#sorry I took forever to reply

[yeyinde]

almost set my entire house on fire via forgotten popcorn on the stove when I saw the neon medusa series masterlist post 😵‍💫 I’m so excited to dive into this story, I just know with your writing prose this will be the most beautiful cyberpunk work ever

Ahhhhh, I'm like, both flattered that something I wrote was so engaging enough to cause a potential fire but also deeply concerned!! I hope the popcorn made it out okay!!!

And thank you! That might be too high of praise for what might work out to be Price x a Neon Noir Scooby-Doo level Mystery (but much poorly executed!), but I'm tucking that into my locket to look at when things get tough - like an old-timey sailor staring at a picture of his lover back on shore 🖤

[spirit-x-ing]

Lorelai did a double take to realize, Lilith was totally ignoring her, her focus solely on the spell. She got the hint and shut her mouth. She didn't want to break her concentration with her nerves. Besides she's sure Lilith's the type to make her annoyance and anger known. She stared in patience as the blood of the two chalices combined for what seemingly looked like plain old-fashioned — blood.

She took a step back as she crossed her arms, hugging herself, mostly to keep her anxiety from fidgeting around. Then Lilith stuck her finger into the pool of blood. The blood animated in a way that made Lorelai slowly turn he head, away, her eyes widening. She didn't know what was going on but it looked cool and a bit scary. The dance of colors that blood became, made her question her own humanity and his. Blood's not supposed to do that. Though with Lilith's magic, she wasn't sure. Then it settled to a shade of black. Lorelai perked a brow a bit bummed out, the dead-looking blood, looking more oxidized.

Lorelai's head snapped in Lilith's nonchalant way of revealing the question. ❝What?❞ she breathed out lightly wanting a bit more clarification. On how she can be so certain. Then again she knew nothing of the spell. Maybe that was the shade of color it's supposed to be for blood relatives. Though Lilith wasn't done yet. Lorelai stepped back as she whipped the pallet clean and conjured a cauldron with more ingredients. This looked so flashy and she wanted to ask what she was doing but once again didn't want to interrupt Lilith why she was working a spell.

Lorelai anxiously watched as Lilith continued to inspect the blood. It just kept shifting and changing to the point where she could see the frustration in Lilith's facial features. She took a step closer once again, to get a better look at the action but then she stuck her finger in and this time it started pulsating, which was...weird. However, it was her reaction that startled Lorelai who yelped and hopped back. ❝What was that!? What happened?!❞ Lorelai asked. She glanced at the dropped cauldron that rolled side-to-side, with a metallic hum. What little remaining blood spilled on the floor.

Lorelai took a deep breath. ❝What's going on? What did you see...I don't...❞ she didn't understand but she was sure Lilith would reveal a bit of what startled her.

Lilith wasn't paying attention to anything Lorelai was saying, any of her nervous ramblings, and was only vaguely aware of just how close the girl was standing, the invasion of personal space in her evident yet quiet eagerness for answers. Instead, Lilith's full attention was entirely on the blood, and on her spells.

In the hands of ordinary witches the spell would have been more complicated and likely taken much more time, but Lilith's own powers and gifts meant certain aspects could be hurried or else skipped entirely. Taking a small vile she scooped a little of the blood from each goblet and then poured it on the table together, combined. It sat there, nothing but a lifeless pool, until Lilith placed a fingertip, her nails equally blood red, into the mixed sample. Almost immediately, it became to glimmer, moving with a life of its own, and seemed almost to shift colours, the shades of red ever changing, until it became a still pool of midnight blue, and then purest black.

"Well," Lilith concluded, "one thing is for certain; he is your brother."

And now onto the more interesting test.

Discarding Lorelai's blood, Lilith now focused entirely on the man's, pouring every last drop into a small golden cauldron that seemed to appear of its own volition. Without any words of further explanation, Lilith dropped a few ingredients, conjured out of the air, into the blood, before murmuring the barest breath of a spell, the language lost and long dead. The blood began to shift and change just as the mixed sample had, but this was more constant and Lilith leaned over to peer and interpret the changes.

"There's magic in him, that much is undeniable," Lilith told Lorelai, her eyes still on the blood twisting and turning. "A warlock, in fact," she added as further details were revealed to her.

However, while she suspected Lorelai could be less than competent, she didn't believe her energy could be affected so easily by draining a mere warlock. Though it wasn't immediately clear, Lilith was certain that there was far more information to be discovered in his stolen blood.

Taking the cup-sized cauldron in her hands, Lilith looked closer, focusing on the changes and pattern, the way the blood shifted and took shape and colour with each moment. There was something there, something not easily discerned, and Lilith was finding her patience growing short. Placing one finger in the blood, she stirred, prompting more changes, more things to reveal.

And there, the barest glimpse. But no, that couldn't be. But then the blood started to glimmer, shimmering against the gold of the cauldron, almost pulsating.

Then she saw the blue. Dark blue streaking through, in spirals, growing stronger.

In shock, and not a little revulsion, Lilith dropped the cauldron from her hands, the metal clattering loudly on the floor as the blood spilled out before it.

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

So, I'm curious: What's your take on Aylin's experience after/if she kills Lorroakan?

Allegedly, there's some information floating around somewhere that said Aylin was angry with Selune after she killed Lorroakan, but I can't find where this info is.

If you saw posts about that here on tumblr it was probably posted by @justanotherignot! I've actually been meaning to gather up all the devnote tidbits about Selûne from Aylin and Isobel for a while now, so thank you for the excuse to do so and ramble a bit.

Player: I was just wondering what it was like in that cage of Balthazar's. Aylin: Let us not dwell on those dark days. Their memory is a vortex within my heart that leads directly to the Hells.

What is happening is, well, it's the century of unthinkable horror catching up to her. It's the Trauma(TM) - in one of the conversation options she's literally triggered by the mention of someone being run through repeatedly! It's the growing awareness that although she's been freed (and possibly reunited with her love), the secret is out and there are always going to be assholes gunning for her, aiming to use her as an "artefact" and power source to fuel their ambitions, without any regard for her, you know... basic personhood and well-being. Also, Lorroakan was blatantly lying. He didn't find any super special way to siphon her immortality with "no harm, no pain of any kind", he was just replicating Balthazar's soul cage (you can even find a letter from Ketheric to him, showing Lorroakan was pestering them).

On to the stuff from the game files! First, the conversation with Aylin directly after the Lorroakan fight in the tower. I'm going to be putting the context notes in square brackets next to the lines they apply to. I also plucked some audio out from the files for some of these because I love the delivery.

Aylin: The fire-haired fool is dead. Yet as I stare upon his corpse, I feel… sadness. Why? [Slow and curious, angry and confused by all that has happened.] Player: What kind of sadness is it? / I know something of sadness - or at least the ballads do. What does it feel like? Aylin: A gripping in the chest. As though I'd lost someone, something. [Lost in thought for a moment; confused.] Aylin: A paladin's fatigue, no doubt. You were excellent in battle, as is your way. And I am proud to fight at your side. [Remembering herself. She is Dame Aylin.] Aylin: I will catch my breath, then to camp I will bring my bones. Moonmaiden be with you. Player: Smiting is a weighty duty - sometimes it can be tiring. / Perhaps smiting has lost its pleasures. Aylin: Say it can't be so. For I am Selûne's sword. And ever must be. [She means it, but on the periphery of her consciousness is a tiny crack. Wondering about her fate.]

The above never fails to get me - she is Dame Aylin! Sword of the Moonmaiden! Glorious immortal paladin, champion of a righteous cause! She smites evil-doers for breakfast, that's, like, her whole thing! What do you mean she can't just pick up where she left off and go about her merry smitey way? What do you mean the thing that is supposed to be the literal core of her entire being (forever) doesn't feel good and glorious anymore, but just makes her feel sad and empty? No, no, no, we can't have that.

Player: One of the greatest tragedies of revenge is that it can only be taken once. / Because you won't get to kill him again? Aylin: Perhaps. Yet if I could run him through a thousand times, I wonder-- [Lost in thought, she's been triggered to remember her own fate being run through over and over.] Aylin: Battle has tired my mind, made me susceptible to flights of fancy. You were excellent in battle, as is your way. And I am proud to fight at your side.

Aylin: I will return to camp shortly. I just need a moment to… to… [Lost in thought.]

She so very desperately needs some rest and a chance to come to terms with everything that happened and that was done to her. And it's clear it's going to be hard because she is defaulting to trying to deny anything is wrong, is clearly trying (and failing) to just be her old self immediately, has blatantly internalised a lot of that classic I Am A Sword stuff on top of everything (even though her mother is huge on free will and choice!), and is just really not well-equipped to handle any of this at all.

Next, this is the post-Lorroakan convo you get if you have both Aylin and Isobel in camp.

Aylin: Ah. Ally mine. We are reunited once more. [Warm, but drained. She's not feeling like herself.] Aylin: I was just regaling sweet Isobel with tales of our prowess. Isobel: Very impressive. Thank you for helping Aylin - that wizard sounded absolutely dastardly. [Good humored. Soft in tone. A little uncertain - she's not sure why Aylin isn't herself.] Player: My pleasure. He had it coming. Aylin: He did, and it came. Now, my friend: bask in your victory. I will do the same. Aylin: But fear not: when the time comes for you to face the foe of foes, Isobel and I will stand by your side. [Rallying her soldierly spirit, but still a little drained.] Isobel: We wouldn't miss it. Not for anything. Aylin: Go well, friend. We will see you soon. And with our great powers combined, this city will be saved. Player: Hopefully he'll be the last. Aylin: There are always more bastards behind bastards. But we will run through them all, each by each.

Player: I hope you can rest easy now, Dame Aylin. Aylin: I always do, with darling Isobel by my side. Aylin: Enjoy the spoils of your victory. Spin memories of Lorroakan's death in your mind like silkfloss.

If Isobel isn't there (meaning she died in Act 2), you get this version:

Aylin: Ah. Ally mine. We are reunited once more. [Warm, but drained. She's not feeling like herself.] Aylin: I was just reviewing our fight against foul Lorroakan; your moves and mine. The victory was soundly won. Aylin: Don't you think? [Uncharacteristically, Aylin is seeking input. She's usually so confident about everything, but killing Lorroakan has not had the intended effect on her.] Player: Indeed I do. Let his demise serve as a warning to anyone else who'd seek you out. Aylin: Let him be the last. If my dear mother has any mercy, she will ensure it. [Trying to stay her usual self, but her mask is cracking a tiny bit here. Privately, Aylin is dealing with a great deal of anger toward her mother, the goddess Selûne, But she's not yet willing to face it. How could her powerful mother let all this happen to her?]

Player: We fought well - though I was a little worried about you afterward, in truth. Aylin: Set your mind at ease, my friend. Dame Aylin is more well now than she has been this past century. [Good humored. Soft in tone. A little uncertain - it's true she's better now than she has been, but why does she feel so shitty, then? (She's in the beginning of reckoning with the trauma of what happened to her).]

Player: I hope you can rest easy now, Dame Aylin. Aylin: Yes. I wish for the very same. Aylin: Enjoy the spoils of your victory. Spin memories of our prowess in your mind like silkfloss.

So, a few things pop out for me here. First, you get the more explicit anger at Selûne if Isobel isn't there, as opposed to the "hahah, I will smite all the bastards who dare come after me, no matter how many there are" line. "How could her powerful mother let all this happen to her?" just... damn, hits hard, even if you subscribe to the theory that Selûne simply could not intervene in the Shadowfell imprisonment beyond sending those poor people whose graves you find in front of the mausoleum.

And here Aylin really lays it on thick with the denial that there's anything wrong at all. Combined with the letter you get from her in the epilogue if Isobel is dead, it just paints such a bleak, sad picture. I can just see her going all out on the Sword of Selûne duty-bound paladin side of things, no rest, no healing, no stopping even for a moment, no dealing with anything at all, from the trauma to the bitterness towards mum. Until whatever horrible breaking point comes, a year or a century from now. The need for Isobel's humanising influence is so clear. I've touched on Isobel's side of things here.

Speaking of having a bone to pick with Selûne, if you're playing as a cleric/paladin of Selûne, you can get some extra very honest dialogue with Isobel in Last Light:

Player: Why has the Moonmaiden waited until now to take an interest in this curse? Isobel: Maybe she was waiting for one of us to find this place ourselves. Free will, and all that.

Isobel: Though if it were my place to ask why she let Ketheric turn; why she allowed this village to rot at his hands - believe me, I would. [A cold edge in her voice]

Player: Are you faring all right? It can't be easy holding a lone candle in such darkness. Isobel: All things with her strength. You know the litany. [A little sarcastically. She's got a bone to pick with Selûne but isn't being too overt.]

Side note: the amount of devnotes for Isobel's lines that say she's delivering them "with swagger" and being "cheeky" makes me smile every time. Love her. Love her snark.

Also, to get it out of the way: no, I'm fairly sure Aylin did not break her oath. I see this brought up a ton and I just see no way for it to be the case. There is nothing to suggest this outside of a wording similarity and it just makes no sense. Girl is clearly some flavour of Oath of Vengeance (she uses Abjure Enemy, so this is the case even mechanically, even though she's obviously an NPC and not a standard player-build paladin) and she killed a very shitty guy who was also explicitly after her in godawful ways. You can do far worse things in the game than her dramatic speech and backbreaker and not break your OoV.

[beargregor]

Chef greg delivery just for you. it's a wonder I hadn't bearified him yet, he's my fave greg too 🔪

gays literally only want one thing (to be chopped up and eaten by a depressed man) and it's fucking disgusting

[shy-anon2]

You're very welcome :]

Hello, my friend says I look like you

I was flattered because you look cool

⁽ᴵ ᵗᵒᵒ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᵖᵘᵐᵖᵏⁱⁿ ᵖⁱᵉ⁾

- @shy-anon2

why thank you! :]

[blackjackkent]

Prompt fill for @thedarkstrategist from this ask meme: "Trustfall" by P!nk Sentence Starters Shadowzel - "Are we just too scared to fight for what we want tonight?" (One of those where I didn't use a direct quote but let it inspire instead.)

-----

This is how it shall be. I will wake her, and we will fight.

I will win - of course. It cannot be otherwise. A githyanki warrior of Creche K’liiir does not bend before an istik of Toril, a follower of Shar, a stalker in the shadows.

(Forty-one nights I have woken with her face in my mind, her name in my mouth.)

We will use no weapons. She fights with magic and a mace; she will be at disadvantage. I will leave her bloody in the dirt, in the dark. Seeing her bested, I shall be released from my obsession. 

(What shall I dream of in her place?)

It is what the varshi teach. Cosa’kh rahaj, abat’hak tarim. Desire fades, blood tells. It is a fleeting thing, this infatuation. I must be able to stand tall when it has bled out of me. I must remain myself. I will not sacrifice my honor on her dark altar.

(And yet I have no other goddess left.)

Why do I hesitate? It cannot be fear. I have never once shied from battle. From the day I could walk, I faced steel and blood unblinking. Those too weak to stand at my side fell by my hand. I carry no fear of striking down what I love.

(No - but I fear to claim it with both hands.)

And when she is bloodied and beaten, I will turn away. I will know the inconstancy of my passion and set it aside; I will shed the weight of her and be free. There will be no more ache of longing, no more half-formed fantasies of soft touches. My mind will be clear, my heart liberated.

(My soul empty.)

I will not falter. My strength has gotten me this far. Let it last a little longer, until I can see my way out of this transient madness. I will not weaken before the gleam of her eyes in the firelight. 

I will not weaken. 

I will not…

I will wake her, and we will fight. And then I will know her worth, and it will be finished.

This is how it shall be.

[starlitmeadows]

Hi I just saw your snake loop and I want to hug snoop ❤️❤️✨❤️✨✨✨✨💙💙💙❤️💜💙💜

hehe, they do look huggable don't they

you can only get a slight pat on the head tho

[unorcadox]

Hey I heard you were accepting questions about what being a system is like? I know someone i consider my little brother who i recently found out is a system. I don't know much about this if you couldn't tell lol. Do you know any reading materials, videos, or just personal advice on how to best support/understand him? Id try and find these on my own but I don't want to accidently learn misinformation and have no clue where to start. Thanks in advance and hope you have a fantastic day 👍

hi i'm gonna be real, watching other ppl find out their systemhood has rly shown me the like #1 thing to AVOID is system spaces online because it is maximally confusing, contradictory, and just a huge dramafest regardless of stance, experience level, etc.

personally speaking i'd recc just... exploring it with him? talk to him about it, meet his alters (where comfortable for him at least) and generally just... Try to Listen and Be Involved. it should be said like, his alters have been there the whole time, he hasn't changed in any way other than understanding himself differently now, and thus try not to treat him differently unless he asks that of you.

as for resources tbh it's a complete mess, i personally just read a lot of plural content on here in the various tags when i was starting out but imo tbh with you, i would focus on individual experience more than anything concrete. system stuff is highly complex and not super consistent as each brain handles it differently, so imo go with the flow. 👍

oh yeah personally i would say like. pluralkit and simplyplural can be nice & very helpful if he's so inclined, it makes my life infinitely easier and more fulfilling so yeah. anyways hope this helps and sorry for a messy answer LMFAO

[moff-times]

Thank you for the tag, @bluechiss ! <3

No pressure tags for: @squadron-of-damned @aaronized@thecatofdreams @frenchy-lu @tantive404 @lesbworth 

Sometimes I like to start a Picrew train soooo here we go.

Picrew - super cute ☺️

Npt @nunanuggets @moonlight-huntress @raevulsix @padawancat97 @arctrooper69 @mysticalgalaxysalad @photogirl894 @the-bad-batch-baroness @eyecandyeoz @kimageddon @justalittletomato @by-the-primes @echos-girlfriend @captxin-rex @mustluvecho and whoever else wants to join ♥️

[squuote]

incredibly important to me

!!!!!!!!!!!!

[unknownhyperial]

You're my friend now. We're having soft tacos later *picks up like cat and spins*

Hell yeah soft tacos!!! I am so down!

[luimagines]

Honestly, female hero! Reader is so interesting to me. Like;

- would they be more protective of her? Like they might not even be aware of it, just second nature.

- if they were injured how would they react to having to treat her wounds?

- would they be more emotionally open to her? And she becomes their secret keeper? (I have read that men in general tend to be more emotionally open to women)

- would they use her to get shit from gerudo? Or are they still little shits and sneak around gerudo themselves?

- how would they react to female bodily functions and anatomy? They're traveling together so it's normal to see more of that type of stuff, but I can imagine that for most of them it might be a smack to the face again that this is a woman.

- would they treat her like just one of the guys? Would they acknowledge that she's a woman and just be chill about it? Or do they try to sneak in some special treatment as she's the only woman with 9 guys surrounding her.

- if they're away from civilization and have to bathe, how does that go?

- if they were to find out that she was their decendant / successor how would they react?

- etc etc

Just all questions that I love to think about and think about the nuances of it all.

Ok. I try to keep reader a gender neutral as possible but I've been staring at these in my ask box for a while and I think I finally have the mind the answer them without feeling neaanced.

I did talk about a female reader a while ago. I did a list of headcanons and how Reader would react with each of the boys. You can read that right here.

I do think the Chain would be more protective of her as a whole. Chivalry would run deep in many of their veins. They would let her fight, sure. She's the first they would cover and the first to receive medical attention if she needs it.

Twilight would probably be the first to know when it's the time of the month since he would be able to smell the blood and all but I think the one who handles it the best is Warrior. Warrior traveled with a lot of women soldier and warriors during his adventures. He's not stranger to it and probably ends up having extra in his pack by accident since he never took them out.

They absolutely use her to get into Gerudo Town, but Wild and or Twilight typically goes with her just because there's safety in numbers and all that jazz. And also to keep her in check if she decides to gossip about their resident Link. -.-

They have a strange mix of treating her like of the guys and giving her special treatment. Some guys give her special treatment- others are rougher than they probably should be.

In a bath house though, she obviously gets her own space. In an inn, she shares a room with one of the guys just as the rest. They may be rich but they're cheap enough to admit that they want to save their money. The gentleman with her would just turn around or enter later to give her any privacy she needs and vice versa. No need to make it complicated.

As for the descendant question-.... I actually have request for that. So I will hold out until I can write that out. You'll get that one eventually. XD

[fool-errant]

Halla is horrified at the thought she robbed some penniless orphan child. She won't admit it but she does have some standards.

would anybody mayhaps like to show me their tav's? :3 i wanna draw myka with new friends i wanna share my brain worms pls!

[honestlydarkprincess]

🤍

🤍 - buddie no nut november

He cleared his throat and looked away from Eddie, needing a reprieve. He couldn’t believe he was so in over his head in this stupid bet, he was so horny that even just looking at his best friend was enough to make his blood rush south.

Okay, just two more weeks to go. Then he could forget this ever even happened, forget that he had suggested such a foolish endeavour. He wasn’t even sure what he had been hoping would happen when he suggested the bet. He didn’t understand his own motives.

Buck was saved from having to reply to Eddie when the bell went off and he jumped up, hurrying his way to the engine, ignoring the way he could hear Eddie chuckling behind him.

Two. More. Weeks.

make me write!

[rius-cave]

For prison au what about the song Prisoner by Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa?

An Adam and Lucifer duet!

Adam sings Miley's parts and Lucifer sings Duas.

YEAAAHHHHH MUSIC FOR PRISON AU LET'S GO

thank you so much for this one!! I really need to look for more music for the AU and this is a great one <3

[zinzabee]

Mikey : sorry, if we’re interrupting something, but cerise appears to know one of you and wanted to say hi (do not question how they got into the spectator room,)