Gaius nervously hovers behind his human as she browses the market stalls. He can't help it, not when there's another World Eater before him. Is this a loyalist like him or a traitor?

Both of them are in armor, he knows his repainted armor... how he bears the old colour and sigil of the War Hounds is unexpected. This World Eater stares at him, eyes hidden behind lens. He's also with his own human it seems, given how he's sticking close to a teenage boy. Gaius takes a step closer to his own human and gently directs her away in the opposite direction.

As much as he misses the brotherhood and camaraderie he once had in his legion, he doesn't know if he can trust any of his brothers anymore. When he looks back, that other World Eater is still there, looking at him. Is there longing in that helmeted gaze? Or scorn and disgust?

Gaius wrestles down his own yearning, burying his desire for his brothers. He has to. His human is more than his brothers, more than his pitiful excuse of a Primarch, that tortured mess of a father. His human calls his name then, wanting his opinion for a new set of cushion covers.

He's always been obedient and now it's no different. She may not be his superior in anyway but this bond... is it not the Space Marine that should bend to their bonded human's whims and wishes? He hums softly as he looks at the two designs she's holding up, picking the one that has little rabbits on it. He likes rabbits and his human likes cute critters. This will do.

Tagged: @kit-williams • @egrets-not-regrets • @bleedingichorhearts

Barn Anon. Been occupied painting my uh, not so mini, mini. Either ways, decided to give Gaius the reverse husbandry treatment. Ngl this is caffeine fueled word dump so. I think it flows okay?

Gaius keeps his human wrapped up in his arms as he ushers her towards the Salamanders. He curses whatever gods there might be that thought to punish him by sending him and his human back to his world. She's not like him! She's weak, fragile, untouched, untainted by the cruelty and horrors of his world.

Keeping her safe and away from his fellow World Eaters was a challenge, let alone his own Primarch. If he weren't one of the more renown warriors, he knows she probably wouldn't have been left alone this long. Still for all the fondness he has for his brothers and his genefather, he knows she would never be able to sleep without fear for as long as she's around them. Oh he's not an idiot, those damn Nails would sooner or later turn them all into mad war beasts. He had thought of ways to flee, to ensure her safety away from his Legion. Then it seems that fate wanted to make it up to them, for whatever reason the World Eaters and the Salamanders would be meeting up briefly.

Gaius cares little for the details, only for the fact that Salamanders and their Primarch are known for their care towards civilians. He had laughed and joked about this weakness of theirs to his fellow brothers in the past. Yet now it is this so-called weakness that might ensure his human's survival. He can see how the Salamanders on duty grip their weapons tighter at the sight of him, it is only his human clinging onto him that keeps them from aiming at him. He doesn't blame them, he knows his own reputation.

He swallows his pride and pleads his case, asking, begging for them to let the two of them go with them. At least take his human! She's not safe with his own legion. He breathes a sigh of relief when one of the Salamanders tells them to follow him. Gaius knows that he can't go back after this, his Primarch and brothers would never forgive him, but if it ensures his human's safety... that's all he needs.

She was feverish... Gaius had done all he could do to warn about what was going to happen. The legions were all in chaos as he wasn't the only one to refute what was going to happen... and while father and the Emperor were listening... he still pulled away fearful of what was still going to happen.

She smiles up at him as he mutters some old lullaby as she clings to him for warmth yet she sweats profusely. Its not a hard secret to find out as he glances around at the quarters he was provided. He heard that for the most part it was World Eaters and Night Lords trying to get their bonded away from their primarchs, Perturabo was apparently indifferent for the most part.

He's heard that the Night Lord's primarch is reacting poorly to these humans. Actually... few primarchs are reacting well... Vulkan is helping... Sanguinius is also sheltering... Magnus is curious... Gaius watched the door open as a serf start to tend to his bonded as he tiredly talks to the Salamander that follows in finally getting his story told and listened to as it will be brought to the growing list of others. The Crusade is in an odd place right now... a strange pause as the sudden and wild warp fluctuations... dead brothers are back... new brothers appear... all with humans forcing the Emperor to call his sons and Astartes back to Terra.

Drum rolls, please...

We're happy to reveal the roster for the Pathetic Men Scuffle! Thanks again to everyone who submitted characters, and we hope everyone's looking forward to this as much as we are.

We will begin posting the polls around 10pm GMT (4pm US CST) tomorrow 3/10. Each poll will be open for one week.

With this announcement, we will now be accepting propaganda! Feel free to send some in or tag us in any posts you'd like and we'll share them on here. Propaganda posts will be tagged as #propaganda and each character will also have their own propaganda tag.

Click the Read More below to see all of the contestants and their first matchups in text form as well as where they're from!

Izzy Hands (Our Flag Means Death) vs Lord Farquaad (Shrek)

Edgar Allan Poe (Bungo Stray Dogs) vs Jack Spicer (Xiaolin Showdown)

Pastor Daniel (Scarlet Hollow) vs Ron Stampler (Dungeons and Daddies)

Earl Harlan (Welcome to Night Vale) vs General Ultimax/General Fuff (Bug Fables)

Hunter Noceda (The Owl House) vs Asgore Dreemur (Deltarune)

Saint (Rain World) vs William Afton/Purple Guy (Five Nights at Freddy's)

Vash the Stampede (Trigun) vs Zote the Mighty (Hollow Knight)

Shin Tsukimi (Your Turn to Die) vs Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein)

Peter B. Parker (Spider-Man (Marvel Comics)) vs Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb)

Anders (Dragon Age) vs Cyrus (Pokemon)

Mikoshiba Mikoto (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun) vs Ron Delite (Ace Attorney)

Inigo (Fire Emblem) vs William Graham (Hannibal)

The Narrator (The Stanley Parable) vs King Dice (Cuphead)

Five Pebbles (Rain World) vs Satan/The Dark Prince (Madou Monogatari/Puyo Puyo Tetris)

Sebastian Debeste (Ace Attorney) vs Johann (The Adventure Zone)

Luigi (Super Mario Brothers) vs Charlie Kelly (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

Stede Bonnet (Our Flag Means Death) vs Magolor (Kirby)

Dwight Fairfield (Dead By Daylight) vs Wes (Don't Starve) vs Linebeck (The Legend of Zelda)

Plankton (Spongebob) vs Spamton (Deltarune) vs Courage the Cowardly Dog (Courage the Cowardly Dog)

Father Paul (Midnight Mass) vs George Costanza (Seinfeld) vs Loki (Marvel Comics)

Harry du Bois (Disco Elysium) vs Darkrai (PokePark 2 (Pokemon)) vs Vlad Masters/Plasmius (Danny Phantom)

Reigen Arataka (Mob Psycho 100) vs Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (How To Train Your Dragon)

Jon Arbuckle (Garfield) vs Wheatley (Portal 2)

Paul Matthews (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals) vs Jonah Simms (Superstore)

Buggy the Clown (One Piece) vs Abner Krill (Suicide Squad)

Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) vs Tamaki Amajiki (My Hero Academia)

Rincewind the Wizard (Discworld) vs Rouxls Kaard (Deltarune)

Giovanni Potage (Epithet Erased) vs Clippy (Microsoft Office XP Advertisement (Microsoft))

Bruno Madrigal (Encanto) vs Kaname Date (AI: The Somnium Files)

The Devil (Cuphead) vs The Ice King (Adventure Time)

Alcryst (Fire Emblem) vs Starscream (Transformers)

Miles O'Brien (Star Trek) vs Spirit Albarn (Soul Eater)

Jonathan Harker (Dracula) vs Ethan Winters (Resident Evil)

Tsukasa Tenma (Project Sekai/Colorful Stage) vs Kendall Roy (Succession)

Mike Wheeler (Stranger Things) vs Dr. Eggman (Sonic)

Larry Needlemeyer (The Amazing World of Gumball) vs Saul Goodman (Better Call Saul)

Alador Blight (The Owl House) vs Andy Bernard (The Office (US))

Jonathan Sims (The Magnus Archives) vs The Cabbage Seller (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Jedidiah A. A. Martin (Camp Here and There) vs David Ward (I Am In Eskew) vs Randy V. Jade (Dial Town)

John Gaius (The Locked Tomb) vs Gilear Faeth (Fantasy High (Dimension 20)) vs Filbo Fiddlepie (Bugsnax)

Dick Gumshoe (Ace Attorney) vs Zenkichi Hasegawa (Persona 5) vs Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh)

Larry (Pokemon) vs Steven Universe (Steven Universe) vs Fujimoto (Ponyo)

NTN opinions

so I haven't read NTN very recently (or the other locked tomb books) but its the most recent installment about Nona I think about a lot.

Muir said that she was splitting Alecto the Ninth into two parts, NTN and then ATN. She explained that Nona already had a complete story arc and could be its own separate book. Obviously there's nothing wrong with that.

But to be quite honest, I feel like most of NTN could have been cut. The most important parts of Nona are these:

More detail about the Blood of Eden

Nona's relationship with Varun the Eater

Her dreams of John Gaius

Now don't get me wrong, I loved seeing Nona going to school as a teachers aide and making friends! The problem is, the relationships she develops with the kids like Hot Sauce aren't...very important. I think it would have been better if Nona developed relationships with characters that she already knew, like Crown (Coronabeth) for example.

If Nona being friends with a group of kiddos is important, then maybe she should do it specifically with kids from the Blood of Eden. Out of all of Nona's friends, her relationship with Noodle the dog is the most important, and maybe Hot Sauce. She could be another niece of Wake, the same as Pash. It would explain why Hot Sauce is so suspicious of necromancers and why she shot up Nona in that one scene.

Also, If Nona is the secret weapon, why isn't she more involved with B.O.E? It's implied that the Blood of Eden is on the struggle bus. Wouldn't the inception have more depth if Nona was among their ranks right before their eyes, it'd be a major example of why they've failed for so long to stop Mr. Jod.

Cam and Palamedes could have gathered a few trust worthy relationships used to protect Nona too. Heck, the Blood of Eden could have a "school" of their own where they teach the kids of their soldiers propaganda, look at how Pash was raised!

I genuinely believe that all of the stuff that happened could have been condensed to a feasible first part. As an author, cutting things we're proud of writing is like shooting yourself in the head then doing it again. But I think if I was in Muir's shoes, I would've done it. I love Hot Sauce, Kevin and the other kiddos so much but they're just...not important enough for the over all plot :(

Lastly, and this is where I'm getting super nit picky, but I wish there was more world building. I 100% appreciate Muir's trust in the readers intelligence and for us to put the pieces together. I understood that Steles were used to travel far distances and "flip" planets to be colonized for necromancers. I VASTLY prefer this instead of five hundred pages of exposition (Fourth Wing) slammed into the beginning of the book.

That being said, a little bit of exposition is fine. Gideon The Ninth does this perfectly with explaining thanergy and other necromancer related info. We learn more in HTN as well. I think Muir was thinking that "Nona wouldn't know these things, so it can't be expressed in the book" which I totally get, but Nona has a canon excuse for just Having knowledge! Her uncanny reading of body language and understanding of different languages? Her ability to draw animals from Earth that were lost to public knowledge? Nona just casually absorbing information and thinking about it in her internal monologue is completely reasonable. I say this to point out that Muir was too vague with the world building in NTN. Yes, I could fill in the gaps but I would have loved more information about the colony planets outside of the House system! She's doing too much showing, which I think is precisely why NTN got much too long.

Anyway, PLEASE take all of this with a grain of salt. I love Nona the Ninth and I think the way it was written is digestible and good! It's just not how I would have done it. Please Tamsyn I'm begging you for lore I am BEGGING YOU FOR LORE.

John Gaius receiving ultimate power over all life from the literal Earth as it's dying & ending up killing the whole world to mold the new one in his image and wage a forever war is, to me at least, the logical escalation of what Big Boss ended up doing after the events of Snake Eater

Emet-Selch: LOOK AT ME! I HAVE LIVED A THOUSAND, THOUSAND OF YOUR LIFE TIMES! I have broken bread with you, fought with you, grown ill, grown old, fucked a ten foot tall blonde empress who DEFINITELY topped me and yes, welcomed death’s sweet embrace.

Thancred: Wait, what was that fifth one?

Emet-Selch: For eons!

Thancred: Alright, just gonna ignore me then.

Emet-Selch: Have I measured your worth and found you wanting! Too weak and feeble-minded to serve as stewards of any star! Have your recent spats with Vauthry and his sin eaters taught you nothing? Have you not learned that your ignorance and frailty beget only endless misery? How long do you mean to perpetuate this farce? How much more must I endure your bumbling interference? Let us imagine that the laws of reality are again undone, that Azem burnt down Amaurot and the world faces true annihilation. Do you honestly believe that half your number would sacrifice themselves to save the other?

Y'shtola: I mean...for a mount? May--

Emet-Selch: Of course they wouldn't! And if you had witnessed history unfold as I have, you would reach the same conclusion! You cannot be entrusted with our legacy.

I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us and us alone.

Warrior of Light: ...yeah, okay. But, how about a game of Triple Triad?

Emet-Selch: ...TRIPLE TRIAD!?

Warrior of Light: Triple Triad.

Emet-Selch: HAVE YOU HEARD NOTHING I HAVE SAID! YOU WANT TO PLAY TRIPLE TRIAD!?!

Warrior of Light: Triple Triad!

Hythlodaeus: Tri-ple Tri-ad!

Emet-Selch: Quiet, you! Don't encourage them!

Warrior of Light: ...

Emet-Selch: ...Fine...yes, sure, we'll play a round. BUT NO GAIUS META!

Alas, here at @mostfuckableffvillain, we must say goodbye to Queen Gunnhildr, Mitron, Nero tol Scaeva, Varis zos Galvus, Ilberd Feare, Nael van Darnus, Fandaniel/Hermes, Lahabrea, Omega, Ser Zephirin de Valhourdin, and Lakshmi. There were some really close calls here. Nael and Hermes fought until the bitter end, but, alas, their efforts were just not enough to beat their opponents.

Congratulations to Emet-Selch, Fordola rem Lupis, Elidibus, Ysayle Dangoulain, Estinien Varlineau, Nidhogg, Midgardsormr, Zenos yae Galvus, Gaius van Baelsar, Lyon Helsos, and Yotsuyu goe Brutus! We look forward to seeing them in the Round 2!

Some of the reasons why this lot was nominated in the first place, after the break:

Omega: Cool robot shapeshifter. The only form that's not fuckable is Alpha Omega. and that's not because of the design but because Alphz is in there.

Hermes: He's sad and pathetic Okay, this is spoilers for you, but this guy just wants to watch the world burn. He's disillusioned with everything and just wants to die in a fucking orgy of pain and suffering. Also… he kinda sorta was the guy who kicked off the Final Days the first time by sending a baby bird into space for the meaning of life, but everything was dead or dying nearby, so the bird decided to kill everything and he supports her.

Varis: He's a beautiful milf MILF

Nero: He is snarky highly intelligent very tall and always getting into trouble

Lahabrea: he's just a fucked up old man who happens to be very attractive. I hope his wife is well (she's not). I also hope he's well (he's not)

Ilberd: Meme response- I bet he'd give great 'SLOPPEH's :)

Gunnhildr: Big lady sitting an attomaton throne, just chilling. The bgm that plays during her fight is enchanting as well

Mitron: Look, this guy manipulated a woman into becoming a villain and became a Sin Eater for 100 years when the heroes fought him instead. And then he kidnaps a girl to try and free himself cuz her past life was his girlfriend.

Nael: tbh idk much about this one as i never played og ffxiv but they had something weird going on with gender that i can appreciate

Ultimate Showdown of Eorzean Destiny

with apologies to Lemon Demon -_- ENDWALKER SPOILERS

...

...

...

Titan, the primal, was hopping around Eorzea's cities like a big playground When suddenly the Warrior burst from the shade And hit that primal with a big Cascade

Titan got pissed and began to dig in But didn't expect to be blocked by Pipin Who proceeded to stab him with a Plunge that struck true When Ysayle and Midgardsormr fell out of the blue

And they started beating up poor Emmanellain And nobody stopped them cos he was such a pain But before Artoirel could intervene Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn arrived on the scene

She pulled out her pistols, and she raised them like that Sent his brothers off to Haurchie with a rat-a-tat-tat But she ran out of bullets and she couldn't reload; She got squashed by a massive gigantoad

This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny Good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see And only one will survive, I wonder who it will be This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny

Emet-Selch got bored and he stifled a yawn Urianger started casting Death of the Seventh Dawn And it hit Emet-Selch for a full KO Sent him smashing into Lahabrea watching the show

Thancred was injured, and trying to get steady When Curious Gorge showed up, war axe at the ready But suddenly something caught his leg and he tripped-- That goobbue from 1.0 with its arm whip

Then he saw Kan-E-Senna sneaking up from behind And he reached for his gunblade which he just couldn't find 'Cause Nanamo stole it and she swung and she missed; Sadu Dotharl had blocked it with her fist

G'raha Tia jumped up and he did a somersault While Estinien Varlineau tried to pole vault Onto Hildibrand, but they collided in the air Then they both got suplexed by Godbert up there

This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny Good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see And only one will survive, I wonder who it will be This is the ultimate showdown

Sin eaters sang for their Immaculate leader But down from the heavens descended Moenbryda Who delivered a kick, (with a punch to the skull) Into the crotch of Fandaniel

Who fell over on the ground, insta dead As Lahabrea tried to shapeshift into Lahabread But Y'shtola grinned, seeing through this clever ghost And she triplecast Fire, made him into Lahatoast

Then Raubahn the Bull and X'ruhn the Red And Louisoix even though he's super dead Venat, Erich, Themis, Hermes, Hyth and Nashu Thirsty girl Aenor and the Blue Bird too

Papalymo, Jandelaine, Lyse, the Warrior of Light Alisaie, and Alphinaud, and every single Temple Knight Gaius and Rammbroes and Nero tol Scaeva Noraxia, Tonaxia, Lucia, Slowfix, and Leveva

All came out of nowhere Levin fast And they kicked Prince Zenos in his Juicy a-- 'Twas the bloodiest battle that the world ever saw With civilians looking on in total awe

The fight raged on for a century Many lives were claimed, but eventually The champion stood, the rest saw he was more: Masayoshi Soken with a death metal score \m/

This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny Good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see And only one will survive, I wonder who it will be This is the ultimate showdown Of ultimate destiny

The Scions of the Seventh Dawn Aren't Cops

I saw a post that expressed uh, let's say confusion, about the Final Fantasy XIV community and the in-game NPCs, and how they handle the current storyline villain, Golbez. I think the idea was that if the villain has good vibes (looking at you, Emet-Selch), they get a break, no matter how many millions of people they murdered.

I don't think it's about vibes, although there's plenty of people who get hot for some of the villains.

I think it's that the main characters - the Scions, and the WoL - aren't cops, and this comes as a surprise to a primarily American audience that's used to cop protagonists.

What do I mean by that? Let's run through the villains from ARR to the present.

The Ascians. Effectively dealt with, with most of their top level leadership killed off for real by the Warrior of Light. These were the guys creating calamities to try and combine worlds with the Source, bring back the Unsundered World, and in the process execute global genocide. But their circumstances engendered a lot of sympathy, both from players & characters.

The Garleans (including Doman collaborators). Several - Nero and Gaius from ARR, Jullus from Endwalker, etc. - are now effectively allies of the WoL and friends. Others got killed during the Grand Companies' military actions e.g. Operation Archon, or under unique circumstances, e.g. Zenos.

The Syndicate - although members of the Ul'dah Syndicate have tried to kill the Scions, and/or have hurt their allies (Nanamo, Raubahn...), they've basically been left alone by the Scions.

Thordan and the Heavens' Ward - attempted to ascend to godhood, killed friends (I miss Haurchefant), and got killed. But there's plenty of sympathizers and hardliners still active in Ishgard.

Nidhogg's Brood - Nidhogg got killed, hostile dragons get killed when encountered, but otherwise the Dragonsong War wound down through acts of peace.

Vauthry and Sin Eaters - Big V got killed when he tried to Angel Up, and the Ascians behind it all got theirs.

Golbez and the Voidsent - if you know you know.

So what do these people have in common?

If you aren't actively trying to blow up the world at the moment, the Scions will not come for you. If you are, they will try to stop you doing what you're doing, even if that means killing you.

But. The Scions are not here to chase you down for your crimes. They do not maintain a prison. They do not tend to hold grudges, but they're wary around dangerous, risky people. They're not focused on policing people. They're focused on responding to active threats to life. If a threat ends, they leave it to other people to deal with whoever was enacting that threat. That might be a city-state and its leadership, a military alliance, or whatever. But if you stop doing the thing the Scions are here to stop, they'll move on. If you reverse course and try to do the right thing, they may even team up with you.

P, T, Y for Gaius!

Ask Game

P: What advice would they give to their younger self?

This kind of thing is so tricky, lmao, because on one hand, as a 60 year old, he definitely feels like he wasted a lot of his youth. But at the same time, if he wasn't who he was, he wouldn't be who he is, and where would he and the world be?

T: What are their favourite foods?

I've said before that he's not exactly a picky eater, but he definitely has a preference for seafood and spicy flavors. He doesn't like things like Tyrian Buffalo Sauce, because the flavor of it is gross--if you want to start a stupid argument about food with him, that's a good way to do it, honestly.

Y. What physical object do they value most?

As my SO put it, "dented and well-cooked, but still self important--just like the compass."

Witches and Wizards - 8

(Warnings: FLUFF, a little bit of some dark topics (what happened to Ophelia’s parents), a tiny bit of angst and the twins pranking Ophelia even thousand years away)

Note: I once read parts of a fic where the reader has magic and goes back in time, meeting Merlin. I sadly can’t find it anymore. Also Fred didn’t die in this.

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Ophelia was silent as she stood next to Merlin, tears in her eyes as she watched Arthur kneel, the crown placed on his head and without truly realising it, her hand ghosted over Merlin’s, her pinky finger hesitantly and carefully interlocking with his and she dared to look up at him, chest heaving with nervous and shaky breaths, her eyes locking with his and he gave her a soft smile, a nervous smile of her own breaking out across her face but her smile faded a little as she stared at him, sadness filling her eyes and she gave him one last soft smile before retracting her hand and looking back at Arthur.

“LONG LIVE THE KING!”

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It was evening when Ophelia gently knocked on Arthur’s door, coming inside at his welcome, quietly closing the door behind her. She took slow, careful steps towards the new king as he looked out the window into the darkness, a small sigh leaving her lips. “You’ll be a good king, Arthur… I know this probably isn’t the way you wanted to succeed him but… it happened. And… I know I’m not the only one with any knowledge, and I’m not saying my word is better than theirs, I just want to help… it doesn’t seem like any of the other lords even would listen to me, but I hope you will. I know I’m new here, I’ve only been here a year and a half, but if you ever need an outsider’s perspective, I’m here. I’m not claiming to have some wonderful gift of intelligence or have some special ability to plan sieges or gather armies… but I do have experience in life, even though I’m very young… I’ve been through war, I’ve broken into a bank and one of it’s vaults, then broken out of said bank after retrieving something very important to turn the war against our enemy, I’ve known loss and I’ve known what it felt like to have your entire world ripped away, right from under your feet and I’m good at figuring most people out…” Ophelia spoke softly, Arthur only turning his head in her direction, not even looking at her, making her sigh and take another step forward. “My mother died in my arms,” she began, this made Arthur turn to look at her, small tears in his eyes and Ophelia nodded softly “I was returning home for the summer, she wasn’t there to pick me up as usual but I thought it was fine, she probably had to work late, she was a nurse, you see… a healer, like Gaius. So I thought maybe she just lost track of time, taking care of people. I was thirteen, I knew how to get home by myself, so I did, I had wonderful news, too… My uncle was an innocent man and he was my last tie to my father… so of course I was excited to tell her. I went home. Before I even walked inside it-... it felt-... different. And it was… Inside was a group of people, I knew who they were, I wasn’t naive… the war I was in lasted nearly a lifetime. You see, my father was from a very rich, prominent family with strong views, views these horrible people shared. But my father met my mother, the type of woman his family looked down upon and he just-... fell in love… he loved her and when he found out she was pregnant with his child? He knew he had to do something, something to make his legacy a little less dark for his child. So he rebelled… a one-man army, I guess… his family had sided with the horrible people in this war, the evil ones, I suppose you could call them. We call them Death Eaters. His family supported them, sided with them… he got his hands on one of the things that made their leader so powerful… he went looking for a way to destroy it, at the very least hide it away in the depths of some cave… and he died. He died alone, somewhere, probably some place dark and empty and cold… only a year after I was born… you see, these people had returned a second time around after they initially lost the first war, they had somehow found out that my father had a daughter and a woman he had proposed to but never had the chance to marry.

“They had come for me, for my mother… but mostly for me… they held her hostage, they wanted my loyalty because of how close I was to someone they wanted dead, as payment for the loyalty my father broke… I was stupid, couldn’t see that I could be on both sides and pretend to be with them because I wanted my mother safe… so I refused… they had something that could have killed her instantly, no pain, no fear, no nothing, just like blinking… but instead they tortured her, made me watch… they left her to die in my arms as her heart gave out after the torture…” Ophelia finished, having sat down on Arthur’s bed as she spoke, staring at him with soft eyes, Arthur’s eyes full of tears as he stared at her with sadness and horror. “My mother… she loved bats… I know they usually carry a dark reputation but she loved them…” Ophelia trailed off, leaning down and rolling the bottom of one of the legs of her jeans up, pulling her sock down to reveal her left ankle, a flying bat with light streams flowing after it’s wings, like thin straps of silk were hanging around the wings, even as the bat glided through the air, a smile on Ophelia’s lips as she watched it before pulling her clothes back in place, looking back up at Arthur “it’s called a tattoo… the second I was old enough, I got it, to remind me of her… where I’m from, bats represent rebirth and depth… finding strength in your fears… My mother always told me that it was alright to be afraid, as long as I knew it couldn’t last and that I had to face them at some point… Your father, Arthur, whatever else he was, was always your father first and foremost. He wasn’t a king, he wasn’t a soldier or a commander, he was your father… you’re entering a dark time, Arthur, a very dark time and you need people in your life to help you see through that darkness because the more people you have with you, the less likely you are to bump into things you can’t handle… you’ll all be like a wave, crashing over rocks and climbing over them, uncaring of where they stood because, you? You have somewhere to be. All that’s left now is to figure out where that ‘somewhere’ is” Ophelia ended, standing up with a sigh “and you’re not alone, Arthur. Advisor or not, I’m here. And I’m not talking about matters concerning Camelot or your new title as king, I’m talking about how you’re feeling… I know it can be-... hard… talking about what you feel in your chest because right now, everything hurts, everything hurts and it’s like a burning pain, but believe it or not, talking can lessen that pain and it won’t make you any less of a man or king… just try it, no harm can ever come from just trying something” Ophelia ended before sighing, about to walk out of the room when a hand gripped her wrist gently, Arthur trying to blink away his tears.

“You’ll have a seat at my table and council… always, and I’ll have someone be assigned to you, as Merlin is to me” he muttered, Ophelia smiling softly at him “it’s not necessary, but thank you. I promise I’ll be honest then, even if you won’t like it. This isn’t something I want you to give me, or to accept, I want to help you, as much as I can, you were already a great king before your father died, he would be more than proud” she stated briefly before leaving the room, walking towards her own.

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Ophelia had barely peeked her head outside after hearing the bells when a guard approached, hurrying towards her “King Arthur has requested your presence in the vaults-”

“Vaults?” Ophelia asked with confusion, the guard simply nodding and she hesitated before sighing and nodding, following him down the many, many steps and towards the sounds of voices. “King Arthur-”

“Ophelia!” Arthur practically dragged her inside the dirty, old ‘vault’, cobwebs hanging from the ceiling like drapes. “Arthur, why am I here-”

“You said you broke into a vault once-”

“Technically, yes-”

“Look around, what do you see here?” he asked quickly, Ophelia blinking as her brain tried to catch up with his words, looking around with a frown before shrugging, walking over to the gate where Lord Agravaine stood. “It’s not broken, so it was either picked, which is highly unlikely, or someone had a key-”

“Sire, exactly what I said. Why did you call for her-”

“Because she has experience and she’s wiser than you think” Arthur argued, looking back at Ophelia who gave him a subtle nod of thanks. “Well, uh… the guards?”

“Alive and unharmed. They were knocked out.”

“Alright, so it wasn’t someone who was looking to kill, but they still proved that they couldn’t easily be deterred. Was there much of a struggle?”

“No.”

“Alright… then either cunning, using a diversion, or they were the diversion, they were charming, quick… What was taken?”

“Nothing, except some… relic or something…”

“Expensive?”

“No. It was the third of something called a triskelion” Gaius stated softly, Ophelia giving a brief nod. “Then it was a specific target. Bellatrix’s vault had plenty of wealth but we broke in for one thing only” she murmured the last bit, walking over to the open small casket, examining the inside of it, especially the expensive blue cushion. “This wasn’t an opportunist-”

“We know that by now-”

“It was a heist” Ophelia stated the last bit with a shrug, turning to look at Lord Agravaine who stared at her with slight hatred, Ophelia turning her gaze to Gaius next. “This ‘triskelion’, what is it?”

“A type of key. A key that, according to legend, opens the ancient tomb of Ashkanar” Gaius revealed, Ophelia frowning, looking at Arthur who turned to look at Gaius “I remember my father talk of such a tomb. It contained a dragon’s egg” the second the sentence left his lips, Ophelia turned to look at Gaius with worry “it has been said…”

“You don’t believe it to be true?”

“Well, it is possible, sire, the wealth and wisdom of Ashkanar are without equal…”

“So this heist has a deeper purpose, this thief was learned… is the egg still there?” Ophelia asked with worry, trying to mask it as confusion but it was obvious to Gaius and Merlin, and hopefully just them, that this went deeper to her. “I can’t be certain. But to my knowledge, no one has disturbed the tomb for more than 400 years.”

“But with this triskelion, someone could?” Arthur asked, Ophelia frowning with even more concern now, her gaze turning to Lord Agravaine as he spoke up, “sire, a dragon’s egg can live for a thousand years. Even today, it could still hatch… another dragon can be born into this world.”

“So all my father’s work to rid the world of these monsters would be undone?” Ophelia tensed at his choice of words, her jaw clenching and she forced a smile “I think this goes way above my head, I’m afraid. I’ll be in my room” she announced stiffly, trying to contain her anger as she hurried out of the vaults, storming towards her room and the second she closed the door, she locked it.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Ophelia ignored the knock on her door at first, trying to make sure her ingredients stood where they used to, trying to clean up the prank the twins had pulled on her, a heavy sigh of frustration leaving her lips as there was yet another knock on the doors, and then someone tried to enter, finding the door locked and Ophelia reluctantly walked over and opened it, seeing Merlin standing outside with a frown. Ophelia lightly rolled her eyes and walked back to her potions kit, jars, pots, boxes, vials and sacks were splayed out on the table where her cauldron had been, Merlin eyeing the various things with both interest and concern. “What-”

“I’m re-organising my ingredients because those bastard twins thought it’d be funny to prank me, they put some sort of hex on it, it keeps placing things where they shouldn’t be when I’m not looking!” she muttered bitterly, picking up a jar of some silvery liquid that looked like melted iron and blood mixed together as one, his eyes locked onto the beautiful, shiny liquid, his eyes continuously locked on it as she placed it neatly on a shelf in the potions kit, the cabinet doors wide open and he could see other vials and jars placed neatly inside, all with small labels, pointing forward. “What was that?”

“Unicorn’s blood… I’m not fond of how you get the blood, or at all in fact, but I buy it from a woman I know. She cares for injured unicorns and if they don’t make it… then she takes as many ingredients from them as she can, she doesn’t let them go to waste. Of course she sells other ingredients too but she’s the only one I know who I’m sure hasn’t actually harmed them to get the blood” Ophelia explained briefly, halting in her movements before turning to look at Merlin, he couldn’t quite figure out if she was angry or scared or confused. “Let me guess; Arthur’s going after the egg because it’s a ‘monster’?? Ignorant bastard… everything that isn’t like them is just dangerous and ugly to them. It doesn’t matter what it actually is! I’m sure they’d kill a goose if it just had one unusual feather and it makes me sick to my stomach!” Ophelia snapped in frustration, turning back around with a sigh, continuing to sort the ingredients. “And I’m guessing you’re going with him..”

“Ophelia-”

“You’re always putting yourself at risk, Merlin! You’re always putting yourself in danger and you might be powerful but you’re always risking your life! You’re like an adrenaline junkie! Eager to get your next fix of near-death experiences! And now you’re going after a highly skilled thief, to what? Save a dragon’s egg? Arthur will kill you, if he’s merciful! You’re always throwing yourself into danger and I can’t-.... You know what? Just-... try to save the egg, please…” she mumbled, clearly trying to dismiss him so she could focus on organising her ingredients, Merlin hesitating before taking a step closer “Gaius tells me it’s your birthday soon… you’ll be turning twenty...” he noted softly, Ophelia just nodding with a small humm, another silence filling the room and she sighed “yeah, the day after tomorrow is my birthday but-... just go, Merlin, get the egg… I’ll be here trying to fix my bloody kit… and I want you to be careful” she admitted quietly, turning her head in his direction without actually looking at him, Merlin nodding as he got the hint that she wanted to be alone, slowly drawing back, walking out of her room, closing the doors behind him. The second she heard the doors close she stopped organising, hands on the edge of the table as she hung her head, letting out a heavy sigh as she gently shook her head.

----------------------------------------------------------------

It was nearly dark outside when there was another knock on the door and she had barely returned from the lower town, having helped a couple of wounded and sick people. Ophelia lifted her head from her hand, pushing her plate of uneaten food to the side and standing up, opening to the door to find a grinning Merlin, though his grin faded when he didn’t get a smile in return. “So, you survived” she noted almost with annoyance, gently shaking her head at him before stepping aside, silently offering him inside but he gently shook his head “I uh, I have a present for you… for your birthday. It’s today, isn’t it?”

“Well, it’s nearly evening, but yes…” Ophelia admitted with narrowed eyes, Merlin nodding at her, his grin returning and he nodded down the hall with his head, Ophelia frowning at him, turning around to get her robe, the one with the Ravenclaw crest, and following after him, out of the palace walls of Camelot and out into the forest, the sky darkening yet there was still a hint of light, lighting the way ahead as she walked over branches and sticks and leaves, following after Merlin who still wouldn’t tell her where they were going, or what was in his bulging bag. “Merlin-”

“It’s just around here” he stated, extending a hand to help her over a log and she took it, sighing as she continued to follow after him and out into a field. Ophelia gasped as she saw the egg as he pulled it out of his bag, both of her hands covering her mouth, her eyes wide as she stared at it, her eyes locked onto the egg as it was placed on a tree-stump. She barely heard the sound of wings on the wind, her eyes moving to the dragon first when he landed with a thud, her eyes still wide. “A pleasure to see you again, young Lady Black” he bowed his head, Ophelia unable to speak and the dragon moved it’s eyes to the egg, obvious joy shining through them at the sight. “Is it still alive?” Ophelia asked after finally finding her voice, the dragon nodding briefly at her “it can live for more than a thousand years, Lady Black” it announced, Ophelia letting out a breath of relief, turning her eyes back to the egg as Merlin grinned up at the dragon “so, you are no longer the last of your kind” he stated with joy, looking back down at Ophelia who had kneeled down beside the egg, studying it with great fascination. “When will it hatch?” Ophelia asked softly, standing back up and looking up at the dragon. “Young dragons were called into the world by the Dragonlords. Only they had the power to summon them from the egg… Fortunately, there is one Dragonlord left on this earth,” the dragon looked at Merlin, Ophelia turning her head to look at Merlin as well, “as the last Dragonlord, this solemn duty falls to you, Merlin” the dragon ended, Merlin looking at Ophelia who gave him an encouraging smile.

“How do I summon it?” Merlin asked hesitantly, his eyes drifting to Ophelia for some reason, as though she was the precious egg in front of him, the one thing that nothing could ever compare to, the most beautiful thing, the most expensive, wonderful thing in the world, unmatched by anything and anyone. “You must give the dragon a name” the dragon instructed, smirking, noticing the way Merlin admired Ophelia instead of the egg, the young woman smiling down at the egg itself, admiring it without daring to touch it. “Ophelia…” she looked up at Merlin who had called her name, giving him a soft smile and as though it was the reason why he had said her name, she moved away from the egg, as though she was assuming that he was about to scold her for standing so close to the egg. “Sorry I just-… it’s beautiful” she murmured shyly with a smile, Merlin just still admiring her, a soft smile on his lips as he studied her. “Give it a name” he instructed softly, Ophelia frowning at him with confusion “me?? I’m not a Dragonlord, Merlin” she stated with amusement “it has to be something that means something to you” she added, gesturing to the egg with a soft smile, Merlin still gazing at her “I know… give it a name” he repeated, Ophelia looking at him with shock, the two of them just staring at each other, her eyes growing softer and she turned to look at the egg, a euphoric smile on her lips as she studied it.

“Aithusa…” she decided, turning to look at Merlin, almost as though asking his opinion on the name, Merlin smiling at her before turning to look at the egg, the name she gave him was whispered, deeply, like the earth itself summoned the name and suddenly, the egg cracked. Ophelia was completely star-struck as she watched the white head poke out of the egg, her mouth half open and without being able to stop herself, she slowly walked closer to the young creature, her lips stretching into a bright smile as she kneeled down. “A white dragon… is indeed a rare thing, and fitting, for in the dragon tongue, you both named him after the light of the sun… and in the light of yours, Merlin” the large dragon stated, smirking at Merlin who blushed, his eyes moving to Ophelia, her hair almost white in the light of the moon as it shined down on her and the newly hatched dragon, Ophelia already completely smitten with it. “No dragon birth is without meaning,” Ophelia gently helped it out of it’s egg as it appeared to hit a rather tough part of it, her lips stretching into another grin as the dragon gently nipped at her finger before accepting her help, “sometimes the meaning is hard to see, but this time, I believe, it is clear. A white dragon bodes well for Albion, and for the Dragonlord who summoned it…” the dragon once again teased Merlin “for you and Arthur. And for the land you will build together, and the lives you will each build along the way” the dragon ended, Merlin looking back at Ophelia who had now helped the dragon entirely out of it’s egg, smiling with tears in her eyes before turning to look at Merlin “he’s beautiful…” she murmured, looking back at the baby dragon as it stood on it’s hind legs, Merlin smiling at her “happy birthday, Ophelia” he mumbled quietly, still gazing at her with his whole heart on his sleeve.

Gaius purrs as his human admires his newly repainted armour as he sets each piece down. No longer feeling ashamed when she reaches to touch his arm, her fingers feel so soft upon his scarred flesh. He pulls her into his arms, nuzzling against the top of her head.

He knows a new coat of paint wouldn't erase the fate of his legion, wouldn't change a single thing. Though it still somehow makes him feel lighter. No longer does he feel plagued by the weight of his doomed legion.

His human seems to notice his brighter mood, hugging him the best she can. He croons roughly, somewhat ashamed that he can't produce the melodious siren calls of the Blood Angels and Emperor's Children that he had met before. It doesn't bother him for long when his human fawn over him, sweet words that he half-recognizes as praise.

Unable to stop the pleased rumbling as his human pulls him down for them to be eye level. A kiss to his scarred cheek makes him relax, his eyes meets hers. His joy sparks hers, seemingly bouncing off each other. Is this a part of their bond that he has only just discovered?

Tagged: @kit-williams • @egrets-not-regrets • @bleedingichorhearts

Barn Anon. Here's one, I'll try another maybe. My feet is being used as a chew toy atm so I'm not that focused.

Gaius purrs deep and rough as his precious human shyly settles down on his lap. Her dainty fingers feel so fragile as she touches one long scar that stretches from his right shoulder to his left hip. He watches how her cheeks redden as her fingers drifts down across his abdomen. He plucks her hand from his body to press a kiss to those fingers.

Her heart is racing, it's the most delightful beating he has ever heard. Blue eyes darken with desire as when she moves only to rub against him even more. Oh he knows it isn't intended but he can't deny that it makes him want her more. He nuzzles his human, moving to trail his lips along her neck as he gently pushes her down onto the bed. Oh isn't she pretty? He has the prettiest human in the world, even those nobles he had seen back on his world pale in comparison to her.

And he has her all to himself. He drinks in her beauty as she lays bare beneath him. Last month his human had gone to a visit a friend who had recently birthed a child. She had came back gushing to him about how her friend's infant was so cute. He had seen the wishful look in her eyes. Well that is something he could give to her isn't it?

She tries to pull him closer, something he's more than happy to do. Kissing his human passionately, he purrs roughly. He'll give his human a baby of her own... one from him, a little girl with his eyes and her soft flowing hair. Maybe a boy as well... two, three boys? He'll give her as many as she allows him to.

She's so shy, it's her first time? That's alright, it's his first time as well. let him take the lead in this, he'll be gentle he promise. She's his, he can make her feel good, give her everything he can... everything.

@egrets-not-regrets @liar-anubiass-blog @barn-anon @bleedingichorhearts

tw: smut, the romantic L word is used

"Gaius! Gaius!" She chanted as he rolled his hips slowly against hers. Slowly dragging his cock in and out of her warm and moist sex. Her eyes closed and Gaius let his eyes roam over her body... her breasts had his love "bites", more so hickies, and her nipples were swollen from when he was too encouraged to make her feel good... too lost in the thought of something dancing across his tongue when she had a little one on her hip.

Her hand does its best to remained laced with his much larger one as the muscles of his other arm flex as he holds up his entire body weight to keep himself from crushing her. The soft meager request to be under him... he should have had her on top but... his mouth presses against hers quieting her mewling of his name as his ears just focus on her breathing... the sound of her heart beat... and the way her walls wet around his cock... the soft insides of her body that welcome him eagerly inside... the wet squelch of his cock moving in... the gentle clap of his hips to hers.

He loved her. He wasn't made to love but there was always talks of what he would do when the galaxy was finally conquered... and humanity was finally safe... perhaps the thoughts of something like this danced sensually across his mind. So yes... Gaius indeed loved her with his whole entire being.

How she touched him gently as if he was still fully human and not a living weapon... how she tried her best to keep up in making sure he felt good. He felt amused as it only made him work harder to watch her fall apart underneath him. She always did her best to take care of him... it was his turn to give her all that he could.

"Gaius!" She chanted as if that was her only lifeline to this moment. He moved her legs slightly, her feet resting on his shoulders as he moved faster, his bed creaking slightly... he told her in gothic his devotion to her... making a promise to her how he would be here for her always... his blades for her... he was her weapon... and returning home be damned if he could have someone like her with him for a portion of his life.

She unraveled under him as he finished his oath, thrusting through her orgasm making her feel alive as he groaned her name as he split himself inside of her. She looked so good in the sea of dark fabric that was his bedding. He lounged on his side, with his cheek against the back of his hand as she laid there recovering and all the while Gaius was smiling. Besides this position was optimal for ease of affection between them like how she pulled him in for another kiss...

“Nona the Ninth” - disorganised thoughts below

OK, I just got to the end of “Nona the Ninth”. Some incoherent thoughts under the cut, with spoilers beyond this point...

(A further break-line here, just in case anyone clicked on the link by accident.)

Now here come the spoilers...

- John Gaius is a mass-murdering, genocidal, sanctimonious egotist and a character I now completely loathe. Even his attempt at self-exculpiation reeks of hypocrisy - note that he feels a need to lie to Harrow during it, several times, never mind the fact that she seems to unquestioningly revere him and is unlikely to call him out on his misdeeds. (Count carefully the number of times his backpack nuke exploded ... unless there are two Melbournes in Australia, it definitely happened more than once. Also, while I might be imagining it, I seem to recall inconsistencies in the times and demises of his former associates. IIRC he kills G. at least twice.)

- He did all the things he claims to dislike in other people - faced with other people attempting to flee the ecological collapse of Earth, he responded by killing everyone, everywhere (except apparently a couple of the ships, who managed to get away just barely in time), and replacing the dead world with one he preferred. Incidentally one where he happened to be in charge. The trillionaires he so disliked, frankly, were trying to do exactly the same thing (abandon the old world without trying to save it, set yourself up somewhere new where you’re personally in charge). And the sick kicker here? They’re arguably somewhat the moral winners here, because their flight didn’t involve personally conducting a solar system-wide genocide.

- The Earth/Alecto herself even specifically calls Gaius out on it - “I gave you this power, and this is how you repaid me?” - and from the text, the criticism just bounces off of his overweening narcissm without him even really registering what he’d been told.

- To top it off, this monster has learnt nothing from what he’s done. After all, during the course of “Harrow the Ninth” he made his Lyctors kill at least 14 other planets. (The scumbag didn’t even have the minimum decency to do his own dirty work. We can add laziness to the charge-sheet here.)

- Actually, interestingly, there’s an implication that even Harrow has had enough of his bullshit by the end. The scene where she turns her back on him and starts walking to the tower felt symbolic.

- I sincerely hope that in the fourth book, Alecto cuts Gaius up into small pieces, fries them over a slow fire, then tosses them into a landfill to rot. Feeding them to dogs, frankly, would be sheer unkindness to canines.

- OK, I could write thousands of words about how much I utterly despise John Gaius, but I think you get the point now, so let’s move onto a new thread. (I will note that I am in awe of how Tamsyn Muir has managed to craft a character who is both utterly-foul and yet queasily-plausible too. Give every scheming self-regarding corporate middle manager you’ve ever met Godlike power, and they might well turn into someone like him.)

- The ecocatastrophe on Earth is oddly off-stage. Some of it seems to be a combination of climate change and collapsing trophic webs, but there’s also a mention at one point of the atmosphere somehow going missing over the Northern Territories? Which is a bit O.o, even by the standards of ecocatastrophe?

- (One thought ... at one point Aim describes living for a time on a planet that was implied to be undergoing a thanergetic conversion. I almost find myself wondering if humanity had inadvertently started off something similar on Earth.)

- Nona. Oh poor Nona, you deserved so much better than you got. I hope something is left of you in Alecto.

- I hope there’s some sort of at least happy-ish ending for the people on New Rho.

- The “re-settlements” - it’s never really explained very clearly what’s involved in these, but it seems to be traumatic in character.

- Varun the Eater; I’m starting to wonder which planet this Resurrection Beast originated from. I think we might be able to take a few guesses - the fact that it’s clearly trailing Nona is interesting, and the fact that it seems to like her is noteworthy too. While it’s Number 7 on Gaius’s typography, that might not mean anything. It’s - or was - the Earth, isn’t it?

- Nine Resurrection Beasts and Nine Houses also feels slightly off given that canonically, we currently have only eight planets. Either the IAU changed their mind about Pluto sometime between now and Gaius’s genocide, or there’s another one lurking outside the orbit of Neptune.

- (Before anyone brings up Mike Brown’s 2016 claims about an extra-Neptunian planet, please note that I’m an extreme sceptic about that claim. If your statistical analysis is based on a sample of precisely seven objects - yes, only seven! - I am going to give you strange looks if you claim this proves anything.)

- Does the Moon count against the nine? (Yes, you have to be me to care about this. I know, I know.) What about the asteroid belt?

- I guess the moons of Mars and the gas giants are a detail in this context, but it’s still a detail that nags me.

- (It would be darkly fucking funny if that egotistical gross creep Gaius accidentally missed out some moons when that crazed narcissistic butcher was busy slaughtering the entire solar system.)

- What the hell is going on with Gideon in this book? She feels and acts completely unlike any of her previous behaviour. I’m seriously wondering if it was even her that we saw? Was someone or something else wearing her body?

- Her suddenly being loyal to the Emperor feels a bit off. Nothing about Gideon before suggested that she had strong feelings toward the imperial system, and she didn’t seem like the type to have “actually being God’s literal daughter” go to her head.

- What the hell is going on on Antioch? What are those creatures, and where did they come from? How did they get to the Ninth House? And the timing is weird too - surely it can’t be coincidence that they manage to turn up just when it’s time to open the Tomb?

- The stoma. It was a massive big deal in “Harrow”, but as I recall wasn’t even mentioned here.

- Who, really, was Aim/the Angel? We sort of have an answer, but it also raises as many questions as it closes.

- I could go on, and I may even have to end up writing a second post at some point, but for now I’ll wrap this one up here.

Cross wasn’t expecting to see Emet-Selch in the Ocular of the Crystal Tower. Nor was she expecting him to give them his own lecture on the Calamity, and all that entailed.

He claimed that all of them had been split into 14 pieces -- the source and its shards -- when the star had been shattered by Hydaelyn’s attack. And that rejoining the worlds would rejoin the bits of soul together, bringing back the power they’d once held.

Seven times rejoined...8 pieces of a soul, merged together into one. And they were planning a great disaster that, according to Urianger, would kill her and everyone else, sending the star into chaos.

This, and how Emet-Selch didn’t see them as complete people, made Cross stew in anger. But it only brought up questions -- how had Emet-Selch survived “whole,” as he put it? Who else had done so? Lahabreha and Elidibus, maybe? Gaius had said they were on top of the food chain, so to speak...

At least Cross was able to get a somewhat-straight answer about how the Ascians had kept their numbers. They kept finding shards and reminding them, somehow...and their names were actually titles. It made her wonder who they actually were, and how many masks the Ascians wore.

She’d have to wonder another time, though. There was something else that had her attention.

Back in Vylbrand. Or, Not-Vylbrand. The scraggy, dry grasses of the island reminded her of the more craggy parts of Thanalan, where only the tougher plants were able to grow and survive.

Eulmore certainly seemed to mimic Ul’dah’s decadent spending and class separation, even if it looked like Limsa Lominsa from a distance.

But its heart was nothing like either city. Infected by foodstuffs made of sin eater flesh, the people were mind controlled to attack them at Vauthry’s whims. Only Ran’jit seemed to have a clear mind out of all of them, but even then...

...even then...

When Cross stood over his failing, dying body, and heard him call for “his girls” -- the Minfillias he had raised and trained over his years of service -- a part of her called back to Emet-Selch’s words, and she couldn’t help but wonder...was Ran’jit a shard of Zenos, with his power, or was he a shard of Thancred, with how protective he’d been of his charges, driven to grief by repeated loss?

She couldn’t afford to question it now, though -- not when Vauthry waited for them still. A large, terrible, ugly man who was apparently a sin eater himself.

Like she needed that revelation today. The thought made her sick to her stomach, even as she helped bring Eulmore back on its feet and glared at the floating Mt. Gulg whenever she had the chance. Was what happened to Vauthry going to happen to her? Was she in a weird half-between state herself?

Cross did her best to push the thought out of her mind. She needed a distraction.

She got one, when everyone pulled together to get the Ladder moving, so they could chase Vauthry and his floating mountain up the cliffs. (If the Kobolds saw this, how incensed would they be, seeing their mountain commandeered? Would they summon Titan and force it back to earth without a second thought?)

...even then, she couldn’t be distracted from her own questions forever. Emet-Selch returned, giving her a somewhat backhanded compliment at how she and her companions could bring together the world to move towards a common goal, rather than conquering them all by force, first.

The way he spoke of his lost home almost made her want to ask about it, but when he said “Not that you’d remember,” all that did was set off alarm bells in her head. Remember? Remember what?!

Ardbert offered a nicer distraction, feeling more grounded in the moment and telling her of his first ride on the Ladder with his companions. She asked him to linger, and watch, but he decided against it -- something about this part of the land holding “bad memories” for Lamitt and himself. As much as Cross wanted to, she didn’t press.

And then they found Amity, jolted Chai’s confidence some (and wasn’t that a familiar speech from the Exarch...was he...?), and found the dwarves. Or Lalafells, probably, but they apparently didn’t take their helms off for strangers, so Cross wasn’t going to get a good look under their hats (or beards, apparently). She was curious, though, and instead decided to learn more about them and how they were different from Lalafells.

Very different, it turned out. She couldn’t imagine the Lalafells of Ul’dah mining with this same enthusiasm, much less drink the Quicksand dry....

FFXIV 5.2 Reactions

Jotted these down when the patch came out, but only just now typing them up to get the notes off my phone, lol.

- Just fiddled with my graphics settings and now the game looks fantastic, especially at night. On the other hand, I have 30 fps now. RIP. Gotta find a way to toggle settings before I enter a raid.

- Really, playing FFXIV is like watching a TV series but new episodes only come out every 3 months.

- Gaius’s new model is so hi-def and realistic it just makes that blue-haired girl next to him look even more baby-faced and anime. Kinda jarring, tbh.

- pls let me recruit Estinien to fight the Weapons, I beg you

- Okay, so talking to Unukalhai right before while I was in the Rising Stones and hearing his warning about auracite leads me to suspect something will happen while transporting the Scions home. (Or it’s a reference to Oversoul with the Weapons. Or it’s just his standard dialogue, idk.)

- G’RAHA I’M MARRIED. Or my character is. In my head. To Sidurgu. NOT YOU.

- *mind drifting to odd details during cutscene* Lyna has fantastic winged eyeliner.

- Okay, wild theory: Zenos has possessed Ardbert’s body and is hunting sin eaters for his newest sport, hoping to lure us out.

- Frickin’ fake Ardbert will pop up during this announcement, I just know it.

- ALPHINAUD, DID YOU JUST SIGN ME UP FOR PUBLIC SPEAKING??!!

- I *knew* it!

- Y’shtola, what does your x-ray vision tell you? And why is Ardbert’s beard missing? Did the Ascian shave his corpse for reasons unknown?

- Okay, so it’s probably not Zenos in Ardbert’s body.

- 2nd wild theory: Elidibus isn’t tempered by Zodiark in the same way as the other AScians. Probably quite contradicted by canon, but I can’t remember all his moon monologues. Still, something seems different about him.

- It’s heartening that Beq Lugg disapproves of the Ascians’ careless appropriation of corpses.

- “It is recommended that you set aside sufficient time to view these scenes in their entirety.” HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS, FOLKS!

- Okay, that statue is terrifying. It represents a sin eater, I assume. Also reminds me of some real-life pagan idols. It’s gonna come to life, isn’t it.

- Ah. Yes. Of course.

- It’s less scary when alive somehow. Save for the unfocused eyes. Like the Ronkans’ answer to Allagan chimerae. Or the sphinx from Greek myths. Yep, it has riddles. It’s gonna try to keep one soul, though, I’m sure.

- FIGHT TIME

- so glad I came on PLD

- I’m sure those cubi had nothing to do with the Amaurotines

- “How polite.” - Y’shtola summing up what I think of every FF boss’s insistence on holding fights in alternate dimensions.

- Ah, Tiuna was a fellow WoL. Let me pay my respects at her grave, dang it!

- Four (properly clothed) Roegadyn all standing here on patch day for the cutscene?! What is this madness?1 Maybe there truly are dozens of us out there...

- Is Y’shtola gonna enchant the broom? Yep. She gets more like her mother every day.

- poor Runar, his waifu running off to save the world again

- ngl, Ardbert’s voice when it’s so not Ardbert is really tripping me out

- The WoL is so angry and betrayed over this misappropriation of Ardbert’s body and I’m so, so glad to see this reaction. Ardbert is our #1 best bro. We will not stand for his memory to be abused like this.

- HOLY CRAP THAT’S TERRIFYING

- Elidibus sounds like a tired old man. A tired, bitter old man. Which he is.

- Doing SHB MSQ as tank allows me to relate to Thancred on another level. THere’s a certain bond between co-tanks who trust each other. We view ourselves as hte only responsible ones (especially since neither Urianger nor Alphinaud are competent enough to achieve Troll Healer status) and there’s this silent understanding behind our actions. I can’t describe it better.

- Urianger’s waterwalking was every bit as dramatic and played out how I anticipated. Thancred’s exasperation was on point. And I suspect their dizziness is due to the fraying soul-body connection.

- Urianger is so desperate to not swim, he makes a deal with the Fuath. THat sounds like a spectacularly bad decision, even for him.

- Now Alisaie is signing me up for chores. Good grief. She’s eager to be on our way.

- “It is a minor miracle that we accomplish anything at all.” You got that right, sister.

- Ryne guilt-tripping her dad and Uncle Orange, lol. Oh, wait, and me, too. Did everyone receive a sass upgrade this patch?

- It is nice to just hang out with the Scions, though. Too bad a FATE had to gatecrash. I knew it’d be those guys Elidibus encouraged, though. Am unsure what game he’s playing by encouraging people to be heroic. So far.

- So is no one in the Crystarium questioning why the Exarch is suddenly going around with his hood down? Or did he do that regularly before the WoL showed up?

- Okay, so can Elidibus just conjure up a vision of the sky falling and awaken the Echo within people like that?

- why did Venat and Elidibus have their top-secret meeting sin the same location? Or store the recordings of their meetings in the same location? Were those even the same locations???

- lol, Elidibus bluntly refuses to reveal his plan

- the bit with not being able to sleep and getting up for a drink really resonates with me

- quick, which do I pick? Granson, my edgy little brother, or Giott, my tiny, badass sister?

- on PLD currently and Granson was in the patch trailer so my edgy wannabe DRK bro it is!

- let me go off to hunt Elidibus down with Granson and Giott pls. PLS. I want them for trust.

- uh-oh, why are we staring at the moon? Are we just giving Elidibus and/or Zodiark the stink-eye, or something more?

- so is G’raha steadily getting more and more crystallized?

- and WHO THE HECK is parading around in Asahi’s body????