#Shadow of Heaven’s Light

[a-world-in-grey]

You might not need another au but do you want it?

Think of how much fun it would be, Sola and Ardyn snarking at each other in the middle of the throne room and before the entire court.

The resemblance is uncanny.

You can track which of the nobles noticed it by how much they pale, their polite masks turning a little bit tense.

You. Are an enabling gremlin.

Plopping this in the Combined Retinue Nox/Sola au, because this is what my brain finally decided to spit out at 2 in the morning.

@secret-engima have an early Christmas present, I guess?

.

“If I have to dress up, Uncle,” his niece tells him fiercely, ���then so do you.”

Ardyn raises a brow from the bench he’s languidly lounging on, watching his Tailor circle Sola with sharp eyes as she tugs on the black fabric of the dress she’s wrangled Sola into wearing for her upcoming Coming of Age, unfazed by the equally black scowl on the princess’ face.

Beside him, Nox is firmly pretending to nap on his Shield’s shoulder. Axis has his gaze glued to the book in his hand.

It seems he’ll have no allies from that quarter.

Admittedly, Ardyn had perhaps been enjoying Sola’s irritation too much, and hadn’t bothered to smother his growing amusement with every dark mutter Sola had made about protocol and where the court could shove said protocol.

He gives Sola an indulgent smirk. “I highly doubt I’m on the guest list, my dear. Given the current state of international politics.”

Not that he’d let the lack of an invitation stop him from attending his niece and nephew’s birthday party.

From the glare Sola levels at the mirror, and the minute stiffening of Nox’s spine, Ardyn has the feeling his niblings will ensure he is invited, regardless of anyone else’s feelings on the matter.

Nox’s eyes actually open a sliver when Sola’s magic abruptly curls, all mischievous glee with an edge of bared teeth. His nephew warily eyes his twin and the grin growing on her face.

Ardyn does not share Nox’s apprehension. He rather thinks his niece should smile like that more often.

“A suit for your Uncle, then?” Penelopeia asks archly.

“If you would be so kind.” Sola replies before Ardyn can protest. Sola’s blue eyes narrow on him through the mirror. “Black for the shirt, instead of the suit, I think. Gold as an accent color, but otherwise I have full faith in your judgment.”

To Penelopeia’s credit, his Tailor pauses for but a moment. “Of course, Your Highness.”

Ardyn gives Sola a long look. His niece knows very well protocol prohibits him from wearing black. He is neither a (known) member of the royal family nor in sworn service to them. Sola cares little for protocol and tradition, especially when it gets in her way, but even she can’t get away with flouting such an old and respected tradition. Not like this. “Niece.” He warns.

Sola raises her chin, defiant. “Do you trust me?”

Ardyn sighs. Smiles reassuringly at the fierce girl who’s been Nox and Ardyn’s staunchest supporter these past near three years. “Yes.”

Sola nods, and that is that.

.

Copia Egestas adores her Queen.

Sola’s last minute changes to the twins’ Coming of Age gave her a solid week of extra work to do - with help from Ignis, who volunteered on account of her being nearly six months pregnant - hunting through the Archives and preparing her arguments before she and Sola sat down in front of the King and finally told him exactly who would be presenting his daughter at her Coming of Age. Presenting both his children, in fact.

Unsurprisingly, Regis was not pleased. But between Sola’s staunch refusal to change her mind and Copia’s presented precedents, he reluctantly conceded.

Now, eyeing everyone as they wait to enter the ballroom, Copia can only feel a vicious anticipation.

Nox and Sola make a striking pair in black and gold. Both of them have their hair carefully pulled back, decorated further with gold. Nox still wears his usual earrings, the only silver on him as he’d declined the offer for golden versions, and Sola has mirrored him with a set of earrings arranged in the opposite ears. Not the same earrings, but the studs and climber are similar enough in shape to achieve the desired effect.

Copia’s sleeveless black dress is cut to flatter her pregnant figure, a gold shawl for her shoulders because six months pregnant and she gets uncomfortably warm now that the summer months are upon them, which also why she’s elected for an updo instead of letting her thick curls tumble loose. Unlike Sola, Copia is in comfortable flats instead of heels, again on account of being pregnant.

Axis is in a black suit jacket with gold details, and his Clan’s purple and green tartan. His hair’s been styled back from his face, but otherwise remains free.

Axis isn’t the only one wearing purple and green. Nox has the shifting purple-green galahdite in his ears, hair, and decorating his cufflinks. Sola’s chosen a selection of amethysts and emeralds to decorate her gold jewelry, while Copia had been gifted a pair of ebony hair sticks topped with amethyst and emerald carved cabochons.

(Copia knows just enough about Galahdian culture to know to tell Penny the goal, and follow the woman’s instructions on how to support Axis without overstepping cultural boundaries. The result, she is told, is a careful blend of Lucian and Galahdian color codes, but Copia has never seen Axis struck speechless before so she makes a mental note to commend Penny and her recommended jewelers for their hard work.)

With Ardyn, however, Penny has evidently decided to take refuge in audacity.

The suit is a lovely shade of dark purple, decorated with an intricate pattern of - much to Copia’s amusement - peacock feathers. At a glance they could be mistaken for phoenix feathers, certainly, but Copia knows her birds, and those feathers belong to the phoenix’s non-magical dramatic cousins. Studded at the eye of each feather are small galahdite stones to match Nox and Axis.

Under the suit, Ardyn’s shirt is black, which will no doubt give the Court conniptions and the press a field day, despite them following protocol to a T. Instead of a traditional tie, Ardyn’s kept his usual scarf, but in a rich green. How it doesn’t clash with the purple, Copia doesn’t know, but she knows Ardyn’s vest is a matching shade of green. Ardyn has a gold and galahdite lapel pin, linked by a fine gold chain to a paired piece on the front of his breast pocket.

The master of ceremonies glances over at them, expression half-expectant, half-despairing.

It turns to resignation when Ardyn and Sola gift him identical smirks.

Nox sighs.

Copia hides a grin behind her hand. Oh yes, tonight is going to be so very entertaining, with uncle and niece actively working together.

She wonders how many people will notice the family resemblance before the end of the night?

[laqualassiel]

[env0]

Upon the precipice of Heaven's Pearly Gates

[themolluscasometimes]

What if i made a quanyin au where yin yu is the calamity Eclipsing Shadow Devouring Light. What then.

[deathconsul]

To anyone who see this and like to read asian novels

[catmint1]

In the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.

—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

[naksushadows]

Lee Jae Wook the versatile actor that you are ✨

[dutifullynuttywitch]

Incorrect quotes

@trappedinfanfiction quotes were so great - I had to try 😂

Incorrect quotes generator if you want to try!

Blades of light and shadow

Tyril: Smart is attractive. Educate me on something I don't know.

Mal: The mouth of a jellyfish is also an anus.

Imtura: Yes! You are so attractive right now.

Tyril: Stop.

******

MC: What is it called when you kill a friend?

Tyril: Homicide.

Nia: Murder.

Mal: Homiecide.

******

Mal: That sounds super! Doesn’t that sound super, Tyril?

Tyril: No.

Mal: I think I speak for Tyril when I say it sounds really super.

Wake the Dead

Troy: When will Ted himself...finally show up to the talk?

Angel: The final boss.

Shannon: You guys know TEDtalks stands for technology, entertainment, and design talks, right?

Troy: I will not let Ted hide behind these lies any longer!

******

Angel: The only thing I'm guilty of is being adorable... ...and also assault with a deadly weapon.

******

MC: Angel, Troy, I love y’all and all, but can I ask what in the hell are you doing?

Angel, trying to stabilize a tower of folding chairs that Troy is sitting atop: Oh nothing much.

Troy: I love you too :)

Heaven's Secret

Lucifer: “Struggle with depression” would seem to imply that I am bad at being depressed when I am, in fact, very proficient at being depressed.

******

Dino: If I had a face like yours, I'd put it on a wall and throw a brick at it.

Lucifer: If I had a face like YOURS, I'd put it on a brick and throw a wall at it.

******

Lucifer: This is horrible.

Mimi: Yeah, I know, I mean look at today’s news.

Lucifer: No, it’s not that, it’s Vicky.

Mimi: ...

Lucifer: It’s just like, I can’t get her out of my head and every time I look at her I have this pain in my chest, and I just know it’s her fault, that bitch!

******

Mimi: Truth or dare?

Vicky: Dare.

Mimi: I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room.

Vicky: Hey Lucifer?

Lucifer, blushing: Yeah?

Vicky: Can you move? I'm trying to get to Dino.

******

Dino: I'm so happy, I could kiss you!

Mimi: Um...Neat.

*later*

Mimi, lying face down on the bed: I said "Neat," Luci. Who the fuck says neat these days? It's not neat to say neat but I said it anyways because I'm fucking stupid.

Lucifer, reading a book: Don't beat yourself up too much, Mimi. Everyone gets nervous sometimes. Remember what I did when Vicky confessed her love for me?

Mimi: Didn't you thank her?

Lucifer: *closes the book and looks at the ceiling* I fucking thanked her.

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

So this is mostly a Choices blog but some of you know that I've recently started playing Romance Club as well because 1) there are some really good books on RC, 2) the art, and 3) to compare both apps. I could probably make this a series(?) to compare and contrast the two but here's one of the main things I've noticed playing both apps:

The Difference in Pacing

Background: The clear reason for this is because of how the books are set up. On Choices, each completed book is approx. 16 chapters (like a movie) while on RC, the book is typically 3 seasons with around 10-12 episodes (like a tv show). So a book like Open Heart, for instance, would be 3 seasons under one title instead of 3 separate books since they occur within a close period. This is different from a series like Heaven's Secret, which has two separate books that span ten years apart.

I bring this up because I assume this difference explains why the pacing in both apps is so different. I can use Blades II, Kindred, Theodora, and DALS as an example.

I've brought this up already, but one of my biggest gripes with Blades II was the very odd pacing. The beginning of the book (in my opinion) took longer than necessary to start the plot and there was a little too much filler with less time to focus on new lore the themes ate tho and I'm grateful we got another book.

Kindred has a similar issue. The concept of a witch book was cool and they had a good plot, but 16 chapters weren't enough to explore everything they wanted to with the book. The ending was rushed and it felt way too easy to defeat the Wraith King. Do I still love this book? Yes. Do I think the authors did well with the amount of time they were given? Also yes. But the rushed plot does make it hard to recommend it since PB is capable of handling a lot of plot (RE: Blades I).

On the other hand, Theodora has 3 seasons and the whole immortality arc (the premise of the book) wasn't explained until near the end of S2. We had an entire season to explore the character and at least half of a second season to explore her life after she realized she was immortal but without knowing why (human -> immortal -> realizing how she became immortal and starts controlling her power). As a result, it becomes easier to get attached to her since we spent more time getting to know her still one of my favorite MCs.

Dracula: A Love Story still can't believe it has 4 seasons spent an entire season before revealing Vlad's identity even though it's in the title. In comparison, PB would have done three chapters of leaving MC in the dark before revealing who Vlad is with the rest of the book being allotted to helping him. I get that we needed to see all the visions and stuff but personally, I feel like I was more invested in Lale and would have read an entire book about her, Aslan, and Vlad. I swear I don't hate DALS please don't be offended lol.

Am I saying I prefer RC to Choices? Not necessarily, I have problems with RC too mostly regarding representation, and I also know it wouldn't be fair to compare the apps since they are set up differently. I just thought this was something interesting to point out.

[what-do-you-mean-theyre-evil]

I thought PB was going to give Blades the Hero treatment but instead they gave it the Elementalists treatment and I don't know how to feel about that.

[a-world-in-grey]

In Sola & Nox verse, how old was she when she had her whoops babies the first time? Was she already married to Libs or did they have to organise a super rushed wedding too?

@secret-engima more Whoops Baby fun times!

Sola was 21 when she and Lib had their whoops twins. By this point they’ve only been dating a year, though Sola’d been openly flirting with Lib for a year before that.

Sola and Libertus end up proposing to each other shortly after Sola discovers that she’s pregnant. Honestly, neither of them are in a hurry to get married, Galahdian culture doesn’t put emphasis on parents being married like Lucian culture does, and Sola’s never given a damn about Lucian nobility’s delicate sensibilities before, she’s sure as shit not gonna start now. Besides, it’s not like she’s the only one at court to have a kid out of wedlock - Plenus Egestas near had a stroke when his daughter wound up pregnant with no father in sight.

Besides, anyone talking shit about Sola’s children being bastards within earshot of any of the royal family will find themselves regretting that in short order, because Sola’s reaction will be the least of their worries compared to her male relatives.

But both Libertus and Sola are soldiers. They know the risks of their profession all too well. They marry (Galahdian-style at first, the Royal Wedding can come after Sola gives birth because she’s not going to rush the planning just to squeeze into a dress) mostly to give their children the extra legal protections afforded under Lucian law. And so no one in court can get it into their heads to try to deny Libertus parental rights simply because he wasn’t her husband. Is it paranoid? Perhaps, but Sola would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to Libertus and her kids, in the event she’s no longer around to protect them.

I haven’t decided when Sola winds up pregnant the first time exactly, but in the theme of surprise pregnancies at the worst possible time… she probably finds out while out on rotation on the front lines. At first she thinks it might be a stomach bug or hangover, she and the off duty glaives at the time did have a few drinks and she wasn’t the only one feeling it the next morning because Sola’s regeneration doesn’t actually fix dehydration, rip.

Only the stomach bug doesn’t go away. On the second day Sola goes to the medics because if it is a bug then they need to get her on antibiotics or antivirals asap.

Surprise, it’s not a bug!

Sola’s immediately yanked from the front and placed on desk duties, because if Sola miscarries Titus wants to be able to tell her family that it was not because of anything related to the glaives. He does not want that headache.

Titus also yanks Sola’s Retinue, because he’s not an idiot, there’s no way they’d be able to focus in the field. Libertus is yanked too, as the presumptive father and as Nyx’s only Braincell.

Titus also, politely, requests Sola tell her relatives sooner rather than later about her pregnancy. The King is aware that Sola was yanked from the front for medical reasons, and isn’t actually entitled to know anything beyond that unless Sola volunteers it, but Titus asks that Sola spare him the stress of dealing with her panicky father and uncles.

Nox, of course, is already aware, having been on the front lines with her when it was discovered, with that particular piece of gossip ripping through the gleeful glaives faster than a wildfire in Cavaugh in a drought.

Sola refuses to say anything until Cid arrives in the Citadel, claiming she only wants to explain once - a bald-faced lie, she just wants to get everyone at the same time.

Noctis lights up in excitement at the announcement he’s going to be an uncle. Ignis’ jaw drops in surprise before he recovers, and Gladio actually falls into a wall. (If Prompto has joined the Chocobros at this point, he’ll flail.)

Ardyn goes statue-still, which is probably the best reaction of shock Sola will ever get out of him, before he’s on his feet embracing Sola in a hug and spinning her around. Titus just looks relieved that he doesn’t have to keep dodging questions about Sola’s health anymore. Penny, meanwhile, is eyeing Sola like she’s already measuring her for new outfits.

Nothing can shock Clarus as much as meeting his own grandchildren and then his son in the span of fifteen minutes. Instead, he looks wryly amused, knowing he has no leg to stand on when it comes to having kids out of wedlock. Cor is oh-so-slightly wide-eyed as he processes the announcement, but Cor.exe has very much stopped working, please check back in about ten minutes.

Cid, of course, is laughing his ass off, wheezing something along the lines of ‘I hope you have kids just like you’-

Regis runs a hand down his face, exasperated and resigned and reluctantly wry. Of all the things for his daughter to surprise him with. He opens his mouth, starts to lecture her, only for Sola to raise an unimpressed brow at him, retorting that Regis has no room to lecture her when she was born only a couple months after he and Mama married.

And Six, she looks so much like her mother in that instant - Aulea never had much patience for his dramatics either - that Regis feels a swell of love and fondness. And Sola is clearly so happy about it, so Regis places his own reservations aside and congratulates her and Libertus instead.

Of course, then Sola finds out she’s having twins. And the temptation is too much for her to resist, so she and Libertus are the only ones that actually know she’s having twins.

(Nox and Axis suspect. Nox because he actually has memories of being pregnant from previous Queens, and Axis because he’s a father of triplets and has passing familiarity with the signs of a multiple pregnancy.)

(Ardyn also suspects something, but only because he can feel his niece’s gleeful anticipation. Being a fellow chaos gremlin, Ardyn refuses to spoil Sola’s fun.)

Meanwhile, the glaives in Insomnia get to experience the sheer terror of having a very pregnant Sola as their drill instructor, Abyssus and her Retinue all too willing to be her assistants in delivering her Training from Ifrit’s Pyre. >:)

Haven’t decided on names yet, alas.

[genevieveskingdom]

Why I switched from Choices to Romance Club 📖

I started playing Choices in 2019 and I was always so delighted when they veröffentlicht published a new story. I really loved playing that game, but last year I discovered a girl on YouTube who was posting some let's plays from Theodora and I immediately wanted to try this game.

~ The graphic is waaay better and more realistic.

No reused faces nor characters. I am always amazed about every new book and its characters. Even the so-called "unimportant" side characters have their own design and are not reused which cannot be said about Choices unfortunately. 😔

~ Better character development. Your choices really matter and have different outcome for the MC.

The way you interact with each of the characters has its consequences. The LI's also interact like real people and if you date someone and then decide to switch to an other LI, their romance path is closed. You really have to choose wisely for whom you decide to be with.

~ Quality over quantity

I don't really remember how many books are currently published (ended and ongoing) in RC, but it's definitely not as much as in the Choices app. I HATE the VIP books and that fact that you have to wait thousand years for it to get widely released! 😵 And when you open the first chapter you see that it's just another single love interest book with some three macho guys you are not attracted to (I respect everyone who's into the standard "sexy" type of men, of course, it's just not me 😇) and three girls from whom you choose the kleinste smallest evil.

~ More accessible diamonds and teas

I LOVE Diamond Rush, Tea Parties and so on 😍 It's sooo player-friendly and so worth it! Even the access to diamonds and teas is more suited for wide audience and honestly - when RC is so generous and want to give you so much for free, then you want to buy some diamond/tea pack from them even more, because you know they value their players. 🙏

~ No single love interest books!

Oh my gosh, I have been so annoyed that most of the books Choices release lately is meant for single romance. The problem is not with faithfulness, but with the fact that everyone has their own definition of attraction and beauty. And most of the main LIs in single love interest books are written stereotypically (Bad Boy, guy nextdoor, rebellious girl...) I miss the plasticity of their personalities, of their appearances. Not everyone who matches today's beauty standards is actually beautiful. There should be diversity in LIs. Some of them should be curvier, more slender, with glasses, with bigger nose, with disability, with albinism... Just go on the street and look at the classic human beauty seen every day in public transport! Stop giving us some plain definition of beauty which lacks its own charm.

The only thing I would improve in RC would be the option to choose if we want to play as a male, female, non-binary...etc. As far as I know, only Gladiator's Chronicles have a male MC.

Now I have some personal highlights about Choices I'd like to get rid of because it's been in me for so long 🙉

First thing's first, The Princess Swap was such a good book. I loved the idea. Still, I've got a certain love-hate relationship with this book. First of all, biology and genetics does not make sense in this standalone. Secondly, lord Cecil was not as bad as everyone thinks. He and the king were my most favourite characters, actually. 🤭 Third, I was so annoyed by the prince/ss of Ismar. We were forced to marry them, we could not even say no.🤦

I loved BOLAS N° 1. I replayed the story twice. I was in love with Tyril Starfury. Even though I loved Kaya Duskraven more. She was sooo gorgeous! When they introduced the sequel to us I was naively hoping that we might get Kaya back. That we would find some magical artefact, for example, and bring her back to life, so that she can join the party and be our new love interest. I would definitely switch to her. Instead, we got Valax... I am a little bit disappointed by the sequel, to be honest. They were promising us so many mesmerizing things and I was just expecting a little more from the three years waiting episode. Not only did I not understand why Cherta and Willow joined our party and then they left afterwards... I was like: okay, new love interests apparently. And then whoosh, they vanished. And we ended up trapped with the Valax-drama until the last chapters... I respect everyone who likes the sequel, it is just not me. Unfortunately. I will stick to the good old first book, which I love. 🩷

[vibinwiththefruits]

the lighting in this shot is going to send me into an early grave

[downtherabbitholewithlucy]

"Wish you were here"

Me too, Wes. Me too.

[themolluscasometimes]

AIGHT ive been thinking about the calamity!yin yu au bc im disgustingly brainrotted and all the holes in my brain are being filled with mxtx ship thoughts.

ANYWAY

calamity! yin yu who simultaneously finds quan yizhen breathtaking and is proud of him and truly, genuinely, fundamentally also HATES him. But then stuff happens, character development, trauma, tragedy etc etc and we see it all unfold into yin yu's self disgust and his stengthening belief that his ability to hate someone like quan yizhen is evidence of his disgraceful nature so that hatred turns inward and the rest to exhausted resignation and theres a dynamic betwen the two of them thats moving from yin yu hating-loving qyz to apathy and self hatred and qyz moving from his immature affection of 'i want you to like me' to taking some initiative in 'i want to love you and to do so is to show you the you that saved me/made me who i am' like. for the love of god. they need an arc that brings them together in such a way that they both grow and benefit, in a ways thats natural and doesnt undercut the truth of yin yu's envy and resentment and qyz's wilful ignorance of yinyu's needs and emotions as an individual who doesnt exist just to give and be kind.

like. listen. im not here to give just one of them an arc. yinyu is going to have all his self hatred and envy and awful emotions and work through them to find the love he already holds for qyz and then LET QYZ LOVE HIM IN RETURN.

But I also need QYZ to have the realisation that love is a verb. It's something you do for other people. Yin yu isn't the perfect untouchable, endlessly kind shixiong who gave him the life he has and to whom qyz has little to nothing to offer. Bc Yin yu doesn't love himself, qyz has to do it for him. (yeah im giving them a 'let me hang out in your lair while youre having this mental breakdown and recovering from injuries and let me help you' arc)

I still have a lot of deets to work out but it's precanon divergence in which Yin Yu descends, wants to die, becomes a ghostly ex god that no one in the heavens wants to acknowledge bc it would mean admitting he's one of theirs.

qyz just wants him to stop doing these horrible things because even if you want revenge, it's not something shixiong would want if he were in his right mind and thinking like he usually does.

Yin Yu does want revenge. So he's bitter, so what. but it's not what he's doing. not really. destroying the things left in the world that serve as evidence of his existence just conveniently happens to double as vengeance. Whether it's vengeance against others or vengeance against himself is unclear. salvation is unachievable for someone like him, but he's always been good at self-sabotage. whats a step further into self-annihilation.

anyway

I've been cooking :>

[raleigh-edward]

Any active choices/romance club blogs, drop a comment or say hi! I want to follow you guys, also I follow from my mainblog @aestheteasteria