#skeleton ex!!!!!!

3. If they complimented each other, what would they say?

Well, I think the girlies are well and truly in backhanded compliment territory, so as far as what they'd literally say out loud?

We got the in-canon "I miss your eyes glaring at me" regarding Lödwyn now being a skeleton. But honestly, that's just flirting. If they were going for the jugular?

Lödwyn would say some shit like, "Maefys is the finest weapon Aedyr has ever forged, it's just a pity the emperor has such poor grip." And also probably would say, "I have seen court vipers weave their lies and manipulations for decades. And none were as skilled as Maefys in their plots--no one else has so elegantly lead the unworthy to their destruction, ensuring it is done by their own hand. It has always left me breathless to watch her work. And this—this is her greatest masterpiece. If I had breath to hold, I would be watching with it bated, as Maefys twists and contorts herself, leading herself on her exquisite walk toward her own ruin."

And as her compliment, Maefys might say some shit like, "I envy Lödwyn's conviction and depth of faith, even as reality begins to crumble and shift. She has a sense of purpose so deep she can even invent a role for herself and claw her way back from the dead to fulfill it." And I think maybe saying it out loud would be a step too far but in the midst of their breakup she certainly thought this and probably still carries it - "Lödwyn's devotion is an unyielding and an all-consuming force, and it is a marvel to see it borne out and brought into the world only through honeyed words spoken from a burnt book. At least when I told her to kneel, I fucked her after."

But, since I want to hurt me. I'll also share some of their genuine compliments.

For all of the plots and woven webs Lödwyn imagines now, Maefys can never truly convey how grateful she is that Lödwyn was able to see her, through her own. Lödwyn saw her when no one else did, and then Lödwyn made a space for Maefys in Aedyr and allowed her to grow and sheltered her through the process. It is not the right space for her now, but it was, once.

And Maefys rarely let down her guard, so holding her in the few moments when she did—taking on the sacred burden of protecting something so beautiful in its fleeting fragility—was the greatest charge Lödwyn had ever known. Even now, in the empty hollow (skeleton reference) of her chest, she feels the echo. She literally cannot acknowledge the depth of that feeling and remain standing. And she's lucky her goddess isn't around to know.

12. Do they have differing political opinions?

Rip, not as different as they fucking should lol. Maefys has always believed Lödwyn was too blunt and Lödwyn has always believed Maefys was too subtle. But there was a time when they worked well together, and they were both able to see that. Truthfully Maefys didn't have particularly strong political convictions, but she did have a lot of self-loathing for fitting so poorly into the values of Aedyr and she projected that outwards onto everything outside of the empire. That did start breaking down literally as soon as she touched grass (got outside the palace and to the Living Lands), and it broke down completely once she had the information she needed to better understand and accept herself (and is told that she broke her oath to the empire so she had no choice). So they end with very different outlooks.

21. How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse?

I've had this image in my head of Maefys since I played that's just like - a tree that has grown through and around a plate cuirass, if that makes any sense at all lol. She is her own person, she has grown beyond that and she will continue growing, but her path has been changed and shaped irrevocably by Aedyr, and by the courts, and by Lödwyn, who pulled her into that. There are hollows in her that wouldn't be there without that piece of metal under the bark, and there are sides of her that are stronger for it, and I don't know if she even considers herself better or worse off for the experience. Just something different.

I think Lödwyn has more issues from her role in Aedyr than she will ever have the opportunity to reconcile, so she had a really limited way to understand her relationship with Maefys. Her love and her devotion and her worship are all the same thing and she doesn't have the ability to separate it. She couldn't just be with Maefys, or enjoy their time spent together, the pleasure she took had to serve something. So she built it up too high and then when her feelings felt too real, she came to see their love as a test of her faith in Woedica. Even Maefys felt like she was the other woman in Lödwyn's marriage. So Lödwyn wants to believe that she was tested and she passed, but I think she actually fears that she has had her faith shaken. And. Real talk. Maefys does end the game by breaking her faith. So maybe she was always right.

25. What moves do they know work on the other?

Maefys is a brat and likes getting thrown around a bit. I think the opportunity to take liberties and play with boundaries in an environment where she actually feels safe the whole time is huge for her. And. Lödwyn is also very on board with that dynamic, it's their usual rhythm.

What was a less usual dynamic was that occasionally Maefys would initiate them flipping the script because let's be so real - Lödwyn needs to worship. That is how she can express devotion. It's not something that Lödwyn would initiate because that's getting a little closer to her truths and her fears, but when it came up, it was hugely cathartic for her.