#also showing off my sweet fire sword

[maypiles]

But I'm very homesick for arms that have never hold me🎀🪞

PICK A PILE: What Do You Need to Hear, What Do You Need to Know?🦢🩰

You guys are not ready for this one, because let me tell you—Spirit decided to wake me up with a Chihiro x Ariana Grande mashup blaring in my head like an alarm clock, and I just knew. This isn’t a coincidence; this is a channeled message, loud and clear. I mean, who else gets spiritual downloads with a side of TikTok trends? Clearly, I’m favored. Anyway, grab your coffee, your crystals, or whatever you need to ground yourself, because today’s reading is about to serve you layers of spicy revelations, unexpected clarity, and a sprinkle of divine chaos (because why not?). If you're feeling hot flashes, dreaming in metaphors, or noticing all the crows in your neighborhood suddenly staring at you like they’ve got something to say—this one’s for you. Let’s get into it, shall we?

❗This is a collective reading so please take what resonates and leave what does not❗ Please be careful of scammers, I'll never reach out to you and ask you for money or personal readings❗

Pile One🦪

My gorgeous Pile 1, let’s talk, because Spirit came in loud with this one—and I mean literally. The crows wouldn’t shut up, the downloads wouldn’t stop, and my body? On fire. Hot flushes, all over, like Spirit turned the heat up to make sure you get this message. So, let’s break it down.

Signs & Synchronicities

Right off the bat, notifications could be huge for you right now—check your messages, your DMs, your emails, whatever. Something important is trying to reach you, and you don’t want to miss it. Chocolate? Perfume? These are connected to sweetness and self-care, but also attraction and indulgence. Are you finally indulging in yourself, Pile 1? Or are you craving something—or someone—that feels just out of reach?

And crows? Let me tell you, they are not just random birds hanging out. They’re messengers, carriers of divine justice, and omens of transformation. If you’ve been hearing or seeing them, this is your wake-up call. Spirit is saying, ‘Listen, babe. We’re talking.’ And that crow sound? It’s sharp, like a reminder to stay alert, to notice what’s unfolding around you. This message has layers, so stay with me.

The Energy—Hot, Spicy, Intense

This whole reading is laced with heat—those hot flushes all over your body? That’s Spirit igniting a fire within you to finally heal. And when I say "heal," I don’t mean just dust off old wounds. No, this is deep, soul-level healing from something that cut you hard and left you spinning. You’ve been carrying this pain for too long, and Spirit is here, loud and unapologetic, telling you it’s time to let it go.

The Cards

Queen of Swords upright with The Star—This is your clarity and your hope. You’re stepping into your truth, cutting through the nonsense, and reclaiming your voice. The Star says healing is happening, but don’t expect it to be gentle. It’s the kind of healing that burns before it soothes. You’re being guided to dream big, even if your dreams seem out of reach right now.

Queen of Swords reversed with Three of Swords—But let’s be real. You’ve been here before, haven’t you? Trying to heal, only to slip back into old cycles. That reversed Queen shows me there’s still some bitterness, some unresolved pain. Spirit is asking you to look directly at your heartbreak without flinching. The Three of Swords is raw, but it’s also a turning point. Acknowledge it, cry over it if you must, but know that it’s not your forever.

Eight of Wands with The Hanged Man—Once you face that pain, things will move fast. Communication, opportunities, and clarity will flood in, but you need to shift your perspective first. The Hanged Man is here to remind you that sometimes, the only way out is through. Let yourself sit with the discomfort—it’s temporary, I promise.

Seven of Swords reversed with Eight of Swords reversed—Oof, someone’s lies or sneaky behavior might have trapped you in your head before. But no more. These cards are about releasing deception, both from others and yourself. Stop lying to yourself about what you want, Pile 1. Stop pretending everything’s fine when you’re screaming inside. You’re freeing yourself from this mental prison, and let me tell you, it’s about damn time.

The Hermit with Knight of Cups—This is where it gets juicy. After all this introspection, someone—or something—new is coming in. The Knight of Cups is a romantic, a dreamer, someone who stirs your heart. Whether it’s a person, a creative project, or an emotional awakening, this is the spark you’ve been waiting for. But it only comes after you’ve done the inner work.

Nine of Pentacles with Five of Swords—You’re stepping into independence and self-worth, but beware of those who might try to sabotage you. The Five of Swords is a warning: not everyone will celebrate your glow-up. Some people are better left in the past.

Ten of Pentacles reversed with Page of Wands—This could indicate a shake-up in your foundation. Maybe it’s family drama, a breakup, or a financial reset. But the Page of Wands reminds you to stay curious and optimistic. New beginnings often feel messy before they feel right.

Knight of Swords with The Devil reversed—Your determination to break free from toxic patterns is unmatched. The Devil reversed says you’re cutting cords, ditching bad habits, and stepping out of cycles that no longer serve you. You’re unstoppable, babe.

Strength reversed with Ace of Cups—Here’s the emotional release. You’ve been holding it together for so long that you’ve forgotten how to let go. The Ace of Cups is your emotional renewal, your fresh start, your permission to feel everything again.

The High Priestess reversed with Queen of Cups—Spirit is saying, ‘Stop doubting yourself.’ Your intuition has been screaming at you, but you’ve been ignoring it. The Queen of Cups is here to remind you of your emotional depth and wisdom. Trust yourself—you already know what’s right for you.

Eight of Pentacles with The Sun—All this hard work you’re putting into yourself? It’s going to pay off in ways you can’t even imagine. The Sun is your ultimate happiness, your reward for all the effort. Keep going; you’re so close.

Five of Cups with Justice—Justice came out right as I was saying, ‘You’re getting your justice.’ Spirit does not play. This is karmic balance, the universe setting things right. Yes, you’ve experienced loss, but it wasn’t in vain. Everything you’ve endured is leading you to this moment of divine justice.

Bottom of the Deck: Temperance—Patience, my love. Healing isn’t a straight line, and balance takes time. But you’re on the right path.

Split Deck: Four of Cups reversed—You’re waking up, finally seeing the opportunities Spirit has been placing in ront of you. Stop dwelling on what didn’t work and focus on what’s possible.

The Message

Pile 1, you’re in the middle of a transformation so profound it’s practically radiating from your cards. You’re healing, releasing, and stepping into your power. Spirit is here, crows and all, to remind you that justice is on your side. Keep pushing through the discomfort—it’s leading you to a life that’s brighter, freer, and more aligned with who you are.

And those notifications? Answer them. Something important is trying to reach you. Stay hot, stay spicy, and stay open to the blessings heading your way.

Pile Two🥀

The Vibe is Magnetic, and Spirit is Dancing With You

Oh, Pile Two. You didn’t just stumble into this reading—you waltzed in, spinning, singing, and twirling with a vibe so contagious it practically leaps off the cards. Let’s talk, because Spirit is loud and clear with this one. There’s a rhythm here, an undeniable flow, and the details? Oh, they’re dripping with significance.

Signs & Synchronicities

Dancing is huge for this pile. Whether you’re on the dance floor or grooving in your kitchen, there’s something about movement and rhythm that feeds your soul. Singing could be just as vital—expressing your voice, your truth, your essence. You might be someone who loves to accessorize—colorful bracelets that jingle with every step, or those stunning braided hairstyles adorned with beads.

The energy here screams personality—vibrant, unapologetic, and undeniably you.

But there’s a competitive streak too, isn’t there? Whether it’s proving yourself to others or loving that rush of pushing boundaries, there’s a fire in you that thrives on standing out and shocking the world. You don’t back down from a challenge—you lean in.

Now, let’s talk about itchiness. An itchy nose, a sudden rash—it’s like your body is reacting to this energy shift. Spirit is saying, “Pay attention!” These physical signs are nudges from the universe, reminders that something big is brewing.

And then there’s the time zone difference. Are you in a long-distance situation? Maybe you’re straddling two worlds—north and south, winter and summer (Timezone difference, Australia mentioned. HELLO?). But what stands out? Spring. A fresh start, a rebirth, a blossoming.

Also, Aries energy is coming in strong—bold, fiery, determined. Maybe it’s in your big three, or perhaps it’s just the vibe you’re stepping into: courageous, unstoppable, and unafraid to take the lead.

The Cards—Breaking It Down

Nine of Wands & The Devil—Let’s start with the tension. You’ve been through the wringer, haven’t you? The Nine of Wands shows resilience—standing tall, even when life keeps throwing curveballs. Paired with The Devil, though, it’s clear there’s something or someone trying to hold you back. Old habits? Toxic patterns? This card combo screams, “Break the chain!” You’re on the verge of freeing yourself from whatever’s been binding you.

Nine of Swords reversed & Five of Pentacles reversed—Here’s the good news: The worst is over. Those sleepless nights, those feelings of lack and abandonment—they’re lifting. You’re stepping out of the shadows, finding your strength again.

Three of Pentacles & Page of Swords reversed—Collaboration is key, but Spirit is warning you: not everyone in your circle has your best interests at heart. The Page of Swords reversed suggests miscommunication or even gossip. Keep your guard up and trust your intuition about who’s really in your corner.

Four of Swords reversed & Queen of Pentacles—You’ve rested long enough. Now, it’s time to get back in the game. The Queen of Pentacles shows you stepping into a nurturing, abundant energy—balancing your hustle with self-care.

The Star & Ten of Pentacles reversed—Hope is your guiding light, but don’t get stuck chasing someone else’s idea of success. The Ten of Pentacles reversed suggests that your “happily ever after” might look different from what you originally envisioned—and that’s okay.

Queen of Cups & Page of Pentacles reversed—Emotionally, you’re in tune, but don’t let small setbacks throw you off course. The Page reversed is a reminder to keep learning, growing, and experimenting without fear of failure.

Seven of Wands reversed & Seven of Cups—You don’t always have to fight. Sometimes, stepping back and reassessing your options (and there are many, trust me) is the best move.

The World & Six of Cups—A cycle is coming to a close, and it’s paving the way for something deeply nostalgic and fulfilling. Whether it’s reconnecting with a person or rediscovering a passion, there’s a sense of coming full circle.

Strength & Judgement—You’re stepping into your power, answering Spirit’s call. This is a rebirth, a reckoning, a chance to redefine yourself. Don’t shy away from the reflection staring back at you.

Knight of Pentacles & Queen of Swords reversed—Slow and steady wins the race, but don’t let impatience or harsh self-criticism derail you. The Knight is reliable, and you’re building something that lasts.

The Bottom of the Deck

The Lovers—Ah, the heart of it all. This is about choices, connections, and alignment. Whether it’s romantic or not, you’re calling in something—or someone—that resonates with your soul.

Split: Nine of Cups & Justice—Wish fulfillment is on the horizon, but Justice says you’ll get exactly what you deserve. This is karma balancing the scales, so trust that what’s coming is meant for you.

The Message

Pile Two, you’re in the middle of a transformation that feels like a dance—sometimes smooth, sometimes chaotic, but always moving forward. Spirit is asking you to embrace your unique rhythm. Let go of what no longer serves you, lean into the things that light you up, and trust that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.

That Aries energy? It’s your cue to be bold, fearless, and unapologetically you.

Pile Three🎀

Traveling Through Love, Fireworks, and a Deep Connection

There’s something sparkly and electrifying about this pile, isn’t there? You’re stepping into a story that feels like a whirlwind—like packing up everything in your bags and rushing toward an adventure. Travel is on the horizon, either you’re coming back from a trip, or one is definitely in your future. And it’s not just any trip. There’s a sense that this one will change you, shift you into something more you than you’ve been in a while. But it’s not all about the destination. Oh no, this is about the journey—one full of love, fireworks, lace, and that breathless feeling when you know your heart is about to explode.

Signs & Synchronicities

So many things stand out. First of all, broken earbuds or earphones? That’s a message right there. A reminder that some things, or perhaps even relationships, just don’t stay in one piece. They break, but in the breaking, there’s a deeper connection waiting to be made. There’s an underlying theme of things falling apart to make space for something new and beautiful.

And let’s talk about pink. Baby pink specifically. It’s soft, it’s delicate, but it’s also powerful. Maybe you’ve been seeing pink lately—whether in your wardrobe, decor, or in the most random of places. This is an invitation to open your heart, embrace vulnerability, and trust that love is not only possible but waiting for you.

Then there’s the theme of bags—packed bags. You’re not just physically packing up, though; you’re preparing for an emotional journey. Some of you could be making big moves soon, whether in relationships or lifestyle choices. It’s like Spirit is preparing you for something big, and you’re already subconsciously getting ready.

And fireworks—boom. There’s something that’s about to explode into your life in the most magnificent way. Maybe it’s a relationship, maybe it’s a moment of self-discovery. Whatever it is, it’s going to leave you breathless. Lace could also be significant—delicate, but intricate and deeply meaningful, like the threads of connection in your life.

Travel? I know we’ve mentioned it, but there’s something special about it. You could be reconnecting with someone from your past, or maybe you’re about to meet someone who feels like a past life connection. Someone who’s going to be incredibly dear to you.

The Cards—Breaking It Down

King of Wands & The Devil—The energy here is intense, fire-burning, and possibly a little addictive. The King of Wands is bold, confident, and passionate—someone who knows what they want and goes after it. Paired with The Devil, though, it’s clear that there’s a magnetic attraction here. Maybe there’s a person in your life or someone coming in who embodies this energy—a powerful force that could sweep you off your feet. But beware: there’s something about this connection that could be a little...dangerous. Will it lift you up or leave you craving more?

Three of Pentacles reversed & Eight of Pentacles—You’ve been trying to collaborate, work with others, and build something lasting. But right now, it feels like things aren’t coming together as smoothly as you’d like. Don’t let that dishearten you. The Eight of Pentacles is here to say that your hard work will pay off. Maybe it’s time to focus on yourself for a bit—hone your craft, perfect your skills, and let things fall into place.

Nine of Pentacles & The Chariot—Ah, independence and drive. You’re stepping into your power, learning how to stand alone, but there’s also a rush of energy—like a burst of momentum carrying you forward. The Chariot says go. Whatever it is you’ve been hesitating about, it’s time to take the wheel and drive. You’re unstoppable now.

King of Cups reversed & Seven of Cups—The emotional confusion here is palpable. There’s a lot of energy, but not all of it feels grounded. Is there someone who’s emotionally distant or unstable around you? The King of Cups reversed could indicate that someone close to you is struggling with their emotions, and the Seven of Cups adds to the fog, making everything seem unclear. Keep your heart open, but trust your instincts to cut through the illusions.

High Priestess reversed & Seven of Swords—Don’t let secrets or lies stand in the way. The High Priestess reversed is asking you to trust your intuition, but the Seven of Swords is a warning. Someone may not be telling the truth, or you might be withholding a truth from yourself. Pay attention to what’s hidden—whether it’s in a relationship or in your own actions.

Knight of Cups & Queen of Cups—Here comes the love, or at least, the potential for it. The Knight of Cups is a dreamy, romantic energy, and with the Queen of Cups, this is a deeply emotional connection. Someone is about to step forward—perhaps they’re already in your life—who sees you for who you are, someone who feels like home.

Queen of Pentacles & Four of Wands—Stability, home, family—this is what’s on your mind. You’re looking for something grounded, something that feels like it lasts. The Queen of Pentacles is practical and nurturing, and with the Four of Wands, there’s a sense of celebration. Could this be a wedding, a reunion, or a coming together with someone from your past? Whatever it is, it’s building toward something beautiful.

Strength & Ace of Pentacles—You’ve got the strength to make this new beginning happen. The Ace of Pentacles is all about tangible, grounded beginnings—whether it’s love, work, or both. But it’s going to take courage. Do you have the strength to face what’s ahead? I know you do.

Five of Cups reversed & Six of Cups—Letting go of past hurts, emotional releases, and embracing the lessons. The Six of Cups is all about reconnection—could it be that someone from your past, someone who means the world to you, is coming back into your life? Or maybe it’s just a new love that feels like it’s been years in the making.

Three of Cups & Eight of Swords reversed—Celebration and release. The Eight of Swords reversed is a reminder that you are no longer trapped by your thoughts or circumstances. It’s time to embrace joy, to surround yourself with people who lift you up and support you.

Ace of Cups & Page of Wands—A new emotional beginning is coming, and it’s going to ignite that spark in you. The Page of Wands suggests excitement, curiosity, and exploration—there’s a sense of newness in your emotional journey, and it’s one that’s going to set your heart on fire.

Page of Swords reversed & Star—Communication could be a little off, but don’t let that stop you. The Star brings hope, healing, and renewal. Even if things aren’t perfect right now, there’s a beautiful future waiting for you.

Moon reversed & Two of Cups—Truth is coming to light. The Moon reversed uncovers secrets, and the Two of Cups brings balance, a true partnership, or union. This is about clarity in love. Whether it's someone from your past or a new, deep connection, this relationship is unfolding just as it’s meant to.

The Bottom of the Deck

Ace of Wands reversed—There’s a delay in the beginning, but it’s coming. This is a slow burn, not a flash fire. When the Ace of Wands comes in reversed, it’s a reminder that sometimes, the most powerful sparks take time to ignite.

Split: The World—A cycle is coming full circle, and you’re about to experience completion, closure, or a new phase. The world is a powerful card of achievement, success, and finally coming into your own.

The Message

Pile 3, you’re entering a chapter full of excitement, love, and undeniable fireworks. Whether you’re about to reconnect with someone special or embrace a brand-new relationship that feels like fate, the energy is palpable. Love is coming in hot, but it’s not without its twists and turns. This journey will be full of moments that make you feel like you’re traveling the world, discovering pieces of yourself along the way. Stay open, stay grounded, and let the universe unfold its magic for you. You’re ready.

And there you have it, my darlings. Another reading, another wave of energy to sift through. I hope you caught those messages—whether the fireworks, the lace, or the truth that’s just waiting to spill out. Remember, the universe doesn’t speak in straight lines; it whispers through synchronicities, songs stuck in your head, and moments of undeniable connection. Keep your eyes open, your heart even more so, and let things unfold as they should. Until next time, you know where to find me when you need clarity, a nudge, or just a little dose of cosmic truth. Stay fiery, stay fierce, and always keep a little mystery, darling. Xoxo, May.

[lilianne-tarot]

PICK-A-CARD: How do strangers really see you ✮⋆˙

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I. II. III.

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How to Pick Your Pile: Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and look at the images below. Which one pulls you in the most? Trust your gut! Once you choose the image, The number below your chosen image is your pile. If more than one catches your eye, that just means there’s extra tea for you, go ahead and read both!

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My KO-FI link: HERE 🫶🏻

MY MASTERLIST🫶🏻

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ִ ࣪𖤐⭑Pile I

Cards pulled: 7 of wands, judgement, 9 of cups, queen of wands, ace of swords, the devil, the high priestess, pluto, Sagittarius and the oracle cards.

Okay, babe, let me start by saying this loud and clear: YOU. GET. NOTICED. Like, whether you’re walking into a room, online on your social media profiles, or literally just existing, you catch people’s eyes, period. Your energy is so powerful, it's so unapologetically seductive and alluring, very sexual too. And you know what’s hilarious, Judgment popped out, and in a reading about what strangers think of you?? Girl, I cackled. Like YES of course this card is here. Because people are definitely out here forming assumptions, opinions, even gossips about you. And somehow things reaches you everytime and you’re like “lol okay.” LMAOO

Now listen, most of these assumptions are not coming from random people on the street. This is work-related people. These people are from your professional environment, coworkers, classmates, peers. If you’re in school, think seniors, classmates, mutuals you’re not close with or literally just people who want to be you. They see you as that one person who holds their ground, boldly themselves who isn’t afraid to shake things up if that concerns your career stuff. People assume that you don’t like to play small. babe. That intimidates people. Like, badly.

You’ve got this vibe like… if someone tries to come at you with shade or some weak insult, you’re just standing there, arms crossed, looking them dead in the eye, like “anything else” 😐 And omg the way that just destroys them from the inside out 😭 They don’t know what to do with that energy. They were hoping you’d flinch, but instead you hit them with deadpan queen energy, and they will never try that again. I see that lot o people try to scare you off but fails to do that.  But, the people who actually know you, They think that you are so fun, so sweet, and literally gives the BEST advice.” They’re seeing the angel core under all that boss b*tch exterior. Yall have an INSANE DUALITY. Fire energy is very strong here. You’re powerful and nurturing. Strategic and soft. People can’t figure out how you manage to be so committed, hardworking, AND still a joy to be around, but you just do.

AND, to your colleagues or classmates, You don’t even try and they feel threatened. People consider you their competition without you having to do anything. You just exist and suddenly they’re in competition mode.  They feel challenged by your presence alone. Even those who seem more powerful or qualified, They’re secretly sweating. You shake people up like that.

There’s also this vibe like… strangers kind of assume your life is super intense, Like they see you as someone who’s constantly balancing a million responsibilities, always hustling, always climbing some invisible mountain. And let’s be real, you are always trying to the most you can. They think you’re burned out half the time, but you still show up smiling, determined, and ready to take on more. That’s what makes you unforgettable. Even if they’re whispering like “ugh, she’s doing too much,” deep down they’re like “wait, how is she still going?? Why can’t I be like that??” im seeing that, sometimes you take up more responsibilities than you can handle and STILL manage to complete all of them (uhm… but the breakdown you have behind close doors, let’s keep that between us lol) 

And I cannot ignore this one thing that’s been echoing since I pulled the cards, the word “awesome” just keeps coming. That’s literally the first thing people think when they see you: awesome. Not “cute,” not “cool,” but just this all-caps WOW kind of awe. And one more extra information, I rolled Pluto on the astro dice while channeling, and babe, Judgment is ruled by Pluto too. Which means? You’re not just memorable, you’re transformative. People remember you. You change how they think, how they see things, how they feel about themselves. Even if they never speak to you again, they remember the vibe you gave.

from a total stranger’s perspective, they instantly assume that you’re super giving and generous with the people you’re close to. Like, you ride hard for your loved ones. That energy shows. And it’s not just vibe, , they see it in how you talk, how you act, how you prioritize. You’re the kind of person who makes your people feel safe and spoiled at the same time. And honey, that image is powerful. One of the first things people notice is your bubbly, playful nature. You’re just that fun energy in the room. You're magnetic without trying, smiling, chatting, maybe teasing people a little, just existing with that sunshine energy. But you're not just sweet. You’re also pretty. Like, actually STUNNING. That’s not even an opinion, it’s a consensus. You’ve got a physical beauty that makes people double-take, and on top of that, You're dripping in this intense, irresistible feminine energy, regardless of your gender.

And let me tell you something else… you are lusted over. Like, no exaggeration. People, especially ladies, feel something when they see you. You’re that kind of person who is called, “for the ladies” Same gender, opposite gender, whoever, it doesn’t matter. But there’s a very strong pull coming from women or femme energies in particular. You’ve got that soft, nurturing, dreamy vibe that’s lowkey addictive. They want to be around you. They want to know you. Some of them even want to claim you, period. People are easily sexually pulled towards you and maybe you also get  lot of compliments from ladies. 

You might even get a little obsessive yourself sometimes 👀 Like when you like someone, you like them. All in. No playing games. You’ve probably had your fair share of "crazy in love" moments. Like insane jealousy, possessive moments etc.  You’re also seen as playful and brave when it comes to feelings. Like if you like someone? You’re not afraid to shoot your shot. You will confess. You’re that person who says what everyone else is too scared to say. And when you’re in love? It’s intense. Like all-consuming, addictive, wild ride type of love.

Alsooo, not to expose anyone but... some of y’all might be attracted to the same gender, and it shows. You’ve got this open, fluid, non-conforming kinda energy that just welcomes attraction from all sides. it’s like “everyone has a crush on me and that’s their problem.” your sex appeal, It’s LOUD. Even if you’re not aware of it, your sexual energy is so strong. People are drawn to your vibe physically. Your aura just screams “magnetic attraction,” and your mental presence only makes it hotter. 

Now here’s the thing: some people actually think you’re just lucky. Like they’ll whisper stuff like “ugh, everything always works out for them,” and pretend like you’re just floating through life on a cloud of privilege. But WE KNOW THE TRUTH. It’s not just luck, babe, it’s your charm, your resilience, your hard-ass work ethic. You’re determined. You don’t half-ass anything. So yeah, maybe the universe does bless you, but it’s because you show up for yourself every damn day. The girls who get it, get it. The ones who don’t? Stay salty 😌you take your personal space seriously. You're big on nurturing yourself. You understand that being soft with yourself is power. People see that and think, “wow, they’re really put together,” but it’s deeper than that. It’s sacred to you. You’re also very protective of your energy, your joy, your peace. And if someone tries to overstep or bother you too much, You're not shy about putting them in their place. You don’t tolerate nonsense. You’ve worked too hard on your vibe to let someone come in and mess with it. People see you as their ideal type. The kind of person they’d manifest. You’re pursued. Desired. Romantic attention follows you like a shadow. And when people fall for you, they fall hard. It’s giving “dream partner” energy. They literally feel like their life would be fulfilled if they had you in it.

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ִ ࣪𖤐⭑Pile II

Cards pulled: 4 of swords, queen of swords, the hanged man, king of cups, justice, page of wands gemini, pluto and oracle cards

Before starting this reading, I wanna say that there are some sexual messages ahead, so if you are comfortable, then please go ahead and read it! <3

Sexual energy for this pile is soo sooo strong. It's very intense. The fact that I got the same planet and oracle card from the pile 1 for this pile 2, but even more such cards for this pile it explains how sexual energy is so strong here for this pile compared to pile 1.

People literally melt in your presence. Like no joke. It’s intense. It’s dangerous at some point. You’re that person strangers can’t stop staring at, and trust me, they try, but your pull is just too strong. To the point that it becomes dangerous. You’re charming in a way that people simply can’t resist. Even strangers, I feel, can’t help but obsessively think about you. Some may even carry intentions that aren't so pleasant or respectful. This is especially emphasised by the 8th house energy cuz it’s soo heavy here!!! BESTIEE Your sexual aura is incredibly strong. There's a raw edge to your appeal, honestly, the word "animal" keeps echoing in my mind. That’s how wild and potent this magnetism is. A lot of these people see you as a sexual figure as well. 

Because of this, some of you might have unfortunately experienced unwanted attention or even harassment in the past, things like people staring too long, glances, or better say it as people glaring at you in public, or just being watched in ways that feel... off. And since many of you are highly intuitive, you can instantly pick up on those disturbing vibes. You know when someone’s gaze carries impure or inappropriate intentions, you feel it in your bones. The feeling is soo uncomfortable. 

Here’s something else: people often lust over you from a distance. Very few have the courage to approach you. You scare people off just by being you. Especially those who know they’re not equipped to meet your standards or handle the weight of your presence. When people feel attracted to you, love and desire override their logic. These strangers who form assumptions about you aren’t neutral, they’re the type who are already crushing, obsessing, and yes, many of them are deeply horny and out-of-control with their fantasies. People obsessing over you are generally thouse useless horny people who have noting better to do. (i’m not saying they need therapy….but maybe) It’s not just lust. It’s craving, longing, hunger, all tangled up into one irresistible energy. Even if they try to resist, your aura breaks down their walls. You become a forbidden temptation they can’t escape. Honestly, the word “animal” keeps coming back because it perfectly describes how intense and instinctual their reactions are.

People may secretly assume you’ve got someone offering you luxury or support, like a “sugar daddy” or “sugar mommy.” That assumption may sound wild, but it’s a private thought they never speak aloud, it lives deep in the corners of their imagination. They project desires and stories onto you without knowing anything real. These people feel you are worth every risk, every fantasy, and every unspoken dream. You’re that one-of-a-kind person people only come across once in a lifetime, and they’d risk everything to have a shot with you.

Some People also assume you’re very sacrificial and giving. You put others’ needs above your own, and sometimes, they may feel like you don’t prioritize yourself enough. They see your generous spirit and assume you’re the kind who gives without limits. But your presence also makes people pause and reflect, you shift their perspective. You unknowingly challenge them to look at themselves and the world differently. Your demeanor is quietly observant, and many of you have strong intuitive gifts, you just know things, and you see beyond what’s shown.

I also see that a lot of you enjoy the spotlight. Not from these unnecessary people, but just being the talk of the town. You’re drawn to attention, and attention is drawn to you. You may thrive when all eyes are on you. Some of you are into poetry, philosophy, or activities that require deep mental engagement. You're emotionally rich, layered, and powerful.

Many people assume you’re high-maintenance, not in a negative way, but in a way that screams: “I have standards. I am worth effort.” You’re seen as mature, grounded, and composed, and you leave people speechless, your looks, your energy, the way you speak, and how you observe everything… it's a lot. In a good way. In fact, even speaking to you can feel intimidating to some. You give off this vibe of, “talk to me only if you have something logical to say” You give off that “queen/king energy,” and people feel like they’re not ready for you. They don’t think they can handle your truth, your vibe, or your standards. 

BUT ALSO, You are genuinely liked by people, like, no constant haters lurking around every corner or anything.  But honestly, a lot of people do find you aloof. It's not because you're mean or distant, it's your opinions, beliefs, and that confident, graceful way you carry yourself. You’ve got that fixed mindset energy that doesn’t just bend because someone said, “Well actually…” (and honestly, good for you 👏). You stay rooted in your truth, and that kind of  strength, Yeah, it pulls people in like gravity. 

Now, after looking at the whole spread, i can feel that people have really mixed opinions about you. Some folks, especially the ones who don’t really get you, might think you’re all maybe even shallow, just about the looks, sensuality, and appearance and stuff. Like, they see a “doll” and forget there’s a whole person there with actual feelings..

But then, THEN, we have got these deep souls, the emotionally intelligent ones, the ones who don’t just look, they e. Analyze too . And they see through you in the best way. They pick up on the depth, the power, the intensity you hold behind the curtain. That’s when the admiration splits, some people are drawn to your physical allure, while others are completely enchanted by your mental and emotional world. 

People either thirst for you or think with you...sometimes both at once.

And listen, I feel like you don’t even smile much. You’re not constantly out here hunting for attention or needing eyes on you 24/7. Most of the time, you give off this calm, composed energy, so relaxed, so centered.  But when it comes to values like justice, rules, and structure, You don’t play around. You NEED things to be systematic. Especially in your work life, people might see you as super methodical, maybe even a bit too stoic or serious. You’ve got this quiet authority that’s kinda intimidating. Some people are legit scared to argue with you. Like, they don’t want the smoke. You’ve got this silent, powerful vibe that screams, “I will win this debate without even raising my voice.” So they just… don't even try.

BUT, underneath all that intense energy, you’ve got this sweet, innocent curiosity. A soft person who is just a human after all. You want to learn, explore, and grow. You’ve got this inner child who still finds joy in little things, and that side of you? It only comes out around your closest people. Not everyone gets to see it. Strangers sense there’s more to you than meets the eye. They wish they could peek behind the veil, catch a glimpse of your playful, radiant, full-of-life side.  And that curiosity drives them crazy (in a fascinated kind of way). You’ve got this mysterious duality, on the outside: poised, intense, untouchable. On the inside: curious, joyful, warm.

People might tell you or think to themselves, “Wait, you’re actually adorable?? I thought you were gonna crush me with your stare" 😭

But here’s the thing, this softer, lighter part of you? It’s almost a secret. You're super protective of it. You don’t just let anyone in. Only the rare, genuine ones, the big-hearted souls who truly get you, ever get to see it bloom. And when you do let that guard down and share that part of you? It's unforgettable. People get addicted to that realness, that duality. 

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ִ ࣪𖤐⭑Pile III

Cards pulled: 4 of pentacles, page of pentacles, page of cups, 8 of cups, 4 of swords, 5 of swords, justice, leo, and oracle cards.

The energy of this pile is soo good😭

BABY let’s get this straight, your personality is what grabs people’s attention instantly. Like, first glance and they’re already trying to figure you out. You’ve got that wow factor that just... lingers. People don’t forget you. Ever. and something about how you look at people is so enchanting, yet so scary. It’s like, “scary? My god, you’re divine”. Buddies, yall can literally use your damn eyes for so many things you’re not aware😭

Somehow, y’all always end up leaving the best impression. People see you as courageous, fearless, and just so YOU. There’s something uniquely exceptional about your aura that makes people double-take , like, “Wait... who was that??”

But okay, reality check time: not everyone likes you. 🙃 You’ve got an equal mix of admirers, haters, and jealousy. It’s giving the main character with his team of rivals energy. Your aura of authority is so So real. Especially in professional or social spaces, people tend to feel like they’re in some competition with you, mostly for attention or relevance. 

A lot of people instantly assume you’re “too extra” or “too self-focused,” and it gives them the idea that you’re trying too hard to be noticed or that you're overly ambitious. (“Umm... and what’s wrong with knowing what you want???”) Honestly though, you are ambitious and a little materialistic... BUT that’s not a bad thing. It’s actually amazing. Like hello?? You’re self-aware enough to know what you want, need, and deserve, and you’re not afraid to say it out loud. But yep, people don’t always like that, and that’s a them problem. And tbh... I know y’all don’t lose sleep over it. 

Y’all are extremely mindful when it comes to your finances, and fiercely protective too. You’ve got this soft, radiant aura, I’m seeing a lot of pink and red around you, which feels pure, elegant, and full of love. But you’ve also got boundaries of steel.  You don’t just let anyone in. You’ve built your world from scratch, and you’ll be damned if someone thinks they’re entitled to a piece of it. “Your vibe is: ‘Touch my energy or my stuff without permission and you’ll see the Scorpio in me REAL quick.’” but regardless of all of this hard stuff, People also  see you as emotionally attuned and kind-hearted deep down. Your confidence inspires others, especially those who struggle with it. You’re like a walking masterclass in “I know my worth.”

Pile 3 people reminds me of maddy from euphoria!!! How She was fiercely confident and protective of her people. but if anyone ever betrays her, they're done for. kicked out of her life in an instant. Although she had quite a dark, bold and powerful typa vibe but still she was also such a sweetheart with other people who deserved it. she inspired them. loved them. She was just a sympathetic, compassionate and soft-hearted girl deep inside, but Cassy brought out the worst of her. so yall are also very similar to these aspects of Maddy. (Sorry for the unnecessary yap about her, I just love her throughout her show cuz she embodies the leo+ scorpio characteristic so well) and that brings me to my next point. yall might have the looks and vibe of Casey with the personality and behaviour of Maddy cuz I'm seeing pink colour a lot here, so yall look soft but so powerful. 

Now, people also notice that you move on QUICKLY from things that don’t serve you anyomre. Like, your ex says “I’ll change, I swear!” and you’re already halfway out the door with your peace, You don’t waste energy where it’s not worth investing. Period. The fire energy in this pile? Off. The. Charts. You’ve got zeal, youthfulness, and it’s so infectious that people just respect you automatically. But here’s what’s i fnid superrr hilarious,  they don’t feel like they’re watching you. Instead, they feel SEEN by you, and that’s why they act better around you. There’s something in your gaze that says, “I know what you’re really about.” 😭😭 You have strong principles and belief systems, and you're uncompromising about them. Try to criticize that, and ... that’s a mistake. 

You’re more of a thinker than a speaker. People often assume you’re tired or emotionally distant (probably because of your “resting tired face” lol 😂). And you do look like someone who’s been through some tough sh*t, especially financial betrayal by someone close. That’s probably what built your no-nonsense vibe today. You’ve been burned, and you learned. And now? Nobody plays you. Period. 😂

You might have gone through a rebirth phase, a total energetic glow-up. The kind that comes only after deep pain and even deeper lessons. You’ve emerged like a phoenix ( i see that here) , and that’s exactly what draws people to you. People catch crushes left and right because of how poised, confident, and mysteriously collected you are. But let’s be honest, they rarely have the guts to confess.

People also assume you’re always focused, busy most of the time, or just building something quietly. Even in chaos, you stay so calm, and that’s rare. 

The shadow part about yall is, people have used you, left you, and betrayed you when you needed them the most. That’s why your trust doesn’t come easily. And you never waver from your beliefs because those beliefs are what protected you when people didn’t. You built your backbone brick by brick, and now you stand like a fortress. “You're the ‘hurt but healed’ type. That’s why your energy hits so hard.”

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Thank you so much for reading all the way through! I hope my reading resonated with you and that you had a lovely time going through it. If you enjoyed it, please like and reblog, it really means a lot! Let me know which pile you chose; I absolutely love hearing your thoughts and feedback on my readings! ♡

Note: tarot cards provide guidance and possible insights into what could happen based on current energies, thoughts, and actions. the cards can highlight potential paths or outcomes, but they do not predict the future in a fixed way. this is a general reading so take what resonates!

[jnkgrnde]

— glossy kisses, clarisse la rue, pjo

summary — in which, clarisse is in love with the way your lipgloss sticks to her.

pairings — clarisse la rue x black!fem!reader (any descent)

content includes — fluff, soft/sorta needy clarisse, kissing

you sat at one of the makeup tables set up in your cabin, getting ready for the day. it wasn’t much, just some simple coverup and lip gloss.

clarisse’s favorite lip gloss.

your girlfriend hasn’t directly expressed that she loved when you wore lip gloss, but you knew she loved it. she showed it when you walked out of your cabin after finishing getting ready, and she had a smile on her face as soon as she saw you. she was happy to see you, of course, but she also saw you wearing lipgloss that day.

she knew she’d end the day with having multiple glossy lip marks on her face, and eventually one on her lips at the end of the day, when she walks you to and drops you off at your cabin.

the first one came when you met up with eachother at breakfast. today was your day to sit at the ares table. “hi, sweet girl.” she greeted. she wrapped her arm around your waist to bring you in for a kiss. you grinned when you kissed her, and she almost kept going before you pulled away. “patience, pretty.” you reminded her.

clarisse had a ‘bad’ habit of always wanting to have her lips on yours, and it only got worse when you wore the lipgloss. she looked at you with puppy eyes, all because she just wanted to kiss you so bad. “baby, jus’ wait.” you promised. she faked annoyance, “fineee.” she dragged out. you laughed at her antics before interlocking your fingers with hers and walking into the dining pavilion.

you two grabbed your plates and got the food you desired before scraping some of it into the fire. you sat down at one of the ends of the ares table, right across from each other, discussing your plans for the day. “are you gonna come help me teach the little kids how to spar, princess?” you winced at the mere thought of the activity.

“wish i could, but i have to pick strawberries from the fields today. i’ll wish you luck, though!” you grinned devilishly. clarisse fake glared at you in agitation. “you’re training them next time, you know that, right?” you shrugged. “don’t doubt my way to sweet talk people, la rue.”

it was after you two finished eating was when you separated to get your activities done. you usually kept your tube with you, so you reapplied before setting off to the sweet fields. “see you at dinner?” you knew the answer. you nodded, reaching up to grab her face and kiss her cheek. she had such a large grin on her face at the mere fact of knowing she had an imprint from you for the day.

you went your separate ways, clarisse staying to watch you before finally leaving. you ready the strawberry fields, the sun beaming down on your skin. the star was making the smell of the strawberries greater, and you yearned to have at least one before the day ended.

you picked up a sunhat, gloves, cutters, and a basket before setting off into the dirt and through the fields. you hummed softly to yourself while you worked, and before you knew it, it was the end of the day. you breathed out tiredly. the weight of the basket was starting to get to you. it was filled to the brim with the sugary berries.

you made your way back to the front of the entrance of the patch, setting down your basket for the others to collect, not before sneaking some into your fists. you munched on the delicious fruit, the taste exploding in your mouth. you’d always loved strawberries, and these ones only amplified the feeling.

by the time you reached the main campgrounds, clarisse was wrapping up lessons. she was tired and definitely had a few cuts from the kids with swords and spears. she was instructing them to put the weapons up carefully before leaving for the day. she saw you and broke into a tired smile.

you gave her one back before you took notice of the cuts she had. “that bad, huh?” she let out a sigh. “you have no idea.” she loved fighting, she really did, but teaching the younger, newer kids was a whole other level. she pecked your lips, pulling back before actually tasting you. “you taste so good.” she mumbled. you pulled away, “just had a couple strawberries after i finished. need to bring up to chiron that we should make some-“ she cut you off by smashing her lips to yours.

she was definitely addicted. it took some time, but you finally pulled away to get air. “baby, please,” she whined. “i haven’t seen you all day. let me have you.” you giggled at her desperateness. “well, can you at least wait till i’ve washed myself?” you told her. “just ten or fifteen minutes, baby.”

she stood like she was thinking it over before agreeing. she gave you one more peck before letting you go. “don’t be too long, pretty girl.”

you had finished getting dressed when the conch sounded for dinner. you walked happily along the ground, eager to meet clarisse. you two talked about your day and how one of the kids almost stabbed themselves in the eye, and then hers.

it was finally the end of the day. you were worn out and ready to go to bed, and you knew clarisse was too. she walked you to your cabin, hand in hand. you swung them back and forth as you walked, just listening to the campers get ready to go to bed, the fireflies in the air. the atmosphere was just comforting.

the lights at the cabins slowly started going out as some stragglers finally came in and turned out the lights. you and her were some of them. you walked up the steps to the doors, where clarisse turned. “you’ll come to me if anything happens, right?” “always.” you promised. “good. night, sweet girl.”

the night ended with a kiss on her cheek, the same place you kissed after breakfast. she kissed your lips before heading down the stairs with a smile. you went inside your cabin, and she watched for the light to go out. the flame extinguished, and she knew you were turning in.

she walked off to her cabin, her cheek tingling with your form of an imprint — a glossy kiss.

[missisjoker]

Somewhere in Tiandu, during a fight, Zhuo Yichen bites down too hard and ends up with an extra piece of primordial Pagoda Tree's root in his mouth.

A few months later in Jiuchen Valley, Gong Yuanzhou grows himself a Li Lun.

***

The last piece of Li Lun’s soul floats in the aether, tethered to the world of the living by a thin thread of Bing Yi clan’s magic. He feels compassion, hope, even a touch of love circling through the bond, so he keeps floating, protected and cared for, like a seed in a rain drop. He feels pain too, and he knows at that moment Zhuo Yichen has followed his duty, he knows his old friend is dead, and he weeps for both of them.

Days turn into weeks and then into months, and he keeps floating, until he suddenly roots into place.

***

One day Wufeng attacks the valley and Guo Shangjue is badly hurt. Li Lun takes on his human form to help. He is hit, slashed, punched and bitten before he loses patience and pins the feral cub to the ground.

It takes some coaxing, but Gong Yuanzhi accepts his help. His Gege is the center of his universe, the sole reason for his living- and Li Lun laughs at the irony. Is that why Nuwa sent him here? To show the boy the error of his ways?

They settle into a cautious peace after that. Li Lun can't leave, not yet, so he has to navigate carefully while his power grows back. He cultivates (mostly his patience) and teaches GYZ about herbs, flowers, and poisons. Gets watered periodically and is called a house plant, an evil shrub, and an old perverted bush. In return, GYZ learns to care about someone other than GSJ, (to his outmost delight) gets the same amount of insults as he gives out, is called a feral kitten, a rambunctious raccoon, and is thrown around when Li Lun decides to train him how to fight (better).

Li Lun grows, and so does his human sprout. GYZ also riots, plots and schemes, and Li Lun can’t help but indulge. One day, the Sword Wielder organizes a tournament, and GYZ – to almost everyone’s surprise- puts two of the best fighters through the wall. His eyes twinkle as Li Lun smiles proudly at him.

A few weeks later, GYZ’s study is set on fire. Li Lun shields himself with magic and watches in shock as the young man rushes through the burning house, leaving all his manuscripts behind, and runs towards the garden, shielding Li Lun’s little tree from cinders. Li Lun's roots grow deeper, and he grows attached.

Later yet, another attack happens, and thoughtless orders from the higher-ups put GYZ in harm's way. Li Lun hears GYZ's cry of pain, smells a metallic hint of blood, and almost goes berserk. The only thing that stops him from turning GSJ into a broken doll for getting GYZ hurt is GYZ's faint plea and a shaky hand on his arm. He ignores the other human then, pooling his energy and flowing it through GYZ's body. The action is almost intimate as GYZ never breaks eye contact, and Li Lun feels his heart flutter.

When GYZ fully recovers, Li Lun informs him that he intends to leave.

“Why?”

“Your brother doesn’t want me here.”

“it’s not for him to decide.”

“A-Zhi…”

“I am the head of the Zhi branch, not my brother. This can be your home, if you want to. He has no say in that.”

“I can’t…”

A single tear trickles down GYZ’s cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For not being enough. I can see now, I can never be his replacement.”

Li Lun’s blood boils,

“I never thought of you as one!”

“Then why?”

The demon sighs.

“When I love a person, I can’t let go. I can never let go.”

“Then don’t!”

He tastes salt on GYZ lips when their mouths meet. He tastes sweetness, love and desperation when he buries himself deep into his human and licks the cries and moans off those soft rosebud lips.

He stays.

***

GYZ sighs in his sleep, and Li Lun wraps his arms tighter around the lithe body, tracing patterns on the pale skin.

An old mountain god told Li Lun once that you can't cheat destiny.

What if...

What if Malicious energy returns to its vessel once it is back to human form? What if the Heavens know that this time, Bing Yi's descendant in Tiandu will not fulfill his duty, will refuse to do it again? What if they found another shred of that water dragon's lineage, another child who can be trained, who will not hesitate? No, the Heavens couldn't be that cruel, could they?

"You're thinking too loud and disturbing my sleep."

The boy in his arms pouts, and Li Lun plants a coaxing kiss on those plush, rosy lips.

"Ah, you're still talking? Perhaps, another round will finally tire you out?"

GYZ laughs and slaps Li Lun's chest, "Stupid demon."

"Go back to sleep."

The boy... his energy, it is relentless. Like standing in the eye of a storm, wind and water slashing around you, yet you remain untouched, safe, with only mist trickling down your roots and nourishing you...And you stand firm, grounding and directing the flow. Growing roots even deeper, anchoring and supporting...

A whisp of energy pokes Li Lun's chest and curls into him, merging with his own and making his power soar. Wild, untamed, destructive yet gentle and sustaining, cursing between them as if they were one part of a whole.

Li Lun's mind wonders.

Is it possible to double-cultivate with a human?

He doesn't have a core, he's not a demon. So, what does this make him? An anomaly? A divine being?

An immortal?

Li Lun smiles and lets the storm flow through him.

[numenoria]

The Rings of Power S1 EP5 Thoughts ✨

Okay soo I was planning to do a condensed post of my thoughts for episodes 5-8 like I did for episodes 1-4, but oh boy that was not the case. These next four episodes kick the plot into high gear, so they get their own post. I have many thoughts/observations.

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Episode 5: Partings

Poppy sings her mother's song. It's very moving 💙

Three very pale and bald-headed people are looking for Gandalf/Stranger.

Gratuitous shot of Adar in the Sun:

Wait they call him dad? Is he really their progenitor?

Adar shows compassion to his orc-son

Bronwyn rallies the people of the Southlands

Old loser creep wants to get swallowed up by Sauron so he decides to pledge his allegiance to Adar. These other poor souls follow him.

Yeah this is not going to end well for these folks

Numenor scenery porn:

Elendil got them pretty eyes 😍

Isildur baby boy, you sweet summer child you have got to earn your spot (then you can chop off Sauron's fingers)

The Numenorians object harshly to Queen Miriel's decision 😬

Halbrand is hard at work in the smiths shop. We love a hardworking untrustworhty man mmhmm 💅🏾

Galadriel has NOT informed Halbrand of the plans to go to the Southlands.

Back w/the proto-hobbits. What's this big paw prints in the dirt? Oh no, that can't be good.

Elder lady hobbit does not like the Stranger.

Stranger saves Nori, Poppy and Elder lady hobbit from...idk wtf this creature is. a wolf

Stranger/Gandalf vs The Wolf reinacment:

Galadriel and Valandil engage in some awesome swordsmanship ⚔

Valandil gets promoted! Love that for him!

Halbrand watching Galadriel slang that sword:

Pharazon is ultra super shady...I don't like his son either..

Miriel's dad gives her a warning. Yeah this is definitely an omen or sumn. 👀

Durin IV swindles Gil-Galad out of a table 🤣

I knew Gil-Galad was hiding something!!!

So that's how Mithril was made?? Holy fucking shit!

Gil-Galad Rises gracefully from the table. Very kingly Very demure.

Wait fading?? As in dying?? Like poof??

Elrond don't you say nothin!!! 🤐

Elrond doesn't break his oath. WHEW!!

Gil-Galad still wants to fuck Elrond

Evidence:

Kemen attempts to set fire to the ship...his plan backfires (no pun intended) as Islildur catches him in the act.

I almost called Kemen..Kermit 🐸

Stowaway Isildur saves Ker-Kemen.

Elendil does not believe the cover story...

Galadriel and Halbrand have an extremely intense moment. I love the camera shots in this scene.

Adar brands the creepy old man. Creepy old man has to kill a boy!?? I think??

Arondir and Theo bonding moment <3

The elves nearly drop the Elfkea table

Durin and I laugh at the same time 😂

""GIVE ME THE MEAT AND GIVE IT TO ME RAW!" Sir I-

The evil trinket is apart of something bigger and more evil. A bigger eviler trinket.

Bronwyn wants nothing to do with this devilry. I don't blame her. Arondir calms her down.

Durin and Elrond bond over their shared burden. 💜

A concerned Gil-Galad spies looks on

Numenor marches out in style. Rip the runway battle babes!

Queen Regent Miriel-- I am again *Looking Respectfully*

Elendil I am also *Looking Respcfully*

I think Pharazon is feeding Earien some bullshit

Oh no Isildur's on pooper scooper duty 🤣

Galadriel looks majestic as hell!

Halbrand I still don't trust you!

Mhmmm okay...Nope don't trust him

Galadriel and Halbrand are on another big boat 🚢

Ships are symbolic of journeys, transformations, life and death. The paring of certain characters onboard represents how intertwined their journeys will be over the course of the Rings of Power. Many of the pairings (and trios) represent yin/yang, the past present and future and destruction/renewal. Idk I might write something about this later.

It's interesting that Galadriel and Halbrand are on a ship and they are shipped together in the fandom.

Someone is def not coming back alive or they're coming back changed.

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That was A LOT of thoughts! Overall I enjoyed ep5. There's some interesting character dynamics developing. I'll post Ep6 when I regain some spoons. Thank you reading this jumbled up mess.

-Davi ☽♡☾

[theamazingmaddyas]

This is probably extremely niche (or not, I dunno) but my brother and I were playing Skylander Trap Team, and that got me thinking about Percy Jackson characters as Skylanders (ie their element, their catchphrases, their move set, etc.) So, I decided to answer these pressing questions with the Seven, Nico, and Reyna(maybe I'll do a part 2). Also, some of the characters I could not choose one element so I made them a Swap Force. I know that's not how Swap Force works (which is that you can mix and match top pieces with bottom pieces to create new characters with different skill sets) but some of them really are a tie between two elements and I have to do it. (I did not do combos with Light/Dark as those elements were first introduced in Trap Team and not Swap Force.) Also also, if their catchphrases suck, no they don't. I tried.

Percy Jackson:

Element — Water

Attacks —

+Creating a whirlpool that he floats in (like in TLO)

+Creating a wave when Riptide hits the ground

+Slashing with Riptide

+Water shooting from his hands

Catchphrase — Let's get this over with, alright?

Note, I considered Earth as well for his earthquake powers, but decided to make it a wave instead because I only had 1 Earth attack thought up and a bajillion Water ones.

Annabeth Chase:

Element — Tech

Attacks —

+Slashing with her dagger

+Invisibility hat for a sneak attack

+Weaving a trap for her enemy (like in MOA)

+Little statues appear and attack (plan 23, TLO)

Catchphrase — I'll show them who's boss

Note, while Annabeth doesn't weave the trap for Arachne herself, she is shown to have superhuman weaving powers at other points in MOA that I think is underutilized, and decided to add it.

Jason Grace:

Element — Air

Attacks —

+Stab with a sword

+Stab with a spear

+Fly

+Summoning a lightning bolt

Catchphrase — These the guys that needs killing? (parody of off HOH)

Note, lightning counts under Air, right? I'm like 90% sure, but if not, change the Lightning to a Tornado with Lightning in it.

Piper McLean:

Element — Magic

Attacks —

+Slashing with katoptris

+Summoning sweets with the cornucopia (in a similar fashion to Food Fight) (MOA)

+Charmspeak — makes an enemy touched by her blade fight its ally for a few attacks

+Blowgun dart (TBM) (the cornucopia can double as a blowgun

Catchphrase — Don't mess with the Beauty Queen

Note, Piper was hard to classify, as her powers don't really fall into any of the elements neatly, but Charmspeak seems magical to me, hence the classification.

Leo Valdez: SWAP FORCE

Elements — Fire(top)/Tech(bottom)

Attacks —

+Boinks enemies on the head with a flaming hammer

+Creates a miniature dragon that can breath fire

+Drops Greek Fire bombs

+Shoots fire from hands

Catchphrase — The Supersized McSizzle at your service

Note, I kept switching whether Fire or Tech was his top half or bottom half, but this was chosen because most of his fire powers come from his hands (ie top) and belts are on the bottom half of Swap Force characters which makes his tool belt, and therefore tech, the bottom half.

Frank Zhang: SWAP FORCE

Elements — Life(top)/Undead(bottom)

Attacks —

+Shooting his bow

+Transforming into a bear and biting

+Grows to twice his size and tramples enemies (blessing of Mars, HOH)

+Summoning a skeleton army to help fight

Catchphrase — Bears with bows? Let's go!

Note, I did contemplate making Frank Life/Fire to do that really iconic scene from Tyrant's Tomb as an attack, but he summons an army twice and only does that once so it got scraped)

Hazel Levesque: Swap Force

Elements — Magic(top)/Earth(bottom)

Attacks —

+Stabbing with her spatha

+Summoning Arion to trample enemies

+Three exploding diamonds near where she stands

+A bunch of diamonds shooting (think like Flashwing)

Catchphrase— Watch out for the diamonds

Note, Hazel was also considered for Undead for obvious reasons, but the other two elements are more prominent in her story

Nico di Angelo:

Element — Undead

Attacks

+Slashing with Stygian Iron sword

+Wall of bones

+Summoning a skeleton army to help attack

+A ghost appears and does an attack

Catchphrase — Fear the Ghost King

Note, Nico was also considered to be duo with Earth for his geokinesis, ie sommoning a wall of stone, but I turned that into bone because I couldn't think of any other Earth attacks for him. Additionally, Dark is not able to be a Swap Force, though it was considered for Shadow Traveling, but I decided against it and leaned more into his undead attacks.

Reyna Ramírez-Arellano:

Element — Magic

Attacks —

+Stab with her javelin

+Summon Aurum and Argentum

+Heal her ally with her own health (transfer health)

+Ride on Scipio for a limited time

Catchphrase — Ave Portal Master

Note, see Piper's, picking an element fot her was difficult. Decided not to add the Hunter stuff since I had other ideas.

[recurring-polynya]

Okay, I am back, and by back, I mean 'ready to recap more of 2005 Bleach OAV The Sealed Sword Frenzy. (Part 1 is here)

When I left off, Renji was on the ground with a knife sticking out of him, and Ichigo was about to face down the baddie. His name is Baishin. I never gave you a picture of him, but here he is:

Kinda DILFy. Covered in knives.

Ichigo tries to fight him, and even though Number One is playing, it doesn't go too good. Baishin stops Zangetsu with one bare hand and then steps on Ichigo and grunts "I am a knife", which he also said earlier when he set all those shinigami on fire, so I think that might be important.

Here's another one for my collection of "Rukia and Renji try to attack someone in synch and get trashed for their trouble":

At first, I was wondering if Renji had Zabimaru again, but no, that's just the shotgun. Maybe Renji was gonna hit him with it? Maybe he forgot and thought it was Zabimaru for a second there, too? Maybe the shotgun is Zabimaru's gigai? This is going nowhere good. Let's move on.

[9:07] At this point, I don't know what I expected, but it was not Captain Hitsugaya to make a fucking sweet entrance, and yet that is exactly what happens.

Baishin dodges his first attack and decides to nope out through some sort of smoky portal, summoning a bunch of Hollows as he goes. Hitsugaya suggests they all get out of there, as well.

Hitsugaya somehow always shows up in these things and sighs deeply and gets his ass kicked a bunch, but I gotta admit, he comes of looking pretty cool in Sealed Sword Frenzy! Maybe it's because he left Matsumoto at home?

[10:37] What kind of Bleach ancillary media would this be if we didn't go the Urahara Shouten for some exposition?

Hitsugaya gives us this beautiful explanation over lovingly desaturated flashback-vision.

Who the hell are these randos???

Hitsugaya what

Okay okay, I joke, but this is Grade A, secret-act-that-was-never-recorded, Gotei-13 bullshit, which, as you all know, is my favorite thing in the entire world. We've got five captains here, none of whom we've ever seen before (although that one guy looks kinda like if Captain Amagai and Ashidou, Rukia's Forest-of-Menos hookup had a baby). Two of them died, plus a whole mess of vice-captains. They just sealed a dude in a mountain in the Living World and left him there. The head captain is nowhere to be seen. This is literally on the order of the Hollowification event, but everyone probably forgot it until ten minutes ago when Hitsugaya had to look it up on the Gotei-wiki. This is some lore. This is some stakes. This is the standard by which every filler arc and movie should be judged.

Anyway, the temple from the beginning was there to keep him sealed, which obvs didn't work. Now they are on a special mission to re-seal Baishin or kill him. At this point, Rukia notes, "That explains why even Hanatarou was called out," to which I say, no, Rukia, it does not.

[11:59] The other thing that's obligatory in Bleach ancillary media is Ichigo and Renji being gay for each other, so now it's time for that.

They start arguing as an excuse to put their faces really, really close together, but Hitsugaya yells at them before they can start making out. Spoilsport. He reminds them that the town is being attacked by Hollows as they speak (oh....yeah...) and then it's revealed that Ichigo doesn't actually know who Hitsugaya is.

This is so delightful to me because it's correct, actually? Ichigo probably saw Hitsugaya in passing once or twice at the end of the Soul Society arc and got told his name and promptly forgot it. He calls Hitsugaya "little one" and Rukia and Renji yell at him for it, but if I were Ichigo, I would be more like "hey, I think we need to have a talk about child labor practices in Soul Society." (To which Rukia and Renji would likely respond "a) he's older than us and b) we were child soldiers and turned out fine" and then if I were Ichigo I would never listen to them again)

[14:04] Apropos of nothing, a senkaimon opens, and these goons step out, one at a time, like they're doing a celebrity guest star reveal. They admit that they brought Zaraki, too, and have somehow already managed to lose him.

I hope they've already planned which two of them they're gonna sacrifice to put Baishin back in the mountain (Soi Fon and Hitsugaya, or possibly Zaraki is my guess). Why is Yoruichi even here??? She doesn't even work for the Gotei anymore!! Or is she a 1099 now, and gets paid triple the civil servant rate? That would honestly explain a lot, actually.

I am now halfway through this thing, but I am pretty sure I can get through the rest in one post (and then one more for the ED), so I'm gonna call it here.

Update: Here's Part 3

[mxtantrights]

Bounded by shadow and blood (18)

azriel x magic!fem!reader

Kynas walks up the steps to Dias. No one in the crowd reacts. He really had them under his control, which was scary. Controlling that much blood at once is not easy and it takes its toll. 

You wonder if that is also why he looks so close to death, or if it’s the other powers running through him. How’d he do that?

“How did you get like this?” You ask.

He smiles at you from your brother’s side. 

“Does my darling wife want to nurse me back to health? That’s sweet.” He snarls.

You wanted to buy time. Amren could have gotten the message but maybe she needed time to get here. And if the wards are down then the whole inner circle could help her. Not that they would help you, but if they knew the shadow singer was in trouble you have no doubt they would do all they could and more.

Your eyes waver over to the man in question. He looks stone cold. And he’s looking right at you. His face isn’t giving anything away. Not even the pain that he’s feeling because of Kynas. 

He really should have left as soon as he got here. 

“Well I think you should at least wear something more appropriate to my throne ceremony.” Kynas says.

You look at him wildly at that. So he did want the throne. Why? Sure power is one of the greatest loves of his life—you never quite made the list. But there were so many ways to get to the throne, why this way?

While you’re not paying attention, your outfit changes. You don’t feel it. Not at first. It’s not until the red sleeves cover your arms that you get it.

You weren’t wearing the clothes from before. Now you were in a red dress. One of the dresses that Kynas had picked out for you to wear at the wedding ceremony. One of the dresses you passed on—and pissed him off.

It was barely a dress. A deep cut down the middle of your chest, only strings to cover your back. The only thing you liked about the dress was the long trail that faded from red to black. 

You reach up to touch your ears. Earrings. And your hand roams down to your neck, a blood pearl necklace no doubt. His favorite. 

“You always wanted me to be docile and obedient but this is a new low.” You bark.

Kynas laughs at that, “No the low would be you giving out your blood to a fae. A lower born fae at that!”

“Who cares?!” You shout back.

At your words Kynas’ eyes shine with amusement. You go slack. Your body temperature rising quickly. You focus on keeping control of your own blood.

“I take it the bastard doesn’t know that its sacred to give blood?” Kynas asks.

“Kynas—“ you start.

But he turns right to the shadow singer. Azriel looks him in the eyes.

“You performed a marriage ritual, did your friend tell you that?” Kynas asks him.

But of course he can’t answer. Azriel struggles against his hold but he can’t break it. You are silently praying for Amren to show up. Or Cassian. Or Morrigan. Maybe even Rhysand. Hell, even Nesta would do at this point.

“I took down the wards, I’m wearing this stupid dress, what more do you want?” You ask, trying to take his attention away from Azriel.

Kynas looks back at you now. He interlocks his fingers together. Menace. Coward. Idiot. 

“I want you to kneel.” He says.

But he’s not commanding or forcing you to do it. You feel his hold on you release. The temperature in your body going back down, ever so slowly even if you feel like you’re on fire from rage.

“Don’t you…dare kneel to him.” Your brother says in between puffs of air.

You look at how he’s struggling. His eyes are turning red. His whole body is trembling. You want to run to him but you can’t. You know that as soon as you do Kynas will do something.

Kynas growls and sends your brother flying down the steps. He rolls and rolls until he lands flat on his stomach. You gasp and take a step closer but as soon as you do, a heavy blood blade forms. The red sword now pointed behind your brother’s skull.

“You will kneel!” Kynas shouts.

You can see your brother resisting. He’s shaking violently now. 

A voice from behind you calls your name. You recognize it as Amren’s voice. You hear other footsteps behind her. You can’t turn back to see them. The shadow on your wrist warms. 

You cannot give your back to Kynas, not when he holds your brother’s life in his hands.

“Never!” Your brother shouts back.

It happens in a matter of seconds, though it feels like eternity. You watch as your brother smiles at you one last time. No matter how forced it looks you will savor it for the rest of your life.

Your brother, breaks out of Kynas’ hold. Kynas doesn’t expect it and stumbles back, his hold on everyone else in the room faltering for a second. A second is all you need.

As you send three blood daggers from your hand, the blood sword that Kynas has pointed at your brother’s head rushes forward. Your daggers hit their intended target. 

Kynas falls on his back with a loud thud. The towns people, gathering their senses, rush away from the front of the room. You however look fro your brother, who is no longer in front of you. The blood blade staked into the floor, but no sign of him.

“Orlin?!” You scream.

“Right here, sister.” 

You turn around. There he is. Your brother, leaning against Cassian by the front of the door. You gather up the ends of your dress and run to him. He grabs a hold of you and brings you in for a hug.

It’s not hard to notice that you are crying. You duck your head down as you brother holds the back of your head.

“I’m so sorry sister,” he whispers.

It’s years of feelings that you’ve held onto pouring out of you at once. Grief, rage, tension, guilt. All of it comes out of you in between broken sobs.

“We’re okay. You saved everyone.” Your brother continues.

You pull away from him, shaking your head, “I didn’t—I mean I couldn’t have done it alone.”

You look over at Amren. She walks over to you and envelopes you in a hug. She whispers in your ear about the blade, and how she came as quick as she could when she realized something was wrong. You thank her over and over again.

From behind you can feel his presence. You turn your head to look. There Azriel is, not a scratch on him. He gives you a once over, you actually watch his eyes search you from head to toe. You have a feeling if no one else was here his shadows would physically make sure you were okay too.

You don’t notice it on first glance. That’s why when you look him over you notice how tense he is. 

“I’m okay,” you start saying.

He starts shaking his head, like he can’t believe it. You move to him at once. You grab his hand and place it at the juncture of your neck and shoulder. He lets out a strangled breath at the feeling of your blood flowing beneath his hand.

You nod your head again, “I’m okay. We’re okay.” 

He nods his head too. 

“Sister,” your brother says.

You pull away from Azriel. A few of his shadows climbing up your arm. You turn to face your brother but when you do you wish you hadn’t. He shows you his hand, which came from the back of his head, and there it is. It’s not blood. You wish it was blood. 

A dark substance coats his hand. You take two large steps to him. But it’s not quick enough. He stumbles into your arms. You go down to the floor with him.

Your brother lay on his back on your knees. You can feel the tears coming down your face again. Red. The color of the tears and all you can feel right now.

“Orlin, please, I can fix it!“ you cry.

He shakes his head.

“He gave his blood to the bog of Oorid. What he got back was slowly killing him.” Your brother says, coughing in between words.

If the blood inside Kynas was killing him, then the same blood he used to form the sword he pointed at your brother…was already in him. When he held him by the blade at the neck and when he nicked the back of his head.

He was already...

“I can take your blood, I can give you mine—“ you start.

All of these options could work. In theory. By taking your brother’s blood you could temporarily heal him. But if it’s been spreading for longer than you think you would have to take much more blood, and he wouldn’t survive that.

You could give him your blood, but that wouldn’t work as a cure. It would only work if you could stop the infection. Which, once again, might have been taking root for a long time.

The scars and bruises on his body. You doubt Kynas would use any other blade than his own blood to hurt your brother. 

“I am your older brother, my job is, was, to protect you. I cannot let you give me your blood.” He speaks.

His voice groggy now. He holds out his hand and you take it in yours

“I should have came sooner. I should have known.” You say.

“It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault, sister. But they are going to look to you know.” 

You let out a shaky breath and look around the room. The towns people are all taking in the scene in front of them. This wasn’t like the death of the council members which you hid from them. They are all witnessing the death of their emperor, right in front of their eyes.

They’re all watching in real time as the throne is being passed from one sibling to the next. From the heir to the spare.

You look back down at your brother, “I can’t do it. I don’t want this.”

“I know,” you brother hacks loudly and a bit of dark liquid comes out of his mouth, “but I know you’ll figure it out.” 

In your grip you feel his hand loosen. You shake your head and keep repeating his name. As if that would simply wake him up from this awful nightmare. When his chest stops rising you gasp.

You hug his body to yours. Even though you can feel it going cold by the second. It doesn’t feel real. You and your brother were supposed to live this life together. Yes you left and he stayed, but it didn’t matter. You weren’t supposed to be the only one left.

You don’t know how long you stay like that. It doesn’t feel like long. It feels like time is passing you by.

And you don’t move from your position until you hear a voice calling you. It’s not Amren, or Azriel. Or anyone from the inner circle. You know this voice like the back of your hand.

You slowly let your eyes trail up, up, up to the door of the throne room. Standing there in the threshold is Semaj. He looks shaken up but you can’t sense any injuries on him. He’s looking at you now with a scared look on his face.

He gets down on one knee and places his hand over his heart. Sadly he bows his head.

“Empress.” He says.

It’s strikes a reaction in the whole room. One by one all of the towns people bend their knee and bow their heads. You even see Amren joining in. They repeat the same word Semaj had said. The same word you had run from your whole life.

Empress.

[vixstarria]

Legacy of Ash

Chapter 10 - The enemy of my enemy

Chapter summary: Astarion and Amanita join forces against someone they dislike even more than each other

Previous chapter | Series masterlist | AO3 | Overall masterlist

Series summary:

A magical storm descends over Baldur’s Gate. The city freezes and vampires roam freely in the daylight, while the raging tempest threatens to tear a rift between the material plane and the domain of a malevolent fey. Holding the key to the storm is the fey’s warlock - the late Cazador Szarr’s sister, Constancia Szarr. Her first order of business on arrival in Baldur’s Gate? Vengeance. “And the escaped spawn that returned to kill Cazador… The one you say has stayed in the city since,” Constancia interrogated her captive. “This ‘Astarion’. Where is he now?”

Pairing: Astarion x Original Female Character

Genre: Angst / Drama / Romance / Horror / Dark comedy if you squint

Rating: Explicit

Chapter word count: 5,800

“Pleased to meet you,” Amanita said politely, with a sweet smile. Astarion scoffed as Wyll rose from his seat to draw a chair for her, which Amanita took with the air of someone accustomed to accepting courteous gestures from dukes as a matter of course.

“To what do we owe the pleasure?” asked Jaheira, suspicion not leaving her eyes.

“I couldn’t help but notice Uncle Astarion running around town like a lost puppy for the past few days, and thought I would take pity on him,” said Amanita.

“You little brat-” Astarion began with a growl, before Amanita cut him off.

“Hush. I know your favourite mortal was taken, and I have figured out where she is held, and by whom.”

“The grey, gothic-looking manor just inside the Upper City bounds, yes. We already know,” said Astarion.

“Bravo,” said Amanita, accompanying her words with a brief series of exaggerated claps, “you are not as hopeless as I had thought. And did you know that the resident of the manor has brought an artifact into the city, which is causing the storm?”

“Yes, and it’s tied to the Winter Court fey, we know,” Astarion scowled. “And now that we also know that you are as useless as you have ever been, do feel free to crawl back into whatever hole you’d slithered out of.”

“Astarion!” Wyll reprimanded him. “That is no way to speak to a young lady.”

“Oh piss off, Your Grace,” Astarion spat, “the ‘young lady’ is older than you are.”

“Impertinent child, you will learn manners one day,” sighed Amanita.

“‘Child’?! Are you daft? I have two centuries on you.”

“What you have is two centuries worth of unlearning to do, after what Uncle Cazador has done to you,” Amanita said with a show of sharp teeth. “I am ahead of you in every aspect.”

Shadowheart interjected before Astarion could respond. “You said you know who it is that kidnapped our friend. So who is it?”

“Her name is Constancia,” Amanita answered. “Cazador’s elder sister. A full-fledged vampire lord.”

“I’ve never heard of her,” Astarion frowned, choosing to ignore Amanita’s prior comments.

“They wouldn’t speak of her. She was disowned. Though it is likely the sentiment was mutual for her own regard of the Sword Coast branch of the family.”

“Ah, vampire family drama!” Gale pitched in. “Intriguing! A black sheep distinguished for its darkness even amongst other black sheep. But why?”

“This sheep has sharp teeth,” said Amanita. “And who knows where it all began or how, but… The massacre at Tumbledown, and the great fire that wiped out all the mortal Szarrs and their holdings?”

“That was her..?” asked Wyll.

“So it is speculated,” said Amanita.

“How do you know all this?” asked Astarion.

“Family archives. They couldn’t simply strike her name from all the records. I may reject the family name, but it is still a comfort - knowing from whence I come. But I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Uncle?”

Astarion ground his teeth, not dignifying that with a response. Halsin spoke instead.

“You have sought us out of your own volition to share knowledge with us, for which we are grateful,” he said. “But you gain nothing by it, and I doubt you would make a visit solely for the pleasure of antagonising Astarion, so… Why are you here?”

“Oh, right. This Constancia… I want to kill her,” Amanita said, nonchalant, kicking her feet to adjust to sit more comfortably in the chair which was too large for her. “And as fun as it is to walk in the daytime, that artifact will only cause problems in the long run, so it best be done away with. She must draw power from it, so it would be prudent to start there. And you no doubt would like to see Constancia’s head on a pike, so I thought it logical that we join forces.”

“Oh please,” Astarion scoffed. “Do you think us so naive? You said it yourself - she’s not among the Szarrs you have spurned for turning you. Who’s to say you’re not in league with her?”

“Well done, Uncle!” Amanita said. “A healthy display of insight and scepticism. But rest assured, I can prove I owe no allegiance to her. I suggest we skip any further niceties and explanations, and move on to that immediately. I was watching the manor prior to coming here. Constancia has just left on some errand, likely a hunt. She appears to enjoy handling them personally. I say we take this opportunity to sneak inside the manor - two vampires ought be able to pass through a vampire den undetected.”

“Now, hold on!” Astarion spurted.

“Time is of the essence for you and your belle, no?”

“Yes, but- This is all… Gah!” he threw his hands up.

“She does speak sense, Astarion,” said Jaheira. “Provided she is not lying about her motives.”

“I will not be pushed around in my own- in Gale’s home, by some scheming twerp with an overinflated ego. First thing’s first - your proof. How do you intend to deliver that?”

Amanita sat up straighter, an excited sparkle gleaming in her carmine eyes.

“Of course. Do you know what happens when vampires feed on other vampires, Uncle?”

Amanita’s question clearly demanded an answer, and so Astarion sighed and humoured her.

“They choke on the vampire blood, I suppose. Or grow ill. Surely it tastes like a mouldy cellar.” Astarion caught an amused look from Amanita and huffed. “…No, I don’t know. Enlighten me.”

“Blood acquired from other vampires does have a… ‘vintage’ aroma, yes. But it will not make you ill. Far from it. It actually provides a boost even stronger than that of blood from other thinking creatures. And it’s more filling. More invigorating. But… there is a catch. One that makes it not worth it in most circumstances.”

“Oh?” Astarion quirked an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

Amanita scanned the room until her eyes stopped on a display cabinet holding assorted drinkware. She climbed off her chair and retrieved two small goblets.”

“For one, drinking from another vampire provides the ability to communicate telepathically,” she continued her lecture. “Lying via a mental link is extremely difficult - hence your proof.”

“Fascinating,” whispered Gale. The others likewise listened intently.

“That hardly sounds like a catch,” Astarion said, eyeing the goblets warily. “What else?”

“It also allows the donor vampire to control the one who drank from them.”

“No,” Astarion said, interrupting her.

“This is effect is temporary-”

“I said no.”

“-and is nullified if both vampires drink equally from one another.”

Astarion snarled, baring his fangs, and looked away, but considered Amanita’s words.

“Even should it come to a tug of war of wills, the older vampire is more likely to succeed in ‘persuading’ the younger, and you would be at an advantage,” she conceded.

“I assume there is something else if it’s still not worth it. Out with it!”

“It forces the vampires to… feel fondness for one another.”

“That is disgusting!” Astarion spat. “Are you honestly suggesting… How can you even… Me and-” Too aghast to find any words for what was going through his mind, he simply gestured at Amanita. “No!”

“I said ‘fondness’, not ‘desire’,” she said with contempt. “Any feeling that would appear as a result of such blood exchange could only amplify an existing sentiment, however minute it may be. It cannot create affection out of nothing. Love, lust, devotion, friendship, good will, an urge to protect. Whatever is already in place, the affection will grow from that. Even should the two vampires completely and utterly despise one another, they will be driven to protect each other for no reason other than to prevent anyone else from having the pleasure of destroying the one they’re linked with. And their hatred will be swept aside for a time.”

Astarion paced the room, listening, as Amanita went on.

“It will last only a few hours or less, depending on the volume of blood exchanged. If we are to infiltrate the manor, being able to communicate silently over distance is an advantage we cannot cast aside.”

“I still think the very idea is disgusting,” Astarion remarked, continuing to pace, slower now.

“Did you not hear me?” Amanita said, retrieving a small dagger that had been concealed on her person, and slashing at her wrist, draining her blood into one of the goblets. Her skin pulled back together once a small quantity of blood was drained. “The affinity will be platonic.” She picked up the other goblet and turned to Astarion. “That is, of course, unless you have certain proclivities that might make it something more?” Her mouth twisted into a mocking grimace. “Are you scared of something, Uncle?” She held the empty goblet out to Astarion.

Astarion snatched it out of her hand, with a snarl, and reached for his own dagger, likewise filling the vessel with some of his own blood.

“I assure you, I have nothing to be scared of, besides the annoyance of having a child be infatuated with me.”

He hesitated with the filled goblet, but Amanita eagerly snatched it from his hands, pressing her own into his.

“This is all only theory that I’ve uncovered, of course - I’ve never had a chance to test it myself,” she admitted. “Shall we link our arms as we drink? I’ve never done that, either.” Her eyes lit up in excitement again.

Astarion only hissed in annoyance and stalked away with the goblet containing her blood.

“On the count of three, then..?” she asked.

“I doubt it will work at all, if feeling anything positive for you whatsoever is a prerequisite,” said Astarion. “But here goes nothing. One… Two…”

They downed the goblets.

‘Vintage’ wasn’t quite the right word. Astarion shut his eyes, trying to understand the sensation. If mortal sentient blood was fine wine, the blood he had just sampled was an aged cognac. Rich and complex, warm and velvety, it burned pleasantly on his tongue and left a lingering aftertaste. It was something to be savoured, and an overindulgence threatened to be dangerous.

‘Uncle?’

Something brushed his mind, tentatively. The feeling was very similar to the link he had shared with his companions through their tadpoles, a year ago. Astarion resisted its prying, but not before identifying this new presence in his mind as Amanita, and forming a pathway for careful communication - no more and no less than he might want to share or have shared with him. It was instinctive, after his experience with the tadpole.

‘I suppose it worked,’ he responded.

When Astarion opened his eyes, he saw a small child with sad eyes. The poor thing was on the verge of tears.

“I’m sorry I said all those mean things, Uncle,” she said. “I didn’t mean them.”

“Yes, well,” Astarion sighed, swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat, “I still think you’re a brat,” he said. “…But it’s not your fault.

The intricacies of mental communication quickly worked out, Astarion and Amanita wasted no time getting to Constancia’s manor. Astarion’s companions remained at Gale’s to avoid any undue attention.

“I suppose we haven’t considered the foremost issue before coming here,” Astarion said, cocking his head at the manor.

“Which issue is that?” asked Amanita.

“How in the hells are we going to get in?!”

“I suggest via a balcony,” said Amanita, a shadow of a smile touching the corners of her lips.

“How are we going to enter, without an invitation?” Astarion hissed. “The entire building may as well be on another plane of existence. Or have you charmed someone on the inside? In which case bravo, I thought this Constancia would have precautions in place against that.”

“No, I’ve got no one on the inside,” Amanita said, blending with the shadows to turn invisible, and creeping towards the manor, Astarion being given no choice but to follow her. “You have my invitation, Uncle Astarion, you are free to enter.”

“…Care to explain?” Astarion asked, dryly, after a pause. “I have gone over the documents for that house with my own eyes, and it has not at any point belonged to you.”

“No, but following a certain trail of thought, it is my home, yes.”

“How?”

“Constancia is the last surviving Szarr in Baldur’s Gate, and it would fall on her to bear the responsibility of being my legal guardian.”

“You are not truly a child though,” Astarion said, having digested this information for a moment.

“It matters not. When they turned me, the Szarrs’ intention was for me to remain a child eternally. And so a child I shall remain, for them.”

Amanita said these words with such bitterness that Astarion couldn’t help but reach out through their mental link, guided by an urge to soothe. He had barely brushed her mind when he was forcibly repelled by her.

“Do not,” she said sharply.

“Impulse,” he murmured by way of an apology. “And whatever you say, as long as this ‘trail of thought’ of yours is sufficient for us to enter the manor.

They crept past the gate and stood at the back of the building. Their invisibility had worn off, but not a soul was in sight to observe them.

Astarion began scaling the wall, thankful that his spiderclimbing ability remained even during daytime.

“What are you doing?” Amanita called out, sounding amused.

“What does it look like I’m doing?!” he hissed in response. “I’m climbing onto the balcony!”

“Just turn into mist and fly up,” she whisper-shouted back at him.

“I prefer my own method.”

“…You don’t know how, do you?” Her voice now sounded from above him, Amanita peering down at him over the balustrade and grinning. “Just hurry up,” she said before he could retort, and disappeared again.

They emerged in what must have been an unused guest bedroom.

“Let’s split up,” said Amanita. “I’ll start at the top and look for the artifact - you head down to the ground level, perhaps you can find your mortal or anything else of use.”

With that, they reached the landing of the great staircase, and split up, Amanita heading further up into the manor.

Astarion now understood why some of the windows were left ajar despite it being the heart of winter - the entire manor reeked of cat piss. He grimaced in disgust and ceased his breathing. Indeed, several cats could be seen lounging on small settees lining the gallery. He supposed he ought to be glad that Constancia was not a dog person - they would not have allowed him to pass unmolested. The cats merely gave him looks full of disdain as he passed, or ignored him outright.

He paused, seeing two servants kneeling halfway down the staircase, scrubbing a step with a solvent.

“Why can’t Prestidigitation get rid of smells?!” one of them complained. “Scram, you blasted fleabag!” he threw a scrubbing brush at a nearby cat that began clawing the wooden balustrade.

“Ay!” the other servant hissed at him, smacking him with a rag. “You cretin. The Ladies ever catch you doing that - you’re joining the kitchen crew!”

There’s more than one ‘lady’..? Astarion wondered, sneaking past the servants through the shadows.

‘This place reminds me of the old manor,’ Amanita’s voice popped into his mind. ‘Shame it burned down - I hadn’t retrieved some of my works and they went up in flames with the rest of it all.’

Amanita found a hell of a time and place to be chatty, Astarion thought, but he responded nonetheless.

‘We have your journals,’ he admitted. ‘Oddie salvaged them from the attic before we burned the manor down.’

He took a turn, searching for the kitchen. If this manor had been a transit house with underground chambers, there would likely be a hatch there.

‘So it was you who torched it,’ said Amanita. ‘How did you do it?’ she asked with an almost child-like curiosity.

‘We recruited Mol’s gang - some street urchins - to strip the manor of any valuables. I couldn’t bear to look at any of it anyway. In return, they rigged it full of explosives. Smokepowder, grenades, handbombs… Whizbangs, even. Spilled combustion oil and alchemist’s fire all around… And with some strategically aimed popdrakes and flaming arrows, it all went up in flames.’

‘It was quite the spectacle. …The fire spread and burned down the nearby buildings as well, you know.’

‘Yes, Duke Ravengard wasn’t too impressed with that… But he had no proof that we were involved, of course.’

The kitchen and scullery were deserted - it looked like they were hardly ever used. Unsurprising, given the lady of the house did not need to eat, and did not entertain guests - at least not in ways that allowed them to ever leave once they were inside. What ‘kitchen crew’, Astarion wondered. He supposed the servants took their meals elsewhere, or had a smaller kitchen someplace separate.

‘Some of the things in your journals didn’t make any sense,’ Astarion continued.

‘Reading a little girl’s diary, Uncle? Truly?’ Amanita’s voice sounded amused in his head.

‘For hells’ sake, just call me Astarion. And the journals were full of your research, of course I read them.’

Astarion found a cellar hatch, but it appeared to be barred from the other side. Perhaps there was a mechanism that would open it. Or a different pathway.

‘What did you find confusing?’

‘Some of your personal recollections. For instance… Did Cazador give you his blood..?’

‘He shared a single drop, same as with all his other spawn.’

‘But… You wrote that he could not break your will. How?’

Amanita withdrew from his mind for a time, as he continued his search.

‘I don’t know.’ A response finally appeared.

‘But it’s impossible. He must have given you more. After I ah… visited you, perhaps?’

‘No.’

‘Yet you had free will..?’ he persisted.

Astarion came upon another locked door - one likely leading into a wine cellar. It was behind a complex lock, one he did not have the time to pick. Perhaps he could locate a set of keys… The steward or housekeeper were bound to have rooms somewhere on this level.

‘I was only his spawn,’ Amanita’s voice returned. ‘Bound to his will, however loose that connection was. You killed him in the weeks preceding the Absolute attack, yes?’

‘Yes.’

‘I felt a surge around that time. A great desperate force tugging on me, compelling me to return to the mansion. It was sharp and piercing. Agonising. And then… nothing. Peace. It must have been my full freedom returning to me.’

‘…And how many times did it ‘pierce’ you? I stabbed Cazador fourteen times when I killed him. None of us felt it within our own bodies.’

Amanita grew silent once more, as though refusing to acknowledge his words. A knot twisted and tightened in Astarion’s stomach.

‘Gods… Why did I ever think him above this… He was a monster. There were no limits.’

‘Think him above what?’

‘The free will, feeling his death, why you didn’t even know how to feed when I brought that poor child to you… He made you his bride.’

‘I was his spawn,’ Amanita repeated stubbornly.

‘But you weren’t! It’s impossible. Gods, what did he do to you in that attic…’

‘He turned me and then abandoned me. I could have broken out and fled, I would now, but… I was a child. I didn’t know where else to go!’ Anguish and shame tinged her words.

Gods, but this wasn’t the time or place for any of this. Why was he prying, anyway, he wondered. Blasted blood link and the sentimentality it forced…

‘As you say…’ Astarion said, dropping the subject.

He slipped into a small room, likely the steward’s office, and rummaged through a desk’s drawers. Just as he located and pocketed a set of keys, he heard voices and approaching footsteps outside the door.

Shit.

There was no place to hide, and Astarion opened and climbed through a window instead, once again scaling the wall. He headed upward again, in case whoever entered the office decided to peer outside. The window to the room immediately above was locked, and he crawled further up. The latch there wasn’t shut, and he slipped inside, finding himself in a library.

When had Constancia had the time to fill it, he wondered as he looked around. Perhaps these were all the past owners’ items.

A melodious laugh sounded from a patch of darkness, breaking him out of his musings. He should have been able to see within it, Astarion realised belatedly. Instead, it had been as though something was encouraging him to divert his gaze and look elsewhere. Stupid…

“He prowls through our house, sister,” a voice sounded and a figure - a slight high elf with waves of golden hair - appeared from the darkness, most likely deliberately allowing herself to be seen.

Sister..?

“Who let him in, I wonder?” another voice sounded from behind him. Astarion spun, and witnessed another figure, this one a drow with a clean-shaven head, appear from the darkness.

‘I found the artifact,’ Amanita’s voice rang in his head.

‘And I found Constancia’s spawn…’ he replied.

“Ahah!” Astarion released a high-pitched giggle. “I’m sorry, I suppose I should have specified I was looking for the public library when I asked for directions. I’ll just be on my way now...”

‘Distract them.’

“Bold of him to think he can creep right under the mistress’s nose,” the high elf noted, ignoring his words.

“Stupid,” the drow countered. “Does he wish to be destroyed?”

Astarion quickly assessed them. He sensed the drow was much younger and couldn’t hold much power, but the high elf was roughly the same age as him and might be a threat even on her own.

“Listen…” Astarion began, holding up his arms, palms out, as though to placate or ward them off, for all the good it would do. He tried and failed to keep both of them within his field of vision, as they circled him predatorily. Any time he turned expecting to see one of them in a certain spot, she would appear elsewhere, slipping through the shadows. “I am not here to cause any trouble for you. In fact, I was like you, once,” he said. “Constancia had a brother, Cazador, as I’m sure you already know. I was his spawn.”

“Did you hear, sister? He thinks he’s like us.”

“I was like you. Two centuries of abuse and near-starvation. Two centuries of being Cazador’s puppet.”

“He called us puppets, sister.”

“He thinks mistress is unkind to us.”

Astarion frowned and observed the spawn more closely.

If the jewels they were adorned with were real, and he suspected they were, they each wore several fortunes worth on their bodies. Their garments, though scant, were made of the finest fabrics. They lacked the eternally gaunt look he had shared with his siblings whilst under Cazador - they were both bursting with life, the high elf almost appearing rosy-cheeked. Finally, he noticed the leather collars complete with little bells around their necks.

Favoured pets, he realised. Female vampire lords were prone to such sentiments. Never Cazador, though - his spawn were tools and currency, and there had never been any ambiguity regarding where anyone stood. The one indignity he and his siblings had always been spared was ever having to feign affection for their master.

And their speech…

“Let me guess…” he murmured. “Mommy’s warned you against speaking to strangers?” Neither spoke, but the drow bared her fangs in a scowl, and he knew he’d hit the mark. “Even if she keeps you fed, it is not right, what she has done to you. The degradation. The constant need to please. The constant waiting for the other shoe to drop when you fear you did not.”

The high elf tightened her lips and Astarion saw that that struck home as well.

“It doesn’t have to be that way. You can have your own lives, free of her. Whatever she’s made you do - it’s not your fault.”

The dark one laughed behind him, the sound sending a chill through him.

“He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t know. The mistress protects us. She looks after us!”

Cazador had often called everything he did to his spawn ‘looking after them’. Any punishment was always for their benefit. Any command, no matter how pointless, thoughtless or cruel, was to hone them. Any deprivation was to make them stronger and more resilient. But never, not even after a century in his clutches, did any of them believe it.

What had Constancia done to these two..? Surely it was all an act borne of fear and desperation for survival. It had to be.

“I escaped. Made friends. Good friends. People who cared for me. Loved me, even,” he went on.

The two crazed spawn continued to prowl around him like lionesses on a hunt, but they were listening, oh they were listening…

“And together we slaughtered Cazador,” Astarion continued with a growl. “I gutted him myself, stabbed him into mince. And now I am free of him. Forever.”

His words were met with silence. The spawn paused and regarded him, the drow with wide-eyed apprehension, the high elf with scepticism. Eventually the high elf spoke.

“Remind me what the mistress has told us about Cazador, Thalia.”

“The mistress told us he was a weak and pitiful fool, Azora. No allies. No patronage. His grasp of magic only through trinkets. He couldn’t hold a candle to our mistress.”

“‘Patronage’?” Astarion lifted an eyebrow. “She’s a warlock, then?”

“How lucky we are for our mistress’s connections, Thalia. They brought a great gift to all of us,” Azora said, gesturing towards the window. “A gift we would hate to lose,” she added.

So the fey causing the storm was also Constancia’s patron.

‘I can’t touch it,’ Amanita’s voice appeared in his mind again. She sounded frustrated.

“Very well,” said Astarion. “Keep your mistress, keep your daywalking storm shroud, keep your collars and baubles if you wish - frankly I don’t give a damn. But tell me - does she keep a captive somewhere within the manor?”

“Ah!” Thalia gasped. “So it is his pet the mistress has taken!”

“Is she alive?” Astarion urged her.

“A curious creature, that one… She may break the mistress’s patience before the mistress breaks her,” said Azora. “The mistress does not tolerate anything less than perfection. Perfect skills, perfect appearance, perfect obedience.”

“No, the creature does not have the capacity for perfection,” Thalia shook her head. “She is flawed. She will burn once the mistress has had her fun. But perhaps not for a while yet?”

“Where is she?!” Astarion all but shouted.

Thalia huffed a little laugh. “Did he think to find her in the library, as an honoured guest..?” she asked, an amused expression on her face. “Mistress keeps her in a cell in the dungeon, of course. In a concealed level below the basement.” She turned towards the other spawn. “Do you think he could make his way there, Azora?”

“Perhaps…” Azora mused. “He could take one of us hostage. Snap the other’s neck, to incapacitate her.”

“He is stronger than us,” Thalia nodded. “We don’t stand a chance against him. Mistress would be lenient when brandishing her punishment for our failure.”

The spawn began circling him again.

“He might force the hostage to obey him, have her take him down to the dungeons. The doors will open for her, and admit him with her.”

“And there she will be…”

“His lover.”

“We can avoid any and all neck-snapping if you just tell me how to enter the dungeon,” Astarion cut in. “You never saw me, and I never saw you. Word of honour, shabby as mine might be.”

The spawn both burst into laughter.

“In his impatience, he cannot see two steps ahead of himself!” Thalia laughed. “But is it blindness, or… virtue?”

“Speak plainly, damn you,” said Astarion, his face darkening.

“Does he not see? Does he truly not see?” Azora giggled. “He could leave and wait until the mistress has turned her into one of us.”

“Granted her an eternity in the shadows.”

“Then he will storm through the doors, his lover’s knight in shining armour, flanked by his trusted companions, and slay her vile captors.”

“And claim his prize.”

“His sweet love.”

“Afflicted with eternal sanguine hunger.”

“Forever youthful.”

“Cast into shadows forevermore.”

“Immortal.”

“Cursed.”

They circled him, moving faster than he could keep track of.

Astarion tried to wet his lips, but found that his mouth had run completely dry. In his rush, he had not even considered the implications and consequences of what might happen to Asmodea. Hells, he hadn’t even known for certain that she had been taken by a vampire until Amanita confirmed it just earlier.

‘She returns,’ Amanita whispered in his mind. ‘I couldn’t do anything with the artifact... We must leave. Now.’

“Will he do it? Will he rescue his love now, and spare her the pain, the misery?”

“Will he risk her? The mistress may simply kill her, on her return. And if she does not, who knows what tortures she will inflict?”

“Will he take that chance?”

“Your mistress has returned,” Astarion whispered.

“The captive is not of immediate concern to the mistress, nor are we. He has plenty of time.”

“And his lover is so close… So close we could almost hear her screams from here, through the vents. Just a few flights of stairs down into the basement. He could easily retrieve her.”

“Or, he could leave her with us, and return to find a newly turned vampire.”

‘Astarion!’

Is this what she would have wanted..? To be with him, forever? This was their chance, perhaps their only chance. Turn her into a spawn, kill the master. Is this what she wanted? Could he risk her? Could he damn her? Could he knowingly force her to pay this price? Is this what she wanted?

Could he forgive himself after, no matter what choice he made now..?

Azora grabbed his hands and brought them up to and around her neck. He did not resist.

‘There is something I have to do first,’ he directed at Amanita. And yet, it was though his muscles were locked, his body immobilised.

Azora grinned at him as he stood and did absolutely nothing. 

“He thought himself better than us,” she giggled. “He thought himself risen above his nature.” Her grin contorted into a mocking grimace. “But he is only a selfish, greedy, bloodsucking parasite like the rest of us, isn’t he?!” she snarled.

Astarion’s grip tightened around her throat at those words, his lips curling back. A hiss escaped him. Azora only continued to grin at him, offering no resistance.

“Oh sister, must you taunt him so?” Thalia appeared at his side. “I will be kind. I will make his mind up for him.”

She lifted her head and opened her mouth wide, wider and wider, impossibly so until it appeared that she had unhinged her jaw, lips curled and fangs elongating from her upper and lower jaws, and unleashed a long, wailing shriek. The force of it nearly knocked Astarion off his feet. Items flew. Drapes billowed. Only Azora remained unperturbed, not a single hair coming undone despite the torrent.

One the sound ceased, the ensuing silence rang loud in Astarion’s ears. He hadn’t realised he had squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, the first thing he saw was Thalia grinning at him, fangs on full display.

“She comes,” she whispered hoarsely.

Indeed, a commotion arose immediately, the stomping of approaching running feet sounding from all sides. He heard the grunting of ghouls. It appeared that all denizens of the manor were approaching, not just the lady of the house.

‘Run. RUN!’ rang in his mind.

“He will remember your kindness,” said Azora, “and he will hate you for it.”

Astarion spun around as a door burst open. In his peripheral vision, Azora and Thalia sidestepped into opposite directions, clearing a path to the window. Rushing through the door was Amanita, running at an inhuman speed. She slammed into him, forcing them both to crash through the window.

How stupid… Thoughts flickered rapidly in Astarion’s mind as he fell. He had fallen like this before, and knew how long it would take for his flesh and bones to fuse back together. What did it matter, whether they collected me in one piece from the library, or scraped me off the cobblestones? The end will be the same. Perhaps if he broke Amanita’s fall she would get away and alert the others.

But Amanita’s presence strong-armed his conscience to follow hers, and led him in a sequence with which he was wholly unfamiliar. His body turned into something Other, something misty and ethereal, the sensation nauseating and similar to that of using a waygate, but when it reformed - it was something new.

This metamorphosis took mere moments, but he was still rapidly crashing towards the ground. Some instinct told him to flail his arms as though he were drowning, and the resulting efforts kept him airborne.

All the light reflecting from the snow that covered everything blinded him, and he had no choice but to squeeze his eyes shut. Had it ever hurt so much before..? Would the sun burn him again, now?

He flapped his arms - no, his wings, they were wings, but then where were his arms? - and tried to follow, blindly, after the pull of Amanita’s presence, crashing and knocking into tree branches, signs and walls as he tried to make his way.

‘Use your echolocation, you fool!’ Amanita’s voice rang in his mind.

‘My what?!’ he shot back at her.

A wave of her exasperation washed over him - their forced mutual amiability must have just about run its course, though thankfully the mental link remained.

‘Just go higher,’ she projected to him.

Higher. Yes, he understood how to go higher and did not need to see to be able to do that. He flew higher, following her chittering - why was she chittering? - call.

‘Nearly there,’ her voice sounded in his mind just as he began to gain some confidence in his maneuvers. ‘Descend now.’

Descend? How in the hells was he supposed to do that?! He flapped and circled frantically, hoping that he was gradually coming down.

“Astarion!” Amanita’s voice now sounded from down below, in his ears, rather than directly in his mind.

He had the most bizarre notion that he had to latch on to something with his feet, but he didn’t think he’d had time to take off his boots before Amanita pushed him out the window. Pity. He folded his wings and plummeted.

And then he was caught by gloved hands, large enough to encompass his entire body, catching and holding him before he could crash onto the ground. How big was this giant, who could hold him in the palms of its hands?

“Gods, you’re ugly,” sounded Jaheira’s voice.

~~~~~

Thank you for reading! If you liked it, you can find more of my writing here. Leave a comment and you'll make my day. ❤

AO3

[raayllum]

THE WAY THE FROZEN SHIP IS CALLED THE "RAY OF ILLUMINATION" + RAYLLUM LIGHT MOTIF... (also how the ship is consumed by light in the form of flame – rayla/callum's love for her is going to be what (temporarily) sinks due to callum's posession... CHET...)

ALSO CALLUM FOLLOWING IN VIREN'S FOOTSTEPS AND VIREN DYING THIS SEASON (for real this time) SO THERE'S SOMEHOW EVEN MORE EVIDENCE FOR CALLUM DYING A METAPHORICAL DEATH AKA POSESSION, BY DOING DARK MAGIC AS SOME SORT OF SACRIFICE I'M NORMAL-

(sorry for flooding your notes and this but aa i love your metas so much, i'd NEVER think of the show in the same way had i not read them and there would be so many details i missed (eg both things above) – thank you so much for every one!)

(aah i always appreciate seeing you in my notes, no apologies ever needed!! that's so sweet and i'm so happy it makes you appreciate our amazing show even more!)

And honestly I think a lot about how the boat only starts breaking after Rayla says "Make the sacrifice," and then Callum ("every step forward is a choice") stumbles backwards. And then he makes her promise to sacrifice him as they watch it burn and sink? Which is what'll happen if they don't choose each other over everything? Yeah.

The boat name being a way to spell Rayllum but also continuing with the ever present light connotations, Lux Aurea's great light falling to dark magic sickness, and Katolis being burned to the ground, and the boat's destruction bringing these two things together in some ways.

The Viren-Callum dying parallel — one literal as you pointed out, and one less literal is also one I've mulled over a lot since s6's release. Callum and Viren's mirrored arcs in S6 are largely resolved in 6x06, with both of them facing/finding their truth, which allows Callum to repair a relationship (embracing his light) and causes Viren to realize it's better to leave it as is (burning the letter, returning to that emphasis on fire his character often has, which honestly might be worth a meta someday).

Like... Viren swore off dark magic, and then did it to save everyone (at Soren's request) and Soren himself (despite his willingness to lay himself down), and it was the Right Thing To Do, even if that meant sacrificing his Human!! heart and his life. And the potential parallels of Callum having sworn off dark magic again (2x08 / 6x06) and then doing it again to save his heart because he refuses to sacrifice Rayla, even if that means sacrificing himself (to dark magic corruption / Aaravos' control as a metaphorical death, or desired death at her swords in a more literal sense) because it's the Right Thing To Do ("do the right thing. make the sacrifice" can be subjective as hell, after all). And of course he'll get saved afterwards and end up not dead but like... it'd really bring their foils relationship full circle I think in all the best ways (Viren hesitating and then giving up his life; Callum never hesitating but being saved, etc etc.) and I'm really hoping that's the path we're on tbh

[detectivereads]

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures Vol 3 by CRC Payne & Starbite

5/5

This post is for Fan entertainment, I’m not being paid.

Now this is probably one of my favorite cover art (althrough I do like volume 1 food fight.)

Ok this volume compared to volume 2 this one was rather skinny. But hey a new Batfam book I am ok with that.

Right off the bat (ha!) Chapter one was funny to read, even superheroes can have fun in a friendly game of paintball assassin. However, they must do it without Bruce finding out. This chapter was crazy on how resourceful each of the kids and a few of the adults are.

Ch 2. shows not to mess with Barbra and her mad tech skills. By doing routine stuff making sure that the Batfam and Wayne family are ok online. Babs finds something most interesting on a dating site. Jason is looking for his partner in crime, which I thought was really sweet and it was adorable when Babs started to lightly tease but she also reassures him that it’s ok.

In the later chapters I saw why Alfred has given a lifelong ban to Bruce from the kitchen. Bruce is too easily distracted and sets a pan on fire while reading and talking to Clark.

Later both Red Hood and Orphan were teaching Signal or trying to break a habit that he has been doing. Signals have been using doors instead of crashing through windows or walls to stop the bad guys. While both Red Hood and Orphan have made valid arguments about the merits of going through the window, bit Signal also turns the lesson back on them about the element of surprise, if you normally going through a window or wall to often the bad guy would be expecting them.

Now from the original broody comics I know both Tim and Damin are the closest, but one chapter has them comes to terms, that it took a lot for Tim to go from Robin to Red Robin. He loved being Robin. While Damin had to deal with his upbringing and being the newest Robin, he has a lot to live up too. Damin has heard how great Tim is and is trying to be the best Robin in his own way.

Yes, little Damin has insecurities, because he thinks he has some big shoes to fill on being the next Robin. Sometimes it’s nice to step back and look at a different perspective, that Damin may seem to be this confident person but deep down, he is still a kid. (With a sword.)

The last chapter that I like to read is the one where Harley gets hurt, and Pamela comes to see her (yes I love these two!) poor Harley is on powerful pain meds that puts her to sleep. Now this leave Pamela and Spoiler and Orphan together, which they get some bonding time. Pam teaches them how to care for plants properly.

This volume is just a hodge-podge of coziness, they do have some seriousness in here, but I think its really balance.

But I did really like the one on one that Tim and Damin did, and I would like to see more of that in future chapters. Don’t get me wrong, I like the cozy crime fighting family, but I know that the Batfam has their rough patches.

[tubbytarchia]

j

IM LATE i was out with a friend... forgive me jimmy solidaritygaming....

SOMEONE STOLE A DISC FROM THE DISC WALL...... jimmys guess is eloise (apparently he knows exactly what disc is missing???)

he goes to get the disc but comes across martyn. whos building a one piece base? idk anything about one piece but its like... a white boat with a fish head on it.

THEYRE FIGHTING THE DRAGON TODAY!!! just jim and martyn. martyn gives jimmy some slow fall potions and they head off.... martyns already found the stronghold (but not looted it) so they know where theyre going.

jimmy does a water clutch off the disc and he. lands on top of some tall grass?? insane clutch

martyn collects some flowers and jimmys like "dude its crazy that youre collecting items like youre coming back" TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR martyn also doesnt fire back which is a little odd.... maybe he is nervous about dying

for some reason theyre travelling at night. theres so many skeletons.

they start talking about tiktok and. i really don't know what's going on here.

they talk about if they die what'll happen and they say they can have each others stuff which is cute i think.

they arrive!!! its quite far down its like... y-10. and its all split up by a dripstone cave which makes it look really cool but also hard to navigate.

they explore a bit and jimmy breaks a lot of blocks and it stresses me out. JIMMY NO!!!! THE SILVERFISH!!!! they get some good books some armour trims but nothing crazy.

they get lost trying to get back. martyn keeps pretending he knows where hes going and its really funny.

they get back to the portal and go through and theres a SILVERFISH ON THE OTHER SIDE

new effect when u blow up the end crystals.? but its only on jimmys screen and only the first one he did. looks cool though theres probably some lore reason we can make up

JIMMY GETS THE KILL!!!!! martyn ran out of arrows JUST before. he gets immediate payback by somehow managing to pick up every single xp orb. im not exaggerating jimmy picked up One (from 8 to 8) and martyn is level 68. for some reason the xp dropped as just a singular large orb.?.??? martyn apologises and offers to enchant jimmys stuff :') its cute....

they head back and jimmy puts the egg on his bookshelf. he says this base is one of his favourites that hes done in a while!!!

jimmy and martyn meet back up and jimmy shows him the disc wall. martyns reaction is really funny "oh we love a waterfall entrance-OH MY GOD" martyn is largely unbothered by jimmy stealing his stuff.

they go over to eloises base together. eloises base floor is a pattern involving chiseled bookshelves. martyn accidentally breaks one and is confused when it doesnt drop. they proceed to break like 5 before realising they dont drop. they then joke about her hiding her disc under all the shelves so they break all of them. they arent expensive to craft or anything but... why......

jimmy goes off topic and asks martyn his thoughts on shepherd's pie. when martyn says hes not a big fan jimmy goes dead silent. he puts on his radio voice and goes "thats the day they stopped being friends. its crazy a little thing like that broke the love/law" (I CANT TELL WHICH ONE HE SAID. I THINK? LOVE. 1:03:50 SOMEONE HELP ME.)

there's a wandering trader and martyns like i cant even repeat what hes selling. and jimmys like whats he selling?? so martyns like "hes selling crack cocaine. cant believe it." i think this is the closest ive seen to genuine bewilderment on jimmys face. he goes through like 5 expressions in a second. he then checks the trades to prove to his chat that hes not selling it???? strangest bit of the stream but its funny

martyn comes over to jimmys base to enchant for him and jimmy gives him everything (all armour + sword and pick) at once and its a big display of trust.... i love them a lot

martyn doesnt like mess around and he does properly enchant all of jimmys stuff. its all very sweet to me then jimmy decides to say "bring it home papa" and. Okay

they split up (jim offers to stay with martyn but martyn sends him off since hes worried that he himself will not make good company while building) and jim goes to fish for a nametag again.

there may or may not be a stream break soon since he was talking about how he really didnt feel like streaming today and offhandedly said he needs a bit of a rest ^_^

new roblox video tomorrow and some next week too. with katherine!

HE GOT HIS NAMETAG!!!!! he forgot what he had planned to name it but he ends up naming him HONK

stream ends shorter than usual wooooooooo

Oh my goodddd the property police.... "it's crazy that you're collecting items like you're coming back" so uncalled for?? Why did he say this... Is he expecting Martyn not to come back... Because he fears that Martyn would die or that Martyn would just choose not to... Oh the Evo demons are getting me. Them saying the other can have their stuff if one dies and Martyn pretending to know his way is such property police banter mannnn. Offering to enchant stuff for him and not being bothered by Jimmy stealing from him... The exaggerated break up joke...

Something especially about Jimmy taking off all of his gear at once for Martyn to enchant. Big display of trust as you said... the maid demons are getting me now. And Martyn not fooling around here nor in any of the earlier instances to any notable degree?? Feels odd... I feel like he would at least a little... Something melancholy to me about the fact that he didn't. Sweet but melancholy. Banter between these two has usually gone both ways in the past to at least some degree (Not just Jimmy being picked on). I would scoff at the papa comment but. I can't, papa is too cutesy lol I'll let Jimmy get away with that one. The split up feels weirdly melancholic too even just from reading about it. Mmgh something about all the property police stuff this time around is making me feel so many vaguely sad emotions :( Feels so nostalgic too though... I really need to watch this part of the stream sometime. Especially cause these two are funny together. Finally jokes that I can chuckle at that aren't just "lol sex!!"

At least he finally got the nametag.... Honk...

[stellar-solar-flare]

From the wip ask!

7. What is your favorite scene you’ve written so far?

I'm answering this on For Centuries since that's the one I've most recently worked on.

Spoilers for chapter... 12 of Centuries, if you haven't read that, under the cut.

So I love the entire scene of Steve and Archduchess having their peace talk and finally communicating and trying to see things from the POV of the other.

But the scene of Archduchess finally being comfortable enough to tell Steve what she really thinks to his face has to be my favorite; it's also a very important scene for the future.

⚔️.

He looked at you for a brief moment, and you could tell from the clouds gathering on his brow that he was wondering of unpleasant things, of the people and their reasons of being in your bedroom. He took another breath, and the tone was almost comically official considering the words:

“That reminds me; I would be… pleased, if you would reside on the upper level with me, after we have been wedded. But if you wish to keep these rooms, if you wish for some marital… arrangement of looking the other way to be established, then —“

Fire leaped in you at his words; you could almost feel the flames licking your insides, and if this was one more line of proper crossed piled on top of every other breach of etiquette, then so be it.

“Stop it!”

The scalding words had already left your tongue before you truly realized that you were commanding your husband-to-be, and by then it was too late for regrets, so you continued:

“I do not want an arrangement of any sorts,” you said, stepping back even as you kept your eyes in his. “I want a husband. I want someone who cares whether or not he’s married to me, someone who wants me to be his wife. And if I have misread your every deed, if you truly consider me such an unfortunate consequence of falling into whatever trap King Stark set for you in Ridgeshire, at least have the guts to break the betrothal off yourself instead of repeatedly attempting to push me out the door! If you don’t wish me to be yours, truly yours, then please do that and save us both from the misery of some arrangement!”

The flames didn’t burn you; no, their crackling hunger was comforting, and you could feel them spreading onto the restraints you’d let yourself be bound by all these years, the sound of the ropes snapping almost audible in your ears. Whatever had escaped from its cage when you’d allowed yourself to show your teeth at Sir Barnes, you weren’t so interested in catching it and shoving it back into its cage.

Was this how it was to want, to desire, to reach, to take what you wanted regardless of what the world thought of it? Was this the sweetness of the wine Emperor Rogers had drunk with his blade when he had decided that the world had nothing to offer him, so the world could burn?

Gods, you would lick its taste off his sword when the time was ripe.

Just like Sir Barnes, Emperor Rogers was staring at you like you’d suddenly gained another form, and finally, he swallowed, shaking his head as if trying to drive away a ghost he thought he’d seen. For a brief moment, you thought about the gross overstep you had just made, and yet, the knowledge didn’t quite seem to reach you through the fire that had ignited.

“I didn’t…” he whispered, more to himself, and then he was moving.

With two long strides, Emperor Rogers was standing in front of you again, and his hands cupped your face. His bare hands, on your bare skin. Cradling your jaw from both sides, tilting your head gently up.

He was touching you, standing so close that it certainly was the furthest thing from appropriate, his head slightly nodding down as if he wished to kiss you. His eyes were riveted on your face, and it was obvious you weren’t the only one having trouble controlling your emotions.

And gods, you didn’t want to. You had had enough of that.

⚔️.

[shadowsageingempress]

Tierlist of the Twilight Princess costumes from Hyrule Warriors Legends.

Costumes and explanations below the cut.

While Warriors did get a costume based on Twi (which I will show later), his normal costume for the Twilight adventure map seems to be based on the rare chu jelly powerup. While I don't hate the gold on Warriors, I think it could have been done better. It's not great, but it's far from terrible.

I think Impa's design from Skyward Sword might be my favorite one, and that version herself is my second favorite (only behind the one from Ocarina of Time). So I obviously love this look for the Hyrule Warriors version of Impa. The dark blue clothes look perfect with the red and orange highlights and her pale blond hair.

I think that Lana's outfit is based on Warriors', kind of like Cia's Masterquest outfit. The multiple greens work well together and especially with the blue cloak and her hair. Solid design.

I'm 90% sure that this Sheik costume is based on the concept art for her scrapped appearance in Twilight Princess. If that's the case, then that's really cool. As for the costume itself, it's good, but nothing too special.

I'm pretty sure that this costume is what made the Zelda team make Flower's main outfit in Breath of the Wild blue, because damn does Valor look awesome. The slightly silvery metal that her armor looks to be made of compliments this cooler colored dress.

Holy sweet flowers of Hell in a handbasket. I love this coloration for Ganondorf! The black metal and cloth of his armor. The gold trim. The orange hair and red crown. Gods, I love it!

Even though the changes made to Darunia's appearance in his costume aren't as drastic as some of the others, I actually like it quite a bit. The face and body paints look really nice and blend well with his subtly paler skin. He also looks really cool with that white mane.

Ruto's Twilight map outfit appears to be based on Rutella. I find it pretty similar to her Great Sea outfit being based on Laruto, partly because it's thematically appropriate and partly because she looks really good. She's very pretty in ponk.

Agitha has apparently evolved from normal goth to pastel goth. I can respect that, and she looks really good. Not much else to say.

Midna's costume gives off vibes of shadow turning to light, which I think fits very well for her, both in terms of theme and aesthetic. The cyan markings being turned gold and the visible paler stone of the Fused Shadow just have this aura of light, but at the same time, she still retains her distinctly shadowy beauty. This is one costume begging for an artistic rendition, and I would be happy to do so.

Apparently for this costume, Midna decided to revive Zant's spirit for the sole purpose of stabbing him to death again. Okay, jokes aside, I really love the phantom Zant inspired costume. The colors and slight translucency are already some of my favorite traits for design just in general. Also his scimitars also being affected by this change is the cherry on top and looks cool as hell.

Fi's Light Spirit outfit is easily one of the most beautiful out of the Twilight Princess themed outfits. It might also be the case that this is what she would look like after the Master Sword is infused with the two Sols, which I think is a cool idea. Also, I remember seeing an artist joke about her looking like a lemon meringue pie with this outfit, so that gives her a few bonus points.

Another outfit inspired from another game, Ghirahim takes on the appearance he had in his Fire Sanctuary boss fight. I think the black on his arms look pretty cool and I appreciate the reference. There probably could have been another reference made with this one, maybe one to Twilight Princess, but I like this one for what it is.

With this costume, Lana and Cia can dress as each other for Halloween. And she looks really good. I'm a bit disappointed that her hair wasn't changed to blue, but the cool colors of her clothes make up for the lost potential.

Volga's costume is suitably goth for Twilight Princess, and it looks awesome on him. Like with Ganondorf's, the gold lining of the armor adds a lot to this outfit. It's simple, but it's very well executed

I think this is probably my favorite of Wizzro's costumes, maybe even better than his normal one. It's obviously inspired by the Twilight Princess poes, which are already cool looking, so not only does the costume thematically fit, but it slaps harder than he does. I think his eye being blue is my favorite detail, but the pale robes looking slightly singed around the edges is a close second.

Bonus: Also reviewing the other character-based costumes because the tierlist doesn't have options for them

I've probably made it no secret that the Twilight Princess incarnation of Link is easily my favorite. So I was obviously going to like the costume based on him. While Warriors does lack the kindness in his eyes that Twi has, I still love this costume and regularly use it while pretending to play as Twi. S tier.

I think the postman uniform is a joke costume. I did chuckle a bit when I first saw it, but it's nothing to write home about (pun not intended). C tier.

I was fully prepared to hate the Cassiopeia inspired outfit for Valor on principle alone. But I actually think it's pretty nice. I like the dress, hair and crown, and Valor looks much warmer and kinder than Cassiopeia ever could. A tier.

I never got too attached to Ilia as a character when I played Twilight Princess, so I don't have any strong feelings about the outfit for Valor based on her. I do, however, think the idea of the town horse girl beating up monsters to be funny, so that's worth something. B tier.

Finally, the Era of Twilight armor for Ganondorf. This was already one of my favorite designs for the character, so I'm obviously going to like it here. S tier.

[alovelyburn]

WIP! WIP! WIP!

Usually when these festivals come around I try to get something together and contribute to the cause. This time I was unable to finish... because I found out about it rather late, and also had a lot going on in my real life.

But I did start something. So I'm dropping the first part of the WIP on you guys; no idea if it really qualifies for inclusion in @griffgutsweekend but I'm cool either way.

All the thanks to @zombiesgohome for basically being my cowriter on the beginning of this - she's my Guts expert. Also bear in mind this is a first draft, ok, be kind.

Quick Background: many many years ago, by which I mean in like 2014, someone told me they'd like to see me try to tackle a romance between current canon Guts and Griffith. It took a while but here we are.

It's called Thirst Drove Me to the Water.

1.

The room has already been thoroughly trashed by the time Griffith opens the door. Before him like broken furniture and upturned chairs. All the vases have been  emptied of their white flowers – their water soaked through the plush rug and dripping down white marble walls. An overturned table has been split in two, and gashes mar the walls where that oversized sword bit through the marble.

It’s unsurprising and yet somehow disappointing. Still, Griffith’s expression remains, as always, stubbornly impartial. Around him, the room ripples and shifts – an invisible wave that runs over the room and leaves all as it was, before. Immaculate. Untouched.

His guest seems less than impressed by this.

Guts stares at Griffith from his place on the floor, his one eye smoldering with black fire, his famous sword resting across his knees.

“You sure took your sweet time showing your face,” he says. There’s a sharp edge to his tone, and a growl deep in his throat. “Finally remembered I was here?” He looks like a caged animal. It’s appropriate.

Griffith tips his head just slightly. “I didn’t forget,” he says, “You’ve been pounding against my barriers all day. I thought I would give you a moment to collect yourself.” Griffith glances over the room to where a small table stands, off to the side, away from the center of the now corrected chaos. He’d had a basket of fruit and bread brought to Guts’ rooms as soon as Guts himself was sent there, unconscious, and still bleeding. Griffith hadn’t tended the wounds himself. He wouldn’t have trusted himself to. He looks at Guts. “Have you eaten?” It’s a question of propriety. From here, he can see the half-eaten bread and apple cores.

“What the hell do you care?” Guts snaps. Despite his words, Griffith catches sight of Guts’ gaze as it moves to the table.

Griffith untips his head. “Hm.” He moves to the table quietly, his fingers dragging over the polished wood, the white lace cloth that protects it.

Typically, when one stays silent during an exchange long enough, the other person eventually feels the need to fill that gap. Guts is a man of few words, yes, but unless he’s changed considerably more than he seems to have done, he is also a man without much impulse control. Griffith, being far more curious about what Guts might say than interested in talking, himself, remains silent.

A moment later, Guts pulls himself to his feet. His sword plants itself in the carpeting and the floor beneath it as easily as it would plant itself into soft ground and grass. The sound of steel splitting marble rumbles, swallowed by the thickness of the carpet. “So, what is this?” he asks. His expression hardened as his gaze. “Some kind of game? Is being King too boring for you? If you’re gonna kill me just do it.”

“Impatient as always,” Griffith says.  It occurs to him that Guts is still in his armor. “And always so demanding for a mad dog.”

“You got some nerve calling me mad.” Guts’ muscles clench. Griffith can see every emotion running over his face, settling in his neck – the tension in his shoulders, the clenching of his jaw. “I ain’t the one who—”

“You can list my sins until morning and I won’t be any more enlightened than I am now.” Griffith’s voice cuts the air – sharp and soft as it is. “You invaded my home and tried to kill me, yet I have been nothing but cordial.” With some minor exceptions. Even now, he can remember the rush of battle, Guts’ steel against his. He had played along, but in the end only one outcome could have come about... and it did.

“Now that we’re here,” Griffith says softly. “Feel free to swing your sword as much as you like. It will do you no more good than it did the last time... or the time before that.”

The weight of that massive sword hits the ground with a crash that jolts the floor... and just that quickly, Guts is rushing at Griffith, his armored fist swinging. Griffith stands motionless for a moment, watching the light catch on the edges of that so-sharp black armor. Watching the barely burning fire in Guts’ eye turn to an inferno. And then, just when Guts is there – only a few short feet away, Griffith reaches up and grabs that fist in the bare palm of his hand... and holds it.

They are close – close enough for Griffith to feel the feather-light stirring of Guts’ breath. That one eye widens in—fear? Panic? It isn’t rage, not this time. There’s something savage inside Griffith that smiles at that reaction. His fingers curl down, and he feels the metal creak, just at the edge of bending, or snapping. One never knows with cursed items.

It's enough to make his point, at least, in that second before he lets go.

“You really never change,” Griffith says, voice quiet but not quite soft. “I would have thought you’d learn to control yourself between the Hill and today.” He flexes his fingers. “You should have tried a slap.”

Guts snaps his armored fist back, pressed to his chest. “What the hell is this? If you ain’t gonna kill me, if you won’t fight... what is this, just some kind of cage? I’m just your prisoner, now?”

“If I release, you’ll just keep coming after me.” Griffith runs his tongue along the inside of his lips. He can almost taste the bitterness on his tongue. “So, yes, I suppose you are.” He looks away from Guts, toward the floor length windows. From here, inside  an obscure corner of one of the palace’s towers, Outside, he can see Falconia spread out before them like a painting – the view from the sky. “Well,” he says, “If you say you will leave here and move on with your life – give up your vendetta and leave me be – then perhaps I will let you go.”

“Like hell I will.” The answer comes too quickly. Griffith almost laughs; Guts says, “You know damn well I won’t.”

He does know. Or, rather, he suspected.

“That being the case,” Griffith says. “Here we are.”

“Yeah, here we are.” Guts raises his head, his back straightening to his full height. It must be terribly intimidating to anyone who isn’t Griffith. “So now what? You can’t just shove me in a box and come by when you wanna be smug for a while.”

“That’s a presumptuous accusation. I don’t recall saying I would be coming back.”

Griffith hears his own voice – hard as marble and just as cold. Guts hasn’t moved. His hand remains pressed to his chest, and outside, the sun is growing crimson with the coming night. Griffith watches the red light dye the white buildings; somehow his gaze refuses to land on the man in front of him, no matter how close he stands. And he’s never had a difficult time finding things to say – it was only ever a matter of whether he had anything that needed saying. Now, nothing that comes to mind will make its way past his lips.

Best to leave. Griffith sighs. “I don't suppose there's much purpose to my staying here any longer. I thought I should explain the situation. But I'll have servants set aside to attend to your needs. There's no need to disturb your... equilibrium any farther.”

“You send your servants in here, you ain’t getting them back.”

Griffith glances at Guts. Lines of tension run up his neck.

“Would you kill them for bringing you breakfast? Not all of them are demons.”

“Fine by me. I don't just kill demons.” Guts shrugs his heavy shoulders... but the casualty of it is affected.

Guts’ face is just as tense, just as angry. ...it’s frightened, too... though it isn’t immediately clear what it is he’s frightened of. Griffith himself, perhaps? That would make sense... though it seems somewhat incongruent with Guts’ personality to show it in this kind of situation.  

No. It’s something else.

Griffith is quiet for a time, assessing Guts’ body language, the way his eye burns. Anger, frustration and fear. If he thinks about it, it shouldn’t be surprising. After all, who knows abandonment and imprisonment better than Griffith?

 “I see,” He says. “I wouldn’t have thought you would want me to come back.”

Something flashes in Guts’ eye – surprise, yes, and then a wall of stone to block out Griffith’s sight... or maybe Guts’ perception of himself. For a moment, Guts is just. Silent. Motionless. He opens his mouth... even so, it takes a moment for him to find his voice.

“I didn’t say—” Three words, and then his voice fails quiet again.

Griffith looks to the table not so far away – the apple core and half-eaten bread.

“Very well,” he says, quietly. “I'll bring you your meals personally. At least for now.” He takes a deep breath and turns toward the door. It’s only a few steps off; he takes hold of the latch – silver and engraved with feathery markings, like most things in Falconia.

“Heh.” It isn’t an actual laugh. Feet away, Guts’ weight shifts. Griffith can hear the clanging metal; it shifts, but doesn’t approach. “Never thought this was gonna end with a damn God Hand offering to bring me dinner.”

“We are not one body, Guts.” Griffith looks at his hand – long fingers wrapped around the silver latch while the metal warms. “Each of us has our own goals, our own priorities, and our own experiences. I am what I am... but I am still Griffith.”

The armor shifts behind him again, and it’s so quiet. Griffith doesn’t look back. “Whatever has become of what we were... you were once the most important thing in this world, to me.” It’s surprisingly easy to say. Perhaps because it’s no longer true. “I will honor that.”

And then, without waiting for a response, he opens the door and steps into the hallway beyond.

* * *

Guts stares at the door long past its closing, his heart pounding violently in his chest. In that moment, hot rage and cold sorrow rushing through him, he doesn’t know whether to scream or cry.

[reunionatdawn]

My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 3: Claude/Hilda)

Byleth: (His easy smile is striking… But that smile doesn't reach his eyes…)

Claude is a Leo, a fire sign ruled by the Sun. Leo traits include being confident, comfortable being the center of attention, drama-adoring, ambitious, loyal, fiercely protective of their nearest and dearest, generous, luxury-loving, sunny, and big-hearted. Like Edelgard, his goal was to usher in the dawn of a new age as supreme leader.

He bears the Crest of Riegan, which is associated with The Moon arcana. The general meaning of The Moon is that everything is not as it seems. It is also the Major Arcana of intuition. It tells you that something about a situation or person in your life is not what it appears to be, and you need to trust what your instincts are telling you in order to see past this illusion.

Claude: When I first saw you wield the Sword of the Creator, I wanted to use your power to my advantage. I wanted to use you to make my dream of a new world come true. But before long, I realized what I really wanted was to see that new world…with you by my side. I still feel that way, you know. I always will. That's why I have to leave.

Claude was taking advantage of female Byleth's romantic interest in him to achieve his dream. He admitted as much himself in his S-Support. That explained why his Goddess Tower scene was all about his political ambitions and lacked any genuine romantic undertones. Supposedly he fell in love with her somewhere along the way. But something felt off to me. He couldn't even attend Byleth's coronation?

Byleth & Claude After ascending the throne as the first leader of the United Kingdom of Fódlan, Byleth sought to rebuild the war-torn towns and villages and to help guide the reformation of the Church of Seiros. After a few months of peace, remnants of the Imperial army joined with those who slither in the dark and marched upon the capital city of Derdriu. The new kingdom lacked the power to repel the invaders, but when defeat seemed imminent, a battle cry rang out from the east. Claude, the newly-crowned King of Almyra, led a mighty army that broke through the rebel forces with ease. This show of solidarity forever altered the course of history, heralding a new age of unity.

If he is paired with Petra, he postpones his return to Almyra for years due to his love. With Lysithea, his love for her compels him to give up the throne entirely. Even when he does return to Byleth like he promised, it's to defeat the remnants of the Imperial army and TWSITD. That earns him the title "King of Unification". But there's nothing in their paired ending to indicate a marital union.

Claude did care about Byleth as more than just a tool. But to me, it felt like the writers were trying to portray that he didn't love her romantically, albeit in a very subtle way. Which I actually found to be a very great idea. He definitely had a reason to marry Byleth for political purposes, considering his dream. And I liked that his reputation as a schemer finally amounted to something in the end after all. Besides, he had more chemistry with Hilda, anyway.

Hilda: It's just a legend, sure…but I prefer to be cautious about such things. One of the guys was pretty handsome, and he came from a good family… But that doesn't really tell you what a person's like on the inside. I want a life partner who's good-hearted and good-looking.

Claude is a very flirty person in general and has a lot of chemistry with most of the girls he can Support with. But he was particularly flirty with Hilda. Even their C-Support was surprisingly sexual. But their connection gradually developed into more than just physical attraction. The tagline for the game was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". Claude has many sweet memories of his childhood and Hilda is the only one who takes an interest in them.

Because of this, she was the only girl he offered to bring home. Claude is usually a very guarded young man who keeps his secrets close to his chest. He was afraid of his Almyran heritage being exposed because he's been the constant victim of racism. While Hilda made the occasional off-hand racist remark (moreso out of ignorance than malice), Claude still offered to introduce her to his family, showing his trust in her character and her ability to be judge people for who they are on the inside, not their heritage.

Holst: But what if the next king of Almyra turns out to be a kind and decent man? What if Hilda even likes him? Claude: Uh, if Hilda wants to marry that hypothetical heartthrob, I'm not gonna stop her. Look, what's all this really about? Holst: Apologies. My imagination ran free for a moment. If that is what Hilda wants, then I will not stand in her way either. Claude: Your imagination's definitely still running there. Holst: I'm just as worried about Hilda's future as I am about Leicester's—maybe even more so. Claude: I completely understand, so let me just say this… I believe that both Leicester's and Hilda's futures are as bright as they can be. All I ask is that you trust me.

Claude and Hilda don't need Byelth to choose the Golden Deer house to get married. Golden Wildfire proves that. Holst approves of their relationship. His A-Support with Claude even foreshadowed the Claude/Hilda paired ending. So, it definitely feels like it's the one Claude ship that's most rooted in "canon".

Hilda: I don't understand why anyone would want to risk their life for someone else. When you die, no matter how you died, it's over. To me, it's more important to enjoy life. We only live once, after all. It's a waste to spend all your time working and being responsible, right?

Hilda was the only character I did not recruit on my AM New Game+. If I had to guess, I'd say she was probably not even gonna be recruitable outside her home route, similar to Dedue and Hubert. I left her behind because I didn't want Claude to be alone. But also because she truly belonged on that bridge in Derdriu defending him. It's the ultimate fulfillment of her character arc, showing how she's changed from a spoiled and lazy girl into a mature woman who will try her best to not let down the people she cares about.

Hilda and Claude were the only lord and retainer I felt comfortable shipping because their differing social status had practically no effect on how they related to each other. Hilda could see through his fake smile because she was just as manipulative, constantly flirting to get people to do things for her. In CF, she died for Claude because she had fun with him and found him sexy, not because it was her duty as a Crest bearer. Claude expected her to run, but she stood her ground.

As a lord, Claude was in the middle. He was ambitious like Edelgard but not quite as ruthless. He shared Dimitri's distaste for war, but would compromise those ideals in pursuit of his goals. What I liked about Hilda as a retainer was that she supported him emotionally, but she also challenged him on his decisions when it was necessary. She questioned whether being king was really what he wanted when he was a natural free spirit at heart.

Claude: You and I may not hold any grudges, but if you look to our history, you'll see it was the Kingdom who tossed us to the wolves first. When our people were fighting for independence from the Empire, Faerghus attacked and conquered Leicester for themselves.

Claude certainly had good intentions, but in the end, he was perhaps a bit too motivated by self-interest. In VW, he realized that, which is why he stepped down in favor of Byleth. In GW, there is a chapter called "The End of the Alliance". Claude becomes king of the Federation and allies with Edelgard. He announces his intention to eliminate the church and invade the Kingdom using historical disputes as a justification, however questionable that may be.

Claude: If you're going to lead Fódlan, then the Alliance lords will follow you. Back in the day, the Alliance split off from the Kingdom. I'm just putting us back together again.

In AM, there is a cutscene called "The End of the Alliance". Claude puts aside all historical animosity and willingly unifies with the Kingdom. Why the change of heart? He admitted he wouldn't do anything unless he had something to gain, but Byleth and Dimitri selflessly came to his rescue. And because of that, he gives his Hero's Relic to Dimitri, something he did not to for Edelgard. Symbolically this gesture is so important because he always thought he needed the power of the relics to realize his dream. But he doesn't.

Claude & Hilda Trusting the affairs to his comrades with whom he had fought, Claude departed for his homeland. While in Fódlan he was no more than a noble, upon returning to his homeland of Almyra, he was a prince of the realm. Having grown strong and mature, he gained recognition among the royal family and eventually wielded influence in national politics. Several years later, the king of Almyra retired, and Claude succeeded to the throne. Simultaneously, a queen was introduced – none other than Hilda. Leveraging her brother's support, she unexpectedly demonstrated diplomatic prowess, contributing to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Almyra and Fódlan. Furthermore, with two consecutive queens from Fódlan, the values of Almyra began to evolve.

In AM, Claude's fate doesn't change much compared to VW. He still goes back to Almyra, presumably with Hilda if she wasn't recruited. So, I don't even think their VW paired ending would be any different in the AM timeline. And their marital union is what will help Claude achieve his dream. He didn't need Byleth, the Hero's Relics, or to become supreme leader. Marrying Hilda opens Fódlan's Locket. This is the only ending where Hilda gets involved in politics instead of making accessories, but it is better for her character development, and I think she'd be happier that way in the end.