#Prince of Shadows Lord of Thieves

[greenhorn-art]

Prince of Shadows, Lord of Thieves by alkat

Fandom: The King's Avatar | 全职高手

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Words: 1 929

Once upon a time, their exploits were immortalized by artists and writers across the tapestry of history. Once upon a time, they were worshipped as gods and reviled as demons. None of that stopped the Met from stealing all their shit.

About the Book

FONTS: Alegreya [Google Fonts], Lato [Google Fonts]

IMAGES: all art made by myself @greenhorn-art for this fic

MATERIALS: regular ol' printer paper (8.5"x11", 20lb, 96 bright); ~2-2.5mm binder's board; Neenah cardstock (8.5"x11", 65lb, bright white); Cialux bookcloth (black); waxed linen thread (30/3 size, white); wheat paste (1:4 flour:water); paste wax (from a friend, unknown ingredients&quantities, some kind of wax and turpentine/mineral spirits)

PROGRAMS USED: Affinity Publisher 2; Affinity Designer 2; Bookbinder JS | Renegade's Community Imposer (settings: Quarto, snug against binding edge, custom signatures of 2, 1, 2 sheets).

Text & QR codes printed with colour laser printer (duplex, flip long edge), images printed with inkjet printer. QR codes generated with LibreOffice Writer, snipped, saved, and inserted where needed.

BINDING: quarto (quarter-letter) size, sewn board binding with french link stitch and breakaway spine.

.

So this one all started because the visual of HST's outfit was so fun that I was possessed by a visceral need to draw it. Inspiration slapped me across my mind's eye, and much like a medieval knight being slapped in the face by a glove (which didn't actually happen, that's a myth that sprung from the throwing down of a gauntlet. but that's beside the point), I felt bound to take up the challenge. Which lead me to draw a few more, and then I ended up binding the whole thing.

(Also, I find it really amusing that the famous Terracotta Warriors were just storage for YXs stuff. And the gang going 'shopping' at various exhibits for gifts for friends/family,, like that sure is SOME window shopping! I can hear it now: 'Oooh I'll take one one those SMASH, and that SHATTER, and throw in some of those CRASH, they're going to love these! 😇'. All in all, it was a fun little read, and fun little project! :D)

About the Art

Because this was initially a one-off drawing I tried a new art style (and struggled to at least not stray too far for the rest). It was fun and helped me think more about shape and visual focus, instead of being caught up in the details.

The crow (based off of image ID: 4039963 from Rawpixel) and the red umbrella on the front cover were filled curves made with the pen tool. The illustrations' poses were based off of a combination of images found on Google and photos taken by myself.

Pinterest is awful for sources, but it would have been handy to pin the references I'd googled. Only remembered to save the one of a man sitting at a desk. (I deliberately searched for someone sitting with bad posture because YX is described as being "slumped" over the desk. I figure that since "the laws of physics held no meaning to ["cursed souls eschewed by the natural order"]", they'd also be immune to mundane things like discomfort from sitting hunched over for too long. Back pain images were a gold mine! All I had to do was choose one with lighting that would give me a silhouette.)

The Myriad Manifestations Umbrellas and illustrations were drawn in Procreate.

I opted for a more plain umbrella design because it's not (presumably) a fantastical weapon in this story. Though the initial version did have YX cradling the donghua!MMU.

For the scene breaks I inserted the images, pinned them inline as character, and adjusted height and baseline in the pinning menu to fit.

The author wrote one scene break differently than the others, using multiple empty paragraphs instead of just one. Following suit, I used a different image for that particular break. I wanted to reference vampires somewhere, so for that break I made two bloody spots resembling bite marks. The blood spots were made with a group of shapes in Designer.

On cover design:

Because the MMU is what sparks the whole heist, I wanted it on the front cover.

Earlier iterations involved a full cover spread with a man's shadow standing before a shattered glass case, with a plaque mounted on the wall to the left providing information. The plaque was formatted like a museum label and had the author, date published, title, event collection, and story description. I'd also added a QR code to it. Ultimately, I abandoned the concept because it was difficult to decipher what is was when only looking a one cover at a time.

My second idea for the cover would have been a bookcloth-only cover with a cut-out of the MMU on the front, acting like a window showing off an image of the MMU on paper below it. (Inspired by the work of a number of folks over on Renegade's Discord. Here's a few examples gleaned from a quick search: szynkaaa's lung cutouts, some of EHyde's books, and the front cover of Spock's massive all-in-one TGCF). As fun as that would have been to try out, I felt it didn't quite suit the style of the art so I nixed that too.

Eventually I landed on the back cover design with the Met exhibition webpage. At last, I felt that the back & white and simple-shapes-background went with the artwork. The webpage viewed on the phone is based off of the Met's actual website. I took a snip/screenshot of the Met's logo from the banner at the top, then looked at their exhibitions' pages and eyeballed it to create my own. (Threw in the QR because I wanted the easy access to the fic online on the back cover). I chose to use a phone screen rather than I computer monitor because it worked better composition-wise. And besides, while YX may be allergic to owning a phone, SMC is not. I imagine that she saw the news while on her phone then messaged him.

The front cover came together after that. An umbrella for the MMU, and a pop of red. One of YX's messenger crows. A black shape in the background similar to the back cover's, sort of creating a spotlight over the umbrella and placing the rest of the cover in shadow.

Trying New Things: Applying a protective finish to printed covers

Over on the Renegade Bindery Discord, folks have spoken about using a beeswax & turpentine/mineral spirits 50-50 mix to seal printed covers (thank you Kate). According to my dad that's just a paste wax, so he threw 3 different ones at me and said 'have at it'.

I tested them out using the same paper and inkjet I'll use for the cover. I was looking at 1) whether the paste wax affected the paper colour or print quality, and 2) the finish. After applying one coat each and buffing them out I had my winner. Then I applied & buffed two more coats to it and tested 3) water resistance by dripping tea on it. The liquid beaded up and wiped away without staining -- good, three coats will work nicely.

(Test results: Mystery paste wax from a friend wins.

The commercial SC Johnson Paste Wax Original formula (intended for woodworking) has a nice dry shiny finish, but coloured the paper slightly brown -> disqualified

My dad's homemade stuff has a nice shiny/satin finish and didn't change paper's colour, but it felt slightly tacky even after buffing it -- maybe I didn't buff it enough?

The gifted paste wax has a matte finish, didn't change paper's colour (in the image below this one has 3 coats. The paper is now slightly off-white, but still acceptable), and while not as dry-to-touch as the Johnson it was not as tacky as the other homemade stuff.)

When I print out my quarto covers, I print front and back covers side-by-side on the same page*, with some guides to ensure I'm cutting and gluing in the correct place. (The guides mark the boundaries of the covers and start of the turn-ins, and stop at the edge of where I cut. Before cutting I flip it over to mark the guides [see marks indicated in image below] on the wrong side and connect them so I can see where to glue/place book. Then flip it back over to cut, right side up.)

*I'm being economical here at the cost of possible warping damage. This layout means that I'm only using one sheet of paper, but the grain is running in the wrong direction (across the book instead of preferred head-to-tail/top-bottom). This could cause warping issues, but I'm OK with that. I'm hoping that by just gluing at the edges, instead of pasting down the whole thing, warping will be minimized. (I use wrong-grain endpapers most of the time with larger books anyways).

I applied the paste wax before cutting out the covers, working carefully to avoid accidentally creasing/bending the paper (which happened twice, but it was minimal and I hardly notice it). Doing so before cutting ensured that the cover material was completely covered. Even the turn-ins -- something I later came to regret. After all, wax is used specifically so that things don't stick to it. It made it rather difficult to drum on the endpapers because I was trying to glue something down onto a waxy surface. It all worked out in the end -- perhaps due to the fact that there were multiple layers of wheat paste which could adhere to each other, followed by being squashed in a press.

#Prince of Shadows Lord of Thieves #alkat #fanfiction #bookbinding #my art #the king's avatar #qzgs #tka

[g4zdtechtv]

G-Phoria '06 - All Campaign Ads

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#G4 #G-Phoria #G-Phoria 2006 #The Warriors (game) #Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves #Shadow of the Colossus #F.E.A.R. #BLACK (game) #The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II #The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion #Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones #Nintendogs #Daxter #Kingdom Hearts II #Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

[rainybyday]

When Danny became Ghost King or simply the Ghost Prince there has to be a system of order. Sure, Pariah Dark was a tyrant, but he wasn’t always so, he actually had the decency to meet and overlook at the rulers and lords of different death related dimensions and time spaces. And being that Danny is going to take the title of ruler of the Infinite Realms of ALL those dimension and time spaces he has to meet with each and every one of them. 

The law/rule of the Infinite Realms is that one must beat the previous ruler on a one-to-one combat to gain the title of King of the Infinite Realms. Logically a few rules/lords did try to fight Danny for the title, but they all lost. Thankfully it was only a few that tried to fight him. I mean, who would want to fight the boy that is Balance himself and who defeated the previous King that none of them could every dream of winning against. So, while there are a few dumb ones everyone else was smart enough to welcome Danny into their Domian. 

Part of the greetings also establish ties to the lords/rulers to have Danny on their good side, so many of them would give gifts or favors to Danny, some even going as far as to offer their undying (ha) loyalty.  

But there are some rulers that need help from Danny because of Pariah Dark. You see, while some rulers were smart enough to detach themselves from the tyrant and his power, some rulers were very dependent on his powers to hold their domains together. Ever since Pariah Dark was sealed away, their power and hold of their domain dwindled significantly and created the domino effect of hurting their domain and their people/spirits. 

On such place was Gotham City herself. 

Gotham was a city created by history of magic and death, so logically the City became a domain that can be claimed under the ruling of Death. When Gotham was created, she was actually quite powerful and would grow and prosper for many years. But when Pariah Dark was sealed, she had to save her energy in order to stop the collapsing of her domain. Sadly, she didn’t have enough energy to go out for long and had to use the last bits of her energy to protect the bats of her city. 

She was in such a bad state that Danny decided to take her back to the Infinite Realms in order to heal her, but also knowing someone had to stay in order to hold up her domain. As the new King/Prince, Danny stayed and promise Gotham that her domain would be safe under his protection, and he promise to clean the ‘cracks’ that had damaged the area. 

And that is how Danny became Gotham’s temporary ruler and damage control ruler. 

First, he started with even more protection on the bats. If Gotham had used all her energy to protect them with the last of her strength, then they must be important. Once he does that, he will clean the streets of the smaller thieves and crooks while at the same time help the homeless children of Gotham have a safe place to be and food to find. 

The rouges? Well... let's say there was a very silent where Gotham watch Joker willingly walk into his cell. 

Gotham is delighted when she came back, fully healed and well enough to watch her city without collapsing in pain. She adored the way her streets were less filled with children going hungry, how the night was more peaceful instead of tense, and how the rouges have been given a good smacking. She never saw how... how... how bright her city can become. 

With that set and done, and Danny signing a contract with Gotham to have a permanent connection to Danny to share his power Gotham asked him if he would meet the ones, she cherishes the most in her domain.

And that was how Batman was greeted by a woman in a dress of shadows and a boy of green Lazars eyes. What should have put him on edge had the opposite effect of peace sweeping down on him for the first time in a long time.

And that was how his birds and bats found him, smiling gently at the pair with silent tears. 

(Gotham held and protected her bat because he was her only hope to save her domain. Now, she finally has the power to bring hope to her lovely little boy’s eyes.) 

#danny fenton #ghost king danny #Danny Phantom #batman #gotham #dp x dc #dc x dp

[crikeygatormate]

I Promise - K.B

Summary: After your clan had been exiled and shunned from the western lands, your family grew to hate the royal family who they felt betrayed them. In return you were sent on a mission to reclaim your families honor, but you would come to find out that your mission came with a price.

Dragon Prince!Bakugou x AFAB Reader

Warnings: Spelling just pretend its right lol

A/N: thought Id post this FINALLY its been in my docs for months, and I've been so busy with school lord but I did it. (Not because I got a whole ass 30 on one of my exams lmao dw the class average was a 40, but still needed that little bit of serotonin that comes with posting things here lmao) Also dont clown me on the banner I've got like 2 functioning brain cells rn

PART ONE (Part Two) (Part Three)

————————————-

Growing up you were told stories about the royal dragon riders out west, where the land was vast and dragons as big as castles soared above the sky with a rider on their back. Sometimes you could have sworn you heard the deep rumble of a dragon's roar from somewhere up in the distance. You’d look up at the sun, squinting in hopes to see a shadow of a beast block out the light.

Your clan used to be dragon riders too a long time ago before dragons were only given to royals. Granted, you didn’t know the exact history or that it was your clan who had caused their own downfall and loss of its dragons. Shrouded by the innocence of youth you failed to see the consequences that this downfall had on your clan, the famine, the pestilence, the anger.

You heard stories about how the great dragon queen cast out her right-hand man, your grandfather, due to his so-called betrayal of her trust. This was because the queen became fond of a group of barbarians from the north that wanted an alliance. Your grandfather had advised against it, insisting that she was being used, and it would lead to the downfall of her family. The queen refused your grandfather's advice, which left him to his own devices. He attempted to kill her intended, the king of the barbarian group, which in turn got him exiled. In time his predictions came true and the barbarian group took over for a time, trying to claim the throne for themselves.

Still ever loyal, your grandfather came to the queen's aid, only to have been killed by the queen herself. It was said that your grandfather tried to kill her children and their dragons, in hopes to wipe the barbarian line from the royal family. He managed to kill two, leaving the queen with one child. Your clan refused to believe this, claiming that your grandfather was attacked and killed trying to help his queen.

As punishment, the royal family butchered your clans dragons and pulled all resources to survive as well. Leaving your family to struggle to survive in a barren land.

As the years passed, a small farming village was built where your family was exiled, and other rouges and outsiders moved into town. It became a town of thieves, murderers, and other criminals. Your family never forgot where you came from and the betrayal that fell upon them.

At night, when you were young, your mother would sit you down while she dressed you retelling that tale over and over again till it was ingrained in your brain and you understood that the dragon riders out west, the royals, were traitors and needed to be brought to justice.

—-----------

You were eight currently, playing hide and seek with a few friends after the announcement of your future role in the clan, the infiltrator. Not that you knew what that meant yet.

“Hey!” your friend, Shoji, called from further back in the wheat field, “you’re going too far, Koda isn’t going to be able to find you!”

You giggled, slapping a hand over your mouth as you sprinted through the field, trying to contain your excitement. With another quiet shriek of laughter, you turned your head to see your friend jumping up past the tall grass trying to spot you.

Unbeknownst to you, there was someone crouched right in front of you, and you ran right into them.

“Ouch!” A raspy voice snapped as you face planted into the grass. “Watch where you’re going!”

You sniffled, lifting your face from the ground and wiping your palm over your eyes to get rid of dirt. “Sorry, I didn’t see you,” you said as you blinked, your gaze focusing on a boy in front of you.

“Clearly,” he scoffed, rolling his vermillion eyes.

You nodded, taking in the stranger's appearance. He was dressed weirdly, and painted with strange marks on his bare arms. His clothes were lighter , meant for a place that was used to warmer weather. “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” the boy snorted, folding his arms over his chest, “you really don’t know?”

You shook your head, straightening out the stained shirt you were wearing.

“Of course, you don’t, you’re one of those traitor’s family members, you got those orange eyes like the elders say” the boy said as he spat on the ground much to your surprise. “I’m Katsuki Bakugou, prince of the western lands, soon to be the king once I get my dragon.”

Your eyes widened, and you weren’t sure what to say.

Bakugou nodded, “I know, probably your first time being around someone like me.” He had his chest puffed out. Clearly, your lack of response had stoked his small ego.

You furrowed your brows, “traitor?”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, “look,” he paused waiting for you to tell him your name before continuing, “I’m sure this must come as a shock, but your people out here have all been exiled for being traitors-”

“We’re not traitors, you are,” you shot back, eyes growing wide as your mother's story about the royal dragon riders finally started to piece together in your mind.

Bakugou sneered, curling his upper lip to reveal a set of pointed canine teeth, “hah, keep telling yourself that.”

You balled your hands into fists, feeling anger for the first time in your life it seemed as you stared this snotty royal boy down. A darker part of you seemed to awaken and you suddenly felt the urge to smack his pompous smirk off his face.

He didn’t even have time to react before he noticed you lunging at him with a raised hand. However before you could even land a blow on him, a pair of arms yanked you back.

“Quit it you insolent child,” your mother hissed, holding you close to her as you thrashed. She was looking to the sky, feeling fear settle in her veins like ice when a shadow momentarily blocked out the sun.

You were too busy exchanging insults with Bakugou to notice a giant golden dragon land behind Bakugou, or see his mother slide off her dragon's back and stomp towards you three.

“Katsuki!” a shrill voice cut through your haze of anger and suddenly you froze at the sight of a woman, presumably the queen, and her dragon. A puff of hot air blew your hair back and a primal fear sank into your gut.

“You know better than to wander this far,” the queen hissed, glancing at you and your mother. By the bitter look on her face, she clearly recognized your mother. “And you,” she said harshly, pointing a slim finger at your mother, which prompted her dragon to let out a low growl, “keep your offspring away from mine, that child is feral. Don’t think I didn’t see her try to attack the prince. A crime like that is punishable by death.”

Your mother was collected as a wry smile tugged at her lips, “Mitsuki, what makes you think it was my child that started this squabble?”

“Because I know you, and I know your type,” Mitsuki snapped, grabbing Bakugou roughly by his spiky hair, making him whine. “Stay the fuck away from us, the second I catch wind that any of you traitors crossed the border, I’ll have you all burned alive.”

Your eyes were wide as you watched Bakugou smirk as his mom dragged him away and they both got on her dragon. You don’t think you’d ever forget the glare that the queen gave you as her golden dragon took off into the sky.

Dirt bellowed around you and your mom as powerful wings pushed the air around you, you squinted, digging your nails into the skin of your mother's arm.

“Do you understand now?” your mother asked, her voice even as you both watched the dragon fly into the distance towards the west.

You nodded, feeling a bitter feeling settle into the pit of your stomach.

—----------

Many years passed, and throughout those years you trained, fell into your role as the infiltrator. The one that was supposed to regain your clan's power, regain your dragons. You were the only one able to do this, it was destiny it seemed. And it was because you had a dragon.

On your thirteenth name day, you were presented with something that had been hidden since your grandfather was exiled. It was a small dragon egg, your grandfather had stolen it before he was killed, took it from the royal clutch, in hopes that it would serve his family well.

It was doubtful that the egg would hatch, but it did. Your dragon grew to be large and fueled by your anger she had become lethal, like you. She was a deep army green with amber eyes and a double set of teeth. She was snake-like, long, and slender with an ear-piercing roar that made you sometimes wince at the whistle of it.

You both grew up together, bonding over a common goal, feeling each other's anger towards the royals. Now you were an adult, old enough to go out on your own and complete your mission that has been planned for decades.

“Are you ready?” your mother asked as she straightened your top.

You nodded, blinking hard as she ran her cold fingers over your bare stomach where a large scar ran across the lateral length of your skin. A training accident, at least that’s what it was called, but it was a reminder of what could happen if you were to fail.

“Good,” your mother said as she took a step back, “prince Katsuki is out on his dragon patrolling this evening. We know his dragon is not a usual one, he is a shifter, which makes him susceptible to silver. We have a trap set down by the ravine, they should fly right into it.”

You nodded, keeping your gaze forward as your dragon shifted behind you, her growl rumbling into a whistle.

“Get going,” your mother said as she handed you a dagger, it was your grandfather’s.

You kept silent as you climbed on your dragon's back and urged her forward. You felt numb as she took off into the evening sky, the orange of the setting sun illuminating her scales. She was let out a wheezing breath as he turned past a cloud and the ravine came into the distance.

You landed in a cave that was specifically scouted for this mission, and there you both waited, two sets of amber eyes pointed towards the sky awaiting the prince.

Soon you heard the unmistakable roar of a dragon and a flash of deep red appeared briefly through the broken clouds.

It was him, Prince Bakugou.

Your heart was pounding in your ears as you watched him descend towards the trap set out. It was meant to look like a threat from a neighboring nation. One that had been having issues with the dragon's riders of the west, a more civilized nation that was moving past the need to be controlled by those who ride dragons. In other words, the royals knew if this nation continued to grow, so would their weapons. Which meant they could become a threat to their dragons.

“Fuckin’ shitty scales, just land, damn it,” Prince Bakugou’s gruff voice echoed off the cold ravine walls.

You watched as his dragon landed and shook his head while Bakugou slid off. To your interest, his dragon shook again, changing forms and turned into a man. A big one with a long red tail, horns, and a set of red wings.

Dragon shifters were rare, rarer than dragons themselves, and for Prince Bakugou to have one as his dragon, meant that he was special. Which gave your goal an even greater weight.

“Wadda you think happened?” the shifter asked as he stepped over a few burning logs.

“Looks like it was the north,” Bakugou said with a scoff as he kicked a skull that went tumbling down the rocks till it shattered.

You stiffened, feeling your muscles bunch as you waited for the next part of the plan. A member of your clan, Shoji, the best archer, was in place to shoot Bakugou’s dragon with a silver-tipped arrow. He only had one.

With bated breath, you waited to see Shoji peek out from on top of the ravine. After a heartbeat, you noticed a flash of wood, and before you could blink a pained roar echoed around the ravine.

You froze for a moment watching the shifter crumple to the ground screaming as smoke curled from the arrow wound. But then your training kicked in and you took off, grabbing onto your dragon as she slid down the side of the ravine. Her claws scraped against the slate stone sending shards tumbling down below. She huffed, wheezing before leaping off the side and landing squarely in front of Bakugou and his dragon.

It took him no time at all to react and he instantly pulled his blades out, red eyes aflame with alarm and anger. “Who the fuck are you?”

You slide off the side of your dragon's thin back and landed on the charred ground, ash billowing around you. “Someone that can help, if you don’t treat that immediately, he’ll die.”

“Katsuki,” the shifter whimpered, his face paling.

Bakugou hesitated, glancing at your dragon. It was strange looking, long and slender with pointed features. An odd color too, he’s only known of red, gold, and orange dragons. He didn’t have time to ponder though, Kirishima needed help. “Do it.”

You nodded, feeling a sense of relief knowing that everything was going to plan. You wasted no time kneeling by Kirishima, eyeing his wound. His blood was bubbling around the tip of the arrow and evaporating into foul-smelling smoke. In one swift movement you yanked the arrow out, not flinching as Kirishima roared. With the arrow gone, you proceeded to pull the bag that was around your back to your side where you quickly found the antidote to neutralize the silver in his body.

“Here,” you said, “open his mouth.”

Bakugou glanced at you once more before prying open Kirishima’s jaws and watching your pour a strange-colored liquid down his dragon's throat. However, he was shocked to see Kirishima’s wound immediately stop smoking.

Kirishima let out sigh of relief, shutting his eyes as he took a deep breath.

“There,” you said as you capped the bottle and placed it back in your bag, “that should be good for now, he’ll need another dose in the morning. He won’t be able to shift back either, not till that is healed,” you told Bakugou while eyeing the wound.

Bakugou hummed, glancing at you again, “great. Now, answer my question, who the fuck are you?”

You frowned, “you don’t remember?”

Bakugou narrowed his eyes, “am I supposed to?”

You huffed, “of course you don’t, look, you and I got into a argument when we were kids? You wandered out too far, started acting like a dick - still act like one.”

“Do you have any clue who I fuckin’ am?” Bakugou snarled, getting ready to press his blade against your throat.

You gave him a wry smile, “Prince Katsuki Bakugou, how can I forget it a second time.”

Recognition flashed across Bakugou’s face as he looked at you again. Were you that mangy girl that got pissed at him for telling her that her family were traitors? He shifted his gaze towards your face, taking note of your orange eyes, which told him that you were indeed from the family that betrayed his.

“Remember now?” You asked as you glanced down at Kirishima again who was phasing in and out of consciousness. And then to your utter surprise he said your name. It made you still your hands on Kirishima and look at him. “So you do remember?”

Bakugou didn’t nod, instead he narrowed his eyes. “How did someone like you get a hold of a dragon?”

You shrugged, “Luck.”

“That’s not the answer I was looking for, you must have stolen it, traitor,” Bakugou hissed, suddenly moving towards you at an incredible speed.

You were somewhat caught off guard as he slammed you into the ground, pinning you down with his knee on your chest and the blade of his sword pressed against your neck. “I didn’t steal anything.”

“Yeah fuckin’ right, only my family has dragons,” he snarled, pressing the sword further into your neck, causing the skin to split under his blade. A few scarlet drops of blood slid down the side of your neck and dripped onto the ashen earth.

At the sight of this your dragon growled, slinking forward towards Bakugou. A wheezing hiss escaped her as she opened her mouth. The back of her throat started to brighten to a electric green threatening to breathe her fire on the prince, not that it would do much to him.

Bakugou stilled, glancing at your dragon. He had never seen green fire before. He looked down at you again, you were collected, watching him with a cool expression. Perhaps you were telling the truth. There have been tales of dragons far south, those of a different species than the royal line.

Your heart was in your throat as you watched him assess you. He was breathing hard, his chest was heaving as he tightened his grip around his sword. Then to your relief he moved off of you and sheathed his weapon.

“You’re coming back with me,” Bakugou announced, “to finish healing Kirishima and then to be questioned.”

This part was important, you couldn’t easily go with him, or it’d be suspicious. So you sat up, rigid and with eyes wide, “questioned? I just saved your dragon?”

“I don’t trust you,” Bakugou said with a hiss through clenched teeth. “Something about this is wrong, and I’d be fuckin’ stupid to let you go. Especially when you are the only other dragon rider in the country who isn’t part of the royal family. My family.”

You frowned, standing up and folded your arms across your chest. “Look-”

“No, you look,” Bakugou hissed, jamming his finger into your shoulder, “you don’t get a fuckin’ option. Get on your dragon we’re leaving.”

You yelped when he roughly grabbed you by the upper arm and practically threw you towards your dragon. With a huff of irriatiton you regained your balance and climbed on your dragon’s back. You watched as Bakugou hauled Kirishima over his shoulder and to your surprise managed to get on behind you, securing Kirishima between the both of you and your dragons spikes. With a hissing whine your dragon crawled forward, speeding up before she pushed herself off from the ground.

Her leathery wings extended and ash plumed around her form as she rose up higher in the sky. She didn’t fly exactly like a normal dragon would, she would weave through the air, tucking her wings in before extending them to propel herself forward again.

It wasn’t a smooth ride to put it simply.

You glanced back behind you to see Bakugou pinning Kirishima down with his upper body while he held onto the large spikes on your dragons back. He looked pissed, probably because he wasn’t used to riding bare back, at least that’s what you assumed.

It didn’t take very long to enter the western lands, and you could immediately tell that you had left your homeland due to the dramatic change in scenery.

The terrain became plush with pine forests, with trees as tall as some of the castles you heard from the elders in your town. The earth was covered with plush grass too, and the forests would break away to vast meadows with rolling hills, covered with hundred of wild flowers.

Your eyes widened at the sheer beauty the western lands held. It was warm here too, the sun had blessed these lands and all its creatures. In fact, you had never seen so much wildlife before in your life. There were herds of elk migrating north, and so many birds that were all different colors, you didn’t even know that so many animals existed.

In your town the only animals were pests, and a few scraggly farm animals that helped to feed the people. Your home was full of dry cracked earth, dead fields of straw grass, and swampy bogs that sucked and devoured any life form that entered them. The sun was shrouded by clouds and a perpetual dust seemed to hang heavy in the air.

You glanced back at Bakugou quickly, your amber gaze catching his crimson ones. A bitter feeling rose like bile in your throat and you quickly realized that you were jealous of where he grew up, and angry that his family had taken the opportunity for you to grow up in the western lands away too.

Soon a clearing near the foot of a mountain came into view. There you were able to see a large town, clearly a nomadic one, but the quality of the tents told you that the royal family and its people didn’t have much to worry about.

As you flew closer to the clan you began to notice the common people running out in groups, alarmed that a dragon, and not one they were familiar with, was about to land in their home.

With a wheezing sigh, your dragon landed, her nostrils flaring as she warily watched the three other dragons resting by the royal tent. You watched them too, hesitating to get off in case you needed to leave quickly.

“They won’t hurt you,” Bakugou said as he looked towards the trio of fire colored dragons. One a deep gold, his mothers. Another a pale yellow, his fathers. The final one, a rusty orange, his grandmothers.

You nodded, about to say something but he had already gotten off your dragon and was carrying Kirishima towards the royal tents, there were four of them. The people cried out his name and Kirishima’s, obviously concerned about who you were and what had happened to Bakugou’s dragon.

“C’mon,” Bakugou called out, not bothering to look back at you, “leave your dragon, she won’t be harmed. For now at least.”

“Comforting,” you muttered as you got off your dragon and gave her a quick pat on the neck. She grumbled, lowering her head to the ground as she watched you follow the prince with unblinking eyes.

As you followed behind Bakugou you glanced at the common folk. They were all dressed similar, wearing clothes lined with furs, and various skins. They looked well fed, well rested…happy.

You narrowed your eyes as they continued to watch you follow their prince, and you didn’t miss the whispers amongst them. They too knew of the tales between your clan and Bakugou’s, and how your family was know to have amber eyes.

Your lip curled in irritation as they exchanged snide comments about your family.

Traitors, murderers, thieves, cowards.

—---

Bakugou had you wait outside of a tent that was guarded by two warriors before allowing you to come inside. With a sharp inhale you entered the tent, pushing the door flap out of your way as you walked forward.

The inside of the tent was huge, bigger than the home you grew up in. The ground was covered in plush furs, and there was enough room for a large bed and a table. The tent walls were home to various weapons, swords, axes, and a few spears. Along with a few exotic pelts and horns from animals.

At the sound of a pained groan you turned your head to see Kirishima curled up on a makeshift bed of pelts and pillows. That silver, although neutralized for now, would keep him from shifting for another few days.

“Sit,” Bakugou’s gruff voice cut through your thoughts as he yanked out one of the chairs at his table.

You turned your gaze to his as you moved across the room and silently took a seat.

Bakugou sat down in the chair across from you and let out a strained sigh. He looked frustrated, which was not surprising, considered all that had happened within the past few hours. “The queen will be coming in to question you, along with the queen mother-”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Mitsuki, the queen, the woman who told you she would burn you and your mother alive, stomped into the tent. Her red eyes were ablaze with a deep anger upon the sight of you.

“You,” she hissed, rushing over to you, about to presumably smack you across the face till a frail voice spoke from the opening of the tent.

“Mitsuki, behave yourself,” an older lady the spitting image of Mitsuki hobbled in. She was frail and thin, but still was proud as she stood tall. The queen mother had to lean heavily on her cane as she made her way over to you, and Bakugou got out of his seat to allow his grandmother to sit.

You remained quiet, your gaze flicking between the two women. This was the most crucial part, to convince the royal family that you were not what they perceived you to be. An infiltrator, someone that was going to come in and wipe out their family line. Someone who was going to take revenge for what they did to your family.

“Now, child,” the queen mother spoke, clearing her throat as she folded her hands together, “what did you do that made my grandson fly you all the way back here, and away from your home?”

“Mother, don’t you know who this is?” Mitsuki hissed, “look at her eyes.”

“I’m well aware,” the queen mother responded curtly, “however, I trust Katuski’s judgment, if she was a threat she wouldn’t be here now would she?”

Mitsuki kept her mouth shut, but she still was glaring at you with such intense hatred that you had a hard time holding eye contact with her.

“Speak,” the queen mother said, gesturing at you with her hand to talk.

“I was in the area, and saw prince Bakugou get attacked, his dragon was injured and I helped him. He told me to come back with him, presumably because Kirishima needs another dose of antidote in the morning to remove the silver from his system,” you explained, keeping your voice even.

“And how did you obtain that dragon out there?” the queen mother asked.

“I found an egg when I was traveling away from home. It looked to be dead, so I thought I could sell it along the trade line by the coast far south,” you began, remembering the lines you rehearsed for years, “but to my surprise it hatched, so I kept it-”

“You have no right to own a dragon,” Mitsuki hissed, “not after what your family did to mine, what your grandfather did to my siblings.”

A muscle in your jaw twitched as you looked at Mitsuki, she had her hand on the hilt of her axe, clearly ready to yank it out and cleave you in two. “It wouldn’t have hatched if I didn’t have a right to it-”

“You bratty bit-”

“Mitsuki!” The queen mother said, her voice straining as she looked at her daughter with wide eyes, “this young woman just saved your son’s dragon, I know you know the weight that carries. We only get one dragon our whole lives, and if Katsuki’s died, he wouldn’t be able to take the throne.”

Mitsuki scoffed, but backed off, knowing her mother was right. “I know, but that still doesn’t mean I trust her, and neither should you mother, or you Katsuki. I know her kind, her mother and I used to be friends. I have seen the evil that grows in her blackened heart, and no doubt she passed it to her daughter.”

With that, Mitsuki turned on her heel and left, clearly through with speaking and looking at you.

You let out a breath that you didn’t know you were holding. The air in the tent seemed to drop about five degrees too. It was rumored that the Bakugou’s had an affinity for fire too, which would explain how Mitsuki could raise the temperature of the air around her when she was mad.

You quickly glanced at Bakugou, who you had a feeling he had a more fiery temper than his mother, and you could only image how much heat he’d give off if he was mad. A small flicker of fear lit in your stomach as you began to think that this mission you were on was way more dangerous than you had thought.

“Look,” the queen mother spoke up, her voice was beginning to sound tired, “I knew your grandfather, he was a greedy man. He would do just about anything to get what he wanted.”

You remained silent, as feelings of doubt started to swirl in your mind.

“However, as much as our family dislikes yours, we are indebted to you. I can’t punish you for the crimes of your grandfather, and I wouldn’t anyway. Finish healing Kirishima and you may stay with us for a while, or leave it’s up to you, but perhaps it’s time that we try to rekindle the once great friendship between our clans.” The queen mother gave you a dry smile, “that doesn’t mean I don’t trust you either, I don’t make the same mistake twice. That’s why Katsuki will be in charge of you for the duration of your stay-”

“What? I don’t wanna fuckin’ babysit,” Bakugou hissed, shooting you a sharp glare.

Your ever growing fear, though you kept it well hidden, had been curbed somewhat. You had gotten in to their inner circle, so with enough patience you could achieve your goal. At the thought of this the scar on your abdomen seemed to burn and a pair of cold orange eyes flashed in your mind.

You couldn’t fail.

“You will. It will be good for her to learn about us and you to learn about them, Katuski,” the queen mother concluded with a nod, “now I think it’s time that I go have my late morning tea.”

You watched as the queen mother hobbled out of Bakugou’s tent, and you let out a sigh. You were relived that no one had picked up on your growing nerves. It would probably good the queen had left or she surely would have sniffed you out. With another sigh you turned your head and to your surprise you saw that Bakugou was already looking at you. His red eyes were narrowed slightly as he let out a huff.

“C’mon, there’s a spare tent on the outskirts of camp you can stay in,” Bakugou finally said as he pushed past you and slipped through the entrance of the tent.

You still for a moment, and then followed him out. The common people seemed to be more relaxed now. They still gave you some sideways glances as you passed, but it was nothing like from when you first arrived.

It was rather odd seeing Bakugou interact with the common folk too. He of course was prickly, but he’d dip his head to a few elders that would hobble past him, or even let some young kids jump at him and hang off is arms before he roughly tossed them off, making them squeal as they ran back to their tents.

You folded your arms over your chest, eyeing him closely. He was tall, much taller than you and built like a warrior. His arms were thick and strong, and tanned by the warm sun. He had a few milky pink scars that ran down his back along with a few tattoos that adorned his bare torso. His hair was golden, bleached by the sun, and spiky. Yet underneath his mane of hair he had a dark undercut, where you saw a set of scars that looked similar to claw marks run along the nape of his neck.

He would be hard to defeat. Someone like him, who was trained from birth to be a warrior, a prince, and a king. Not to mention the sheer amount of scars and battle tattoos he is no doubt a seasoned warrior. Uncertainty seeded in your mind once more as you both came to a stop outside of a gnarly looking tent. If thats what you could call it.

“You’ll stay here,” Bakugou said, his deep voice clipped with annoyance.

“Hardly call this a tent,” you mused, your gaze jumping from the torn fabric near the bottom of the tent and the worn flap that was barely holding it shut.

Bakugou rolled his eyes, choosing not to respond to your comment. “I’ll see you at dawn.” With that he turned his back to you and left. Not once did he turn his head back to glance at you, and you were glad.

—----------------

The next morning you were woken up before dawn. Not by choice, really, but there was a rather unpleasant groaning that started outside your tent about an hour before dawn. As much as you tried to drown out the sound decided to get up to see what was outside of your tent fussing up a storm.

To your surprise it was Bakugou’s dragon, Kirishima.

“I need more of that stuff, please,” Kirishima groaned.

You looked at the dragon shifter in mild shock. Had he crawled all the way across camp to your tent? With a quick glance at his bare torso, your question was answered, he was covered in dirt. “C’mon,” you finally said and let him inside of your tent.

Kirishima let out a grunt as he crawled behind you before collapsing on the straw mat in the center of your tent. He was panting hard and sweat was rolling down his sides.

You quickly lit the single candle in your tent and pulled out your healing pack, rifling through your various herbs till your found the antidote for Kirishima. The second bottle was much more potent than the first one you gave him, which was on purpose. You needed to be brought back to Bakugou’s clan after all.

Kirishima was watching you with glassy eyes as you moved next to his side and hovered over him. He was grinding his teeth so hard it felt like they would snap. He hissed when you ran your fingertips down his chest towards his wound, your hands were ice cold on his hot skin. “Hurry-”

“Patience,” you said sharply, your orange eyes flick between his face and the wound. Kirishima’s wound while, the silver would cure him, it was already infected. Which wasn’t supposed to happen. You poured the antidote into Kirishima’s mouth and watched him sigh as the last of the silver was broken down.

“Thank you,” Kirishima said quietly, letting out a sigh as he let his eyes shut again.

You frowned, watching as he promptly passed out from sheer exhaustion. His face was flushed pink with fever and it spread down his neck to his chest. That was unnerving to you, your knowledge with medicine was limited. You glanced at the open flap of your tent, the sun was about to break over the horizon which mean Bakugou would be here soon. A few moments passed and you grabbed your bag again, glancing at the wound before pulling out some flowers and a small jar of honey.

While you were busying yourself making a paste for Kirishima’s wound you failed to notice Bakugou sauntering up to your tent. He was dressed for a hunt, with his spear slung over his back. To his surprise he saw that you were up already.

You furrowed your brows as you smashed small marigold flowers into a paste with the honey before turning around only to see Bakugou standing in front of your tent.

“What’s wrong with him?” Bakugou asked, moving the flap to the tent opening aside and ducking before walking inside.

“His wound is infected,” you said, glancing up at him before turning your attention to Kirishima, reaching out to place the mush of herbs and flowers on his wound.

“He can see our healer,” Bakugou said gruffly as he grabbed your wrist roughly to stop you from touching Kirishima.

You wiggled your wrist in his tight grasp. His hand easily wrapped around your entire wrist, and you were sure if he wanted to he could snap it in half. “Sure, but it’s not looking great-”

“I’ll let our healer decide that,” Bakugou interrupted, his eyes were narrowed as he quickly dropped your wrist and then bent down to inspect his dragon. Kirishima twitched in his sleep, letting a hand flop towards Bakugou before letting out a grumble. Bakugou lifted his gaze to you for a moment, and then back at Kirishima. Why would Kirishima come to you? He knew where the healer was.

Bakugou grabbed Kirishima’s forearm before slinging him over his shoulders. “I’ll come back for you,” he said before leaving you again.

#bakugou x fem!reader #dragonprince!bakugou #bnha bakugou #Ipromise #please ignore my spelling errors there’s a lot pretend they’re not there 🫶

[meshlasolus]

What Once Was Mine

Chapter 13

Series Summary: Locked away in a house her entire life, she always dreamed of exploring the nearby kingdom for just a day, believing it could make the rest of her days in solitude bearable. What she was unaware of, was the real reason she’d been hidden away for so long. Change comes swift like a flying dagger when a thieving bounty hunter seeks solace in the old home.

Din Djarin Royalty!AU / Tangled!AU

Pairing: Din Djarin x Princess Kryze!Reader

A/n: LAST CHAPTER THANK YOU ALL FOR READING

Warnings: literally just fluff and nothing bad and a very happy ending to this somewhat horrific angstfest if the story. it took us long enough to get here we deserve it.

You awoke to the sun, just like most mornings. The golden rays touched your face and creeped over the dark blue duvet that covered your body. You reached out your arms in front of you, forgetting that there was a sleeping form resting close by. 

He stirred, his groan of morning struggle getting caught somewhere in his throat before he started to turn over. His eyes barely open, he smiled, closing them again and snuggling closer to your warmth. He’d never grow tired of lying by your side. It was both a comfort and a reminder to him, that he wasn’t alone anymore, and would never have to be again. 

For years he awoke next to sleeping women, leaving at the crack of dawn before they even knew he was up. They would sigh in a slight sadness, moving on to resume their lives. Never hearing from him again, or never even seeing him around after. He was a ghost in the shadows, many longed to catch him, in several different ways, but he was fleeting. A wanted man. 

Now he laid in serenity, the glow of the early morning around him as his truest love stirred in his arms. He didn’t have anywhere else to be but here, with you. Loving you. 

“G’morning,” you mumbled, face halfway in your pillow. The softness was too wonderful not to take advantage of. You remember days when your softest pillow was a struggle to keep from falling flat. 

“You sleep well?” he asked, smiling at the cuteness of your sleepy state. 

You knew that though it was against your wishes, you’d have to awaken at some point. There was a royal banquet being held in your honor on this day. Your King consort would also have to attend, to his detriment of never wanting to leave this bed. 

You were his wife. He wanted nothing more than to keep you away and to himself for at least the day, but there were duties to be upheld, and he understood that. You were worth it, he reminded himself every day. Even on the days he thought you’d cost him his life, he still chose you, wanted you. He loved you so deeply that not even the devil himself could make him draw away from your gentle touch, or your sweet words. Your innocence, the thing he first noticed about you from the moment he saw those beautiful eyes. They were full of curiosity and wonder, untouched by the darkness of the world. And even still, after witnessing the horrors and fighting your way through… that sparkle in your eyes remained. It was still present and still gleaming. 

“Better than I almost ever have.”

He smiled into your skin, breathing it into his senses and letting the scent take over his brain. 

“Let’s stay here. No party, no people. Just us.”

You sighed, the thought of ‘just us’ was wonderful, but couldn’t possibly be entertained on a day like today. Perhaps tomorrow, or the day after, or any other day for the rest of your life. Those were the perks of being married. You had him forever, now. 

“We can’t…”

“I know.”

But it was okay, because even in the presence of a thousand people, you would remain beside him.

-

The pleasantries were boring, as Din assumed they would be, but he tried to make it more entertaining for you. One at the time, the Dukes, and Duchesses, the Lords and Ladies, and even other Princes and Princesses were greeting and welcome for coming to celebrate this momentous occasion. 

There were some guests with their noses held high in the air, those who were not quite apt to the idea that someone who has not been raised in royalty would be taking over the crown. Likely they thought that Gideon was a righteous and good king, because to those on the outside, he seemed so. It was only when others traveled to the depths of the city, the hidden parts, where you could see all the poverty stricken and lesser folk, the ones who did so much just to get by. Under just a month of your rule, that had already changed, but you understood that the outsiders could not see the difference.

Din usually scoffed at them when they walked away, mumbling a small remark about ‘he shouldn’t be making comments on you when he made the decision to leave the house in those ridiculous shoes.’ 

You’d smile again, and be lifted in your spirits before greeting the next guest.

Some of them were wildly entertaining. Lady Fennec Shand of Tatooine, along with Lord Boba Fett from the same realm. They were seemingly astounded by the beauty of the kingdom, loving every minute of it in comparison to their own. Though they love their home, it can’t match Mandalore in beauty. You end up inviting them to stay along sometime, to take a holiday from their duties every once and a while and retreat in the wondrousness that is your kingdom. 

Another interesting and by far the most anticipated guest, is Duchess Tano, one of the high elves from the mountainlands. She is a mysterious and beautiful woman, her headdress was being talked about just as soon as she entered, bestowing a gift upon you and your new husband. 

“They are for goodluck,” she spoke, offering two stones that seemed to hold a green hue to them. Much like the damaged stone you once wore around your neck to contain your power. How naive you’d been back then. 

“Thank you, we will keep them always.”

She nodded, bowing shortly before turning and entering the grand hall where everyone else conversed brightly. Some of it was gossip, and some of it was genuine talk, but over all, it was for the most part, positive. The Lords and Ladies of Mandalore could see what good you’d done to the kingdom, and they knew that this new prince consort was good for you. He was a strong and honest man, though it took some time for him to receive that new reputation. 

As the receiving line dwindled down, the conversations became shorter, the greetings kept to a minimum for the fact that these guests just wanted the pleasantries to be over with so they could enter the party. It had been spoken about all week before it actually happened. You knew that Bo Katan had put hours and hours of work into this event, and for that everything was magnificent. 

The last man you saw arrived in a dark velvet cloak. His hood had covered his head until he reached you both, only flipping it up when he was before you. 

“Congratulations, I’m happy to hear that Mandalore is back under civil rule,” he held his hand out to you, and you offered your own freely, watching him gently bring your fingers to his lips in a quick and polite kiss. “I am King Skywalker of Ajan Kloss. I look forward to establishing a new and beneficial relationship with Mandalore.”

“Thank you, your Majesty. We would be quite happy to see how our Kingdoms may benefit from one another.”

He nodded, then walked off, his cloak mysteriously floating towards one of the many racks set up for the evening. Din didn’t catch it, he was feeling more suspicious about the man’s intentions with you, as his notions were all too charming. Perhaps he was just feeling jealousy. He was, after all, your husband. 

You swore that he was blessed with the same gifts as you, but you wouldn’t dwell on it too much for now. There was a party to attend, and you didn’t plan on missing out. You’d very much like to eat a piece of your own wedding cake.

-

The stringed instruments playing in the background was the greatest melody, but what was even better, is that while you were sitting, watching Grogu munch his way through a dollop of frosting, you heard a very specific song start to play, and it almost took you out of your seat. 

You searched the room for Din, but he’d sneaked up behind you, his hand on your shoulder as he slightly spooked you out of your seat. 

“I believe the agreement was I would dance with you until your feet gave out,” he offered his hand out to you, your smile becoming wider than the mountains themselves. You jumped to your feet, taking his hand and rushing to the dancefloor. 

It wasn’t long before the song restarted, and this time, there was a singer involved. 

He looked down at you sweetly, mouthing the lyrics that he’d come to know by heart. Your song of comfort was now his own, and he would never forget the melody or the words, the way you sang them to him on that first night, the one he realized his old life was over, and it was on with the new. 

Even before this life of royalty and fame and pleasure, he’d come to love you as some sweet and innocent peasant girl. The one who’d never seen another man in her life. It was unfair to think that any other man would measure up after that. Her eyes saw him in the most beautiful light. He was everything, and he would remain everything.

As he twirled her around the floor every now and then, her eyes brightened. She’d say she was lucky, but she knew that wasn’t true. She’d paid the price for a lot in her life, and this was the brilliant reward that had always been awaiting her at the finish line. Her prince, her small green ward, and this magnificent kingdom to watch over for all the days of her life.

“When the moon comes up to the shine of a face

The birds are fast asleep

And the lanterns hang from every post

The fairies leave the keep

They join their hands and sing their songs

That nary a soul can hear,”

He leaned in close, kissing you deeply for everyone to see. It wasn’t proper, and it certainly wasn’t something of tradition, especially for the monarchy… but he would not waste his time to present a false appearance. He’d wanted to do that since you both arrived at this party. His kiss was sweeter than wine, and softer than a summer night. Everything he wants he now has, as long as he gets to remain here, on this dance floor, holding you tight.

“In the springtime when the earth is new

To the fairies they draw near

To the fairies they draw near….”

-

Tags:

@i-ameri-cant @littlemisspascal @fanfics-toread @icanbeyourjedi-writes @castleallherown @mysticalgalaxysalad @princess-prettyy @67impalagirl13 @agingerindenial @childrenofthewatch @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @marjoherbo @juletheghoul-main @tiredbuthappy @themand0lorian @janebby-blog @goldielocks2004 @yuiopiklmn ​ @oh-no-who-am-i ​ @appleejuicee0 ​ @luxmundee @belovedadam @seninjakitey ​@harriedandharassed @notsosecretspy @littleshadow17 @clear-your-mind-and-dream

#din djarin x oc #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin x reader #din djarin imagine #din djarin #din djarin royalty!au #tangled au #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal

[halfbakedspuds]

Alright, I see other writing blogs doing this, so here's my writeblr intro. Still needs some work but this'll do for now.

Hi! I'm Logan (Yes, like Wolverine), I'm 18 years old, use He/him pronouns, and I'm from South Africa. My main interests are writing, philosophy, history, binge-reading entire series' at a time and any kind of experimental artistic media. All my characters' sexualities and gender identities are up for interpretation unless explicitly stated.

Despite being an English language writer, English is not actually my first language and thus I do still have my fair share of braindead moments in it. If you notice that I used a word wrong, or if my grammar or a phrase seems little bit off, don't hesitate to let me know.

Below are my current WIP's:

Children of the Stars

Perspective: third person limitted.

Genre: Science fiction political drama and mystery.

Tropes: Slowburn lovers, enemies to friends to lovers (more like mutual annoyances to friends to lovers), a stranger in a stranger land, found family.

Status: Currently being worked on.

First chapter

Lyanni has been condemned and incarcerated, charged with witchcraft under the paranoid reign of her home kingdom. Under the laws of her people, she is offered up to their patron Angel as a gift of thanks for ending a long and bloody war, and to her horror: he accepts.

Soon, however, she learns the shocking truth of the universe. Her people's angels are members of an Alien organisation in service to the Empire of Earth, charged with working from the shadows to foster the upliftment of her people in order to free up the human garrison for the front lines of a star-spanning war, and the same is happening on a thousand other worlds.

This Angel, however- who calls himself Adrian- is about as happy about their new living arrangement as she is, which is to say not at all.

When a ship carrying an experimental superweapon crashes on her world, the two must begrudgingly work together in a desperate race against time to find it, while also holding back the tide of forces that threaten to plunge her world into armageddon.

The Tempest prince

Children of the Wolves

Perspective: First person limitted

Genre: Sci-fi political drama and heist story with some pulp western and cyberpunk elements.

Tropes: found family, heists, honour among thieves, glorious bastards, a lot of gay, high-tech Low-lifes, class divide, redemption arc.

Status: Scheduled to be written sometime after Children of the Stars.

Four years after Children of the Stars, Adrian Castellan returns to Callisto to make amends with his family and tie up the final loose ends of his early life.

Accompanied by Lyanni Sverik and Wilhelm Freedman, he links up with his siblings: Isabelle and Marcus Castellan, and while the trio catch up and scheme to finally exact vengeance for the deaths of their mother and friends at the hands of a rival clan's lord, Lyanni learns the story of why Adrian left his homeworld in the first place.

Seven years before Adrian became an IUC praetor, he was a member of the Volnur, a gang of six young but promising Callistoan gunslingers who acted as the enforcers of clan Castellan.

After a slightly botched trade negotiation with a rival clan forces them to scatter and regroup at home base, Adrian bumps into a mysterious offworlder running from both civil security and the Solar homeguard themselves, and offers to bring him to his clan's holdings for safety.

With supplies running low and the botching of the deal that was meant to save them, the six gunslingers and their new offworlder tagalong begin plotting to rob a Civil Security supply train.

Yet other forces move in the shadows, snapping at their people and waiting for their eventual fall, and with a young Adrian's ambition growing constantly, fostered by his mother's guidance as the Lady of clan Castellan, he will eventually come to match wits with some of the most powerful people not only on Callisto, but throughout the entirety of the Jupiter Prefecture, he will come to question who can be trusted, and whether his own well-founded ambition has given way to a fatal hubris.

Perspective: multiple pov first person.

Genre: YA contemporary fantasy with some elements of eldritch horror.

Tropes: Stranger in a strange land, finding identity, causality loop, found family (to an extent), recruiting teenagers with an attitude.

Status: On the back-burner til I gain a little more experience with certain writing skills that'll be necessary to write a 21 book series.

"Congratulations. You are now dead"

Those were the last words he heard before his normal life came to an end.

It was just a another day in February, the scorching, vampiric heat of the sun beating down on the brothers as they slogged through just another school day. At least it was just another day, at least until they stumbled into another dimension and accidentally brought something back with them.

From then on, Jason and Alex Haliday found themselves caught up in a hidden world, one where Jaegers -a race of magic-capable supersoldiers- contain and hunt that which shouldn't be; where ancient gods and forgotten horrors seep through every crack and crevice right under humanity's collective nose. When the brothers show abilities that no-one -Human or Jaeger- ever have, they are offered a job.

Of course, the pair first need to survive two years of training. Noone wants to send a pair of untrained teens into the longest battle of human history, after all. But between a school rivalry, a bloodsport tournament, and a looming ancient threat, it quickly becomes apparent that even while surrounded the extraordinary, their lives still refuse to fall within the established 'normal'.

When their home is attacked: their mother put into a coma and Alex kidnapped, Jason- accompanied by his new Demihuman friend Helga Ravenscar- goes on a manhunt to find his brother against the express orders of some of the most powerful people in the hunter cities. The pair must balance hiding such a dangerous endeavour with excelling in the taxing student life of a mage and a medical officer in training, while eldritch forces plot and scheme in the backdrop.

Echoes of Shadows

Perspective: multiple pov third person limitted.

Genre: Gritty Fantasy-noir detective story.

Tropes: Five man band, (Dunno what to call this but it's like the world is halfway through a transition that'll change every aspect of daily life. Will edit once I've figured it out)

Status: Scheduled to be the next project I finish. Probably.

First chapter

The city goes by many names: Novya Koroleva, Zuidpunkt, De Gat, but the local Ost-Rietlanders simply call it The Pit: the city that'll swallow you whole and spit out whatever bones may remain, a nature that has been exasperbated by the recent surge in mages, splitting the population almost evenly between regular people and the magic capable.

To Johan Suiderkloof and Anastasia Retvenko, the city offered a new start, free of the horrors of their pasts, and among it's verminous populace, they have carved out work for themselves as a private detective agency.

It's a stable job, with many opportunities to find work in the Sodom. By day: the pair investigate cartels, murders, infidelity, all the worst that society has to offer.

But late at night, when Zuurveldt, Ost-Rietland and the rest of the continent of Sumer sleep soundly, they stalk the shadows for leads, tracking down the fanatic followers of dark gods and puttinh an end to their machinations.

When mysterious murders with occult symbolism surrounding them begin to crop up throughout the city and surrounding countryside, the pair find their lot unceremoniously cast in with complete strangers, caught in the powerplay of cults and dead gods as they try to untangle a growing conspiracy that threatens their world as they know it.

The lonely god

Perspective: First person.

Genre: Science fiction.

Status: In the process of being finished up.

The lonely god is a short story I wrote more than a year ago (Originally titled "The last human) and am currently in the process of remastering. I'll be posting it here when I'm done with it.

Some sixteen millenia in the future, humanity finds itself forceably coalesced into a single, immortal being. This individual, born of a trillion infighting souls, is the last human, a species made into a god, and 'The lonely god' follows their story til the end of the universe and beyond as they seek out revenge for what was done to their people while slowly learning to let go of hate.

What does it mean to be alive when you'll outlive even the sand beneath your feet? How do you cherish or love when everything vanishes in but a blink of the eye? How can the product of trillions ever be an individual?

And when the score has been settled; When every trail has been blazed, and all knowledge learnt; When all that is left is to watch as the stars slowly whimper away: how will you find meaning?

#writeblr #writing #writeblr intro

[thelov3lybookworm]

When Shadows Ward Off Darkness

Chapter 1

Prologue

Summary: Gwyn hates those royals.

•○●⛦●○•

A/n: heh i love the prologue better than this, but i guess its alright 🤷🏻‍♀️

@acotargiftexchange

•○🌑○•

If there was only one thing she knew- which wasn't the case as Gwyn knew more than most- she knew that the three princes deserved to burn in hell.

Some would say that her opinions were a little extreme, but she didn't care. Mostly because she knew how ungrateful and careless these bastards- princes- were.

How they happily revelled and flirted and drank their way through life, without thinking about the people who were literally dying in their kingdom, the kingdom that one of them would possibly rule in the future.

Gwyn rolled her eyes from where she was standing near the back of the crowd, trying to navigate her way to the market where her uncle usually set up his shop.

The people of the kingdom had all come out of their homes in hope that they would catch a glimpse of the three princes of the kingdom as it had been announced that a procession of a few royals would pass through the village as they returned from the hunt they had been away on. The procession included various lords and lordlings, knights and soldiers, and of course, the three princes, including the heir.

They hadn't yet made an appearance, though it was said that they were extremely beautiful, and people would even kill to just have one glimpse of them.

Of course, Gwyn was not dumb enough to believe those rumours.

She had never seen the, though she wondered if there was some truth to them, as no one would be so dumb as to spread rumours like that just to please the royal highnessess.

Suddenly, loud cheers started coming from farther down the road, and Gwyn paused her attempts to push through the crowd to look.

A group of horses came into view, and Gwyn watched, trying not to fall face first into the midst of the excited people, hoping she wouldn't get trampled. Soldiers and knights surrounded the group of men on the horses, keeping away all the people who were trying to grab onto the princelings' belongings.

Those people consisted people from admirers, thieves and haters to people who simply wanted to brag about having touched a prince.

As the company of horses came closer, a few of the people started to throw flower petals onto the road, and Gwyn was incredulous to say the least. How could someone want to please rich people so much?

Riding towards the front were a few knights, armoured to the teeth. Towards the back were a few lords and more knights, and riding in the centre, were the three princes.

There was a rumour surrounding the legitimacy of the princes' births. People believed that two of the youngest princes were either illegitimate and that the queen had been unfaithful to her husband, or that they had been picked from the garbage.

And, despite being one to not believe rumours spread by drunk men and giggling wives and young females who had just found out what it meant if a prince took a fancy in them, that was one rumour that Gwyn had to wonder about.

As her eyes landed on the prince riding at the very front, she had to admit, though grudgingly, that he was truly beautiful.

A quick glance at the other two had her heart stopping, and a sense of betrayal overtook her entire being.

They all had dark hair and golden skin, though that was where the similarities ended. The one riding in the front, the oldest and heir, she assumed, had purple eyes, handsome in a regal sort of way, in a way that books described princes to be. He smiled and waved politely at everyone, and seemed like he would make a great king, if only he had anything other than his looks to get by.

Of the two riding behind the one with purple eyes, both of them had hazel eyes. The larger of the two had long hair tied in a messy bun at the nape of his neck, and he openly grinned and winked at women, older and younger. Every person his gaze landed on began blushing and fanning themselves, even the old woman who looked after the bawdy tavern in the village square gasped and turned red when the prince grinned and bowed his head slightly at her.

The other one simply rode along, no expression on his face except for a slight tilt of his lips as he surveyed the people gathered. He was not as muscular as the one riding at his side, but powerful looking nonetheless.

Though no one could have read what was going on behind those beautiful eyes, Gwyn knew enough to know that he wanted to be out of this crowd as soon as possible by the tiny line of frustration between his brows.

And the reason she knew that was not because Gwyn was good at reading people.

No, it was all because she had known and been friends with the damn man for the past two years of her life.

Draven.

As far as Gwyn remembered, Draven had never mentioned being close with a royal or even being the far off relative to a noble in the king's court, let alone being a godsdamned prince.

Gwyn's world had stopped, she was sure of it as she watched the procession moving along, and never once did her eyes meet her friend's.

Or should she say, liar.

Gwyn's heart gave a painful squeeze.

The rational part of her brain tried to reason that despite being a royal, Draven was still her best friend. Though all that echoed through her mind was how he lied to her.

He knew I hated royals, and he still lied to me.

He knew, and he still pretended he was not the prince.

Gwyn didn't know why she was even hurt in the first place.

But seeing the person she had trusted most in her life riding next to people she despised, finding he was one of them... she wanted to scream.

Fucking royals.

Ignoring the tears prickling her eyes, Gwyn scoffed, turning away. The people were trying to push through each other to even get a glimpse of the princes, and trying to push through them was even harder now, making Gwyn's frustrations only grow.

Still, she wiggled through, and after what felt like hours of her struggling, she finally spilled out into the alleyway that had a shortcut to the marketplace, grunting as she nearly fell face first in a pile of dung.

After she was done straightening her skirts, Gwyn began the trek to the market place, hoping, with no small amount of fear, that this procession of princes didn't pass through there too. It would surely give her a headache. And she might end up having a very loud fight with one of these princes.

Gwyn shook her head, trying to stop herself from thinking about headache inducing things.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood, and a prickling sensation took over her being.

When she turned to look for anyone who might be looking at her, she found herself looking into hazel eyes in the distance.

Guilt and sadness clouding the beautiful colour.

•○🌑○•

Taglist: @bubybubsters @eos-princess @nightless @harrystylesfan2686 @cassie6392 @bibliophiliaxvignette

#gwyn x azriel #gwynriel #gwynriel fluff #gwyn berdara #gwyn acosf #gwyneth berdara #pro gwynriel #azriel x gwyn #gwyneth x azriel #azriel #azriel fanfic #azriel acotar #azriel spymaster #azriel fluff #azriel shadowsinger #acotar series #acowar #a court of silver flames #acotar headcanon #mating bond #a court of thorns and roses #acotar writing #sarah j maas #acotar fanfic #acotar fluff #acotar fandom #acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar gift exchange

[morally-grey-girlbosses]

Bracket is up! Matchups are in text form under the cut. Reminder that all of these matchups were chosen randomly, and that this bracket will be run in a double elimination style, so a character failing out in round one does NOT prevent them from proceeding into the tournament.

Ursula Boulton (Merge Mansion) vs. Betty Grof (Adventure Time)

Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All At Once) vs. The Coin / Boss (Blaseball)

Morgan Le Fay (Fate) vs. Edelgard Von Hresvelg (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

IMOGEN (Stellar Firma) vs. Amalexia (Elder Scrolls)

Maeby Funke (Arrested Development) vs. Manon Blackbeak (Throne of Glass)

Taylor Hebert / Skitter (Worm) vs. GLaDOS / Caroline (Portal)

Cleo DeNile (Monster High) vs. Nico Robin (One Piece)

Helen Richardson / The Distortion (The Magnus Archives) vs. Calanthe (The Witcher)

Irving Braxiatel (Thieves & Tardises) vs. Nefera DeNile (Monster High)

Alina Starkov (Shadow & Bone) vs. Lady Barbrey Dustin (A Song Of Ice & Fire)

Eclipsa Butterfly (Star vs. the Forces of Evil) vs. Jennifer Check (Jennifer’s Body)

Moira O’Deorain (Overwatch) vs. Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Carribbean)

Iron Maiden Jeanne (Shaman King) vs. Artemis (Greek Myth)

Tomie Kawakami (Tomie) vs. Dame Obsidian (Murdle)

Rachel (Animorphs) vs. Juri Han (Street Fighter)

Shego (Kim Possible) vs. Asajj Ventress (Star Wars)

Tabitha Scarlet (Scarlet Hollow) vs. Morte Asherah (Sands of Destruction)

Theresa (Fable) vs. Morgana Pendragon/Le Fey (BBC Merlin)

Nailgun Sue (IRL) vs. The Witch (Into the Woods)

Chara / The Fallen Human (Undertale) vs. Nimona (Nimona)

Klaasje Amandou (Disco Elysium) vs. Margot “gottiewrites” Garcia (An Unauthorized Fan Treatise)

Prince Ianthe Naberius the First, the Lyctor Prince, the Saint of Awe, previously known as Ianthe Tridentarius, the Princess of Ida, heir to the House of the Third, Mouth of the Emperor, the Procession, House of the Shining Dead (The Locked Tomb) vs. Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade Series)

Anna Croft (Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint) vs. Sailor Galaxia (Sailor Moon)

Ms. Pauling (Team Fortress 2) vs. Lady Alcina Dimitrescu (Resident Evil)

Charlie Magne/Morningstar (Hazbin Hotel) vs. Vriska Serket (Homestuck)

Willie Jack (Reservation Dogs) vs. Gretchen Klein (The Wilds)

Rachel (Tower of God) vs. Galadriel (Lord of the Rings)

Charlie (Don’t Starve) vs. Pomegranate Cookie (Cookie Run)

Rose Quartz / Pink Diamond (Steven Universe) vs. Filo (Shield Hero)

Tokiko Shigure (Ai: The Somnium Files) vs. Sandy (TokiDoki Cactus Friends)

Shion Sonozaki (Higurashi When They Cry) vs. Banica Conchita (Evillious Chronicles)

Mima (Touhou) vs. Yūko Ichihara (xxxHolic)

Yuno Gasai (Future Diary) vs. Laerynn Coramar-Seelie (Critical Role)

Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. Granny Weatherwax (Discworld)

Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights) vs. Susie Haltmann (Kirby: Planet Robobot)

Lae’Zel (Baldur’s Gate 3) vs. Starlight Glimmer (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Rocky Horror Picture Show) vs. Angela (Library of Ruina)

Miranda Vanderbilt (Monster Prom) vs. Jinx (Arcane / League of Legends)

Rose Thorburn Jr. (Pact) vs. Eva (Umineko When They Cry)

Empress Phillipa Georgiou (Star Trek) vs. Shiv Roy (Succession)

Paige Duplass (The Silt Verses) vs. Akua Sahelian (A Practical Guide to Evil)

Poison Ivy (DCEU) vs. Nickel (IDW Transformers)

Joyce Messier (Disco Elysium) vs. Reagan Ridley (Inside Job)

Kalina (Fantasy High) vs. MegaGirl (Starship)

Sloane Parker (Eidolon Playtest) vs. Power (Chainsaw Man)

Marcille Donato (Dungeon Meshi) vs. Raiden Ei / Beelzebul (Genshin)

Patty Bladell (Insatiable) vs. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley (House MD)

Tanya von Degurechaff (The Saga of Tanya the Evil) vs. Fang Runin (The Poppy War)

Nomi Malone (Showgirls) vs. Han Sooyoung (Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint)

Wu Zetian (The Iron Widow) vs. Lariska (Bionicle)

Teresa Agnes (Maze Runner) vs. Emma Perkins (Hatchetfield Series)

Lucrecia Mux / Maligula (Psychonauts) vs. Nadja of Antipaxos (What We Do In The Shadows)

Akako Koizumi (Magic Kaito) vs. Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa)

Blackberry (Chicory: A Colorful Tale) vs. Malva (Pokemon)

Vermouth (Detective Conan) vs. Kumoko / Shiraori (So I’m a Spider So What)

Eleanor (Do Revenge) vs. Bryony Halbech (Red Valley)

Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion) vs. Terezi Pyrope (Homestuck)

Leliana (Dragon Age) vs. Archbishop Rhea/Seiros (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Grimora (Inscryption) vs. Anthy Himemiya (Revolutionary Girl Utena)

Audrey Redheart (Wandersong) vs. Kyoko Sakura (Puella Magi Madoka Magic)

Fujiko Mine (Lupin III) vs. O-Ren Ishii (Kill Bill)

Anne (WOE.BEGONE) vs. Gwendolyn Poole (Marvel Comics)

Lappland Saluzzo (Arknights) vs. Avrana Kern (Children of Time)

Harley Quinn (DCEU) vs. Cassandra Jones (Rise of the TMNT)

Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs. Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalte / La Signora (Genshin Impact)

Revan (Star Wars) vs Rue Kuroha / Princess Kraehe (Princess Tutu)

Eve (The Bible) vs. Prospera Mercury (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury)

May Angelica Jones Goodwin (It Takes Two) vs. Elle Williams (The Last of Us)

Marina (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas) vs. Naksu / Mudeok (Alchemy of Souls)

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) vs. Sucre (OFF)

SHODAN (System Shock) vs. Cocolia (Honkai: Star Rail)

Alana Bloom (NBC Hannibal) vs. Halea Haumea (Phantomarine)

Delirium of the Endless (The Sandman) vs. Arcee (IDW Transformers)

Morganthe (Wizard 101) vs. Wu Zetian (History)

Jude Duarte (Folk of the Air) vs. Miranda Pryce (Wolf 359)

Perihelion/ART (The Murderbot Diaries) vs. Kanamori Sayaka (Keep your Hands off Eizouken!)

Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum (Adventure Time) vs. Anais Watterson (The Amazing World of Gumball)

Croix Meridies (Little Witch Academia) vs. Lady Macbeth (Macbeth)

Harrowhark Nonagesmius (The Locked Tomb) vs. Big Mama (Rise of the TMNT)

Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries) vs. White Gladys the Orca (IRL)

Doctor Carmilla (Doctor Carmilla & the Mechanisms) vs. The Handler (Umbrella Academy)

Catra (She-Ra & The Princesses of Power) vs. Liliana Vess (Magic: The Gathering)

Jasnah Kholin (Stormlight Archive) vs. Liraz (Daughter of Smoke & Bone)

Lilith Clawthorne (TOH) vs. Medea (Greek Myth)

Odin (The Bifrost Incident) vs. Enma Ai (Jigoku Shoujo)

Mordred (Fate) vs. Nana Daiba (Revue Starlight)

Beatrice (Umineko When They Cry) vs. Hester Shaw (Mortal Engines)

Balalaika (Black Lagoon) vs. Any Female Praying Mantis (IRL)

Veronica Sawyer (Heathers) vs. W (Arknights)

Angelica Pickles (Rugrats/All Grown Up) vs. Eleanor Guthry (Black Sails)

Asha Rahiro (Kubera One Last God) vs. Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

The Administrator (Team Fortress 2) vs. Shadowheart (Baldur’s Gate 3)

Noi (Dorohedro) vs. Leopardstar (Warrior Cats)

Sue Miley (Your Turn to Die) vs. Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)

Juliette Cai (These Violent Delights) vs. Rat God (Mad Rat Dead)

Petra Solano (Jane the Virgin) vs. Kycilia Zabi (Mobile Suit Gundam)

Franziska Von Karma (Ace Attorney) vs. Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Anne Boleyn (History) vs. Cinder Fall (RWBY)

Kokomi Teruhashi (Disastrous life of Saiki K) vs. Major Margaret Houlihan (M*A*S*H)

Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd) vs. Enyo (Granblue Fantasy)

Claudia (Interview with the Vampire) vs. Essun/Syenite/Damaya (Broken Earth Trilogy)

Lady Eboshi (Princess Mononoke) vs. Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower (Bloodborne)

Entrapta (She-Ra & The Princesses of Power) vs. Ilsa Faust (Mission: Impossible)

Princess Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender) vs. Dahlia Hawthorne (Ace Attorney)

Samantha Groves / Root (Person of Interest) vs. Charlotte “Lottie” Matthews (Yellowjackets)

Shanoa (Castlevania) vs. Sally Reed (Barry)

Evil Lynn (He-Man) vs. Makima (Chainsaw Man)

Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls) vs. Raphaella La Coginzi (Doctor Carmilla & The Mechanisms)

Edalyn Clawthorne (The Owl House) vs. Yennefer of Vengerberg (The Witcher)

Toriel Dreemurr (Undertale) vs. Monaco (Hetalia: Axis Powers)

Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Carribbean) vs. Vala Mal Doran (Stargate)

Wanda Maximoff (MCU) vs. Adelina Amouteru (Young Elites)

Mapleshade (Warrior Cats) vs. Amy Dunne (Gone Girl)

Gertrude Robinson (The Magnus Archives) vs. Hornet (Hollow Knight)

Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) vs. PearlescentMoon (Double Life SMP)

Lady Bone Demon (Lego Monkie Kid) vs. Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson Series)

Jung Sun Ah (Devil Judge) vs. Muu Kusonoski (Milgram)

Romanadvoratrelundar (Doctor Who) vs. Electra (Starlight Express)

Rouge the Bat (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. Akane Kurashiki (Zero Escape)

Wen Qing (The Untamed) vs. Yubel (Yu-Gi-Oh)

Ponyo (Ponyo) vs. Renata Glasc (League of Legends)

Aubrey (OMORI) vs. Menou (The Executioner and Her Way of Life)

Olivia Octavius (Into the Spiderverse) vs. Anna Limon (Mabel)

HG Wells (Warehouse 13) vs. The Shapeshifter (Odd Squad)

Miles “Tails” Prowler (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. Isabella (Promised Neverland)

Riley Grace Davis / Bonesaw (Worm) vs. The Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2)

Misty Quigley (Yellowjackets) vs. Nami (One Piece)

Olivier Mira Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. Lucretia (The Adventure Zone: Balance)

#poll #tournament poll

[defjux]

200 of my favorite albums that I swear by, from any genre - limited to one per artist. I always wanted to do this since the start of the decade and finally got around to it. I’ve had a lot of different musical obsessions up to this point and periods where i was deep into specific genres so I tried to make sure all of that was represented here. Overall it’s a mix of personal classics that I go back to constantly, albums that helped form my taste, and some recently stuff I love. Didn’t want to stress too much over the order, but i’d say the first 50ish are pretty accurate. I’ll post the list below, and a version of the charts with the titles included. Let me know what you think - any favorites here? What would some of your picks be? Let me know. Peace. Charts with album titles included  1. At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command 2. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda 3. Aesop Rock - Labor Days 4. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele 5. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein 6. MF DOOM - MM..Food 7. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate 8. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme 9. Converge - Jane Doe 10. Billy Woods & Blockhead - Dour Candy 11. The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium 12. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - The Main Ingredient 13. Portishead - Dummy 14. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works 15. Björk - Vespertine 16. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead 17. The Roots - Illadelph Halflife 18. Isis - Wavering Radiant 19. The Pharcyde - Labcabincalifornia 20. Miles Davis - In A Silent Way 21. Edan - Beauty and the Beat 22. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 23. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders 24. Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus 25. Every Time I Die - The Big Dirty 26. Gospel - The Moon Is a Dead World 27. OutKast - ATLiens 28. GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords 29. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing..... 30. Dälek - From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots 31. Stereolab - Dots and Loops 32. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come 33. Mos Def - The Ecstatic 34. Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun 35. Freestyle Fellowship - Innercity Griots 36. Redman - Dare Iz A Darkside 37. Armand Hammer - Paraffin 38. Panopticon - Autumn Eternal 39. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) 40. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F# A# ∞ 41. Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star 42. Ornette Coleman - Science Fiction 43. Electric Masada - At the Mountains of Madness 44. Orchid - Orchid 45. Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda 46. Digable Planets - Blowout Comb 47. Grouper - A I A: Alien Observer 48. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back 49. Charles Mingus - Let My Children Hear Music 50. Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night

51. Milo - who told you to think??!!?!?!?! 52. Boris - Flood 53. Stan Getz & João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto 54. Dr. Yen Lo - Days With Dr. Yen Lo 55. Avantdale Bowling Club - Avantdale Bowling Club 56. zeroh - awfulalterations 57. toe - For Long Tomorrow 58. Sun Ra - Sleeping Beauty 59. Dark Time Sunshine - ANX 60. Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye 61. Kate Bush - The Dreaming 62. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi 63. Unwound - Repetition 64. Jeru the Damaja - The Sun Rises In The East 65. Massive Attack - Mezzanine 66. Black Moon - Enta Da Stage 67. Tim Hecker - Harmony In Ultraviolet 68. CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange 69. Quasimoto - The Further Adventures of Lord Quas 70. Glassjaw - Worship and Tribute 71. Sonny Sharrock - Ask The Ages 72. J Dilla - Donuts 73. Aceyalone - A Book of Human Language 74. D'Angelo - Voodoo 75. Jam Baxter - ...So We Ate Them Whole 76. Pharoah Sanders - Karma 77. Danny Brown - XXX (Deluxe Edition) 78. Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep 79. Sonic Sum - The Sanity Annex 80. Death - Symbolic 81. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain 82. Mach-Hommy - DUMPMEISTER 83. Prince Paul - A Prince Among Thieves 84. Nas - Illmatic 85. Grant Green - Idle Moments 86. Gang Starr - Moment Of Truth 87. Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain 88. O.C. - Word...Life 89. Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I 90. Joni Mitchell - Hejira 91. Mr Key & Greenwood Sharps - Yesterday's Futures 92. Little Brother - The Listening 93. Max Roach - Members, Don't Git Weary 94. Cult Favorite - FOR MADMEN ONLY 95. Deftones - White Pony 96. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On 97. Cocteau Twins - Treasure 98. Prince - Sign o' the Times 99. Pageninetynine - Document #8 100. Boldy James & Sterling Toles - Manger on McNichols 101. NoMeansNo - Wrong 102. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel... 103. Baroness - Blue Record 104. Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime 105. Alcest - Écailles de lune 106. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 107. David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars 108. Madlib - Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute To Dilla 109. Aphex Twin - druqks 110. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone 111. Siah & Yeshua dapoED - The Visualz Anthology 112. Discordance Axis - The Inalienable Dreamless 113. Mastodon - Crack the Skye 114. Juggaknots - Re:Release 115. The Cure - Pornography 116. Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters 117. Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun 118. Fela Kuti - Expensive Shit 119. Blu - Below the Heavens 120. Ohbliv - Retrospective 121. Shibusashirazu Orchestra - 渋星 (=Shibuboshi) 122. United Nations - The Next Four Years 123. Mobb Deep - The Infamous 124. The Chariot - Long Live 125. Serengeti - Ajai 126. Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal 127. Talking Heads - Remain In Light (Deluxe Version) 128. Autechre - LP5 129. Lil Ugly Mane - THIRD SIDE OF THE TAPE 130. Roc Marciano - Reloaded 131. Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss 132. Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity 133. Open Mike Eagle & Paul White - Hella Personal Film Festival 134. Melt-Banana - Fetch 135. Bad Brains - Bad Brains 136. Deathspell Omega - Paracletus 137. Nujabes - Modal Soul 138. Nails - Unsilent Death 139. Cavalier - Private Stock 140. Flying Lotus - You're Dead! 141. The Avalanches - Since I Left You 142. Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain 143. Envy - Insomniac Doze 144. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius 145. The Doppelgangaz - Lone Sharks 146. System of a Down - Toxicity 147. letlive - Fake History 148. Goodie Mob - Soul Food 149. Death Grips - Ex Military 150. Jeromes Dream - Seeing Means More Than Safety 151. Standing On The Corner - Red Burns 152. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade 153. maudlin of the Well - Leaving Your Body Map 154. Oddisee - The Good Fight 155. Krallice - Years Past Matter 156. tricot - T H E 157. Gorguts - Obscura 158. Kvelertak - Kvelertak 159. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up 160. Sade - Love Deluxe 161. Opeth - Ghost Reveries 162. The Fall of Troy - Doppelgänger 163. Batsumi - Batsumi 164. Deafheaven - New Bermuda 165. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen 166. The Number Twelve Looks Like You - Worse Than Alone 167. Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred For Mankind 168. Earl Sweatshirt - some rap songs 169. Burial - Untrue 170. Mgła - Exercises in futility 171. Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk 172. Fugazi - Red Medicine 173. Lord Finesse - The Awakening 174. Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along The Highway 175. Cryptopsy - None So Vile 176. The Ahmad Jamal Trio - The Awakening 177. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth 178. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill 179. Bear vs Shark – Right Now, You're In The Best Of Hands 180. Wormrot - Voices 181. Broadcast - Tender Buttons 182. Swans - Swans Are Dead: Live '95-'97 183. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind 184. AFI - The Art of Drowning 185. Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See 186. Botch - We Are the Romans 187. NEPTUNIAN MAXIMALISM - Éons 188. Sigur Ros - Takk... 189. Rubberoom - Architechnology 190. Herbie Hancock - Sextant 191. Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time 192. Oh No - Oh No Vs. Now-Again 193. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising 194. Hella - Hold Your Horse Is 195. Loma Prieta - I.V. 196. Defcee - Lacuna 197. Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth 198. Brutus - Nest 199. Bruno Pernadas ‎- Those Who Throw Objects At The Crocodiles... 200. The Koreatown Oddity - Little Dominiques Nosebleed

#favorite albums #music recommendations #top 200 albums #at the drive-in #bjork #aesop rock #cannibal ox #company flow #kate bush #mf doom #john coltrane #sun ra #miles davis #converge #the mars volta #every time i die #the dillinger escape plan #the roots #the pharcyde #a tribe called quest #billy woods #stereolab #organized konfusion #ghostface killah

[queerplatonicshipshowdown]

Round 1 starts Monday, September 4, 2023!

Here are your match-ups (links under the cut):

Preliminaries:

Balloon and Suitcase (Suitloon) from Inanimate Insanity vs. Test Tube and Fan (Fantube) from Inanimate Insanity

Round 1:

Chance and Shadow from WOE.BEGONE vs. Zolf Smith and Oscar Wilde (Zoscar) from Rusty Quill Gaming Podcast

Karina Lyle and Ryan Goldsmith (goldenrose) from Tiger & Bunny vs. Barbie "Malibu" Roberts and Barbie "Brooklyn" Roberts (Barbie^2) from Barbie

Lord Viren and King Harrow (Virrow) from The Dragon Prince vs. Balloon and Suitcase (Suitloon) from Inanimate Insanity

Ainsley Ainsley, Antone Postminger, and The Gap (horseycule) from Legendlark vs. Kurusu Kazuki and Suwa Rei (Kazurei) from Buddy Daddies

John Doe and Arthur Lester from Malevolent vs. Caspar von Bergliez and Linhardt von Hevring (Casphardt) from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Ronan Lynch and Richard Campbell Gansey III (Ronsey) from The Raven Cycle vs. Kotetsu T. Kaburagi and Barnaby Brooks Jr. (Taibani) from Tiger and Bunny

Rosé, York, and Grendan from Drawtectives vs. Bakugou Katsuki and Kirishima Eijirou (Kiribaku) from My Hero Academia

Adagumo no Yaorochi and Sukune Katano (YaoSuku) from Le'en Project vs. Hardwon Surefoot and Moonshine Cybin (Hardshine) from Not Another D&D Podcast

--

Crowley and Aziraphale (Ineffable Husbands) from Good Omens vs. Jonathan Sims and Alice “Daisy” Tonner (JonDaisy) from The Magnus Archives

Hooty and Lilith from The Owl House vs. Jane McKeene and Katherine Deveraux from Dread Nation

Moiraine Damodred and Lan Mandragoran from Wheel of Time vs. Jennifer Walters and Patsy Walker (patsyjen) from Marvel

Camilla Hect and Palamades Sextus (Campal) from The Locked Tomb vs. Kazuma Asogi and Ryunosuke Naruhodo (Asoryuu) from The Great Ace Attorney

Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley (Stobin) from Stranger Things vs. Bells Broussard and Emma Robledo from Sidekick Squad series

Daisy Tonner and Basira Hussain (Daisira) from The Magnus Archives vs. Percival King and Ramsey Murdoch (Ramsival) from Epithet: Erased

Sakuko Kodama and Satoru Takahashi from Koisenu Futari vs. Jughead Jones and Sabrina Spellman from Jughead Jones

Gon Freecs and Killua Zoldyck (Killugon) from Hunter × Hunter vs. Mako Mori and Raleigh Beckett from Pacific Rim

--

Stanford Pines and Fiddleford McGucket (Fiddauthor) from Gravity Falls vs. Jem Carstairs and Will Herondale (Heronstairs) from The Shadowhunter Chronicles

Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye (royai) from Fullmetal Alchemist vs. Stanley Barber and Sydney Novak from I Am Not Okay With This

Maz Kanata and Dexter Jettster from Star Wars the High Republic vs. The Doctor and Missy from Doctor Who

Fennec Shand and Boba Fett from Star Wars vs. Curt Mega and Tatiana Slozhno from Spies Are Forever

Lapis Lazuli and Peridot (Lapidot) from Steven Universe vs. Gwen Poole and Quentin Quire (Gwentin) from West Coast Avengers

The Doctor and Jack Harkness from Doctor Who vs. John - 117 and Cortanna from Halo

Ellie Miller and Alec Hardy (Millardy) from Broadchurch vs. Moomintroll and Snufkin (Snufmin) from Moominvalley

Beth Tezuka and Plum (PlumBeth) from Bravest Warriors vs. Allan and Weird Barbie from The Barbie Movie

--

Edgin Darvis and Holga Kilgore from Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves vs. Jolteon and Crap Gorps from Dogs In Love 2

Starscream and Skyfire (Skystar) from Transformers vs. Anne, Marcy, and Sasha (Sashannarcy) from Amphibia

Robbie & factoryAI from Void Terrarium vs. Perle and Dejean from Our Bloody Pearl

Matilda and Drea from Everything's Gonna Be Okay vs. Taion and Eunie (TaiEunie) from Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Nepeta Leijon and Equius Zahhak (Meowrails) from Homestuck vs. Jessie and James from Pokémon

Roxas and Xion from Kingdom Hearts vs. Tang and Pigsy (Freenoodles) from LEGO Monkie Kid

Zelda and Link (Zelink) from Tears of the Kingdom vs. Shin and Noi from Dorohedoro

MK and Mei (goldendragon) from LEGO Monkie Kid vs. Yelena Belova and Kate Bishop (Bishova) from Marvel

#tournament bracket #round 1 #I am bolding the Doctor Who ones so that I remember to change the actual bracket

[thenightling]

My favorite bard characters

The new Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie and The Witcher has popularized the fantasy character class of bard. A bard, in fantasy settings and historically, was usually a storyteller, or a minstrel who would tell stories in song. In fantasy settings they are usually minstrels. In Nordic culture a skald was the term for a storyteller (usually a highly creative and very prized slave).

Here is a top ten list of my favorite fictional bards.

13. Bonus: Loki: I'll start with number 11. Bonus: Loki. There is a viking skald in Loki: Agent of Asgard that is revealed to be Loki in disguise. So Marvel's Loki goes on this list. Loki is believed in by Asatru people so this entry is specifically in regard to Marvel's Loki. He also gained the title "God of Stories."

12. Morpheus AKA Dream of The Endless AKA The Sandman. Morpheus is The Lord of Dreams in Roman mythology and in Neil Gaiman's the Sandman . In The Sandman he is also known as The Prince of Stories.

11. Lucien The Librarian and Cain and Abel from The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Lucien was changed to Lucienne for The Sandman Netflix series but they're pretty much the same character. Lucien is the keeper of the largest library in the multiverse and was also the host of the horror anthology comics Tales of Ghost Castle. I'm sort of cheating a little here by mentioning Lucien and Cain and Abel since they're not actually bards but I love horror hosts. Cain, Abel, Lucien, Eve (Raven Woman), Destiny (Destiny of The Endless), The Hecate (The Three Witches), and The Mad Mod Witch (The Fashion Thing) all started as horror hosts for DC's horror anthology comics. I'm reserving this spot for Lucien, Cain, and Abel. Hosts of Tales of Ghost Castle (which only ran for three issues), The House of Mystery (DC's oldest comic), and The House of Secrets (Spin-off of The House of Mystery and comic where we first get introduced to the concept of Swamp Thing).

Before Neil Gaiman used these characters in The Sandman they told scary stories in DC's horror anthology comics which were DC's answer to EC's Horror anthology comics which brings us to... 10. The Crypt Keeper, Vault Keeper, and Old Witch. The Crypt Keeper hosted the Horror anthology comics Tales from the Crypt. The Vault keeper hosted Vault of Horror. And the Old Witch also told scary stories for EC comics. The Crypt Keeper hosted HBO's Tales From the Crypt TV series as well as Tales from the Cryptkeeper animated series. Season 2 of Tales from the Cryptkeeper was co-hosted by The Cryptkeeper, Vault Keeper, and Old Witch. They also collaborated as hosts for the joke book called Jokes from the Crypt. Again, I admit I am sort of cheating here by listing horror anthology hosts instead of actual bard characters so this is the last Horror anthology hosts for the list.

9. Peter Vincent in the 1985 film Fright Night, the 1988 film Fright Night: Part 2 and the Fright Night comic books. In Fright Night Peter Vincent is a has-been horror movie actor who now hosts a late night TV show where he shows his old movies.

Peter Vincent meets a teenage boy whose neighbor turns out to be a real vampire and Peter overcomes his own cowardice to become the hero he always pretended to be. Though Peter Vincent was originally just a stage name the character eventually embraces it to become a hero and protector of the innocent.

In the comic books Peter Vincent continued to host his late night horror movie TV series while working in secret to help Charley thwart the forces of evil. I consider Peter Vincent to be a contemporary bard character.

I would put Peter further on the list at number 3 perhaps but I left him at number 9 because he is an unconventional addition to this list.

8. Evyn AKA Shadow from the novel The King's Shadow.

Evyn wanted to be a bard but was mutilated in a brutal attack His tongue was cut out and he was left mute. His own uncle sold him into slavery. But thanks to fate's benign intervention Evyn was able to learn to read and write so he was able to become a storyteller as a scribe and eventually became an adopted son of the king.

7. Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess. Gabrielle was Xena's travel companion and very likely love interest (Lucy Lawless, the actress who played Xena) believed they were practically married in the end. Xena: warrior Princess was the spin-off of Hercules the Legendary Journeys. I have often described The Witcher as being a gender inverted Xena: Warrior Princess. Gabrielle was a novice bard who wanted to write about Xena's adventures and to eventually go on those adventures, herself.

Just as I sort of perfer Jaskier with longer hair, I actually liked when Gabrielle's hair was cut short later on in Xena.

6. Essi Daven. I'm a little confused to if Priscilla (Callonetta) from the Witcher video games and Essi Daven from The Witcher novels are supposed to be the same character or not. Essi was from The Witcher novels. I suspect they are the same character but I've seen arguments that they are different enough that they count as separate characters. But I have also seen people try to claim that Jaskier and Dandelion are different enough to count as different characters as well and Jaskier definitely is Dandelion. Dandelion was just what he was called in the English translations of the novels and in the English language video games. Essi is a woman bard from The Witcher who was very much in love with Geralt though Dandelion (Jaskier) had feelings for her. Sadly she eventually died of smallpox. The burden of living in a medieval-esque society.

Dandelion was in love with her.

5. Priscilla AKA Callonetta is a woman bard from The Witcher video games. A rival and romantic interest to Dandelion (Jaskier). Possibly the same character as Essi Daven but some Witcher fans have argued that they are not the same character so I am listing them separately.

4. Edgin. Edgin is a character from Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among thieves. In fact he is the main protagonist. He is a "Harper" that has fallen from grace. A Harper is a spy that poses as a bard to gain info and to stop criminals. So he is a bard but he used his status as a bard to work as a spy, hence the term "Harper." Later he got a little greedy and it cost him dearly but he and his band of misfits set out on a quest to set things right.

3. Fflewddur Fflam. I hate the character's name but love the character. The version in the Disney film The Black Cauldron is very different from the book character, including being much older, but I still found him to be an enjoyable character. He is a classic bard with a bit of a mysterious past.

In the books he's actually a king of a small kingdom but prefers life as a wandering bard. It makes him sound a bit like a role playing game character.

2. The Storyteller. This character's name is not actually given but he was a mysterious (possibly not entirely human) traveling storyteller, with a talking dog that appeared every week on Jim Henson's The Storyteller. He was portrayed by John Hurt and the dog was voiced by Brian Henson (Son of Jim Henson). There was a spin-off called The Storyteller: Greek Myths. John Hurt's portrayal of The Storyteller may have been why he was chosen to voice Morpheus AKA Dream of The Endless AKA The Sandman for a scrapped episode of Batman The Animated series.

Currently Neil Gaiman is involved with a revival of The Storyteller in development by the Henson company where he hopes to explore The Storyteller's own mysterious backstory.

1. Jaskier (Translates from Polish to Buttercup) / Dandelion. Jaskier is the bard companion of Geralt of Rivia AKA The Witcher (Monster Hunter) from The Witcher novels, short stories, comics, Netflix series, and video games. In the English language versions of The Witcher novels and The Witcher video games he was known as Dandelion. But in The Witcher Netflix series and in the original Polish he was known as Jaskier which directly translates to Buttercup.

Whatever you call him, Jaskier is a great character. He is the companion of Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher and he is also his own well-developed character. By season 2 Jaskier had evolved from the slightly-conceited rock musician-esque bard into a compassionate freedom fighter who smuggled people to safety.

I absolutely love Joey Batey's portrayal of Jaskier as well as his incredible singing voice as the character.

And though there has been some criticism over his look in season 2, I actually think he looks better with longer hair.

#Loki #The Witcher #Jaskier #Dandelion #The Sandman #Tales from the Crypt #Peter Vincent #Fright Night #Jim Henson's The Storyteller #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons & Dragons #Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieeves #Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves #Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves #Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves #Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves #Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves #dnd movie #Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among thieves #Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among thieves #Xena #Xena: Warrior Princess #Gabrielle

[mermaidsirennikita]

Can you rec historicals with the hero being more like a criminal?

Sure!

All of the Lorraine Heath's Scoundrels of St. James heroes (except for Sterling of Surrender to the Devil) are ex-criminals, as they were basically a part of a street gang of thieves growing up. Jack Dodger of Between the Devil and Desire is probably the most criminal as an adult, but is pretty much legit.

Joss of Joss and The Countess by S.M. LaViolette is a former sex worker so he's like... technically a criminal? And Hugo from Hugo and The Maiden is active when the book begins.

Check out Joanna Shupe's Uptown Girls trilogy--hero of book 1 is a legit lawyer but WAS a criminal in the past, hero of book 2 is a casino owner but he like... is introduced beating the shit out of someone (knuckles bloody). And the hero of book 3 runs a literal gang.

Allegreto of Laura Kinsale's Shadowheart is an assassin and literally kills people in front of the heroine. (Customary CW for noncon first encounter.)

Cull of Grace Callaway's Pippa and The Prince of Secrets is a criminal who runs a band of CHILD THIEVES!!! Wei from Glory and The Master of the Shadows is like... sort of criminal. He's in a gray area.

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt is a pirate and a total criminal. It's AMAZING. As far as other Maiden Lane heroes go, the Ghosts of St. Giles (Thief of Shadows, Lord of Darkness, and Duke of Midnight) are all vigilantes so it's illegal but still. Valentine of Duke of Sin is like... a kidnapper, murderer, etc. He's crazy and hides in his own walls for like 3-4 months.

#romance novel blogging #romance novels #book recs

[catulhu333]

D&D Demon Lords and Warhammer Chaos Gods - Lolth and Slaanesh

(trigger warning: mature themes and topics)

Another, perhaps less obvious similarity is between Lolth and Slaanesh, and how Lolth possibly in part inspired the Prince of Pleasure (and even maybe got some inspiration in return).

Lolth, in her first appearance in 1978's "D3 Vault of the Drow" module, was hinted to have a connection to excess, including debauchery but also excessive ambitions. In the same module, drow society in the city state of described as: "The main ways of this ancient and depraved city are thronged with as unlikely a mixture of creatures as can be imagined. Green cloaked Illithids and Kuo-Toans rub shoulders with Dark Elves. Ghosts and ghouls roam freely, and an occasional shadow or vampire will be seen. Bugbears and troglodytes are common, as are other various servants and slaves of the Drow (dwarves, goblins, half-orcs, humans, and orcs are sometimes free inhabitants of the place). All are pale from dwelling in the sunless Vault. Trolls slink by evillooking men wearing the green garb. None are disturbed to pass a lesser demon or succubus, a night hag or mezzodaemon. These crowds part hurriedly for Noble Drow riding nightmares or the more powerful demons or nycadaemons (see special section at the end), but those of the Dark Elves with pack lizards must slowly force their way through traffic. Beggars of all sorts are seen, and half-Drow thieves, pimps, and harlots are as common as the enslaved human and elven prostitutes displayed before certain establishments."

"The tiers and dungeons of Erelhei-Cinlu reek of debauchery and decadence, and the city's inhabitants are degenerate and effete. (Those with any promise and ability are brought out of the place to serve the fighting societies, merchant clans or noble houses. The rest are left to wallow in the sinkhole of absolute depravity which is Erelhei-Cinlu.) The most popular places in the city are the gambling dens, bordellos, taverns, drug saloons, and even less savory shops along the two main streets. The back streets and alleyways too boast of brothels, poison shops, bars, and torture parlors. Unspeakable things transpire where the evil and jaded creatures seek pleasure, pain, excitement, or arcane knowledge, and sometimes these seekers find they are victims."

Succubi are also noted to be most probable to appear out of fiends in the city streets, even one Silussa, having an role along with her lover, the drow vampire Belgos. As detailed in the sequel module, "Queen of the Demonweb Pits", succubi are specifically mentioned among Lolth's servants in the Palace of Lolth.

While the city's decadence and debauchery aren't directly stated as connected to the worship of Lolth, it is suggested to be the case, especially in how the temple of Lolth is described as having: "An obscene tapestry at the rear of the temple screens a pair of double doors which lead to the lower level of the place."

"2) The bed chamber of the High Priestess is as lewdly and evilly decorated as the outer room. There are no spider tapestries here, merely opulent furnishings, including various jeweled objects of great value (13 items with a worth of 1,000-8,000 g.p each)—including a strange platinum rune set with black opals (if it is touched a nycadaemon is summoned, and it will expect something altogether different than the party of adventurers, so it will immediately attack!). 3) Behind the secret door is a cell wherein is chained an insane human of great strength (9th level fighter; H.P.: 73; 18/81 strength, 11 intelligence, 9 wisdom, 16 dexterity, 18 constitution; 17 charisma) kept here by Charinida for whatever purposes please her at the time. There are several whips and torture instruments on one wall, and near them is a gag and a ring of invisibility. Note that the prisoner is bound to the east wall where the secret entrance to room 4) is."

Lolth's (probable) depiction on the cover (by Keith Parkinson) of the 1986 compilation of the Giants, Drow modules, the supermodule Queen of the Spiders, might had inspired John Blanche's depiction of Slaanesh in 1988's "Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness":

The positions of the two are even very similar, if mirrored

Slaanesh is also described to look (to mortals) as golden haired, and in combination with this picture, fair-skinned, which seems less similar to Lolth...except how she appeared in the 3rd episode of the 1983 Dungeons and Dragons cartoon "The Hall of Bones", were she appeared exactly with those physical traits, in her human or elven form:

Along with the succubi, it's also worth mentioning Lolth is probably named and based in part on Lilith. Especially that the Hebrew form of the name Lilith, discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls, was Liloth, Liliyyot or Liliyyoth.

Lolth's name is also curiously influential here. It's notable it was often misspelled by players and fans as "Lloth" since her debut, this even finding it's way to official sourcebooks and novels set in Forgotten Realms (first in the 1988 novel "The Crystal Shard" by R.A. Salvatore, but especially in 2nd edition (1989-2000)). It was in the same edition, clarified as an alternate spelling, mostly used in the city states of Menzoberanzan and Uluitur (and often on the suffrace above them). But in the first edition, and original 1986 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay sourcebook (and it's reprints), we are introduced to a mysterious divinity of hedonism worshipped once by elves, Meneloth:

"•THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELVES• Largely untouched by the collapse of the interdimensional gateways, the Elves in their island Kingdoms continued to prosper. Their already considerable knowledge of Old Slann magic allowed them to control and direct many of the new entities. From amongst these beings, the Elves chose several benign creatures and cultivated their worship, including the hedonistic creature they call Meneloth."

Meneloth was for years thought to be somehow connected to Slaanesh, either as an alias or a Daemon Prince or Greater Daemon serving them, something this passage vaguely implies seeing Meneloth's connection to Chaos, elves and hedonism. The only "semi-official" confirmation of Meneloth's identity, is from a 2004 pulication for a French Warhammer Fanzine "le Grimoire" "Warhammer : Chaos - Les Terres Du Nord" (but one on which worked official Warhammer writers/creators: Alfred Nuñez Jr. and Anthony Ragan. As well as Stephan Foulc, but he only worked on official Warhammer stuff after this books publication):

Or Google Translated: "Slaanesh is the Prince of Chaos, the Power of Chaos dedicated to the pursuit of hedonistic pleasures. He is the Master of Pleasures, lord of excess. He reigns in a vast palace lavishly arranged in the void, where his favored servants cover the ground indulging in all perverse forms of carnal pleasure before his divinely graceful and ravishing eyes. He is represented by the peoples of the North in the form of an oversized albino serpent named Loesh. He is also worshiped by the elves as Meneloth."

Here is also mentioned the name of Slaanesh- "Loesh", also connected to a related alias, "Loeth", both similar to the "Lloth" spelling of Lolth's name. Or even more so to another spelling mentioned in 1991's "Drow of the Underdark, "Loethe".

In her appearances in D3 Vault of the Drow, 1980 Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits, 1980 Deities and Demigods and 1981 Fiendish Folio, Lolth was described as having 66 hitpoints (though it might had been meant 166 after D3 (as Gary Gygax described the appearance of Lolth there later as an "avatar), but 1 was lost in latter publications). Still, note that later Slaanesh' number was noted to be 6.

Also, in 1987's Manual of Planes, Lolth's realm is in on both on the 65th and 66th layers of the Abyss (and she is ultimately more associated with the 66th layer).

A very early depiction of a Warhammer female dark elf - "Forces of Fantasy" 1984. Note what seems like pitch black skin (like of a drow from D&D), and the the large spider symbol, akin to symbols of Lolth drow wear in D&D. It's notable in very early Warhammer lore, before 4th edition (1992), dark elves worshiped the Chaos Gods (with Khaine and Khorne being seen respectively as the elven and human names/aspects of the Blood God - as described in 1988 White Dwarf #108), especially Slaanesh. This artwork was also basis for the figurine described officially as the "Witch-Queen of Dark Elves", a seemingly a very early version of Morathi

Lolth, as stated above, is worshiped and closely connected to drow/dark elves, being their main deity. She was also described in some sources as worshiped also by other "depraved elves", something she desires somewhat secretly from her drow worshipers, to expand (along with worship among humans, which is also present).

Lolth, in her demonic form, "Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits", 1980. Also used in 1991 "Drow of the Underdark"

Her connection to elves, was first expanded in the original, 1980 "Deities & Demigods" sourcebook, were she was, in a legend described there, involved in the very creation of elves, as well indication she started out as something other, and fallen into demonhood, when describing the chief deity of the elves, Corellon Larethian:

"The god is also mighty in battle, and is said to have personally banished such demons as Lolth from the sunlit Upperworld. Elven lore states that the race of elves sprang from the drops of blood Corellon shed in this epic battle."

It implying Lolth has a connection to darker side of the elves, due to having a hand in their creation. And indeed, multiple instances of the drow origin, states Lolth sowed corruption in elven hearts, causing the origin of the dark elves (or alternately, corruption/fall of dark elves into drow elves).

(Latter descriptions of this legend, have Corellon Larethian's blood being spilt in his battle with the king of the orcish gods (and his brother) Gruumsh, and from this blood (and mixed with the tears of the moon goddess, Sehanine Moonbow), rose elves, while from blood of Gruumsh spilled by Corellon, orcs. Though even other versions, describe elves and orcs existing even before this event.)

Lolth's archenemy, Corellon Larethian, might also be an inspiration for Slaanesh, seeing as far as the very same 1980 Deities & Demigods book, he is described:

"Corellon Larethian represents the highest ideals of elvenkind: "he" is skilled in all the arts and crafts, and is the patron of music, poetry, and magic. Corellon is alternately male or female, both or neither."

Corellon is a highly benevolent figure compared to Slaanesh (described as Chaotic Good), if not without a darker side described in some later lore (2nd edition and latter).

Like Lolth is seemingly inspired by Lilith, Corellon Larethian appears to be inspired in part by Adam - both the physical Adam, as ancestor of humanity (and who, in some Jewish writings, is described as a hermaphrodite before the creation of Eve from his rib; the rib, due to it's ambiguous meaning in Hebrew, probably originally meant "other side" or "other half"); and the divine model and oversoul of humanity (and manifestation of the Abrahamic God to a degree), Adam Kadmon, also described as a hempahrodite. Adam Kadmon is not a Biblical figure, but from Jewish (originally), as well as Christian and Gnostic mysticism. His name might be in part derived from an alternate name of Adam Kadmon - Adam Elyon. Corellon - Cor Ellon - Cor Elyon (Elyon is also one of God's names).

The battle of Corellon Larethian and Lolth. The Complete Book of Elves, 1993

Other elven gods though - the pantheon being called "Seldarine" - are also described as malleable in terms of sex and gender - first in 1980s Dragon #62 (their proper debut) 2 elven deities were described as such - Labelas Enoreth (god of longlivety, time and history) and Hanali Celanil (goddess of love, romance, beauty, fine art, artisans and artists), and in 1992's "Monster Mythology" all of the Seldarine were described as having malleable sex and gender (if there is one their appear/are represented more often as). Lolth was described in 2nd edition as a fallen member of the Seldarine in 1994's "Planes of Chaos" (if being, arguably, implied being such since 1980 Deities & Demigods). So despite her misandry, sharing the sex and gender malleable nature of the Seldarine. Though so do demons in general, as I wrote in my post about Graz'zt and Slaanesh, and it's notable as I mentioned in my other post, Lolth's was not always portrayed as a misandrist, and some modern publications do imply her misandry is at least partially "performative".

As expanded in 1998's "Demihuman Deities", and even more in the same year's novel "Evermeet: Island of Elves" by Elaine Cunningham, Lolth was originally Araushnee, the lesser elven goddess of destiny and artisans, and wife and lover of Corellon Larethian (adding a further layer to their status as each others nemesis), that was cast out and transformed into a demon after an attempted murderous coup, and several other attempts at Corellon's life, and attempts to replace him. The artisan part of her portfolio was curiously taken over by the mentioned above Hanali Celanil.

4th edition depiction of Corellon's and Lolth's battle. Dragon #394, 2010

As I mentioned above, Lolth, despite sexuality, lust, desire decadence or debauchery usually not being described as part of her divine portfolio, Lolth is described as beings deeply connected to lusts and desires, as well excess. In 2nd editions 1991's "Drow of the Underdark" (this and other details, repeated in "Demihuman Deities"), Lolth's avatar was described as basically having a seduction attack, like a succubus (or akin to Slaanesh supernatural charm that seduce anyone), and some other interesting details, like being implied to be amorous to a degree towards mortals, regardless of gender:

"Even more, Lolth enjoys corrupting elves and humans to her service. In drow form, her direct physical embrace can act as a charm person (save at -4) on a human or demi-human of either sex. She customarily leaves a poisonous spider to aid, guard, and keep watch on those who personally serve her, and gives them any one magical item that she possesses or one magical item that she possesses or can seize. Lolth can appear kind, rendering aid to those she fancies —but she really cares only for herself; her favor and aid can never be relied on."

"She enjoys the company of spiders of all sorts; when in drow form, she often clothes herself entirely in clinging spiders."

Lolth, clothed only in spiders, webs and her crown, surrounded by most members of the Dark Seldarine. "Demihuman Deities", 1998

Demihuman Deities also gives, I think for the first time, one of Lolth's titles the "Mother of Lusts".

Lolth's drow form, clothed in what either seems like chitinous armor/clothing, and some spiders crawling on her, or her clothes/armor are are conglomeration and/or merging of various arthropods, including centipedes. "Faiths and Pantheons", 2002

3rd edition also describes Lolth as having access, and giving access to the Lust Domain (along with the Envy, Pride and Wrath Domains) in the 2004 "Seven Deadly Domains" article in Dragon #323 (also stated in 2005's "Spell Compedium").

Lolth's demon form, as described in 3rd edition, murdering curbstomping "fighting" some elves. Note the 6 antennae on her head, as well as having 6 eyes. "Complete Divine", 2004

Lolth is also noted to value incredibly personal ambitions, and courage to do anything to fulfill it. This is why she "forgives" worshipers breaking her rules in pursuit of ambitions (if they aren't caught or get away with it) and even a number of priestesses, that for personal ambition, betray her, and worship her son and enemy, Vhaeraun, if they return to her in pursuit of her ambitions, and even giving them powers during their betrayal, like was with Shakti Hunzrin. And as was with the mentioned in my Graz'zt post Eclavdra, as described in 2006 "Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss" returning to Lolth after betraying her to the worship and service of the Elder Elemental God and Graz'zt (both great enemies of Lolth), explaining to the demon godess she done it in pursuit of her ambition, and recognizing Lolth as the superior master among all of them, was rewarded the position of the highest priestess of Lolth in the whole multiverse, and later (in 4th edition), Lolth even gifted her with a level of divinity.

In general, even Lolth encouraging a level of betrayal among drow (what makes many compare her to Tzeentch), can all be seen as a form of excess (and seeking to fulfill ambitions at all cost), liking her even more to Slaanesh.

A (kinda) more erotic and well, weird version of Lolth (or her avatar) in her demonic form, torturing an elf. "The Book of Vile Darkness", 2002

And in Ravenloft, in the Domain of Dread, Lolth's aspect there, the Spider Queen (as described in 2004's Ravenloft Gazetter V), does have hedonism as part of divine portfolio, and it as a crux of her worshipers dogma among Shadow Elves (pretty much entirely) from the Unseelie court. Their dogma being: "Pleasure is the only goal worth pursuing, and it must be sought ceaselessly and without thought for the consequences. Take what you want. Other people do not matter; they exist only as objects of or hurdles to your satisfaction. If they are hurdles, they must be dealt with harshly, and dealing with them is itself a source of pleasure. Murder, deception, hatred and pain are all art forms, and the Spider Queen favors those who master them. Spiders, who live only for themselves and kill their mates once satisfied, are the perfect animals. You must be as selfish, deceptive and sadistic as they are. The Spider Queen helps those who help themselves."

The Shadow Prince (and the ruler) of the Unseelie Court of the Shadow Elves, Loht, while being evil (though not monstrously so), also is against and roots out the worship of the Spider Queen, like Malekith, the Witch-king of Dark Elves in Warhammer is towards the worship of Slaanesh among Dark Elves. (These details were first mentioned in the 1997 "Domains of Dread" Ravenloft campaign setting and 1998 "The Shadow Rift" module).

Lolth, cocooning her victim. Lolth, Spider Queen Magic: The Gathering card, "Adventures in the Forgotten Realms" expansion, 2021

Though as opposed to Slaanesh, Lolth is one of, if not the powerful demon lord since second edition, specifically 1995 "Monstrous Compendium - Planescape Appendix II", were Graz'zt (who was discussed earlier) and Demogorgon (holder of the title of the "Prince of (all) Demons" (and technically the strongest of demons), both at least to a degree, fear Lolth: "Even a demipower such as Demogorgon or Graz’zt prefers not to aggravate the Spider Queen needlessly, and interfering with Lolth’s handmaidens is a quick way to draw her attention."

There is some caveat to this, and certain Demon Lords are implied to be possibly/potentially even superior to Lolth (the Pale Night) in their full power, or if they gain (Demogorgon), or regain (Obox-Ob) their full power. And Lolth is usually not interested in ruling the Abyss, her focus more being on the Material Plane.

While Slaanesh is usually the weakest of the 4 Chaos Gods (if still more powerful than everything else), but since at least the 1997 5th Edition Warhammer Armies: Realm of Chaos, it is stated Slaanesh in time will probably become the most powerful Chaos God.

Lolth is also served by Type III Demons (later known known as Glabrezu), even having a closer connection since start.

Lolth (in drow form, in the middle) along with a Type III demon/Glabrezu (on the left) and Type II Demon/Hezrou (on the right). Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits, 1980

As even from the start, not only they were among her minions, in Vault of the Drow there was a Lolthite artifact, the Demon Staff, that allowed a Priestess of Lolth to transform into a Glabrezu.

Why this is is important? Well Type III demons/Glabrezu very probably were an inspiration for Warhammer's Keepers of Secrets:

Artwork of a Glabrezu/Type III demon from the original 1977 Monster Manual

Artworks of Keepers of Secrets from "Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness". This design is the closest to Glabrezu (if less canine and depending on Daemon, more goat-like or bovine), though later designs also retain a certain similarity

Glabrezu are powerful (physical and magically) and manipulative demons, that corrupt mortals. In canon compared and contrasted to succubi, who pray on lust, Glabrezu pray on desire for power in all forms of it. Later lore curiously further connects Glabrezu and Lolth, and her worship. As first detailed in the 1990 Homeland novel by R.A. Salvatore, Drow have a ritualistic initiation orgy as form of Lolth worship - the Ceremony of Graduation/Day of Graduation (itself a further similarity between Lolth and Slaanesh worship), were the graduating students engage in sex with each other. Demons might also be summoned (and also engage in the orgy), including more often than sometimes a Glabrezu

A drow priestess summoning a Glabrezu, from the 2012 "Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue"

In 3rd edition, it was further specified this is one of the occasions were a Draegloth (a child of a drow priestess and Glabrezu) could be conceived.

3rd edition artwork of a Draegloth from 2001 "Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn"

A (male) Draegloth restraining an elf, 4th Edition Monster Manual 3, 2010

A less monstrous female Draegloth, an idea from 4th edition (originally there was not much sexual dimorphism between males and female Draegloths). Notice similarities similarities to contemporary 2006 depictions of Keepers of Secrets, as seen bellow. 2008 "Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide"

The Keper of Secrets Zarakynel, 2006 Imperial Armour Update

Another notable (even most notable) species of demons that serve Lolth, are the Yochlol, also known as "Lolth’s handmaidens".

Yochlol, fighting adventures, in both their "true" amorphous, eight-tentacled form (left) and giant spider form (right). Q1 Queen of of the Demonweb Pits, 1980

Yochlol are notable as having several forms - the two seen on the illustration (amorphous and giant spider), gaseous one, and of a female humanoid form (almost always of a highly attractive drow, other elven form, or human form) that can be changed. In their first appearance in 1980 Queen of the Demon Web Pits, they used their form as beautiful women in silken gowns, to try to fool and manipulate the player characters.

1991 "Drow of the Underdark" expands quite a lot about them. It reveals they can near perfectly hide their alignment (morality) (even from alignment detecting spells), and that they are fully devoted to Lolth, as opposed to more mercenary nature of most demons in D&D. They are also described there as being able to seduce mortals very well, but also stated to often actually love their mortal lovers (if rather selfishly), and avenge them if they are killed.

The Yochlols origin is fully described/revealed in 2006's "Fiendish Codex I: The Hordes of the Abyss", stating Lolth created the first Yochlol by severely modifying succubi, essentially making them a succubi species, if one fully loyal to Lolth, with different abilities. Lolth though most commonly now creates new Yochlol from souls of her deceased priestesses, or by transforming weaker demons. As well still having normal succubi serving her.

Yochlol, shifting between it's amorphous and drow forms. "Demon Queen's Enclave", 2008

There were some hints of it before - their abilities and tactics being similar to a succubus' in D&D, or succubi-like. In first edition, the Yochlol's gaseous form, being a equivalent of the succubus' ethereal form, Domination of Succubus' Charm Person. The above mentioned "Monstrous Compendium - Planescape Appendix II", expanded on Yochlol tactics and abilities, stating that Yochlol often first "uses its beauty and charm to beguile its opponents". It also gave the Yochlol a Charm Person ability along Domination, as well as an interesting psionic ability - "Attraction" - that "creates an overwhelming attraction to a particular person or thing - be it an item, creature, action, or event".

4th Edition's Monster Manual II from 2009, also gave Yochlol the "Seductive Glare", ability that can Charm an opponent, further exploring the similarity between Succubi and them.

Again, this is a one heck of a long post. To think I originally wanted to make this and the post about Graz'zt one ^^; I also considered posting first the possible inspirations for Tzeentch by Fraz-Urb'luu and Pazuzu, but this one was already partially finished.

[EDIT]

Corrected some mistakes, and expanded on two subjects (another official in-universe spelling/form of Lolth's name that could inspire Slaanesh' names and on Yochlol).

#slaanesh #lolth #lloth #dungeons & dragons #advanced dungeons & dragons #dnd #inspiration #warhammer fantasy #warhammer #40k

[lya-dustin]

Someone will remember us

Chapter 22

Gif by: @girly-blogging

Taglist: @fyeahhotdocs @arrthurpendragon @ocappreciationtag @stargaryenx

“I am fine, there is no need for one.” Fuck. This was such awful timing. “I get these from time to time, just ask Teora.”

She needed to write it down before she forgot it.

She can’t tell him he will die by Daemon’s hand.

“What do you mean you have had these before?” he checks her pulse on her wrist and refusing to leave her side.

“They are atonic fits, sometimes it’s just my head, or my eyelids or one arm or both, one leg or both. Very rarely it’s my entire body.” She answers and foolishly hopes Alicent nor her father learns of it. “I’m fine. Now I need you to swear on whatever gods you believe in not to speak to anyone about my condition, especially not the queen nor the Lord Hand.”

“Does your mother know about these?” he asked, still holding her hand and refusing to let go of it even when Teora comes in.

“Yes, had one when Vis was anointed and one before I left. My grandmother knows, as does Uncle Vaemond and your sister.” She explained and then adds to Teora’s horror, “Sometimes they come with visions. I have dragon dreams; it was how I knew you would lose your eye that night you claimed Vhagar.”

“And you didn’t think about telling me that?” he asks thinking she deliberately kept it from him.

Aemond lets go of her hand and moves away when she tries to reach out for him.

“I tried, believe me, Aemond. I tried to tell you so many times and I did everything I could to stop it from coming true, but I couldn’t stop it from happening.”

Just like Aemma won’t be able to stop Vaemond from dying, Jace and baby Visenya from dying also.

He will die too, and her heart will die with him.

“Sometimes you cannot stop fate, Aemond. Aemma claimed Silverwing to prevent Helaena’s prediction of Laenor’s death coming true and my nephew was still murdered in his father’s own home.” Teora says gently.

“What did you see?” he asks Aemma, his back still to her as he stands leaning on the back of her favorite reading chair.

“I saw you die. You and your dragon are killed above the God’s Eye under Aegon’s banner.” She chokes on the words, but continues to speak. “War is coming, Aemond. The moment your father dies Aegon and my mother will fight for the throne and the realm will burn.”

“Aegon doesn’t want to be king, but he didn’t want to marry Helaena either. My grandfather knows no limit to his ambition.” He scowled and resumed his pacing. “There has to be a way to stop it.”

“There is one way we could try and stop it.” Her aunt, the Septa was the last person she’d expect to even say it.

----

“I cannot marry you, Lord Stark. I have been betrothed to Prince Aemond since we were three and ten and I wish I was able to tell you sooner instead of letting you think I was in a position to accept your suit.” Aemma tells the Lord of the North and wished Aemond had been there with her instead of waiting for her in the shadows.

There was a way for them to get married without resorting to running away like thieves in the night.

Aemond wanted them to marry properly and Aemma could care less how they married as long as she could avoid the headache of having their families under one roof.

On the evening of her six and tenth nameday in the first hour of her nameday feast, they will ambush the court with their wedding. The mummers were set to stage some musical rendition of Jaehaerys and Alysanne ,but instead of a play Aemma has seen a thousand times

Aemma had her wedding cloak and Aemond had enlisted his brother and sister in obtaining the Targaryen wedding cloak.

There was no wedding gown ready, but somehow Teora had found mother’s old wedding dress amongst the trunks in their apartments.

It fit like a glove and thankfully had a long enough hem to take down.

“Your grandmother made no mention of it, your highness.” He comments but doesn’t seem to react too badly.

There is a sting, but there is also relief in his eyes.

“How would she know; we kept it a secret from our families. You know how famous our mothers’ feud is. The realm itself is divided because some cannot fathom the Seven Kingdoms being ruled by women.” She explained her deception.

It was a lie, Aemond hadn’t meant the sapphire as a betrothal gift, he meant is a courting gift only.

But who was there to say it was lie?

“To be frank, I did not wish to marry you either ,but when the queen sent a letter with her condolences and insinuated that a match between the two of us would benefit the north, I felt pressured to agree.” He confessed and Aemma is not surprised that this was planned by her soon to be goodmother.

“My late uncle ,Bennard, disliked my Arra. He would have married me to his own daughter had his wife not interceded on our behalf. I wish you all the luck in the world, your highness.” He conceded defeat so easy, but the fondness and pain in his expression when he mentioned his Arra let her know this was the best decision they could have made.

“You have our gratitude, Lord Stark. My betrothed and I wish you can find someone who loves you as my Aemee loves me.” Aemond swept in like a dark wind and like the most romantic of knights, took her hand and kissed it like a man in love.

He was prone to jealousy, when they were little, he disliked when anyone else took his mother’s attention from him or when Aegon would partner up with Jace or when Criston Cole would be too busy teaching the other boys.

They have agreed to hint at their romance in public, at the cost of their reputations.

Vaemond had begrudgingly agreed and gave him his support, they had also made it impossible for him to say no.

There will be consequences, niece, you know there will, Vaemond had warned before turning to Aemond and threatening him with torture should he break her heart.

There will be consequences, Aemma had seen it in the eyes of Alicent’s ladies as they stared with mouth agape as she and Aemond passed them still holding hands.

----

“We win Vhagar to our side with him.” Vaemond had contingency plans for this impending war.

They had the advantage with the dragons, the fleet, and the north despite Aemma refusing Stark.

“She told him about the fits and the dreams.” Teora whispered and Vaemond cursed.

“He will tell his mother; the boy is too attached to the infernal woman. If they know they will make sure she is shut up somewhere once she gives her husband a son.”

It was their biggest fear, that Aemma would be declared insane and have her suffer alone and isolated gods know where.

“He will not, not after he learned she burnt all those letters he sent Aemma and she sent him.” Teora assured her older brother and wished she was as sure as she sounded. “His love for our niece has shown him his mother’s true colors. The Queen will never know, best be assured, brother.”

-----

“You will have to see Luke’s ugly mug, you know.” Aegon passed the drinking horn to his brother.

He loathed Lucerys, loathed him for taking his eye and getting away with it because he was Rhaenyra’s son.

But he loved Aemma, loved her because he cannot imagine his life without her and being the only good thing that ever came from his half-sister.

“I doubt mother and grandfather will lift my dear goodmother’s banishment soon.” Aemond points out and drank the strong Dornish wine Aegon has become fond of.

Laenor had left his prized vintages to Aemma, to celebrate her milestones and her joys. He will drink off her skin the vintage her father had selected for her wedding day. he looked forward to defiling the Valyrian Siren and knowing no one else will ever have her.

“I doubt the Whore of Dragonstone will be fine with you just absconding with her only daughter, you will have to see her on important feast days and I have no doubt she will wish to be there for your wife’s confinements like mother was for Helaena’s.” his brother had the curse of making sense sometimes.

Aemond is not sure he can survive a visit to Dragonstone without wanting to bash little Luke’s head against a table. Just remembering he shares a mother with his Aemee made his blood boil.

He wants revenge, his blood craves it almost as much as it craves Aemma.

Could he set it aside his hatred for her family for her?

“You are lucky your goodmother is mother, Aeg.” He says instead.

“I wager Aemma doesn’t think that, little brother.”

----

“You are playing a dangerous game and I do not wish to so see you hurt.” His mother warned.

“Is that why you tried to keep us apart for three years?” he threw back and she had the audacity to say she did it for him.

“I love her, mother.” Aemond wished his mother could just see what he sees in Aemma. “We will marry and you will embrace her as your daughter, or you will lose me.”

“Her mother is a whore and her father a degenerate, Aemond. You know what the faith thinks of them.” She whispered as if it were a great conspiracy.

“The sins of a father do not fall on the child, you and I know that. She is not them, mother. Aemma is everything that is good and holy. If you only gave her a chance you would see what I see.” He argued knowing he could win her over.

Eventually his mother will see she is not Rhaenyra, to see that Aemma has always been meant for him.

“She will turn you against us, Aemond. If your father names Aegon his heir, she will have you fight your own brother!” she hissed. Alicent knew better than to voice her own treasonous thoughts too loudly.

Aemond knew that his father would be of no use. He loved Rhaenyra because she was born out of love not of duty and lust.

Viserys had made it clear when he lost his eye.

Lucerys should have been punished, maybe not lose his eye as he and his mother wished, but anything would have sufficed.

Even words would have helped him get the closure he so desperately needed, but he got nothing.

Viserys chose Rhaenyra, same Rhaenyra who would have him tortured for telling the boys the truth as hurtful as it was.

Aemma is not her.

“Aemee would never do that, if the king were to choose Aegon as heir she would accept his decision and bend the knee. Aegon has said he will not seek to fight Rhaenyra for the throne, he has never desired it, mother.

No war will come, we will make sure of that and our marriage would ensure grandfather gets his fucking wish to see his blood on the throne.” He takes her hands and tries to make her see reason.

But she cannot and the grip on his hands turns tight as a noose. “Swear to me, swear to me that you will not raise a hand against your brothers when the time comes.”

And because he thinks it will never come to that, Aemond swears it.

#aemma velaryon #asoiaf fanfic #house of the dragon #someone will remember us fic #asoiaf au #aemond targaryen x velaryon!oc #oc fanfiction #ocappreciationtag #fyeahhotdocs

[bluiex]

super basic and common idea but robin hood au, with Scar and his excellent archery skills as the said robin hood and Grian as the rebellious prince(ss) who sneaks out of the castle to help him and Mumbo as one of the lords Scar commonly steals from who conveniently forgets to lock his gate and windows. Game of cat and mouse with the three of them, with the upstanding lord and the dashing thief and the fiery prince(ss)

and maybe there's something going on behind those closed doors, when it takes Scar and Grian an abnormally long time to get the gold from the safe in Mumbo's room...

-🖋

YES ROBIN HOOD AU!!

Mumbo so very conviently forgetting to lock his gate and door/windows :)

The first time, it's genuinely a mistake! And he woke up the next morning with some of his valuables gone.. But it kept happening until he decides to stay up and catch this natoreious thief. Which he soon finds out is thieves! And one of them is the prince no less. (Mumbo thinks is cute that Grian thinks his disguise works- prob just a hood the he hopes shadows his face)

#bluie gets an ask poggers #robin hood au

[someonelookingpraediti]

2022 Yearly Roundup

Stats Total books read: 95 'New' books read: 90 5 star books: 32

My reading goal this year was 72 new-to-me books, 6 per month. I smashed my yearly goal, and hit my monthly goal 11 out of 12 months. The only month I missed, October, was the month I re-read The Raven Cycle instead. I think I did pretty well!

A Gathering of Shadows - V.E. Schwab ★★★★☆

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black ★★★★★

The Wicked King - Holly Black ★★★★★

The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black ★★★★★

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories - Holly Black ★★★★☆

Lore - Alexandra Bracken ★☆☆☆☆

Pandora - Susan Stokes-Chapman ★★★★★

Skyward - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

A Long Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott ★★☆☆☆

Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman ★★★☆☆

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong ★☆☆☆☆

Only a Monster - Vanessa Len ★★★★☆

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab ★★★★★

The House with Chicken Legs - Sophie Anderson ★★★☆☆

The Atlas Six - Olivie Blake ★☆☆☆☆

Galatea - Madeline Miller ★★★☆☆

Gallant - V.E. Schwab ★★★★★

Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas ★★★★★

The Devil Makes Three - Tori Bovalino ★★★☆☆

A River Enchanted - Rebecca Ross ★★☆☆☆

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke ★★★☆☆

Tithe - Holly Black ★★★★★

Valiant - Holly Black ★★★★★

Ironside - Holly Black ★★★★★

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke ★★★☆☆

Half a Soul - Olivia Atwater ★★★★☆

The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke ★★★☆☆

Ten Thousand Stitches - Olivia Atwater ★★★★★

Longshadow - Olivia Atwater ★★★★½

The Lord Sorcier - Olivia Atwater ★★★★★

The Latch Key - Olivia Atwater ★★★☆☆

Portrait of a Thief - Grace D. Li ★★★★★

The Lost Sisters - Holly Black ★★☆☆☆

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan ★★★☆☆

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan ★★★★☆

Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse - Rick Riordan ★★★★☆

Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan ★★★★★

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian - Rick Riordan ★★★★★

Book of Night - Holly Black ★★★☆☆

The Ravens - Danielle Paige and Kass Morgan ★★★★☆

The Monarchs - Danielle Paige and Kass Morgan ★★★☆☆

Starsight - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

Cytonic - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

Legion - Brandon Sanderson ★★★☆☆

Skin Deep - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★☆

Lies of the Beholder - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★☆

Skyward Flight - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

Firefight - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

Calamity - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★½

Mitosis - Brandon Sanderson ★★★☆☆

The King’s Renegal - Emily Wilson and Celia Oliva ★★☆☆☆

The Foxhole Court - Nora Sakavic ★★★★★

The Raven King - Nora Sakavic ★★★★★

The King’s Men - Nora Sakavic ★★★★★

Arcanum Unbounded - Brandon Sanderson ★★★☆☆

Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson ★★★☆☆

Defending Elysium - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

Perfect State - Brandon Sanderson ★★☆☆☆

Firstborn - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

Snapshot - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★☆

These Hollow Vows - Lexi Ryan ★★★☆☆

These Twisted Bonds - Lexi Ryan ★★☆☆☆

Gild - Raven Kennedy ★☆☆☆☆

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune ★★★★★

Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir ★★★☆☆

Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir ★★☆☆☆

In Deeper Waters - F.T. Lukens ★★★★☆

Ariadne - Jennifer Saint ★★★★☆

Violet Made of Thorns - Gina Chen ★☆☆☆☆

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen ★★★★☆

Nettle and Bone - T. Kingfisher ★★★★☆

The Dark Tide - Alicia Jasinska ★★★★★

A Prince of Troy - Lindsay Clarke ★★☆☆☆

Wake the Bones - Elizabeth Kilcoyne ★★★★★

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)

The Dream Thieves - Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)

Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)

The Raven King - Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)

Opal - Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★★

Call Down the Hawk - Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★☆

Mister Impossible - Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★☆

Greywaren - Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★★

The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani ★★★☆☆

A World Without Princes - Soman Chainani ★★☆☆☆

Vicious - V.E. Schwab ★★★★★

The Last Ever After - Soman Chainani ★★★☆☆

Nothing but Blackened Teeth - Cassandra Khaw ★★★★☆

Firstborn - Brandon Sanderson (re-read)

Upon a Waking Dream - J.S. Bailey ★★☆☆☆

The Secret Gift - Bethany Atazadeh ★★★★☆

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens ★★★★★

Godkiller - Hannah Kaner ★★★☆☆

Vengeful - V.E. Schwab ★★★★☆

The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories - various authors ★★★★☆

Wintersong - S. Jae-Jones ★★★☆☆

#2022 #yearly roundup #roundup #reading