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acourtofsadnessanddespair · 4 years

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all the proof i could muster up that nesta and cassian are mates

With just little over a month until A Court of Silver Flames comes out, I decided to set the fact straight that Nesta and Cassian are mates and we simply cannot ignore the evidence anymore.

1. First Meeting

There’s actually not that much evidence here, but there is a lot of banter between the two and throughout the dinner, Cassian constantly is grinning and trying to rile Nesta up. One line states: “Cassian was sizing up Nesta, a gleam in his eyes that I could only interpret as a warrior finding himself faced with a new, interesting opponent.” He then continues staring at her pretty much through the entire meal, only taking his eyes off her to nod agreement. They also “have it out” the next morning. Of course this is in no way an indication that they our mates, however I would like to remind you that a certain other mated couple started off with the slight enemies-to-lovers scenario.

2. The Bonus Scene

Chile... there’s a lot to unpack here. Cassian describes Nesta’s face as unnervingly perfect, and talks about her build and, uh, the certain parts that he “doesn’t look at. Much.” When he leans close to her, her scent “hits him in the gut so hard he could barely focus.” Which is a little suspicious and mate-y to me (as mate-y as a human and Illyrian can be I suppose, however Rhys knew he was mates with Feyre when she was human, and Feyre becoming Fae heightened it, which we will go back to later). When Cassian finds out what Tomas tried to do Nesta (or senses the fear), he immediately wants to kill him, without knowing pretty much anything, except that someone had hurt Nesta. His Nesta. He also says, “It’d make me hunt them down and shatter every bone in their body.” Then he tries to cover it up, saying he’d do it for anybody (which he would, but still). Nesta admits that she feels things, sometimes more than anyone else and Cassian had seen those things and had seen her, “...he’d looked at her- not at the face and human body that men marked, but her- and had seen it all.” She then says that this made her want to hurt him, so he wouldn’t tell everyone. When Nesta tips up her neck, every instinct in Cassian’s body came “roaring to the surface, so violent he had to choke them with a brutal grip...” Then he once again says something about her scent and what it does to him; “Cassian breathed in the smell of her into his lungs...as it latched onto some intrinsic part of him and sank its talons deep.” And that just sounds so mate-y to mean, like her scent latched onto him??? He then brings the topic around to Mor who he had slept with prior and had some degree of romantic feelings for, and says that even though she did not care about the lovers her had, he did not want to tell her about Nesta. And when he returns to Velaris, he refuses to go back alone again.

3. The Promise

After the queen’s refuse to give Feyre the book, Nesta stands up to them and begs the queens to help. Cassian then makes a promise to Nesta; “...I will stand on that battlefield again, Nesta Archeron, to protect this house- your people. I can think of no better way to end my existence than to defend those who need it.” He then wipes away her tears and Nesta lets him do it. This promise remains important in a Court of Wings and Ruin, as Cassian is regretful and takes part blame for her becoming Fae in Hybern, despite him not being able to stop it as his wings were shredded. “I made her a promise. And when it mattered I didn’t keep it.”

4. Hybern

As Nesta is being put into the Cauldron, Cassian begins moving on the ground, despite his bloody, shredded wings. He stirs again when she begins screaming and tries to move his hands towards her. “At Nesta’s shouts, her raging, his eyes fluttered open, glazed and unseeing, an answer to some call in his blood, a promise he’d made her.” I mean, come on... That literally sounds like there mates I-... Not to mention, Cassian tries reaching for her again when she is sobbing for Elain.

5. The House of Wind

Even before entering where Nesta was sitting, Feyre noticed that Cassian was tense. When Feyre notices how devastatingly beautiful Nesta, she wonders if Cassian also feels the same as he stiffens beside her. We then also see more of that banter from a Court of Mist and Fury (mainly from Cassian, but still). Cassian then says that he goes up to the House of Wind often because it is good exercise for his wings (more like a good excuse to see Nesta). He also says that he is going to kill the King of Hybern (just as he said he would kill Tomas). When he is flying Feyre to the House of Wind, she asks why he bothers and he says “Because I can’t stay away.” (Which gives me MATE vibes) And as Nesta arrives in her dress, Feyre narrates that Cassian looks as though he had been punched in the gut.

6. I don’t know what to call this segment but still... MATES

After Nesta is flown to the town house by Rhys she is extremely mad and only Cassian, it seems, is game enough to calm her down and get the fire out of her eyes. When Amren is telling her story, Cassian moves himself closer to Nesta and then signals her to stand behind him, willing to protect her if something goes wrong. After it is realized that there is no threat, Nesta moves from behind Cassian, but not away, to his side. After Hybern attacks the library, Rhys lets Feyre into his mind to see what Cassian had shown him, from his point of view. In the memory, when Nesta comes stumbling out and sees Cassian. “...her fear a tang that whetted his rage into something so sharp he could barely think, barely breath-” And this just feels mate-y and reminds me of how Rhys when Tamlin destroyed the study, or even after the attack when he was still enraged. He also calls her body slim and beautiful as she grips his arms.

7. Battle of Adriata

When the others return from the Summer Court, Nesta demands to know where Cassian is and actually says his name, which was Feyre’s first time hearing it from her. She was also pacing as she waited for them to return. However, when Amren offers mild support, she simply says “I don’t care.”

8. The High Lord Meeting

When Nesta appears down the stairs, Cassian ignores her for the most part. And when she announces she is going with them, she makes sure to ignore his approving gaze. Nesta and Cassian then are set to winnow out together and there is a bit of banter and then Nesta says “You didn’t come to-” and cuts herself off (And I’d just like to know what he didn’t go to, THAT IS ALL I WANT IN LIFE PLEASE SARAH). Cassian then interlaces their fingers and their gazes do not leave each other’s faces and then he says, “The next time, Emissary, I’ll come say hello.” (Swoon) Nesta stands up for Cassian after Beron insults him at the meeting, and Cassian just looks at her “like he’d never seen her before.” When Nesta feels something amiss and calls for Feyre, Cassian also comes in assessing if she is okay and looking at every inch of her. Feyre also asks Rhys if the two are mates and he said he didn’t know and that the bond would have to snap into place (SUSPICIOUS) And when Nesta begins vomiting was the first one there holding her back and monitoring her.

9. Not really any proof

...But when he tells Nesta she’d start a riot if she wore pants and trains her, I- yes.

10. The War

While Nesta is working around the camp she listens intently to any talk of Cassian and when Cassian returns to the camp with a sprained wrist, Nesta somehow notices immediately without anyone else noticing. She ties it up and they hold hands, then Mor interrupts and Cassian drops her hand, Nesta just looked at her hand and then disappeared to her tent. As the battle is happening, Nesta only concentrates on Cassian and is terrified when he is about to be hurt, and when Feyre leaves she barely takes her attention of him. Nesta is found standing outside of the tent Cassian is staying in after he is injured, but then after a confrontation with Mor. As Nesta is helping find the Cauldron, Cassian stands with her, his hand on her back and comforts her and reminds her that nothing can hurt her there. During the final battle, Nesta was still monitoring where Cassian was, and when she saw where the Cauldron’s power was gonna be used, she only roared for Cassian and didn’t alarm the several others in its path. He then decides to get off the battlefield and go with her to kill the king.

11. THAT SCENE

Cassian is beaten severely by the king and when Nesta sees what he has done, she becomes a predator. “I am going to kill you.” Which is similar and in parallel to when Cassian wanted to kill who had hurt her. And after she has used her power, she ignores Cassian’s pleas to run and instead tries to keep killing the king. And when she goes down, Cassian tries to reach for her like he did all those months ago in Hybern. And when he tells her to go she says she can’t. Cassian grabs her face and tries saying goodbye; “I have no regrets in my life, but this. That we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta.” And she doesn’t stop him as he kisses her (KISSES HER OMFG). “I will find you again in the next world - the next life. And we will have that time. I promise.” She doesn’t leave she just covers his body with her own. Willing to die with her lover or her mate? Because she cannot live without him?

Post War

Nesta does not visit Cassian on his sick bed and their relationship once again becomes tight and tense. Cassian tries not to think about her and Nesta becomes closed off. On Solstice, he tries giving her a present which had taken him months to find and she declines (that made me so mad), but he still follows her home. In the sneak peak, he admits that even though she is too thin he finds her “mouthwatering” and he doesn’t care about the males she sleeps with. The males, however, are sometimes afraid to sleep with Nesta because of Cassian, because of what happened in the war (or maybe they’re afraid because they’re mates, just saying).

In conclusion,

Nesta and Cassian are mates. Sarah, you ain’t slick, we know. And if they do not confess their love in the next book I will cry. Actually a lot of this isn’t evidence just rehashing but... meh.

#a court of silver flames #a court of mist and fury #a court of wings and ruin #nesta #cassian #nassian #a court of frost and starlight #actoar

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noesa · 8 years

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Masterpost of Cryptic Shit from The Adventure Zone

Because damn Griffin’s given us a lot of mysteries to work with. (Excerpts from the show under the cut.)

PROPHECIES

The Grim Prophecy (The Crystal Kingdom, E39):

Taako, you hear a voice coming out of your bag. And it’s the fuse that Lucas recovered from his mother’s conduit and handed to you all...and this lantern is unlit, but you can feel some machinery inside of it faintly whirring. And you hear a voice inside of it, and the voice sounds kind of like Maureen’s voice, but totally lifeless and, for lack of a better term, inanimate. And you hear this voice deliver what sounds like, kind of a grim prophecy.

And this lantern says, “I saw all of existence all at once. I saw a dark storm, a living hunger eating it from within. But I saw a brilliant light heralded by seven birds, flying tirelessly from the storm. I saw seven birds: the Twins, the Lover, the Protector, the Lonely Journal-keeper, the Peacemaker, and the Wordless One.”

Paloma’s large prophecy (The Eleventh Hour, E45):

...you see two side-by-side visions in this black cloud that appears as [the crystal] shatters on the table. The first one just looks like an ocean made out of tar, with a black sky above it, and this tar is like bubbling, and you see some stuff moving under the surface of the tar but you can’t make out what it is, and that’s on the left picture. And the one on the right is just a grey world, covered in ash, that is just completely barren and lifeless. And Paloma looks up over this black cloud, and she looks completely- when she’s done her other prophecies it kind of looks like she’s having this out of body experience, now it just looks like she’s is just a baker possessed, and she says, in this deep voice:

“In the future, you will be offered a terrible choice, between two options that will determine the fate of reality itself. In this moment of crisis, remember: There is always a third option.”

Istus (The Eleventh Hour, E47):

“The three of you are just so special- you know that, right? Our existence is made up of countless realities where the same people are just doing the same actions at the same time in parallel worlds throughout the echoes of creation, except for you! The three of you are the only three that there are doing the things the three of you do here in this world! When I say that you’re unique, I’m not being flattering, I’m being quite literal... The three of you are anomalies, and I certainly have god-like powers and I don’t like to brag, but I’ve never known anything like the three of you and I don’t know why that is, but I’m intrigued...”

She says, “We’re seriously almost out of time- I have one last blessing for you, my emissaries. Your fate is guiding you- not today, not tomorrow, but to a moment that will challenge you in a new and horrible way. And I cannot make the difficult decision that lies at the end of your quest for you, but I can grant you the time that you need to make that decision.” And then, she just disappears for a couple of seconds, and when she reappears, she is wiping a tear from her eye. And she says, “You’re going to be amazing.”

Paloma’s final prophecy (The Eleventh Hour, E49):

“I have one last prophecy for you, Taako. Something you will need to know. In your hour of greatest need, you will find the power that you seek from the man wreathed in flames.”

THE UMBRASTAFF, LUP, AND THE RED ROBE

Acquisition (Here There Be Gerblins, E05):

You see in the corner of the room a figure that is huddled down... It is a skeleton that is sitting comfortably, that looks like it was positioned comfortably, in the corner of this room with its back up against the wall. It is draped in a bright, crimson robe, and holding what looks to be some sort of cane, with a curled end in one hand that is a bit obscured by its robe...but whoever this was, they have been dead for a very long time... He looks very chill, like he was sitting here and just kicking it, and just sort of wasted away... Any clothes that this person had on were gone, it’s just the robe and the cane that it’s holding... You look over the robe and it just seems to be a plain robe.

(Merle casts Detect Magic) Your mind starts to swirl- you get dizzy and faint because Detect Magic is a pretty basic spell that you've used quite a few times, but you've never really gotten a response from it like this, because the response you got from it was everything. It's all schools of magic. All of the magic that there is seems to be somehow embedded in this cane.

(Taako takes the Umbrastaff) You grab the cane and it's almost like the goddamn quickening happens in this room. There are bolts of lightning shooting out of Taako as he pulls this cane from the grip of the skeleton. And as you remove it from where it sort of had it enveloped in its robe, you realize it wasn't the end of a cane, but it was the handle of an umbrella. And as you pull this umbrella from the skeleton's grasp, the skeleton actually looks up at you like it's acknowledging your presence. And as you finally wrest it from its grasp, the skeleton and the bright crimson robe turn to ash.

Identification (Moonlighting, E09):

"That... let me see that." And he takes it off your hands and looks it over, and says... "This is a- there are very few of these, you should count yourself very lucky to have this. This is called an Umbrastaff, which was created by a clever order of wizards known as the Umbrawizards. They created magical items that looked like normal, everyday items that would allow them to conceal those staves and wands, and allow them to bring it into battle unseen. What makes these staves interesting is that they can consume the power of any magical item used by a wizard that you have bested in combat, and absorb their powers and become stronger. So you will want to hang on to this, it is quite a rare find."

Second confrontation (The Crystal Kingdom, E35):

(As the Red Robe is monologuing) “You three are the only- Taako, Taako where did you find that umbrella?” (Taako: “I took it off this dead person with a red robe.”) He’s starting to shudder, there’s red electricity kind of crackling through him, and he says, “Wh-what? Wait, what are you- you fouND HER?” As he shouts that, he bursts into flames and disappears.

Lup (Lunar Interlude III, E40):

You point your Umbrastaff at the box of macaroons and begin to cast Prestidigitation, but Prestidigitation does not come out of your Umbrastaff. It feels like your Umbrastaff is sort of exerting a will of its own, and Prestidigitation doesn’t come out of it, the spell Scorching Ray does... Scorching Ray comes out of your Umbrastaff again, and this time your Umbrastaff pulls your elbow so that it’s pointing in a straight line, and it’s firing the spell Scorching Ray into the wall, and you can feel the Umbrastaff making you trace a shape, and it carves out the letter L in fire on the wall, and then it does a U, and then it does a P, and then the staff shuts down and you just feel it lose any power that it was exerting over you in that moment.

Third confrontation (The Eleventh Hour, E49):

(After THB say they don’t trust the Red Robe) This red-robed figure falls to its knees, and he’s muttering to himself, like he’s trying to kind of calm himself down, and it doesn’t sound like every other time that he’s spoken to you, it sounds like a guy’s voice. And he says to himself, “Lup... they don’t trust me. I can’t do it anymore, Lup, I’m sorry.”

Kravitz (Lunar Interlude IV, E50)

[Kravitz] says, “There’s something here... I could feel it in the Millers’ lab too, it’s dead and it’s powerful and it’s extremely close. Are you harboring a dark spirit, Taako? Do you have suspicions that you might be some sort of vessel?” (Taako: “I eat old dudes with my Umbra, is that a possibility maybe?”) “I don’t, no I don’t think it’s that.”

And he starts looking around, and Kravitz turns his back to you and starts to walk towards the middle of the quad, still kind of looking around for whatever this powerful dead thing is. And Taako, you actually feel the Umbrastaff in your hand start to raise itself up- it’s not controlling you, it’s controlling itself as your arm is outstretched holding the Umbrastaff and it is pointed at Kravitz’s back. It looks like it’s charging up a spell... You sort of wrestle with the umbrella for a second and point it skyward, and you shoot a Scorching Ray into the sky, and Kravitz turns immediately back towards you and says, “W-what was that?!” (Taako: “The Umbrastaff- it acted on its own.”)

You hand it over and Kravitz looks it over. “You’re sure this isn’t a cursed item, maybe your umbrella’s cursed and maybe you should get that checked out. This is an undead being, like a lich or something big and powerful- you’re not a lich, are you Taako?” (Taako: “Not to my knowledge.”) “No, you aren’t; I would know if you were.”

THE HUNGER, THE PLANES, AND THE RED ROBES

First confrontation (Petals to the Metal, E27):

And then [Captain Captain Bane] takes Magnus’s glass, and just chugs it. And then suddenly, his skin starts to turn that sickly black color that Hurley’s was after she dove into the silverpoint vines, and he falls to the ground dead. And as he falls you see a figure standing behind him. It’s actually not standing, it’s kind of floating, and it’s human-sized and human shaped, but you can’t really make out its race definitively, because all you can see is a bright red robe. (Magnus tries attacking the figure numerous times, but it is incorporeal.) You can’t see inside this floating red robe, all you can see is just complete pitch blackness with a single, small white light that illuminates as this red robe begins to speak.

And it asks, “Are you afraid?... Are you afraid of the dark?” His whispers are actually filling the room, they’re pretty loud. “...You do not know how to be afraid.” It extends a sleeve of its robe, and projects this almost holographic representation of a series of familiar faces: “Gundren Rockseeker, Magic Brian, Jenkins, Sloane, Captain Bane.” And as it says their names, these faces sort of appear in the palm of its hand, and it says, “This is the true nature of man: the want, the hunger. It consumes everything it touches, it can’t be stopped or changed. It’s the end of everything. This is your first lesson.” And it disappears in a spout of flame.

The Candlenights gift (The Crystal Kingdom, E29)

There is one gift left underneath the Candlenights shrub. And it has a tag on it, and it says “For Taako, Merle, and Magnus”. And it’s wrapped up in a very ornate paper, a shiny, glossy, silver paper, and it doesn’t have a ‘from’ name on it, doesn’t say who it’s from; just that it’s to the three of you...

You tear it open, and inside is a small, sort of fine velvet- almost like a jewelry giftbox. And as you pop it open and the three of you are sort of looking over into this package, as you open it up, you see there are three iron-on badges inside of this box. And they’re these dark blue circle, like, iron-on emblems. And inside of each of these blue fabric circles, there are twelve more circles, all of different colors around the outside of each badge. And in the middle is a word that’s written in a language that none of you recognize. You cannot read, you cannot make out what the word is, what these badges are for, because you cannot read the word in the middle. And tucked in between these three badges is a note that says, “For Your Eyes Only.”

Second confrontation (The Crystal Kingdom, E35):

Time stops, and you hear a voice from behind you ask that question, “What’s bigger than this?” ...You see a floating figure in a bright red robe. (Magnus tries attacking it, but he is incorporeal.) “...I spoke to you, about The Hunger of all living things...” He motions to all of the planes and says, “This is the power it seeks, the power of creation itself. A billion, billion lives have been devoured by this Hunger in pursuit of its power...” He waves his hand, and there’s a crate in the back of the room by the projector, and it looks kind of like a trash bin, and as he motions towards it it tips over, and some small gemstone disks crash out of it. One of them is a very dark disk, almost black, but you can see flecks of red and green and blue color in this black disk, and this disk begins to shake, and this horrifying black cloud sort of emerges out of it, and it slowly creeps towards these disks that are floating in the room, and one by one just consumes them. And as each disk is consumed, you hear screaming voices coming from it; it is an absolutely terrifying scene, and it consumes the Prime Material Plane and you feel kind of sick watching it. And after it has consumed all of them, this red robed figure snaps his fingers, and the cloud disappears, this vision leaves you. And he says, “There’s no more running. There’s no escape. This world is life’s last chance...”

THB Death Counts (The Crystal Kingdom, E38):

“I was assigned your family’s bounty, Lucas, but when I came here- that was when I found an even bigger trophy..." [Kravitz] flips through a few pages of this book that’s floating in front of him. “Let’s see, let’s see... Taako! We’ll start with you! Taako, you’ve died eight times... You’ve died eight times and checked into the Astral Plane exactly zero times.”

He flips through the book again and goes, “Magnus, let’s do you next. Magnus... what’s your family name? (Magnus: “Burnsides.”) Oh yeah, that’s right. Magnus Burnsides, you’ve died nineteen times! (Magnus: “That doesn’t sound right!”) And you’ve made zero trips to the Astral Plane.”

“Merle Highchurch. Merle, Merle, Merllle-fucking-Highchurch. You, my dear friend- care to take a guess? Care to wager a guess? (Merle: “I’m just surprised my middle name is ‘fucking’, I had no idea!”) Merle Highchurch, the richest bounty I’ve ever hunted. You, my dear man, have died fifty-seven times. Fifty-seven times! Fifty-seven, and you’ve never come to visit! You’ve never come to visit me, Merle! That’s just rude!”

Static in the Memories (The Eleventh Hour, E48):

(As the Temporal Chalice rewinds through Magnus’ memories) ...And then you are in the years preceding this adventure, which June is watching intently and kind of taking mental notes as she goes, and then she rewinds a bit faster through the years preceding this adventure, and she hits this long period of static. You’ve seen it pop up a few times, where your memories are actually a bit blurry- they become literally blurry around you, and you can’t see them quite as well. And the things you’ve forgotten, they just disappear and become this static, and she hits this huge, huge period of static.

And while she’s rewinding quickly through it, she says: “What- what happened to you guys?! You’re all missing time- like, a lot of time.”

(Magnus: “What period is this?”) This would be about twelve years before the adventure started, or about twelve years before where we are now- somewhere in that timeframe. But she’s rewinding and there’s just a lot of static. Like, a lot of it.

She says: “I guess it’s not really important to what we’re doing here, it’s just- it’s weird, man.”

Third confrontation (The Eleventh Hour, E49):

“Did you retrieve the cup?” (THB: “Yeah.”) “What did you change?” (THB: “We didn’t do anything with it.”) “You didn’t use the cup? I’m really proud of you, I thought that maybe there was a chance that this would be the one to end your adventure.” (Magnus: “Wait- you’re the red robe, you’re one of the bad guys.”) “Who’s told you that?” (THB: “Everybody.”)

“I need to know: do you trust me?” (THB: “No.”) As you say that, that you don’t trust him, this apparition, this red-robed ghost- it’s a lich, floating in front of you- it starts to lose its composure, and I mean that literally, the spectral form starts to jerk violently... [Merle] dodges out of the way as a bolt of red energy whips off this red robe and moves past you. And this red-robed figure falls to its knees, and he’s muttering to himself, like he’s trying to kind of calm himself down, and it doesn’t sound like every other time that he’s spoken to you, it sounds like a guy’s voice. And he says to himself, “Lup... they don’t trust me. I can’t do it anymore, Lup, I’m sorry.” And he calms down, and the sort of distortion that was happening to him kind of fades, and he stands back up and says, “The next time we meet, I will need you to trust me, completely and absolutely. Otherwise, all of this, will have been for nothing. The Hunger is almost here, and when it arrives, this world will be lost.” And, he disappears.

The statue designs (The Eleventh Hour, E49):

[June] hands [Magnus] a tube, and it’s the kind of tube that scholars might store scrolls inside, and she says, “I think you should have this.” And the tube has your name scrawled on the outside of it... In your head you hear the voice of the Red Robe who you’ve seen a few times now, and he says, “Magnus. If you open that tube, Magnus, it’s going to be harder for me to protect you...”

Magnus, you are in a little corner of the dining hall, which is a big massive communal space for the Bureau. Late as it is, there’s nobody else here; that gives you the privacy that you need to look at what’s inside this tube one more time. And you pop it open and unfurl the parchment, and there’s something strange about the parchment inside of this tube, which is that you can see it, you can see what’s on it, but when you try to draw conclusions based on what you see, when it is you try to understand what it is you’re seeing, your mind turns to static. And it’s an incredibly uncomfortable sensation.

So what you see inside the tube are two sheets of paper. And the first one is a design for the statue in the middle of Refuge depicting Jack, June, and the broad-shouldered Red Robe standing between them. And it has a date etched in the corner of it. The other piece of parchment, when you look at the date you can tell this was an older draft of this statue, an older design of the same statue. And in this earlier sketch, Jack and June look exactly the same; but the Red Robe’s hood is pulled down, and you can see his face. And it’s an incredibly familiar face, Magnus, because it’s your face. This figure in this red robe is you.

The Voidfish (Lunar Interlude IV, E50):

[The Voidfish] reaches out and taps you on the forehead, and as it does, your vision goes dark. You, actually, are shown a memory, and it’s not your memory. You are seeing a memory and you know that you are seeing it from the perspective of the Voidfish. And you’re in a dark place filled with twinkling crystal that are casting these dancing lights on the wall, and it’s the wall of a cave, you’re inside a cave, but it feels- because you’re feeling what the Voidfish is feeling in this memory- it feels like home.And you know that because there’s other Voidfish here too. And they are of varying sizes, and- you know how the Voidfish has a spiraling galaxy of lights inside of it? There are other Voidfish with different patterns of lights rotating inside of their gelatinous bodies, and you feel safe in this place. But you know that the other Voidfish have been communicating stories of a coming storm that will doom this home, that will doom this safe place. And so the Voidfish worked to build up their defensives and shut the world out, and because they’re sort of isolating themselves from this coming storm, they don’t really have any interest in entertaining these visitors that arrive, who are groundwalkers. And they’re clad in these brilliant red robes- and then suddenly the vision goes to static.

It sort of pulls away from you in shock. The Voidfish seems kind of scared, it seems kind of worried. But after a moment it reaches out a tendril and touches you on the forehead again, and you’re pulled into another vision, and you are the Voidfish again, and you are with one of these red robes. And you are sprinting towards a great, silver ship- a great, silver boat that is starting to lift upwards out of the water where it’s docked, and then suddenly the vision goes to static. And the Voidfish kind of retreats again, scared that it can’t show you this vision.

(Magnus: “Why me? I feel like we are connected in some way, why?”) The Voidfish thinks about it, and then it touches you on the forehead with one of its tendrils, and tries to show you that exact same scene of it being taken towards a big, silver ship. This time in the vision- which you can only see for a few seconds before it statics out- you see the sky is just pitch black. There is nothing happening in the sky. And you also see something horrifying: it looks like there are these big, black pillars of tar sort of just falling out of the sky and smashing into the world that you’re on. And you also realize that you are sprinting towards this ship, and then the vision goes to static again, and it pulls back away from you...

(Magnus: “Is that a vision of the past?”) It flashes once for yes. (Magnus: “Is that a vision of my past?”) It doesn’t know how to answer that.

[The Voidfish] sort of spins excited, like it has an idea. And then it reaches out and touches you on the forehead, and you see what looks like a galaxy. You see this big scene, but really quickly it statics out. And it tries again, but this time it looks more rudimentary, like a 3d animation or something, but that statics out. And it keeps trying this and trying this, but every time it does the vision becomes more and more and more abstract, and finally it shows you a vision that you can see all of without any static, that has been abstracted down to the point of looking like it’s a child’s drawing. And it’s all just crayons and abstract shapes, and these shapes seem to tell a story that you can see all of without being interrupted by the static.

So, you see twelve circles of all different colors, and they are arranged in a larger circle, and they’re rotating in perfect harmony with each other. They continue this orbit for a few seconds, and then you see a bright white circle of light that sort of flies in and lands in the center of their dance. And for a moment, these twelve multicolored rotate a bit faster, with more complex rhythms, spiraling inwards and outwards in this beautiful choreography, all with that white light at the center of it. And during that frenzied movement another shape appears, and it’s a huge black circle that slowly encompasses everything you see, and it grows larger with each circle that’s consumed, and it’s just that black circle. But then that white light shoots out of its side and flies away, and that black circle moves slowly in pursuit. And then you see the same cycles of the spinning circles, and the light appearing, and then the big black circle coming to devour all of it, and it plays about four or five times before you have to swim up to get a breath of air...

You read the sheet music [for the Voidfish’s song] as you did when you were first starting out, letter-by-letter, and when you read it like that the notes read: E-G-G. B-A-B-E. (Magnus: “Baby... you had a baby? You have an egg.”) As soon as you have that realization, as soon as you say that out loud, in a room that you’re not in, and in a room you’ve never been, something reacts to you saying what you just said in the Voidfish’s chamber, and a quick, bright light flashes, and a small, quiet alarm bell rings.

Merle and the Red Robe (Lunar Interlude IV, E50):

(As a cart comes barreling towards Merle’s children) You’re too far away to do anything but run towards them and watch what happens next, and what happens next is pretty incredible. Because right when the wagon is about to fall on your kids, it changes directions suddenly and violently, and it pitches 90 degrees to the right instantly, sending the whole wagon and all of its contents crashing through the front wall of this candy shop, sending the jars of sweets crashing to the floor and just destroying the front facade of this shop... To the left of this scene of destruction, several yards away, you see, obscured by a pile of shipping crates and downed sails, you see the red-robed figure that you’ve encountered half a dozen times now, and his arm is outstretched and crackling with energy. And he lowers his arm and he turns to face you, and he nods, and he disappears.

The unknown room (Lunar Interlude IV, E50):

What [the audience] is seeing is a disheveled study, who’s preparing for something big. It’s somewhere underground- there’s a chill in the air permeating these wetstone walls, and the room is lit by several dozen candles which are all arranged around a desk which are piled high with magical tomes, and piles of maps. Behind that desk is a large wooden board that is displaying a map of the whole of Faerun, the continent that this story takes place on. And there are strings connecting images and diagrams at certain points on the map, like Fandolin and Armos and Greenhold and Rockport and Goldcliff and Neverwinter. And all these different cities are connected by this web of strings and pictures and diagrams. And it’s the board of someone who has been tracking the relics and the Bureau intently.

Other than the candles, there’s another source of light in this room, which is a six-foot-tall glowing pod that stands on the opposite end of the room from the desk. And it’s full of a swirling green liquid, and inside we can see something growing- or rather, someone growing. There’s a body being created inside of this pod, but the liquid is too opaque for us to see who it is. And the last thing we see is the desk again, and there’s a scroll that is unfurled and held in place by four candles, one at each corner. And this scroll is an incredibly detailed map, with a route drawn through it in red, and it is a map depicting, with perfect accuracy, the headquarters of the Bureau of Balance.

Pringles (The Suffering Game, E51):

(Magnus: “Why are you in [the brig]?”) “Why am I in the brig- they didn’t tell you? It was, like, treason I guess, dude, and I-I’ll be honest, The Director didn’t believe me, nobody believed me, but, like, something had me go all through the Bureau of Balance, even places I wasn’t authorized to be, and then I just kinda woke up and I was in a place I wasn’t supposed to be, and then The Director arrested me summarily, and I’ve been here ever since.”

(Magnus: “What was the place that you woke up in?”) “It was a dark room, and I was right by this big, heavy vault door, and I- I know I was in The Director’s personal space, I saw some of her stuff back there, and- yeah, that’s where they found me, man.”

(Magnus: “Can you tell me anything you remember from before your body was taken over and you moved without your control?”) “I was in our bunk... I was just in our bunk and you guys were out on a mission, and I was real lonely, and then my vision just kinda went red, and then the next thing I know I woke up. That’s it! I hadn’t had any Pringles that day, so I thought maybe I was in some sort of fugue state.”

Divination (The Suffering Game, E56)

(Merle casts Divination, which lets him ask Pan a single question.) Oh, this is perfect. You pray- what’s your question? (Merle: “What is going on with my holy powers.”) Here is the truthful response- this is Griffin, not Pan, speaking- here is the truthful response to your question: Pan’s not answering. It’s not- you know beyond a shadow of a doubt he’s just not there. He’s not there supporting you with holy power, he’s not- he’s just... gone. And this is fucking terrifying, this spell that you’re casting is essentially like a telephone call of a prayer, and Pan has always answered. But not this time. He is not there, and it’s not- you can tell it’s not like you’re getting bad reception on your prayer, you feel it going through, he’s just not picking up. (Merle: “He’s not there, or he’s not answering?”) You don’t know the answer to that. But the reason that your spells aren’t working is because they are powered by Pan, and right now Pan is not there for you.

The Astral Plane is Consumed (The Suffering Game, E56)

(As Magnus drifts through the Ethereal Plane) You see a tear in the fabric of space. And it looks familiar, because you saw something similar to that during your time in Lucas’ lab. It is a rift open to the Astral Plane, where the souls of the deceased go after their death in the Material Plane. And you are drifting into it, Magnus, because you're dying.

(As Taako goes into the Ethereal Plane after Magnus) You see Magnus being sucked into a rift to the Astral Plane, and you recognize the Astral Plane from Lucas’ lab, you recognize it as Kravitz’s home, it is the plane where dead bodies- dead souls go to the afterlife, and you see Magnus getting sucked into this portal...

Magnus, you don’t see Taako flying towards you quite yet, you just see the Astral Plane in the rift opening up and sucking you into it, and- again, you’ve seen the Astral Plane before- in the Cosmoscope, you saw it too, in the mirror- and when you saw it then it was just like, this tranquil sea filled with swirling lights and souls retired to rest in a collective consciousness. Through this rift you see the same sea, but it is choppy, and it’s violent, and there’s no lights below the surface- in fact, you kind of see what looks like an oil slick on the surface, and the sky is stormy and pitch black, and nobody’s there. Kravitz isn’t there...

Taako, you grab Magnus’ hand just as his feet are being pulled into the Astral Plane, and you can see into it also... You both see into the Astral Plane, and you can tell something is seriously wrong. And just as you pull Magnus back, Taako, you see a hand splash up from the choppy waters, you see Kravitz and he’s sort of struggling to pull himself up to the surface of the water. The oil- this black oil on the surface of the water- just twists around him, and pulls him back under, and you feel that oil calling for both of you as well and you’re both getting pulled into the rift now, but with a 20 you fight back against the pull, and both of you are flying back to the center of the room.

Magnus Remembers (The Suffering Game, E57)

Magnus, I’ve got something for you. You just got your ass kicked, and when that happens, you feel a vision sort of wash over you. And suddenly you are miles away from this fight. (Magnus: “Meditating.”) Well, no... you’re remembering? But this act of remembering is so, like, powerful that you are in another state. So you just got your ass kicked, and you remember another time you got your ass kicked, and it was a time when you saved a dog from some bullies that were kicking it around. And you remember this memory really well- it was one of the things you saw when you spoke to the Chalice in the last arc.

But there were parts of this memory that seemed a little foggy, like something was off, and you didn’t realize what was off until this moment. And in this particular vision, one thing that was kind of foggy was a big one- it was the sky. And as you look up in this memory, you’re lying on the ground- you’ve just gotten beaten up by these kids, scared ‘em off, and I think the dog comes and licks your face before it also kind of ungratefully takes off- so you’re laying on your back and looking up at the sky, and the sky is this unnatural light purple color. And as you stop to think, like - “Wow, that’s weird” - you realize that there are two suns in the sky. And they’re nearly overlapping each other right on the horizon, and you think - “Ah, that’s weird” - and then you remember that it’s not weird at all, because that’s how it is, here, in your home. This world that this memory is taking place in, this is your home- this world that you’re on now, this place you’re at and have been for a while, it is not where you’re from.

...Right as he catches it, you have another vision. It’s another memory that you are remembering so powerfully and vividly that you just aren’t here any more. And this one isn’t like the other one where it was kind of fuzzy and then cleared up; this one is just static, until it isn’t. And you are walking through some badlands. It’s this arid landscape of cracked red rock and clay as far as the eye can see, with a few shrubs poking through. And you are lost. You are so lost in this unforgiving environment, and you came here to hide something? That part is still a little bit foggy, you’ve made something and you’re terrified of it, and you came to this place to hide it but you got lost and now you’re so thirsty. You’ve removed the jacket of your uniform, which you’ve kind of sweat through- it is a bright crimson red uniform, with an insignia patch over the left breast pocket. You’ve taken that off because it’s just too hot to have a jacket on right now. And you’re just stumbling through this badlands, and you see this stranger- you actually see two strangers in the distance, a man and a small girl. And they approach you, and they offer you a drink, and they offer you kindness and hospitality. And they’re really good people. You spend some time with them and they’re just really good. And so you decide that you’re going to hide your creation with them. Because they’re the ones who are going to be able to keep this cup safe.

...All of you get a hard-earned, good night’s rest. And Magnus, you dream some wild shit. Too many things, actually, to remember all of the next morning, but there are two visions that stick out and they are just as powerful as the ones you’ve experienced so far. And the first is you’re standing on the deck of a silver ship, and there are some other red-robed figures standing around you- although you can’t quite make out their faces- and this ship is soaring into the sky. And it’s flying away from a land that is being consumed by this wave of darkness, with these ribbons of bright red and green and blue inside- it’s just being swallowed up.

And the other vision that you can recall is really simple: it’s the Voidfish. Floating up into its tank is a thick book, bound in blue leather and silver trim. (Magnus: “And I don’t recognize the book at all?”) No.

Barry Bluejeans (The Suffering Game, E57)

(After describing the scene from the epilogue of Lunar Interlude IV) There’s another thing in this room that catches your eye, and that’s a small, plain wooden chest. And draped over that chest is a red robe- like, an actual, tangible red robe, not the personification that you’ve been talking to. And sown into its breast you see a familiar symbol, you see a circular patch with a design containing twelve multicolored circles and a sort of shifting, imparsable text in the middle of it. Only Magnus, you can read that text, as plain as day. It’s an acronym, and it says I.P.R.E.

And the Red Robe speaks and says, “I acquired this invention years ago, and I’ve used it to recreate my physical form several times now in pursuit of my goal. I’ve come close, but I’ve never reached that goal- it’s because, when I’m in my body, I’m gonna forget all the truths that I know now in my lich form. And I can try to convince myself to follow my own commands-” and he shows you that coin-shaped object that you saw him speaking into earlier- “but, well, I can be pretty stubborn. And I also don’t have any of my potent magical abilities inside my body, because I’m not gonna remember the fact that I’m a lich at all.”

Magnus, he looks at you and says, “Magnus, I see your wheels spinning and I’m sorry, but it takes months for this device to grow a new body and we don’t have months, fellas, we have hours. I’m gonna go into that tank and into my body, and then the four of us are gonna head back to the Bureau of Balance and we’re gonna get the truth that we deserve. And it’s gonna be- uncomfortable, here, in a bit, 'cause you’re gonna recognize me but I’m not gonna recognize you so- I apologize in advance for my rudeness.” He drifts towards the tank and says, “If we all follow my commands, we will be successful. I have been planning this for some time and I believe whole-heartedly in my preparations.”

...And at this time, Magnus, you’re struck with one more vision and this one’s a doozy. You have your back up to a cliff’s edge, axe drawn, an army of shadows approaching. And the sky is pitch black. So black that the sky can’t contain it all, it looks like there are columns of tar illuminated with streaks of red and green and blue just falling, just dripping out of the sky and plowing into the ground. And in the distance, you see a silver ship weave between those columns and fly out of sight. And when you see it fly away you feel this sense of immense relief. And next to you, you see a human man. And he’s wearing the same crimson uniform that you’ve got on with the same patch, only instead of a jacket he’s wearing a full robe. And he looks at you as this horde is about to overrun you, and he drops the wand that he’s holding and a black spike shoots from out of the horde into his chest, and he staggers but he stays on his feet, and he turns and he looks at you, Magnus, and he smiles. And he says, “Well. We’ll get ‘em next time.”

...The membrane encasing this pod splits, and green-brownish fluid splashes out and onto the floor, and a stout, naked human man steps out of the pod. And you recognize his face instantly. It’s the face of a man who you quite reasonably assumed you would never see again, because the last time you saw this face it was being swallowed up in the righteous fire that destroyed the town of Phandalin. But here he is.

Barry’s back.

BRIGHT, WHITE EYES

The Eclipse (Lunar Interlude 2, E28):

You’re blasted by this supersonic noise... (The THB pass their saving throws.) You retain your consciousness, but everyone around you has fallen face-first on the ground... Because you stayed conscious, you can distinguish some sounds in this calamity, and it sounds almost like 20 orchestras are all playing all at the same time around you. It just sounds like this cacophonous- you’re standing in the middle of a circle and all around you are these orchestras that are just blasting you with music, and you hear these thousands if not millions of whispers, but they’re all happening at the same time and they’re all so loud that you can’t really make out any particular word that they’re saying, you just understand that there are these whispers around you... The eclipse only lasts thirty seconds or so, and as the equinox reaches its apex and the light of the sun is completely blotted out, the three of you can see in the sky for just two seconds, the sky is filled with thousands of bright white eyes, and they’re all just burning intensely. And then as the sun and moon part from one another, they fade out just as quickly as they appeared; and as the equinox passes, the music also fades, and then it’s back to normal.

Taako’s first Blink (Petals to the Metal, E18):

You blink into the Ethereal Plane and suddenly your vision goes grey - you blink out of view from Merle and Magnus - and the scene in front of you, other than the color swap change, stays relatively the same. But for a split second, for a flash after you enter this Ethereal Plane, you see three grey figures with bright white eyes standing all around the room, sort of positioned all around the room, sort of surveying the scene, and as soon as you appear in this Ethereal Plane and see them for just a second, before you can even discern what they are, they blink out of view.

The black opal mirror (The Crystal Kingdom, E35):

The mirror on the floor- the black mirror that you saw that cloud come out of, from where you’re standing from fairly far away, you see some faint white moving shapes in it. (Magnus approaches it.) Standing over it, you can actually see what look like white eyes looking back at you through this black mirror. And as they sort of make eye contact with you, these eyes quickly shut and disappear.

Lucas: “...That one’s made out of- let me see- that one’s made out of black opal, which is- I mean, it’s inert. I mean, it doesn’t resonate with any planes.”

Taako’s second Blink (The Suffering Game, E53):

In the Ethereal Plane- hey, it’s been a while since you blinked, hasn’t it? (Justin: Yeah.) It’s been a few story arcs. The last time you blinked was in the lobby of the Goldcliff Trust, the bank, and you saw some creatures, small creatures with these bright white eyes that were kind of looking at you, kind of watching you, and there were a few in that ethereal version of the lobby... You see them again in the ethereal version of this room, but Taako, they are lining the walls. There are hundreds of them, all looking at you, and as soon as you appear, as soon as you see them, they just sort of scurry back through the walls and blink out of existence... They look vaguely humanoid, they sort of have long featureless arms and legs...but their defining features are their big old white eyes, and their bodies are white too, everything in the Ethereal Plane is made of this wispy white material. So yeah, these little one-foot-tall vaguely humanoid beings were kind of spying on you. And they disappear as soon as you blink.

Magnus Visits the Ethereal Plane (The Suffering Game, E56)

(As Magnus drifts through the Ethereal Plane) You also see some other stuff, too. You see other figures in the room, you see small, white, humanoid figures that are hiding behind the mannequins and clinging to the ceiling, and as you look at them they scurry away out of sight.

EXPOSITION

Liches (The Crystal Kingdom, E35):

A lich is sort of this embodiment of a very powerful magic-user who sort of combines their essence, their life energy, with their magical energy, and sort of transcends their physical form. Technically, it’s like an undead- imagine, like, a ghost made out of magic.

But a magic-user has to kind of willfully do that... except what’s interesting is that most liches- when a magic-user does this, it’s way too ambitious a thing, and they can’t really control that energy, and most liches are just insane. They have no control over themselves, they’re just hyper-violent, hyper-evil embodiments of raw magical energy. They are not usually well-spoken beings.

#the adventure zone #taz #taz spoilers #taz theory #1k #i'm going to keep updating this so just let me know if there's something you think i've missed #because i know i haven't covered everything #but i can't recall what i'm missing right now #so yeah please get in touch with me if i should add something!

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