#codex between this and that

[lizzybeeee]

When you spend 20 years attempting to bring down the child slavery, murdering, human trafficking exploitation ring that stole your childhood, murdered your friends, and killed countless innocents only to have them rebrand as 'Noble Freedom Fighters™' off-screen.

[hawkeshep]

kinda sucks that I couldn’t play datv long enough to see the solavellan reunion but oh well

[cienie-isengardu]

Jaster Mereel's Supercommando Codex - source material

The History of the Mandalorians (2005)

Jaster Mereel, a deeply pious human and extraordinary soldier, immediately noticed a deep-seated dissatisfaction in the hearts of many hard-boiled Mandalorian. As a former Journeyman Protector, Mereel brought a strong ethic that extended far beyond the limited Mandalorian ideology of fighting for credits. His prowess in combat earned him the respect of his peers, and when Mereel fought tooth-and-nail to became reigning Mandalore and unite the disparate clans, his ideals became the foundation for a new creed: the supercommando Codex. Not all agreed with Mereel's ideas, however. Many bloodthirsty and amoral Mandalorians resented him, having enjoyed the unaccountability of their mercenary lifestyles. Among them was the soldier Vizsla, who gathered the dissenters into a splinter group, the Mandalorian Death Watch. Mereel's suppercommandos, in turn, recast themselves as the True Mandalorians, and total war ensued.

The New Essential Chronology (2005)

The Battle of Galidraan marked the end of the Mandalorian Civil War, a conflict between True Mandalorians and the Mandalorian Death Watch that had been sizzling for over a quarter century. Following the Mandalorians' extinction of the Ithullans a century and a half earlier, some clan members had expressed a desire to shed the amoral ways of the "Mandalorian Mercs". Eventually, the charismatic Jaster Mereel came to lead the clans as Mandalore, and set down an idealistic code of conduct in the Supercommando Codex. A Mandalorian named Vizsla attracted followers fond of the old ways, who formed the Death Watch faction. Armed conflict broke out approximately 60 B.B.Y.

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008)

From Jaster Mereel's Entry (vol. 2):

[...] When Merel was elected the leader of the Mandalorian Mercs, it was believed that Vizsla decided to split off from the group and form the Death Watch. In response, Mereel declared that his followers were the True Mandalorians. Vizsla tried to destroy the True Mandalorians on Concord Dawn, but Mereel and a small force managed to survive, thanks in part to the efforts of a young Jango Fett. The Mandalorians regrouped, but Mereel felt pressure from hard-liners like Montross to eliminate the Death Watch and reestablish the superiority of the Mandalorians. It was during this time that he created the Codex, the new tenets and canons of supercommandos who followed him into battle. He also appointed Jango Fett as his choice to succeed him as Mand'alor.

Supercommando Codex Entry (vol. 3):

Supercommando Codex This was the name used by Jaster Mereel to describe the set of tenets and canons that he developed to oversee the new Mandalorian Mercs several decades before the onset of the Clone Wars. The codex was created to define the rules and roles of his new supercommandos, in an effort to unite the disparate clans of Mandalorian Mercs under a single leader. Although many followers of the Mandalorian codes agreed with Jaster and the codex, many others - Vizsla and Montross among them - broke away from his band in protest over the new rules.

Galaxy at War (2009)

The roots of the Protectors stretch back to Jaster Mereel's formation of the Mandalorian Supercommandos (Mando Ori'ramikade). During the Mandalorian Civil War of 60-34 BBY, the Protectors' ranks were split into two factions: the rebellious Death Watch and the reformist True Mandalorians of Mereel and Jango Fett. The True Mandalorians met their end at the Battle of Galidraan, but ther moral teaching, embodied in the Supercommando Codex, inspired many back on Mandalore.

The Essential Guide to Warfare (2012)

In the last century before the Battle of Yavin, two new Mandalorian movements arose. The mercenary Jaster Mereel, who became Mandalore in 60 BBY, sought to reinstitute the warrior codes. His True Mandalorians were opposed by mercenaries who argued that the way to restore the clans' honow was to topple the hated New Mandalorians and repay the Republic's savagery in kind. This group became known as the Death Watch.

+ bonus, Jango Fett and Tor Vizsla opinions on Jaster Mereel's idea of honor, as presented in Death Watch Manifesto (published as part of The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett, 2013)

[...] Other disagreements soon followed. Some of the Faithful, the so-called True Mandalorians, wanted to dictate how all of us should earn credits for ourselves and our families, and they sought to supervise our conduct in a hostile galaxy. The wiser among us understood that in times of war it is only the ruthless - those who free themselves of the traps of pity and vacillation - who survive.

The breaking point came nearly three decades ago, when the Faithful made a terrible error, choosing Jaster Mereel as the True Mandalore. Mereel had been a lawman, a Journeyman Protector on Concord Dawn, until he murdered a superior officer. Wracked by guilt, he concluded that the flaw lay not in his own heart but in the universe. Unable to contain his own passions, he sought to eliminate them in everyone else. His blinkered view of Mandalorian honor would have reduced the Faithful to mere hirelings, helpless against the Faithless.

[Fett's comment written on margin] These are lies. Jaster sought true honor, not the right to ignore laws and moral codes. Vizsla’s Death Watch was nothing but a license for murder - Jango.

Sources:

The History of the Mandalorians by Abel G. Peña; published as part of Star Wars Insider #80.

The New Essential Chronology by Daniel Wallace, reference book.

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia by Stephen J. Sansweet and Pablo Hidalgo, with contributions from Bob Vitas, Daniel Wallace, Chris Cassidy, Mary Franklin, and Josh Kushins, reference book.

Galaxy at War by Rodney Thompson, Gary Astleford, Eric Cagle, Daniel Wallace; a supplement to the Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook published by Wizards of the Coast.

The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett by Daniel Wallace, Ryder Windham, and Jason Fry; reference book.

The Essential Guide to Warfare by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart; reference book.

[dreamingangelwolf]

Codex Week 2025 - Day 2: Bonded Pair

Another @codex-week snippet, because I’m still a little way off finishing the whole piece, eheh (I don’t even have a title for it yet!)… Anyway - this is technically a continuation of the first prompt but from the second chapter. Slight vampire AU, anyone…?

“You -” Rex’s mind goes into overdrive. “We’re -”

“It doesn’t make you the same as me,” Cody says, sure and certain and, gods, Rex can feel the confidence in his words - how?

“I can feel you,” he says instead, eyes wide.

Cody nods. “And I can feel you. You’re okay, there’s no need to panic. Nothing about you has changed.”

“Hasn’t it?” Rex shoots back. It makes sense now, why he’s felt so in-tune with Cody since waking up, reading him with such clarity it was as if he was projecting his thoughts and feelings. Trying to rein in his thoughts, Rex closes his eyes (and stars above, he can still sense Cody in front of him!), picking out the most immediate question in the array flying around his mind; “You said I’m not like you?”

“You’re not like me,” Cody confirms.

“But my injury -”

“Healed fast because of my blood.”

At that, Rex opens his eyes to narrow a glare at him, silently demanding further explanation, and Cody acquiesces - which Rex knows, because he felt it. Through their… bond. Somehow.

“You weren’t getting better,” Cody explains, sorrowful and with a lingering memory of fear. “I knew moving you wasn’t going to help matters, but we needed to do just that or else the retrieval team would find us, and you wouldn’t -” he swallows. “I’d never see you again.”

Rex frowns, his hand drifting to the thin scar under his shirt. “It was that bad?”

Exhaling, Cody nods. “Giving you my blood was the only way I could think to get you healed in time,” he continues. “The one drawback was that it meant I had to take yours in return. In any other circumstance, I wouldn’t have thought of doing it without your consent, but between that and losing you -”

As he chokes off the last word, Rex feels it again, stronger this time: the fear, and the guilt. An impression plays in his mind again, of Cody leaning over him, his lips to Rex’s neck, desperation driving his instincts, the taste of blood on his tongue, the rich, heady, tainted taste of it, how good it would be without the sickness, his restraint bowing under the sheer desire to consume more -

With a gasp, Rex comes back to himself, immediately locking on to Cody’s worried expression. Without breaking eye contact, Rex lifts a hand up to the pulse point at his neck, fingertips pressing into the muscle until he feels a slight change in the texture of his skin.

Two very small puncture scars.

[lucaanis]

Summary: After discovering the destruction left in the gods' wake at D'meta's Crossing, Lleyth collects their thoughts and ponders the team's next steps.

Warnings: Descriptions of canon-typical body horror.

codex series / part one / [part two] / part three

Right. Things have gone from bad to worse. Why would I expect any different?

The big mirror downstairs— the Eluvian (Solas called it the Vir'Revas, the "freedom of ways") took us back to Arlathan. I'm not sure I'm entirely cut out for the whole inter-dimensional travel thing, it makes my skull itch and my stomach feel weird, but I suppose it's leagues better than travel by boat, so I can't really complain. We ran into some of Varric's and Harding's old acquaintances on the other side: The Veil Jumpers.

I'm not familiar with them personally, but one of them, Bellara, has come back to the Lighthouse with us.

Good. Neve is brilliant, but Lace and I are all but useless when it comes to magic, and we need an expert on ancient elven magic in particular, which she is. And she explains things! Which I appreciate.

I won't presume to know the specifics of any complex magical theory. I'm no mage, but I'm also not a complete dunce, and mages aren't the only ones capable of using and studying magic. There are some things I've familiarized myself with in my alchemical training over the years; How to properly utilize runes and other magical essences to synthesize powerful spells. Still, it helps to have someone explain how things work and what they do instead of just asking me to "just trust them" or insist they "know what they're doing" for once. (Maybe you know what you're doing, but I don't! That's why I'm anxious!) And as limited as my understanding of ancient elven artifacts that predate my life by at least a thousand years may be, I find myself curious nonetheless, and Bellara has been very receptive to my questions.

She will be an excellent addition to the team… assuming we don't all get ourselves killed.

One thing is certain; The echoes of Solas's ritual have left ripples throughout Arlathan, and likely most of northern Thedas. These ripples have completely fucked up the forest in ways I can't even begin to wrap my head around, and from the sound of it, the Jumpers can't make heads or tails of it either. What we do know is that the entire region is magically unstable and, at times, completely nonsensical. Pockets in the Fade appearing out of nowhere and swallowing people whole, ancient artifacts going haywire, experienced Veil Jumpers going missing— presumed dead, or worse.

More innocent blood on my hands. A lot of that going around these days. But dare I ask, what was the alternative? Let Solas carry out his insane plan to sunder the Veil, destroying the world as we know it? The death toll alone would have been catastrophic. I knew what the stakes were, should he be allowed to succeed. We all did.

But sangre del Hacedor— after what happened to D'meta's Crossing… I am yet to tell whether I've helped save this world or simply doomed it to a fate worse than I've yet to fully comprehend.

The Blight in south never reached Antiva, and I was too young to fully understand it at the time, but you hear things; The words of refugees and ship captains who ran trade routes through Amaranthine. Enough to sate the vivid imagination of a fledgling Crow who had only ever heard stories of darkspawn armies marching from the Deep Roads to the wingbeats of an Archdemon.

Never in my life had I thought it would be anything like this.

The stench of darkspawn struggles to leave my mind. There's a reason why they should stay in the fucking Deep Roads where they belong. I've encountered their ilk before, but only stragglers. Nasty fucking things. They die like anything else in this world, but nothing prepares you for the ferocity— and the wrongness of them. (Why anyone would willingly join the Grey Wardens to hunt such creatures is beyond me.)

But this? A whole village gone overnight in complete silence, consumed by the Blight? No, worse than Blight. This particular Blight is wrong. I'm almost at a loss for words to describe it.

It's vile; It pulsates and writhes like it's alive, and it beckons— dark whispers tugging at my ears like madness. It hungers. Corpses twisted up in its roots like it had consumed them while they were still alive, feeding off of blood and bone marrow seeping into the earth. Others were left to rot with limbs mangled and skulls crushed against the doors of their homes, thinking the thin sheet of wood could protect them from the Blight. Poor bastards.

I can feel its malice, even now. Like hate and hunger that seeks only to destroy and corrupt everything in its path. It's like it warps the very Veil surrounding it, tearing it with its teeth. I don't know if the others can feel it as I do. I don't know if I want to know the answer.

It's a nightmare, is what it is— only I haven't woken up yet.

The only survivors we could find were blighted out of their minds, enslaved. Too far gone. If this is just a small taste of what the gods are capable of, how can we fight against it? How do we stop them before they do it again, and at a larger scale? How long do we have to plan countermeasures until an entire city is razed by this living nightmare?

The nightmare I helped release.

Some good news; We were able to recover the dagger Solas used in his ritual. One less weapon of mass destruction in the gods' arsenal. But Lace grabbed it before I could, and it changed something within her. And… I guess she has magic, now? Making her the first dwarf in history to wield magic, probably ever? I'm almost as baffled as she is, but she's taking it in stride. Of course she is. She's Lace-fucking-Harding. I'm afraid I'm of little use in this matter, but I'll do my best to help with what I can with what limited resources I can find. Whatever it is she's going through, she's not going through it alone.

Still, I've taken possession of the dagger for now— we don't yet know what it's capable of. I do know that it's made of raw lyrium, and that I've watched it hurt Varric and do… something to Lace, and rip open the Veil. And the gods were looking for it. That means it's dangerous. If anyone is going to carry the risk of exposure to its elements, whatever they may be, it should be me, and I'll sleep better for it— knowing where it is.

Up close, it's an odd thing. My fingers buzz as they brush the hilt. I can feel the energy resonating. I'd almost say it tickles, if the sensation weren't so unpleasant.

Another thing— my headache has gotten worse. Lucky me. I can't tell if it started throbbing before or after we got the dagger. So much has happened in the past few days that the tiny details seem to blur together. It's not constant, at least. It comes and it goes. At times I feel like my skull is about to implode, and at others it's more of a dull ache. Negligible, but annoying.

It's possible that my blood being anchored to the magic used at the ritual could be causing me to have some kind of reaction to the dagger. Maybe it's a stretch, but it's a running theory of mine. Everyone has enough to worry about without me moaning in their ears about my head hurting, so I haven't told the others.

It's been a long couple of days. Hopefully it will clear up with proper rest. I'll worry about it later.

I spoke to Solas again. Fen'Harel. The Dread Wolf. Whatever. Culero. (He doesn't look very "wolfy" to me, I'll say that much.) As per our last meeting, I found his "advice" to be trifling and his demeanor grating. My desire to skip stones across his inflated head aside, we need his help— but to what end, I wonder? For now, we are joined in a mutual goal: Stop Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan. A coalition born of necessity, nothing more. I don't trust him.

Varric trusted him, and look where that got him. I won't make the same mistake.

Varric is… well, he's awake and he's talking, at least, though he still needs plenty of rest. It's too soon for him to be back on his feet, yet I feel bad leaving him alone in the Lighthouse. What happens to him if we don't make it back? I've done what I can to keep him comfortable, but without my alchemy kit…

Though, I may soon have the chance to reclaim it, because Neve thinks we should go to the Crows for help. Of all the fucking… [scribbled out, illegible]

That's going to go over like an iron-fucking-balloon. My heart aches to see Treviso again, but not like this! Not limping back home after a botched contract and explaining to the Talons that I might have started another Blight. The Blight to end all Blights…

So much for setting things right. This contract was supposed to be my ticket back into the Crow's good graces, but it might as well have been my death warrant. Can anything be easy? Must everything we do require me to bend over a table and fuck myself sideways?

Don't get me wrong, Neve has the right idea about getting a specialist on taking down powerful mages for the team, but the Demon of Vyrantium? House Dellamorte? Shit. My own… experiences with Dellamortes aside, I'm like, 90% sure the poor bastard's dead. Venatori caught up with him, if I remember correctly. I should know, Viago dragged me to his wake. I never knew him personally, of course, but Crow politics are delicate. When the First Talon's grandson is declared K.I.A., you make appearances— shake hands, offer condolences, and don't drink the wine. Maker, I hate funerals.

So unless the Crows have taken up necromancy to frighten the Antaam while I've been gone (Funeral a hoax? Wouldn't put it past the Talons to arrange something like that to confuse our enemies), arranging a meeting with the Talons is probably going to give us more problems than answers.

But… we're short on allies. If there's a chance, however small, that the Crows suddenly give two fucks to rub together about the fate of Antiva and what happens outside our borders, we have to take it. Begrudgingly. And preferably with as much tequila as we can carry back here for later— I'm going to need it.

Neve wore me down. I'll send word to Teia. The only Talon that I'm mostly sure doesn't hate me still. Though I haven't exactly been… timely about responding to any of her letters. Or responding at all, for that matter. (It wasn't personal, it's just… difficult to hear about home, sometimes.) So that might have changed.

I'm sure she will be first in line to rip me a new one regardless.

For now, we have other leads to follow— Neve wants to introduce me to some of her friends in Minrathous. I say we start there, make sure the city is still holding together somewhat after the ritual, continue assessing the damage. Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll find someone there and we won't need the help of the Crows after all!

Other things to consider: We're going to have to make a run for supplies soon. We need food, water, and something to sleep on besides the cots in the infirmary. The room I'm currently in has an ugly sofa, which I guess is an upgrade, but it's no proper bed. This room gives me the creeps anyway. Who the fuck wants to sleep in front of a massive glowing aquarium? With all of those giant creepy Fade-fish staring back at you? How is this relaxing?

NO! I draw the line. Hopefully there are other rooms in this place that have yet to make themselves known to me, because I'm not getting any sleep like this.

What I wouldn't give to be back home getting a massage and my hair washed in a bathhouse in Antiva City right now. The one with the lavender salt soaks with bergamot oil and rose petals, complimentary mulled wine and ripened cheese with bresaola and orange fig spread...

Ugh! The thought of it is enough to bring tears to my eyes! I must dwell on this no longer.

Varric thinks the team needs me. I think maybe he hit his head harder than we thought. I know he wanted me as his second in command, but this? Leading everyone against these odds? There's a reason why I was better in the Crows as a solo act— it's easier to make the decisions when I'm only responsible for my own life.

Whatever it was that Varric saw— sees in me, I can only hope I live up to it somehow.

Bellara's working on getting the Vir'Revas to connect to other Eluvians so we can plan our next move. I'm going to stay up for a while, I think. Keep watch while the others rest. I wouldn't mind exploring more of the Lighthouse, anyway. This room with the creepy fish wasn't here before. What other rooms could this place hold that we haven't discovered yet, or more likely, haven't yet made themselves known to us?

(Note: If this journal ends here, it's safe to assume I've misstepped and fallen into the void. It's going to take a while to get used to the whole floating-in-the-Fade bit.)

— R.

[theodosiani]

Ghilan'nain ate the other evanuris.

Which is not to say Ghilan'nain killed the other evanuris, no their archdemon's died and the blight took them. Slowly perhaps, agonizingly but without their immortality even they may succumb to it's tortuous plague. No, Ghilan'nain watched as first Dirthamin fell and was guarded over zealously by a mad and distraught Falon'din. They all sat with his dying dead rotting body for a time. Falon'din would allow no one to touch him until he too fell to the blight.

They were the first that Ghilan'nain ate, thought Dirthamin was little more than bone. It was almost like having her children again. Returning them to safety within her, the only safety she could offer her comrades in arms. Ensuring that they may be together forever, it seemed a blessing and a mercy.

Everyone but Andruil was horrified. Andruil simply watched her knowingly, Ghilan'nain trusted her to do the same for her if she herself met such a fate. She could not fathom, even now that she had risen herself, outliving her beloved goddess.

Then went Sylaise, it began to feel natural, right. Their blood sung in her veins and she knew that she could carry them. When they inevitably escaped perhaps she could recreate them. Meld flesh and bone and perhaps a little of her own for surely theirs had mingled. It was a thought experiment, something to keep her busy while they lay trapped in this eternal prison.

And then Andruil's archdemon died.

Ghilan'nain ate Andruil when she still drew breath. They agreed on it, of course, argued even. Ghilan'nain did not want her love to suffer but Andruil would have no one else kill her. Would not suffer the indignity of mercy from the rest of their family. Instead, Andruil looked into the eyes of the servant she raised so high as Ghilan'nain sunk her teeth into her loves wrists and wrenched. She would have torn out her throat, or even her heart but then they could not look each other in the eyes. Ghilan'nain's own eyes would be the last thing her love saw, that felt right.

The prison was harder after that, Ghilan'nain found herself listlessly waiting, wondering when her own blood would twist and writhe against her. It never came, even as she changed. The blight of five evanuris coursing through her molded her into a creature unlike any other. She did not realize, for Andruil was gone and what reason did she have to maintain her appearance anymore?

When June died it was habit more than anything. Something to do in the endless wait for mortality. A feelings of flesh in her teeth and flesh beneath her fingers. Elgar'nan might sneer but it was the most movement he'd seen from her in decades. She wondered what he would do with her body, when the time came. Surely she would simply rot.

And then the prison broke.

Then Ghilan'nain was free.

[desaturate-worlds]

i was so excited for venom 3 and was so unimpressed 😭 when it ended i was just like “…oh” and i have so many thoughts but i need to watch it again before i fully form them

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

Girl help why is a fantasy setting using modern American gender terminology

They could've already bounced off of the existing term aqun-athlok and show the gender culture of the North largely adopting Qunari concepts as part of cultural exchange resulting from the literal hundreds of years of war with the Qun. The only openly transgender characters we know of are from Tevinter anyway! They already wanted to show the Qun in a more positive light in Veilguard, having Thedosian queer culture be primarily influenced by the Qun would be a great way to do exactly that

[megsdoodletag]

WIP Wednesdays: The Updated Codex

i'm doing WIP wednesdays bc i have SO much written and none of it can be posted on ao3 because!! they are not subsequent chapters lmao.

Juno gets a little lost (this happens often) and runs into one of her uncles (she has several) and a cousin (one she actually has met before, which is statistically a miracle). None of this means she's safe.

Juno had seen enough of her father's brothers to know this was one of them. "Honsou. What the fuck are you doing in here, and what the fuck is that?" the primarch demanded.

"Uh," said Honsou, "I stole her! To…uh, lure…my…glorious rival." He hefted Juno up a little further. "Yep. That's what this is. Hostage situation in progress."

A hostage?! Juno glared at him. She should have known a treacherous agent of Chaos would betray her like this!

Perturabo squinted at the baby, then up at Honsou. "That is an eldar."

"Not just any eldar," Honsou tilted Juno's chin up so she was forced to look up at the primarch. She pouted, knowing from experience biting on his metal arm wouldn't be as satisfying as she wanted it to be. "Look at those big baby Ultramarine blues. Ventris'll be here within the hour."

Disgust flickered over Perturabo's face. "This wasn't from your little…project…was it?"

"Huh? Wh- oh no! No she's not from the - no." Honsou laughed. "No this one the blue boys cooked up all on their own, isn't that right?" He bounced her on his hip.

"And you're certain she is of the thirteenth?"

"Absolutely." Honsou said blithely. "Check this out. Juno, what does the Codex have to say about this?"

Juno promptly launched into a particularly preachy refrain regarding facing chaos legions. "-and their stain shall be excised by the sword which is devotion and the bolter which is justice," she finished. She took a breath, having forgotten to do so during the recitation. "I'm not allowed to have a bolter 'till I finish basic training though," she explained apologetically, "so I will have to skip that bit today."

"'Course kiddo," Honsou said, patting her side absently. "When you're a little older you can take me out right and proper." His expression had turned a little funny, the way Lord Calgar's did sometimes when she was climbing on Brother Cato during debrief.

"Huh," said Perturabo. Then, "whatever, as long as your plan doesn't involve the Ultramarines planning a full scale invasion." He turned to the models in clear dismissal.

Honsou paled. "They're not that dumb, unfortunately."

Perturabo snorted. "Indeed."

[yuelaos-codex]

Wedding Ship Meme

link to template by @heyneon

tagging @bbrocklesnar @alexxmason @captmactavish @onehornedbeast @finding-comfort-in-rain @carlosoliveiraa @tao-tgsh @ghastlyrider @captastra and anyone who wants to ✨ no pressure ofc!

Decided to do both ending 2 (my canon) and ending 3 to show how different yet similar the routes are!

++ some rambles/explanations under the cut:

ASCENDANT ENDING

THE PRENUP

this is sending me bc i have this long ass timeline that leads to them signing a prenup:

- astarion ascends, then breaks up with selene bc she didn’t want to become his spawn

- selene comes with karlach and wyll to avernus, but she doesn’t last long (she’s a lover not a fighter 💀) karlach convinces her to go back to faerun. she tells her that she has been on autopilot ever since, and she has not had the time to process the breakup. the constant fighting in the hells was not helping

- hesitantly she goes back to waterdeep, where she learns that she is being summoned back to evereska. she journeys there and gets celebrated as the savior of baldur’s gate. she starts creating songs abt her adventures. somehow, she still felt as an outsider in her family despite getting acknowledgment. she goes back to waterdeep where she feels more at home

- she slowly builds her reputation. the reunion party also happens during this time.

- 3 years pass by. she goes back to baldur’s gate ever since the brain. not as a hero, but as a performer this time 🥳

- they see each other again ever since the party

- zariel arc begins(!) selene recruits astarion (and the gang!) to help defeat zariel. this is where they rebuild their relationship, whatever it was. they make house of hope their homebase

- before the final fight, astarion, desperate and pissed off that selene was not jumping on his advances, propositions (again 😩) to turn her. they get into this massive fight. selene tells him that the only way that they can make this work is to enter a (magical, hell-powered) contract, where he can’t compel her and in return she can’t leave or betray him. astarion, who was planning all along to turn selene into a vampire bride (where he actually can’t compel her) instead of a spawn, agrees to it since the contract was heavily in his favor. BOOM PRENUP. they both sign it. astarion turns her the very same night 💀 they’re basically married at this point

- they defeat zariel yay, slowly take over baldur’s gate while also getting a vacation home in waterdeep while also traveling the world yadda yadda. then they have a wedding despite already being married for years bc why not ✨

THE WEDDING

at this point selene is a very famous singer, and astarion close to becoming the shadow ruler of baldur’s gate. their wedding gets called the wedding of the century— think the royal wedding, imagine the masses crowding on the gates trying to see what’s going on inside 💀 they hold it during the daytime to squash all the rumors of them being vampires. their motif is white and gold, and is heavily influenced by elven culture. selene’s gown’s train is around 20 ft long. their cake is 3 minscs and 8 boos tall. the festivities lasted for DAYS. lots of hedonistic debauchery occurred ehehe

THE SONGS

so i chose songs that had wedding vibes but also toxic when you listen to the lyrics. chemtrails over the county club is about choosing to live in your own safe and comfortable bubble despite the ongoing horrors outside (cue in my snow globe symbolism for them). there’s also this line where it says “it’s never too late, baby, so don’t give up” which makes me feel that there’s still hope in the relationship becoming healthy… eventually 🤡 (i mean, they actually have forever between them). you belong to me is very fitting bc astarion can let her roam the world freely, but ultimately she can’t leave him. (this also aligns with one of the voicelines a!astarion has if tav leaves with karlach to avernus as a spawn— he tells them that he allowed them to go with karlach bc he’s not some “controlling monster”. he could summon tav back beside him if he wanted to.)

SPAWN ENDING

THE WEDDING

as for the spawn ending, at first they want to hold it with just the two of them but then word gets around, and now everyone was excited for the wedding! they didn’t expect so many people would want to congratulate and celebrate with them. imagine 7k+ people wanting to attend 💀💀💀

they hold the wedding reception in the underdark, but made their vows privately under the night sky 🥹😭 MOON AND STAR MOTIF LFG 😭😭😭

THE SONGS

just a quick one: there’s this line in your universe that says “you can thank your stars all you want but, i’ll always be the lucky one” which i think perfectly sums up how he views tav/selene. bc who in their right mind would help a vampire— a monster, let alone give them their blood? only tav/selene. (which also aligns with his voiceline saying “other people don’t have a heart like that. you’re… you. no one is like that.”) ANYWAY ENOUGH RAMBLING THANKS FOR READING 😘

[sammys-magical-au]

I just realized how fucking funny it is that in my au at the end of the Clone Wars, Anakin, Padmé, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Lionel are all each going through one of the five stages of grief meanwhile the Clones and the Forbidden Triad are off having Alderaanian Manwhore Summer (ft Sister)

[baeshijima]

anyway ive now finished the lantern rite quest with just under an hour before it goes and

[thefloatingstone]

Remembered this song from a boss fight early on in NieR Automata, during which a cult of robots had come together to pantomime the concept of religion. (the robots in the game are all trying to strive for a sense of purpose in being alive by mimicking behaviour of humans who have by now gone extinct but there's not enough time to go into all of that here).

And this cult of robots come to the conclusion that their version of gods if they follow the human translation of the word is "the creator" which to them are organic beings. And so if they are pantomiming religion in an effort to find purpose in being alive, then through the practice of religion you are supposed to ascend to a higher state of being equal to that of the gods.

And so, if you are a robot and your creator is an organic being, what is it that separates you from your creator? That is of course the realities of being an organic being, and being tied to the reality that being organic means having to die one day.

And so this robot cult comes to the conclusion that to ascend to a higher state of being is to become as gods, and for a robot to become as a god, their creator, is to ascend to that of organic being, and to do so is to embrace what separates machine from organic which is death.

And therefore, to die is to become god.

And then they all attack you and this song plays called "become as gods". Which includes the robot cult chant of "We'll all die together and become as gods" while the choir chants in the fictional language of the NieR series which is its OWN separate dump of lore, but which is roughly labelled and understood as "The language of the gods". That being a weird translation of the GATTACA code which makes up human DNA.

....

NieR Automata is a good game. It's one of only 2 games that managed to make me bawl my eyes out at the end. Not for a story reason, but for how the game directly connects you with every other human being who has played the exact same game and the concept of sacrifice to help another in ways I don't want to spoil because if you've never played and finished the true ending of NieR Automata there is nothing in this world that will prepare you for its ending and I would not dare to spoil that for you.

Anyway I rambled a lot but it was needed to explain the full force of this song for you to understand why it's not only a banger but a banger with some deep fucking WEIGHT behind it.

(btw this is genuinely unrelated I just remembered at time of post it's the Steam Summer Sale and Nier Automata is 50% off right now but that was not the point of this post)

[quietwingsinthesky]

i understand that the modern day segments are the thing that binds the assassin’s creed games together and that they’re essential to the story. but consider. they suck dick and balls.

[rook-de-rivas]

wip Friday

an excerpt from the codexes between when you fly high and the divine right (circumstance never sent a fair foe)

“As she has no blood kin, I humbly request permission to complete the contract on her behalf.” He is moving without thinking. For the second time in three years, Viago de Riva punches a member of House Dellamorte in the jaw and leaps on him. But this time, his hand goes to the other man's throat. He is faintly aware of shouting around him, but all that matters is Lucanis’ brown eyes fixed on Viago’s blue, the ones he inherited from his mother, the only sign he is anything other than the bastard of a King. “You were supposed to protect her,” his voice is alien to him, raw and accusatory and drowning in pain. He knows that Lucanis could throw him aside in a heartbeat, even without the demon lurking beneath his skin, but the newly-minted First Talon simply lays beneath the Fifth. Viago can feel Teia and Davrin grabbing at him, but he slams his fist down across Lucanis’ face again and Lucanis– he just lets him. “What happened?” Teia’s voice is frantic as she tries and fails to drag Viago off of Lucanis to no avail. Viago hears an animalistic growl, realises a few moments later it came from him, but there is no room inside of him to regret the way he shoulders the grabbing hands away from him as he slams Lucanis’ head against the floor and sees water mixing with the blood on the smaller man’s face. “Lucanis killed Ghilan’nain,” Davrin breaks through the thrum of anger in Viago’s ears, but his vision is still clouded red. He doesn't hear the rest because-- He can’t breathe. Ashara. His Ashara. The beautiful woman he adores above all else, the woman he loves, his pride, his darling, his. Where is she? His uccellina. Gone. Dead.

[magebutts]

also maybe im just misreading the codices, but uh...... why arent more people talking abt the very heavy implication that solas might be what the andrastian chantries believed to be the maker 💀