#what otherworldy magic did they know

[andy-clutterbuck]

MTV | 2013

#HE #Andrew Lincoln #* #andygifs #EYE CRINKLES 💕💞 #so cool that he's next to the word Handsome in the dictionary #*david attenborough voice* THE SUN #excuse me but The Nose™ #H A N D S #him: scratching his arm me: 👁 👁 #back when there were bright white patches #....lol this was almost 10 YEARS AGO.....lol...bye #even his adams apple is nice i hate myself #'Even His *Blank* Are Nice I Hate Myself' the title of my TED talk #refreshments are in the lobby #thank you for coming #shoutout to nigel and laura for giving their son his face #and his hair #and ya know his life #what otherworldy magic did they know #ya ever just want to rub someone's forearm #no just me? #ok

[lorcandidlucienwill]

This is a scene I wrote about which occurs after Lucien's experience with Ianthe. I posted this a while ago but I wasn't able to do it properly because I didn't know about the weird Tumblr paragraph rule, so I'm posting this again. I'm sorry, children. TW: angst

Lucien woke up alone. At first it seemed like an ordinary morning, but then he looked down at himself. Whorls of paint from the Calanmai ceremony were still there, exceptionally smudged all across his body. The hazy magical memories started to come back to him. A blonde woman pawing at him, her triumphant smile as Lucien took her, the magic riding him hard. But even the magic couldn’t shut down that part of him that screamed, Not her! Not the jackal! Anyone but that wicked witch!

His will was so strong that there were moments that his hand shook; not from emotion, but from the effort to resist. But he had to do this. If Tamlin wouldn’t protect this court, Lucien had to step it up. This court had given him everything he’d lacked in Autumn. It was only fitting that he gave everything he had back to the court. Including his pride, his honor, and his dignity. His body.

Tears fell down Lucien’s face. He’d rolled around in dirt, even slept in it, in that cave in Autumn. He’d been covered in his own blood after his eye was carved out. Yet he’d never felt filthier than he did now. He could still feel that monster’s hands on her, like ants crawling up and down his shoulders, his back, his chest. He had to do something to wash this oily feeling off of his body. So, he walked into the bathroom.

He stared at his expression in the mirror. That awful scar still gave him a jump scare sometimes, and now, his remaining eye…it looked how he felt. Sad, cold, and empty. And tired. He looked horrible. People once sung praises of his beauty; now they all cringed away in horror as they saw the brutality etched across his face. He stepped into the shower, turning the water heat to its max, hoping it would burn him.

To anyone else, the heat would’ve been unbearable, but Lucien’s Autumn Court fire withstood it, welcomed it; it stirred the magic in his blood. He abhorred that part of himself that was still shallow enough to care about things that had been important in the Autumn Court. He’d always prided himself for his appearance, his intelligence, his ability to speak with people. Now, he had no pride left. It had crumbled away the moment he’d allowed that otherworldy magic to flow into his body. He had been certain it would kill him; he was no High Lord, nor did he have any desire to be.

But by some cruel twist of fate, the Spring Court had chosen him. He wondered what the people made of it. That the magic had not chosen their High Lord, but some disgraced son of Autumn. Lucien sat down in the shower, cradling his knees to his head, bawling as he recalled Tamlin’s command that Lucien perform the right.

“Tam?” Lucien had said. “You called?” “Yes; I need you to do something for me.” Lucien had leaned against the wall nonchalantly, arms crossed. “Yes?” Lucien hadn’t failed to notice Tamlin’s decreased usage of himself and increased reliance on Ianthe. He did not understand it, nor did he wish to. He resented the power Tamlin had taken from him. They used to be friends. Lucien used to push him, prod him, and Tamlin took it. He almost wished they were back in the days with Amarantha, if only so that he could have his friend back. He got it- he truly did. They’d all suffered under the mountain. He knew what it was like to hear the love of your life’s heart stop beating. He knew how helpless he must feel with Feyre likely being raped and tortured back in Night.

But Lucien was on his side. Surely, he understood that. Lucien hoped this request would be a return to Tamlin using him as his primary advisor instead of Ianthe. He still remembered the helplessness, the submission his body had been forced into as he’d demanded Tamlin let Feyre train. Tamlin had never used the High Lord’s command on him. Never. Lucien had no idea what was going on in Tamlin’s head since under the mountain. He’d gotten Feyre to talk, but Tamlin refused to so much as look at him these days.

“I know this is a lot to ask,” Tamlin began. Oh boy, Lucien thought to himself. Those words were never followed by anything anyone wanted to hear. “Yes?” Lucien said irritably. “Calanmai is coming soon,” he’d said. “And? Do you need me to help with preparations or something?” He’d shaken his head. “No. I need you to…replace me.” Lucien had stilled. “I know you’re struggling with Feyre missing, but I can’t do it. A High Lord must do it, or else.”

“I CAN’T!” Tamlin had roared. The room had shaken. Lucien often forgot Tamlin was a High Lord, but in that moment, he remembered. For the first time, he felt fear of him. High Lords were power; that roar reminded him of the beast that crawled within each one. Beron’s hyena form clawing at Lucien’s back when he was just a kid came to mind. “Ok, I’ll-I’ll try, Tam.” He hated how weak, how timid his voice had sounded. He’d prided himself on his ability to stand up to everyone, to call out everyone’s bullshit no matter how powerful.

But suddenly, he was just a child again, and Beron was roaring at him, and the scars on his back suddenly stung again. Lucien had walked away from there as fast as he could without running before crying in his room. He was no stranger to sex- but he hated the thought of sleeping someone while not in his right mind. And his number one fear- that the magic would choose Ianthe. Who Tamlin wouldn’t dismiss despite Lucien’s complaints. He didn’t care that she was a high priestess. She was nothing but a bloody creep.

His worst fear had come to pass. The magic was cruel; it had chosen that bitch. Was he any better than her, considering he’d slept with her? Even if he hadn’t been himself, it didn’t undo the facts. Jesminda would have been disgusted with him. He’d never deserved her anyway. Her smile flitted in his memory, and Lucien slammed his fist against the ground. He roared to gods who would not hear his pleas. They had abandoned him the moment he was born. How could Tamlin do this to him? How could Tamlin betray him like this? He thought Tamlin, at least, cared for him. He’d protected him all this time in Spring. He’d seen his worth.

But now…he’d asked for too much this time. Lucien had lost a part of himself. He didn’t know how he’d ever get it back. Lucien was already discarded like trash by one High Lord. What’s another one, he supposed. For a moment, Lucien was tempted to end his life right there in the shower. But what would Jesminda say? The only one who truly loved him for who he was. She would’ve called him a coward. How could he end his life before he witnessed her dreams for Autumn fulfilled? No- he’d endure until he fulfilled her dream. Then he’d end his own life. No one would miss him, anyway.

#lucien vanserra #pro lucien vanserra #angst #fanfic #ianthe

[because-its-eurovision]

Hi! As a spanish I want to know your opinion about our song for Eurovision. People in Spain doesn’t like it so much, so I would like to know what do you think as a foreign person.

Hi anon! 🖤 I want to preface this by saying that please keep in mind that this is one person's opinion only. Also I did not forget this ask but wanted to get used to the song before answering.

I do like Eaea and find Blanca Paloma's voice hauntingly beatiful, almost otherworldy. Her last year's entry Secreto de Agua was my favorite in the semi-final. For some reason both songs make me think of fantasy worlds and especially Pan's Labyrinth. I love that Spain sends a song in Spanish since it only adds to the magic of her vocal perfomance, which I find effective yet oddly calming at the same time. I must admit that there are some points were I find her vocals a bit grating, but other parts make up for it. Please be proud of your entry! 🖤

#I absolutely love when countries pick something ethnic or something that represents THEM as a nation #like #not saying that for example Quédate conmigo isn't a great song #but I'm not a fan of countries picking stuff by Swedish songwriters #I know I'm alone in this but I prefer stuff like Contigo hasta el final because they are more authentic #in conclusion Eaea is a great entry for Spain <3 #spain #eurovision #2023 #asks

[bookwyrminspiration]

Response to an ask from Ophelia:

(this is the one about your paracosm!)

Before I even respond to the details this is just. The whole world sounds so cool I am already 100% invested in this and would read a book about this /gen. Please don't worry about being confusing or anything, I can always ask questions!! It lets me learn more about the world! And i don't think any of what you said is cringey at all nor would I say it is. Like I do the same things you're talking about I am right there with you!

I am very eagerly sitting in front of the whiteboard as you aggressively write on it. And no problem cutting it out! I know what you mean about it being personal--I've actually never told anyone anything about my own paracosm before because they (the characters) are very important to me and it's like they're a part of me, so it's very vulnerable

Dystopian fantasy/fantasy horror is such a fun genre!! Fun as in interesting. I love different takes on fantasy elements, like magic being bad. There's so much to look at and consider and ways things can be spun. Also the no religion thing makes sense; mine doesn't have a religion either.

Also!! Love the dollhouse comparison. I do the same thing but I've never thought of a word to describe or explain it. My paracosm doesn't have like one true "canon" series of events, it's got a mostly solid foundation/backstory, and then from there I just take the characters and put them in different situations. A few years ago I'd get annoyed with myself for diverging from the "canon" and being unable to decide what happened until I had the revelation that it's a fantasy story in my head and there doesn't need to be one storyline with a concrete ending. Contradictory divergences can exist at the same time and it doesn't matter, because I'm having fun with my characters! I can literally remember the moment i had the revelation it was excellent. The dream thing you mentioned sounds really interesting--what do you mean by interact? Are they just exchanging words or can they like visualize each other and it's like they're awake? Do they naturally reach out to each other or do they have to choose to interact? I would ask questions about who the person they reach out to is but I don't know anything to my question is just: who are they reaching out to? I'm very curious about all this

OO The Shell. I love that! Is there a reason for the name? Not asking because I think it's cringey, but because sometimes names have meanings that tell you more about the thing and I'm curious if that's the case with this one. I mean I can't judge you at all my character's house (which is also an entire universe/plane of existence? it's weird like that) they just call Mother. I don't even know where that name came from or why it stuck but it's there now. But back to The Shell! How did it get closed off from everything? Are there people who control that or is The Shell like...it's own ruler? I don't know if that made sense hang on. You know those stories with places that are like...alive but in an inanimate way? Like "the woods are alive and they're watching you and they know you" but it's not like capable of thought or speech but it's definitely not a normal forest. That otherworldy kinda thing, is that what The Shell is like? Did the person who created it like imbue magic into the place or is it more mechanical in nature and not like my living forest example?

Asterope! How is that pronounced? I wanna get it right. Right now I'm reading it as uh-stair-oh-pea, but no clue if that's right. Oo!! Lore!! I wonder why the person created The Shell, like what the motivation was. Wait what's the timeline for this (if there is one)? How many years after it's creation does the escape open up? Also have many questions about leaving in general. What does it mean to glitch out of The Shell and how common is it? This whole thing also makes it sound like The Shell is not a place you want to be--is that just because they've been taken from their homes/lives or is it because there's something about the place itself that's bad?

You say it was "originally" created to be a safe haven, but that implies that it might not be a safe haven anymore. I am so curious about this hang on. So Asterope finds miserable people who'd be willing to abandon their lives because it need consent to take them (I like that detail)--what kind of world/worlds does Asterope get people from? Is The Shell like an offset of our world and it comes into ours to take them there? Or is it taking people from completely fictitious worlds? Either way it's very interesting--I also love the detail about the glitch, coming back to the same person again and again. Must be wild for that person like "wow I'm so miserable this thing can't leave me alone."

I think it's ironic that you mentioned glitching a few times and now tumblr is glitching for you, but this is seriously super interesting I love dystopian fantasy horror things. Please tell me as much about this world and the characters as you would like to, and I may occasionally respond with a few details about my own paracosm. I said like one thing about it but that's still more than I've told anyone ever before (I'm not exaggerating). I'd love to learn about the intimidating being and her 15 orphans and the creator of The Shell and everything about the world!!

Also a blanket fort!!! Hell yea I haven't made one of those in forever!! Emotionally I'm helping you decorate the inside so it's comfy and cozy. Oo I have a lot of candles we could put in there, and I can bring my weighted blanket too!! Your ask wasn't annoying at all and I hope you're doing alright!! i love you too /p

#quil's queries #ophelia nonsie #colored text #I've never had a friend who daydreams the way I do this is excellent!! #your paracosm sounds incredible I'm so curious about it #also please don't feel like you need to answer every single question i asked! they're just the thoughts I had #so if you don't answer some of them that's entirely okay #I know I asked a lot in a row #i don't want to overwhelm you #long post

[rusted-sun]

honest opinion

112 and Queen would get along.

Chander: tf you doin?

112: she promised me whatever I wanted 👉👈

Queen: true. All she wants is a cake

Chandler: dam well she’s your problem 😁

later

Dark: so you left. 112. In a whole new world?

Chandler: sure she can take care of herself

112 bursting through the door: I CAN’T TAKE CARE OF MYSELF :(((

hol on you gave me an idea, but not an idea related to this au.

chandler somehow has the ability to travel trough all the AUs. when they get sick of everyones bs and need a break? *vine boom sound* theyre now theyre in, idk, batim, sitting at a desk and drawing away. maybe they need even more space, and BOOM. end cottage in the mc au.

wouldnt it be really fucked all the chandlers from all the aus, were in fact, just this one fucking guy. villian au = minecraft au = monster au etc etc

maybe they got this ability from the ISWM crystal, which canonically TPs you trough UNIVERSES.

what if every once in a while, idk, dark wakes up in the morning and chandlers gone again, and hes gotta track them down trough like 8540964 aus. sometimes they come back in like 2 days, sometimes theyre missing for 2 months.

and every time, their body changes/adapts to said au. a magical girl transformation happens every time they go to the villian au, their body stretches and morphs when going to the minecraft au, you get the gist of it

---

would make some strange situations. what if one day in the minecraft au, chandler appears after being gone for MONTHS with a brand new bullet scar and a chipped horn, absolutely high on an adrenaline rush. blabbering shit like "oh sweet JESUS that was INCREDIBLE! HA! oh my heavens the looks on their FACES!!".... they just got back from villians au, if it isnt clear.

the villagers are staring from a far, trying to get actors attention or smth so he can go deal with them. theyre also all confused as to what this ''jesus'' is (im sorry i had to make that joke)

chandler finally composes themselves, realizes they accidentally ended up in a field near actors kingdom/town. *WOOSH* theyre gone in a swirl of particles, right as actor was going to check on them. (you cant tell me actor doesnt ADORE the mc AU. literally being worshipped. spends probably 99% of time here)

from a nearby nether portal, dark appears and is frantically looking around while muttering things like "that idiot was supposed to stay in the hospital" and "why did i marry a goddamn clown"

he makes eye contact with actor, who just shakes his head and tells him that he just missed said idiot who was supposed to stay behind on a mission

---

imagine if one day, somehow mark and mack get pulled along from iswm/canon into, lets say elemental au. chandler didnt notice they were behind them, and spooked them into accidental dimensional travel. bringing the 2 of them along.

from their pov, they just see their captain, tinkering with something (the crystal, probs) and the moment mark reaches to wrap his hand around their shoulder, everything changes in an instant.

they now see a beast towering over them, wildly looking around to see if anyones nearby, before deciding its safe. it borderline *snarls* at them before asking what the FUCK did they do.

finally the 2 of them take in their surroundings, noting theyre at, what seems to be, a temporary campsite late at night. theres more moons in the sky than there should be-

"MACK AND MARK FOCUS," well that worked, they both have locked eyes with this creature "okay finally. give me a moment and DONT. MOVE."

they pick up some device off the ground, clamp their claws on the mens shoulders and.. theyre back on the bridge of the ship? and instead of some otherworldy beast grasping their shoulders, its the captain.

"don't ask. you dont want to know."

#IM SO SORRY I JUST HIJACKED THIS W MY OWN SILLY SONA HCS #I AM SO SORRY #response #112 writes #chess writes

[linandara]

I wanted to find and open a Pandora's box. To discover something extraordinary, wonderful about life, Universe and everything. I think I eventually did. At first it was just nice. It looked like people really live forever, hurray! But high strangeness kept oozing out like blood from the wound, and it's impossible to close the lid now. People also die and lose almost everything: friends, family, native land, language, most of their memory. Yet they may be still paying for the wrong choices they don't even remember doing. What to make about this knowledge?  On a short weird trip, wandering around like a dowser, I collected some pretty strange, perhaps shamanic memorabilia and put it all in an ordinary shoe box under the bed (because I still do not have a proper Pandora's box). I only remember being a fake shaman in children's games growing up in Russia, so I don't know what one is supposed to do with stuff like that.  I saw that cave. Probably a nice place for local children to play. I had to dig mine in snow and sand, they already have one. Doubt it is deep. I didn't have time to get closer... Maybe looking for a shiny magic (shoe) box was a bit vain, entering the cold dark damp cave which holds some more important treasures would be wiser. Not asking for miracles, not wondering about the past or the future, not pondering about others, but examining oneself in "here and now". And that's all what matters.  Do I have to go back (yes, please) or is that cave always somewhere near, but invisible (more likely)?  #journey #trip #linandara #otherworldiness #dreamscape #otherness #escape #innerwork #adventurethatislife #portal #layersofexistence #feeltheforce #mood #life #justthinking #nft #NFT #thoughts #wonderlust #iamdreamer #mystery #home #immortality #wanderlust #isitreal #iamtraveler #iamatraveller #eternity #pandora #memories (hier: Pandoras Box) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeyJ5jAtQjo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#journey #trip #linandara #otherworldiness #dreamscape #otherness #escape #innerwork #adventurethatislife #portal #layersofexistence #feeltheforce #mood #life #justthinking #nft #thoughts #wonderlust #iamdreamer #mystery #home #immortality #wanderlust #isitreal #iamtraveler #iamatraveller #eternity #pandora #memories

[bubblegumbi-tch]

I was tagged by longtime silent mutual and absolute book connoisseur with impeccable taste @kajafrompluto to share 6 books I want to read in 2022:

1. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.

This is the most recent on the list after I saw a few quotes. It's wlw, stupidly romantic, and super poetically written so I've heard. You know I'm in. I am a sucker for romances that span lifetimes or longer or have some other timey wimey dimension to them.

2. Authority by Jeff VanDermeer

After thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X—a seemingly malevolent landscape surrounded by an invisible border and mysteriously wiped clean of all signs of civilization—has been a series of expeditions overseen by a government agency so secret it has almost been forgotten: the Southern Reach. Following the tumultuous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the agency is in complete disarray. John Rodríguez (aka "Control") is the Southern Reach's newly appointed head. Working with a distrustful but desperate team, a series of frustrating interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, Control begins to penetrate the secrets of Area X. But with each discovery he must confront disturbing truths about himself and the agency he's pledged to serve. In Authority, the second volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, Area X's most disturbing questions are answered . . . but the answers are far from reassuring.

This is one where I'm kinda only planning on reading it bc I read the first one bc I watched the film of it and loved it, and can't leave a series unfinished. The first book was ok, it was very disconcerting to read which I think was the point but I was kinda left waiting for something that never happened, and found the writing style a bit slow, but I didn't hate it. I feel like this is the one instance where the film might be better than the book simply due to being able to use visuals to add to that creepy feeling the book had. I liked that the first book, Annhilation, was entirely female centered but didn't make a song and dance about it like look at me I'm a book with solely female characters, rather they just did all the things any male characters would do, but just happened to be women. It looks like each book is centered on a different group so we shall have to see how Authority turns out!

3. As yet unreleased and untitled Dreamer Trilogy book no.3 by Maggie Stiefvater (book one cover used in place)

The majestic conclusion to Maggie Stiefvater’s Dreamer Trilogy. The war between dreams and reality intensifies... with Ronan at its center.

If you know me at all, you'll know I am utterly in love with both this book series and it's preceeding series The Raven Cycle. These characters, this world are all somehow both so vivdly real and magically otherworldy and every time I read one of these books its like coming home to your group of best friends (probably helps that the first series are based around legend from my home country, however minus points for anglicising the names maggie lmao). I adore the way Maggie writes, it's so easy to read, and I love the passion and dedication she has put into these books. I feel her real life interests jump out in them, and it helps that they're often the same as mine have been throughout my life. These books are just super close to my heart and I simultaneously can't wait for October to come so I can get my hands on this third book in this series, and also never want it to come so I never have to finish with this world and these charaters.

4. Milkman by Anna Burns

In this unnamed city, to be interesting is dangerous. Middle sister, our protagonist, is busy attempting to keep her mother from discovering her maybe-boyfriend and to keep everyone in the dark about her encounter with Milkman. But when first brother-in-law sniffs out her struggle, and rumours start to swell, middle sister becomes 'interesting'. The last thing she ever wanted to be. To be interesting is to be noticed and to be noticed is dangerous. Milkman is a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. It is the story of inaction with enormous consequences.

I got a copy of this free from uni like 4 years ago and never got a chance to read past the first chapter, although that first chapter seemed incredibly promising. Not sure what to expect as I've never read anything by this author before, but it seems up my street so I'm optimistic!

5. Icelandic Folk Tales by Hjorleifur Helgi Stefansson (idk how to do the accents on this laptop soz)

Iceland is a country where stories are as important as history. When Vikings settled the island, they brought their tales with them. Every rock, hot spring and waterfall seems to have its own story. Cruel man-eating trolls rub shoulders with beautiful elves, whose homes are hidden from mortal view. Vengeful ghosts envy the living, seeking to drag lost loves into their graves – or they may simply demand a pinch of your snuff. Some of the stories in this collection are classic Icelandic tales, while others are completely new to English translation. Hjörleifur has always been deeply interested in the rich lore of his island. His grandparents provided a second home in his upbringing and taught him much about the past through their own way of life. Hjörleifur is dedicated to breathing fresh life into the stories he loves. He lives on his family farm in Borgarfjörður, and also spends a lot of time in Scotland, where he is becoming renowned on the Scottish storytelling circuit.

Does what it says on the tin really, a collection of easily digestible short icelandic folk tales. This was gifted to me and I'm part way through it already and its proving to be a great gift. Some are funny, some are dark, some appear to make little sense at all as folk tales are. Definitely up my street and I love how bitesize they are, as unfortunately my attention span and free time have decreased dramatically recently lol.

6. You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell

"There’s a moment at the end of every day, where the world falls away and you are left alone with your thoughts. A reckoning, when the things you have been pushing to the background, come forward and demand your attention." Written by Daniel Howell, in conjunction with a qualified psychologist, in an entertaining and personal way from the perspective of someone who has been through it all—this no-nonsense book gives you the tools to understand your mind so you can be in control and really live. Split into three chapters for each stage of the journey: This Night - how to get through your toughest moments and be prepared to face anything. Tomorrow - small steps to change your thoughts and actions with a big impact on your life. The Days After - help to look after yourself in the long term and not just survive, but thrive. You will laugh and learn—but most of all, this book will assure you that even in your darkest times, there is always hope.  You will get through this night.

I put off buying this for so long bc not only am I super skeptical of self help books, but self help books by youtubers?? Hmm. But seeing how passionate Dan was and is about this book and how much of himself he's put into it I couldn't help it. Say what you like about him or the people that watch his content but he's one of, if not the only one of the OG youtube lot that has held my interest up until now (and hansn't had some sort of horrific scandal lmao), and you cannot deny, he is a good egg who has remained himself throughout his career and hasn't let fame change who he is. He has integrity. And what he is doing with his career now is something mature and thoughtful and I'm fully behind him. I have read bits and pieces of this already, but just dip into every now and again when I feel like it. For a self help book, it is actually pretty great. I feel like I can hear Dans voice as I read his mix of sarcastic, self depreciative humour, and serious talking points. It's very him, and quite comforting, as he's been in the background of a lot of my life in one way or the other, and continues to do so, albeit in a very different way with this book.

-

Wow, this ended up being long! I wanted to put a little blurb to each book though to encourage others to read them too if they like the sound of them!

To do this next (if they want) I tag @two-cupsofcoffee @gaym3bo1@bitchyglittercreator and @clotpoleincamelot

#bookblr #tag game #books #the dreamer trilogy #this is how you lose the time war #you will get through this night #milkman #authority #icelandic folk tales #maggie stiefvater #dan howell #daniel howell #jeff vandermeer #anna burns #max gladstone #amal el mohtar #hjorleifur helgi stefansson #iceland

[blueskittlesart]

Anyway uhhh you mentioned over analyzing links rabbit form? 👀👀👀

link's rabbit form makes me INSANE because i know im not supposed to read that much into it like. i looked it up at one point and apparently the reason they made him a rabbit is because whichever designer was in charge of that thought that rabbits evoked like an otherworldy feel a la alice in wonderland. but how are you going to write that a hylian's dark world form shows their true inner self or whatever and NOT EXPLORE THE FACT THAT YOUR MAIN CHARACTER TURNS INTO A RABBIT. i would fucking LOVE an official explanation for that because i really dont know how they expect me to not go insane over the implications. Anyway onto the overanalysis. sorry this got long as hell it's under the cut bc i cant be normal

there are so many points to be made here and a couple different directions i could take my analysis depending on what mood i'm in but they all basically hinge on the fact that a rabbit is a relatively defenseless prey animal whose main survival tactic is the fact that it is very good at running away. even in the game, when in rabbit form link can't use any weapons or his shield. and alttp takes these traits and says, "that's the true inner self of our literal in-universe personification of courage." which is fucking incredible, and it makes SENSE too, from a narrative standpoint. Alttp link is one of the younger links in the franchise. iirc he's around 12?? and at the very beginning of the game he watches his uncle die in front of him. he's thrust into this war he really has no part in, and suddenly has the fate of hyrule put entirely in his hands. He watches multiple people die, and it's all too easy to blame himself for not being fast enough or skilled enough to save them. (alttp was pretty bold with the deaths actually. at least 2 happen on screen in front of link) and he's still a KID. he never asked for this magical destiny or this responsibility, but he accepts it naturally and does all he can to save hyrule. and the fact that his inner self is this prey animal, this little defenseless rabbit who can't hold a sword or shield, all it can do is run. that suggests to me that the choice wasn't as natural as it seemed, that link really wanted to run from it all. that he made a conscious choice to keep going, to keep fighting, despite his very nature going against it. and yes i know that ive put more thought into this single design choice than any of the game designers who put it out there ever did and i fucking HATE IT

#when a game has no character development we fucking develop the characters ourselves. my city now #a link to the past my beloved. it's up there with oot genuinely i think it's one of the best zelda games ever #ugh. whatever im fine im normal i dont need to replay ANOTHER zelda game #asks

[gayroytheory]

alright so. yknow how scar is always saying like, alchemists go against god, alchemists are unnatural, alchemists are terrible people? my take is that he’s right.

the actual origin of alchemy in fma is kind of left vague for most of the series, and is presented in such a way that many viewers/readers could definitely come away thinking it's just always existed, like magic in various fantasy worlds or sympathy in the kingkiller chronicle, etc.

we knew the eastern/western sage (hohenheim lol) was the one who taught xing and amestris about alchemy, but we didnt know if he was the only one who knew about it or he was just one person from a country with that knowledge. but it's clarified later on that, no, hohenheim was the first person to ever learn alchemy, and he was the one who taught it to everyone else. and he learned it from the dwarf in the flask

the dwarf in the flask's origins are never really explained; we just know that it was the result of an experiment by a certain xerxian scientist. but for my money, i don't think he created it. i think he summoned it.

the dwarf in the flask is too borderline omniscient, too ancient to be something newly created by man, and the way it & truth act toward each other supports this. truth treats the dwarf in the flask like a familiar nuisance, opposite but complementary forces - whereas truth is completely neutral to the point of cruelty, the dwarf in the flask is chaotic.

i think one of truth's jobs over the millenia has been to contain the dwarf in the flask's chaos, and i don't think this is the first time it's escaped. "i'm not going back," it tells truth, just as i'm sure it's said hundreds of times before. which fits perfectly with the theme of circles in fma. everything is cyclical, everything has happened before and will happen again. truth banishes the dwarf in the flask, it worms its way back up to humanity, truth banishes it, and the cycle continues.

if we are assuming the dwarf in the flask is some kind of otherworldy being, and it was the only one who possessed the knowledge of alchemy...it stands to reason that alchemy is not natural. it is too much power for anyone to wield, and that is the POINT. the dwarf in the flask taught hohenheim knowing he would teach others, and that those who should not have power would seek it.

it's not a common solution to a common need like the recurrence of specific farming methods or shared tenants of religion in cultures around the world, it is a bridge between magic and science that was impossible for humans to learn on their own because it should not exist. (further evidence for this is that no one besides amestris and xing have alchemy because hohenheim did not go there! he did not teach them so they do not have it! it is not a naturally known thing.)

roy said himself, "alchemists are terrible creatures," and we're meant to disagree because ed and al are alchemists and they're obviously good people. but if you think about every other alchemist, they ARE terrible. some alchemists, mainly those who sought alchemy as children, started with innocent motives - to learn a new skill, to save the world, to make their mother smile. but absolute power corrupts absolutely, no matter how good a person you are. ed and al didn't seek great power for evil, they just wanted to see their mother. but even with this noble motive, they committed a crime against nature, and they lost everything

it's not just that alchemy is a corrupting force, either - it also attracts a certain kind of person. people will talk about how winry/whoever should have been one, but i disagree. an alchemist isn't just a person who performs alchemy - anyone can learn it, but there's only a select type of person who chooses that path, and it's always somebody seeking power. roy sought power to change the world, and it led him down the path of mass murder. alex sought power to continue his family's strength and artistry, and it led him the same way. shou tucker and kimblee and so many other villains used alchemy for evil, the military specifically recruited alchemists for murder. izumi wanted to be strong, and the elrics wanted to be clever, and eventually, they lost everything.

even mei; alkahestry is a little more grey since it's generally used for healing rather than fighting, but fighting is 90% of what she does. she's a sweet little girl, but her clan is dying, so she took on the burden of alkahestry to protect them, and found herself in the middle of a war.

edward and alphonse are good people, but they are terrible alchemists. and i don't mean that in the way it sounds - they're FANTASTIC at DOING alchemy. they're prodigies in every way possible. but an alchemist, as a person and a symbol, is someone who desires power more than they value truth. and edward was the first one to ever give it up.

#this might be a common thought idk but i am just thinking about it #also sorry for literally the longesf post of all time

[tomionefinds]

Fae / Fairy AUs

Recent art and a post on FB had me putting together a list. -JD

Fae!Tom

Fairy Kings by WildKitsune NR | One Shot | 2k Hermione had two extraordinary friends as a little girl. When she got older, she thought they had only ever been in her mind, but what happens when these dark boys come back to her as dark men? What happens when they want more of her attention than they ever had before? Hermione gets pulled into a realm she does not fully understand and must make choices that will affect more than just her destiny.

King of Nothing by NinjaFairy M | WIP | 7k As a child, strange creatures visited me. The left me gifts, sung me songs; they adored me. One day, an odd boy arrives and vows his revenge on me, then vanishes without a trace. Years go by, and on Samhain night, I wake up to a fey nightmare. I will do anything to survive this labyrinth. Anything. I wonder if he knows that. [Tomione. The Cruel Prince AU.]

my heart lingers in your hands by born_as_a_nebula M | WIP | 18k He grasped the hand holding his hair, and forcefully removed it from his person. “You will be my queen,” he told her, dark eyes flashing red for the briefest of moments. “I won’t,” she said with a daring flare in her eyes. His grip on her hand tightened until she felt her wrist bones grind together and had to clench her teeth to suppress a whimper. “Then you will be my whore.”

Iron and Nightshade by DarkxKirlia E/Ma | Complete | 9k Don't make deals with faeries.

The Dark Wizard and The Apprentice by Siberia_M E/Ma | WIP | 6k What once her mother said was a gift, soon turned to be a curse. Such a strong curse it was; it took her family away. She stood up for herself though, graduated in school, earned a scholarship in a good enough university, found a job. She really thought she had been able to overcome it, but suddenly everything started to fall apart once again. In despair, she finds herself victim of a trap of the shady Lucius Malfoy, who then presents her to an entire new world, filled with magic and darkness. It leads her to meet the mysterious wizard, Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Samhain by knittedcoffee T | One Shot | 3k Tomione Au: Samhain. Tom is the Fairy King of the Otherworld, and on Samhain, he gains the ability to enter our world. "Best not to go in there, little one," a cold baritone voice warned. The spell broken, Hermione whipped her head around, but was unable to identify the speaker. "Who said that?" "A friend . . . or a foe. It depends upon how you look at it."

One Green Hill by Musae T+ | One Shot | 3k In which Hermione decides it's time for a little soul-searching and proceeds to stumble into the realm of an unsuspecting fairy king. Light Tom/Hermione.

A Court of Snakes and Silver by PetraLynn M | WIP | 1k When in the realms of the Fae do not give your name, and dance with caution. After being kidnapped from the woods were the mortal and fae realms intersect Hermione is brought before Lord Voldemort. He is immediately taken with the mortal girl and keeps her in his castle. Hermione just wants it to all be over with.

Runner by caiuscassiuss M | WIP | 1k The sound of the woods grows louder; "Did you really think you could escape me?" Tomione, Fae AU.

Mistakes Made in the Realms Belonging to the Fae Will Come to Haunt You for the Rest of Your Mortal Days by PetraLynn T+ | WIP | <1k Hermione is only cautious against that which she knows to be cautious against. If she knew then what she knows now she wouldn't know what she knows.

____________________

Fae!Hermione

The Halfling by Cleowitchra E/Ma | WIP | 6k Otherworldy Hermione Granger and Head Boy Tom Riddle collide headfirst into a world neither ever expected they would experience. Whereas Tom Riddle seizes control of the power that literally falls into it his lap. Hermione Granger battles with Riddle's dark obsession over her and the fragmented memory of her prophetic destiny.

Fated by Cleowitchra E/Ma | Complete | 131k Voldemort's black gaze stares for what seems like hours. All is silence but my ragged breathing. My bloody lip dripping onto the forest floor. He finally speaks “It shall be a pleasure to bring you into submission Hermione”

I shiver and snap my caramel eyes to his black voids. The way he speaks my name, almost like it's forbidden, a whisper spoken in the darkened depths of depravity. I shouldn’t like the way it falls from his lips, but- I snap out of it.

“I will never yield to you Voldemort,” I say with utter clarity. “If I’m going to die I refuse to do so on my knees begging to a monster like you!” I spew with as much Gryffindor courage I can summon. I feel my curls rise with magic. My skin prickles and the bridge of my nose begins to perspire. Voldemort chuckles, his voice is a deep melodic sound, as smooth as crushed velvet. Although, his eyes, his ink black eyes give off a predatory gleam.

“You’ll find I can be very ...persuasive”

#Tomione #fairytale #tom: fairy #hermione: fairy #fae!tom #fae!hermione #faerie au #fae AU #fairy au

[skylightsofmylife]

What would your 3 wishes be?

If you could have 2 superpowers what would they be?

What scent brings back a good memory?

If you could have a self-contained ecosystem in your backyard, what would it be? And if you want extra, what kind of wildlife and plants? (mountain, grasslands, marine, plateau, forest, mixed, etc; they can be made up or different sizes than on earth or mythical landscapes, flora, and fauna)

1) For all trans people to have the bodies they want. 2) To know what's beyond the veil of death. 3) Slefish one, to have the home I desire, with little reading nooks and hidden passageways.

Shapeshifting and telepathy

The smell of coffee. It reminds me of my Grandma, who I sadly did not get much time with. But it just always brings me back to sitting in her lap and talking about stuff after spending the day together. I always remember feeling like going to her house was a magical experience. From climbing the trees in her backyard to sneaking through the crack in the fence to the neighbors yard because it was like 90% lilacs. It just felt like stepping into the world of the fey.

Honestly, I would love a miniature ocean in my backyard. I've always been an ocean gay and just love everything relating to the sea. I could sit and watch a bloom of jellies go by all day or just sit and watch the sharks swim. Being able to watch the rays glide on the currents and see a massive whale shark just float on by would make my day. When you think of water it's something that we use every single day but the world of water is so foreign to us. We couldn't survive, without either major adaptation or technology, for a long time in the water. It makes ocean life feel like something otherworldy. Up can be down and down can be up. (If i were to add mythical creatures I would for sure add hippocamps, kelpies, leviathan, and the kraken.)

#ask #asks #answered

[andy-clutterbuck]

#H E #Andrew Lincoln #* #andygifs #*david attenborough voice* THE SUN #so cool that he's next to the word Handsome in the dictionary #excuse me but The Nose™ #what a glorious mane #EYE CRINKLES 💕💞 #shoutout to nigel and laura for giving their son his face #what otherworldy magic did they know #always forget how ugly the coloring of this video is #ya look good dressed like johnny cash #me as that curl hooking into his ear

[gofancyninjaworld]

2020 in One-Punch Man. Part 1: Manga

How shall I describe this succinctly?

It's like ONE and Murata looked around them, saw a raging pandemic, massive disruption to all walks of life, uncertainty of when, if, or how it might affect them, took a massive drag of their cigarettes and said: “Fuck being conservative.  Let's go wild. Fuck making our current arc a webcomic retread with fancier fights.  Let's introduce more lore, let's have more characters interact in ways one would never have imagined, let's have characters do things that hadn't previously been thought of and make this really exciting.“

If you were holding onto the webcomic as your guide to what next, 2020 was not a good year for you. 

723 pages in 24 updates (including revisions) changed the status quo ante in deliciously unanticipated ways!

Where we left off in 2019, we were following the webcomic pretty faithfully, with most manga-original elements being removed at a fast clip.  Phoenixman was dead, the mercenaries had died a brutal death, the ninjas had been resurrected but had run off buck naked, Orochi was dead, G5 was very much destroyed, Drive Knight had appeared but had obligingly limped off, taking Nyan with him.  The S-Class heroes were in trouble with the cadre exactly as expected and Saitama had met up with Flashy Flash.  Tatsumaki had finally found Psykos. Yup, no real changes here.

2020, HAHA! 

Awaken!

Throwing manga-specific elements away? As if!   They took the great opportunity that preparing chapters for publication to critically review and revise the story so as to first, make it move at a faster pace and second, to be enriched.   It’s meant that chapters for volume 22, 23, and 24 (to come) have been redrawn to accommodate the changes and we got the benefit of many of them between April and August of this year.

We started with Phoenixman’s fight with Child Emperor.  It started innocuously enough with Phoenixman resurrecting, but then we got a much more interesting chunk of knowledge -- the existence of a metaphysical world modelled on one’s on psyche where the assault on Child Emperor’s sense of self took a much more existential nature. 

From a purely physical battle (and some nifty cool info about the Subterraneans) to an otherworldy battle happening in parallel with the physical battle:

It ended up a very interesting examination of Child Emperor’s character and his relationships with other heroes, as well as telling us something else freaky about Saitama’s ability to be anywhere he damn well wants to be.

Ah, and Phoenixman lives. Albeit as a little chick (for now).  He’ll probably be back, but not just yet.

The mercenaries were next.  They didn’t die.  Not because Amai Mask had a change of heart, but because Iaian listened to the niggling feeling in the pit of his stomach and turned his team mates around to intervene just in time. 

As you’d expect, trying to guide the mercenaries back to the safety of the surface has been an incredibly challenging ordeal for the disciples. It’s revealed much more about the way the disciples trust each other and lean on one another, and yet, when there was no option to do so, Iaian stepped up wonderfully to fight to save the mercenaries.

We’ve also learned something interesting about why mercenaries exist at all in a world supposedly at peace.  I look forward to seeing where this plot might go next.

Elsewhere,  we got to learn a little less about Puri Puri’s dancing and swimming lessons, but we got some really awesome nods to the mythical in Bakuma (the baku is a long-nosed creature formed out of all the bits left over after creation that eats dreams) and Electric Catfish Man’s sudden sense of doom is both reference to the way catfish are supposed to detect earthquakes and just damn cool. 

A monsterised exploitative business man taking the form of a demonic dream-eating monster that consumes weaker monsters so as to exploit their abilities is so appropriate on many levels (and unreasonably hot!).

Yes, Waganma does make it to the surface, along with Saitama and Child Emperor.  Saitama gets chased away by a Sekingar outraged that there’s a clueless hero just wandering aimlessly around.  Child Emperor goes back underground and I loved to death Waganma being pierced with remorse as he realises that the hero is going to go risk his life anyway.   He’s spoiled, but his keeping quiet came from a place of being a scared human being desperate to be saved  (a surprising number of fans did not like that -- they preferred to think of him as a psychopathic monster incapable of remorse).

Orochi still has a date with a gloved fist, but he’s getting to live a little longer than he did before.

Overall the story is tighter and there’s a lot more interest as well as future plot hooks than there were.  I’m interested in seeing how it gets tied up in the next volume sometime in 2021.

Reddit did not take it well.  Summary of discourse:

sorry not sorry, I lost patience around the 500th whiny post

Advance!

What about the new chapters we got?  Also here, ho ho ho, that status quo has gotten a good kicking!

Orochi came back.  Not the most surprising surprise in the world, given how carelessly Saitama punched him. Also not surprising that he came back stronger; Phoenixman had wonderfully demonstrated that monsters can bounce back from near-death situations much stronger.  But his form... such a disgusting, slimy, ever-shifting mass of tentacles and dragons, consuming all in its way led to the third craziest development: his fusion with Psykos to launch a new monster.

I’ll spare you the disgusting intermediate stages but the end result has been the birth of Psykos-Orochi and with that, what had been a total sweep for Tatsumaki turned into a much more dangerous enterprise where every mistake of hers got punished brutally.

Why is that only number three?  Because Tatsumaki raised up the entire base to try to encompass the whole monster (and it turns out that she was thinking far too small -- the monster had actually eaten large sections of City Z) and Psykos-Orochi uses the space to launch a beam so powerful that it literally cuts off part of the Earth itself.  It was a real I see it, but I don’t believe it moment.

if you didn’t spend a few seconds just staring in disbelief, you’re not paying attention. OMG.  Boy is the Earth in trouble.

Why is that only the second craziest thing?  Because of why this fusion monster was able to do as it did. ‘God’ doesn’t just go round looking like a semi-tangible being giving random homeless men magic powers.  Yup, the Earth really in in trouble if some supernatural being is smushing monsters together to make a stronger one and then granting it extra powers.   Just like that, the struggle has turned cosmic.

Tatsumaki trying to figure out how to fight back and save City Z from being swept away by a tsunami, save the heroes, and save the planet from further damage by the beams all at the same time was one of the most spectacular fights to date. 

As I said earlier, this monster has presented Tatsumaki with a real fight where the slightest mistake on her part leads to severe punishment.  She wound up in trouble when she underestimated how extensive the monster actually was and let up on twisting it too early, only to have it come right back and skewer her hands. 

Thankfully, Genos came in and saved her from that pinch, then held the monster at bay long enough for Tatsumaki to finish saving the strike team so she could give the monster her undivided attention.

Which is a very tame way of saying that that was an incredible development in capability.   That some of the fandom had trouble accepting (they suck). Watching their protests has been an exercise in special pleading.  They have no trouble understanding how Murata uses scale...until it came to accepting the size of the explosion resulting from Genos smacking away Psyko-Orochi’s execution beam then it had to be a fisheye lens (visibly incorrect, but who’s talking facts here?).   Have had no trouble understanding how Murata portrays escalation... until it came to accepting that Genos is strong then no, somehow the monster had to be weaker.   Have had no trouble with the freeze frame language that Murata uses to portray things happening at great speed... until it came to accepting that Genos could move really, really fast.   For some people, the new is only welcome when it confirms and validates preconceptions.  Anyway, that’s my rant done!

the most unlikely of partnerships and they’re still going despite having taken a hell of a battering since this scene

Guess who’s back?

We’ve also been seeing more heroes come back to the fray.  The emergence of the Tower of Doom acted as a clarion call to every hero around and able to move.  Metal Bat sneaked out of hospital to come running back.  Tank Top Master hitched a ride with Mumen Rider to go to City Z.  He intended to stick around and save people, but seeing how much wider scale the fight was,  he literally threw himself into battle. 

Drive Knight decided he literally had to have a piece of the action,  took up a ton of power from the nearest substation and came flying in to intercept a desperately escaping Psyko-Jet... ah, I didn’t say?  Yes, the monster turned into a machine to run away once hard-pressed.

And we finally got to see what Blast actually looks like, courtesy of a flashback of Amai Mask’s.   He definitely looks the part of a caped superhero and it’s little wonder he’s stuck in the imaginations of so many.   But now I’m even more interested in seeing what his deal is and what is he’s like now

The one thing we know for sure will be happening is that Garou will not be denied his destiny.   He’s coming.  But what else is happening?  Ah, that’s all in the air.

Bring on 2021!

#OPM #review #long #2020 #so much has happened #so much still to come #manga #Garou is coming BACK #13th #December #December 13th 2020 #so many incredible developments #Genos coming back far stronger than he's ever been and then hanging tough despite overdoing it #the unquestionable appearance of a meddling godlike entity #the Psykos-Orochi fusion and all its crazy permutations #the massive loss of life in Z-City: such an irony between heroes killing themselves to save a few individuals when mass death is all around #Not mentioned; Saitama Flash and their misadventures with Manako

[metamelonisle]

assorted headcanons i have (fandoms involved: Kirby, Super Mario, Sonic, Smash)

mayro hcs:

Within the three central characters of SMB, the order of weakest to strongest is: Mario -> Peach -> Bowser. Bowser is an incredibly strong beast of a king, and has the magical prowess to match. Peach is able to match Bowser in terms of magical power, as she is usually the one who undoes all of his magic at the end of the game. However, she’s still physically weaker than Bowser (it’s not because she’s weak though. It’s just that no one is as strong as Bowser). Judging from how she’s playable in some games, she is just as physically strong and agile as Mario is, which puts her dead center between Mario and Bowser. Mario is the weakest, as he has no magic of his own, and outside of external aid (Powerups, Caps, Power Stars, FLUDD, Luma, Cappy) he really only has his acrobatic skills (which admittedly, are pretty impressive) and his wits. From what I remember, Mario has never beaten Bowser in a direct straight fight. He’s always either A. aided by an external force (like powerups or friends) or uses the environment to his advantage to circumvent the power difference (like the Axe in SMB or the brick-block floor in SMB3). Peach is as strong as Mario physically and Bowser magically, but usually gets kidnapped because Bowser never plays fair (using multiple people to capture her, using sneak attacks, i mean, i’d be surprised if he didnt employ an ultimatum of “get in the koopa klown car, or i’m eating mushroom stew tonight! Gwah ha ha!”)

Dr mario is mario’s dad. he is the main protagonist of DK 81, mario bros 83 (alongside his twin brother Luigi, Sr.) and the first Dr. Mario, and the main antagonist of DK’s Circus and DK Jr.. He dated the Lady from DK 81 (no relation to pauline) but nothing came of it. his significant other/mario jr and luigi jr.’s mother is unknown, if they are even the same person. He is still practicing medicine to this day and is a vetetan in Smash, having attended every game since Melee as a fighter but Brawl and attended every game since 64 to cheer on his sons. (Don’t ask me who nurse peach is idk yet also DM64 and DMW are different)

there are two Mad Pianos. One is a mechanical trap made by Boos (64) and the other one is a real piano possessed by Boos (DS).

the Unagi from 64 suffers from anxiety and is more afraid of Mario than anything else. Peach thinks very fondly of them.

Sonic sometimes asks Mario to babysit Classic Sonic (the one from Mania) and as a result they get along pretty well. CS regards mario as a kind of “cool older brother/father figure” and Mario just thinks he’s adorable. They do extreme sports together

kriby hcs:

bandana dee is nonbinary (he/them)

king dedede probably runs a memepage on facebook about how great he is (it has 3 followers)

dmk listens to linkin park and considers them to be “way better than whatever that punk listens to”

the four otherworldy kings (parallel woods, parallel kracko, parallel meta knight and parallel dedede) are still alive for some reason and HOO ARE THEY MAD (at kirby & co specifically. they’ve chilled out regarding anyone else but if they see the dream friends or that cheeky piece of gum it’s ON SIGHT)

Kracko is related to dark matter in some form. i dont know how but they are. they’re suspicious. also kracko is scared of shrek bc they saw that one tumblr post where he eats lightning then reaches into his bag for the gun that kills clouds

dark nebula has two interpretations: first is mine: an extremely overconfident and egotistical blob of dark energy that thinks he’s lucifer. he talks with a disgusting amount of prose and a fake vague european accent bc he thinks it makes him sound refined. he calls himself names like “the lord of darkness” and “the beast within us all” and stuff and tries to get people to sell their souls to him. the thing is, he’s weak. like, PATHETICALLY weak compared to most beings on popstar. he were actually locked in a box by someone in response to being given a “proposal” to be his servant and herald. (that “someone” may or may not have been Galacta Knight) the other interpretation is that they’re a chaotic and malevolent demon with a very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eye. (like bill cipher, or tom cruise.) they got locked in a box bc Zero made them and was like “you are a mistake” and locked them in a box so they wouldn’t have to deal with them. it’s unclear if they resent zero for this and may be unaware of their existence entirely. When entities are killed, they release all of their power in a big explosion. this is why enemies “pop” when they are defeated, why mid-bosses violently explode after a while, and why bosses explode multiple times and then vanish in one last big one. the more powerful the entity and the more energy they retain at the time of death, the more powerful the explosion. This is largely the reason why Void Termina was sealed in the Jamba Heart instead of being slain by the heroes of yore, as the resulting explosion might destroy the entire galaxy. It is theorized that if Galacta Knight were to take his own life, the resulting explosion would irreversibly devastate the universe. (this remains unproven, as he only dies after being extremely worn down and eventually fatally wounded by Meta Knight.) 

galacta knight is one of the heroes of yore who defeated and sealed void before the series started. people feared and demonized him because of his power, and it made him scared he might accidentally hurt innocent people as a result. he became a hermit and wondered how he could neutralize himself as a threat to the world, and ultimately decided the best choice was to seal himself away in a crystal. Whenever he is unsealed he is extremely upset (as he considers himself a living WMD who’s very presence presents an immediate danger to everyone around him), and fights whoever he believes unsealed him (as since they revived him, they must have known about him, and why else would anyone unseal the greatest warrior in the galaxy if they’re not gonna use him as a weapon/attack dog?) He eventually dies for good in ironically, his first appearance, at the very end of Meta Knightmare Ultra. When he is beaten by Meta Knight, he’s lost so much power and strength that he can finally let go, realizing that with warriors like Meta Knight around, not only is he no longer a danger, but he can rest easily knowing that the galaxy is in safe hands. Finally at peace, Galacta Knight dies, releasing an explosion on par with Nova’s. Due to the way time works, Galacta Knight is fated to survive everything that happens to him up until his very last fight with Meta Knight in Ultra. He has known that he would die in a duel to the death with a winged masked knight in the stars since the days of yore, and used to frequently exploit the law of Forgone Conclusion up until the sealing of Void. Post-Seal, he began to believe the vision he saw was symbolic rather than literal, believing that this masked knight likely represents the darkness within his heart, and that his “death” actually meant his inevitable snapping and descent into fallen heroism and wanton destruction. When he finally sees Meta Knight in Robobot, he does not actually recognize him until he’s been badly wounded, but still escapes, as they’re not in the right place yet. He is elated to realize that the vision of the future is not describing his fall, but his actual death. When MKU finally rolls around, Galacta is hopeful (which is likely why he doesn’t kill Nova like he did with SD), as he’s knows going to die, which means the universe will be safe. Knowing that this is his last dance, he pulls out all of the stops to give Meta Knight the greatest fight he can before he croaks. When the final blow is struck, he loses control of his wings and is flung around by muscle spasms, but is able to regain control long enough to relish in his defeat. Galacta Knight and Hyness are not the only currently living heroes of yore. Given that Gooey, a piece of Dark Matter who is very loving and friendly, is clearly able to not only receive love, but give it as well, I think that all Dark Matter is capable of it, except for Zero, and possibly Miracle Matter. (I’d be willing to give them a chance, though.) They are unable to tap into their positive emotions because of their loyalty to Zero. This has changed as of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby Star Allies. After Zero’s death in 64 and Void’s purification in Allies, all remaining Dark Matter is free to do as they please without Zero to tell them what to do. Most have disappeared, but four major members remain. Gooey, Void, Miracle Matter, and Dark Matter Swordsman. He was the first Dark Matter to realize that he cared about others when post DL3, he questioned why he was so adamant to fight Kirby and Gooey even when it could have easily resulted in his death. He ultimately came to the conclusion that it was because he genuinely cared about Zero, and his intense loyalty to him was a result of that. Until Void’s purification, DMS hung around Gooey frequently, as they’re really the only family he has left. After Void’s purification, he was elated to learn that Zero had effectively come back, but now able to give love as well as receive it. He’s a little sad Void doesn’t remember his time as Zero, and as such doesn’t remember him, but believes it’s for the best that Void is not burdened by his past mistakes. His relation to Miracle Matter is unknown.  Now that Void has been purified and DMS has embraced his positive emotions, they are no longer weak to the Love-Love stick or the Rainbow Sword. As such, the Love-Love Stick has been disassembled back into the heart stars and returned to their owners, and the Rainbow Sword is currently in the possession of DMS, having replaced his old sword. Similarly to all native Dream Landers becoming animate yarn outlines in Patch Land, all native Patch Landers become animate three-dimensional plushies in Dream Land. The bosses from Kirby’s Epic Yarn are still around. Even Yin-Yarn is still alive! (but Shhhh don’t tell anybody its a secret) They’re doing a lot better now that Yin-Yarn isn’t around/active to boss them around. Fangora- Mostly just vibes in Weird Woods. They’re a lot less hostile then they used to be, so give em’ a visit! They’d love to eat-er... Meet you! Squashini- Still performs magic. He uses a weird mix of stage magic and actual magic and occasionally performs in Dream Land. He’s especially popular on Halloween! Hot Wings- Continues to look after her chicks in Hot Land, although they’re adolescents at this point rather than babies. She’s cooled down in terms of intensity and has begun to warm up to visitors, but only really trusts Fluff and Kirby. In Dream Land, her fire is cloth, but still burns like real fire. She has occasionally been known to barbecue as of late, complete with a cheesy apron and cheesier jokes. This has made her popular in Patch Land but she mostly just cooks for friends or her kids. Most of the time they just forage. Calimari- Resents Double Bubble and the Fuzz for ruining his cap, and has made himself a new one. He continues to hoard treasure, and will pickpocket anyone who comes by him. He could theoretically make a fortune with his knitting skills, but is too lazy to do so. A really good way to piss him off is to tell him he looks like a potato. He will hurt you. Meta Knight and Dedede - Oh You Know Fluff once ate an entire bar of ZOTE he found in Kirby’s laundry room and no one noticed until it was too late

idk there’ll probably be more but i’m kinda tired rn. feel free to add or edit as you please. i’m bad at being consistent i think so help is greatly appreciated 

#paint.txt #headcanons #Super mario #princess peach #dr mario #classic sonic #Kirby #kracko #dark nebula #galacta knight #void (kirby) #Zero (kirby) #dark matter swordsman #prince fluff #dark meta knight #kirby's epic yarn

[feel199x]

TO PROTECT OUR DISTRICT; CH. XIII - THE FOUNTAIN OF PURIFICATION

m.list

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII

warnings; none, i think, although there is angst and drama

a/n: sorry this is short! i wanted to post something. the next chapter will be more aligned with mafia stuff, but i thought it’d be best to break it up. 

The air smelled of ash and smoke as you woke up, careful, and doing your best not to stir, you tried to get up. Yugyeom, however, was already awake. His arms tightly on to you, like he was grasping at straws. You turned, to look at him in the eyes, and there he was staring back at you. Wordlessly, he pulled you closer, and with your face buried in his chest, he kissed the top of your head. Yugyeom felt warm, like a hearthfire. 

 “It’s time to get up, Yugyeom.” you murmured against his chest, “We got to get moving.”

 He pressed his lips against the top of your forehead again, and rested his chin in the same place. “Do you have to go in? Can’t you call out or something. Let’s have a day in, watch some movies, cook.”

“Can’t.”

“We could run away, _____. We could do it. You don’t have to keep doing this.”

“I couldn’t live with myself if I knew that he was still out there, That he was treating people like he does. I have to do something, I can’t turn a blind eye.”

 “I think you’re a much better person than I am.”

 “You’re good too. We can both be good.”

 He traced lines on your arms, making the hair rise where he touched and chills split down your spine. “Okay,” he murmured, “Let’s get to it.”

 Yugyeom’s touch lingered, hesitant for the both of you to part. He moved first, and you rose from the indent on the bed. You moved quickly, scared of yourself and what would happened if you paused, even for a moment. In record time, you were prompt and proper, prim to perfection, and ready- more or less, to start your day.  

 The world was coming alive again, the green and brown of the earth coming back to it’s own, relieving itself of dullness. Spring was a season to be admired, proof of rebrith. Still though, you weren’t convinced. Can anyone truly recover from death, death of their will, death of their love? Isn’t it, at it’s foundation, a flesh wound half open? You were raw and open, healing but not quite healed. The world still seemed so off, so discolored. 

 Yugyeom’s hands held yours, resting on his lap, his thumb tracing the outline of your hand as he hummed. You were pretending to stare out the window, but instead, you were taking in Yugyeom’s future. You thought you’d be used to being around someone so pretty all the time, but even Yugyeom doing mundane things seemed like magic. His crow colored hait and his sharp features always struck you as otherworldy.

 You looked away, finally, feeling heat creep into your cheeks.

 “I think it’s your stop soon.”

 Yugyeom huffed, “I think you mean our stop. Anyway, I don’t want to go.”

 “You have to, I’m trying to come up with a better alternative, but that district’s pretty much a ghost town. It’s not even good as a meeting place.”

 “I don’t want to leave you alone.”

 You squeezed his hand, “I’ll be okay if I know you’re okay.”

This area of the city was completely discarded. It was a sunken place, like the depths of someone’s memory. Something someone would make sure to forget. The large brick building were boarded up, and broken glass literred the streets. It pained you to leave Yugyeom in a place like this, left to his own devices. 

 The building in which you worked never failed to give you chills. Something about it just seemed looming, like a prophecy you didn’t want to come true. It made you feel miniscule as you stood in front of it, in front of the grand glass doors. You always felt like an outsider, an alien that held true to its definition. It never got easier to walk through those doors, take the elevator to your designated floor and walk and stay in your little cubicle, playing fetch for all the men in the office.

 You were early, as you tried to be most days, and there Hyunjin was, tapping his fingers against his dress pants. He met your eyes, and softened his face, looking at you with sad, furrowed eyebrows. 

 “_____.”

“Yes, Hyunjin?”

“I got you these,” he paused for a moment, reaching into his pocket and pulling out dangling car keys, “so you don’t have to take the bus anymore. And you can go anywhere, whenever you want.” Hyunjin looked like he would cry if he looked at you any longer.

“Okay, thank you.”

“They don’t have any tracking devices, nothing’s bugged. I didn’t modify it at all.” he continued, “I’d like to take you to lunch, please.”

“Okay.” 

 He gave you a pained expression, but you couldn’t completely dechiper why. You mustered up a smile, and your face felt like it was a contortionist in a circus. “Yeah,” you spoke again, “I’d like that. It’d be nice.”

 Hyunjin’s face wrote something that you couldn’t read. “I love you, _____. And you can come into my office whenever you want, okay? We don’t have to talk or anything. I don’t want you to feel alone.”

 Alone. The word repeated in your head, again and again. Alone. Alone. Alone.

 “I’ll come in there a little later, I just need to set everything up.”

 Hyunjin reached for your hand and then pulled back, his hand remain slightly up in the air, his long fingers longing for touch. Your fingers met with his, and the touch felt the same. FAmiliar but distant.

 “I’m okay, Hyunjin.”

Alone, alone, alone.

 Men began to stream into the office, flooding and then trickling. You saw Chan, and then Changbin. You looked at them in their eyes, afraid what it would mean if you didn’t, afraid they’d know something you didn’t. 

Afraid.

Nothing you chose to do seemed right. It was a slow day, there didn’t seem to be any messages left in the voice mail. So, you took your stuff and sat on the loveseat in Hyunjin’s office. You realized that you had never actually been in his office. It looked painfully rich. His name sat embroidered in gold on a plaque that sat to the side of his desk. On the other side sat a large marble chess piece.

 The Queen.

You stared at it for a moment, the ornate features and the gold detail seeming hard to ignore. You turned your head and looked at the sun peeking through the lace curtains that spilled across the floor. Hyunjin’s face was caught in the sunlight, and you had almost forgotten how pretty he was. Up above him though, was a glass chandelier. It decorated the walls in floor in rainbow prism light, the dangling iridescence a comforting type of ethereal. You closed your eyes, and started to bathe in the light too. 

 There were your parents, ashened and black. Like dried, cracking molten lava. They were screaming at you, angry nonsense. In their hands they held wilting flowers, and the marble chess piece. You were apologizing, and felt like you were aflame. You could taste gasoline and you smelled like corr

 “_______,” a voice crept into your dreams, “______.”

 You jolted up, breathing hard and it was only when you actually opened your eyes that you realized you were holding Hyunjin at gun point. You heard the gun clatter on the floor, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at it. “I’m sorry,” your voice cracked, “jesus, I’m so sorry, Hyunjin.”

 “It’s okay,” he said softly, “It’s lunch time, we were gonna go out. Or, we could order something and stay in.”

 “Stay in, please.”

  Hyunjin smiled at you, and tucked your hair behind your ears. “Alright, it’ll be here in a little bit. You should nap a little more.” Hyunjin fixed his tie after he stood, and you swore this was the most Hyunjin had ever been himself since that night in the rose garden. You closed your eyes and thought about it again. It played fresh in your mind.

 It was the kind of summer night that you craved in the winter time. Where there was a slight breeze to cool you off from a sun you couldn’t see in the shade of dark. A divine, dreamy day. You could smell the roses, the deep aroma you would swear was artificial if you didn’t know any better. 

 He was right, nothing would ever be the same. Hyunjin seemed like a husk of the person he once was.

  As if he could read your thoughts, Hyunjin turned his attention from the order to you, stealing looks at you as he spoke on the phone. He looked sof to the touch, so familiar to the lover you once knew. Your eyes started to mist, so you looked at his shoes. 

 You pulled your knees close to your chest, and rested your chin on top. You tapped your fingers on your arms. The silence was uncomfortable, but then again, what comfort did you search for in the noise? It would all be vapid. You held your breath, feeling your chest tighten as you held in tears. 

 You felt the weight in the couch shift, Hyunjin’s knees touching yours as he sat by your side.

“Food’s coming in twenty.”

 “What’d you order?”

 “Little bit of everything.”

 Hyunjin placed his hands in his laps, tapping rapidly against the leather of the couch. “I’ve missed you. Being near you. Sir Hwang, ______-,”

 “It’s okay. I know.”

 “It’s not. I’m morphing into him, he’s seeping into every part of my being. And I,” his hands balled into fists, “I let him. But after seeing what he put you through that night, it killed me. I never want to get to that point. I wanted to protect you, but I was hurting you. I though he would leave you alone if I acted like I wasn’t interested in you anymore.”

 “The interrogation, you saw that though, Hyunjin. You saw.”

 “I know that’s what it looks like, but did you ask anyone else what was happening behind the scenes? No one let me get to you. I broke into the room where they were watching you, they wouldn’t let me in. I only saw the end. I know, I know I should’ve done something at that point.”

 “Chan, and Changbin? They did that?”

 “Yes, but you have to understand, ______. Sir Hwang, his influence is still here. Sure, I’m coming into my own, but isn’t dead. He’ll have power as long as he’s alive.”

 You kept quiet, and nodded, burying your face. Your head was throbbing, you couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, feeling like you were playing a game where you didn’t know the rules. Hyunjin didn’t say anything, but pulled you into his lap and stroked you hair.

 “I’m never gonna leave you alone, never again.”

 You turned to look at him, tears staining your face. Alone, the word repeated, alone, alone, all alone. He leaned his face towards you, and the scent of his cologne swept in and made you dizzy. It smelled just like the garden of roses. “Can I kiss you?”

 Before you could finish nodding, he started to speak and press kisses soft kisses on your lips. “Never,” he punctuated with a kiss, “am I ever, ever, ever gonna leave you. I promise.”

 You could taste the saltiness of your tears on his lips, but it felt like every night before. It felt like Hyunjin was finally back, like he understood and come back to you. He was himself again, not the product of a corrupted metamorphosis, and for however long this would last, you would believe that he would never leave. 

 How could you give up on him like he had on you? 

 The both of you sat there until the food arrived, sitting in a more comfortable silence as he stroked your hair and smoothed the tears off your face. The salt of your tears was still on your tongue, the aftertaste of consequence. 

 “I love you, _____.” Hyunjin said quietly, “If you believe nothing else, please believe that. You are the most brilliant person to ever walk this planet, and I would follow you to the ends of the earth. I love you, I love you, I love you and only you.”

 Oh, how you believed him.

 Hyunjin laid out the food, unsure of how to place it all on the small glass coffee table. He sat criss crossed next to you. Hyunjin caught you up on his life, keeping it light and superficial. You didn’t have the energy to respond, and he didn’t ask you to at all. You hugged your legs, knees pressed against the edge of the table and thigh pressed against Hyunjin’s own. 

 You slept for the remainder of day, covered by Hyunjin’s large trench coat. You didn’t know you could sleep for so long. You couldn’t understand why you were so tired either. The sun had reached the west, and was falling down by the time you came up. You rubbed your face, spreading the warmth of sleep all over. Hyunjin put down his pen when he glanced at your area.

 “You should go home. I can drive if you want?”

 “No, I’m okay.”

 “Okay,” he looked down, and reached into his pocket, “these are your keys. And your phone. Call me if you need anything,” he stood up and walked over to you, “I love you, ______. Be careful.”

 His hand cupped your face, and his touch lingered, like he had forgotten the feel of your skin and the curves of your face. “I love you, Hyunjin.”

 His eyes watered, and he handed you everything. “I have to stay to finish up some things, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 You sat in the car, hands sitting in your lap as you stared at the skyline before you. You could just drive off the front of the building. You sighed, shaking yourself. You were crying before you realized, slamming your hands against the wheel. It was pathetic, you felt pathetic. You gasped for air, choking on the inhalation, like you had smoke in your lungs. You pressed your head against the seat finally, took a long breath, and reversed the car.

 The car drive was uncomfortable, the music that played in the stereo unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Hands on the steering wheel, you felt the blood spread thin around your knuckles. Your mind was blank, eyes only taking in the mistiness of the sky and the pavement ahead. The road looked slightly different from this perspective, aiding you in a new experience. You could feel tears betray your eyes, coming down and breaking the persona you were trying so hard to keep up. How much longer could you keep up this appearance? You could feel air getting caught up and lost in your lungs, like there wasn’t enough air in the world. The cars behind you began to beep and your foot pressed against the gas, jolting your body forward. You weren’t yourself anymore. But how could you feel like yourself if you weren’t even sure who you were? Everything was wrong, wrong, wrong. 

 You parked the car in the shadows, hands shaking 

 “You’ve been crying.”

 “No, I haven’t.” you took a breath in, “I’m fine.”

 Yugyeom looked at you, but decided not to press on, “Want me to drive?”

 You nodded, words feeling too heavy to speak. Entering the passenger seat, you sat, hands folded against your lap. Yugyeom started the car again, and words fell from your mouth.

 “Do you know how to get to the beach from here?”

 “Like, in my hometown?”

 “Yes, yes please.”

 The car ride was longer than the train ride, but the view was just as scenic. Maybe nostalgia really was a killer. Spring was coming back, the earth was coming alive again. Yugyeom was driving, and it seemed like something he missed doing. Your mind clouded with daydreams and imagination. You wished you had met Yugyeom in different circumstances, a nicer meet-cute. Maybe in a coffee shop, or a library. He’d take you on real dates, he’d be nervous and you’d check your hair and wonder if you had put on too much perfume or not enough. You looked at the reflection in front of you in the tinted window, the side of your face and Yugyeom’s face, arm outstretched on the wheel. You felt your cheeks heat up once you realized how long you had been staring at him. 

 “What’s your favorite local place?”

  You knew he wanted to ask you why you were doing all of this. You looked at him, or more his reflection, through the window. You wanted a taste of a normal life, the average life of someone in the area. He smiled at you, holding your hand in his and pulling your face towards his. “I’d love to show you everything I can. Let’s have a real date, yeah?”

 He drove to a pizza shop, the name slightly faded. Both the car and the beach sat across from the shop, the car hidden in a small pocket of the beach that Yugyeom pointed you to.  “You should probably stay in the car.”

 “Oh,” his smiled faded partly, “yeah. You’re right.”

 You tilted on your heels and on the balls of your feet, shifting back and forth as you waited for the order to be ready. And while on the heels of your feet, the photo wall caught your attention. Yugyeom from a variety of ages sat on the wall. The man who took the order was just a little older than the one in the picture. Your heart grew heavy. You put your finger on top of the picture, biting your lip and sniffling. 

 Your order number was called, the man smiling as you came up.

 “Is that your son in the picture? He’s very handsome.”

 His smile grew sad, “He was very handsome, and I’m sure he would’ve liked you very much.”

 “He’s alive,” you blurted, “He is. I can’t let him see you right now, but I’ll bring him back. He’s safe. I’ll keep him safe. Don’t tell anyone.”

 You dropped the money on the counter, and spoke fast, “He’s in that car, with me. I didn’t know until now. I’ll bring him back, one day.”

 You nearly ran out of the store, clutching the food like it was made of pure gold. Yugyeom didn’t meet your eyes. You knew. He knew. 

 You and Yugyeom sat on the roof of the car, sitting criss-cross across from one another, with your knees touching his. The food sat in the bare space between your legs, but your attention was turned to the crashing waves. The tide was high and rain was coming, you could smell it in the air. The air was getting cool and the air was quiet, the birds’ chirp had gone silent. The wind was picking up, your hair blowing slightly, pricked up like dandelion seeds floating through air. The sea was a sharp blue, and the current was a foamy white that sprayed against the rocks. The tongue of the waves rolled back and spoke in the sound of crashing.  The leaves rustled, as a soft murmur. You closed your eyes, the salt so strong you could almost taste it on your tongue. 

 Yugyeom pressed his lips against yours, and you let out a small gasp. He slipped his taste into your mouth, and you felt the sea salt seasoning on your tongue. His touch was soft, even as held your face close to his, rubbing his thumbs against either side of your cheeks. The rain started to pour, you could feel the droplets staining your clothes, and Yugyeom’s hair was wet, pressed against your forehead. You leaned into him, his hands moving from your cheek to your hips. Your fingers tangled in his hair, both of you hungry for touch. You were the one that had to part for air, Yugyeom still holding you and smiling against your lips.

 “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “you just looked so pretty like this. I think I’ve been dreaming of kissing you since I’ve met you, even when you shot me in the foot.”

 Your cheeks felt warm and you looked down. “Food’s ruined.”

 “I tasted something better.”

 “Gross!”

 He shrugged, looking up and closing his eyes and feeling the rain against his skin. You turned, looking at the waves. It was more violent now, the sound of the waves screaming as it crashed agasint the shore and the sharp edged rocks. 

 You knew you could drown, and the tide could pull you under if that’s what the ocean wished to do. 

 “We should get going.”

 “No,” he held your hand in his, “we shouldn’t. Breathe, _____.” 

 You slid down the side of the car and ran to the railing that seperated seers from the sea.

“______,” Yugyeom called after you, “Wait up, jesus, I haven’t done cardio since I’ve met you.” You slammed your body against it and stretched out your arms, feeling the water spray on your face like you were one of the rocks below. You were drenched, in part due to the rain, in part due to the stormy sea. The clinging of the fabric and the heaviness of your dress held all the parts of you together, from dissolving into the spring sea. You closed your eyes, overwhelmed by the emotion of it all. You felt Yugyeom by your side, and he stretched out his arms too, wrapping his pinky around yours.

 You hoped he couldn’t tell you were crying. 

 You climbed the little rocks that separated you from the sea, over the railing until you could feel the splash of the tides against your clothes. Your hands were sliding, fingers strained as you leaned over the ocean. “____?” Yugyeom yelled over the crash of the waves, “_____! What are you doing?”

 “Swimming,” you said. But you weren’t sure he heard you before you jumped.

#skz #hwang hyunjin #skz hyunjin #stray kids hyunjin #hyunjin fic #hyunjin series #hyunjin skz #stray kids #stray kids fic #skz fic #skz mafia au #stray kids imagine #skz imagines #skz angst #hyunjin angst

[rufousnmacska]

Ahhh just read the fic u reblog and i love it so here's another prompt: dorian thinks manon gets seriously injured in the battle with erawan and maeve and unleashes all of his magic in anger

YESSS!! I love this idea!

I used this prompt to cover a few little things I always wondered about. Also, I don’t know how to end things in an non-cheesy way. So, I hope you like it!!

***

It had been naïve. Naïve and foolish to hope that the valg would be simple soldiers just going through the motions to follow the orders of their evil king and princes. These former men were mindless, but they were still killing machines. Desperate to slaughter and rid the world of human, fae, witch… anyone who stood in their way. Dorian sucked in a ragged breath before pushing on to the next body in a never ending sea of enemies.

Chaol was somewhere nearby, but he had no idea what had become of Aelin and her cadre. And gods damn him, he refused to look up into the sky.

Blue blood rained down onto the field with a constancy that almost made him sick. The thought that any of it might belong to Manon pushed him towards the edge of a panic that seemed to feed from his magic. His magic, which had always protected her, with or without his intent, was growing ever more insistent.

Dorian allowed himself one quick scan of the sky, only one. Seeing nothing but a chaos of wings and teeth and talons, he returned to the valg, slicing one through the chest with Damaris. The Wild Men, living up to their reputations, had managed to clear a small area, giving him a moment to catch his breath. Dorian spotted Chaol and nudged his horse in his direction.

“I’m trying to decide if this is better or worse than your early morning training sessions,” Dorian said, wiping Damaris along his leg to clean off some of the filth.

Chaol laughed as he stretched in his saddle. “At least I let you take longer breaks,” he said, nodding to the valg charging towards them. Their brief respite was about to end.

As the enemy crashed into the Wild Men who still circled them, Dorian forgot his earlier pledge and glanced skyward. In the midst of the fighting, a pair of shimmering wings caught his eye and his heart stuttered. He was about to smile when out of nowhere, Abraxos was overtaken by an enormous wyvern. The giant beast’s talons grabbed hold of the smaller animal and threw him into the forest lining the battlefield.

A flash of red cloak and white hair fell with her mount.

“NOOOO!!”

Ignoring the oncoming valg, Chaol had followed Dorian’s eyes. Needing no explanation, he turned to Dorian and simply said, “Go!”

Without thought, Dorian shifted into a raven and sped towards the forest. There were valg everywhere, along with Erawan’s witches hovering just above the canopy. So many enemies converging on one point, as if Manon had been targeted.

She was the Witch Queen, and their hated enemy. It made sense for her to be a target. But as he watched more and more valg pour into the trees, he knew there was something else going on. And that’s when he sensed it.

Carried in by an ilken, Erawan dropped to the ground and strolled slowly into the pine trees, shouting directions to his soldiers to find the witch.

Unbidden, Maeve’s voice sounded in Dorian’s head.

Was she your intended queen? Or merely a prize breeding mare?

A dread more sickening than the bloody rain claimed him and he almost tumbled from the sky. Regaining his balance, he darted into the woods, only to realize he had no idea where she was in the thick forest. But as he blocked out the shouts of valg and screams of wyverns, a strange sensation filled him. Surrendering to it, he felt a pull to the left and followed it, letting his magic lead the way.

***

“Manon? Can you hear me?”

The raven’s small shape had given him an advantage in speed over the enemy. And when combined with his guiding magic, he’d found her quickly.

Abraxos had her hidden beneath a wing. As well as behind his lethal fangs and iron-spiked tail that swished through the air like a mountain cat. The moment he saw Dorian shift back to his human form, some of the tension in him eased. But not all. It still took some convincing before the wyvern revealed his unconscious rider.

An arrow jutted through her shoulder, another through her leg. Blue blood leaked from each wound and from her parted mouth. He had to fight the urge to grab her and flee. Not knowing how far she’d fallen, he decided it would be better to try and get her to move on her own.

Dorian brushed his hand softly against her face. “Witchling?”

Her chest rose and sank, but the movement was so slow, so slight, that he started to panic again. With the valg and Erawan combing the forest floor, and witches overhead, they didn’t have much time.

Just before he was about to give in and pick her up, Manon’s eyes opened. It took her a moment to recognize him, but after several blinks, she said, “Dorian? You survived Morath.”

The relief in her voice was no match to what he felt at seeing her golden eyes.

Smiling back tears, Dorian said, “Lucky for you that I did. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here to rescue you.”

The words did their job and Manon frowned as she tried to push herself up.

“Hold on,” Dorian said. “The arrows.” Hoping to distract her from the pain, he spoke quickly and filled her in on who was combing the forest for her. But Manon barely winced as he broke the ends off the two arrows and pulled them out. As he searched for something to bind the wounds, he asked, “Can you get into the saddle?”

Before she could answer, Abraxos released a low, menacing growl. Men’s voices sounded from nearby.

Not men. Valg.

Abraxos crouched between them and a group of soldiers emerging from the trees.

The valg parted and Erawan walked out, ignoring the wyvern as his soldiers surrounded them. Dorian had half a thought to throw Manon on top of the wyvern and send them away. But some of the soldiers’ crossbows were pointed at Abraxos, precluding any hope of escape. Helping her walk, they moved out from behind the wyvern.

“Well, I was not expecting to find my predecessor here. But I am pleased. What with our unsettled business.” The creature grinned at Dorian. “It seems I have the opportunity to… what is it you humans say? Kill two birds with one stone?” His voice dripped with venom. When his foul stare fell on Manon, Erawan said, “Although I have no plans to kill you, my crowned rider.” His menace took on a disturbing, covetous edge that made Manon bare her iron teeth.

Dorian’s magic writhed within him, begging to be unleashed, but he tamped it down. After the creation of the lock, his well of power had a distinct bottom. He was already much to close to reaching it.

The valg around them crept closer while the wyverns above filled the sky. There truly was no way out. Erawan laughed as Dorian drew Damaris from its sheath. Manon pushed herself away and reached for Wind Cleaver with her good arm. She was unsteady on her injured leg, but through sheer will she stood straight.

“Whatever you came here for,” she said, “it won’t end the way you plan.” She glanced at Dorian, a promise in her gaze, and a plea for one in return.

She’d once told him she would kill him before they could put another valg collar around his neck. He’d been grateful then. But he’d also been resigned to the fact that he wasn’t worth saving. Dorian wasn’t so sure he felt that way anymore. Too many things had happened. To him, to them. He was probably being naïve again, but he wanted to live. He wanted her to live. Both of them, together.

Dorian looked to Erawan and said, “I made a mistake letting you survive the destruction of Morath.” The creature’s eyes narrowed and he clenched a fist, confirming what Dorian suspected. Even if Maeve told Erawan all that had happened in Morath, she wasn’t exactly trustworthy, and Dorian was someone the king would likely brush off as weak.

The valg king smiled again, making Dorian uneasy. “Are you infatuated with my witch? Stupid boy. Your betrothed will not be happy to hear that. Maeve was so looking forward to being your queen.”

Dorian winced at the sharp intake of breath beside him. Gods damn him.

“Oh, wasn’t she aware?” Erawan asked, reveling in their reactions.

Dorian didn’t dare turn to look at Manon. He could imagine the hurt and betrayal she felt, he didn’t need to see it.

Ignoring him, Manon addressed Erawan. “I’ll slit my own throat before you touch me.”

The conviction in her voice brought an end to Erawan’s enjoyment of this game. He looked between the two of them, frowning. “You truly prefer death then?”

Manon said nothing, her knuckles turning white where she gripped her sword.

Erawan growled, an otherworldy sound that sent a chill down Dorian’s spine. “So be it,” he said, slashing an empty hand through the air in Manon’s direction.

Dorian’s magic reacted, but not fast enough to keep her from being flung backwards against a tree. His entire body trembled as Erawan laughed and called for his men to take Dorian alive. But what Erawan mistook for fear became clear to the valg soldiers, who stopped short as they neared Dorian.

Rage.

Dorian pulsed with it. His magic roared with it, having always reacted most strongly to this emotion in its host. This time, he made no effort to contain it, had no care about a burn-out and all that might entail. Instead, Dorian let the raw power burst forth and take what it wanted. What he wanted.

A blast of air, followed by an ear-splitting boom, rushed through the woods, spreading out from him in a perfect circle and leaving nothing but death in its wake. Valg soldiers, witches and their mounts, even the trees couldn’t stand against it.

The last glimpse he had of Erawan was of the valg king’s sneer morphing to wide-eyed shock as he was thrown aside and impaled on a tree limb. With black blood oozing from his chest, Erawan stared in confusion at the King of Adarlan, unable to fathom what had just happened, unable to connect this power to the one that had brought down Morath. And before he had a chance to make sense of it, Damaris rang through the air and through his neck.

When the wave of magic crested, Dorian fell to his knees.  

All was silent around him, and he wasn’t sure if it was because his ears were damaged from the blast, or if he’d killed every living thing in Erilea. A part of him, the part that remembered another severed head, hoped for the latter and wished he’d been taken too.

When the distant shouts and screams of battle drifted back, he slumped over, cursing himself for failing yet again. A gruff moan from behind caught his attention and Dorian turned.

Abraxos was nudging Manon with his snout, willing her to move. A tiny noise escaped her lips.

Too exhausted to stand, Dorian crawled, moving as quickly as he could. This time when he reached her, he wasn’t gentle. Blood seeped out from under her breastplate. He tore off her armor and leathers to reveal a gash in her abdomen. It crossed over the scar she’d received from her grandmother, though it appeared less severe. But, she’d found them off the Eyllwe coast long after that wound had been inflicted, giving it time to deteriorate into an infected mess. Maybe this one was worse.

Ripping strips of material from Manon’s shirt, he tried desperately to staunch the flow of blood, all the while remembering those first days after she’d arrived on the ship.

Rowan had led the healing, with assistance from Aelin, while Dorian had refused to take part. They thought he was too squeamish to help. On the face of it they were right. But the real reason he’d sat back was because he didn’t trust himself. His healing ability worked without a thought on his own injuries. But he was untested using it on others. Too unsure of his magic and too aware of the chance he might hurt her, he watched and learned. And wished he was the one saving her.

Now, even with the sense that his magic was incapable of harming her, he hesitated. But, there was no one else around. No time to find a healer. No time to worry about whether he even had any magic left.

Abraxos moaned again, louder and more desperate. A plea, to do something, anything.

Dorian brushed the tears from his eyes and then squeezed them shut. Gritting his teeth, he dipped down into himself, hoping against hope to find enough power to heal her.

There was a seed, a spark. Perhaps just enough to stabilize Manon in order to get her to a healer.

With his hands hovering over the slash, he directed his magic through little tugs and pulls. Phantom healing instruments instead of hands. The farther along he went, the more certain he became that the Matron’s attack had been worse. By the time he closed the wound and wiped away as much blood as he could, he felt confident she would live.

Only then did Dorian dare to touch her. Laying one hand over the wound and another over her heart, he poured what little magic he had left into her, unclear what it might actually do. There was no logical explanation for it. It just felt right.

When he felt the spark of magic snuff out, Dorian sat back, surprised to feel Abraxos against him, propping him up.

“Thank you,” Dorian said, the exhaustion of burn-out already closing over him.

They could hear the battle still raging, but neither he nor Abraxos looked away from Manon. Though it felt like hours, it was only a few minutes before her eyes slowly opened.

Sighing with relief, Dorian leaned over and kissed her. “Hello witchling.”

Manon smiled as Abraxos twisted his head under her hand, forcing her to rub his snout. When she realized it was the hand of her injured arm, and that it no longer hurt, she pushed herself up. Seeing Dorian’s state, she quickly surmised what he’d done. And just as he was about to fall over, she grabbed him and rested him gently on his back.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice gravelly and his eyes fluttering shut. He sighed again as she touched him, brushing the hair off his face.

“No, I’m not,” she replied. If she hadn’t kept her hand on his cheek, he would have been more worried about her bitter tone. “So. You’re betrothed?”

Dorian laughed, then pulled her hand over to kiss it. “Only to you,” he said, suddenly feeling as if he’d had a bottle or two of strong wine.

It must be the burn-out, he thought. Or did he say that out loud?

Manon didn’t sound amused. “What of Maeve?”

“Maeve?” The name was familiar. He couldn’t concentrate long enough to remember though.

“The female you are to marry?”

“Oh,” he said, as a flash of clarity hit him. “She’s a valg queen actually. And I took her powers after tricking her into helping me steal the wyrdkey.” He finally opened his eyes to find her staring at him, a quirk to her lips that made him grin. “She may have been under the impression that I was looking for a queen. But I made it clear to her before I left…”

Dorian didn’t finish the thought as sleep began to pull him under.

“Made it clear?” Manon prodded. “How?”

Just before he passed out, Dorian mumbled, “There is only one witch who will be my queen.”

***

Manon was glad he wasn’t able to see the smile that spread across her face. Erawan’s words had been a punch that landed closer than the valg king could have imagined. But as Dorian fell asleep in her lap, the pain of it was fading quickly. She’d make him explain in more detail later. For now, she was just relieved to have him here, alive and able to explain.

With one look from her, Abraxos was up and ready. Manon lifted Dorian and threw him over her shoulder. She’d have to find a way to get him through the battle and back to the castle. After strapping him in to the saddle, she collected their swords and her discarded armor. Settling in behind him, she examined her stomach and the new scar stretching across it. He’d healed her in mere minutes. After bringing down Erawan and his minions.

She turned her gaze back to Dorian, marveling over his power. And wondering how long she should make him suffer over his “betrothal”.

“A good long while,” she said, another smile forming. Abraxos huffed in agreement just before he bounded into the air.

***

Tagging people who requested it and others I thought might enjoy this– @geekygirlinthetardis @clockworkgraystairs @itach-i @nestasbucket @manontrashbeak

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#manorian #manon blackbeak #dorian havilliard #kingdom of ash #throne of glass #abraxos #my writing #anon ask #idk if the formatting is still screwed up on the app #if so i apologize