#... “... okay then” - Caligo probably

[hello-from-nrc-infirmary]

*Vern is muttering as he slips a jacket on. Noticing Silver, he giggles fondly and pulls a curtain in place to help get the sunlight off of the other's face. It.. also helps ease the throbbing in Vern's head*

Good morning, Aster... you um... were sleeping soundly.. I think we had a little ummm... too much to drink last night..

Pam? Where are the um... mandrake leaves?

(Oh, uh... I think the last of them were used when you were sleeping that illness off the other day)

I'll umm.. go see about getting some extra from the alchemy lab. Remember to um... quite it down next time

(Okay! Take your lunch, too!)

*Vern nods as he leaves the infirmary. He's behind on several tasks today, so perhaps he will stop by Sam's or see if he can grab something light to go in the cafeteria. The sun is warm and welcoming today.*

*his phone rings a familiar tone. Vern's stomach drops as he takes a breath before answering*

Hello...

Hey, Sweetheart. A little birdie came back.. anything you want to tell me?

*Vern visibly pales, unable to make a sound*

Mmm... there will be a meeting tomorrow, mandatory for founders. I'll see you there.

*Vern's stomach churns, even as the call is ended. He... will need some more magic stored up. Taking an unsteady breath, he quickly types, deletes, retypes, and sends a text to Silver*

Text: "Aster... something came up and I won't be around campus tonight or tomorrow"

*it's vague, but he hopes it won't worry Silver too much... Skipping lunch, he sends a crocus back to Pam with some spare mandrake leaves, and hurries of to go pack a few things. He'll have to take Koa*

@aurora-retainer-silver

[katyspersonal]

fbdbd hi sorry I’ve just been rotating your post about Heolstor and the grafted blade greatsword/weeping peninsula and I need you to know that it’s enriched my reading of Nightreign as a whole.

Like, I know this almost certainly isn’t the Intent behind nightreign but it’s my headcanon now that the other nightlords are his former/slain comrades reborn or rediscovered (since to me it then explains why they all cooperate with each other despite being very different and adds some flavor to me in how they all are sorta subservient to Heolstor and he borrows their elemental affinities n stuff in his fight)

The timeline for a few of em simply Wouldn’t Work Out (without some convoluted time things at least) but I find it really fun to think about, n it all just stemmed from your one post

This post, for the context:

jdfsjfddfhdsfh I am so glad people are liking this post, and that you are getting inspiration from it! Yeah, sometimes you can just say that "it is probably not what the writers intended, but it is fun so I'll take it". It is compelling from emotional standpoint, too!

Yeah, all the minor Nightlords seem to be contrarian to the Erdtree / Golden Order, if not straight up wronged by it too!

Triple wolf species of Gladius otherwise is only seen in Farum Azula, and might have been deified, since it is where Elden Ring used to be before. Might have been a victim of cultural shift where Golden Order started to condemn them, just like they did with previous deified Crucible Knights and Misbegotten

Adel was a drake! The Erdtree people jumped straight onto hunting drakes to eat their hearts after allyship with Ancient Dragons! We never knew why Bayle rebelled against Placidusax, it easily wasn't nothing! But even in that case, why the whole species should suffer for what their progenitor did? And it was not Marika's and Godwyn's business to adopt Ancient Dragons' side into their politics!

With Gnoster, you could speculate that the reason for climate change that forced them to evolve and drove them away was somewhat Marika's doing. Erdtree usurped the role of Sun and life, so there might have been a bit of shift like "oh you don't need to depend on climate and weather anymore, I will just personally hand boon of life and nourishment from my own hands :)". So maybe rains stopped for it to always shine... until they didn't (Weeping Peninsula cough cough)

Maris is the same "species" as Elden Beast but devoid of role, nothing left to say! Greater Will sent Elden Beast as its last falling star, and established life as connection with golden grace and golden amber. Blue spirits like jellyfish, and blue stars that horrified Azur and Lusat, exist 'outside' of it, like a hidden part of existence, or cancelled early draft.

Libra is a demon, creating the Gold that should only be domain of Elden Ring, and whoever currently owns it, through alchemy. "Heretical" is probably an understatement here x) His opinions probably go beyond how the age of the Erdtree itself is very unfair and full of Marika's own biases, but the concept of a God that owns Elden Ring and creates laws of nature is unfair, and the fact that Greater Will does thing and Frenzied Flame is kind of just there until someone seeks it is unfair, and Two Fingers being everywhere but Three Fingers being just little feeble sealed creature is unfair... yeah. Bro probably thinks fondly of Shabriri for contributing to the balance; the "feel too sad and you will unleash Frenzied Flame" disease was his doing!

Fulghor worshipped Old Gods that got replaced with the Golden Order! If Gloam-Eyed Queen is the snake that is "Erdtree's traitor", and her apostles killed Gods, it might mean that many of those fell because of Marika, not only Fell God! He could never let go of the old times, and honestly? Fair enough

Caligo is an Ancient Dragon, but a unique one, as her body lacks the gold everyone else of this species lacks. Similar concept to Seath being the only Everlasting Dragon that lacked scales. The thing is, 'gold' was made the measure of all things, it was the measure of someone's very species' worth. Albinaurics and Silvertears are loathed for lacking it. For all we know, she had a hard time showing up in public, because she was condemned. Maybe even attacked, for being """impure""" Ancient Dragon. And you know it would be, ironically, someone from Ancient Dragons Cult to do so because it is Fromsoft. (I also know Libra tried to offer her to "fix" it but she is too wise for this kind of tricks so she just put him in the ice cube and kicked him away each time fsdhfhds)

And Heolstor, who challenged Godfrey? Yeah, he for sure was against the Erdtree. He might have met these characters before, and fate brought them back together! I'd like to imagine how he avoided Adel eating him XD If Adula is of any indication, drakes might pledge loyalty to the one who defeats them in a combat but spares their life. Maris was never interested in anything before the Night, but maybe Heolstor was previously interested in them.

What I like here is that the grudge goes beyond how Marika and Godfrey just arrived and ruined everything fdshdshf It could be this way in his eyes, as he was literally just a guy, but these other characters are familiar with an even older history of having the grudge with the Elden Ring and Gold. Some are through generations and culture, some are personally! Nox were challenging it before Marika was even born, after all! Everything that by 'Gold' was thrown away got washed in the same spot and accumulated.

[pockymun]

Going off my post about regional height differences in Final Fantasy XV, I have decided to list the characters in descending order from tallest to shortest. I won't include numbers because I'm not good at numbers, and a lot of characters are similar in height, anyway. I'll place them into groups. There is slight height difference between each groups, so they're not extreme differences.

I do not care what the canon or the wiki says. I am not including every single character because this would get too long, and any character I forgot is probably too minor to bother with anyway.

The Goliaths

Gilgamesh - I don't really think about him at all, but I'll hear it if I don't include him. He's the tallest only because he became an immortal legend that lives in a cave. In his mortal life, he was shorter, but still really tall for his time period and region. Also he's the founding ancestor of the Amicitia line.

Drautos - Even for a mainland Lucian, he is giant. Some would think he has Giantism, but actually he does not. Living in Insomnia provides many moments of height challenges. He is shorter than Gilgamesh, but broader. His everyday clothes are big and tall sizes from the mainland. For formal wear and his uniforms, they have to be tailor-made to him. Good thing the Citadel has those tall arching doorways. The Glauca armor makes him even taller and broader.

Really Really Tall

Ardyn - No one would suspect him of having Giantism, but he is tall and imposing. Similar in height to Drautos, but not as broad. All this clothes are tailor-made because he has a specific style. He chooses to dress that way.

Ravus - For a Tenebraen, he is tall, and the tallest member of his family. Close in height to Ardyn; the floofy hair makes heights difficult to determine. He's got that snooty high/imperial elf vibe. The Scourge makes him taller than Ardyn.

Really Tall

Clarus - The Amicitia family has always been very tall (but nowhere near as tall as Gilgamesh). His clothing is tailor-made because he is a noble, and he can get by in Insomnia just fine. Considering his age, he may be starting to shrink.

Gladio - About the same height as Clarus, maybe more because he has hair, and is far from old-age shrinkage.

Gentiana - Tall lady. Little wonder why.

Biggs and Wedge - You don't get one without the other.

Aranea - She's Niflheimian, probably. Legs for days.

Ignis - I considered making a category called Beanpole for these types of bodies. Some think he has Tenebraen blood, so that explains his tall willowy build. The hair adds more height.

Luna - Another tall, willowy character. Let Luna be tall!

Aera - I assume that if she and Luna look almost identical, then they are of the same height, too.

Tall

Caligo - Tall and broad. Relies on his brawn to get information and confessions out of civilians. Doesn't matter if it's true or not.

Libertus - He's one of those big and tall outliers among Galahdians. He can be quiet and sneaky when he wants to be.

Dave - Average mainland Lucian height for a man. Nothing special.

Iris - She is an Amicitia, meaning she will naturally be tall. As a teenager, she might even have another growth spurt to go through yet. Let Iris be tall!

Cindy - I don't think she's short, at least. Probably the same height as Iris, but older. She's done growing.

Wiz - The chocobos make him look short.

Borderline

Dino - It's the hair.

Nyx - He's a short king, but a little on the tall side where he comes from. I really wanted to make him short, but I will concede on this one. Honestly, most of the Glaive is in this category.

Cid - He's one of those old men that doesn't really shrink with his age. He's had good posture, despite working of cars.

Iedolas - Another old man that hasn't quite shrunk.

Somnus - Yeah okay I'll put him in this list.

Regis - He's starting to shrink with old age.

Silva - She was short for a Tenebraen. Her kids got their height from their father.

Sonia - She has poor posture from looking at frogs all the time.

Verstael - He's short for an Imperial. He never saw much sunlight in his life. Chronic vitamin D deficiency.

Cor - He might be average height where he comes from, but there are a lot of people that are taller than he is. Bonus if he has short angry man syndrome, and his short katana.

Luche - Nothing actually says that he is Galahdian, just that he's in the Glaive. Just saying.

Dustin - Everything about him is average and bland. One of those characters that could have been omitted from the story and there wouldn't have been a difference.

Pelna - The average Galahdian height.

Crowe - About the same.

Monica - The shorter end of the average heights.

Shorties

Loqi - The tallest of the shorties. He definitely has short angry man syndrome. The shorter, the angrier.

Prompto - He's a grower, not a shower! He thinks he might grow some more, although he's already 20-years-old.

Noctis - Another short king. Honestly, these two might be the shortest two adult characters in FFXV. Also I think it was bullshit that Noctis came back to life even taller in his 30s. I can confirm that does not happen.

Jared - Actually his height is -6 feet. But sure, I'll include him here.

Ezma and Kimia - Both shrinking with old age, but they were taller when they were younger.

The Children

Talcott - He's starting to reach that growth spurt where boys become awkward and gangly.

Solara - She is the youngest character in Final Fantasy XV. Nothing more to say on that.

[shatteredxndbroken]

Caligo would have a lot of mark from the vampire after they were done, especially the hot bit marks. Astarion was making sure that this night would remain very fresh in his mind the next day and probably the day after as well.

The Tiefling was moaning and panting as his companion went away with him and he didn’t mind it at all. After this one, he would be spend and exhausted.

With crossed hands – still bound together – he reached out to Astarion’s handsome face, gentle and slowly. Turning his wrists in a way so he could cup the man’s face, brushing a thumb over the man’s lips and slowly pulled him in for a soft kiss, which was more like asking if it was okay. Hot, moaning breaths brushed over the vampire’s lips. “I… can’t hold… long…” He warned Astarion.

"Look at you, taking it so well." Astarion purred, starting to sound a bit breathless as he set a rough pace while gripping tight enough to the Tiefling's hips to likely leave some marks. He normally wouldn't be all that close to his own end yet but over the years he'd learned tricks to hurry himself along when need be and used them now.

It wasn't that he wanted the session to end exactly or that he wasn't enjoying himself on a certain level but he thought he had pushed both of them far enough at this point. So before long almost performative sounds of pleasure began spilling from his lips as he continued to fuck the Tiefling under him.

[dbphantom]

Genuinely forgot I named chapter 26 An Affront To God: The Musical: The Poem

[noctis-tempore]

Introductions for Vaticinium

Codename: Caligo

Real Name: ?

Species: Vampire

Age: 22

Height: 190cms / 6’3 ft

Pronouns: She/her

Occupation: Solo Pop Idol/Assassin

Abilities: Teleportation, Blood Control, Heightened Senses

Organization: Zero

Caligo is a young lady who has a sweet yet sassy personality as fans would describe her. She performs with high energy, reeling people in instantly. She’s witty and is a quick thinker. Caligo knows more than what she lets on but she’s careful of what to say to not damage her reputation.

She gets the missions done quick, wasting no time to get started. After all, a late arrival to a show wouldn’t be a good look. She’s friends with Aza who is often partnered up with him on missions. Caligo doesn’t like to talk about herself, she oftens switches the topic when people want to know more about her. Caligo is one of the strongest. 

____

Codename: Smoke

Name: Aza S.

Species: Non-human (Organization isn’t sure what he is)

Age: 25

Height: 187cm / 6’2 ft

Pronouns: He/him

Occupation: Assassin

Abilities: ???, Heightened Senses

Organization: Zero

Aza is a paranoid man, often seen shaking and on the verge of tears. Aza is a mystery himself, both the Organization and he have no idea what he’s fully capable of. He’s rather sensitive, not taking well to high stress situations. Aza is good at keeping things secret so he doesn’t share much of his personal life.

Aza is often paired up with Caligo for missions, both having a sibling-like bond. Aza despite being scared all the time is quick on his feet and flexible. He is also one of the strongest but doesn’t seem to realize his own strength considering he doesn’t display it. 

____

Name: Atlas M.

Occupation: Engineer, Scientist, Doctor

Species: ???

Age: 100+

Pronouns: He/him

Height: 193cm / 6’4 ft

Abilities: Magic, Telekinesis 

Atlas is an intelligent man who is skilled in a lot of different fields. He is part of no organization, helping out either one if the reward is beneficial to him. He’s a blunt person who is ruthless if you cross his path in the wrong direction. He doesn’t seem to really care about anyone but still treats his employees surprisingly really well. 

He is someone not to be messed with, holding a great amount of power. The organizations are very careful of interactions with him. Atlas enjoys watching the two clash.

____

Name: Rosaline R.

Occupation: Baker

Species: Witch

Age: 20

Pronouns: She/her

Height: 149cm / 4’11 ft

Abilities: Magic

Rosaline is a very sweet girl who sees the good in everyone. The organizations are incredibly wary of her due to some past history. She is very kind and patient to those around her, not much can shake her ground. Most of her friends would describe her as the sunshine friend, welcoming everyone with no problems.

Rosaline though very kind, does not take too well to betrayal. She despises having her trust broken and it’s difficult to gain it back again. Both organizations do not deem her as a threat for now.

____

Name: Malachi

Occupation: Baker

Species: Dragon

Age: 20

Pronouns: He/him

Height: 203cm / 6’8ft

Abilities: Water control, Super Strength, Heightened Senses, turning into a dragon

Malachi has an abrasive personality, coming from a place where aggressiveness is the norm. He’s blunt and can come off as unintentionally rude at times. He means well majority of the time though. He has a hard time adapting with humans, unaware of his strength and mannerisms that could be considered strange or rude.

Malachi helps Rosaline out at the bakery, doing his best to learn and to get along with others. Evidently he is very kind just in an aggressive way.

[fightingthetoxicallegations]

"That "poor excuse of a man" has taken better care of me than my biological parents did."

Theo snaps his hand grips the man's throat a bit tighter, not enough to cause damage, if he even can cause damage to ghosts, but if the ex emperor can feel anything, it'd cause discomfort.

"Wanna know something, grandpa? Because I think you deserve a little villain monologue from me."

He's not exactly a villain, though he wants to throw everything he has at Marcus Aurelius, the man that caused his dad to behave the way he did, that was probably one of the hallucinations Commodus saw when it got so severe he threw a lamp at Theo. The cause of both their scars.

"I'm a son of misery herself. I believe you call her Caligo, her name matters not to me. She ruined my life, put me with the scum of the earth, worst people she could find. Wanna know what I did with them?" He gives a little squeeze to his neck, but quickly goes back to the pressure he's been putting on it previously.

"I killed them. I was then forced to end my sister's suffering. She begged for it, Marcus. Do you know what that feels like? To have someone you love so dearly, the one person that showed you the way of the world, beg for the sweet release of death because their condition is so bad they don't believe they'll make it? I'm sure you don't, seems you didn't have someone like that. It feels fucking horrible, leaves you feeling like a disgusting beast even though you know there was no other way."

He releases the man's throat and pushes him away a little before approaching him again and crossing his arms, the Death Mist still around his hand. Maybe he forgot about it, maybe he's keeping it there in case he needs to do something again. He glares at the man.

"Commodus took me in and cared for me like a father should. Hell, he's pushing me back into education. He freaks the hell out whenever I come home injured, makes sure I'm healthy, makes sure I'm eating and drinking okay. Actually tells me he's proud of me, tells me what I could do to improve- so I dare you to insult him again. I dare you to insult my father again."

Theo has been shadow travelling... again. This time, he ends up in Elysium. He's got to admit, it's kind of pretty there. But it's still not where he had hoped to go. Well, at least he won't encounter any monsters... right? He goes to sit down somewhere until he can regain the energy to shadow travel out of here, until he sees some guy staring at him... which, understandable. He's alive and in Elysium, it's a strange sight. He thinks nothing of it and just sits down on the ground by a rock.

@pain-is-forever

//ehehehehehe he's about to get Marcus Aurelius'd

[Marcus has to admit he's never once seen someone so young in elysium. it's definitely curious,and he's never turned down an opportunity to find something out.]

ave, qui es?

[the young boy looks,, peculiar that's for sure. youthful but covered in scars. wearing barbarian clothing he's never seen before.]

[volucerrubidus]

❛ i just wanted to make sure you’re okay. ❜ reverse Jon for reverse Tim

Soft Starters II Accepting

Caligo's voice rattled out through the modulator, low and irritated. "I'm fine."

Conveniently, it also just so happened that he was doing all that he could not to draw attention to how he was putting all of his weight on one foot-- or, rather, ankle-- and how the other was tucked behind it, seemingly casually. The bad one was swollen and aching, but it wasn't anything he couldn't take care of.

Unless it was broken, his mind very unkindly reminded him.

But it was probably just a sprain. Nevermind the crack he'd heard earlier. That was probably just someone else's bone.

"Seriously, I don't need another person playing 'save the bastard child' today, so you can go, now. We're done, here."

[chosenbythecrystal]

@honorxorder continued from here.

The boy was hesitant.

Caligo had been kind to him – far more than he’d expected him to be, but that didn’t mean he trusted him. Not fully. Not yet. He wanted to. As alone as he felt in Niflheim, he was desperate for an adult he could trust. Caligo was definitely getting there but Noctis couldn’t bring himself to drop that last emotional wall.

He let the man close. He engaged with conversation and even confided in him. He was in pain though and vulnerable. His back injury had mostly healed. He no longer needed the wheelchair but he was still a little unstable on his feet. A Magitek had got a little too close to him, piercing him with those blank red eyes and he’d stumbled, catching himself awkwardly with one hand. Sharp pain had shot through his wrist and he cried and panicked for a moment when Caligo came close.

“O-Okay,” Once the Magitek had been waved away, Noctis found himself calming down a little. He edged forward and slowly held out his arm. It wasn’t broken, but it was probably fairly sprained.

[a-world-in-grey]

@raven-6-10

Huh.

Okay, so Niflheim has their mechs (a la Loqi and Caligo), as a sort of infantry/artillery hybrid. But probably no airships when they took over Accordo. Might have the smaller troop transports by the time of the Great War, but I doubt anything larger than that.

The main problem with the MTs was actually not scale or power, it was giving them enough of an artificial intelligence to be capable of following orders and achieving objectives independently in the field. Hence the need for daemons and babies.

I agree that Niflheim is still seeking to annex Lucis. However, without Ardyn's contributions and manipulations egging the Emperor on, and without Besithia's magitek advancements, Niflheim's ability to wage war on Lucis won't be able to match their desire to do so.

As far as I can recall, Besithia's projects involving daemons and miasma was... not well supported. I don't think he really got major funding for it until after he had some proofs of concept and Ardyn persuading the Emperor that yes, this is a feasible idea. But with Besithia focused on Project Wallbreaker (which might be called Project Godkiller in this au) instead of the daemon projects and with no time or resources to rebuild what he lost in his labs, Besithia might never go from being obsessed with daemons and miasma generally, to the 'I'm going to turn myself into a daemon' nutjob he was in canon. And not having Iedolas' favor to choose his own projects, Besithia could very well get pigeon-holed into working on the projects Iedolas demands, or else.

Galdin Quay is a Niflheim outpost? Really? I cannot imagine Lucis allowing that to continue in the 150 years since the Wise made the Wall.

Fortunately, my partner is a history and military nut, so my plan there is to pose them the 'what would Niflheim's military have looked like pre-airship and how would it develop without the miasma power source' question and just let them go on a two hour ramble while taking notes for ideas. :)

My best guess based on what I've learned over listening to previous rambles: very strong naval force for power projection and to serve as mobile bases of operation for air and land units until they can get a foothold on Lucian soil, then a mix of infantry and artillery units with air support if Niflheim has it by that point. Details to be added later.

Of course, that's before taking into account Lucis' military advancements in response to being attacked. (I despair of canon Lucis' R&D and refuse to accept that they would not make serious efforts to combat Niflheim's technology advantage. No, I don't care that they were safe behind the Wall, any plans to retake Lucis would have to consider counters to Niflheim's magitek.)

But technology and political considerations are something I'll delve more into in a separate post, once I straighten out my thoughts and ideas more.

But in short, while there will probably still be a war, it won't be the Great War from canon.

In Spark verse, would Drautos still be a spy or would his capture and getting turned into Glauca be butterflied away?

Honestly, I don't even know.

It all depends on how the Great War ends up going, which is going to require a lot of worldbuilding on my end because we know so little about it.

Like, we know Besithia made the MTs with the help of Ardyn and his knowledge of the Scourge. He doesn't have that here, so the Imperial Army will still be entirely human, and that changes the game, because Niflheim can't just make more soldiers at the drop of a hat. Not even clones, because this Besithia's cloning project isn't on a mass scale like canon.

But that still leaves questions of Niflheim's military technology level. I hc that Ardyn supplied a lot of knowledge about magitek, or where to find the knowledge for Besithia to recreate, but that doesn't tell us how much knowledge Niflheim already had. Do they have their airships? Do they have the gravity/inertia manipulation technology that Aranea uses to fight like a dragoon? Do they have their magitek exosuits and mechs?

I hc that Mors had to pull the Wall back to Insomnia because Niflheim's airships allowed them to bypass the Wall entirely, because the Wall didn't have a roof at that point. So Mors pulled the Wall to protect Insomnia and the Crystal, because without the Crystal Lucis was going to find themselves up a creek without a paddle.

Also, it's heavily implied in canon that Iedolas' obsession with the Crystal is partially, if not entirely, due to Ardyn's manipulations. Without those manipulations, we could very well see a drastically different Emperor and Empire.

There might not even be a Great War.

Which means Galahd might not Burn. Which means Titus might not lose his home and might never be captured by the Empire.

[seriouslysam8]

Okay I really, really, really want to read Moribund and The Holiday. Even though they're completely different genres :/ but whatever you decide next I'm sure we'll all adore :)

I think I’m most excited for Moribund and watching you guys lose your shit quite a few times. It’s probably the darkest story I have planned. I wish it could be written next but I feel like a Jamily backstory in Caligo is needed to fully appreciate James’ side of the angst.

[nanoland]

title: Pro Patria

fandom: Lucifer (TV)

summary: In which Mazikeen and Michael rally their respective troops. (Big spoilers for the end of season 5.) 

Also on AO3!

0 

Heaven is afraid and Michael?

Michael is thriving.

“How could Father leave? Did we disappoint him?” gentle Sachiel wails, sitting on the tiles in the middle of the marble atrium with his elaborate white and gold robes puddled around him. He looks, Michael thinks, like a melted wedding cake.

Not that the rest of Michael’s family look much better, all red-faced or tearful or in shock, all either arguing ferociously or having retreated into themselves.

Sighing, Michael wanders over and places a hand on his brother’s pale grey wing; pats it, comfortingly. Conceals the riotous joy in his heart as he says, “It’s very disturbing, yes. How will we ever get by without him?”

Sachiel looks up at him, stricken. “Heaven is doomed, Michael. We are doomed.”

It takes every ounce of willpower Michael possesses not to dance an impromptu jig or, perhaps, emit a villainous cackle.

“Oh, stop moaning,” snaps eagle-winged Muriel, pacing back and forth, her boots cracking like thunder. “Father has always been unpredictable. Frivolous. He’ll probably wander home in a few days having designed a new tree frog or something. What we need to focus on is finding our little sister.”

“It’s certainly very unlike Remiel to disappear for this long,” Michael murmurs, biting his lip. “I do hope she isn’t hurt. Or worse.”

Jophiel spreads his wings angrily. “Of course she isn’t! Remi’s tough as nails, she couldn’t… she’s not…”

As he trails off, Muriel shudders and wraps her arms tight around herself, unable to even countenance her sister’s demise. Someone whimpers. Fear pours off them all like the stench of a corpse left out in the sun.

Michael is living his best goddamn life.

Shaking his head as if trying hard to suppress inner turmoil, Michael says, “You’re right, of course. Beloved Remiel is wily and powerful – though, alas, I do recall once thinking much the same of poor, poor Uriel.”  

Half of them moan with soul-deep pain at the reminder of the loss that, until recently, they thought would define this millennium. The other half are too busy cursing the Morningstar and all who serve him, for if Remiel has met her end then surely he is to blame.

As the debate as to what in an absent God’s name they’re supposed to do now rolls on, Michael glides through the crowd like a wraith, poking at grief and fanning the flames of anxiety.

Yes, Heaven is afraid, so, so afraid, and for once in his cruddy, inadequate existence, the Angel of Dread feels fucking invincible. 

0 

“Michael wants to be the next God. The boss is challenging him for the throne,” Mazikeen tells them, standing atop the black boulder that serves as a meeting point on the rare occasions their large and fractious family is willing to endure reunions, her hands on her hips.

The demons assembled around her, perched on rocks or slouched against walls or cross-legged on the ground, say nothing.

“To do that, he needs an army,” she continues.

Silence.

She clears her throat. “If we fight – if we win – then Lucifer will become the most powerful entity in all creation. Understand?”

Finally, Dromos sticks his hand up. “Question: Why the fuck should we care?”

It is, unfortunately, a good question.

“He abandoned us, sis,” snarls Arbitratio, tossing his long red hair back. “We served him loyally and diligently for thousands and thousands of years. And he abandoned us.”

“Walked outta Hell and didn’t once look back,” spits Luctus. “Left us here to keep the place up and running while he prances around Earth wearing snappy suits and screwing his way through the population.”

“And it’s not like he was all that great back when he was actually bothering to show up for work!” shouts elderly Caligo, to multiple murmurs of agreement.

Luctus nods. “He always thought he was better than us. Never gave a shit what we thought or wanted.”

“Seriously, Mazikeen, the asshole literally built a mile-high throne just so he wouldn’t have to be anywhere near us,” gold-eyed Obscuritas grumbles.

“He didn’t do anything!” cries her twin, Obscurum. “Really, what was he here for? Someone tell me. How did he contribute to the daily management of Hell? What was his role, besides sitting on his ass and whining about his lousy siblings and his dipshit Dad?”

Arching an eyebrow, Dromos says, “Well, Mazikeen? Tell us why we should care what happens to Lucifer Morningstar, Lady of Pain. We’re listening.”

She speaks loud and slow, so they all hear her. “Because, dummies, if Lucifer takes over the throne of Heaven, someone else will have to take over the throne of Hell, and you will never have to see him again.”

Their eyes widen. A dozen delighted, snaggletoothed grins blossom.

“Okay,” says Dromos. “I’m down with that. But who would we be stuck with next?”

Studying her manicure, she says airily, “Oh, probably me.”

He snorts. “You could have just lead with that, sis. Going to war for Lucifer can kiss all three of my hairy, infernal butts. Going to war for you? C’mon. You even gotta ask?”

“All hail Queen fucking Mazikeen!” someone calls out, and then they’re all shouting it.

Mazikeen smiles. It’s so damn good to be home.

[thecursedhellblazer-arc]

Ⓐ (for Cal or Oliver?)

Muse’s Rating || Accepting !

JOHN & OLIVER

Attractiveness:

repulsive || hideous || ugly || not attractive || unappealing || not unattractive || meh || no preference || ok || mildly attractive || nice looking || cute || adorable || attractive || pleasant on the eyes || good looking || hot || sexy || beautiful || gorgeous || hot damn || would tap that || perfect || godlike || holy fuck there are no words

Personality:

grating || irritating || frustrating || boring || confusing at best || awkward || unreasonable || psychotic || disturbing || interesting || engaging || affectionate || aggressive || ambitious || anxious || artistic || bad tempered || bossy || charismatic || appealing || unappealing || creative || courageous || dependable || unreliable || unpredictable || predictable || devious || dim || extroverted || introverted || egotistical || gregarious || fabulous || impulsive || intelligent || sympathetic || talkative || up beat || peaceful || calming || badass || flexible

How likely they would have sex with them:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending || fuck no! || never || no way || not likely || not sure || indifferent || I’m asexual || maybe || probably || it depends || fairly likely || likely || yeah sure || yes || would tap that || hell yes || fuck yes! || wishing that could happen right now || as many times as possible || we are already having sex

Level of Friendship:

never in a million years || worst of enemies || enemies || rivals || indifferent || neutral || acquaintance || friendly toward each other || casual friends || friends || good friends || best friends || fuck buddies || bosom buddies || practically the same person || would die for them || true friends || my only friend

First impression of them:

I hate them so much || I don’t like them || I don’t trust them || they annoy me || they’re weird || I’m indifferent || meh || they seem alright || they’re growing on me || truce || I think I like them || I like them || I’m not sure if I trust them || I trust them || they’re cool || they’re genuine || I think we’re going to get along || I really like them || I think I’m in love || oh fuck they’re hot || I love them

Current impression of them:

I hate them so much || I don’t like them || I don’t trust them || they annoy me || they’re weird || I’m indifferent || meh || they seem alright || they’re growing on me || truce || I think I like them || I like them || I’m not sure if I trust them || I trust them || they’re cool || they’re genuine || I think we’re going to get along || I really like them || I think I’m in love || oh fuck they’re hot || I love them

How good of a kisser:

worst kisser ever || terrible || bad || awkward || just okay || alright || pretty good || good || makes me moan || excellent || exciting || oh god they’re good || I dream about it || fucking amazing || absolute perfection || we haven’t kissed

*

JOHN & CALIGO

Attractiveness:

repulsive || hideous || ugly || not attractive || unappealing || not unattractive || meh || no preference || ok || mildly attractive || nice looking || cute || adorable || attractive || pleasant on the eyes || good looking || hot || sexy || beautiful || gorgeous || hot damn || would tap that || perfect || godlike || holy fuck there are no words

Personality:

grating || irritating || frustrating || boring || confusing at best || awkward || unreasonable || psychotic || disturbing || interesting || engaging || affectionate || aggressive || ambitious || anxious || artistic || bad tempered || bossy || charismatic || appealing || unappealing || creative || courageous || dependable || unreliable || unpredictable || predictable || devious || dim || extroverted || introverted || egotistical || gregarious || fabulous || impulsive || intelligent || sympathetic || talkative || up beat || peaceful || calming || badass || flexible

How likely they would have sex with them:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending || fuck no! || never || no way || not likely || not sure || indifferent || I’m asexual || maybe || probably || it depends || fairly likely || likely || yeah sure || yes || would tap that || hell yes || fuck yes! || wishing that could happen right now || as many times as possible || we are already having sex

Level of Friendship:

never in a million years || worst of enemies || enemies || rivals || indifferent || neutral || acquaintance || friendly toward each other || casual friends || friends || good friends || best friends || fuck buddies || bosom buddies || practically the same person || would die for them || true friends || my only friend

First impression of them:

I hate them so much || I don’t like them || I don’t trust them || they annoy me || they’re weird || I’m indifferent || meh || they seem alright || they’re growing on me || truce || I think I like them || I like them || I’m not sure if I trust them || I trust them || they’re cool || they’re genuine || I think we’re going to get along || I really like them || I think I’m in love || oh fuck they’re hot || I love them

Current impression of them:

I hate them so much || I don’t like them || I don’t trust them || they annoy me || they’re weird || I’m indifferent || meh || they seem alright || they’re growing on me || truce || I think I like them || I like them || I’m not sure if I trust them || I trust them || they’re cool || they’re genuine || I think we’re going to get along || I really like them || I think I’m in love || oh fuck they’re hot || I love them

How good of a kisser:

worst kisser ever || terrible || bad || awkward || just okay || alright || pretty good || good || makes me moan || excellent || exciting || oh god they’re good || I dream about it || fucking amazing || absolute perfection || we haven’t kissed

[neoatiny]

정 윤호 | Ateez Yunho (pirate!au) | Ateez Headcannon

“My compass is your whispering. Even if you go back a long time, please stay by my side.” -Ateez, Mist

The Sailing Master of the Horizon

The dude is LouD

I mean LouD as in you-can-never-not-hear-this-guy-talking kind of LouD

You can always hear him happily chatting with however is near him

He spends most of his time in the captain’s quarters helping Hongjoong build maps

When he does leave the quarters, everyone is happy to see him

He’s always cracking jokes

Would have been such a chaotic duo with Wooyoung if he just s t o p p e d stealing his things

He can’t find his parchment? Probably hidden in between the kitchen plates

He can’t find his telescope? Probably dangling over the bulwarks by a piece of rope tied to the railing

And when he can’t find his compass that’s he’s said countless of times before is irreplaceable? Probably wedged in between some broken planks on the deck

Isn’t really one to hold a grudge so Wooyoung never listens and continues to steal his things

Is the most wonderful artist the captain’s ever met

The whole crew has ever met let’s be honest

He can draw maps, buildings, caricatures

You name it, he can draw it

Takes requests when he’s off-duty and Mingi holds his drawing close to his heart (he won’t admit it no matter how many times Yunho teases him about it)

San and him get along well because “he actually understands the importance in learning the names of various plants”

Yunho is shut-lipped when he gets injured because he feels it’ll be a problem to others

When he got his first injury on the Horizon, it took weeks for his limp to heal and Seonghwa was the one to find him hiding in the storage room, messily rewrapping bandages he stole from the medbay around his leg

It was the first and last time he saw Yunho cry

Captain told everyone to keep an eye on him discreetly, but Yunho knows

He’s a smart guy, after all

Restlessly proves that he’s useful to the crew because he’s scared of being left behind

“Captain, if we continue to head in this direction, we’ll bump into an Honor Guard ship in four hours or so”

“Yes, Yunho. I know.”

“…Oh” :(

Was a very cheerful kid back in his hometown, Caligo

Loved to help the townspeople (carry milk bottles, carry out flyers, find missing cats, etc)

Everybody loved him, but it was also because his father was part of the town council so they needed to respect his son

Didn’t have a lot of friends even though he played a lot with the street kids

They always asked him for money saying that he “Had loads more at home, so why not give some of it to us?”

Yunho thought he was doing a good deed at the time, always following others to make them happy

Had loved exploration since he could remember

His father was an exploration enthusist himself so Yunho always played with his father’s telescopes and cartography kit

Made a really descriptive map of the town when he was 9, marking where everyone lived and worked

Drew them himself and was praised by his father for it, gifting him his silver compass that he used to travel with when he was younger

His mother was also proud, but slightly disturbed on his amount of research into the town

During the Nox War, general soldier recruitment happened and most of the men in town got drafted to fight

During those times, his father became more snappy and more unloving towards him

Whenever that happened, his mother would take him to the garden to comfort him

“Do you want to play a game, Yunho?”

immediately would stop crying and they’d make little maps of make-believe islands with his mini cartography kit

Yunho always won, of course

They’d post them on the garden’s walls and they would take care of the flowers

Yunho pretty much knows every single type of flower and their meaning

When he was 11 years old, his father went POOF and disappeared for over a month without any word

His father got replaced by someone else on the town counsel and that man did e v e r y t h i n g to badmouth his father

“He left without a word! Do you want someone who leaves the town while they’re in need?”

When his father eventually came back, he constantly ignored him, muttering about sea thieves

Yunho would later come to learn in one of his father’s dusty books that it was another term for pirates

His parents would fight in his father’s study and he’d cry while listening in through the door

“You can’t just come back without saying anything, Kyungho! Our neighbours are badmouthing us! Our son believes you don’t even love him anymore!”

“He isn’t important! He isn’t important right now, Yunha! The Honor Guard, Yunha. Somebody lied and said that we helped a band of pirates. They’re going to come for us and you want to worry about people judging you? You want to worry about him?”

He isn’t important. Those words would be a constant reminder as he grew up

He felt alone and it didn’t help that he no one in the town would talk to him anymore because of the new council member

Yunho has this scar on his right hand after someone threw literal glAss at him

“You and your family aren’t welcome! Your father abandoned us!”

The house seemed to grow emptier and emptier as days went by

One late night, his mother had brought him to the garden after he heard loud noises from downstairs

“Mo-Mother? What’s happening? Where’s father?”

“Let’s play a game, Yunho.”

And being the obedient son that he was he agreed

“I want you to stand very still, okay? Don’t move because…because then you won’t be able to see the surprise your father and I planned for you.”

He should have known something was up when he saw her mother not dressed in her nightgown

She disappeared and all that kept him company were the chirping crickets

"The stars looks so nice tonight.”

Some time passed and she still hasn’t come back

And she never did

His mother had abandoned him in the garden and tried to run away and officials found her in the outskirts of town by a dingy boat

On the same night, his father and mother were hanged in the gallows for aiding in piracy (false charges but nobody knew that)

He was taken away the next day, never seeing the garden ever again

Stayed in the town orphanage which obviously did not have enough space to accommodate all the kids inside

Spent sleepless nights wondering why she did what she did

maybe she did it since she knew he wouldn’t get hanged and maybe she did it for his safety and it wouldn’t have been the best for him, but it messed with him for y e a r s

Especially since the older boys in the orphanage would not let him forget

“If you were important, your mother wouldn’t have left you to rot in that stupid garden.“

He hated the town and he hated everyone so the moment he saw a flyer (‘Looking for a Navigator’) for a local merchant ship he was OUTTA THERE

Had only a small bag of money and his father’s compass around his neck before he left 

Spent only six months on the ship before they got raided by pirates (you know who)

The captain was absolutely fascinated by the maps

"Who drew these?”

“I did.”

Don’t blame Yunho for speaking up he was just afraid he was going to die if nobody spoke up so give him a break

“You’re an amazing artist.”

That was the day he joined the Horizon, the Pirate King’s ship

“Mingi! How would you feel about not having to navigate anymore?”

He had joined during the early years of the Horizon and it took the captain almost a year to actually learn anything personal about him (oof)

Said yes to the captain’s proposal since he was still a bit (very) terrified of him

Didn’t really believe the pirate life was for him, but he accepted it fully

He’s a very big reason why the Horizon is more merciful with the people they encounter on sea

He’s glad he met the captain and swears he’ll have his back no matter what

He finally had a family and he wasn’t just going to go and leave them like his did

:’)

————

Captain, take care of him, please-

Horizon Masterlist / Taglist

1 out of 8 headcannons finished

[noctis-tempore]

I added ascelin into incorrect quotes with my silly guys enjoy the chaos <3 @tired-oc

Zero: So what do you have planned for the future?  Aza: Lunch.  Zero: No, like long term.  Aza: Oh...um, dinner?

Rosaline, putting their hands over Caligo's eyes: Guess who!  Caligo: It's either Rosaline or the cold, clammy hands of death.  Rosaline, putting their hands away: It's Rosaline!  Caligo: Dammit.

Rosaline: Being half asleep and feeling someone gently plant a kiss on your forehead is one of the purest kinds of love in the world.  Ascelin: Unless you're home alone.

Aza: Where are your parents?  Caligo: What are parents?  Aza: That’s just about the saddest thing I've ever heard.

Aza: I drink to forget but I always remember.  Ascelin: You're drinking orange juice.

Aza, texting Caligo: *sends a voice message*  Caligo, texting back: I’m a little busy, is it urgent?  Aza: No, don’t worry, just listen later.  *later*  Caligo: *presses play*  Aza's voice message: THERE’S A FIRE-

Ascelin: I feel awful about killing you.  Random human:  Ascelin: Even though technically you never even died, so I don’t know what you’re bitching about.

Malachi: Hey, random question, what are your favorite flowers?  Rosaline: Peonies, why?  Malachi:  Rosaline: Were you going to get me flowers?  Malachi:  Rosaline:  Malachi: ᶦᵗ’ˢ ᵃ ᵖᵒˢˢᶦᵇᶦˡᶦᵗʸ

Caligo: The real treasure was the memories we made along the way.  Ascelin: I almost died.  Caligo: That... was my favorite memory.

Aza: *eating a cinnamon roll*  Caligo: Cannibalism.  Aza: *confused chewing noises*

Caligo: Deep down, I'm sure I was always pretty okay with you.  Ascelin: Thanks, Caligo!  Caligo: It wasn't a compliment, numbnuts.

Murderer: Any last words?  Mizu: Do you think I'm cute? Be honest.

Aza: Not to be nsfw but I want someone to hold me while I sleep.

Aza: Everyone thinks I'm this soft cute person but I'm not!  Ascelin: Aza, you cried for an hour after stepping on a bug yesterday.  Aza: It had feelings! It was probably going home to dinner and I killed it!  Caligo: ...It was a bug.  Aza: It was a BEETLE, and its wife is definitely worried sick, wondering where it is, and I really don't get why you all think I'm so sentimental because I'm not!  Ascelin: ...  Caligo: ...  Aza: Stop looking at me like that!

Ascelin: Hello all, it is I, your favorite person.  Caligo: Actually, Aza is my favourite.  Ascelin: Okay then, it is I, that bitch.

Aza: *gets a text* Oh! It’s Caligo. Rosaline, excitedly: Did they get me the stuff?  Aza: Yeah, they say they got you the clown costume, the power drill, and 12 gallons of blood.  Rosaline: Wow! Where’d they find 12 gallons of fake blood?  Aza: You wanted fake blood?  Rosaline:  Aza: I’ll go call Caligo.

Caligo: Sometimes I like to place my hands on someone’s cheeks, look into their eyes...  Caligo: ...And violently jerk their head until it snaps.  Aza: ...That took an unexpected turn.  Ascelin: So did their neck.

[spacecadetcity]

fictober four + five.

fictober four: “i know you didn’t ask for this.” original storyline. words: 441.

    vesper kept a steady pace, the sound of his pawsteps painfully loud in the quiet midnight air. every now and then she glanced back, to where a little prince shuffled after him, and her own son brought up the back. they had been travelling for several hours now, and the usually whiny prince hadn’t even complained once, and the caretaker was starting to feel that even though they were nowhere near as far away as he’d like, that they should stop and rest anyway.

    “i’m tired, can we take a break?”

    vesper flicked an ear at his sons voice, and when he met eels’ eyes, his son gave a subtle look towards the little prince. vesper nodded, and the party of three veered off the path, taking up space in a shallow scrape under a bush. eel and vesper both began gathering ferns and leaves to soften the ground, eel covering the pile with a blanket he pulled from his carry-bag.

    “i could have helped,” the little prince mumbled as he settled in between vesper and eel. eel just lay his head down in response, but vesper nodded.

    “next time, little prince. i’ll keep watch over us, please get some rest.” the little prince hesitated, but lay his head down as well, closing his eyes. the time passed swiftly, and when the prince awoke next, the moon had been swallowed by trees and the dark sky was beginning to lighten.

    “i know you didn’t ask for this. to have to run around and hide me. i’m sorry,” the prince mumbled to vespers’ surprise. she hadn’t noticed the prince awaken. “if it wasn’t for me, you and eel could still be back at the kingdom-”

    “little prince, there is no kingdom anymore. the guardians have fallen, and we are just as on the run as you are,” vesper replied gently, leaning her weight onto the prince. he leaned back, laying his head down on his paws once more.

    “if there is no kingdom, am i still a prince?”

    “would you like to be?”

    “i think…” the little prince started and paused, “i think i’ve always just been the prince. i’d like a name- a little name. i don’t want to forget though,” the prince sighed, and vesper nodded. “can i take part of my old title? kespie?”

    vesper laughed quietly, “that sounds awful familiar. do you like it?”

    “not really,” the prince admitted, “but i’m bad with names.”

    “why not take the start of both titles? a k and a p? kp, the lost little kestrel prince,” vesper suggested, and the prince looked up, wide eyed.

    “that sounds perfect! i love it!”

fictober five: “i might just kiss you.” vesper + pearl. words: 670.

vesper made his way down the boardwalk, shopping bags in one hand and a paper list in the other, only half paying attention to his surroundings. enough to not walk into anyone, but not really enough to listen out for anything. she scooted around a person to avoid walking into them, but startled to a stop when they grabbed his sleeve.

“vespeeeer, i’ve been trying to get your attention!” steven said, tugging at vespers sleeve, “what are you so focused on anyway? this is like that time when you were watching us practice with pearl and-”

“hey, steven! oh, just checking my list to make sure i got everything for tonight, nothing big!” vesper cut off the boy before he could go any further, “some normal groceries and then some snacks for tonight.”

“tonight? what are you doing tonight that you need snacks for?” steven asked curiously, and vesper pointed up at the setting sky. “star-gazing. i kicked ronaldo out from the lighthouse telescope that your dad bought, and i was going to hang out there. i don’t work tomorrow, so i figured i’d just pull an allnighter.”

“oh oh! can i come? pretty please?” steven begged, and vesper laughed. she messed up his hair and shook his head no.

“sorry dude, the gems would kill me if i let you stay up all night. i gotta go finish getting ready little dude, but i’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, okay?” vesper waved goodbye to steven and started back down the boardwalk towards the buses, reading over the list again.

“god damn. fuck stairs, anyone ever heard of a fucking elevator before?” vesper complained to himself as he made it up the last few steps and out the lighthouse lantern room. dropping his bag by the telescope, she sat on the floor and stared up at the sky. luckily, beach city didn’t have very much light pollutuon, and the sky was clear enough that the night sky shone brightly. vesper sat for several minutes, just gazing upwards.

“it fucking sucks that i don’t know a single constellation or anything.” vesper said aloud after a few moments, “i probably should have brought a book or something. star-gazing for dummies.” vesper dug around in his bag, unzipping a bag of sour gummy worms and shovelling a few into her mouth and continued to star up at the stars he knew nothing about.

“some forethought probably wouldn’t have killed you,” vesper startled, nearly choking on a gummy worm before turning to see pearl stepping up the last few stairs and sitting next to him. “steven told me that you said he couldn’t stay up all night with you, and i told him you were right. growing humans need their sleep.” pearl said, gem glowing. she pulled out a folded blanket and offered to to vesper, who accepted and tucked it around himself.

“i bet you know a bunch, pearl. you should point them out to me,”  vesper said, giving the gem a side grin that implied this had been his intent all along. she rolled her eyes in mock exasperation, but vesper wasn’t fooled. when it came to space, pearl was never far behind, and vesper got comfortable as she started to point out the constellations.

“....and that makes up the caligo constellation. the mythos behind that one was sadly lost when yellow diamond’s kindergartens destroyed the planet it came from.” pearl finished. as the gem had described many of the constellations she knew, the pair had slowly shifted closer, and now vesper rested his head on her and her arm was around his shoulder.

“what do you think?”

“...i think i miss kiss you..” vesper replied, sounding very sleepy, though he immediately sat up when he realized he had said that aloud. for a few moments, neither of them moved, and pearl realized she still had her arm around the humans’ shoulder. she pulled him closer, and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.

“maybe when you’re a little more awake.”