#I have a feeling this is ainsel

[yaekiss]

casually turns on anon even if we’re mutuals because im. small and shy.

so um. would you recommend DoL??? I’ve been hearing about it more and more but I can’t seem to find anything about the gameplay or where to play it so I’m curious!!

,,. kisses u bye bye

HELLO ANON MUTUAL!! (totally not trying to guess who u r rn...) I rambled a bit too much (and the game is nsfw to begin with) so it'll be under the cut!!

Would I recommend DoL? I've only been playing it for 2 days so far (thank u for the relentless DoL posting andi, you've opened my eyes 2 sydney <3) LMAO so I'm probably not the most reliable source but I think if you're into darker content (i.e. noncon, kidnapping, literally turning into a cowperson), yeah go for it! There's also a setting to set the game to a softer mode !

Gameplay-wise, I guess the best way to sum up what I've been doing is balancing the different effects of the actions your playable character carries out? (i.e. do you want to confront someone and risk an unsavory situation or ignore it and add stress to your character?)

But it's been fun figuring out what choices help progress the relationship between you and your love interest! And if you're ever stuck somewhere too miserable, there's always previous game saves to help you retract your choices (idc if I have 50 saves rn, I'm determined 2 see through my pure Sydney route!!!!)

UHH ANYWAYS hopefully my rambles made sense/helped a lil LMFAO,,, other more experienced DoL players if you're seeing this...... feel free to add in info in the replies ILHKDLSLA

[thewisecheerio]

Subversive Design in Soulsborne Games

There are a lot of mechanisms to induce fear in horror games. Lighting (or lack thereof), soundtrack, jump scares, and a myriad of other things all work well to make you feel unsettled.

But my favorite strategy is to establish a pattern for the player and then break it.

Soulsborne games are infamous for this subversive game design, which is part of why they have a reputation for being "unfair". But it's important to remember that the pattern was formed from your assumptions about what the rules of the world are; no accord was ever actually made nor broken. The devs are simply anticipating the pattern you are likely to pick up on, and then breaking it to induce fear. These are horror games, after all.

I tend to find this subversiveness hilarious, so here are some of my favorites:

Boss Phases

Soulsborne games use 2-phase bosses so often that you begin to expect that the most phases a boss will ever have is 2. Thus, the second that you vanquish a foe's second phase, you breathe a sigh of relief. However, there are at least two times that Soulsborne games have broken this promise: Sister Friede of DS3 and the Scadutree Avatar of Elden Ring.

Both came equipped with 3 phases, which catches people out the first time that they encounter it. You may have exhausted resources during Phase 2, not realizing you had miles more to go. As such, it's great at inducing an immediate sense of panic due to feeling underprepared.

Guiding with Diegetic Lighting

Soulsborne games love to use diegetic lighting to guide players where to go next or what to notice. This often takes the form of a carefully placed item that glows to draw your eyes, forcing you to notice something you might have otherwise overlooked. Below is Auriza Hero's Grave with an item-bearing body (already looted in this screenshot, but circled in red) hinting at a drop off point to a floor below:

However, sometimes the game abuses your trust in the diegetic lighting. As you walk toward it to investigate and see what it might be signaling (if anything), an enemy might pop out and attack, or throw a molotov cocktail at your head. It's a trap!

Possibly the funniest incarnation of this is Patches. Patches will leave glowing markers to draw you toward an edge. There might even be devnotes suggesting "Something amazing this way!" to tempt you even more. But the second you get close, off the cliff you go!

Pincer Attacks

Another way Fromsoftware abuses diegetic lighting and your own paranoia is pincer attacks. Because so many enemies like to hide behind corners and jump scare you, players get used to checking corners before entering a new room to grab a clearly visible item. However, sometimes you check those corners dutifully, think you're in the clear after having vanquished the corner foes, and still get attacked on your way to the item.

This is because the trap was never about the enemies hiding behind the corners. They are a distraction, there to make you feel that you have been sufficiently paranoid when you have not actually been paranoid enough.

Rather the problem was never the corner enemies, but the two new enemies that drop off walls in front of you (before you get to them) and behind you (only once you've passed them), forming a pincer that is much harder to escape. Elden Ring's Fanged Imps often do this in catacombs, and the Giant Ants sometimes pull this off in Ainsel and Siofra.

Boss Doors

Sometimes a "rule" Soulsborne games break actually has nothing to do with in-game rules, but rather expectations devs know you have from other games. For example, boss arenas are often very well-signaled so that you can prepare. Either there is Grand ArchitectureTM to tell you something big is about to happen, or you have to explicitly interact with an item to enter the boss arena.

And then there is Bloodborne, who will happily let you get frightfully lost in the Forbidden Woods only to stumble into the boss arena by accident:

(It's me, I stumbled in.)

Sure, there are some big stones there. But by nature of being a multi-tiered level, the Forbidden Woods is FULL of underpasses that go below broken logs or fallen graves. This one doesn't look much different at a glance. You have little reason to believe that this underpass is different from the one you saw earlier that goes underneath a gigantic fallen tree. Consequently, you might walk right in only to be surprised with a boss bar popping up on your screen.

Closing Comments

What every single one of these tactics has in common is that it's playing on your expectations of how the game universe should work, and then subverting it. And when you fall for their antics, it can be hilarious.

It's a very clever design strategy to keep players constantly on their toes. It can get you to learn a new skill or break out of a routine. Overall, it's there to maintain player interest in the game and keep things from feeling stale. And I'd say the Soulsborne games are exceptional at using it to keep you interested.

[flowersandbigteeth]

Hello lovely, how are you doing? Can I make a request for some more of my unicorn writing? I'm asking as your writing cheers me up and I fell yesterday and broke both my legs... Arianna-irwynarn

This is just a little thing ^_^ I hope it makes you feel a little better!

Unicorn (Ainsel) x fem reader

General Plot: Your unicorn boyfriend takes you to a party

Word count: 2.5K

TW: murder, yandere behaviors, SFW yandere fluff, side character death, murder

For previous part and more yandere fluff, go here

“I can’t believe those fools called in a welfare check!” Ainsel growled. “You are completely safe with me!” 

You blinked at Ainsel over your breakfast. His chef had made some kind of fancy eggs benedict and you were savoring it. Your new boyfriend was a lunatic, but he provided the best of everything, so you tried to enjoy it. 

“Well, I didn’t show up for work, and I haven’t been answering my phone, Ainsel,” you said. “Of course, they were worried about me. I told you I can’t just disappear, I have friends and family that are worried about me! It’s fortunate they accepted the excuse that I’d just fallen passionately in love and lost my senses and didn’t come here to kick down the door.” 

Ainsel wrinkled his elegant nose across the table from you. 

“They don’t deserve your attention,” he growled. “I don’t want to go to this party.” 

Your friend Josh, the owner of the new restaurant in town, had invited you to his house for a party. You’d convinced Ainsel that showing up would keep your friends from freaking out again and sending the police after you. 

“Don’t be silly, Ainsel,” you sighed. “I obviously belong to you. You know that, but wouldn’t it be nice to have some friends, too? Your dad and mom kept you on a short leash…they wanted to keep you isolated so you wouldn’t fall in love with a human. If you don’t try to make any friends, you’re just falling into the trap they set for you.” 

Ainsel tipped his handsome head and ran a hand through his shiny black hair. 

“I guess,” he muttered, picking at his food. 

—

“I don’t like that one,” Ainsel huffed as you tried on dresses for the party. “It’s too revealing.” 

You chuffed at him. 

“I’ve been trying on dresses for an hour!” you complained. “You bought all of these! You have to like one of them!” 

He stood and crossed the room from where he’d been lounging on the bed. 

“I bought them for me to see,” he said. “Not your lecherous friends!” 

You rolled your eyes. 

“They are not lecherous; if anyone is going to be looking at one of us, it will be them looking at you, Ainsel,” you huffed. “You’re stunning, I’m just a normal person. I should be the jealous one!” 

“Chk,” he clucked, looking over your shoulder at the dresses hanging in the closet. “Wear this one.” 

He passed you a designer dress with a pleated skirt that fell below your knees and sheer long sleeves. It was very pretty and modest. You almost chuckled, as the dresses Ainsel had you wearing in the house were the exact opposite and almost X-rated. 

You carefully did your makeup at your vanity while Ainsel dressed himself in one of his trim suits. Even though he was absolutely insane, he was very handsome, and it was hard not to look at him. 

His personality with the public (charming, debonair, confident) was completely different from what he showed you in private (insecure, demanding, needy). He hardly let you at an arm’s length, convinced you would run away if you got out of his eyesight for even a moment. That wasn’t entirely false. You found yourself conflicted. 

He was extremely good in bed, gorgeous, and when he wasn’t giving you puppy dog eyes for going to the bathroom without him, he doted on you. No other boyfriend you’d had before had been so dedicated. On the other hand, you knew he was a murderer and completely unhinged. 

You’d gone through five different chefs because he felt they were “looking at you too closely.” Finally, he’d found a woman of about 50 whose gazes were more motherly, and he could tolerate them. He’d outright refused to let you return to your job and cut you off from your friends until they’d gotten worried and called the police. 

It was apparent this relationship was unhealthy, but Ainsel scared you. He was a wild card, sometimes exploding into murderous tirades for seemingly no reason at all. 

Still, he often indulged you, worried you’d be mad at him. He couldn’t tolerate when you gave him the silent treatment, and his neediness got one million times worse, so you’d managed to talk him into going to this party. You hoped some normalcy would pull him out of this psychotic state. 

—

“My house is larger,” Ainsel huffed as you exited the elevator to Josh’s flat. 

He made enough money at the restaurant to afford one of those pretty apartments on the top floor with wide balconies overlooking the city.

“It’s not a competition,” you told him, giving him a peck on the cheek. 

He gave you a little smile. He adored it when you gave him some attention. You knocked on the door, and Josh answered, his eyes wide, taking you in. 

“(Y/N)!” he gasped, immediately pulling you in a big hug. “I’m so glad you came! We were all so worried about you!” 

You blushed, and he set you down, trying to avoid the mask of rage you knew was on Ainsel’s face. 

“Oh…you know how it is. New relationship energy,” you said. “I’m sorry I dropped off the face of the planet for a few weeks.” 

“We were very busy,” Ainsel said tightly, yanking you under his arm. 

Josh tried to hide his disdain, but ever the dutiful host, he drew up a smile for the two of you.

“Well, you’re here now. That’s what matters,” she said, waving you inside. “Go and have a drink! I’ll be making the rounds.” 

When you made yourself to the bar, your girlfriends surrounded you, full of questions. 

“Where have you been?” 

“We were so worried about you!” 

“Why didn’t you call?”

You waved them all away with vague excuses. 

“We were just so caught up…it was a whirlwind romance,” you explained. 

“You must accept my apology,” Ainsel told them, turning on the charm. “I fell hard and fast. I hardly let (Y/N) leave my bed for a few weeks. Please forgive me.” 

They looked Ainsel up and down; you could tell they understood the situation. Who would want to leave this gorgeous man’s bed? 

“But what about your job?” Emily asked. “We called the shop, and Mr. Scott said you’d disappeared.” 

Ainsel smirked. 

“Again, my fault,” he said. “I can’t stand the idea of my beautiful girlfriend toiling away when I have plenty of money to take care of her. Perhaps I should have handled things differently, but I was overcome with passion.” 

Emily blushed as he winked at her and nodded, taking a big gulp of her drink. Your friends quickly accepted Ainsel’s answers, both charmed by him and slightly envious of you. 

Since all seemed forgiven, Ainself decided to put his plan into action. He didn’t particularly like you smiling and laughing with anyone but him. He could barely tolerate it if they were your friends, mostly because pleasing them seemed to get him out of the doghouse for kidnapping you. 

The real issue was he couldn’t stop noticing Josh, his competitor, glancing at you from across the room. Ainsel felt he was too informal with you, picking up and hugging you like he had a right to your body. Only Ainsel was allowed to touch you, feel your warmth against his skin. 

Josh needed to be dealt with, but first, he intended to steal his thunder and show him who you belonged to. 

“Just a moment, love,” he said, kissing you on the head and leaving you with your friends to chat while he organized things. He marched across the room back to the bar near where Josh was standing. 

There was a mild stand-off as their eyes met before Josh straightened his shoulders and decided to give Ainsel a piece of his mind. 

“Can I have a word with you?” Josh asked, nodding to a quiet part of the room. 

Ainsel gave him his best innocent smile and nodded. 

“Of course,” he said. 

When they were out of earshot, his easy smile dropped. 

“I don’t like you,” Josh informed him. “What you’re doing to (Y/N) is abusive. Cutting her off from her friends, making her quit her job. Look, I get it, I do. (Y/N) is gorgeous and incredibly sweet, but you are taking advantage of her submissive heart. I don’t know how it is in unicorn culture, but humans don’t do that to their significant others. I am not going to let you abuse her.” 

Ainsel’s elegant eyebrow raised at the challenge. 

“What exactly do you plan on doing about it?” he asked, smirking at his enemy. 

“I’ve known (Y/N) for years,” he said. “She’ll listen to me. She’ll leave you.” 

Ainsel snorted. 

“You’ve known her all this time and never made a move?” he asked. “It’s obvious you’re in love with her, yet you let me, a stranger, swoop in and grab her up without even a fight. Now you’re threatening me?” 

He laughed out loud. 

“You’re pathetic,” he said, smiling. “But I hope you enjoy the fireworks.” 

Josh had no idea what that meant, glaring at Ainsel as he walked away. He would have immediately gone to you, to talk, but Ainsel picked up the microphone the DJ had been using and announced he had a special surprise for the party. 

He invited everyone onto the balcony. 

You looked at him, confused at what he was up to, but you followed the crowd outside like the rest of the guests. Ainsel caught you by the elbow and pulled you up to the front. With you by his side, he turned to his audience, still holding the microphone. 

“I want to thank all of (Y/N)’s friends for coming tonight,” he said. “I know she’s been hard to get a hold of for the past few weeks, but that’s all been my fault. I want to thank you all for keeping her in your thoughts and worrying about her. I was a little selfish, I admit, but who wouldn’t be for this beautiful, wonderful woman? Your care for her touched me deeply. That’s why I thought it was only right to share this special moment with all of you.” 

His eyes flashed. 

“Especially Josh,” he smirked. “Thank you for this party and for giving me the opportunity to express my apologies as well as my passion for my lovely (Y/N).” 

Suddenly, music started playing, songs from the playlist on your laptop– your favorites and there was a loud pop. You turned, looking out over the city to see a display of fireworks Ainsel had organized, sparkling, and exploding along with the music. Your mouth dropped, as did most of the guests. 

He finally turned to you.

“I only wish for your happiness, my love,” he said. 

The fireworks were enough to take your breath away, but what really leveled you were the words set up on the opposite building in massive letters made of lights. 

WILL YOU MARRY ME, (Y/N)? 

You turned back to Ainsel, looking for an explanation, but he was on one knee, holding a beautiful, massive engagement ring to you. Glancing up, everyone was staring at you, eyes bright with excitement. You could have said no and embarrassed him, but you had no idea what he would do, who he would kill if you refused him. So, practically dumbfounded, you nodded a silent “yes.” 

His eyes glowed, fireworks reflected in them, and his face was pure joy. He slid the giant diamond, surrounded by more diamonds, on your finger, and everyone clapped. Everyone except Josh who was seething in the corner. Not only had Ainsel made his party all about him, but he’d also cemented your position as the unicorn’s fiancee. 

When Ainsel rose, he pulled you in for a deep kiss while your friends cheered and whistled. Your eyes stung for a moment. Ainsel was a nut case, but this was a beautiful proposal. You couldn’t help but feel spoiled and adored as the fireworks continued to burst behind the two of you. He hadn’t done it in some private place. He’d kindly included all of your friends, which you knew was very difficult for him, and touched you.

He had to reluctantly let you go when your girlfriends surrounded you, wanting to look at the ring. They showered you with praise for how lucky you were and what a fantastic guy Ainsel was. 

Several of your male friends, who had no personal interest in you romantically, pulled him to the side to share a drink, toasting his excellent proposal. A few of them joked that now they were going to have to think of something even more elaborate to impress their girlfriends after this. Ainsel was sure to give Josh, who glared at him from across the room, a satisfied, smug smile. 

As the fireworks finished, one of the guys ordered you all inside for more toasts and drinks to celebrate the occasion. A few guys popped some bottles of  Josh’s most expensive champagne, thinking he’d bought it for the proposal, ushering you inside. Of course, they all thought Josh had helped Ainsel organize this, so they patted him on the shoulder as they passed him for being such a good host. 

Soon, only Ainsel and Josh were on the balcony, as your friends had pulled you in with them to take photos, commemorating the occasion. At that point, everyone was nice and buzzed, thinking of nothing but celebrating your engagement to a handsome unicorn. 

“You’re a bastard, you know that?” Josh spat. 

Ainsel’s eyes flashed, and he moved so their chests almost touched. 

“You want to know what else I am?” Ainsel asked, his voice sharp as vinegar.

Josh blinked, confused, but Ainsel was happy to tell him. 

“I’m a murderer,” he said, grinning an unhinged grin as he used his magic to stun Josh just enough that he didn’t fight or scream as Ainsel shoved him off of the balcony. He fell thirty stories to hit the ground with a wet thud, dead from a broken neck. 

Ainsel straightened his jacket and returned inside, where everyone was too drunk at that point to even notice Josh was missing. To prevent anyone from disturbing the rest of his party, he’d cast a spell over Josh just before he pushed him that would make him invisible to passers-by until much later in the night, long after he’d taken you home to celebrate your engagement privately. 

[ainsellshadewalker]

Hi ainsell! I might or might not he making a fully fledged Dark AU (Wings of Fire-fied version) that I want to make into a fic on ao3... but I'm working on Reader, and don't want to call them Reader or y/n... so, um... may I run a few name ideas by you? I admit, I was inspired by your ideas, about mutants having obvious signs or helpful add-oms to their mutations, so I thought- why not make all of the mutants hybrids or hybrid-related, this that is why they have such strange abilities? And the normal dragons are just normal dragons, not hybrids or at least don't appear as ones or have their powers.

I guess back to the naming dilemma (I've been up for too long working on this au, I need sleep), I am having Reader present as a HiveWing, but their other tribe/ancestry is unknown as of now (it leaves this open in case someone is their parent or if Reader has some super special ability). So HiveWing names...

There are some like Bee, or Honey or Honeypot (like the ant), there's Hornet or Jasper (a type of wasp/alternate name for wasps), or something like Hive, maybe? Or there's other names too, like Mantis and Bumblebee and Honeybee and Grasshopper and Tarantula... or even something like Thrips or Velevt or Weta or Firefly or Chalcid...

There's a LOT of names, and I'm trying to figure out what would be a pretty okay umbrella name for Readers...

My apologies, this is a lot. I just want to hear your opinion on this small writing block, and maybe help me narrow down the options, if not actually choose a name.

(Also yes, your fifth chapter of Lost and Found was amazing! I like older brother/nephew Cable, I liked Morph visiting Reader, the Brotherhood visiting Pieteo was making me feel fuzzy feels, Logan brooding over Kitty was a dad moment for him, Kurt being loved on is a yes, and woo I can't wait to see where it goes!) (Eat a cookie, please, or some pudding, or a candy, you deserve it and might need or want it; drink your water too; and have a good day!)

I'm going to confess I'm not the most familiar with wing of fire (I was an Eragon kid) but what about WaspBee? Something cute with a touch of edge. And thank you so much! Try to get some sleep but I understand the trouble with sleep when the creativity demon's visit I've been kept up days because of them.

If you like that in Ch. 5 there's more in Ch. 6! I won't say with who but I also want to switch povs more from reader to the other three as I adore them and want there perspective and throught process to be seen as well

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Just some unimportant ponderings for your mv x ev crossover. You mentioned them possibly going after Astel as a false lead and I got caught in a spiral on how tf they get there without the ranni quest. So if we want a fun detour we can say they are looking for mentions of a fallen meteor. Arthur, who has dabbled in Carian magic, makes a logical leap that a place of astrology and knowledge would be a good start. No academy key so that's not an immediate option, but the Carian study hall may have information. Perhaps they do get info there, maybe not. Their proximity to Ainsel river and the fact that it sits down there and is accessed only through the Ranni quest really can be stretched to there being some sort of lead to find in either there or the manor. They head to Ainsel river pursued by runebear. Ants. Void creature throwing rocks. Stumble their way accidentally to lake of rot overlook. Arthur falls down as a plot device. Back in the rot... again. Fight some fucking rot cultists. Fall down in the coffin. "Arthur! There is a huge fucking Void monster! Arthur! It's about to sh-!

PURSUED BY RUNEBEAR WHKJWHWJH also the amount of falling into things arthur does. incredibly correct. falls the whole way down from the overlook and gets another rot bath™ and somehow survives. trips into an open coffin and it turns out to be the lands between's only public transit vehicle. that's arthur for you. or maybe he was just so fucking exhausted from fighting/running from the dragonkin AND the tree spirit AND the cultists that he was just like john, listen, i'm gonna fucking, i'm just gonna take a nap. in the coffin. it looks so comfy. yes i know i can't see it you described it as comfy. well you said it could physically hold me which is basically the same thing. fucking. shut up, i need this. and then they fall off a cliff Again this time in a coffin. or, possibly more believably, the pests in the area knock them out and put them in the coffin for some ritual purpose known only to them. or to say 'get out of our cloister you weren't even invited.' OR they have to hide in the coffin from the pests. idk why i'm so hung up on getting him into the coffin but i guess we have a lot of options now

ok wait more Plot Thoughts about this. the astel in ainsel is already so like, Barely overtly relevant to the ranni questline as it is, that i almost feel like it would make More sense if they were pursuing astel on purpose rather than just running into it completely accidentally while helping a living doll take over her step-mom's civilization. i think caria almost definitely has a connection to the eternal cities, so maybe while they're in the study hall they find references to the ill-starred monster from the void that totally wrecked one of them. and obviously they're like oh shit, a monster that came in on a meteor and destroyed a city?? this has GOTTA be what kayne wanted us to kill. it's a slam dunk!! and then it's. still. the wrong. fucking. meteor monster.

[swallowtail-ageha]

The fact is that ruah has the same architectural perks as the ancient dynasty with the megalithic structures and huge statues of their deity that however is feminine instead of masculine like the patriarch of the uhl/uld ruins who holds the tablet with the tree on and the church of the bud name implies well. Affilation with plants. Lets keep in mind the feminine deity because it implies that the ruah civilization (who is different from the hornsent one) is more matriarchal than the ancieny dynasty civilization whom it was influenced by. Lets also remember that the nox were very matriarchal and we can find several nox settlements underground that are paired up with ancient dynasty ruins. Btw if we overlap the two maps ruah ends up being near the ainsel river so the uhl dynasty ruins and the nox ruins which implies interaction with it ig its an offshoot of the survivors of the ancient civilization fusing w some nox in the area. There is also the lake of rot in there and the ancestral followers thing that i do not have enough braincells for now to think about

I feel like ive cracked nothing and everything at once

[foxingpeculiar]

Elden Ring/SotE:

So, I realized I totally forgot about Ranni's quest. Very much a "doy," head-smacking moment. Especially since that's obviously the best ending.

So I did the rest of that--went to Renna's Rise, through Ainsel River and Nokstella. I think I got everything in Nokstella except the Golden Seed--I went up to the temple and got the Moon of Nokstella, but didn't think to poke around, and then saw it later from below and was like "fuck it, I'll get that later."

Got through the Lake of Rot with a minimum of fuss. Even beat the Dragonkin boss in there, which I've never done before. Had enough Boluses that the Scarlet Rot wasn't a huge problem. Then went down and beat the Astel down there in one go--he looks scary, but he's not that tough (not for a dedicated sorceress at level 132 with a maxed-out Mimic Tear, anyway).

Got to the Moonlight Altar and did all that shit. The lady in the Ringleader Gaol did take me two tries, but I got her on the second one by basically spamming Transient Moonlight at her. Goddamn, that move rules. Chelona's Rise kind of sucked, only because it took me forever to find that third, flying turtle, but I got Ranni's Dark Moon out of it, so okay, cool. The Lunar Estate and Moonfolk Ruins weren't bad--the talisman that boosts your FP was worth it for a sorcery build. The Glintstone Dragon wasn't shit. And then Ranni and I got sort of married and we're off to the races there.

So then it's Consecrated Snowfield time. But first, I had a whole "Beast Eye Quivers" moment in the Secret Path to the Haligtree area, and thought to myself "well, I already killed Maliketh, but let's see what this is about." So I found the whole Invisible Bridge of Bullshit thing, which I definitely did not find on previous playthroughs, and I guess that's cool.

The Snowfield is kind of going the same way--I'm finding things I didn't even think to look for last time I played this. Like the Albinauric Rise, the seal on which took some figuring out, but (thanks to some Crystal Darts) I managed it. I don't even remember what was in there, but it's the principle of the thing. Also found the Consecrated Snowfield Catacombs, which I definitely did not know were there, and man, that place kind of sucked--mostly because of the Burial Watchdogs. That first one that ambushes you from a high platform freaked the shit out of me the first time and absolutely wrecked my shit, but the second time I was prepared and I got him. (Incidentally, Loretta's Great Bow is fantastic for disarming the flame/frost traps from a distance--learned that). Didn't even fight the second one--just grabbed the helmet from in front of him and ran away through a narrow passage he couldn't follow. I'm not having trouble with the Cleanrot Knights this time, though, and the boss there wasn't shit.

Found the Forlorn Cave, also. Again, nothing to write home about. Although once I beat the Misbegotten Crusader and teleported back to the entrance, there was a Land Octopus at the cave mouth absolutely flipping her shit, so that was kind of funny.

I haven't much progressed beyond the river yet, I'm still in the "this is some Frigid Outskirts bullshit" snowstorm area. Got ambushed by a Red Wolf of Radagon, pancaked by a surprise Dragonkin spirit, stumbled upon a caravan and barely made it away with the Flowing Curved Sword, etc. I feel like there's probably still some stuff I haven't found, but I'm ready to slowly start making my way toward Ordina, I think.

Really curious to see how Elphael and Malenia actually go this time. Last time I got a co-op summon and the other player honestly kinda took the lead in the Malenia fight. But this time, I'm gonna beat her on my own merit... hopefully. We'll see how that goes.

[secretwhumplair]

By night

1,008 words | Royal arms (sequel to Mistakes were made)

Content | Conditioning, dehumanization, implied neglect

Notes | Rejoice! New Royal arms!

Or not, because it's not really satisfying for anyone involved.

Taglist | @whumpy-writings @cupcakes-and-pain @whumpzone @newbornwhumperfly @whump-cravings @whumpityy @nicolepascaline @whots-a-tag-precious @thegreatwhodini @shameless-whumper @neverthelass @wolfeyedwitch @onlybadendings @melancholy-in-the-morning @quietshae @whumpcreations @whumpydaydreams @whumpsy-daisy @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @kixngiggles

Night had fallen, and Idalis was back where he belonged - safe in Cassio’s arms, in his bed, the tears on his face long dried.

Yet they still needed to talk.

With an effort, he gave up the most comfortable position in the world, and turned to look Cassio in the eye. »Why did you do it?«

»I think you know why,« Cassio said softly, holding his gaze. Gods, his eyes were so pretty, even just glinting in the dark. »I had to - I only wanted to make sure you were safe.«

He was right, Idalis knew. He’d probably known from the start, deep down. And yet, it wasn’t a real comfort, knowing how much Ainsel was suffering for his safety.

»I didn’t want to hurt them,« Cassio continued. »I-«

Idalis interrupted him, even thought he wasn’t sure how he should explain himself, even to Cassio. »Don’t you - don’t you understand, they have been taught they serve one function only, and they are a whole entire person forced into that - that guise of a weapon. Even, even pets can have favourite treats and-« He caught himself sobbing, he wasn’t sure why. Poor Ainsel. They had deserved better, and for just a moment, the fury over what Cassio had done flared up again. But he couldn’t hold it against him, not anymore.

»I know.« There was an edge to Cassio’s voice now. »I wanted to go talk to them. Tell them it’s alright.« But you didn’t let me. He mercifully fell silent, but Idalis heard as clear as if he had spoken.

He lifted himself up on his elbows, tears running down his cheeks now.

Cassio reached out to wipe them off without hesitation, and for a moment, Idalis just leant into his touch.

»Let’s go see them then.«

»They may be asleep.«

»We’ll be quiet and see.« Idalis hopped out of bed, his heart a little lighter now he was taking action, trying to set things right. He wasn’t sure what he expected of Cassio, but after all it was his fault that he hadn’t been able to talk to them, that he hadn’t trusted him against better knowledge.

He threw on a tunic and led the way to Ainsel’s room down the hall.

* The weapon startled awake, never sleeping deeply curled up in its place on the floor, snapping onto its knees as always. They were aching. It hadn’t had much excuse to walk these past days.

Its heart rushed when it realized the door was opening. It had never been seen by night since the new king had taken it from its vault. What was happening? Was someone checking it was well-behaved by night also?

With a sudden, terrible sting, it realized the king had told it to sleep in the bed.

It hadn’t been able to bring itself to - to quite believe it.

But now-

»Good evening, Ainsel.«

The weapon froze. It wasn’t just the king - Cassio had come back. It shouldn’t make a difference, if anything it should be more anxious to please the king, and yet - it could feel its throat constrict around the feeble »I’m sorry« it squeezed out now that it was much too late.

»It’s alright.« Cassio crouched down before it, and that, too, was new. Usually it was the king who sat with it. It shouldn’t be, ever, but it was. It could hardly breathe.

»It’s alright, Ainsel,« he repeated. »I’m not… angry or anything. You did nothing wrong. And I’m not-« He interrupted himself while the weapon was still trying to process what he was saying. When he continued, his voice was almost - trembling? »No more tests, I promise.«

The weapon allowed themself a glimpse up. The only light came from the moon, but it was enough to make out the king sitting on the armrest of one of the chairs, observing them. So this had his approval. That was comforting.

»Thank you, sir,« it managed, but in the same breath, wondered whether it should, whether this was another test. It shouldn’t feel one way or another about being tested; acknowledging it as a good thing, out loud… ?

Cassio stood up, and it braced for a punishment. »It’s alright,« he repeated, and a moment later, the king swooped in to crouch down before it. Not sit, like he usually did.

»You’re safe, okay?«

»Yes, sir.« They couldn’t think what else to say. They could feel themself tempted, once more, to believe, to feel it, but a weapon shouldn’t feel.

»Alright, Ainsel. Now, how about we put you to bed?«

The weapon shrunk in on itself. It had known it had been wrong. And yet, the king’s tone was gentle, friendly even. This was all so confusing.

It caught itself glancing towards Cassio. It shouldn’t, it took its orders from the king first and foremost, but he had always been clearer, and it was so confused.

»It’s alright,« Cassio said quietly. »Come on, get up.«

The king, seemingly taking no offense from the interference, or from the way the weapon looked away from him, stood up and reached out a hand for the weapon.

So it got up, its stiff knees aching with the movement. The king took it by the hand. There was nothing forceful about his grip, but the weapon followed without hesitation when he led the way to the bed.

»There you go.«

The king guided it onto the bed, which was soft and… soft. It wasn’t the weapon’s place to judge whether it was comfortable; a weapon didn’t need comfort. It was so confused.

»There. That’s better, isn’t it?«

The weapon didn’t know what to say. It was only a weapon. Yet it couldn’t disagree with its king. »Yes, sir.«

The king himself pulled the blanket over it, tucking them in. It felt his soft touch at the shoulders, through the fabric. It wanted to cry with confusion and fear and relief and a thousand things a weapon should not feel.

»Good night, Ainsel.«

»Good night,« Cassio echoed after his king, as if to a person.

[greaterstolenlandspolycule]

💯🍎💘for liesel!

💯 Share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

Liesel's name was originally going to be Ainsel. I changed it because a) I wanted to make their hometown culture more German with some parts of Scottish rather than the other way around (Ainsel is a name from a Scottish folktale); b) I discovered someone else on a server I was/am on had an oc named Ainsel and I wanted to reduce confusion; c) I thought the idea of them having a name that had "lies" in it would be fun, even if it's pronounced differently (and it allowed me to make their ship name with Tristian "Lies and Trust" which is fun for a lot of reasons :3); and d) the name "Liesel" is related etymologically for a word for "oath", and even though they are a Lying Liar Who Lies, they take actual oaths seriously (which is why they avoid making them for the most part)

I'm not sure on this yet, because I'm still pretty early in their journey, but I think they might eventually start worshipping Desna and her shadow, Black Butterfly, in conjunction

They are, purely mechanically speaking, a Musetouched Aasimar with the Fey Foundling feat (thanks to the mod Call of the Wild). 

🍎 Where was your oc born? Do they still live in/around their place of birth or do they live somewhere else? How do they feel about their birthplace?

(Technically Liesel was born in the First World, but they first came to consciousness in and grew up on Golarion)

Liesel was raised in a small farming community located between the branches of the Echo Wood, near the River Kingdoms-Numeria border. While it is considered a very “normal” village by a lot of metrics, it’s pretty abnormal by River Kingdoms standards, since the River Kingdoms are. Wild. 

(I still haven’t named the village, though, so I welcome suggestions!)

Basically it’s unusually safe and stable because farmers are held pretty highly by Riverfolk so they aren’t victimized that much by them and the Numerians don’t attack them much because they prefer to be a bit stealthier in their raids, which means going through the Echo Wood as long as possible (and all the giant spiders inside it) rather than going through the village (also they’re a bit more focused on raiding the Protectorate of the Black Marquis nearby, which they have an ongoing feud of sorts with). Additionally, the village is only a few days travel away from Fort Inevitable (manned by Hellknights of the Order of the Pike (monster hunters)) and Fort Riverwatch (manned by Iomedean knights who were on their way to Mendev for the Crusade against the Worldwound when they decided hey we should probably try to protect some people here it’s a disaster), which adds a slight threat of vengeance for any raids on it.

Also it’s just straight up a very small farming village. They mostly just have rye and sheep and goats and whatever crops it’s good to rotate rye with.

It's extremely boring; Liesel was always excited when travelers came by the village for whatever reason.

BUT anyways Liesel has deeply complicated feelings around their home. They currently live hundreds of miles away from it, in their barony's capital of Tuskdale, and have no plans to ever return or, frankly, to get close to it again--that would be too risky. It's not an accident that they mostly took on jobs on the opposite side of the River Kingdoms. Honestly, they feel like it isn't their hometown, but rather the hometown of the child that died so they could take their place; they feel like they don't have a right to it. They're used to living a lie, but that was more than they could really handle. But they also know that they would probably be chased out if they told the truth.

Even though it fucked them up in some key ways, and they never really made any friends in it, they still hold a lot of love for their village and their parents-they-don't-think-they-have-the-right-to-call-their-parents.

They left less because they were afraid of what physical harm they might experience if they were revealed to be a fey, than because they were afraid of what emotional harm they would experience as a result of being hurt by something they loved so deeply.

💘What and/or who do(es) your oc consider the most important to them?

Keeping in mind that this is just the beginning of Act 2, so Liesel and their relationships have a long way to go, but as it stands now, the sad answer is that it’s themself and their safety. While Liesel is, deep down, a lonely person who desperately craves connection, they’re so used to being lonely that they don’t really know any other way to exist; combined with their trust issues, they haven’t yet developed enough of a bond with any of their companions to actually have more than a fondness for some of them. They’ve also never really had friends (or romantic partners, although they’ve had a decent amount of physical ones) at all, so it’ll take them a while to realize what they’re feeling.

[creativenicocorner]

Okay! okay, I’ll give a tiny sneak peek (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ cause I’m really excited for these Discworld fics even though it’ll take some time to publish on Ao3 

Trial Runs and Errors upcoming ch4: 

Ainsel Fuchs was currently dangling by his knees upside down outside an unsuspecting third story window. He was doing this for multiple reasons...

Reason 1.) First and second story windows tended to have rot iron bars to deter thieves who were strolling by and considering to partake in a quick breaking and entering before evening elevenses*. [*not to be confused with its more fashionable and well known morning elevenses generally carried out. Evening elevenses are for the more rogue-ish sort who are centered around nocturnal habits]

Reason 2.) Someone had laid aside their sewing, which was very beneficial for operation Many Pockets.** [**In which, after failing to retrieve his worldly goods from the recently revived vampire Otto - Ainsel and Maurice decided to move on and focus on another means of carrying possessions, not just Ainsel’s, but other people’s too.]  

Reason 3.) There’s the added promise of also being able to swipe some pie that was left on the windowsill to cool.

Ainsel gripped the windowsill, and gave a whistle that could have been somewhat similar to a bird call, if the bird was choking on a crumb that is.  

“How many times do I have to tell you, don’t whistle at me,” hissed Maurice as he slowly made his way down to the windowsill via Ainsel.

“Well how else am I supposed to tell you things are okidoki? Should I chitter like a squirrel? Or squeak? Or-”

“A simple ‘Okay’ is fine, thank you. Now hush, you want to alert the whole house?”

“No, no I’m sure we’re very inconspicuously doing this at seven in the morning.”

“Shut up.”

With that, Ainsel felt Maurice’s weight practically lift off, as the streetwise street cat  lept to the windowsill.

Maurice considered the pie, nibbled the crust’s edge thoughtfully, and slunk down into the kitchen, keeping to corners and the cover of chairs and tables as he tried to remember which side of the apartment they saw the sewing kit.

With a single bound Maurice leapt onto a coffee table and gathered as much of the supplies as he could in his mouth, with no consideration towards color-coordination. Little bundles of thread tickled Maurrice’s mouth and jugular, and it took him a great deal of effort to not gag or cough. That is, until he stepped on an un-fastened needle.

My Good Friend Lady Sybil Ramkin (from the ♬ﾟThe Sto Helit Family ♪♪♪♪ [snap snap] series): 

It was a good sweep, thought Ysabell as she stood with queen Keli listening to introductions and graciously responding, as best as she could. She tried not to let the haughtiness of other royals intimidate her, and, in a bratty sort of way, repeated in her mind ‘my father will see you eventually’. It wasn’t the best lifeline, and a part of her internally nagged at how unbecoming a thought that was. But it served its purpose matching haughtiness with haughtiness*.  [*When she’d later disclose this internal ‘rah-rahing’ to Mort, he’d laugh, not mockingly, but with an adoring twinkle in his eye, and comment how she already had a perfectly natural haughtiness of her own. In fact, with a withering look alone she could make anyone feel as small as a beetle. To which Ysabell walked away feeling slightly better, yet likewise unsure if she had been subject to a lover’s tease.]

After years upon unmarked years with her only friend being her father, his manservant, and various horses and ponies, a part of Ysabell felt she could use any help she could get. Which is when she’d lean on her other tactic, drawing inspiration from various heroines she had read about through the years, while thinking herself clever enough to avoid the Heroine’s Dramatic End. After all, there is such a lot of life to live, and just because she was married didn’t mean her life was all Happily Ever After. She did plan to live her life happily though, and felt very happy indeed. 

Queen Keli continued to sweep Ysabell from royal to royal, until she started to feel like one of those card games people tried to play with her father. No one particularly stood out, until she met the representative of Ankh-Morpork. 

“Lady Sybil Ramkin,” was the tail end of Keli’s introduction that Ysabell tuned in for.

Ysabell was staring in awe, she had never seen anyone like Lady Ramkin. She was, not imposing, that wasn’t the right word, but took up space with the confidence of a prize galleon ship. In a glance, she was kind, but with a twinkle in her eye that showed she wasn’t above ‘a healthy slap on the back sort of mischief’. 

“As much as I am sure Havelock would have loved to be here at this momentous occasion in person,” Lady Sybil boomed as joyous as a ceremonial canon, “I hope it is amenable for me to serve as proxies, and extension of good will.” Lady Ramkin didn’t curtsey, not unless the tilting of a ship to one side could be called a curtsey - and all done with a style that continued to take Ysabell’s breath away. Keli and Ysabell leaned back so not to get caught up in Lady Sybil’s chestnut mast-erm- hair. 

She herself was also a beautiful corpulent young lady, no, duchess, and looked on Lady Ramkin like a lighthouse of comfort in a sea of scarecrows with balloons attached*. [*Not that actual balloons have entered into court fashion. Though with the way fast fashion flashes by on the Disc, it could be a matter of time. However, what Ysabell was referring to was the ever popular bumroll. It is a miracle what enough bumrolls can do to a scarecrow. Not to be confused with the bumroll moment of 1560 in which, in a marvelous moment of commercial genius a one CMOT Dibbliét considered selling scarecrows with the pastry bumrollet attached, in hopes to gain a profit from local rural communities under the idea that “if the crows aren’t scared of the the scarecrow, perhaps they could be persuaded to be distracted with a bit of roll instead”

Earning the phrase “A roll in the bum” to enter into many a euphemism.] 

Ysabell remembered herself enough to snap out of thoughts of awe and aspiration, and said returning the curtsey, “Most amenable indeed!”  Straightening Ysabell could barely contain her twinkle eyed smile, “Please, as representative of Ankh-Morpork, I wish to hear more about you-r city! I’m afraid I haven’t had the time to travel much, but hope to remedy that. There’s just so much to see on the Disc!”

The Runaway's Gamble  ch2: 

She regretted it the moment she said it. Of course Moist von Lipwig would take up the challenge to explain everything under 10 seconds.The result of which turned into a blur of words speedier than a tongue twister [ add more here ]  

It went on until Angua couldn’t stand it any longer. “Alright alright,” she said lowering him back to ground, though still holding his shirt collar tightly lest he slither away, “that’s enough, I said enough!”

“I still had 8.9 seconds,” he said  sounding put out, “did Adora get to the watch house then?”

[ later on... ] 

“Doesn’t she remind you of anyone?” Moist asked pleasantly, “I’m sure I’ve seen a breed like that runabout Ankh Morpork before.”

Angua glared at him, her ears flattening. Moist grinned back unbothered.

Meanwhile Young Sam gave this some serious thought.

“Possibly,” said Young Sam at last, “though none with a little bandana around its neck.”

Moist nodded sagely at this, “A telling detail to be sure.”

[ Later on STILL, will probably be heavily revised by the time it is published ]

In the space, the cobbles were damp, and mist was rising up from path to via to alley and so on, even the lamp light was dim, and flickered, and likewise giving weight to the mist deforming the shadows into a dance. 

It was a quiet night, but still the watchman proceeded on. Time was relative, but all was kept well as the watchman watched on, and on and on, and on, and…

Something cut through the mist turned fog, like a lance of sunlight through a cloud. With it, joining the sound of rain, and footsteps, and the mute tones of the night, was the strumming of a string instrument. 

This was most irregular. 

This would not do.

The watchman proceeded toward the sound. 

The closer the watchman became the more he’d note the dim yellow lamp light was joined by a brighter light. 

He peered, straining his eyes as the brightness tore apart his trusted night vision. 

He waved his arms, to dispel the fog and get a better line of sight. This caused even more light to spill out, no longer born back and defused.

The watchman covered his eyes with his hand, and try to peer through his fingers. It proved unhelpful. As the watchman winced, shadows lengthened and grew behind him.

Then, not dissimilar to one dimming an oil lamp, the sunlight dimmed, and the watchman gasped as he saw a golden figure dance from shingles to windowsills to rooftops in single bounds, as though it were the top of a moving train. 

“You,” gasped the watchman with recognition. 

The figure turned to the watchman, and smiled. Then the figure leapt to the watchman turning into a blob of light that shifted form, with the ease of an amorphous droplet of water, to a small bird, a dog, a mule, a hare, a horse, a fox, to a blob once more, and finally a figure with a winged cap (not to mention a few other winged things), while beholding a wand with three gold branches. 

The figure then spake thusly: I was born on the fourth day of the month, by noon I made a lyre, and by evening I stole cattle.

“A thief.” said the watchman, displeased. 

The figure laughed, spun the wand on their finger so fast that it blurred and morphed once more to the turtle lyre made of stalks of reeds across the back, a strap of cowhide, and sheep guts for string. 

The figure strummed the lyre, and spake again: I sell wind, and gift wind in a bag. My words are an alchemist’s dream. 

The watchman reached for a cigar to light, this felt like it would take a while. “A charlatan?” 

The figure gazed on, amused, then shook their head. 

“Something to do with words.”

The figure nodded, and palmed the lyre from their hand into a coin, flicked it into the air where it spun and spun and spun. 

“Oh, um…alright, alchemists want gold, that’s obvious, the fools, but what does that have to do with wind?”

The coin dropped into the figure’s palm, and in a singular motion the coin turned into a potato, then with another palming motion became a coin again, another palmed motion turned it back into a coin, another move of the hand and then a hat, back to a coin, and then 

The figure then palmed the lyre from their hand out of existence and stepped forward, more wings sprouting without reason, and spake once more: I am herald to and fro. Currier and psychopomp. 

As the words entered the watchman’s head images of crossroads, dirt roads, streets, and a vast dark desert filled his head. 

“Um?” The watchman huffed his hands on his hips, and drew deeply from his cigar. “Look can we just cut to the chase? What’s all this about?”

The figure expanded and expanded until thin as a veil, smiling all the while, as they transformed into a window wreathed in gold sunshine. It showed Young Sam wrapped in a blanket beside Angua and Moist. The three of them sleeping in a barn for who knows what reason. 

[bowietea]

(Sorry that I keep talking about oc x canon stuff, it will happen again 😔)

Got another idea involving Bowie and Varre involving the Ainsel River, where knowing it's kinda impossible to hit but nice to think about.

But what I'm thinking is just more emotional moments of them two but down in Ainsel River by the waterfalls, both naked in the water and showing even more scares they both got. Bowie explaining what little memories she has before dying and resurrecting to the Lands Between. And if possible would have Varre feel like he's safe enough to tell Bowie his backstory before his current situation with Mohg n everything. For that as well I'll have to think about his Backstory, but in all honestly it's just a nice thing for me to think about.

(Aka I just Really love this spot in the game)

[chronichlesofnillory]

I'm sorry, but what does "reminder for ai" means? Will you feed my art to ai? Because I don't allow that, sorry ^^;

Ai is short for Ainsel. my "reminders for ai" tag is a tag I created so when I'm sad/depressed/feeling hopeless I can go back to those posts and maybe feel a bit better. I don't support AI art at all and even have the AI art tag blocked on my page. If you're worried your art might be used for AI training there are programs you can use that apply filters that trick any programs trying to use your work. Look into "nightshade AI poison" if you're curious.

[kiyaar]

fic: the one who climbs atop the pyre

author: kiyaar fandom: elden ring pairing: background ranni/blaidd rating: M for (canon) themes around suicidality word count: 3.2k summary:

Ranni's grievances have had time to solidify, to stratify. A glacier takes thousands of years to advance. She can wait.

She knows what she cannot abide: the invisible hand puppeting her into that throne, bending her to a will that is not hers. She will not live on that mountain, breathing in gold until the end of time, choking on it, nothing left in her even of the dark wild sky.

written for @landszine! on-page art by @whitecatart-blog!

Ranni meets Seluvis in his own tower, the feel of death still crusting her skin beneath her gown, the air heavy with fragrant incense to cover the grime of his work. He would have made a fair perfumer, once upon a time. He has the vicious little heart for it. My lady, he says, with a puerile little bow. Ranni has brokered this favor upon a lie. She has been quiet and queer and bold enough over the years that her proposal and the attendant projection of sadism did not startle nor deter him. Seluvis would never assume to question her own private perversions. Besides, she is the only royal still haunting these grounds. Everyone else has fled to grieve and conquer in other corners of the world, and men like Seluvis are always sniffing around for heels to nip. The face is not her face. It is not Renna's face, either, though she is certain she described it perfectly. It evokes something of her hardness, though, her implacability. The limbs meet the body in a coaxed tangle of dull silver driftwood - wood from Ainsel that has never seen the sky, has never shined with gold. The skin is burnished glintstone enamel. She does not ask Seluvis whose hair it was before it adorned this shape; she does not wish to know. I thank thee, Ranni says. She will be sufficient. I am gratified, my Lady, Seluvis tells her, over the prone, empty thing that she is to become, that she is to inhabit.

(read more on ao3...)

[amatres]

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words.

i was tagged by @flashhwing, thank you, but i also have to admit that i don't actually write! so instead, i'll share something i doodled and hope that works haha

it's of gwynn and ainsel! i was just drawing it for myself so it's not polished or had any refs, but it's cute i think! again, thank you for tagging me, i appreciate it! i'm sorry i don't write lol, but feel free to still tag me in this stuff i can just post doodles i make lol

[ainsellshadewalker]

I read the ask you sent me, with the alternate POV, and oh. My. Gourd. That was amazing. Dark. Brilliant. I can actually see Kurt thinking that way (trauma does stuff to.a person, especially kids/teens). And I'm on the edge if my seat, ready to offer any feedback you might want or need. (You did a good job! And yeah, with Kurt being Catholic and a bit religious, he'd probably believe that, or start thinking that way, as a coping mechanism and a way to make sense of all that happened and what's going on in the present/future). So, good job, ainsell! Very good job!

(I didn't post the ask you sent in case you didn't want spoilers)

Thank you! I'm glad I'm not the only one to think so, it just feels like it'd be so interesting if kurt kitty and pietro started having their own yandere feelings

[megashadowdragon]

lostbelt 6 part 3 unsung hero

www . reddit . com/r/grandorder/comments/14xnlkb/lostbelt_6s_unsung_herolb6_part_3_spoilers/

I run. I run.

I'm shocked at my vigor, even as the world crumbles all around me.

"Take care of the Prophesied Child, ______ ___.

Protect her at all times.

And, if you would, tell me at the end of each day how her journey has been.

I can't join you, given my position...But if anything happens, I'd like to at least be there with you in spirit."

I was proud to do it, at first.

But over time, I began to vaguely understand the consequence of her request.

Still, I kept sending the reports, and was ordered to avoid joining the battlefield. Then...

One day, while I was far away at Oxford,

I saw flames rising over Londinium.

"Ahhhh..."

There was nothing I could do to atone. I wasn't responsible to begin with.

The queen's army might really have attacked.

That's what I told myself.

"If only we had a chance to teach Londinium its place!"

"The Round Table Liberation Army? Please! As if those defects from the factory could ever stand beside us, the chosen humans!"

Try as I might, I couldn't forget the voices of the humans in Salisbury, nor those of the fairies egging them on.

When I saw the embers of Londinium, my hind legs went numb.

I would never run freely again.

Silently, I accepted that fact.

To begin with, the state of the Fairydom was too difficult for me.

I should have been born in a world where I could exercise my talents, more purely, as I pleased.

A life without words, without prejudice, without conflict.

I wished I had been a creature of the wild, racing through the meadows.

Dashing, like the wind.

Galloping, like a beast.

That was all I ever wanted.

But that humble goal was dashed to cinders, when I saw the fire.

Yet, I gained one last chance.

They told me it was do or die, so I trampled the earth with all my might.

It hurt.

My flesh and spirit screamed at me, "what's the point after all this?"

I had no words to give. I didn't deserve to mourn that brave, gallant girl knight.

All I could do was smile bitterly. There wasn't a point.

If there was no point, then all I had to think about was what to do next.

I ran, and ran.

The pain was fierce.

But so was my joy.

While the world crumbled around me, I was freer then I'd ever been in my life.

A faehorse's life is over if it breaks a leg.

The pain was so intense it tore my soul apart.

For a day and a half, I pulled that carriage like there was no tomorrow. I knew my legs would give out soon, anyway.

I turned my pain into joy, and ran.

I ran, just to deliver them to the coast.

I ran, not to hide hope, but to create it.

No matter how corrupt it was, this world had given birth to me, raised me, and taught me joy. I sprinted across the land of Britain I so loved.

When the carriage collapsed, I cut loose the harness and dashed for the woods, alone.

As I ran, I could hear my body being mangled.

What a blessing this is!

What grace I was given!

To be happy, until my final moment.

To be like the wind, until the very end.

- From Kinoko Nasu's Diary, August 6, 2021

Found this after seeing someone bringing up that Nasu wrote about Redra Bit's last moments when he sent the Chaldea gang off to the Storm Border gave me a link to it and couldn't help but post it here. As someone who was actually shocked when the game just like, completely forgets he exists after he had broken all his legs running almost 2 days straight just to get Master and the rest to the Border in time and he doesn't get even a single line to the fact we just left him there be devoured by the Mors after being the most absolute unit, this really hit me in the feels, and makes me sad it wasn't added as an actual scene to the game, so I decided to at least post it, that way more people will remember one of the most ignored yet most vital sacrifices we had to accomplish everything at the end of the Lostbelt in time.

reddit comments

Ector and Ainsel/Gareth are better examples. In order to be "good" as a faerie, you need to reject your nature and take responsibility, even when it's hard. It's why Koyanskaya was so disappointed in Murian: She thought she was special, but she was really no different than any other faerie.

Every faerie worth saving was one that actively defied their nature to avoid responsibility. Ector put Castoria's welfare above his own life. Cnoc na Riabh dedicated her entire existence to being the lynchpin the world needed. Ainsel/Gareth held the line. Habetrot...well, she did a lot in defiance of her nature. And Mike did one small act that really hit home the ultimate tragedy of the faeries: Some of them were redeemable.

The fang clan members . Even as murians accepting them into the city when they had nowhere else to go, they're literally talking shit to her, talking about how they wiped our her clan and she's lucky she's even here, talking about how they're going to take over

There's also all the unnamed fairies of the round table army that as far as we know never betrayed and stay honnorable throught the apocalypse. Likewise for those that tried to find refuge to londinum, found the human knight completely exhausted, and decided to selflessly defend them

As we were told all the way back on the beginning "Fairies are extensions of Nature" they just aren't meant to live in society, they are supposed to exist in their most wild and brute way.

Of course it isn't like they cannot coexist (or even be born of) with human societal aspect, heck look at craftsman fairy's like Habbycat

They are just not adjusted by their Intrinsic nature to be capable of building, maintaining and growin communities of their own, at most they are to form groups around a great fairy. Even the societal structures they have in this LB aren't even "real", they are just facsimiles of human behavior.

Is telling that even after 14000 years of time, they seem to be unable to move beyond semi-medieval times

And because they exist in this environment in which they aren't meant to, theirs very existences are filled with flaws

As Redra Bit says he wasn't ever meant to think of stuff like clan relations/politics scheming, prejudice and even words; he was a fae horse, he should just been concerned with running