#crippling blight

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Crippling Blight

"Still alive? No matter. I'll leave you as a warning to others who would oppose me." —Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter

Artist: Lucas Graciano TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

#mtg #magic the gathering #tcg #$0.05 #lucas graciano #crippling blight #the list #enchantment #aura

[art-of-mtg]

Crippling Blight (Magic 2013) - Lucas Graciano

#mtg #magic the gathering #tcg #lucas graciano #crippling blight #magic 2013

[mutedeclipse]

WARA WARA

First time posting my cringeboy to tumblr ive been hiding him from the general public but this is some fuckin cool shading practice so i wanna share.

I might post more of him later if people like him and or are curious... Hes breached containment now theres no looking back...

Eyestrain varient under the cut

#mutedeclipse #digital art #shading practice #blight (oc) #bomberman #bomberman oc #fanchild #IM EMBARASSED ABOUT MY OWN FANCHILD OC... when other people do it its fine and cool but i feel cringe lol #i have deepseated crippling dont be cringe juice in my brain

[atlabeth]

come on back to me - nikolai lantsov

summary: five times you save nikolai and one time he saves you.

a/n: if you've seen my thoughts as i read through siege and storm and ruin and rising then you know that i am deeply in love with nikolai lantsov and since ive finally finished the trilogy i finally feel qualified to write about him lmao. i actually don’t think i’ve written a 5+1 which is crazy so here you go. i wrote this in like 2 days in a spurt of inspiration and im absolutely in love with it, so i hope you all are too!!

title from you’re the one by greta van fleet

wc: 7.3k

warning(s): fem!reader, canon typical violence, siege and storm & ruin and rising book spoilers (i have not watched the show), medical inaccuracies, nikolai's volcra era, hurt/comfort and a happy ending (as usual)

Os Alta

It all happened rather quickly. 

One moment, you were in the infirmary mending a poor soldier’s broken arm. The next, screams were erupting everywhere. 

You and the soldier locked eyes, and you did a final bit of healing on his arm before you nodded at each other and darted off. 

The soldier grabbed his gun and went further into the palace, no doubt to find the royal family, and you adjusted the collar of your kefta before you ran out into the fray. 

Nichevo’ya had surrounded everything, attacking anyone they could find, and their shadowy bodies were like a void’s blight on the land. You knew the sight would be forever burned into your mind.

You knew the Darkling was going to march on Os Alta, that he would have to do it directly to use his shadow soldiers, but this was so much earlier, so much worse than you’d expected. Enforcements were meant to come from Poliznaya. You guessed that was off the table. 

You were fine at fighting—alright with a pistol and better with a dagger—but you were a Healer. You spent more time dealing with the aftermaths of battles, more skilled at setting broken bones and mending bullet wounds than inflicting them. 

Times like these were the ones when you normally questioned your decision to not hone your abilities into a Heartrender, but now you would at least be a dead man either way. Nichevo’ya didn’t exactly have hearts to stop and organs to manipulate. 

You had to get to the other Grisha. You had to make sure the Sun Summoner made it through this attack, even if it meant you wouldn’t. 

You broke into a sprint, trying your best to ignore the crippled and broken bodies in the carnage. Your instincts tugged against you, but you knew there was nothing to be done. If you stopped to help a dead man, you would soon join them. 

You nearly battered into a group of people from your speed and lack of attention, and you reeled to the side seconds before a head-on collision. When you looked up, drawing in ragged breaths in the one second of rest you’d gotten, your eyes widened. 

You were face to face with the royal family. The King, the Queen, and Nikolai Lantsov. The absence was glaring. 

“Grisha,” Nikolai breathed, and he grabbed onto your shoulders like a madman as his fingers ran over the embroidery. He might as well have been one, the way wildfire flickered in his eyes. “You’re a Healer? One of Alina’s?”  

You nodded rapidly. “Are you—” 

“I’m getting them to safety on the Kingfisher,” he cut off, “and she wants me to get that old woman as well.”

“Baghra—?”

“You’re a Healer?” the King interrupted harshly. Your heart stuttered—you’d never been directly addressed by the King, but you supposed circumstances like these called for different standards. 

“Yes,” you nodded. “Are you hurt?” 

“My wife,” he said, and your attention turned to the Queen. Genya’s absence had taken a toll on her, and the shards of glass sticking out of her side weren’t doing her pallid frame any favors. 

“Madraya,” Nikolai whispered, his eyes wide, “I didn’t even notice.” 

“Alexander—” her voice was ragged, her entire appearance pallid— “we’ve much bigger concerns.” 

“Nonsense.” The King’s gaze bore into you. “We have time. Heal her.” 

You screwed your eyes shut, your hands closing into fists for a moment before both opened and you nodded. “Keep an eye out, moi tsarevich,” you huffed, and you moved to the Queen’s side. Nikolai’s head perked up for a moment at your words, but it disappeared just as quickly as he adjusted his grip on his pistol. 

“Of course,” he said wryly. “Not that I don’t trust your work, and not that I don’t trust my abilities, but it would be grand if you could do this quickly.” 

“Working as fast as I can,” you muttered, ignoring the noises the Queen made as you pulled the shards of glass out with little care. Your mentors would be rolling in their graves if they could see you. 

“Vasily is dead, by the way,” Nikolai said, attention focused on the nichevo’ya all around. Thankfully, you’d run into each other in a spot relatively hidden from view. Hopefully it extended to shadow creatures. “I know you were wondering.” 

Your hands faltered for a moment, but it was hardly noticeable as you continued to work. He wasn’t wrong. “I’m so sorry.” 

The Queen choked back a sob, and the King’s face betrayed the slightest bit of emotion. 

“An awful way to go,” Nikolai muttered, more to himself than anything. “But fitting that he brought about his own end.” 

His parents said nothing to your surprise, but you stood up from your knees and nodded at the King and Queen. “She’s healed enough. No internal bleeding, at least.” 

“Healed enough?” the King repeated. “That is not—” 

“It’s the best we can hope for,” Nikolai interrupted sharply. “We’ve already wasted too much time out here.” 

He then nodded, grasping your hands with fierce desperation. “The crown thanks you, darling.” You’d never seen him like this—you’d never seen him fear anything. The Darkling and his creations were a good start. “I thank you, truly.” 

“Just doing my duty,” you assured, and you pulled a small container out of the pocket of your kefta, leftover from your work in the infirmary before it all went to hell, and pressed it into his hand. “She should be alright, but I’ve been slightly rushed. Rub this salve on her wounds when you’re out of danger just to be sure.” 

Nikolai nodded again, slipping it into his own pocket. “Keep our Sun Summoner safe,” he said. “Or else this’ll have all been for nothing.” 

You nodded. “With my life.” 

Nikolai’s eyes met yours, and something unsaid passed between you. Then his hands slipped off of yours, and he continued to herd his parents away from the chaos. You muttered a quick prayer to any Saints that would listen for their safety, and then you head off on your own way. 

2. The Pelican 

You thought either the bones in your hands or the wood was going to crack with how tight you were holding onto the side of the ship. Your heart was still hammering away in your chest—the adrenaline from the battle and Nikolai Lantsov’s sudden appearance and being shot at a thousand different times by a thousand different militiamen still had you quite shaken. 

You knew the sort of chaos you were in for when you made the decision to travel with Alina Starkov rather than stay in the White Cathedral, but you think you hated being in the air like this even more than you hated being trapped underground with those zealots. 

Someone called your name, and you turned to see Adrik a while away with wide eyes. You huffed a sigh as you reluctantly let go and hastened your pace to catch up with him. If he was sent to fetch you, then someone needed healing, and you couldn’t exactly hold off on the one thing you were good at. 

Adrik led you over to a corner of the Pelican where a large portion of your group of Grisha were gathered. Tamar was kneeling next to whoever was injured, one hand splayed above their chest, and you took a deep breath as you forced calmness to wash over your mind. 

“What are we dealing with?” you asked Tamar, but it was clear enough when he spoke up. 

“I’m telling you, it’s fine,” he insisted. “Just a flesh wound.” 

“He was shot,” Tamar said dryly, “and he refuses to accept its severity.” 

“So we meet again,” you said placidly. 

Nikolai seemed to perk up when he saw you, any prior frustration absent from his face as he grinned at you and said your name. “If you’re the Healer here, then I guess I’m not so fine.” 

“Am I ever going to be around you when you’re doing important princely things,” you said as you crouched on the other side of him, Tamar continuing to keep his heart rate steady, “or only when you’re injured?” 

“This is a very important princely thing,” Nikolai said. “I’m showing my soon to be subjects that I’m just like them.” 

“You were shot and you thought you were fine?” You let out a loose sigh and shook your head—it wasn’t worth getting into it. “Keep it steady, Tamar.” 

She nodded, and you reached out to begin unbuttoning his outer coat. He wouldn’t stop shifting around, and it made it infinitely harder. 

“Will you sit still?” you snapped. 

“I am,” Nikolai said. 

“You are not,” you asserted, and you undid the final button on his coat after a struggle, “and you are making this much more difficult.” 

“My apologies,” he said. “Usually women that are taking off my clothes aren’t this angry with me.” 

You scowled, only making his smile grow. 

“You do it yourself if you want to be like that,” you said, letting your hands fall back to your side. “I’m sure the rest of your soldiers will listen to a Healer.” 

“Ah, but none of them bravely threw themselves into danger for you,” Nikolai remarked. “I’m sure that earns me a few points.” 

“Points that you’ve immediately lost by being this difficult with me.” You crossed your arms. “And you did not throw yourself into danger for me—you were in the battle and you got shot.” 

“We came to save you all, and you are a part of it,” Nikolai said. “I’d say I definitely threw myself into danger for you.” 

“You’re impossible.” 

He raised his eyebrows. “Will you not even allow a dying man some honor?”

“You are not dying,” you said, “but you will be if you continue talking. Now take off your clothes and stop being so difficult so I can fix this up before you do die.” 

He tutted as he shed his jacket and worked on the rest of his clothing. Princes were apparently fond of multiple layers. “For a Healer, your bedside manner is remarkably poor.”

“Don’t worry,” Nadia piped in, “she’s always been like this.” 

“I have very fond memories of you healing my broken ribs,” Alina said dryly. 

“All of you are still alive,” you said tartly with a glance back at your fellow Grisha, “aren’t you?” 

“I think you made me wish I wasn’t,” Harshaw mused. 

You scowled again and Nikolai laughed. “That bodes very well for me, considering how much I seem to irritate you.” 

“You’re going to be fine,” you grumbled. When you turned back to him, he’d gotten down to his undershirt and unbuttoned it. Blood had spread across the white fabric, but apart from being shot, the wound wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. It’d had the chance to fester for a bit, but with Tamar’s aid it hopefully wouldn’t be a problem.  

You took a deep breath as you placed your hands on his chest—lucky as always, you could sense the bullet missed all his major organs—but Nikolai grimaced before you could even do anything. 

“Are you alright?”

“Your hands are very cold,” he said and you just shook your head. 

“How no one has wrung you by the neck is beyond me.” 

“Many have tried.” He flashed that smile again. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t add your name to the list.” 

You ignored him, taking another deep breath before you closed your eyes. You felt your power within you, the tug you’d grown accustomed to over the years, and you focused it into a single point. 

You slowly worked on healing Nikolai, making sure you went from the inside out to stop any internal bleeding before you carefully wedged the bullet out with your knife. Surprisingly, he managed to keep his mouth shut for the most part. He watched you the entire time though, wholly unyielding, and it was unnerving. 

Nikolai covered up his pain remarkably well, but you still caught the slightest grimace when you practically stuck a dagger inside him.

“Do you always try to injure your patients more when you’re healing them?” he asked innocently. 

“You typically don’t make fun of the person fixing you up,” you said, and you held up the knife, “or the one holding the blade.”

“Surely you could’ve used David to get it out,” Zoya offered lazily. “Better than practically stabbing the King of Ravka.”

“I’m not the king,” Nikolai said. “Not yet, at least.” 

“And I’m not stabbing him.” You held up the bullet with your other hand, then let it fall to the floor. “I just didn’t feel like digging around inside him.” 

Nikolai picked up the bullet, and you frowned in question. He just shrugged. “To hold onto the fond memories of this battle and the kindest, prettiest Healer I’ve ever laid eyes on.” 

Someone snickered behind you, and you turned to see all of them just standing around—Zoya, Harshaw with Oncat perched on his shoulder, Adrik ignoring his sister to watch, even Alina and Mal were still there. At least Tamar had enough sense to stay quiet while she helped you. 

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” you snapped. “It’s hard to focus with you all watching me.”

Alina blinked, seeming to come back to her senses. You almost didn’t blame her—she had so much on her shoulders, it made sense to just want to stand and stare for a minute.

“Right,” she nodded, and she gestured at Zoya and the Squaller siblings as she started walking across the ship, “Adrik, Nadia, I need you all over…”

Alina's words trailed off as she got farther away, and the small crowd dissipated to find duties to carry out without their Sun Summoner to indulge their whims. 

“Thank you for your help, Tamar,” you mumbled. “I can take it from here.” 

She nodded and went off to join the others—the controlled state Nikolai had been in dissolved as she let go of the hold she had on his heart, and the slight daze in his eye went away. 

“Are you always this mean?” Nikolai asked. You turned back to find him with that same unshakable confidence, same lazy smile even in the face of it all. It was no wonder noble and commoner girls alike tripped over themselves when he returned to Ravka. 

It was no wonder Alina fell for his charms despite the tracker by her side—he always knew the right thing to say to make you feel like everything would be okay, and in the midst of Ravka’s endless war, that was a valuable quality indeed.

“I save it for irritating princes,” you remarked. With a final flourish, his wound was sewed up, and Nikolai raised his eyebrows as he touched the newly healed skin.

There was another slight wince, but he still smiled up at you. “Excellent job.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” you said.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to Grisha handiwork,” Nikolai said as he pulled himself up from the side of the ship. “Especially the healing kind.”

“It would do you good not to get used to it,” you said. “You may not be king yet, but Zoya is right. I’d appreciate it if you tried to stay out of my infirmary.”

“Do you not enjoy my company?” he asked. 

“I don’t enjoy bringing Ravka’s only heir back from the brink after every battle,” you corrected. “You’ve got a lot more weight on your shoulders now, moi tsarevich.”

His eyebrows furrowed slightly at your Ravkan. “Say that again.”

You frowned, wondering if you’d heard him correctly. Nikolai continued staring at you, so you sighed. “Moi tsarevich?”

He laughed, and that only soured your mood further. “What are you laughing about?” 

“I recognized it back during the attack but I didn’t fully think about it,” he said. “It comes out the most with your R’s. You’re not Ravkan, are you?”

You paused at his sudden subject change. “You were focusing on my accent when everyone was dying around us?” 

“Answer the question.” 

Your frown deepened. “I am in most senses of the word.”

Nikolai’s eyes narrowed. “You’re Kerch.”

Your lips twitched. “Yes, but I don’t—”

“You still haven’t lost the accent somehow,” he continued. “At least, in how you speak certain Ravkan words. Is it Ketterdam?”

“Don’t you have better things to do than quiz your Healer on her childhood?”

“Perhaps,” Nikolai said, eyes twinkling, “but if you’re really my Healer, as you said yourself, I’m surely allowed to ask as many questions as my heart desires.”

“Your heart desires no more,” you said wryly. “I have other injured to attend to. Call if you find yourself actively dying.”

To his credit, he didn’t try to fight it. Just offered that same smile that weakened knees from the Kaelish to the Shu. “I’ll be sure to ring before I’m dead and buried.”

“Put your clothes back on before you do,” you said.

“Ah, but isn’t this your reward for putting up with the irritating prince?” Nikolai asked with a slight gesture at his chest. “I’d imagine you’d want to keep an eye on your handiwork.”

That sparked a rare smile of your own, and you bowed your head. “Moi tsarevich,” you said before you walked off.

You felt Nikolai’s eyes on you even as you approached an injured First Army soldier, and after the first few preliminary questions you couldn’t help but look back. 

When you did, he was gone. 

3. Monastery of Sankt Demyan

You sat on the Spinning Wheel, off to the corner so you wouldn’t be disturbing anyone, staring at your hands as you tried to ignore the thousands of things bumping around in your mind. You’d been on the run with the Sun Summoner and a smattering of other Grisha for longer than you would have liked, but you had to accept that this was what life would be like until the Darkling was either defeated or destroyed you all. 

It was a damning sort of fate, knowing what awaited you unless the impossible was done. At least it would be quick if the nichevo’ya tore you apart. 

You grimaced. That was one thought that would do you no good—if you’d made it this far, from Os Alta under the Darkling’s control to Os Alta under Lantsov control to the White Cathedral and now to Fjerda of all places, what was one more piece of the puzzle? 

A very big piece of the puzzle, of course, and there was still the intrinsic distrust that some soldiers—and even Alina at moments, flickers of it you could see in her eyes against her will—had towards you. You, like the rest of the Grisha here that hailed from the Second Army, served the Darkling until you’d switched sides. You wanted nothing more than to see the Darkling to his grave, for Ravka to be restored and for all of this to be over. 

But you had switched sides in the first place, and you knew enough from the looks of those soldiers—they still believed that if you could betray the Darkling, you could always still betray the Sun Summoner if given enough cause. 

You didn’t try to dissuade their views through words; it wouldn’t do any good. You just hoped the long hours you spent holed up in the infirmary healing the injured would. You missed Maxim if only so you wouldn’t have to do it all alone. 

“Vlachka for your thoughts?” 

You looked up, surprised to see Nikolai Lantsov of all people. You hadn’t held a true conversation with him since you healed him after his bullet wound. He’d been busy with princely things like banishing his parents and saving Genya’s livelihood. 

You were thankful for that, at least. She’d suffered too much at the hands of the Darkling and the King. 

“You’d need a lot more than that,” you said. 

He smiled. “I’ve got quite a bit. Have you seen this place?” 

You chuckled and shrugged. “Just thinking. About our next move, about the Darkling, about what will be after this.” 

“You certainly aren’t the only one,” Nikolai said. “Lately it seems to be all anyone can think about.”

“I’m sure you’d much rather have them thinking of you,” you said wryly. 

“Oh, there’s plenty of that going on as well.” Nikolai smiled. “An even balance, I’d say.”

You chuckled again. “What brings you here, Nikolai?” 

He shrugged. “I wanted to get to know my Healer.” 

You huffed a sigh and looked away. “Why do you call me that?” 

He was awfully good at feigning innocence. “Call you what?” 

“My Healer,” you repeated. “Your Healer. I don’t understand it.” 

“I like the sound of it,” he said. “I’ll stop if you don’t like it.” 

You felt your cheeks heat and you felt his eyes on you. “It’s not that. It’s just—” 

“Because I can,” he continued. “Would you prefer lapushka? Milaya? Perhaps babya.”

You scowled as you turned back to him, and you hit him lightly on the shoulder. “You should stick to the seas and the throne, moi tsarevich. Comedy is not your strong suit.” 

“I like it when you call me that,” he mused. “I like your accent, your voice.” He sat down next to you, mildly unexpected, and you hoped you did better at hiding your surprise than it felt. “There’s something soothing about it.” 

“I am from Ketterdam,” you said after a moment. “You guessed right. Born and raised. When my abilities started showing, my parents put me on a ship to Ravka with a map, some vlachki, and the clothes on my back. I made my way to the Little Palace, pleaded my case to the Darkling, and I haven’t seen them since.”

Nikolai was silent, and you fully turned to look at him. “You wanted to know more about me. That’s who I am. A girl from Ketterdam in over her head.”

“Give yourself some credit,” Nikolai said. “You’re a woman from Ketterdam in over your head.” 

You huffed a laugh, and Nikolai’s expression softened a bit. “Why did they send you away? If that’s alright to ask, of course.” 

You shrugged. “Being a young girl in the Barrel is bad enough. If anyone figured out I was Grisha, I would either be dead in the streets, indentured before I could blink, or worse.”  

“They thought it would be safer in Ravka,” he guessed. “In the Second Army.” 

You nodded. “They couldn’t have known any of this would happen,” you said dryly. 

“Do you miss your parents?” he asked. 

“Every day,” you said quietly. “We sent letters when we could, but it was never enough. And those stopped after Alina left the Little Palace, obviously.” 

You didn’t need to recount the months of the Darkling’s madness as he searched for his Sun Summoner. Nikolai might have been Sturmhond at the time, but you didn’t doubt that he had contacts in the Little Palace. You didn’t exactly want to remember it either. 

“How about this?” Nikolai adjusted his position so he could look right at you, those smart hazel eyes enough to get lost in. You forced yourself not to. “On the slim chance that we make it through these next few weeks, when the dust has settled and I’m officially King, I’ll charter a ship for you back to Ketterdam.” 

Your head whirled back to look at him, eyes widening. There was no sign in his eyes of a false promise, only that soft smile, charming as ever. You had the sudden, misplaced urge to wind your fingers into those blonde curls and kiss him. 

“You’d do that for me?” 

He nodded. “Of course. Only the best for my Healer, right?” 

That got a laugh out of you, but the heat rose to your cheeks all the same. “That would be incredible, Nikolai. Thank you.” 

“Of course.” 

He looked—gazed— at you for a touch longer than usual before he spoke again. 

“There’s going to be a meteor shower later tonight,” Nikolai said. “One of my crew figured it out—he’s very fond of the sky, and he told me it would be… quite the sight.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed. Was he—

“I’d like to watch it with you,” Nikolai continued. “Of course, I have to put on a display with Alina, but after that,” he looked over at you, hazel eyes gleaming, “I’d like to spend the night with you.” 

It took a moment for your brain to fully process his words. “Moi tsarevich, are… you asking me on a— a date?” 

“Just Nikolai, please,” he said with a grin. “And yes, I am.” 

It seemed so trivial in the scheme of things. You were leading an impossible battle against the Darkling, and as a traitor to his throne, you would end up dead or worse if he caught you. The near entirety of the Second Army was dead, friends you’d grown up and honed your power alongside with ripped apart by nichevo’ya. Your chances for victory relied on the firebird, and no one knew a damn thing about it. 

It was trivial. It was frankly ridiculous, for the prince— the King of Ravka—to be asking you on a date, especially when it was imperative for him to present a certain image with Alina. 

But for all the triviality and ridiculousness and idiocy, you found that you’d never wanted to accept something so badly. 

So you did. You nodded, smiled, brighter than usual. Nikolai seemed to have that effect on you. 

“I’d love to.” 

“Wonderful.” Somehow, impossibly, his grin grew bigger. Nikolai took your hand and pressed a delicate kiss to it before he stood back up—you’d never been so thankful for his confidence, because you found yourself at a loss for words. “I’ll see you tonight, darling. Try not to get into too much trouble without me.” 

You nodded again, and you knew you looked like a dazed idiot. The better half of a decade spent training as a Grisha and all it took was a kiss to your hand for your brain to stop working. You really had been at war for far too long. 

Nikolai could tell every thought—or lack thereof—in your head by the overly pleased expression he wore as he walked away, and your entire face burned as you bit back your smile. 

He knew exactly what he did to you. 

4. The Bittern 

Sergei sold you out. 

That son of bitch had betrayed you all to the Darkling the first chance he got, and he’d been rewarded with a quicker death than any of you would get. 

You’d been left fighting for your lives against the Darkling’s oprichniki, Grisha, and nichevo’ya alike, and as usual, you were hopelessly outnumbered. You knelt over Adrik as Zoya, Nadia, Harshaw, and David kept the crowd of enemies back, doing your damnedest to keep him from bleeding out from his nichevo’ya bite. 

His arm hung at a bizarre angle, and you didn’t know how you would tell him and his sister you didn’t think you could save it. You were sure Genya’s whispered words were the only thing keeping him even slightly calm.

By the time the Bittern was in the air, precarious but afloat, you were about ready to collapse. It had all been too damn much, with the Darkling and Baghra and Nevsky, and now the poor schoolboy lying beneath you with an arm you couldn’t save. 

“He’ll be okay,” you murmured to nobody but yourself, wiping beads of sweat from your forehead as you laid against the side of the ship. As okay as any boy who lost his arm to a shadow monster and went through what he just did. 

Thank the Saints for Tolya keeping both Adrik’s and your heart steady during that ordeal, because you were sure your panic would have won over. 

Everyone in your motley crew was injured in some way or another, and you were the only Healer. Soon you were back on your feet, pushing the horrors of the night out of your mind as you mended lacerations and fixed up bullet wounds. 

Every so often, your eyes would drift over to Adrik. You’d healed him the best you could, but it wasn’t enough. 

And then your mind went to Nikolai. 

Nikolai. 

In the chaos of the battle and the subsequent healing haze, you hadn’t even realized he wasn’t with your group. The Pelican had taken off before you all got to the Bittern, but Nikolai wouldn’t have left Alina on her own after all he’d done to ensure her safety. 

You were almost too scared to ask, but you did anyway. 

“Alina,” you asked, slightly surprised at the sound of your voice in the silence of the night, “where’s Nikolai?” 

Her eyes were unfocused, arms crossed around her midsection for warmth despite the light that glowed beneath her skin. “The Darkling,” she murmured. 

“Wh— what did he do to him?” you continued. “What in the Saints’ name happened to him, Alina?” 

“He ruined him,” she whispered. “He turned him into a monster.” The look on Alina’s face broke you into even smaller pieces. “He turned him into a monster all because Nikolai dared to stand against him. He’s gone.” 

Your grip tightened on the side of the ship as she explained what she had to watch, and your knees threatened to buckle. 

Maybe it was stupid, but you hadn’t even realized you cared this much about the prince. The king, you had to keep reminding yourself. But the thought of him hurt—a hurt that you couldn’t heal—it tore your heart to shreds. 

Only last night you were laying on a blanket next to him, staring up at the meteor shower through the glass dome. He’d never looked more beautiful than he did then, with the streaks of light illuminating his handsome features and those hazel eyes you’d grown to appreciate. 

Few words had passed between the two of you, but once Nikolai had taken your hand in his, neither of you let go for the remainder of the night. That urge to kiss him came back in spades, but you never acted on it. 

Saints, you wished you had. 

“Do you think you can heal him?” Your voice sounded oddly foreign, but you didn’t even feel like you were in your body. Like you were watching it all happen from above, because this couldn’t have been happening. Not to Nikolai— to your Nikolai. 

You were his Healer, and he was your Nikolai. That was how it was supposed to be. 

“I don’t know,” Alina admitted, her tone strained. “My light might be able to help, but… but whenever I’ve used it against the nichevo’ya, against the volcra, I— it kills them.” 

Her voice broke on the last few words, and you wanted to hug her. Alina didn’t love him, you knew that much, but anyone could tell she’d grown close to Nikolai over the months. She was hurting just as much as you. 

You didn’t. You found that you couldn’t do much but stare into the night sky.

He was all alone. Forced into a monster, and now he was all alone. 

It felt like ages before the Bittern finally landed, everyone’s teeth stained rust-orange and bones run deep with exhaustion. Everyone was still alive when you woke up the next morning, and after another check-up on Adrik, you went off into the woods under the guise of searching for kindling. 

Really, you needed some time to yourself. After what had happened—Sergei’s betrayal, losing even more Grisha when you had little to start with, Baghra’s sacrifice, Adrik and his arm, and— and Nikolai—

It was too much. It was just too damn much. 

You’d never gotten close like this to anyone before, never moved further than some useless flirtations and a few stolen kisses with various Grisha when you were bored back at the Little Palace, and when you finally did, with the damned future King of Ravka, this is what happened. 

Guilt tore away at you as you plodded through the woods, and you let the tears you’d been holding back all night fall. You wished you’d been there for him. You wished you’d kissed him. You wished you were strong enough to take the Darkling down on your own for what he’d done. 

The hairs stood up on the back of your neck, and you heard the rustling of branches. You whirled around to the source of the sound, taking a few steps to peer through the trees, and that was when you saw it. 

Your eyes widened and your heart cracked all at once. 

“Nikolai,” you whispered. 

You’d have recognized him anywhere. Despite the shadowy veins splintering across his chest, the wings furled behind his back, claws and fangs in place of fingers and teeth—he was still your Nikolai. His blonde curls remained, his sharp cheekbones and strong jaw, even his clever eyes—even if they were black instead of hazel. 

The smear of blood around his mouth was a sharp contrast to it all. You wondered what—or who—had become his unlucky victim when he could no longer control his hunger. 

Nikolai didn’t move as you stepped closer. His dark gaze was unreadable and you wanted to sob for what the Darkling had done to him. 

“It’s me.” You continued to speak softly as you moved closer, saying your name in hopes of even a spark of recognition. “Your Healer.” 

His eyes followed your movements, his gaze falling down to your hands. He pointed at them with a clawed talon.

You held them up. “My hands?” 

You realized the blood around his mouth wasn’t the only bit of it on his body as your eyes trailed across his bare chest. There were cuts all across his arms and chest, most small but some deeper. He pointed at a thin scar near his abdomen, the only sign of the bullet wound you’d stitched up. 

He wanted you to heal him. He knew who you were. 

This time, a small sob escaped you, and your hand flew up almost on instinct to cover it. You brushed the tears brimming in your eyes as you moved closer to him, and you gently placed your hand on his arm. You felt his limb stiffen for a moment before they relaxed, and you couldn’t help your small smile. Your Nikolai was still there. 

The thin cut vanished as you healed it, and you continued to do the same for the myriad of other injuries on his body. You felt his gaze on you the entire time, and some part of it was comforting. Nikolai was still there—his humanity was still there. This was the least you could do to make him feel the part. 

Once you’d healed up the last of his wounds, you felt the glow of Grisha power inside of you. Nikolai grabbed onto your hand the moment you’d finished, and you looked up into his dark eyes as your fingers clasped around his talons.

“We’ll figure this out, Nikolai,” you whispered. “I promise.”

The corner of his lips curled up ever so slightly, the barest sign of the old smile you’d grown to love.

And then he let go of your hand, and he shot up into the air. It took only seconds for him to disappear, but your gaze remained stuck in place. 

All you could think of was Nikolai’s dark eyes and the shattered shadows beneath his skin, the feel of his taloned hand in yours.  

You would find a way to bring him back. You knew that much. 

5. The Shadow Fold 

“For Saint’s sake— catch him, Zoya!” 

“You screeching at me isn’t helping,” she snarled, her hands held out above her as she summoned wind to break Nikolai’s fall. 

It was almost laughable, how Alina ended it all with a bit of stabbing. First Mal, then the Darkling—now Soldat Sol and oprichniki alike were glowing like human lamps around the Fold. The nichevo’ya dissolved with the Darkling’s power, the same thing that created Nikolai’s monster—you screamed in general when you first saw him falling, and then you screamed at Zoya. It was a credit to her growth that she didn’t slap you first. 

Thankfully, the updraft did its job, and he only landed in the sand at concerning speeds rather than very concerning. 

You ran for him without thinking, not even feeling the jolt in your ankles as you lept from the skiff onto the sands. You no longer had to fear the Fold—the various Sun Soldiers that had gotten Alina’s powers had done away with the remainder in no time—and even if you did, you would brave a thousand volcra for Nikolai. 

He looked so small, so vulnerable laying there in the sand, only clad in torn pants and a myriad of bruises. The last of the shadows receded when you finally reached him, and you didn’t try to stop the tears as they flowed freely down your cheeks. 

“Nikolai,” you whispered, falling to your knees in the sand next to him, “Nikolai, can you hear me?” 

You cradled his head in your hands, tears splattering in the sand around you, and then his eyes opened. 

His beautiful hazel eyes opened and looked right at you, his lips tugging into a smirk as he said your name. 

“Would you say this is an important princely thing?” His voice was husky, damaged from whatever dark thing that had taken a hold of him, but the usual lilt was there. “Or just another injury?” 

You broke into full on sobs, unabashedly and unashamed as you wrapped your arms around him and pulled him into a hug. You felt his arms around you as well, and he rubbed circles on your back. 

“I had time to think,” Nikolai murmured, “and I think I’ll settle on lapushka.” 

Darling. 

You couldn’t help but laugh, and you moved away from him just so you could look at him, gaze at him, never forget his beautiful features. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” 

“I knew I would be,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “I had you looking out for me.” 

“Stop,” you said, your voice watery. “I can’t keep crying in front of you.” 

“I think you’ve more than earned it, lapushka.” 

You laughed again as you shook your head. “How do you feel? Can you still move all your limbs?” 

Nikolai took his hand in yours, fingers intertwining with yours. His gaze didn’t move from you. “Limbs are fine.” 

You let your smile shine unabashed as you squeezed his hand, thankful for the lack of talons. “Can you sit up?” 

Nikolai visibly winced at the effort, but he managed with your help. “My chest hurts quite a bit.” 

“You’ve definitely broken some ribs,” you murmured, “but it’s nothing I can’t fix up.” 

“There’s nothing you can’t fix,” Nikolai said. 

“Careful with all the praise. I might get used to it.” 

“Good.” 

You glanced over to see Tolya and Zoya moving across the sand towards you and you looked back at Nikolai. 

“We’re going to get you back on the skiff, Nikolai,” you said. “I’ll get you healed up and then we’ll get you some clothes. Alright?” 

“I told you,” Nikolai said, “this is your reward for putting up with the irritating prince.” 

“That was for the prince,” you said, running a hand through his blonde curls to untangle them. “My reward for putting up with irritating kings is to make sure they’re clothed and healed.” 

His smile shone brighter than anything Alina could conjure up. 

The Darkling’s Skiff 

You ended up below deck with Nikolai, Tolya, an unconscious Alina and Mal, and the Darkling’s body. It normally wouldn’t have been a cheery atmosphere, but you were just thankful to be alive after all you’d done. Thankful that Nikolai was alive and himself and that the Darkling was dead. 

A First Army uniform was folded next to Nikolai’s makeshift cot where you sat next to him, and Tolya’s companionable silence was appreciated as he stayed by Alina and Mal to ensure they stayed alive. 

“You broke a few ribs in your fall,” you murmured, your hands placed on his chest, “but overall, I’d say you made out pretty well.” 

“Yes,” Nikolai said wryly, looking at his hands. Faint black lines ran across each of his fingers, where claws had torn through his skin. Though the other shadowy marks had faded, these appeared to be permanent. “Pretty well.” 

“You know what I mean, Nikolai.” You moved your hand over his ribs and focused your power—by the slight grimace on his face, the itch that came along with Grisha healing, you knew they were mending back together. “You’re still alive. You’re you again. That means everything.” 

“And your hands are still freakishly cold,” he mused. You smiled. 

A moment passed before he spoke again. 

“You know,” Nikolai said, and you felt his eyes on you again, “I remember everything. Everything that I did when I was that… that thing.” 

Your throat bobbed, but you nodded, encouraging him on. 

“I went to you,” he said, “and… you helped me. You weren’t afraid—you understood what I meant, and you healed me.” 

“Of course I did,” you said softly. A smile tugged at your lips. “I am your Healer, after all.” 

Nikolai placed his hand over one of yours, and your power wavered for a moment as your heart stuttered. 

“One of your ribs is still broken, Nikolai,” you said. “I have to—” 

“I love you,” he interrupted. Your eyes snapped to him, and you thought you misheard him. 

“What?” 

“I love you,” he repeated, as if it came as easily to him as breathing. “Forgive me for the lack of ballads and sonnets on how to express it—I plan to remedy that as soon as we’re back in Os Alta. But I love you, and it’s the one thing I’m sure of at this moment.” 

You continued to stare at him, as if you’d suddenly forgotten how to speak. Nikolai was no Corporalnik, but you were sure he could hear how loudly your heart was beating. 

“It’s alright if you don’t feel the same,” Nikolai said, “or if you’re not ready. I’m a very patient man.” 

It was like your limbs had suddenly regained the ability to move, because something clicked in your mind. You took his face in your hands and you kissed him with a brazen fierceness you didn’t even know you had. 

For a man with two bruised ribs and one broken one, he kissed you back with the same intensity, if not more. You poured all your fear, all your anxiety, all your worries about him into the kiss, reveling in the warmth of his lips and his hands and—

Tolya cleared his throat. “We’re nearly out of the Fold.” 

You pulled away as quickly as it had started, Nikolai looking very pleased with himself as you fixed the collar of your kefta and looked over at him with eyes that were surely more pupil than iris. 

“Thank you, Tolya,” you said, and you cleared your throat as well. Good of him to ignore the two of you. Embarrassing of you to nearly forget about your surroundings when you looked at Nikolai. 

“Yes,” Nikolai said, mirth in his voice, “thank you, Tolya.”

You rolled your eyes as you turned back to him, your lips still burning from his kiss, and you settled your hands back on Nikolai’s chest. 

“No more interruptions,” you said. “I’ve got to get you healed and dressed before we’re off the sand.” 

His eyes twinkled. “Whatever you say, lapushka.” 

You had no idea what was next. The Sun Summoner died on the Fold, the Darkling’s reign of terror was finally over, and Nikolai was to be King. You didn’t know where you would fit in, though you were sure he would find a place. 

But you loved Nikolai, and by the Saints, Nikolai loved you. 

And for now, that was more than enough. 

#nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov x y/n #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov fic #nikolai lantsov fluff #nikolai lantsov angst #nikolai lantsov the love of my life #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone fic #grishaverse x reader #sadie writes

[toskarin]

recently put together a broad-spectrum album recommendation list for an oomfie, but it felt like it'd be fun to throw this on tumblr as a blunt force answer to everyone who's asked for album recommendations from me

no particular order, no particular quality threshold, no particular mood, no particular genre, we're shooting for variety here

if there's one uniting factor, it's probably "most of this would be considered 'extreme' music" but even then there's plenty of wildcards mixed in to keep you on your toes

enormous recommendation list below the break

-

秘部痺れHIBUSHIBIRE - Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye

の子 - 神聖かまってちゃん

Envy - All The Footprints You've Ever Left And The Fear Expecting Ahead

asami - 屑籠

Blind Girls - Residue

COLD DEW - 欲​欲​YUYU

The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand

[ALBUM ART IS A SURGERY PHOTO] Maenad Veyl - Reassessment

abriction - Banshee

The Sweet Release of Death - The Blissful Joy of Living

Orchestroll - Hyperwide Lustre

Luminescence - 羞Shyness

Mahti - Musiikki 1

Evvolves - Mosses

Nastia Y - Robot Meaheret

Limbs - Everything Under Heaven

Grima - Will of the Primordial

Full of Hell - Full Of Hell & Merzbow

No Point in Living - Idolatry

Sadness - Leave

Marmalade Butcher - Onomatomani​[​a​]​kus

An Autumn For Crippled Children - try not to destroy everything you love

Theodor Bastard - Beloe: Hunting For Fierce Beasts

My Bloody Valentine - Ecstasy and Wine

ベス・クーパーに+現代日本縮図+色覚異常 - SUCKER PUNCH 2​：​FATALITY

Anti-God Hand - Blight Year

Nadja - Radiance Of Shadows

Thousand Leaves - Twilight Symphony

Ultar - Kadath

群青リボン - 夢の底

Mind Matter - Les Brumes de l'Abandon

Beast Jesus - Distributed Denial of Self

Ethereal Shroud - Trisagion

Trhä - Endlh​ë​ton​ë​g

Signs of the Dying Summer - Oto jest Pustka

i, of the trees and wind - Cry of the Forest

Hypnodrone Ensemble - The Shape of Space

The Stalin - 虫

Story of Hope - Historia

DOPE PURPLE & BERSERK - This Is The Harsh Trip For New Psyche

HEALTH - GET COLOR

Nghtly - An Afflicted Body

Ekselsior Rec. - Funky Impulse '17

Sigillum Azoetia - Erennwell

Little Nemo - Turquoise Fields

VANDAL - 地​獄​変

Sacrimoon - I'm gonna miss you

Havukruunu - Kuu Erkylän Yllä

пуща - éph​é​m​è​re

The Elements - Elementary

Second to Sun - Nocturnal Philosophy

have fun!

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 3, Match 17: Eda Clawthorne vs. Sakyo Furuichi

Submitted kids:

Eda Clawthorne: Luz Noceda, King Clawthorne, Hunter, Edric Blight, and debatably, Amity Blight, Willow Park, and Gus Porter

Sakyo Furuichi: Azami Izumida, Banri Settsu, Juza hyodo, Taichi Nanao (these are just the main ones but tbh all Mankai company characters who were under 20 in year 1 count)

Propaganda under the cut!

Eda Clawthorne:

1. “Eda Clawthorne always said she was a terrible influence and took the word “maternal” as an insult. She then proceeded to accidently adopt a sentient demon beast thing, raise him, adopt some human that tripped into her dimension, mentor her, all while being on the run from the tyrannical government. She canonically adopts King in the second season and King and Luz call each other siblings. She also calls them “her kids.” Eda attempts to sacrifice herself for them at many times and tries her best to keep them safe, and is really sad about the fact that they’ll one day leave her to go back to their own families. She puts away her own biases against the school system so that Luz can lead magic. The maternal instincts basically kick her out of nowhere and she goes from a badass, absolute menace to society to badass, absolute menace to society who happens to have two chaos gremlins.”

Link to the rest here!

Sakyo Furuichi:

“his first adopted child was azami, azami was his yakuza boss's kid but the boss was always busy and the mom died when azami was 5 so sakyo at age 23 ish raised azami singlehandedly. he went out of his way to protect azami's dream of becoming a makeup artist when his biological dad disapproved,, like when azami secretly ordered makeup online, sakyo told the boss it was "stuff teenage boys like" which prompted the boss to leave it alone. azami even said he sees sakyo as a dad 🥺

besides azami, sakyo also fusses over his other kids tho he has difficulty being honest abt his feelings. he's v strict abt the company budget (they're all in a theatre company called mankai company btw) but it's be when he joined the company was in crippling debt so he doesn't want them to go through that again and lose their home. he also expressed disappointment that he wasn't the first one to take banri drinking when banri became of age which is so dad behaviour to me <3”

#eda clawthorne #sakyo furuichi #the owl house #a3! act addict actors #toh #a3! #eda the owl lady #edalyn clawthorne #a3 act addict actors #toh edalyn #serial adopters bracket #round 3 #tumblr polls #tumblr tournament

[ner5y]

@notherpuppet's role reversal lyrics for Hazbin Hotel songs have lived in my head rent free, so I wrote my own rendition of "Ready For This"!

Looking over this again, there are noticeable areas for improvement, but this is my first time writing lyrics.

Maybe I'll make a karaoke style video to show where each syllable fits into the song!

Here's the original post this was inspired by

Alastor: Have you ever wanted something

That was so clear in your mind

That you could taste it?

Exorcist 1: (Spoken) You mean like ice-cream for a friend?

Alastor: (Spoken) Ha! No

It's a feeling like a roaring

In your heart that you could find

If you just faced it

Stand up against the fray and well,

I'll just come out and say it

For the first time in my life

I know that I am ready for this

and to that heavy thrum, I'll lead you from the front

I can't do this on my own

Throughout, history has shown

That our legends never won their wars alone!

I know the burden may be great,

But with your help, I'm sure we'll take the weight!

Aren't you tired of your power and authority so easily belittled?

Exorcist 2: (Spoken) Maybe if we just talked it out-

Alastor: (Spoken) ugh, Face it!

Those in hell will never listen,

Now's the time they feel their rotten egos crippled!

They'll find their power rippled

(Spoken) And yours tripled!

Don't you want to see those bastards set alight?

Join up now, prepare to travel

Onwards to a glorious battle!

Time to steel your nerves, jump in and join the fight!

Set all that hidden bloodlust free

Follow me

And we'll divide and conquer,

Their heads upon a stake!

Charlie: Just think of all the new friends you could make!

Alastor: (Spoken) Christ's sake…

Exorcist 1: (Spoken) New friends? I'm in!

Exorcist 2: (Spoken) Oh, woah!

Exorcist 3: (Spoken) I'm so lonely!

Exorcists: It's time now to act

They're on the attack

When they move to strike

We won't stall striking back!

We'll follow with glee

We can't wait to see

The new friends we'll meet

On this hellish retreat!

Though your lust for blood is something we abhor,

We will help you fight the fight and win the war!

Those overlords won't stand a chance against our light brigade

So we say, "hip hooray!" we will join in your crusade!

Alastor: Hey now, that's the spirit! Can we amp it up?

Vaggie: (Spoken) Oi!

Do not take their jubilation

For easy manipulation!

Alastor: But if I could take their rage and build it up-

Vaggie: (Spoken) Hey, kid!

They're no demons, but they're tough!

Alastor: Fair enough…

Alastor and Vaggie: We are forever thankful for your bravery and aid!

Exorcists: We can't wait to meet the new friends we'll have made!

Alastor: (Spoken) oookay…

For the first time in my life,

I'm going to be ready for this

Ready to be their marshall, leading the parade

They're quite affable, I know,

But I'll help their rage to grow!

Until they're an army ready for the fro!

Though not the most intimidating,

I can help them fix their sorry state!

Vaggie: They're dancing along

They're singing his song!

Charlie: Surprised? Why, I knew he could do it all along!

Vaggie: although his motivations are a little harsh…

Charlie: His confidence will surely help him lead this march!

And I will be the one to heal him of his blight

Vaggie: Fine I'm in!

Charlie and Vaggie: Stick with him, he will surely see the light!

Exorcists and Alastor: For the first time in our lives

We know that we are ready for this!

Exorcists: We'll show them their most righteous battle yet!

Exorcists: We will gladly lend a hand!

Alastor: I will finally take a stand!

Against those sinners and their deadly threat!

All: We'll be the victors in this war

And once it's over, we'll restore

Authority, we're ready for

This!

Alastor: I really hope that they're ready for this…

#hazbin hotel #role reversal au #alastor #charlie morningstar #vaggie

[deadtiredghost]

So I watched the entirety of Mashle as a drinking game and these are my non-coherent, drunkard rambling thoughts on the anime. (Sploilers obvs).

Mash - is it better than HP; not objectively, but do I enjoy watching it far more, yes 1000x yes.

"Our world has no shortage of problems" - UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY

Mash is so smart when it comes to fighting and so dumb when it comes to literally anything else. I love this boy. Mash is so cute when he lies. I want to adopt him so bad. The paternal feelings haven't been so strong in a whileeee. (Not about anyone other than the turtles)

He just really loves creampuffs. He has an unconscious reflex to people taking his creampuffs.

"I see you as nothing but an unusually clever rabbit" - ironic because most people might see Mash as the opposite of clever.

For a comedy anime Mashle is so dark. Like the world is so fucked and euthenasia is the norm. But here I am making a drinking game out of the comedy anime and casually ignoring all the child abuse and trauma all the characters go through - someone should write an analysis on that.

Mash forgives people way too easily - 'since u have feelings I guess ur not a shit person even if u crippled and thus sent to be euthanized a whole host of students.'

I love that Ron Weasley-s wand has barbed wire around it - it's so unnecessary.

Unironically I love Love, or whatever her name is. Reminds me of Teruhashi but less developed and I hope he does get more developedz.ź

"I think Mask Guy wants to eat cream puffs too" • A line you would only see from this show • *talking about a guy who is actively dying from being impaled*

Every single villain: and they failed to consider that... Mash was just built different.

Abel: my mother taught me morals. I forgot them for 10 years but now they're all coming rushing back to me after Mash suplexed me and gave me brain damage.

Rayne's reaction to the green haired shit is overboard to us and the main characters, there is no use in continuing to kick someone while they're down, but from his point of view he has probs had to deal with similar people over and over for his entire life and gotten bored of them double crossing him or something. Sidenote: i have never met a "Rayne" (that spelling or otherwise) that isn't genderqueer in some regard.

In universe they mention machine guns and bunting from baseball whÿyyyyyy .

Was this world Formerly the real world?

It happened in Tokyo Revengers too, but what's with characters being like "if u don't have anything to live for, live for me in servitude"? Like... u don't owe them ur life and death my dude. There are other things to live for than a maniacle megalomaniac

I love Mask Guy! And where the fuc is Lance? How long has Lance just been absent? Who the fuc is this random that appeared out of no where to tattle that Mash has no magic? Why is this show so fucking random?

Finally we r on season 2 and I get the fun opening - it has been in my brain since Jan when I first watched the op on youtube (Basement gang danced to it)

(Does anyone else pace to music? Or is it just me doing maladaptive daydreaming shit?) Blim blam blam blim blam blam blim blam blam boom.

Season 2 opens to: GASLIGHTING

Just the casual threat of euthanasia hanging over Mash's shoulders at all time.

Is 'blight-blood'a slur? That deffo counts as a slur. Worse than 'no-mage' at least.

Mash gave Mask Guy a handkerchief that healed him being impaled in the chest - and that was a pretty serious impalement. So why couldn't any of the school nurses help Ron Weasley?

Best line in the whole series: "forgive him, Abyss calls girls 'females' that's how little experience he has with them." 😂😭😂😭😂😭

It would have been fun if the blonde dude in season 2 was the dad of draco malfoy in season 1 - he isn't but it would have been fun if we got a return of the draco malfoy character humbled.

Tho he is incredibly powerful but no one respects him and I don't understand that.

*Mash does anything* - looks like magic to me!

Japanese dub: You're a (in english) NICE GUY Eng Subtites: you're hot stuff

Everything everyone does in this show is so unnecessary - what is it even for? (Sand guy I'm looking at u)

Okay but tell me that in an alternate universe the Divine Visionaries aren't just a harem anime with an aromantic Mash in the middle.

What Rayne says: I agree with the headmaster's opinion What Rayne means: my brother is weak and this no-mag accepted my bunnies

I find it interesting that Dumbledore has one line. U know he got more somewhere.

Can you have extra lines elsewhere? Like not ur face? On ur arse? Tramp stamp line?

WHERE is the government? Is it jus the Jesus ppl that are doing all this? Is the government the schoo?

Mash coming in like a caterilla will never mot be funny to me. My friend: "I feel like I've been witness to a crime."

I love the soundtrack. "It's so heavy that no one can lift it!" - I wonder where this is gonna go. Who fucking made it then?

OLIVER WOOD IS BACK! I forgot he existed.

Unpopular opinion: I like Margarette. I get that their design plays on tropes, but at the same time, people do be like that. Not like how Margrette acts but looks. Man really go told something opposing her worldview and then played the piano. But also she has the best lipstick. I would have preferred it if Margarette wasn't portrayed as creepy by thr characters around him, but I'm just happy to have a he/she/they character in a show I like. (Same Margarette same)

I don't think she is any more goofy than any other villain character in this show so far. I also don't think that the character is meant to be harmful. I can see why people might dislike her, especially considering past anime and the failed rep that ends up judt offensive, but to only see good trans rep as characters who "pass" and look gender conforming is harmful in itself. You can clearly see that Margarette is gender-non-conforming in his design, they are such an icon. Jawline doesn't determine the gender of the character! And I don't believe that Margarette is an "Okama" in any way of the word.

We support women's rights and their wrongs in this household.

"I'm not putting tartar sauce on my shrip... I'm putting shrimp on my tartar sauce." • My baby bro showed me this like 3 yrs ago in the manga and I didn't rlly know what he was on about until I started watching this awesome show.

I love the use of the soundtrack tho. I love Margarette but why is she like this? (I scream out when he starts playing the piano) why are the eyes rolled back 😭😭😭

Are they playing tabletop role play games!!! D60? Anyone? Skip 320 turns????? Wtf? Dnd would be a very different game is those where them rules. There is no way that fucking dice is a D100.

I love all the characters they are so goofy.

I feel so bad for finn rn in the tournament like - someone keep him safe!

Mash flatlined at the prospect of doing academic work - for half a second there he was fucking dead

Why is he breakdancing? I need therapy after this. I don't understand.HOW DID IT WORK!!!!

Is the odd guy actually chill? WHAT THE FUC? I thought Orca didn't matter. But the orca guy is hot at least - it's the hair for me. WHY R ALL THE HOT ONES EVIL! I like Rayne best tho.

Man got held back a year get fucked. I feel bad for the guy who helped Mash - I was so sus of him

Same Mash, I'm having a hard time retaining attention on the rules too 😭 All the sympathy left my body at the smashed crystals.

In the op Dumbledor is in a sheet. No top just a sheet covering his nips. Is anyone else seeing this?

I've been routing for fin the entire time tho - he has rayne's genes! FUCK YEA FINN - ugh. I wanted Finn to do something. Sorry I'm going back to Tokyo Revengers, but Takemichi being beaten and beaten and continously getting up and not relenting for his friends is so powerful, in comparison to Finn where it feels more like a damsel. I love Finn and I want him to get more powerful so we can get something badass out of him, but this episode was not it rlly. Not yet anyways.

Creepy wand alert! And I usually like anatomical hearts.

How did Mash just do that? That the fuc? U can't sculpt that with ur hands. I was almost expecting a Yor.

He's doing a Gaara - why the redhead doing a Gaara? Margareit being fucking horrifying rn. I know he is the bad guy, but that doesn't mean that they're the bad guy.

Not everyone underestimating my boi Rayne - they have proved themselves!

Sand fuck I'd called Madl? Mans name is fucking: Oter Madl?

We haven't had an opportunity to play the drinking game much season 2.

Mash: ah ur the guy who bullied me the other day Guy: want to play a little game? Alright jigsaw

THEYRE RIPPING OFF MY GOAT ITACHI!

"It's obvious ur attempting to guard something" wtf is wrong w mash - seriously. I love him but my god.

How does he do that? That's not something strength does??!! - built different.

Quadriceps magic - why even bother at this point. Everyone knows.

Mash's face: I didn't sign up for this shit

Margareit looks so cute with hair - idk how she did it but they look so cute with it. Her eyelashes tho!

Is Mash's ear his weakness? Same. When someone gets to close I feel a shiver and freeze up. It's the autism.

Margaret's power is actually pretty cool tho

GET UR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF MY SON! Dumbledore plz save him.

It's giving slightly more than creepy.

I was under suspicion that dumbledor was a natural triple liner... but oh my gosh. This is orochimaru shit.

The autism is strong with this one.

Mash's father is so wholesome!

This group is desestible

I will never forget that Mash named his individual muscles - its funny but also he was entirely alone his entire childhood so its kind of sad if I think about it

Ginger afro kid doing a Brock

I love that the school is called Easton - it's so generic English prep school.

Mash's gym clothes are just one with his body.

All the Jesus metaphors are in abundance with this show tho 😭

They're so fucking dramatic. All of them.

Sand guy is such a fucking loser tho.

Sidenote: who names their kid Cell War?

Woop woop necromancy! I would care more about any of this if they gave more screentime and build up to the villain characters, but ya I called it a long time ago and I'm not mad - it's a gag anime with casual euthanasia mentions, what more could u want?

Idk how to feel about 2-bit-merlin (who is literallt called Adam Jobs but is nothing like Steve Johs thank fuc) being silly goofy in the flashback but I love the design of the guy with the sharp teeth - I love me some sharp toothed character.

"It had the best specs" fr fr

Imagine being a bystander watching anime fights but not being able to hear the inner thoughts... they're just floating there

I didn't know they went Super Saiyan in Harry Potter!

In one shot it looked like Dumbledor had a hearing aid?

Wow I forgot that literally the entire school had just been frozen in time while the 7 jesus-chosen mages and the 3 first years that have no buisness being here are just fighting for their lives.

FATHER? WHO THE FUCK IS FATHER? WHY DID THIS TURN INTO FULL METAL ALCHEMIST ALL OF A SUDDEN? religion vs science (physical athleticism) is a theme? I guess??? Pushig it????

Is grindelwald "father" am I misreading this?

Wtf is going on. Mash deserves a nap but like... seriously? Mash is me, he thought it was a dream 😭

No one should wait for the monolouging to end. Just punch them. Mash has the right idea.

My place of learning. Oh no. - the autism is strong with this one.

ARE YOU FUCKIG KIDDING MEE WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENINB? This is a weird and unusual torture and Mash has never looked more like a psychopath.

Okay. That makes more sense. I was about to loose my shit. I love this show but what the fuc.

It's a good thing they taught us early on that if u K.O. someone all their magic attacks dissappear! /sarcasm.

I love that someone else has been traumatised by the creampuffs.

I'm so annoyed I sobered up before this episode. I needed to be drunker for that.

The ginger fuc turned up again! I love hos hid afro moves in the wind but I love moreso the blonde fuck's broom being so extra.

If it's to do with low magical power then why are the very powerful purple students effected?

Grindelwald is Dio now! Oh. Wait no. Grindelwald has Sundail (from epithet erased) Grindelwald looks so young compared to dumbledor as well so u know he's chasing immortality and doing some time shit to have effect skin and long fucking lashes. Such a twink. He is not daddy, he looks like sephiroth- the og hater. (Now I see it I can't unsee it)

Dmbedor is so cool in this, why can't actual dumbedor be the cool??? (Jk I hate jk and we all know why)

Oay Steve Jobs is growing on me. Adam Jobs is just me now w the animal facts; but I'm not a teacher and never would be.

Fucking called it. Why do they always do this? Like I know half ur face might die and decay after this fight but there is so much to live for - like being the only one stopping Mash from being euthanized rn.

Oh my god its biblically accurate gundam

Screw Netero with his Buddha, gimmie Dumbledor and his Uranus.

I wish this fight ficed everything going forward and all the future issues but its not gonna.

"No manner of attack can affect me who can control time" - what does that even mean? And you know that Mash is gonna pop up with no magic or smming later.

I love how just like the source material, dumbledor has his favourite gryffindors.

Whenever Oliver Wood pops up I get a jumpscare but also why was Dumbledor spying on children during their non-achool time? I know this is just random flashbacks but him saying "I was watching" and then giving us this implies he was spying and that's hilarious to me.

Conclusion: dumbledor and grindelwald fucked when they were teens. But not the romantic shit just the toxic two queer kids in a small town type shit.

Okay that was dramatic and all but I need the screen to just zoom out and show Mash kicking his legs to stay in the air.

Okay, okay, recap, now zoom out please. YESSSSSSSS. (Did dumbledor just say Mash was so awesome)

Dumbledor has short eyelashes but I like that one eye of eyelashes are burnt off with the injury from before.

Why is twink grindelwald doing that to his face?

Okay. Go Mash. Beat that twink up! His face cant be ruined any worse than what's currently goig on.

A perfect human. U ain't even human anymore bro.

Is grindelwald doing an orochimaru? Body stealing? Is that where this is going?

"I didn't think he could move that much" - HE IS LITERALLY CONTINOUSLY KICKIG AT AIR TO KEEP HIMSELF AFLOAT - what r u on about????

"We'll finish this another time" - no get back here bitch! Stab him while his back is turned!!!

What is with wizard megalomaniacs and wanting to get rid of education? I mean heck I'm not complaining, he education system leaves a lot to be desired irl let alone in this fucked up world.

Flop.

"We won't make it in time" - I wonder who will (I don't wonder. I have never had to. But I still feel the hype whenever Mash enters)

He's just built different.

I mean I wouldn't call it "playing" but sure. Also the students are so fucking ungrateful to even even be questioning Mash's acceptance. He has literally just saves ur lives, why do you even have to ponder this?

Blood don't splash like that.

Gaaraa moves afain! - I love to see Sand Tomb being reused in great anime.

They enjoy some down time dont get me wrong, but I'm getting some whiplash at the tone change all of a sudden.

One failed exam and your immediately expelled??? That's so harsh. I sympathise hard w Mash rn, the education system sucks and exams are even worse 😭

Mash isn't rebellious in the slightest! "It seems like you can put effort in when you need too" stfu, this is ableist, he isn't lazy!!!

Omg it's Oliver Wood again. I forgor he existed.

Lackmagic? Blightblood? That's worse than Muggle - which come from the word "Mug" which is a gullibal person (derogatory)

One pretty girl cab instantly quiet a horde apparently. Wow. Well it is anime.

"Catching someone who can't use magic is child's play" - famous last words from a cocky dipshit

Why is his chin like that tho? Why are his lips like a cat's?

I just want to grab Mash and explain how much better a person he is than the vast majority of the ppl in this world. It's kinda like Iruma-kun where the MC is in a world where he is so kind that everyone is just confused as to why.

#mashle #mash burnedead #rayne ames #finn ames #lance crown #orter madl #These were the most popular tags #Idk what else to tag #mashle magic and muscles #mashle anime spoilers #first watch #drunk rambles #typos everywhere #thats what drinking gets u - but i cba to edit it now

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

i really really want a young eda spinoff and i know most people are thinking about the fluffy cute stuff, seeing the old hexsquad as kids and all. i want to see that too but i also hope they use that to play up the dramatic irony and the tragedy of it all

because like. we know where these kids end up. eda and lilith being the grudgeby champions of their school? lilith gives her sister a life-crippling curse in five months and neither of them know this. odalia, alador, and darius goofing around and being best friends? at some point, we know they have a falling out and darius ends up absolutely DESPISING them (or at least alador) for the next thirty years. darius looking up to his cool emperor’s coven mentor, THE golden guard, and thinking he’s the best role model in the world? we know what happens to that golden guard. raine being all excited to show everyone how good bard magic is? we know about their slow disillusionment with the coven system over the next decades, leading them to commit treason against the covens that they-and all their friends-have spent their entire childhoods dreaming of joining.

even if every episode ends with a satisfying conclusion and the characters being happy, knowing where they end up 30 years down the line means we know most of their “victories” are temporary. even if we have an episode where eda and raine have a great time at grom together, we know that eda’s refusal to talk about her problems eventually cause that relationship to deteriorate. even if we have an episode where eda helps lilith gain some confidence, we know that lilith’s envy eventually twists into resentment and causes her to curse her sister. even if we see odalador get together and become a surprisingly sweet couple, we know that odalias’ need for control, alador’s apathy, and both their ambitions eventually warps their romance into a stiff business partnership. and that the perfect happy family they might have wanted initially eventually becomes fake and loveless.

i want to learn about some of the kids’ families as well. i want to see if odalia and alador’s parents made them Like That to amity and the twins. the show is all about generational trauma, after all. it would be sad but understandable to see the blight parents be abused by their parents and know that they ended up repeating the cycle. people say odalia and alador might have broken off their friendship with darius because of family-enforced classism to parallel amity and willow, but are we sure odalia and alador were the rich kids in this scenario? darius was the one who had connections to the golden guard, after all, and this analysis by @yardsards lays out how odalia and alador may not have come from old money. if they lost a friend because they weren’t seen as “high society,” then it could explain why odalia is so obsessed with family image and prestige as an adult. and also, i want to see raine’s parents. why did they insist on sending raine to an expensive school they hated? were they part of why raine was so insecure about the bard magic thing or was that just the other kids? also, i want to see more of gwen and dell. we already know how gwen failed the clawthorne sisters as a mother i want to see how dell did it. (i love both of them so much but it takes both parents to make your kids Like That)

and i would love to see them explore the emperor’s regime through the eyes of kids who have never known anything else. the clawthornes were wild witches, but lilith especially dreamed of joining the emperor’s coven. was this the equivalent of being the first person in your family to go to college? belos had only been ruling for two decades by that point, but he’s had followers for hundreds of years. did some of the other kids have family that were in covens? was that how darius got the golden guard to mentor him?

and why WAS the golden guard from the emperor’s coven darius’s mentor, anyway, if he later joined the abominations coven? did darius originally plan to join the emperor’s coven, but changed his mind after the golden guard’s death? did the golden guard even mentor darius while he was in high school? was his death what caused darius to separate from the friend group? did the other kids have mentors to prepare them for coven tryouts as well? if so, then were the clawthorne sisters at a disadvantage, since they had no family connections to a mentor, and that’s why lilith got desperate? we got a glimpse of the coven indoctrination of children in eda’s flashback episode, so was there more of that at hexside? were there kids other than eda who didn’t want to join a coven, but were pressured into it by society after graduation?

there’s also a bunch of potential friendships between characters that barely interact in the main show. like eda and lilith were in the same track as boscha’s parents. were they friends? rivals? grudgeby teammates? similarly, odalia and perry porter were both in the oracle track. maybe they’re just classmates but it would be really funny if they were actually besties. we get a mention of darius and raine being friends/worsties in hexside but we don’t actually know what they were like! did raine annoy darius with catboy shit like they’re doing as an adult? if they were good friends, that puts raine’s attempt on his life as an adult in a tragic light, since they probably assumed their friend had been indoctrinated by the emperor, and even if they didn’t want to kill him, they had to. it would be a huge betrayal to darius too if that were the case. (but if they were worsties it makes that scene funnier bc raine saw the chance to murder this guy whos been annoying them since age 17 and JUMPED on it)

anyway this started out as speculation on how bittersweet a young eda spinoff would be if the audience already knows the ending of their story but it spiralled into every single headcanon i have about the old hexsquad. go figure

#toh #the owl house #shut up pandora #eda clawthorne #lilith clawthorne #odalia blight #alador blight #darius deamonne #raine whispers #perry porter #dell clawthorne #gwendolyn clawthorne #fun fact! #i have 2 midterms 2 quizzes 5 labs one presentation one lab report and 3 assignments due in the next two weeks #and here i am talking about owl house again #the brainrot is unreal #instead of hyperfixating on baby shows can i please hyperfixate on like #air pollution for once in my life

[tinfairies]

i read your last headcanons of reader defending a bunch of characters and the larys part got me hooked🤭 can you write a blurb or headcanons (you choose🫶🏻) for larys actually crying like actually sobbing in front of his s/o

TW: Use of the "R" slur.

Larys had been made fun of his entire life. Been called every name in the book. He's been a blight on his father's legacy and has fought tooth and nail for what little recognition he receives now.

'He could have had it worse' he always tells himself. He's gotten used to the cruel treatment from others, and has used the way people ignore him to his advantage. Just because he's cripple, doesn't mean he's stupid, but most people don't know or won't acknowledge that. He was used to it, far too used to it.

Yet today, he couldn't take it. It had been a long time since Larys cried. Years perhaps. Maybe all the bottled up anger and sadness finally burst. A simple word. "Retard" fell from a lords lips as though it was something he said often.

That was all it took. Larys clenched his jaw, ire bubbling inside him. Then came the familiar sting of tears. He quickly made his way from the room, he felt small and embarrassed as he hobbled out the door on his cane.

He refused to cry, not until he got somewhere private. He refuses to let anyone see that their words have an affect on him. He had been so lost in his head that he hadn't noticed someone walking towards him. Not until soft hands gripped his arms.

His head tilted up and he saw the angelic face of his beloved. Larys' heart swelled, the Gods may have cursed him with his disability but blessed him with an angel to make up for it.

"My love, what's wrong?" they asked, concern thick in their voice as their hands moved to cup his face. Hot tears spilled from his eyes, he couldn't hold them back any longer.

"It's nothing." he choked out in a whisper. His darling's lips tightened into a thin line, he knew he couldn't hide anything from them.

"Give me a name."

#hotd #house of the dragon #hotd x reader #house of the dragon x reader #hotd imagine #house of the dragon imagine #hotd headcanon #larys strong #larys strong x reader #Angst #Fluff #Blurb #House of the dragon headcanons

[lavared]

⚔️ BRÆNRYN BROSCA ⚔️

-

Race: Commoner Dwarf, Casteless

Class: Rogue (Dual Weapon)

Specialization: Duelist

Affiliations: the Carta, Grey Wardens, Orzammar Royal Family, Ferelden Royal Court

Titles: Brænryn the Duster, The Warden, Hero of Ferelden, Paragon Brænryn

Personality: Wary, Brusque, Quick-Witted, Protective, Non-judgemental

Memorable Quotes: “Can I get you a ladder, so you can get off my back?!”

(Details under the cut)

⚔️ ⚔️⚔️

Three styles, three different life stages. 

First one: The Warrior Traveller’s ‘Fit 

Key Words: practical, medium weight, no-fuss, dark tones 

This is what I imagine Brosca looking like after the Joining ritual and for a good part of the game. The beginning of her journey is all slashing, crippling, and traveling on foot, so I needed to get her a look that is functional (allegedly) and with no frills. I needed to make a mishmash of in-game armor parts to get something I could picture her wearing for real. 

It could have been worse, 3/5 stars.

-

Second one: The Fereldian Court Jester 

Key Words: cheap elegance, military influences, brighter colors, poofy

The special occasions look. You can see her wearing this on a diplomatic encounter with the Arl or during a war council with her allies on a cold winter day in Ferelden. I needed to elevate a basic tunic + pants + boots combo by adding more details and faking a more refined fabric for the blouse. I wanted to play on the contrast between modest and expensive, but it was my greatest goal to make her look a bit on the gaudy and tacky side. Being classy is not her forte. 

2/5 stars, but bonus points for trying to look the part. A generous 3/5 stars score.

-

Third one: The Seasoned Veteran 

Key Words: subtle patterns, better fit, souvenirs, mismatched armor

She’s a grown-up now. She’s a Commander, she’s a Paragon, she’s an Icon, she’s a Legend, she’s the Moment (not really, but still). Instead of letting her go full-blown diva, I let her crawl back to her roots. The tunic + pants + boots combo is her uniform, and you won’t catch her wearing anything else, but this time you can find new and old elements added to it. I picture her collecting and looting trinkets, materials, fabrics, and pieces of armor around Thedas, and combining them with what she already owns. She doesn’t fight that much at this point compared to her Blight days, so she skips on the medium armor. 

It’s nice, it’s cute, but it could have been better. 3/5 stars.

⚔️ ⚔️⚔️

I wrote a post narrating in detail why I chose to dress her like this, but it’s so long it’s basically an essay. I’m not bothering you with that, you have a life to care about lol All you need to know is that I needed to recreate the Grey Warden Armour/Uniform color scheme to be consistent with the lore and display her unhealthy obsession for the color blue

#brosca warden #brosca #warden #grey warden #rogue dwarf #dwarf #commoner dwarf #casteless dwarf #hero of ferelden #dragon age #dragon age: origins #dragon age origins #da: origins #DA:O #dao #original #original character #oc #my ocs #my art

[aly-the-writer]

Thinking about the mage rebellion and Fereldan. My main Warden is a Surana that sticks Alistair with the throne so I never really gave it much thought about why Ferelden's ruler would accept the rebellion.

But I replayed and something stuck out to me: Connor was frustrated about them being in Redcliffe. He asks how that could be seen to be a good idea. And honestly? Given that the Wardens rule Amaranthine and it's a major point of entry from the sea it wouldn't be that hard to have set Fiona's people there and gotten fewer side eyes by the locals. They're used to Wardens, mages ain't that weird in comparison. Especially after the Warden-Commander let a possessed corpse follow them home from the swamp like a lost mabari.

But Ferelden has a population problem. Lots of dead young men and women just at Ostagar, let alone the southern hills, the bannorn via the rebellion, and Denerim. And the survivors of the Siege at Denerim would have had high chances of Blight Sicknesses, there were probably epidemics following 9:31. That would have crippled the fighting population. That doesn't even count that a lot of the refugees who made it to the Marches and elsewhere never returned.

Redcliffe is the fortified gateway to Ferelden from the /Orlesian/ border. The same Orlais that certain powers (Gaspard) want to return to being an expanding empire.

Celene's hold was weak. Weak enough the Inquisitor could arrange to break it entirely.

The Chantry is primarily Orlesian and that would give the mages a reason to not want Orlesian control if it came down to Gaspard as Emperor bringing chevaliers back across the Frostbacks.

I don't think Ferelden took the mages in out of generosity. At least not entirely. I think they saw a chance to add a significant military force to their country if their gamble paid off - and that's why Teagan agreed. Unfortunately for the rebellion the Tevinter thing is a definite point of no return - the mages weren't loyal enough to their own cause, to where they were, to continue the risk of keeping them.

#dragon age #ferelden #mage rebellion #DA meta #my own thoughts #dragon age: inquisition #i havent slept #please forgive any typos

[theluckywizard]

In the Shattering of Things, Ch. 64: A Passing Fancy

Summary: It's the last day in Crestwood. After she recovers from the gut-twisting stress of the dragon fight, Rose tries to savor the last moments of her fling with Hawke. Fic Summary: Lady Rose Trevelyan's idle, aristocratic life blinks out in a haze of irrelevance when the breach destroys the Conclave. She may be soft and coddled when she joins the Inquisition, but there's a fierceness inside her she's yet to fully recognize. Armed with only a few relevant skills and the mark that makes her a legend, she is thrust onto a path delivering hope where it’s long been scorched away and finds comfort in the grumpy, handsome stick in the mud charged with her protection and training. As she stumbles her way across southern Thedas, she begins to realize she's tangled at the center of machinations she barely understands, and she's not alone in that. Enter Hawke.

Excerpt below the cut 👇

“So you know something about saving the world,” I say, trying to stave off crippling anxiety and the wrenching of my gut with cordial conversation.

He laughs. It’s a bitter thing, like the memory of his heroism sits oddly inside him. “It was different. Not like an Inquisition. We were kids. Barely knew how to lace our own boots but Mina just said ‘fuck it, we’re the only ones who can stop this’,” he muses. “She had fire and spittle inside her that I didn’t, and with reason. If it weren’t for her— well. Who knows where I’d have ended up. A bloody pulp on the field in Ostagar maybe. I’d have been lost without her.”

“Probably good that you married her then,” I poke.

“I know what you mean. But Warden work often separated us. And I had to learn to lead. It was harder than all of the Blight if I’m being honest, finding my own voice. It was hard for me and Mina too. Sometimes love isn’t enough when everything is changing.”

Love isn’t enough when everything is changing. 

The truth of it bites like an ornery wyvern. Or a Northern Hunter. 

Worries about the fight are obscured momentarily by sudden thoughts of Cullen. I pull my quiver off my back to look at it. Had we even been in love? Truly? Certainly our affections had grown amid a wildly shifting landscape, but when the feelings finally emerged— sloppily, I admit— we’d snapped at the first test. Words eluded us. Our connection wasn’t enough to overcome the humiliation of the moment. At least not then.

But this quiver says something. That he’d remembered a precious detail about me, shared in a quiet moment of relief and vulnerability. Maybe that he’s thinking about me, even as he writes me those exasperating missives of his. And perhaps back at Skyhold we can talk about it.

Love isn’t enough, no, and he never even gave me the chance to try. 

How I wish he could have half of Hawke’s fearlessness, or his liberal application of words. How I wish I had it. 

I worry momentarily about whether the lopsidedness of our fling will make a proper friendship impossible after we leave here. As a mentor and friend Hawke has filled a space I never knew existed. And as a lover he’s filled the gaping chasm that Cullen carved into my heart. When the secret looks and searing encounters fall away will anything be left? He seems to think so, buoyantly minimizing his own feelings like they’re a fleeting inconvenience, that he could come back to Skyhold and help me fix things if I wanted. If he really felt anything for me he could never do that. 

Read the rest here Start the fic here

DAFF Crew Tag List: @warpedlegacy | @rakshadow | @rosella-writes | @effelants | @bluewren | @breninarthur | @ar-lath-ma-cully | @dreadfutures | @ir0n-angel | @inquisimer | @crackinglamb | @nirikeehan | @oxygenforthewicked | @mogwaei | @exalted-dawn-drabbles | @melisusthewee | @blarrghe | @agentkatie | @delicatefade

#in the shattering of things #rose trevelyan #cullen rutherford #cullen x trevelyan #hawke x trevelyan #garrett hawke #Warden Alistair #dragon age fan fiction #back to skyhold next week 👀 #Crestwood #Dragon Age Inquisition

[scotianostra]

25th of April marks  ANZAC Day which commemorates the landing of Australian and New Zealand (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) troops at Ari Burnu on the Gallipoli  peninsula. Let’s pray that we never see a war like the two  that blighted the 20th century, I only wish that wars everywhere would end……

The song And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda was written by Eric Bogle, who left Scotland and emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, he has lived in the country now for over 50 years. Eric says of the song;

“I wrote it as an oblique comment on the Vietnam War which was in full swing… but while boys from Australia were dying there, people had hardly any idea where Vietnam was. Gallipoli was a lot closer to the Australian ethos – every schoolkid knew the story, so I set the song there.”   Bogle is on record for having regretted the lines  “And the young people ask what are they marching for, and I ask myself the same question.” He realised much later that some people thought he was disrespecting what the soldier’s had done in the war. This was not his intention; he wanted to stress the horror of war.

Let’s remember all that have died, not just at Gallipoli, but worldwide in all wars.

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Now when I was a young man, I carried me pack, And I lived the free life of a rover From the Murray’s green basin to the dusty outback, Well, I waltzed my Matilda all over. Then in 1915, my country said “Son, It’s time you stopped rambling, there’s work to be done”. So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun, And they marched me away to the war.

And the band played Waltzing Matilda As the ship pulled away from the quay And amidst all the cheers, the flag-waving and tears, We sailed off for Gallipoli.

And how well I remember that terrible day, How our blood stained the sand and the water And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay, We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter. Johnny Turk he was waiting, he’d primed himself well He showered us with bullets and he rained us with shell And in five minutes flat, he’d blown us all to hell Nearly blew us right back to Australia.

But the band played Waltzing Matilda, When we stopped to bury our slain. We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs Then we started all over again.

And those that were left, well we tried to survive, In that mad world of blood, death and fire And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive Though around me the corpses piled higher Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head And when I woke up in me hospital bed, And saw what it had done, well I wished I was dead Never knew there was worse things than dying.

For I’ll go no more waltzing Matilda All around the green bush far and free To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs No more waltzing Matilda for me.

So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed And they shipped us back home to Australia The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay, I looked at the place where me legs used to be And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me To grieve, to mourn, and to pity.

But the band played Waltzing Matilda As they carried us down the gangway But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared Then they turned all their faces away.

And so now every April, I sit on me porch, And I watch the parade pass before me. And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march Reviving old dreams of past glories And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore They’re tired old heroes from a forgotten war And the young people ask “What are they marching for?” And I ask meself the same question.

But the band plays Waltzing Matilda And the old men still answer the call, But as year follows year, more old men disappear Someday no one will march there at all.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me? And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

#first world war #gallipoli #anzac day #australia #new zealand #kings own scottish borderers #scotland #scottish #history #lest we forget #rip #war #Youtube

[mossandmaith]

(A collaboration.)

Meet Maith: She/They

Maith of Moonhollow's Blight, born to a wood-elf mother and a dryad father, has not had a place to call home in many a year.

After the rather strange disappearance of her younger sister Meryn, Maith spent a majority of her former years on the road with their mother. Desperate for answers, and ever mulish, the two of them searched tirelessly in every direction word of mouth could take them. The years began to blur together. From the tiny, unmarked villages, to the cities loud and bustling with amounts of people previously unimaginable to her-- no stone was left unturned by their stubborn hands. No civilian was left unquestioned, unthreatened, and yet they still had no answers. It soon became dead end after dead end.

Forlorn and weary, after what must have been nearly a decade of endless searching, her mother had finally given up hope. Maith, however, still pressed on. Insistent. Stubborn as her mother before her, if not more-so. She left to do it all on her own. Years more of traveling through the forest with nothing but the wildlife to keep her company-- she became a skilled hunter, tracker, and survivalist out of sheer necessity.

It wasn't all as awful as it seems, however. Turns out that treetops can be a rather cozy place to sleep if you pick just the right one-- and eventually, her persistence would pay off.

At the time of her abduction by the Absolute, she was nose deep in a possible lead on the disappearance of her sister. It was one that would lead her to a city that her mother and her had already thoroughly searched, all those years ago.

The city of Baldur's Gate. Funny how things turn out, huh?

Meet Moss: They/Them

Moss is…Well, Moss is Moss!

They have little to no knowledge of their life before they awoke on the Nautiloid, and that may or may not be due to the actions of a certain murderous chosen of the Absolute. Turns out, having your skull split open like a ripe honeydew really has its side effects.

Due to the ever present migraines, crippling brain fog, and spotty memory that comes along with having their brain turned into Swiss cheese, Moss can make some rather simple mistakes if someone isn't keeping a close enough eye on them. It is difficult to tell which sign points to certain death when you can no longer read it, after all.

Maith, as well as a couple other selected few, often has to keep Moss in check. Especially seeing how ever since they awoke on that ship, all they can think about is how ultra cool it would be to murder everyone around them in the most horrific ways possible.

But, not all is as bad as it seems! Moss's friends are here to help, and there's a cool little butler guy in a funny hat that's been promising them that they'll get their brain back in working order if they just do as he asks them to. Or something like that. Moss really wasn't listening.

While they are eerily skilled in the art of killing, and rather (shockingly) good with people, Moss likes to think that their happy-go-lucky attitude and sweet, sweet, melodic tunes are really what makes the rest of the group want to keep them around.

Would you like to see Maith and Moss in action? Come join us over on our Twitch channel to join in on the fun!

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 tav #bg3 dark urge #dark urge #durge #bg3 oc

[jovialtorchlight]

When i was a kid i stepped on a nail. It pierced through my blue, Old Navy flip flop and about a half inch into my skin. I was running back inside, rushing, trying to make it back inside before dinner.  I thought I stepped on a bee at first, until I glanced behind and saw my bloody footprints in the glass. It’s amazing how much more things hurt when you’re staring straight at them. Like how bad a mosquito bite hurts if you watch it draw blood. Or how you have to look away when you get a shot. 

When I looked at the nail poking from my foot and saw it, really saw it, all of a sudden, it felt like a fire spreading inside the ball of my foot. Crippled by pain, I fell onto my knees, screaming, rolling around in the grass. I had to spend the last two weeks of summer with a bandaged foot. I couldn’t go swimming when we took our camping trip to Sebago Lake, and when we went to Funtown, I couldn’t go on any of the waterslides or the wave pool.

Now, my life’s a bit like that. The pain is pretty mild if I’m rushing around, filling my days with work and money and mundane stress that eats at the mind. The normal pain that is a tax on the living. 

But when I’m alone, and I get a chance to take a look at my soul, all of the oozing pus and infected purple blights and open sores, the pain strikes with bared fangs, iron hot into my soul. When I really think about the decay of my body, the decay of my spirit, the chest tightens and it feels like I’m breathing through a straw. I collapse, screaming. I shouldn’t exist. I shouldn’t be here. 

 But I’m fucking 30. No one is going to race from the house, down the gentle hill of our lawn, scoop me up, and take me to the emergency room.  Eventually, I think I’m going to bleed out. All this terror, all these crumbling days and nights full of smoke. Time is a puncture wound, and I don’t have any more blood to let.