#Edward and Lydia

[localcryptidartwork]

Was gonna shade this but honestly got bored

[barry-j-blupjeans]

There was not much that could scare Edward and Lydia anymore. In fact, Edward could count the things he feared on one hand.

The Reaper— or rather, The Raven Queen. Becoming liches hadn't been a hasty decision. They had known full well what they were doing, what laws they were breaking, and they had broken them anyway. The Raven Queen did not take kindly to those who played the line with life and death, but unfortunately for her, that was Edward and Lydia's preferred line of work. Even so, it would be rather foolish of them not to fear the wrath of a god, or her little soldiers, either.

The End Of All Things. This one was rather simple. Or, well, Edward could pretend it was, until it arrived. But somewhere out there, maybe not in their Planarverse, but out there nonetheless was a world-ending destructive force. It had been described as the Hunger, and although he felt a level of kinship with the idea (who wouldn't when your life was fueled by the very same things that the Hunger was made of), the fear overrid his other emotions.

And being separated from Lydia, of course. After all they had been through with Keats, it was rather hard to not be afraid of losing her, too. But of all his fears, Edward would admit this one was the most unrealistic. There was no Edward without Lydia anymore. If one of them went, well… Edward wouldn’t have to fear much, after that.

Even so, Edward's relationship with fear was far from the norm. His fears? Unnecessary, at this point. Annoying, even. Other people's, though? Ohoho, Edward lived, quite literally, for other people's fears.

The traction Wonderland had gained when the Animus Bell had first fallen into their hands was starting to die down. Edward and Lydia were masters of stretching a life to its thinnest, of course— why kill off anybody in the first act when the second could turn out so much better? But even with these carefully toned tactics, Wonderland seemed to have hit a wall. And it didn't take long to figure out why.

The world had forgotten all about the Animus Bell. And thus, the world had forgotten all about Wonderland.

They had been through worse, of course. And sure, all it took was a few changes here and there— stop advertising the Animus Bell so directly, start up with the classics again: Fame, glory, money. Who in the world wouldn't kill for any of those? But it was frustrating, to have your main source of business cut off without any sort of explanation. Edward personally felt a little cheated. The Animus Bell was supposed to have lasted much longer. They had been promised business and success, only for it to be cut off all at once.

So when the woman responsible for all their recent failures waltzed into the building? Well, Edward and Lydia had no such reason to go easy on her. After all, Lucretia had taken everything from them— all the delicious pain and suffering suddenly gone in an instant. It was only fair she made up for it.

Read the rest on Ao3!

[fuckin-flip-wizard]

Wanted to redraw an old Suffering Game drawing I did years ago because I felt like it deserved a reboot!! ✨ Bad luck, whoopsies! ✨

(click for better quality, original vs. redraw comparison under the cut!)

Etsy Shop | Art Commissions | reblogs appreciated! :]

Original from 2021, Redraw from 2024!

[carnivart-core]

… And you see two figures standing on a long, elevated platform. They are beautiful Octarians - one female, one male, and they are dressed in these tight-fitting, high-fashion garments of indigo. He’s wearing a golden half-cape, and she’s wearing these huge, insane, golden shoulder pads. And you realize the long platform they’re standing on is a runway. And the female Octarian sticks a slender, gloved arm into the air and snaps.

And all of a sudden the ceiling and walls and floors of this room transform into a thousand multicolored neon panels that shift and flash in time with the loud pulsating music that floods the chamber. And every time like, every time that the beat hits on this song, the spotlights flash in time, and every time they do they catch this duo as they just fuckin’ vogue and pose their way down the runway, just like, working it. Just like hitting the beat so fucking hard and just voguing their brains out. And they reach the end of the runway, which is just this large, circular platform, and as they do the rest of this runway descends down into the ground to be about floor-level. And this circle platform spins around a few times as they continue to pose to the music. And finally, they address you

[the-nerdy-fangirl]

Have I seen Trolls 3 Band Together. No.

But that won’t stop me from deciding these two are Edward and Lydia from The Suffering Game

[stilettomafiosas]

(2021) lup my best friend lup

[jerreeeeeee]

lydia and edward’s failing was not in becoming liches, nor were they doomed by their circumstances. their mistake was forgetting or disregarding the importance of the love that pushed them there in the first place. because it’s still there; that’s why they aren’t mindless monsters, they’re clearly still sane, if having made evil choices. but they’ve put it aside and devalued it in favor of. well. power hungriness.

i feel like what we see from barry as the red robe is that the danger of lichdom isn’t becoming evil, as if exposure to dark magicks corrupts some kind of tangible moral substance, it’s more of a risk of unraveling and losing yourself and your mind without an anchor to your identity and the bonds that make you up, and hurting people because you’re not yourself anymore. which could take many forms. maybe you’re not actually ‘mad,’ maybe you just… justify your choices differently, cross lines you wouldn’t have before. as cam explains it: “See, if a lich can, um.. can anchor themselves with a powerful enough sort of emotional attachment, then they can sort of maintain their identity and they can maintain their sanity.”

which brings the question of: are edward and lydia ‘unraveled’ liches? we have no baseline to compare to; maybe they were always cruel and greedy and lichdom only afforded them more opportunity, or maybe it did warp their perceptions of things like right and wrong and they’ve become worse. (to this point, something they say when thb make it to the end of wonderland stands out: “this resolve, this desire to do whatever it takes no matter the cost to save yourselves…” and “it was the three of us, surviving against all odds. The world against us.” it certainly seems to me like edward and lydia had a very difficult life, and turned to necromancy, lichdom, and then further, wonderland, out of a desire to protect themselves, collecting power in pursuit of security and safety). they’re not fully gone, they still have their wits about them, but it has to be said that they’ve, to some extent, lost their old selves, because it’s clear that at some point, they cared about each other and keats, but they power themselves now primarily on suffering. those aren’t entirely mutually exclusive, but i’ll elaborate later.

either way, it seems to me that they gave in to the (not uniquely lich, very mortal, but exacerbated by the magical forces at play in lichdom) temptation of cruelty and powerlust, and subsequently lost sight of what makes them themselves, not the other way around. which has interesting implications for barry’s lonely years. they didn’t lose themselves and so became evil, they became evil and so lost themselves (“became evil” being a huge oversimplification). in a similar way to other relic wielders, notably. what was wonderland like before the animus bell, i wonder?

the bond is still there, they still needed each other after all, but lydia is genuinely surprised when she says that. which seems like a far cry from a woman who practiced dangerous magic to save her brother—now she’s surprised, after seeing her twin killed in front of her, that she cares? they’re maybe not entirely unraveled; that may not be a black and white thing, either you’re wholly intact or you’re lost forever, it may be something of an event horizon you can get closer to as you give in to cruelty and isolation, and farther from as you pull yourself together and focus on your bonds. maybe there is eventually a point of no return, but you can get pretty close to it without crossing the threshold.

which, again, the idea that liches unravel as they take actions and so become farther from themselves and their loved ones is really really interesting in the context of barry and lup. did they know that was how it would work? it’s all well and good for edward and lydia—i mean, i’m sure they had to make hard choices, i’m sure it wasn’t an easy descent into the monsters they became, but it all sorta pales in comparison to the choices that barry and lup were already facing even before becoming liches. they already had the fates of worlds in their hands, and they decided to tie their own essences, their own identities, to the hope and faith that they would continue to make the right choices? we see that start to slip with the relics; they start out with good intentions, but lup can’t handle the unintended consequences (because there’s no reason they’d think the relics would even be so dangerous). it all becomes even more dangerous than lichdom seems at first. maybe that’s why taako was so afraid; not because he doubted the strength of lup’s love for him and barry, that it would hold her entire self together, but because he knew she was already so invested in the hard choices they had to make, and this ran the risk of legitimately destroying her if they gave into those more pragmatic, crueler options (options he tended to favor), no matter how much she loves her boys.

and it’s also so interesting to me that lydia is surprised when she does truly unravel. a being built on bonds, and she didn’t realize she was still held together by love for edward? how? wouldn’t you still be able to feel that? it’s a question i’ve had for a while: why do lydia and edward say that suffering is stronger than love when this is demonstrably untrue? willful ignorance? maybe they meant that suffering is easier to extract and farm from other people than love is? maybe suffering is easier to manipulate in the way we see in wonderland, forming clothes and wheels and rooms, whereas love is a magic that works internally rather than in the world?

but honestly i think the actual answer is, they think that because they weren’t able to save keats. their love wasn’t enough. for whatever reason their necromancy failed, and they take it as a failure of love. because if love truly was powerful enough, shouldn’t it have saved him? and it’s a fair question. “have you guys ever witnessed like, a magic that’s kinda more powerful than you could explain? That was kind of born out of a moment of intense passion or emotion?” cam explains liches’ reliance on emotion by evoking the moments of love that did miraculous, magical things: sloane saving hurley, jack creating roswell, etc. we just don’t really have enough information about what happened to keats to say why he died. but i think it’s fair to say the instances we do see of those miraculous bonds are also deeply involved with the Relics.

but anyway, for whatever reason, their love did not save keats, and once their beloved brother died, edward and lydia were left with suffering. their grief for him obscures the fact that they’re still held together by love for each other—and love for keats too, even though he’s gone. love that transcends death is a theme, too. they still remember him and think fondly of him after all this time. that love is still there.

edward and lydia say they became liches because they liked the powers they gained from necromancy. but i have to wonder, did they really become liches so they never had to see each other die, too? and that makes their story all the sadder; they lost their brother, turned to necromancy to try to save him, failed, and became liches so they wouldn’t lose each other. becoming liches condemns them, eventually, to an eternity imprisoned, unable to join the sea of souls and reunite with the brother they did it all for in the first place.

[readordiebyemilyt]

TAZ: The Suffering Game graphic novel is out tomorrow! So, here’s Edward and Lydia doing their best Jesse and James poses.

[slavicgirl123]

[theotherpacman]

im writing a dnd campaign and it involves performers and the Overwhelming Urge to write an overdramatic pair of hot elf twins who dazzle the stage cannot be overstated

[poor-ciceros-voring-again]

I FINALLY got my TAZ Suffering Game book in the mail today and it was SO DAMAGED so I have to go to b&n tomorrow and hope they'll replace it 😭

But I am still gonna read through it slowly and carefully tonight and then do a liveblog about it tomorrow when I can take pics of a hopefully new undamaged book.

BUT GOOD FUCKING. GOD EDWARD AND LYDIA.

FUCK ME.

[localcryptidartwork]

Edward and Lydia WIP, let’s see where is goes 🤷‍♀️

[barry-j-blupjeans]

People didn't wander aimlessly through the woods like they used to. For a good while there, neither Edward nor Lydia had had to leave Wonderland for advertising. Someway or another, a poor hero or party would stumble through the Felicity Wilds and get drawn into Wonderland for their own various reasons— fame, riches, glory, all of the above. Word of mouth, of course, was to best way to advertise. But once you've killed someone, their icky flesh body started decaying much too fast. It was hard to leave the Felicity Wilds in a timely manner and still look enticing enough to lure people back in.

But this year had been rough. Maybe they scared away too many folks— Edward had to be honest: having the body he was possessing crumble to literal dust in front of the crowd he was advertising to hadn't been the best way to sell the glory of Wonderland. And letting people actually leave Wonderland was a no-go. They had learned that rather quickly.

So they were back to the basics. Magicking up their spectral forms into something appealing (though, with the lack of Suffering, it was getting quite hard to keep it together. Thus, why they could only go out as a pair.) and drawing unsuspecting forms deeper into the Wilds, straight into Wonderland. The old one-two, conversationally speaking.

And people just didn't wander aimlessly through the woods like they used to! So when Edward finally found their first catch of the day, it was important that he didn't slip right through their fingers.

"Oh," Lydia said, seeing the man not a second after Edward had. He could already hear the note of arrogance in her voice. "Oh, he'll do beautifully."

Indeed, the man looked like a perfect victi— ahem. Guest. He was human, older in age, so they'd have much more memories to draw on. He played the part of a worn-out traveler quite well. Mussed hair, and a worn, heavy satchel that jingled with every step he took. It was too quiet to be coins, but the white-knuckled grip he had on the strap of it told Edward it was something much more valuable than he could guess. His pants— though quite an unusual style, but who was Edward to say, having been dead for so long— were stained with mud. There was a bit of blood against one corner of his shirt, where the fabric had ripped.

But to be so steely with determination still? To walk through the Felicity Wilds alone and still be going strong? Edward did have to agree. Wonderland would suit this man perfectly.

"Long way from home, friend?" Edward asked. His form materialized next to a tree and he proceeded to lean against it. The man turned, startled. There was a crack in his glasses. Lydia appeared behind the tree, peeking out at the man as if she had been there the whole time.

"You, uh, you could say that," the man said.

"You're very brave, going through the Felicity Wilds alone," Lydia said. "Are you on your way to somewhere?"

"I'm, uh—" the man hesitated, looking between Lydia and Edward uncertainly. He seemed to be deciding on what to say. After a second, he continued with, "I'm looking for a place called Wonderland."

Bingo. Better than bingo, actually. Edward glanced at Lydia. They shared a grin.

"Wonderland, you say?" Lydia said, hand over her chest.

"You— I'm gonna hazard a guess and say you're familiar with it?" the man said.

"You could say," Edward said. "and what brings you to Wonderland, if I may ask?"

The grip the man had on his bag tightened. The object inside jostled, gently ringing again, and Edward felt inexplicably drawn to the sound. He could tell Lydia was, too, but they both refrained from showing. It was never a good look to be desperate or over-eager.

"I have… an artifact," the man said, slow and carefully choosing his words. "Of— of immeasurable magical power. And I was told that no one who goes into Wonderland ever, uhm, ever comes out. That's— This needs to be somewhere that no one can reach but— but they know they can try. It's— it's gotta be wanted. It's— it's—"

Searching through people's memories was a tad harder outside the walls of Wonderland, much less when they were this low on visitors. Still, Edward reached out with his magic, carefully slipping into the man's mind.

The world was ending. And then it wasn't. And then it was, again, and again, and again. It was a rush of information— much more than Edward had seen in the oldest elves, let alone a middle-aged human. Memories flew by fast enough that Edward couldn't catch any in his hands. A red haze was settled over the entirety of it all— Edward could see it clear as day.

The man was a lich.

This made things… much more interesting.

"Say no more," Lydia said, holding up a hand. Edward blinked himself back into the present, trying not to let his face show any surprise. "Lucky for you, we just so happen to know the way to Wonderland."

"For what price?" the man asked.

"What, you don't trust us?" Lydia said, pulling off a pout Edward had the displeasure of seeing her practice. At the man's face, they both laughed a little.

"I must say, I admire a man with a touch of hesitation," Edward said. "But we'll lead you with no extra charge. If this object is truly that important, then I say getting it to Wonderland is our highest priority, Barry."

"I never told you my name," the man said.

"You didn't have to, darling," Edward said. "Running a fortress in the middle of the Felicity Wilds lets you pick up a few things here and there."

"You—?"

"You'll have to excuse him," Lydia said, "My brother loves a dramatic reveal."

Edward could feel fire running through his veins, a pull in his chest leading them straight back to Wonderland. Lydia's cool and pleasant face broke in a way only he could see through— one victim would have been enough for a while. But the possibility of more was too savory to resist.

"We'll set off now," Lydia continued, "and we'll be there before dark."

"Now," Edward said as Lydia set their pace and the man stumbled after them. "Tell us more about this artifact."

[autocorrection]

prepare for trouble, and make it [quadruple!]

[carnivart-core]

More TAZ, more relic holders ! In the home stretch now 💟

[asofteradventurezone]

no jury will convict me