#The spider queen

[its-your-mind]

She told me... she was going to be reborn.

I thought... As a little baby? As a tiny, vulnerable... little bug? So little... So corruptible... So unprotected?

I said...

"Okay. I'll come find you. For Cyrus."

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

There's just something so fascinating about the way the Exandrian pantheon has decided to handle the Aeor Situation™ - by electing a few of their kind to be born as mortals in order to infiltrate the city.

The first to bring herself low was Ioun, and I can only imagine how lonely that must have been for her. To feel infinite wisdom creeping into her adolescent mind? To rise through Aeor's ranks knowing what they'd do to her if the authorities discovered the truth of her existence? Waiting, hoping, perhaps even praying that the other gods would follow through with the plan.

Sarenrae has a husband and children as Trist. I can't help but consider the parallels to Liliana Temult, with a 'higher calling' pulling a mother away from her family. The conversations in the temple suggest that she would have been aware of what she was by the time she started her family. Yet she loves them, cherishes them, even knowing that she might not see them again. Will Amaris, Haylie, and Topher learn that Trist is a goddess? Or will that only be discovered when they find their way to her realm in Elysium?

The Matron was once mortal, and she willingly returned to that form in order to help her newfound siblings dismantle the Aeorian threat. Her steward since childhood was Purvan, helping raise and guide her despite his old age. Imagine being a little girl, guarded by the Champion of Ravens himself and his wolven companion, completely unaware of your own divinity until later in life. Imagine the night she woke up, remembering her ascendency, seeing Purvan and recognising him.

And what of the families that gave birth to and raised the four Betrayer Gods? What of the halfling family who watched their precocious daughter scale a fence with far too much ease than it should be? The day the tortle's parents found him crying in pain and tearing at his skin to distract himself from a memory so distant and yet so real? Or Milo, who became a priest, not to follow in the light of the Dawnfather (like his parents may have thought), but to mock his brother even as a mortal?

These gods spent entire childhoods with families and friends, taking refuge from the skirmishes caused by their other siblings. Who, despite those similarities, have very different opinions of humanity, of Aeor, and themselves.

[criticalbeauregard]

making this through tears

[shannananan]

Anyways trying not to think about Dorian forced to watch a god target his friend to make a choice and transform her into something else entirely and possibly losing herself in the process

And it's happening again

[undead-knick-knack]

Icon Behavior™️

[mayapapaya33]

I feel like all of the "Ludinus is Right the Gods are bad" brigade are conveniently forgetting the dude who released Asmodeus and started off the Calamity was a mortal who fucked up big time trying to ascend like the Matron. Vespin Chloras is to blame for the Calamity kicking off. Not the Prime Deities. The Betrayers were sealed away, and he staged a prison break. That's a mortal failing. Not the God's fault.

Sure, their slug fest destroyed giant swathes of the world, but they wouldn't BE fighting if he hadn't done that. The fight was done, they were sealed. The Primes are fighting with the Betrayers over their desire to kill all the mortals. That's their disagreement. "Us" being alive. Everyone saying "oh clearly the Gods just don't care because of X, Y, and Z" are just flat out not paying attention. If they didn't care, everyone would already be dead, and the family would be back together. Why would they be fighting each other if they didn't care?

(Also, Luda is a big hypocrite, when the Gods destroy a city, one that threatened their very existence, they're monsters, but when he does it for much less good reasons imho it's totally fine/ a necessary evil... ok, sure dude).

[song-of-baldy-ron]

I better not hear anyone speaking bad about my man Dorian, who just lost his brother to a Betrayer God and hasn't even had time to process that grief before being shown this footage. Not to mention losing a close friend to that same god and watching as other friends dedicated to the Wildmother/Raven Queen begged for help only for those two to stand by doing nothing as Lolth takes over Opal.

I don't think anything he saw in Downfall surprised him after that and he's absolutely valid for that opinion.

[chaoticcomposition]

"Oh, Vierna. My heart sings to see you."

lolth tells athalia she wants to speak to vierna to reestablish a connection, vierna complies. I don't think lolth knows what personal space is

[naazaif327]

"I will never care for the Gods. Ever."

Dorian Storm will never be allowed to kill the Queen of Spiders, but he can at least make Her run for Her life.

[smilelikeawolf]

Trist forces Umleta into a hug.

Umleta: "I hate it."

Trist: "I know you do. But thank you, for being here."

Umleta: "One day, I'm gonna spin you up in my web and never let you go."

Trist: "I'll be okay with that."

[ihaveatypeanditstrickstergods]

Slightly late but oh well

[everybodyloveshippos]

Lolth; The Lady of Chaos, The Mistress of Lies

my take on at least on of Lolth's forms. i like the idea of her having no adornments, in contrast to the elaborate braids and robes of her worshippers. I also imagine that her avatars/visits to menzobarranzan in drow form are similarly plain, almost mocking the matrons with simple garb but an aura of otherworldlyness and danger. i was going to have her hair down but i like the web hair. she is a goddess after all.

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

leave it to exu to really remind me that some actors are just made to play certain gods

[annemarieyeretzian]

the spider queen adding insult to injury as dorian turns to leave,,, telling him “it could’ve been you. you could’ve put on the crown. maybe it all would’ve gone differently. you were too much of a coward to do what needed to be done and now your brother is dead…”,,, dorian not responding to the spider queen, not acknowledging her at all, and his disdain for her making a betrayer god flinch

[criticalbeauregard]

actually breaking down about morrighan’s choice of what to save of opal. we don’t know what may now happen to opal. her and fy’ra rai have pushed the spider queen far enough and fy’ra said she wanted to stay at opal’s side no matter what meaning the spider queen may destroy every remaining part of what makes opal opal EXCEPT morrighan’s love for her (idk how much of that was canon dialogue/between players) and conviction that opal can ALWAYS COME BACK FROM THIS. no matter what she becomes or what the spider queen makes her do she will remember she is NOT her abomination and she can come back from it. and without that important piece, even an opal that comes out of this may have been too ashamed to return to her friends or assumed they want nothing to do with her.

[undead-knick-knack]

Lolth needs to relax fr