#The Dragon Inside (James)

[my-castles-crumbling]

camp - @jegulus-microfic - word count: 348

When Regulus had agreed to go camping with Sirius and his mates, he had not realized what he would be signing up for.

He had anticipated idiocy and ridiculousness and liberal amounts of alcohol. He'd even thought ahead enough to realize that Sirius and Remus would be sharing a tent, which might lead to some very awkward situations. What was more, he'd even taken the time to process how torturous it would be to see James Potter shirtless, swimming at the lake by their camp site. He knew he would have to resist moaning out loud when he saw the way rivulets of water cascade over caramel skin when James dove in to cool himself off.

He was prepared for that.

But he was not prepared when Sirius announced: "Alright, guys! I'm sharing with Remus, Marlene and Dorcas, Lily and Pandora, James and Reggie!"

The announcement made him choke on his own spit. But he should have known- what with Pettigrew coming down with Dragon Pox last-minute, it made sense to put Lily and Pandora in one tent and himself and James in another (rather than the original plan of Lily sharing with Marlene and Dorcas while he shared with Pandora and James and Pettigrew bunked).

But the surprise of the announcement was nothing compared to the surprise Regulus felt when he and James actually retired for the evening.

Even though Regulus (very valiantly, he thought) behaved himself inside the tight space, keeping a foot between his sleeping bag and James's and ignoring the (he assumed) one-sided sexual tension he was feeling by squeezing his eyes shut, James did not seem to get the memo.

Because after a moment, fingertips traced so slowly over Regulus's side he might have thought he was imagining it, if not for the nervous breathing behind him. He gasped and froze, praying that this was real, and James, who seemed to be fighting against his nerves, whispered into the very thick air with a hoarse voice, "Reg? I-"

But Regulus just gathered his courage and rolled over, slotting their bodies and lips together.

[felassan]

Article: 'Laid-Off Dragon Age Testers Will Picket BioWare'

Unionized ex-Keywords devs won the right to protest, against EA's wishes

Excerpt:

"Former quality assurance testers who worked on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf are preparing to picket outside Bioware’s Edmonton offices after being laid off earlier this year. Electronic Arts tried to block the protest but the developers prevailed in a ruling by the Alberta Labour Relations Board in Canada. BioWare laid off 50 employees in August, including some longtime developers whose tenure goes back to the beginning of the Dragon Age series. It also cut its contract with Keywords Studios, which was supplying quality assurance testers on in-development sequel Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Those same testers had unionized just a year earlier. Last month, they were laid off from Keywords as well, with the outsourcing company blaming it on the loss of the BioWare contract. Now, as first reported by Game Developer, those former Dragon Age testers say they’re planning to picket outside BioWare’s office on November 7 around noon. They are demanding that Keywords reinstate them and continuing bargaining their first contract, calling the layoffs earlier this year a “union busting tactic.” But Keywords doesn’t have any offices in Alberta so they are going to BioWare instead. EA was apparently far from happy about the decision. The publisher tried to force the laid-off developers to take their protest elsewhere, noting that, as fully remote staff, they never technically worked inside BioWare’s Edmonton office. Instead, EA tried to convince the Alberta Labour Relations Board to make them picket outside their homes. The regulators were unmoved, ultimately siding with the workers. “We view this Labor Board ruling as a huge win for not just us, but remote workers everywhere in Canada,” former Keywords tester James Russwurm told Game Developer. “Workers can now go ‘oh, I can picket my employer’s offices downtown even though I didn’t work in the office.’” The ex-testers had been contracted to work at BioWare beginning during the pandemic, first on Mass Effect Legendary Edition and later on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. When BioWare moved to force staff back into the office, the group successfully unionized to try and keep their remote status and improve pay. The Keywords developers were laid off before they could finish bargaining their first contract. EA said at the time that it had previously renewed its contract with Keywords and not doing so in September had nothing to do with the group unionizing. But the publisher has never made clear why it cut staff on a highly anticipated game like Dreadwolf that is still deep in development following several reported internal delays. EA and BioWare did not immediately respond to a request for comment."

[source] [the referenced Game Developer article] [more on the Keywords topic]

[thelighthousestale]

WIP Wednesday

Was tagged last week by @artemisia-black

Ginny stirred at the disturbance, her eyes fluttering open. "Hey there, little one. What are you doing here?" Albus looked up with wide, innocent green eyes. "The storm is scary, Mummy. Can I stay here with you?" Ginny exchanged a glance with Harry, who was now awake, his glasses askew. Harry reached over and ruffled Albus's messy hair. "Of course, Al. No need to be scared. We've got you." Ginny made room for Albus between them. The thunder continued to roar outside, but inside that safe haven, with his dragon held tightly and his parents by his side, he felt a bit braver. “You won’t tell Jamie, will you?” Al whispered  No sooner had the words left his mouth, the bedroom door swung open, and light from the hallway spilled into the room. Al clung to his mother tighter as his father sat up and lit the tip of his wand. “James?” “Dad, Al isn’t in his room,” James called back, not as quiet as Al had been.  “That’s okay, he’s with us.” “Oh. Good then.” James stayed in the dimly lit doorway. Shifting back and forth in his niffler slippers and snitch-covered pajamas as he clutched his toy wand that lit up like a muggle torch. “I wasn’t scared of the storm, but I knew Al would be, so I went to check on him. I’m not afraid.” “Of course, you’re not scared. Would you like to check on him now?” Harry asked gently as he lifted the sheets of the bed and invited the older boy to join them.

[petitemistletoe]

Mediator

Pairing: James Potter x Reader, Remus Lupin x Reader

Warnings: smut and a little bit of angst!

Word Count: 2.7K+

A/N: a short one this time! but I absolutely adore this one so I hope you do too!

You can tell a lot about a person from the way they look when they drop off their kids in the morning. The afternoon is different, people have time to get ready to look put together in the afternoon, but the morning is telling. It was interesting to watch Harry Potter get dropped off every morning. His mother and his father were very different people in all cases but especially in the morning. His mother started work early in the morning, so the 7am drop-off was right on her way. She always wore something professional, some nice slacks or dress with a blazer or a blouse and a clean pair of heels. She wore a necklace, generally a string of pearls with a matching earring set, and a beautiful wedding ring on her fourth finger.

However, over the course of the past year, the wedding ring disappeared and a series of rings that matched her outfits took that place on her fourth finger. She always pleasant in the morning, holding a cup of coffee-or rather tea now, she switched after her divorce-in one hand and her son on her hip. Harry’s father was another story. No one was going to deny that James Potter was a gorgeous man, but to say that he was disheveled in the mornings was an understatement. He generally sped to the drop-off center, sometimes in his pajamas or workout clothes, or on one strange instance, in full quidditch kit complete the broom and goggles that made the workers at the daycare swoon. Sometimes he had an energy drink or protein shake with him and he usually was tugging a drowsy Harry along with him, apologizing profusely for being late. He still wore his wedding ring, much to the chagrin of many women who had their eye on the attractive actor. It was no secret that Harry Potter’s parents had problems despite the fact that James Potter still loved his ex-wife very very much. That why this particular visit to the mediator changed the everything. 

“I don’t think I’m being unreasonable on this,” James said, arms crossed over his chest. 

“You don’t think it’s unreasonable that I’m not allowed to have any adult I’m not related to in my house on my days with Harry?” You bit your lip and glared at your ex-husband. 

“I have a compromise,” the mediator said, cutting off any of James’s smart remarks, “While it may be a bit extreme to ban all adults from your home, I think it’s very reasonable that any adult that is going to be around your son needs to be  approved by the both of you.” 

“Is this because of Remus?” You asked.

“Who’s Remus?” The mediator asked. 

“A friend from work,” You sighed. 

“Much more than just a friend from work.” James spat. This had all started when James had picked up his four year old, Harry, from school. 

“Hey Harry, how was school?” James asked as he peeled out of the school’s parking lot. 

“Good! Daddy I want to work in the ministry when I grow up!” Harry giggled from the backseat. 

“Work in the ministry? Just like your mom, huh? You want to work in the department of magical accidents and catastrophes and solve problems?” James chuckled a little bit, trying not to think too much about you. 

“No, I want to work in control of magical teachers.”

“Magical teachers? Oh magical creatures! Where’d you hear about magical creatures?” 

“From Mommy’s friend Remus. He’s in the department of magical creatures and he helps creatures like werewolf and centaurs and dragons. I want to do that when I’m older!” 

“Mommy’s friend Remus?” There was a ringing in James ears as he pulled up to his house. He helped Harry out of the car and lead him inside. Harry hopped up onto the kitchen counter as James reached into the fridge to pull out a plate of pre-cut and washed carrots. 

“Yuckie. I want crisps.” Harry grumbled, pushing the plate of veggies away. 

“Crisps aren’t good for you, you know. Especially not crisps like these,” James reached into the cabinet and pulled out a bag of sour cream and onion chips. 

“Please please please please!” Harry begged. 

“Tell me more about Remus,” James said, waving the bag in front Harry teasingly. 

“He’s Mommy’s special friend. Yesterday he came over and made pasta for us! He spends a lot of time with Mommy now and sometimes he sleeps in her bed. Last week we went to the muggle movie theater and had popcorn and we saw Indiana Jones and it was so cool! Indiana Jones was like shoo shoo and he was running the bad guys and it was like boom boom and brah brah and-” 

“You did great, buddy. Go crazy, I have a call to make.” James tossed Harry the bag and dialed the number the meditator that you both had used when you first divorced. He couldn’t bring himself to actually call the meditator though, it felt like crazy overkill. As the clock hit 7:30, James put a sleepy Harry in the car and drove him back to your place, prepared to have a nice, calm, conversation with you about your ‘special friend’ Remus. He wasn’t prepared, however, to see a tall, tan, drop-dead gorgeous, dark-haired man who James had once called a friend answer your doorbell in your short silk lavender robe. 

“Oh James, you’re not pizza. Are you?” Remus laughed sheepishly. 

“Remmy!” Harry murmured in his half asleep state, snuggling further into James’s arms. 

“Been alright James?” Remus extended his hand awkwardly. 

“Is she here?” James refused Remus’s hand and glared at him. 

“Um, yeah, she’s here. Come on in.” Remus stepped back and let James walk into the house. He heard you humming as you walked out of your bedroom, only wearing a white button up that obviously did not belong to you. 

“James? What are you doing here?”

“I’m dropping off Harry, bud go to your room. Your mom and I will be in a minute to tuck you in.” James set Harry down on the floor and watched him patter away. 

“Why are you dropping him off now? You have to call before you show up you know that.” You crossed your arms over your chest. 

“It’s not my fault you’re too busy fucking other men to realize what day you need to expect your son.”

“You’re supposed to drop him off on Thursday.” Your jaw was set. 

“It is Thursday.”

“It’s Wednesday!”

“Wednesday? No,” James’s eyes darted to the calendar on the fridge and sighed, “shit.” 

“It’s fine, James. Nico can stay here tonight, just go please.” You rubbed your temples. 

“I’m not leaving Harry here with your man-whore.” James spat.

“That’s not fair, James.” Remus started but you and James both turned to him and said, 

“Stay out of this!”

“Fine.” Remus said, chuckling awkwardly and walking to the bedroom to change. 

“What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t come to my house and use that talk about my friends like that.” You spun on your heel to face James. 

“I’ll talk anyway I want to when it concerns my child.” James spat back, getting closer to your face. 

“I, uh, I’m gonna head out.” Remus was standing at the door with a pair of pants and blazer that didn’t really cover his bare chest. 

“Probably for the best.” James pursed his lips. Remus left and the only noise in the room was the sound of the door closing and a car starting up and reversing out of the drive. 

“I think you should leave,” you said after a few moments of silence. 

“Listen,” 

“You know, James, that Remus only has mine and Harry’s best interest at heart. This isn’t some random guy, this is a man who we’ve known since we were eleven years old. One of your best fucking friends.” You said, trying hard not to raise your voice and alert Harry. 

“Exactly. He was my best friend and now you’re fucking him.” James crossed his arms. 

“You have no right to be jealous! We’re divorced!” You cried. 

“Are you two fighting?” Harry asked, rubbing his eye and keeping a tight grip on a stuffed bunny. 

“No, no, buddy. I’ll be in in a minute to kiss you goodnight.” You said, staying quiet until Harry made his way back to his room. 

“No you listen here,” James started.

“No. Just go. Neither one of us are going to be able to say anything useful now. I’m just going to call the mediator and we can talk there.” You didn’t wait to hear James’s response, you walked back to your room and listened for the sound of the door clicking shut. 

And that was where you were, sitting across the table from your ex-husband and trying to resist the urge to scream. 

“You know what? I think it might be helpful for the two of you to go to dinner and just talk about what you want for your son. I think you’ll find that you both have Harry’s best interest at heart and hopefully it’ll help your relationship.” The mediator suggested. You bit the inside of your cheek and looked at James. 

“Well I’m game if you are,” James was waiting for you to say no. You weren’t one to shrink from a challenge, however, and you nodded. 

“Sounds great. I like Italian so let’s do Bocellini's at 8. I’ll get a sitter.” You walked out of the mediator’s office, thinking about this dinner tonight. At 7:30, you were finishing your glass of wine when the sitter rang the doorbell.

“Hey you look nice! Do you have another date with Remus?” Lily asked, walking into the house. 

“No, I’m meeting with James actually, not Remus. Our mediator suggested this.” You slipped your coat on. 

“Oh, uh, this is gonna get awkward then. His car pulled into the driveway after mine.” Lily said with wide eyes. 

“Shit. Uh, I should be back by eleven at the latest. Thanks Lily! You’re the best.” You ran out the door and stared at Remus, who was walking up to the house with a bouquet in hand. 

“What are you doing here?” You hissed, “James is coming to pick me up in 10 minutes.” 

“I wanted you to know that I’m in love with you.” Remus said with a grin. 

“Okay great now get out!” 

“Alright,” Remus started to walk away when something clicked in your mind. 

“Wait!” You ran to him and put your hands on his shoulders, “you love me?” 

“Yeah. I was going to give you this, but I guess you’re busy.” Remus tossed you a small velvet box. You looked in and saw an engagement ring. 

“Oh Remus…”

“I know its fast and I’m not saying we need to get married right away, but I love you and I love Harry. I want to be there for the both of you.” 

“Oh God, Remus, you have the worst damn timing.” You stared at the ring. 

“Don’t answer now. Have a good dinner, we’ll talk tomorrow.” Remus kissed you before getting into his car and driving away. You barely had enough time to shove the ring in your bag before James pulled into the driveway. 

“How’s Harry?” James asked as the waiter poured wine for the two of you. You and James had been silent the entire car ride over. 

“Good. Career day is next week and I’ll be going but Harry wants you there too. He wants his big shot quidditch star dad to talk about touring with the Bats.” You said, taking a sip of wine and pursing your lips. 

“Why did we ever get divorced?” James asked.

“Really?” You laughed humorlessly, “You don’t remember? You don’t remember the fighting and the arguments?” 

“I do, of course I do. But…things were good when we were together.” James said. 

“Oh my God. James, you can’t be serious.” But you knew that look in James’s eyes. He was reminiscing, remembering the good times. And there were good times, as much as you loathed to admit it, and the good times were real good. 

“Come on, don’t you remember that time that we went to the beach to have dinner and I brought a bag of crab legs and we didn’t have our wands and we couldn’t open them so I ran over them with my car to try and crack the shells?” James asked. You couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Yeah, that didn’t work either. We ended up going through a drive-thru and getting burgers, fries, and shakes.” You giggled. “Those were the best burgers I’ve ever had.” James laughed. 

“Would you make those burgers your last meal?”

“No, come on, what about that fresh penne a la vodka in Rome we got on our trip to Italy, that would be my last meal.” James licked his lips, practically salivating at the thought. 

“Oh that was incredible. Almost as good as the tortellini we got in Napoli.” You grinned. 

“Have you decided what you’d like to start with?” The waiter asked, interrupting the reminiscing. 

“Uh, I’m going to get the penne a la vodka and…what about it, love? Tortellini?” James asked with a sly smile.

“I think that sounds great,” you smiled at the waiter. You hardly had a chance to try your food however, before James was carrying you into the bathroom, his lips on yours as your back his the wall. You snaked your fingers through his hair and moaned as he moved to your neck. 

“Fuck James,” you gasped wrapping your legs tighter around his waist. His large hands went to your top, pulling it off and getting your bra off with it. He started squeezing your breasts and flicking at your nipples with one hand and shoving his fingers in your mouth. You held eye contact with him as you ran your tongue over the digits and you could feel him getting harder by the second. 

“Dammit, love, I forgot how fucking hot you are.” He cursed, removing his fingers from your mouth and shoving them inside you. 

“Shit,” you cursed as James scissored his forefinger and middle finger inside you while rubbing your clit with his thumb. You adjusted your position slightly and practically came right then and there as his middle finger brushed against your g-spot. 

“Faster,” you moaned against James’s lips. 

“Are you going to cum?” He asked, rubbing your clit faster. You nodded, your bottom lip coming into contact with his lips. He sucked your bottom lip into his mouth and placed more pressure on your clit until you came with muffled moans. 

“You have another one in you?” James asked, unbuckling his belt. 

“That’s up to you,” you teased as James pulled his cock out. He entered you in one swift movement and you swore you saw tears in his eyes. 

“Goddammit I missed this.” He said, adjusting to the almost forgotten feeling of you clenching around him.

“Move, please,” you begged. You had missed the fullness that only James could provide. James started to thrust into you at a deliciously fast pace and you hoped that no one was waiting for the one bathroom stall you were occupying. 

“Fuck, I forgot how good you felt.” James murmured in the crook of your neck. He fucked faster and deeper into you until you clenched around him as you came. James gasped and let out a strangled moan as he came inside you. You set your sweaty forehead against his as you came down from your high. He pulled out of you and tucked himself back into his pants. 

“I’m gonna go order us some drinks,” James grinned kissing you quickly as you fanned your face. 

“Yeah, I’ll meet you back at the table. I need a second to clean up,” you winked, James’s cum dripping down your legs. James walked back to the table and chugged his water. He looked down at his pant leg and saw that there was a questionable stain on it. He knew that you always had a stain remover stick in your bag and grabbed the bag on your seat, rifling through the purse to find it. He didn’t find the stick however, he did find a blue velvet jewelry box that held an engagement ring. 

“Oh good, the food’s here. I’m famished.” You said, sitting down and starting to shovel the pasta in your mouth. James held out the ring and looked at you with a set jaw, practically spitting:

“What the hell is this?” 

[siriusblack-the-third]

Matching Misfortunes: Lucy Pevensie

Have feral Lucy, as a treat. The other parts for the other siblings are up on my blog if you wish to read it.

.

The boy reaches out with a lewd grin, and Lucy’s blood burns. She turns around, grips the boy’s arm and moves.

A second later, he is on his knees at her feet, her fisting a hand in his hair and twisting his arm behind his back. Her lips pull back into a wolf-like snarl as Howard lets out a yell, and she twists his arm harder with fingers smaller than she is used to having, vindictive pleasure coiling in her gut when his breath hitches with an even louder sob.

“YOU WILL NOT,” she roars with all her might, ignoring the way her voice is not as loud and commanding as it used to be, ignoring the shocked gasps and astonished stares of the rest of the students of the school, “TOUCH ME WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!”

The other boy— James, she remembers the teachers calling him— comes at her with his fist raised and a yell on his lips, but she kicks him in the back of his knee, hard enough that she feels something crack under her Mary Jane shoe. He lets out a pained scream and crumples like a can of soda would under her foot, and her snarl turns into a too wide grin, just on the wrong side of feral; it is a move Peter had taught her twelve years ago. Or maybe it was five years.

She never bothered to separate her home world from this one.

Her blood rushes through her veins like fire, and she pulls on Howard’s hair till his neck is bared, and her eyes zero in on the beating pulse under his jaw. She can almost feel the way the crimson life flows through his body, the way it would flow over his skin if she had her dagger. She would drag the blade over his flesh in a vicious, vengeful slice for the slight upon her person— he dares touch her?

He dares feel entitled to her presence? To her affections? To her body?

She is Queen Lucy the Valiant of Narnia. She is the Dragon Spirited Spymaster Queen, the Fourth of the Beloved Four, Lover of the People. She is greater and more powerful than he could ever hope to be, and he dares commit the crime of touching her?

She bares her teeth at the thought and twists his arm till she feels his shoulder pop out of place. Her canines elongate and dig into her lower lips even as her blood boils and bubbles, clamouring for punishment to be given and for vengeance to be taken in the form of his lifeblood.

He dared to touch you, Narnia whispers in her ear, tempting her with the fantasy of letting his blood colour her hands crimson. Punish him for his grave mistake, my Queen. Make him pay for this transgression.

There was a time when she would have killed him within seconds for having the audacity of trying to slap her behind. She would have made an example of him for the world to see— she might be young, but she is neither foolish nor meek, and she refuses to be disrespected in such an appalling fashion. If not her, then her siblings surely would have rendered him nothing more than a stain on the ground for daring to try and dishonour the youngest of the Rulers of Narnia.

She breathes in. Blinks. An image of her fingers curling around the golden hilts of her daggers, of burying them in the enemies’ guts and letting herself bathe in the spray of their blood, flashes across her vision. She breathes out, and blinks again. She is in the middle of the school courtyard, fingers wrapping tight around Howard’s forearm and twisted into his short and coarse golden locks.

She is not in Narnia.

She fell out of that wardrobe with her siblings five and a half years ago— she is fourteen and her blood still burns her insides at the reminder that she is not twenty-seven years old. It still scorches the inner lining of her blood vessels at the reminder of not being in her home country, of not being with Mr Tumnus and the fauns, of not running through the forests with her daggers at her sides and her network of espionage agents at her beck and call.

She breathes through her nose and lets go of his arm only to reach for his neck and grip tightly, feeling a sick sense of gratification when she feels his breath hitch fearfully under her palm, and feels the pumping of his blood through his jugular against the tips of her fingers. She tugs harder on his hair, and revels in the whine that echoes in his throat as she straightens up and rakes a narrow-eyed glare over the gawking students.

“Hear ye!” she calls, lips curling into a vindictive smirk when people stiffen their spines at the fury in the little teenage girl voice that is not hers, that has not been hers for decades. It rings with the royal Narnian accent that neither she nor her siblings ever managed to lose, and she lets the accent get stronger, she lets the lilt of the Narnian magic carry her voice over the courtyard.

“Consider the following as both a warning and a threat,” she announces, and her voice echoes strangely through the air, like she has a microphone held in front of her, “henceforth, any unwanted contact with my person will be met with the most violent of retaliations. Either it will be me, or my eldest brother Peter who does it, but know that blood will be drawn.”

The mention of Peter has most of the boys quailing and looking away, shoulders curling inwards and cheeks flushing at the reminder that Lucy has an absolute beast of an older brother— over six feet and built like a bull, with wide shoulders and a face permanently set in a grim expression. Peter’s fencing skills are legendary, and he is infamous for hitting till bone breaks. It makes Lucy smile a vicious little smile; her royal brother is terrifying, and she is proud to be Queen next to him and their other siblings.

It also makes her blood beat an outraged tune against her pulse points— she is no less terrifying than her oldest brother, and it is high time that people learnt to respect her for her strength and status. She is Queen just as much as her brothers are Kings and her sister is Queen, and she deserves to have her titles acknowledged. If they refuse to do so, then she will force them to their knees and make them do it.

She finds Peter easily when she looks for him; he is sitting in a tree with Susan and Edmund, hidden from the rest of the world, their trademark Pevensie blue eyes all gleaming wildly with pride and encouragement. Edmund grins sharply and whispers something at her, and she hears the lilting Narnian in his voice even though he is too far away for any normal human to be able to hear him.

Ruen’hi vraeka, he has always called her fondly, much to her eternal amusement. Blood-covered dragon.

“LUCY ANNE PEVENSIE!”

She breathes in and out through her nose, and turns calmly towards the advancing form mistress, clenching her jaw at the anger etched into the wrinkles of the old woman.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS, YOUNG LADY?

She resigns herself to the one month of detentions, but her blood burns.

Her blood is like fire as it pounds in her ears, outrage bubbling in her gut and showing in the flash of her blue-eyed glare as it pans from the yelling form mistress to the rest of the students and then finally on the two boys at her feet. They still haven’t stood up, in too much pain to do anything more than groan in pain and wipe their tears and snotty noses on their sleeves.

They should be falling at my feet, she thinks savagely. They should be on their knees begging for forgiveness, for mercy. In fact, the school faculty themselves should also be at her feet, begging for forgiveness for the audacity of raising their voices at her and her siblings.

How dare they deem themselves capable of handing out punishment to a King or Queen of Narnia? To all four Kings and Queens of Narnia? Who are they to try and punish her, Queen Lucy the Valiant? Who are they to deem themselves appropriate authority to discipline the Dragon Spirited Spymaster Queen, Fourth of the Beloved Four?

Lucy’s blood burns, but she lets herself be dragged to the headmaster’s office, taking one last glance at her siblings. The sight of their gazes fixed on the two injured boys makes her mouth stretch into a feral smile even as she bristles indignantly at the form mistress’ grip on the shoulder of the body that has not been hers since she first stepped into that wardrobe.

Narnia hums in her ears, a sweet siren song of bloody retribution.

That night, when she sleeps, she dreams of gripping the two idiot boys by their hair and ripping their throats out with her teeth.

[will80sbyers]

Do you still have the list of movies that inspired ST4? I had a picture of it but I lost it and I haven't been able to find it since. Please and thank you in advance.

Yep!

Long post warning lol

300

2001: A Space Odyssey

47 Meters Down: Uncaged

12 Monkeys

28 Days Later

13th Warrior

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Altered States

Amelie

American Sniper

Analyze This

Annihilation

Aristocats

Armageddon

Assassins Creed

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Arrival

Almost Famous

Batman Begins

Batman V. Superman

Basket Case

Battle at Big Rock

Beauty and the Beast

Beetlejuice

Behind Enemy Lines

Beverly Hills Cop

Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey

Billy Madison

Black Cauldron

Black Swan

Boondock Saints

Borat

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Burn After Reading

Broken Arrow

Blade Runner

C.H.U.D

Con Air

Cast Away

Congo

Constantine

Children of Men

Cabin in the Woods

Crank

Casablanca

Carrie

Crimson Tide

Clueless

Dukes of Hazzard

Don’t Breathe

Death to Smoochy

Doom

Dark Knight

Dogma

Deep Blue Sea

Dreamcatcher

Drop Dead Fred

Die Hard

Die Hard 2

Die Hard 3

Don’s Plum

Dances with Wolves

Dumb and Dumber

Edward Scissorhands

Enter the Void

Ex Machina

Event Horizon

Emma (2020)

Forrest Gump

Fargo

Fisher King

Full Metal Jacket

Ferris Bueller

Fallen

Fugitive

Ghost

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Ghostbusters

Good Fellas

Girl Interrupted

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Get Out

Good Will Hunting

Hackers

High Fidelity

Hellraiser 1

Hellraiser 2

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Hidden

High School Musical

Hurt Locker

Heat

Hunger Games

Highlander

Hell or High Water

Home Alone

I am Legend

It’s a Wonderful Life

In Cold Blood

Inception

I am a Fugitive from Chain Gang

Inside Out

Island of Doctor Moreau

It Follows

Interview with a Vampire

Inner Space

Into the Spiderverse

Independence Day

Jupiter Ascending

John Carter of Mars

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

James Bond (All Movies)

Julie

Karate Kid

Knives Out

Kingsmen

Little Miss Sunshine

Labyrinth

Long Kiss Goodnight

Lost Boys

Leon: The Professional

Let the Right One In

Little Women (1994)

Mad Max: Fury Road

Magnolia

Men in Black

Mimic

Matrix

Misery

My Cousin Vinny

Mystic River

Minority Report

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Neverending Story

Never Been Kissed

No Country for Old Men

Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

North by Northwest

Open Water

Orange County

Oceans 8

Oceans 11

Oceans 12

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Ordinary People

Paddington 2

Platoon

Pulp Fiction

Papillon

Pan’s Labyrinth

Pineapple Express

Peter Pan

Princess Bride

Paradise Lost

Primal Fear

Prisoners

Peter Jackson’s King Kong

Reservoir Dogs

Ravenous

Rushmore

Road Warrior

Rogue One

Reality Bites

Raider of the Lost Ark

Red Dragon

Robocop

Shooter

Sky High

Swingers

Sword in the Stone

Step Up 2

Spy Kids

Saving Private Ryan

Shape of Water

Swept Away

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Superbad

Society

Swordfish

Stoker

Splice

Silence of the Lambs

Source Code

Sicario

Se7en

Starship Troopers

Scrooged

Splash

Silver Bullet

Speed

The Visit

The Italian Job

The Mask of Zorro

True Lies

The Blair Witch Project

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Tangled

The Craft

The Guest

The Devil’s Advocate

The Graduate

The Prestige

The Rock

Titanic

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Fly

Tombstone

The Mummy

The Guardian

The Goofy Movie

The Peanut Butter Solution

Toy Story 4

The Ring

The Crazies

The Mist

The Revenant

The Perfect Storm

The Shining

Terminator 2

The Truman Show

Temple of Doom

The Cell

To Kill a Mockingbird

Timeline

The Good Son

The Orphan

The Birdcage

The Green Mile

The Raid

The Cider House Rules

The Lighthouse

The Book of Henry

The A-Team

The Crow

The Terminal

Thor Ragnarok

Twister

The Descent

The Birds

Total Recall

The Natural

The Fifth Element

True Romance

Terminator: Dark Fate

The Hobbit Trilogy

Unforgiven

Unbreakable

Unleashed

Very Bad Things

Wayne’s World

What Women Want

War Dogs

Wedding Crashers

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

Welcome to the Dollhouse

Welcome to Marwen

Wet Hot American Summer

What Lies Beneath

What Dreams May Come

War Games

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Weird Science

Willow

Wizard of Oz

Wanted

Young Sherlock Holmes

You’ve Got Mail

Zodiac

Zoolander

[metalomagnetic]

Snippet for It runs in the blood

“I was at the park with James and Harry,” he says. “It was the first time without Lily, and Harry started crying at some point when he realised she wasn’t around. So I transformed to distract him- he loves Padfoot.”

James is jealous, to Sirius and Lily’s amusement. It’s harder for James to become Prongs inside the house, and it would definitely raise some eyebrows if a stag accompanies a baby to the park.

Plus, the antlers scare Harry, but he giggles when Padfoot licks his face, his tiny hands grabbing on to the fur.

It makes Sirius stupidly happy to have Harry like him; he didn’t even know he worried about it, but he must have, because now he’s relieved Harry likes him, smiles at him, reaches with his arms whenever Sirius is in his line of sight.

“Is he…normal?” Voldemort asks, following Sirius to the bathroom, not even commenting on the trail of clothes Sirius leaves behind him on his way.

“Huh? Who?”

“Harry.”

Sirius gives him an odd look, climbing into the bathtub. “Of course he’s normal,” he says, a bit insulted. “Why wouldn’t he be?”

“You always talk of him as if he’s something special.”

Well, he is special- to Sirius. He’s a wonderful baby. “He’s lovely, yeah,” he says, confused.

Is he worried I will start wanting children? Voldemort is weirdly curious about Harry, always drilling Sirius about him, when he never showed interest in any other babies, or kids or anything of the sort.

Sirius thinks to reassure him that no matter how cute Harry and Draco are, Sirius doesn’t suddenly want to marry and get a baby of his own.

“I thought perhaps he has…something different,” Voldemort says, somehow still interested in this, even if Sirius is now naked, in the bathtub.

“Like what?”

“Some are born special. Magically so,” he clarifies. “I was told all sort of odd things happened around me, since birth. It made the Matron think I was possessed. She talked about it often.”

Sirius smiles. It is true, no matter how certain people deny it. Some people are just born different. Dumbledore can insist they are all equal, but they aren’t.

He’s not surprised Voldemort had magic since birth.

“Not the case,” Sirius says. “No sign of magic yet.”

It’s far too soon; most kids don’t manifest magic until two or three years old. Some are as old as ten when they first do it. Sirius heard wild stories of worried parents shoving their kids off windows, hoping the poor child would finally do accidental magic, under such duress.

“It was Draco that apparently floated his toy dragon to his crib. Or so Lucius boasts.”

Voldemort snorts. “I heard about it, thrice. Once from Lucius, once from Bella, now from you.”

“Black blood,” Bella said, proudly, when Lucius first told them.

“Or Malfoy blood,” Lucius drawled.

It caused a fight, but they stopped when Draco started crying, bothered by Bella’s shrieks.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Here’s Why Everyone Is Talking About A Pirate Drama That Ended In 2017

Black Sails has been described as Game of Thrones with pirates

If Black Sails kicked off in 2020 instead of 2014, it certainly would have thrown fuel on the raging fire that was TikTok’s sea shanty obsession. The reality is that this TV series aired on Starz from 2014 for four seasons, coming to a close in 2017. So why is everyone talking about it now, a decade after it began?

Black Sails is coming to Netflix very soon, triggering its fans to emerge from the woodwork and promote the show online. ‘I am SO excited for people who’ll be watching this show for the first time,’ one user wrote, with many others recommending the series to fans of Game of Thrones. With House of the Dragon still a few months away, here’s why you should tune into Black Sails this month.

New To Netflix: Black Sails

What Is Black Sails About?

Black Sails transports us back to 1715 – aka the Golden Age of Piracy. Set in New Providence, an island in the Bahamas, we meet the feared Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) who brings a new younger crew member into the fold (‘Long’ John Silver, played by Luke Arnold) as his crew continues to fight for survival and negotiate their space on the island.

Is Black Sails Based On A Book?

Black Sails was written as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, Treasure Island (1883).

Is It Based On A True Story?

While Black Sails isn’t based on a true story, it does trace real events. The first season focuses on the hunt for the Spanish treasure galleon Urca de Lima, a real ship that sank in 1715 near Fort Pierce in Florida (where it still lies). Season two traces the fallout of Urca de Lima’s treasure being stranded in Florida, strictly guarded by Spanish soldiers while pirates prowl the shores. The subsequent third and fourth seasons then look at the war for the control of New Providence between the pirates and the British Empire – a la Pirates of the Caribbean.

Likewise, some of the characters are based on real people. Real pirates fictionalised in the show include:

Blackbeard (Ray Stevenson)

Anne Bonny (Clara Paget)

Benjamin Hornigold (Hakeem Kae-Kazim)

Jack Rackham (Toby Schmitz)

Charles Vane (Zach McGowan)

Ned Low (Tadhg Murphy)

Israel Hands (David Wilmot)

Meanwhile, Captain Woodes Rogers (Luke Roberts) – who represents the British Empire in seasons three and four – is based on a real English sea captain and slave trader, and subsequently the first Royal Governor of the Bahamas.

Was Captain Flint A Real Pirate?

Captain Flint is a fictional character who was first created by Robert Louis Stevenson in Treasure Island. He has since appeared in multiple works of fiction, including A. D. Howden Smith’s Porto Bello Gold (1924), John Drake’s Flint and Silver (2008), Pieces of Eight (2009) and Skull and Bones (2010), and J. M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy (1904).

Where Was Black Sails Filmed?

Black Sails was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, mainly inside at Cape Town Film Studio. Because the real city is so different today than it was in the 1700s, Nassau – the capital of the Bahamas, located on New Providence island – was built from scratch in a studio over a period of four months, as were two large water tanks to house the series’ two ships. Some scenes were filmed outside in and around Cape Town when new terrain was required, but most of the series was filmed on set.

The Cast

The cast of Black Sails is incredibly large, but key characters to know include:

Toby Stephens as James McGraw/Captain Flint

Hannah New as Eleanor Guthrie

Luke Arnold as ‘Long’ John Silver

Jessica Parker Kennedy as Max

Tom Hopper as William ‘Billy Bones’ Manderly

Zach McGowan as Charles Vane

Toby Schmitz as Jack Rackham

Clara Paget as Anne Bonny

Mark Ryan as Hal Gates

Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Mr. Scott

Sean Cameron Michael as Richard Guthrie

Louise Barnes as Miranda Hamilton/Barlow

Rupert Penry-Jones as Thomas Hamilton

Luke Roberts as Woodes Rogers

Ray Stevenson as Edward Teach

David Wilmot as Israel Hands

Harriet Walter as Marion Guthrie

The Trailer

Interested? Here’s the trailer for a taste of the action.

WATCH

All episodes of Black Sails are streaming on Netflix from 17 April 2024.

Source: Country & Town House

[invisibleicewands]

[...] The Way was devised and directed by the actor Michael Sheen. He recruited Sherwood author James Graham to write the script and convinced the documentary film-maker Adam Curtis to step in as an executive producer. But he also cast his home town as the drama’s chief location, the molten core of his tale. ��The thing about Port Talbot is that it’s haunted by the ghosts of uprisings past,” he explains, of the bullish 20th-century steel town turned scrappy, post-industrial survivor. “It’s got that dormant rebel spirit in its DNA. The whole town feels like a dragon slumbering in a cave.”

Sheen, like Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins before him, graduated from Port Talbot to pursue a lucrative acting career in London and Los Angeles. Unlike them, though, he has since circled back and now lives locally. He thinks that the catalyst was the acclaimed 72-hour production of The Passion that he staged in the town back in 2011. It reconnected him with his roots, helped him understand the place in the round.

“So that feeling of coming back to my home town and it also being a set is something I’d experienced before,” he says. “The difference was that this production took longer. This involved me shutting down the high street for a week. Obviously, people aren’t going to be so nice about that. But I knew I had a bit of trust left over from The Passion that I could still use up.” [...]

[...] “Yeah, there’s a strange tone to it,” Sheen agrees. “You don’t know whether you’re in a horror film or a sitcom or a farce. We wanted it to be constantly surprising, to reflect what we’ve all been going through these last 10 years. The absurdity of reality. The situation that we’re in.” [...]

[...] One thing about home: we never truly escape it. It haunts us if we stay and it haunts us if we leave. That’s been Sheen’s experience. It’s what makes The Way feel so personal. “I mean, it’s a big political story,” he says. “But it’s also my story. It taps into all of my feelings about home.” [...]

[...] “I remember reading about how HG Wells set The War of the Worlds in his home town of Woking,” Sheen says. “I think Edgar Wright did the same thing, setting Hot Fuzz in Wells. So there’s a small tradition that I’m now a part of, where people set stories in their home town and then blow it up.” He grins at the thought. “There’s something satisfying about turning the place where you grew up into an apocalyptic bombsite. Destroying your home town. But destroying it with love.”

[bycaprinae]

I was watching Reel james interview with Aaron and there he pointed out that in the scene where we learn about Aaravos' prision, there's actually a giant corpse burried there. It was a hidden element and apparently important to the story, enough to be connected to Aditi being "swalloed" but not in the way we might think! I feel like we might know who that corpse belonged to, so I'd like to connect the dots and present to you all my theory.

Being straight foward, who do i think that corpse belongs to? Leola. Why? And why that matters? I'll present my case:

I think that the Startouches are Gods that created the world of Xadia, both human, dragons and elves. Aaravos and Leola were close to one another (as friends, family or lovers?), but Leola was the first one out of the two to pity the humans. Leola cared for humanity and Aaravos cared about Leola. Leola then decides to help the humans, maybe she tried to act under the radar and disguised herself as a unicorn, so the others Startouches wouldn't find out about this, as the humans were MEANT to be weak and suffer.

But soon after, they find out that Leola gave humanity magic, and decided to punish her for it, leading to her death? And because Aaravos was close to her, but not the one that defied their plans, he was spared by the others, but casted out to the world of Xadia, unable to go back to his people, and stripped away from his original status and power. Filled with bitterness, he plotted his revenge, to undo and destroy all of the other Startouches creation from inside out, by the hands of humanity, the ones that Leola pitied, the ones that the others despised, and in the process he got closer to humanity, learned their culture, their ways of doing things, he learned the love that Leola held for those creatures. She was prometheus and he was Lucifer!

If it wasn't obvious, I think the Startouch can shapeshift, I think they're actually massive beings, and both the skelleton and the statues are actually their original sizes!

Some of it is just pure headcanons because I don't have strong evidences, but here is what I do have:

Recently we learned from Aaron that the Startouch elf we see in the opening is actually named Leola!

It came as a surprise because Leola was also described as a unicorn, but not just any unicorn, the very one that gifted humans with primal magic. This is information comes from Tales of Xadia Handbook:

And when I read that tweet from Aaron, I immediately went to check that info on Leola, because I never actually read the handbook, and I was puzzled when I found a screenshot of that text and also the information on the wiki about unicorns, because in both wiki and the handbook is only written that "the elves" warned the unicorns, but WHICH elves? I distincly had the memory of it being the FIRST elves (aka, Startouch Elves), and then today I remembered where that info came from!! Is from book one: moon prologue!

Previously I theorized that "Ripples" is not a story about how humans came to wield Dark magic, but actually a story BEFORE they even learn that. The reason for that is the choice of words used to describe the magic.

"Precious primal flames" "undeserved power", such words used to describe what they had and what was destroyed. And then there's the implication that Aaravos' plan was to have the destruction of the Startouch empire come from the hands of the very humans they once despised so much.

The next logical thing to get from Ripples was that it described the birth of the Sea of the castout, caused by none other than Aaravos falling from the sky! The short story describes a small star falling down, changing the world, birthing a new sea.

It HAD to be Aaravos right? He's a fallen star! But he wasn't the one that gifted humanity with primal magic, through primal stones. He was the one that gave them the Dark magic. Back then I thought that maybe he was the one to do it, but if Leola and Aaravos are connected, then ripples might be about Leola's passing/falling.

Cookiesaddict made a post pointing out the possible connections of Aaravos and Leola, you should read it, but to summarize the points. Once in the NYCC this question was made:

Cookie suggested that this person might be Leola. During the S5 watch party I asked Devon if the Statues in the Sea of the cast out were made before or after Aaravos was impriosioned, because people were wondering why the hell would the prision have that GIGANT STATUE almost screaming: HEY, AARAVOS IS HERE!! COME GET HIM!! and this was the response!

Now, we see that statue both in the show and as a sketch, the other elf is known as "The merciful One" as disclosed by Aaron on twitter. BUT HMMMM THAT SKETCH.... LOWKEY REMINDS ME OF... THIS SKETCH....

The one from Ripples!!

Personally I think in S6 Aaravos will tell Viren about Leola, and maybe through that story we'll find out why the hell did Aaravos insisted on having Viren to live until the end, and how their themes/motives are actually more similar than we thought it was. It's not about power, but about what they'll do to save/avenge their loved ones, their family. I also read a theory that the sparklepuff sacrifice was a test on Aaravos part, while I do think that with the theory of mine it might make sense, I also fail to see why would he go to such an extent to test Viren? Maybe Aaravos realizing that Viren is much more of a family driven man than he already knew he was (as he mentioned he wouldn't expect him to sacrifice Claudia or Soren) will be the thing to trigger their interactions where Aaravos tells him about Leola. As things stands now, Viren is the only logical character to be the narrative tool in which Aaravos shares his side of the story. They're the one that have the most intimacy for him to be "vulnerable", and perhaps their final departure will come from Viren trying to talk Aaravos out of his path of revenge, to share the realizations he had with his nightmares, ohhh my god, can you imagine, Aaravos finally is vulnerable, finally shares about Leola, shares his grief, to the one he thought might understand, because they're similar, but Viren is too far into his search for personal redemption, and belittlethe bitterness Aaravos held in for so long. Super ultra gay divorce is coming (in my delusions).

[agerefandom]

Agere Writers Masterpost (2023 Edition!)

Helpful reminders: 

all of these blogs are SFW but have their own DNIs, so please remember to check! 

not all of these blogs have open requests, so please read their bios and respect their boundaries! 

please let me know if I should add anyone! to qualify, blogs must take requests for headcanons or fanfiction, have an easily accessible fandom list, be specifically sfw/non-k!nk content, and have posted in the last three months! 

Holy moly, the list is LONG this year!!! We are still growing and expanding as a community! Because I don’t want to flood anyone’s dashes, the list will be under a ‘keep reading’. 

The list is organized in order of the number of fandoms they write for: with the widest range of fandoms at the top, down to single-fandom blogs at the bottom.

Blogs in italics are folks who don’t match my DNI or vice-versa (but are still sfw agere): I didn’t want to exclude them as many of my followers might have different personal stances than me! However, to respect both of our DNIs, I didn’t want to tag them, so please feel free to explore their blogs in your own time if they’re up your alley! 

@smollwriting​ (She-Ra, Creepypasta, The Good Place, Vampire Knight, BNHA, Undertale, Castlevania, Disney, Marvel, DC, D:BH, Life Is Strange, Resident Evil, Anne With An E, Black Butler, Tokyo Ghoul, Death Note, Assassination Classroom, AoT, Free!, Lucifer, OHSHC, Arcana, Stranger Things, and MANY more) 

@agerefandom​ (Adventure Zone, Animaniacs, ATLA, BNHA, Castlevania, Critical Role, Danganronpa, Death Note, Disney, Doctor Who, DDLC, Glee, Gravity Falls, Hannibal, Harry Potter, Homestuck, Magnus Archives, MCU, POTO, Sandman, Sherlock, Star Wars, Steven Universe, SPN, Twilight, Untamed, WTNV, and more) 

@ember-owlet​ (Encanto, Chainsaw Man, Beastars, Jujutsu Kaisen, Spy x Family, Witch Hat Atelier, Arcane, DHMIS, Killing Eve, MLP, Steven Universe, Owl House, OTGW, Wednesday, Cats, Heathers, Hadestown, POTO, D:BH, DDLC, FNAF, God Of War, RE:VIII, Last of Us, Undertale, and more) 

@writerpey​ (Arcane, ATLA/LOK, BTS, D:BH, Disney, Downton Abbey, GoT, God of War, Marvel, OFMD, Peaky Blinders, RDR2, Sherlock, Shadow and Bone, Star Wars, Stranger Things, The Batman, Last of Us, Uncharted, Wednesday, WWDITS, and more)

@wonderinglullaby​ (DC, Invader Zim, Breaking Bad, MLP, ATLA, SPN, Doctor Who, Invincible, Inside Job, Walking Dead, Carebears, Bojack Horseman, Stranger Things, Umbrella Academy, OTGW, Spiderman, Deadpool, Horror movies, and more)

@deuce-t-agere​ (911 Lone Star, Bluey, Care Bears, Criminal Minds, Critical Role, DC, Ever After High, Disney (esp. Hercules right now), Friday the 13th, Horror, James Bond, Lilo and Stitch, LOTR, Marvel, Monster High, POTO, Star Trek, Star Wars) 

@littlefirefly42​ (Marvel, She-Ra, Riordanverse, Owl House, Adventure Time, Bee and Puppycat, Stranger Things, Heartstopper, Gone, OTGW, DHMIS, Dragon Prince, Goncharov, It, Wednesday, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, HTTYD) 

@paper--moons​ (BNHA, Saiki K, Fairy Tail, Soul Eater, Death Note, FMAB, Dragon Ball, TAZ, Umbrella Academy, Marvel, DC, LOTR/Hobbit, Castlevania, TES, Dragon Age, Stardew Valley, The Witcher) 

@dreamties​ (Saw, The Collector, Black Christmas, Scream, House of Wax, The Boy, Heathers, Candyman, Carrie, Lost Boys, Psycho, Friday The 13th, Child’s Play, Spree, Laid to Rest, Dead by Daylight) 

@lavendermilkbottle​ (The Walking Dead, OFMD, DSMP, Hermitcraft, BNHA, Haikyuu, Star Wars, AFTG, DC, Grey’s Anatomy, Stranger Things, Leverage, White Collar, James Bond, Kingsman, Top Gun) 

@thorin-baby-bear​ (Stranger Things, Critical Role, Ghostbusters, It, Marvel, Ride The Cyclone, Doctor Who, Moon Knight, OFMD, Dead Poets Society, Welcome Home, Ash vs. Evil Dead, Werewolf By Knight, Bullet Train) 

@lains-cyberspace​ (Serial Experiments Lain, Complete Selection Modification, Welcome Home, BNHA, Genshin Impact, PJSK, Obey Me, Kpop, Slipknot, DHMIS, Enstars, TBHK, Danganronpa) 

@tinybeebo​ (Doctor Who, Marvel, X-Men, Moon Knight, Law and Order, Psych, Glee, Be More Chill, Dear Evan Hansen, Greatest Showman, Cobra Kai, Criminal Minds) 

@babiestbubbles​ (ROTTMNT, Daredevil, Spiderman, Stranger Things, Owl House, Bluey, Beyblade Burst, Disney, Harry Potter, DSMP/MCYT, BNHA, Sanders Sides) 

@strawbabys-blog​ (DSMP, Maze Runner, Harry Potter, BNHA, Merlin, Haikyuu, Heartstopper, Yuri on Ice!, Voltron, Hamilton, Marvel) 

@blankie-nest-agere​ (WarioWare, Psychonauts, MLP, Cookie Run, Stardew Valley, Owl House, Gravity Falls, Pokemon, Undertale/Deltarune, Invader Zim, Homestuck) 

@babybutlerarthur​ (Monster High, Danny Phantom, HTTYD, OHSHC, Hetalia, Disney, Welcome Home, SPN, Good Omens, Muppets, Star Trek)

@littlegummyfox​ (Series of Unfortunate Events, Adventure Time, Marvel, Steven Universe, Wednesday, HTTYD, Disney, Trollhunters, Welcome Home, Star Wars)

@mossysmolboy​ (OHSHC, BNHA, FNAF, Black Butler, Yuri On Ice, Stardew Valley, Creepypasta, D:BH, Sally Face, Arcane) 

shinxylullaby (Food Fantasy, Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, Cookie Run, Ouran, Sanrio Boys, Demon Slayer, BNHA, MXTX, MLP, Obey Me) 

@leos-regression-cove​ (Marvel, Parks and Rec, Good Omens, Bee and Puppycat, WWDITS, OFMD, Abbot Elementary, Ghosts UK/US, Better Call Saul) 

@froggy-clubhouse​ (Mr. Robot, Stranger Things, Teen Wolf, Homestuck, Haikyuu, Lucky Star, DHMIS, FNAF, South Park) 

aew-kun-age-regression (Marvel, SPN, Criminal Minds, Teen Wolf, Last of Us, Walking Dead, Harry Potter, Stranger Things) 

comfybuckets (Idolmaster, Project Sekai, Vast Error, Sanrio, Homestuck, Pokemon, Chrono Trigger, MLP g4) 

berrymoos (Moon Knight, Ninjago, Owl House, BNHA, Demon Slayer, Pokemon, Spiderman, Steven Universe, Stranger Things) 

@pup-writes-agere​ (Naruto, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Sonic, TMNT, FNAF, Danganronpa)

@sfwregressionfanfictions​ (Supernatural, RPF, Stranger Things, Marvel, Criminal Minds, Harry Potter, Addams Family)

@arcadian-agere​ (TWST, Genshin Impact, Death Note, Enstars, Black Butler, Nu Carnival, Pokemon)

kiddo-characters (Banana Fish, Owari no Seraph, Love Live!, Warrior Cats, sk8 The Infinity, ATLA, Genshin Impact) 

zeiru (Amphibia, ATLA, Disney/Pixar, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, MLP, Tangled Series, Owl House) 

@dino--boyy​ (Fear Street, Criminal Minds, Stranger Things, Owl House, Scream, Yellowjackets) 

@jjtheresidentbaby​ (Criminal Minds, SPN, Stranger Things, SWAT, Marvel, Teen Wolf)

@azulsgoldfish​ (TWST, PRSK, OHSHC, Persona, Enstars, Pokemon)

@honeybeewritings​ (Marvel, Stranger Things, Harry Potter, Wednesday)

@karaslittlesunshine​ (Supergirl, Marvel, Pitch Perfect, Criminal Minds)

@agere-ena​ (Project Sekai, Pretty Cure, Love Live!, Honkai: Star Rail)

enderlyghost (Ok KO, Encanto, FNAF: SB, MCYT/DSMP)

800-little-space (BNHA, Haikyuu, Assassination Classroom, Harry Potter) 

@tiniestroses​ (Project Sekai, Sonic, TMNT, Undertale)

@agere-fics​ (Marvel, Good Omens, The Mandalorian) 

@angelbaby-fics​ (Marvel, Stranger Things, other Chris Evans characters)

@guppies-daydream​ (Legend of Zelda, Splatoon) 

@gothicmunson​ (Stranger Things, Our Flag Means Death)

@smallboyontheship​ (Just Roll With It) 

@littlemetaknight​ (Kirby) 

@pumpkaboo-princess​ (Project Sekai) 

@prince-honeypaw (BNHA) 

@babs-and-bones​ (Undertale)

@babybones-agere​ (Undertale)

@sleepy-watcher​ (Our Flag Means Death)

@star-struck-wonderland​ (BNHA)

@bnha-crimebabies​ (BNHA)

@bnha-littlespace-things​ (BNHA)

@little-lippie​ (Kpop Girl Groups) 

pyrohrtd (Genshin Impact) 

[hippolotamus]

Tease Tidbit Tuesday 🪩

tagged by the always lovely and talented @dangerpronebuddie 🔪 @loveyouanyway 💔 @diazsdimples 💖 definitely go read their snips!

Thanks to some prodding from James (and inspo from the tune that goes with this scene) Mirrorball fic has made a return (*chants to self* please stay, please stay, please stay) This scene happens way after anything posted so far. Nonetheless, master list of snippets and lore here. Bon appetit or whatever

Chim taps on the screen, opening Buck’s message and lets out a disbelieving huff. He scrubs at his chin, occasionally flicking his gaze up to Buck then back down to his phone. This goes on for what must be a solid minute before Buck’s curiosity and impatience get the best of him.  “What?”  Chim pockets his phone and looks at Buck, really looks at him. A piercing and disarming stare that makes him squirm, and not in a good way. It’s not often that this side of Chim shows up. The part that’s more like an older brother, loving and caring for Buck even when he probably doesn’t want to. Buck knows he should be more grateful, but right now he really hates it. He wishes Chim would go back to teasingly calling him a dumbass about whatever ridiculous thing he did or said.  “I know you’re not asking me that right now. Like, I’ve always known you weren’t the brightest sometimes, but jeez, Buckaroo, I didn’t think you were this stupid.” Buck resolutely stares at his shoes, at the album covers and other kitschy knick knacks decorating Chim’s small office, at the imaginary dirt under his fingernails. Anywhere but at the man in front of him. “Have you tried talking to him, Buck? Like actually talking to him.” “No need,” Buck sniffs, aiming for nonchalant and missing by a mile. “He made it pretty clear how he feels about things. About us.” He crosses his arms defensively and bites the inside of his cheek. He’s done crying over Eddie. (Okay, he’s not, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to let himself do it in front of Chim.) “You don’t think that maybe there’s a chance-” “I don’t have anything to say to him!” He curls his hands into fists, digging the nails into his palm. “And there isn’t a damn thing he could say that I wanna hear from him right now. Or ever.” Nothing except I’m sorry, I was wrong. I fucked up and I didn’t mean it. I love you.  “He made his choice and now I have to deal with that. Because I still have shit to do. If this is how I choose to make sense of it all in my head, Chim, then so be it. So.” His breaths are ragged and shallow, his voice trembling. He swipes away the tears beginning to escape before they can roll down his cheek. “Are you going to do this for me or not?” Chim studies him for a moment and Buck thinks he’s about to get an earful. Except he doesn’t.  “Yeah.” Chim sighs, clapping him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry Buckaroo. I’ll take care of it.”

The Tunes™️

np tagging @actuallyitsellie, @epicbuddieficrecs, @a-noble-dragon, @tizniz, @mountedeverest,

@fortheloveofbuddie, @weewootruck, @saybiwithme, @bidisasterevankinard, @shipperqueen6,

@ramonaflow, @taketheplanspinitsideways, @spotsandsocks, @theotherbuckley, @stereopticons,

@kitteneddiediaz, @mrs-f-darcy, @daffi-990, @drowsy-quill, @your-catfish-friend,

@thekristen999, @filet-o-feelings, @wikiangela, @underwaterninja13, @lizzie-bennetdarcy,

@rainbow-nerdss, @steadfastsaturnsrings, @queenmabcreates, @inell, @jesuisici33,

@shortsighted-owl, @queerbuckleys, @bi-buckrights, @elvensorceress,

@bucksbiawakening, @giddyupbuck, @hoodie-buck, @indestructibleheart, @ladydorian05,

@lemonzestywrites, @monsterrae1, @statueinthestone, @slightlyobsessedwitheverything, @the-likesofus,

@thewolvesof1998, @watchyourbuck, @wildlife4life anyone else who wants to 😘

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day 8 - Prompt: Doubt @wolfstarmicrofic

January Daily Series - 793 words

<<<Previous Part OR Start Here

I need to make myself scarce, or better yet, busy.

Sirius wanted to encourage James and Regulus to spend more time together, but that wasn’t likely if he was always around. They had complicated relationships with asking for what they wanted. James put everyone else first and would worry that Sirius felt left out, while Regulus was taught to believe he didn’t deserve nice things and would no doubt feel guilty for taking James away from him.

In reality, Sirius was entirely capable and willing to “fuck right off,” as his brother so eloquently put it. He could entertain himself. He just needed a good excuse…or cover story.

Sirius pulled out his phone to check the time and noticed an unread message from Lily. The preview said, “So when do I get to meet your dog?”

Oh that’s perfect!

“You know, the weather is supposed to be nice today. We could walk along the beach?” he suggested casually. “Padfoot loves the water.”

James nodded eagerly. “We could show Regulus the Serpent Rock!”

“The what?” Regulus asked, sitting up straight.

Sirius grinned, his brother loved snakes and dragons. Leave it to James to notice the wrist tattoo and wyvern hair pin that his brother wore yesterday. The urge to cheer him on was difficult to tamp down.

As James explained the cave on the beach and the strange green, scaley rock formation inside, Sirius quickly texted Lily. Thankfully, she and Remus were available to meet at the shoreline. If all went well, he and Padfoot would sneak off with Lily and Remus, leaving the new…couple?…to sort themselves out.

When breakfast in the Inn’s dining room was over, Sirius ran upstairs to collect Padfoot and a couple of towels. Padfoot couldn’t contain himself. The moment his paws hit the beach, he was yanking at the leash. Water was his weakness. By the time Remus and Lily showed up, Padfoot was soggy and sleepy. It was the perfect time to enact part two.

Divide and conquer.

Gathering Padfoot’s leash from James, Sirius waved to Lily and Remus. “Hey, look who’s here! Why don’t you two go check out the cave while I catch-up with Lily.”

“Oh, sure! Yeah, that’s a great idea,” James said.

Regulus eyed the pair curiously, then nodded. “That’s fine. Let’s go.

Sirius stifled his laughter as James touched his brother’s shoulders and redirected him toward the cave, in the opposite direction. He grabbed Padfoot’s collar and led the way to Lily and Remus. He wasn’t allowing a repeat of yesterday.

“Oh my goodness! Is that him? Is that Padfoot?” Lily called out, hand clasped to her cheeks. “He’s so big!”

Remus offered him a sheepish look, which was unexpected. Given the colourful bruising along the skin beneath one eye, the bloke had definitely been in a row. That in and of itself drew Sirius closer. He was perpetually curious by nature, but something about Remus triggered an innate need to know that he couldn’t really explain. The man was just so bloody interesting.

“This is him,” he said, patting Padfoot’s head. “He gets a little excited with new people, so I’ll hold onto him for a bit.”

Lily stepped closer with her hand outstretched. “Hello, Padfoot.”

Padfoot’s tail slapped against Sirius’s leg as he leaned forward to sniff her hand. He was usually quite gentle around women, so long as he hadn’t grown overexcited beforehand. Sirius stroked his back soothingly and hoped he would behave.

“So, what happened to your face?” he asked, eyeing the bruise.

Lily cleared her throat. “Yes, Remus. Tell Sirius what happened to your face?”

The bloke aimed a half-hearted glare at Lily. Sirius could tell they were, in fact, old friends now that they were next to each other. Their body language alone was a dead giveaway. They were as comfortable as he and James were. That was a relief.

“Well, when we fell yesterday,” Remus began hesitantly. “Your elbow…and boot…”

Sirius’s eyes widened at the implication left hanging in the air between them. He pressed a fist to his lips and closed his eyes for a moment, imagining that fall from Remus’s perspective. Given that Sirius landed on top, then scrambled to regain his balance, pointed to one rather obvious outcome.

“Did I hurt you? I’m sorry!” Sirius gasped. He automatically moved forward, then stopped and flailed. “Wait, I don’t know what to do.”

“You could kiss it better,” Lily suggested.

Remus spluttered nonsensically, then choked, “Lily!”

“If it would help, sure,” Sirius replied, shrugging. “I don’t mind.”

Remus stared at him unblinking for a full minute in stunned silence. He appeared to be experiencing some sort of event, but Lily just stood at his side with a smug look on her face. He was very strange.

Next Part>>>

[arviyya]

Thanks @imsiriuslyreading for the tag :)

This is a snippet from my ongoing WIP I just started posting on ao3.

Regulus and James brewing Amortentia in class as forced partners.

James short circuits.  Regulus isn’t even standing close anymore. He's at least a pace away. James takes another whiff from the cauldron. Yeah, the smell he thought he smelled is definitely coming from the potion. Maybe it's because it’s not finished yet; maybe they messed it up. He clenches his jaw. He knows it's perfect. It always is when they brew potions together. So–what? "Potter?" Regulus prompts again.  "What–oh right," and just like that James adjusts his expression so that he’s wearing a casual grin. A grin that isn’t reaching his eyes, no matter how hard he tries. He chances a glance at Regulus, who’s eyes are narrowed. "I think we only need one more drop of liquid gold after this stir and then it should be done."  James can tell that his voice is shaky and his heart hurts with how hard it’s hitting his ribcage. The irrational part of his brain hopes that Regulus can’t hear it. James is fine. He really is, but it's amazing how hard it is to act fine when you’re paranoid that someone else can tell that you aren’t. But he is, though. He’s fine. He’s just fine.   Regulus sends the drop into the cauldron at the exact right moment, and as the drop hits the liquid, the whole potion becomes a brilliant pink color.  James chews on the inside of his cheek, happy that Regulus is distracted looking over the notes and ingredients and doesn’t notice him staring. There’s something in the way that Regulus’ eyes tighten at the corners, something in the way his brows furrow above them. James doesn’t know how anyone would be able to miss what’s so obvious. It’s all in his eyes, just how perturbed Regulus is. Before that day in the woods, James was sure that Regulus was made of stone. Now, he can see right through him as though he’s made of water. James can’t help but wonder, if Regulus were to look at him right now, would he be able to see James just as clearly? Is it bad that James hopes he can?  “Potter, would you stop staring at me?” Regulus’ eyes sink shut as he leans over the table. “What’s the matter with you anyway–you look like you tried to eat a live dragon...”

No pressure of course but feel free to share a snippet :) @honeybcj @multiimoments @galaxostars @hues-of-words @thatmoonspell

[gemini-magic17]

Entanglement Chapter Thirteen

**One Week Later

There is a week left before the wedding and I have been avoiding Kit at all costs. She tries to speak to me but every time I see her my mind just goes back to us in the library and how she left me there alone. I have considered forgiving her in order for our union to work but there is that small part of me that is saying she isn't worth forgiving.

All of this shit was giving me a headache and it just kept getting worse. The fact that I was taking a walk outside while it was extremely hot did not help with that at all. I turned back towards the castle and was met with the face of my brother.

"Hey, sis", he said ruffling my hair. I shoo his hand away being annoyed by the gesture he would do just as he did when we were children.

"How many times have I told you to not do that? We aren't nine anymore", I said cutting my eyes at him.

"I know its just fun to bug you", he laughed and I gave him a death stare really not in the mood for his antics today.

"What do you want James"?

"Damn what's got you in a bad mood", he questioned.

"I have a headache is all and I was headed back to the castle to go lay down."

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk to you about Kit", as soon as he said her name I wanted to get the hell out of there.

"I am really not feeling well can we do this another time please", I brushed past him before he gently took my arm into his hand.

"I think it is best we talk about this now. I know something happened between the two of you and for the past week you have been avoiding her like the plague", he said. I pulled my arm away from his grip and urged him to walk forward so we could talk on our way back.

"I won't go into too much detail but if you must know we did have a falling out", that was an understatement and James gave me that look where he knew I was hiding something.

"You are leaving something out and I want to know what you two were fighting about", he demanded.

"Listen, I know that you are concerned about me but for once can you stop being the overprotective big brother and butt out", I said and walked inside leaving a seething James alone with his thoughts.

I speed walk down the hall with wandering eyes following my every move. It was only then that I noticed Ser Easton following me and with him in tow was Willow. I changed direction heading for the place I definitely did not want to be at. I pushed open the library doors and right on my tail were the two individuals.

"May I ask why I am being tailed by the two of you", I asked.

"We did not mean for it to appear that way Princess but this man said he was a friend of yours and told me he needed to give you something", Ser Easton stated.

"Ser Easton how do you know this man who claims to be my friend is who he says he is", I questioned.

"That thought had crossed my mind Princess, but it wasn't until he showed me a certain book that it confirmed that what he was saying was indeed true", he said hinting at our previous conversation

"Oh", I said feeling completely dumb. I turned to Willow and greeted him.

"Hi, what brings you all the way here", I asked him.

"Well, Y/n I wanted to bring you this", he pulled out a dusty old leather book from his satchel and handed it to me.

"Oh, will you look at that another book", I said jokingly. Willow laughed at my remark and went on to explain.

"This book is about the great war and the dragons that were apart of it", he said.

"From my understanding, I thought there wasn't supposed to be any record of this and now to find that there are not two but three books on the topic is starting to make me question that fact."

"I only have this book because a friend of mine had a particular interest in the history of ancient times. This book just happened to be in their collection which I just so happened to borrow", he said.

"You know Willow from the sound of that it seems that you stole the book rather than borrowed it", Ser Easton raised his eyebrows.

"You say potato I say potato", he waved off Ser Easton's comment.

"Isn't your friend going to be looking for this", I asked.

"No, he has hundreds of books and this is just one of the many that he will not notice is missing."

"So you did steal the book off him", Ser Easton said. Willow turned to him and told him, "Yes I took the book off him. Are you satisfied now"? Ser Easton gave him a smirk and from Willow's face it obviously irked him.

"Can we get back to the subject at hand please", I asked. They both turned to me ending their funny little banter. I opened the book and flipped through the pages until I landed on one that detailed the dragons that were used by the different rulers. My eyes read over the first section and it discussed the dragon used by King Samuel.

Tyrax: A blood-red dragon with a long neck that allows for maximum damage. Its agility couldn't compare to any other dragons which was an advantage when it came to war. King Samuel dominated the battlefield with Tyrax and many of those who went up against them were turned into ash.

Reading the rest of the page I see countless names of dragons and the way they died.

Galic: An orange-colored dragon known for its ruthlessness on the battlefield was used by King Wilson to destroy his enemies. Showing no mercy Galic burned cities to the ground killing hundreds of people. It all came to an end when Calyx known as the winged demon killed Galic by biting its head off.

"Willow, why does it describe how Galic and some of the other dragons perished but not the rest like Tyrax", I asked.

"It's because there is no record of Tyrax's death or some of the other dragons that are listed", he said.

"Wait, so you're saying that Tyrax and the dragons that don't have any mention of their death could be alive? Is that even possible after so long", Ser Easton asked him.

"You have seen Calyx Y/n and dragons can live for hundreds possibly thousands of years", Willow said. I looked back at the book and saw a picture of what seemed to be the dragon known as Aeras, a grassy green dragon that had no mention of their death. The detailing of the picture resembled the likeness of Calyx. I swear you wouldn't know the difference if they didn't have different color scales.

"Can I keep this", I asked Willow.

"Of course, as I figured it belongs to you", he smiled.

"Thank you."

"I better be on my way I so much to do in such little time before your wedding", he said.

"You're coming to the wedding next week", I asked.

"Yes, I hope that it is alright Kit invited me", he said.

"Of course, I would love for you to be there. The more the merrier", I smiled and bid Willow goodbye. Ser Easton walked him out and I made my way to my chambers.

**James' POV

I should have known I wasn't going to get anything out of her. Once she gets angry she shuts down and doesn't want to talk to anyone about anything. If she didn't want to tell me what happened I'll just go straight to the source and find out for myself. I searched high and low for this girl and I couldn't find her. The last place I could look was the clearing by the woods. It took about ten minutes to get there but it was worth it. There she sat her head resting on her hand seeming to be deep in thought.

"Hey, Jade I need a word with you", as those words came out she jumped up and she looked at me with disgust.

"What do you want I have no interest talking to you", she said.

"Well, I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter. I want to know why Y/n was in tears a week ago fighting with Kit and your name was mentioned", I stated.

"How the hell should I know", I could see that she was deflecting.

"I know you know what happened between them and you are going to tell me right now", I said getting into her face. She was hesitant at first but she the words ended up spilling out of her.

"A week ago Kit made out with Y/n in the library and I saw it. Kit ended up following me after what happened and I'm guessing that is what the fight was about", she said with hatred in her voice. At that moment I wanted to scream and throw something anything because the level of anger I was feeling right now was through the roof.

"Is that it or did you want something else my prince", she said sarcastically. I turned to her and looked directly into her eyes and said this.

"Let me tell you what's about to happen. You are going to stay away from Y/n and in turn, Kit because whenever you two are together my sister is the one who always ends up hurt. Do you understand"?

"Don't you worry your pretty little head because the day after the wedding I'll be gone and you won't have to deal with me anymore", she said.

"What do you mean", I was intrigued by what she just said. Knowing that she wasn't going to be around for much longer made me ecstatic.

"Queen Sorsha is making me a knight and in order to do that I will be going away to do that."

"Well that's good to know", I said trying to sound condescending, and with that, she walked off. I was left there feeling satisfied by our little interaction and the results that came of it. Now I just have to let everything fall into place and it will go smoothly. Jade will be out of the way, Y/n won't be heartbroken, and Kit can be punished for what she did.

**Time Skip: Kit's POV (A couple of days before the wedding)

Having both Y/n and Jade avoiding me is starting to piss me the fuck off. I know that I screwed up and I have tried to apologize countless times but they never want to speak to me. Jade won't talk to me no matter what I do so I set my sights on Y/n. Having enough of this shit and with us to be married in a couple of days we need to hash this out. Around this time of day, she would be with her parents discussing arrangements for the wedding. I searched all over the castle and to my surprise I found Y/n's parents but she wasn't in sight.

"Excuse me, King Aiden and Queen Raina I wanted to know if you have seen Y/n", I asked.

"She just left we were going over small things before the wedding", Queen Raina said.

"Do you know where she was going when she left"?

"Ser Easton and her were heading to the training yard ", Y/n's father said.

"Okay, thank you", I said goodbye and went on my way.

I arrived at the training yard and there she was standing next to Ser Easton talking about something trivial. I carefully approached her and tapped her shoulder. She spun around and her h/c hair almost smacked me in the face. As she turned the smile that was on her face slowly disappeared which was replaced with a frown.

"What do you want Kit", she said with little to no emotion.

"I wanted to talk to you. Y/n you have been avoiding me and we need to hash this out."

"Really because I don't see anything to hash out it is clear about how you feel about me so what else is there left to say", she said and I turned to Ser Easton pleading that he could give us some space. He looked Y/n then back to me and slowly walked away but not too far that we were out of his sight.

"I have apologized over and over again and you won't forgive me."

"You expect me to forgive you after that. If you were in my position would you be so forgiving", she asked. I went quiet knowing that what she had said was the truth. If I were in her position I would feel the same way she does.

"Your right I would be the same way you are right now if I was put into this situation. I am reaching out to you though and I'm trying to tell you that I am going to do the best I can to make this up to you. Please forgive me I never meant to hurt you and if I could I would take back leaving you in that library all alone. I'm so sorry", I pleaded holding onto her hands for dear life. Her reaction was painfully slow and what she said next changed everything.

"If you are really that sorry I will forgive but I don't think I could trust you for a very long time. Once you break my trust it is hard to get back", she said and pulled away from my grasp.

"Then I will do everything I can to gain it back even if it takes the rest of our lives", I stated taking her face into my hands and touching her forehead with mine.

[mumms-the-word]

In Fathoms Below - Ch. 5

Ch. 5 - Dragon Turtle

Characters: Gale, Karlach, Wyll, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Astarion, Halsin, Minthara, Gortash + other OCs; pairing is Gale x fem!Tav Plot: The island city of Nautera disappeared over 4500 years ago, if it ever existed at all. Now not a single, legitimate record of Nautera exists, save for one. The Nauterran Account. Long thought lost, it has recently been retrieved from the depths of Candlekeep’s archives and placed into the capable hands of one Gale Dekarios. With the Nauterran Account in hand and an eclectic team of Baldurians and other allies mounting an official expedition, Gale journeys to find the ruins of Nautera…but hopes to find so much more. A/N: Dragon turtle alert!! Will the team make it out of this encounter alive? Will they find the entrance to Nautera before anything bad happens to them?? Read on to find out, intrepid readers!

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | BG3 Masterlist | Read on AO3

“Tribute?” 

Gale glanced over his shoulder at the room behind him. The submersible was tilted at a steep angle so that the floor sloped sharply downward, forcing most people to hang on to controls, pipes, and railings to try and stay standing. It was Minthara who voiced the question from where she crouched using the side of a control unit as her foundation. 

All heads turned to seek out the vampire. Karlach was holding him mostly upright with a strong grip around his upper arm, her other hand hanging on to a bit of railing. The vampire’s eyes widened as he noticed all eyes were on him.

“Well don’t look at me!”

“I don’t think it will accept lives as tribute,” Wyll said. He had one hand wrapped around a pipe and was leaning out like a swashbuckling pirate, completely at ease with the new angles in the room. “Especially undead ones. It’s a dragon—the only language it speaks is treasure.”

“Well we don’t have any treasure to give it,” Gortash snapped. 

“This entire submersible is coated in polished bronze and brass, Gortash,” Shadowheart said. “I doubt it will believe that.”

“Then our only course of action is to attack,” Minthara said.

“Attack a dragon turtle?” Halsin asked, twisting from where he was, his back flat to the nearly vertical floor and his feet on a series of pipes, to look up at her. “Are you mad?”

“Would you rather get eaten, druid?”

“It spoke to us first, perhaps we can respond!”

“I think it’s growing impatient,” Gale warned, as the dragon turtle turned its head again and narrowed its eyes. 

A hollow-sounding, panicked voice suddenly rang out from a trumpet-like fixture on the wall. “Saer! The outer walls are cracking back here and water is leaking in! I don’t know how much go longer the bulkheads can withstand the pressure!”

“Gods-damned monstrosities,” Gortash growled under his breath. He shifted from where he knelt against the main control panels, his foot nearly wedged in the ship’s wheel. “Gale. You can speak to it. Convince it to release us.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Gale asked, irritation and disbelief making his tone sharp. “Ask it very nicely?”

“I was told you were intelligent. Figure it out. Quickly.” He turned his head toward the rest of the room. “The rest of you, ready yourselves!”

“Battle stations!” Minthara barked. “Send word to the others—be ready for anything.”

The dragon turtle spoke again, its impossibly deep voice once more causing the entire submersible to rattle and shake. 

Speak, creature. Who sends you?

Gale took a deep breath and got to his feet, planting one foot on the glass and the other on the metal control unit next to him. There was no way this dragon turtle could hear him inside the submersible, even if he shouted. It was clearly time for some good old-fashioned thaumaturgy. 

He touched a hand to his throat and cast the spell—Fortior!—and willed his voice to be three times louder, almost as loud as the dragon turtle’s. With another deep breath, he shouted in draconic, “We are priests of Umberlee! Release us so that we may offer our tribute to you!”

Surely a small lie wouldn't make things worse. They just needed to get free.

The dragon turtle narrowed its eyes again and then gave another deep, rumbling laugh.

Ahh…not a creature, but a vessel. Priests of Umberlee, you say?

It tilted their submersible again, almost leveling it out. Gale had to scramble to jump down from the control unit back onto the floor without falling flat on his back. “Yes! Release us and we—”

The entire world suddenly tore out from underneath Gale and then slammed against him once more as the dragon turtle dragged the submersible through the water and smashed it against the rocky face of a cliff. Gale and several others flew through the helm, falling first to the floor and then crashing against controls, levers, wheels, and pipes as the submersible crunched against the rock. An explosion of pain bloomed in his side and chest as he was thrown against a set of controls, all sharp edges and hard metal, knocking the air from his lungs.

The dragon turtle let go of the submersible with a rumbling laugh. As they drifted downward, sinking slowly, black spots began to swirl in Gale's vision. He tried to find his breath again, willing his struggling lungs to take in air. As he struggled, he vaguely made out the dragon turtle's next words.

You lie.

“What the hells did you say to it?” Gortash yelled, climbing back up to his feet.

Gale clutched his side with a grimace and tried to sit up. “It—it doesn’t matter,” he gasped. “We’re free.”

Gortash stumbled over to a speaking horn on the wall and leaned in to yell, “Gunners! Launch the harpoons!”

“I don’t think harpoons are going do much against that guy,” Wyll warned. “Except make it angry.”

“I don’t care. Redhammer! All engines as high as they can go! If we can’t fight this thing, we’ll outpace it.”

But Redhammer, lying crumpled just a few feet from Gale, made no response. Gale’s stomach flipped as he noticed the unnatural angle of the dwarf’s neck. Across the room, two other pilots, a gnome and a human, lay deathly still, unconscious or killed by the brunt of being thrown about by the dragon turtle’s attack.

Outside, large spear-like harpoons shot through the water, launched from somewhere in the lower decks and sides of the submersible. Most of them bounced off or barely grazed the dragon turtle, but one shot forth right as the dragon turtle opened its mouth, sticking fast into the flesh of its gums. The creature growled, shrinking back, and lifted a clawed flipper to swipe at its face, clipping the submersible as it did. They tilted again, swaying and rocking.

“Redhammer!” Gortash twisted to look for the dwarf, then swore and took hold of the wheel himself, forcing the submersible to steady. “Pilots! Engines to—”

“Lord Gortash!” Another panicked, tinny voice burst from the horn on the wall. “Saer! The port side fins are damaged—bad. I don’t think—”

Another voice interrupted them, the voices mingling with a din until the second won over. “—starboard fins! I repeat, excessive damage to the starboard fins! Half of it’s torn off and—”

Yet another voice. “Saer! The rear bulkheads have burst and water is rushing towards the engine rooms! If we don’t get out of here fast we—”

“Gods damn them all!” With gritted teeth, Gortash let go of the wheel and dragged the dead human pilot over, wedging them beneath the outer spokes of the wheel to keep it from turning. “Evacuate the ship, now! All hands to the battle subs and cargo vessels!”

Flashes of light began to illuminate the waters as something else, cannonballs of some kind, shot toward the dragon turtle and exploded against its thick hide. Inside the submersible, the helm was a frenzy of activity as people rushed out of the room. Wyll swung down from where he’d been clinging to the pipes to help Gale to his feet as Karlach hefted the still-bound vampire over her shoulder.

“Come on, fangs, you’re with me!”

“Up you go, Gale, on your feet,” Wyll said, hauling him up. “Don’t fall behind!”

Gale didn’t bother gasping a response. He merely checked that his satchel was still around his body and that the Nauterran Account was still inside as he rushed after Wyll and the others. They clambered down ladders, down into a large cargo bay area. The vast space, now filling with water that already reached their calves, was lined with smaller submersibles and two medium-sized seacrafts—the cargo vessels. Each was shaped like a big metal fish in the same bronzy coating as the main submersible, but several of them were armed with harpoon guns and even a few cannons.

He saw Shadowheart and Lae’zel disappear into a smaller craft with another pilot while Wyll and Halsin ran ahead to help others. Gale swerved to follow Gortash, Minthara, Karlach, and her fanged hostage into a larger vessel alongside several others.

The minute they were inside, Karlach dumped the vampire into one of the seats that lined the wall and pointed to a seat on the opposite side. “Buckle in, soldier, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride! You,” she said pointing a clawed finger in the vampire’s face, “I’m unbinding you but you’re staying buckled in, got it?”

“Whatever gets me out of this madness intact,” he said, nodding quickly. She quickly cut through the bindings on his arms and then buckled him in tight as he was rubbing his wrists. She left his ankles bound and strapped herself into the seat next to him.

Gale collapsed into the other seat opposite them, fumbling with the buckles with shaking hands, sweat beading his brow. The pain in his side was impossible to ignore now and every breath sent a new wave of pain. The orb marking in his chest hadn’t stopped glowing since he’d stared down the dragon turtle through the glass, but now it throbbed in time with the waves of pain coursing through him. Outside the vessel, the main submersible shook again, as if something had broken or ruptured.

“Get us free of this damnable ship before it kills us! What are you waiting for?” Minthara barked from where she and Gortash sat in the cockpit of the submersible.

“Damn you, woman, I’m working on it!” he snapped, flicking a series of switches and pulling one of the levers. 

Dimly outside they could hear the roar of the dragon turtle and feel the submersible shaking as the gunners continued to load and launch harpoons and cannonballs. A loud bang blasted toward them as two massive metal doors on the far side of the cargo bay swung open and then crumpled under the pressure of the oncoming flood. A torrent of water rushed over them, lifting them up, nearly toppling them over, sweeping away several people still scrambling to get inside the smaller subs. Within seconds they were completely submerged in seawater.

“Finally! Took them long enough,” Gortash said. He pulled another lever and something—the cargo vessel's engines—roared to life. 

Gale twisted to look out of the front windows of their vessel just as they launched out from the cargo bay. Gortash steered them sharply downward from the submersible, deftly dodging around another vessel and dipping toward the sea floor. A great flash of light illuminated the waters around them, followed by the barely muffled sound of a massive explosion, sending out a wave of force that rocked their vessel violently. The dragon turtle gave a piercing screech.

“The submersible!” Karlach yelled, turning to look through a porthole on her side.

“Good,” Minthara said viciously. “Let’s hope it harmed the creature and bought us some time.”

The depths outside were chaos. Gale watched through the glass as the wave of force from the submersible explosion sent a gunner ship careening to the side and straight into a rock tower. The vessel hit the rocks and crumpled like tin. Before its lights flickered out, he saw the tower begin to crumble down over it.

All around them, the trenches were filled with a frenzy of flashing explosions and high-speed metal subs veering around stone columns, cliffs, and other submersibles, all pursued by an angry dragon turtle the size of a large fortress. Everything came in glimpses as lights from the subs swung wildly about, attempting to pierce the inky darkness enough to avoid the hazards all around them. Gale tried desperately to think of some spell to help in a situation like this, but his pain-addled mind was useless—inside an underwater submersible flying around at reckless speeds, he was useless.

“Gale!” Gortash yelled, over his shoulder, shouting to be heard over the din of others attacking the dragon turtle and its angry roars.  His voice snapped Gale out of his thoughts. “What are our chances that this dragon turtle is guarding your entrance to Nautera?”

“Given all these destroyed ships, extraordinarily high but not a guarantee,” Gale shouted back. They swerved sharply again to avoid crashing into one of the dragon turtle’s legs as it turned in the water. Smaller gunner ships were flitting around it like flies, trying to shoot harpoons and exploding cannonballs at it. The beast swiped a clawed arm at them, catching one of them and sending it crashing into another. Gale forced himself to look away from the gruesome sight and back out toward the front of their cargo vessel. “If it’s here, the statues are lying on the sea floor—look for a stone head or an arm worn down by time and the currents!”

“And then?”

“You’re looking for a crack in the rock—a crevice or a wide split that tunnels downward into the bedrock! Follow it down and around and we should end up in the Underdark!”

“There!” Minthara pointed. “I see something amid the broken ships!”

Gale craned his neck to peer through the front windows. In the distance, faintly seen in the lights of their vessel, two giant statue heads rested against the rocky sea floor, one lying on its side. They were worn smooth by time, but there were still a few features that were instantly recognizable as humanoid features, marking them as distinctly different than the rocks and boulders around them.

“Yes! That has to be them! Look for a deep crevice—”

Another explosion, this one much smaller, rocked their vessel as another gunner was destroyed. 

“Shit!” Karlach said, looking out of the portholes. “Gortash you gotta push this thing faster or we’re gonna be dinner for the big guy!”

The dragon turtle roared again, much closer and much louder, the sound one of rage and pain. Gale could vaguely make out words in the cacophony, which rang so loudly he and the others had to clamp their hands over their ears.

I WILL CRUSH YOUR METAL SHELLS AND SCATTER YOUR BONES TO THE DEPTHS!

It yelled something else, but Gale stopped trying to translate in his head. He gripped his satchel with one hand and the edge of his seat with the other, trying to keep himself from rattling around as Gortash pushed their ship to its limits, veering sharply around rocks and other vessels.

“Gortash! It’s gaining on us!”

“There!” Minthara yelled, pointing ahead. 

Gortash didn’t respond. He dipped them suddenly downward, aiming for a wide cleft in the bedrock.

Gale clutched tighter to his seat, trying to talk himself out of a rising panic as visions of crashing at full speed into the rock clouded his mind. “Just rudimentary plumbing, it’s just like rudimentary plumbing, it’s—”

The vampire looked at him like he was going mad.

The roar of the dragon turtle was right behind them as they dove down into the darkness of the crevice. Its giant clawed flipper reached in after them, scraping them and causing them nearly to crash into the tunnel walls, but soon they were free—and driving dangerously fast in a very narrow tunnel.

“Gortash, watch it!” Karlach yelled.

Gortash pulled a lever and the vessel's side fins turned suddenly vertical, creating a drag effect that acted like a harsh brake, abruptly slowing them as the tunnel took a sharp turn upward. Gale and everyone else buckled into the vessel's seats were flattened to their seats and then banged around as they clipped the tunnel walls trying to turn and follow the snaking tunnels upward. Behind them, some unfortunate gunner wasn’t so lucky, crashing directly into the tunnel walls with another bright explosion. Gortash threw the lever again, manipulating the fins and engines to make it through the tunnels as they twisted and turned.

For one terrifying moment, Gale was convinced he’d been wrong. That these tunnels went nowhere except to a dead end and that they would crash into bedrock with enough force to spell instant death for everyone inside. He clenched his teeth so hard together he thought they would crack as they hurtled upward into deeper and deeper darkness—

And then all at once, they shot free of the tunnels, rocketing into open water. Gortash flattened the side fins again, dragging them through the depths and slowing them quickly. Seconds later, the water came to an abrupt end as they surfaced with an explosive spray. Gortash killed the engines, leaving them to bob up and down in the waves their abrupt surfacing had created.

Then…silence. Silence and darkness, save for the lights beaming out from the front of the cargo vessel.

“Did…did we make it?” Karlach asked, running a slightly shaking hand through her hair. Beside her, the vampire looked like he regretted ever climbing aboard the submersible in the first place.

“I think so,” Gale said, his voice somewhat weak. He pressed a hand to his aching side and turned carefully to peer out of the portholes on his side of the cargo vessel. Water lapped against the window, only coming about halfway up the glass. Overhead, there seemed to be nothing but space. This was no small cave or air pocket. It was a large cavern.

A moment later, two of the small gunner ships surfaced beside them, followed by a battered-looking third. Shadowheart and Lae’zel climbed out of the top, standing on the roof to look around. They bent their heads together for a moment before Shadowheart cast a spell on something in Lae’zel’s hands, creating a wide aura of light. Lae’zel threw the illuminated object into the darkness. 

As it sailed through the cavern in a high arc, piercing the darkness around them, Gale could see arching rocky walls and hundreds of stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Just before the illuminated object plopped into the water and sank, still glowing, into the depths, Gale spied a rocky beach and the ruins of four towering, carved columns framing a series of hewn stone steps. The evidence of humanoid craftsmanship, though ancient, couldn't be more obvious.

These must be the ancient roads to Nautera.

They had found the Underdark path to the lost city. Just as the Nauterran Account said they would.