#but she seems pretty alive --and pretty undead-- so far so it's all good i guess.

[fleurdriviere]

(I'm so sorry if I'm remembering this wrong, if I am feel free to ignore this) I was curious about the robot lady and her daughters relationship.. Like what is it like.

👍

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.223 thoughts

[Well...That Could Mean Anything...]

(Contents: immediate reactions - cancelation scare/renewed hope; speculation - story progression)

Please Say "Sike"

...I guess I should've seen that coming

If they can skip the three months leading up to the Quests, why not skip the month of the Quests?

Granted, my assumption was that the Master Rules wanted to fight and defeat the Union, that they were willing to interfere with their training but not to actually cheat at the Quests themselves, which seems to have been an accurate assumption to make

The fact that even Soul objected, demanding an explanation and even going so far as to attack Luna in retaliation, explicitly tells us that nobody involved wanted this outcome

The question this begs, though, is if Tozuka wanted this outcome

The overwhelming response to this chapter was definitely an anxious one. Folks were already super nervous because UU's been in the back of the magazine for the last few weeks while also being notably absent from a recent list of profitable manga that Shueisha put out recently, so seeing this chapter explicitly skip a bunch of content that had been built up for the last year or so was troubling to say the least

However! It also didn't take long for the fanbase to reevaluate the purpose of this direction

Hold the Line!

As Luna notes, Andy held off all ten Master Rules for eons. Of course she lost faith in them! Hell, Andy bodied Sick in less than a minute, and what few members of the Union that Language took out came back - it's pretty easy to see how the remaining fights were going to go, both from Luna's perspective and ours

And that's boring

While we all wanted to see the cast fight their natural enemies and learn more about themselves, awakening their souls and developing new ways to use their Rules, the truth is that was going to become formulaic sooner or later. Language's ambush on Nico and Ichico was a great way to keep us on our toes, but unless all of the Master Rules dropped in on the Roundtable Room at once, there wasn't really a good way to keep things fresh without it feeling like they were on a conveyer belt

There's also the fact that Ragnarok needs to be triggered by failure, so much like with the Four Seasons, the Union was either inevitably going to fail at beating one of the Master Rules or beating them was going to trigger Ragnarok anyway - both of which are outcomes to Quests that we've already seen. The Quests getting autoskipped though? That's a fun twist on the established pass option while also raising the stakes and giving both the cast and audience a scare

If UU weren't having such a rough go in the real world, we'd all be seeing this scene as a super cool twist, and I think that's what Tozuka intended it to be, but because we have reason to fear for its future, we can't help but take it as a bad sign

While Sun basically eating the Master Rules and beginning his assault on the Union certainly looks like a sign of the end, though, I think that this is meant to be the Master Rules all storming the Union at once like I suggested

Two Cakes

Many of you likely noticed that the rings that surround Sun have orbs with Roman numerals engraved on them, corresponding to the ranks of the Master Rules. This implies that the Master Rules haven't been absorbed, but rather sealed

If the Master Rules are still alive, they can still be battled, and likely will need to be defeated to weaken Sun. Using what was learned from the battle against Seal, the Union will likely use their souls to enter the orbs, giving us all of the match-ups and character development that we wanted to see while also moving at the breakneck pace that Tozuka seems to be so fond of

I imagine that someone may need to stay outside to hold off Sun while everyone's souls are separated from their bodies (if that's even an issue), so that will likely be Andy and Fuuko's job since they're ostensibly at their peak already and don't need any further development aside from the finale to their stories, though I could also see this being Chikara's big moment, holding off Sun all by himself while everyone else fights

All that said, this doesn't necessarily mean that we'll have the year and a half run that I projected last week; if Tozuka really is being forced to speedrun the story, it's possible that each Master Rule fight will only be one chapter and serve as a capstone for a different character/set of characters' arcs, but even then, it's extremely likely that the intention is to at least last until the next round of new manga, which will coincide with UU's fifth anniversary

Skipping the off weeks for Christmas and New Years, this gives us, at a conservative estimate, 16 more chapters to work with

To-Do List

Considering the number of events that still need to happen, I think 16 chapters could feasibly work if it looks a little something like this:

Establishing the formula - Chikara's capstone

Sick - capstone for Rip/Latla

Time - capstone for Shen/Mui and likely Feng

Justice - awakening of Unjustice/capstone for Julia?

War - capstone for Billy/Tatiana

Luck - likely a moment for Fuuko, though not her capstone

Change - capstone for Gina(+Sean?)

Death - likely a moment for Andy, not his capstone

Soul - group effort?

Sun - group effort, Ruin returns

Sun pt. 2 - capstone for Ruin

Sun pt. 3 - capstone for the Union

Final boss - Luna

The Heart

Luna defeated - capstone for Andy and Fuuko

Epilogue

This definitely would be a bit rushed, and I'd much rather each fight get a lot more time to breathe, but the main point I'm trying to make here is that it isn't impossible to tell a complete and satisfying story with the time remaining so long as the focus is on completing the character arcs of the cast members that have been established to be the most salient this entire time rather than trying to give everyone a slice of the pie

Tozuka's already made it clear that not every cast member is created equal, which is an unfortunate necessity in an ensemble cast that's under the constant threat of axe-ecution by Jump's editorial staff, so if things need to be pared down, this seems like a reasonable way to do it in my opinion, though again this could easily be doubled or even tripled depending on how badly Shueisha wants the series to still be producing content to coincide with the Winter special episode or possible season 2

Don't take this list at face value, though - remember, I'm just a reader, and while I've been right every now and again, I've also been wrong much more often, so my projected timeline is almost certainly off-base. I just hope it's wrong in the right direction!

Hell, my entire premise of needing to fight the Master Rules in the first place might be wrong! Not in the sense that they won't be present in the story anymore, but more in the sense that they won't be antagonists anymore

The Enemy of My Enemy

If you'll recall, the way that Andy escaped from Seal wasn't by taking down all of the Rules that Seal captured - it was by convincing them to fight back. With Luna having betrayed her creations and manipulated her counterpart, it really doesn't take much stretching of the imagination to see how the Master Rules might have a bit of a bone to pick with her

Therefore, instead of having a dedicated battle against each Master Rule, it's equally likely that there'll be a dedicated battle with each of them. This would let each of them show off their powers and personalities while also letting us build up the tension against Sun without simply rehashing the previous Ragnarok

More importantly, though, this would solidify one of the most major themes of the story: union. Every human enemy save for Ruin has become an ally, and we've had plenty of situations where UMAs have gone against God's orders and allied themselves with humanity, so having the most human UMAs do the same would be the perfect way to wrap up that narrative throughline

However, that again is still pretty predictable, almost rote with how the story has progressed so far, so I still expect one more wrinkle to come out of left field, regardless of how many chapters we have left:

The Union will lose

Failstate

The biggest question mark hanging over this entire series, at least for me, is what Sun and Luna's goals are

What is the world supposed to look like after the game ends? If Luna loses the bet and humanity can't reach the Gods, what's meant to happen? Will humanity be wiped out, will the Rules become harsher on them, what?

To truly understand the weight of the threat, of what the Union is trying to prevent, we need to be shown at least a glimpse of it, so even if Time or Soul or the Heart or whoever will immediately undo the damage, the Union needs to see what they're fighting for

Bonus points if that's the moment that reforms Ruin - that he sees how much worse everything is with humanity's loss, how ruined the world will be, and he decides then and there that he needs to ensure it remains unruined

Again, though, Tozuka has always proven to be a few steps ahead of me, so even if I have the basic ideas, the final product surely won't look much of anything like what I'm suggesting, and will surely be better than anything I can imagine

Looking Forward

In a perfect world, Tozuka would be able to take as much time as he wants to flesh out every single character and backstory and battle to his heart's content, but that's just wishful thinking. The undeniable truth is that Tozuka is working in the most cutthroat company in an already cutthroat industry, so naturally not everything can or will go to plan

However, even under those conditions, Tozuka has managed to tell a consistently engaging and beautiful story that has served as an inspiration to many of us for the past nearly five years. As I've said a thousand times now, we need to have faith that Tozuka is going to continue to do his best to deliver a story that we'll love, even if we don't agree with every choice he makes for it

He certainly doesn't want us to read each chapter filled with fear and trepidation; he wants us to read them with joy and wonder, like we always have! Whether Tozuka decided that this was the best time to end it or Jump forced it on him, whether UU will last for four more months or four more years, the single most important thing that we can do is enjoy what Tozuka has to offer. That's all he's ever wanted from us, and it's what this series has taught me to do

So come on, you do it too:

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

[y-rhywbeth2]

So what Jergal does, I'm pretty sure, is what happens with Sarevok in ToB. He's dead and, while there's a very brief window of time before the body dissolves and the soul goes to the Throne of Blood where you can resurrect them, the rule is that Bhaalspawn do not come back once they're gone. Eternal damnation suffering Father's wrath, no escape. An exception is made when Bhaal himself wills them to return by restoring their soul/divine essence to them - or another being wielding Bhaal's divine essence does so. Which means that a Bhaalspawn can surrender a portion of their own divine soul (made of Bhaal's essence) unto a sibling, enough to restore their physical form, although stripping them of most divine power (but still leaving them partially divine).

Which has side effects, as seen if Imoen is the donor:

Imoen: 'So... Sarevok. You've had an itty-bitty piece of my soul in there for quite a while now. What's it been like?' Sarevok: *sigh* 'Well, other than a slight obsession with my weight and the resurgence of a few pimples, it's been simply grand. Now leave me be, girl.' Imoen: 'No, I'm serious. Does the fact that you've got a piece of me inside you make any difference at all? Tell me... you owe me that much.' Sarevok: 'What do you wish to know, girl? What are you curious about? Perhaps you would be interested to know that I can feel the knives of Irenicus, slicing into my skin, torturing me. I can feel his hands and his breath, I *know* what he did to you, girl...' Imoen: 'All—all right, stop... I wasn't really serious...' Sarevok: 'How about the agony you felt as your soul was ripped from you? The despair at being left only with the cold voices of your tainted heart, discovering what was inside you all along? How about the hurt you keep deep down within, wondering if you weren't good enough for Gorion? Wondering why you're a Bhaalspawn? How about the loneliness... the unrequited longing you—' Imoen: 'Stop! Enough... I won't bother you, Sarevok, just—'

Bhaal's divine essence is basically Jergal's, so he's a donor match for this godly organ donation, I suppose. I imagine any god would do though. I'd love to know what impulses and memories you can get from the incredibly ancient original god of Tyranny, Strife, Death, and the Dead.

Of course, as I said a while back, there are consequences to the impossible resurrection, which is unlike the regular fare, rendering them something of an aberration (Came Back Wrong). Not alive, not undead - outside of life and death altogether.

Nalia: 'Keep your eyes off me, Sarevok. I don't know what you are, but I don't want you near me.' Sarevok: 'Ahh... So the sorceress can sense the difference in me, can she? Do I alarm you, girl?' Nalia: 'I know that you're not truly alive, and not undead. You're flesh, but not truly alive no matter what [Charname] did to you. So keep away.'

Jaheira: 'You *exist*; you do not *live*. You will miss the Great Mother's embrace in time. You are nothing.'

Cernd: 'I... I apologize, Sarevok. I know that there are reasons for your presence amongst us, but... you seem so unnatural to me that I cannot help but be repelled. ' Sarevok: 'You have encountered many things far more unnatural than me. How about the mortal spawn of an evil god... does that not strike you as unnatural in any way?' Cernd: 'At... at least it is still birth and life, Sarevok. It is part of the natural cycle. Even a Bhaalspawn dies in a natural manner. You are a dead thing that has risen again.' Sarevok: 'The same would be true for any undead creature.' Cernd: 'But you are not undead. You are as the tree stump, sprouted again into a full oak. A marvel, perhaps... but also living denial of the natural cycle. I just find it... disturbing, is all.'

And it does nothing to get rid of the homicidal impulses:

Sarevok: 'In the cold nether realm, while I waited to be reborn, I sorely missed the crimson spray and the hot tang of death on my tongue.'

Sarevok: 'Even after my resurrection, violent rage pollutes my tainted blood. As [Charname] can surely attest, it is a constant struggle to keep our bloodlust in check.'

You've still got Bhaal's divine essence as a fundamental piece of yourself, he just doesn't live in the back of your head the same way (probably?). In Durge's case you've now got the divine essence of two gods competing for your instincts (Jergal probably overrides Bhaal).

[mumms-the-word]

Tav ask list: 30, 44, 63 for whichever Tav you want 💖

Haha these are all pretty simple answers for all my Tavs so I’ll do all three (Freyr is a Durge but whatever)

30. Who does your Tav think of when they go to sleep at the goblin/tiefling party? Or are they lucky and do they get to spend the night with the person they want?

Okay, so in the game Dani went to sleep dreaming of Gale BUT I think she did actually go sleep with Astarion. She wanted some fun and Astarion had been flirting with her for a while. Neither of them caught feelings though. I haven’t yet figured out how Gale feels about it because I didn’t play it out in the game 😅

Originally Ardynn went to sleep thinking about Wyll, who she kissed briefly. But I think it was the tall, muscular, infamous Halsin that clouded her thoughts as she drifted off into dreamland.

As for Freyr, Minthara didn’t ask, she basically ordered that they would spend the night together and Freyr was NOT about to argue. He was DTF from the moment he laid eyes on her. He even resisted his darker nature afterward and they shared a sweet moment together <3

44. What does your Tav think of Isobel?

Dani likes her but she also has a lot of questions. Like is she undead? Or is she alive just resurrected? Does she remember anything?? Why does she keep so many secrets??? But she thinks Isobel is otherwise nice and helpful. She DOES wish she could scrub Isobel’s face clean and teach her how to do killer eyeliner though.

Ardynn is cautious about Isobel but eventually warms up to her. Something about her seems unnatural but as they get to know each other more, Ardynn views her as a friend. Plus Isobel is a Selûnite and they need that kind of power around the shadow cursed lands.

Freyr, uh…didn’t really get to know her. His butler told him to kill her, and he very seriously thought about it. But when Marcus showed up saying they should take Isobel back to Ketheric, Freyr stepped in and stopped him, because he hates Ketheric more than he wants to kill Isobel. But Isobel died anyway because Freyr encouraged Shadowheart to kill Aylin and become a Dark Justiciar 💀 so everyone at Last Light died

63. If Shadowheart got a new haircut, how does your Tav react?

Im assuming this is referring to her new bangs look + possible white hair?

Dani loves it. She thought Shadowheart’s original fringe was silly and thinks the white hair looks AMAZING. They talk about hair dyes a lot after that because Dani regularly dyes the ends of her hair with ice blue.

Ardynn thought Shadowheart’s new white hair made her look softer and she thinks it suits her. Ardynn far prefers Selûne to Shar so anything that Shadowheart does that moves the needle closer to Seluûnite worship is good in her book.

Freyr and Shadowheart are buddies, so when she gave herself new fringe (still black hair) to represent her transition to a Dark Justiciar…well, okay, Freyr didn’t notice at first. But when she asked him if he liked her new look he immediately said yes because what are friends for? It took him a couple more hours to realize how, exactly, her hair had changed but his opinion didn’t waver. He thinks her original bangs are dumb.

Freyr is such a hilarious outlier to every one of these ask games lol

[ironheartedfae]

Timing: Early August Location: The Commons Feat: @ariadnewhitlock & @ironheartedfae Warnings: NONE Summary: These two are in love.......with bugs and politeness! (mostly because the banner looks like a romance novel by accident)

Forming bonds wasn't something Ren was proficient in. Every one so far had been sort of serendipitous. A chance encounter coupled with some inextricable event that formed a tight tether. Harder to run away from. Though, Ren tried quite a lot at first. Of course she had, given everything she'd been told. It was different now though. Everything was. Each day brought that fact more and more to the forefront. Every smile the nymph bore was a testament to how good things could be. Even for a monster. 

Ariadne was new. She wasn't part of the original allgoods, and Ren hadn't talked to her too much at the party, but then again, Ren barely talked at that party. It was far too overwhelming. One on one, she thought, would be a lot easier. In the same way talking online was much easier. Ariadne had been so sweet online, Ren was hopeful that this little get together would be a successful one. 

After all, they were looking for bugs together. Few people shared the entomid's love for the ‘creepy’ crawlers. Ren never saw them like that. Each bug had a part in the food web. A purpose all their own. Bugs were magnificent and unique, and more people should understand– it didn't even matter that Ariadne wasn't… people. She was undead. Probably. No beating heart. Core temperature barely above the ambience of any given room. Did that matter? 

It might have, before. 

Ren didn't like that. Didn't know what it meant now. She'd written her reports, keeping out any emotional attachment exactly like she was supposed to. But that didn't mean she had to hate everything that wasn't human, right? Nora wasn't human. Ren liked Nora well enough. She could like Ariadne, too. She thought she already might, if the online conversation was anything to go off of. 

The commons were bright, but not blazingly so. The grass and foliage were alive with activity. The deeper thickets of woods would be perfect for bug hunting. Especially if they could find any nice old logs to turn over. Ren stood, anxiously waiting to see the blonde. A freshly bound journal in her hands. A few older drawings of bugs sewn in, just in case Ariadne wanted to see. The nymph was starting to learn that a lot of people liked seeing her work. Strange, but…nice. 

A splash of yellow rounded a copse of trees, and Ren perked right up. Waving an arm rather stiffly to get the other's attention. "Over here." 

—

She didn’t know Ren too well, other than having run into her at some parties. Which was a weird concept in and of itself, considering even at her most extroverted moments, Ariadne had never been one to love parties. Still, she did like talking with Ren, in what talking they had done. Which, admittedly, wasn’t all too much, but it was something, and Ren seemed nice, seemed like maybe she could be a friend, which Ariadne needed.

Recently, she wondered if she was getting too greedy with friends. She’d gotten so used to having nearly nobody around, so maybe, when presented with the chance to have friends, she’d wanted too much? But today wasn’t the day to focus on that. She was happy today, she was happy and she’d brought along gummy worms for Ren because Ren had said that they liked those, and Ariadne liked to pay attention whenever she could, however she could.

Even if Ren deserved a better friend than her. Even if she didn’t have the same things to offer that they did.

But she did love the Common, and it was a beautiful day out. One of those that made her feel alive, again. Which wasn’t something she felt so often. She felt it with Wynne, always, but to feel it on its own, with the promise of having a good day with a new friend – that was pretty spectacular. 

She rounded a set of trees and waved to Ren, rushing over. “Hi! I brought gummy worms, because I think you said you like them? Just wanted to give you something for being so nice.”

—

Once again the nymph wished she were a little less formal. A little less stifled. More open. Ren couldn’t help but feel, and subsequently look, quite awkward as the other girl approached. Shoulders squared, back straight. Looking more like a soldier at attention waiting for their sergeant than a person greeting a friend. Was that what they were? Friends? Where was the edge of the divide? When did that start, or end? 

Her green eyed stare was just as intense as usual. Still not quite up on that whole blinking habit they were supposed to have. Ren was looking at the brightly colored bag. Touched by the gesture, far more than her stoic exterior would have anyone believe. Ariadne had remembered (which seemed to be a much harder task for people who weren’t Ren) what she liked, and went out of her way to go get some before meeting up at the park. They were a little bit stunned at that. No one had done that before. Not when she didn’t know them well. Not like this. The nymph’s brow furrowed slightly. 

“You did not have to do such a thing. I do not have anything in return for you. I am sorry for this.” 

— 

“You don’t have to say sorry!” Ariadne’s eyes grew wide for a moment. “I just wanted to. I didn’t expect you to give me anything in return. I’m just pleased you like them.” Which she was, and it made her feel a bit more relaxed that Ren hadn’t been entirely turned off by the fact that Ariadne had brought her a gift.

“It’s really nice to see you. I think, for me at least, I like this kind of hang out much more than parties.” She felt her eyes grow wide a moment. “Not that – I love being invited, and I’m super grateful to be hanging out with you and others, but I prefer smaller groups, usually. Or just – one-on-one, like us, now.” Ariadne toed the dirt with her shoe. “Especially on such a beautiful day.” 

Ren hadn’t had to agree to hang out with her, and yet they did. Ariadne admired her smarts a great deal, though she would’ve been good to hang out with them even if she hadn’t. “Did you wanna go for a walk, or just hang out here? I’m good with either, whatever’s good for you.”

— 

“Oh.” She was quiet and careful in her wording, so Ren was quiet in return. It’s quite possible that Ren would have been quiet and reserved no matter whom she was talking with, but with Ariadne it carried a sense of camaraderie rather than a standoffish presence. As the other went on, rambling endearingly about how she preferred this kind of company to the parties that they had met at, Ren couldn’t agree more. The nymph nodded and even almost smiled. “Yes this is very much the case. Both the day and the thing about one on ones.” 

Green eyes scanned the park, trying their best to pinpoint the place least populated by people and most by potential bugs. “I think walking could be a good thing. Then perhaps settle over…. There?” Ren pointed to her ‘perfect’ plot. A copse of old trees. Gnarled and twisted by hundreds of years of people playing with their branches. 

They looked welcoming, open. Like they were ready to give support or even hugs to any passerby who needed a moment’s rest. Low branches hung down enough to be benches, and plenty strong enough to hold whoever needed the respite. It was shaded, and cozy looking. Somewhere Ren would curl up if she were the size of a normal bug. 

—

She felt relaxed. Ren was sweet, and Ariadne could only feel a sense of hope that maybe this was the first of at least a few hangouts that the two of them could have. Hopefully more than a few, but sometimes she didn’t let herself hope too much, if only as to not disappoint herself.

“Walking would be good. Yes. Then we can go sit there.” She followed where Ren was pointing. “It looks inviting.” It did, there was something almost magical about it – not that she was going to bring that up to Ren, at least not yet. Ariadne didn’t want her to think that she was weird – though a small part of her mind told herself that Ren wasn’t someone who’d judge her for thoughts like those.

She took a few steps forward, motioning for them to follow her. “Just - this way might be nice?” She chirped, “though if you wanna go any other direction, we can. I’m just – well, really happy to be walking around with you. This whole thing is nice. Really nice.” Ariadne rubbed her fingers against her nose. “And I’m saying nice so many times that it almost doesn’t feel like a word anymore, heh.”

—

Hope seemed to be the word of the day. Not that either knew the contents of the other’s mind. Ren was happy to let Ariadne talk. Her voice was melodious and warm, pleasant to listen to. In a way, it reminded Ren of the sunshine all around them. Ren’s was monotone, low, brusque. It felt unfair to break up the other’s symphony just to croak like a frog beside her. That was the strangest part about Wicked’s Rest. Not the monsters, not the anomaly. It was how meeting more other people her age. People who should be peers. It made the girl examine herself in a way she never had before. Often comparing and finding herself lacking in whatever category she came up with. 

Though, a lack of self confidence wasn’t anything new. It was just the subjects that didn’t make sense. Save for perhaps her fighting prowess, Ren wasn’t particularly confident in anything anymore. She hadn’t put thought into her appearance before seeing that girls could be pretty. She hadn’t thought about her voice until she heard other people talking sweetly. Ren thought about Van. How she thought the girl was both pretty and nice to listen to, and wondered if anyone could think the same of them. Unlikely. Her mind supplied. 

“It is a good word for you to be using so often. Because you too are nice. I am… glad I was able to meet you.” Ren offered her best approximation of a smile again, dropping it before starting up their walk towards the tree, following Ariadne. Ren could smile, she could talk, or she could walk. She didn’t think she could do all three at once. But there was always room to try. “Ariadne…” The nymph raced up a few steps, trying to keep pace while keeping up conversation. “I have seen how you act with Wynne.” Observations, Ren’s best skill. 

“Is this a partnership or marriage?” Understanding social particulars, was not. The people in Ren’s life before Wicked’s Rest that acted remotely close to them, showing any affection and living in close proximity… they were always married. Partners for life. She hadn’t spent enough time around the younger folk to actually learn what dating was. That there was a step before. There were people, and there were pairs. Simple as that. 

—  

Not that she’d had any significant sort of doubts regarding Ren, but Ariadne continued to feel immensely pleased at just how relaxed she felt around Ren. How immediate it all was. Maybe there was something to be said about how the more awkward, shy, and kind someone was, the more easily she connected with them. Of course, most people were kind (at least to some degree), but some seemed exceptionally so.

She was glad someone as cool as Ren was one of those exceptionally nice people.

“I am glad I was able to meet you too.” Another genuine, bright smile crossed her features. Ariadne nodded, “really glad.” She slowed her pace just ever-so-slightly because she was the taller of the two of them, and so it wasn’t fair of her to expect her to keep full pace. “I - yes.” She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face at even the barest mention of Wynne’s name.

“Oh. Um, partnership.” If she could have blushed, she would have. “We – we’re dating.” Part of her wanted to say that the deeply romantic part of herself would have married Wynne in a heartbeat, but that was perhaps just being in the beginnings of love. Even her parents, who’d had her literally in college, had been dating for about four years prior to that, and had gotten married later on. She had the photos to prove that.

“Some day it might be more, but not - not yet, and… yeah.” She scrunched up her face, in a bit of a smile. “The ‘me dreaming about marriage’ part can stay between us, yeah? I just don’t want to stress Wynne out.” Ariadne sighed. “Looks like we’re almost at the resting spot?”

—  

Partnership, marriage, these didn't really have much differential meaning to the sheltered fae. The word dating though, that was new. And of course, out here in the open Ren couldn't hide her lack of knowledge behind a computer screen. Behind a quick Google search and a rabbit hole of endless information for her to sift through and attempt to construct context from. 

"Uhmmn–" She fumbled, turning the word over in her mind. Any attempt to connect dots was met with a block or two. Leaving the girl physically and metaphorically stopped in her tracks. "What– what exactly is dating?" Ren's cheeks reddened as she asked. Green eyes darted away, staring instead at the foliage all around them. 

"I will not talk of this if you do not want me to. I am just… unfamiliar with many terms." And concepts, and experiences, and so so much more. There were endless pages on endless books that could be filled with the things Renata Daryova did not know. 

The spot was more or less right beside the pair, and it was just as inviting up close as it had been from across the park. "Ah yes. Good. Do you have specific bug you are hoping to see?"

—

“It’s okay if you’re unfamiliar with stuff,” Ariadne immediately reassured the other, “I – I know others who are, too.” Wynne, for one. Cass, about some things. Two of her favorite people, and it wasn’t as though she would’ve minded at all even if she hadn’t liked them or hadn’t thought Ren to be fascinating, cool, and lovely.

She bit her lip, trying to best think of ways to describe it, “I’m not an expert,” Ariadne started, “just like, for the record and stuff, but it’s basically when you like someone as more than a friend – like you wanna kiss them or you feel all giddy whenever you talk to them, or like, stuff like that, and then you two ‘go out’,” air quotes were made with her fore and middle fingers on each hand, “which is seeing how you both work as a couple, which is just like… meaning I guess you are each other’s like, number one person? And then you can hold hands all the time and kiss and cuddle – though you can hold hands and I guess cuddle even with friends – but this is different, and then you can stay stuff like ‘I love you’ in a romantic way.”

Ariadne tapped her fingers against the side of her thigh. “Um, I’m – sorry if that was a bad description. I can answer any questions you’d like, and you don’t have to worry, okay? I’m happy to help you understand terms, okay? You’re cool and nice, and it’s great to hang out with you.”

Pondering the other’s question for a moment, Ariadne shrugged, “anything, really. I always like butterflies How about you?”

—

Ariadne had a way with words. Trepidatious maybe, but far more willing to chart a course into unknown waters than Ren had ever been. She explained, and the fae listened. Carefully taking each chosen verse into consideration with the highest of reverence. Even if it didn’t show up as such on her face. Ren’s expression was always a bit… severe. Like her mind couldn’t quite ever get past the confusion etched into everything new that she encountered. So much of this world didn’t make sense. So much of it was open to be explored now that she was able to, and still she kept it at a distance. Whether it was intentional or not was– harder to parse. The concepts landed, but never settled. The ideas permeated her mind, but always felt like they were made for someone else to live them. Not for her. Never for her. 

“It is good. You have found someone like this then. Good– for you.” Talking. Holding hands. Cuddling. Kissing. Ren had never really been much of a talker. Words came slowly, and always seemed to be the wrong ones. Her hands were only ever meant to destroy. To take life from those who would harm humanity. She’d heard Gael refer to the kittens sleeping next to each other as cuddling, their grooming licks as kisses. Neither seemed something that she would participate in. She couldn’t. Sleeping near someone meant… showing herself. Intentionally dropping control over the one thing that made her feel human. 

Her antennae twitched uncomfortably underneath her glamour. Making it look like the wind had caught a few curled locks of orange hair. “You are good at describing things Ariadne.”A pause. “Do I make you feel sorry? That you have done something wrong? I do not understand why it is you say that word so much.”

Bugs were something she understood. Ren only had names for the ones that filled the field journal she kept close at all times, one of the few books she had growing up. But she had an intense love for any and all she came across. “I particularly like spiders. People do not like them very much, but they are… protectors in way.” The nymph closed in on the tree, big eyes scanning the bark for what would always be there. Spiders were everywhere, after all. She found one, a teensy little thing. A jumping spider, one of the gentler varieties. “They help humans because they take out harmful species. Like mosquitoes, ticks, and flies. This is admirable.” Ren smiled at the small creature that danced about on her finger, which she held up to show the other girl. “And they are very cute, I think.”  

—

“I am very grateful for it.” Ariadne glanced shyly over to Ren. It was admittedly still a bit weird for her to talk about, but talking about joyful things was what she was supposed to do, whenever possible, and there was nothing that brought her more joy than Wynne. Nothing and no one. Dance came in at a close second, with candy at a third, but she hadn’t smiled nearly as much as she did around Wynne, ever since the whole dying thing. They made things feel lighter, and easier, and it didn’t mean she was bragging if Ren had asked about it, right? “Wynne is also just the best, and so I am glad they like me back. Even if I was a bit surprised they really did.” 

She wasn’t sure why she was being so strangely vulnerable with someone who was, technically, still a stranger, but Ren was nice, and Ariadne trusted her, and that was that. Plus, talking about Wynne wasn’t really talking about herself, so it made things easier. She couldn’t imagine anybody not wanting to know how wonderful Wynne was.

Ren thought she was good at describing, and Ariadne brightened at that, before her expression briefly fell at their next comment. “Oh – I – no, I just am – I just say it, a lot. It’s not ‘cause of you, I just… do it. I am trying to not do that as much, but it’s not you, I promise.”

Ariadne nodded at Ren’s explanation. “Did you ever read Charlotte’s Web? It is a lovely story, and one of the main characters is a spider, and she’s the best.” Another nod, “I think their web-spinning is sort of like a beautiful dance. Which is so wonderful, so I like those too. I will say that sometimes things like tarantulas make me nervous, but I still have tons of respect for them.” Ren’s next words drew an enthusiastic nod from Ariadne. “Yes, they are very helpful for things like that, and it feeds them, so it is extra good.” She watched the spider on Ren’s finger, half-swearing to herself that she could hear it screaming at her, “they are very cute. I like to think that they have very nice smiles.”

—

The nymph studied the way the other girl spoke. The way she moved. There was a timidness to each action, like she was worried about the very space she took up. In a way, Ren could relate. She often felt like she wasn’t supposed to be wherever she was. Or like she wasn’t supposed to do whatever she was doing. Her mission was a solo one. Was meant to be about as removed from genuine interaction as it could have been. And yet, here she was, again, making friends with someone sweet. Someone who would surely be considered a monster by her mentor. The entomid was keenly aware of things like temperature and vibrations. Two things that Ariadne notably was different from any living human being about. 

The undead were by far a blindspot in Ren’s education. Her mother had been so solely focused on teaching the young nymph about all the terrible monsters that shared the same ancestry as she did, that she only got a cursory glance at shifters or those that rose from their graves. Maybe, she thought, that meant that they weren’t all bad. That people like Gael or Alex could be better inherently. They weren’t tarnished by what happened to them. Fae were born how they were. And from all the ones Ren had met and talked with, the good ones had to learn to be so. “This is not surprising to me. You are both very kind and generous…. They suit you.” 

She nodded along until Ariadne launched into an explanation of her apologies. A head full of red curls tilted to the side, quizzical. Ren knit her brows close as she tried to understand. “Did someone teach you to do this?” Darya often said sorry was an excuse. And while Ren had learned just how wrong the woman was on many topics, the lessons still ran so deep. 

“No, I have not read this book.” She paused a moment, reflecting. “I have never met a spider named Charlotte either.” Ren looked intently at the spider on her finger, as if expecting it to actually say something in return. Even if entomae could actually speak with insects, it was more of a… emotional, instinctual thing. Not a language, not really. “I think they are very expressive, yes. In their own way. Sometimes better than I.” 

— 

There was a certain part of her (and it was more than a small part) that felt a kinship with Ren, solely because the two of them seemed to both be more than a little bit anxious and more than a little bit unsure of just about everyone around them. Ariadne knew that that might have made other people turn away, or push someone off, but it made her even more keen to know Ren. “Oh, thank you for saying we are both kind.” She wanted to say just how much they were wrong, how much better of a person Wynne was than her, but she refrained. At least for now, because that was no sort of way to actually make a friend, and even if she had a best friend, she figured she could have more – or at least more friends, if asking for more best friends was too greedy.

(Her stomach turned at that, but she pushed the thought out of her mind, because this was nice – so nice, and she didn’t want to ruin it.)

“Oh – I, no. I just, uh, do it? I guess?” She didn’t have even the slightest decent bit of reasoning for why she did, it just… was that way. Ariadne did know that her tendency towards apologizing had gotten a noticeable uptick ever since she died, but it had certainly been around before, too. “That’s – that’s all, I guess. You didn’t do anything though!” She reassured, just in case Ren thought she’d done something.

“Would you like to read it? I can let you borrow my copy. You don’t have to though, but you might like it. It is a wholesome story.” Ariadne dug her toe into the dirt. “I think everyone’s version of being expressive is good, so I don’t know if they’re better than you, they’re just different, and if it’s worth much, I like your way of being expressive. It makes me feel nice and calm.”

—

Another thank you, one that Ren quietly dismissed under her breath as a strong wind carted leaves all around them. A politeness that humans and people that used to be human often fell victim to. Sometimes, the nymph wondered if the obsession that folks seemed to have with the phrase was one that was taught by the fae. The longest of cons by the oldest of thieves. The girl couldn’t even count how many thank you’s she had to dismiss just going about her day to day life around anyone in a customer service job. It made her stomach sour just thinking about it. A shame, really, considering the fact that Ren also preferred to be polite. Maybe she’d teach Ariadne the simple, but far less dangerous phrasing ‘I appreciate you’ to replace the one she so often chose. 

“Okay.” If it truly was just something Ariadne did, then who was Ren to argue. It wasn’t hurting anyone, she supposed, except maybe the sorry giver herself. If she felt the need to say it simply because it was the right thing to do, that was fine. But if Aria actually felt as awful as Ren did whenever she said sorry, well… the nymph just hoped that was something she could help with too. Even just a little. Even if she didn’t know how to go about doing something like that. 

“Oh, I– yes I think I would like this. I did not– get many books growing up.” Things that didn’t directly relate to hunting were far and few between. Darya had only gotten the girl a few, a couple old science textbooks, and one antique field journal from an entomologist. The warden said she found it at a garage sale, something that Ren still hadn’t figured out the correlation of. What did parking cars have to do with interesting books? “Perhaps we… read together some time. Gael and I do this often. Drink tea and sit by fire while we each have story. I am– I think I am sure that he would not mind having someone else to be joining.” 

—

“Okay.” She offered Ren another shy smile. “Though I guess I can try to not say sorry to you as much, though I might still mess up, and it’s also never your fault if I do say sorry. Again, just something I do.” A sort of nervous tic of sorts, maybe. Ariadne wasn’t going to overthink it now. Right now was for having time with a new friend, and getting to talk about bugs with someone who knew so much about them and also loved them so much, and Ariadne was in significant admiration of Ren because of that.

She frowned, briefly, at the mention of not getting many books growing up. “I took a while to read books, and I still do, sometimes, but I … was lucky and I did get them when I grew up.” Maybe this was also like Wynne, with not being exposed to lots of stuff Ariadne figured was completely normal. Which just made her excited to maybe-hopefully get to explain stuff to Ren, to show her beautiful amazing things that she hadn’t gotten to see before. “I’d love that. I don’t want to intrude, but I would love to read with you, and also answer questions, if you have them, like if there’s other books and movies and stuff you don’t know a lot about.” Her face brightened. “We could have cookies too, maybe? With the fire and tea and stuff?”

—

“Mm!” It warmed Ren, to think that something she said actually had an impact on someone she felt like she had only just met. Hopefully it would be a positive one. The nymph knew she was often too blunt, or not well versed in people to know what was appropriate or not. She hoped she hadn’t offended the girl, especially if it was just a habit or something like that. Ren had a habit of not blinking for long long stretches of time, which was considerably more off-putting than being extra polite ever could. “If there is something I do that does warrant a sorry, that is okay too. You are fine just way you are.” And she meant that. It wasn’t often Ren met someone as kind-hearted and agreeable as Aria. She even wanted to talk about bugs which Ren could do all day. Obviously. 

“I get many more now. Because of my– Because of Gael. He is very sweet to me.” A soft smile lifted the corners of Ren’s lips. She could get used to something like this. Having friends. People to come to, to share time with. It was nice. Nicer than anything she ever thought even remotely possible for herself. She probably shouldn’t get used to it, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if she did? “I would like this very much. As long as I am not one baking them. I am……….disaster in kitchen.” 

[gnomeniche]

peri hathm had a sister??? (NOT FAKE) (NOT CLICKBAIT)

this is kestrel "kes" west, peri's younger sister. despite being friendlier and more lively than her brother, she had the same mad wizard obsessive tendencies. both peri and ambrose loved her very much, but unfortunately, she is no longer with them.

also that is a real hairstyle i gave her + yeah their names are kestrel and peregrine. yeah like the falcons.

more info under the cut. EDIT: putting a readmore in deletes the whole paragraph under it because tumblr is allergic to functioning. so this post will just a wall of fucking text i guess. i hate this site.

kes was the one who originally found the spellbook that peri lugs around + the scarf he has was originally hers as well. she was into life magic, i guess? healing, yes, but also weird body shit. flesh and blood and bone. she used the methods she found in the book to brew healing potions to help people in her community. but all secretly, of course. that's how she and peri met ambrose, actually.

but she was also dying. she and her brother studied the spellbook to try and figure out a spell that could save her, but it wasn't until she was on the verge of death that they made a breakthrough. nothing left to lose, she drank the new potion, died, and then returned.

of course, as it does with all Mysterious Serums Of Life, it goes wrong. though she seems fine for a month or so, she starts sporadically losing control of herself and her physical form, as well as coughing up glowing magical fluid. she, peri, and ambrose try to figure out and fix whatever went wrong with the magic, but they're not fast enough, and it culminates when she violently transforms into a monster and loses herself for good.

in the struggle between the three of them, kes kills ambrose and peri has to kill her. kes's body dissolves into magic goop, but peri is able to flee with ambrose's. since they had gotten pretty far in fixing the spell already, it doesn't take him much time to perfect it, and he uses this revised spell to bring ambrose back.

fortunately there's no mutation-y side effects this time, although ambrose has some holes in his memory because he was dead for a while. he remembers recent events fine, just not earlier parts of his life. also, he is still very much An Undead and not truly resurrected, but this is as good as anyone can get wrt reviving the dead at this point. and peri is so so so relieved that he could at least save ambrose. not wanting to be parted from another loved one, he turns himself into a lich as well. and that's how all that shit happened.

in terms of differences between the siblings, kes was always more interested in the living, while peri is more interested in the dead. see, bc kes's main concern was her illness, she really wanted to continue living. she wanted to live to watch the world change around her. meanwhile, peri's main concern was keeping his sister alive, and later bringing back ambrose. he wants to preserve that which he loves. there's the difference between life magic and necromancy, though they seemingly share goals.

nowadays ambrose and peri don’t really talk abt kes. it’s too painful for both of them and they refuse to unpack it, esp given that ambrose was killed by her and peri had to kill her. but neither of them has forgotten about her.

[disinfernus]

Teamwork Makes the Interrogation Work

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Edge of Wormwoods PARTIES: Dis and Zofia SUMMARY: What happens when a lampade and a vampire go after the same target? They work together to get answers and rid the world of one less hunter. WARNINGS: Mental manipulation occurs as well as some stabbing.

This one seemed promising, but Dīs grew weary. The year was almost over and they hadn’t gotten much closer to figuring out what happened to their aos sí, a frustrating reality. But they were keen to keep up with this one, at least — maybe make it one last good interrogation before the new year. Or maybe they’d get something good.

They remained largely undetected, keen on keeping themselves out of view until the very last moment — until she showed up. Where had she come from? Had she been tailing this man the whole time? Wherever she came from, she seemed to have the upper hand, so much so that the nymph couldn’t help but to break from their safety blanket and make themself known.

“Wait–” they commanded, pleading, as they became visible once more, glamour taking over instead of their usual immense self. “I need him alive.” Please. Their tone indicated more, but they didn’t exactly have ‘converse about your family drama’ on their agenda for that night.

Several faces had leered down at her in the four months she’d been hidden away. This one certainly hadn’t been the worst offender. Not that that mattered. Being the least worst of her captors didn’t earn the hunter any leniency. 

Zofia had been stalking him from a distance through town for what felt like hours. And then he’d made the foolish decision to venture a little ways out of town, toward the woods. She prowled, just far enough away to evade his notice. He might have been able to sense the presence of the undead, but in a town full of them pinning down her location would be like finding a needle in a haystack. She stopped, and watched, and waited- ignoring the fact that every fiber of her being screamed at her to lunge and end it quickly. But she’d only killed the first one quickly so she could escape. The rest? She’d allow herself to enjoy the rest. The moment of silence stretched out into the dark night like a silvery thread.

And then, the thread snapped. 

Lunging into action, Zofia threw herself at the young hunter like a caged beast set free. The two went tumbling across the ground before she threw all her weight on top of him, pinning them down. “Gotcha,” She purred, sounding all too pleased with herself. Reaching into their pocket, she fished out a stake first, clicking her tongue. “You won’t be needing this, kochanie.” She threw it far out of his reach before pulling out a blade and resting it against the pretty vein in his neck that fluttered as his heartbeat rose in panic. 

Wait-

The vampire’s eyes darted up and her gaze locked on a stranger. Her lip curled up in a snarl, trying to assess whether or not this was going to become a more complicated fight than she’d anticipated. “You had better give me good reason to keep him breathing, and quickly.” 

With the knife already kissing the man's neck, their chances of getting what they came for dwindled rapidly. They didn't know her, they'd never seen her before, so what was the perfect combination of words to get her to stand down? Or the perfect combination to ruin it all by spreading his blood across the ground.

Dīs supposed that honesty was the best policy, at least in this instance. They could keep details close to their chest, but maybe a tale of woe and loss was enough to sway her mind otherwise. Their golden eyes showed vividly in the dark, their travel from knife to her face evident. Yes they were scared that this could be it. Who knew when they'd get another whiff of retribution? 

The lampade held up both hands, choosing to remain at their spot instead of encroaching further. “He knows someone who was involved in my.. family's death. I need answers.” They nodded to the hunter. “You can kill him after, I don't care.”

Desperate hands scratched and closed at the arm she had pressed into them, holding them in place. It was tiresome. 

They said not to kill them yet. They hadn’t said not to hurt them. 

An agonized yowl echoed out as Zofia drove her blade into the hunters hand, being careful to avoid touching their blood. Then she noticed the eyes. 

She wasn’t sure what they were, exactly. Only that they were likely fae, given the fact that they smelled sweet as honey. Zofia would have contemplated trying to get a taste if she’d been in any other situation. But the fact that they weren’t human meant they likely weren’t looking to give her friend a helping hand. 

Studying the stranger with glowing eyes, she threw more of her weight into keeping the hunter pinned down. “They take from everyone.” Her voice was dull despite the rage that lit her eyes. “Get your answers. I’ll see to it he gives them.” Zofia twisted the blade further into the back of the hunter's hand, a grim sort of satisfaction curling up in the chest at the cries. 

A grimace found their face at the piercing wail that escaped once the knife plunged into tender flesh. The hand was already sensitive enough when cut by accident, they couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be stabbed through the palm. But they could sort of feel it in the hunter’s yell — was he too loud? Would someone hear? Perhaps, but Dīs could disappear in a snap if their gaze failed them. It hasn’t yet, but they didn’t know what kind of crowd this ruckus would draw.

They take from everyone. 

This was not the time to ask her of her own history, but they’d be lying if they said they weren’t at least a little curious. There wasn’t much there in her expression, but the way her eyes seemed to blaze with that statement, perhaps even experience, told them that maybe she wanted to make them feel what she did. She had revenge in her sights; they could respect that. But they didn’t have a lot of time to waste, though, judging by the quickness in the way she stabbed him.

Dīs’ attention faltered from the viscous woman to the man pinned beneath her, writhing and in pain thanks to the piece of metal between his metacarpals. They tilted their head just slightly, just enough so that their eye lines would match up despite his prone position on the ground. He was scared, but he still looked angry, like the wrong move could be the end for either one of them. They didn’t intend on dying that night, so they needed to make sure to keep their questions short and to the point. That should be easy. They had a name — they just needed the location.

“Your cousin. Michel — where is he? His home is empty but I know you know where he is.”

Zofia didn’t particularly care what the stranger thought of her methods of keeping the hunter incapacitated. So long as they were on the same side. Red eyes flickered up to strange glowing ones as she waited for him to begin his interrogation.

The man beneath her writhed and wriggled, looking for freedom if he could just get himself free. But the vampire kept him down to the best of her ability. “Why the fuck would I tell you wear he is?” The hunter spat, his gaze flickering to the stranger keeping watch from a distance, and the vampire who loomed over him. “I’m not telling you anything, jackass.” 

Zofia clucked her tongue, shaking her head in mock disappointment. “Wrong answer, kochanie.” She pulled the knife from the back of the man’s  hand and repeated the process on his other one. She could feel the burn as some of his blood splashed against her hand. She twisted the knife, and ignored the pain. Glancing over her shoulder, she jerked her chin to beckon the stranger closer. “Come, come. I won’t bite you right now, I’m a bit preoccupied. It would be better if you asked your questions up close, to see if he’s lying. No?”

That was an expected reaction. An annoying one, and a complete waste of time as they all tended to give up in the end anyway — but it was expected all the same. What they didn’t expect, but probably should have, were the red eyes. Vampire. They would have guessed ‘mare’ had it not been for the preternatural display of strength. Of course she had to be a vampire. Dīs felt a weight in their stomach, like a brick falling to the sea floor; their last meeting with one ended poorly and with two new scars for their neck.

She hit him again, this time on the other hand, repeating the process and eliciting another pained cry. They would have gone slow with it, quiet, as if they weren’t even there, but she had the reigns. She was the one in charge. They just hoped the curious kept to themselves that night.

That was when she beckoned Dīs closer. A horrible idea, in their opinion, but did they have any other option? She could get tired of their hesitation and end it all then and there; she seemed the type to not waste any time. The lampade clenched their jaw. They would have to be ready if she turned on them, once she was done with the prey. If she turned on them, but her comment about not biting them right now didn’t exactly give them a lot of confidence that she wouldn’t. 

Suddenly feeling like they were stuck between a rock and a hard place, they obliged and drew nearer to the vampire and wriggling man. Stubbornness could be a hard nut to crack, but they were keen to get an answer one way or another. The lampade stood beside them now and dropped slowly to one knee with their eyes fixed on the man’s twisted expression. Pain was a useful tool, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Dīs had a pleasure in messing with the mind. Humans, and many creatures, had an innate fear of the dark — of the unknown within. Paired with their ability to almost melt the reasoning and reality in their brains, even for only a few moments, was paramount to the lampade’s success. They supposed a knife just wasn’t going to cut it this time.

“Look at me,” the nymph commanded, and when he didn’t and still refused, a darkened hand jumped up to grab the sides of his face and forced his attention on them. “I said look at me,” the yellow glow in their eyes grew with intensity, overtaking the entirety of their sclera, and the shadows of their face changed and writhed, like paint bleeding in from the edge of damp paper. “Where is he?” The hunter’s eyes were now fixed on the endless light that radiated from Dīs’ skull. Michel had been gone for some time now; the driveway was empty, but his neighbors say he didn’t move. So where was he?

They seemed hesitant. 

It shouldn’t have surprised Zofia, especially since she’d launched herself at the hunter like she’d never get the chance again. She rolled her eyes, jerking her chin again. “You have my word. You’re not on my agenda tonight. I might not look like it, but I can show restraint.”

As her new partner in crime approached, she removed the blade from the man’s other hand, and brought it back to rest on the column of his throat. If he got any clever ideas, it would just end that much quicker for him. She assumed that whatever magical madness the fae had at their disposal, they’d be far more useful at getting answers from a stubborn ass hunter. Hunters were likely accustomed to pain. They could suffer their way through a few encounters with a blade.

She was concerned for a moment that her mind was beginning to play tricks on her again when a shadowy hand shot out and grabbed hold of the man’s face. Whatever kind of fae this was, she was fairly certain she hadn’t encountered them before. She could see the glow of their eyes reflected on the hunter’s horrified face, and decided it would be for the best that she averted her gaze for the time being. 

“I don’t know!” The hunter yelped, their eyes darting about on the strangers changing features. “I-I-I saw him the other day! The other day at the Three Daggers! I did, I swear- The Three Daggers- it’s a bar! It’s a bar in Gatlin Fields! Said he was busy working over-” His eyes widened, realizing he was saying too much. 

Zofia frowned. “Keep singing, skowronek. It will be better for you if you do.”

You have my word. 

On what, exactly? On not being on her agenda? On not biting them right then? Or was it her word in general? Their body buzzed with the thought of the number of possibilities. Dīs hummed, as if contemplating her motion for belief. “Alright,” they agreed with a small nod, conceding to her persuasive words. “I have your word.” They fought back the smile that threatened to break through their placid expression, instead focusing that energy on the human.

That giddy feeling continued as the hunter finally spilled forth the start of the truth they so desperately were looking for. Every lead led to the possibility of finding peace. The Three Daggers — they knew of the place, but they would be stupid to step through that threshold. That was a hunter bar, a death sentence. Despite the feeling of mental capacity melting, Dīs held on to the man’s mind, grateful for the vampire’s goad and threat for more violence.

Unfortunately for them, maybe not so much for her, their hold was, perhaps, a little too strong. Or maybe they’d had him in their sights too long. Whatever the case, incoherency filled the young hunter’s head, enabling a string of babbling and wide eyes filled with fear and emptiness. He started to thrash against the vampire, ignoring the pain in his hands; too busy with the paranoia and madness that took over.

“Damn it,” the lampade growled in frustration but stood back, being sure to keep their distance so the human could be dealt with by the one holding the knife. They’d done enough already. The madness itself might not last, but at that moment, it didn’t matter. They wasted the opportunity. “Kill him, then.. This,” they gestured to his state, “won’t last forever but he’s useless now.” The Three Daggers was going to have to be enough.

Zofia hadn’t really thought about the words leaving her mouth and who she was saying them to. After all, in that moment they were on the same side. They had both lost to the hands of men like the one beneath her blade. But when she heard them echoed back to her, she realized she may have made a mistake. She swore under her breath, and shrugged. No helping the matter now. She’d deal with whatever the consequences were later. 

Then, something changed. She wasn’t sure what had happened, exactly. Whatever the slayer saw on the stranger’s face, it seemed to be too much for his mind to handle. Zofia had gone from having him relatively well pinned down, to struggling to keep the raving lunatic from hitting her as he thrashed about. She hissed as his bloody palm smacked into her arm, her skin burning at the contact. 

“So much for a slow death.” Zofia grumbled, moving the blade down to the man’s chest before pressing it down into his heart. “For the other’s you’ve undoubtedly done the same to.” She muttered into the madman’s ear as he gasped at the sudden shock, clarity filling his eyes for one final moment. It wouldn’t be long now. She pulled her blade free, and stood up, watching him as the madness faded as the slayer slowly slipped away. 

“Did you at least get some information to help you?” The vampire asked, not sure if she should look up at the stranger. Given the fate of the slayer, it might not be the best idea. She kept her gaze down, eyes locked on the evidence that she was one step closer to being safe again.

Slips ups were easy; they wouldn’t hold that against her. But they would have to think about what she might be able to help them with. She did help with the hunter, a happy accident unplanned by either party, but still somewhat lucrative in the end. The favor wouldn’t be terrible, not when she was willing to hear them out and wait. Just like they’d asked. They’d make sure to thank her in some way.

Dīs watched the blade go in, the sudden impact of pain and dread of death when the blade pierced flesh, meat and bone to reach the heart was striking in comparison to the madness that had just previously taken over. They saw the clarity, yes, and wondered what it was he could be thinking. Did he know he had lost all sense of mental stability? Was he still present but unable to stop it? Or had he been truly gone until his life was snuffed out? Ignorance or immobility? 

The glow from their eyes eased up and the shadows on their face slithered back to where they came from. Pupils found their way back to the forefront and two irises reformed, containing the glinting gold within those shapes. They sighed, frustrated but at least they had something. 

“I should.. apologize for that.” They rested their hands on their hips. “I didn’t expect him to break that quickly.” An exhale escaped them. “Somewhat. At least I know he is still in town. That gives me hope I will find him.” Dīs looked over the blood that coated the knife and the man that now laid dead. “Are you satisfied?”

She could see the glow recede in her periphery. She assumed whatever magic the fae had been wielding, it had been reversed. And she had to assume that a creature that she now owed gods only knew what to wouldn’t be so quick to see her meet a similar fate to the now motionless slayer. 

She looked up at them, curious. They looked normal enough now. It was always the unassuming looking ones, wasn’t it…

“No need.” She said, trying to rub the hunter's blood from where it burned her arm. She hissed in pain at the contact. She’d need to clean that off sooner rather than later. “I’m not. He was not the strongest of his little coterie.” Zofia wiped the knife on the dead slayer’s jacket before stowing the blade away in her pocket once again. 

Satisfied. She let out a puff of air that might have been considered a laugh if she could bring her face to form a smile. “He went quicker than I would have liked.” She shrugged. “But I’m better now that one more is gone.” Zofia frowned. “I am sorry for what his friend took from you. I know that pain.”

They noted her discomfort towards the blood on her arm, the way she buffed it away and how her skin burned from the contact. They’ll have to remember that for a rainy day. Their eyes narrowed just slightly when they recalled the handkerchief they kept in their coat. It was stained with their own blood, but maybe it would be of use to her. 

“Do you need something for that?” It was the least they could do, and if not, it was no bother to them. At least the kindness was offered.

“How many more of them are there left?” The passing thought of perhaps there could be another connection lingered a little too long; did they really want to get involved? This one already led them to the notorious hunter bar in town, how much further did it go? Her return of kindness softened the hard expression on Dīs’ face. They nodded. “... I appreciate that.. I just wish I knew why. What was their purpose for—”

The lampade stopped themself. Now was not the time. “Your help was very much appreciated,” they might not have been able to do it without her, truthfully, but they wouldn’t admit that out loud. “I bid you good luck with the others,” they nodded towards the dead. A thought crossed over them suddenly. “What is your name? If we were to cross paths again, I’d like to know what to call you..”

It was highly likely that they would, either for the human hunt or the promise itself.

“To wash it off.” She said honestly. “It will be fine. It won’t take very long to heal.”  Zofia could deal with the sting. It didn’t hurt that bad now that she’d gotten the majority off. 

She shrugged at the question. “I’d tell you if I could trust I knew the answer for certain.” She couldn’t be sure that her mind hadn’t conjured up new faces in addition to the ones from her past. “One main one. A few lackeys. They won’t look for you- as long as you don’t have any ties to my dear friend here.” She nodded to the body. 

“They prefer my kind.” They preferred her clan. Her kin. They likely wouldn’t think twice about some random fae, and would let another hunter deal with it. “Hunters in general, or this one?” Zofia asked, her lip curling in distaste. “This one wanted me. And what’s left of my family, if anyone remains.” She explained. “On the whole…”

The vampire sighed, considering the answer. What was the purpose? “To protect their kind from the other, I suppose.” It was the only explanation she could think of that made any sense. Otherwise it was just all for the sake of the hunt. 

“Nie ma za co.” She shook her head. “And it isn’t yours to keep. But you can call me Zofia. What can I call you?”

“Alright, fair enough,” they returned with concession, though they were thankful their impromptu interrogation was coming to a close. They wanted to go home and to think about how they could get to Michel. They didn’t exactly know many who would be willing to go into the Three Daggers, at least, none that wouldn’t ping at least one hunter’s attention. No, this needed some thought.

“I’m not too worried about myself..” They should be. It was foolish not to, but they thought back to Inge. This was a dangerous place to live; their heart ached for the life they used to have, one filled with silence and darkness. The surface was too bright and full of danger. There wasn’t enough death, either, despite the walking corpses that surrounded them, that called them friends. “No, no, I had meant.. It’s nothing. Perhaps for another time. I hope there are still some of your clan left.” That was the truth. They knew what it was like to be the last one. At least, presumably.

“As we’re doing. It seems pointless.” Dīs couldn’t help the smile at her assumption. “Don’t worry, I won’t take it. It is beautiful, though. Dīs, I own the Elysium in Worm’s row — if you care to stop by.”

What must it be like, she wondered, to not have to worry about herself. To not have to look over her shoulder, constantly anticipating to look back and see someone poised to strike with a stake behind her. She envied the fae stranger in that regard. 

A bitter laugh escaped the vampire's lips and hung in the night air. “I hope that you’re right.” Zofia sighed. “I hope that you are.” But she doubted she’d ever see any of them again. She was quite certain they’d all returned to ash at that point. 

“That’s very kind of you.” She nodded in gratitude for the compliment. “I haven’t used it in so very long. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Dīs.” Zofia hummed in contemplation. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had the pleasure. I’ll have to stop by.” 

Her gaze caught on the still hunter on the ground. “I don’t suppose the fae have any interesting ways of disposing of things like these?”

There was no real hope that anyone would be still left alive, but Zofia’s clan at least had the better chance. If any of theirs survived, that would be a miracle. They didn’t have much hope for them.

“Well, it suits you. It should stay around for a little while,” they suggested, slightly playfully now that the high energy of the interrogation died down. Though, they were still out in the open, despite the cover of night. The loitering couldn’t continue.

“The pleasure’s mine, despite,” Dīs looked to the same body she regarded and questioned. “Not myself, no. But I know of a few who will have use for it. I’ll take it.” It was unfortunate they couldn’t make other things turn to shadow, inanimate objects or even people, but to bathe it in so much darkness prying eyes would have a hard time making out was the next best thing.

With the body now in their possession (it would be so much easier if they were thirteen feet tall), they gave Zofia a parting bow of their head. “Until next time,” they expressed, meaning it, and knowing that they will indeed see each other again. Either in casual conversation or to cash in on that promise.

“I think it means wisdom,” she said softly. The danger had passed, her focus drifting with it. She wondered how long it would be before her mind began playing tricks on her again. Zofia shook her head. “Not entirely sure it fits.” Three hundred years and she still wasn’t certain if she could be considered wise. 

She wondered just who this person knew that would have use for a dead hunter. It was probably best if she didn’t question it. Asking more questions would most likely ask for more trouble, and she had more than her fair share of trouble. “Then he’s all yours.” Zofia sighed looking down at the body. “Tak długo, suko.” She spat at the dead hunter. 

She watched as they nodded their head in acknowledgement, and she tipped hers in return, the bloodstained vampire dipping into a slight curtsy. “Until then, Dīs.” She turned and disappeared back into the night. Until then. 

[aeoki]

Sandstorm - Pointless Death Game: Chapter 9

Location: Desert Characters: Hinata & Kaoru

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< Ten or so minutes later. >

Kaoru: Alright. 

We stocked up on the tools we needed at the nearest “Oasis” and took a short rest too. Looks like we’re ready to take on the pyramid.

Hinata: We also got to check Yuuta-kun and the other’s video too. Ahh~ seeing Yuuta-kun’s face makes me feel alive again~♪

Kaoru: Ahaha. They’re getting more and more in-sync~ I feel like I’m not really needed after watching that video.

I realised “UNDEAD” is still “UNDEAD” whether I’m with them or not.

Hinata: I felt kinda melancholic too.

If Yuuta-kun paired up with someone other than me, if he joined a unit that was far more amazing and capable than me…

Maybe he won’t be suffering as much and could be easily loved by everyone normally.

Just a thought… I’m just kidding, though.

Kaoru: Hmm. Teaming up as family seems pretty tough and I think it would be nice if you two had some away time too.

Of course, you two have a strong bond and I know it’s hard for you to spend time away from each other.

It would be impossible for me to be an idol with my siblings.

Sure, I love my little sister but I don’t think I’d ever get to catch a break if I spent day and night with her.

I can’t leave her alone, you know? I have a feeling I’ll be poking my nose into things too much and she won’t like that, so things will turn sour between us.

And if we end up having an argument, then that would be the worst. If you’re seeing that person at work and at home, you wouldn’t have anywhere to go. Wouldn’t that just feel like hell?

Hinata: …………

Kaoru: Well, I’m just trying to say everyone has their own preferred sense of distance. I know you must be feeling sad because you’re away from Yuuta-kun.

But I feel pretty calm in that aspect. In fact, it gives me a sense of freedom. I don’t want to be glued to their side all the time~ My members are a pretty noisy bunch.

Hinata: …………

Kaoru: …Huh?

You’re not responding. What’s wrong? Hinata-kun, why are you slowly getting further away from me?

Hinata: Hakaze-senpai.

Kaoru: (Hm? What’s with Hinata-kun’s gaze…?)

(Why is he looking at me like that? I’m not Yuuta-kun so I can’t tell.)

Hinata: Sorry. I don’t have a grudge against you or anything.

Kaoru: ………?

Hinata: In fact, I think I grew to like you more after spending time with you. You’ve always been considerate and nonchalantly trying to help me too, right?

You let me choose where I wanted to sleep, let me take a bath first, wiped my face if it got dirty and even let me decide our meals or the topic of our conversations.

I could feel your kindness from all those things. I could tell you wanted me to feel happy when I’m with you.

I could feel that’s what you wanted to do for me. Of course, I don’t think you’ve got a hidden motive behind all that and I’m sure you must be a good person deep down.

I think if it was anyone else, they’d fall in love with you thinking “does this guy have feelings for me?”. I think I understand why you’re so popular.

Kaoru: What’re you talking about…?

Hinata: But unfortunately, I belong to Yuuta-kun.

No. Yuuta-kun has gone on the wrong path because of me so I need to guide him in the right direction. That’s the meaning of my life right now.

That’s why I’m sorry. Now that Yuuta-kun has been placed on the scales, I can’t help but prioritise him.

We’ve now become this grotesque monster you’re seeing before you. But from the moment we were born from our mother’s belly, that fact alone won’t ever change.

Kaoru: Hinata-kun…?

Hinata: So, bye-bye, Hakaze-senpai!

Kaoru: Huh…? What…?

(What? Does Hinata-kun have a “Desert Coin” in his mouth?)

(That’s gotta be dirty, but wait…)

(Isn’t that the “Desert Coin” I had?)

(“Desert Coins” look like a coin, but it actually looks more like an IC chip.)

(You’ll have to pay a fee, but you can turn a large amount of “Desert Coins” into a single coin.)

(It’s because carrying a couple hundred coins would be far too heavy.)

(Which means he stole the special “Desert Coin” that’s worth a couple hundred coin’s?)

(I didn’t want to drop it so I put it in my pocket with a zip on it.)

(I’ve only just realised the “Desert Coin” that was in there is gone now!)

Hinata: Ahaha! Sorry~ I secretly took it when we were resting in the “Oasis”! I said I’d give you a massage because you look tired, right?

It was easy because you had your guard down completely! I knew you were from a family with a good upbringing~ You won’t be able to survive on the streets like that, you know?

Kaoru: Huh? But why would you do that? Why steal it? If you wanted the “Desert Coin”, I would’ve given it to you!

Actually, if you didn’t lend me the “Desert Coins” in the beginning, I would’ve been driven into a corner earlier and would’ve been eliminated.

Why would you take back the “Desert Coin” you lent me at this point in time? What’s the point in doing that?

Hinata: You don’t know? Ahaha, you really fully trusted me, huh… senpai.

That makes me happy but at the same time, it feels like you’ve underestimated me and that doesn’t make me feel good.

Maybe you’ve forgotten but “SS” is an event that will decide who’s the strongest idol.

Only one unit can stand at the top. You should’ve already noticed that the other idols are enemies that we should be defeating, right?

Or could it be that the strong and amazing “UNDEAD” only sees “2wink” as small fry that can’t even be considered an enemy?

Kaoru: …………

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂ Next Chapter →

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

||Horror book chapter 10: killer of the undead|| Final book

*Waving* Hi dears, I'm back with the last chapter for the horror book season one! Yep, that means their will be a book season two with more horror and craziness. Though, this will be the last chapter for this book.

I figure I write something for this Halloween for a little terror and for my friend demon mun. Though in season two, book eleven will be the first one for the second horror book chapter season. So please keep a eye out. <3

||Book chapters||

Horror book one: Bloody game of Hide and seek

Horror book two: Darkness of one self

Horror book three: How to Be Evil: Scared Straight Beyond Prank Part 1

Horror book three: How to be Evil: Scared Straight Beyond Prank part 2

Horror book four: Hunting grounds

Horror book five: Hacker Kidnapping part1 part 2 part 3(final)

Horror book six: plucking a butterfly's wings

Horror book seven: Dead scars

Horror book eight: Hidden shadows

Horror book Nine: Cute & creepy present (Part one)

Horror book Nine: Another one (part two)

((Your reading book ten/Final part for Horror book season one))

||Drabble Summary||

Ink and her friends have lived through so many horrible events so far from the nightmares, the pain, and other crazy events. However, it seems in this last book, Sukuna wants to play one more game. However, it's with the leaders this time once more. Now, Ink along with the leaders were stuck in something? What could it be? Read to find out.

||Warning||

~Will have dark moments in this drabble

~Blood and heavy wounds will be seen in this along with gore too

~Scary themes will be also seen as well

~Triggering moments will be present

~Dark themed is will be spoken of in this drabble

~~Guests in the drabble~~

Van Ink along with some of the fraction leaders belong to my friend @demon-blood-youths

Sukuna ryomen (Demon au) belongs to me but comes from the anime jujutsu kaisen. Same with some of the other fraction leaders belong to me as well.

((Note: Their will be grammar mistakes and errors in this drabble. It was written for fun so please understand. Thanks for that and hope you like. This will be dark themed so please don't read if it's uncomfortable for you.))

Another night has fallen upon NYC but it was rather quiet this night. Seeing some showers hitting all around with everyone safe in bed. Though, not everyone though. Seems another game has started and it looks like the fraction leaders are in another game with a familiar someone.

In a hidden place in the forest, a house was present. It seems pretty old but no one looks to have lived here for a long time. The area looked ancient and very old for the time it was built to now. Not a single sound heard throughout the house.

Not even a little mouse.

As it was raining out side, seems another night was passing along until the sound of running footsteps was heard. A door quickly opens showing a tired Van ink the dragon who was holding the door open.

"COME ON, COME ON!! HURRY!" She calls out seeing some others running inside the room before she and another slams the door shut and locks it. She was panting looking tired but others were catching their breaths.

"I...I think we lost that thing..is everyone alright?" Ink asked seeing the tired fraction leaders catching their breaths. Though, she along with them were in their pj's.

"I'm good." Fin said.

"Same here.." Guam said.

"Alive but alright.." Rex adds in.

"I'm fine.....but what the hell?"Kali said grumbled pissed off.

"I..I'm alright.." Yuu said nervous.

"S..same.." Willow said in a disturbed tone.

"I'm ok.." Ethan said.

"I'm ok as well.." Matt said.

"I..I..I'm o...okay.." Joshua said terrified.

"..." Ashley was not able to answer but only nods terrified right now.

"I think so...we are all here and alive too.." Jinx mutters while looking at her demon sister.

"Okay.....Okay were all here and alive...but now we need to find a way out of here and back to our teams.." Ink said as the leaders look to her. Now, you might be wondering how the leaders got here? Well......

~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~

Ink along with the leaders were having a daily check up after the events with Sukuna Ryomen. He's been causing trouble for the leaders and the teams but during this time, he also finds them and wanted to play another game.

"Sukuna, what the hell-"

'Hello there. I see you all are here. Perfect; how about another little game hmm? I'm a bit bored so I figure why not? You all will play won't you?" he sneered with a smirk.

"The hell? We are NOT playing any stupid game with you. How did you even get on this call?!" Kali said but Rex was silent while Sukuna sighed.

"Lets just say I get bored so I wanna play a game. Don't worry Kali...I'm sure the male leaders are involved in this too. It will be fair so don't worry...now...shall we?"

"We are not playing anything with you! You can't make us!" Kali said but the leaders were silent seeing Sukuna show a evil smirk.

"Is that so? Well then, I guess we will have to do this the hard way." Using his power, he suddenly made clones to quickly snap his fingers. Each one that did, knocked the leaders out and put them into a deep sleep. Sukuna saw the leaders pass out but a evil smirk was seen.

'Let the games begin...'

~~~~~~~~~~~

So now they were trapped here in this dream demon world. The rules that Sukuna gave were simple: Survive for the night and stay clear of the killer he created for this game. This kill was dangerous, it was strong and was fast. They just ran from the monster that was now hunting them down.

Sukuna also said, if they can find the crystal in this place; they can snap awake and get out of this nightmare. If they can. If not, they will have to survive till morning. So far, they were trying to find this damn crystal that Sukuna hidden but no luck. Though, they had a few run ins with that thing that's still looking for them.

The leaders did try to fight the monster but it only ended up with them being hurt that their healing factor is taking a while to heal them. Right now, Ink, who was more worried about her friends, was trying to help get everyone out of this nightmare and away from Sukuna.

"Okay; we were able to get away from that thing but we need a new plan. We have to get out of here and wake up." Kali said to the leaders.

"But how? You saw that thing. It's pretty strong and it won't stop hunting us down will were all dead." Yuuka said nervous while rubbing her arms. They were all outside so some were coated in rain.

"Even if we try to fight it, nothing even made a dent on it. We tried hitting it with whatever is in this house and all the weapons broke!" Kali didn't like that but Rex calms her down.

"And it seems no matter what we do, that thing just seems to get more blood thirsty if we tried attacking it."

"Then....we have to do something else. We need to find a way out of here." Yuu mutters rubbing her own arms.

"We know that too Yuu. We just need to either find this crystal or wait till morning." Fin mutters with arms crossed over his chest.

"Then we shouldn't stand around. Knowing that monster, it's looking for us. We were lucky to get away from it but that just angers it." Ethan said with Willow agreeing with him.

"I know, I know. Come on, lets go and try to find that crystal. It has to be around somewhere.." Seeing the leaders nod, they leave the living room area and goes as a group to find the crystal. Though they had to be careful. For this place was also filled with dangerous traps.

Things left by that killer monster.

No no, don't focus on that. Right now, they need to find that crystal. Giving the next area, the leaders found themselves in another space. Seems like some hallway this time. Doors were on either side of everyone but another was at the end of this hallway that might lead down, up, or be another dead end.

"So should we look around here?" Joshua said nervous while Ashley was holding his arm terrified and just wanting to go home or at least wake up.

"Do you think it's even safe to open these doors? What if they are booby trapped?" Ethan said.

"We won't know till we open them and find out." Rex said.

"............"

"Rex is right. We won't know till we try. We can take a door and check. One of them has to lead the way out of here to another location away from that thing that's hunting us down....." she saw the leaders quiet about this but some nervous expressions were shown on some.

"Come on guys....lets just pick a door and get ready to open on three.." Ink said as everyone goes to take a door. The leaders were in front of one door in this hallway but they were silent wondering what they might find inside.

"Alright ready?" she asked.

"...Ready."

"Okay.....One....two.....three!" when hearing this, the leaders open the doors. For Ink's door, it was a room but it seems normal.

Kali looks seeing a dark room but a horrible smell came from inside. She hear flies buzzing around something. Seems like a body was laying there. She covers her nose and mouth to close the door quickly.

Rex opens his door but shows a brick wall. A dead end for a room.

Fin opens his door showing some stairs heading up. Though, he couldn't see what might be up there. Maybe a trap? He isn't sure.

Ethan opens his door but saw it was some storage room. Chains hang from the ceiling coated in old, dry blood. And fresh blood. Even parts of human bodies were also seen hanging as well. He felt disturbed from this and had a bad feeling something was held in here.

Willow's door leads to a pitch black opening. Echos and the breeze of wind was felt against her face. However, she felt sick hearing some disturbing noises from inside. Or going down.

Guam felt his face pale seeing his room had people inside but they were hanging from the ceiling by something. Either hooks or something else. He didn't want to know.

Matt's door was locked but the door handle was seriously ice cold. Maybe something was in there but he didn't know.

Joshua's door leads to another hallway. Maybe with something that's useful but it seems to have stairs heading down to the main room or a dancing room? He didn't know.

Ashley's door leads to another room but this one was smelling even worse. Her eyes widen covering her mouth, seeing a arm near the door with maggots seen along with the body that was laying on the bed with it's head gone. Something cut it clean off from the shoulders. She shook crying feeling both scared and ill.

Yuuka saw in hers was another door. But the Tv was one with static playing. Nothing seems off but the room felt very very cold. Like someone was watching her from inside. She didn't like this feeling that she wanted to close this door fast.

And for Jinx it was another room but her eyes widen in horror seeing something dead. Though, she almost heard some squelching like noise. Was something inside? She grips the door knob to look but she didn't make a noise. Maybe she's hearing things.

"..........."

"I...Ink....I think we should find a way out quickly..this house i..is scary. I don't wanna be here anymore.." Ashley cried but Rex looks hearing his sister with Joshua trying to calm her down.

"I know Ash....maybe we can check the hallway that Joshua found. It might be able to lead us out of here." Ink said. "Lets go and get out of this area." she said to everyone as they agreed going to move. However, when turning away, suddenly the doors that was open slams shut loudly making the leaders jump.

Everyone moves back from the doors but heard some pounding behind the doors. They press their backs against each other nervous, seeing the rattling of the doors. The loud banging showing something was now behind the doors!

"What the heck is that!?" Ethan said seeing the doors rattling more as everyone was nervous. They wished they could use their powers but Sukuna stops them from using it. He didn't like them using those powers. He wanted them to play the game like they were humans.

"What d..do we do? What do we do!?" Joshua said in a panic seeing the banging getting louder.

"Wait, we can get out! The door you found Joshua. Which was it!" Ink said as he points seeing the door. Right away, Ethan and Rex rushes to try opening the door seeing it was locked.

"It's locked!" Ethan said but that's when the leaders heard loud laughter to look at the door they came in to come here.

"That monster is coming this way! We gotta get out!" Yuuka said to the guys as they try ramming the door open to get out of this area before the monsters behind the doors break in. Or that monster coming to their location.

"We need to barricade the door! Use the desks or something!" Kali saw everyone grab chairs and other things to keep the door blocked. When doing so, the banging got worse as the killer was trying to break through.

"Uhhh guys h..hurry up!" Yuuka said scared hearing the banging get worse as everyone backed away from the door.

"Were trying!" Rex said as he with the others kept trying to ram into it.

The others saw the door rattling and shaking, knowing the killer was trying to get inside. Whatever this monster is doing he is still going to try getting through to kill it's targets.

Matt, Rex, and Ethan were ramming at the door hard trying to break it down. However, the other leaders were keeping away from the doors as dents or splinter of wood was seen. Ink could see some movement inside the room but her face pales seeing something inhuman inside. What the heck was Sukuna planning here!?

Shit. Ink was looking around trying to find something but saw the other leaders trying to block the doors as others were hearing disturbing screeching behind the doors.

"Guys hurry!!!" Willow said worried as the three kept ramming.

"Were trying!" Fin and Rex said while Matt was still trying. The doors were thick but the three kept on trying. However, they leaders heard footsteps behind them as the other hunting them down was in the room. Disturbing laughter is heard as the door knob was now being messed with.

Shit. shit. shit. shit. Shit!

As the noises got worse, the three rushes to the door before ramming into it again breaking the door down. "COME ON, HURRY!!" Fin shouted seeing the leaders rush through before the doors stop sensing the killer as that door breaks down. The one hunting them door laughed seeing them as everyone rushes to get through. While they did, it reaches to grab whoever they could only to see the leaders running. Everyone ran down the hallway to get away from this thing. The killer chuckled but takes aim looking for some targets.

Everyone got into a room and closes the door locking it. The hunter laughs loudly rushing down the hallway to that same door to break the door with it's foot. He looks to see the leaders now rushing up some stairs now.

"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" Jinx shouted as she sees the killer laughing going to the ladder and begins heading up. It looks to the leaders laughing more disturbing like but when getting to the top, Ink looks down seeing that killer coming up.

"What do we do!?" Willow asked but Ink was trying to think.

"We gotta split up! We could do that to try finding the damn crystal and get out of here!" Kali said.

"Are you crazy!? Splitting up is a bad idea!" Joshua said.

"Look, we can go as a team of two or three! We need to get that damn crystal to wake up! So just do it!" she said even if everyone was nervous but they had no time to worry. For now, everyone splits up in two or three. Jinx was with Ink as they all run off in different areas to find the crystal. However, the killer got to the top looking around.

Now where could they be?

Ink and Jinx were hiding now but they didn't want the killer to catch them. Though, knowing him, he was going to look for them.

"We need to find that crystal..try looking around." Ink said quietly so the monster didn't hear her. Jinx nods and begins doing that. They looked through everything quietly but tried to stay calm even with that monster on the floor with them.

For a while, Ink and Jinx kept looking around the room but Ink sighed finding nothing. "Tch..."

"Did you find anything Ink?" Jinx asked.

"No. Did you?" she asked.

"No....I'm sure theirs got to be something here. But I hope the others might have found something." she said worried but Ink looks to her.

"Same here. Come on, lets try another room." Ink said as the two were about to head out...a sudden scream was heard making the two stop.

"What the-" Both tense hearing more screaming both female and male. "Wait..that's the others!" Ink said running to the door and leaving.

"Ink wait!" Jinx follows her. Both the leaders run to the hallway hearing the screaming but it seems to be down the hallway. They ran that way and heard it's from two double doors. Ink and Jinx ran towards the doors before ramming through.

"Guys!" Ink looks ahead but as she did along with Jinx, their eyes widen at the view. Blood. Blood was everywhere but that's not what got them shocked.

The leaders were laying on the ground but coated in blood. However, it was just now chocking a crying Joshua who was reaching for Ashley who was stabbed. However, he looks seeing the other two.

"J..Ji..nx...I...nk..r...run.....s...s.ave your....s..selves..." he whispered before hearing a sickening crack as the killer took care of Joshua.

"NOOOOO!!" Ink shouted but she glared rushing at it. "YOU FUCKING KILLED MY FRIENDS!" she screams kicking the monster but it grabs her to slam Ink down into the wall as she coughs blood up. Jinx rushes to try saving her demon sister before it hits her away as well. The two last ones were wincing in pain while seeing pain. However, both of them tense seeing the monster above them while laughing. Coated in their friends blood.

"You m..monster! You fucking monster!" Jinx shouted but the killer laughed more reaching to grab Ink and Jinx to now strangle them. They were chocking gritting their teeth but watching this, Sukuna chuckled.

'Awww too bad. You guys were so close......or at least real close. You were just there but out of reach..' Sukuna thought in Ink and Jinx's thoughts, knowing the crystal was in that room behind a statue but it was too late now.

"Y..You..b...bastard.." Jinx chocked as Ink was struggling.

'Now now..you two did pretty well like the others for a few hours but..seems like the game is over......I hope we play again soon..' he thought but as Ink opens her grey eyes she saw the killer drop Jinx but steps on her to keep her from escaping. She winces in pain from the pressure but saw the same bloody knife that killed her friends above her.

"N..No! No, don't kill my demon sister! Stop it! Leave her alone!" Ink struggles and thrashes in the killer's hold. She reaches for Jinx even if she was trying to not pass out. However, Jinx was reaching up to her too wanting to help her demon sister. However when they were close, the knife comes down stabbing into Jinx as she coughs blood up. She twitched from the pain but twitched as her hand falls to the ground with blood pooling around her.

Ink shook seeing this as she reaches for her friend/sister seeing this monster kill her. "J..Jinx......guys.....n..no......." she shook only to see the killer look at her as it keeps crushing her throat before Ink was feeling her mind slipping. However, before trying anything else, the killer reaches up now about to kill Ink. She tries to struggle, wanting to get away from this thing but she was too weak.

Before trying to speak, the sword comes down to stab her when suddenly-

~~~~~~~~~

"NO!!!!!" Ink snaps awake gasping for air as she looks gripping her shirt. She was drenched in sweat catching her breath while feeling tears running down her cheeks.

"ink easy! It's us!" Navarro was worried being on the ground near her as the other DBT was there too. All worried when seeing their leader knocked out on the ground. She blinks to see she was still at home then that means all that happened.....

'I..It was a nightmare?..But..it felt too real......' she thought as she covers her face as tears kept running down her cheeks. The others got worried wondering what happened.

"Ink? What happened? You were knocked out during your check up. Did something happen?" Jaron asked his leader but Ink didn't respond. She was too in shock to speak.

"I..Ink?" Ophelia was growing concerned but that's when Ink blinks but looks ahead.

"I....t..the others.....the other leaders!" she said but the DBT blinks to see her trying to stand up but Jaron and Navarro keeps her from moving.

"Don't move Ink! Just hold on a second!" Navarro said but she was struggling.

"But I have to see if our friends are okay! Let me up Navarro!" she said but now this really got them worried.

"What the heck are you talking about Ink?! What happened!?" Navarro wanted to know shaking her a little with his hands on her shoulders. Though, Ink remains quiet only to look down feeling her tears still coming down her cheeks.

"......."

"Ink.." yeah, something happened and got her spooked.

However, Oblivion checked to see the other fractions checking on the leaders in the different live feed screens. Something must have happened seeing the worry on the team members faces.

".........."

"Just take deep breath's Ink....slow deep breaths.." Jaron said as Ink tried do but she was shaking to see Oblivion checking. Ink was able to see that the leaders were sitting on the ground but they seem to have woken up from their own nightmare.

For now, Jaron saw the others help their leaders up to get them to rest.

"Come on Ink, were getting you to bed...you need to rest." He said but Ink said nothing while the other girls help her to her room. Oblivion was worried seeing Yuuka helped up while holding her head but noticed the tears while she seems to be in pain.

"What do you think happened that got her so spooked?" Fosh asked worried.

"I...don't know. Seems it's not just her. The leaders seem to look a little disturbed too." Ophelia mutters but she sighed. "For now, we'll let Ink sleep. Maybe she'll tell us in the morning..." she said seeing the others nod.

For now, the leaders were put to bed. As they tried to rest up, Sukuna smiled from his domain in the demon realm happy with the game. Though, the leaders now bare a fresh cut healed scar from the dream on how they were killed by his pet.

'Ohhh what a fun night. I wasn't expecting to have this much fun. I can't wait till we play more games in the future. You all are just simply amazing..' Sukuna chuckled but looks seeing Ink looking at the window seeing the rain coming down.

~~~~~~~~~~

As for Ink, she was curled up but looking at the window however, as she tries to sleep she didn't know something was behind her but lowers to speak a whisper in her ear.

'Nighty night Inky....I can't wait for another fun game to play with you...'

"!?" Ink's eyes widen to grip the sheets but her hair covers her eyes as she grits her teeth trying not to cry or panic. For now, she ignores it knowing the other leaders were safe but horrfied from the nightmare.

Though for the other games and other horror tales...that's for another time and in another book.

~~~End of Horror book season one~~~

[cold-arrow]

Doctor’s Notes, Book 6 part 20

| Fair farewells | Summary, Things of note since last entry: No Phylactery, Aldirn, exit strategy, Finding a way out, bailing on the unexplored exit, The stone giant gathering. Sneaking away with quick word. Through canyon and along the river, away from Deadstone Cleft, (and hopefully the Roc. A few days travel. Peace and quiet. And no undead, besides one. Arcane awakening, good goodbye. I wish you safe travels friend.

| 1 / 4 | After we killed the Lich, nothing happened. I expected something, like the ghost, or the soul of the Dodkong to apparate out of her body, and fly away to wherever her soul container was hidden. But, she remained dead on the floor. No movement, no raising herself into undeath once more. No magic. Nothing.

I was worried that we’d have to spend the next few days trying to look for wherever her phylactery was hidden, here in the caverns and caves of Deadstone Cleft.   But that didn’t prove necessary in the end. -- More importantly, The others had spotted him first. Petrified on top of the hill, of the centre island. Mostly intact. Mostly… besides his arm.

I don’t think he’ll be able to use a shield again, anytime soon. But at least his sword arm is still intact. And thankfully we still had enough diamond dust left from when we unpetrified Omrick. So Lym was able to cast Greater restoration on him and bring him back to flesh and bone. Or… fur I should say.    We didn’t see his arm lying around anywhere. So we had to make do. Thankfully the amputated limb didn’t start to bleed as soon as he was back alive. He was mostly just dazed, and confused. Frozen, from the moment his heart had turned to stone. And asking what was going on. Ready to swing.

--

We informed him of what had happened. That we’d come back, and managed to defeat the Dodkong. As he told us of his battle with her. The lich. And how he broke the petrified remains of Skoraeus, and destroyed the giant stalactite.

In hindsight I guess that that was what the Dodkong had chosen to be her phylactery after all. Why she’d been able to  Twist  the words written by the prophecies of Skoraeus. And why she had been attuned?, to the entirety of the temple and the chamber it resided in.

it seemed unlikely that that, the stalactite, was what it was that housed her soul. Her spirit. Her undeath.

But I guess I / we were proven wrong, in thinking that wasn’t it. And that our hesitance in breaking it only aided her, in her manipulation of us.

Not that it really matters at this point. Not much we can do about It now.

-- Aldirn passed out again, pretty soon afterwards. Either due to blood loss, or exhaustion I presume. Or both. So Omrick took it upon him to carry him out of here.

| 2 / 4 |

We tried to find and exit through the unexplored caves, to the northeast of us. Crossing over the bridge into the caves on the other side of the canyon. Considering that it was unexplored territory for us, we tried to take it slow. Safely, and carefully explore for a way out. Omrick seemed pretty adamant about trying to find an exit this way. And considering he was the one carrying the big deer fellow. We didn’t object much at first.

The other way seemed safer. But to be fair, it’s quite possible that there might be quicker way out, this way. And that his dwarven instincts would hopefully help guide us out. -- The first chamber we arrived at, seemed abandoned. There were signs of people having lived here. Humanoids. But, that was long ago. Only dust remained where they had been. Though after exploring the room for a bit, we stumbled upon a set of cages. One of them was open.    The other wasn’t. I… didn’t realize at first that the one that was still closed, was still occupied, and startled quite a bit I suddenly saw movement from within. A… giant grotesque looking insect. Or beetle. Captured within. I wasn’t really a fan of it. But Lym and Gryff took quite a liking to it. Going so far as to even pet it, wanting to take it with them. Though it seemed amicable to the scritches they gave them. Something about it didn’t sit right with me. Lym had nearly managed to convince me to give her some rope, that she could use as a leash for it, when I found my notebook as I rummaged through my bag. Something about the creature gnawed  at the edge of my mind. And whilst quickly flipping through my notebook, I luckily stumbled upon some notes that I’d made a loong time ago.

That beetle… is also known as a “Rust monster”. A quite notorious and infamous Pest. Especially to the chagrin of many a dwarves. Eating and destroying anything made of metal.

If they had let it out, it…. It might have gobbled up Omrick’s armour, Along with the dwarf inside.    As well as any other weapons or equipment made of metal, that we might be carrying.

I advised Lym against taking it with us as pet, to her disappointment. And suggested we quickly kept going, in case the other occupant of the now empty cage returns. * ( I had been wondering as to why the cages we’re made of wood. But, if they’d been made of metal. They likely would have chewed through the metal reinforced bars, In mere seconds.

Fortunately they don’t seem to be particularly bright creatures though. For if the really wanted to, or got hungry enough, I’d highly doubt that the wooden bars of their cage would stop them. )

| 3 / 4 | shortly after we’d looked at some of the exits out of this room, we had a bit of an argument. It became more and more apparent that it  be Dangerous, to try and find an exit in this unexplored part of the stronghold. And that if we already knew of a way back, back the way we came the first time, that we should leave from there instead.

Instead of risking any further encounters with giants, or whatever else might be lying ahead. Omrick didn’t really agree. But I was starting to doubt as well that trying to find an exit this way, might not be worth the risk. Especially with Aldrin. and our partially exhausted state after our fight with the Dodkong.

So instead we went back. Through the temple, and the alter room. And caves beyond, until we would  finally reach to foot of the canyon once more.

--

Though that exit strategy wasn’t just as simple as that. By the time we arrived back at the temple, the entire chamber was starting to collapse, as more and more rocks fell from the ceiling. We started sprinting toward the other side of the room. But as soon as me and Lym had crossed the first bridge… it collapsed. Below Omrick, as he made to cross it next.

Both he and Aldrin fell into the petrifying sands below, as Omrick was still carrying him on his back. Gryff reacted rather quickly thankfully, and teleported himself along with Aldrin to the other side of the room. But Omrick was still stuck in the sands.

I was panicking, trying to figure out what to do. How to help. When to my horror, Lym sprinted towards the ledge and dove into the petrifying sands as well. It… wasn’t until I saw the both of them appear on the other side of the room next Gryff, that my heart surfaced again, after it had sank to the depths as well.

I quickly made myself an elixir of levitation, and flew over the river of mud towards the others. Luckily managing to avoid all the falling debris from the stone ceiling above us. But after regrouping, we quickly left the room behind us. As the cavers ahead fortunately seeming a lot more stable and lot less prone to collapsing.

--

The final obstacle though, was the alter room of the Fog king. Where several dozen Stone Giants had gathered, and were having a heated argument. The best we could tell they seemed divided in their opinion. Forming different groups, factions or points of view.

The pacifists. That never cared much for the Docking’s plans. And even now, that she has “disappeared”, remain passive. Uncaring.

Those who are fearful, and worried after following the Dodkong, and her leadership. And are now unsure of what to do, now that their leader is gone. As well as no longer being able to ask for direct guidance from Skoraeus either. now that his remains lay broken and scattered, as the temple sinks back into the earth.

And the finally the “activists”. Those who are blaming the smallfolk, thinking they are responsible. And wanting to take them out. To march out the undead army, and take care of them once and for all. Starting with Loudwater.

I… sincerely hope that they will cooldown after we’ve left. And stop being issue, now that the Dodkong is longer leading them. That they will return to being recluses, and private. Less problematic. Especially in terms of wiping out and levelling the nearby towns and villages. Collecting bodies. And raising the dead.

That, a new head won’t show up. Using the necromancy they learned and lead an undead army to take over the sword coast.

But only time will tell. We can’t really face that many at once. Even if only a couple of them were to turn their stone clubs against us. We’d still be outnumbered

So instead we snuck past. Invisible. And Levitating to avoid there tremor sense.

Gryff tried talking with them, in the hopes that they wouldn’t take offense to him for being small, if he’s undead. But shortly after they spotted him, they… simply tried to smash him to pieces. And he teleported away.

It was worth a shot, to try and talk to them. To maybe guide them. Or dissuade them from taking any hostile actions. But we just got to wait for them to cool off, and hopefully stay that way I suppose. Hopefully.

| 4 / 4 | We made it out of the caves, and canyon of Deadstone cleft without much further issue. Arriving back at the river bed, at the foot of the mountain. With fortunately no Roc in sight.

The reason that we didn’t ask Zyra to pick us up, similarly as to how she initially dropped us of with the rope the first time, is the same reason as to why we didn’t call for the Zyra nor the airship, once we left Deadstone Cleft behind. We are still in the Roc’s territory. And as long as we are in Her hunting grounds, we’ll have to travel by foot. And that might take quite a few days.

But, that’s the last giant lord taken care of.

And we finally possess the fourth, and hopefully final conch. ( Assuming that we won’t end up needing the one from the Cloud giants, and Sansuri. ) *

It's strange though. We were all wondering what would become the undead army swarming outside the canyon. But there is nigh a trace left of them. We saw some dust, and bits of bone scattered around the river bed. But that’s about it. Did they simply just crumble, and return to the earth. I hope so at least. Not having to worry about them as we head back to Loudwater, would be quite a nice reprieve after this whole ordeal

… After a few days of travel, Lym apparently took note of something peculiar, by Aldrin when we woke up in morning.

These threads. Trying to connect to him. As if the Weave was trying to reach out to him during the night. As if trying to take him, or envelop him?

But the threads looked different somehow.

Similar, to the Weave. Or… reminiscent. But not the same.

when Lym mentioned it to us though, it appeared that only she could see it. I tried a few thing to look for what she was referring to as well. The thread or patterns she saw. But only she could see them. Aldrin was still very much exhausted, and didn’t think much of it at first. Lym had been doting on him, now that he’s a hand shorter. Trying the help him out wherever she could. But either he didn’t really need the help, or was too stubborn for the most part. But when she mentioned the threads to him, and that they seemed to be leading somewhere. Or coming from somewhere, he didn’t really think much of it, but didn’t mind going to check it out either.

--

After following Lym lead’s, deeper into the woods. With area becoming increasingly less travelled, or trodden. And wilder. There… suddenly was a shift.

It took as all a moment to realize what had changed. We were still in the woods, surrounded by trees.

But the horizon somehow wasn’t right. As is if everywhere, in every direction, there was only forest, and nothing else. Not in the sense of, as far as the eye could see. Or how far we could see. But further. Like there was nothing but an endless expense of forest in every direction.

Like… as if we were transported to the feywild, I thought at first.

But after looking around. There was anything fey about it.

Aldrin had been quiet. Had noticed the shift immediately. Sensed it.  Or Smelled it. Instinctively, noticed It immediately.

He began tearing up a bit. For was home.

We, or Lym, had somehow found a way for him back home.

--

He didn’t seem keen going back with us. Happy to finally leave the LA, and Fearun. Behind. Going back to his own world. His own life.

We each said our goodbyes. With Lym even getting a hug out of him. As we parted ways there. Wishing him safe travels.

his parting words, before he went back home though. Were… interesting. He told to us to  PLEASE  get a different employer. I don’t think he thinks we and the LA are a good match.

Can’t blame him. Not sure if Lady Silverhand still thinks the same as when she first proposed us working for her. The LA. Not sure if we still should, after what he said. What all has happened. Definitely taking it into consideration.

--

As curious as I was to study the place that he’s from. To learn more about it. We weren’t sure whether the portal would remain open for long. And the others we’re right that while having the opportunity the learn more about this place might be interesting. Being trapped here with no way back, might not be ideal. With Aldrin being the prime example. I… I guess it saves me the effort of making him a personalized prosthetic. Was kind of looking forward to it though. Had a few things in mind. Still some things I wanted to ask. Or talk about. Or give him. But you being finally being home is what’s most important. I wish safe travels friend.

May our paths one day cross again.

End of entry,

End of chapter

[utilitycaster]

Level 14!

let’s go down the list except Fjord last because there are two paths he can go by but in the long run there’s still time to change the road you’re on

Jester and Caduceus: no additional spell slots, although they can prep an additional spell as they always can upon leveling up (both are now able to prep 19 spells). Eighth level spells show up at L15 and honestly it’s a short list (for those wondering: control weather is very handy but they might not get that in time to battle the takers, antimagic field will be good when they take on Trent at some point in the future but probably not yet, earthquake could be pretty nasty against enemies in the distance, and holy aura grants some great benefits but does require an extremely expensive relic and mostly I just want to know what a 1000 GP relic of The Traveler will be). They do however get improved Destroy Undead (up to CR 3 now), and a slightly better chance at divine intervention (not relevant for 7 days for Caduceus, but maybe Jester will be able to drag Artagan from the bar?)

Caleb: like the other full casters, no additional spell slots. He does get two new spells for free and personally speaking after looking into how antimagic fields interact with concentration I would love to see delayed blast fireball. I’m saving 8th level spell speculation for when they level up to 15 because the wizard list is huge, and more importantly, Caleb gets a subclass feature this level! He is now a master transmuter and can use his stone in four ways: he can transmute a nonmagical object no larger than a five foot cube into a different nonmagical object of similar size and no greater value; he can remove all curses, diseases, and poisons from one creature and bring them up to full HP; he can cast raise dead without a spell slot (diamond still required)(unless it’s Yasha); or he can restore youth, reducing a creature’s apparent age by a minimum of 13 years (3d10 or 13, whichever is higher), but with no lifespan extension. Any of these options will destroy the stone, and he’d need to create a new one, which takes 8 hours, after a long rest.

Veth: She learns a new spell, which can be up to 3rd level, and can be anything on the wizard spell list (as opposed to her usual limitation to the enchantment and illusion list). Also she hasn’t use mage hand to distract people, I don’t think, unless I missed it in last week’s battles, which is a L13 ability that Sam might review upon leveling up. As mentioned, she could take Leomund’s Tiny Hut, but also counterspell, blink, nondetection, remove curse, sending...it’s a good list. I would advise personally against major image just because that’s illusion, so she could take it at any level she gets to learn new spells or swap out an older spell for it.

Yasha: in addition to a zillion HP, she gets the most metal ability of all, Rage Beyond Death. If she is raging and is taken to 0 HP, she does not go unconscious. She still makes death saves as normal - and presumably, if she is hit she still takes a death saving fail (although not an auto-crit since she’s not unconscious) but she will remain conscious until her rage ends, and also she can, as far as I can tell from the wording, be healed despite failing 3 death saves and remain alive as long as her rage has been continuous. L14 is a fun in-between state because at L15 she gets persistent rage, which makes her very, very hard to kill as a result - it pretty much needs to be an insta-kill, like disintegrate or finger of death or being taken to -154 HP, since otherwise she just rages until healed. But at L14 she does have to maintain rage through attacks or damage.

Beau: Beau is now proficient in all saving throws, which means +9 to WIS and INT, +6 to CHA, and +8 to CON which will help a lot against Lucien next time (as she was rolling with just a +3 to CON last week). Her strength and dex saves are unchanged since monks have proficiency in those to start. She also can spend a ki point to reroll a failed save. And finally, her unarmored movement speed is now 55 feet per round, which means with step of the wind she can do 165 ft/round, which is 18.75 mph or about 30 km/h. (note: technically this is not superhuman; Usain Bolt’s record 100 m dash comes out to 37 km/h. However, that was for under 10 seconds. A rested Beau can do this for 14 rounds which is 84 seconds, covering about 700 meters. Using the 800m dash world record, the top speed is about 29 km/h; since it’s not a perfect comparison, Beau is at the very least matched with the (male) world record holder for that distance and possibly a bit faster).

Fjord: Fjord is currently at L10 Warlock/L3 Paladin.

Another level in Warlock gives him two major benefits: a third 5th level spell slot which like his other warlock spells refreshes on a short rest, and a mystic arcanum, which is essentially a once-per-day 6th level spell. The arcanum options are interesting and a few don’t seem very in line with his patron (somehow, create undead, mental prison, or soul cage don’t really seem like great choices) but arcane gate is highly on-brand - it’s basically Now You’re Thinking With Portals (and means that he could essentially allow the whole party to dimension door, with the restriction that it must be somewhere he can see). Conjure fey is sort of the same idea as conjure greater demon except fey, so I don’t really see the benefit; Eyebite is a solid debuffing option; Flesh to Stone lets him petrify people if he can maintain concentration and they fail their saves; Mass Suggestion is exactly what it sounds like (and lasts 24 hours without concentration, although there’s a save and it breaks if you attack the creatures affected); the various elemental investiture spells which could be handy in combat although would make it hard for the other melee fighters in the Nein; scatter, which is also very on brand in that it lets him teleport other people around; and we know True Seeing from the clerics and it’s probably not worth it since he’s got the sword and said clerics can do the same thing.

L4 in Paladin’s main benefits are: gets him closer to higher paladin levels, gets him an extra prepared L1 spell, and he finally gets the ASI/feat the rest of the party got two levels ago. For ASIs, bumping up strength and dex wouldn’t hurt - a higher AC and saves are always nice even if his attacks are with his maxed-out charisma - but the feats look better, honestly. Some that stand out to me are are inspiring leader (he’d have to do it twice to cover everyone, but it would give everyone +19 temp HP); mage slayer which is a feat I really like but also makes sense for Fjord, who is often in melee against spellcasters; spell sniper (which would give him a 240 range with Eldritch Blast, and a bonus cantrip, which he could take from any list although charisma casters are the smartest option); or prodigy, which Beau has and which would give him some extra skills and expertise.

[freewillacquired]

Yeah. That was dumb. Why did he bring up chocolate? Now he was going to be thinking about chocolate all day. "Sor-ry..." he apologized, and a moment later as she whacked him, he figured it was for putting chocolate into her head, too. Then again, Rain didn't necessarily need a reason if she wanted to bop him one. They had been through enough that if it made her feel better, even in some small way, Nemesis was all for it.

There were two different types of "good food" for Nemesis, the kind that actually kept him alive, and the kind that tasted good. To stay alive, he needed meat. That was fairly hard to come by nowadays, since undead flesh wasn't good enough and he wasn't about to start eating the few animals that had managed to survive to this point. The animal lover in him just wouldn't allow it. So he relied mostly on things like canned cat food and frozen meats, which were pretty scarce. And, of course, the kind that tasted good usually involved cookies, but also crackers, biscuits, granola bars, and other such things that, although stale, were still decent to eat.

"Mmmm.... Coooookieeees...." Nemesis happily growled. "I need to thind... neat too, though.... Like... throzen neat. Or canned... cat thood." He waited for her to inevitably be either grossed out or laugh before he sighed dejectedly. "Yeah... I know. This is... ny lithe now," he said. Who would have thought that after loving cats his whole life, he'd be eating their food. Not a good look for him.

Thinking back to his photography days made a nostalgic smile come to Nemesis' face, which... was only indicated by a wrinkle in his receded upper lip. "Yeah. Trees, a-ni-nals, in-sects... Any-thing that caught ny eye." It was fun and very peaceful hobby. Even if he had a camera now, he doubted he could even work it with his thick, stiff fingers. That was a sad thought.

Ever the optimist, Nemesis quickly latched onto Rain's words in agreement of her optimistic sentiment. "Ny ge-ner-al rule is... Ith you don't know... assune they're a-lithe," Nemesis said. On a realistic level, he knew his parents were dead. He knew his neighbors were dead. He even knew his dog, Pickles, was dead. But he hadn't actually seen any of them die, so in his mind there was always a chance. Lisa was the only one he knew for sure wasn't ever going to be found.

He shouldn't. He should not. But he simply could not resist. "Yeah... you need... only one. Child-sized," he said, holding his hands no more than six inches apart to denote the small size of the bed Rain would need. The joke was followed by a laugh as he waited to more than likely get whacked yet again.

"Yay, road trid!" he exclaimed with boyish excitement - rather terrifying coming from a large mutated being like him - as he pushed himself all the way onto the bed of Rain's truck and got situated. God, it's so nice to have a friend, to have someone to talk to, he thought. And to have a ghost from the past return in a state of being very much alive was an added dose of relief and happiness for a weary soul.

It was nice to go for a proverbial "ride in the car." No wonder dogs like this so much, Nemesis thought, thinking back to how excited Pickles used to get with the air whipping around as they rode in his Jeep. Sitting in the truck bed, Nemesis watched the world go by, inasmuch as it was a broken, desolate, deserted wasteland much of the time. Only the buildings seemed to bear some resemblance to how life used to be, but even they were dirty and beginning to fall into disrepair. The wind and the movement felt good, though, far better than always stomping through life at a snail's pace on foot. His tentacles seemed to be enjoying themselves too, undulating in the wind like streamers.

In a world ravaged by a virus that primarily creates monsters, nasty encounters are in no short supply. When Rain begins to hear heavy footfalls—when she feels them practically shaking the ground beneath her, she figures she's about to have another.

Cursing under her breath, she unholsters her gun.

The days were blending together in depressing ways now. Nemesis was shocked at how quickly things had gone to hell after the Hive and Raccoon City Incidents. It had taken him quite a while to regenerate after the city's "sanitation," but once he was on his feet again, he realized the gravity of what was happening to the world.

Alone and with nothing left to do in his current mutated state, Nemesis had taken to showing up at Umbrella facilities unannounced, and destroying as much of them as he could. The digital feed supplied by the retinal implant attached to his right eye and sewn up into his head gave him a lot of useful information, especially after his mind was liberated from Umbrella's control. May as well put it to good use, right?

He'd acquired more clothes and equipment this way, with the boots and leather trenchcoat-style getup being standard issues for a creature called a Tyrant, which he apparently now was. They seemed just about the only things that were going to fit his... unique body shape nowadays.

Learning about himself and destroying Umbrella assets were good pastimes, but Nemesis was extremely lonely. The few survivors he came across now and then either screamed and ran from him or shot at him. Bullet wounds were nothing more than annoying mosquito bites to him now, thanks to his thick hide, but even so... it was demoralizing. All he wanted to do was help. He was almost getting used to being alone all the time, by necessity rather than desire, until that unexpectedly changed. While exploring a city one day, he rounded a corner and-

"Raaaain!" Nemesis bellowed the moment he saw her, unable to contain his excitement upon seeing her. "Oh... ny god!" He couldn't believe his eyes. Well, eye. He still had two, but one was... indisposed. In a move that probably looked damn near ridiculous to the other, he lifted his hand... and waved to her. "I'n so glad... to see you! How... are you... alithe... right now?" he tried to ask, his massive chompers getting in the way, as usual.

Nemesis couldn't get his voice to be anything other than a monotone growl, and with monstrous teeth and a noticeable lack of lips, his speech was something of a garbled mess. It took him a while, but he'd learned to make certain sounds in other ways, using his throat and tongue. Essentially, he'd had to relearn how to speak. Some sounds and words, though, were lost forever. None of that did anything to curb his enthusiasm at seeing Rain alive, however. Was he finally losing his mind? Hallucinating, maybe? No, the target identification system is identifying her as Rain... Right now, Nemesis didn't care either way. Just the sight of her was one for sore eyes, since his last clear memory of her was being at death's door.

"I thought... the anti-thirus... didn't work...?" he said, his elation at seeing her alive completely overriding his common sense. Nemesis wasn't thinking about the fact that Rain wouldn't recognize him anymore, or about how negatively she would likely react to seeing the hulking beast before her. Not to mention his tentacles, rooted at the backs of his shoulders, which were excitedly coiling and undulating in their own right, reacting to his surprise and happiness. He batted one of them with his hand. "Cut it out...!" he admonished the obnoxious appendage. It recoiled temporarily before returning to its idle activities.

Then it dawned on him, especially with how she had her gun at the ready. Oh no... she has no idea who I am. "It's Natt," he said, laying his hand on his chest. "Natt... Ad-di-son." How pathetic is it that I can't even say my own name correctly anymore? he thought grimly.

[mercury-lurks]

Elijah's Conversation

Elijah cradled the walkie-talkie in his hands, fiddling with the antenna. His heart pounded in his chest as his finger grazed the talk button.

He needed to make a call. He'd been needing to all day, but could never find time away from people. Being the new guy really sucked, especially when surrounded by terrorists and murderers. Elijah was sure everyone knew something was up with him, but since nobody had brought it up he was probably in the clear.

However, he'd found solace in a small bathroom in a far hall of Fort Stevenson. Since it was a bathroom, Elijah had hoped there were no cameras or microphones to record anything, but with lunatics like these he wasn't sure.

He knew as soon as he hit that talk button, someone would die. As soon as the information he'd gathered was in Quine's mind, nothing would stop them from killing someone. The thought made him a little giddy. They deserved their revenge.

Checking once again to make sure he was well and truly alone, he pressed the button.

"Hey, this is Elijah, checking in. Anyone there?" He released the button and waited with baited breath, pacing around the stall.

"Eli," Finnegan said, "How are you, dude?"

He let out a shaky breath and spoke again. "As good as I can be here. I've got some information I'd like to tell."

"Already?" Elijah could feel the skepticism from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

"Already." He confirmed. "And I also already have some words for you when I get back."

Finn cackled into the microphone. "Oh yeah pretty boy? What kinda words?"

"Doesn't matter right now, I don't have that much time. I don't know when somebody might walk in." Elijah eyed the door once more, swallowing his nerves.

"Alright. What's-"

"Elijah! My favorite brother, please tell me what's going on." Quine joined the conversation, interrupting Finn.

Elijah paused, gathering his thoughts. "Well, for starters, Mercury is here, alive, and seems to be happy."

Quine breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank the Stars.."

"She seems to have Stockholm Syndrome."

"WHAT!?" They screamed, getting closer to the microphone. "W-what do you mean Stockholm Syndrome?"

He bit his lip, eyes darting towards the door again. "He.. seems to think of the Freelancers as family.."

Elijah heard an audible growl from Quine, one that made the hair on his arms stand up. "Those bastards.."

"But!" He was quick to interject. "The Freelancers don't seem to know about the genocide! I'm assuming this batch wasn't part of it, or that it was a higher up thing. Maybe they weren't even employed?"

"Doesn't fucking matter. I want them all dead."

He knew there was no arguing with them. Not like he wanted to, of course. "Anyway, there's.. there's another Grea'esi here. Her name is Glitter."

Quine slammed their hand on something. "Of course they fucking stole some of us for their sick experiments."

"She seems to like it here. She's been adopted by a soldier named Fox. They don't seem to be aware of what happened at all, I feel kind of bad for them."

"What else? What's been going on?" Auburn piped up.

"Most of the people here are dead. Or.. well, undead. It's kind of worrying. I'm pretty sure there's been human experimentation here. And everyone seems to think it's normal."

Auburn sighed over the mic. "If they weren't part of a terrorist organization I would love to help them.. but unfortunately they're too far gone."

"They've hired a cannibal zombie as one of their commanders. Who does that?!" When nobody responded, Elijah continued. "Everything here is so messed up. I hate it here. God, I just wanna go home." He took a deep breath. "It's fine, I can do this. I'm already this far in, and I think I'm starting to gain their trust, at least a little bit."

"It's alright, hijo," Auburn said. "When you get back we'll take a break from jobs. Just the seven of us hanging out, getting Mercury used to everything."

Elijah nodded, sighing. "Yeah. That sounds great, mamá. I should- I should get going-"

"Elijah." Quine interrupted. "That soldier you mentioned earlier. Fox. Tell me more about them."

He didn't hesitate to keep talking. "Apparently they were part of some program that turned them into a super-soldier if sorts. They and one of their girlfriends, Isla, were the only two to survive it. If we're going to kill the Freelancers, it would be wise to start with them."

Quine hummed. "I see. Then I suppose I'll come down and kill them myself. If they're a super-soldier, they must have been involved with Arieala's destruction. This just got personal."

"A-are you sure? Right now? That might cast suspicion onto me, it's best if we wait-"

They slammed their hands on something again, growling. "I don't fucking care! I want every single one of those filthy dogs put down, and I'm tired of waiting!"

After a brief moment, Elijah nodded. "I understand. Just.. be careful, hermosa. There's a lot of people here."

"I'll meet up with you tonight. You know where to find me."

"I do. See you later, Q."

The walkie-talkie went dead, and so Elijah turned it off. He checked to see if he was still alone, and was satisfied when he saw he was. "Can't believe I just got away with that."

The walkie-talkie sat heavy in his hands. He looked at it almost regretfully. "..don't know if I'll get away with this.."

He shook his head and stood up, pocketing the walkie-talkie. Elijah opened the bathroom door and walked out.

Tonight, then.

[dailylogyn]

Logyn Meta: Loki & Sigyn’s Family in Myth and Marvel (Comparison)

Photo Source: https://www.deviantart.com/youkai-no-shimo/art/Colouring-LOKI-s-FAMILY-260392721

The family that is ready to begin Ragnarok in order to defend your honor. It’s a tragic tale, but family is something worth fighting for!

Follow me as we explore this crazy, wonderful family that is probably the most famous of the Myth’s. 

We may not know much about Sigyn’s side, but Loki’s side is one that legends are made of. 

From the Norse Myths, to Marvel Comics and the MCU, we will see the similarities and differences for each member in the different universes as well as learn facts about each one and why they are important. 

Laufey (or Nál) - Loki’s Mother 

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

She is Loki’s Mother in Mythology.

Mostly mentioned by the matronymic, “Loki Laufeyjarson” meaning: Loki Laufey’s Son.

Her name (Laufey) is typically thought to mean leaves/foilage. Nal means Needle. 

Not much is known about her. We don’t even know if she was a Goddess, human or giant so it is assumed Loki gets his godhood from her. 

In the poem Sörla þáttr, Nál and Laufey are portrayed as the same person: "She was both slender and weak, and for that reason she was called Nál [Needle]." 

Laufey is listed among Ásynjar (goddesses) in one of the þulur, an ancestry that perhaps led her son Loki to be "enumerated among the Æsir", as Snorri Sturluson puts it in Gylfaginning.

Related to nature like forests and leaves.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Laufey is Loki’s Father in this universe. 

As Loki was born small, a motive of embarrassment for his parents, his existence was kept a secret.

A younger Loki sends Laufey into a fateful battle between Odin, leading the All-Father to claim Loki as a son. Laufey was left for dead, wounded, but alive, leaving a future Loki to kill him. 

A group of Frost Giants try to revive Laufey by retrieving his skull. It ends with Malekith performing a spell to resurrect King Laufey. 

Laufey hates Loki and thinks of him as a disgrace

It ends with Loki killing his father again after he tries to steal the Casket of Winters and kill Frigga. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Same as Marvel Comics Counterpart. Appears in the first Thor movie. 

Fárbauti - Loki’s Father

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

He is Loki’s Father in Mythology. 

Attested in the Prose Edda and in Kennings of Viking Age Skalds.

A Jotunn

The Old Norse name Fárbauti has been translated as 'dangerous striker','anger striker',or 'sudden-striker'.

Related to lightning

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Mother of Loki in this universe.

Gave birth to an unusually small child to the annoyance of her husband.

It is said the night Loki was born that she stabbed her own heart with an ice dagger, but Loki suspects Laufey is the one who killed her. 

Appears as a figment taken on by a parasite. She’s mostly deceased in the comics. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

Loki Laufeyjarson - Son of Laufey & Farbauti. Lover of Sigyn & Angrboda (and many others honestly)

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Everyone already knows the tales about Loki, so I won’t repeat it all again. It’s pretty lengthy. I’ll just point down the basics for him with it. 

He’s famous for causing trouble among the gods as the Trickster and God of Mischief. Not a bad guy, but misinterpreted that way, although he can be a dick too. Despite how much he causes trouble for them, he also helps them out of situations too. He just wants to have fun, even if he takes it overboard at times.

Some sources put as Jotun and some say he is Half-Jotun, Half-Aesir (on his mother’s side.) 

A well-known Shapeshifter who can be anything: Salmon, Male, Female, Horse. The list just goes on. 

A really handsome being who loved to get it on. *finger guns*

Blood Brother’s with Odin. How? We don’t know. It’s interpreted as a friendship or foster-brothers. It’s unclear really.

Gonna start Ragnarok for valid reasons honestly after having his entire family taken away from him or killed by the Gods. #TeamLoki

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Far too many appearances to document here from 1942 to present. There has been some retcons as well with the fact the current Loki has been reborn in a new incarnation also known as Ikol.

In the comics Loki is the adopted son of Odin and Frigga and Adoptive brother to Thor & Balder. 

He’s depicted as being the God of Evil in the classic comics serval times. In fact, it’s one of his titles. 

Depending on the writer for the classic comics, Loki can have moments of humanity, but all around he causes trouble.

Just wants to rule Asgard and get rid of Thor who is his enemy. 

He’s honestly a bad guy most of the time in the classic comics #VillianTrope

I personally have yet to read any current comics of Loki that aren’t the classics so this is where my knowledge and research stops. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

First off, Tom Hiddleston as Loki is just *chefs kiss* perfection. 

Pretty much the same as comics except for the fact he isn’t really a villain. He plays tricks on people for fun and laughs and truly cares about his family. 

However, things change when he discovers the truth that he is a Jotun and has been lied to about it his whole life despite being told countless stories of how Jotun’s are monsters to be slain (You fucked up a perfectly good kid, Odin. Look, he has anxiety and trauma.) 

He develops major identity problems on top of others things, but despite it, Loki tries to still do best by his family as he wants to belong. Yes, he becomes a villain in The Avengers movie, but not for the hell of it. #Thanos

Honestly, he just deserves better. That’s where this leads. Thank you.

Angrboda - Loki’s Consort/Lover (Fenrir, Jormungandr & Hel’s Mother)

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

She is only mentioned once in the Poetic Edda as the mother of Fenrir by Loki. The Prose Edda describes her as "a giantess in Jotunheim" and as the mother of three monsters: the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent Jörmungand, and the ruler of the dead Hel.

A Jotun known as Mother of Monsters and Giantess of Ironwood. 

In Old Norse, Angrboda means: 'the one who brings grief', 'she-who-offers-sorrow', or 'harm-bidder'.

According to scholars, the name Angrboða is probably a late invention dating from no earlier than the 12th century, although the tradition of the three monsters born of Loki and a jötunn may be of a higher age.

Some scholars say she was a very powerful witch and that she had the ability to see into the future. She was confined to Hel and would not be released from the realm of the dead until Loki was unbound.

In some versions of the Myth’s she knows her children will bring about the end of the world (Ragnarok) as well as being a witch set on fire three times before Loki eats her heart. 

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

A giantess of Jotunheim and a Witch.

Born to Elderspawn Vârcolac and Echidna.

She mated with Loki and gave birth to Fenrir and Jormungadr. Legends say she also gave birth to Hela, but it seems to be nothing more but legends. 

Angrboda died of unknown causes and was sent to the Underworld of Hel. 

When Thor needed to know how to get to Hela's realm because she had been taking mortals to Niffleheim, he went to the Hlidskjalf and summoned Angerboda from the underworld, forcing her to tell him how to get there. Once she revealed to Thor the path he had to follow, she tried to take him with her to the underworld.

Only has one appearance in the comics -- Thor #360 (1985)

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

Sleipnir - Loki’s Son

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Attested in the Poetic and Prose Edda. In both Sleipnir is Odin's eight-legged steed and child of Loki by Svaðilfari. He is described as the best of all horses.

The Prose Edda contains extra information saying he is grey. 

Old Norse meaning: Slippy or the Slipper. 

Sleipnir is also mentioned in a riddle found in the 13th century legendary saga Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, in the 13th-century legendary saga Völsunga saga as the ancestor of the horse Grani, and book I of Gesta Danorum, written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus, contains an episode considered by many scholars to involve Sleipnir. Sleipnir is generally accepted as depicted on two 8th century Gotlandic image stones: the Tjängvide image stone and the Ardre VIII image stone.

Scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Sleipnir's potential connection to shamanic practices among the Norse pagans.

Sleipnir was born when Loki shape-shifted into a mare and became pregnant by the stallion of a giant, as is recounted in the tale of The Fortification of Asgard.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

There are two different origins for Sleipnir in the comics: 1. Thor fighting off an army of the undead on Midgard. He promised to help as long as his horses weren’t eaten, however, Thor was betrayed and took his horses remains back to Asgard, coupling it with Asgardian Magic to create Sleipneir. 2. Loki had hastily agreed to let a Frost Giant re-build the wall around Asgard, in exchange for the Moon, the Sun, and Freya, only he had to do it in six months. The Frost Giant had only asked to use his grey stallion, Svadilfari. Right as the last brick was about to be placed, Loki transformed into a beautiful white mare, and lured Svadilfari off. Loki later gave birth to Sleipnir. (Just like in the Myths.) 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Odin’s eight-legged steed. 

Sleipnir’s origins are unknown. He appears in the first Thor Movie. 

Fenrir Wolf - Loki & Angrboda’s Son

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Attested in the Prose and Poetic Edda as the first son of the Jotun couple. He is a wolf destined to kill Odin. So, they bind and seal him when he's still young, with Tyr losing his arm in the process. When Ragnarok comes, he indeed kills Odin, but is killed by Odin's son Vidar in return.

Fenrir is the father of the wolves Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson. 

In the Prose Edda, additional information is given about Fenrir, including that, due to the gods' knowledge of prophecies foretelling great trouble from Fenrir and his rapid growth, the gods bound him, and as a result Fenrir bit off the right hand of the god Týr.

No chain can hold him, except for Gleipnir, a rope made by Dwarves containing the roots of a mountain, the breath of a fish, the sound of a cat's footfall, the sinews of a bear, the beard of a woman and the spittle of a bird, all of which were impossible items to obtain.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Pretty much the same as his Mythos with some additional storylines. 

When Raganrok happened, Fenrir was reborn with the other gods on the New Asgard universe on Midgard. No details of his fate on Earth have been revealed.

Fenrir helped the mutant Wolfsbane as she was carrying the child of one of his descendants. 

It is one of the few individuals believed to be more powerful, or equally as powerful, as Dormammu; the others being galactic entities like The Beyonder.

Fenrir is Genderfluid in the comics. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Fenris is a giant Asgardian Wolf who serves under Hela and is portrayed as Female. She resurrects her as they take over Asgard. 

Instead of being her brother, Fenris is her loyal companion and mount. 

Fenris ends up getting into a fight against Hulk as he pushes her off, sending her falling into the void below to her supposed death. 

Appears in Thor: Ragnarok. 

Hel - Loki & Angrboda’s Daughter

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Attested in the Prose and Poetic Edda. She is a giantess/goddess who resides over the Underworld that is also called Hel, a place where many of the dead reside. She is the daughter of Loki and Angrboda, sister to Fenrir and Jormungandr and usually depicted as the youngest of the three.

Goddess of Death and Graves and ruler of Hel who welcomes the souls of those who died of old age, disease or by accident.

Hel is described as having been appointed by the god Odin as ruler of a realm of the same name, located in Niflheim.

The Prose Edda details that Hel rules over vast mansions with many servants in her underworld realm and plays a key role in the attempted resurrection of the god Baldr.

Old Norse Name Meaning: Hidden

She’s mostly mentioned only in passing. Snorri describes her appearance as being half-black, half-white, and with a perpetually grim and fierce expression on her face.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Renamed Hela in the comics.

Allegedly the daughter of Loki and Angrboda, but it’s never made clear or stated. Hela's genealogy is the subject of controversies and retellings. 

Her path pretty much follows her Mythos where she is destined to do terrible things and Odin makes her the ruler over the dead in the realms of Hel and Niflheim until maturity. 

At some point, she was considered the daughter of Odin and of a long-lost goddess.

Honestly, she usually tries to expand her powers, wanting to rule over Vahalla and obtain Asgardian souls. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU):

Appears in Thor: Ragnarok as Odin’s firstborn and only daughter. Sister to Thor and Loki.

Kinda pissed her dad locked her away and wants to rule Asgard and take revenge.

The cause of Ragnarok and supposedly dies on Asgard after everything is said in done in the movie.

Jormungandr - Loki & Angrboda’s Son

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Usually depicted as the middle child of Loki and Angrboda, he is known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent who is a giant snake. When Odin takes Loki’s kids away from him, he tosses Jormungadr into the ocean that encircles Midgard. The serpent grew so large that is was able to surround the Earth and grasp it’s own tail. When it releases it’s tail, Ragnarok will begin and he will fight his arch-enemy, Thor. 

The major sources for myths about Jörmungandr are the Prose Edda, the skaldic poem Húsdrápa, and the Eddic poems Hymiskviða and Völuspá. Other sources include the early skaldic poem Ragnarsdrápa and kennings in other skaldic poems; for example, in Þórsdrápa, faðir lögseims, "father of the sea-thread", is used as a kenning for Loki. There are also several image stones depicting the story of Thor fishing for Jörmungandr.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Both Loki and Angerboda were descended from the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and were of humanoid appearance; however, the sons Angerboda bore Loki, Jormungand and the Fenris Wolf, did not. It has been suggested that Jormungand and the Fenris Wolf were born as sentient animals because their parents each had the magical ability to change his or her own shape. Hence, Jormungand and the Fenris Wolf each bear the form of the animal that their parents had assumed at the moment they were conceived.

Jormungandr follows the same as his Mythos to a certain degree with his fate to fight Thor during Ragnarok as the God of Thunder would die from his venom. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

Sigyn - Loki’s Wife

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Sadly, not many stories that have Sigyn in them have survived to this day. She is only attested in the followings works: Poetic Edda & Prose Edda. 

The most famous of her story tells of how Loki has been bound by the gods with the guts of his son, Nari, and how his son, Vari, has been turned into a wolf. The Goddess Skadi fastens a venomous snake over Loki’s face, from which venom drips. Sigyn, stated as Loki’s wife, stays by his side and holds a basin under and catches the venom so it won’t drip onto her husband, but when the basin grows full, she pulls it away to empty it, during which time venom drops onto Loki, causing him to wither so violently that earthquakes occur that shake the entire earth.

In the poem, Gylfaginning, Sigyn is introduced in Chapter 31 as being married to Loki and that they have a son by the name of “Narfi or Nari”. She is then mentioned again in Chapter 50 where events are described differently than in Lokasenna; Vali, described as a son of Loki only, is changed into a wolf by the gods and rips apart his brother, “Narfi or Nari.” The guts of Nari are then used to tie Loki to three stones, after which the guts turn to iron, and Skadi places a snake above Loki. Sigyn of course catches the venom in a bowl. This process is repeated until he breaks free, setting Ragnarok into motion.

In the poem, Skáldskaparmál, Sigyn is introduced as a goddess, an Æsir, where the gods are holding a feast for their visitors and in kennings for Loki: “husband of Sigyn” and “cargo [Loki] of incantation-fetter’s [Sigyn’s] arms.”

Old Norse Name meaning: Victory Girlfriend. 

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Lonely and looking for female companionship, Loki ends up coming across Sigyn and plans to make her his. However, she is already engaged to a warrior of Odin’s Crimson Hawks -- Theoric. Hence, Loki sets up a trap to have Theoric killed during a mission so Loki can disguise himself as Theoric. Once they are wed, Loki reveals himself and despite Odin attempting to annul the marriage (which goes against Asgardian Law)), Sigyn tells the Allfather that she will follow the duties of a loyal wife since she is Loki’s now. 

This is when Odin proclaims her to be the Goddess of Fidelity. This was a thing first started by the Marvel Comics.

Sigyn doesn’t have much of an agency in the comics except being a loyal wife to Loki, sometimes going along with his plans or getting on him for it. 

I personally haven’t been able to find any evidence of Sigyn’s parents being Iwaldi and Freya in the comics, so I’m not sure if this fact is Fanon or not. 

Sigyn has suddenly seemed to vanish from the comics with her last official appearance being in 1996. It has been allueded at that she died or was killed during Ragnarok. 

Her relationship with Loki in the comics is...complicated and changes a lot depending on the writer. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

Narvi/Narfi & Vali - Loki & Sigyn’s Sons

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Not much is known about Narfi and Vali except for being Loki & Sigyn’s sons with Vali being transformed into a wolf by the gods and killing his brother whose inners are used as a chain to bind Loki in the cave. 

Narfi and Vali are referred to in a number of sources. According to the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, he was also called Nari and was killed by his brother Váli, who was transformed into a wolf; in a prose passage at the end of the Eddic poem "Lokasenna", Váli became a wolf and his brother Nari was killed.

Snorri also names "Nari or Narfi" as the son of Loki and his wife Sigyn earlier in Gylfaginning, and lists "father of Nari" as a heiti for Loki in the Skáldskaparmál section of his work.

Narfi’s name could mean “Corpse” in Old Norse, relating to how he was killed by his brother. 

There's no mention of what became of Vali after he became a wolf.

MARVEL COMICS (Earth 616)

Narvi never makes an appearance in the comics and is only mentioned in: Free Comics Book Day Vol 2018 Avengers. 

There is a Vali in the comics called Vali Halfling. He is the son of loki and a unnamed mortal woman. So, I don’t consider this to be the same Vali that is the son of Loki and Sigyn. 

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU)

Does not appear or have a reference in the MCU

_________________________________________________

Thanks for reading everyone. This required a bunch of research, but I hope this helps and has been educational. We only have what we can work with considering the surviving myths, but there is so many stories out there that we don’t know of that aren’t clear because of it. 

I tried my best to cover everything I knew about them in Marvel too, but sometimes so many retcons is too much to keep up with. I know there may be some errors in places, but it’s the best I could get this with what we have to work with.

SOURCES:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Laufey_(Earth-616)

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Laufey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laufey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fárbauti

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Farbauti_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Angerboda_(Earth-616)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angrboða

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Hela_(Earth-616)

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/hel/

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/jormungand/

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Jormungand_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Sleipnir_(Earth-616)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleipnir

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Sleipnir

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/fenrir/

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Fenris_Wolf_(Earth-616)

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Fenris

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigyn

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Sigyn_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Narvi_(Earth-616)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Vali_Halfling_(Earth-616)

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/loki/

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Loki_Laufeyson_(Earth-616)

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Loki

https://skjalden.com/narfi-and-vali/

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Hela

[gukieater]

Fic idea 1 : Apocalyptic Heart

Pairing: Jungkook x OC (f) X Taehyung

Genre: Post Apocalyptic World, Zombie, Special Ability (Jungkook), experiments, evolution, illegal medical trial, inhuman treatment, Survival, Angst, fluff (eventual smut), possible future yandere (Jungkook), blood, possible dismantling, biting, death of minor characters, age difference, noona.

Disclaimer: This is not a full fiction or story, merely a plot. Please read this post before proceeding. If you are reading this, you can reblog the post if u want to!

Music Recommendation: Wolves of Odin- Colossal Trailer Music

Plot or Synopsis: It is about an apocalyptic world where the human population is overthrown by mutated creatures, who once used to be human. L/N Y/N is a 21 year old girl surviving on her own. She's constantly on the road, salvaging supplies for survival, on her daily run, she meets lone or group of survivors but she never sticks around, living by her rule "Alone is Safe".

On her journey to survival she meets a pregnant woman who seems to be on the run and in a pretty bad shape. Around 3 years ago, Y/N lost her sister when the breakout started, and she remembered how she was helpless enough not being able to save her sister. Seeing the pregnant woman, she is reminded of her elder sister and gets attached. So she decides to stay by her to take care of her and her unborn baby and breaks the one and only rule she lived by so far, to survive alone.

Soon she realizes the woman is being chased by people, not just brain eating monsters. They seem powerful and battle ready. She kept asking the woman why she was being chased and she told Y/N the less she knew, the safer she will be. Running from them being the 1st priority, she doesn't press the woman for further explanation. One day while supply run, they are cornered by those mystery men's and they go into hiding. The anxiety and stress leads the woman to go into labor and she gives birth to a boy. But soon their hiding location is compromised and they need to run again. After the birth the woman is too weak to run. So refuses to go with Y/N saying she will slow them down. So Y/N now has a choice to either stay and get caught by those men or take the baby and run, leaving the mother behind. The woman insists she does the later. Y/N doesn't argue further, knowing that's the only logical thing to do. So even though she feels guilty, she vows to the woman to protect the child and runs away while the woman buys her time by tricking them thinking she has the baby.

Y/N is not the kind to stay in the same location for long as it draws the undead but she needs a place to keep the baby safe, since she can't carry him to her daily run. So she decides to settle down in some outskirt, to raise him in safety. But things starts to get complicated when she notices the kid isn't an average child. He is growing at an unprecedented rate and shows undisputable strength. By the time the child was 1 months old, he already grew into a 1 year old kid.

Although she decides to take the child in to protect it and raise, in the back of her mind she somewhat resents it, knowing it was the reason the mother had to sacrifice herself. It reminds of herself, how her elder sister sacrificed herself to a group of undead when they broke into her house in the middle of the night so she can buy Y/N some time to run away. If it wasn't for either of them, her sister and the mother would be alive. So she never cuddles the baby, only holds him when he's crying, doesn't name him, never shows any affection towards it. She feels kind of relieved for the child's growth as she didn't need to care for an infant for long. But there is something in the way the child looks at her, like she holds the moon and star for him, sometimes it bothers her as if the child sees through her.

After 4 months of settling down in a outskirt school near the hill, one day she returns home after salvaging for rations, she saw that the boy was not in the room. She clearly remembers locking the door when she left but seeing the door unlocked, she starts to panic. She starts looking for the boy and curses herself for not naming him. While calling out to the boy, she hears a faint voice. She followed the trail of voice and as she moved closer, the faint voice became clearer and she can clearly hear someone calling for 'Noona'. When she stepped into the backyard she could she the boy crouching down to a half-dead plant. As the boy touched the plant she watched in her dismay the plant coming back to life. Noticing her presence, the boy looked at her direction and calling out to her as "noona". She was both shocked and scared because she never taught him to speak neither spoke much around him. The boy observed her and watching her act distant and frightened around him made him upset. As he tried to approach her to hold her hand and comfort her, she kept looking at the plant. She saw the plant wither and eventually rot as he took a step further to her direction. She was startled, she tumbled on her feet and fall down on her back and called him a monster. With teary eyes he told her his name was Jungkook,not monster or "kid". Jungkook, that's what his mother wanted to call him.

She had a lot of questions to Jungkook. Like how he opened the lock, how he knew what her mother wanted to call him, how he knew how to speak and knew what monster meant and how was he doing that to the plant. He said that he felt sad and lonely so he wanted to find you, at first he didn't know how the lock worked but he figured it out. When he made it to the backyard, he the only thing that felt alive in there was the plant and it was dying. He felt like he could help it. When she asked how he knew what sadness and loneliness was he said he shared the memory of his mother from her pregnancy. She would often cry and feel restless what she termed as sadness or loneliness until she came along. That's how he knew who Y/N was, why he called her noona and how he knew he could trust her, as he described how his mother felt around her, safe & warm. She doesn't question further about the wilting plant. After talking to Jungkook, she started connecting the dots about why his mother was chased and how Jungkook was no ordinary child. She realized maybe keeping Jungkook safe won't be just as easy as raising him.

Jungkook learned and picked up on things quite easily so going to runs was getting quite easier but still uneasiness settled in Y/N's mind. She can't control the situation when she's away and the thought of Jungkook taken away or even worse getting attacked was quite startling. She never shows it but she deeply cares about the kid. Jungkook himself was quite clingy towards Y/N although she never reciprocates the affection. She simply keeps up the role of a provider. it's been already 16 months since they've been living in the outskirt and the undead are picking up on her scent due to her daily trail in the same direction as she keeps seeing more and more of them in the surrounding area.

So after a few close encounters and trial salvage run with Jungkook, she decides to move out of the outskirt and target bigger cities. She avoided bigger cities so far thinking the people chasing Jungkook's mother may still be looking for him. By the time living there, Jungkook already grew up to become a teenager so she reasoned, the people looking for him would be looking for a child, not so much of a well-build boy who looks like who is in his late teen's. She thought maybe it's time to move around. But maybe it was not a good decision after all. Things starts to shift, not always for the best interest. Few days in the city, Y/N starts to realize that Jungkook is perfectly fit to tend for himself and rather than keeping him safe, Y/N is the one slowing him down and making him vulnerable. If she's caught with Jungkook they can use her against him to make him comply but if she's not with him, he is perfectly capable and trained to slipping away.So she decides its time to go back to her old way of life. But things doesn't go as easy as she thought as with time she got extremely attached to Jungkook. On the other hand, Jungkook experiences the same thing unfold in front of him again. At first it was his mother, who was separated from him and now his Noona whom he loves very dearly is abandoning him again. He is upset and he doesn't understand why is she leaving him and it's driving him mad. He can't even read her as he promised he won't do it without her permission. Jungkook's heart is breaking but he departs from her without any objections.

On a run close to a suspicious facility, Y/N meets a survivor who she helps escape from people that looked a lot like the people chasing Jungkook's mother. The boy, not more than 2/3 years older than her introduces himself as Dr. Kim Taehyung, a young scientist from the facility. At first she doesn't trust him but things take turns and Taehyung proves to be someone reliable. Eventually she discovers a lot about the breakout, the undead and how the facility handled the things only to make it worse. Then he mentions something about the authority going crazy about a subject escaping the facility more than 1.5 year ago and Y/N becomes alert. The description of the escaped subject eerily matched with Jungkook's mother. So she questions taehyung about it and what she finds out leaves her frantic and full of fear & guilt. She sets out to find Jungkook with the help of Taehyung as soon as she can. When departing from Jungkook she knew they would both suffer but what she did not know that, growing up, the bond he shared with her, breaking it or separating Jungkook from her would take a big toll on Jungkook. With every passing moment without her, Jungkook will loose a piece of him that made him human, made him the boy Y/N knew & raised and turn him into more of a thing Y/N feared him to be in the beginning, a monster.

PS: is it a plot anymore? I'm not sure 😅. The plot I intended to write turned out to be more detailed than I would have originally liked but ehh, whatever. If anybody does decides to write about it, they have the full liberty to make changes into the plot or turn or take the story further in any direction they want. Whether they decide to give me a credit for it or nah, it's their discretion but if they do, it would be appreciated so the readers finding this blog may enjoy the full story as well ❤️

This picture is inspired by the entire storyline so far. The pictures I used to make this collage are collected from Pinterest, I don't own them.

[mybg3notebook]

Gale Summarised Analysis

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536 (Early access). As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in May 2021.

The majority of sources used for this article are in the game itself (this includes my Gale-solo playthroughs as well as a combination of the videos by munmomuu and selphie1999), and the few dev’s notes provided by pjenn. Gale as origin is not taken into account since it’s not finished and has little to none Gale-related content. There will be little datamining content as well since pjenn said the game contained almost no gale-related notes (only in the Weave and in the Revelation scene).

Additional disclaimers about meta-knowledge and interpretations in (post)

The number between brackets [] represents the topic-block related to (this post), which gathers as much evidence as I could get.

We can infer about Gale by analysing what he approves and disapproves of. Sometimes, we can even lightly infer some information from his neutral reactions, but let’s be honest: this way of analysing a char is pretty poor since it leaves everything to speculation. Neutral reactions can only be analysed, in very rare instances, by contrasting the same situation in other contexts, and seeing what other options Gale approves or disapproves of. With these considerations in mind, we can proceed to describe this character.

Disclaimer: this is a meta with my personal interpretation of the character, sticking as much as possible to the facts and leaving little to “desires” or “projections” of what I want him to be. If I do so, I will state it explicitly in the text for the sake of analysis honesty. I want to be clear about what is canon (facts shown in bg3 EA), from what’s personal interpretation with little proof.

Understanding Gale (integrated text)

We are none of us monsters. We are merely hatcheries for monstrous things. So we fight them

---Gale 

Collecting most of the information provided in-game, we know he has a cat, a Library, and writes poetry sometimes. One of the first things that Gale will reveal is that he is a private person. He easily and clearly sets boundaries from the first moment, showing Tav where they stand. The second aspect he makes us aware of is his pragmatic thinking and his preference for diplomatic approaches. A third aspect that stands out on its own: he is a very verbose person, maybe as a result of his academia background in combination with his poetry hobby. He also has a bad posture when talking, but I’m not sure if this is intentional or a bug.

We can assure that Gale certainly is a man of the city [13], and may have a decent social status. It's impossible to say for sure if it's noble or rich or both, or it is just a natural consequence of being a wizard scholar: he is frustrated by the harshness of the camping life, he misses the civilisation of the city which offers well cooked meals, soft beds, and scented baths. Not by chance he is the only companion in the group who would approve of giving Oskar 200 gold to fight “the discomforts of the road” [13]. However, he adapts. Despite the lack of luxuries, he managed to survive in the wilderness.

Gale and his link with magic is unquestionable. Magic is life for Gale, metaphorically and literally speaking since it's magic what allows him to stay alive despite the "orb" in his chest. If we talk about Magic, we have to talk about Mystra and the Weave. The Weave is not only the embodiment of Mystra, it's an extension of Mystra herself. It extends across many planes of existence and is in almost all parts of Faerûn. By dragging power from it, Magic can be performed. 

Mystra, for lore reasons and conjectures that I will discuss in the post "Mystra and her Chosen ones", turned teenager/young adult Gale into one of her Chosen, making their relationship more intimate and granting Gale a deeper access to the Weave. This put Gale into the category of an archwizard. It's clear that Gale was and still is a devotee of Mystra, which could give us a hint of his alignment since she is a neutral good goddess and she expects for her Chosen to align around it.

Gale likes confidence, in others and in himself. He is confident in his looks (he has described himself as a “handsome devil” and answered during the romance/Revelation scene that he knew he was beautiful under the light as well as Tav). But beyond these two lines, qualifying him as a narcissist seems extreme. He is surely very confident about his knowledge, and we see he is not just mere words: his Mind Flayer knowledge is at the the same level of what githyankis know. If we compare how Astarion/Tav struggled with the book of Thay, and then we see how Gale manages it (sadly the scene is not complete yet in EA, and there is almost no datamining info of Gale), we can conclude once more that his knowledge and power of the mind are real (he is, so far, the main companion who allows us to explore the lore of the game in a deeper way during his conversations). We also know it's a bit more complicated to intrude into his mind using the tadpole because he has knowledge and mental tools to protect himself (check the post about the Tadpole inside Gale). He is certainly a very verbose and confident scholar, who knows his limits, and in occasions he seems to dabble into an ego-teasing play as an attempt of levity, displaying his “insufferable side”, as he has described himself (his self-awareness of these traits is remarkable, and it is the reason why I avoid qualifying him as arrogant. Arrogant chars are hardly self-aware of their own bad manners or insufferable traits). But we can see it's usually done as a joke or, with an evil Tav, as an aggressive reaction. For a deep analysis of this aspect, check the post about "Gale Hypotheses- Part 2", section: "Narcissism". 

Based on his approvals and disapprovals, we can see that Gale has a strong preference in avoiding fights, violence, and bloodshed [1]. He will always prefer diplomatic and persuasive approaches [2]. Reasoning is his best weapon, but if the individual we are dealing with can hardly be persuaded, he would approve of a deception or an intimidation as long blood is not spilt. Here is where we see his pragmatism in action, all the time. His primary goal at every moment is to avoid bloodshed. His philosophy could be summed up in the line “the means [as long as they don’t kill gratuitously] hardly matter if the end is worthy”. And for Gale, nothing is more worthy than life [3]. This doesn't cover only the life of innocents he cares about, it includes the life of the most dubious characters as well, such as Rugan or Crusher. Gratuitous death is meaningless for him. During the scene of Nettie we can have a glimpse of his philosophy towards life: he viscerally hates treating life as if it were nothing: 

Gale: How dare she snuff out life with as much thought as snuffing out a bloody candle? […] It's not right to feel the cold breath of death in your neck, then move on as if it was nothing but a soothing breeze. One respects life by fighting for it, and one respects death by fearing it.

Gale: One should never be afraid to live life to the fullest.

Probably the limited amount of life he has due to the "orb" increased his sense of respect for life and its celebration. I personally understand Gale as a character who embodies the perspectives of a seriously ill person, knowing that their life may be short, but they will try to make the best out of it. 

He doesn't only respect life per se, he also cares about its dignity. This can be seen in his explicit rejection to undead existences such as Connor (he explains that it would be merciful to put an end to his undead nightmare), or in his disapprovals of humiliation and torture [9]

 We could suspect that this emphasis in protecting any life comes from the fact that only people who are alive can (sometimes) be forgiven or/and change. This is not explicit, but since he is a character who talks about being better and wiser than his previous self, about acknowledging mistakes, about forgiveness, this interpretation seems reasonable. 

These concepts of kindness and compassion combined with “the mistakes of the youth” are repetitive in his interactions and approvals [5,12]. Of course, they echo in his soul since they are reflections and desires of his own experience. This pattern covers forgiving children in particular [5], and disapproving hard judgements [16], especially on matters whose story is not fully understood by Tav. This means he doesn't like quick judgements when he doesn't know the whole story first. This scenario can be easily seen during Karlach's quest, he reserves his judgment until knowing Karlach's side: There are always two sides to each story.

Gale: I have to say I don't know if agreeing to this hunt was such a wise idea. Who's to say who's the real villain in this tale of devils and masquerades? [...]When we track Karlach down, let's chat before we chop.

Similar concept appears during his Revelation scene, when he encourages and keeps asking Tav to listen to him first before judging. This is also the reason why in his Loss scene he would disapprove if Tav quickly assumes that his loss of Mystra was due to arrogance. Tav judged him without knowing the whole story. However, once Tav knows the whole story, Gale will accept any judgement from them without approval penalties during the Revelation scene.

He approves all actions that imply helping others in hard times and disapproves of them if they were done out of greed [4]. He is an animal lover [6,7]. Being kind to animals and treating them good will increase his approval, while animal cruelty will earn his disapproval. Same goes for humanoids: any display of gratuitous violence that could have been prevented with a trick or a diplomatic approach, any humiliation forced upon others, any torture or situation of slavery, is disapproved [8, 9, 11]. 

In particular, Gale seems to advocate the philosophy of “give others their own medicine”[18] or in other words: poetic justice. We can see this during the Myconid colony; he approves of helping the Myconid to avenge the young killed by the Duergar, adding the comment: “Wicked killers deserve wicked ends”. He is implying to give them a similar, wicked medicine to the Duergars. Another less deadly situation of this kind is shown during the foot situation with Crusher: Gale is the one suggesting “pungent poetic justice” and telling Tav that they should force Crusher to kiss their feet. 

The most iconic scene, however, is during Nettie's, if Tav lies during her interrogation. As a hot-headed reaction, Gale states that he would have poisoned Nettie if this situation would have happened to him. Although, after calming down, he approves of and confirms Tav's actions [if Tav managed to persuade Nettie to give them the antidote]

Gale: A taste of her own medicine is what she deserves! […] But you handled it, and you handled it well. 

 In this scene we also see a pattern: Gale is shown as a fallible human; his most visceral reaction during the first moment is anger and indignation, giving us a hint that he is not so rational when it comes to emotional states. An extremely obvious, human concept. 

The scene of Nettie trying to kill a potential menace (the victim of a MF) reverberated in his consciousness, projecting immediately a fact in his mind: if he ever dares to reveal his "orb" problem, and anyone knows what a danger he represents—no matter how stable it looks—people will want to remove the menace by killing him. 

This is the reason behind his words “It's just that, had it been me... had it been...” Gale knows that this simplistic and common thinking in removing what's dangerous would end up turning into a more destructive tragedy in his case than in any infected victim of the tadpoles. So this combination makes us see, for the first time, an emotional Gale. After some seconds, he cools down and returns to his more rational, diplomatic, and moderate self. What we can read here is that Gale would be very prone to rush decisions or to make mistakes under emotional circumstances. We will learn later that the other mistake he made under emotional stress ended up with the "orb" stuck in his chest. A third mistake was done during the party, once more under the emotional stress of a potential abandonment by Tav due to the true nature of the orb. 

Everything related to the “orb”—which is his most traumatic experience—naturally makes him more emotional and prone to mistakes. To see how truly traumatic the "orb" is in his life we can notice the following patterns during the meeting scene: he speaks about the tadpole in a relaxed, rational way, despite the traumatising experience. He first asks for an archwizard instead of for a cleric, because his priority is the orb. Gale's main fear is not the tadpole, but the orb. If we remember his words after the consumption of the artefacts, we realise he lives in a permanent state of anxiety and raw fear, and probably pain too, given his facial gesticulation when anything interacts with the "orb" (whether artefacts or Tav's hand). His banter with Shadowheart reinforces the concept that he always has a knot in the stomach. When he accepts the deal with Raphael, it seems to be related to the orb, not to the tadpole. The effect of the "orb" has ceased, but the tadpole is still in Gale's head since we still need to roll against a high DC and not only against a 1DC during this scene, so we can assume he still has the tadpole despite Raphael's deal. See the post about "The Tadpole" in Gale for more details.

Gale is a character that represents human experiences deeply related to growing up: mistakes done in the past, and the acceptance of not being forgiven despite the desire of wanting to. This can be easily seen during the conversation of the second tadpole dream, where Gale's mood is foul and we learn that his deepest desire is for Mystra to forgive him, but he also knows it's impossible for that to happen. He detects the lie in this dream because he has accepted that Mystra will never forgive him. Gale is the story of mistakes done during youth with grave consequences, of acknowledging them and trying to make them right, of surviving those mistakes, and depending on the interpretation, he is also the story of an ill dying man, with a gentle vision and deep care for life. 

The great majority of his approvals are based on actions that show kindness and compassion, both reiterative concepts that are so important in his character that they come from his lips when we see the goblin party: 

Gale: The shadow within is spreading like poison, corrupting kindness and compassion. [Only after a tough DC of 15]

In combination with: Gale: I don't know myself anymore. All this... It's not who I am. Around you, I'm not who I want to be. I should leave. 

These lines show how, in a sudden change to an evil path, Gale would start doubting his own morality, explaining that the cause of it is the "orb" itself, corrupting the most core aspects of his personality. This corruption may or may not be lore-related. It's not completely clear what Gale's "orb" truly is. For more details, check the post of the "Orb".

 His constant critical thinking comes from his advocacy to non-conventionality [15]: a true scholar will always explore all the options and hypotheses before reaching a conclusion. Therefore, Gale would approve of any non-conventional way to fix a problem [15] as long as it doesn't potentially cause harm or bloodshed [1,2,3,8,9]. Due to his own background, Gale will always advise to be very careful of the consequences of one’s actions. This can be easily seen when, after encountering the caged goblin Sazza, Gale would advocate to explore the possibility of reaching Gut Priestess to cure the tadpole. However, when Tav helps Sazza to escape, Gale will comment briefly against this action.

Gale: I know I said it's not inconceivable a goblin priestess could help us. And yet... was it really wise to set another goblin free so she can arrange introductions? […] consider the consequences. What if she leads her entire tribe to the grove? Tav: I don't care, I owe this grove no allegiance. Gale: No allegiance, no. Though we don't need to sign its death warrant

Once more we see that Gale is up to using any (unharming) means to get a goal, but not at any cost. He has a clear line he doesn't like to cross: life [3]. Avoiding putting other people's lives in danger is very important for him. We see this concept over and over in most scenes.

He doesn't likerushed decisions, and in that same train of thoughts, he will disapprove any use of unknown magic or tricks when nobody in the group can truly understand how they work [17], for example the tadpoles or Raphael's deal (he is against accepting it quickly, but he will approve of having a more cautious attitude and carefully thinking about it). 

Since the moment we meet him, we can infer he is obsessed with the artefacts. It's obviously understandable: he doesn't want to die, but also, he doesn't want to kill all those that will be caught in the eruption of the orb. For this reason he will insist on the loot in the Temple Ruins despite knowing that grave robbery is not correct. 

Gale: Bad form, isn't it? Grave robbing? […] Let's have a look at the loot. It isn't for your pockets only. 

He keeps pondering life over death: although he respects the dead, he will always value more the living creatures in the present. This is also what pushes Gale to suggest Tav to open Rugan's chest. Stealing from the evil Zhentarins is not something that will weigh on his consciousness too much. Besides, he knows it belongs to a wizard: meaning that the chance for it to contain a powerful artefact is really high. Similar suggestions will be said about the Idol of Silvanus, but talking with him in the camp will show us that he won't approve of taking it, only as a last resort. He keeps pondering the living over a sacred piece of stone, since he knows the druids won't take the stealing very peacefully. Once more we see Gale's respect and care for life, trying to minimise damage as much as the circumstances allow him.

Gale is also a survivalist. He doesn't want to die, he loves celebrating life in its more mundane and small details. He is an emotional character for a wizard, a bit strange since they are usually portrayed as more rational and cold, losing their lives among dusty books. However, Gale has shown in many scenes that he prefers to survive without killing, but if he has to, he will do it, dealing with the weight of it in his consciousness because killing unprovoked affects him (scene in the camp after killing the druids, or the goblin party scene). 

His moral in preventing gratuitous death sometimes will conflict with his own survival, especially if he is by an evil Tav's side. He couldn't accept bloodshed when other peaceful options were available and possible to reach. This is clearly shown during the goblin party, where Gale's consciousness suffers and feels the corruption of the "orb" killing the kindness and the compassion inside him. He accepts that wanting to live is a powerful drive, but he doesn't support this massacre, questioning if all that blood was necessary. A Tav killing the tieflings seems to lose the possibility of pursuing Gale romantically, at least in EA so far. For Gale, survival is important, but the means to do it (when they can cause death) matter too. Life is worth preserving.

 The usual archetype of survivalist tends to be an individualist one who would survive at any cost without remorse because that's the “law of the jungle”, the strongest must survive. However, Gale seems to embody a different concept of survivalist that it's hard to put in words: a sort of communal survivalist, trying to survive in coexistence with his community: he wants his survival to imprint the least harm possible (even though sometimes it would not be possible), trying to help those around him as long as his condition allows it; for example, despite wanting Gut's potential cure for the tadpole, he would disagree in helping Sazza escape because she will lead the goblins to the Grove, no matter the fact that doing this will grant them their introduction to the priestess. 

His list of approval shows that his sense of survival is always pondered with the consequences that it can cause on others (check the post with the "Extensive list of Gale's approvals"). The whole concept of the "orb" has this motivation as well: he wants to live and survive, but he also can't give up because his body would kill many, so he needs to do as much as his moral allows him to keep it in check. If he cannot do it any longer, he promises to minimise the disaster as much as possible by erupting in the deep Underdark or in a desolated corner of Faerûn (and considering his ridiculous list of approvals and disapprovals, we know he is honest in not wanting to kill gratuitously). Gale acknowledges his own mistakes, trying—to the best of his ability—to deal with them without catching others in them. Although all his speeches keep emphasising that he is a mere human, and plans may fail. 

At some point, if he wants to survive “not at any cost”, he will be forced to ask Tav for help during the scene of the stew (available only for medium approval or higher). As a gesture of honesty, Gale will set a boundary before making this request, acknowledging its unfairness but giving Tav the decision to proceed or not. He is not denying to explain the details later, but at the moment he can't speak the “why” of his condition no matter how curious Tav is. Tav will decide whether they can keep their curiosity on the matter. 

We will understand later that this impediment comes as a precaution as well as consequence of his personal trauma with Mystra and the "orb" (See post about "Gale: Manipulation, Lies, and Trust"). So, he is very clear about setting the conditions in which this conversation will happen from the beginning. The easiest way for Gale to avoid this whole situation would have been by simply lying, but he opted for an honest approach with clear out-loud reservations, knowing he was asking for more trust than he was allowed to, but the intention behind is more than important. There is a clear, huge contextual detail that we can't miss: this scene doesn't happen because of Gale's whims, he is forced to ask for help since his condition “is not a patient one” and will endanger everyone if not kept at bay. 

This detail where Gale explicitly asks for an exchange of trust is not present if Gale's approval is neutral or lower. In this case, Gale would not care about giving a context to his strange request: he doesn't trust Tav and he doesn't expect to be trusted either, he only wants the artefacts to keep his condition in check for his sake and the sake of others. We can understand this change of attitude depending on the approval as he doesn't want to give any extra explanation to someone he is not interested in building a relationship with. For more details, check the post about "Gale: Manipulation, Lies, and Trust".

I personally support the idea that nobody in canon Faerûn is free of racial prejudices since Forgotten Realms lore has been created based strongly on fantasy racism. I've read that WotC wants to move forward and improve this aspect in 5e, but so far what they allowed Larian to do with the Tieflings in BG3 seems to show the contrary. So, since apparently we are going to face fantasy racism anyways, I will try to analyse racial prejudices from all chars. When it comes to Gale, it's a bit far-stretched to point out unjustified racial biases. He has a vague comment about Rashemi that some people may consider a faerunian saying. Personally, I think that line is a bias forced into him to have a particular dynamic with Minsc (the Rashemi “silly” companion -we all can see where Larian seems to go with this). Gale clearly sees tieflings, gnomes, and even goblins as people, and has a cautious attitude towards some githyanki (at least that's what we can infer with Lae'zel when we find her in the cage), but given the githyanki lore it's pretty reasonable to see them as dangerous creature that could kill people on the spot. So far, he seems to have no racial preference either [10]. 

As it was said before, he prefers to avoid killing people, but that doesn't mean he won't do it if his life depends on it. He will prefer persuasive and defusing approaches, but if he needs to kill to defend innocents or his own life, he won't hesitate. So therefore, stories about characters making mistakes or having violent excess in an effort to protect themselves or what they hold dear will be understood by him but hardly approved [19]. He tends more to approve a call out of that excess than approving an excuse for it.

Gale has deep abandonment issues that can be easily seen when he defends Astarion from being handed over to Gandrel. We need to put this in context before going on: for Gale, Astarion represents a danger as a vampire who attacked one of them during their sleep. By the display of meta-knowledge, we know with certainty that their approvals and disapprovals are mostly opposite: What one approves, the other will disapprove and vice versa. Getting rid of Astarion should be something that Gale would approve, however, he doesn't. If we explore his comments we will realise that what Gale disapproves from this situation is Tav's abandonment. After Mystra's abandonment, he knows very well that “Loyalty is such a very rare commodity”, and the few situations in EA in which Tav can display abandonment, resound strongly in Gale. 

Gale is a scholar with a strong balanced rational side. But unlike the trope, he also embraces an emotional side that, so far the info we received in EA, it's the side that makes him prone to mistakes. 

As an amateur poet, Gale loves words. We can obviously notice this in his verbose attitude, but also in the way he carefully uses words. One of his characteristic words is “spectacle”. He has also shown a reiterative—although not always—uneasy use of the word “fun”. Using “fun” as a way to describe the night spent with Gale gives him a slight uneasiness. “That’s a word for it.” He disapproves of using the word “Fun” after the Mayrina/Connor situation, in which scene Gale alludes that “your new company may be a proof of how depraved and twisted you are to see that tragedy as “fun”. Personally I think this is a direct allusion to Astarion, who considers Mayrina's situation as “entertainment”, in the same way he considered as “fun” the show of Arabella's death (two of several instances where he used that word). Gale also doesn’t use the word sex during EA, instead he uses romantic ones such as love-making, intimacy, art of the night/body. In the most technical case: coitus (used only when he is talking about “goblinoid intimacy” in the expression “post-coital snack”). These details are showing not only his poet/romantic side, but also his interpretation of sex from his perspective: sex can only be possible through a connection. We know he doesn’t engage in casual sex with Lae’zel if he is not romanced, and his romance can only potentially start if Tav shares that deep connection with him through the Weave. 

Another detail related to words is that Gale has always used an infection/disease-related vocabulary to explain the “orb” stuck in his chest: infested, taint, shadow spreading 

[…] I failed to control [this chaotic magic]. Instead it infested me. […] This Netherese taint... this orb, for lack of a better word [..] […] the shadow within is spreading like poison, corrupting kindness and compassion. [...]

Gale apparently has a particular way to sense magic. I have no way to check this in-game, but it seems very strange how he immediately identifies magical artifacts without casting Detect Magic. There are some extra scenes as well where he says to taste or smell the magic in some objects. Even his encounter with Shadowheart, besides being considered a flirt, could be also interpreted as him detecting the magic that we saw later in her hand or maybe the dark magic that blocks her memories, since Gale pointed out about a curtain covering her soul: “if the eyes are the mirror to the soul, yours have dark curtains across the mirror” (a very ominous flirting if it’s only a flirt)

This makes me suspect that, if the "orb" is not giving him this skill, it may be a consequence of having been Chosen of Mystra (for more details read the post about "Mystra and her Chosen ones"). If this is the case, he may have hindered remains of theirs powers when it comes to detect magic at will.

Gale has a perception of magic with all the senses: he sniffs and tastes magic. During the mirror scene you have an option related to [Arcana] tag where he “Sniff the mirror, trying to understand the nature of its magic”. A wizard Tav will just “Inspect the mirror”. He also said that he could “taste” the magic in the necromancy book and in the runes of teleportation. 

What we know of his family is little: when he was a kid there was a housekeeper in his life (mentioned only once during the scene of the harpies) and his mother that seemed to have personally raised and cared for him (mentioned twice: in the ruin temple scene, and in his banter with Wyll) 

Tav: Why care about decorum in a long-abandoned tomb? Gale: Because my mother raised a gentleman. Then again, to be alive is to be curious. 

Wyll: Between the orb and the bug you've got more than your fair share of unwelcome passengers. Gale: What can I say. Mother always taught me to be a gracious host.

This post was written in May 2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index