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terramythos · 1 year

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TAYLOR READS 2022: BE THE SERPENT BY SEANAN MCGUIRE

Title: Be The Serpent (October Daye #16)

Author: Seanan McGuire

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, First-Person, Female Protagonist

Rating: 10/10

Date Began: 09/23/2022

Date Finished: 10/25/2022

Things are going great for October “Toby” Daye; she’s just gotten married to the love of her life, and the future looks positive. But her entire world changes when Jessica Brown, daughter of her best friend Stacy, is brutally murdered. As Toby puts the pieces together, she is betrayed by someone she thought she could trust— and an ancient enemy returns to terrorize Faerie.

“Hello, October,” she said, and her voice was hers and not hers at the same time, the echoing, terrible voice of a goddess, and oh, I was so completely screwed.

For live reading notes, check the reblogs (warning for heavy spoilers).

Content warnings and review (spoiler-free and spoiler versions) under the cut.

Content Warnings: Depicted — Eye trauma/gore (it’s the chapter header art), death, filicide, child death, violence, gore, mind control, drug use (kinda), drug addiction, warfare (kinda), kidnapping. Mentioned — Torture, child abuse, genocide, human sacrifice, domestic abuse.

**SPOILER FREE REVIEW**

Oh, October Daye, a series near and dear to my heart. Obviously it has some appeal for me, considering I’ve made it to book 16. It’s a Faerie-based urban fantasy series (though less urban in recent years) with memorable twists, great character development, and a concerted effort toward broad LGBT representation. That being said, it is hard for me to wholeheartedly recommend this series to others; it’s long, and while some entries are incredible, others… aren’t. The previous book, When Sorrows Come, is the worst in the series due to egregious filler and bizarre editorial issues. By contrast, Be The Serpent is fantastic, featuring a satisfying, emotional payoff built up from the very first book.

October Daye focuses heavily on the long game. While I’m sure some characters and plots are invented whole-cloth, it’s clear many story beats and developments have been planned from inception. A core component of the series revolves around hidden identities. Almost every major character (and there are a lot of them) is either secretly someone else or has something to hide. In a series full of crazy setups and payoffs, Be The Serpent contains the most shocking one yet; no small feat. According to the opening acknowledgments, this was planned a good fifteen books ago. From most authors, I’d be skeptical of such a claim, but I completely believe it here; so many weird details suddenly make sense.

If you’re not familiar with October Daye but have some interest in the series, I recommend reading to at least An Artificial Night (#3, the first major turning point) and seeing if you wish to continue from there. As I said, the series is a little hit or miss, but the hits are fantastic. My personal favorite entries are An Artificial Night (#3), The Winter Long (#8), The Brightest Fell (#11), and now this bombshell, Be The Serpent (#16).

**SPOILER REVIEW**

Jesus fucking Christ, STACY was Titania? Quite literally the last character I’d ever expect. But by God does it explain the weird shit going on with her bloodline and children. It looks like a lot of people suspected this, but I genuinely had no idea. I didn’t expect the casual “Stacy’s kids are kind of weird, huh” detail to explode in such a gut-wrenching way. Yeah, when the pre-release blurb mentioned the betrayal of a long-time ally, my sister and I immediately thought of the two most suspicious characters (Marcia and Stacy) but my brain never made the Titania connection. So like… half-guessed the twist, I guess? Even if Stacy was our second choice?

Anyway, this entry is highly reminiscent of The Winter Long, which is nothing but a compliment. I’ll have to ruminate on whether this beats that book and/or The Brightest Fell in terms of personal enjoyment. I had many complaints about When Sorrows Come and distinctly remember saying the series NEEDS a Winter Long-type shakeup. Well god damn did Be The Serpent deliver. I’m so pumped for where the series is going; I hope the days of filler plots and forgettable villains are behind us now.

Be The Serpent pulls no punches. Its inciting incident is the brutal murder of Jessica Brown, a recurring child character. There’s an overwhelming sense of unease as her mother Stacy becomes more and more suspicious. The reveal that Stacy is (unwittingly) Titania, who’s trapped in an eternal loop of cursed reincarnation and child murder, is… quite something. “Stacy” even MEANS “resurrection”, an infuriating bit of foreshadowing. Titania has been built up as a major antagonist throughout the series, and there’s a stark contrast between her and Stacy, a stalwart ally since book one. I think one thing McGuire did especially well in this novel is portray the transition between the two characters; the sense of wrongness when “Stacy” says something off-color just ramps up the tension until it explodes.

I’ve mentioned this a lot already, but this book solidifies my suspicion that Marcia is Maeve. Be The Serpent all but looks the reader in the eye to say that reveal is coming next, and that she’s someone we know. And there’s a ton of evidence both in this book and previous entries that line up with Marcia– her name, Firstborn acting strange around her, her ambiguous history and heritage, her association with water, the whole “can see through reality” line Toby drops and then refuses to elaborate on, the lack of suspicion around her, and so on. She is the only character in the huge cast that makes sense. I kinda hope the next book is the one to drop the reveal, especially after so much specific buildup for it in this entry.

Be The Serpent also ends on a cliffhanger, which I believe is a series first. Even though A Killing Frost drops the Oberon twist at the end, it still wraps up its conflict. Things are ambiguous here though. Toby has been kidnapped and brainwashed? Is she in a dream, a manufactured reality, or has Titania actually bent the world to her own whims? Is the August Toby encounters actually her half-sister, an illusion, or someone else? Is “Father” Simon and “Mother” Amandine? There’s also the unanswered question re: how Simon managed to resist Titania’s mind control toward the end of the book; he is “of her blood”, and his genetically identical twin Sylvester fell under her thrall. Until this point, Simon has been the poster child for “easily mind controlled” – by Titania’s daughter Eira no less– so I’ve got nothing on why that happened. Whatever is next, I’m looking forward to it. While recent entries have been a little hit or miss, the final chapter of Be The Serpent establishes an intriguing premise in the next book, at least.

#taylor reads #book review #10/10 #i'm back! and trying a new format for these

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titaneia · 3 years

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insp.

#ive still never listened to this song KJNDKQNJCK #or any of that album..... uh.........#anyways!!!!!!!! titania core <3 #˛ ⠀ ⠀ * ⠀ ⠀ ⁽ ⠀ ⊹ ⠀ ⁾ ⠀ ⠀ ǝɥɔʎsd⠀ ⠀ 、 ⠀ ⠀ ﹕ �� ⠀ last year i abstained‚ this year i devour .#˛ ⠀ ⠀ * ⠀ ⠀ ⁽ ⠀ ⊹ ⠀ ⁾ ⠀ ⠀ ǝɓɐsıʌ⠀ ⠀ 、 ⠀ ⠀ ﹕ ⠀ ⠀ wild poison‚ cracked glass .#* edits : mine.

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sporesgalaxy · 2 years

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PLEASE tell me abt your pony divorce ocs. They look so funny and interesting

THANKS. POST-DIVORCE MARRIAGE COUNSELING SELFIE

anyways most of it is actually still a bit vague. you can see the stuff ive drawn so far in my mlp oc tag

besides that here's the concept for Fairy & Changeling lore in general, which is of course intertwined with Titania and Oberon:

....

the ponies & equines of Equestria channel harmony magic in order to live harmoniously with each other and with nature & magic, yeah?

Fairies channel Wild Magic to do whatever they please, living chaotically and often selfishly in places (mostly) untouched by Harmony Magic like the Everfree Forest.

Wild Magic was abundant under Discord's rule! Fairies prospered, happy to live in his chaotic world! But once Luna and Celestia imprisoned him, Harmony Magic began to spread.

For a time, the Fairies still lived alongside ponies, in wild places untamed by Harmony magic which bordered the fledgeling Equestria. During this time, Titania and Oberon were king and queen of the fairies.

Titania developed a fascination with ponies, spending a lot of her time among them in disguise. Oberon preferred to keep the company of fairies, only really seeing ponies as playthings, and never taking Titania's attachment to them seriously.

Eventually, Harmony magic had encroached on enough Fairy territory for things to start feeling cramped. The fairies had little reason to pick a fight with ponykind, which was but a blip on their long, immortal lives. Oberon proposed that the fairies should all enter a deep, magical sleep until Wild magic had spread to their liking once again.

Titania refused. She was very close with a particular mortal pony at this point, and couldn't bear the thought of sleeping through the entire life of her dear friend. Oberon, as usual, brushed her off. Taking for granted that she'd "come around eventually," he went to sleep with his court.

Titania and any other fairies who preferred to walk among ponies or were otherwise loyal to her, stayed awake. Life was not easy without abundant Wild magic to sustain them. Many more fairies chose to go to sleep, not wanting to endure the hardship, but Titania persisted.

Many years passed. Titania watched ponies come and go. She watched the resolve of her fellow fairies dwindle. With little left to rule, she devoted all of her time to walking among ponies. Her fascination, which had turned to affection, now began to twist into envy.

The ponies of Equestria took for granted how special their magic was, how it had dominated the landscape with the power of cooperation and friendship. They had forgotten about the fairies they had driven into hibernation, they had forgotten about her! The ponies of Equestria took the magic of Friendship for granted. As Titania watched them alone, she devised a plan.

Why wait for the world to change to suit herself? Weren't fairies creatures of change? Why should the ponies of Equestria, who don't appreciate what they have, keep the magic of Friendship all to themselves?

Somehow, don't ask me, maybe it's lost to time or maybe I'll come up with it later, Titania devises a ritual. A ritual that will change the very core of herself. She could become a being of Harmony magic rather than Wild magic! She could have what she had coveted for so long!

Her envy and lonliness poisons the ritual. Instead, she creates an entirely new kind of magic, one which she must steal from ponies to survive. Now possessing a deep loathing for the prosperity of Equestria, she renounces her identity as Titania, Queen of the Fairies, and becomes Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings! aaaand the rest is history tee hee<3

#mlp oc

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docidoci · 2 years

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I was reading your post concerning the 10&11 chapter and it got me curious... can I ask how many times does path of radiance hint that Soren has "powers" related to being branded?

To answer that, let's decide what Soren's special powers are anyway. I will offer that the game implies those:

Unnaturally good spacial awareness/internal compass.

Magic ability beyond that of a normal beorc mage.

(possibly) Perceptiveness of other people's "spirit"

It's not a lot.

1. They try to keep consistent that Soren never gets lost and would give advice on direction. The most obvious mention is Chapter 17, when they search Serene's Forest for 3 days and Ike outright asks about always knowing where he is when no one else can make sense of the dead forest. I'm almost sure that the writers tried to insert more believability to Soren's backstory of crossing vast distances of the continent as a 6 year old kid.

2. It only really comes up a couple of times. Once as recalling the sage that took Soren in, thinking that the kid was extremely talented. The second time when Kalil explains to Tormod that they, ordinary mages, shouldn't sell their soul to the spirits — unlike Soren, who definitely gained his powers this way and is on the whole different level from them.

3. Related to Reyson's explanation that some laguz tribes are more perceptive than the others in context of sensing Leanne's "presence". He puts dragons as the most perceptive of all, and while it doesn't obviously point to Soren at that moment, there are very few other characters this fact would be relevant to. Neither Nasir, nor Ena seem to require being the most perceptive for explaining their actions. Dheginsea — obviously not. Kurthnaga — maybe, but that's not relevant until RD. Soren's part of the story of looking for Ike (and again, improbably finding him) is already solidified in PoR, and with Titania also insisting that Soren is perceptive, this vague "power" seems to apply to him on some level.

ETA: Also worth considering Soren being the first to notice Elincia in Chapter 4. It's not a supernatural event in itself, but it's his join chapter and he is being established with many little indicators of his character.

The last one has a lot of handwaving. However, I felt that the theory is worth a mention, because Soren is a "core" character: his arc seems to be decided early on and influences design/features of other characters (for instance, Kalil/Bastian getting knives or Petrine getting a magic-based lance).

#soren fire emblem #tellius #path of radiance #fe9 #fire emblem #branded

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sketchingtons · 4 years

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Core Disaster Week Day 5: Baby Au | Quarantine

Y’all, when I tell you I got emotional thinking about Tim, Kon, and Bart being parents,,,

Anyway, introducing the TKB twins- Andromeda and Titania! How did they come to be you ask? A secret cloning experiment? A favor called in with Lex Luther? Magic?? I haven’t decided! All that I know is that their dads love them with all their hearts 😌🙏

Honestly same tho; I created these OC kids like 3 days ago, and I’m already extremely emotionally invested in them and have 5 more illustrations sketched out/planned akjshdgd so be on the look out for those in the future! 😂

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crystalelemental · 5 years

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alphakuriboh replied to your post: Honestly, Duel skills are kinda garbage overall. ...

He’s only highly mergable if you’re a whale tho. The merges still outscore bst alone, generally. Also I don’t know that I’d say fliers are as big a trick in arena? They fly over everything, which makes them easier to bait because there’s more options for them to go to. Also, there’s the crazy buff units like Seth and Titania that don’t give a damn about A skill when they can play triple tactics. And tactics become a bit easier once you get that option to use another movement type.

It’s just cavalry’s penalty at this point. Fliers can be sniped by archers, infantry doesn’t get the same kind of buffing power (although they’ve improved recently) and armor is… well, even with armor march a misplaced unit breaks them back to inching forward.

A Reinhardt without DB4 is still a threat, but a much less severe one. Also Brave Micaiah exists, and was by and large everyone’s free pick, with the other common options being Brave Eliwood, who also has 3 movement and the ability to kick his and the rest of the meta’s ass, and Brave Camilla, who is a flying healer with Wrazzle Dazzle Gravity. And again, Dancers. Dancers can exist at every level of play, and are tremendously helpful for getting your units in there to kill him before he gets close. He’s definitely a threat, but I dunno. I feel like...okay, let me put it this way.

If you’re not a whale, and you’re new enough you don’t have an Arena Core, you’re fighting him anyway, and at his fullest power, because scoring’s low, and the +10 fucker can run DB3 or DB4. I had to deal with that all the time starting out, and it sucked. Once you get established though, Reinhardt falls off because he can’t keep up with BST. Having Duel Cav would mean he can now compete in BST...but he no longer has Death Blow to increase his damage to the point of being properly threatening. You know? By the time you have a full armor core, any Reinhardt you face are, guaranteed, weaker than what you faced on your climb up here, and therefore easier to handle. A Duel Cav skill on him wouldn’t necessarily be a problem.

The Triple Tactics units like Seth and Titania, though? They might become terrors. BUT THEY DESERVE IT. Seth and Titania are fantastic units in their actual games, and they’re...honestly not very good at all in Heroes. Like, bare minimum, Red and Green Duel Cavalry seems incredibly fair. It gives them a chance to shine, and passes over the units like Reinhardt and B!Lyn/B!Veronica who are often pinpointed as the problem with bringing cavalry back into the meta. Although I feel like all colorless mounted units are no longer a threat either. Nagi exists. We have a 180 BST armor dragon unit waltzing around Arena, and she’s got “strong against colorless,” 41 Res, and is green. Yes, no guarantee of getting her, but like...she is in the general pool of units, and with her stats, one copy will do just fine for Arena Assault.

I dunno. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t around for the cavalry hayday, but I feel like people are more afraid of their legacy than their actual threat level. Reinhardt stopped being a problem for me in AR a long time ago, so I’m never really worried when I see him. He’s still good, but not as meta dominating as he once was. And as good as Brave Lyn and Brave Veronica can be, B!Lyn still has to rely on generic weapons for double-strike or negating retaliation, and B!Veronica only deals threatening damage with double Savage Blow builds, which don’t score great, on a unit who already can’t run high-scoring specials.

As far as baiting out fliers...yeah, honestly, that is fair. The ranged flying unit is usually target #1 in every Arena match, because they’ll blissfully charge at Corrin, who’s always ready with adaptive damage DC. I guess you’re right. On enemy phase, cav units probably are a generally bigger problem than flying units. Flying units, I feel, do a lot better on player phase, though.

Infantry has ridiculous buffing power at this point, it’s just that all the buffing potential is on special activation rather than raw stats, and it’s debatable if that’s better or worse. That said, with BST for melee infantry now being 173, I’d say they’re actually winning out with this faster cooldown shit.

#alphakuriboh

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mjwiththefangs · 5 years

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Beautifully Deadly (NaLu) #4

Chapter 4

Vampire/Supernatural AU

Rating: M

Summary: "Supposedly an entire kingdom disappeared when their queen went beyond the borders, remember?" When Natsu Dragneel leaves the kingdom to investigate mysterious disappearances, he finds a much bigger adventure than he was bargaining for, including a beautiful vampire hidden away in an ancient castle. She has little to say about her past, or why she's locked away. Who did this to her? What has she been feeding on? One thing Natsu knows for sure that she is dangerous... Could she have something to do with the disappearances? "I'm sorry, Natsu, but I'm just so thirsty."

Chapters: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6

Read it on: AO3 & FF.net

A/N: Hello again! First of all, shout out to @bmarvels and @mannyegb ; Thank you both so much for Beta-reading this one for me and helping me out with it! And a huge thank you to @the-savior-swan for your help when i got stuck with a paragraph!

Secondly, Im so sorry that this one took so long! But, of course, thank you all for your patience, and your lovely reviews <3 ! This chapter is longer than the last one, I'm working on getting more words into my chapters as they progress; Let me know you all think! Oh, and before i forget; the sword mentioned, its name means “archangel” in japanese, and I made up the name of the metal from “Engel” (hard ‘G’), which is the old english word for Angel :) Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading (and hope you thought it was worth the wait!) See you in the next one.

A heavy sigh filled the air in the King’s study. Igneel sat down at his desk, sinking into the plush leather chair, running his hands down his tired face. If ever there had been a Dragon carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, Igneel was him.

He narrowed his eyes on the communications lacrima on the oak desk. His call had not gone quite as expected. As for what he had expected, well, he wasn't sure.

He was just painfully aware that his plans had to be put on hold for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, the receiving end of his call had been understanding for the most part. The wise old King suspected that they were growing impatient, however.

A frown was cast on his sharp features, he had been careful and meticulous in his arrangements. Perhaps something had missed his attention, whilst he had been preoccupied with the welfare of his people and the disappearances. Perhaps focusing on the disappearances and in turn trying to raise morale in the kingdom had driven him to rush his plans, maybe he’d been sloppy. Perhaps the young Prince had misunderstood his concerns.

Natsu.

His Son was certainly headstrong and stubborn. Igneel knew that Natsu suffered as their people vanished and losing his friends had been the last straw. Igneel understood that. He just wasn't prepared for Natsu to abruptly leave and investigate alone.

A sharp rap on the door stole his attention. He cast his eyes towards the door, rumbling ‘Come in’ as he did.

The door creaked open, and a tall woman entered. She had long pale pink hair, almost white under direct light, worn up in a clip. Her sky blue eyes met his.

‘This is a pleasant surprise’ he thought to himself, sitting back in his chair.

‘Grandeeney,’ He warmly greeted her, ‘What do I owe the pleasure?’

Her eyes creased at the sides in a half-smile, returning the greeting. She closed the door behind her, coming to sit in the chair opposite him before she exhaled softly, ‘They're almost ready to head out.’ She wrinkled her nose before continuing, ‘except that Wendy thinks she can join them.’

The King was visibly taken aback, blinking in mild shock. But before he could open his mouth to respond, Grandeeney held up a hand and cut him off.

‘She wants to use our sky magic to heal any who are injured. Yet she is still unable to protect herself with her power.’ concern laced her features, unable to hide her worry for her daughter.

‘She only wants to help, Grandeeney.’ He told her gently, reaching a hand out to her. She let out a resigned sighed in response.

‘I know. I am still unsure if she truly has my heritage, however.’ She straightened her posture and met his stone grey eyes, ‘You may not be of my blood, but you are my kin, Igneel. It is the same for Wendy and Natsu.’

He nodded in agreement.

‘We should have Erza lead the knights out before the hour is done. Wendy shall have to remain here if she truly cannot defend herself yet.’

The wise woman did not miss the subtlety laced in his words. She held his gaze and gave a single nod.

She rose from her seat, ‘I’ll go inform the Titania.’

The Angel breathed deeply, slowly releasing his breath. He had a sullen face as he glowered ahead. This was a risk, he knew that, but it was the only lead he had.

Erza would not have approved had he told her, so as much as he hated keeping things from her, he had simply asked her trust him.

The building before him seemed hollow, buried deep into the Mikage forest. It stood stoic and imposing. He tugged the collar of his cloak closer to his face.

Avatar.

They were searching for something… for someone. Jellal had a hunch about what exactly they were after. After all, the fallen angel had tried in vain to achieve the same goal. Jellal had done so out of arrogance, driven by a curse, yes, but still he had been aware of his actions and continued to bear his burden. What was Avatar's drive?

The Angel sought his power from deep within his core, welcoming the warmth that tingled and spread down his limbs. The red tattoo above his eye burned an angry red. His body glowed in a gentle heavenly light, no brighter than a star at dusk.

As quickly as he summoned the power he unleashed it, bursting forward at extraordinary speed, a trail of light in his wake. It was definitely quicker than walking.

Summoning all his courage, he landed and with faux confidence strode towards the door, allowing his magic to slip and exude only a fraction of his true power. The mark over his eye remained burning red. He threw the heavy iron doors open.

Weapons and spells were immediately trained on him. He wore a sinister smirk. Startled mutters and shouts echoed around him. Waving his hand easily across his body, all threats against him were dispelled. He scanned the various beings and guards littering the entrance hall, mentally noting that not all of them were magical.

‘I hear there's a certain someone you're looking for’ he dropped the bait.

Eyes narrowed on him suspiciously as they sensed his power. They grew instantly more wary of him. One spoke up ‘I know you…’

Jellal raised his chin, easily reclaiming his old alias and keeping his introduction short, ‘Siegrain’

Jellal found himself swiftly led through the halls by an Avatar member after his entrance, to where he would be awaited by a high ranking member. Word apparently travelled fast. He kept a mental note of where he walked, silently mapping the building as he went. He ended up being seated within a dark room, heavy curtains framed the large window, and only allowed a small fraction of light to enter.

Jellal often thought himself a good actor, he felt capable of wearing a mask to suit the situation. The ‘mask’ he chose on this occasion was that of ‘Siegrain’, the one most familiar with his crimes and sins.

He had not expected, however, to be met by a man dressed in heavy cloaks, shrouded in the shadows. The only part of the man he could see clearly was the ornate metallic mask covering his face. Jellal had a suspicion the cloaks covering the stranger were an imitation of some clergy wear.

This man sat before him was supposedly in charge, the leader. Jellal concluded they must be worshipping someone in particular to be so secluded. He was not sure he liked that.

The man began to speak, his voice sounded worn by time, yet demanded to be heard, ‘Siegrain. What brought you here to Avatar? Perhaps you follow our cause?’ There was no question in the man’s voice. He wasn’t asking.

Jellal maintained his composure, crossing one leg over the other, resting his cheek on his knuckles, feigning disinterest. ‘Perhaps I might know your name first? It only seems fitting as you know mine.’ He kept his voice smooth and inviting.

The man lifted his head, light glinting on the mask he wore, ‘Very well. I am Arlock. Now tell me, Siegrain, What brought you here?’

Jellal leaned forward, a sly smile tugging the corners of his mouth. He had to remain in control. ‘We share a common interest.’

‘I see. We of Avatar wish to purge and cleanse sin. We seek his guidance.’ He paused. Jellal felt his muscles tense in anticipation, ‘And what of you, Siegrain? Did you not seek him in your Tower of Heaven?’

He had to maintain his composure. His back twitched involuntarily, remembering his wings’ old reflexes. The scars burned. He barked out a laugh, ‘My “Tower of Heaven” was a futile pursuit. I had already been cast from the heavens, of course. I found it fitting. I sought to create something new’ He neglected the information that he was acting under the influence of a Gorgon’s curse cast upon him, by the very same who exiled him for falling in love.

‘A Valkyrie came to stop your experiment if I recall. What became of her after opposing you? The Titania, wasn’t it? You clipped the wings of the mighty warrior.’

There it was. It was like ice in his veins. The words cut him like a knife. He felt his heart momentarily still. He felt sick. The way Arlock spoke, as though falsely praising him, mocking him, Jellal wanted to obliterate the man were he sat.

Instead, he grinned. He forced a harsh laugh, spreading his arms, ‘The mighty Titania? She is a warrior no more! She was unworthy of bearing the bloodline of a Valkyrie!’ His stomach churned violently at his words, silently shrieking his painful remorse for his sins.

Would he ever be worthy of her heart?

He quashed his own emotions, the arrogant mask still affixed, ‘She was in my way. So I destroyed her wings. She shall not be a threat to any future endeavours.’ he scoffed.

A cruel smile formed on Arlocks’ face, the motion causing the mask to shift slightly, ‘It would seem we have much to discuss.’

The Titania herself stood in the courtyard of the Fire Dragon King’s palace. Her red hair burned in the afternoon sun. Her mind swam with worry, concerned for her fiancé. She knew how powerful the angel was. They had crossed blades once, and she had barely triumphed, only at the cost of her greatest assets. She had not been quick enough to stop him from killing an innocent, however. The curse upon him at the time had corrupted his very soul.

She had mourned her wings for a long time. She had felt incomplete without them for what felt like an eternity. Her wings had been fierce, dark auburn in colour, adorned with silver cufflinks and feathers as sharp as swords. She had been quick. She flew as fast and nimble as a falcon.

She found her solace in her warrior skills. She had struggled with her balance once her wounds had healed. She adapted. She commissioned new armour to compensate for her new weight distribution. She regained her agility through swordsmanship.

The Titania was certainly every bit as formidable as she had ever been. Yet, on days when the sky was clear of clouds, she found herself yearning for the breeze beneath her wings.

She knew Jellal had caught her wistful gazes. How the fallen angel despaired over what he had done to her. She forgave him long ago. In her eyes, the price to save him had been worth it. He had never seen it that way.

His sins bore heavily on his conscience. She would never forget the day he acted on that guilt.

‘I have to atone, Erza’

He had cupped her face with a bloodied hand. His face was creased with pain, but he wore a smile. She sobbed. She found him there, after sensing his pain and following the trail. She had panicked when she saw all the blood surrounding him, his back.

‘It was the only way.’

He had done it to himself. A clatter rang out as his limp hand dropped something. She would later learn it was a unique sword, with a blade forged of Engellium, called the Dai-Tenshi. It was the only weapon capable of killing an Angel.

She looked in horror at his mutilated wings. They lay discarded, the fluffy white down stained crimson. Once they had been elegant, large white wings, with long soft feathers that almost trailed the ground. Her heart clenched in agony. How pitiful they looked now. Her beloved smiled at her, even as his body trembled with agony.

His body had glowed faintly, like a light fading out. He fell unconscious as his life bled out around him.

She had immediately rushed him to the healers, Grandeeney and Porlyusica. There were none superior in medicine to the two of them, even as distantly related as they were. He had been lucky to survive, they had told her. His back was painted with lacerations. He still bore those scars today.

She shuddered at the memory. His wings she had lovingly gathered and laid to recover in a place sacred to her. She never told him.

She knew he would be safe. No weapon existed outside of the kingdom that could fatally wound him. Erza could feel her connection to him. Its’ strength waned with the distance between them. She felt his guilt. Perhaps that was what dragged the old memories to the surface.

She had to focus on now. Her soldiers had been given the order to dispatch. She oversaw them now as they gathered provisions, sharpened weapons and reinforced defences. Her violet eyes were clear and sharp. She saw everything.

Erza glanced up at the sound of approaching footsteps.

‘Gray.’ She greeted him warmly, acknowledging him as her old friend, rather than her soldier.

He nodded to her, fingers fumbling at the buttons of his shirt. His habit was made worse when he was anxious. She shot him a quizzical look.

‘What are my orders for the mission?’

He looked at her firmly. Her mouth set to a firm line.

‘Gray, you are needed here.’ She wondered if he saw through her words. He was undeniably useful. He and Natsu were best friends after all, and he was strong. She felt the air drop in temperature around him.

Her worries were confirmed. The more Gray used his ice-devil heritage, the more it ate away at his soul. His father had retired from the royal guard due to the toll it had taken on him. Mika’s death had been the last thing holding back the cursed heritage. The Nymph had always maintained a calm presence, her natural magic purifying her beloved husband and son.

Erza hoped that Gray’s Nymph blood would learn to counteract his ice devil blood. She feared it was a losing battle. Especially now that his mentor had passed away too. His mentor had made sure to teach him how to utilise a more neutral form of ice magic, drawing power from the nature around him. But long would those teachings last now?

She expected Gray to argue with her, given his emotions leaking into his powers. Instead, he sighed, resigned.

‘Fine,’ He reached a hand to rub his head, throwing his removed shirt over his shoulder as he did, ‘I’ll get Ultear and Lyon.’

Erza looked away, back at the guards scattered in the courtyard. ‘Mm. I will send them word.’

She pretended not to see how Gray flinched out the corner of her eye.

‘Right’ He mumbled and turned away, heading to leave, ‘Make sure you find that fiery idiot in one piece.’

Especially if I don’t find him first. He uttered a silent apology.

Meanwhile, far away from the kingdom by now, a small blue feline glided through the sky. He could smell fish, and boy was he feeling hungry.

He had been flying intermittently for at least a day or two now, landing every so often when he felt tired. He had been snacking on bugs here and there when they took his fancy, but now the faint scent of fish had him drooling in excitement. Happy purred to himself, his initial reason for leaving the kingdom long forgotten in the face of his favourite food.

He flapped his wings, gaining altitude and followed his nose to what he hoped would be his next meal.

Elsewhere, a blonde vampire was screaming. Her heart hammered beneath her breast, one hand clutching at her chest, the other pointing accusingly at the man before her.

‘Why are you here!’ She screeched, pure terror filling her.

His eyes sluggishly met hers and he moved to reach for her, his movement leaden and slow. He blinked, the motion taking entirely too long, opening his mouth to speak. But no words ever came, he fell limp, his eyes rolling back into his head.

Lucy could feel herself trembling, her mind struggling to make sense of what had happened. The last thing she could remember was being in the roof garden. The fog surrounding her memories was slowly lifting. She could recall suffering Bloodlust. Dread crawled up her spine, like cold fingers creeping along her skin. She knew she’d passed out in this room.

Lucy swallowed. It became apparent to her that something wet and still warm dripped down her chin. Lucy hesitated. Holding her breath, she drew her outstretched hand to wipe her lips.

She shrieked. Blood.

Her eyes flew to the man laying completely still on the stone floor. She scrambled over to him, her eyes landing on the torn up flesh of his neck. Her heart pounded painfully. She knew the answer as soon as the silent question crossed her mind.

Did I do that?

Lucy could feel the panic beginning to rise in her. Had she killed him? She studied his face, suddenly noticing the shock of pink hair on his head and the large horns nestled within the strands. She tentatively held her hand below his nose. She waited, tension holding her still.

She sighed in relief when she felt his warm breath over her hand. He was still alive. But what was she supposed to do with him now?

Lucy certainly had a lot of questions that needed answering. She couldn’t risk letting him leave. Not that he could at this moment anyway. But how had he found her? What was he doing here?

Her face tugged into a frown. What if he was associated with the very person she had tried so long to hide herself from? Lucy shook her head. No, she couldn’t risk it.

Juvia.

Juvia might know what to do with him. Lucy stifled a groan. Juvia’s main lake was a half hour’s walk from the decrepit building, she didn’t think she could carry the unconscious man that far. That was if Juvia hadn’t moved on to temporary new waters. Lucy didn’t know how she had been out after her Bloodlust episode, Juvia may have already left to gather more resources by now.

Lucy gnawed on her still-bloody lip. There was one place that she could keep him. Moving carefully, Lucy lifted his arm around her shoulders moving herself to lift him up with her.

He released a small pained whine as she moved him. The scent of his blood drifted back to her again. She could feel her eyes shifting to a darker hue. Shaking her head, ignoring her instincts, she carried him to his new accommodation.

The chains clinked as the clasps locked around his wrist. Her gut twisted with guilt. He was carefully laid in the small cot. Her eyes flitted to his face. He looked uncomfortable.

Lucy dropped her gaze, her sights landing once again on the man’s wounded neck. It took her longer to look away from it this time. She realised as she observed him that he had blood on his shirt.

It dawned on her then that he had arrived here injured. She cursed under her breath realising that she really had attacked him. She had finally drank from a living person. She felt her heart crack painfully, now her soul would surely be lost forever.

The vampire continued to examine the wound on his neck, her eyes shifting to a fierce, glowing red. Her body moved of its own accord, lulling her closer to him. Her face drew closer to him, her overwhelming need to ease his pain overtaking her. Her eyes darkened further, shadows forming around them. Inky black creeping in, her irises drowned, leaving only menacing, crimson slits behind. Hovering over him, her lips parted, inching closer to soothe the wound.

The man groaned. Immediately Lucy leapt back in embarrassment, gasping, her eyes reverting to honey gold. Heat filled her cheeks and she recomposed herself, turning on her heel in the direction of aid. She was certainly not going to lick his torn flesh better, but the least she could do was clean it up and wrap him up.

#Nalu #Fairy tail #Natsu x Lucy #Natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #Vampire!Lucy #vamp!au #supernatural #fan fic #fanfiction #MJ writes #My writing

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of-invisible-ties · 5 years

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I’ve been grinding the Tempest Trials for a bit, and here are a few tips I’ve come up with! I’ve placed this under a cut due to length. If this helped you, feel free to reblog!

In general

Horse Emblem is really good here! In the previous TT, horse teams were a little screwed thanks to all the terrain and the emphasis on fliers as bonus units. In this TT, we’ve got half of the bonus units being cavaliers, and wide-open terrain for them to take advantage of. In fact, the boss is tailor-made for horse units, because he’s an armor unit, lacks Distant Counter, and can be safely kited by mage cavs.

The reward unit, Titania, is the third red mage cavalier in the game. Her two competitors are 5*-locked, meaning that a lot of players will have her as their only option. It helps that her statline and skills are solid, and she’s really budget friendly to build. In addition, she has the triangle advantage over the TT boss, Greil, and comes with an innate Triangle Adept. It’s actually a benefit to keep it on her if Greil’s giving you trouble.

ALWAYS pack a red unit with you, because Greil will always be waiting on the final map. Because you can skirt around him (ie. attack him and move the attacker out of his range), you’re not screwed if you lose your red unit before his map. You just have to be careful he doesn’t spook you with Armor March.

Dancers, while helpful, aren’t a must here. I’ve done all my grinding without dancers, and it’s possible thanks to the wide-open terrain. In the previous TT, I felt screwed without dancers because of how closed off the maps were, but this one is much kinder in that regard. Just make sure you have enough movement-based assist skills (at least two in your team), and you should be okay.

As always, passive healers are a godsend here. Anyone with the Renewal + Ardent Sacrifice combo will suffice, with Falchion-users, herons, Tiki, and Arvis being recommended. I’ve experimented with giving Renewal to tanky units (like Merric, who has good defense, and NY Takumi, who’s a decent mage-killer), and it’s worked well for me. I’ve also given Renewal + Ardent Sacrifice to Female Grima, and it’s very helpful on her because she doubles as a ranged check in addition to being a passive healer. Honestly, if you can give it to a unit who can still tank with the loss of the HP, and aren’t in dire need of their B-skill or meeting HP threshold conditions, you should be good.

Tactics teams work well here if you’re up for them! Because armors have bad movement and we have two armored bonus units, it’s good if you can pair them with a Guidance flier. You can also experiment with Aerobatics if you go for this.

Building around the bonus units!

Mia: I was lucky enough to pull a +spd/-def Mia ages ago. Honestly, a standard Fury/Life and Death + Desperation build works wonders for her. Because she’s an infantry unit and depends on her special, I highly recommend pairing her with Infantry Pulse users. Her specials are explosive thanks to her decent attack and her weapon’s effect. I feel like if you do run her, you will want a dancer. Mia is very frail and will need help escaping enemy range. She synergizes best with an aggressive playstyle and other player phase units.

Ike (Young Mercenary): He’s sadly outclassed by his Legendary self, who we all got for free. Still, he can function with a Quick Reposite set and can check daggers and archers. The sad truth is that most mages, other than some green mages, will threaten him despite his Distant Counter weapon. As for his teammates, you really want at least one mage-killer on his team. Ike has synergy in that he can handle physical threats outside of lance-users --- so giving him an axe-user and a mage-killer is a must.

Valentine’s Titania, Soren, and Mist: Since they’re all mage cavaliers with the same weapon, I’m lumping them together so I don’t repeat myself. Basically, you want to use the Attack/Speed Bond seal we got in the previous TT. All three of them can run it well -- especially Soren, who has an innate bond skill. Because of Mist’s Swift Sparrow, you can run this TT’s Darting Blow instead (you can also run this with Titania if you want, although her low attack can make her miss getting kills). Obviously, their full power comes out with a horse team, especially with a defensive core that prefers to stick together. Most horses do prefer to be offensive due to their range, though. Being offensive means separating more often than not. If that’s your preferred playstyle, you can still use their weapons because chances are you’ll have to retreat with your assist skills anyway (which means they’ll be huddling together during the enemy phase, and their weapons and bond skills can help you during the enemy phase). I’ve seen people replace their weapons with blade tomes, so if you prefer blade tomes to their weapons, that’s a very real option. If you’d prefer not to run horse emblem, tactics are your best friend, seeing as we have three units with tactic refines (both Robins and Seth), and two tactic seals (Res and Def Tactic).

Greil: I’d replace Fury 4 just for the TT. It’s okay to run in Arena or other modes, but the TT is based around longevity, and Fury 4 actively works against that. I’d suggest replacing it with Steady Stance (4* Silas), Sturdy Stance (4* Halloween Dorcas), or, if you lack those skills Attack+3 or Defense+3. If you plan on running Fury 4 after the TT, you may as well slap on the latter two. Steady and Sturdy Stance can be useful for other budget builds. Otherwise, Greil is good to go! Run him with any armor unit you want to get the most out of Armor March. I don’t recommend running a full armor team unless you have Armor Eirika, because armors otherwise lack innate healing outside of a fighter skill combined with Aether. Even then, armors are completely dependent on positioning and Armor March to move fast. If separated from his allies, Greil not only loses the benefits of Armor March, but also his weapon’s effect. For better efficiency, I recommend running him with a flier (preferably with Guidance), especially a flier healer or Eir. Running a tactic team can really help with speeding up the pace, especially since less turns gives you more points.

Valentine’s Ike: The above points I made with Greil apply to him, too. Armors are slow and getting sped up by fliers with Guidance is very helpful for them. I have no tips to give for Ike’s builds, though. He comes with a downright perfect base kit. Unless you want to run Barrier Blade+ on him, you really should just stick to what he has.

#ooc #feh #strategy

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