#might do a companion piece to this but we'll see

[violetscanfly]

Take my hand

[0rchidm4ntis]

Thinking of that time Silver ran away from home

[raayllum]

also remind me to make a terry-callum companion parallel post to the raydia one for s5 bc whoo those boys are in for a time

[sunny44]

What about us? (Part 2)

Pairing: Lewis Hamilton x Fem!reader

Warnings: mentions of the 2021 season and retirement

Summary: You and Lewis decide the future of yours relationship.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Days passed since Harley's birthday and she was still ecstatic even after several days. Lewis and I navigated the delicate balance of co-parenting, silently grappling with the underlying currents of our shared history.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the Monaco horizon, I found Lewis standing on the balcony of my apartment, gazing into the distance. The weight of his unspoken struggles hung in the air.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked, stepping outside. He turned to me, a mix of emotions flickering in his eyes.

"Sure."

We stood in companionable silence, appreciating the illuminated city below us. Finally, he broke the quietude.

"I've been thinking a lot about what Angela said, about missing having a family." I nodded, sensing the vulnerability in his words.

"Lewis, we've been through a lot and whatever decision you make about your career or life, Harley and I will be here for you." He sighed, shoulders relaxing a fraction.

"I appreciate that. It's just... Formula 1 has been my world for so long, and I'm at a point where I question if it's still where I belong." I placed a hand on his arm, offering comfort.

"Sometimes change is necessary. If you decide to step away, we'll support you. What matters for us is your well-being." He nodded, a hint of gratitude in his eyes.

"I'm so lucky to have you both."

“Harley and I are lucky to have you in our lives.”

The following weeks brought more heart-to-heart conversations, a tentative exploration of what the future might hold. As the Monaco Grand Prix approached, Lewis faced the track with a newfound perspective.

Race day arrived and I found myself watching from the stands, Harley's eyes gleaming with excitement. She was passionate about this world, and her favorite part was watching her father on the tracks. Lewis's car roared down the circuit, and she cheered excitedly, pointing to the black Mercedes and then to Uncle Max’s Redbull car.

In an unexpected turn of events, Lewis clinched victory, reclaiming his place on the podium. The cheers of the crowd echoed through the principality.

After the race, Lewis joined us, a mix of exhaustion and elation on his face. Harley hugged him tightly, and he looked at me with a genuine smile. Perhaps, in that moment, he found a piece of the joy that had been missing since that championship in 2021.

As the celebrations unfolded, I couldn't help but wonder where our journey would lead. I had thought a lot about us since Harley's birthday, and I would be lying if I said I didn't miss him, because I did, a lot.

I missed waking up, and he was the first person I saw in the morning, sharing the small victories of our lives and being the three of us together as a family.

"She's asleep," he said, appearing in his apartment's kitchen. We came here after the race.

"She didn't take an afternoon nap, so it was expected," I said, handing him a cup of tea. "I've been thinking."

"About?" he asks after taking a sip of his tea.

"About us." Immediately, he puts the cup on the counter, and I do the same.

"And?"

"I know it's been a while since we broke up, and I believe the reason we ended things was genuine, and I truly think we needed to step back then, but..." I took a deep breath.

"But?"

"But I never wanted us to end things that way."

"Me neither; that was certainly a year of losses for me, and Harley definitely saved me."

"I know, but I don't want to live like this anymore."

"Like what?"

"Separated." I could see his eyes light up. "I want her to have stability, to know that we'll always be here for her, and I also need you here whenever you can."

"You want to get back together with me?"

"Yes. Unless you don't want to."

"That's what I want the most since you told me you were pregnant." He says getting closer. "I love you, I never stopped loving you and I want to spend the rest of our lives together."

"That's good because I love you too." He smiles, and we kiss.

And it was exactly as if we were kissing for the first time again, the feeling of butterflies and happiness was the same.

"Come on, let's finish our tea in bed." We grabbed our cups and went to his bedroom.

Bonus scene!

Yourusername Instagram stories

“Monaco days in family”

tagged:@lewishamilton

Tag list: @ironmaiden1313 @myloverjk-blog @leoramage @magicalfundragon

[cbrownjc]

Hey :) just saw your post with your speculation about how much Eric/Daniel will be in S3. And while this isn't a definitive answer or anything, Rolin did address the question of whether or not Daniel would still play a part in the story post-s2 in this interview for the A.V. Club: https://www.avclub.com/rolin-jones-interview-with-the-vampire-season-2-finale-1851566667

I kinda feel like this means we'll see him more than just in a couple of scenes here and there, even in S3 (though he didn't specifically say "in season 3". But I feel like "still" implies this?)

Only it's difficult to judge because any present-day storyline they do with him is a big question mark since they seem to have departed from books (where he only gets turned shortly before the concert and does not part from Armand). What Armand is up to in the present-day is also a question mark imo. At least until the story converges at the concert.

I mean, I'll be real I'm also just trying to convince myself he'll be in it more because I'll miss him otherwise 🥲

Hi!

So, first I want to say that I think the two major pieces of casting that still need to be done are obviously Gabrielle and Marius. And I've long speculated that Marius is already playing a huge part in Daniel's story because I really do believe that Marius was the one to erase Daniel's memories of his past relationship with Armand.

Yes, Marius plays an important role in Lestat's life, but he plays an even bigger one in Armand and Daniel's as well, especially going by the books. In the books, Daniel lived with Marius for almost 30 years -- first healing from his mental issues, and then as companions -- before getting back together with Armand during the Prince Lestat era. All that, plus given what Rolin Jones already said about Raglan James, I don't think Justin Kirk is secretly playing Marius. So Marius still needs to be cast, and I very much expect him to be deeply involved in Armand and Daniel's storyline, going forward.

I just don't see that happening much in Season 3, however.

Because Season 3 is Lestat's story and focus, primarily. Just like Season 1 and Season 2 were mainly focused on Louis.

There is really only one episode in those two seasons where you can say Daniel was focused on -- outside of just interviewing Louis -- and that was episode 2x05. And even then, Louis factored heavily in that episode as well.

Armand and Marius play major roles in Lestat's story. Daniel doesn't. So if Daniel has any type of major storyline in Season 3, it will have to be with those two characters, IMO; as well as the Talamasca, since they were the ones to publish Daniel's book in the first place, and Rolin already said they and Raglan James will play an even bigger role in the show than they did in the books.

But without an episode count yet, I just can't see it being a huge focus. Mostly because characters like Marius still need to be fully set up and established. Also, I already think Armand is being set up to be a false Big Bad in Season 3 (since he's pretty much a villain in The Vampire Lestat), so I think whatever of Armand's POV that we get in Season 3, in the present day, will be very limited too, IMO, if we get it like we did in episode 2x03.

And yet, IMO, the only way we are looking at getting another episode like 2x05 in Season 3 is if it's told from Armand's POV. Because, again, Armand actually ties into Lestat's story, both in the past and in the present. And I think for sure that whatever Armand is up to in the present will have something to do with Daniel, as well as whatever else might be going on in the setup for Akasha rising.

Heck, if my theory is right that Marius was the one to wipe Daniel's memories of his and Armand's past relationship, Armand and Marius might have a present-day scene together, likely discussing Daniel (along with what Lestat is doing).

And yes, while Eric might still be in the top five for the call sheet going forward, that really doesn't say much IMO without knowing the Season 3 episode count. I mean, I'm sure Sam Reid was top 5 on the call sheet in Season 2, but if you look at his screen time in Episodes 2x01 and 2x02, it really wasn't much. And we didn't see him at all in episode 2x05, only heard his voice. And he didn't appear in episode 2x06 until the end.

I thought they found a way to work Lestat into the story of Season 2 very well, expanding on things from the book. But he still wasn't in the first few episodes very much.

And Daniel is even more different because he's not mentioned or referenced in The Vampire Lestat book at all.

So wrt Daniel in the present day, I'm tempering my expectations. Because yes, whatever is going on with Eric's Daniel in the present day is completely off-book. But, with every other facet of the story, the show has very much been on-book, in a rather strict way. Lestat's story is the main story of The Vampire Lestat and therefore will be for Season 3 IMO. And I think, whatever happens with Daniel in the present day is going to have to tie into that story. And that can't really happen via Daniel directly.

Louis' story is already being set up to tie into Lestat's present-day storyline directly, with his challenging all the vampires in the world to come for him if they dare. One of the reasons Lestat even became a rock star in the first place was to try and protect Louis by drawing attention to himself in an even bigger way than Louis' memoir drew attention to Louis.

But there are only two ways I see Daniel's story drawing directly to Lestat, and those are not in a way that directly has to do with Daniel. Because Lestat doesn't even know Daniel, has never met him before or interacted with him. (No I don't think they changed that from the book.)

So it's only through Armand, possibly Marius, and the Talamasca that Daniel ties into the larger story of what's going to be going on with Lestat in the present day. (Maybe a bit of Louis too, but the vampires we heard talking at the end didn't seem to be threatening Daniel, only Louis. Curious.) And, again, without an episode count yet, I just don't know how much time that focus can really get, especially when you have to set up Marius as a character; as well as probably having to set up the Talamasca even more as well; as well as maybe not revealing too soon what Armand is up to in the present day to keep his motives as mystery and have non-book readers wondering if Armand is the Big Bad villain they think he is or not.

And having to do all of this, plus laying preparation for adapting Queen of the Damned next. The book where Daniel actually does get a lot of focus.

And this also lines up with what Assad let slip about Season 4 being when we would see Armand's backstory. (Which is when QotD would start being adapted if TVL isn't split into 2 seasons like IWTV was).

And Rolin Jones flat out said people need to stop jumping ahead because Devil's Minion was "3 books ahead" of where they were now in adapting (which at the time was the 2nd half of the IWTV book), and to "slow down" about it.

So for now, I'm going to listen to RJ and just "slow down" about this.

So, in doing so, while I think we'll see Daniel in the present day in Season 3, I still don't think we'll see him much. And I think when we do, one of the episodes we'll get will probably be a stand-alone episode in the vein of episode 2x05 that focuses on what happened in the past. (Which I think will be an episode that focuses on why Daniel once woke up in a parking lot in Milwaukee not knowing how he got there). And I think for sure he'll be in the Season 3 finale. But other than that? 🤷🏾‍♀️ Again, I'm slowing down and tempering my expectations. Especially if we only get another 7-8 episode count again.

Because right now, for Season 3, Lestat's story is the main focus. Not Daniel, not Armand, and not Devil's Minion. And Daniel's character can only tie into Lestat's story via other people, which is rather limiting but can't be helped.

[sky-kiss]

@red-dead-sakharine requested 8 INT Tav who mistakenly calls Raphael a tiefling.

Raphael/Tav (GN): The Devil You TRULY Don't Know

Finally, the last piece of his grand design. The fulcrum, his piece de resistance, upon which so much hung. Scanning them for the hundredth time, Raphael cannot shake the sense of delicious irony: a child of Asmodeus, one of his blasted tieflings, will deliver the Prince of Lies's throne to Raphael's grasp. He cannot imagine a sweeter agony for the Lord of the Ninth. 

 He is fully prepared to bask in his victory when he summons the group to the House. And why should he not? This meeting is the start of his conquest. He lets the human glamor drop, stretching his grand wings as he relaxes into his proper form. Tav shuffles back a step, regarding him with wide eyes, raking across his figure. Raphael preens beneath their observation, raising his left hand to tap his chin. "What's better than a devil you don't know? A devil you do."

So many things happen in such rapid succession. When Raphael reflects on this moment, he will not know precisely how to parse their line of thought. The silly dear's face seems to shift from confusion to pain to breathtaking concern in seconds—Tav lungs for him. Raphael does not fall back but is left to arch a brow as the little creature clutches his hand between theirs. 

"You should not say that about yourself. You cannot." 

He purses his lips, glancing over their shoulder at their companions. The cambion is gratified to see they share his confusion. "I…dear, some clarity is in order. What can't I say?" 

"They call us devils. Every day, I've heard it. But you cannot internalize that feeling, brother. You are no more a devil than I." 

Raphael takes a moment to collect himself, frowning. "I…"

They cut him off, clutching his hand tighter, all agonized sincerity. "Whatever they've made you feel, it needn't be true. You are more than that."

The vampire spawn takes a step forward, holding up a finger. "Is he, darling? He looks…well, I don't know. A touch Infernal. The sweltering hellscape does…lend some credence to his claim." 

Shadowheart shrugs, crossing her arms over her chest. "There's also that fact that he's said it."

"Listen to your friends, little mouse. For this devil might be…" 

"So much more if he recognized his potential. His humanity. My friend, do you know how many mobs have named me such? Devil? Hellspawn?" 

He frowned. "Tragic, pet. If we could just…"

"I won't let the same befall you." A thumb stroking over the curve of his wrist. Raphael suffers a truly visceral image: his plan crashing down around his ears, Asmodeus cackling from his seat in Nessus. "I look at you. And see your pain. I see how much more you could be." 

"Your judgment is truly misplaced." 

"Mr. Devil, sir," Shadowheart begins. 

"Raphael." Gods, he feels a migraine coming on. 

"If you release our friend to us, we'll explain the situation. Could you forward the highlights of this presentation? 

"It loses its dramatic effect." 

"It'll only be worse if they stay. You see them."

Tav continues to stare in hurt and earnest interest. Raphael shrugs. He snaps his fingers and sends the little idiot careening back to the mortal plane. Thus unburdened, he turns to address the spawn and the cultist. "Now, shall we try again?"

[loustat-0]

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SEASON TWO PREDICTION & POSSIBLE SPOILERS =========>>>>>>

2x1 is going to be about the revenants & Claudia & Louis being bitter towards each other in Europe . Louis seeing Lestat's hallucination .

2x2 arrival to Paris meeting the vampire Armand & the coven of theater the vampires .

2x3 Flashbacks to Armand & Lestat relationship & Nickolas . Parts of Lestat backstory & Armand's back story told by Armand in Dubai to Daniel .

2x4 Armand & Louis's relationship starting to form Lestat present in their relationship Louis & Armand hook up . Claudia as an actress & Louis & Claudia's fight about Louis choosing someone else over her . Claudia meeting Madeline after her show in the theater . Some bitterness shaping between Louis & Armand at the end of the episode in the Dubai timeline . Claudia starting to resent the vampires in the theater . " FUCK theses vampires " she will start resenting Armand too .

2x5 Flashbacks to the 70s . The first interview between Young Daniel & Louis . With Armand also present there . Louis's & Daniel's conversation starts heating up When Daniel tells Louis that he doesn't even know the meaning of his story & hinting to his story having missing pieces & he's not reliable so Louis gets in a fight with him . Some parts of Armand & young Daniel relationship which most people who got the screener said it was so interesting & intense & they were specifically asked not to spoil this part anywhere . Which makes me even more hopeful about the possibility of Devil's minion happening . But not fully . At least we'll get some hints of how Armand & Daniel's relationship started . ( Hopefully ) . Some Alice hints

2x6 Claudia demanding Louis to make her a companion because she feels Louis is gonna leave him & that she's in danger from Armand & the others . And then it leads to Making of the Vampire Madeline or so called the " woman vampire" by Louis & Claudia both . And Louis & Armand & Claudia & Madeline going to celebrate the new fledgling & new beginning . And Then Louis will finally be informed by Armand that it was him who used his powers on Louis to make him want to make Madeline & Louis . And Louis will try to leave Armand out of Anger & when he does & when he goes back to Claudia & Madeline the vampires of the theater arrest them & take them to the trial . This episode will end with Louis seeing the REAL LESTAT for the first time . And that would be the cliff hanger . + A new character will be introduced either from the Mayfair universe or one of the oldest vampires under cover . Or maybe just a new character .

2x7 it will be Santiago asking questions as the judge but being nasty about it . Some truth will definitely come out . Claudia's hatred towards Louis will become more vivid . She will blame Louis as much blaming Lestat . Only 1x7 will be revisited to reveal it was actually Claudia who killed Lestat . And the reason she chose Louis over Lestat as a companion . All her manipulation & her using Louis . Lestat's crimes are also gonna be called in as well . Like making a vampire so young . Like abusing Claudia & Louis & probably Louis & Claudia saying their maker ( Lestat ) never taught them any rules . But Claudia won't beg for mercy & that's her doom . She will probably say Lestat deserved it & she would do it again . ( Foreshadowing to what her ghost told Louis in Merrick ) Claudia will be called guilty & so will Louis & Madeline . Claudia & Madeline will be executed. And Louis will seek revenge & burn the theater down by the end of Ep 7 .

A : 2x8 you might say that while Louis knows everything about Claudia's death then why is he with Armand still ? I think the answer to this question is because Louis himself still doesn't know what Armand actually did to Claudia or what he could have done with Lestat back in Paris after her death . There are probably many things Louis is definitely going to see more clearly after episode 7 . The diaries will gather together Louis will know the real truth about Armand possibly Cutting Claudia's head & attaching it to another body & that how much she really resented Louis . 1x5 will most likely be revisited in the last episode as well because it wasn't mentioned in any reviews about Ep 1_6 . we'll get to see if Armand tampered with that memory or it was all really just from a different POV ? ( My anticipation is , it was hugely Armand's tampering with that memory ) . This will make Louis act out badly . BUT my dilemma is whether this will end to his suicide or him Going back to New Orleans to find Lestat again .

B : If the NOLA scenes & loustat hug scene are from 2000 then the suicide is more possible . BUT IF the NOLA reunion is in 2023 then I didn't think Louis would have a reason to commit suicide other than Claudia's resentment or Lestat's rejection to have him again . Also I noticed something that I think some other fans noticed as well . in the reunion scene there seems to be blood in Lestat's head it's like sticky blood on his hair when Louis hugs him Louis also has a cut on his finger which hasn't healed fast so that might have happend when Louis tries to hurt Lestat believing he's hallucinating him again but when Lestat bleeds & probably starts falling down being in a weak state & doesn't disappear after a long time Louis will realize that Lestat is actually real . But something important happens after this . Which will reveal the real Lestat as a big ending & possible opening for S3

. C : we'll also probably get hints of Armand & Daniel's relationship too in the last episode that hints at what actually happened between them . And what will happen to their relationship in 2023 & hopefully in S3 .

[reborrowing]

dust prince, part one

poll story! they were kind of a trend when tumblr first added the poll feature so now that the concept is dying I thought I'd give it a shot. we'll see how well I stay on top of this. (there may be some weirdness because I'm still not sure if I want "you" to be just the rogue or both adventurers. For today? Rogue.)

rough sketch of the you's

part 2 -

In the middle of a long and lonely road sits a tavern. It's been here longer than any one person can remember, some even say it's older than the kingdom that now claims these grounds.

You are a fragment of a heroic party, a once-refined rogue shadowing a proud barbarian as you limp back towards society. You're both relieved to see this shabby, familiar tavern as you make your way through the sparsely populated wetlands. While the two of you have put yourselves in much more dangerous situations, passing through the area in such small numbers has been unpleasant at best.

But inside, the tavern is warm and blessedly dry. A silver-haired halfling at the counter greets you, while an invisible set of hands continues working behind her. You dimly recognize her as the owner and remember she makes some fairly impressive potions, if you had the coin to burn. For now, you take the cheapest meal that’ll satisfy you and sit near the fire to bicker over what to do next, as if the two of you hadn’t already exhausted the topic over the last few days.

You’ve worked together for years as part of the same party but the de facto leader recently decided to retire. Your party continued to work without her, until this last job, where the other two bastards abandoned you mid-quest when they got offered a more lucrative opportunity. Now you’re left to either find replacements out here in the middle of nowhere or slink back home with nothing to show for your efforts.

The barbarian is sizing up the handful of other patrons present, discussing their potential with all the subtlety of a flaming brick through a window. It’s getting you both looks and you doubt any of them will want to work with the two of you at all. You’re about to interrupt and say so to your companion when the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Your well-honed senses were trying to get your conscious mind to pay attention to something important.

You look up to see shifting dust in the rafters just as something falls off one of the beams. You lean to get out of the way before you even identify the object. It lands in your soup with a yelp, splattering broth across the table.

It thrashes for a few seconds, trying to find its bearings. If the small scream wasn't enough to confirm it, you're now definitely sure this thing is alive, though you don't recognize what it is. As you look down at it, you would almost swear it's a sprite of some sort, though without their distinctive glow.

It's about the size of a mouse with the face of a person. He's too drenched and frantic for you to notice much else. He stares back at you with fear in his eyes as he pulls himself onto a sinking piece of bread.

taglist @da3dm @mottinthemainpot @whumpsday

[its-jaytothemee]

Until I Met You - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Introductions

Pairings: Halsin x Tav

Word count: 3,898

Rating: Currently M, will be Explicit in later chapters.

Read on AO3

Next

Summary: A slow burn Tav and Halsin romance fic about their relationship forming between the major events of Baldur's Gate 3, and probably a little bit after too. Explores Tav's friendships with some of the other companions, but mainly Karlach. Lots of longing and fluff, including plenty of soft Halsin moments.

Tags: Slow burn, hurt/comfort, love confessions, eventual smut, light angst, implied past rape/non-con

A/N: After starting another playthrough specifically to romance Halsin, I decided to write some additional details of how their relationship forms throughout the game. Not sure how many chapters there will be yet...we'll see where the game takes me :) There will be POVs from both Tav and Halsin throughout the fic. Enjoy!

The disgusting sight of the goblin camp was bested only by the smell that assaulted the group’s nostrils as they strolled through the mucked-up halls.

“Ugh, goblins are such vile little beasts. Remind me why we agreed to come here?” Tav could hear the eye roll in Astarion’s tone.

“Because Astarion, there’s a medically talented Archdruid who can maybe help rid us of these tadpoles who is being held and probably tortured by these little beasts.” She tried to keep her voice down but found it hard to stay quiet while keeping up with Astarion’s quips.

“Speak for yourself, my friend. My tadpole and I are getting along swimmingly. I can walk in the sun, wade through rivers, and enter any home I like. I’m living the dream.” He teased back at her.

“All good points. I’ll make sure to remind you of them when your skin is turning purple and sprouting tentacles.” She turned back with a smile just in time to catch Astarion’s playful glare.

“Hey soldier, eyes up. Archers on the beams.” Karlach had her eyes fixed above them on the two goblins patrolling the large chamber.

“Best exercise caution. I might remind you all that goblins come by dozens when one of those war drums sounds off.” Gale was clutching his staff with a white-knuckled grip.

They carefully continued exploring the unfamiliar temple, on the lookout for anything that could give them a clue to Halsin’s whereabouts. Tav had thought the mercenaries and tiefling refugees may have been exaggerating about the goblins. But now that they were here amid their den of depravity, she was starting to doubt the abilities of her party – and herself. The numbers alone were enough to overwhelm them even if Karlach could cleave three goblins at a time.

In one of the far corners, Astarion spotted a small path that wound around into a back room. There was a door guarded by a few goblins, but they were able to pass by them easily while still passing as ‘True Souls.’ The air around them somehow smelled worse as they walked into the next room. The mix of decaying flesh and the worg pens caused them all to gag slightly. Several small laughs and squeals drew their attention towards another prison cell, inside was a very large cave bear. Two young goblins were throwing stones at the bear huddled in the corner of the cage. Tav quickly and quietly cast Speak with Animals just as the bear’s eyes locked on to hers.

“Stop them…free me.” The bear growled. Listening to its voice, Tav noticed the smallest tone difference between this bear and other animals she had spoken to in the past. Given Rath’s description of Halsin, she was almost certain this bear was the Archdruid they had been searching for.

“Again! Again!” One of the young goblins squealed, picking up another rock. Tav jogged up to them.

“He’s helpless! Let him go.” She demanded.

“Tav, what are you doing? We can’t stop to help every furry creature in need.” Astarion didn’t even try to hide his disapproval. She turned around to glare at him and called on their shared tadpole.

“Astarion! Use whatever piece of your brain the tadpole hasn’t eaten yet. This is obviously Halsin from the Emerald Grove.” She held her glare until he seemed to understand their situation. He let out an exaggerated sigh and backed off.

Gale groaned behind her, realizing that they were probably going to be fighting off the several goblins and worgs in the room with them.

“The beast is stayin’ right ‘ere.” The older goblin responded, taking a step towards Tav.

“I’m ending this. Now.” She growled back. The bear let out a small roar in response.

“Time for blood.” Its voice was a low snarl.

Before she had a chance to react, the cave bear rammed into the cell doors, effortlessly breaking them from their hinges. The older goblin was crushed beneath the heavy iron, causing a scream from the two younger ones.

“The guards! Get the guards!” One of the little ones yelled. They both turned to run past Tav and her party.

“Those little brats are going to bring this whole fucking camp down on us!” Astarion yelled, daggers twirling in his hands.

“Then take care of it you whiny prick!” Tav yelled back at him, lunging for the goblin that was looking after the worgs. Karlach followed suit, jumping back up the stairs to swing at a goblin that had been butchering some suspicious looking meat.

“We’re killing children now?!” Gale cried from the top of the stairs. A thin line of ice shot from his hands to the goblin archer approaching them from the rear.

“Goblin children, darling. Hardly a moral dilemma.” Astarion responded, driving his dagger into the chest of the first young goblin.

“Perhaps but still, I think we should discuss –” Gale started to respond but let out a strangled yell that interrupted him. When Tav looked back she saw an arrow sticking out of his neck, and blood was starting to spew from his mouth. Another arrow suddenly struck him in the chest. He made a small choking sound before collapsing to the floor.

“Shit! Gale’s down!” Tav yelled. When she turned away, the goblin she was fighting tried to make a swipe at her but was quickly taken down by the cave bear that had rushed to her side.

“He’s going to have to wait! We can’t risk these little monsters alerting the rest of the camp.” Astarion was slicing his blade across the throat of the other young goblin.

Tav drew her bow and shot two arrows into the worg pens, easily landing the shots right between their eyes. She could hear Gale’s labored breaths, the sound was warped by the blood spilling into his throat. Karlach took her goblin out with one more clean swing of her axe and turned to the archer.

“I’ll get Gale, take that archer down!” Tav yelled. The others all moved in to surround the last goblin as Tav dashed over to him. She quickly looked him over, ready to remove the arrow in his neck so she could heal him. Before she could start the spell, she heard one last raspy gurgle come from Gale before his body went limp.

“Fuck.” Tav whispered under her breath. She pulled her pack to the front of her waist and started frantically searching through it. They had found a couple of revivification scrolls on their journey that she was certain she had stored in her pack somewhere. Just as she started to search through the pockets, the air around her became thick with the smell of death.

“What the…” She started to exclaim before she became horribly sick, necrotic energy swirled all around her. Startled and struggling to breathe, she jumped back a few feet away from Gale’s body, allowing her to cough the toxic air from her lungs.

The last goblin’s body fell to the floor with a soft thud. Karlach and Astarion walked back down to join Tav, examining Gale and the small cloud of death encircling his lifeless body.

“Terribly tragic, always a sad day when you lose a friend. Oh well, best we keep moving before these goblins catch wind of our little fight.” Astarion said, waving his hand in the air nonchalantly and starting to walk away.

“Astarion…” Tav grumbled and turned to shoot him a warning glare. He smiled sweetly in response.

Before they could say anything else, an illusion of Gale popped up in front of Tav, causing a small scream to escape her lips.

“Well met! I am a magical projection of Gale of Waterdeep, and if you see this manifestation, that means I have prematurely perished.”

“Oh for fucks’ sake Gale…” Tav pressed one hand to her forehead, already exasperated by Gale’s afterlife theatrics.

“…it is of vital importance that my death be remedied at your earliest convenience.”

“How am I supposed to bring you back then?” Tav asked, annoyed.

The three of them sat and listened to Gale’s projection list a very detailed description of his security protocol to receive a scroll of true resurrection. First, they had to retrieve a small pouch from his robes which Astarion deftly picked from his pocket. To open the pouch, they had to unwind the purple cord in a counterclockwise motion. Inside, they found a small flute and a folded letter with notes in the corners that they would have to play. Next, a magma mephit was supposed to appear and pose the question ‘I’ss k’cha t’chiss n’aga’ to which the answer should be K’ha’ssji’trach’ash. The mephit would then give them the scroll.

“Well shit.” Tav muttered. “Does anyone know how to play a flute?”

Karlach and Astarion shrugged in response, the panic they felt evident on their faces.

“I at least caught the mephit name!” Karlach offered.

“Gods above, Gale!” Tav yelled. “What are the chances that whoever you’re dying around knows how to play a fucking flute?!” She waved the small instrument in front of the projection’s face, whose expression didn’t change. While she continued berating the magical illusion in front of her, she failed to hear the magical whoosh behind her.

“…and even if we do figure this out, it won’t matter! Because I’m going to punch you so hard that I send you in to the beyond again! And then I’ll revive you, just to choke the life out of you so we get to do this shitshow all over again!” Tav was stomping and screaming at the projection now. She noticed Karlach and Astarion staring past her, bewildered looks on both of their faces. Was Astarion…blushing?

“Excuse me,” A deep voice called out from behind her, “perhaps I could be of some assistance? It’s the least I could do.” She could only assume it belonged to Halsin.

 “Look, I know we came here to free you and all and yes, we will need your help but right now our melodramatic friend has…” She had whipped around ready to tear into the mysterious addition to their group, but her breath caught once she was able to fully look at the Archdruid.

Tav wasn’t sure what she had been expecting to see when they met Halsin, but it certainly wasn’t the large, handsome elf standing in front of her. She was rather large for an elf, but Halsin made her feel tiny. Her mouth was hanging open, unable to form words as she stared him down. His smile was enchanting, his tanned skin covered in blood from their fight.

“I owe you my thanks, I am the druid Halsin. I did not expect to meet the acquaintance of someone who would not only speak with a bear, but free it too. I’m always happy to meet another true friend of nature. And you are?”

“I’m…” Tav sputtered, “…single.” Her voice was barely a whisper. She shook her head to regain some semblance of composure. She could hear Astarion giggling like a child behind her.

“Tav…my name is Tav.” She finally blurted out.

“Oakfather preserve you, Tav. Now I’d be happy to…”

Halsin was speaking but she wasn’t really listening to his words. She saw that he was holding his hand out to her. Without thinking, she placed her hand in his and gave a soft handshake, interrupting him. He gave her a confused look, still smiling.

“As I was saying, I know how to play the flute if that would help to resurrect your friend.” He was still smiling at her.

Tav’s face and chest turned a deep red and she yanked her hand back quickly. Astarion burst out laughing behind her, almost falling over. Karlach at least had the decency to try and cover her laugh. She handed over the small flute and quickly unfolded the paper, holding it in front of her face to try and hide her blush.

“Okay so his instructions said to play the notes listed in the corners of the pages, starting in the bottom right, and working our way around the page clockwise. I’ll read them off to you. Ready?” She asked, peeking over the page at Halsin. He gave a small nod, flute held up to his lips.

“D…” The first note floated through the air.

“E…” Halsin switched gracefully to the next note.

“A…” Another note rang in across the room. Tav paused before reading the last note, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

“…D…” The last note echoed off the walls slightly mixing with the groans of her companions. Of course his resurrection tune spelled out ‘dead.’

A small magma mephit appeared in front of them.

“I’ss k’cha t’chiss n’aga.” He asked.

“K’ha’ssji’trach’ash!” Karlach responded, excited to help.

“D’a jah’jah s’um!” The mephit leaned forward as Tav held the folded paper in front of her. The small note transformed into an ornate scroll. She turned back to Gale as the mephit vanished.

Tav read the incantation and felt a warm swirling energy gather around her. It was quickly transferred to Gale who disappeared momentarily. He reappeared in front of her, standing and gasping for air. His hands shot up to his neck, feeling the area where the arrow had pierced him. Then he started laughing.

“You did it! Oh it feels good to be alive. I’m sorry to say my hands are still quite cold, so a handshake will have –” Gale was interrupted by Tav punching him in the gut, letting out a loud grunt.

“That was for your ridiculous protocol. What if we couldn’t find someone who could have played the flute? What if you had died and we weren’t around? We need to do something about that orb, Gale.” Tav was yelling again, she wasn’t truly angry with him though. She had come to like Gale, seeing him dead had upset her more than she cared to admit.

“You know the volatility of my condition, Tav. The element of mystery helps persuade others to keep me amongst the living. Sore abdominals aside…I sincerely thank you.” He wheezed back.

“You’re welcome,” Tav sighed, “and welcome back.” She nudged his arm slightly.

“Thank you for your help.” Tav looked back over to Halsin. “I suppose proper introductions are in order.” She wanted to put her embarrassing display from earlier behind her.

“This is Gale, that’s Karlach back there, and Astarion standing next to her.” She pointed to each of her companions as she introduced them. Karlach waved enthusiastically, Gale was still bent over catching his breath, and Astarion wiggled his fingers seductively in their direction.

“A pleasure, truly. Might I ask how you found me?” Halsin looked between the four of them.

“We’ve been to the Emerald Grove, it’s in danger.” Tav responded. She quickly filled Halsin in on their adventure so far. Kagha’s alliance with the Shadow Druids, the cult of the Absolute, the mercenaries that had escaped from the goblins. She paused, trying to decide if she should tell him about the tadpoles yet. Before she could continue, Halsin held a hand out in front of her.

“That look in your eyes…” He said quietly. A golden glow surrounded her as Halsin closed his eyes in concentration.

“Oakfather preserve you child, you’re infected, aren’t you?” He jerked his hand back to his side. Tav placed a hand on her sword, prepared for a fight. Halsin held his hands up innocently.

“It’s no coincidence that you found me, I wager. I’ve been studying these tadpoles. They’re different from how mind flayers typically procreate.”

Halsin launched into a summary of his research surrounding the tadpoles. Of course, there wasn’t going to be a simple cure for their affliction. He confirmed that their tadpoles were special, altered, just as they suspected. He was also able to give them their next destination, Moonrise Towers. She froze at the mention of Moonrise. It was their first solid lead since the nautiloid crashed, but the news filled Tav with dread. She knew all too well the evil that besieged that land. Without thinking, she stepped close to Halsin, leaning in so only he could hear her. She reached up and grabbed his arm, trying to keep her balance.

“You’re sure that’s where we need to go?” She asked quietly, in Elvish. “That is no easy task.”

His expression softened and he gave her a knowing look in response.

“You know of this place?” He lowered his voice to match hers, as smooth as his voice was before, it was nothing compared to hearing him speak their native tongue.

“Unfortunately, yes. I would not go back there unless I had no other choice.” Tav’s hand was starting to shake slightly against his arm, but he placed his other hand over hers to steady it. His hands were lightly calloused but warm and comforting. She felt the blushing feeling returning to her face.

“It will be dangerous, but it can be done. And perhaps, we can see the light there again.” He whispered back. His voice was hopeful, but his face was a mask of pain.

We? Before she could respond, she heard Astarion clear his throat loudly.

“Care to include us in your little whispers, darlings?” He practically sang the words.

Tav quickly let go of Halsin but noticed his hand lingered on hers for just a fraction of a second longer.

“Don’t be jealous, love. There’s enough of me to go around.” She composed herself and flashed a teasing grin at him.

“Thank you, Halsin. At least we know where to go now.” Tav turned back to face him.

“Wait,” He called after her, “I could accompany you if you’ll have me. I’ve long sought to return to Moonrise.”

“Great!” Tav said a little too quickly. “We just have to find a way to sneak through this camp and we can get you back to the Emerald Grove. Could you shift into something small so we can sneak you out? Like a mouse or a bird?”

“I cannot do that.” Halsin said, his voice lower than before.

“So much for a powerful Archdruid.” Astarion murmured. Halsin pursed his lips.

“I cannot allow these butchers to continue to threaten the Grove. I have no right to ask it of you, but if you would lend me your aid in removing the goblins’ leadership, I would be free to join you on your journey.”

Tav considered his offer for a moment. They were a capable group of fighters, but there was an alarming number of goblins between them and the three leaders. Even with Halsin, she wasn’t sure if they could fight their way out. Then she thought back to the refugees, the tieflings sheltered in the Grove. Even if they could sneak past the entire camp, Zevlor and his kin would never be able to survive on the road. Halsin was right, they needed to take out the leaders.

“Having a shapeshifting bear-druid at my side might make things easier.” She smiled at him and held out her hand. “Welcome to the team.”

He smiled back at her and clasped her forearm, once again lingering just a little longer than she would have expected.

***

Halsin let go of Tav’s arm and took a moment to catch his breath. He had been in his bear form for days now, standing on two legs made him feel a little uneasy at the moment. The four strange adventurers in front of him had huddled close together, plotting their plan of attack on the goblin leaders.

His eyes wandered to Tav, who seemed to be their leader. A picture of elven beauty in his humble opinion. Her long white-blonde hair was tied back in a braid that was currently slung over one of her shoulders, several strands had worked their way out of the confines of the braid and swirled around her head. The long scar that ran over her nose and right cheek looked like it had been caused by a claw of some kind based on the shape of the edges. She had a rugged look to her, like she had been in the wilds long before she was abducted by mind flayers. But something was off. He listened as she strung together a plan with her companions, effortlessly doling out assignments and orders, commanding their attention despite their tired state. There was a noble air about her, but he hardly knew of any nobles who would prefer stomping around in the wilderness over the comforts of their estates.

Seeing her now, it was hard to believe their initial awkward encounter had happened. She seemed so confident and sure of herself talking with her companions. He wasn’t a stranger to others being caught off guard by his appearance. Given her own beauty he was surprised that she would have any trouble forming words of flattery. She seemed witty enough and happy to flirt back at the pale elf in her company. He would have assumed she had suitors lined up from here to Neverwinter, so why would he elicit such a flustered response from her? Regardless, he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a slight pull in his chest looking at her. It had been quite some time since anyone looked at him with any kind of desire in their eyes. As for her awkward fumbling, he found it rather endearing. He pushed the thoughts away for now, he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted, not when he finally had a chance to correct so many of the mistakes from his past.

At some point while he was lost in his thoughts, Tav had summoned a large wolf to her side. The beast paced around her protectively, the smells in this wretched hideout were no doubt overwhelming to it. Halsin met its eyes, causing the wolf to freeze. He kept calm, careful not to startle it. Making a small lap around the others, it walked over to stand in front of him, still crouched in a protective stance.

“Lunari! Here girl!” Tav shouted.

Halsin carefully lowered his eyes, continuing to stand still. The wolf tentatively circled around him, sniffing around his legs. Seeming satisfied, she moved back over towards Tav and plopped down on her haunches in front of her, tail wagging slightly. Such a loyal creature, he thought to himself. Tav was absentmindedly scratching Lunari’s ears, causing her to lean against her legs and wag her tail faster. A friend of nature indeed.

Halsin thought back to Tav’s reaction to Moonrise. She had to know of the curse. When he looked into her eyes, he saw the same fear that had haunted his reflection for the last century. There were so few still alive who knew of that tragedy, let alone who had lived it. Now, it seemed that he may have found another who shared that burden.

“Okay, I think this gives us as good a chance as anything.” Tav’s voice rang through the room. “Anything to add?” Astarion’s hand shot up in the air, but Tav gave him a look that caused him to lower it again. She took a deep breath and motioned for them to head for the door. Halsin took the cue to wildshape back into his bear form. He padded up behind Tav, braced and ready to follow her into battle.

[heresmyfiddlestick]

i've been meaning to do a short-by-shot breakdown of the trailers for the upcoming season of Doctor Who, and with full-length trailer #2 out today it seems like a good time.

this will cover the teaser trailer (dropped after the christmas special), trailers #1 and #2 (dropped March 22 and today respectively), and the YouTube short they've released with all the episode titles. I've previously looked at the premiere date teaser released March 15.

Title Drop Short

I'll start with this because it is the shortest and gives some helpful hints to identifying other clips.

The accompanying audio here is some babies crying as the lights flicker, showing the monster's shadow. Is the monster hunting the babies? Is it supposed to be protecting them?

What this screencap doesn't convey is the music notes lifting off the page on the far right. When looking up "The Devil's Chord" (aka the tritone) I find on Wikipedia that "George Harrison uses tritones on the downbeats of the opening phrases of the Beatles songs "The Inner Light", "Blue Jay Way", and "Within You Without You" - I'm clearly not big up on my George songs, and I think it would be hilarious if the Beatles-centric episode of Doctor Who winds up being specifically George Harrison-centric.

I can find no info on who Timothy Drake might be (besides Robin, but that feels like a long shot). There is a piece credited to Beethoven behind the book.

"Boom" - clearly The Moff trying to bring back the spooky one-word title steez of Blink and Hide and Listen and so on. This clip has falling rubble and a bit of lazer fire, and above the door we have written "Entrance 3"

We have a cawing corvid behind this one, as snow rushes past what looks like a sign for a pub. Pretty creepy sign!

The words appear in sequence with some electronic chimes here, before the whole thing glitches out. Social media episode?

Here we have the title for the episode that was provisionally known as "Regency", written by Kate Herron and Briony Redman. We have reference to "The Duchess of Pemberton", who is presumably "The Duchess" played by Indira Varma. 8 May 1813 is in fact in the Regency period, but I can't find any other historical significance to that date.

The multiple screens and tech set up here gives me the vibes of a television studio. Will Ruby turn out to be a Sam Jones situation, a companion orchestrated perfectly for the Doctor? I'd say that's unlikely but I'm not ruling it out.

Now THIS is a Doctor Who episode title. Go off king give us nothing!

Alright bearing those aesthetics in mind, let's move on to the teaser trailer that premiered after the Christmas special

Season Teaser

This trailer introduced us to the great, kinda creepy music that recurs throughout the rest of them. And a powerful gaze from Dr. Who themself.

I think I can connect this shot to a scene we'll see later.

We then pop to another stare, in a shirt we've already seen in the Christmas special - so this is probably Episode 1 ("Space Babies").

Lots of good stares this episode, as we also see him looking through a window in the premiere date teaser. Who is that behind him with Ruby?

Then he's running down a corridor, and I'm so glad they've chosen to give him loads of different outfits because that makes this job much easier.

This is undoubtedly in Episode 2. Is he racing to stop "The Devil's Chord" from being played? Or maybe he's going to find Ruby ensnared somewhere. More on that later.

Why is he wearing a whistle? Why are the lights so low?

Were they working out? I love it.

A TARDIS design has to have some good levers for yanking on. This one has that and a jukebox AND mood lighting. good for her!

"I have the whole universe at my fingertips" - this is only part of a quote, which we'll get more of in a later trailer. I like this spot on a cliff's edge that they end up on, and I've just noticed the silly little tree near the TARDIS. The Doctor fell deeply in love with Dingle's Door when they regenerated from 13 and now their go-to spot is gonna be precarious rocks overlooking the sea. Just my prediction. This is likely Episode 1 "Space Babies", given other clips we've seen of them popping out here in their Christmas special outfits.

A door opens, casting a shadow on Ruby as she looks somewhat dumbfounded at what lies on the other side. Judging by the costume, this is probably Space Babies too, and yeah it looks like there might be babies in jars behind Ruby there...

It really looks like he has fangs in this screencap. Again, probably Space Babies given the costume. But who knows!

He's slamming on a button. Possibly to "Reset Port B"?

Here is the Doctor dancing with Jonathan Groff in Episode 6 "Rogue", and nobody seems too interested in them, but then:

The Duchess (and those around her) have taken note of something.

Mr Groff glancing at the Doctor's lips lmao

I love his wig! Everyone has taken notice now, and there's clearly something that has interrupted their dance.

Here we've got the pair strutting along the TARDIS walkway, probably having just changed into these sweet outfits before heading to:

"Abbey Road Studios" in Episode 2 "The Devil's Chord"

They're freaking out I love them. This is a great second-trip in the TARDIS historical. The Doctor has fallen back on their old tricks, but at least they didn't end up in Cardiff again. They're in the recording booth here during a Beatles studio session.

Where is Ringo?!!!

There he is (:

The Doctor has stepped on something he shouldn't. This is presumably is "gonna be a minute!" in the other teaser I've looked at. Shot in the dark, this is from Episode 3 "Boom". Because of land mines. (And the rubble and lazer blasts in the Short seem to match the "warzone" vibe)

"I've really stepped in it now". This looks like similar lighting to the very first "intense stare" shot from the start of this trailer.

Continued in reblogs...

[elvisabutler]

tinsel ( or how to be inventive with austin butler )

summary: decorations for christmas trees don't always immediately make their way back into their boxes when it comes to you and your boyfriend taking them down. case in point: the tinsel. fandom: austin butler rating: m pairing: austin butler x female reader word count: 1701 warning: p in v sex ( unprotected, but honestly at this point assume i imagine the reader as having some of her own bc ). soft sub austin. soft dom reader. inappropriate use of tinsel. mild bondage/restraining. author's note: consider this a companion piece to my fic twinkle lights. and if you like this try underneath the tree by @dilfelvis because they also have a sub tied up austin and it is a positively wonderful fic if i do say so myself. i'm also totally aware that tinsel does not really have the strength needed to hold someone back when you put tension on it but suspend your disbelief if you don't mind. beyond that, i've got a few things coming down the pipeline- both austin and elvis- one of which i am so proud of and can't wait to show you all. i'd say be prepared to get a lot of fics tomorrow and wednesday but every time i promise that i end up with egg on my face. so, we'll see. also @purejasmine i did say i'd likely have something out after the holidays and this is for you. know it might not be your normal cup of tea since i believe you err more toward dom austin but it is a little more toasty.

The day after Christmas is the day you're supposed to pack away everything, the tree, the decorations around the house and anything that was formerly on the tree. It's not a hard and set rule, you suppose, but it's one your parents always had taught you. They always would say that it if they didn't do it that day then it wouldn't get done until the middle of January with the hustle and bustle that life would cause. You had warned Austin about this rule the moment you were done decorating and even before you started, trying to make it so that there would be plenty of time for the two of you to enjoy your handiwork.

You should have known Austin would be a menace when it came to taking things down. It was fine when you were pulling things down from around the apartment, the wreath on the door, the various lights strewn about and the mistletoe that he took every opportunity to sneak both of you under, placing kisses to your lips, your face, everywhere he could reach until you were both laughing before taking it down.

That meant all that was left was the tree with the lights and the tinsel wrapped around it. It should be simple enough, nothing too complicated for you and Austin to handle and yet somehow Austin insists on this being complicated. First he decides he wants to take the lights off first, despite knowing that they were likely going to be tangled in the tinsel. Still you both managed to get the lights off mostly in one piece and now you find yourself taking the tinsel off, wrapping around itself in a bit of a ball as Austin is talking about something. Normally you'd be paying attention but right now- right this moment you're not in the mood to, you're annoyed with Austin because this shouldn't have taken that long and yet here you were at 3PM and you still had to take the actual tree down.

It's maybe for this reason that you find yourself on top of your boyfriend, watching him pull at his bonds of tinsel lightly while looking at you above him, teasing him in a way only you can with your lips ghosting over his neck and his chest and settling over his cock like you're going to suck only to just blow a tiny puff of air against it before moving back to your original perch with your uncovered pussy rubbing softly against him every so often.

"Y/N." He whines, canting his hips up, trying to gain some form of friction against your pussy. "Babe, I'm- Come on."

You smirk and pull yourself up a little. "No. You've been wasting time all day. I didn't mind it at the beginning but we could have been in bed already, you could be worshipping my body and I could be worshipping yours and yet here we are with me having to tease you while you can't touch."

Austin inhales sharply, looking like he wants to snarl at you but knowing he's earned this, earned your punishment of having him unable to touch you. After all he had been touching you all day and that was half the reason you two hadn't gotten as much done as you needed to get done. It didn't mean he had to like it- had to take it without a bit of sass. "Wasting time. That's what you call kissing you. You weren't complaining when I was doing it, babe." He knows saying that is playing with fire but at this point he'll take getting burned by you.

The head tilt you do toward him when he says that reminds him that playing with the fire that is you always does burn him more than he intends. Your hand moves to his chest, lightly scratching at his chest and down his torso, stopping just short of his cock before you speak. "Kisses aren't anything compared to having your cock in me or having your tongue against my clit. They aren't anything compared to my mouth around your cock, my hand stroking you." You finally allow yourself to wrap your hand around his cock, your thumb playing with the tip, smearing the precum leaking from all around before sticking your thumb in your mouth, swirling your tongue around it.

A noise leaves Austin's mouth that sounds like a choked off moan or a groan and you can't help the way you smile at it waiting to hear what he's going to say to you about it. What pretty pleas are going to come from his lips. "Mama- don't- What do I need to say? What do I have to do? I'm sorry. I know you wanted to get things done-"

You cut him off with a kiss to his lips, soft at first before when pulling back your teeth pull at his lower lip. He shivers at the sensation before his mouth tries to follow you only to be stopped by the tinsel holding him back. "Baby." He keens.

"Baby? Mama?" You shake your head, grinding down just a bit. "Try again, Austin, baby boy."

His hips buck up against you despite the bindings on his ankles before he nods and looks at you. "Mama- Mommy- I don't- Just touch me, please. Wanna fuck you, wanna have you cum and then I'll do whatever you want. Deal with the tree naked, make you dinner, please, just let me touch you."

The words aren't making sense necessarily but you understand them, understand what he wants. He wants to be able to make it up to you, to earn his forgiveness for what he did and who were you to deny him that? After all, it was just today that he was being naughty, being too needy for you to remember that you had a task to do today. Besides, all that was left was taking the tree out. You lean your body over his, pressing every inch of your skin against his before your hands move up to the tinsel keeping him tied to the bed frame. It doesn't take but a moment to untie it, surprisingly and not even a moment after his arms are free, his hands are moving to your face, pulling you in for a bruising kiss. He didn't ask for permission and he knows that might make you mad, but you untied him, that should be enough permission, that should be your way of telling him he could touch. You nip at his tongue and his lips, kissing him back with equal fervor as you start to grind a little, wishing you had lined his cock up to your entrance before you had done this. He catches the fact that you want it though, moving his hand down and slapping your ass lightly to get you to shift up just enough that he's able to slide himself between your folds.

You hiss at the intrusion before allowing yourself to help him bottom out in you, being too greedy and too eager to have his cock in you to bother with prepping yourself fully. His answering groan makes you think you did the right thing, especially as his hands move to your hips, almost as if he plans on guiding you up and down on his cock. You place your hands over his and start to lift yourself up and down, starting slowly at first before you increase your pace. "Y/N, God, let me do this, you're going- wanna fuck you slower mama."

A head shake is the only response he gets as you keep bouncing up and down on his cock, moving one of his hands to play with your clit. He almost doesn't realize what you're doing before he starts to play with it, pressing his fingers against it, rubbing it faster and faster in a way he knows drives you wild. You can feel yourself clenching around him, feel that tightening of your orgasm inching closer and closer as you ride him. Speaking isn't something you can do right now, too occupied with the task at hand but Austin is doing enough for the both of you, cursing and groaning and saying things that are near incoherent. The noises of your combined juices make for an obscene sound that has you wondering just how much of a mess you're making of the bedsheets before realizing it's fine, you can just toss them in the wash after this.

"Love you so much, mama. So good to me, not punishing me too hard. Love-" He stops as you clench around him again, the words doing something to you as you slide down one more time, forcing him to bottom out one more time. His cock fills you in a way that has you swearing you feel it in your throat and you come with a huff of air leaving your throat, the scream you thought you could manage fluttering away as your cunt flutters around Austin's cock. He manages a few more thrusts into you before you feel him cumming, the warmth of it feeling comforting in some strange way.

At this point you find yourself flopped on top of Austin's torso, your fingers tracing shapes on his chest before you start to make a move to get up so that you two can clean up before his arms wrap around you and he shakes his head, one of his hands moving to stroke your hair. "Just- stay here for a minute, babe. Tree's not going anywhere and I want to just feel you around me for a little bit longer. Then we can shower, deal?"

You look up at him and find his blue eyes looking at you with a level of love you didn't think was possible and you remember that when he gives you that sort of look you're always a little too taken in by it to resist. A nod is all you can manage before you let your head fall back onto his chest, allowing yourself to relax just a bit longer.

The tree doesn't leave the house until the next morning.

tag list: @eliseinmemphis, @ab4eva, @butlersxbirdy, @aconflagrationofmyown, @floralcyanide, @oh-kurva, @blurredcolour

[legacyshenanigans]

So, does Arthius have any second in command? A twin of Rowan perhaps? I can imagine them being so similar that they hate each other so much but reluctantly join forces for something. 🤔

The thought of Arthius also having a werewolf companion and him and Rowan not getting on is so funny to me 🤣

(For anyone who does know who Arthius is, he was a little side character in a post I did. He's the leader of one of the other gangs. Him and Marvolo are also similar. They have no major beef and keep each other at arms length, and as a general rule, they don't bring trouble to each other, though, they don't really like each other)

Let's say he does have a werewolf companion of his own. Hmm, let's call him Lennox, in-keeping with my werewolf tradition that they have nature names (Lennox can mean many elm trees)

Rowan: *wandering through the woods*

Lennox: *coming out from the tree line nearby*

Rowan: *frowns* The fuck are YOU doin' ere..

Lennox: *frowns* Boss sent me out to look for a certain mushroom.

Rowan: *narrows his eyes* Weird..My boss has asked for the same.. *keeps walking*

Lennox: *next to him*

Rowan: Why ya walkin' with me? *scowls*

Lennox: Listen, bruh, We sniffin' out the SAME stuff..Don't act like I WANNA be out here with you!

Rowan: *small growl as the keep walking together, giving each other sly side eyes as they do* Dont think ya gonna nab all of 'em..I need those mushrooms.

Lennox: Heh *fang baring grin* Guess we'll see, won't we? Might just beat you down and take 'em all..

Rowan: You? Beat me? HA! Man, ya funny..Thats hilarious..Do me a favour? Know ya fuckin place around me... *His own fang baring smile*

Lennox: I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast, my guy..

Rowan: Ya eat pieces of shit for breakfast? Disgustin'.. I like a piece of toast or a bowl of cereal m'self..But you do you *chuckles*

Lennox: Man, shut up *frowns* You know what I meant...

Rowan suddenly holds out his arm, stopping The other werewolf in his tracks..

Rowan: *narrows his eyes* ...Ya smell that?

Lennox: *sniff* Trolls...

Rowan: *sniff* East...

Lennox: *sniff sniff* 'Bout a mile away...

Rowan: Marvolo is always usin' their snot in potions..I could go grab some, givin' the opportunity is presentin' itself..

Lennox: So is Arthius..Want help takin' it down?

Rowan: Pfft, I can handle a fuckin troll..

Lennox: Urgh, look, we can split ingredients 50/50 yeah? The Troll snot and the mushrooms when we find 'em.

Rowan: What's all this fuckin "we" talk?

Lennox: Heh, come on man, it's been fuckin ages since I've double teamed with another wolf to take somethin down. Makin' me feel all nostalgic thinkin' about it..

Rowan: *narrows eyes* Ya got a point..Could be fun..

They both shift into the werewolf forms.

Lennox: We goin' then? Trackin' the Troll?

Rowan: Yeah..This don't make us "buddies" though..

Lennox: Yeah yeah, whatever, enemies n'all that. But let's do this together.

With a nod from Rowan, they both start running through the trees, on their way towards the scent of the Troll.

~

[raayllum]

You Have A Good Heart — It's Super Annoying :: An Ezran and Rayla Meta

Forgive me for a moment, meta readers, for a quick anecdote.

Ages ago (aka pretty shortly after S3) I had plans to write an Ezran and Rayla focused meta, centred primarily on how the show highlights their unique bonds with dragons at different intervals and thus far (and honestly still now) with an emphasis that hadn't been doled out likewise to Callum. It was meant, therefore, to be a companion piece to my "Callum and the Dragon Prince (Zym)" relationship analysis, and is built upon a similar thought that Ezran and Rayla are fundamentally more similar to one another than they are to Callum. (Also just goes to show that procrastination can, indeed, last up to four years.)

Ergo, previous meta / thoughts you might want to consult if this is an area of interest:

Brief Rayla & Ezran parallels meta + headcanons

Ezran & Rayla parallels compilation (s1-s5), some of which we'll be going into more detail with

A short meta about how Callum is different from Ezran and Rayla (s1-s4)

For fun, this poem always makes me think a lot about Ezran and Rayla a lot too.

Now, this isn't to say that Rayla and Ezran are 100% or even 80% similar; they are very different, and I would say they're one of the few dynamics in the show that doesn't quite hit the foils mark, either (at least not to me). Nor is this to say that Callum and Ezran, and Callum and Rayla, don't have parallels or similarities. The brothers are both very compassionate, love each other and their father deeply, have many big feelings, are generally emotionally pretty open, and Callum takes on being Zym's caretaker when Ezran turns around to go home. Callum and Rayla's early arcs both have a great deal to do with coping with ideas around failure and familial belonging, and their arc 2 plot lines have been dominated by their devotion to each other and being pushed back onto paths (dark magic, assassinations) that they would rather leave behind.

Therefore, what I am saying that is that Ezran and Rayla are quite similar to each other in some really important, interesting ways, and that I think they are more similar to each other in terms of their Core characters than they are to Callum. Take it or leave it. Okay? Okay. With that out of the way, let's get into it

Core vs Presentation

One thing that I find particularly useful when it comes to discussing/analyzing characters, or when creating them, is the difference between a character's core vs their presentation. The most classic kind of example we see is the "jerk / bad boy with a heart of gold" archetype where the character's presentation is one way (outwardly prickly and/or mean) but their internal core (values, priorities, 'truest self' etc) is very warm, loving, and caring. We see it so often it borders on the point of being cliche.

However, it is useful in explaining just how much a character's core can differ from somebody else's, but their presentation might be similar, or vice versa, with their presentations being different but their cores being similar. And obviously even that is simplistic (characters can have pieces of one another's core but still be very different; for example, while Viren and Callum have a similar devotion to their loved ones, Viren does not always act on it and puts things above his loved ones - leading to theirs and his downfall - whereas Callum thus far hasn't put much above his inner circle, because he always acts on his devotion).

The reason I get into all of this is because I think that while Ezran and Rayla have different presentations, they have very similar cores.

Despite Ezran being more childish and cheery where — especially season one Rayla — is more gruff and impatient, Ezran and Rayla both have similar responses when it comes to forgiveness, their families / upbringings, senses of self worth, and their priorities.

But first, let's get some of the basic parallels out of the way. Ones with an asterisk * next to them will be expanded upon later in greater detail:

General Parallels

Not being believed (by Ruthari and Callum in BH and 1x08 respectively)

Not fitting in growing up

Following in parents' footsteps vs wanting to be different/better than your parents

4x08 gift giving being relational to their fathers, whereas Callum's is Ibis' staff

Arguing to give up hands as they perceive something as being mostly their fault (1x06, 5x08)

Going the nonviolent route in 5x05 vs Callum wanting to seek out the Nova Blade *

A thematic / social emphasis that never quite affects Callum in the same way *

"I knew I had to be strong alone." / "It's not fair you have to struggle through this alone." *

Now let's get into the specifics.

Upbringing

On the one hand, Ezran and Rayla had very different upbringings. Ezran never knew his mother before she died, whereas Rayla remembers, loves, and resents the parents who left. Ezran is given plenty of space to be a fun loving, mischievous little boy, whereas Rayla is playful too, but definitely more dutiful and devoting more time to training and taking it more seriously. Ezran believes that "it's okay to be afraid of things" whereas Rayla mandates that "Moonshadow elves aren't supposed to show fear, ever".

One isn't blamed for being a child:

And one is:

Now, part of this is context. While Ezran has decisions to make, his current ones (up to s1) haven't caused any harm or consequences. Rayla sparing Marcos and then lying about it (pre-binding spell too!) has gotten her team into a load of trouble. But where Soren reminds Callum of his youth to reaffirm that Callum needs to stay safe (much more in vein with Opeli) even if it's in a cruel way, for Rayla it is little more than a critique. She's a child, she had compassion, so she's weak.

This is also a critique lauded at Ezran ("You're just a little boy believing in fairytales" -> "This is a trick and a trap, you're a fool Rayla") in terms of their hope for peace. Likewise, Viren believes that if a child king leads them, Ezran will make 'weak' (aka bad) choices. In spite of their compassion being what they are most critiqued and punished for (Ezran is imprisoned for his abdication of his duty to try to spare people, and Rayla is exiled for sparing Marcos), this is ultimately what makes the difference in ending the war and protecting Zym.

With that in mind, let's talk about Ezran, Rayla, and

Dragons

Ezran and Rayla are both routinely shown to be more anchored to the dragons in a way that Callum is not in arc 1. This is shown in them agreeing with each other about Zym in 1x03 ("It has a mother and it needs to go back to her" "You're right, it wants its mother") even when Callum doesn't act until Ezran is put in danger, Ezran being Zym's tried and true soulmate whereas Rayla becomes the Last Dragonguard, and other little notices.

In arc 2, Soren arguably steps up to take the other half of the draonic-caring role (highlighted most notably by Rayla walking away from the drake in 4x05) in addition to Zym getting less plot focus. However, we still some of this overlap given that Rayla is the first to initiate the gift giving with Rex Igneous, and Ezran is the one to actually figure out what the great dragon wants. Additionally, when Rayla was at her best / not tamping down said self, we see that she does reflect Ezran.

One of my favourite little season four parallels was also the trio's responses to Zym's 'death' in 4x07 and Soren's an episode before, where Ezran and Rayla are the most distraught respectively (Ez stays optimistic about Soren, Rayla turns and mourns alone about Zym), and Callum steps in to look after both of them. Moving on.

That said, the parallel between Rayla and Ezran that sticks out to me is:

Blame, Responsibility, and Self Worth

One of the things that's stood out to me on my most recent S2 rewatch is how unnecessarily hard on himself Ezran is (which Callum verbally acknowledges in 2x03), and how much it reminds me of Rayla throughout the series. This isn't to say that Ezran's mental health or self esteem is as poor as Rayla's — he does have a better view of himself (good, however?), he processes and shares his emotions better, for example — but that they repeatedly use the same language and phrasing, and worry about similar shortcomings.

Ezran: I'm so sorry I messed up the plan. Rayla: Ah, you should cut yourself a break. Everyone messes up sometimes. Or in my case, all the times. (1x08)

Ezran: Corvus, I'm sorry I let you down as king. It only took a few days for me to mess everything up. (3x05) Rayla: I let you both down. I let the world down. (1x09) / Oh no, I messed up again! (4x06)

Rayla: Ugh, I'm such an idiot. I should've figured it out. She's not a healer, she's a fake. She's an illusionist. She can't heal anything. (1x09) Ezran: You knew? Ugh, I'm such an idiot. I should've figured it out! When we met you, you had two of those assassin-y ribbon-y things, but one of them fell off that night. (2x08)

We also know Ezran's super annoying good heart is something that Rayla has too ("I told him you were too good-hearted for the work of an assassin") and something she has various levels of self hatred for ("Rayla felt her heart turn soft in her chest in just the way she hated" —Chasing Shadows part 1).

The point, however, is ultimately that Ezran and Rayla tend to primarily blame themselves when things go wrong, they worry immensely about failure and letting people down, and that Ezran has a greater capacity for self loathing than I think we sometimes give him credit for.

For example, both Rayla and Ezran exchange themselves for Viren in S3. Ezran abdicates and takes Viren's spot in jail, though the mage likewise finagles his way into being king, which wasn't part of the deal, and Rayla tackles Viren off the Pinnacle even if that means also dying in order to save Zym.

That said, one of the main reasons these two are so hard on themselves is because of the amount of internalized responsibility they take on when it comes to their

Collective Priorities

While both care deeply about individuals — friends, family, strangers, animals — Ezran and Rayla most often prioritize the collective, albeit in different ways. We see this first hand in 2x09 when discussing Ezran's decision to turn home and prioritize being king of his kingdom:

E: Now that I'm king, I have to go home. Maybe I can help the world better from the throne. I can do whatever I can to stop the war. R: Ezran, returning Zym to his mother is the world's best hope. E: I know. And you guys will do that. You'll find his mom and Zym will take his place in Xadia, just like I have to take mine.

This is also reflected in how Rayla wants to stay behind in 2x07 for a stranger, Ezran reminds her they have to take care of Zym (and follows Zym down), and Callum follows Rayla down and does dark magic. We see this once again in 4x04 and 5x01 with their choices:

Opeli: King Ezran, maybe there is a way. Go with her. Ezran: But Katolis needs me. Opeli: The world needs you right now. The high council can take care of the people, I promise you. Ezran: You're right. The kingdom will be in good hands.

Rayla: I love you, and I haven't forgotten about you. But... I can't help you yet. Because right now, the world needs me. Callum and Ezran need me. A great evil is trying to return to Xadia and we have to stop it. At any cost.

We also see this in how they prioritize their own understanding of harm mitigation over Callum's, as Ezran and Rayla ally with each other over the prison vs Nova Blade discussion, even though Rayla was the one to tell Callum they should be looking into killing Aaravos in the first place. Now that both stopping the mage fam from finding the prison and going after the Nova Blade are on the table, Rayla chooses the former over the latter, reaffirming her and Ezran's 'violence as a last resort' whereas Callum sees it that way, too, but is more inclined to get there faster (since Rayla has made that mistake twice, and is trying not to repeat it.)

Season five doubles down on this Ezran-kingdom and Rayla-world set up yet again, with Ezran primarily thinking things through in relation to his duty as a king, and Rayla in the self-imposed duty she feels to the greater good, even if that means denying doing or feeling the things they want to do or need to feel:

Soren: You deserve time to do kid stuff. If you spend all your time doing adult stuff now, you'll grow up weird, like your brother and Rayla. Ezran: I don't have time to do kid things. I must gain the trust and cooperation of the dragons, and I shall not be deterred. So many people are counting on me to do my duty. [...] Every time I sit on my throne, I'm reminded of the immense pressure of my kingly duty.

Rayla: It hurts me to know they're trapped like this. It's agonizing. But I know our mission comes first. The world is in danger, and you can trust me to stay focused. Callum: We can help them. Rayla, we can undo this spell. Rayla: Not yet, Callum. Believe me, I want to do something, but [...] Callum, we have to leave! Callum: Two minutes, that's all I need.

From what we know in 6x01, this seems reflected in Ezran putting off looking for Zubeia until they have something settled on with the prison, Rayla agreeing with Ezran's verdict that the prison should stay hidden in Katolis for now (until Callum convinces her otherwise), and Rayla reaffirming that while she wants to free her parents, she won't let it bias her.

All of this honestly just makes me more excited because when Ezran's mental health starts to crack, it's going to crack hard and be absolutely devastating. What will Ezran's mental health start spiralling over? Well...

Fathers and Remembrance

Like Claudia, Ezran and Rayla are direct legacy carriers. While every character in TDP carries some kind of legacy or hold over from their past, some characters are more entrenched in it than others.

For example, Soren's occupation has — as far as we know — nothing to do with his father, so that has nothing to do with legacy, but Soren choosing to be a different man than the son his father wanted absolutely does. Callum sort of gets the inversion of this, as occupation wise as mage and particularly as a high mage, he's carrying the weight of Ibis, Claudia, Kpp'ar, Viren, and potentially the Jailer on his back. That's where legacy comes into play, as although he's very much Sarai and Harrow's son (and Harrow's letter is a legacy unto itself), he's not struggling with the same things they struggled with primarily outside of "how to break (or perpetuate) the cycle," which every character struggles with. If he was having an arc decidedly about being a warrior, leader, or ruler, it might be different, but his occupation is what his legacy is mostly about, which fits a character who's meant to be 'born normal' and ascend to great heights purely by his own merit, even if he has royal status.

Ezran and Rayla, meanwhile, are given both occupational and familial legacy to deal with, much like Claudia, namely because all three of these characters are shot down the line to carry their parents' — primarily their fathers' — mantles.

Harrow was king, so Ezran becomes a king ("So I've realized I don't have to be the king my father was [...] I don't want to be that kind of king"). Runaan was an assassin, so Rayla tries to become an assassin ("Is this right? The moonshadow assassin who isn't capable of killing?"; Lain and Tiadrin were Dragonguard, so Rayla becomes a Dragonguard ("Don't you remember who you are? You're the last Dragonguard"). Viren was a dark mage, so Claudia becomes a dark mage ("I have led my beloved daughter down this path").

We see this reflected in the gifts Rayla and Ezran offer to Rex Igneous, tokens of love and remembrance that they carry with them to remind them of their fathers, but are willing to sacrifice. We see this in the way that each want to honour their parents, but also want to be different than them (i.e. Rayla doesn't want to be an assassin like Runaan, mirroring Ezran's changing assertion of "I wish Dad was here, he'd know what to do" to realizing he can't solely look at his father in an idealized lens because of his mistakes).

Of course, their gifts to Rex Igneous highlight their interrelated trauma. Ezran lost his father because of Rayla's father. Rayla's parents were imprisoned by proxy because of Harrow through Viren. Rayla is going to get her parents back. Ezran? Well... not so much, but it doesn't stop Claudia from mirroring Callum in her offer.

We see this aspect of remembrance and loss and mistakes in S3 as well, as a good deal of the first half of the season emotionally deals with Ezran and Rayla coming home and finding not quite the circumstances they wanted. The primary father they wanted to be like (Harrow, Runaan) is fallen, and so they have to step into different roles. For Ezran, that means being a new kind of king; for Rayla, that means becoming a Dragonguard.

With all this in mind, we're wrapping in similarities (though I'm sure there's some I missed or didn't touch on much, like the "the crown is a heavy burden" and "There's a burden I'm carrying" y'know?) but for now, onto the

Differences

Shorter section as these are more obvious, and I'd expect apply to both surface level and core aspects. Ezran's never been as prone to action/violence or being super active, Rayla's mental health is still somewhat in a ditch whereas Ezran's holding on (by a thread maybe but a thread nonetheless), Stella is the only animal Rayla's had a very close bond to meanwhile Ezran bonds with every animal, etc etc.

That said there are two I want to highlight in particular.

The first, like I've already alluded to, is that Ezran is better at holding and thinking of dualities in terms of priority and in terms of emotions (even if sometimes he can barrel on a bit too fast, like in 4x03). For example, when heading up the Cursed Caldera, Ezran is the one who mentions her hand (fittingly, since if she loses, it'll be for him):

Ezran can hold and prioritize two things at once. To help break the cycle, you have to hold love and pain in your heart at the same time. Upon inviting Zym and Zubeia to Katolis...

Corvus: But is this really about changing the world, or is it just an excuse to see Zym again? Ezran: Can't it be both?

Ezran is, of course, likely going to initially fail at his own challenge of thinking about Both when it comes to Runaan, prioritizing his pain and love over Rayla's, but the point stands that Ezran is usually better at focusing on what can and what needs to be done.

Ezran felt bad for Rayla and her fear of water, but he knew she could face the fear again. He was about to encourage her to cross the bay when Callum jumped in. “You know what?” Callum said. “We’ll just walk around it somehow. With our legs.” Ezran couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But thankfully, Rayla shook her head no. (—Book 2: Sky novelization)

Rayla, meanwhile, tunnel visions, and tunnel visions hard. When Ezran brings up her hand, she tells him, "Don't worry about my hand, the egg is all that matters." When she goes to save Pyrrah, she states, "It doesn't matter what happens to me, live or die, this dragon goes home." She destroys her relationships in the name of killing Viren and puts herself at risk, and it takes two years to come back and start making amends and recovering. Where Ezran's passivity shifts to carefully weighing things and making pretty measured decisions most of the time, Rayla's tendency to not consider anything but the immediate goal in front of her routinely gets her into trouble... such as abandoning a mission to save an individual (Harrow + the egg, Pyrrah, the Dragon Queen) no matter what the personal cost.

On that note, we also see Ezran directly reject the worst of Rayla's more toxic mindset, re:

The other difference that I noticed, particularly in S5, is that Rayla knows not everyone has a good heart, even if she expects someone to:

Ezran, meanwhile, continues to see the best in everyone even when being told it's unlikely.

Both these perspectives are good and bad circumstantially, and both can get them into trouble, but it's an interesting one to me to say the least.

Conclusion

Overall, I hope you enjoyed this dissection of Ezran and Rayla's similarities, contrasts, and flat out differences. I don't think we'll see a lot of their bond in S6 as we got to see in previous seasons, but fingers crossed for S7! As always thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

[felassan]

Some thoughts on the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf leak on Reddit which included screenshots & a gif along with text, under a cut due to potential spoilers for DA:D -

first: the usual set of disclaimers that accompany all leaks apply - might not be real, unable to verify at present, games change a fair bit between development phases and final release, take with grain of salt etc

Screenshots:

Weisshaupt, headquarters of the Grey Wardens, as a location which we will travel to irl and not in the Fade.. ngl I have been dreaming of this since 2010 [yelling]. really hyped. we previously speculated these concepts were of Weisshaupt. (compare the blue-ish domes in those with the blue-ish dome structures in the screenshots.) in some of the screenshots, Weisshaupt looked badly damaged.

Weisshaupt Library is extensive and was noted in Last Flight to contain a glass sarcophagus decorated with the horns of Andoral that contains the arms and armor of Garahel. BioWare pls.. Iet's see it :D and what if by 9:52 the Library or Weisshaupt also contains some relics of or references to the Hero of Ferelden.. 🥺👉👈 or that there are some references to Hawke's presence in Weisshaupt at one time kicking around in codex or notes or something..

Seems to confirm that Davrin ("Nobody dies on my watch! For the Wardens!") is a companion who can join us in the field. I wonder if we start out with him or get him early in the game, like Alistair/Morrigan, Cassandra/Varric etc. obviously for later game missions you can choose anyone to come with you usually so it could just be that, but perhaps this storybeat we're seeing here is set near the start of the game? and with darkspawn attacking Weisshaupt (confirmed as well in the text), the very heart of the order, imagine how Davrin's feeling (since he seems to be a rather heroic or knightly Warden).. :[

The other named and voiced character from that previous trailer was Bellara. if Davrin is a companion like we may be seeing here, it wouldn't be wild to suggest that maybe Bellara is too, given they were both featured similarly at the time.

"There's worse than darkspawn on the way" / "And the walls won't hold it back" likely refers to the dragon said in the text to also be attacking Weisshaupt? it some of the screenshots in the background there looks to be the silhouette of a great beast, maybe the dragon. their head certainly looks draconic.

ROOK? :D NOW WHO ARE THEY? another companion like Davrin? this makes three new named DA:D characters (as in appearing in the game itself) that we know of. Davrin, Bellara and Rook. the other possibility is what if Rook is the PC? is "Rook" a surname, title or codename? it's catchy, cool/badass, snappy, short, Hawke-like.

"Rook" imagery (brought up by the name): birds (Hawke had a bird motif), corvids (Antivan Crows..), the Skyhold Rookery (what if they were an agent or former agent of Leliana's? "Rook" would be a good spy codename and it would fit in with stuff like 'Rector' and 'Charter'.. plus it seems we'll have some link to the Inquisition remnants going forwards per TN etc), chess pieces (games of strategy, tactics, trying to outwit Solas, Solas manipulating events), the Tower tarot card and its meanings, and most interestingly [yodels]: the Red Book, the front of which shows a wolf aflame above a rook/tower. the Red Book link makes me lean towards "Rook is the PC"

What on earth is a "Spawn Boil"? darkspawn-associated, and "boil" carries both unpleasant + dangerous/unhealthy imagery, it doesn't sound good at all.. the Children in Awakening spent time in cocoons, they had hatchlings, and there are fleshy sacks of the Taint in previous games.. maybe the pulsing red dark thing we saw previously is a Spawn Boil (a pulsing or cocoon-like thing always gives me the impression that something might hatch or burst out of it, and boils can burst or pop..), and red lyrium has something to do with it, especially considering the following point

Lots of red in some images. not good. not good at all (as in, I'm in-universe worried. u know). the text refers to red lyrium. Varric, don't look 😭 in the image which includes "Destroy the Spawn Boils", the darkspawn are fuzzy so I'm squinting and could just be seeing things but they remind me a lot of these guys. hello, red lyrium darkspawn creatures! (also confirmed in the text) I guess that could be why we need to hurry and destroy the Spawn Boils, because red lyrium darkspawn come out of them or are powered up by them or trying to spread them or somesuch

UI may change between now and release (UI is often one of the last things done or tweaked in a game iirc) I think so I'm leaving off focusing overmuch on it just now. I like the purple though

seems like this playtest was being done on a console?

menus and similar: Map, Character, Companions, Skills, Collections (what's Collections, stuff like mosaic pieces?). an inventory 'bag'. equipment slots. accessory slots. skill slots. currency. are the bits next to the money going to be resource piles, like for crafting? the Grappling Chain warrior skill returns. considering this character is a Warrior, maybe the punching arm icon is for Mighty Blow? the Guard mechanic returns. Items can't be changed during combat. looks like there's multiple slots on the shield itself (for runes and upgrades?)

Item description: "A shield emblazoned with the Templar's symbol. It's particularly effective at absorbing impacts. This one has been enchanted by the Mournwatch" [!!!] "to grant additional resistance against Spirits".

"Level [x] Grey Warden"? Is that this character's background/origin, class, spec? Can the PC become a Grey Warden? Any relation to the 'factions background' fan-theory? Also this character is an elf! in the text the leaker seemed to say that this was who they played. So the PC is an elf, or race selection returns?

The armor and equipment etc looks cool

Also what's with the crumbling stuff in the background on the character menu, do you see that? :D It's like the crumbling of the Dreadwolf logo and promo art assets on the website. Fadey stuff and realitywarping-theories senses tingling..

in the image where there's a character who isn't wearing a helmet, the hair looks decent. that's something which is also mentioned in the text.

also in that image, what's with the purpley fire[?] stuff? purple lyrium? (red+blue=....) purple roots? also there is a green tint to the lighting outside in this image. I think this whole segment we're seeing (darkspawn attack Weisshaupt and something?? is going on) is this scene from concept art being played out on-screen.

very Wardenny doors with the griffons and the chalice. the closing door scene reminds me of the 'party closes the doors to the Temple of Mythal' scene in DA:I. also like the variety of characters holding the door shut & shown in the level scene. humans, dwarves, elves, someone who looks like they're a Qunari. does one of the dwarves look like Harding to anyone else, or am I tripping?

hhh the Grey Wardens put griffon decorations on their big lever.

Gif:

Warriors seem to have have a kicking skill or move, as shown by the foot skill icon and move executed by the character (text describes this as being like a drop kick)

Dead bodies on the ground which don't yet have their textures (that's normal)

More darkspawn

"Resilience"

More purple stuff

It looks or 'feels' like the snippet we saw from the trailer (Grey Warden-armor character doing Shield Wall)

Hard to judge ofc from a very short snippet that we ourselves aren't playing, but yeah the combat looks action-y (action RPG) and from this snippet at least I don't personally see why I wouldn't enjoy it or find it fine (everyone's different tho ofc ^^)

Text (body of post):

"I was honestly shocked when we got no gameplay reveal at TGA, as I was sure we'd get something considering the timing this video was shared with me" - this is interesting

OP notes that what the playtester played was early Alpha. DA:D completed its Alpha milestone in October 2022

Some elements missing textures, missing audio etc tracks with what was said in Insider Gaming's report

Story details: the segment was set within Weisshaupt. the PC being played here is an elf (this was apparent from the screenshots but reading "the player character was an elf" sent me to another planet with hype ok). ((I hope this means race selection returns)) I could be wrong but I'd guess that "Knight" was like, general fantasy world language the playtester was using to try and describe what the character they played was like to their contact, rather than in-game text for the character (in the same way as how "mirrored portal" may be eluvians)? A warrior, armed and armored in gray/silver with a sword, shield and helmet, you know? I'd guess the "knight dude" party member is Davrin (Davin - Grey Warden warrior, confirmed?). Lady dwarf companion confirmed?? (Harding? or Bellara?)

I do hope three squadmates as in DAO, DAII and DA:I hasn't been reduced to only two as this suggests. It's like that in ME so it's not the end of the world, but three friends is always going to be more fun and engaging, especially in a series in which the companions are always the high point

More story details: Darkspawn attacking Weisshaupt (as we see in the screenshots) is a big deal hello?? This is the famous Warden stronghold, their very HQ, being attacked by the thing they exist to destroy/protect the world from. explains why Weisshaupt looks wrecked. Wtf is going on??? scared.. Where is the First Warden in all of this? this is so not good. Especially given the red lyrium spreading and the red lyrium darkspawn. That isn't a surprise as we saw something to that effect in concept art and a trailer, but still. we in danger. "some have red lyrium attacks" omg. is there any connection between this attack on Weisshaupt and whatever weird stuff was implied to be going on at Weisshaupt in the DA:I epilogue?

The dragon is also Concerning.. like. Darkspawn attacking, with a dragon involved. That sounds like a Blight and an Archdemon. Is this the Sixth Blight? is it a Red Lyrium Blight? I'm reminded of this concept art. also HELLO?

"The objective is to fight through the Darkspawn to get to the library, but as you are doing so there is also a big ass dragon attacking from above. And the dragon creates occasional environmental and traversal hazards. It ends once you reach the library, close the gates," [this will be the door shutting scene surely] "and then come face to face with the dragon. It appears you are then supposed to try and chain the dragon up, but it ends before the player completes that." I guess the big lever we see has something to do with trying to chain the dragon up. Why chain it up?? I'm reminded of Ataashi in Trespasser, the dragon in Dark Fortress and the dragon in Absolution. I guess if it was a normal Archdemon, why would we be chaining it up? so it's not or there's something weird or something else going on

"Basically, buildings and whatnot are all modeled and textured but the skybox itself is very dark and makes it seem as though the entire fortress is underground, although it is clearly not. I suspect the skybox could contain some giant world event, similar to the Breach, they hadn't finished." - this is interesting and I'm once again reminded of this piece of concept art where there's something wild going on in the sky or air outside Weisshaupt

OP was told about the God of War (2018) thing, which is what was said on ResetEra. they also mention about little to no party control (or none currently), which is what was said in the Insider Gaming article and iirc was said on ResetEra

Does "completely in real-time" imply no pause button or tactical cam in this build?

Since there's an 'Armor' bar, maybe 'Guard' is actually the special bar that builds up allowing you to pull off a musou special move?

"I don't really understand the comparison to FF15's wheel. It's standard Dragon Age ability wheel." - this contrasts with the bit about this in the Insider Gaming article

Animation quality has drastically improved, jumping returns, warriors can parry and counter

Player's hair "looked glorious", "flowing and bouncing" omg. don't need to say anything here other than [yodels]

Text (comments from OP):

OP elaborates in a comment that the screenshots/gif footage is from an "early build, years old", and that the game is now "way past this state"

On the dragon's environmental hazards, OP expands: "Like the dragon spews fire on the ground requiring you to go around an intended path or blocks off a path so you gotta go up a ladder"

OP describes the level shown as linear

OP mentions in a comment that "Red Templars" are what's invading Weisshaupt, but given the darkspawn they mention elsewhere and in the screenshot text, I'm assuming they meant "red lyrium darkspawn" here and got mixed up?

More references to the devs looking at Gears of War (2018) as a guide when making DA:D, in terms of things like combat/inspiration (it sounds like that anyway)

general feel/thoughts: no way of knowing for sure but looks/feels real/legit to me. also I like the look and feel of it, am excited :)

also I rambled in places in this post sry. :'>

[source]

[nightingaelic]

Alright, let's spin my sexy little wheel with every challenge, exploit, and perk in the game. 3... 2... 1... And it's landed on the Infinite Companions Glitch. Companions react to traveling as a group, Fallout 4 & New Vegas.

And what occasion would bring everyone together like this, I wonder

Fallout New Vegas

"I've had worse," Raul admitted, chewing thoughtfully.

"See?" Veronica offered some of the toasted night stalker tail to the others. Boone and Arcade declined, but Cass laughed and humored her. Lily daintily took a piece as well, and Rex snapped up the rest with relish.

"And that's normal for you," Arcade said, clearly dismayed. "When you're out on your own, hunting for supplies - you just cook up whatever attacks you that day, whether it's venomous or not."

"Beggars can't afford to be choosers, doc," Cass replied, crashing her shoulder into his.

"But we can," Arcade insisted, digging through his pack. "I've got pork and beans, I've got mutfruit, I've got cornmeal and brahmin jerky and barrel cactus-"

"Then save it for when we don't have coyote snake meat," Veronica suggested with a smile. "I cooked the tail, Arcade, not the fangs. If you really want to have a heart attack about wasteland diets, ask Six for their radscorpion venom casserole recipe."

"Very tasty," Lily rumbled, with a wistful look on her face.

Arcade gave up and began unsealing the can of pork and beans with his can opener. The tool broke halfway through the task and fell to the sand in front of the fire. The rest of the companions made noises of sympathy, and ED-E swooped down to scan it immediately. Arcade put his face in his hand and passed the can to Boone, who pulled out a knife and resumed prying it open.

"Dame eso, por favor." Raul nudged ED-E away gently and bent down to pick up the fallen can opener. He looked it over, then pulled a screwdriver out of his jumpsuit pocket and began tightening the faulty hardware while the eyebot watched with interest.

Boone loosened the top of the can sufficiently and pulled out a small, enamel saucepan from his pack. He dumped the pork and beans into it and set it in the nearby campfire's embers, watching it like a hawk from behind his sunglasses.

"Big day tomorrow," Veronica remarked, licking night stalker grease from her fingers.

"You said it." Cass leaned back on her pack and pulled her hat down over her eyes. "Almost makes a girl wish she'd written her story down. In case of the worst."

"You'll be fine," Veronica reassured her, though there was a little trepidation in her own voice. "We'll all be fine. A positive attitude is half the battle."

Boone shook his head and unearthed a spoon from his pack. Cass caught the movement and raised an eyebrow. "What do you reckon our odds are, sniper?"

"Hard to say." Boone crouched down to stir the pot of beans.

"We've done everything we can," Veronica insisted. "We got my family, Arcade's, even the Boomers... it might be enough."

"Enough, not enough..." Cass shrugged. "There's no other way. We fight, or the Mojave burns."

Boone nodded. Arcade ran a hand through his hair and stared into the fire. Lily patted Veronica on the shoulder, and the Scribe leaned into it, chewing her lip as she did. Rex, who until this point had been stretched out before the campfire, perked up suddenly. One by one, the companions turned in the direction of the cyberdog's interest. The crunch of boots and rustle of creosote heralded the courier's arrival, returning from their perimeter check.

Immediately, the mood lightened. "Hey boss," Raul greeted them. "Turn the radio on?"

The courier obliged. Radio New Vegas was halfway through Peggy Lee's "Johnny Guitar," and everyone around the campfire groaned.

Fallout 4

"Come and get it!" Piper yelled.

There was a mad dash for the first helpings of stew, with MacCready, Cait, and Deacon all elbowing and shoving to put their bowls forward. Codsworth doled out ladles with some exasperated remarks about manners and decorum, but the bot couldn't completely contain his delight that his cooking was such a hit. Curie, Preston and Piper formed an orderly line behind the first three ruffians, while Hancock finally shook himself free of the nap he'd been taking and stretched leisurely before the campfire, nearly knocking away Nick's cigarette in the process. "Watch it," the old synth warned him.

"Can you even process that?" Hancock wondered aloud. He pulled one of his own cigarettes out and touched it to the end of Nick's to light it.

"Old habits die hard," Nick replied.

"Ain't that the truth." MacCready sat down on the other side of Hancock. "Still find myself itching for one, occasionally."

"Strong hungry," Strong complained from the other side of the fire.

"Sorry, big guy," Deacon said, waving his spoon at the super mutant. "Cooked food goes to the FEV-free crowd first. General's orders."

"I still don't think we should be feeding an... a mutant at all," Danse muttered from the back of the stew line.

"Watch it, tin can," Hancock growled.

"Lighten up, Danse," Cait suggested. "He's going to kick in the Institute's back door with the rest of us tomorrow morning. You don't want him going in on an empty stomach, now do you?"

Strong stood suddenly and flexed his arms. "Strong go hunting!" he announced, before crashing into the nearby brush.

Piper took his abandoned seat and turned to check his meager pile of possessions. "Didn't even take his sledgehammer. He must be starving."

"Hunger is not known to inspire patience," Curie commented, sitting next to the reporter. "Puis-je avoir du sel?"

X6-88, who had been hanging back and munching on an Institute-issued ration bar, passed her the shaker of salt from Codsworth's supplies. Curie thanked him and added a dash to her stew. "How are you feeling about tomorrow?" she asked him.

"I am prepared," X6-88 replied, but the space between Curie's question and his answer was enough to betray the Courser's unease.

"You know, we could use a lookout to cover us," Nick said casually. "In case things go bad enough that we need to retreat."

"Retreat is not an option," Danse cut in. "The Institute's grip on the Commonwealth ends tomorrow."

Preston cleared his throat. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Danse, but Nick's just being practical. Two of us should stay behind to guard the entrance to the cooling water tunnel system. If X6-88 wants it, one of those spots is his."

X6-88 nodded. "This would be acceptable."

"Fine." MacCready gulped down a spoonful of stew. "Who gets the other spot?"

The companions all looked at each other. Deacon coughed, and Hancock scratched around his collar, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "I'm not missing out," Cait muttered. Clearly, there weren't going to be any volunteers.

Codsworth, sensing an approaching presence, swiveled two of his eye stalks away from the stew he'd prepared. "Perhaps we should ask the general."

The sole survivor approached the fire from the southwest, huffing a little from their hike up the nearby embankment. "Ask me what?" they said.

"We need two rear guards at the tunnel entrance tomorrow," Preston explained. "X6-88 is one. We want you to choose the other."

"Oh, easy." The sole survivor bent down to scratch the ears of the German shepherd that had loped into camp with them. "Dogmeat. If he gets shot down there, I'll never forgive myself."

Deacon jabbed a finger at them. "I knew you loved that dog more than us!"

The sole survivor grinned. "He gets in way less trouble than all of you. Come on, if you're really that stuck on this decision, we'll draw straws."

[fear-and-lothering]

I can feel the brain worms returning to me I have *so* many things i'm curious to know more about VeilGuard One wondering if the Executors will be returning. I know when it was dread wolf/some of the landscapes shown felt like it might have more with them an Executor companion (wondering if Bellara will have anything to do with them either knows of them and prying into their secrets or ties with them, especially with elements of the arm piece in her design) Which old characters we'll be seeing again (I want to dream there will be some role/place for Kieran again, but likely not cause I know with world state choices and him not being in everyones playthroughs /world state fuckery and probs why they are getting rid of the keep because of all the diverging world states and I know the interview where they talked about things they can't rlly bring back because of all the various different world states) More touching on the titans, cause damb both dwarf lore gets more ignored in DA stories then Qunari lore. (AND SOME articles were floating around saying harding will have magic? (Edit showing there is stuff about it and need to know if that happens and pls give my girl dagna some magic juise)pls be about the titans obs, BUT MAN FEELS MEAN FOR hARDING TO GET MAGIC BLASTED AND NOT DAGNA) Also the fucking lore drop from Absolution, like I'm reallyyyyy hoping that will factor into the stuff going on in Veilguard some how cause that's a *big* one, (but Idk it might of been cut from all the changes in story/direction since it was dreadwolf/and seen no talk/ref to absolution )

Or maybe a trip back to kirkwall at some point, seeing all the locations we can go too

Also I'm pleading bioware , please we're seeing more of teventier let me see more of the qunari as well (i'm still never over how brushed aside the qunari were in trespasser when they were made out to be way more important there)