasion. Without this “immunity,” the losses suffered by the Russian side during its retreat from the Kyiv region in March-April 2022 might have been even greater. Even after the Russian withdrawal, Belarusian airspace was used by Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft, Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, and Su-34 and Su-35 fighters to launch airstrikes.

The next phase of cooperation between Moscow and Minsk began at the end of 2022. The Belaruski Hayun monitoring group reported the dispatch to Russia of trains carrying dozens of tanks (1, 2), trucks, and ammunition from Belarusian warehouses. According to the group’s estimates, in October 2022 alone, 98 T-72 tanks, 60 BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles (including 20 without turrets), and 53 Ural trucks were shipped. As of early November 2022, over 65,000 tons of ammunition had been transferred.

With the start of Russia’s mobilization in September 2022, some groups of recruits, primarily reinforcements for the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Taman Division, received training at Belarusian ranges due to overcrowding at Russian sites. Economic aid has also played a crucial role: in recent months, imports of gasoline from Belarus have helped the Kremlin stabilize consumer prices amid drone attacks on its own refineries. Additionally, it was recently disclosed that the Belarusian military-industrial complex produces sights for Russian APCs, and also for its T-72 and T-90 tanks.

Of course, this help comes at a cost. Despite the Russian army’s acute need for military equipment, weapons deliveries to Belarus continue, albeit with significant delays. Additionally, Russian tactical nuclear weapons were recently stationed in Belarus, likely easing Lukashenko's concerns about “threats from NATO.” Furthermore, Russian police and National Guard officers remain ready to assist the Minsk regime in the event of renewed protests.

It should be noted that Belarusian capabilities to provide military aid to Russia are far from exhausted. The country produces “Kaiman“ armored vehicles, MAZ military trucks, and MZKT chassis for heavy equipment. Additionally, the Belarusian military industry complex manufactures reconnaissance drones and multiple launch rocket systems, and it also upgrades tanks. These resources could prove indispensable for the Russian army, which is experiencing a significant shortage of certain equipment (specifics of which can be found in our front-line situation review).

Iran: Drones and artillery ammunition

Russian-Iranian military-technical cooperation dates back to the late Soviet era, when Moscow sent Tehran modest arms and equipment supplies during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988). After the Soviet Union’s collapse, military shipments to Iran increased until they were almost completely halted between 2008-2015 due to international sanctions imposed on Iran’s nuclear program. Notable deals include the transfer in 2007 of Tor surface-to-air missile systems, one of which accidentally shot down a Ukrainian International Airlines commercial flight over Tehran in 2020. Additionally, Iran and Russia cooperated militarily in Syria to support the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the country’s civil war.

Almost from the outset of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Kremlin needed military aid. Moscow was particularly interested in Iran's advanced drone industry. Under sanctions and unable to procure full-fledged combat aircraft, the Iranian regime developed an impressive range of drones, from reconnaissance platforms to loitering munitions. While the Russian military industry excelled in reconnaissance UAVs, Russia had almost no kamikaze drones at the beginning of the full-scale war. As pre-war missile stockpiles were gradually depleted, the focus shifted to long-range drones like Shahed-131 and Shahed-136.

Because of these drones, along with cruise and ballistic missiles, it became significantly more challenging for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to fend off attacks on both civilian and military infrastructure behind the front lines. Consequently, production of Shahed drones shifted to Russia itself at sites like the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, often utilizing forced student labor. According to agreements disclosed in 2022 through leaked documents from Alabuga, Iran committed to supplying 6,000 kits for assembling Shaheds over two and a half years.

Russian-made drones underwent significant modifications: Kometa-M antennas were installed to counter electronic warfare, the warhead the aircraft carry was upgraded for greater effectiveness, the body color was changed to black to enhance nocturnal concealment, and LTE modems were integrated to track the drones’ movements. Although Mohajer-6 reconnaissance drones were also supplied in limited quantities, they did not achieve the widespread popularity of the Shahed.

In addition to drones, Iran also provides Russia with artillery ammunition. Initially, Iranian-made artillery shots surfaced in the possession of Ukrainian forces, sourced from intercepted Western shipments intended for Iran-supported armed groups in the Middle East. By summer 2023, reports emerged regarding Russian-Iranian contracts for almost $2 million worth of ammunition and barrels for both tanks and artillery guns. Subsequently, Iranian shells were integrated into service with Russian forces.

It is worth noting that the first captured samples contained Chinese shells, leading to suspicions of direct military aid from China to Russia. However, the gunpowder charges supplied with these shells were of Iranian origin, and the shell production date suggests they reached Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. Subsequently, the range of ammunition expanded to include 203 mm shells of U.S. manufacture, inherited by the Islamic Republic from the pro-Western Shah's regime and suitable for Soviet 2S7 Pion guns. Recently, supplies of 130 mm shells for the M-46 gun were also reported.

In return, Iran has reached an agreement to purchase modern Su-35 fighters and helicopters from Russia and is currently in negotiations for S-400 anti-air missile systems. This equipment will undoubtedly bolster the capabilities of the Islamic Republic amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East, but the current circumstances have also raised doubts about how much hardware Tehran will be willing to part with. More advanced drones such as jet-powered Shahed-238s could be held back (even though a similar drone was once shot down over Ukraine back in January). And although Reuters reported in February that approximately 400 Iranian-made ballistic missiles had already been delivered to Russia, they have yet to be observed on the battlefield.

North Korea: Soviet shells and “Kimskanders”

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow has engaged in very limited military-technical cooperation with North Korea, partly due to the international sanctions imposed against the regime in Pyongyang. In contrast, in the 1990s South Korea received Russian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles as part of debt repayments. Nevertheless, relations between Moscow and Pyongyang have been relatively warm: North Korea was one of the few countries to recognize the 2014 annexation of Crimea and, in 2022, four more regions of Ukraine.

By 2023, Moscow found itself in need of more than just diplomatic aid. Russian production of artillery ammunition and ballistic missiles did not meet the demands of the front. Meanwhile, North Korea appeared to possess significant stocks of Soviet-caliber artillery shells, once presumed to be intended for wiping out Seoul in the event of renewed conflict on the Korean Peninsula. However, with the advancement of its nuclear program, Pyongyang had acquired more effective means of deterrence, reducing the need for artillery ammunition, if not entirely eliminating it. On the other hand, North Korea actively pursued the development of its missile program, with some ballistic missiles (known in the West as KN-23) demonstrating characteristics matching those of Russia’s Iskanders (at least on paper).

Massive ammunition supplies began following Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia in September 2023. According to OSINT investigators, munitions are transported by container ships from North Korean ports to Russia before being sent by rail to front-line areas. According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, a total of 67,000 containers of ammunition were delivered, a volume that could have contained up to 3 million 152 mm artillery shells, or as many as 500,000 122 mm artillery rockets for the Grad MLRS.

Soon, munitions with a distinctive bluish hue for artillery and MLRS started appearing in Russian frontline videos, and almost immediately, Russian pro-war bloggers began expressing their concerns about the quality and accuracy of the ammunition. Nonetheless, the shells proved sufficient for sustained artillery fire, and when combined with Russian and Iranian ammunition, they provided the Russian army with a significant artillery advantage over the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The status of North Korean missiles presents a murkier picture. In early 2024, there were reports of several KN-23 ballistic missile strikes on Kharkiv, one of which was scrutinized by Conflict Armament Research specialists. Since then, however, reports of the utilization of such missiles, dubbed “Kimskanders” by Russian pro-war bloggers, have dwindled. The reasons for this decline remain unclear: it could be because production and delivery capacities are lacking, or perhaps flaws were revealed during use. According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, approximately half of the missiles veered off course and detonated in mid-air.

Nonetheless, North Korea’s potential to assist Russia remains largely untapped. Kim Jong-un’s arsenal comprises various weapon types, including MLRS equipped with 240 mm guided rockets (though reliable reports of their potential supply have yet to materialize). Furthermore, North Korea possesses a substantial number of tanks, notably T-54/55 and T-62M models, which Russia employs on the front lines. With forecasts indicating the depletion of Soviet-era armored vehicle stocks in Russian warehouses by 2026, the provision of North Korean tanks and other armored vehicles could help sustain Russia’s capacity for offensive operations in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the extent of what the Kremlin can offer in return remains uncertain, especially considering that nearly all modern weapons produced by the Russian military-industrial complex are allocated to the Ukrainian front. Potential offerings could involve technology transfers and the establishment of licensed production facilities in North Korea, although such endeavors risk provoking strong reactions from South Korea and Japan, both of which have thus far refrained from directly aiding Ukraine militarily.

China: machine-tools and help with sanctions evasion

Despite the so-called “friendship without limits” between Beijing and Moscow, the People's Republic of China has not been observed providing direct material-technical support to the Russian Armed Forces in its conflict with Ukraine. However, China remains a critical supplier of military and dual-use products to the Russian defense industry, and there is evidence indicating increased shipments of precision machinery and equipment, with a significant portion of the Western-sanctioned goods that reach Russia getting there via China. The Insider recently conducted its own investigation into the specific methods used to facilitate such imports.

Thanks to Chinese assistance, Russia receives various UAV elements, including FPV drones and critical components for electronic warfare systems designed to counter these very drones. Ukrainian drone production enterprises also heavily rely on the Chinese component base. However, Russia holds a logistical advantage in this regard. Some drones are offered to Russian buyers as ready-made solutions, while others are purchased from AliExpress by Russian startups, which then pass them off as their own products.

Notably, among the ready-made drones, DJI products play an extremely significant role for both sides in the conflict. DJI UAVs serve as tactical reconnaissance tools and bombers for munition drops. DJI is associated with Russia's first direct military purchase of Chinese equipment: in 2023, the Russian Defense Ministry acquired Mavic quadcopters, which Russian servicemen could obtain for free (instructions on how to do so were even published in pro-war channels). Additionally, the Russian Ministry of Defense procured a large batch of Desertcross off-road vehicles (reportedly at an inflated price). These vehicles are increasingly being utilized at the front lines, serving as transportation for assault groups. While their use has garnered some negative feedback, in the face of a shortage of armored vehicles and means of transportation, they remain a necessary option.

It should be noted that the “assistance” from Chinese companies extends beyond equipment and components to include intelligence gathering. AFP reported that in November 2022, the late Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner PMC purchased two Chinese commercial satellites and utilized their imagery to plan operations in Ukraine, Africa, and even during their short-lived June 2023 mutiny in Russia itself.

However, despite Russia's efforts to secure direct Chinese military assistance starting from as early as the beginning of 2022, no such shipments have been confirmed. Based on comments from Chinese officials, Beijing appears intent on maintaining a cautiously pro-Russian stance on the international stage, while paying lip service to Ukraine's territorial integrity and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

If China's stance were to shift, the Russian army could potentially gain access to a wide range of weaponry, from outdated kit to cutting-edge models. Considering that a potential Chinese conflict with Taiwan (or any other Pacific region adversary) would not be likely to burn through large stocks of armored vehicles and artillery, the potential for the transfer of such systems to Russia remains a real possibility. Furthermore, any Chinese restrictions on component supplies to Ukraine could pose a serious threat to Kyiv, at least until alternative supply routes through third-party countries and shell companies could be established — mirroring the very strategies employed by Russia to keep its military-industrial complex working.