#She has been collecting more

[fromtheseventhhell]

Arya watched them die and did nothing. What good did it do you to be brave? One of the women picked for questioning had tried to be brave, but she had died screaming like all the rest. There were no brave people on that march, only scared and hungry ones. (Arya VI, ACOK)

--

The night she was caught, the Lannister men had been nameless strangers with faces as alike as their nasal helms, but she'd come to know them all. You had to know who was lazy and who was cruel, who was smart and who was stupid. You had to learn that even though the one they called Shitmouth had the foulest tongue she'd ever heard, he'd give you an extra piece of bread if you asked, while jolly old Chiswyck and soft-spoken Raff would just give you the back of their hand. (Arya VI, ACOK)

Arya: *restrains herself from acting out when captured by the Mountain and his men because she knows fighting back/being brave wouldn't accomplish anything*

Arya: *takes note of the temperments of several Lannister guards so that she can learn how to navigate around their behavior*

Fandom: Arya is a feral idiot with no self-control uwu 🤗

[moeblob]

A succubus and a demon! (The succubi don't have names but the demon is Kronos and the succubus is one of his bosses in Hell and he's not /fond/ of the succubi for many reasons but they all adore picking on him)

Also because I love them and like to point it out, the succubi act more as pleasure dealers in the sense of they offer up whatever a human wants most in exchange for their soul. It's rarely of a sexual nature since it's what they want MOST in life. And most people's ambitions are outside of a bedroom. (happy pride, asexuals are able to get affected by a succubus now without discrimination)

[barry-j-blupjeans]

Before Lucretia has even truly stepped foot into the room, she knows this is it. Wave Echo Cave is large, hidden mostly underground. The long, confusing tunnels and the plethora of traps deter her every move closer to the vault that lies at the center. This is exactly the sort of place Lup would have hidden the Pheonix Fire Gauntlet and this is exactly the sort of place that Lucretia intended to recover it.

Once Lucretia did step foot in the room, though? It was— this was definitely it.

Lucretia had been down a long road since the Bureau began losing Reclaimers. Hell, she'd been down a long road since before the Bureau had even been a thing. But more than other things in this nearly decade of hell she created for herself, the repeated loss of Reclaimer after Reclaimer made her hurt more than expected. She had enacted her plan to stop the countless deaths caused by these Relics and then here she was, adding to them in the name of justice only she could see.

She had to recruit the boys, somehow. It would make sense. But Lucretia couldn't stomach that kind of responsibility yet. If she lost them, too, to the thrall of the Relics they don't even remember making…? And with all they've been through. Merle… Taako…? Not to mention all the emotional turmoil Magnus had gone through this time. She couldn't do that. Not yet.

But it still left her Reclaimerless. And so, with a stiff upper lip and a hardy resolve, Lucretia decided that she would be the one on this Relic expedition. There had been objects, of course, and she couldn't deny the overwhelming amount of anxiety at the thought of dying and leaving her work unfinished. But what other choice was there? Lucretia promised that it would be over soon. It had to be over soon. She hadn't managed to wiggle her way into going alone, so Killian was accompanying her. After the puzzles Wave Echo Cave had thrown at them, she was glad Killian had chosen to come.

There was a large metal door on the far side of the room, which Lucretia knew she could get through with no problem. The room was otherwise deserted, except for the skeletal figure lying against the wall, staring at the metal door.

"Hey, uh, what's with the hold-up?" Killian asked when Lucretia stopped dead in her tracks. "Did we fin— oh, shit."

The skeleton had a hand curled around itself like it— like she had been injured. There wasn't any blood on the ground— there might have been once, maybe, but not anymore. It had been too long. The skeleton wore a cloak. A red cloak. And had a familiar weapon held up against her, only visible by the curved tip of the intricately carved handle.

"Is that—" Killian stepped to her side, squinting at the figure. She lowered her voice. "Is that, like, an actual Red Robe?"

Lup.

Lucretia had found her. And— and judging by the state of her, Lucretia had been the first to find her in a very, very long time. She still remembered the melancholy morning when she woke up to see the note left on the counter. Barry had found it first, having gotten up a while after Lup left due to the restless sleep they both shared. Davenport had woken up before her, then Taako, Magnus, Merle…

Probably went to go clear her head, Barry had said, in the way Lucretia knew he didn't fully believe his own words. She'll be back by tonight.

And then tonight had turned into tomorrow with no sign of Lup. Noon the next day sent Barry and Taako out on their first recon mission, but no one around them had seen her. After that, the days blended together. Taako and Barry were gone more often than not, Magnus listlessly paced the deck and Lucretia tried to ignore how he perked up every time the door the the ship opened, only to see it was Barry and Taako again, empty-handed. Davenport's restlessness grew, Merle's concerned attempts of reassurance fell flat.

Lucretia did what she had to do. And she wasn't proud of it. But now was her chance to make up for the years of heartache she had caused.

"Killian," Lucretia said, stepping further into the room. The Bulwark Staff made contact with the stone floor and the sound echoed. "Contact Base— tell them we've been able to find a Relic— the Gauntlet, presumably— and have someone ready a transfer sphere in the hanger for when we return."

"But—"

"Now, Killian," Lucretia said, kneeling next to Lup.

"What do I say about uhm," Killian paused, glancing between the Red Robe and Lucretia. Then, briefly, at the metal door. "The whole…" she waved a hand in the direction of Lup's skeleton. "Situation here."

"Nothing," Lucretia said. "This— she's long dead." Lucretia wanted to reach out and touch her, to ask her questions— though, it's not like Lup's soul was here anymore. This confirmed she was in lich form but where— where in lich form? Even has distant as she has made herself from Barry, he wouldn't hide finding Lup from her. Or, Lup finding him. But maybe he would…? Lucretia has been unimaginably hostile towards Barry's involvement in this. Would he keep this from her? Would Lup want him to?

Should she keep this from him?

"Gotcha," Killian said. "Okay, okay, so mention that we found— are about to find?— the Gauntlet, ask for transfer sphere, come back."

"Correct," Lucretia said. She surveyed the space around Lup, looking for a sign of what would have done her in— ah, and there was the blood. She had been injured— stabbed?— in the back. You needed Rockseeker blood to get in, Lucretia knew, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve to figure that out without having to interact with one of them. But if Lup hadn't? If she had had the Gauntlet with her when she sought out a guide through the cave, Lucretia would bet bottom dollar that the thrall had been too strong to resist.

Killian stepped out of the room once more, searching for a better signal. Lucretia tilted her head back, closing her eyes. Her throat felt too tight. She let out a sigh when she looked back down at Lup's form.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking the handle of the Umrbastaff and pulling it toward her. The skeleton shuddered for a second before collapsing into dust. The umbrastaff was still buzzing with magic as Lucretia held it up to inspect it. Lup wouldn't have left this here without reason. She must have been planning on coming back for it. Or, she had been waiting to see when someone would take it? If she was out there, and with Barry, somehow, or even by herself, there had to be some kind of plan involving leaving the umbrastaff here.

She lowered the umbrastaff, thinking. If Lup had a plan, she could only hope it was not to disrupt her own. Giving her back the umbrastaff would be a risk too great to take, though Lucretia didn't know if she could keep herself in that stance if she ever came face to face with Lup once more. Or, well, face-to-hood, with the whole Lich Thing. It was best if she kept it, only for a little while.

"It'll be over soon," she whispered. She tucked the umbrastaff under her arm, standing as Killian came back into the room.

Right now, she had to focus on retrieving the Gauntlet. She didn't know what kind of horrors lay beyond that door— if something from in there had killed Lup, or if Lup had set some kind of trap over the Gauntlet before dying. It required her full attention.

Once they were back at Base, she could focus on her next course of action. For right now, she was ready to face the last parting gift Lup had left.

[goddessofwisdom18]

🗻 The Valkyries and their Dreamers ✨

The Spies 💙 The Generals ❤️ The Overseers 💛

[abeluser]

I propose Cry of Fear dlc/game that follows the plot of Alesana's album 'The Emptiness' (2009)

[wanderingcas]

i am having some of the hardest weeks i've ever had since becoming a parent. having a sick kid to the point where you're in and out of doctor's offices constantly trying to figure out what the hell is wrong is just the most heartbreaking thing. if anyone wants to send healing/calming/sane vibes, my very tired and stressed out family could definitely use it.

[wewerebornsextuplets]

thinking about the kiru and kara dynamic again. in particular karas view of her is very amusing to me

[mrsmiroir]

the setup (lots to unpack here)

[faaun]

ok let's catch up quickly

[xannerz]

i think the other frustrating thing is like. people online forget that politics and war is complicated. it sucks, it's tedious. civilians are being hurt and killed as a result of fascism and greed. this isnt a saturday morning cartoon. you can't always be spoon-fed tl;drs on who's the good guy and who's the villain. this shit is fluid, and often just looks like this:

[britneyshakespeare]

I have to be so honest and vulnerable with you for a second. I keep thinking of getting another complete works of Shakespeare

[piplupod]

just had possibly the worst nightmare of my life. yippee ^-^ <- is so horrified they are numb

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

Just had my first psychiatrist appointment in like two years! Not to brag, but I improved on mental illness so much that I was upgraded from Bipolar 2 to Bipolar 1! 😎

[talkfastcal]

i love being a collector btw<3<3

[morrigan-sims]

these swatches from these conversions of Jaheira's outfits from BG3 are perfect for Fallon's "I'm totally not a royal" outfits.