#I STILL haven't finished the epilogue yet I need to so bad

[saucy-mesothelioma]

I miss my wife, Tails. I miss her a lot.

[neptuneiris]

could you pretend to be in love? (10/10)

The Realization

pairing: modern!aemond × fem!reader (fake dating)

summary: prom is coming and so is the end of a stage in your life. surprises and unexpected conversations take place, the question is, are you able to forgive in order to move on?

word count: 9.7k

previous part • series masterlist

this is not a drill, it's really happening!

first of all, i want to apologize for having left this story aside without finishing it. it wasn't something i decided, the writer's block precisely in this fic made me not try anymore for a while, mostly to clear my mind and my ideas, because i had no idea what to write after chapter nine 💀

so I hope you really forgive me and enjoy the last chapter 🥺 it has been an honor to have given you this little fic, I really enjoyed writing it despite the little mental breakdowns I had haha

and just like my other stories, I keep it in my heart and it will always be here for whenever you want to reread (I will make sure to post it in AO3, don't worry) i'm also thinking of doing a poll about the epilogue where you guys will decide if you want one or prefer this ending. let me know after you finish reading the chapter 🤗

enjoy and I look forward to your comments!

It still all feels like a bad dream that you can't wake up from. An unwanted dream. A nightmare.

And every time a new day comes, you feel like a human being who does everything in automatic mode, not because you really want to.

In front of your dad you must pretend that everything is fine, but as soon as you leave home and get to school, you feel a huge weight and a sadness that nothing and no one can take away from you.

You feel the stares of some people on you, if not all of them. But the truth is that you feel so emotionally drained that you don't even pay attention to them.

Many would say that not being accepted to a college doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Nor does it mean that your chances are over because there is still too much time to be able to do everything you want.

And you accept that they are right. All is not lost because you didn't get accepted.

When you were rejected the first time when you applied in conjunction with the scholarship, disillusionment sets in. There is disappointment in yourself for not being enough and there is this question that constantly floats in your mind; why others do and I don't? Why am I not worthy of the same fate as them?

Maybe it's age, but it's inevitable to feel that rejection and failure after having so many plans and having in mind the idea of making your dad proud by telling him that you've been accepted to college.

And not just any college, but Citadel.

But so far, you haven't had the courage to tell him instead that you won't go to any college. You just can't. You don't know what exactly you'll tell him and you don't want to face it yet. You don't want to see his disappointed face so you need more time.

So instead of dreams and aspirations, as well as preparing to live a college life, you prepare and focus on getting a job. You don't see employment as a bad thing either. You just wish you didn't have to focus on it right now.

You haven't talked to Aemond either. You haven't even seen him.

You're in some classes together. But you barely pay attention. Even though you used to notice his presence before and now, unconsciously, you ignore it. Now your mind is too busy with your worries.

It's like being in a disconnect. You are just there, existing. But you barely talk, barely react and barely do. You just want classes to end soon so you can go home.

Of course, he hasn't stopped trying.

He wants to talk to you, but you won't let him. You just don't want to have anything to do with him anymore. Even though you feel that emptiness he has left, you immediately force yourself not to think about it.

It's like pain and confusion mixed together, but your pride and that same pain makes you prefer to stay away.

You don't even care anymore what people say about him and you. It's obvious that the two of you are no longer in a 'relationship'. No one knows what happened and neither one of you is clarifying anything.

Which you are grateful for, so as not to feed the topic in the whole school.

Meanwhile, Alysanne and Cregan are almost always around you, trying to cheer you up and make you endure school better. You couldn't be more grateful for both of them either.

"So what are your plans for the weekend?"

Alysanne asks as the three of you are sitting on a bench in the outside courtyard. On the bench where you and Aemond made the fake relationship contract, precisely. But you try not to focus on that as the three of you eat lunch.

"We're going to the movies, did you forget already?" asks Cregan, confused.

"Huh? This weekend?"

"You forgot," he assures her.

"I didn't forget!" she lies, nervous.

"We agreed to go on Saturday. To the ten o'clock function for the horror movie."

Oh yes, the two of them are dating. Just as you and Aemond have 'broken up', so you try not to feel more distressed about it.

"Do you want to come, Y/N?"

You raise your gaze to Alysanne, confused, who gives you a smile.

"It's a date, isn't it? Just the two of you."

"We'll have more dates," she makes a nonchalant gesture.

Poor Cregan.

"Besides, it would do you good to clear your head a bit. So, what better than going to the movies? Right, Cregan?"

"Yeah, it'll do you good," he nods.

"No, thank you," you say softly, "I don't want to interfere with your dates. Besides, I'm not in the mood to go out. I'd rather stay home."

"You're not going to interfere with anything. Besides, you've stayed home enough days," she reproaches you, "Come on. Even one night. We'll have a great time."

"If you don't want to go to the movies, we can go somewhere else," Cregan proposes.

You grimace slightly.

"No, thank you. I..." you sigh, "I really appreciate it, guys. But I'd rather stay home."

Staying home to look for a proper job and plan to tell your dad you won't be going to college, like you've been doing for the past few days.

"Are you sure?" Alysanne looks at you not entirely convinced.

"Yeah," you shrug, "Don't worry about me."

"Of course I worry about you."

"You should focus on your date," you say as you give Cregan a meaningful look.

"Totally," Cregan nods, "In fact, she'll plan the next date."

"What?" she looks at him in horror.

"What you heard."

"And why me?"

"Because I always do."

Your talk with them doesn't last long as soon the bell rings and they head off to their respective classes, except for you, who has a free hour.

So you stand on the bench alone, just looking outside and nothing else, enjoying your lunch unhurriedly and in peace and quiet.

You let out a long breath and distract yourself for a few moments in your social networks, watching as some people post their reactions from when they were accepted to colleges. Everyone screams, smiles and cries of happiness with their families.

Except for others who quietly show how they were not accepted. But they open more emails and get accepted to other colleges.

You wish you were part of them.

You close those apps and go to Tiktok to distract yourself for a while by watching funny videos or storytimes.

When suddenly, you hear footsteps approaching behind you, which catches your attention. You turn your head, peeking over your shoulder and then you see him, Aemond.

He stops as soon as your eyes look directly into his, as if you've caught him in the act of robbery. Which reveals how very cautious he was being to approach and not scare you.

You see the uncertainty in his gaze, the insecurity and the wariness all at the same time. Which is rare for him, as he doesn't allow himself to look so vulnerable. But you understand why he's this way with you.

First you think about getting up and leaving him with the word in his mouth, like you've been doing lately. But for some reason, it's like finally your mind resigns and your body will force you to stay where you're sitting. And you don't even know why.

Or maybe it's because he's begging you with his gaze not to leave and listen to what he has to say after so many weeks.

Inevitably your nerves invade you and neither he nor you say anything for a few long seconds. He just stands still, as if testing the waters, waiting to see if you will move away from him again attentively.

Then he swallows hard and watches you with a sad but hopeful expression.

“Can I come closer?”

You press your lips together, think about it for a few seconds and finally give him a barely visible nod.

You turn your gaze to the front and begin to put your tupper with food in your backpack. While at the same time Aemond approaches you, cautious but firm. And surprised that you are allowing him to do this.

You let out a long breath and bring a hand to your hair, nervous, not knowing why.

Then he steps in front of you and only at that moment, you realize he has a folder in his hand. A folder that he sets down on the table in front of you, with smooth, cautious movements.

“I just came to drop this off for you. Nothing else.”

You raise your gaze to look at it confused for a moment, then look back down at the folder in front of you.

“It's the paperwork you need to submit to finalize the scholarship process,” he says softly, “Classes start in two months and by now you should have received an email from the university with all the information as an incoming student.”

Wait, what?

Your mind immediately questions, as you frown more and feel your heart start to beat too fast.

“What are you talking about?” you ask in a low murmur, not understanding.

And Aemond lets out a long breath.

“I'm keeping my promise.”

His words echo steadily in your mind.

And you dare to raise your gaze to him again, confused, serious and incredulous. And what he does is lower his gaze, sorrowful and unsure. However… he is firm with what he is saying.

Then a tingle begins to run through your hands, at the same time as you feel the nervousness sweep through your body like a wave. You part your lips as you look at the folder in front of you and with trembling hands, you pick it up and open it.

The first thing you see is the university logo and an overwhelming sensation sweeps over your body and mind as you see what appears to be a letter addressed to you.

Miss. Y/N Y/L/N, Faculty of Law. Official documentation for the scholarship process.

You feel the air you were holding in your lungs slowly leave your mouth. And a huge weight that you felt in your chest is lifted, allowing you to rest and breathe properly.

At first, you think your mind is playing a joke on you. You think he's doing it. But… this is real. More real than you can imagine.

“I know I didn't do things the right way…

Aemond begins to speak, noticing the mix of shock and confusion in your gaze, breathing hard through your mouth.

“I know I took you for granted and that I hurt you,” he says softly, “But that was never my intention, Y/N. I-I… I thought I would get everything under control. That I would work it out and get everything done on time. But, it's just… I don't even have justification.”

You feel tears begin to form in your eyes. But you control yourself. You bite the inside of your cheek and try not to let his words make you break down in tears.

As if the fact that you have in front of you one of the papers confirming and assuring you that you will finally go to the college of your dreams isn't enough.

“I should have acted sooner and looked for solutions. I should have been honest with you from the beginning. And you don't know how sorry I am,” he says softly and vulnerably, his gaze lowered, ”I also don't expect you to forgive me for keeping a promise and asking for forgiveness. I know I fucked up and things can never go back to the way they were. But I just want you to know…” he takes a moment, "That I really did fall in love with you."

Fuck.

“What I felt for you was real. It was never a game or a pretense. I was just… afraid,” he admits, ”Afraid of fucking up what we had. Afraid it would all fall apart if I told you the truth. But… I ruined everything,” he says with a resigned tone, ”You don't have to talk to me again either if you don't want to. You don't owe me anything. I just wanted to tell you the truth and let you know how sorry I am.”

Each word echoes in your mind, with the weight of his regret and his sincerity. You feel the tremble in your body, not helping the fact that you are still staring at the college sheet addressed to your name.

And you hold back, trying to calm the chaos being unleashed inside you by his words.

When he doesn't say anything else, you certainly won't and you both fall silent for a moment, as the weight of his words and the meaning of them fill the space. Until he speaks again.

“I won't bother you anymore,” he moves forward a bit back to the way he came, “Best of luck at Citadel. You deserve it, you really do,” he tells you with a small smile that is sad but genuine at the same time.

Then his figure disappears from your field of vision and you hear him start to walk away. And at that moment, the world seems to stop for you.

Unable to help yourself, you turn your head and watch him walk away with tears in your eyes. There is something in his walk, in that slight slope of his shoulders, that screams the burden he carries. And you don't know why, but… you want to call him, to tell him something that will ease the knot you both feel.

However, you know that won't fix anything.

You feel the air leave you, his words still echoing in your mind. You stare at the folder again, trying to remember what this achievement meant to you before this moment, before he came and stirred all the emotions in you.

You try to be strong, you try not to let this affect you more than it should, you think of the positive. But you can't.

So still in disbelief, excitement, sadness and with all your emotions mixed up, you take your phone, unlock it and open your emails app. And there, your most recent email, you read: Citadel University.

With your hands shaking, you press the email and read in slightly larger letters: Welcome to Citadel University! Miss Y/N, Y/L/N. Faculty of Law, Registration number: 31982.

Then, finally, you can't hold back the tears any longer and you put a hand to your mouth, letting them out, with confused and intense feelings coming over you.

Your father's loving and proud words, hugs and kisses make you smile.

It took you four days to finally break the news to him. And seeing him so happy, excited and proud, made you finally stop feeling so bad for even a moment. You also broke the news to Alysanne and Cregan, who were very happy for you.

Neither of them mentioned Aemond, which you appreciated. But there is the clear acknowledgement to him for making this possible.

You obviously left the job search behind and instead started contacting the university. You sent the missing and necessary documents, they sent you information about the scholarship, your schedule, classes and also about your dorm.

It's like finally this void in your chest is being filled as you finally see this all happening. And as you look at the pictures of the university, with old, elegant and modern architecture at the same time, that excitement rises in you.

However, what you feel is not happiness in its entirety.

In fact, you feel in the middle of a crossroads; joy is mixed with sadness. And the satisfaction of fulfilling the dream feels incomplete.

The worst part is that you know why.

But you don't think about it too much either. You don't want to. On the contrary, you force yourself to repeat over and over again that this was the plan all along. You force yourself to enjoy it and get excited.

You force yourself to think that what happened outside of getting into the college of your dreams was for a reason, but in the end you got what you really wanted.

But, deep down inside, you think about how you wish things could have been different.

At the same time, prom is just around the corner.

At first, you thought about not attending, but of course, Alysanne wouldn't let you think about it anymore. She dragged you with her to the dress store and sentenced that it will be a date of three, her, Cregan and you.

You tried to persuade her, to make her understand that Cregan only wants her as his date. But, of course, Cregan as the great friend he also is, told you it would be fun.

Certainly neither he nor you nor Alysanne have ever been on a three-way date and he told you; what better than to try it at the prom?

The prom preparations are done. Now the important thing is to turn in final projects and get rid of all the pending with the professors.

And that's what you're doing now.

With your headphones on and a notebook along with a book on your table, you're about to finish a long, boring project. When you notice how a figure suddenly obscures your workspace and you raise your gaze almost instantly, curious.

Helaena.

You remove your headphones, surprised to see her as she smiles softly at you.

“Hi,” you say to her in a soft tone, putting your project aside for a moment.

“Hi,” she says to you in the same soft tone, ”I… am I interrupting you?”

“Oh no,” you say nonchalantly, “I mean, yes, but I'm just about to finish it anyway. Don't worry.”

She looks at you a little unsure.

“Are you sure? It's just… I don't know,“ she shrugs, 'It's been a while since we last talked and I didn't know if I could come up to you.”

Again you ignore the small sharp pain in your chest at the memory of Aemond and try to look like you're not at all affected by having his sister in front of you.

“Yeah, well…” you try to smile a little, ”Things have been… intense lately.”

She nods as she takes a seat across from you.

“So it's official?” she asks you with a sad tone as she watches you with a sad little smile, “Like, I mean… you and my brother aren't coming back together?”

This time, the sharp pain in your chest is stronger and more persistent. As well as her question hits you like a wave.

How can you tell her that, in reality, everything you and Aemond had was false? That it was all part of an agreement?

The guilt begins to consume you as you see her face full of expectations and the worst thing is that it's not something you should tell her. That should be Aemond. But, still, you feel the urge to cry and you feel the need to finally tell her the truth, for the sake of everyone who made you believe the fake relationship.

“Helaena…” you begin, your voice barely a whisper, ”I-I… need to be honest with you.”

You take a breath, expecting the worst and imagining a series of difficult emotions to deal with.

“This whole thing between Aemond and I… it was fake,” you speak fearfully and sorrowfully, ”We were just… pretending for our own convenience. It wasn't…” you sigh, closing your eyes for a moment heavily, ”It wasn't real.”

You expected surprise, indignation, incredulity, anger, and more, all at the same time. But to your greatest surprise and bewilderment, she doesn't seem remotely surprised. Instead, she just smiles softly at you, full of understanding, as if she's been waiting for this moment for a long time.

“I already knew that,” she tells you in a serene tone that disarms you.

You feel your lungs hold all your air and you watch her completely stunned, surprised and confused with your parted lips. Then you blink, processing her words.

“What?”

��Aemond told me everything the moment you set up your rules,” she replies calmly, “The truth is, he never hides anything from me. He can't. So I already knew what you both were doing from the beginning.”

You continue to watch her in shock and disbelief, unable to believe it, trying to understand how she could have kept this to herself so naturally.

And in that moment, with disbelief and surprise beating in your chest, you realize that in every single conversation you had with her, right here at school, at parties, even at that family dinner that ended in disaster thanks to Aegon's drunkenness… she had always known.

“Though I don't always approve of his decisions, I understood why he did it… and why you did too.”

But your mind is still short-circuiting, processing and comprehending.

You relive in your mind every moment you went out of your way to pretend, believing you were fooling everyone, especially her. And yet, there's Helaena, looking at you with an expression of calm and empathy that completely disarms you.

“So you knew?” you are able to formulate in asking in a breathy whisper.

She nods, smiling softly.

“Easy, only I knew.“

“And you're not upset?” you ask confused, still waiting for some sign of reproach.

“Not at all. On the contrary, I'm relieved,” she tells you honestly, ”People made fun of Aemond after Alys. And, well, that left a mark on him. You know what rumors are like here.”

“Oh, believe me I do.”

“And they made him miserable. It also didn't help at all that Alys was his first girlfriend and his first formal relationship but the two of them didn't love each other, it was just obsession and whim,” she says absurdly, "And with you, at least, he got some peace back, even if it was temporary."

“But then…” you look at her blankly, “Why did you ask me if we'll get back together?”

Helaena sighs, her gaze soft but intense.

“Because in the end the two of you really fell in love. I saw you at Dragonstone and it was… too obvious.”

You remain silent, remembering those moments.

Both of you walking through those historical corridors, seeing and learning absolutely everything about old Valyria. Both holding hands, fascinated in the aquarium watching everything around or walking together on the shore of the beach, laughing, exchanging glances, hugging and kissing every now and then that everything felt too sincere to be pretending.

You relived every moment and every detail that you wished you could go back to when everything was fine.

Aemond had been different with you those days, a side of him that you had never seen and had thought only existed because of his performance in the fake relationship you had both agreed to.

But even you, being there, without the pressure to pretend, you felt the barriers fall between the two of you, because it was all real.

“He fell in love with you, Y/N,” Helaena tells you sincerely, “You… you did too?”

You feel a lump form in your throat and you let the question float in the air for a moment. The answer is so clear in your mind that it hurts; and yet, saying it out loud feels like breaking a promise you had made to protect yourself.

“Yes, I did too,” you admit, sadness settling in your chest, "But…" you take a deep breath, watching her, ”What happened with Floris even though it was a mistake… and then, the fact that he didn't tell me the truth about Citadel, it really hurt me.”

Helaena nods softly, not judging you, simply listening to you. And when she speaks, her tone is so serene and understanding that it comforts you.

“My brother has this amazing ability to do things in the worst possible way,” she says with a small resigned smile, ”Floris was a mistake. He was drunk and well, he told me that before that both of you have had a disagreement, although that doesn't justify it, I know. I'm just saying, it really was a mistake.”

Your mind momentarily flashes back to that moment, when you tried to end the fake relationship after the family dinner thing.

“And as for the Citadel thing…” she pauses, searching for the right words, “He freaked out, Y/N. He didn't know how to tell you without ruining everything. And I know that doesn't justify it either, but…” she sighs, ”He was going to do whatever it took to hold up his part of the contract. He just didn't count on our grandfather suddenly getting difficult. Our family is already so fucked up as it is, that was the last thing he expected.”

Her words suddenly make you feel interested and curious about a specific topic you hadn't remembered until now. But Helaena continues to speak and you listen to her.

“Even though his method was disastrous, in his mind, he was protecting you,” she says, ”Again, I'm not justifying it. But I know he was desperate to get you that place at Citadel no matter what because he knew you deserved it. And…” she smiles at you with a gesture of resignation, "I think he loves you enough to do stupidly risky things. Even go against grandfather and act behind his back knowing how much trouble he could get into.”

You bite the inside of your cheek and feel a knot of emotions form in your chest. Everything she's telling you opens a door to feelings you'd tried to repress, to thoughts you'd rather bury.

You take a deep breath, remembering again those days at Dragonstone.

You relive every moment, when words were redundant and the silence between the two of you felt so full of meaning. He was always watching you in a way that seemed to say everything and nothing at the same time. He was slowly revealing that vulnerable part of himself that he seemed to have lost after Alys.

But as much as you want to think straight, your thoughts are a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, the pain of it all consumes you but on the other, there's the certainty of how you feel about him.

Even when you're hurting, you know you can't ignore it.

“I know he's still waiting, deep down, for maybe…” Helaena pauses, “Maybe there's a chance for both of you.”

The expression on her face is so sincere and tender that you find it impossible not to believe her, and the thought fills you with a mixture of relief and pain. Because, despite everything, you still love him, and that truth is impossible to deny.

“I don't know,” you confess, biting your lips and feeling your eyes water, ”I-I…I don't know what to do. I mean, we're already graduating. We'll go to the same college but I doubt we'll see each other, you know? And I just… n-no… I don't know….

“Hey, hey,” Helaena tells you instantly, ”It's okay. We don't have to talk about this anymore. I didn't want to overwhelm you or burden you, I just wanted to tell you my opinion and for you to talk to someone in case you needed to,” she tells you softly, comfortingly, ”Still, it's something between the two of you and we can talk about anything else.”

You thank her with a relieved look, her gesture of empathy appearing as she watches you with her soft, understanding expression. And then, she speaks with a more casual tone, changing the subject with a lightness that relieves you a bit.

“You have everything ready for graduation? Are you bringing a date?”

“Hum… yes, I already have everything ready,” you nod, ”And no, I'll go with my two friends. I think you met them, Alysanne and Cregan.”

“Oh yes! I know them,” she says with a smile, ”And I'm going with a friend too. I don't really like the idea of everything being so formal, so going with a friend will make it all more fun.”

Both are silent for a few moments, and although the conversation has taken on a lighter tone, you feel there's still a question trapped in your chest. And at the memory of that day, an impulse prompts you to speak before you can stop yourself.

“Helaena,” you call her softly, "I… can I ask you something?" you ask almost in a whisper, lowering your gaze a little, hesitating.

She watches you curiously and nods without hesitation.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Hum…” you stir in your seat, “That night, at dinner, Aegon said something… about your dad not caring about you. What did he mean by that?”

She immediately looks like she wasn't expecting that question at all, which immediately makes you regret it, but then she softens her whole gaze, not looking at all uncomfortable or upset.

“Oh, well… our dad…” she begins to speak, choosing her words precisely, “Well, he was always very neglectful with us. He always left all the work to mom to take care of us, even when she had to work too so she wasn't totally dependent on him,” she explains, ”It was chaos for a long time. Aegon and I lost years of education because of his lack of commitment.”

“Really?” you look at her attentively and surprised.

“He missed the date to register us for kindergarten in our proper time. He always forgot our birthdays or some important date. But, of course, that never happened to him with our older stepsister, Rhaenyra.”

You remember Aemond mentioning her, though not much.

“And you don't talk to her?”

“Yes, of course,” she says with a small smile, “She was never at blame. In fact, by comparison, she always took us into account and never forgot our existence,” she explains, ”And well, eventually mom divorced him. And the only good thing dad did in the end was to mention us and give us parts of his inheritance in his will.”

Helaena's sincerity and calmness in sharing this about her life surprises you and, at the same time, makes you understand the complicated family history behind them. Now it's no wonder why Aegon was so angry to bring up the subject of parents.

Nor do you ignore the connection you begin to feel towards them, obviously because of your mother and her abandonment.

“It must have been very difficult, for everyone,” you murmur, ”I'm sorry to hear that.”

She nods, though her expression doesn't reflect bitterness, but something akin to mature acceptance.

“Yes, but that made us strong,” she says with a slight smile, "Aegon was the one who resented his absence the most, as you could see," she tells you knowingly, ”You know, being the eldest and all. But we're more… happy now, now that he's gone,” she confesses.

You let out a long breath, watching her with compassion.

“Thank you for telling me. I didn't mean to intrude, really.”

“No, it's fine, it really doesn't affect me,” she assures you softly, ”After that Aegon scene at dinner, it's valid you know. So don't worry.”

You both smile softly at each other, expressions warm and sincere, falling silent. When Helaena stands up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

“Well…” she says, letting out a slight sigh, adjusting her backpack, ”I should be going now. I also have projects to finish.”

“Sure,” you nod, ”Thanks for coming and talking to me.”

“Oh, there's nothing to thank you for. Anytime. I'll see you later, okay?”

“Okay.”

You both say goodbye and you watch her walk away in the direction of the main building, her silver hair shining in the sunlight, as you let out a long breath and put your headphones back in.

Prom.

You really don't understand what you're doing here. But it's all Alysanne's doing, like the makeup, hairstyle and dress.

You get out of Cregan's car with a beautiful lilac metallic dress on. Finding it wasn't hard at all, since it was like love at first sight, especially since it has a princess cut. And upon measuring it, Alysanne also decided that it was the one.

The hairstyle was also easy, after all, you didn't want anything too voluminous or too fancy. So a wavy style in your hair with a crown of silver flowers at the crown of your head was the perfect touch.

Alysanne on the other hand chose a beautiful wine colored dress that flatters her at every angle, deciding to gather her hair with two strands falling on either side of her face, making her look absolutely elegant and gorgeous.

And once all three of you are ready, Cregan dressed in an impeccable dark suit, offers you both his arms and you enter the grand ballroom of the luxurious hotel together.

The ballroom is illuminated by the typical disco balls hanging from the high ceiling, casting silver and white sparkles that create an almost magical atmosphere.

The decor is elegant and subtle, with centerpieces of fresh flowers and candles giving each table a touch of romantic charm.

You feel a mixture of nerves and excitement as you enter, as if it's all part of a dream. After all, it is your prom and tonight symbolizes a chapter you are about to close, your high school years.

The dance floor is in the center, surrounded by tables in a circle and already some of the guests have started to dance, getting lost in the rhythm of the soft music that fills the atmosphere thanks to the DJ.

Although not only disco balls light up the place, but also some colored lights to make the atmosphere more colorful.

If someone had told you in your freshman year everything that was going to happen in your final year, you would have laughed out loud and wouldn't have believed it at all, because your life was too boring.

But here you are, with still those events in mind, where at the end of the night, you will put them behind you.

You adjust your lilac dress, whose princess-cut skirt falls in soft layers to the floor. The fabric moves with you, as if it were an extension of your own footsteps, and the color shimmers delicately under the silver lights.

The three of you make your way to one of the tables to take a seat and you take a closer look around you as the decorations and you also see familiar faces of some of your classmates, some laughing in groups and others on the dance floor with their dates.

And Alysanne, excited and obsessed with everything, wants to have memories of the whole night and soon the three of you are taking a long selfie session with her phone.

Cregan complains about too many photos and the laughter of the three fills the air as Alysanne continues to make sure she captures the best shots, changing angles and poses.

Alysanne, with a huge smile, spins around on herself and then grabs your hands to dance with her, laughing every time you both take a step out of rhythm. You can feel her pure happiness, an excitement that doesn't take long to become contagious and where Cregan soon joins in.

The dance floor is filling up and the sparkles of the lights reflecting off everyone's costumes and dresses create an enchanting and magical atmosphere.

The DJ starts mixing more upbeat songs, and you see how everyone is having fun, laughing and dancing.

Immediately this catches Alysanne's attention and she drags the three of you onto the dance floor with infectious laughter. Before you know it, you're in the middle of the dance floor with them, surrounded by movement and music.

The music beats on the floor and vibrates in your chest, and, slowly, you begin to let loose, moving to the beat of the songs as the colored lights swirl above you all.

“I'm going to get a drink!” you let them both know over the music.

You have no idea exactly how much time passes that you find yourself dancing, enjoying the night, the echo of laughter and the warmth of the crowd.

The euphoria makes you forget and enjoy yourself as you feel your throat dry and your feet start to ache, with your body starting to beg for water and a little break.

“Okay!” Cregan nods, throwing you a smile, still dancing with Alysanne.

You smile knowingly, since after all, these two deserve to have their moment, and you walk away towards the table where there are different desserts and the drinks for all the graduates.

You take a bottle of water, and as you drink, the immediate relief makes you close your eyes for a moment, enjoying the coolness.

And only at that moment, standing alone and a little apart, you notice the glances of some people around you, mainly girls passing by you and whispering something between them, looking at you out of the corner of their eyes.

Great.

You thought you were past all this but even at prom it doesn't stop.

You take a deep breath and look out onto the dance floor, where you make out Alysanne and Cregan dancing close together, smiling and animated. You certainly don't want to interrupt them and you look around again, trying to distract yourself with anything you can find to rest your feet on.

You try not to make a big deal of it and look back at them for just a few moments with a serious look on your face and again try to focus on regaining your energy, telling yourself that this shouldn't affect you.

You remind yourself that you are here for you and your friends, and that is all that should matter to you.

When your gaze unconsciously focuses on Floris.

With her arm intertwined with a boy, whom you recognize from the lacrosse team, she looks absolutely elegant with a beautiful hairstyle and a gorgeous pink dress.

And as she joins the party, she seems totally focused on enjoying the evening, her expression relaxed and happy.

You look away from her, focused on something else, where your attention slips unintentionally to Alys, surrounded by her friends.

In the distance, suddenly her gaze meets yours and you quickly look away, not knowing why but… you really don't want to deal with or care about those people anymore.

She's wearing dark makeup and a sensual emerald green dress that completely clings to her body and highlights her curves. She looks completely beautiful, but knowing her attitude and behavior, it makes her lose her charm.

You watch Helaena for a few more seconds, her energy lighting up the dance floor, when suddenly, a tall, familiar figure catches your attention on the other side of the room in the crowd.

Instead, you focus on Helaena, who you find among all the people dancing, getting carried away by the atmosphere and in the company of the friend who told you.

Her silver hair is swaying to the music and she shines in the middle of everyone in that beautiful sky blue dress and gold accessories, looking absolutely gorgeous.

Aemond is standing a few feet away, talking to Aegon, both looking absolutely handsome for the evening. Then, the atmosphere around you seems to fade a bit and he's the only one who catches your eye in the middle of the crowd.

And that mixture of emotions about him rises in your chest again.

You take a closer look at who is around him and it is only Aegon. You don't see any girl hanging on his arm or anything, so apparently he has come unaccompanied, just like you.

He is dressed in a dark suit that highlights his slender figure and impeccable posture, just like Aegon. The silver light of the disc balls bring out his silver hair and his face so perfectly detailed, giving it a glow that is almost unreal to you.

Your gaze lingers on him longer than you had anticipated. From a distance, you can notice the lack of expressions on his face and the small twitch of his lips as he speaks to Aegon, looking around him without really showing any emotion.

That eye contact takes the air out of you. The memory of all the things you shared, the conversations, the looks, the touching and kissing… it all comes over you.

And at that very moment, as if sensing the weight of your attention, Aemond looks up and sees you beyond the crowd, apart and alone. The visual connection is instantaneous, almost electric, and suddenly you feel all the people and bustle around you fade away.

You can't deny the attraction and deep affection that, even now, beat intensely in your chest. And, for an instant, you wonder if he too feels the same mix of nostalgia and sadness in the midst of it all.

You notice how he looks you up and down, lingering on every detail of what you're wearing today, his eyes shining, filled with a kind of wary hope and longing, completely stealing your breath.

Then, his body language tells you he's getting ready to move. Coming at you, with her determined gaze.

Oh God.

A sense of panic invades every part of your body. And before he can do anything, you look away and quickly make your way to the dance floor, blending into the crowd, heading towards your friends.

The music booms in your ears and your thoughts are in complete chaos, hitting you one after the other.

Closing your eyes for a moment, you tell yourself that you just want to enjoy the night, to stop thinking about him and what was, even if it's only for a few hours.

So time passes, the energy of the dance becomes more relaxed, and though you manage to avoid crossing paths directly with Aemond, his presence seems to haunt your mind like a lingering ghost, one that doesn't dissipate with the music or the bright lights.

You look around from time to time, and out of the corner of your eye you notice that he also seems to avoid being too close to you, although you can't help thinking that maybe he is also looking for you in the crowd, as you are looking for him.

Until, finally, the atmosphere immediately changes.

The lights dim and the silver and warm tones transform the room into an intimate place. Couples begin to approach the dance floor, holding hands, to dance to the slow songs. And you decide it's the perfect time to take a break.

You smile at Cregan and Alysanne, giving them another moment again, feeling a twinge of tenderness and, at the same time, unexpected loneliness.

You take a seat at one of the nearby tables, watching as the dance floor fills with couples slowly swaying to the music.

Dresses and suits intertwine, and for a moment, you let yourself be enveloped by the warmth of the atmosphere, allowing yourself to feel invisible in the midst of all that harmony.

You watch Floris dancing with that boy, Alysanne with Cregan of course, and Helaena dancing with her friend, both with amused smiles and talking softly without taking the slow dance so seriously. You also see Aegon dancing very close with a girl.

And as your eyes wander around the dance floor, your gaze focuses again on his figure, which seems just as lonely as yours.

A few tables away, Aemond sits alone, surveying the dance floor with an expression you fail to fully decipher. His fingers drum on the rim of his glass, and, for a moment, he seems lost in his own thoughts. He looks calm, almost vulnerable.

You stare at him longer than you think and sigh, averting your gaze, and as the seconds pass, the urge to stand still and do nothing begins to fade.

You bite the inside of your cheek and begin to move your foot up and down rapidly, feeling your heart begin to beat too fast. You watch all the people dancing again, hesitating.

Then you let out a long breath and without knowing exactly why, you take a deep breath and stand up. With slow steps, a momentum and a calmness you try to maintain, you head towards him.

As you get closer, you notice how his gaze, which was lost on the dance floor, suddenly focuses on you, noticing before out of the corner of his eye your approaching figure. Surprise and bewilderment mixed with something else appears in his gaze and you stop in front of him, nervous but determined.

Then neither of you say anything for a few moments. The same nerves make you unable to speak and the two of you just stand there, watching each other.

You feel how some people around you suddenly have their attention focused on both of you, waiting for what you will do, but you don't even pay attention to them. You just focus completely on him.

Until you sigh.

"Do you dance?" you ask softly and nervous.

The words seem to break the spell, and Aemond blinks, clearly surprised and somehow confused.

You watch the expression on his face, as if he's processing every word you've just said, looking for some hint of doubt or change of heart in your expression.

"S-sure," he says still confused, not expecting this at all.

There's a mix of emotions in his eyes, confusion, surprise and nervousness, something you wouldn't have expected to see in him. And you, not wanting to drag this out any longer than necessary, extend your hand to him.

He watches your face attentively and then your hand, still surprised, to finally take it gently. His fingers intertwine with yours, sending an electricity throughout your body through his touch as he stands up.

You swallow hard, feeling your heart beating like crazy and nervousness invading your whole system. And without another word, you both head for the dance floor.

Then, everything around you fades away, the murmurs and laughter, even the music itself becomes a distant whisper, and only he remains, next to you.

He places a hand on your waist, his touch delicate, as if he doesn't want to do anything that could break this fragile instant. You take his other hand, intertwining it with yours and as you both begin to move to the rhythm of the music, you feel how a mixture of emotions floods each of your senses.

Aemond watches you, his eyes fixed on yours and with a nervous little smile on his lips, as if he can't believe this is really happening.

The music moves forward, slow, allowing you to glide in front of each other. As his steps synchronize with yours, the movements become smooth and natural.

And in a moment you realize that you both are completely absorbed in each other, as if nothing and no one could interrupt this bubble that surrounds you.

Finally, Aemond breaks the silence, his voice barely audible over the music and shy, watching you with a gleam in his eye.

"You look beautiful."

He says to you, his words so sincere and emotionally charged that you feel a surge of warmth wash over you.

You wish his words didn't make you melt. But they do. And everything about him, every gesture, his closeness, the firm, protective touch of his hand on your waist, the way he holds you, as if you were something precious and delicate, envelops and intoxicates you.

"Thank you," you reply, feeling a soft smile appear on your lips, "You too... you look very handsome."

He smiles, marking the dimples on either side of his cheeks.

"I wasn't expecting you to come over," he admits, his eyes revealing something between vulnerability and surprise.

The tone of his voice, so soft and honest, makes you feel a warmth you haven't experienced in a long time.

"I didn't know I would," you reply with a barely perceptible smile, "But I thought, maybe... I don't want to spend the night running away," you confess.

He nods, not looking away.

"I didn't want it to be like that either."

His hand on your waist pulls you slightly closer to him with a firm movement and the slight brush makes you aware of the closeness between the two of you.

You feel your thoughts cloud over and you let yourself become more enveloped by him, unable to help it.

His chin brushes your forehead and you feel that at any moment your heart will jump out of your chest. It's an insistent, powerful beat that seems to resonate with every breath you take at his side.

Then, Aemond lowers his voice, his tone becoming softer, almost melancholy, as if his words are a secret shared only between the two of you.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to be my date that day, you know? When I gave you the folder.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to be my date that day, you know, when I gave you the folder," he confesses, with a certain melancholy tone, "But I knew it wouldn't be fair to ask you that and I really didn't want to hurt you anymore."

The sincerity in his tone pierces you, and you feel your own barriers begin to crumble. You listen to him with your heart pounding, absorbing every word.

Aemond sighs and his fingers tighten slightly at your waist.

"And a moment ago, when I saw you so perfect and so beautiful in this dress... I realized how much I wished I had walked through those doors with you on my arm," he says with a longing and sadness.

The music continues to envelop you and you feel his confession reverberate through you, intensifying every sensation, every emotion.

The strength of his words, of the connection that has been created between the two of you in the middle of this song, makes the air seem thick and charged with meanings that don't need to be explained.

Then you raise your gaze to him and you both stare at each other in silence, where your words seem to get caught in your throat.

His eyes roam over your face, as if he wants to remember every detail, as if he wants to take this moment with him. There is a sadness and a softness in his gaze that you haven't seen before, and it makes something in your chest tighten.

And again his voice breaks through the soft silence that envelops you.

"I'm sorry... for everything," he says barely a whisper, laden with a sincerity that resonates deeply.

His fingers trace slow circles on your back, small gestures that seem to try to comfort you and to comfort him too. The contact between the two of you is firm and warm, and yet, you feel as if Aemond fears that at any moment this could disappear.

For a moment, the music seems to fade, leaving only your heartbeat and the echo of his voice in the air.

You feel the urge to speak, to say something that would ease the vulnerability on his face, but you find it difficult to organize your thoughts.

Instead, you opt for a simple but meaningful gesture. You propel yourself a little towards him and leave a soft kiss on his cheek, then rest your head on his chest and gently inhale his expensive cologne, being comforting enough for you.

"It's okay," you murmur.

He lets out a sigh of relief, mixed with longing and makes his grip on your waist tighter, not wanting to let go. Then, he leaves a soft kiss on the crown of your head, resting his head on yours as you both continue to sway gently to the music.

"Thank you for giving me this dance," he murmurs.

You place a soft, small smile on your lips, then raise your gaze to his, watching him with nothing but fondness.

He continues to watch you with that softness and one of his hands goes up to your cheek. In a delicate, almost fearful touch, his thumb runs over your skin in a gesture that is both protective and vulnerable.

Then he rests his forehead against yours and you both close your eyes, as you lean into him.

You both fall silent, letting the slow rhythm of the music carry you away, allowing the moment to linger, in a fragile and honest peace.

You feel that you could stay like this, in this bubble of time and silence, without the need for words, because, in this instant, you both understand what has been said and what doesn't need to be said.

The song changes to another slow one and you both lose yourselves in the moment, enjoying it, not wanting it to end.

Time seems to stand still as you dance together, moving slowly and leisurely, as if nothing and no one else exists. The sounds of the party fade around you, leaving only the beating of your hearts and the faint brush of your breaths.

Your eyes close as you let go, feeling his hand on your back and the warmth his body gives off, so close and so full of meaning.

You both breathe in sync, your foreheads resting against each other, your eyes closed as the moment stretches out and becomes more than just a dance.

This instant is a truce, a refuge where everything else, the doubts, the pain, the past, is suspended and what follows is moving forward.

"You've got everything ready to go to college?"

His voice breaks the silence softly, barely a murmur, as if afraid to disturb the peace around you both.

"Yeah," you murmur, nodding.

"What are you traveling there on?"

"Well, I was checking with my dad about bus and plane ticket prices. But I still haven't made up my mind," you admit, remembering discussions about which was the safest and cheapest option.

Aemond nods, thoughtfully. Then, after a brief pause, he speaks with calm assurance.

"I can take you."

You look at him instantly surprised, definitely not expecting that.

"What?"

"I can take you," he repeats, sure of his words, "Well, sure, if you want," he hastens to clarify, "After all, we're going to the same place and I'll make the trip in my car," he explains, "There's plenty of room for your bags along with mine and so you won't have to spend on a ticket. Besides, it would be safer and I think, I don't know, you'd be more comfortable."

You remain silent, trying to assimilate what he has just said. There is something in his words, in the slow and sincere tone, that strikes a deep chord in you.

The idea of making the trip together, of sharing that important moment of departure, of having one last time alone before facing a new life, awakens a mix of emotions that are difficult to describe.

He lowers his gaze for a moment, nervous, clarifying in a low voice.

"It's just a suggestion... something I thought might make things easier for you. You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

Your heart pounds, and somehow, the simplicity of his offer, the naturalness with which he cares for you, causes a warm surge of gratitude and affection to wash over you.

"Can you really do that for me?" you ask quietly, with a little smile you can't help.

"Sure," he says absurdly softly, as if it weren't obvious, "But only if you want me to. I don't want to force you. It's just an option."

You look up at him, holding his gaze for a second that seems like forever, and nod slowly, allowing the feeling of relief and closeness to wash over you.

"I'd love to," you whisper, your voice barely a murmur, "Thank you."

The shadow of a smile tugs at his lips, and you can see the relief in his expression.

"No need to thanks."

Without another word, Aemond pulls you a little closer to him and again the two of you bring your foreheads together, letting the moment lengthen as the music changes to another slow rhythm.

You both remain like that, moving in silence and enjoying the moment, spending the last moment of your high school lives together, to start college together.

"Are you ready?"

Aemond watches you from the driver's seat, his hands resting calmly on the steering wheel with a small smile on his face.

The car is already loaded with suitcases for both of you and you nod, taking a deep breath to calm the emotions fluttering in your chest.

The thought of heading off together towards this new stage causes a mixture of nerves and excitement to wash over you, though a part of you also feels comforted by Aemond's presence at your side.

"Yes," you reply, adjusting your belt.

You watch him and he gives you one last knowing look before putting the car in move.

Saying goodbye to your dad was difficult, but it was something you were both already preparing for and you knew that moment would come.

Besides, he met Aemond, as your friend who will do you the favor of driving you to college and nothing more. And your dad felt safer with that instead of taking the plane or bus alone.

Especially after Aemond promised him countless times that he would take care of you at all times.

The road is serene at first, and Aemond turns on the radio, letting a soft melody fill the comfortable silence between them.

The roads stretch out in front of you, long and exciting, as the landscape changes shape and the kilometers pass, leaving behind the city where you experienced so much.

From time to time, you exchange glances, small comments about the places you see and the expectations each has for the university.

Aemond seems especially careful, attentive to every sign on the road and every change in your expression, as if he wants to make sure you are comfortable and at ease.

And he especially notices a change in your expression.

"Is something bothering you?" he asks you, his voice low but close, filling the space in a comforting way.

You watch him and after some hesitation, you shrug.

"I guess it makes me a little nervous not knowing what to expect," you admit, "This whole new stage... the idea of being alone in a new place."

Aemond nods, understanding what you mean, his eyes fixed on the road.

"I guess it's normal," he tells you softly, "It's almost obligatory to feel this way, but, for what it's worth... you won't be completely alone."

His gaze meets yours for a second before he turns back to the road.

"I'm going to be around if at any time you need anything or anything happens, anything at all."

You feel a warmth settle in your chest, and a part of your nerves seem to fade. The idea of him being there, close by, offering you that closeness, gives you a strange sense of relief.

"Thank you, Aemond," you murmur with a small smile.

He smiles, marking a dimple in his cheek, and turns his eyes to the front.

The ride continues, where the atmosphere in the car becomes more and more comfortable, chatting about small details, expectations, and the occasional joke that makes you both laugh comfortably.

And finally, as the two enter the town of Oldtown and the university looms in the distance, Aemond slows down, looking at the campus that would soon become his home.

"There it is," he says, a slight excitement in his voice.

The same excitement rubs off on you and excitedly, you take his hand, intertwining it with yours, excited and hopeful.

Hopeful that all that is to come for you in this place are good and promising things. As well as hopeful for Aemond and for you.

series taglist:

@melsunshine @at-a-rax-ia @jxdegodfrey @ttkttt @yentroucnagol @kate-to-the-ki @iamavailablesstuff @bluerskiees @urmomsgirlfriend1 @toodlesxcuddles @rosie-posie08 @iloveallmyboys @bellaisasleep @deliaseastar @cupcakesminicakescupcakes @dixie-elocin @lilostif16 @wickedfrsgrl @a-beaverhausen @saturnssrings @ladythornofrivia @vhwyrm @strangersunghoon @queen-of-elves

[thechaoticdruid]

So I've finished my first run through of the game and did the epilogue which was just so precious! But anyways, it made me think, how would the companions react upon announcing at the reunion you and your partner are expecting!

I actually don't do requests but I like this one. I haven't made it to the epilogue yet in game but I think I can still answer these. They might be short though so please forgive me! 😔

I also tried to keep the reader's sex and gender as ambiguous as possible, but some words are hard to convey in gender neutral terms. Also the reader's partner is not specified.

But if your partner is Astarion (like my Tav's) I feel like everyone would have a similar "Is that even possible!?" reaction, except maybe Gale cause he's well studied.

Shadowheart

If you're the pregnant one she remarks on how she thought you were getting fat.

Like girl has no chill.

But if you're the father I can see her teasing you about not being able to keep your hands to yourself around your partner.

Proceeds to gift you gothic style clothes for the little one when it's closer to the birth.

Wyll

He immediately congratulates you both and wishes you well on your new adventure in parenting.

Assures you that the two of you will make a beautiful baby.

Also he asks to touch the bump if the pregnant person is showing. 🥺

Buys toys for the baby before it's even born.

Karlach

Immediately screams "FUCK YEAH I'M GONNA BE AN AUNT!!!"

Runs around to tell everyone else and buys you both drinks to celebrate for the occasion.

Needs to be reminded that drinking is bad for the baby.

Will plant a big smooch on the baby bump if the pregnant person is showing.

Starts wearing a T-shirt that says "BEST FUCKIN AUNT EVER." Also gets a matching shirt for the little one.

Lae'zel

Unless she has Xan she isn't particularly interested. She'd probably still congratulate you in her own githyanki way I suppose if you're on good terms.

If she does have Xan she suggests they spar together some day. Though she is confident her son will be victorious.

This is probably her own way of having a play date for your children.

Gale

Congratulates you both and wishes the two of you the best.

Offers to teach the child magic when they become old enough to learn.

Buys you lots of parenting books and tries to help by reminding you lots of useful facts, but in the end he kinda just low-key starts to be a bit annoying.

He means well though.

Astarion

Of course he may already be well aware of the pregnant person's bun in the oven depending on how far along they are.

His vampiric senses alert him to the little heartbeat within, you see.

"Enjoy your last few months of freedom and sleep filled nights while you can, darlings!~"

"But really, I am rather happy for the two of you. Especially you, I didn't think you had it in you." He says condescendingly to the father of the child.

Honestly he's just a little bitter he's single and alone.

Pretends not to have any interest in touching the baby bump, says he has no interest in the little creature growing inside.

But if he has a good relationship with either of the two parents he will make the baby eccentric little outfits. Especially goes all out if it's a little girl. Purple and red ruffles all over.

Will get very offended if he doesn't see the baby wearing them.

He put his soul into those outfits godsdamnit!

[itsquakey]

Q&A Time!

I haven't done a Q&A in a while so let's bang out some asks from the askbox and answer them.

Without really saying much, things have kinda gotten better, but I am def in a hole right now from multiple pretty saddening things happening to me all within a month. I'm having a lot of issues drawing but I don't think it's burnout-more likely I'm just a sad lump. I'm sure I'll improve though once the year finishes us.

Kind of...I plan to make either a epilogue for Revenge of Pike Knight or an entirely different comic about his process of letting go but also forgiving himself for her actions. He never goes back to being sweet bandana waddle dee but she does manage to loosen up as time goes on.

Mago gets stripped of any and all power that the average doomer doesn't have. So yea. He's a little guy you could punt like a football.

It's honestly really hard to say what my favorite food is, as I am someone who struggles with food (I blame it on the fact I almost died of starvation as a toddler and it ruined my entire digestive system but who knows it could be crappy genetics too). However here are some foods I enjoy that people may like! (Recipe Links are in the names)

Banoffee Pie: I usually like it without the bananas though, they are too soft texture-wise for me so it's really more Toffee Pie. Just remember if you are making the toffee from scratch that it is basically like making a bomb and you HAVE to make sure timing is correct otherwise pressure will build and either you will die or your kitchen will get a nice brown coat of sugar-paint (Personal experience here).

Chocolate Souffle: I always have this for my birthday so it's a fond treat. It IS a souffle though, so it's very hard to make if you do not have the experience.

Quiche: I love quiche, it's something that is eggy but also a pie and I can eat it any time of the day. I usually like just cheese in it but meats and some small greens are also good.

And finally- Zucchini Brownies (Or just walnut brownies): Which I actually haven't had in a while but man am I craving them. They sound weird but you can't taste the zucchini and it brings a nice dampness to the brownie.

When Powehi was little his sisters loved to tease him even though he would give little to no reaction. They seemed to have a decent relationship as children but I would not be surprised if Powehi doesn't really like his sisters a whole lot when he's an adult. They're still as annoying as before but now they act more like their father (a pet peeve of his). However they are still his sisters at the end of the day, so he puts up with them.

Since I don't know if I have the post up anymore- ANY FANART OR INTERPRETATIONS/INSPIRATION OF MY WORK IS OKAY. If it is fanart or is heavily based off my work all I need is name credit or an @/. If you @/ me, there's a very high likelihood I will see it and reblog it!

As someone who worked with various animals including tarantulas for a while- I love them. I love their fuzz and their little claws and paw pads and the fact they're chill (but at the same time very anxious) little dudes. I think they get a bad rap but they're nice.

If I remember correctly, the death of Meta Knight comic was originally artist trolling. Yes, I made the comic to purposefully get a reaction from you all and laugh evilly while you cried over his death. However that comic is the backbone of Nextgen and I'm glad I made it.

Yes, I will get to that art eventually. I'm just taking my time for reasons. I will/am also uploading art that is old but was never released on my account. Eventually once all the old art is posted new art will start up again.

Meta works his way up the ladder to become a Reaper. Not really spoilers but his design will be brought back soon. But yes, he can still see his friends with the help of Morpho. Also Galaxia shattered in the death comic, so she's long gone as well but returns to Meta in the afterlife at some point.

Dedede ain't dead yet! He's still kicking. Meta would have to meet him in the mortal realm as a little buggy.

Yes, however I highly doubt I will ever cover them in Nextgen, so it's up to fan interpretation at the end of the day.

Yes he does, he takes the form of a beetle much like Morpho takes the form of a butterfly in the mortal realm and gets to visit his friends when he can.

Apologies, but only my girlfriend can hug me : )

I imagine if the situation calls for it he does use his tongue. However he mainly chooses the sword and his fabric arms.

In Nextgen I like to imagine Kirby's copy abilities change as they grow up instead of someone upgrading them for him, hence why they look different when he uses copy abilities.

Powehi has always had some of Marx's powers and grew up with them normally. However as he gets older he begins to really not like them because it makes him different in a way others may be intimidated by.

In Nextgen Chilly and Magolor never got nor will get married. They're off again on again exes because it is way funnier that way and honestly aligns with the one manga more.

Magolor and Chilly met during the events of Star Allies, and their relationship/personalities are kinda based off that manga in a minor way.

Arthur showed up out of nowhere on Castle Dedede's entrance and ever since then Kirby has taken care of him.

In a surprising turn of events, no. The waddle dee from Kirby 64 in Nextgen is actually Bandana's/Pike's older brother who is the sole reason Bandana/Pike went down the path she did. The stories that were told about the adventure and the heroes his older brother worked with got her to be inspired enough to actually work alongside Dedede and later Kirby and the others.

Because that belt buckle is the last remaining piece of who he used to be. His robes are gone along with everything else but that buckle. He is now nude.

All Noddies are biologically and magically tied to the Dream Fountain which is the thing that gives them their dreams and tiredness. The only way Castella can have nightmares is if there's some kind of tampering with the Dream Fountain that effects it negatively.

I don't think canon Bandana would enjoy the fact I assassinated his character for some plot lmao. But for the sake of the funny just imagine them interacting like that one sonic and shadow clip from Sonic Adventure 2.

The cycle of matter only affects Dark and Light matter/ anything in between that. Matter like that usually will never see a reaper in their life because their souls almost never make it to the afterlife and instead are in a constant cycle of reincarnation, hence the name. Meta Knight was merely lucky enough to have Morpho break the rules for him just like how Necrodeus broke the rules for him when he was Gala and took his soul to the afterlife. Normally living things are taken by reapers to the afterlife when they die though. While non-matter characters like Dedede, Magolor, Marx, Pike, etc will be able to have a one way ticket to the afterlife, I'm keeping it vague for Kirby as not to spoil future ideas.

That's all for now! I'll be answering more asks in the future don't worry.

[annakie]

We've been waiting literally ten years for a new Dragon Age game and now that it's going to be here tomorrow I am very much not ready.

My life needs to be a little less chaotic right now (it won't be until the middle of November.) The earliest I'm going to really be able to sit down and play more than a few hours is the week of Thanksgiving. But hey, I am staying home alone for Thanksgiving weekend so then I'm going to really get to devote time to just playing the hell out of the game.

I'm gonna be so behind.

It was a hard choice but I think I'm going to break the mold of me always playing a rogue first in Dragon Age games and having literally NEVER played a fighter type character in any DA game (or most any RPG ever.)

I haven't paid a ton of attention to the options yet but after a quick skim several weeks ago I think I'm going with a Grey Warden Fighter romancing Emmrich first.

Basing her off the character I just got done playing for a few years in 13th Age who is a 40-ish year old woman who, when she was only 20 years old had to make a hard call that ended up going very badly for her and it was kind of her downfall, so she spent most of the rest of the last 20 years trying to make up for it.

Second playthrough will be a rogue or mage who romances Davrin.

---

I've honestly BARELY gamed the last several months, what with all the renovation stuff happening and other stuff going on in life.

This weekend I swore to change that and, after spending all day Saturday working on house projects, decided to pick back up my ME3 playthrough that I had gotten to Thessia on and never finished.

But then I had to reinstall the game since the SSD I had been playing it on died. Then I had to reinstall all the mods, and picked up a few new ones. That took a few hours to make sure I got it all right.

I did end up playing, and actually got through Thessia... and then I was tired of being at my computer all day and went outside and read a book on the patio for awhile. Then I realized something was wrong with my new airondeck chair and spent an hour fixing it (my bad, I screwed two screws in the wrong place it turns out.

By the time all that was done it was time to prep for my Sunday night D&D game.

Not gonna finish before tomorrow since I'm running D&D tonight, too and still have to do Omega in there. (Plus the Citadel Epilogue Mod AFTER the game.) Ah well.

Never did finish my 2nd BG3 playthrough.

Never did finish writing my BG3 fic. It's just languishing.

Never did play Starfield more than a few hours despite buying the deluxe edition.

Started playing My Time at Portia and still haven't played more than like 8 hours of it, despite enjoying it (with lots of mods.)

Hoping now that the house is getting close to being done where I want it to be that maybe next year I can spend some time focusing on hobbies more.

Not that I regret a single thing about how I've spent my time this entire year. :)

Working on my last two house renovation posts, too. Definitely want to finish that since my two favorite rooms (after the master bath) I saved for last.

[seaweedbraens]

GIRL AHSGRKAKAGSJSLSGDSJSJSHDDGDGDGDGDGDHDGDGDGDVXBCBBXBDHSHSHAHHAHAHSJAJAJAJAJA

The last chapter ??????? Annabeth's eye????? (Actually share your thought process for that decision me is interested) APOLLO ARE YOU OK? THE BATTLE OMGGGGGG

BOW BITCHES YOU NEED TO TORTURING MY LITTLE BABIES LIKE THAT

Glad to see that luke is not proclaimed a hero because tbh he isn't maybe he turned good at the end that doesn't make him a hero that doesn't excuse all the people who died because of him turning good at the end didn't justify Silena's actions they don't justify yours either. I said what I said.

Thank all the gods he didn't ask Annabeth if she loves him that was wild af

Tysm for the therapists

im impertinent gold

Smalltalking??? smiling??? Are we sure these are the same gods 💀

He's follow her straight through the gates of Tartarus if he had to, and he'd do it with a smile.

YOU DO THAT IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE ACTUALLY.

Also love how that references the title in a way

I am shooketh this feels like the end of an era honestly tysm for this gem I haven't read the epilogue yet but I'm sure it will also be earth shattering good too

Also THANK GODS PIPER AND FRANK ARE OKAY ASUGSUFSUSUGSGIGS

Still not over the deaths of others i absolutely hate you for that ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ (no I don't)

I love you sm for writing this gem

ufafugkgjg i end my rant here ty for coming to my very *eloquent* ted talk lmao

idk how i missed this!!! but AAAH thank you thank you ily <3 and i LOVE that you caught the title reference! i actually had that line be the title exactly, but i scrapped it because it was way too on-the-nose haha

the 'did you love me' line from luke...not gonna lie i did consider putting it in just so annabeth could like definitely clarify that she loved him like family and that it was never ever romantic, but like you, i hated that line in canon so much that i couldnt keep it. it's...it's just bad.

and omg i did wonder if i made the gods too...smiley? but i think the situation called for it. like they were on the edge of extinction (to some degree) and it didnt fit for them to be haughty and hoity-toity. like. they AND the demigods know who saved their asses. i think they'd be thankful for it (at least for a while). i do think they'd truly try to change and be present and all of that, but if i'm being honest, over time i think they'd slowly pull back to something like we see in the canon pjo series. like they're there but definitely not parental. but that's okay, because like we see in the fic, the demigods know now how vital they are and they intend to create a world for them. they'll be okay.

this truly does feel like the end of an era. it's so weird waking up and not having to put something into my planner related to writing this fic. it's very emotional and while i know this fic isnt perfect, i am so proud of myself for finishing it. i wish i could put it on my resume haha

as always tysm for the support <3 it means the WORLD fr. ily <3333

[subbe93]

It Has Always Been You, Epilogue

A/N: So, here we are! Another fic has come to its end. And like with other fics, I feel sad because I have worked with this so long, so it feels a little empty when you are done, like: “I’m not going to work with this one anymore.” But I still feel proud that I got this fic done! It makes me happy to know that I have finished another fic, especially now that I’m also studying!

About the next one: I don't know when I will get the next fic out because... well, I have studies to do, but I haven't decided what I'm going to write next, so... xD Most of you have asked for a new Arranged Marriage fic, so probably the next one is it. But I have also been interested in the idea of some kind of Wild West AU where Shinichi spends his time helping sheriff/s to keep order in their town even though he isn’t sheriff himself (maybe he is too young to be one?). But one day he would meet a young bandit woman/girl - and you guessed right, she is Ran x) -, and they would get to know each other and fall in love! But like I said, I'm not sure which one I’m going to work on next (because I know some of you have waited for requests so long!), but we will see!

But yeah, I hope you have enjoyed this fic! I also want to thank all the likes, comments, and reblogs, they mean so much to me ❤ Thank you so much for being here and following this story even though you have waited chapters long time ❤ Thank you ❤

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Epilogue:

“I’m really sorry about everything, Julia.”

Ran observed how that American woman lifted her head and looked at Shinichi. Her eyes were red from crying, yet she tried to smile. Ran felt bad because even though Shinichi said otherwise, she still felt like she was the one who had made those tears, the one who had made that woman’s life miserable. It was her fault that Shinichi had broken up with that woman, who genuinely seemed to love Shinichi. Ran couldn’t even guess how it must feel when all this time Julia had believed in marrying that man who had now left her for another woman. Though Ran also knew that Shinichi didn’t feel too good about it either, but like he had said, love was never easy.

Ran would have loved to say something to that woman, make her feel even somehow better, but she also knew that there wasn’t anything that would make Julia feel better. The time would be the best healer.

And when she thought about it, maybe she wasn’t the right person to say anything.

“I am too”, Julia answered.

“Are you going to be okay?” Shinichi asked, looking worried. “I mean… I don’t feel excellent to let you go before we had talked about this and make sure we are fine.”

“It’s okay, Shinichi”, Julia said and Ran felt a little jealous when she saw how Julia raised her hands on Shinichi’s chest. “I’m fine and I understand and probably with time I also agree with this even though right now this feels very unfair. To… let go of someone you love. But…” Then she looked at Shinichi. “But I believe you know the feeling.”

“Very well”, Shinichi answered. “And more than that, I hate to be the one who makes you feel like that.”

“I know, Shinichi, I really do”, she answered gently. “But I need a little time to deal with this. But as I promised, we would talk about this more as soon as I am ready. Okay?”

“Yeah”, Shinichi answered. And then they hugged. And even though it felt cute and touching and Ran was happy that this breakup was friendly and not full of hate and jealousy, she couldn’t ignore that one feeling…

“Okay, Ran-chan”, Ran heard Yukiko say, making her take her eyes away from Shinichi and Julia. Yukiko was smiling brightly, which kind of made her feel relieved. To be honest, Shinichi’s parents had taken it pretty well when Shinichi and Ran had met them for breakfast and told them what had happened. Even though Ran had known Shinichi’s parents like forever and they were the nicest and kindest people Ran knew, she had been so scared to meet them again. In the end, she and Shinichi broke up because of her, and now Shinichi has broken up with his fiancee because of Ran. But they had been kind and welcoming, even though they had also been worried about Julia.

But that was only understandable. And Ran was too. But she was happy that Julia even had someone who would travel back to America with her and maybe be there for her too. Someone who would make sure that she would be okay.

Because Shinichi would stay in Japan - at least for now.

“Promise to take good care of our little Shin-chan?” Yukiko said and took her into a tight hug.

Ran let out a laugh and hugged back. That was so familiar because it wasn’t the first time that Yukiko had said that to her. “I will”, she promised. Sadly, she still caught Julia saying something, which went like this: “If you ever get tired of her, remember that I’m the next on the line, okay?” Shinichi laughed, but she couldn’t hear the answer, because Yukiko let go of her and smiled looking a little sad.

“And remember call from time to time”, she continued. “Because Shin-chan doesn’t…”

“Let him be, Yukiko”, Yusaku interrupted gently. “Shinichi would call when he feel like it.”

“But…”

“And the same goes if she gets tired of you”, Ran caught Julia saying, and instead of listening to Yukiko’s and Yusaku’s conversation, her centralization went to Julia and Shinichi. “You are always welcome back to me.”

And as an answer, Shinichi still smiled and said: “Well, I keep that in my mind.”

Ran turned to look at those two to see that they were done with huggings. And Yukiko just went to them while Julia moved aside. “Shin-chan, are you sure you’re going to be fine?” she asked and hugged Shinichi tightly.

“Mom, I’m an adult.”

“But you’re still my little boy…”

Hearing that groan as an answer made Ran smile, but she turned her eyes to Julia, who also looked at those two. Even though she felt a little uneasy and jealous after those little conversations that she had heard Julia and Shinichi to talk, part of her still felt bad and she still wanted to apologize about this. And maybe now that the parents were saying goodbyes to their son, she decided this would be her chance.

“Julia-san?”

Light blue eyes turned to look at her, and if she had looked at Shinichi softly, now her facial expression hardened. Ran felt bad being the reason for that cold behavior, but she hoped that one day she could forgive her. In the end, what she had learned about Julia, she seemed to be a nice person.

“I want to apologize for everything”, Ran said and bowed deeply. “I know it’s my fault that this happened and you need to go through all this…” Then she straightened and smiled. “But if there is something I can help with, don’t hesitate to ask.” And that’s all she could promise.

Julia just stared at her for a moment before she started to smile slowly, but it wasn’t a warm or friendly smile. “Well, all you can do now is take better care of him than last time.”

It was kind of a spike in her heart, but maybe she deserved that. “I will”, she promised.

“Good”, Julia said. “And if you don’t, don’t worry: I will take him back and ensure you won’t hurt him ever again.”

“It’s time to go”, Yusaku’s voice said, making Julia break eye contact and leave Ran there, looking after her. They said their last goodbyes, which Ran participated too, but somehow she couldn’t concentrate on it. Even though she knew that Julia had probably said those words just because she was angry with her - and she knew that if she would break up with Shinichi again, he would deserve a woman like Julia -, it left her chill. Like it was a threat.

Well, that it probably was, but it was a harmless one. Ran knew it. She also knew that the reason why she took it so personally was because she still felt guilty for this break-up and Julia hadn’t said that with a friendly tone. And there was also the truth that she could have handled her break up with Shinichi a little better five years ago.

“You shouldn’t take her words too seriously, you know.”

Ran looked at Shinichi who still looked after his parents and Julia. But it made something tightening in her chest. How much he had heard?

“What are you talking about?” Ran asked, trying to look like she had no idea what he was talking about. But Shinichi looked at her with that smile that he had when he had discovered something crucial for his deduction.

“That Julia would take me back if you got tired of me”, he said and turned. “She is just angry, but she would get over this”, he continued and walked to the windows. Ran followed with her eyes as he leaned on the railing in front of them and just looked outside all those planes.

He wasn’t wrong, but this probably would take some time for all of them, to get over and get okay with everything they had done and said. She was happy that this hadn’t been any kind of war, but it was still the truth Julia was heartbroken and both Shinichi and Ran felt bad for it. And it would take some time - even for her and Shinichi - to accept this and live with it. And probably the most crucial thing would be the talk with Julia when she would be ready. Because only after she makes peace and gets over this, Shinichi and Ran would be ready to leave this behind.

And maybe somewhere deep down Ran was a little bit scared. Would Julia come back one day and fight back into his heart? Would she try to do something to sabotage his relationship with Ran? Or maybe Shinichi would realise one day that he was really in love with Julia and not with Ran? One day he would say that he would like to break up and return to Julia, and… and…

But maybe those were worthless thoughts that didn’t matter. There was no point in thinking about those now. Only time will show.

And it had been five years, she thought. Five years and Ran knew that she was still deeply in love with him, and what Shinichi had said, she believed he felt the same. If that time hadn’t broken them apart, she didn’t believe that it would happen any time soon. Maybe being apart from each other and experiencing different kinds of relationships had only made them stronger, taught them, and made them see differently. Made them see that maybe they couldn’t live without each other.

Maybe this only showed that they would always get back to each other.

And if Shinichi had stayed the same, Ran knew that he wouldn’t made lightly his decisions. If he had been ready to marry Julia, he wouldn’t have broken up with her on a whim. He wouldn’t have stayed in Japan without being sure of his feelings for Ran. He wouldn’t have stayed if he wouldn’t have been sure that he would have wanted to start over with her.

So she walked to him, touching his back gently when getting beside him. Shinichi turned his head to look at her.

“Are you regretting this already?” she asked with a smile, and even though she said it as a joke, she needed to know that he was sure about this. In the end, he hadn’t had weeks or even days to think about this through. He didn’t have a home, no property, no… well, not anything else than the luggage he had brought from America and everything that was inside.

Shinichi started to smile and looked back outside from the window. “I don’t”, he answered. “Well, maybe a little bit, because I just stayed behind and didn’t let any of my friends know. And honestly, I’m a little bit worried about Julia.”

Ran turned her eyes out from the window.

“But staying with you feels the right thing to do.”

When Ran turned to look at him again, she saw how he straightened himself before turning to look at her, putting his hand around Ran and pulling her closer.

“But you don’t have anything with you”, Ran said. “And this all happened so fast.”

Shinichi smiled. “But I have you”, he said, making Ran blush. “And that’s all I need.”

“Smooth talker”, Ran said and looked away even though her cheeks were burning.

Shinichi laughed and she felt a kiss on her cheek before he made her turn and took her into his gentle embrace. She felt a kiss on her head.

“Whatever”, she heard him say. “But I have to admit: right here, right now, this is the first time in five years I feel like I’m home.”

She felt how he leaned his head against hers, and for some unexplained reason, she felt tears in her eyes. Ran leaned on him while his arms tightened around her, hugging her tightly. She let her head lean on his shoulder, closing her eyes and feeling that familiar warmth, letting those tears escape. Maybe she understood him now while being in this only place where she felt safe and good. Where she felt like a home. Like this was the only place where she belonged. For this - for him, she would have dropped everything else if it would mean that she could have been with him.

And she realised how much she had missed him all these years.

Yeah. This was the only place where she belonged.

“Welcome back home”, she said, trying to tighten her grip around him. She wouldn’t let him go ever again. Never.

~ The End ~ 

[lyriumlullaby-ao3]

okay hi friends, i’m home from school and i have just enough brain power to talk about

Mythal and the creation of the Blight ✨

those of you who’ve been reading my meta lately may recall that i said i had theories about this. we’re gonna dive into them now :)

if you’ve never taken Solas to the Temple of Mythal, you need to—it opens up SO much dialogue, including a discussion of the TONS of statues and representations of the Dread Wolf inside the temple. I'm not going to go super in depth about that content here, i'm saving it for another post, but the important thing to note here is that depictions of the Dread Wolf are literally EVERYWHERE in there. i haven't counted, but i'd be willing to bet there's more imagery of him than any other 'god' besides Mythal herself.

and in the game's epilogue scene and Trespasser, we get a taste of Solas'/the Dread Wolf's relationship to Mythal. It's a bit obscured as to the nature of that relationship (again, stuff for a different post!), but they're obviously quite close, with warm (if complex) feelings towards one another.

for those who haven’t read Tevinter Nights (one, you should if you get the chance, it’s fantastic), there’s a short story contained within called "Dread Wolf Take You" written by our very fave, Patrick Weekes. now, i’m not gonna spoil anything there, but there's some important discussion of the red lyrium idol found in the deep roads during DA2. here’s what it looks like, in detail, for those who’ve forgotten:

[source]

In that same short story, this idol is described as "two lovers [embracing], or a god mourning her sacrifice." there is also a point in that piece where it comes out that Solas considers this idol to be “his.” okay... why?

i think it's because it depicts himself and Mythal. not a stretch with the imagery, right? and i'm not inclined to think they were lovers, at least not anymore. they might have been, but if so, it wasn't the core aspect of their relationship in my eyes. i'll explore that in more detail later on in another post as well. so this leads me to the consideration of 'a god mourning her sacrifice.' (and this, only because i'm inclined to follow the breadcrumbs given us by bioware, especially Patrick Weekes. they're good at weaving stories, as has been pointed out by other users talking about their discussion of what a good story twist is. god i CANNOT find the post?? pls if you see it send it my way bc i feel bad for mentioning it but not linking it.)

in the Temple of Mythal, we learn from Abelas that Mythal was killed, "murdered," as he describes it, and this is confirmed by Solas in Trespasser. Solas says the other gods killed her. now, i'm uncertain about whether this is literal or a metaphor, but i don't think it much matters. i'll explore both views as i keep analyzing and you can decide for yourself.

so here's what i think: i've mentioned before that i believe the Blight to be a biological weapon created by the Evanuris during their war with the Titans. it was specifically created to infect Titans and corrupt/destroy them. this is why we end up with lyrium that has the blight, red lyrium. and here's where we get into the part that's still a bit fuzzy to me. i'm going to lay out a few possible scenarios, but there are certainly more, so if you see something i've missed, please do add on!! i'm going to offer these in the order of what i think is least to most likely.

scenario one: the Evanuris (possibly lead by Elgar'nan, although that's not really important,) create a horrible biological weapon that will infect the physical world, but leave the spiritual untouched. there is no Veil yet at this point in time, so this is an aspect of its engineering, not a feature of the world's structure. they need a blood sacrifice to complete its construction, the sacrifice of a living being (or beings) to finish it and send it off to destroy the world. they decide on Mythal, storm her temple, and murder her to complete the weapon. (this would follow with a few of the things Abelas says at the Well of Sorrows: "[Mythal] was slain, if a god truly can be. Betrayed by those who destroyed this temple.") Solas casts the Veil to prevent the Blight's release, sealing the Evanuris away and locking whatever 'warhead' the Blight is contained within in "the Golden City," which i believe was Arlathan, behind the Veil. this warhead then corrupts the city, blackening it, and accounting for what Corypheus describes when he and the other Magisters Sidereal breach the Veil and enter this supposedly "Golden City" only to find it tainted and empty.

scenario two: where everything is the same, except the Evanuris plan to sacrifice many lives, likely those of slaves, and Mythal instead intervenes. there is a legend told of a time when Elgar'nan and Falon'Din were going to war over some argument, and Mythal interceded, suggesting they resolve the conflict with a single champion each, rather than sending their many soldiers to their deaths. They did so, and thus Mythal saved the lives of untold thousands. What if she did the same here? What if she offered to die for the cause instead of sending an untold number of slaves to their deaths? Perhaps there was something about her form, her body, her power, that made her blood more potent and thus other sacrifices were unneeded? i like this one slightly more than the first, because of the way Weekes describes the red lyrium idol as an image of Mythal's sacrifice. But this still leaves us without a way to account for the destruction of her temple, if she went willingly. which leads me to...

scenario three: my personal favorite theory. the Evanuris create this weapon, despite protests from Mythal, and are prepared to kill her to get their way if they must. Elgar'nan is notoriously ruthless in this way, and if he was indeed the ring leader, as i suspect he was, this is very plausible to me. completing the weapon may or may not have required a blood sacrifice all the same--if it didn't, no problem, but if it did, perhaps the sacrifice of many slaves was still the plan. this matters little to this scenario, as you'll see in a moment. Mythal goes to Solas, a trusted friend, a favored companion, however you see their relationship. (i'll get to that in my next meta, i promise, so no spoilers on what i think!!) She knows of a way to stop them, and she knows it requires blood magic, a life sacrificed. She would never ask another to die for something like this, and so she offers herself. Solas is horrified, but knows she is right, and that this is the only way. Mythal kills herself, and Solas uses the power of her blood to cast the Veil, separating the world of spirits from the physical world. the Evanuris breach Mythal's temple in search of her, and, finding it empty, desecrate and destroy it, until they find themselves caught in the wake of the Veil coming down. i like this theory best because it accounts for all the pieces: Weekes' use of the term "sacrifice" for Mythal, Abelas' description of Mythal's death (mostly, if we take the term "murder" metaphorically, in that she was forced into a situation by others where she had to die against her will), and Solas' attitudes towards blood magic. recall that he says it's a tool like any other, and when it's used to gain power, that's wrong, but it need not always be evil. and note that he says he's never bothered to learn it (possibly a lie, he tells many of those) because it makes it harder to access the Fade. now, to the matter of if the blood sacrifice was still needed to release the weapon... maybe it was. and if so, perhaps that's part of how the Magisters Sidereal unintentionally released it upon the world, as they were said to have sacrificed "slaves beyond counting" (Canticle of Silence 2:2) in order to breach the Fade. So either way, it seems the sacrifice requirement was fulfilled.

in all of these scenarios, it's worth pointing out that the Evanuris, if they're smart (which, don't they have to be at least a little, to get to where they are?), must have some way to separate their spiritual selves from their physical forms in order to avoid the Blight when it is unleashed. I have more to say about this, but it's better left to my next post. :) so for now, just stay tuned on that, but the point here is, if they have done so in preparation for the release of the weapon, wouldn't that make it awfully easy and convenient to seal them away from the physical world entirely?

so, with all that said, stuff that still needs exploring in future meta:

Solas' nature. A spirit? A demon? A god? Just some fucking guy trying to do the right thing? I'll talk about this next time. :)

Solas' and Mythal's relationship! Also something that will go in my next meta post.

writing this also gave me ideas about the Evanuris and the Old Gods that i'm going to talk more about. i'm pretty sure i made a post especially about this already? and if so perhaps i'll rewrite it, but it may have been an addition on someone else's post, in which case i'm going to make my own!

plus a few other assorted things featuring Cullen, Cole, and dwarves! (not all at once. sorry lol)

in summary, the Blight's a biological weapon, and that's why Mythal died/was murdered and Solas cast the Veil and sundered the world. <3

[thewollfgang]

I think if there was an Olympics category for the fastest computer unpacking and set-up, I would win. One would think I set up computers all the time with how quick I did it. XD I wanted the patch so bad.

Very cash money of Larian to add forehead kisses and new camp animations. And Astarion's epilogue title 🥺 hits right in the meow meow, I can't wait to get it in my own game.

While it was downloading though, I thought I'd distract myself by sculpting in Blender (wifi is being finicky right now so I figured it'd take quite a while) and only minutes ago did I snap out of it. I don't know what time the download finished but I ended up with this (I'd say) mostly anatomically correct, not-quite-done skull.

I'd already done one before but Blender glitched and sent that file into the ether. This one, I'm pretty sure, looks better than the old one anyway. Would have been cool to compare the two though. Some parts still need a lot of work, like the eye sockets and nasal cavity, but I'll get back to it once I get the new patch out of my system. XD

I had FULL confidence in you, BG. You get the gold 🥇I've just downloaded the patch today, but I didn't get around to playing it. I've had an incredibly stressful week and I spent most of the weekend thus far sleeping or crafting.

(I won't bring the vibe down by going into too much detail, but I was at the parade/rally in Kansas City and was near the mass shooting this Wednesday. Thankfully, neither my mom or I were hurt. It was incredibly chaotic and I'm still...kind of processing what happened. But! I'm here and still trucking along so I'm very grateful for that.)

So yeah I haven't had the pleasure of the new smooches yet, but I think I'll boot it up tomorrow and play a little bit. Larian knows what the people want. I hope they pad Wyll out a little bit more, too. I think he's neat and needs some love and content.

I have always wanted to learn Blender! Do you like it? I have a 3D printer (my crafting project right now is actually a set of mandalorian armor I'm printing myself!) and usually use other people's stl files and such but I'd like to learn how to make my own files, too. I think, as an owner of many skulls, your skull looks great.

I've found when a computer eats the first draft of something, the second one is almost always better. It is nice to compare though. I'd like to get an imitation human skull (cause the ethics of real human skulls...are varied) and place this fancy marble in the eye socket 😅 it glows under a black light and it needs a cool home to rest in.

It was good hearing from you, as always! I hope you settle into your new place and feel nice and comfy ❤️

[rielzero]

Since I have to replay the game fully in order to get access to better companion interactions in the epilogue camp, please consider this me just speculating / headcanoning interactions. (Includes the bard oc of my friend.) Writing isn't polished, just rough idea.

Of course, might be spoilers for those who did not finish the game ever. You were warned.

It's been six months since the adventure ended. Astarion and Loki had settled into their new life as lord and consort. The vampire aristocracy was a messy ordeal, but given Astarion's prowess, it was easier to keep them under his thumb. Of course, the paranoia of having enemies close never left either of them... Gale and Seldazr both frequently visited the manor to drop by for a while. Gale went on his usual wizardry adventures, in attempts to procure artefacts for unclear reasons.. He remained in a relationship with Loki and Astarion, but had taken time away to think about his own goals and desires for the future knowing he'd always be welcomed back. As for Seldazr, he mandatorily took breaks of his adventuring and book writing to make sure Scratch got to see Kiwi often enough. The owlbear had become too big and too used to living in the manor's garden. Kiwi did enjoy the attention he attracted. For Loki, things did not go as expected. He was attacked by a stray party of monster hunters not too long after moving into the palace, and had secluded himself to his and Astarion's room for several months. The nightmares never left, but they had lessened. Grymforge, the shadowlands, the githyanki creche, Cazador... Many more. Some of the toughest battles haunted his mind with different recollection, muddling his memories. While Loki was keen on keeping himself inside to focus on healing his mind, he was met with a letter from Withers himself.. Astarion would've probably ignored it (busy as he is) if he didn't think the occasion would be a good experience for Loki.. And thus he dragged his consort out with the promise they'd see Gale, Seldazr, and everyone else again. Even Karlach and Wyll?

Loki: [shuffling around nervously] Astarion: Dear, stop fidgeting. You'll be fine. [holds his arm around Loki's waist] Loki: I just did not expect to this place again.. Seems like withers was busy. Astarion: Hmm, I would've preferred to host a party myself... Loki: That's just more work isn't it? You can't do everything, besides we were invited.. It would look bad not to show. Astarion: I thought you wanted to stay inside? Tk tk tk. Loki: Right. Right. I need to stop moping. I'll mingle.. They stop to see Seldazr annoying the bard in the midst of camp with a barrage of questions.. Not too unfamiliar, but best left be until he can redirect his attention to his friends.

Loki: Wyll? Is that you? You look so.. Buff. How did you get here? Wyll: I've been Monster hunting in avernus! Withers provided a portal.. I've got lots of stories to tell. Loki: ..A portal? Maybe don't say that one out loud. [looks over to see Astarion show off his bat form to halsin, he chuckles] Wyll: Enough about me- There's something different about you.. Karlach: [walks up, surprising Loki] Soldier! It's his hair. It got so long! Loki: I keep forgetting about that... [brushes his hair out of his face] No clue what I look like nowadays... Karlach- How are you here? Isn't your engine.. Karlach: Ah, calm down.. It's fine- For now! It's just for tonight. It won't bust, no worries. Loki: Does that mean I can get a hug? Karlach: Of course!! [hugs him tightly] Momma K got so many hugs to give, I've been saving them up. Loki: Oof- Are Lae'zel and Shadowheart here too..? Wyll: I think they're late..? I haven't seen Gale yet either. [puts his arm around Karlach] Loki: Are you two..? Karlach: Verily! [leans into Wyll, smiling brightly] Wyll: Speaking of couples, you're looking rather princely Loki. Are you sure you're not a spoiled husband by now? Loki: Gods.. Don't tease me. I'm still not used to it. [looks flustered] Loki looks over to see Jaheira and Minsc interrogate Astarion, but he's casually deflecting them.. They briefly make eye contact, only for Astarion to gesture to Loki to have fun and not worry about anything.

It didn't take long for a Griffon to show up in the camp, mounted by Lae'zel and Shadowheart. The two proudly announced themselves to have eloped only recently. Lae'zel then continued to brag about their mount, even though she casually compared it to a dragon.. Then Shadowheart would go on and on about this Imp they've adopted, Lae'zel's expression went from prideful to mildly flustered and annoyed, remarking she would have tossed it if Shadowheart didn't like the imp so much.

Gale essentially arrived, with Tara on his shoulder, placing himself in between Astarion, Minsc and Jaheira in hopes to cool off their conversation. Then he would brag about some trinket he uncovered recently, showing off an assemblage of things he's collected during his adventures.. Needless to say, Astarion looked thankful for the arrival of his boyfriend even if he didn't express it openly.

The night went on, many exchanging stories, sharing laughs. Reminiscing about the adventure amongst other things. Scratch was playing with a seemingly familiar object, refusing to let it go even though he wanted it to be thrown. Some remarks were made about Loki's massive change in appearance, and how no one expected Lae'zel to ever get married.. It was a good party. It should be a yearly event, Loki thought. Cheers.

[claire-starsword]

The Guardiana Magic School Run - Part 4

We're back and after all the setup in the previous part, we can just move on with the plot. The Guardiana's Magic School gang gets a tour of Alterone's escape rooms, to Max's delight, and he fails at them, requiring the help of a beloved old pal again.

Seriously, why did she know this was here. I approve but I also have questions.

She unfortunately has some catching up to do level wise, but healers are useful on any level so who cares, and she's not that away from Lowe in terms of stats.

We get a Healing Seed from this terribly placed chest, like, why this.

As I anticipated in the previous part, Khris has as much defense as Tao (derogatory) so she gets loaded with all the Steel Rings I bought last time. I also give her a bunch of healing items that I got from chests. Don't even remember how much a Healing seed heals, but would suck to spend them this early, this is just for emergencies, and because I forgot to plan to buy herbs for her early. To be fair (hubris incoming), I don't think the next battle will be that hard.

As you can see, the clear bonus for this one is the Jagged Flash, which I've insulted enough last time, and is not even usable in this playthrough. I guess we've somehow established a rivalry between the magic and axe schools huh, the epilogue was right.

This battle divides into two areas on each side of the river, with the enemies on top splitting between them. Usually on my normal playthrough I split the team to get the clear bonus, so I'm used to doing each area with roughly the same amount of characters I have here. That's why I'm not too worried.

Of course, hubris has killed me before, so Max has the right idea too, let's be careful with the squishy spellcasters.

I, also need to dunk on myself a bit, i've complained so much that this game doesn't let you check stats during battle but uh, turns out it does. It's with the R button. I'll dunk on the game too because that's a weird choice, just let me click on things with A like a normal person. Also it doesn't show enemies you haven't attacked yet it seems, which is kind of a pain. Perhaps on Chapter 4 I'll get to explain how bad that can be.

Enough rambling, I believe starting from the left will be the best as there are less enemies, we should be able to dispatch the bats before the knights come, they tend to stick to blocking the bridge. Let's do some boring turns of just walking.

It takes four turns for us to get remotely close to each other. As I said the knights are sticking to the bridge, so I'm gonna bait the bats with Max and deal with them first. There are two more bats beyond the river and I expect them to come too.

Bat behavior happens, and I messed up, the knights are actually out for blood.

Gong and Tao team up to take out one bat, and Max woke up as soon as the turn started, though you still can't move on the turn that happens.

So yeah, he's not doing anything any time soon lmao

He still remains the greatest bait ever though. He and Gong still take only 1 damage from anything here, so I don't think anything will be a threat except the Dark Mage.

Tao and Gong wreck the two knights that advanced, and a bat from the other side finally comes, being greeted by Gong's counter immediately. Meanwhile, Max…

Well, he is overleveled anyway.

Khris finally debuts by healing Max for 25 exp, which I think is more she'd ever get in the mega drive version. Not exactly sure how they adjust the exp for healing, but it will help a lot.

She then manages to finish the bat tormenting Max doing 4 damage, which is more than I expected! Go girl we're one battle away from the Power Staff!

I really wanna bait this bat before dealing with the bridge gang. Gong still has the Rousing Ring so there's no sleep risk.

Actually the real reason there's no risk is that Gong has had enough of bats in general.

I try getting some exp for Lowe with this kill, but bats being bats, it dodges.

Max asks for five more minutes on his afternoon nap, unfortunately for him he's a warrior so he returns to battle, finally making some sort of line to defend my squishy people.

He's just in time to take a Blaze level 2 to the face. Ah, the wonders of magic.

...

oh c'mon, I've hit tumblr's image limit, that's gonna be a pain to deal with in this run. continuation in the reblogs i guess

[count-von-kit]

Current WIPs and Some Incoherent Ramblings

🌹 Realm of Roses & Rosaries: With chapter 2 of my silly little for-funsies writing mess completed, I have now started on plotting where I want chapter 3 to go, with an outline.

So far I have the first arc planned to be five chapters total. My issue with this is that I initially wanted to write shorter chapters (less than 15 pages), but there's so much yet I still want to happen that I feel like they may just be longer. And, I mean, so long as I'm not dropping some 25-40+ paged chapter, I think I'll be ok with that. My ultimate goal was to make sure I was having fun with this and writing strictly for myself, so that's what I guess I'm going to throw in my face whenever I start to question something I'm doing.

As for the other arcs, I'm... still trying to organize that all in my head. Because I know what I need to get the characters to where they need to be. If that's the case and I keep them all together, with 5 chapters each between them, that would be a total of 15 collectively for the trio. With a third and final arc being their revolution and the final battle against the big bad. I think for an approach that's fine enough, and satisfies what I want.

🌹 Abel's YTP: Ugh. I'll be honest I was working on this, but then since editing a side document during a TTRPG night, I forgot (maybe) to transfer over changes (maybe), so now I'm not sure which draft was my good draft, and I really hate when I do this to myself. So I haven't been able to go back to look at it just yet. I know I'll have to figure this out at some point, but the issue is that both variants read fine, so I'm just at a loss. That said, there is a lot still to this. Chapter 3 is "finished", but the revisions are what is keeping me from marking it as DONE done. I really need to sit down at some point and finish it so that I can move onto transferring chapter 4 from my notebook onto my PC's worddoc. Far as the full novel goes, it's still 5 chapters lone, with an Epilogue, and four smaller shorts in-between as intermissions (because music-based). So uh... This project is still nowhere near completion. But also I think once I get a lot of my other WIPs cleared (I know, that's a huge writer lol there. Don't look at me rn. I can hope), I'll be able to come back to focusing on this. That's my plan anyway.

🌹 Xmas Piece: This is the time of year I should be starting to wrap this up. I vented to a friend about this last night on Discord, about how I really don't have much left to do with this. Literally 3 scenes left to finalize. That's it. But I think the reason why I haven't gone back to work on it is because of two things:

The first being my mood so far has actually been pretty good! Which is surprising given my depression is amplified by the onset of seasonal depression which just makes it an awful time for me mentally? Despite the fact I actually really love autumn? I've been hanging out with some friends more which has fed my starvation of human interaction, and I've been laughing more at some of the silly things going on - whether its something I've been reading or watching, or just something off-the-wall a friend has sent me. I've just been getting a lot more serotonin lately, and it's been kinda nice.

The second reason I feel hesitant is because this is the emotional climax to the story, where a lot of shit just drops. Normally when I'm in a bad mood I tend to write that energy into these kind of scenes because mentally I'm already there so why not? But also because I've been in such a good mood lately I'm kinda terrified that by crawling into the bathtub of bad vibes and big sad to soak in, that it'll wipe away my good mood. If that... makes sense. I've had to forcefully put myself in not-so-great mindsets before just to write out specific scenes from my other novel that's just... kinda setting off to the side... and I guess because of that, because it pulls big ol' sad energy from very specific songs, I'm apprehensive maybe that it'll happen. It has a happen ending, so I know I don't have to worry about anything. But ugh. I just need to push myself at some point or another.

🌹 Soloing The Other Side: This one is super close to being done. I haven't worked on it for a while, but I only had a few bits to finish up. Unfortunately it won't make much sense until I finish up the Xmas piece mentioned above, because it follows directly after, but at least by the end of the day it's a smaller and singular (not multi-chapter) piece I can cross off once completed. It's not complexed, but uh... I've only been working on it because of my apprehension towards Abel's YTP and the Xmas piece. lol

🌹 Abel's Backstory, Part 2: Man... I remember all the shit going on with this, but at the same time I have to completely revise the first part before I post it up, because SO MUCH with Abel has changed. Anyway, I haven't touched this at all with the others above pulling me in different directions. Maybe at some point I will get this finished. It's still in the very beginning stages, but tbh I think to get those vibes going I should just relisten to Magnus Archives, because damn does listening to Jonathan Sim read really inspire me to write.

🌹 Other Miscellaneous Ao3 Projects: Of the multitude of ongoing Ao3 projects I have that were "almost finished and then forgotten", I know I have quite a few. On top of everything else listed above. In terms of priority, the ones I'd like to finish, ideally, are Les Vampires (because it's close to the ending), Espresso-ly For You (because it's also almost finished), and maaaybe Eleanor? I haven't quite decided entirely. I'd like to finish the Senpai one as well, but that one is a bit harder to do because it's filled with so many inside jokes. I just... I need to not have writer's block when revising things, or to lose interest so I can actually finish all of these. ToT

[mechanicalinertia]

STMPD Attempts To Plan 2023

In case you haven't caught on yet, I make posts like this more to plan out what I want to do for myself, as a fanfiction writer, than spoil what's next in the ol' pipeline. I'm discovering what comes next for this year at approximately the same rate you are.

And... look. I think I'm going to be much busier than I was in 2022. This year is going to be a part of my life where I undergo a lot of big changes, make a lot of big moves, and hopefully don't fuck up too badly in between all of that. Bearing that in mind, my new year's resolution was simply to write less fanfiction and write more real fiction for real people. And given circumstances, I'll probably end up fulfilling that imperative.

But I'll still produce content. It will be smaller, less ambitious, but it'll still be there. I'll still be here. So let's go over what I could work on:

Anatomy Of A Lovedoll: Ha. Could work on? Oh, STMPD, you silly goose. I need to finish this goddamn thing. I have one big epic fight scene to hack out, goodness only knows how long that will take, then one super-short epilogue and I'll have a really good Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction actually finished! Of course, I have to get that fight scene finished first, and that's tricky right now for some reason. I don't know why, but the blow-by-blow just isn't coming to me organically. I'm not giving up on it, but I could stand to work harder on this piece. It's worth finishing, it really is. It's one of the things I'm unironically glad I wrote. I just got to give it one final push.

Divine Patronage: I used to think this was a fic with a lot of views: then I saw how many views Edgerunners fics can get, and realized that I don't know what I'm talking about. Ranma is an old fandom, certainly not a dead one but not a big one by any means. But I haven't stopped having ideas for adventures Urd and Ranma could go on together. Urusei Yatsura, Tenchi Muyo, Patlabor, Dominon... all these 80's and 90's anime that just call out for silly crossovers where Ranma and some cute girl can save the day together. So I need to get back to this one, but is that what I really want to do after Anatomy? Or do I want to try something else? Such as:

Witch of Tranquility: This, actually, was my original plan for a sequel to Anatomy, one which looks like it'll take awhile to really get going. I'm less enthusiastic about it compared to when I first drew up the concept, mostly because in my head it leads into several more fics involving more Edgerunners characters doing stuff. In other words, it's a commitment bigger than I'm willing to commit to, at least in my head. Maybe I could write it as a standalone fic, but it's the kind of fic that doesn't end happily, it has a big ol' world-shaking alteration to the state of the world in the 2060's. I was designing it almost predicated on the promise of there being more adventures after it, but who's to say there will be? And even then, the question of whether I should focus on Edgerunners characters or BGC characters looms its head. I had one idea for a Reika Chang-centric fic in the 2060's continuity, and another involving Celia / Sylia's mother coming back from the dead in a manner akin to Prospera Mercury in Gundam, but I don't know if either of those would really work.

As-of-yet-unproduced Fate / Edgerunners crossover fic: A relatively simple idea: David and the Edgerunners crew end up in a Holy Grail War in Night City. David's Sandevistan is magical, has a catalyst and artificial magic circuits implanted in it, etc etc. I came up with this idea in an Edgerunners fanfiction discord, only for the author of motherfucking Group Chat, one of the most popular Edgerunners fanfics out there, to turn out to be a huge Fate-head as well. I said I probably didn't have it in me to write it, and Arrow said he's interested in writing the fanfic. So I could theoretically just act as a creative consultant. Only... several people on forums think the idea is a bad one, and that it should be inspired by Fate/Extra instead, perhaps even eliminating David from the fic entirely. Which, since I know next to nothing about Extra's sub-canon, I don't really want to do. Well, we'll see if anything comes of the project. I'm excited for it, especially since I think David's drives are similar to Shirou's in crucial and interesting ways.

Fanfic Reviews: Sometime in the later months of 2022, I became convinced that I had run out of reviewable Bubblegum Crisis fanfic that I could recall without having to read too much of something I hated. But that's a falsehood. The number of review drafts I've got on tumblr speaks to that. Now, as tempting as it is to try to review a behemoth like YT2032 or something like that, I don't really feel ready to do that right now. Instead, what I really ought to do is start moving more reviews from drafts to complete posts, finish up what I can easily review and then go there. I reviewed a lot of fanfics over the past year, and it was a fun pastime, helped me get a better sense of what I want out of BGC fan content. So yeah, I need to get back to doing some more fluffy fic reviews.

Silly Miscellanea: Omakes, short stories - anything to get the ol' creative juices flowing. I have this fragment of a thing where Priss, Linna, and Nene talk about 3D printing as it might exist in the 2060's and how technology rarely disrupts the fundamental foundations of society anymore, this whole sci-fi philosophy discharge that could work as a short bit. I had this idea for a story in the vein of early 2010's battle harem high school light novels where Sho from OVA 3 grows up and leads the next generation of Sabers. I keep thinking it might be cool to explore the friendship between Reika and Linna once or twice. Stuff like that.

So: Will I end up writing any of these potential projects? Well, Anatomy's a given, the fanfic reviews are a given, but after that I honestly don't know. We'll see how the year shakes out, and if I find that I have the time to do more than just those projects - if I get to help write a fate fanfic, if I continue Divine Patronage, if I do anything else at all - then so much the better, right?

Yeah.

[dangerous-advantage]

BEFORE YOU PROCEED: SPOILERS FOR THE HOURGLASS THRONE BY KD EDWARDS BENEATH THE CUT. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS MASTERPIECE YET, STOP READING NOW AND GO DO IT. I'M SERIOUS YOU WILL SCREAM.

So, I finally caved and just bought the online version of The Hourglass Throne. I had kinda lost some interest in the series while waiting and was just excited for a chill read to go over the next couple of days.

I finished it in a day. No, actually. Six hours, including breaks to let me process everything I had read.

It's been about a day, and I've had some time to process and now I just. Just. Have so many THOUGHTS. and stuff. so here this is. Spoilers start now, so if you haven't read it yet, back away. I promise, it is so much better going in blind.

Okay. Okay. Where to start.

Number One: OH MY GODS. I have to start with ~the secret~ because, well, OBVIOUSLY. I had kind of guessed some major aspects about it. Of course KD would go there with my boys, but it still hurt to see me theories confirmed. I knew that Rune hated geas(es?) and I assumed it had something to do with that night, and that, plus my suspicion of Brand's possible involvement- it was pretty easy to put together the pieces as guess Brand had been put under a geas and was forced to hurt Rune, but now can't remember that. HOWEVER.

EVERYTHING ELSE? OH MY GODS. RUNE. RUNE, BABY. I AM GOING TO SOB.

Finding out that Brand wasn't only possibly a part of Rune's assault (I'm not sure the text ever actually confirmed he hurt Rune? I'll have to re-read that when I've finally processed everything that happened) but the direct link for the destruction of the entire Sun Court? I. I kind of thought that Run was over-reacting before about the whole secret (like, it was based in shame or something/he wanted to protect Brand's feelings from hurting him) but to find out it's actually that bad!? And everything else? That Brand could still possibly be used to hurt Rune? Gods, this- this has so much potential.

And, of course, OF COURSE. How could I forget? Finding out about the conspiracy? The garage? The Owl and Snake? F**k, man.

Okay, next elephant in the room. TOWER. He was already my second favorite character (behind Brand- wow, KD really did just put as much angst around my favorite characters as he possibly could, huh?) and I liked him. This book somehow made me almost completely trust him, then actually trust him, then fucking LOVE HIM and then it just. IT TOOK HIM FROM ME? Whether or not he comes back, I am so, absolutely devestated.

I will admit, I wish that KD delved deeper into his bond with Brand, made it more gradual, and got an actual apology, but in the context of the greater story and the characters, I still really enjoyed his progression.

I just. Have so many thoughts. What happens now? Will Dalton take the Dagger Throne?? What about MAYAN???? I need more. I need more. (And yet, I don't think I could even handle more, seeing as I'm still trying to handle ALL OF THIS, DAMMIT.

Ciaran. That's all I need to say. If I didn't love him before, I absolutely adore him now. I should've known, but of course, KD's outline wins again. What else do you have planned? I can see you leaving all these breadcrumbs that I don't even have time to FOCUS ON because there is just so much. (In a good way.)

Alright. Okay. Other things that I hyperfocused on:

Um. The River Chapter? With Quinn and Brand speaking? Not only did I almost cry, I can very much say, OH SHIT. I had got some great foreshadowing from the king of foreshadowing.

I mean, Brand, mentioning he was feeling a weird connection to Addam?? ALMOST LIKE RUNE?? And let's not forget, remember what was said about tallas before? How you can move space and time to get to your talla? Like Rune did for Brand? There is no way their connection is completely gone. I will bet my soul on it, and I will bet my soul on the fact that they will get it back.

And now I'm just thinking back. To the flower on the balcony of half-house in the epilogue of the first book? oh my GODS he's been playing us all along.

And yeah. Ha. tallas. oh my god tallas. Do you know what this means?>??

ADDAM AND RUNE. ADDAM AND RUNE AND POSSIBLY BRAND IN THE FUTURE. OR QUEERPLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS. I DON"T CARE WHICH ROUTE KD GOES, I AM JUST SO EXCITED FOR THIS RIDE.

And Quinn! I need to mark down as much as I possibly can about that boys' secrets/prophesies. He's not a FUCKIG SEER ANYMORE? WHO'S GONNA SAVE OUR IDIOT PROTAGONISTS NOW??

(ALSO, WHO TF IS TAVIS. AND SO MANY MORE QUESTIONS.)

Remus. That is all.

Also, I have to mention- this book and it's relevations recontextualizes almost EVERYTHING else important in the series. KD is such a master of foreshadowing. I need to read back the other books, but from even just what I can remember, HOLY SHIT. THE DOCK SCENE? RUNE'S REACTION TO BRAND THINKING HE WAS EXCUSING/JUSTIFYING RUNE'S ASSAULT WITH HIS ACTIONS. OH MY GODS. KD, you absolute fucking genius. You've been playing us this entire time, and I am so incredibly grateful for it.

Side Note: I'll probably put up a more comprehensive review together when I'm able to re-read this thing, but the emotional energy this book took away from me (in a good way!) was very vast, and I still need to adjust to all of this shit. So, we'll see.

These are just kind of my scattered thoughts. I would like to know yours, if you have read this book, because there is so much to be said about this series. Just- wow. KD, you blew all of my expectations out of the watere again and again, kept me engaged the entire time, and raised the stakes to where I was actually worried and unsure where you were going to go.

This was my favorite book series before reading THT, and the best one I've ever read, and yet somehow, it had exceeded all expectations in every single way. I don't know if there's a level higher than favorite/best book series you've ever read, but if there is, this series inhabits a level several levels above that. I am so, incredibly excited to see where this will go.

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 11/11/2022

Another week that felt very busy, although I feel like I was pretty accomplished, considering the circumstances.

The school district has been experimenting with replacing early dismissals with "asynchronous days", where the kids are given work to do from home. In principal, I am for this, because my kids both have long bus rides, and going to school for just a few hours is a big waste of their time. In practice, however, (1) both my kids need a lot of support to work from home and (2) for some reason, their teachers send home a ridiculous amount of work to be completed in that time frame. My third-grader was supposed to "complete" an essay she had started in class, comparing and contrasting two texts, except that she had no idea what she was doing, and her notes, which the teacher had told her "were good" didn't actually address the topic of the essay. So, anyway, two "half days" of work for my kids works out to a pretty tiring day for old Mommo (on Bleach Monday, no less!!). Tuesday, they had off for election day.

It was kind of a Big Emotions week for a couple of things going on in my personal life, some good, some bad. Also, Twitter is dying. It's not that it's that important of a platform for me, but it's the one place I still talk to the handful of IRL friends I have left, and I'm sad about it.

I did manage to post Ch 16 of the Tattoo AU. The end is firmly in sight for this one. I said last week that I had 6 chapters left to go. I had been going in order, but for some reason, I felt like I needed to write Ch 20 before I could write Ch 17. I finished Ch 20, and had some momentum, so I started Ch 21. I got about halfway through what I thought was going to be in Ch 21, and realized that didn't take nearly as much space as I thought it would, so it's possible that I may combine what I had thought would be Ch 21 and 22 into one, which means there are only 5 chapters left (1.5 already written). I might also add a lil epilogue, but I think it would be short. (Total written this week: 3352 words)

I drew a nice picture of Uryuu for his birthday! I'm really happy with the way it came out, and also, it didn't take me forever, for once!

I am honestly kind of panicking about Renruki week, but I told myself that November was for Gathering Ideas, and if I haven't finished up the Tattoo AU for December, I'll just put it aside, at least until I get some solid Renruki week progress under my belt. I only have two really solid ideas that I'm happy with, one of which is a half-finished art project that I think fits pretty well under one of the topics. I have two or three other ideas that are sort of half-formed or maybe won't work out at all. I keep telling myself it'll come together, except that the last two Decembers have very suddenly turned into nightmares for me. I am doing my best! 😭😭😭 It also feels like I've been working in the Renruki mines for the last three years, and it would be terribly pathetic of me (and yet also very in-character) to blow it when there is finally enough interest around to do a celebration week.

I am honestly kind of panicking about Renruki week, but I told myself that November was for Gathering Ideas, and if I haven't finished up the Tattoo AU for December, I'll just put it aside, at least until I get some solid Renruki week progress under my belt. I only have two really solid ideas that I'm happy with, one of which is a half-finished art project that I think fits pretty well under one of the topics. I have two or three other ideas that are sort of half-formed or maybe won't work out at all. I keep telling myself it'll come together, except that the last two Decembers have very suddenly turned into nightmares for me. I am doing my best! 😭😭😭 It also feels like I've been working in the Renruki mines for the last three years, and it would be terribly pathetic of me (and yet also very in-character) to blow it when there is finally enough interest around to do a celebration week.

[taliaxlatia]

Taliax's "AO3 Wrapped" 2021

Going into the new year, I thought I'd make a kind of status update on all of my current fic wips and upcoming projects, as well as a bit of a summary of what I accomplished this year. I would love to see other fic writers do something like this too if you want! I'm posting this on main since I have so many sideblogs, but my ao3 is under Taliax. at least that way it will look somewhat consistent when I reblog this other places lol

Putting this under the cut because it's long!

FIC PROGRESS IN 2021

AO3 says I posted 381,042 words! That's less than last year's 483,876, but this year I was not at home as much (from covid quarantine stuff).

I posted or updated 73 fics this year. (Wow I did not realize it was that many.) That included finishing Seventh Time's the Charm (my alphys's bad dates fic), The Undying (canon divergent from Undyne the Undying fight), and Sweat and Ginseng (Zuko tea shop fic). By finishing Sweat and Ginseng, I completed all of my ongoing ATLA wips. Pretty much all of my Undertale fics were written this year.

Undertale surpassed Miraculous Ladybug as my fandom with the most fics, with a total of 51 fics (ML had 48). I'm really happy with the amount of progress I've made this year!

That said, I still have a whole whole lot of fics to finish, so here is a breakdown of my wips and where they're at progress-wise.

WIP STATUS UPDATES

Any fics marked with an * are planned or may be started in my drafts, but haven't been posted yet. Each fic will have a "Status" after it, which is like my tldr for where it's at in terms of priority and/or completion. Even if something is high priority though doesn't mean I'll actually have the brain cells to write it at any given moment unfortunately. I tend to cycle between wips periodically instead of focusing on one at a time, which is why each individual fic can seem to update so slowly.

Below are all of my wips, published or unpublished, sorted by fandom and priority.

Undertale

Let's Do the Mortal Coil Shuffle: According to my solid outline, there are only 4 more chapters left, including the epilogue. The next chapter is giving me some trouble but hopefully will be easier now that I changed a POV decision I'd made. Very very excited for where this fic is going. In particular I'm really looking forward to wrapping up the Mettaton subplot. (Mettaton my beloved <3)

Status: Highest priority Undertale fic. 4-ish chapters left.

You Dug Up This Grave, Now Lie In It: THIS IS SUCH A FUN FIC. 10/10 would be working on it more, but Winter and I wanted to flesh out a bit more of the Ghost Fam backstory first. In particular there's a Chara & Mettaton fic that needs to be set pretty close to when Mettaton leaves to become star that would help establish some things for this fic. Other than that it's going great. This fic will probably be my next biggest endeavor after Mortal Coil Shuffle.

Status: On hold while establishing backstory. Will probably resume once MCS is done. Unknown but large amount of chapters left.

Be Good, Alright?: I don't know why I don't work on this fic more. I started a Christmas/Gyftmas chapter that I'll hopefully be able to get out today or tomorrow. The biggest challenge is not mixing up my Lore between this fic and the skelechara series. (Also that Frisk in this fic is written much differently than in any of my other fics.) (Also that I no longer have a solid outline because I changed so many things...) Anyway, depending on how stubborn Chara is about talking to Toriel, this could be finished in an indeterminate number of chapters.

Status: Medium priority. Usually what I work on when I'm stuck on other fics. Unknown but hopefully 5-10 chapters left.

Carrying the Weight of the World: Recently I merged both the Sansby and Alphyne fics in The Undying series into this single fic. This will make it easier for me to make a cohesive plot, since it turns out this fic will actually HAVE a plot lol. I have most of that planned out on the Alphyne side; still some of the Sansby sideplot I need to outline. That said, this fic doesn't get a lot of attention, and with it being a sequel, it is not quite as high priority as my other wips. (I am still very attached to it myself, but it is not driving me insane to hold off on for a bit.)

Status: Low priority until I knock out some other wips. May work on more if I get a good Sansby or Alphyne itch. Unknown number of chapters left, hopefully 5-ish.

*Alphamind: Alphyne (+slight Papyton) Megamind AU. I've started this and I'm really excited to work on it more, but again, I have too many wips and I'll go crazy if I have so many incomplete fics on ao3 ;;

Status: On hold until I knock out some other wips. May write up a more solid outline.

*King Mettaton Papyton multichapter: been brewing this in my heart for some time yet I keep starting on newer ideas instead of getting around to actually writing it. Rip. Still going on here because I really want to write it eventually. Hoping my utdr fixation lasts long enough for me to get there.

Status: Early planning stages. On hold until I knock out some other wips.

Deltarune

Something Bigger Than the Sky: Pretty much no one cares about this fic. I have absolutely had a blast writing it and it will drive me insane if I don't finish it. I also have a sequel fic planned that takes place in Castle Town and mostly involves Ralsei & Spamton, but that might get kind of long because. I really really wanna explore all of the relationship dynamics between the different Dark World characters too (Seam & Jevil, Queen & Seam, Spamton & Jevil, etc.). There will also be a few more fics in the same universe, one going into the backstory for Queen, and one for Seam & Jevil divorce.

Status: Highest priority (if only for my sanity). Only one chapter left. Sequel(s) will have lower priority.

Not a Nobody: I still only plan on this being three chapters total. Really hoping it won't do what SBTtS did and double that chapter count. Anyway I'm REALLY loving working on this fic. I have the beginning of the next chapter, it just got kind of buried in my docs when I hyperfixated on the swatchton fic. This fic has a decent outline but most of it is in my head, so it could definitely be flexible.

Status: Medium priority. 2 chapters left.

Miraculous Ladybug

Home Base: There are only like, 2-3 chapters of this left. Probably 2 and an epilogue. I am really stuck on the Chat & Carapace chapter that I'm supposed to be writing next for some reason, which is why I haven't updated in a while. Once I can get past that I think it won't be too difficult to wrap up the story. Also just wanted to mention that I'm so so grateful for all of the positive feedback on this fic, it really means a lot!!

Status: High priority. Would like to finish during early 2022. 2-3 chapters left.

First Dance, Second Chance: I have an outline. It's a pretty solid outline. I am also just very slow with writing this fic for some reason. Since we have established relationship Ladrien at this point, this one is probably the most difficult fic to work on when I get in a romance repulsed mood, which is also a major reason for delays.

Status: Medium priority. 4 chapters left.

*Secret Santa Oneshot: Marichat. No other spoilers.

Status: Highest priority. Deadline is early January. I should probably look up when exactly again lol

Kingdom Hearts

Contingency Plan: Updates were really slow this past year as I did mainly Undertale fic. It's hard to estimate how many chapters are left, but I do finally have all of the characters back at the Keyblade Graveyard, so it shouldn't be too many more. I'll give a safe guess of 3-5 more chapters.

Status: High priority. Unknown (hopefully 3-5) chapters left.

Shadows Alight: Officially UNCANCELLED. I am doing a full edit of the CaS series, and then I will go back to adding chapters to this fic and attempt to give it the real ending I was originally working towards. This may not be what anyone (besides me) wants, but after all these years Vanitas and Aqua in this universe are basically my OCs, and I finally have the confidence to do what I want with them. I hope you'll enjoy if you decide to come back to finish the ride. No idea how many more chapters it will be, but it will involve a fairly major rewrite of KH3 plotpoints (of course still focusing on Vanqua). This does include a Xehanort takedown and rescuing Terra. Hopefully I'll also get to use the Xionnort subplot I'd always had plans for.

Status: Undergoing edits. On hold until edits are complete, then probably still low priority. Lots of chapters left.

*The Luxu Building: A Vanqua/Terrella college custodial scifi au. (What a mouthful.) Will try not to get too into this unless/until I can finish Contingency Plan, but I've had the idea on the backburner for years now. I finally figured out how to get some of the plot straight to feel confident starting it.

Status: On hold.

GOALS FOR 2022

Attempting not to intimidate myself too much here dskfj. Ideally next year I would finish all (both) my ML wips and stop writing multichapters for ML in the future. I'd like to be more free to focus on utdr and vanqua (kh). Here's a more specific breakdown of some goals/hopes I have for the next year.

Priority Fics to COMPLETE:

Contingency Plan. This was first posted back in May 2018. It's been long enough lol

Home Base. This one is close enough to being done that it's a reasonable goal.

Something Bigger than the Sky. Literally just needs one more chapter.

Mortal Coil Shuffle. Biggest ongoing undertale fic, would be really nice to have completed.

Things that I just really look forward to writing: so many things!! But somehow, mostly Papyton? If you would've told me last year that I'd get so attached to them I would've thought you were crazy. I thought they were just a "pair the spares" ship at first that I saw in the background of soriel fics, but after writing them I've become really attached to their chemistry! So my deltarune papyton fic (Not a Nobody) and skelechara fake dating (Dug This Grave) are two I'm really looking forward to, even if I'd like to finish some other fics before prioritizing them.

If you actually read all this, thanks! I hope you have a great new year!!