talonsaga-trash

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Here me out: Tristan is autistic.

Canonically is not only good at stakeouts, but according to Garret, is one of the few people to actively enjoy them. A bragging point of his is that he can keep track of an enemy for hours at a time without dropping his scope. These are all examples of hyper focus, explained by two people who wouldn't have to vocabulary to call it was it is.

A lot of knowledge about sniper weaponry and reading about it for fun, unfettered excitement over the US military's armor-piercing rifle, that's a special interest.

Being able to act sociable on a surface level but only managing to form a genuine connection with one (1) person is the biggest mood for an autistic person who's good at masking around strangers.

Dry, sardonic attitude is just a flat vocal/facial affect.

He's autistic, guys. Trust me.

#the talon saga #talon saga #tristan st. anthony #Tristan goes drinking as a sensory-seeking behavior #And then the moment he's back in his and Garret's room switches to the most dead-eyed&flat cadence #Garret: how was your night out :) #Tristan looking like he's seen 1000 horrors: yeah it was great 0_0

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I need to get back into Talon Saga works and have a lot of WIPs/concepts that I keep flitting between, so have a poll about it (fic descriptions under the cut)

Chasing Down the Gods: Longstanding, multi-part series on AO3 where Dante is kidnapped between Legion and Inferno, I need to finish the last part and then it's fully done.

Mercy Insight Faith: My three-part Ember/Faith slowburn, currently on part 2

Piercing Gun: An exploration of Tristan and Garret's relationship through the lens of Tristan getting his ears pierced, was originally supposed to have three parts but the first part was technically self-contained.

Dante goes rogue in Crescent Beach AU: Dante's journey through funky gender revelations somehow leads him to join the rogue underground. Five chapters.

Talon Hunger Games AU: ....I don't know how else to describe it.

#morning reblog

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Rotating the Riley-Stealth and Mist-Faith parallels in my brain on this fine Tuesday.

It's the Basilisk-Viper team up, it's that Basilisks and Vipers can't really have friends but forming connections anyway, it's about the presence of care and the lack of trust, it's about loyalty to higher powers, it's about the inescapable pressure of having a myth for a mentor, it's about Talon's prodigious spies breaking free and running away while the assassin stays to be consumed by the cycle of violence. JKags did this on purpose, didn't she.

#the talon saga #talon saga #Riley | Cobalt #Stealth (Talon Saga) #Mist Anderson #Faith (Talon Saga)

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I need to get back into Talon Saga works and have a lot of WIPs/concepts that I keep flitting between, so have a poll about it (fic descriptions under the cut)

Chasing Down the Gods: Longstanding, multi-part series on AO3 where Dante is kidnapped between Legion and Inferno, I need to finish the last part and then it's fully done.

Mercy Insight Faith: My three-part Ember/Faith slowburn, currently on part 2

Piercing Gun: An exploration of Tristan and Garret's relationship through the lens of Tristan getting his ears pierced, was originally supposed to have three parts but the first part was technically self-contained.

Dante goes rogue in Crescent Beach AU: Dante's journey through funky gender revelations somehow leads him to join the rogue underground. Five chapters.

Talon Hunger Games AU: ....I don't know how else to describe it.

#the talon saga #talon saga

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Sometimes I genuinely forget that Mist/Riley is an actual thing that happened.

#like it's a GOOD PAIRING but I professionally ignore romance plotlines #the talon saga #talon saga

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While I admit to shorthanding the underground dynamic into “Wes and Riley o parenting a bunch of teenagers”, I think the dynamic is much more complicated, and Ember describing Riley as the underground’s “older brother figure” is more accurate. He’s much less a parent and much more the underground’s older brother who scraped and clawed custody out of their parent’s (Talon’s) hands, and he knows he’s underqualified but also knows that their parents are even worse, so he’s going to keep his shit together and try his best for as long as possible. And that’s a much more interesting dynamic, in my opinion.

#the talon saga #talon saga #riley | cobalt #I don’t know where Wes fits in in this metaphor #but then again when the underground is a found family not all metaphors are directly analogous

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Back on my bullshit about Stealth and Wes looking the same. It doesn't matter how much time passes, Riley will always be haunted by his best friend's face.

#the talon saga #talon saga #wesley higgins #Stealth (Talon Saga) #me making a big deal out of minor characters? It's more likely than you think #and then when Riley goes back to Talon and Wes eventually passes he’s STILL haunted by his best friend’s face #because stealth is still alive

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Plot twist: the two boys you're choosing between are polyamorous, but they also hate eachother's guts so you still have to pick one

#the love triangle TO ME

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Sometimes you gotta listen to “This Year” by the mountain goats and imagine a world where you can animate Cobalt’s downward spiral into going rogue.

#alas I cannot to digital art. #Riley | Cobalt

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Do you think Ember and Dante know each other’s faces better than their own?

Sixteen years is a long time to spend beside someone, to see them morph and grow, and in some ways it doesn’t matter how much they changed in how little time when they could still recognize each other in their sleep. They have become monstrous to each other in ways beyond their understanding, but they cannot be unrecognizable. They cannot be strangers. There is something deeper than DNA written into them. They were born knowing each other. Dante is more familiar to Ember than she is to herself. Ember is more recognizable to Dante than he is to himself.

They have become something that the other cannot comprehend.

They know each other’s faces better than their own.

They cannot escape this.

#the talon saga #talon saga #Ember Hill #Dante Hill #Tragic Clone Children #thoughts and feelings at 1 in the morning

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Now that I’m re-reading Legion, I’m wondering the circumstances in which the Archivist learned about Wes.

Mist only refers to him as Riley’s Hacker Friend, which could mean 1 of 2 things: either Wes is the shady person behind Riley’s back who acts as an underground puppetmaster and was never connected to the disappearance of eighteen-year-old Wesley Higgins, or Mist was warned beforehand that there is no way better to make the terrifying Ex-Basilisk angry than to breathe towards threatening his friend. Or, somehow, a combination of the two.

Which is to say, the Archivist knew Wes. Talon did not.

Kind of hard not to take note of the newest part of Roth’s hoard, because the Archivist hoards knowledge and Roth hoards talent. Wesley Higgins was skilled enough at age fourteen to be stolen from the birthplace of St. George, the one place that Talon cannot go. Wesley Higgins only stayed in the dark about Talon’s true operations until he was sixteen, and then began working under a Talon Senior VP because keeping him in the dark any longer would be a waste. Wesley Higgins also made it no secret that he did not want to be here. Wesley Higgins managed to collect blackmail on Talon, the organization that specializes in blackmail.

The Archivist, specifically, specializes in blackmail.

There’s no way he wasn’t aware of Wes. As someone running a parallel secret organization within Talon, having a talented hacker who has no loyalty to Talon would be incredibly appealing to the Archivist. He was probably trying to poach this kid ever since he turned sixteen, but it’s hard to steal from another dragon’s hoard. It’s even harder when the thing he’s trying to steal is making it pretty damn clear that he doesn’t take kindly to dragons. Who, like most humans, wouldn’t see the difference between working for Talon and working for the Archivist when neither are human. So acquiring Wes would take time, and the Archivist has a lot of patience, but all the patience in the world doesn’t matter when Wesley Higgins was only under Roth’s employ for another two years before he dropped off the grid and was never seen again.

And sure, Roth knew where he went, because Roth knew who stole that file from St. George that so mysteriously went missing, which was then used to start Cobalt’s underground. And Roth definitely knows who blackmailed him. Wes wasn’t exactly slick in where he went. But for Roth, losing part of his hoard escaped was bad enough. He wasn’t about to admit to the rest of Talon that said part of his hoard blackmailed him and then started stealing hatchlings, because that’s how you lose your job. So Wesley Higgins stays missing. Maybe a body that looks like him mysteriously washes up in a river somewhere. And Cobalt gains a shadowy puppetmaster, shrouded in even more mystery than the ex-Basilisk itself.

The Archivist assumes that Wesley Higgins is a lost opportunity. A shame, a waste of potential, but potential doesn’t mean much, and it’s not like he would have been any more agreeable to the Archivist than he was for Roth, when the Archivist is just another dragon.

Twelve years later, Talon sends one of his lowercase-a archivists on a suicide mission to kill Cobalt. She is, to the shock of everyone including herself, left alive. About two months later, Cobalt breaks into his Vault with the Elder Wyrm’s daughter and Dr. Olsen’s son. Oh, and his little human hacker friend, whose mention made an ex-Basilisk so pale and stiff when it came from the Archivist’s mouth, which means that Cobalt actually cares about his puppetmaster. His very skilled puppermaster, considering he was able to cut a hole through his electronic security as efficiently as any of Talon’s elites. It takes hours before his own technicians can recover enough from the security cameras to get a picture of him.

And apparently the Archivist misread Wesley Higgins, because he’s been working alongside a dragon for twelve years with no issues. He’s older now, as he watches the grown man on the camera carefully leaf through the Archivist’s electronic information and steal even more company secrets than he already has, but it’s unmistakably him. The human that outran Roth, outran the Archivist, and ran straight to Cobalt.

The best thing to do for Talon, of course, would be to inform the Elder Wyrm who Cobalt’s puppermaster is. It would certainly give the Archivist more credibility with the Elder Wyrm, what with making the underground easier to pin down, and would serve a nice bonus of destabilizing Roth’s power— maybe even enough to keep him from trying to bring Dante Hill into his hoard, because the Archivist would love the chance to collect the second son of the Elder Wyrm.

The Archivist instead files this information away for a rainy day. He’s sure it will come in handy.

#self reblog

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#4 for the unique writing asks post! :)

In your works, is blood thicker than water or is the blood of the covenant thicker than the water of the womb? (Are familial ties or friendship ties more important?)

That feel like a complicated question, especially since The Talon Saga prominently features a familial relationship in a way that a lot of books of this genre don’t— namely, Ember and Dante’s relationship as siblings.

I feel that, in my writing, familial and friendship ties are incredibly different, and I aim to write them in a way that they are so different that they can’t be equated with one another. Is Ember’s relationship with the rogues more important than her relationship with Dante? Hard to say— she left Dante for the underground, but that had as much to do with philosophy as it did with bonds, and she Dante is the person who keeps her up at night, not Garret or Riley. Is Dante’s relationship with Team Vegas stronger than his relationship with Ember? He certainly trusts Team Vegas more, but he’d make more sacrifices for Ember. You can’t equate one to the other because they’re fundamentally different things.

I also try to write it so that it changes from one character to another. Blood might be thicker than water for Dante, whose only constant in his life was his sister, but Wes would sacrifice his parents before he let harm come to the underground, and if I were to write Garret and Dr. Olsen interacting, Garret would want Dr. Olsen dead on-sight.

Not a cut and dry answer, but I think questions like this aren’t supposed to be. Who am I writing? Who is their family? Is it possible to place one over the other?

#the talon saga #talon saga #answers from the trash heap

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Vessels from Soldier Onwards

By extension, Ember and Dante Hill

"unalive" should just mean the opposite of undead. if undead means a dead thing thats alive, unalive shuld mean an alive things thats dead. no i dont have any examples. ☝️yet

#talon saga #the talon saga #tragic clone children #lights on and no one is home

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unique writing asks🖋️

What themes would you like to write about that you feel don’t get explored very often?

What are some common elements of stories you are tired of seeing? What would you avoid writing about?

What loves do you tend to write about? Agape (unconditional, spiritual love), Eros (romantic, passionate love), Philia (affectionate, platonic love), Philautia (self-love), Storge (familial love), Pragma (enduring love like between long-married couples), Ludus (playful love, infatuation you feel during the “honeymoon period”), and Mania (obsessive love that leads to madness and jealousy)

In your works, is blood thicker than water or is the blood of the covenant thicker than the water of the womb? (Are familial ties or friendship ties more important?)

Would you rather write a happy ending that soothes the soul or a tragic ending that hurts the heart?

What point of view do you tend to write in? Do all of your pieces use the same POV? Do you have strong opinions on the POV used in novels?

Favorite description in your wip? (If asked more than once, respond with a new piece each time)

Favorite dialogue in your wip? (If asked more than once, respond with a new piece each time)

What scene was the hardest to write for you and why?

What scene was the most fun to write for you and why?

Set the scene for us. What are your settings like and do you have any pictures saved that represent them? Do your characters travel and see more than one? What are their names?

What is the fashion like in your wip? Do you have any pictures saved of outfits your characters would wear?

What traits do you share with your original characters or what traits do you wish you shared with them?

If you’ve written more than one story, what traits do your protagonists tend to share?

Why physical quirks do your characters tend to have? Eyebrow raising, picking nails, biting lips, pacing, crossing arms, etc.

What motives do you give your original characters? What drives them? How much tragedy did you subject them to?

Are your protagonists always the “good guys” and your antagonists always the “bad guys” or do you like to do anti-heroes and grey morality?

What writers have inspired you with their use of language? What are some of your favorite quotes?

“For fans of ______!” What works would you say are similar to yours?

If you were published and had complete control over your covers, what would it look like? Do you have any specific artists that you’d like to illustrate it? Do you like when characters are pictured on covers or do you prefer inanimate objects?

How do you come up with titles? Do you use placeholders or tend to change your titles while writing the first draft?

How do you come up with character names? Do the names have a special meaning? If so, what are they?

Do your prefer reading series or standalone novels and does that reflect on how you write?

Do you let your story evolve as you write or do you meticulously plan everything prior to writing the first draft?

Do you start your novels with dialogue or description? Do you end your novels with dialogue or description?

What do you feel like you need to work on as a growing writer? How can you improve?

Do you have playlists for your wip? What are some of the songs in it?

Do you need background noise to write? If so, what do you listen to?

How do you share your writing? Do you use any writing websites and, if so, share your profiles!

What is some of the best writing advice you’ve read or received? Why does it work for you?

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The Talon Saga + D&D Classes

Ember- Rogue (Assassin): One of the most cut and dry decisions, Ember was trained to be one of Talon's elite assassins, and doesn't dissapoint. From her stealth to her ability to neutralize enemies as quickly and silently as possible, she is Lilith's protege through and through.

Garret- Fighter (Battlemaster): Garret, someone who's spent the majority of his life in a militarized organization and whose only purpose in life for 13 years was to serve that organization, his fighting style is honed and perfected, with a lot of variation as to what he can do in the field of combat. However, like this class, his skills outside of combat can feel a bit lacking as he struggles to function in a non-militarized society.

Riley- Rogue (Inquisitive)/Paladin (Oathbreaker): Riley started his career in Talon as part of its spy network, dealing in information and sabotage— while Inquisitive rogues aren't built for hack and slash combat, they operate greatly from the shadows, where Riley tries to stay. His status as a paladin speaks towards his devotion to his cause and community, as well as his choice to sever ties with Talon and actively work against them.

Wes- Wizard (Divination)/Cleric (Knowledge Domain): Wes' specialty was, is, and will always be in support, not combat. His roots are in information gathering from hacking, finding enemy weak spots for other people to exploit and manipulating things from behind the curtain. As he left Talon, though, he not only gained a medical skillset, but also found something worth believing in— the thing that he devotes himself is not a god, but instead the underground that he and Riley formed, and that he works tirelessly to preserve.

Jade- Sorcerer (Storm Sorcery): While all dragons seem to have some sort of innate magic, Jade is the only one in the group who grew up in an environment where she could actually hone it into something usable, and doesn't hesitate to do so— as an eastern dragon, she's associated with water and storm, making her magic primarily weather-based.

Tristan- Fighter (Arcane Archer)/Rogue (Assassin): While Tristan may have his roots in traditional fighting styles, and can hold his own in hand-to-hand, he functions best far away from where the action is, where he can calculate, fire, and do a ridiculous amount of damage in one blow without ever being seen. While he shares a class with Garret and a subclass with Ember, the combination makes him unique from both, and especially suited for his place on the battlefield.

Mist- Rogue (Inquisitive)/Warlock (Archfey): With the skillset of a Basilisk, Mist may thrive in the shadows, gathering blackmail and issuing threats, but has also gained the favor of someone much more powerful than herself, who provides her with intel and resources, so long as she follows his orders. Her focuses, both as a rogue and a warlock, are in deception at their core, making her allegience a mystery to all but herself and her employer.

Dante- Bard (College of Whispers): Dante's skillset is reliant on his charisma, in convincing people to do what he wants, and in manipulating others to his benefit. He's made his den in a pit of vipers, and he wears that as a badge of honor.

Conclusion: There are so many rogues in this party

#the talon saga #talon saga #garret xavier sebastian #ember hill #wesley higgins #tristan st. anthony #dante hill #riley | cobalt #mist anderson #A singular note and I will draw everyone as their d&d classes and that is a threat

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I did not realize how fucking smart Tristan is until this reread. Because unlike Garret, he had absolutely no firsthand experience with dragons, and it still only took until Soldier for him to start shifting his views to fit the evidence he was given.

Look at this from his perspective: he’s a soldier of St. George. All he has seen and heard about from ages 12-21 are that dragons are evil, and in nine years, he’s compiled a lot of evidence to affirm that, because he’s been interacting with Talon. The first scene he’s meeting him, he’s fighting a dragon that has a hand in the South American cartels. He’s probably seen victims of the worst of what Talon does— war funding, human trafficking, drug rings, every damn human rights violation known to man. Some of those former victims might be part of St. George, now. He might even be one of them. And according to the information he’s been given, dragons are all a part of Talon, so there’s no reason for him to believe that dragons can be good. 

Garret gets firsthand experiences with a dragon. Tristan distinctly does not, and Garret gives him no information throughout book 1. So when Garret (a pathos driven character) flips sides, Tristan (a logos driven character) can’t make the same leap because yes, he’s loyal to his partner, but in order to make the leap to dragon’s aren’t all evil, he’d have to accept that Talon isn’t all evil. And from all of the evidence he has, that’s untrue.

So how long, one asks, does it take for him to re-evaluate this? Well, from Garret’s perspective, it takes until about halfway through Inferno, but let’s face it, Garret is not an objective narrator and has a lot of baggage concerning Tristan St. Anthony. And Tristan does retain his caution around dragons until around that time, because that’s the smart thing to do when faced with a 500 pound firebreathing lizard.

In reality, it takes until his and Garret’s conversation in the coffeeshop during Soldier.

The thing is, Garret has been insisting to him since the end of Talon that not all dragons are evil, but hasn’t given any evidence, because all of his evidence is emotion driven, and Tristan can’t trust that. He functions by being able to take information and draw his own conclusions, and no matter how much he may want to, he cannot do that with other people’s emotions. But in Soldier, Garret finally gives him the information that he needs, and says that not all dragons are a part of Talon.

And you can practically see on the page how his demeanor shifts. Immediately, once Tristan can get access to that information, he’s willing to work with Garret. Because sure, that involves trusting his partner isn’t outright lying to him, but that is still a piece of impartial information that he can work with. It no longer asks him to assume that Talon isn’t evil when they’re off committing atrocities. The next scene we see him, he’s able to look a dragon in the eye and have an extended conversation— not a civil one by any means, but a conversation nonetheless. They present a problem, and it takes less than forty-eight hours for Tristan to have a solution.

And you can see those echoes through the rest of the series. Tristan evaluating something, being given new information, and immediately re-evaluating and adjusting his world view as-needed. It’s not until Inferno that he has a proper conversation with a dragon, and by then he’s already adjusted so much of his views that he’s ready to have more emotional conversations (particularly in asking Ember if she loves Garret), backed by the informative knoweldge that he’s already parsed through.

He’s just. So smart. And he deserves credit for it.

#The Talon Saga #Talon Saga #Trista St. Anthony

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incredibly rushed and made while Very Tirwd but .new ship bingo :3333

send me ships 2 do this with or rb 2 do it yrself idc …………