#this came out so good honestly wulf

[ghostly-shenanigans-in-progress]

if there was a DP reboot how would u rewrite Walker? What would u keep, change and why?

Keep: The whole southern warden aesthetic and voice bc James Arnold Taylor really nailed the intimidating authority voice. I still really like his simplistic design for that reason since he fits the time period he likely grew up in the Great Depression or prior to it.

His abilities such as teleportation, minor shapeshifting but I’d like to trade that last one for immunity to blood blossoms bc of a headcanon I have for unique skeletal ghosts like Walker are created due to prolonged exposure upon death (basically, Walker was buried with those flowers and he definitely takes advantage of it).

His obsession with the rules except the sentences he gives are more understandable than 1,000 years jail time. It would of been more funny if he gave Danny community service with his enemies for a day and they escaped that way.

Definitely all three episodes he was in given the significance of each one… most of them at least. Also, definitely keeping Bullet as his second in command since he’s such an interesting and underrated character to me in developing for a reboot.

Change: As much as I like him being petty and the only sheriff in the zone, I still believe he is the best ally Danny could have in the show. I was pretty annoyed over that there wasn’t an episode in which both Walker and Danny had to work together towards capturing a common enemy and it acts as groundwork for Walker begrudgingly accepting the ghost kid is more help than trouble. Enough so that he changes the sentence he has to stay as community service whenever he’s in the zone and that he needs to check in with the warden or his second in command prior to exploring the zone for safety precautions.

LET THIS MAN HAVE GHOST CHAINS ABILITY AND SHIT! Honestly, every ghost has a unique ability amongst them and this is by far the best idea for Walker’s special move that fits his aesthetic perfectly. Also, I like imagining him using his teleportation to an almost unfair level like I’m talking final boss in a fighting game level of abusing that sort of mobility. I mentioned the blood blossom immunity above, it adds to how he was able to restrain most ghosts and have a leg up against other ghost. Also, I hc him being a very good boxer, like scary good, and seeing him nailing an uppercut to some punk he’s fighting is a mighty need of mine to make happen one day. To me has the build of a heavyweight or middleweight boxer based on how he was drawn in the show.

Honestly, I wanna at least see how he captured all the ghosts Danny sent back to the zone shown in Prisoners of Love. Either that or have a side story in an episode that shows him being annihilated by Dark Danny in the bad future bc I cannot believe they didn’t show him in Ultimate Enemy given he be first in line to stop that superpowered specter. Then it made even more sense for Walker to be the last challenge for Dan phantom to test his powers on when he felt he was ready to bring Amityville to its knees when he came back.

Having his second in command, Bullet, be more present and they have a good friendship or they tolerate each other due to how they value their tenacity and need for order. Literally, if I could make a new episode for the show rn it be about how these two met bc a key part of them meeting is due to Wulf’s doing in the past. Like, it’s my best hc that Bullet hates Wulf due to the fact he gouged his eye out and left him for dead until Walker found the merman. It’s why Bullet wears the eye patch and has a vendetta against Wulf that’s bad enough to make him go against orders and try to murder him. I always felt Bullet and Walker’s relationship could of been so much more than just one episode introduction.

Lastly, I love the idea Walker had a family and was a family man prior to his death. A good dad who is now completely lost in his loneliness and destructive obsession that it’s possible for his family to help him out of it whether as humans or ghosts confronting him for his current actions. It’s the reason why I made my GIW agent J (I revealed he’s Walker’s son in prev art) to be that one family member who reconnects him back to his humanity and realize he’s been a shitty authority figure in the zone. Yeah sounds a little much in theory to add but it’s a good setup for that sort of redemption arc for Walker in my head and Danny isn’t on his own in trying to find reasons to befriend his past enemy. Also, I love the idea of Danny witnessing this skeleton be absolutely berated by his now ghost wife and alive adult kids over his actions while he has his hat down and head in shame while Danny seeing all this happening is like “Holy shit, that’s all it takes to take this guy down a peg?”

Yeah that’s a couple of things I’d change/add to Walker in a DP reboot. Kind of want him to be a not as bad as you could be later on sort of guy but he still acknowledges and works to be a better ghost once he has his mortality restored.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #dp walker #dp #phandom #dp hcs #my asks #dp headcanons #strap in folks this is a hell of a ride #dp bullet #warden walker #GIW agent j #jonathan james walker #JJ walker

[florilegia-or-what-you-will]

Commonplace Songs

So. Here’s the thing. I have a bad habit of skimming, especially when I’m reading rubrics. I don’t notice I’m doing it but it can mean I miss important bits of information, such as the part about your last entry being a 250 word retrospective. Luckily I am aware of this deficiency of mine so I tend to check my rubrics periodically to make sure I haven’t missed anything. So I wrote the post. But. Before I realized there was a set end to the life of this blog I still intended my own form of wrap-up. I decided to make a playlist with at least one song per reading from this class. Even after I knew I just had to write a lil paragraph I couldn’t get the idea out of my head so here is the playlist anyway. [Commonplace Songs] Obviously it would be a bit of a time commitment to listen to the whole thing, so this was mostly just for my own enjoyment, but I had too much fun not to share. Notes for each song under the cut.

Abbess Hild & Caedmon, & Caedmon’s Hymn - Sisters of Mercy - Leonard Cohen

This one was honestly one of the most difficult to figure out. I generally struggled most to find songs for the explicitly religious texts, but I think this one works pretty well if you think of it as being from Caedmon’s perspective.

The Exeter Book Riddles - The Riddle Song - Joan Baez | Scarborough Fair - Simon and Garfunkel

These are cheating a little I know, since they both have very old origins themselves. I did consider including Schubert’s Swansong as a reference to Riddle 7, but I’ve tried to stick with songs that have lyrics.

The Wanderer - Man of Constant Sorrow - Joan Baez

Man of Constant Sorrow is really a modern version of The Wanderer to me. An exile “bound to ramble” away from their loved ones, unable to see them again in this life.

Deor - This Too Shall Pass - Danny Schmidt

This one is obvious from the title, and she makes rings! What more could you ask?

The Wife’s Lament - You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield | One Too Many Mornings - Joan Baez

You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me really captures the tragedy of still being in love with someone who’s abandoned you. I think the desire for physical proximity really works with The Wife’s Lament. One Too Many Mornings works for the feeling of physical, but more importantly, temporal distance. The tortuous, and at the same time mundane passing of time, and the feeling of it being too late.

Wulf and Eadwacer - Farewell Wanderlust - The Amazing Devil

I struggled with this one. Another song considered was Better Man by Pearl Jam but I think Farewell Wanderlust works better even if it's less specific. It's got the anger, frustration, heartbreak, and defeat going for it. 

Dream of the Rood - The Becoming - Nine Inch Nails 

I decided no church music was allowed which made this one harder. I decided to lean into the slight body horror of the description of the cross shifting between bloodstained and bejewelled. Also: “He’s covered with scabs he’s broken and sore” just like Jesus! Obviously this doesn’t really suit the glorious tone the poem was going for, but I personally found the poem a bit unsettling.

Judith - Glory and Gore - Lorde | The Dismemberment Song - Blue Kid

Glory and Gore definitely fits the tone of the poem best, it's hard to explain why without going line by line, but trust me this one is exceptionally good for Judith. The Dismemberment Song is here even though it's not quite right, because it was suggested to me and it made me laugh. Content warning though, it is very clinically detailed about, you know, dismemberment.

The Battle of Maldon - Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin

This one is pretty obvious right? I came so very close to including Waterloo by ABBA as well, but I do have some restraint.

History of the Kings of Britain - Set Fire to the Rain - Adele | Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears

Set Fire to the Rain is for Igerna. All that love, and vulnerability, and secrets, and distrust. This song is just about Igerna to me now, it's pretty perfect for her. Everybody Wants to Rule the World works really well for Arthurian legend. “Nothing ever lasts forever, everybody wants to rule the world”

The Mabinogi - Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac | She’s Always A Woman - Billy Joel

Rhiannon is ludicrously obvious, I don’t think I need to explain. She’s Always A Woman is also about Rhiannon, specifically how Pwyll defends her and keeps her as his queen even though everyone is against her.

Lanval - Who is She? - I Monster | Come Wander With Me - Jeff Alexander

I feel like a magical woman appearing out of nowhere to be your girlfriend would actually be pretty trippy, hence Who is She? Come Wander With Me is a bit more suitable tonally. Have fun wandering off, never to be seen again, Lanval!

Ancrene Wisse - Agoraphobia - Deerhunter

As you might expect, from a song called Agoraphobia, this works well for anchoresses. The lyrics match the actual daily life of an anchoress surprisingly well.

Middle English Lyrics - Luck Be a Lady - Frank Sinatra

With regard to The Lady Dame Fortune is both frende and foe

Sir Orfeo - Frozen Pines - Lord Huron | Word Spins Madly On - The Weepies

Frozen Pines captures the frozen-in-time-ness and its about seeking a lost loved one in the woods. It's perfect. World Spins Madly On works because time has also very much not frozen, and they are apart from one another, knowing, and at the same time not knowing, where the other is. Honourable mention to Nothing Takes the Place of You by Toussaint McCall, which just wasn’t quite right, but has a maturity the other two lack.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I - Family Friend - The Vaccines

Poor Gawain is the only responsible adult at court. Jokes aside, this is a really good character song for Gawain.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight II-III - All in Green Went My Love Riding - Joan Baez

I’ve mentioned this one before. It's too perfect not to include.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight IV - Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons

Another character portrait for my favourite boy Gawain! This also works for him in Morte d’Arthur. He tries so hard, and always comes just a little bit short, and then blames himself mercilessly.

Canterbury Tales – General Prologue - Prologue: Into the Woods - Stephen Sondheim

I’ll be honest, I had no idea what to do for this one, but I committed to a song per reading. It does work well in a way. They are both prologues that introduce a billion archetypal characters at once, tell you what they want, and make fun of the a little. Sondheim could have done a kick-ass musical adaptation of The Canterbury Tales.

Piers Plowman – Prologue - Land of the Believer - The Weather Girls

Club music perilously close to gospel music, I wouldn’t be surprised if this genuinely was about Jesus and religion. I considered skipping Piers Plowman because we didn’t actually go over it in class, but I’m a completionist.

Chaucer – Canterbury Tales – The Miller’s Tale - You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi

Oh Absolon… I considered going with Tainted Love, but I needed a ridiculous song for a ridiculous story.

Chaucer – Canterbury Tales – The Miller’s Tale - Put the Blame on Mame - “Rita Hayeworth” Anita Ellis

On the other hand, Put the Blame on Mame is about a beautiful woman being blamed for disasters both natural and human, but which is supposed to, in my opinion, make you think about how ridiculous it is to actually blame a woman for that kind of thing.

Julian of Norwich – A Revelation of Love - Space Age Love Song - A Flock of Seagulls

I love taking songs that aren’t supposed to be about Jesus and making them about Jesus, and Jesus in the role of alien girlfriend is funny to me. That said, it does work really well for the transcendent vibe of medieval mysticism.

The Book of Margery Kempe - Crazy - Gnarls Barkley | Policy of Truth - Depeche Mode

I found it a bit difficult to take Margery seriously at first, because she is patently a ridiculous person, but is she really crazy just because others think she is? Trying to think of songs for her is actually what made me take more seriously what her life was like. She experienced many dangers and a lot of persecution for living her truth, hence Policy of Truth.

The Book of Margery Kempe - Sad Eyed  Lady of the Lowlands - Joan Baez

A singular, and shockingly untouchable woman.

Second Shepherd’s Play - Mack the Knife - Ella Fitzgerald | Sheep - Pink Floyd

I admit, these are both kind of joke songs, but they do work! Mack because Mac, sheep because sheep.

Second Shepherd’s Play - Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie

The slightly more serious choice for this play. It matches the complaining of the shepherds at the beginning of the play, and it has references to prayer, and a desire for change that works given it is a nativity play.

Noah’s Flood - Rain on Me - Lady Gaga (feat. Ariana Grande)

Okay, hear me out. I know it's a club song, but it's actually perfect for Noah’s wife. I can’t go line by line, but it expresses disappointment with a relationship, be it with God or Noah, but it also expresses gratitude for being alive, even though they wish they were “dry” , a reference to rain, and alcohol.

The Crucifixion - Blowing’ in the Wind - Joan Baez

This one was really hard without just choosing a song literally about the crucifixion, which would be cheating. Blowing in the Wind is about ignorance and apathy to human suffering, which is also what characterises the Roman soldiers. Also, yes, I will pick the Joan Baez version of every song I can. Thank you for asking.

Mankind -  WWJD - The Axis of Awesome | Out of Touch - Hall and Oates

Mankind - Send Them Off! - Bastille

WWJD is another joke song, but you can’t tell me a group of demons in a morality play wouldn’t sing this. Like the demons in the play, it humorously pokes at a question people would really be asking about how they are supposed to ever live up to Jesus. Out of Touch and Send Them Off! are more straightforwardly readable as Mankind singing to/for Mercy.

Morte d’Arthur, book 1 - Tower Song - Martha Wainright | In the Blood (feat. Ashley Barrett) - Darren Korb

Tower Song is my other song for Igerna. It works along the same lines as Ste Fire to the Rain, but it's a little more vicious. I was torn about including In the Blood, even though it works well for Arthur, because of course it does, I transposed one young hero who is the future of his people, onto another. I still think the Arthurian angle changes the way the song reads enough for it to work, though.

Morte d’Arthur,  book 8 - Happy Ending - MIKA | Heavy Crown - Trixie Mattel

For Happy Ending, please see my previous post on Lancelot and Guinevere. Heavy Crown is for Arthur, “Winning’s losing with a couple strings [...] Gotta be the last to know”, I think it suits the melancholy of all the lost glory Camelot, and how inevitable the whole thing felt to Arthur the second he was confronted by Agravaine and Mordred about Guinevere and Lancelot

#alas many songs were left on the cutting room floor #this was a good learning experience #a lot of medieval lit isn't super character focused #they tend not to get into anyone's head the way books do in our psychological age #which can leave character feeling pretty flat at first blush #doing this forced me to get into their heads regardless #It made me appreciated their subtle nuances a lot more #I could tag every story poem song and author separately but i won't because can you even imagine #florilegia

[burningdarkfire]

writing update for june! this one is nice and easy because it is simply Not A Lot. i wrote about 6.5k words total during the month. i was busy and i don’t feel too bad about it, though i should probably try and shift my writing habit to a more sustainable time because “right before bed” gets it done but usually only in tiny snippets

[COMPLETED] we will still be (friends forever), the redacted project that i have been sitting on for a happy few months, 1761 words (total)

i jotted down this idea in december 2021 when my roommate came up with it - started working on it at the end of march - and finally got to deliver the product, which is very satisfying. inventing three OCs just to gossip about my fave characters is extremely fun!

critrole widofjord blood moon AU, +2000 words

i had june as a soft deadline for this fic. that didn’t happened, so now i am free to edit and expand this fic as much as i want, and honestly it’s a lot more fun without the arbitrary pressure i put on myself 🤷‍♂️ the current total word count is about 36k, i am completely certain it will hit 40k, though the final word count remains to be seen

lol jayvik modern retired esports AU, +1800 words

i am so very close to finishing a complete draft of this fic. nearly all the bits are there, and then it’ll just be about cleaning it up nicely!

critrole amnesia wulf sequel, +1400 words

i love writing this but i don’t know what it’s about. vibes only so far. i want some time to sit down with it and figure it out. maybe this month?

[NEW] critrole zerxus exploration, +1000 words

yeah .. we all knew this was going to happen. an exploration of his role as champion and his relationship with asmodeus over the ages

arcane vikvel oneshot, +30 words

literally maybe if i just don’t look at this for a month i’ll come up with a good ending lmao it’s been mildly infuriating. i’m kind of close to just uploading it onto my drafts account and leaving it at that

the other outstanding WIPs i currently have:

critrole modern university AU

critrole modern league AU

critrole/lol crossover

venom symbrock “the body” oneshot

critrole shadowgast “pon farr” oneshot

critrole wizards polycule oneshot

#my posts #writing blogging #writing wrap up

[zoethehead]

(Cw for abusive relationship, it's sadly a part of Wulf's story, especially as someone (me)who went through an abusive friendship)

So, a sad fact about how Wulf got the scars on his face, he got them when he was still in an abusive relationship with his ex; Annie Thom(Ravess Umbra), he got those scars as he tried to leave the relationship for good back when he was 19, resulting in him being injured and left out in the rain to walk to the hospital.

He was honestly broken for some time, leading to him quitting from the band that he was a part of for a while, needing to focus on himself, too scared to love again, until he ended up meeting Chalakon.

That's when Chalakon came into his life and helped him fall in love again after the traumatic ordeal that had happened to him years before.

He realized that he was safe from the pain, and he had someone who made him feel loved.

Now; years prior, wulf(then only known as leksik) wrote a song that vented out his trauma and deeply hidden pain, which was used as a song by the band that he was in, which was one that made his bandmates feel quite honestly uncomfortable and shocked.

Single album cover idea:

#tw abuse #tw abusive relationship #spies and sea #wulf #wulf riscernos #leksik burton #cw abuse #cw relationship abuse #cw; ptsd #ptsd tw

[five-rivers]

Three Twilights

Can be considered a loose sequel to Deep Sea Diver (same vibes).

Warnings: Soft body horror, Danny totally ignoring objectively horrifying things

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“I was thinking,” started Maddie over breakfast, “we could start observations of that island that came into view last week, the blue one.”

Danny shook his head. “You’ll have to use the Speeder, then,” he said. “I’ve got an errand to run.”

There was a pause as both of Danny’s parents looked at him, confused. He didn’t blame them. Danny rarely went out as a human anymore, and certainly not for anything like errands. Looking like he was still fourteen after all this time made doing anything even remotely official difficult.

But this wasn’t a human errand. “Yeah,” said Danny. “In the Ghost Zone. I’ve got to go to Three Twilights.”

“Where?” asked Jack.

“It’s, um, a city,” said Danny. “Well, three cities, I suppose, depending on how you want to group them. One Realm. On the shores of the Celestial Sea. I’m sure I’ve put it in your files.” Probably a direct copy from his files from before he came clean to them, but still. He stirred his cereal counterclockwise, letting his ice powers chill the milk.

“Yes,” said Maddie, “but there are a lot of places in there. I’m not sure we’ve had a chance to properly look at them all, much less memorize them.”

“Okay, yeah,” said Danny. “I guess that makes sense.”

“What kind of errand are you running, Danno?”

“I’m picking something up for a friend. A book,” he clarified. “They lent it to someone there, but they need it back.”

“A book,” said Maddie. “For the Library of Tongues?”

“No, they’ve got a contract service for overdue loans.”

“Contract service?” asked Jack.

“Yeah. Moonlighting bounty hunters mostly.”

“For a library?”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” said Danny, shrugging. “They’re really serious about their work.”

“If it isn’t for them, who is it for?” asked Maddie. “The princess? Wulf?” Wulf had actually been over a few times, and his parents had… Well, saying they got along would be an overstatement, they didn’t really have anything in common beyond ripping portals in the fabric of the universe, but everyone had been civil. “The boy at the school?”

“No,” said Danny. “Wulf would just get it himself.”

“Who, then?” pressed Maddie.

Danny put a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, delaying. Maddie hadn’t eaten anything since Danny had mentioned the errand. The errand was, in fact, for Clockwork. Danny was always more than happy to do anything for Clockwork. The older ghost had saved him too many times for him to be otherwise. But Jack and Maddie were wary of Clockwork. Danny didn’t get it, but talking about it hadn’t been productive so far.

He didn’t want to lie to his parents. Not ever again.

“It’s for Clockwork,” he said.

Ah, yes, there were those suspicious looks. The ones Danny could have interpreted even without being able to almost literally taste emotions.

“I see,” said Maddie.

“Anyway,” said Danny, quickly, “if I haven’t shown you Three Twilights yet, it’s really cool. I don’t want to take the full rig, but maybe the little ectocam would be okay? The one that I can clip on.”

“Why not the normal camera with an ectofilter?” asked Jack. “That has more features, and it’s easier for us to get data from.”

“Three Twilights. It’s dark there,” said Danny. “It might work in Civila, but not so much in Naŭtika and Astronomia, and I sort of want to go down to the beach and see if I can find any star pearls, and that’s really dark, so if you want to see anything properly, it’ll have to be the sonar setup, which I’m not doing, the noises that thing makes are offensive, or the ectocam.”

“And the Fenton Phones?” asked Maddie.

“Sure,” said Danny. “But I always bring those.”

“Yes,” said Maddie, after a moment. “You do.”

“Great. It’s settled, then.”

.

Most of the journey to Three Twilights could be made by air. Or, rather, what passed for air in the Infinite Realms. But when the rocky edge of an island came into view, Danny touched down. Further in was a blue wood, and Danny walked under its inviting branches.

The atmosphere started sunny, summery. The leaves and needles of the trees were the color of a clear blue sky. But as he got deeper, the leaves were touched with sunset colors: golds, reds, oranges, purples, and pinks. They fell to the ground, crunching beneath Danny’s feet. The sunset grew longer, deeper. The leaves on the trees grew sparser, revealing patches of sky.

By the time only bare branches framed the sky, it was a dusky, dim, purple. A few lonely stars twinkled in the sky.

He passed out of the forest. The city of Civila rose above him. Windows glowed in the near dark like eyes.

Danny had changed, too. His aura had dimmed. The whites of his suit were now dark gray, and patterns swirled on its surface like camouflage, like wind-twisted clouds, like nebulae.

Shadows bled around the corners of the city buildings like ink in water. Will-o-the-wisps bobbed, casting pools of illumination in lieu of streetlamps. Ghosts walked up and down the streets, or floated only a few meters up.

The buildings glittered. Everything was dark, vibrant, colors. A sharp, sweet scent filled the air, something dark and rich beneath it.

The canals in the center of the street were filled with flashing fish. Or perhaps serpents. Or perhaps worms. Between how fast they moved and the dimness of the light, it was difficult to tell.

Danny could feel his irises contracting, shrinking down to needle-thin rings. His teeth were sharp. He matched the other ghosts around him. This was how the Civila liked it, how things were in this part of Three Twilights.

Everything in order. Everything peaceful. Everything civil.

Danny walked through the market square, and bought some charcoal-colored cherry pastries from a vendor who looked like someone’s nightmare demon with a chip of ghost ice.

Much to his parents’ protests. They didn’t care for him eating ghost food.

There were seven bridges to Naŭtika, which was built half underwater and half on boats that floated both on the water and in the air. As the dark waters of the inlet lapped at his feet, Danny felt the changes ripple across his skin. To a human, he would look pure black, except for the faintest glimmer of rim lighting and the stars of his eyes. He and the other ghosts moved silently, cutting through the waters like shadows.

To Danny’s ghostly senses, the place was alive with emotion and force, energy loud and crackling against his senses.

“We’re solely on the ectocam, now,” said Maddie. “You were right about that.”

“Mhm,” said Danny, half distracted by a whispered sea-shanty backed by a choir of not-voices and not-sound that wove together with the mastery of a hundred years of practice.

He glided up a rope net, and began to navigate the ropes to the taller ships. The very tallest, the ones that scraped the ever-darkening sky and blotted out uneven sections of stars, moored the glass-like ships that floated above. He’d need to reach them, to get to Astronomia.

“What’s that?” asked Maddie, breaking his concentration on his path.

“What’s what?” asked Danny, whisper soft, drawing some looks. He turned, slowly, on the spot, planks barely creaking under his steps. A gentle wind ruffled his hair.

“There,” said Maddie. “By the ghost that’s registering red.”

It had taken Danny a long time to learn what color on the ectocam’s artificial sensor signified what, but he had, if only to reduce the guessing when they played this game.

“Star pearls,” said Danny, eyeing the ropes of stone that glimmered brighter than his eyes currently did. They were one of the only reliable forms of light, out on the Celestial Sea, although they were valued for other things, too.

“They’re putting out a massive amount of energy,” said Maddie.

“You mentioned them before,” said Jack. “You wanted to look for some?”

“On the shore,” said Danny. “Out past Astronomia.” He wanted to find his own, rather than buy them.

Partially because they were expensive. He didn’t really want to think about how much unmelting ice he’d have to conjure up to equal one of them. They were usually bartered in exchange for… more significant things.

The ghost by the pearls beckoned him closer, clearly hoping to make a sale. Danny shook his head, broadcasting regret and admiration for his wares. Speech might be faster but, under these circumstances, it would not be polite.

When Danny left, the social rules of Three Twilights would only leave the faintest impression on his mind. But, for now, they were a heavy, but not uncomfortable weight. One he could shrug off if necessary, but which was currently useful.

“What are they?” asked Maddie, as Danny turned away.

“They happen when big enough things fall into stars,” said Danny. “They’re all the memories of what they used to be… and the imagination of what they could become, when the star dies. Well, that’s what they’re supposed to be. I don’t think anyone really knows for sure.”

“And you can just… find these? Lying around?”

“Not… not really,” said Danny, slowly drifting towards a crow’s nest. “It’s like that one national park. That one where you can collect diamonds? You never really find anything good, but you can look.”

“I see,” said Maddie. “So, you don’t expect to find one?”

“Yes and no,” said Danny. “If I don’t expect to find one, I probably won’t. Unless the sea is feeling ironic, which it usually is, apparently. I mean, it’s an ocean and the stars. And prophecy is, like, ninety percent irony, but mostly for an outside observer. Which honestly makes sense, I think. An observer, not an Observant. Those are different things.”

The kind of silence on the other side of the line was the one that emerged when Danny used too much ghost logic.

“Anyway,” he continued as he scaled the crow’s nest and started traversing the glass ropes and chains to the all-but-invisible glass ships, “no, I don’t really expect to.”

The path to Astronomia was a staircase carved from moonstone harvested in October, when the moon was full and orange-red. It burned Danny’s eyes to look at and feet to walk upon. Like many ghosts who fixated on things like astronomy, he adapted quickly and thoroughly to the spiritual dark.

This darkest twilight was built of delicate bubbles, whorls, and arches of glass, any of which could cradle a ghost, all of which could be phased through with impunity. There were no true roads here, but certain places were easier to travel through. Addresses were carved in the glass in glimmering, holographic sigils made from glass-caught starlight that humans would never be able to read, but Danny could understand with a glance. It was not silent in Astronomia, the high wind sung through the glass like the immense instrument it was, playing ethereal and eternal music that mirrored heaven.

As always, Danny was enraptured. Perhaps the stars here were not true stars, only their memory and imagination (or simulacra made from stripped ghost cores, he remembered with a shudder), but he felt so close here.

“Danny? Are you still with us?”

Danny started to reply, but realized he had forgotten, once again, that he had no mouth here.

A phantabulist played a story for a group of not-quite-children, characters made of carefully constructed light chasing each other about with vigour. Danny stopped for a while to watch the story, a parable about spiders and fish. They were common here, storytellers who plied their craft this way. The stories could be pressed into glass prisms and orbs that served as books and viewed even in other environs of the Ghost Zone.

He moved on, passing through a glass bubble full of ghosts that snatched at and stroked him as he passed by, leaving stars and dark clouds to swirl across his skin. His suit had long since smoothed over and sunk in. His skin was a thin surface, a membrane holding in liquid night. He was like smoke, like vapour, thin and easily overlooked.

The places he passed were homes, places of business, warehouses, and hotels, organized without any apparent reason. A phantabularium glowed like a struck match, snatches of story visible inside its walls. He walked by.

Eventually, he reached the palace at the city center.

The ghost who lived there was old. Older, perhaps, than Pandora. She filled the vessels of her palace in placid pools connected by crystalized threads and looping tubes. Seven round-bottom flasks, radiating outward, like the spheres of heaven. The music here was almost deafening.

This was Urania, Muse of Astronomy. Astronomia was her city, and subordinate to her will before all else.

Danny resisted the urge to kneel. He was not here as a supplicant, and they both knew it.

The lowest pool bubbled, and slowly a glass prism, a dodecahedron, floated to the top. Danny took it with careful hands and left Urania’s direct presence as quickly as possible.

Being near her was always difficult. She was the Muse of Astronomy, and she felt he did not indulge his second Obsession as much as was proper.

Indeed, she thought it should be his first.

(The starlight inside him pulsed. He was never sure how much influence Urania could exert on him when he visited Three Twilights, never sure how much the relationship between his passions shifted when he was here. He loved it here too much to stay away forever.)

Astronomia did not end all at once. Instead, as one walked farther from the palace, the delicate, clear glass was replaced by black sand. When Danny had feet again, and could feel the grains beneath them, he knew he was no longer in Astronomia, but on the Shores of Night. The Isles of the Moon were faintly visible in the distance, sea-spray framing them in silvery halos.

He felt human here. His breath moved in his lungs, and his skin rose in goosebumps, the sleeves of his t-shirt fluttering in the wind. The sea and the sky were the same, and twice as beautiful for it.

“Sorry for going silent on you there,” said Danny. “I keep forgetting I don’t have a mouth there.”

“How do you forget that?” asked Jack.

“I don’t know.” Danny shrugged, even though he knew Jack couldn’t see him. “Do you think the ectocam might be able to spot buried star pearls?”

#danny phantom #ectoberhaunt 2021 #ectober 2021 #ectober #ectoberhaunt treat #danny totally ignoring objectively horribly things #worldbuilding

[lesbiansforboromir]

Seeing these promo images for the Rohirrim anime makes me worry yet more that this and RoP will just be Pete Jackson film nostalgia bait that will not be willing to stray too far from his version of the setting. I just really want to see a middle earth on screen that isn’t just his.

Right I'm gonna use this to talk about the War of the Rohirrim since people seemed confused.

So this is an anime film that was announced quite a few months ago now. All we got was the title screen back then and a general synopsis; the film would be centering Helm Hammerhand, the ninth king of Rohan, and his war with the Dunlendings during the fell winter. We also already had confirmation that it was going to be basically a part of the Warner Bros cinematic universe, Phillipa Boyens is writing it in part and visually year it's gonna be the films, which I agree is depressing.

A quick recap for you all is that the Dunlendings had held Isengard for a long while by the time he became king, (Saruman not yet set up there) and there had been a lot of warring between them. Gram, Helm's father, had been killed in battle. Freca was the leader of these Dunlendings at the time, but he also claimed royal rohirric ancestry and made a bid to marry his son, Wulf, to Helm's daughter.

Negotiations started off very badly and ended with Helm punching Freca SO HARD he just DIED so. More war after that. Though it was four years before Wulf began his assault upon Rohan. Now! Admittedly I had forgotten they had in fact gained the direct support of the Corsairs AND the Easterlings whilst ALSO engaging the Haradrim to attack Gondor. So Rohan and Gondor were both doubly beleaguered at the same time as the Long Winter came down upon them (probably orchestrated by Sauron). Hence, Gondor could not immediately come to Rohan's aid. Haleth, (helms son) was killed defending Edoras and Helm's army was defeated at the crossings of the isen river, forcing him to retreat into Helms Deep (originally called Suthburg, renamed after Helm in honour of this whole debacle). He held out there under siege for? Many months, can't remember how many. Essentially just... blowing his horn, wandering into the enemy camp, killing a bunch of them and then leaving again. He became a kind of horror story to the dunlendings. His other son Hama was also killed, leaving only his nephew, Frealaf, son of his sister Hild.

Essentially, as soon as the snows died down, Beregond (son of Steward Beren) came to Frealaf's aid and drove out the last of the Dunlendings after winning his own war against the corsairs and haradrim. But Helm died before that, literally just freezing stiff in the middle of battle, left standing like a terrifying corpse warrior. LIKE... The story is depressing as all hell. But like... honestly I'm more interested in this period of history than I am in the second age, especially because Beregond's one of my favourite Stewards, I love this guy.

But so getting back to the point, recently we got some concept art for the film.

So these are both obviously here to portray the attack at Edoras, where Haleth dies. Originally I was very confused by the lack of snow and abundance of Mumakil. I'm still thoroughly confused by the Mumakil, the only reason the Corsairs got up there was because they sailed over and marched up the the isen fords. Can you bring Oliphants on ships?? Idk! I GUESS.meme!! But I dont think the long winter set in until later on in their... siege... or did it? My refusal to look this up is just because I am sleepy uwu ANYWAY! Yes you can easily see it's just PJ's lotr edoras with brown lands and rustic utterly unadorned base architecture. And the dunlendings all look miserably 'uncivilised' and 'barbaric' which is even more depressing. But it's a good expectation setter and I just... hope that perhaps... when/if I see Beregond I will not be made too sad. ;v;

#the war of the rohirrim #chats #tolkien #lotr #helm hammerhand

[iatethepomegranate]

We are not alone in the dark with our demons, Chapter 14

In which Caleb buys a house in Rexxentrum with Beau and Yasha, becomes a professor, learns how to be a person, and does what he can to protect the children (and hurting adults) who came after him in a way he had never been protected.

Content warnings: references to Caleb's backstory but it's pretty mild

Chapter summary: The Mighty Nein have their beach episode, Essek wears a sunhat, Luc learns a new word that isn't a swear, and Caleb has a good day.

Chapter notes: This chapter is pure fluff, with a little melancholy that is well-resolved. Enjoy it while it lasts. Chapter title is from Joy by Sleeping At Last.

****

Chapter 14: It is the calm water in the middle of an anxious sea

Caleb sent a quick message to Nico while Jester ferried the Nein into the street. “Hallo, Nico. Remember my home is open to you if you need anything. Food, shelter. Protection. Anything. Password: Wilkommen. Take care, please.”

Nico didn’t reply. He never did. But Caleb breathed, and he was okay. Essek, disguised as another half-elf, a redhead this time, squeezed his hand.

“Are you all right?”

“Ja. We know he’s alive. That helps.”

“Good.” Essek opened his pink parasol as they stepped into the sun, shielding them both. “Beauregard warned me that redheads burn in the sun more easily than most humans.”

Caleb chuckled, surprising himself a little bit. “Ja, Jester packed a lotion to help with that. I may need help rubbing it in.”

Essek raised an eyebrow. “I believe I can help with that.”

“Hold that thought.” Caleb needed to let Felix know Nico was still alive, before he got distracted. “Hallo, Felix. My cleric friends’ gods have confirmed Nico is alive and has found water recently. Keep talking to him.”

Felix’s response was swift. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do if… thank you. Uh, how is Nicodranas? I’ve never been.”

Caleb found himself smiling. “Hot and sunny. Not ideal for someone of my complexion, but we have sun protection. My friends are dragging me to the beach.”

A laugh came through the link, quiet and stiff, as if unpracticed. “My parents told me stories about your disagreements with the sun, even here. So, uh, be safe. And have fun with your special Aeor friend.”

Caleb found himself burning another spell, just because he was not about to let this child have the final word. At least, not that final word. “Very funny, Felix. My colleague and I will likely stay in the shade. The sun does not agree with him, either. Spell progress?” Felix had indicated he was copying out Fly from a scroll Astrid had supplied on Caleb’s behalf. Felix was an Evocation specialist, so he had been struggling a bit. Caleb still had hopes of converting him to Transmutation entirely, and teaching him Fly would be a good step, and safer to experiment with than the more-challenging Polymorph without supervision. It was quite advanced for him, however.

“Fine, I will let you change the subject. I have the spell copied, but the somatic element is complicated. I may need help.”

And then Caleb burned one more spell. “I will visit in the next few days and we will work it out together. Remember to take breaks. See you soon.”

“Ja, see you soon.”

“I like that kid,” said Beauregard.

The group linked up with the Brenattos deeper into the city and then worked their way to the beach. Other families were out on the sand, so they wandered a little further afield until they found the same spot the Nein had visited when they had first visited Nicodranas together.

Essek, with Jester’s help, set up the beach umbrella in a shaded area further from the water. Everybody arranged their bags there, leaving enough room for Essek to sit comfortably, along with one or two others. Towels were laid out to keep the worst of the sand out of everyone’s asses, but mainly Essek’s. By now, his disguise was wearing off. The clothes he wore underneath, however, covered most of his skin, alongside the enormous sunhat Caduceus had brought from the Grove. So he didn’t bother re-casting.

Essek settled himself under the umbrella, pulling his spellbook from the pocket dimension. The others disrobed to varying degrees; most of the ladies were straight-up naked, aside from Veth who wore a thin shift dress that would not be too weighed down if she chose to get in the water. The group passed around two glass bottles of a sun lotion developed by Yeza, slapping it onto each other. Caleb slapped Fjord’s pec, as had become customary. Fjord squawked, as was tradition.

Soon enough, the Nein, plus Luc and Yeza, barrelled toward the shoreline. Caleb settled beside Essek, passing him the lotion bottle.

“If you would?”

Essek slipped the spellbook back into its dimension and uncorked the bottle. “Take off your shirt.”

Caleb threw his shirt aside and sat with his back to Essek. He had waited until the others left. Neither Caleb nor Essek were particularly touchy-feely around other people, aside from a few casual things like fixing each other’s hair or leaning against each other. It was less uncomfortable to do so when there was some physical distance from others, even if they were still in view.

This thing between them still felt fragile sometimes. Aeor had strengthened their bond, but they’d had to do a lot of unlearning along the way. A lot of healing. Caleb had disintegrated the one chance he’d had to see his parents alive again. He’d given up the book of letters to bury them between their graves. Essek had begun to peel away years of conditioning to be selfish in his pursuits, of pulling away from people to stay safe, of understanding his worth through a purely transactional lens. Honestly, Caleb was working on unlearning those things himself.

The lotion was a cold streak from one shoulder blade to the other. Essek’s hands were delicate and careful as always, working the lotion into his skin with small, slow circles.

Essek did not touch very many people. Every touch he gave Caleb felt precious. At this point, Caleb was fairly certain he had been conditioned to melt at even the slightest point of contact between them.

Essek kissed his shoulder, ignoring Jester’s wolf-whistle in the distance. “I missed your shoulder freckles.”

“You see them most nights, Essek.”

“It’s different in the light. I can see colours.” Essek’s fingers ghosted the skin, drawing lines between freckles Caleb couldn’t see at this angle. His other hand continued to work the sun lotion into Caleb’s back. Caleb closed his eyes, listening to the soft roars and hisses of waves, the shouts of his friends, their splashes in the water. This was comfortable in a way Caleb still struggled to accept that he deserved. But he was trying. And sometimes he succeeded. Today was better than most.

Essek took his right arm and massaged lotion into the skin, working tension out of Caleb’s muscles and tendons and joints as he went. Heat pooled in Caleb’s gut, and if they had been alone, he would have pushed Essek onto his back and kissed him senseless. Among other things. Instead, he let Essek work, sagging back against him. Essek spent some extra time on Caleb’s wrist, gently guiding him through stretches to stave off a repetitive strain injury from casting. Then he moved to Caleb’s left arm, and repeated the process.

Through the haze of calm, Caleb was dimly aware this was a huge step for Essek. Taking care of each other’s hair, leaning against each other, passing things to each other, taking charge when Caleb was in a bad way… these were all forms of affection he had grown comfortable with in front of the Nein. This was more intimate than Essek usually allowed with an audience, however distant they were at the moment. Caleb was proud of him. He knew it wasn’t easy to be exposed like this. To wear your heart on your sleeve even among people you trusted. How hard it was to trust in the first place.

“You’re cuddly today,” Caleb said quietly as Essek carefully swept his changed, now singular, braid aside to work the lotion into the back of his neck. “I like it.”

Essek rested his forehead on the back of Caleb’s head. “I suppose I am.”

“What brought this on? I would like to repeat it.”

Essek hummed thoughtfully, pulling back. Caleb turned to watch him gaze out at the sea, dissecting his own thoughts. “You are… happier today. I missed it.”

Caleb had become aware during their time together that Essek, while attracted to Caleb in general, was especially enticed by two specific things: Caleb’s mind and his happiness. It was… sweet. Caleb hadn’t experienced that in a relationship before. That hadn’t been Astrid and Wulf’s fault, or even his. They hadn’t had the freedom to be like that. It still took Caleb unawares that he had this with Essek sometimes. A partner so invested in his happiness that it was a literal turn-on for him, essentially a requirement for his sexual interest. And, most days now, Caleb was happy frequently enough that it was practical. And healthier than anything he had experienced in a relationship before.

Essek also looked adorable in his huge sunhat and lightweight poncho that kept most of him safe from the sun’s rays. And a pair of sunglasses Jester had painted for him, pushed down his nose so he could look at Caleb better while they were in the shade together.

Caleb squeezed his knee. “We should come back here tonight. Have you swum in the ocean before?”

“No. Have you?” Essek adjusted his glasses so he could look at their friends playing in the water. Fjord and the clerics were having a magic water fight. Veth and Yeza walked along the shoreline, feet in the water, swinging Luc between them. Veth looked at home there; watching her willingly touch the water for the pure joy of it hurt Caleb’s heart in the best way. The lesbians had wandered off somewhere and probably wouldn’t be back for a bit. Kingsley was working on a sandcastle he had started with Luc, before the boy had been distracted.

“Ja. The first time we came here. You’ll like it, I think.” The vastness of the ocean, the enveloping nature of it… Caleb could remember how much it had felt like looking into the beacon, and how much of a comfort that had been. “Can you swim?”

“I have been taught, yes.” Essek didn’t sound pleased about it. Most of his upbringing had been utilitarian, shaping him in the service of Den Thelyss.

“Just think. You and me. Alone with the moon and the endless expanse of ocean. It feels like the embrace of possibility, if you let it.” Caleb knew that, of all people, Essek would understand.

Essek softened. “That does sound wonderful. Shall we go after dinner?”

“Ja. I will cast the tower afterwards. I want you all to myself.”

It was only because Caleb knew Essek so well that he could pick out the rise of colour in his cheeks. “The feeling is mutual. Go, spend time with our friends. Do not burn.”

Caleb smiled, sliding his pants off and setting them aside. He left his smallclothes on this time, and worked the lotion into the flesh of his legs and feet. Essek cleared his throat and returned his attention to his spellbook. If they had been alone right now…

Caleb pushed the thought away. In a few hours, they would be alone. For now, he had prepared Telekinesis for today and he knew a few friends who would love to be thrown around in the water for a while.

Luc rushed over to Caleb as soon as approached the shoreline. Caleb squished the wet sand between his toes and watched the boy run, managing to catch him when he launched himself at Caleb’s middle.

“Uncle Caleb! Mum says you know a really cool spell that can throw people! Throw me!”

Caleb looked over to Veth and Yeza. Veth gave an enthusiastic thumbs up while Yeza facepalmed, but did nothing to stop it.

“Okay.” Caleb set Luc down. “This spell is called Telekinesis.”

Luc’s eyes glazed over a bit. “Tele…”

“Repeat after me: Tele.”

“Tele.”

“-kin.”

“-kin.”

“-esis.”

“-esis.”

“Telekinesis.”

“Telekinesis.”

“There you go.” Caleb moved his hand, muttering the incantation. “Ready?”

“Yes!”

Caleb reached out the magic and lifted Luc in the air with the spell. “All right?”

Luc kicked his legs about, staring all around. “This is so cool!”

“Ja, so cool.”

“Throw me!”

Caleb looked to Veth and Yeza. “I’ll send him near the others.” He raised his voice so Fjord, Jester and Caduceus would hear. “Incoming!” And he pelted Luc into the water, aiming him in the central point between the three of them. Luc soared through the air, landing with a splash. Caleb pulled back the force a bit so Luc wouldn’t fall too hard. Luc still had the ring of water walking on, but he had an intuitive grasp of its use and had wanted to be thrown in. But it did mean that he was able to pop right up to the surface without issue, jumping up and down on top of the water with glee.

“Oh! Oh!” Jester yelled. “Me next!”

Caleb plucked her from the water with his magic, and managed not to drop her when he remembered she was naked. He threw her across the water, to a point to his right that appeared to be a similar depth from whence she had come.

The spell lasted ten minutes. And those ten minutes were well-used, pelting his friends into the sea. Beau and Yasha returned in time to participate, which was good. Beauregard in particular had always been fond of this.

As the spell faded, Caleb waded into the water and let it take his weight, floating on his back. He gazed up at the blue sky, squinting a bit. The protection amulet lay there, occasionally bobbing away from his chest when he slipped under a tiny bit. He had gotten back into the habit of wearing it since the Vergesson heist, and all that had happened in Eiselcross and beyond. The thing didn’t bother him as much as it used to. Essek still wore his as well. Even if Caleb hadn’t thought it prudent to wear the amulet to shield himself from the Assembly’s prying eyes, even if they would not move openly against him, he would do it for Essek’s sake. It was easier to do these things for other people.

“Hey, Caleb.” The voice was a little muffled as Caleb’s ears were underwater, but he knew Fjord’s voice.

He carefully righted himself and began to tread water, a little clumsily but more easily than he had the first time. “Hallo, Fjord. Thank you for not scaring the shit out of me this time.”

Fjord chuckled; as usual, he had no trouble staying afloat. “Oh, I thought about it. I need to get you back for slapping my tit.”

“I will live in fear until you have found your revenge.”

“As you should,” Fjord said haughtily. “Oh, and Jester keeps demanding I invite you onto our ship. Unrelated to the impending revenge, of course. I have no stake in this at all.”

“Of course.” Caleb enjoyed Fjord’s sarcasm; he could pivot from sincerity to bullshit quicker than almost anyone he knew.

And, in true Fjord fashion, he pivoted again, dropping right back into sincerity. “In seriousness, though… if you ever need a break from civilisation, there’s always room for you. And Essek. Together or separately.”

“I appreciate that,” Caleb replied. “Knowing our luck, I will choose the perfect time for Uk’otoa to attack.” He did not clarify whether this would be good or bad luck, as he himself was uncertain.

“An extra hand wouldn’t go astray. You have saved my life many times on the sea.”

Fjord had almost been lost forever, killed and transported away. That night had been the perfect example of why Caleb never went a day without preparing Counterspell. Losing him would have been unbearable, especially after Molly.

Fjord’s hand found his shoulder. “Hey, I’m right here.”

“Ja, you are.” Caleb shook off his melancholy. And remembered why he had found Fjord so attractive from day one: whatever shit Fjord had going on, he was always ready to reach out and steady someone else. That, and the fact he had a nice face and an incredible amount of skill both in combat and in conversation. “I’m sure there will be time for sailing. Maybe in a few weeks, depending on how chaotic Rexxentrum becomes. I will try to drag Essek along, if he’s not too busy elsewhere.”

“Sailing the Lucidian Ocean with a pirate crew is an unlikely place to find a drow fugitive,” said Fjord.

“Ha! Indeed.” And, because they were already talking about Essek, Caleb broached a similar subject. “By the way, Essek and I plan to come back here after dinner so he can swim more comfortably. We will not be back until morning; I have the tower prepared. If you could, ah, keep the others distracted so we can slip away without too much innuendo, I would appreciate it.”

“I promise to try.” Fjord glanced fondly towards Jester. “She’s observant and has the best-worst timing.”

“That she does.” One of the wonderful things about her, but Caleb would prefer to shield Essek from that tonight. Essek had become more comfortable with the Nein’s teasing, but he was still a little shy, especially about his relationship with Caleb.

“We’ll make sure you get your date, either way.” Fjord patted Caleb’s shoulder and submerged himself, darting like a bullet towards the clerics. Then, he emerged from the water with a huge wave behind him, but Caduceus had seen him coming and retaliated with one of his own.

Caleb watched the water-fight for a bit before he retreated to the beach umbrella, throwing himself onto the towel beside Essek and closing his eyes for a nap.

***

They stayed out until sunset began to approach. Knowing the Zhelezo would soon close the gates, the group packed up, dressed and headed back to the Chateau. Essek, disguise refreshed, used Prestidigitation as they walked to clear the sand off everyone.

After dinner, Beauregard asked Caleb to send her and Yasha back to Rexxentrum. Caleb drew them a circle in Jester’s old room, sending them on their way while Essek watched him work. There was a quirk to his lips that Caleb now knew meant he was looking disrespectfully.

Then, with the lesbians gone, it was just the two of them. Caleb pocketed the rest of his chalk, and held a hand out to Essek. “We could teleport from here.”

“We could.” Essek glanced at the door behind him. “That may worry our friends.”

“I’ll message Fjord. Let him spill the beans in a few minutes when Jester comes looking for us.” Caleb pulled out his wire. “Hallo, Fjord? Essek and I are about to teleport to the beach. Could you tell them where we’re going when they ask?”

“Will do. Have a good night. You deserve it.”

Caleb tucked his wire away. “We’re good. Let’s go.”

Essek grabbed his hand, though Caleb was now fully aware that physical contact was not a requirement for teleportation. “Allow me.” He muttered a word and Jester’s bedroom fell away. The air and light rushed away, before it all came back in a rush. Caleb took a deep breath.

They had landed on sandy grass, a few paces from the beach itself. The two of them took off their shoes and Essek’s poncho and hat, stashing them in Caleb’s amber. Essek gazed out at the waves while Caleb worked the ritual. A ritual he had originally created as part of his plan to save his parents. Now he used it to stash his partner’s shoes so they could walk on the beach together. That felt like growth. Like allowing himself to be happy. Ultimately, he knew that was far more respectful of his mother and father’s memory than trying to break time to bring them back, putting his own life at risk. Even if he was damn sure it would’ve worked. If he hadn’t collapsed into dust at the end of it all. Part of him still felt like that would have been a worthy price to pay… but he knew they wouldn’t see it that way. Most of him understood that. All they had ever wanted was for their son to be happy. They would have wanted him to live, and live a good life.

Caleb sat there after the amber had claimed their things, staring into the stone. Essek waited patiently, not rushing or peppering him with questions. He knew the meaning of the vault, and had enough context to Caleb’s shit to suspect where his mind had gone. Even if he couldn’t read Caleb’s thoughts.

He would try to live a good life, like his mother and father had always wanted. It was the right thing to do. For them, and for himself. He deserved good things. Caleb just had to keep reminding himself, possibly forever. And the joy of surrounding himself with people who loved him was that they would remind him if he couldn’t.

The best way to honour Leofric and Una Ermendrud was to be happy, kind, and do good for himself and others. Even if he still felt like a piece of shit most days, he would keep trying.

Caleb scooped up the amber and settled the chain around his neck. Essek held out a hand, which he accepted, letting the drow leverage the entirety of his slight weight to pull Caleb to his feet.

Hand-in-hand, they stepped onto the sand. Let their toes sink in, wiggling with the joy of that simple feeling of being enveloped.

The two moons above gave Caleb just enough light to see his surroundings, reflecting off the sea like a mirror. Essek would have no trouble seeing, and he was safe from the discomfort from the sun. And the darkness was a safe enough disguise that he was not forced to concentrate on a spell to avoid detection. They were about as safe as they could be.

Essek lifted Caleb’s hands to his lips, kissing each knuckle in turn, his eyes boring into Caleb’s. Then he tugged Caleb towards the shoreline. There, they let the tide lick their toes, laughing as it tickled. Essek’s laugh was sweet and soft, his smile warm and unburdened. That was rare. So rare. Caleb’s heart swelled.

He leaned down to kiss him. Essek slid in close, fingers splayed across Caleb’s back. And they kissed and kissed and kissed until they couldn’t breathe.

They took a five-second break. And then they kissed again.

#shadowgast #caleb widogast #professor widogast #essek thelyss #critical role #cr2 #mighty nein' #the pomegranate's professor widogast fic #fanfiction #my fics

[casualcatte]

[RP Journal] January 10, 2021

To think I once felt anything for Edmond Beaumont.

No, no, don’t confuse him with his twin, Edgard Beaumont, whom I love very much. I speak of Edgard’s twin brother.  Edmond’s hurt Ardi for the last time and I certainly hope that Ardi listens to me in loosening his grip on his brother from here on out.  I know he loves Edmond deeply, as a brother should, but ever since they parted ways in Ul’dah Edmond can’t even be bothered to give Ardi more than ten minutes of his time at any given turn. Even when Ardi shared with him the happy news of our engagement, he gave some perfunctory congratulations and said he would now /need/ to get us a present.  Not out of joy, but out of obligation. 

Ardi came home confused, hurt, and frustrated by Edmond’s lack of… well, anything.  Not care, not concern, not hope, not love.  Just emptiness. I don’t know what’s happened to Edmond since we parted ways in Ul’dah but whatever it is has ruined him, even so much as everything that’s happened to Edgard has made him into a better man. Perhaps the two of them are destined to eternally be diametrically opposed.  I’ve heard from both brothers in the past that they were opposite in personality to who they are today, so if they’re both opposite of their opposite now, then they’re still opposite each other.  Right?  Gods, it’s enough to make one’s head ache.

(Courtesy cut for length)

Still, I did what I could to comfort Edgard and remind him that he has so many people who enjoy him for who he is.  People he doesn’t have to beg, plead, and cajole into spending even ten minutes’ time with him.  People who are overjoyed to see him engaged and a groom-to-be. People who love him.  Without question, without reservation.  People he deserves.

Edmond will find a relationship with his brother -- or he won’t. No amount of forcing the issue will make one manifest if Edmond himself does not will it so. I know Ardi sees the sense of it, I know at the heart of him he understands it -- but his blind, steadfast loyalty to a brother who treats him like dirt is unfathomable to me. I honestly think Edmond could murder me and Ardi would find some way to no fault in him. That’s how deeply and blindly I believe he loves his brother.  In it’s own way, it’s toxic and I fear it will damage both brothers irrevocably before it’s all said and done. Like Ardi is prone to do, though, he must learn things the hard way, no matter if it may ruin him in the end.  It is simultaneously something I love and hate about him.  He’ll go to the ends of the earth and beyond for the people he loves -- but godsdammit if I don’t feel like some of the people he loves don’t even fucking deserve it.

Lately, things seem to run in contrasts.  This follows the wonderful night at the Lunar Beach Party, time well-spent with Tetsuro Wulf, Sakura Takara, Nan’to Vaadrage, Ninka’ir Tayuun, and Sumiko Rijin. Even our own Karrn Moks made it out to the beach to play in an effort to further his exploration into new cultures and foods for his recipe-making. While I didn’t win at any of the games or collect any prizes, it was an enchanting evening that ended with a gorgeous performance by N’badra Jhiti and her partner. Yami Mcfluff showed up at the very tail end in an effort to get out and meet more people.

Yami was kind enough to walk me home and Karrn made us a delightful meal of vegetable soup in some sourdough bread bowls. While we were hanging out, V’hala Helsi finally put in an appearance from her workshop. I haven’t seen much of her since she’d given her issues with Fraus over to the Night Raid.  From everything I’ve heard from Edgard, she regularly drinks herself into a stupor and cloisters herself in the workshop, endlessly working on some new blueprint. Still, I was glad enough to see her out and about, mingling with people.  I think that’s a good sign for whatever black mood she’s been in.

As we idled in the common room of the inn, more people began to filter in from the Beach Party.  Ninka’ir on his way home, Sumiko following not long in his wake. Even a random patron showed up in the form of Seda’li Rayuun, he was looking for a place to stay and happened to follow everyone else in. V’hala, especially, seemed to take great interest in him when he spoke of his profession as a blacksmith.  It wasn’t until Rosik Ren came in that things really engaged V’hala. 

The three of them, Seda’li, Rosik, and V’hala ended up going to the workshop to discuss some prototypes of some armor and weaponry that Rosik was wanting to have made. That left me, Edgard, Yami and the others down in the common room, but they soon filtered out and were replaced by Kita Wolvesbane.

Kita was his usual self, at least until a point when -- I’m not altogether sure what happened.  I don’t know if it was me flirting with him or Edgard, but something in him shifted and his mood went from flirty to fractured. Pensive even.  Again, people filtered away until the only ones left were Kita and I, so, naturally I had to get to the bottom of things.

At the heart of it, Kita is lonely.  I can only imagine, given that they are immortal. Like others of their kind, they are doomed to see all that they love among mortality slowly wither and die until naught are left of them but Kita’s own memories. Even Besheke Ma’iingan, whom Kita loves deeply, is unwilling to take on immortality for Kita’s sake -- as Besheke desires nothing more than to be reunited with his own mortal love in whatever afterlife comes next.

I suppose theirs -- and others like them -- are relationships I’ll never understand.  No matter how “equally” one claims to love multiple lovers or partners -- someone will always, always, be second best. I sometimes wonder how they can stand it.  I couldn’t even stand to be second best to the ghost of Edgard’s long-dead wife. I couldn’t imagine there being someone else in his life that he claimed to love as much as I.  There will always be someone that gets more time, more effort, more conversation, or more smiles.  No matter how equal the love is proclaimed to be, it can never truly be that way. Besh and Kita are a prime example of that. One will always have to choose between them, at one point or another, and someone inevitably gets hurt.

For Kita, it always ends up being him. Her.  Them.  Gods, his gender-swapping gets confusing sometimes.  At any rate, being immortal, Kita will almost always be the one left with the short end of the stick. He longs for someone he can share his life with, but finding kitsune who are willing to accept him has apparently been difficult. I feel for him, truly, though I have no idea how to really help him in that arena.  The only kitsune I know are him, Tetsuro… and apparently Kita’s sister now that I’ve met her in U’ldah.  She tried to recruit Edgard and I as followers

At any rate, Kita is another sad story in a chain of endless, sad stories.  It’s like the world is devoid of joy anymore.  Just filled with people trying to make it one more day.  It makes me wonder if my life is somehow a dream, that I have no right to be comfortable, safe, and happy when everyone around me is miserable.  I suppose it’s like I told Edgard, though, we can’t be responsible for everyone else’s lives, we’ve committed our lives to each other now, and that should always take first priority over anyone else.

So, I’ll see about tending to that soon with Kita.  We’ll go to Ishgard and see if we can’t find a cure for Victoria and her mysterious malady.  That will be one less worry off Edgard’s plate -- one less worry off /our/ plate. Tumblr Mentions (... and people you should follow) @therpperson​ for Edgard Beaumont @nightraid-hq​ for the Lunar Festival Party @tetsuro-wulf​ for Tetsuro Wulf @thechoirrp​ for Karrn Moks @nbadrajhiti​ for N’badra Jhiti @thehouseofvs​ for V’hala Helsi

#Star Crossed Journal #Aultena Sephimiri #FFXIV #FFXIV RP #FFXIV Roleplay #Balmung RP #Balmung Roleplay #Balmung Roleplayer #Crystal RP #Crystal Roleplay #Crystal Roleplayer #Character Journal #Edgard Beaumont #Friendship Pathfinder #Ship Two Idiots One Heart #Night Raid #Night Raid Bounty Call #Tetsuyo Wulf #Friendship: Shadows and Cinnamimics #Nan'to Vaadrage #Friendship: Hala Got Your Back Girl #V'hala Helsi #Kita Wolvesbane #Friendship: Who Gives a Fox

[the-broken-truth]

Lady in the Water  - Water Nymph Helena Klein x Anastasia Wulf (Love & Legends MC)

Summary: Anastasia has been having the same dream over and over again for the past 4 weeks: A heavenly voice humming, a pond with water that illuminates that the full moon, a woman with eyes deep as sapphires calling to her. Her King & her friends think that she’s just stressed from the war and she needs a vacation. One night, while sleeping in her bed, Anastasia hears it again - The singing - but will she find the woman behind it?

Note: This version of Anastasia was born in this world.

Inspired by @xcclx3‘s Water Nymph Helena Klein Picture

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“My Love. Come to me.” She was calling to me again. Her sapphire eyes piercing through my soul, pulling my body towards her without a single thought.

“Come to me, Anastasia. Become one with me.” She called out to me again as she reached out her hand for me to take. “Come to me and let us never be apart again.” I reached out for her hand, over fingertips almost touched…

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

The sudden knocking at my door caused me to jump up, sitting upright in my bed, clenching my racing heart as I looked around the room - My room in King Reiner Wolfson’s Castle. The sunlight was shining through my curtains as I exhaled. The beating at the door returned and I turned my gaze to it.

You may enter.” I called out to the person on the other side of the door. The door opened to reveal Solaire Lightwing - King Wolfson’s Servant and Cook. 

“Good Morning, Lady Wulf. Are you well? You didn’t come down for breakfast.” Solaire asked me as she walked into the room with a plate of food for me. I pushed the blankets off my body and sat on the edge, running my hand through my hair. 

“I’m fine, Solaire. Thanks for your concern. Does Lord Reiner need me for something?” I asked looking back at her.

“Lord Reiner and the rest of the Retainers are waiting in the War Room for your attendance.” Solaire explained. 

“Okay. Tell them I’ll be down soon. I just need to eat and get dressed.” With that, Solaire dismissed herself, leaving me alone in my room. I looked at the breakfast and began to eat while my mind drifted off again.

‘Who was that woman? Why does she call me ‘My Love’? What does she want from me?’ I thought as I finished my breakfast, got dressed in my armor, and made my way down to the War Room.

[Timeskip - In The War Room]

“Now, we have the Witch Queen’s Army on the defensive but what we don’t know is what she could be planning over there. She could be developing a massive weapon to use against us or...Champion Anastasia, are you listening?” Lord’s Reiner’s voice called out to me. I jolted in my seat, turning my gaze from the window I was looking out of and turned to face everyone.

“Huh? Wha?” I stuttered.

“Little Raven, are you alright? It’s like your mind is not one with your body.” Altea called out to me.

“No, I’m...I’m just...I’m just tired.” I said. August raised an eyebrow at me, not believing me one bit.

“Was it that dream again?” He asked.

“Let it go, August.” I told him. He just sighed at me.

“Anastasia, I know you’ve been having that dream for the past few weeks but I insist - there is no woman in the water around here that is calling to you.” He said. I glared at him.

“A repetitive dream usually has meaning, August. If you don’t think it has meaning, tell me why I’ve been having it for the past 4 weeks, every...single...night.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“My Raven, perhaps you are just stressed from the war. You have been on the front lines, repelling the With Queen’s advances for weeks; not to forget that you took a spell right to the gut for Lord Reiner. Maybe you need a vacation.” Altea suggested.

“I’m not stressed, Altea; nor am I crazy. I hear her singing in my head every night; begging me to come with her, to be with her, but I don’t know who she is or what she wants from me. It’s...exhausting me.” I said as I dropped my head in my hands. Everyone shuffled in their seats as if they were looking at each other for the answer but no one said anything until Lord Reiner spoke.

“Anastasia, you are a valuable champion and a treasured friend; I think Altea is right, maybe you should have some time off. I ask you this, not as your king, but as your friend.” Reiner spoke in his strong but caring voice. I looked into the eyes of all my friends and nodded; maybe they were right, I just need a break. I excused myself from the table and left the room.

‘Maybe I can find something fun to do in town.’ I thought to myself.

[Later that night]

I threw myself on my bed with a satisfied sigh; the day was good and I didn’t think about that woman, maybe she was just a figment of my imagination from the stress of war, just like Altea said. I began to close my eye to relax before a cold presence hummed from the back of my neck; I froze with a gasp, my body locked, my eyes widened and her voice came back.

‘Do you wish to forget me, My Love? Do you honestly think they know what is going on between us? No, My Darling, they no nothing.’ Her voice whisper to me as a breeze picked up in my room from the open window.

“What? Who...Who are you? Why can’t I move? What do you want from me?” I asked through locked teeth.

‘Let me show you, My Love. Let yourself go...and come to me.’

That’s when I felt my body loosen...as did my grip on my subconscious.

[Point of View Change: Saerys]

Lounging on the roof of the castle to watch the clouds moving across the star-filled sky on a full moon night was a good way to pass the time. It liked the quiet but my mind couldn’t come off of what happened with Lady Wulf today; she looked completely exhausted and the same thing about the dream she had - a woman in water? That sounds a lot like a Naiad - A Fresh Water Nymph. There hasn’t been any of those around here for decades, there’s no way one could…

*THUD* 

“Huh?” I said as I pushed myself off my roof and looked down to see what could have made that noise - It was Anastasia, wearing her village clothes and….DID SHE JUST JUMP OUT HER WINDOW?! I watched as she moved in walking speed to the forest but something wasn’t right: Her body posture was all wrong. Her arms were lifeless beside her body and her head was slightly dropped as if she was sleep-walking.

I jump from the room and ran over to her, standing in front of her a few feet.

“Lady Anastasia, what’s the matter with you? Why did you jump out of your window? Where are you going?” I asked but she didn’t answer, she just kept walking, her body swaying with every heavy step she took. I walked forward, grabbing her by her shoulders. “Anastasia!” I called out again but this time she did move; she opened her eyes...and they were blank. They were blank, there was not a single speck of grey in her eyes, just emptiness...and...wait…

‘Her eyes...they are glowing blue.’ I realized. I opened my mouth to speak to her again but when the wind blew by my ear, a voice was carried with it.

‘Do not let him stop you from reaching me, My Love. Knock the demon away.’ I became wide-eyed at what I heard. It was a woman’s voice. It’s called Anastasia ‘My Love’; this was the - ?!

“NGH!” My thoughts were cut off as the back of Anastasia's fist came colliding with my right cheek, knocking me off to the side as Anastasia progressed to the forest, disappearing in the darkness. I clenched my jaw and sat up.

“Damn, she’s got a mean hook.” I groaned.

“Saerys, what happened?” The voice of Iseul rung out as he and Altea came rushing out of the castle.

“It’s Anastasia, something has a hold of her body; I think she was telling the truth about her dream and that woman she’s been seeing is a Naiad.” I explained. Altea’s eyes went wide.

“A Naiad...Wait...Eyes deeper than...Oh no! We have to go! Anastasia’s in danger!” Altea shouted as she ran into the darkness; Iseul and I followed quickly behind her.

[Meanwhile: With Anastasia]

“Come to me, My Love. You are almost there. Soon, we’ll be together again.” Her voice was like honey coating my brain, my body wanted to be with her. My heart wanted to be one with hers. But my mind...I still couldn’t fathom what was going on.

“What are you doing to me?” I asked from the depths of my mind.

“I’m merely fulfilling our promise, My Love.” I was even more confused.

“A promise? What promise?” I asked her.

“The fact that you don’t remember shows that we have been apart for too long. No more shall this be. I will not lose you again. Not to this kingdom. Not to this war. Not to anyone ever again.” Her voice hissed in anger.

“Just who are you?!” I yelled out in my mind.

“Open your eyes and see for yourself, My Love.” With that, my body fell forward and I was kneeling on the ground before a pond...that’s what illuminated like the light of a full moon. I shook my head to be straight my vision when ripples in the water caused me to freeze. 

A slim female lightly tanned hand reached from the top of my vision, coming in contact with my chin and held my head up as I came face to face with her. A woman with lightly tanned skin, long blonde hair, and the deepest blue eyes I had ever seen. Her body was flawless, blue markings traced her skin on her thigh and her arm but the rest of it was covered - not very well - by a silk shaw draped over her shoulder. My face was burning, this masterpiece before me and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had seen her somewhere in my life. Her lips curled into a smile.

“I’ve waited so long to touch you once again, Anastasia. Did you miss me, My Love?” The woman asked. I stuttered in guilt, I didn’t remember her and I felt ashamed.

“I...I don’t know you...I know I’ve seen your face but I can remember who you are…” I confessed. A displeased look danced across her face before she stood her full height in the pool, causing me to fall back on my knees to look into her eyes. 

“Of course you don’t. The people who separated us the first time made sure that you won’t remember me or our promise. But...that doesn’t matter anymore, My Love.” My face lit up as she lent in and pulled my body into a hug, whispering in my ear...her song.

“Wait...what are you…?” I began but...I was feeling tired. Sleepy. Her song...was draining me of my strength.

“Hush, My Love. You don’t have to worry about anything else anymore. Now that we are together, I will keep our promise and we will be together. Come with me. Let your body fall. Become one with me...my other half.” With each word she said, I felt my body getting wetter and wetter as she slowly pulled my body into the water with her until I was full submerged with her arms wrapped around me and her lips placing kisses on my neck; there was no struggle. No resistance. I was just…

Too Tired.

“ANASTASIA!” A voice called out from the other side of the water.

Altea?

“Pull her out! Hurry, before she drowns!” 

Iseul?

“Leave us alone! You took her from me once, I won’t let you take her again!” 

The woman hissed as I felt another tug on the back of my shirt - I was in the middle of a tug a war until the tug on my back won and I was yanked out of the water with a splash. I began coughing up water as I felt two strong hands held me up, I opened my eyes to see the woman standing in the water with a snarl on her face as she glared at Altea, who was pointing her staff at her. Iseul was aiming his bow at the water woman while in my daze; I heard them.

“I should have known you would try something like this, Klein! You tried to do the same thing to her when she was a child!” Altea hissed at the woman.

Klein? Wait...I know that name.

“She was mine! You took her from me before and I won’t let you do it again! Give her back to me!” Klein hissed out before Altea shot a spell at her as a warning. Klein glared at Altea and Iseul before she looked at me with soft eyes. “I will come back for you, My Love. I promise.” And with that, she dived into the water and disappeared out of sight. Altea and Iseul sheathed them weapons before coming to see if I was okay. One word echoing in my mind.

Klein

Klein

Klein

Then I spoke before I blacked out.

“Helena.”

- TO BE CONTINUED? -

#helena klein #love and legends #lovestruck #helena x mc

[darks-ink]

Could you perhaps do, if you are still doing ficlets, of Wulf getting captured by either Danny's Parents or Vlad

So my original idea for this one was pretty similar to Captivity, so I forced myself to come up with something else, and I’m pretty sure I like this take more? So here you go, anon, hope you like it too!

---

“Not so tough now,are you?” his mom taunted, and Danny clenched his fists tighter.Forced himself to take a deep breath, to stay calm.

A scoff from Maddieat the lack of an answer, and then the sound of footsteps as shepaced away from the containment area. He could do this. He just… Hejust had to be brave.

He straightened hisspine, unclenched his hands a little. Then, mustering all the couragehe had, he stepped down the stairs and into the lab.

The noise of hisfeet on the stairs immediately drew the attention of his parents, andthey both looked up at him. Behind them, deeper in the lab, the onlyother person looked up too, hope sparking in his green eyes.

“Danny?” his momasked, her expression hard to read while she was wearing her goggles.“Why are you down here, sweetie?”

He made a face, thenshrugged, faux-casual. “Just, uh…” His eyes caught on the ghostin the far back, slumped in on himself, heavy shackles on his wristsand a mean-looking collar around his neck, and he trailed off.

Maddie followed hisgaze, then turned back to him, her arms crossed. “You’re not herebecause of the ghost, are you? It’s a menace, Danny, like allghosts.”

“You can’t dothis,” he insisted, instead of arguing. He’d tried plenty oftimes, and so had Jazz. No matter what, they refused to believe them.Preferred to follow their own outdated and misguided research, ratherthan listen to actual proof. “He’s a living creature. Well, notliving, but a sapientcreature.”

Jack shook his head.“Danny, kiddo, ghosts aren’t intelligent beings. They’re justsemi-sentient ectoplasm, doing whatever they want to do. The onlygood thing this one will do is advance our research.”

“No, you can’t!”Danny stepped forward, closer to the cage. Its shield was based on aGhost Shield; it wouldn’t affect him in human form. “You can’thurt him! I won’t let you!”

His parents shared aglance, brief but meaningful. Then Maddie said, cautiously, “Whynot?”

“Because he’s--he’s--” Danny scrambled to think of a reason. Well, might as wellgo with the truth, right? “Because he’s my friend!”

“Your friend?”his dad echoed, slowly. His eyes were narrowed at Danny, and he hadto withstand the temptation to cower under the inspecting gaze.“Since when?”

“And how?” hismom added, her posture considerably stiffer.“You should know better than to associate with ghosts, young man.”

“He-- He--”Danny glanced past them, at the enormous ghost that laid there. Hisbright green eyes gazed back, clearly following the conversation evenif he didn’t understand it. Like this, it was like nothing had everchanged. He’d just traded one prison for another.

“He saved mylife!” Danny blurted out.

“What?” both ofhis parents exclaimed,in perfect unison.

“I, uh, yeah.”He shrugged, an attempt at returning to his previous casualness, likehe didn’t regret spouting thatout. “He saved my life, during that first ghost invasion, with allthose guard ghosts? A, uh, a bunch of those surrounded me, wanted toattack me. Wulf fought them off for me.”

Hisparents shared another uncertain look. Behind them, Wulf seemed topick up on the change in mood, ears cautiously perking up. Thetip of his tail started twitching into something that was almost ahopeful wag.

“Why didn’t youtell us?” his mom asked, coming closer and pulling her goggles up.“Why did you rely on the protection of this-- this ghostinstead of us?”

“Well, I didn’texactly get a choice, did I?” Heflapped his hands, aggravatedly. “They just pounced me! What didyou want me to do, tell them to wait so I could call you guys?”

“It doesn’t evenspeak a real language,” his dad muttered, frowning at Wulf insteadof looking at Danny. “Just some made-up gibberish.”

Danny shook hishead. “Nah. I mean, it ismade-up, because all languagesare,but it’s not gibberish. He speaks Esperanto.”

“And how do youknow that?” his mom asked skeptically, one eyebrow raised.

“Tucker taughtme,” he told her honestly, letting his muscles relax just a tinybit.

He’d planned onbreaking out Wulf as Phantom, but his parents had recently updatedthe anti-ghost protection, and he wasn’t sure howyet. He figured he could try as Fenton instead of risking gettingcaught himself. “A lot of nerds speak it, apparently, as a secretlanguage.”

Hismom crouched in front of him, frowning at him, clearly not convinced.She stared at him, and Danny straightened his spine and stared back.After a long moment she seemed satisfied, because she stood up again.

“Notovershadowed,” she told Jack, simply.

“Wait, what?” Hefelt like someone had upended a bucket of ice water over him. Theyreally thought he was overshadowed because he was, what, protecting aghost? Like he and Jazz hadn’t defended them before? “Yeah, I’mnot overshadowed! I’m your actual son,telling you that I won’t let you hurt this ghost! What about it?”

“We had to besure, kiddo,” his dad said, tone almost cheery butclearly fake. “You neverknow with those ectoplasmic bastards.”

He growled, thenstomped forward. Past his parents, not stopping until he stood nextto Wulf’s cage. The ghost sat up a little in interest, ears perkedand tail slowly thumping against the ground. Danny swung out an armin his direction.

“How would he evenhave done that? You guys have him locked up!Look at him!”

“It could’vesend a friend.” His mom narrowed her eyes, staring at him and Wulfbehind him. “It would make sense.”

“More sense thanme wanting to protect him for saving my life?”Danny balled his fists, forcing down his anger. He couldn’t havehis anger take over, couldn’t have his eyes glow. That would bedisastrous, would ruin everything he had achieved. “Ordo you just refuse to accept that maybenot all ghosts are bad?”

Narrowinghis eyes, he stepped closer to the side of the cage, three pairs ofeyes following him. “Now, either you guys are gonna free him, or Iwill.”

“You wouldn’t,”his dad said, moving closer despite his words. “Danny, it couldrevolutionize our research! A ghost capable of making ghost portalslike it’s nothing! Imagine what we could do with that knowledge?”

Danny,quite frankly, didn’t want to. His parents might not have feltinclined to enter the Ghost Zone via their own portal just yet, butif they started creating temporary portals? Who knew what kind ofinnocent ghosts could be captured and dragged into their lab?

He shook his headviolently. “No! I won’t let you experiment on him! If you want tolearn more about his abilities, you can settle for askinghim, like a normal person!And maybe, maybe, ifyou hadn’t resorted to,” he threw out his hands, gesturing at thelab around them, “to this,to locking him in a cage,maybe he even would’ve helped! But here we are!”

“Danny,” his momsaid, voice low and icy, “Step away from the ghost.”

“Sure.” Hesmirked, moving another step to the side. He saw all the eyes aroundhim open wide, his parents’ in shock and Wulf’s in excitement.Then he slammed down his fiston the large red button on the control panel.

With a hiss, thecontainment unit opened. A click released Wulf’s collar, and anadditional two clicks loosened his shackles, too.

The ghost pushedhimself onto his feet easily. Wrapped his clawed hands around thesides of the now-open cage ashe walked out, nails clicking on the steel floor and tail swishingbehind him. His green eyes moved over Danny’s parents, then settledon him.

“Hey Wulf,” hegreeted the ghost, inclining his head. Then, in Esperanto, he added,“They didn’t hurt you too bad, did they?”

“Amiko,” theghost said, matching him with a head-bob. “No, it wasonly the cage. You came before anything could happen.”

Danny opened his mouth toreply, but his mom stopped him before he could say anything, afurious expression on her face. “How could you?!”

“How could I?”He whirled around to face her, seeing Wulf puff himself up to loomover him, protectively. “You are the ones who locked myfriend, someone who saved my life, in a cage! You are the oneswho threatened to hurt him, to experiment on him!”

“It’s a ghost--” hisdad started, but Danny interrupted him before he could get furtherinto the spiel.

“A ghost, yes, yes, Iknow!” He blew out a noisy breath. “Honestly, is that all you cansay? If Wulf had been human you would’ve sung his praises for alleternity for less, but because he’s a ghost he’s a vile beingbound to betray me? Come on, man.”

He could see both of hisparents reach for ghost weapons, as covertly as they could. So hestepped right in front of Wulf. Then, purposefully, turned his backfully to them, looking at Wulf instead.

“I think it’s best if you leave. I don’twant you to get hurt.”

The ghost narrowedhis eyes, ears lowering to his neck. “They are upset. Idon’t want them to hurt you instead.”

“They won’t,”Danny insisted, shaking his head. “They might be willingto shoot Phantom, but they won’t hurt me. It’ll be fine, Wulf, Ipromise.”

Wulf hesitated amoment longer, then nodded, clearly reluctant. He tensed his paw-likehands, claws fully unsheathing.

With another nod ofassurance from Danny, Wulf wound back his arm, then soundlesslyripped through reality to form a portal to the Ghost Zone. He tookone last look, then jumped through the portal.

The tear repaireditself almost immediately, and it was like nothing had ever happened.

Until Danny turnedback to his parents, and was greeted by their furious expressions.

He laughed, a lastkernel of dread in his stomach, and said,

“So, uh… Iguess he’s not welcome back?”

#danny phantom #dp fanfic #phanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #wulf #danny fenton #prompt fill #dark writes #Anonymous

[at-the-exd-of-everythixg]

“Wulf?” Mimi stood next to the large man, raising an eyebrow at the sight before her. “Whaaat are we lookin’ at here?” 

Wulf glanced down at Mimi, a smile playing on his face and growing bigger by the minute. The powerhouse herself couldn’t help but return the grin, when Wulf smiled, it made you want to smile...even if he was smiling over something rather weird. The thing he was smiling over in question seemed to be an oversized bird feeder, which, wasn’t that weird but...it’s what Wulf had set up that had made it so odd.

The bottom layers of the feeder seemed to have been dangling meat. Large raw pieces of different animals that looked about ready for a bear. The middle part of it was filled with different sorts of pastries and chocolate before leading upwards to different fruits. All of them seemed to have honeycomb pieces strew through the rows.

“Oh, oh!” Mimi’s mismatched eyes widen as the answer suddenly hit her like a train wreck. “Oh no! Wulf! That’s-” She covered her mouth with a scaled hand, grinning and already starting to giggle alongside the Asgardian. “That’s terrible! Mahogany, I get, but the other two? i don’t think-” She laughed more silently as Wulf held up a hand, pointing towards the woodland clearance not too far off from the Main house. 

Already Mahogany was padding through on far too skinny legs that shouldn’t have been able to hold them up but Mimi knew by now that Magni-baby was far stronger than anyone could ever really know. She didn’t doubt that they could probably beat anyone on a fight and even hold their own against Mordecai in a mind battle. But right now, it was...incredibly funny and sad to see such a terrifying creature gasp in delight before padding over to start sniffing and reaching  up onto their hind.....legs? Hoofs? Paws? They were up there and pulling down slabs of meat.

Mimi held out her hands, still grinning at the sight. “Well...I mean, of course you’d have MooMoo going after it,” She said, ignoring the way Wulf mouthed “MooMoo?”. “But you know they don’t eat much fruit, or chocolate and I doubt the others are going to fall for it, for real this time.” Honestly, the sight of a giant cat deer was funny to watch but Mimi wasn’t sure if it was the most respectable thing to do to them? 

Then again, Mahogany always had liked little puzzles and easy ways to get food and it was cute to see them beam over at Mimi, chirping happily when she and Wulf waved to them. Well...Wulf made this out of affection rather than spite and it was-

......Sal had just flown down, tilting in the air curiously at the sight of the overgrown bird feeder before shrugging and plopping himself down on top of Mahogany’s head to grab a chocolate muffin. 

“No,” Oh Bast, this was too good. Sal had dignity but not even he seemed to realise that was was enjoying something Wulf built for amusement. The scaled mutant leaned over the porch railings, content to watch two of her friends enjoy the snacks that had been set up for them unknowingly. It was nice, to see the two of them so relaxed and happy. 

Which was...it was nice. Mahogany often got too worried about being caught out and ruining the pack they had, which made them flighty in the best of times and aggressive at their worst. Sal supposedly worked in the opposite manner and Mimi could see the way the small star often got tense and scared of all of the people he suddenly had in his life. 

But they’d be fine, they always were after all. Mimi had thought her life wold end up being nothing but rough fights that got too dirty and left her raggedly crying every other week before Edith had came. The Asgardian had been left rather starry-eyed at the way Mimi mixed her violence and her arts together and even more so when Mimi had revealed just how strong she really was, how she always practised and help back in case something went wrong.

She still did wrestling, the Ocean Powerhouse could never be stopped after all, but it was nice to have some support for the shitty days and to be able to makes jokes with Pascal and Lace before even Finn begged them to stop. 

And, well, it didn’t help the fact that Edith was practically a walk on the beach herself. 

Moments like these were what she adored too, especially when even Ava came down, took once glance at the bird feeder that Mahogany and Sal were making happy noises at, and shrugged before settling down and nabbing an apple to chew on. She was probably aware of Wulf snorting so hard he choked, but the hybrid seemed to deal with it well enough that she let it go on. Obviously Ava cared more about the fruit she had rather than facing any shame in the silent comparisons of small birds that Mimi was definitely making. 

“She’s going to let them know,” Mimi’s mismatched eyes looked up at Wulf and she grinned, more so when she saw that sudden nervous glint in his eyes. God, he was such a dope. 

“I mean...” She carried on. “Mahogany will be fine, you know they’re going to tackle you for giving them this but Sal?” Oh, he was gonna be pissed, she couldn’t wait. He always reacted badly to attention and nice gestures or gestures that made him feel like he was being made fun of...or gestures at all really. He took them if anyone pressed hard enough but people like Wulf, their sheer love and earnest gestures, had always gotten Sal and Ava much more flighty. 

But it was fine. They would all learn how to deal with each other, one way or another. Mimi just supposed that it would involve more of Wulf running and screaming when three heads suddenly snapped over at him and began the chase when Ava had finally let slip what exactly the sudden influx of snacks were all about. 

Mimi just laughed and beamed when she finally noticed another Asgardian arriving back to the Main house. Edith was going to give that quirk of an eyebrow that secretly said she was laughing just as much when Mimi took her by the arm in order to watch Mahogany tackle Wulf gleefully while Sal screeched when he and Ava were eventually pulled into the messy hug too. 

Life was good, and it would only get better. 

#the leather bound angel (ava) #Ocean powerhouse (Mimi) #The living stardust (Sal) #The monster of forgotten midnights (Mahogany) #riding the wild winds (Wulf) #She was a rose with soft thorns (Edith) #My writing #just....felt like doing cute stuff ?? #i'm probs gonna do some kid stuff next and may or may not either do mimi x Edith or Doe x Morde or even Doe x Sal nsfw?? #it depends sksks vote 4 ur fave ship now!!

[bagheerita]

It was my birthday this week, so as my birthday gift to myself I finally got ahold of a copy of Patricia Briggs' Storm Cursed that came out earlier this year and set aside some time to read it. And OMG why do I love this author and this series more than anything else out there being written today???

I remember back when each new book in the series used to deal with one aspect of the supernatural at a time, but I love that 11 books in we can now jump from werewolves to vampires to walkers to fae to witches in the same story because we already know who Adam, Marsilia, Gary, Uncle Mike, and Elizaveta are.

I love that Bran and Wulfe are apparently fighting an epic battle of misinformation via the Wikipedia page on werewolves.

In the last book, Mercy finally seems to come to grips with the fact that Bran loves her just as much as he loves his true sons, if not more. It was sweet then in this book for Mercy to be confronted with the fact that one of her other father figures also cares about her enough to take a personal interest in what's going on in her corner of the world.

I love seeing Mercy grow in her powers. Having never been taught what a walker really is, she's spent most of the books, and a lot of her life, being kind of an outcast werewolf. But she is slowly coming to understand that she doesn't just see ghosts, she can use that power- and her connection to Coyote, the spirit of change and chaos- to affect the world in a positive way.

I love that the characters change, but I also love the moments that highlight that for all that they do grow, they are the same people still. My favorite one here being: Another character refuses to leave Mercy alone at her garage saying, “The last time I left you alone here you almost died.” I fully expected her to shoot back with sarcasm and some variation of "I can take care of myself” but instead Mercy says, “Thank you.” She fully understands that it’s not about her ability to take care of herself, but it’s about her friend’s trauma; she notes, “we all have our scars.” It reminded me of Mercy’s comment in Silver Borne, when she observes, “A coyote adapts, that’s how she survives.”

It's a weird thing, because he's one of my favorite characters, but I liked that Warren wasn't in this book that much. It gave some room for other members of the pack to come forward and fill that space. And honestly, after Blood Bound, if the closest Warren gets to black magic is roping a zombie cow from the back of a pick-up truck I’m happy for him.

I love that Sherwood was introduced a few books ago but we only learn his mysterious past here. Briggs has been really good in this series at introducing characters before they become important, so that they really feel like an organic part of the world and not just "the character that was useful for this episode."

I love that Cookie finds a home. This was such a minor thing, but a great way to get some vulnerable characters out of the way of a dangerous situation, and also to introduce a continuation on the themes of: rescuing animals from bad situations which is continued with Pirate; charity and generosity, or "balance" as Aiden sees Cookie and Lydia's mutual life-saving; and the pack offering shelter and restoration, which is continued through Sherwood mostly, but also (less markedly in this book) Zach, Aiden, and Joel.

One of the things I love most about Briggs' stories is the balance. There is darkness and evil in the world, but there is light and hope as well, and there is power in love. Mercy might be facing something that terrifies her, but: Her fathers have given her gifts to help her succeed. Her and Adam get strength from their bond. Because of the remarkable and individual person she is she has friends all over the board who have an interest in helping her achieve her goals, even if, for the ones who are less “friendly,” it’s just because, today, their goals align.

#bookfangasm #storm cursed #mercy thompson #patricia briggs #i try to be vague but #SPOILERS #maybe #book fangasm #mercy thompson series

[plounce]

im like. not even into cr (i fell off the wagon and then was too upset about molly to catch up) but like. your spn au. is Incredible, like. the catholic guilt... the pining... molly as an angel, falling and still resplendent and charming and proud... beaus bde (big dyke energy). etc. i dont have any specific questions or anything please just use this ask as an excuse to continue going off.

THANK YOU YOU ARE TOO SWEET...that’s what happened with half my friends tbh you are valid. i still watch because i’m devoted to caduceus and beau, but that’s me. 

you have immediately caught my attention by mentioning “catholic guilt” which is a favorite character trait of mine to stick onto caleb. i imagine that trent was from the school of hunter who put a lot of stock into old christian remedies to things

[this got LONG so this is a READ MORE]

ok digression now that im thinking about this universe. i imagine there’s a few broad schools of thought within hunters, because theres a lot of methods that work but theres a lot of superstition among individuals/families about which ones work best, why they work, how they should be performed. there’s ones who have a more christian bent, there’s ones who are very no-nonsense silver-and-salt (just stick to the standard materials and don’t use a lot of bullshit), there’s ones who dip into witchcraft here and there, and those who use whatever they can and hope it works. some of these get passed on by families or mentors - some people fall into hunting from The Outside and use what they find.

beau was raised in a no-nonsense family. they’ve been hunters going back generations and generations, tough men who are strong and are capable of fighting evil and uphold family traditions. LOTS of hypermasculinity and patriotism etc. conservative. lots of military. beau being a girl was a disappointment to them because [misogyny], but when she got older it was more her disobedience. you listen to your father and uncles on hunts, but beau listens to her gut, and even if she saves the day she’d get punished.

she’s good at hunting, which infuriates her (she hates that she’s one of the family, but she also hates that her family keeps her from helping others to her fullest potential) - but mostly she just hated the control. she hated the stifling, how she could never be anything but a lionett. she ran away and lived in anonymity for two years before caleb found her and begged for her help. but even now, when it’s her and caleb and she’s with him and not with them - she still gets recognized by other hunters as the lionett girl. tell your uncle steve he owes me a beer, wontcha sweetheart?

she hates it. can’t stand it. it’s even worse when she runs into her family and they either get pissed about her huge dykey look or tell her glad you finally found a man to carry on the family line. sometimes caleb tries to stop her from punching out a cousin’s lights, but some nights he just quietly retires to the car to wait for her to need a quick getaway.

caleb, meanwhile, was brought into hunting by trent, who was never clear about how he got into hunting but he was so knowledgeable and wise that caleb never thought to ask. his family home was burned down by demons possessing his parents (they made deals with devils, trent tells him, brought that evil into your home. we must fight to protect the innocent from the weakness of the wicked.) (he is lying, but caleb doesn’t know that. he’s only ten years old. it’ll take 17 more years for him to learn the truth.)

trent rescued him and told him secrets, and caleb was born drinking down all the knowledge he could get his hands on. astrid and eodwulf were already with trent when he was picked up, and they were his little disciples, doing research and sweetly manipulating witnesses into spilling their hearts while trent did the dirtier work. that changed when caleb was 13, and he and astrid and eodwulf dug up a grave as trent fought a ghost, and caleb lit the match to set the corpse alight. trent was so proud of him, told him he could trust him, and started taking him on hunts after that. astrid and eodwulf were so jealous, but caleb was jealous when astrid got firearm training first and when eodwulf got to learn how to drive their van. it was his turn to be the favored student.

trent was very catholic. rosaries, latin, silver in shapes of crosses, holy water up each sleeve. a prayer muttered whenever there was a spare breath. stop in a church every sunday they can. confess your sins to your father, since we’re nowhere near an actual priest. (trent knows a lot about caleb.)

caleb starts the “show” at age 25. when he was 22, eodwulf disobeyed during a hunt, and he was tersely given supplies and sent off on a hunt on the other side of the state. caleb doesn’t know if eodwulf couldn’t find his way back to them or if he abandoned them, and trent told him not to think of him, but caleb kept graffitting the three of them’s secret codesymbol whenever the thought crossed his mind. i’m still here, wulf. i thought of you here in this rest stop. i hope you are okay.

when he was 23 and a half, trent sent astrid to represent him at a hunter gathering. find out what you can. report back to me when you are able. i picked you for this, do not fail me. you can be independent. go in strength. caleb was so achingly jealous that trent trusted her for this and not him, but then trent told him my loyalest student. my favorite. you are the one to stay by my side. i trust you will live up to this regard. and the sting soothed.

when he was 24 or so, trent sent him to investigate a disappearance in a neighboring county that might’ve been linked to their current hunt. when caleb came back, trent was gone. after a month of combing over their motel room and the surrounding area for any clues, caleb decided to himself that this was another test, and he must continue on as normal. be independent. a strong young man. a warrior for christ against evil. and he kept his chin up and did his best. until he couldn’t do it alone anymore (weak weak weak) and he dragged himself to beau’s doorstep.

(i do want to say here that when things finally shake out with astrid and eodwulf, it is eodwulf who is the treacherous trent supporter and astrid who is the one who is a little bit... uncomfortable with beau’s general dykery bc she is catholic but is all-around ok. she’s like it was good to see you again caleb, it is good to see that you’ve become a good, honest man, and that you have a better sister than i ever was to you. go in peace. it’s all very healing and good. it’s not perfect, but it’s some amount of closure. that trent and his manipulation and abuse and demon deals haven’t condemned caleb to being completely horrible.) (also there is NO astrid/caleb romance here obv)

when caleb finally gets comfortable around molly The Angel Of The Lord he starts tentatively peppering him with questions about the faith. a lot of the stuff he learned from trent was wrong. molly was never really a “faith enforcer” angel anyway, but he’s just so confused that caleb is so hung up on so much stuff, when the whole thing is about love? (it’s... different for humans than for angels, yasha eventually tells them. humans can get second tries. that is why i am often very jealous of you all, yasha says, looking somewhere far away.)

honestly caleb and molly are very “i love everybody because i love you” in this au which is extremely valid. finding love in others to find love in the world to find love in others etc etc - yes, this is my les mis past speaking, and it is smart and correct. “revolution is an act of love” etc etc.

also i hate having to draw beau’s super short hair because i have limitations but im SO pleased with that design, i think it really fits the vibe. beau with her crew cut and caleb with his hair he never bothers cutting and both of them in flannels. hell YES

#wmspn au #chirps #robcr #qll #THANK YOU FOR THE SUPER SWEET AND VALIDATING ASK... YOU ARE NICE TO ME :) #lessebian

[leo-lucid]

Bewitching Which Monster Chapter 4: The Meeting

Oh man, I was starting to get dizzy. All of this was insane! I was supposed to fall in love with one of them?! Grandmother Rosemary Devane couldn't be serious, right? I pinched my cheek to see if I was dreaming. I yelped in pain and rubbed the skin I just hurt. No, this was real. All of this was real. My purple eyes scanned the paper again, trying to make sense of it all. Footsteps from down the hall got closer and louder. All of a sudden, Zamuel was standing through the doorway.

"Ms. Devane! Are you okay? I heard a yell like you were in pain." He inquired, breathing a bit heavily like he sprinted his way here. I held the book to my chest and nodded, laughing nervously as I answered his question.

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine. Just. . . hit my hip on the table?"

Why was I such a terrible liar? Why couldn't I be the most fantastic liar in the world? Zamuel noticed how oddly I worded my answer but let it go. He shook his head and sighed.

"Okay then. I was just making sure you were safe. Anyways, Ms. Devane, have you found anything about our curses yet? Perhaps you need assistance? The movers have finally finished and all of your things are settled throughout the rooms where I thought they would be most appropriate."

I gulped at his question, growing even more nervous than before. I had to tell these guys what was up. It was be terrible for me to hide something as big as this. The answer was right here and they have been waiting on it for who knows just how long. After a deep breath, I nodded and help up the journal. I trusted Zamuel to help me break the news since he seemed like the logical and level-headed type. "Yes. I have the answer but I need assistance."

This seemed to shock Zamuel despite asking the question in the first place. His one silver eye went wide. "Oh? I will mostly certainly provide any assistance I can if it means breaking the curse. Please, what shall you have me do, Ms. Devane?"

I set the book down on the table and sighed. "I need to hold a meeting with everyone. The way to break the curse is rather. . . unconventional in my opinion. It will be a shocker for everyone and I'm not particularly good with keeping things calm and under control. So. . . I'll give you a heads up so you can help me explain the situation. Is that okay?"

"Of course. Whatever you need. I am your butler after all." He added, giving a polite bow in the middle of his reassuring words. While I found his suavity and gentleman behavior incredibly charming, I didn't know how much longer I would be able to stand being referred to with my last name and a Ms. attached to the front of that.

"Just Anise is fine, Zamuel. Getting back to the main point, This journal holds notes on you guys, my family and other notes that Grandmother Rosemary deemed important. Along with it is a note addressed to me, claiming that I hold the key to uplifting the curse. However. . . I can only save one of you because according to my grandma. . . they only way to lift the curse is to get me to fall in love with one of you. . . " I explained, my heart racing and my head spinning just by saying this all out loud.

I watched Zam's face, waiting for some sort of reaction. His face was completely neutral. Stoic. He then suddenly gave a warm smile and bowed. "You have nothing to worry about, Ms- I mean, Anise. I do not wish to gain your affections by such circumstances. Not to mention how this all must be stressful for you. I can help break the news and protect you from unwanted advances as much as I can."

Those words made me feel significantly better than before. I gave a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you. This news was completely unexpected and even now I still don't know if what I read was real or not. This all seems pretty surreal to me."

"I completely understand. Just give me a moment to round everyone up and we can begin the meeting. In the meantime, I would suggest trying to figure out what you personally wish to say. The more you know what you want to say, the easier it will be to say it." He suggested as he turned and began to head out the door.

I nodded and sat down at the table, thinking about how I should approach and explain the situation. Writing things down usually helped me organize my thoughts, so I grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper to do just that. Within a few minutes, I managed to write a paragraph on what I wanted to say. I began to memorize the little speech and read out loud so I sounded more natural.

A knock on the door interrupted my train of thought. It was Zam. He probably came back to notify me that everyone was ready for the meeting to start. "We are ready when you are, Anise."

I took a deep breath and set my paper down on the table. The speech was memorize for the most part. All I needed was the journal as proof and my own courage. I headed out of the room and Zamuel followed close behind me.

Everyone was sitting around in the living room area that we met in last time. This seemed to be our usual meeting spot. Zamuel went to stand behind one of the couches, his eye on me to begin along with everyone else. I gulped, now starting to feel nervous.

"Hi, everyone. Um. . . I have found the solution to the curse left behind by my grandmother. I-"

I was interrupted by Beo that sprung up from the couch, his tail going a mile a minute. "R-Really! That's fantastic news! What do we do? What needs to happen?"

"Sit down, Wulf. How about you let her finish talking first so we can all get this over with quicker." Endrian snapped. He folded his arms over his chest and turned his face away from everyone.

Beo sunk back into the couch and sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry. I got a bit excited is all. Anyways, continue on!"

I cleared my throat and got everyone back on track in the meeting. This part was going to be the tough part. "According to this journal that my grandmother has left behind for me to read, she claims that there is only one solution to lifting the curse. Unfortunately, I believe that only one of you can be saved."

Everyone's attention was amplified. Eyes went wide all except for Zam's who already heard the news. Panicked, confused expressions filled everyone's faces. Some even seemed angry. I continued anyways. It was best to get this over with like ripping off a band-aid. "My grandmother wrote that in order for the curse to be lifted for one of you. . . I have to fall in love with one of you."

"You gotta be kidding me! Are you serious?!" Endrian now jumped off the couch, looking confused and crossed. Many others followed in his footsteps, getting up from the couch in shock.

"Falling in love? That's something straight out of a fairy tale. . ." Beo added. Danton nodded quietly, seeming to take all the information in.

Cassius was still seated on the couch. He crossed a leg over the other and gave a confident smirk. "Sounds like a piece of cake. As an incubus and an expert in romance, I'm sure that I'll be able to win over her heart in no time. Sucks to be you guys."

"And that's why I am here. I don't intend for any of you to make Anise feel uncomfortable." Zamuel spoke up. Attention was on him now as he took the spotlight.

He circled around the couch and went to stand next to me. Eyes followed him. "I will not have any of you use dirty tricks on the owner of this house nor shall I'll allow any of you to do anything without her consent. If she wished to fall in love then it will be her choice. If I hear that any of you forced her into doing something she did not wish to do, then you will answer to me."

Most gave immediate nods. For some it took a little longer for them to agree. I mentally thanked Zamuel for his help. He managed to seem to calm everyone down.

Mystis from the window raised her hand to speak. "How is this going to work? Do we all simply wait and let things develop naturally?"

"Of course not! She'll have to go out on dates with all of us and all that lame crap. How stupid." Endrian answered.

"D-D-Date. . .?" Danton shyly repeated. He seemed to be getting flustered, his pale cheeks turning a fairly light shade of pink while his hands went to hold them. I honestly felt the same way about the idea of having to go on dates.

"Anise will not being accepting any dates unless she wishes to. If she wishes for her feelings to develop naturally then so be it. This is all her choice and we have to respect it. Be patient. This is just as shocking to her as it is for all of you." Zamuel reeled everyone back in again and speaking on my behalf.

Cassius quirked a brow. He seemed skeptical all of a sudden. "Zam, 'all of you'? Do you not plan on participating? Or are you adamant on playing knight in shining armor? Do you really me just us or all of us?"

Zam didn't miss a beat. "I do not wish for Anise to become uncomfortable or disheartened by this or any future actions regarding this situation. I mean you all excluding me. I don't wish to win Anise's heart by such dishonest or. . . unwonted means. I intend to keep order during this whole ordeal."

That didn't seem to comfort anyone. Cassius scoffed at his answer before looking over to me. His skeptical look morphed into something dangerous and seductive. "Don't worry, My Angel. All of this will be over before you know it. You'll realize that you have fallen in love with me very soon."

My eyes went wide and I felt my cheeks heat up. Why did Cassi have to be so direct? It made me nervous and I didn't know if it was in a good way. Endrian glared at the incubus for a second, staring daggers right through him.

He then turned to me, an irritated frown still on his face. "How is this going to work? Dates or natural? This is all so stupid and inconvenient so you better make this work somehow."

The zombie stepped in front of me, separating me and Endrian. He seemed to be growing disgruntled. "If you keep threatening and speaking to Anise in that sort of way I will have no choice to consider you a threat to her well-being, Mr. Draugh."

"I will try my best to figure something out. We can come up with some sort of schedule so I can spend time with everyone. It'll incorporate dates and natural development? Yeah. That can work." I chimed in, trying to ease the tension between Zam and Endrian.

Endrian's expression seemed to soften just a smidge at the answer. It seemed that he felt more comfortable with direct answers and knowing what will happen in the future as a definite. His brows were still in an angry scrunch however and he sighed. "I'm going out."

With that, the vampire was gone. The door was slammed and the sound of a motorcycle being revved up could be heard. Mystis gave a warm smile towards me as she began to descend back down to the garden. "He's a hot head. You should rest. I'm sure that this is more taxing for you than it it is for all of us, Darling."

The rest of the gang seemed to be leaving as well. Even Beo began to head out towards the front doors. "I think I'll go for a run now. Get some energy out and give you time to think, Anise. Thank you for finding us the answer though!"

Danton simply flew away up through the ceiling, off to whatever he planned on doing. Cassius stretched and groaned as he got off the couch. He shot a flirtatious wink at me. "I will see you later, My Angel. I can't have my Ani fall in love with me with a stressful mind. Get some rest and dream of me, yeah?"

Now, it was only me and Zamuel. He turned towards me and took a deep breath. "That was certainly. . . something. How are you holding up, Anise?"

I shrugged and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, pretending that all of this didn't freak me out as much as it did. "I'm fine. I just need some time to process all of this. I. . . I've never been on a date before. This is all so nerve racking."

Zam took my hand and bowed. "Not to worry. I have promised that I will protect you as much as I can and I intend to keep my promise. You should rest in your room. Take a nap, bathe, anything that will help you feel refreshed and calm. Your safety and well-being is significantly more important than the matters of this curse. Take care of yourself."

He gave the top of my hand a gentle kiss before letting it go. He began to walk away to return to whatever responsibilities that he had as a butler of this mansion. I took everyone's advice and headed to my room to rest. As I lied in bed, my mind spun.

I know that Zamuel said he wasn't participating, but I couldn't help but he accidentally was with how gentlemanly and suave he was acting. The thought was pushed away as I tried to focus on falling asleep.

#creative writing #novel #romance #writeblr #reverse harem

[eorzeasntm]

ENTM Tumblr Cycle 11

Round 3 Results

Hi everyone!  Last week I challenged our models to go out into a dungeon and find a Boss Monster, inspired by one of my favorite card games.  While all of the models fought their monsters valiently (or ran away screaming as is the case with our winner), the best shot this week belonged to 

Ni’ko Shae

The votes were actually quite close this week but the community tipped it in Ni’ko’s favor.  The judges loved the unusual choice of the filter as well as the unconventional pose, since for once “visibly engaged with the monster” was not a battle requirement.  

Our guest judge this week was Misia, the new host of ENTM Instagram Cycle 2.  If you are interested in auditioning for IG cycle, please hit up our Discord channel and join in the fun!  IG Cycle 2 auditions will end on March 24th. 

For all the models, we have judges feedback below the fold.  

Judge Terrini

Adam: I quite like the framing and elements of this shot. The effects aren't obscuring anything important and the boss' pose definitely looks like it's responding to your blow, so it works well. Your glamor however doesn't pop all that much and while all the elements work well together, I'm not getting a lot of excitement from the shot. A closer zoom would have given more drama here I think. 

Bria: WATCH OUT! Haha I love how it looks like you avoided the dragon's breath weapon by jumping on it's nose and the filter giving the pink tinge is actually really cool! You've framed the boss really well and being in full dragoon armor says explicitly that this is your job and it's all in a days work. I have no complaints but only a few nitpicks. While I love the more classic dragoon coloring and you do stand out in some ways, it might be nice to use spotlights to give you a bit more outline. 

Haila: The effects of this shot are fantastic! They make this fight look very epic and I love your style and flare for this satisfying image. I do think that the portrait view gives a nice frame of the effects but it does feel a bit cramped horizontally and too tall with empty space at the top of the picture. I know how these things can be hard to capture just right though and how hard it is to get the enemy posed just right with the right animation fram and the right angle. Still great work! 

Kota: I love this shot... you have this perfect framing with blocking that darn jester from stepping on you and him being just ever so slightly out of focus but still up close and personal is a really nice effect. The only thing that might be nicer is if your outfit popped a bit mor, particularly the bust area seems a bit lacking in shades of brown and it would be nice to see the light coloring and white continuing there to contrast with your opponent. 

Luma: I am a bit underwhelmed by this shot. It's a lovely framing of the boss, but your hair is blending into the background and your framing is weak. You are not in a strong action pose so I'm not getting much of a sense of interaction between the two of you besides that you're a bit wary of this great big ape... and for a scenic shot, being perfectly centered is not getting the most out of the background (I would recommend shifting the camera to the left to monopolize a bit more of that nice sunset peaking behind that cabin and cut out the boss gate barrier). 

Ni'ko: Oh wow, I'm quite impressed by this composition and I can draw a lot of emotion from your posing and effects, it's like you're fighting off the demons in your head. I actually really love this shot a lot. My main nitpick is the filter makes the actual boss monster particularly undefined and it's a big risk in a round meant to highlight him, but I think you managed to pull it off with artistic integrity in having it tell a story. 

Peaceful: Your skill is really nicely framed and I love the effect of the bright light arcs from the arrows streaking towards the boss. Your pose is dynamic and expressive which is really satisfying as well. The weakest part of the shot, in my opinion is that you've managed to mostly obscure the boss monster in effects, so in a round called "Boss Monster" this is risky as we are expecting to see both of you as features to the shot. It's not an automatic bad thing, sometimes the risk pays off, but since this is a smaller boss at a distance from you and obscured by effects, the result leaves me wanting. 

Yojimbo: I'm not completely sure what you are trying to accomplish with this shot. The limb darkening and ability both blur and obscure most of the interesting features of the background so it's not much of a scenic, and what we can see clearly is rather uninspiring and empty. The action of the shot is also pretty tame and even as a glamour shot you're also rather out of focus. Being up close does make you really stand out overall and I actually quite love your glamour, the red in the clothes matching the stripe on your face is an awesome combo and I think the pose is great. 

Yomu: This is a very strong shot, like an exchange of blows and waiting to see who came out on top. I like the theme of being a dark knight versus the angelic statue, and the high contrasts of the angel's darkened bone white, reds of abilities, blacks on you and with the blues and greens in the the background is an interesting effect. I know quite well the trouble of framing, but I would have like to perhaps have been a bit more up close on you, looking up from a little below and getting more of a sense of the angel looming above you.

Judge Wulf (Kusuh)

ADAM I have some serious stressful memories from this dungeon, so it’s pretty satisfying to see Siren being taken down a few pegs, honestly. My favorite part of this is the red line created by the DRK skill, it creates a nice line to follow, crossing through Siren and passing the tip of your sword. The way you’ve captured siren leaning back also adds an amazing sense of action to the shot as well! My note for you this week has to do with zoom and framing. It’s small, but I think this shot would do well to be just a bit more zoomed in. There is quite a bit of empty space behind you and behind Siren, and I feel like that is what makes everything seem smaller, and therefore less impactful. I feel like just raising up the camera a tad and zooming in juuuust a little bit would alleviate this problem! With all that said though, I am very much loving this shot, keep it up!

HAILA This is 100% my favorite Machinist skill! I’ve always wanted to get a a good shot with it, and I’m glad you were able to make the opportunity! Going vertical for this shot was really a stand-out unique choice for this shot, and it’s not an unwelcome one. The way the lights are flashing out from the monster really creates a sense of impact  and the roaring makes it seem like the hit hurt! A note for this picture, and it’s a small one: The way you’re angled plus the direction you’re looking really hides your face and from what I can tell, you’re eyes are open and staring downward. I feel like the image could be made a but stronger with you looking directly at the boss’s face/neck area. Keep in mind, though, that’s just a small suggestion, this is a wonderful shot overall!

YOMU Please allow me to get a little bit silliness out the way really quick, The frown on the boss is an absolute MOOD and I would use it for reaction images forever. With that out of the way, I’m gonna come right out and say that this is easily one of my favorite shots this week! One of my favorite things is to follow the lines that effects create in battle shots, and you’ve made excellent use of the DRK effects to make my eye follow across you and right through the boss. The way that line cuts through the center of the picture is an excellent use of framing as well! It gives a very nice “split screen” effect that  divides you and the boss, therefore creating conflict. If I had to give a note for this week (and I always try to!), I’d say that if you moved the camera up just a smidgen, then the boss’s head wouldn’t be caught off just at the tip. That’s it though! Amazing job on this shot.

KOTA The first thing that sticks out to me about this shot is how I can feel the impact of the foot crashing down onto the shield, and the very nice sense of action this creates. There’s a lot of discussion in the ENTM community when it comes to the use of a dutch angle, but I think it works for this type of shot. Also, I enjoy how your outfit fits together with your weapon choice as well as with how it contrasts with the boss’s dark coloration! Here’s my note for you this week: I feel like some of the impact is lost with the boss being blurry due to the DoF effect. Try messing around with the DoF settings, or try a similar shot with it off all together, I think having the boss in full focus would have a greater impact. I can’t wait to see what you have next week, and every shot has shown excellent improvement!

Judge Ona

Adam: While I am personally partial to Siren, I am a little disappointed that this image doesn’t let me see her face and that magnificent hair of hers. The image is not as strong as others you have submitted in this cycle to date. Your face is hidden in the shadows and obscured by your hair. The main light source is directed onto Siren’s chest and not the action below. You are not looking at the enemy, however it could be the follow through to the massive sword swipe. The colors in the image are also very similar and tend to blend across elements.

I do love the angle of the image. The Dutch angle you used here is a great way to draw the eye upward to the enemy. I love the background as well. It is a beautiful space and backdrop for this fight scene. The colors, although tending to cause elements to blend together, are fitting to this scene. I also love the elements from the bottoms of the pillars casting a hint of light upward.

Don’t forget about you light source next week Adam, and take notice to let the viewer see your face, and more of Garuda’s as well.

Luma: While you have definitely added a light source to this image, I think you over-implemented it. You can definitely see the ape’s face and your glamour, this strong of a direct light source now casts a shadow too hard on the rest of the image. Ape-man’s arm has now become the mountainside.

I think this is an interesting location for this image, the background of tropical huts adds a jungle flair, and the banana tree is perfect for a battle with a giant ape. The use of the pencil filter creates a unique texture to the buildings. The unfortunate thing with pencil, is that when it is applied to overly pixelized graphics it can create a more noticeable distortion to them. I also want to point out that the sky in this image is gorgeous. Those colors are beautiful!

I love how you are engaged in this battle with the ape, but I can’t see your face. Change the angle of the camera and essentially reverse the image so that your face shows and the viewer can see your expression. I can see the boss’ expression, but not yours, and no offense, I am sure your Cat-boi face is prettier than that hair ape. I am looking forward to seeing your image next week!

Peaceful: I love your expression! You find pure joy in destroying that monster and landing the final blow! It is without question that no one wants to find themselves on the other side of your bow! I love the juxtaposition of you to the monster, causing you to be the largest thing in the image, without overtaking all the elements. The battle effect is interesting in this filter.

I struggled to see which boss or enemy this is on first look, needing to really zoom in the see the Gobby feet and armor. I also wish you could have somehow angled him, or had placement of him that obscured the purple battle zone line. It is interesting that it remained so bright of a purple with the rest of the elements of the image all becoming a sepia type tone. Try to capture enemies with less of a battle effect so that they are more identifiable in future rounds.

Your glamour is a perfect fit for fighting an armor encased enemy. Steam punk outfit and bow work well in this arena too, I just wish I could see your entire foot at the bottom tip of the bow. The lighting along the walls fills the room and leaves little dead space for the eye to find. I look forward to seeing what future images you bring to the table!

Yojimbo: Red ninja mask, rhinoceros enemy, green oozy glow… Please tell me this was a TMNT cosplay! If not, it is definitely something you can just pretend you tried to do!

I love the red in your glamour! The mask and the red on your arms is enough to make you stand out without distracting from the entire image. With the green glow throughout the image, the red draws the eye to your character and makes you the focus of the image. The slight blur to the image slightly causes the image to lose some clarity, but I would assume that the intent was that this would be like looking through the smoky haze. It is initially difficult to discern the enemy upon first glance, however, because of that same blur. I do like the intent here, however, and applaud you for your creativity in using this effect.

I like how the background is non-descript allowing for the focus to be on the battle, and it may have done some benefit to the image if you were slightly closer to the rhino. Another suggestion may have been to throw a small light source to the right of the rhino, putting some definition on it, without taking away from the overall feel of the image. I look forward to next week’s submission!

 Kota: This shot feels very neon. Very vivid, while still being void of being bright. The color palette reads heavy and aggressive, but is still attractive to the eye. I love the edges and how they seem to glow throughout the image.

I would have liked to see a different hairstyle on you so that your face was not obscured by it. The angle of your body position in the image seems a bit out of proportion as well. From this angle your foot looks to be the same size as the boss. Obviously this is not the case, however, it is something you should keep in mind when having such extreme angles.

I absolutely love how the boss is slightly blurred, and you are the main focus of the image. You utilized the rule of three here perfectly, and balanced the image out well to include minimal dead space in the background. Your glamour definitely suits your tank in this image as well! Don’t forget to add a small light source to your face in your images as well. Even with the hair across your face, a small light may  have helped to highlight and provide definition to your expression. I really enjoyed this image from you!

Judge Nadede

Bria:  I do have to say that this week’s image from you is your strongest one so far. With that said, it was not easy trying to spot you in this shot because you blend in with the surrounding colors. It might have helped you if you had zoomed in on yourself a bit more so than having the dragon in its entirety being seen. YOU should be the main focal point, not the dragon. Other things that might have helped would be getting lights on you a bit more and maybe wearing something that had colors that are complementary to what is around you. In your case, something along the lines of yellows and oranges (complimentary colors are opposite of each other on the color wheel). I also feel that you should be facing the dragon instead of away, especially with the spear end of your lance is pointing downward as if meaning to attack. I will say that this boss does present a challenge when working with lighting and finding ways to stand out. I say that as I used him during a theme we had last cycle. Keep on improving and can’t wait to see what you come up with for the next round.

Haila:  Not too bad of a shot this week. It is somewhat growing on me after seeing it zoomed out to see the whole image at once instead of scrolling up and down (that is on the site hosting the images, not you). With that, it still feels like there is still a bit of space above and below you and the Zu. I wonder if either having the shot horizontal or even zoomed in more would have given your shot even more tension than what is already there. You also blend in a little bit with the background of your image. Some back lighting and lighting on your face would have helped that as well as maybe wearing something that has colors complimentary to the background (like the orange seen through the ceiling windows). Keep up the good work and can’t wait to see what you bring to the next round

Ni’ko:  First off, thank you for the laugh. It was really needed *hugs* It is one of those “What do I do, what do I do??!” moments when seeing all those mobs coming right after you. The diagonals radiating from the main boss helps move the viewers eyes from the center of the shot outwards and back again. All the angles that are being used within your image (including the direction the eyes and faces of everyone is facing) gives the scene a much sense of action being taken place. The only thing that I’m finding distracting is the color filter you used within the image. I appreciate the old comic book feel your image has (dunno if that is what you were going for) but I wonder how the image would have turned out using a different filter. Overall good job this week, and again, thank you for the laugh.

Yojimbo: Yojimbo, sadly this is my least favorite of the images you have taken so far. Your mount one from last week is my favorite so far. One thing that I have noticed amongst all of your images thus far is needing to work on your lighting. You have some interesting ideas in your shots that would be further enhanced. Play around with the light settings from up close to far away along with playing with the light intensities and color sliders. I would even urge you to ask for advice from Katarh or other former models/judges with your images as a second set of eyes never hurts. I know you can do an awesome job and waiting to see what you will bring to the table next week. 

Judge Misia

Peaceful Ursa: I just love the sepia tone you picked for this shot, especially with all the lights you have that frame the picture. It’s easy to pick you out and know what is going on. Your Roe is the star and you are kicking major booty from afar! Only thing I would say is careful with the coloring. My eyes were drawn to the purple behind the enemy. Make sure if you have a color tone to keep it throughout the picture. Also the boss is very hard to make out so either you dismembered him or he just never existed. Otherwise, beautiful job!

Luma Lee:  Your picture is a beautiful shot, and the colors pop out very well. I feel there were a lot of miss opportunities here though. My only thing with this picture though is there doesn’t seem to have very much going on within the picture. The gorilla seems to be the star and you are the co-star to the role without much of a face. This also might be a personal preference, but the purple dungeon blockage also takes away from the beautiful colors you have in the picture.

Yomu Kazul: I am so in love with this shot, it brings me back to the trailers for Shadowbringers! What I love about this shot is that I feel I am watching a battle scene, going toe to toe with an enemy twice your size (And you are already a huge character!) The effects don’t drown you out and the colors pop in so many ways, I want more and more from it .If I have to nitpick something, maybe nudge the camera up a bit to get rid of dead space and see more of the boss but that is me trying to find something. Keep it up! You did an amazing job!

Bria Rirsa: An epic battle against a dragon! How can you pull that off? You surely did! What I love is that you created a scene that shows us exactly what is going on. It even looks like you landed on his head, ready to give the next strike! Watch out dragon! One thing I would work on would be to be careful with colors. You almost blend in with all the purple and light blues. If you are a small part of a picture, make sure you are standing out more so you don’t get lost in all the action. Great job though!

Adam Evershot: A battle with the harpy herself and it looks like you got the upper hand here! I do like how you were going with this shot, especially when it looks like your knocking the snot of of her with your sword. I was a bit disappointed though that I couldn’t see you face very well and your glamour choice didn’t seem to fit the theme very well with what you were going with. You almost blend into the background and the villian seems to really steal more the spotlight. Try something more of a glam that contrasts from the brown so that you shine brighter as the star! Good job though!

Haila Wetyios: Interesting approach on this theme, I love how you are in the battle with the boss and obviously giving it more then it can handle. I feel there was many miss opportunities here. Though you picked portrait for your picture, I feel it cut off a lot of the action and created more dead space in your picture. I love the action and effects but they drown out the boss and your character in general. If you are creating a fight scene, bring more of that action by maybe zooming out from the fight, or showing more of the boss in the picture. In the end, you are the star, so don’t blind yourself out from the fight. Good job otherwise though!

Ni’ko Shae: Great job this week! This picture reminds me of my first time in dungeons when I had no idea what to expect! The face expressions were priceless and the monsters were so easy to make out. I will say that the filter threw me off though with how blended the colors were but they make sense in a almost comical scene you have here. Only thing Ill point out is the line you have going straight through your character. I believe that is one of the filters but it didn’t fit well with the theme you did. Beautiful job though!

Kota Tumet: Man! I would have you protect me any day for you are just a shining warrior in battle with a foe that might just kill us all. I love how you created something that shows what is exactly going on. The boss has thrown a mighty blow and you have blocked it with ease. Your face shows how in the moment you are and I feel I’m right there with you. One thing I will point out that I feel would have made this picture so much better is that you blurred half the boss. If you are in battle, make sure to fully commit to what you are fighting, you are the star, but make sure your co star isn't almost blended into the background. Otherwise, you did wonderful!

Yojimbo Kasai: This boss better watch out cause there is a ninja in town! I will be honest though, this picture was very hard to look at. The edges blurred out so much that not only were you captured in that blur but the boss as well. The dark edges were also not needed because it adds so much darkness to a already dark picture. I would next time take advantage of the environment and let the fog create the ambiance for you, no need to add to an already beautiful backdrop to an epic picture. You want to stand out and not blend in with your effects for they have stolen the show. You have so much potential, keep it up!!

#ffxiv #ffxiv screenshots #entm #entm tumblr cycle 11 #eorzea's neo talent management

[stygian-omadas-epic-chronicles]

My thoughts on STYGIAN by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Book review)

The new installment in the Dark-Hunters series doesn't disappoint. It has everything I love about these novels: heartache, humor, great battles, and heartfelt down-to-the-earth moments. And, of course, a great love. 

I know that I sound like a broken record in my SK's book reviews but she always surprises me with her books and I love that. Stygian has its good share of surprises. Although, I admit that the plot twists aren't as mind-blowing as they had been in some of the earlier books. The story both takes you to the deepest pit of angst and makes you roar with laughter until your belly hurts. 

Also, it shows the Apollite/Daimon world like we've never seen before. We see how the betrayal that meant Apollo's curse to his own people warped the Apollite mindset, specially Stryker's. To tell the truth, I stopped hating Daimons a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, I don't like them killing and stealing human souls but I get why they do it. Being in their shoes, I don't know if I'd do the same.

And now, I get them even more. 

One of the things that I like the most of the book is that it fills some of the gaps left by the previous books and has amazing cameos of the characters we know, like seeing Wulf in passing before he became a DH.

Stygian is a fine example of Sherri's great talent and exceptional imagination. Once more, she takes us to this amazing world she has created during all these years and let us live in it for a while.

Not wanting to spoil anyone who hasn't read the book yet, I'm spilling all the juicy details below the cut.  It's really long and full of explicit spoilers so read at your own risk.

If you're still with me, let's dig in. I have so much to tell you.

URIAN

*sighs dreamingly* Urian... Uri... my Urimou.  This adorable man, gosh, you have to love him. Since birth, he's the cutest thing ever (well, being the biological son of who he is, I don't know why it surprises me. I guess that being raised by Stryker I thought he wouldn't be THAT cute but he's even more adorable). Anyway... what I was saying? Oh, yes, I died of cuteness overload with him.

He’s so passionate, so loving, loyal. He’s willing to do anything for those who he loves

His childhood wasn't easy. At all. Between the raw and devastating sense of treachery because of the curse that Apollite race had (and still has, rightly so) and Urian's own (inexplicable at the time) sense of not-belonging had a great impact on him. As it did the blatant discrimination of everyone toward him. Seriously, they had not even an ounce of compassion to feed him?!! Bastards all!! 

It didn't help either the tough love he got from his family, especially his brothers, which more often than not were a bunch of assholes (pardon the language but that’s what they were) with him like the rest of the people. However, there's something that can't be denied. Despite that brotherly animosity, Urian was a loved child. By his brothers and sister, by his surrogate mom and Stryker. They LOVED him and they had his back, no matter what. That makes me happy.

All that made him the amazing person that he is.

URIAN'S LOVE LIFE

It breaks my heart that because nobody would feed him, Urian fell into the claws of Xanthia. Marrying her out of necessity is so heart-breaking. My poor Urimou. He wasn't in love with her but he respected her as his wife and the ungrateful cow cheated on him!!!  And no less than with his brother-in-law! How dared she?! The only good thing that was worthy in that marriage was the children. Gosh, reading how much Uri loved those kids and they loved him was so great. 

Then, it came along Bethsheba, who was like a few steps up in the healthy relationship ladder but not nearly high enough. He wasn't in love with her either and she was a rebound. She cared about him but treated him as a trophy husband. She reminded me of Sera (Max's dragonswan) when the dragons first got married. Well, it makes sense. Both Sheba and Seraphina were Amazons and in their culture men were inferior.

It broke my heart the guilt Uri felt when Sheba was killed (without mentioning how awful her death was). He cares so much about everyone in his life and all he wants is protect them.  Watching them die and incapable of doing anything to stop it literally destroys him bit by bit.

It doesn't surprise me that after such bad experiences with marriages he took so long for getting married again. 

Centuries pass until he meets Pheobe at last. For what we knew from previous books, we all thought she was the love of his life, and yes he loved her very much but that relationship was condemned to failure from the beginning and not just for the obvious my-father-wants-you-and-your-entire-family-dead thing. 

If there's something (I think it's the only thing Phoebe is right in reproaching him at the end) is that he withheld things from her since the beginning. True, he told her that he was Stryker's son and all but he didn't tell her that he had killed her grandparents, which he should have.

And just like his 2 previous marriages, this one was likewise for necessity. This time it wasn't Urian the needy part but Phoebe. She needed him for feeding and sharing the souls because she wouldn't kill a human for them. Also, she needed him for both her own and her family's protection. Maybe, she didn't mean to but put him in a tough situation. He was split between protecting her and being his dad's second-in-command.

Urian also has a responsibility in this. He chose to lie to his dad. Granted, Stryker isn’t the most understanding person but as we learn later, Stryker might’ve supported him. Crazy, I know.

And there's another thing. I never thought Phoebe would be as petty as she was. So whiny. I agree with Stryker when he says she was immature and insipid. I think her lowest point was getting mad because Cass wanted Wulff with her when they get to Elysia. As if the case was reversed she would've done the same thing with Uri.  I know she was worried about him, rightly so, but I don't know... her attitude was spiteful. It riled me up.

I guess going trelos was helping her mood, to be honest.

And her hissy fits at the end and working with Apollo!!! Yeah, nope. I don't like Phoebe anymore.

On the other hand, I love Sarraxyn. I think she's perfect for Uri. I've been thinking that since she first appeared and paired her with Urimou without knowing she was truly his HEA. I don't know how I got that idea but it was back when I was reading Dragonbane or Dragonmark, I'm not sure. That's why the revealing of Phoebe being alive threw me off so bad at the end of Dragonsworn. It's been a year of wondering who Urian's true love was (In fact, I mentioned in this review). I love that Sherri chose Xyn. I'm over the moon because of that.

I love that Xyn wasn't willing to settle for less than what she deserved. She knew that as long Urian needed other women to feed and kill humans for their souls, their relationship wouldn't work. It didn't have to do with the love they felt for each other but their circumstances. I think they handled it the best possible having only a yearly rendezvous instead of forcing things, which would have destroyed them both.

Besides, if they had stayed together, Urian wouldn't have met Phoebe, Stryker wouldn't have cut his throat, and neither Ash would have saved him and turned him into a no-daimon.

I can't wait to see more of Xyn and Uri in the coming books.

APOLLYMI

One of the most delightful things about this book is how much we see of her. As I've repeated a gazillion times already, I love Polly and, honestly, now I love her even more. The whole grandma/grandson thing going on between her and Urian is simply amazing. Because that's what she is to him. Twice his grandmother, actually. First, because of Stryker, right. But also because of Styxx. She officially adopted him too and we know thanks to the Chronicles of Nick that Styxx will eventually call her Matera. He's not there yet but he will.

My goodness, she loves Urian so much. We get to see her most kind side with him, especially when he was really young. I just adored the scene when she invites him to see the sunrise in the pool in her garden. 

Of course, she wouldn't be her if she didn't have a plan to use him eventually but wow, you better not harm Uri or you'll feel her wrath. 

I laughed so hard when Apollymi appeared almost at the end when Uri was seeking Phoebe and she says that if it wasn't because the lot of them were there because of Urian she would have split them into oblivion.

That's who she is. She protects fiercely those who she loves.

STRYKER

Okay, I officially nominate this man for the best dad in history award. Even if he cut Urian's throat. Don't care. Since I read Silent Night, I knew he had a heart but damn! Not like this! 

I have to thank Apollymi for choosing him as Urian's surrogate dad because I don't think there's anyone else who could have done a better job. Well, except for Styxx, of course. 

When Stryker says that Urian is his pride and joy is because he truly is. The fact that he didn't kill Phoebe and kept her alive all these years because he couldn't harm what his son loved is astonishing. As it is that he cut his son's throat not out of anger as he made everyone believe but out of pain, in a foolish and reckless desire to protect both Urian and himself from further heartache. Like he said, he cut his throat but couldn't kill his son.

I'm so glad that he and Urian are in so much better terms now. That fills my heart with joy because, despite everything that has happened, Urian loves Stryker as much as Stryker loves Urian.

CRAZY FAMILY

If we thought only Urian's adoptive Apollite/Daimon family was psychotic and crazy, well, his blood family isn't too far behind. Oh, my goodness! I laughed so, but SO hard the scene when Ash comes back after sending Uri to Kalosis and Styxx is waiting for him. That was hilarious. Seriously, I just remember about it and I start laughing out loud.

I think Acheron needs to start thinking before acting, especially when his family concerns. I mean Styxx and Beth overprotection gets overboard but if there's anyone who could understand where that comes from is Ash. And if the situation was the opposite and Styxx would've sent Katra to some hellish place without telling his brother, Ash's angry fit would have been even worse. 

Too funny is seeing Beth in Mama bear mode. So it is Styxx trying to calm her down before she attacks Stryker and then Apollymi.

The moment with those 2 that melt my heart was when Stryker shared his memory of Urian as a child and Styxx declared that from now on they're brothers. See! That's why I adore Styxx, my baby!

Now, they all are a crazy, amazing and big family. 

OTHER FAMILY MATTERS

Seeing Urian's point of view as he got to know Styx was amazing (and made me cry all over again because, you know, it's Styxx and all the feels). In conclusion, Urian is me when it comes to defending his best friend/dad. My favorite scene on Styxx is when Urian bitchslapped Ash for how he treats his twin brother and, in this book, it got better with the new details. I won't get tired of reading that. Ever.

A note on Urian having children:

Let's be honest. Urian asking Apollymi to make him infertile didn't work as he planned. I mean, I understand his point of not bringing children to this world to suffer the curse and watch them die but he loved Geras and Nephele as his, so he had the heartbreak he was trying to avoid anyway. The same thing happened when he adopted his nephews and nieces later on.

Urian's exact words to Apollymi when he asked her to take his ability to procreate were "Can you please make it so that I will never father any while I’m an Apollite?” but he's not an Apollite or Damion anymore. Does that mean he can have children now with Xyn if they wish so? 

RANDOM STUFF

I love Ruyn Widowmaker. I need to know so much more about him. Like, right now!

I never thought I would cry for the death of a Daimon but oh, boy, how I did! Several times and bitterly.

Urian using Moppet as a nickname for Wulff is the funniest thing ever. Does Wulff know that? I think not or he'd have staked Uri LOL!!

I love seeing CoN bunch in the main series.  Shadow, Kaziel, Aeron, Brynna. It makes me crave Cyprian's books even more. Gah! I wish SK would say the release date already.

And, of course, I'm so excited for the truce between Daimons and Dark-Hunters. I think it's more than necessary now than ever because Helios joined the list of baddies to defeat as if we didn't have enough with Apollo, Zeus, Noir and Azura, Kessar, Morgen.

NEXT

We have the title (Queen of All Shadows) but not the description. But for the epilogue we can guess is Xander/Brynna story. I can't believe we're having a DH/human pairing for the next book!! So good to be back to the roots. It's been a really long time since the last novel, which if I'm not mistaken it was Dark Side of the Moon with Ravyn and Susan. Because even if Devil may cry and No Mercy are about a DH, Sin wasn't truly one and Katra is far from a human; and Samia was indeed a huntress but Dev is definitely NOT human. 

And after that, we'll have Shadow's book!!! Shadows Within. That hasn't a description either and I can't do a wild guess who his HEA is.

What I like about this line up is that connects a lot with the chronicles of Nick and we could get the much-needed details about what the hell went/is going/will go on that front. I'm desperate to know.

I know there's a million of details I'm forgetting but I think I've covered the most important things. Anyone who wants to talk about the book, feel free to message me on this blog or on my main one ( @green-arrows-of-karamel  ). I'd love to know what you all think about it.

Pax.✌

PS: Wait for my favorite quotes from the book that I’m about to post too 😊

#my thoughts on #Stygian #Sherrilyn Kenyon #Dark Hunter series #Dark Hunter world #DH #Dark Hunter #book review #dhbookreview #Urian of the House of Aricles #Saraxyn Drago #Pheobe Peters