#(Though it might be for a lore reason... mayhaps...)

[askthehoverbase]

So Sharc-Chan!! I’ve always been curious.. how did your relationship with Captain Afraid go? if my memory serves me right, I remember seeing something about how you two were in a relationship during the first Dark Lord attack, right?

I guess I could say it was alright while it lasted. But the way he changed in demeanor all of a sudden... I've almost considered that he was being manipulated by someone into acting that way.

Either way, that was, like, 7 years ago. But still. Weird.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I know I'm just dreaming, but I am having hope of seeing Crewel in his NRC era being released as a Chapter 7 card. Or maybe slightly100-years-ago-ish younger Crowley? Having faculty cards are making me dream of seeing their past selves in Chapter 7 and also their cards...

Yeah, I think based on the lack of staff inclusion in Idia’s video presentation + power balancing reasons we probably won’t visit the dream of the staff and wake them up. (I talk more about the concept there!) A shame, because it would be really interesting to see!

I know student!Crewel is a popular one (y’all love the wild types, lol) but I’d personally be interested in seeing young Trein. Like… did he always have the resting bitch face as a teenager too? How did he meet his wife? And make a familial contract with Lucius? Could we see his daughters? There’s a lot of ground to cover there.

It might also be interesting to see Vargas’s past, since we went to a completely different school and could give us more world lore. Sam’s dream could also be informational since I believe he travels a lot and has connections all over to get his goods.

… Would Crowley really have been that different 100 years ago, seeing as how Lilia doesn’t seem to have visibly aged for a few hundred years? Maybe his personality may have changed, but I’m not sure of it myself 🤔

I want to point out that this idea hinges on the idea thaf the pasts of the NRC staff are their “happiest times”, and I don’t think that’s always the case. An adult could yearn for the carefree days of their youth, but I get the sense that they’re also quite satisfied where they are now. I guess it’s probably easier for Malleus and his magic to manifest things based on the past and present rather than the far-off future though… He’s not exactly accepting of the concept of things “moving on”.

Related to the idea of there being alternate staff cards, there’s a theory circulating in the JP fandom!! It states that since the names for Crowley and Crewel’s cards include “ver” (as in, “version”), it could signal future Crowley and Crewel cards but different outfit variants. Some examples OP brings up are Crowley’s silly book 4 vacation get-up and Crewel’s monster costume from Vargas Camp 2. It should also be noted that the use of “ver” occurs in Rollo’s card too. If this theory is correct… 👀 Mayhaps…? But make of that what you will! It’s not a guarantee, just fan speculation.

[king-nyx]

TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE LORE IN THE NEW MERCH DROP

Okay! First of all, Apollo Olympic and Laurel.

Laurel, we can safely assume, is Apollo's most popular song in universe.

He has a music video for it and everything.

Now, the significance of Laurels is that one) Daphne turned into a Laurel tree and two) Laurels represent victory and/or achievement. Do I think Apollo wrote a song about a girl who turned to a tree just to avoid him? No. No, I think this song is about Hyacinthus and Dionysus.

A major defining thing in Apollo's relationship with Dionysus is that Apollo saw Hyacinthus in Dionysus. To Apollo, Hyacinthus and Dionysus are interlinked. I think Laurel is about seeing Hyacinthus as a winner/winning side while Dionysus was the major fall or the "losing side". I think this song would be similar to Joji's "Glimpse of Us" and it would subtly and very unconsciously (reflecting Apollo's state of mind) be uplifting Hyacinthus as this great love and greater loss while pushing Dionysus down and, again unconsciously, stating that Dionysus was the loss. Dionysus was the love that could've been as great but just wasn't.

Now! Dionysus and Cheaper than Therapy

The new merch isn't a look at what the songs of Pour Taste are. No, this is a new album "Hubris". We'll take a look at Hubris in a second, for now, let's try to put Pour Taste together.

Pour Taste is the first album that they wrote and toured with. It was done without a drummer (Ares). Some of the songs have been described as "responses to Apollo's songs"

And, at one point, CTT use the Laurel melody in their song (which reaffirms my theory that Laurel is about Dionysus)

OKAY SO! What are the songs? For names, we have gotten

-Blue

-Not my God

and that's it.

There aren't enough context clues to try and guess what Blue might be about, but maybe (because blue is associated with sadness) Blue is about addiction and that sort of thing.

Not my God on the other hand is a response to Laurel. It's the first one we see that people outright recognise as a response song. It could very well be a call out song about Apollo though with 20x more subtlety.

If we assume that Laurel is about how Dionysus is the lesser version of Hyacinthus, this song could very well be about how Dionysus magnified Apollo and his relationship with Apollo to impossible heights only for Apollo to pull the rug from underneath his feet and show his true colors. How Dionysus tried his best for Apollo and how Apollo betrayed him. This song can very well be, a big 3-minute middle finger to Apollo with a big sign saying "I WISH YOU WERE HOW I IMAGINED"

On to Hubris!

OOF! It's a power move that Dionysus released a song called Hyacinthus. AND WE HAVE PUNCH DRUNK REFRANCE!!

Again, unfortunately, for Hubris we don't have much context clues. But, Hubris was done with Ares and we can guess at a few songs.

This album is called "Hubris" and I think that was done with intentionality. I think that is the theme of this album.

Lose Thyself could very well be about the "mania" that comes with being consistently high and drunk.

Hubris is the title track which could be the start of the discussion of the theme i.e. thinking you're so powerful and big only to be brought down by the power of others (Apollo hints mayhaps). This song makes me think about how good Dionysus must have felt right before the breakup only to be brought down by Apollo.

Pour Decisions is probably a song from Pour Taste that didn't make it to Pour Taste. The only reason I think this is because of the use of "pour" instead of "poor". Pour Decisions, Poor Decisions. Pour Taste, Poor Taste. We get the gist. It could also be a reference or expansion on the themes of Pour Taste.

Narcissus could very well be about the narcisssim that Dionysus sees in Apollo and the Olympians. The narcisssim in every god that Dionysus has met. I honestly am blindly throwing darts at a dart board with this one.

Punch Drunk! Because this album was made with Ares, I personally like to think that Dionysus made the song especially with Ares in mind. Another thing with is that before on a silly Instagram post we got this from Georgie

So....I'm right.

Laurel cover which is...a wild decision if my thoughts on Laurel are correct.

I'm not going to discuss Five Way or Baby, Don't Hurt Me because I can't even begin to think what they could possibly be about. Literally the only thing going on in my head when I see those is "baby don't hurt me no more. no more." I think this song would be a lot sadder than that though. I think it could be about how Apollo saved Dionysus even when Dionysus never asked to be saved.

IXII and Hyacinthus, I think go together. IXII is 911. It's an emergency number and....

(Apollo's number is the one saved for emergencies. In case of emergency [ICE]) Also, I'm pretty sure you call 911 for all emergencies (don't come at me, I'm not American) so this song being about Apollo just makes sense in my head. I think it's about calling that one person you can always rely on in an emergency and them always being there despite everything....it's Apollo. Apollo is the one who fulfills that role in Dio's life.

The last song, Hyacinthus.

Again, I think this goes hand in hand with IXII. I think that while IXII talks about Apollo being there, Hyacinthus is the one that talks about never being enough (for Apollo). The song "Hyacinthus", in my opinion, is about someone who've you've always idolised not being happy with you because you're not exactly like the person they idolised.

...I think it's a very fitting theme for SunDrunk.

And, that's it!

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Could I mayhaps ask for your thoughts on each of the Box Legendary Pokemon?

*cracks knuckles* SURE! let's do this

Gold and Silver: I actually don't feel suuuuper too strongly about Ho-oh and Lugia, tbh--though i will say they both have more solid designs than. A Lot of other johto Pokemon imo LMAO. I liked Lugia a lot when I was a kid and that affection has waned a bit as I got older but I do still think it's cool. They both have pretty solid lore as far as Legendaries go, I'm just not particularly attached to 'em...something like a Legends Johto game really has the potential to do something cool with 'em (I feel like with Ho-oh especially) and I do kinda hope we eventually get to see that.

Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald: MY HOMEEEEE Hoenn box Legendary trio sooo near and dear to me...Ruby was my first game Groudon was my first Legendary but I think he's kind of just ok. I like Kyogre a lot more and I Love Rayquaza, definitely a long time favorite Legendary...they're really just a solid trio of Pokemon with some really cool designs and concepts at play, and I like the new lore and forms ORAS gave 'em. Kyogre's Pokemon Pinball boss fight kicks ass to this day and im not kidding.

Diamond, Pearl, Platinum: MY DEAR LATE MIDDLE SCHOOL/EARLY HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS I thinkkkk as a trio I think I might like Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina the best...Legendaries I never tire of seeing. Palkia is one of my all time favs, gazing so lovingly at my giant Palkia plush ive had for some 15 odd years...Giratina is too, honestly, Giratina fucking Rules (though I actually don't like its Origin form very much and never had...I'm an Altered Form Giratina girlie.) They're just all super solid designs and for Dialga and Palkia especially they really feel like perfect embodiments of The Game Theyre the Cover Of. Also I love Origin Form Dialga and Palkia sorry. Theyre my precious ugly as fuck horses.

Black, White, BW2: WELL. THESE MIGHT TRULY BE THE BEST ONES. Zekrom/Reshiram/Kyurem are not my favorite Trio, but together just everything they represent is so cool. One day we WILL see that Original Dragon so HELP ME GOD. I'm more impartial to Zekrom (i played Black and White 2) but it still has such a striking design, I have to say. Reshiram is an especially beautiful Pokemon and definitely one of my favorites. I have. So Many Reshiram cards and plushes HJFDJGDF And well some people don't like Black and White Kyurem for whatever reason, but well i simply have to say they have been making me crazy since high school and the concept of Pokemon Fusion Really in The Game will never not be fucking bonkers slash POS. i LOVE White Kyurem (go figure.) THATS MY FUCKIN FREEEAK

X & Y: i don't. like X & Y very much 🥴 I wish I liked Xerneas more but something about its design is just kind of lacking some 'oomph' ro me. It doesn't feel like a strong poster child for the Fairy type's debut. Despite everything Yveltal does go hard as fucking hell though I still like it a lot. I named the one I caught in Y HELLRAISER back in college and I was shocked they let me name it that.

Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun/Moon: ok nevermind scratch what I said about DPP Sun and Moon have my favorite Legendary Trio for absolute certain. GOD I WISH SUMO/USUM WERE BETTER GAMES!!!!! SOLGALEO LUNALA AND NECROZMA ARE ALL SO FUCKING COOOOL!!!!! DUSK MANE NECROZMA AND DAWN WINGS NECROZMA ARE SO FUCKING COOOL!!!!!!!!! NECROZMA FUCKING EATS THEM FOR POWER. Just in general fantastic designs all around, and it's so cool that Solgaleo and Lunala are Legendaries That Evolve.also i played Moon/UM but I have grown deeply fond of Solgaleo over the last year or so. As if it's my fault he looks like...no, I shant say.

Sword and Shield: I don't like SWSH very much either 🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴which is a shame because Zacien and Zamazenta have really cool concepts and designs!! I love their old tattered beat up forms, I love that theyre siblings 🥺I love that the one that isnt Your box legendary goes with Hop, that's so so sweet and so so cool. I just wish SWSH had more of a..........yknow. story. to do anything else of any substance with them. Cool Legendaries in bad games...sad!

Scarlet and Violet: WELL. THESE MAY ALSO BE THE BEST ONES AND I'LL SAY IT WITH MY WHOLE CHEST. god, just. WOW. I like them both a lot but I'm especially fond of Miraidon, to absolute bits. This really feels like the most realized version of a box art Legendary that really truly is a Character in its own right, you get to spend that whole game with your dragon, it well and truly Is Your Friend and it's just fantastic. Theyre endlessly charming and silly and conceptually just so fucking cool. They killed someone. My motorcycle that eats sandwiches. My BUDDY!!! I named my Miraidon Delta Accel :^)

[neeseeart]

My BooRai WIP stats

So. As of right now, the number of written BooRai fan works I've published is...... zero. I recently announced my angst fic I Can Stop The World, with another reveal planned in a few weeks, but I've yet to actually publish anything 😭

Last night I was backing up all my WIPs, and I decided to go through and reorganize everything. I moved everything into new folders and checked their word counts. I was a little surprised by the numbers to be honest. Especially when compared to this word count update from 5 months ago: [link]

I thought it would be fun to post my stats so you can see how much I've been working on, even though I haven't started posting yet.

As of last night:

Total number of Google docs: 34 Outlined fics: 21 (mostly longfics) Comic WIPs: 7 Completed fics: 1 (a one-shot I'm not ready to post yet 😭) Ideas yet to be fleshed out: 12 Total BR fanfic word count: 517,362 Words this week: about 25,000

ICSTW (main angst fic, post-canon):

196,871 words 6 docs

SSATSF (Modern AU, upcoming reveal):

125,474 words 3 docs

Folklore AU (started recently):

23,289 words 2 docs

Comics (text only)

80,795 words 7 docs

Reference docs (OC masterlist, headcanons, language dictionary, etc.)

9149 words 5 docs

Okay, pause real quick. The first BooRai fic I started writing is a fluff comic (briefly mentioned here) that I started in late 2022. It was my only project until the day I started writing ICSTW in June 2023. Then I exploded in ideas and here we are. So, if I exclude that first comic's word count of 36,190...

...Then the total word count of BooRai fanfic I've written in the past 7 months is 481,172 words. That's about 2217 words per day, and 15,522 words per week.

Now. This all just a bunch of numbers. Numbers don't mean the fics are any good. I value quality over quantity, so you can see why I haven't published anything yet. The ideas are all there! Tons and tons of dialogue is written. Detailed lore is laid out. Languages have been constructed! But the chapters themselves are not written. I don't write chronologically, and my stories are very elaborate. So even my main two fics, at 196k and 125k, are nowhere near complete. I haven't even finished fleshing out the early chapters 😭

You might be looking at this and thinking like.... "yeah bro you're not gonna finish most of those fics. It's not happening. You're gonna burn out." Mayhaps! I have a tendency to overdo things, and sometimes I overwhelm myself by making things bigger and more complicated than they need to be. But all in all, I like the way I create and I like having a few big projects and lots of tiny ones. I'm deeply invested in my major projects and I really do want to dedicate myself to publishing chapters in the next few months. But if I never finish them, that's okay too! The important thing is to enjoy making the thing... and I enjoy it immensely. Enough to write half a million words in 7 months, apparently

I've talked about my fic content to some irl people and they always respond with: "When the hell do you do all this? I literally never see you writing." In reality, yes they do. if you see me typing on my phone, I'm most likely writing. I kind of high-key spend 100% of my free time drawing and writing now. Which is a miracle after years of art block and creative sterility.

Another reason I wanted to share my numbers is that there are a lot of fellow AuDHD creators on this site, so there are bound to be at least a few of you who work just like I do. If you're one of those people, you probably know that it's easy to feel like the projects will never come to fruition. Don't lose heart!!! You have the strength to finish your projects at your own pace!!! And if you simply lack the will to finish, that's also okay! If you enjoy just writing down ideas without committing to a fully fleshed out work, that's a perfectly legitimate form of art and recreation. Godspeed my friends.

And as for the people who have been supporting my BR art and keeping track of my fic updates... You are the world and I am but a humble bean in service of your fancies. Thank you for your support. Here's a picture of me rereading my WIPs for the billionth time while y'all stand there and wait for me to start posting chapters:

(P.S. I have about 80 fic-related art WIPs on my tablet.)

(P.P.S. stay tuned for my fictional language dictionary!!)

[twistedwonderlandsimps]

Lol any head cannons for the overblot battles of relive!Yuu au?

Currently as of now? None at all! ( ^ ▽ ^;) Hehehe.

I am currently no thoughts, head empty, mostly because I have no idea what happens next in the story. I know the premise, the very basic outline, but not the linear timeline since the game’s only out in Japan, Canada, and USA so I can only stare at it in envy and hope it becomes global soon.

But I’m getting my story lore knowledge from the unofficial wiki and TWST content in Tumblr so I will be slowly going over through the chapters, bit by bit.

Though, all I can say for now about the overblot battles with relive!Yuu is that they are going to die a lot because realistically speaking, pitting a magicless human against people with magic who are determined to kill them? Yeah, that… that’s going to be hard to get away scot-free from. Even with others protecting them, there’s always going to be a time where they fail.  Also since they’re kind of,,, ya know, reckless with their life cause they can’t die permanently. Yuu just throwing themselves in danger to save the others and repeatedly dying over it.

Also, mayhaps, perhaps, maybe Yuu’s deaths is gonna be one of the the reason why Grim overblots. Hecc, why just stop at Grim? I might throw in the braincell duo, too, just for the hecc of it.

[atherix]

Wjehwjwje just read chapter 7 of Midnight Alley.

Is Icaria meant to refrence icarus? Cause its believed in minecraft canon that the reason for the skulk infection is from the "ancient builders" (using game theory terms here cause thats where i learn most of minecraft lore ngl...) being overconfident and basically causing their own downfall?

And with what Mumbo said, how the Ancients never touched other dimensions because of ancient evils. Such as the skulk mayhaps???

-🦊

hehe <3

Nah, though that is a very good guess and would have been a beautiful meaning (however, as will be explained in the next chapter, the Warden in Midnight predates the Ancients and was not created or caused by them, and is generally brought to the "new world" by some cataclysm; the Warden brings the end of the world in a cycle :) )

Icaria is a reference to the Yogscast's Shadow of Israphel (SoI). Icaria was the city that the heroes (Simon, Lewis and Knight Peculier) were journeying to when the series ended/discontinued, and the Ancient Evils (and the offhand mention about "the sands") is also a reference to SoI; the villain came from the Nether, which in-world was called a Hellgate and building one was absolutely forbidden, socially speaking, because of what might come out of it. So the Ancients avoided other dimensions because of the stigma/danger of the Nether and the evil it brought about- and I'll say since it's never revealed in-story (as the information is long lost), the evil that the Ancients were recovering from in their early days (Israphel/"The Sands") is what led to the fall of the First Ones :) Basically, the Ancient world that fell and left behind the ruins in Midnight are meant to be from the Yogscast's era. See me connecting even MORE SMPs, and ones many fans of today don't even know about :') (If you don't know who the Yogscast are, they weren't the first people to do Minecraft RP but they were the ones who popularized it. They were HUGE in 2011/2012 but have since switched away from Minecraft as their main content. SoI lives on in my heart tho, and I have a soft spot for them <3)

[owtenen]

I know I just said I wanted to see other people predictions but here are mine!

Etho/Bdubs start off/get basic materials together again. They do this every season whether they team up or not. It's basically a staple for Bdubs to explain what if happening to Etho while they chop wood. If this does not happen I will riot.

Everyone makes fun of Tim. Like there's just no way this doesnt happen.

Cute Ranchers moment mayhaps? For all the girls and the gays that got left in the desert during the crossover? I think it's what we deserve.

Joel teases Etho whenever they hand out. Boat boys act literally the exact same towards each other which is annoying the crap out of everyone and being just generally shitbags

Tango dies in the most ridiculous way possible, everyone makes fun of him (I'm talking berry bush, im talking suffocation, like really really stupid)

Scar might also die in such ways ^

Skizz tries to reunite the BEST team for like 5 seconds before giving up

Ren and Martyn do a thing together. They have done it literally every season its like the Ethubs starting thing. If Ren and Martyn don't do something stupid together it's not a life series.

Jimmy.... doesnt die first! Someone else dies and he is literally the happiest mfer around (he dies immediately after, but at least it's not first)

Scott and Grian really try to get him killed first and are upset it didnt work

life series scripted jokes

weird Martyn lore and the return of the ah-ha! for a bit when they first get a spyglasses

Someone dies from falling off a cliff

Someone dies from an Enderman

Someone dies from the most gut wrenching betrayal, I feel it guys season 4 if gonna have the worst one. (It'll probably involve Bdubs, he has a tendency to do that in these things cough cough)

Impulse going absolutely bonkers for no reason, Skizz is his hype man. (Bdubs kills him again).

I want a Skizz or Tangotek win. Yaknow what... I just want a Dad™️ win. I want the winner to be one of the Dads.™️ so that they can make funnt jokes about it

^ realistically though, I'm predicting a Cleo or Etho win, I think they have the most chance if they can kill Grian, Joel, and Scott early.

[doublelsatan]

Plier Corp? Missing Axe???

There’s some lore shiz happening for the 3 Scary Games and I don’t know if I can theorize it correctly but I’ll give it a try. Or at least from what we know so far.

So #75, the big o’ 3 quarters. Heh, that’s kind of cool, 3 quarters is 75 and it’s 3 scary games for the 75th video. Dank. Anyways so Lixian ends up near “Plier Corporation” which would be Actor’s company? Could also be Mark’s company too? They’re the same person but not, you get the idea. That place exists or used to exist and is in a terrible condition. My guess is that all the “3 Scary Games” horror creations came from that place. It was probably doing super well until some event occurred and it went south. Which is interesting since it mimics how Actor is character portrayal wise, broken and decaying. But this is a guess since it’s only been introduced as a thing just now. I’m gonna stick with it for now though at least, there’s a reason for it being there.

As for the axe, I’m assuming Lunky or Mark stole it. Something got out and needed some leverage in order to protect itself. Or it could possibly be another ego coming into play? Damien or Celine mayhaps? There could be multiple reasons and conclusions as to why Lixian’s axe went missing. Something big is gonna happen down the line that isn’t ISWM. More internal to the channel for a different project. All just guesses and theorizing since there’s no concrete evidence to confirm it.

Might get answers, might not, who even knows? Well except for the creator and the ones working on the thing. But it is neat and I do enjoy some wild storytelling out of nowhere. I’ll do a more cohesive theory breakdown when I have time since 75 vids are a lot. Keep your eyes peeled tho

[50shadesofmittens]

For those interested, an outline of that semi-angsty idea I had. In hindsight, not as angsty as I thought it was yesterday, especially not compared to 40K’s lore. It’s also just ONE interpretation- I have another, less thought out one that features Kitten basically being D’s former pupil

MKAY so the timeline is like D was part of an orgy ~32 years ago and fathered twenty-one kids that night (on twenty mothers)

Also he WAS a legit badass back in the day.

In particular his old BFF/sidekick, Malachi, now is part of the Arcanum and can provide connections and resources when called upon. He’s gotten D out of trouble in the past, though he still couldn’t always keep the ‘findings’ of D’s group from being confiscated.

Anyways back to the story, some years later four Princes whose lives D ruined back in the day sought revenge by going after his kids

Either embracing them or turning them into ghouls. Some were just wrapped up in other supernatural cults and the like-

Each of the four Princes got at least one ghoul from D’s ‘collection’

Marckus was one of those who became a ghoul. He met Kitten during this time, they got closer, and Kitten became worried about him when he noticed Things about him

This resulted in Kitten thinking Marckus was being roped/coerced into prostitution- Kitten was or had worked a stripper (he has three FLASHY (ex?)coworkers who were probably less problematic than three Custodes of another universe might be) so this was a logical jump for him

So when he went to confront Marckus about this, he brought guns. This is the reason why he's still alive.

Kitten was then basically wrapped up in this mess, and wound up spending like ~40 hours worth of main story adventure plus multiple sidequests worth of time and adventures trying to navigate the city that the Prince holds

During which, Kitten met a mysterious ex-hunter named D, with unusual connections and abilities and lessons and resources available, who was oddly invested in this mess.

D being Marckus’ father would only be revealed much, much later on- perhaps near the end of this particular adventure- as Kitten would first internalize D as a wise badass Obi-Wan type, before learning that D’s own mistakes in the past contributed to Marckus’ current shitty situation

After a full-scale action-adventure video game’s worth of shenanigans, Kitten and Marckus got out of the city alive by beating the Prince that held Marckus in a strip-poker game (one that Marckus helped him cheat at), winning their freedom... and then some well-placed bombs from D bought them time to escape

That's when D's old caretaker- Markus' half-brother Door- showed up, having finally tracked down his runaway father

Mind you Door had his own adventures off-screen- including finding and adopting a young boy who survived a Wraith attack on his family.

Anyways after the dust settled they found out that the Prince survived, and they all figured that staying in America was a bad idea

Hence the move to England, where Kitten actually lives

Yes I'm saying I would play a full-length video game that lets you play as Kitten. He's Awesome!

Also this makes Marckus an ex-ghoul, having detoxed from vitae in order to break free. Also, it means Kitten had no exposure to the supernatural until after their second, adult-era meeting

Gives a reason for at least three other half brothers- mayhaps named Corey, Vance, and Lemar- to think Marckus might still be scheming for his prince.

Okay, maybe the last one just hates Marckus because the two of them got into a massive fight years ago that neither one is willing to let go of, but the ghoul thing gives him a reason to literally shoot first.

Lemar is an ex-Navy Seal (or at least claims to be one online).

Lemar may also be a werewolf now, so he really shouldn’t have any ground to base his claims on.

D still has some level of respect amongst a few in the hunter community who heard of his deeds, but by and large he fell out of focus for a while, and then when he failed to protect half of his kids from turning to the dark side, he really slipped into depression and madness. Only after meeting Kitten, playing a mentor-figure to him, and (unwittingly) finding redemption by helping Kitten rescue one of his lost sons has D begun his trek back to badassery. His kids certainly aren’t anybody’s royalty, let’s put it that way.

[musubiki]

(spoilers for new archon quest) do u have any thoughts on it? there was so much lore and stuff :VV tbh im most concerned abt zhongli and venti possibly committing a massacre!! theyre such charming old grandpas and im rlly hoping that either some other god/divinity did it or they had a REALLY good reason for doing so ;; i just cant see alcoholic broke grandpa #1 and homeless broke grandpa #2 doing such a thing... then again they both did win the archon war... oops

//spoilers

YEAH ive been spewing my thoughts on twitter since yesterday lmfao!!! i have many thoughts,,..but basically my head has been full of:

- lumine being so strong and willing the entire quests so far, and having learned her brother is alive and well but essentially LEFT HER THERE, her going through an uncharacteristic period of sadness. lots of tears, lots of naps, lots of quiet, not her usual lively self (and paimon getting childe for help since she shows the most emotion around him)

- lumine also trying to deal with the (lowkey?) betrayl of venti and zhongli, since she trusted them most. they were like the two people she relied on to be trustworthy and good..,,like all the humans? she trusted that humans had their own agendas and morals. but the gods? she thought she could AT LEAST trust THEM to be moral but....eh, turns out not. hurts more for venti cuz they’re like two peas in a pod (cant wait to see how they address this and the moment we actually confront them about it ��)

- lumine also realizing shes gonna be in teyvat a lot longer than originally thought. she assumed “hey, ill find my brother on the way and we’ll get the hell outta here.” now shes forced to go through ALL SEVEN NATIONS (which i understand is for gameplay) just to see her brother again and ufhghfn it must be very discouraging and tiring. shes tired. (and then she buys a house in 1.5 dhfhdjf)

- every day i think more and more that the tsaritsa might be doing something good (theory that she disagreed with the destruction of khaenri’ah and is now trying to right the wrong somehow)

- theory that mayhaps the archons were forced to do it somehow??? everyone hates celestia at this point

- GENSHIN DEADASS TOLD US STRAIGHT UP THAT THE MONSTERS ARE KHAENRI’AHS PEOPLE AND WE’RE STILL FIGHTING THEM FOR DAILY COMMISSIONS ?????? heart hurty

- honestly i just feel bad for lumine and what kind of thoughts she must be having after this, like. if aether held his hand out and went “join me sister” SHE WOULD DO IT!!!!!!! but for whatever reason hes making her go through her journey first, and the rest of the time shes going to have to decide between “do i save these innocent people from the massacre of the abyss order?” or “do i defy my brother and take away the righteous retribution that will come with khaenri’ahs revenge?”

- very complex and reality-esq i love the conflict they created here

- i am once again thinking about tartaglias relationship to her 🥺. i like to think that it gets to a point that hes one of the only people she can rely on. as a person his heart is good and he is a man of honor that keeps his word, and when he promises he wont lie to her, she can actually believe it. and when he pledges his loyalty to her to follow her and travel across teyvat, she can believe that too. though hes also a major troublemaker, she can rely on this to be consistent. hes not the 4d chess player type that will do all these mental gymnastics to deceive her. despite initially being enemies he becomes one of the pillars in her life in teyvat because hes one of the few people she can trust (trust to be a troublemaker or trust to keep his word, at least shes not second-guessing his actions)

- i feel like diluc would be another one of these people who she can rely on, but even he would keep secrets from her, i think, so even then idk. AT FIRST i thought venti and zhongli would be one of these people but I GUESS NOT 

[alionne]

5 | Deliberate (free write)

Sequel to Scale, because my brain really didn’t want to stop thinking about this. Spoilers for Stormblood. Cursing and flirting but no smut... yet. 3284 words.

He hears her coming, of course.

Estinien had heard her the first time, too, with the pugilist girl, one of the Scions he hadn’t met. Not that he needed to meet any more of them, mind you. The ones he’d encountered were bad enough.

‘Bad’ may not be the right word, he admits to himself, but he’d already helped them on this little trip, there was no need to start doling out compliments, too. 

If anything, the cannon had been a welcome challenge. He doesn’t miss killing dragons, nor the rage surging through him each time he fought, but… he is the Azure Dragoon. He has power, and though he’d been trying to direct that power in a peaceable direction, lately, it’s pleasing when problems can be solved with his lance alone.

Of course, the problem with power is that there are all too many parties with an interest in how you use it. The cannon was one thing—what was he supposed to do, just let them all get shot to death?—but linger too long and he’d soon be on the receiving end of a tedious speech about duty and the future of Eorzea, and then he’d have to watch Alphinaud’s disappointment when he turned him down. And then probably sit through another lecture, because the boy was stubborn as all hell.

No, Estinien had come to Gyr Abania for one thing—the eyes of Nidhogg, which were his responsibility, and had somehow floated up from below the Steps of Faith and ended up here. Somewhere.

So he was lying low. After dodging the Imperials’ bullets, he’d set for the highest landmark he could find—an ancient ship, whose origins he did not know. It was a passable hideout, particularly since some ancient guardian attacked him as he approached. Estinien had dispatched it easily enough, but it fought with a ferocity that suggested that commoners and soldiers alike would avoid this place.

But of course, not a day later, he’d heard someone climbing the cliff—his cliff, he’d thought, stubbornly. Whoever it was was talking too loudly to be searching for an errant dragoon, though. Tucked away behind the ruined vessel, he’d waited until it seemed they were facing away, then stole a look.

Of course it was her. Who else would turn up on the very rock Estinien was hiding if not the bloody Warrior of Light, accompanied by yet another Scion of the Seventh Dawn? Still, they weren’t looking for him. They’d probably come to inspect the Garlean outpost and figure out why it wasn’t firing at them. If Estinien stayed out of sight, they’d figure it out soon enough and leave him be.

He hadn’t chanced a second look. Alionne was too bloody perceptive, sometimes, and who knew what powers the other girl had. Still, he could hear snippets of their conversation, when the wind was right— or rather, he could hear the one girl’s chatter, and then the occasional pause, when Alionne was presumably nodding in response. 

She’d looked… quite lovely, he thought, mulling over his brief glance as he waited for them to leave. She’d exchanged her heavier Coerthan outfit for something more befitting the desert, and it revealed a great deal more of her form. She’d looked stronger, too, although mayhaps it was simply her outfit, exposing more muscle to admire. Still, even Estinien, who had been avoiding people for moons now, had heard of Doma’s miraculous rebellion. The whole thing reeked of Scion meddling, and where the Scions went, so too went the Warrior of Light, so she’d likely honed her skills on some far eastern magitek.

He’d love to examine her more… thoroughly. Certainly, their last dalliance suggested she’d be amenable, but a few conversations prior to his departure suggested that Aymeric had finally found his balls and was going to ask her out, properly. And while he was fairly sure he’d be welcome in that arrangement, it did mean she could lecture him on both the Scions’ and Ishgard’s behalf, and no potential dalliance was worth that mess.

It’s good to see her, though. Since leaving Ishgard, the only familiar face he’d seen was Hraesvaelgr's, and as… interesting as that encounter had been, there was a comfort in seeing his friends here, even if from a distance. Alphinaud, he’d spotted leaving the rubble of the tower, which was a relief, considering the carnage that had befallen it. And here is Alionne, equally uninjured. He’d done a good day’s work at Castrum Abania.

He hates to leave a job unfinished—that was what had led to him tramping all over Gyr Abania in the first place, unfinished business—so when the Scions finally leave Estinien’s rock, he lingers. No doubt, the imperials will be hard at work repairing their weapon. The Resistance seems savvy enough to press the advantage, but he’d like to see things ended for himself. Besides, if they successfully eliminate the outpost, the Resistance will claim the entire region, and Estinien will be able to leave more easily, dodging only one army, and a much less bloodthirsty one, at that.

So he keeps an eye to the south as he sets up a camp. Movement suggests repairs to the ceruleum pipeline are indeed underway, but the cannon barrel stays put. By mid-afternoon, Estinien is dozing slightly, which is why he’s caught off-guard when there’s suddenly a large hole in the glass window of the castrum’s command room. On instinct, he leaps to his feet, grabbing his lance, before he realizes that whatever’s happened, it’s hardly something he can leap off and address. He sits back down, watching the outpost more closely. 

In the next few minutes, the small dots moving to and from the broken pipeline suddenly cease. They’ve stopped repairing the pipeline, then. Well, that’s as sure a sign as any that the Resistance have done something. Pushed someone out a window, it seems.

No further activity comes from the castrum as night falls, and Estinien slowly relaxes. The cannon is dealt with, so he can resume his search for the Eyes. He doesn’t know how much aether remains in them after such a powerful summoning, but he’s confident he’ll recognize their signature, no matter how faint. He’d sensed nothing from the Resistance camps, so they were probably in the hands of the Garleans—besides, if the Eorzean Alliance had found the Eyes of Nidhogg, Aymeric himself would probably have arrived by now, bloody guilt complex the man carries.

So, East, then, to occupied territory, where the Resistance themselves are no doubt headed. And, assuming he finds the Eyes, perhaps further East, after that. No Eorzean had seen anything like the great dragon summoned over Baelsar’s Wall, but Estinien had found a tome of Far Eastern lore depicting such creatures. With Eorzea’s dragon troubles mostly-sorted, Estinien might be more useful in other parts of the world.

It would be a nice change, too, from this endless desert. Even Coerthas was more than snow, once you got far enough out. This… he’d never begrudge the Ala Mhigans their homeland, but it could do with a bit more color. And Estinien had heard that the hot springs in Kugane rivaled those of Ishgard.

He’s nearly drifted off, imagining it, when a familiar sound brings him to full alertness. The whistle of a rope, tossed over a hold, the scrape of shoes on stone. Someone is climbing his cliff, and a great deal more quietly than the Scions earlier.

Or… not that quietly, he amends, hearing a muttered curse. Not a stealth mission, then. Mayhaps the Resistance had sent a scout. Or a desperate Imperial was climbing to high ground, looking for intel.

Well. He was very good at hiding in the shadows. He would watch them from here. If it was a Resistance member, he’d stay out of sight, and they would never be the wiser. If it was an Imperial… well, they wouldn’t see him, or anything else, for that matter.

Silently, Estinien tucks his few belongings away, glad he hadn’t started a fire—there will be no trace of his presence if he leaps away. He hefts his lance, eyeing the cliff’s edge. The moon was near-full, so whoever it was hadn’t needed a torch. Or they knew the cliff well. Or they were desperate.

Or… a hand grasps the edge of the cliff, and Estinien stares at it a moment, trying to figure out why he recognizes a hand and, Halone’s swiving teats, it’s the Warrior of Light, of course it is, because Alionne is too lucky, or persistent, or something for her own good.

Estinien is frozen in indecision. Is she here for him? The imperials knew their cannon had been destroyed by just one man, and the Resistance likely had spies among them, given the lack of an all-out assault on the castrum. There weren’t many men who could single-handedly cause that much damage, and as much pride as that brings Estinien, the Scions might have guessed his presence. Although that didn’t explain why she knew he’d be here, on this particular rock… it could be another reason. She’d been here before, perhaps she was scouting something. He could jump away, while she wasn’t looking, and she’d never know he was here. He could do it now, in fact…

Which is fair strange, because he’s been staring at her unmoving fingers for far longer than it should have taken for her to climb up over the edge. What is she doing? What kind of person climbs a cliff (my cliff, Estinien thinks mutinously), just to stop, right at the end? Is she hurt? Is she daft?

He’s taken a few steps towards her before he even notices, and that, more than anything, makes the decision for him. He’d been granted a second chance at life, and he’d vowed, upon waking, to make the most of it. For some reason, Alionne Bloody Ralnara is climbing his cliff in the middle of the night. Might as well see why.

In three strides, he’s at the edge, and he reaches down and grabs her—a little rougher than he means to, but maybe it will shake free whatever daydream has left her hanging from a cliff, like an idiot.

“Only a fool would climb a cliffside like this at night,” he grumbles as he pulls her up. 

Irritatingly, his gruffness seems to calm her. “And only a fool would be waiting at the top,” she informs him, and he lets go of her wrist immediately.

They stare at each other, taking in the changes of the last few moons. Alionne eyes his new armor, and Estinien admires how fetchingly her dress sits atop her collarbones. Still, he’s suspicious, and that isn’t helped by the satisfied look she’s giving him.

When she doesn’t speak, he folds his arms. “Well? Out with it, then.” 

Alionne gives him a curious look, and Estinien huffs. He hates this conversation already. She’s far too good at making him do the talking.

“You must have come all this way for something,” he points out. “Come to plead your case for the Resistance, then?”

Her gaze sharpens in disapproval. “No, actually,” she retorts. “I just missed you.”

Estinien’s traitor heart flares up beneath his breastplate, and he has no idea what to do with the feeling. “You climbed up a hundred-yalm cliff—which you shouldn’t have known I was on, mind you—because you missed me.” And now they’re glaring at each other, which doesn’t make any sense, she just got here.

“I saw you, from Castrum Abania,” Alionne informs him coldly. “Or, I thought I did. And I thought I might see if my friend, the one who might have destroyed an entire cannon for us, was still here.”

Ascending cliffs on the chance that friends might be present is not logical behavior, in Estinien’s opinion, but he also doubts arguing the point will get them anywhere. Which is why he hates talking.

“You let me find you,” adds Alionne, “so clearly, you missed me too.” And… gods, how had she read him so easily? He hadn’t realized it himself, until she’d said it, but something in him had warmed just because she was here.

And just like that, she’s won their conversation, and Estinien never had any chance, did he? She could ask him to assassinate Lord Zenos now, and he’d be too outmaneuvered to refuse. 

“How did you become an expert in my emotions?” Estinien grumbles. It’s a concession more than a question, so he’s surprised when she answers him honestly.

"Oh, Aymeric told me,” she says, flashing him a smile, and Estinien is not qualified to interpret whatever feeling thrums in him at that revelation. “Estinien's fast,” she quotes, “so if you catch him, it’s because he’s let you. He said it’s how you show affection.”

It’s maddeningly accurate, and of course Aymeric is the one to have figured that out, he’d chased after Estinien often enough in their youth. But what has Estinien wanting to fling himself off the cliff edge is that he’s never noticed. Self-reflection has never been his strongest suit, but he’d thought he’d improved at it, lately, and yet, here Aymeric is, slicing him open from half a continent away.

“Alionne,” says Estinien, wearily. “Please stop telling me things about myself.”

She drops the subject (and why wouldn’t she, she’s already won) and looks over his shoulder curiously. “Where have you made camp, then? I thought I might join you.”

A suggestive remark sits on Estinien’s tongue, but he’s off-balance, and isn’t sure he wants to make it. “Pick wherever you like,” he sighs, instead. 

And so, he finds himself helping the Warrior of Light set up a much more elaborate camp than he’d planned. He’s not sure when he went from leaning against the ship, arms crossed, to arranging rocks that will protect a small fire from the wind. “If there are any imperials left, we’ll draw them straight to us,” he complains. 

Alionne raises an eyebrow, not even bothering to point out how ridiculous he sounds, and he scowls. Just because he’s lost doesn’t mean he has to lose gracefully.

“Have you had the chance to sample any of the local fare?” Alionne asks, ignoring his complaint. She pulls a tin from her bags, and sets it atop the fire to warm. “The bread is a little tough, but the stews are hearty, and the Resistance cooks seem to find ample herbs to spice them with, no matter where we camp.”

“I have not.” Where is she heading with this?

“Well, I have enough for two,” she says, smiling, and just like that, he’s out of patience for playing house, or whatever they’re doing.

“Alionne,” he bites out. “Why are you here.”

Her eyes search his face, more calculating than angry, and then she fixes him with a serious look. “I told you. I missed you, and I thought you might be here. So I came to see.”

Which doesn’t answer the real question in the slightest. “And now that you’ve seen me.”

“Now, I’d like to see what you think of this stew. And if you like, I can tell you about my time in Doma. And if you’ll let me, I’d like to thank you for destroying that cannon, because you saved a great many lives.”

She’s open, and honest, and there’s no way it can be that simple. “Do you have. Questions.”

She seems to genuinely consider it before shaking her head. “You seem to be dreading anything I could ask, so, no. I will hear anything you wish to share, but I will not ask anything of you.”

He catches her phrasing. Not, I will not ask you anything, but, I will not ask anything of you. No expectations. No requests, from well-intentioned Scions or Resistance leaders or… Aymerics. The tension drains from him, and he is only slightly annoyed at how quickly he’s trusted her.

Not that he hadn’t before. But before, he’d trusted her to watch his back, and to not make things too awkward if they ever had a falling-out. Now, he knows she won’t push, where it’s not welcome. That she’ll respect his choices, whatever they may be.

Shite, he trusts her with his heart, as awkward and starry-eyed as that sounds. He’ll be mooning over her, next. Or mayhaps he already is, since he’s been silent for far too long, now, and Alionne’s still looking at him intently, as though the longer she stares, the more he’ll believe her declaration of good faith.

“...Thank you,” he manages, stumbling only slightly, and her gentle smile warms him all the way through. And mayhaps this conversation was never one to be won, or lost.

Well, if that’s the case, he’s been an unsociable bastard. Estinien stares at the fire until he feels capable of stringing sentences together and being... well, not charming, but maybe— civil. “In light of your promise, this request is markedly unfair, but may I ask you questions?”

Alionne, who has been politely giving him space, suddenly beams. “I would be delighted.”

“In that case,” says Estinien, allowing himself to smirk at her. “Would you share your stew with me, then, and tell me of your time in Doma?”

The stew is remarkably flavorful, and tender, compared to the dried foodstuffs and hastily-roasted meats he’s been eating, lately. Though it is no doubt enhanced by the company, as Alionne tells him of pirates and shinobi, of underwater villages and nomadic warrior tribes. She keeps the tale light, even though Estinien knows it must have been far more difficult for the Scions than she lets on. He’s thankful—he doesn’t think he has the stomach for serious conversation, not unless she’s brought some spirits to accompany the stew. Besides, because it’s not important that he focus on the details, he can admire the way Alionne’s eyes flicker in the firelight.

Eventually, they’ve eaten their fill, and a comfortable silence stretches between them. When Estinien thinks of what he’d expected to do this night (very little), a deep thrum of satisfaction curls in his belly, powerful enough to take him by surprise. Until these last few moons, Estinien has never been indulgent, too focused on vengeance and discipline. His recent ventures have been instructive, and this night most of all.

“May I ask another question?” he asks her.

“If I haven’t been clear enough,” says Alionne, playfully exasperated, “you may ask me anything you like, Estinien, and I will do my best to answer it.”

For a moment, Estinien considers asking something embarrassing, but he quickly discards the impulse. There’s only one question he really wants to ask, anyway. 

He gestures to their campground. “Did you come here just to talk?”

Alionne sends him another calculating look. Estinien returns it, confidently. He’d made his choice when he’d grabbed her wrist. “That depends on whether there’s more on offer,” she says, eventually, and Estinien can feel the space between them narrowing.

Wait. First things first. He leans backward, not breaking the mood, but prolonging it. “Have you and Aymeric talked, yet?”

Alionne’s gaze goes distant, and softer, which answers Estinien’s question before she speaks. “We’ve talked a great deal, yes. As you suspect, some of it was about you. Neither of us is promised to the other exclusively, if that is your meaning.” 

Something about her tone suggests that Aymeric and Alionne have been uncomfortably forthright about their feelings, in a way that Estinien can’t consider right now without bolting, but luckily, Alionne’s body language suggests she won’t mind cutting the conversation short.

Good. He may be a poor conversationalist, but Estinien is confident he will have the upper hand in this.

[mercurymetals]

the strongest chain

@thefrozencoelacanth SO UHHHH--

This was meant to be just a short scene like the others.... But then I started getting some ideas for the lore, and then I got invested, and now 1.8k words later here we fucking are. I decided to go with PB!Dio for this, because I love him. Also, this is my first female reader fic! Wohoo!! 

Warnings: Honestly, like... Misogyny, mayhaps? We’re in 1880s, people, some unpleasant things get implied here and there. We also have a case of the “not like other girls” trope. I promise the views shown in this fic don’t reflect my own, lmao.

PB!Dio &  “I’m a starved predator and you’re my only prey.”

You've always hated the little village that you had to call home, always hated those small-minded villagers you had to grow up amongst. They didn't like you much either - an orphan like yourself was hardly more than a nuisance, another mouth to feed with nothing to offer in return.

And you hated them all now more than ever, when they had given you up so quickly, so easily, like you really were worth less than nothing to them.

The moment the vampire walked into the town center and demanded for all the young maidens to be rounded up for his viewing, you were one of the first to be pushed into the gathering swarm of girls. You glared over your shoulder at the man who shoved you: it was the village baker, a nasty old rat that always had a particular dislike for you, claiming you were leeching off his produce more than anybody else. Whatever - you always hated his second-rate bread anyway.

As you stand there surrounded by shivering and sobbing girls, you cross your arms over your chest, your face twisted in a grimace. You're the only one with your head raised high, and so you're the only one who watches openly as the vampire who stands before you sweeps his red eyes over the crowd with a smirk.

You then watch as he walks up to one of the girls, tilting her head up by her chin and glancing at each side of her face. He's treating the whole thing as if you were nothing but livestock, and though you hold no attachment to any of these people, you are instantly filled a sense of vexation. You hate the villagers, but you also hate self-conceited assholes, and he seems to be a textbook example.

Soon enough his eyes wander to you, and you meet his gaze head on. You see something light up in his pupils - curiosity, maybe - and he shifts his attention to you fully. When he approaches you, the girl next to you, a short twiggy thing with a ruddy head, flinches away and hides behind you.

You stay rooted in place, though unease works itself into your veins from the sheer presence of the vampire. His tall frame and his sharply handsome features are not lost on you, but there's more to it than that. You can't describe it, but you can distinctly feel he's something inhuman, something different from you on all levels of existence.

You may be scared of him, on some instinctive level, but you won't cower. What's he going to do, kill you? At least the villagers will have a reason to celebrate, you think bitterly as you keep looking back into his eyes.

What you don't expect him to do is smile, grab you by the arm, and pull you closer to him. You stumble forward, then watch in confusion as he turns to the village chief, a portly and currently very sweat-covered man.

"You should count yourselves lucky!" The vampire exclaims in a slightly nasally voice. "I, Dio, have found someone I'm interested in. Count your blessings, foolish humans." He then looks down at you again, with a smirk you can only describe as carnivorous. "You're coming with me, girl."

The village is deathly silent as he starts leading you away. All eyes on you, and all of them as utterly shocked as you. Much as you imagine some of them had wished he'd pick you and spare their daughters, no-one actually expected him to do so, least of all yourself. There is nothing special about you after all - your features are not particularly striking, your figure average at best. Why, then?

You don't know, but you cast a brief glance over your shoulder. You look at them all, see the confusion and the relief and in some cases even joy - yeah, fuck that baker - and then you turn your back on them again resolutely.

You don't intend to submit to the whims of some vampire, but you definitely won't miss this sordid little place.

* *

You're alone with Dio in a vast, open chamber. A great chandelier hangs from the high ceiling, bathing the place in yellow candlelight even against the darkness of the night pouring in through the open windows.

When you had first arrived, Dio had his foul zombie servants guard you while he disappeared for a while. For you, every minute spent surrounded by the thick stench of rot was revolting. You were sincerely glad when they finally brought you to this chamber, where Dio now sits on a large gilded chair as if it were a throne, holding a glass of red liquid between his fingers.

You'd like to think it's wine, but you've never been much of an optimist.

His servants left minutes ago, and you stand defiantly by the door, glaring at him. Dio seems content to watch you right back, but the thought he's treating you like some animal on display annoys you too much for you to stay quiet.

"What do you want from me?" you ask, irate.

Dio hums, twirling the glass in his hand as he ponders your question. "Would you like to take a guess?"

You make a disgruntled noise at that. "If you want to kill me, just get on with it," you say in turn, crossing your arms. It's a defence mechanism - your hands tend to tremble when you're nervous, and despite your brave facade, you're pretty damn scared of your impending fate. You're only human, after all; death scares you like it scares anyone else.

Dio chuckles, pressing the tip of the glass to his lips, but not actually drinking. "If that's all I wanted from you, I would have done it all the way back at your puny village."

What's he playing at? You don't like where it’s going. "What, then?" you ask finally, when he doesn't say any more.

Dio takes his time to finish the drink, then places the glass on a small round table by his seat. He then slowly rises to his feet, and you can't help taking a step backwards. You feel your back press against the door behind you, the knob digging into your side painfully.

"I want to have some fun with you," Dio offers. Whatever expression you make in response he clearly finds incredibly amusing, as he laughs loudly and obnoxiously. "Oh, not that kind of fun. I can have that any time I want, from you or otherwise."

He walks towards you. Your heart is pounding, and your hands clench against your arms, but you stay where you are. It's not like you have anywhere to run to.

As soon as he's in front of you, you feel that dreadful aura of his surrounding you. You swear you can feel your body heat evaporating away from the deathly cold of his presence, leaving your skin chilly and strangely clammy.

Dio leans over you. You grit your teeth and, hating to show any kind of weakness, make yourself meet his eyes again. He smiles, and you glance at the long fangs in his mouth. "So defiant," he comments, and you watch his lips form the words. "But how long can you keep it up? Or are you giving in already, girl?"

Like hell. In a surge of anger, you try to shove him. Your hands push into his chest, but he doesn't even budge. Instead, you feel your back dig even more into the door behind you.

Dio chuckles at your attempt, catching one of your hands and stepping closer to you until he’s pressed flush against you. His large frame pins you with ease, and you tense when one of his legs move up between your thighs. You hurriedly stand on your tiptoes to avoid the contact, but that brings your face closer to his, and you feel cold, iron-tinged air wash over you as Dio exhales a quiet wrryy noise above you.

You try to lean away, but he holds your chin in place firmly. "Let me tell you exactly what I want," he says, and you have no choice but to keep looking into his eyes as he continues. "I want to drink every last drop of your blood. I want to have your body to do as I please with. I want you to serve me in every possible way. I want you all for myself."

You try to shake your head, but his grip makes it impossible for you to move. Dio leans in until the tips of his fangs are ghosting over the skin of your neck. "But that's not all. I want you to give yourself to me willingly."

No. There are fates worse than death, and this would be one of them. His words frighten you, but you don’t intend to submit to him despite that.

"If you want a personal slave so badly," you breathe out, forcing yourself past that shakiness in your voice. "Then get yourself one of the other girls from the village. They were bred for that kind of life."

Dio laughs again, the sound ringing in your ear obtrusively. His hand drops your chin, but he stays close to you, shifting to look into your eyes with a satisfied grin. "I knew I was right about you. What an impudent little creature!"

You scowl at him. You don't know what he's trying to imply, and maybe he can tell as much, for his demeanour grows calm again, and his cold fingers come to rest on your throat. "It's just as you say. Those other girls... They'd do anything I asked, if only they thought I might spare their lives. Pathetic."

His fingers start to trail down your neck. "But you... You're not like that, are you?" Now they move past your exposed collarbones, pausing at the edge of your dress. "You're going to defy me. And I did tell you... I want to have some fun with you. I want to strip away your flimsy excuse for resistance and show you exactly where you belong: crawling at my feet like the pitiful worm that you are."

You can feel the entire length of his body pressing into you, keeping you caged against him. His red eyes shine with a sadistic thirst as he looks at you. "Don't you see? I, Dio, am a starved predator, and you’re the only one worthy of being my prey."

As his hand tries to move even lower, you grab his wrist to stop him. He smirks. You know he could easily ignore you and keep going, but he doesn't. Instead, he finally steps away from you, giving you some much-needed space. Even so, you can feel his desire to see you bend to his will permeate into your very being.

You take a deep breath, and straighten yourself on your feet. You hate that smile on his face, and you want to feel angry about it, but more than anything you feel an uncomfortable sense of foreboding. Unwilling to admit it, you lift your head and meet his gaze again.

"I won't give in to you," you say.

Your voice doesn't shake, but your hands do. You want to hope Dio didn't notice, but you've never been much of an optimist, have you?

[theculturalvacuum]

A Dance with Fan Fic Ask Round Ups

I have a confession: I was a little terrified that everyone would be mad at me for going to a cliff hanger with the groom storming out to a pretty unrelated chapter involving middle-aged ladies and repression, not least because it took me two months to get it out. But the feedback on this chapter has been so sweet. Thank you.

Now that the next chapter is out, I’ve finally decided to catch up on all of these….

Anonymous said:

I don't think your buying into stereotypes with your dornish women, they aren't all identikit, they're all just reflective of a place which expects women to be a bit more involved in everything. From outside of Dorne you've got Sarra who was assertive in her own way by telling eliott how to behave with his new wife, it was a gentle type of assertiveness but she took control and had that conversation no matter how awkward. Lady Darklyn too certainly seems not lacking in confidence.

Well, good. I sometimes worry about women who are less assertive and how they cope in this society. With Sarra, what I was more going for was more encouraging her son to be gently assertive about his marital rape license.

Anonymous said:

Elliot, you are my sonion, and I understand that you're upset, but you're acting like an asshole. Stop being an asshole.

I’ll pass this on, but I’m not sure El will be able to hear me over the sound of his raging hangover right now.

Anonymous said:

Your fic is so much fun, I find myself going yeah oh poor Eliott's he's going to marry a whore, and then im like, wait what the fuck corret man. I get so into each chapter that by the end of it im agreeing with these twits. that's when I know im hooked and your good at your thang.

Thank you? POV bias is a bitch, though.

Corret has a very logical brain, and he’s very normative. He just doesn’t question the assumptions of his society. And he didn’t say Loree was a “whore”! He said she was “little better” than one. Big difference, dude!

Anonymous said:

A few ask rounds ups ago, someone mentioned Dylan having high hopes that Ellaria Uller will get a prominent job in KL, oh my god I need this. I need Corret to just have no clue what going on and why is buddy would want such a thing when he has a second son to put those hopes onto. Maybe Dylan thinks Ellaria is his cleverest kid or something and he's excited of her progress report from the water gardens/tutors at Hellholt or something, and Corret is just so uncomprehending.

Lil’ Ellaria aces all the math tests.

I can’t think of any reason why Dylan would stop hanging out with his old buddy Corret or why he wouldn’t be one of the famous Dornish Proud Papas.

Anonymous said:

Hey my Jeyne Swann love is perfectly reasonable and normal!!! Sorta. I just feel bad for her she went to a place where she could have done anything (within reason) and shiteros had screwed up her view of herself and marriage and life so much that she was never able to take even one second of advantage of it then she got a disgusting growth in her body and died. I feel much better now and zen knowing that she as some fond times with her girls to give her happy memories as she wasted away.

I’m sure she thought she was the luckiest woman in the world.

Anonymous said:

I kind of feel sorry for eliott and how unprepared he is for the world he's walked into. I mean there are limits to my sympathy given his attitude and his opinion on stuff, but if someone (ADWIN!!!!) had just given him a few more facts from the start or they'd journeyed through Blackmont and he'd been able to see Meria and Simon and have a little chat with him, it wouldn't have fixed everything but he'd have at least been more like a good little scout and been (a bit) prepared.

I mean, Adwin threw a pile of books at him. Was that not enough?

Eliott’s problem is sometimes connecting theoretical knowledge to the real world. He can know things about Dornish culture, or even that some historical Princess So-and-So had half a dozen paramours in her life or something, and still not have it occur to him that it would apply in this situation.

Anonymous said:

Something I sort of noticed as the Rowan caravan was journeying was they never stayed anywhere where there was a marriage like Eliott was about to enter into. Manwoody, Fowler and Vaith there is no spouse in residence, Allyrion the dude is the Lord, so everywhere they went of the big houses he's not getting the chance to really see the role he'd have which probably keeps the shackles on for even longer.

I suppose that’s true, I didn’t plan it or anything. But the most important thing keep the shackles on is Eliott and his Brain Virgin. I’m not sure if swinging by Sandstone would have helped him much except maybe that he would think that Allin ain’t a real man or something.

Anonymous said:

Given everything that happened between AWiS and the present, would it be fair to say that Edgar Yronwood was right, or at least had a point when he said that the Martells trying to win the favour of the Northerners wouldn't yield the result they wanted? A bit rich coming from the man who backed the Blackfyres, but still...

Well… ask Elia how it all worked out. Though, to be fair, the amount of autonomy they seemed to have under Robert is a little ridiculous.

Anonymous said:

I'm excited and sad for the upcoming Alysanne chapter. Excited because she's a brilliantly written character; sad because she's spent her whole life getting shit on and thanks to patriarchy brain, thinks it's all her fault. Which makes me sad.

I feel guilt about how long it took me to get this round-up out. Like, that was two chapters ago… I hope it lived up to your expectations.

Anonymous said:

On your favourite subject of Jeyne Swann, whats the age gap between her two girls? did Allyster try and get two kids on her relatively quick so they'd be able to stop making appointments? Must have been a bit weird for her not to have anyone pushing for the her to birth the prodigal penis, even with huge amounts of pb that must have been kinda nice, even if she did probably think she'd failed or some crazy shit like that.

The gap between them is maybe five years or so, and Jeyne (the younger) didn’t marry as early as Rebanna did, so her kids are quite a bit younger than Maron. There may have been some infant mortality between them, or even after as well. I’m not sure, I don’t want to pile on. Allyster stopped making appointments because he could tell how not into it she was, and that got weird after ten years.

Anonymous said:

why is alyse ladybright not tagged for your fic? she appears plenty and yet the poor Lady doesn't get a tag.

Ha. I think I only tagged people who already had tags.

Anonymous said:

Is Lewyn's paramour someone we've already met in a AWiS? Jennelyn Sand mayhaps?

No and no.

Anonymous said:

If Casson had married Loreza would that mean that Ellaria would have been Lady Vaith one day?

I suppose so. Unless it prompted Vanella to bite the bullet and get hitched.

Anonymous said:

Speaking of trophy consort, I always thought he'd be younger but not young enough to be her son. More in the vain in your fic verse of Emerik Qorgyle or Trebor Jordayne if he wasn't heir. that way he's very much a man grown when they marry and has plenty of life experience so he has something to offer as a ocassional advisor. But he's still a younger hottie too.

Okay.

Anonymous said:

I like owain a lot. He seems like a real good guy. Plus he's got Tully links too which makes him dynastically well linked along with his Reacher and married Martell links. Alyse is going to be all over that, but I imagine there might be a queue.

Owain is the pragmatic one. Marq is a mini-Corret with all his ISTJ-ness. Lymen is the racist one. Jon the Green is also there. Maybe he’s the funny one.

Yeah, Eliott’s peeps aren’t as cool as Loree’s.

Anonymous said:

I have sympathy for Jeyne Swann lover anon because I'm actually drawn to your background characters more than your POV's. I like all your POV choices and they're a nice spread but its the unknown with the background characters that interests me. I like Deria, Deneza is someone I really wish for more of, Adwin's a professor in another life, Owain is just perfect, Sarra/Aelora are just the cutest, I need more Dylan, Simon Leygood's life intrigues me even if he's only a name, Alyse is a dream.

Alyse has dreams.

Anonymous said:

How do Rebanna and Allyster feel about the fact that Maron is almost 30 and not married? I get that the Dornish don't push marriage as hard as some, but they still do succession through bloodlines. Would the fact that he hasn't married make them question if he's responsible enough to rule Wyl?

Well, he had his heart broken once.

They’re probably in Wyl right now talking about how they’ll totally bring it up as soon as he hits thirty. Also, keep reading.

Anonymous said:

Does Lenelle have ladies-in-waiting, or is that a right reserved for Martells proper? Similarly, does Jenny have ladies, or is her status low enough, and scandal that she caused great enough, that no knight or lord wants his daughters to serve her?

Lenelle does have ladies of her own, I just haven’t really thought about who they might be or had cause to mention them. Emelyn was one, once upon a time.

I have no clue about Jenny. She would probably ditch them if she did have them.

Anonymous said:

This is a bit of a random comment but I loved your response to my asking about where the Fossoways were. It just highlights how different peoples minds work. once I read who the groom was on the Dramatis personae my first thought was who were his cousins on the other side of his family and thought they must be young or female for him not to have any of them as his little group of companions. When I saw none were there I just immediately jumped to conspiracy theories like a normal person...

I mean, we can weave a tale about how Sarra doesn’t get on with her family ever since they found out that she doesn’t like apple pie, or something.

Anonymous said:

Besides GRRM, who would you say the biggest influences on your writing are?

Jane Austen is kind of obvious. Especially in the dialogue, probably.

Actually, Martin doesn’t influence my style nearly as much as I would like him to. My descriptive passage are always very, like, functional.

Anonymous said:

Whether or not it occurs in on page, I'd imagine that, at some point during the events of AWiS, some Reach Bros got drunk and decided to loudly sing The Dornishman's Wife. They couldn't understand why their Dornish hosts didn't find the song amusing.

I think their Dornish hosts just find it dumb. And it will be quite the wedding feast, I’m sure. Literal wine fountains.

Anonymous said:

Will AWiS feature anything like Martin's weirder, trippier passages? Either a character having a fever dream or ingesting a hallucinogen of some sort?

I’m not sure if I’m up for that. I did once write a dream for Eglies, though.

I’m not sure which pov character is most likely to eat a magic mushroom. Probably Ormond.

Anonymous said:

Aside from Loreza being dornish and set to be ruling Princess of Dorne, I can't help but feel like anther problem Eliott may encounter with her is she's very much a grown woman. Whereas there seems to be so many really young brides elsewhere, some criminally young but even 19 year olds like Olenna haven't really lived, they're in a lot of ways children in women's bodies due to the way they get infantilized. Loreza isn't any of that and that is a new experience even before the political stuff.

I think that’s quite insightful. And Loree has this confidence about her sexuality that I don’t think Eliott will know what to do with.

Anonymous said:

Love Deria, she sounds like she has a bed warmer and wants to find someone for her new friend, lol.

Deria’s a classy lady. She doesn’t kiss and tell.

Anonymous said:

I volunteer to kill Tybutthole, it would be my pleasure, I'd even pay you for the honour. As realistic it is, I hope there can be something positive to come out of this even if it only sadly Marigold getting out.

I suppose that all depends on how you define “positive outcome”. As I believe I’ve said before, this society is tailor made for men like Tybutt, but I think Alysanne is starting to realize that that may be problematic, so I would say not all hope is lost.

Anonymous said:

Princess Trystana and Lord Gargalen totally seem like marriage goals for the setting. they've found a way to function as a couple, communicate and raise their kids together with respect and support.

I mean, maybe they seem like that now. You should have seen them in the old days.

Anonymous said:

Daenella seems kind of Targ to me, like she inherit all the privilege like a Martell has but without any of the dutiful nature that goes with it, which seems Targ-ey. By the time she was born her dad was gone/or almost, so her mother had to help Rhodryn in his new role, and child bearing problems and grieve and adapt so Daenella probably just got to have all the fun of being born into such great position but without any of the lessons in duty.

All the best royal families have that “only two kinds” thing and in the Martells’ case it the whole “hot and cold” thing I made up for The Princess and the Septa. It was kind of, like, institutionalizing the contrast between Doran and Oberyn, (a contrast so obvious that even GoT noticed it...) And Daenella is kind of this generation’s Oberyn. Though, so is Arion, so…

But, of course, the sharp contrast is also an oversimplification. Like, which one is Lewyn, for example?

Anonymous said:

Linette!!! nice to hear about her a bit. I wonder if a tiny bit of Duran's appeal to Alysanne, as she gets to know him better, if his obvious pride in his daughters, and the fact he's ''satisfied'' with them.

Tiny bit?

Linette’s a pro. She has charts.

Anonymous said:

Daenella and Trystana seem like they just don't understand each other at all. they try in their own ways to connect but they're so different that the other just doesn't see these overtures as being meant to be kind or loving. Little Trystana might momentarily unite them when she's probably likely to be born at the most inopportune time. They're sisters, they clearly care for one another they just have no clue how to communicate with each other.

Anonymous said:

The princess of the breeze seems to bring the worst out of her sister. I think Trystana just has no idea how to relate to her, and as she's so used to being in control and knowing what she's doing she can't quite function as she wants to around her sister and they just end up having this escalating back and forth, that Trystana seems to know if ridiculous but can't quite break the cycle.

Deanella always has the best intentions for things, but she just gets overwhelmed by her emotions and can’t focus on things enough to actually follow through. She wants to be a good mother and a good sister but… omg, that dog has a fluffy tail! No one sane would trust her with any actual responsibilities.

And Trystana is very dutiful, but she also wants to make sure everyone knows how dutiful she is. Specifically that she’s more dutiful than Daenella. That being said, she would drop everything to help her sister in a crisis, even after the twentieth time.

Anonymous said:

Whilst I'm enjoying the little romance Alysanne has going on, I'm particularly enjoying her simple joy at having people notice her and making a few new friendships and how she just seems to spill to these people because she's probably never had anyone to really talk to for years aside from her daughter, and you can't tell you child any of this sort of stuff. I could see her and Deria becoming great friends, and Trystana too if Alysanne's world continues to open up.

Female friendships are important for women.

Anonymous said:

Someone needs to engineer ''accidents'' for certain assholes so that Daisy and Marigold can be left the fuck alone.

Anonymous said:

LMAO, Alysanne thought she was in for an earful and instead she was being set up with her dreamboat again. Honestly when this is all over however it goes or doesn't go she's going to need a good neck massage from all the whiplash she's getting trying to get her head around all these dornish ways.

Those mysterious Dornish ways of, like, consent and stuff.

Anonymous said:

On a scale of 1-10, how concerned should we be for Alysanne's safety? Tybutt doesn't seem the type to take his wife showing agency lying down.

If Tybutt gets on Trystana’s wrong side you should be more concerned for his safety.

Anonymous said:

Trystana girl, you looked in the mirror lately, Daenerys is wilful? lol. Maybe their wilfulness comes out in different ways but they've both got bucket loads of it. I did enjoy her chat with Alysanne in general though, she likes her husband and wants him to have some happiness and joy. the fact the lady he likes is the biggest sweetheart that ever sweethearted is a big bonus though.

How dare you! Dany is nothing at all like Trystana!

[xivlegacy]

NPC Spotlight - Eolande Quiveron - Compiled notes

@mirkemenagerie, I hope you don’t mind, but I took our previous posts about Eolande and Damielliot and compiled them into one. Since there was a good chunk of information about them, it seemed the best idea to put it all together rather than reblog 2-3 pieces.  Thank you again, as always for your generous contributions to the lore hungry!

In 1.0, the Syndicate seat over Frondale’s Phrontistery (alchemist’s guild) was occupied by a female Elezen, possibly a Duskwight, by the name of Eolande Quiveron.  Her association with the alchemist’s guild came up frequently in 1.0 during the Alchemist quests.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many image resources for her, so I wasn’t able to get a good image to post with this.  She could be glimpsed at a distance in some cutscenes, such as Raubahn’s speech in a screenshot set I posted earlier. She had dark, brownish hair and light colored skin.

Eolande died during the Calamity, and was later replaced by Godbert Manderville as the sixth wealthiest person in Ul’dah.  He is presumably occupying her seat in a scene in ARR, where the Syndicate members were sitting at the royal plotting table with Nanamo Ul Namo, however, he was wearing a cowl.  This might have been to prevent spoilers for the Hildibrand storyline, or simply a gesture of formality in the presence of the Sultana.

There is a location in Central Thanalan known as the Quiveron Manse (really just a shack) which was supposedly Eolande’s summer home, which was taken over by thieves after her death.  It never made sense to me that the occupants were all Lalafells when Quiveron wasn’t a Lalafell name, but finding this tidbit about Eolande explains much.

The FATE, A Few Arrows Short of a Quiver, and the ARR level 12 main storyline quest Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow, both take you to the manse to deal with the bandit problem.  The latter pits the player against Baron von Quiveron III, a Lalafell claiming to be the Quiveron heir.

The level 14 main storyline quest, Oh Captain, My Captain, involves Baron von Quiveron IV Esquire and a Brass Blade by the name of Baldewyn.  This seems to be an ongoing problem with Lalafellin bandits trying to lay claim Eolande’s name, and possibly assets.

There is more below the keep reading link including @mirkemenagerie‘s additions!  Click below!

@mirkemenagerie‘s additions: Raubahn Aldynn earned the 6th seat on the Syndicate in the Year 1570 6AE after buying the Coliseum from its former owner, Rycharde. Rycharde later fell into destitution, eventually coming to serve as one of Prince Teledji Adeledji’s lackeys. However, soon after Raubahn Aldynn gained his seat, he left Ul’dah for two years on an unknown journey, though its hinted he returned to the Gyr Abanian Front. When the Immortal Flames were rekindled in 1572, Raubahn returned to Ul’dah to take up the mantle of Flame General.

   Rycharde: “Raubahn ruined me with the purse he won that day. I lost all standing in the city, and was forced to sell him the Coliseum. In time, I was reduced to doing anything for gil?cleaning privies, begging in the streets, selling off my…my… Even now I cannot bring myself to say it. What do you know of my despair, stranger? Hm? You who are not even Ul'dahn. If you value your life, I suggest you pry no more into matters that do not concern you. I’ll spare you this once, if only because there is no money to be made from your death. But know that my masters do not take kindly to interlopers. Interfere again, and they are like to send a piece of you to each of the seven hells.”

There Might Be Blood suggests that the bad blood between Raubahn and the other Syndicate members, especially Teledji, seen throughout ARR has a long history. Teledji, being the head of the Mirage Trust, likely did not ingratiate himself with the Ala Mhigan gladiator after allowing, perhaps even coaxing, Mirage activities like the following within the guild:

   Gunnulf: “There’s a game over at the Platinum Mirage what only caters to the richest o’ the rich. Seems the gamblin’ tables don’t hold no thrill for their like no more. No, it’s bloodshed they want, and they’ll stop at naught to have it. Hells, some time ago they took to pittin’ their debtors against each other. Raubahn the Bull put an end to those games when he took his seat on the Syndicate. Some two years past, that was. But he set out on his journey a short time after, and without him ‘round to enforce his word, the fights were on again afore long.

   When he came home to Ul'dah to see the Flames remade, we thought the games would end again on their own. But the bastards runnin’ 'em grew bold while he was away, and the games’ve only gotten more savage… Mayhap you know of Little Ala Mhigo? Scores of our Ala Mhigan brothers and sisters took refuge there after the fall. These rich devils mean to let a beast loose on the place under the guise of an accident, and wager on the outcome. And if what we hear is true, they mean to do it soon. The beast’s a ferocious thing?one captured for use on the bloodsands. The Ala Mhigans… So many innocents…”

Director Eolande Quiveron was killed in the Calamity and her seat was taken by esteemed Goldsmith and creator of the Gold Saucer, Godbert Manderville.

   A Few Arrows Short of a Quiver: “The summer home of Eolande Quiveron?former Syndicate member, before tragically losing her life in the Calamity?has been occupied by thieving bandits, one even claiming, in fact, to be the noble lady’s heir. Rumor has it the bandits use the run-down manor to hide their booty, and a merchant is seeking aid in recovering his stolen goods.”

   Captain Leofric, Brass Blade of the Rose: “A band of outlaws has taken up residence at the Quiveron Manse on the ridge to the south. Their leader has styled himself heir to Eolande Quiveron, the Syndicate member who died in the Calamity. <spit> The baron and his cronies are naught more than a pack of jackals.”

   Baron von Quiveron IV: “You there, adventurer! Do you remember me? Well, I remember you! I am Sir Baron von Quiveron IV Esquire! You killed my brother, and now I’m going to return the favor!”

Completely irrelevant to the above, but there is one last former Syndicate member who goes without mention, mostly because so little is known about him. But his name was Cicidoa Sosodoa and is famously quoted saying, “Everyone here is after something - fame, notoriety, power, money. Me? I’ll have the whole bloody lot.”

An interesting note, a Cicidoa does show up in ARR, however if the two are related is unknown, but highly unlikely.

This does, however, leave the matter of the currently empty 6th seat in the Syndicate, vacated by Prince Teledji Adeledji, open for a new taker. Will another member of the Mirage Trust rise to take his place? Or, as some have jokingly suggested, will Rowena rise to the occasion?

Bonus round: 2016 Starlight Quests and 1.0 Connection

So here’s a neat little tidbit about one of the main NPCs in this year’s Starlight quests.  If you played 1.0 and did any of the alchemy quests the NPC’s dialogue in the last Starlight quest will vary for your 1.0-originating character compared to someone who didn’t.  I tested this, myself, and sure enough he gave the 1.0 nod to my main character (Ciel), but not to my alt (Glace).

http://gamerescape.com/2016/12/15/the-lore-train-a-starlight-miracle/

More additions from @mirkemenagerie :

Damielliot wasn’t the only 1.0 character to make a reappearance in this Starlight event! In fact, if you played through the old Alchemist questilne, you should also recognize the Phrontistery Alchemist (who invites you into the Children’s Ward) as Nogeloix and the Hardworking Healer (in the back kitchen) as S’lyhhia.

For whatever reason, they didn’t name these two in the Starlight event.

We would also be remiss if we didn't mention one last thing about Eolande.  Well, two things.  She can be found in Palace of the Dead as the Putrid Plutocrat, and may very well have been Damielliot's mother.  When encountered, she says "Damielliot, please... Open your eyes..." hearkening back to when he was sick as a child.