#vyra get down from there!!!!

[cindernet-explorer]

Taking a crack at the Pirate AU that's been going around.

A'vyra, the lookout. Oketra, the shantyman. U'nia, the ship's cook.

#viera #duskwight #xaela #miqo'te #ffxiv screenshots #ffxiv gpose #pirate au #vyra get down from there!!!! #Screens: U'nia Redfeather #Screens: A'vyra Mitu #Screens: Oketra

[anakinskywalkerog]

My Very Soul (Chapter 33)

Anakin Skywalker x Jedi!Reader

Link to Chapter 32

Warnings: grief!! depression!!! tread lightly!! things will get better, our girl will heal, but please engage with this only if you feel good/healthy yourself! also, drama/angst, but that's what you get from me

Summary: Anakin comforts you after the death of your Master; you wrestle with some difficult truths, and agree to train with someone new

Word Count: 2.7k

It was heavy. There was no other way to explain it. Your grief was a heavy pillow, suffocating you as you lay in your bed. You felt like the sheets might swallow whole you under the weight. The feel of Anakin's arms around you faded in the face of the soft, quiet, heavy feeling pressing on you. It was like being underwater. It was like trying to fight wind stronger than a hurricane. It pushed you down, and you felt like you had no strength to fight against it.

You'd awoken after Felucia in the Temple's medical chamber, Anakin at your side. You had no memory of anything that had happened after Yuma had been killed, and you didn't understand why Anakin looked so full of relief, why he had tears in his eyes at the sight of you. Obi-Wan had simply explained that you had lost consciousness, similar to the way you had when encountering Dooku's presence. Something in Anakin's face told you that it wasn't quite that simple.

Still, you couldn't find it in yourself to care, much, about what had happened after your Master had been taken from you. You couldn't find it in yourself to care about anything at all, other than the arms that remained around you, other than having Anakin by your side. You found that there were times when even that desire started to fade; when you felt the heaviness pressing in and lost any feeling at all.

"Y/N," Anakin whispered, shaking your arm a little, reaching over to run his fingers gently through your thick hair, pushing it away from your face. Every so often he would say something like this, something soft and gentle, like he were trying to make sure you could still hear him.

"I'm here," you replied, not looking at him, but reaching out and gripping his sleeve. Anakin brushed away the tears that fell softly and steadily out of your eyes and onto the sheets of the big bed in your Jedi apartment, situated in the Knight's Billet in the Temple. This is where you had remained for days, barely moving, barely sleeping or eating, struggling to fight the weight in order to keep breathing.

After you had left the medical chambers, you had recounted to the Council how Vyra had lured you into that cave, how she had manipulated the severity of the battle on Felucia and used the Sith dwelling to call to you in order to trap you and 'torture' you. You had told them what she had said of her reason for doing so, her grudge that she had held since you had been assigned your mission on Serenno. You had explained what she had recounted about Dooku and his mysterious "Master"; you'd noticed that Yoda and Windu had shared a look at that information. You couldn't bring yourself to care, at the moment, what that meant. You had struggled for breath, standing in the center of that circle of Jedi atop the tall tower, as you had recounted the last moments of Yuma's life: how she had been in the throes of a horrible vision, caused by the poison that made her live through her worst fears. You could barely get the words out when you described Vyra killing your Master, and taking her lightsaber. Obi-Wan had stood up to walk you out, his hand on your back the whole way back to your apartment, his face grim. You hadn't emerged since.

"Y/N," Anakin said again, stroking your face, your arm. "You need to eat something." You shook your head. The thought of moving at all, let alone eating, drinking, sounded too hard. You felt the heaviness pressing in on you.

"I love you," Anakin said again, and the agony in his presence was like a spark, a stabbing pain that brought you out of the heavy feeling, if only for a moment. Your eyes filled, again, with tears.

"I know," you whispered, looking into his eyes.

"I'll be here with you," Anakin said, reaching forward to kiss your eyelids, brushing the tears away with the gentle press of his lips. "I won't let them make me leave."

"You can't stay forever, Ani," you sighed, curling into him, wishing your words weren't true.

"I won't—"

Anakin cut off his words, feeling the same disturbance in the Force that made your senses heighten. Someone was coming.

A soft knock sounded on the door of the apartment. You and Anakin both looked at each other, sensing the presence that stood outside.

"Maybe he'll leave," you breathed into Anakin's ear, not moving. Anakin remained still, listening. You waited, holding your breath.

"Y/N," you heard, Obi-Wan's soft voice calling through the door as he knocked again. If he came into the apartment, it would only take a few steps past the kitchen for him to see through the open bedroom door, where he would find you and Anakin in bed together—

"What do we do?" you whispered, panicked, your eyes widening. Numb with grief you may be; but if you and Anakin were caught, it could risk your position in the Order. Anakin's eyes darted around, and landed on the tiny wardrobe built into the wall. Jedi Knights were granted little storage space, as they were not to keep possessions of their own.

"Anakin, he'll sense you!" you whispered frantically, but Anakin was already up and running in his boxers to the wardrobe. He sucked in his gut and used the force to close the wardrobe's doors as you heard Obi-Wan's voice sound again from outside the door.

"Y/N, I'm coming in," Obi-Wan said, his voice gentle and suppliant. You pulled yourself up in your bed, fighting against the heaviness in your limbs as you used the Force to summon your robe, hastily throwing it on over your nightgown as the door to your apartment opened and Obi-Wan stepped inside.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," Obi-Wan said as he walked forward to stand in the open door of your bedroom. You knew you probably looked like Moraband; you hadn't visited the refresher in days, and your hair was a tangled mess on your head. You felt Obi-Wan's thoughts linger on the dark circles under your eyes.

"That's all right, Master," you replied, your voice hoarse. Obi-Wan walked forward and pulled the chair near the window around so that it was facing you. You gulped as he turned, looking back to you as if to ask, may I ? You nodded, gesturing that he should sit. Obi-Wan had never been inside your apartment before—his presence startled you enough that you felt the heavy numbness backing away from you.

"I came to bring you this," Obi-Wan said, leaning forward in the chair and pulling something from the pocket of his robes. As he reached out to hand it to you, you sighed in amazement.

"How...?" you asked, leaning forward to take your lightsaber from him and gripping it. You felt each familiar divot of the hilt like you had found an old friend lost to time; you felt the ghosts of tears prickle behind your eyes, and you willed them away.

"I recovered it for you, on Felucia," Obi-Wan responded quietly. "When you were found, in that cave." His tone was careful, quiet, and solemn. "I wanted to return it to you before, but...it seemed a difficult enough moment." You thought back to facing the Council, to the whirlwind of emotions you'd faced upon waking up here, in the Temple, without your Master, for the first time in your life.

"Thank you," you managed to get out, looking back up at him and keeping your tears at bay. He simply nodded. You looked around, feeling awkward, working to keep your gaze anywhere but on the wardrobe behind Obi-Wan's back.

"I also..." Obi-Wan started, and you met his gaze, his face lit by the rays of sun streaming in through the partially closed blinds. "I am also here because I wanted to make a proposition to you."

You squinted, gripping your robe around yourself, inclining your head to indicate that he should continue.

"You are, of course, under no obligation to do so..." Obi-Wan started, rubbing his hands over his mustache and through his beard. "But...I know how important it was to Yuma that you work on your ability, to block out the presences of the Sith." At these words, your heart dropped. The weight came back in full force, pushing you down. It was an effort to keep yourself seated, to not lay back into the sheets and give in to the heaviness that pressed into you. You swallowed, nodding. "I would like to continue your training, in that regard," Obi-Wan said, watching you intently, his voice soft. "Not to pick up where Yuma left off, necessarily. But to work to make sure you are fully in control of your abilities...so that, when the time comes that you must protect yourself, you are as prepared as you can be. I would like to do everything in my power to help you."

You struggled to breathe evenly, working the air in and out of your lungs. You knew that Obi-Wan meant well—that he was trying to show care for you, and for Yuma, by offering to help. And you knew you needed the help, knew now that your susceptibility to the dark side of the Force was a liability. So you couldn't help but hear the unspoken truth behind Obi-Wan's words—that it was your fault, what had happened on Felucia. That if you had made more progress in your lessons with Yuma, she would still...

Be here, you finished in your head, your eyes welling up against your will. You didn't need Obi-Wan to tell you. You knew the truth. You knew who was responsible for Yuma's death.

"Y/N," Obi-Wan started, leaning forward like he wanted to do something to comfort you, but you shook your head, letting the tears fall.

"I'll do it," you said, pushing against the heaviness. "I'll train with you." It was all you could manage. Obi-Wan paused, as if debating, then leaned back in his chair, putting his hand down.

"Good," Obi-Wan replied, his voice contemplative. "I'd like to start right away, given that the war has made it so my time at the Temple is limited. Tomorrow?" You nodded, looking away from him, your face flushed at your embarrassment. You'd never cried in front of Obi-Wan, and you didn't like it—you didn't want to feel weak around him, the Jedi who was always so very much in control. Until recently, you'd thought of yourself and Obi-Wan as similar souls, similar warriors who kept their emotions in check. You now realized that you were useless in more ways than one, that people like Obi-Wan would always surpass you. You wanted to go back to sleep.

"The last thing..." Obi-Wan continued, his voice unnervingly gentle. "I wanted to tell you," he said, leaning forward in his chair, waiting until you looked up to meet his gaze, "that you aren't alone. Though I know that no one and nothing could ever replace what Yuma was to you—to all of us—I want you to know that you still have family, here. That you still have a mentor that cares for you deeply." You blinked, the brazen affection in this statement disarming you.

 "And that if you ever need to discuss anything," Obi-Wan continued, "anything, even things that you wouldn't bring to others in the Order, you can come to me. Whenever you need." You could have sworn Obi-Wan glanced infinitesimally toward the wardrobe, but it was so fast, you must have been imagining it.

"Thank you, Obi-Wan," you said, your voice small, your gratitude sincere. You felt so much affection and adoration for the Jedi Master sitting in front of you. You wished only that his faith in you wasn't so displaced. You felt your body shaking, the effort of pushing off the weight beginning to wear on you.

"That's all," Obi-Wan said, smiling at you as he stood, walking toward the door. "I'll expect you in the meditation chambers tomorrow." You nodded, feeling drained. "Don't—don't be unkind to yourself," Obi-Wan added, pausing in the bedroom doorway to turn back to you. "All of this is hard enough as it is." You nodded again, wondering how he could sense what you were thinking so accurately. Obi-Wan turned away, striding for the door to the apartment.

You listened as the front door slid shut, waiting, your heart beating. He didn't return. You sank back into your pillows, pulling the robe around you in a cocoon as you heard the wardrobe door slide open.

Anakin didn't say anything as he lay down next to you, pulling your whole body and cradling it in his arms, burying his face in your hair.

"Training might be a good thing," Anakin whispered, in a tone like he was trying to sound optimistic. You pulled yourself closer to him, your body quivering as if you were cold. You felt the tears at the edge of your eyes again, felt the quivers turn into quiet sobs.

"I'm here," Anakin said, kissing your head and stroking your back. "I'm here." What else could he say? Everything certainly wasn't okay. You tried in vain to calm the sobs, but they continued. Whenever you fought the numbness enough to stave it off, this was what happened. It was, in some ways, worse to feel.

"I should have been there," Anakin said vengefully, his voice shaky, "I shouldn't have left you." You inhaled, quickly, another sob breaking out of you.

"Are you saying—are you saying that you could have prevented it?" You pulled back in Anakin's arms, looking him in the face, your eyes wide. "That it's my fault, that she's...that she's...?" you felt your body continue to shake. Unfamiliar anger pulsed through you, the bitter anger that was only self-directed. You needed somewhere to put it. Nothing made sense, anymore. Your brain turned to fire.

"No, of course—no, Y/N, of course that's not—" Anakin started, alarmed, gripping your arms as you pulled farther away from him.

"You don’t have to say that, because I already know!" you replied, shouting now, as you pulled yourself out of the bed, standing before him. Anakin was on his feet immediately, his arms outstretched for you, but you backed away. "I know what happened is my fault entirely!! If I hadn’t—choked—if I had just listened—"

"Y/N, no, no, that's not it, no, listen to me, that's not..."

"You heard Obi-Wan," you continued, sobbing again. "And you said it yourself. Yuma was right. I was a liability, and because of me, my Master is dead."

"Y/N!" Anakin was shouting now, reaching out for you again, but you pushed him away, backing into the corner of your bedroom and sinking to the floor.

"Just leave," you choked, closing your eyes, feeling the world around you start to sway. "Just go." The world was starting to fade.

"Y/N," Anakin said gently, moving toward you slowly, his arms outstretched like he was approaching a loose rancor. "Y/N, it isn't your fault. None of it was your fault. I didn't think that for one second, and neither does Obi-Wan."

"Just leave," you repeated, softly, your sobs coming freely now. You didn't deserve to be comforted. You wanted to descend into oblivion. You were starting to lose the feeling in your legs, in your arms. You looked around, but saw that your vision was blurring over.

"I can't do that," Anakin murmured softly, and you felt his hands prying at your arms. You hadn't realized you'd been gripping your knees so tightly. You started to breathe quickly. "Look at me, Y/N," Anakin whispered, and you looked around, frantic now, your eyes clouded, unable to see. "Come back to me," Anakin breathed into your ear, and you blinked, his face swimming into view.

"I can't ever leave you," Anakin said, pulling you into his arms right there on the floor. You wanted to reply. You wanted to tell him that you couldn't ever leave him, either. You wanted to promise that the two of you would be together forever. But the world had changed, when Yuma had been taken from you. Or, you had changed. You now knew that everyone, no matter how much you loved them, would someday vanish. You didn't understand it—how one day, someone could be so very real, and the next, they could be gone. And Anakin would vanish, someday, too. You leaned into him, feeling how very real and alive he felt, with his arms around you. You felt the heaviness descend as you wept.

************************************************************************

NEW CHAPTER UP NOW!!!!!

just imagine this Obi-Wan comforting you after reading this angst 😂🤓

divider credit to @racingairplanes

taglist pt 1: @iyoogi @cluelessgurl @layazul @annadastra @graciexmarvel @galaxiasy @organasith @indigoblues1207 @outoftheregular @katsukiswrld @prettyboyrryy @jellydodger @wildflower57 @padmeamidalaslover @em-asian @heavenseraph @iloveinej @leapofblank @sahverah @elsyyie @usuallyunlikelyfox @jadeonce @papadragun @dopejellyfishfury @stxrrielle @lilianashomaresparza @prettylittlecarstairs @deadunicorn159 @atoelicker @arelisskywalker @maythefloorbewithyouanakin @your-local-crzy-lady @dontmindme262 @xenochuguardian @cassiopeiashift @allihavenegativethoughts @hamiltonwc @1-800-nostalgiaaa @heyitsaloy @haydenchristensenluvbot @sunflwrsunnieshine @muthafuckingstargirl @window-to-nothing @shadowhuntyi @jedi-archives @inmourningforanakin @vivsmcdo @betrund @ahqkas @aquaamethyst96 @escapepoet @randomstuff2040 @kenjikishimotosupremecy @nycweb-slinger @anxlaufeyson @magic-magnoliaa @theezlife @unipugrose22-blog @anhsoka @lucyysthings @hopefulpursepeanutdeputy @captainson-of-coul @zelzablues @chrisevansslutttt2

#star wars #anakin skywalker #hayden christensen #star wars prequels #anakin #obi wan kenobi #anakin x reader #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin x fem reader #anakin fanfic #anakin skywalker fanfiction #sw fanfic #star wars fanfiction #clone wars anakin #the clone wars #rots #my very soul #anakin x you #reader insert #fluff #angst #enemies to lovers #slow burn #friends to lovers #long fic #angst fic #star wars angst #jedi reader #jedi oc #star wars oc

[springbons]

hey, that character building thing.

10, 4, 32. all FM. i NEED to know more about these people

Ahh Hello Ori. [Pulls FighterZ Frieza Intro Pose] So, you have Arrived in my Inbox. Unfortunately, we have MIGRATED a good bit, but just for you I shall update the terms. 10, 4, 32, CY. (I REALLY DID JUST TOSS EVERY CHARACTER I'VE EVER PLAYED FROM THIS INTO HERE HUH? AT THIS POINT I MIGHT ASWELL TOSS IN THE VILLAINS /j) 10. "What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?" Riktor - "I have a PhD in spellcasting!" Derringer - "I. Do not. Fucking. Care." (< Physically unable to actually care about things, but says it in the most passive-aggressive way possible just because it keeps people away from him.) Kurt - "I have Zero idea how much shit is stuffed up here." (In reference to his skull, and the fact it's Bigger On The Inside) Kelp - "Sss" (Oh, right, uhh... He's asking if you have any fruit. They're his? It's? ("we're not quite sure"s) favorite food.) Tarrel's DEAD but we'll toss him in anyway since Sparrow's hellbent to get him back. He's relevant enough. Tarrel - "I'm an Engineer!" ('And that's... All I ever will be. :,)') Moira - "I served two tours in Iraq." (And it's plagued her ever since.) Vyra - "...I'm dating a slime :)" (...Yeah she's not on the Team right now but she came by just to say that.) 4. "What’s a hobby they used to have that they miss?" Riktor - "Studying really gets you in the zone! It lets you relax and the time passes so quickly. It's like I don't even have to exist! ...I-I like existing though, don't take that the wrong way." Derringer - "I liked Studying. It let me Exist At All." Kurt - "Punting. People. Men. Comrades. Enemy walls. Over! Sometimes into." Kelp - (It says it Likes To Kill, but it hasn't been able to do much of that since it found Kurt again... Cuddling is fine too.) Tarrel - "I mean... A lot of things? I think death inherently... Divorces you from a lot of your uhm... Interests... I'd say I miss Sparrow the most though. I didn't see her as a hobby, but I was probably a hobby to her. I hope I was a good one..." Moira - "YIKES. I used to crochet in my spare time, lost the muscle memory when I went in the war. Didn't have time to. I think Kurt STARTED crocheting MID-BATTLE one time JUST to spite me on that. I couldn't stop laughing when I noticed he somehow brought an entire bag of crochet supplies and needles and all that bullshit. I think there was even a TABLE!" Vyra - "a table??? Uhh I really liked bomb making! That had a fun mix of thrill and excitement, but it also reminded me of baking in some aspects. I can still smell the good old days whenever I clean my house. :)" Moira - "What making."

32. "If they committed one petty crime / misdemeanor, what would it be? Why?" Riktor - Assault is technically not a small crime but he Would slap people if they said stupid shit for too long so it falls under the Petty category. He doesn't want to hear about the manager and coupons, Karen, he's trying to buy a book to SUMMON THE DEAD Derringer - "Do you have any idea how impossibly long that list is? You couldn't pick anything notable out amongst the storm." (Shoplifted a box of salt because the guy stocking the salt was a Dick and he wanted to know if he could get away with it. (He did.)) Kurt - Trespassing. You already know. Kelp - THIS one is impossible because of how SMALL the list is. I do not think it'd pull any crime that wasn't fully justified unless it was following Kurt's lead. So, trespassing. Tarrel - Disturbing the peace. He's like Colin Furze, his house would sound like machinery all day and all night. Walking construction site, this guy. Moira - Breaking into the Pentagon. Yes, this is out of Pettiness. No, she hasn't done it yet. Yes, she Will later down the line. Vyra - Is hanging people off a roof in a mildly threatening manner like a vigilante a Misdemeanor or a Felony?

[queersanddeers]

ChainLink: A story of Queers and Deers!

In a modern world of magic, humanoid animals, and religion come to life... It's really rather mundane. The Extraordinary becomes Ordinary and at the end of the day you're still dealing with the troubles of Love, Death and Taxes. Still, it makes for a fun time! And when you gather a ragtag team of the strangest folks around the world, you're bound to get something interesting. So come on in, meet the cast, and dive into this little hellhole of stupid monikers, silly sentences and quite possibly the most dysfunctional family in the entire world. (-of this story's universe.) But first, you gotta know all who's in it, right??? I mean, how the hell do you talk to these people if you don't know them- But that aside! There's MANY people in this mess, some more important than others, but here's a good curated list of the ones you're sure to see poking their heads around here. ,':) Riktor Tellman - The fun-loving but timid sorcerer you can see on the dashboard's banner giving you a SAUCY eyebrow raise! He's silly, he's gay as hell for Noah, and he doesn't like swearing!! So keep your language to a minimum around him or he'll reprimand you like a disappointed mother. Noah Bailey - The cervitaur bard with a prey complex and self-esteem issues. Gay as hell for Riktor and he swears like a sailor. (Just kidding!! please don't kick me Noah-) But he loves to draw and he loves to sing ("Whenever he's not off doing something stupid that'd get him hurt." -R) "Just" Kurt - The Skeleton! 7000 years and it just made him Chaotic. If he's anywhere, he's somewhere stupid or somewhere and doing something stupid. This pairs well with his cohort, Sparrow, who we'll be covering next. Just know, if you see a boney pirate-coat wearing skele, be wary of damages to one's self caused by his antics. Sparrow Reid - The partner in Chaos to Kurt's fun. While that Skeleton knows how to party responsibly, this shifter knows how to party hard, even if it means the end of the universe. (Probably not that far, but still.) A witch and a potion maker, they test so many of their potions on themselves that they could probably beat you in a drinking contest even at their ripe age of 16. Moira Serpentes - The Yuan-Ti Soldier. Served in the Iraqi war with Kurt, (SHOCKING, AIN'T THAT??? Him in War.) she's a woman with some age on her belt and a no-nonsense attitude (Who can't seem to stop adopting people. Jesus Christ Moira, you've got enough kids. ("NUH-UH" -M)) Part of a Warrior Race, she's always felt comfortable in combat, but she still gives plenty of time for home life. Tarrel Clarke - The half-dragon Engineer. After losing the only person he cared about in a horrible infestation upon his ship, the SSG Discovery, he found himself crash-landed on planet Earth, a land that Dragons left a long time ago because of a war. Now forced to blend in with them he's lived a life of self-loathing from being the worst parts of both his races, having been beaten down by everyone he's known. And yet, he found an unlikely family, and even more unlikely lover in Sparrow's company. Hyacinth Jackson - Just call him Jackson or you WILL get your face caved in. A Greek Dryad God of Nature, (who recently relinquished being a god,) who Has The Hots for Moira (boing boing wink wink nudge nudge (they're fucking married, what)) This man is silly but stone cold all the same, depending on who's talking to him. Bring him a coffee and you'll get on his good side though. Julian Montreal - The Slime, a damaged soul caused by horrid government experimentation! He's mostly just a sweetheart who's good with a bo staff. No one would really see him as a fighter at first glance, but that doesn't mean he can't hold himself in a fight. Vyra Mysteise - "I'm dating a slime! :)" She says that every. time. The silly schizophrenic Dryad who believed she was the last of her kind after watching her family burn alive in the war. Wow, that's harsh! All that aside though, she's always smiling, no matter the circumstance! A pretty face and an insanity to match, she's the perfect match for Julian.

#ChainLink #CLRiktor #CLNoah #CLKurt #CLSparrow #CLMoira #CLTarrel #CLJackson #CLJulian #CLVyra #CLDerringer #That's alot of names! #Good luck keeping track of them all #(It's not that hard dw)

[scritch-scratches]

VAULT: deletion, pt. 2 (1/?)

unfinished sequel to this fic

There hadn’t been much to go on, at first, not until he cracked open SOL’s mainframe like an egg and spread out all their employee records before his eyes. It’s different from the first, second, and third times he’s done it. The cold calculation that led him there before had turned into something acid hot, a familiar rage he hadn’t felt since Kogami Kiyoshi met his deserved end. 

First, he has to cripple them. So, he does. 

Like the fall of Rome, SOL crumbles in bits and pieces as the employees and contractors scramble in all directions. Their stocks crash, their dirty secrets air, their executives panic. It isn’t pretty, because Yusaku doesn’t care to make it pretty, too focused on the mess left behind. Somewhere among the employee records scattered before his eyes is the one person who matters, who he can’t afford to lose in SOL’s ungraceful plummet from the top of the world. 

Someone Ryoken reached out to. Yusaku found the records of the correspondence: a string of encrypted messages to an unknown source. One of the replies had been a trap, the virus expertly hidden within the coding of an innocuous little note. 

Ryoken had been careless—no, Ryoken had been trusting. Not like he was with his spy, cautiously scanning and dissecting everything that came in. These messages Ryoken had hurried to open, and considering the near instantaneous effects of the virus, he never even gotten the chance to read them.

Who would Ryoken have been so desperate to speak to?

It’s a dead end. But that just means Yusaku is approaching the problem from the wrong direction. The virus afflicting Ryoken, that killed his father, is something beyond even Vyra. Not even she had been able to devise a cure back then, and she is still struggling now. If she couldn’t, then the virus’s original creator may be their only chance. 

He searches, fingers flying over the keyboard. It would be easier, he thinks, if Ai was still with him, and not in another world. Time passes too quickly with the memory of Ryoken lying still and cold on white sheets, but eventually, deep under cover-up after cover-up, redacted reports and terminated memos, he finds the programmer in question.

Shirai Akiyo. Formerly Kogami Akiyo. Kogami’s ex-wife.

Ryoken’s mother. 

The rage has been consuming him for weeks, boiling within him every moment, even when he sleeps. But looking at the face of Ryoken’s maybe-murderer, a familiar face with softer edges but the same brilliant eyes, he feels something inside him break loose and plummet.

It’s too cruel. Impossibly cruel. Different from seeing the face of his own tormentor for the first time, because Yusaku can see this woman’s son in every feature, and can see Ryoken looking back at him from her older, more feminine face. 

Had Ryoken been trying to reach her, when he got infected? Had she— 

No, all the evidence suggests Shirai cut all ties with SOL Tech years before. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t pretend otherwise, to lure Ryoken into a trap. 

Yusaku tracks her down and finds she abandoned her life in Japan after her divorce, escaping west and eventually finding herself in the USA. An address isn’t easy to come by, surprisingly; she’s a private woman, and he can only conclude she doesn’t want to be found.

That has never stopped him before, and doesn’t stop him from scribbling down an address now. Yusaku hesitates, but eventually, he calls Spectre. The speed at which Spectre picks up is almost startling, as if he’d been clutching his phone and waiting for the call for weeks. Maybe he had been. 

It’s a quick call. Spectre gets them a flight and is on Yusaku’s doorstep within the hour, his face paler than white and marked with dark circles under his eyes. 

“Can she help him?” Without so much as a greeting, Spectre brushes past him and storms inside. It’s not unusual for Spectre to be so down-to-business, but even his usual unflagging affability is lost under the stress straining his voice. 

“If anyone can.” There are no guarantees. Yusaku does not let that daunt him, more of the same as it is. Dealing without guarantees is his specialty. 

He packs light, with Spectre all but anxiously breathing down his neck.

#vault #vr #del

[profanetools]

I think part of why I’ve found it difficult to sit down and write about Vyra is because she wields her loathing and her bitterness like a bludgeon and she is never, ever going to get better - she’s a narrative exercise in someone driven by their despair to construct myths about mobility being the means for freedom when it really just ensures everything is fleeting, impermanent, and a shallow grasp, and a criticism of travel as a means to self-actualisation. I really love being in that headspace and thinking about her when I feel like utter shit but actually writing stuff from that perspective is a challenge because when I feel like actually producing something, I am not at all close to that.

She’s far more fun to think about.

#vyra is fucked up and she's kind of like that on purpose #because on some level she represents a lot of the failures of kagrenac's (and bthem's) approach to teaching & learning #because on another level she represents someone who's stuck in a rut and keeps digging instead of trying to pull herself out #sometimes people don't heal you know. they don't get and they don't take opportunities and vyra is both of those

[desertpacificoctopi]

mantra emojis 2 it’s vyra now babey

gay rights babey!

💋 How affectionate are they with their friends? Their family? Their romantic partner(s) (if they have any)? Are they more physical or emotional when it comes to displaying their affection? Why? vyrayassa is........... not a very affectionate person by nature. she's very proud and stoic, and isn't likely to either comment on you or touch you. she will scoop up or shove her party members to get them out of danger tho, that's about the extent of contact that her casual acquaintances will get. vyra has no family to speak of and was raised by monks, which is maybe part of why she is Like This. okay yeah it's why she's like this. friends of hers will get some small, heartfelt reassurances, and maybe a firm hand on the shoulder. there's a large gap between those she considers her allies and those she considers her friends- people that have earned vyra's loyalty will have had to Prove It. as for romantic partners. mantra is pretty much the only one she'll ever have which is okay with her, but she is a bit hesitant with touch and affection at first. she leans more into it as she finds out what mantra likes. by the time tazjhan exists, she's better at casual touch. 🔥 Give us a list of general likes and dislikes, such as colours, textures, music, weather and other stuff! vyrayassa likes the quiet. she found a lot of solace in her old monastery home, and can sometimes grasp it again in churches and gardens. she's not very social and doesn't like strangers, but if you can get her with only a few people, she's a very engaged conversational partner. vyra doesn't make a lot of time for hobbies because she feels like she's on a Mission and can't waste time, but she enjoys horticulture and can be found in libraries in whatever off time she gives herself. she likes to dress sharply, usually wearing pressed linen. she favors rich, dark blue and red when she chooses to accent her attire. walks through the woods on sunny days are not lost on her, taking in the ambiance. snowy clear days remind her of home. ⭐ What is your OC afraid of? Any crippling phobias or some such? How do they act when scared and what helps them calm down? Does anyone ever find your OC scary? Why? i'm not sure if this counts but. there's an anxiety that vyra keeps Very hidden, a sword hanging over her head since her magic first manifested. she feels an obligation to save the world that she fears she cannot measure up to. it's part of what destroys her when she finds out the truth of her magic's source- betrayed by her own bloodline. otherwise, in more mundane situations she tries not to show any fear at all, preferring to grit her teeth and bear it. she's the type to clutch her staff tight and then try to walk it off later. vyra's charisma points Do go toward intimidation as she is a very tall and dour dragon lady with piercing green and gold eyes so like. yes people do fear her. 🥝 What does a bad mental health day look like for your OC? Walk us through it with them. What kind of things can help them out of this slump and what kinds of things comfort them when they start to feel like this? i ask vyra about this question and she goes I Don't Have Bad Days Ever. and i am like ma'am,, okay the thing is that vyra keeps herself to routines and won't compromise on them even if she's feeling shitty. so like a bad day for her doesn't look any different except she doesn't smile. maybe she will read a book before bed. that's it. vyra please i am begging you 💧 What is the earliest memory your OC can recall? Do they know what their first words were or remember where they took their first steps? Do they have any mementos of their childhood they’ve kept such as a stuffed toy or tiny baby clothes? i think.... her first memory might be of snow in the monastery courtyard, watching it fall in gentle drifts when all was quiet, sitting next to one of the monks. she was taught stillness when she was very young, and has always been devoted. she has kept no mementos of childhood specifically, but her holy symbol was passed down from the monks specifically and she treasures it. 🔮 Star gazing or cloud watching? Hand-holding or snuggles? Early mornings or late nights? 💗 What would your OC say is their best feature? Why? What do their friends / family / lover(s) / people they know think is their best feature and why? vyra is proud of her scales, horns, and other ridges, and cares for them meticulously. it's part of her heritage. mantra is Also a fan of this, but also vyra has Good Shoulders and muscles and is tall and like hmmmghh Women. gay momence.

#leo answers #sorry abt vyra not saying as much she is just Closed Off hngh #Anonymous

[thedragonslibrary]

Hey Kaitie, how did you know that you are dragonkin? Did someone tell you or did you just feel it in you? Could you tell me more about that? PS: I hope you get better soon! Sadly I don't know your shop but it's more important that you get better! Take care of yourself. There are other shops out there as well. You are great! (: Thank you, Vyra xxx

Discovering I was dragonkin was something that happened gradually!  As a kid I always pretended to be a dragon - I would "fly” around on wings (outstretched arms), attempt to walk on all fours.  I would consume all dragon media I could find.  I considered it to be a part of my identity, but I never considered how deeply ingrained into my identity it could be.

Flash forward to when I was about seventeen, I was reading everything on witchcraft I could find, and went down several branches and routes for my craft (seriously, no stone left unturned).  I stumbled on a book called A Field Guide to Otherkin by Lupa.  I don’t really heavily recommend this book as a modern resource, as it was published in 2007 and has become rather outdated in light of modern Otherkin thought.  

But for me in 2012, it was an amazing, enlightening read experience that explained every facet of Otherkin and Therianism, explored the internet community of Otherkin, and presented people who felt non-human on the inside as completely valid, and not just “weird.”  This is really important, because Otherkin are constantly stigmatized and used as clickbait-y, “look at these people who think they’re animals!” by people who haven’t bothered to look into the beautiful spirituality of this kind of identity.

Anyway, this book really opened my eyes to the things I’ve already mentioned - my pretending to be a dragon as a child, and my continued connection to dragons and all narratives involving them.  I remember the thing that stood out to me was I was rather picky about how stories presented dragons, though - I preferred stories where they were presented as intelligent, powerful, and dangerous but ultimately kind-at-heart creatures.  

From there, it was stumbling upon and reading through the Tumblrs of other dragonkin!  Funnily enough, this was also the way I discovered spirit companionship, which became such a huge part of my life.  But it can be so enlightening to just read the experience of others, and how it influences their daily lives.  

Even though I’m not still attempting to fly around with my arms or walking on all fours (being a civilized human being and all), I find that identifying as dragonkin is really empowering.  As a woman it justifies my rage and passion.  As a witch it justifies my magic, wisdom, and power.  Spiritually it’s what’s allowed me to look on my past lives, enigmatic as they may be, and see how what came before informs who I am today.  And honestly, since I’ve come to that realization, I haven’t considered myself as anything other than dragonkin.

Even though this answer is really late, I hope it finds you well and helps you shed some light or affirm your own path!  Thank you!

#dragonkin #otherkin #dragon #witch-vyra

[arxryl]

Vyra and Grylla

-short story about a demon falling in love with the woman she was trying to seduce.-

Demons are not like the peoples of the world. They are hellish, immortal, and capable of the darkest evils. Demons also cannot have children with others of their kind, so they lay with mortals instead. That’s how demons are born, and these demons are immensely powerful and incredibly dangerous. This is untrue, however, if the child that is brought forth is conceived out of love. Many years ago, back when the world was young and civilization only barely began to take form, two hearts fell in love. One was a woman, tall and strong, built as beautifully as the mountains where she lived. The other was a demon, taking the form of one with ice in her eyes, and the chill of late autumn in her hair. She called herself Vyra.

Vyra traveled far away from the large cities of the plains to the secluded villages of the mountains to seduce a mortal and bear a child who might grow to become powerful and destructive. She had great, terrible plans for her young. Kings, Queens, and monsters among the common folk of the world. No one would tame them, and no one would dare. She was so sure of her plans. She was so strong in her intent… Until at the edge of the village she encountered something different. She was greeted by a heart so full of love and kindness it overtook her. Grylla she was called. She saw the wanderer and offered her food and shelter. Vyra accepted, so Grylla took her home and gave her rest.

“What’s mine is yours, and if you are ever in need, I’ll be with you.” Grylla was unaware of what Vyra was and continued about as if nothing were amiss. Surely this one will be easy to work with, Vyra thought. And over the next few days it seemed that way. Grylla would come home, and Vyra would have food ready. She’d comment on how handsome and beautiful Grylla was. Vyra would blush whenever Grylla would come near, and sure enough Grylla began to fall. When she’d come home from the day, she’d bring flowers from the woods or purchase dresses from the traveling merchants. She’d tell Vyra how divine she appeared, and comment on how kind and thoughtful she was.

Over the next few weeks, however, it was Vyra who began to fall. Grylla was caring and kind. Her gestures genuine and meaningful. Slowly Vyra was no longer hoping for seduction, her intents became sincere. She delighted in Grylla’s joy and looked forward to their time together. Slowly, her dark plans began to wash away, leaving in their place quiet, happy fantasies. Her will began to falter as her heart changed. She began to regret her choices. She couldn’t take this mortal’s child and raise it to something of destruction and death. She couldn’t take something from someone so pure and corrupt it. She couldn’t betray someone she loved. Her heart tore at the thought, and sadness began to take her. Demons are not meant to feel such things. Feeling sadness and guilt so strongly can be fatal, manifesting themselves as an uncurable sickness.

Vyra became pale and weak and Grylla became worried. She set up her love in the bed with blankets piled high and set out cool water to drink. She asked what was wrong and if she could fix it, but Vyra could only describe it as if her heart was breaking. In the saddest kind of humor, she always imagined demon’s hearts to be made of stone. But she knew that couldn’t be. Her heart must have been made of ice and had somehow melted with the warmth of Grylla’s love.

Vyra’s condition only worsened. At first, she tried to stop feeling anything in order to save herself from her fate, but the more distant she tried to be, the closer Grylla stayed. The colder Vyra was, the more understanding Grylla would be. It was apparent that Vyra could not undo the love that had burrowed into her and could not wash away the guilt of her own existence.

One night, with very little hope left and tears running down her face, Grylla left to seek a healer from the next town over. She would not be back until dawn of the next day. Vyra wished her safe travels, and asked for her fast return, but had no intention of ever seeing her again. Vyra left the cottage and wandered the mountain trails deep into the forest to be alone. She did not want to burden Grylla with her death. Part of her was angry. If she had never fallen in love, she’d be able to live. If Grylla had never opened her home, she wouldn’t be grieving Vyra in the morning. Another part of her was sad. She’d never get to see her love’s face again. She’d never again have the chance to gaze into those eyes. Those eyes that were filled with such kindness and joy, that shone with a brilliance she’d never imagined possible. She’d never get to experience the life they’d dreamt about having together. Growing old. Seeing the moon and stars swirl and change over the decades. Raising children together. Not to be wrathful or corrupt, but simply to be. To watch them grow and live. Maybe even to love, as she did.

A single tear swelled in her eye as she saw that future begin to fade away. Weakened, she sat and leaned against the trunk of a great tree. Of all the knowledge she had found and stolen, she still did not know what would happen to a demon when they died. The mortal’s souls continued on after death, bathed in light, but demon’s souls… she had never heard of demons having souls. But to Vyra, it didn’t matter. She knew she had made the right choice by leaving. Grylla would move on and find someone who could be with her. Someone who could stay. Someone who could love her back the way she deserved.

At this she smiled, and her tear fell from her cheek and disappeared into the soil at the base of the tree. She closed her eyes, thinking only of her love. Thinking only of Grylla. She thought to herself, if loving her has broken my heart, then let it break. If I am to meet my end because of her, then let me meet it. And with that thought her consciousness faded to darkness.

When she awoke, she heard the old song the birds were singing. She smelled the wild perfume of freshly bloomed flowers. And when she opened her eyes, she saw the familiar thatching of the cottage ceiling, with Grylla leaning over her, with light from the window forming a halo around her smiling face.

“I know what you are Vyra… you don’t have to hide yourself from me.” Grylla gently ran her fingers through Vyra’s hair. “There is no healer that can cure a demon who has fallen in love. I could not find what I was searching for in any town, so I went to the mountain top and called upon the heavens to save you. The Gods were wary, allowing an angel to fall in love with a demon, but they showed me where you lay in the woods, and let me bring you home. They told me it is rare for a demon to cry tears filled with such love.” Grylla’s own eyes were clouded with those same tears as she spoke. Vyra raised her hand to cup her lover’s cheek in her palm. She could feel her heart again, though this time it was not breaking and crumbling to dust. Instead her heart was full and strong. This strength robbed her of anything she wanted to say, and replaced it with three simple and powerful words:

“I love you.” Vyra whispered. “I always have.”

“I love you too.” Grylla replied. “I always will.”

Their lips met, and for a moment the world stopped. It was only these two in the whole of creation. They embraced, holding each other so closely as if to never separate. Everything was sweet and pure, and the love radiating off them filled the cabin.

Angels and Demons do not live among the same timeline as mortals. They lived to see generations of their children grow and flourish. Some celestial, some with hellfire in their veins, and some a mixture of both. They spent many happy years on that mountain. The old village’s name was forgotten to history, now simply being called Lover’s Peak. Across the ages, stories of the mountain would reach towns and villages throughout the world, causing people to seek the mythical place out. Those in love with nowhere to go, or those who wished to have children but could not bear their own. Many have searched for it, but it is said that only those who love truly and truly believe will find the place where love reigns and miracles happen.

#feels #cute #fantasy #demon #plot twist #lesbians #gay #wlw #short story #love #love wins #happy ending #sfw

[vyrabloodlace]

LFRP Vyra Bloodlace

"Vyra Bloodlace”// Lune Moondew

Datacenter: Crystal

Server: Zalera (currently on Diabolos)

→ Basics Age: 67 (~32) Birthday:  21st of the 5th Umbral Moon (10/21) Race: Viera - Veena Gender: Female Sexuality: Bisexual (male preference) Marital Status: Single//Widowed Nicknames: Vy

→ Physical Appearance Hair: Long and naturally brown with some red highlights Eyes:  Reddish brown Height: roughly 6 feet Build: Well-built, physically strong, but still curvy in the right areas Distinguishing Marks: Red tattoo coming down from her eye, various scars Common Accessories: A locket with a pressed leaf, a wedding ring on a chain, a rapier

→ Personal Profession: Mercenary, Sellsword willing to do anything to make some gil Hobbies: Smithing, Studying the blade Languages: Common, Garlean, Dalmascan Residence: n/a Birthplace: Golmore Jungle Religion: Azeyma, the Warden Fears: Weakness

→ Relationships Spouse: Venta Strauss - deceased Children: None Parents: Unknown Siblings: too many to count Other Relatives: n/a Pets: none

→ Traits * Bold your character’s answer.

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted Disorganized / In Between / Organized Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded Calm / In Between / Anxious Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable Cautious / In Between / Reckless Patient / In Between /  Inpatient Outspoken / In Between / Reserved Leader / In Between / Follower Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic Traditional / In Between / Modern Hard-working / In Between / Lazy Cultured / In Between / Uncultured Loyal / In Between / Disloyal Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

→ Additional information Smoking Habit: Rarely Drugs: Rarely Alcohol: Often Theme (changes): Daylight’s End, Smoke and Mirrors, Beast in the Beauty, Flower of Sorrow Faceclaim: None

→ RP Hooks

The Dark Underbelly - Vyra is used to living a life of just barely getting by ever since the events of her past forced her into a tumultuous relationship with the Garleans. She’s accustomed to doing any odd job a paying employer will ask of her. Whether it’s selling her body, her sword, or her countrymen.

Murderer - Maybe you’ve heard the tale of the Vieras, warning their children to stay away from the men outside of their wood. For there is a tale so sad that they tell. Of an innocent Viera girl who was wooed by a Dalmascan man. Their marriage was happy, until the Viera found him in bed with another woman. In her rage she murdered them both. A tragic tale, but is it just a story?

Garlean Prisoner/Sympathizer - Have a Garlean? Know one? You might know of Vyra. She was captured for the murder of her husband and his lover and told she could work off her sin by working for the Empire. It was then that she took a new name and began a new life working as a sellsword.

Blood Mage - To work off her debt to the Garleans she was given to a Red Mage who was free to experiment to his pleasure on her. Lambard was her mentor in the more dark arts of Red Magic and his defeat ignited a new fire in her breast: revenge.

→ OOC Notes No one knows Vyra’s true name - She abandoned that name when she left the wood to live with Venta, so only other Viera might call her by Lune.

Mun is 18+ - If this bothers you, please steer clear of this character. This is a very dark character and is a very big jump from Niome. I will be exploring darker themes and that may not be safe for all viewers. Thank you.

Preferred RP - Again, this is a much darker character than Niome, so I expect the themes of the RPs to be more intense than basic slice-of-life. Vyra isn’t a die-hard romantic like Niome anymore, either. She is bitter and resentful. Don’t expect to woo her overnight, if at all. That being said, she’s not afraid of using people to get ahead. For Vyra I’m mostly thinking action and dark rps. Maybe her past coming back to haunt her?

→ Contact Information Tumblr: @vyrabloodlace

In-game: Vyra Bloodlace on Zalera, Crystal (currently on Diabolos but will transfer her)

Discord: NiomeMizune#2693

#Vyra Bloodlace #ffxiv rp #lfrp #crystal lfrp

[scratchface]

Ryoken and Playmaker’s Identity

Anon asked: “Hope it’s okay to ask. I find your analysis very interesting. How do you think Ryoken felt when he learned about Playmaker’s identity? What of his feelings when Yusaku told him they lived in the same world? And the recent development between him and Yusaku. Despite being rivals, Yusaku still sees him as his special person. How do you think Ryoken copes with that?”

Sorry this took so long! Let’s right down to it!

So at first, Revolver really didn’t care who Playmaker is, whether he managed to do what they couldn’t or not. He thought Playmaker was just another person that had a grudge against the Knights of Hanoi, because there are apparently quite a lot. And considering that most of the organization was just a means to an end, Ryoken felt like Playmaker and whatever he held against them was unimportant. Ryoken is always keeping the bigger picture in mind at this point; he’ll do whatever it takes to destroy the Ignis, no matter who gets hurt. The grievances of other people can’t compare with the big bad threat against humanity!

But as the duels go on, he gets more interested. Right up until Yusaku says “three things”.

Rev gasps then. As far as I know, this is the first moment we see Revolver have such a genuine reaction to anything since closing the Cyberse. Before this, it was all smirks and mocking and disregard. He’s caught off-guard, and you can see it on his face. He goes through a lot of emotions: surprise, disbelief, dismay, and then anger.

He seems betrayed. Even jumps to the assumption that Playmaker is helping SOL, even when he has evidence to the contrary. He’s angry and irrational in this moment, like he’s been hurt. More than his loss, this is what seems to hurt him most. Playmaker “choosing” SOL over him. Revolver perceives this as a sort of rejection, and feels wronged by it. Playmaker, as some nobody, hating Hanoi and “helping” SOL didn’t bother him in the slightest. But Playmaker, as the child he saved, hating Hanoi hits Ryoken hard. 

When Kogami interferes, he snaps out of it. He recollects himself, and gets back into character as “Revolver”. Here we see Ryoken’s faith in “fate” kicking back in, and he retreats, knowing that this isn’t the end of the matter.

Upon his return, we see Ryoken scowling in the hall. He’s failed, lost an arm, and someone important to him has turned against him. This is the first time we’ve ever seen Revolver look so frustrated outside of the duel with Playmaker. He didn’t even make this kind of troubled expression when the Ignis they’d been hunting for ten years was captured by an enemy.

Kogami is right about Ryoken being shaken by the mention of the incident, but he seems to think that it is just because Yusaku is one of the victims, not a particular victim. It doesn’t seem like Kogami knows about his son talking with Yusaku during the incident. This may seem like a small detail, but it does suggest that Ryoken has been hiding everything in regards to his relationship with one of the test subjects from his father since the beginning. For someone who admires is father as much as Ryoken, who even compares his father to the gods, that Ryoken feels he needs to hide this tells us a lot about its relevance to his “mistake”: ending the Hanoi Project. Ryoken doesn’t want to bring up the victims, or at least one particular victim, around his father. We’ll get back to that later. 

Meanwhile, Ryoken still seems to be in shock. His initial anger and betrayal givens way to doubt and disbelief. It seems rather like he doesn’t want to just accept it, but the evidence is right there and he can’t ignore it. He stands there processing it, taken aback by this turn of events. It’s pretty clear that Ryoken never saw this coming. Maybe because he reached out to Yusaku, or because Spectre came back, but either way, it doesn’t look like Ryoken was prepared for Yusaku to ever come back and challenge them. Who knows what he thought and hoped Yusaku was doing instead, but is seems he never even once considered the possibility. 

But once he does process it and accept, Ryoken almost seems…okay with it? Not exactly resigned, not exactly glad, but he accepts it thoroughly. I believe what he feels from then on is a sort of kinship with Yusaku. Yusaku hasn’t been able to move on from what happened in their childhood either, Yusaku is still fighting, Yusaku can’t and won’t forget what happened—all those things seem very important to Ryoken. 

Ryoken maybe even appreciates it, is grateful Yusaku hasn’t moved on. I think for Ryoken, Yusaku is proof that he’s not alone either. The two of them share a destiny. Ryoken clings to his father’s expectations of him, to be the savior of humanity, but every “hero” needs a “villain”, and I think part of Ryoken was relieved to find one in Yusaku. No doubt, this emotion intersected with Yusaku’s confession about living in the same world, because Ryoken knows all about feeling like you can only walk one path forward, about feeling isolated and trapped. 

He uses his faith in destiny to cope with Yusaku being Playmaker, his “arch nemesis”, and he uses Playmaker to cope with what he sees as his “destiny”. The two feed into each other as Ryoken tries to keep himself together in the face of what the future holds, resulting in the obsession we see for the rest of the series.

The Knights of Hanoi have two plans to save humanity:

Plan A: Find Playmaker, take back the Dark Ignis, locate the Cyberse, and destroy it. Vyra makes the Another Virus to lure Playmaker out, the Generals all get comatized and trapped in the network (and they actually do uncover Playmaker’s identity, but we’ll get to that.)

Plan B: Nuke the Internet with the Tower, destroying the Cyberse and everything else. 

They only need one plan to work, and Ryoken favors Plan A for all the wrong reasons.

If the program activated, Kogami would be a dead man all over again. But it seems like Ryoken was already resigned to this, as his main concern is not the impending death of his father or the thousands of others being placed in the line of fire, but finding Playmaker, the child from all the way back then. That in and of itself reveals a lot of the depth behind Ryoken’s feelings about Playmaker. However you chose to interpret the nature of those feelings, I think a good word for them is: all-consuming. Revolver is right when he pegs it as an obsession. He’s desperate to find the one from ten years ago again, just like Yusaku is.

Ryoken wants to settle things with Playmaker, but that doesn’t require knowing his identity. In fact, those two things never intersect in the first season at all: even after learning Yusaku’s identity, it’s not like Ryoken uses it to get him to duel him. He doesn’t do anything with it at all. They seem to be entirely separate goals that just regard the same person. He wants to know who the child from back then is. He wants to defeat Playmaker. 

Moving on to the final identity reveal, we have the Smile.

I made a post ages back about this scene and the implications it had both on its original airing and in hindsight post S1. And I think the conclusion I came to then is still on point: Ryoken doesn’t smile because he intends to use Yusaku’s identity to defeat the Ignis, he smiles because he final knows who Playmaker, the sixth test subject, really is. His curiosity is satisfied.

Is he happy to see that the child he saved had a chance to grow up? I think so. The smile above seems to say “Well damn, it really is you” or something along those lines. Triumphant, I suppose.

He goes down to Kusanagi’s truck and looks at them, monitors his enemies even though it nets him no information on them, or at least, no information he ever uses against them.

Did Ryoken go all the way down, just to see them? Based on the evidence, that’s the only assumption that can be made.  

At this time, Plan A could have been a complete success, and the Tower would never have needed to activate at all, if Ryoken just used Yusaku’s identity like everyone intended for him to. His family could be saved, and no one else would have to get hurt, except for Yusaku. 

Problem being, after his initial reaction of dismay, Ryoken almost seems pleased that Yusaku has come back. And they still haven’t settled things. Once more, we have to acknowledge that Ryoken’s desire to duel Playmaker was completely separate from his desire to know his identity, even if he never verbally drew a distinction between the two. The two goals never intersected at all, but all the others (and us the viewers) just assumed they did.

Ryoken even acknowledges how messed up his priorities have become, but he still can’t overcome it. 

But with the identity loose end finally tied up, Ryoken can focus on the Tower of Hanoi. Before he found out Playmaker was one of the victims, his father was the one asking for more time.

Afterwards, its Ryoken asking to delay. 

Going with Plan B, they ditched Plan A, even though they had everything they needed to make it a success. But of course, Ryoken hides this from his father, blatantly lying to his face about knowing Playmaker’s identity. At this moment, whether he understood it or not, Ryoken essentially chose Yusaku over his father. Between Yusaku and Kogami, Ryoken pretty much decided which one of them was going to live and which one was going to die with this lie. Had he told the truth, Kogami would not need to sacrifice himself for their plan, no matter how accepting of his own impending death he was. 

Just like ten years before, when Ryoken unwittingly chose the six children over his father, he makes the same decision all over again, but for drastically different reasons. And once more, he regrets it when his father is killed all over again, as he finally comes to understand that his actions once more have consequences on his family. 

He despairs, and decides to make it right by killing Yusaku, Ai, and himself. 

The Tower of Hanoi duel is Ryoken’s lowest moment. He’s going to kill everyone he cares about for his father’s mission and as his “punishment” for once more betraying his father’s expectations of him. 

And then Yusaku saves his life. His father is dead, the Tower failed, and there’s nothing he or anyone else can do about it. Ryoken takes months, seemingly, to pull himself back together from this blow, and at the end of it, his feelings about Yusaku are even more complicated. Ryoken has always had the tendency to blame himself before he blames others, so it’s not surprising he doesn’t seem to blame Yusaku for Kogami’s death. 

Their relationship changes a lot in the wake of Ryoken’s return. As the only remaining leader of Hanoi and the one entrusted with stopping the actually very dangerous Ignis, he’s finally managed to fix his priorities. Instead of living like his life is on a timer and he has to duel Playmaker now, he is able to focus on the matter at hand and wait for a better time to take on his “fated enemy”. And even more so, he seems to have no intentions of putting either of their lives on the line over a conflict between them again. Rather than struggle further to prove to himself that he doesn’t care about the six victims, Ryoken seems to have finally accepted that their lives matter to him, and that there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s no longer trying to deny that he cares, and instead trying to navigate the best way to show it (as opposed to denying it and denying it until his whole family is “dead” and things have spiraled massively out of control). He doesn’t alway succeed, nor does he always show it gracefully, as the “duel” with Takeru showed, but he’s trying. Those aren’t easy emotions to navigate, and it’s not always easy to say the right thing to people that are hurting or do right by them, but Ryoken isn’t just taking responsibility for his mistakes anymore. He’s trying to take responsibility for his own emotions and the role he played, good or bad, in the six victim’s lives. He found out about Windy’s Origin, he was apparently monitoring Jin’s facility, he created a program to protect Yusaku. Ryoken knows he’s invested in the victims.

Ryoken is really bad at Emotions, as the first season made abundantly clear, and caring about people. His father really messed him up, and the repercussions of that still linger in his behavior. But he’s taking care not to put others at risk anymore, he’s trying to navigate complex priorities better.

Of course, he’s not going to let others know that so easily. Ryoken is proud, and still very much intends to defeat Playmaker, and he’s taken steps to make sure Yusaku understands that. Instead of giving Yusaku false hope that he’s given up on destroying Ai by, Ryoken is up front about what comes after. 

To Yusaku’s face Ryoken acts rather condescending and disdainful, but behind Yusaku’s back he acts like this what talking about Yusaku:

He still holds Yusaku in the highest regard: he talks about Yusaku with more respect and admiration than he does with anyone, even his father. He believes in Yusaku, and seemingly, in their destiny. 

Ryoken does care, and he has changed, but he’s not done changing yet. He’s far from the desperate teenager that almost got thousands of people killed he was in the season 1 finale. He’s not trying to hurt anyone anymore, and knows it. He has resolved the conflict of interest that drove everything off the rails before and sent him to the brink: having to defeat Playmaker but so obviously not wanting to endanger Yusaku further.

Don’t get me wrong, he very much still regards Yusaku as his final obstacle. I think what Ryoken really seeks in regards to Yusaku is closure on everything that happened with his father and the Hanoi Project. Yusaku/Playmaker is the result of his mistakes, a representation and embodiment of everything he regrets. Both a dangerous enemy and a powerful ally of his own making, which is why Ryoken thinks he’s the one that must fight Playmaker. Only by either accepting Yusaku or defeating him will Ryoken ever really be able to move past his guilt and regrets.

...This got so long I don’t even know if I answered the question anymore...my head is swimming with screenshots of alien cyber terrorist boy...

#yugioh vrains #vrains #ryoken kogami #kogami ryoken #ygo #vrainalysis

[springbons]

YOU LITERALLY TAGGED ME AND I MISSED THE ASK QUESTION THING LOL.

Here ya go :)

For CY:

Halloween, Paranormal Activity, Orphan, Texas Chain Saw Massacre

gonna bullshit the other 3

PP:

Black Christmas

CC:

Misery

And DiTD:

Scream

(Man I don't know ANY of these other than CY)

Oh Goodie! These are all amazing. Let's see! [CY] -Halloween Riktor LOVES Halloween! Not only is it Noah's birthday, which is already a great time, he gets to do all sorts of freaky magic in the one day the bridge between worlds is so Short! Derringer likes Free Candy. (He stole from the bowl for kids.) Kurt appreciates Day of the Dead because he essentially becomes a celebrity; an actual Skeleton. Tarrel has no idea what it is but he's willing to learn! Vyra never passes up a good chance to dress-up. Moira does whatever the people she's with do.

-Paranormal Activity Riktor... Obviously. Derringer IS one more or less. Kurt is Literally undead Tarrel has no choice but to believe what he sees. Moira would have rathered not to find out, personally. They freak her out. No-one else of note.

-Orphan Riktor often dreamt his late mother would emerge from the depths of the water to take his soul, for whatever reason. Possibly guilt that he'd never found her body. Derringer cannot feel fear, but he used Riktor's fear against him once. Kurt's biggest fear when he was first made was that he wouldn't have any friends. The fact he only Really Clicked with One, lost them, and then spent something around 8000 years looking for them... Didn't go well mentally. Tarrel was afraid of the dark, like any normal child... He hates it even more now, knowing what monsters lie within it, but when you're a Roman you live in Rome... No-one else of note. (Vyra doesn't wish to speak about this.)

-Texas Chain Saw Massacre Obviously the whole crew is in a carpool, sooo! Riktor likes Driving, but he'd MUCH rather be the map. Noah gets the wheel, probably. Moira's the most responsible so she's in charge of snacks... And in charge of keeping Jackson, Sparrow and Kurt away from the bag of snacks. NOBODY is trusted with the aux cord. That is a turn-based system until they weed out who's going to blast earrape and shitty techno music the whole ride. Tarrel's asleep the whole ride unless something breaks down. He's like a Trunk Monkey, only comes up if you need him. That's how he likes it, nicer to sleep than to watch the chaos.

[PP] -Black Christmas He has nobody left to call him. The call is not for him, he shall not pick up. [CC] -Misery Samson's had many run-ins with freezing weather, even having to work in such conditions given his status as just a peasant in the working colonies. He wouldn't understand the concept of Winter Fun, but if you taught him he'd have alot of fun with it. The Tourist likes nothing more than sitting in warm lighting, enjoying a warm cup of something brown. Tea, coffee, cocoa, he really doesn't care. The Doctor's too insane to do anything but run more experiments. No rest for the wicked! The Rider has no sense for such childish games, they have more important matters to attend to. M23 is a robot... It can handle cold weather though! It'd probably just do home maintenance to keep itself busy. [DiTD] -Scream Henry loves anything Sci-Fi or Supernatural. He loves the idea of there being more to this world than what he can see on the surface. So, Andromeda doesn't really watch movies buuut he'd watch anything Gabe put on... Partly because he doesn't really have a choice, but mostly because he just enjoys her company. Chohko can't see, but she loves audiobooks, anything that can get chills sent up her spine. They usually just make her hungry though.

[3w-writer-with-wings]

The end of VRAINS season 2, why was Lightning a failure and future predictions.

To those of you who follow my theories and predictions for future VRAINS episodes and are wondering why I haven’t posted anything lately - there are two reasons:

1) This show is continuing to surprise me, by throwing the most insane plotlines on me that I simply don’t even know what to think anymore. Shin Yoshida is truly a talented scriptwriter and I’m both terrified and excited about what he’ll think of next. Barian Arc and ARC V manga were just a warm-up - VRAINS is the real deal.

2) I still haven’t got over how both Bowman’s duels that were completely underwhelming and made to win. I mean I get it, he is supposed to be an AI that can learn and had to win, but not like that! I was sort of okay with Blue Maiden’s defeat, but Takeru? It was downright disgusting to watch him pull the exact cards he needed and got rid of damage or direct attacks with complete luck. If you want to show off his duelling skills, then do so - not make him overpowered just because he has to be. You basically made him cheat and sure if he was an episodic villain, that’s okay but for a major boss opponent that’s a bit no-no for me. It felt like Pegasus duel (who mind read every one and practically killed off Yugi in order to win) and Don Thousand duel (who actually had a card that makes you LOSE the duel automatically if you didn’t do something), so that was one of the major flaws in the otherwise a really intense round of episodes.

 Okay, now that I have this out of my system, I can finally focus on the main topic - what will happen next. So I am one of those people who checks the cast lists and episode summaries every Tuesday, so if you don’t want any spoilers to stop reading at this point. I apologize, but my thoughts will be heavily centred around the info that came with the summaries for what appears to be the final episodes of season 2.

So where are we right now? Team Playmaker has been massively reduced to only Yusaku, Ai, Ryoken and Ryoken’s loyal generals aka. Faust, Vyra and Dr. Genome. Bowman has absorbed four Ignis, including Earth. I was a bit confused about how he got Earth when I remembered back in episode 79 during the conversation between Windy and Lightning, it was mentioned that Bowman was on a “special mission” and that mission was probably to hack in SOL and take Earth’s data. Ryoken brought it up many times that SOL is not even close to as experienced as he is, so it was most likely really easy for Bowman to get Earth.

Then there’s Yusaku who has just been through another traumatizing experience. The duel between him and Kusanagi has shown just how little Yusaku actually knows about himself as it was clear that he knew something like this would happen, but when it actually happened, he froze completely. As sad as it was, it was shown really realistically since this is something that is very likely to happen to victims of past abuse like Yusaku. I was already impressed by the Takeru vs. Ryoken duel - the pure emotion and amazing pacing and Yusaku’s reaction to the duel with Kusanagi was even better. It showed that no matter how strong Yusaku makes himself to be, he is just a traumatized child underneath a superhero suit. The pain he suffered was the one he was trying so hard to avoid hence why he was reluctant to call Kusanagi his friend or make friends in the first place - he was afraid of the pain of loss. At the moment Ryoken and Lightning are facing off in a duel that will likely last three full episodes and here’s what I think - Ryoken will be the next one to fall.

But why Ryoken? Well several reasons. I’m not saying Ryoken will lose due to a poor strategy - Lightning will most likely play dirty. The summaries revealed that Lightning will use Jin as a hostage and knowing Ryoken, it will work. The guy might’ve been one of the most ruthless rivals so far but at the same time he is also the one to suffer the most. His brutality has been always projected towards the Ignis, namely Windy who killed/seriously injured his partner and Lightning who is using Jin as a puppet. Ryoken might not show it, but he has a great sympathy for the Lost Incident victims and despite him stating that he “regretted saving them” I think that he still believes that he did the right thing by reporting the incident. It was revealed that Jin will be speaking in both episodes as well, so if Lightning pulls a cruel trick like threatening to destroy Jin’s soul right in front of him or use Jin in some other sickening way. It is also possible that there will be a draw or something else will happen to Ryoken. It was also revealed that even Ryoken’s generals will sacrificed themselves to stop Bowman. Akira and Emma might also be absorbed in that data storm that takes the souls of the people logged in VRAINS - awfully similar to how those charms for Earthbound Immortals in 5Ds worked. 

And the result of all this - Yusaku and Ai are completly on their own against Bowman. This will be the final boss of this season. Yusuku will not only have to be the hero everyone depends on, but will have to keep his emotions under tight control. If Kusanagi’s death wasn’t enough, just think how will he react to Ryoken’s death - a person who has been his symbol of hope for the past ten years is gone too. I imagine it will be a really intense reaction which will cause yet another breakdown, but unlike with Kusanagi, I believe Ryoken will say something really meaningful just before he will fade away or even give him three reasons to defeat Bowman and Yusaku will use that as a coping mechanism to defeat Bowman. How will this duel conclude - I have no idea really. At this point, Yusaku will have to win - too many people had died in front of his eyes and this very same person plans to go after more people and change the world to his perfect image. And there’s another thing that sort of bugs me:

Bowman and Haru strangely look a lot like Shoichi and younger Jin. It is probably becuase Jin is Lightning’s Origin and because Shoichi was likely Jin’s three reasons. Also Lightning most likely didn’t have much to chose from when designing new AIs. Though this may have a much deeper meaning - I already kinda brought it up with my Haru is Real Jin theory, but just think - what if this has to do with the reason why Lightning was the only Ignis with no bright future with humans? Why did Light Ignis become an error in the first place? I believe it is because Jin gave up first. Apart from Yusaku, Takeru, Specter and Miyu, we don’t know much what was going on over those excruciating months, but I think Jin has lost his will to fight far before Lost Incident was over. Shoichi described him as a cheerful and kind person, a lot like Yuya and Yuma, and if those two would be put through such hell, they would likely break the most and give up at one point. Jin’s Ignis therefore didn’t recieve all necessary data to be properly developed like other Ignis. This may also be the reason why he kiddnaped Jin - using him as a puppet is a sort of a punishment since he probably blames him for all of this. “It is your fault I have no future! So you will spend the eternity as my prisoner.” 

Another less believable theory is that Lightning represents Jin’s anger. Because really, we’ve only seen Lightning being pissed off in the last few episodes. Before that he was calm and collected, like highly educated person in charge. But the second his insecurities were brought up, he completly lost it. Maybe Jin did develop strong hatred during the Lost Incident, resulting in Lightning’s own rage. Maybe Jin broke down at some point, crying and asking why that happened to him. After some time those tears might’ve turned into anger and swore to punish the people who did that to him, but then more time passed and Jin realized it was impossible and instead of plotting revenge he slowly became an empty shell of himself until he was rescued. That pushed down anger was then passed to Lightning.

One last detail that I would like to point out - Kusanagi Shoichi. Ryoken specifically ordered Faust that he has to get Shoichi. But why? Why would he need him for? One reason is kinda obvious - he needed him to wake up Yusaku. Faust and Dr. Genome entered the truck with unconscius Shoichi and after a while Yusaku woke up after hearing Shoichi’s voice. Coincidence? I think not - Faust and Dr. Genome did soemthing to wake Yusaku up. Let’s not forget - both Yusaku and Takeru are also in the truck, logged in VRAINS. Could be possible that they wired Shoichi’s duel disk to Yusaku’s chamber or something?

Plus that might not be the only reason why Ryoken needs him. The summories stated that Lightning will use Jin as a hostage. What if Ryoken will use Kusanagi’s body and his consciusness data that Ai holds in order to save Jin? What if Shoichi is in fact the ultimate weapon against Lightning? There is a high possibility that Jin was kidnapped while Shoich was looking after him, hence why he blames himself so much. Maybe Jin kept calling after his brother for months and Shoichi so became Jin’s three reasons. This may be the reason why Bowman looks like toughed up Shoichi - he represents the perfect savior. So what would happen when Jin sees his big brother? Will he manage to break through Lightning’s prison and finally be free of his hold? Breaking through the mind prison has been a common theme in yugioh so I won’t be surprised if VRAINS uses it as well. Maybe that’s what will lead to the happy screenshot in the new ending, of the two of them watching stars together. 

But what were to become of Yusaku, Ai and other Ignis. I imagine that no matter what happens, Bowman will absorb Lightning and maybe Ryoken as well (that way we will actually have Yusaku indirectly fighting all Ignis except for Ai, his entire team plus Specter and Blood Shepard - kinda like how possessed Yuya fought all of his friends) and the final battle will occur. Playmaker will have to save VRAINS once more.

And then? Maybe Bowman will give human society one more chance after his defeat. Considering how developed and honorable he has become in the last few episodes, I believe that he will realize that humans cannot be surpassed by AIs since they have something he will never be able to have. Bowman so releases everyone that he has absorbed and restores VRAINS back to the way it was, returning the souls back to the people who were sacrificed during the duel. Then he lets himself being absorbed in VRAINS, saying he won’t be alone since Haru is in there somewhere. This may be the last calm before the storm that is SOL (that still deserves to pay for all of their crimes!). And judging from this screenshot from the new ending, only Ai will be left.

 Now another source of what we may see is the new ending that is actually a one big tease. Right after Ai is shown, mourning after other Ignis, the scene switches to Roboppi watching the stars as the shooting star crosses the sky. What if that shooting star was Ai? What if this is the hint that Ai will sacrifice himself for others? There’s even a scene with Yusaku’s duel disk without Ai. The Dark Ignis has become really protective of Yusaku, so what would happen in the next fight against SOL, if something happens to Yusaku? Queen has proven to be the most merciless memeber of SOL, willing to kill a living being and risk an employee’s life for the good of the company. What is stopping her from getting her hands on the last Ignis in order to power up their own Artificial Ignis. SOL basically means sun and when you get too close to it, you get burnt. There’s no doubt Yusaku will do anything to keep his promise to Ai, especially now that he is the only one left. But what if SOL will discover Yusaku’s real identity and attack him in the real world? What if that will anger Ai to the point of turning completely against humans and become the very Ignis that Dr. Kogami was so afraid of?

Ai already hates SOL for killing Earth, so just imagine what he would do if they would capture and torture Yusaku, like Akira did in the first first few episodes. Maybe they will make it even more emotional by showing the flashbacks of how Yusaku was tortured during the Lost Incident while Ai’s eye couldn only observe. I often see Ai and Yusaku as Astral and Yuma and Astral has sacrificed himself for Yuma and also became corrupted. Shin Yoshida wrote a lot of Zexal episodes with such scenes, so there is a great possibility he will be in charge of the concluding story. 

What I would like to see? Ai becoming that terrifying Ignis when SOL invokes him by hurting Yusaku. Maybe Ai loses it to the point that he starts attacking everyone and Yusaku duels him in order to get him back to his senses. Maybe this last ending flashes before his eyes - showing the perfect reality where Ignis never existed and knowing that as long as he is there, more harm will come to Yusaku and the people he knows. So my prediction is - Yusaku will defeat Ai in one last duel to bring him to his old self and when it seems like Ai will be willing to recreate Cyberse and stay there, Ai will ultimately change his mind and instead sacrifice himself to wipe up any signs of Ignis research and data. The Lost Incident will once again become lost, but maybe this will be finally a chance for Yusaku and others to move one and live peacefully.

Happy, sad or bittersweet ending - I don’t really care as long as it is conclusive.

#yugioh theories #yusaku fujiki #ryoken kogami #lightning (vrains) #kusanagi shoichi #jin kusanagi

[creator-zee]

43

         “You should work on your defense.” Vyra advises me. “You have the same bandages you did a month ago you should work on defending those spots.”

         I hurriedly tugged my shirt over my torso, hiding the bandages. “I’ll work on it.” I muttered. 

        “Do you need a sparring partner?” Jaze offered from my left, as they unbuckled their armor. 

       “No.” I shook my head, a lock of my brown hair falling into my face. I blew it out of the way as I finished lacing my boots. 

        “Are you sure?” Vyra pressed. “I don’t want us to lose because you can’t guard yourself properly. We can only beat the other teams in these duals if all three of us are the best we can be.”

        I hunched my shoulders, under her withering gaze. “I’m sure. Don’t worry.”

        “Don’t be so harsh on her V.” Jaze chided her. “She is a pretty good rogue.”

        I grabbed my bag of stuff. “Thanks Jaze.” I left the locker room as the other two finished changing. 

      I returned to my dorm room and shoved my bad under my bed. Vyra was too observant. She had noticed the bandages I always wore wrapped around my lower back and upper arms. They weren’t covering any injuries, only my scales. A representation of my dirty lineage, a representation of my dragon mother, a representation that I was a monster. I used to once be proud of my scales. I wouldn’t cover them, but then the rumors started. The whispers. The bullying. First just longer shirts, but then I joined the academy when I graduated. We changed every day multiple times a day for training, shirts would no longer do. I had escaped my bullies and I didn’t need more, so I wore bandages. Bandages painstakingly replaced after every shower in the privacy of the curtained off stall. No one questioned it, people often get hurt during training and in the duels.

       Vyra entered the room placing her own bag under her bed, albeit more gently and purposefully. 

         “I’m not dumb.” She stated plainly. 

       “I never said anything...?” I trailed off in confusion. 

        “No one who is constantly hurt because they’re bad refuses extra training.” She expounded. “And Jaze is right, you’re not bad. Which means you’re not injured.” She concluded. “Also, you’re always wearing bandages but they’re never bloody.” She added. 

        I didn’t respond, fear climbing up from the pit of my stomach and constricting my throat. “I...” I choked out, but she cut me off, turning from her bed to level her gaze on me wear I was sitting on my bed, arms propping me up. 

        “So... what are you hiding, Zara?”

       “Nothing.” I denied, but my voice was little more than a desperate squeal. Fear was rapidly overtaking me, spreading all over as I began shaking under her gaze, tears threatened to spill from my eyes, and I hated it. I hated how weak I was. I hated that I broke apart at the slightest suggestion of my secret. I hated that I was so terrified of someone finding out I couldn’t deny it. I couldn’t face Vyra. Not like this, not when she was so close. 

      I got to my feet and rushed out the door, past Vyra. Once in the hall, I ran down the stone corridor, my footsteps echoing hauntingly as I darted past wooden doors and portraits on the walls. I skidded to a halt and began dashing down the stairs and out the door at the bottom into the open field that spanned the expanse between the buildings that made up the academy campus. I ran past the stone buildings that towered above me. And into the woods that surrounded the school. I knew it was stupid. The woods were home to all sorts of magical creatures and dangerous people, but I was desperate to escape people. 

      I had been in the woods before, in the company of others. Usually Vyra or Jaze or both, but alone the trees seemed taller, the sounds louder, more menacing. As my fear shifted from fear of discovery to fear of the woods. I slowed. I reached for where I usually kept a dagger strapped to my leg, but I grasped thin air. God, I was so dumb. I had taken it off after training to put it with my other stuff to clean later, because I normally forgot it. I moved quietly through the woods, along the trail. I would have to rely on my stealth to avoid drawing any unwanted attention. A lone human was enticing prey for many magical creatures.

       I stared at the prickly bushes and looming trees that housed the predators. I scanned the dense shrubbery for any song of movement, as I slowly made my way down the trail, stepping carefully. I didn’t dare go faster, defenseless as I was.

        Panting breaths, thudding steps.

        I turned, expecting to see a large predator, maybe a dragonling or a double fanged tiger. Instead I saw Vyra running towards me, down the trail. Fear squeezed intakes around my throat again. I think I would have preferred the tiger. We made eye contact. Too late to hide then. Vyra was taller than me, longer legs meant faster. I could possibly lose her by using stealth but at the risk of being attacked by predators. Indecision froze me and I didn’t move and Vyra came to a half next to me. 

      “I’m sorry Zara. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She panted.

      “Then what did you want?” I asked, voice shaking, unbelieving.

       “To know. To understand. I was curious, and glad I figured out a piece of the mystery that you are.” She explained through gasps. 

       “Secrets are secret for a reason.” I answered vaguely.

       “What about a secret for a secret?” Vyra offered.

        “How does anyone gain anything then?” I asked, incredulously. “That’s just two secrets revealed instead of one then.”

        “It’s a show of trust.” She explained.

        I shook my head. “I don’t trust you. Not with this. I don’t trust anyone.”

        Crunch. The sound of foliage being crushed under a large paw. My eyes darted to the shrubbery and caught a flash of black. I tackled Vyra to the ground as a double fanged tiger leaped out of the bushes.

       “What the...” Vyra muttered before her breathe was knocked out of her lungs.

        I grunted as it landed on my back. It’s claws dug in, but didn’t penetrate my scales only ripping my shirt. It jumped off me, it claws slipping on my scales it fell to the ground. I took advantage of its fall to jump on its back arms wrapping around its neck, squeezing. It let out a pathetic whisper as it struggled in my grasp unable to turn its head and bite me. Finally, it fell limp in my arms. I dropped it and grabbed Vyra. 

       “Come on!” I urged, dragging her down the path. We broke out of the woods, panting. Suddenly I became aware of the tear in the back of my shirt and my bandages. I turned away from Vyra, running quickly to the dorms. I didn’t know what my plan was. We were roommates. All I knew is I had to get away.

        “Wait! Zara! Come back!” She called uselessly after me setting off in pursuit. 

       I ignored her shouts and the burning in my lungs, as I climbed the stairs. I dashed down the hall past a couple of startled students. I turned quickly into my dorm room, shutting the door quickly behind me. I dug desperately through my bag for a shirt. I quickly replaced the torn one I was wearing. I grabbed a roll of bandages as well and pulled open the dorm door, coming face to face with Vyra. I shoved past her and darted down the hall to the bathroom, sliding quickly into a shower stall, and tying the curtain shut. Luckily, several other people were also in the showers, so if Vyra did follow me she wouldn’t be able to find me amongst the stalls. 

      I pulled off my shirt revealing my toned and scarred torso and arms. I ripped off the remnants of the bandage around my lower back, as tears pricked at my eyes. She had seen. There was no way she hadn’t. She had seen the scales. The scales that may have saved us from a deadly predator, but to Vyra, I had no doubt she would only see them and me as a monster, no better than the double fanged tiger that had just attacked us. My hands trembled as I rewrapped the bandage tears spilling down my cheeks and sobs overcoming me. 

       My life was over. Everyone would find out. I would be kicked out or ostracized if they didn’t immediately kick me out. I couldn’t go through it again. I couldn’t go through all the name calling, the tormenting, the bullying, the teasing, the fighting. I barely survived when I was a teen, I couldn’t go through that again. They would probably hunt me down and kill me like the monsters that we’re trained to kill. As I pulled my shirt back on, I clenched the remaining bandages tightly. Tears continued pouring down my face, and I continued wiping them away.

      Eventually, they stopped, but I was left with a terrible emptiness in my chest. It threatened to overwhelm me. A sense of hopelessness accompanied dread as my only feelings as I walked out of the shower, out of the bathroom, with dragging feet, the life drained from me. No one was in the short stretch of hall between the bathroom and my dorm. I opened the door, eyes immediately shooting to Vyra’s bed. It was empty. Thank god. I should feel relief, but the sense of dread just increased. I laid down on my bed, defeated. I curled in on myself as I faced the wall. Silent tears began leaking down my cheeks again, as I waited for my end to come back to the dorm. As I waited for the disgusted stares and biting words. As I waited for the harsh fists and terrible kicks. I waited for the small peace and happiness and life I had salvaged at the academy to come crashing down. 

       The door opened and I froze. Forcing my shaking breathes to even out. I stared at the wall taking in every crack and detail. I heard the soft pats of Vyra’s footsteps on the floor. The click of the latch as the door swung back shut. 

       “Zara?” Her voice was quiet, careful, almost scared. Scared of what? Me? Did she think I would hurt her? Was she scared of the monster she was living with. I didn’t respond. I doubted I could’ve. My throat was tight from crying. 

        “I’m sorry.” She continued, softly. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have pressed you so much if I knew. I’m sorry.” She apologized. 

      A seed of hope began to sprout, but a cloud of confusion covered it. “What?” I managed to force out.

       “I’m sorry. I understand why you didn’t want to tell me, but I don’t care. I don’t care that your half-dragon. I don’t care that you have scales, or that your stronger than any human. I don’t think you’re a monster.”

        The last sentence broke me, and I collapsed into sobs again. “Really?” I managed to choke out. 

       “Really.” She confirmed as she sat on my bed next to me. “I’m sorry for trying to force it out of you.”

        I sat up and leaned into her. “Thank you. Thank you for not hating me.” I muttered into her shoulder, as her arms snakes around me, pulling me close into a comforting hug.

       “Of course, Zara. I would never hate you for something like this, something that you can’t control.” She assured me as one of her hands ran through my long brown hair in a soothing manner. 

        My tears finally stopped as I sank further into Vyra’s embrace, grateful for the comfort. We sat like that for I don’t know how long, but one of her hands had found its way under my shirt and onto the bandages on my lower back. I froze. 

       “Can I see them?” Vyra asked in a hushed whisper.

        I nodded hesitantly leaning back, and breaking our embrace. I slipped my shirt off leaving me in a just a bra. She glanced away, embarrassed despite having seen me change many times before. I began unwrapping the bandage around my torso. From the front I only revealed bare skin, but on my back I could feel my hands brushing over harder scales. I set the bandage to the side and my hand drifted up to my left shoulder. The bandage fell away to reveal a patch of scales, almost like a shoulder pad of armor. I turned my gaze away from the dark blue scales that erupted out of my skin ruining the otherwise smooth arm. I didn’t look as I removed the other bandage. Shame rose up in my stomach as Vyra gazed upon my hated scales unabashedly.

       “They’re beautiful.” She muttered. 

       I turned away, so she could see the ones that covered most of my lower back from my tailbone to the bottom of ribs, despite the self-hate rising. I gripped my shirt in my hands longing to put it back on, to hide the abominations that ruined my skin in a worse way than any scar on my body. I felt Vyra’s fingers run gently along my back where the tiger’s claws had scuffed the scales. Then they moved to my left shoulder where a large ridge of scar tissue surrounded the bottom of my scales. The scales there were slightly faded, less vibrant.

       “What happened?” She whispered, afraid to break the silence.

        “I did.” I answered quietly. That scar was from where I had dug a knife into my flesh trying to peel the scales back to get rid of them. I hadn't cared if I was left with terrible scars. I had thought things would’ve been better if I could just get rid of them. I had barely gotten past the first row when the pain became too much and I had given up. 

        She pulled me close again. No words were needed as she provided me comfort with just her presence. Warm silence enveloped us and I leaned into her. After many comfortable minutes she broke the silence. 

       “If you don’t mind me asking, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, what are all the traits of half-dragons what are just myths?” She asked quietly. 

        “Well, it varies depending on what type of dragon, but generally scales, or some sort of dragonesque feature like a claw or tail or wing. I was lucky enough just to have a few patches of scales, those are relatively easy to hide.” I paused thinking. “Uh, I can’t breathe fire and I haven’t heard of anyone who can. Most of us are stronger and taller and faster than humans. Generally, I’ve heard that half-dragons are about 6 foot, but I’m on the shorter side at only 5 foot 8.” I shrugged. “I haven’t actually met any others, so I can only tell you what I’ve gathered from personal experience and rumors.” I began fiddling with my shirt in my hands. “Most half-dragons don't dare come out of hiding if they’re living with humans. I think most just run to the wood and live with dragons instead of trying to survive with judgmental humans.”

        I felt Vyra give me a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you stayed.”

        The tonging of the bell jarred us out of our relaxed position.

       “Crap! Dinner.” I cursed hurriedly reaching for the bandages that I had discarded. My hands shook as my panic built.

       Vyra grabbed the bandages from my shaking hands. “Let me.”

       She efficiently wrapped them around my back then arms. She then grabbed my shirt from me and pulled it over me. She pulled me into another hug. She let go, grabbing my hand and pulling me up off my bed. 

       “Let’s go eat.”

       I nodded and let her pull me down the hall, relief building. Vyra actually accepted me and even liked my scales. The warmth of friendship began to blossom up and fill the emptiness that I had grown used to in my chest. It felt nice, I liked it. 

        I squeezed Vyra’s hand that I was still holding. “Thank you.” I muttered again as we entered the busy cafeteria.

        “Of course.” She responded. 

#half-dragon #self-harm #depressing #another dark one #fantasy #but also apparently has showers #so who knows #writing #not edited

[authoratmidnight]

89. Free Ryoken and Ai

89. Free

“You have all the freedom in the world now, and you use it to bother me.”

“Well you have all the freedom in the world and you don’t do anything with it.”

Ryoken stopped typing, hands hovering above the keyboard he was working at as he turned to look at Ai, who was seated on the screen of his duel disk, legs crossed.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, aside from the obvious, you never leaving this boat, you act like you’re the leader, but almost everything you do was decided by someone else.”

Ryoken frowned as he looked at the Ignis and Ai continued on. “You didn’t make the decision to hunt us down and exterminate us, Dr. Kogami did, you just went along with it. Same with the tower of Hanoi, that was all Dr. Kogami’s programming and creation.” He cocked his head to one side curiously, “And I don’t get it. Why not make your own choices, why go with what everyone else says to do?”

Ryoken turned away, looking back at his computer as he set his hands on the table. Ai was right and he hated it.

“I mean, if you have all the freedom in the world, why don’t you do what you want to do?” asked Ai.

“What I want to do huh?” A hoarse laugh caught in his throat and he shook his head, hands curling into clenched fists on the tabletop. “Because...because every time I make a choice, every time I try to do what I think is right the universe throws it back in my face. I invite my new friend over to my house, my father turns him into a lab experiment. I try to save six children from hell and how am I rewarded, by having the only family I have taken from me and returned to me at death’s door.” He pressed his hands to his face as his voice caught somewhere between a laugh and snort, hands shaking. “Hell, the choice to form an alliance with Yusaku and his friends was mine, and look what happened, I nearly got all of us killed, including myself. So maybe, maybe the reason I don’t want to make the decisions, is because the universe just wants to throw it back in my face.”

There was a crashing sound as he brought his hands down on the table and Ai jumped in surprise. Aside from that one moment in the virtual flower field, he’d never really seen Ryoken be what one might be considered vulnerable. Maybe constantly prodding for answers hadn’t been the best idea after all.

“I’m not allowed to make a choice without it hurting someone.”

Silence settled over them as Ryoken buried his face in his hands and Ai shifted awkwardly on the duel disk.

“You’re not the only one who's made mistakes like that you know,” he said after a moment. “I chose to leave the Cyberse World in Lightning’s care so I could find Yusaku, and while I was gone he imprisoned Aqua, rewrote Windy’s code and destroyed our home. I’d say that’s a pretty big slap in the face from the universe. I leave home to save it and it gets destroyed anyways.” Ai rubbed his head, “Not one of my finer choices.”

Ryoken lowered his hands slightly as Ai spoke, looking down at the small Ignis. “Where are you going with this?”

“Everyone makes a few bad decisions in their life, but that doesn’t mean you just stop. After all, not every decision you made was bad.”

“And what pray tell, went right?”

“Specter, you made the choice to befriend him didn’t you? And Vyra, if you hadn’t broken her out of prison she wouldn’t have been able to help save Link VRAINS from Lightning and Bowman,” said Ai. “And even teaming up with us wasn’t all bad. Ok, yes there were a few hitches along the way-”

“A few?”

“Shhh. There were a few hitches but, everything worked out, we stopped Bowman and Lightning, and you even helped repair Earth and Windy’s codes after, you can’t say that went badly.”

“I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop on those choices,” said Ryoken.

“Well you’ll be waiting a long time for them, cause they’re not gonna go wrong,” said Ai, planting his hands on his hips. “So use that free will you humans are so proud of to-to do something! To do what you want to do!”

“What I want to do huh?” Ryoken looked back at the laptop screen with a thoughtful ‘hmmm’ as he rested his chin on his hands.

“What’re you working on anyways?” asked Ai, craning his neck to look at the laptop screen.

“Nothing important,” replied Ryoken, quickly closing the program before Ai could see what he’d been doing. “Do you know where Yusaku is?”

“Hmmmm, I think he was going to see Kusanagi-san. Why?”

Ryoken didn’t reply and simply stood up, shutting the laptop. “Thank you, Ai.”

“Huh, you’re thanking me, why?”

He just smiled and gave Ai a tap on the head before heading for the door.

“Hey, hey answer me! What am I being thanked for, and why did you want to know where Yusaku was? Wait...does he have something to do with what you want to do?”

“Goodbye Ai.”

#vrains #bb fics #there's some implied datastorm at the end #I think the prompt got a bit off the rails but oops #talks about free will happened #Anonymous

[profanetools]

completely unrelated but i've decided rzarac/vyra, before getting forced out/choosing to leave the academy, was a former student turned colleague of bthemetz's back when bthemetz was not a Big Name in Dwemereth, & also probably at some point had a giant fucking crush on Kagrenac

Like as Vyra, as a "ex-architect" who has abandoned the strongholds for a mundane life running a merchant caravan, she still hokds a great deal of bitterness towards Kagrenac for what she believes is setting her up to fail and crash and burn (in a sense yes, but Vyra was also politically outplayed), & even after she's gotten used to her new life and no longer secretly wants to claw her way back there's still a lot of resentment there

& i do think this comes from the fact that for Rzarac, Kagrenac was once an idol she aspired to imitate, especially since the Kagrenac's presentation of Bthemetz occurred when she was v. young and was current as she was growing up. Very much let down by her childhood hero/gay crush that inspired her to become who she was during her first century and a half od adulthood, in a way that was totally devestating and meant she had to destroy that person and become someone else

#vyra is that bike meme #*causes self to topple over* #'stupid sexy kagrenac'