#lady amandine's lady-in-waiting

[orion-lacroix]

@flashfictionfridayofficial

tittle: The sea calls, a sailor answer

words: 922

warning: implied threat

I will do anything so that this wedding doesn’t happen.

Gideon had not been surprised, he himself wasn’t thrilled about his betrothed but something in her tone felt dangerous, like a mix between a warning and a threat. Lady Amandine had plans for her future, Gideon being her husband was not in it. He could understand, he was only the front face of his family, the face of the Blackwood heir.

Behind that mask Gideon couldn’t tell anyone what his favorite color was, what music he preferred, who he was. There was nothing behind that mask of perfection and Gideon knew this was for the best, for both him and Amandine. They both would get the future that they wanted.

He had swore not to interfere with Amandine plan’s to stop their wedding, but her tone had been awfully cold and Gideon could feel the threat behind her words, he was a little afraid of his betrothed. Tonight was the night he was leaving. The night he had spent daydreaming about for weeks, planning the smallest detail so everything would go smoothly.

He waited until he heard the footsteps of both his parents walk in front of his door and into their bedrooms, and then waited five minutes, letting the sleep call his parents, aided by whatever sleeping aid they had taken. He pulled the cover off his body slowly, as if peeling the cover, until he lightly stepped on the wooden floor, using his foot to grab the handle of his bag and draw it from under his bed.

Every single of the belongings that really mattered to Gideon had been discreetly tucked into the expanding bag. He had also stolen a small pouch from his mother and had filled it with coins so he could pay for his travel and still have enough to become someone else. Amandine had discreetly given him a pouch also filled with golden coins, asking him to disappear.

He grabbed his bag and swung it to his shoulders, it was still relatively light and Gideon wanted to thank the spell-master because he had put a lot of things inside and the weight hadn’t changed.

He turned the handle of his bedroom door and pulled it open really slow, just big enough to squeeze out without opening it enough for the door to creak. He walked barefoot on the carpet, carefully going down the stairs to get to his shoes. He just had to grab his shoes and run fast.

He already knew exactly where he was headed. He went down the final stair but he felt his ankle twist and he tumbled down and fell. He got up instantly, giving up on discretion and running. He barely had time to grab a pair of any shoes he ran beside and opened the door when he heard the shout form his father.

“Young man! You get back here, you have a wedding to attend!” he heard his father call from the end of the hallway and Gideon stopped two second to shout back a “Fuck no!” before slamming the door behind him and run toward the closest portal right in front of the gate to the Blackwood manor. When he was near the portal he saw his father open the door to the manor and Gideon whispered to the portal, under his breath so his father would not know where he was heading.

“Wizard academy, port-town”

The color of the portal switched to a deeper, cooler green with swirls of deep blue. It looked like how Gideon imagined the sea, water and algae. Gideon barely waited for his surroundings to change before taking off again. He ran through the town, heading down to the dock. He didn’t know if his parents had followed him there, if they knew where he was heading, but in any situations he had to be on the cargo boat of marchand Erikson as soon as he could. If he had heard correctly Mr. Erikson was heading further south to the colder climates. Gideon had always wanted to explore the world, this was his chance.

He was planning on climbing in the cargo and hide a few days to make sure they had keep him aboard. When he saw the last boat on the dock he assumed it was the marchand, while the pirates had left in the night. He climbed the side on some net that was left to dry. Gideon walked lightly, shoes still in his hand, still barefoot, toward the cargo storage at the bottom of the boat. He walked down the stairs, he walked through the maze of storage in the total dark and curled against a barrel of something with alcohol and the wall of the boat.

Sleep came to him easily, he was just going down from a rush of panic that left him drained. He was woken up by being shaken. When he opened his eyes he was not greeted by an angry marchand, but the pirate the townspeople had warned him against. Fuck. He thought, staring at the other pirates that stood behind their captain.

He should have seen it coming, but staring at a sword being pointed to the face had a way of making one ponder their mistakes.

"Can you earn your keep?" Asked the capatain, looking Gideon frail body up and down.

"Yes sir I will!" said Gideon, Echo his falcon copied with an aprouval squak.

"Good, we are heading south. We’ve got some things to settle.” She said, face promising trouble.

[papalo-palo]

WHM 44, MSQ 28 - Haukke Manor

My friends told me that when I begin working with groups on assignments to always let the hardiest adventurer go first into any room and to never stand facing any one or any thing that wants to hurt me. They say I'm "squishy", which for a long time I thought meant they were teasing me about being Lalafell. I now understand why they call cloth wearers, squishy. In the fight against the Manor Claviger in Haukke Manor, the Scion lancer stood beside the Scion marauder with the voidsent facing them, while I and the Scion thaumaturge stood behind the floating voidsent doing what we can to assist them.

To my horror, the voidsent suddenly laughed as her sword glowed blue. She swept so hard and fast in front of her, that it appeared as if a large blue banner was draped over the floor. My training forced my hand before I could acknowledge my fear as I ran forward and began casting Medica as I realized that the voidsent had just cut away a quarter of the marauder's health and a third of the lancer's! I thought of my eagerness to enter Dzemael Darkhold and was silently chastised again. I know now that I would not have survived the first encounter with any enemy in that place.

As if to justify my decision to follow the advice of my fellows to take up Minfilia's request, a Manor Beret was found in the corner of the room. Not only does it look stylish and fits me well, but the method of its construction is such that it amplifies my aether and my ability as a White Mage. By no means does it make me worthy of Dzemael Darkhold, but it is better than what I walked in with.

I was told that Lady Amandine was an Elezen of aristocratic lineage. That she was fair and beautiful. That she was imbued with grace and elegance. That she may have been, once upon a time. The voidsent that was waiting for us in her bedchamber had a face that could have been Elezen, once upon a time. There was nothing Elezen floating in the air before us.

To consort with voidsent, is to become voidsent.

And so, we Scions did our duty as we had sworn to do.

And it was a hard duty to complete. She pressed us hard, and often summoned other voidsent to pester us or to bolster her. We were not able to prevent these tricks, but we were able to turn our heads to keep from being turned to stone and to stay clear of her foul magics. But something happened that will be hard for me to explain. I suddenly felt a horrid dread and fear for the marauder! As he continued to swing his axe with the same ease as I would swing my hand, a sudden foreboding manifested itself as bright red rings encircling him. I wanted to cry out to warn him, but I realized he did not see this apparition.

Minfilia said that the power of the Echo could grant me insight, visions, and understanding that could not otherwise be obtained. I realized that this was one such manifestation of the Echo and remained silent. Instead, I paid attention to the feeling of impending doom and realized that it was warning me to an action that was about to occur. The marauder could not avoid the strike that was about to hit him, but I could begin my cast of Cure II early enough that the healing magic would settle on him immediately after the damage from the strike. And so I did, just in time.

In fact, looking back, I realize that I have seen the Echo's strange lights before, as glowing orange light upon the ground that flash just before something horrible and damaging fell upon the illuminated area. It is only now, that I have had a chance to reflect on these things, that I realize that I have seen such lights all of my life. It is also only now that I am intentionally placing myself in harm's way that the lights have become much brighter and much more important to pay attention to.

When Lady Amandine fell, her body dispersed into a cloud of dark aether immediately before facing from view. There was no body to recover. No hint that an Elezen woman was ever here. Just a thickening atmosphere of despair, sorrow, and inconsolable pain. It will take the Hearers a long time to clear the manor of what lingers here. Perhaps it would be best to give it, and the land it sits on, back to the Elementals.

In the end, my venture into Haukke Manor not only sealed away an aggressive voidsent, but also supplied a new hat, set of gloves, a coat, a ring, and even a staff that I do not need to spend gil on to upgrade. I hope Rosomoni approves me keeping these and bestowing upon him my cast offs.

Oh, how could I forget what happened when everyone else had left and I was the last to depart. The Paragons showed themselves to me! Black masked and black robed and black their intent to their core! They had apparently been watching my progress this entire time on behalf of their master, Lahabrea. They called me, "Bringer of Light", and denounced my presence as unnecessary. I am no Warrior of Light, but I do know how to hold a grudge. This Lahabrea had imprisoned Frixio as bait to trap me once already and now has led Lady Amandine to her doom.

I do not need Sharlayan learning to know that this Lahabrea must be stopped if the Twelveswood is going to recover from the Calamity.

I have spent too long writing the memories of what is now in the past. I still need to finish upgrading all of my gear if I am going to enter Dzemael Darkhold eventually. And I need to speak with Minfilia about the Echo. I would also like to speak with Thancred about techniques of self-defense, as I do feel quite exposed when all I can wear is cloth. But he has been consumed with personal matters and I don't want to impose upon him. Perhaps if I were to ask Yda? Or, perhaps not. Y'shtola, then! She is a conjurer and has been witness, cause, and conclusion of many conflicts. Yes, I will ask Y'shtola.

After a rest, though. It has been a long day.

May the light of the Crystal keep me upon my path.

[thetoxicgamer]

One early FFXIV dungeon still stumps newbies and veterans alike today

It can be challenging to remember every single mechanic in the dozens of FFXIV dungeons you must accomplish as you go through the critically acclaimed MMORPG (and its award-winning expansions). Fortunately, Final Fantasy 14's dungeon systems are generally quite forgiving and won't severely penalise you for making a mistake. However, one early A Realm Reborn dungeon continues to routinely kill both novice and experienced players. The good news is that, if you happen to encounter it, it may be because you're playing too well. Haukke Manor is the sixth dungeon you’ll encounter in FFXIV: A Realm Reborn. It’s often considered the first point dungeons start to pick up a little bit, with the introduction of a few simple but important mechanics to keep track of. It also boasts a very cool haunted house setting that sees you tracking down and putting a stop to its owner, Lady Amandine, who has been up to all manner of nefarious deeds in a vain attempt to preserve her beauty. Where players are getting caught out, however, is in the level 50 revisit to her mysterious mansion. Haukke Manor (Hard) can be accessed after beating the base story progression of A Realm Reborn, and demands you put a stop to Halicarnassus, the demon who Lady Amandine put a stop to. This fight isn’t especially difficult for the most part, especially in its modern-day incarnation. Unfortunately, many groups find themselves nearing completion only to suddenly wipe as everyone’s health is obliterated in an instant. The game doesn’t make it too clear at first exactly why this has happened, but it’s actually almost always a function of your team doing too much damage, too quickly, something that’s very easily done in the dungeon’s modern incarnation with how quickly early players can gear up. Throughout the fight, Halicarnassus spawns various additional enemies, culminating in Lady Amandine herself. At certain health thresholds, she will absorb one of her companions to cast a spell called Blood Rain, which deals damage based on the health the absorbed enemy had left. This means that if you’re damaging her too quickly, Halicarnassus will actually spawn Lady Amandine and near-instantly absorb her, which spells almost-certain death for your party. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG3eXuSGl40 Haukke Manor (Hard) isn’t an essential dungeon, but it’s one that pops up from time to time on roulettes – and, personally, it’s still one of my favourites from an aesthetic standpoint. However, it’s one weird mechanic that can often catch players off-guard, and it’s still a problem today despite the recent Endwalker reworks to old ARR dungeons. Usually, success takes a knowledgeable player explaining in chat that everyone should hold back on the damage and let the additional mobs spawn, so players can safely take them out one by one, before continuing to attack Halicarnassus. Alternatively, if you have it, a well-timed Tank limit break might be enough to save you from doom in a pinch – but, as a recent post to the FFXIV Reddit shows, your healer will still have to be fast about topping everyone’s health back up afterwards. If you want a bit more fun backstory on Haukke Manor, did you know it was actually misnamed in English? The original Japanese name, “Hauketa Goyoutei,” should translate to “Hauketa Manor,” but Square Enix’s Michael-Christopher Koji Fox explains to producer Naoki Yoshida during a live panel that this was mistranslated during development, and no-one noticed it because the team was so busy in the run-up to the game’s fabled relaunch. Whoops! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kt1COQNiIw Still, at least now you can explore it without dying. While you’re waiting for your duty roulette queue to pop, check out everything shown about FFXIV patch 6.4 in Live Letter 76, or find out how to survive FFXIV deep dungeon Eureka Orthos and manage your FFXIV Island Sanctuary into a flourishing getaway paradise. Read the full article

[odd-aether]

𝒥𝓊𝒹𝑔𝑒 𝒪𝓃𝑒, 𝒥𝓊𝒹𝑔𝑒 𝒜𝓁𝓁

A short snippet of Fae’s backstory and the events that lead to her turning her face away from the good of the world. ♥ I’d like to picture her as the former (and completely clueless) “lady-in-waiting” for Lady Amandine.

“It’s her fault! She’s the one who kidnapped all those innocent maidens!”

“It’s been confirmed within her alchemy lab that she was using Void magicks in her potions… as well as what appears to be blood of some of the victims.”

“She’s a monster— both she and Lady Amandine are out to kill all of the young maidens of the Twelveswood to perform their dark magicks!”

“That’s your typical Duskwight for you… blasted Void lover. I bet she enjoyed murdering those poor girls.” Their voices swirled around in the fog having overtaken her mind. None of her prosecutor’s faces were distinguishable. They were all just the same as the rest. Each of them cried out for justice; for her blood to repay the blood spilled by another’s hands. It wasn’t until the manservant that remained at the Manor with their Lady was brought to trial that all was revealed. She hadn’t killed those young maidens, but she had been using their blood for the Lady’s concoctions and creams. There were times she’d wondered why Amandine had purchased so many slayed creatures from the local huntsmen, but all of the pieces were beginning to fall into place. The huntsmen never sold their bounties to the Lady. She had young maidens from local villages and outposts kidnapped and brought back to the Manor to be drained of their livelihood… and later they would end up in her laboratory for those special remedies.

“After she was left under Lady Amandine’s care, we learned that her parents were slain.” The manservant said sadly and couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes. She nearly fainted, but instead leaned forwards and vomited up the remainder of her supper into the sacred Seedseer’s pool. The older man winced and continued to plead with those that would still listen. “The Levenin family is no more besides this kind girl. She only wished to please the Lady that had treated her like her own daughter and friend; I can assure you that the Lady hid her means of gathering the ingredients used for her potions and creams a secret from her. I was tasked with ensuring that she would never wander too deep into the Manor when the Lady began to spiral out of control. I promise that I only speak the truth and beg that you grant her forgiveness… please, take my life or my lady’s, but spare hers. It is the Lady Amandine that you should blame for this tragedy.”

[thesimpanions]

⭐️ N E W  V I D E O ⭐️ The Sims 4 | MAKING OVER MY SUBSCRIBERS SIMS #9! ⭐️ | CAS & Lookbook + CC Links

Hey there! Today I'm making over two adorable sims created by the community! Let me know what your favourite outfit is ♥ If you would like to submit a sim for this series you can do so by using #simpanionsmakeover on the gallery!

▶️https://youtu.be/a7Jmy5ZGaV4

CC Links

SIM 1 (ARIANA HOLDER)

GENERAL Eyes: https://baieyu.tumblr.com/post/179216040640/still-feel-eyes-previews-heavily-insp-by Eye Highlights: https://anessasims.tumblr.com/post/624308988515844096/hello-heres-a-new-collection-based-on-a-store Face Overlay: https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/post/614398450851856384/sunlitcrys-i-couldnt-wait-any-longer-so-here Freckles: https://www.patreon.com/posts/demure-freckles-40216576# Face Shine: https://nesurii.tumblr.com/post/182508085171/amaryllis Baby Hair: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39830318 Eye Bags: https://tamosim.blogspot.com/2015/10/ts4-basic-10-eye-bags-set-for-all.html Nose Shader: https://simfileshare.net/download/977930/ Hair 1: https://simstrouble.tumblr.com/post/623716191378325504/simstrouble-summer-blues-set-by-simstrouble Hair 2: https://www.patreon.com/posts/38638614 Bangs: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tekri-glumbut-40837974

MAKE UP Lashes: http://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-version2/ Eyebrows: https://www.patreon.com/posts/26737041 Eyeliner: https://caelhinn.tumblr.com/post/190809835077/heart-shaped-wing-an-eyeliner-by-caelhinn Eyeliner: https://crypticsim.com/post/190594545470/the-lotus-collection-inspired-by-the-lotus-flower Eyeshadow: https://crypticsim.com/post/626448747473289216/the-carli-bybel-palette-this-palette-is-inspired Eyeshadow: https://crypticsim.com/post/627085048354684928/the-sunset-palette-we-love-a-good-sunset-moment-do Lipgloss: https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/post/611190364141944832/sunlitcrys-a-gift-bundle-just-for-you-my-1000 Lipgloss: https://alhajero.tumblr.com/post/185072913035/nice-gloss-ugly-gif-or-at-least-i-think Highlighter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/rosebud-dress-34636205 Blush: https://tragicsimblr.tumblr.com/post/161312222300/subtle-blush-i-love-using-nose-and-cheek-blushes Nails: https://simlaughlove.tumblr.com/post/163327412088/sll-rainbownails

EVERYDAY Top: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39594227 Bottom: https://clumsyalienn.tumblr.com/post/622054669204750336/flashback-cc-pack-bgc-all-lods-shadow-maps Shoes: https://gloomfish.tumblr.com/post/187789866948/birkenstocks-for-all-your-sksksksks-and-i-oop Bracelet: https://veranka-s4cc.tumblr.com/post/142800259050/claire-necklace-bracelets-i-did-some-simple

FORMAL Dress: https://casteru.tumblr.com/post/190517758167/satin-dress-tou-reference-become-a Shoes: https://anessasims.tumblr.com/post/624308988515844096/hello-heres-a-new-collection-based-on-a-store Earrings: https://alexaarr.tumblr.com/post/184299948911/amandine-earrings Bracelet: https://veranka-s4cc.tumblr.com/post/142800259050/claire-necklace-bracelets-i-did-some-simple

ACTIVE Top: https://www.patreon.com/posts/savvy-x-grim-36916128 Bottom: https://pixelunivairse.tumblr.com/post/190603475073/one-of-many-other-cc-that-i-created-and-i-was Shoes: https://serenity-cc.tumblr.com/post/183102457388/serenity-cc-fitness-collection-part-1-custom

SLEEP Top: https://cubersims.tumblr.com/post/615923898638385152/167-download-born-this-way-underwear-set-my-sims Bottom: https://grimcookies.com/post/621067688626864128/softe-a-collection-of-intimates-ive-been Shoes: http://wildlyminiaturesandwich.blogspot.com/2017/10/sandwich-jammies-simblreen-2017-treat.html

PARTY Top: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-clothing-female-teenadultelder-everyday/title/trillyke-sassy-me-blazer/id/1488642/ Acc. Top: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-clothing-female-teenadultelder-everyday/title/trillyke-drip-accessory-top/id/1469251/ Bottoms: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39594227 Shoes: https://mmsims.tumblr.com/post/611005735890993152/s4cc-mmsims-cb-thunder-sneakers-download Socks: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-clothing-female-teenadultelder-everyday/title/trillyke-labyrinth-socks/id/1477630/ Earrings: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40144454

SWIM Top&Bottom: https://www.patreon.com/posts/pretty-little-cc-32297180 Shoes: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-shoes-female-teenadultelder/title/madlen-adriana-feet/id/1323619/

HOT WEATHER Top: https://anessasims.tumblr.com/post/624308988515844096/hello-heres-a-new-collection-based-on-a-store Bottom: https://okruee.tumblr.com/post/625359294156668929/a-set-of-cc-i-forgot-about-i-linked-part-of-this Shoes: https://dallasgirl79.tumblr.com/post/620416070533218304/pebbles-sandals-new-mesh-a-huge-thank-you

COLD WEATHER Top: https://www.patreon.com/posts/pretty-little-cc-32297180 Bottom: https://anessasims.tumblr.com/post/624308988515844096/hello-heres-a-new-collection-based-on-a-store Shoes: https://simtone.tumblr.com/post/179065116035/buckle-boots-10-swatches-more-cas-pictures

SIM 2 (JENNA)

GENERAL Skinblend: https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/post/190573720495/sunlitcrys-a-lip-gloss-skinblend-bundle Eyes: https://baieyu.tumblr.com/post/179216040640/still-feel-eyes-previews-heavily-insp-by Eye Highlights: https://simulationcowboy.tumblr.com/post/176038369702/so-ridgeport-wanted-some-more-eye-highlights-so-i Face Shine: https://nesurii.tumblr.com/post/182508085171/amaryllis Eye Bags: https://ratboysims.tumblr.com/post/188237560445/kiwi-eyebags-updated-1110-2019-by-ratboysims Freckles: https://www.patreon.com/posts/updated-kissed-40293254 Hair 1: https://savvysweet.tumblr.com/post/188923203483/casey-curls-bgc-hat-compatible-ea-18-swatches Hair 2: https://greenllamas.tumblr.com/post/176986320671/pool-party-stuff-description-download-and-details Bangs: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tekri-glumbut-40837974 Glasses: https://www.patreon.com/posts/remove-makeup-29396235

MAKE UP Lashes: http://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-version2-for-skin-detail-experimental/ Eyebrows: https://lightdeficient.tumblr.com/post/187214742781/evergreen-eyebrow-pack-while-i-was-on-vacation Eyeliner: https://crypticsim.com/post/190594545470/the-lotus-collection-inspired-by-the-lotus-flower Eyeliner: https://caelhinn.tumblr.com/post/190809835077/heart-shaped-wing-an-eyeliner-by-caelhinn Eyeliner: https://simandy.tumblr.com/post/171605780781/made-an-eyeliner-actually-4-but-yea Eyeshadow: https://crypticsim.com/post/626448747473289216/the-carli-bybel-palette-this-palette-is-inspired Lipgloss: https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/post/611190364141944832/sunlitcrys-a-gift-bundle-just-for-you-my-1000 Lipgloss: https://alhajero.tumblr.com/post/185072913035/nice-gloss-ugly-gif-or-at-least-i-think Blush: https://simulationcowboy.tumblr.com/post/176286026547/a-while-ago-i-edited-on-a-blush-in-this-edit-and Blush: https://www.patreon.com/posts/updated-pumpkin-40293470 Nails: https://simlaughlove.tumblr.com/post/163327412088/sll-rainbownails

EVERYDAY Top: https://clumsyalienn.tumblr.com/post/614383291375796224/road-to-nowhere-cc-pack-bgc-all-lods-shadow-maps Acc. Top: http://wildlyminiaturesandwich.blogspot.com/2017/03/accessory-tops.html Bottom: https://clumsyalienn.tumblr.com/post/614383291375796224/road-to-nowhere-cc-pack-bgc-all-lods-shadow-maps Earrings: https://callitheaccfinds.tumblr.com/post/189816372601/turquoiseesims-krista-earrings-by-turquoisee

FORMAL Dress: https://kumikya.tumblr.com/post/624035554782298112/jessica-dress-not-much-to-say-i-wanted-to-make-a Shoes: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-shoes-female-teenadultelder/title/madlen-jasmine-shoes/id/1376912/ Bracelet: https://veranka-s4cc.tumblr.com/post/142800259050/claire-necklace-bracelets-i-did-some-simple Earrings: https://alexaarr.tumblr.com/post/187123544736/squaretacular-earrings

ACTIVE Top: https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fridgeports.com%2Fpost%2F171281096172%2Fcalliope-i-asked-and-u-guys-wanted-it-so-i-threw&t=MjEzMjczOTE0MzJjNTFlODNiMWMzMmJkYTJmMTk4MTc5OWRmMTZjMCxsOGdoSVdYUA%3D%3D&b=t%3Arn7LawenkTyqJSxEQMF4Rw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fthesimpanions.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F187215287255%2Fthe-sims-4-maxis-match-tops-collection-custom&m=1&ts=1599054804 Bottom: https://phsims.tumblr.com/post/184748070045/gym-outfit-d-top-and-bottom-are-separated-but Shoes: https://mysteriousdane.tumblr.com/post/157369433768/adidas-gazelle-so-i-recently-got-a-pair-of-adidas

SLEEP Top: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tekri-glumbut-40837974 Bottom: https://cubersims.tumblr.com/post/615923898638385152/167-download-born-this-way-underwear-set-my-sims Socks: https://kumikya.tumblr.com/post/160196037178/i-made-some-mid-calf-socks-because-i-want-some

PARTY Top: http://sims4updates.net/clothing/blue-anemone-clothes-collection-at-anessa-sims/ Bottom: https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/190968756593/axa-springset-2020 Shoes: https://tunayegit.tumblr.com/post/187577862556/better-than-mosc-boots-hoi-guyss-welcome-to-my Earrings: https://melichryses.tumblr.com/post/612407743181193216/leaves-earrings-im-so-happy-to-finally-share Bracelet: https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-accessories-female-bracelets/title/s-club-ll-ts4-bracelet-201902/id/1442286/

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[terramythos]

uhhhh liveblog reactions of the newest october daye book, #14, a killing frost. don’t look @ me. don’t @ me. 

monumental spoilers for this book & the entire series 

-aw tybalt is taking toby's last name

-SUS AF looks at Patrick and Dianda. 👀 I knew there was a reason we established that Patrick very close to Simon before he went crazy and evil. I feel like that was in Once Broken Faith (#10)?

-LMAO I straight up forgot Rayseline exists.

-great to see sylvester's still a dick.

-still endlessly funny to me that Sylvester's Literal Evil Twin Simon replaced him as Toby's father figure and now sylvester's just like, some asshole who randomly shows up sometimes

-great to see Luna's still a bitch.

-great family

-well it's interesting from a purely academic perspective to see what happens to May when she's literally missing organs. Usually it's Toby!

-hi Simon

-Simon: *is evil*

Toby: you know what? This dude is way more trustworthy than Sylvester!

(She's... not wrong)

-Simon: *is evil*

Toby: come oooon simon you're a good guy cmoooon this is getting boring

-oh cool we're going on a road trip with evil!Simon, that cant possibly go wrong

-*shit goes super wrong like right away* ok

-toby calling may her sister constantly in this book awww

-walther shows up :D I love him

-yaaay the Luidaeg finally my absolute fave absolute queen

-toby: so I went on this big quest on my own and now Quentin is kidnapped and May got elf-shot. It seemed like a good idea at the time so me and/or simon wouldnt get caught in some weird magic contract with you

The Luidaeg: wow, you're a fucking idiot

Toby's narration: this hurt on a personal level because she can't lie so i knew she like REALLY meant it

-ok so theres this weird bit where we learn Stacy is ultra protective of her kids dating. There is some discussion about how that is super weird and doesn't make any sense to toby. Then some more discussion about how a lot of Stacy's past doesn't add up. Specifically, stacy's grandparents were purebloods (who hated her), which actually makes zero sense biologically considering how little fae blood Stacy has. Also worth considering, though not mentioned, TWO of stacy's children are powerful seers which makes no sense from what we know about thin blood in canon.

I think this *might* connect to my ongoing suspicions of Marcia as a character, who is a thinblooded changeling who consistently keeps showing up. Including in this book when she really didn't need to. At this point she has met multiple Firstborn and they initially seem alarmed/disturbed when they see her for no apparent reason. 14 books since her intro and we know nothing about her past or even her heritage, which is unheard of in this series. When that kind of info is obscured its always because there's a big twist associated with it. There is something going on there.

-speaking of. Um. Simon and Sylvester's bio mom was a human? Excuse me? What? Hello?

-sylvester refused to claim her as their legal mother so simon (angry about it) had to reject her too. A whole new layer to the "fuck Sylvester" cake and brings some interesting perspective to him stepping in as a paternal figure for toby, a homeless changeling? What the fuck, Sylvester?

-this is also one reason why not evil!Simon isn't a total asshole to Toby.

-anyway. Toby being turned into an otter and biting The Luidaeg was fucking funny

-wow, evening REALLY sucks.

-dang the tree thing is pretty creepy :( big fuckin yikes

-OK so toby's sacrificing her way home to keep Simon from doing more damage? I guess is the plan? Fuck?

-toby seems to know names of some Roane she's never met and I'm not sure if that's a mistake or not

-oh Quentin is big mad at Simon. Even if this all goes well a lot of people are gonna hate him. Also, he hurt Dean which is gonna piss Patrick and Dianda off

-though it was basically mind control so. SHRUG????

-god, fuck evening

-WAIT. Something was just implied that. wait... if that's where this is going I'm MAD.

- Toby: *takes on the curse*

Simon: *is suddenly not evil*

Simon: toby what the fuck no why did you do that :(((

-i like Simon 😬

-"apparently, the thought of Patrick being angry with him was even more distressing than I'd expected it to be. Interesting." UM. UMMMM. 👀👀👀👀👀

-seeing Toby briefly turn into her book 1 version was funny. Immediately pointing at tybalt, the literal love of her life, and screaming "you FUCKER". Ah, memories.

-ok. Ok yeah that's where this was going. Fuck me. Fuck.

-i am SO MAD. a fucking THROWAWAY LINE ...

-ok so officer Thornton is Oberon. That's cool. Ok.

I immediately went and skimmed the two books he was in and caught two instances of foreshadowing.

In Ashes of Honor (#6) when toby meets him she describes him as familiar in a generic way. Like, she recognizes his voice and face immediately but can't place it.. This is never brought up again. In the final chapter of this book he is described the same way, as generic yet strangely familiar. So. A closer reading might be in order to see how other fae behave around him. It's possible Toby has a stronger reaction since he's her grandfather (and is the perspective character.)

And yeah, the fucking THROWAWAY "lady, let alone" line from The Brightest Fell (#11). At the time that just seemed awkward, or I guess a gratuitous Tam Lin reference. Fuck me. Also explains how he didnt implode or die from being trapped in Annwn.

-and it makes sense there isnt much more than that because it seems "officer thornton" doesnt know he's oberon. Like it's basically the situation Simon was in??? There's a throwaway "why in the world was Oberon disguised as a human and couldn't remember anything?" line but it isn't explored, so I assume its addressed in a future book.

-(oh my god Riordan kept him as like. Some sick pet. For a YEAR. she didn't know he was the literal King of Faerie. Fucking hell.)

-his fucking name. Thornton. THORNton. Perfectly human character here hahahaha fuck off.

-and this makes the whole fucking series setup of "toby will be the one to find oberon" way more funny because. Man, mission fucking accomplished. 8 books ago.

-thematically makes sense that he returns in The Brightest Fell, too. Fuck me. fuck me! Bitter irony that Simon is given the impossible task/curse to find Oberon in that book and he was literally like, zonked out two rooms away

-list of "minor/background" characters in this series who later reveal themselves to be Huge Lore Gamechangers: Evening, The Luidaeg, May, August, Janet, and now FUCKING Oberon.

-an entire chapter of Simon apologizing to everyone

- holy fuck? Canon ot3???? Simon/Patrick/Dianda??? OT3? HELLO?????

-the October daye series has a fucking canon ot3 and they're getting married. Alright. Ok. Thanks seanan for my life

-"simon, amandine is just the worst and doesn't deserve you. Come marry me and my wife" is not where I was expecting this to go but like okay I am on board

-so the divorce happens and toby unsurprisingly picks Simon as her legal parent. But August does too. Amandine is pissed... I'm sure that'll be a whole Thing.

-THIS BOOK LITERALLY ENDS WITH SIMON AND PATRICK AND DIANDA GETTING MARRIED I'M

-"I now declare you husbands and wife" asdfhdkskxj

-well that book was a fucking ride. Holy christ. Toby accidentally found Oberon. That was sort of the big overarching thing. Not sure where the story goes from here. Theres some loose ends I already discussed and Evening is still a threat but yeah!

-ok we still have the novella "Shine In Pearl" which seems to be about Simon and Patrick and Dianda pre-series

-this is mostly VERY angsty (but well written) but 👀 at this novella mentioning Dawn as a character who exists outside of like, an offhand mention in the first book. Also referring to Riordan like she's not a minor background character

-calling tybalt an asshole too lol

-christ. Poor simon. Even more context of literally everyone screwing him over. :(( I'm glad it's better now.

[yafaemi]

vi. | revenant.

What? I’ve definitely been writing this entire time. What do you mean? I didn’t take a break for too-tired-to-even-exist reasons. I’m definitely not going to be going a bit slower with this stories, because honestly I Am Still Fairly Tired.

Anyways, this is a really like... exciting story for me!! This is another one of those kinda stories that I had the entire plan for, but just never got into actually writing. I’ve been planning for something like this to happen for months. Literal. Months.

Description: In the midst of a morning stroll, Amandine is bumped into by a rather... interesting stranger. Yet, even from the first, there is something... unsettlingly familiar about them.

_________________________________________________________

She didn’t know what to make of the man before her. 

This stranger was so hauntingly familiar. Amandine knew she had never met him before. She was good at faces, yet this one was… had she not still been staring so intently, there would have definitely been a deepening frown on her face. 

“...just remembered, I never mentioned my name.” One hand ran through almost-black hair, and he smiled. “But where are my manners? Bumping into a stranger, and not even introducing myself! Averoux D’amboise,” he said, with a half-step back into a bow. 

It took her a few moments to pull away from the overpowering feeling of familiarity. She knew that name, and she knew that face, yet from where? “Amandine,” she replied with a bow of her own. “Forgive my forwardness— we haven’t met before, have we? For some reason, I…” she trailed off, arms crossing. “...nevermind. It must be my mind playing tricks on me.” 

Averoux’s eyes furrowed for a moment. One eyebrow raised a half-second later, leaning forward towards her. There was a frown on his face as he said, “That makes two of us, then. How strange.” 

There was plenty strange about their encounter already. One that Amandine had been pretending not to notice was how similar they looked— had she seen herself and this stranger side by side, as a random bystander, she would have assumed of some familial relation. Yet that wasn’t…

Even then, from what she had been told by her aunt, before...

It didn’t bear thinking about. Amandine shrugged with a far more tense smile than she meant, “A funny coincidence if there ever was one.” Another half moment to look around, as if thinking of something other than the strangeness occurring before her, before, “I believe it’s about time that I take my leave. May the Fury watch over you.” 

“...Wait.” 

Amandine stopped at his side. She glanced over with a raised eyebrow, watching Averoux slowly turn towards her with a narrowed gaze, clearly searching for… something. She shifted her weight slightly, and stole another glance to the way she’d been going. Then with an even breath turned directly towards him. 

Averoux’s expression was far less dignified for several moments as he seemed to spot whatever it was in her face he looked for. “Were you adopted into your family?” One half of a second and he added, “Rude, yes, and I absolutely beg forgiveness— yet I can’t shake that feeling. Nophica as my witness, I am not crazy.” 

For some reason, she highly doubted that. “I advise that you explain yourself, before I lose my patience,” Amandine said with a slow reach towards her staff. Her fingertips brushed against it at first, before finally wrapping around its length. “And deliver you to the Temple Knights in pieces for your questionable act.”

Normally, she wouldn’t make such threats towards someone. In the middle of the day in Ishgard, no less. Yet something about the encounter seemed far too off. Perhaps it was the still-remaining sense of familiarity. The only time she blinked was when her eyes started to burn. 

And still, the living enigma of an Elezen before her didn’t so much as flinch. If anything, the light violet stare seemed amused. He cracked a smile— hardly an echo of the polite-yet-distant smile of one talking to a stranger they’d just met. It took every ounce of Amandine’s self-control not to wipe it off his face with a whack of her staff. 

“I’m going to say I’ve struck a chord.” The worsening state of her glare apparently confirmed it for him. Averoux’s tone quickened, racing words like an excited child, “Allow me to take a guess— you are… roughly 25, yes? And you were when you were adopted…” he took half a second to count on his hands, numbers mumbled under his breath, “...Approximately 2?” 

She didn’t reply. Just raised a brow. 

“I’ll take your suspicious glare as a yes.” He glanced at her hidden hand. “I would… also appreciate it were you not actively reaching for your weapon. I have no intention of causing you harm. Nophica— once again— as my witness.” When she didn’t move, he only sighed. “...Very well.” 

“I would appreciate it if you could get to your point. I have far better to do than listen to the ramblings of a madman.” 

“I am as sane as they come, my good lady.” 

“I would sooner believe a coeurl say it doesn’t intend to make a meal of my bones,” Amandine said through gritted teeth. Perhaps it was a show of her lacking sanity, to be entertaining the fool for so long. Or a telltale sign that she spent far too much time around people— or, more specifically one person— who always believed the best of everyone. 

There was that smile again. “What good news for us both, then. Last I checked, I am no coeurl.” Before she could even react, Averoux nodded. “I’m afraid it only gets more convoluted from here. Should you like to hear it, then I have a story to tell. I think you would benefit from hearing it in full.”  

Amandine let out a sigh. “Do you need a formal invitation to tell this story, then? Speak. While I’m still foolish enough to stand here and listen to this nonsense.” 

“One specifically in cursive, if you please, with a lovely floral border,” he replied with a bare nod. There was a smirk now, instead of a smile. Amandine was about to clobber him half to death already, yet that made the idea of it so much more tempting. Whether by his own realization of her ever-withering patience, or just an observation of how she shifted her grip behind her again, Averoux cleared his threat. “23 year long winters ago— or, near enough not to matter— there was a family. Disillusioned with their life in the Brume, and tired of the near constant eyes of Ishgard’s wealthy gazing down at them, they left.

“A mother, a father, and two siblings…” He trailed off there, and the look in those light violet eyes seemed far too intense. “A boy and a girl.” At that, Averoux turned away, and began pacing. Amandine’s eyes never left him as he moved. Measured, even steps. “Where their footsteps went was anyone’s guess. Only one thing remained certain: it was away from Ishgard, and that was enough for them.” 

Amandine would have crossed her arms, were one of them not already occupied with her staff. “Heretics in the making, I would guess.” 

Averoux stopped and smiled at her. He said nothing of her comment, only pausing long enough for the stop to be noticeable. And then, he continued pacing again. “This family, they were slaughtered. Likely by Dravanians, given locale. Any soul with an understanding of the creatures would assume the tale ends there. However,” he said with a dramatic turn back to her, “By the will of Halone or by some other deity, the young boy was spared this fate— just barely. 

“Awoken some time later in a new place, where the sunlight poured abundant into every window and the whisper of the elements was in every crevice to those who could hear it. And there he stayed with a lovely little couple of farmers who did all they could to make this child happy. Nophica Herself had sent them to be this child’s aid that day, and they were diligent about their work.”

“What good fortune.”

Either he didn’t notice the sarcasm in her tone, or he just didn’t care. Averoux nodded with another smirk, “Good fortune, indeed. Yet there was one thing they could never give to this child: his family back. They found, quite quickly, that he remembered it. He remembered this loss, and despite their greatest effort, they simply couldn’t replace that which he lost. Even then, they lived a happy life together, for many long years.” 

That certainly wasn’t what Amandine expected. She couldn’t help the small amount of pity that flashed across her face. “It sounds as if these people in your story met a tragic end. I would offer my condolences.” 

“Oh, hardly. They still lead a comfortable life at home. They let their little boy go when he reached his nineteenth winter to finally fulfill the one wish they couldn’t for him. He enlisted in the Archer’s guild, learned all there was to know, and then set off with a single mission. He was going to find what had happened to his family, for he was certain not all of them had perished.” 

Even since the story had begun, Amandine’s feelings about it hadn’t been the brightest. Yet as he continued explaining, she’d slowly been getting more unsettled. Whatever conclusion there was to be had from this, the sinking sense in her gut said she already had a feeling of what it could have been. 

“So he went. For years, he searched. Through the chaos of the Calamity, through the legendary end of the Dragonsong War, all of history was happening, and still he stayed firm in the past. There was nothing more important than this, in his eyes. Nothing.

“Yet, on the eve of another unsuccessful year of searching… he gave up. To spend his life searching for those who were already dead… it was time to accept it. And so he did. And was left without a purpose.” 

Averoux stopped again. His shoulders raised in a long sigh, dropping only at the exhale. With that, he turned around again, yet not in the pattern he’d taken. Instead, he went to stand in front of her again. “And that was where he remained. Drifting, wandering, taking odd jobs and leves to make ends meet until his tracks returned back to the place it had all begun: into Ishgard.

“And what else did he meet there, except a hauntingly familiar stranger, who was the striking image of his late mother. So much so, in fact, that he was so taken aback by the sight that he walked right into her without even realizing.” Were it not for the intense focus she had on not acknowledging the sudden nausea, Amandine would have already followed up on her promise of clobbering him.  

It felt like several minutes had passed before she actually felt like she could breathe again. “If I’ve been following this winding story correctly,” Amandine began with a very forced calm in her tone, “Then I am your sibling.”

He nodded once. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.” 

Halone forgive me, this may be my stupidest decision yet. She took her hand off of her staff, and crossed her arms. “Then I am sure you will not refuse this most simple of requests,” she said, and let her arms fall to her sides. “And rest assured, I would be glad to help, should you be willing to accept.” 

His answer was already obvious, even before the words left his mouth. “I accept, then. This is the closest I’ve come to hope in a long, long time.”

“Very well.” Amandine smiled. “Prove it.” 

[tosimornottosim]

Ella: “Well. I ought to go down there. And see about the guests.”

Amandine: “Of course.”

Ginette: “We will wait for you-.

Both: “My lady.”

[words-writ-in-starlight]

starlight! starlight!!! you're one of the few people I know who reads toby daye and pls I need to yell with someone about night and silence because IT WAS SO GOOD I'M DYING I HAD TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN AND WALK AWAY SEVERAL TIMES

@maelace​ asked:

Have you read the new October Daye book yet? Because oh my goodness I must know what you think!

Y’ALL

Y A L L

LET’S HAVE A CHAT

OKAY FOLKS

So, some FAIRLY INCOHERENT thoughts about Night and Silence, which I keep calling Nights and Silences because my brain really likes them plurals I guess:

FUCK AMANDINE!!!!!! FUUUUUUUCK AMANDINE!!!!!! I HATE HER SO MUCH!!!!!!  SHE DOES NOT APPEAR ONCE AND YET I AM CONSUMED WITH RAGE

Seanan does such amazing work on all kinds of mental illness stuff, which I think I’ve discussed before re: Toby Daye and her ongoing upward mobility, but fuck the entire Tybalt plotline was so crushing.  That’s what it’s like, is the thing, to watch someone you love retreating from you and not be able to do anything about it because you don’t want to hurt them worse, and I cheered out loud when he came back, and asking Ginevra to come stand in as regent was such a bittersweet scene because on the one hand yes Tybalt my love take care of yourself, but on the other hand I just want him to be okay.  (FUCK Amandine, by the way)

I would die for Quentin, just kind of in general, but I’m specifically really delighted with the subplot of “Quentin thinks Toby could do better than this arrogant tomcat,” and I’m so proud of my best bisexual prince son for calling Tybalt and apparently just ripping into a King with all the worst swears Toby has ever taught him.  I can’t goddamn wait for the King of the Westlands to be this charming, kind-hearted knight-ling whose impeccable etiquette and noble bearing is deeply and profoundly at odds with the fact that he has really kind of absorbed Toby’s problem-solving techniques.  

Aside: there’s nothing I want more than for this series to go on long enough for the Court of the Westlands to be scandalized by their young king jumping up from his throne and hugging a grumpy changeling dressed in a blood-drenched leather coat without regard for his fine silk shirt.  Even more than that, picture the scene.  It’s the coronation of High King Quentin Sollys, attended by royalty and the highest celebrities of Faerie, Sir October Daye grinning fit to split her face with her husband Tybalt and her adopted nephew, the recently ascended King of Dreaming Cats, all looking ready to die from pride.  Quentin’s parents are both crying perfect beautiful tears, as Daoine Sidhe do, and he’s about to be crowned and presented to the people and it’s great and then--  The ceremony is already underway when the door opens again to admit the Luidaeg, as her most terrifyingly Firstborn self, scowling like a storm cloud and gowned like a hurricane, and everyone is fucking terrified for a moment as she sweeps up the aisle toward the dais.  And then she breaks into a smile and holds out her hands to the Crown Prince, and Quentin laughs and rushes into her arms as he cries “I thought you said couldn’t make it!”  And everyone has a moment of religious fear when the sea witch pets his hair fondly and straightens his shirt and then presses a kiss to his forehead and declares to the room at large “You will be a king like none that Faerie has seen in many centuries, because you have a heart as strong and fair and kind as any I have ever seen.”

No one’s sure if it’s a blessing or a prophecy or just a moment of deeply unforeseen maternal affection from the goddamn Luidaeg, but suddenly the sea witch comes to visit the High King on a semi-regular basis and Quentin is delighted and...well, she was right.

Speaking of people I love, I love Danny?  The best rock boy?  He just wants Toby to talk about her feelings, it’s so sweet, I hope they invite him to the wedding so I can read about an eight-foot suit-wearing granite troll sobbing into a handkerchief about how proud he is of Toby.

I ALSO LOVE MAY, God, give me her and Jazz getting married please.  Also I would love to know more about Jazz--maybe a book with the core mystery including Jazz’s flock of Ravenmays?

SOME TAM LIN SHIT GOIN’ DOWN IN THIS BOOK, I GOT A LOT TO SAY

We all know I’m a fucking weak bitch for Tam Lin retellings.  Tam Lin being a lying piece of shit isn’t especially novel, but I LOVE the idea of Janet being the villain of the piece, however unintentionally?  I’m honestly enthralled.  Bitch...give me a novel...make the Luidaeg the main character and let me weep bitter tears for my beloved sea witch....

You know how I just had a whole bit about “Fuck Amandine” up there?  I stand by it.  Furthermore, FUCK JANET.  Every time she gets nasty with Toby I puff up like an angry cat.  

Incidentally, both Janet and Amandine had a (terrible) daughter they doted on, and when their daughter slipped away, they went out and got a replacement that they tried to force to be completely and entirely mortal, without regard for what their replacement wanted or what would be best for them--and ultimately, the person who took the most damage as a result of their selfishness was Toby both times.  Janet is, I guess, slightly better because she seems to at least care about Gillian, but she’s still...weirdly possessive?  She focuses a lot on how Gillian is hers, and hottest of hot takes, love and possession are not the same thing.

Sign me up for front row seats to all of Toby’s family losing their shit over how Janet treats her.  Sign me up for seats in the goddamn orchestra pit when, having started to realize that, actually, Toby did not bail on her, and that Toby is actually a great person who wants nothing more than to have a relationship on Gillian’s terms, and that Janet actively arranged events to drive Toby out of Gillian’s life and then convinced Gillian that Toby didn’t love her, Gillian fucking Comes For Janet’s Whole Life.

Again, the Luidaeg is dear to my heart beyond words, so honestly the fact that she saved Toby all the way back in An Artificial Night by breaking Michael’s Ride like Janet broke Maeve’s, right down to singing the ballad of Tam Lin to hold the magic in place...not to sound like a little old white lady, but that shit is breathtaking, yo. Talk to me forever about how Toby is the first family the Luidaeg has loved and been loved by in a long time, about how the Luidaeg used the same ancient magic that destroyed her life to save this woman who wasn’t yet her favorite niece from the man who used to be her beloved brother, about how the Luidaeg’s entire life is about taking the skins of tragedies and making something new.

Anyway, on to non-Tam Lin things.  Gillian...honey...you’ve been so lied to by so many people.  Toby is the only parent who ever gave Gillian a choice in which life she wanted to live, and it’s so sad.  All Gillian focuses on in the blood memories Toby sees is how much her car represents freedom and safety and...oh honey.  Oh baby girl.  If Janet and Cliff aren’t careful, now that Gillian knows that they manipulated the truth about Toby to completely take her away from Gillian, she’s going to straight up buck their rules and leave.  (I...want Gillian to live with the Luidaeg?  The only full Selkie in history to have the blessing of the sea witch, living with both feet in Faerie and getting coffee with her mother on weekends, turning the full count of Small Children Who Adore The Luidaeg from one to two.  Let the Luidaeg be Gillian’s weird aunt.)

LET TOBY HAVE HER DAUGHTER BACK.  On Gillian’s terms, because Toby wouldn’t want it any other way, but God, just let them have a relationship.  Let Gillian meet someone who doesn’t have Jocelyn’s blind hero worship or the Luidaeg’s ingrained sense of honor and who will tell her that her mom, A, did not voluntarily leave her, and, B, is legitimately rad as fuck.  And then let them start with awkward weekly coffee dates that turn into an awkward dinner at Toby’s house that turns into a slightly less awkward trip to the movies or something and so on and so forth until they’re close and Gillian understands how much Toby loves her and Toby understands that sometimes it’s okay to push for a relationship.  Because Toby’s willing to do the work, but she’s not willing to push for the relationship because she believes Gillian doesn’t want her around, but Gillian only thinks that way because she believes Toby abandoned her, and the only way that vicious loop is going to change is if Toby actually pushes the boundaries for long enough to explain.

It’s so adorable how Toby thinks Quentin’s gonna be her last squire.  My boy’s going to be gone for two months before Toby comes back to the house with a baker’s dozen children and a mulish expression.  Within a hundred pages she goes from “I’m never having another squire because I’m so unfit for this” to “I should reopen Home and run it myself” and I just.  I love her so much.  She’s so dumb.  She has such a good heart and she’s so dumb.  I’d die for her.  Every fifteen pages in any Toby Daye book I just end up crooning “You’re so stupid, I love you so much” to the pages while Toby fails to notice, again, what an incredible person she is.  I’ve loved watching her grow so much, I’m getting weepy here.

OH MY GOD, AND THE NOVELLA?

HOLY SHIT, THAT JUST.  DESTROYED MY WHOLE SOUL.  EXACTLY EVERYTHING I’VE EVER WANTED FROM A STORY ABOUT A NEW SELKIE.  I FEEL LIKE THIS GIVES A LOT OF SUPPORT TO MY HEADCANON THAT SELKIES HAVE TERRIBLE DREAMS ABOUT BEING CLUTCHED IN BLOODY HANDS WHILE A VOICE WEEPS FOR THEIR MOTHER IN THEIR EAR.  I WANT FIRTHA AND GILLIAN TO BE BEST FRIENDS.  I LOVE HOW DIFFERENTLY FIRTHA OBVIOUSLY TREATS GILLIAN, THE FIRST SELKIE IN HISTORY WHO DID NOT CHOOSE THIS.  I LOVE HOW MUCH ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO THE CHOICE THAT SELKIES MAKE, TO TAKE THE SKIN AND ALL IT CARRIES OR DIE.  

I LOVE SELKIES IN THIS UNIVERSE.  I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE LUIDAEG CALL IN THAT FUCKING DEBT.  HOLY SHIT.

[papalo-palo]

WHM 44, MSQ 28

Each time I am told of a problem that surpasses the Grand Companies' ability to resolve, there is either a masked man or a black-robed figure behind the abuse. These Paragons are harbingers of doom and dismay that harbor abilities beyond what is proper for men to have. In this case, one such Paragon has apparently guided the good Lady Amandine of Haukke Manor to turn to the abuse and murder of young women in the futile search to restore her own beauty. Unfortunately, I understand why Lady Amandine give herself over to such methods.

What I don't understand is why Ursandel went along with her schemes for so long, and then left in silence without alerting anyone to the danger that Lady Amandine had become. To cavort with voidsent is to relinquish the light of one's soul. Or so I have been told.

Ah, my dear diary, you that receive these words, know that I understand Lady Amandine's dilemma more than I am willing to write. As much as I want to condemn her for the voidsent she has brought to her, I can't. Maybe one day I will be able to face why and speak of it plain. Know this for now, my hands are clean, and I have no bond with voidsent. But it is because of voidsent that I sought to become a conjurer in the first place, because I want to prevent [whatever was written here has been blotted out]

No. I can't write about that now. I can't undo the past, but I can prevent it from happening again. The Scions have heard my request for assistance, and have sent three hale members of the order to assist me with stopping Lady Amandine. They are patient and are waiting for me to finish writing this entry. We will enter together as a group, and stop her from harming anyone else. I have no naive faith that she will listen to reason. Not after what she has done already. Though it is my oath as a conjurer to support life and to heal that which is wounded, it is within my oath as a White Mage and as a Scion, to do what is necessary for the good of the realm. If that means sealing Lady Amandine in the void, then that is what must be done.

I am a White Mage of Gridania and a Scion of the Seventh Dawn. May the light of the crystal keep me on my path.

[taytaybooks]

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MUSICALS THREAD #2: AMÉLIE

In the previews where they each hold a prop on a pole and then all together the props assemble the fly they all sang about ahhh😍😍 it’s so clever

PROLOGUE: TIMES ARE HARD FOR DREAMERS

The instrumental- it’s so soothing

“I can see the world I’m dreeaming…all arouuund me”

The change from soothing instrumental to jaunty music 😍

WORLD’S BEST DAD

“As my heart fills with love” The “ba bums” and “ahhs” after that line to show her heartbeat ahh and how everyone (the ensemble) hide behind the door and comes out when they sing the “ahhs” for the heartbeat and how they dance oh this show is too much😍

“We can keep her heartbeat stable

Your school is the kitchen table now”

“Would you like to name him?”

“Fluffy”

*looks of disdain and confusion*

WORLD’S BEST FRIEND

The instrumental at the start😍

The fact that a grown man wears a fish costume on his head and sings onstage I mean wow😂

“Listen to your crazy mom droning on now I’m her bla bla bla bla bla” lmao

“Your parents are crazy

But you can count on meeee” the dancing in this scene oml and the fact that a man dressed as a fish holds a smaller fish and smacks it on the ground so it “flops around”

When the instrumental turns slow again😭 And it’s meant to be a sad part but the fish is scootering around on stage singing “goodbye” in a warbled voice😅

WORLD’S BEST MOM

“We’ll be spending the day at Notre Dame” I love how this is sung

“Now the whole world of Paris picks up speed” I love the way everyone on the train moves forward and backward to show the train’s movement

The “ahhs” before Amandine prays for a son

The nuns/holy people with outrageously huge hats😂 And then the holy person with a dinosaur head on his head😂😂

The dummy hitting Amandine and killing her😂😂 and the chalk on the backdrop depicting a dead silhouette with “mom” next to it

Her dad memorialising the mom with a gnome she hated😂😂😂

TIMES ARE HARD FOR DREAMERS

PIPPA SOO IN GENERAL TBH

“All of these towns I’ve never heard of racing paaaast”

“It isn’t what I have, it’s only what I have in store

That matters now, the past can only fade!”

“And I might be a dreamer

But it’s gotten me this far” this resonates with me idk why

“My own museum full of paintings I look through!

Where everything is clear!

It isn’t where I am

it’s only where I’ll go from here

That matters now!

And I am not afraaaid!

As everything I’ll ever need appears

This is how my world gets maaaaade” especially that last note😍

The set change right before the song finishes😍

GOING ROUND IN CIRCLES deserved to stay on the cast recording☕️🐸

THE COMMUTE

“Stopping atop St. Martin’s canal

Skipping a stooone”

“She cracks créme brûlée”

“And how many couples in Paris are having an orgasm right at this moment! ….Fifteen!” Because every Broadway show needs some nasty in there

“Later this evening her life will chanaaange”

THE BOTTLE DROPS

THE FACT THAT A FRIENDS CLIP IS PLAYING ON THE TV SET AHHHHH

Honestly the instrumental to this song and like every song is just so beautiful😍😍

“Fingers slip, a bottle drops, and falling in slow motion”

The instrumental change😍😍😍

“Slowly crack the treasure open”

“A watch that’s waiting to be wound

A treasure waiting to be found

I am Howard Carter stepping into Tutankhamen’s tomb” ahhh

And while the ensemble is speaking I love the small “Give back the box” and “I have to try” in the background

“If I did I could be like Lady Diiii!” That note tho

THREE FIGS

is so jaunty oml yes

“You’re my best friends inside the Seeeeeine”

“Figs all in a BUNCH” the way he says bunch cracks me up every time

“Figaro is bluuue

There’s nothing on his plate

What’s Lucien to doooo?

He finds the guy a date!“

THE GIRL WITH THE GLASS

“Why is it that someone so young and so full of life spends every night alone at her window?

…Unless all her friends are dwarves and I can’t see them"😂😂 good old Dufayel

“Are you an artist?

Every day I come to a canvas with palette and brush

and I ask myself the same question” shit just got deep guys

“Paintings, these paintings"😍

“But in the end it always comes down to…heeeeer”

“But the girl with the glass looks away”

“Just a young girl who doesn’t belong to anywhere,

anywheeeere or anyoooooone” this really shows how lost Amélie can be and its relatable af TBH

HOW TO TELL TIME

“Look down, Monsieur Bretodeau, doooown” I love how she says this honestly😍😂

“On the ledge, a metal box”

“Unlock the box”

“Here’s how to tell time

How to tell time

How to tell time

How to tell time

How to teeeeell

A cognac please!” This whole part is sung so well ahhh

TOUR DE FRANCE

So jaunty and upbeat I love it

“Listen to the squeak of the bakery cart

Leaving a trail of breadcrumbs”

“Looking through the glass

focused on the feast in the grocery window” I love the way she sings this gah Pippa you angel😍😍

“An envelope opens

A cat in a hallway

A filament flashes, flickers and dies

And there goes a hat

Thrown in the air

Thrown in the aiiir” The ensemble around them and the jazz hands ahhhh

“I can feel every stranger in Paris just waiting to collide

How a heart can pull like a moon as we circle each other

Then crashing together

We end up open wide"😍😍

The "ahhs” before she sings “I can see everything clearly now from heeeeere”

GOODBYE, AMÉLIE

The video showing Amélie doing good around the world😂😂😂

The fact that it’s sung be an Elton John lookalike like whattttt and also how the lookalike has a glittery suit and purple hair😂

“We’re an ocean of rowboats you decided to save” I just really like this line

The “oohs” in the background ahhh

Oh, where will we go

Oh, who will appease us” the way they sing this😍

“Saving orphans!

Stopping fires!

I’ve got the high notes and

I’m singing with the choir!

YEAAAAAAAH!” SHE GOT THE HIGH NOTES ALRIGHT DAMN GIRL

BACKYARD

“I’m thinking of shaving my head

And I really want to try crack” ok the fact that the Pippa Soo said this is explanation enough

“Dad you should come and visit me”

“Nope” so blunt😂

“You’re coming with me” cheeky Amélie

The gnome getting excited about going with the Stewardess mmhmmm

WHEN THE BOOTH GOES BRIGHT

I love how the ensemble dresses up and ‘takes photos’ during the song

“There’s the girl you were

There’s the trip abroad

There’s your father’s smile

There’s the face of God” this has like a really cool nostalgic feeling to it

“There’s when she said yes

There’s the next ten years

There’s the loneliness when she disappears” nostalgia and sadness😍

“What’s the use of trying to hide

Or tearing yourself in two” This seems literal and metaphorical and I love it

SISTER’S PICKLE

“You have to give it back to him. Or you could imagine relating to someone you never meet, build no relationship. Become a nun!”

*actually dresses up as a nun as a disguise to give the book back to Nino in a FUCKING sex shop ok then Amélie*  

“Can I help you?”

“No just browsing"😂😂😂

BASICALLY THE WHOLE SONG LMAO

“He’ll think that I’m a nun

And I am not a nun

He’ll think that I am chaste

And I’m not that chaste

Or I could run awaaaay

Leave his book on the shelf

By the lube and the lingerieeee” out of context this is very weird but I love it😂

“It’s hard to go unseen

At least in this instance with so little distance between” I love this because everyone tries to hide the bad parts but you can’t really do that once you get to know someone well which is sort of what she’s afraid of, but not really?

“I’m not finished with the boy- I mean the book

So I will hold him- hold it till tomorrow” mmhmm girl suuuure keep being in denial sister

And that part at the end where the instrumental changes and ahhhh

“This is so weird” haha no kidding Nino😂

HALFWAY

THIS SONG IS A MASTERPIECE

The instrumental gahhh I swear this song makes me cry

The red fabric backdrop with the equations and waves projected onto it is so cool😍

“But whenever the boat gets halfway there

There is always halfway more”

“In my mother’s schoolhouse

There was always halfway to goo

To gooooo”

“I hear you breathing"😂😂😂

“Who are you?”

“I’m a mystery wrapped in an enigma trapped in a paradox disappearing into thin air”

“Me too"😂

"Little boat, big ocean

I’m the girl with the copper spyglass

who prays that today she will spot her shore

All at once a lighthouse

All at once through the copper spyglass

A light telling me to lean in on the oar

I start to row

But before I can get anywhere

From point A to point B

I am at that kitchen table

where I’ll always be at sea"😍😍😍 this part always gets me when I’m feeling lost and alone and I love the visual projection of it with Amélie moving towards Nino and the sailboat projected onto the red fabric moving towards him too, but then both the boat and Amélie stop and move back away from him ahhh😍💔

"Little boat big oceaaaan” ahh Pippa why is your voice so magical

WINDOW SEAT

“Unsuspended in mid-air And I can see everything from here”

“If I could reach you from Machu Picchu

Then I would say everything I would give anything” this is sweet even if it’s fabricated haha

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE GNOME

Basically the fact that a grown man is dressed as a gnome and singing this fucking song lmao  

I love how they project the Polaroids for the audience to see

Also the fact that the flight attendant/stewardess and the gnome have a little romance going on

“I admit he looks good as a guard

But I want him back in my backyard”

“Do you see that crack in his clay”

“His black paint’s fading to grey”

“Travelling the world is tremendous

But for a garden gnome it’s gotta be hard” poor guy just wants his damn gnome back man

“The stewardesses, they always wonder, doesn’t matter where I roam

She asks "are you one of Santa’s elves?”

And I say “ma'am I am a gnome”

“Back before these feelings made me feeeel thingsss” this is so relatable honestly

“Dad this is Suzaaaanne” girl I see you😂 but seriously Amélie is so pure she matchmakes her own dad and boss gah

THIN AIR

“The frame tries to hide you

Just like a disguise

But I know that face

From the look in your eyes

So I’m reaching out to you”

“Whooooo are you now

When all youuu have is thiiin aiir around youuuu”

“It’s easy to vanish when no one’s around

Your footsteps fall silent as snow on the ground

And I may be hammered but I can hear my heart pound

And it’s reaching out to youuu

Reaching out to youuuuu”

As I’m typing this I’m realising I very well may just be in love with the whole song….

Also ADAM CHANLER-BERAT

“It’s too easy to disappear these days

There you go but nobody sees it

You leave a photo behind for a stranger to see

But now you’re so close I swear I can feel you

No more stories just show me the real you

And I promise that I’ll let you see the real me” awwww Nino😍

“So who are you now

When all I see is a face that hides way love until

You’re alone in a place you

Hide away until you’re alooooone

With thin aiiiiiiiiiiir

Arouuuuund you” 😍😍😍especially how the first line is sung

WRITING ON THE WALL

Amélie’s disguise when she spray paints the quote lmaooo😂

So this song is pretty short but it sounds so ethereal and beautiful😍

Like honestly who would even think it’d be a random as quote from an aspiring writer😂😂

BLUE ARROW SUITE

SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SONG I LOVE IT WITH ALL MY HEART

The soft, magical sounding instrumental after “bring five francs”

“Here on a hill

There sits a great cathedral

Where I’ve left a trail

That only goes so far

Here I can keep him moving forward

And keep things as they are

Halfway to love

And just close enough

To Sacre-Couer"😍😍😍 it’s so beautifully sung and the words ahhh

"I know my heart Is speaking with a murmur

Making the sound that only I can hear

All I can manage is a whisper

Of this heartbeat trapped inside

Here in this place

Grant me the grace

To be amplified” and then the instrumental changes ahhh it’s so beautiful

The hats the ensemble in the carousel are wearing😂😂

“Maybe I can try and stay

Just stand right here

Here he comes!

Screw that!

Run away!” Amélie is forever relatable and so cute😂😍

And then the “ahhs” after the last verse (if you saw my Anastasia post you probably realised I have a thing for “ahhs”)

THE LATE NINO QUINCAMPOIX

The fact that she’s so paranoid and has such an overactive imagination that this whole song is basically her imagining a scenario where he gets hit and almost dies

The part where the ensemble joins in😍

“Current flows through Nino’s arteries

Which stops his heart

As train parts tear his limbs apaaaart” lovely imagery😂😂 and their reactions lmaoo

“Who has time for a guy like that

For a guy who doesn’t know

How to tell time

How to tell time

How to tell

Ahhhhhhh"😍😍 when Nino arrives and everyone else goes crazy lmao😂😂

A BETTER HAIRCUT

The instrumental is so jaunty?upbeat? Idk I just know that I love it

"Everything was going perfect

In the circus

Until the day he dropped me

And then dropped me for the tattooed lady”

“She broke her leg in seven places”

“I did"😂😅 the usual you know

"And it seems that every single guy I know

Has another lady on the side show”

“You know our girl’s a fragile egg”

“Don’t break her heart”

“Or break her leg"😂 this whole song goes from funny to sweet lmao

"She’s not a waitress who will take your order”

“Bring your food or fill your refills”

“Except when working at the Windmills” 😂😂 when they forget she actually works as a waitress lmao but very good message, this musical is/was gold😍 I miss it so much😭😭

“Can you prove?”

“That youuuuu are a looooover for the ages

Can you proooove that”

“Youuuuuuu are not highly contagious"😂😂😂

I love that they shove him & his table out of the way so they can dance

"Love is just another diagnosis

Like bacterial vaginosis” Oml this song kills me 😂😂😂 WHO WROTE THESE LYRICS

“I love her and I don’t know her name” Nino is such a sweetheart awww

“All the while while love infects us

The side effect is that love connects us” this extended metaphor is weird af but it works so well and I love it because it also manages to give us all a great message😍👏👏

STAY

THIS SONG IS SO CUTE I LOVE IT

“But don’t expect me to play fair”

“I hear you coming

What can I do to

Drown out this drumming”

“No turning back now that you took the breadcrumbs

And I lost the way

And arrows fall out of thin air

If I could just find the right words to say

Would you stay right there

I like you right there”

“Stay where you are

Safe enough range

Try to move closer

You’ll only get halfway

Pin down your heart

Put out the flame

Don’t come any closer

But don’t move awaaaay”

And the canon effect of Nino and Amélie (he kind of like echoes her?) in “stay where you are” and “pin down your heart”^😍

HALFWAY (REPRISE)

“Is it true that you’ve solved Zeno’s paradox?” I love the way she sings this gah

“I have to do more than stay”

“Even though I am always halfway there”

“I could meet you there halfway” I ship them so much

AND THEN THEY KISSSSSSS

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE

AKA THE SONG I WOULD SELL MY SOUL FOR ITS SO BEAUTIFUL

“Where do we go from here

Now that you are standing by my side

After all there’s more to life than holding you” 😍😍

“After all there’s more to life than we can see

Will there be troubles?

I don’t know

Will there be sweet things?

I hope so

Will there be time to keep on dreaming when this dream is over?” This is so realistic ahhh I want to legitimately cry, such a real and beautiful love😍

“What happens when you can’t hold on

Or when I can’t hold on to you?”

I love the faces they make when taking pictures in the photo booth😂

“What’s gonna happen?

I don’t know

But whatever happens

Here we go

What’s gonna happen

And where do we go

From here?” A perfect ending to a perfect musical that deserved better❤️

Other Threads

Anastasia

[tosimornottosim]

WAIT WAIT I'M SORRY I KNOW I JUST SENT ONE BUT PLS I WANT YOU TO HURT ME: DEAR JALIL FROM AMANDINE

Dear Jalil,

...

Oh. Oh, what to say to you.

A girl like me isn’t expected to do much. Learn to be an entertaining song bird, learn a few cute tricks. Use my hips as fodder, spew out a boy. Be a beautiful, stupid trinket. And I was alright with that. It brings safety in a world like this.

But you.

You looked at me like I was fate herself. You dreamed of me before you saw my face. You wanted me before you saw my body. You desired me.

It’s shameful, but I desire you. Still. Even after it all, I want you. I want you to hold me and kiss me and tell me the world will be alright. And even if I can’t have that, I’d be happy to just have you alive. To know you still breath air. Even if you left. Even if you never met me. I’d be joyful to know that you survived and that you still walked this earth.

The world is so much less without you.

I am married. And I love him as well as he loves me. We work well together. 

But. Sometimes I dream of you.

Do you still dream of me?

-Lady von Aleshire

[shannaraisles]

A Rose By Any Name - Chapter 2

In which the princess of Antiva arrives in Denerim, and learns exactly why she’s there. Banner created by the fabulous @kagetsukai!

[Read on AO3] or [From the beginning]

Chapter 2

"If you would just step this way, your highness ..."

Princess Felicita Amelia Braulia Salome of Antiva ignored the seneschal trying to usher her out of the courtyard, taking a moment to lower her hood and look around the gray walls of the royal palace of Denerim.

It was not what she had been told to expect; indeed, it far surpassed her father's dubious descriptions. He had painted Ferelden as a miserable, cold sort of place, where there was little joy to be found and less color. As the eighth daughter of his line - and four more still to be found a place for, if they didn’t kill each other vying for the succession - he could not afford to be picky, and the plutocracy of the merchants had agreed that placing an Antivan princess on the throne of Ferelden might do very nicely, for all its shortcomings. They, too, had warned her that the southern country was a drab place, lacking in the refinements she was accustomed to; some had even gone so far as to suggest Ferelden was lacking in basic good manners.

Yet this description did not mesh with the country as she had seen it thus far. Amaranthine had certainly been a sallow sort of place, but justifiably so - they were still rebuilding after the catastrophic darkspawn attack after the end of the Blight. Even so, the people there had been smiling about their work, eager to take a look at the nobles who disembarked. Word had reached them well in advance that these ladies of Antiva, Nevarra, and the Free Marches were prospective queens, and the welcome they had given was warm, indeed. As for a land that lacked color, well ... Felicita had seen green fields beneath snow, blue skies, bright clothing. She had seen dried flowers in red and white and deep purple, familiar and unfamiliar to her Antivan eyes, and in some places, fresh growing by the side of the road, even here at the waning end of winter. Far from misery, she had witnessed cheerful good nature at the inns and noble homes opened for herself and her party to stay at on their journey from the port city. These people were fiercely proud of their land and heritage, possessed of a deep love for their king, whose history as both a bastard and a hero were points they elucidated on with equal pleasure. Indeed, as soon they identified that she was from Antiva, not Orlais, the people she had met had gone out of their way to sell their King Alistair's finer points to her.

Admittedly, she had not known until her ship had docked at Amaranthine that this was to be a competition of sorts. It had been a surprise to note that her traveling companions to Denerim were Ladies Callista Damaris of Nevarra, Ceridwyn Ardvale of Kirkwall, Leona Charing of Starkhaven, and Amandine Orrick of Tantervale, all of whom had also been invited by Arl Eamon Guerrin to attend upon King Alistair of Ferelden for a full month in the hope of being asked to become his queen. Felicita could foresee all sorts of problems in the days ahead, especially given the gossip that had been filtering through to them. They five were not the only ladies invited to Denerim for this bride-finding event, it seemed; they were simply the five who necessity dictated should arrive at the same port at the same time. There were, apparently, five others to contend with, also.

Of the ladies she traveled with, however, Felicita saw only two as potential problems - Callista was of the numerous Pentaghast clan, but her lack of that name made her all the more ambitious to snag a crown of her own if she possibly could; and Amandine was a picture perfect proposition for the king ahead of them, hiding her own ambitions behind sweet manners and an easy wit. Ceridwyn clearly already had her cap set toward the Teryn of Highever, who had met them in the port city to escort the group to Denerim, and despite himself, he was clearly flattered to be the beneficiary of the vivacious redhead's attentions. As for Leona, well ... that girl would be happier in a Chantry, anyone could see that. She said and did all the right things, but her fervor for Andraste's teachings were a little too much for anyone who wasn't expecting the zeal to erupt from such a pretty face. Felicita herself was not entirely sure she wanted to be a part of this rather demeaning display of women squabbling over an eligible man, however high his rank, but her father had spoken well of King Alistair. She was prepared to wait, and use her own judgment as to how closely she would fight this battle.

But here she was, in this gray country that was looking forward to the first flush of spring, and despite everything she had been told, she found she rather liked it. It was wholly different to Antiva City, but no lesser for that difference. Her soft amberite eyes scanned the thick glass windows above her, hesitating for a moment on the sight of someone male looking down at her.

"Your highness?"

Blinking out of her contemplation of that indecipherable face high above, Felicita turned her attention back to the seneschal, finally accepting his invitation to enter the palace as she laid her hand over his own.

"Thank you, my lord."

She smiled warmly as he escorted her into a drafty vestibule hung with heraldic tapestries depicting the dual mabari of both Ferelden itself and the royal house, crimson against gold. The floor was gray stone but clean, a sturdy reed mat laid out for visitors to scrape the mud from their boots before advancing further into the castle itself. The seneschal lead her into the next room, a wide antechamber dominated by a large double door, and two flights of steps leading upward on either side of it. The space was bustling with servants and nobles, deep in preparation for the feast that evening; a feast that was as much to welcome the arrival of the various ladies as it was to mark Wintersend. Again, the walls were hung with bright tapestries, this time an array of heraldic devices, most notably those of Highever and the Couslands, and of Amaranthine and Denerim and, perhaps surprisingly, the Grey Wardens. Though the gray stone of the walls lent a chill to the air, the effect was warmed by the thick rugs that covered the floor and the steps leading upward. Felicita felt no hesitation in removing her gloves as the seneschal left her side, her eyes turning to the rotund gentleman in bright purple hose and deep green doublet who approached her.

"Ah, Don Carmello?" she asked, recognising him from her father's description. White beard, black eyebrows, deceptively friendly smile. That was definitely him.

The Antivan ambassador bowed low, his gaze sparkling cheerfully as he let forth his greeting in the familiar rolling syllables of the language they both shared, kissing her hand more as though she were a favored grandchild than a princess of his country.

"In Common, if you please, ambassador," Felicita interrupted him gently. "We should not be so rude as to conceal our thoughts from the ears of those who are here to watch over us. We are guests, not enemies."

The ambassador frowned, glancing at the bustle of humans and elves all around them. "Ah, your highness," he said in a wary tone, careful to choose his words now he was under orders to speak in a language everyone here understood. "Your father, the king, was most concerned that you should have some means to communicate without fear of being overheard."

"And why is that?" Felicita asked in an innocent tone. "I have no secrets. My father's inability to tell me that my invitation was to take part in a competition, however, would suggest that he has a few secrets of his own."

"Nonetheless, princesa, my orders ..."

Felicita turned to face him fully, uncaring that others could hear plainly. "Ambassador, if you insist upon speaking in Antivan, you must become accustomed to hearing me state in Common every word you say," she informed him. "We are guests in this land, not spies, and not enemies. I will not be so rude to my hosts, nor will I allow you to do the same."

Carmello stuttered for a moment, but Felicita was used to the Antivan way. Women were theoretically to be seen and not heard, pieces of mobile beauty to be pampered and sweetened and considered uneducated. The reality was that many Antivan women were highly educated, and often doing the work of their entire household. But still the pretty ideal persisted, especially in those men who had been away from home for a while. She held his gaze steadily, sweetening her expression with a small smile. And he gave in, sighing and muttering in Antivan about spoiled princesses.

Felicita laughed politely as he gestured for her to accompany him up the left-hand flight of stairs. "Ambassador, I still understand Antivan," she reminded him in amusement. "I did not suddenly become Ferelden by virtue of extending a simple courtesy to these people."

"Ah, forgive me, your highness." Carmello cleared his throat, apparently changing his preferred approach. He'd been away from Antiva too long. "You are to be quartered among the other ladies. This palace is laid out unusually - there is an entire floor dedicated to the comfort of guests, above the royal quarters."

"I see." She nodded as they walked. "What can you tell me of this arrangement, ambassador? I know only what little my father told me, and scant detail from the other ladies I found myself traveling with."

"Your highness, this is an unusual occasion," Carmello explained as they mounted the stairs, steering the way to the next flight upward that would take them to the guest quarters. "The nobility of Ferelden have lost patience with their King. As a Grey Warden, there is a risk that he will never produce a child at all, yet the longer he waits to wed, the greater that risk becomes. The Landsmeet - the gathering of banns and arls - have set his wedding date already. King Alistair will wed on Summerday."

"If they have set his date, why have they not also chosen his bride?" Felicita asked, more curious than offended. It seemed reasonable enough to put this kind of pressure on a King who had already had ten years to secure his line and had done nothing to prevent civil war upon his death.

"King Alistair is a very popular man among the common people," the ambassador explained to her. "He is one of their heroes, one of the Grey Wardens who ended the Blight; a man who bears the stigma of illegitimacy, and yet became their king. He has a bad habit of looking them in the eye when he speaks to them, as well. If it were to become known that he was being forced into a marriage, the people would rise to prevent it, most are certain. As it is, he has agreed to this arrangement - that he will choose, by the first day of Drakonis, which lady of birth he will wed."

"And if he does not choose?" the princess asked, glancing at the man beside her sharply.

Carmello winced. "The Landsmeet will choose for him," he sighed. It was a good arrangement, but he'd met the king on more than one occasion. It wasn't a fair arrangement for that man. "With a civil war only ten years in the past, the issue of succession is a hotly debated point."

"I see." Felicita nodded thoughtfully as they came to a halt. "Then Mama's cryptic comments about seeing me soon were not her attempt to cheer me into embarking upon the journey with a light heart."

The ambassador had the decency to look discomforted. "Alas, no, your highness," he admitted. "The invitations for the wedding have already been sent. The, ah, the name of the bride will, of course, be announced on the first day of Drakonis."

Felicita felt her usually warm expression settle into something that was decidedly put out. This was not the situation she had been allowed to believe she was walking into. A bride-finding competition, where the groom was not entirely willing, and the wedding date already set ... this was a small nightmare in the making.

"This ... contest," she said carefully. "Would I be right in thinking it is not the king's idea?"

"Sí, princesa," he agreed, seemingly more comfortable to admit to this than to the rest of it. "Arl Eamon Guerrin is the king's chief advisor. He has been pressing for a marriage for quite some years now, and it is known that he favors Orlais."

Felicita snorted, hastily turning the unladylike sound into a delicate cough. "Even I know, Don Carmello, that Ferelden will never stomach an Orlesian queen," she pointed out, surprised and a little pleased to note the smile that blossomed suddenly on the face of the elven servant stepping past them as she spoke. "Come, show me where I am to be quartered, and tell me about this ridiculous situation in greater detail."

"Of course, your highness."

The ambassador lead her from the staircase through an imposing door, into a wide corridor from which other doors lead. The rug runner on the floor was a deep shade of crimson, bordered in gold thread that glittered in the light of the torches illuminating the dark space. Some kind of incense was burning to fragrance the passageway, no doubt as a fop to those of the ladies who objected to the smell of honest sweat and the vague hint of musky mabari that clung to everything in this city. Felicita could hear voices behind some of those doors, yet there was a louder collection of feminine voices where the passageway opened far ahead. She glanced curiously at the ambassador.

"A common area, your highness," he explained, drawing to a halt beside a door that had been hung with the Antivan royal crest, no doubt to make it easier for her to find her resting place while she was here. "I believe it was thought that the princesses and ladies of rank would like a place where they might engage in traditionally feminine pastimes in relative privacy, and to build social ties with one another."

Felicita raised her brow, biting down on her smile as she passed through the door beside him. "A man made that decision, yes?" she asked, raising her hands to undo the clasp of her cloak.

Carmello chuckled lightly, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "Indeed. Arl Eamon does not appear to understand people so very much."

With the door closed behind him, Felicita finally laughed at the prospect of being expected to make nice with nine other women for an entire month, while all of them were vying for the matrimonial advantage of being Queen of Ferelden. It was utterly ridiculous. This arl was a fool if he thought there would be no unpleasantness simply because they were all women of rank. Noblewomen could be vicious when cornered. It would actually be easier to handle if they could draw knives and fight it out like men, but sadly the noble ranks didn't like to encourage their ladies to learn useful skills. Well, most countries' noble ranks did not. She could name at least two other women in this little contest who could likely draw a blade with confidence.

Still, perhaps the arl had thought that the noble ladies invited would prefer not to go to bed at ridiculous hours if they were not at the king's beck and call. The room Carmello had brought her to was spacious, certainly, but it was definitely a bedchamber. A wide hearth dominated one wall, the fire crackling in the grate more than welcome in the chill of the winter. The warm cast of firelight complimented the weaker spill of winter sunlight through the thick glass that filled the window between leads, illuminating the arm chairs that had been placed about the hearth. The bed, of course, dominated the room. Not a four-posted monstrosity, nor a dark-wooded maw; it was carved of pleasant oak, sturdy and simple, laid with soft linens and thick blankets, a bright quilt turned back to reveal the Theirin crest on the uppermost blanket. Felicita bit her lip as she fought to hide her smile, imagining the reaction of certain of her traveling companions at the thought of sleeping underneath the family crest of the man they hoped to marry. Scandalous.

"Oh ... please be seated, ambassador," she said belatedly, gesturing toward the armchairs by the fire as she removed her cloak, laying it over the folded quilt at the end of the bed. Her own chest had already been brought in, and judging by the sounds coming from beyond the door set the wall opposite the hearth, a maid was busily hanging her gowns and preparing to order a bath.

Carmello waited politely until she took a seat herself before easing himself down into one of the armchairs comfortably, letting out a low sigh of relief. "I, myself, am not quartered in the palace proper," he told her, "but should you need me at any hour, do not hesitate to send a message. My purpose here is to ease your way, your highness."

Settling her skirts comfortably, Felicita leaned back in her chair. "Tell me what I am to expect from these weeks ahead of me, ambassador," she answered, her momentary levity set aside in favor of thoughtful discussion. "How, exactly, the king is expected to woo ten women in the course of a single month."

Carmello sighed, shaking his head. He, too, thought it was an ambitious plan of the arl's, but it was clear that Arl Eamon believed he could sway his king toward a wife perhaps already chosen.

"In truth, your highness, I am uncertain quite how he is to make such a choice," he admitted. "The full detail of the month has not yet been decided. I believe the king has insisted upon being allowed to make his own decisions for some few days as to the entertainments and so on, but has yet to confirm those decisions."

That was encouraging, at least. It appeared that King Alistair was not the weak king some suspected he was, though Felicita had not truly believed him weak to begin with. He had killed an archdemon before taking the crown; he had resisted marriage for a full decade, and drawn his people slowly out of the depression left over them by the Blight. Even the eruption of the mage-templar conflict within his borders had not overwhelmed him. She tapped her fingertip against her lower lip as Carmello went on.

"There is, of course, the Wintersend feast this evening," the ambassador told her. "I am told there will be dancing, though it will undoubtedly depend upon the arl's whim. There are days set aside throughout the month for the king to spend with each lady - the names were drawn by lot, to prevent rank or partiality on the part of the arl from weighting the dice, so to speak."

"That does make sense," the princess mused, glancing up as an elven servant-girl slipped from the chamber briefly, took one look at them sat together, and abruptly skipped straight back into what she assumed was the dressing chamber. She smiled faintly, making a mental note to reassure the girl that she had not been intruding. "In that case, I should imagine I will have at least a week, if not longer, to observe the king and come to my own conclusions?"

"Certainly, your highness," Carmello assured her warmly. "The day set aside for your accompanying the king is the thirteenth. Of course, before then, you will have ample opportunity to at least form your own opinion of him. A theater troupe has been invited to perform at the palace; there is an evening planned to celebrate the different cultures of the ladies attending the ..." He groped for the right word.

"Meat market," Felicita provided in a wry tone. She was definitely not impressed with the fact that she had been sent to partake in a competition for the hand of a man who apparently didn't want to get married in the first place.

"I would not say that, princesa," Carmello said, attempting to placate her.

"Ambassador, these ladies are here seeking a crown," she pointed out to him in a weary tone. "Were it only the crown as the prize, perhaps I would choose to engage in such sport. But the crown is worn by a man who has shown no interest in marrying for ten years, and does so now only because his noble ranks will rebel against him otherwise. This is a troubled land, and I feel sure it has a troubled king. What they want is a queen; what he needs is a wife. And I will not engage in deceptions simply to be named queen. I will do my duty, I will play my role, but I will not actively seek to become Queen of Ferelden unless I see more in the man than his troubles and his crown."

Don Carmello stared at her for a long moment, his mouth working silently as he made a valiant effort to draw this display of spirit together with the picture King Fulgeno had painted of an obedient daughter who showed no inclination to fight for her right to rule and would be better suited to a life away from the political machinations of Antiva.

"Then, your highness, I will hope that the man behind the crown earns your interest and your respect," he said finally. "King Alistair is a good man. A little impulsive, perhaps; certainly not as well bred as many of his court, but his manners do not suffer for that. He is a little overwhelmed by his duties, I would venture to say, yet he expresses himself well, and his people are very fond of him. Still, the life of a lone monarch is an isolated one. If I may be so bold ... he would be lucky to have you as his wife. And Ferelden would be blessed to have you for their queen."

Felicita smiled her public smile, her fingertip pressing into her lower lip as she eyed the ambassador. "I think you are attempting to both humor and encourage me, Don Carmello," she accused in a gentle tone, "but I thank you for it. It promises to be a long month."

"And soon to begin," Carmello agreed, rising to his feet to bow to her. "I will leave you to your preparations, your highness. Please, allow me to welcome you to Ferelden once again."

"Thank you, ambassador. I will see you this evening."

"Princesa."

The ambassador bowed once again, letting himself out through the door. Felicita sighed at the sound of a particularly strident voice in the corridor outside, broad Orlesian tones expressing displeasure at a volume that was quickly shut out as the door drew closed in his wake. A full month living in close proximity with nine other women, all of whom were eager for a crown. She was going to have to check her belongings daily.

"Just like home," she mused, rolling her eyes as she rose to her feet, moving to look out through the window at the gray winter sky. There was the possibility, of course, that no one here was going to be actively trying to kill her, but even so ... Hands folded at her waist, she turned her head toward the dressing chamber. "You may come out now."

A pinched face came into view, worry dominant in the slanted eyes that looked over at her as the elven servant bobbed several curtsies in the doorway between the bedchamber and dressing room.

"Begging your pardon, my lad- ... your highness, I mean," she apologized. "I meant no offense."

Felicita smiled at the girl. "And you gave none," she assured her. "Are you to be my assistant while I am here?"

The elf nodded, a half smile of her own flickering proudly on her face. "Aye, mil- ma'am. Marta said to make sure you know that if you don't want an elf, she can send someone else in my place."

"Nonsense," the princess said easily. After all, though elves were still second-class citizens in Antiva, they seemed to hold higher respect simply for existing there than they did in other lands. Her smile gentled as she spoke again. "What is your name?"

"Andra, your highness." Another curtsy, this time with her hands thrust firmly at her back. Clearly Marta - who must be in charge of the ladies-maids - was formidable enough to have drilled them ruthlessly.

"Well then, Andra, it is a pleasure to meet you." Felicita felt almost embarrassed by the grateful smile on the girl's face as she bobbed yet another curtsy. What was life like for elves here if a simple polite greeting could be taken with such warmth? "It has been a very long journey. Would it be possible to take a bath before I must dress to impress the king and his guests, do you suppose?"

Andra nodded quickly. "Oh, yes, mi- your highness," she said, stumbling over the high rank of the lady she had been assigned to. "I'll order the water in, and fetch everything you'll need. Will you be wanting to wash your hair?"

"Do you think we can dry it in time?" Felicita heard herself ask, trying not to show her amusement at the eagerness the girl showed her.

"Oh, certainly, your highness," Andra insisted, evidently confident of her skills, even if this Marta was not. "We'll use hot combs and warm towels. You'll be dry in no time, I promise you."

"Then I should very much like to wash my hair," Felicita told her, unable to keep the relief from her voice. A chance to wash all the filth of travel from every part of herself was the best means she could think of for preparing herself for what was coming.

"Very good, your highness."

As Andra curtsied yet again and slipped from the room to organize a bath for the princess of Antiva, Felicita turned back to the window with another low sigh, wincing at the shriek from the chamber opposite her own as the inhabitant made some discovery not to her liking. Yes, the month ahead promised to be long, indeed. She felt a pang of sympathy for King Alistair, being set up as little more than a crown and a prize for the most suitable lady invited to this rather humiliating display. Still, she was here, and for her father's sake she would behave as a princess should. For her own sake, however, she would bide her time and come to her own decision. Andraste's blood, there must be something in this king, this man, that would welcome a companion for his years. Perhaps she would find an appropriate wife for him among these other ladies; coach her into a position of success.

Perhaps this month of being on display would not be so bad, after all.