#nightborn

[graphitesigil]

Drawn in black, born in hunger. We are Venom.

[so1arsal]

b-day gift for @ifyviii <3

[first-and-last-neocount]

Nightborn-Induced Insanity: Almea Tarrant Meta

I realized I had way too many thoughts and Thoughts to fit into a coherent Discord blurb so I'm vomiting up an entire wall of text post instead. XD Stay with me here this is a bit of a journey but I promise I'm going places.

So.

I've never delved very far into the character of Almea Tarrant because there was one little detail I could never quite reconcile in a way that satisfied me, even with the precious little canon info we have on her; namely, that I always got the strong impression that she's afraid of the fae. Even in the extreme brevity of her role in the prologue of Black Sun Rising, I feel there's a clear implication that this is a woman who is fundamentally uncomfortable with the unseen powers around her, and I could never wrangle that into a satisfying place coupled with the fact that she married Gerald. It's far from impossible, not even unreasonable, to think that she might just be turning a mental blind eye of sorts to the reality of him being an adept, but that never added up to a relationship dynamic that particularly compelled me; how deep can their love story be, if she has no connection with something so fundamental to him as a person?

But now. Oh, folks, how the tables have turned.

See there's something I noticed while reading Nightborn (yes, I only just finally got to it, lol). And that something is that Ian Casca was a redhead. His red hair is commented on repeatedly - it's sort of his 'signature' visual descriptor, the same way that Gerald's grey eyes get remarked on frequently. And because I'm me and my brain draws connections at the speed of light, from pretty much the first mention of that, a part of my brain noticed 'huh. Almea was mentioned as having red hair too. Would be funny if... but nah, Casca clearly doesn't have kids and we know he's not going to live that long, can't be a real connection'.

And then. Guys, gals, and nonbinary pals. Then we hit this.

*record scratch*

EXCUSE ME? Is that a canonical confirmation that they saved this man's sperm, and very well may have used it, due to a lack of preserved genetic samples from Earth? Canonical implication that there may well be biological descendants of Ian Casca running around Erna?

Red hair's not exactly a common trait. Only 1-2% of our world's population, though who's to say if that number holds consistent in the alternate timeline that these books seem to inhabit, lol. Granted we don't know how many genetic samples they were able to save from the colony supply, or the range of variety in those samples, but... there's nothing here that says it's not a real connection. And if you apply that lens to Almea's relationship with Gerald, the potential - at least for me - is staggering.

If Almea is descended from Ian Casca, and knows it, that would certainly explain an ambivalent relationship with the fae; growing up with the albatross of your ancestor's deeds around your neck would inevitably shape your relationship with sorcery in an irrevocable way. It could also add an incredible depth to her connection with Gerald, though, because while she might not understand what it's like to be an adept, she might well understand the social stigma of it. She might know exactly what it's like to be judged by every single person you meet for something you absolutely cannot control, your whole life shaped and driven by a simple quirk of inheritance. And the sheer tragedy of it, to think that she might have wrestled with that legacy all her life and even believed that she had finally triumphed over it, to then lose her husband to the same kind of madness and die in a twisted echo of that same first Sacrifice that has been looming over her since birth -

Guys I'm chewing on the edge of my desk here. The. POTENTIAL.

So all of this to say that I have already conjured an entire new characterization out of this wild extrapolation from a few lines of text in Nightborn, and I'm now working on a fic about Gerald and Almea's first meeting. And going feral about it. Because my god, the sheer delicious ANGST that I am going to wring from this...

[naoomo-art]

My Favorite OC's Trinity

Hunter Melira. A former Sin'dorei ranger who died during a Scourge attack. She was resurrected by Sylvanas Windrunner and became one of her dark rangers.

Fire Mage Betashi. Beautiful, strong, but oh my god…she's so stupid. She can easily confuse a spell and instead of creating a portal, cause an explosion.

Druid Sanshia. She was a cute balance druid until she met Betashi. After half of the squad died, Sanshia turned into a bear. Since then, she has been going into dungeons as a tank, saving everyone not only from monsters, but also from her friend.

[rupelover]

Rupert Grint will star alongside Seidi Haarla in 'Nightborn’ a new Finnish psychological thriller. They started filming in August 2024.

Finn Saga (Seidi) and Briton Jon (Rupert), who dream of having children, move to a dilapidated house in the middle of a Finnish forest. Soon they have a healthy son, but slowly Saga is overcome by a frightening feeling that there is something strange about the demanding baby.

[elettraml]

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝕹𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙

I'm obsessed with this book 🦇🦇🦇

[oldgodlover]

2nd week of Artfight summary!

We have:

-Uinen and Silmagosa for @xalatath (Revenge :D)

-Lior for oaky-dokey

-Gitarja for Kaznii

-Alyxia for @pricklypearcat

See you next week!

Art Fight - KamyOGL's Profile

[tg-i]

Finally!!!! My ref for this year's Stranglethorn Bonfire Bash! The theme this year is celestial so.... it's perfect for a nightborne >:)

[jiica]

Lodrenn Celrana

[sometimes-it-takes-a-villain]

“Iridescent masks of silver stardust fall away revealing monsters of Night …” - excerpted from “Requiem at the Death Masquerade Ball” © Kim Koning

An excerpt from my original poem “Requiem at the Death Masquerade Ball” that was the a-ha 💡point for my WIP.

[mostlynotwork]

An engaging fantasy world, plenty of action, political intrigue, and all with a side of slow building romance. ‘The Serpent and the Wings of Night’ (SWN) is an entertaining story that should have appeal beyond the romantasy genre.

Rescued as a child by the Vampire King, Oraya has grown up surrounded by vampires. As the only human in the king’s palace, she knows just how dangerous vampires can be. At first protected by the Vampire King, then taught  how to protect herself, Oraya is more at home in the vampire world than among humans. This despite the ever present threat of falling prey to their bloodlust.     

Driven by desire for the power that would make her an equal, Oraya enters the Kejari: a series of trials overseen by the Goddess of Death herself. If she can win this deathly tournament, the Goddess will grant her wish. But to get there she must not only survive the trials, but kill her vampiric rivals along the way.  That task becomes more complicated when Oraya is forced to form an alliance with Raihn, a powerful vampire from a rival clan that desires her father’s crown. Just how far can she trust Raihn? And will she have the strength to kill him when the time comes?

An engaging fantasy adventure

SWN was a story I fell in love with. For me, it struck the right balance between fantasy action, political intrigue and romance. 

Oraya’s story is a classic hero's quest, and that’s something all fantasy lovers should be able to get on board with. Like all good quests, there is the physical quest (win the tournament, gain power from the goddess) and a character driven quest, as Oraya seeks to understand her true identity. 

The story moves at a good pace with plenty of action along the way. A multi stage tournament is a convenient mechanism for interspacing high energy action sequences with periods of relative quiet and character building.

Though the political intrigue is arguably the lightest element of the story, there was enough to keep me engaged in that mystery too. I suspect we’ll get more of it played out in the second book of this duet, which is something I’m looking forward to.

Finally we have the romance element. 

The book pitches itself as a dark romantasy. It carries a content warning for:

Violence, torture (off page), flashback of rape (consent withdrawn), self-harm, emotional abuse, slavery and references to sexual abuse)

‘Dark Romance’ is still a genre I don’t have a lot of experience with, so you may want to read other reviews if that’s your main focus. 

The romance in SWN is a slow build. As a reader, we know broadly where this part of the story is going to end up, but the exact when and how and its aftermath is still a wrapped candy to be peeled back and enjoyed as the book progresses.  Unlike ‘A Curse of Blood and Wolves , there was enough else going on with the story that I didn’t find myself frustrated by the scenes where the characters were doing little else but admiring their love interest. SWN manages to tease sufficiently throughout the book without slowing down the pace or sacrificing the other elements of the story.

So who would enjoy this book.

First off, be aware of the content warnings. I’ve not historically been a big fan of trigger warnings, but if an author is going to call out stuff up front, I think it’s worth acknowledging them.

SWN is a romance, but it’s also a fun fantasy adventure. Fantasy lovers who can enjoy being dropped into a world without needing overly detailed descriptions of how all the world works - this might still be a book for you.

I enjoyed SWN enough that I’m going to go back for the second book in the duet, and that might be the best recommendation i can give for how much I enjoyed it.

[calltoamentor]

The Last Brew

In a world where Vampirism is mandatory to those born at night, Liam visits his Fledgeling's work, a Vampire Friendly establishment known as The Last Brew. Upon learning her career goals, old resentments flare up and Liam says something he can't take back

Daily writing promptWhat snack would you eat right now?View all responses At Last Brew! Ava’s message chirped, followed by a picture of her in her mask surrounded by table, after table, after table of fellow patrons. Poor Mel had to be dead on her feet.She told me to keep my mask on until I had my drinkLike, it looks weirder this wayEveryone else took theirs off. Ava sent me another picture,…

[jhonskii]

Edge of Witchlight

Discord be funky so I'm posting this here :3

⟨ « carrd ★ ko-fi » ⟩

[first-and-last-neocount]

HAPPY MONDAY TO MEEEEEE

I think I ended up being the last person in our group to actually get my hands on this despite the pre-order, but if anyone following me hasn't read it yet and would like to avoid spoilers, please block 'nightborn spoilers' with haste because I will be posting my thoughts live while reading.

[gorebek]

Wow hello again heres a giant repost dump

Small talk under more

Hello i am so sorry for disappearing and deactivating i was not in a good place for awhile and was not happy with my art its something i really regret now

someone reached out over kofi and i saw a post talking about my deactivation and it made me really want to come back or at least repost some of my stuff for you guys to see again im very thankful for the support i had about my art (thank you so much ) and if theres any specific art you want me to repost i would be happy to <3

[animezinglife]

Just a strong hunch: Vincent loved Oraya's mother, or he realized that he loved her too late (whatever that might mean).

There's just too much telling me there's more to why he kept Oraya alive specifically while he didn't hesitate to slaughter every other one of his family members, even beyond getting attached when she bit him.

Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic, but it's not like we don't already know he's capable of love.

We know she lived with him at some point and honestly, whether or not she was there by choice, I have a feeling their relationship was fully consensual.

He took the time to draw her when he was alone, with the amount of care and detail that Oraya and Raihn immediately knew who she was. He kept that drawing locked away as one of his secrets.

I think he loved Alana. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it until proven otherwise.