#it would be ludicrously over-laden with wwi imagery and probably include an upsetting comparison between blood and mustard gas

[words-writ-in-starlight]

pied *clap* piper *clap* avatar *clap* of *clap* slaughter!!! *clap* I LOVE the music + slaughter connection, personally. It honestly makes the slaughter one of my favorite entities for that reason? Like, beautiful music of any kind creating brutal uncaring violence, a majestic tune being the backdrop for rage and disembowelment and terror like the world has never seen before. Just. HEARTEYES. On a more silly note: ska punk slaughter avatar, yes or yes?

I just listened to theepisode about the Slaughter’s failed ritual (the Risen War, that’s such a fucking badass name that I’m going to steal it for myDnD campaign or for DIE or something, like, fuck) and I am more serious than ever aboutthe Pied Piper of Hamelin being a Slaughter avatar.

I am also VERY seriousabout Melanie still hearing music after she gets the bullet out of herleg!  She doesn’t even BEGIN to know how to tell her therapist about it,about how awful it is to feelher heart beat in time to a flute she can’t see, about how up-tempo drums playthrough her bones every time she’s angry—and she’s still so goddamn angry—abouthow bagpipes make her want to rip someone’s throat out with her teeth,someone who wronged her, who betrayed her, who cut into herand TOOK HER VIOLENCE—

Half the reason she’sso fast to snarl at Jon these days because she’s desperately afraid ofwhat will happen if he is in the room when the last vestiges of the Slaughtersweep her up in the embrace of music and dancing and blood again.  It’s happened, removing the bullet onlystopped the onward march of the army through Melanie’s veins, didn’t strip thepoison gas from the earth or fill in the trenches—she punched a mirror until itshattered, once, shouting the words of an old Chinese soldier’s song that shecan’t remember anymore, until Helen had to spend an hour using the tips of hertoo-sharp fingers to pick glass out of Melanie’s knuckles.  The glass had fallen within the corridors andlanded as sand, as feathers, as gemstones, as the too-sharp phalanges ofsomething that was no longer Michael Shelley.

Melanie had watchedher blood well up numbly and watched the twisting shapes of the glass numblyand put the open cuts to her mouth to taste the iron life in her veins numbly,and the whole time she had prayed that she would never lose control like thatwhile there was a target available. She’s not sure who the worst option would be.  Jon, who might be able to defend himself atthe cost of Melanie’s sanity, and his own humanity, and maybe the world, if itopened a big enough crack in whatever wall he’d been keeping up againstBeholding.  Basira, who probably couldn’tprotect herself if Melanie really, really wanted her dead, and whosedeath would have few consequences except, probably, Melanie’s own, when Daisy foundout.  Daisy, who might stand there anddie rather than rejoin the Hunt.  

Probably better thatMelanie spends most of her time with Helen, these days.  

#the magnus archives #melanie king #i regret to inform that--despite my father's best interests--ska never really grew on me and therefore i have nothing to contribute to that #but HERE TAKE MY MELANIE FEELINGS #i could write a whole fic about melanie thinking of herself as a battlefield post-slaughter #it would be ludicrously over-laden with wwi imagery and probably include an upsetting comparison between blood and mustard gas #(melanie's blood runs hot in her veins but...not like fire nor like acid) #(it BLISTERS from the inside out and soaks into everything it touches and lingers waiting to be disturbed again) #(so that it can burn some other soul like it burns her) #melanie is half furious with jon and half terrified of jon and half terrified of herself and half desperate to save jon from HIMself #and if that sounds like a lot of halves it IS #and melanie isn't really sure what to do with them all #she tells helen this once and helen absently says 'sounds like the right number of halves to me' #and melanie is like 'yeah but then there would be two of me' #and helen just blinks at her in obvious confusion until melanie has to look away #queue deeper than the sea of stars #rorrimehtnienoeht #asked and answered