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eframschweigersskincells · 3 years

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So, Return to Hell was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and I couldn't have asked for a better ending to the season three dlc missions.

SPOILER WARNING BY THE WAY!

Holy shit was this season a wild ride and with an absolute banger of an ending all I can say is well done rebellion you pulled it out the bag and held it high, I was so happy with everything and just my god its really hard to put down everything I'm so enthralled I can barely think straight.

I remember when the trailer dropped and I was so overcome with both excitement and sadness at seeing what the dlc entailed, I was so happy to see schweiger alive but devastated to see what was happening to him and originally I thought we were going to sacrifice him to help Umbra which terrified me, thank fuck I was wrong I dont think I could handle hurting my boy.

The intro was excellent, it really felt like distressing and that this was truly a moment of despair the way bruno spoke of it was absolutely amazing and I couldn't wait to get stick in. And when it finally gave way to the gameplay the opening area was absolutely stunning!

The way it's so familiar yet so foreign, like I'd seen it before but it had been so twisted that it was unrecognisable, lava around every corner and debris floating as if frozen in time the ground and walls cracked and crumbling and the fiery hues made this a fantastic yet haunting sight I hadn't even begun playing and I already fell in love with it.

When I finally moved on and the Baron began his tirade about the state of hell and how it was shaped and molded to fit the subconscious mind of schweiger I was shocked and saddened, to think that this was schweiger's fractured mind was frightening, all his guilt, fear, anger, confusion, sadness became reality and hell took its horrifying form filled with endless undead. I also found it really cool to see events play out from schweiger's perspective, meat locker, hell base and terror lab all playing out in schweiger's memories allowing us a glimpse in to everything that happened to him. He was betrayed so many times, I don't blame him at all for turning on us in deeper than hell, the amount of cruelty he suffered would drive anyone insane.

Being captured and forced to research the occult without any understanding of why, being tricked in to activating the relic allowing hitler to activate plan Z, working your hardest to try and make the world right then have your team infiltrated by nazi bastards who push you in to a hell tower and forcefully tear you from this plane of existence and left to rot in hell. Just when you think you can finally escape you're confronted with the fact you can not leave, only your closest comrades can leaving you in hell against everyone's will, then a voice manipulates you in to believing you were betrayed by your friends you're lied to and tricked in to believing this voice is your only friend who makes you do horrific rituals.

I remember how horrific I felt hearing this and then when Umbra revealed that he did all of this so he could break schweiger's will so he could steal his body I was filled with rage. Rebellion were amazing at putting emotion in to this one I genuinely went through constant emotional shifts realising that everything we had done up to this point was planned by Umbra and that everything we had done was only to fuel his plans. It was never schweiger's fault it was umbras and that knocked me on my arse.

The gameplay was a lot of fun, one of the best parts was that absolutely everything was randomised! The main sections of the map where always switched around no matter how many times you play it at first I went meat locker, hell base then terror lab then my second time I went hell base, terror lab then meat locker! I was shocked when everything cane out of order but it fits so well with everything! Schweiger's mind is so badly fractured that when hell took form as schweiger's subconscious not even hell itself could keep things in order.

I genuinely adore how the old familiar faces of these maps are destroyed, twisted and corrupted they are what we have seen before but warped till they look like different maps entirely, with so much more to explore in some areas it really gives you a sense of walking through broken memories like piecing together a memory Efram barely has a grip on anymore.

I loved how enemies were randomised too, getting attacked by a screamer around the corner then next time you go there prepared for a screamer you get blown up by suiciders or slaughtered by skeletons or an elite or in my favourite case being attacked by zombie alpha squad members! When zombie me jumped out and attacked I was so confused I didnt have time to respond when zombie jun popped out and killed me it was fucking awesome!

All our favourite enemy variations are here too, vampire creepers, electric suiciders, armored commanders, skeletons etc which really made for a really tough but good fight, never knowing what variation was coming to get you made everything even more fun.

And with the spitters now having a variant that spat magma it made what was usually an annoying inconvenience an actual proper threat and I love that so fucking much, maybe the spitters aren't so horrible after all.

That's a lie I still fucking hate them but oh well!

Once we successfully complete all three areas we now return to the main area with a very pissed off Umbra and schweiger who although conscious is barely alive. As soon as we arrive back to were we began we are immediately attacked and dragged off to an unknown place that we only know as the void as coined by Umbra.

Let me tell you when I say the void is creepy I fucking mean it, the void is of course pitch black you cant see anything not even your flash light does anything to the surrounding darkness, all you see when you spawn is the pitch black and eframs body of a slab surrounded by candles with Umbra looking over us and you really get the the sense of "holy shit, this is it!"

I genuinely adored the design of the void, the fact you only ever see your surroundings when a split second of bright red lighting strikes and even then you only see the faint outline of distant places, walking through the endless river of blood that stops you to a near snail's pace while fending of oncoming dead is genuinely spectacular! Holy fuck did rebellion pull it out the bag this round!

Just when you think you're about to have to do something to the incapacitated schweiger, Edie finally fucking shows up and does something useful for once, breaking schweiger out of his trance and giving him enough power to fend for himself when she realises Umbra has no defences! Thank fuck because now we know how to finally end The Baron and let me tell you I couldn't be happier to get the chance at killing the bastard.

The fights were challenging and had me cornered a few times and I'll admit I died a couple times but it was absolutely worth it, there was so much going on but it wasnt overbearing, with how large the areas you had to fight the hordes in were it made the fucking insane amounts of zombies absolutely balanced, I never felt like it was impossible but never felt it was too easy either just the right balance of insanity. And to make it even better I get to listen to schweiger shit talk the Baron as we help Efram regain strength while weakening Umbra.

Listening to Umbra beg and plead for mercy was great, it really felt like we were overpowering hell itself, no matter what Umbra threw our way it did absolutely nothing and listening to schweiger come to terms with what he's done and immediately work towards redemption by putting down Umbra was heartwarming. We were the winners not Umbra.

Then finally we get to what I've been wanting to do since the beginning of the DLC, after two whole hours I finally got to put an end to the Baron, activating that ending cutscene was so satisfying and I got to put down my controller and watch.

I'll admit I was confused when Umbea sprung back to life and actually attacked, where hitler failed to stop us during hell machine Umbra full pounced, he was going to take us with him and for a second I absolutely believed we were going to die with him, the fuck tries ripping our soul out rendering us absolutely useless. Its schweiger that saves us, pulling us away from Umbra then eviscerating the fuck out of him with ease and with that The Baron himself is dead, finally the tyrant is dead and everything we had worked towards was finally put to rest.

Just before that scene ends, we see schweiger smile! He's actually happy for once, free from Umbras grip, he's faced his fears and insecurities and in the end was the one who saved us and destroyed The Baron. To see him smile was one of the greatest things ever and I'm so glad we finally got to see that.

In last few moments of the ending, we wake up on the side of a cliff with Dr schweiger by our side and as the camera zooms out we see nothing but an endless sea of lava and I'm left thinking.

What the fuck is Projekt Ragnarok?

#zombies #horror #rebellion #shooter #zombie army 4 #zombie army 4 dead war #efram schweiger #photography #best game 2020 #god i love this game #who allowed you to be that awesome #what an achievement #best dlc ever

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chaoticevilbean · 3 years

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So, there’s this whole Youtuber Atla Au, and I have Stuff stuck in my Head. This is Sokka-centric bc thassa me.

Here Goes:

- Sokka has a mixed channel. He does educational videos, how-to videos, political videos, stories about him and his weird friends, dancing and singing videos, makeup videos, parkour videos, etc. He’s a very well known account.

- He uses fake names/obscure nicknames/code names for anyone he mentions. Anyone featured in his videos either wears a mask/facepaint or allows him to say their real name. He uses only they/them pronouns unless the person is with him and has given him other pronouns to call them by.

- He has never mentioned his name, refuses to be called Boomerang despite someone suggesting it because “that’s a disrespect to boomerangs, please don’t”, and he responds to commenters asking for his name with “;)”, “:)”, and “...”

- People only know he’s a male because he put that in his first video

- Sokka always wears facepaint in his videos, and absolutely no one recognizes him. He is unidentifiable. His continuous need to wear contact lenses and wigs of varying styles and colors also messes with people. No one can figure out what Nation he’s from (there are all four in this AU).

- Sokka has seven different facepaint styles he’ll wear.

- - Earth Kingdom is just Kyoshi Warrior facepaint. Someone attempted to drag him for disrespecting a elite warrior and all-female team. The Official Kyoshi Warrior account responded with this and only this: “Back off, he’s ours.”

- - Southern Water Tribe is based off their traditional warrior paint and La. Northern Water Tribe is based off of Tui and wolves.

- - Air Nomads is brown and blue arrows and flying lemur markings around his eyes.

- - Fire Nation is based off of Agni and the Painted Lady. It’s simple with red and yellow markings, and the accents will either be black (if he’s talking about something funny), blue (if he’s talking about something weird), or white (if he’s talking about something cool). People had to figure out those meanings themselves.

- - The Spirit World is based off of Hei Bai and Wan Shi Tong, a black, white, and grey style.

- - The blended one is cut into six sections. Fire and Air are the top two, taking up his forehead and creeping into his hairline. Water and Earth are on the bottom, bleeding down his neck. The Spirit World and nonbending sections are on his eyes. For those, he does fox markings on both sides, and the Spirit side is colorful like many of the minor Spirits are (bugs and birds and others). The nonbending side has normal fox colors, and the edges of all sections are blended together.

- - Each mask has a different meaning, which wasn’t figured out until later. If something is about a story, then it will be Fire Nation or Water Tribe. If the story includes strangers, then it will be Fire Nation, but if it’s mostly his pre-established friends, then he’ll have Water Tribe. Any sort of performance is Earth Kingdom, unless he’s doing it with someone else, which is when he wears his blended one. If the video is instructing in any way, it’s Air Nomad. If it’s a political video, he will always have his Spirit facepaint on.

- Most people assume he’s Air Nation because he seems nomadic. He’s constantly talking about new friends, his backgrounds change every video and he speaks all the languages one could possibly learn.

- As a Note, there are all four Nations. They all have different languages. There are formal and informal of each language (or common and high-speak). There is also the General Common, which is the language basically everyone knows so they can communicate with other nationalities. Air Nomads have many different slangs depending on where the nomads are from, but only one central language. They don’t have formal or informal.

- Sokka’s most viral video is called Secret Tunnel. He met some nomads and they taught him to use their instruments at an amateur level. He then asked if they wanted to record a video with him. They said yes, so he recorded them singing and dancing to the song, and he joined in on guitar (or whatever the stringed instrument is called in that episode). The video ‘solidified’ that Sokka was from the Air Nomads.

- Things people know about the channel and the Friends (called ‘Boomeraang’, though no one seems able to figure out why - most pass it off as a typo, but true fans know Sokka pays too much attention to his work and his boomerang)

- - Lady is either related to Sokka or as close as a sibling. They’re a master waterbender and extreme activist. They’re constantly starting rebellions and protests and getting into trouble through that. They have once impersonated a Spirit in order to get rid of a corrupt company that was polluting a river and then got the nearby fishing town to work together to clean said river. Lady got their education in waterbending after beating “an old coot in battle, didn’t have much to learn but Lady needed ‘finesse’ or something.”

- - Kuzon is Lady’s SO. They were friends first, SO’s second, and Sokka had to endure the pining. Kuzon acts older than they look, and uses extremely outdated slang. A video with Kuzon in the background as Sokka told a story confirmed the fact when Sokka asked “What did you say to Bluey?” “Flameo, Hotman!” It is assumed that Kuzon is a bender, but no one knows which type. Kuzon once threw a raging party because his school was really strict. The entire student body was invited and the cops were called, but no one got in trouble because they weren’t breaking any laws.

- - Bluey is either a nonbender or a firebender. Sokka’s stories are unclear on that, but one thing is clear: Bluey is a vigilante. And works in a tea shop. And holds some sort of position of power somewhere. It varies from “Bluey stopped a drug ring this month” to “Bluey’s uncle told them they can’t work the night shift because they haven’t slept” to “Bluey just passed a rule saying no drinks during meetings. They’re just mad that I kept slurping my cactus juice.”

- - Bandit is an actual criminal, but also holds some position of power. They are blind, maybe, and an earthbender. Apparently the greatest earthbender in the world, but that could also be Rocky. Bandit scams scammers, usually ones on the street that can’t call the police because they’re also criminals. They’ve made a lot of money that way, and Bandit uses the funds for a combination of food and taking Sokka shopping since he helps them. Bandit also fought in an underground earthbending tournament and won the title every time. Sokka says that the reason behind Bandit even going there was that their family was awful and somehow thought they were fragile, so they learned how to ditch their escort and vent their frustration via illegal fighting ring.

- - Rocky is a king. And insane. And friends with Kuzon and some old people. Nothing else is known, besides they’re a bender.

- - Bison. Is maybe an actual bison. Is Kuzon’s best friend and they’re constantly kissing everyone and messing around with Lemur. Lemur is flighty and loyal and like lychee nuts. Not much else is told, but they’re in many stories and the wording is weird enough that no one can tell if they’re animals or humans.

- - Wheaty was a real jerk when they all first met, and the group all left on bad terms. However, when they met back up, Wheaty was much nicer and was trying to be better than they originally were. They had to go to therapy to help with anger issues and were recovering well when the group reunited. Gurl (Sokka makes sure to spell it out for the viewers) is one of Wheaty’s best friends, having been there for the other through everything. Yuyan was in a similar boat, and was usually the ‘voice’ (Sokka would laugh at that, before continuing as if he hadn’t) of reason. The trio were all very nice and helpful, and had some other friends that Sokka met and hit it off with. Mini-Me was someone who was smol and idolized Sokka. Big Man always traveled with Mini-Me, but never once stopped them from following Sokka around.

- - Warrior is a nonbender and is the one who taught Sokka to fight with fans. They also educated him on toxic masculinity, getting rid of the sexism ingrained in him (*note, in this AU, Sokka wasn’t as sexist, due to being exposed to a few more people and the internet, and therefore finding more female idols. Suki helped him stopped what was left, because he still struggled and wanted to be better). Warrior is about 30% of Sokka’s impulse control, which is still a large chunk considering how many impulses he has. They have been in a few videos wearing an entire robe and mask get-up, and spoke once (1) when they told Sokka that Knife and Ballerina were head over. It was the middle of a video about how to fight with fans.

- - Princess, Knife, and Ballerina were a trio that could rule the world. Princess probably would’ve turned out awful if they hadn’t left home with their uncle. Knife hated any sort of protocol, but never seemed to show emotion. Both they and Yuyan were people that had to be observed to understand their emotions at any one point. Ballerina was happy, a gymnast, a yoga instructor, and a nonbender. It is assumed that Knife is a nonbender who uses only knives and Princess is a master firebender, but there is speculation.

- - Roller and Pusher were best friends. Roller was in a wheelchair and Pusher always pushed them. Roller was incredibly intelligent and often helped Sokka with inventions, while Pusher was a skilled earthbender who used more finesse than most.

- - The Moon is mentioned once and never again, and everyone wonders why he mentioned them in the first place (when discussing what he’d done while Lady battle for her education “I hung out with The Moon”).

- - Most likely to appear in a video are Roller, Pusher, Bandit, and Gurl, all in masks. Bandit’s they can’t possibly see through, but they walk like everything’s normal.

- - Most likely to be off-screen in a video are Kuzon, Bluey, and Lady.

- - Most likely to be mentioned in a video are Kuzon, Bandit, Bluey, Lady, and Warrior.

- Things that are known about Sokka:

- - He learned Earth Kingdom formal from Bandit and informal from a combination of Friends and observation. He learned Fire Nation formal from Bluey’s uncle and Bluey occasionally slipping into it and informal from Kuzon and some colonists he met. He learned the dialects of the Southern and Northern Water Tribes from The Moon, Lady, and Lady’s family. He learned Air Nomad from a variety of monks and people like Chong and Lily.

- - His parkour skills come from a combination of his Friends’ illegal activities, chaotic antics, and just a dash of bad luck.

- - He learned fighting from practically everyone he’d met, and observing them or having them teach him. He hadn’t actually wanted to learn to fight with fans or knives, but Warrior and Knife had taken one look at him and told him he had to or else. In fact, the only weapons he wanted to learn to use were a sword, a club, and his boomerang. He learned the first from Rainbow Father, the second from Bi Father, and the third was self-taught. Everything else, he posted videos as he learned new skills, and also told the varying stories of how he was coerced into being taught. For example, Ballerina insisted on teaching him chi blocking, a very obscure form of fighting, and would randomly use it on him until he agreed. They always undid what they blocked immediately after, but it was still annoying to randomly lose use of both arms.

- - Sokka’s Boomerang is deadly in his hands. He does not know this. During a livestream, Gurl snuck in after causing a distraction outside of the room he was in and read it off someone’s comment. They informed the viewers to never bring it up because Sokka didn’t know and if he underestimated his Boomerang, than everyone he used it against would, too. And that led to hilarious situations.

- - Sokka is a genius and inventor who has several patents. However, no one can find him through them, mostly because he didn’t want any attention when he put the items out into the open. He invented submarines and airships (people had no use for them before, but found they were incredibly useful when Sokka got everything patented and got a sponsor). He also invented cactus juice, which is as mentally impairing as alcohol with none of the lasting physical effects. Bandit loved that one.

- - Sokka has seemingly been everywhere. He’s mentioned meeting the Spirits Hei Bai, Wan Shi Tong, and the Moon and Ocean Spirits in passing. (*while wearing the Spirit facepaint* “I mean, I get that the Spirit World seems great and all, but I’ve been there. Not that exciting. Met Hei Bai and had to be rescued. Don’t see the appeal. And there isn’t a single bathroom there.”)

- - Can dance pretty average, but knows a lot of different styles because of various Friends. Can also sing and whistle well, and usually hums Secret Tunnel while doing parkour. Most of his music videos include other people, minus a few where he was asked to demonstrate his instrumental skills. He, again, is average and only knows the different instruments because people decided he should learn.

- - He is amazing at makeup. Every person he brings in to do (mostly people who aren’t seen again on the videos) leaves with stunning work done.

- - He can draw and paint, but he didn’t start off good. He started doing instructional videos based off articles and lessons he found. His viewers learned with him, and he’s improved greatly. He’s also prone to adding random rainbows to his landscapes, even in the black and white ones (it starts a trend of usually colorful things done in black and white, or in a way that’s more appealing to colorblind people).

- - Sokka wants to get rid of patriarchal societies and old men with problems. He fully supports his Friends’ protests and rebellions, and is likely to have cohesive arguments backed up with verifiable evidence and trustworthy sources.

- - He loves terrible jokes, and knows they’re terrible, but that’s the point.

- - He’s theorized to be in a position of power because once King Kuei and his bear Bosco walked on-screen from behind (Sokka was at a park and had his Earth Kingdom facepaint, so he definitely wasn’t expecting anyone to come), spotted Sokka and looked absolutely delighted, came straight over and hugged the boy from behind while he was explaining a move with a club. King Kuei said nothing, just hugged him until it was returned, let go, and waved goodbye. Bosco did a similar thing before following his owner. Sokka just continued the video as if nothing had happened, so it seems that he’s used to being around heckin’ royalty.

- Boomeraang gets a lot of hype and Sokka does sell merch and earn money, but only sells what is specifically requested. Someone requests he make t-shirts with his channels logo on it, he starts selling them, and doesn’t stop until there aren’t any more demands. Spoiler, there’s always demands. He tries to tell them he doesn’t want to take their money, but he almost had a riot when he suggested not selling anything anymore because he felt bad.

- The Gaang knows about the channel and talk about it a lot. Sokka had planned to keep it small, anonymous, and just have fun with his catch-all videos. He’s 2/3 at this point.

- Katara has her own activist channel, and considered making a second as the Painted Lady and use Sokka’s rep to eventually boost her, but decided against it. Her channel is called ‘Freedom Water’, based on the fact that water is the element of change. She has a moderate following.

- Toph has her own channel as well, which consists of Sokka holding the camera for her and videotaping her as she performs complex earthbending. She calls her channel ‘roc’. Her following is mostly other earthbenders who aren’t too proud to learn from a preteen, and other kids who think she’s cool. She also has a channel called ‘Bandit’, which is just her in the mask she wears for Boomeraang, telling all about different ways she’s scammed scammers, occasionally also showing videos of those instances. Sokka is her cameraman there as well, and will sometimes go on-screen with his facepaint. That channel has a large following because of Boomeraang. Toph is actually good at not slipping into the wrong nicknames or giving away genders.

- Aang has a channel called ‘The Temple’, which is almost solely different animals he spots. Some people try to say that he isn’t at the Air Temples, but he just laughs and ignores them. It drives people insane and it’s just accepted that the name of the channel is misleading. He has a small to moderate following, mostly animal enthusiasts, and the others are nature enthusiasts.

- Zuko has a channel followed by only theater kids and wannabe theater kids. He literally put ‘Title’ as the name, and uses his videos to rant about different plays and a lot about how the Ember Island Players botch the best of shows.

- Jet has an official channel for his Freedom Fighters, which is now solely used for spreading awareness and raising funds for those who need help (orphans, abused people, and people affected by disasters). The group lost a lot of followers when they changed their tune from angry and vengeful to calm and actually trying to help instead of harm. However, Katara and Zuko both gave shout-outs to the channel, and Toph ‘mentioned’ them as well (*read: threatened her followers if they didn’t check it out*). Their following has grown and now has a very good rep.

- Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee share a channel called ‘Royal Three’ where they show off their skills. They have a large following.

- Teo and Haru help manage everyone’s accounts and Teo is the official Kyoshi Warrior technician by the time everyone is done. Both are paid by their Friends for the work and recommend the duo to literally everyone possible.

- The Kyoshi Warriors are extremely well-known. There was an uproar when Ty Lee was announced as an official Kyoshi Warrior. They post basic fighting tutorials.

#atla #sokka #katara #aang #suki #zuko #toph #kyoshi warriors #sokka is a kyoshi warrior #youtube atla #atla youtube au #boomerang #sokka's boomerang #youtube au #avatar the last airbender #avatar

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cards-onthetable · 5 years

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Seems I'm wearing grumpy pants again... sorry

(LOL OOPS I get notifications for asks and messages but not submissions for some reason, so I’m just seeing this. Sorry if it’s been sitting since last week...)

Thanks for the review. I needed that laugh!! But I had questions, oh so many questions. So I watched the Jamko bits on instagram. I tried to send an ask but not enough characters (do you wanna punch me yet)?

1. Why does arsehole Janko have Jamie's mobile number? Do they have a relationship independent of Eddie? Maybe it's just me being stupid for assuming, but wouldn't Jamie's number be unlisted to avoid dealing with BS from those he arrests?

I’m sure Jamie’s actual cell number is not public knowledge - Maybe Armin knew which precinct Jamie’s at, and went through Police Channels to contact him? Like maybe that’s his duty phone as a sergeant or something? Or maybe Lena had passed on an NYPD courtesy card to him in jail lol. Hooray for plot holes. Who knows.

2. Did Lena know more about her husbands shady dealings than she lets on/Eddie is aware of? To me that would explain why never divorced. Or she may just be the marriage is forever no matter what type. Given the strained relationship between Eddie and her mother and also the way Lena seems to have treated her, I'm not so sure Lena was totally clueless. She may have moved a bit because people give her grief but she sure is not struggling financially so maybe her husband in jail is worth the high life.

It wouldn’t surprise me. When I wrote (and named, yo) Lena Janko I characterized her as a petty, materialistic person who was a knowing bystander at least, if not actually complicit in Armin’s crimes. But lol I also wrote Armin as a reformed, sympathetic, Good Guy out of prison so what do I know? But we saw that Eddie does not have contact with her father so I do assume Lena still has contact with him at this point - how else did he know Eddie’s engaged, which precinct to find her fiancé, etc?

3. Does Eddie still drive her Porsche? Given that it came from a dubious money source, it seems odd to me that she would still be driving it. The fanfare of the wedding will invite media attention so why make it so easy to make nasty comments? You know Garrett is all about OPTICS and she is about to be a REAGAN aka NYPD ROYALTY. What if Frank is asked about their relationship at a press conference? OPTICS PEOPLE! OPTICS!

No idea dude. When’s the last time we actually saw that car? I don’t know but previously I accepted the headcanon that she kept it at her parents’ suburban McMansion most of the time, with rare times she’ll bring it to the city for a few days. Parking in NYC is expensive af, yo. Like an actual assigned space costs as much as a second rent in some places. But now we know Lena’s been moving around the city for the last 5 years, not up in Westchester babysitting Eddie’s car, so your guess is as good as mine. As far as the optics, I’m not sure how they’ll play it. Lena has brought up the Irony of Eddie, daughter of a criminal, marrying the PC’s son but nobody else has said very much. Maybe the show will address it in a typical Who Cares way and it’ll just be a non-issue.

4. REDACTED because I have some Thoughts about this topic that I hope to address in this fic I’m hoping to finish soon. 👍

5. Why do you hate Anthony? I personally enjoy his sarcasm. But then I also enjoy Gormley's putting the mouth in gear before the brain so frequently.

WHY DO I HATE ANTHONY? OH HERE’S A CAN OF WORMS, AUSSIE. But I’ll be succinct. Anthony’s entire existence bothers me. He’s only here to make Erin’s lawyer-y storylines into detective-y storylines. How often do we see Erin actually act as a lawyer? We usually see her and Anthony Investigating or maybe arguing/discussing a case. We rarely see her actually going her job (except when her ADA position conflicts with Frank’s NYPD agenda). It’s like the show runners have no faith in their audience, and think the viewers only want to see detective/police storylines - as if lawyer storylines, and that whole branch of the justice system, would be too Boring for tv. So I hate Anthony because he takes away any opportunities for Erin - a supposedly powerful and successful woman - to do her actual job, and her entire position as ADA is minimized in the show. It’s insulting to the audience and insulting to Erin too. Anthony’s entire existence is unnecessary for the show to go on. Let us see Erin actually be a lawyer in a context other than being the Reagan Family Bad Guy (and maybe that would humanize her a little bit! We all know she gets some pretty shit writing/characterization lately) and drop this whole charade that investigative, action-packed storylines are the only interesting or relevant storylines.

The whole Jamko and the precinct secret is still BULLSHIT. There is no way there is no push back if their coworkers do in fact know. Does anybody know if this is actually allowed in the NYPD? A superior can date a direct subordinate? Seems ridiculous if that is actually true. Corruption allegations would be made daily. (Agreed yo. We all know it’s ridiculous. And like, does the precinct know? Are they still in the dark? Jamie and Eddie can discuss wedding plans in front of everyone, but it’s still a secret? Coooolcoolcool.)

Jamie not understanding Eddie's messy family situation is BULLSHIT for someone about to be married. If Eddie can't talk to Jamie about this because she fears being judged/not supported then really they should not be getting married. I'm not saying spouses have to share absolutely everything, but what you go through in life often does shape how you see the world generally, so the fact both Eddie and Jamie have chosen to not discuss important aspects of their lives with each other should be a massive red flag. (AGREED AGREED AGREED. I have so many issues all the time. If they’d dated like normal people before jumping into rings and vows, they’d have worked out the majority of this Big Stuff before deciding to commit to one another for life. Like, you typically want to know these things as relevant info when making that decision to get engaged - not after. This “get engaged and figure everything else out later” shit was/is terrible. If the show insisted on doing it this way, they AT LEAST should have moved the Armin situation and the Baby Discussion to the first few episodes of the season. Don’t talk to me about the weird time lapses and inconsistencies in this show, I don’t care if a month of ~actual time~ passes in one week between back to back episodes... they should not be introducing these topics for the first time in the two episodes leading up to the wedding. GOD I HATE EVERYTHING.) There's a reason divorce is so prevalent. I wonder if Eddie feels she should reconcile with her parents because of the closeness of the Reagan family. Or is it something Eddie herself actually wants? Family or not, sometimes people are just toxic and you need to cut them off for your own sanity. (I hope the Reagans don’t put pressure on Eddie to fix things with her parents, ugh. That would be overstepping in a major way and yeah, your relationship to someone shouldn’t trump their toxicity - like Eddie doesn’t have to forgive her parents just because they’re her parents.)

We've already discussed my thoughts on the Reagan siblings getting arsehole sprung from jail before the show aired (spoiler: they were not nice thoughts folks), but as for the BB continuity, consider this: the only consistency is the inconsistency!

@kwannemacher and I have kinda discussed the whole prison fiasco and I think arsehole lost his temper one night after watching a TV show that drove him insane so he started a prison riot and got extra time. He didn't just throw things at TV, he tore TV off wall, set fire to his mattress and started an all in brawl. So 5 years extra for totally losing his shit. BB has the capacity to ignite tempers here so it's feasible arsehole Janko totally lost it. Probably watched one of those dating shows where they pick the so called love of their lives and he couldn't believe who the guy picked. We all have bad days!! (😂😂😂😂😂 omg I can be on board with this)

In closing I hope @ontherockswithsalt has insurance because I am wondering if her TV can withstand the wedding viewing party if you will be enjoying with her (lol I think I will be, and I plan to wrap myself in whole body bubble wrap for the protection of myself and everyone/everything around me). I'm already emotional 🤮🤮🤮 if they go with their own vows. I may be wrong, but I think Will shows Jamie's soft side next week. He won't be dead face or whatever it is you call him. (Dude I am ALL IN on those ridiculous vows. If they’d only said them once, I’d be rolling my eyes @ the grossness, but it would be whatever. BUT THEY MADE A POINT OF SAYING THEM TWICE so they’re committed at this point. Make Jamie recite those ridiculous words for the third time. I want to see the pain on his terrible face as he suffers through that again. If we don’t get those vows I’ll riot.)

Enjoy your week

Aussie

P.S. Yes I realise his name is Armin, but that guy is a narcissistic ARSEHOLE

#submission #aussie

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codynaomiswireart · 6 years

Text

“Gauze in the Wound” - Part 14

[“Public enemy number one, right? In case you didn’t get the headline, or unless you’ve been living under a rock this whole time. Oh! Come to think of it, I don’t recall seeing you there at the battle in Old Corona. Too scared to come to the aid of your precious royals were you-?”]

In one sense, Varian’s quip hadn’t actually been completely off the mark.

While Xavier hadn’t been “living under a rock” per se on that fateful day, some would claim that he often had his head in the clouds with tales of lore and legend, which – ironically – sometimes lead him to places underground; deep beneath layers of earth and rock and stone. On the princess’s birthday – one of the few days in the year that the blacksmith had off work – Xavier had devoted nearly all of those precious hours to investigating further the underground chamber that contained the legendary Demanitus Device, as well as the ancient seals that held Zhan Tiri’s demon followers at bay. Xavier had of course noted the damage done to the seal that had once held Sugracha the Eternal, but fortunately no others seemed to have been damaged as badly as that one was. “No worrying about any more demons today,” Xavier thought to himself with a sigh of relief as he turned from scanning the walls of the chamber.

It was also upon exploring this chamber further that Xavier came to find a chest hidden underneath one of the stone stairs. Xavier had accidentally discovered it as his foot shifted loose the stone slab that covered it (nearly taking a tumble himself in the process), and found it contained several old tomes written by Lord Demanitus and his followers! Some of which seemed to contain hints about the legendary Demanitus steel!

Naturally, the blacksmith spent hours in that chamber pouring over the tomes’ contents, jotting down in his own notes anything that seemed to bring him closer to achieving his life’s dream. He also found references to living weapons and metal soldiers (very likely automatons and other such creations), elixirs the likes of which Xavier had never dreamed possible, and – most curious of all – encoded messages that seemed to indicate a forgotten city or kingdom far away to the east, and always the repeating symbols of the moon, the sun, something like a comet, and what appeared to be teardrops of some sort.

It was all most intriguing to be sure.

“Oh, is it that time already?” Xavier had finally asked aloud through a yawn as he looked at his pocket watch through tired eyes, and saw that the time was now nearly five o’clock in the morning of the day after. He had literally been up all night. Though Xavier knew he would be paying for it later, he couldn’t help but feel like he wouldn’t have wanted to spend his time any other way upon such discoveries as this.

“Best head back up then,” he muttered to himself as he stood and stretched his back and shoulders, both having gone stiff after sitting for several hours on the hard stone floor at the base of the Device. While Xavier was not looking forward to making the climb back up so many stairs with his heavy treasure trove of books slung across his back in a thick burlap sack, he couldn’t help but feel that a good several minutes of step exercises would also be good for his now nearly numb legs.

“Take heart now Xavier ol’ boy,” he couldn’t help think to himself as he huffed and puffed his way up the many steps, and felt trails of sweat trickle their way down his brow as he went. “It’ll be worth it once we get up there. Just wait until his majesty finds out about this latest discovery! This has truly been a great day in the history of Corona!”

…But not even ten minutes later, Xavier had emerged back into the breaking dawn to find just how much of a disaster the day had truly been for the kingdom...

The first sight that met Xavier’s eyes upon emerging from the underground tunnels was the entire palace square in complete disarray, with splintered wood, twisted metals, and torn canvas and play nets scattered all over the place. Xavier looked about him, wide-eyed in bewilderment as he saw that several of the townsfolk had been working to clean up the mess, but now nearly everyone had gone still and were murmuring in nervousness to one another as all eyes turned to the troupe of soldiers returning from Xavier knew not where, and with one of the prison carts being pulled along gravely behind them.

What on Earth had happened here?

“Excuse me!” Xavier called out to one of the townswomen nearby, whose daughter clutched tightly at her skirts as if seeking comfort and protection from some enemy that might jump out at any moment. “What’s going on here?”

“Oh Xavier, there you are!” the kindly woman exclaimed as she turned to him. “Where have you been? We looked all over for you when the king had called all of Corona’s capable fighters to arms for the assault, but you weren’t in your shop and-and we thought-”

“Wait, an assault!?” Xavier asked in alarm, nearly dropping his sack of tomes. “Where? What’re you talking about? What’s happened?”

There was a long pause as the lady stared back at Xavier with surprise, and her daughter nuzzled in closer to her mother’s side. “Y-you mean, you didn’t…you haven’t heard that-”

But the townswoman never did finish what she was going to say, for at that moment the prison carriage came to a stop in the middle of the square, and everyone nearby went dead silent as the guards Pete and Stan unlocked the door, and dragged the reluctant occupant out from inside.

Xavier’s jaw dropped, and he felt his heart go cold and shocked inside of him as he saw whom the guards brought out of the wagon; the increasing daylight glinting meanly off a set of iron handcuffs clinging to his wrists, and the sunbeams casting a stark shadow across his hostile, defeated, tired, tearstained, and ice-cold eyes.

It was Quirin’s son - Varian!

If Xavier hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would’ve had a hard time believing anyone who told him that Quirin’s young boy had caused so much danger so as to be forcibly brought back to the castle in chains, and that the mess that greeted the boy and his raccoon companion as they existed the cart was of Varian’s own doing from only a few hours before. But there was certainly no denying this, and while a dozen questions still buzzed about in Xavier’s brain about what exactly had transpired, there was one thing Xavier knew for certain as he saw Varian’s eyes dart briefly to the faces that surrounded him, and then turned to remain looking straight ahead in a hard glare as he was led away through the crowd that parted like the Red Sea to allow the guards to pass by with him; all eyes burning into Varian with mixtures of fear, anger, bewilderment, and some even with downright disgust.

Xavier was seeing a ghost. A hollow shell. A sad, twisted, angry, frightened (yes, frightened, even despite the pure rage more clearly seen), and broken version of what Varian had once been. Xavier had once heard it said that the greater, more talented, more pure, or more powerful something was – whatever it was – it was all that much worse whenever it went bad. Angels that were fallen were said to become demons, monarchs that were corrupted became tyrants, wizards that opened themselves up to evil became wicked warlocks, wordsmiths that applied their craft for propaganda became false advertisers at best, blacksmiths that once applied their trade for protection became engineers for bloody warfare, etc. Xavier had figured that perhaps there was some wisdom to this idea (one who deals with weapons perhaps couldn’t afford to ignore it), though he had been so blessed to live in a land and a time where such drastic examples seemed so far away, that he hadn’t given it much thought really.

But now, just seeing what had become of Varian…and thinking of how he used to be…

Xavier felt an involuntary chill run down his spine, and felt as if a heavy stone sat in the pit of his stomach as he saw the state of that soul reflected in Varian’s eyes in the brief moment the boy passed by him, and Xavier felt his heart break and sink in tandem with the castle doors shutting behind the guards, with Varian locked in on the other side, and perhaps never to be seen by Xavier or the rest of the world ever again.

“…This cannot be…” was all that Xavier could think as the crowd began to mill about again, and most of the townsfolk resumed their cleanup attempts while they muttered and whispered to each other about the dangerous wizard that the guards had just succeeded in capturing and locking up. Xavier could hear a few words here and there expressing some sort of concern for Varian (mostly due to his youth more than anything else about him), but most of it went something like:

“Well, thank goodness that’s all done with!”

“I’m so glad the guards got him when they did. Whew! I know I’d never have been able to sleep through another night if that crazy kid was still on the loose with his monster.”

“Well, we don’t have to worry about him any more.”

“Such a shame really – Quirin’s only child and he turns out like this.”

“What would his father think of him if he were still here? Absolutely mortified I’m sure.”

“That little whipper-snapper is really gonna pay for the damage done to my stall, I can tell you that!”

“Insane I tell you! Absolutely cracked!”

“Now you see, this is what a real overreaction looks like! Huh! And you thought I was such a drama king while we were courting!”

“Xavier-?”

Xavier found himself starting as he felt the gentle hand of the townswoman tap his shoulder, snapping him out of his keen eavesdropping as he met her concerned eyes and those of her daughter. “Are…are you ok?”

“Oh! Y-yes,” Xavier lied. “Just…thinking, that’s all.”

“Mm,” the lady hummed in understanding, and now also caught sight of the large sack Xavier had been carrying over his shoulder. “What’s all that you’ve got there?”

“Oh! Uh, well,” Xavier stammered, suddenly now realizing he had all but forgotten his great discovery over these last few minutes. But also now, suddenly…it didn’t seem to be all that joyful of a thing to him at that moment. Not after all he had seen.

“It’s…just a little something I found last night. I was going to bring it to show his majesty.”

“Oh, that important huh?” the townswoman replied, trying to project a sense of normalcy into the current dim mood around them as she feigned interest. “Are you going to show him now?”

“Erm…no,” Xavier managed to say, shifting the sack back over his shoulder to a more comfortable position. “No. I…His majesty has enough to attend to right now I’m sure. I’ll just drop it off real quick back at my shop and return to help everyone here where I’m needed.”

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” the townswoman replied, and now moving to carry her daughter in her arms as the little girl yawned, exhausted. “I’ll be back too. I just want to take my little one home now that I know it’s safe to go back and leave her there.”

“Yes of course,” Xavier said. “And-and do tell me more about what happened here later would you?” The woman agreed, and she and Xavier bid their quick good-byes as they each attended to their respective errands.

As Xavier trundled his way back to his shop, his sack suddenly felt a lot heavier than it did before. He wanted to convince himself that it was only from being so tired, but he just couldn’t quite bring himself to believe that. Everything suddenly felt a lot heavier after all that just went down, including the tomes’ contents hanging over his shoulder.

…And in more ways than one…if Xavier’s hunch was somehow correct…

And what a twist of fate if it were…

Xavier shook his head. “None of that now,” he tried to tell himself as he continued on down the lane, and tried to prevent himself from thinking too hard about it. “Besides, you don’t even know if you’re right, and there are more urgent matters at hand. All of that must wait until another day…”

But now, it seemed, that day may have come, and as battle exploded onto the field before his eyes on this very night, Xavier had never felt a situation to be more precarious in his life. And he was terrified about how it may end.

If his hunch was correct that is…and if he was forced to use it as a last resort.

The world burst into pinks and blues before Varian’s eyes as the vials he had thrown exploded in midair, and several arrows and crossbow bolts became trapped within the sticky consistency of the gooey, cotton-like cloud that formed upon the vials’ implosion. Having successfully shielded himself from this first round of projectiles, Varian went dashing in behind Ruddiger, who had managed to crash his way through the main line of separatists, and sent several of them flying and sprawling around the clearing as he bowled his way through the crowd. While Varian could hear a few sharp yelps of pain escape Ruddiger as a few arrows and bolts stuck into his shoulders and forelegs as he went tearing into the enemy line, most of the arrows and bolts either bounced off Ruddiger’s thick hide and hard skull, or else gave him no more trouble than if he were running through a cloud of toothpicks. Apparently, while the male spy had certainly thought a lot of things through upon Ruddiger donning his feral form, he hadn’t counting on Ruddiger being quite so hard to take down initially.

If they weren’t in such imminent danger, Varian would’ve almost wanted to take the time to gloat over what a spectacular tank Ruddiger was in his attack form. But as it was, there was too much happening too fast to even begin to think about any sort of boasting. For after shielding himself from the first volley of arrows, Varian was now forced to engage in some hand-to-hand combat as several of the separatists’ scattered forces now made to attack him directly. Varian had learned a few basic offensive and defensive sword moves from Quirin (as Quirin had insisted it was good for Varian to know these sorts of things when living in a village right on the border of Corona), but Varian never took to it very extensively. That was why, despite his rage, Varian also felt a faltering in his courage as he brandished his Demanitus steel sword from its sheath, and soon was looking into the faces of two agents who were now nearly on top of him with their own weapons drawn, the silver steel of them glinting in the moonlight above his head.

But then, two things happened almost at the same moment, which soon renewed some of Varian’s confidence in how this battle may turn out for them. The first thing was that one of the agents had suddenly dropped his weapon with a cry of surprise, and staggered back as an arrow from off to Varian’s right hit the man’s weapon smartly on the handle, causing him to grip his wrist in pain as the shockwave of the strike went up his arm. Queen Arianna had made a direct hit on his weapon and disarmed him, and was now rushing in to take him on herself, leaving Varian only one opponent to worry about for the next few milliseconds.

“Don’t even try it boy!” the Saporian agent growled at Varian as he made to lock swords with the young alchemist.

But as their blades made to cross each other, Varian came to discover perhaps another good reason why Demanitus steel had gone underground the way it did for the last several centuries.

…It was insanely powerful.

While Varian had little doubt that the Saporian agent before him must’ve been more skilled than he was at hand-to-hand combat, Varian found after only a few strokes exchanged that once he was able to land a direct hit on his enemy’s weapon, the Demanitus steel sword would cut the whole of the other steel cleanly in half, just like it did with the black rocks and the amber. With a quick “swang” and a shower of sparks, the Saporian agent cried out in alarm as his two-handed steel sword was in the blink of an eye cut down to the size of a knive, and the tip of Varian’s sword barely missed grazing his nose by a few centimeters.

For a second, both Varian and the agent were frozen still, their eyes each darting quickly from the severed blade to each other’s faces as they each took in the marvel they just witnessed from the dark sword in Varian’s hands. But while they both had witnessed the same marvel, their resulting expressions couldn’t have been more different, as Varian’s face suddenly lit up with a new exhilaration that perhaps only the irrational thrill of battle could bring about, while the agent opposite him had a look that definitely indicated words going through his mind that Quirin would’ve considered too vulgar for Varian’s young ears to hear.

The next moment, the agent was retreating with a scream to where several other of his comrades still advanced with weapons, with Varian right on his heels, and letting out his own caterwaul of delight. Already Varian was reaching to grab another set of alchemy vials with his free hand, and made to repeat the previous process of launching them at his enemies, and then attacking with his sword once he was shielded and they were distracted by whatever bizarre chemical reaction resulted from their shattering.

“We’re doing it!” Varian thought excitedly as the world again exploded into color in front of him, and he ran in slashing his way through the cloud of pink and purple smoke that rose up before him. Again and again he felt one weapon after another cleave in two as they met the strikes of his own dark sword, and Varian began leaving a trail of angry combatants as they were left struggling in vain against the sticky substances that kept them rooted to the spot where the stood trapped and unarmed.

“We can actually win this!”

Xavier struggled desperately against his bonds as battle began waging around him, and he managed to duck just in time as several Saporian agents went flying over his head as Ruddiger bashed his way through them; the great beast scattering their forces like ten pins as he charged and swiped around him in a feral frenzy. Looking frantically around him, Xavier soon saw the glimmer of a battleaxe dropped nearby him, and he quickly set to the awkward work of cutting the ropes that held his wrists behind his back.

“Thank goodness they didn’t use irons,” Xavier thought to himself as he began to feel the fibers of the cords cut loose. But just then-

“Oh no you don’t!” a deep voice bellowed in Xavier’s ear as he was seized by the shoulders, and the battleaxe was picked up by another man. “You’re not getting away from us that easil- GWAH!”

Xavier cringed as he could’ve sworn he heard the sound of a few ribs cracking as Ruddiger charged himself headlong into the man holding Xavier hostage, and with a quick swish of his ringed tail sent the other agent with the axe sprawling onto the grassy turf nearby. With a quick nod of gratitude to Ruddiger before the beast again turned back into the fray, Xavier quickly worked again at getting his bonds off. After a few more tense seconds (which felt more like whole minutes in the heat of battle), Xavier was able to get his hands free, and soon made to join in the fight himself as he quickly weighed the battleaxe in his aching hands. While Xavier was of course one for vouching for any non-violent solutions to things before resorting to any physical confrontation, he also was not opposed to engaging in self-defense or the defense of others when the need called for it.

“Just hang on you two!” Xavier thought to himself about the queen and Varian as he began to take on the Separatists from behind, and found himself locked in combat with a couple of them as Ruddiger continued to bite and scratch at the enemies around them. “Hang on!”

Meanwhile, Arianna was making excellent use of her bow and throwing knives in the fight. While the scattering of the Saporian agents by Ruddiger had made it more difficult for her to guarantee hitting a target, it didn’t stop her from enacting whatever long-range support for Varian and Ruddiger she could give. It was alarming work trying to switch quickly back and forth between her bow and her knives so constantly, and to avoid hitting her own allies by accident, but Arianna had been able to manage it before when battling pirates out on the seas near Gushambai, and also when taking on a clan of rogues just outside of the city of Vardaros. True, she was a bit rusty, but Arianna found her confidence boosted when she disarmed several agents from across the way, and succeeded in pinning another against a tree with a couple well-aimed knives. For the most part, she was able to successfully keep any combatants well enough away from herself so as to be safe, and to also cover Varian as he slashed through the Saporian armaments with his sword, and immobilized many of them with his many concoctions.

But soon enough, Arianna found herself facing an opponent that required a bit more effort to defend herself from than a few well-aimed throwing knives, and she was forced to draw her twin sabers as he approached her.

“May I have this dance, your highness?” the male spy asked mockingly as he rushed forward, and soon he and Arianna were both in the fight for their lives.

“I must say your majesty,” the spy began between strikes, “‘tis a shame that you are indeed Corona’s queen. What a waste it is to have such a noble and capable woman associated with the stain that is that pathetic kingdom and its disgraceful king. If things were different, I’m sure we all certainly would’ve loved to have you as an ally to our cause.”

“If things were different,” Arianna retorted as their swords locked with one another, “I would have you and yours all rooted out from across the Seven Kingdoms, and all memory of Saporia would be blotted out from history.”

“Oh? Is that so now?” the man replied with the sneer, the two of them pulling apart. “And what’s stopping you from doing so now?”

Now it was Arianna’s turn to sneer back. “Because I’m not like you and yours. I’m better than that.”

Immediately, the man’s sneer vanished and was replaced with a hard scowl, and he and Arianna were at it again, with Arianna feeling the strength of anger that now poured into the man’s strikes against her own.

A few moments of hard combat later, a long, loud, and shrieking cry could suddenly be heard across the way, along with a brief glow of blue light, though Arianna wasn’t really able to take in either of these things as she and the male spy continued to go at each other.

“Ah!” the spy managed to huff out between parries, and a smile could be seen briefly flickering across his features as he blocked another one of Arianna’s attacks. “If I’m correct, I believe that signals your time is just about up now, your majesty!”

Varian would’ve hated to admit it, but he had been downright giddy for the last few moments of the battle. He remembered experiencing something similar (at least for a time) when he had been in the Battle of Old Corona on that one fateful day…but he didn’t allow himself to dwell on those memories. Instead, Varian embraced the feeling in the here and now, and with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and with his sword cutting through the Saporian’s defenses with such little resistance, it was little wonder that Varian found himself enjoying things perhaps a bit too much.

“VARIAN!”

Upon hearing the calling of his name, Varian snapped out of his glee for a moment as he turned to find Xavier now running to his side, and the blacksmith roughly shoving away a Saporian fighter with the handle of his battleaxe.

“Xavier!” Varian exclaimed, though any further happy greetings were interrupted as the two of them were forced to stand back-to-back with each other as more agents came crowding in on them.

“Ha! What a night for a rescue, huh?” Varian said through his giggles as he braced himself for the next wave of attack.

“Varian, get a hold of yourself! This is serious!” Xavier scolded him harshly over his shoulder as he parried another warrior’s thrusts, not at all liking the euphoria Varian seemed to be getting from the battle experience. “What were you thinking!? You and her majesty- y-you two shouldn’t even be here! Do either of you have any idea what could befall Corona if either of you got-?”

“Well that’s not very grateful of you,” Varian interrupted, though Xavier could hear the smile in Varian’s voice as he said it, and as he sent another volley of vials at his opponents. “Ha! See? Bull’s eye!”

“Varian, please!” Xavier tried again, now very stern. “You’re not thinking clearly! You need to get out of here now!”

“We’re all getting out of here!” Varian shouted as he again crossed swords with another agent. “I’ve got the Demanitus sword! We can do this!”

Xavier again opened his mouth to reply, but he never did get to say what he was going to, for right then, on horrible cue, the tides of battle changed in an instant as a horrible cry broke through the dark night around them.

Somewhere, in the corner of his vision, Varian caught sight of Ruddiger rear his head back, his mouth opened wide in a loud, shrieking cry, and then the great animal dropped down hard on the turf as his form was simultaneously engulfed in a light blue glow. Varian and those nearby all shielded their eyes from the bright light, and as Varian blinked in the ensuing darkness that came as the light faded, Varian could just make out the silhouette of the lady spy standing dark against the starlit sky, and holding up high with one hand the limp form of a de-transformed Ruddiger.

The lady spy held her cutlass up to the raccoon’s ragged form, and its sharp blade glinted a bright silver in the moonlight.

The euphoria Varian felt only moments before vanished instantly, and it felt as if the world stood horribly still for an eternity as he took in the sight of his friend hanging helplessly in the hands of an enemy that had a blade to his throat.

“NOOOO!” Varian screamed, and without even looking to see what he was grabbing, the young alchemist ran and chucked forward in the lady spy’s direction whatever vials he managed to grab from his pack, and hoping, praying that whatever happened next would somehow be enough to save his dear friend.

“NO VARIAN!” Xavier cried, and tried to reach out and grab Varian, but he was too late, and soon he and Varian were separated again as Xavier was forced to block the blow of another fighter attacking him from the side.

Varian, meanwhile, threw vial after vial at the lady spy, but these all proved futile in any attempt to hurt her as she expertly dodged the ensuing explosions of green and yellow flames, and came to alight on a stack of boulders a few yards above Varian’s head, perching herself just over Varian who looked up helplessly at her as she continued to hold Ruddiger up by the scruff. For a sickening second, Varian was certain the next thing that would meet his eyes would be the lady killing Ruddiger right then and there in front him, just out of Varian’s reach to be able to do anything.

Just like that terrible day, all over again.

But instead of bringing her cutlass back to Ruddiger’s limp form, the lady spy instead surprised Varian beyond all belief by simply letting Ruddiger go; the raccoon’s limp form dropping like a sack of potatoes towards the ground.

With a quick yelp of alarm and without even thinking, Varian immediately dropped his sword, and slid forward so that he just managed to catch Ruddiger in his arms before the poor little creature could hit the turf. Words are slow, but in the few milliseconds that followed, Varian registered several things. One was that Ruddiger was still alive and still breathing, though his breathing was shallow, frantic, and frightened. Two was that Varian could also feel something warm and wet soak into a spot on his sleeve where Ruddiger’s fur made contact with it. At first, Varian thought Ruddiger had suddenly wet himself in fright from the fight and the sudden fall (which Varian would not have blamed him for at this stage), but when he realized the truth, Varian rather wished it had been what he thought it was at first. For in an equally horrible fraction of a second, Varian realized that what he was feeling wasn’t urine, but blood.

Ruddiger had been wounded, and he was bleeding!

But the next thing that hit Varian like a horrid thunderclap was that he was no longer holding his sword! As Varian began to look around desperately for it, he suddenly felt himself being jerked upright from behind, felt Ruddiger fall out of his grip with a dull thud, and after a brief moment of struggling against the arms that held him, Varian went still as stone as he felt the cold, sharp side of an ebony blade – his blade – press itself up against his neck.

“LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS!” the lady spy shouted to Xavier and Arianna passed Varian’s shoulder, and the both of them froze in horror as they saw her holding Varian against herself with a sword at his throat. “BOTH OF YOU! NOW!”

“NO!” Varian wanted to shout, but the feeling of the sword against his throat prevented him from trying to make any sound come out. “NO! NO NO NO! WE…WE HAD THEM! WE DID! KEEP FIGHTING! KEEP GOING! WE CAN DO THIS! WE CAN’T LOSE! IT-IT CAN’T END LIKE THIS! WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP-!”

But Varian could only stare at Xavier and Arianna wide-eyed as the both of them after a tense pause dropped their weapons, and each held up their hands in the air.

“No…” Varian repeated again in his mind, now feeling himself having to struggle to hold back any tears that threatened to emerge as it all began to register.

They had surrendered. The both of them. For him. And the battle was over.

They had lost.

“No, please no!” Varian thought desperately, trying once again to wriggle his way out of the lady spy’s grasp, but it was no use as he could feel her grip on him tighten further, and he felt his legs turn to pudding as his skin detected the moisture of the first drops of blood his sword drew from anyone. Of course those drops would be his own.

No. The word repeated itself again and again in Varian’s mind as both Xavier and Arianna were also roughly grabbed now, and several agents moved to tie them both up as Varian too felt his hands being moved to behind his back, and Ruddiger was still left lying stunned on the grass.

“Heh, so sorry little brother!” the lady spy hissed in Varian’s ear as she drew the sword away from his throat, and Varian could hear some of the other agents begin to jeer and laugh at Xavier and Arianna as they too were taken prisoner. “But don’t worry. You and your sword will be used in a most worthy cause I guarantee you. You’ll see. And not only did you bring the formula to us too, but you even brought the very queen of Corona herself! Ha ha! I’m actually almost jealous of you, if I’m honest. Do you even know how many Saporians would’ve loved to be in your shoes right now? There’ll definitely be a big promotion waiting for you once you see reason and can- whoa! Hey, don’t give me that look!” the lady spy scolded as Varian looked up at her with an expression that was borderline on grief-stricken. “Yeesh, they really did do a number on your brains didn’t they? You look almost if you really just betrayed your best friend or something.”

“What?” Varian just barely managed to think as he registered her words. Was…was that really how he looked?

Was that really how he felt?

…Yes. It was true. Varian had hardly any idea how, but he did feel that way. And what was worse, it wasn’t just Queen Arianna, Xavier and Ruddiger that Varian had let down so badly this night, but he had also let down Friedeborg, the Captain, Pete and Stan, and perhaps even the whole of the kingdom of Corona in his foolhardy plan.

And…he had let down Dad, too. Again.

“No…no no, please!” Varian thought desperately as he shut his eyes against the hot tears now began to prick at them, and as he heard more jeering and laughter as one of the men surrounding them took the opportunity to spit on the queen. Varian let out a choked sob as he heard it, and again saw against his darkened eyelids the image of his hands uncorking the vial that held the vial green liquid that he used to nearly encase the queen in amber on that other terrible day.

“No no! Somebody, please-!”

“Varian…”

Varian’s misty, frightened, heartbroken eyes snapped open as he heard his name being spoken, and his head whipped round to where Xavier had gently called out to him from where he and Arianna were kneeling on the grass. Varian was almost sure that Xavier would start scolding him again as he did on the battlefield just a few moments before…but something about his countenance was off. Xavier didn’t look angry, nor even sad or ashamed. He looked…conflicted, somehow – almost exactly as he did on that day he met with Varian, right before he told Varian that he knew about what had first caused Quirin’s encasement.

It was an expression that said, “I’m sorry,” though Varian was at a complete and utter loss as to why on Earth Xavier would be wearing such an expression in their current situation.

But in the next moment that followed, Varian found out why.

“I can’t do it!” Xavier had insisted to himself as his hands had once again been tied around his back. “I can’t! It might hurt him!”

“He’s hurting now. And you know you’re just wasting time,” that small voice inside of Xavier argued with himself.

“But what if he’s not ready? He’s never given no indication that he has any idea-”

“He is ready. Or even if he isn’t, he’s as ready as he’ll ever be.”

“How can I be sure?”

“You can’t. But you did promise Quirin, right?”

“That was just a passing thought.”

“Was it?”

Xavier frowned hard, recalling once again all that he had found in those old notes by Demanitus, and also cringing as one of the men spat on the queen beside him, and Varian looked shattered all over again from where he sat defeated on the grass.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s now or never. You have to try.”

With that, Xavier’s mind made itself up. Sending up a quick, silent prayer, Xavier called out gently to Varian.

“Varian…” he said, and swallowed hard as he made eye contact with Varian, and then began to speak the words that he knew would likely change the course of Varian’s life forever.

“Puer lunae Ab herede Demanitus Consurge, consurge Et da nobis lux vestra”

For a moment, Varian thought that perhaps his hearing had gone weird as Xavier began to speak to him. But then, Varian’s brow furrowed hard as he realized what he heard had been Latin. But what Xavier had said made absolutely no sense to him. What was he trying to s-?

But then…Varian knew. He didn’t know how he knew, but somewhere, deep, deep down inside of him, Varian knew, and the world around him was suddenly flooded with blue and silver, and his head began to blossom into pain as the light got more and more intense, and Xavier’s words echoed again and again in his brain, calling whatever it was deep down in him up into the light.

Consurge, consurge…ab herede Demanitus

Puer lunae

“I’m so sorry,” Xavier thought, as he could only wait and watch to see what would come next for Varian.

...For the Heir of Demanitus.

...I suspect that some of you had to know that this was coming. ;)

The moon!Varian theory was first posted by @ghosta-r. I just love this theory so much, I had to include it at some point in my fic! I hope that's ok!

Also, my apologies to anyone who knows Latin and sees that/if I happened to really botch it, or if Xavier's spell just really doesn't sound great to Latin-knowing ears. I did my best via Google translate, but whatevs. xP

I also don't often do action sequences in my writing, so I'm also sorry if this all came out a bit confusing or convoluted or whatever. Hopefully it's an enjoyable read though!

#tts #rta #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #gauze in the wound #fan fiction #varian #xavier the blacksmith #queen arianna #ruddiger #rudiger #battle!ruddiger #beast!ruddiger #the separatists of saporia #moon!varian

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