#when will he finally get to be a trial character in our party and not an enemy boss

[hydrachea]

Thinking about how this confirmed Dan Heng and Blade put aside their many many many differences that one time so they could beat up a kid nearly to death. Guys...

[wardenparker]

The Viper's Bride - ch 16

Oberyn Martell x female reader x Ellaria Sand x OC Co-written with @absurdthirst

The second Prince of Dorne has lived under the illusion that he would not be forced to wed for his entire life. He has enough lovers and illegitimate children to make him a legend across Westeros, and the love of his soulmate Ellaria Sand to content him. But a contract between his brother and a lord from the north will catapult him into a match that may prove to be as complicated as it is intriguing. Especially when he learns that you already have a soulmate of your own.

Rating: E for Explicit! 18+ Word Count: 13.1k Warnings: *Blanket warnings for this series: terrible parents, age gap 10+ years, arranged marriage, classicism, cursing, food and alcohol, internalized homophobia. Reader is described as having hair long enough to braid. This is a MMFFF polycule, folx. Get on board or don't click to keep reading. Pregnancy!* It's time orgy, friends! MMMFFFF group sex. Oral sex (m and f receiving), hand job, fingering, anal play, anal sex, vaginal sex, unprotected sex, pregnant sex, rough sex, multiple partners. dirty talk, voyeurism, substance use, sexual experience enhanced by substance use. Canon typical violence, poison, graphic depictions of violence, mentions of sexual assault (Elia's), eye gore, murder, character death. Summary: The night before Oberyn fights in the Trial by Combat holds special meaning for your group, and for Raeden in particular. And the fight itself? Is worse than you could ever imagine. Notes: Well, my loves. This is it 🧡 The final chapter of Oberyn's soulmate extravaganza. Next week will be the epilogue and then we'll dive into spooky season head first with Max Phillips' soulmate story the week after that!

Ch 1 ~ Ch 2 ~ Ch 3 ~ Ch 4 ~ Ch 5 ~ Ch 6 ~ Ch 7 ~ Ch 8 ~ Ch 9 ~ Ch 10 ~ Ch 11 ~ Ch 12 ~ Ch 13 ~ Ch 14 ~ Ch 15

It is almost surreal to watch your father and brother step away together. The tension that had filled the room seems to dissipate all at once, and you fall down again in your seat beside Raeden with a sigh. “That was…unexpected.”

“Completely astounding.” Oberyn muses thoughtfully, still reclined in his chair and shaking his head. “Fate is playing in your life, Star. The Gods have truly taken an interest.”

“Perhaps.” Looking around you at the table, it feels hard to deny. Otherwise why would those same gods have blessed you with so much love and companionship? “Perhaps I am simply very lucky. Who can say?”

“You will be very lucky tonight.” Raeden predicts with a salacious grin, his fingers still stroking his wife’s arm, although he is grazing the curve of her breast.

“I believe that will be you, my love.” Your prediction carries equal weight, considering Oberyn’s dark eyes turned to Raeden the moment your father and Salin had left your chambers. “My husband looks as though he might pounce.”

“I must admit that I am eager for the rest of our night to begin.” Draining the rest of his wine out of his cup, he passes it to Ellaria to refill as he stands. Striding over to the other man and caressing his jaw with one finger as he looks down at him. “Take off your clothes.” He orders huskily.

There could not be a more obvious signal to the whole party that the night has officially begun, and Raeden’s calmly curved grin of anticipation tucks itself into the corner of his mouth as he reaches for the ties of the robe over his shirt and trousers. “As my prince commands,” he intones, knowing from many nights of seeing you and Ellaria use that same line to entice him, that Oberyn enjoys the acknowledgment of his power during sex.

His eyes shift to Margaery: “Tonight, you will watch your husband take my cock.” He informs her. “The best pleasure he will have will be if he cums inside another. You or any of the other lovely ladies or Cal can be under him if you wish to be.”

"My husband can cum in whomever he chooses." Margaery hums, having found very quickly that she enjoys the shared pleasure of multiple partners. "As long as I have a beautiful woman's thighs on either side of my head, I do not mind if it is me or someone else."

“You should watch, lover.” Ellaria coos as she smirks slightly. “Let me lick your cunt while you watch, you will not regret it.”

"I would be a very stupid woman to give up that kind of offer." Margaery grins, leaning in to brush a kiss across Ellaria's lips.

Ellaria cups her lover's face while you look on, kissing her passionately. “Cal, Leyth?” Oberyn looks over at the couple who have been serving faithfully. “Would you like to join us in our pleasure tonight?”

"Please." Leyth is already nodding halfway through the question, clutching Cal's hand in eager anticipation. "We...have missed being asked to join you. Very much."

“We have not wanted you to feel as if you have to join us.” Oberyn knows the couple is aware of the changing dynamic and the time needed to adapt.

"The freedom to choose is not lost on us," Leyth assures him, always grateful that that choice has been afforded to them and that their choices are actually respected. "So let us say that tonight we eagerly choose to accept your invitation."

“Fuck.” Raeden pauses before he shucks his breeches and laughs. “Is this to be a proper orgy, in the Red Keep?”

"Why should we not?" You have stood from the table as well, and share in Raeden's amusement. "Cersei already assumes it is what we do every night. We might as well make her correct just once."

“Then I hope that all the lords and ladies around us complain about the noises we make.” He decides with a grin, feeling completely free for the first time and reveling in it.

"We will make sure of it." Ellaria promises, cradling Margaery at her side and nipping at the sensitive skin beneath her ear.

Leyth turns and gives her lover a soft kiss on his lips before she moves towards you. “Princess…” she murmurs softly, having wondered what you kiss like or if you would want her to touch you.

“Come here…” Beckoning her closer, you offer her an encouraging smile and readily meet Leyth’s lips for a kiss.

She’s relieved, her own admiration and respect for you growing into a crush that she has been unable to express. Sliding her hands up and cupping the back of your head with greedy hands.

It is surprising but not unwelcome, the enthusiasm that Leyth has for the kiss drawing you in more and more to explore what is being offered to you. Leyth is stunning — you have always thought so, even since the first day you set foot in the brothel — and you are not about to turn up the chance to know her better tonight when everyone will be indulging in whomever they please.

Ellaria hums in pleasure as she sees that everyone is very well occupied. Smirking at her soulmate’s wife, she starts to pull off her dress. “We should get comfortable.”

“I have never been more comfortable in my life,” Margaery promises her, following the cue and beginning to undress Ellaria in turn. Her Dornish dress is much simpler and easier to remove, making Margaery remember the first time — not so long ago — that you had pouted about the complexity of northern dresses. It is a welcome feeling, to connect the two experiences, and the younger woman hums happily at how easy it is to slip her hand inside Ellaria’s dress and palm the welcome weight of her breast with one hand.

“We will enjoy ourselves immensely.” Ellaria moans breathlessly when the other woman pinches her nipple. With sexual freedom, Margaery Tyrell, now Sunstone, has quickly developed the skills that most whores only dream of when pleasuring another woman. “If I lick every cunt and fuck every cock, it will be a good night.”

“Perhaps we should make that our new motto,” Margaery suggested, giggling immensely even as her other hand is working diligently to slip Ellaria’s dress away from her skin. “For nights such as this, I cannot think of anything better.”

Raeden stands naked in front of Oberyn, his cock already hard and jutting out proudly, making both Oberyn and Cal groan as they look on. “How do you want me?” He asks, slightly breathless as he shivers in anticipation. It has been so long since he has felt a man’s touch, and this man, both of these men, are beautiful and he wants to embrace the freedom he has been given by your marriage to the man who is going to fuck him.

“However the prince wants us, he will have us both.” Cal can barely keep himself from touching, but he has been privy to how long Oberyn has waited to have Raeden in his bed. He can very easily wait his turn so the prince can have what he wants.

“Lay down on the bed.” Oberyn orders both men. “Cal, strip down as well.” He grunts, satisfied that he will be able to have everything he wants tonight. “Show me what it looks like to have the two of you kiss.”

It is an achingly easy set of instructions to follow, and if Cal were wearing something other than the robes that the prince had given him befitting his station, he might have simply torn them off. As it is he struggles to get them off as quickly as possible and follows Lord Sunstone onto the bed to all but fall into the larger man’s arms. He has wondered endlessly what the new lord will be like to have his hands on and it takes him no time at all before he is moaning against Raeden’s lips.

Cal is lithe, yet there is strength in his touch and embrace. Raeden doesn’t even hesitate, one large hand sliding down his chest and over his abs to brush against the other man’s cock before wrapping his hand around it and giving him a gentle squeeze.

It is not unusual for this suite of rooms to be filled with the sounds of pleasure. In fact, each and every night there are people fucking in more of these beds than not. The difference is that tonight you are all in one room. Raeden is fisting Cal's cock on the bed with Oberyn kneeling over them with dark, predatory eyes as they kiss. Ellaria has Margaery spread out over the largest arm chair before the fire, carefully and methodically chasing her own touch down the younger woman's body with her tongue to taste every inch of her. And on the other side of the fireplace, Leyth has laid you down on the chaise to let you watch the proceedings as she eagerly learns what touches make you sigh and moan.

His eyes feast on the sight and his own fingers quickly pull at the ties and strings of his robes. Wishing to be as bare as his lovers. “His cock is wonderful.” He praises as he watches the dark hand glide up and down the lighter toned cock. “Now, I wish to taste yours.”

Raeden does not need to be told twice, rolling to his back with his hand still stroking Cal's length so that he does not have to give up any contact but still exposes every inch of himself to Oberyn's desires. "I am yours," he promises, and the truth of it rattles him more than he expected.

“Not yet.” Oberyn chuckles as he kneels on the bed, running his hands up the muscular calves of your soulmate. “But you will be.”

It is the kind of declaration that shoots to something visceral inside him, and Raeden's cock twitches unmistakably in response. "Then take me," he poses, his words laced with a seductive challenge that he knows Oberyn will not be able to resist. "Make me yours."

There’s a rough little growl the back of the Prince’s throat, smirking as he lunges forward and wraps his hand around the thick length of your lover’s cock to roll down the foreskin and prove to the new lord that despite his lofty status, he is not unskilled in the art of sucking a cock.

As determined as he had been to continue stroking Cal's length, Raeden's hand stutters immediately and he lets out a groan so deep that it seems to rattle the windows. His fingers dig into Oberyn's short hair, encouraging his movements without directing or pushing him, and Raeden's head falls back for just a moment as he shudders with the intensity of the prince's attentions.

It’s about pleasure, but it’s also about preparation. Oberyn knows it’s been years since Raeden has touched or been touched by another man. The last time was when he was a younger man. He is not used to taking a cock and will need to be stretched out. Taking his fingers down to the hole he wishes to possess, he smears his spit around it in a gentle massage.

The gasp and grunt that releases from somewhere deep in Raeden's body vibrates through his body and his fingers tighten in Oberyn's hair desperately. It has been far, far too long since he had this sort of experience and it is only now - having it offered to him on proverbial silver platter - that he realizes how deeply he has been missing it. Spreading his legs and reminding himself to relax, Raeden falls back onto the pillows which his next moan.

Cal decides that Raeden's too distracted for kissing, but his lips move down his chiseled jaw. Kissing along the smooth skin and down to flat, hard nipples so he can flick his tongue over them and help work the other man up. He knows he wants to be under this man while the prince fucks him, his own cock twitching at the thought.

"Gods above," Raeden chokes out, his head already swimming. There is something so singular about experiencing pleasure from someone of your own sex. A person who knows the intricacies of what touches and pressure bring pleasure because he himself has felt the pleasure that it brings. It makes Oberyn's tongue agile and sure, and every flickering touch from Cal is filled with confidence.

Oberyn chuckles and pulls off the cock with a satisfied sound. Lazily licking down his soft, full balls to take one into his mouth, still steadily rubbing, though he is adding more pressure. Not quite breaching the other man, but close.

It has Raeden squirming, trying to move toward the pressure he wants so badly without missing out on any of the touches he is already receiving – begging for more without saying a word.

Oberyn’s eyes find Margaery’s then yours in a slow perusal of the room. “Watch.” He orders, pulling his fingers away momentarily to wet them even more before slowly starting to push the first finger inside the man’s ring of muscles.

There is a collective holding of breath when Raeden moans, with every set of eyes watching as his own close in bliss. "Fuuuck..." It is low and growling and delicious and Raeden is laid out like a feast on the bed for Oberyn and Cal to devour.

The tight heat has Oberyn eager to sink into him, slowly pushing his finger deeper until it is sunk to his knuckle and then carefully searching for that wonderful little spot that makes every man keen when he is entered. The one that can make him cum without anything wrapped around his cock. “Why don’t you prepare Cal to take your cock like I am readying you?” Oberyn suggests as he smirks. “I think the man is salivating to be impaled on your cock.”

"Lover." His attention had been so singularly focused on Raeden that Oberyn has not noticed Ellaria slipping temporarily from the space between Margaery's thighs to bring him a bottle. "You will all be happier to have this," she suggests, setting the small, corked bottle of oil on the bed beside her soulmates.

“Thank you.” The oil will greatly aid the pleasure and he takes it with a small smile and a wink. “Thank you, sun.” He coos softly.

"I want to hear all three of you scream," she confides, diving into kissing Oberyn with her usual, dedicated, passion where she does not pull back again until she has relearned every contour of his mouth. "But only with pleasure."

“Tonight we will make the halls of the keep ring out in pleasure.” He chuckles before he unstops the bottle.

It is not a prediction that anyone doubts, but as the men turn back to each other to focus on pulling as many sounds as possible from each other in these early stages of pleasure, you stop Ellaria on her way back to Margaery. "Join us?" You almost beg her, having made room on the large chaise for more bodies. There is nothing you want more right now than your own tangle of limbs - all four women sharing space and sharing each other.

Smiling indulgently, Ellaria curls her finger towards Margaery before she leans in to press her lips to yours. “Shall we see how we can tangle our bodies together in pleasure, lover?”

Margeary comes to your sides like a moth to flame, practically moaning as she watches you and Ellaria sink into a deep kiss. "It is only fair," she decides, leaning down to kiss Leyth, as well. The curvaceous redhead had not escaped her notice for even a moment.

It is funny how the group has been separated, although not surprising. Leyth and Cal have discussed at length the dynamic, murmuring the dark from their own small, yet comfortable bed off the chambers. Now, tonight, is a fulfillment of those desires that have been repressed and it should be a night to recall fondly.

"My prince." Cal looks up from the nipple he has been lavishing attention on and his fingers, run down to tease Raeden's cock with a slow pump up and down his length. "At the brothel, we used to take this...herb, it kept our cocks hard after we had finished." He explains. "Perhaps tonight would be a good time to use it? To make sure everyone gets to exhaust themselves?"

In the middle of the conversation, very literally, Raeden’s hips buck subtly at the idea of such an increasing, wondering if the prince even needs such an aid. But then — there are seven of you. And that is an enormous amount of Fucking no matter who you are. “I—I would partake,” he agrees, eyes fixated on Cal’s hand.

He can't help himself, it's too tempting with the pearl of liquid that is pooling on the dark tip of his beautiful cock. Cal ducks his head and wraps his lips around the first inch of Raeden's cock while Oberyn's lubricated fingers push back inside him. Looking down at the prince, he wonders if he will agree because his own cock throbs at feeling both men inside him tonight.

“Does it help women?” Margaery asks with curiosity, thinking of all the ways this night might go. She has never had trouble becoming aroused for her partners before, but the idea of more is beckoning her tonight.

“It does.” The answer comes from Leyth. “It is why the women in the brothels are always so wet.” She tells you. It might be the one good thing Littlefinger did for his whores. Even if it was only so there was less probability of being hurt when fucking an unattractive client.

“Then perhaps we could all partake?” You look to your husband with curiosity. “Anything that enhances our pleasure tonight is surely welcome.”

“Would it hurt the babe?” That is the only reservation that Oberyn would have as he looks between the two servants.

“No.” Leyth shakes her head immediately. “Some of the girls…the ones who could bear children…they took the herb nearly every day but the babes were never affected.” She would never do anything to put your or the child in harm’s way, and dearly hopes that you and Oberyn know that.

Smiling slightly, Oberyn nods his head and looks at you with lust fueled eyes. “Yes, Star.” He agrees. “Anyone who wishes to take it, should.”

Cal moves gracefully from the bed to retrieve a simple metal box from the room he shared with Leyth. The powdered herb is familiar to them but not unwelcome, which was why they had kept it with them after leaving the brothel. The thought of one night in the future being like this was tempting. “Put a pinch of the powder under your tongue and let your spit wash it away,” he tells all of you, providing an example by demonstrating before he passes the little metal box around.

Leyth also demonstrates when the box reaches the ladies, moaning slightly at the familiar taste. “We will have a very good night.”

The powder is minty and dissolves quickly, leaving all of you looking a little more mischievous afterward. With debauchery ensured, you all tangled in each other’s arms immediately. The four women in the chaise are spread over every inch of the overlarge piece of furniture, and even with Leyth and Ellaria firmly between yours and Margaery’s thighs, you find your way to grope and lavish each other with kisses.

Oberyn groans at the taste of the herb and pulls Cal in for a kiss before turning his attention back to Raeden. “Now. I am going to ready you and I think Cal and I both will suck your cock.

It is not something either of the other men are going to object to, and Raeden falls back into the pillows with a groan. The sight of Oberyn and Cal twined together in a kiss would be enough to have him rock hard under almost any circumstance – but now they are bent over him so that his cock is receiving every lick of attention and it has set his entire body on fire.

Again, his fingers start to push back into Raeden’s body as he sucks on the man’s cock like it was the sweetest of treats. His tongue tangling with Cal’s as they try to wring cries of pleasure from him.

He is in ecstasy and there is no mistaking it. Raeden writhes and bucks under Oberyn and Cal's attentions, grasping at the sheets or their shoulders or anything he can get his hands on and you cannot tear your eyes away. "Look," you instruct Margaery, nudging her jaw with your nose and sucking a mark into the pale skin of her neck when her eyes move to the bed. "My husband is going to fuck yours, just like I fuck you."

"It is not quite the same, lover." She hums, her greedy eyes fixed on the way that her husband squirms and whines in need. "But just like they enjoy the sight of us wrapped up in one another, I will savor this view."

Of course it isn't exactly the same, but it is close enough to make you moan just at the sight of them -- which Leyth heightens with a stroke of her masterful tongue and chases with two fingers sliding inside your dripping pussy the way Oberyn's fingers are slipping deep inside Raeden. It is all like an incredible dream, and you truly hope that you will be able to sample every single pleasure possible tonight.

“You will look magnificent on my cock.” Oberyn groans, pulling off his leaking cock to purr pure filth to him. “Imagine our lovers walking in at any time to find you bent over, my cock buried in your ass and my hand wrapped around your cock as you moan my name.” He smirks. “Or on your knees, my cock in your mouth and Cal’s in your ass as we spit roast you, your leaking cock neglected until you cum from our attention.”

The entire room moans in unison at the images presented. There is not a single one person in this room who would not immediately climb into the bed and join in if they saw it. “If any of us walked into that, we would swallow every drop of cum and beg for more,” you predict, knowing that it is true for you at the very least.

“If he is bouncing on my cock, I expect you to ride his.” Oberyn chuckles, curling his fingers deep and pressing against his spot that immediately has Raeden keening.

He had forgotten. Or else thought that he was remembering the sensation with exaggeration. But the way pleasure courses through him with the press of Oberyn’s fingers on that specific, seemingly magical spot inside of him makes Raeden sure that this sensation is better than what he had felt years ago. Perhaps it is down to the skill of his partner but it is utterly remarkable. His broken cry to the gods is met with a moan from his wife when Ellaria sticks on her clit just so, and at once all of you seem to commit that much more to the debaucherous goal of the night.

"The Sunstones are having the time of their lives tonight." Oberyn quips, very pleased with himself as he finds that spot and curls his fingers against it again. If this herb works as well as Cal claims, he feels like Raeden will cum and cum and cum. He wants to see if his theory is correct.

“And we will make sure you do too,” Margaery promises, breathless, with one hand buried in Ellaria’s thick hair and the other squeezing the weight of your tit in her palm. Raeden squirms, panting his agreement and just trying to get as much of Oberyn’s fingers as possible inside him when he knows for certain that it is not enough. “More,” he begs, the word cracked with another moan even as his own hand is dedicated to making Cal ready in the very same way.

“You will.” He has no doubt of that. The night is too full of promise and he drinks in the moans of the group. “I will fuck every one of you tonight, including you, Lady Sunstone.”

“You too will be marked by her,” Raeden manages to tease even at the expense of another moan. He wears the marks from his wife’s fingernails like a badge of honor, and so do you. After tonight, all of you will.

“Vicious little tiger.” Oberyn chuckles, adding a third finger into her husband as he talks to Margaery.

He had asked for more, and he groans at getting it. His cock leaks precum, twitching and aching with need, and his back arches off the bed in eager anticipation. “Gods—yes—fuuuck—”

"How thrilling that I will possess both you and your wife tonight." He coos, smirking at the way Raeden's head tilts back. "Just as I have your soulmates." It's not meant to taunt him, just show him how he belongs here.

“As I have possessed yours.” Raeden grunts, groaning at the stretch of having another finger added to his tight hole. “Ours.”

Oberyn groans, his cock twitching in response and he hums. "Yessss, ours." He agrees. "Now you are going to spill into Cal's mouth. Give him a taste of what you are going to pump into his ass in just a few minutes."

Taking orders as a soldier and taking orders in bed are two different circumstances, but Raeden surprises himself with how little it bothers him to have those orders given. Instead, it only seems to spur him on tonight, and Cal too. Cal who has Raeden's cock so far down his throat that the man on his back is surprised he has not outright choked yet.

Ellaria hums as she looks up from between Margaery’s thighs. “He is close, lover.” She confides. “And sounds so sweet, but he tastes even sweeter on your tongue.”

Cal's own cock is beaded with precum as he swallows around Raeden's length, desperate to find out just how sweet that taste really is. Oberyn has three fingers buried deep, curling them expertly while he other hand kneads the flesh of Raeden's thighs and caresses his heavy balls, knowing that they - like his own and Cal's - will be emptied many times tonight. Raeden's breathing comes in ragged pants, moans becoming whines and keening curses the closer he gets to his first peak of the night. Climbing and climbing, his back lifts off the bed entirely when Oberyn and Cal's names tear from his lips for the first time and that first spurt of hot cum is followed by countless more.

Oberyn throbs, his own cock pulsing at the sight of Raeden cumming. Nearly about to burst himself from how erotic it is. Groaning as he continues to pump his fingers while the other man fills Cal’s mouth to where cum is sliding down his chin.

Cal's own moan is almost as loud as Raeden's, the other man scrambling to swallow as much as he possibly can while still losing a few strands of sticky cum to the column of his neck. For the first climax of the night, it is the perfect way to begin and has him nearly bursting in his own right.

Oberyn pulls his fingers out at Raeden and he hums with a grin on his face. “That is beautiful.”

"The first of many beautiful sights tonight." You had been watching too, always unable to tear your eyes away from the sight of Raeden's pleasure.

“Now one of our ladies needs to cum.” Oberyn says as he watches Ellaria dive back into Margarey’s cunt. “Will it be my star or my flower?” He asks curiously.

The so-called competition of the question is taken quite seriously by Ellaria and Leyth, it seems, and both women redouble their efforts on Margaery and your pleasure. As talented as Ellaria is, and as eager for this night as Margery has been, it is decidedly the newest member of the group's chance to come apart next – although you feel you might be directly at her heels with Leyth's clever tongue drawing you closer and closer to the edge.

Ellaria’s tongue curls around Margaery’s clit, sucking it into her mouth as a hand slides up to squeeze her breast. Her dark eyes fixed on her face and she’s humming to vibrate her bundle of nerves.

Margaery’s nails dig into Ellaria’s shoulder without apology, biting into the skin as her body tensed and her mouth falls open on a vocal scream. Her eyes nearly cross from the pressure and her cunt bears down on Ellaria’s king fingers tightly, drawing them in deeply before flooding them with slick release that runs all the way down and drips to Ellaria’s wrist.

Raeden moans, both from his own release and the loss of Oberyn's fingers while Cal pulls off his cock and watching his wife cum. He knows how talented that mouth is and he is sure that tonight, every one of you will collapse into a deep sleep for the few hours you get.

“How do you want us?” Cal asks Oberyn, knowing that however the prince wishes to have his newest lover, he will find a way to be under Raeden and take the force of them together with as much pride as pleasure.

His brow arches as he looks at Raeden. Contemplating the positions and how easy it will be for the other two men. “On your knees.” He decides, lifting to his own knees and wrapping his hand around his cock. “Hand me the oil.”

Call practically flattens himself to the bed immediately, hips rolled back to entice Raeden but also because he can’t help grinding his own cock into the mattress right now. Raeden takes the moment to sit up, lips crashing against Oberyn’s for a deep and intense tangling of tongues before he pulls away again to gasp for air and takes his position over Cal with his own ass in the air.

“Fuck.” Raeden groans when he hears the slick sounds of Oberyn piling up his cock and the bottle is pressed against his arm. “Ready yourself to plunge into Cal.” Oberyn strokes his ass possessively.

Four of you are watching from the chaise as Oberyn starts to slide inside Raeden, and Raeden in turn begins to break open Cal. The three men are as coordinated and careful as they can be in this moment but they aren’t the only ones moaning. It is a sight to behold and you are instantly panting with increased desire — chest heaving and threatening to have you moaning with every shallow breath.

“Ohhhhhhhhh.” Raeden’s eyes close, mouth open on a moan as the prince rocks into him steadily. Not forceful or impatient, it is just the right tempo to have him take the thickness of the man and desire more as his own cock sinks into the tight, welcoming hole of Cal’s body. The servant whimpers his name, making him twitch as he pushes back against him, eager to feel the lord’s cock firmly buried after so long without this kind of pleasure.

“If you feel half as good as you look, my loves, you must all be in ecstasy.” Even Leyth has paused to watch, kneeling between your legs, and she smiles up at you momentarily when you speak before curling her fingers determinedly inside you to hear the gasp it will pull from your chest. “You will cum so easily watching them, I expect,” she purrs. “I know you like to watch, princess. So keep your eyes on our men while I make you scream.”

“You know the Princess.” Margaery pulls Ellaria up for a kiss and to turn her over so she can touch and kiss while watching her husband as the filling to a delicious treat. “Her cunt gets so wet when she watches her lovers.”

"Can you blame me?" It is difficult to keep your eyes open as Leyth's remarkably clever tongue has your eyes nearly rolling back in your head as she works you closer and closer to the edge.

“Not at all.” She hums as she slides her fingers down and starts to rub Ellaria’s clit while her tongue shoots out to circle her breast.

Watching the three men together is vastly unlike watching them with anyone else. That tendency toward gentleness that Raeden has with partners who are not as physically strong as he is has vanished. He is not in control here but willingly giving all of that up to Oberyn. His groans rumble out from the depths of him as he submits completely to one man while still soothing his hands over Cal’s back whenever he needs to steady himself.

The choked cry catches in his throat when the next thrust comes rougher than the ones before. Signaling that the pace will pick up and there’s a sense of freedom to be had from the way Cal mewls under him.

"Gods." The moan from you on the chaise is more of a keen, and your fingers thread through Leyth's hair even as your hips grind down to meet her lips and tongue eagerly. "They will be the death of me but I will die a happy woman."

Oberyn’s eyes are fixed on where he is joined with Raeden until you whimper that statement. Chuckling as he looks over to where you are very eager splayed open for the lovely servant, he hums. “Not tonight, star.” He chides. “Perhaps we will let you expire when we have wrung every scream out of your throat.”

"Not a minute before," Margaery agrees, leaning over to flick her tongue across one of your nipples in a move that is surprisingly affectionate, before returning her full focus to Ellaria.

“Perfect.” The caress to Raeden’s hip is surprisingly gentle even as his hips snap forward. “You have chosen a perfect wife, Rae.”

"Is she n–not?" The last word is turned to a grunt with the forceful swing of Oberyn's hips, and Raeden's own slam into Cal with equal determination. The feeling of it is exquisite.

The chorus of moans pleases Oberyn, the feeling, the moment exactly what he had wished for. Tonight is about living, experiencing life to the fullest and what is better than a tight ass a round his cock while one of his soulmates has her cunt licked while the other is finger fucked? Surely the halls are filled with the sounds of pleasure coming from this room.

Leyth pitches you off the cliff of pleasure just moments later, humming into your dripping cunt as her fingers curl against that perfect spot inside you. The only thing stopping your thighs from squeezing Leyth's ears shut is her strategically-placed arm, holding you spread out for her so that you cannot do anything but quake and cry out as she skillfully shatters you into a million blissed out pieces.

Margaery and Ellaria watch. Her fingers curled deep into the paramours cunt, Margaery’s head twists around as she moans softly at the sight of your body shaking and heaving with pleasure.

“Fucking gorgeous.” Raeden’s head had been turned to you as well, and the way he groans when you cum is only half to do with Cal’s body bearing down on his cock so tightly. He nearly growls at the feeling, scratching his blunted nails down the other man’s spine. “Cal thinks so, too.”

“Yes.” The other man whines. “All of you, so -“ he moans when Raeden’s hips slap against his ass again, cock spurting a dribble of pre-cum onto the bed below him as he throbs. “So sexy. wanted to touch all of you.” He babbles. “W–wanted to.”

“Next time I hope you will not hesitate,” Ellaria purrs, watching the way his cock pulses with hungry fixation. “You need a cunt, Cal.” She declares with mischief in her voice. “Who do you want beneath you?”

“Anyone.” He moans, eyes rolling back into his head as he imagines filling one of the gorgeous ladies spread out and teasing him with the wet views of their cunts. He has never wanted to sink into a group more, even when he was having sex all the time. Even Leyth has admitted that the Prince’s lovers and friends are all people she would fuck willingly every day if asked. Neither one of them having an reservations about that now they have had months with just the two of them together and no demands on their bodies. “Please. I-I am close.”

“It should be you, lover,” your hand caresses Ellaria’s cheek only because you are not close enough to kiss her. “I know you have missed Cal’s cock.”

“You do not want to experience his cock?” She asks curiously. She had thought that you were becoming close to the servants and would want to be involved.

“Oh I do.” You can promise her that without hesitation. “But you have not cum yet. If you would rather cum for Margaery, I will gladly let these men weigh me into the mattress.”

“We will be in this position many more times.” She tells you breezily, tamping down her own fears. If Oberyn is lost tomorrow, she will not have you regret missing out on one experience with him. “Take your place under them and feel the power of all three.”

Leyth does not miss a beat, transferring her attention to Ellaria and Margaery after helping you off the chaise. The five steps you need to get to the bed are quick, and you slide across half the mattress to cup Cal’s jaw and bring his eyes to yours. “Hold still for just a moment and then you will have a slick cunt to cum in.”

His neck stretches slightly, eyes dark and lust blown. “Kiss me, Princess?” He chokes out.

That is a request you are glad to bend to, and you meet his lips with equal desire as you slide yourself under the clutch of slick bodies for which Cal is the anchor.

“Do not collapse on her.” Oberyn has no issue with you being under the group, but he will not have you take all their weight when his child is nestled inside your womb.

“Never.” They are all very aware of your condition and happy to have the new babe in the way. Making sure you and that babe are safe is the very top priority. Even so, Cal groans when you slip into place below him and wrap your hand around his cock to guide him into your velvet heat.

“Princess.” Breaking you open is an exquisite feeling. Looking down and seeing you beneath him as you take inch after inch of his cock. His own body being pushed forward by the much slower thrusts of the men behind him. “So— you are so tight.” He groans.

“She is ma—magnificent.” Raeden groans, so close to his own end that he can barely think. Every sense has been taken over by Oberyn and Cal.

“Yes she is.” Oberyn agrees, smirking slightly when he feels the way that Raeden is pushing back desperately. “I think my lord Sunstone wishes to spill his load again.” He teases, his fingers gripping the man’s hips fierce and he snaps his hips forward.

“Not everyone has your stamina, lover.” Ellaria is close now, too, with Leyth and Margaery both dedicated to pleasing her, and she throws her head back on the chaise when Margaery grazes her teeth along her swollen clit. “Cal will burst any moment,” she predicts with a moan.

“Fuck.” Raeden grits his teeth and feels his own body respond to the words and the way that Cal’s body is gripping him like a vice.

“Cum for us, love.” From where you are, you can look him in the eye with no effort in between Cal’s passionate kisses. “Cum in Cal and make him fill me, too.”

Your words make the world explode for Raeden. Gasping out a choked combination of Cal and Oberyn’s names, he gives into the pleasure that has been denied to him for years. The cock in his ass striking against pure Heaven, his own throbs and starts to fill the man below him with hot ropes of his seed.

Cal’s hips stutter mere moments later, slamming into yours with as much force as he can muster and painting your cunt with his own sticky cum. Both men are panting, glassy eyed with lust and still hard thanks to the powder that Cal has supplied.

“Cum, my prince.” Raeden begs desperately, enjoying the way Oberyn still rocks into him roughly. “I need to feel it.”

Oberyn’s answering grunt comes with a gleam in his eyes, and he knows you are all watching him with held breath. You all need to witness this as much as Raeden needs to feel it, knowing what it means to him. His jaw is clenched, giving him away, and you practically moan when you notice it. “He is close,” you promise your own paramour. “Squeeze his cock even once more and he will not be able to hold out.”

Oberyn hisses when Raeden immediately follows your suggestion and bears down on his cock. “Vixen.” He chokes out, snapping his hips forward one last time and grinding deep, closing his eyes as the orgasm consumes his attention.

There is no heat in the chastisement, just in Oberyn’s eyes, and you marvel at the way his beautiful body tenses completely and he groans Raeden’s name a the most holy prayer. They have both waited so long for this that it makes being a part of it all the more meaningful. Raeden shouts at the first feeling of Oberyn filling him — calls out to the gods in their heavens and then growls Oberyn’s name so fiercely that anyone would think that he was coming apart all over again. His fingers dig into Cal’s hips as Oberyn rides out his pleasure and Raeden unconsciously holds his breath. The moment seems to invigorate and nearly collapse him simultaneously but Cal is already angling the men to one side on the bed. When they did slump over and need five minutes of rest, they will fall beside you, not on you.

“This is the beginning of a glorious night.” Margarey hums, moving off the chaise so she can pet and kiss both you and her husband. Another affectionate peck for Cal and then last but not least, Oberyn. Showering everyone with attention as thanks for such a wonderful scene.

The pile of bodies on the bed grows one more time as Ellaria and Leyth move to join you, and the easy touches between all of you grow to more kisses before too long. There will be no rest tonight until everyone is entirely satiated — and that will not happen quickly.

“We must clean up before we touch you.” Oberyn murmurs against your lips. You had crawled out from under Cal and was dividing kisses between Raeden and Oberyn as they had stated to kiss fiercely.

“Am I so very pure?” To his mind you are, and you know that. Revel in it, even. He treats you like the most precious creature in the world now that you are carrying his child.

Oberyn snorts, nibbling on your pulse even as his still hard cock twitches inside Raeden. He has not pulled out of his body yet, could perhaps stay buried if he did not want to touch as man as he could tonight. “Very.” He teases. “The woman who begged me to marry her could not even fathom the woman carrying my child.”

“I think I would not even recognize that woman if I laid eyes on her again.” You could beg for more kisses, but that is about it.

“She is much more confidant about taking what she wants.” Ellaria coos, pulling away from Leyth and Cal for a moment. Her hand is already around the other man’s cock and pumping it as he moans against his partner’s breast.

“I learned that it is not a sin to take what is freely given.” And that, for you, has been so immensely freeing.

“Everyone here gives freely or they are not in this bed.” Margaery had been immensely comforted by the fact that both Leyth and Cal wished to be here.

“That is true.” Raeden purrs at his wife, plunging himself across several bodies to demand a kiss and pluck at her breast. “And you have taken to it very well, wife.”

Her moan is loud and symbolic of the night itself. Everyone pleasured and enjoying themselves.

“I believe it is your turn to be fucked by a prince, Lady Sunstone.” She is now the only one who has not had Oberyn’s cock and one who very much wants it, and you grin before leaning over to nip at the sensitive skin of her neck. “She is like me, husband,” you warn Oberyn, knowing it will actually delight him. “Slap her ass, pull her hair, and fuck her hard. You will be rewarded with the scratch of her nails and wailing moans of your name.”

Oberyn smirks as he rolls over, moving quickly to the water basin to wash and to get a cloth for Raeden and Cal. “We will see, Princess. I will paint her ass with my seed and see if it makes her any lovelier than she already is.”

“She is most beautiful when she is exhausted from cumming,” you attest, winking at Margaery before you lay back in the pillows and trace your fingers up and down the length of your slit. Cal’s cum mixed with your own and the feeling is wonderfully decadent. “That leaves us, my love,” you hum at Raeden as he quickly cleans himself. “Unless you plan to share Margaery with Oberyn? Then I will gladly finger fuck my own pussy at the sight.”

“Very fitting.” Raeden watches shamelessly, looking back and forth between you touching yourself and Oberyn cleaning his hard cock before he comes back to the bed. He aches, pleasantly so in a way that has been sorely missed, and he can feel the prince’s cum start to drip out of him. “He fucks my wife while I fuck his.”

“Then come here.” Reaching for him immediately, the smile on your face turns from amused to beaming and you tug him toward the bed again by his fingertips. “Take me however you want me. I promise my screams will reach the gods.”

“The night will be one that the gods are envious of.” Oberyn predicts with a smirk. “Old and new.”

******

The morning light wakes you first, as the pile of bodies on the bed in your chambers has wrapped itself up in a comfortable ball with seemingly only you facing the window. Or, at least, Oberyn has his face buried in your back with Raeden curled around him. Leyth is facing you in the center of the bed, with Margaery in Cal's arms on her other side, and Ellaria has one arm stretched out across all of their bodies as though she was reaching for you in her sleep. The night had left all of you as exhausted as you were satisfied and you had all fallen into dreams with your last partners and no hesitations whatsoever with your intimacy.

This morning, however, you would banish the brightness of the sun if it was in your power. Blot out its power and let night last forever. This morning, Oberyn will stand up and fight for his sister's honorable memory and Lord Tyrion's innocence. He will fight for his life. And the worry that that churns in you has you turning over in his arms to watch just a few more minutes of his peaceful sleep.

He wakes the moment you move, although he doesn’t give that away. Keeping still as you sigh heavily and his body stays relaxed as you shift and turn to face him. He can sense the sun, the light brighter than the flame of waxy candles that he had finally passed out to. Sometime, perhaps an hour before dawn. Even though he should be exhausted still, he’s invigorated, feeling as if he could fight a hundred Gregor Cleganes.

“The morning has come, my love.” As bare as a whisper, your fingertips do not even graze his skin but ghost over it as you watch Oberyn’s relaxed face. “Your morning. Your time in the light of the gods to bring Elia’s murderer to justice. The poets will sing about this morning with reverence.” Your voice shakes a little, tears threatening to burst through, but you swallow them with determination. “I promised you that I would be strong today, my love, and I will. You said for our people, but it is for you.” The tears you promised not to shed are close to the surface and you swallow again, thickly. “To fall in love with you was unthinkable, husband. It was never an option in my mind. But you—gods help me, you smiled at me and looked into my eyes and I knew somehow that my heart had room enough for two.” Your fingertips graze his beard gently and you almost choke, holding the sob in so you will not disturb anyone else in bed. “I believe you could conquer all Seven Kingdoms if you set your mind to it, my love. But—if you do not—if this morning goes awry—” Voice dropping impossibly lower, your open eyes are set firmly on his closed ones. On the set of his eyelashes and the tone of his skin in the rising sun. “Then the Mountain’s blood shall run from my dagger instead. I swear it on my own life.”

It is humbling to hear that vow set down from your sweet lips. Vengeance is not in your nature, revenge not steeped in your blood. That you would love him so fiercely to make that promise is like a soothing balm to the raw edges of the morning. He would never wish you to have to do that. He wants you to live your life peacefully, exactly how you wished. Neither does he want you to mourn him. Your first child, growing them, nurturing them in your body, should not be spent wallowing in misery.

“I love you, husband.” If he were awake you would seal the promise with a kiss, but as it is you study his features in repose. Memorizing his face one more time. “My soulmate.”

“I love you, wife.” His voice is scratchy, husky with sleep and he keeps it low to not disturb the others. Wanting this moment with you before any intrusions. He will have another moment like this with Ellaria as well, needing it. Just in case. “My soulmate.”

Under any other circumstance you might be upset with yourself for having woken him. But there is too much at stake today to lie to yourself that you are not glad to hear his voice. Instead you reach up again and let your hands rest on the line of his jaw. “Good morning, beloved.”

“No lovelier sight to greet the day.” Oberyn smiles as he looks over your still sleep softened features. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“A most pleasant ache,” you admit with a sly grin. There is not one single member of this unusual family that will not be sore today. “Did you sleep well?”

“For the few hours that I have slept, I feel as though I could move mountains.” He hums, smirking at his pun.

“My husband feels very clever this morning.” The pun practically has you rolling your eyes but you lean forward to kiss his lips instead.

“I always feel clever, but for you I will admit that I am going to be happy when this is over.” He accept the kiss and gives you another.

“As will we all.” As confident as you all may be in Oberyn’s abilities, he will not be the only person in that ring today. He is not the only factor at hand. And that alone is terrifying.

“We will be back in this room, making ready to leave this city in just a few hours.” Oberyn reminds you. “Every noble of Dorne who has come will be there as well.”

“It cannot come soon enough.” Pressing one more kiss to his lips, you summon a smile and remind yourself that sewing doubt in him helps no one. You are his wife. His soulmate. His support. And you can clutch Ellaria’s hand in mutual fear when the time comes.

“Would you like to join Ellaria and I in the bath?” He had thought to spend that time with his other soulmate, but he knows you might want to stay close while you can. “She will be helping me dress.”

“She deserves time with you this morning.” Ellaria has known him much longer and loved him much more ferociously, and it would be cruel of you to intrude on her moment with Oberyn. “I will wash and dress with Raeden and Margaery, and we will all present as a unified party to the capital.”

He touches the necklace that the three of you had worn. Raeden’s necklace was equally beautiful and It had made him incredibly possessive when he had seen all of you wearing it. It only made the night even sweeter when you had disappeared together and then reappeared wearing them. “Dorne is stronger with the three of you beside us.” He tells you honestly. For so long, it has been him and Ellaria. Lovers have come and gone but the two of them are no longer just the two of them. He has subtly started thinking of your group as his, just as he is yours.

“Dorne will be stronger when we all return home together.” Having made your promise when he was sleeping, you will not allow yourself to entertain any other possibility aloud this morning. It will do no good, especially not for him.

“Of course it will.” Oberyn smirks, “we will set Dorne on it ear and it will be better for it.”

“The only thing I have ever done that would shock Dorne is make a husband of its prince.” Still though, you smile. Knowing how unbelievable that news will be to many of the people. “And I am honored that you love me as I love you.”

“I do love you.” Oberyn whispers seriously. “Until the end of time and my bones turn to dust.”

“May that be an extraordinarily long time from now,” you murmur, fingers delicately tracing the lines of his face.

“It will be.” The vow is make as he traces your own face gently and the others begin to stir. “When I am too old to sire a child.”

“That will never happen,” Raeden chuckles, his voice hoarse and cracked as he stretches at Oberyn’s back. “You will be making new babies the same age as your great-grandchildren.”

“Especially if I get more of whatever Cal fed us last night.” Oberyn jokes as the man’s eyes open. “My legacy will overrun the Seven Kingdoms.”

“There are three women in this bed who would be glad to bear you more children.” It would be four if Leyth could have children, but there is no use harping on the impossible. “And you, too, Lord Sunstone.”

“It is my hope that one of you is already carrying my child.” He can’t help but look smug at the prospect as he leans in and kisses Oberyn’s shoulder. “So our children can run the gardens together and grow up as close as siblings.”

“That is a wonderful dream,” Margaery murmurs sleepily, already smiling. “When we reach home I will see a Maester right away.”

"It is time." Oberyn grunts softly, hating to pull away from the warm bodies in the bed, but he needs to prepare for his trial by combat battle with the man who had murdered his sister.

******

When the party from Dorne arrives in the stadium with matching emblems, Dornish dress in House Martell's colors, and looks of fierce pride on all of your faces, it is the sound of bells that welcomes and warns you all at once. The leather trim on all of your cloaks and gowns matches Oberyn's armour. The oils rubbed into your skin even smell of Dornish herbs. You, Ellaria, and Margaery are all even wearing your hair in traditionally Dornish styles. There is no question whom you represent, and Oberyn walks proudly out in front with you on one arm and Ellaria on the other as Raeden and Margaery follow close behind. Today is about honor, and no matter what happens, you will all hold your heads high.

Oberyn smirks as Tywin, Cersei and their dower looking entourage arrive. The head of the Lannisters looks as if he’s sucked down a cup of sour wine. Or had walked in on his children fucking. “Look at him.” Oberyn hums as he strides to the tent that has been erected with his weapons already in place on a table. “He looks like he had taken a disappointing cock in his ass.”

You and Ellaria snicker softly at the image Oberyn paints, and walk with him directly to the table. There are chairs in place but you all know that you will be too nervous to sit, making you all the more grateful for the pitcher of wine that has been placed out. This is Cal and Leyth's doing, for there is a small pitcher of fruit juice beside it for you, and you step forward to pour Oberyn a goblet of wine knowing that Cal will have made sure it is Dornish.

“Make sure not to touch the spear, my love.” Oberyn cautions. “It has fangs.” The poison has been applied, although there is another powder he will rub on it before the fight begins.

There is some cheering from spectating peasants who have no idea the enormity of the importance this morning bears for Oberyn. but the ripple of a gasp rips through the crowd when the legendary warrior prince drinks his wine in one gulp and turns to Ellaria to bestow a passionate kiss before giving the same to you.

“I think they might hate you more than me.” Margaery hums as she looks towards the seats where her former family sits. Her father’s face is mottled red and he might snap the arms of the chair he is gripping it so tightly. Tywin’s glare matches Cersei’s and she’s felt the weight of their anger.

"My husband's sense of humor is rubbing off on me," you mumble just loud enough for all of your party to hear. "I could suggest that the prince and Lady Sunstone share a kiss as well."

“That might make my father keel over.” She giggles quietly and hums pleasantly at the thought. “Although I will kiss him as soon as you and Ellaria does after his victory.”

“I should like to see his reaction to that,” Raeden chuckles and leans down to kiss his bride, drawing an even more animated reaction from the crowd.

"It would be one that all of the Seven Kingdoms should see." Oberyn chuckles himself, his eyes sliding towards the Lannisters and he smirks.

The bells cease their tolling only moments before Tyrion Lannister appears with guards flanking him on either side. "Looks like very light armour," he observes when he is hurried under the same tent as the Dornish party to stand beside his champion. Clearly, Tyrion is concerned.

Oberyn breaks away from his kiss with Ellaria, annoyed by the criticism. "I like to move around."

The youngest Lannister is obviously unamused with his answer because he continues to grumble at him. "You could at least wear a helmet." Oberyn picks up the goblet that you have refilled and starts to drink. "You shouldn't drink before a fight." Tyrion huffs.

Motioning towards the man in chains, Obery quips, "You learn this during your years in the fighting pits?" He looks down at the cup. "I always drink before a fight."

"It could get you killed." Tyrion reminds him flatly, looking around at the party surrounding him. At the support he has. It would be useless to admit that he envies the man for being so adored, and instead he grumbles again. "It could get me killed."

Oberyn sets down his cup and looks at the little man with certainty. "Today is not the day I die." He assures him, aware that the poison will guarantee his victory against the Mountain. Ellaria hums happily, sliding her hand over his leathers and looking towards you with a smirk. She knows both of you find his confidence sexy and right now, all of you need to believe that statement.

"Have faith in your Champion, Lord Tyrion," you remind him, as the crowd begins to roar again. It is louder this time, more excited than merely intrigued, and you turn to watch Gregor Clegane himself - the Mountain - walking into the arena. So that is why they call him a Mountain, you think to yourself with instant terror. And you know Ellaria is just as scared when she grips your hand tightly. "You're going to fight that?" She asks Oberyn with wide eyes.

Oberyn swaggers over to the edge of the table and leans against it, looking over at where the Mountain has made his appearance. "I'm going to kill that." Ellaria's eyes are fixed on him. "He's the biggest man I've ever seen." Her grip tightens, nearly crushing your fingers as her own worry spills over the edge of her calm facade. Oberyn will do as he pleases, he has for years and she has never truly worried, but that? That is a foe that he might not be able to beat.

Bending over the wash basin, Oberyn cleans his hands of the wine. "Size does not matter when you are flat on your back."

"Thank the gods." You and Tyrion manage to murmur at the same time.

A horn sounds its simple fanfare, calling the combatants and the audience to order. Grand Maester Pycelle has appeared on the edge of the ring and though he is surely doing his best to be heard throughout the stadium, his aged voice is not powerful. "In the sight of gods and men, we gather to ascertain the guilt or innocence of this..." he stumbles, not quite knowing what descriptor to use until he settles on the usual one. "Man...Tyrion Lannister. May the Mother grant them mercy. May the Father give them such justice as they deserve. May the Warrior guide the hand of our champion–" He is cut off when Tywin grows impatient and motions for the horn to blow again, ultimately bowing lamely and shuffling off to the stands once more.

Oberyn turns, pulling Ellaria into his arms and kissing her passionately, before she steps back and you take her place. Every feeling, every touch and mark on your body that belongs to him is poured into the much too short kiss. His heart starting to pound in anticipation.

Ellaria has one of Oberyn's hands in hers and you have the other as the sound of Gregor Clegane's immense sword leaving its sheath can be heard across the ring. "Don't leave us alone in this world." She entreats Oberyn with a note of desperation that is so unlike her but so like this situation. Realistically, would either of you be truly alone? Of course not. You would have each other, if nothing else. But formally? Legally? You could be denied everything without him there to provide for you – and that is what terrifies her. That everyone in this tent is under his protection and his alone until the time you set foot on Dornish sand.

"Never." He can promise her that. Without hesitation or contemplation. He would never leave any of you alone if he could help it.

As soon as Ellaria lets go of his hand, you pull Oberyn into your arms and place the hand of his that you had been holding on the curve of your stomach. The nature of the gesture is unmistakable, and as the announcement of your pregnancy had not yet been made, a gasp ripples through the crowd. But that is precisely what you were hoping for. While the people of King's Landing are murmuring in shock, they do not notice you slipping the sheath of an extra dagger under the folds of your husband's leather armour. "For Elia," you whisper to him, giving the sheathed dagger a quick tug to make sure that it is secure before you kiss him once more. "And for your family. Be swift, my love."

There is a quick wink towards Raeden and the squire that has been a part of Oberyn's travels and will attend him during the fight, tosses him the spear. The lightweight, yet sturdy wood feels perfectly balanced in his hands and he wastes no time twirling it around in his hand. Showing off is part of his very nature and part of his strategy. He wants the crowd to cheer for him. It's obvious they do when he spins around for the final time and grins up at the covered tents where Twyin and his whore daughter try to look unimpressed.

From where you stand under your tent at the edge of the ring, you and Ellaria are already on edge as you watch Oberyn showboat and the look of disinterested murderousness in the Mountain's eyes deepens. The crowd cheering pushes your heart up into your throat because you know that it bolsters him – he feeds off the energy of those around him in almost every circumstance. This one is no different.

Turning to face the man who had murdered his beloved sister, the grin on his face is satisfied, eager to address the man who would confess his crimes to the crowd. "Have they told you who I am?" He demands, wanting to know if he remembers his sister, or if the years and his numerous crimes for the Lannisters have dimmed his memory. The Mountain seems unimpressed. "Some dead man." He tells him right before he lunges with a swing of his broadsword.

The first few strikes sound terribly, the clash of metal and strong wood echoing through the space like taunts. Every strike seems to pierce your heart rather than deter Oberyn's confidence, and if that is how it must be then you will gladly absorb every blow.

"I am the brother of Elia Martell." He announces, keeping his voice loud but not shouting into the stands because he's addressing the man in front of him. "Do you know why I have come all the way to this stinking, shit-pile of a city?" He asks, squaring his body in front of the giant of a man. "For you." Instantly, he crouches and attacks, swinging his spear and nearly catching Clegane under his heavy helmet.

Oberyn swings his staff elegantly. Of course the weapon was molded for him but he has also molded himself to the weapon – and Clegane's lumbering and grunts only serve to make him look inelegant compared to the smaller, much nimbler form of the Red Viper. Even though you gasp when the Mountain lunges, you cannot tear your eyes away. Oberyn slides backward, deftly avoiding the attack as he continues to taunt his foe.

"I'm going to hear you confess before you die." This time Oberyn isn't facing the beast in front of him, instead his words go up into the crowd with a ripping of confusion from the spectators. Tywin's jaw is so tight that it could shatter if he clenches his teeth together. Turning back to Gregor Clegane, he makes his accusations. "You raped my sister. You murdered her. You killed her children." There is hatred in his eyes and swings his spear up. "Say it now and we can make this quick."

Your hand tightens around Ellaria's as you watch the growling Mountain lunge at Oberyn and the clanging of their weapons rings through the stadium. Feeling their presence at your back, you cannot tear your eyes away from the ring to look to them, but you know Raeden and Margaery are just behind you. Oberyn was right - of course he was - it is his speed and his dexterity that keeps him ahead of Clegane.

When he hits the Mountain across his back with the spear, he knocks the man's helmet off. Revealing his disgusting face to the crowd. "Say it. You raped her." Oberyn spits out, deflecting another attack from the other warrior. "You murdered her." He can still sling his accusations as he spins around, although the Mountain is just shouting as he lunges for Oberyn again. Again, his spear is used to push the sword's momentum down to the ground and he looks into the eyes of his sister's killer. "You killed her children."

The accusation is repeated with every swing, every lunge, and every blow. Oberyn is a blur in the ring as the lumbering Mountain tries to keep up, but the Red Viper of Dorne is too quick for his reflexes and heavier armor. Once he manages to knock Oberyn toward the ground but the prince only springs up to his feet again seconds later – the sharp intake of breath under your tent is loud enough for other to hear but still none of you can take your eyes off of the fight.

His rage manifests as amusement, a smile on his face, although it doesn't reach his eyes. The fight has gone beyond playful and taunting. The years of fury have built up and the Mountain knocks the spear out of his hand, knocking him to the ground.

The crowd may cheer as Oberyn flips out of the way, his training making him lithe and athletic while you and Ellaria swallow shaky gasps and clutch each other's hands impossibly harder. Tyrion may hyperventilate at any moment, watching his champion be so performative, but he says nothing. He knows that you and everyone else under this tent are terrified for the life of the Prince of Dorne, not for the life of the Imp of Casterly Rock.

The next spear is tossed to Oberyn and his attacks turn more vicious. Even as he's sent down to his knees, he is bouncing back. This time after a flurry of attacks and deflecting, the giant grabs Oberyn and tosses him across the combat area.

By this time you count three wounds that the poisoned blade has made in the Mountain's flesh, but you know nothing of poisons. How long will it take to begin killing him? How will it kill him? Will it weaken him immensely, or simply slow him down? Was there even enough poison to do Oberyn any good in the moment? You flinch when he is thrown to the ground but Ellaria holds to your fast, urging you not to look away. The two of you have promised to survive this fight side by side and that is not a promise either of you can break.

Stomping away from the Mountain as he tries to regain his footing, Oberyn's fervor spirals. "You raped her!" He shouts, "You murdered her!" He watches as the other man attacks again, spinning around and this time, he digs the hook of the spear into the back of the Mountain's heel. Ripping open flesh and making him scream in agony. Panting as Clegane drops to his knees. Gripping his spear, he screams again. "You killed her children!" Running forward, Oberyn leaps up and drives the spear into the Mountain's chest, making blood spurt from his chest.

There is a moment where people almost smile. Tyrion and Jamie Lannister both look like they are about to, mostly out of shock, and Ellaria almost laughs in relief. You and Margaery make identical sobbing sounds that are halfway like laughs, and even Raeden blows out a long breath. Clegane is flat on his back, and you could swear that you see him twitch while Oberyn circles him with growling anger.

To add insult to injury, Oberyn leaves the spear in the man's chest. "Wait. Are you dying?" He asks. "No. No. No." He growls as he paces. "You can't die yet. You haven't confessed." He reaches over and yanks the spear out of his chest, assured that poison has worked through the man's body. He will die in agony and yet it will still not be good enough. "Say it." He resumes marching around him as he groans on the ground. "Say her name. Elia Martell." As his blood boils, his mind spins in a murderous rage. "You raped her. You killed her children." The spectators are quiet as his voice rings out of the seats. "Elia Martell." He points at Tywin Lanniser sitting on his cushioned chair. "Who gave you the order?" He looks back at the Mountain and then back at Tywin. "Who gave you the order?! Say her name! You raped her! You murdered her!" Around and around, Oberyn circles the fallen man, his voice climbing higher ever time he speaks. "You killed her children." Nothing matters but this. Nothing. Not Tyrion. He had never really cared about the little man's guilt or innocence. He cares about his revenge.

Oberyn circles the giant, roaring his accusations and demanding that Clegane confess. Once - just once - he manages to look up to the tent where all of you are watching, and the unmistakable pride in Ellaria's expression and the firm determination in yours makes him smile with grim satisfaction. But he inches just a hair too close to the dying man in the middle of the ring. Clegane's hand comes out and snatches at Oberyn's ankle, sending the legendary Viper to ground once more. Tyrion panics, eyes widening; and you and Ellaria gasp out loud. The Mountain is moving and Oberyn is on his back.

Please, Gods...please do not take him like this...

There is a split second where the future flashes in front of his eyes. One that he would not be present for. His lover becoming jaded and bitter, obsessing over revenge for his death and oddly enough, he does not want that. His Sand Snakes being killed by the bastard Lions in a vain attempt to find justice for their father before they are ready. Raeden being run through in a battle to get you and his heir out of the city. It's not above Tywin Lanniser and he knows that the man had seen the way you had brought his hand to your stomach. Then you, his lovely wife. Carrying his child. The horrible idea of you suffering the same fate as his sister. Perhaps even at the hands of the same man.

His hands flail for a moment as the weight of the man presses him down into the stone. "Elia Martell." He growls, hands reaching for Oberyn's head and the Prince's eyes squeeze shut as the gloved thumbs cover them and start to press. Oberyn screams, the sound pure agony as he touches the dagger you had tucked into his waist and he knows that confession would be the best he would ever get. Not before the man seriously damages his eyes or kills him. His pride, his arrogance had landed him on his back, the poison not killing him fast enough. "E-Elia." He gasps out, wrapping his fingers around the hilt and pulling it out, shoving it up through the bottom of the Mountain's chin and into his head as hard as he can. "Elia Martell." Oberyn chokes out. "Of Dorne." Gregor Clegane's eyes widen and he gurgles, blood spewing out of his mouth onto the prince's face. "This is for her."

The collection gasp of shock from the assembled audience cannot compete with the way you and Ellaria scream. The fierce shrieks coming deep inside both of you when all you can see of Oberyn is that the man you both love - your soulmate - is flat on his back beneath the Mountain's murderous bulk. Raeden has to push Margaery backward into Cal's grip so he can wrap one arm around you and Ellaria, barely managing to stop you from storming the ring yourselves to finish the Mountain with your bare hands. He knows you would manage it somehow. That together there could be nothing from stopping you and Ellaria if you got your hands on Gregor Clegane.

You struggle against Raeden in tandem, screaming Oberyn's name, until you see a flash of metal against the late morning sun and another flood of blood. It is impossible to tell whose blood it is at first, until a look of relief washes briefly over Jamie Lannister's face.

"Oberyn!" Prying Raeden's hand open, you sprint for the center of the ring as the Mountain's lifeless body is shoved aside to reveal a triumphant Prince of Dorne has, indeed, survived.

He has survived.

Avenged his sister.

Won the day.

And you pull him into your arms just a moment before Ellaria reaches his other side so that both of you can help him to his feet.

"The gods have made their will known." Tywin Lannister's voice shakes with anger and disbelief, but the results are indisputable. "Tyrion Lannister, in the name of King Tommen of the House Baratheon, First of His Name...you have been found innocent of the murder of King Joffrey." He sounds as if he could throw something, but you barely hear the declaration. Oberyn is standing on his own two feet with his arms around you and Ellaria, and that is all that matters.

Panting and breathless, Oberyn absorbs the roar of the crowd, but is doesn't mean anything to him. Neither does the effusive gratitude of a near sobbing Tyrion as the guards unlock his chains, setting him free. All that matters is that he is still breathing and you and Ellaria are in his arms. He surges forward, pressing his lips to Ellaria's and then yours in front of the crowd as Raeden and Margaery stand to the side. His need for justice has been quenched. While the Mountain did not implicate Tywin, he can live with the fact that her murderer has breathed his last breath and all of King's Landing now knows.

"Let us leave this fucking place." He decides breathlessly, grinning at you and jostling Ellaria closer to him. "Never to return. Dorne calls us home."

______

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My Masterlist!

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Dee Vasquez

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

“Turnabout Samurai” was always a case I skipped on my replays, because when I originally played the game I found it to be a tedious filler case loaded with bland characters and little plot progression. On my most recent playthrough, though, I realized how wrong I was; while the case is overly long and does require some obnoxious backtracking, it’s honestly an extremely fun and funny case that really helps develop Miles Edgeworth and flesh him out as a character, which kind of makes me baffled at my initial perception of the case as pointless filler. This is no “Turnabout Big Top,” that’s for sure, and that’s all the more apparent when we uncover who the true killer is.

Dee Vasquez marks a true turning point in the killers I the franchise. Frank Sahwit and Redd White are certainly not out of place in the series, but they are both one-dimensional goofballs. Not Dee; she’s an incredibly three-dimensional villain with motivations that go beyond simple greed and an actual sympathetic motivation for her crime.

Motivation/Goals: Dee Vasquez is actually rather interesting in that her motivation for murder has one of the first twists in the series: She had no motive. The murder was an accidental one in self-defense, as the victim Jack Hammer had come to her with the intent to kill her. When he did so, she shoved him off the steps and impaled him on a fence—something Hammer himself had accidentally done to another actor five years prior.

It’s pretty interesting to think that there wouldn’t be another killing in self-defense until Spirit of Justice, and even then there’s a big twist to that too—but that’s a story for another time.

Breakdown: Fitting her terse and stoic personality, Vasquez actually has one of the single most understated breakdowns in the whole series, followed by her sadly and graciously accepting her defeat:

That really is it, and honestly, it's all she needs. Someone with her demeanor losing her composure for even a moment like that is pretty impressive.

Best Scene: Vasquez actually gets one of the most unique scenes in the franchise, as at the end of the third day of investigating she lures Maya and Phoenix into her trailer, where she proceeds to call upon her mafia goons in an attempt to “erase” them.

It’s pretty notable because the mafia goons actually get art here, and this is also the only time Vasquez’s mob connections are really brought up in any capacity as they aren’t mentioned during the trials, only getting briefly mentioned in discussions while investigating. It’s doubly notable because it gives Gumshoe one of his first “Big Damn Heroes” moments when he bursts in and saves our dynamic duo’s lives.

Final Thoughts & Score: Dee Vasquez is a really solid villain, and her case is where the series really grew the proverbial beard.

I think what’s most fascinating about her is how you only get some vague hinting at the relationships that surround the crime she committed, and the true nature of her relationship with Hammer is based entirely on hearsay from biased parties—can you trust what she says in regards to Hammer, considering she was blackmailing him and clearly had a great disdain for him for killing her possible lover? Can you trust Oldbag’s account of it being a tragic accident when she’s a Hammer superfan? It all makes her the sort of character where you can come up with multiple interpretations of her and have different levels of sympathy depending on how you view her actions. Like sure, it was in self-defense, but it becomes a lot less sympathetic if you see Hammer more as a victim of manipulation for something that wasn’t really his fault (although his willingness to frame his co-star Will Power out of petty jealousy certainly doesn’t make him look very good).

Helping this is just how grounded and low-key she is. She doesn’t really get wild, over-the-top reactions like some of the other killers, and while that may seem like a detriment in a series as silly as this, it actually makes her stand out a lot more especially with how later villains would become even more wild and wacky. It also helps build her up as a genuinely formidable opponent in court, and she’s actually a pretty tough egg to crack when you get her on the stand.

While I’m not going to pretend like she’s the greatest, most complex, or most tragic of all the villains (how can she be when characters like Ini Miney, Geiru Toneido, or Acro are around?) but for a first attempt at a more complex villain that isn’t just killing for the money, she’s a really solid one. A nice solid 7.5/10, I’d say. I think really her biggest problem is that the case immediately following hers features perhaps the single most sympathetic murderer in the original trilogy, as well as another stoic hardass villain who has a far more glorious breakdown, which leaves her being a bit overshadowed. Still, for what she is, she's a remarkably solid villain.

[scammysmileroksuu]

There are many characters I love in lcf, and there are many relationships I adore.

But I think the relationship i love the most is (well okay maybe after the soos) cale's relationship with his ancient powers, and the way each of them somewhat represent a part of cale's personality.

Like in the crazy kid, cale's disrespectful-punk behavior and thevway he cusses and curses a lot, in the glutton; his appreciation of food, in the super rock; his determination to protect his family and the people he care for, in the crybaby; his fear of vicious people or hate towards the thought of getting hurt, in the cheapskate; his love for money and their crazy behavior when it comes to shitshow-ing, in the thief; his love for treasure hunting, looting and causing chaos upon the enemies' heads.

...etc etc etc. Cale is the mashup version of all these souls.

Additionally, they are literally a part of his soul. They kinda know about his past as Kim Roksu (at least some snippets of it), are fighting with him wherever he is, be it in an illusion or a different world, and are always with him 24/7, when he's calm, panicking, happy or sad, even when he doesn't understand what he's feeling.

It also hit me real hard when the super rock explained why Cale can still hear their voices, and Cale still decided not to absorb the ancient powers completely.

Because they're basically cale's only way out of his fear of being alone, because they are always with him no matter what, unless Cale himself dies or decides to take theor power fully in. And that was what made the wind island test 10 times more angsty for me.

He called out to them, but they were not there.

I also love that part when cale went to get the crazy kid's power and named her the sky eating water instead of the water of judgment; it was especially mind-blowing because unlike other ancient powers' trials, this one was actually really hard. And wasn't one mentioned in tboah. And cale was pretty much dying before obtaining that element.

Same goes with the wind island test where their past was revealed and the dots were finally connected– the western continent's past, how the super rock, the hero of the boulders and his friends were separated and died one by one in the mist tragic ways possible.

The super rock's wish for cale and his party to not be separated, it hurts more when you remember he had built the rock villa originally for him and his companions. His comrades he never got to live there with. But then gifted Cale and his family that villa.

Cale calling super rock the scary giant cobblestone at first was a great crack element in the story, hilarious to say the least, especially when he used to ask him if he was going to sacrifice himself. But then super rock told cale not to sacrifice himself when he actually answered yes, super rock's wish for cale not to end up like him, the lonely hero who sacrificed himself for the world.

Not to end up like them, like how him and his comrades did, separated and dying without each other's knowledge.

They are one of the reasons I actually believe lcf is going to have a happy ending. Because unlike the heroes of the ancient times, our Cale knows he should fight for his and his family's happiness, and not just for the world. To run away when it's really dangerous. Because Cale has them to remind him that sacrifice was never the right solution.

And I hope, through Cale and this timeline's heroes, these ancient souls would see peace and happiness after a lifetime of war and loneliness. Would experience what they never got to in their lives.

[hollowwrites]

Blindsided

Part 10

Ominis x MC

Summary - The First Trial of the Tri Wizard Tournament signals Ominis’ departure. He watches his friends challenge before leaving to see his family.

I really don’t like writing action or anything vaguely actiony so this might not be good. Also feel like it’s super rushed. Basically I’m not happy with this at all but I can’t see how to make it better and I’m looking forward to what’s coming so…it is what it is.

Again feel free to swap Evelyn with MC or Y/N

Warnings - Kissing (I KNOW FINALLY), spiders, brief pain, all characters aged up 18+

Word Count - 2038

~

Imelda was beside herself.

If you asked her, she muttered something about how they’d massacred the quidditch field. That’s why she was moody. Not at all the fact her love has spent so little time with her as of late because of this competition. Or that he could die.

The stands had undergone a drastic change. Organisers had transfigured the colours to a rich navy blue, in keeping with the Tri Wizard theme. Large ornate curtains billowed from the tips of each of the towers meeting and bunching high up in the centre of the field.

The normal quidditch pitch itself couldn’t be seen, nor could the goal hoops. Replaced instead by what seemed to be a generic forest floor. Some trees were growing up from it, with the roots seemingly forming an entrance on the far side of the stands.

“I’m fine” Imelda said flatly, clutching Eves arm, to Ominis’ chagrin.

He had remained at Evelyns side since breakfast. Not completely unusual, but something about the way he gripped her arm or wrist, felt off.

Somewhat possessive.

That accompanied with his furrowed brow and worried look in his eyes meant something was desperately wrong.

Evelyn chalked it up to the upcoming trial. And though she too was struggling with a knot in her stomach, she took it upon herself to carry the load for the others.

She acted as though everything was fine.

Sebastian will be fine.

It was fine.

Although, If you asked Anne, she would agree. She had no doubt in Sebastian’s capabilities and had clad herself, head to toe in Sebastian themed gear.

They manoeuvred their way to the observation booth, high above the pitch. Imelda pushed past everyone to get to the front, earning a few stern words from the other onlookers. However, the moment they saw her face, angry and twisted, all fight left them, allowing her and her party, through. They settled against the railing waiting for the trial to begin.

“Ah Evelyn, long time no see!” Leander appeared out of nowhere next to them, a disgruntled Garreth behind him, shaking his head

“Leander? Good to see you. I didn’t think you cared for Sebastian?” Eve asked eyebrow raised. She locked eyes with Garreth. He was mouthing ‘Sorry’ over and over before making his way over to Anne. He lovingly scooped her up in his arms and they both began chanting their support for Sebastian, his hand never leaving hers. Not that sorry then.

“Oh well…” she saw Leanders eyes dart past her shoulder, no doubt being greeted by the openly hostile stare of Ominis “We’ve had our differences” he cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. Eve smirked. She quite liked making Leander uneasy. It was all payback for his arrogance when they first met.

She suddenly felt the looming presence of Ominis get closer. He ran a hand along her lower back and hooked it around her waist.

Definitely possessive.

“Rather exciting though isn’t it?” Leander continued placing a hand on her shoulder and jostling her lightly, conveying his love of the tournament. Evelyn opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted.

“Yes it’s just wonderful waiting for the possible death of our best friend” Ominis jeered, his eyes sightlessly sending daggers toward Leander. “If you don’t mind…” Ominis moved his hand from Eves waist to her shoulder, his presence becoming controlling. In a single sweep down her arm, he brushed Leander away from her and put himself between them. He nudged her closer to the railing away from Prewett and used his body as a shield. An arm extended to either side of her, pinning her against the rail. She could feel his breathe on the back of her neck as he spoke.

“Idiot” Ominis muttered

“That was rather harsh. You know he means no harm. He’s…well yes…an idiot”

“He doesn’t deserve to be here. He doesn’t even like Sebastian. He’s just using Garreth as an excuse for a better view” She watched as his knuckles turned white “and he doesn’t deserve to touch you” she could hear the grimace on his face.

“I-“

“Merlin, I think it’s starting” Imelda said shakily, somewhere beside her. Her hand shot out to Evelyn, seeking her. Their fingers intertwined, and the squeeze from Imelda was, bordering on painful.

A parade of people, walked out from the entrance beneath them. The unmistakable knot of hair that was Sebastian came into view and the surrounding viewing towers erupted into cheers. Ominis flinched into Evelyn at the assault on his ears. He sighed, prompting Eve to rub his arm comfortingly. She turned to speak in his ear.

“We’ll leave after Sebastian is done don’t worry”

~

Professor Weasley welcomed everyone to the stadium with a long and arduous speech about bringing the Wizarding World together during this time.

She introduced the champion for each school with equal grandeur, but to no one’s surprise, Sebastian’s cheer was louder than the others.

He may have let it get to his head, bowing and encouraging the crowd to make more noise. He even started the Slytherin chant from this years Crossed Wands duel, with two fingers to his mouth like a forked tongue and hissing. The towers erupted into the noise, many already hearing it from the duelling club.

They announced that due to Hogwarts hosting this year, Sebastian would be first. The ground cleared, leaving Sebastian stood alone in the centre of the faux forest floor.

An eerie silence fell upon the crowd.

Ominis could hear Sebastian tapping his wand against his leg impatiently. He chuckled under his breath.

“What’s so funny?” Evelyn asked in a hushed whisper

“Sebastian is getting bored. He’s tapping his wand on his leg like he does” he smiled, more relaxed knowing his friend is doing okay.

“You can hear that?” She leaned over the railing slightly to peer at Sebastian. She could barely make out his figure against the floor, the dark green of his uniform blending into the ground. But it did, indeed, look as though he was tapping his wand. “That’s incredible”

It was then when Ominis felt the slightest of tremors at his feet before a collective gasp engulfed the arena.

“What’s happening?” He asked

“It’s an Acromantula” Eve replied, the smile plastered across her face very clearly apparent in her voice “He’s going to be perfectly fine. We’ve fought quite a few of these”

“It seems Sebastian agrees with you” he said as he heard the distinct sound of Sebastian laughing

“Is that all you’ve got?” Sebastian murmured far in the distance.

~

As the fight began, the atmosphere of the Stadium changed completely. Many peoples fear of spiders came bubbling to the surface and the shrill screams and panicked gasps caused by the proximity of the giant beast made it easy for Ominis to know where the creature was.

He listened intently as Sebastian cast spell after spell, favouring a more fiery approach. Ominis knew from Defense Against the Dark Arts that Acromantulas’ had a distinct weakness to fire, But Sebastian had first hand experience with it.

It’s seemed as though the only person in the audience having a good time, was Evelyn. She alone cheered and hollered as the battle between man and arachnid raged on.

That was until a bloodcurdling scream came from a girl in the farthest tower.

Ominis heard Sebastian groan in pain.

“What happened?!” He gripped Eves waist desperately.

“He…he got bit” she sounded shaky for the first time “He-He’ll be okay”

The distinct crackling of fire overwhelmed the arena as Sebastian seemingly burst into flame. A thick whirlwind of white and blue flame shot out from where he stood and as it fizzled out to nothingness, Sebastian stood…alone.

The spiders great fangs still encompassed his torso, but its legs curled upwards and twitched as it lay charred and smoking on the ground.

With a grunt, Sebastian removed the fangs from his side, clutching at the gaping wound left in its wake. He sauntered, as much as a man wounded by a giant spider can, over to the spider egg, which was his prize. He hauled it high above his head and the crowd roared its approval a final time.

~

With the first trial complete, Ominis’ chest became tight with the sudden realisation…

He would be leaving her within the hour.

“Come with me” he grabbed her hand as they filtered out from the stadium

“What’s going on?” She jogged lightly behind him, trying and failing to keep up with his long strides.

“Just…” he couldn’t finish.

He was leaving soon and if he didn’t tell her, show her, how much she meant to him…He knew he would regret it. He could die at the Gaunt residence happily knowing he had claimed her as his own.

They settled behind one of the corners of the stands. The roar of the crowds above them seemed so far away.

“What’s going on with you today? First, you’re grabbing me, then you’re laughing. Then you snap at Leander, then you’re happy again…” She spat becoming annoyed at the rollercoaster of his behaviour “You’re acting really-“

“I’m going to kiss you” he stopped abruptly, pulling her hand behind him, his own settling on her waist.

“…What?” All fight left her

“I want to kiss you but I need to know you want this too”

“I…I do yes…I-”

His lips trapped hers immediately. No thought behind it. As the initial surge of emotions subsided and he was left with just her beneath him, he pulled back his assault somewhat, breaking off, momentarily to gauge her reaction.

There was none.

She seized him instead this time. Her full lips gliding across his slowly and softly. Fingers gripped at clothes with desperation. His arm hooked around the small of her back, pulling her closer against his chest. His free hand cupped her jaw and neck, a comforting thumb stroking across her cheekbone.

He didn’t know if she tried to speak, or breathe, or if it really was an invitation, but her lips parted and a tiny gasp escaped her.

It…did something to him.

A low growl reverberated up from his chest. She could feel it in her own with how close they were pressed against one another. His tongue darted forwards like a man craving water, lapping at the parting of her lips hungrily

Later, he might regret that the first time he tasted her was around the back of the Quidditch pitch. But right now, he just wanted more.

He pressed her softly against the viewing towers causing another small breathe to leave her. His hand lowered to encircle her waist, fingers digging into flesh beneath cloth.

Eventually, he came back to his senses. He had places he needed to be and as much as he wanted that to be here…it wasn’t.

He pulled back, nose nuzzling along the length of hers, breathing her in. Nudging his forehead against her, he remained in the sound of her thundering heartbeat. He stayed there for a moment.

“I’ve wanted to do that for too long” he whispered. The words leaving physical marks against her dampened lips, the tingle of each breath cooling against them. He felt her cheeks puff out into a smile, a grin.

“Me too” her hands snaked around his neck. Fingertips toying with the small hairs at the nape of his neck.

“Truly?” He removed himself from her only briefly, immediately missing the warmth and assault of her on his senses. “I…had hoped you felt this way. But I never dreamed you actually did”

“Why now? Just so I can replicate the moment in the future.” She laughed breathlessly. He felt her laugh vibrate through her under his hands. He pulled away, reluctantly

“Sebastian could’ve died. Puts things into perspective” he lied.

He knew this was probably a mistake. But if things ended badly at the Gaunt residence, he could die knowing he had kissed his love.

Actually, the more he thought about it, this was incredibly selfish. If he died, what would that leave for her? She’d have mourned the death of a friend. But now? He would plague her thoughts of ‘What If’s’ and ‘Why’s’

It would now, be much harder to leave her.

~

Please let me know what you guys think I’m so so so unsure about this chapter 🫣

Masterlist

[purple-ambrosia]

Reimagining “Velma”

I’ve been seeing a lot about the new Velma show on Twitter, and I kind of wanted to take a stab at possibly reimagining it to be truer to the gang while still attempting to do something different.

@omegagorilla made a great Tiktok about how it’s important for characters that are so iconic to keep their fundamental traits and stay recognizable. The show is still coming out, but so far it feels like there’s a bit of a disconnect. The show could have come up with characters unrelated to the Scooby-Doo franchise rather than relying on the property, but with the way that animation is being treated by streaming services, a totally new IP would’ve come with a higher risk of cancellation or receiving less marketing. The Velma show has come out at a time where we’ve seen many shows, especially animated ones, be dropped quickly with little time to find their footings. We’ve even seen some be scrubbed off the Internet entirely. So what setup could have let us see a fresher take on the gang while also letting them stay familiar?

College.

Having the gang go off to college would allow the show to a) explore its adult rating without sexualizing high school students and b) create a setting that poses new opportunities and trials for the gang. This also means the writers have some wiggle room to adapt the gang as they find themselves as new adults. And as a lot of us know, finding ourselves doesn’t come without hardship.

The show opens with Velma still as our primary focal point, but she’s a sophomore in college rather than a high school student. The gang lives in a college town with a good school, but the school is just large enough that they can all avoid each other for the most part. Velma studies hard and mainly keeps to herself. After the gang split up, she’s scared to put herself out there again and start making friends. Part of herself justifies it because she knows she’ll go elsewhere for graduate school, then somewhere else when she has to find a job.

The only one that knows she likes girls is Shaggy. After Fred and Daphne first got together in high school, the two felt pressured to have their own relationship. It didn’t last after Velma blurted out that she might be in love with Daphne when Shaggy tried to kiss her. They were lucky that their “relationship” had only lasted a couple of weeks and one date to the movie theater. Fred and Daphne couldn’t say the same, because when they finally broke up, Daphne transferred to a prep school across town for her junior and senior year. She promised to keep in touch, but the longer the school year went on, the more time it took for her to respond to Velma’s texts. Fred became more focused on trying to get a wrestling scholarship, and that left Velma and Shaggy to rely on one another.

Velma mainly sees Shaggy between exams, usually for meals or to pick him up after he gets too high at a party. She would never tell him, but she likes knowing someone still needs her. Sometimes she catches a glimpse of red hair and some of the parties Shaggy goes to, and her heart pounds so hard that she can’t breathe.

Fast forward to sophomore year, when a girl is found dead on campus. Velma and Shaggy are just coming back from the dining half when they spot the crowd. They push through to the yellow police tape, and for the first time since high school, the gang is all in one place again.

[sakura-otome]

Alright, since Utakata no Uchronia is finally being released and I'm gonna be picking up my reservation at Stella Worth tomorrow, let's go through the main and also side characters and talk about which ones I would totally smash

For those of you who don't know Broccoli, the company that produced Jack Jeanne, has come out with a new otome game as of 4/11.

The writing team is basically the exact same team as the one that worked on Piofiore, including the artist RiRi

I'm genuinely so hype for this game. I never ever ever reserve the special edition for a game, but I'm confident this will be a masterpiece like Piofiore. The character designs are all great, the voice actors are top notch A-listers, and they even used live 2D to animate all the sprites! Which has never been done in an otome game before.

This game also has a free trial, which let's you play through the common route, so I definitely encourage anyone who's interested and able to read Japanese to go ahead and play it.

Anyways, let's get to the main cast!

Okay first and foremost, our lovely protagonist ~ ❤️❤️

Her default name is Hinagiku, which is so darn cute!

I don't play games if I don't like the MC's design, but she passes with flying colors. I love white hair, her outfit is fantastic, and I don't find her personality grating. She's actually quite fun!

1000% SMASH

Next is Yashiro

VA: Kobayashi Chiaki

He's clearly the main hero. Putting aside plot stuff and other predictions, his big thing is being quite mysterious. Though he's very friendly, due to his amnesia at the story, we know basically nothing about him. From what I could glean from the info on the site and character PVs, I'm definitely sensing self hatred and angst, and also he's much bolder than I would have expected!

SMASH

Next is Tobari

VA: Okamoto Nobuhiko

So far, he's the one I'm most looking forward to. He's the face of the red light district, and is very dependable despite his age. I really adore the deep kindness that seems to underly his tough exterior, and the voice samples give me the picture of a someone who won't reach out to the MC because of his role, and what it would do to her if he were to take that chance. It doesn't matter if she wants it, it would lead to her unhappiness —

Listen I could go on. But to summarize.

Here's the thing about me. I'm always craving a specific kind of angst. I love when one party rejects the other, not because the feelings aren't mutual, but because they have to choose to live by their principles in some way. And I feel that Tobari is the most likely to scratch this itch.

1 MILLION PERCENT SMASH

Next up is Awayuki

VA: Saito Soma

He is basically the MC's personal butler/guardian. They've been by each other's sides since they were children, and he was one of the few that remained after the fire that destroyed her home and killed her parents when she was 8.

I certainly don't dislike this dynamic, but it's not necessarily my biggest thing. The notes said that the theme for his route was "attachment" or "obsession", from the both if them, which is intriguing to me because MC doesn't seem intense to me in that way, but we'll have to see!

SMASH

Next is Yori

VA: Eguchi Takuya

He's an officer in the militia Kurozuru, and is outright stated in his bio to have quite the nasty personality.

Tbh he pisses me off too much for me to make a fair assessment of him. He's perfectly physically attractive but I cant get past the urge to strangle him Homer Simpson style.

I'm looking forward to his route only insofar as I hope he gets put in his goddamn place.

PASS

Next up, Tsuyukusa

VA: Matsuoka Yoshitsugu

He's a skilled craftsman and a childhood friend to the MC.

He has the biggest, fattest, most obvious crush on the MC right out the gate, and it's honestly the cutest thing ever.

I'm honestly shocked this girl hasn't noticed, he barely hides it. Bitch is cute but hella dense.i honestly feel bad for him at this point.

He's really giving me cat energy. Real meow meow catboy energy if you will. Anyway

SMASH

Moving onto side characters! Woo!

Tsuwabuki

VA: Azakami Yōhei

So apparently he's Yori's older brother who also works in Kurozuru. From what I've seen of this guy, he's genuinely one of the nicest people ever, and I cannot believe he is related to Tori in any capacity. A mystery how he turned out so well-adjusted while Yori is an unapologetic dickhead. Would love to see a side story with him.

SMASH

This is Aijiro

VA: Toya Kikunosuke

Works for Yori. Hates his boss but is one of the few actually capable of working with him. Personally, not my type, design or personality wise.

PASS

Next up, Karatachi

VA: Fukuyama Jun

The head of Kurozuro. Is known to be quite eccentric and difficult to work with.

Listen, out of everyone in this game, he's the one I would personally jump in an alley. OBSESSED.

SMASH SMASH SMASH SMA–

Moving on, Shioji

VA: Yoshimura Kazuhiro

He's Tobari's right hand man, and also sort of "older brother". He's friendly and charming but I'm not particularly struck by him or his design.

PASS

[rhokisb]

DnD Universe Wipe

So we gone done fucked up.

All the characters that our group plays under our other DM (not me) exist within one universe, called Weyard. We didn't always know that but eventually it became apparent that our alternative characters were crossing paths with our mains, which was a fun development, right?

Wrong.

So, REWIND:

Two weeks ago, our main campaign (Weyard for the other DM) reached a very important point in our campaign. We were tasked with trying to bring another member back from the dead. This other member was someone we met while doing a one-shot WITH OUR MAIN CHARACTERS, but who did not travel with us after this point. So we all knew and remembered him, but hadn't seen him in awhile. We learned of his death, and confirmed that he was dead prior to being tasked with bringing him back.

We were given the chance to bring him back through a complicated ritual which would grant us one of 2 remaining wishes that exist in the universe. This was a once in a lifetime chance, and we were

EXTENSIVELY. WARNED. THAT. THIS. WAS. A. ONE. AND. DONE.

So we get to the area where we could do the ritual, three of our party members go forth to try and do the trials to get the wish. They succeed. Again:

WE. WERE. WARNED. EXTENSIVELY. THAT. THIS. WAS. OUR. ONLY. CHANCE.

To make our wish come true everyone in the party would have to wish for the same thing. "The effort given will be reflected in the reward".

Well fuck me sideways, you wanna know how that went?

In our party of 8, 3 of the people did not wish for the same thing as the rest of the group.

Wished for a fucking Dragon. For no reason. Absolutely none. Without anyone else wishing for it he never would have gotten it. He did not wish for it outloud, so none of us knew what he wished for in-game, only that he wouldn't tell us what he wished for.

Wished for her dead kids back. Understandable and it was a fear we all had when the rules were explained to us. Our group trusted her to do the right thing, and she failed.

Wished that "his friend's wishes come true".

The rest of us put our hearts and souls into wishing the dearly departed back.

Flash forward to this weekend:

We are all still at the ritual spot, immediately my character (Orlogg) and his best friend (Dante) picked up the gnome (Passmae, who wished for the Dragon) and beat the shit out of him because he wouldn't tell us what he wished for. He's been sketchy at other moments too, and this was the final straw. We then confirmed with the dude running the trials that Passmae was ONE of the reasons we failed. We beat the shit out of him. He's been unconscious for 5 in-game days because every time he moves we beat him unconscious again (partly because, OF COURSE THE DUDE WHO RUINED THE CAMPAIGN COULDN'T MAKE THE SESSION).

Vestare, who wished for her children back, we...had words with. Words along the lines of:

"We're not mad, we're hurt that you literally act like you're alone all the time. You're not alone. We've been together through this entire bullshit saga of events since we first met. If you ASKED we would all go to the ends of the world to get your kids back. You only need to say the word. None of us, including you, can do this alone. Believe in us like we believe in you."

Dank, who had a vague wish, was ignored completely (also not at session).

Orlogg (me) decided to take some hallucinogens at the ritual site and was greeted by Fate and Destiny. Not the gods of fate and destiny, but the actual incarnations of all of Fate and all of Destiny. Beholden to none. Orlogg begged them for assistance and was told that,

F&D: "Every time we meddle, we make things worse. Every time we help, your odds of success diminish. There's a balance that needs to be maintained, and every time we tip it, it is never in our favour."

O: "What can I give to even the scales?"

F&D: "You're not the only one who will have to give. Soon, someone very close to you, will be in dire need of help and when that day comes, you two will both have to give, and HE will never be the same."

O: "Will that help? Or will it just keep things even?"

F&D: "Tough to say. It will help bring the departed back."

O: "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Before I go, I just want to say thanks for everything you've already done." *Motions to fist bump them*

F&D: *One of them reaches to fist bump and as our knuckles touch they whisper* "I'm sorry."

Which was cryptic and terrifying because Orlogg cares deeply about his best friend Dante, so clearly they meant his BFF.

Well as we traveled to return and report our failure to a Cleric of Life, Dante just starts whipping out a skull that he's had hidden for months (in-game) in his backpack and starts talking to it, and can't seem to stop holding it. We all remember the player picking up the skull, but none of our characters saw it when it happened months ago.

We get back to the temple and the man who gave us the chance, and he loses his shit. Basically just tells us:

"You're the reason that the world will end. There is no hope. You've stolen everything from every single person, creature, whatever in this world. It's over. We've lost. We wasted one of the very precious last wishes for the world. And that failure spells doom for the entire world."

The skull begins talking. It is the skull of Memnoch--one of the side characters of Dante who died during a different campaign (which is why Dante picked up to begin with, cause the player meta knew that was her skull). Memnoch tells Dante that there is one more last chance, and explains how to do it.

This includes that ONLY the people who can be "trusted" can accompany Dante on this quest. The party must be split and this "event" will happen elsewhere. So the five of us who wished properly have left the rest of the group on a separate secret mission.

THEN, the DM informed us that failure during this quest will result in the entire universe being wiped. That means our main characters, our side characters, everything that isn't my Dragonlance campaign: gone. Everyone is dead. Including the OTHER GROUP OF PLAYERS who is also playing in our universe on the same quest that we are supposed to link up with for the end BBEG fight (I think its over 15 characters vs. the BBEG).

So there were tears and now the five of us have been having massive anxiety over this upcoming secret session to save the universe. Not the world. The universe.

(THIS LAST CHANCE ONLY HAPPENED BECAUSE THE WOMAN WHO PLAYS DANTE MESSAGED THE DM OUTSIDE OF GAME TWO WEEKDS AGO AND ASKED IF THERE WAS ANYTHING DANTE COULD DO TO FIX THE FAILURE AFTER WE ALL CLEARLY KNEW WE FAILED BECAUSE SOMEONE DECIDED TO WISH FOR A FUCKING DRAGON! HIS ORIGINAL INTENT WAS WE WERE ALL GOING TO KEEP PLAYING FOR MONTHS AND THEN THE END FIGHT WE WOULD JUST...LOSE. WE LOST 3 MONTHS AGO WHEN WE FAILED ON THE MOUNTAIN. BUT HE'S DECIDED TO GIVE US ONE LAST CHANCE WITHOUT THE PROBLEM PLAYER.)

Our DM everyone. Master of emotional devastation.

To find out what happened next, check the links below:

Dante's No Good Horrible Awful Bad Vacation (AKA: The Universe Wipe) Part 1

Dante's No Good Horrible Awful Bad Vacation (AKA: The Universe Wipe) Part 2

[teotalksaboutstuff]

Thoughts and Predictions for Danganronpa Despair Time

So I’ve been getting super into DR Despair Time of late, and I’ve decided to make a post outlining my thoughts thus far. Spoiler warning for all mainline Danganronpa games, both games of the Danganronpa Another series, and the Prologue and Chapter 1 of DRDT, as those were the only items completed at the time of posting this, with previews of Chapter 2 out. Bonus content for DRDT is also mentioned and spoiled in this brain-dump.

Thoughts So Far

I can’t say I actively dislike any of the characters, which is a good sign for things to come in my book. I will begin, thus, with my thoughts on them.

I am of course going to start with our protagonist, Teruko Tawaki, our Ultimate Lucky Student. I find her to be a nice subversion of the hopium protagonists we’ve had in the mainline games (especially Makoto), and even the Another series does have this to some degree (mostly with Utsuro though Sora does show these tendencies to a degree as well). I like how she is actively willing to distrust others and call them out on their hollow and hypocritical words after the trial. Considering they were willing to vote her dead without a second pause, she saved all their lives when none of them (except maybe Eden but we’ll get to her) deserved it, at least in her eyes. I am of the belief she is justified in how she acted, especially when Xander did try to kill her first. She is an innovative protagonist in my eyes, because she would have been the antagonist if Danganronpa Tradition (TM) had been stuck to. I am ever so glad that this one doesn’t with its protag, and I look forward to seeing her arc of what I believe will be re-learning to trust people.

Next up, speaking of the devil, is Xander himself. I find many similarities between him and Sayaka Maizono, mostly concerning their respective trials. They attach themselves to the protagonist relatively early on only to die first. Now, as most people who have seen DRDT have seen DR1, including myself, I can say I saw him dying first coming a mile away. What I did not see coming is that he would attempt to kill Teruko. While I did just say Teruko was justified in how she acted, I do not think it is completely fair to throw Xander under the bus here and call him a snake like some of the fandom do with Sayaka (and I don’t believe her to be a snake either, for anyone wondering. If anything, there are less logical arguments to call her one than Xander but we’re getting off topic). It is pretty much confirmed he was ordered to kill Teruko by an unrelated party, and I don’t think we’re going to find out who until the final trial or what they might have on him. I suspect it has something to do with the death of his parents as revealed in the bonus episode. That said, Xander’s actions are reasonable considering that important tidbit, and we’ve seen that he has a more emotional temperament. Thus, his emotions definitely pushed him to go ahead with the murder without the need for a MonoTV sanctioned motive. 

Now for his murderer, Ultimate Student Min Jeung. I didn’t really find much of note with her until just before the body discovery, and when the trial comes around, hooooly shit does her hypocrisy become fascinating. She’s clearly conflicted between wanting to live herself and wanting to save Teruko, though it’s implied they’ve got some Divine Luck-style force going on that compelled Min to do so. I don’t think she would have tried to help the victim, if Xander had been ordered to kill literally anyone else. Part of the appeal is how morally grey everything is, of course, and I would be remiss for saying she’s completely unsympathetic. She didn’t exactly want to murder Xander, she just happened upon the crime scene and realized she’d have to defend herself, and she did in a very inventive way that ultimately caused her downfall. 

I said I’d be getting to Ultimate Clockmaker Eden Tobisa in a minute, and that is because I believe she is going to fill the support role. I think her and Teruko especially bounce off of one another very well, and for her to be as much of a cinnamon roll as she looks makes for a fitting enough contrast. Teruko, through Eden, can learn that not everyone is a snake in the grass waiting to pounce on you when your guard is down, and she can likewise learn through Teruko that not everyone is a cinnamon roll like her and that she needs to doubt people sometimes in order to be able to solidify her trust in them. I think she’s going to either survive the whole thing or die near the end.

Moving on, we have our Ultimate Zither Player, Hu Jing. She has done a lot to keep the class as a united front throughout Chapter 1, and it feels as if she is keeping up the facade of a perfect person. Due to this, I think she’s going to end up being a culprit, possibly even the next culprit if my theory about her being a spin on the Kirumi Toujo archetype is proven true. If she is, I think it would be nice if she wasn’t hung as part of her execution, that trope for musically inclined talents within DR and its fan projects is quite tired.

We move now to J Moreno, the Ultimate Effects Artist. I am really liking her character so far, and her Free Time Event with Arei is especially doing her favors (I’ll discuss this when we get to Arei herself). Immediately she puts on display that people are putting on an image with how they appear to us, and the events of the game prove this initial statement thematically salient to the themes I believe the game is going for, that being those of Trust vs. Doubt. I say this because it is true that everyone puts on a mask for the public, and no one can truly know how someone feels, unless they trust someone else enough to let them know this. 

Next up is Veronika Grebenshchikova the Ultimate Horror Fanatic, and oh boy do I have things to say about her. Her DR references in the prologue are so blatantly obvious that I believe she is either the Mastermind or a herring as red as blood in that department. She mentions herself to be interested in the psychology behind why horror movies make us feel how they do, and it is for this reason I find her actions at the trial so interesting. I think that her excitement at Min’s culprit breakdown is especially notable, and almost gives off the vibe of Junko Enoshima. In fact, a lot about her is similar to Junko in design as well: her hair is not dissimilar to Junko’s, not to mention the eye hairclips that could possibly represent the audience watching the killing game. This does form a recipe for a compelling mastermind; it would show just how deep her fascination with human fear, terror, and horror goes and be a fascinating dive into someone willing to do anything to study these and possibly other emotions (i.e. Kokoro Mitsume if she had been the mastermind in SDRA2).

Next in line is David Chiem, the Ultimate Motivational Speaker. Xander stanning him is pretty funny, but there is some thematic salience to it as well, considering the both of them are concealing hidden depths that are revealed either almost immediately or much later on in Chapter 1. David doesn’t seem to like his talent much, evident with his mask slipping almost right off the bat when Xander leaves briefly. It falls off completely at the end of Chapter 1, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise if we consider this in conjunction with what J said in her intro, and I do wonder where they’re going to go with his character after this, as it would seem wrong for him to die just yet.

Arturo Giles, the Ultimate Plastic Surgeon, is regrettably the character I would have to rank the lowest in terms of how much I like the characters, but there is some significance to what we’ve seen of him so far (which isn’t much because he thinks the entire cast is fugly and is literally only helping in the infirmary bc he’s the only one with medical training). I do see his idolization of celebrities specifically for their external appearances to point to the significant sub-themes of how beauty is perceived, and if true beauty exists at all. We can frame this as External Beauty vs. Internal Beauty, or perhaps Appearance vs. Character. The talk of us putting on masks for the public seems appropriate here, as Arturo literally wears a mask, plus what I’ve already mentioned with J and David. He is obviously masking his own insecurities about his face, and it would make sense for there to be a reveal of what exactly is under this mask at some point during the game. It would be especially thematically salient if this were to be a complete accident on his part, to see it literally slip and fall off his face, like what we saw in a more proverbial sense with David. Such is to say, when we take off our proverbial mask that we all put on, some might see the embodiment of beauty itself, or at least sublimity, but others might be repulsed by a vision so ugly it burns itself into their mind for the rest of their life.

Levi Fontana seems like the perfect foil to Arturo, largely as he seems to believe external beauty to be subjective. He is the Ultimate Personal Stylist, and it makes sense as he states, not in exact words admittedly, that his goals with this talent are to help people express their truest selves. He seems like the most ‘mask-off’ person there from the start, and he wants people to be able to let off their figurative masks, to show their internal beauty, by styling their external beauty in a way that does so. I do think there is significance in him being the one to attack MonoTV, as well as his attitude towards Ace. It shows that he is unafraid to express the parts of himself that others would deem ugly, and does so shamelessly without much regard for the consequences until after he’s already done it. He’s probably going to die in the mid-to-late game considering he’s the buffest person here.

-Speaking of Ace, we move on to Ace Markey, our Ultimate Jockey. He also seems very mask off, though it isn’t completely willing as he is simply scared of everything. And I do mean everything. Like, I wonder what the hell happened to him that made him like this. Perhaps we’ll get backstory on this later, perhaps not. I think he’ll make it to at least Chapter 5, if not survive the whole thing, as he hopefully learns to steel himself somewhat. It would make for a nice character arc.

Next in line is Whit Young, Ultimate I Love You, You Little Shit Matchmaker, and by far my favorite character so far. There’s admittedly more thematically significant characters than him, but I think he’s funny and I love him. Actually his relationship with Charles is probably going to be important later, considering that he knew significant information about him that did ultimately clear him of the crime, namely his traumatic experiences with gory death scenes like Xander’s. Also, he genuinely seems to have good intentions as a comic relief, meaning as much as he seems to be Kokichi Ouma with pastel colors at first, I find Whit infinitely better due to him immediately establishing compelling relationships with the rest of the cast. I’m deluding myself into thinking that he will survive.

Speaking of Charles, our Ultimate Chemist is next, and I have a feeling he’s going to die next, as unless the murder directly involves chemicals or a lack of bloody external injuries, he’s basically useless in trials. It also doesn’t help that he’s already had a ton of screentime with Teruko being his investigative partner in Chapter 1. Even if it fits, it would be a shame for him to die here as his relationship with Whit does have some significance in connection to the theme. It is Whit that must have helped him take the mask off at some point, or it was forced off him in little pieces when he found the body and Whit was the first to put the pieces together. 

We finally get to Ultimate Bowler Arei Nageishi, meaning I now get to talk about her bonus content. She is definitely a textbook Hiyoko Saionji kinnie, though I quite like the angle they took with her especially concerning her relationship with J. This could correlate to the subthemes of beauty through the lens of femininity, namely in how J and Arei choose to express theirs. Arei leans towards the more traditionally and stereotypically feminine down to being the Queen Bee stereotype during her high school years by her own admission, and J prefers to present herself decidedly less so expressly because she has had a bad experience with traditional femininity. This speaks to the subjectivity of femininity, as J is no less feminine than Arei for presenting how she does, and Arei is no more feminine than J for her own experiences with her gender. Both are happy with their self expression, and that is what matters to themselves. They see their own internal beauty differently, and choose to express it in a way that suits their identities.

Nico Hakobyan, Ultimate Pet Therapist also hasn’t done much of note. Which is fair enough, as he is quite the shrinking violet and prefers to keep to the back. I do like him though, as I have quite the soft spot for catboys, even if he isn’t actually a full-blown catboy.

Last but certainly not least, Ultimate Art Forger Rose Lacroix is interesting, and I really hope she survives. It makes sense, however, that someone with her kind of info would die. She clearly had knowledge that most times we only find out at the end and was willing to reveal it off the bat, such as the class being sealed away for years before the events of DRDT. This makes me wonder what she’s going to do to fight the mastermind, assuming she does choose to do this. Alternatively, she is a traitor or maybe even the Mastermind herself. This could also make sense as DRDT is a fanganronpa and she is making a copy of Danganronpa, a sort of art she loves.  

Predictions

Here is how I predict the death order to go, assuming a traditional Danganronpa structure is followed

Chapter 1 Victim: Xander Matthews

Chapter 1 Culprit: Min Jeung

Chapter 2 Victim: Charles Cuevas

Chapter 2 Culprit: Hu Jing

Chapter 3 Victims: Arei Nageishi

Chapter 3 Culprit: Arturo Giles

Chapter 4 Victim: Levi Fontana

Chapter 4 Culprit: Whit Young

Chapter 5 Victim: David Chiem

Chapter 5 Culprit: Eden Tobisa

Chapter 6 Victim: Rose Lacroix

Mastermind: Veronika Grebenshchikova

Survivors: Teruko Tawaki, Ace Markey, J Moreno, Niko Hakobyan

[advancedscurvy]

last night we had the last session for my four year long pathfinder campaign, i'd like to memorialize this incredible campaign with some really wonderful moments i had with my friends. we're already playing two "sequel" sort of campaigns set distantly in the same world, both in time and space, but i'm going to miss my character so much. ianthe, a single mother who was a storm druid "swamp trash" undine in her mid 30s, who started our campaign trying to save her son's life after the swamp she had tended to almost all of her life began to grow corrupted and claimed her child, eventually became the avatar and inheritor of the power of our universe's sun goddess, the most powerful druid on the earth, the hero of three separate countries, and is now one of the creator gods of a world we had to rewrite after an apocalypse we could not stop. in a way, we ended the story right as it truly begins with their new divine aspects. however, she was also an icon, and i will miss her every time i play. there is no character like the first character whose story you truly get to close. so here's some incredible things ianthe did:

killed the prince of atlantis in literally our second or third session because he was a clam on a beach talking about killing all humans, she was annoyed, and for literally four years our party was almost fully unable to do anything in the ocean. because ianthe mistakenly thought it was no big deal that she just smushed a clam with her staff, she never communicated this mistake to everyone else, so they never really knew why the ocean wanted to kill us until we were captured literally in the last arc and they put her on trial for murder. she was not even good at pretending to be sorry.

"oh my god, they might cut off my hair? that's my third best asset!" "what's your first and second?" (points to breasts)

the boob jokes got a lot of mileage with her, i will not deceive you. she had a dragonscale armor leotard sort of thing and had stitched a bag of holding into the bra cups, and kept her spellcasting components in there. still thinking about how before she said goodbye to one of her flings for the last time before the final fight, she said "remember me as a woman who had the best and most holy rack the world has ever seen." we love that for her.

"the guy who's attacking us is a paladin of serrenrae and his armor is covered in her sigils, right?" "yes-- where are you going with that?" "i'm her avatar, and i have all her remaining power in me, right?" "yeah, but he didn't know that." "the same dude who was insulting my dignity at the bar before the tournament?" "i don't like where this is going--" "i cast reprobation. all of his equipment is now useless to him, he loses all of his paladin levels and divine authority, and if he touches my holy symbol it burns him. he is now exiled from the faith of serrenrae."

this dude proceeded to come back as a recurring villain who really fuckin hated me, for understandable reasons, and ended up making deals with some demons and decimating our ship eventually. i still do not regret what i did.

when we finally returned to my home country ready to try to purge the swamp and face some of my backstory stuff, we found that it had been consumed by a huge mushroom superorganism that put us into deep dreams upon our arrival and picked us off in the dreams one by one. i realized this when using lifesense, i could still feel my dead friends' energies around me and couldn't figure out why. this was being manipulated by another druid who had spent his whole career serving the leshy king doing all of this, and when i finally confronted him (he was trying to offer the whole country's life force to the leshy king and use my son's body as his avatar), i was like oh you want me to choose between you resurrecting my son and the lives of countless people? i know what to do-- and stabbed myself so that i could wake up from the dream and fight the other druid personally. the leshy king orchestrating this ended up understanding what selflessness was because of my sacrifice and agreed to revive my son and give his own powers to him, in the hopes that when we rebuilt this world, my son would be able to do it right (and in the sequels, we know he does <3)

the time i stopped a volcano from exploding a whole island by expending two mythic spell slots to cast polar midnight, then creating colossal earthen walls to end the eruption, was wicked. i love flexing high level druid spells.

the time i created a tsunami to protect an entire nation from armies and armies of hybridized magical mechs

all of my many flings with random npcs that i decided were suitably fun for me. the moon god. the lady blacksmith. the pre-historic alien tarzan on dinosaur island. the lord of chaos who only showed up for a good time. the orc chieftain who asked me to do recon.

the time one of our closest allies was dying when we returned and i straight up revived him

the time i literally dried out a huge two mile radius bubble of the ocean to stop a witch from summoning one of the nameless creatures of the darkest depths of the plane of water to destroy the surface, because the witch could not breathe air and could only breathe water. we do not talk about how many other things that could only breathe water were also caught in the bubble. the spell was dispelled eventually after we stopped her, it's fine, it's fine, shhhh, we don't have to talk about it.

disguised myself as a human factory worker trying to sneak into a robot factory, ended up accidentally unionizing said factory

the time i died. the other time i died. the OTHER other time i died. i died like three times at least depending on your definition.

"don't touch the shiny rock" every time there was a shiny rock, since my vice is touching the shiny rocks. the first shiny rock i touched is how serrenrae got me in the first place

the time i filled my own bag of holding with water because i (amphibious) needed to be snuck into a palace, but was very poor at sneaking and could not hold wildshape that long, so i just stuffed myself in there like a fish in a plastic baggy, then accidentally when they took me out of there, all the water came out too so they flooded a nobleman's dining room. great work everyone

every single monologue i gave about freedom and people's right to choose their life and livelihood and authority was so fun. personally my favorite is still that every time another mythic/god hierarchy being said something about what was going to happen next she would immediately go-- "who gave you the right!" i love that i can take a character who i really didn't know for sure what her motivations would be once she got her goal, and ended up coaxing out of it a deeply interesting narrative about having nothing, gaining divine power, abusing that divine power for a minute, and then becoming a better and more realized, self aware person who respects people's autonomy and understands that a god-meddled world is a mess and the most she can do is give people a hand up, rather than exercise her own will over them. i cannot wait to see what her future followers look like.

i'll miss ianthe sm honestly. she was incredible.

[youngpoetthomasthorne]

D&D is finally back on! I'm thrilled to be back.

I had an artwork commissioned of my character Thomoras, I got to show it off today. The artist was lovely, very collaborative. They shall post it on tumblr soon, I will reblog it once it's up.

Today I was seated with a player from my first session here, finally. Thomoras had promised his character a bottle of wine in trade for protection. It's been at the back of my mind since, I thought I got to sit with him one or two sessions later, but he was actually substitute DMing for someone, so I didn't get to make up for it.

We traveled by cart up to a mountain filled with dwarfs, some social, some not so much. (I would just like to mention I despise that this is the most common way dwarfism is represented. Little people deserve better.)

The more social ones got a bit handsy at first. Either way, we got to a bar, where I bought this chap a bottle of wine. The bartender saw me hand it to him, and poured some wine for the whole party (and himself) because of it. The wine... Sounded quite unappetizing. I won't recount the details, but trust me when I say I was glad to not have actually tasted it in real life.

We got to a crowded hall where we were meant to meet up with someone. However, there was a fight about to start, and Thomoras happened to take notice that there were four groups of people, all singing different songs. Two players went off to watch the fight, one of them placed a bet (and lost). The other two players went off to the person we were supposed to meet. I, however, recognized two of the songs people were singing. One of which was more cheerful than the other. I shouted out that everyone pull themselves together and sing the same song, as the clashing sounds were getting quite bothersome. Thomoras then proceeded to do an amazing job playing background music for the cheerful song. (I rolled a nat 20, with my modifier it was a 27.) People started joining in, Thomoras got a look from a racist high elf (Thomoras is a half-elf), but the high elf's friend, who was also a high elf, seemed fine with Thomoras.

Eventually, everyone gathered to hear our mission. We were to complete a trial for the dwarfs in the mountain. Unfortunately I didn't quite catch why, I was quite unfocused today.

After some discussion, we decided to go with the trial of the hunter, which involved tracking down something (or someone) dangerous and defeating it (/them) and bringing back something to show of it.

When we asked for some guidance, we were told we could defeat a wyvern, since there were loads nearby, and we were advised of a monastery of fighters, in which we would be rewarded an orange gold coin of sorts to show we have defeated someone.

However, we were gently informed that wyverns were quite dangerous, and we also didn't get an exact location for the monastery. We decided to sleep on it, and perhaps gain some more intel.

During this time, Thomoras decided to go around asking to read a poem to anyone willing to listen. He finally found someone willing to listen, and started to read out a medium length poem, of only 30 minutes. He gained quite a crowd, but unfortunately they felt it got repetitive and was written badly. Remember the high elfs from earlier? The one that was NOT racist had changed his mind. He said that was about what you'd expect from a half elf. As he and his friend left, they even called Thomoras a *quarter* elf. I have never in my life felt greater pain.

While Thomoras was doing this, the other players were asking around, and apparently some people had seen a bloated elk corpse with two large wounds. We concluded it must have been from some kind of snake.

We returned to the person responsible for the trial of the hunter, announcing our decision to track down this beast and kill it.

Our quest got approved, and off we went. It didn't take us long to find the dead elk. It had decomposed quite rapidly, only having been dead for a few days. We concluded it was due to some kind of poison.

After a while, we found that the ground had an odd rainbow sheen to it. Two of the players rolled quite well on history/religion checks, so we learned that the tracks most likely belonged to a kind of rainbow snake. Either, a kind winged ond that would leave us alone, or a dangerous fallen one.

Moments later, we encounter this dangerous beast.

I would recount to you the battle in great detail, but it was already over right as we got into the 3rd round. I wanted to use my staff of the python, but the beast did consistently over 60 damage, which is Slitherz the fourth's HP. If he reaches 0, my staff breaks and he's dead for good. There's rumors of a player who lost their snake, cried, and never returned... And I would like to stay out of that rumor.

I'm quite thankful that I didn't release Slitherz, because one of the players died. He seemed quite casual about it, and the DM held sort of a funeral for his character. It was short, but it was respectful.

Right, I almost forgot! When we defeated the beast, it turned out that we had been followed by the trial of the hunter man, and he informed us that what we had defeated was... I believe a Naga? Which is a beast that regenerates. We hurried back with the head, which then got ushered away and presumably locked in some sort of cage.

At the end of it all, I (along with the rest of my team) got a sort of silver coin, engraved with dwarvish writing and anvils, as a sign of allegience.

During the game my bag of snacks (which was meant to be able to stand!) fell over and I lost around a third of it on the floor. :/

[bunnhop]

The Trial of Valkyrie Alvitr in Ragnarok Origin

Published: August 29, 2021 Last Updated on October 9, 2021

(Reposted from bunnhop.com)

We’re back with another episode of Let’s Explore Ragnarok Origin! Tutorial. Our journey today begins at the Novice Training Grounds. When we exit the Academy’s main hall to get to the Training Grounds, we notice one particular feature of Ragnarok Origin that is not present in the original RO, but was introduced to Ragnarok Mobile back in 2019 in Episode 5: Midnight Party. This is the weather system. We see that the current conditions at the Training Grounds are as follows: Daytime, Pleasant, Sunny.

Much later in the video, we’ll explore the mini-map to find out that, similar to ROM, the weather affects the in-game environment. Exactly how? We don’t know just yet. Perhaps we’ll find out when we finally leave the tutorial area and do the story missions.

On our way to meet with our next instructor, we meet many ambient NPCs both Novices and First Job classes. In some of the groups we come across are First Job Instructors. The one standing near the portal back to the main hall with two female Novices is Pamela, the instructor for the Acolyte Job class. Donning a High Priestess attire we all know from other Ragnarok games, she tries to debunk a common misconception among Acolytes’ role in group settings such as parties and guilds. Aside from her, there’s also Emily Wan, a High Wizard who teaches aspiring Mages.

Close to Emily’s group is a Bard called Lorne, who serenades a couple of Novices with a song about the world of Ragnarok. When we speak to him and tell him that we’d like to listen his music, he plays a tune and sings along. The words in his song mention something about us rewriting the fate of the Rune-Midgarts Kingdom, possibly hinting to our character’s leading role in the game. It would be interesting to see exactly how this unfolds in ROO’s main storyline.

Combat Training with Instructor Brade

Next to Instructor Orbis Thea who seems to be teaching a young Swordsman how to cook is a crowd of Novices. To the right are three Novices busy practicing their skills on training dummies. In the middle of it all are Guide Sprakki and a dark-haired man clad in shiny heavy armor. This is Instructor Brade.

Brade teaches us the basics of combat, particularly the difference between Normal and Heavy Attacks, as well as two valuable Skills–Play Dead and First Aid–both of which are very familiar to long-time fans of the franchise. A funny cinematic cutscene featuring a group of Goblins and their leader accidentally summoned by a careless Novice is a good method to teach these two basic skills. Lesson learned: Don’t drop a Dead Branch!

Check Your Settings

Before we head to practical training, which is as simple as defeating five Lunatics, we take the time to check the Settings window. Apart from graphics, volume, and gameplay settings, this is also where we can set our preferences for the Auto-Attack (or Auto Combat) function. We can also check and edit preferences for the game client’s push notifications.

One interesting detail here is the Operating Mode under the Personal tab. For this, we have two options: Classic (recommended for beginners) and Double Wheel (recommended for advanced players). We’ll get back to this in another post and video to explore this in more detail.

To put it simply, Classic is a gameplay setting that allows you to focus on where you want your Skill to target. On the other hand, Double Wheel allows you to move your character around (first wheel) and, at the same time, move your target area (second wheel). This will definitely be useful for AoE classes such as Mages.

A Gift and A Trial

Upon completion of our practical training, Instructor Brade gives us an Auto-Recovery Device. Checking our inventory, we can click on it to set which potions we’d like to use automatically and exactly when to use them. The slider lets us change the required amount of HP and SP (e.g. 50% or below) our character needs to have before the device uses Red and Blue Potions, respectively.

Afterwards, Brade talks about our final trial where we have to meet and be baptized by a Valkyrie. He also explains the reason why the kingdom chose to build the academy on this particular island. This is because a part of it used to be a temple to a Valkyrie. Now a ruin, we have to go there to pay our respects to the war maiden in hopes that she can give us her protection.

What’s an Adventure without A (Mini-)Map?

On the way there, we decide to check the mini-map. To the right of the area name is the symbol for the weather system. Clicking it reveals information about the weather, as well as the current time. I wonder if time also affects the game environment… Is it random or server-/channel-based?

Tapping the mini-map shows some sort of weather forecast for the specific map we’re currently in. It seems that it’s going to be sunny all day! Below this is the local map in detail. As with many games, the red dots are enemies and the blue arrow icon is our character. Under the local map are four options–Map Info, Nearby Players, World Map, and Fly Wing. Map Info lets us check nearby NPCs, which monsters spawn in that map, and if there are any on-going events. The Nearby Players tab is self-explanatory, as well as the other two tabs.

Looking at the World Map, we can see that Ragnarok Origin has the same maps as when the original Ragnarok Online PC game was first launched. It has the six major Towns: Prontera, Izlude, Geffen, Morroc, Payon, and Alberta. The following Dungeons are also available:

Mjolnir Dead Pit

Labyrinth Forest

Prontera Underground Sewers

Byalan’s Undersea Tunnel

Orc Dungeon

Payon Cave

Pyramid

Ant Hell

Sunken Ship

While walking around the area close to the ruins of Valkyrie’s temple, we meet two more First Job Instructors. One is a Sniper named Cecilius, together with her teaching assistant Tana and a male Novice who hails from the same town of Payon. Cecilius mentions that her hometown is also called “Archer Village” because everyone there knows archery. Quis is the other instructor. He is an Assassin Cross and is teaching a new Thief. His student, however, feels awkward about the fact that Quis doesn’t talk much.

Blessed by Valkyrie Alvitr

Finally, we reach Valkyrie’s temple ruins. Here, Brade asks us to pray in front of the Valkyrie’s statue. Almost immediately, we enter another dimension which turned out to be the Hall of Warriors in Valhalla. An unknown voice commands us to pull out the Sword of Trial but warns that only the chosen one can do so. When we successfully pull it out, a bridge made of light is formed allowing us to cross and reach Valhalla.

Here, we meet a Valkyrie named Alvitr. She helps us unleash our full potential by making us face a King Drops. While in combat, she increases our Attack Speed and Physical Attack by releasing the Marks of Agility and Strength bound to our body, making us invincible against our giant foe. When done she congratulates us. And before we are sent back to the academy, Valkyrie Alvitr briefly mentions the importance of distributing status points.

Back at the Training Grounds, our instructor Brade expounds on this. Because of the many different ways we can distribute our status points, “…even those of the same Job can have different combat styles,” he explains. Finally, we graduate…

Dressing Up for Graduation

…but before that, we receive a gift from Guide Sprakki–a headgear of our choice! The vain little Novice next to the Gift Manager introduces us to the Closet feature. This whole encounter is a tutorial on the Costumes aspect of Ragnarok Origin. This game has noticeably better graphics than Ragnarok M, the newly-released Ragnarok X: Next Generation and, of course, Ragnarok Online. With this comes the ability to entice players who love character customization through cute headgear, hairstyles, and costumes. The Closet feature is certainly something to look forward to if you’re into fashion!

At long last, we graduate… and it’s quite a heartwarming scene! Instructor Brade brought along Guide Sprakki, and even good ol’ Professor Anderson is there! All four of us take a commemorative photo. This is then followed by Sprakki giving us two gifts. The first is a gift box for the official release of the Japanese server which has a bunch of cool consumables and equipment, including a GM uniform! The second is a ticket for the Start Dash 10 Consecutive Gacha–our very first!

While this tutorial gacha allows us to reroll until we get all the items we’re after, I didn’t have to. I was already happy with my result! I just really wanted some Red Potions and–you guessed it right–a Bunny Band!

Personally, I’m not fond of games with gacha because I don’t enjoy gambling. I’d rather loot or pay for the item I want. Thankfully, from what we’ve seen so far, Ragnarok Origin‘s gacha are purely cosmetic and don’t really impact character progression and/or gameplay.

But what do you think? Do you see yourself using the Gacha and Closet features often? Or are you more focused on leveling up and getting the best equipment? Or maybe you’re like us who are very much excited about exploring the story and quests in Ragnarok Origin?

[flowersdaggersviolasandblood]

Fame, Riches, and Music

Name: Nalanthar Arabana (He/Him/They/Them)

Race: Drow Half-Elf

Class: Bard (College of Valour)

Background: Entertainer

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD!

This will be the final post with Nalanthar for now because we finally got everyone caught up where we're about to take on Moonrise Towers. Continuing where we left off, Nalanthar got to see Ketheric Thorm for the first time and accepted the quest to find Balthazar and see what he's been up to. While exploring, we had that conversation with Araj, with Nalanthar agreeing to give up his own blood for a potion that's unique to him, but refusing to have the Drow force Astarion to drink hers. The pair have a conversation about this afterwards, but it looks like their love hasn't been solidified just yet, especially since I fucked up the whole relationship thing with Nalanthar lol.

We saved Wulbren and the Tieflings and sent them to Last Light, this time, we accompanied the escapees to the inn and part took in a routine check by the Harpers as they ensured that everyone, aside from Nalanthar and the crew, were cleared of parasites. This does make me curious of what would happen if we end up prisoner at Moonrise and escaped with everyone in tow before going to Last Light. Something to think about for next game ;).

After reuniting the remaining Tieflings with their lost friends and family and talking with Wulbren for a moment, we power walked to the mausoleum. There, we meet Raphael as he warns us about his rival, Yurgir, and promises to reveal the nature of Astarion's scars if we kill the guy. Upon entering the Gauntlet of Shar, with Shadowheart in tow this time, I decided to go the backdoor way to get that cool little cutscene moment with Balthazar. My main goal is to see what would happen this time around if I keep Balthy alive and have Shadowheart in the party.

After speaking with Balthazar, it was time to temple run our way through the trials of Shar. Upon meeting Yurgir, at first, I tried to Dominate Monster, or at least Planar Ally, the guy so that the combat would be easier. However, no matter how many attempts I made (save scumming is fun for some people), I couldn't get him under Nalanthar's control. So, I decided to simply go up and talk to the guy since Nalanthar is a curious individual and would be interested to hear what Yurgir had to say.

Despite Astarion being slightly frustrated that we didn't kill him outright, we did learn a few things. Yurgir was contracted by Raphael to kill the Dark Justiciars in this temple due to a song that he's forced to sing. When someone hears the song, they must die. With some careful dialogue picking and some baller persuasion rolls...I was able to tell the bastard to kill himself lmao. I honestly didn't even know that was a option with that guy! It was slightly sad because he had to kill his pet Displacer Beast friend, but also fuck that fucking pussy, I dreaded doing this fight with my other characters KNOWNING that I had to deal with that pussy. So good riddance.

After speedrunning through the temple to complete the other trials, we were able to reach Shar's inner sanctum. Like Pero, Nalanthar decided to eavesdrop on Shadowheart praying to Shar. Upon entering the Shadow Plane, Balthazar followed after us, and unlike Admaer who simply let the necromancer take the Nightsong back to Moonrise, Nalanthar decided to fight him right then and there due to the Nightsong being the primary source of Ketheric's power and possible weakness.

I tried my hand at killing Balthazar this way since the previous times I tried killing him, I kept using the barrel-mancy way out. Which, as I expressed before, is not my favorite way of handling combats because it feels meme-y to do so. But the mf is so strong that I couldn't help but go that route. And fuck was fighting him in the Shadow Plane hard. Fortunately, I was able to throw him off into the ether as Nalanthar used Telekinesis to yeet him.

Now without Balthazar being a distraction, it was now time to decide Shadowheart's fate. To spoil it, she's still alive lol. Both I and in-character can't seem to want to make the final decision to kill her. RP-wise, I like to think that Nalanthar was close to letting Shadowheart just kill the Nightsong, reluctantly so, but when the Nightsong decided to drop a lore bomb about Shadowheart, that's what changed his mind...Oh, and the fact that she might be the key they need to defeat Ketheric Thorm, of course.

After escaping the Shadow Plane, taking a long rest, and speaking with Raphael, we headed back to Last Light Inn. Firstly, before we continue, Nalanthar was the first to push the idea to Astarion that perhaps he could become an ascended vampire himself if they folly Cazador's plans; something the spawn takes great consideration of. Back at Last Light, we do attempt to confront Isobel about her name being part of a tomb we found at the Thorm crypt, but she chalks it up to coincidence. She then tells us to go to Moonrise Towers since the Harpers and Jaheria will be stationed over there to take the fight to Ketheric Thorm.

Upon arriving, Nalanthar was able to convince Jaheira to fight alongside him. Honestly, to see her filled with heroic spirit compared to how she was with Pero when the Harpers were dead filled my heart with joy. It once again made me feel a bit upset that I "fucked up" with Pero by allowing Isobel to be captured.

But now that everyone is at Moonrise, ready to take on Ketheric Thorm, we will raid the tower! Starting with Pero and the gang!

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[aquadestinyswriting]

I love and adore that you condensed the whole thing down like this, and while it's from your own POV, it basically contains all the major, relevant beats that happened.

For my part, I think I maybe noticed something was going on between our girls at around the same time Dru did, but I was too ace to fully pick up on it (I can't really speak for Dru). Also, there were far more pressing matters to attend to in-game at that point.

And the second important thing happens. So they're at this village in the mountains, Felix has convinced half the population Elo's some kind of Saviour, and these random bandits rock up. One of them was a horny bard, who took one look at the pair of us womenfolk and announced that he's gonna take one of us home. And Merri goes, "Well it ain't gonna be me sunshine, I'm taken." We're in the middle of combat when this happens, probably got some better things to be focusing on, but Elo looks at Merri with a face like a slapped puppy and says, "What? You never told me that?" Like, this woman is her best friend, maybe her only true friend at that point⁵, they were close as anything, and not once has Merri mentioned she was engaged. So Elo's hurt because Merri didn't share this. But she's got a deeper hurt and she doesn't know why⁶.

AAaand this is the point where I finally realised what had been going on between Merri and Elowyn (I'd sort of figured it out earlier than this but was umm-ing and aah-ing over whether or not it really was something or if I was just imagining things. No, I did not ask out of game, because I am a dumbass). Unfortunately we didn't get much, if any, time after this point for Meredith to just sit down and explain the engagement thing to Elowyn. Merri still had some God Clay to get a hold off and seal up the portal to the Pit, and the whole party had a BBEG's ass to go and kick after all.

The main issue is that Fangthane still holds a grudge against Toreguard and her citizens. As a representative of Toreguard, Elo (who is still very much In Love with her unattainable dwarf, but Repressing with great success) refuses to break the line, once again putting her duty before her love. This leads one of the other Party members to accuse Elo of not caring about Merri, and, my gods, did I pitch a fit. Elo would have decked him if she thought she wouldn't accidentally kill him.

Please note: I, as the GM, was also ready to pitch a fit at the guy, but had to hold my tongue so I could allow the interaction play out between the characters. Said interaction played out beautifully but, man, if looks could kill...

Elo is Not Allowed to see Merri while she's incarcerated for obscure legal reasons which escape me now

As for this bit, I think you weren't allowed to see Merri until the day before the trial because Snotgrut was acting as her lawyer and wanted to get as much info from Merri's perspective of what went down as possible before she got distracted. I know you did get to visit the day before because I distinctly remember the brief conversation we had that basically went: "if things don't go our way, we're gonna bust you out of here anyway, diplomacy be damned!" "aye, alright, but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet." because that made my heart melt into a pile of goo.

Seeing the whole story laid out is just heart-breaking to some extent, but I think it ultimately paid off. My husband is a wonderful GM, but he can be a real dick if he thinks he can smell any blood in the water, so to speak. Then there's the fact that, when push came to shove with regards to the Brotherhood of Cleaving and Dwarven apartheid plotline, both Merri and Elowyn were fully ready to choose Duty over each other, and Meredith ultimately did when she left Toreguarde after defeating Darkhide. Obviously that changes a little after the campaign ends, but at the time... yeah.

The Tragedy of Elo & Merri's Unrequited Love

Hello dear readers. People who've been perusing my blog for some time now should be familiar with my OC, Elowyn O'Toreguarde, and that of my freind @aquadestinyswriting, Meredith Gruksdottir, Clan Bloodvein (née Ironforge). These two characters were ones we roleplayed in a D&D campaign set in the Fighting Fantasy World of Titan. And as much as we've talked about them and shared their stories, neither of us have explicitly spelled out the Tragedy of their Unrequited Love.

So without further ado I would like share a condensed version of the Destiny's New Servants Campaign, focusing on their not-love story. (Note, this is from my POV and is not impartial)

Elo & Merri hit it off as friends right from the start. They meet because of a ghoul situation, take one look at each other and decide – yes, I need you on my side. These are two women who were often overlooked, not least because of their heights, both strong proponents of justice with a go-getter attitude and a penchant for running head-first into trouble.

So, of course, off they go adventuring. They pulled each other through many trials, though most often it's Elo supporting Merri – Merri was the holy one at that time, she was the one with the special powers that no one else had, she was devout and tough and steadfast. They drew close after an incident where three of their party drowned, and closer still when the last reminding character of the originals, a Monk, drops off the face of the planet¹. They get new party members, but it takes a while for them to warm up and mesh in etc, especially as the new characters are younger and more inexperienced compared to our girls. So for a long while they feel like they can only rely on each other. Then Elowyn died, was made a vassal of Kurtulmak, a whole lot of shit went down, and they're kicked off to the other side of the world for Plot reasons.

Two very important things happened not long after this.

The first was that an insane half demon robot from a different plane mistook Elo for her Aunt and tried to attack her…. And Merri was the first to step in front of the woodling to defend her. As an aside, dear reader, I need you to understand that, out of game, I was going through A Time, and my feelings of abandonment, isolation and depression were feeding through into my gameplay. So Elo was also having Some Problems. She'd been ripped out of her life, away from the city and everyone who knew her and everything she'd known. She was feeling lost, abandoned, and suddenly burdened with the knowledge she'd become de facto leader of their group. She was holding together spectacularly². Anyway. She's facing off with this demented thing and fully expecting the party to kinda fuck off and make her deal with it on her own. And she's gearing up to do just that, when this woman, filled with righteous wrath, steps in front of her and says, "You'll have t'go through me if you want her." And, fuck me, if that didn't hit me right in the godsdamned chest.

Bear in mind that this was such a slow burn that us Players, let alone our characters, did not figure out anything until way later in the campaign. That said, I think that might have been the start of Elo falling in love.

Anyway. Elo's made a Paladin, a gold dragon drops out of the sky to be her mount³, they're sent back to the other side of the world for more Plot reasons, dear pain-in-the-ass Felix starts the rumours Elo's some kind of messiah or prophet⁴.

And the second important thing happens.

So they're at this village in the mountains, Felix has convinced half the population Elo's some kind of Saviour, and these random bandits rock up. One of them was a horny bard, who took one look at the pair of us womenfolk and announced that he's gonna take one of us home. And Merri goes, "Well it ain't gonna be me sunshine, I'm taken." We're in the middle of combat when this happens, probably got some better things to be focusing on, but Elo looks at Merri with a face like a slapped puppy and says, "What? You never told me that?" Like, this woman is her best friend, maybe her only true friend at that point⁵, they were close as anything, and not once has Merri mentioned she was engaged. So Elo's hurt because Merri didn't share this. But she's got a deeper hurt and she doesn't know why⁶.

Fast forward, we were conscripted to resurrect a god, Deep Sashelas. Merri is grievously injured by the required ritual. The others in the party are concerned, of course they are, but Elo is next level. Full on fretting by the bedside etc. And as they move on, Elo finds herself shielding Merri more and more. Which is, in game mechanics, frankly unnecessary, because Clerics are as tanky as Pallies are. But if I'm honest, Elo might have done this even as a pure rogue because, of course she would. Elo thinks she's just being a Friend. Merri thinks Elo is being a Friend. The rest of the party are picking up on Something, but no one knows what so no one says anything. Only the on-and-off Monk⁷ thinks he understand what's going on, but he's not around enough to do anything about it.

So now we come to a switch point. Out of game, Urbanvoodoman was tired of GMing and wanted to play so Aqua was going to take over from him. But we had a BBEG to fight first.

Before the fight Elo was contacted by the BBEG, saying she could either hand over Merri or he was going to destroy Toreguard. So Elo now has this horrible predicament. Does she sacrifice the person she's slowly realising might be the love of her life and save her home, or does she allow millions to be slaughtered for the love of one woman?

Elo told the BBEG she'd sacrifice Merri. Only then she didn't. The BBEG fight was a mess, and frankly not important to this story.

What is important, is that to transition Aqua over to GM, Merri had to be retired as a Player Character. So the morning after the BBEG fight Elo and co wake up… and Merri is not there. In her place are letters, apologising for having to leave for her home, Fangthane, and explaining why. Elo's letter contained apology after apology, and Merri's holy symbol to remember her by. It broke Elo's heart. Because now, of all possible times, Elo realises she's in love. Merri is many hours down the road by this point, Elo has no hope of finding her. And even if she did, Elo can't confess her feelings because Merri is already happily engaged to someone else. And Elo is never going to see Merri again because of the ban in Fangthane preventing non-dwarves from entering the city. Then, the world came knocking at the door, and Elo had to suck it all up and get on with her job.

You'd be forgiven, dear reader, for thinking that was the end of the tale. But it's not.

Rumour has made its way to Toreguarde that a young dwarven woman has been imprisoned in Fangthane for the crime of blasphemy. It doesn't take a genius to guess that young woman is Merri. She's due to be executed, unless someone can provide compelling evidence to the contrary. The main issue is that Fangthane still holds a grudge against Toreguard and her citizens. As a representative of Toreguard, Elo (who is still very much In Love with her unattainable dwarf, but Repressing with great success) refuses to break the line, once again putting her duty before her love. This leads one of the other Party members to accuse Elo of not caring about Merri, and, my gods, did I pitch a fit. Elo would have decked him if she thought she wouldn't accidentally kill him.

So the Party receives special dispensation from the Crown to enter Fangthane with evidence showing Merri is, of course, innocent. Elo is Not Allowed to see Merri while she's incarcerated for obscure legal reasons which escape me now, which just kills Elo. But she does her job, Merri is exonerated, everyone is joyful. And then Merri wants everyone to meet her fiance. Elo wants to hate him, wants him to be a bastard of epic proportions. But he's not. He's lovely, a cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure etc. Yoruk is also a paladin, a decent, principled, loyal and devoted up-standing young gentleman of fine birth. Elo is, in a word, gutted. But she puts her big-girl pants on, pulls Yoruk outside and threatens to end his life if he ever hurts Merri and swears this on her power. He goes back to the party, suitably fearing for his life and his manhood, and Elo thinks she's just going to walk away and go have a cry in her beer, but Merri stops her. They share some words, embrace, and Elo parts from her saying, "With all the love in my heart, I wish you and Yoruk the best luck in the world."

I suppose the girls get a bit of a happy ending, inasmuch that after the Final BBEG is defeated and a little time passes, they grow close again in other ways. For that, please see Aqua's explanation of a Cridhe-dàime.

––– ¹ His player stopped being able to make sessions. ² I was not. ³ Because though the GM, UrbanVoodooman, can be a spectacular bastard for angst, he does love the fluffy stuff too. ⁴ Bless Felix's player, but he'd gotten a completely incorrect read on the situation, vis a vis Kurtulmak, St Cuthbert and Paladinship, which mean he – and therefore his Character – was convinced I was some kind of, IDK, minor deity? This never went away despite how many times we explained it. IDK if it makes it more or less funny to reveal Felix's Player is a very devout Anglican. ⁵ I don't think we'd managed to make it back to Toreguard by this point, and if we had, things were still on rocky ground, so Elo really didn't have many people on her side. ⁶ She was an idiot in love. Relatedly, IIRC, Aqua had only decided Merri was engaged prior to the session where this happened, so it was a bit difficult to retcon that fact in. ⁷ The Player who had previously dipped (See point 1) could now make intermittent sessions.

[galaxyshine24-7]

The Silver Bullet 🍹

A Twisted Wonderland Mafia Au from @jackplushie-deactivated20221009

(Characters will be aged up a little given the circumstances. The first years will be at least 18-19 and the others will line up with that age range in mind with the first years.)

Chapter 1 Prologue

“What?!” A fork falls onto a plate letting out a ding that echoes around the dinning hall.

“I said it is time for you to leave the nest and make a life for yourself.” A tall man rested his elbows on the table, folding his hands.

“Crowley you can’t be serious?!” A man wearing a fine fur coat slams his hands on the table glaring at the man. 

“Crewel, you knew this day was coming sooner or later. All little birdies must leave the nest. Sometimes they need a shove to get going.” The Crowley explains. 

“This is more than a shove, more like a toss out the window.” Crewel argues. 

“It really is a bad time Crowley, they haven’t even blown out the candles yet.” A loud meow comes from a cat in the other man’s arms as he strokes the furry ball. His dark green eyes burn a hole into the bird man’s head. 

“Haha calm down Mozus they’ll be fine.” A huge hand pats Yuu on the back making them cough on their drink. “Our little Yuu has gone through many trials, this is just another obstacle in their path. They’ll get through it, besides with all that training I gave them nothing should get in their way.” He wraps a large bicep around their neck ruffling Yuu’s hair. The mention of training causes a chill to run up Yuu's spine. “Vargas let go of them. I spent a long time getting them ready.” Crewel points his cigarette at the man’s direction. The dogs at his feet growl in response to their master’s agitation. 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist Divus. You’re just mad Crowley isn’t letting them join your gang.” He laughs, placing his feet on the table. The two men continue to bicker as Yuu fixes their hair. Yuu is surprised as a beautiful cake lit up with candles gets placed in front of them. 

“Here you go little imp your favorite cake, I had to go all the way to RSA to get it. Enjoy it to the fullest.” Yuu looks up at the man giving him a smile. 

“Thank you Sam.” 

“Now how about we stop all this arguing and focus on the party. It is a joyous day is it not. Our little imp has come of age.” Sam takes a seat across from Yuu. The cake is decorated beautifully with fruits shaped like flowers along the top. The candles illuminate the room as Yuu looks up at the people around them. 

“Thank you for everything.” Yuu breathes. They weren’t perfect, but they where the closest thing to a family Yuu could have. 

“Make a wish dear, I am so generous that I will grant you one for this special occasion.” They didn’t have much that they wanted when thinking about Dire’s request, but with a deep breath they blew out their candles looking the man right in the eyes. 

“I want a favor.” The others smile at Yuu’s answer. 

“What favor would that be?” He tilts his head. 

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll tell you when I think of one.” The others laugh as Dire lets out a small smile. 

“We have taught you well, young one.” Mozus nods his head. 

“Indeed, well now let's get to the cake.” Vargas slides the cake in front of him, already cutting a huge slice for himself. 

“For goodness sake Vargas have some manners. Yuu is supposed to get the first slice.” The noise picks up again as a piece of cake is gently placed on the plate in front of them. However what Crowley said earlier still lingers in Yuu’s mind, what will it be like to finally be on their own? For now they just enjoy the cake with their teachers, making sure to remember this last bit of normalcy they have. 

A day later Yuu is cleaning up the library in Crowley’s old manor as the man tells them of what is to come.

“So about your debt…” He mumbles. 

“Debt?!” Yuu turns around dropping a bunch of books on the ground. 

“Yes, well I have spent a lot of money raising you, and I was hoping when you got old enough you would pay it back.” Crowley looks at Yuu with his sad eyes. “I spent so many restless nights putting a roof over your head and food on your plate, all I ask is that you help out this poor old headmaster.” He whines slumping dramatically in his chair. 

“Ex headmaster.” Yuu picks up the books, placing them on the correct shelf. 

“Oh how you wound me bo ho.” Now he is fake crying as Yuu lets out a sigh turning to the man.

“Well once I get a job I can pay you back little by little sir.” Now they just need to think about where to work. NRC is an option but the streets can be rather dangerous, but getting enough to travel to the RSA sector would take some time.

“Well I have just the idea.” He recovers from his sobbing rather quickly, clapping his hands with a bright smile on his face. 

“Get you things packed, we leave tonight.” He announces strutting towards the library door. Yuu shakes their head, though this man has raised them for most of their life he is still an enigma with his weird mannerisms. 

It didn’t take long for Yuu to pack their things. Their teachers did give them all they needed, but there wasn’t much they could find for personal items. A few clothes and necessities along with an old story book Crowley gave them when they first arrived at the manor. He said the book was from the grand library of the now abandoned Night Raven College. It contains many fairy tales and legends that Yuu just couldn’t get enough of. It's now worn and the pages somewhat faded, but it’s still loved. Yuu carries some of their things down the stairs as Crowley and a few of his men help bring in the rest of Yuu’s things from upstairs. 

“Come along now Yuu, the night is still young and there's lots to get done.” Crolwy places an arm around Yuu as they walk outside to the car. A member of Crowley’s gang takes the box from Yuu as another opens the door for both the headmaster and his ward. 

The manor is located on the outskirts of NRC looking over the gray ocean in the distance. The glowing city rests on the other side as the car's engine lets out a soft purr. Yuu has lived in the city streets for many years, but that was a long time ago. NRC must have changed since then. Crowley proceeds to give them warnings about what to do and what not to do as they head to the downtown area of the sector. The black tinted windows of the vehicle hides their faces; it doesn't stop the curious onlookers from eyeing a sleek yet vintage  car driving through some of the rougher distracts. After about an hour's drive they reach their destination under the cover of night, with very few people on the streets at this time.

“Yuu may I introduce you to the Silver Bullet. It used to be a café that many students used to frequent, but now it's going to be a wonderful bar with you as the bartender.” He steps out of the car showcasing the run down establishment as his members check around the area. 

“A bartender?” Yuu asks. 

“Yes some of the money you make will go to repaying your debt and the rest can be for sprucing up the place, and for your own pocket. It comes with a fine set of living quarters.” He starts to open the bar doors, but struggles to pull it open until he uses a bit of strength as the doors fly open. A dust cloud kicks up in a cloud as Crowley tries his best to hold in his coughs. 

The sign reading Silver Bullet glows dimly in the night, its old and rusted as the ‘t’ in Bullet slightly hangs off to the side. Yuu ventures inside with Crowley looking around at the downstairs interior. It looks worse on the inside, everything is covered in a thick layer of dust as the furniture looks like it's about to break apart.

“Isn’t this nice.” He smiles as a beam lands on the floor behind them. “Ah we will fix that.” He grumbles. The men outside start bringing Yuu’s things upstairs as the two explore the building.

Yuu can tell under all this mess used to be something great. Though the decor is old it's still in good shape, showing the care people placed in it. The bar wasn’t so bad it needs a few touch ups, but it still is a nice piece of furniture with sleek dark wood and a black marble countertop. Yuu looks over at Crowley as he still tries to sing the praises of this place. His hand resting on the back of one of the chairs as the leg gives out. He angrily kicks it, grumbling up curses, but notices Yuu is watching going back to his cheery self. Yuu sighs coming from behind the counter to stand next to Crowley. 

“I think it's time for me to rest, I have a lot of work to do in the morning.” Yuu smiles. 

“Oh of course let me get you settled.” There is a door on the side of the building with stairs leading up to the upper floor. It's in the same state as downstairs. It had all the necessities and even a few rooms to spare. The main bedroom is dusty, but cozy all the same. The members have placed down Yuu’s things in the correct rooms, soon leaving out of the upstairs apartment. Yuu looks up at Crowley as he clears his throat, now that they are alone they could talk personally. 

“I will miss you child, but I know you will spread your wings and soar.” He talks his loud crying as he gives Yuu a hug. 

“Thank you Crowley.” Yuu pats him on the back. 

“And always remember.” He hugs Yuu a bit tighter now bending down to their ear. “We are always watching.” A chill runs through the air as Yuu simply nods.   "I understand." Yuu looks down at the floor, Crowley places a gentle pat on their shoulders as they head back downstairs.

Crowley and his men said their goodbyes leaving Yuu to their new life as the bartender to this simple establishment.     

Nothing should go wrong right?     

Notes: Here's a start to the silver bullet story I've been thinking about. I'm still trying to figure out how everything plays out in this au. I just want to thank @jackplushie-deactivated20221009 for giving me the inspiration to start writing again. I hope your doing okay wherever you are.

P.S. I just want you all to know that my Yuu is based off my Twisted MC who is a girl so I might use gendered language down the line in certain cases. Thank you for reading, and until next chapter. If you all have any ideas or questions just hit me up and I'll try to respond the best I can.