#the keep reading bit is just because the post was getting long | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mrs-gauche · 2 days

Text

Let's talk about the Red Lyrium Idol

(…Because it's not like this thing has been discussed to death over the past ten years, right? 😂 *drops my two cents in the Scrooge McDuck money bin*)

Ah yes… The red lyrium idol. The one thing that's given me a headache since 2018, as I'm still trying to figure out how this damn thing could possibly fit into my bazillion tinfoil theories.

Whether it's the first official DA4 teaser in 2018, the Blue Wraith comic series or the entirety of the last chapter of Tevinter Nights, a lot of the supplementary media and promotional stuff setting up the course for DA4 seems to be centered around the idol. Quite literally, in some cases, like this mural from the first 2018 teaser:

It certainly led us to think that the idol won't just be another McGuffin (or so I hope lol), but other than that, it's still heavely shrouded in mystery…

Which is why I will now make an attempt to unravel this and gather every single bit of information we have on it (so far) and maybe that'll get us closer to some sort of answer in the end (actually, it won't, because this got SO long that I had to split this post in two parts lol No one's going to read all of this anyway 💀)!

Look, I just needed to get this behemoth of a post out before we might get an actual substantial trailer tomorrow and none of this will probably matter anymore. 😂💀

(Note: This whole thing was initially intended to be solely for myself to keep track of any information we've gotten about the idol since DA2. But since it's gotten SO long over the years, I figured why not just rewrite it into a somewhat coherent text and post it on here? :D ......Seriously, it's really, REALLY effing long.)

The Idol's Journey so far

To me, the idol always seemed to be something like "The One Ring" in LOTR. A forged ancient artifact with creepy unknown powers that is said to feel "alive", almost as if it possesses a will of its own, seeing as it has somehow found its way from countless random people, back to (presumably) its former owner. It also appears to be somewhat cursed, given that almost everyone who held it at one point seems to have died or gone mad by now (Yeah, I'm very worried about Varric and Hawke 👀).

Let us start with a quick summary of the journey the idol has made in the span of about 12-13 years (not counting the unknown timespan in which the last chapter of Tevinter Nights takes place):

First discovered by Hawke and Varric in an ancient Thaig in the Deep Roads.

Stolen by Bartrand, who then made a quick trip to Rivain.

Sold to Meredith, who turned it into a sword.

Taken out of Meredith's petrified corpse by Carta dwarves.

Sold again to a Tevinter mage, who brought it to House Qintara in Ventus.

Handed to a secret agent of Fen'Harel named Gaius (who was impersonating Magister Qintara).

Traded away to Tractus Danarius.

Handed to Magister Nenealeus at Castellum Tenebris to be used as part of a ritual.

Picked up by Cedric Marquette after the fortress fell, while trying to escape.

Handed back to Tractus Danarius, who then probably (not confirmed) went to Nevarra to perform another blood magic ritual.

Picked up by a Mortalitasi who (maybe) took it to Tevinter.

(Supposedly!) ended up in a vault under an auction house in Llomerryn in Rivain, where it was (supposedly!) retrieved by Solas.

That's quite the journey… that you wouldn't even know half about if you didn't read the comics or Tevinter Nights. But whereas the book and comics were all published after the first teaser trailer in 2018, after which the idol became the center of the fandom's attention and speculation, it should be noted that a connection to the idol was in fact already made way back in 2014, when people noticed that the image of Solas holding Flemeth's lifeless body at the end of Inquisition was very reminiscent of something else.

...Which brings us to the point of what the idol is even depicting to begin with.

Description

Before I'll start to give my own description based on the models in-game, the teaser and concept art, I'd like to quote the people who've actually seen it in person.

In the last chapter of Tevinter Nights, we are being told three tales by three different people, who all describe the same idol differently.

The Carta Assassin: "A couple hugging, too thin to be dwarves - but it's sitting there, glowing softly like a ruby lit by the grace of the Maker himself. […] It's heavier than you'd think - lyrium's heavier than you'd think, too, but this was heavy even for that. When I hefted it in my hand, it was like it wanted to keep moving, like it was liquid inside."

The Mortalitasi: "An idol crafted from red lyrium, which seemed to show two lovers, or a god mourning her sacrifice. It whispered in our minds when we saw it […]."

The Orlesian Bard/Solas: "He whispered something as he picked it up, tracing his gloved fingers gently along the crowned figure who comforted the other."

The one thing that all of these seem to have in common though is two figures who embrace each other in some way.

Which is interesting, because in all the depictions of the idol we've seen so far, it clearly shows three people instead of two. Granted, the third figure is a bit cramped up in the back of the crowned figure, but what's strange is that not even Solas himself mentions this third figure.

Most notable though is the crowned female looking figure in the center, which is holding onto the two other figures on each side of the ring shaped object (or it's the two figures holding onto the female?). The figures themselves look rather goulish, deadly or skeletal, with their bone structure clearly visible and all their expressions captured in a mix of horror or torment. The small carved-in lines coming from the middle figure's eye sockets also resemble black tears, much like we've seen on "The Mother" in Awakening.

There's also no sign of clothing, which is all the more apparent on the concept art of the idol, in which the breast of the middle figure is.. much more prominent. lol (We don't make fun of saggy boobs in this house, it's just nature and gravity after all, but for the sake of observation, I will note that they do remind me of Broodmother boobs, too 😂), aside from a hint of what could be a veil on the middle figure's head.

At the bottom of the idol, the lower bodies of the figures seem to fully submerge within its name-giving red lyrium and this "claw" type thing, which is coming off in the shape of crystalline red lyrium spikes at the tail end, though in the concept art and the DA2 model, these spikes were clearly more like red lyrium roots. But either way, the bottom makes it kinda look like it's been broken/ripped off?

We can also see tentacle like features, that remind me of the figures we've seen in the mural in the 2020 teaser and the depiction in the 25th anniversary book that revealed to us what the Archdemons were initially supposed to look like. 👀

I'd also like to point out that in the original concept art of the idol, the ears of the crowned figure look much more pointy to me than in later versions. 👀

There's also this "ring", that I've seen many people connect to how the Veil is often portrayed in Solas' murals.

But if this ring is supposed to depict the Veil, then what could it mean for the crowned figure reaching across to hold that ominous third figure on the "other side"?

And yes, I recognize that this ominous third figure also seems to be missing a left arm, just like another certain main character. 👀

The one thing that stands out the most though, is probably the crown itself. Most people might first associate it with Andraste, when the same shape can be traced as far back as ancient statues of Mythal.

Yeah, there's definitely a pattern here. 😂

That being said…

Connection to Mythal & Solas

Okay, we all know about the theory that Andraste might have been Mythal's previous host, right? We all know about the parallels between Mythal's story, Andraste, Flemeth, etc. And after comparing the idol to Flemeth and Meredith in their moment of death, considering all of the above/following and how old this thing potentially is, I will now make a wild guess here and argue that the idol is in fact depicting Mythal's death.

"He whispered something as he picked it up, tracing his gloved fingers gently along the crowned figure who comforted the other. But I could not make out the words, for I fear they were elven."

Not only does Solas seem to hold sentimental value for whoever the crowned figure is supposed to be, while also talking to it in elven, but the way he describes to "caress" the idol in Tevinter Nights does also seem to mirror how Flemythal was comforting him at the end of DAI.

However, I always thought it was a bit odd how Solas describes the idol as "a figure comforting another", when… tbh, "comforting" would probably be last thing that comes to my mind when I look at this...

"Agony" would be more fitting here, maybe? lol Kinda begs the question of how Mythal was murdered, too, with this being her expression in her moment of death? 👀

Without getting too much into it here, if there's one thing we can take from everything we've learned so far about their past, Solas' relationship with Mythal must've been a rather complicated one, to say the least.

"He did not want a body, but she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face."

Solas calls Mythal "the best of the elven gods", calling her "the mother, protective and fierce", and Solas is even described in the designer's notes as "Mythal's oldest friend" who is all about free will, yet if the spirit origin theory is true and Cole's cryptic comments in Trespasser are in fact about them, it was Mythal who gave Solas a body against his will, potentially bound/enslaved him with her vallaslin, and maybe even forced him to act against his original purpose?

"You should have seen me when I was younger. Hot-blooded and cocky, always ready to fight."

Cole: "You didn't do it to be right. You did it to save them." Inquisitor: "Solas, what is Cole talking about?" Solas: "A mistake. One of many made by a much younger elf who was certain he knew everything."

How much of what happened was Solas acting out Mythal's will, or rather, acting out of vengeance and pain in reaction to Mythal's death? How much of it was him acting downright impulsive?

Solas: “Cole is a spirit. The death of the real Cole wounded him, perverted him from his purpose. To regain that part of himself, he must forgive.” Varric: “You don’t just forgive someone killing you.” Solas: “You don’t. A spirit can.”

Or was it Mythal's death itself that "wounded him and perverted him from his purpose", just like he described what happened to Cole?

And what does that say about Mythal then, when she clearly hasn't forgiven her murderers and still strives for vengeance after all this time? What if Solas' own perception of Mythal and all the circumstances surrounding her murder is warped because he was once bound to her? 👀

Anyway. To get back to topic.

So if we assume that the idol is in fact depicting Mythal's death, then that brings us to the next question of why the idol is even made of red lyrium? Or rather, what is Mythal's connection to red lyrium?

We know that red lyrium is tainted blood of a Titan. Mythal was the first to kill a Titan and mine their blood for things we won't get into in this post. So, how did the idol end up in the Deep Roads, anyway? How long had it been there? One thing that's kinda strange to me, is how the DA wiki page about the idol says that it was forged by the dwarves, solely based on the fact that it was initially found in the Deep Roads, when we have no actual evidence for that. We've seen statues of both Mythal and the Dread Wolf in the Deep Road section in Trespasser where the mining of lyrium was undergone, but we don't know if the dwarves even had any part in building them as well.

Would the dwarves forge an idol of the elven deity who conquered them and killed their Titan, if they were somehow forced to do so? We also have to remember that dwarves were and still are the only ones able to actually mine raw lyrium safely, but even the Carta dwarves in Tevinter Nights had to take several precautions in order to recover the red lyrium idol from Meredith's corpse. And even then, many of them still fell shaking or went mad in its presence like Bartrand.

So if it only takes that little exposure to have that much of an effect on someone's sanity, how were the ancient dwarves or anyone even able to create it in the first place? What if the idol was initially made of blue lyrium but was then somehow corrupted?

And if we take one moment to really think about what an idol actually is.

"An object representing extreme devotion and religious worship to a god."

While Solas doesn't think of any of the Evanuris as actual gods, he still seems to hold Mythal at such a high regard that he wouldn't even speak of her at a sacred place like the Temple of Mythal (whether or not that was because he just wanted to withhold any secret ancient knowledge). He's able to fully recite the invocation to Mythal if you bring him with you to her altar. He also looks exactly like the sentinels in Mythal's temple.

I could go on, but generally speaking, there are so many little hints pointing to Solas being a former slave/servant of Mythal that, again, we won't get into here, but it's important to mention when trying to figure out why the idol (presumably) even belongs to Solas.

"The idol's journey is now complete, and it has found its master."

In Tevinter Nights, the Dread Wolf claims that the red lyrium idol belongs to him. He also made sure to punish those who tried to misuse it, going so far as to march in with an entire army of spirits and snapping a guy's neck with his jaw. (Yup, you're better off not to touch the Dread Wolf's stuff for dirty blood rituals, kids.)

"You use my idol carelessly, and in doing so, you threaten all creation."

Additionally, in the last chapter of Tevinter Nights, Charter and other spies conclude that Solas must need the idol for whatever ritual he's planning, while Solas in Bard disguise claims that he's already in possession of the idol now and therefore, I quote, "cannot be stopped". (Though I personally still don't actually buy a single thing about his vivid tale at that auction house, but we'll get back to this later. lol)

And if the idol belongs to Solas, was he the one who created it, or did he order the dwarves or someone else to make it for him? But why would he intentionally make an idol out of red lyrium, anyway? He is fully aware of the dangers and corruption that comes with being exposed to red lyrium and its use. Especially considering that red lyrium is blighted and how he repeatedly expresses great concern over the Blights and gets furious over the Grey Wardens' attempts to preempt them by killing the Archdemons (because he obviously knows more than us).

So, does he know a way to use it without getting corrupted like everyone else? The Seekers of Truth are so far the only ones we've seen to be immune to red lyrium thanks to having their minds touched by a spirit of Faith during their vigil. Could Solas' connection to spirits/his hypothetical spirit origin allow him to use the idol without it effecting him?

But if any of this is true, then l'm again asking myself what even was the purpose of the idol to begin with? Why or when was it created? How does it differ from any other red lyrium, and what could Solas have used it for in the ancient past?

Powers & Effects

So, let's talk about what this thing can actually do (as far as we know).

(Btw, this is the part where I will shamelessly copy a lot straight from the DA wiki, because truth be told, I'm just a German struggling with limited vocabulary and I figured there's simply no way to summarize this any better than the wiki already has. 💀)

Just like any other red lyrium, we know that being exposed to the idol for too long will make you mad/paranoid/possessive/violent, while also grant you special powers, until overuse causes your body to be completely overtaken by red lyrium. It seems to thin the Veil wherever it is currently kept, allowing spirits or demons to interact with the physical world.

It also emanates a song that is slowly turning people who hear it insane.

The Song

"It sings… sick music." "It eats you inside until you're nothing." "It creeps into your thoughts, humming." "They hear a different song. The song behind the door old whispers want opened. They are dead and dark and done." "Songs screaming far away. It wants to wake up but can't remember how."

(- Cole's comments about red lyrium/red templars)

After Bartrand took the idol and left Varric and Hawke to die in the primeval Thaig, he started hearing voices, claiming the idol was "singing" to him. Even after selling it, Bartrand could still hear the idol and was eventually driven mad by its red lyrium.

Three years later, it is discovered that Bartrand had chipped a piece of the idol off and left it in his estate, which causes the house to behave like it was haunted and the Veil was torn.

Then during the "Haunted" quest, Varric himself remarks several times to hear music while walking through the estate, much like the Carta assassin in Tevinter Nights recalled to have heard "music in the wind, like some old song I heard as a kid but can't quite remember" when obtaining the idol from Meredith's corpse.

Important to mention here is that Varric seems to also be the only one in the party able to hear this song.

Varric: "Hey… is that music? Where is that coming from?" Hawke: "In don't hear anything." Varric: "Where is that singing coming from? You hear it, right, Hawke?" Varric: "Where is that voice coming from?" Hawke: "What voice?" Varric: "I can barely hear it… I wish I could make out the words."

Varric also told us that, after Bartrand went mad, he tortured his non-dwarven servants by cutting pieces off them to help them "hear the song".

(And remember, the idol was found in an ancient primeval Thaig in the Deep Roads, sitting on something like an altar, indicating that it was being worshiped by the ancient dwarves as well. Presumably because they too were being influenced by the idol's/red lyrium's song?)

Haunted

During the "Haunted" quest, we learn that the mere presence of a shard of the idol in the estate causes:

"Voices whispering in the walls"

Random objects moving on their own

Apparitions/screaming spirits appear running across the floors

When Varric picks up the piece of the idol, he starts to exhibit the same symptoms of madness Bartrand showed, at which point Hawke can either let Varric keep the piece, or can take it from him with the intent of having Sandal destroy it.

If Hawke asks Anders to diagnose Bartrand in Act 2, he suspects a demon at work, however Bartrand is a dwarf. Instead, he determines that "his mind has been poisoned by something powerful".

In Tevinter Nights, the Carta assassin recalls that, in the attempt to retrieve the idol from Meredith's corpse, most of his colleagues fell shaking and whispering the closer they got to it.

Meredith

After Bartrand sold the idol to Meredith, she reshapes it into her sword Certainty, which does eventually drive her insane as well. It also gives her unnatural powers, such as the ability to animate the statues in the Gallows, and even limited flight capabilities.

(My question is though, were the things happening in that final fight directly caused by the idol or was this just the result of the Veil being already weakened that much by the many terrible things that happened at that place/Kirkwall in general?)

Anyhow, during the final battle at the Gallows, Meredith overuses the lyrium sword, causing it to burst into dust and petrify her into a statue.

Though as we all know now, some part of Meredith seems to have survived somehow, as her… mind(?) or something was shown to now still "live" within the red lyrium somewhere in Kirkwall at the end of Absolution. She (or "it") also seems to have somewhat control over the red templars now, too.

So, how is this possible? What exactly is she now, if it even is herself and not just a manifestation/echo of her memories or something? Could it have something to do with the idol? No one really knows (and we might never find out, if Netflix won't give us a second season, anyway lol), but I do think it's curious how the idol is likely depicting Mythal's death, who didn't actually die either and lived on through the ages as a type of lingering "wisp" clinging to various hosts. 👀

I also want to point out how Solas did suspiciously include Meredith's petrified corpse in his mural in the 2020 teaser as well, placing her right under that ominous upside down figure with the tentacles.

Furthermore, just like Meredith, the idol also seems to be somewhat indestructable. lol After Meredith's sword burst into dust, it regrew inside her petrified corpse (which Solas was apparently also aware of). What's interesting is that it regenerated in Meredith's chest of all places. You know, like, where the heart is supposed to be? 👀

Then there's also this curious line from Anders, when talking about Varric acting strange after obtaining a shard of the idol:

"This thing's magic seems only more potent when broken."

I've mentioned it before, but with the spikes (or roots in DA2) at the bottom part of the idol making it look like it was ripped or broken off of something, you have to wonder if its current state is somewhat broken, even after regenerating.

"Hot-Blooded"

During the Haunted quest, Fenris will remark this:

"Whatever is here is angry."

In DAI, Cole repeatedly comments on how red lyrium feels "very angry" and how it is "less angry when it's cold". We know for a fact that red lyrium emanates a noticeable heat. A corrupted Bartrand is especially weak to cold/ice magic.

While anger is generally associated with heat, I find this aspect particularly interesting, given that red lyrium is tainted blood of a Titan.

And building on that, while still searching for further connections between red lyrium, the idol and Mythal… Remember how the ancient sarcophagus in the Blue Wraith and Dark Fortress comic was used in a ritual, in which lyrium combined with fire of a Great dragon carved lyrium infused markings into Fenris' and Shirallas' skin, granting them special powers.

Not only was this ancient sarcophagus specifically built only for elves, and its design resembling that of Mythal's statues…

…but here we have a case in which lyrium is purposefully "set on fire" by a Great dragon to create "elven super soldiers". Mythal is always depicted as a dragon. And she mined lyrium in humongous amounts.

Again, red lyrium emanates heat. If this was common practice in ancient times, then I feel like it's not surprising that a Titan would eventually be pretty damn angry in reaction to its blood being continuously burned for centuries [insert boiling blood joke here].

So, aside from the red lyrium being blighted, could there be a connection in Mythal burning the Titans' blood? As far as we know, it did take a couple of aeons in which Mythal (presumably) continued to mine (and burn?) the Titans' blood, before the ancient elves sealed the Deep Roads for good, because they discovered something… bad. As Solas himself declares in the vision described at the mural depicting a Titan's death:

"Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger." "The vision grows dark. An aeon seems to pass. Then the runes crackle, as if filled with an angry energy. A new vision appears: elves collapsing caverns, sealing the Deep Roads with stone and magic." "Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast."

And there it is again. That anger we're talking about. What's so interesting to me, is how this does sort of come full circle with Mythal and the idol after all, since the motivation behind Mythal's actions, even after thousands of years, remains her unwavering desire for vengeance upon the people who betrayed and murdered her, which, in a way, does mirror the same anger/heat that the Titan is emanating from its tainted blood.

And speaking of blood……

A Ritual Blade

In Tevinter Nights, we learned that the idol is able to produce a blade, which is then used as part of a blood magic ritual.

"The Tevinter mage was killing his slaves. […] He had cut the throat of one of them, and then another, catching the blood of his victims on the idol as he made his way around the circle. […] The Tevinter mage raised the idol before him, and I saw a spike of lyrium spring from the base of the idol, so that all at once, it was not merely an idol, but a ritual blade. He slashed his own hand, and a wave of power pulsed through the cavern. It was as though we were the blood, and the cavern was the body through which it flowed, and we fell, all of us, to the ground, our minds pulled into the raw chaos of the Fade by the power of his ritual."

In the end of the Dark Fortress comic, the idol produced another red lyrium sword, that could be fully detached and was then placed onto the before-mentioned sarcophagus, turning Shirallas into a raving beserker that was pretty much invincible as long as he was in possession of that same sword.

While the blue lyrium infused sword that was used in Fenris' ritual simply dissolved in the process, the sword produced by the idol could "regenerate" and was especially resistant to Great dragon fire.

"Unlike the lyrium-infused swords of the so-called Arcane warriors, this sword should survive the ritual."

In the final fight against him, Marquette comments on how Shirallas "feeds energy to the sword from the red lyrium in his veins" and how in turn "the sword heals his wounds".

So in both the comic and Tevinter Nights, the idol/the weapon produced from the idol seems to draw power specifically from the blood of its wielder. It makes me wonder if it was initially intended to be used this way, since we have to remember that it still presumably belongs to Solas, who claims to not practice blood magic, because it seems to make it more difficult to enter the Fade.

Which is ironic, given what the mage in Tevinter Nights did to disrupt the Fade, but also how the Magisters Sidereal used a massive blood ritual to enter the Fade physically.

And oddly enough, in your first conversation with Solas about blood magic, he makes this curious analogy with daggers as an example…

Inquisitor: Every time I've seen blood magic used, it has been for some evil purpose. Solas: I once saw a woman being stabbed in the stomach with a dagger. She died slowly, in angony. It was repulsive. If the Chantry outlawed daggers, would that stop the people from using it? Of course not. […]" Inquisitor: "You don't need to sacrifice a slave's life to make a dagger." Solas: "I suppose it depends upon the dagger."

So… Could Solas be referencing Mythal's death here? Or what if the dagger here is referring to the idol in its blade form? What the heck does he mean by "I suppose it depends upon the dagger"? Was a slave's life sacrificed to create the idol maybe?

But if blood magic wasn't the sole purpose for why it was made, then what else could the idol as a ritual blade be used for?

Which brings us to…

Dalish mythology

According to Dalish legends, Fen'Harel told the Creators and the Forgotten Ones that the Avvar had forged a "terrible weapon", a blade that would end the war between both clans of gods. He told the Creators that it was forged in the heavens, while the Forgotten Ones were told that it was hidden in the Abyss. And when the gods went seeking it, Fen'Harel sealed them both in their realms forever.

Okay. So, let's just assume for a second that the blade in this legend was actually the idol in its blade form. Because hell, what are the odds of having two "super powerful ancient blades that belong to Solas"? lol

If they are in fact the same weapon and the part about Solas tricking the gods is true, why were the Evanuris and the Forgotten Ones so eager to get this thing, to the point that they would fell into a trap?

And with this, I'd also like to point out the level design in the scene in which Flemeth takes Kieran's Old God soul in the Fade. I can't help but feel like the statue of Dirthamen being stabbed in the back with a sword, crying a stream of blood, resulting in a huge pool of blood, as well as a bloody ouroboros symbol on the ground, is a very deliberate design choice. Especially considering the context of this scene with the revelation about Flemeth and Mythal, I'd argue this is all in reference to how Mythal was betrayed and murdered.

Again, the idol could depict Mythal in her moment of death. In the final fresco in the rotunda, the one Solas never finished before leaving the Inquisition, we see a wolf looming over a dragon slain by a blade.

In the last visual of the 2022 cinematic that, going by Varric's narration, could potentially depict the destruction of the Veil, Solas appears to hold something that resembles a blade with a very destinct handle. Additionally, we've since discovered an icon hidden on the Steam page of DA4, that shows a dagger with an identical shape and the same glowy purple as the Dreadwolf title.

So we have the idol in its blade form, the blade Mythal was potentially slain with, the blade Solas is holding in the 2022 cinematic, Solas mentioning a dagger in relation to blood magic and Fen'Harel's blade in Dalish legends.

That's a lot of blades... and a lot of blood. lol

The Hunt of the Fell Wolf

"The Hunt of the Fell Wolf" is the title of a poem that can be found in the Jaws of Hakkon DLC. It tells a story of former Inquisitor Ameridan, his friend Haron and their fight against a demon wolf.

Along with numerous odd things in this tale that could be interpreted as some kind of metaphor (or just the devs messing with us, if you want to know more, please check out this post), it also mentions an "idol of fade-touched stone" in connection to the demon wolf.

The wounded knight in darkness Found within the cavern’s gloom An idol of fade-touched stone, Which could prove the monster’s doom.

In the poem, after a grim fight, the wolf takes Ameridan's friend Haron to its lair, a "labyrinth of winding cave" (which many believe is referring to the Deep Roads, just like the ancient Thaig in DA2 where Hawke and Varric found the red lyrium idol originally) where Haron, oddly enough, also happens to find an idol. What's intruiging though, is that this idol seems to be connected to the wolf in such a way that he can only be defeated if both him and the idol are destroyed and struck down at the same time.

With burning blade, Ameridan And monster met again Whilst elsewhere did Haron valiantly With demon-wards contend.

As demon-stone was shattered, Ameridan struck true: Beast and spirit—both felled at once, Though neither hunter knew.

"Beast and spirit—both felled at once"

Two entities that are connected across two different places… as in the physical body and the spirit maybe?

As in the waking world and the Fade?

So, let's reiterate.

The red lyrium idol belongs to the Dread Wolf. Cole remarks how he can feel that Solas is "in both places". The word "Dread Wolf" itself is an anagram for "World" and "Fade". We've talked about the popular spirit origin theory before, Solas taking a physical form against his will because of Mythal. The whole matter of Solas' "true name" before he called himself Pride. Solas' entire personal quest, which may or may not mirror his own past, a spirit of Wisdom being denied its original purpose, turning into a pride demon ("He wants to give wisdom not orders"). His strange remarks at the end of Cole's personal quest ("We cannot change our nature by wishing"). The fact that Solas makes Cole forget about his true identity, just like spirit!Cole does. The visual portrayal of Solas "consuming" Flemeth's powers at the end of DAI. The way in which Solas doesn't recognize anyone in the waking world as "people", but will vehemently debate you on why spirits should be considered people.

"But the People… They need me." (- Solas to Flemeth at the end of DAI) "Never again." (- Solas after burning the mages who were responsible for Wisdom's corruption) "From this moment, should you ever bind a spirit, your life is mine." (- the Dread Wolf's final warning to the mages in Tevinter Nights)

All of this considered, what could the poem in JOH imply for the connection between Solas and the Dread Wolf/the Dread Wolf and the idol?

"They made bodies from the Earth, and the Earth was afraid. It fought back, but they made it forget."

One theory assumes that the creation of the Veil lead to the separation of the ancient elves' bodies and their souls/spirits, assuming that before the creation of the Veil, the Evanuris somehow made bodies from the Titans/lyrium for spirits to manifest and then enslaved/bound them to their will by marking those bodies with their vallaslin.

But if that's true, then what happened to Solas when he created the Veil?

"He broke the dreams to stop the old dreams from waking. The wolf chews its leg off to escape the trap."

In all the murals, tarot cards and illustrations, the Dread Wolf and Solas are always depicted separately.

What really IS the Dread Wolf? And what is he to Solas?

"It was a beast unlike any I had ever seen. Lupine in appearance, but the size of a high dragon, with shaggy spiked hide and six burning eyes like a pride demon, and it came to us on wings of fire that resolved themselves into a horde of lesser demons."

From what little we know of the Dread Wolf himself, he only seems to exist within the Fade (that is to say, before the Veil, Solas was already depicted as a wolf, presumably even before his rebellion and before the Evanuris "bestowed" him with the title "Fen'Harel"). In the Mortalitasi's tale in Tevinter Nights, his army of spirits follows the mages back to the waking world, yet the Dread Wolf himself remains in the Fade. In one of the frescoes in the rotunda, Solas portrays the Black City surrounded by the six burning red eyes that resemble those of the Dread Wolf, almost like he's keeping watch over the eternal prison of those he banished. In the Tower tarot card, the Dread Wolf is ominously looming over Solas, almost like it's about to consume him, while in one of the Trespasser murals, it looks more like the Dread Wolf follows his lead. And then there's the DA4 2018 teaser mural, in which they're opposing each other, only seperated by the red lyrium idol in the center of the Veil.

If the red lyrium idol is connected to Solas like the idol in the poem is connected to the wolf, could this be part of the reason Solas is so desperate to find it? Does it possess some kind of spirit? Can the Dread Wolf only be defeated if the idol is destroyed at the same time, just like in the poem?

Where is it now?

So where's the damn thing now?

Well, in my opinion, there are two options.

Option 1) The bard's tale in Tevinter Nights was complete bullshit. lol

Despite Solas trying to convince us that he already obtained the idol in a vault some time ago under an auction house in Llomerryn, it's possible that, much like his whole charade in that chapter, this tale was also entirely fabricated. lol

To make it short, here is a list of arguments for why the "bard's tale" could've been a complete lie:

Solas attended this spy meeting specifically for information on the idol's whereabouts (because he doesn't actually know where it is currently?).

Everything until the last two pages was an act.

Both the Mortalitasi and the Carta Assassin point out several contradictions within his tale.

Upon hearing the other spies assuming that he needs the idol, it would just make sense that he would want them/Charter to believe that he’s now in possession of the idol and “cannot be stopped”, so that they would drop all effort to find it before him.

On the very last page of the book, there's a lists of bullet points of information when Charter is about to write down her report, and it does not explicitly say “He has the idol” but rather just what it looks like, which suggests that Charter didn’t buy his story either.

So if this was all lies, the last known location of the idol would therefore be the unknown person who took it when escaping from the Dread Wolf's spirit army in the Grand Necropolis in the tale of the Mortalitasi.

Meaning that Solas would therefore still be searching for it now. (Which would actually be kind of hilarious, considering how there's likely gonna be a ten year timeskip since DAI, so he would've been searching for the flippin thing for the better part of a decade now. 😂 We know from the end of the Blue Wraith comics that he had followed the idol's path via eluvian, but maybe he just lost track of it at some point? In fact, the last we heard from him, Solas was apparently busy pursuing some Venatori people to get another ancient artifact called the Crucious Stone in the The Missing comic, much like he prevented the Tevinter mage in Nevarra from using his idol. Solas after ten years of searching for the idol was probably like "Oh fuck it, I give up, on to McGuffin Nr 2 then". lmao)

In an interview with the comic writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, they talked about how in their initial draft of Dark Fortress, Solas actually *got* the idol(!!) from two of his agents by using the eluvian located at Nenealeus' place before BioWare stepped in and requested a change. 👀 That version would've explained how Solas was able to track the idol through the eluvian we see at the end. Their own interpretation was that Solas can only overlook a certain radius within the area of where another eluvian is located. Which would actually support the assumption that Solas might've lost track of the idol at some point after Nenealeus left the place… but that's just their interpretation and not official BioWare canon (yet), sooo…. Hm.

Option 2) Solas has the idol now.

So let's assume that the part about him obtaining the idol in Tevinter Nights was actually true and it's now in his possession.

Aside from this, the only thing that could speak for Solas already having the idol in the beginning of DA4, is once again the final visual in the 2022 cinematic.

If this cinematic is in fact playing at the beginning of the game as a general re-introduction to the lore and the last visual is depicting Solas in the middle of destroying the Veil using the idol, then.. well yeah, there it is, in his hand…. at least, for now. Making Solas succeed in the first 10 minutes, I guess? lol

……Unless!

See, a few years ago, I speculated about how the idol might actually be the perfect plot device/motivation for our new protagonist to get involved in the whole Solas deal without even knowing who he is.

Let's say the last visual in the 2022 cinematic is actually showing us a hypothetical scenario, and not something that has already happened/is currently happening. Like, Varric gives this expository narration explaining who Solas is and what might happen if we don't succeed in getting the idol. (Notice how Varric says "And we're the only ones who can stop him" at the end… Like there's still a chance to stop him before this actually happens.) We know from Tevinter Nights that Charter knows that Solas needs the idol for whatever ritual he's planning. And Charter obviously informed the Inquisition/Varric about this as well. So the next logical step for the Inquisition now would be to obtain the idol (whether or not the bard's tale in TN was true) to prevent this ritual at any cost, right?

The comic The Missing re-emphasized that Varric is now in charge of getting people that Solas doesn't know. And this might be where the new protagonist gets recruited by Varric (who is still a spymaster after all) and gets assigned the alias "Rook" for a heist mission to obtain the idol. (And after a very thorough observation of the DA4 reddit leaks from 2023… it looks like Rook might've actually succeeded in this potential quest?)

While we don't know when the stuff in the leaks actually takes place within DA4's storyline, I think it's safe to say that Rook will obtain the idol at some point in the story and that it will play a pivotal role, if the blurb on the Steam page for DA4 is to be believed. lol

As well as what could likely end up being the game's icon, found on the Steam page.

And again, remember how in the Hunt of the Fell Wolf poem, it seemed like Ameridan struck the wolf’s body in the waking world, while his friend Haron killed the spirit (inside the idol?) in the Fade. What could this imply for DA4 then, if we are applying the role of Ameridan, Haron and the wolf in this tale to the Inquisitor, Rook and Solas?? 👀 Is this how we can stop him? The Inquisitor confronts Solas in the waking world, while Rook has to destroy the idol/fight the Dread Wolf in the Fade?

Or could it just be a metaphor for the Inquisitor in DA4 keeping Solas occupied to distract him from Rook, while they can figure out another secret way to deal with him/how to get/destroy the idol?

See, the thing is, we have to remember that this is after all, a video game. lol Meaning that, if our protagonist gets to carry around a powerful ancient artifact/weapon, I would assume that this has to be somehow implemented in the gameplay as well. What we can take from the short footage of the 2023 reddit leak, is that Rook might carry the idol (if it really IS the same thing) while still fighting with their own main weapon in combat. So, what if the idol serves as more of a special power tool outside of combat, for example, like the anchor did in DAI, where it can only be used for special occasions? Let's say, the idol in its blade form can't be used in battle but is able to "split" the Veil or reality, like the anchor was able to open and close rifts? Or, if we assume that the idol is something like an ancient phylactery (which btw is my favorite theory and I will talk about in my second post), maybe it can be used as some kind of "tracking device"? Actually, I'm super curious to learn how Rook is even able to carry it like this in the first place, since we know what kind of effect it usually has on people. lol

~~~~~

Anyway, I'll make a hard cut here now and save the rest of this behemoth of a post for a second separate post (because I also just realized that tumblr doesn't let me add any more images 😂💀), so if any of you actually made it this far... thank you for being just as crazy as me about this and I will post the second part shortly after. lol ❤

#tinfoil time #da4 #red lyrium idol #solas #dragon age 4 #mythal #good god that got long 💀💀💀💀

121 notes · View notes

the-s1lly-corner · 2 days

Text

TADC cast crushing on the reader

+ gummigoo and princess loolilalu!! Hooray! i think i might have written something like this a long long long time ago buuuuuuuut with episode 2 out and more info on some characters, i decided to remake it... if i have written this before..!

Notes: reader is GN but post mainly focuses on the canon characters

CWs: none

CAINE

Very obvious, and he's not going to waste too much time flirting with you before he asks you out on a date. He gives you special attention compared to the other circus members and always checks in on you first. He's open to flirting, but he doesn't go overboard with it... he's got to keep it family friendly, you know! Boggles at you if you return the energy, before regaining himself and hitting right back with a line. Doesn't hold back any punches when trying to impress you, it hits its peak when he tries to ask you out. It can get... overwhelming...

POMNI

Poor girl. She's so awkward around you, she doesn't want you to think she's some loser. Even though she kind of is already/j. Tries to make conversation with you to get to know you better and to just spend time with you. She's... clumsy... in the sense that she stumbles over her own words and seems more on edge when you're around. You might even think you did something wrong to make her act so tense around you. Not at all confident when asking you out, actually you might be the one to ask her first just to get the tension done and over with. She tries her best not to seem rude or put off by you, she's just clamming up is all!

RAGATHA

Similar to Pomni she's a little awkward, but she keeps herself composed much easier. Yoinking the fact that she practices her words before talking to someone and using it here. She hypes herself up before knocking on your door to check in on you. Very attentive to you and your needs, she subconsciously puts your wants/needs above her own... call her out on that because there's going to come a point where it's going to come to her detriment. Makes you things every now and then, cannot accept anything in return but she will try. Asks you out when she feels the time is right, and even if you don't feel the same she tries to move on with the friendship as normal unless you want some space.

JAX

When he's crushing someone he's the type to tease them and lightly bully them. "But Admin, he already does that," You might say. And you wouldn't be wrong. I can see him leaning more into it, though. So if you notice him getting onto you more than he did before.. well you might just assume he's being a jerk. He thinks love is gross, as immature as it sounds. Cooties mentality, so he does what he can to try to smother those feelings. On top of that he hates the idea of being vulnerable, giving him all the more incentive to try to destroy those feelings. Oddly enough, he still tosses pickup lines your way if he notices it gets under your skin. Is it mean? Yes, but let's not forget that Jax IS mean...

KINGER

It's hard to tell when he's crushing on someone simply because he's so... Kinger. But some big signs to let you know that you're on his mind is him hovering around you more and more as time passes. He's already lost his wife and deeply scared that something is going to happen to you. Actually, that fear might push him to tell you how he feels fairly quickly. It's nearly suffocating, and he needs that peace of mind that he can at least tell you how he feels before anything hypothetically happens. Strikes up conversations whenever he can, a lot revolving around his own interests because that's what helps keep him grounded and in the present moment... but he wants to hear you talk to! A bit of a flirt, surprisingly, but he's very polite about it.

ZOOBLE

Its hard to read zooble sometimes, but they make it easy by being forward with you. They come forward when they realize they have feelings for you, and that said feelings aren't just a dud and won't pass easily. Very accepting on whatever you answer, but I can see them needing some space from you if you reject them. It doesn't mean the friendship is over, Zooble just needs time to get those feelings out. Similarly to Jax, they don't like being vulnerable like that. Unlike Jax, they want to get it done and over with sooner rather than later. Not a flirt, but they will become more... noticeably relaxed and open around you. At least by Zooble standards.

GANGLE

Shy.. and awkward... I know I keep saying the girls are awkward, but Gangle is going to give Pomni a run for her money with how much of a mess she becomes. Doodles you a lot, becomes more cagey about her sketchbooks and papers because of this. Follows along with whatever you suggest you two do for the day, and doesn't protest all that much because she wants to make you happy and perhaps even impress you. Definitely fantasizes about some fanfiction-esque scene that leads to the two of you ending up together... it's actually a little... pathetic... and it's unlikely to happen like that, and knowing a certain circus member.. cough cough Jax.. she's probably not going to get the chance to tell you herself on her terms...

LOO

Very straight forward and confident when asking you out, and she takes it with grace if you don't feel the same. Similar to Caine, she gives you special attention! She might even give you some special privileges in her kingdom... definitely gives you some pointers that she's developing some feelings for you. A great listener, wants to know just about everything about you and she's going to let you rant and ramble about anything you want. She responds too, by the way. She doesn't just listen, she keeps the conversation going. Leaves you gifts every now and then!

GUMMIGOO

If this is post... everything... and he was allowed to stay, having a crush on someone so soon actually distresses him a little bit. He's just learned that he's an NPC and everything he knew prior to... everything.. was fake.. it all feels too sudden. The stress translates into frustration, so you may fall under the impression that he's upset with you. He is.. but only a little, for making him feel like this. But a bulk of it is towards himself and his circumstances. If this were any other time or if he didn't have the knowledge he has now, he would be more open and even attempt to flirt and tease you. Sad stuff.

47 notes · View notes

aquarius-cookie-jar · 2 days

Text

Right. I'mma just dump these ref sheets I made here because I'll be making some drawings with these guys, and I am bad at staying consistent within the design lmao.

I was inspired by these amazing designs, go check them out.

X || X || X.

Ramble down here, where I try to explain the ""lore"" and my design choices:

So as mentioned above, the majority of the Dark Cacao kingdom is actually composed of kirins, mainly because Cacao was already a kirin in my older designs, and I wanted more of his citizens to match him. Maybe I'll draw the other Cacao NPCs mlp-ified and what I headcanon their species to be.

I ultimately decided to give Cacao a mane and replace his long hair with that. Ngl, I was always on the fence about Cacao and Choco's designs, but yeah, I think the mane works better than just getting rid of it. (Old design below).

Btw, I dunno if I wanna give Cacao an actual crown, or just keep the additional horn things the leader of the kirins kinda have.

Dark Choco hasn't changed much, just in a different art style. I do however wanna say that he shaved off his mane out of shame and guilt for coming across the cursed sword not long after his banishment. Maybe when he and Cacao reconcile, he'll start to grow it out again, or maybe he'll keep it that way as a reminder of the past.

I actually drew (more like edited a screenshot) Caramel Arrow before, and she was originally just a pegasus, but honestly, the concept of hybrids and what they entail really intrigued me. I thought it would be fun if she were a hybrid kirin/pegasus.

Also, her horn doesn't exactly function, mainly because there's this headcanon I once came across a post that says faux alicorns do exist in the mlp canon. If you wanna know my full headcanon for this, feel free to shoot an ask, but to keep it short, for faux alicorns, either their wings are under developed, or their horn can't control the frequencies of magic that well or at all. Such is the case for Caramel Arrow. Though she has fully developed wings, she can't control magic with her horn, and if she tries to, it may cause a headache. But besides that, she's all fine and dandy.

Crunchy Chip, hm, I'd say when he was a little filly, he was found in the woods, either by Cacao, or Choco, and his horn was already broken by the time they came across him. When asked, the little guy said he was protecting the cream wolf pups from a monster, but he can't remember what else happened before he fell unconscious. As he grew older, his broken horn didn't really bother him anymore. He's adapted well, and picked up a thing or two about survival from his cream wolf pack.

Also, sidenote, the kirins' scales are actually very hard to dent, meaning their backs are usually safe from attacks. Crunchy once encountered... something when he was out on patrol, and he was out of commission for a week (to his incredible dismay + annoyance) because of how rare serious injuries to the kirins' backs occur.

Ah, Affogato. Actually, I really do like him as a character, I just tend to focus my attention towards the Celestia and Luna coded father-son duo a bit more. Oops. But anyway, I decided to make him a hybrid just like Carrow too, mainly to add both contrast and similarities between them. They're not too different, but their ideals and beliefs clash and cause conflict with one another, I just thought it was fitting. Also decided to give him a more elegant and curved horn design as a nod to his unicorn heritage. Unicorns in the Cacao kingdom (and maybe the Golden Cheese kingdom) have a curved horn, mainly because the east asian coded unicorns in the mlp canon have curved horns too, and I thought they looked beautiful. Affo is someone so elegant and refined in a land that's chaotic and holds danger everywhere.

And that's my unhinged thoughts for now. I think I'll design Licorice and the others next time, but no promises.

Anyway, thank you for reading.

#cookie run kingdom #cookie run #dark cacao cookie #dark choco cookie #affogato cookie #caramel arrow cookie #crunchy chip cookie #dark cacao kingdom #my little cookies #mlp au #cookie run au #🌌🖌️#🌌📝

52 notes · View notes

waterfire1848 · 3 days

Note

For the ship prompts

#7 fake relationship au for tyzula (Ty Lee/Azula)?

Hello, anon!! Thanks for the ask!

Post canon AU

Azula was gonna kill someone. She was actually going to go back to prison, or whatever the hell that asylum was, and she didn’t care. That place had to be better than listening to the oldest council members alive go on and on about wheat distribution.

Don’t get her wrong. Azula knew this was incredibly important. She wasn’t about to say it wasn’t, but it was just so insanely boring. Zuko and her were passing looks to each other, both of them silently begging the other to declare an Agni Kai and get them out of here.

“The final item up for business is Princess Azula’s wedding.” An old man, General Kai, said.

Now that woke her up.

“Wedding?!?” Azula and Zuko yelled.

“Yes. Fire Lord Ozai had it written that if you could not find a potential partner before your eighteenth birthday then I would be in charge of finding you one.” Kai grinned.

Azula wanted to set the man on fire. She and Kai always hated each other because while she preferred to play the long game during battle and believed in putting time and effort into projects, Kai was more of a throw every soldier they had at a problem and see what happens.

The only reason he wasn’t kicked off the council after Zuko came to power was because his wife and Zuko were actually pretty close and she promised him no mutiny would come from her husband. Which was true, Kai never intended to go against Zuko but he did still hate Azula meaning he was definitely enjoying this.

“What? That can’t be a real agreement!” Zuko demanded.

“The Princess signed it herself.” Kai grinned.

“Azula?” Zuko asked.

“I forgot.” She snapped, “Not a lot of time to think about getting married when you’re locking up in a mental institution.” She hissed.

“There’s no issue though because I already have the perfect man lined up for you.” Kai told her, “Commander Aoi.”

“Koh’s Lair, no!” Azula snapped. On top of being one of the most insufferable humans Azula had ever met, and that was saying a lot, Aoi was over ten years older than her. If she remembered correctly, he should be in his early 30s by now. Zuko must have had similar thoughts because he instantly shook his head.

“As Fire Lord, I-“

“Read below, your majesty.” Kai said.

“No future Fire Lord may void this contract. Neither can new laws exacted by the Fire Lord.” Zuko read.

“Ozai is in prison and will die there. His contracts have to be void.” Azula argued.

“Maybe, but you’d have to prove that and you can’t.” Kai smiled, “I’ll send a messenger hawk to Commander Aoi and tell him the-“

“I do have a suitor!” Azula suddenly said.

“What?” Kai asked.

“Yeah. What?” Zuko asked.

“I have a suitor. We just haven’t been public yet.”

“Oh? Who is it?” Kai asked.

“Ty Lee.” The look on Zuko’s face would have made Azula burst out laughing if not for the seriousness of the situation. Kai looked at her in confusion and a bit of anger at the realization that she was about to one up him, “And since I do have a suitor, you can still Commander Aoi that the wedding is off.”

“Your father would have never allowed-“

“Nowhere in that contract does it say my suitor needs to be male. Just that they must be a member of nobility which Ty Lee is and she’s a respected member of the Kyoshi Warriors as well.” Azula’s grin was spread all across her face that she didn’t notice Zuko giving her a concerned look, “Ty Lee is my partner.”

“I think that’s a good place to adjourn the meeting.” Zuko said.

—————————————

“TY LEE?!?” Zuko yelled.

“I didn’t know who else to say!” Azula yelled back, “It’s fine. You’ll find a loophole in the contract or, worst case scenario, Ty Lee and I get married then divorced in which case we’ve fulfilled the contract and nothing more will need to be done.”

“Worst case scenario???? Azula, how do you think Ty Lee will react to this?!?”

“She’ll be shocked, of course, but she’ll understand that this was all to keep me from having to marry Aoi.” The way Azula pronounced his name made it seem like she wanted to vomit, “I’ll tell Ty Lee the news tomorrow morning and inform her of the plan.”

Zuko bit his lip. Yeah. Just a plan. Ty Lee would be just dandy hearing that she was, legally, now dating Azula, practically engaged. Only to also find out that Azula just said her name to get out of marrying a man much older than her, not because she actually liked her. The girl she’d had a crush on since they were kids was now fake dating her but wanted nothing more. Zuko shook his head. This was not going to end well.

————————————

“I’m sorry. We’re what??” Ty Lee asked.

“Dating. About to be married if you want to be specific.” Azula clarified. The way she spoke made it seem like she found nothing unusual or confusing about this.

“Azula, I….I just…how???”

“When I was younger, my father created a contract with me which basically said that if I didn’t have a suitor by the time I was 18 then General Kai could find one for me.” Ty Lee winced at Kai’s name. Even she knew how much the two didn’t like each other, “Kai was about to stick me with some old commander so I told him you and I were dating. It’s only until Zuko finds a way out of this or we just have a quick wedding then get divorced a day later, but that’s only a worst case scenario issue.”

Ty Lee’s jaw had dropped by the time Azula finished her plan which made the firebender uneasy, “Ty, please. We just had to fake a relationship for a few days. Please, I need your help or I’m going to be chained to some 30 something year old man for the rest of my life.”

“Well…wait! You could just marry Aoi then divorce him!” Ty Lee told her.

“Two problems with that. One, the thought of getting married to Aoi for any period of time makes me want to vomit. Two, I can’t. Both of us have to agree to the divorce and Aoi will never divorce me once he’s in line for the throne.” Azula handed the contract to Ty Lee, who quickly scanned it over.

“Azula, why did you ever agree to this?” Ty Lee asked, “You can’t divorce your partner or pick the person for yourself.”

“I had a lot of parental issues when I was younger, okay?!”

“Daddy issues.” Ty Lee smirked. Azula’s face turned red, but Ty Lee spoke up again, “If I’m going through all this then I get to call it what it is.”

“So, you’ll help?”

“Of course I’ll help.” Azula visibly deflated as if, for the first time in days, she felt some kind of relieve.

“Thank you, Ty.”

“But!” Azula’s face fell, “To sell this we need to act the part as well.”

“Right.” Azula nodded. This was a pretty basic fact. Of course they’d need to act like a couple now.

“Which means more than just some kissing and holding hands. We need to have a date where everyone can see us.” Ty Lee told her.

Now it was Azula’s turn to drop her jaw, “A date?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“And…what if one of us has never been on a date?” Azula asked, getting Ty Lee’s full attention now. The acrobat gave her friend, now fake almost wife, a kind smile. She had forgotten how uncomfortable Azula was with this kind of stuff. When Azula first returned from the mental institution, Ty Lee tried to help her meet people but the Princess wanted nothing to do with it. Only Ty Lee noticed that Azula did, in secret, try to meet people but it was difficult with her life and past actions. The most she’d ever done was a few kisses at some parties Ty Lee took her to but never a date.

“I’m thinking a calm dinner in the palace where the servants can see us and then we let them gossip. No one around but us.“ Okay. That came out way more romantic than she has anticipated but it did seem to calm Azula down a bit.

“That sounds good. Does a date mean…”

“No. You don’t have to wear a dress.” Ty Lee confirmed, laughing at her best friend’s hatred of the clothing.

“Thank the spirits. I’ll get something set up with the cooks for tonight.” Azula told her, “Thank you so much for this. I promise you’ll only have to pretend to date me for a few days.” Ty Lee waited until Azula was out the door to look down at the ground.

“Lucky me.” Her voice trembled with sadness.

—————————————

That night, Ty Lee got her best clothes from her house and made sure to walk all around the palace so everyone could see her. She kept making up excuses to go everywhere so all the servants could see her walking around. Finally, she arrived in the dining room to find Azula at the table. She had her hair down and was wearing the best robes she had. When Ty Lee looked closer she realized the fabric was made with spider-snake silk: the most expensive in the world.

“Wow.” Ty Lee whispered, “You look beautiful.”

“As do you.” Azula smiled.

“What’s on the menu today?” The acrobat asked.

“Pig-cow, rice, and egg custard.” Azula told her.

“Ohhhh. I love egg custard!” Ty Lee happily took some from the center of the table and put it on her plate, biting into it as quickly as she could, “Mmmm.”

“Glad it lived up to your expectations. I remember you telling me a few years ago that it was your favorite. I thought making it was the least I could do.”

“You made it?” Ty Lee asked.

“Okay. I, personally, didn’t make it but the chefs did and I’m the one who told them to.” Azula argued, “Same thing.”

“I’d argue that. It felt very different when we were doing wilderness training and I did the cooking while you told me what to make.” Ty Lee chuckled at the memory of the three of them in their tent, all yelling at each other as they tried to make the fish they caught edible.

“If I recall that correctly, I helped by catching the fish.”

“You almost burned them alive so they swam away then Mai hit them with her knife.”

“Exactly. It’s teamwork.” Azula grinned, bitting into her pig-cow, “I must say though that this pig-cow is better than you’re burning salmon-cod.”

“It was burning because you’re a firebender who controls all the flames in a room.”

“So first cooking was all you and now I’m responsible for the burned fish. Make up your mind.” Azula took a sip of her drink while Ty Lee looked at her with a raised eyebrow:

“I have made up my mind. I blame you.”

“Ha-Ha.”

A few minutes of silence filled the room until Ty Lee couldn’t hold it in any longer and spoke up, “Why did you say my name?”

“What?”

“My name. When you were thinking of a name to give to General Kai, why did you say my name? When you were thinking of potential people who you’d rather date than Aoi, why’d you say my name?” Ty Lee asked.

Azula looked down at her plate, clearly taking a few vital moments to think, “You were simply the first name to come up.” She lied.

“Azula-“

“It’s nothing more, Ty. You were the first name I thought of, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It doesn’t?” She asked.

Azula’s gaze wasn’t angry or confused when she uttered, “Do you want it to?” She actually looked a little hopeful.

“I…I think I do.” Ty Lee admitted. Spirits, her stomach was doing flip and every second that Azula wasn’t speaking felt like 100 years of waiting.

“I think I said your name first because thinking of potential partners made me think of someone who I’d want to be with, who I’d want to spend my days talking to, who I’d be fine with seeing every day and would accept me for everything I’ve done and was. Can I be honest?” Azula asked.

Ty Lee nodded, “Your name wasn’t the first to come up. It was the only one I could think of.” The acrobat’s eyes grew, “Ty, you don’t have to-“

“How would you feel if we turned this fake relationship into a real one?” Ty Lee asked.

Azula beamed at her long time friend, now girlfriend, “I’d love that.”

#Ty Lee #azula #tyzula #fake relationship #send me an ask and a ship and I’ll write for it

29 notes · View notes

restinslices · 17 hours

Note

Hello! I just read your recent post on the lin Kuei trio trying to bring back the reader's memories after it has been tainted and was wondering if you could do part 2 where the trio finally succeeded in restoring the reader's memories?

I haven’t seen those movies in awhile but I googled it and apparently only therapy can help? I went off what Google said. No gifs cause I got lazy. I ain’t even finna lie to you

Bi-Han doesn't show it, but he's in so much pain

It's not because everytime you see him, you try to kill him

If hating him for the rest of your life meant that you'd be happy, he'd take it

But you're not happy. It's not a bad breakup and you hate him but at least you're living life. No. You have insane PTSD from the torture you endured

When he's told that the only way to help you is therapy, he's a tad bit irritated

Therapy takes too long. He wishes he could fight some enemies, use some magic, then boom. Everything's okay

Speaking of those enemies though, he's definitely tracking them down and killing them

He finds it difficult to watch your therapy sessions so he distracts himself with duties

After a few failed tests, you're finally able to be in the same room as him without trying to kill him

When he sees you look at him with love instead of hatred, all his tension is released

Your memories are still a little wonky but you're healed enough to know that they're manipulated

He's more than happy to tell you what really happened and make new memories with you

He's more soft afterwards because he's afraid of triggering you

It takes a lot of work but he's willing to do all of it if it means you'll be okay with him holding you again

Seeing you be so terrified of him is like a living nightmare

It's such a difficult situation because there's no easy way to help you

It's not like a broken bone. You've been made to fear him and your memories are tainted

Therapy is the only thing that can help you

It takes a while, and he hates it

He's told to avoid face to face contact with you during your recovery

So he watches you sneakily

He watches you rediscover your memories day by day

When you ask to see him, he's a bit nervous, but he knows that that means progress has been made

He lets you set the pace of the conversation

Whenever there's silence, he doesn't try to fill it. He knows you need the time to gather your thoughts

Your hand is shaky when you reach for him. He wants to try and close the space but he doesn't. He lets you take your time reaching for his hand

When you finally touch it feels like weights have been lifted off his shoulders

You're not 100% healed but you're making great progress. You being able to stand being around him is such a huge thing to him

He helps you whenever you get confused and is extremely patient with you

Definitely believes you'll make a full recovery

After the first encounter and you trying to kill him, nobody could blame him for becoming depressed

You were extremely volatile towards him

Anytime you saw him you immediately tried to attack him

When he's told therapy is the only thing that can help you, he wants to be hopeful but it's hard to

Therapy takes time and there's no guarantee it'll even work

He sends you gifts during your recovery. Sometimes he won't sign it so you're more willing to accept it

Exposure therapy exhausts him, but he keeps doing it for you

One day though your demeanor is different

You don't rush at him or tell him to get out

You're quiet and still. He lets the silence stay

“I don't know what's real and what's not anymore”

“You're trying” he'd say. “That's all that matters. And I'll help you”

It gets quiet again

You walk over to him, and instead of attacking him, you pull him into a tight embrace

It takes him a moment to understand what's happening. Once he does, he hugs you back

“You loved me. Real or fake?”

“I love you, and it's all real”

You two just stay like that for a while. He has no idea what's going on in your head, but in his he's ecstatic

There was hope. As long as there was a hope, even a sliver of it, he wouldn't give up on you

He stays by your side the entire time. Watching you slowly but surely go out of your way to be around him excites him

He has tons of pictures and he shows you them and explains what happened whenever you get confused

He's delighted to have you back

30 notes · View notes

peachesofteal · 16 hours

Note

I’m really, really loving your Simon & Mama series. It’s so beautifully written and it really makes me feel things.

One of those things is a little bit of sadness because you see all the time now either on reddit, tiktok or from personal family & friends on how badly their child’s father has treated them either during pregnancy or after or hell even both. And reading Simon & Mama just makes me wish those mothers had the same support that Mama gets from Simon.

I know wishful thinking and probably very silly to think about but I just wanted to tell you that the way you write stories makes me feel all different types of emotions and it makes me think of things I would never normally think about.

I’m Autistic and my empathy level isn’t really high at all for humans, I find I have to force it most of the time and I’m quite selfish really but reading your stories makes me stop and think about other people and I feel bad and sad for them so in a way I’d like to thank you for that.

I’m struggling to put into words or text on how to express that even though certain series of yours may finish or you post a chapter. It’s never just a read for me and then forgot until the next one, the chapter or series sits in my brain for a long time and I’ll keep thinking about it for months and sometimes there will be breaks in between but then a sentence or a feeling will pop in and I’ll remember your stories and I’m really grateful that I get to experience your writing.

Thank you

Oh and sorry if this is rude or makes you uncomfortable, just ignore it thanks

♥️♥️♥️

This isn’t rude or uncomfortable, I’m so glad you sent me this message, it was lovely of you to take the time to send me it to me, I really appreciate it. TBH made me a little emotional. It’s really special that my writing can make you feel this way, and I’m honored. I’m incredibly touched that my writing makes you feel, it’s my ultimate goal as a writer and it’s… just so lovely to hear it from you, thank you 🩵

#crying in the club #peaches asks

24 notes · View notes

non-operator · 2 years

Text

this might be a Hot Take, but I don't think Cypher has a death wish or suicidal ideation, as used in a bunch of cypher angst fics.

I'd argue that he shown more of a desire to stay alive than a desire to die.

For one, he has two lines "I must survive to protect my family..." and when he survives a round on low HP, he says "Nora, I will see you again".

Furthermore, there's also the line "I will stop anyone who tries to come through. I must keep my secrets with me" and "My truths stay hidden for one day more" He can't really protect his secrets if he takes the chance to die....

In the reddit QnA, the devs said "Off-screen events have occurred that have spared those three [Omega Cypher, Jett, and Viper] their lives… this time". It implies that even with Sage and Skye and whatever "tricks up their sleeve" both Valorants have, the threat of death is very much still present.

In any case, I feel like Cypher has far more incentive to stay alive than to indulge in any desire to get himself killed, even for a glimpse of seeing "them". If anything, I feel like Cypher is more likely to abandon the mission and save himself instead of going for a sacrifice play. (which isn't to say he'd ditch at first sight of risk; his clutch voice line says he plays "high stakes". Rather that if the mission's looking impossible, I don't think he'd be the one to hold onto hope and try to go for a last second defuse or lucky kill. I think he'd try to cut his losses, a "live to fight another day" type of mentality)

More rambling under the cut

This is just unrelated, but also, Cypher just seems to enjoy living? If you listen to his voice lines, he clearly enjoys holding power/having the advantage over his enemies.

I guess the flippant way he treats the life-or-death battles can read as him not taking things seriously or holding his life in high regard. However, a lot of his lines seem to show an expectation of survival? Like "I wonder if they have any parts I can salvage. Hmm, implants? I need those!" He's already looking towards the rewards of victory; "Let's close up shop. I have things to do" Again he has goals to achieve and dying only hinders him. He also does show that he understands the gravity of situation and takes them seriously when he says "Spend like there is no tomorrow! Because there just might not be…" He's fighting to win, not to throw his life away for a mere whim.

Lastly, if we read his questioning of Sage's resurrection ability to imply that he wants to revive some people, then I think this just solidifies that Cypher doesn't have a death wish at all.

He loves living. He doesn't want to join the dead; he wants the dead to join him.

#valorant #valorant cypher #the keep reading bit is just because the post was getting long #and it's not super necessary to the argument. but it does add onto it #Cypher's a character who clearly has a lot of baggage and angst in his past. but I just don't think he deals with it Like This #he's a man who is used to killing people and seems completely fine with it #he enjoys invading people's privacy simply to have something to hold over them. even if he'll never actually use it #ie the line about having pictures of his enemies' families #or at least he acts like it #he's clearly not dealing with his issues in a healthy way but it's certainly not as obvious as satisfying suicidal ideation #vp is supposedly filled with the best of the best. dying frequently does not showcase that type of genius talent vp wants #i don't think they'd ignore or not detect that kind of pattern #and even if they don't know it's on purpose. would they really let him back on the field if he keeps dying?#once or twice or thrice is pretty reasonable and might prompts jokes. but making it a habit? that's a liability #this was prompted by the cypher angst fics that used this idea #which isn't to say they're bad or wrong. i enjoyed reading them :)#it just got me thinking more than necessary about cypher #and if vp would notice that or how they'd deal with that. like does vp hire a therapist or something...?#or do they just put the agent on leave and let them loose and say 'alright deal with that by yourself adios loser'

18 notes · View notes

askthekirbysquad · 10 months

Text

I've been working through RtDL DX's Extra Mode fairly slowly, so I'm only just getting close to finishing it up now. I got all 120 Energy Spheres earlier today, and uhhhhhhh

Fun fact: This dialogue is entirely new to DX! It's not in the original. I went back to my old file on the Wii and checked.

Haha yeah you little shit, we know you're planning to betray us soon (still love you though <3)

WHAT THE FUCK????????

EXCUSE ME????????

And then he goes on to explain a bit more, as seen above. But uhhhhhh,,, yeah!!! He's not actually Halcandran!!!! That's a new piece of Lore right there. My jaw dropped while reading it lmao

Anyway, moving on from that bombshell of a sentence, since we still aren't done with the full dialogue,

Remember that post I made a bit over a month ago talking about some of Manager Magolor's dialogue, where I was wondering if that dream of his regarding the theme park also applied to Main Mode Magolor?

I WAS FUCKING RIGHT!

Hell yeah this is such a victory for me I was so excited to read that dghsghfs

Magolor stole the Master Crown so he could make a giant theme park Confirmed and Canon and Real /hj

And then we also get a fun little reference to the Kirby Clash games!

A steal in Kirby's eyes, maybe, but that's only because he doesn't understand real-world currency.

And to close out this post, here are the last two lines of dialogue from this conversation!

Anyway. I'm losing my mind 💖

#magolor kinda reminds me of entrapta from she-ra in that first part of the conversation #just hangin' out in a dangerous land because Hell Yeah Cool Tech from ancient civilizations!!!#i adore them both <3 #magolor #not a comic or an ask #kirby's return to dream land deluxe #kirby's return to dream land #kirby series #it does kinda hurt though. like- he talks so much about being such great friends with kirby and caring about him so much #even telling him about his lifelong dreams and aspirations #only to betray kirby and try to kill him almost immediately afterward.#given that this dialogue doesn't become available until you're just about to take on landia #though it's funny because in one of the other two 120 energy sphere convos in extra mode he just straight up talks about the master crown #not by name but he does describe an artifact that would let you rule the universe that landia won't want to give up #like. damn bro you really aren't being subtle this time around huh dhsgfhsdgfhdgfs #i did also want to talk about one of the other conversations you get from 120 spheres in extra mode but i think i might do that another day #that other one is from the original rtdl anyway. unlike the dialogue in this post #also i know the post is a bit long so feel free to let me know if you'd like me to add a ''keep reading'' cut at the top!#it just messes up the positioning of the images on the pc dashboard so i deleted it. but if people want it back i can edit it back in!

37 notes · View notes

iceeericeee · 7 months

Text

I wonder how many tags i can add on to this

#there must be SOME kind of a limit otherwise posts would get suuuuuuper duper long like is it just 30?#idk but i'm going to find out by simply maxxing out the character limit for each tag and finding out the limit of tags for each post lololo #this is gonna be great. i just have to remember to type without ever using the comma. it shouldn't be too hard right? fuck i almost typed #the comma i'm already bad at this smh my head. also if your still here i commend you. you have a better attention span than i do.#i'm already starting to get bored holy shit this is not happening. i gotta power through this. FOR SCIENCEEEEEEEEEE. or somethinggggggggggg #but fr idk what else to say. maybe just saying that i don't know what to say will be good enough? but does that even count?#I don't even know anymore. ffffffffuck. this is gonna be a while huh? also holy shit if you're still here omg u deserve like. a prize or #something because u definitely didn't have to stay and read all of this bull shit. lololol i typed out bs but decided to just spell the who #thing out just to make it go by faster. i'm so lazy. this is only the nineth tag HOW will i make it to 30. i am sobbing the adhd is adhding #very hard rn. are you still here? bruh this is insane. i have somehow managed to keep ur attention this long and it's just me spouting #absolute balderdash. wait do you know what balderdash even means? i don't care if you do already i'm gonna tell you anyway. balderdash is #basically just another word for nonsense. boom. you learned something new today. balderdash equals nonsense equals this damn post.#why did i decide to do this in the first place. it was a dumb idea. i don't know if i can even keep going. this is only the *counts tags*#it's the 14th tag. we've got a long way to go boys. men. soldiers. comrads. friends. besties peeps. marshmallows.#where was i going with this? oh yeah. trying to max out the limit for tags. dang i almost typed a comma there. i haven't done that since #i think the third or fourth tag. dang that feels like such a long time ago. not for you guys probably. it feels longer because i have to li #type it all out and stuff. so it's definitely gonna feel longer for me. are you still here? good lord don't you have better things to #be doing than reading all of this? we're already on tag number 18. it feels like i should be on the thirtyeth by now. or however it's spell #'toast' you might be wondering 'why are you typing out the names of the numbers instead of say '9' or '5'?' well you see. young one.#this is a strategy i'm using to make each tag slightly longer. even if i don't know how to spell it. it'll make it just a little bit longer #anyway. i got off topic. not that there was ever a topic to begin with. unless it's about making this as long as i can.#which i am apparently good at doing. i guess. are you STILL here? do you seriously have nothing to do? i guess i'm flattered you stayed thi #whole time. instead of reading something else you stayed here. with me. listening to me talk. on the twenty-third tag. oh yeah its tag 23 #except now it's tag twenty-four. how crazy is that. this little talk is almost over. only 6 tags away if memory serves right. this's strang #i kind of don't want this to end. but i know it should. after all there is a limit. but all things must come to and end at some point i gue #i'm running out of things to say. it's probably a good thing it's almost over. hahahahah............... but i don't want to go. i don't wan #to leave this post. i've worked so hard on it. and for what. just for it to end. are you still here? yes? good. i'd hate to end this alone.#thank you for indulging me and my craziness. the end is only 2 tags away now. you can go ahead and leave. i'll be okay on my own. really...#...you're still here? i- i don't know what to say. i suppose a toast is in order. perhaps. for this journey. this stupid dumb post i though #would be fun. i'll make it short. it's the last tag after all. this was fun. but i will never do it again. so long as a i live. i'll miss y

17 notes · View notes

sualne · 1 year

Text

been looking for jobs for three years and in the past two months ish I’ve gotten for the first time my first job interview and for a different job my first job essay.

(I did have an actual job as a comic colorist for like six months but nobody around me considered it a Real Job so I feel like I just never have a job even though I very much did.)

and each time, during the interview where I know realise I was kind of being explained the whole time why I wouldn’t get the job and at the end of the essay(which might not be the right word, like a day we’re your try out the job to see if you can do it) one of the reasons given why I wouldn’t be taken it was ‘we need people who can smile’.

(there were actual argument like being ‘too introverted’ and ‘not dynamic enough’. That last one is funny because i had another ‘almost pass out for no reasons’ moment right for break time (genuinely perfect timing) during the essay and while I was cold sweating and going blind on the bathroom floor I realised, if anyone ever know I have health issues I will never get a job. So being told I wasn’t dynamic enough a fourty something minutes later was straight up comedic).

Back to the smiling, my entire life since I was a literal baby I’ve been told I wasn’t expressing the Right Way. ‘If you feel a specific way you Have to emote this specific way, act this specific way and not do anything else otherwise you’re not actually feeling what you say you’re feeling, it means you’re actually lying, faking it or don’t know what you’re actually feeling because your not showing it the Right Way’ and obviously I’ve dismissed this my entire life because I was sure it was obvious and everyone knew that everyone exist differently and people don’t act the same. I kind of assume everyone that ever bothered me about it was some flavor of 1 having a day and decided to being weird about it to me or anyone else that was also not existing the correct way. 2 just kind of an asshole and therefor they’re opinion didn’t matter. 3 just kind of strange about thing and so be it, ´not my problem tho’ I thought.

But seeing how it’s an actual argument people have use twice now to refuse me a job I’m kind of being thinking, it might actually, for real, be a thing people actually are worried about, actually. Which is wild, but also make sense because people have very much for my whole life, to me and to a ton of strangers, made comments on folks not existing the proper way. Like how in horror someone being slightly off, slightly wrong, a little bit not how it usual should be is the trope of all time. And I love this trope, someone who’s voice is in differed from how they mouth work, someone who seems to not walk directly on the floor but just slightly above it. It’s fun and interesting.

Anyway, real life stuff, being told I’m not smiling enough is wild, like yeah I don’t smile much at all that’s a fact, and both job were about interacting with people and every time you go to a restaurant you’ll ear someone saying out of nowhere mean thing about people who work there. Insane things like ‘I don’t like the way they’re standing’ and over analysing someone expression and body languages when they’re literally just doing their job.

This post is kind of a mess but I had a point which was, I don’t understand people and why are so many mean for no reasons but I wanted it to sound less like a kid complaining and be more verbose about it.

And (this isn’t over yet) I did force myself to smile, like I very much did, I tried my best to be as pleasant and polite as possible. And being told again, this isn’t enough, just suck. Like I have to mask and hide and deal with so much I kind of expected that of all thing I was allowed to keep my face. Like people have bothered me about it my entire life and I’ve dismissed it my entire life because it just did not make sense and I couldn’t make it make sense(still can’t). But I’m genuinely at lost at what to do about it, if apparently I also have to change my face to get a job, that I need to exist the correct way in order to have the damn job in order to exist at all is all so, Not Good.

#long post #Im not proof reading this becaus I’ll miss typos either way but yeah been having a bit of a I guess more A Confusion rather than a crisis #but like. yeah. confusion yknow. sending resume all the time. rarely every getting a response and when you do it’s a automotic ‘you’re not #profile we want’ or ‘the employer has move on in the process’ of whatever. so the two time I actually got as for as actually going to #places to talk to people feels both like a huge progress and ?? adjective for what in the world can I do about all this #and like I said i did have a job and k was so happy because it was working on comic and I was ‘oh I’m doing my dream job I’m doing it’ but I #haven’t been able to find anything since. and no one think of it as an actual job and people keep treating my like an helpless child. like #I’ve been told I’m not allowed to stay home alone for a few days even though I’m 23 so I just. wtf at this point yknow.#edit: hehhhh fuck it let’s make this reblogable. his do talk deal with The Everrginf actually. I’d like to ear about it. nothing I can do #how do y’all deal with The Everything***#but keep sending resumes and wait.

8 notes · View notes

prossima-nebulosa · 6 months

Text

When i say it's hard to speak with some people I always think about my mother because she exemplifies everything that I don't wanna be in life.

I mean she is sweet and I love her, don't get me wrong.

However, she is the kind of person who doesn't get anything you say.

I came out to her and she took it weird, then one day she yelled that I made her desperate or something, don't remember what she said exactly, and she mentioned that the fact i like girls was also part of this.

Then she forgets everything and keeps pestering me about finding a "boyfriend" and makes some disgusting jokes about my sex life, then she jokes that 'maybe you like girls then'.

The same happened when we talked about my brother, she kept repeating it was because he didn't have a girlfriend- when truly that's further from the truth it can get (he's fucking sensible)

It's like talking with a wall, she doesn't get anything, she just reacts in the most boomer way possible, she only cares about what other think of her, and when I say others I mean EVERYONE REALLY. I told her countless times that this mindset was strengthened by being raised in a fucking town where everyone knows everyone that can be just as nice as harmful.

She rejects that idea, but then complains we don't get married when everyone does (and as I say everyone I mean my cousins that recently a) got married b) proposed) because she FUCKING CARES that people will think badly of her (that she raised us wrong? we came out wrong? who knows) hiding it under this guise that she is actually trying to look after us because she wants to see us settled-

(I don't mean to say she doesn't care about us, I know she does, but as I said there's a further reason, something much more pressing that is pushing her)

I tried talking to her, but she doesn't get anything. I think she looks at me and in her mind she just sees a child who doesn't know what's good or what's supposed to do once you grow up-

I don't mean to say I have any idea what to do, but never once in my life I did things just because people told me "It's what everyone does".

Though I believe she expected me and my brother to do just that, which means that we have to a) get married, b) have children c) get a job, and with this I mean a state job obviously.

And this is not just her mentality, it is a widespread one and she is just another piece in the puzzle.

#the same goes for me dad mostly #but he's actually a special case #it's a bit hard to analyze than my mother #anyway lately i just reply to whatever my mom's says with a simple 'sad that you can't have your doll do whatever you say'#i think dhe doesn't get it because she looks at me puzzled #i suppose this is also cause she suffers faintly of adhd #i mean she isn't diagnosed but the way she acts and speaks say a lot #sorry for the long post i cut it for those who don't care shit #just wanted to write it down #maybe i'll delete it but oh well #i like to keep my personal tag used cause sometimes I go back and read some of these posts and think #wow nice nothing changed lol #momochats #personal

3 notes · View notes

padfootastic · 1 year

Text

I posted 884 times in 2022

That's 800 more posts than 2021!

433 posts created (49%)

451 posts reblogged (51%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@padfootastic

@impishtubist

@greyeyedmonster-18

@narcissa-black-supermacy

@that-halloween-gay

I tagged 789 of my posts in 2022

Only 11% of my posts had no tags

#sirius black - 299 posts

#pen’s asks - 296 posts

#james potter - 160 posts

#harry potter - 151 posts

#prongsfoot - 90 posts

#pen’s notes - 60 posts

#good godfather sirius black - 58 posts

#pen’s writing - 49 posts

#ask game - 46 posts

#ppb - 40 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#‘it was me’ ‘no pads i pulled u in’ ‘ur cowardly ass could never potter. i leaned in first’ ‘pls as if u you’d ever stop sighing to do that’

My Top Posts in 2022:

anyway.

harry having the giggliest, easy to trigger laugh but the one thing that consistently has him cracking up is his dad laughing. like it’s just a never ending loop, harry would be sitting there on james’ lap, hands on his face, grabbing his glasses, mashing his cheeks together, giggling his little head off—james starts laughing—sets harry off even louder and both of them are just getting progressively redder and gigglier and it’s a riot for no reason.

(lily’s snort-laugh has a similar, if subdued, effect)

(sirius’ very presence supersedes all humor bc the little dude has Very Important Things to talk to him about which means being carried around everywhere, nonstop babbling, and all his attention directed towards one harry j potter. if sirius looks away for one second, harry will find grab his attention again bc he’s possessive like that. u can’t blame him, he only gets his godfather a few times a month ok?)

223 notes - Posted May 19, 2022

okay remember harry’s dreams about a flying motorbike?

one of my dearest hcs is that sirius used to take toddler harry out on his flying bike, particularly when he was being fussy or refusing to sleep.

(a frantic james would mirror call him, begging for help because no one except sirius can calm harry down when he’s in strops like this)

he’d wrap him in a baby sling across his chest, take him high above the clouds, and point out the different stars & constellations w associated myths.

harry would fall asleep in minutes.

in the middle of a war, it was the most peaceful sirius ever felt

(anyone who knew—and when harry finds out post-poa—the first question is always ‘how tf did ur parents allow that?’ but you need only look at the way sirius was around his godson for the answer. he was so painfully tender, so protective that james & lily knew there was no safer place for their kid to be)

237 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

summary: sirius tells harry he’s proud of him and our boy’s brain just. stops functioning. doesn’t compute. (for this ask)

“I’m proud of you.”

Proud. Of you.

Proud.

The word kept echoing in his ears, like a church bell, or a gong, or a siren, or a—

Well. One gets the point.

What one doesn’t get, however, is how to react to that.

Someone—an adult—was proud of him. For the first time, in his entire life.

And Harry didn’t know what to do with that.

Perhaps that’s why he’d beat a hasty retreat to the loo, seeing the befuddled look on Sirius’ face but not being able to do anything about it. He had a freak out to get to.

It had just been an offhand comment, thrown out like it meant nothing, like it didn’t upend Harry’s entire existence on its head.

“What- what did you just say?” he’d stuttered, incredulously, definitely taking it more seriously than intended.

“Er- that I’m proud of you?” Sirius had repeated. Slower. Uncertain.

Harry didn’t reply to that—atleast, he thinks he didn’t. Just remembered the owlish blinking, letting the words sink in, wrap themselves around him like a warm hug that was slightly too tight. One you didn’t want to get out of, but had to, if you cared for your circulation.

And so here he was, still sitting on top of the toilet lid, head hanging between his knees, wishing fervently he had a paper bag to breath into. That- that was a thing that helped, right? He’d heard about it on the radio once.

It wasn’t even- they weren’t even talking about anything serious. Just his grades, for god’s sake. And it wasn’t like—he was Hermione or anything. He knew he didn’t do well, but he got by, and frankly, it had seemed good enough to him, what with the yearly, er, distractions that were thrown his way. He didn’t fail, but he also didn’t die. Win-win.

See the full post

330 notes - Posted March 23, 2022

thinking of toddler harry who’s very, very attached to his godfather sirius (as he should be, really) and gets pissy whenever he goes for work. (yes, sirius is a 9-5er here. suspend all disbelief, folks)

so, to get a handle on the tantrums, sirius dresses harry in his own little formal clothes, robes and over cloak and silver clasp and fake wand holder and all.

‘look, siri, im just like you!’ harry says, every morning like clockwork. once they look absolutely alike, hair combed and tied neatly (little butterfly clips in sirius’ curls, ofc), they set off for the day. sirius conjures a little size-appropriate desk for him that he can sit at, gets him a briefcase and all. when u open it, it has all sorts of colouring materials, beads and strings and charms for DIY, and a little notepad with a pen for Serious Stuff.

throughout the day, sirius gets his work done while harry carefully does his own stuff. whenever he gets too fidgety, sirius sends him out on a ‘mission’—going out and evaluating how the rest of the employees are doing their work. harry, of course, takes his task super seriously and tries to emulate sirius’ Grown Up Face very diligently, walking with his hands behind his back and an adorable little frown on his face. of course, he’s so short he can’t actually see what anyone’s doing but everyone’s accommodating enough that he has enough information to relay it back to sirius in his office.

at the end of the day, both of them take their cloaks off the hanger, simultaneously sling it over their shoulders, and wave a goodbye to the remaining members in the office. when they get home, harry is still meticulously copying sirius’ actions so he neatly sets his shoes to the side, hangs his cloak on the rack, and falls face first into the sofa with an exhausted sigh of relief.

‘being a adult is hard, padfoot,’ is the last thing he says before drifting off to sleep.

392 notes - Posted August 31, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Do you ever think about the fact that Sirius and Remus were fully planning on murdering Pettigrew for betraying James and Lily? No reporting it to the Ministry and clearing Sirius’s name, just death. Sirius was already planning on killing Pettigrew for it, and once Remus learned about the Secret Keeper switch, he jumped on the “let’s kill Peter” train immediately, he didn’t even wait for the train to stop, he climbed on through a window.

i’m gonna be honest—the whole thing is just so hilarious to me 💀💀

i mean, i can still get where sirius is coming from ykno? the poor guy was in prison, had his mind basically turned into soup, and then vilified by everyone—no wonder he’s so fixated ykno?

but remus, my god. what a mad lad. i can honestly see where all the feral remus hcs come from bc the dude didn’t need two seconds before he hopped onto the homicide wagon. he was just so matter-of-fact about it too like, ‘oh well, guess there’s no other way than to literally murder the only piece of evidence they have to explain this convoluted mindfuck of a situation.

cares not one bit about the three kids who’ll probably be traumatised—therapy exists for a reason and kids r resilient dw—or how he’ll explain it to the authorities or why they’ll do with sirius after—stash him in the outhouse—like the man had absolutely no reason to be as murderous as he was 😭😭 he’d just found out the truth five seconds ago.

446 notes - Posted August 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#year in review #tentatively dipping my toe back!!!#i am having a Terrible irl time #which so obv ofc when i turn to my oldest vice #but also just #i’ve not felt the urge to write in so long #and i am. kinda. feeling it now #just little bits and pieces #and i read almost everything in my drafts #and feeling bittersweet per usual #and i just really really really want to finish it and post because i miss this place #well.. not tumblr in general but my little community here #i keep scrolling through my blog and asks and just missing the fuck out of everything lol #look @ me being senti #this was v fun to look at #also losing my absolute mind at how many pen’s asks posts there are????#wtf #did i really get that many asks #and there’s still so many in my inbox/drafts i wanna answer!!!!#if there’s people who’re still here (and all the new followers which—how. why)#then thank u #and hopefully this lasts longer than my last attempt lol #ppb

8 notes · View notes