#THIS IS A LITTLE LONG WINDED BUT I HAVE BEEN SO EXCITED ABT THIS REVELATION I WANTED TO RAMBLE

[beastren]

I was told that you had some info/lore on Ser Beren in relation to the escort destination, but also the hot springs? Sorry if it's vague but I love Beren so any info/observations/theories on him is good info haha

YES okay, this is gonna be a bit long! To start off, I'm assuming you're familiar with this post by u/afro_eden, and some of their other recent posts, talking about the last emperor of Battahl and them doing inquiries into mysterious ore (potentially glimmercoal) that used to fuel ancient Battahli civilization ~2000 years ago. SO!!

Based on the journals of prisoner Bekresos, there are 2 things that'll factor into a revelation regarding Beren: 1- people attempted to spread the truth about the Lambent Flame not being quite what it had been presented as under emperor Faleri, likely even longer. And 2- that this happened at least 16+ years ago... It seems Faleri was likely corrupt in general, so that + any whispers of doubt towards the Lambent Flame, I can only imagine there'd be Battahli people who'd become a little disillusioned, potentially even choosing to leave for Vermund, hint hint.... Beren would've been around for Faleri's rule for sure....

NOW for the actual bits about Beren!! At the hot springs, he gave me some very interesting idle dialogue....

WOW!!!! I think he can say this during other points, I believe since then I've seen him say it when he returns to his childhood home, BUT!! I'd been pondering this dialogue April and what it could possibly mean, and seeing that reddit post made me have a huge aha moment!! Later the same day, I just happened to do his escort quest....

As mentioned in the reddit post, there are stone monuments denoting places Faleri had sent Bekresos and his team to excavate/research. What I feel they didn't mention, however, is that all of these monuments point directly to caves. Literally pointing, with the pickaxes depicted on them lol. Some are however, placed a little further down the road, as if to section it off and permit entry. (This one is the most obvious, pointing straight at Dimdark Cave, Enoa'Battahl Cavern is another one that has a monument slightly up the road from it.)

I always wondered why Beren requested to go to a cave.... It didn't make total sense to me. But lo and behold.... ONE OF THE MONUMENTS!! Just a little ways away, pointing up the path to Beren's destination! This lead me to the conclusion that a younger Beren must've heard the rumors and began to doubt his faith in the Lambent Flame, perhaps only subconsciously, thus his comment about not being quite sure about how his faith waned. As if the rumors just unsettled him over time? Maybe moving back to Battahl reignited his questioning and made him desire to seek out answers for himself, going straight to one of the dig sites.

I also wonder if him growing Moonglow has something at all to do with this.... It's a very mysterious thing in it's own right!! Maybe it has something to do with glimmercoal as a fertilizer (i have a pet theory that glimmercoal could BE parts of the moon), or maybe it's just a little easter egg that Beren's "in the know". But yes!! That's everything I think, and I hope this makes sense!!

[stevenssticks]

thinkin abt childhood best friends to lovers with cliff<333 (i’m such a sucker for this trope it’s soosososos cute)

cliff n you would be total opposites but identical at the same time. he’s so mellow, and you’re a big ball of energy, excited and passionate about everything. since you were kids you would drag him places like theme parks and cool stores you find in your area, literally jumping up and down when you find something fun to do. cliff would be a quiet but happy participant in your adventures, from when you were 5 looking at frogs in a nearby creek to when cliff got his first car and the two of you would go on mini road trips together.

you would have a wall of friend photos filled with mostly ones of you from wayyy way back. cliff has a lil photo of the two of you on your first day of kindergarten and one on your last day of high school. somewhere along your lengthy friendship, something in cliff’s brain shifted in his feelings towards you, sudden thoughts of innocent kisses shared between the two of you, moving into high school and early adulthood with nights where cliff would wind up with a hand in his flannel pants, wondering what it would feel like if it was yours instead.

of course you were having revelations of your own, having fallen head over heels for cliff somewhere along the way in middle school. pining after him like a lovesick puppy ever since. honestly the crush started earlier than you would ever admit to yourself (it was always there).

now, after the formation of metallica and cliff long times away from you for tours and gigs, he returns home to you over the summer while you’re visiting your parents. excited, energetic you runs right up into cliffs arms, making him nearly drop his beloved bass. you have drinks out on the counter already, and when you invite him back to watch movies in your bed, he sees your room is as you left it when you went off to college. all your photos of the two of you still up.

fast forward to two and a half movies later and you’re cuddled up under your sheets. it’s so domestic and it makes your head spin, how this is so close or exactly how it would be if he were your boyfriend instead. how that fine line in your relationship has blurred into near nonexistence. you look up at cliff to find that he’s already been looking down at you. you smile up at him, heart dancing around your ribcage. cliff moves a hand down your arm, closing his hand around yours and squeezing. you blink up at him, face heating up a little. and then the impossible happens.

cliff leans down, and kisses you. just a sweet little kiss on the lips. “i love you.”

you light up like a sparkler. you make a happy little noise and jump up into his arms, kissing him all over. cliff kisses you back, humming into your mouth while you keep making your happy little noises. wrapping your arms around him and trying to kiss him deeper, in which cliff gladly returns your enthusiasm. you move cliffs hair behind his ears, breaking the kiss to press your forehead to his.

“i love you too. so much.”