#the power of getting to see little creatures every little bit is very strong

[beef-brisket]

Michael tensed. He didn't trust Adam. He's been doing this job for too long to know that no bio weapons are safe. Especially not ones that are aware. In a split second, that parasite can take over, and Adam won't be Adam. Or, based on his mother, it could be Adam. But 10x worse.

But Michael will play nice. He cares for Lucifer in his own harsh, stoic way. And his little girl isn't exactly normal. So he isn't going to be out if their hair any time soon.

Michael: Adam. Good to see you.

Adam: You to. Keeping well, I hope.

Michael: Well, nearly every day, I'm fighting for the continuation and safety of the human race.

Adam: ...so, you're doing good?

Michael: Very good. We took down a large factory in East Asia. Rich bastards manufacturing bioweapons. It never ends...

Lucifer: ...

Adam: ...well! Good on you, Mike! You're doing great work!

Michael stared at him. He really didn't trust Adam. He felt fake. And in a way, he was. Lucifer was old enough to make his own choices, but living in a castle, far away from any living creatures? And that thing that makes the parasites is still here somewhere under that forsaken village.

It's not safe for Charlie. Michael can see that much.

But he won't dare speak to Lucifer about it while Adam's around. He may not be as strong as his mother- yet- but he can still do some serious damage.

He wonders if there's a way to run some tests on Adam. On the parasite, more specifically. Maybe he could predict what Adam will eventually turn into. It could be more powerful than Sera. More unstable. And without a constant blood supply that's putting not only Charlie and Lucifer at risk, but also all living life.

Adam: Michael? You good? You're just staring-

Michael: I'd like a sample of your parasite. At some point, if that's okay with you. It would be very helpful in understanding whatever that parasite is.

Adam: Oh! Uh... I mean-

Michael: I understand that it's in a delicate spot. But there's ways to extract a samplenwithought touching the spine. Maybe we could do an x ray. See where exactly it is.

Adam: I... guess that'll be fine. Usually, people ask me out to dinner before seeing my parasite~.

Lucifer: Do they?

Adam: No.

Michael: ...I can get you food if that's an issue.

Adam: Just blood for me, babe. Let me know when you want to do this whole thing. These next two weeks will be a tad a rough for me- growth spurt and all that. But anytime after that should be fine.

Michael: Wonderful. Thank you, Adam.

Adam: You're welcome!

They stood their a bit awkwardly. Well, Michael's staring was making it awkward. He was really intimidating even when he wasn't trying to be.

And he trained Lucifer. Lucifer was always on edge around Michael.

Have you seen Resident Evil: Village? All I'm saying is Adam and Emily as two of the three sisters and Sera as Lady Dimitrescu.

Lucifer is Ethan trying to find Charlie.

At first, Adam was on his mother and sisters side- but because they have a weird thing against dudes, he eventually helps Lucifer.

Trust me, it feels illegal not to make Adam the stunning Lady Dimitrescu, but for story reasons, he'll be one of her kids.

I mean, their hot. What can I say? Adam would look great like this 🤷

Adam: Mmm- man flesh~.

Lucifer: ...Kinda gay, man.

Adam: It's not gay.

Lucifer: It is- man flesh? Really?

Adam: ...

Lucifer: ...

Adam: *stabs sickle into his leg and drags him away* Mother!

I have seen it! Ha I love this. ((Yes he'd rock being the Lady of the house 😩))

Lucifer: Ow!! What the fuck!?

Adam: It's not gay! Mother was right.

[ancientgoddessofegypt]

Astro Notes : Short N Sweet <3 Neptune's Revenge

Neptune 1st House - Popular energy. Very well known for their beautiful, majestic energy. Could have a lot of haters but admirers at the same time. Energetically sensitive to alot of others emotions. Sometimes, it can be a lil confusing holding so much power. Because their energy can be mixed up with someone elses if they don't know how to tell the difference. They usually have a strong sense of self, its just other peoples opinions can get in away of that if they arent careful.

Neptune 2nd House - Could use some help on the financial train. They're organic to the way they use their money. I mean, they could be super horrendous spender, spending each and every dime on any and everything. While still some how always having more in their wallet. Or they could be pretty good at saving and are a little bit of a cheapskate.

Neptune 3rd House - Whimsical voices. Poetic writers. Creative thinkers. Very talented when it comes to the hands as well. Could be excellent drawers & painters. Neptune in the 3rd has an ability to travel to very interesting places that aren't too far at home. They may go on lil adventures here and there. But its always a treat. Its kinda strange how well they can be at finding good eats as well with all the travel they do. Could work abroad or go to college somewhere out of their comfort zone a lil.

Neptune 4th House - Has a lot of secrets when it comes to the inner child. Very free, sweet loving children. Can open a door to different realms like we're in Narnia or something. Angelic creatures who enjoy alone time near their favorite place. If they ever share that special place with you consider yourself lucky. They normally keep the things they cherish hidden for a long time.

Neptune in the 5th House - Artists who seek deep into the art and become it. Very creative & a one of a kind with the way they carry the emotion in what it is they do. Can have you thinking hard on what it is they are trying to convey, they are a master at making complexities more harder to figure out. Just be there in the audience and watch the show. You'll never leave the same again.

Neptune in the 6th House - Fun loving pet owners, they go hard for the planet and the creatures that come from it. Real advocates for change and don't take too kindly to insensitive people. Could need to sharpen their boundaries a little more with people. Also, are incredible writers and should tap into this side a bit more. You might end up surprised with what talents you have that could make you some money, or could be a really cool job.

Neptune in the 7th House - Romance is the thing that just keeps on given to these individuals. May need to put the rose colored glasses down. that man might not be for you, love. Don't forget to put more time into your own needs versus the needs of someone else. Your compassionate energy may run dry if you're not using that waterfall of emotion for yourself. People are drawn to 7th house neptunes alot more than you think. They are capable of seeing thru the veil, you just don't notice.

Neptune in the 8th House - Psychologically understands the reasons on why the universe is the way that it is and why the people in it behave the way that we do. Could be honest about a lot of things, dishonest about what they know. The world doesn't need to know everything, which is why the divine gifted them with certain antidotes. Only they can use this so bring healing to a certain nation (or individual) but not everyone can find this secret the way they can. This is normally given to them by spirit guides, ancestors, or thru drreams.

Neptune in the 9th - Impracticality is almost their birth right. They see things in a way that doesnt make sense at all but to them it means something. What I mean is that these people see the world bigger than what they people tell them. They could have big drams and not understand why they have them, but God put them their for a reason. So you can figure them out. You may want to travel and study abroad, or just move somewhere different and don't know how. Thats where all the magic happens, finding out and taking the risk. The sagittarian way.

Neptune in the 10th - Majestic auras. The highlight of the moment. The star. The siren. The energy healer. Do I keep going? Very special creatures who touched this earth to make their dreams come true, even if they have to figure it out themselves. Empathetic to the people around them and are big on helping out with anything whenever they can. The Queens & Kings of the law of attraction. Can attract what they want if they just believe it in it more.

Neptune in the 11th House - Community leaders. Ancients who know they way to what the true reality is meant to be like. Literally can change the world with the way they move, think, and go around helping others. Sweet and lovely people to be around. Needs healing in their own friend groups. Can be a little out there, but thats why people love them.

Neptune in the 12th House - Practical minds in a world that tells them their crazy. No they arent crazy, they just have multiple psychic gifts. And these gifts have a way in showing them things people aren't usually equipped with handling. They need more time alone and in nature to keep themselves grounded. Other wise, they will go crazy from the world telling them that their crazy... When really they know a little more than what they led on. The imagination is a fun place, but also a place where the most hidden becomes entirely to open. Seers of the daylight & the night.

[neckromantics]

You find that now Astarion’s able to feed regularly on “quality” blood, the stronger he becomes, and with that strength comes certain abilities he didn’t know he could possess.

In 5e, vampire spawn are supposed to be pretty strong and fast. (As well as possessing regenerative powers, and spider climb among a few other things.) So, what if Astarion’s lack of super strength and other such things is due to the way he was kept weakened under Cazador’s control?

Like maybe he’s recently fed and he feels especially great this time. Neither of you really think much of it. (You’re just happy he feels good. Happy to see the flush of pink at the tips of his ears and apples of his cheeks.) Maybe you’re in the middle of a fight and you get careless. You hear the swish of a blade at your back, but never feel an impact. You turn to see that Astarion’s saved your ass the only way vampire instinct knew how in that moment, which was to just reach out and grab your attacker’s sword before it could spill any of your precious blood. By the blade.

If he wasn’t wearing those special armored gloves you’d found a few days before he’d probably have lost a few fingers. The steel bends back in his grip as if it’s made of rubber, and there’s a very comical split second where your heads snap toward one another to share matching looks of “what the fuck??” Before the fighting continues.

MAYBE one day you watch the guy get stabbed. Like, impaled in a way that should have meant Withers is about to be dragged out here by his dusty ass robes to perform some quick resurrecting or else. It takes longer than you’d like to get free enough to make a break for him, but when you do you nearly knock poor Shadowheart on her ass in your hurry to pass. Every millisecond feels like an hour. Your heart pounds in your ears so loudly that you can’t hear the scream of the creature before him as you take it down with a single blow.

In hindsight, you must have looked ridiculous. Overdramatic, even, considering you don’t have time to fuss over him as he lie bleeding like you assumed he would be. Your hands tremble in front of you as you watch him stand up from his crouched position. His pretty face is screwed up in a way that you first assumed meant great pain, but now you realize he’s just ? Surprised? Well, that makes two of you at least.

Astarion’s leather armor hits the dirt with a dull thud. With pursed lips and a bit of a hum, he’s lifting up the hem of his bloodied tunic. Pale fingers swipe thick crimson away from his belly to reveal the soft, unmarred skin that lay beneath. You nearly faint right then and there, and that asshole just laughs. Positively elated.

After a moment, a long moment, you start to laugh alongside him. It’s shaky with relief. Disbelief.

He plants a quick, cheeky kiss to the side of your head for your heroic efforts, anyway. You just learn to roll with it.

Maybe one day you walk into your room at the Elfsong, and nearly jump out of your skin when you find him sitting cross-legged on the ceiling. Just full on chilling, looking pleased as punch to have found something else he didn’t know was possible for him. You obviously just stand there and stare at him like ??? for a while. It’s endearing how happy he looks with that smug little smirk, pale curls wild and clothes sitting odd on his frame from the change in gravity.

When you ask, all he can really say is that it just kind of happened? That he very suddenly felt like being up, and logically that meant he should try crawling up the wall to satisfy that craving. He’d been up there for a couple hours before you showed up- even took a little bit of a rest to pass the time. You wish you were there to see his face when he found out- to hear the mad little giggles that spilled from his lips when he stood up from his scuttling and just hung upside down in disbelief because why in the hells didn’t he find out about this one sooner?

(Maybe if you ask nicely, he’ll bring you up there with him on his back just so you can see how strange everything looks from high up on the ceiling. Maybe you’ll use it as an opportunity to scare the ((figurative)) pants off of Gale when he eventually comes looking for you. Endless entertainment.)

Anyway, you feed the guy regular enough and I imagine there is so much to discover about him that the two of you will be entertained for years to come. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll wake up to a fluffy white bat flying circles around the ceiling of your bedroom, and at that point it won’t even be a real surprise to you.

[natalyarose]

𝒥𝓊𝓅𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒩𝒶𝓀𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓈 & 𝒢𝑒𝓃𝒾𝑒𝓈 🧞✨💐✩

I've always thought Jupiter ruled Nakshatras (Punarvasu, Vishakha, & Purvabhadprada) to be veryy magical with their themes of limitlessness, expansion, sheer spiritual abundance & power. I'm not sure if it has been talked about before, but something that always comes to mind when I envision Jupiterian Nakshatras or meet heavily Jupiter influenced people, is the concept of genies.

Jupiter's abundance and endlessly giving nature is known to be a blessing and a curse. A Jupiterian can be the sweet, generous, selfless friend who is there when you need them; providing you endless support, refuge & material generosity.

The dark side of this inherently generous 'wish-fulfilling' nature of Jupiter Nakshatras, is the possibility that they enable dark behaviours in others & themselves. Always saying yes, always being available and endlessly giving to the wrong type of cause or person, can make you complicit in the crime so to speak, even if the intention is simply to give, or give chances (Punarvasu's themes of second chances, 'return to the light'). Jupiter Nakshatras entail hugeee lessons regarding purpose (Vishakha, 'the Star of Purpose') & being intentional and wise as to how you use your power and influence (the infamous test of character in Purvabhadrapada 'the man with two faces').

These Jupiterian themes have always made me think of genies- wish fulfilling creatures who are inherently unable to say no to the wishes uttered to them. Having to just sit and watch people wish for dreadful things and just go... 'as you wish'. Obviously in real life, there really is a choice not to feed into others' and ones own toxic patterns but with Jupiterians, the urge to give, to be constantly available to others, can almost feel like it's not a choice. It's energetically intertwined in their make-up.

I would love to gather more examples, but it's 3am here and this was a bit of a spur of the moment thing I had to get out haha- I looked into a few of the most prominent 'genie' roles in movies and as I suspected, every single one features an actor/actress with strong Jupiter influence.

Jeannie from 60s sitcom 'I dream of Jeannie' - actress, Barbara Eden has Punarvasu Ascendant

Kazaam from 90s comedic film 'Kazaam' - actor/basketball player Shaquille O'Neal has Purvabhadrapada Sun

Genie from Disney's Aladdin - played in the live action movie by Will Smith, Vishakha Moon.

This genie theme really makes me think of all of the Jupiterian Nakshatras, but Vishakha especially. A friend of mine who is a Vishakha stellium always tells me about how it is said that Vishakha has the ability to generate 'instant karma'. So Vishakha natives to an extent greater than other Nakshatras will receive the raw manifested result of their thoughts/actions veryy quickly. Much like a genie granting instant wishes.

I was going to mention also that the whole genie archetype also reminds me of Rohini a bit- the wish-fulfilling aspect, the element of fulfilling desires without shame/inhibition. It's a little different in nature, but Rohini Nakshatra's got a similar theme where the native is incredibly nurturing of who or what sets their heart on fire, sometimes to a fault. Rohini is capable of immense growth but can forgo morality/practicality for the sake of immersion in the process of creation & sparking joy. Rohini's philosophy is something along the lines of 'let go of judgement because judgement inhibits creation and disrupts purity'. This is very true, but of course as humans on the divided and dense Earthly plane, we know that having a sense of judgement & boundaries is also important.

That was very wordy, but hopefully y'all see what I'm getting at lol. Although I'm more inclined to associate Rohini with wise old wizard dudes with cool beards & mad but genius scientists lol.

Back to Jupiterians-

I believe that Jupiter Nakshatra's 'remedy' is to eventually realise that they are not a slave to their giving nature, and the power lies in them to decide, & give only to a person, dream, goal or cause that truly is aligned with their own soul's path. Break free from the shackles lol- with wisdom hopefully. Without that element of wisdom, Jupiter can run wild with that discovered power.

Jupiterians struggling with discernment is why Jupiter Nakshatras oppose Venusian Nakshatras (Bharani opposes Vishakha; Purvaphalguni opposes Purvabhadrapada; Purvashadha opposes Punarvasu). Venus masters the fine art of 'necessary cruelty' sometimes ya gotta rip out the weeds, warn off the pigeons and trim the rose bush to make your garden a beautiful, pleasant, luxurious place. Jupiter can struggle with this, instinctively wanting to be a safe space for everyone and everything.

Jupiter ruled Nakshatras also partially oppose Solar Nakshatras (Krittika, Uttaraphalguni & Uttarashadha) illustrating the Jupiterian struggle with putting oneself first. Solar Nakshatras keep their energy strong and vibrantly resounding at their core; wheras Jupiter Nakshatras are kinda messy with their energy (lol, not necessarily in a bad way)- they disperse their energy everywhere, giving & giving. Both Solar & Jupiter Nakshatras deal with themes of limitless reserves energy, but in opposite, contrasting ways.

There's so much I could write about Jupiterians, I love Jupiter energy very much. I really love all of the Nakshatras lol, I mean how could you not? Every Nakshatra holds teachings that are integral to making the world a better place 💕🪷

Thankyou for reading!

[galeorderbride]

👉🏼👈🏼 may you do headcanons for Rolan, Dammon and Wyll with a GN or Fem Tav that isn’t very physically strong, but an absolute beast with magic? I’m talking like, they’re breaking a sweat picking up a large battle axe, but casting spells is like second nature to them? Healing, debuffs, and attacking spells. They don’t make a show of it, but are quite proud of it. (My lil Tav is a bard and storm sorcerer, if that helps) (btw: I hope you have a nice day! 💖)

May you have a nice day too, anon! Thanks for this cute request! And also for your patience!

Tags: F!Tav (no appearance described), T rating, I went a little fluffy with these.

Headcanons below for Wyll, Dammon and Rolan (in that order):

Wyll:

Wouldn’t doubt you for a second! Since he joins Tav’s side as a companion, he’d see first hand how much of a beast she would be with magic. He might poke a little fun at her for struggling to move large rocks or missing a hit with her staff, but when she incinerates a goblin in one hit from a mere fire bolt cantrip, there can be no debate that Tav is a force to be reckoned with. Everything is all in good fun, and he’d become drawn to the little moments he’d see her playing with strands of weave to pass the time. Firelight glowing against her skin, cheeks blush from a glass or two of wine as purple strands flowed around her.

In between those fascinating moments, he’d take advantage of Tav’s lack of physical aptitude. Offering to pick up heavy objects for her, carry supply boxes to and from, chop wood for the fire (in hopes that she was in the sight line to be watching). For the first time, he’d feel useful without having to rely on his warlock powers. Simply labouring to help someone, and a person he grew to care about very deeply, at that. Seeing her smile and thank him every time was just a bonus.

His favourite moment was after fighting the Bullette in the Underdark. A particularly taxing beast, and one that took a sinister swipe at him as he got a little too close with his rapier. The creature left a large gash on his arm, blood pooling out of the wound and staining his shirt. Tav wasn’t a cleric, he accepted having to wait until arriving at camp for Shadowheart’s help. But he was wrong.

Tav sat him down on a broken tree stump and began to hover her hand over the wound. Azure particles of healing magic sealing the cut and cleaning off the drying blood. Wyll shivered at her touch, overwhelmed by both the feeling of sizzling weave and the intimacy between them. Foreign to him after so many years playing the Blade of Frontiers, avoiding the ire of Mizora. He inched a little closer to Tav on the log, sighing in relief as the agony of his injury disappeared. Left only with their faces inching closer.

“You are full of surprises,” he said.

Dammon:

He’s all about smithing, crafting tools and weapons with the heaviest, toughest metals. Infernal iron being the most interesting to him. Getting to know Tav had provided much needed motivation to keep with his work, as she’d allow him to information dump on his favourite kinds of elements, how much he learned in his time in Avernus, even showing her blueprints he created. She was simply a joy to talk to, and had fascinating things to say about all things magic. Reminding him a bit of Rolan, but not quite so proud of her gift.

Ultimately, he is charmed by Tav’s humility. Treating magic as a labour of love rather than a weapon or status symbol to behold. In perfection, there was imperfection, Dammon knew that well. And he was positively charmed when Tav tried to help him move a large battle axe out of the way, struggling to drag it to the nearest corner of his makeshift shop. Trying to hide the grunts and heavy breaths as she used both arms to slide the weapon back. Dammon grinned, stuck in how adorable she looked when she didn’t notice him noticing her. He blew his cover, laughing out loud when Tav swore under her breath and used a sending spell to drive the axe into the corner with a smack against the wooden bearing.

“Were you watching me just now?” She asked, brow raised in a cheeky expression.

He raised his hands in defeat. “Was a little difficult when you sounded like an ox in pain.”

She scoffed, containing her laugh, “Don’t you know how to compliment a lady.”

Dammon cleared his throat, masking the nervousness that still coated his face every time she did something even adjacent to flirting. Leave it to a sorcerer to render someone speechless, a charisma only championed by a witty warlock.

Tav smiled, patting his shoulder as she said, “Don’t worry, just joking around. You’re right, after all, I am the weakest link when it comes to strength. It’s either magic or endurance, really.”

“Well,” Dammon started with a careful smirk, “You certainly showed that axe who’s boss with that magic of yours.”

Dammon had a silent thought as the two of them eyed each other from across the shop. A potential, an idea he dared not think too hard about lest he jinx any chance of it happening. Maybe the two of them could make up for what the other didn’t have. She could bring forth a strong, admirable magic while he supplied the strength, the tools. He’d never be a Herculean warrior, but he could lift pounds and pounds of heavy metal after years of blacksmithing. And if she were ever in need of such services, he’d be there in a heartbeat.

Rolan:

Both him and Tav are casters, fascinated and intertwined with the magic of the weave. One might think that Rolan would find friendly solidarity with a fellow spell caster, but things are never that simple with him, are they? At first, Rolan might be a little dismissive towards Tav, especially if she’s a sorcerer rather than a wizard. He’d humour the times he’d see Tav do magic, acknowledging it to be impressive but unpractised. Ignoring the eye rolls from Cal and Lia who saw right through his ruse.

That ruse being that, deep down, Rolan felt a little envious of Tav’s abilities. Especially as the goblins closed in on the Grove, Tav and her companions fought alongside the tieflings atop the fortified gate. Her spell work was decisive, powerful. High level spells and cantrips wreaking havoc on the goblins below, a firebolt at the oil barrels causing an explosion. Followed by a skilled thunder wave to knock spiders off the platforms. This wasn’t to say he didn’t do his part, a detail oriented and savvy wizard. But as capable as he was, he also found himself with the nasty habit of comparing himself to others.

After the fight, Rolan sat on a pair of discarded boxes as Cal and Lia excitedly re-enacted the battle. Joking and horsing around with some of the tiefling kids while the adults began to pack up for the road. Tav was there as well, doing her part to contribute as always. Smiling and chatting with the refugees as she walked slowly up the path to the Grove. She ended at Rolan, standing over him with a soft grin, glinting in the dusty sunlight behind her. Hair moving in the little breeze, wafting with the scent of fresh water and florals. An aura that, somehow, left him calm. A feeling he’d been having since the party at her camp. When he’d managed to actually talk to her for a few minutes without trying to prove himself. He thought back to that a lot.

“Mind if I sit down with you?” She asked, seating herself on the box next to his when he nodded.

“I figured you’d be out there helping pack everyone’s wagon,” Rolan said, eyes shifting from side to side, unable to look her in the eye without an embarrassing blush not even his complexion could hide.

She chuckled, “Admittedly, I’m not much help. Bex and Danis did their best to humour me as I struggled to put a single box on the wagon. Hard not to give up after a minute.”

Rolan sighed, “I see. I’m not the strongest out there either. Not exactly a talent of most wizards.”

“At least we have our magic,” she said. “I enjoyed creating those little illusions with you at the party. Maybe we can do that again sometime?”

He thought back to that moment, when she caught him performing a little magic for Cal and Lia. She clapped for him, a blip of encouragement next to the teasing of his siblings. Tav and him walked off together, he wasn’t exactly sure how she convinced him to do that, and they did more illusory magic together. Creating different colours and effects, Tav even created a stag, saying he reminded her of the calm but confident creature. He was a nervous mess the entire time. Fumbling words, avoiding eye contact. Never gaining the courage to tell her how much he enjoyed that night.

He cleared his throat, shrugging off the lurching anxiety over what the right thing to say was. “If we manage to cross paths again. Perhaps we could.”

Tav smiled, knocking her arm against his playfully. “I look forward to it.”

[anawrites3]

@blackbeanbao asked about Fae Dick and Fae Slade for wip ask game 💕

Fae Dick is a story where Slade gets captured by Dick, who heard about this powerful mercenary and wanted to see him for himself. Dick quickly took a liking to him and decided that he wanted to keep Slade 👀💕

Edit: I forgot to link it earlier but I actually shared a snippet some time ago right here

A snippet;

Slade grit his teeth and tried his best to move again. It was an awful feeling, one that was hard to simply describe with words – it was like being under a giant rock that was crushing you, pressing at you with such strenght you weren't able to move an inch but at the same time you were barely able to feel his body at all. He was faintly aware of where his each limb laid but the only parts of his body that he could really feel were the ones that the boy on top of him was touching. The kid was still strocking along his face, tracing Slade's cheeks and his jaw as if he wanted to memorize his every curve. Crave it into memory. He kept stroking the arch of Slade's brow, the one above his missing eye. It was then that Slade realized that his eyepatch was gone.

He didn't mind the fact that the boy was able to see it, he couldn't give less of a fuck about that but it annoyed him that he didn't even notice it was gone in the first place. Whatever that little brat gave him was strong as hell, enough so that his healing factor didn't burn it through right away. "Who are you?" Slade demanded again. The boy hummed. "That's not a very specific question. You can try again." Slade growled, making the kid smile again. He fought again against the invisible binds that restrained his body and this time he felt it give, just a little bit. Fingers of his left hand moved against the bed he was laid on and he struggled to subtly curl it into a fist. Not subtly enough. The boy noticed it immediately and his brow furrowed into displeased frown. "Oh no, none of that now." He cooed before placing his gentle hand on Slade's wrist and just like that, Slade was pinned in place again. All breath left Slade's lungs in a painful whoosh. He stared at the boy with something that, he could admit only to himself, was creeping close to being a fear. "You-" He started faintly, feeling the way the hand on his throat tightened. "What are you?" The kid grinned, this time in a way that showed all his teeth. "A more specific question, that's more like it!" He praised, placing his hands on Slade's chest again and leaning over him, so close that Slade could feel his breath on his lips. It felt like a leaf brushing against his skin. "I'm a fae, Slade Wilson. One your kind calls an 'elf', I believe." "That's..." Not possible, Slade wasn't able to say. Mystical creatures like that were a tale for children, a figment of someone's imagination, something only complete idiots actually believed in. They were a part of movies or books and not... not real life. But when he looked at the boy again he could see a pair of pointy ears sticking out from between the black strands of his hair. "I heard so much about you, Slade Wilson." The boy – no, no, it wasn't a boy. The creature looked him over again, slowly and carefully as if he was seeing him for the very first time. "You're such an unique case. A human but stronger than any of them. More powerful. I had such high expectations of you and yet you already managed to surprise me!"

And Fae Slade is a story where fae Joey and human Dick become friends and Slade decides that he wants to meet the human that managed to befriend his son, see for himself who he is and whether he'd bring Joey any harm. So he invites Dick for dinner :3

Dick doesn't know any rules of fae world (maybe Joey gave him a few advices but he doesn't know much about human wolrd either so he has no idea what could harm Dick) and so Dick is just trying to survive there

And if Slade decides he likes the human? Well, maybe he'll keep him

A lil snippet for this one as well;

Dick stared uncertainly at the wine Slade poured into his glass. The liquid was as red as blood, even as it smelled of fruit, sweet and tempting. “Is something wrong?” The fae asked pleasantly, taking his seat across from Dick. His lips were curled into a smile but his gaze was so intense it felt like a physical weight on him. Dick wasn’t sure whether it was a good feeling or not. “N-no, everything is perfect.” Dick made himself smile. “I’m just… not sure whether I should be drinking.” Slade’s smile turned into more of a smirk as he lifted his own wine glass and brought it to his lips. Dick watched him take a few sips and despite knowing it only looked like blood, for a moment he expected to see the red smeared on his lips. “Despite the different way our races age,” Slade started and Dick tore his eyes away from the fae’s lips with a blush. “I’m quite certain you’re old enough to have a little drink.” “Well, yes but-” “Then I don’t see the problem.” Slade drawled, amusement clear in his gray eye. “I’m not trying to get you drunk, Richard, no need to worry. I simply think you would appreciate the taste.” Dick ran his tongue over his lips to wet them. Slade kept smiling at him, simply waiting for him to make a decision and… just a sip won’t hurt, right? He didn’t want to be rude, mostly because he knew how dangerous an angry fae could be. He reached for the glass, not noticing the way Slade’s eye gleamed.

You can ask me about my wips right here

[ljjsims]

Greek Goddess Legacy Challenge: Generation #7 Athena: Completed

Here to fill all of your sims' lives with wisdom: Athena, goddess of Wisdom and Strategic Warfare!

You very much dislike the turbulent nature your family seems to have. Why use magic when you can use logic to solve it? Do you really have to use a spell for every minor inconvenience? You believe a strong and smart sim gets her power elsewhere. From a young age it was clear: you are a prodigy. You learn faster than your siblings and easily see how things are connected in the world. After you go to university, you move to the big city. A city full of crime and mysteries. and you are determined to make all those wrongs right. with your mind.

Little bit explanation with the sheets: - First sheet is for describing your current generation, with the challenges you need to do each life-stage. Also, because I love the myths, a bit of mythological background. May it inspire you :) - Second sheet is the preparation sheet for this generation, with important characters for your story. It is technically optional, but I love seeing sims with a backstory in my world, so I would highly recommend it. - Third sheet is for your gens children. They all have their own little challenges if your interested in those. I try to make all of them a bit different from each other, so it doesn’t get boring. Your heir is also on this sheet, but I’ve put their challenges on their own sheets. Stay tuned for those ;) - Fourth sheet is completely optional. If you want sims with names from the myths and love making sims to see them in your world, this is for you! All with a little mythological background ofc, you know me.

Next Generation is Amphitrite! Previous Generation was Hecate First Generation is Gaia

The Greek Goddesses Challenge by LJJ-Sims is a challenge based on the ancient mythical creatures and stories from Greece. I fell in love with Greek mythology in high school and have not let that love go since. In this challenge you will follow 10 deities in their journey through life. Every goddess has a different take on and goal in life. Special about this challenge?  All your kids have little challenges of their own, not only your heir. These challenges are optional, so if you feel like these are too much or just too restricting for you: by all means let them go. I also have sheets for characters that you can make before you start each generation. This gives your challenge a lot more personality and makes it frankly easier and more fun!

A little disclaimer: because I made these gods and goddesses into a legacy challenge, the relationships in the myths don’t exactly match the relationship in this challenge. There is a lot of keep it in the family in mythology, to put it lightly. And apart from the fact that you can’t do that in the Sims, I don’t really like that part. So I didn’t include it, thus the inconsistency. An example: Ares is now Hera’s stepfather instead of her son, which she conceived with her brother  and husband Zeus. This inconsistency can also be found in the stories. It’s just based on and not copied exactly, as Sims live lives that are a lot shorter than those of immortal gods. And it takes a way from the creativity if we just copy the myths. Even if we wanted to do that, it’s quite hard, as every myths has its fair share of variations and some are just completely different stories.

I use the MCCC-mod to alter the length of life states. You can find the days-years ratio here: the boring stuff.

[trelinha9]

Can we talk about the fact that the base forms for both of Amethio's pokemon are some of the cutest and most adorable pokemon out there?

And it's also interesting to me that some dex entries for Rookidee and Charcadet remind me a lot of Amethio.

Rookidee's Sword dex entry states:

"It will bravely challenge any opponent, no matter how powerful. This Pokémon benefits from every battle—even a defeat increases its strength a bit"

Which reminds me a lot of how he challenged Rayquaza alone with just two Pokémon without blinking. It was very reckless of him, and Ceruledge paid the price. And after his defeat, he (we assume, because for some reason we DIDN'T SEE IT) started training a lot so he could have a chance next time.

And Charcadet's Scarlet entry says:

"Burnt charcoal came to life and became a Pokémon. Possessing a fiery fighting spirit, Charcadet will battle even tough opponents"

Which makes a lot of sense and also reminds me a lot of Amethio. Amethio certainly faced very strong opponents (Friede, Moltres, Rayquaza and even Hamber), but so did Ceruledge. They face the challenges that appear before them together and united, and it is very obvious that Ceruledge cares a lot about Amethio and is extremely loyal to him. Which brings us to:

ARMAROUGE'S Scarlet dex entry, that states:

"Armarouge evolved through the use of a set of armor that belonged to a distinguished warrior. This Pokémon is incredibly loyal"

Among Armarouge and Ceruledge's dex entries, this is the only one that mentions either of them being extremely loyal. The entries for Ceruledge say:

"The fiery blades on its arms burn fiercely with the lingering resentment of a sword wielder who fell before accomplishing their goal"

"An old set of armor steeped in grudges caused this Pokémon’s evolution. Ceruledge cuts its enemies to pieces without mercy"

While the first entry may be a parallel to how Amethio wants to get stronger and capture Rayquaza before the other Explorers after failing his mission, the second entry (from Pokémon Violet) is basically the opposite of how Amethio's Ceruledge behaves. Ceruledge seems to be described as a dark Pokémon that ambushes its enemies and plays dirty to achieve its goals, but Amethio's Ceruledge behaves exactly the opposite of that! The truth is that this description fits Spinel more than any other Horizons character so far.

The only time we've seen Ceruledge disobey Amethio so far was in the battle against Hamber. Amethio ordered Amethio to dodge Dusknoir's Shadow Ball, but Ceruledge cut it in half. Why that? Because if he had dodged it, the attack would have hit the area where Ametio was and could have hurt him! Ceruledge always obeys Amethio, but when the situation is to obey Amethio and complete the mission with the consequence that Amethio's safety is at risk, Ceruledge will choose to protect Amethio, even if it means disobeying. Ceruledge's loyalty is to Amethio, not the Explorers.

Also, a little bonus:

Rookidee's Violet dex entry says:

"The females are fussier than the males. If another creature dirties a female Rookidee’s wings, it’ll peck the offender relentlessly in a burning rage"

I'm mentioning this... because it's adorable, and I really want Amethio's Corviknight to be a female because of this entry :3

So, basically: I need more young Amethio with Charcadet and Rookidee fanart

[geminiskulleta]

Thanks for voting!! I’m glad Flora won she’s my fave 💞

Flora - The Scholar

Link: Hero of the Wilds

Age: 10,123 (23 physically)

• The most resilient and devoted of all the Zeldas. She will never give up anything she sets her mind to.

• When she’s truly happy and confident her smile is really goofy, her smile is contagious too

• Came back from being a dragon about six months ago, she is still coping with her trauma and found leaving her Hyrule the most difficult.

• The others admire her a lot for all she has went through, but she still feels inferior as she “failed” her first mission - the others wholeheartedly disagree.

• Often has night terrors and bad dreams about losing Link again, Dusk is usually the one to help her through them.

• Dusk is like an older sister to her because of their shared love for education. She sees Lullaby as a mother figure and resonates a lot with her, too. She is the only one who knows about Lullaby’s first adventure.

• She is just as feral as Link. You wouldn’t guess it because of her calm and gentle appearance but she can be a menace when she wants to.

• Fable decided to help her to better understand her magic, but she seems to be falling into her old pattern of pushing herself too far again.

• Easily has the most powerful magic of all Zeldas, but she isn’t able to harness it properly so it is a bit unreliable. Sometimes she can use recall but it’s a bit finicky on when it decides to work. She hasn’t managed to make anything else work yet.

• She is trying to research the black blood and portals to find the links, and she has actually been a huge help to the whole team.

• She and Tetra get on surprisingly well too, they both share that curious nature.

• She looks up a lot to Sun, too as she is the first reincarnation of Hylia. She feels very insecure around her and is sure that she hates her.

• Will document every new flower, landmark, creature and recipe the Zeldas come across on her sheikah slate in hopes to show Link when they meet again. She misses him dearly and prays every night that he is safe and well.

• After being with the others she makes so much improvements on her magic, they are all so proud to see how far she came.

• Can get tunnel-visioned easily and once she gets an idea in her head she has little time to think of anything else

Relationship with link

• She and Wild are deeply in love, and when together they will never leave each others side. After TOTK, Wild refused to let go of her hand in fear of losing her again.

• Wild taught her shield surfing, cooking and also gave her some sword training and archery lessons. She is a very quick learner and after being away for so long she has made it her mission to learn as much as possible.

• Both of them feel very guilty towards one another, each thinks that the calamity was their fault and that they weren’t strong enough

• Sometimes Flora wonders if Link would still love her if he kept all of his memories, but she pushes that thought deep down.

• They are very very awkward around each other when it comes to being intimate, Floras face will go as red as a tomato any time Wild kisses or hugs her, but she loves when he does it.

• They always help each other through nightmares or panic attacks, both are very damaged but their saving grace is each other.

• Link brought her to every place he saw during his first and second adventure, and even to the sky islands. She found the constructs adorable and asked them so many questions about how they worked.

• She feels very self conscious about her rambling but Wild always listens enthusiastically- no matter the subject.

• The two constantly ride their horses around Hyrule and have picnics near lovers pond. She also started coming along with Wild whenever there were reports of monsters.

• When he was scooped up by the shadow after TOTK, Flora was hell-bent on finding Wild again.

[writtenonreceipts]

MerMay Writing Prompts

Find other prompts I’ve done here!

These are probably terrible…lol.  Mostly for my own benefit and I was kinda bored...maybe they’ll inspire you?

Feel free to alter gender/pronouns as you see fit.

Disclaimer: Please do not repost. Reblogs are welcome.

A girl is thrown overboard from a ship after stowing away, only to be rescued by a strange creature beneath the water.

Siren’s are the violent counterpart to mermaids' gentler nature, Person A thinks they are speaking to a mermaid only to realize too late they’re being enticed by a siren.

A shipwrecked sailor makes a deal with a mer creature trapped in a pool of water--only to realize too late not to make bargains with creatures they don’t know.

You steal a pearl from the beach, turns out it belongs to a mermaid who will do anything to get it back.

A siren’s rite of passage is to kill a human.  Person A is about to complete their own rite only to realize they know the human they’re assigned to kill.

A fisherman captures a mermaid in his nets and can either release it, or take it back to land and be crowned a hero.

A mermaid is captured by humans, their friend (mer or human) will do anything to get them back where they belong.

You grew up on stories of mermaids and sirens and creatures beneath the water--now that you find yourself on the beach you go searching for a little hint of those stories.  Only to get stranded in a cave with the rising tide.  Turns out…you’re not alone.

A mermaid finds their true love in the person that can hear their real voice.

There are legends about a creature out in the depths of the sea, one that holds power over the weather of an island.  Person A chooses to sacrifice themself for the safety of their home.

Person A goes swimming early in the morning and gets stranded on a buoy/floating dock in the middle of the lake.  Their rescuer?  A mermaid.

 Turns out you have the ability to shift into a mermaid, the catch? Any bit of water that touches your skin sparks the transformation.

Walking along the beach you find a creature washed up on the shore.  Grateful for help, they offer you a favor in return.  

For a simple kiss a mermaid will grant you one wish.

You thought you were a strong swimmer, but after you get caught in a riptide you find yourself struggling to the surface when you hear something in the waves: come to me.

A witch curses you to never stray from the water until you find your true love.

The sea is never supposed to be silent.  While sailing one day, everything goes still and then you see the eyes looking up through the water at you.

Mermaids are slight kleptomaniacs.  After losing your favorite piece of jewelry/item, you go diving in the ocean to steal it back.

You press a conch shell to your ear and hear a voice calling out to you.

 You collect trash from the beach hoping to help clean up--a sea creature decides to thank you.  By kidnapping you.

You’re the mermaid keeper of an underwater library, when an item goes missing you vow to bring it back safely.

Mermaids are known to be good astronomers, a sailor is tasked with steering a ship at night with no idea what he’s doing.  He relies on the help of the mermaid but has to give up his voice for a day for every night he gets help.

Death on the ocean is common, as it turns out mermaids are simply the souls of those who have passed.  A sailor, lost at sea, soon becomes haunted by a mermaid looking to say good-bye to a former lover.

“Do not go out onto the water at night.” // “Why?” // “That’s when they come to the surface.”

“The last time I saw you, you were drowning.”

Using a mermaid as an alarm clock is quite useful actually--they’re very in tune with times of day and they are quite skilled at screaming.

“I don’t want to be a lady.  I want to lure men and women to their deaths.”

After leaving the water to explore the world, a mermaid discovers the miracles of ice cream.

There’s a monster in the river that sinks passing ships that sail by unless they offer a sacrifice: a perfect pearl found only in a specific part of the sea.

Turns out the princess to the kingdom by the sea isn’t actually human.  The merfolk have chosen to take back what is theirs.

“The song doesn’t affect me.”

[gorematchala]

I finished re-reading Claymore a few days ago and I'm happy to say that manga held up to highschool me's memories

Coming at it from the perspective of being almost twice as old as when I first read it, and having just caught up on Berserk, I was worried. Because in middle and highschool I was easily manipulated by greatswords and pretty girls. I still am but thats besides the point. So I was thinking about the series again because Angel at Dusk reminded me of that specific brand of body horror, and I was like oh no, did that shit have any depth or was I reading a Berserk ripoff with no context. But no its good

My feeling on it is basically that it isnt, to me, a life changing sort of work. I didn't come away from it feeling the way I felt at the end of Dungeon Meshi or current Witch Hat Atelier, but the characters are all likeable, and basically every reveal, plot twist, and surprise they introduce hits sufficiently. Theres never a point where you get a close up shot of a character saying something and you dont go "oh fuck". Which is interesting since I was not impressed with the world building in the first half. Later on once they start traveling the map a bit it starts to feel more like a thought out world, but initially when theyre just going around hunting monsters its like is this whole world just several small villages with monsers in them lol

The art style progresses a lot through the series. Initially its hard to tell if its really good or kinda bad sometimes but by the end characters intended beauty is being fully conveyed. Theres one who is basically supposed to look like an angel and by the end she kinda does. I also have to give the artist credit for coming up with so many unique body horror creature designs because no two look the same for the whole run of it. And it isn't too monster of the week either but they do all have unique powers, even if some of the Claymore's abilities are stretching the internal consistency a little as time goes on. Especially by the end where one characters special move is she wiggles her head really fast and it lets her sweep her entire body like one centimeter off the ground to cut peoples legs off because its impossible to fight an enemy who is on the floor. But in the moment youre like, oh no!! The characters I like need their legs!!

And I guess lastly I really like Clare, even though shes sort of barely keeping up or not keeping up during the events of the whole thing. I say that as in, I can see why someone else could criticize some of her agency in the plot and in the final battle. Because she is often handed new techniques and powers, but she gives it her all to survive and achieve her goals despite being literally half as strong as everyone else by default, and she never feels over or underpowered. Shes often balanced by her own mental state, which usually involves being a little too impulsive despite her appearing to be a calm Vergil type. My favorite characters other than her and Stretchy Helen were probably Riful and Dauf, because of their dynamic of unimaginable horror, and shlubby husband who is invincible but very stupid, but they're so in love that you can almost forget they spend all day torturing women by stabbing them until they turn into monsters. And then they introduce the power dynamic between her and the other Abyssal Ones and you kinda start to root for her if only because she would be easier to deal with than Priscilla lol. Priscilla felt a little bit underdeveloped perhaps but i have no real complaints because she does tons of cool shit and at the end of the day thats all you can ask of a shonen antagonist

[nogenderbee]

https://www.tumblr.com/nogenderbee/726526704731996160/hmmm-im-not-sure-if-this-is-going-to-make-any?source=share

Oh, sorry! I didn't know! My memories of Pokemon are a little fuzzy so I'll try my best to explain.

So, Kyogre is a whale-like Legendary water-type Pokemon that possesses the ability to expand the oceans and create storms. It battled with it's rival Groudon (another legendary Pokemon that has the ability to expand continents). It is believed to be the personification of the sea itself and is also described as the creator of the ocean in mythology. A powerful Pokemon, it has control over the water and rain. It is hailed as a savior for quenching areas of the world plagued with drought. Kyogre is able to fly and generally lives deep in the ocean, resting in a deep trench.

Kyogre is normally very calm and peaceful until it meets it's rival, Groudon.

I hope this helps!

Thank you for explaining and absolutely! I hope I got it correctly and that you like it!

And just for curious people and me... here's link to original request!

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝕂𝕪𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕖 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Zhongli, Gorou, Itto, Tighnari with Kyogre alike!reader

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ @bleachtheidiot

✧ Zhongli had a small feeling about you being a but different form normal humans since beginning

✧ he noticed how you have strong bond with water and how you seem to have some sort of control over the water anytime you're around and he'd lie if he said his curiosity wasn't picked

✧ he knew you were a human and never doubted it but he was really curious where you got that sort of power from

✧ he won't actually ask you about it at first, instead he'll recall every single meeting with water species and try to associate some with you! But as could be expected, none actually fit it...

✧ but once he discovers the truth either through you or through other ways of gaining knowledge (or by him remembering something), he won't really make a fuss about it and will observe in silence, after all he doesn't want to scare you away

✧ he'll patiently wait for you to reveal all of your powers to him, he wants you to do it out od your own will and trust, and he has all time in the world!

"Oh that's interesting. So you just happen to find sea calming? Would you mind telling me more about it? I'm genuinely curious about the reason."

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ Gorou noticed your skills almost immidietly and you could feel it by the way he stares at you with curiosity in his eyes! But he pretends to look at something else once you catch him

✧ he doesn't like being remembered about his dog-like appearance so he doesn't mention it to you either, especially since it'd mean admiring he's been admiring your powers

✧ but one time you played with water close to him and he got distracted, his tail immidiely wagging, you couldn't help but state with a smile but that ended with him being flustered a bit

✧ in the end he admits he was paying special attention to you and that's when he finally knows everything from you! But it ended on that, he trusted you were a human and never even dared think otherwise

✧ of course he heard about your rival and saw how troubled you got by it, he definitely was interested but also a bit startled by your sudden change... after all you were always so calm and collected

"Huh!? No, I wasn't staring... I was just... I thought I saw Lady Kokomi pass in the distance, that's all."

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ I feel like Itto wouldn't assume you for having some special powers even if he saw your tricks with water, he'd just find it impressing but that's all!

✧ he'd actually get more interested in it if he hears fairytale or so about some water creature, that'd when he starts seeing similiarity between you and them

✧ he's not secret about it tho, you can do anything and he'll casually mention your similiarity

✧ but when he discovers fully about your powers and despite everyone telling him it's not something normal humans do, he won't question anything and will be the biggest supporter in return

✧ most likely asks you to perform your skills when he's bored or when he needs a distraction so be prepared to be associated with his troubles if you agree

✧ but don't worry because this man will do his best to defend you with his life!! It just doesn't usually works...

✧ but going onto next trait of yours, he's surprised how calm you are and tried making you a bit less official and have some fun, at least when you're around him

"Just imagine how much fun everyone would have if you did a water slide! At least a small one! ... Please?"

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✧ Tighnari is rather observant so all it took was one trick with water when he was on patrol, and he started being more interested in all the why's

✧ he can't count how much books about animals and even mythical species he read for the last few days with hope that at least one would lead him closer to discovering

✧ in the end, he figures out it's the best to ask you himself. As much as he'd like to discover it all himself, it seems he has ko choice if he wants to know the truth

✧ and when he does discover it, he won't hesitate to ask you for a small showcase of your abilities. And he'll make sure to note them all!

✧ he's DEFINITELY not believing you're fully a human after all of that tho, he's sure you must have at least a bit of other genes in you

✧ he associated your calmness with water ever after discovering your association with it, but then he realized that even the calmest sea can be chaotic...

✧ that's why he expected you to burst sooner or later so when you met your rival, he was already prepared and quickly dragged you away as he offered you your comfort food or some plushy to calm down

"I expected situation like this may occur so I brought your favorite sweet with me. Here you go."

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

[randoimago]

Day 30 - Mutual Pining

Fandom: Critical Role

Character(s): Artagan

Type of Request: 31 Days of Oc-Trope-R

Note(s): Because of Jester, I feel like this archfey pining isn't as creepy and greek mythology-esque as it definitely could be

He is a powerful fey being, he does not pine for anyone. If anything, people and creatures pine for him. He's gorgeous and magical, who wouldn't pine for him?

And that's why he easily noticed you enjoying his presence. At first, he wasn't interested, sure the idea sounded fun. Maybe give you a chance to see how long until he made you snap. Jester immediately got on his case as soon as he started making comments. It's not his fault that you're thirsty.

But you're also not doing anything and it's causing him to grow more curious. He thought it was shyness. Maybe some cliche self-doubt because he's a fey being and you're not worth his time. But he doesn't see any illusions when he does make his presence relatively known. Instead, you just act pleasant, and it gets under his skin.

He starts to want to do things to try and get a different reaction out of you. He doesn't want the niceties or the pleasantries. So, he asks Jester what you're scared of. Find out little pet peeves of yours. Jester thinks it's a bit weird, but she gives him some info.

He absolutely uses that info to mess with you a bit, sees what causes what reactions for you, hangs onto every time your eyes light up because he made sure a specific flower grew in your path or made sure to lead you in the direction of where a baked good you enjoy is being sold. Not because he likes you or anything, but because he likes those reactions.

And then Jester gives him things that he likes, and he is happy and ready to thank Jester, except he learns that it's actually from you as a way to say thanks for his actions. Artagan begins to defend himself that it wasn't out of the goodness of his heart or anything silly like that. But he'll take the present because he likes gifts.

It's just a cycle of Artagan throwing things he knows you like in your path and you giving Jester presents to give to him. And anything he does have the time to pop in as himself, it's just politeness from you when he knows you like him. This cycle is only slightly skewed because at some point, Artagan begins to wonder if maybe you don't like him. Was that an assumption he made? Are you just nice to him because he's Jester's cool uncle figure? He wants to tear his hair out at the idea that he's been messing and courting you all this time for nothing.

"That's it, I've had enough!" Artagan is taken out of his chaotic thoughts of 'what if he saved you from a swarm of wasps, maybe you'd like him then' when Jester suddenly made that exclamation. "Arty, just tell them your feelings."

"Jester, I have no idea what you're talking about." He's an archfey, deny and gaslight and he'll be fine because he's not ready for this conversation with her. Especially because he knows how tricky she is, he helped raise her, in a way. The glare she gives him would make him sweat if he could (he'd never ruin his visage by sweating).

"I am not going to be in the middle anymore. Tell the truth or I'll go and tell them everything you've said to me about them," she says and Artagan gasps, a bit too dramatically, at her words.

"We made pinky promises Jester."

"Pinky promises be damned, this is love!"

There was a part of him that wanted to deny the love concept, but Jester wasn't budging. So, he said he'd think about it. He'd need some time to figure out a good way to do this and didn't want it to be some cliche. Jester gave him one week, material plane time, and he was very proud of the strong-arming she gave him.

So, one day, Artagan popped in as a simple merchant you thought you were buying from - he had no idea who actually owned the stall, but he doubted they'd mind you being given free stuff in the name of love - and he gave you a bright smile and asked if you come here often.

It's dumb, it's cheesy, but it causes a smile from you and you both talk, and he flirts. He thinks you flirt back? For his ego, he says you are. And then he flat out says, "I've been trying to court you for the past several months. So, are we going to be a thing, or will my heart be broken, and I vanish in a swarm of pigeons to go brood?"

The amount of relief he feels, not that he'd admit it because he knew your feelings all along, when you say that you do like him back. That you had done your own "courting" by having Jester give those thank you gifts. It's good, it's great, the actual stall owner is coming back so he needs to skedaddle really quick, but he'll pick you up that evening for a date fitting of an archfey's love. Good luck.

He doesn't think his heart has ever raced as much as it is now (well there was one time with this half-elf twink but-) and he never wants to do this again. He really hopes that he doesn't mess up with you.

[petrapalerno]

LOTKM Chapter One: A Higher Power, Or Whatever

🐚LENA

If I had to choose someplace to die, this would be it.

Maybe I wouldn’t have chosen the journey it took to get here—I’d happily skip the alien abduction and trafficking bit. The rest, all things considered, drifting into a brightly colored unknown ocean is pretty damn peaceful.

I learned long ago that worrying about things out of my control was useless. I could rage, scream, and slam my fist into my plastic security bubble, but it won’t make a difference.

I am going to die, and I’m going to wonder at the beauty of this place before I go. I doubt another human has seen these bright-colored creatures swimming by. They’re fish-like but more torpedo-shaped. A set of googly eyes dangle from long stalks below their bodies. Their scales glint in the sunlight as the schools float around me, almost reminding me of camera flashes back on Earth.

I take a deep breath and try to enjoy their unearthly elegance, leaning my back against the gently curving wall of my security pod.

This plastic bubble I’ve danced in for the past year has become familiar. I know every scratch and ding. Despite how much you claw at its wall, I know it can’t open from the inside.

Whatever space-age plastic the Deenz aliens use is robust. I don’t know how much of the growing pressure it can handle as we descend further into the depths of this seemingly bottomless ocean.

The sunlight from the surface is ever waning, and the waters around me get darker and murkier the further I fall.

Another breath fills my chest as I try to quell the anxiety creeping in from the peripherals of my psyche.

The school of creatures follows me like companions ushering me to the afterlife.

I put a hand against the plastic enclosure to thank them for not leaving me alone. I’ve always loved the ocean. Many of my tattoos are of underwater scenes: the coral reef on my calf, the stingray guarding my bicep, and my favorite tattoo—Aphrodite reclined on the half shell on my shoulder.

My soul has always been called to the water, so I guess this demise is fitting.

Thanks, to the universe or whatever higher power controls this kind of thing, I find myself thinking.

As I try to project my gratitude to these little aquatic creatures and some higher power, I catch a flash of yellow from the corner of my eye.

It moves too fast for me to get a good look at it. Spinning around in my bubble, I search for whatever it was.

As the school of alien fish shift suddenly to the left, I see him.

A muscular canary yellow alien, his head full of pulsating tentacles, gapes at me. The tentacles shift as if moved by the underwater currents. They splay around his head like a lion’s mane. His strong arms and legs pump as he descends with my bubble.

I say “he” because his cock is something you really can’t miss. It isn’t hard, but still floats proudly on display. His dick’s impressive length is nestled in tentacles similar to the ones that surround his head but they’re much shorter. Almost like if you traded out pubes for a sea anemone. I guess that makes sense since his head “hair” is also comprised of tentacles.

I wonder what that would feel like? I think, before quickly scrubbing the thought from my mind.

I’m more than likely going to die, and I don’t want my last thoughts to be about alien dick.

I break my gaze from his crotch, not wanting to be a complete and total pervert. His smooth yellow skin is covered in a pattern of squiggly teal rings. He’s got the physique of an Olympic swimmer, with a broad set of shoulders tapering into powerful legs.

His eyes are blue and bore into me as if questioning my very existence.

“Hi.” I huff, taken back by this strange alien adonis that’s found me.

When I speak, he springs out two of his head tentacles that appear longer than the rest to grip the outside of my bubble. My descent stops so rapidly that I drop to my knees like a stone.

Tentacle Man pulls me closer to him. The strength in those two thick appendages sends a strange thrill through me.

He puts his face up against the plastic and appraises me with his full lips agape.

“What are you?” He cocks his head, his deep voice muffled through the water.

“I’m Lena. I’m human,” I whisper, shocked he can speak.

He screws up his mouth and furrows his brows, “I don’t understand you,” he says, tapping a spot in front of his ear. “I don’t have a translator chip, and I don’t think you speak Andjin. There’s no tech allowed during the great proving—we are only as the Greath Mother created us.”

What in the flying fuck is the great proving?

But even in my confusion, I realize he stopped my bubble from dropping further into the ocean…does this mean I won’t die?

“Are you going to help me?” I say slowly as if that might help him understand me.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your language. I don’t even know what species you are…but it seems like you’re in danger.” His face softens, and he places his slightly webbed fingers against the plastic.

“Can you understand me? If you can, nod,” He tells me softly.

I nod, and he smiles.

“Well, at least one of us can get our point across….” He trails off as if catching sight of my body for the first time.

I’m wearing the thin, near-pornographic costume that all the trafficked human women wear. Its light blue stretchy material is strapped tightly across my neck, belly button, and nipples. All connected to a vertical strap covering my crotch.

“I like your skin’s patterns,” he says, letting his eyes drag down my body. “But I think there’s something wrong with your camouflage, as beautiful as they might be.”

“Those are tattoos. I don’t have camouflage,” I say practically to myself, knowing he doesn’t understand me.

“Do you need help?” He questions me, his eyes full of sincerity.

I nod aggressively.

I don’t have to die today.

Do I trust the bizarrely handsome alien man in front of me? I’m not sure. He seems kind, but my trust disappeared not long after I was abducted. I don’t know if it’ll ever come back.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been dancing at this point, maybe months? Everything tends to blur together. The Deenz, the hive-minded purple alien fucks who captured me from Earth, give us all kinds of shots.

Downers to sleep, then uppers and aphrodisiacs to “work.”  It doesn’t make it easy to keep track of time, and sometimes it’s better to forget any of the memories you make.

“I’ll try my best to help you…” He pauses, “My name is Kitaico. What’s yours?” He asks, pointing to me.

“Leeenuh,” I tell him slowly.

“Leeenuh,” he repeats. He smiles at me, a grin full of sharp teeth slightly more tapered than mine. I scramble backward, taken off guard by his predatory mouth.

I start to second guess myself–that maybe this wasn’t the best idea, but I’m out of options and apparently willing to gamble on a total stranger for help.

A shadow floats below my bubble as we try to figure each other out. I crane my neck down to see what it is, wondering if they’ll be more beings like Kitaico.

It’s not. An immense creature, about the size of a blue whale, approaches us. But there’s nothing gentle looking about the giant rising quickly in the distance.

While its head is whale shaped, that’s where the similarities end.

The creature’s sides pulse with bioluminescence as it cuts quickly through the water. Its tail is some nightmarish combo of a stingray and a scorpion. A barb at its end flashes with blue light. As it spots us, it lets out a terrifying roar and opens its mouth, filled with jagged rows of fangs.

I gasp, turning back to Kitaico; his skin has changed to the deep blues of the waters surrounding him.  He sets his jaw and turns away from me, and for a moment, I fear he will leave me to be devoured by the creature.

As he swims, I realize his two longest head tentacles are still wrapped around my bubble, and he’s dragging me towards the surface.

His powerful legs kick wildly as we climb. I can tell he’s struggling to keep up his pace. Looking down, I see the monster gaining on us. It snaps its mouth, gnashing its fangs.

“Hurry, Kitaico!” I yell in vain, hoping he’ll understand me. He doesn’t respond, but I can see his camouflage shifting wildly between colors. I wonder if the effort of our escape is pushing his body to its limits.

I push myself against the bubble’s far side as the monster’s mouth closes around the bottom. With a violent crunch, it rips away a chunk of my former prison. It thrashes it’s head like a shark attempting to subdue its prey but putting some distance between us once more.

I barely have time to hold my breath before I’m sucked out of the bottom. The water crashing in makes the air rush out like a vacuum. My muscles clench painfully from the blast of water as I tumble into the warm ocean spinning head over foot. I snap my eyes shut. Soon enough, I’ll be nothing but fish food.

Something snakes around my ankle, tugging the skin so hard I can nearly feel my skin rip. Then there’s something around my waist, drawing me up again.

“Leeenuh, hold on!” Kitaico yells as he hoists me into his arms, “We only need to get a bit higher, the scripiat won’t be able to follow much longer. He can’t survive in the shallows!”

He strokes one hand behind my head and tucks my body into his chest.

I don’t have enough air. My lungs burn as I involuntarily cough, and what little breath I have left escapes bubbling upward.

Kitaico slows and his heart is still pounding against my ear.

“The scripiat returns to the depths. We are safe,” he whispers.

I kick my legs weakly, pointing my finger to the surface. I can’t stop myself from gulping in a deep breath of salt water, choking on its mineral taste.

“Leeenuh, we are safe now. Stay calm.”

My vision blurs and I lose control of my head as it slumps into my alien hero—it’s not his fault he doesn’t know I breathe oxygen.

Darkness creeps into the edges of my vision.

I point up one more time before I lose consciousness.

We were so close.

More chapters are available on my Patreon here.

[mrs-gauche]

WOW, so volume 3 of The Missing is out and… what the heck just happened? 😂 I feel like this volume left me with more questions than the previous two volumes combined. There are some VERY intriguing lore bits in this one (and also a lot of.. questionable stuff again, too lol). It messed with my head in every possible way, so I hope I can somehow collect my thoughts by writing them all down under the cut. You know the drill. :D So let’s dive into it.

(Btw, I've already talked about the matter of each volume being drawn by a different artist in my post on volume 2, so I’ll just say that, out of the three art styles we got so far, I probably like this one the least? Maybe it was just me, but I found myself a bit confused at times by the visuals and what was happening? lol Of course, this is all subjective and it's not bad or anything, I just liked the previous ones better, I guess. But hey, it’s nice to see that, apparently this new artist got BioWare’s memo on Varric’s (and Harding’s) new design, too. lol So, no sudden design change again, like we got from volume 1 to 2. Though is it just me or does Harding’s hairstyle keep changing in every volume? lol Makes me wonder what it‘ll end up being if we get to see her again in DA4 (because she‘s obviously going to be a companion 👀.)

- So we start off with a neat one page kinda “roadmap”/”montage” of Varric and Harding traveling to our next destination, Arlathan Forest….. by ship? (*still crossing fingers for a ship main base in DA4 btw*) Ok, I know I said I would stop nitpicking about every little thing in this story that seems to happen out of “plot convenience” after the last volume, but.. I just have so many questions here already. 😂

Ok, so.. how exactly did they even manage to make it out of Vyrantium like that? Are the Antaam who are setting the siege on the city, in addition to not knowing about people getting in and out of the city through the sewage, ALSO not aware of/don’t care about people leaving the city by ship? 😂 I mean, I would assume that the Antaam still have a strong naval power under their belt with all those dreadnoughts and what not, so… were Varric and Harding just incredibly lucky or are the Antaam just really bad at setting a siege? lol

In fact, why even take the risk to travel by ship in the first place? lol Especially considering how in the first chapter of Tevinter Nights, it was said that the Antaam were occupying the shores along the Arlathan Forest, so…. did they just retreat after the events of that chapter or.. again, are Varric and Harding just incredibly lucky to have not come across their camps when they reached the shores? 😂 ANYWAY.

- Nope. Luckily, they don‘t encounter any Antaam OR their dreadnoughts, but they do come across a few shipwrecks that *are* probably the result/aftermath of some sea battles between the Qunari and Tevinter, I assume? OR, my other guess, seeing as there is also this giant sea monster depicted on the map right along Varric and Harding’s route…

....maybe those ships fell victim to one of those lovely creatures. lol (Remember that DA4 codex entry in one of the BioWare Community Updates about motherflippin Sea Dragons??) There certainly seems to be a good chance for a generally far more “oceanic” setting in DA4! 👀👀

Btw, I’ve also seen people being confused about there being icebergs in the northern sea? lol

I mean, we already established snow on the equator (confirmed by Mark Darrah himself lmao), so I don’t see a problem with some ice in the nocen sea. lol

- Anyway, leaving the sea behind us… We then get a gorgeous establishing shot of our next location, prompting me to say.. Welcome to Inception Forest I mean Arlathan Forest!

Things have indeed become very strange in this place, it seems. 

My first question upon seeing this was actually how old some of these twisted structures and the ruins we see throughout this volume might be? Seeing as the general assumption seems to be that this forest was the place where the capital city of Elvhenan Arlathan once stood, and imo it’s as good as confirmed at this point that Arlathan is/was the Golden/Black City in the center of the Fade, I’d say it makes a lot of sense that magic ran wild here after Solas created the Veil and did whatever to take Arlathan to the Fade, along with some very angry trapped gods inside? lol Unless we believe that other story in which, according to Tevinter, Arlathan sank onto the ocean floor after some massive blood ritual, long after the Veil was created. Either way, the Veil/magic/spirits going bonkers in this place could be traced back to a lot of historic events.

What I am kinda missing in this panel though (besides Harding’s hair color, I guess lol) and throughout this whole volume actually, are the golden/autumn leaves we’ve been seeing in all the concept art/illustrations thus far?

Though maybe that’s just a stylistic choice by the artists?

And again, sorry for the nitpick, but plot convenience strikes again as we just so happen to walk into this very helpful group of people. lol

- Irelin and Strife!! <333 Another space to cross out on our speculation bingo card. lol And as expected, judging by their design, they are in fact the people we’ve been seeing in all the concept art/teaser trailer/etc.

- I don't know but something about the art style, the way this panel is drawn, the overall design of those guys and just the name "Veil Jumpers" is giving me huge 80s rock band vibes. 😂 Like, I was looking at this, thinking "So, when's their album coming out?" Because damn, I'll be the first to buy it! 😂

- I'll be honest, that is not at all what I imagined Strife to look like when I was reading Tevinter Nights. lol I'd say he definitely lives up to his name. 😂 He kinda reminds of Sten..? What with the hair and facial features. Also, he wasn't described to have vallaslin in TN? So did he get it after the events in the book? And speaking of similarities.. Doesn't Strife also look a lot like this one guy from the DA4 concept art?

Idk, but given the height and the skin tone, I always assumed that this has to be a hornless qunari? But upon closer inspection, the ears don't really look all that pointy, so... maybe it's just a *really* tall human? 😂 (Or sneaky BioWare once again messed with this image in editing.. I just KNOW that “Shotgun Girl” is Harding and they edited the weapon in the line up concept art to not look like Bianca and her height to resemble that of a human to fool us! I’m ONTO you, BioWare…. 👀)

- So.. the thing about Strife…

While in Tevinter Nights, he was described as a city elf from Starkhaven who eventually joined a Dalish clan, there is an interesting theory floating around that he might actually be an ancient elf. 👀 For one, he appears to be taller than the regular elf, which we know for a fact that at least some of the ancient elves were a lot taller than modern elves (Solas being a special little snowflake again lol).

His facial features are also quite similar to most of the qunari we’ve seen thus far, which could point to the theory of the Kossith being the product of some ancient elven experiments with dragon blood.

There’s also the matter of his name. “Strife” reminds me a lot of how the ancient elves like to take on a defining attribute/purpose in life as their namesake (e.g. Solas/Pride, Abelas/Sorrow, Felassan/Slow Arrow), so “Strife” might’ve literally been his name in ancient times that he now just translated into the common tongue.

- So as it turns out, the Veil Jumpers are simply an “alliance between the best Dalish mages, hunters and other non-elves willing and able to contain the threat of the chaos that reigns over the Arlathan Forest”, which has me wondering how many Dalish clans living here are currently missing a mage, what “containing the chaos” actually means and how they’re able to withstand the effects of some of the strange magic that we see throughout the volume. Also, how do non-elves even get to join them in the first place? Where do they come from?

- I gotta say, Irelin actually *does* look a lot like how I pictured her in the book. lol I like the fur she has going as a little hint at her shapeshifting abilites.

- We're also introduced to two completely new characters called Binde and Tist Tits (I SWEAR, I misspelled it the first time, but since I have the humor of a twelve year old and as a German, the pun is just too good to miss because "Binde" is also literally the German word for "menstrual pad", I'm just not gonna correct myself lmao), who don’t have much of a role or dialogue in this volume, but I still like their design a lot!

- So in conclusion, so far I’m loving the diversity of the Veil Jumpers, seeing as *cough* obviously this is one of the factions you’ll get to choose for your protagonist in DA4, so you won’t be limited to play as an elf *cough* and I’m very excited to learn and see more about them! :D

(- Btw, does anyone know what happened to Myrion? lol I would love to see him again in DA4, having joined Strife and the Veil Jumpers after the events in TN! <3)

- Varric interrupting Harding seems to be a running gag at this point. lol What also seems be a bad running gag by now is half the artists of this comic forgetting about Harding's freckles somehow. 😂 Well, at least they didn't forget about her scar this time around. lol

- Also, Varric and Harding starting off WAY too trusting again, when they don’t even know if these guys could be affiliated with Solas‘ agents or something? lol Also, they don’t even have anything to prove their claims here. Basically, there should be no reason for the Veil Jumpers to trust Varric and Harding either, especially given that they’re after some super powerful ancient artifact….. but we have to further a plot, so we’re friends now, I guess. lmao

- lmao Yeah, because apparently the Inquisition just can’t affort to send out more than these two goofballs to stop the end of the world. And I still admire your optimism here Harding, but again, given that Solas was already several months ahead of you in the last volume, how could you possibly still believe to find it before him or the Venatori at this point? 😂

- Well, I think you guys underestimate our indestructible Mr Varric “Plot Armor” Tethras. This man has survived two whole games, including several DLC, a book and like a dozen different comic series. He’ll manage, I’m sure. lmao

- I'm sorry, but how the hell does this map even WORK?? LMAO Like, how are you supposed to use this for any sense of orientation or direction?? I swear, this is what it looks like if I tell a six year old to draw a treasure map. 😂

- The weird map aside though, I think the concept of these different “trials” could make for some really fun features in DA4, gameplay wise? Like, can you imagine level design with entire upside down sections or messing with time like in the Prince of Persia games for example? I think there’s sooo much potential here for some really cool creative level design ideas!

- Now, this was super trippy! Switching places with spirits like that is definitely a first and I can’t even begin to think about what all this could indicate in terms of established lore?? Like, how does this work? What kind of spirits are those? I’ve got a lot of questions here.

„Then you’ll be trapped down here. Forever.“

- Wow, thanks Strife, would’ve been very nice to have known that *beforehand*. lmao

- I assume these are the poor people who met that very fate then, which is horrifying, to say the least. I don’t even want to guess how many ages some of them must be trapped there, seemingly unable to die? *shiver*

- I… What kind of face is THAT? lmao

- I’m impressed by Harding seeming to adapt to all of this quite well compared to Varric. Maybe she should consider becoming a Veil Jumper some day. lol

- Next up is the “upside down” trial and in relation to this, I’d like to shamelessly use this opportunity once more to refer to this little theory I posted a few weeks ago. :D

- Also, hey look, Leopards! That’s new!

- THIS whole series of events messed with my head so much on my first read.. Like, I had to re-read this part four times and I still don‘t fully understand what happened here, but we’ll get back to this moment by the end (you know what I’m talking about). lol

Though I felt SO bad for making fun of Varric rapidly aging in my last post when I saw him suddenly collapse like that. 😶 Also, was I the only one thinking about what it must’ve been like for the ancient elves to experience something similar when Solas created the Veil and time got distorted, without even knowing what physically aging even meant before that? Like, that must’ve been horrifying as well.

„I think it’s better I don’t even try to understand what just happened…“

You and me both, Varric. lol

- That’s certainly a VERY different kind of Varterral than what we’re used to. lol Though I really like this new design, gives me LOTR Ents vibes! Can’t wait to fight against one of these guys in DA4. *nervous laughter*

- I want to point out that this has to be the very first time in this entire comic so far that someone actually comes up with a plan before jumping into action. lmao Really appreciate you for that, Irelin. <3

- WOAH OK, hold on a second??? There’s so much to this panel that I don’t even know where to start. lol I literally gasped out loud.

Ok first off, the mural on the right. Obviously, this is the same mural that we saw in the 2020 teaser trailer, which indicates that this has to be the same place then, too, right? (Unless Solas is just walking around leaving his signature graffiti all over Thedas. lol Though I do wonder why this one looks way more “crumbled” than what we saw in the teaser?)

The mural on the left though is new and probably the juciest part about this whole volume for elven lore scholars. lol I’ve already seen many people speculate, so I’ll just say that my initial thought on this was also Ghilan’nain and Andruil!

So, there are two figures that appear to be female with some very familiar headpieces, who seem to embrace each other in some way. The shape of the headwear seems to also align with some of the symbols we’ve seen in the latest cinematic, which are widely assumed to represent the Evanuris.

And the upper figure looks a lot like the one seen in the teaser and the concept art, which going by the fandom’s most popular assumption, could very likely be Ghilan’nain.

As far as we know, the only females in the elven pantheon are Mythal, Sylaise, Andruil and Ghilan’nain. And out of those four, Ghilan’nain and Andruil are believed to have been lovers. So, if that’s what we’re seeing in this mural, that would actually be a huge deal, since, well, up until now, we didn’t even know what any of them looked like!!

There also seems to be an ominous third person, cramped up in the lower corner of the mural, which does kinda resemble the red lyrium idol, like the amazing @felassan​ has also pointed out in this post!

And while looking at this, I realized that those garments and headwear are also very reminiscent of some Tevinter designs we’ve seen, particularly the Archon’s outfit?

Which imo could hint at Tevinter once again just adopting a lot of ancient elven concepts into their own culture after they conquered them all these ages ago. Like, it’s surely no coincidence that the mage-ruler of the Imperium looks so much like the most powerful rulers of Elvhenan?

I’ve also seen people saying that the red female appears to be pregnant?? I’m not so sure though, it’s hard to tell from the angle and the way it’s draw. 🤔 But if true, it would definitely raise *a lot* of questions.

Though I can’t believe I haven’t really seen anyone actually point out the most baffling part about all of this!

Which is, why the flippin hell would Solas even choose to draw such imagery in the first place?? lmaoo (Assuming that the right mural was probably made by him, too. Which suggests that he drew this one as well.) Like, is Solas treating these ruins like his personal drafts for his secret tumblr side blog, drawing intimate GhilxAndy fanart?? Solas, you owe us ANSWERS, Sir!

And funny enough, the art style does make it kinda look like these murals are more like giant wallpapers rather than actual frescoes. lol

- ANYWAY, since there’s still a lot more to get to, let’s talk about the “Big Shocking Reveal”.

And I’m not talking about the fact that Solas has apparently taken the Crucious Stone long before they got there.. No, that wasn’t even remotely surprising to me. 😂

No, I’m of course talking about Varric thinking it was Solas who saved him from that Leopard. lmao

THIS made my head spin in so many ways, and it kinda still does lol, so I’ll make an attempt now to make sense of this the best I can.

So, let me get this straight… The way I take it, the supposed “Venatori assassin” ran up to Varric out of seemingly nowhere, shoved him aside, then Varric “aged back”, the Leopard jumped on the assassin instead, turned into a kitten and then the assassin essentially…. disintegrated? lol At least, that’s what it looks like to me...

All right. So if that’s what happened, then I feel like there are several possible scenarios here.

A) That Venatori guy was actually real, but was somehow manipulated by Solas to do this.

B) Solas made a spirit possess the guy or there was never a real person in there to begin with.

C) Solas actually pulled another “Bard” disguise and dressed up like the Venatori assassin himself (although I don’t know exactly what happened to him then when he “vanished” after that kitten attack lmao), which I guess would also retrospectively suggest that the Venatori who had been stalking Varric and Harding since volume 1 was also Solas himself all along……

*sigh*

You know, honestly I had this silly thought in the back of my mind from the very beginning, like I kept laughing to myself, what if this Venatori was actually Solas all along... but I guess I just refused to ever write it down in my previous posts because… I thought it was just.. too ridiculous? 😂

And I don’t particularly mean the disguise part, obviously ever since “the Bard”, anything is possible. lmao

No I mean.. Why.. the heck.. would Solas… stalk Varric and Harding, while setting them up on this loooong friggin goose chase through half of the country and leave all those clues for them to follow his tracks…. only for Varric.. to find this letter.. telling him NOT to interfere??? What was the purpose of all this then?? Like, how does this make sense?? 😂 Someone help me understand… That being said, I just really hope it was either case A or B. 😂 Or Varric is just.. wrong? lol OR I should simply stop questioning the logic of this very simple comic. 😂 As long as the actual game’s writing doesn’t leave me with a headache, I’m good.

Though in hindsight, it IS pretty funny how I even kept saying how crappy the Venatori was at his job. lol Like them leaving the X pattern on that deepstalker in volume 1 was such a strange thing to do? And if it turns out to be case C, then I can already see Solas trying to pull this number on us again in DA4. lmao I guess the game’s slogan will be “Trust no one.” It could be Solas in disguise. 💀

- I love how Solas apparently made his own customized Dread Wolf signet ring for a wax seal AND proceeded to even sign the letter with his name, as if there could be ANYONE else leaving a letter like this addressed to Varric in such a place. lmao This MAN!

- Oh dear, Solas really was like „Please Varric, elven mythology already turned me into their greatest villain in history, I don’t want to be one in yet another smuddy literature popular narrative…“ lmao

- I’m a little confused by this conclusion, seeing as the previous volume mentioned that magic had already “run wild in Arlathan Forest for at least a 1000 years”. So I thought this was nothing that happened just recently because of Solas‘ actions? Though maybe Irelin is talking about something else? Or the state of Arlathan has somehow gotten even stranger since Solas started to prepare something for his big ritual he mentioned in Tevinter Nights?

- It’s also interesting to note that, out of all the factions we’ve come across so far in this comic, the Veil Jumpers are now the only ones who actually got to know Solas‘ name and identity?

- So that’s where we’re leaving off and looking at the blurb for the final volume again, I’m curious to see how all this will now tie back to Minrathous and if the Crucious Stone is even going to play any significant role at all. lol As you might've noticed there were a lot of "why" questions here, which I doubt any of them will be answered in the final volume, so... I guess we're just left to wait for what's in the actual game then. 😂

If anything, the preview of the final cover does seem to complete our speculation bingo card, with how it continues to follow the pattern of the factions in the teaser/concept art/short stories from 2020.

So I assume the final faction, which is the only one still somewhat shrouded in mystery, is going to be have something to do with “The Viper“/Tarquin? 👀 So I’m very excited to find out who it’s gonna be and most of all, to get a look at the big city, Minrathous itself (and who knows, maybe we even get to see Solas in the very last panel or something)! Let’s see how all this ties in to DA4! :D

[practically-an-x-man]

Your ocs first impressions of Iriel? I can imagine being in the presence of an angel (without even knowing it) might give some interesting vibes

Oooh, interesting! Thank you!

Rae: Can definitely sense that something's a little odd, and ends up putting a mental shield over her mind just to be safe, but relaxes once she gets to talking with Iriel a little more and sees how kind and understanding she is. She'd also make way too many angel jokes once she finds out Iriel really is an angel, but it's all in good fun.

Robin: I'd assume Iriel knows ASL, and that would probably be a pleasant surprise to Robin. They'd get along, though, and might bond over music/theatre a bit? I'm sure Iriel's seen some really cool historical theatre shows or operas and Robin would be interested to hear about that.

Madison: Would probably be a little distrusting of her at first - it almost seems like she's being too nice, nobody's really this compassionate to a stranger, right? It might take her a while to realize that Iriel really is that caring towards humanity.

Ophelia: Similar to her answer with Arith, would get along but wouldn't really have any super strong opinions at first. Iriel might notice how much trouble her bad knee is giving her and offer to heal it/at least ease some of the pain and stiffness, and Ophelia would thank her by gifting her some kind of device or invention of her own.

Jasper: Recognizes that Iriel is something... different since her emotions feel a little different from other humans', but can't tell specifically that she's an angel. They'd bond over medical things and wanting to help people, though.

Kestrel: Can sense that something's off, but assumes she's just a powerful magical creature (like a unicorn or dragon) that's giving off a magical aura, and doesn't really pay much mind to it. I feel like they'd bond over their travels around the world, Iriel from living so long and Kestrel from being on missions with the Knights of the Dawn.

Katherine: They're pretty similar people overall, they're both very kind and compassionate towards people, so they'd get along really well and would probably become close friends. I can imagine them going out for coffee every once in a while and catching up - Katherine's human, but understands the gods a little better than most people because of her links to the Egyptian pantheon, so Iriel might be more open in talking about her situation when she needs to get things off her chest. And vice versa, Katherine can talk about what she needs to and knows that Iriel will understand.

Quinn: Similar to Ophelia, Iriel would probably see how much pain Quinn is in from her legs and back and would offer to miracle some of the pain away. Quinn's sense of humor might be a little too sharp for Iriel at first, but then again she spends a lot of time with Arith so she's probably used to it.

Eris: Similar to Madison, wouldn't quite trust how gentle and caring she is at first - but like Eris' first impression of Arith, once they get to talking, they'd enjoy having another immortal to talk about history with. Eris might even try to rope Iriel into a swordfighting session just for fun, since there are so few good swordfighters nowadays.

Nikoletta: Similar with Arith, she struggles to really connect with people immediately, but I feel like being around Iriel and her like... heavenly light? Would help chase away some of the shadows and help Nikoletta feel warm, so she might try to keep being around Iriel just for that. And then once they get to talking, they'll probably connect a little more.