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galedekarios · 1 month

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waterdeep & the city's wards: castle ward - part 2

"The splendors that await you in Waterdeep are legendary. Each of the city’s wards is detailed in this work, telling you what to expect depending on where you are, as well as what thrilling things you might see and do."

[from: volo's waterdeep enchiridion]

waterdeep is divided into a system of wards and civic districts. the six recognized wards are:

dock ward

castle ward

north ward

sea ward

southern ward

trades ward

notable parts of the city that aren't considered wards are the city of the dead and deepwater harbour and its surrounding isles (deepwater isle and stormhaven island).

in this meta, i'd like to first focus on the castle ward of waterdeep. the ward contains blackstaff academy, the yawning portal, the undermountain as well as other important landmarks and locations.

castle ward

castle ward heraldry with a golden griffon

castle ward map made by reddit user ravenxalmasy

i'll include an ambience video to listen to while reading:

youtube

rainy streets of waterdeep by dungeon crawler audio

general information

in his waterdeep echiridion, volo introduces the castle ward as follows:

"The Castle Ward is the heart and mind of Waterdeep, if not its soul. It houses the city’s military forces, courts, government, and the Market — the largest market square of any city in the North. It encompasses the City Navy’s docks in the Great Harbor and all of Mount Waterdeep, and it is home to six walking statues, numerous temples, and many other landmarks."

i already wrote a meta including the walking statues of waterdeep in my the splendours of waterdeep meta.

the important landmarks volo further highlights are the following:

"Castle Waterdeep stands above the city on a great bluff that extends out from the mountain, its towers soaring hundreds of feet into the sky. It surprises many to learn that this isn’t where Waterdeep’s rulers reside, nor from where the city is governed. The castle was and is a redoubt of last defense should the city be attacked, but for well over a century, the ruler of Waterdeep has occupied the Palace of Waterdeep — also known as Piergeiron’s Palace, and still called that by elderly and long-lived citizens (including many elves). Though not quite as large as the castle, the palace is far more comfortable and lavishly decorated, with many halls used by government officials, guildmasters, and nobles for meetings and court proceedings. If you have reason to be invited (not compelled, I should hope!) to meet with the Masked Lords or the Open Lord of Waterdeep, it will likely take place in the audience chamber of the palace. There, you can witness the ancient and humble throne that Ahghairon first sat upon so long ago.

Many other buildings in the ward are given over to city business, including several courts for magisters and the barracks of the City Guard. So many of the ward’s structures are offices and meeting halls for business owners, solicitors, publishers, and the like that the Castle Ward has the smallest resident population of all the wards. Many landmarks of interest are found in this ward aside from the six walking statues (discussed later in this chapbook). You could hardly see them all in a day, but the following are highly recommended.

Blackstaff Tower is a squat black blot in the otherwise pretty ward. Humble though the edifice might be, looking at the place for too long can give you a queasy feeling and the sense that you are being watched — almost as if the tower itself has turned an unseen and wrathful eye upon you. Perhaps you think this fanciful. Well, go and try it yourself!

On the opposite end of the mountain, close to the Naval Harbor, stands Mirt’s Mansion. Once a fortress-like and glowering tower, it has been upgraded with more delicate fashions of architecture since the return of its long-absent owner. Mirt has quite a history with Durnan, the proprietor of the Yawning Portal. Together they descended into “the Well,” as the entrance to Undermountain was known in olden days. Waterdeep used to throw criminals in the Well, leaving them to die horribly in Undermountain’s dungeons. Durnan and Mirt entered the dungeons of their own free will — and not only that, but returned laden with treasures. Both used magic to extend their lives, but they eventually parted ways. Mirt kept on with a life of adventure, while Durnan built the tavern called the Yawning Portal over the Well and now, almost two centuries later, charges coin to descend into it. Not a bad way to part fools from their money!

The glorious Spires of the Morning, dedicated to Lathander, is one of Waterdeep’s most beautiful temples. But it is rivaled in this ward by the Temple of the Seldarine, dedicated to all the elf gods. The journey through Mount Melody Walk, a tunnel cut through Mount Waterdeep, to New Olamn’s academy of music and other arts is a wondrous daytime excursion. The Market offers a wild array of sights, smells, and sounds in which folk might lose themselves for a tenday. The Font of Knowledge is a temple to Oghma, yes, but also the city’s largest public library. Titles written throughout the ages can be viewed here — under the watchful eyes of the temple’s priests. In short (if I can claim this section of the enchiridion to be such), the Castle Ward offers far too many splendors to list them all here.

The Castle Ward’s colors are blue and purple, and its mascot is a griffon, typically depicted in gold. These borrow colors from the city’s flag and reference the Griffon Cavalry, of course. Champions for the ward often come from among the ranks of the Guard, the Navy, or the Cavalry. Although such competitors have often have the advantage in races and competitions, their crowds of rabidly cheering fans are naturally much smaller than those of other wards."

[from: volo's waterdeep enchiridion]

the description of the castle ward from waterdeep dragon heist reads as follows, echoing the stateliness of this ward in particular, with its many temples and sights of commerce:

"In terms of both geography and power, Castle Ward is the city's center. Most, if not all, of the city's administrative buildings are within the ward boundaries, from the lofty spires of Piergeiron's Palace to the low-slung crenelations of the guard smithy. While money and social standing are the prevalent benchmarks of might in the City of Splendors, Waterdeep's true power and what keeps it running are the Lords and Magisters here. If you like the taste of power and authority mixed with the usual commerce of the city, Castle Ward is the place to go. The city guard maintains a strong presence in Castle Ward due to the concentration of city officials and areas of importance in need of heavier security. Even so, the watch maintains much of the order, especially around the Market, the Palace, and the Castle Ward docks. Like the guard, the watch makes a show of force in Castle. Ward, traveling in larger patrols of six and brandishing short swords in addition to their normal rods and clubs. The ward boundaries are the southern side of Julthoon Street over to Shield Street and down to Trader's Way on the north, meeting up with the High Road and Snail Street for the eastern perimeter. Lackpurse Lane, Belnimbra's Street, Gut Alley, and Shesstra's Street combine in an uneven boundary to the south, whereas the mountain and the coastline form the western edges of the ward. While Castle Ward covers the most territory, Mount Waterdeep makes up a lot of empty land and the ward is effectively a little larger than Sea or North Ward."

"It is hard to pin down a "typical" architectural detail for Castle Ward, as there are so many different structures here that dominate the skyline. The city buildings, temples, and wizards towers are impressive stone structures, with the Palace and Castle in leagues of their own. Folk who quest for power but lack the funds to rise above the merchant class often dwell in the environs north of Waterdeep Way, their homes either well-kept row houses of three to four stories or individual homes of one or two stories. In either case, structures tend to be timber and wattle-and-daub with stone foundations nestled among the shops. The southern leg of the ward is primarily made up of barracks and warehouses attached to the castle and to various wealthier merchants and noble houses. The only discernible difference between Castle Ward's docks and Dock Ward are the heavier watch patrols. In terms of roads and byways, Castle Ward is by far the easiest ward to traverse due to the paving on many of its larger, primary roads. Even with heavy cart traffic on the roads, it is possible to travel from the Field of Triumph to Castle Waterdeep in the same time it takes to cover one-third of Dock Ward's docks. The paving is primarily for access by dignitaries and officials of the city and other foreign powers (and use during holidays for parades)."

[source: waterdeep dragon heist]

neighbourhoods of the castle ward

the neighbourhoods of the castle ward with notable landmarks and buildings are listed as follows:

The Market

Upmarket: Amberpaths, Cascades, The Cliffride, Elvarren's Lane, Head Lane, Highdrake, Melshar's Ride, Spireshadows, Tanthruil, Tchozal's Race, Toalar's Path

East Midcastle: The Buckle, The Catwind, Duir's Trod, Eldath's Alley, Elsambul's Lane, Goldstar Path, The Houndtwist, Lamp Courts, Lhestyn's Turn, Lhoril's Alley, Manyspells Court, Solemnar's Trod, Summerkeep, Sweetglade, The Waverise, Zeldan's Alley

West Midcastle: Alnether's Prowl, Asmach's Wind, Autumngleam, Blackstave, Cage Street, Cymbril's Trod, Dozenalley, Hippogriff Maze, Jester's Court, Marlar's Lane, Mulgomir's Way, North Swords, Siren Lane, Threeshields, Turnback Court

Piergeiron's Palace: Aghairon's Plaza, Fetlock Court, Piergeiron's Palace

Downcastle: Barracks Court, Castlefoot, Court of Gems, Glittergleam, Mountroot, Old Temple, Owlroost, Portal Lane, the Reach, Tarnished Silver

while the living conditions range from the very wretched to those wealthy and aristocratic.

landmarks and notable locations in the castle ward

there are many landmarks worth exploring in the castle ward. in this post, as well as the posts centered around the wards, i'll mainly focus on those important to gale's story:

blackstaff tower/academy

the yawning portal

promenade of the dark maiden (my own oc purposes and all those who have a drow tav or a tav that follows the dark maiden eilistraee)

i will still touch on other landsmarks and locations, but not as in depth.

blackstaff tower / academy

Gale: “A misadventure from my days as an apprentice at Blackstaff Academy. I was but a child, only a few months into my studies, but already I knew I was destined for greatness. No one believed me, of course, so I decided to prove it. To cast a spell with the Blackstaff itself. From one perspective, I succeeded. I opened a portal. However, instead of pointing it at the first year dormitory, I found myself pulled into limbo, facing a very irritated Death Slaad. Fortunately the Blackstaff himself came to the rescue, hauling me backwards from the brink, and straight into several months of writing lines. Or rather, finessing my autograph.”

[source: gale's dialogue after visiting the abandoned wizard tower in the underdark]

blackstaff tower concept art

the tower is described as a foreboding structure, made out of smooth black stone, with no apparent way to enter it, seemingly having no windows or doors. its main entrance was on swords street, while apprentices could gain access by touching the gate with a left palm. the tower itself was surrounded by a great wall (20 foot / 6 meters). [source: forgottenrealmswiki].

most notably, the tower also has the ability to magically repair itself, a process supported by laeral silverhand, one of the seven sisters and chosen of mystra.

more views of the interior of the tower, including the great staircase which connects the different levels of the tower, a reading room, an apothecary, the library and other interior structures:

the interior of blackstaff tower is also described as follows:

"From the inside, windows appeared to show what was going on outside, but these were illusions. The interior (but not the exterior) of the tower was warded against magical intrusion. The tower was protected against scrying magic. Rooms were connected to the central stairwell and entry hall, which was full of floating doors and arches. Many alcoves and shelves covered the walls of the stairwell, displaying magical items and artifacts, and although they seemed unprotected, a command word was needed to remove any of them. The items changed on a regular basis, so returning to the same stairwell on another day might result in seeing different items. Leaving the dormitories without issuing a command word would lead to the second level's stairwell. Saying the command word nhurlaen in the stairwell took one to the study. On the top floor of the tower was a study and a scrying chamber. There was also a parlor where Khelben displayed his art. In the library was one-way dimensional door to Candlekeep (the other side of the door led to Jester's Court nearby). As of 1374 DR, the tower's entry chamber contained a wardrobe that Khelben was able to use to access almost any closet in the tower. In the tower's kitchen, Khelben liked to serve cups of roasted chicory. Tunnels linked the tower's basement to Piergeiron's Palace and other locations in Waterdeep, which could be accessed by uttering the command word vhuarm. One such tunnel could be accessed at Northspur Rock on Northspur Landing on the Talltumble Stairs in Mountainside. [...] From the mid-to-late 14th century DR onward, the Tower was home not only to the Blackstaff, but to the Blackstaff's apprentices, which numbered fifty or so at any time. These apprentices, and their apprentices in turn, formed the Blackstaff Academy, an elite yet informal school for the training of wizards.

[source: forgottenrealmswiki]

the yawning portal

Gale: Believe it or not, but I witnessed a similar standoff back at the Yawning Portal. Of course, an establishment like that invites all sorts of outlandish entertainments. Player: What’s the Yawning Portal Gale: An inn in Waterdeep. Never a dull moment there. Adventurers come from all over Faerûn to try their luck down the well: Leads into the Undermountain, you see - full of death, danger, and vast amounts of treasure. Hard to resist. Player: What was the standoff about? Gale: Oh, a drow, a dragonborn, and a cleric of Cyric walk into a bar. Your standard fare. Maybe someone was cheating at cards, maybe it was some weird lovers’ quarrel. In any case, out came the crossbow, and a hush fell over the entire room.devnote Player: What happened next? Gale: I stood up and yelled: ‘Shadowdark ale for everyone!’ The crowd cheered, the tension drained into five dozen tankards, and soon all was well again. Gale: In a place like the Yawning Portal, the most powerful magic is calling for a round of drinks. Gale: Mind you, all I did was call for ale, but you went and stood in front of that crossbow. I’d drink to that.

[source: gale's dialogue after saving sazza the goblin]

concept art of the yawning portal [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

the yawning portal, which we know gale references once in the main game and once in the epilogue, implying that he's quite a frequent patron, is an infamous landmark in waterdeep:

The Yawning Portal was an inn and tavern in the city of Waterdeep that was renowned for being the primary open route into Undermountain. A well within its walls led down into the first level of the vast dungeon complex. It was owned and run by the famous adventurer Durnan the Wanderer. The name "Yawning Portal" referred to the deep well and also alluded to the habit of its patrons to tell wild stories. Naturally, the inn was a popular attraction among visitors to Waterdeep and a common point of departure as well as a refuge for expeditions into the extensive dungeons. [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

A well-known inn and tavern whose main feature is a massive well on the ground floor of the tavern, some 40 feet across, that descends 140 feet into the first level of Undermountain. There is a rope hoist that can be used to lower or raise those foolhardy enough to venture into Undermountain, at a cost of 1 gp per person. [source: waterdeep dragon heist]

layout and menu of the yawning portral [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

location of the yawning portral

The Yawning Portal was located on Rainrun Street in the upper part of Waterdeep's Castle Ward between Waterdeep Castle and Snail Street[ and close to Mount Waterdeep's eastern slope. Fronting onto the north side of the road, it stood next door to Mother Salinka's House of Pleasure, and beyond that, The Empty Keg tavern, on the west side, and next door Lankathla Dree's Bakery on the east side. Nearby also stood the magician Sobrey's Magic Shoppe and the smithy of Argali Smith. The inn's relative proximity to the city's docks helped it do good business. Its site was exactly that of the former Halaster's Hold, the demolished tower of the mad mage Halaster Blackcloak, the builder of Undermountain, and the inn was constructed over the well to Undermountain, which had previously been a place of execution, simply known as "the Well". [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

its exterior was made up out of mismatched fieldstone and a roof of "a steep-angled roof of unpainted dark-gray and black slate", giving it a rather drab appearance from the outside. the building had no windows on the ground floor, only on the upper floors, but it boasted several chimneys.

an old wooden sign, which was recovered and reused each time the inn was rebuilt, read simply "the yawning portal".

volo during a visit to the yawning portal [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

the yawning portal also boasts a host of rumours and legends, most recently, however, this:

Circa 1492 DR, a band of doppelgangers were rumored to operate out of the Yawning Portal. The Harpers and Emerald Enclave even sought people to investigate this.

the promenade of the dark maiden

"Eilistraee teaches us that we are not bound by the circumstances of our birth. We all may find beauty and light, if we have the courage to seek them." — Trelasarra Zuind

trelassara zuind, informal leader of the promenade since 1491 dr

the promenade of the dark maiden is located in the undermountain of waterdeep.

"The Promenade of the Dark Maiden was the most sacred temple to Eilistraee. It lay beneath Waterdeep, northeast of Skullport in Undermountain. The temple was composed of four major caverns. One cavern contained multiple buildings that were used as living quarters for the faithful. Another cavern named the Cavern of Song served as an open amphitheater used for songs and celebrations dedicated to Eilistraee. The third cavern consisted of living quarters for the priestesses. The fourth cavern was mostly occupied by the temple guards, storehouses, and armories. A large side cavern connected the Cavern of Song with Eilistraee's Mound. Within stood a large statue portraying the Dark Maiden (but actually modeled on Qilué Veladorn's appearance) and sculpted from a mound of rock. Next to the main temple was the Hall of Healing (a former temple of Moander that had been destroyed by worshipers of Tyr). This section was used as a place to shelter and tend to the temple's wounded and all those who were rescued by the Dark Ladies (including adventurers lost in the Undermountain). North of the Hall of Healing was a small cavern that was the destination of a one-way portal connecting to the sixth level of the Undermountain used to deliver wounded adventurers to the temple. Priestesses of the Promenade healed and welcomed any who came to the Hall, and were known to offer their friendship to (non-ill-intentioned) individuals of races who were more frequently than not met with prejudice and hostility." [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

the promenade held some influence in skullport and they had made it their mission to free slaves and adventurers that ran afoul the more powerful groups and bands within skullport. this earned them the nickname "slave shelterers" and they were regarded with animosity by those groups. other enemies were also worshippers of ghaunadaur (greater god of abominations, oozes and outcasts believed to be touched by the dark realms, and a part of the dark seldarine) as well as worshippers of lolth (most influential drow goddess, mother to eilistraee and vhaeraun) and vhaeraun (eilistraee's elder twin brother and part of the dark seldarine).

the dark promenade's history is defined by those friends and enemies:

the founder of the promenade qilué veladron, youngest of the seven sisters and chosen of mystra, was guided by eilistraee to extinguish the presence of ghanaudar. qilué was helped to victory by the dark maiden and mystra against ghanaudar. the battle took place within the undermountain (third-level). after her victory, eilistraee spoke to her:

"You must make a stand here close to the surface world, and you must be ever vigilant against the return of Ghaunadar. For a mighty city of humans shall rise above this place, and if you are to make peace with humankind and your elven kin of the surface world, this place is best suited for you."

qilué obeyed the words of her goddess, and she and other chosen of eilistraee patrolled these dark corridors (mockingly called promenades). during that time, the temple was being constructed, becoming habitable by 1357 dr.

the promenade had 392 habitants by 1375 dr.

the population of the promenade was severely diminished in 1370s, after an attack by followers of ghanaudar, nightshadows, followers of vhaeraun:

"In the 1370s DR, the Promenade was attacked by a new cult of Ghaunadaur. Nightshadows, former followers of Vhaeraun and later followers of the "Masked Lady" (following the death of Vhaeraun at Eilistraee's hand, and her taking on his portfolio), were sent to infiltrate various drow houses who worshiped Ghaunadaur, but this allowed the cultists to locate some portals leading to the temple. Taking advantage of this, the followers of the Elder Eye proceeded to attack, hoping to release the trapped avatar of their god. However, the glyph of insanity that Qilué had placed on the prison made many cultists go insane. Despite this, the assailants were supported by an army of slimes and decimated the population of the Promenade. In the fierce battle, almost all the Protectors of the Song and Darksong Knights were killed, along with many of the priestesses and of the followers who lived there or were visiting. The battle also caused the seals on Ghaunadaur's prison to break and his avatar to escape, even though it would be soon tricked into attaching itself to a fleeing Nightshadow. He sacrificed himself, going through a portal that led to "a plane of endless mazes" and dying in the process, to trap the avatar there." [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

after the second sundering, eilistraee returned and with that, she also breathed new life into the promenade:

"After returning, Eilistraee personally appeared under the walls of Waterdeep, leading many of her followers to travel to the city. Some of them found the support of Remallia Haventree and started creating a forest-temple, named The Dancing Haven, within Waterdeep itself. While originally meant to be created in the Field Ward of Waterdeep, due to the chaotic developments of that area, the Dancing Haven was temporarily moved to the North Ward. The Eilistraeens planted and grew a small grove of trees within an abandoned, roofless building, and then used it as a temple and base of operations. From there, the moondancers led a series of expeditions to cleanse, rebuild and resupply the Promenade. In the 1490s DR, a dozen priestesses, four novices, and nine lay guardians populated the temple; Trelasarra Zuind was their (informal) leader. Few knew of the restored Promenade (aside from followers of Eilistraee), but rumors regarding it restoration spread in Skullport." [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

by 1491 dr, the promenade would have around 25 inhabitants again, including trelassara zuind:

"After the restoration of the temple, Trelasarra, a dozen clerics of the Dark Maiden, four novices, and nine lay warriors moved there. They established a new base of operations, linked to the Dancing Haven in Waterdeep. The followers of Eilistraee tried to keep their presence a secret but, as rumors started spreading in the near and dangerous Skullport, Trelasarra opted to garrison the temple as if at war." [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

of course, the castle ward has many more locations of note to offer. the following list is taken from waterdeep dragon heist:

Rentals

Banderly Rooming House: A four-story boarding house kept by the Banderlys, two married women who pride themselves on providing good, clean, safe accommodations.

Fair Winds: Rental Villa

Heroes' Rest: Rental Villa, owned by House Melshimber

Marblehearth: Rental Villa

Sablehearth: Rental Townhouse (Northern Swords Street)

Sapphire House: Inn, Rooming House

Stormwatch: Rental Villa

Businesses

Baltorr's Rare & Wondrous Treasures: Shop (Curios) and Warehouse. A curio and coin shop owned by an expert on coins and military markings.

Crommor's Warehouse: Warehouse

The Curious Past: Shop (Historical Curios & Books)

Danimar Fine Wines: Shop (Wine) The Danimar family are one of the oldest holders of licenses by House Melshimber to sell its wines in the city of Waterdeep. They do a brisk business in both the imported and domestic Melshimber vintages.

Dathchant Engravings: Shop (Engraving services)

Diloontier's Apothecary: Shop (Apothecary)

The Golden Key: Shop (Locks) Ansilver the Locksmith (Southern Street of the Sword)

Halambar Lute & Harps: Shop (Stringed Musical Instruments) The premiere place to find any stringed instrument of the Realms. It is also host to a magical harp that sings by itself and is rumored to have connections to the Harpers in some capacity. (Southern Street of the Sword)

Halls of Hilmer: Shop (Armor). Master Armorer Hilmer's shop is hard to miss due to its front of polished plate armor. He sells custom-made armor that is without parallel on the Sword Coast. The shop features practice rooms for trying out his armor. (Southern Street of the Sword)

Hilmer Warehouse: Warehouse (Halls of Hilmer) (Southern Street of the Sword)

Kreis' Fine Wine and Spirits: Import/Export (Spirits) An import business run by Tyrannus Adarbrent.

Mother Tamra's House of Graces: School (Grace, Etiquette, Comportment)

The Market: The largest open area of the city that plays host to hundreds of stalls and camped vendors able to sell nearly anything in the Realms, and many thieves to relieve one of same.

Nureene's Marvelous Masks: Shop (Masks)

Old Knot Shop: Shop (Sailing Gear)

Olmhazan's Jewels: Shop (Jewelry)

Paethier's Pipeweed: Shop (Tobacco)

Phalantar's Philtres & Components: Shop (Herbs and Medicines) (4c). A small shop for medicinal herbs and ingredients for oils, perfumes and potions. It is said that Phalantar allegedly supports adventuring companies in exchange for the rare substances he sells here.

Rebeleigh's Elegant Headware: Shop (Hats)

Sorynth's Silverware: Shop (Silver Goods)

"Sharkroar" Horth Sharlark's Broadsheets: Printer (Broadsheets)

Velstrode the Venturer's: Shop: (Adventuring Goods)

Inns

The Jade Jug: Waterdeep's plushest inn with luxury in every detail, and well worth the expensive price.

Lazy Dragon: A newly-established inn (Old Temple)

The Pampered Traveler

Sapphire House: An expensive rooming five-story house across Swords Street from Blackstaff Tower that has provided room and board for more than one of the Blackstaff's apprentices who found the Tower to be a little too confining (Northern Swords Street)

Wyrmbones Inn

The Yawning Portal: A well-known inn and tavern whose main feature is a massive well on the ground floor of the tavern, some 40 feet across, that descends 140 feet into the first level of Undermountain. There is a rope hoist that can be used to lower or raise those foolhardy enough to venture into Undermountain, at a cost of 1 gp per person. (Southern Castle Ward)

Taverns

The Asp's Strike

The Blue Jack

The Crawling Spider: A tavern for subterraneans that pine for their homes (as well as regulars who like the thrilling atmosphere), decorated as if underground with serving folk dressed as drow elves. Well known for its subterranean dancing floor, and the many small "caverns" that lead off of it whose dark recesses are best left alone by the curious. (Southern Street of the Sword)

The Crow's Nest: A modest but comfortable tavern; a favorite among the clerks, bureaucrats, and visitors of nearby Castle Waterdeep. (Southern Castle Ward)

The Dragon's Head

The Elfstone: An old earthy tavern, with live trees in the walls and the bar, that caters to elves and half-elves, and is a rare source of such delicacies as elverquisst, guldathen nectar and maerlathen blue wine. (Southern Street of the Sword)

The Empty Keg: A rough-and-tumble beer-hall. Later in the eve, it often sees visits from some of the unattached ladies from Mother Salinka's next door, looking to lure some of the drinkers back to their boudoirs. (Southern Castle Ward)

The Flagon Dragon: A modest neighborhood pub renowned for its zzar (Waterdhavian mulled wine) and talyths (a palm-sized cracker with a thin slice of sausage on top, and a mixture of cheese, herbs, mashed root vegetables and other ingredients whose recipe is a house secret) (Northern Swords Street)

The Mighty Manticore: An older friendly tavern with ample ale and light evening fare at affordable prices that attracts a loyal clientele of merchants at the close of day.

The Quaffing Quaggoth:A dwarf-owned tavern and a growing favorite among the city's sailors, merchants and young nobles. The tavern is well-known for the house specialty: a thick-brewed stout mixed with an unknown liquor that is called the Quaggoth for its rumored ability to cure every hair on a quaggoth and then some.

The Red-Eyed Owl: A comfortable, unimpressive local ale-house that is a favorite of the average Waterdhavian locals, well-loved for its cheap ale and heavily spiced coast chowder. (Southern Castle Ward)

Sailor's Own: A crowded, dark, and dirty sailor's dive bar.

The Singing Sword

The Sleepy Sylph: A popular tavern for visitors to Waterdeep, featuring driftglobe lights and scantily clad waitstaff dressed as fairies. (Southern Castle Ward)

Festhalls

Blushing Nymph: An upscale brothel known for its exotic pleasures. (Southern Castle Ward)

Genmura's Stage: A bawdy burlesque palace with two floors of small, cheap, stinking rooms above its taphall, Genmura's sees plenty of seedy sorts, criminals, dock hands, and sailors just come a'shore. (Old Temple).

Jhural's Dance: Nowhere near as raucous as many festhalls, Jhrual prides himself on the seductive, intimate environment he fosters in his hall. Plenty of alcoves and nooks to hide in with someone in close company, all surrounding a stage where his festhall workers dance to advertise their wares. His festhall is also notable for its equal proportion of men and women performers. (Northern Swords Street)

Lightsinger Theater

Mother Salinka's House of Pleasure: A shabby, low-coin festhall. (Southern Castle Ward)

Mother Tathlorn's House of Pleasure & Healing

The Smiling Siren: A festhall that specializes in small plays and the hosting of traveling troupes (burlesque and otherwise). (Northern Street of Silver)

Temples

The Font of Knowledge: Temple to Oghma.

The Halls of Justice: Temple to Tyr.

The House of Two Hands: Monastery to Tyr.

The Pantheon Temple of the Seldarine: Temple to the Seldarine (Elven Gods). When elven clergy of the Seldarine approached the Masked Lords to ask for permission to establish a Pantheon temple to their gods, it was considered a coup for relations between Waterdeep and the elven peoples. Waterdeep has always had an extensive elven population and is indeed the site where the Grey Ships of Evermeet come at Midsummer to carry away those elves who tire of Faerûn and seek to return to elven lands. When that permission was quickly given, the elves asked for an allotment of property right in the middle of a busy and crowded Castle Ward neighborhood, shocking the Lords. Even when pressed, the elves would not explain their choice; so without further ado, the grant was given. The Pantheon Temple is a tall, dour structure of gleaming white stone flecked with silver, but has within it a garden and long walking galleries between the shrines to the elven deities.

The Spires of Morning: Temple to Lathander. A walled garden compound with eight beautiful gilded towers that reflect Lathander's dawn. (Northern Swords Street)

City Buildings

Peaktop Aerie :Headquarters for griffon mounts of City Guard. Rorden Rialter Obyrdar is currently on duty at the Peaktop Aerie where the griffons are kept.

Guard Barracks: City Guard Barracks (Southern Castle Ward)

Guard Smithy: Smithy for City Guard

Bell Tower: A simple bell tower used to signal fires, attacks and calls for assembly at the Palace. (15 Guard at all times)

Palace Storage: Warehouses for Piergeiron's Palace

Palace Stables: Stables for Piergeiron's Palace

Palace Paddocks: Paddocks for Piergeiron's Palace

Walking Statue: One of the eight known 90-foot-tall stone golems created by Khelben Arunsun to defend any gaps in Waterdeep's defenses, this regal figure stands at the Gull Leap cliff at the end of Julthoon Street.

Watching Towers: Sentry Towers

Piergeiron's Palace: The center of Waterdeep's government with various courts, embassies and city offices therein, as well as the living chambers of the Open Lord Piergeiron the Paladinson.

Castle Waterdeep: Castle for the Masked Lords of Waterdeep and the Magistrates' Courts.

Ahghairon's Tower: The slim stone tower of the original First Lord of the city that is surrounded by invisible magical barriers that suspend the skeletal remains of a wizard that tried to get into the tower.

Guildhalls

The House of Gems: Jeweller's Guild

The Map House: Surveyors', Map and Chart-Makers Guild

Fellowship Hall: Fellowship of Innkeepers. The headquarters of the Fellowship of Innkeepers that operates as a member-only inn one night a tenday.

The Master Baker's Hall: Bakers' Guild (Southern Street of the Sword)

Tower of the Order: Watchful Order of Magists & Protectors. A three-story stone tower surrounded by a fence of sparkling green lights that coalesce into Azuth's and Mystra's symbols, with the hand of Azuth over the tower door rumored to watch the tower and fire magic at any intruders.

Guildhall of the Order: Solemn Order of Recognized Furriers & Woolmen

Pewterer's Guildhall: Pewterers & Casters Guild

House of Fine Carvers: Fine Carvers Guild. The slate-roofed wooden base of the Fine Carvers Guild, easily found on the High Road with its frieze of carved animals and people, including Ahghairon and other First Lords.

The Market Hall: Farmers and Grocers Guild

Alleys & Courts

Cat Alley: this narrow twisting, turning passage was frequented years ago by a masked, rapier-wielding man of wealth who scared young women and cut away their garments but was never arrested.

Elsambul's Lane: named for a long-dead priest of Mask and now one of the few areas with graffiti on its walls (they say Elsambul himself still leaves enigmatic messages and clues to hidden treasures on the walls!), it attracts many folk beyond simple curiosity seekers.

Jesters' Court: a courtyard frequented now by hard-currency girls and minstrels that has also been a performance stage for jugglers and comics as well as a meeting place for eloping lovers.

Sevenlamps Cut: named for seven fancy magical lamps placed here long ago by Ahghairon himself, this safe alley is the place to hire spellcasters (apprentice wizards and poor underpriests) for quick healing, curse removals, or some magical firepower for your latest excursion into Undermountain.

Turnback Court: a lamplit, shallow alley at the end of Selduth Street that is used as a rallying point for watch and guard patrols both day and night.

this concludes my collection of information about waterdeep's castle ward for now. it's a sprawling topic, each and every ward, and i'm sure there are things i missed or forgot!

still, i hope this was of use to someone other than myself!

tag list: @evenstar-crescentmoon, @criticalgale, @ofthedirewolves

if you want to be added (or taken off) the tag list, please let me know! 🖤

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #waterdeep #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 meta #ch: gale dekarios #ch: altonaufein #vg: baldur's gate 3 #series: baldur's gate #meta: mybg3 #series: waterdeepwards #long post for ts #i am very sorry this got so long #i tried to cut & edit it down as much as possible

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ganondoodle · 1 year

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totk rewritten (for me, specifically)

since i dont have time to get to drawing it right away AND im worried people might take this the wrong way, i thought i could write out some bullet points about my rewrite of totk (meant as a fix FOR ME not saying its inherently better) to give you a better idea on what im going for:

the core structure largely remains the same, the biggest change is no time travel, thus making zelda your travel companion, and zonau tech being lagerly gone/broken with shiekah tech instead

it is not shown but said in dialog that shiekah tech, such as the ancient furnaces, shrines and towers are either turning off or have flickering power supply and purah having calculated that all their connections point towards beneath hyrule castle

game starts pretty much the same as real totk, most zonau ruins are so withered away that they are barely recognizable and the further you get down theres more and more shiekah tech pipes and occasional a miasma vein, some pipes are broken and spill miasma, others flicker

instead of the room with the wall carvings theres one with old ancient shiekah research remains, old broken tech and prototypes you dont what their purpose was, all documents are too withered to read but zelda finds one that was sealed in a container and takes it with her (she got a backpack now)

theres a structure similar to the bed thingy of the shrine of life from botw but its working in reverse; within it is sealed ganondorf (i gotta work out the details around it still)

(details still missing) it breaks and zelda takes the enigma stone but doesnt touch it directly and puts it within a sealed container (you know kinda like you should do with soemthing you have no idea of what it is and was alsO LOCATED ON A CORPSE)

ganondorf isnt the elegantly talking villain type in this version but more of a mess, talking in different languages both modern and ancient but you cant make out any clear sentences, struggeling with suddendly being awake and half alive after spending thousands of years in an agonizing limbo, having witnessed every second of the passage of time yet also it feeling like everything just happened all at the same time

the ground breaks as he recognizes zelda (bc of her fighting calamity ganon in botw) but also not really, still sees her as a threat (also bc of the enigma stone in the container she still has in her hand) attacks her, link deflects with the master sword, it breaks and damages his arm, zelda drops her torch and pulls link away towards where they came in from and both run as the caves fill up with miasma like a flood with arms starting to reach after them while they both run back through the tunnels (creepy chase sequence anyone?)

cataclysm happens (ground breaks, miasma bursts out of the ground, especially where shrines and towers where since they were still connected to the pipelines) ground shifts massively in some places giving alot of the map a whole new structure; all shiekah tech that was not independent stops working due to power loss

links arm is amputated since otherwise the miasma would spread to his whole body; purah, robbie and zelda work out a prosthetic arm prototype to give to link (protoype at first will be upgraded at halfway point of the game) that can switch between multiple modes, like a hand to hold normal items or a weapon that isnt crafted, and a fusing ability (though maybe limited in the prototype) that lets you make weapons similar to the weapon fusing in canon totk (potential upgrades including an extendable guardian arm that doesnt break, grapple hook anyone??, also the ability to build stuff out of shiekah tech parts, not glue needed you actually screw it together, maybe zelda even helps)

now you are given free roam of hyrule, the goal is to explore and find what has changed and check on people, see what the underground has, new monsters have spawned etc.

zelda is your companion the whole time, she can use the shiekah stone/purah pad to analyze enemies for you, she also carries at least a dagger for her own self defense but doesnt contribute much to the fight (subject to change maybe), you can talk to her anytime and she usually has something to comment on depending on where you are or what you just did, can give you tips and advice IF ASKED FOR IT, when you discover ancient ruins, whether zonau or shiekah, she can either decipher it for you or take photos for later to find out more about everything that has happend and what it means, she also takes part in conversations when you talk to someone, her outfit changes with yours (meaning when you wear the tingle set she wears it too, opens up alot of funny interactions njfkdk)

purah has built new towers but they function different (still working on the details) mainly that they function independent from the energy source in hyrule castle

there are floating islands but they are bigger and in more connected clusters, when reaching them its ancient withered ruins that the ancient shiekah built support around (like the platform used by monk miz kyoshia) to keep them afloat; there are building like observatories and research labs, but all very overgrown due to being up there for so long, theres a titan prototype on one of the islands, its shaped like a whale and zelda deciphers it was called vah narisha (reference to the whale deity in skyward sword) (i havent decided yet if its fully broken and just a big piece of enviroment to explore or half functioning floating around, or maybe first broken but later half repaired so it can fly around at least giving you an easier way to reach other island, you cant steer it tho) some of them are falling bc of energy loss but the bigger ones have independent energy sources (work in progress)

the underground has more diverse zones depending on which part of the map it is located on, there are old mines (for luminous stone) from the zonau but all is extremely withered, in each one its been mostly built over by the shiekah but there are construct remains that were clearly dissected and studied, half built shrines and towers, you can find collectibles and lore there (working on more details, but an idea was to include remains of ancient shiekah tha fled there when they were persecuted by that old king of hyrule, adding to the eery vibe)

some titans (maybe two, and the other are still on the sruface, like vah medoh) feel down during the cataclysm, broken apart or malfunctioning/ possibly being a boss as in they were used by a big cluster of miasma hands like a hermit crab uses its shell, the inside filled with eyes and different sized hands dragging itself towards you like a drowing man grabs after anything to save him)

dongos are your go to transportation here and a little different, when you call one they dig a path to you (not permanent, just so they can always spawn near you) they glow in the dark and can climb on walls (bc why not), and can point you towards the next objective/point of interest, likely where theres a high concentration of luminous stone since that is what they eat and its usually where old mining/construction sites are (still working on a replacement for light roots that are less invasive)

the rat from the trailer is a miniboss/boss you need to defeat in order to get the broken mastersword back into your possession

(im still working on how the sages work, but the idea is to incorporate their abilites for more efficient and reliable use into links shiekah prosthetic, so you can still use their abilities but only when you actually want)

(again still working on details) halfway point of the game is you trying to find out where ganondorf went, not intending to fight necessarily but just to find out more but it devolves into you fighting some sort of miasma monster (either him or some sort of manifestation he made) and you get a bunch of short memory flashes from him, all vague and a wild mess from both the time he was sealed and from the time afterwards, maybe even a perspective shift from when link was fighting dark beast ganon, but from ganons view, from zelda when she was keeping that manifestation in check, random views from the malice eyes from botw, from the blights, maybe even from the fight with the old and new champions, from the point when shiekah built their tech around him while he had to watch not able to do anything etc.)

links arm gets upgraded from prototype to a full prosthetic, opening up more fusing abilites and other things (like the grapple hook, again working on it, im open for ideas lol)

i will reblog this and add more over time if you want, but do let me know if you like it thus far, bc im still unsure if its worth the effort of working more on this QnQ

(also if you dont like just keep scrolling, i dont need to know that you hate it, it literally changes nothing but make me annoyed xD)

#ganondoodles talks #ganondoodles rewrites totk #this is the tag i will use both for written posts of this topic and when i get to drawing it .. if i get to it #zelda #totk #again this is like a fix FOR ME doesnt mean its inherently better or that you have to like it #long post

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zedleaked · 2 months

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OVERTHINKER DOODLE BASED ON A DREAM MY FRIEND HAD ^

I ALSO LOOKED BACK AT SOME ATTACK CONCEPTS I HAD FOR OVERTHINKER I WROTE A WHILE AGO,, SO KEEP READING IF YOU WANNA SEE THOSE PLUS SOME RANDOM DOODLES:

General:

Cog Capacity

Cog capacity is up to 5 cogs in battle.

Lure resistance

Overthinker can only be lured for one round

Desk Jockeys

All cogs in this battle will be desk jockeys, although these versions of them are much more upgraded and powerful.

Attacks:

Spin

Brainstorm

Re-Org

Quack attack (I never wrote down what this was lol but I’m assuming it’s something similar to ‘Con-duck-tion’ or something)

Cheats:

Phase 1:

Surprise Experiment

Overthinker pulls out a concoction from their coat, they have the chance of pulling out from 6 different bottles, each having a different effect:

Green: Heals all cogs and toons in battle (though they don’t heal toons as much)

Orange: Causes an explosion, similar to overcharged cogs

Purple: Makes 1 or 2 cogs invincible for 2 rounds

Yellow: Turns everyone into ducks until the next phase (much like Buck’s duck attack in Wager Management) also turns any cog’s dialogue into quacks, that doesn’t really contribute anything to the battle but it’s funny

Teal: Makes it so you cannot see health or statuses of both cogs and toons (much like Rainmaker’s fog cheat but to a larger scale)

Red: Does nothing (Makes Overthinker sad) (If Overthinker pulls out a red concoction they are guaranteed to pull out a non red one the next turn)

Ducky See Ducky Do

Overthinker’s head explosion pulsates as he uses a random Manager’s ability (Ranging from street managers to kudos managers to main taskline managers) depending on the ability it can be in effect for 1 to multiple rounds.

Subject to Change

Overthinker will pull one Toon away from battle to conduct an ‘experiment’ on them, which involves inflicting a random effect on them which lasts 2-3 turns depending what it is, it can be either good or bad. The other Toons will have to deal a certain amount of damage to Overthinker to free their fellow Toon. (Overthinker will not pull away the same Toon 2 turns in a row, Overthinker will make sure to take each Toon at least once)

Shame Corner

If Overthinker takes too much damage in one round they will flee to the ‘shame corner’ dawning a dunce hat and all. Overthinker can’t take damage or attack for this round. This cheat will not activate after Subject to Change or if Overthinker is alone.

Phase 2:

One in the Same

Both Duck Shuffler and Prethinker share stats and only take up one space in battle. Any effects inflicted on them will be shared. Duck Shuffler and Prethinker are much higher level due to having been fused a few moments ago. Due to this they deal more damage and have more health.

Extra Attack

Due to ‘One in the Same’ Duck Shuffler and Prethinker have an extra attack where they attack together, including Wager Management this makes the two attack 4 times each round.

Castling

Both Prethinker and Duck Shuffler will jump and force a desk jockey to take their position, this will trigger if Prethinker and Duck Shuffler are:

Affected by soaked, lure or trap for more than one turn.

Targeted for two turns in a row.

Wager Management

The Duck Shuffler will spin his slots each round, even during rounds where they are also castling, both cheats will happen at the same time. The slots will land on 7 different outcomes as opposed to the usual 5:

Bust: Nothing happens.

Bar: Everyone in battle will be crushed by a gold bar.

Ducks: Every Toon gets turned into a duck until the next phase.

Sevens: Heals all Cogs and Toons in battle.

Jellybeans: Gives Toons some jellybeans.

Brains: A storm cloud attacks every Toon in battle, much like the Prethinker’s forward thinking cheat.

Explosions: Duck Shuffler will throw out one of the orange concoctions from Overthinker and blow up everyone in battle, if any Cog is soaked during the explosion they will take less damage. (Like damp from Pokemon…)

Bickering

If Duck Shuffler’s Wager Management hurts him and Prethinker in any way the two will get in an argument, causing the damage they deal for the round to be increased while they’re angry, however to compensate they will take more damage from gags as a result.

1 HP

The phase ends when Duck Shuffler and Prethinker are knocked down to 1 HP, it is impossible to defeat them while they are like this.

Phase 3:

Getting Along

Overthinker will have increased stats than his first phase due to now getting along.

Chemical Smoke

Smoke around the battlefield will hide the stats of every Cog in battle, if Overthinker is attacked directly enough, the smoke will subside until every Cog in battle besides Overthinker is defeated, in which the smoke will come back again and new Cogs will be summoned into battle. When smoke is on the field Overthinker won’t use Subject to Change or Shame Corner until the smoke is gone.

Doppelgangers

Overthinker will summon identical versions of themself at the start of the battle, each clone has their own difference whether it be slightly off colors, different speech patterns, animations playing in reverse, etc. These clones will hide in the Chemical Smoke, for every turn the real Overthinker is not attacked directly, the doppelgangers will retaliate with a group attack.

Oversized

When the real Overthinker is knocked down to half HP, they summon one last batch of clones which all kinda fuse with them, making one really big Overthinker (Don’t ask how this is possible or how I came up with this I don’t know), the battle functions similarly to phase 1 minus the Desk Jockeys.

Hazy

More strange smoke surrounds the battlefield, decreasing the defense of the Toons in battle. However, it does a similar thing High Roller does where Laff is maxxed and damage both Toons and Cogs deal is increased.

#toontown #toontown corporate clash #ttcc #overthinker #toontown oc #oc #oc art #duck shuffler #buck ruffler #prethinker #brian toontown #Zed's art

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ladyredmoon13 · 11 months

Text

DCxDP prompt

Bubble Bubble.

Honestly, this wasn’t how Jason saw his day going, but at least it was interesting. Chained up and bound to two of his siblings while a cult surrounds them chanting was certainly not the first thing on his to-do list that day. Or any other for that matter.

Mostly he just wanted to know how these assholes got ahold of what he would describe as jellationuse Lazerus water to make a summoning circle.

The cultists keep chanting and the next thing he knows there's a green light and a splash as he hits water. Sitting up Jason sees that somehow he and his siblings have ended up a large spacious Roman bath.

Hearing a voice clear Jason looked behind him to see a gorgeous redhead with crystal blue staring at them in a mix of baffled curiosity and annoyance.

"You boys better have an amazing explanation for this." She said.

-------

Jazz was stressed. Her job increased her hours with no notice, her new roommate skipped out on rent, AGAIN; and her midterms were canceled because half the college campus were the victims of a fear Gass attack.

Her brother seeing her tence shoulders and bags under her eyes proclaimed then and there that she should have a spa day.

She was prepared to refuse till he mentioned that his castle had recently gone through renovations and he had completely upgraded the old bath. Adding in heated floors, massage chairs, and jets that basically turned the large bath into one ginormous jacuzzi.

How was she supposed to turn that down?

So she took him up on his offer and had a spa day at her brother's castle. By all means, everything was going great, fantastic really. She had a deep tissue massage and a mud mask. The servants that Danny had assigned to her for the day gave her a manicure and pedicure before serving her a delicious lunch.

She had just started to relax in the downright huge bath. Letting the jets work their magic while surrounded by mountains of bubbles. When three people appear out of thin air and land with a splash in the center of the bath.

She couldn’t have just one day, could she? Well, at least one of them was cute. Now where were the towels?

#dc x dp crossover #batman #danny fenton #damien wayne #tim drake #dick grayson #jason todd #jazz fenton #jazz/jason #whats their ship name #spa day #stressrelief #ghost king danny

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newbie-whovian · 7 months

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Hi, Could you give the idea of reader x twelfth doctor who has Bill as a companion and who in a few words is a bit of a jealous doctor? either because they met someone great on a trip or because the reader is very much involved in his life on earth.

Thanks!

(yessssssssssssss I need to write more 12)

Jealousy

Rating: G

Pairing(s): 12th Doctor x Reader

Tags/TW: 12 is a jealous lad

You were used to trips not quite going the way you'd planned. It was almost a guarantee. But needless to say, rejecting the marriage proposal of a cyborg queen was... Definitely unexpected.

You, the Doctor, and Bill ran through the mechanical castle. "I don't see why it couldn't work out," Bill said, "I mean, she seemed nice enough-"

"Before she sent her guards after us, you mean?" you replied, just before the hallway began to shift. The three of you were trapped in a dead end that hadn't been there before.

The Doctor hadn't stopped fidgeting with his sonic screwdriver the entire chase, and it seemed that he'd finally found what he was looking for. He pointed it at the wall with a flourish, giving you and Bill a tiny grin before grabbing your hand.

The TARDIS was somewhere in the royal gardens, but with the hallways changing, you had no idea where you were supposed to be going. "Doctor, how are we getting out of here?" you asked, panting.

"I've tuned into the queen's frequency, I can reverse all of her changes," he said, and you frowned.

"So she controls the castle?"

"No. She is the castle. She's integrated it all into her upgrades. Quite foolish actually, once we escape, she won't be able to follow," the Doctor explained, tugging you around a corner.

Bill chimed in, "But the guards will! Right? I mean, they're not a part of the castle, they're just movin' on their own."

The Doctor paused before giving a shrug, saying, "If I'm right, the TARDIS is through that door, and we won't have to worry about it."

So the three of you bolted to the door, which thankfully led out into the gardens. The TARDIS waited patiently in the center of the queen's prized flower bed, and as the sound of mechanical guards closed in, you knew you couldn't risk a look back. The three of you piled into the TARDIS and slammed the door behind you.

Bill immediately tossed her jacket over one of the rails, saying, "Well that was... All kinds of fun but I'm beat, I'll be in the rec room. Let me know when we get back, alright?"

You gave her a smile and a wave while the Doctor gave a soft grunt, circling the console. Bill disappeared down a hallway, and you stepped towards the Doctor.

He yanked a lever and the TARDIS made a tremendous noise; he then quickly pulled the lever back to its original position, grumbling under his breath.

You rested an elbow on the railing. "Doctor?" you asked.

"Hm?"

"What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong, we're on our way, everything is fine!"

You crossed your arms. "Mhm."

He turned to face you, saying, "What? I answered your question."

You raised an eyebrow and said, "Barely. C'mon, what's wrong?" Taking a step closer, you added, "Can't have anything to do with the fact that I was proposed to today, can it?"

He rolled his eyes and waved a hand at you, turning back to the console. "What, that? Nonsense."

You smirked. "Didn't seem like nonsense when you rejected her for me."

He paused for a moment before flipping a row of switches, saying, "You were hesitating."

You held back a chuckle and said, "That's what you're upset about? The fact that I hesitated, upon hearing that the queen of some planet - that you dragged me to! - wanted to marry me?"

"Oh c'mon, I didn't drag you, you wanted to go on a trip."

"You're avoiding the question and you know it," you said, barely able to hold back a smile.

He halted what he was doing and turned to face you, saying, "And what if I am?"

You shrugged. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it, fine. But if it's bothering you, you can't just avoid it forever." You stepped a little closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, "At the end of the day, I turned her down."

"You did."

"Mhm, 'cause why wouldn't I? I've got everything I want right here."

The Doctor betrayed a small smile.

#doctor who #doctor who fic #dw fanfic #12th doctor x reader #twelfth doctor x reader #i ran out of ideas for the title and you can definitely tell

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vivisviolets · 5 months

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━☆𓁺☆━ Magical messages for your Monday ━☆𓁺☆━ (⊹ timeless dw ⊹)

free channeled as i did my makeup weeeee

━☆pick the image you feel most drawn to sistaaas (gn term)~ or to become more clear for this channeled reading/future prediction, ask God/Spirit/your higher or future self for which pile would resonate best for your alignment~!!... And or just pick your favorite Powerpuff Girl ofc lollll━☆

━☆𓁺☆━ pile 1

━☆☆☆━

━☆ Pink, hearts, sparkles/sparkly (eyeshadow or sparkly dresses?- brooches?...), summer nights, fireworks, dreamy, grounded, Taurus/Virgo/Capri placements (Taurus midheaven, Capri rising/Moon degree, Virgo rising/Mars), divine feminine within masculine, house/collage party, business upgrade, phone calls, paid (family?$) vacation, past mommy issues ━☆

━☆I see a balcony, this could be the balcony of a new/different apartment that you are touring and settling on that is destined for you at this time in your life- for some this is an apartment at a party of some kind, hosted by a friend of a friend-... This is a balcony of a castle even- Disneyland? For my whole collective, this is a balcony that you are standing on at night, the sky is a fully darkened blue, and this is accruing in an environment where there are only a handful of stars or none at all... But there is something about the scene that is glittering- maybe dew drops on other balcony plants glistening from lit windows, stained glass,- for those at a party this could be what you choose to wear, eyeshadow, or some accessory,- for those in some place higher, or more royal I should say this is your dress or a clip on your suit-... For all in this collective, no matter the situation-... You feel like a princess. Or prince, or royalty, you feel high (maybe you are at this party💀- full or laughter and couches)- you feel on top of the world. Your world, that you are finally meeting- you are becoming aligned with your world... This might even be your first party, your first business trip/meeting, or your first apartment in a new town/place. You are looking from this balcony, up at the summer night sky, and down at the life below (windows, sidewalks, cicadas-)... You look ahead, past the balcony's edge- and you feel... At peace. Your eyes are sparkling, with tears for some of you, and for some, it's a feeling of satisfaction- you are here. In the weight of the past bundled up, and your whole future as open to you as the night sky, open to you and closer in reach- and you are here, right smack dab in the present, your present moment, your moment.

━☆"I feel nervous in a way that can't be named" - "-I dreamt last night of a sign that read 'The end of love'" - "we were reaching in the dark- that summer in New York" - "I've always been in love with you- could you tell it from the moment that I met you"━☆

━☆𓁺☆━ pile 2

━☆☆☆━

━☆ Green, connection to pile 1, 32, 222, 333(?), "finally here", garden, Paris, je t'aime(2006), fruit, park visit, "new job now colors", "you love her, don't you?" ━☆

━☆As I looked up from meditating on your energy, all I saw was green (the sunlight on my hydrangeas), you love nature and "organized plant life" (gardening I'm guessing) and you are finally in it! I keep getting phrases more so than just keywords so for some you may be a writer... And your work has finally become monetary "fruitful"! Or for some of you- you just have a "writer's heart" that I am heavily picking up on. -(Brontë sisters?? Wuthering Heights-?)- And I want to give you the message that you will have this same heart for years and years- and you do with it as you wish (keep it internal I mean), but this is just my message to you and what my own spirit guides are saying- tune into yourself and begin to express like my actual-writer group. I'm hearing that my writer group for this collective may even be your higher selves showing you what your future can be by stepping onto this path, and for those in my group already writing (and this could be anything, journaling, poetry, fan fiction, etc) you are now making steps towards this future-writer-self... I hope I'm making sense because I am not a writer lol (I am in my own way ofc I just don't describe myself as that... Yet!)- anyways, even if all that you are doing right now is just personal (for some of you, you already have a blog or page that you are posting on/beginning to, good for you!!), but if you continue to build your world, build your confidence/grow your confidence- this will in the future turn into a career I'm hearing, even if it feels slow going. I'm hearing it will result in journalism, a bigger blog, tons of kudos (~if you know you know), ko-fi, etc- I'm hearing you'll get those new pairs of shoes that you want (yes pairs, you'll have the income)- but back to nature~ you'll get that garden, it's already set in stone for you,- for some of you you'll also get that job involving nature/plant life/outdoors. I'm hearing it has something to do with the national parks/forest preserves, so you'll be getting that park ranger opportunity, fire watch (?), wildlife protection and observation- you got it-it's yours. For some of you, this is a position at a "big box store" in the gardening department, like Home Depot (US reader here- change the name for where you live)- you got it in the bag. I'm already seeing you pushing one of those big wooden carts around full of geraniums or something🌸. The point is, once you align yourself with where you want to be/go- you got it, it's yours. Arriving in even better a plan, and timing, than you were overthinking it would be.

━☆"silly boy- don't talk to me" - "I do better on my own- I don't mean to come off cold" - "shame I would've danced with you tonight"━☆

━☆𓁺☆━ pile 3

━☆☆☆━

━☆ -(*cw* 18+ near end)-(‼️**CW**‼️ vampiric energy ‼️ALERT‼️🗣)- Blue, clouds, sky, "sky high", birds, balloons, sunsets, the ocean, letters V, T, O, M, number 7, 777, 7171, sea turtles, tangerines, citrus, Pretty in Pink (1986) ━☆

━☆You're in the clouds- maybe you're high with a group of friends. I sense your crush, or someone you feel an attraction to when you get high- you're in a dreamy place, and the environment around you also feels a bit like a dream, you're at a fair- a fairground of some kind. It's dusk and by the beach, the air has turned crisper and you're in a jacket (bomber or jean), you're being led by the hand through the lit-up stalls, and the lanterns look like they have fairies made of light dancing in them- your head is spinning with the cold summer air as you are guided through the feet and shoes of others. This person guiding you sees you as theirs in this moment, whether they are one of your friends going solo with you, or the person who you have this scent of attraction towards- I'm not sure, I don't think you quite know either as they lead you with their back to you through the crowd. You two being connected by their hand reaching behind them to grip onto yours- the breeze flowing through the crowd dances through your loose hair whisps- your eyes are unfocused, and the air switches from clear and cold to warm and fried (because fairgrounds,- funnel cake)- your wrist stays pulled on, a clung-to-grip... This person, you do know them- and they want to take you somewhere while in this high, their own high makes them headstrong and determined I'm hearing, but again- I am unclear if this is someone in particular that you are attracted to, or a friend... Who most definitely has an attraction to you when you are both in the clouds... Together- you follow their grip on you, and what happens next-... I'll leave to your imagination ☁️💫

Ok I'm sobering from your energy- cuz your reading turned out too short for my taste and I want to try and "recall"/"remember" some of the details to better Identify this individual to you... You already know this person and they are within your friend group/you know them in a group setting (for only one or two of you- you are currently solo/on your own and this is describing your future friend group dynamic!),,, there is something dark about them physically or energetically- dark curly hair, dark/brown/hazel eyes, tan/dark tan skin I'm hearing. There's something noticeable to you about their jawline/chin/lips area- it's honestly giving Pretty in Pink energy- you have your eyes fully hazed over for this one particular person (also in your group- or this could even be a co-worker or someone you know from work) while this other person is energetically at your heels- it's giving you're gazing longingly at another while this person is staring hard at the back of your head. Ouch lol- but again the dark attributes I felt weren't just physical but also energetic... Yea, they're fun and have either a very charismatic personality or a more dry and witty charm to them (I'm hearing a bit of a drawl especially when they talk to youuu)- but their motives,,, their intentions boo-boo, I mean maybe you'd kinda like a bad little boy in the sheets- I'll leave it up to you, but I'll say just be totally freaking careful with your emotions and what you can actually gain from this person, cause,, I'm hearing the word "wipe/tissue"- this person is here for fun and then it's onto the next experience... They could get off on doing that actually 💀- but I mean you do you, just know what it is you're doing (it's giving vampire energy now... They want to take your precious energy under a cape before flying off out the window- OOF💀 babygirl-!)

*kept typing "?" when I wanted commas- this dude is confusing and not it tf- (I cannot go on any longer girllll😭)*

━☆"you would explain the current,Hoping I just stay the same and nothing will change and it'll be us, just for a while" "do we even exist? that's when I make the wish, to swim away with the fish"━☆

━☆

☆

━☆this was cool lol happy monday🎉☕️

#୨୧┈♡ vi post #୨୧┈♡ vi pac #୨୧┈♡ vi's art #pac #pac tarot #pick an image #pick a card #pick a card reading #pick a picture #pick a pile

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pianokantzart · 6 months

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The Super Mario Bros. Redux (Pt. 6)

What would happen if, in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, after Mario and Luigi are separated, Mario was the one who ended up in the clutches of Luigi’s eventual arch nemesis, while Luigi teamed up with some of his own close allies to go rescue him? (This part of the story is in one shot format. Most other parts are written in bullet points.)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 7 ________

A short summary of the things Luigi had done in the past twenty four hours that he had never expected to do in his entire life:

Fall into an interdimensional wormhole. Fight a warrior princess in a crowded arena. Become a royally acclaimed ghost hunter. Enlist in an army assembled to ambush the territory ruled by The King of Ghosts in order to rescue hostages and bring balance to the afterlife. Adopt a dog.

... Though it was more accurate to say the dog adopted him. Normally Luigi had trouble with animals– he could never read their body language, and his clumsiness made for bad first impressions. The few animals he got along with in the past were old and quiet, wanting nothing more than a warm lap on which to lay their head. Polterpup was different; playful and energetic, mischievous yet patient. Luigi couldn’t help but wonder what was the reason behind the attachment– if he himself resembled an old master or friend from the dog’s past life before it became a ghost. It still wore a collar, though the little golden loop on the front had no tag. The collar was bright red, almost a perfect match to Mario’s favorite color. "Heh, you’re just as good at getting into trouble as Mario, too,” Luigi added with a somber smile, kneeling down to oblige the ghost dog’s less-than-subtle plea for belly rubs until it disappeared again, as was its habit. Polterpup tended to suddenly poof in and out of thin air with little warning, and though it seemed to be at random at first, Luigi began to realize the dog mostly came to him when he was feeling alone, which was more often than not as of late. Every new experience, every strange encounter, every unexpected victory made Luigi wish more and more that his brother was around to take part. Hardly a second passed without him wondering what he was doing at that moment, and if he was okay.

Unfortunately, his occupied mind made him a less-than-helpful assistant to E. Gadd. The professor had warned earlier that he had always preferred working alone. The result was a very low tolerance level for “tomfoolery,” as he described it, and it wasn’t long before Luigi’s shaky attempts to help attach upgrades to The Poltergust caused the scientist to lose his patience. One shoddy wire-soldering job later, Luigi found himself being forcibly pushed toward the exit by the surprisingly strong old man. “Go. Shoo. Distract yourself with something else.”

“Like what?” Luigi asked, digging his heels. “What do I do? Where do I go?”

“How about you see the princess?”

“Princess Daisy?”

Luigi lingered in the doorway. The professor adjusted his glasses, and pointed down one of the castle hallways. “Yep! She’s in the greenhouse. I’m sure she could use the company. You two seem to get along well enough.”

“We do?” Luigi placed his hand against his cheek, thinking over their last interactions. They had exchanged blows, but worked together in the end to defeat Boolossus. She had held his hand up as the victor, but she had also toyed with him in a way that made it clear that she knew how weak he truly was. He liked her, that much he knew, but that didn’t mean she wanted anything more to do with him, and furthermore she had a power and confidence to her that intimidated him beyond her status as the daughter of four kings. “I don’t know. I mean, we did make a pretty good team, but she’s royalty! I don’t know anything about how to approach royalty. Do I bow? Or–”

“You’ll be fine,” The Professor assured, only half paying attention as he returned to his work, burying himself back into the open hatch of a large machine.

In the end, Luigi did as he was told. The greenhouse was easy enough to find. As large as the Birabuto Palace was, its corridors were open and easy to navigate, and the guards were surprisingly helpful in giving directions despite their shaky first-encounters.

Finding the large doors to the greenhouse, marked by limestone imitations of crawling vines carved into the archway, Luigi gathered his determination and pushed them open. The first thing that struck him was a wall of glacial cold– a shocking surprise, and the opposite of what he expected from a greenhouse, but this discomfort was immediately undercut by the beauty of the surrounding foliage. The flowers, sparkling with a brilliant, incandescent blue, sprouted from planter boxes and large pots all around in blooms and buds. He thought for a moment that surely they were beautifully-crafted plastic or silicon, but pinching a large leaf between the fingers of his gloves he found they felt as real as any common dandelion. The second thing that struck him was the night sky, clearly visible through the glass walls and ceiling. He had never in his life seen so many stars, and for all his love of science and space he could not recognize a single constellation, which served as an unsettling, but ultimately breathtaking reminder of how far from home truly he was.

“Oh! Hey!”

Luigi jumped and let out a surprised squeak when Daisy emerged from behind a stack of pots to greet him. Her cheeks were tinted pink from the cold, and in her right arm she held a large sack of powdery-white fertilizer that she was distributing between the plants. She laughed at his reaction, but it carried no hint of condescension, just friendly amusement. “I was hoping I’d see you again before we invaded Evershade Valley!” she called, waving him over. “Luigi, was it?”

Luigi approached while holding his hat to his chest, shuddering a bit as the chill bit at the edges of his ears. “Yes, Your Highness.” Daisy once more laughed her friendly, good-natured laugh. “None of that. Just Daisy. No ‘Miss’ or ‘Ma’am’ either. If you’ve gotta be formal, call me Princess Daisy.” Luigi, feeling a little more at ease, put his hat back on his head. “Yes, Princess Daisy.” She gave a nod of approval, then went back to work fertilizing the long rows of plants. “So,” she asked, “What can I help you with, big guy?” “I, er…” Luigi suddenly realized he had failed to come up with a proper reason before arriving here. He couldn’t very well say the professor kicked him out of the lab for being inept, but before he could think of an excuse his attention was re-seized by the plants. Curiosity overcame him to the point that he forgot his worries, and he once more brushed his hand against the leaf of the nearest flower. “Are these where your ice powers came from? In The Battle Stadium?” “Of course! I’m pretty good with a powerup, huh?” Daisy said proudly, “Normally I favor the elephant fruit, but today I decided to switch things up.” “Elephant fruit? There’s other magical plants?” The princess stiffened. Luigi was worried for a moment that he had accidentally said something offensive, but she retained her genuine smile as she set the sack of fertilizer down and placed her hands on her hips. “Wow, you’re really not from around here, are you.” Before Luigi could answer, she walked up and wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulder. “Suppose I should’ve known. Humans aren’t native to this world. The professor is one of, like, two other humans I know. Do you know E. Gadd? Is he your uncle or something?” “I– uh, no. We just met yesterday.” “Let me guess: you're lost." "Well... yes..." "And he said he'd only get you home if you help him.” “What!?” “He’s the kind of guy to pull a stunt like that if he thinks it’s for the greater good.” Daisy explained, holding Luigi a bit closer in a show of sympathy. “You don’t have to do this, you know, you could go home anytime you like. I’ll vouch for you!” Despite the friendly intention behind these words, Luigi felt a lump form in his throat. He slipped out from under The Princess’ side-hug, and stared up at her with a troubled look. “Do you… want me to leave?” Daisy bristled. Her cheeks reddened as she shook her head and waved her hands in dismay. “No! No no no of course not! I think you’re great! It’s just…” She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck.

Luigi, surprised by this rare show of nervousness, patiently waited with bated breath for her to gather her thoughts, and after a few seconds she continued, quieter than before. “It’s just that I keep thinking about what you said in the arena. You seemed like a guy who had a lot to lose. You weren’t in it for glory or the fun of the fight, you were just scared and… I don’t know… I felt bad for you. Still do.” At this, Luigi gained a slight smile, shyly burying his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels. “Heh, don’t worry. I gotta learn how to not be scared all the time, y'know?” It didn’t take long before he realized what he said– whose words he was echoing. The gravity of the situation quickly crashed back down on him, robbing him of that small moment of comfort. It was evident by the look on Daisy’s face that she had seen the change in his expression, so Luigi went ahead and explained his predicament before she could ask: “It’s my brother, Mario. We both fell through a warp pipe. I ended up in your kingdom but he ended up in Evershade Valley.”

Daisy cocked her head, the gears turning behind her eyes as everything she had witnessed about the plumber's manner up until now came together in her mind. “Oh. I see.”

“It was my fault. I fell into the warp pipe, and he jumped in after me, and– I… I can’t just leave him.” Luigi heard his own voice crack and felt tears beginning to form in his eyes. Despite this he kept going, the pent up emotions of the past twenty four hours running rampant, unable to be reigned in. “It’s not that I don’t trust anyone else to save him, but I gotta make sure he’s okay! We’ve never been apart this long… and I-... I miss him.” Tears began streaming freely, the cold air burning them into long lines down Luigi’s cheeks. He turned away, struggling to wipe his eyes with the back of his glove. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be.”

Luigi saw a glimmer of white fabric in the corner of his vision. Turning, he saw the princess holding a flower-embroidered handkerchief out to him. He accepted, and dried his eyes. He tried to hand it back, but she was already returning to the flowers, plucking up a set of pruning shears as she went. “I’ve never known a good fighter that didn’t have big emotions brewing under the surface,” she assured. “But don’t you worry, after the way we saved my dads, saving you brother should be no sweat!...” Luigi, hearing a light snip of closing shears, saw Princess Daisy remove one of the ice flowers at its base between where the leaves connected to the soil. Despite being cut off from its roots the plant remained as lively as ever. It almost looked to be dancing happily in her hands as she delivered it back to Luigi.

“...and when you do save him, give him this.” She said, holding out the offering. “If Mario’s anything like you, he’s not going to want to be defenseless, and ice magic is the one of the few things that can combat boos besides your Poltergust.” Luigi smiled. He reached out and took the flower into his hands. He was surprised to find it wasn’t particularly chilly to the touch– clearly the coldness of the room was for the sake of cultivating the plants, not the effect of the flowers themselves. “You seem to really know a lot.” He mused aloud, pressing the gift to his chest. “But… you said humans aren’t native to this world. Where did you come from, then?” He stopped suddenly, realizing the personal nature of what he asked. He searched Daisy’s face for some sign of disapproval, but was relieved to see her smiling just as brightly as before. “Ha! I wish I had an answer to your question!” She laughed, “Dragonzamasu says I hatched from an orange egg that appeared suddenly in a field of flowers. Biokinton says he found me curled up in a bassinet hitched to a shooting star. Hiyoihoi says he found me locked in a gemstone at the center of the oldest mountain in Sarasaland. But I’m more inclined to buy Totomesu’s story.”

“What’s Totomesu’s story?” Daisy’s smile wavered. Luigi wondered once again if he misstepped, but this time easily brushed the thought aside, trusting by now that the princess would let him know if he had done something wrong. She turned away, staring up at the stars through the glass wall of the greenhouse, and Luigi placed himself at the her side, watching the stars in tandem until Daisy finally broke the silence and answered his question: “He found me at the mouth of a warp pipe, barely old enough to crawl and completely terrified. Sometimes I think I still remember that day… as much as I prefer to believe that I hatched from an egg.”

There was such an odd sadness to her voice that Luigi felt an impulse to reach out and reassuringly take her hand, though he had enough common sense to refrain from such an intimate gesture. All the same, he wanted to say something comforting. “I don’t mind that you didn’t hatch from an egg.” He heard himself blurt out.

Daisy shot him a confused look, and Luigi nervously scrambled to explain himself. “What I mean is… hey, you were a baby, y’know? Ain’t nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re already so cool, you can’t be cool every moment of your life, and most babies aren’t cool! And… uh…” Daisy started to laugh. Luigi turned red, but felt a little better now that she was smiling again, even more so when he felt the princess affectionately nudging his shoulder. “Haha! I get it big guy, I get what you're saying!”

Luigi laughed too, in spite of himself.

“Speaking of ‘cool,’” Daisy went on, “I'm freezing!” She rubbed at her arms in a display of discomfort. Luigi, too, was suddenly reminded of just how cold he was. By now the low temperature had seeped all the way through his clothes and skin, triggering a powerful shiver that ran through his core, which was soon soothed as the princess wrapped an arm around him, and pressed him close. “Tell me, Luigi, do you have hot chocolate in your world?”

“I love hot chocolate!”

“Perfect!” With her arm still tightly wrapped around the plumber, Daisy eagerly led him to the egress of the greenhouse. “Let’s get us some good old-fashioned creature comforts before we fight some ghosts!”

"Heh. Yeah. Let's-a-go!" Luigi said, forcing enthusiasm, thankful that he had the cold as an excuse for his uncontrollable shivering.

#my writing #super mario bros #super mario bros redux #super mario brothers #mario movie #mario movie au #Luigi #Polterpup #Princess Daisy #Professor E. Gadd #Luaisy #this got longer than I intended but what else is new

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petra-creat0r · 26 days

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Deltarune: Fool's Fate - Choral Chapel

The final area. The final destination on this journey where you will finally face off against the Priestess herself. (With her trusty right hand, the Magician.) However first you must make your way up the floors of the Choral Chapel. A pristine building with blue walls, purple halls, and plenty of rehearsal rooms. Not to mention a mysterious floor found beneath the dungeon...

A bit before fighting the Priestess, you'll find the Magician has himself a little shop somewhere before the second miniboss fight, similar to Rouxls. A certain picture on his wall of a castle in a land far away may even be used as a hint to find that which unlocks the mysterious room below. However that mystery isn't for here. Instead, a riddle.

41. I can push and prod in any direction, on wall paper, flowers, or ideas. And upon that all, report on that too. What am I?

The two types of enemies you face in the Choral Chapel are Tuxman and Fouetette. (They can also be NPCs in the Dungeon.) Tuxman, a dapper fellow, is based on a tuxedo. Tuxmen are the baritones of the Choir. Fouetette is an upgraded version of Pirolette, and its a ballerina figurine. Fouetette, alone with Pirolette, are the sopranos of the choir.

42. My word is gospel yet I’m not god, I speak for the heavens yet I can be flawed. I am a father yet I have no sons, I have brothers and sisters yet my mother is a virgin. What am I?

All of the NPCs besides Ariana are mostly encountered in the Dungeon, though some Oddball can still be found on the Baritone/Bass floor with the Tuxmen. They're based on magic 8-balls. Lintmouse is a mouse made of lint. You can find three of them in the Dungeon to get a new title. Locked Nick is a locked up skeleton, and based on a skeleton key.

Ariana is the Choir's music accompanist, and based off a piano. You encounter her during various piano puzzles spread out through out the upper floors of the Chapel. She's also accompanied by Tolle, which I'll get to a moment.

43. My brother and I can open doors for you for the rest of your life? Both our names begin with the same two letters. His name ends in -sh. What is my name?

Mocking Jay is the first minibosses encountered in the Choral Chapel, and is fought right after CK escapes his cell. Asides from being a literal mocking bird, mocking and making fun of everyone, they are based on a cuckoo clock. MJ's neck can extend out like a cuckoo clock's bird. They are the Tenor lead of the Choir

44. If you're running a race and past the guy in 2nd place, what place does that put you now?

Tolle is the second miniboss encountered in this area, shortly after passing Magician's shop. She's encountered with Ariana, after one of her piano puzzles. If it isn't obvious, Tolle is a bell. For whom the bell doth Tolle. She is the Alto lead for the Choir, and sort of an upgrade/boss for the Chim-Chimes.

45. If you don’t maintain them, bonds and ties become me. Add an E and I'll become quite drastic, add an A and L instead and I become many. What am I?

46. I have four legs but never walk. I may be covered in flowers but have no soil. I hold food three times a day but never eat a meal. What am I?

47. I can go any direction I please, North, South, East, or West, however, the way I start never matches my end. What am I?

48. You can throw me but you can not feel me, you can look me but you can not see me, you can hold me but you can not cradle me. What am I?

49. I pass before the sun, yet make no shadow. You can feel me through your hair yet I'm only air. What am I?

50. A letter and a person, I am self, yet I’m not me. What do they call I?

You should have all the riddles you need. If some seem missing, seek the pond beneath the frog.

Once all are solved, go back to the snake's page and solve the cipher.

#deltarune #deltarune fan character #Deltarune: Fool's Fate #dr atticworld #dr:ff atticworld #deltarune oc #petra's deltarune take #deltarune au #petra art #fool's fate

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nica-my-beloved · 6 months

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Gilbert von Obsidian, the main reason why I started playing Ikemen Prince. The main reason I started playing Ikemen games at all. Your route was so much fun, I can't explain.

Gilbert's route is not a route. It's basically a chessboard that we watch Gilbert play from both sides. Yes, it's a one-sided chess game and it's fun to watch. Really fun to watch! I was getting so hooked-up with the story and ended up falling in love with it.

👇👇👇Spoilers 👇👇👇

I think the fun part of Gilbert's route is uncovering his secrets slowly. For example, What is he hiding? Why did he change into....a beast? How does he know so much about Emma? What is his main goal here? All these questions get's answered in a well-crafted way in his story.

Gilbert is one of those characters who on the outside has all the characteristics as a villain but in reality he's a pure-hearted man who sacrificing everything for the better future of his country. Everyone just judges Gilbert based on rumors and what the previous Emperor of Obsidian did (I'm talking about the Bloodstained Rose Day). They all call him names like the 'Conqueror of Beasts' and 'Worldwide disaster' just because he's from Obsidian, a country known for corruption. But once you actually find out Gilbert's ambitions and what he's doing for his country, I just think he's a pretty cool guy. He's an anti-villain disguised as a villain.

His ambition to make sure everyone is being treated equally whether its royalty or a commoner and everyone should be punished for the crimes that they have committed and no one could gain favorable advantages because of their status, is truly remarkable. On top of that, he's not all fighting and conquering every nations he sees. He also works hard to make sure his country is doing better for his people. I'm talking about their food supply and technology upgrades. It does hurts me that Gilbert is only known as a 'Worldwide disaster' around the other nations especially in Rhodolite, instead of getting praised for developing his country and helping his people. People really like to look at only the bad side of a person, don't you think?

Gilbert also in his own way is trying to eradicate as much corruption and decay from his country. Starting with killing his own father, the Emperor because if the Emperor ain't doing anything for his people, he should either step down as an Emperor and let someone else more competent take the throne or just die. Neither happened, so Gilbert killed him to eliminate that threat. Then his killed of any corrupted nobles and that's why Obsidian is called the Country of Soldiers, because everyone inside the palace is a soldier (Including the maids, I guess)

Also, maybe it's only me, but I prefer the design of the Obsidian palace over the Rhodolite one. The Rhodolite palace is prettier-looking, covered with roses from head to toe every where both inside and outside. The Obsidian palace on the outside looks like a Haunted Castle that might eat you up, but in the inside, the ambience suites me perfectly. I don't really like too much light pouring inside my room.

Another thing I like about Obsidian palace is how Gilbert made sure everyone inside the palace who works for him is talented in their field of job. He recognizes talent over any kind of nepotism or status. Although Gilbert's ambition is to make sure that all people are to be treated equally, he's still feared by many ministers in the parliament. I think that's a good thing because it's good to be feared and having people do what you're asking for instead of letting them trample over you. Gilbert used to be like Emma, where he loved everyone and was kind to everyone. But since humans are the worst kinds of beasts, they will surely trample on kindness of people like Emma or former Gilbert. I'm not saying being kind is foolish but one should never let anyone trample over them for any reason. For example, we see Emma getting wrongfully bullied by some nobles just because she hangs out with Gilbert. Emma, for being a commoner gets bullied and other nobles or princes who talks with Gilbert, never. What frustrates me even more is that Emma just never stand up to her bullies and always let them have their way. I don't see any of the Rhodolite princes help her (except for one time when Yves caught that one noblewoman). When Gilbert clearly asks her, she calls him a beast and doesn't tell him. Honestly, I felt like Gilbert was the only one protecting her at that point, Emma was just being clouded by rumors about Gilbert where he's treated as the Voldemort of this world. He who-should-not-be-named!

I'm happy that later she does realize that she shouldn't be blinded by these rumors and must look at Gilbert objectively. Looking him as a human rather than a beast, but it's good thing that she admits her mistake. For her, she was like "I can fix him. I will bring him to my world which is filled with kindness and warmth and I can fix him and turn him into a human." and what does Gilbert do? He enters her world and paints it all black. Great job👍

Speaking of Emma, I love that Gilbert keeps giving her a reality check. Emma's whole ideals about fixing problems by talking things through is not a bad thing, but it's not effective in the current situation because of the tragedy known as the Bloodstained Rose Day. She never knew how much of tragedy that was and it was also partly the Rhodolite Princes' fault too. All this time, she was living in her own dream world like a main character of novel, that she mentions time to time, who never changes herself no matter how much hell she is put through. I think Emma is character who likes to dream a lot and she lives in a fantasy world which is all rainbows and sunshine. Once she is chosen as Belle, everything she thought about 'royalty' and 'nobles' which she read from books proved to be false. She starts learning about the cruel place she lives in, that is the royal palace, how the princes are not just some good-looking rich men but also very smart and strong, how the royalty can get a away with many things because of their status and even how much of piece of shit the previous Rhodolite emperor was. She learns these things and clearly realizes that despite living in Rhodolite for her entire life, she never actually knew everything about her country.

After being send as a hostage in Obsidian, it is only then she gets to see how truly developing Obsidian is, maybe even more than Rhodolite. People are all treating her well. The country wasn't like what she was expecting. To me it looked like she was having much better time in Obsidian than in Rhodolite, because at least there are no childish nobles that bully her just because they can.

Now coming to the meat of the story, Gilbert's illness. I was kinda surprised but also rolled my eyes at first when I heard that Gilbert had some kind of illness and he's going to die soon. I have seen this trope in other movies and dramas and it's usually a last minute thing that the story writers pulls it out of their ass to bait the viewers into keep investing in their characters. I always like to believe that they use these 'I'm dying from cancer' trope when they have no idea left. So when I saw Gilbert coughing blood I was praying so hard that the writers don't disappoint me. But thankfully it was not like that. I really did feel sad when I was reading the ending chapters. I admit that I was crying like a baby because Gilbert is just too sweet that I want to shower him with kisses. Every time. ALL THE TIME!

I think all in all Gilbert's route is really well written that I enjoyed most of it but it's not perfect. The issue is not that concerning, but I really wish they didn't emphasize it too much. I don't like cringy dialogues! Dialogues that make me physically cringy to the point that I roll my eyes. Dialogues like:

"What can I do to make you turn into a human?"

"If you shut down your feelings, you will eventually become a beast like me."

And my least favorite "He's the Conqueror of the Beast, the worldwide disaster...."

Emma just really loves that line to the point that she uses it every time Gilbert does something normal.

Sees Gilbert reading a book.

Emma: *gasps* "The Conqueror of the Beast, the worldwide disaster is reading a book!?!?!?"*shocked 101*

Sees Gilbert eating cookies.

Emma: *gasps* "The Conqueror of the Beast, the worldwide disaster eats cookies and not children!?!?!?"*shocked 102*

Yeah, and it's not just Emma, but some of the princes' and ministers except for Chevalier and Luke, who treats him like a normal human being. Maybe they have a past together. Probably the other other kid at the start of chapter 1 is Chevalier. They must be childhood friends. Luke and Gilbert also seems to know each other well, Luke was the only person that proudly claimed that Emma is doing very well in Obsidian so it seems like Luke must have been to Obsidian before.

Another thing. See the general rule of story-telling is 'Show than tell'. I want the writers to 'show' me how much of a pure-hearted character Emma is rather than the princes keep 'telling' the audience that Emma is kind and pure-hearted. If Emma is kind-hearted, I want them to show me her kindness in any way possible. For example, when they went to the orphanage, they could've have shown Emma mingling with the kids and helping them with whatever they need or maybe something like Emma doing a research about the Bloodstained Rose Day (actually she does, she goes around asking the princes but no one told her that the princes' were also at fault) learning both sides of the story. Show me things that would make me like her personality even more. Show me instances where she's actually a kind-hearted soul. If you don't show me, all I'm left with is a girl who forces her ideals onto others without thinking how much it's hurting the other person. I don't think Emma is terrible but I wish they could add more scenes for her where she truly gets to show her potential as a kind-hearted Belle.

Gilbert's route is a very neat political drama with a little bit of romance infused into it. Like I mentioned beforehand, the whole story is a chess game and Gilbert is the only one winning.

Both Gilbert and Emma's ideals are different. Gilbert, now, thinks that violence is the only means to get justice and Emma thinks talking is the only means to get justice. I don't think both are wrong. In cases like the Bloodstained Rose Day, the family of the victims needed justice because the royalty was not punished for their actions. That's why the anti-monarchy faction was developed. If Gilbert's ideals are followed, there would be Bloodstained Rose Day 2.0. If we go by Emma's ideals, it would be hard to get them to talk things through because of the gravity of the situation. It would still lead to the Bloodstained Rose Day 2.0. It was a straight up slaughter. It's a very complicated situation.

Anyways, I think Gilbert's route is truly amazing. A perfect 9.5/10. (I'm taking 0.5 points because of the cringy lines. NEVER COME SEE ME AGAIN!!)

#ikemen prince #ikemen series #otome #otome game #ikepri #ikemen prince gilbert #gilbert von obsidian #shiro reviews

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