#and I’m assuming one of them is Valax

[yourqueenb]

Also quick focus on Mal… If I ignore some of the things that happened in this chapter, I still like his “reunion” scene from last week. It was fun and felt kind of like old times. But when you factor those things in — mainly the fact that he said he thought we were dead — the way he acted last chapter is so upsetting and doesn’t even make sense now. If he really thought MC was dead, why wasn’t he more shocked to see her? If he couldn’t express that during/after the heist, why couldn’t he express that on the dock or at camp or literally anywhere else? Why has everything been so rushed? What are the writers doing??

[seashellsdiary]

After making a theory about Valax prior to book 2 airing that ended up being correct, I’m back with some more theorising before book 3 comes out! Because we have the description for chapter 1 and the highlighted text has been responsible for my descent into madness:

I actually would’ve assumed we would be fighting the Old Gods at the end of book 3 for the finale, but based on this I’m going to say I think they appear almost immediately after the end of chapter 18, and not only fight MC and the entire party but actually kill them. We’ve defeated the Ash Empress but she was only one god, and it took an entire army to defeat her, so as strong as the main party is I just don’t see them taking on five Old Gods without getting smited.

There’s not really much else that comes to my mind after reading “a fight that will change your lives forever” so I’m assuming after dying we end up in Elhalas! This is all just based on that small text description but after knowing how book 2 began it would actually make sense for something equally insane to happen again 😅

From this point onwards maybe we actually find the New Gods (Xaius, Ellara and the others who ascended) and ask them for help. Thoughts, theories & opinions anyone?

[saibug1022]

The Amulet of Rotem

Word Count: 2k

Characters/Relationship(s): Asterin Nightbloom (MC) x Tyril Starfury

Genre/Tags: Hurt/comfort

Summary: During Chapter 8, Tyril finds out Asterin is not only hiding something, but went to worrying lengths to keep the secret.

A/N: pspspspsps actual character lore pspspspsps

Perhaps it was cliche and overly romantic, but something about helping Tyril shed his armor—along with stripping Mal of his armor too earlier—just made everything make sense. Everything fell into place. This was how it was supposed to be. This, this was right. After weeks of Asterin stumbling through each day, constantly trying to catch up and adapt to everything new and different around him this was something unchanged and beautiful.

Tyril’s skin against his, his strong fingers brushing Asterin’s skin as they fought with the buckles and fastenings holding Asterin’s armor and weapons was a feeling he could never forget. Tyril’s lips against his felt like a meeting of souls, something profound and incomprehensible that wasn’t meant for mortals. When Asterin’s shirt finally hit the floor and he felt Tyril’s hand on his chest he finally felt like himself again.

Until Tyril’s fingers stopped and his lips froze and he pulled away to look down. He was carefully holding the pendant of one of the necklaces Asterin normally wore beneath his shirt. One chain was simple and just served to hold the ring Aerin had given him so long ago. Thankfully Tyril didn’t seem to question that one. But the second one he was studying carefully, turning the pendant over in his hand with his brow furrowed.

The small charm was fairly unassuming, just a round pink stone set into twisting metal almost like a cage. Most would assume it was something simple, an accessory or something of sentimental value. That was what Mal had assumed when he saw it. Still, the way Tyril looked at it made Asterin nervous.

“I know this…” Tyril muttered. “What is it?”

“It’s just a necklace Tyril,” Asterin chuckled. He tried to pull the other elf back into a kiss, partially because he wanted to move on and partially to distract him, but Tyril pulled away.

“No there’s magic in this,” Tyril shook his head. “I can feel it.”

“It’s a little protection charm Kade gave me before I left,” Asterin lied easily. But Tyril just switched from glaring at the amulet to glaring at him. Asterin shrank a little under his gaze but Tyril didn’t look away.

“No it isn’t,” Tyril argued. “If it was you would have said so. What is it?”

“Tyril-”

“Answer me.”

“Please-”

“Answer me!”

Asterin flinched back away from Tyril, ripping the pendant from his hands. He just barely caught himself from raising his hands as if to defend himself. He squeezed his eyes shut as Tyril’s voice morphed into another in his head and dragged memories to the forefront of his thoughts that he wanted nothing to do with. The silence that fell was deafening as both them realized what exactly they’d just done.

“I’m sorry,” Asterin mumbled.

“No, I am,” Tyril protested immediately. He offered his hand and visibly relaxed when Asterin immediately took it. "I didn't mean to scare you. That's the last thing I ever want."

“I know,” Asterin said. “Trust me, I know. It’s okay.”

“Stop saying it’s okay,” Tyril replied. He clutched Asterin’s hand in both of his. “Me scaring you like that is abhorrent. But I am worried about you. That’s an Amulet of Rotem isn’t it? It’s an illusion charm. I know things have changed but we’ve never hidden things from each other. I shudder to think you feel the need to hide things from me and lie to me now.”

"...you're right," Asterin confessed. He kept his voice hushed. He wasn't sure why. Maybe he thought if he could barely make out his own words they wouldn't be real. "It's an illusion charm. I got it from the Royal Archives with Kade. It makes me looked how I did before Valax."

"Do you look different now?" Tyril asked, matching Asterin's tone. Asterin nodded. "How?"

Asterin tried to answer but the words were so quiet not even their shared elven senses could pick it up. He wasn't even convinced he said anything at all. How could he say something out loud? How could he think about it long enough to give voice to his pain? Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as his frustration grew until finally he squeezed his eyes shut and took the amulet off.

There was no flash of light like he was used to with magic but he surmised from Tyril's sharp intake of breath that everything was now on display. He didn’t even need to look. He’d spent enough time staring at the scars in horror before making the request of Nia upon finding her again.

The most subtle were the pinpricks dotted all over his wrists and neck. They could almost be mistaken for freckles. Sometimes he could even pretend that’s all they were. But those were the simple ones. Also scarring his wrists were jagged cuts, lined up one after the other, and on his palms as well. With the charm off Tyril would also be able to see the way his hands shook now, a tremor he still couldn’t explain nor remedy. He assumed it had to do with the damage to his hands and wrists. A harsh claw mark was emblazoned across his face, a hair’s breadth away from his eye.

But worst of all were the last two. On his chest were three precise lines, two that started near his soldiers and went inwards until they met and went straight down in a “Y” shape. And on his back were the burns. At least, he thought they were burns. He had no way of knowing for sure. Tyril’s fingers traced the scar on Asterin’s chest so softly Asterin could barely feel his fingers. It still made him shiver though. Tyril immediately froze but Asterin shook his head.

“No it’s, it’s okay,” Asterin said. Not only that but it was kind of nice. He was almost reverent in the way he moved over them. He knew logically it was some form of horror, maybe even guilt, but it felt so nice to not have them treated as something disgusting and wrong. Like Asterin saw them.

“You don’t remember any of this?” Tyril whispered.

“That’s the scary part,” Asterin replied. “I don’ remember a thing she did to me. All I have are the scars.”

Finally Tyril’s hand came to the marks down Asterin’s face. He traced them with just as much care as the others. He leaned up and kissed Asterin’s forehead, right over the scars.

“You look just as beautiful as I’ve ever seen you,” Tyril told him. “At the masquerade, in your armor, the day we met, even in nothing at all.”

The words made Asterin’s breath hitched. He didn’t feel beautiful. He felt damaged and broken, like something had been taken from him. His pride he supposed. He used to feel beautiful. He didn;t now. He replayed Tyril’s words in his head to try and get through to himself only to snicker.

“Are you laughing at me?” Tyril’s looked at him baffled.

“The day we met, huh?” Asterin teased.

Tyril’s face turned purple and suddenly he was very interested in the crumbling walls of the room.

“And I thought you found me irritating,” Asterin joked.

“I did,” Tyril claimed. “That didn’t mean I was blind.”

Asterin laughed, hand covering his mouth to not be too loud. But Tyril moved his hand and squeezed it.

“You haven’t laughed much these last weeks,” Tyril explained. “I want to hear it.”

“Has it been that obvious?” Asterin asked. Tyril made a so-so motion and Asterin sighed. “I’m trying. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be that man who got dragged through the portal. The, the man you and Mal fell in love with.”

“Is that why you were so scared for us to see your scars?” Tyril asked.

“Maybe,” Asterin muttered.

“Asterin…”

“I was scared if you saw the proof of everything it would be like a walking breathing reminder of the past year. How much you two have been fighting, how much we've all changed, how much I’ve missed and, and how much I’ve changed. I didn’t want you guys to see a different me and, and not love me anymore.”

Asterin's eyes were firmly on the floor as tears gathered within them. Tyril finger hooked under his chin and tilted his face up so Tyril could pull him into a kiss so passionate Asterin didn’t know how he ever doubted him.

“Oh,” Asterin whispered.

“Are you still Asterin of Riverbend?” Tyril asked. “Are you still Asterin Nightbloom, even if you’re a different version of him?”

“Yes,” Asterin nodded. It was the one thing he was sure of. Clinging to his identity, even scraps of it, was all that kept him sane these days.

“Then I love you, just as much as I ever have,” Tyril promised. “If not more. I want to spend the rest of our lives together, all three of us. Scars or pain won’t change that.”

“I love you too,” Asterin grinned. “Sorry, just couldn’t listen to that whole speech without saying it.”

“I’ll always enjoy hearing it,” Tyril chuckled.

“Hey you can laugh too! I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“You spend too much time with Mal.”

“You’ve spent more time with him.”

“I’m aware, it’s too late for me.”

Asterin laughed again as he leaned over to kiss Tyril once more, hands back on his chest. He nudged Tyril back until the mage’s back was on the ground with Asterin grinning between his legs and leaning over him.

“I think we have some unfinished business,” Asterin hummed. “Shall we finish it?”

“By the gods yes.”

[zoeywades-husband]

Misogyny and homophobia can literally go hand in hand. They work together because they are products of the same system that is the patriarchy. When you have someone publicly shaming a female LI who the majority of people romancing her are queer people (queer women, non-binary people, and bi/pan men) it is going to result in a two-fold situation of misogyny and homophobia.

This is especially the case when they are tearing down a female LI to prop up a male LI. Doing it on a public platform can result in queer players feeling alienated. This shouldn’t be something that is hard to comprehend.

It’s very similar to what happened to the reaction to the Sadie scene where people calling the scene “gross” or “nasty” and leaving it at that resulted in unintentional shaming of queer players because the majority of people who romance women in the fandom are queer people. There were discussions about how misogyny and homophobia go hand in hand and how it was reflected in the Sadie situation.

The same thing goes for this situation. We can see instances of this throughout the years choices has been around where unreasonable and unfounded shaming of female LIs are a product of misogyny and homophobia that work hand in hand and alienate queer players. You guys remember all the Ava hate?

This situation isn’t a “it’s misogyny or homophobia” but it’s both. They’re working together when there’s unfounded hatred and shaming of a female LI. And saying that this argument “assumes everyone romancing Valax is queer” and “assumes there are no queer people romancing Aerin” is a weak argument to ignore how homophobia and misogyny work together that has genuine negative effects on queer people. And then to say it “derails” from the main topic of misogyny completely overlooks how these two work together. It is a situation of intersectionality here

The majority of people romancing Valax are queer and while there are obviously going to be straight men who romance her there are less of them compared to queer people because it encompasses more genders in its inclusion. Even more importantly, cishet women make up a large portion of the fanbase within the fandom and many of them assume that female LIs are for queer people. When people, especially cishet women, therefore hate and shame female LIs for invalid reasons that results in misogyny and homophobia working together

Furthermore, this isn’t about queer people romancing Aerin (I’m one of them) but about how people who only/mainly romance men and then shame female LIs publicly result in alienating queer players who romance women due to how in this case misogyny and homophobia work together.

It’s not about whether or not all people romancing Valax are queer or about how it’s solely misogyny but about how misogyny and homophobia work together that has a genuine effect on queer players in the fandom

[avaeavalley]

All those ships fuck wtf I’m obsessed??? Love to hear about Nia and Valax and their mommies 😁 but Midys/Nithrax were truly something else in Blades 3 so either (or both) is good

Slightly NSFW so I'll put my answer under the cut

Nia and Valax is one of my favourite ships mostly because they are just so intrinsically similar - not only in their loyalties to the Light and Shadow respectively but how well they mimic their mothers. Nia takes Nifara as her patron, her guiding compass, her north star and her mother - whom she ritually prays to, whom she's dedicated her entire life to and whose Light she seeks refuge in. She's her child, therefore she willingly gives herself up to be a vessel for Nifara's seed - Light in itself. Much like Valax, who repeatedly seeks Vali's love and is willing to be her weapon, her sword and shield.

The incestuous relationship that Vali and Valax share is akin to the relationship between Nifara and Nia. A devotee and an idol. A mother and a daughter. A creator and her creation. A seed and a womb. 

My personal headcanon is that the relationship between Valax and Nia is one of pure physical bliss alone. Their emotional loyalties are left at their mothers’ altars and when they pleasure themselves, they scream their mother's name. When they join their bodies together, it is not a mere dance of the Light and Shadow or a homage to Nifara and Vali, or the joining of the Realms, rather it is read as a symbolical cry of devotion to the Mother Gods, the Matriarchs and the wounds they carry within them. When they consummate their union, they can only mimic their Mothers - Nifara's possession of Vali in tandem with Nia's claim to Valax's maidenhood and Vali's rejection of Nifara, in line with Valax purging the Light from Nia's eyes, filling her body with blackened Ash. 

•

Midys and Nithrax remind me a lot of Cersei and Jaime from ASOIAF. Twins brought to this world and will remain together even at death. The intimacy that they share is neither purely romantic and wholesome the way Ittar and Bakshi share or possessive and overpowering like Vali and Nifara. Destructive magic is not gendered, for we see combat mages of all genders in Blades wield such powerful magic but since the Light seems to favour and possess women, it is rather interesting to see Midys's magic-wielding abilities and how controlled her destruction can be compared to her brother's chaotic, “masculine” nature in combat with enchanted weaponry.

Blades is notorious for subverting gender expectations and while that is a welcome breath of fresh air, I really think it would benefit the writing more if gender and sexism, to put it simply, was discussed - especially at certain poignant moments. Midys and Nithrax are perhaps one of the only examples where the man assumes the role of a 'rugged, chaotic combatant’ while the woman shows her aggression through her Mother's gift of Light. While both do share an affinity for magic, it is interesting to see the roles each takes in this 'battle dance’ and the gendered encoding of it. The woman's aggression is contained within the confines of her own abilities, her magic is hers but it was never hers to begin with at the same time. The man with his phallic-shaped weaponry can afford to be as destructive as he liked. The Elves ask the man to bless their weapons, invoke the man to allow them to rain blood on their enemies while they ask of the woman to not drain their lifespan and their aim be as pure and sharp as their very beings, whilst defeating their enemies. Both of them belong to Nifara and under Nifara, their relationship is declared holy and their devotion to each other declared a matrimony, blessed by the Mothers themselves.