#this got so long 😭

[awakenedsylvari]

What if I said number 14 for all you 14 sylvari? 👀 (or just the ones you want, all miiiiight be a LOT lol)

14. What do they think of the Nightmare Court? Would they ever join it? What would make them do so? / What made them join them? Would they ever leave it? (Sylvari ask game)

Ehehe, you picked a great one!

I'd planned to only give brief answers, oops. It's divided up into sections: Dreamers first, then characters who aren't Dreamers or Courtiers, and finally Courtiers. This is entirely because the Courtier section got much longer than the others! 😅

DREAMERS

Keelie is wary, having treated many wounds caused by the Court in her time. That said, she's generally trusting and prone to giving everyone a chance ('All things have a right to grow'); if a courtier who hadn't done her harm was wounded, she would treat them. She'd never join the Court by choice, but I can see her getting captured and forcibly converted if she's not careful.

Although Culhwch hates courtiers as much as most dreamers, they fought alongside some during the assault on Mordremoth. They've also gone through periods of disillusionment with the Grove/nobility/fighting against the dragons. It's possible that, at the right time, one of their fellow fighters might have been able to convince them. But generally, not going to happen.

Sorcha and Eirlys both have the usual Grove-aligned views on the evil of the Court, but neither of them encounter the Court much in their day-to-day. They're doing Mists stuff.

Hafwen also dislikes the Court. But he has no fighting ability, so if he was ever in the wrong place at the wrong time… sorry, dude.

OTHER

Rhiannon, Ddrysien, and Mal have all lived outside of sylvari society for a long while, for one reason or another. None of them think about the Nightmare Court much day-to-day. That being said:

Rhiannon has a strong sense of justice - perhaps too much, having rejected Ventari's wisdom for being too open to interpretation. Would never join the Court, probably fought courtiers during her time in the Lionguard. Honestly would probably kill any courtiers she did encounter, if she could get away with it.

Morally speaking, Ddrysien is the most likely of the three to align with the Court - she's cynical and unscrupulous. But she's not sadistic, just self-interested, and she would also dislike the hierarchies and commitment required. If she encountered any courtiers, she would be wary of them; if asked to pick between the Grove and the Court, she would pick the Grove.

Mal hates the Court as much as most Dream-associated sylvari, and are physically repelled by most of them - Mal has always been sensitive to sylvari empathy, and it only got worse after they answered Mordremoth's call. They would be very vulnerable to Nightmare conversion because of this and the Soundless methods they've tried to adopt since. Would immediately try to get out of any scenario where courtiers are.

Finally, Aderyn, (ex-)Mordrem with no memories of anything before that, doesn't know what the Nightmare Court is. Probably shot a few over the years, but not for being courtiers, just to keep them away in general.

COURTIERS

(Worth noting up top, I don't see Nightmare 'corruption' as inherently irreversible. I know that's not technically canon, but it's more interesting to me that way!)

Derval and Llinos, I've not decided how they joined the Court. I can't see either of them leaving, either, but that's just off the top of my head.

Daithi started out participating in Grove-aligned duels, hunts, and tournaments. Reasonably skilled and good at performing to a crowd, they found themselves being invited to more ruthless, higher-stakes revelries, which they found even more exhilarating. I haven't decided how it's revealed to them that they're attending Court events; it's probably dramatic and they leave for a while, but eventually crawl back. Maybe this happens several times, I don't know! I'll have to think about this some more. These days, they're unrepentant. If they left, it would only be to participate in a wider world of morally dubious recreational fighting. Even most of those frown on the killing/torturing of opponents who lose, so... The Court it is!

Idris and Esyllt could be their own post. They both woke on the same day, some months after the Secondborn (if Thirdborn was a thing, they would be it) and became close friends. I imagine the Nightmare Court was still growing at this point, somewhat unorganised and not seen as an outright threat.

Idris dreamt of dying, and woke obsessed with death and the avoidance of it. He found the Grove limited and limiting, and was slowly lured away by the promise of more freedom in his studies. He became one of the Court's executioners, using the close encounters with death to further his knowledge. These days, he isn't ideologically invested in the Court as an institution, though he finds some satisfaction in his role within it. However, he has no particular desire to go anywhere else either, especially given that the parts of the world with morals wouldn't exactly welcome him back. I've toyed with him taking up residence in the Heart of Maguuma to research ley magic/dragon magic, away from court politics, but I haven't decided if this is a HoT-era thing or a more permanent thing.

Esyllt was captured by the Court a year or two later while working as a healer for the Wardens. Idris refused to execute her, and she was placed into a Nightmare conversion pod. She came out a twisted reflection of the person she had been before. She discarded her medicines for poisons, and enjoys luring people in only to toy with them until they break. She intellectually knows that what Idris did to save her was awful. Nonetheless, the person that the conversion pod made her delights in Nightmare. (Naturally, she and Idris have a complicated relationship now!) Of all my courtiers, she's the least likely to leave, and this is the real reason that Idris would never leave either.

[daeyumi]

I am what you made me 🩸

[bellstrom]

WHEN & WHERE... Golden Hour Beach Bar (evening) @alex-caldwell

Perhaps it was due to peer pressure, but Golf had made it a point to overcome his trauma with the beach bar. He's avoided coming here ever since he dropped the ball with his bandmates. It made him sick to even think about being near it, but he's been making small strides to remove himself from the suffocation he feels daily. At that point, he was already exhausted from forcing himself into the life he didn't want. Golf knew he had to start with the beach bar. While it was easier said than done, he knew he had to try something. If he stayed in that kitchen any longer, he would go insane. And so, he started off slowly. The first time was a get-together with some old friends from high school— a mandatory rendezvous before one of them was off to leave the country and get married. That time was good. He was more so focused on the reunion than recalling all the ways he screwed up everyone's future— also, he wasn't on the same floor as they were before, which made things easier.

The second time, however, had different sentiments. Golf couldn't believe he caved into his aunt's constant pestering. While he was used to being told what to do and how to do it, he didn't anticipate just how stubborn his aunt was. It took two weeks of persuasion for Golf to finally agree to be set up on a blind date. Despite hating how invested his aunts were in his love life, he had to admit... she was good. Trying to convince someone as stubborn as him couldn't have been easy, so he must commend her efforts. Being told they'd meet at Golden Hour was just the cherry on top.

He knows he's supposed to look for his date, but the aura of that rooftop section was gnawing at him. The stage had a weird energy— pulsating like it was about to explode. He remembers being there clearly; the memory of playing on it made his stomach churn. Heaving a deep breath, Golf looks around, spotting someone from across the floor doing the same thing. He can't help but freeze, turning to the bar immediately. He grabs a seat by the closest person to him, clearing his throat. "This isn't taken, is it? Sorry, I'm just— I'm not hiding; I just need a second," he gets out, trying to get himself together.

[sangthael]

gross little freak

[lotus-pear]

bsd rewatch w my friend means obligatory art of my fav found family ever

[equill]

Another Otsutsuki?!

we’re messing up the timeline for this one. (I lost this crack idea but then it came back… the abyss stare back and I jumped in.)

anyways, now some kids meeting the new kid

Panel 1: There’s something wrong here.

Comic 1: Attention.

they’re both in the same boat

Comic 2: Day Off (with confusion.)

he just a little insecure,, (kakashi still told him to get it together)

back to the future now

Comic 3: What. (huh?)

Panel 2: very tiny.

[ceilingfan25]

they can't take a proper before and after photo with their secret identities so sad 😔

[foolsocracy]

[willeminaaa]

Hey, Chuckles.

[kankuroplease]

Ko-fi poll winner: Deidara 👅

Thanks for voting!

[gunsatthaphan]

13/10/1998 - happy birthday to actor, legend, bestie, crush and personal heart killer khaotung thanawat 🫶🏻✨💓🫳🏻🐈🧎🏼‍♀️😌💝

[syn0vial]

my gun-loving, car guy, "i'm the straightest man i know" brother who just finished baldur's gate 3 talking about astarion:

[bunnieswithknives]

Them...... drew them in the redesign outfits I did

[lotus-pear]

rewatched bsd w my friend seeing it for the first time and the nostalgia of seeing these two together again hit me like a bus

[storyshift-sk]

PART 1/2 - Storytime!

Once Upon A Time… Things were great! Until they weren’t. dun, dun, dun

Every great fictional world starts with a history lesson!

[mintypsii]

doodle dump :3

some of these r comic wips that i prob won't get to (the last one is post w7 where an anxious usopp places traps around the sunny and sanji gets caught in one bfhdkjs)