ldynyx

[ldynyx]

Something I don't think enough people talk about in Elden Ring lore is the usurpation of Marika by Radagon.

It's subtle, but the signs are all there. The most obvious are in their statues and portraits.

Marika is bowing her head and in shadow. Radagon is looking towards the Erdtree with his head held high. The choice to have his hand sticking out towards the viewer is a really odd one. He wants to emphasize that pose. The power difference between these two pictures is staggering.

Then there are the statues at the churches:

Marika is again bowing her head and her arms are up in the same crucifixion pose she's in at the end of the game, while Radagon is in a cruciform pose. Superimpose the two, and he's the cross she's hung on. Plus, behind him is the lattice that seals off the Erdtree. Her feet aren't on the ground, while his feet are and are surrounded by roots (a common symbol in statues throughout the Lands Between). And if these two statues were made by the same sculptor at the same time, then all the statues across the lands between were replaced at around the same time, replacing any possible depictions of Godfrey as well as older depictions of Marika.

And we know what those older depictions looked like! Look at the Stake of Marika (when it isn't broken, that is):

This is more likely an older depiction. Her arms are wide for an embrace, not suspended above her. She's looking down in benevolence, not defeat.

We see the same pose in the intro, her statue looking down on the dead Tarnished being sent home. Since this takes place outside the Lands Between, this must be the depiction that the Tarnished carried with them:

And then there's the Church of Pilgrimage in the Weeping Peninsula. This is where the Tarnished left from and were supposed to one day return. There's a statue of Radagon there, but Melina doesn't mention him. She just mentions Godfrey.

Then, after thy death, I will give back what I once claimed. Return to the Lands Between, wage war, and brandish the Elden Ring. Grow strong in the face of death. Warriors of my lord. Lord Godfrey.

Think about this. Really think about it. Why would she want them to come back? Why would she want them to wage war against her?

She refers to Radagon as "leal hound of the Golden Order" while dressing him down. To me, this implies that she is currently at odds with the Golden Order. And if you think about it, none of the Golden Order spells refer to her. Some of the Erdtree incantations do. But there's very little even mentioning her once Radagon is her husband.

It just seems really obvious to me that Radagon was the one calling the shots in the last days before the Shattering.

[ldynyx]

Cradle of Eternity

[ldynyx]

This is me, I'm in the picture, and I'm proud of it

More gale girlie memes

#mystra when i catch you mystra #all my homies hate mystra

#may it displease mystra Are actual tags on this website and I love it.

I am honestly impressed by how powerful the hatred for her is (or more specifically, how nonexistent the villain thirst is). I mean, even Orin, Gortash, Mizora, and Cazador have people thirsting after them. But Mystra? Zilch.

[ldynyx]

[ldynyx]

Gale

[ldynyx]

Beautiful 😍

creating something new

[ldynyx]

let’s talk about the early stages of hyperfixation where you can literally feel your brain getting doses of serotonin because of a show or a movie or a person or a character and mentally you’re like ‘ooooh no’ but it’s like a blackhole you can’t run or escape from so you just gotta ride it out knowing full well the next few months maybe even years are going to be spent mindlessly obsessing over this thing

[ldynyx]

Zap me magic man 😍

there's just something about Gale and lightning...

[ldynyx]

Even more wizard whump ✨

[ldynyx]

🟣 Rot and Rosewater .🟣

[ldynyx]

Imagine Gale as a talented and impressive young man, able to compose the Weave at will, skilled in a way that few can match, and favored by the Goddess of Magic herself. Imagine that because of these accomplishments, he’s caught the eye of a few up-and-coming magic adepts, and he falls in love with one of them—his first real love. Gale isn’t one to toss the ‘L’ word around lightly, so when he tells them he loves them, he means it; he gives himself over to them completely.

And in return, they love him for his potential. For his status. For the magic he can command. They love the wizard they see on the surface, but not the man underneath. They are attracted to his power, but not to him.

So of course the relationship fails, after the thrill of his magic wears off. But because Gale is a resilient young man and he’s caught the eye of so many, he soon falls in love with another.

And then it happens again. And again.

And each time Gale’s heart is ravaged, his ambition to become a better wizard grows, because he’s being shown time and time again that his magic ability is all that matters.

So much so that, by the time Mystra decides to elevate him from Favored to Chosen to Lover, he welcomes her with eager, desperate arms. Because if all his worth is in his magic, and that’s all he has to offer, and that’s all anyone wants from him, who better to love him than the Goddess of Magic herself?

Except…there’s a nagging voice in the back of his head that whispers she doesn’t really love him. There’s anxiety in his heart as time passes, and he reaches both the limit of what his talents can do and what Mystra will allow him to do. And most troubling of all: a growing panic that, just like his other lovers, she will soon grow tired of him and discard him if he can’t improve his magic any further.

He tries pouting, and pleading, and begging her to let him take more power, to let him be more for her, but she refuses. Smiles patronizingly. Tells him to be patient. But Gale can’t be patient when his power is tied so closely to his self-worth; he can’t be patient when doing so in the past has only ever lead to heartache.

So he does what he believes will be a Grand Romantic Gesture, one that will finally put him on equal footing with the woman he loves. Instead, it turns out to be a folly that dooms him and destroys his talents. And just as he’d always feared, Mystra tosses him aside the moment his magical gifts are gone—because what’s left of him holds no value for her.

————

Imagine Gale in his tower, alone, afraid, the ever-hungry orb in his chest, with only his tressym there to help him. No other friends to speak of. His colleagues forced to keep away for their own safety. His magical talents utterly stripped down, so that even when he does try and distract himself with illusions, he’s bitterly reminded of what he used to be capable of. Waking every morning wondering if it will be his last, ending every day full of loneliness and disappointment.

…and then he meets Tav.

At the lowest point in his life, at his most vulnerable, when he knows he’s going to be considered a burden, he meets this stranger and their group. So he does what he can to be useful—assigning himself to be camp cook, offering up his (now meager) magic skills, turning the charm up to 11—as he desperately hopes this will somehow work out. He’s pleasantly surprised when, after providing only minor details of his condition, Tav agrees to help him. He’s even more surprised when they actually follow through.

Imagine how Gale feels as Tav treats him kindly. As he grows to trust Tav, and then grows to like them. Imagine his surprise as he opens up and shows them more and more of himself, and they don’t turn him away.

But then his condition worsens. And he has to reveal everything: the foolish mistakes he’s made, and how dangerous he is as a result. He clings to Tav’s hand as he shows them his folly. He’s at their mercy now, and he knows this might be the last time he’ll ever feel the touch of another being, if they decide—and Gods, why wouldn’t they decide?—to cast him out.

…but they don’t. They don’t. Instead, they tell him to stay.

Imagine the relief Gale feels. The gratitude. And perhaps…just a hint of something more. Something that he dare not name, but that flares to life every time he thinks of how warm their hand was in his. Something that feels dangerously close to jealousy, when he’s had too much to drink and sees Tav smiling at another…

But he knows these are all foolish thoughts, because he has nothing to offer Tav. They are wonderful just as they are, but he…he is an empty shell of a man, a discarded husk of a wizard, and while they might tolerate him, he could never believe they might actually want him.

And besides, he still thinks of Mystra. He still longs for Mystra. She who cast him out, but to whom he still feels tethered. Sometimes he needs to cocoon himself in the weave, just to try and calm his fears and bring some joy back to his life, because magic is his life. And sometimes he just needs to see her face, even though that hurts as much as it heals.

One night he’s lost in thought, having conjured Mysta’s image after settling down at camp. Thinking that even if she hadn’t ‘loved’ him—certainly not in the way he’d loved her—she’d given him enough otherwise, hadn’t she? She’d amused him and been amused by him, they’d shared countless pleasures, why hadn’t he been satisfied with that?

Gale is so lost in thought he doesn’t realize Tav has come up behind him. Until they ask a question, startling him out of his trance. He’s a bit shaken, so he tries to turn the conversation from Mystra to the weave itself. And then a wonderful idea occurs to him, something that he’d been toying with already: what if they were to conjure the weave together?

He can show Tav how important magic is to him, let them experience what he does, perhaps even impress them a bit. But most importantly, share a moment with them. As friends would do…

He’s elated when Tav agrees. He leads them through the steps effortlessly, and they’re a surprisingly good student, following his instructions correctly (if a bit clumsily). He’s as excited as they are—perhaps even more so!—when they succeed in channeling the weave.

It’s such a pleasant, familiar feeling for him, like coming home to his tower in Waterdeep. Even as the weave connects him with Tav and makes them one, he’s easily able to hide his innermost thoughts, because he’s done it so many times before.

…but he’s forgotten that Tav has not.

————

Imagine Gale knowing every romantic partner he ever had only wanted him because of how he could raise their status, or how he could amuse them, or how he could command magic for them. And, each time, he was happy to oblige them, even desperate to oblige them, because if that was the price of their love, then he was sure it would be worth it.

But it still all came to nothing.

Now imagine Gale connected in an intimate way with someone he likes very, very much—while being what he considers his lowest, most worthless, and most humbled self. As far from the powerful, impressive wizard he once was as he could ever be. And suddenly a vision enters his mind from the lovely creature standing next to him. Only, to his complete and utter shock, it isn’t one where he is providing them with a service, or wowing them with his magical ability, or granting them some kind of power from one of the spells he commands.

Instead, when he sees their desire laid bare before him, it’s a vision of kissing him. Of holding his hand. The two most basic forms of affection and physical connection. The two things that he would still be able to offer them even if every last ounce of his remaining magical abilities were stripped from him. The two things he could share with them even if he was no longer Gale of Waterdeep, and just plain old Gale Dekarios instead.

Imagine the embarrassment and trepidation he feels at first, because surely he is mistaken?…and then the elation when he realizes that he is not. So much elation that his concentration is broken, the weave dissipating as he forgets about channeling it, as he forgets about Mystra. Because all that matters to him now is the image before him—the most pleasant and welcome image he’s seen in a very, very long time.

Imagine how that would feel…and how besotted, enamored and completely devoted he’d be to Tav afterwards. To know that someone finally—finally—just wants him.

Just imagine.

[ldynyx]

Gale is an archmage, so in addition to him having his mirror image to play with tav, he would also have access to any number of Simulacrums. Imagine the pleasure he could get/recieve if they all shared one mind also true polymorph would let him mold you however he wanted and i melt now

Listen to me. LISTEN to me okay Gale's mirror image scene in Act 1 and his Simulacrum in Act 2 haunt my every waking thought. Gale being able to make Multiples of himself is so just. MHH OKAY.

He would start with one copy, just to test the waters, and of course Tav is into it. More Gale? Yes please. He does a few tests to adjust how the Weave connects him to the copy, starting so arduously slow, getting caught up in the study of it, as Gale often does. Tav calls for Gale a few times, maybe giggling a little because he's having the copy get a little extra *handsy*, for research, of course.

Gale gives Tav a few kisses to their forehead before moving away to let the copy do the same. He can feel the sensation on his lips, the taste of their skin, he's figured it out because of course he has. What kind of archmage would he be if he couldn't do that?

So he proposes the idea of Tav being with the Simulacrum. He wants to see how it would feel, and while Tav and Gale have developed such an obsession with each other so much that being apart is painful, he wants to try and be a little adventurous, maybe it will give them something new?

Tav is a little hesitant maybe, but they give it a try, because Gale makes the Simulacrum so realistic that it feels just like him. It starts slow, with a few chaste kisses to get used to the ebb and flow of the Weave against their skin and their lips, Gale getting comfortable nearby just in case it gets to be too much.

Chaste kisses turn into slow, languid ones that have Gale fidgeting. He can see Tav's reactions, feels everything he can see, tastes it. Every inch of their skin the copy touches he can feel on his palms, every slide of Tav's hands on the Simulacrum he can feel.

It's maddening, and he loves it.

Tav can feel the Weave pulsing along their skin, mixing with the scent and heat and weight that matches Gale's perfectly. It's like just being with Gale, so they fall into it easier than they had expected to.

Clothes start to be shed, Gale doing the same even though he's not technically involved. It feels better, because he currently feels like he's on fire. Every one of Tav's noises against the Simulacrum's mouth feels like he's the one experiencing it. It feels odd, but it does something for him, clearly, because he is hard.

Once the Simulacrum starts to go further, once Tav starts to encourage it, naked and writhing and lost to the way the Weave feels everywhere outside their body, they suddenly ask for it inside.

Gale and the Simulacrum are at full length in a heartbeat, and Gale gives the silent command to go ahead, to try and go further. And by the gods is it so unlike anything they have ever done.

Tav can feel the literal Weave inside them, mixed with the warmth of Gale's weight, and as that magic copy of Gale takes them with Gale's usual vigor, they fall into how they usually move with him.

Meanwhile Gale is losing his mind. He can feel the phantom tightness around his cock, he can feel every movement they make, every breath they let out, their skin on his in every way. He doesn't even touch himself, he's already leaking, panting, desperate for release. He takes it as far as he can stand, until Tav calls for him, the real him, and Gale is on them in an instant, dismissing the copy and eagerly sinking into Tav in its place.

It's anything but their usual pace, both of them chasing a release they were fighting back because it wasn't with the other, but when they do hit their climaxes it's harder than they ever have before. They're both ragged, exhausted messes after, the aftercare is sublime for them both.

Maybe the next time they try it with an extra copy... Maybe Tav uses them to tease Gale...

[ldynyx]

You reminded me what living can feel like.

[ldynyx]

Must be the House of the Dragon premier that is winding me up so bad. Haven't even watched it, and I'm already preparing for the worst.

All of this knowing that this is a tragedy, and everything will end badly, I still know someone will tear it to shreds in the worst possible way, take a shovel, and dig to hell.

Remember, even tragedy (for those who appreciate and have a taste for it), if well written, will make you want to thank the author for tearing your heart out and stomping on it.

[…]

“The finale combines the rejection of a radical change with an old anti-feminist motif at work in Wagner. […] In contrast to male ambition, a woman wants power in order to promote her own narrow family interests or, even worse, her personal caprice, incapable as she is of perceiving the universal dimension of state politics.

The same femininity which, within the close circle of family life, is the power of protective love, turns into obscene frenzy when displayed at the level of public and state affairs. Recall the lowest point in the dialogue of Game of Thrones when Daenerys tells Jon that if he cannot love her as a queen then fear should reign – the embarrassing, vulgar motif of a sexually unsatisfied woman who explodes into destructive fury.”

[…]

“Daenerys as the Mad Queen is strictly a male fantasy, so the critics were right when they pointed out that her descent into madness was psychologically not justified. The view of Daenerys with mad-furious expression flying on a dragon and burning houses and people expresses patriarchal ideology with its fear of a strong political woman.”

[…]

“Consequently, Jon kills out of love (saving the cursed woman from herself, as the old male-chauvinist formula says) the only social agent in the series who really fought for something new, for a new world that would put an end to old injustices.

So justice prevailed – but what kind of justice? The new king is Bran: crippled, all-knowing, who wants nothing – with the evocation of the insipid wisdom that the best rulers are those who do not want power. A dismissive laughter that ensues when one of the new elite proposes a more democratic selection of the king tells it all.”

[…]

Very interesting analysis, I recommend reading it.

[ldynyx]

free my girl she did all that shit but the fandom is mischaracterizing her for it

[ldynyx]

"Looks like we'll have a taste of a very fine fish tonight"

since it's not May already

I offer you PrideMonth Gale mermaid 😌💖✨

+ a version without menacingly hovering figure

[ldynyx]

Happy pride month to her