#[ she is so paranoid and jumpy. she is seeing the ghosts that have haunted her for years ]

[idolbound]

So, we know that Meredith has had the idol fashioned into a blade, sometime in the 3 years between the qunari attack and the beginning of Act 3.

In that time, its influence has slowly been affecting Meredith, particularly through her already existing paranoia; it pointedly starts to get worse as Orsino calls her out on seeing "blood mages in every corner" in their fight at the market. We know she has established martial law, and is acting as a de facto Viscount (a decision made in sound mind to establish control over Kirkwall), but we also know she has gotten stricter and enabling harsher punishments to those who break the law.

At this point, I like to believe that her symptoms of untreated PTSD start to ramp up. The paranoia, the hypervigilance, the startle response, the irritation/aggression. She already experienced these things, but the idol's presence ramps them up, slowly but surely; she never ingests red lyrium but it is clear that it's mere presence affects people around it. And so, over this period, her mental state is very frayed but she doesn't yet start to hear its corrupted 'song'.

That said, we know all lyrium has a "song' of the titans it is harvested from, and all templars use lyrium and therefore 'hear it', but I feel they become accustomed to it (especially veteran templars who have been taking lyrium for decades). We know it makes templars feel as if there is something missing or that they feel incomplete, but it allows them to suppress magic, and doesn't lead them astray from that duty.

This, I'm afraid, changes later in Act 3, probably a couple months or so before the end of it all. Meredith is clearly much more agitated and fails to see reason no matter what Hawke or anyone else says to her. While part of her mind and decision-making ability is still there, I like to imagine she hears the blighted lyrium's song and it is loud, and powerful, and she likely suffers from both visual and auditory hallucinations (hence the ramped up paranoia/hypervigilance) that affects how she conducts herself. Given that this has been ongoing over several years, it has affected Meredith's overall health as well: she isn't sleeping so she just looks exhausted; she's barely been eating and looks more gaunt in the face; and she just looks unwell, as if she might have a terminal illness that's slowly killing her (and honestly, it is - even if she hadn't been turned to lyrium, it probably would have driven her to suicide otherwise).

At the height of Meredith's madness, I imagine she is hearing things much like Senua in Hellblade; she still has her conscious fixed to the reality around her (hence how she reacts to Anders blowing up the Chantry), but it is what is driving her slowly insane, making her believe things exist where they don't, but it also makes her unable to believe the truth, washing her in whispered conspiracy. It's why, for example, if a pro-Templar Hawke, who supported and helped Meredith with mages is suddenly turned on at the end; Meredith seems the Champion as a threat despite evidence to the contrary, and seeks to kill them.

And in terms of the idol giving her seemingly 'magical' abilities (for the boss fight), I think it acts similar to a mage's staff, given the fact she already has lyrium in her system and can control/suppress magic - but as the idol is a corrupted item, there are... simply things that remain unexplainable. (And perhaps exaggerated a little through The Tale of the Champion - we will never know).

[gengarghast]

Lilith Dusk: The Wraith of the Leviathan

A short explanation of my Destiny 2 OC.

Warning: This post is going to be VERY LONG!! Do not open below the cut if you don't want it to go supernova.

TLDR: She was trapped on EVIL MUSHROOM SHIP and got dragon ghosts all up in her brain.

Background (For people new to Destiny)

A while ago in Destiny, there was this guy called Calus. Alien space emperor type. He hosted tournaments and games on this giant ship called the Leviathan, and he showered the winners in praise and treasure. And then, he vanished. Roughly around two years ago, during the Season of the Haunted, the Leviathan reappeared, covered in this gross shit called Egregore fungus that feeds on the psychic trauma created by death.

On the Leviathan

Anyways, Lilith was one of the Guardians¹ who were participating in Calus' games, but unlike the others she didn't leave the ship before it vanished. So she was forced to hide and skulk around and steal and survive all the while the ship was overtaken by the Egregore and the Darkness. Her armor is of her own creation, forged from stolen scraps of Ahamkara² bone as well as gold and silver and whatever else she could scavenge- Including the armor of other fallen Guardians who suffered the same fate as her.

Over time, the many, many fragments of Ahamkara bones that made up her armor began developing the ability to psychically communicate with her, and they forged an uneasy alliance- Her wishing³ for basic things in order for her to survive, and the bones keeping her alive so that she could keep wishing.

During that time, she also obtained her two favorite weapons, both also having Ahamkara bone modded into them- Dead Man's Tale, an old-fashioned lever rifle, and Bad Juju, a pulse rifle adorned with the skull of a small Ahamkara.

Eventually with the Leviathan's reappearance, she was able to escape the ship. During that time, she had grown fond of the collective Ahamkara voices that had been bound to her, and they had grown fond of her in turn. And so, she continued to wear that scavenged armor, with some minor professional tuning and tweaks to make it not just bones stuck to armor.

She also ate, like, a lot of Egregore. Like a LOT. Which is how all those Ahamkara bones formed such a strong bond with her mind, because Egregore spores open your mind up to outside influence, or in this case, psychic dragon ghosts.

Lilith "Lily" Dusk

In terms of her personality, her time aboard the Leviathan made her paranoid and jumpy, but very loyal to those she sees as trustworthy. Aside from that, she is also very prone to angry outbursts or getting overwhelmed when faced with confrontation and judgement. After being isolated on the Leviathan for years with only her Ghost⁴ and the Ahamkara voices to keep her 'company', she is terrible when it comes to social encounters and usually bungles it, being rude, blunt, and abrasive without even realizing it. Despite this, she tries her best to be nice.

Also, she doesn't like to take off the armor. She probably sleeps in it tbh-

Glossary

Guardians are the player characters in Destiny, super-powered people who can come back from the dead with the power of Light.

Ahamkara are a species of 'dragons' in the Destiny universe- They wield paracausal abilities that allow them to grant monkey's-paw wishes and remain semi-sentient after death, whispering psychic messages to the one who wields their bones.

Wishing feeds Ahamkara, as they consume the cosmic chaos/energy that results from wishing.

A Ghost are a Guardians' companion, they supply their Guardian with the power of the Light and are able to resurrect them when they die.

[legendofzeldaalinktothepast]

Opalescent Tides - Chapter 2

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter 

Amethyst woke to the sound of running water. Much like the night before, she was disoriented and vaguely frightened, but her body didn't ache the way it previously had -- if anything, it felt replenished, albeit somewhat dizzy. Slowly opening her eyes, she shielded her face from the artificial light source on the ceiling and pulled herself upright. 

She shifted around on the surface beneath her. She was sitting in a large, porcelain tub full of warm water. The bottom of the tub was lined with a sandy, shell-shaped pattern, and bars of soap and rubber ducks lined the shelves around her. Amethyst turned her gaze downward, holding on hope that the events of the previous night had merely been a dream -- but her shimmering fin was still there. 

Slouching down in the water, Amethyst looked around the room; the walls were lined with seashells, picture frames bearing photos and paintings of the beach, and tacky wooden knick knacks of anchors and fish. A quick glimpse out the window assured her that it was still nighttime, so she hadn't been lying here for too long...

"Brr?"

Amethyst flinched away from the source of the sound, meeting the golden eyes of a massive orange cat. It gazed at Amethyst with wide black pupils, and its bushy tail lashed back and forth. "Geez, you scared the hell outta me..." Amethyst mumbled, cautiously extending a hand and petting it on the head. The cat nipped Amethyst on the thumb, making her yelp and jerk her hand away. "Hey! Little asshole..." she grumbled.

As if on cue, the door creaked open and the cat immediately retreated. A tall, heavyset woman peered into the room, her expression slightly concerned. "Ah, hello there!" she greeted, cautiously stepping in and closing the door behind herself. Her hair was bright pink and curly, and was tied up into a messy bun on top of her head; she wore a silky white tank top that was slightly too short for her torso -- possibly to show off the glistening pink piercing she had on her navel -- and a pair of denim shorts that reached her knees. When Amethyst heard the click of the door locking, however, she froze up.

"How are you feeling?" the woman asked. She approached the bathtub and turned one of the knobs, turning off the faucet.

'That’s a loaded question...' Amethyst thought. How could she even begin to answer that?

"Ah... Do you speak English?" the woman asked after an uncomfortable pause. "I know a little bit of French, and my husband is Italian -- "

"No, no, it's fine. I speak English." Amethyst waved a hand, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm just... really out of it right now. I guess I'm fine?"

"Fine is better than bad!" the woman said. She approached the bathtub, the fluffy cat following close behind. It rubbed its head against her calves, its eyes not leaving Amethyst for whatever reason; the fur on its back began to stand up, and it made a slight rumbling noise in its throat. "So... my name is Rose. What is yours?" Rose reached down to stroke the cat's ears, probably in an attempt to soothe him.

"Amethyst." she said, inching towards the other end of the bathtub as the cat stared her down. "So, uh, this is probably a really dumb question... But how'd I get here? My brain's really foggy, can't remember shit..."

"Well..." Rose sat down on the sink, crossing her legs as the cat leapt onto her lap. "That's a good question. My dear friend Pearl found you floating in my swimming pool, and well... I had a feeling chlorinated water probably wasn't ideal for any sort of marine life, so we brought you in here." She ran her fingers along the cat's back, and it began to relax a bit.

"Oh... geez, that must've been awkward." Amethyst blushed, running her fingers through her tangled hair. "Thanks for helping me. I swear, I'm just as confused as you are. Normally I have legs, but uh..." She trailed off. How could one even begin to explain whatever the fuck had happened earlier?

"Don't worry about it." Rose reassured, a calm smile on her face. While Amethyst's brain was a total fog, she knew that any normal human would be freaking the fuck out at fact that a mermaid almost died in her pool... So why was this woman so calm about everything? "Is there anything I can do for you?" Rose continued, snapping Amethyst out of her spiraling thoughts.

"Eh... not sure. Guess I just... need a minute to process whatever the hell is happening right now." Amethyst said, slouching down in the water until it reached her chin. "Or an hour. Maybe a few days."

Rose chuckled. "Understandable. Well, I'll be in the living room. Give me a holler if you need anything." She slid down from the sink and made her way over to the door, gesturing for the cat to follow. "Come on, buddy. Let's give our guest some privacy, alright?" The cat responded with a softer, more pleasant sounding rumble in its throat, and followed Rose out into the hallway.

Once she was alone again, Amethyst slouched down all the way into the water until she was completely submerged. 

* 

Her hands trembling, Pearl locked the door behind herself. "Goodness gracious. I must be going insane..." she mumbled to nobody in particular.

"Is someone chasing you?" Garnet teased, causing Pearl to jump.

"What? No!" Pearl said, setting her keys down on the coffee table. "Just... Paranoid. You know how jumpy I get at night, and with all the old antiques we sell, the shop's probably haunted..."

Garnet huffed with amusement, reaching for the remote and turning down the volume on the T.V. "That's true." she said with an amused grin. "Did you enjoy your swim?"

For a moment, Pearl had nearly forgotten she'd even gone for a swim... 'Should I tell Garnet what happened?' she thought, wringing her hands as she made her way over to the couch and seated herself beside Garnet. "Ah, well..."

"Something's bothering you..." Garnet said, her voice a bit softer, now.

"If I told you what it was... You'd think I was joking." Pearl sighed, leaning back against the couch.

"I doubt that. But the way you're acting is rather concerning..." Garnet said, cupping Pearl's cheek. "Are you sure you weren't being followed? Perhaps I shouldn't have joked about that..."

Pearl's heart ached with guilt -- with the way she'd been acting, of course Garnet would assume the worst! "Oh, oh heavens no! I promise, nothing like that happened. I had a safe walk home, I promise." she said, turning to face Garnet and gripping her hands. "I swear. What happened tonight was more in the... supernatural realm, I suppose?"

Garnet let out a sigh of relief. "Alright. Ghosts are a little less frightening than a stalker." she said. "You know I'm not a skeptic, right? I've had my own share of supernatural experiences."

"That's true, that's true..." Pearl smiled a little. "I... I'll tell you. But if you don't believe me... Can you promise not to make fun of me?"

"Promise." Garnet said, wrapping a pinkie around Pearl's.

"Thank you..." Pearl drew in a deep breath before continuing. "Okay, so… How do I even say this? Uh, you know those silly little stories tourists are always asking about? About the evil sirens that roam the beaches at night, and alien sightings, and..." She trailed off.

"Pearl...?"

’Just get to the point!’ "There was a mermaid in Rose's pool." Pearl finally blurted out. "I swear on everything in this apartment, Garnet, it was a mermaid! She had long, purple hair, and a sparkly fin, and webbed fingers and claws! And you can ask Rose in the morning if you don't believe me. Oh, please don't think I'm crazy--!"

"Alright, shhh..." Garnet hushed her, cupping a hand over her mouth. "I believe you. Just chill."

"Are you sure? You don't have to say that just because you feel bad for me, I know it's -- "

"I know it's crazy, but I still believe you." Garnet said, though the expression on her face seemed... uncertain. Pearl's heart sank down in her chest. "I promise, it's okay. Look, first thing in the morning we'll go over to Rose's house. The mermaid is still there, right?"

"Yes, I think so." Pearl said. "She's keeping her in the bathtub... She seemed to be in poor condition, but Rose seemed confident she would be okay..."

Garnet smiled. “Then you don’t need to worry." she said. "Just breathe. You're so shaken by this, Pearl..." She grabbed Pearl by the hands and helped her to her feet. "You should head off to bed. We'll think about this whole situation in the morning; but for now, just... focus on calming down, thinking of the positives. The store is closed tomorrow, so there's no work... You can relax."

"That's true..." Pearl said, crossing her arms. "It's going to be okay. A-all of this is for me to worry about tomorrow, not tonight."

Garnet nodded. "Exactly."

Pearl took another deep breath, giving Garnet a gentle hug. "Thank you for listening… Even when I’m acting like a lunatic.”

"You aren’t.” Garnet reassured.

Pearl exhaled. "Alright... Thank you, then.”

“You already said that.” Garnet teased, ruffling Pearl’s hair and giving her a nudge towards her bedroom. “Now get some rest, okay?”

Pearl blushed as she made her way into her room. “Okay, okay. Good night… See you in the morning.”

“Good night.” 

* 

Sunlight shone in through the bathroom window; unlike the harsh rays that'd waken her the day before, these were warm and pleasant. Rubbing her eyes, Amethyst sat herself upright and glanced around the room... still in the ocean themed bathroom, as she'd expected... But part of her had hoped she'd wake up to something that made more sense, or that everything that had happened had been a dream... Sighing, stood upright and stretched her sore body.

'Wait.'

She glanced down at her own two legs. No mermaid tail. She looked at her hands, and saw that her fingers were no longer webbed, her nails no longer pointed and hooked. Not a single scale in sight, just skin and lots of dark hair.

As she looked up, Amethyst noticed a pair of clothing folded up on the floor; a white tank top, a long brown skirt, and some frilly underwear. They looked slightly too big to fit her properly, but the way they were laid out made her feel as if she were intended to put them on... So after a few moments of hesitation, she dried herself off with a fluffy towel and hesitantly slipped the clothes on.

'Maybe it was a dream, after all...' Amethyst thought, looking herself over in the mirror. Her hair was a tangled mess, standing up in a million different directions, so she put some water from the bathtub on her hands and smoothed it out until it looked semi-decent. 'Alright... Now to see what the fuck's going on.'

She tugged the bathroom door to open it, only to remember it was locked, and twisted the little knob until she heard a click, stepping out into the hallway.

"Good morning!" a voice called; Amethyst tensed at first, only feeling slightly relieved upon seeing the pink haired woman from the night before. "Are you feeling any better?"

Amethyst wasn't sure how to respond; sure, she was feeling a little better, but... Should she be scared of this woman? "I'm... I'm okay, I guess."

"Would you like to join me for some breakfast?" Rose asked, gesturing for Amethyst to follow her. "It'll just be us, if that's okay with you. Greg and Steven are out doing grocery shopping... Normally I go with them, but I thought I'd stay behind just so you wouldn't wake up to an empty house."

Geez, that was a lot of information at once. "Uh... I guess I could go for some breakfast." she said, though she couldn't help fearing this would be some sort of trap... Yet her growling stomach urged her to take the risk, so she followed Rose.

"It's nothing too special, though; the boys are out shopping, after all, so our choices are limited..." Rose rambled on as she shuffled through the kitchen cabinets. "Would you like some cereal? We might have some poptarts left as well..."

Anxiety tensed in Amethyst's stomach as she struggled to remember what either of those things were. "Either's fine!" she said, hoping neither of them were gross.

"Poptarts it is, then, because that's what I'm having." Rose said, popping two rectangle-shaped pastries into the toaster. "Ah, blueberry is Steven's favorite flavor. Hopefully they remember to buy more while they're out, because these are the last two!" She chuckled, and for a reason Amethyst couldn't quite parse... It filled her with a sense of frustration. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she sat down at the table.

"I really just want something to make sense." Amethyst croaked out, cupping her hands over her face. "I don't know what any of this is. Why are you so calm? Why don't you give a shit that some drunk girl passed out in your pool last night? What am I even doing here? And how do I know you're not going to hurt me or..." she trailed off as her voice cracked.

Rose's expression softened. "Ah... I'm sorry, Amethyst. I just wanted to help you feel comfortable... I wish there was some way I could prove I'm not going to hurt you... But that's the last thing I'd ever want to do." She seated herself in the chair beside Amethyst, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. You're allowed to be confused... Because this truly is a strange situation." Rose tugged a paper towel off of the nearby roll and handed it over to Amethyst. The latter looked at it for a moment, confused as to what she was supposed to do with this... So she used it to dab away some of the snot running from her nose, hoping that was the right thing.

"I suppose... Supernatural things aren't uncommon in this town." Rose continued, tapping her fingers on the marble tabletop. "There's a reason it draws so many tourists, and it's not just the beautiful view of the ocean, or the amusement park..." She wrung her hands anxiously. "Mermaid sightings aren't uncommon. And a lot of tourists come here to see them, and often... Don't have the best intentions." She turned her gaze towards Amethyst, expression softening. "So... I'm not at all frightened or confused by finding a mermaid in my pool. You weren't drunk, you really did turn into a mermaid last night. Transforming probably did a number on your body, and I'm sure the chlorine in the pool didn't help much, either."

Pop. Amethyst nearly leapt out of her skin as the poptarts jumped up in the toaster. Rose chuckled softly, rising to her feet and grabbing two plastic plates from the cabinet. "Perhaps I should just get to the point." she continued, making her way back over to the kitchen table and setting the plates down. Then, she reached for a picture hanging on the fridge and placed it down beside Amethyst's plate.

Amethyst picked up the photo and examined it; it was a picture of Rose, with a beautiful pink mermaid tail. She was sitting on a couch beside a chubby, bearded man with long hair and an acoustic guitar in his lap. In the white space beneath the photo, the numbers "7/15/87" were written in blue ink.

"This is from when I was pregnant with Steven." Rose said, smiling fondly at the picture. "And that handsome man right there is Greg." She rested her chin in her hands. "I fell in love with him back when I still had my fin... I wanted to live on land to be with him, and in doing that, I had to forget everything I knew about being a mermaid... Thankfully, Greg helped me regain my memories... At least the ones I wanted to hold onto." She took a bite of her poptart, tilting her head as she gazed at Amethyst.

"Then, I lived as a shifter for two years. Only turned into a mermaid when there was a full moon." she continued. "But once I gave birth to Steven, I stopped shifting... Only when he grew a mermaid tail did I realize I'd passed that ability down to him."

"Ah... Damn." Amethyst began, poking at the poptart with her finger. Still too hot. "So... for whatever reason, I chose to have this happen to me. I used to be a fulltime mermaid, but at some point I was like, 'fuck it, I wanna be human'. And the price I paid for that was forgetting everything. And unless I get pregnant and pass it on to some other poor fuck, I'm gonna have to deal with turning into a mermaid again whenever there's a full moon."

Rose nodded. "That's what happened to me... So we can only assume it'll be the same for you."

Amethyst broke off a corner of her poptart and stuck it in her mouth. It was… oddly sweet, and very artificial. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “Damn… I can’t believe I’d wish for this. Life must’ve really sucked in the ocean, huh?”

Rose chuckled. “If only I could remember what it was like. But the fact that I was willing to sacrifice it all for him…” She gazed lovingly at the man in the photo. “Well, he’s the entire universe to me. After my memory was wiped, I immediately fell in love with him again. He didn’t even have to try. So perhaps that doesn’t say much.”

Amethyst smiled slightly. "Aw... that's cute. You guys seem like such a happy bunch. Who knows, maybe I... fell in love with someone too. If that's the case, they better show up soon."

Rose chuckled. "That could be the case. But keep an open mind. I'm sure there's plenty of reasons why someone would give up their mermaid life; not everyone's a sappy romantic like me." she began. "And, you know... Regardless of why you left the sea, what matters now is that you're free to do whatever you please. I'm not sure what your plan is from here..."

"You know just as much as I do." Amethyst shrugged.

Rose nodded. "I suppose that's true. I don't want to pressure you either way, but... If you ever are in need of a place to lay your head, you are always welcome in our house. You can stay here as long as you need to, alright?"

Amethyst tensed; on one hand, that made things a lot easier on her... But on the other hand, it was all so sudden. And she'd feel so guilty living in their space and not being able to contribute anything in return... And on yet another hand (geez, she had a lot of hands), she didn't really have much of a choice. So in a way, she felt a childish, irrational hint of frustration towards Rose... Even if none of this was her fault, and she was only trying to be nice.

"I guess I need a bit to think about it." Amethyst shrugged. "But uh, thank you for offering. Seriously, you don't have to do all this for me... Not your fault I wound up in your pool."

"Perhaps not, but it's very fortunate. And I don't mind at all, really." Rose's expression darkened. "Because if it had been anyone else... You might not have had any say in the matter."

Amethyst shuddered; no need for elaboration there. She felt nauseous at the mere thought of what could've happened if she'd ended up in anyone else's hands. So she turned her gaze downward, taking another bite of her now-cold poptart. 

* 

Long after the sun had come up, Pearl stirred herself awake; rarely was she the type to sleep in, especially past noon, but her dozing throughout the night had been unbearably sporadic. In the short bouts of sleep she did manage to obtain, her dreams were filled with anxiety, stressful work situations, and the occasional mermaid...

Though every muscle in her scrawny body protested, Pearl hauled herself out of bed. She slipped into some weather appropriate clothing -- high waisted shorts and a breezy white button up that she tucked in-- and made her way out into the hallway. She immediately met eyes with a slightly eager Garnet.

"Good morning." she greeted with a wave of her hand. "Afternoon, more like. Were you able to sleep alright?"

"Not quite." Pearl shrugged. "But it's fine. I'm up now."

"Ah, that's a shame." Garnet's expression softened. "So, ah... While you were sleeping... I did a little bit of reading." Garnet continued, making her way towards the living room.

"Did you read up on heat-induced hallucinations?" Pearl chuckled.

Garnet smiled softly, but shook her head. "I had considered that, but no. Just on some of the old siren sightings you mentioned last night..." She gestured to a pile of newspapers sitting on her desk. "And do not get the wrong idea. I believed you the moment you told me, though it might not have seemed that way..."

Pearl shook her head. "You know I won't be offended if you don't believe me, right?"

"I know that. But... I've seen you lie before. You're terrible at it." Garnet continued, placing a hand on Pearl's shoulder.

Pearl crossed her arms, feeling a mixture of relief and shame bubbling up in her chest. "Hah, I guess so…”

"So... you told me that she's still at Rose's house? Garnet said, tilting her head with curiosity.

Pearl nodded. "Y-yes, as far as I know... Rose said she'd be taking care of her, at least, but I'm not sure what that would even entail... She seemed pretty confident about it, though."

Garnet smiled. "Alright... Would you like to head over?"

Pearl blushed. "Oh, um -- yes! Let me just, uh. Get ready."

Without another word, she hurried off to the bathroom to brush her teeth and put on her shiniest lipgloss.