#If I ever get around to writing down my Lore of the Realms thing I posted about ages ago

[scribe-of-stories]

Hi, I'm Scribe

(Art by Kollapsar)

About: As per the title you can call me Scribe; I also go by JL and or Knight (see Avatar) They/Them. I am a ex-professional Psychologist, I pretend to know things about Philosophy, and I have been known to write things that take place in my own silly little world. Also a TTRPG hobbyist that dreams about making my own one day. I mainly write modern fantasy with horror elements from a first person perspective. Things tend to get existential and there is often not a difference between reality and metaphor. Also there is no shortage of queer folk with super powers or deep occult knowledge in my stories. Currently most of my work is in the form of short stories and flash fiction, with a novel/serial in the works here or there.

Intent: What an ominous section title. Honestly I'm here to make friends in the writing community. I want to read other people's works and I want others to read my work. I want to encourage and be encouraged. I want to see the little notification number pop up on my screen and give my brain the good chemicals. Take this as blanket consent to tag me in games, to send me asks, and to send me messages. Tell me about your OCs and I'll gladly talk your ear off about world building. I also intend on getting published one day. It would be lovely to meet others going through the process.

Lexical Earth: Is the setting of most if not all of my writing. It's a modern fantasy setting who's hidden magic side was forcefully revealed during the year 2000, when the First Wave of Inscribed started showing up. Now governments are struggling to retain control, Thought Entities are going public with their machinations and hunger, and there is no small population of super heroes and villains trying to impose their views on reality. The magic system of this setting is generally soft with harder rules the closer one is to the material world. The Realm of Spirit is swirling occult bullshit, but it takes someone with actual knowledge to pull it down into reality. Experiment with Jungian masks, personas, and shadows; see the connective tissue of stories stretch across cultures; and walk those paths. Alternatively write words on your Soul and bend reality to the whims of your Inscription.

Directory: Bellow is a collection of the works I have posted and a short description of which each is about. Let me know if you would wish to be added to a general Lexical Earth tag list or if there is a specific series/protagonist you'd want to be tagged for.

(Under construction, there are a few works buried deep in my blog that I need to go excavate)

Samuel Smith, the Smith of Masks: Private investigator, grumpy and sarcastic, and part of the pre-inscribed world of Lexical. He's paid to solve issues between the Wyrd and the human; and often gets too emotionally invested. 1 – PI just wants to read books between jobs but Wyrd stuff is happening. Technically the first Lexical short I ever wrote. 2 – Sequel to the previous short. PI has a bad time working on this case, ends up having to sell part of his soul. 3 – Stand alone story. PI forgets what he's doing several times before solving a serial killer problem. Marian Wheeler would be proud.

Ken “Host of Fangs”, Lord of Hearts: Telepathic Inscribed that makes a hivemind with animals as his main power. He has substantial family and old life trauma and a masc., non-binary, partner who's soul is shaped like a jellyfish. 1 – Date gets interrupted by old woman/man Humanity handing out super powers. 2 – Ken gets a letter from his Ex and has big feelings about it.

Wander/er, Wanderer of Spirit: First Wave Inscribed that noped out of reality and went deep into the Realm of Spirit to learn about the Wyrd side of things. Generally an important person who shows up around big events, but more an advisor than a hero. 1 – Wanderer and a Thought Entity friend travel a bit too far away from earth. Careful not to wake Slumbering Kings.

Lexical Lore: For the World building and TTRPG side of Lexical. 1 – Inscribed, how do they work? How do you become one? Would they make a good RPG player character? All answered here. Go and make your own Inscribed and @ me with the results.

Lexical One-Offs: for stories that don't have a named protagonist or just aren't part of a series. Bedroom – Someone wakes up and gets ready for work. The Recursive Tree – The life cycle of one or more Thought Entities as seen from the perspective of a Soldier.

[rolybug]

My goodness HIII this is tertain from artfight… your art is GORGEOUS!! I would LOVE to learn more about your head world… are there other deities? What kind of creatures live on that world? IM HIGH KEY SUPER CURIOUS NOW!! 👁👁

HII !!! thank you so much !! and thank you for being interested in my headworld !! i'll put this under a readmore because this post Will be long i will ramble

im basically in a constant state of changing my mind about how the lore of my main headworld works ,without ever really writing i down in a concrete way (💔), but the gist of it is that it came to be when the goddess Ethel turned herself into a planet so that she could witness life in the universe besides just herself. she first created her son, Fenrihar, who could create life from the ground and watch over it for all of eternity. he is officially known as the father of dragons, ut his very existence and his actions are basically the first domino that would lead to the existence to almost all of the other gods and life forms

the main sapient species/sophonts in ethel are humans, sphinxes, mages (they're just anthro animals with cultures primarily geared towards mastery of magic use), dragons, miscellaneous spirits that can't really be considered on the same level as gods, and the gods themselves. i need to get to developing what the actual critters and plants on ethel are like though, but for now just assume there are a lot of earth animals and miscellaneous fantasy animals like sea serpents and the like.

the "main patheon" of deities in ethel is also something that is still unfortunately a work in progress after so much time because i am. bad at making new gods and just like to rotate the same few in my head (this is the curse of my headworld, i just think about the same few things ,when i really want to flesh out other things)

but to summarize, what ive got at the moment:

ethel: the planet herself! though when she appears in dreams and visions, she takes many forms, resulting in varied depictions of her. being in planet form is actually very painful for her - her tears led to the formation of the sea and the sea god nautilus.

at her core is a very high concentration of pure magic, and it radiates out up to the surface of the world- pure magic itself is incredibly dangerous to mortals and warps the world around it in strange ways, but in the usual process, by the time it gets to the surface it's in a safer and less concentrated form and helps uphold the structure of the physical realm (there are other realms and types of magic. for the most part they do not affect the physical realm, but they are intricately connected in imperceptible ways.) safer magic can be channeled and manipulated by those with a high "magic affinity" either through tools or directly through the user. its reality warping nature means it has a lot of potential in skilled hands

fenrihar: the first god besides ethel! he was created to jumpstart life on the surface and make sure it doesn't go extinct. he's responsible for a lot of important features of ethel due to his efforts to keep everyone from Just Dying. such as floating islands, a large river in the middle of the largest continent, and a collosal white tree reaching deep into the planet and far into the sky, created to contain an ancient force of destruction.

ilandel and llewenthe: the twin deities of the sun and moon, their work is of course very important to the wellbeing of ethel's denizens. ilandel created the sphinxes, while llewenthe created the mages. while on good terms with one another, they seem to have opposing philosophies- ilandel values the pursuit and sharing of as much knowledge as possible, while llewenthe is a more secretive sort, dispersing the secrets of the world only to her most loyal and trusted of disciples.

in the earlier eras of the world, ilandel was much more jovial and sociable and would often visit his children in their burgeoning city kingdom. the early sphinxes, just like ilandel, sought to discover and record as much knowledge as possible, and their civilization was renowned for vast libraries. there was an insatiable desire within the collective conscious of the sphinxes to find the "ultimate truth of the universe" as they called it. until in one day, the entire civilization burned itself down, leaving not a trace of their records. the only survivors were groups of sphinxes that had left the main city kingdom months or years prior. it's a bit too long to get into on this already long post, but a certain royal scientist named minerva was the main catalyst for these events

after the fall of the early sphinxes, ilandel fell into a deep grief and now hides himself away from the world except for when he carries the sun. so he doesn't uphold his philosophy very strongly in the present day, and he seems reluctant to contact his still surviving sphinxes, leading to many groups choosing other gods as patrons under the belief that their father has abandoned them :(

nautilus: a massive serpent and the sea god! he was the next god to form after fenrihar, created from ethel's tears. immediately after her formation she began to splash around in the water, creating large waves that started to drown the world. fenrihar was very much not happy about this, but nautilus was so much larger than him, so he couldn't stop his rampage with brute strength.

so instead he challenged him to a race, and nautilus being very cocky and brash and five minutes old, accepted the challenge. at first nautilus relied on the waves to give her speed, but this proved difficult once she got to parts of the land he hadn't drowned yet. after just a few laps nautilus was exhausted from dragging himself through the ground each time, and yielded, agreeing to stop flooding the world for fun and instead preside over the new ocean that had formed around the continent. nautilus's repeated laps had worn down the ground as well, leading to the massive river that splits the continent

viridian (name pending?): the deity of the wilds and humans. she's responsible for a lot of plants and animals and smaller deities, and humans! she loves hanging out with her kids, she will attend any festival in her honor and drink all of the alcohol (so usually a lot of alcohol is prepared when a festival is about her). she's generally benevolent at these parties, but she can be unforgiving when someone incites her wrath. she loves tricks and games and adventures though, she'll disguise herself as all sorts of things just to mess with mortals. she says she's just testing them, but it's clear sometimes that she's just bored and wants something exciting to do.

in the earlier eras of the world, viridian and fenrihar worked together closely, though a rift has grown between them ever since a massive conflict between dragon clans and a human kingdom lead to the near extinction of dragons, and the lifting of many landmasses in the sky for them to migrate to as a safe haven.

as of yet unnamed sleep deity: the god of the realm of sleep, as well as the realm itself. it's a manifestation of the dreaming minds of those asleep, and is the realm in closest "proximity" to the physical realm. the exact nature of its existence is a mystery even to the other gods, but it's considered llewenthe's child since it actually talks to her, and delivers messages for her to mortals through dreams. the other gods are uncomfortable with being in the sleep realm but sometimes need its help delivering messages as well.

i should probably stop here.. i want to get around to sharing a lot of the stuff in my mind about ethel eventually, like the magic system and certain moments of its history, certain characters, etc. it's a huge struggle to get that stuff out of my head and into words/images but, essentially: AAAGH!

it's also a bit of a struggle to generate new ideas and lore to make the world feel more.. concrete? because it seems that im particularly latched on to a few concepts that my brain likes. but i'll figure it out eventually lol, hopefully without having to uproot what ive already got since ive done that quite a few times already.

anyway !! thank you so much for your curiosity!! i did ramble a bit. and sorry if there are any typos or weird formatting or if the way i structure sentences might be odd, im on my phone which can be difficult to type with sometimes. im hoping i can write down and share more about ethel some time and in a more presentable format . my poor poor world in my brain that i need to explore more ...

[mickmundy]

I wanna hear you talk about bushmedicine again. Do you have any thoughts about them that have been floating around in your brain recently? 👀

OMG UWAAA U ARE SO SWEET!!!! Oh Yes Always.,., hehe...

lately i've been thinking about how medic Interacts with sniper.,., i think in my writing i make this pretty clear but talking about it casually is a totally different vibe than doing so within the like. realm of my fics.., but i think medic's personality is one that can be a bit fickle and difficult to write! he's playful, sadistic, charismatic.,., patient and impatient.,., he's Unpredictable so that means writing him in a way that feels… Consistent can be a bit of a struggle!! i’m most insecure about how i write medic honestly, so trying to nail him means a lot to me since it’s something i struggle with so much!! i think medic loves being unpredictable and enjoys being an Enigma to people, even to those he considers friends. it excites him that he keeps others guessing!! but i think it would take someone like sniper to Truly capture medic’s… Romantic attention.,., someone who his relationship bleeds (ahah) from Professional-But-Friendly coworkers…

because i don’t think medic is one who runs around Wanting to be besties with Lots of people. i think he likes having Friendly-but-Distant relationships with Most of his teammates/coworkers and Likes that he can Affect people however he pleases with his Charisma but isn’t really. Truly Close with much of anyone (except for heavy)

… to Doctor And Greatest Achievement…

i think this would make both medic and sniper feel.. Complicated. i don’t think sniper was “traumatized” from the revival itself nor do i think he Actually went to heaven; i think it was a vision/dream/whatever you want to call it and i don’t think he was traumatized by his death. i don’t even think he has trouble wrapping his head around the fact that he WAS revived! but i think it baffles him that medic would even Want to revive him. and i think he has Unresolved Feelings about his parents (despite the “closure” we get in the comics when sniper goes to heaven. i think that’s something he’d Dwell on)… so he feels Complicated about the “fallout” of the revival and not the Revival itself if that makes sense.

to medic, sniper is a miracle. his first revival, living proof of his genius that’s as real as anyone with eyes can see… the uber hearts are works of art too of course, but people can’t see those. people can see sniper, alive, thriving, good as he ever was… That means a lot to medic. and medic’s always been good about keeping his doctor-patient relationships just that. he’s Friendly/Is Friends with the other mercs but doesn’t bear any Emotional Attachment to them (except for heavy, who i think is his best friend)…. but what medic doesn’t anticipate is that Feelings.., Can Grow Where They’ve Never Been Before… and that’s never happened to medic before.

…. to something….. complex…. and Strange……. and New……

both medic and sniper think that once feelings are felt they just stay that way forever (which is Supposed to be ironic given medic’s ability to be cunning/manipulative)…. this Thing between them sneaks up on both of them… and sniper is emotionally immature but medic is Very in touch with his own feelings… falling in love really is something that nobody can prepare for….! something i love about the ship itself is that i think they’re both flawed people and i don’t think they’re “star crossed” or “soulmates” or anything like that…. i think they develop feelings for each other and work to be together because that’s what being in love is about imo… they fight to understand each other and love and accept each other unconditionally…. sniper always wants to push these feelings down and away because he’s always sworn its easier to “feel nothing at all” (even though he’s actually a very emotional person… as we know from his in-game and comic lore!)… but according to medic, part of being alive is the joy of feeling… and things that invoke feelings are… worth feeling, no? :-) and felt with pride, not felt with shame or regret… hmm, well, medic Is very charismatic… perhaps he can persuade sniper to see things his way just a little bit!

that’s just something i think about <3… HEHEHEE

[misc-obeyme]

random obey me lore idea

so like. we know mc's magic went wild and was causing weird shit to happen to the environment and making weird magic fluctuations throughout the realms. but what if it also had an effect on magical creatures (demons, sirens, fairies, vampires, etc). i like to think that the bursts of wild magic essentially caused mutations in them (either already grown ones that were near the sites when the incidents occurred or those born or 'turned' in the cases of vampires/werewolves/ what have you). they could be major mutations that drastically change appearances or les visible ones that effect traits. like making vampires so sensitive to sunlight that they cant even go out at night bc the reflection from the moon burns them or making them more resistant and letting them survive semi prolonged exposure to daylight. making creatures more powerful or significantly weaker. giving them abilities before unseen in the race that can then get passed on to offspring or those that the afflicted individual turns and as time goes on it becomes more common in the species. others looking down on the afflicted or outcasting them bc theyre "not a True [creature type]" and it greatly affects sociopolitical interactions amongst them all. the amount of work the sorcerers society would have to do to document everything lmao

in my mc's story they get turned into a vampire (i really like vampires and also tend to pick and choose the various vampire lores i like bc if i ever became allergic to garlic whats the point of trying anymore lmao) but when they turn a combination of their magic going haywire and the ring light causes the vampirism to mutate as it takes its hold

just some Thoughts <3

-🥐

Oh my little baker friend, I LOVE this idea!!

I too am a fan of vampires. I do the same thing when it comes to vampire lore whenever I write vampire stories. Just because I find most vampire lore to be ridiculous in a lot of ways. I think a vampire that can go out in daylight, appears in mirrors, has no aversion to garlic, isn't super pale, etc is far more terrifying because they can blend in with regular people to the point where they're indistinguishable. And I think that's just a more compelling premise all around personally! (And I have written quite a few vampire stories in my time... it's a concept that has never truly released me lol.)

But anyway, it's fascinating to think about how mythical creatures existing in the world would react to increased magical surges. I love the idea of this having some kind of lasting impact, too. Like it ripples through the generations of creatures because some of those things are passed on. It's cool because in the actual story, once that stuff was resolved, we never really heard about it again. So it's interesting to think that MC's magic going crazy actually impacted something long lasting.

Now I'm just imagining the Sorcerer's Society hating Solomon even more because it was his apprentice that caused all this extra work for them lol.

I also really like thinking about how an MC that already has some magical properties would react to such things. It would make sense for an MC being turned into a vampire to have drastic effects due to the strength of the magic created by the ring.

I have an AU where my MC is half fae, leannán sídhe specifically, and I didn't even consider how something like that might change them. Now my mind is going crazy with ideas about fae that have mutated due to the magic and end up more monstrous than beautiful or the other way around. The unaffected fae are like, okay get out you guys are messing things up lol.

There is so much space for interesting interpretations of things like this. Because there's definitely an implication of such mythical creatures and such existing, but we don't get a whole lot of context on them. So you can pretty much come up with whatever you want, which is truly fun. I mean I think they did mention vampires briefly and I like to think that since vampires aren't really humans they can kind of move between the human world and the Devildom. I wonder if the ones in the Devildom would react more strongly to MC's magic while MC is in the Devildom, too? Maybe there becomes a more obvious distinction between vampires that live in one world vs the other.

Though you also mentioned demons and if demons started to mutate too that'd be a whole problem for Diavolo I would think. You could really expand on that idea. Like maybe members of the House of Lords get mutated. Then you get to decide if that means they get kicked out or if the other House of Lords demons see them as beneficial to their overall cause. Of course I don't know how important the House of Lords is in OG season two since we didn't even hear about them until Nightbringer, but it's still interesting to think about!

Yeah I could speculate about this idea all day! I quite like this idea, 🥐 anon! Feel free to tell me more about your vampire MC (or anything else really) if you'd like! I love to hear about such things!

[freedfromthegalactichivemind]

Fanfic ideas I don't know if I'll actually get around to doing: (Followers tell me if you think any of these are interesting). Stray Hordak-idea I got a few days ago that I've pinged around the old noggin: I don't know if this one is safe to write because it feels like it might be a little lurid, might earn me the wrath of other, more coddling Hordak-stans... So, the idea is that a random Force Captain has done something grave. My idea was basically embezzlement, one of the guys in charge of the supply-lines nicking some of the supplies to sell on the black market for his own profit, meanwhile troops aren't getting their ration bars and armor and (in my darker than canon Etheria), this has caused deaths of troops. The offending Force Captain is found out and must be made an example of. It is not an offense that simply shuffling off to Beast Island will suffice for. Hordak basically needs to drive the fear of Prime into his troops, so he does a very public, mandatory-viewing torture-session on the guy. I don't want to make anything horribly grisly-detailed, more like, Hordak has loyal captains strap him between two poles so that he can deliver 10 lashes, followed by some prods with a stun-baton. The guy is not killed, but before being imprisoned, he does regret defying orders - and others know what Hordak will do to them if they ever get caught doing something so egregious. And... while third-person writing feels best for me, the entire thing is Hordak's POV, as in, while he is making a necessary example of a man who got greedy and who cost Horde-lives, he is, the entire time, not at all feeling comfortable with his actions. He does not like doing this stuff hands-on. He is having flashbacks to Prime - Prime's very personal pool-dunks and throat-grabs and other, similar off-screen stuff that Prime did to him and his brothers to lay down the law. Hordak is torn between this being the only way he knows how to lay down discipline and feeling personally uncomfortable with the up-close and personal nature of it. It's set pre-series proper (like, Adora and Catra are little kids, dunno if they'll be made to watch, probably), and this is basically when Hordak decides to be less personal in his discipline - to order others to do such things, to use things like the air-machine. I sort of want to do something exploring Hordak having a budding conscience, but also being ruthless - like, there is a reason why he's in the position that he's in at the start of the series, but there's also the poor sad-man indoctrinated/conflicted bat-clone, there, too. The other idea I have is a thing I've had for-freakin' ever. It's an Angella-idea. It ends with rescue, but it is Angella's experience trapped between dimensions. (You can basically come up with anything for that, ranging from "shred-across-spacetime-she's-totally-dead" to "maybe she's living an alternate life with her happy family in that happiness-world), but this idea takes direct inspiration from the SCP Foundation. I've seen an animated lore-video about The Red Reality. It features a researcher who gets sucked into a void-dimension and the "red" part of it comes from a machine that got sucked in with him that has a red blinking light. He uses this machine, the one sight / sense in the entire place as an attempted sanity-beacon as he wanders endlessly. Attempts at rescue in his case do not go well and eventually he is unraveled by the "low-reality" aspects of the void-realm. I'll not have that happen to Angella, but I do want to explore a bit of going mad from isolation and countermeasures against it - and the idea that she could have only survived with her mind intact because she is an immortal being, that is, if she were an actual mortal human, she would have lost her mind completely. In other words, when she comes back and recovers, she has some data for Entrapta.

[shadowgamerhalo]

1 2 9 17 for the writers ask game

Ah thank you for the ask my mutual! Now to answer your questions.

1. Okay it honestly depends if I decided to use Microsoft Word and I tend to like the roboto option. Most of the time I use things like a notepad app or wattpad, so there's not an option to change the font.

2. I mean yes I could, but it would be very tiring and probably take much longer. This is due to chronic pain I get in my hands, and also how many spelling errors I make while off of autocorrect. I did used to exclusively write like this as a kid and teenager, the above reasons are why I moved on to the keyboard.

9. Yes?

17. Okay so i have two works in progress at the moment, one is a fanfic, the other is an original story. I'll try to think of one for each.

Fanfic: It's gotta be what the main character's twin got up to while in different realm while they were separated from each other. I don't go into a lot of detail in the story given that there's less time of being around the twin, while the two are an excellent duo they actually go their separate ways cause they live very different lives by the end. I also find it funny to add that the reason why it's not mentioned is because they were an absolute menace to this realm, and the higher ups of this realm want to deny it as much as possible, due to the fact that the twin is half angel.

The lore behind what happened is that this character is impulsive and louder than their sibling, they pulled pranks, broke shit for kicks, swore at people, caused several riots, found ways to blackmail, cheat, steal, and sneak in the weirdest stuff into this realm, and found ways to escape most if not all the consequences of their actions. And when they had their angel side unleashed, cause it was suppressed like the main character with the demon side, everyone in the realm went collectively 'is this going to chill them out?' And then after 10 seconds of silence realizing that they actually managed to do that, they go back to menace activities, but this time cussing out their father while they were at it.

Original story: One of the main characters has 15 exes. This is never explained farther than, 'I dated around a lot in college' when the character meets another one of their exes by pure chance. This is also elevated for the comedic effect, because of initial impression of them is that they don't appear like someone who would have dated that many people.

The lore behind this is yes some of them from college, they are stretching what they mean by college for the rest of them. The rest of them dating for varying reasons, but they all shared one thing in common, they all lived in the same apartment complex. This is also the reason why the character doesn't live there anymore, when your neighbors realize that they all have dated the same neighbor, shit hits the fan real quick.

No cheating happened, but plenty of heartbreak did. This also the main thing they all bonded over and how they eventually formed their own polyamorous polycule, given this is what they first deeply and actively talked about to each other, outside of greetings and talks about the weather.

As of right now I haven't fully figured out the details of the why of the breakups. But I do know is the main character refuses to mention how things went down, because they were messy as hell, to the point where it effects both parties to this day.

Not because the main character is some sort of heartbreaking dick, but more of the tales of dating people who aren't right for you in that moment of your life. This aspect is apart of their character arc, due to the fact that's the general reason why they have so many exes and why they are a loner, but the details behind it aren't going to get touched on. This is to emphasize that there's things you just don't learn about people even if you're really close to them, yes you learn a lot, but people are ever changing and ever growing, some details aren't going to get mentioned and that's okay. You don't need to know everything about someone, especially the details they don't want to mention or talk about.

Also I like it when people theorize about characters and figure out their own headcanons for the details not given. Gives them more room to work with if they love the character if there's some spots that aren't explained.

For the college exes, details are given sparsely cause yes the same line of person not right for you dating wise, but I wanted the college ones to have more comedic aspects of what happened, and those exes are less hurt by the breakups.

[sunlitmcgee]

Random question, how do you personally interpret c!Ranboo's enderwalk state? just bit curious.

Personally I think of it as a thing that's natural for his hybrid species! Often in my writings I compare it to age regression(I.E entering a younger mental state and being basically A Whole Baby), but in terms of lore I've always figured it's like a pseudo-hivemind kind of deal, wherein ender hybrids(or whatever this boyo is) slip into a semi-subconscious state and act on their basic instincts as opposed to typical "human" logic.

Basically, I think that Ranboo enderwalks around during times of stress as a form of self-care and self-comforting. It's something that calms him down when he's under extreme amounts of anxiety. He walks around, goes vvoop, plays with grass blocks, hugs his hubby, baby and Tommy, and then flops back into bed so he can sleep before morning.

I do not think Enderboo acts with constant aggression.

Any violent behavior on his end would be a reaction against a perceived threat, such as someone hurting his family or acting angrily towards him.

My theory is that c!Dream saw his enderwalk state at some point, went "HMMMMM HOW CAN I USE THIS" and maybe did 1 of 3 things. He either A: Manipulated enderboo into thinking that helping him will help his family(not too hard to control someone who is perhaps mentally A Whole Baby.) B: Blackmail, stuff like "Help me or I will hurt your family, trap tommy in the prison or I'll make his life ever worse". Or C, most unlikely but it would still interest me: Straight up mind control similar to what we've seen with the Egg. C!Dream's a mad scientist. if my man's can revive the dead and commit fortnighter torture experiments, idk why mind control/mind manipulating substances is outside the realm of his usual arsenal.

I firmly believe that Enderboo is NOT helping Dream willingly. It wouldn't make sense with current canon and previous characterization. IDK if we'll ever get anything from cranboo again due to the cc being...well...not giving much of a shit. But until we do this is how I see it: If Ranboo hates c!Dream while he's awake, then a version of him with all of his memories would have to be held at gunpoint and be told he'd have to watch someone torture his baby before he'd consider helping him. He wouldn't do it willingly, and it would never make him happy.

At least that makes the most sense to me! :")

[blasterdiablo]

「 @universestreasures​​​ | Asaka Narumi」 issued a challenge:      

The show had wrapped up for the night, Asaka having retired to her chambers after cleaning herself. She wasn’t expecting Ren to join her, but she should have known considering he’s been seeing her so much as of late. As much as it makes her happy, she can’t he’ll but see how he still wasn’t happy and that no show was going to please him unless that damm dragon came back.

Even with her Silver Thorns and the sacrifices she made to obtain them didn’t seem to be enough. Nothing was enough, and she certainly was feeling inadequate among other things these days.

“Ren, do you think that I’m … “ Asaka hesitates, afraid at what his answer might be. However, if she didn’t ask, then she wouldn’t ever know. So, she bravely then asks him what’s been on her mind for ages now, her one red and one blue eye staring right into his own wine ones.

“I’m worthy … to be at your side and lead your circus? That I’m … strong enough, clever enough, and … beautiful enough?”

(Nobles Asaren. Maybe this is a chance to write some teen era lore, aka when Ren and Asaka start the whole totally not dating thing but also Ren still misses his Ex who was never his EX LMFAO)

He had been toying around with whatever he could get his hands on in Asaka’s chambers- mostly playing around with the various brushes for hair and make-up he found neatly lined up on the small vanity Asaka would use to get ready before a show. Just before he could find himself delving into the pots of pigments he spotted there Asaka’s voiced concerns reached him, causing him to pause and put the brushes and paints back where he found them. Now, now... where did that come from...? 

❝ ...Do you question my decision? ❞

There’s almost a dangerous sort of tone lacing his words. Of course, he knows Asaka was not one to think him wrong. But for her to doubt herself was to also doubt him, he’d have her know from that one question alone. As if to soften the blow though, Ren continues without missing a beat. 

❝ Asaka is the only one I see standing center-stage. ❞

Ren explains without delving much further into it than that. It seems he was rather distracted again as he made himself at home in Asaka’s room. Although he spends so much time in here as of late that it’s almost practically their room now. Something about it being a ‘girl’s’ room made it so the bothersome likes of that Kyou kid and others wouldn’t barge in and bother him with senseless matters that didn’t interest him. There seemed to be some unspoken rule that Ren was unaware of. Not that Ren saw the issue with being in Asaka’s living quarters. If anything he preferred it to his own.

❝ It’s just that... I also used to see Kai there. ❞ His eyes then ached as he tried to encourage a vision to appear. Ever since Kai left nothing has been going the way they were supposed to. Beyond the myriad of clusters of colorful lights he’d often see Kai decorating Asaka in brilliant flames, the dragon tamer masterfully conducting the searing crimson embers as if they rained down with the sole purpose to cast the spotlight upon the duo. But before he could see anything of substance a sharp pain catches him behind his eyes and he clutches at his face as the lights escaped him. ❝ But...not anymore. ❞

He then reaches out to graze Asaka’s cheek, his thumb tracing a line under her red eye, confirming this was reality and that his attempt to form an image had failed. These days more and more of Ren’s time had been occupied with his gift, so much so that he was starting to have difficulties differentiating the real world from the places he’d find himself when he looked beyond the veil. Unbeknownst to them though; that his constant communication with the Abyss was starting to have consequences in the surface realm too. More and more Chains had started appearing, causing Pandora and it’s associates to start putting their noses into Circus business. But that was more Tetsu’s problem then his.

❝ I see everything before it happens, I see everything the way it’s supposed to happen. But Kai ruined that. He left my sight... I haven’t seen him since. ❞

It was worse than if he had been teased by images of him. Like this... Like this he was just gone. And nothing has been the same since. Nothing was fun or interesting anymore. Nothing entertained or humored him. But still Ren had never missed one of Asaka’s shows, for they’re some of the few times Ren feels anything, even if it wasn’t as strong as before. But the moment the curtains are called, he’s plummeted back into his own self-made darkness. And now he’s--

--...tired. He’s so incredibly tired.

He squeezes his eyes shut as he tenses all over, trying to wake himself up by using his entire body all at once. But the moment he released his muscles he nearly passed out right on the spot. Thankfully, Asaka’s bed wasn’t too far. He snakes his arm around hers, trusting some of his weight on her shoulder. It’s something he’s taken to doing when it was just the two of them, she was the one person he could let his guard down around. It was almost funny, considering her reputation.

He pauses as a thought crosses his muddled mind. That was Asaka’s bed... But it should be fine for him to use it if Asaka was using it too, right? That’s the logic he’s going with at the very least. He points his chin to her bed, all the while eyeing those heterochromatic hues of hers that she had returned to him with after her long journey. A symbol of her devotion to him and his cause-- he couldn’t help but smile. Looking into that red eye of hers was almost like looking into a mirror-- The power held within that eye was not like the power within his own, no, but it was intriguing all the same. He’s almost excited to see how this newfound power of Asaka’s will benefit the Circus. Perhaps this was another step towards his initial vision he had once saw? The one she and Kai have yet to fulfil.

Asaka gaining the power to tame dragonkind... Now they only need the one dragon worthy of her whip and the Pale Moon Circus would gain true favor, power and influence over the nation. But all in due time, he supposed. For now Asaka had questioned her own strength, smarts and beauty and that just wouldn’t do. No, no, no-- The Ringmistress in Ren’s eyes was all those things and more, but he couldn’t just tell her that. Well... he could. But he wasn’t going to. Those were all things Asaka had to achieve on her own. Ren was interested in watching her come into her own though.

In struggle was one to discover beauty. In desperation one would showcase their skill in order to persevere. And in sinking to the bottom would one garner the strength to climb to the top and beyond.

And Asaka was capable of it all. It was in her nature to make it an entertaining metamorphosis to boot. Ren was lucky to have her.

❝ Let’s get some beauty rest. That’s what you meant before, right? If you wanted more time to sleep all you had to do was ask. ❞

[atlantis54]

2 3 19 and 21 for the writers asks!

2. well, at first, but after a while i think i'd just give up lmao. that plus i tend to be pretty disorganized so unless im keeping it in a folder or smthn that wip is going straight to the shadow realm /j

3. hmm... i guess it'd have to be having a brainrot about my wip ideas over the course of at least a few days and then losing all motivation when i actually sit down to try and make it real. it happens a lot-

21. probably not. ive been into writing since i was little, and its a hobby thats stuck to me for years, so having to quit something i enjoy doing so much sounds like a nightmare... that being said, im always welcome to take breaks from writing. a hiatus is fine but flat out quitting is a no

and finally, ask 19, which is really, really long, so ill just put it under a read more for the sake of everyone lmao

19. i started when i was really little. what age? cant remember. i had a very early love of reading and writing, so i decided to start writing stories! i originally started on paper, writing stories about whatever scenario came to mind. it didnt matter if i finished them or not, i still enjoyed it, yknow? however, the thing i loved most was making comics which combined my love of art and writing.

after a long while, i stopped with the random scenarios and started focusing more on developing coherent stories that were tied together. surprisingly, i didnt start writing online until i was around 8 or 9. it started in powerpoints of all things where i rambled about the ideas i had for my OCs and (again) random scenarios, as well as getting my friends to do roleplays. i still miss the pokemon rp me and my friends made in 3rd-4th grade ;w; good times

eventually, i moved on to the much more sensible word documents (this was when i was 9, 10 or 11 i think) where i began the creation of my Kirby fanon universe. the fanon lore that ive made for Kirby is probably the most headcanons ive ever had for anything (as Kirby was my first fandom), so this is like the beginning of a legend to me.

finally, i signed up for Fandom Wikia with the goal to share my stories with the internet. i began my migration all over the place, going from Fandom Wikia to Wattpad, then to Tumblr, then to Comic Studio, then BACK to Tumblr... its been a crazy ride. but no matter where i went i made sure to share my stories.

now, im trying to improve on my writing skills. upon rereading my older fanfics, i realized they were... well, not the best. currently, my writing to-do list is to finish the Daily Life section of my Danganronpa multiverse crossover fic, begin writing an idea for an owlbit fic, and to begin the rewrites of 2 of my older works. its a little daunting of a task, but im sure that i can do it! besides, my fanfics arent particularly popular (i only have 27 followers on wattpad rip) so i dont have to worry too much about people begging me to get on w/ the chapters heh

anyway, thank you for the ask! have a duck as an apology gift for having to read that big wall of text :D

he got the. hat

[tossawary]

Because my brain does NOT stop even when I’m grounded, today my brain told me, “Hey, I figured out how to make a Hobbit Fusion AU work.” And I was like, “Great! We’re working, though.” And my brain was like, “I’ve figured out how to make it a Pre-Canon Canon Divergence AU for Moshang.”

And I was like, “...I’m listening.”

The Hobbit is another one of my Comfort Media and it got brought up when I was asking about that, but I was feeling kind of “eh” about mixing Tolkien mythology with SVSSS. I mean, the mental picture of Dwarf Mobei-Jun is extremely funny and Shang Qinghua would make a great hobbit! But that interpretation felt a little too direct for my AU tastes.

So, hm, now I have another potential Big Bang contender. My love for The Hobbit is very, VERY strong and looking at my current outline, I have to be like, “Yeah, this could be 50,000 words, no problem.”

It’s a very good outline!

-

After saving Mobei-Jun, Shang Qinghua bailed A.S.A.P. because he honestly thought Mobei-Jun was going to kill him. He psyched himself out of sticking around before Mobei-Jun woke up. Mobei-Jun didn’t get enough information to track Shang Qinghua down.

Shang Qinghua (who isn’t SQH because he isn’t the Peak Lord) decides that he can’t fucking take it anymore and bails from Cang Qiong Mountain Sect too. The System objects, but also falls into line when Airplane shrieks at it. Airplane is going to go become a humble merchant and inventor and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop him!

It turns out that Shang Qinghua’s presence or help was actually crucial to stop some Emperor of the Abyss from taking over the Ice Palace and the Northern Desert. Airplane is like, “Oh, yeah, I remember… offhandedly writing something about that happening in the past off-screen?” It was one of those things that he just threw in there because it sounded really cool, and it gave Mobei-Jun another reason to “owe” Shang Qinghua and not kill him immediately, but he never got to elaborate on it because he was too busy writing stallion novel bullshit.

So, borrowing the lore from my “Horns” one-shot, an extremely powerful Emperor of the Abyss escaped the Eternal Abyss. This is some devouring horror being from the depths of the abyss, which ate everything in its vicinity in the abyss itself and crawled into the Demon Realm to eat more things. The Emperor of the Abyss was attracted to Mobei-Jun’s father. They fought. Mobei-Jun’s father should have won, but didn’t, because he was too fucked up (thanks to his own hedonism or something) to fight properly. What an asshole.

Mobei-Jun’s father was killed and devoured by the Emperor of the Abyss, which has made it… exponentially powerful. It’s now… basically a calamity. The desolation that it leaves in its wake across the Northern Desert is unspeakable. Mobei-Jun and his family, their allied clans, and pretty much all demons in the Northern Desert have had to flee.

Mobei-Jun is currently essentially a “guest” of the Sha Clan. He’s homeless. He’s lost the power of his ancestors. He’s a “king” without a kingdom. It’s humiliating. He needs to kill the abyssal creature to retrieve: his title, his ancestors’ power, and his kingdom.

While working for other demon clans to support his family and people, Mobei-Jun crosses paths with Airplane. Airplane has become a relatively successful merchant and inventor, and he calls himself Shang Houhua. He lives a very comfortable life and does his best to ignore anything resembling the plot. He’s pretty successful at ignoring the plot.

Mobei-Jun is never in a good mood these days, but he’s especially pissed off to see that human who abandoned him all those years ago. Airplane tries to argue that Mobei-Jun told him to fuck off, but Mobei-Jun is too angry. Airplane makes lots of offers in an effort to get Mobei-Jun to spare his life, one of which ends up being a claim that he can help Mobei-Jun kill the Emperor of the Abyss and make him a king again. Mobei-Jun pauses, now even more pissed off than before, and Airplane just starts babbling desperately to save his own skin.

Mobei-Jun was already forming a company to take on a Quest for the Northern Desert - in the hopes of slaying the Emperor of the Abyss and retaking his homeland. Part of the issue has been that forming the company is difficult. Mobei-Jun wants people who are loyal to HIM and ONLY to him. He won’t owe anyone else anything or promise them pieces of his homeland.

(Airplane is like, “Bro, I don’t know if you can afford to be so picky, but okay.”)

So Mobei-Jun is like… “I still want to kill you, but fine, you can come on our quest and help us.”

So Airplane ends up on the Quest for the Northern Desert, led by his very angry future murderer the “king without a kingdom” Mobei-Jun, to fight the calamitous Emperor of the Abyss who killed Mobei-Jun’s father. Fuck.

Some details beyond this opening premise:

Airplane and Mobei-Jun fall in love over the course of the quest, obviously. They have their own hijinks like each chapter of The Hobbit (equivalents to the trolls, to Rivendell, to Goblintown, to Beorn, to Mirkwood, and to Laketown, etc.). 

Oh, damn, I just realized that making a pre-fall Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang the Beorn equivalents would be so fucking funny.

The Emperor of the Abyss is a horrifying Smaug equivalent. It can totally talk because Airplane having a conversation with a draconian horror sounds incredible. I would love to have Airplane outwit the Emperor of the Abyss in some fashion.

Mobei-Jun and Airplane somehow manage to successfully kill the Emperor of the Abyss together. Like, together. Probably using some plot device whipped up or some clever plan devised by Airplane on his feet. Mobei-Jun trusts Airplane at a crucial moment and it all works out. Airplane actually gets Mobei-Jun his kingdom back.

I’m tempted to just skip over the Ring and not having a Ring equivalent. BUT if I made this into a longfic instead of a one-shot, I would have a Ring equivalent (if it was a one-shot, I would ditch the Ring equivalent). I think I would make Xin Mo the One Ring equivalent. During the Goblintown equivalent event, Airplane falls either into the Eternal Abyss or into Bing-Ge’s dimension, where he proceeds to successfully take up Xin Mo because he knows the trick and portal himself out of the Eternal Abyss, or he proceeds to outwit Bing-Ge in some fashion and uses the Xin Mo sword to portal himself back to the right dimension.

So then Airplane is stuck with this super powerful sword that he doesn’t want to use again because he KNOWS that it will fuck him up. He KNOWS that it will FUCK HIM UP. So Airplane has to go through the rest of the quest ignoring the temptation of the Xin Mo sword that he is absolutely not supposed to have and can’t possibly let anyone else have.

(Oh, man, imagining the influence of Xin Mo giving Airplane extra horny thoughts about Mobei-Jun on the rest of the quest is very funny. Like, Airplane was already hot for Mobei-Jun, but now it’s worse and he might never have a normal thought ever again.)

Bagginshield Movie Hug when Airplane turns up again, for sure. Mobei-Jun thought he was dead. Mobei-Jun smiles and everything, until he remembers to frown again.

I’m feeling like I don’t want Airplane to use Xin Mo to help defeat the Emperor of the Abyss, but it makes sense if he does. Him not using it doesn’t make much sense. I do like the idea of Airplane dealing the killing blow and Mobei-Jun’s pride being hurt by Airplane being the one to kill it. I also like the idea of Mobei-Jun being a little smitten by Airplane just… loyally handing him his kingdom and restoring the power of his ancestors. I also really like the idea of Airplane just… not having some super powerful plot device up his sleeve on the quest.

Like, instead of Airplane’s Author God knowledge totally setting him up to deal with this thing no problem, Airplane had NO FUCKING PLAN when he set out with Mobei-Jun. He was talking completely out of his ass when he said he knew how to help Mobei-Jun. That this all worked out at all is almost completely due to luck and improvisation.

That feels MUCH more true to both Shang Qinghua and to Bilbo Baggins. Lucky lads of fast-talking, complaining, lying, not knowing what the fuck is really going on, thirsting after kings with tragic backstories, and somehow not dying despite winging it all the time.

Instead of goldsickness, Mobei-Jun is forced to deal with some side-effects of consuming the Emperor of the Abyss to regain the power of his ancestors. (Demon cannibalism rituals. Yeah.) He starts acting really scary and out-of-character and forceful, until Airplane loses his nerve and runs away. Maybe under the influence of the late Emperor of the Abyss, Mobei-Jun actually tries to kill him? I could see Mobei-Jun trying to kill Airplane for the Xin Mo sword which dealt the finishing blow on the Emperor of the Abyss.

(I need a better name for this thing. If I can’t come up with something that actually sounds good, I might just call it “The Calamity”, but that’s giving me BOTW vibes so I don’t like it. Maybe I’d call it “The Desolation” or something? Ehhhh, I don’t really like that either.)

I want to have a Battle of the Five Armies equivalent, if only so Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang can swoop in as benevolent helpers as the Beorn equivalents. Currently, I’m seeing three options. 1) The orc army equivalent are neighboring demon lords who want to strike while the new Mobei-Jun is getting established. 2) The orc army equivalent is Linguang-Jun trying to kill his nephew and take power at the last minute. 3) The orc army equivalent is Bing-Ge here with an army and he’s pissed off and wants his sword back.

On one hand, 1 and 2 would be SO MUCH EASIER to pull off. I could be really lazy about the whole thing. On the other hand, 3 would be much fresher (more surprising and links back to the Xin Mo element), more challenging and the idea of pre-fall Tianlang-Jun facing off with Bing-Ge delights me. Kick his ass, Tianlang-Jun!

(Su Xiyan gets involved? My brain says YES. Kick his ass, Su Xiyan!)

Also, I was sad about there being no Fili and Kili equivalents, because Mobei-Jun has no friends, and I’ll have to make up a company pretty much from scratch. (Sha Hualing is too young and Luo Binghe hasn’t been born yet.) BUT then I was like, “Where’s Linguang-Jun in all this?” And I would absolutely have Linguang-Jun be a part of Mobei-Jun’s Company. Instead of nephews, Mobei-Jun has a sketchy uncle who might be trying to kill him. Keeping Linguang-Jun out of it might be easier, but actually doing some character-building with him sounds fun and challenging, and I’d rather limit the number of OCs if possible.

Mobei-Jun manages to shake off the goldsickness equivalent somehow, probably through “the power of love” (and/or straight-up “dual cultivation” with Airplane?). Moshang makes up while Mobei-Jun is apparently mortally wounded from fighting Bing-Ge and Airplane thinks this is all his fault. But Mobei-Jun doesn’t die! It’s all good!  

It’d be pretty funny if there was a “Returning to the Shire” equivalent where Airplane leaves because he thinks Mobei-Jun hates him now and never wants to see him again. So then Mobei-Jun has to track his man down like, “Get back here and marry me. (Also I am so sorry for trying to kill you. Please forgive me. I hate myself so much for that.)”

And they all live happily ever after!

Holy shit, this wasn’t in Proud Immortal Demon Way.

[elvish-sky]

Say That Again {Legolas x Reader}

A.N: Do I really like this fic? Yes, I do. Will I possibly be re-writing it and turning it into a multi-part? Yes, I will. Thank you so much to the two Anons who requested this- I kinda went a little off of your exact requests, so I hope that’s ok, but I was super inspired by them. I’m very proud of this, and I really hope you all like it!

Requested by Anons on Tumblr: Can I request a Legolas x reader fic where the reader is an archivist for the library in Mirkwood and Legolas begins to visit more often just to see the reader? Over the months, they get very close and eventually end up confessing/sharing a small kiss, and the reader whispers, “I love you.” afterward. Legolas, having not heard those words directed towards him in a long time, is breathless. then, shyly, he tells the reader to say it again😶

and

Hey! I love your writing, by the way. I know you probably get a lot of these, so no pressure, but I was wondering if I could request a Legolas x reader fic? maybe where the reader is like an archivist/librarian for the woodland realm, and Legolas is doing research on the sickness in his homeland. together, they both find that Sauron has returned, and become really close over the time they’ve spent together. maybe the reader could join the fellowship with him? it’s just an idea based on a fic I read a while ago. you could do what you like with it, but I thought you could turn it into whatever you like. Thanks!

Word Count: 1,431

Pairing: Legolas x Reader

Warnings: Fluff, other than that I think that’s it. 

****

Say That Again

You sat curled up in your favorite chair in the back corner of the library and began to read, taking a break from your work. You were an archivist for the Library of the Woodland Realm, and you loved your job. Books were one of your favorite things in life, and so it was only natural for you to work in the library. Not only was it full of tomes of knowledge, but it was also absolutely stunning. Like everything else in the kingdom, it embodied nature, with smooth sweeping arches of stone and vines trailing along the walls. There were cuts in the stone to allow sunlight to brighten the dark, and the dust shone in the sunbeam on your table that was also illuminating your (h/c) hair, making it glow.

You looked up as someone plopped into the seat across from you. Legolas, Prince of the Woodland Realm, had started visiting the library rather suddenly several weeks ago, looking for answers about the blight and darkness that were spreading through the forest. Shocked at first about how much he cared about the forest, and then even more so at how interested he was in you, it had been rather awkward at first. He was the prince, and you were just another elf, of no importance. Despite your differences, you had become fast friends, although you had wished for more since you had first laid eyes on him, years ago. 

He slammed a thick book down onto the table. “I think this one may contain the answers!” You glanced at the title. Blights of Nature and Their Causes. As much as you did not want to get your hopes up, this one looked promising. 

“Where did you find this?” you flipped open the cover, admiring the pretty endpapers. Whoever had authored this book had clearly taken the time to make sure it was presentable.

“In the ‘Ancient Lore’ section, the top of the last shelf.” You could tell he had been in the far reaches of the library, he was absolutely covered in dust. You absentmindedly reached out to brush off his shoulder, making him blush, but you quickly withdrew your hand once you realized what you were doing. 

“What were you doing back there?” 

“I figured that we’ve had no luck looking in the places where it would make sense to find answers, so I looked in a place where it wouldn’t make sense.” 

You chuckled at his explanation. “That may be the least-well thought out reasoning I have ever heard.” 

“Nevertheless, this one might be it. I mean, it mentions blights in the title! What’s happening outside is definitely a blight.” 

You could understand his excitement. You had been looking for some sort of explanation for weeks, and the darkness was only spreading. You bent over the book, head bowed next to his as you poured over the pages together.

Sometime later, you awoke, hearing a gasp, to find your head resting on Legolas’ chest. You were somehow lying between his legs with the book resting on your stomach as he peered at it over your shoulder. “What is it?” you responded to his cry, blinking groggily. “I think I’ve found something.” Your eyes scanned the page he was on, flying across the words as you searched for what he meant. They came to a rest on the line A spreading of darkness in a forest, and an infestation of dark creatures, often herald the arrival of dark sorcery. 

“Dark sorcery?” you glanced up at him, your worry mirrored in his eyes looking back at you. 

“It makes sense,” you could feel his mind spinning, sense his brain questioning, searching for an answer. “But what sorcery is strong enough to corrupt the Woodland Realm?”

 “I do not know,” you replied. “But I fear for all our safety against one this powerful. We must learn who is doing this.” 

“I know of someone who may be able to answer our questions.” Legolas strode into the library the next morning with a purposeful air. You looked up from your work. He was wearing a tunic and leather boots, like always, and his hair loose except for those two small braids on either side of his head. He looked, to put it simply, absolutely wonderful. But then, when did he not?

You were sure that you didn’t look half as put together- you had spent the whole night after he left-which was admittedly not much, he had stayed pretty late- pouring over ancient manuscripts and old texts, trying to find mention of any sorcerers powerful enough to corrupt a whole forest. You had found nothing, and looked rather worse for wear.

“Who?” you were frantically attempting to rein in your unruly hair as you spoke.

“Gandalf the Grey. I sent him a bird last night and he replied, he has found something most troubling and thinks it may be related. I’m traveling to Rivendell today on unrelated business and he’ll be there, so I’ll ask him then.” 

Now you were busy brushing out your clothes and picking lint off of them. Legolas looked at you, eyes drawn from where they had been steadily focused on the wall behind you by your frantic movements. “Y/N, what are you doing?” He grabbed your hand. “I’m just… nothing.” You looked down in embarrassment, eyes firmly fixed on his boots. “You’re primping, aren’t you?” “Well, it’s not fair for you to just tramp in here looking perfect all the time!” You stepped back from him, realizing what you had just said. “Well, you- uh- you don’t look perfect, per se, more like… well put together!” 

Your self-conscious stammering had just made you feel worse. “Look, Legolas. I’m sorry. I very much did not mean to say that.” “It’s ok, Y/N. I do look pretty great.” He did a little twirl to show off just how great, and you felt the blood rush to your cheeks again. 

“Now, Y/N, you might want to go upstairs and grab some things for the road if we want to be out of the forest by midday.”

“Wait- I’m coming?”

“Of course, Y/N! You didn’t think that after all of the help you gave me you wouldn’t be included when we finally get our answer?” 

Sheepishly, you nodded.

“Ok, well, go pack. I’ll put these books back and be waiting ready to go.”

“Thank you, Legolas!” you exclaimed as you turned to the door. “Love you!” 

“What did you just say?” Legolas spoke, and you spun to see him, face pale with shock, leaning against your table. 

“I said thanks.” It had been a passing comment, and you didn’t remember saying anything else. Until you did. “Oh, shit!” you clapped a hand over your mouth and internally smacked yourself. If he did not dislike me for my oddities before, he’ll hate me now, you thought. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Legolas. It was just a slip of the tongue, it meant nothing…” you trailed off as he stepped closer to you.

He grabbed your chin in his hand, gazing into your eyes. “Say that again.” 

“It meant nothing?” you were so very confused. 

“No, Y/N. The other thing.” He looked mildly exasperated with you now but was still gazing at you with that peculiar expression on his face.

“I love you?” you stammered, wondering if that was, in fact, the right thing to say. 

“I love you too, Y/N.”

With this, his hand on your chin guided your lips to press against his. Finally, you thought as you melted into the kiss, surrendering yourself to him. You had wanted this for so long, and now it was finally happening. Your hands were tangled in his hair like you’d wanted them to be ever since you’d first met him. One of his was supporting your neck, and the other was wrapped around your back, pulling you closer into him.

Panting, you broke away. “I should go pack. We want to be on the road soon.” He nodded, seeming to come back to reality. “I’ll be waiting here when your ready, melleth nin.” He said the words to your retreating back, and as you heard them you smiled. Spinning around again, you strode back to him and grabbed his shirt to pull his lips down to yours. “We can wait ten more minutes, right?” “Of course.” He kissed you again, and you lost yourself in him, his arms wrapped around you, holding on to each other as you would be for the rest of your lives. 

Everything tag 💖: @entishramblings @boyruins @itgetsatadhazy @anjhope1

Legolas tag: @sheriffgerard

[ohdeartheendsworlded]

Some implications from Hunting Palismen (SPOILERS)

!SPOILERS!

So this last episode was kinda a lore dump so here’s some 3:30am reflections on it (i.e. I’m not going to double check the episode, this is from what I remember).

1. Unity Day is like the end of STVOE I guess?? (idk never seen it) So, essentially making it so the Titan (probably not a good guy) and the Boiling Isles’ realm fuse with the Earth realm. This being the Titan’s end goal probably means that uh.. Bill Cipher level apocalyptic event.

2. Belos is in some way related to Philip Whittebane, and most likely is Philip Whittebane. 

Note: Belos said “our” when discussing Unity Day with the coven heads, and since the coven heads would most directly correlate to the Boiling Isles, Belos would correlate to the human realm. (Also, it would be unlikely for a descendant of Belos to consider so strongly the human realm their home).

Ok. So two arguments we have to consider to the contrary.

a. If Belos is Philip Whittebane, how is he still alive after all this time?

and

b. If Belos is Philip Whittebane, why hasn’t he just done this whole unity thing already considering all signs point to him being the portal’s creator?

These two questions are pretty interlinked and I’ll answer them with my new patented: Belos Theory v. 01 (until it gets retconned by Dana)

Essentially, Philip ends up in the Boiling Isles, and tries to find his way back. Along the way, he hears of Titan’s blood and acquires some through some unknown means and boom hey you got a portal.

However, the Titan’s blood somehow exerts a psychic influence on Philip and the Titan starts to talk to him. The Titan, must’ve at one point, been some interdimensional being (given that it’s blood literally transcends dimensions), but it’s power has been lost (for some reason). Left to rot, but still conscious, on the Boiling Isles, this guy wants to get his mojo back. The Titan’s true motivations are unclear, but probably not good. 

Philip completes his portal, but the Titan can’t do anything with it. It’s too weak. At this point, Philip probably starts to have some personal “there’s a demon in my head” moments and ditches the portal. Eventually, he returns with the Titan in full control. 

With the Titan’s magic essentially being all spread around and “wild,” the Titan cannot concentrate it’s magic to do anything, so it somehow curses Philip- through what means, man idk, there’s a lot. My guess is that it really got into Philip’s head, and made him do something with the Palismen forest place.

This curse essentially elongates Philip’s life, and the Titan uses Belos to be it’s pawn, having Philip, known as Belos, convince the world (one that had forgotten the Titan’s intentions) that “wild” magic is the scourge of society, and that “concentrated” coven magic is the way to go.

That’s a big part of my theory here by the way: Wild magic isn’t bad, it’s just unfocused and diverse: coven magic is uniform and concentrated.

Anyway... ba da bing ba da boom, we got covens, and those who excel in the covens to a point of extreme virtuosity (i.e. have the most concentrated of that magic), become coven heads, who report to Belos. 

He then seeks out the portal he ditched long ago, but someone has nabbed it: Eda, the Owl Lady. Her being a wild witch is enough cover to put up a bounty, and eventually as we know, petrification ceremony and hey, he’s got the portal (but damaged).

My guess to the plan here is simple: 

Like a car, Belos will jumpstart the Titan. (After all the Titan’s heart is present in the castle.) By having the Coven heads focus their concentrated magic into the portal contraption, with the portal being activated, the Titan will have enough power to enact the unification of the two realms, and start whatever the Titan has planned.

Please note that I’m writing this at like 4am, but lemme know what you think of this.

(Also, has anyone seen Belos’s ears?)

3. The Golden Guard is related to Belos... somehow. It’s stated that Belos is his uncle, or at least that’s what he calls him. Whether this is a true title or not doesn’t matter really, hey why can’t mr. witch ears do magic??? 

GG is a half-witch. Half-human and half-witch. That’s why he has the appearance of a witch, but not the physical capabilities. Additionally, his ancestors have had similar issue with magic which leads us down three scenarios.

a) GG is a descendant of Belos, who apparently had some kids with another witch, and started a family lineage.

b) GG is a descendant of an unrelated lineage of half-witches, which means that Philip wasn’t the first, and that maybe at one point, humans and witches coexisted?? (A stretch, but it’s better than thinking hey maybe there was like one person who came into this realm and got busy).

c) I don’t like this one as much, but perhaps some genetic thing where magic was repressed by genetic mutation. Idk I gotta end this post.

TLDR; Unity day is STVOE, Belos is about to start a car, and Hunter is a human name if I ever heard it.

Peace.

[obeyme-kaidii-writes]

Alright, this combination spoke to me. I personally am struggling to pick between Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, and Diavolo as my favorite, I love all of them. So Poly with the four, but with the angst prompt of "I don't know how much longer I can endure this." in response to the tortures of not being able to choose. Up to interpretation, but this resonated with me.

I may have gotten a teensy tiny bit carried away with this one. But I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you enjoy it too!

Complicated

Diavolo / Lucifer / Satan / Beel x poly gn!MC

Words - 5330

Content warnings - some angst, lots of comfort and fluff, polyamorous relationship w/MC (no demon x demon relationships)

Prompt/Inspiration - anon request, “I don’t know how much longer I can endure this.”

Summary - You had managed to fall in love with not one, not two, but FOUR demons - and now you had to figure out what came next.

AO3

Complicated.

There really wasn’t another way to describe the current state of your life.

Beel was the first one to really take an interest in you. A genuine interest. You fell in love hard and fast. Perhaps it was the guilt over not being able to reveal what you knew about Belphegor’s situation, but you didn’t feel comfortable making your feelings for him known. It just seemed like something that would burden him, and you really didn’t want to risk losing the one friend you felt the most safe with while you were all alone in this new realm.

As your year progressed, the situation with Belphegor was finally resolved. But still, you hesitated to say anything. You knew how close he was to Belphie, and you convinced yourself that it would be best if you didn’t do anything that would come between them. It was obvious even to your own heart that you were just making excuses for yourself, too scared to take a step forward.

It was then you started growing closer to Lucifer. Your initial relationship with him had been...strained...to say the least. But after he realized the lengths you were willing to go to in order to help his brothers, he couldn’t help but fall in love with you. You had an inner strength that he honestly admired, though he would probably never admit that to you. And he enjoyed your company immensely, even if it was just having you nearby while he worked. Everything just seemed easier with you around, even Mammon’s shenanigans didn’t stress him out quite like they used to anymore. And you enjoyed his company as well - he was a source of stability for you in the chaos of the House of Lamentation. You would often take refuge in his study with him to recharge after a day of playing referee for the other overgrown children you had as housemates.

You had also managed to catch Satan’s eye, particularly after the whole dating sim fiasco with Levi. He liked the fact that you saw him as an individual - you never compared him to Lucifer, nor did you ever try to force the issue about them getting along. You just let Satan be...Satan. And he loved spending time with you reading together. It was like the two of you had your own private book club; he was always ready with a book recommendation for you.

It was Satan that had actually approached you first about the possibility of being in a relationship. You were surprised to hear that he had had such a strong interest in you, since he was always so reserved most of the time. Your initial reaction was of course to want to say yes, but the fact that Beel, and Lucifer especially, still held pieces of your heart made you feel incredibly guilty. You didn’t even have to ask to know that Lucifer was the absolute last person he’d ever be ok with sharing your affections with, even if you could get him to consider a polyamorous relationship.

So, you instead asked Satan for time. And he agreed to give you some space to think things over. You knew it was unfair to him to expect him to wait...but you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him “no”. You didn’t want to tell him “no”, after all. It was just the only option you felt was available to you.

Hoping to avoid Satan, and delay the inevitable, you started spending more time with Barbatos at the Demon Lord’s Castle. He taught you all about Devildom teas, and showed you how to bake some of Diavolo’s favorite treats. And Diavolo was more than happy to sample everything you tried your hand at preparing.

At some point, you had just started dropping by even when Barbatos was busy, just to chat with Diavolo and he was always glad to see you. He’d ask you about your life in the human realm, and you’d ask him about life in the Devildom. You probably learned more about Devildom history and lore from these conversations than you ever did in class at RAD; and you eagerly soaked it all up, hanging on Diavolo’s every word, absolutely enchanted with his storytelling ability and his life experiences that spanned several millennia.

Unlike with Beel, or even Lucifer, you didn’t realize when you had started falling for Diavolo, or Dia as he asked you to call him now. One day you had just tried to stop by, only to learn that he was still stuck at RAD, working with Lucifer. And you were absolutely devastated. It shocked you honestly at just how upset you had gotten over the loss of one simple visit. But as soon as you felt that familiar ache in your heart you knew exactly what was going on.

It was the same thing that you had been trying to avoid dealing with with Lucifer and his brothers. And you had somehow managed to get tangled up in again. Only this time things were far more complicated than family relationships between brothers. There was just no way you’d be allowed to enter into a relationship with Lord Diavolo, crown prince of the Devildom. That is if he was even interested in you in that way, which you highly doubted. Why would he be? You were just a simple human. You didn’t have any great experience or insight to offer, your education wasn’t even that exemplary. There was nothing about you that you felt entitled you to ever expect to be more than just friends with the Prince, and you were lucky he even humored your attempts at friendship.

You weren’t sure how, but you did manage to make it home that afternoon and crawled into bed. The tears just started on their own, and you were powerless to stop them. You had fought them off for far too long at this point, your body simply decided it had enough repressing those emotions and they all came pouring out. How much longer would you be able to endure this? You honestly didn’t think there was much more your heart could take, and you had no one to blame but yourself.

————

When Beel dropped by to remind you of dinner, you pretended to sleep and choked back your sobs until he went away. When Lucifer stopped by to check on you, you told him you were busy with schoolwork. And when Satan asked if you would like to come over to his room to read, you said you weren’t feeling well.

You thought you had managed to throw everyone off the scent. But when Diavolo popped in to apologize for not being there when you had tried to visit him earlier, everything quickly started to unravel.

You opened your bedroom door, completely shocked to see Dia and Lucifer on the other side. He had never come by before just to see you. Maybe a few times to check on Lucifer, but he usually would send Barbatos to run any important errands or to issue any invitations. Seeing him before you now, you immediately became aware of how awful you must have looked. Your eyes still red, your hair a mess, your uniform all disheveled since you hadn’t bothered to change when you got home.

As you stood there, opening and closing your mouth, struggling to string together a single coherent thought, the unthinkable happened - Beel walked by on his way to the kitchen, Satan not far behind him, and they both turned to look your way as they walked past your door. Your eyes flicked from Beel to Satan to Lucifer to Dia and you instinctively tried to slam your door shut to escape, but Lucifer caught it before you could.

“Is there something the matter?” he asked.

And of course, once again, your body decided it had just had enough of containing your repressed emotions and let your tears flow freely. This was it, you thought. You were going to be forced to face what you had been trying to avoid and that would just be the end of it all. Since you had refused to make a choice on your own, your choice was about to be made for you and you were going to end up with absolutely nothing as a result.

—————

It took awhile for you to calm down. Beel was sitting next to you on the edge of your bed with his arm wrapped protectively around your shoulders. Satan was standing nearby, holding a glass of water for you. You thanked him quietly for his thoughtfulness, and slowly sipped the chilled water, trying to buy yourself some time before you would start being forced to answer questions. And Lucifer and Dia were sitting across from you in two plush, wingback chairs that they had dragged away from the wall.

Everyone silently waiting for you.

“I’m...sorry…” you finally mumbled out. Beel gave you a reassuring squeeze, and Satan sat down beside you, taking your free hand. What you wouldn’t have given to be able to freeze time and just continue living in that perfect little moment surrounded by your favorite demons. But this was reality. And it was about time you faced that.

“It’s ok, but what are you apologizing for?” Satan asked.

“I umm…” your lip started trembling and you took a deep breath to try to calm yourself. There wasn’t any way to run from this, not this time.

“Take your time,” Beel reassured you, rubbing your arm.

“I’m sorry for avoiding you guys, especially you Satan. I know that wasn’t fair.” You felt him tense up beside you, no doubt expecting the reason for your avoidance to have been due to the fact you were planning on rejecting him. But he didn’t let go of your hand either, which only made you feel more guilty.

“It’s just...I can’t...I can’t choose…” you started to fidget nervously in your seat.

Lucifer seemed to have caught on quicker than the rest, “You mean to say you have feelings for more than one of us?” You meekly nodded, keeping your head down and your eyes glued to the floor. You had absolutely no desire to see the expressions on everyone’s faces as they exchanged looks with one another.

By this point Dia was getting a bit uncomfortable. This didn’t seem like the sort of conversation he should be part of - it was between Lucifer and his brothers after all. Even though he treasured you greatly, he had never made those feelings known to you nor had you ever expressed more than friendly interest in him, so it didn’t even occur to him that he might also be involved.

“I think I’ll go ahead and head out so…”

“No..!” you called out, looking Dia right in the eye, desperate for him to stay. You were surprised at your own reaction, but you couldn’t let him leave without knowing how you felt. The only thing that would hurt worse than him knowing your feelings and rejecting you, was if he thought you didn’t care for him at all and preferred someone else to him. And you couldn’t let that happen. You at least wanted a chance to keep him as your friend.

“I...ummm…you’re part of...this…” you mumbled out as your eyes fell to the ground again.

Diavolo was caught completely off guard with your confession, a deep blush spreading across his cheeks. As was Lucifer, who for the most part had been unaware that you had been spending enough time with the Prince to have any sort of relationship.

The silence that followed was killing you. It felt so oppressive. All you could do was wait for someone else to decide to speak. You couldn’t understand why Beel was still holding you so gently, or why Satan hadn’t moved from his spot next to you, your hand still wrapped in his. It was only a matter of time, you thought, before they’d all leave one by one and you’d find yourself alone. Part of you wanted them to hurry up and go so you could wallow in your own self pity, because the other part of you wanted them all to stay and tell you how much they all loved you, and you knew that was never going to happen.

“Can I speak with them? Alone?”

“Lord Diavolo…” Lucifer had started to object, but quickly stopped himself. He could use this time to talk to Satan and Beel, and it seemed they had a lot to talk about, “Alright, we will be in my study. Let us know when you’re finished.”

Satan, who had been staring at you this whole time, glared at Lucifer for assuming he’d just go along with his suggestion. But even he could see the tender look in his eyes as he gazed at you. There was no doubt Lucifer cared for you immensely, and seeing as this was for your benefit, Satan decided to comply, giving your hand one final squeeze before making his way out of your room.

Beel was having a more difficult time letting you go. He could practically feel how upset you were, and didn’t want to leave you alone. But after looking at Lucifer and Lord Diavolo, he finally accepted that it would be alright to leave you be for just a few moments. So, giving you one last hug and a kiss to the top of your head, he followed after Satan, with Lucifer not far behind.

Now alone with you, Dia dragged his chair closer to your bed so that he was sitting right in front of you, knees nearly touching. He took the now empty glass from you and set it down on the bedside table before taking both of your hands in his own.

“This has been bothering you for some time, hasn’t it?”

“...yeah…”

“Is this why you started spending so much time at the castle?”

“Sorta. I asked Barbatos to help me learn more about Devildom baking so I could avoid everyone else,” you gave a self deprecating laugh, “But then I started spending time with you….and...well then that started to be the reason I came…”

“So you really enjoyed our time together?”

“Of course!” you replied, raising your head to meet Diavolo’s gaze. He was much closer than you were expecting, and you flushed in embarrassment. He chuckled at your reaction. You were just so cute when you got flustered, he had a hard time resisting the urge to tease you, but he’d have to save that for later.

“Then why were you so upset?”

“Because...I...realized it didn’t matter.”

“Didn’t matter? Why would you think that?”

“Because...I’m...I'm just me. A simple human. And you’re you. And I should just be happy you even put up with me or talk to me at all. And even if I told you how I felt, it wouldn’t change how I feel about them and it just didn’t seem fair to have to choose, not after Satan already confessed to me. And I know Lucifer hasn’t said anything yet, but I can tell the way he looks at me. And there is no way Satan would ever be ok with me having any sort of relationship with Lucifer. And Beel is like my best friend and I’m sure if I say anything it would just upset Belphie and I don’t want to hurt him or make Beel think he has to choose…”

You snapped your mouth shut, realizing what you had just done. You had just unloaded everything, all the secrets and worries that had plagued your heart for the past several months, you had shared it all. To say you were mortified right now would be an understatement. You truly wished the ground would just swallow you up. You’d wish for death if you thought it would make a difference, but with your luck you’d just end up right back in the Devildom.

“So what I’m hearing is you’re too busy worrying about how everyone else feels to worry about yourself?”

You nodded your head, averting your eyes.

“What do you want then?”

“...it’s selfish…”

“Then be selfish. We’re demons after all.”

“Wha…?” you looked up at Dia again and he was gazing at you softly, a small smile on his lips as he encouraged you. Was it really ok for you to just ask for that ? Would they really not hate you if you did? It didn’t seem possible for you to get everything you’d want, how could you be that lucky? Surely if you said anything, then you’d lose everything, right?

At least that’s what your human conscience was telling you.

But here sat Lord Diavolo, future king of the Devildom, telling you that it was ok to ask for whatever you wanted, in a way that suggested you just might be granted it. And you wanted so badly to believe that that would be true.

“Go on, love, tell me what you want to do.”

————

Lucifer took a seat at his desk, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms in front of himself. Finding out that you had a close relationship with Diavolo had come as a huge surprise. He had suspected that Satan had taken a liking to you, and he wasn’t at all surprised to discover that Beel was fond of you as well. But Diavolo? He wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“I assume you wanted to talk to us. So what is it?” asked Satan. He was agitated. He didn’t like the idea of leaving you alone with Lord Diavolo, especially not after it seemed that you may actually reciprocate his own feelings. But since, it appeared, he wasn’t the only one in your heart, he had to put your best interest first. And in this case that included letting you speak with Lord Diavolo while he discussed things with his brothers.

“Obviously.”

“Well?”

“First, I want to hear what your thoughts are on this matter. It’s clear that Satan has feelings for them, but what about you Beel? You’ve been quiet this whole time.”

Satan and Lucifer both turned to look at Beel who was seated in one of the large chairs near the fireplace. He raised his head to look at his brothers, before sighing and sitting back in his seat. He knew how much they cared for you. He had even started to realize when Lord Diavolo had begun to take an interest in you as even his casual interactions became more friendly. And he had decided that he was going to keep his own feelings to himself, not wanting to interfere in his brothers’ happiness. Never once had it occurred to him that he may have been causing you to suffer as a result.

“I love them,” he replied, a soft blush spreading across his cheeks. Of course he loved you. How could he not? You were just so bright in his eyes, and you brought so much hope with you. When you had told him that you wanted to help Lucifer and Belphie makeup when you had first arrived, he didn’t doubt you for a second. Even though he barely knew you at the time, he just had this feeling you’d make it happen. And the closer the two of you grew, the more deeply he trusted you, the stronger his love for you became, the more he wanted to protect you and your happiness.

“Then I suppose that makes three of us,” Lucifer said, clearing his throat.

“So? What are you suggesting we do?” asked Satan.

“That depends on them, of course. But it seems the primary reason for their struggle is because they feel unable to choose between us.”

“I already confessed directly, have you?” Satan asked, staring Lucifer down.

“I have not, and I don’t believe Beel has either,” Beel shook his head in agreement, “I think that’s irrelevant though based on the conversation we just had in their bedroom.”

Satan scoffed, walking to the other end of the room to put some distance between himself and Lucifer. Of course his brother was right. It didn’t really matter who said what first, or even who you fell in love with first. All that mattered was what you wanted. And right now, he wasn’t sure what you wanted at all.

He had to admit it did sting a little when he realized you weren’t interested in him alone. Particularly since Lucifer was one of the other parties involved. The idea of being in any sort of romantic relationship which also involved Lucifer just made his skin crawl. But despite that, the idea of losing you entirely was even more painful.

“I believe we need to decide what we would like to do if they express an interest in maintaining a relationship with all three...four...of us. Would either of you have any objections to that?”

Beel immediately shook his head. He didn’t have any issues with a polyamorous relationship, not if that’s what you wanted. He just wanted to see you happy, and he knew it would make him feel better if you were with someone else who loved you just as much as he did when he couldn’t be there. The only other concern that crossed his mind was how Belphie would react, but he knew that Belphie adored you too in his own way, and you enjoyed his company as well. So there really wasn’t any reason for Beel to say “no”.

“Satan?”

“No objections, so long as we get private time with them too.”

“Then it seems we are all agreed. We will wait to see what they decide.”

————

You wrapped your arms around Dia’s neck as he lifted you up effortlessly and spun you around, the both of you laughing. He was so glad to hear what you desired, and more than happy to do what he could to make that wish come true. You hardly asked for anything for yourself, something he found absolutely charming, but now that you confessed to him that you wanted to be his? He’d give you the whole Devildom if you asked for it. Maybe even if you didn’t.

You hid your face in his neck as you hugged him close. You were pretty sure you must be dreaming at this point, but you didn’t care. You were going to make the most of this dream for as long as it lasted. You still had the other 3 of your beloved demons to talk to, but having Dia on your side made that not seem nearly as scary now. He had given you permission to be yourself, and he didn’t shame you for it, or guilt you into changing your mind. He just listened, and accepted you with open arms.

“I want to suggest we make a break for it, and run off together, but I think Lucifer and his brothers are waiting for us.”

You pulled back to look Dia in the eyes, and smiled at him. He was even more handsome up close, and you couldn’t help but run your fingers through his hair before resting your forehead against his. You wanted to savor this moment for just a little while longer. After you left your room, there was going to be a whole host of things to discuss and negotiate. It might honestly be awhile before you’d get to have some alone time like this with him again, but you knew he was worth it. They all were. You’d figure things out one way or another, of that you were certain.

“Alright, I guess I’ve put this off long enough.”

“I probably shouldn’t carry you into Lucifer’s study, should I?”

“Probably not,” you laughed.

Diavolo set you down gently, only releasing you from his arms when he was sure you were steady on your feet. He pressed a tender kiss to your forehead before offering you his hand, and entwining his fingers with yours. He beamed at you, when he caught you staring at your joined hands, lifting them up to kiss the back of the one he was holding. You blushed at the gesture, but couldn’t help but smile when your eyes met his.

“Shall we?” he asked, leading you to your bedroom door.

————

You peered sheepishly around the corner of Lucifer’s study door before entering the room, Diavolo slightly behind you, with one hand gently resting on your lower back to encourage you. As your eyes scanned the room, Lucifer, Satan, and Beel all turned to face you, various expressions of anxiety and excitement written on their faces. You turned back to look at Dia, and he just smiled and nodded at you, guiding you inside.

“Hey…” was all you managed to squeak out.

Not wasting a moment, Beel rose to his feet and wrapped his arms about your shoulders, pulling you to his chest. He kissed the top of your head, before resting his cheek against you.

“I love you,” he whispered, “and I’m fine with whatever you want to do.” You clutched at his shirt in return, relief washing over you. He didn’t ask you any questions, he didn’t pressure you to make a choice. He just supported you like he always did, the same support you gave him. You took a deep breath, breathing in his scent, before slowly pulling away so you could see his face. He smiled at you softly, and you just felt your heart melt. How could a demon possibly be this cute? you wondered.

“I love you too,” you replied, making his smile broaden. You hadn’t said it to him yet, and hearing those words in your voice made him want to jump for joy. Caught up in the moment, you briefly forgot about the others in the room with you, until Lucifer cleared his throat. You blushed heavily when you realized you were being watched, and you could hear Dia chuckling behind you.

Beel let you go, but immediately grabbed your hand and brought you to the chair he had been sitting in earlier. You took your seat, starting to feel a bit nervous again when he stepped back, even if it only was so Lucifer and Satan could have a chance to speak with you.

They were probably the two you were most anxious about speaking with. Their relationship was complicated enough as it was, you weren’t even sure they’d want to stick you in the middle of it.

“We’ll be outside if you need us,” Dia said, more to you than anyone else, as he offered you a smile. Beel nodded to you as well, before slipping out after Diavolo to give you some privacy with Lucifer and Satan.

Lucifer nudged the coffee table over so that it was positioned in such a way that both he and Satan could sit side by side in front of you. Even after he took a seat though, Satan remained a little ways away, silent and watching. Part of Lucifer wanted to chastise him for being stubborn and troublesome, but then he remembered that Satan was the only one to openly confess to you, and as such, probably had a lot more to discuss with you, preferably in private.

“I’ll keep this brief for now,” Lucifer began, returning his attention to you and holding the hand nearest him, “But I too, love you, deeply. And I hope you will accept me. I’m willing to do whatever is needed to insure your happiness.”

You had not been expecting such an open and forward declaration of love from Lucifer, of all demons, but you could see the unbridled passion in his eyes as he looked at you and waited for your reply. All you could do was nod your head, which made Lucifer smirk, pleased that he had rendered you speechless. He leaned forward, kissing you tenderly on the lips. It was only the briefest of touches, but it contained a promise of more that made your heart race.

“We will talk more later,” he said, as he gave you one final kiss to your forehead, turning to look at Satan before he left the room.

Satan kept his eyes trained on the door to Lucifer’s study until he heard the tell-tale “click” signifying it had been locked. He then sighed, his shoulders relaxing, as he turned to face you. His mask, the carefully crafted one he often hid behind in his attempt to control his emotions, crumbled away and you could see just how exhausted he appeared. Your heart ached knowing that you were to blame for that. He had been waiting for your response to his confession for several weeks now, and you had always managed to avoid answering him.

You knew you needed to apologize to him, before anything else, so you stood up and hesitantly moved to stand before him. Fortunately for Satan, even with as close as you were, you were unable to hear the way his heart thudded rapidly against his chest. Or if you did, you didn’t mention it. Instead, you simply reached out for his hands and held them tightly, rubbing your thumbs along his knuckles.

“I’m sorry, Satan. I was...I was scared. And I acted childishly and selfishly. I should have spoken to you…”

Your apology was cut short when you suddenly felt his lips crash into yours. Taking advantage of your surprise, he wrapped one arm around your waist, pulling you close, and with the other he gently cradled your head, holding you in place. It took a moment for your brain to catch up with what was happening, but once you finally realized you quickly looped your arms around Satan’s neck and deepened the kiss. You could feel him smiling against your lips when you did so, happy tears starting to spill from your eyes.

“I love you,” you whispered, when you finally broke away for air, “I’m sorry for not talking to you.”

Satan rested his forehead against yours, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on the back of your neck, “I guess you’ll have to make it up to me,” he teased.

“I guess so,” you laughed, before pulling back to look him in the eyes, “Are you sure you’re ok with this? With Lucifer and everyone I mean.”

“I won’t lie and say I wouldn’t prefer to have you all to myself. But,” he paused, tucking a few stray hairs behind your ear, “but I’m willing to work with you, to try to find a compromise we can all be happy with.”

“Really?” you could feel your tears threatening to spill again as your heart started to overflow with joy.

“Really. Will you promise me something though?”

“Of course, anything,” you said, wiping at your eyes, trying to fight off your tears.

“That you will talk with me if things change. And that we will be able to spend time together, just the two of us.”

Your vision blurred with tears, unable to hold them back any longer, “I promise. I’ll talk to you. About everything.”

“Good,” he whispered, gently kissing away your tears as they slid down your cheeks. You couldn’t stop smiling now if you even were to try. You threw your arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as you could manage, hoping to convey even a fraction of your happiness to him. When you felt him hug you back tightly, arms wrapped around your waist, you knew you had been successful.

Against all odds, and despite your fumbling attempts at dealing with your own emotions, you had managed to get everything you had wanted. Never in your wildest dreams could you have imagined things working out this way. Your arrival in the Devildom had been a lonely one. But you weren’t alone anymore. Not now, not ever.

[feralphoenix]

HOWMST BELL THE CAT? - A treatise on one aspect of how the Pale King sealed the Radiance

sup hollow knight fandom, i’m back with the picante takes again after having Noticed A Thing.

as with my previous essays i’ll put this guy up on dreamwidth later for accessibility purposes, since my layout text may be too small for high-res pc users. i will attach that in a reblog at a later point.

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR TONIGHT’S PROGRAM: This essay discusses canon-typical body horror and bodily boundary violations, with some side mentions of colonialism.

all game screencaps are mine. the screencap of the wiki is from the “developer notes” (style guide) section of the “cut content” page.

ALSO: if youre from a christian cultural upbringing (whether currently practicing, agnostic/secular, or atheist now), understand that some of what i’m discussing here may challenge you. if thinking thru the implications of this particular part of hollow knight worldbuilding/lore is distressing for you, PLEASE only approach this essay when youre in a safe mindset & open to listening, and ask the help of a therapist or anti-racism teacher/mentor to help you process your thoughts & feelings. just like keep in mind that youre listening to an ethnoreligiously marginalized person and please be respectful here or wherever else youre discussing this dang essay, ty

HOWMST BELL THE CAT? - A treatise on one aspect of how the Pale King sealed the Radiance

We understand more or less how the Pale King’s plan was supposed to work. Stuff Radiance into a no-thoughts-head-empty and silent Pure Vessel to trap, isolate, and silence her, both putting an end to the Infection and killing her for good. Stick that vessel in the Black Egg, which harnesses Void BS to both keep the vessel alive indefinitely and to cover Hallownest (and its neighbors) in a time-defying stasis so that the Pale King could successfully hoard his favorite shiny FOREVER, threatened by nothing. Then put a seal on the Black Egg to prevent anyone from getting inside and harming said vessel while it’s strung up and helpless. And THEN, put protective seals on the anchors (the Dreamers) to the Black Egg seal to protect them from any external harm: The stasis means the Dreamers won't die of old age or starvation.

All in all, a pretty foolproof plan!

...except that the Dreamers are still vulnerable to having their minds breached with the moths’ magic... and the Pale King failed to take into account that his Pure Vessel was a person actually and the amount of toxic stress his training/upbringing put on them made them REALLY POORLY SUITED FOR THEIR JOB... and also that killing 99% of his million children and turning the Abyss into a landfill for baby corpses would take enough of an emotional toll on his wife and #1 enabler the White Lady that she would walk out on him, ensuring he’d only ever have one shot at this whole deal...

Basically it’s the sort of plan that an emotionally constipated, low-empathy sort of guy who pours all his points into INT and has a big fat zero for WIS might think is foolproof. It has big holes in it that the Pale King did not consider to be big holes until he got owned by the various consequences of his actions and fell down said big holes, making the shocked pikachu face all the while. Rip in die, my guy.

Anyway, there’s a lot of incidental information scattered about the game that gives us more insight into the stages of TPK’s plan. Looking at Monomon’s notes in the Archive suggests that she was probably involved in designing the Black Egg; the hidden room in the Weavers’ den points to their being the ones to blueprint the Dreamer seal; the White Palace’s hidden rooms reveal both TPK’s morbid fascination with the Void and his mea culpa wrt his motives and the Path of Pain is certainly suggestive of a lot of things. The White Lady tells us straight out that she walked out on the Pale King because she wanted no part in a second vessel batch, but how TPK didn’t handle that is only revealed via map design and some incidental dialogue from the Old Stag.

This stuff presents us with, if not a full picture, then at least a decent connect-the-dots of certain aspects of crater politics and Pale Court drama at the time, and how exactly TPK’s plan came together.

But there is still one glaring question that these cookie crumbs do not provide us an answer to:

Who shall bell the cat?

How did TPK et al manage to stuff Radiance into Hollow in the first place?

This is the subject of a lot of memes and jokes within the fandom because it's so absurd. Radiance fuckin hates that dude! She’s probably gonna be pretty wary of him considering how he stole her people in the first place! And considering the anti-colonialism slant of the writing - beyond the general sympathetic view Team Cherry gives of each indigenous bug society, Seer makes it very clear that Radiance has very good reason to take violent action against Hallownest - the answer is probably not something like “she’s just that stupid” or “she rolled a crit fail”.

Well... I have an idea of how TPK managed to get Radiance in there. It raises about as many questions as it answers, mind, but it may be someplace to start.

[desc: the hollow knight's entry in the hunter’s journal. top text/ghost’s comment reads: “Fully grown Vessel, carrying the plague’s heart within its body.” bottom text/hunter’s comment says: “The old King of Hallownest... he must have been desperate to save his crumbling little world. The sacrifices he imposed on others... all for nothing.”]

Here we have Hollow’s bestiary entry. Most of what we’re concerned with here is the top text, which says the seal has literally trapped Radiance inside their body. (First of all, ew, TPK.)

We already knew Radiance is literally actually inside Hollow, though: The Infection is leaking out of their body, and to get to fight Radiance, Ghost has to go traipsing into their sibling’s mind. So what’s significant about that here?

[desc: screencap of the outside of the black egg temple, post-infected crossroads. there are large infection blobs in the foreground and background, connected to each other by veins that come from inside the temple.]

The infection blobs are weird and get weirder if you kill enough Lightseeds for the Hunter to tell you their origin story, i.e. that the literal actual sun has been having a very long bad day and cried a lot, and some of the liquid coalesced into living flesh, and some of that living flesh took on a mind of its own to become Lightseeds. (Hollow Knight is a WILD place.)

Lightseeds are Radiance’s accidental children and share a lot of her traits: They are harmless creatures that try to avoid conflict if possible but if pushed will get creative and find ways to fight regardless of their physical limitations. (For the Lightseeds this involves hiding inside Broken Vessel’s corpse and puppeting it around to try to stab you.) They even have her same distinctive yell. And according to the Hunter, they’re born from the infection blobs. These enemies only ever appear in the Ancient Basin, which both Radiance and the Void have ransacked, and in the Infected Crossroads.

The infection blobs are connected to and sort of a weird extension of Radiance because the Infection itself is sort of a weird extension of Radiance. In the game’s internal style guide Team Cherry explains that the Infection started as an accident, not her original intention but what happened when Hallownest tried to block her out.

[desc: screencap from the wiki of style notes attached to seer that describe a sketch of radiance’s finalized backstory. text reads: “The moth tribe were (perhaps) descended from Radiance. However, the King convinced them somehow to seal Radiance away. I guess so he could rule Hallownest with his singular vision, as a god/monarch with no other gods. The moths sealed Radiance away by forgetting about her. Hallownest was born and flourished. However, the memory of Radiance lingered (eg [sic] the statue at hallownest’s crown) and soon she began to reappear in dreams and starting [sic] exerting influence. The King and the bugs of Hallownest resisted this memory/power and it started to manifest as the Infection. Thus the first attempt to seal Radiance failed, and the King had to try another method - the Vessel.” emphasis mine.]

Some fans have posited the blobs as deposits of pupa juice, but given Team Cherry's description of the Infection’s origins I don’t know how likely that is. Since the Void also sticks its squamous tentacles into things via veiny looking things and the Nightmare’s Heart has similar veiny nonsense in the Nightmare Realm, I wonder if it isn’t just a Meddly God Shit thing in general.

Whatever the case, the blobs are very much connected to/a part of Radiance.

And when you’re hanging around them, you will notice two things: They pulse like they’re part of a circulatory system, and you can hear Radiance's heartbeat emanating from them.

[desc: screencap of the game’s title screen with the infected menu theme in use: a glowing orange ball at the center of a lot of black tendony webbing.]

Let’s also think of the Infected menu theme, which you unlock after getting either of the endings where Ghost takes over from Hollow and absorbs Radiance out of them. Ghost is infected and then sealed inside the Black Egg in Hollow's place. It’s suggested by the animation’s staging that Radiance briefly struggles to get out of Ghost after absorbed but is ultimately stuck in them, at which point the seal is reestablished.

If you haven’t used the Infected menu theme yourself, the... interesting thing about it is that it moves organically. The light ball expands and contracts - y’know, sort of like a living organ - and so does the black webby stuff around it.

Also, Radiance’s heartbeat is included in the theme's ambiance.

[desc: hollow’s bestiary entry again]

To cut to the chase, this part of Hollow’s bestiary entry that says “the plague’s heart”? I don’t think that’s just Ghost/Team Cherry being poetic. I think there’s a good chance it’s LITERAL.

I think TPK is the sort of person who could cram a native woman’s literal living beating heart inside his own child’s body so they can use it as... say, a focus to absorb and trap her mind/spirit inside their body, too. Mr. No Cost Too Great is capable of a lot in the name of keeping other people’s claws off his Big Shiny kingdom. This is kind of his whole brand.

But also, like, yuck.

This fits the worldbuilding too; generally speaking Hollow Knight is Body Horror City. Also there’s the case of Grimm: While he and Radiance are loose counterparts at best with WILDLY disparate outlooks and ethoses, his existence serves as precedent that a Higher Being’s heart specifically can be separate from the rest of them.

As I said before, though, this DOES raise as many questions as it answers. If this is another piece in the puzzle of how TPK belled the cat, we’re now left wondering how he got Radiance’s heart to use as Hollow's focus to begin with.

We know he has access to the Dream Realm because that’s ultimately where he hid when Hollow’s seal failed, but who did he send to do the stealing and how did they get away with it? (TPK certainly wouldn’t have gone; his own life’s the one cost too great for him to willingly pay.) Was Radiance’s heart separate from her like the Nightmare’s Heart, or was it a part of her body? (I think the latter is more likely just from her personality; Grimm’s hidden heart makes sense because of how he keeps even his own servants at arm’s length emotionally, whereas Radiance is all heart all the time. I think this makes more sense with their equal opposites schtick too. But this would make for a WAY riskier mission.)

I can imagine all kinds of possibilities. None of them are definitive, but the thing they have in common is that they are all Awful... and how on-brand that is for Hollow Knight as a whole is, maybe, the most persuasive argument for It’s Literally Actually Her Real Physical Heart there could be.

[belle-keys]

I Love Matthew Fairchild aka Incoherent Thoughts about Chain of Iron (2021) by Cassandra Clare

I made one of these rant-rave reviews for SJM's book so check it out if you want, no pressure tho lmao.

Aight so I finished Chain of Iron last night and OMG I HAVE TO YELL like I loved it sooo much like yooo, I have a lot to say. I know the book is new so... beware for spoilers plebs.

Also context: I been reading the Shadowhunter books since I was 12 and I'm 19 now *insert dead emoji face* so yeah, I'm just so happy rn with where the Chronicles have come and the fact that they’re still ongoing *insert uwu face*. I remember when in like 2014-2015 or something when Cassandra Clare teased that Will and Tessa's kids' generation was gonna get a trilogy set in Edwardian London, loosely based on Great Expectations, and holy hell? I think that was perhaps one of the best days of my life considering how much I adore The Infernal Devices (that trilogy really changed the way I see YA literature... don't ask cus I won't shut up about it) (also yes I read TMI and loved it too but there's a “generation gap” between TMI and the other Shadowhunter books stylistically so don't ask me about that either cus I also won't shut up).

Anyway, shoo from here if you want a critical essay on Chain of Iron. I'm not providing that, this is just me raving here for the fun.

Listen... I want the bulk of this to just be two main things: The Matthew Situation, and then all the literary and judeo-christian meta aspects of it.

BUT I ALSO NEED TO TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE SO FRICK LET'S JUST START WITH THE OBVIOUS SHIT LIKE THE PLOT AND WHATEVER

Okay, the plot and writing and shit, let's get that out of the way:

The WHOLE Jack-the-Ripper-esque ambiance was just sooooo good man wow like I did not expect the book to take this cold turn but it worked so well. There was such a contrast between Jamie and Cordelia's warm little house and then the cold winter and the stabbings and shit and it felt like a nice little callback to the actual Ripper phenomenon that preceded them and a nod to the Whitechapel Fiend story from Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

Bitch OFC that whole thing with Wayland was a set-up like nawww that was too easy to spot and I get why Cordelia feels like shit about it.

Dawg Lucie was just the Among Us imposter here in that my girl was just venting and sneaking around with dead people and I was like nooooo girl run, don't deal with Fade this is a set-up THINK ABOUT JULES LUCIE THAT'S LIKE YO GREAT-GRANDSON *sobs* but yeah anyway my girl has death powers she gonna kill some bitches next book.

You see that confrontation between Lilith and Belial? MASTERPIECE DIALOGUE like this was the point within which I was just like "yo is this the book of Genesis or a YA Fantasy novel" like when Lilith said "I may have been cast out but I did not fall" like??????????????????? I YELLED she did not have to END Belial like that. What a bad bitch.

More on Lilith and Belial... "You, who brought nations into darkness? Shall I finally be able to tell the infernal realms you have gone mad, lost even the image of the Creator." HAHAHHAHAHA SHE SAID "YO BELIAL GO GET SOME THERAPY AND GET OFF MY ASS" LIKE??????

Ughhhh yasss Clare has improved writing diverse characters in this book compared to in The Dark Artifices in my opinion... I'm not gonna expand on it cus ain't nobody got time for that but like, I enjoyed how she wove Persian poetry and tales into the story and the way in which she writes Cordelia and Alistair. They're not caricatures of Persian people but rather multi-faceted beings who also happen to be Persian and I appreciate that. Also, Alistair and Thomas and Anna and Ariadne were just so fun and interesting to read as coupbles but also as individuals. She really higlighted diversity in a very natural manner. All I need is a hijabi character and I’ll die a happy woman lmao.

The level of META man like the references to Classics and art (I swear, she might have compared Matthew to angels out of Caravaggio AND Rosetti AND Boticelli paintings and I Am Living For It) and just all the quotes from holy books and shit omg I love it here like you really feel catapulted into the time period, she draws reference to external art and philosophy so well and I feel like she upped the notch on it in this book (didn’t know that was possible but it was the prose is BEAUTIFUL, archaic, but not pretentiously so). No, like the characters live in their OWN worlds of literature and art and history in the way we are living in THEIRS. They quote Wilde and Milton while we'll quote Clare. It's awesome.

This is an unusually structuralist take even from me but: I like the way the milieu social of the book, i.e., the high society Edwardian circles and their values, have a direct influence on the plot. James and Cordelia got married because society’s values essentially forced them to, not a demon. Cordelia abandons Jamie at the end of Iron because her shame as a woman in society and fear for her reputation made her, not a demon. Thomas and Alistair can't be together solely because of how Alistair tarnished the reputation of the Fairchilds and Lightwoods by using the horror of infidelity against them. Issues relating to marriage, gender roles, etc, stemming DIRECTLY from the time period rule the sequence of events to the same degree as the epic fantasy aspects (demons, Princes of Hell, the lore itself) do and I LOVE that dear God above.

OKAY THE GOOD SHIT LET US TALK ABOUT CHARACTERS AND SHIPS (N.B. but imma discuss Matthew and the Fairstairs situation separately below this portion):

Alistair's redemption arc: No, cus Alistair's redemption arc is honestly amazing. He really did change and it's not like his betterment as a person was linked to any one heroic deed but rather he simply decided he wanted to be better especially for his family and he decided to become a proper protective son, a caring brother, and an amiable friend. He fully owned up to his Malfoy tendencies and apologized without expecting forgiveness. He shows how he cares in the little ways and omg it's so sweet and tender. I really do want him to love himself now and be embraced by Matthew especially and the rest of the Thieves.

Dawg Lucie and Jesse are so funny to me like it's so hilarious how this girl fell in love with a whole ass ghost that no one else knows about like HHAHA. Are Lucie and Jesse my ult ship ever? Nah, but it's nothing to do with Clare, it's just that their relationship happened pretty quick and feels quite like something epicly romantic that Lucie herself would write. I just like slow burn and friends-to-lovers the most from Clare. To be honest part of me just wanted Lucie to not have a romantic arc all together but like, it's all good, I'm not complaining.

Okay Grace- like yooooooooooo I never hated her yunno. She has been abused and isolated all her life. It's not that she is a bad person, but rather that she does not know what being a person even entails. Can't even say she's a “doll” of a person cus she's never even been pampered like one by her family. I really started understanding her motivations since when they gave us her half-childhood with Jesse. I want better for her but cmon can she REALLY be saved???

GRACE X CHRISTOPHER *pretends to be shocked*... Okay, sometime in the middle of the Dark Artifices series some big brain put together a very thorough family tree of the families and like, it clearly showed that Grace and Christopher got married so like, lmfaooooo, I knew this was coming one way or another, but the journey to this ship is more important than the destination. Like in a way Christopher is such a cute baby lamb that it makes sense he'd end up being immune to her Grace-ness when he's just a cute little Einstein boiii. Like this is just so funny to me cus he's so oblivious to social conventions while she makes the milieu social her entire life so OFC it's gonna work. Like, this is such a worlds-colliding trope like just Give It To Me.

James and Grace - aw mannn Jamie just had me fricking wanting to hit a wall every two seconds cus like yooooooo every single time I think he and Cordelia are gonna stop being emotionally-constipated spouses, Jamie says some kinda shit like "omg me and Daisy are just friends uwu" like DO I NEED TO HIT YOU?????????? See I can't blame him for not slamming the door on Grace's face even tho he totes should- Jamie is so cerebral and kind that even if Grace wasn't using the enchantment on him, I think he would always be soft for her even if it isn't in a romantic way. There's just so much miscommunication cus like he said "Thank God" when she broke off the engagement with Charles and lowkey embraced her but it also wasn't his fault cus it wasn't even romantic BUT OFC IT LOOKED HORRIBLE TO CORDELIA like James literally never told the woman at least once that he loved her so OFC she thought she was back to square one with him dear God above what a mess. Not his fault, but she DID set down one rule for him: don’t cheat with Grace. And yeah even tho he hasn’t properly cheated, it must FEEL horrible to her cus she’s just been enduring the pain of their unrequeted love for so long :((

See imma just say it but if Cordelia thought that James didn't love Grace then she def would have confessed to him about her feelings right but like James, on the other hand, was delaying his own romantic confession cus he was BEING EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED and I can't even say the bracelet was solely to blame cus like my boi was just being so difficult omg I believe he should be lightly spanked by his three parents aka Will, Tessa and Jem *cries*.

Cordelia is such a MOM like she's so mature and stable and her self-preservation instinct? OFF THE CHARTS I love this woman like James definitely treated her well as a hubby but like I JUST WANTED HER TO HAVE CLOSURE ABOUT SOMETHING and boy oh boy she did get that closure she got it good but not from the person she expected in the LEAST *hehe* *pelican screeching*... like Lucie was being sus with the whole ghost business and James was being just, quite a case, dealing with Grace and Belial right and I don't blame them at all for their secrecy and shit but her FATHER DIED and her friends were hiding a lot from her so in a way she turned to Alistair for help but he could only do so much cus of his own pain (she couldn't even talk to her mom cus she's pregnant and she doesn't wanna stress her right) and then there was this emotional block between her and Jamie, Lucie was often absent and conspiring with the dead... the last person remaining was HIM (imma discuss this soon), but yeah my heart just went OUT to her cus she's tryna save herself and her family and she just doesn't know what to do. That's why I love the way her mom told her to stop holding herself back for others and live her own life. Like Cordelia grew on me so much cus in Gold she undoubtedly was a strange Elizabeth Bennet-wallflower hybrid and I... do not usually get attached to wallflowers but in Iron I feel like I finally understood that she was just tryna be unproblematic and self-preserving all along and nottt put her family and friends in a tough situation.... she reminds me of my mom personality-wise so yeah I’m totally rooting for her now that her *situation* in the past seems clearer.

Anna, Thomas and Matthew are such a SQUAD lmfaooooo like united in their gayness they'd be so unstoppable.

Will and Tessa are the most in-love of all the in-loves in this story and I respect that so much.

I lost a year to my life every time the romance between James and Cordelia got cockblocked. Like they were MARRIED and I thought they were gonna at least sleep next to each other at least once BUT NO James couldn't take a hint omg I'm actually gonna eat my fist and sob (but in retrospect, I think this serves a bigger purpose in terms of the narrative structure i.e. the interruption of all the spicy James and Cordelia action serves a bigger purpose which I think brings me to my next section, *exhale*)

Welcome to the Matthew Fairchild Enthusiast Club (this section is me talking out loud; it makes no sense):

bitch.

LISTEN TO ME LISTEN WELL I LOVE THIS BOY SO MUCH IMMA SCREAM I REALLY AM GONNA SCREAM MY FIST IS LITERALLY IN MY MOUTH *BACKFLIPS OFF THE ROOF WITH LANA DEL REY PLAYING*

Okay like where to BEGIN I think the Shadowhunter boy who I'm most attracted to is Julian while the one I love the most is Will but I think I see myself in Matthew the most. Like ever since that first story where the Thieves all met at the Academy then got expelled, I think that I just KNEW Matthew was destined to be epic. Plus the whole Wilde obsession? I’m no libertine myself but I just love his chaos and passion for life.

NO CUS HE'S SO WITTY AND SWEET AND EPIC AND YET SO SECRETIVE AND DEAR GOD ABOVE AHHHHH WILL HE SURPASS JULIAN FOR ME??? Ion even know but this is just sodjsgdwsdygyegydgef

Hear me out but I said after finishing Gold last March that I wanted this book to be Matthew's healing arc right so halfway into the book when I realized that we weren't getting all that good healing arcing I was confused just cus I thought it seemed natural to address all of his alcohol issues and sadness by now. LITTLE DID I KNOW CASSIE WAS SETTING UP A WHOLE OTHER ARC WITH HIM THAT I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED WTH.

At first I thought Matthew didn't have feelings for anyone at all, and if he DID develop feelings unexpectedly, I fricking thought that maybe he's catching feelings for James, if anyone??? I mean, I did have some suspicions about Matthew from the get-go: like he's so secretive and as readers we think we know everything there is to know about him since we were all privy to the truth potion incident in his short story right BUT NO I GOT PLAYED AND I DESERVE IT SO BADDDDDD.

Listen I hadn't shipped him and Cordelia simply because I never thought it in the realm of possibility but it MAKES SENSE as a ship... think about it: he never says what he feels, he flirts with her like he does with EVERYONE, he is kind to her in the way he is with EVERYONE. Really, Matthew is shippable with everyone, doesn’t matter if they’re taken cus that’s just what his Matthewnes allows for ya feel. There is such a beautiful irony that CORDELIA herself did not see this coming. Even the little teasers and hints in Gold have only NOW started making sense to me likejhss. I just felt like the hints in book 1 did not indicate to me that Matthew really harbored real romantic feelings for Daisy. I thought he was upset that James and Cordelia were being fakes, not a developing CRUSH on the woman fgs.

Not to mention that you usually sense a ship building when the emotional connection or sexual tension between the characters is made clearer but to me their FRIENDSHIP grew right but it didn’t feel like Cordelia was thought that she liked him or he liked her so that means me and Cordelia are clowns *together* 😤

Okay I was lowkey having SUSPICIONS but I immediately shut them down right... like firstly when he took her to the White Horse in his car and she went OFF and OFF and off about how she felt free for the first time? I thought Cassie was just tryna develop Cordelia's self-liberation arc through Matthew there. Heck, I didn't even think ANYTHING of it when Matthew confession to Cordelia about the "truth potion" incident at all cus I was like they're FRIENDS??? BUT now it's adding up now...

See when they were at the inn place and he was telling her that she doesn't in the least seem like a 100 year-old married woman? I was like hmmmm he's so sweet but why did Cassie phrase it like that like??? When Cordelia later reiterated that she thought Matthew's flirting was “meaningless”?? I was like hmmm kinda SUS tho. And then when he and James had their fight over the way Jamie kissed Grace like again I thought he was just like? ion know? mad at James for it but I didn't think he was in LOVE with Cordelia??? So I immediately put aside my slight suspicions. The probability that he had a crush on James at that point seemed more likely to me.

BUT THEN it started hitting me that every time Matthew drank, even before he explained his issue with the truth potion, that Cordelia would note it, she would worry about him, she would think of her father which seemed so poetic to me, history repeating itself and all that but this time you can FIX it??? Yeah, but again I didn't think the L WORD would be involved man???

Now imma sound like a delulu shipper here but it just makes sense they would develop feelings logically- reason being that it definitely is possible based on the way Cassie set up the story, like there's a combination of little “friend things” that can turn this into a proper ship: Matthew rescues Cordelia in the ballroom when Grace captures James' attention in Gold. Cordelia sees her father in Matthew all the time but knows now she has a chance to be there for him in the way she couldn't have been there for Elias (classic “history repeats itself” trope, she doesn't want Matthew drinking in Paris like dhshghdfhdhch). Cordelia tastes freedom for the first time when driving with Matthew. Matthew caught James and Cordelia making out in the room and was pissed but not even HE properly knew why then??? Umm, when she thinks James is forreal cheating with Grace on her she subconsciously goes to Matthew??? I also found it funny just how every intimate marital moment between her and James got interrupted somehow. Like, it's as if the narrative is just a living force REFUSING to let James and Cordelia as a ship be consecrated. Heck, every time Matthew is scantily clothed Cordelia notes it. LITTLE CRUMBS I TELL YOU LITTLE CRUMBS.

I tell you when Cordelia showed up to Matthew's flat I thought they were gonna f*ck as friends but I got SOMETHING EVEN BETTER SOMEHOW

THEY ARE GOING TO PARIS LA BELLE EPOQUE PARIS THE PARIS OF DREAMS AND ART LIKE??? FRICKKKKK I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING AT ALLLL MAN? I deadass thought the story would be restrained to the UK but like it MAKES SENSE the trope subversion MAKES SENSE.

“In Paris, with you, I will not need to forget.” SHITTRGEGGGDG

BUT CORDELIA LOVES JAMES TOO LIKE I CAN'T DENY THAT... where are we GOING with this like Matthew wouldn't lie about his feelings and yet Cassie wouldn't give us Matthew and Cordelia crumbs to only end it in the next book immediately for her to just ditch him for James. I mean she was clearly holding back on fleshing out James and Cordelia as a ship for this but to WHAT END??? Daisy feels wild and free with Matthew and she feels warm at home warm with James. I can’t advocate for the sinking of ANY ship here.

Imma say what we're all thinking: Is she gonna give us a Will x Jem x Tessa type situation where Cordelia gets both of them cus I'm not strong enough for this but I also think it'd be really funny if James gets a surprise bi awakening in the next books and then we get POLY even tho this would never happen, it’s actually impossible, because of the whole parabatai thing.

Listen I ship Cordelia and Matthew much more than Cordelia and James, not that I dislike James in any way tho. It's just: Matthew is so unrestrained and she's so composed. They seem like an unlikely pair so it makes sense that they hit harder for me. James and Cordelia have such similar personalities but I ALSO don't ship James with Grace at all so like?? Poly would be... ideal... but it can’t happen especially cus they are fricking parabatai... a Will-Jem-Tessa situation seems more likely but mannnn ion know what to expect. I just want FAIRSTAIRS to have their moment in Paris. I mean James and Matthew clearly don't abhor each other for this.

Take everything I say with several grains of salt, take everything I say with the whole Dead Sea actually, cus I damn well know that Matthew is so flirty and whatnot that I’d have shipped him with anyone in their little circle but now that she set him up with Cordelia it all feels so right?? I have wanted this man in a good relationship since he walked onto the page in Nothing But Shadows so-

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I can't believe Cassia duped me like this omg, Matthew is gonna have his healing arc in Paris with Cordelia by his side like- THIS IS ALL I HAVE WANTED AND SO MUCH MORE. Question to yall btw: are you all as surpised at Fairstairs as me or did yall see it coming all along like smart people? Am I a lone clown? 🥺

BRUH okay criticisms of CC?:

Lmfao a part of me feels like I GOTTA say something bad about CC or the book but honestly I have no objective complaints about it as of now. Am I saying that it’s the PEAK of Young Adult literature and Urban Fantasy? I mean, I make no such claims tbh. I’m not here to be critical when I read as a hobby and when CC’s writing makes me happy regardless of how flawed some people see it.

Okay what next?

So like I’m excited for the adult high fantasy she’s releasing in the fall and whatever other works she might be releasing outside of Chain of Gold within the Chronicles.

As for TLH itself? Man I’m just VIBING like I suspect I will reread Chain of Iron soon and maybe one of the anthologies just because I am happy that this series actually happened after me waiting like 6 years for it when it was just a concept: a Dickensian retelling filled with poetry and culture and history and the conventions I so loved in TID at age 12. This is all I been wanting tbh. I’m just enjoying watching this series come to fruition for it to inspire and transform me in some way. I feel like in a way my coming-of-age aligns with that of these specific characters yet I ALSO feel like I raised Jamie since infancy. Wack.

MATTHEW AND CORDELIA IN FRANCE LA BELLE EPOQUE TO BE EXACT IMMA CRY I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING AND AHHHHHH. ALSO WILL AND JAMIE GOING TO CORNWALL TO GET LUCIE AND MAYBE BOND I LOVE WILL. HE WAS ONE OF MY DILF AWAKENINGS AT AGE 12 AND NOW HE’S HERE AGAIN IMMA CRY. I WANNA SEE MATTHEW GET HAPPY. AHHH.

Ending with a fun quote: “In the wise words of someone or other, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Maurice.” 😉

[shadowdianne]

22. OC.

XoXo pregnant anonimo

OCs you asked so OCs I give you :P I tried to keep the infodumping at minimum but welp Xd Couldn’t stop myself. The lore of this one is turning out to be glorious but I still need to make some editings here and there so bear with me.

Kisses in the rain

Akta let the ruby fall from her right hand as she completed the summoning circle, the chalk on her hands disintegrating from the mix of her inner heat and the strength in which she grabbed onto it. Black eyes going over the runes she was supposed to write, she felt her lips tremble the incantation, readying herself for when she would need to whisper it into the drawn lines.

She hated feeling this nervous; she hadn’t sacrificed what she had done for acting like a blushing newbie when it came to a simple summoning and yet, as she straightened her posture, puffing away a stray of brunette hair that had fallen over her eyes, curly, damp, she kept on going back to the opened book between her feet where the ruby now reposed, waiting. It should work, she thought with prying eyes as the thunder from outside the dilapidated warehouse strengthened ever so slightly. No one would come to the outermost part of the Circle, the strange lights that often created blue and golden fire when approached by too much ozone were enough to keep strangers at bay; and the ones living within the city proper knew better than to go out after the second bell had chanted its tune. Yet, despite knowing herself alone, she kept on feeling the sense of someone watching from over her shoulder. A gift, a distant memory, of her master. Cursing to herself in a dialect so short tempered she guessed not even the ghosts that could very well roam outside were able to understand her, she knelt once more, biting the tip of her thumb’s finger until drawing enough blood to create a thin coat over the gem’s most immediate surface.

The séance was ready, all she needed to do was close the circle and call forth the demon’s name,

They had gone about this a million times, or, rather, Akta had while trying to account for everything that could go wrong. She had kept as much of a poker face as possible, of course, but she had been able to feel Thyria’s eyes on her, the shadow of them, at least, the vague feeling of fingernails tapping against a surface they weren’t able to truly touch.

The brunette couldn’t truly blame the other, but she had kept a level gaze whenever the question came blazing through Thyria’s voice.

“Once we get the gem I’ll liberate you.” The words had been said through gritted teeth, the thousand other things she also thought -how she knew Thyria was on their right to doubt the reasons why she kept on helping them, how she knew they would have a very slim chance for it to work given that she would be rewriting a botched séance on the hopes for it to liberate the badly called demon in order to be free of the bindings done by previous owners- not quite reaching her throat. Doubts didn’t matter, she had said to herself while walking through the hidden tunnels that kept them away from the city above as she reached the factory ring, the sound of thousands of feet against pavement a echo that was ever present, always filling the underground with a spiralling echo that grew and kept on spilling, threatening to drown you if you weren’t careful enough.

But Akta was careful, careful enough to know that she needed to wait, a moment, two, until the first thunder hit the broken spine that circumvallated the entire factory in where the warehouse was located, the dark skies threatening to open up, pour their insides to any bystander that happened to be within reaching distance. The moment a second rumble could be heard, running through the sky, fly over the darkened corners of the dismantled copper and brass details that had been stolen and stripped bare by those daring enough to enter the enclosure through daytime, she struck her hand up, holding the ruby once more as her eyes illuminated, her clothes floating as the soil beneath her, a mismatched mix of cement and dirt, cracked and crumbled, her skin tinting purple from the tips of her pointed ears as she kept on reciting each and every line, the chalk forgotten, melting and hissing as she stepped backwards, her feet leaving behind rivers of energy that bite into the earth as the shadows conglomerated, waiting.

She needed the name, the name that would bind the circle as it carried away its purpose. After that, the chalk would be consumed as well as the blood offering and without a second circle containing it, the energy would, finally, take the body that had been denied before. Or so she hoped.

She spat Thyria’s name, the letters clunky on her mouth as they were written with symbols that were difficult enough for a mortal to keep general practitioners at bay. But Akta wasn’t a general magic user, that much she had demonstrated, and so she called forth the demon, narrowing her eyes and feeling her eyelids heavy as part of her glamour faded away only to be erected back once more by a gentle hand that, still disembodied, reached out towards her with long fingers and enough residual warmth to be physical.

The lines of Thyria’s body came slowly, with fingers being first, shoulders second, neck, legs, back. The armor was also quick to appear, a residual of the aspect that they had been forced to take during that first séance, so many years ago. Swallowing and tasting sulfur, Akta leant into the touch, into fingers that traveled now from her collarbone to her sternum, to the hollow point where a dagger had embedded itself just a little at the right. She kept her stance though, feet firmly planted into the floor and when she heard the crackling thunder growl and echo, she only glanced upwards as the first drops of rain began to fall, a perfectly cut out circle from the crumbling corrugated iron that worked as a ceiling, welcoming her. Rain poured, hitting her, dampening her hair.

“Show-off.” She said, a chuckle blossoming just behind the words as the face of Thyria began to take form, eyes like molten lava quickly transforming into silver, skin darkening until it remembered the color of starless sky, with specks of golden and purple dotting over it every other second.

Thyria tilted their head just as the armor faded away, transformed into a much more practical leather set. They, even, replicated part of the crumbling sign of the guild that had, once upon a time, been in charge of the factory. Akta couldn’t help herself but roll her eyes at them, at the way they smiled, with full lips and sharp eyes, the eyes of one that had seen far too many things in the realms in-between. But so had she.

“You don’t like my appearance?” Thyria pouted as she rose her eyebrows at them, at the way they stood, on the very tips of their feet, hands at her back, mockingly innocent.

“I think-” She replied with a pointed stare around her, from the circle to the sulfur that kept on leaving a stench that grew more and more obvious by the minute. “- that we need to escape from here before we even consider the horns.”

That got a laugh out of the other one. A warm one, the one Akta had learnt the other one possessed after considering it mere energy for so long. Kicking out of her way some of the rubble that surrounded them both, she finally broke the circle with her feet, offering the gem in one fluid movement, the tips of her fingers the last thing that touched the ruby before Thyria picked it up, her own eyes betraying their own glamour for a second as they transformed into molten lava once more, the runes written on the ruby shinning brightly as rain began to fall stronger now, erasing any residual lines that could still be waiting for any curious bystander in a few hours more.

“I will tone it down a little. “Thyria murmured, forked tongue changing to a mortal one, her mouth closing once, then twice, as changes, more minute yet as important taking out some of the preternatural details that would tip anyone with a good pair of eyes of what, who, stood before them.

“Thank you.” Akta began to reply, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she said so. The demon clicked their tongue and Akta felt the hands around her forearms once more, the touch present, with enough weight for the book at her feet being completely forgotten as she took into Thyria’s eyes. “We don’t have the time.” She finally whispered as the demon leaned forward, lips already opening a little, a dark quiet chuckle that betrayed much more glee than the collected, flirty persona they feigned to have, escaping their mouth.

“Not even for a kiss?” The question was full of mirth and Akta didn’t feel like denying herself or them for that matter. Hooking her arms around Thyria’s shoulders she brought her right hand up the short, short hair the demon had decided on, nails digging, chest heaving, as she moved as close as physically possible to Thyria, biting the demon’s tongue as they tried to gain the upper hand through the kiss.

“Don’t even think about it.” She replied while nibbling on the other’s lips. Chuckling, the demon mumbled their agreement while grabbing her by the thighs, digging, painful, real, until Akta separated herself enough to rest her forehead against Thyria’s shoulder. The rain had continued to pour, rivulets falling down as the surface of the book glowed, protected by its natural barrier, some pages threatening to spill out of the shield, thought, out of the way they kept pressing against them, hands still hooked, looped, around them both.

“We need to leave.” Thyria finally spoke, breathless, and Akta hummed, forehead still pressed, one hand traveling to the front where she let it rest against Thyria’s chest, at the way it rose, it moved. Alive, alive alive.

“Let’s go.” She finally said while pushing herself away, her own energy slipping away. “We still need to do a few more things.”

“Together.”

“Together.”