not so merry, not so noble

she/her | Stace/Nastya

[merrilynoblepriest]

Hey there, Tumblr traveler 🎠

I write fanfiction on AO3 as MerrilyNoblePriest.

Sometimes, I also write video game/literature essays on my Medium

Current & recurring fandoms:

🦇 Vampire: The Masquerade | World of Darkness 🌿 Avowed / Pillars of Eternity 🛡️ Baldur's Gate 1, 2 & 3 💀 Planescape: Torment (and any other Infinity Engine game) 📜 The Elder Scrolls 🗡️ Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 🐉 Dragon Age 🎤 Disco Elysium 🎨 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

... and many, many more!

Expect character studies, political tension, and people with too much power making terrible choices.

I'm an old soul. I love Gothic poetry. I'm mesmerized by stormy winds and troubled seas. I adore pets. I long for mysteries. I view life as a quest. I prefer tea over coffee. I can be reserved and pessimistic sometimes, but I believe that lifting up other people is the best way to mend my spirit - so if you need another pair of eyes for your work, just let me know!

[chronurgy]

Literally every part of avowed is cosmic horror if you think about it. Forces beyond your comprehension are fighting and you are the battleground. Your heart your mind your body - all of them are tools, fair game

[merrilynoblepriest]

Here's proof how drastically becoming a death guard in the PoE world changes a person: this is Inquisitor Lödwyn before her transformation, on the Deadfire Archipelago, successfully tricked into believing she killed many innocent people for nothing:

Shaken, doubtful, remorseful.

Far from the zealot you meet in Avowed.

[merrilynoblepriest]

Scraping all the stuff from Cara, spreading hate and misinformation, stealing and blaming the victim, treating the idea of consent as something outdated, stupid even - I'm so tired of this AI-bowing world, of the tech overlords looking to kill all the connections that tie us to each other.

Is there anything good about today?

[sarafangirlart]

One day ppl will understand that Greek gods aren’t tyrants with superpowers but rather forces of nature that are capable of both extreme cruelty and kindness and that they were used to explain the harsh and confusing realities that Ancient Greeks had to live through every single day and why they set up certain rules and customs.

One day ppl will understand that Greek heroes weren’t supervillains but complex human beings who are representations of the best and worst of humanity and that they aren’t remembered bc they were ‘heroic’ in a modern sense and that the Ancient Greeks rarely actually whitewashed their heroes actions but instead used them to tell fables and tragedies.

One day ppl will understand that Greek heroines did have power and agency in spite of the patriarchal society they live in, one day ppl will actually read the source material and properly learn about these women than take what retellings say about them like gospel.

[artistformerlyknownasbutttrumpet]

i was training a young person at work, and she referred to sexual assault as "SA" out loud, and i immediately was like, "no, it's sexual assault, call it what it is," bc idgaf if the algorithm overlords have taught y'all that you should fear direct language, how tf do any of you expect to ever address real issues with any amount of seriousness if you can't even say the words? imagine an advocate looking a sexual assault survivor in the eyes and asking "did he grape you?" it's absolutely fucking absurd, but these young interns and new hires are coming into an environment where we deal with survivors of all different kinds of abuse, and they're coming with the mindset that the words are as bad as the actions, and that makes them shitty at the job and look juvenile af

i HATE self-censorship for a lot of reasons, but being in crisis work makes it even more frustrating. who are you censoring for? like i am being so fr, WHO are you censoring for? have you even thought it through? people who have been raped know that they have been raped. if someone attempts suicide or is grieving someone who did, saying "sewer slide" isn't going to protect them from any of the feelings. a murder victim's family isn't going to feel better bc you said "unalived" instead of murdered. if anything, it's just extremely invalidating and othering. it's saying "what happened to you is so bad that i won't even say the word," which is NOT trauma-informed care. you are not protecting survivors/victims when you self-censor. the ONLY things you protect when you self-censor are the puritanical ideologies that are being encouraged by rich fascists who want your money and obedience

say the fucking words, guys. just say the goddamn words before i go insane!!!

[bullfrogggsan]

[merrilynoblepriest]

I'm a little surprised that people are angry at Giuliana for lashing out at the Envoy.

Have you never talked to someone under stress?

She lives in a city on the brink of chaos and plague. Her mother was taken by the Steel Garrote years before Giuliana ever arrived in the Living Lands. As I understand it, her mother was a midwife back in the Republics, kidnapped by the paladins (the Steel Garrote actually has a presence in the Vailian cities and probably serve the dukes).

Now, Giuliana is simply reliving that nightmare all over again. She's afraid for her workers, and she's afraid for herself. Yes, she deliberately uses the Envoy because she has no other option: the claviger is dead, her goods have been taken by bandits, and Lödwyn's people are all over the place, searching for clues. She simply hopes that the Envoy will be sufficiently charmed by her to do her bidding without asking too many questions. And realistically, the Envoy is the only person who can get those herbs out without arousing suspicion.

And yes, at the end, she can't hold it together anymore. She's exhausted. She's been living in fear for weeks, and she takes it out on you because she's human and because, like it or not, you represent the Empire and its laws.

You are not the hero in her story. Not yet. But you may prove that she's wrong. And then, she helps you out when she can.

[crynwr-drwg]

[crynwr-drwg]

[merrilynoblepriest]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Fandom: Avowed (Video Game), Pillars of Eternity Relationships: Claviger Eamund & Inquisitor Lödwyn, Claviger Eamund & Falscen Hylgard, Claviger Eamund & Kai, hint at Falscen Hylgard/Inquisitor Lödwyn Characters: Claviger Eamund, Falscen Hylgard (Avowed), Inquisitor Lödwyn (Pillars of Eternity), Kai (Avowed), mentions of the Envoy, mentions of Ygwulf, mentions of Woedica - Character, mentions of Ondra Summary:

He hopes the qualities that help him navigate the chaos of Paradis will see him through anything, no matter what comes his way.

That is, until he realizes the ambassador and the inquisitor are hardly birds of a feather. And trying to balance between them is like standing on a sheet of ice over a frozen river, with Hylgard on one bank, Lödwyn on the other, glaring daggers back and forth — right through him.

An exploration of three power figures reigning over Paradis.

Huge-huge thank you to @gothyanki for the idea!

[mollyjames]

Uh oh, the player character is coming this way. Quick, engage in mindless small talk which comments on recent events or location relevant details

[merrilynoblepriest]

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is one of the things that aren't fatal, the doctors brush it off often, but it can seriously mess your life up in so many ways.

You feel dizzy even if you're relaxing in your bed, you're afraid of crossing the street because you're losing the sense of direction, and panic attacks become a norm. And to treat the bastard, you have to provoke even more vertigos.

Ah, and it may return any day, no matter what you do.

[dizzyghoast]

every so often i remember how awesome the modern interconnected multicultural world is. i grew up getting to hear fairy tales from all over the world. africa, asia, europe, america. everywhere in between. i can have bagels for breakfast, curry for lunch, and ramen for dinner without even leaving the city limits. music and art and philosophy and technology that originated thousands of miles and years apart from eachother have come together and interwoven into something greater than the sum of its parts. its hard not fall into despair when thinking about the horrors but god. god the wonders.

[animentality]

[perplexingly]

Hmmmmm

Time to learn how to write fics I think

[floadwarf1]

"Do not let me fall asleep unless I am by your side, wearing not the frown of a savior, but the smile of an innocent fool"