#v. oathbreaker.

[oathfcrged]

@wyrdbones plotted starter.

he wasn't far from baldurs gate but far enough to create some distance between himself and the city. he'd informed the regulars at his shop that he'd be back in a few days - word would spread in time, it always did. there were few blacksmiths around and even fewer as good as he was. with the dagger he intended to deliver tucked away at his side hidden from view, aksel had wasted little time. the space was good, some looked at him differently, with judgement, now that they knew what he'd done.

he was used to seeing familiar faces, but she hadn't been one he'd expected to see. for a moment he wondered if he was mistaking her for another, but aksel was almost certain - willingly to look a fool if he were wrong. " ely? is that you? if it's not then i will look an idiot. " though that wouldn't be unusual.

[thats-a-lot-of-cortisol]

"Tell me - why did you break your oath?"

"I had no choice. To follow it was to act against my conscience."

[swordmaid]

love this dialogue sm and it plays well w my hc of shri’iia getting so delirious and bewildered after she broke her oath like . it feels like her chest has been ripped open and a part of her soul has been taken away from her..! and how unsettling it must’ve been to suddenly feel so hollow and incomplete, and you’re so very aware that something is missing and you’re also so very aware of your own shortcomings. and I think overtime she learns to live with that hollowness, and she gets used to it - gets used to that feeling, and maybe as centuries pass she’ll even forget what that devotion felt like - that particular feeling of fulfilment, but right now she is getting used to living with that loss, and learning how to move forward despite it. and as much as I am very tempted at the idea that she becomes a cleric of eilistraee in the future I kinda like her just having that part of herself being incomplete, but she’s thriving regardless.

[shadeofazmeinya]

hear me out, dnd classes for leverage (at least some of them):

Parker: Rogue

Hardison: Artificer

Eliot: Monk (maybe Paladin? with the right backstory/oath)

Sophie: Bard

Breanna: Wizard

Harry (and hear me out): Warlock turned Sorcerer after managing to break magic free from some Big Bad patron

[serandipity]

@elegit liked for a starter.

It wasn't uncommon to find people passed out on the side of the road. Hyrule was still a dangerous place even if the Demon King had been sealed away. Usually they couldn't be saved as they had been totally mauled, but this person.

Well, the person seemed totally fine? But a Gerudo so far out in the wilds was still rare, even after opening up diplomatic relations.

And... the clothes... were unlike anything Sheik had ever seen.

"Hey, wake up! Are you alright?!" Sheik shook the stranger softly. This definitely was no place for a nap!

[carnivoraformes]

//Amadeus' bio, tags and verses below the cut. Because Ari is a terrible influence/is the best.

Quick Stats.

Name(?): Amadeus. Real Name: [Redacted] Gender: Male Age: 4000 years+ Element: Dendro Weapon: Polearm Homeland: Liyue Current Residence: Fontaine (but travels frequently) Occupation: Yaksha (former/oathbreaker) Tailor/Co-shop Owner/Shop Manager. Fears: Rex Lapis/Morax and Xiao Hates: Childe without even meeting him Tidbit: He is a pacifist. He regularly travels to Inazuma, Sumeru and Mondstadt to trade fabrics and delivering commissions personally.

Background.

One adepti he served Morax for much of the Archon War, serving after the conclusion of the war as a Yaksha and defeating the monsters created from the dead gods from the war. He fought tirelessly, karmic debt waring on him like his brothers and sisters in arms. He fully expected to lose himself to the madness eventually or be killed in battle and had accepted his fate until one day he came across a destroyed village.

He searched for survivors, and only found a young infant. He had intended to take the boy the nearest village only to find another destroyed village. Continued on he passed just more and more destruction, more lives destroyed and more people struggling to get by. Eventually he came to a harrowing realization 'no matter how many demons the yaksha kill it is all pointless' the contracts they made with Morax were nothing more than a bad contract, they would all die and it would be for nothing.

Still while his desire to honor a pointless contract waned he kept the infant with him, raising this boy as if he were his own son until one day after returning from a particularly hard won battle his mind so ravaged by karmic debt in the small hut he had been staying at that his mind created a horrifying monster, acting upon impulse he attacked it but just as he was about to kill the monster he heard his adopted son scream and as if by magic the hallucination broke and he realized he was about to slay his own son.

Horrified he slammed his spear into the ground and grabbed his son before fleeing Liyue abandoning his weapon and fleeing for Sumeru, they stayed there for a year before he ultimately decided to flee further to Fontaine with his now pre teen son and over the course of the next few years he started a tailoring business and ran it with his son until the boy he raised grew into a man and started a family, his daughter in law taking over her husband's role as co-owner with him for the rest of her life before she passed down the position of co-ownership to her children then her children passed them on to their children. Half of the owners changing over the years but never leaving the family all the way up to present day.

Canon. v; may the traitor flee farther than the archon's grasp (main verse) //

Amadeus remains the pacifistic shop coworker working closely with twin daughters that descended from his adopted son. With the prophecy seeming to creep ever closer he had more than once tried to convince any of the family to pack their things and leave but most of them refused to simply pick everything up and leave.

By the time just before Childe's trial he had honestly given up on even trying to convince them and just continued on as if there wasn't an ever looming threat that promised to destroy everything until one day one of the twins disappeared one day without a trace.

Grief stricken he spent weeks looking for her before eventually giving up while he tried to help the family grieve and process the loss of a loved one they would never see again. Sometime after that the family had been informed that it was suspected that she was another victim of the mass disappearances.

Incensed he left Fontaine and travelled towards Liyue and went to where he had nearly killed the infant he had raised and was shocked to find his spear where he had shoved it in the ground and left abandoned, after much fighting with it he pulled it from and returned to Fontaine.

When questioned by the family he explained the spear was just an old relic he had gone back to get, never telling them the explicit reason why was to slay whoever the serial kidnapper might be and all of his accomplices and subordinates.

Eventually at the time of the trial against Childe he began to hear talk of a Fatui Harbinger, whom he found out was also the Harbinger the one that almost flooded Liyue but while that made him angry nothing made him angrier than learning that the killer of all those girls simply died in front of the courthouse without receiving the justice he deserved.

HSR verse. v; my time has come and gone and all i want is peace (hsr verse) //

more details pending.

[blackcr0wking]

i don't play magic as often as i should but man do i build decks like a damn maniac

[darkenedurge]

𝐓𝐨 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.

.

CONTENT : Fem/Tiefling Tav | P in V Sex | Oral (M & F Receiving) | Age Difference | Anxious Zevlor (poor, poor oathbreaker) | Tiefling Party ! (yay!) | Making Love | Confessions/“I love you”s | Creampie ✌🏻

.

"My dear, surely you don't want to waste this party speaking with an old paladin?"

The younger tiefling's tail swayed behind her, like a coy kitten – a swish, swish, of subtle annoyance. Her brows furrow, and Zevlor almost wants to laugh at her blatantly obvious distaste toward his words.

Until, he doesn't. Because her next words, barrel into his chest like a freight train.

"There are things we can do besides speak, then." And she's serious. Completely, intently.

He can't catch his breath, splutters and stumbles – his wine, fortunate to still swill within its chalice confines. With a cough, and an uneasy chuckle, he offers a light, but dishonest shake of his head.

"You don't like me?" She asks, disheartened – and, painfully so. Her eyes have softened, expression twisting with regret. Zevlor panics.

Panics a little too much. An admittance falling all too hastily from his mouth, "I do! I really do. Since the very moment you set foot through that gate.."

Light, within her eyes once more. Still, she remains wordless, awaiting further explanation. Such, she deserves, he supposes.

"It's just.." A pause, "It's been a while."

Her hands unexpectedly find his, being careful not to tip his drink for a second time, "I don't mind. I want you, Zevlor."

As if there weren't enough heat, torturously lingering between them already..

Her words, the very smallest grace of her touch, sends blood rushing below. To where it shouldn't be, arguably, but it's there all the same. And it's dizzying. Zevlor opens his mouth to once again force her away, lips parting. Yet, what leaves is a quiet, "Then, please."

With a tug, she's dragging him out, away from the vicinity of camp – whipping past watchful, knowing eyes. For a brief, brief moment, Zevlor wishes to disappear. That's until he's tumbling backward onto a bedroll, grass licking at his ears, as her mouth finds his.

And, by the Gods does she taste incredible. Sweet, like ambrosia. Like every piece of Elturel, of what he'd lost, returning to him in one, fell swoop.

His hands settle on her waist, thumbs tracing circles against her clothed skin. Her hand, on a horn – tracing the ridges with an adventurous fingertip. The other, is already palming him – earning an unrestrained, whimpering sound.

He's never been wanted like this.

"Patience," He murmurs, as she breaks for air, "I want to savour every bit of this.. if you'll let me."

She considers, before giving a small, affirming nod – "How do you want me? This is your night."

With a shred of mustered confidence, he succeeds in rolling her onto her back – beneath him, as he had been for her. Hunger, need, dances within her irises.

"No, my love, it is not.. you're our hero, after all. And, I'd like to taste you." His fingers hook beneath the waistband of her camp garments, slipping them down with ease. She doesn't wear underwear to bed, it seems.

Or perhaps, this was an exception for him. That thought, only made him all the more hard – near painfully so. He neglects his own needs for now, parting her legs with gentle encouragement.

Zevlor dips his head, being mindful of his horns, nose burying in her cunt with no sense nor need of patience – his tongue, quick to gain a taste of her. The sweetness of her forces a guttural growl rumbling from the back of his throat, and her hips arch – one hand back, upon a horn. The other, nestling in his hair.

He's slow, to begin with, tongue swirling her clit with expert technique, and with patience. His resolve is strong, until his name whines past her lips – hips rolling. Then, and only then, does he further his pace, the pressure of his tongue increasing tenfold. His name, again, again, again.

"Zevlor," She moans, cries, "Zevlor, I can't–"

“You can, my heart,” He lifts his head, only for a split-second, “Cum for me, be good.”

A few, additional, incoherent murmurs pour from her mouth – until a flurry of gasps, and pitched moans interject, her orgasm riding mercilessly through every nerve and limb. Zevlor steadies her shaking thighs with a tight, yet not harsh, grip – lapping up her juices, supping one, last taste.

Zevlor grant her a moment – peppering kisses up, down her thighs as her breathing steadies to a regular pace once more, despite the occasional hitch as his teeth graze her skin.

“You did so well,” He praises, following her unspoken lead, as she guides him against a nearby tree – sinking to her knees, “You.. you don’t have to do this, my girl.”

She doesn’t reply, but rather ignores him, the cold night air of spring breathing against his cock as it’s pried free – sending a shudder, coursing through him. Her thumb runs over the ridges, that line the length of his shaft, and he almost buckles – clawed fingers grasping at tree bark to re-steady himself. The notion earns a small, adorable breath of a laugh from her, before the entirety of him disappears within the cavern of her mouth. Her tongue teases the tip, cheeks squeezing the length of him. He could’ve cum at the snap of her fingers, at the first, instantaneous press of her tongue against his cock. But he holds back.

Her efforts are swift, clear that her favour was merely in order to prepare him for her. Prepare herself, to take him. She releases him with an audible ‘pop!’, and gazes up at Zevlor – doe-eyed, pupils blown wide with blaring desire. “How do you want me?” An echo, of a question she’d prior asked, before he was gifted the taste of her. The divine taste of her.

Zevlor’s head is reeling, and there’s an unintentional silence as he considers his options. The colour in his cheeks darkens, “Would it be.. old-fashioned of me, to ask for missionary?” A following silence, accompanied by her smile, “I just.. I want to see your face, my girl. My pretty girl.” His hand, caresses her hair upon the words that leave him, and her eyes briefly flutter.

“No,” She replies, catching his wrist, and pressing a kiss to the inner-side – “I think that’s lovely, Zevlor.”

Her words are cemented, as she’s on her back once more – her shirt rid from her body, rolled and placed beneath the small of her back as a makeshift pillow, leaving her bare before him. His breath catches in his throat, admiration ghosting across his expression. Lowering, their hands conjoin in aiding Zevlor out of his armour – his gaze cast aside, shy.

“You’re incredible,” She breathes, hands now tracing the expanse of his stomach, bumping over the ridges that adorn his skin – mirroring those on his cock. His eyes squeeze shut, still shy, but he smiles.

“Are you ready, my heart?” He then asks, clinging to the courage that allows him to look in her eyes, allows him to cup her cheek – thumb running over visible freckles that littered her skin. She nods, tail winding around his leg. Zevlor swallows, thickly, his tail mimicking her own – spreading her legs as it wound.

“I hope your tail speaks truth,” He utters, as he lines himself with her slick, pleading entrance, “I wish for nothing more than to be your mate. Beyond this moment.”

“It does,” The words are spoken in a sharp gasp, as he sheathes himself inside, her walls fluttering graciously around his cock – “I’m yours, for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Forever,” He pants, hips pistoning at a far quicker, and harder, pace than he’d anticipated, forehead coming to rest against hers – horns gently bumping, “Forever, my heart.”

Her moans slip into tandem with his thrusts, and she clings to him in any way she possibly can – cunt, impossibly tight around his cock, nails pressed into his skin, tail still wound around him. The sounds of their sex is embarrassingly loud, unrestricted. Zevlor’s name rolls off of her tongue like a prayer, and he can’t see himself lasting much longer.

To which, he announces, voice cracking, breaking, “I won’t.. I’m not going to last..”

“Then, don’t,” Is quipped in reply, in speedy succession, a kiss pressed to his lips – “Cum for me. Cum inside me.”

Zevlor’s eyes widen, the knot that coiled within his abdomen beginning to snap, “You’re sure?” – the question is strangled from his throat, hips still driving relentlessly into her.

“Yes,” She whines, “Yes, yes, yes, just– please.”

And who is he, if not a man, living to please his partner? Zevlor allows himself to tip, or rather crash, over the precipice – filling, spilling his seed into her with a shuddering cry of release.

They remain, for a minute or three, within one another’s embrace – kisses planted upon Zevlor’s shoulder, before her lips are stolen by his, tongues dancing in perfect unison.

“I love you,” Zevlor rasps, before interrupting himself with yet another, sloppy kiss, “I love you so much, my darling.”

“I love you too, Zevlor.”

[babybells123]

There is something so beautifully anvilicious about these quotes;

" I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet, to see him once again. But of course that could never be. Alayne Stone had no brothers, baseborn or otherwise." (AFFC, Alayne II)

"The dream was sweet . . . but Winterfell would never be his to show. It belonged to his brother, the King in the North. He was a Snow, not a Stark. Bastard, oathbreaker, and turncloak . . ." (ASOS, Jon V)

Both Jon and Sansa are yearning for Winterfell and the feelings/memories/family associated -but both are intrinsically restricting themselves based off of their bastard status. The notion of Sansa being the only Stark (and character) to transition from a high-born noble lady to a baseborn bastard cannot be overlooked. (And then of course, the notion of Jon being the only Stark (and character) to transition from baseborn bastard to lord commander, cannot be overlooked.) Jon has risen to the top whilst Sansa has lowered to the bottom.

She (GRRM) makes the comparison to Jon herself, meaning that GRRM makes the comparison himself. this isn't something interpreted by fans - it is right there, explicitly within the text.

Sansa's desire to reunite with Jon is "sweet," it'd be almost like a dream come true. Jon's "dream was sweet" as well. But "Winterfell could never be his" and seeing her brother once again "of course, could never be" (possible).

And then later on in the text, Jon is offered the chance to become Jon Stark, and have Winterfell in name. Thus his decidedly unsubtle desire (that he dismisses as an entirely impossible dream) is fulfilled by Stannis' offer, even though he eventually rejects it in truth "Winterfell belongs to my sister Sansa."

There is also the quote that precedes Jon's "sweet dream," where he fantasises about a beautiful little romance with Ygritte; showing her a flower from the glass gardens, feasting her in the great hall, bathing in the hot pools, and loving beneath the heart tree. This dream is directly connected to Winterfell and is obviously sexually + romantically charged.

So whilst Jon's desire is partially fulfilled (even if he doesn't accept it) can we possibly assume that Sansa's simultaneously unsubtle "that could never be" may also be fulfilled? Since GRRM seems to really be beating us over the head with how 'that could never happen' from Sansa's internal monologue "no one will ever marry me for love" is reiterated multiple times (just you wait sweet one!) and Sansa desiring to reunite with her brother who she has modelled her bastardry after, who is supposedly the only brother left to her, is immediately dismissed by Sansa because she's accepted the fact that she'll never be with her family again, (and that she shall never encounter true love).

The connections only keep connecting!

So to summarise:

Jon & Sansa both have "sweet" dreams/desires that connect to Winterfell/family.

Jon's dream is sexually/romantically charged, involves a red-headed girl, and establishes Jon's suppressed desires as actually romantic.

Both Jon and Sansa are bastards in these contexts.

Both Jon and Sansa woefully dismiss these dreams/desires as impossible as "that could never be" and "it could never be his to show."

Jon's desire however is later offered on a silver platter by Stannis Baratheon, to which he mulls over and states that he "has always wanted it" (to be his). Though he later refuses Stannis' offer on the basis that "Winterfell belongs to Sansa" - twice over he says this.

Jon 'giving' Winterfell to Sansa is in direct contrast to Robb (Sansa's image of an honourably idealistic older brother) flat out rejecting Sansa's claim on the basis of her marriage to Tyrion.

Jon thus establishes himself as the only character who respects and protects Sansa's claim. Who does not abuse or exploit it. (Even though he was given the opportunity for it and it's been his innermost desire since childhood.)

In a way, this further conveys Jon as Sansa's unspoken, subconscious hero who is protecting her interests and instilling all those heroic ideals (such as the Janos Slynt situation) - though she does not realise it and has accepted that "there are no heroes" at all. But Jon is the true hero, hiding in plain sight.

So, whilst Sansa believes there are no heroes, Jon fulfils those ideals. Whilst Sansa believes no one will marry her for love, Jon exists as the embodiment of all the chivalric, romantic ideals that she's so desperately wanted.

Can we now assume that Sansa believing that she will essentially never see Jon again as entirely anvilicious as she will in fact see Jon again?

GEORGE I'M IN YOUR WALLS.

[esther-dot]

While I agree with Ary@ killing Dany, what I don't understand why Jon will take her blame and get punished while she will end up her own adventure? Why would narrative punished Jon for Ary@ actions? Why would even killing Dany be considered as crime? While I know show ending is similar to books but Jon taking Ary@ blame and punished is not narratively good. Its worse than show. Also it will plot armour for Ary@.

I'm not convinced Arya kills Dany, but if she does, I agree with you. Jon taking the blame wouldn't work for me. Others have speculated that Arya tries to poison Dany, and my supposition is that she does, Dany doesn't die, Jon goes on to kill her. That way, it wouldn't be Jon taking the blame for Arya a la Lady being killed in the place of her losing a hand or Nymeria being killed, but it is reminiscent of the Trident incident in a way, with Arya striking the first blow in a fight to protect someone, and someone else jumping in to protect her.

I expect there will be a lot of connections to AGOT in the endgame so a reference, rather than a full redux works for me. Bran is endgame king, and the first chapter of AGOT is Ned teaching him about justice. We have the kingslayer attempting to kill him in AGOT which is another clue. I believe Martin when he says he knew the endgame way back when, so I’m guessing, many answers are there from the beginning. I recently wrote this about how Jon killing Dany fits in with AGOT Ned:

I think Jon is more likely to be the one to successfully kill her, and in a way that calls to mind Ned's opinion on it, See her tears, hear her last words. That would allow Martin to make sure we see it as just/moral, bring home the Targ v Targ issue, and it shades Ned's decisions and values in a very interesting way. After s8 fans said Ned was wrong to fight against killing Dany in s1, but Martin thinks he was right to object to killing children, so for the two Targ children he was protecting in AGOT (Dany and Jon) to come face to face and one kill the other prevents the conclusion that Ned was wrong. It was the same mercy, the same refusal to see the child of an enemy as an enemy, that saved the boy who will in turn save Westeros. IMO, it's a way to uphold the belief in mercy. I tend to think it’s also Martin’s way of addressing one his questions about his beloved LOTR (what about orc babies etc). (link)

I haven't developed more thoughts on that, but that's where I am at the moment. I talked about some possible foreshadowing with "the dead man's revenge" as well.

Another reason why I object to Arya being the killer is that she is currently operating outside of Ned’s teachings about justice, so I don’t think her killing Dany fits within that initial, crucial theme. It being hard to do the act is an essential part of the struggle with mercy/justice. Someone like Jon on the other hand would provide an opportunity for Martin to wrap up his convo in a thoughtful, albeit complex, way.

Why would even killing Dany be considered as crime?

This is another reason to suspect it will be Jon. Dany will have invaded and burned KL and made a nuisance of herself, I can't imagine how the public would view killing her as a bad thing unless it were someone killing her in socially condemned context ie kinslaying, oathbreaking etc.

I mentioned the other day, Jaime has a horrible rep, but then we find out what Aerys was planning which is a layer of complexity for his characterization, and we also find out that he was ordered to kill his dad so then that's another wrinkle. He goes from without honor, to something admirable, to a blend of several motivations, to something human. I expect Dany's death to involve as many layers. It makes the sense to me that her death involves oathbreaking/betrayal, that doing the right thing marks the killer as a man without honor by some, and that he has a personal motivation as well. The only way to have any layers with the killing of Dany (when it will be so clearly right/necessary after she burns KL) is if it's Jon. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Of course, in all fairness, if people really don’t give a fuck when Dany is taken out (and we know Bran will be king so whatever happens, the Starks end up on power and with a good rep), it’s possible Arya kills her with no repercussions, maybe because, no one knows she did it. If that happens, it could be that Arya’s actions allow Jon to get the family and home he’s always wanted which is certainly, a much happier, more desirable ending for many of us. No plot armor, just a nice little culmination of her training.

But I need to reiterate, it seems increasingly unlikely we will ever get ADOS (shush, we are getting TWOW!), none of us will ever be proven right or wrong, so we don’t need to stress about different thoughts on the endgame. We each kinda get to choose our own ending (within reason!) 😅

[agentrouka-blog]

Like, say what you want about Criston Cole, but to me, he was a dog for longer than he was a knight. Rhaenyra treated Criston like Ygritte treated Jon, and Jon said, in his POV, that he felt more like a dog than a wolf. Well, I think Criston felt the same, and given Alicent saved his life, I think he decided that he was going to be the best dog he could be. And he was! He wasn't just a good boy - the Stranger will tell him he was the best.

You are playing my "knights as dogs" metaphor feelings like a fiddle.

There are so many layers of mirroring between Criston Cole, Jaime Lannister, the Clegane brothers, Harwin Strong, Jon Snow, Brienne. Dogs and knights and broken idealism, defiled innocence, soiled cloaks of all colors. Kingslayers. Kingmakers. Oathbreakers. Killers. Enthusiastic lackeys. Bitter cynics. Gravediggers. Dogs.

Only those who belong to themselves can be true knights.

"Who does he belong to?" asked Podrick. "Why, to himself, and to the Seven. As to his name, he has not told me what it is. I call him Dog." "Oh." Podrick did not know what to make of a dog named Dog, plainly. The boy chewed on that a while, then said, "I used to have a dog when I was little. I called him Hero." "Was he?" "Was he what?" "A hero." "No. He was a good dog, though. He died." (AFFC, Brienne V)

He was a good dog, though. He died.

[hypnostouched]

i forever have dnd brainrot so,,, aftg dnd vibes

Neil is, of course, a rogue. lock picking, quick, lying sneaky lil bastard. In particular I would make him a Mastermind rogue as it comes with disguise profienecy , boosts so lying and vibes of a manipulator. I'd also build him into a wood elf - for the mechanical speed and hide buffs; but id flavour him as a half elf. The Hatford family would be elven and Mary is the one who trained Neil to hide and run. Other than some small things, he would look almost identical to his human father.

Now the Ravens in dnd, to me, are a Paladin order that is a lot more of a defined cult. They'd be a mix of Oath of Glory Paladins (one of their channel divinities is literally called Peerless Athlete) and Oath of Conquest Paladins (Kevin was Glory, Riko is Conquest) Paladins are physical builds with good Charisma and you can think whatever you like about the Ravens, they are charismatic (also to note, intimidation is a charisma skill in dnd)

now Oathbreaker has a very specific vibe but what I will focus on is the feeling of emptiness and darkness that come with it. Kevin is an oathbreaker when he leaves the Ravens, but he won't remain as one indefinitely. He would retake his Oath of Glory when it could mean something different to him (which would align with canon Kevin gtting his new tattoo). For him, being an Oathbreaker is connected to his fear and depression rather than any form of evil (High CHA Kevin is so funny to me bc its canon and i love a CHA build who generally doesnt seem charismatic until they turn it on) Kevin is a high elf seemingly in every way. He took after his mother almost entirely.

As said, Riko is a Conquest Paladin - I would also consider giving him a few levels in Shadow Sorcerer; as something he just is inherently rather than something he's trained to be like Paladin. Riko is also a half elf; most of the Moriyama family are High Elves but his mother was human. Riko can't claim that his family doesnt like him because of this, because Ichirou is also a half elf.

Returning to the foxes--

Andrew is a fighter. Human fighter, a v basic build lmao. he is a champion fighter; he's just a fucking threat.

Nicky is absolutely a bard (glamour). I would love to pitch Nicky as a Satyr because of their interest in freedom, revelry and enjoyment.

(can i just say its so hard to do dnd thoughts when so many characters are related and youre autistic so you have to factor all of that in)

Renee is a Barbarian/Cleric multiclass in the way that she used to be a barbarian and now mostly ignores those abilities to focus on her cleric shit. Light domain cleric. Also she is an air genasi and the colours in her hair are natural and look like the colours of sunset or sunrise on clouds

Dan is also a human fighter but she's a banneret fighter; which has a focus on inspiring allies. Still a threat, just also an inspirational one.

Aaron is a ranger; gloomstalker as he lurks around a lot. Mechanically he wouldn't be as high a level as Andrew. Neil is his favoured enemy.

Matt is a sun soul monk, taught to him by his mother. Bright and also quite scary when he's trying to kill you.

Allison is a bard/fighter multiclass. Similar to Renee, her Bard levels come from before her life with the foxes but she doesn't ignore them like Renee does. Eloquence Bard, champion fighter

[utilitycaster]

not to turn this into an ask game, but I'm also curious about your sexiest/least sexy paladin subclasses (admittedly I know next to nothing outside what we've seen on cr/exu)

Oath of Devotion (the purest expression of paladin vibes) (CR examples: Kerrek; initial build for Kima but later moved to Vengeance)

Oath of Redemption (it's about patience in the face of everything but it's also about having stupid high bonuses to charisma checks and Rebuking The Violent) (CR example: Zerxus)

Oath of the Watchers and Oath of the Ancients are tied (personally I slightly prefer Watchers but that's because *Chetney werewolf voice* you guys ever do it on the different planes, but both are impeccable, it's really just planar vigilance vs. being a source of nature and light) (no CR examples but I believe you would know ancients from Beverly Toegold V)

Oath of Vengeance (bit edgy for my taste and I do not personally have a wing kink but like, it is pretty cool, ngl) (CR example: Vax, NADDPod example: Beverly for a bit)

Oathbreaker (frustrating that the DMG automatically goes to 'evil paladin obviously broke their oaths and now is super into zombies' when Teven Klask is out here kissing hands and does not seem to be weird about the undead. but also...I could fix them.) (CR example: Arkhan, which, again, seems weird, seems like he's actually keeping all oaths to Tiamat)

Oath of the Crown (ngl I am not searching through my files for my Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide digital copy of questionable legality right now, but iirc it was a decent support-heavy build; I don't particularly care for the monarchy but it did make you super good at healing and that's sexy)

Oath of Glory (I fucking hate this subclass but it would probably be a good lay it must be said)

Oath of Conquest (Douse the Flame of Hope douses a whole lot of other things...mechanics actually go hard but the flavor is really a turn off, like, politically)

oath of the open sea (CR example: Fjord) is not published by the WoTC and so is not officially ranked here but unofficially it's #3.

[swordmaid]

i like this dialogue it's really shri'iia's obnoxious confidence over her own skill & will and astarion going like ? be fucking for real

[mummersblade]

Jon’s heart in ADWD

Now we all know the iconic “What do you know of my heart, priestess? What do you know of my sister?” line but looking through all of Jon’s chapter in ADWD (and in earlier books) it is interesting to compare all of his references to his heart and how it encapsulates one of the greatest struggles in the series, which is “love is the death of duty." It also helps us understand why this is the book where he finally chooses love.

Jon refers to his heart for just two people/entities throughout ADWD: Arya and the men of the Night’s Watch. We’ll start with the latter. 

Every name was graven on his heart. Eight good men, he thought, and one…well we shall see. (Jon VI, ADWD)

Every name was graven on his heart. They were his men, his brothers. (Jon VII, ADWD)

In both instances the men are “graven” onto his heart. The repeated phrasing drives home that his brothers in the Night’s Watch do not make up his heart; they are rather an impression on it. It is surface level, his exterior devotion that hides the inner workings of his heart.  

Jon's obedience to his vows for the Night’s Watch has been a burden for him and his character arc, starting from the very first book when he nearly deserts, again when he falls in love with Ygritte, and once more when he picks the Watch over being legitimized so he can rule Winterfell, marry a princess, and have trueborn children with her. The build-up of all these tests to his vows culminates in ADWD, when he finally and explicitly breaks them, a decision that leads to his death. Before making this ultimate decision, however, he tries to remind himself of his obligations against his wishes to save Arya, asserting that he can't help her because:

“Once a man had said the words his blood was black. Black as a bastard’s heart.” (Jon VI, ADWD)

He said the words, but an oft repeated phrase across the series is "words are wind." Maester Aemon says something similar himself in his love and duty speech:

"What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms... or the memory of a brothers smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy." (Jon VIII, AGOT)

Jon's heart has been written over by the vows he made in AGOT and the duties he's obligated to because of them. He sacrificed all that Aemon mentioned: a woman's love (Ygritte), a newborn son in his arm (Stannis's offer of Winterfell, Val, and legitimization), and his brother's smile (Robb) all for duty. Even in the case for Ygritte, who Jon undoubtedly loved, his heart is guarded from her:

The wildlings had taken him for an oathbreaker, but in his heart, he was still a man of the Night's Watch, doing that last duty that Qhorin Halfhand had laid on him. (Jon I, ASOS)

Wildling to the bone, he thought again, with a sick sad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He flexed the fingers of his sword hand, and wondered what Ygritte would do if she knew of his heart. (Jon V, ASOS)

Ygritte is kept separate from his heart, even when they are at their closest physically and romantically in ASOS. In this book, his heart is still defined by his vows to the Night's Watch, but come ADWD, we see that in truth the Watch is just the exterior, the shell of his heart. It is the engraving on top, the words that are seen at first without a deeper inspection into what's beneath.

Meanwhile, all the other times he references his heart in ADWD relates entirely to Arya. His heart reacts based off his emotions towards her (see end of this for similarities to Dany and her heart's relation to Daario versus other POVs and their hearts' reactions in ADWD). He likens his heart so that it is synonymous with her. There is no engraving, no embellishment. She simply is his heart, and that is why she is enough to finally get him to break his vows.

His vows make up the surface of his heart. It's his armor that has given him the strength to make hard decisions about his family and Ygritte. But if Arya is his heart, she's already past the surface, past the armor, and only she can shatter the shield from within. To overview all the remaining references Jon makes to his heart in ADWD (both in terms of emotive responses and an ideological representation of himself in the truest form):

"Roose Bolton summons all leal lords to Barrowton, to affirm their loyalty to the Iron Throne and celebrate his son's wedding to..." His heart seemed to stop for a moment. No, that is not possible. She died in King's Landing, with Father. (Jon VI, ADWD)

"The heart is all that matters. Do not despair, Lord Snow. Despair is the weapon of the enemy, whose name may not be spoken. Your sister is not lost to you."

"I have no sister." The words were knives. What do you know of my heart, priestess? What do you know of my sister? (Jon VI, ADWD)

The girl smiled in a way that reminded Jon so much of his little sister that it almost broke his heart. (Jon X, ADWD)

I want my bride back...Keep them from me, and I will cut out your bastard's heart and eat it. (Jon XIII, ADWD)

"This creature who makes cloaks from the skins of women has sworn to cut my heart out, and I mean to make him answer for those words...but I will not ask my brothers to forswear their vows." (Jon XIII, ADWD)

All of these relate to Arya in one way or another.

Jon makes it explicit in his reveal of Ramsay's letter in the Shieldhall that he does not act to avenge Stannis or defend Selyse and Shireen. He will march on Winterfell because of the threat to his heart--to Arya. She is the final thought he has before changing his plan (just as she is his final thought before dying). And there is no way to argue that he isn't breaking his oath, when in the last quote above he equates his actions as forswearing his oath.

So basically all of this is to say that in ADWD Jon's heart only reacts to news and thoughts of Arya (the announcement of her impending marriage and the comparison with Alys Karstark at her own wedding). His heart is her, which is why only she manages to give him a strong enough cause to break his oath. No other mentioning of his heart is made in the book, except for the men of the Night's Watch, which is a repeated line that makes it sound all the more superficial and drilled into him. It is a clear juxtaposition of a heart hardened by duty versus a heart full of love. And Jon picks love.

Compare Jon and his heart to other characters taking about their own hearts in ADWD:

DANY (who already has a very similar story arc to Jon as she struggles in a position of power and making impossible decisions):

Daario. Her heart gave a flutter in her chest. "How long has... when did he...?" She could not seem to get the words out. (Dany IV, ADWD)

There is blood on my hands too, and on my heart. We are not so different, Daario and I. We are both monsters. (Dany IV, ADWD)

When Ser Barristan told her that her captain desired words with her, she thought for a moment that it was Daario, and her heart leapt." (Dany V, ADWD)

"Daario was war and woe. Henceforth, she must keep him out of her bed, out of her heart, and out of her. If he did not betray her, he would master her." (Dany VIII, ADWD)

Almost all of her references to her own heart in ADWD relate to Daario, her romantic interest. He is already within her heart and she knows he runs the risk of ruling it complete, but she is reasonable enough to break off their relationship for the good of her people. She chooses duty over love, honoring her obligations to keep her people out of slavery and safe from the lingering presence of the masters. Jon does not make that same decision when he puts his heart first.

BRAN:

It was a woman's voice, high and sweet, with a strange music to it like none that he had ever heard and a sadness that he thought might break his heart. (Bran II, ADWD)

Bran saw great white snakes slithering in and out of the earth around him, and his heart thumped in fear. (Bran II, ADWD)

Both times Bran refers to his heart in one chapter, it's purely reactionary to an emotion he experiences, neither of which relate to a person.

"You saw what you wished to see. Your heart yearns for your father and your home, so that is what you saw." (Bran III, ADWD)

Bran's heart's desire is his family and Winterfell.

THEON:

"No," he insisted, shrilly. "No, I only want these clothes. Reek's clothes. I'm Reek is rhymes with peek." His heart was beating like a drum, and his voice rose to a frightened squeak. (Reek III, ADWD)

TYRION:

Tyrion listened to Illyrio's snores, the creak of the leather straps...but his heart was listening for the beat of leathern wings. (Tyrion II, ADWD)

He dreamt of his lord father and the Shrouded Lord. He dreamt that they were one and the same, and when his father wrapped stone arms around him and bent to give him his grey kiss, he woke with his mouth dry and rusty with the taste of blood and his heart hammering in his chest. (Tyrion VI, ADWD)

Other men's hearts in the story are used to express terror or sorrow. They do not relate to love, even in the instance of Tyrion longing to see dragons. This is unlike Jon's storyline. How Jon speaks of his heart Has the most in common with Dany, who is openly in love with Daario, though it is not enough for her to pick him in the end.

And of course, ARYA:

"Your heart is too soft to be one of us."

He means to send me away. "I have no heart. I only have a hole. I've killed lots of people. I could kill you if I wanted." (The Ugly Little Girl, ADWD)

Arya claims to have no heart, but this comes at her fear that she'll be cast out by the Faceless Men. We know how desperate Arya is for home and for safety, and the Faceless Men are all she has now. Even they know she still has a heart, one of compassion and love. I can only imagine in TWOW she'll find a reason to recall her heart...

[istumpysk]

"He hopped down from the dais and grabbed Sansa roughly. "Come, wife, time to smash your portcullis. I want to play come-into-the-castle."- Sansa(ASOS III).

"That will give it strength enough to stand, I'd think," Petyr said. "May I come into your castle, my lady?"-Sansa(ASOS VII).

"I sing him that all the time, he never grows tired of it. And he likes to play hopfrog and spin-the-sword and come-into-my-castle, but you must always let him win."- Sansa(ASOS VI)

Tyrion and LF wanted to play come into my castle with Sansa but in creepy way. Her aunt wanted Sansa to play the game with her cousin which is innocent. Here castle is compared with Sansa's body by Tyrion.

He remembered their godswood; the tall sentinels armored in their grey-green needles, the great oaks, the hawthorn and ash and soldier pines, and at the center the heart tree standing like some pale giant frozen in time. He could almost smell the place, earthy and brooding, the smell of centuries, and he remembered how dark the wood had been even by day. That wood was Winterfell. It was the north. I never felt so out of place as I did when I walked there, so much an unwelcome intruder. He wondered if the Greyjoys would feel it too. - Tyrion XI, ACOK

x

"Winterfell has withstood fiercer enemies than me. It is Winterfell, is it not?" "Yes," Sansa admitted. He walked along outside the walls. "I used to dream of it, in those years after Cat went north with Eddard Stark. In my dreams it was ever a dark place, and cold." - Sansa VII, ASOS

x

"Winterfell?" Robert was small for eight, a stick of a boy with splotchy skin and eyes that were always runny. Under one arm he clutched the threadbare cloth doll he carried everywhere. "Winterfell is the seat of House Stark," Sansa told her husband-to-be. "The great castle of the north." "It's not so great." The boy knelt before the gatehouse. "Look, here comes a giant to knock it down." - Sansa VII, ASOS

x

If I could show her Winterfell . . . give her a flower from the glass gardens, feast her in the Great Hall, and show her the stone kings on their thrones. We could bathe in the hot pools, and love beneath the heart tree while the old gods watched over us. The dream was sweet . . . but Winterfell would never be his to show. It belonged to his brother, the King in the North. He was a Snow, not a Stark. Bastard, oathbreaker, and turncloak . . . - Jon V, ASOS