#ALSO THE CONNECTION TO GODHOOD AND FIRE.

[evilminji]

You know... Qing Jing HAD a previous Peak Lord...

And they, presumably ALSO a Cunning Bastard of a Strategist, Ascended alongside their generation... to GODHOOD.

You know... Divinity. The Heavens. Where all those OTHER Gods live. Who presumably all have Divine Godly Jobs and Responsibilities.

I'm? Just SAYING??? The change over between generations? Is like... the LITERAL once in a lifetime chance? To TALK TO GOD. Pretty much ANY God. You just have to convince your Shizun it's reasonable to pass along.

Will something COME of it? Pppffhhh! NO.

Of course not. Don't be ridiculous, you arrogant, hubris filled brat. The Heavens don't move all willy nilly for YOU, at YOUR command! What are you, insane? No, no. That's not what you can DO. What you can DO? Is REPORT something. And MAYBE, just MAYBE, the Heavens will eventually act on that... once the forms have all been filled out.

However!!!

Let us say~! For example? You are a terrible, terrible Qing Jing Peak Lord! And it is a LOVELY day in Heaven~

You peacefully meander up to you predecessors. Nothing To See Here™. Don't Worry About It™. Maaaaybe some OMENIOUS whispering begins to happen. Who can say! Certainly not your martial siblings! THEY know to keep their *explitive* mouths shut!

Because THAT? Down there?

Is YOUR Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.

No demon, heavenly or otherwise, half breed or otherwise, is touching a SINGLE FUCKING BLADE OF GRASS. You did not give your ENTIRE LIFE in service to that mountain just to watch it BURN. And the Disciple that came to you? Had WAY too many details to have been anything but a glimpse of the future. Well... a POSSIBLE future.

But your(collectively) Peak is not the Strategic Peak for nothing. You make... friends. Mutually beneficial connections to other gods. Learn the Rules, inside and out. Figure out JUST how far you can push your luck. How fast you can ram paperwork through the machine. Who's palms can be greased. What ears are receptive to sweet words.

Most IMPORTANTLY? You have a wonderfully LOYAL and QUITE little worker, down below. A perfect, dusty, little mouse. A flitting little grey-beige sparrow. So utterly FORGETTABLE, isn't she~? You'd almost think it was on purpose.

And, of course, just like real mice? The damage she can do? Quietly and with time? CANNOT be overstated. Chew, chew, chewing away. Destroying plans that haven't even begun yet, by taking out the roots. Getting in position to do so. Preparing all that they'll need.

So that when the time comes? She full on seems to pop out of clear blue NOWHERE.

Just? Smash, grab, and run! One moment the plan is going exactly to plan... the next? Everything is on fire. Your pants are tangled around your ankles from where she just pantsed you, your sword is at the bottom of a lake and-? W-What? Huh?! THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED‽‽‽

Like a jack in the box.

SUPRISE MOTHERFUCKER!

[mandalhoerian]

THIS MADE ME SO GIDDY AND WANT TO WRITE (even tho i am not a writer) cuz the prompt is so cute:

https://www.tumblr.com/vixenofthemist/777941208793284608/love-deitymc-meeting-sea-god-rafayel-bc-shes?source=share

SEE ANON I WOULD NOT KNOW WHERE TO START WRITING THIS BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND RAFAYEL'S DEITY STATUS AND THE MECHANIC (AND CONCEPT) OF GODHOOD IN THIS GAME. ALL I KNOW IS RAFAYEL ISNT A GOD IN A TRADITIONAL SENSE.

completely different tangent yapping underneath

i've read translations of god of tides directly from chinese. i'm good with japanese so i went and listened to it on youtube as well and i dont understand just what rafayel being a god entails. (take this with a grain of salt bc im not a lore master and i havent consumed the entirety of the game content regarding rafayel)

1- its not hereditary, god rafayel doesn't have parents, he's born of fire.

2- there were sea gods before him, so sea gods can die and another can be born. all different people (otherwise the plot twist is going to be that rafayel was being reincarnated over and over again to be reborn as the sea god and it was him all along for a millenia before forgotten sea) -- but this sea god rafayel has also "died" (it's said in the epilogue of forgotten sea + fragrance dream 4 star he does die after turning mc human again). current rafayel is reincarnated and is a regular lemurian from what i understand. he has a mother. (maybe lemurian immortality is connected to a reincarnation cycle besides the long life span, but that's another conversation)

3- he got "possessed" by the deep sea in land of secret flames and lost his identity as "rafayel" so i believe he's got vessel status & his "will you love me no matter who i become" talk is related to this

4- the deep see maybe is like a higher entity/collective than the sea god it chooses to bear its power?

5- additionally, elder amund talks down to rafayel even in forgotten sea -- english localization does put "your quintessence" for respectful titles but really amund doesn't talk to rafayel like that in cn and jp. he full on treats rafayel like he's a random dude. why? isn't he a "god"? *his* god in particular. but we've also seen rafayel play with other kids like konche and algie. why is god being treated this normally? he doesn't even seem like royalty.

6- what even does rafayel being the last sea god entail? why? what even is this "godhood" that it comes to an end?

7- "As such, His most devout follower must gift Him a heart, so He has the strength to protect Lemuria and becomes the god recognized by the entire ocean." ----- <recognized by the entire ocean> HUH?

7.1. why does he need to be recognized, he's a god. this isnt a "the more followers, the stronger" situation because the condition is a heart

7.2. this implies "the ocean" is the judge of this

is bro an avatar like aang or korra????? and "the sea god" a spirit (like raava) that inherits a body and gives it power?

i understand so little about rafayel and lemuria in general. im nearly a 100% sure lemuria is a "fallen" civilization and it makes no sense for them to be at the bottom of the sea doomed by prophecies and forced to have an artificial sun -- and need the protection of a "sea god". something happened to them that got them there.

but like. rafayel's "godhood" isn't the same as astra's, that's for sure.

so anon. i'd overthink this to hell and wouldn't be able to write anything bc i'm so hung up over worldbuilding like that 😭😭😭😭

[pureseasalt]

claudia brazenly unrepentant for her thirst for freedom & connection & love & a fulfilling life seeking the world facing it eyes bright fangs bared heart on her sleeve vs. louis insisting on being confined stuck in his coffin-house in the man he used to be perpetually in purgatory fearful of his nature & armand shackled by rituals routines scripts & lestat running away at the first sign of trouble inconvenience from the human world coating himself fluffing up his need for love with condescension control violence. louis armand and lestat, strong formidable father patriarchal figures, infirmed by their loneliness festering them with insecurities causing them to seek each other but also turn against each other vs. claudia, daughter woman-child weak mistske fragile ticking bomb, using her loneliness to fuel her to search for something better someone better bc there has to be better even if it means crossing war torn borders digging up bones or death in exchange for a kiss from the seamstress. vampires claiming godhood but repeatedly consistently performing making a spectacle of themselves for humans on the stage in interviews prideful of a life in the shadows but yet still seeking to be seen vs. claudia whisper shouting her life into a diary that only she should have been privy to revealed with consent and intimacy only to her soulmate her final words whispered her final act openly mocking the little girl performance they forced her in. vampires throwing themselves into the fire vs. claudia even thru all that trauma and bullshit and the torturous existence that she never asked for in the face of death claudia with her chin up promising vengeance onto these motherfuckers in another life in hell in whatever way she damn can because she's fucking claudia. claudia claudia claudia. best of vampiric self claudia.

[deartys]

Connecting the Evanuris with Spirits and Demons

The Evanuris are very interesting to think about and its neat that Solas gets bigger and has purple eyes in Veilguard, visually similar to the Pride Demon.

Ancient elves might not be spirits no longer but they hold a similar narrow thinking, not too different from their Spirit selves, and their archdemons explore that even further. Now without further ado:

Code- Blue: Canon, Orange: Headcanon

Solas, The Dread Wolf

Archdemon: N/A

Spirit: Wisdom

Demon: Pride

Mythal, the All-Mother

Archdemon: N/A

Spirit: Justice that shattered to both Benevolence and Retribuiton

Demon: Vengeance

Or

Spirit: Love

Demon: Envy

Note: Flemeth mentions that she wants to see Mythal Avenged, Mythal is drawn to those who have been betrayed and/or wronged. She is both called has the Goddess of Love, and Goddess of Justice.

Elgar'nan, God of the Sun

Archdemon: Lusacan, Dragon of Night

Spirit: (edit) Command

Demon: (edit) Tiranny

notes: Any of the vices would apply to him, but he is more complex than Rage, and more blunt than Desire. And i see Hunger as an all consuming need to try fill the void, similar to greed. A tyrant who is never satisfied.

Ghilan'ain, Goddess of the Halla

Archdemon: Razikale, Dragon of Mysteries

Spirit: not originally a Spirit, risen by Andruil

Notes: I just enjoy that originally born from a body is the One that uses flesh like a tool.

Andruil, Goddess of the Hunt

Archdemon: Andoral, Dragon of Slaves

Spirit: Purpose

Demon: Desire

Note: She has a single mindedness to her, and Desire usually works with deals, and she was the one to strike one with Ghilan'ain and rise her to godhood

June, God of Craft

Archdemon: Urthemiel, Dragon of Beauty

Spirit: Learning or Curiosity

Demon: Sloth

Note: He stops being the active creator and becomes the passive watcher

Sylaise, the Hearthkeeper

Archdemon: Toth, Dragon of Fire

Spirit: Valor

Demon: Rage

Note: again, unsure about her Spirit form but Rage is fire and destruction, with no clear goal. Valor creates weapons aided by fire.

Falon'Din, Friend of the Dead

Archdemon : Zazikel , Dragon of Chaos

Spirit: fragmented alongside Dirthamen (probably Compassion or Hope)

Demon: Fear

Note: Terror also applies, being both Fear demons. Compassion makes sense by being able to feel other's pain. His archdemon led the most bloodthirsty blight that led to the griffon extintion.

Dirthamen, Keeper of Secrets

Archdemon: Dumat, Dragon of Silence

Spirit: fragmented alongside Falon'Din (probably Hope or Compassion)

Demon: Despair

Notes: The first archdemon that taugth humans blood magic, the first and longest blight, the God that relished in the Despair his Silence creates.

-

Feel free to comment any further insight, I myself feel unsure about the spirits in many cases

[tenderwatches]

Ch. 19 of Lies We Tell Ourselves is up!

𐡸.:𐫱:.𐡷

chapter teaser

𐡸.:𐫱:.𐡷

chapter excerpt

Chapter 19: I, Heliotrope (in turning)

In contemplating death, Viktor wants to feel he’s greeting an old friend: someone who has watched him from on high, a grim guardian over the phases of his life. From his childhood in the Undercity to his young adulthood, trying desperately to assimilate to Piltover’s standards and society, to his years at Hextech, letting himself bleed everything he had into a project that was at once labour, love, and sacrifice.

Scientifically, there’s nothing to fear in death.

Your body returns to the elements whence evolution created it, the chemical reactions that powered your movements dissipating as heat on the winds. Your last breath travels against particles in the air, its velocity endlessly approaching zero. Lights in your brain, firing for all the years you’ve been alive, slowly begin to wink out. Life ceases.

Spiritually—well, Viktor has never been a spiritual person.

Gods are simply beings who have ascended from mortality. Their power knows no boundary; their age, no end. But nothing else likens them to godhood—they are neither benevolent nor evil. Their influence, relative to their power, has no more sway over the timeline of Runeterra than that of anyone else.

But there are other ways to raise one’s influence and power—he’s learnt that watching people manoeuvre through both the Lanes and the gilded streets of the Upper City. You can braid together wealth, connections, and lies, weaving a ladder upon which you climb until your will dominates those on the rungs below you.

Spirituality is yet another form of society’s moral caterwauling. And so, in spirituality also, death offers nothing to fear. It is only the inevitable return home.

Emotionally, however—therein lies his problem with death.

Humanity is so deeply tied to emotion—greed and corruption, love and empathy. One can trace all the forces acting upon life back to desire: an emotion that fuels fires of anger and passion alike. Desire—wanting, aching, yearning—each pitching their weight into one’s motivations, driving both action and reaction.

Viktor wants to live.

He realises this as he’s gazing up at the tall, fan-like leaves of a plant stretching towards the sunlight streaming in from greenhouse panes above. Deep fuchsia ribs colour its stalk and form veins stretching out to its serrated leaf edges. Even as some leaves wither away, tiny new ones break the surface of the soil, some beginning to unfurl from their tight curls as they mature.

After three relentless weeks in the lab, endless trials yielding nothing but mediocre results, Jayce had been adamant that a ‘change of scenery’ will do them good. Sky proposed relocating their free-form ideation session to Piltover’s expansive two-acre botanical collection; they’ve only explored the first few gardens on account of Viktor’s condition, but their discussions have grown lively.

“We were right about the way the plants are being affected.” Sky’s voice draws Viktor from his reverie as she bends down, pausing to add fresh observations to the weeks of data in her journal. She uses the end of her pen to indicate where the lower leaves are beginning to yellow as a natural sign of decay. “It’s not about rejection or toxicity; look here—this is normal senescence. The plant redirects nutrients from older leaves to support new growth—totally normal.” She jabs in the air with excitement and has to push her glasses back up the bridge of her nose from where they slide down. “It’s just happening too rapidly in our samples.”

From his seat on the nearest metal bench, Viktor nods. “It’s an excellent observation, Miss Young.”

They must have exhausted every merchant of plants between their lab and the furthest reaches of the Mid Town markets. They’ve been trialling plants in cycles of accelerated repair and various stages of growth, and though their initial attempts showed promise, most of the trials had collapsed into refuse in a matter of minutes. Only a few outlying cases in which a tweak to the runic patterns seemed to allow the subject to live for a few hours, but those, too, eventually died. The sharpness of hope trying to break ground inside of him is beginning to ache, despite his greatest attempts to push it down where it couldn’t see the light of day.

“So, the—you know—” Thomas whispers after glancing around to ensure none are too close to their conversation, “isn’t killing them directly?” He has grown less flighty in their time together; Viktor’s episode in the hospital has seemingly reminded him that Viktor is human, just another citizen of their divided city, like him.

“No,” Sky’s passion for biology overrides her usual hesitation. Viktor is pleased to see her confidence. “What we’re seeing indicates natural ageing. See how the deterioration starts from the bottom up? If it were rejection or toxicity, we’d see spotting, certain portions dying off, or localised discolouration. This natural process—” She traces the progression up the leafy stalks, “is what we’re seeing—just accelerated.”

Thomas nods along with matched enthusiasm, but frustration begins to shadow his expression. “That corroborates what we’ve seen with adjustments to the precision rune, but even when we tune up resolve to compensate, we still see cellular breakdown.”

Jayce paces in front of him on the walk, hand held up to his chin in thought. “Right,” he agrees, beginning now to tap one fist against the palm of his other hand as he thinks aloud. “Maybe the issue is we’re taking the process too far? We’re not able to stop it from executing the full life cycle.”

“What if we could store any excess beyond what we want?” Thomas questions from the ground. He’s sat on the edge of the flowerbed, now twirling an errant leaf between his fingers. “Like a capacitor? Something to store and release energy at a controlled rate.” He doesn’t even seem to mind—or maybe, notice—his coattails in the mulch. They have really begun to shirk all sense of decorum. He supposes that working on an illicit research project of potentially ground-shaking implications can do that to a group.

Sky shakes her head. “No, they’re burning up their resources too fast—it’s not just that the whole thing happens, the plants also don’t have enough nutrients to sustain the growth.”

Viktor watches the interplay of light and shadow across the leaves as clouds pass overhead. Jayce snaps his fingers several times in a row in the way he does that means ‘you might be on to something!’, and Viktor feels the corners of his lips drawn slightly upwards, just a breath away from a smile. His colleagues discuss with a lively brightness, which he appreciates all the more because they've undertaken this project on his behalf. Viktor has always been a figure of the periphery, forever watching, getting the chance to support, if he’s lucky. Even with Hextech, Viktor never felt comfortable taking up any of the spotlight no matter how many times Jayce called him a partner. It just never felt like his, something he could attribute to his name.

(Read the rest on AO3!) (Or start from the beginning!)

[megashadowdragon]

sanjis promise to kuma

Back in chapter 485, Sanji interrupted Zoro and Kuma as they were about to make a deal in exchange for letting Luffy go free. In this moment, Sanji swore that one day, he would be the one to cause the most trouble for the Navy and the World Government.

Ever since Bonney commented on Vegapunk turning Kuma in to a cyborg in chapter 1062, I have been wondering if this promise will come full circle in this arc. Oda has been slowly building on the parallels between Sanji and Kuma. But why?

Chapter 485 was titled for Zoro, and it led to the 'nothing happened' moment. Given how iconic and significant that has become, don't you think it's also significant that it's here that Sanji stepped in?

Could it be that Oda is preparing to give Sanji a moment that will parallel Zoro's 'nothing happened'? Is this how Sanji will fulfil the promise that he made to Kuma at Thriller Bark? Will his words to Zoro from Wano come around again?

Sanji has often before gone on solo missions and risked his own life in order to sabotage the enemy's plans. In Little Garden and Alabasta, he tricked Crocodile; and at Enies Lobby, he stole the cuff keys from Jabra, and sabotaged the Buster Call.

Now that Kuma has arrived at Egghead, and another Buster Call as been initiated, it seems like the perfect time for Sanji's promise from Thriller Bark to come full circle. But what role will he play? And how will it explain his parallels to Kuma?

Speaking of the parallels between Sanji and Kuma, this is a good time to mention 'the power of love.' What does Oda mean by this? And how does it connect to Kuma being able to maintain a fragment of his humanity?

This may explain why Kuma's instinct to protect his daughter was able to override or delay the process of his humanity being erased. I believe it also explains the significance of Sanji's parallels to Kuma, and how he will fulfil his promise from Thriller Bark.

The significance of the parallels between Sanji may be leading toward Sanji taking the risk of losing his humanity again. But how will we get to that? Before we get that far, how will Oda set it up?

When I was planning this thread, I wondered what moments from the past that Oda might parallel here. To start with, I believe Sanji will steal Kizaru's, just as he stole the keys from Jabra back at Enies Lobby.

Once Sanji has stolen Kizaru's intercept Transponder Snail, he will be able to listen in on and discover the enemy's plans. Sanji could even speak directly with the other Gorosei. Just as he did with Crocodile in Little Garden and Alabasta.

niji and the other vinsmokes had the ability to mimic other people's voices ( shown in wci) so sanji could mimic kizaru or saint saturns voice to obtain this info like how he pretended to be mr3

Just as Sanji sabotaged Enel's Ark Maxim in Skypiea, Sanji may also sabotage and destroy the Mother Flame power station. The parallels would even extend to Sanji addressed "God," and the theme of "a light."

Could Oda be building up to Sanji putting himself in front of a blast from the Mother Flame in oder to destroy it manually and prevent it from being fired again? It would continue the parallel of Sanji taking a direct hit from Enel after sabotaging the Ark Maxim.

How could Sanji survive such a thing? This would be where his genetic augmentations and altered Lineage Factors come back in to it. The enhanced durability and regeneration in particular would be relevant here. 'A step into the realm of Godhood.'

It's worth remembering that it was the discovery of Lineage Factors that led the World Government to arresting Vegapunk in the first place. They felt threatened by it. We've surely not yet seen the maximum potential of the Lineage Factor augmentations.

Speaking of the full potential of Sanji's power, I have spoken before about how I believe this progression and the attack names will be themed around the life cycle of a star.

I believe that this is how Sanji will fulfil his promise to Kuma from Thriller Bark, and become the one who causes the most trouble for the World Government. Sanji will risk his life and his humanity to destroy the Mother Flame power station, and sabotage the "Great Cleasing."

The key to Sanji's survival will likely be his genetic augmentations, but the key to him not losing his humanity in the effort is in the "Primal Desires." and the "Undying power of love."

[dragon-communion]

Alright HEAR ME OUT. Crack ship incoming.

Elden Ring revolves around the very Arthurian motif of a beautiful princess (gender neutral) requiring a knight to murder everything between her and her goals. The Empyrean is the White Queen, the stationary and nurturing feminine counterpart to the Elden Lord as Red King, mobile and proactive.

I mean the queen also kills things with hammers, so don't take that divine feminine thing the wrong way, but I digress.

St. Trina qualifies as a damsel in distress, both because she's been mysteriously missing for a few hundred years and also the additional information we get in the DLC. She is BLEEDING and asks us to KILL for her. Textbook Arthurian princess. So who can we get to save her?

While Melina is potentially another Empyrean, what's more relevant to my interests is her status as a wandering pilgrim or perhaps an outright rōnin. She is burned and bodiless and can likely interact with the physical world only in limited ways, but nonetheless she is on a Quest, she does a little Stabbing, and she is arguably essential to Saving The World. We might technically be taking her on an escort mission, but she's far from helpless. She's just got memory issues.

Most relevantly: not only does she have memory issues, but she's a bodiless spirit. Miquella/Trina has some skill with memory manipulation, particularly if we take the Tonic of Forgetfulness as Miquella's work, and in addition to the Land of Shadow being a spirit-world it is arguable that Trina did most of her active participation in world events through dreams. Singing to the merchants, telling the albinaurics about the Haligtree, etc. People seek Trina in their dreams, which is a distinctly spiritual form of quest.

I think it is possible that both Trina and Melina have had dealings with the Fell God, too. Dreams are symbolically associated with mist, swamps, and water lilies, so it is intriguing and alarming that St. Trina's Torch uses fire of all things, and depicts her with a cyclops eye. Melina's connection to fire is obvious and repeated multiple times, though I do wonder if the first time she burned was blackflame.

Melina also has her connection to Destined Death, and if her eye does indeed mean she's the Gloam-Eyed Queen, that means she's got some sort of connection to night and sleep. Rogier compares death to falling into a sleep he'll never wake from, and to my understanding the DLC continues that metaphor. Sleep is oblivion, and also yet another form of death, linking Trina's affinity to the other various death-curses of Marika's children.

All of this is to say that Melina definitely has the means to find and assist Trina. As for motive? Melina wants the Erdtree to burn, and from the ashes something new to bloom. Trina is well aware that godhood is a living hell, and also wants the world to live in peace.

I am not sure if Melina would be at all opposed or even care about Miquella's goals. A new god is a new god, and the old order will burn the same. But I think Trina could genuinely understand her on a personal level, and have real compassion that other characters like Ranni and Marika fundamentally lack.

Melina does not want to be saved. Trina does not ask to be saved, either. But I think they would be better for knowing eachother, and that's important, even if they're both doomed.

[kate-embershield]

Warm Hands, Silver Tongues

AKA ah FUCK i had a terrible idea and got invested.

Alternate title - The MC (Kate in this instance) said Fuck It and embraces godhood.

Sabine suffers, Garnok's an ass, Kate finds out she can make deals, Khaan's about to have a very rude awakening.

Also chock full of Headcannons

13K Words of Sabine regretting everything under the cut + A little explanation

This was originally spurred on by the idea of how Weirded Out the Dark Riders would be if/when they find out the MC is connected to Aideen, and then it took off into this.

I love writing characters who fully embrace their powers and just go apeshit, and i think the MC would be a really fun character for this, especially with the way we're able to interact with the Dark Riders. I know personally i play like i'll offend them if i say something rude, so whenever i'm given the choice, ill always try to go the 'Talk it Out' route, which, in the context of this little fic, translated to Kate being terrible at Godhood. She's simply too nice and if i ever expand on this, it'll be fun to see how the rest of the Dark Riders interact with her.

Please come scream at me about your thoughts and headcannons! I have so many stupid little scenes that branch off this idea that i've already written

⚞☼⚟

“Sabine”, the General relaxed under the fingers running over her shoulders as Kate softly pushed the ebony hair out of the way. “I found the problem”, her voice betrayed her calm demeanour, strained and shaky.

“What is it?”, she turned to the Druid, scared lip scowling as the blond focused on the magic coursing through the Dark Riders body.

It was quiet for a moment, Kate intent on rooting out the problem before Sabine’s patience ran out. “There’s a tether between you and Garnok”, she started, and the General raised a brow. “Every time your magic grows-”, brilliant white light pulsed through her veins, and Sabine stiffened under the warmth, so different from the fire coursing through her body, but similar all the same, “-every time you use your power, Garnok eats away a piece of you”

“What are you saying?”

“Garnok is killing you to survive”, Blue met Amber, and Kate froze at the horrified look in the woman's eyes, “Pandoria won’t hold him for long”

“We’re dying?”, Her voice was quiet, far away, eyes unfocused as she stared at nothing.

“Garnok’s using you, and the other Dark Riders, to sustain himself while he's trapped”, the light pulling at her veins pulsed brighter, filling the room with a soft glow. “He’s killing you all just to keep himself alive”

“I guess that's why no Generals survive for long”, the Rider hummed darkly.

The air was heavy, as the two sat, stagnant silence between them. Sabine stared at her boots as Kate shifted behind her. “I might be able to help”

“How?”, her voice was low, arms resting on her knees as she leant back. “We made a pact with a God. I don't think there's any coming back from that one”, her eyes were closed, lips pulled into a thin line.

“I’m-”, Kate started, but the words caught in her throat. “The Keepers and the Druids really wish I wasn't, I know Avalon hates it especially”, She shifted, stretching her legs out along the couch, muscles strained from the uncomfortable way she had sat. “Sometimes I wish I had stayed away too, but then I guess I wouldn't have had this much fun”

“Spit it out”, Sabine growled, arm thrown over her eyes.

“I’m Aideen”, Kate draped herself over the arm of the couch as Sabine turned to her with the speed of a whip.

“What!”, she roared, bent over the Druid, amber eyes bright and fiery.

“Well technically I'm her reincarnation, but-”, Kate stammered, lips twisting into an awkward smile as she shuffled back. “-I can use a lot of her abilities, her light. I'm kind of like a boost for the other circles-”

“Your Aideen!?”

“Aideen’s Reincarnation, yes-”

“Your a god!”

“Not officially!”, She managed to squirrel her way out of the Rider’s shadow, “But if Garnok can make deals, maybe I can too”

“Your-”, Sabine eyed her warily, but a faint sparkle of hope burned in her eyes. “You want me to make a deal with you?”

“Yes”, the Druid leapt to her feet, staring up at Sabine with hope. “I'll be honest, I don't really know how it works, But I’m like 76% sure I can make deals too”

“That-”, Sabine turned away for a moment, arms crossed and foot tapping, “-Doesn't fill me with confidence”

Kate leant over the couch, resting her chin on her arms as the Dark Rider paced. “If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work, but if it does…”

“If it works, what happens to Khaan?”, Kate turned to the wide window, and the barn sitting quiet, warm glow spilling from between the slats. “He’s bonded with General Malumi, not…me”

“He might be corrupted, but he’s still a Starbreed, both of you are still bonded, I can tell”, Sabine had stopped pacing, arms still crossed, but she followed the Druid’s gaze to the barn, face neutral, but eyes betraying the sadness she felt at the thought of her loyal beast in pain. “Besides, I’m Aideen, if I can help you, I can help him”

“I thought you were just her reincarnation”

“Potato Tomato”, Kate smiled up at the woman, hand outstretched and smiling wide. “What do you say? Care to make a deal with God?”

Sabine eyed the hand warily, “What do you want in return?”

“Oh, uhh”, The offered hand lowered, arm hanging limp as she hummed. It was quiet for a moment, and then Kate turned to her with a hard-set look in her eyes. “You and I know that the Keepers will destroy Jorvik if it means killing Garnok”, the resourceful diplomat had returned, and Sabine wondered just how frightening this woman could be when she was determined. “They’ll justify it as a necessary sin, they don't care what happens to the people as long as Garnok is eradicated”, for a woman laying limply over the back of a couch, Sabine was amazed at how frightening she could look. “I won’t let them, I can’t. Not when the people of this island have no say in it. I’ve made my life here, and I’ve grown attached, and I won’t let Dark Core or the Keepers destroy the world just so the other doesn’t get their way”, Sabine eyed her curiously, starting to piece together what Kate would ask. “Help me stop Garnok, and whatever power he’s given you, whatever he's taken from you, I promise it's all yours”, Sabine eyed the woman, something curious shining in her eyes. “And I'll help Khaan. Those are my terms”

“You would have helped Khaan regardless”, The Dark Rider raised a brow, and Kate smiled.

“I would have. Mortifa and Acerbus and Jay and Katja too, if they'll let me. But now it's written in stone”, She held out her hand again, veins burning white hot as she smiled a deceptively sweet smile, as if she wasn't a God about to tie herself to her enemies most trusted General, as if Sabine wasn't about to gamble her own life for the second time.

The General took the God's hand, and the world exploded in white hot stars. It burned, like flames eating at her skin, her bone. Fire had never bothered Sabine, not when she was its master, but this, it felt like dying. A bone deep pain that ripped through everything she was, flaying her very nerves and sending blinding bolts of light through her. The point where her calloused palms met Kate’s, that hurt the most, like pure electricity racing between their palms.

Sabine screamed. Agony was barely enough to describe what she was feeling. If this was dying, she didn’t want it.

And then it stopped. Just as quick as it had started. The pain simply vanished and Sabine was left kneeling on the floor, wood biting into her palms and jaw locked shut as she struggled to breath. Faintly, she could hear someone calling her name.

“Sabine!”, the Druid was kneeling next to her, deft fingers running down her spine as the woman shook. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it would hurt!”

The General turned to her weakly, head resting on the floor as static danced between the two. “I’m fine”, she knew the Druid didn’t believe her, if she focused enough on the little silvery thread coiled between them, she could tell that Kate was frowning, eyebrows pinched as Sabine lay still. But she couldn’t look at her, simply because she wasn’t corporal. She was hazy around the edges, eyes glowing and veins burning white, and if Sabine looked too hard, a headache would slowly start breaking her skull in two. 

Briefly, as she rolled onto her back, she remembered the pain that laced through her for weeks after she had sold her soul to Garnok. There was none of that stabbing agony here, not when the fire burning through her had died down to a warm ember. It was nice, she thought, and for the first time since Garnok, Sabine found that the wildfire that lived in her veins had calmed. It didn't eat at her skin anymore, it just…burned, like a campfire content to its bed of warm coals.

She could hear the Druid calling her name, but ignored it in favor of the sleep that came easily now.

[birbycakes]

I have thoughts about my Tarnished sonas story againnnn also other bs as I try to understand the lore and probably get many things wrong because I haven’t even finished the game and have a fairly basic understanding of it. ANYWAYS!

So I’m gonna go with Warrior as her background. Here is my plot synopsis-

She started to have strange, seemingly prophetic dreams of the erdtree burning in deep red flames, with an evil looking serpent coiling around it. Eventually, she has one final dream of this, and she wakes up in agony as her eyes are set ablaze in a red fire. While her eyes are still in tact once the fire clears on its own, she is left blind and disfigured by burn scars on her upper face. She is turned away and ostracized for her “inauspicious prophecies” as well as her disfigurement, being looked at with disgust. She wanders aimlessly, blind and rambling, seeming like she has gone mad. That is when she comes across the wandering blind swordsman from legend- the one whose lore connects to the Warrior background. He teaches her how to wield a blade and helps her find a new purpose/life, and to not let her disabilities hold her back from her destiny. He also gives her vague advice that her dreams may not be implying an ill omen, but a path to a better future. She will only know the truth when the time comes, and he will help her prepare so that she may meet her destiny head on. So once they part, she becomes a wandering nomadic blind swordswoman, just like her master. When grace showed itself to her, it was like a light in the darkness, the only thing she could see. So she no longer covered her eyes, allowing Grace to guide her forward, leading her to the Lands Between.

And spoilers I Guess for my fanfic rewrite plot idea… So my Tarnished’s goal becomes to find a way to burn the Erdtree (aka fulfill Melina’s goal) without her dying. But also without using Frenzied Flame because… obvious reasons, really. So What If, in her quest to save her friend, it eventually leads her to Messmer. Now, as far as I understand it, the reason we have to kill Messmer to use his kindling is because ofc he isn’t gonna open the path for Miquella to replace Marika willingly. But What If, we can convince him to do so as allies to help Melina. There is an implied direct connection to him and Melina being siblings. Messmer’s loyalty and dedication may extend to his little sister, even to the point of defying Marika. Because if she is going to do it with or without his help, then he may as well help in order to save his little sister’s life- even if that also means helping a Tarnished. So we finally help him return to the Lands Between (and everyone else with him) and put an end to the war in the Lands of Shadow as a result. And he uses his kindling to burn the erdtree, sparing both him and Melina in the process. And then him and Melina can confront Radagon and Marika directly… or what’s left of Marika. I’m still not fully convinced she’s even alive anymore.

Also maybeee Tarnished can have the option to become Messmer or Melina’s consort and then they can replace Marika. Like, this is if I decide to make Messmer an empyrean. I know some people say only women can be, and the only reason Miquella is an empyrean is because he has a twin sister or because of St. Trina or some bs. But the lore is vague and therefore I say it’s flexible! Also if we wanna go with the “because twins” idea, well maybe Messmer is the older twin of Melina so it can work okay!!!!

ANYWAYS, considering the widely accepted headcanon that Melina is the gloam eyed queen… well, yeah. This scenario should be doable and still sort of fit with the lore. Also it just occurred to me, maybe in all the non-Ranni and frenzied flame endings we already become Melina’s consort. I mean, GEQ’s whole thing was destined death right? Maybe by dying Melina rose to godhood in her own way and we, by restoring destined death, enact her will which makes her the new Goddess. Idk just spitballing here. Gives a new meaning to the frenzied flame ending I think, cuz then you basically denied her Godhood because you thought you were “saving” her. Also maybe connects to Marika giving Melina her purpose, like with that speech where she tells her demigod children to make something of themselves or become sacrifices. Melina isn’t sacrificing herself- she’s fulfilling her purpose by becoming a Goddess of death or… something like that. AKA Melina knows what she’s doing don’t ask questions Tarnished just follow along and be a good useful idiot for Melina’s goals.

To add onto this though. I still think it makes sense if Melina is the GEQ to sacrifice herself and truly die to make a path forward for the Tarnished. Because even if she is a sacrifice, it is to further her main goal- to restore destined death. So she gets the last laugh on Marika in the end. Becoming both a sacrifice and enacting her will on the Lands Between.

…In spite of that ramble I still think my idea works. I don’t think she would HAVE to die for this, just that is how it worked out if you don’t, say, take Messmer into consideration. Persnaps maybe both my Tarnished and Messmer’s goal can become to see Melina rise to Godhood. Her protective big bro and her dedicated bestie team up to form the Melina Protection Squad uwu and then we can all stand up to Marika and give her what’s for for all the bs she’s put us through (I mean it’s her fault the Tarnished is stuck in this endless cycle of dying and resurrecting, even if they choose to follow the guidance of grace it’s pretty messed up!) but ofc Messmer and Melina mainly get the catharsis of standing up to Marika and taking her place. Again… if she’s even alive enough to be aware of it. lol… lmao even…

I probably already said this but- to tie all this back to my Tarnished specifically- her prophetic dreams of Messmer’s fire burning the erdtree come full circle. But like her master said, in the end, the dreams weren’t an ill omen, but a glimpse of tge tearing down of the oppressive golden order, making way for a new era, guided by her own hands, and those of the friends she made along the way…

[the-delta-project]

Fukase & Flower extended information:

Fukase

—————-

Full Name: Fukase Uta (Deep River Sound)

A 33.000 (33) year old trans male. He works in a freak show time to time, mainly as a sword swallower or a Jester. Goes by He/lt

Height: 7’9 (As a Human) 12-15ft (As a Beast)

He is mostly made of metal, due to various injuries, 80/20 to estimate.

- Left side of his body, Right side around his back and stomach, & Right/ Left Leg are completely mechanical.

- Right Arm, Face, and Chest, top of his head are still human, but most things that would be there, like bone, have been modified to fit with his mechanical parts.

Other Injuries & Extras: Missing two fingers on his right hand, and some scarring on his upper right arm and chest. Scattered burn marks on the right side of his face

Has a lower jaw on his neck; it's pretty useless. After connecting with his animal side he sprouted two extra fingers & eventually added two extra to his prosthetic. Deaf, does speak; however not often.

Status & Power: Fully aware of being a God, Has the power of Plasma vomit(as in one of the fundamental states of Matter), it works like the acid breath of a DeathGripper from HTTYD 3

Relationships: Brother to Yohioloid & Oliver. Raised from age 14 by Ann & Al. Friends with Rin, Len, & Gumi

Hooks up with Piko and/or Flower every so often, it's not serious in the slightest.

Has an actual interest in Teto. Takes care of Hime, Mikoto, Una, & Gachapoid. Friends with Rin & Len.

Hobbies: aside from his Freak Show job, He finds enjoyment in working with animatronics, metal prosthetics, and weaponry. This mainly was to do with himself due to being mostly robotic; a cyborg.

Likes / Dislikes :

+ Coconut Ice Cream

+ Hime, Mikoto, Una, & Gachapoid

- Entitled People, Mortals as a general + The Overlook & The moon pools

- Medical Facilities

- Orphanages

+ Night Clubs

+ Hidden pocket worlds

- Moke

Extras: His hat is sentient! He doesn't wear it as it usually just grows legs and walks itself, He calls it Mr. Hat. Point is a large, also sentient creature. She likes running off in the woods to be with her army, but always returns home at night.

———-

VFlower:

——————-

Full Name: Flower (Hana) Gaku (flower music)

A 45.000 (45) year old, Masc, Agender person. Works as a gothic florist. Specializing in the darker side of flowers and how they are put together.

Uses Its/it

Height: 9’1 (As a Human), the same as Big Al; 12 ft (as a beast)

Injuries & Extra: small scar across its snout, some of its scales on its neck and back have pieces missing or are completely missing (although they shed off, so the placement can change). Various scars out its shoulders and near its tail. Some larger scars down the stomach and back legs

Has a large, Henna tattoo on it’s neck and chest, it looks like kelp, with intricate swirls and lines.

Hyperdontia: has extra teeth in its mouth, some grow out the top of the gums and poke out of it’s mouth

Status & Power: A Sub-God- a certain god that is so disconnected from their immortality and powers that they are considered mortal, usually they fail to ever connect to their godhood or animal form, however Flower has managed to connect with its animal side though still hasn’t connected with its godhood

Relationships: Lives with its sisters (who are her other banks, so V3, Talk, & whatever the a

Last one is, I forgot ::/). In an Open, long distance relationship with dill (an Utau) & hooks up with Fukase here and there, but not often.

Friends with Piko & WALTT (another Utau)

Hobbies: Aside from its job, Flower enjoys going to the open field in the middle of the forest, usually to start large bonfires for itself. Enjoys woodworking too. Carved the logs around the fire and collects insects that it pins and hangs up

Likes/ dislikes:

It’s not entirely sure what it likes, it keeps to itself and is good at hiding its joy, although it’s believed to like

+ Large Fires

+ Carnivorous Flowers

+ Insects, particularly Dragonflies & Weevils

———

- Crowds

- Visitors

- The inner City

Extras: Has a Pet Cat, A Lykoi named Wolf. Where’s a lot of bracelets and chokers, usually with spikes or flowers

————————

// I will get around to side characters, but for now I’m just putting down the main focus point of this blog. I’m also working on full bodies and I’ll attach them here when they are finished

[bam-monsterhospital]

listening to a video explaining the lore of 'the Towers', and as much as i like being reminded of all the nonsense involved with it (wordplay, imagery-fucking, philosophizing out the wazoo), no one ever just cuts to the really simple chase of it.

wtf are "Towers" in elder scrolls?

the idea that a smattering of landmarks across the world of the games hold up reality. if they were all gone, reality would be completely different.

that's it. there ya go. that's the simple basic core of it all. buncha buildings/mountains/tall big things, magic keeping existence running like it is. bam. done. no need to beat around the bush.

(that's the gist of it. more detailed explanation under the cut)

i'm not gonna explain all there is connected to "Towers", but i wanted to point attention to the word choices in the simple explanation above.

it's an idea of how the world works in the games. keep in mind that every piece of 'lore' in every single elderscrolls game is in-universe biased/unreliable. there is no actual set final answer to cosmic systems and all that shit. you'll hear a lot of people talk about the stars and sun being holes in the sky some gods escaped the mortal world out through back to theirs? yeah, that's a story. that's an in-universe explanation cooked up by people trying to understand their fantasy world. is it true? sure, it could be, but keep in mind the sun and stars could also be giant distant space balls of fire and heat and light. could be both at the same time: that's just how these games role and it's not a dismissal. everything's pretty wishy washy.

even beyond that, everything is implied. no concrete anything. the core of the lore implies that the 'Towers' keep reality anchored, 'held up': but what does that mean? Don't worry about it, we don't actually know. Just like it's implied getting rid of all the towers would... what, break reality? unravel the world's making? separate mortality from the world? enh. hence why i said 'reality would be completely different', because it's implied it'd be bad news bears, but we don't know if it'd just poof.

why do people make a big fuss over 'Towers' and their lore in elderscrolls? Well, other than all of this info being "obscure" and up in the air... other than the implication that the random city building/cursed volcano/buncha trees/etc lurking in the distance we've all been ignoring is supposedly way more important than assumed... delving into 'Tower' lore opens you up to some wacky parts of the elderscrolls world:

Like a gigantic mecha that breaks time and reality whenever it's powered on.

or how wood elves' existence is tied to the concept of possibility.

the hist.

philosophizing that plays with and incorporates "House of Leaves" style imagery/wordplay/shape/theme shenaniganery. you'll see the words "Tower" (capitalized because it's referring to reality-breaking shit, rather than just any old pointy building), "wheel", and "I" a lot. What's a physical wheel (think basic carriage style, with spokes) look like when you lay it on its side: the letter "I" capitalized, aka a tower. Stuff like that. it's an interesting mess.

but yeah the top lil indented thing is all you need to know, if y'know you need to know anything about some hinted-at lore that's barely canon. honestly i think a lot of people like it just because it eventually delves into the idea of monotheistic godhood. but who knows.

[augment-techs]

Choose 4 rangers and make them into gods as if PR was your own pantheon. Preferably two are benevolent while the others are malevolent

What would they be gods of? Their aesthetic? Powers? Who they'd be in love with etc it's up to you have fun!

I can abide by giving up four characters as gods, and I can list what they would do, because gods are easy. But Benevolent and Malevolent is a little bit too...humanistic. No matter what part of the world you're in and what pantheon you look into, you might have nice gods, you might even have marginally mellow gods, but that is entirely different from being what humans would conceive as "good."

But with that in mind, I can at least split the baby and follow the themes of being malignant, benign, ambivalent, and something like "the other" or "necessary."

First up would be Purple Solar Ranger "Ari" Ellarian. She would probably represent survivor's guilt, inner turmoil, earthquakes, sterility, orphans, banditry, pirates, potatoes, snow storms, wild animal cultivation, artistic inspiration, goats, precious crystals, locked doors, and sapphic longing. Her primary realm would be the sky and the home hearth. Her powers include animal understanding and cooperation, creating animals from pure light and shadow, becoming starlight to disperse and reassemble when in danger, and imbuing godhood to those she deems worthy of the Power and who have earned her favor.

Second would be Blue Omega Ranger Kiya Kyatyl. Oceans and icy tundra's are most definitely her home grounds, but that follows along very well with her representation of FEMININE RAGE, betrayal, grief, imprisonment, lightning, siblinghood, violent war, burial rites, aggressive cults, moonlight, alcohol, the marketplace, competition, and glass making. Most of her followers are women or femme presenting, giving that while she's not exactly the kindest of gods, she's slightly less likely to show displeasure towards them. As opposed to with men, who she goes out of her way to curse and humiliate as much as possible. She has the ability to turn into a massive bear or kind of feral cat, but she doesn't care much for being subtle; so she's more prone to smite with lightning bolts.

Third would be Tommy Oliver, any age, any Color, any team he was a part of, given that he has no specific location and environment to stick to or around. His application of godly duties is split between his Colors of Green, White, Red, and Black with a small increase and decrease depending what skin he's residing in when he changes into a dragon, tiger, pillar of black smoke, or falcon. When he's in his human body he largely amuses himself between being a teenager, in his mid-thirties, or late forties to mess with people. He is the known as a god of flight, physical fights, heroes, underworld connections, trauma, PTSD, hidden knowledge, time travel, stupidity, hubris, wrath, breaker of chains, teachers, and virality. Also he can turn into a giant monster if he really wants to, be he doesn't that much.

Last but not least would be God of Death, fertility, humility, secrecy, exhaustion, childbirth, harvest, full moons, new moons, hares, abandonment, insomnia, wolves, cannon fodder, sex workers, pitilessness, foot soldiers, coyotes, divine aid, absolute friendship, music, poetry, shelter, foxes, transformation, sensuality, divine grace, hearth fires, volcanoes, cooking, and outcasts; Eugene Skullovitch of ORANGE. His territory is largely based in dense forests and low-population cities and his powers are...limited to animal transformation, comforting the dead, and directing heroes, villains, and other more appreciated gods in either the direction they need to go or AWAY with a few words.

[bluegekk0]

After reading your worldanvil page on the gods of your AU I wondered what other types of gods there might be out there in the world or maybe even some additional gods that that could be part of the hollownest pantheon. Not trying to have you go into every single detail obviously cause Ik this kind of stuff is pretty out of the scope of the current status of the AU and honestly takes a lot of brainstorming better used elsewhere :>

In that regard, would grimm been close with the other gods within and outside of the pantheon during his godhood and how would he have initially reacted towards all the other gods shunning him as a result of his banishment?

I think I'll first have to get at least a rough idea of what the world/continent map would look like. Since the gods are divided into pantheons which are specific to regions, it means that I'd have to come up with those regions first before designing new gods. For Hallownest specifically, I want to design one, maybe two more gods that would somehow tie into the biome and climate of the region. It's a cold, mountainous place, so perhaps a god who's located deep inside the mountain, maybe one similar to Hephaestus? We'll see.

But to come back to other pantheons, I'd love to make a region that's full-on snowy, further north from Hallownest, and I think there could be some fun ideas for higher beings who originate from there. Perhaps there could be some ice-like essence which has a god connected to it, or a full on fire-based higher being that the settlements living there turn to for protection from the cold, something like that. On the opposite end, I want there to be a desert region, not a cold desert like Vyrm's homeland; that one would be still very cold and experience snow periodically, so it's a whole different beast, though I do think there was some higher being there connected to soul and left those tablets Vyrm ended up studying). I mean a hot desert, with large sand dunes and such. I'd love to experiment with some sand-like essence that can be found there, and of course, a god (or gods) connected to it. A sea region would also exist, with its own set of sea-based gods. There are many possibilities, and I don't doubt some of them would be inspired by existing mythologies, since I already draw some elements from them.

And to answer the second part of the question, I do like the idea of Grimm being on good terms with Unn, when talking about the Pantheon of Hallownest. Obviously he's not fond of The Radiance, The Shade Lord is unique in that it's not a proper member of the pantheon, and The White Lady doesn't really like him. Unn, on the other hand, seems very peaceful and I think she would be one of the very few who wouldn't shun or pity him after his banishment.

Outside of his pantheon, though? I imagine he interacted with some gods when he was still in Godhome, in one way or another if you catch my drift, but I don't think he had any close friends there. The banishment only made things worse, as they assumed by default that he's done something to deserve it. And in those cases where they learned what happened, they just ended up feeling sorry for him, which in his eyes is even worse. So after losing his place in Godhome, he started avoiding other higher beings as he found those interactions way too humiliating. Things haven't changed since then, and they likely won't. The only known way to reverse his banishment died with his sister, so he has no hopes of ever being let back in. And at this point he doesn't even want to, he has a life now, a loving family and friends, there is nothing there he'd be interested in, except maybe not having to constantly replace his physical body. But he's already used to it, he doesn't mourn his limitless source of power. So if you asked him now if he wants to go back, he'd tell you that Godhome can burn down to ash for all he cares. I think that speaks for itself.

[lemonadehtwooh]

Drew Genshin's Scaramouche! Under cut is explanation of my thought process of this piece

Spoiler warning

OKAY so basically, to start with the background. I wanted to do a sorta fire theme because of him. Burning the house of his dead friend down. The swirls were very tedious but also very fun!

Next, with the arms behind him. Ik Sumeru is based off of a lot of Middle Eastern countries, Egypt, and India. So I took inspiration from how deities are depicted in Hindu art (with a lot of arms. Iirc they represent all the things the god can do/represent that deity's power). I added this in because his goal was to become a god, but he failed. I tried to add in more of the distance between him and godhood by making the arms/hands in a different style and blurring the arms

I didn't add in Mudras with the hands because I'm not quite sure how they work/are used for other than certain symbolisms in dancing/art and a few other things. Anyway, the hands from left to right is: Nahida, The Traveler with the Rancor sword (it's what my Traveler uses lol), the hand of his dead friend holding a doll, and then Ei/Raiden Shogun holding her sword

Next, Scara himself. I used the blue/purple type pallette because of his outfit he wears after be becomes Wanderer. I thought it would be interesting to draw his mainly red "Scaramouche" outfit in blues. As well, I wanted a contrast with the background. Ig we could also take it as the thought of how he's so connected to his mother and how similar they are despite his hatred towards her. I wanted to mess more with the line less+textured drawing style I've been working on too, and I think it turned out okay-ish

Overall, it's not my best drawing, especially in the lineless style (I've done way better before with that style 😔) but I'm proud of it. It took four hours and nine minutes to make

I think Scaramouche is a very interesting character

[dreamcrow]

Hellouu dream!! Good aftermoon! ^^

How are you today?? I hope you are good hihi :3

Sooo.. I have a little question that has been on my mind ever since I saw your art..

•I wanted to know more about the relationship between bellroc and them familiar dragon (I don't know if that's the term...)

•how did bellroc kill him??

•how did he meet this Dragon?

•Skrael already knew about all this??

(I know.. it's more than one question.. but I was curious...) byeeee!!👋👋 have a nice dayyy :3

kitty you are so sweet. thank you for indulging me and my little headcanons; i hope the ramblings that follow were as fun to read as they were to imagine.

what is a familiar? it comes from the same root as "family," but in classical latin familia generally means the *slaves* of a household (hence the english sense, used elsewhere in toa, of "a magical servant"). which isn't why i headcanon that bellroc wears their familiar's skull, by the way, though it would probably add to their general bemusement at modern magic-users' concept of the relationship. i've had this headcanon for such a long time, now, but despite wanting very badly to write something about it i've never actually gotten anything to a publishable state. (the one thing i have written recently about this is currently. 100-odd words of snippy banter/[INSERT SCENE-SETTING HERE], which feels like it doesn't quite count.) so. some bullet points, while i kick around some thoughts in the microwave of the mind.

yes, bellroc killed their familiar. they did not know that's what she was. they did not mean to do it.

azherin was a giant fuckoff dragon, the distillation of everything stories say dragons should be: vain, cunning, arrogant, unfathomably powerful. because it's my oc and my hc and therefore everything is based on my terrible taste, she is (mostly) feathered, and breathes silver fire (and occasionally lightning). she's also got a wife and kids but god if we fall down that rabbithole i really will never get to bed

the first time they see her, a slip of oil-black bleeding up from the edge of the sky, they feel a flash of some vague, fleeting connection. they wonder what it is, just for a moment, before (they think) they realize: the old familiar coil of fear, twisting to settle bright and lazy into their gut. they think she's smoke, from a particularly vicious wildfire.

when they find out what she actually is—for the first time since dying, in a particularly vicious wildfire—they think on how how strange it is, at this age, to find something they may fear more than that.

(the thought of "a familiar" never occurs to them. to either of them. bellroc never knew magic before receiving it violently and unexpectedly; skrael has heard of magic users with companions of varying sorts but if he's ever seen one, it's only been a mundane-looking creature like a bird or a sable marten. they wouldn't know the word as we use it now, and probably don't, for a long time.)

but bellroc does by now know magic, and by now knows it very well. always conscious that their mastery is earned—that they've had to work for it—but conscious that they are a master, all the same. they're the only person in the world to wear so much (or any) metal jewelry, let alone have a metal staff almost as tall as them. they might not quite openly think of themself as a god—yet—but they are certainly thinking about gods and godhood as a general concept, much more than they did while within the span of a normal human lifetime. they think about power, sure, about improving their craft, about impressing a certain someone, improving their lives; but also duty, obligation, right.

so when they find out a literal dragon is going around terrorizing defenseless human towns—well. they'll catch the devil from skrael later, for being so reckless. but in the moment, they protest: what else could they do?

as it turns out: even the most op of magical cavemen does not simply 1v1 a giant flying murderlizard.

especially one that can breathe lightning.

especially when their primary weapon is a giant metal stick.

skrael meanwhile is watching all of this—what. rivalry? folie à deux? he's been having odd dreams lately, infrequent, but insistent and recurrent, from his own yet-unknown familiar/skull source, which maybe is making him less charitable than he could be. but after watching bellroc definitely get their ass kicked and definitely be way more torn up about it than he'd expected: when they notice him being so dubious he must admit, he is perplexed. he understands bellroc's stated reasons for why they (tried to) intervene, that first time; it would be a terrible thing, he agrees, to find yourself in a town that a dragon has now decided is her personal pantry. but terrible shit happens all the time. however admirable it may be to try and stop it (and he does think it's admirable, because he's a sap) he is always, at heart, a pessimist.

even if you could have saved that one village—he means it gently, even if it doesn't quite come out right—you know she'll just move on to another.

and bellroc blanches. for the first time in a long time: they have a (small, but) serious fight.

because—bellroc's perspective is: they have all this power. all of this life, after dying, terribly; all of this magic, after a life of nothing of the kind. perhaps one mortal effort would make no difference; perhaps, even now, their effort would not tip the balance. as it certainly did not in that hill-town, they mutter, bitterly.

but they are no mortal, now. what's the good of having this power, if they don't even use it?

anyway bellroc and azherin end up running into each other 6-7 times. the last time, azherin just loses her shit at this insolent, interfering child:

(please excuse the clumsiness here; this must be from. good god. twenty twenty-one)

...which ends predictably (though maybe not entirely so). and when skrael finds them, after, then he really lets them have it.

[nerice]

elden ring sote bingo let's fucking GO!!

dawn of the final 24 hours before my life gets eaten. details under th cut >>

the eclipse

what the fuck were they doing at castle sol what was the point !! "the sun has not been swallowed your companion remains soulless" how was this supposed to connect to/help resurrect godwyn. may we find out when it happens!!

scythe fixes

my partner contributed this one it seems 2 be a vry specific gripe towards scythe builds that i do not understand bc i run my game with two toothpick daggers and refuse to upgrade vigor lmao

death swamp

i think it wld be funny. do it miyazaki

malenia's severed arm/oath ring

WHAT IF WE. FOUND IT >:) no idea why it'd be in the realm of shadow but i wanna pick up specifically the oath ring fr item description lore juice so bad :3

messmer blasphemy arsenal

why is he running around talking abt those unworthy of gold when he's fully stacked w/ anti erdtree insignia!! battle trophies? just to flex? let us know!!

butterfly trio

fringe theory that i don't subscribe to that the trio statue in the haligtree is *not* prodigy twins + godwyn but instead twins + messmer, on account of cape & the fact that they all get butterfly items (nascent for miquella, aeonian for malenia, and smoldering for - presumably - messmer bc of his fire theming) don't rly care for it but am curious abt the butterfly symbolism nd if it will show up

lake of rot expansion

THIS HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME SINCE I FOUND IT. why is that upper portion there, completely inaccesible, with the other end suspiciously faded out!!!! no other part of the giant ass world map has smth like this LET US GO THERE!! blue dancer portal i believe in u

marika's dad

that guy in the painting. who's a talking corpse pulling a sword out of his fucked up body later in the trailer, LOREDROP US

age of rot

easy. malenia resurrection phase three full ending truther. yes i realize this wld be the worst possible fate for her i love dying and despair

sleep swamp

we kind of saw it in the trailer. might not be an actual inflicting-the-effect soup location but again i think it'd be funny!!

godwyn's resurrection (mermaid boss)

with or without connection to whatever the eclipse is. there's no way they're not gonna use that huge disgusting model of him from the deeproot depths 2 fuck us up. miquella can save him but he cannot save him tm :)!

messmer destined death user

every possible evil flame theory under the sun has been floated for him nd which shade of fire it is he's actually wielding. i think he's camp destined death for juice nd (possible) melina connection

gloam-eyed queen is marika's sibling/twin

my fav little pet theory!! assuming the guy in the painting is marika's dad and assuming (spicily) that the woman in the painting isn't actually her but another numen / empyrean / possibly sibling / most likely 2 be the gloam eyed queen aka whoever marika has slain at the beginning of the sote story trailer when she claims godhood. i just think this game loves sibling beef too much 2 not go there. conversely i don't think melina is the gloam-eyed queen but i do think there's a connection/possible inheritance avenue w.

malenia death consequences

THE ONLY THING I REALLY CARE ABT FOR THIS DLC it cannot be a 10/10 without this, indulge meeeeee pwease she's a fkcin optional boss and the entire reason for miquella's quest. it has to matter COME ON !!!! idc if it's a lot to code and account for u built this house

melina/messmer siblings

melina is the odd one out whose parentage is so far unconfirmed. nd there are no only children in this game. so w/ the addition of messmer > obv conclusion that might still be fully off lol

miquella anti-griffith path

yes ive seen the theories. yes ive read berserk. yes it makes sense and the parallels are off the charts. when i first found the bewitching branch nd the lore bits abt miquella/st trina i also sent my partner a long essay abt the parallels. miquella the beloved defender of the weak, (+ there is LITERALLY AN ECLIPSE HE TRIED TO CAUSE) however all the "miquella is evil" theories are supremely boring sorry. playing it straight wld be such a waste. u meet miquella nd he turns out to be a mastermind manipulator who used dream control and charm and even malenia was tricked etc etc IT'S BORING gtfo

boss w/ 3rd phase

haven't had that yet. bonus points if i get my resurrected malenia insect body horror for this (wldnt even count bc it's not a consequtive phase) but a girl can dream uwu

final boss fight @ the vagina tree roots

sorry for the uninitiated. but yeah this wld be a dope final boss location and either way i wanna go there!!!!! give us pussy

outer god of sleep

this shot in the story trailer. "abandoning his fate" can be interpreted either way, abandoning (unalloyed) gold for existence as st trina OR WHAT I'M PUSHING. him even abandoning his fate as empyrean i.e. godhood since power in this game always comes at the price of outer gods whispering in ur ear nd i want!! an outer god of sleep !! to have been that for miquella. sleep was his destined path like rot was for malenia, and he wants no part of it >:3

torrent's origins

this is a filler square u_u but also i'm genuinely curious if we will get more lore abt him. it's confirmed miquella was riding torrent when he set out, and the torrent we have now is a spectral steed, first seen with melina and then gifted to us by ranni in disguise so like. how do we get from a to b to c d e f here chat !!!!

blue dancer lore

ANOTHER 10/10 REQUIREMENT. ive made my case and it's a strong one. ik all of the malenia content wishes are copium at best but getting vicarious lore on this one is extremely feasible imo

age of unalloyed gold

there's no way we aren't getting a miquella themed ending right. riiiight??

full melina lore

TRULY THE MOST ENIGMATIC CHARACTER there's a billion theories (geq being the strongest one) i don't even care what her specific lore details are gonna be but it'll be so interesting if any of it gets elaborated on !!

all new npcs fucking die

they're such a merry band in the story trailer :) wld be a shame if something happened to them :))))))))