#I would literally do anything for her I would kill a man for her

[notmeowse]

Solavellan ending and why I hate it

Major Veilguard endgame spoilers under the cut.

I beat the game two days ago and I haven't been able to stop thinking about that ending. I'm not going to get into the rest of the game's flaws. They've been covered at length. But all of those issues aside, the one perfect, untouchable thing I thought I had left as the game drew to a close was the Solavellan ending. After all, Trick wrote the original Solavellan romance and the incredible continuation of it in Trespasser. As lead writer, they were directly responsible for making it happen. I thought we had this in the bag.

So on one hand, my favorite Dragon Age romance finally reunited and disintegrated off into the sunset.

On the other hand, he did not choose her.

This is what ruined it for me. I know a lot of people have issues with her sacrificing her life to join him in the Fade, but that was really a secondary issue for me.

What was the point of their entire relationship if, in the end, when it REALLY counted, he was never going to choose Lavellan over tearing down the Veil? Why did it take Mythal, who he actually killed in the last game in order to take her power, to convince him? Where's the romance in that?

This literally just turned into the story of Lavellan and the elven god who did not love her enough.

Okay, yes, the gamified reason it takes Mythal to convince him is because Lavellan was tacked onto an existing avenue of dealing with Solas rather than being given her own separate option, right? At the end of the game you have the choice to either fight him, trick him, or (if the Mythal-related criteria is met) invoke the essence of Mythal contained in the statue. No Bring Out The Big Guns, Lavellan option.

In my opinion, she should have been the fourth option, only available to players that have an Inquisitor that romanced Solas and encouraged Lavellan to reunite with him mid-game. It would have required about as much effort to do this as it did to have him turn her down once again (which, I maintain defeats the entire purpose of the story being told here). That would have been the absolute easiest fix to this fucking mess.

I understand why Lavellan wasn't counted among his regrets and therefore wasn't in the Lighthouse murals (because he doesn't actually regret falling in love with her) and I acknowledge that getting real closure from Mythal is important to Solas's story, and that it did have its place in that ending scene. Whether she was a lover or a mother to him isn't really the issue here -- it's the fact that she holds sway over him where Lavellan apparently does not. Despite the fact that, again, he killed Mythal in the previous game, despite the fact that he couldn't bring himself to kill the Inquisitor for the anchor, despite the fact that Lavellan was the one single thing in the world that made him really want to walk away from his plans.

(Why wasn't the "I release you from my service" a conversation had between him and Flemythal back in Inquisition? And why is that essence of Flemythal (who now exists in Morrigan) suddenly so chill and pro-Veil? Do we not remember the reckoning that will shake the very heavens? The She was betrayed as I was betrayed, as the world was betrayed? I will see her avenged? No payoff? None? There's so much wrong and bad writing to unpack there, but this is still a Solavellan post.)

Back to him wanting to turn away from his grand plan. The fundamental difference between Mythal and Lavellan, in my opinion, is the way each of them saw him. Mythal asked him to change for her, to leave the Fade, to commit atrocities with her out of love and service. Lavellan only ever loved him as a man, never once asking him to change for her, never asking him to be anything other than himself. In the time they were together, he was able to be the person he wanted to be. It took a very specific set of circumstances and a very specific person that had to fall into place for that romance to happen, which is arguably what made her so special, and what made their time together even more so. It followed, especially with what we know now, that he would want to drop his grand plan to be with her.

In comes Veilguard, which introduced a parallel between Solas/Mythal and Solavellan. In the second memory, we discover that Mythal never once chose Solas over her duty to elvhenan (even when he begged her to lay it down and run away with him) and dragged him along with her to commit unspeakable atrocities (in her words, she broke him). Solas (at that point in the game, when we were witnessing the memories) had yet to choose Lavellan over his crusade, but quite literally loved her too much to bring her along with him. He would not let her do that to herself, he would not do to her what Mythal did to him.

Here's where I feel like I'm losing my mind, because I thought the point of that mural was to foreshadow him eventually choosing Lavellan, as he is very much not Mythal, and is very much looking for a reason to lay it down, to be proven wrong. I also thought the blurb in the Inquisitor character creation menu (who did you romance) was foreshadowing it, as well as the mid-game choice Rook can make to encourage her to reunite with him and change his heart.

So why didn't it happen? I can only assume because they didn't actually want to have any of our choices carry over, let alone the Solavellan option (which they should have realized from the start was a bad call and also fucking impossible to manage given that the game is a direct sequel to Inquisition). The fact that Lavellan is tacked onto an already existing scene rather than being given her own is evidence of this. However, even if she had to be tacked onto the Mythal scene and not given her own, a simple reordering of the events would have fixed the fucking ending. So it could have gone two (very easily manageable and not too much extra) ways:

Remove the part where he turns her down. Remove the entire thing. Morrimythal could have flown up to him before the Inquisitor even arrived on scene, we could have had our statue moment, and just when he thinks he's going to be all alone behind the Veil, Lavellan shows up, they reunite, and she goes with him. (Easiest way for Bioware to fix it imo)

Lav acts as the ace up our sleeve, a fourth option (and a second option to make him lay it down) instead of using the statue to redeem him. Mythal releases him from her service AFTER he chooses Lavellan, thereby releasing him from his guilt over her. I prefer this one. It should have been this. They could have walked away, they could have tied themselves to the Veil, either way works.

Now, I am among those that think the Veil should have come down, which would have rendered this entire thing moot, had it happened. But since Bioware is dead-set on maintaining the status quo in Thedas, it should have been this instead.

In writing this I wonder if I've been completely delusional over their relationship, but going by the reactions to this ending, it seems that what we got was not at all expected.

[rvp32]

Thanks for accepting the IVE headcanon request! Would be amazing if you do one for TWICE! Big fan of your fluffy fics <3

I hope you guys are loving these headcanons just as much as I am.

Nayeon

Yeah, she would be livid if she ever saw another woman trying to flirt or even touch you. She will drag you away from the public and tell you exactly why she's mad and kiss you multiple times going as far as biting your lip. The pain from your lip remains a reminder to you and also is a sign to other women that you belong to Nayeon

Jeongyeon

Probably the most mature one and wouldn't be super possessive, she really loves and trusts you but if it does go overboard just expect a simple message. She is very open with communication and wouldn't keep things to herself if it upset her.

Momo

Weirdly enough she would hate it. She loved you more than anything in the world and is loyal to you to the bone. So she expects the same from you which you give. But there are times when women don't take the hint of you being uncomfortable with their touches and this pisses Momo off because you are clearly uncomfortable. She would interrupt your conversation and introduce herself holding her hand out, "Hi, I am Momo, his girlfriend. If you keep making my man uncomfortable you better know how to fight because I'm going to beat your ass till you realize how stupid you are ."

Sana

There is quite literally no chance of women even coming to you and being touchy with you because Sana is always by your side hugging your hand like a Koala bear. But if a dense woman tries to come toward you with a flirty smile, expect a tonne of kinship. Kisses, handholding, fixing your shirt, or fixing your hair. She will very clearly make it known that you are taken.

Jihyo

Any woman would be stupid to try to go toward Jihyo's man. There is quite literally no reason for you to choose any other girl especially when you have a Goddess like Jihyo always right next to you. If someone dares to flirt with you when Jihyo leaves for a few minutes, then expect to get a passionate kiss but what you don't know is that she has her middle finger showing to the girl. After pulling away from the kiss all Jihyo says is "Leave," in her commanding tone and with eyes that could kill.

Mina

She's probably the most possessive one in the entire Twice. You don't usually run into a lot of women given your profession but it does tend to happen at professional parties which Mina always attends with you. Your suit for the Night will include a ring with M carved on it, cufflinks with Mina's name, a tie clip with her name, and finally a custom-made Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with Mina's name carved into the bezel. Everything on you clearly screams that you belong to Mina. But if some stupid woman thought she still had a chance and tried to flirt with you, Mina wouldn't let that slide. She would have her secretary look into that person and make them pay.

Dahyun

She would be too shy to outright come out and express her possessiveness or jealousy. Dahyun really loves her privacy so she doesn't like to attend high-profile events because of all the press coverage it gets. Sometimes she stumbles onto pictures of you with other women who are slyly touching you. She wouldn't say anything but there would be signs, like the increased touching, biting and her basically throwing herself onto you. After you are done all she whispers is"You are mine"

Chaeyoung

Very vocal about it, the minute a woman tries to act flirty with you Chaeyeong will let her know clearly and that if she does it again there will be consequences ones that are going to be extremely hard to deal with. "Touch My boyfriend another time and you can say goodbye to life." Unknowingly to you, the reason all your exes broke up with you or ghosted you was because of Chaeyoung. She was scaring them away.

Tzuyu

Will elegantly make the woman realize how stupid she is to try and flirt with her boyfriend especially when she is in the same room. by saying things like "I can see you have a taste for the finer things; unfortunately, he’s already taken by the finest" or "Oh, I admire your optimism! Though I’m afraid he's a bit out of your league."

"Thank you! I didn't know how to tell her to leave, it was getting uncomfortable,"

"That's what I am here for baby, those sly bitches won't bother you as long as I am here

[3ephemeral]

something like that

Theseus Scamander x gn!reader

You believe the ministry isn’t trying their hardest to capture Grindlewald. Theseus gets angry that you don’t believe in them and causes reader to find things out themselves.

warnings: sad :(

It’s been months since the ministry was able to find any clue about what happened to Grindlewald. Their last lead had them in Paris where many Aurors had met their fate.

You’d been to the ministry loads of times after, but each time you went everything seemed so chill. Like the most dangerous and powerful wizard wasn’t trying to create war between wizards and No-Majs.

You tried voicing your complaints to your boyfriend and the head Auror, Theseus Scamander. But he all but shrugged his shoulders when you mentioned it.

It wasn’t any different this time.

You and Theseus stood in his office, his attention not completely focused on you.

“I’m positive everything is going the way it should be. There’s no need to worry.” He said his eyes focused on the stack of papers on his desk.

You didn’t say anything in return. It was like he really didn’t care that this was happening. As if everyone didn’t care that this was happening. You’ve watched every Auror in and out of this building live there lives like it wasn’t at risk everyday.

“Look I know it’s scary. But I promise your in good hands, there’s nothing you should be worried about.” He said, with a lack of response he looked up. You were staring off into space, lost in a world of thoughts.

“I just don’t get why you can’t try harder.” You stated after a moment of silence.

He stood there, stunned.

“Excuse me?” He asked as a genuine question.

“It just seems to me like your not really doing anything. Like your team just doesn’t care.” You spoke up.

Theseus’ eyebrows furrowed, a frown cascading down his face.

“My team is working the hardest they can, just because you can’t see it on the outside doesn’t mean they aren’t doing anything.” He said, his body tensed up as he sat down.

“Now if you don’t mind I have some paperwork to do.” He spoke angrily, hinting for you to leave.

With no second thought your body vanished from the room leaving Theseus to his own thoughts. How could he sit here and just wait for Grindelwald to make a move? At that point it would be too late. He has already took enough from wizards, and his next move might just corrupt the wizarding world forever. You couldn't just sit there and wait. You knew his last place of action. And though most of the mausoleum had been destroyed by the fire, you figured there might be some clues for you to find. After packing and contacting your illegal portkey man you set off to Paris. ----- Seeing the rubble made you second guess yourself. The cemetery was huge, and even months after the accident it had looked fresh. Echo's of the event sounded in your head, reminding you of exactly what went down. Queenie, someone you came to love. Her gentle voice, her calming personality. And the fact that she could literally read your mind. You didn't have to say anything, she understood you in a way no one else ever could. Leta, Theseus' former. She was a lovely person. Someone who in the end only thought of herself as a monster. The girl. Only in times to vow for what she believed in. Killed in cold blood. The growing flames of the blue dragons. The feeling of complete uselessness trying to dissipate the flames. You were utterly distracted. The spell placed around the ruins doing its purpose. Three figures stood behind you. Dark. Ominous. Red dazed your vision as you crashed to the ground, writhing in pain. ----- You felt the throbbing in your veins before noticing anything else. Heart beat quickened as you realize what happened. Sitting up, you took in your surroundings. Queenie sat in a chair in front of you. Face pale, skinnier than when you had last seen her. You were on the ground, cold concrete, so were the walls. She stood up from the chair and made her way around your body. Leaving out a metal door behind you. Only after turning to watch her leave do you realize your arms were chained to the ground. You weren't alone for long. The door scraped open behind you. You kept your head low. "I assumed someone would have gotten these chains off of you." He spoke. "Not like you really have any place to go." A shudder ran through your body. He was different. A different aura. "Sorry for my ungrateful hospitality, would you get these off her please." Grindelwald spoke. Palms reached for your arms, untangling your wrists from their shackles. Immediately you reached for your wand. "I'm sorry sweetness but of course I have to take my own precautions too." He said pulling out your wand from his coat, waving it in your direction. He stuffed it back into his pocket. "Now we have a lot to talk about." ----- "Where could she have gone?!" Theseus yelled. He had walked to your office to ask you some questions about your paperwork. You weren't there. He called his brother, Newt, over to help him find you. "Well I'm not too sure, I don't really have a tracker on her." Newt spoke. "Everything is still here so she couldn't have gone home." Theseus spoke. "Let me see her jacket." Newt spoke, his arm open for his brother to place it in. Creating a type of tracker new did locate where your last location was. But it only led him and Theseus to a small alley way. "Maybe she got robbed! Or kidnaped!" Theseus spoke. "I'm sure she's strong enough on her own to fight off a robber. Plus it would have shown us where she was if that was the case. She had to have taken a portkey. But to where?" "We were talking about Grindelwald the last time I saw her. You dont think..." "We have to go"

----- After arriving, the jacket continued to lead them where you had visited. The ruins seemed to have the same effect on them that it did on you. They stood still. Crunching leaves alerted them, finally allowing them an escape from the past. You stood there. Only it wasn't you. A hollow shell of the bright mind that once had hold over your body. Your wand was raised. Pointed at only Theseus. "y/n?" He spoke softly. Not even a blink. Figures appeared from smoke behind you. Credence, Abernathy, Vinda, Krall, Queenie. And finally Him himself. Newt and Theseus drew their wands. "What did you do to her?" Theseus voice almost broke. "Whatever do you mean?" Grindelwald spoke. "Look at her!" He screamed. He didn't have to turn around to see you. Under a charm that holds you a hostage. Trapped in your mind. Forced to watch. Grindelwald smirked. "I'm going to FUCKING KILL YOU!" Theseus screamed. A beam of orange threw itself out of his wand. No incantation. The black smoke covered anything that could be seen. But as it cleared up it was only you. On the ground. They both ran up to you. Theseus took your head in his lap, lightly tapping his palm to your cheek. "y/n?" He whispered. It wasn't a terribly strong spell. But you were weak. Frail. Paper. Your head felt weightless in his lap. Like you were a figment of his imagination. Newt sat there. No words. Only staring at his brother. He had reached down to your neck. No pulse. "What did he do to you." Theseus cried. Regret. Shame. He should have listened to you. He shouldn't have just brushed you off. To be totally honest the ministry wasn't trying as hard as they could have. They were waiting for him to make a reappearance. Anger. Why? Why would you come back here as if you had any authority in the first place. As if you wouldn't just remember everything that had happened when you showed up and realized you couldn't do it on your own. You knew how dangerous this was and you were still so stupid to do it. "You knew we were at least trying! We had an eye on his every move. So why! Why would you do this! To your job! Your family! Me." His tears continued to fall. Landing along your skin. Dripping on your forehead and your chin, falling down the sides of your neck. Your skin glowed. Weight finally pressed into his thighs. He looked down. Your eyes meeting. "Your alive?!" He got up. Pulling you by your shoulders to sit upright. Newt supported your back. Completely in awe that your still here. "He only kept me in my head. Your spell must have cracked the curse." You smiled up at him. "Or it could have been his love." Newt whispered. You blushed. "You cant scare me like that again, I wont let you leave me." He said pulling you into a tight hug. "I'm sorry for not paying attention to you. But you have to realize how dangerous this all was for you. Please make me listen to you next time, I cant live without you." He whispered. "I love you." "I love you too"

[mythica-ithaca]

First of all, you're taking the wrong thing from this post. It's less about her being the equivalent of Hitler and more making a point against "lesser evilism".

She tried to appeal to Trump's base instead of her own. Even those that didn't like him, were not going to vote for her purely because why would they vote for Republican Lite when they have the literal face of the conservative party right next to her. She pushed away the leftist vote that DESPITE what you people seem to think, would have actually come out to begrudgingly support her if she had done anything to mitigate the carnage in Gaza, or break away from Biden even an inch, but she refused. To pander to right wingers that she was never going to win over with Trump right next to her. There is no Less Evil form of genocide.

Second of all, you cannot absolve POC and queer people of supporting genocide just because of their vulnerability or minority status. Kamala, a woman of color, stood by and refused to acknowledge what is happening in Gaza as a genocide. Obama, a man of color, killed thousands of innocent civilians with fucking drones during his presidency. Like, c'mon. They are both war criminals. Just like every American president and vice president. There are plenty of queer and POC people online right now hoping Gaza gets turned into a parking lot because they think Palestinians cost the the election. They don't get a fucking pass for that shit because of their identity. That's bullshit.

I understand the fear. However, you cannot sit here and refuse to acknowledge that you made a choice, however hard that choice may have been. You should feel ashamed, at the very least, that all you could do was put your support behind a woman and her party that is currently complicit in Genocide.

The issue with "lesser of two evils" politics is if you run a race of 99% Hitler vs 100% Hitler, 100% Hitler wins every time because the people who want a Hitler vote for 100% Hitler and the people who don't want a Hitler might not vote for either of them.

I understand this might be shocking to some of you.

[dingle-barton-dynamic]

[mxtxfanatic]

One day this fandom will have a reckoning on how it likes to blame Jin Xixuan's death on Wei Wuxian—whether by maliciousness or a "loss of control"—while ignoring the fact that Jin Zixuan died because he lunged at Wei Wuxian with a drawn sword because he was angry that Wei Wuxian told him that he doesn't trust him after he refused to tell Wei Wuxian whether or not he was a part of the ambush his cousin set up after Wei Wuxian told him to keep his distance from him after he told Wei Wuxian to stop defending himself against an ambush that he showed up to and was plainly told was put together to kill Wei Wuxian after he had already been bodily pushing Wei Wuxian around to protect his cousin. But all of that is supposed to be forgiven and forgotten because the reason he wanted Wei Wuxian to ignore all logic and put his life in danger was for Jiang Yanli's temporary happiness? Lol. Lmao even.

[witheredgardenparty]

Has anyone talked about how each member of the Genius Society represents the over reliance on the belief of intelligence but not the act of intelligence?

[dinsbeskar]

I AM SCREAMING HE IS SO AWFUL OH GOD

“My gentle darling, you have a fever. You must have had a nightmare,” he told you sweetly. “I told you to stay in bed.”

Fuck's sake, the way I'd be like "yes babe you're right, I'll go back to bed" ughhhhhh he's so evil for this!!!

“No emissary of The Valar would do this,” you turned your face around to lay your eyes on your husband again as more tears streamed down your cheeks. He looked both – hurt to be accused and angry to be caught at the same time. The most confusing reaction you could expect. “My husband would not do this,” you added, nearly inaudibly.

At that, he snorted. And you only sobbed some more.

OOOOOHHHH THE AUDACITY, hurt to be accused???? Reign it in bro, you've been caught!!! It's the snorting for me though, the unnecessary hurt to the literal mother of his child, goddddd I hate him!!

“I have many names,” Annatar smirked at your question as if it was bringing him satisfaction that his silly and naive wife had finally realised the dreadful truth.

OUCH this fucking guy??? She's such a sweet soul and he's taking such pleasure in shattering her, I need to fight him 😂

“But you are my daddy,” Almárea tugged on his robe, waiting for confirmation.

“For all eternity, my darling one,” he caressed her hair lovingly and an empty hole in your chest grew and grew as it began to sink into your heart.

You had married Annatar but you had a child with Sauron.

Oh god this section had me in pieces, "for all eternity my darling one"??? Daddy Sauron is sending me, someone come get me off the floor, so much paaaain

You sobbed silently. Was it possible that this was the only kind of love you could ever count on? This twisted illusion, this mockery? You had been nothing but kind and gentle to him, giving him everything you had and more. And all you had ever wanted in return was to be loved back. To have a family.

My heart is shattered, she doesn't deserve this!!! This fucking guy!!!! It's okay babe, in a few millennia he'll end up destroyed by his own hubris, you'll get your revenge (I'm so upset for her, goddddd)

“Mummy is a twisted, treacherous little witch, so it seems,” Sauron drawled out and you turned your head around to lay your angry eyes upon him with tears streaming down your cheeks.

HORRIBLE MAN

EVIL

The absolute audacity to try and turn her daughter against her, the gall, the gumption??? Absolutely not!!!

“Daddy, it is not mummy’s fault that she is weak. You told me that yourself!”

Again, EVIL, TWISTED, TERRIBLE.

“Annatar,” you whispered softly. “Annatar, my love, come back to me. You bound yourself to me, too, dark spirit. Obey me. Release me,” you pleaded, desperately, feeling as if you were losing your sanity.

OH MY GOD

Hoo boy i wish that had worked but he is literally the worst!!! "Obey me, release me" absolutely sent me

Sauron did what you had done a while earlier and pressed Almárea’s face deeper into his robe as she was clinging to him. And when there was a guarantee she could not see anything, he twisted the wrist of his free hand and the Commander froze before turning the blade around and killing himself with it.

Daddy!Sauron appears again!!! Fuck this guy but also, oh my godddddd, like he's happy for her to do his dirty work, but she can't possibly see him kill a bunch of people, that would be too far!!

Holy shit, I'm in love with the way you write him, so deliciously evil, I cannot wait for the 3rd part, I will die!!!

— BLESSED (II)

PART ONE

PAIRING — Sauron x fem!half-Elf!Reader

SUMMARY — You find out your husband's true identity when Eregion is under attack. It is hard to tell which one is worse – the betrayal that you feel or witnessing how influenced by his evil your daughter already is.

AUTHOR’S NOTE — I said there would be a second part, so here it is. But as usual, I could not stop writing and... there will be a third part, too! 🤣 Basically, in this part, Sauron is walking inside the rooms rapidly nearly all the time, which is something I realised later while re-reading the fic but I couldn't edit it since it made sense for the plot (and he was doing that a lot in canon, too).

WARNINGS — Reader's father is dead (he was human, so she outlived him), manipulating, gaslighting, lowkey toxic and abusive marriage between the Reader and Annatar Sauron, he gets angry at his daughter once or twice but he is not violent towards her (should not trigger anyone but I wanted to mention it just in case) + he is manipulating his daughter a lot, Celebrimbor has gone mad-mad, Reader being put to sleep against her will, trigger warnings from S02E07 (Sauron murdering the guards etc.)

WORD COUNT — 5,240

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

BLESSED (II)

You were sitting inside your chambers in the evening all alone and embroidering for your daughter. Your only company was a slowly burning candle as you focused on the beautiful gemstones that were appearing thanks to your needle. Almárea had always been interested in the craft of smithery and it was no surprise. Her grandfather had been an excellent smith and so was her father. Uncle Celebrimbor perhaps was not related to her but she had been growing up around him. And, recently, her new favourite thing to do was to spend time with him in the forge, learning everything she could about the craft. She was there at the moment, too.

And where Annatar was, you had no idea. Most likely with them or helping to run the city. Ever since Celebrimbor’s health had been getting worse, your husband was helping you with the administration matters around Eregion, for which you were the most grateful. He did not wish you to overwork yourself.

You heard a booming sound from the distance, which startled you slightly. However, you gave it no second thought. But when the sound began to repeat itself, you stood up and approached the window worryingly. Your heart skipped a beat at the sight of the fire burning in the distance and you spotted a cannonball coming closer and closer to Eregion.

You could see it all in slow-motion how it hit one of the towers of your city. You let out a scream and covered your mouth with a trembling hand. The very foundations of the tower you were in shook and made you hurry for the doors, desperate to find the ones you loved the most.

But before you could reach them, they opened widely and Annatar stood in them. He was oddly calm but oh, of course he was – an emissary of The Valar would not be ever scared and his calmness would bring nothing but peace in the times of trouble.

“We are under attack,” he announced and you grabbed his sleeve to squeeze the fabric and pull on it, holding onto him like a child. “Stay here.”

“But… Almárea… She’s in the forge with Celebrimbor…” You sobbed and yelped at the sound of another cannonball hitting Eregion.

“Do not be afraid,” Annatar put his arm around you and walked you back to your chair where he was trying to sit you down but you refused.

“Almárea and uncle Celebrimbor… I must go for them…”

“I shall go,” Annatar assured you and finally managed to sit you down by the table. “My love, stay here.”

“Should we not evacuate?” You asked, looking up at him with glistening eyes. Whatever he would say, you would listen, do and follow. You trusted him with your whole life.

“When the right time comes. Until then, stay here, so I do not lose you in the crowd,” Annatar instructed and left your chambers.

You wiped your tears with a shaky hand and felt the ground under your feet shaking once more. A while after his departure, you realised that his request was deeply concerning. Staying inside this tower could mean death to you, after all. There was no guarantee that the next cannonball would not hit your tower.

You moved up once more and ran to the doors but they were locked, which made you furrow your brows. You kept pulling the handle but without any success. Even when you used all of your force, they did not move an inch.

The sounds of cannonballs and people screaming in terror were reaching your ears from afar as your anxiety grew. How could your husband ask you to stay inside in a moment like this – especially with your daughter being far away from you? Your heart could not rest until you were sure that Almárea was safe.

You hurried to the balcony and looked up at the tower next to yours. The fire inside the forge was still on, you noticed. But you kept waiting and waiting for your husband’s return and there was nobody coming.

You were circling around the room nervously, trying to think of a way out. Almárea was all you could think of – your sweet daughter, your purpose in life, your little blessing. You had to be with her, you had to protect her.

And as you nearly broke down in tears of helplessness, you felt another cannonball hitting nearby. The force of that hit was so strong that you fell over, feeling the floor underneath you tilting slightly. When you dared to open your eyes, fearing what you would witness, you realised that half of the tower you were locked inside was in ruins now. Including the wall in front of you, which allowed you to run out without using the locked doors.

You did not think of anything else, leaving all your properties behind as you gathered your skirts and managed to get to the corridor, coughing heavily from all the dust.

The staircase was wobbly and you knew each step could cause you to fall down but you were too determined to overthink that. Step by step, as fast as you could, you ran downstairs and hurried across the courtyard, bumping into other screaming and terrified people, until you reached the doors to Celebrimbor’s forge.

What you witnessed, shocked you dearly. Because despite the siege around you, you spotted your uncle and daughter working on some design cheerfully.

“Almárea!” You called out for her, making them both turn around with widened eyes. “Uncle! What are you doing?!” You hurried to their side and put your arms around your daughter protectively. “Can’t you see and hear what is happening outside?! We must leave, this very moment!”

“What are you talking about, child?” Celebrimbor chuckled at you as if you were the crazy one. His eyes were full of joy but you also spotted a haze in them, a deep fog as if he had lost his mind. Your heart ached for him because his state had been worsening for weeks now.

“Uncle… Please, we must go,” you reached out to hold his wrists but he winced and pushed you away.

“No! I must not stop my work. What are you talking about, (Y/N)? Look at the state of you, you look like a slattern,” he pointed out and his words hurt you deeply. Of course you looked like a slattern. There was a siege happening and you crawled yourself out of the tower’s ruins to get here. “Almárea, your mother must be feverish,” he addressed your daughter.

“Almárea, my darling, we have to go and we have to take uncle with us,” you tried to explain it to her in the simplest way but she took a step back from you as she shook her head and the bow in her head bounced slightly.

“No. Daddy asked me to stay here and watch over uncle Celebrimbor,” she explained.

“Almárea, that is very noble but we are under attack,” you were trying to remain calm despite the noises reaching your ears from the outside. You knew that you had no time to argue. “Whatever your daddy asked you to do, it has no significance now.”

“But he has been here only recently,” she answered and you opened your mouth slightly, surprised. “He told me to keep up my work,” she added, proudly. “Uncle, go back to your craft. Mummy is sick indeed,” she addressed Celebrimbor and he nodded at her before giving you a dirty look and going back to his designs of the Rings.

“Almárea, it is not safe, we must leave. What are you doing to him?” You asked her, unsurely. You were scared to hear the answer as you crouched down to be on her level.

Your sweet, little daughter. Your blessing. Why was there so much malice in her eyes now?

The doors of the forge opened rapidly and you stood up at the sight of Annatar rushing inside. At first, you did not recognise him because his kind and loving face was twisted in anger as his soft eyes reminded you of nothing but black, empty abysses.

“What are you doing here?!” He barked at you. “I saw the cannonball hitting our tower, I rushed there and it was empty. Do you have any idea how worried I was?!” He raised his voice at you but you could not hear any concern in it – only fury.

You swallowed a lump in your throat and put your hands on Almárea’s shoulders.

“It is you who should explain yourself to me,” you tried to sound harshly but it was coming to you with great difficulty. After all, it was your husband, whom you loved and respected greatly. “Why is Almárea here and what is she doing to my uncle? You promised me you would come for them and we would evacuate together,” you pointed out.

“Not until the Rings are finished,” Annatar answered. “Almárea, are you keeping up the good work?” He addressed her softly.

“Yes, daddy,” she nodded her head with a grin and Annatar smiled before approaching Celebrimbor.

“How fares your progress?” He asked him.

“It would be better if your wife was not distracting me. She is feverish, you should take her back to your chambers and put her to bed. Call for a medic if you must,” Celebrimbor mumbled out.

“Is everyone going insane here?! We are under attack!” You exclaimed out of desperation.

“Almárea,” was all your husband said before she nodded and tilted her head

Suddenly, you felt dizzy. You let go of her arms and stumbled, grabbing the edge of Celebrimbor’s desk. You laid your free hand on your forehead and felt how hot the skin was.

“Oh, I… I… I do not feel well,” you whispered.

Annatar hurried to your side and slowly wrapped his arms around yours to help you move away.

“My gentle darling, you have a fever. You must have had a nightmare,” he told you sweetly. “I told you to stay in bed.”

“You… You did?” You asked but your mind was in a haze.

“Please, lay down,” Annatar helped you to get comfortable on a chaise longue in Celebrimbor’s study. He caressed your forehead and you could hear him walk away since your vision was too blurry to see anything. “Almárea, your mummy needs to rest,” you heard him whisper before your eyelids got too heavy to keep them open and you drifted off to the land of dreams.

You had no idea for how long you had been sleeping. Could be hours and could be days. When you opened your eyes again, you realised with terror that the forge was a mere shadow of its own glory. It was in ruins now and everything was dull, grey and full of dust. You stood up rapidly with your heart pounding inside your chest from the anxiety – Almárea and her safety were all you could think of.

And there she was, sitting boredly on top of Celebrimbor’s desk. They both had clothes and faces dirty from the ashes but he kept working cheerfully as your daughter was looking down at him and swinging her legs.

“Oh, mummy,” she smiled at the sight of you. “I am glad you woke up. I am so bored here and daddy keeps saying I must go on until uncle’s work is finished,” she sighed and jumped down onto the floor.

“What… What are you doing? What are you doing exactly?” You asked her, carefully. Your head was still heavy from the sleep induced upon you and your memories of what had happened were foggy.

“Daddy says uncle Celebrimbor must finish the Rings for men but he would be scared of what is going on outside, so while daddy helps to run Eregion, I am here, making sure uncle Celebrimbor has no idea about anything,” she revealed and you gasped.

At that moment, the doors opened and Annatar walked inside. His skin and robes were not dirty at all as if he was above the siege. For the first time in your life, you were scared at the sight of him as you swallowed thickly, so deeply confused.

“The Rings. Are they finished?” He asked and closed the doors behind him. Then, he spotted you being awake and turned around slowly with a puzzled expression. “Almárea, why is your mother awake?”

“I was bored, daddy,” Almárea whined and you watched Annatar’s face muscles twitching as he clenched his jaw and gave your daughter a look so scolding that she approached you to seek safety.

“She is only a child, what do you expect?” You asked him. “You have burdened her with a task that is too heavy for her. It would be too heavy for anyone. The measures you are taking to finish the creation are unholy,” you took a deep breath in and moved a little closer to your uncle with Almárea still clinging to you. You were trying to shield poor Celebrimbor from your husband. “Make it stop. Let us flee.”

Celebrimbor looked up at you, his eyes so full of fog and mist that it made you shed a tear of compassion as he smiled adoringly at you with nothing but pure joy. He had completely lost his mind now.

“No emissary of The Valar would do this,” you turned your face around to lay your eyes on your husband again as more tears streamed down your cheeks. He looked both – hurt to be accused and angry to be caught at the same time. The most confusing reaction you could expect. “My husband would not do this,” you added, nearly inaudibly.

At that, he snorted. And you only sobbed some more.

“Free my uncle’s mind, I beg of you,” you shook your head.

“He is not under my control,” Annatar smirked and looked down to meet your daughter’s gaze. He nodded and she squeezed her eyes tightly as she focused on something. When her eyes opened again, you looked back at your uncle but he remained working. “Her powers are too strong. He might be forever broken now,” Annatar pointed out with a glimpse of… pride. “Come to me, my child,” he opened his arms and Almárea tried to move but you tightened your grip around her.

“No. You will not go near that man ever again,” you said to her, harshly. Each word caused a pain, like a knife cutting your heart into pieces.

You loved Annatar but you had to protect your daughter from him because the man in front of you was… Was simply not the man you had married. Perhaps the burden of the Valar was too heavy for him. The task they had given to him had driven him and your uncle to madness.

Perhaps it was all your fault – by choosing to stay with you as your husband, he had to choose this form and stay in it, losing some of his godly powers. And his new flesh was simply too weak to handle all the power he had been blessed with by the gods.

His empty eyes glanced at you with so much hatred and fury that you felt smaller than a mouse at the moment.

“I am her father,” he reminded you, coldly. “Almárea, come here,” he ordered.

And you were simply too weak to fight it. Your limbs rebelled against your will as you felt your daughter leaving your grasp and running up to her father. You could only watch as your whole life was crumbling down just like Eregion around it.

“You are her father. But you are not my husband,” you said. “Who are you… truly?”

“I am the one keeping the storm at bay,” he answered, putting his hands on Almárea’s shoulders as she kept looking up at him with admiration. “Balancing the very sun above your head. All to heal Middle-earth and give your weak and pathetic uncle one chance to prove his worth. I want the Nine!” He yelled, making you flinch.

Celebrimbor did not, however. He only looked up at the mention of his name and smiled kindly at the monster you had to call your husband.

“I am working, my friend,” he assured him before going back to work.

You moved slightly to cover him from Annatar’s stare. But you were not sure if Annatar was truly his name.

To heal Middle-earth. You knew that story. You knew who had been the man with such a dream. Annatar had been mentioning it before but never in this way. But now it all made sense. It all made a terrible sense and you had been nothing but a blind fool. It should had alarmed you the very first time Annatar had used this phrase. But the tone of his voice had been sweet then; concerned. Now, he had revealed his true intentions.

“You are He,” you realised out loud with a trembling voice. In fact, your whole body was trembling. The waves of aftershocks coming over your body after finding out such a dreadful thing about the person with whom you had shared your chambers, your bed, your body, your heart and your soul… Your bloodline. “You are Sauron,” the name rolled off of your tongue like something filthy and dirty – the most disgusting. The Abhorred.

All those I love yous you had whispered to him, all those nights you had spent on whimpering his name lost in pleasure, all those breakfasts you had served him, all those hours spent on brushing his hair with your fingers and peppering his face with tiny kisses. All this time you had been doing nothing but pampering the monster. And all this time you had been living in an illusion – not much better than the one your uncle was living in at the moment.

“I have many names,” Annatar smirked at your question as if it was bringing him satisfaction that his silly and naive wife had finally realised the dreadful truth.

“But you are my daddy,” Almárea tugged on his robe, waiting for confirmation.

“For all eternity, my darling one,” he caressed her hair lovingly and an empty hole in your chest grew and grew as it began to sink into your heart.

You had married Annatar but you had a child with Sauron.

You were sitting on the floor, with your back pressed to the wall and your knees brought all the way up to be able to rest your head on them. You had no chains but you did not have to. Annatar – or rather Sauron – knew very well that you would not leave Celebrimbor’s forge as long as Almárea was inside.

So, you just kept sitting there and staring at her as she was standing above your uncle and watching carefully as he crafted the Rings. She was studying him and you smiled sadly at that because under different circumstances it would be lovely to watch her learning from Celebrimbor.

His mind was far too gone to know anything happening around him. The only thing he could focus on was forging the Rings as you kept overthinking your whole marriage.

All those little things you had been ignoring about Annatar until now – all those excuses you had been making up for him. Gods, you were such a fool. And you loved your daughter more than anything but you could not help a feeling that your womb had borne a seed of Middle-earth’s demise.

Why had Annatar chosen you? Now it all made sense – you were the most useful in his schemes. You were close to the man he had wanted wrapped around his finger. And you were half-human, which could push Celebrimbor into agreeing to craft such powerful items even for the kin considered to be weak and unworthy by many Elves.

You sobbed silently. Was it possible that this was the only kind of love you could ever count on? This twisted illusion, this mockery? You had been nothing but kind and gentle to him, giving him everything you had and more. And all you had ever wanted in return was to be loved back. To have a family.

“You are done now! Daddy will be so proud, uncle!” Almárea clapped her hands and it made you look up. She kissed Celebrimbor’s cheek and he smiled at her, watching her put the rings inside a pouch.

“Almárea,” you called out for her and she laid her eyes on you. “Give them to me,” you ordered.

“But daddy–” She started, unsurely.

“I just want to see,” you extended your hand and she walked up to you, hesitantly. She handed you the pouch and you grabbed it from her. “Mummy!” She whined.

“Undo what you have done to uncle Celebrimbor’s mind. Right now,” your voice was harsh but not too much because she was still your daughter and you could never hurt or abandon her even if the darkness was the path she would descend into.

She was still a child, though. And she was half you – there was the same amount of light inside of her as of darkness.

“I can only try,” Almárea told you and you nodded at her, encouragingly. 

You held her hands to help her and she squeezed them, closing her eyes and tilting her head as she furrowed her brows, causing a small wrinkle to appear on her smooth forehead.

When she was done, you knew that it had thankfully worked. Because Celebrimbor yelped out of fear as you kissed the top of your daughter’s head and ran up to him immediately.

“Uncle… Uncle, calm down, please, shh, you are alright now,” you put your hands on his arms and his scared eyes found yours with relief.

“Oh, my darling (Y/N), I have been in such a haze… He… He made me…” Celebrimbor tried to find the right words.

“I know, I am so sorry…” You whispered, your voice full of pain and regret.

“No. It is me who is sorry, my sweet child. I have given you to him so easily, so freely,” he caressed your face with his trembling hands.

“And I am glad that you did,” you sobbed and he furrowed his brows. “And I cannot ever say that I regret it for he has given me my daughter,” you confessed.

“He might never get The Nine,” Celebrimbor changed the subject and you nodded, agreeing with him as you sniffed your tears back. You handed him the pouch with the Rings and glanced upon the doors.

“Go,” you pressed your forehead to his. “Take them away from him,” you whispered. “As far away as you can. Quick, we do not have much time. Use the opportunity that he still thinks you are under Almárea’s control.”

Your uncle nodded at you sadly. He kissed your forehead and squeezed the pouch inside his hand before looking at your daughter with a sigh. There was no hatred in his eyes but a glimpse of sadness, disappointment and fear mixed altogether. 

You watched him leave and Almárea reached her hand out after him but you stopped her.

“Daddy will get angry,” she looked up at you, surprised to witness what you had just done.

“Believe me, it is for the better,” you told her and held her hand. “We must leave now, too.”

“No,” she stood still and shook her head. “Not without daddy.”

“Almárea, we must go. We must leave, far away from here. We must go to your grandmother in Mithlond,” you tried to lure her in by the mention of your mother.

But she had seen her once in her life and the meeting had been brief. They shared no bond, therefore Almárea was not easily convinced.

“Not without daddy,” she repeated.

“Almárea, I beg of you…” Your eyes filled with tears again. You knew Sauron would be back any moment to check on Celebrimbor’s progress and you did not want to be there when he would see that your uncle was gone with The Rings.

But what you did not want even more was to abandon your daughter.

So, you stayed with her and waited. You did not even know what you were waiting for – was it your death? Would he get rid of you now when you were not useful to him anymore and after you had betrayed him in such a way; convincing your daughter to release Celebrimbor from her control and letting him flee?

You would find out very soon because the doors of the forge opened and there he was, walking confidently inside with a smirk upon his face.

“Daddy, I am so sorry!” Almárea cried out immediately and ran up to him while you looked away, wincing from the ache you felt in your heart. Your eyes filled tears at her words. You only hoped he would not lash out at her. “I trusted mummy and she tricked me! She gave The Rings back to uncle Celebrimbor and let him go!” Almárea explained and cried.

Long silence occurred and even though you were not looking in their direction, you could feel the atmosphere changing in an instant. Thickening.

“Mummy is a twisted, treacherous little witch, so it seems,” Sauron drawled out and you turned your head around to lay your angry eyes upon him with tears streaming down your cheeks.

“How dare you!” You snapped. Who was he to call you twisted or treacherous? “I swore no loyalty to you, shadow of Morgoth!”

“Yes, you have!” He yelled at you and Almárea flinched, taking a step back. He walked past her to approach you angrily but you could not move away because there was a wall behind you. “You bound yourself to me on the day of our wedding!” Sauron pushed you, causing your back to hit the wall. “Where is he?! Where are The Rings?!”

“Daddy, we do not know!” Almárea ran up to you two and tugged on his robe. You avoided her gaze because you did not want her to see the fear and pain in your eyes. It would only scare her more. “Daddy, it is not mummy’s fault that she is weak. You told me that yourself!”

Sauron’s face was so close to yours that your noses nearly brushed against each other. His breath was heavy and hot, full of anger. You remained cold and still with tears streaming down your cheeks. And even though you did not recognise your husband and his eyes were dark and empty now, you dared to reach out to his cheeks gently. You cupped his face delicately, which caused his brows to furrow and his eyes to widen slightly out of surprise.

“Annatar,” you whispered softly. “Annatar, my love, come back to me. You bound yourself to me, too, dark spirit. Obey me. Release me,” you pleaded, desperately, feeling as if you were losing your sanity.

There was pure confusion on Sauron’s face at that moment. He took a step back, away from you and away from your hands but as they were falling down, you tried to extend them further and reach him once more.

“You are pathetic,” he pointed out, coldly. “I shall find those Rings sooner or later. The only thing you did was to slow me down but you will never stop me.”

“Let it be then… Whatever I can do, I shall,” you whispered.

He opened his mouth to say something but you were interrupted by a group of people walking inside the forge. It was Celebrimbor with a few guards. For one, foolish moment, you sighed with relief, expecting rescue.

He nodded at you softly to let you know that The Rings were safe and far away from your husband. You reached your hands out to grab Almárea and pull her closer to you. She let you and wrapped her arms around you to comfort you after her father’s anger.

“Where are The Rings?!” Sauron abandoned your side to walk down the stairs from Celebrimbor’s study into the ruins of the forge.

“Far from your reach by now,” your uncle answered.

“Then you are going to bring them to me and place them in my hand,” Sauron said, trying to remain calm. 

“Your hand will never touch another Ring again,” Celebrimbor assured him.

You moved closer to the railing with Almárea still clinging to you, so you both could see better whatever was happening downstairs.

The Commander of the City Guard ordered the rest to arrest your husband. Almárea sobbed and hid her face in the fabric of your gown as you caressed her back, soothingly.

You watched the soldiers stand in a circle around Sauron and point their swords at him. You put your hand on the back of your daughter’s head, making sure to press her face a bit deeper into your gown to avoid her seeing any glimpse of the scene underneath you by accident.

“By order of the true Lord of Eregion, you, Sauron, are hereby–” the Commander began before freezing.

In fact, they all froze. They all froze and trembled, whimpering slightly because they had absolutely no idea what was happening to them.

“You think it was only you and your weak fosterling who put themselves in my power?” Sauron asked with contempt as he addressed your uncle.

He raised his hands slightly and all the soldiers surrounding him killed one another instead of him. You watched in terror as their blades cut through their bodies and then they fell down, lifeless, onto the ground.

Almárea sobbed and yelped, managing to get out of your grasp due to your moment of weakness.

“Daddy!” She cried out for him. She was scared that the sound she had heard was of their blades cutting through him.

But it was not. And you watched her run down the stairs and ignore the lifeless bodies, as if they meant nothing to her, only to cling to Sauron’s waist. He wrapped one of his hands around her to pull her closer as he raised an eyebrow at Celebrimbor in a challenging manner.

The Commander tried to approach your husband carefully, extending his sword.

“Do not hurt the child,” your uncle ordered but there was no need.

Sauron did what you had done a while earlier and pressed Almárea’s face deeper into his robe as she was clinging to him. And when there was a guarantee she could not see anything, he twisted the wrist of his free hand and the Commander froze before turning the blade around and killing himself with it.

Only when his body hit the floor, Sauron let go of your daughter and allowed her to move. She looked up at him as if she was waiting for an order or a task to be given.

“You shall take control over him again and tell me where The Nine are,” your husband said.

“Almárea, no!” You screamed from the top of the stairs. “Almárea, please!”

“Are you sleepy again, my love?” Sauron looked up to ask you with irony.

You chose to be silent. To be put to sleep for gods know how long, to lose control of your own body and to be unaware of your surroundings was not what you wanted to happen once again.

MASTERLIST

[constantvariations]

Watching RWBY Chibi for the first time for this essay and I'm in absolute agony. Do people actually find this funny?

[staringrole]

i don't think you all understand how much carmen loves bobby

[numbaoneflaya]

@summer-solemnly-swears sometimes yeah :/ I’ll imagine or write cute little scenes and shit but eventually again I’m like hmm.. well what if she was going through the horrors again . Anime monologue in the tags as usual

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Having now watched Bridgerton after resisting for years, all I can say is, if Anthony was my sibling and pulled that season two mess after all the trouble he caused me in my love life in season one...

*hands Daphne a knife and gets the hell out of her way*

[lady-shadow-and-darkness]

The more I learn about Arlecchino, the more it solidifies the image of her just being a caring yet stern parent and a ruthless yet logical harbinger in my head.

[byfulcrums]

I read a fanfic where the flashfam killed Eobard and he just kept on coming back so eventually murdering him and hiding his body became family bonding time

[teamhawkeye]

i really do worry for the state of media literacy these days

you go into any tag and see people with their whole ass chest saying wrong and untrue shit, and they wholeheartedly believe they’re correct despite the canon source they’re pulling from saying otherwise

[cluescorner]

Vibes from Legend of the Red Dragon so far

Hollyberry and Pitaya Dragon: Rivals /pos

Wildberry and Pitaya Dragon: Rivals /neg