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spumoniidraws · 6 months

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I had this idea about Gale and his mortality.

And rather Gale and my Tav. Tavrina is an elf. A high elf at that, meaning she will live 700-1000 years. That fact alone would be enough to worry Tav. She would dread the thought of him passing before she does. In all the rush of fighting the netherbrain, then running off with him to Waterdeep, getting married and living domestic life, I doubt it would have occurred to her as she fell head over heels for him. Humans live such short lives by comparison. As the panic sets in, she wants to find a way to extend his life. Gale mentioned Elminster is 1300 years old. Maybe he can help. Or perhaps Astarion with his knowledge of immortality. She would ask. She would become increasingly desperate, toiling away hours while Gale sleeps trying to find an answer. She doesn't know anything about magic, but she does know monsters. Maybe Gale would be willing to become a Lich? Small anxiety fits and mindless research to a problem she made on herself. How could she love him properly? It would be like loving a dog? Was any of this even moral? There are plenty of half-elves in the world right? Proof an elf can properly love a human....right???

Finally Gale finds her notes. Mad scribblings of rituals and powerful spells. Notes about their vampire friend. Notes about Elminster. Weave manipulation. He reads over them with concern, particularly at the word "Lich" circled in the corner. He consigns to sit her down with some tea and have a chat about mortality. -G: My love, I found your notes. I worry something is troubling you. You know you can always unburden yourself with me. -T: It's...its just thoughts. -G: Seems to be more than thoughts. A growing obsession rather. Your scribbles are filled with fervor and worry. Questions of immortality? Wish spells? Lich rituals? My dear, I fear you may be dabbling in things you don't know, and while I have never questioned your intelligence, this is powerful magic you're looking into. Your skills with a blade are unrivaled, but you are no mage. If you needed help with something, I am here for you. -T: It....it wasnt something I could ask you for. -G: Why not? Whatever could you be looking into that your own husband can't help you? -T: I was looking for ways to extend your life. There is silence as Gale tries to ponder what she is saying. Tav's hands grip her cup nervously as she continues -T: I am ..most likely...going to outlive you. And that thought stirred something in me. A fear in my heart. The thought of going through all of this just to lose you so soon. Even in the best cases you maybe have 60 years left or so. Thats....nothing. Her tone is somber and filled with sadness. Gale set's down his cup, then removes her cup from her hands and takes her hands in his. -G: Is that all that this was about? You're worried about me dying? -T: N-no! I'm worried about living the rest of my life without you! I'm worried about whether or not its even right for us to be together! You should be able to grow old with someone! Not watch as you age and your wife remains unchanged. You should be able to live a normal human experience! And my selfishness in loving you...wanting to have you to myself....It would be like how long a dog lives to a human. You're only here for a short time. How could I love you appropriately, knowing I will blink, and you will be gone?

Gale's face twists through so many emotions. Concern, love, disagreement, and then confusion. Did she just call him a dog? With a deep inhale, he would begin. -G: Perhaps, you are thinking far too little of our time together. And I would request that you stop that right now. His voice is firm and scolding. -G: Even for a pet, the love we have for them is immense and it is the only thing they know of us. For us, they are only a small part of our lives, but to them we are their whole life. Immortal gods who meet their every need. Pets don't reflect on their mortality or worry about whether they are loved. They simply live every day as best they can. And we love them all the more for it. His words trail into a whisper as he grips Tav's hands tightly. -G: Yes...one day I will grow old and grey, and however unpleasant it is to think about, die. But every moment spent with you, however long or short it may be, I will cherish it with every fiber of my being. His thumbs roll over the back of Tav's hands as he looks at his own hands. -G: I won't lie and say it hasn't crossed my mind that I would become old and grey while you remain as beautiful and as youthful as the day we met. And as senility and babbling set in-...well I know I already babble, but you understand...I imagined you might tire of me. I questioned whether or not I should spare you that pain and release you. But I fear my time with you has made me a bit selfish, and I wasn't prepared to have that conversation. I don't know if I ever would be. He pulls Tav into a kiss and leans his forehead against hers. -G: After everything that we have been through, every moment with you is a gift. I have never thought otherwise. Your love for me is unparalleled to any other love I have ever known. I have never doubted it. Not once. And I will cherish every moment, waking or not. And I will cherish you as much on my deathbed as I did that first night we shared a moment of magic. And it will have to be enough, for both of us. Because I have no intention of becoming a Lich.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate tav #baldur's gate iii #baldur's gate oc #baldurs gate 3 #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale bg3 #bg3 gale #baldurs gate gale #gale x tav #my writing needs work

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fomee-c · 1 year

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Adventure Time has the best redemption arcs

I love deep-diving into my favourite shows, which makes me lucky that Adventure Time has been analyzed to death.

It's awesome because it feels like the show itself is growing up along with Finn. The older seasons are a lot more episodic and focused on the surreality of Ooo. Meanwhile, the later seasons really embrace the show's complicated lore and the idea that morality isn't black and white. The progression of maturity in this one show is INSANE. As the show becomes more mature, so does main character Finn, physically and emotionally.

Nowhere are the show's themes and Finn's personal growth better demonstrated through the show's use of redemption arcs. As the show progresses, classical villain-hero archetypes are subverted to show that Finn is learning that people aren't exclusively good or bad. As the show and Finna age, being a hero or doing the right thing evolves from the basic idea of "fighting evil" to being empathetic and seeking peace.

Heavy spoilers for the main series after the cut.

Some context

I just wanna mention some facts about the show's history.

If you watch the first AT episode followed by the last episode, you're gonna feel disoriented. They're clearly the same show, but it feels like they have very different goals. Early AT is more lighthearted and less serious. The episodes have morals, but they're pretty simple. The randomness of Ooo is played more for comedy than for lore purposes.

Around season 5, the show started taking on a different direction. It's still funny and weird, but the characters are more fleshed out and the messages the show is trying to convey require a lot of digestion. For example, Princess Bubblegum is always smart, but the way she's depicted in episodes like"Enchiridion" vs "Burning Low." Although I consider this a massive improvement, it's unclear how much was pre-planned. Was PB always destined to become a control-obsessed, unethical ruler-scientist? Or was her initial characterization just Finn's crush?

Yes.

Episodes as early as season 1 ep 24 ("What have you done?") show PB acting more like a tyrant than a princess and have the Ice King depicted in a less antagonistic matter. The reason for the tonal shift in the later season is that as Finn grows up, his experiences change the way he perceives reality.

Ooo through Finn's eyes

Adventure Time is about Finn the human and Jake the dog, but really it's mostly about Finn.

The other characters get character arcs and have plot-relevant conflicts, but the show's main focus is dedicated to Finn's coming-of-age story. Finn is Ooo's hero: he's social, caring, and brave, and he's motivated by a strong sense of justice and a desire for adventure. All he wants is to try new things and help others at any cost.

However, he's only 12, at least at the beginning. His idea of being a hero is rooted in black/white morality. If you do bad things, then you're bad. Stopping bad people makes you good. And as a 12-year-old, he believes the only way to stop bad people is through violence.

The show is immature in this respect, too. For the first few seasons, there are two main antagonists. There's the recurring Ice King and his plots to force princesses to marry him, playing off the "save the princess" trope (more on him later). And then there's the Lich, who's a genuinely powerful cosmic entity that seeks to destroy life in all its forms. Naturally, Finn fights them both off through righteous punching.

The show presents this basic understanding of evil, that evil is as evil does. In the beginning, there's almost no nuance to these characters. And this is true with good characters, too.

Billy is a huge catalyst for Finn's character development, but you can see the show's limited understanding of heroism in his debut episode. Billy is Finn's predecessor in a way, being the number one fighter against evil. In "His Hero," Billy realized the fighting evil through violence didn't treat the root problem, opting instead for community activism. However, the show makes this look like a bad thing, with the moral of the episode being that violence can solve problems. Ironically, Finn's character development mirrors Billy, as he realizes over time that he fighting evil might mean hurting people he cares about. Case in point: Simon Petrikov, the Ice King.

The power of redemption arcs

Redemption arcs are controversial because they're ideal but they feel forced if they go unearned. In Adventure Time, redemption arcs serve a two-fold purpose: to convey the message that "evil" people can be understood and rehabilitated and to show Finn's developing maturity as he realizes this.

Ice King

The first character to get a real redemption arc is the Ice King. Initially, he's portrayed as Jake and Finn's natural nemesis, especially when he targets Princess Bubblegum. However, as the show goes on, it becomes clear that the Ice King isn't really malicious; he's just lonely and he doesn't know how to socialize in an appropriate way. Over time, he becomes a sympathetic villain. However, this changes with the Christmas specials "Holly Jolly Secrets, parts 1 and 2." In this episode, Finn and Jake discover the Ice King used to be a man named Simon, whose personality and sanity were corrupted by magic. Simon's backstory is further developed in "I Remember You" and "Simon and Marcy." From this point on, Finn starts referring to the Ice King as Simon, acknowledging Simon's true self and stops treating him less harshly. This leads to a really heartwarming moment in "Don't Look," where Finn's perception literally warps reality, causing the IK to revert to Simon (in appearance but not in personality).

Consequently, the Ice King becomes less antagonistic in general and we even get IK-centric episodes where he takes on a heroic role. For all intents and purposes, post-season 3 Ice King is Finn's friend. The show went from using a cliché villain-type to dedicating a significant amount of time and plot to Ice King's eventual return as Simon. From this, Finn learns that treating people with kindness is imperative to stopping evil. Not only did finding out that IK's personal life was tragic but by treating him as a friend he diminished IK's evil inclinations.

Magic Man

Magic Man is one of the more disturbing characters on the show. He always shows up to do something gross or psychologically messed up. Unlike the Ice King, who was shown to be evil because he wanted companionship, Magic Man wants people to suffer out of pure contempt for the world. His "pranks" include simple stuff like turning Finn into a foot, to more deranged acts like forcing Jake to escape a dream world where doing so would mean destroying all his new friends.

What's interesting about Magic Man's redemption arc is that Finn and Jake have little to do with it. Magic Man redeems himself practically by accident.

We gradually learn that Magic Man's wife was destroyed by GOLB, a powerful entity that can erase things from all realities. So Magic Man's cruelty is best described as frustration or vengeance to an extent. He is constantly suffering, which he tries to mitigate by deriving pleasure from others' suffering.

However, he eventually loses his magic powers (and with it, his anger and sadness) in"You Forgot Your Floaties", grounding him back in reality. From then on, his journey is one of atonement. He tries to reconcile with his family and seeks forgiveness from the people he has tortured.

This arc says more about the show's maturity than it does about Finn's. Although Finn shows no hatred towards a magic-less Normal Man, he seems pretty indifferent. The show, on the other hand, takes the time to make him a tragic figure and offers him a chance at redemption. It wants the audience to know that experiencing loss is not an excuse for being a jerk, but it can explain someone's actions.

King Man's (his title after rejoining the Martian community) redemption arc also demonstrates AT's advancing writing skills. Instead of giving King Man a clear-cut redemption arc, the show depicts him as genuinely sorry without changing his personality. King Man is still obsessed with Margles and is harsh with Martian prisoners, but he's no longer angry with the world. He hasn't moved, as is difficult to do with grief, but he wants to contribute to society instead of rage against it.

Betty Grof

Betty marks a milestone in the show and Finn's personal growth. She is the first antagonist who is shown to be sympathetic from the start. It helps that we know Betty before she goes crazy with magic, but despite that, Finn nor the show ever thinks of Betty as an "evil" character. She's misguided and unethical but well-intentioned.

Betty's whole deal is that she wants to be with Simon, which requires curing him of the Ice King Crown's effects. However, after she absorbs Magic Man's madness and sadness, she starts undertaking strategies that cause Ice King more stress than good.

She becomes a true antagonist in the Elemental mini-series when she prioritizes Simon's recovery over the lives of Ooo's inhabitants, despite the Ice King begging her to save his friends. Even after she betrays Finn, he doesn't seem to see her as a villain specifically. The real source of conflict in the Elemental series was more so the unchecked emotions of Finn's friends; Betty was just an obstacle.

Betty's redemption arc is completed in the show's finale. Betty summons GOLB, risking the entire universe's destruction to save Simon. Except her goal is not only to save Simon but to save their relationship. In an act of self-sacrifice, Betty manages to banish/merge with GOLB to save Ooo, despite knowing she could never be with Simon.

However, it's not as clear as I make it out to seem. While Betty does sacrifice her relationship with Simon, she still manages to save him, begging the question: if Betty couldn't save Simon, would she have made that decision? (I'm inclined to think no, but let me know what you think!)

Even if the "redemption" part of her arc feels rushed, it's Betty's journey that highlights the show's maturity. Just because she does bad things doesn't mean she's a bad person. Finn gets this; he doesn't blame Betty for almost destroying the world. He's more focused on aligning with her desire to save Simon and the rest of Ooo.

Through Betty, Adventure Time explains that it's impossible to judge people as good or evil. To do the right thing doesn't mean to help people who you think are "good" or oppose people you think are "evil" but to find common ground and a common goal.

Uncle Gumbald

He's basically the last antagonist of the show. I don't think there's a lot to say about him that hasn't already been said, so this section will be short.

He's a lot like PB in that he's a visionary. Their conflict stems from their competing ideas and the fact that they both want to subjugate each other.

They almost reach an understanding in the finale when they experience each other's lives, with PB realizing that Gumbald deserved to be treated as an equal. However, he isn't redeemed because he attempts to subjugate PB anyways by faking a truce. I feel like this was supposed to highlight PB's character growth as early PB definitely wouldn't have been willing to share authority.

Fern

I would say this is probably the most important redemption arc for Finn's character. It's weird to say that because Fern is introduced so late into the show and his arc is completed when he dies in the last minutes of the finale. Furthermore, he's a strange character to begin with. He's a grass clone of Finn made from two magic swords, and he's hardly antagonistic toward Finn except in the last two seasons.

But let's look at what we're dealing with here.

Fern's internal conflict is an identity crisis. At one point in the series, Finn comes into contact with a past self (merging timelines situation, dw about it), turning one of his selves into a sword. It's intentionally ambiguous at first, but it's eventually revealed that there is a miniature Finn inside the sword who is cognisant of the world around him. Because of Real Finn's carelessness, Sword Finn ends up getting busted, and eventually infected with a grass parasite, creating Fern.

Up until now, Finn has been acing his new pacifist approach to conflict resolution. He now prioritizes understanding someone's actions and reasoning with them, saving fighting as a last resort.

Fern represents Finn's greatest empathy challenge: trying to understand someone he thinks he already understands. To do this, Finn has to accept that his preconceived notions of Fern are wrong and take the time to get to know the real Fern. He thinks that because they share some sort of biology and memories, they are the same people. He fails to acknowledge the different life experiences that have forged him and Fern into distinct people.

When Fern heel-turns into an antagonist, it's not a surprise. We have seen repeatedly the jealousy that he feels outcasted by the real Finn. We also know he's frustrated with the dissonance between his past "life" and his current circumstances. Like Betty, Finn doesn't see Fern as a villain. However, he doesn't try to understand where Fern is coming from. He assumes that because they are similar, Fern will be willing to talk things out. In other words, Finn wants to reconcile with Fern but doesn't get how devastating Fern's identity crisis is.

In the finale's dream-dimension fight sequence, we see Finn finally hear out Fern's concerns and the two explore Fern's past together.

Fern does die because of plot reasons, but not before re-establishing his and Finn's friendship. I don't really like it when stories sacrifice one character for another's development, but it makes sense given Finn's narrative is about realizing that doing the right thing isn't always a feel-good experience. Finn wants the people he cares about to be safe, and he knows that Fern is in danger by siding with malicious characters like Gumbald. Fern also decides to align with people who care about him rather than someone who wants to use him. If Fern's villain arc is caused by feelings of inadequacies, then it's resolved through self-acceptance. Redeeming Fern requires Finn to truly understand Fern, but this means Finn loses someone who gets him.

I think it's implied Fern could never be at peace alive, since the grass demon was keeping him alive while corrupting his heart. It's a unique take on a heroic sacrifice: setting Fern free means letting Fern go.

Misc. thoughts

Not all redemption arcs are equal. I wanted to touch on a few mini-redemption arcs that either didn't fit the post or had a lesser impact on the story. These aren't relevant to the text, so feel free to skip to the conclusion.

Irredeemable villains

Some AT antagonists never get redemption arcs. These are usually one-off villains who don't get much characterization apart from just being evil. I don't think that AT wants to imply these people are beyond help (see Magic Man for proof), but maybe becoming a good person means that someone has to understand you first, which is harder to do in some cases. Examples include:

Ricardio the heart man

Thief Princess

Wyatt

Redemption arcs?

Originally, I wanted to write a section on Princess Bubblegum and how she gradually releases her iron grip on her kingdom. However, I decided against it because Finn never really sees her as a bad person. However, understanding that she's not perfect is definitely part of her arc. If I were to write about PB, it'd have to be a separate article, probably incorporating how Marceline plays into her character development and how her relationship with evolves over time.

Another character I omitted from this analysis was Lemongrab. I wouldn't describe his arc as a redemption arc because I feel it was more focused on self-discovery than making up for his past actions.

Finally, I thought about writing about the Lich's transformation into Sweet Pea, but I almost don't count it since they are essentially two different characters. A redemption arc to me means that a character undergoes a change of heart. I feel like Sweet Pea is more like the Lich reborn, and while you can argue that the events in "Whispers" are the good Lich fighting against his dormant persona, I feel like it's clear that Sweet Pea and the Lich are not one and the same. Either way, Sweet Pea being the Lich's redemption is to muddy to discuss in this context.

Becoming good

One thing I like about Adventure Time is that no one tries to make the bad guys turn good. Redemption arcs are mostly self-initiated. With characters like Ice King, Finn doesn't try to turn him into a hero, he just stops treating Simon like a villain. Unlike in other media, heroes and villains are not real roles in AT. They are more like social constructs that are easily altered once you start to empathize with supposed villains.

But while "villains" is a flexible term in AT, evil-doing is not. AT puts forward the standard that people should seek forgiveness and atone for the ways they've caused harm. It's a pretty grown-up idea that we should own up to our actions but also forgive people who want to be forgiven.

Conclusion

In Adventure Time, Finn wants to be a hero, but in trying to do so, he needs to answer this question: "What makes a hero?" Originally, the show asserts that a hero is someone who beats up bad guys and obeys people in authority. But as Finn and the audience get older, the show's ideas evolve, too. Through the use of its extensive rogue gallery, Adventure Time affirms that "bad people" are usually just normal people with personal issues. Heroism becomes less associated with righteous violence and more geared towards empathy and reconciliation. Eventually, Finn and the show give up on the hero-villain dichotomy, acknowledging that these categorizations prevent people from helping those who need it most.

Note: this is the first analysis I've posted on Tumblr and I'm planning on writing more with the goal of getting better at writing and media literacy. Additionally, I really love this franchise and I'm always down to discuss it further. Please let me know what you all think?

#adventure time #adventure time analysis #tv analysis #cartoon network #finn mertens #finn and jake #princess bubblegum #ice king #magic man #betty grof #fern #uncle gumbald #golb #the lich

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usernose · 7 months

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Incorrect Prohibited Wish of Death Quotes:

Prismo: sapnu puaS.

Scarab: What??

Lich: What language is that.

Prismo: Turn your phone 180 degrees.

*Prismo was removed from the groupchat*

☆~~~☆

Prismo: When I was married, you know what Scarab often said to me?

Lich: Please stop sleeping with other people?

☆~~~☆

Scarab: How do you know how to kiss? Like who teaches you?

Lich: Well it’s actually a class, but unfortunately it’s full right now.

Lich: Would you like me to tutor you?

Prismo: That was smooth.

☆~~~☆

Prismo: Pfft, you should meet Scarab, they're such a tsundere.

Lich: They... they just stabbed you.

Prismo: So cute.

☆~~~☆

Scarab: Come on, Lich. Nobody actually believes that Prismo is in love with me.

Lich, to The Party goers: Raise your hand if you think that Prismo is helplessly in love with Scarab.

*Everyone raises their hand*

Scarab: Prismo, put your hand down.

☆~~~☆

Lich: Love is weakness and an evolutionary mistake.

Prismo: You are literally making a Valentine’s Day card for both Scarab and me.

Lich, pointing their hot glue gun towards Prismo: You’re on thin fucking ice.

☆~~~☆

Scarab: Prismo, take out the trash.

Prismo: Sure, Lich, will you go out on a date with me?

☆~~~☆

Lich: And now for a gay update with Scarab and Prismo.

Scarab: Getting gayer.

Lich: Thank you, Scarab.

☆~~~☆

Scarab: Well, remember when Prismo made a romantic dinner for me?

Lich: Scarab, they microwaved you a pizza.

☆~~~☆

Prismo: *pretending to joke* So when are you going to go out with me?

Lich: I don't know. When are you going to ask me to?

Scarab: And you just ran away?!

Prismo: I didn't expect them to flirt back!

☆~~~☆

Scarab: What have you done with Prismo?

Lich: Nothing. Why do you think I should?

☆~~~☆

Prismo: Hi, sorry I’m late. I was doing a couple of things and got distracted.

Scarab: I’m “a couple of things”.

Lich: I’m “got distracted”.

☆~~~☆

Scarab: Why do you let me win when we race up the stairs? You’re the faster one.

Prismo: Erm... it’s nice see your smile when you win!

*later*

Scarab: They're probably just staring at my ass, aren't they.

Lich: Yeah, probably.

#prohibited wish of death #prohibitedwish #prohibiteddeath #deathwish #prismo x lich x scarab #prismo the wishmaster #prismo #lich #the lich #scarab the scarab #scarab the god auditor #adventure time #fionna and cake #incorrect quote

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horus-unofficial · 8 months

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You must love interacting with the general horus mech userbase. Time shenanigans with liches, balor pilots eating the nanites while the balor mechs eat everything that moves, ¿%:?EXTR!UDE GUN, manticore pilots coming to terms with piloting that mech means, minotaurs doing their weird space folding shit, and of course all the cognitohazards.

tbf as a HORUS cell ourselves weve done similarly crazy shit, like we give the nanite breakfast anon flack because of the health risks but we personally know like 3 balor pilots whose bodies are part of the greywash and the guy who answers most of these asks is married to the DIDYMOS-class NHP inside of her minotaur. in fact their anniversary is coming up, just like how it came up last week and the month before that and about 7 weeks ago and also like 6 times last year

#lancerrpg #lancer rpg #lancer ttrpg

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besttropeveershowdown · 6 months

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The Best Trope Ever Showdown: Round 1, Side A

Knight Of Cerebus

Propaganda:

This trope is responsible for some of the most terrifying villains that I have seen including Death from Puss in Boots, Belos from The Owl House and the Lich from Adventure Time

Prophetical Semantics

Made its debut in McBeth, a character is bound by a curse or prophecy and is freed from it by unconventional means, usually due to the specific wording used (no TVTropes link submitted)

Propaganda:

DO YOU FORGET EOWYN’S “I AM NO MAN”?!? Put some respect on her name!!! There are so many fun creative ways to use this trope! Naveen “kissing a princess” by marrying Tiana! “No weapon forged by mortal hands can kill me” and being bludgeoned by a rock! As long as you do the setup, you can twist the plot without it feeling cheap! I love it!

#the best trope tournament #polls #tropeaganda #knight of cerebus #prophetical semantics

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leahnardo-da-veggie · 9 days

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The Lich-Queen, pt1

I stared down at my would-be fiancé, a smirk playing on my lips. "So, this is all the little butterfly has in him? How pitiful," I murmured, dragging my sword against his chest, tearing the fine silk of his shirt.

His eyes were bloodshot, rims red with tears. He trembled like a newborn calf, ripe for the eating. “Iraela,” he hissed. “You bitch. Someday, somewhere, someone will kill you.”

“Duke Tamaris,” I said, savouring the taste of his name. It was sour and hateful, like the bile that burst forth when I sunk my teeth into liver. “I was a bitch when I undid the embroidery in Ramaeria's court dress. I think we've gone quite a bit further than that, don't you? I think I might even warrant being called a monster, or perhaps an eldritch horror. Do you mind redoing that scene again? I'll start: So, this is all the little butterfly has in him?”

When he did not respond, I snickered. “In any case, by the time I get my just deserts, you will be long dead. I will have consumed Ceredell, and all of its people. Everything and everyone you love will be lost to the eternal sleep.”

He met my gaze defiantly, biting his lip to keep from crying. I could smell the blood in his beating chest, and it excited me. “Of course,” I continued, dropping to my knees and straddling his chest, “I might let you live, if you swear fealty to me. I could always use a human manservant.” Idly, I traced his cheek with a claw.

Tamaris' weaselly face twisted into a grimace. “You piece of shit,” he snarled, jerking his head away from me. “I would rather die than bow to a necromancer like you.” He hawked up a bit of spit and tried to aim it at me. It missed entirely.

“I think you have misunderstood my meaning entirely,” I purred, running my claws down his throat, where his lifeblood pulsed. “You will be mine, whether you live or not. The only choice you have, and the last choice you will ever make, is if you wish to live under me, or undie under me.”

Understanding flashed through his eyes, and with it, despair. “You- So that's why…” He trailed off, suddenly uncertain.

I grinned at him, leaning forward, until our noses touched. “That's right, my lordling. Silly little Ram decided she'd rather throw herself and her husband into the void than watch her darling sister charm the world into submission,” I purred.

Tamaris managed a scoff. “You? Charm? A hairy octopus could be more charming,” he said.

“I'm plenty charming,” I told him, affecting affront, “Why, if I carved someone's eyes out, they'd still smile at the sight of me! Besides, you were willing to marry me, you know. That took quite a bit of charming.”

He shook his head violently, as though waving the memories away. “You want me to serve as your… What? Slave? Bodyguard? Personal plaything? What do you want, Iraela?” Tamaris' face resumed its pout.

He was rather cute like that, I thought idly. In another time, another world, perhaps I would have actually asked for his hand, rather than taking it straight off his wrist. “All three, perhaps,” I replied. “Or maybe not the bodyguard bit. You would make a terrible warrior, you know. Far too skinny and weak.”

“Give me a moment to think about it,” Tamaris said, a transparent ploy to bide for time. The man I loved would never bow to me, I thought wistfully.

Ah, what did it matter? I had already won. I could indulge his fancies a tad. “Sure,” I murmured, sliding off his chest. “I give you until sundown, my dearest duke. Then you will be mine.”

I left him there, tied down and guarded by my revenants, and walked out to the window.

It was a dark and stormy night.

Actually, that was wrong. A night that majestic deserved more than an old cliché.

Dark clouds gathered across the sky like a pillow smothering a little child, rain like the gods' tears pelting the torn-up streets. It was pain. It was power.

It was a night to reign by.

I surveyed my new territory. Revenants and ghouls were busying up the courtyard, preparing it for my coronation. It was something out of a gothic teen's wet dream, all muted reds and blues, bruises on a lover's thigh.

A ghoul hobbled up to me, carrying a letter. “Lich-Queen,” he sqwaked, “The Spirit Empress responded. She wishes to come here, directly, and witness your coronation.”

My face lit up. “Well, tell her she's more than welcome to! The more, the merrier! And do make sure to procure some fresh meat for her, then. The rotting stuff just won't do for such prestigious company,” I told him. “Run off, Death-in-me, and be quick about it.”

Death-in-me made a vague approximation of a salute, and leaped off the roof to do my bidding. I watched him go, and began my slow glide to the main gate.

I had stolen some noblewoman's court dress, a stiff-necked thing with a high, webbed collar. It was resplendent with black pearls and purple embroidery. I had made sure to compliment her corpse on her wonderful taste after reanimating her.

My coronation would be a thing of legend. Already, the whole of Ceredell had fallen to me. My silly elder sister, prophetic oracle that she was, had thought to halt my rise to the throne by splintering Ceredell, fracturing the kingdom into little city-states, but it had done nothing but speed my progress up.

I paused at the stairs, wondering if she had known I would be the one to betray her. Had she known the whole time, whilst she held me to her bosom, smiled that gentle smile? Had she known that even her last-ditch attempt to save the country would fail so spectacularly? A grim thought struck me. Had her suicide been nothing but a smokescreen, to hide her true plan for stopping my reign?

I would not put it past her. Ram was smart, for all that she looked dreamy and lost in another world. I had not thought she would be the sort to falter on her final shot. There had to be something up her sleeve.

I shook my head to clear the thoughts, and strode down the stairs. My Void-touched sister's ghost would not be allowed to haunt my coronation. It was going to be perfect, everything I had dreamed of as a lost girl running through the woods, as the young woman overshadowed by her soothsaying sister, as the budding necromancer who finally had the means to greatness.

#Been hyping this one up for a while haha #Quite pleased with Ire's inner voice #She's just the right mix of batshit evil and pleasantly funny #my stuff #writeblr #writing #my writing #creative writing #writerscommunity #writing community #spilled ink #fantasy #short story

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dailyadventureprompts · 1 year

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Villain: Bruxoch, the Thievesbane Devil

A creature of avarice and paranoia, the fiend of safekeeping is employed by those with much to lose in order to guard possessions that cannot be trusted to mundane vaults and wards. Ever watchful and terrible in his wrath, Bruxoch will haunt thieves across worlds and even the veil of death in order to reclaim that which has been given over into his keeping

-Codex of the Hateful, a guide to hostile spirits and other malign entities

Adventure Hooks:

The party are caught up in a rivalry between two unscrupulous wizards, hired by the first to heist their way into the abode of the second and steal a book of their most precious spells. While their new patron has paid them well and gifted with magic items to overcome the defences, he’s elected to NOT inform them that the tome they seek is warded by Bruxoch and that any who steal it are liable to invoke the devil’s curse. It’s not long after they hand off the book to their employer ( who promptly vanishes leaving behind no trace) that the party begin to suffer nightmares of being trapped inside dark and doorless chambers, preventing them from getting any rest as fatigue builds and the feeling of the feeling of the walls refuses to fade. Hunted by the demon in their dreams and a very pissed off wizard in the waking world, the thieves must seek some means of warding their mind before finding a way to get the book back in order to slip their inevitable punishment.

Mere weeks before he is set to be married, the realm’s crown prince approaches the party in disguise to beg of them a favour. Famed for his many exploits and his seemingly divine invincibility, the prince reveals that when he was young and war threatened the realm, he prayed and prayed for something to take away the fear and weakness of his being, only to be answered by a voice in the dark that laid claim to his heart entire. Though he is known to be merciless towards his enemies, the prince does not wish to be so cruel as to trap his betrothed into a marriage without love, an act of which he has been incapable since his deal with the fiend. To that end he would have the party seek Bruxoch and steal back his heart, even if he has to pay them enough to make the journey to hell and back worth while.

Setup: making his home in a domain of dread in the depths of the shadowfell, Bruxoch was a being created with the intent of tormenting a single individual, a now forgotten master thief who sought to prove her legend by stealing from the god of secrets himself. She now wanders the halls of endless locks as a nameless wraith searching for something she no longer remembers, trapped in an unending cycle of desperately picking at tumblers and catches only to discover that what she sought was never there in the first place.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that a hell dimension full of vaults and traps was the perfect place to hide away precious items, and that the box faced devil was blockheaded enough to abide by the letter of any agreement so long as the terms benifitted him. Everyone from liches to demonlords began to use Bruxoch’s domain ( Lukana Tower) as their own saftey deposit box, knowing that none would be able to find their treasures aside from the obsessive fiend who had every dead end and secret hideaway of his realm memorized.

Further Adventures:

There are no portals that reach the Lukana tower, and instead all transport to and from the strucutre and the inverted mountains it projects from must be undertaken with the aid of the trecherous nightguants that haunt the crags and shadowed valleys of the domain. Unlike Bruxoch, the nightgaunts have grown bored of the task to which they were assigned, and occasionally steal over into the wider shadowfell or into the dreams of mortals to amuse themselves. A party might inadvertantly stumble onto the tower when they’re abducted by nightguants, and must seek a way to escape the tower before its warden finds them. If you’re interested in a quick side story, have the party stolen while they’re all dreaming, giving them a preview of the tower before waking up in a cold sweat and returning to their adventure.

It’s a well known paradox among the criminal class that spending time in prison often makes you better at crime. Years locked away gives you nothing but time to hone your skills, pick up new ones, and make you desperate enough to take on risker and riskier gambles to avoid ever going back. Trapped in a prison beyond time and space, this effect has ensured that the nameless shade may infact be the greatest cracksman in the multiverse, an asset beyond all recognition for any team of theives ballsy enough to do a prison break as preulde for their actual heist. Ressurecting the shade is impossible, but binding her essence to a set of lockpicks, or letting her partially possess a member of the party might be their best chance of getting her free of her oubliette.

#shadowfell #dread domain #ravenloft #dnd #dungeons and dragons #d&d #5e #mid level #high level #thief #heist #fiend #Prison Break #undead #wizard #Crime #noble

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