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chaoticbardlady99 · 6 months

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I Don't Wanna Be Your Friend (Astarion x GN! Reader)

This man has a chokehold on me and I have been plagued by this idea for about a week.

Title inspired by the song "i wanna be your girlfriend" by girl in red

CW: Mentions of violence and gore (not descriptive), bit of angst, comfort

(Not my photo. I believe it belongs to Daily Gaming)

Synopsis- You and Astarion are in the middle of a war to prove who can set the best traps. However, a lack of rules seems to have gotten you into a predicament neither one of you had anticipated.

Sometimes you take it a smidge too far.

You would love to tell people you are some cunning, daring rogue, but the reality is that you are consistently flying by the seat of your pants. Occasionally it works really well- this was not one of those times.

You never felt the need to prove anything to anyone.

Well, until you met Astarion. Within the first three days of traveling with him, your confidence and patience began to wear thin. He would make snide comments when watching you attempt to unlock a chest or when you scare off your prey by tripping over a bush. Then he would smirk at you- with that stupid, beautiful smirk.

He enjoys adding salt to the wound by taking on the task you failed at; usually lock picking, sneak attacks, and Gods only knows what else he could make fun of you for. You are very aware that you are not some fancy rogue and it never bothered you until now. You had accepted long ago that you are just a street urchin moving up in the world after teaching yourself the trade.

The final straw had been when you had placed traps to catch dinner. Your traps had been successful (naturally- traps were your thing) and you brought back three bunnies for Gale’s stew.

Oh, but of course Astarion had something to say. He always has something to say.

“Oh look at that- how cute. I’m sure sheerluck was on your side,” he quips, “You’ll get better eventually.”

Thus began the war of all wars.

It started with small traps- nuisances really. Tripwire, a laughing or sleep rune well hidden, and traps that release horrible smells. Then it quickly took a turn for the worst; what were once harmless pranks turned into trip wires that release a swarm of bees, simple pits began to get deeper, and blasting traps that would send either one of you flying into a nearby object. It was never truly life threatening, just questionable.

Well, except for the bees. The bees were not the greatest thought in hindsight; considering both you and Astarion had to help each other with the bee stings- Shadowheart refusing to be involved. You both laughed and he even complimented you on your cleverness. You swore you could have exploded in that moment.

You have a massive, childish crush on the man and maybe the competition was your subconscious way of getting closer to him. However, your other companions were getting sick of it pretty quickly.

They had all hoped after the Tiefling party that the two of you would put your silly competition to rest so that you could all travel together in peace and they would just have to deal with PDA.

What a silly thing for them to think. PDA hasn't happened, but the pranks did become less risky and less frequent. You were okay with this change.

You feel like you and Astarion have become close friends. Even though your tryst didn’t lead to a romantic relationship as you had hoped, you were happy to have Astarion in your life in any capacity. If that was just as a friend- then so be it.

Which brings us back to the beginning- when you realize that your ‘trap war’ had paper thin rules and the lack of rules just might be the thing that actually kills you on this journey.

All you wanted to do was clean yourself off. It had been one last relaxing day before you set off to the Creche, but you had thought you might treat yourself. Baths were rare and far between these days and you want to enjoy it while you have it. However, you were not planning for a simple snare trap to foil your entire evening.

You get hoisted up into the air, slammed against the tree, and drop all of your belongings- including the knife you brought ‘just incase’. You glared at the knife and put your hand to your blood fountain of a nose.

“Traitor,” you whisper with a pout as you look for a way to escape the trap.

Suddenly, you freeze as instincts kick in. You hear the Gnolls before you see them. Your bloody nose from the impact of the tree had led them to you. They attempt to claw at you- trying to rip you down from the tree. You feel their claws tear into your back, the side of your arms, and one of them even manages to take a swipe at your abdomen as you scramble to escape. The cuts weren't life threatening, but they hurt. A LOT.

You manage to use the rope to pull yourself up onto one of the tree limbs; allowing you to hide some of your body from the Gnolls, but you now have an arrow protruding out of your right thigh so obviously that isn’t working well either.

You bite back tears, frozen in fear. You really did not want to die this way and you certainly didn’t want it to be because of Astarion’s trap. You have a feeling he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if you died because of him.

You can imagine the blame and anger the rest of your companions would direct at him if the worst happened. You imagine the bloodshed- knowing full well that everyone (minus Karlach) would not forgive him for accidentally killing you. Lae’zel would be the first one to put a stake in his chest- her fondness for you is no secret.

Your heart thumps painfully at that thought and your resolve hardens. You will not die because you will not let that happen to Astarion.

You look around, your arms and legs shaking still with the residual shock and fear. You look for any sharp branches, a forgotten knife lodged somewhere, or even something you could cast a cantrip on to distract them. You have no such luck.

You resign yourself to your fate- the tears making a reappearance.

Unless one of your companions finds you first- you are going to either have to wait for the Gnolls to get bored and leave or they are going to kill you.

You pray to every God you can think of that you will survive the night.

_________________________________________________

Astarion is trying to not look so desperate as he reads the first page for the hundredth time.

You had walked off a little over two hours ago- Lae’zel is on watch while the rest of your companions sleep soundly in their bed rolls.

The longer your bedroll remains empty, the more the pit grows in his stomach.

He didn’t know how to navigate your relationship after the tiefling party.

His feelings for you are confusing. The sex had felt different, he enjoys your company immensely, and he likes how warm he feels around you.

Instead of talking to you like a normal person or taking a moment to reflect, he decided to find some common ground- something you could laugh and talk about later. Normalcy.

He set up a snare trap close to the river you were all using to clean off and then a laughter rune trap somewhere on the path to the Creche. Hypothetically, they are very safe traps.

Unless he rigged them wrong? What if you ran into one of them and….

No, I am sure they are just fine.

He doesn’t even believe his own lie.

After about another five minutes, the anxiety rolling in his stomach becomes unbearable so he grabs his daggers and sets off in the direction you had gone two hours earlier.

He walks quickly through the forest, checking his surroundings and looking for evidence that you were close by. As the minutes pass, he feels the hope of finding you safe shrink.

The wind hits his nose and he becomes stock-still.

He smells your blood- an alarming amount of it-in the air as he gets closer to the river. He fears the worst as he goes to look at the trap- hoping you will forgive him- that you are alive. Safe.

He peers through the bushes and his eyes grow wide as the scene before him unfolds.

You are stuck up in the tree- his trap is still around your ankle. You are holding onto the branch like your life depends on it. It probably does since there are five Gnolls circling the tree like vultures.

He can hear your soft broken sobs as arrows fly over you or hit the tree. He notices the arrow in your leg and watches as a second one lodges itself into your calf. You wince and close your eyes tightly- unknown to you that Astarion’s vision is clouded in red and his whole body fills with destructive, hot rage. He also feels fear, but he pushes it away, not ready to explore the why.

He lunges forward, slashing at the Gnolls with so much force that they are practically in half by the time they hit the forest floor. He is a man possessed as he carves his way through all five gnolls and then he climbs up the tree to you.

His chest aches as he looks at you. He will never be able to forgive himself for causing you so much suffering.

“Darling,” he says softly.

You whimper in response and when you look at him- he feels all the air leave his lunges. If he needed air, he would have passed out right then. Your eyes were glassy with traces of fear, sadness, and loneliness- all emotions he is all too familiar with. Then you see it’s him and the biggest smile crosses your lips and you look at him with so much affection he almost feels ill. This was not the plan and he almost made you a midnight snack for a group of Gnolls.

“You found me,” you say in a raspy, raw voice, “I thought I was going to be stuck here all night until Karlach or Gale found me. Or I was going to die.”

You chuckle, but Astarion can’t get himself to share your same enthusiasm about his rescue mission as he cuts the rope.

He helps you down the tree and safely back on the ground. Astarion winces as you pull the arrows out of your leg. You find a healing potion amongst your things and chug it.

He collects your stuff for you. You give him another one of those brilliant smiles and Astarion tries to smile just as brightly back. You furrow your brows, but he turns away before you can keep analyzing him.

“We should head back,” Astarion mumbles.

______________________________________________

The silence hangs in the air as Astarion walks with you back to camp. After about 15 minutes, you are back at camp and the tension in the air is suffocating.

“Astarion.”

Astarion freezes, turns on his heels, and looks everywhere but your eyes. He couldn’t bare to see you smile at him again- look at him like that again- not after he almost killed you.

You maneuver yourself so you are looking in his eyes.

“It’s not your fault,” he begins to protest when you shush him, “we didn’t set any rules and the trap itself was harmless. We didn't account for Gnolls when we started this whole thing.”

“I almost got you killed.”

“But you didn’t. It easily could have been you in that situation and me saving you.”

“Will you please stop being so Gods damn forgiving,” he huffs with exasperation as he feels tears prick his eyes, “I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I put your life in danger. I almost-”

Lost you. He chokes on the words. The fear from earlier begins to come back to the front of his mind. Watching you cling to that tree, crying, and in pain had made him realize that you just might be more important to him than he cares to admit. However, that’s a conversation for another time- once he sorts out what that feeling in his chest is whenever he looks at you.

You look at him sharply, your eyes raw with sadness, “Stop that right now. I am okay. I lived. It was a mistake and I know your intentions were not bad. You don’t have anything to worry about Star.”

He doesn’t say anything and you hang your head.

“I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I- I should go-“ Astarion pauses as you interrupt him.

“Please don’t leave,” you whisper, “I rather enjoy your company.”

You look at him with tears welling in your eyes. He stares at you in stunned silence, searching your face for any sign of deception, but he doesn't find it. His body moves before his brain can process what he is doing.

Astarion gently cradles your face in his hands and kisses you slowly, softly. He smiles despite himself when a gasp leaves your lips. You're alive and safe. When the warmth in his chest begins to spread throughout the rest of his body, he pulls away and steps back. Your face is flushed, a beautiful blush spreading across your cheeks. You look at him with wide, unblinking eyes before you shyly smile. Astarion could have melted in that moment. He finds himself smiling too.

“Well I’m assuming that means you are going to stay?”

“I suppose I’ll stay,” he says while tapping his chin, “you do need someone to make sure you aren’t getting into trouble like that again.”

You feign hurt and scoff, “Are you suggesting that this was my fault?”

“Maybe if you were better with traps that wouldn’t have happened,” Astarion teases.

You narrow your eyes at Astarion and you try to hold back a smile. You roll your eyes and stick your tongue out at him.

You start towards camp before you pause and turn around. Astarion gives you a confused look.

You run over to him and place a kiss on his cheek. He tenses for a moment before relaxing again. You look at him sweetly, a soft smile on your lips.

“Good night Astarion.”

As you saunter towards your respective tents, Astarion takes one last glance at your tent- at you- before he lays down with his book. Except he still can’t get past the first page- he is too anxious for the sun to come up so that he can see your smile again.

#baldurs gate 3 #astarion #astarion x reader #baldurs gate astarion #bg3 spoilers #astarion x you #astarion romance #astarion x tav #bg3 #astarion x gn!tav #bg3 companions

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partially-controlled-chaos · 2 months

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Masterlist

Complete master list for all of my fanfics. They can be read on Tumblr through the links below or can be read on AO3 here if you prefer! Currently all for Baldur's Gate 3, but could include more if I ever get out of the chokehold this game has me in.

For the time being, all Astarion fics are posted in my chronological order. I tend to stray a bit from canon with those and with it being my Tav, the backstory is in the first one. When I get more written for Halsin and other characters it'll be the same.

Thank you so much for reading!

Current wip

Working on something for Gale, just haven’t started yet. Spicy Halsin Indulgence Sequel. NSFW

Astarion

Simply Transactional (Completed): Astarion x Named Tav (Tavriel) Astarion and Tav have an unexpected run-in one night in a clearing. After revealing part of her past, Tav realizes her relationship with Astarion might simply be a transactions for both parties. Pre-confession Astarion. Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Come Back to Me (Completed): Astarion x Named Tav (Tavriel) After an attack in the Shadow Cursed Lands, Tavriel is exposed to the toxins of fear inducing mushroom spores, causing her already weakened mind to relive the traumatic horrors of her past. Astarion and Halsin are forced to work quickly to cure her mind of the spores before the effects remain with her permanently. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Halsin

New Life Shall Prosper (Completed): Halsin x Gender Neutral Reader Months after the fall of the Absolute, you and Halsin have carved a happy life for yourselves within Thaniel's Realm, making a safe haven for all. A life full of hope and prosperity, only enhanced once you discover the very real possibility that you are with child. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Indulgence (Completed?): Halsin X Gender Neutral Reader Halsin has always struggled with indulging in the more pleasurable aspects of life. However, with the shadow curse lifted and your group now on the road to Baldur's Gate, you and Halsin find time to indulge in a bit of fun and a sweet treat before retiring for the evening. Read Here

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istoleyoursk1n · 5 months

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╭┉┈◦ೋ•◦❥•◦ Welcome to your brainrot

┏━✦❘༻༺❘✦ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

An entire blog dedicated to #BaldursGate3 headcanons of all your favorite travel companions and whatnot because this entire game has me on a chokehold :) (send help immediately).

✧˖*°࿐

Feel free to send requests regarding your favorite companions (or all of you wish) and I’ll see to it ♡.

✧˖*°࿐

This acc’s fairly new so bare with me lmao

✧˖*°࿐

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

RULES/NOTICES

: ̗̀➛I’m only doing requests for Astarion, Halsin, Wyll, Karlach, Gale, Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Rolan, Dammon, and Gortash for now (I need to become more familiar with the others)

: ̗̀➛I will not take requests for full-on fanfics/one-shots

: ̗̀➛All my works have a gn Tav.

: ̗̀➛If you request all of them/don’t specify, the request will take longer to make so I recommend specifying which characters you want to hear from.

: ̗̀➛I do not do heavy nsfw (Ik, game has nsfw but I am not too comfortable with it). However, anything suggestive or implied is okay with me.

: ̗̀➛You may request for the same prompt but with different characters

: ̗̀➛I will not accept prompts with rape or pedophilia

: ̗̀➛You may request a prompt with implied character deaths

: ̗̀➛I do polyship requests!

: ̗̀➛You may request for different AU’s

: ̗̀➛I try to be as accurate as possible to how they would canonically act but do take note that your headcanons for them may differ from mine

: ̗̀➛I only answer 1-2 requests per day

: ̗̀➛If I didn’t answer any, I’m either sick, busy, dead, or I ate my phone. Thank you.

: ̗̀➛Yes, I will do shit posts

: ̗̀➛More to be added as time goes on,,,

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

HOW TO REQUEST?

: ̗̀➛Fairly simple, go to my ask box and either anonymously or publicly ask questions such as:

••>“How would *Character* react to ___?”

••>”How would they all react to a Tav who is ___?”

••>“What would *Character* do with a Durge that ___?”

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

MASTERLIST

Wyll

: ̗̀➛ Wyll when Tav gets injured in battle

Gortash

: ̗̀➛ “A Wretched Love” (Short fic)

Multiple companions

: ̗̀➛ Tav who looks innocent but is actually brutal in battle.

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s taller than the origin characters

: ̗̀➛ Transmasc tav who comes out to origin + Halsin

: ̗̀➛ Finding out Tav is pregnant (Post-game)

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s insecure about being a tiefling

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s secretly a dragon in disguise

: ̗̀➛ Tav who is insecure about their disabilities/struggling with them

: ̗̀➛ Tav who wears layers of clothing but is secretly ripped

: ̗̀➛ Tav who has spider-like abilities

: ̗̀➛ Paladin Tav who’s devastated after breaking their oath

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s shorter than them but can carry them easily

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s touch-starved

: ̗̀➛ Tav who struggles with their mental health/has mental health issues

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s a Dhampir

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s immune to magic/can’t make magic

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s cuddling with their s/o but then the owlbear cub walks in

: ̗̀➛ Durge who suddenly blurts out their violent urges

: ̗̀➛ Tav who’s sober while everyone else is drunk off their asses doing karaoke

: ̗̀➛ Paladin Tav looks stoic/stern but ends up being a huge flirt

: ̗̀➛ Tav being the child of Raphael

: ̗̀➛ Tav being their soulmate

: ̗̀➛

NPC companions

: ̗̀➛ Durge who suddenly blurts out their violent urges

: ̗̀➛ Tav who is touch starved

: ̗̀➛

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#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate headcanon #baldurs gate headcanons #baldurs gate requests #bg3 masterlist #bg3 astarion #bg3 wyll #bg3 lae’zel #bg3 shadowheart #bg3 halsin #bg3 karlach #bg3 gale

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tripleyeeet · 6 months

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*makes sure its tuesday* *puts on a suit and takes the microphone*

HELLO AND WELCOME BACK EVERYONE TO TUESDAY INTERVIEW!

I'm your host Annie and today we are here once again with the amazing and talented author Summer!!! Let them hear your love, guys!!!

So, Summer. There aren't many news to report for these week. I've heard from trustworthy sources that you've taken a small break from writing, which I'm very glad to see and that I hope you are enjoying to the fullest. But I do have a couple questions in my notes, if you don't mind answering them.

First of all. We all know why most of the people are here for. "A Lover's Folly". One of - if not the most successful fics of yours. If I'm not wrong, next chapter will be a little sweet thing that will make our heart overwhelm with joy but I was wondering: what awaits Tav and Astarion after the next "slice-of-life" chapter, if you will? Pain? More joy? Illithids?

Of course, I can't talk about your fics without mentioning "Curse You"! And talking about the Zaystarion fic, how would you describe the next chapter that will come out in one sentence? And how would you describe in three words the beloved "knife fight" ship that has all of us in a chokehold (👀) ?

Now... since I've already asked you about your wips already last week, I've thought about a little game: it's easy, just a simple top 10 of BG3 characters, including both characters from the main party and NPCs. However, the twist is, you decide the theme of the top 10. It could be best characters based on their backstory, on looks, on how badly you want to be with them (biblically or not speaking) and so on.

AND THAT IS ALL FOR TODAY!!! GOODBYE EVERYONE AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

tuesday interview on a wednesday!!! (wow who would've thought!!)

apologies for missing a couple of weeks, but you're right, i am taking a bit of break! at least for me. i'm still posting here and there but definitely not as frequently. will still be posting some curse you content and the lover's folly chapter this weekend! the latter might not necessarily come out on saturday as planned because the next few days are expected to be a bit insane but i'll try my best!

as a treat though (and to answer your question) the chapter is definitely going to have a fluffy vibe. a lot of comforting themes to make up for all the angst i've been giving everyone. mostly it's just a chapter where tav and astarion get some much needed relaxation before all the chaos starts up again.

for curse you, uh, i've decided to switch things up. initially i wanted to write a full fic that was very structured and chronological but i've since decided to just kind of write little snippets here and there to give myself more freedom to create what i want! with that being said though, i have a couple one shots planned, specifically ones about the first time astarion meets zayis and also the scene where she first allows him to drink from her! so hopefully y'all enjoy those. :')

for the best question though i'm going to do a top 10 npcs based on who i'd bring to a wedding because for some odd reason that was the first thing that popped into my head. however, i’m not going to tell you why because i am lazy!!!

rolan

wyll

karlach

alfira

dammon

gale

astarion

shadowheart

gortash

raphael

#tuesday interview #asks

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littlemisssquiggles · 5 years

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RWBY Musings #69: A Proclamation of Love. What if…Oscar confesses his love for Ruby before sacrificing himself to be captured by Salem for the Atlas Arc?

cloudburst-paint-water asked

“ Good day! So I’ve seen a lot of people tossing around the theory that either Oscar or Ruby (perhaps both) are going to be kidnapped in the Vol. 7, given that Salem has her flying monkeys ready AND the Tyrian and Watts trio are headed there, not to mention Cinder and Neo. What do you think about it? It makes me pretty excited at the prospect of both Oscar and Ruby having to depend on each other in the face of Salem, but I’m also leaning towards an Atlas central arc? ･:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+ - Cloud

Squiggles Answers:

@cloudburst-paint-water

‘Sup Cloud!

Wait…people are now tossing around this idea of a Dark Domain Arc? Tsk, tsk, ya’ll whippersnappers are late to the party. Not to toot my own foghorn but this squiggle meister has been singing that theory since V5.

For almost a year, I’ve been dropping mentions of a potential Dark Domain Arc where Ruby and Oscar get kidnapped and taken to Salem and have to survive the Dark Domain on their own. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve brought this theory up. I brought this up before V6 ended. Heck I even talked about flying monkey Grimm long before it became canon. Both here and here along with my prediction of Grimmzilla.

I guess this is the plight of when you talk too much and share too many theories. At some point, they all become one big blur XD

But yeah, to actually answer your question Cloud, (sorry for the ramble) if you can’t tell by how passionate I am about the potential of such an arc, I am totally down for a standalone Dark Domain Arc in RWBY where it’s just the Rosebuds---Ruby and Oscar, left to survive the Land of Darkness far away from their friends depending only on each other.

Like I said, it’s a theory I talked about before on my blog and with the flying monkeys being official canon now, the possibilities of that actually happening are growing closer and closer. However I don’t think the Dark Domain Arc is going to happen in V7. As I mentioned in this response post here, I feel like there is a differentiation in the timelines of the finale after credit scenes. Even though the V6 finale after credit scene revealed Salem creating her army of Winged Beringels, my theory is that this scene actually takes place during the heroes’ time in Atlas.

Like while this is happening, the heroes have already settled into Atlas. I’m not banking on these critters showing up until possibly the end of V7 or V8. Take the V5 after credit scene for example. Although V5 teased Raven reconciling with Tai Yang, V6 gave no real follow up to that so this led me to assume that Tai and Raven’s reunion is happening at a different time than what the after credit scene made us to believe.

For all we know, Raven going to Tai might be a premature foreshadow to a future season that follows after the Atlas Arc. With the exception of V4��s after credit scene, my hunch is that both of the succeeding finale after credit scenes for V5 and V6 take place at timelines during the Atlas Arc meaning that while these events are happening, our heroes are already safe living in Atlas. At least…for the time being.

I’m not expecting the Winged Beringels to officially appear until V8 unless they do arrive to try and kidnap Oscar but get easily gunned down by the Atlesian air forces.

I’d also like to think that in addition to their air forces set up outside the kingdom’s walls on 24/7 surveillance, Atlas is probably heavily safeguarded by a powerful force field like the one used during the Vytal Festival.

Since Salem ordered Watts and Tyrian to go to Atlas to prepare, I’m wondering if the Winged Beringels have something to do with that.

In the Wizard of Oz story, the Wicked Witch of the West used her army of winged monkeys to conquer the western quadrant of Oz. So my theory is that at some point during the Atlas Arc, Salem will probably send her army of Winged Beringels to invade the kingdom of Atlas. She must’ve sent Watts and Tyrian ahead to prepare for that invasion by disabling and taking control of the Atlesian defences, the same way they did at the Vytal Festival which would then allow the Beringels to enter the kingdom and spark chaos.

I’d like to believe that part of Salem’s plan is to also use her new beasts to kidnap Oscar since she’s targeting Ozpin. In the Wizard of Oz, the winged monkeys were also used to capture Dorothy Gale and the Cowardly Lion, dismembering and destroying the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman in the process.

Some theorists are already speculating that the Winged Beringels may possibly kill or perhaps severely hurt Qrow Branwen and General Ironwood.

Perhaps…this is will be how Salem gets Oscar to be captured willingly. Imagine…the Beringels being too much of a threat for our heroes and after one of them practically takes General Ironwood apart and prepares to make the same of Qrow, that’s when Oscar makes Salem an offer she can’t refuse.

I’m picturing a scene where Salem communicates with Oscar (and technically Ozpin) through the Beringels. I want a moment where the Alpha of the Beringels speaks to Oscar and its Salem’s voice you hear coming out of the Grimm to show that there is a magical link between Salem and the primal abominations.

With his friends in danger, Oscar does the one thing he could do in that moment. He surrenders; offering himself to be taken prisoner by Salem in exchange that she spares his friends and the innocent people of Atlas.

Oscar has been hinted at drawing inspiration from two signature Wizard of Oz characters: Dorothy Gale and Princess Ozma/ Tip. There’s also been talk that Oscar’s official huntsmen gear connects him to the Little Prince.

In the Wizard of Oz, both Dorothy and Ozma ultimately become prisoners. Dorothy is captured and taken to the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In the Lost Princess of Oz, Ozma is kidnapped and it is her dearest friend Dorothy Gale who comes to her rescue with a search party. Then in Glinda of Oz, both Dorothy and Ozma are captured by the wicked Queen Coo-ee-ooh while trying to stop a war between two races.

Imagine…Oscar being captured to be taken to Salem and the very last thing he says to Ruby before he’s taken away is that he loves her?

Imagine…the CRWBY spending two whole volumes of the Atlas Arc developing Oscar further as his own character, naturally building on his friendship with the other heroes especially Ruby who he’s seen to be the most attached to.

Picture…V7 and V8 really establishing the close bond between Ruby and Oscar to the point that it confirms their blossoming love for each other. Or…at least it confirms Oscar falling in love with Ruby. But before the audience can get the chance to learn whether or not Ruby reciprocates those feelings, in comes the Battle for Atlas in the middle of the Atlas Arc.

Since the Battle for Haven took place only the second volume of the Mistral Trilogy, I’m banking on the CRWBY possibly following the same routine. V7 will probably deal mostly with Weiss’ side of the story with the Schnee Family affairs and the Crimes of the SDC being the backbone of the plot while V8 will most likely bring us into the eventual fight to defend the kingdom in the sky. That’s my best guess.

If things go accordingly, V9 could be the standalone Dark Domain Arc which is set as part of the Atlas Trilogy since it falls directly after the events of Atlas.

The way how I see it. A Dark Domain Arc could be done one of two ways. It could end in both Ruby and Oscar getting captured and taken to Salem before escaping and having to survive on their own without their friends, as I’d originally envisioned.

Or…it could involve this new alternative---where Oscar sacrifices himself to be captured in order to protect Atlas and the Dark Domain Arc will instead focus on Ruby leading a small rescue party into the dark lands to get Oscar back.

Picture this…The Atlas Arc ends in another successfully executed victory in favour of the villains. Not only does Salem manage to spark further backlash between the remaining kingdoms and Atlas but thanks to the ingenious works of Arthur Watts and Tyrian, she manages to claim two of the Relics.

The Kingdom of Atlas in under siege. The city and its people are in turmoil overrun by Grimm now left to invade the kingdom after Watts disabled its defences. The heroes are once again outnumbered and overpowered and even Ruby’s Silver Eyes aren’t a match for a massive army of Grimm.

At some point, Salem speaks to Oscar in particular and gives him an ultimatum: Surrender to her or watch the People of Atlas and everyone he loves die.

So Oscar has no choice but to give himself up. The only people there to watch him get taken are an incapacitated General Ironwood and injured Qrow Branwen bloodied to the point that he resembles Aizawa from My Hero Academia after he got his ass pummelled into the ground by a Nomu.

And of course, Ruby is there too, equally wounded and exhausted from overexerting her Silver Eyes. She and Oscar were alone fighting together beside Ironwood and Qrow when the Beringels came and overpowered them. I’m picturing a Beringel holding Ruby in a firm chokehold threatening to strangle the life out of her or snap her neck on Salem’s command to further affirm to Oscar’s watchful eyes that the Wicked Witch wasn’t playing around with her threats.

So to protect his comrades including the girl he loved, Oscar surrenders. Oscar leaves with Tyrian and Watts and to make sure that Ruby doesn’t try to come after them, Salem additionally threatens Ruby with if she tried to prevent Oscar’s sacrifice, she’d kill both Ironwood and Qrow.

So Ruby has no choice but to watch Oscar get taken away by the villains; possibly to his own demise. The last memory Ruby has of Oscar is his tear stricken face locking eyes with hers one final time.

“…I love you” is all Oscar gets to say to Ruby before Tyrian heartlessly knocks him out the instant he steps foot in the airship. After that, Salem surprisingly kept her word and spared Atlas with her Beringels leaving as soon as she got Oscar.

Or…so Salem leads Oscar to believe. In my imagination, the instant Salem has Oscar/Ozpin in her clutches; she orders Tyrian or Watts to detonate the grandmaster thingamajiggie which would send the entire kingdom of Atlas plummeting to its demise below taking the Kingdom of Mantle with it, killing millions.

As Oscar regains consciousness in the dock of the airship, he looks outside just in time to watch in dismay as Atlas in blown out of the sky with the Kingdom plunging to its doom above the unsuspecting People of Mantle. So…Oscar’s sacrifice had been in vain. Salem still went ahead and killed everyone anyways.

And to add more insult to injury, as Oscar falls to his knees crying over the deaths of his friends, he’s not even allowed to grieve in peace as Tyrian, feigning sympathy, cups his face in faux concern and tells Oscar that he should be counting himself lucky that the gentle goddess showed him enough pity to whisk him off to safety as a opposed to leaving him to die in Atlas. According to Tyrian, Oscar should be grateful instead of mournful. A remark which only serves to set Oscar off which, unfortunately for Oscar, is exactly what Tyrian was hoping for. The instant Oscar makes an enraged attempt to lash out at Tyrian, the scorpion Faunus stings Oscar in the neck.

The last thing Oscar recalls is the kingdom of Atlas in flames falling from the skies before his world turned to darkness. Literally.

I was told that in The Little Prince story, the little Prince fell in love with a rose however the rose was vain. But by the time the rose realized her feelings for the prince, it was too late and he returned home or something to that liking.

While Ruby Rose is far from being vain, I do love the concept of the Atlas Arc building upon a potential romance between Ruby and Oscar. However by the time Ruby realizes her own feelings for Oscar, he gets captured and taken away from her to Salem and the last words Oscar says to Ruby is “I love you”.

Wouldn’t that be a real kick in the teeth? Ruby realizing she loves Oscar too but can’t say it because he gets taken away to possibly be tortured and killed by Salem while she and the others are left to do what they can’t to salvage and save Atlas before it hits the ground.

Speaking of Atlas, while I am in love with the overall design of this skyward kingdom, the very first thing I thought of when I saw Atlas is that it’s giving me huge Age of Ultron vibes. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the villainous Ultron levitated a huge chunk of the Earth into the sky in an attempt to cause further destruction to the world below.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Atlas ends up falling from the sky for the Atlas Arc. What would actually be interesting is if Atlas ends up falling with the Kingdom being forced to return Mantle and rebuilt itself. Or even better, what if Atlas falls but it’s the ingenuity of the People of Mantle who help save their Atlesian brethren. After all, Atlas wouldn’t exist without Mantle. The Kingdom might have forgotten of that over the years. All the more reason to have Mantle come to Atlas’ aid when their kingdom is in great peril. Wouldn’t that be a nice twist?

But…we’ll see.

Imagine…Ruby wanting to lead a search party to go to the Dark Domain to rescue Oscar. However there is tension in this idea because by the end of Atlas Arc, Salem gains the Relics of Knowledge and Creation which forces the heroes no choice but to head for Vacuo immediately to make sure the Sword doesn’t fall into Salem’s hands too.

Of course claiming the Relic of Destruction becomes a major priority since it is believed to be the most dangerous of the four Relics and if Salem were to get her hands on that Relic then the heroes would lose for sure. But with Oscar becoming Salem’s prisoner and with his close comrades, particularly Ruby, worried for his safety in Salem’s clutches, his life on the line also becomes a priority.

Imagine…the heroes dividing for a second time only this time it’s on good terms and for a very valid reason. While one team heads directly for Shade Academy in Vacuo, another heads for the Dark lands.

I know folks were excited for a Dark Domain Arc involving Ruby and Oscar, but I raise you another possibility. What if…we get another volume where it’s the RNJR squad of Ruby, Jaune, Ren and Nora traversing the dark lands on their way toward Salem’s Domain to rescue Oscar?

While this is happening, Weiss, Blake and Yang head for Vacuo to rendezvous with their comrades in Vacuo---like Team SSSN and CVFY to rally together to protect Shade.

I know fans didn’t particularly enjoy the split up stories for V4 and V5. To be fair, I’m actually one of the folks who didn’t mind that format. I don’t think the Writers did a terrible job either with V4 and V5. My main issues were the Writers lack of ‘show, don’t tell’ back in those volumes where characters would just tell the audience that certain things are a certain way without much on-screen build-up.

For example; Weiss accusing Whitley of manipulating and double crossing her when there is no real on-screen evidence to support him committing such a heinous action towards his sister. Yet he accepts the accusation anyways.

Who knows? Perhaps after two more successful seasons of improvement, the CRWBY Writers may be daring enough to try another season where the story is divided between two factions---the heroes in the Dark Domain and the heroes in Vacuo.

As much as I would love for a single arc where it’s just Ruby and Oscar surviving a Grimm-infested dark world together while learning more about each other in the process (since it would be a welcomed first for the series), I also wouldn’t mind another season of the RNJR squad this time working together to save Oscar while WBY are off in Vacuo to soak up some SSSN and CVFY!

I mean our Rosebuds working together to survive is amazing and all. But imagine if they’re separated from each other, forced to believe the other was dead while clinging desperately to the belief that they’d see each other again somehow. Picture Ruby fighting through hell just to get to Oscar and how it would be like to see them reunite after such an intense separation.

Picture…how powerful a moment it would be for RoseGarden to share their first kiss after a full season of watching them both panic for each other’s lives, reminisce of the fond memories they shared together and cling to any bit of happiness and warmth they felt from those good memories to help fuel what little hope they each had of seeing each other again---hearing each other’s voice and getting so much as to hold each other’s hand again. Or seeing each other’s welcoming smiles again.

To me, a Dark Domain Arc with Ruby Rose leading a rescue party of herself and JNR (RNJR Squad) to save Oscar is beginning to sound just as compelling---maybe even a bit more, than a Dark Domain Arc with just the Rosebuds. Maybe both can be done since both stories were done for the Wizard of Oz. Buuuuut….who knows, y’know?

As always, this is just me spouting ideas. But damn, would an idea like this be awesome. Especially for the future of RoseGarden.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

#cloudburst-paint-water #squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #rwby rosegarden #oscar and ruby #rwby theories #rwby musings #rwby rosebuds

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