#Archimages

[emiuli]

Lazuli Rocks 🩷

[forthedancingandthethriving]

Queen Melody couldn't help but admit that something was definitely not right here. Even as she holds glass by its stem, she can't keep her eyes off of King Damien.. and Queen Fluerette.

Her ears flick as her eyes narrow. Even though she didn't mind the young king and queen, she couldn't help but find it so.. suspicious. There was something wrong, very wrong here.

Tama, her dear granddaughter, was afraid of King Damien. Afraid of him, to the point of tears, begging Nimbus to not take her to the debutante of Queen Fluerette. It got so bad that Arthur and Dolion opted to stay back in Luminos with her.

A headache comes on, and she hisses quietly, placing her free paw to her head as she lowers her glass a bit.

"Ah, Queen Melody!" The familiar voice of King Bolero makes Queen Melody glance up, and she smiles at the approaching Bolero and Peony.

"King Bolero, Archimage Peony." She greets them warmly, with a respectful nod. "How are you two doing?"

"As well as we can be," Peony hums softly, and Melody frowns at that.

"Did something happen?" The queen of Luminos asks.

"It's Dapple," the king of Magnamiel informs her, and that makes the queen more worried. "As of late, she's been very.. standoffish regarding any news of King Damien."

"How odd.." Melody frowns. "It's the same for Tama. She's been so avoidant of the topic.."

It left a sour taste in all their mouths.

○●○

"Do you want to see something I can do, Fluerette?" King Damien asks as he leans against the sturdy railing of the balcony that overlooks the grand room. So far, the debutante ball had been a success.

"Hm?" She blinks, confused. "You've already done so much, what else are you capable of?"

"Many things." He smiles charmingly at her, and Fluerette cannot stop the blush that forms. She watches as he stands upright and holds out his paw.

A flame forms on his paw, but it's not red, orange, or yellow. Not even blue. No, it was a bright green, and the small particles that came off of it were almost cube shaped.

Queen Fluerette stares in awe, and King Damien chuckles.

"This is something I've been working on for a while," Damien informs her, letting the flame slowly snake its way between his fingers. "It's still very small, but.. it changes memories and minds."

Fluerette gasps softly. "What..?"

"It's why everyone's been so receptive to you tonight." The king of Devos smiles. "I've just been.. tweaking some things. Especially of the monarchs." He chuckles. "I've made it so every subconsciously believes that you were in the right for the war."

The queen of Desiderio can't help but worry a bit. "You.. wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"Of course not." Damien shakes his head, and Fluerette can see he's being truthful.

The queen of ice looks away bashfully. "You don't.. have to do all of this for me, you know. It's really just for us to get those seals.."

"And?" The king of darkness lets the flame vanish, and he takes her paws into his. "You deserve to enjoy the perks of royalty while we do this. Once we get all the power from the seals.."

He chuckles softly. "It'll be us at the top of the food chain."

Fluerette, the self-proclaimed queen winter, now her heart beating faster and faster. Her cheeks were a bright red, and her tail couldn't be swaying back and forth faster.

Damien was looking at her as if she was the only thing that mattered, and Fluerette couldn't help but hope she was the only thing that mattered to him. Admist the plan and all their moves to open those seals. She couldn't help but hope that she mattered the most.

That this was for them.

"Shall we head back down?" King Damien asks with a chuckle, lowering one of his paws to now only hold one of hers.

"We shall." Queen Fluerette confirms with a giggle.

As they descend down the stairs, Damien pulls up a screen that only those with code can see. Without Fluerette noticing, he begins to mess with lines of code.

Then, he T U G S on some lines, and he knows that suspicion and anything else from anyone of importance won't be an issue.

Letting the screen vanish, he looks at Fluerette with a warm smile, which she reciprocates. He can't help but find himself thinking that this is all for her now. A world where people don't have to fear death and a world where Fluerette will never be taken from him.

The two monarchs brush their tails against the others before they reach the bottom of the stairs.

Truly, this was a debutante to remember.

○●○

Tama was curled into a ball under the sheets, the wooden door locked.

"She hasn't come out in ages.."

"At this rate, she's going to miss dinner..!"

"Sir Arthur and Sir Dolion haven't been able to get her to come out either.."

The voices of the maids and butlers, which were meant to be whispers, were pounding in Tama's ears. Her paws clamp over them in a desprate hope to dampen in, but nothing works.

She sobs, sobs, and sobs. Her body shakes as she sobs and desperately tries to ignore all the noise.

Zephyr.. Zephyr, you promised, didn't you? She thinks. You promised me you'd stop the noise when it happens.

The memory plays in her mind. The way the wind swirled around her, a gentle voice coming to assure that he'd always be there to direct away the noise.

So where is he?

Where are you?

You promised!

It feels like a crescendo was building inside of her, a viola slowly growing louder and higher.

YOU PROMISED!

The high note plays throughout the castle, and lamp flames all extinguish, running water stops, the air stagnates, light grows brighter and darkness deeper, the earth trembles, ice cracks and winds rush, lightning cracks overhead, and the leaves tremble.

All movement in Luminos castle stops before everything resumes.

All the voices Tama can hear stops.

And yet, she continues to sob. For the promise she cherished so much was gone.

[duckapus]

Thinking about the inevitable progression from Doppelganger Arle to Dapple.

The slow shift from not knowing How To Cat to the cat behavior being so engrained in her that it bleeds through into her true form at the most embarrassing times whenever she's back in Arle's world home enacting another one of her schemes.

Learning about and immersing herself in Harmonia's culture, at first to maintain her cover and then out of genuine interest.

The moments when she catches herself thinking of herself as Dapple instead of Arle, and the dawning horror and maybe a hint of something brighter that those moments grow longer and more frequent as the months go by.

The nights where her dreams are filled with the endless void, or the horrible bloody war that led to it, and she finds herself more and more often seeking out Peony or Bolero for comfort rather than run from sleep by throwing herself into her work.

The days where she doesn't think about her plans or what she's lost at all, only for guilt to consume her when she finally notices.

The moments where she purposely forgets about her endless schemes and just lives for a while. Studying magic with Peony, putting on one of her shows in town, curling up next to Bolero and letting him regale her with stories of his adventurous youth, exploring the ancient ruins and mystical caverns that dot the landscape (TCS is an Open World game after all), commandeering a corner of the kitchen to introduce the cooking staff to her favorite Curry recipe, even just finding some little hidey-hole in one of the castle gardens to take a catnap in.

Eventually, there will come a breaking point, where she'll either accept that she's finally moving on and is allowed to be happy and embrace her new life as Dapple...or she'll double down, and find some way to reclaim her identity once and for all, no matter how poorly it may fit her now.

And I think we all know which will be more narratively interesting (:

[firelance2361]

Marvel Studios’ The Superior Spider-Man

This has been a crazy idea in my head for a while.

Basically it was what I initially thought we would get in No Way Home when Doc Ock was returning, and then after watching Moon Knight and reading the recent End of Spider-Verse comic storyline, it kept bugging at so I decided to do this piece.

Basically it would be if Doc Ock had been transported to the MCU after Spider-Man 2.

[In this headcanon, Doc Ock’s normal body and mind was so broken after the multiversal travel, that he was on the edge of committing suicide until he was stopped by the Spider-Goddess, Neith.

In this moment, Neith offered Otto the chance to live if he would protect and aid this world’s Spider-Man. Otto agrees, and his mind is transferred from his own into the mind of a young Peter Parker, now acting as a guardian angel of sorts, but remaining hidden to Peter all these years.

Flash forward to this timeline’s Far From Home aftermath, Peter starts to have moments of sleep deprivation and memory loss, which is affecting his relationships with Aunt May, MJ, and Ned.

Eventually, after a close encounter with the main villain of this story, Peter discovers Otto’s existence in his mind and the two form an unlikely alliance along with Peter’s friends and Otto’s apprentice: Peter’s old classmate Cindy Moon, who is revealed to also have Spider-Powers.

The unlikely band of heroes, along with Neith, must then prevent the villain Cadaverous - a former Spider-Totem who went rogue and gained the powers of Chaos Magic thanks to a relic called the Siege Perilous - from unleashing the Wasp Goddess, Shathra to “purify” the multiverse of its poison: the Spider Totems.

I know it’s a silly headcanon idea, and that it’s basically just Moon Knight with Marc/Steven/Jake swapped out for Peter/Otto/Ben, but I figured I’d get it out there just for those who feel disappointed we never got to see the Superior Spider-Man storyline adapted on screen.

Plus, looking at it this way, not only would it have been a interesting take on the MCU’s Spider-Man 3, but it also would be a good way to merge the comic origins of certain characters (Cindy Moon, Ben Reilly, Neith, & Shathra) into the main Superior Spider-Man storyline to give it more character and story depth.

But again this is just a headcanon, so don’t expect their gonna adapt it anytime soon.

And before I forget, here’s the character roster for this headcanon. (Left to Right)

Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus

Ned Leeds/Archimage

Cindy Moon/Silk

Michelle Jones Watson/Iron Spider

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Otto Octavius/Superior Spider-Man

Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider

Neith

Evelyn Strum/Madame Swarm

Oliver Octavius/Cadverous

Shathra

Let me know what you guys think! Hope you like it!

[6men]

tags.

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Secrets of Magic: Summon Archimage by Miguel Regodón Harkness

[fic--writer]

A surprise for Rolan

Tav and Rolan have a complicated relationship. He wants a quiet life, and she still longs for adventure. One day, endless arguments lead Tav to go on a journey. She has been away from the tower for six months, but circumstances force her to visit the tower's master again.

"Oh! Is that you? Of course it's you!" - Rolan slams the door in her face, not wanting to see her again. She had caused him too much pain. He thought he'd been abandoned and now she dares to show up unannounced.

"Please, please open the door. I have something to tell you." - Tav sighed regretfully and crouched down against the closed door. - "Okay, I'll just wait here until you're choking on book dust in your damn office."

Fifteen minutes later, the infernal screaming subsided and the door was ajar.

"Rolan, all I'm asking is that you listen to me. And... I have a surprise for you..."

"Zurgan! Tav, I'm not interested in your handouts. I literally begged you not to leave me, but your stupid adventures were more important to you. More important than me, more important than everything we've built and achieved, more important than our..."

She knew there was no stopping his tirade. She knew he was right, she knew how unfairly she'd hurt him. And so, without further explanation, she threw her baggy cloak to the ground. The buckle of his belt clanked on the floor and the Archmage looked back at the sound.

His face changed in an instant. He saw what he thought was his ex-girlfriend in a very interesting position. She carried the little troglodyte inside her. And he could count too fast in his head to realize that she was carrying HIS troglodyte.

He went over to her and put his hand on her round belly. Why hadn't she told him before? Was she afraid of him, thinking he would reject her? There was a wall of misunderstanding in their relationship, but this...

"That's the surprise, isn't it, Tav?" - Rolan still couldn't take his eyes off her new form.

"So you like it?" - She didn't know what to ask.

"Do i like it? You know, I love my family, unlike ... Oh, shit." - he paused and offered her a chair.

"I want to call her Lora" - Tav announced as she sat down in the chair. - "Just so you know, before she rips my body apart with her horns."

"What?! Tieflings aren't born with horns, they grow them after birth." - Rolan laughed nervously, pouring her tea. He tried to hide his fear behind that laugh, but it would take him some time to get used to the idea of having a daughter. His daughter.

"That's all right, we'll fill in the gaps in your education, ignoramus. But I have to wonder if you're planning to have a baby and leave it here with me, Lia and Cal and go off on your own adventures?"

"I'd like to grow she here, with you in the tower, if you don't mind." - Tav sipped her drink and crossed her arms over her bulging belly.

"You didn't think I'd kick out the mother of my child, did you?"

"I don't even know if you've got someone..."

"Oh, you'd know for sure if you'd written me a one damn letter!" - He burst out again.

A strange noise and fiddling was heard in the hallway. And the Archimage went to investigate.

Outside the door, Lia grabbed him by the collar and huffed:

"I don't care what you had going on before. From now on, I forbid you to hurt her. You hear me, you red-ass bastard?" - she shook him like a mother cat to a careless kitten.

"Ouch, easy!" - he whined.

"Be fucking civil, Daddy." - Cal added, tugging on his tail and shoving him back into the office.

A chilled Rolan went over to Tav and hugged her:

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, for the love of all the gods, I have no idea how hard this has been for you." - His mind was back and he knelt down beside her, pulled up her blouse and kissed her belly. Not because he was afraid of his brother and sister, but because he wanted to do it himself.

And he never again reminded her of that not-so-easy time in their lives.

Inspired by this art.

[markrosewater]

So, Green will constantly get a card draw engine at 2 mana (ie. Enchantress) but the "card drawing color" of Blue will rarely get a non-looting effect? And it's card drawing engines start (at minimum) at 4 Mana (ie. Archimage Emeritus)?

We wouldn’t make Enchantress, as is, today.

[rookfeatherrambles]

Home from work. Time to think about that one AU in my head where Martin runs a tea cafe + has like cozy magic that makes everything taste good and when he's not serving patrons he's setting traps for the black cat that KEEPS EATING HIS VEGETABLES in his little walled in garden behind the cafe and getting away with it! The cat thinks it's sooooo clever but Martin has thumbs! He'll get the bastard eventually! and also the Cat is Jonathan Sims the Archimage (big important) that just decided one day he wanted to no longer deal with people so he cursed himself into a cats form and just. Left his big wizard tower. And now he's nibbling Martin's tomatoes as a stray.

[jammylovebirds]

drew this based on the archimage's fanfic "safe & sound"! u guys should give it a look, it's short and wholesome and sweet!

[tallymonster]

Memories of Us chapter 21 - Water Under the Bridge

AO3 || Tumblr Masterlist

Hey y'all! Got this one out within the month omg! Heheh. I had to split this chapter and the last one so ya know, faster updates.

Credits for the inspiration go to @cheesy-cryptid ❤️ thanks for reading and reblogging my fic. You have no idea what it means to me that you like this work based on your wonderful art ❤️

Thanks as always goes to my besties @tragedybunny @micropoe10 and @mj-bites for hyping me up and being there for me when I feel sad. I love you guys.

Well, lemme know what you all think, I'm excited to start this new arc in the fic!

Following behind Octavia, Astarion can hear an echo of mixed murmured greetings. Stepping through the tall arch leading to the atrium, Astarion can make out Gale and Octavia’s voices cutting clearly through.

The two new voices peppered in between hushed responses. One slightly high pitched, breathy with an upward inflection; the other rich and haughty, deep and deliberate.

Astarion rounds the corner into the atrium, where four faces turn to look at him. Two of them were familiar to him, but the others were brand new.

Gale is standing beside a human woman with a long blonde high ponytail, adorned with a white bow. She had a big smile and bright hazel eyes. She wore a pink halter dress which hit mid thigh. At the hem of her dress was a glittery pink ostrich feather trim, her small stature elongated by the strappy white platform heels she wore.

To her left was a taller tiefling, deep maroon skinned with shoulder length black hair which was tied in a loose half up styling. His horns were curled slightly upwards, shiny dark blue almost black.

He stood at least two heads above the woman at his side, his tail lazily wrapped around her ankle. The eyes that turned to look towards Astarion were bright orange with yellow rings, surrounded by black scleras.

He wore black and purple robes which were embellished by silvery designs around the edges. Clearly this couple was of means and were not afraid to flaunt it. Astarion thinks back to his past life, where these two would've been perfect to pilfer from.

“There he is!” Gale steps forward, pulling Astarion closer to the small group gathered at the center of the room. “Astarion Ancunin, meet my sister, Athena Sofia Morena Dekarios, and her fiance, Sirilius Szerban Amarzian.”

Athena steps forward first, extending her dainty tanned hand, the iridescent stone of her engagement ring glinted off the artificial light coming from the ceiling. Her nails were pointed and long, painted a light pink nude color.

Astarion can't help but remark on the ostentatious bauble encircling her finger. “Oh my, what a beautiful ring. Almost as breathtaking as the one wearing it.” He raises her hand, pretending to admire the ring before releasing it. “Clearly the one who gifted it has impeccable taste. Which is why I am not surprised that you both wish to have your nuptials and celebrations in our prestigious halls and gardens.”

Astarion turns to Sirilius, smiling wide, and extending his hand, “A pleasure to make the acquaintance of an Archimage as esteemed as yourself, Master Amarzian. I trust my museum is to your liking?”

Sirilius is poised the way only an Archmage can, he stands up straight with his hands clasped behind him, face completely void of any emotion other than complete contempt for anyone he felt was below him.

With Astarion, though, he eased into a pretentious riposte. He takes Astarion’s hand into both of his, clasping them together and shaking it enthusiastically.

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Ancunin. Your breathtaking museum was the only place I could think of to fulfill the dreams of my beloved Athena, and marry her under the blessed watch of her dear grandfather.”

Sirilius turns to Athena, wrapping an arm around her waist pulling her close to his side; in return she bats her eyelashes at him, swooning into his embrace. “I would want nothing less for my queen, so when Gale graciously offered to speak to you for us, I was surprised! To think our little prodigy has this type of pull!”

Astarion is displeased at the sheer notion of someone speaking down to Gale let alone someone who is supposed to be marrying his sister. Astarion’s eyes dart back to Gale, whose hands are balled up into fists at his sides. Astarion could tell he was trying to keep his composure and struggling.

Meanwhile, Astarion hadn't noticed that Sirilius was still speaking “...we were thinking about around 250 people? My darling’s got quite a lively family and I wish to be able to accommodate them all. I imagine we will have no issues as Gale mentioned? He did promise that Athena would be most pleased…”

Sirilius turns around and glares at Gale, his tone of voice turns low and stern, “We had better not disappoint anyone in the family again, right, Gale?”

Astarion glances back at Sirilius’s smug face, he has to be professional for Gale’s sake.

The haughty tiefling continues on, “I should be glad we have two other people to make sure you're not getting distracted by anything. Why don't we give you an easy job to do instead? I guess we do need to find a suitable caterer or a florist… Perhaps that way it would be less of a disaster if your tasks were as mundane as you?”

Sirilius’s boisterous critique of Gale seemed like it was crafted to point out every flaw and small indiscretion for only those with familial knowledge of their feud. His teardown of Gale ended with a pointed tension that could be cut with a knife.

The entire group was staring between Gale and Sirius, both men were glaring at each other with daggers shooting out of their eyes. Astarion was about to cut in when an angry bride cleared her throat loudly.

The entire group slowly gazed towards Athena, her body language clearly showing her displeasure. She shakes her head and begins to speak in a low, deep, furious whisper.

“I cannot believe you right now. You promised you would give Gale a chance, and you're doing this? How dare you speak to my brother like that? After all the trouble he's gone through to speak to his boss about this event that we are both trying to put on and show everyone in Waterdeep that our families are a united front? After I very thoroughly explained to you how important it was to me that you got on with my brother how you used to? Sirilius Szerban, I would expect you to behave yourself for once. Apologize. Now."

Athena stood with her arms crossed, one eyebrow furiously quirked upwards, the most unamused frown on her cherry lips. Her voice, once a sweet crepitation, turned deep, croaky, and stilted. “WELL? What are you waiting for? Permission??” Her head shakes with an indignant attitude, her hazel eyes stared unblinking, and her lips pursed tight.

Sirilius looks around him, and is greeted with indifference from those witnessing her outburst. He straightens his posture, worrying his lip and grimacing. His eyes grow wide and a dark blush creeps up on his cheeks. He swallows thickly and laughs nervously. “My sweetness, I simply meant-”

“Sirilius…do not test me.” Athena’s glare burns into him, radiating her displeasure with him to the entire room. Her mouth twists into a hysterical smirk, voice saccharine and direct. “Go on, Siri. You don't want to upset me, right?”

Sirilius’s brows shoot up in pleading defense, then waver. Groaning and looking upwards, he rolls his eyes, turning to Gale. Through gritted teeth, he strains through a half hearted apology.

“Gale, I..am sorry for being unfair to you. Athena is correct, I said I would put the past in the past and give you a chance…. but that does not mean-”

“SIRI! Choose your next words carefully.” Athena’s fury was on full display, her shorter frame not detering her from making Sirilius shrink under her venomous tongue.

Sirilius’s lips thinned, his throat visibly tightened, he nods before speaking in a much calmer tone “but that does not mean that I cannot extend my deepest and sincerest hope that you and I can return to a civil relationship. Not just for my sake but for the sake of our families.

Your mother has made it abundantly clear that she wishes for Athena and you to have the unbreakable bond you once shared. I hope that my marrying her has not caused you distress. I do love her, with all my heart, and I pledge to make her the happiest wife I can. Please forgive me for my past immaturity.”

Sirilius bows his head and rigidly stands up. Athena is glowing and glancing between Gale and Sirilius in anticipation. When Gale’s eyes meet hers she gives him an expectant head shake.

“Yes, uh, thank you Sirilius. I accept your apology and I wish the same for us. I have indeed missed our comradery. I am eager to repair our bond and move forward with our lives as a family.”

Gale extends his hand towards Sirilius, whose face shows confused hesitancy at the kindness extended to him. Sirilius takes Gale's hand and gives it a firm shake before releasing it and promptly lacing his hands at his back.

Athena squeaks with a triumphant approval, as if her small tantrum was the thing that fixed whatever conflict the two most important men in her life had. She stands up straight, a smug grin grows on her face.

“Well, isn't that lovely.” She claps her hands together and stands in a prideful pose. “I’m so glad the two of you could be mature about this. “Now, if you don't mind, I think you two can show Siri the nicest places for us to have our reception?” Athena directs Gale and Astarion, forcing the three men to group up alone.

“Meanwhile Octavia can show me the gardens.” Athena looks at Octavia and smiles warmly, “I'd really like to go see where Grandfather's section is, it's been years since I've seen the flowers over there.”

“S-sweetheart, I thought you wanted to see the gardens together?” Sirilius cut between Octavia and Athena, grabbing her hand and getting him another icy stare from his bride.

Athena smiles up at him, a sweet smile undercut with her obvious irritation. “Siri..” she warns in a sing-song voice, “you and Gale are just now getting along, it would be rude of you to walk away from this opportunity to fix your relationship.” She slides her hand out of his, placing it at his cheek and caressing it.

“Just do this for me, alright my little devil?” Athena rubs Sirilius’s cheek and turns to face Octavia. “I have been looking forward to meeting you all week! How about we ditch these losers and go check out the pretty flowers?”

Gale and Sirilius protest, both their voices defensively piping up as Athena takes Octavia’s arm, leading her away. “Be good, don't fuck this up!” her squeaky voice calls. She giggles when she's sure she's out of earshot and eyesight, her arm still locked around Octavia’s.

“Those two will be the death of me, I swear. They're probably the most important people in my life and they can't even be fucked to get over their stupid fight. You know, if they actually talked to one another, they might realize they're still as similar as the day they met.” Athena sighs as they walk down the gravel trail.

Octavia mindlessly looks around them, taking in the sunset that hid behind the trees. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she turns to Athena and asks, “Not to be a gossip or anything…but, what's the real story of what happened between them anyway? I heard Gale’s version, and I'm sure I'll never hear Sirilius’s side.”

Athena giggles with a giddy tilt, “Oh Octavia, I'll always take time to spill some tea about my two favorite guys. What do you want to know?”

Octavia thinks for a moment, not knowing how to ask without opening the biggest can of worms she could imagine. “Is ‘everything’ too broad?”

"There's not enough hours in the day for me to tell you all the juicy details and still have time to go to sleep tonight.” Athena laughs, “I’ll keep it to the main points though.

Yes, they got in a giant fight over some dumb shit. From what I remember, it was about Sirilius calling Gale a ‘pompous, arrogant, know-it-all prick, with a knack for inserting himself into things he doesn't know anything about’.”

Octavia is shocked, she couldn't imagine anyone saying something so cruel to Gale. She keeps quiet, listening to Athena explain further.

“The thing that set Sirilius off was Gale ranting and complaining about our mom scolding him for leaving the kitchen filthy. Sirilius’s parents never paid him any mind, they were always so wrapped up in keeping Sorcerous Sundries running smoothly, that they ignored him and his siblings. When Siri met Gale, they hit it off instantly.

They were always together. I would catch them in Gale's room lighting things on fire with their little fireballs. They'd break mother's figurines and fix them before I could tattle on them. They were like two of the same person, complicated and complimentary.” Athena finishes, in a wistful sigh.

"Wow, sounds like they were pretty deep in their friendship.” Octavia remarks.

“Oh quite so! If I wasn't in the picture you'd think they were the siblings. They were two peas in a pod for as long as I could remember..until that stupid fight and it didn't help that what came after was even worse for the two of them. Both in their friendship and personal lives.”

Athena finishes speaking, turning her head towards the path leading to her grandfather's garden.

“Gale took it incredibly hard when Grandfather passed. Exactly like Grandfather during his year of isolation, Gale retreated from us all, from Siri, from me…I took it very personally. He and I were inseparable just like he and Siri, so when Gale pushed us away, he inevitably pushed us towards each other.”

Octavia watched as Athena walked towards her patriarch, taking in the early evening air as the light breeze blew through the leaves of willow branches that draped Gale’s stone image.

His part of the garden featured a serene pond, full of aquatic plants from Waterdeep. A fitting memorial for the wizard who loved his home.

“What Gale didn't know is that Siri’s parents had split up in the weeks before their fight. Siri was so angry at everything, everyone, and to hear Gale complain about a parent that was there to be mad at, well…something within him went off and could never go back.” Athena spoke slowly, making sure Octavia took in the seriousness of what was being shared.

Athena and Octavia sit under the giant canopy of leaves, on an iron bench that sat at the edge of the lily peppered pond. “I worry for Gale sometimes.” Athena speaks in a hush, eyes locked onto the statue of her treasured grandfather.

“He works too hard and he's always spending time alone. I don't want him to isolate himself again. I'm hopeful that the wedding will bring us together again though, he's all I have, really. Mum was always too preoccupied with our status as a prominent family to really get to know us like we knew each other. I hope he finds someone that he loves like I love Sirilius. Do you have someone like that, Octavia?”

Athena turns to Octavia, waiting for her answer. Octavia hesitates, not knowing where she and Astarion stood currently. “Uh..well, I am seeing someone, but I'm not really sure where our relationship lies at the moment.”

Octavia watches as some ducks land on the water, their swimming causing small ripples to flow around.

“Well, do you want it to be more? Do they know what your intentions are? Maybe you should talk to them, you know, rip off the bandage in a way?” Athena replies, “How will you know what the future holds if you don't say anything?”

“It’s extremely complicated.” Octavia sighs, she picks up a rock next to her and skips it along the water. The ducks fly away as the rock hits a lily pad on the opposite side of the pond. “We’re in a bit of a weird spot right now. I found out some stuff about his past that's kind of shaken me.”

Athena’s eyebrows shoot up, a small frown appears on her lips. “Oh, well, that's not good. Would you like to talk about it? We don't have to if you don't want to, of course.” Octavia was hesitant, but there was something comforting about Athena that she couldn't explain.

Perhaps it was Athena’s sisterly instincts kicking in, maybe it was genuine compassion, but Octavia sensed that Athena was trustworthy.

“I uh…well…to put it simply, the guy I'm seeing has some type of history with a…cousin..of mine? They used to date a long time ago, and I found out through reading it in an old journal that my cousin hid in my dad’s attic. It all happened before he and I knew the other existed..and it..”

Octavia hesitates before swallowing the huge lump in her throat and continuing. “It ended really horribly. It ended so horribly she left and never came back…well that happened after he just up and left her. Now I find myself falling for him and being terrified of the same thing happening to us. What can I do to prevent it? Can I even?”

Octavia sighs feeling the heaviness in her heart grow, she hears the soft gasp that came from Athena, not knowing whether she should say any more. “I’m sorry, Octavia. That sounds rough. But you did say that this happened a long time ago? Well, in that time he could have grown and changed. People go through stuff and come out the other side differently.”

Octavia thinks for a moment before answering. “Yeah, it happened a very long time ago, feels like decades…honestly I don't even know why I care so much, it's not my drama to deal with, and I don't know if I should dig things back up again. I'm afraid I'll ruin a good thing.”

“Is that what you want?” Athena asks, “Maybe this guy just needs someone to help him process all the stuff that happened in the past? What if he just needs someone to listen to him and help him move on? Take Sirilius for example.”

Athena pats Octavia’s arm before turning back to gaze at the calmly swaying boughs of willow branches. “The whole show Sirilius puts on of being the stoic archmage is all bullshit. He's a huge softie.”

Octavia can't help but be bewildered at the notion of someone as serious appearing as Sirilius being any type of emotional. The man she met in the atrium radiated pure irritation at the world around him.

Athena smiles, as if knowing what the look on Octavia’s face was getting at. “Yes, I know, it's hard to picture, but it took Sirilius a very long time to finally open up and express himself to me. When he and Gale were really close, I didn't really care for him. To me, he was just another one of my little brother's annoying friends.”

Octavia fails to suppress a laugh, Athena joins in and continues, “After he and Gale had their falling out, Gale did not handle it well. Not to mention Grandfather’s passing all happening in the same season. He was just pushing me away, and I was not handling it well.

Sirilius caught me crying underneath one of the trees behind Blackstaff. I was just so overwhelmed and sad, I didn't think anyone would catch me. He sat with me and talked with me, shared his own hardships, eventually we grew closer. Until one day, when we were sitting under the same tree, he kissed me.”

Athena’s grin grew wide as she sighed contentedly, a faint blush dappled her cheeks. Octavia wondered how her friend reacted to this revelation. “What about Gale? How did he find out?”

Athena squeaks in surprise and giggles with a high tilt, “Oh skipping to the juicy part huh?? Okay, I love telling this story, mostly around Gale though, because he gets all embarrassed about it! Anyway, Gale caught Siri and I kissing when I was sneaking back into my room one night.

I was at the base of the trellis behind our house, Gale was taking some trash out and I heard him drop the bag. He ended up spilling all the trash out and I had to help him gather it up so our mother wouldn't yell at us. I begged him not only to not be mad at me, but not snitch on me for sneaking out. He only refrained from snitching.”

Octavia could see the conflict in Athena’s eyes. It must have been hard to fall out with your sibling, but to fall into the arms of their former friend? He must've felt utterly betrayed. “How mad was he? I've never seen him angry before so I'm having a hard time picturing him upset like that.”

“Oh he refused to speak more than one word to me. Mother and Father would try to get him to, but he refused. It was like that for almost a tenday. Eventually he came to me and apologized. Said that if Sirilius made me happy that he couldn't stop me, but he would never forgive Sirilius for the things he said. They haven't spoken a word to each other until today.

Gale doesn't know this, but Siri has told me that he wants to make amends and try to repair their friendship. As stubborn as they both are, they were inseparable. I’d love to make up for my own selfishness when it comes to my relationship in general. I was so lonely, and Siri was going through his own shit.

His parents were splitting up and of course, they put him and his siblings in the middle of it. Siri was just frustrated with everything, so hearing Gale complain about our family when his own was falling apart sent Siri over the edge and out of Gale’s life. They were young. Mistakes were made. So this is why I'm telling you, give that guy a second chance. People are capable of changing.”

Athena wasn't much older than Octavia, but Athena’s wise words soothed Octavia’s fears and sent hope into the doubtful depths of her heart. Octavia glances back at the grounds of the museum, which are quickly darkening under the orange skies. Her new friend checks her wristwatch, noticing the same warm glow fading.

“We should head back, the guys are probably tearing each other's heads off at this point.” Athena stands and fixes her skirt, the tight fabric relaxing as she wiggles it down. “You know Siri warned me not to wear this outfit, but it was too cute not to.”

Octavia notices the shimmery fabric that accentuated Athena’s small frame as the light from the lanterns comes on illuminating the path back to the museum. “It’s really sparkly, I can see why you didn’t listen to him.” She laughs as Athena lifts her head proudly.

“It’s like my mother says, ‘if you're going to represent one of the most prestigious houses in Waterdeep, you have to flaunt it wherever you go.’ I never leave the house without looking my best. It annoys Siri to high heaven, but I know what I like and he appreciates it.” Athena ends with a saucy wink.

They walk and talk for a bit before they get to the hallway leading to Gale and Octavia’s shared office. Octavia turns to Athena and speaks softly, “Thank you, by the way. You've given me a lot to think about today, in terms of what I want out of my situation. I really appreciate it.”

Athena smiles back at Octavia and suddenly wraps her arms around the other woman. Octavia is surprised, but returns the hug. As Athena pulls away, her hand gives Octavia’s arm a squeeze. “You'll be okay, Octavia. Love is hard, but it's a choice we make, and it's the most rewarding thing. Let it in, let it heal you.”

The two women walk through the door and see Astation and Gale, Sirilius is noticeably absent.

Athena looks around and takes a seat across from Gale on Octavia’s chair. Astarion is laying on the soft couch on the wall beside the door, his long legs hang off the armrest. When Octavia walks in, he quickly gets up and slides over, allowing her to join him.

“Gale, was my future husband nice to you after I left?” Athena asks, her fingers knitting underneath her chin.

Gale laughs a bit and nervously looks away. Athena straightens up suspiciously, her eyes narrow and her eyebrows quirks. In a warning tone she responds, “Gaaaale…”

“Oh gods, I can't lie to you. Yes, he was fine. We actually ended up agreeing upon some places for you two to have some pictures taken, would you like to see them before our dinner reservation with him? He left about an hour ago to check out Sorcerous Sundries to say hi to his Aunt Caliope.” Gale quickly explains, and stands up to leave.

Athena stands and turns to Octavia, noticing Astatrion’s arm around her. She smiles and sways a bit, “I hope you have a good night Octavia, give what we talked about a lot of thought. I can tell that someone is very much willing to reciprocate.”

With a wink, she turns to Gale and pulls him towards the door, “Let's go little bro, I’m really hungry and Siri said the place we’re going to is really good! Bye, Octavia! Thanks again for the tour!”

She leaves the room, with Gale following soon after. Octavia and Astarion are finally alone.

“Oh no, looks like I got you all to myself.” Astarion tantalizingly drawls. The arm that lingered behind her moved down to wrap itself around her shoulder, drawing her closer.

Octavia turns her head to face Astarion, his dark red eyes burn into her and make ice run down her spine at the same time. The passion and longing that he displayed earlier in the hallway still deep within his gaze.

“So you mentioned something about going out tonight? Someplace close…” Astarion leans into Octavia’s neck, she feels the cool breath dancing on her skin. “I know someplace really close…” his hand begins to slide itself up her leg, dragging his blunt nails on her thighs.

“Astarion…” Octavia breathes out, “some of us do actually need food to survive.” She sighs out a soft laugh, guiding his hand off her lap.

“Take me to get some dinner, and maybe we can come back for some dessert.” her voice drops to a seductive purr, sending Astarion’s eyebrows up to his forehead.

“It's not too far, just a little hole in the wall that I used to go to when I was looking for work around here. It doesn't have blood, but their coffee is really good.” Octavia suggests with a giggle. Astarion is staring at her with a dreamy glance, his eyes sparkling with affection.

“I’ll go wherever you go, Octavia. I know you won't lead me astray. Well…no more than I already do by myself.” Astarion laughs softly as he presses his lips to Octavia’s. He feels the little flutters of her pulse as he deepens their kiss, the way her breath catches, and her quiet gasps.

Astarion could go further, but he has to restrain himself. Octavia’s eyes open slowly, her lips are puckered still, the lower one wavers a bit before she exhales and smiles. “Oh…what was that for?”

Octavia’s eyes sparkle as they look up at him in anticipation. Astarion had to hold himself back, the way he felt for her wanted to burst out and make itself known, not yet though. Soon.

“Before dinner treat? Preview of events to come? Take your pick.” He smiles, fangs slightly poking out of his mouth. Octavia swallows, the warmth in her cheeks lowers to her stomach. She feels the comfortable haze of Astarion’s charms working on her.

As the wonderful feeling settles, Astarion leans in to kiss Octavia again; when a loud grumble noise comes from between them.

Octavia blushes immediately and lets out an embarrassed giggle. “Oh, I guess I really am hungry. Sorry to kill the mood.”

Astarion smiles and caresses Octavia’s cheek,

“Well, let's get some food then, darling. How do waffles sound?”

Tags: @justporo @satanicspinosaurus @sleepy-timaeus @davenswitcher @wayward-hel

@hereliesblackdragon @misscrissfemmefatale

[mformultiverse]

Sir Arathos Domer de Bertus, archimage, founder and leader of the Azur Guild ✨

[talonabraxas]

“The Masters of the Temple are now introduced; they are inhabitants, not of this desert; their abode is not this universe.

They come from the Great Sea, Binah, the City of the Pyramids. V.V.V.V.V. is indicated as one of these travellers; He is described as a camel, not because of the connotation of the French form of this word, but because ‘camel’ is in hebrew Gimel, and Gimel is the path leading from Tiphareth to Kether, uniting Microprosopus and Macroprosopus, i.e. performing the Great Work.”

Archimage of Binah (Sphere of Saturn) Aralim "Thrones" Talon Abraxas

[duckapus]

Honestly kind of burnt out on the Arle Arc so you're getting bullet points.

First off, the portal opening up in Bolero's throne room is due to the confrontation in Primp Town. The combination of Literally Everyone revealing that they've figured out there's something up with her, the Compile trio revealing they know she's Doppel, seeing Ava, and the continuing deterioration of her stability causes Arle to panic and reflexively use the portal command to go somewhere safe. The last place she felt safe was the castle, and her doubled Avatar power and poor mental state cause the portal to show up on the ground and Way Too Big, so everybody falls through.

This of course causes more stress and confusion instead of less, and she looks about two seconds away from a panic attack, when Peony manages to recognize her despite the different form and says "Dapple, is that you?"

And that's what breaks her

Her transformation spell goes haywire and she starts flickering between all the different Alternate Costumes that both Arles have gotten over the years, then it "settles" on some kind of massive, mismatched cat monster thing, and then she busts out of the castle and runs off into the wilderness, Ava, Carbuncle and Frenzy close behind and everyone else doing their best to catch up

Ambrosia picks a bad time to feel vindicated about Pierrot actually hiding something sinister (we gotta add humor in here somewhere), and Shantae deduces why exactly she turned into That Thing; shapeshifters, especially magic-based shapeshifters, absolutely have to maintain a strong sense of self or they'll lose themselves to the masks they wear, and during times of great stress and uncertainty the magic of a shapeshifter with a poor sense of self will try, and fail, to mesh all those different identities into a coherent whole

Anyway, Arle ends up running into a cave. But not just any cave; this is the Echo Chambers, one of the most dangerous locations in Harmonia (and an area intended for lategame in The Cloud's Songbird). It's a shifting labyrinth of enchanted, highly reflective crystals with weird acoustics, made more dangerous by the fact that Lumiere filled it with powerful monsters during the game's main campaign, and unlike most of his minions they didn't get any weaker or less numerous following his defeat

It's at this point that the big group realizes that Tama isn't with them, though they assume that she's still at Bolero's castle, while Frenzy discovers that she's actually hitched a ride in his quills because she wants to help Miss Arle. Or Miss Pierrott. Whichever she is. And she can indeed help, because she can hear Arle and give Frenzy directions towards her

The big group tries to figure out how exactly they're supposed to find Arle when she's lost in a magic maze, and Ash comes up with an idea; he sends out Jellobe and Kirlia (yes Ralts evolved at some point), because even as a Dark Type mutant Kirlia can still sense emotions, and since Jellobe knows Miracle Eye it can act as an amplifier for that empathic sense. Perfect for tracking somebody with That Much emotional turmoil

Ava and Caruncle don't need that sort of help because Ava always knows where Arle is since they're connected

As all this is happening Arle's now deep in the maze and manages to pull herself together into her Doppelganger Arle form, though with Dapple's ears and tail and normal Arle's weird sleeve things, and she ends up confronted by her own reflection.

A lot of her own reflection, all in different Alts, with the main one being a Shadow like the ones Meggy, SMG4 and Mario have had to deal with in the past

won't go into detail Because Bullet Points but it basically boils down to telling Doppel that all her attempts to be Arle were completely pointless and she's screwed herself over and may as well just be Nothing, and she ends up listening, which results in one more transformation. the colored parts of her outfit turn grey, her face disappears entirely, and she slumps down onto her knees in defeat while the chamber around her seals itself off from the rest of the maze

The main group gets stuck dealing with Lumiere's monsters, while Frenzy, Tama, Ava and Carbuncle reach the sealed entrance to Doppel's chamber

They then also get confronted by Shadow Arle, who tries to do more of the usual Shadow stuff to a completely unphased Ava, then agrees to open the way if they can beat her, a Pierrot reflection and a Dark Arle reflection

in a 4v3 puyo battle (she's being generous to the two noobs in the party by not bringing in a fourth reflection)

-they obviously manage to beat the Arles and make it through to Blank Arle, who everyone but Ava is shocked to see in that state

-Ava walks up to her, which actually prompts Arle to rapidly scooch away against the far wall and brace herself for an attack, because why wouldn't what's left of Arle want to retaliate after what Doppel did to her

-Ava is undeterred and keeps going up to her as if nothing happened...and holds its hand out, offering to help Blank Arle back up on her feet.

-There's some hesitation, but eventually Arle takes the offered hand, and after they stand up Ava actually pulls her into a hug, and despite the lack of a face it's clear from how badly she's shaking that she's started crying

-they're engulfed in blinding light, and when it clears Ava and Blank Arle have been replaced by Arle and Dapple, with Dapple now visibly and audibly sobbing uncontrollably and trying to say sorry through it while Arle just holds her and hums the same lullaby that Doppel had used to comfort her while she was fading

-the big group finally gets through the monsters and goes back to looking for the others, only for the small group to come to them

-In the aftermath it's revealed that Arle's now the one with all the Avatar Code, and Dapple is no longer an Avatar in any capacity (there's that permanent deactivation I mentioned. Note that at the time I never said death). Meanwhile Dapple apologizes to Bolero and Peony for deceiving them for so long, and says she understands if they never want to see her again...only for them to interrupt that train of thought by pulling her into their embrace, because they're just relieved she's alright now and want her to come home, and really that's what she wants too but didn't dare hope she'd get to do

-...she's definitely dropping that stupid accent now though

[firelance2361]

#Spideytober Day 24: His Amazing Friends

Before the end of Spideytober this year, I thought I would give you guys a little something of our Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman and His Amazing Friends.

I was gonna do this for the end of the month but with my schedule and everything I didn’t want to lose track of time.

Roster Lineup: (Left to Right)

Ned Leeds/Archimage

Kaine Parker/Scarlet Spider

Angelica Jones/Firestar

Otto Octavius/Superior Spider-Man

Teresa Parker/Mockingbird

Michelle Jones Watson/Iron Spider

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider

Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman

Hobie Brown/Prowler

Bobby Drake/Iceman

Oliver Osnick/Steel Spider

Sadie Osnick/Spindle

Hope you like it!

[18catsreading]

Discussing the Arith Depository

Ame: so you do spells with other people's juice?

Sky: if I need to

Ame: can you save your juice for later? Do you send yours to the depository?

Sky: I do. Towards the end of the day, if I have excess I will send it forward in the hopes that those of us fighting could use it

Ame: ohhhh

Archmage Silence: please don't call it juice

Sky: I'm so sorry Archmage

Archmage Silence: it's alright. It's alright. It's just not what it is. And to your question, Witch of Toma, it is generally speaking, frowned upon to dip into the community coffers while one has one's own personal resources available.

Ame: mmhm mhm. That makes sense. Can anybody use it? And is it - uhh, how do you keep them fresh?

Sky: do you know what's gonna be great? I'm gonna tell you a story. Not around my boss or the impressionable youth next to me. About -

Ame: what does it taste like? Does it have a smell?

Sky: kinda tangy

Fox: it's juice.

Archimage Silence: Be Quiet [echoes]

[they are flung into a state of meditative reflection against their will]