#rosewood spoilers | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

karniss-bg3 · 1 year ago

Note

Ya bring up a point I’m sure not all monster lovers consider—- turning Kar’niss back being a goal of his would mean sacrificing my love for the freaky and remembering he’s just a guy with needs too. I imagine if there was a WISH spell, given their open-ended nature to do Anything with reality, you’d probably get access to one with only a few options of what to use it for in a limited game context. Probably it’d give you the offer to fix your other companions, or your own lingering plot issues—- could we see some Kar’niss reaction to Tav, after mulling it over (alone or among companions), truly deciding to use the WISH for him and/or let him use it (one of those ‘trust your companion will do the right thing’ moments). Bet they find the spell after robbing Lorroakan or somethin. (Though it’s a Wish Spell—- imagine a man so short sighted as to just wish to be without pain but not change so he can still ‘be of use’. Hopefully he’d have learned better about his worthiness by the time you found a WISH though).

Title: A Wish Come True

Word Count: 3,667

Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for Act 2 and Act 3

Characters: Gale, Astarion, gender-neutral Tav and Kar'niss

Summary: After a hard battle in the sorcerer's tower, Gale uncovers a hidden Wish spell scroll. Kar'niss is now faced with a tough decision; Use the rare scroll to break the drider's curse or remain as he is forever more?

***

It had been a hard fought battle in the sorcerer's tower but the group came out victorious. Lorroakan had been bested and his lifeless body had settled in the middle of the floor. Astarion was the first to root around the wizard’s quarters with Gale not far behind, both searching for powerful items and weapons they could pilfer for their journey. Gale’s sharp eye spotted a peculiar rosewood box in a corner with intricate swirls carved into the lid. He leaned in for a closer look and sensed that the chest was locked tight. Astarion also picked up on the notion and casually nudged Gale aside with his shoulder.

“Allow me,” Astarion said, chuffed.

Gale held up his hands and gave Astarion the chance to unlock the mysterious vessel. Retrieving his trusty lock picking tools he went to work. As he began to fiddle with it a magical aura pulsed from the box and a blast of magical fire surged from the base and onto the fumbling thief. Astarion’s clothes caught alight and made the vampire lurch from surprise and pain. He spun in circles, frantically slapping at the blaze that threatened to consume his clothes whole.

“AH! Hot, hot, HOT!” Astarion screeched.

Gale stood by, his blank expression mirroring his annoyance. He’d flick two fingers aside, a blue aura shrouding them before a downpour of water crashed over the ignited fop. This doused the fire as well as Astarion who now stood there, soaked but free from danger.

“Now, what have we learned, Astarion?” Gale asked.

The vampire’s upper lip rose, exposing his fangs, shooting the wizard a miffed glare.

“That’s right. When exploring a tower of sorcery, maaaybe let the seasoned wizard do the poking, hm?” Gale said, gesturing to himself.

Astarion rolled his eyes, his hands hurriedly squeezing out his hair before flinging his arms side to side to rid them of excess moisture.

“Fine. I doubt there is aught of interest in that chest anyway. Likely moth eaten robes and naughty paintings. Have at it, oh ‘mighty’ wizard.” Astarion gave a disingenuous bow in Gale’s direction, abandoning the chest in an effort to fix his drenched appearance.

Gale wasn’t put off by Astarion’s complaining, rather accustomed to it by this stage in their journey. Instead he put his focus on examining the chest with a more nuanced look. His keen arcane senses were able to detect the sheen of an enchantment that shimmered over the item as a whole. He outstretched his hands toward it, palms hovering inches above the lid, putting his full concentration in breaking the troublesome spell. His eyes took on a purple hue, his robes kicking out at his ankles crackling with magical energy. He called out a single word, willing the weave to do his bidding, assaulting the enchantment in an effort to break it. His determination paid off. The energy pushed from his palms covered the box and the shimmer that once dominated it’s surface shattered like fiberglass removing the danger.

“Ah, there we are.” Gale swung open the lid to peer inside curiously.

The coffer, at first, didn’t seem to contain anything of note just like Astarion predicted. A pile of old robes of various hues sat in a neatly folded pile. Gale picked them up to look them over and while they were of a fine make, they didn’t seem to have any significance beyond that. He frowned with the discovery, continuing to dig in hopes he’d discover more.

“Ah-ha! Utter trash, certainly not worth getting burned over,” Astarion said while wringing out his shirt.

“Mm no, there must be more. A sorcerer wouldn’t go through so much effort to protect worthless robes,” Gale replied.

This prompted Astarion to come closer to investigate once more. Gale cleared out everything leaving an empty chest. The vampire smirked as he leaned over, a knowing gleam twinkling in the corner of his eye.

“Oh darling, it seems we’ve been done in by a red herring. Cazador had many items of value, ones he’d not leave wittingly out in the open.” Astarion reached into the box and ran his smooth fingertips along the wooden walls of the container. He did so until he felt a discrepancy in the wood grain; An indent. “There you are.” He’d press the hidden button, a quiet double click of mechanisms heard within its walls. Both men watched while the false bottom of the box slid open revealing the true treasure beneath.

Astarion’s lips curled in a self-satisfied grin, leaning in closer to Gale to make cocky eye contact with him. “I suppose a rogue isn’t as useless in a tower of sorcery as you thought, HM?”

Gale side eyed his proud companion, palming the side of his face to gently push him away. “You’ve made your point, good work.”

Inside was a pouch of gold coin, a bizarre wooden wand painted red and gold with floral accents and a short stack of scrolls. Gale filtered through the items with some fascination, going through each scroll with fierce scrutiny. His snooping came to a halt when he read over one scroll in particular, his eyes increasing in size as the shock took hold. Astarion was in the process of dumping water from his boots when he noticed Gale’s frozen demeanor.

“What is it, what did you find?”

Gale didn’t answer his curious companion, instead whirling around to call down to the floor below. “TAV! You need to see this!”

All this time Tav was situated on the lower floor with Kar’niss who had sustained injuries during the battle. The drider had lowered himself to the ground so Tav had ease of access to his wounds. They were bandaging a cut on his arm when they heard Gale shouting from above. Tav’s brow crinkled in confusion and Kar’niss followed suit, both exchanging a glance. Before Tav could rush to Gale’s side the wizard was already climbing down the ladder with some urgency. Astarion followed behind, half dressed and damp but equally as curious as to his discovery.

“What’s going on?” Tav asked.

Gale handed over the scroll to them. “Here.”

They took the parchment and scanned over the text inscribed upon it, a creeping realization hitting them the further they read along. Their eyes darted to Gale, then to Kar’niss and back to the scroll, their fingers beginning to tremble.

“A wish spell,” they whispered.

This revelation sucked the air out of the room. Astarion’s jaw dropped with amazement while Kar’niss’ breath hitched in his throat. A silence fell over the massive study, each companion eyeing off the other, uncertainty and excitement palpable in their immediate vicinity.

Gale broke the silence first. “What do we do?

Tav pressed their lips into a thin line, soon turning to Kar’niss. “This is it, what we’ve been searching for. You can return to your true form, Kar’niss. Your suffering could come to an end, right here, right now.”

Kar’niss rose from his crouched position, his hand rubbing over his arm in a self-soothing gesture. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat while legs shuffled beneath him in an anxious dance.

“But...this spell, it’s incredibly rare and powerful, is it not? Why waste it on me? So much could be done with this power. If I suffer it is due to my own folly,” Kar’niss said.

Astarion bolted forward as if angered by the statement, his crimson eyes glaring up at the drider. “Have you learned nothing after traveling with us? I know it’s a difficult lesson to learn, it took me far too long as it was. But what happened to you is not your doing. You were a victim, same as I. Take the scroll and reclaim your life.”

Kar’niss shrunk when he was chided so, unable to maintain his gaze on Astarion for too long. His nervous energy didn’t seem to wane, undecided and skeptical of his own worth.

“It’s true, this spell is not easy to come by. We can only use it once. With that said, I know first hand what it is like to be toyed with by the divine. Yours is a particularly cruel case, Kar’niss. As far as we know this is the only way to undo what has been done. I think we can all agree that despite our myriad of problems, this is your best chance at freedom,” Gale said. “We have alternatives to tackle our afflictions, you do not.”

Tav looked between Gale and Astarion, mulling over their words and watching Kar’niss shuffle about nearby. They took time to think and finally made their approach. They stepped toward Kar’niss, lifting an arm to gently rest their palm at the center of his chest.

“This isn’t a choice for any of us to make. You know better than anyone what is in your better interest and I trust in your judgment. If you need time to think it through then take it, you don’t have to decide this very moment.” Tav took a step closer, a warm smile on their face. “What is important is that you make the choice, that it is of your free will. Know that we will support you no matter the road you take. You are not a waste, Kar’niss, not by a long shot.”

Kar’niss listened to what everyone had to say, observing all present with some trepidation. He glanced down at Tav, resting his clawed hand atop of the one pressed to his chest. Without a word he stepped away from the group needing a moment to think by himself.

The others afforded Kar’niss his much needed space, retreating to another part of the tower to continue their search for other useful items. He was still in shock, scarcely believing that they had found such a rare item, something that could change his life moving forward. He came to a stop near a large standing mirror propped on a nearby wall. The drider turned to face the reflective surface, seeing his own image projected right back at him. He jolted from the surprise of it, as if it was the first time he truly saw himself since his change. His legs carried him closer, crouching down to get a better look.

His torso was bloodied from the recent battle, bandages placed over his arms where he’d suffered ice damage. Those details were the easiest to ignore, instead focusing on how twisted his once beautiful visage had become. His fingers reached to feather across the many eyes scattered across his forehead, trailing down to the scarred gash across his lip, finally reaching the hardened chitin sealed along his jawline. His gnarled hand reached out to caress the surface of the mirror as if trying to console the reflection within, his gaze meeting the pair staring back at him. His eyes tread lower, spotting the spider body his torso was haphazardly melded to, his pedipalps trembling beneath his belly button. He snarled and jerked his head away from the mirror, the biting sting of tears starting to collect at the corners of his eyes.

Was he worthy of salvation? He thought back to all of the atrocities he had committed both under Lolth and the Absolute, complacent in the part he played, a willing puppet for their unspeakable crimes. Astarion’s words rang in his mind, the notion that he was a victim rather than a fervent contributor. Should he be punished forever for actions of his past, or could he move beyond it and become the person he was meant to be? Gale’s statements came to mind next, the idea that he had been toyed with by those he worshiped, that he had the opportunity for freedom. What did that mean for someone like him? He could never return to the Underdark, not as a drider or a drow. That home was forever lost to him. Did the surface offer him something more, something greater? Or would he know the same abuse just with different faces?

Tav’s statement crashed through the walls of self doubt and hesitation. This was...his choice? Could he trust himself to make it? He realized he knew one thing for certain, he wanted to stay with Tav at any cost. He didn’t wish to be a burden on them, forever doomed to defend a drider from the gawking and cruel masses who didn’t understand him. Their life together would never know peace so long as Tav had to play protector. There were many other things they couldn’t do as he was now, things he’d long since thought about but was too afraid to voice. He wanted to know love, to know happiness, two things that were always short of his grasp, just out of reach.

Kar’niss turned to look back at the mirror but with more determination in his expression. He examined himself once more, for the final time, his head lifting as if in defiance of what Lolth had made him. He’d give the mirror a shove, pushing it over and letting it shatter on the floor below.

“Never again.”

During this time the group had pilfered much of the area. Gale had taken to reading the many texts stored on the bookshelves while Astarion hung his clothes on the balcony to dry, parading around in his underwear with no shame. Tav rolled their eyes at the display.

“There are many robes scattered about you could wear in the meantime,” Tav grumbled.

“Yes but they’re old, and ugly. Besides I look stunning au naturel. Really, you should be thanking me for providing your eyes with such a feast.” Astarion swished his arm in an effeminate arc.

Tav groaned and slumped deeper in the chair they had sat upon. “I’m going to regurgitate that feast onto Lorroakan’s carpet if you don’t stop.”

Their prattling was interrupted when they heard the clicking steps of the driders return. Gale closed his book and Tav stood up, Astarion joining the pair to look upon Kar’niss, the air of expectation heavy around them.

“Have you made a choice?” Tav asked.

Kar’niss rubbed his hands together nervously, looking between the three so as to work up the courage to make such an announcement.

“I thought about what you’ve said, all of you. While I still...struggle to believe I am worthy of this gift, I don’t want to spend the remainder of my life in hiding. You found me at the worst point in my life. You could’ve killed me without a second thought, you spared me instead. You showed endless kindness and patience while I struggled to contend with my own mind, feelings I thought to be genuine. I can’t return to the Underdark and Lolth’s shadow will forever follow me. At least with this spell I have the chance to live on the surface with a modicum of peace. I—“ He trailed off, his expression twisted while he searched for the right words. “I want to be happy. I don’t know what that really means for someone like me but I’m willing to find out.” He’d take in a shaken breath. “Use it.”

All three spared a glance to one another, seeming pleased with his conclusion. Tav stepped forward to hold the scroll out to Kar’niss but the drider raised both hands in refusal.

“I think since Gale found the scroll, he should do the honors. That and I am worried I’ll word it wrong and botch the entire thing. I don’t want to make my condition worse,” Kar’niss said.

Gale chuckled and took the scroll from Tav. “A fair concern, I will be diligent with my phrasing. Are you ready?”

Kar’niss inhaled a deep chest full of air, his legs dancing shuffling beneath him once more. “I think so, yes.”

Tav wandered over, issuing a comforting squeeze to his hip. “Everything will be fine. We’re right here.” They’d then back away to give distance for the spell to work its magic.

Astarion and Tav kept their distance, the vampire taking Tav’s hand into his own to give it a reassuring squeeze. Despite all his fanfare he realized the importance of this moment for all involved. Gale stepped forward keeping a gap between himself and the anxious drider, holding up the scroll to focus on arcane concentration.

“I wish for the drider known as Kar’niss to be restored to his true form, complete and whole as the drow he was before Lolth’s cruel curse kissed his essence. Memories hale and intact, body rich and vibrant, freed of the evil rendered upon him against his will.”

As soon as the last word left Gale’s lips the scroll in his hands crumbled to dust, their particles glittering in the air. They floated over to Kar’niss and began to dance in a shimmering ring around him. Kar’niss looked around with an urgent jerk of his head, lifting his arms due to a tinge of fear striking his core. The particles grew in size and number until they formed a continuous beam of golden light, expanding to form a dome of radiance that concealed the drider in full. Gale, Astarion and Tav stood by, their eyes wide and breath baited. They couldn’t look away even as the light increased in intensity, unable to see what was happening within. Loose papers in the tower went flying, carried away by the breeze radiating from the churning sphere in the center of the room. All of them could feel the force of this magic and it’s near infinite power, crackling and buzzing with arcane energy of a grand magnitude. The swirling golden light started to shrink in on itself, a notion that made Tav step forward with concern. Was Kar’niss alright, what was happening to him?

Soon the sphere shrunk to half the size it had been prior to its conjuring, the shell cracking down the center and breaking away, portions of the dome flaking away and disintegrating from sight. Once the shell had all but faded away the only thing that was left behind was the glowing silhouette of a man on the floor, doubled over on his hands and knees. The aura steadily peeled away revealing the changed individual beneath. A doubled over drow male was left behind, his form naked and vulnerable. The trio nearby watched in stunned silence, waiting for a sign that the spell had truly done as advertised.

A soft groan rumbled from the man on the floor, his hands pushing himself up into a seated position. He was dazed but alive and healthy by all appearances. Shoulder length white hair curtained around his pale face, now cleansed of the eyes which had once dotted his brow. The hard carapace that once molded over his arms, chest and jawline were no where to be seen, leaving behind smooth flesh and darkened nipples. Most notable were the presence of legs, two instead of eight, thighs muscular and firm. Kar’niss held up his hands which had begun to shake, looking them over in awe. His fingers were smooth rather than jagged and rough, able to bend his fingers with more flexibility than he had prior. He ran his palms across his face, particularly his forehead, noting the absence of the additional orbs he once carried. Finally, he glanced down to see his legs and genitals, all as they had been once upon a time. A choked gasp surged from his throat as the reality of it all began to set in. He was back to himself.

Tav rushed into action once they assessed the situation. They ran over and grabbed a loose blanket draped over a nearby chair, darting to Kar’niss’ side. They dropped to their knees in front of him, draping the garment over his shoulders to stave off the incoming chill.

“Kar’niss, are you alright? How do you feel?” Tav asked.

The drow didn’t know what to say at first, still patting over his torso and thighs in an effort to make sure this wasn’t a dream. He shook his head, mouth hanging agape, a swell of something building in his chest that he hadn’t felt in an age; Joy. His trembling lips pulled into an emotional smile, throwing his arms out to wrap them around Tav. Pulled into the vice grip of a hug Tav promptly laughed from surprise and relief, their arms threading around his torso to return the gesture enthusiastically.

“Th-Thank you...thank you…” Kar’niss whimpered, his face buried in Tav’s neck.

Tav bit their lower lip while stroking the back of his hair, leaning more into the embrace.

“You did most of the work, Kar’niss. This is your victory as much as it is ours. I’m proud of you.”

He bit back a sob from such a heartfelt statement, fingers curled into the small of Tav’s back. He leaned away enough to make eye contact with them, his body radiating overwhelming emotion. He cupped Tav’s face and brought them in for a kiss, one that he put every ounce of his body and soul into. Tav returned the affection with equal vigor, clinging to the man they adored so.

As the pair embraced Gale and Astarion stood by, looking on with their own sense of pride and joy at the outcome. Gale glanced Astarion’s way.

“You really couldn’t have put on some clothes for this monumental, once in a lifetime moment?” Gale grunted.

Astarion scoffed and waved a hand about dismissively. “Darling, they’re not paying one speck of attention to me. For once, that’s a good thing, mw-ha! Besides, my near nudity will likely help Kar’niss feel less self conscious about his own.”

Gale chuckled and propped his arm on Astarion’s shoulder, leaning into him while looking Tav and Kar’niss’ way.

“True enough, Astarion. True enough.”

Tav and Kar’niss continued to hold and kiss one another, filled with relief and hope for what future lay ahead. This was the beginning of a new journey for the pair, one that they were ready to face together.

To the very end.

186 notes · View notes

nightkarmaqueen · 5 days ago

Text

----- a little tradition cw//mention of oc, possible spoiler, timeskip kageyama.

rome, italy. serie a superlega, ali roma's home game.

"here, let me help you." you took the lipstick the team borrowed from one of the staffs.

as you held tobio's face still, you carefully swiped the rosewood-colored lipstick on his left cheek, making a thin line similar to scratch wound. "there," you muttered.

ali roma has a unique tradition. when there is this one match every season on november, they will make a rosewood-colored face mark. for the whole season you work with ali roma and date with tobio, you never know what it is for. maybe it was to lift their spirits. for whatever it is, this little tradition is very cute to you.

"i swear to god, you guys always find a way to be lovebirds!" mancini, the captain, slightly complained as he passed by us. his italian hand gestures complemented the comedy.

"said a man who can't help but call his wife every one hour!" tobio countered his captain's words with his now fluent italian. the whole locker room laughed.

"w-what did he say?" you blinked in confusion as you were still new to italian.

tobio just shook his head and patted your head, smiling. "nothing to worry about."

[edit: I JUST FOUND OUT THE FACE MARKS IS A CAMPAIGN FOR SPREADING AWARENESS TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, I CRY:<]

a/n: still with my "simping rjn hours but make it haikyuu". inspired by how cute tatsunori otsuka with the milano face marks:>

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #hq #hq x reader #kageyama tobio #tobio kageyama #kageyama x reader #kageyama tobio x reader #tobio x reader #tobio kageyama x reader

47 notes · View notes

life-is-unreal · 3 months ago

Text

Stranger Danger~ {Genshin x Reader} Teyavat Chapter 14 - Teardrop Crystal

slight spoiler : There's probably going to be a slime army :D, which slime for Liyue I wonderrrr :DDD

"Welcome back!" Venti's eyes glimmered under the bar lights. "Ah, this is the Holy Lyre! You managed to retrieve it!"

"The pattern of flowing wind carved on the rosewood... and the strings still feel cool to the touch too. Oh, the memories..." You rolled your eyes. Anyone with an actual brain could tell what's wrong with his words.

Jean exchanged a glance with you. Barely shaking her head. "What do you think, Venti? Can you summon Dvalin?"

Venti shrugged, spreading his hands, "Although this lyre is the real thing, I doubt that it's going to work. As you can see, the lyre has been through a thousand years of history. Its Anemo power has run dry. In this condition, you couldn't play music fit for even Diluc's tavern with it..."

Diluc frowned, "Bards fight to get on the stage of my tavern. Don't make assumptions!"

Paimon gaped at him in disbelief, "Is that really important right now, Master Diluc!? And you - did you just borrow the Holy Lyre to play music for drunkards to hear?"

"Hehe."

Paimon's eyes widened in a cartoon like way, "What do you mean "hehe"!?"

"Anyway, we won't be able to call Dvalin with it." You sniggered at Aether's expression, if you didn't know the plot before hand, you would've slapped Venti.

Venti hurriedly changed his words upon Aether's emotionless face. "The lyre itself is fine, but the strings..."

You patted Aether's shoulder, "Time for you to do your lil magic."

"M-me?"

“He never said that it was broken."

He nodded, "It's just that the anemo power is diminished."

You leaned to Aether's ear, "Use the tear drop thingy."

His eyes widened, "I- I never told you about that." He hissed.

You fluttered your eyelashes, "Shut up and do it."

Venti grinned, "It worked, as expected.

"This youthful glow..." Jean muttered.

"Praising yourself?" Paimon gasped flabbergasted.

"It's not just a youthful glow, it fucking changed colors." You commented.

Jean raised a brow, "KEUGH KEUGH I said nothing." You waved your hands.

She sighed in exasperation, "...I was talking about the Holy Lyre."

"Thanks to Aether having purified the crystal, the Holy Lyre won't continue to lose power. That said, its power is far from replenished. It'd be great if we could get more tears."

"We'll-"

"Wait." Your eyebrows furrowed. "Jean, you didn't pay us yet."

Paimon slapped her forehead. "Oh yeah! Paimon forgot about that too!"

"Oh and we rented out a place instead of going to the inn..." you smiled largely.

Jean smiled lightly, "I'll send all of the rewards after Dvalin no longer threatens Mondstadt."

"Then the water bodies..." you wiggled your eyebrows, sparkles in your eyes.

"After Albedo finishes his experimentations."

"Ok, we'll help."

Venti's eyes remained unfocused, "Suffering alone in some deserted place..." he muttered.

"Dvalin..."

Paimon's expression turned from confusion to sadness, "Poor baby..."

"This is not something that an Honorary Knight and Y/N can accomplish alone. I will mobilize the rest of knights to assist. When you get the Teardrop Crystal, please let Aether perform the purification process."

"Leave it to me."

"Heroes supporting each other and setting out on a journey together... How exciting! Lemme come up with a song for you..."

You and Paimon side eyed him. "Is that all you're going to do? Just sing?" Paimon screeched.

"Wouldn't be much of a bard if I didn't now, would I?"

"Hmph. You're so cheeky...You deserve an ugly nickname." Paimon, nooo, stop giving people that can one shot us ugly nicknames..."Oh, Paimon knows! From now on, you'll be known as 'Tone-Deaf Bard'!"

-.-.-

(Thousand Winds Temple)

"The ruin guards aren't attacking us..." Paimon scratched her head. "OH YEAH! It's Y/N's ability!"

A strange expression emerged on Diluc's face before returning back to normal.

You coughed slightly, "I think ya'll need to kill it though, how else are you going to get that crystal?"

Jean turned to you. "Y/N, do you want to try?"

"M-me?"

"Yes, I've been wondering how it would react when you attack it." Strong curiosity could be seen through her cerulean eyes.

"But-"

"I'll pay for your rent until you leave."

"Sure!"

Your catalyst appeared besides you.

Aether gaped at you, "Where did you get that?!"

You smirked, "It's called having friends."

It didn't take too long for your smile to drop. "Oh fuck I can barely even fight. What if I fucking die?" You dragged your legs behind you.

Taking a deep breath, a ball of Anemo appeared in your hands.

The ruin guard stared down at you, as if frozen in place. As the ball of Anemo became larger and larger, you felt horrified when you noticed that it wouldn't stop.

"Y/N! That's enough to knock him out!" Aether yelled, he had no idea why you were suddenly so strong, the Anemo ball was stronger than his tornado, his eyes widened as it slowly grew to be twice your size.

Jean frowned. "Is this her first time?"

Aether paused. "I have no idea but she's definitely never summoned such a large ball."

Jean's eyes narrowed, "I'll have to knock her out if she can't control it, she'll end up in a coma if this continues, she'll also create a large enough storm to cover up the whole of Mondstadt if this Anemo ball continues increasing."

The ruin guard stared down at you. "HELP ME!" You screamed, your hair covering your face. You could feel the large amount of Anemo gathering in your body. In a blue screen that only you could see, you noticed your experience increasing in large amounts.

It was a good thing but you felt chills on your spine, you were going to faint by the enormous amount of energy roaring inside of you. It felt refreshing, but in contrast you could feel your body getting tired. You might die if this continues on.

Suddenly, you felt your body getting lighter. Lifting your head, you noticed that the ruin guard slowly walked towards the Anemo ball. As its arm touched the ball, you felt yourself regaining control of the elemental energy.

"Is it, killing itself?" Paimon shrieked.

The machine continued to walk towards you, its gears getting ripped and turned into metal dust by the reckless energy.

You panted, staggering as the entire ruin guard turned into metal dust before disappearing, a precious chest dropping in its place.

"That was unexpected." Diluc's questioning gaze landed on you before striding towards the chest.

"To sacrifice itself so that you wouldn't be depleted of elemental energy. This... is indeed very unexpected. Your pet slimes don't even seem as odd now that I think of it." Jean handed you a potion.

"This will replenish the lost energy in your body. Sucrose created the formula by accident. I'll introduce you to her soon. Sorry for almost knocking you out."

"It's fine. I didn't expect this too."

"I'll bring you to Albedo when he comes back with results with the samples across Mondstadt."

"Sorry, but umm... Paimon has been wondering since yesterday, what are you guys talking about?" Paimon giggled nervously.

"Oh? Is there a problem with Mondstadt's water? I was wondering why I saw Kaeya near the Dawn Winery."

Remembering the sample of water that Keyarye 'accidentally' dropped, a small bottle appeared in your hands. The moment you returned back home, you had split the sample of the concentrated substance in portions. You were going to give one of them to Albedo but he was probably cooped up somewhere doing experiments.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. You might want to give this to Albedo, he can compare it to other samples." The concentrated liquid wasn't like the diluted samples, it looked like water but to the keen eye, some differences could be spotted. From the minty tint to the light sweet smell.

"Thank you Y/N." Obviously, Jean noticed the differences, hopefully she'd give you a raise.

Clearing your throat, "Did you guys seriously not notice how all the plants around the lakes look kinda wilted and how there's less and less fish? Why'd you think a bunch of knights gathered samples of the water bodies. And come on Aether! You legit go out every single day. How brain dead are you?"

Paimon coughed, "Anywayyyy, Paimon didn't think we'd find Dvalin's tears in a place like this."

"As knights, we are taught to hone our investigative skills."

"And I ended up in prison because three knights thought I was a spy." You grumbled.

Jean sighed, holding her head. "I'll double your pay if you stop talking about that during work."

Your eyes sparkled in joy, "Ok Grandmaster!

-.-.-

(Whispering woods)

"Jean...has a turtle..." Paimon whispered dazed. "Diluc...has a turtle?...too?!"

"Paimon... Are you ok?" You poked her tummy. "Paimon... You gained weight again."

Paimon turned to you, her eyes unfocused, "Hey Y/N, did you have a pet turtle when you were young?"

"Yeah. I had...five or something but they all died because of sickness. Maybe something else."

"Y/N... had five turtles.... turtles...Ehehehe, turtles..."

Your face scrunched up. "She's..."

"Yeah, let's ignore her. Let her be in her lil world." Aether muttered. Yup, Aether sounded more and more like a Gen Z through your influence.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teyvat Chapter 15:

https://www.tumblr.com/life-is-unreal/763057975194779648/stranger-danger-genshin-x-reader-teyavat?source=share

44 notes · View notes

maradovan · 3 months ago

Text

Ch 32

I LOVE THIS I love how after you've read the series already, you can see the cogs turning in Saskia's head. It must be so shitty to be a partizan and see someone else have so little regard for their own partizan that they don't know about their basic interests (even though that's not the case here, its just how it appears from Saskia's POV). I really do feel for all the kids who were part of leviathan

#rwch readathon 2024 #rwch #the rosewood chronicles #undercover princess #saskia san martin #rwch spoilers

10 notes · View notes

eleanorwolfson · 3 months ago

Text

Rosewood Readathon Day 1!!

PSA: my liveblogs will have spoilers for all Rosewood books!!

- Wow this prologue is so nostalgic. I swear I know it beat for beat

- There’s something so magical and beautiful about Connie’s writing style. I seriously love the prologue it’s such a great introduction to this world

- I would do anything to live in the bakery Lottie grew up in I’m so serious

- This is my first time reading a Rosewood book after my autism diagnosis and wow Lottie is so autistic actually

- Ollie’s very first line of dialogue being sarcasm. I love you Ollie

- Why is Lottie still packing the day she is leaving

- Ollie says “Bring me back a gold crown or something” in his letter and Lottie comes back with an entire princess 💀

- Lottie leaving Cornwall is how it felt leaving my hometown for college (or university for the non americans). I can’t imagine going through it at age 14, I could hardly handle it when I was 18

- “Rosewood was not the type of school one just decided to go to; you couldn’t simply pick up a brochure and say you wanted to attend.” Ok but that’s literally what Ellie did

- I’m curious how much Lottie’s mom knew about Liliana if anything

That’s it for the first day :,) can’t wait for tomorrow!!

#the rosewood chronicles #connie glynn #rwch readathon 2024 #rwch #rosewood chronicles #trwch #rwchreadathon2024 #undercover princess #rwch spoilers

10 notes · View notes

joejhang · 3 months ago

Text

a deep dive into my issues with the rosewood chronicles

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE ROSEWOOD CHRONICLES BY CONNIE GLYNN

(pls read so i can discuss these books w more people. i have MANY thoughts)

ellie wolf has the most insane victim complex i have EVER read about; not only does she never do anything on her own to develop the plot or help other characters develop the plot and/or themselves, she spends half the series being all moody and emo and blaming herself for everything but then she does literally nothing about it. she spent a solid three books bitching and moaning abt how she ruined her friends' lives and then she did nothing abt it.

ellie treats her friends like SHIT; this goes mostly for jamie and lottie. firstly, jamie was wronged by literally everyone ever and i will never get over it. jamie spent his entire life in servitude to ellie and her family and he lost his identity, his birthright, his freedom and his childhood because of them and yeah, it was never ellie's fault, but she continuously makes his job more difficult as a way of "rebelling". there wouldn't be a problem w this bc i also hate the royal family, but she is the only character who has the luxury to rebel bc the repercussions of her actions always fall on jamie and not her. this is shown multiple times (the portrait thing, the end of undercover princess) where ellie fucks up and jamie is punished for it. yes, she has every right to resent her position, but in acting out she let jamie take her falls and she knew it and she hated her parents for it, but she still continued to act the way that she did and blamed her parents for the way jamie was punished, and not doing anything to change the way she was acting. also she just is never grateful towards him at all. also their "friendship" was fucked from the beginning bc they literally had a master-servant dynamic (see: the time in the first book where ellie literally ordered him to be nice to lottie, also the vow in pah). you can't be friends w someone who has power over you. despite jamie standing by her side through literally EVERYTHING, ellie chooses lottie over him time and time again. and even tho lottie means more to her than anything, ellie even treats her like shit. immediately after the princess thing gets out, ellie uses lottie as a way out and lottie immediately shoulders ellie's burdens and sees it as a blessing. ellie blames her parents for lottie's troubles, but if u recall she was the one who initiated the portman deal, not her parents. and she also didn't inform lottie about any of it until after the meeting w the king and queen. she immediately dispenses of her responsibilities onto lottie bc lottie supposedly "enjoys" them. this takes a toll on lottie from the beginning when she starts getting threats, she gets kidnapped, stalked by the media, bullied at school and targeted by a literal terrorist organisation in ellie's name, and ellie never revokes the portman deal bc she wants her own precious freedom. maturing is realising jamie was right, and lottie deserved to have a proper childhood, and ellie was also right, that she and her family were the problem that took away lottie AND jamie's childhoods.

lottie is honestly such a toxic character; she has never really wanted anything that hasn't been imposed on her by others or by what she thinks other people want. she worked her ass off to get into rosewood bc she thinks that's the one thing her mother wanted. she became ellie's portman to save ellie from the pressures of being a princess. she becomes so entrenched in her role as ellie's portman that she literally can't fathom her identity outside of her job. this is shown in pah a bit but i feel like ppl forget. being a portman is NOT good for lottie. like at all. from the first book, she's already losing sleep, receiving threats, borderline sexually assaulted, kidnapped and targeted by a terrorist group all bc she was acting as ellie. ollie was RIGHT when he said the job was too much for her. lottie looks at ellie and feels that she needs to protect ellie, and for some reason feels beholden to her, even tho by all rights lottie is the one w the worse lot in their relationship. her mother died of cancer, and her father left her and gambled away all of their money, marrying a woman not much older than lottie herself, she was raised by a stepmother that didn't care that much abt her and grew up pretty impoverished compared to the rest of the rosewood students and worked super hard to get into her dream school, but we're supposed to feel sorry for ellie bc she can't go out and party. like, i get it, ellie is isolated and caged bc of her role. it's true, but lottie has had it a LOT worse, and still she feels like she needs to shoulder ellie's burdens too. and she also deludes herself into thinking she enjoys them. i feel like these issues rlly aren't talked abt enough.

jamie was never treated right by anyone in his entire life ever; literally name a single character that ever treated jamie right. ellie, his childhood BEST FRIEND, was never grateful for him, got him in trouble all the time and chose lottie over him every time. lottie, his first love, used him as a bargaining chip in order to get information from their enemy, and literally allowed him to be manipulated, gaslit and literally groomed (i AM using this word bc no one can convince me this isn't what happened between jamie and haru) to receive scraps and clues in return. the royal family, who he devoted his life to serving, lied to him his whole life about his identity, and made him a servant when he should've been a prince. haru, the guy he trusted despite everything, spent all of their relationship manipulating and gaslighting him and literally grooming him. yes it was grooming. haru was 20 and jamie was 16 when they first met and it was pretty clear from the beginning that haru had romantic intentions towards him. and even in pah when he was like "i want to be closer to you" he was literally 21 and jamie was 17. and ykw it makes sense that jamie would trust and devote himself to haru and lottie like he did. it was literally a trauma response from being treated like a weapon and not a human his entire life. the royal family saw him as a servant and a weapon and his childhood best friend saw him as ammunition to use against her parents. ofc he fell in love with the only two people in his life who treated him like a human being. and of COURSE he joined leviathan after finding out he was LIED TO his entire life abt who he was and after finding out lottie sold him out after he devoted himself to protecting her. and the way everyone treated him like a villain in pea like...bro everyone lied to him. for some reason no one told him haru was leviathan even tho it was most prevalent to him. even tho he was responsible for protecting them, they didn't inform him at all. bro of course he joined leviathan, he was literally betrayed by the all the people he loved???? and not sayuri treating him like the villain and a betrayer in pea when she was the one who kept haru a secret from him. and the way lottie, ellie, binah, ani and saskia knew haru's identity and just allowed jamie to be used and manipulated by him is CRAZY. and no one even spoke up for him except saskia. and once. and then ellie forced him into that vow literally for no other reason than "if i can't have her no one can" bc bsfr jamie was never any harm to lottie, it was always ellie and her family. I DIGRESS.

#rwch #the rosewood chronicles #jamie volk #ellie wolf #lottie pumpkin #zoe yaps

12 notes · View notes

theivydorms · 3 months ago

Text

ROSEWOOD RENAISSANCE READATHON DAY TWO (part two)

THIS IS YOUR SPOILER WARNING and yappuccino warning

the second hand embarrassment from Lottie calling her house "Florence Ivy" is insanely strong, tho binah saves the day for both mine and Lottie's "oh god, im already a social outcast and an embarrassment" vibe

honestly props to Freddie for being able to repeat the same thing all day while still being a bit chipper because god that would be really boring by the end of an hour surely

anisaskia mention! (ive forgotten the ship name, forgive me)

Lottie constantly mentioning her mother and making her proud just wants me to give her the biggest hug ever (canonically she is three years older than me but she is a baby to me (esp. in books one and two))

I love the detail of the path becoming cobbled as they approach the ivy dorms (what a great name, it would be so cool for a username for a rosewood fan account no? ehehe) since connie said they were in the oldest buildings and cobbles are like the oldest street paving yadayada we know history its cool *picture evidence of this knowledge*:

not rylely THE STAG distracting Lottie from CORRECTING BINAH ON THE CORE MISUNDERSTANDING FOR THE PLOT, linking to Jamie (who is a core element and HAS REPEATED THEMES OF DISTRACTION FOR BOTH HIM ADN LOTTIE) being described as a stag, having antlers, Bambi links etc etc throughout the rest of the series. CONNIE YOU'VE DONE IT AGAIN

"Lottie gulped at this thought; she did not deal well with being shouted at." Lottie hating being shouted at 🤝 Me, equally scared and horrified of being shouted at

Lottie mentions "anxious loneliness" in CHAPTER FOUR OF BOOK ONE, girl doesn't even know what's coming next

I have wanted a purple Persian rug since Lottie mentioned it, maybe ill find one someday 😔

"Was she ... asleep?" girlie, she's just flown seven hours after leaving the only building she's ever known and is now on the otherside of the world! she's gonna need a nap

WHAT A MEET CUTE

and would you look at that, too much yapping once more, see you for chapter 5 in part three lol

#the rosewood chronicles #rwch #lottie pumpkin #rosewood readathon #rwch spoilers

4 notes · View notes

yunessa · 1 month ago

Text

Owlcatober day 24: "Footsteps." (This takes place during act 1 when your find Finnean. No spoilers.) Before it had been trashed by the tieflings, the Eagle watch and now the greedy hands of cultists, Ancentries and Wonders must have been a gorgeous shop. Stuffed carpet beneath Yunessa’s boots couldn’t hide the broken glass, the scattered off and ends or the broken bottles of liquor. The cultists had taken their time to drink and ruin the shop. Only the magical light fixtures were untouched, embedded into the stone wall and ceiling.

Underneath the smell of liquor and soot, Yunessa could smell expensive incense. Deep and spicy. This shop sold high priced items, a quick glance to a fallen card listing a single shirt was enough to make Yunessa keenly aware of the few coins they did have..

“Let’s spread out and give this a look. If there’s anything that can be taken back to Defender’s Heart then let’s do that. Ember, be careful and avoid the glass.”

“I will be. I always wanted to go inside here- the shop owner would chase me away with a broom though.” Ember touched a polished wooden shelf in awe. She left soot behind on the polished wood, avoiding the pile of smashed alchemy vials in their coloured vials.

“Above ground shops like this are nice. I haven’t seen glass in those colours yet.” Lann commented as he moved to the opposite end of the shop.

The rest of the group split up with care. The shop wasn’t large but big enough Yunessa lost track of some of them. Yunessa started near a smashed harp, the polished rosewood cruelly smashed to splinters, and the filigree damaged from an attempt to cut it out. “That’s a shame. It must have been lovely.” By the rosewood harp was a piano, equally as damaged with its ivory keys smashed and the strings pulled out.

“What a poor end to those instruments.” If Yunessa ever had a home perhaps a large instrument would be affordable. Running their fingers over the polished wood and damaged string was enough to draw a shudder. A home large enough for a room with an instrument like those, Yunessa let themself greedily imagine the enjoyment of playing for hours with a roof over their head.

“-𝙡𝙤?”

“Huh?” Yunessa turned their head, spotting only Seelah by the door as the paladin moved around the shop.

“𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞,” The voice was muffled and Yunessa’s mind snapped from its daydream. “𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞!”

“Hello?” In the row Yunessa was in there were only smashed and overturned shelves. Adrenaline hit in a rush at the desperation they heard in the man's voice. Muffled, it seemed to come further down the row where the heaviest shelves fell.

”𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬! 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭! 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞!”

It came from beneath the largest shelf with thick wooden boards that had collapsed on top of a display. “Hold on, I’m here.” Yunessa could barely lift it but managed to lift it just a crack, shoving a damaged book beneath it and reaching their hand beneath it, reaching for a hand, an arm- something. In the dim light of Ancentries and Wonders, Yunessa only spotted a sword amongst the rubble. "It's- where are you?"

“𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐦𝐞, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧!” The voice came from the sword. It sounded real, alive. Maybe it was a ghost Some sort of early warning alarm? Yunessa could feel their stress start to build at the thought. Is it really the sword talking?

“A talking sword?” Yunessa asked dumbly. “Please don’t tell me you talk.”

“𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐦𝐞! 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲!” The sword somehow managed to ‘speak’. “𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞!” The fear in the voice was enough. Yunessa grabbed the sword without a second thought, pulling it out from beneath the shield. Free from the shelf, Yunessa had to prevent themself from tossing the sword as the ceramic symbol on the scabbard blinked, the single violet eye adjusting to the light and focusing on Yunessa.

“Oh. Oh no,no,no.” Lariel’s sword was one thing. The azatas were another, but this- no this was something from a ballad. Yunessa knew the signs of a promising ballad when they spotted them. Yunessa didn't want a talking sword.

“𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬. 𝐖𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.”Yunessa felt the unwelcome ghost sensation of the sword’s gaze as it continued to speak. The voice was distinctly male and honeyed, coming clearly from the sword. “𝐈’𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭!”

“A pathfinder.” Yunessa knew about the Pathfinder society. A globespanning organization based out of Absalom. The members were primarily adventurers that travelled through Golarion and beyond. Yunessa often bought the Pathfinder Chronicles to read the latest adventures and knowledge the society released. “You’re a pathfinder?”

“𝐈 𝐚𝐦! 𝐏𝐡𝐞𝐰, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈’𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚��𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟! 𝐌𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐝!” The eye squinted and adjusted but missing the rest of the face made for a weird sight. “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞’𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐧. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥!”

The angel sword. The azatas. Now there’s a talking sword. The Gods are laughing at you Yunessa. They’re laughing at you because they know your plans and gifted you every ballad and heroic tale inspired gift to start the story. All you’re missing is a queen or a cursed princess you get to save from a evil dragon.

The sword vibrated in Yunessa’s hands, a ripple of magic passing through the blade, startling Yunessa. “𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?”

“Whoresson!” Yunessa cursed. “Don’t do that!” The magic in the sword seemed to shift as if the sword was considering Yunessa’s words before it stopped. The eye on the scabbard widened in concern. But Yunessa felt the magic under their hands ease.

“𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤.”The sword- Finnean kept watching Yunessa. “𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞! 𝐈’𝐦 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫, 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐧.”

The eye of the sword- Finnean- Yunessa reminded themself- watched patiently. Yunessa’s response, was by now, becoming automatic: "I’m Yunessa. Bard by trade who’s just passing by Kenabres. We came by to uh, help one of my group and I found you here- Just a question Finnean. Do you want to shift back to your normal form Finnean?” Shapeshifting into a sword was weird, but far better than a real talking sword.

“𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥?” Finnean inquired. “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?”

“Well, pathfinders are normally sentient humanoid-shaped creatures. I can get you clothes-”

“𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫.” Finnean interrupted. “𝐀𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮- 𝐨𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦. 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲- 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤! 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲! 𝐖𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 ��𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐜, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.”

The Gods are laughing at you. Absolutely laughing their asses off. You don't even get a normal magic sword that talks. You get a magic talking sword that was somehow a person.

“But you’re a weapon?”

“𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞?”The eye watched in what seemed to be concern. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧- 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧! 𝐈’𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟! 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈;𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬!”

“I’ve never heard of a phantom blade.” Yunessa admitted.

“𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭! 𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲, 𝐞𝐡? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫! 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐬.”The eye closed, seeming as pleased as Finnean’s voice sounded.

“Kenabres is under attack right now by demons and cultists Finnean. Is your uh, spirit here?” There was a small, shrinking, but not yet inexistent possibility Finean was a mage that had a spell problem.

“𝑾𝒆- 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕? 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈… 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑰 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒘𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈. 𝑺𝒐 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒔��𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕! 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒕!”

Yunessa reached for the hilt of the sword and tentatively pulled the hilt, met with gleaming steel whispering sharp promises of silver. It looked normal to the eye. Finnean seemed to take this as an agreement to take him with Yunessa.

“𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐜𝐨��𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”FInnean didn’t seem unphased when Yunessa inspected the sword. It looked, for all intents and purposes, a normal steel sword. Yunessa swore they could smell weapon oil on the blade.

“Uh, sure FInnean. We can travel together.” Yunessa sheathed the sword as Finnean’s voice chuckled. It sounded like he was right in front of Yunessa.

“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭! 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.” Yunessa covered the eye with a hand but FInean didn’t seem to notice nor did his voice muffle.

“You found a talking sword.” Lann’s voice was low but Yunessa could hear the awe in his voice. “Holy shit Yunessa.”

#pathfinder: wrath of the righteous #pathfinder #jamais vu #owlcatober #owlcatober 2024

9 notes · View notes