#Urien hours

[hungerofhadarr]

an In-Between state of mind.

[give-me-your-forearms]

Listen Urien is one of my favorite characters and all but this is an awful lot to handle.... I was shooketh when I saw these for the first time. Please, give theories as to what he's doing here (wrong or right answers) (credit to the SF wiki for the quotes)

[liminal-storage]

#3: Quiver (Free Choice)

Prompt: Free Write 

Characters: Kuni Content Warning: None Notes: Kuni, a late night, and a strange little cavern room in Priarch's basement. Vague mentions of characters belonging to @thedarknesssings.

-----------------

It never failed.

Every encounter with Helios or Urien set her blood to boiling, her limbs to restless wandering. Pent up anger and violent urges, and all the words she'd had to bite back put a sense of tension into every one of her movements.

Even hours after they'd gone, and with the buzz of alcohol skipping through her veins, she found herself clenching her teeth in anger and she knew she needed to go for a walk. It was the only real outlet she had for such energy at the moment, and getting away from the bar seemed like a good idea.

Why her steps then carried her deeper into the halls of Priarch, rather than out, she would never truly know. Maybe her words to Lyrin'a about hidden nooks and crannies had instilled some vague curious hunger, and curiosity was certainly better than anger at the moment. Regardless, it seemed that some exploration was in order, if only to cool her head.

There were certain doors she would not open, hallways where venturing was completely out of the question. The oubliette, Spider's sanctum, and Celestin's wing of the infirmary were places you didn't simply go without an invitation (or at least without a hell of an excuse to back you up). And so she had to venture even deeper, into lower levels and darker halls.

Dark enough that she vaguely wondered whether those paths had always been there or not, or if her half-drunk mind was playing tricks on her. Dark enough that only her keen night vision allowed her to see a way forward at all.

When at last she came to a stop, the smell of damp stone surrounded her. Kuni found herself having to blink and come back to herself, for she could not remember what turns she'd taken to get here, or how deeply she must've descended. Gathering a deep breath, the woman reached out to lay a palm flat against the nearest wall. Not just the scent of stone...it was stone, the natural curve of some underground cavern meeting the warmth of her skin.

Strange.

She let her fingertips trace over the cool surface, along dips and bumps and one small crack until they met the edge of some sort of seam. She blinked some more, squinted and focused on the spot where her fingers came to rest. The surface felt different. Smoother, slightly warmer. Polished, almost. Wood?

There was a door here.

Caution and apprehension rose up, clashed violently against curiosity and intrigue. She ought to turn back, forget her find. Crawl into bed at home and declare this one of those things better left alone. It'd be easier. Safer. Probably more advisable than what she was about to do. Who knew what waited behind that door?

Carefully, her fingers found the knob and gave it a tentative turn. Met with no resistance, she followed the inward swing of the door.

Red eyes squinted against a sudden burst of light. It wasn't exactly bright, but it was unexpected enough to have her vision momentarily blurring. She could tell immediately where the light came from, oddly enough. Hot wax and the whooshing whisper of countless tiny flames told her it was nothing more than candlelight.

One eye peeled open, then the other, and sure enough her sight was met by the warm glow of dozens upon dozens of candles. Their light outlined dark pews, dark stone, and the shape of what appeared to be an altar.

Thin shafts of light filtered down from above, struggling to squeeze through the gaps between lush green vines dangling through a crevice. Beyond the faintly illuminated pews, the darkness seemed to swallow all other light. Hungry. Yawning. Oppressive. It was not just a room, but a larger cavern, the air cold yet thick.

No iconography decorated the space. Aside from what seemed to be an offering bowl upon the altar, she couldn't see any other ceremonial tools. But only a fool would miss the thin stream trickling down through the crevice to pool in a stony basin of fathomless, dark water. No iconography, but she remembered well the talk of black water.

This place must be for the Secariots, then. Or for the strange shadows residing within them, along with any followers of theirs.

Aside from the gentle rush of water and the candles' soft whispers, all was quiet. Not a soul moved within the space, or at least none that she could sense. But then, who had lit the rows upon rows of candles? The thought sent a brief shiver down her spine, not at all helped by the shadows which seemed to stretch out towards her like reaching fingers. Was someone preparing for a sermon here in the burgeoning dark?

She should probably leave, didn't want to be seen as defiling the space simply due to her curious presence. But it was quiet here. So strangely peaceful in spite of the faint chill of unease. Something about the cool air flowing against the walls quieted the rage in her head. Something in the pattern of the flickering firelights calmed her heartbeat. Here, so deep below the main building, so far away from the sights of the bar and the harsh lights and the lingering sickening feeling the night had left her with, there came a soothing ease. The same sort of ease that came with lying in a cold, dark room to remedy a splitting migraine.

It was enough to coax her forward to kneel by the water's edge and lay her forehead against the cool stone. She wouldn't think too hard about what was worshipped here, or the possibility of other souls arriving. She liked the way this cavern quieted her rampant thoughts.

All she really wanted was a moment; a few more breaths of peace before something inevitably came to interrupt it. And if the stewards of the space decided that was a sin?

Well, she'd just have to pay penance, she supposed.

[tychodorian]

After 15 painstaking hours, my special edition cover for my book King of Dust is finally done! This cover is going to be for an exclusive Kickstarter backer copy of the book, hardcover and complete with a dust jacket.

The cover features the four main characters: Astrid, Yra (the blonde in the front), Urien (the cambion), and of course, Darius himself.

I also completed a Kickstarter sticker, too!

I'm so very excited for this Kickstarter on the 2nd of April, so wish me luck!

If you want to read the book before the Kickstarter, you can check it out on Wattpad. It was a Wattys 2022 Finalist and I hope you fall in love with the story as much as I have!

You can find more information on King of Dust on my website, which is in my pinned post!

[leyswhumpdump]

The Larceny of Lord Liron #2

Because the original piece just wouldn’t leave my head.

Masterlist

Tropes and CWs: Thief whumpee, intimate whumper(s), two POVs, kidnapping, hoods / blindfolds, more soft threats.

“You could have warned me we were leaving,” Agantha pouted as they left the manor via a side door. She’d been halfway through reapplying her lipstick, and Urien had to resist the temptation to dab it with a handkerchief. “What’s the hurry? And what are you doing here?” She addressed the second question to Lord Liron.

Urien smirked into the silence. Words had evidently failed the silver-tongued thief; all the colour had drained from his face, and his arm trembled under Urien’s fingers. “Darling, you may have noticed our friends are a little light on jewels this evening.” A small tug was all it took to yank the unresisting boy to his hip. Urien reached for the nearest pocket and pulled out a gold signet ring. “Take a look at this.”

Agantha tilted the ring towards the lamplight. “Lord Estyn’s seal?” she said in puzzlement.

“The fool accepted a dance off this young man.” Urien ruffled the golden curls that had been arranged so painstakingly. “He’d tell you he’s a noble, and you’d almost believe it. He lies nearly as well as he steals.”

“A thief, then.” She raised an eyebrow. “You can’t be suggesting we take him to the watch-house in town. That’s nearly an hour out of our way.”

“Of course not.” The little thief’s pulse was darting all over the place. It had grown even more erratic at the mention of the watch-house. “Agantha, darling. Remember those little canaries?”

Agantha was already halfway to cottoning on. Her eyes lit up in fond wistfulness. “They sang so beautifully.”

“And didn’t you enjoy the little feathers the cats left behind?” Urien tightened his grip; the thief had come to his senses and was beginning to struggle. “You told me to be on the lookout for something new. Something none of your friends had.”

Agantha’s lips parted. She stared at her husband, then at the captive who was desperately trying to extricate his wrist. “Then we’d better go, and quickly. I don’t wish to field uncomfortable questions.”

“N-no—please.” The thief’s protests had found voice, even if that voice was small and trembling. Urien had killed Lord Liron with the dance; now all that was left was a common criminal who’d overplayed his hand. “Please—I can give the stuff back, I—”

“Why would we care?” Urien purred in the thief’s ear as he steered him towards the waiting carriage. “After all, none of our things have been stolen, and it wouldn’t take much to shake the rest out of your pockets. I’m afraid that if you wish to bargain with us, you’ll have to offer something far more interesting.”

The boy dug his heels in at the carriage step. Urien let Agantha climb in first, then delivered a swift kick to the thief’s knees. He crumpled with a gasp; Urien supported his shoulders with one arm, the other sweeping his legs up into a bridal carry. “My lady wife carries daggers. Squirm any more and she might just use them.”

Agantha was already playing with one of those daggers, testing its point against her finger. Urien smiled. He’d always found her beautiful, with or without her knives, but those brilliant shining blades of hers sent him aflutter. He suspected the thief felt the same chills, though perhaps not for the same reason.

“Do you know any cats, little thief?” he said. The thief stared up at his face with wide-eyed stupidity, as if the question had rolled straight off him. “Perhaps you’ve seen one hunt a bird. They watch their prey quietly and with great patience. Then one false move…” He dropped the thief onto the overstuffed carriage seat. “And all that’s left are feathers.”

“Please.” The thief scrambled backwards, realised how close he was to Agantha’s knives, and froze. Urien climbed into the seat beside him and closed the carriage door. “Please—don’t hurt—”

“There’ll be a lot of people hurting tonight, my little sparrow. After we’ve left, they’ll realise what was taken from them, and mourn their losses.” He took hold of the boy’s wrist again, noting the reddish marks his previous grip had left. “Agantha, let’s make sure he keeps his sly little hands still, hmm?”

Agantha’s nails were far longer than Urien’s. Urien didn’t miss the grimace of pain that crossed the thief’s deceptively innocent face, but that grimace was a mere shadow compared to the trembling paleness—like a wispy cloud across the moon. He sat with deathly rigidity, his arms secured in place on either side of him. Agantha occupied her free hand with her dagger; Urien caressed the defensively curled-up fingers.

“Oh, you sweet foolish thing,” he murmured into the thief’s ear, as the driver whipped the horses into life.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵ ‿︵‿︵‿︵

Even among the dim lights of the carriage, Wren saw more than he’d ever seen before. Not only saw, but sensed in every conceivable way. The nauseating sparkles at Lady Agantha’s bejewelled throat, the nose-clogging stench of expensive fragrances, the way the wheels bounced him hard enough to leave bruises. A clammy coldness burdened the itchy fabric at the back of his neck, as the day’s residual heat crawled like lice across his exposed skin. Talons embedded themselves in his left wrist, as smoothness and silks kissed his right. His feet prickled in boots that were a half-size too large, but he could not reach down to alleviate the discomfort. Owls made derisive hooting sounds outside the windows.

“Take a detour,” Agantha announced suddenly. She did not shout, but her voice still screeched against Wren’s skull. “The forested route, please. And pass a blanket from the front.”

“A blanket, darling?” said Urien as the carriage veered off the main road and onto a narrower, bumpier track. “Wouldn’t you prefer—”

“It’s not for me,” Agantha snapped. She held the blanket between finger and thumb, as though the dense, rough-spun wool revolted her. “Remember we picked up a pigeon. And pigeons have a homing instinct.”

As much as his brain lagged on processing the stimuli that surrounded him, Wren still shied against the backrest of his seat. “But it’s dark outside—I can’t see anything anyway—”

“Don’t cut out his tongue in the carriage, Agantha,” said Urien. “The poor servants will struggle to get the stains out of the seats.”

The woollen fibres scratched Wren’s cheeks and forehead as his captors worked to shut out his world. The blanket smelled a little like sheep and a lot like horse. It must have been used to keep the carriage-ponies warm. “Don’t cut out my tongue anywhere,” he begged; not even the blanket could chase away the ice that had gone through his veins at the suggestion. “Please…”

“If you want to keep it, you’ll keep silence as well.” Agantha’s voice came muffled from behind the heavy veil. “Let our man at the front drive in peace.”

Time slipped away in a haze of sorts. Wren tried to count the bumps in the road, but after a while they all merged into a single ongoing rattle that sent tremors up his spine and through his legs. By the time the carriage stopped and he was forced to stand, his whole lower half had gone numb. Those smooth silks dragged him across the seats to a step he missed, and the resulting jolt sent another shockwave of ice towards his heart. Strong hands kept him from falling.

“Come, little sparrow,” Urien hummed as they crossed the rough flagstones of some outer yard, then into a space filled with the lingering summer warmth. Amber lamplight forced its way past the twists of yarn, poking Wren’s eyes like flickering needles. “Let us get you in your cage.”

Part 3

Tags: @painsandconfusion

Feel free to ask to be added to the taglist!

[potionio]

Heeey! ;') Please these ones for simblr asks - 🫐🌱

Also, just wanted to say - I love your gameplays so muuuuch! :') Sending you love and hugs, and of course appreciation! I hope you're having a good day! 🥺💗

🌱 Do/Can you relate to any of your sims?, 🫐 How often do you play the sims?

I relate to quite a lot of my sims? Though the one I probably relate to the most is Urien, though I haven't shown him here yet. They have gone through so much but are an absolute fucking little shit stirrer and I love them. Also one of my other sims that I haven't shown here, Ambrose- he just..I adore him and relate to his shit so much.

I play p much every day ?? BUT in waves, sometimes i wont touch the game for like- hours

[cyndaquixote]

*Slides in 1000000000 years late with a starbux*

[gorgagne-viperidae]

urien; voracious, #1

[for #ffxivwrite2019; @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast] 

Hastily scribbled out, spattered with frequent ink blots:  

"1st sun, 5th astral moon.

Time is running short. 

Time, ever ephemeral, slips through my grasp as would sand. Soon we must away, or the consequences wrought by our actions will catch up to us. Us, I say. Yes, us, for these crimes are no longer mine alone to bear. It is most fortuitous and calamitous in dizzying turns that this is so, but Landon is proving to me now to be as much a boon as he is a s------”

The word here is scratched out, so blacked out with ink that it soaks clean through the page to stain the notes on the other side. Several more ink blots mar the following lines until it picks up again with a prim: 

“dedicate. I can only pray we make it in time.

Soon, my Lord will want for more sustenance than the pittance I have provided him. Soon. Soon! There is only so much I can call upon on such short notice without drawing notice, but my Lord will understand in this time of need, surely. The problem faced with my Lady Saint cannot be suffered to happen here. Here, where there are no highlands to retreat to until opportunity calls. Here, where the eyes and ears of the city states are as keen as the next glory-hungry adventurer. One shipment of crystals too many and the Wood Warders will come calling and not even my Lord will be able to rebuff them without a price. For all the safety Eorzea promised in its freedoms, it proves now a cage, pressing in on us with its own tempestuous history.

If the thrice-damned amal’jaa hadn’t made such a mess of their god, this wouldn’t be a problem.

Two crates of crystals in as many days. A pittance. The rest will come spaced across the next sennight, each timed as far apart as I dare, by as many couriers as I dare. Within the fortnight, a caravan. In this, Eorzea’s chaotic roadways will work to our advantage: a large order for Amajina & Sons is in the works. Some industrial business marked for Ala Mhigan territory, they mean to cross Baelsar’s with the lot for the sultana’s pet project. The risk an undertaking like this carries is phenomenal, but the purpose. This purpose is noble.

A fortnight. Fifteen turns of the sun. Time.

Tomorrow night I return to the manse. These crystals will be the difference between an ashen end and a granting of the time I need. May my Lord Charibert show mercy, so that I may continue to serve. May he show mercy. May he look upon my offerings with a lenient heart.”

At the bottom of the page, in minute, cramped writing, like an afterthought:

“forgive me, landon.”

[lenofiga]

Gareth’s Servant Profile from FGO Material IX

Class: Lancer True Name: Gareth Sex: Female Origin: Arthurian Legends Region: England Alignment: Lawful Good Height: 153cm Weight: 41kg

Strength: C | Endurance: B | Agility: A | Mana: D | Luck: D | Noble Phantasm: C

Writer: Sakurai Hikaru / Artist: Nekotawawa Voice Actor: Kuwahara Yuuki

CLASS SKILLS

Magic Resistance: C Nullifies magecraft activated with a two-verse chant or less. Her skill is incapable of blocking Greater Magecraft or Rituals.

Riding: B A master of jousting, Gareth, as an exception, possesses the Riding skill that Lancers typically do not possess.

PERSONAL SKILLS

Battle Continuation: C Gareth possesses the Battle Continuation skill on account of her legend in which she fought a duel spanning two hours.

Gareth of the Beautiful Hands: B While working in the castle disguised as a kitchen boy, Sir Kay nicknamed her “Beaumains (Beautiful Hands)” for her fair and beautiful appearance. At the time, Kay did not realize that it was Gareth in disguise.

In other words, Gareth had fair and lustrous skin, and her hands were especially beautiful.

Ring of Transformation: B Gareth owns a ring infused with magecraft for disguises. Originally this should be classified as a Noble Phantasm effect, but in the game this effect manifests as a skill.

NOBLE PHANTASM

Ira Lupus (The Raging She-Wolf)

Rank: C++ | Classification: Anti-Personnel Noble Phantasm | Range: 1-50 | Maximum number of targets: 1

Ira Lupus: The sublimation of her skillful jousting techniques as a Noble Phantasm. After dealing a series of raging blows, she pierces her enemy with a lethal hit.

When she fought to protect her best friend Lady Lioness (Dame Lyonesse) in the past, she defeated a great many famed knights with a single lance, such as Sir Blamore de Ganis, Sir Galihodin, Sir Galihud (not to be confused with Galahad), Sir Dinadan, Sir La Cote Male Taile, Sir Sagramore le Desirous, Sir Dodinas le Savage, King Agwisance of Ireland, King Carados of Scotland, King Uriens of the land of Gore, and King Bagdemagus.

On another occasion, she challenged King Arthur to a joust, and was praised and given the epithet “Raging Wolf” for her fighting prowess.

CHARACTER

First person pronoun: watashi/jibun/Gareth Second person pronoun: anata/**-sama/**-dono/**-san/Sir **(for KoRT) Third person pronoun: kare/kanojo/**-sama/**-dono/**-san/Sir **(for KoRT)

〇 PERSONALITY

A tragic girl knight courageous and puppy-like in nature.

Once she becomes attached to someone, she will never betray them no matter what—even in death, as once shown by her way of life.

〇 MOTIVE/ATTITUDE TOWARDS HER MASTER

She will immediately trust her Master the very moment she meets them, feeling some sort of fate at work. That said, she doesn’t seem to understand the nature of their connection. She appears to be having trouble processing the Master-Servant relationship.

“Suppose this is the relationship between a king and his knight… If so, I already serve King Arthur. Labelling this as a senpai and kouhai relationship would be easy to understand, but you already have Miss Mash as your kouhai… Hmm… Hmm…”

〇 SAMPLE LINES

“I am Gareth. I am the Round Table Seventh Seat, a knight who served under King Arthur!”

“Good day to you, Brother.”

“My hands often get praised! Hehe.”

“Please…do not speak ill of Sir Lancelot. He saved the queen, and I believe what he did was right.”

〇 HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY

Gareth was the seventh seat of the Knights of the Round Table led by King Arthur of Britain. She was a young girl knight born to King Lot and Fae Queen Morgan, and the sister of Gawain, Gaheris, and Agravain. Mordred the Knight of Treachery was her half-brother.

She was also known as Guerrehet and Beaumains (Beautiful Hands).

Gareth was the newest addition to the Round Table and the least experienced knight. She held respect for all her senior Knights of the Round Table. She was especially attached to Sir Lancelot and often followed him.

Gareth went through numerous trainings as a squire (such as working in the castle disguised as a kitchen boy, fighting her brother Gawain, and pursuing learning under the fae folk) and eventually became an official member of the Knights of the Round Table. Like Gaheris, she did not accompany their eldest brother Gawain after her knighthood and instead chose to become an attendant of Lancelot.

♦

Gareth was loved by many for her brimming potential. Even the other Knights of the Round Table, not just her brothers, spoke highly of her claiming that “she will become the greatest knight one day” and that “in time, she will become a true knight rivaling all her brothers.”

When Agravain plotted to indict Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot of adultery, Gareth opposed him. She said, “I will not speak of unsettling statements about Sir Lancelot, who conferred the title of a knight to me,” and left the scene filled with deep sorrow.

Later, Agravain caught Lancelot in the act of committing adultery, but this resulted to him losing his life in retaliation. Gareth was then ordered to attend the captured Queen Guinevere’s execution. Gareth complied but made it clear that she would be witnessing the execution against her will and attended without wearing armor or carrying weapon on her person. This decision would lead to her demise.

Gareth’s unarmed head was cracked open in Sir Lancelot’s rescue of the queen.

Many lives were lost in this chain of incidents. Agravain, Gaheris, and lastly Gareth—Having lost his siblings, how tremendous must have been Sir Gawain’s grief? Thus, a schism divided the Round Table, and the glory of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table came to an end.

〇 FateGO BIOGRAPHY

She honors chivalry, and believes in and follows justice. She is proud to serve under the King of Knights, and even now considers being chosen as a member of the Round Table the greatest honor of her life.

She still respects Sir Lancelot. Even if the knight who blindly rushed to rescue Queen Guinevere never caught sight of her figure on the day everything spiraled to the end… And even if the knight did recognize her but still slew her without hesitation, she respects him all the same.

〇 USUAL ARMAMENTS

Her favorite jousting lance Although Gareth’s skill with the lance is justly proven, this lance has been enhanced multiple times by Merlin’s magecraft and has become a type of Mystic Code.

〇 RELATED CHARACTERS

Artoria Our King of Knights. His Majesty. I love him. 

Bedivere/Percival Glorious Knights of the Round Table. I love them.

Gawain/Gaheris/Agravain My dear brothers. I love them. 

Mordred I’d love to talk to Mordred more, but we never really have the opportunity to do so. 

Lancelot (Saber) !? (does a double take) My gosh! Is that Sir Lancelot as I remember him!!!??

Lancelot (Berserker) Even now, my voice does not reach him… Or maybe, perhaps…

Tristan I think infidelity is a no-no!

Merlin The great mage. I like him, but I find him a bit scary at times. I can’t quite put my finger on why.

Mash Sir Galahad? Sir Galahad!? Why did you turn into a girl? Oh, you’re not him… You’re Miss Mash!?

Jekyll He’s such a gentleman that I can’t believe he’s a descendant of the Saxons. No, from what I’ve heard a long, long time has passed since then… I’m positive that in his body runs the blood and soul of Britain. On another note, hmm… So he’s called an English gentleman? I see.

Arthur ???????

COMMENT FORM THE ILLUSTRATOR

The instruction I received was to draw an “untrained squire”. She’s a hard worker who earnestly polishes cheap steel, turning it into shining armor. Her first and third ascensions have the themes kitchen/errand boy and Knight of the Round Table, respectively. The cartridges attached to her waist holder are based on grenades. I drew her final ascension with hopes that she, as a Heroic Spirit, could become [the player’s] partner in the story. (Nekotawawa)

[margridarnauds]

One of the things I've learned about myself is that when I want to study myths, legends, and the related I do best when reading the story itself. And of course, reading many, many different translations of said story. So do you have any recommendations for reading books of the Arthurian legends, cycles, and various pieces parts a la "le mort d'arthur"?

Thank you! I don't do as much with Arthuriana (even though I've studied under one Arthurian scholar and I'm going to be studying under another, so I really should do better), BUT I can do the best I can, at least on the Welsh side of things, because I'm a Celticist and I'm going to try to prop up the Celtic material as best as I can, simply because the other material HAS plenty of representation elsewhere. (And I'm going to toss in a few favorites in for the hell of it.) I wish that I could represent the Breton, Cornish, and Scottish material better, but I don't have the linguistic expertise to cover that, at least not yet. It isn't being left out intentionally or lightly, nor as a matter of enforcing an agenda, but because I feel, earnestly, like it's better for me to admit my own limitations than to misrepresent such valuable traditions.

What I did, back when I was first getting into Irish Mythology, was that I would just dive into everything. I read voraciously, for hours on end, everything that I could get my hands on. Now, this had benefits and drawbacks - In many ways, I wasn't structured, but it also gave me a knowledge of a lot of obscure texts that even specialized Celticists didn't have, and that got me an in into the field. But, more to the point, what it means is that I can't really recommend what Arthurian texts to read first. Culwch ac Olwen is probably better if you want a linear reading experience, likewise for Peredur and Gereint. I'm fond of Ymdidan Melwas ac Gwenhwyfar myself - Just go for what looks best, see what you can come up with.

I've chosen, while compiling this, to ignore Myrddin entirely, simply because he comes, originally, from a different tradition and is his own thing - I don't feel like I could do him justice and I don't feel like I have enough expertise, though the Mary Jones site that many of these links link to contains a dedicated section on Myrddin and Taliesin.

Culwch ac Olwen [1] [2] (The Guest translation, in part 2, is quite old, but it's legible and it's free, both of which are lovely. Not what I'd recommend if you were going for your MA, but a nice start.)

Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain

Brenhin Urien a Modron - The story of how Owain came about. 

Peredur 

Gereint ac Enyd [1] - Interesting in that it appears to be a Welsh adaptation of a French story, using a Welsh Arthurian hero.

Eric and Enid - The French source (or cousin text) of Gereint ac Enyd

Breudwydd Rhonabwy (The Dream of Rhonabwy) (Again with the Guest translation.)

The Quarrel of Arthur and Huail, and the Death of Huail ap Caw - In Which Arthur Being A Thot Causes Him To Take A Blow To The Knee

Ymddiddan Arthur a'r Eryr - Dialogue between Arthur and the Eagle.

Trystan ac Essylt 

Pa gwr yw y porthawr? - What Man Is The Gatekeeper? Not particularly gripping on its own, but interesting for the list of nights.

Marwnad Duran - Death of Duran, Arthur's son.

Ymdidan Melwas ac Gwenhwyfar [v1] [v2] - Dialogue of Melwas and Guinevere (Notable for being a Welsh take on the abduction episode that forms the backbone of the French Knight of the Cart, as well as for implying that Cei (Kay) is having an affair with Gwenhwyfar - A bit of a shock if you're used to Lancelot. (Or, for the villainfuckers, Mordred.)

Lancelot, Knight of the Cart - NOT Welsh, but you can see the "Helen motif" developing here. Arguably one of the foundational texts to our modern understanding of King Arthur, given that it establishes the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere. (And we see a correspondence between the youthful, brazen Melwas and the French Maleagant.)

Death Song of Uther Pendragon

Trioedd Ynys Prydein - Not for the faint of heart (and, because the translation is so recent, not available for free online either), but a bounty of information that is otherwise ONLY attested in it. Not stories as such, more a collection of names in threes, containing some Arthurian references that appear, in at least a few situations, to refer to a tradition independent of Geoffrey of Monmouth (derogatory), though others might borrow from Geoffrey of Monmouth (derogatory) and as a result it's all a bit of a clusterfuck.

Geoffrey of Monmouth (derogatory) - Historia Regium Brittania [1] [2] (2 contains just the Arthurian references)

Claddedigaeth Arthur | The Burial of Arthur

Eachtra an Mhadra Mhaoil - One of the few Irish Arthurian romances. The link also contains the later Eachtra Mhacoimh-an-Iolair, which was only written down after 1600 (an Mhadra Mhaoil goes back as far as the 14th century, though more likely 15th.)

Scéla Muicce Meicc Da Thó - Now, this isn't an Arthurian tale, it dates to well before Arthuriana was imported to Ireland, BUT, if you're a fan of Sir Gawain, you'll notice some familiar beats, so it gets an honorary place at the (round) table.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Once again, I'm being forced to recommend Celtic Heroic Age, by John Koch and John Carey - It's a general source for ancient and medieval sources in Gaulish, Irish, and Welsh, but, inside it, you also have a good amount of the Welsh Arthurian material by scholars who are very well versed in it, much more than I am.

I'm also going to prop the following bibliographies, which contain more references to the material - Some of this has been translated and put online, some of it hasn't, but I'm always willing to hunt down individual texts. [1] [2] [3]

[remy2fang]

December 30, 2021

It’s been about 2 and a half years since I fell in love with F.A.N.G. A lot has happened and I didn’t think it’ll come this far.

I knew the existence of FANG since 2016, so the early days of Street Fighter V. I didn’t own a PS4, so all I had were YouTube videos to watch. He was very interesting to me. Reminded me of Hsien-Ko and the Harpists from “Kung-Fu Hustle.” His design was appealing to me. I was also intrigued because of Jesse Merlin’s portrayal of him. Many people thought he sounded “gay” and threw homophobic rhetoric, saying F.A.N.G should drop the “N” in the name. Oh, real mature, guys -_-;; My thoughts were quite the opposite, his voice was what made me like the character.

I then watched his Character Story Mode. His look was interesting in this. His hair is so long and thick. The physics made it swing around so seductively. I had a feeling that this design was popular amongst the girls. I liked him, but it wasn’t enough to make me go nuts for him at the time.

Then, I watched the Japanese version of the story mode. His voice was so deep, but there were instances where it became high pitched. I thought to myself, “Hmm, he sounds like Shigeru Chiba.” I Googled to see if F.A.N.G was voiced by him. Lo and behold, he was indeed voiced by Shigeru Chiba. I told myself that he is now my favorite Street Fighter V Character just because Shigeru Chiba voiced him. I have been a fan of Chiba for many years, mainly because of his role as Schwartz from Juukou B-Fighter. To be honest, I was amazed that I was able to recognize his voice. I hadn’t listened to it between 2012 to 2016 until I heard it from F.A.N.G. Even back then, he became my fave SFV character, though not quite topping Remy as best Street Fighter character at the time.

Throughout the years between 2016 and 2018, I have been keeping tabs with the SFV storyline or at least for the Character Stories. I didn’t really bother to watch the Cinematic Story mode except for a few scenes here and there, mainly because it stretches at 2 to 3 hours long. I did enjoyed the few scenes I’ve watched mainly because of the character interactions and such, though I couldn’t help but think about Street Fighter: The Movie, or the American Cartoon series. The plot was very much in line with those kinds of material. While watching the Character Story modes, I was just hoping for Remy to pop up anytime because so many other SF3 characters showed up. Alex, Ibuki, and Urien became playable characters. Gill had a cameo in the Cinematic Story mode. Kolin became a fleshed out playable character after so many years as Gill’s NPC secretary. Also Oro and Eleven (prelude to Twelve) appeared in character story modes. Necro and Effie made background cameos. I was just hopelessly waiting for Remy to come out, whether playable or not.

By July 2019, I decided to look up for Street Fighter fanart on Pixiv. I knew that looking for Remy fanart is hard because he’s not popular, but I went and see just for the sake of it. When scrolling through the first couple of SF fan work, an extremely well-made artwork of F.A.N.G showed up. I thought, “Hey I like him and that looks REALLY GOOD!” So I clicked on it. The artist was Kuzune who made a few other works of FANG. What I notice is the apparent “romanticization” of this character, something I hardly see when I looked for FANG fanart years prior on Deviantart in 2016. Because of the way Pixiv works, I was led to see other fanart of FANG. So many good art of him by talented artists, in which many of them also gave him a nice aesthetic.

The one artist that actually made me fell IN LOVE with F.A.N.G was Tsai-Game. The art was not only extremely well-done, but there was a strong understanding of anatomy as well. It also helped that the art made F.A.N.G fun, sexy, and appealing. Another incredible artist that sealed the deal with my love for FANG was Hideaki, whose style was bursting with beautiful colors and elegant muscle anatomy. Also to mention, many artists and fans shipped F.A.N.G with M. Bison (Vega/Dictator). Years ago I had the notion that FANG would be paired up with him, but I have never seen it until I checked on Pixiv. Both Tsai-Game and Hideaki were avid shippers and would often illustrate such scenarios. Because I’m a Fujoshi myself, of course I got into it!

After seeing these images, I thought I was done. But the next day and the day after, I couldn’t get enough of them. I’d often come back to those images because they’re so beautiful and FANG looked so good in them. It’s odd, I loved him but I didn’t find him attractive before. But after seeing those pictures, I couldn’t see him the same way anymore. I just fell in love with him. Because my favorite F.A.N.G artists hardly upload their work on Pixiv, I wanted to know where they were most active at. As I looked through their Pixiv profile, they have Twitter accounts.

From there, I see their works and I was just so happy. Also, I ventured a little further and found English speaking FANG/Bison shippers. It looks like the fans were having fun. Because I didn’t play nor own SFV at the time, I hesitated to join the fan circle at first—I might be deemed as a “fake” fan if I were to come in. What also halted me was my embarrassment of falling in love with a fictional cartoon character. It had been years since I had a major crush on one. I seriously thought I grew out of it, but I guess I didn’t. I didn’t want my Art Twitter account to be associated with my new obsession. I didn’t want my friends on Facebook and Instagram to know about it, or at least not yet.

I thought about it for a day or two. I realized by the time I own or play SFV, that’s when the fan circle will die out and I’ll be missing out on the excitement. So I decided to create an account that’s dedicated to fangirling over F.A.N.G. I named it Remy2FANG in dedication to my former favorite Street Fighter character and to the character that took his place. It was also a blank slate for me, so none of my friends knew about it…except for 2 of them. I wanted to join the fun with the other F.A.N.G fans before it’s too late. I wanted to enjoy the moment while the passion is still burning. And I am GLAD I joined in when the fan circle was still there.

It was a fun, special, and magical time. Not only that our little group uploaded neat artwork of FANG, but we had our thoughts, analyses, and headcanons that we’d share amongst each other. We even played with our Bison/FANG ideas. I will never forget that. It was Dragon-64, Fumettosa, Minaree3, NoeruParisu, Night_Garage, Rose, Dictatress, Randi, KAAD, YolaMiguelita, and Technically Blind. Funny thing is that Minaree3 noted that there were more fangirls than usual that joined during that time. We talked a lot. It was a lot of fun. It was definitely an amazing time.

Because I was surrounded by FANG enthusiasts, I had a taste of what the FGC was all about. I could say that I lurk around the FGC back in 2001 to 2003, but I don’t remember it was called as such at the time. I just remember going through a lot of GameFaqs, Street Fighter, and Videogame forums, but have never heard of such a term until that summer of 2019. But to my surprise as almost 2 decades have passed, that the FCG had become more progressive, or at least within the FANG circle and the people they associate with along with big name FGC members. They advocate for racial equality, feminism, the LGBT community, representation and inclusivity. It was a beautiful thing for me to see.

There were many good artists within the F.A.N.G Twitter circle. The FANG account I made was initially just for fangirling and I didn’t intend to turn it into another Art account. Also I hadn’t made a lot of quality fanart for many years, but these artists inspired me to go back to my groove. My F.A.N.G artwork definitely gave me some sort of recognition to the point where EventHubs featured my work on an article. If anything, my biggest thanks goes to the little F.A.N.G circle who were there in the beginning of the creation of my FANG account. They Liked and Retweeted my art, which in turn was shared by members of the bigger FGC that follow them. To be honest, I never really have that much luck with Twitter. I usually get about 5 Likes max on my posts in my original Art Twitter account. I would say the difference between my Art and my FANG account is that I have a better connection with people on the F.A.N.G one due to shared interests. So my FANG account has turned not only a fangirling account but also a place to express my love for F.A.N.G through art.

A few weeks later, I realized that F.A.N.G doesn’t have a lot of costumes compared to other characters. A lot of FANG fans hoped that Capcom releases more skins for him, but knowing how unpopular his character is, I had little hope for new content of our favorite poison master. I thought perhaps if I commission a modder to create costume mods for FANG, that might make some the FANG fans and mains happy. I know it didn’t make sense on my part because I didn’t own a gaming PC nor the game itself, but I did wanted to make the F.A.N.G fandom happy in some way. Many people expressed interest in having a Hsien-Ko skin for FANG, which made a lot of sense for me after seeing his fight style and several fanart of it. So I painted a mock-up of how the modded skin would look like. I messaged several known modders about my idea and asked for the cost of a modding commission. Unfortunately all of them either have their hands full or they do not accept commissions. I was a bit sadden by it. I posted up the mock-up on Twitter in hopes for an unknown modder to pick up the idea. There were a lot of supportive comments on there, though there was one that told me to “Stop dreaming and start making” lol. Admittedly I was quite salty by that comment, but way later on I was grateful to heed those words.

During this time, I also noticed that the Story/Nguuhao costume model and textures for FANG was never released online. I didn’t know whether I’d get into modding or not at the time, but I commissioned Dragonlord720 to rip the models and textures from the game for both the default and Nguuhao costumes. I just wanted the fbx and texture files. Not only did I received those, he was also generous enough to make XNALara versions as well. So kind! I told myself that if I’d get into modding, I’d use these files that Dragonlord720 gave me. It was still an intimidating thing to get into because it has been many years since I’ve done anything worthwhile on Blender or any other 3D programs.

Eventually I got to play SFV at a local Round1 and embodied my inner FANG. Before playing the game at the arcade, I learned some F.A.N.G movesets via wiki pages and YouTube videos to give me an idea on how he plays. I hadn’t played videogames for 8 years prior to playing SFV, so I was choppy at first, but oddly got much better after playing FIGHTING EX LAYER in the same arcade. I played SFV there for only three separate occasions.

For a time, I thought about owning the game for myself. I contemplated whether to get a PS4 or a gaming PC. A PS4 would be a cheaper option and I could possibly get one on a Black Friday sale. BUT I knew the PS5 would be released a year later, so there wouldn’t be a point in buying a PS4. I thought about waiting it out. But if I were to wait, by the time I get my hands on a PS5 and play SFV on there, the lifespan of that game would end (spoiler alert, it hasn’t been the end yet). Getting a gaming PC means fun with mods, but it would also be an expensive investment. I didn’t know if I’d be playing games long term because most of the time I often go outdoors or do some other activity. It was something for me to think long and hard about.

While I pondered about getting a console or a gaming PC, I decided to look up on Jesse Merlin. Ever since my F.A.N.G craze, I’ve been wanting to meet him in real life at an event. I learned that he’s an opera singer and stage actor, so I thought about checking up on his Twitter page for any upcoming performances in the LA area. As I scrolled down, I noticed he mentioned a familiar friend’s name. I didn’t know if he was referring to the same person, so I checked on Facebook, typing Jesse’s and my friend’s name on the search engine. There is a match. Apparently my friend is best friends with Jesse Merlin for years. This was quite a mindblower for me lol. I became friends with said friend because he was friends with old Hollywood actor Hurd Hatfield, best known for “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1945), during the 1970s and 1980s…and I’m an ardent fan of Hurd Hatfield for many years. It’s funny that my friend who was friends with my favorite actor also happens to be friends with the voice actor for F.A.N.G. Wow, that is a lot of “friends” there lol. It’s like no matter how different my interests seem from one another, they’re somehow connected to each other one way or another. At least now I know that there’s a connection between my favorite actor and my favorite Street Fighter character!

Eventually I got to meet Jesse Merlin at a film festival through my friend. Not gonna lie, I was a nervous wreck when meeting him…then again, I’m always nervous when meeting people. At least Jesse was both patient and courteous while I was anxious lol. I told him I really like F.A.N.G and that the community love him very much. He was appreciative of what I said and told me he was proud of his work on SFV Cinematic Story Mode. Did I mention that his natural voice is marvelous? It’s deep and smooth because he’s a bass-baritone opera singer—very different from F.A.N.G. Also he was quite popular at the festival. One of the films that we watched has Jesse in a cameo role and when he appeared on screen, the entire theatre applauded. It was awesome!

Back to the gaming aspect. A few months later, I saw Randi’s Twitter post about SFV being free on Steam for Black Friday week. I knew my non-gaming laptop was too weak to handle SFV, but I downloaded the game on Steam during the trial period anyway because why not. It took almost a day to download the whole thing. When I first played it on my laptop, it was at max resolution and it ran super laggy. I put it at the lowest graphic settings and the window resolution at 800 x 600. That was the best option for my potato laptop. It ran relatively well, albeit with crappy graphics and some lag lol. After playing the game and getting the costume and color that I wanted for FANG through Fight Money, I decided to buy the base game at $7.99. That’s all I really needed actually. I didn’t need to buy anything extra since all I wanted was just F.A.N.G and his color #14 Story costume. After that, I never played the game at Round1 ever again since I can just play it at home.

Obsessing over F.A.N.G was something of secret. By this time only 3 real life friends knew about it. One lives across the country. The other two were actually coworkers. I don’t really open myself up to people about fictional crushes unless I know a person who’d understand these kinds of things. One of the coworkers is also a Fujoshi. I showed her an official picture of FANG in the game. I could tell that she thought I had weird tastes. I then showed her yaoi art by Tsai-Game. THAT’S when she got hooked! From there she actually actively looked for FANG art on her own and told me whatever I showed her was absolutely beautiful. I never thought I’d get a friend and coworker to get into the BisonFANG ship. I’m not gonna lie, this was a fantastic moment.

Because I was entrenched in FGC Twitter, or at least the Street Fighter aspect of it, I decided to go to Capcom Cup 2019. It was only in LA, so it’s not so much of a trek for me. I’ve never been to an Esports event, so I was curious. As it turns out, it was exciting to see these professional players in real life, seeing them play right before my eyes instead of through a phone screen. Also the enthusiastic crowd made the atmosphere fun and lively. It was definitely an awesome time. I also got to meet some online personalities and made some friends after the event. I’m only a casual player, but these kinds of settings are really fun to go to.

For a few more months, I continued to make F.A.N.G art and play SFV sporadically. The most I could do is hitting rank at Arcade Mode (not actual Rank lol). I managed to be the #1 FANG in North America and #2 FANG in the world for a short time. People still enjoy the F.A.N.G art content I put out. All was fine and dandy, until the pandemic hit the US. I got furloughed from my job and I didn’t know how long this would last. During this period of uncertainty, I thought about what I could do before eventually exiting out of SFV. Either get good at Rank or get into modding so I could make a whole bunch of F.A.N.G skins for the FANG community.

I tried getting into Rank. I have yet to lose a set, but didn’t fight that much either. Thus I still have a 100% win streak as of the end of 2021 lolz. It was somewhat nerve wrecking and it did made me nervous, so I figured that online matches isn’t something for me if it stresses me out. Maybe someday I’ll get back into it when I muster up the courage.

So I took up modding instead. By this time, I realized that I can’t wait for anyone to grant my wish for the costume of my dreams. Capcom isn’t going to make it and modders are fully occupied with their own matters. I had to act as if no one else would make it, so I had to take it in my own hands.

For many months, I have been aware of the existence of Modderbase and it’s plethora of tutorials. The problem was that I never knew where to start, so the whole thing was just intimidating. Eventually I found a tutorial that was meant to be the start-all for beginners, which was found via a Google search rather within the Modderbase site itself. When reading it, it actually sounded more approachable. Also it has been years since I’ve used Blender, but the tutorial showed the few most important tools and techniques when doing a simple costume mod. In other words, this is the definitive modding guide for a beginner.

When I downloaded Blender, I was amazed how intuitive the user interface became. Old school blender was hard and weird to use. The newer versions made things easier to work around with. This in itself boosted my confidence in using the program.

Was making my first mod an easy task? NOPE!! It was frustrating because I never used Unreal Engine before and SFV kept on crashing whenever I put in my mod. I realized after 5 days that I installed the incorrect version of UE4, and it took me time to figure out on how to download that particular version on the Epic Games launcher. That’s when I could finally put my mod in the game without crashing. The other frustrating part is figuring out the physics. F.A.N.G’s sleeves have one of the most complex physics assets to emulate (the winner goes to Necalli because he has TWO physics assets). I was also hesitant to use the Nvidia Apex SDK tool because it was not recommended as opposed to the 3DS Max equivalent, and I don’t have 3DS Max. In the end, I just used F.A.N.G’s original physics asset for his sleeves and left his front cloth with no physics. Not the most perfect thing, but it was an accomplishment for me. Also I have to thank Dragonlord720 because I used his fbx file and textures for F.A.N.G.

After making my first mod, I thought I wouldn’t have to learn Apex cloth physics. Guess what, I still had to learn because most of F.A.N.G’s official skins requires apex lol. Also after I released my first mod, I was already commissioned to do a tweak on Mech FANG’s mesh, and it required apex physics. Darn FANG and his flowy clothes! Hence, I had to teach myself this Nvidia Apex Cloth tool. Good thing there’s a written tutorial on Modderbase, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to deal with it. It was still a long and frustrating process because I ran into a lot of problems when making the apex. It took some trial and error to learn, but I end up figuring certain things out. I guess thanks to F.A.N.G’s flowy clothes, I end up learning Apex cloth physics early on.

Notice how I always mention that modding is a time consuming hobby? At this point I understand why many modders have their queues filled up or they straight up don’t accept commission work. In my opinion, modding is harder than making 2D art…but I also think it’s funner than drawing. I think because it’s a new and exciting thing for me.

That being said, remember how I had to choose between getting a console and a gaming PC? I’m glad I didn’t get the console because I’m now a modder.

Aside from making mods, I also recorded myself creating my first mod along with some apex physics. I knew that there were already written tutorials and videos out there, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to create my own for the world to see. I thought it would make certain concepts clearer for those who wish to learn modding.

But with full honesty, I have online friends who wish to have new costumes and skins for their favorite characters. I made these videos and organized all the tutorials I’ve learned in hopes that my friends could make their visions come true. The time when I released my tutorial vids, I was sadden that it had little to no reactions from my small circle. But, I also have to be mindful that not everyone has the time to learn the craft. Although the results can be rewarding, it is still a very frustrating and time consuming hobby. Even I still get frustrated when modding something, so it’s understandable that other people wouldn’t get into it unless they really really REALLY want to. Also, people have their own lives and have more important things to attend to.

Despite of that, I still end up receiving a lot of reactions, comments, and questions from people that are genuinely curious about modding. I guess my videos did serve a purpose after all. Another thing is that these videos showed another side of me that I was not quite aware of. I never wanted to become a teacher, but I didn’t realize that I’m capable of teaching or troubleshooting. I’ll say, it’s a very powerful and refreshing feeling that I’m able to do these things.

During this time while I was happy making F.A.N.G mods, half of the small group of friends I had in the beginning deactivated their Twitter accounts. I was saddened by this. Although I was able to keep in contact with some via other platforms, there are others whose whereabouts are unknown. I hope all goes well for them. I miss them as they are some of the few people left who love talking about the BisonFANG ship openly on a public platform. From what I’ve seen from past posts and what others have told me, BisonFANG used to be a relatively popular thing back in 2016 and 2017. I’m assuming a lot of it was due to F.A.N.G’s heavy involvement with the SFV plot, both in Character and General Cinematic Story modes during Season 1. Looks like I joined at the tail end of the party. It was brief, but I could say that it was something of a last hurrah for that fandom. Despite not playing the game from the start, it was definitely the right decision for me to join the fun while it’s still shining. Nothing lasts forever.

Although the fun has died down, there are still people who love the ship. I’ve seen a few new fans pop up here and there showing their love via headcanons, fanfiction, and fanart up to this day. It’s good to see that it hasn’t gone away just yet.

If the BisonFANG ship is sailing away, I at least still make fanart and mods for the fandom. I’ve created many things. For the F.A.N.G community, the modding community, and the FGC overall. I’ve learned to mod other games like FIGHTING EX LAYER and GUILTY GEAR XRD REV 2 and will be expanding outside of these titles. I’m happy that the modding community is welcoming, if not for my eccentric mods, then it’s most likely for my tutorials.

Because some of my mods don’t have the most heteronormative aesthetics to them, my works have actually inspired similar minded individuals to create what they truly wanted. One modder in particular is Azeilein. She became an incredible modder and she provided something that is fresh and unique to the modding community. I saw her potential before and now I’m proud of her accomplishments. If anything, I hope mine and my friend’s ideas would help others muster up the courage in making what they want without fear of other’s opinions.

I’m not the most perfect modder, but at least I did what I did. Even though I’m quite mediocre as a player, I at least have made my mark on the FGC. Happy to know that some of the top F.A.N.G players and the FGC as a whole appreciate my creations and thoughts.

Speaking about top players, 2021 was definitely the Year of the F.A.N.G. So many F.A.N.G mains won 1st and 2nd in offline real life events. It was something to behold and even I was not expecting this. I’d be happy if a F.A.N.G main reached #2, but I didn’t think it would be possible to see a few hitting the #1 spot. Dee Ancer got 1st and NovaSpec got 2nd at Ronin Rumble. Metalqueersolid got 1st in Celtic Throwdown. The biggest win goes to Mono for CEO 2021. He won 1st place with F.A.N.G. This is the biggest win for all F.A.N.G players in the world. We’re all so happy. It was absolutely wonderful and I got to see it.

It’s funny that all of these amazing things happen since I fell in love with F.A.N.G. I’ve made friends, went back to drawing quality fanart, started playing videogames again, learned how to make mods for SFV and other games, became something of a mentor, and saw the beautiful side of the FGC. If anything, it is the supportive people in this community and outside of it that encouraged me to do what I do. Also a few more real life friends know about my FANG love now lol. I’m thankful to have what I have.

For those who finished reading this, thank you for hearing about my life story with F.A.N.G 💜💜

[lockefanfic]

Business Trip: Pt 27 - Waiting

"Yoo Jeongyeon, we're in a plane with dozens of other people," you whisper back in a faux warning, not at all intending to convince her to stop.

"You're right, I guess we can't do anything here," she admits. There is a mischievous look in her eyes as she bends down and picks up the folded blanket that the airline had left on her seat. She unfolds it and spreads it so that it covers both of your laps.

"I guess you'll just have to use your imagination," she says once more into your ear, her words dripping now with lust.

Underneath the blanket, she reaches over to your lap and begins to undo your belt.

---

The next morning found you in what was quickly becoming a familiar environment - the cabin of a plane on a long haul flight.

 You dreaded this particular flight more than usual, given that it was a flight back to Seoul from Hawaii. While the two week vacation had done little to alleviate the drama circulating around your love life - in fact, it actually increased it significantly - it nonetheless gave you a welcome reprieve from the stress of pursuing Irene and SM. 

 A part of you wanted to track her down, of course, and bring her to justice for what she did to you and your team, but an even larger part of you wanted to stay in that resort hotel room you shared with Momo, where your only worries were what the content of your next delicious, free meal would be, and whether you could keep up with Momo's rather voracious appetite, both in the kitchen and in the bedroom.

 At the moment, Momo, who had boarded before you, was chatting away with Sana over some makeup they had bought at the duty free store before boarding. It being a small private chartered jet (JYP had wasted no expense for any part of the vacation), their seating aisle was only two seats wide. Momo playfully sticks her tongue out at you to indicate she didn't want or need to sit next to you for the next ten hours before going right back to chatting with Sana, who was busy trying to show her the wonders of the small makeup palette she was excitedly showing off.

 You were happy that the two had apparently become best friends again, even if Sana had made no attempt to hide her feelings from you. You were still somewhat concerned about what she had told you back at the resort following the night the three of you shared, but she seemed to be willing to keep her feelings for you between you and her - at least for now. You knew there was still a conversation somewhere on the horizon where you had to confront her feelings directly, but for now you were happy to leave that for another day, and you were even happier that she had made up with Momo on friendly terms.

 The next few aisles were filled with fellow JYP employees you weren't familiar with. You were thankful that the rear of the plane was mostly empty, and you happily claimed the window seat of the last row.

 "Wake me up when we touch down," comes a voice that causes you to look up from rummaging through your backpack for your headphones. It is Seolhyun, who, despite looking like she was paying for some major league drinking the night previous, still managed to look quite attractive in a baggy track suit and unkempt hair. She half-stumbles into the aisle opposite you, throwing herself into the opposite window seat. After buckling in she pulls down the eye cover she had on her head, and within minutes the soft snoring you hear emanating from her corner of the plane brings a smile to your face.

 "I guess they went hard last night, because Tzuyu doesn't look much better," comes another voice, this one sounding a lot healthier than Seolhyun. You look up to see Jeongyeon's bright face coming down the aisle, a soft smile on her features as she approaches you.

 "This seat taken?" she asks, motioning to the empty leather seat next to yours. It was more of a declaration than a real question, because she was going to take it anyway. You found yourself happier than you would've admitted at the prospect of sitting next to her for the next ten hours.

 "It's all yours, Miss Yoo," you answer, her smile widening noticeably as she slips her backpack off and sits down. In her hands is her passport, boarding pass, a Nintendo Switch, her phone, wireless headphones, assorted snacks, and a jumble of cables that immediately begins to unravel - she was beautiful and a genius, but still a bit of a mess, as always.

 "So how badly do you want to lose at Mario Kart, boss?" she asks as she finally manages to unravel her headphone wires. 

 "Big talk for someone who lost at Street Fighter a few nights ago," you retort, referring to the ancient Street Fighter II arcade machine you two had found at the resort's bar and spent more than a few hours duelling over.

 "We've been over this - I'm a Urien main, and he's not in SF until Second Impact. SF II came out five years before I was even born. It's ancient. There aren't even any supers."

 "Blah blah blah, Urien, boo hoo. Just hold that L, Jeongyeon."

 The IT expert scrunches her nose and her eyes turn into angry slits. If it were an anime you'd see the fire of her fighting spirit emanating from her small form.

 "I'll be sure to wave at you in my rear view mirror," she snaps as she sets up the Switch on the tray table in front of you and tosses a Switch controller, with a good amount of force, into your crotch.

 "The only time you'll be seeing me in your rear view mirror is when I'm getting close to lapping you."

 "I suppose I could let you get close to lapping me - that should give you enough of a head start to make it fair."

 "Speaking of head, maybe you-"

 "Excuse me," comes a pleasant female voice that jars you both from your verbal sparring, "we are preparing for takeoff. Please stow away your electronics and return your tray to the upright position."

 You both look up to see the flight attendant standing in the aisle, a polite but stern look on her face as she gestures towards Jeongyeon's Switch on the tray table. You are momentarily taken aback by how gorgeous the flight attendant was, with her tall, fit body and beautiful features - she looked a bit like a K-pop idol that was doing a flight attendant concept. Judging by Jeongyeon's reaction, it seemed she was just as taken by the beauty of the tall woman waiting, patiently, for her to put her stuff away.

 "Sorry," Jeongyeon mutters sheepishly, as she packs away the various things into her backpack. You both give the flight attendant a smile of apology that appears to satisfy her, and she continues on down the aisle to check on the other passengers.

 "Your demise will have to wait until we are forty thousand feet into the air," Jeongyeon hisses as she packs away her Switch, "but you can be thankful for it, because up there you won't have anyone bear witness to your horrific defeat."

 "That's funny, because up there we'll be closer to my tier of Mario Kart skills. That is to say, god-tier."

 "God-Tier?" Jeongyeon says with a scoff, "more like-"

 Her words are drowned out by the rising roar of the jet engines spooling up, and you both smirk at each other as you settle back in your seats to prepare for takeoff. 

 Just before you look away you witness Jeongyeon's smirk turn into a soft smile as she looks down and plays with her hands, a soft blush on her cheeks. It takes you another moment to realize that same smile is mirrored on your own lips.

 ---

 "It was delicious, thank you."

 "You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it," the flight attendant says with a smile as she takes your finished food tray - a smile that you find, involuntarily, returning with one of your own.

 "It was delicious, thank you," Jeongyeon imitates once the flight attendant is a few rows away, a mocking look on her face.

 "In my defense, it was delicious. Also, she's gorgeous."

 Jeongyeon glances over to where the flight attendant is continuing to collect food trays, a few rows down. 

 "Maybe," she admits with some reluctance, "I guess she's cute and works out or something, if that ass is any indication."

 You smile at the look on Jeongyeon's face - she was cute when she was jealous.

 "Are you jealous, Yoo Jeongyeon?"

 "Of that? Hmph. I mean, she's got a nice bod. And she's pretty."

 "But?"

 "But... I'm prettier."

 "Oh yeah?"

 "Yeah. Also, I bet she's a boring lay."

 Your smirk deepens at the sudden suggestiveness Jeongyeon has inserted into the conversation.

 "And what makes you think that?"

 "I dunno, just something about her. I bet she just lies there and doesn't move."

 "Is that so?" you ask, leaning towards her seat so you are closer to her. Jeongyeon reciprocates, and leans towards you, bringing her lips to your ear.

 "I bet she can't fuck like I do," she whispers.

 You are momentarily taken aback by Jeongyeon's forthrightness, and you didn't know exactly where she was going with this, but you were definitely interested in finding out.

 "Yoo Jeongyeon, we're in a plane with dozens of other people," you whisper back in a faux warning, not at all intending to convince her to stop.

 "You're right, I guess we can't do anything here," she admits. There is a mischievous look in her eyes as she bends down and picks up the folded blanket that the airline had left on her seat. She unfolds it and spreads it so that it covers both of your laps.

 "I guess you'll just have to use your imagination," she says once more into your ear, her words dripping now with lust.

 Underneath the blanket, she reaches over to your lap and begins to undo your belt.

 You want to say something suggestive and cool and cocky, but you were left shocked by her aggressiveness, and was more than willing to let her do whatever it was she was planning.

 Jeongyeon brings her mouth to your ear once more, that naughty smile still written all over those wonderful lips of hers.

 "I wonder what I'd look like in that flight attendant uniform," she says as she finally gets your belt undone and zipper down.

 "Yeah? I bet you'd look great in it."

 "I totally would. I bet you'd love how tight it would fit on me. How nice my legs would look in that short skirt. Maybe I wouldn't wear anything underneath it," she says, her right hand now in your shorts, working your cock to full hardness over your boxers, her slim fingers stroking the length of your shaft, jerking it up and down as best she could.

 "Fuck," you hiss, hoping that the people in the seats in front of you didn't hear.

 "I'd take care of anything you need on your flight, boss," Jeongyeon continues as she slips your boxers down past your shaft, freeing it finally from your clothes, "And I'd be willing to do anything to make sure you're comfortable."

 You shift your hips, trying your best to allow Jeongyeon full access to your cock beneath the blanket. The pleasure she was building in your body was rising steadily, and you close your eyes in an attempt to slow it down and savor each moment.

 "I'd make sure you had whatever drink you wanted. But then again, maybe it'd be me that would be thirsty. Maybe I'd want a drink too...Do you.. Do you think you’d have a drink for me, boss?"

 "God," you hiss, the word leaving your mouth involuntarily as Jeongyeon continues to jerk your cock with her slim hand, her fingers wrapped around your shaft, pumping it up and down, twisting her grip to create even more friction. Her hand leaves your cock for a moment as she brings it to her mouth, where you hear her spit into her palm - when her palm returns to your shaft the lubrication of her spit drives you wild.

 "Imagine me down on my knees in front of you, boss, your cock out of your pants... and in my mouth... Imagine me sucking it, swirling my tongue around your head, sucking your big, hard cock with my hot, wet mouth..."

 The pleasure is becoming unbearable now, and you squirm uncomfortably, your hands gripping the armrests tightly.

 "But I wouldn't be satisfied with just a blowjob - and neither would you. I'd want more."

 "Really... Jeongyeon?" you whisper back, almost unable to form a sentence, "and what more would you want?"

 "Your cock in my pussy," Jeongyeon hisses back, her voice utterly dripping now with lust and need, her own hips and waist squirming in her seat. You look over to her and notice that her left hand has disappeared beneath the blanket as well, and the movement in the blanket where her crotch would be tells you all you need to know with what she is doing with it.

 "I'd pull up that tight little flight attendant skirt and ride you right here," she hisses, her words becoming a little more impatient, a little more needy with each syllable as her hands pleasure herself, "Imagine how wet I'd be."

 "You'd be so wet," you answer, barely able to form the words. All this time, Jeongyeon hasn't stopped pumping your shaft, her rhythm getting slightly faster now as she matches the rhythm of her wrist with the fingers that were likely slipping in and out of her own body.

 "You'd be so big inside me," she hisses, "mmm.... oh! fuck... and you'd make me wet... so fucking wet..."

 "Oh yeah?"

 "Yeah... oh god, you'd be so big inside me... so big and thick... filling me up.... filling me up with your cock... as I ride you up and down... Imagine... imagine you tearing my jacket and shirt open while I ride you... and sucking... sucking on my tits."

 "Fuck, Jeongyeon."

 "Yeah... fuck, boss. I'd cum... I'd cum... cum on your cock."

 "Cum for me, Jeongyeon. Cum for me..."

 "Oh god... fuck... I'm gonna cum... I'm gonna cum... Oh god... I'm cumming!"

 You watch as Jeongyeon spasms in her seat, her lust drunk eyes locked totally on yours as she tries her best to control the pleasure that is coursing throughout her tight, slim body. Her eyes, those large, round eyes of hers, are absolutely enthralling, so full with lust and drunk with passion as her orgasm tides over her. She tries, mostly in vain, to keep her body in control, but her best efforts fail, and she is shaking and squirming uncontrollably, a quivering, hot mess in her plane seat.

 Her hand tightens on your cock, almost painfully, but she quickly regains her senses, and slowly, carefully begins to pump it again, even as she breathes heavily in an attempt to catch her breath.

 "Imagine... imagine me turning around.. and letting you fuck me from behind over these seats," she says, her words breathless, the words of a tired, exhausted young woman still recovering fro a powerful orgasm.

 "I'd fuck you so hard, bend you over these seats and have my way with you," you hiss.

 "And I'd let you... and I'd love it," she answers back, her lips leaving your ear for a moment to make eye contact with you. There is a fierceness, a challenge in her eyes, as though she were daring you to maintain your composure, daring you to keep from cumming.

 "Imagine how wet and tight I'd be after I cum," she says, returning her lips to your ear, "imagine me moaning and shouting your name while you take me and fuck me and ravage me. I want you… I want you to use me, fuck my pussy like you own it… like you own me..."

 "Oh god, Jeongyeon, I'm close."

 "Are you, boss? Are you close to cumming? Do you want me to squeeze you inside me, really make you feel how tight and wet I am for you? Are you imagining yourself fucking me, gripping my hips while you fuck my tight, wet little pussy?" She raises her pace slightly, her hand pumping up and down the entire length of your shaft now, her thumb grazing over your weeping head, trying to pull each and every ounce of pleasure out of your body.

 "Fuck, Jeongyeon-"

 "You can cum inside me later, and fill my body with your cum. But right now," Jeongyeon says, still jerking your cock with each word and bringing you to the precipice, "I want it in my mouth."

 Jeongyeon pulls the blanket away from your lap, revealing your cock, slick with your pre-cum and her spit, and her small hand wrapped around it. She leans over and bends towards it, and you could do nothing but let your head fall back in pleasure as she takes your shaft into her mouth, her tongue swirling mercilessly around your sensitive head. 

 You could hold it no longer - not with Jeongyeon's incessant teasing, not with her dirty words, not with her slim hand pumping your shaft up and down - and certainly not with her mouth, lips, and that amazing tongue on your cock.

 You grip the back of her head, pulling it down to the base of your cock - you drive your hips upwards as much as you could given your sitting position, and you feel the tip of your shaft touch the back of her throat as you finally cum, sending thick, hot semen into Yoo Jeongyeon's wet, hot, willing mouth.

 It feels like hours, the pleasure addling your mind ruining your sense of time. All you feel is the pulsing of your shaft as it sends stream after stream of cum into Jeongyeon's throat as the pleasure and warmth emanating from your crotch radiates throughout the rest of your body.

 Some indeterminate amount of time later, Jeongyeon finally raises her head from your crotch, and you quickly cover yourself with the blanket as you remember that you were in the back of a fully loaded plane full of your colleagues. As she raises her head Jeongyeon locks eyes with you, and you watch her lust drunk eyes as she swallows the load that is ballooning her cheeks. Her throat works slowly as she gulps down each drop of semen, her face so utterly sexy, utterly lusty as she does so. 

 Jeongyeon's left hand emerges from beneath the blanket as well, her fingertips glistening. She brings it to your mouth, and you lick them clean.

 "You should get a taste too," she says as you finish licking her juices from her fingers.

 "Fuck, Jeongyeon, that was-"

 "It's not over yet," she whispers once more into your ear.

 "No?"

 "No. Because the second we get to our hotel, you're going to fuck me."

 ---

 There was a lot to admire in the scene - the way the sunlight filtered in through the horizontal window blinds, painting shades of gold and yellow and red on the white sheets and the pale, perfect vanilla skin of Yoo Jeongyeon’s back as she sat facing away from you on the bed, the covers drawn up around her chest. 

 You couldn’t help but reach out and touch her, enjoying the feel of her soft, warm skin beneath your fingertips and the sound of the soft purr that escapes her lips.

 Jeongyeon kept to her word on the plane - not even an hour since you’d reached your hotel in Seoul she’d pounced on you like a cat, having somehow found a neckerchief, jacket and skirt that was enough to pass for a flight attendant costume. You’d guessed that her interest in cosplay and roleplay had served her well in sourcing the necessary clothing items in such a short timeframe.

 The sex was amazing, as it always was with her. She didn’t have the most amazing body - that was probably Momo or Sana. She wasn’t the best in bed - that was probably Seolhyun or Tzuyu. What Jeongyeon had was a passion for you that made each time with her so meaningful, so intensely full of care and emotion.

 She had started riding you, just as she had suggested when she was giving you that handjob on the plane, but after her orgasm you quickly turned her onto her back, which you knew was her favorite position. She loved feeling you on top of her, loved feeling your weight on her body and wrapping those long, gorgeous legs of hers around you as you pumped in and out of her wet heat and filled her with hot, warm cum - it made her feel safe, and warm, and loved.

 Jeongyeon straightens her spine and turns her head a little as your fingers trace a light path down her back, a tender smile on her lips.

 “That feels good,” she says softly.

 “Good,” you answer. The light plays with her hair, turning it into woven gold.

 “It was pretty damn good,” she says, referring of course to your last session.

 “Definitely.”

 “I…”

 Jeongyeon pauses mid sentence, as though she were weighing carefully her next words.

 “I…” she continues, “I have another costume to wear for you.”

 You perk up at the thought. She was insatiable.

 “And what costume might that be?”

 The girl lets a thoughtful look appear on her face. Her fingers play nervously with the bed covers next to her, as though she could find the answers she needed in the white cotton. You get the impression that she is weighing each word of her next sentence in her mind, gathering up the courage to speak them.

 “I’d wear whatever costume let you see me as more than just a co-worker.”

 Her words don’t take you entirely by surprise - she’d already confessed her feelings to you in Hawaii - or at least, she had heavily implied as such. But to hear her say the words out loud still hit you harder than you were expecting.

 “Jeongyeon… I…”

 “I know, boss, I know - you’re with Momo. And… And I want you to know that I would never in a million years intentionally break you up. But I… I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t tell you how I felt about you.”

 Your hand falls away from her back; not that you were upset at her confession, or at her for telling you how she felt - rather, you were frustrated at the entire situation, the quirks of fate that left you with women who felt for you, but had somehow chosen the wrong time to do so.

 You sit up in bed, and rub your forehead in an attempt to clear your mind.

 “I’m sorry, boss. I know… this probably isn’t the best time.”

 You turn and face Jeongyeon, and you want to comfort her, her body looking suddenly very small as she sits there, half-wrapped in bedsheets, her long dark hair losing a little bit of its glow as she turns to look at you and the sun changes its angle. 

 “It’s not that, Jeongyeon. I… I just have a lot on my mind.”

 “I know. I’m sorry,” she says, even though you knew she didn’t have to apologize for anything at all.

 “I…  I should go.”

 You sit up and get off the bed, searching for and finding the shorts and t-shirt Jeongyeon had taken off you and thrown onto the floor not even a few hours before.

 “Boss… I… I’m sorry. I don’t want things to be weird-”

 “They won’t be,” you answer, “I just… I just need some time to think about things.”

 A few seconds pass by like hours as you look for your phone, finding it on the floor a few feet away. When you look up at Jeongyeon again, she has drawn her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, as though protecting herself from the harm that might come from the question she was about to ask.

 “Will you… will you go to her?” she asks, referring without names to Momo.

 “I… no. I just need some time alone.”

 “I… I’ll wait for you,” Jeongyeon says softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she raises her head to look into your eyes, “I’d wait as long as it took.”

 You force a weak smile onto your lips, Jeongyeon’s sad, soft eyes hitting your emotions hard. With heavy steps, you turn away from her and leave the hotel room.

 ---

 “Did she do that thing with her hips? That thing you like? I told her to do that. Yeah, you’re welcome,” Hirai Momo says with a sly look on her face as she pops another french fry into her mouth.

 You sat opposite her on the couch in her hotel room, forcing a smile onto your face in response as you try to focus on the dinner you two had ordered via room service.

 “She did. And it was great,” you admit.

 “So? What’s so important that you wanted dinner? I thought Jeongyeon would’ve tired you out, on top of the jet lag from the flight,” Momo says, oblivious and aloof as she takes a bite of her  burger. She wipes some stray ketchup from the corner of her mouth, and you find yourself thinking that small little gesture would’ve been infinitely adorable had your mind not been so heavy with the weight of what you were about to tell her.

 You steel yourself for what you are about to say.

 “Momo… you told me… you told me when we first started going out that I should let you know… when… when feelings get involved.”

 Momo pauses, mid bite of her burger. She places it back on the tray, chewing slowly and wiping her hands with a napkin. She shakes her head a little, as though trying to digest what you had just said.

 “So… wait… Jeongyeon… you?”

 “No… I mean, yes. Well… on her end. I think… I know… Jeongyeon has feelings for me.”

 Momo is visibly taken aback by your words and the revelation of Jeongyeon’s feelings. Evidently she had no idea that the tech specialist had felt that way.

 “Do you… do you have feelings… for her?”

 “I… Momo… I…”

 Momo raises a hand to her mouth as if to cover her shock.

 “You… you have feelings for her,” she says out loud, as though she thought hearing them would help her believe them.

 “I… I don’t. At least, I don’t think so-”

 “Then you can’t see her again. Kick her off the team. You’re the boss. Transfer her,” Momo says abruptly, her face suddenly serious, suddenly composed of a mix of confusion and anger and jealousy and hate.

 “Momo, you know I can’t-”

 “Yes, you can! This is your team. You run it. You can…”

 Tears are welling up in her eyes now.

 “Momo…”

 Momo rises up off the sofa and faces the window. She was usually so strong, so tough, but there is a smallness in her now, and she is visibly shaking, trembling, as though she were struggling to process all that had happened in the past few minutes.

 “I always thought it would be Sana that would take you away from me,” she says, her words and tone quivering and shaking, as though she were struggling to piece together the syllables, “I never thought it would be Jeongyeon.”

 “Momo,” you begin, “it’s not Jeongyeon. It’s just… with you… and Sana, and Jeongyeon, and…”

 Silence reigns. There is one more name to add to the list, but you somehow find the strength to keep from saying it.

 “I just need…. I need some time to figure things out. With all this… and finding Irene… it’s… it’s a lot to handle. I need… I need to figure myself out.”

 Momo quivers a little, and you want to go over there and wrap your arms around her, but your limbs fail you - there is no energy, no will, to be found anywhere inside your body. You curse yourself for throwing this on her without warning. For all she knew her boyfriend just wanted to have dinner together and share a quiet night; she had no idea, no warning that this night would be so heavy. You are shaken, and shocked, that things had come to this.

 “So what… what happens to us?” Momo asks, as she tries and fails to compose herself.

 “We… I don’t know.”

 The seconds pass like hours as you sit there, watching, paralyzed, as Momo stands against the hotel window. When she speaks, she speaks as though she has a dry throat, the words a harsh hiss as they leave her mouth.

 “I… I want a transfer off your team.”

 The words strike you with the force of a train - Momo had been on your team since you started at JYP all those years ago, and to imagine a day without her seemed incomprehensible. But she was right - you both needed some time apart from each other, and with you leading the team in Seoul and the pursuit of Irene, it made more sense for her to transfer.

 “I… I’ll put in the paperwork.”

 There is a slight nod in her head, the barest of acknowledgement.

 You rise from the sofa and begin to walk towards the door.

 “I loved you.”

 Her words hit you as you reach the door, your hand on the knob. Her voice is sad, each word so heavy with thought and memory, of happy days and passionate nights, of laughs shared and challenges overcome.

 You are unable to lie - the thought of deceiving her does not even cross your mind.

 “I loved you too.”

 “When you figure yourself out… I hope… I hope you come back to me.”

 You turn the doorknob, and you leave just as you hear Hirai Momo finally break down into tears that would not leave until the sun rose the next day.

 ---

 Author’s Note: :(

[thereisonlyoneoption]

Maggie Stiefvater~Rant YA edition pt.1

Let me start by saying that YA was never close to me.When I was younger I missed the trend of reading Young Adult. I only heard the opinions reviews about these books and saw the covers in the bookstore but none of them  encouraged me to try to read them.

But recently I wanted to give them a chance, thanks to my college friends who could talk hours about these books. And the one series that was the most recomended to me was The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.

I started reading this series with an open mind because hey maybe I was wrong about YA the entire time? OH BOI I WAS SO WRONG !  

I have read the series in a month and I can't believe what inconsistent mess it was.

So forgive me if I miss something.

For context, I have read it in my native language and this books draged on and on. Like seriously I'm a fast reader but TRC took me like three times as normaly would do to finish it. So after that I checked the english version, because maybe it was the translation's fault. NOPE, while reading the orginal I wondered if I can even understand english.

For so long I wanted to write a rant about these books so here I am wasting my will to live and sleep on this hellsite. This is a part one, the next parts will be coming soon. 

Use of folklore/mythology

Ms. Stiefvater in all her series uses many different myths and legends or like she calls "steal" them for her works.

In the first book is described St. Mark's Eve and the main character sees the "ghost" of the other main character. After asking her aunt what it meant, she says: "There is only two reasons: either you’re his true love or you killed him."

Yes but actually no.The Eve of St. Mark was about seeing the "ghosts" of people who will die this year but a girl could see the face of her future husband on her smock by holding it before the fire, this is one of many similar superstitions. But there is nothing about his death.

Owen Glendower

The main quest of the story is to find the sleeping Welsh King, but why nobody asks what is he doing in North America, especially in Virginia of all places?

Owain Glyndŵr died in 1416 in Wales so how they moved his body to America? To yet undiscovered America mind you but okay lets ignore that for the plot sake.

So lets talk about association Glyndŵr with ravens which apperead in this book and well I searched the whole internet and founded only one guy associated with ravens: Sir Yyain who was based on the historical Owain mab Urien but not the Glyndŵr from TRC

Stiefvater is also using anglicized version of his name Owen Glendower, which is kinda disrespectful because he is a Welsh king and he has a Welsh name so maybe use his real name? It isn’t difficult to pronounce his name by the way. That’s why from any point in this rant I will use his real name.

And we know all know the main characters want to find him because he will grant them wishes. This is also bullshit because Glyndŵr fall into category of “King asleep in mountain” who will only awake to protect his country not be like jinn from Aladdin.

Ley line

The whole idea of ley lines is a New Age bullshit, because something  related to this in folklore are corpse roads and fairy paths. They are similar but have nothing in common with what ley lines are.

Tarot

In short, one of the main character pulls out the cart of Death and is told by psychic it means his demise BUT the cart of Death doesn’t mean literally death of person and even if you pointed in your story that this example means death it doesn’t change the fact.

BONUS ROUND (My friend gave me info about this)

In Scorpio Races, Stiefvater uses the myth of water horses, but uses only a fraction of it, leaving out the most important parts. From shape-shifting creatures that can be anything (from a old man to a bird) luring people to their deaths or fooling women in the shape of handsome young man, Stiefvater turns them into nothing more then a killer horses from sea.

The other thing is the name: capaill uisce. The name is irish or old irish and is equal to the Manx cabyll-ushtey. The problem is, the horses Stiefvater presents are closer to the Scottish each-uisge then to cabyll-ushtey. One could say "a water horse is a water horse, what does it matter?", to put it simple: capaill uisce is a water horse, but NOT all water horses are capaill uisce. The kelpie drowns people in fresh water, Welsh ceffyl dwr appears by waterfalls but doesn't drown their victims, and each-uisge are in the sea, devouring humans but leaving their livers. Those are only some examples. Would it be more logical to name the horses "each-uisge"? I don't know, if I knew were Thisby is, maybe I could say it for sure.

More on this in the Worldbuilding part.

[askechourienblog]

HOURS LATER :

Ink : Oops dutys call , see yeah error and happy birthday !!! I had fun hahaha !!! * teleports *

Urien : Well , its been a long day and I gotta go to , here have this * hands him a chocolate bar * happy birthday error . * goes to portal *

Error : Dammit ! * eats the chocolate *

BTW I heard that April 4 is rats day or something ?

LMAO

Ink from Myebi

Error from Loverofpigges

Urien from SybilLVCHAN

[ask-jaghatai-khan]

“But surely you jest, M’Lord Vect.” the waifish alien mused, sipping from a fluted glass of some unknown intoxicant as she lounged back in her seat. The trueborn daughter of one of the high Archon’s senior Dracons, few could have enjoyed such casual conversation with a figure as imposing and feared as Asdrubael Vect.

“Please, you know my jests, dear Kaitria. If I were attempting to fool you it would be far less obvious and yet far more humorous. The creature is indeed a Mon’keigh.” the grand overlord chuckled through closed lips, eyes flashing for a moment in time with a great cheer from the crowds below.

Vect and Kaitria had exclusive seats at the great Commorragh Arena, and it was a good day for entertainment. As if in response to the Archon finishing his statement, the hulking figure far below on the sands sent two heads flying in tandem. The decapitated corpses of the Drukhari gladiators slumped down in pools of black blood before the bronze-skinned colossus.

“But not just a Mon’keigh, surely?” Lady Kaitria pushed, eyes darting for a moment to her pseudo-uncle. She liked Lord Vect more than she liked her own father in many ways, and she believed the Archon felt the same. All afternoon she’d been trying to pry just a little past the cold outer shell of the enigmatic overlord, “Perhaps some experiment? A touch of old Rakarth’s hand, maybe?”

“You are quite astute, and yet ever so stupid, little Kaitria,” Vect smiled, the insult almost not registering for how smooth his tone was, “Indeed, I believe he was born from some manner of flesh-craft, but not by the hands of a Haemonculi. No, I have encountered lesser beings like this one upon the edges of the Old Empire. It is a warrior of the new ‘Human Imperium’, or what have you.”

“How quaint. It really does evoke the brute power of a Grotesque, doesn’t it?” Kaitria giggled, “Though perhaps more fair in its own animalistic way.”

“Rakarth has yet to invent Wracks who can move with such speed and power, to say nothing of Grotesques,” the Archon spared a glance to one of his attendant bodyguards - a mutilated creature with a masked face and a great mantle of bone on its back. A gift from Urien. “I was quite glad to acquire this warrior from its initial captors. Would you believe it tried to lead an assault upon our city itself? I understand that this Mon’keigh empire had shown grand ambitions for a paltry century or so, but I never expected such hubris from one of its warlords.”

“Could I make a request, Asdrubael m’lord?” the Drukhari woman asked then, turning and batting her razor-like eyelashes, “Perhaps try the creature against the Wyches? I would love to see such a contest of speed.”

Vect chuckled, and nodded to indulge her request. It was no matter. He did not know that Kaitria’s “friend” was among those Wyches who had signed on for the Arena this day. Still, his obliging the trueborn’s wishes meant that Kaitria would be short a rival for the Archon’s attention by the end of the day.

—

Shoulders heaving with labored breaths, standing astride yet another pair of corpses, Jaghatai Khan spat black blood from his lips.

“Pizda!” he cursed like a Chogoran bandit, too tired for anything more creative, “Keep coming, xenos filth. I will kill until my heart bursts like a damned racing steed.” he gritted under his breath.

For hours upon hours had this particular bout in the Arena lasted. Mutants, aliens, prisoners, and stranger gladiators still had all fallen before his blade, fists, and even teeth. The Eldar did not tire of the spectacle. Of all those present in the coliseum, from low-city hellions to great Archons and Dracons, none had before witnessed the fury of a Primarch.

A multitude of wounds covered the Khan’s form, but they were paltry. Few among the xenos degenerates could even lay a hand on him, and those that did were shrugged off by the great endurance Jaghatai possessed. Though perhaps not so quick as some of his brothers, few remembered that the lithe and energetic Primarch was yet among the most hardy and durable of his siblings. Enhanced filtration organs combated traces of a hundred alien poisons, while the very oldest of those cuts and burns that he had sustained in the first bouts had already since scabbed over.

Still the foes came. At this point most higher thought had gone from the Khagan’s mind. Later, perhaps, he would be able to continue his formulations - his plans to escape this hellish realm. For now, though, all that he could focus on was the battle, the slaughter. He wondered, through a daze of suppressed pain and furious exhaustion, if this hadn’t been what Angron had felt all the time. Though the Heresy was still fresh in his heart, Jaghatai couldn’t help but feel some pity for his lost brother then.

Yet such thoughts could not last long, and at the sound of a great screeching horn the Primarch’s senses snapped back with a tigerish ferocity. At the edges of the sands, portcullises retracted once against, and the ululating battle-cries of more alien gladiators rang out. Lithe forms, dancing and swirling like mad nymphs, came darting from the shadows with blades drawn, arcing in a flank assault on the Khan like a pack of wolves.

Jaghatai hoisted his own blade - a cast-off torn from the dead hands of an Incubus he had brutalized. Fair or foul, no xenos would leave these sands alive. The Khagan sprung, and alabaster limbs flew in sprays of dark ichor.

[daylightrays]

📙 What kind of subjects (of conversation, of discussion, in school or whatever) does your OC find interesting or engaging or that they can talk for hours about? What kind of stuff do they just find fun?

Gosh he hasn’t done anything like this in so long. Inwa studied Aetherology while growing up. He loves getting to talk about theories and how aether works and moves and the alignments and so on. He could talk forever about things like this. One of Inwa’s favorite things that he ever got to do was explain to Silvain how the multiworlds/shards worked and why things were messed up. Finding a way to explain it to him in an easy to understand way was really fun for him.

He uses things he learned in his casting and how he manipulates aether to both harm and heal. Although this is also why he’s just an elemental mage and doesn’t know all of the other cool methods and ways magic can be used. His studies up to this point has been largely focused on aetherology and his control and manipulation of aether on large and small scales. This is also why he’s still attempting to learn from mentors so he can actually learn the cool dangerous stuff. 

Like for instance when Urien was trying to teach Inwa simply how to summon a carbuncle. He didn’t actually teach him what the math, runes or literally anything meant. He handed him the page, had him memorize it and cast while also openly admitting that because of Inwa’s background, there was a chance the grimoire  would just explode... but that it was a chance he was willing to take. Inwa doesn’t believe Edarien is going to be any less chaotic...

Now all he does for fun is walk around, play with pixies, and stare at either the ocean or the night sky.