#emmeline hallowleaf

"My darling girl. The last time I saw you cry, you cut your knee while chasing a frog."

aweee yess this is so cute

Shadowheart x Durge!reader | A New Family

The first time you meet Arnell and Emmeline, you are so tense you feel like your spine is made of iron.

Not because they are cruel—on the contrary, Shadowheart’s parents are kind in a way that unsettles you, gentle in a way that makes something deep in your chest ache. But they are still parents. And parents are supposed to protect their children. What will they think when they look at you? Will they see the woman their daughter loves, or will they see the monster you used to be?

They know about your past. Of course they do.

Shadowheart had told them, in careful words, about what you were, what you did, the blood you had spilled. You don’t blame her. They deserve to know. But she also told them about the way you have fought against it, the way you chose to walk away from the destiny forced upon you. The way you have chosen her, again and again.

Still, it doesn’t make it any easier when you step through their door, your hand wrapped tightly around Shadowheart’s, and meet their wary eyes for the first time.

At first, things are… polite. Too polite. Every conversation feels measured, careful, as though they are testing the ground beneath them before stepping forward. Emmeline asks you questions, but she does so cautiously, gauging every reaction. Arnell watches you with quiet intensity—not out of hostility, but out of protectiveness. He has already lost his daughter once. He will not lose her again.

You don’t fault him for it. If anything, you respect it.

But Shadowheart sees you. She sees the stiffness in your posture, the way you keep a careful distance, the way your fingers twitch at your sides like you are expecting to be called to battle at any moment. So she does what she always does. She grounds you.

She never lets go of your hand, her grip a steady warmth against your skin. When you sit down to eat, she presses her knee against yours beneath the table. When she speaks of you, there is no hesitation, no shame—only love, only devotion. And it helps. It helps so much.

Slowly, things begin to shift.

Arnell still watches you carefully, but now, there is something softer in his eyes. Emmeline still measures her words, but she starts placing extra portions on your plate without asking, as if she has simply decided you must be hungry. The gestures are small, but they speak volumes.

The realization creeps up on you slowly. That you are starting to relax. That you don’t feel the urge to reach for your weapon every time someone enters the room. That this place—this small, simple home filled with laughter and quiet conversations—is not something you need to defend yourself against.

That it might just be safe.

That night, after dinner, you sit beside the fire with Shadowheart curled against your side, her head resting against your shoulder. Emmeline sits across from you, quietly darning a tear in one of your shirts. You don’t even remember giving it to her, and the realization startles you.

It’s such a simple thing. Something a mother would do for a child. Something no one has ever done for you.

Shadowheart shifts against you, tilting her head up to press a soft kiss on your cheek. The gesture is so tender it makes your throat tighten, makes your fingers twitch against your thigh.

“Your childhood,” she says suddenly, her voice barely above a whisper. “They never gave you one.”

Arnell and Emmeline both look up, their expressions unreadable.

Shadowheart doesn’t look at them—her gaze is fixed on you, her fingers curling around your own, tracing the creases of your palm.

“They didn’t let you be a child,” she continues, so quiet you almost don’t hear her. “They trained you. Like a weapon.”

Arnell inhales sharply, and his hand clenches at his side.You open your mouth, but you don’t know what to say. She’s right. And you don’t know what to do with the grief in her voice, the sorrow in her eyes. She looks away from you then, turning to her parents.

“They never had a family,” she says softly. “Not like this.”

Another silence stretches between you all, heavy and unspoken.

And then Emmeline, without so much as a second’s hesitation, says, “Well, they do now.”

You freeze. Your breath catches.

Arnell nods beside her, his expression softening. “It doesn’t matter what you were made for,” he says simply. “You’re ours now.”

It’s too much. Too big. You can feel Shadowheart watching you, but you can’t meet her gaze. Your fingers tremble where they rest against your thigh. You don’t know how to have this, how to accept it.

But then Shadowheart’s hand is on your cheek, gently turning you to face her.Her eyes shine in the firelight, soft and steady, as if willing you to believe it.

You swallow thickly, your fingers twitching at your side. You want to say something, to acknowledge what they have given you. But the words don’t come.

Emmeline just smiles, like she knows, like she understands. Like she isn’t waiting for words you don’t have. Instead, she pats your knee and turns back to her sewing, as if it has already been decided.

And maybe it has. Shadowheart squeezes your hand, her lips brushing softly against your temple.

“I love you,” she whispers.

And as you close your eyes, resting your forehead against hers, you realize—

This is what family feels like.

So wholesome honestly, love a bit of my shadowheart. Sorry for being a bit awol recently, my ankle is mangled and work is chaos lmaoo but I love escaping on here. So hope you guys enjoyed this! - Seluney xox

It's done and so is my wrist, hope everybody saw this because I will NOT be doing it again. The happy conclusion to Neph's campaign!

You'll find out who's writing that text in the margins soon.

So I'd like to talk about theme. When it comes to videogames, I think a lot of people get so caught up in maximising returns that they forget to ask themselves what the story is actually trying to say. To turn the final page of the Daughter of Darkness quest, Shadowheart has to choose between sacrificing or saving her parents. I'm arguing that this is actually a choice between fully rejecting Shar and embracing Selûne, or being forever torn between each goddess' convictions.

Part 1: "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both, And be one traveler, long I stood..."

The Moonmaiden is a goddess of change, while the Lady of Loss is a goddess of repose. The feud between Selûne and Shar revolves around Selûne's decision to light the Sun, which created the warmth that made life possible on Toril. Selûne sees beauty in the change and possibility which life can bring, like the waxing and waning of the moon. To Shar, however, life entails pain and suffering, and so she has since sought to return Toril to the comfort of darkness and numbness of nothingness.

Selûne's moon symbolises change and navigation of the unknown. It waxes and wanes and shifts the tides, and it lights the night sky, guiding people through the unknown. Shar's darkness represents the bliss of ignorance, the comfort of lies, the serenity of secrets and the repose of death. The Selûnite looks forwards to the unknown with anticipation while the Sharran looks backwards, yearning for an end to hardship and suffering.

This is emphasised by the divine domains each goddess is associated with. Those who "worship the changing tides of Life and Knowledge" can find their way to Selûne, while those who find sanctuary from suffering in Trickery and Death may find their way to Shar.

So what is Shar's "Final Lesson"? In Shar's own words, "It matters not if you raze this place, if you slay every one of your brothers and sisters. That was never where my power resided... There was no pain before my sister set the sun aflame. Now you exist to suffer, until you find your way back to my embrace." Shadowheart's curse and tether to Shar can only be broken by sacrificing her parents. Shar is demonstrating that life is inseparable from pain and suffering, and that her own divine power comes from people's desire for comfort in place of such suffering. Shadowheart's Selûnite father says it himself, "You cannot both free us and yourself from her curse," not because those are just the rules but because the choice between seeking repose or embracing possibility determines whether she can fully walk way from Sharran ways and embrace Selûnite ones.

Selûne champions change, exploration and inquisitiveness, but the journey of a Selûnite requires one to let go of the comforts of convention, normality and the past. This is why Shadowheart’s parents tell her to let go of them. The question at hand is if Shadowheart will one day be able to look back and say "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." If the answer is no, then she saves her parents and falls back upon the past and whatever she already knows-- the care of her parents, her love for animals and the curse of Shar-- and she will remain caught between Selûne and Shar. If the answer is yes, then she experiences "actual loss, not Shar's oblivion" and gathers the strength to forge ahead through the night, under the light of the moon. In Minsc's words funny enough, "Shar thinks this pain is a punishment? No! Pain is a promise - that all our enemies' blows have not killed us, and will be heaped back upon their heads ten-fold!". In a beautifully written scene, Shadowheart will also tell Tav that the name "Shadowheart" suits her better now; "you can't cast a shadow, without a little light". All the suffering of life which Shar laments is the yin to the yang of life's many wonders and joys. It's a line which solidifies Shadowheart as a true Selûnite.

Part 2: Not Just a Number

If you didn't know, there are several actions that you can take regarding Shadowheart to gain Nightsong Points, and if enough are accumulated, then Shadowheart will both spare the Nightsong and then sacrifice her parents if left to make the decisions for herself.

Nightsong Point actions are meant to prompt Shadowheart to gradually reflect critically about Shar and her faith. The six actions include pointing out that she was wearing a moonstone in the flashback in which the Sharrans found her, telling the way the her mother superior raised her "sounds like abuse", telling her she shouldn't have to suffer for her faith, returning a memory to her with the Noblestalk, gifting her a Night Orchid (which is associated with her hiding away from Sharran life), and agreeing to help her complete the Gauntlet of Shar so that she can see if it is her destiny or not to become Shar's Dark Justiciar. All of these actions are associated with and hence represent critical reflection of Shadowheart's faith. They result in Shadowheart making her own decisions, defying Shar by sparing the Nightsong and turning her back on Shar by sacrificing her parents.

IF Shadowheart spared the Nightsong despite not accumulating at least 4 Nightsong Points, then Parent Points come into play. Accumulating 2 Parents Points prompts Shadowheart to save her parents if left to make the choice on her own. Without enough Nightsong Points, Shadowheart has not fully realised a powerful enough critique of Shar to fully turn away from her and her ways. Parent Points represent Shadowheart rediscovering old memories and clinging to them. These points include Shadowheart finding the grave of an old tutor, old graffiti done by her hand and her old hideaway. If all are accumulated, she even remarks that she "never thought [she'd] be so glad to be greeted by the waft of docks and alleyways". Hence she spares her parents because she has not fully rejected Shar's teachings, as, in looking backwards, she embraces the comforts of what she knows and is familiar with, despite what little she actually remembers of them. She hasn't truly turned to Selûne because she isn't willing to let go of an idealised past to fully embrace the uncertainty of the future. In a sense her parents are a representation of the comforts of an idealised past. In Shadowheart's father's words "You are the future-- you must return to the fold. We are the past."

Part 3: There Are No Endings, Just New Beginnings

If Shadowheart saved her parents, the curse continues to plague her and she has settled down with her parents. She discusses the old stories of her childhood which her parents tell her and her father's sense of humour. Still living with the curse, she also discusses happiness as an active thing, something you need to fight for everyday. She agrees that "sedate" "normalcy" is just what she needed after everything. Her new life is greatly inspired by the past she knew and from now forward, she will expect more of the same.