#also calling it my dungeon would imply that I own it or that I'm the domme

[daughter-of-sapph0]

"BDSM is recreating abusive sexual assault where a man beats and rapes a woman! it's bad!"

you're assuming that:

1) bdsm and kink isn't always consentual

kink is always ALWAYS consentual. just like any form of vanilla sex. in fact, kink is often more safe than vanilla sex as it is almost always planned well in advance and all parties involved know exactly what's gonna happen and when and how

2) kink is only between 1 man and 1 woman, and the man is always the dom

what the fuck is that homophobic xian bullshit?! fuck off with that crap. m/f maledom kink is like less than 2% of all kink relationships. kink is incredibly queer and diverse, mainly because the kink communities and the adult queer communities are one in the same.

3) kink always involves pain

I mean, sure it CAN involve pain. but that's just a very small subsection of kink. kink includes all sex that isn't what is considered normal. stupid people, mainly conservative, will call anything sex they don't like a deviance, and whether you like it or not, they will be considered kink by most people. so rather than trying to fight it, you might as well embrace it. all queer sex is kink. all blow jobs are kink. all anal is kink. all sex positions that aren't exclusively male on top cisgender heterosexual missionary position is kink.

4) women aren't capable of making their own choices

if you think that a woman cannot choose how she wants to have sex, then you aren't a feminist. if you think you can choose for her, then you're the abusive one, not the theoretical man who beats her during sex.

I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. I can choose exactly how I want to have sex. I'm a dyke, so I'm not particularly interested in sex with men. but the way I have sex is between me and my partners. not you. you don't fucking control me. you don't get to decide what I can and can't do with my own body. you're no better than a sexist misogynistic conservative man. you think all sex is abusive because you're a puritanical controlling abusive piece of shit who thinks your opinion is more important than everyone else's, and that you are the sole authority on what women can and can't do. and you also probably watch way too much porn, which is a perversion and distortion of actual sex and in no way reflects reality. stop calling yourself a feminist, you stupid freaks. get a life, and stay out of my bedroom

[bokettochild]

Just saw the update!

So, first thoughts!

Gremlin Legend and Sky is something I am LIVING for. Sky's little look of approval as he stands between Wars and Legend after that little move is sending me!

(Wild is not impressed)

I also really love that JoJo played with Warriors' cape/scarf being capable of doing that, which is a major risk btw, but I love that we see it's potential now!

Like, Legend's timing is perfect (and I love that this confirms the Legend v. Wars dynamic we all love) especially considering Hyrule was literally talking about the same thing and you'd THINK Captain-War-Hero over here would be more cautious because of it (although the fact this implies Legend doesn't trigger Warriors danger sense is GREAT for the fluff fic writers like me!)

Time and Wars looking like disappointed parents though is brilliant

(Warriors with messy hair is so funny to me, help)

The continued portrayal of Time being too harsh with the boys, all tense after what happened to Twilight, that's great. i'm glad the consequences of past events are following them, it really makes this all feel linear!

I also am ALL HERE for the boys finding their differences! Warriors and Wild both admitting to being new to dungeon crawling and the monsters involved is a great thing we've all been playing with in fics, but making it cannon feels like validation :)

Also, Warriors being defensive of that, and maybe a bit prickly about their judgement, I think it shows a lot of him. he's got his pride,a although he's learned to tame it. He's feeling a bit miffed to realize how different he is, but doesn't want them seeing him as lesser as well (although they never would). I can also hear him using a clipped military sort of tone when speaking here. It's just the way his words are selected and strung together that makes it seem he's being very to the point, direct, and cold in his tone, which really sells the whole difference between a soldier and the "average nobody" that the rest of them were (ironic, since he's trying to act like the difference isn't a big deal but only further accentuates it this way).

Twilight being pleased that Epona is fine and just enjoying a meal made me grin so big though. He's all worried for his girl but she is, quite literally, happy as a horse over there LOL

Also, this bit:

recognition for Sky's right-handedness, my beloved! (JoJo is giving us all the easter eggs!)

The fact that the passage is too small to let them all fight though is a brilliant way of preventing some of our heavy hitters and more skilled heroes from being able to do anything though!

I like how that gives us the chance to see Time one-shot the foe and also gives him the impression that the rest are maybe not skilled enough to do this alone. WE all know they are, but they're a handicap to each other right now, and it's only further cementing in his mind that they're not ready for all this, which will make his overbearing speech and the judgement he casts on them in combat all the more an issue.

I mean, we all know the hero's shade was like that, but JoJo has shown Time acting this way from the start

(Deep Shadows P.2)

(Likelike)

So I guess we're in for more of that now, and most likely someone (probably Legend, as it's usually him, or Wind, who is very aware of judgement from teh rest) is definitely going to have to call him on it soon, maybe in the dungeon. Will that lead to some bonding with Time where he has to admit he cares and worries about them as though they're his own? I hope so!

Anyways, all this to say, we really are seeing how much they struggle to work together, so hopefully this dungoen will teach them all how to do that better, as Time mentioned earlier

(Dawn p.8)

Now, to finish it off!I would like to thank JoJo for giving us so many beautiful shots of Twi this time around. I'll admit it now, he's pretty darn fine <3

That said, I'm loving the Legend content too! i hope we get to see some more starring moments from him going forwards, what with him being the dungeon veteran and all! It's great seeing his childish/playful side these last few updates, but I'm really craving some veteran Legend right now >:)

[pelleas-at-castle-nox]

I'm surprised I haven't really seen anybody talking about the food sourcing theme in dungeon meshi. Like, the very first thing it made me think about when I started reading the manga was like "oh yeah, this really makes you think about food, where it comes from, the work needed to create enough food for one person, let alone a small group, to eat comfortably and nutritiously. Laios even specifically calls out that 'regular' food is also made using shit and dirt, intentionally grounding it in reality and subtly asking the reader to introspect on the food they eat and where it comes from."

Like, it's fair to say kui has the old "world builder's" spirit, it's easy to extrapolate a whole world when you're willing to both ask "how does x mundane task work?" And being willing to give it as fanciful or grounded an answer as you feel is appropriate, food is the central theme, but that sort of thinking extends to every corner of the lore and world building where you can practically begin to trace back a lot of world elements to these basic questions, like "what would happen if there were people who lived for 500 years, what would happen if you fought a creature with two heads" and I think that's really cool-

But like, that core question "where does the food that sustains you come from" is like such a relevant question that we should all be asking ourselves. I suppose it's just that I think about that often, both when I'm world building, and in modern and historical contexts.

In a lot of ways it's alienation of labor, most USAmericans (to keep it at least slightly contained in scope) don't get to know where any of the food they eat actually comes from. At best, you might buy your own groceries and maybe even be able to google some information as to the conditions at the place this food was grown, maybe you're lucky/resourced enough to grow some of your own food in like a garden. At worst you get your food premade and prepackaged and you're even completely divorced from the preparation aspect.

A major symptom of this is clearly shown in dungeon meshi's opening and especially in kabru shuro and even the canaries: when food is taken for granted, it becomes easy to neglect. The party initially wiped simply because they'd not considered how suicidal it was to press onward while exhausted, Kabru is so dissociated and focused that he shuts out most of his own biological signifiers of hunger, Shuro starves himself, equating food with leisure instead of a vital practice to sustain life and energy, and of course there's mister no desires.

It's no mistake that in all of the above cases, it's seemed to be heavily implied that food is either an after thought, or someone else's responsibility, or a simple logistical concern. Senshi's whole rant (in volume 1!!) about "oh the youths of today just buying prepackaged meat wine and bread" is especially tied in to this main theme of "do you know where your food comes from?" By taking it to the next level and asking "do you know why you're eating what you're eating?"

To take a personal side tangent, I was recently diagnosed as diabetic, and it's completely changed my relationship to food on a pretty fundamental level, but I'd say I'd always had a pretty good and healthy relationship with food (after I stopped having an eating disorder but that's a story for another day) so it was an easy enough adjustment to have to start actually thinking about how much of my diet was carbs and things like that, it just became a matter of considering what I was eating and when and why. I'm still not perfect at it and it's still a learning process but I'm working on it.

Anyways, my main theory as to why I've not seen it being pontificated on is just that in general people really hate being asked "do you know what you're eating?" Around these parts in a general fashion, but like, especially with weaponized starvation going on and very real issues of things like food desserts in America, and the fact that we all have to pay for just about every little meal, I think it's important for leftists to contemplate the political implications of meals.

An army runs on its stomach after all. Rant over

[beloved-belittled]

Random Shinnok Rambles (X Reader)

A/N: Alright, back to Shinnokposting. My Tumblr is really just a Shinnok x Reader blog at heart lol. So, this is the closest I'll get to posting general headcanons. It's a part character analysis part x Reader I suppose? I just wanted to give more context on his thought process and personality in my stories. I don't really know what to call it hence the title. Might turn this into a series. Anyways, enjoy!

TW: Heavy abuse, slavery, manipulation, implied rape/coercion, cussing, NSFW, mentions of oral and anal sex

18+ to interact

Speech/Mannerisms

Shinnok does not cuss. There's no way you're getting a “fuck” or “shit” out of this man. He finds cursing to be crass and a sign of low intelligence. However, he would use variations of “damn” and “hell” (ex: damned, damnation, hellspawn). But those aren't really cuss words depending on who you ask. The most vulgar words you can expect from Shinnok are “bastard” or “whore”, but those have stipulations for him to say it. For example, he'll only call someone a “bastard” if they were truly born from unwed parents. And even so, he phrases in a way of it being more like a statement than anything. (Ex: “Ah, the bastard of Argus.”) As for whore, he doesn't just call any woman that. They have to use their sexuality to some notable benefit like money, power, etc. 

He doesn't enjoy crassness in the bedroom either. He'll never utilize the words “pussy” or “cunt”. Those words are beneath him, so he sticks primarily to the anatomical words for genitals. But, I could see him on occasions when he's especially excited to use “cock” when referencing his penis. He'll also use euphemisms for your vagina such as “flower” or “petals” for your labia. He'll also probably just refer to your ass as “behind” or “rear”, as he dislikes the words “ass” and “butt”. Overall, don't expect a lot of dirty talk from this man. And even if he does, you'll probably need a thesaurus on hand for all the euphemisms.

So with his sentiments on speech, how much does this affect his darling? Umm, a lot. He won't be able to tolerate a s/o who curses or uses a lot of “low intelligence” words. Whether you're his lover or his pet he expects you to use your voice with dignity. If not… He can just beat it out of you. A pet/slave will learn to hold their tongue much quicker as from day one he's clear with his expectations. A willing lover on the other hand gets a few warnings -then it's straight to the dungeon with you until your speech improves.

Aside from speech he has high expectations with how you carry yourself. This differs depending on how he views your relationship. For pets, a submissive stride and downcast expression is expected at all times. Try not to take up too much space and look ashamed of yourself -it will please him despite his harsh comments. As for a lover, make sure that you walk around as though you own all the realms. He will notice if you skulk around rather than act confident, and it may just get you demoted from being his lover.

Also, people with shrimp-like posture beware -this man has no tolerance for hunchbacks. Get that spine straightened up or he'll straighten it for you. Seriously, he'll tell you to sit up maybe once then he'll manhandle you into a proper position. Have him do this too many times and he'll just start hitting you every time he catches you slouching. “Why insist on straining your back, mortal?” He'll say while “fixing” your posture.

Your “Relationship” with Him

I'm sorry but, unless Shinnok was purified or otherwise changed to become a better person -you're in for one hell of a toxic relationship. The main problem with him is his pride. There is no one like him, no one on his level of strength, intelligence, and ambition. (In his eyes at least.) So whether you're his pet or lover he'll always see you as a lesser being. It leads to a lot of problems should you accept the opportunity to willingly date him.

For example, you won't have any say over his plans for invasion or utilizing his demonic army. “Did you think an offering of my bed was an offering of being commander?” He says, face grim as he awaits your answer. You tell him no, but you can't help the thought that maybe as his partner you could aid him better in battle. Another point of contention would be the boundary pushing. Oh, you don't want to give him a blowjob? “My dearest (Y/N), you will get on your knees for me. Your Lord demands it.” You can certainly refuse, but is it worth the wrath of Shinnok?

Oddly enough, following through with his demands when he gets pushy like that will lower his respect for you. In his mind, all it takes is a few harsh words and threats of punishment to get you to obey? Those are the motivations of slaves -not of someone who is his equal. His treatment of you will change the more you submit. He gets more degrading with his speech, and he starts to doubt your abilities to help him conquer the realms. He may even stop you from going out on missions, telling you to simply stay in the cathedral with him. Do not accept this if you value your freedom. Once he traps you in his castle it's GG.

Honestly, it's very easy to slip from being his lover to his pet/slave. I would say 99.9% of the time that's what your relationship would devolve into anyways. His disdain towards others and his pride would warp any feelings of genuine affection into desires of ownership. The 0.1% chance is that you somehow become more powerful than him and flip the script on him -making Shinnok your pet instead. (Foreshadowing)

And you know what? You go through all of that and this fallen Elder God doesn't even say “I love you.” :( You'll never hear those words even after existing for thousands of years. It's the one lie he won't tell you -all due to his ego viewing love as a weakness. At the end of the day, mortals exist for his use and he does not have to offer anything in return.

Sexual Deeds/NSFW

So… Does Shinnok have kinks? Absolutely! (Even if he doesn't acknowledge them as such.) For one, he absolutely loves praise and worship in the bedroom. Tell him how grateful and honored you are to touch his body -he'll reward you with a hardy reminder as to why you're beneath him ❤️. Oh yeah, aside from praise he's super into degrading and humiliating you. This man will tear apart your entire identity and want you to take it with a smile.

He also really enjoys eye contact during sex -specifically being able to read your emotions/reactions. Sometimes you feel as though he's glimpsing at your soul when he stares into your eyes, and in all honesty maybe he is. He also is a fan of asphyxiation. It makes him feel powerful when he controls your breathing. You can't even say anything when your throat is constricted. How perfect.

But there's also quite a bit of stuff he's not into either. For example, he'll never use toys during sex unless you count those bone constructs of his. In his eyes, he's not sure why he would need such toys when his body and magic alone is more than enough to pleasure you. Don't ask him about using toys either. He'll just finger you with his summoned skeleton hands until you apologize for bringing it up.

He also isn't a big fan of somnophilia. His pleasure comes from you being aware of what he's doing and the dominance from that. If you're fast asleep, how is he able to enjoy that? Unfortunately for you that means being woken up when you're in the throes of sleep, either when he is roughly pumping into your body or demanding you to leap up and service him. 

Also for AFAB readers he wouldn't be interested in anal -at first. Why use your ass when you've got a perfectly ok vagina? But after quite a bit of time passes and seeing your butt jiggle he gets curious. Maybe one day after doing it doggy-style he'll pull out of your pussy and start grinding against your cheeks. Then another day he'll actually slip in between the globes of your butt and start rutting against you. Finally, you know your luck’s run out when he starts lubing up your asshole, telling you how you'll learn to accommodate him here too.

[prismatoxic]

re-reading chapter 61 in the hopes of finding more info on the communication faries (there doesn't seem to be much) and oh look! that's also the "kabru and mithrun get stuck together" chapter

u want some kabumisu thoughts

kabru is trying to pick mithrun apart to best ingratiate himself so he can then sabotage the canaries' attempt to retake the dungeon before laios can defeat the lunatic magician. typical kabru solution to a problem; he knows he's not as good of a fighter as he is a manipulator. he also doesn't trust mithrun, nor does he think mithrun trusts him. the best course of action is to get mithrun as close to trust as he can for a good chance to strike.

...but he's finding it hard to do. it's not compelling him the way this sort of task usually does, even if it's his only plan.

even so, when they run into a shapeshifter, kabru's version of mithrun is physically identical and its personality seems the same as well. kabru's skills of observation are not to be taken lightly.

(mithrun is not even remotely skilled in this department. i imagine the way his trauma has changed his view of the world is also involved though)

besides being a funny gag, mithrun's evident disinterest in picking kabru apart as a person calms him down. this is when he starts to see mithrun less as a threatening enemy and more just... a kind of strange person.

i don't have much to say about this one, it's just really fucking funny. he doesn't even realize that scribbly version of kabru is wrong. i assume his vision isn't the issue here; like yes it must be limited with only the one eye, but that's not limited vision, that's "my brain doesn't parse the world the way other people's do". mithrun TBI real. anyway

(i'm trying to talk about kabumisu so i'm not gonna post all the fucking hysterical panels of kabru lamenting turning into laios if he has to cook monsters, but. go re-read chapter 61 if you haven't recently, it's very good)

not to read too much into an adorable smile, but i think seeing mithrun eat like a child is endearing kabru to him a lot. it's getting harder and harder to view him as an enigmatic adversary. sure, there's plenty of mysteries surrounding him, but he's also just... not a very scary person, nor does he hold ill will towards kabru. he's not an enemy.

mithrun saving kabru from nightmares after they eat is probably another point in his favor (even if he smacked kabru to do it). kabru doesn't know yet exactly why he's been told to tend to mithrun--why mithrun needs tending at all--but mithrun being willing to protect him in turn certainly implies he's not resentful of the arrangement.

mithrun you are so baby

talk about ship fuel... but on a more serious note, i really love how kabru jumps into action here. it's very in-character for him, but also it's just a good show of what that character is--he's already pushing himself to go above and beyond for a man he didn't want to be stuck with in a situation he didn't ask for. i think he's already fond of mithrun to some degree by this point, but even so... his concern is evident, and it's not self-serving. kabru isn't trying to keep mithrun alive to further his own goals... he's trying to keep mithrun alive because he's a person and he deserves to live. we know kabru has no qualms with murdering people if they're "bad" (and what that says for him and his perceptions about when it's okay to choose life or death for someone else is surely an entire post on its own), but he doesn't want mithrun to die nor does he think mithrun is worthy of death in general.

anyway this is why i stopped reading and started making this post. kabru wished to care for mithrun so bad that the dungeon answered his call. the way mithrun says this, it implies this isn't just a normal desire; the dungeon would be granting wishes all the time in that case. (however, through his lens, we for sure can spot the many times it has helped the touden party). the desire here was just that strong.

haha do you remember when mithrun reveals his true remaining desire at the end of the manga. remember how he didn't know before the fight was over. that he thought it was revenge he wanted. but actually it was for the demon to finish him off. haha. i just think

anyway kabumisu good. and this is only the beginning of their dynamic!!!

[pyrepostings]

Whumperless whump event: “It's just a nightmare. You're safe.”

Free Birds and Fiddlers

Cw: discussions of noncon drugging, of noncon/dubcon sexual violence, of nudity and torture. Implied whumpee turned whumper.

~~~

Kevin knocked on the door softly before letting himself in anyway. Julian had said his door was always open to Kevin, and lately he's had to take advantage of that promise more than he'd like.

The room was dark, but even so Kevin knew where the small table and chairs were, and the small lantern which provided just enough glow to see by.

Julian stirred. "Mmh, Kevin? What is it?"

"Sorry for waking you. I couldn't sleep, and I hoped you would be still awake too. But it can wait until morning."

"It's alright. Just give me a second to wake up."

Kevin curled up on the chair, and ran his hand through his hair a few times. Once Julian had a decency of clothes on, he turned the lamp on his desk on, casting the room into what could actually be called light.

With a pitcher of water and a pair of cups in hand, Julian sat down across from Kevin. With a voice even lower with sleep than it normally was, he asked, "What's wrong, Kev?"

Kevin ran a hand through his hair once more. "I couldn't sleep. Nightmare."

"Mhm. Do you want to talk about it, or are you here for a distraction?"

"Talk about it, I think."

One of the cups, now full, was slid across the table into Kevin's slightly shaking hands. He didn't realize how dry his mouth was until he took a sip.

"What happened?"

Kevin started slowly. "It was about John. Or at least, that's the part that's still bothering me. It started like one I've had before, you know, where I'm on my back in the sand at the base of the wall, and I can't even breathe for the pain. This one started as that one. But, it morphed before the part where I get helped up."

Kevin was breathing hard as he continued. "I was still on my back, but in a bed now. I- it was John's. When he knocked me out. He already had me pinned, my side burned like it was an actual knife instead of that fucking needle. I couldn't fight him off-"

He had trouble fighting off tears in the present as well, and bit his knuckles in the effort.

"I couldn't fight him and then I couldn't fight at all. I felt frozen in my body. But I could still feel it, in the dream. I could still feel his hands, the weight. I could feel his mouth- an- and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't even yell at him I just had to take it. It felt so real."

Julian was silent for a moment. "Do you think he touched you like that after you went unconscious?"

"I don't know. He says- he swears he didn't, that he got the others as soon as I was out but- it's not like I can trust his word now."

"Have you had this specific dream before?"

Kevin shook his head. "No. I told you about the ones from the actual interrogation. I've been getting those a lot. But those are all memories, accurate as far as I can tell. But this- is my subconscious trying to tell me what happened?"

"Kev, it's possible that he touched you like that, but it's also possible that it was just a nightmare. People get exaggerated nightmare scenarios all the time. And with no proof of what happened specifically, you have to decide what you trust more."

"A liar and traitor verses my own traumatized nightmare. Grand."

"I suppose the more important question is what do you want to do about this?"

Kevin put his elbows on the table and palms to his eyes, as if blocking out sight would help him think. "I don't know. If that part really was just a nightmare I can't just punish him more for it. It wouldn't be fair to retaliate for crimes that only happened in my head. But it felt real. If- if he did touch me like that-

"I already consider what happened that night to be rape. But until now I just thought it went to the deception and no further. I didn't really entertain the idea that he might have kept going-"

That wasn't entirely true. He had entertained the idea for a moment when he woke up in the dungeon without the last article of clothing he had before being knocked out. He had thought about it enough since then to pursue that line of questioning briefly once John was captured and being the one interrogated by the enemy faction.

And each time, he pushed those thoughts away. He didn't want to believe them. He wanted to believe John told the truth that it went as far as the orders he was given and no further. But he just didn't know that for sure.

"You don't have to decide anything right now. I can talk to him if you'd like. You can't change that it happened if it did, but would a confession from him help? To know for sure at least?"

Kevin nodded, tearily. "I think so? I don't know."

"And that's ok. You don't have to know right now. All that matters is that the nightmare's over, you're safe."

Masterlist

@whumperless-whump-event

[interact-with-my-illagers]

Quick Info 

Current Location: Woodland Mansion or anywhere else in the Minecraft world.

Available for interaction, asks, and role play!

Hello and welcome to my interaction blog! This is primarily featuring my Illager characters from my AU and I shall list them down below!

Due to the Illagers being hostile mobs and their violent nature as well as their tendency to attack anything in sight that isn't an Illager, there could be a lot of physical an emotional injuries which can go from mild to severe so please keep that in mind!

💀☠️💀☠️

RULES 

Any anon is allowed! Just, please nothing nasty or disgusting! Yes, you may have relationships with my Illagers but please don't go overboard!

Absolutely no NSFW (anything sexual) in asks, an interaction or in role-play.

You may send or tag me in role-play starters.

Please try to refrain from sending spam.

Please refrain from tagging me in any art or stories of a highly suggestive nature. It makes me very uncomfortable.

Once I start making Animation and Mods reblogs are greatly appreciated.

Please be patient! I am only one person who is going to college and has medical problems. I am mostly doing this for fun and to spread the word of the Illagers.

Illagers you can interact with:

Vidarr, a Pillager who was cast out from his clan because they believed that he was a weakling for being at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Anya, an Evoker who has a motherly type of personality and wants children of her own someday.

Luca, an Evoker who is loyal to his clan and holds himself with dignity, is head of his clan.

Enid, a Spiritcaller who went on a personal journey to train in her abilities. Reluctant at first but once she warms up to you, will defend you to the death.

Iseult, an Iceologer who has a long, deep scar going through her left eye, effectively blinding her in that eye. Is wary of outsiders thanks to her traumatic past.

💀☠️💀☠️

CONTENT WARNINGS 

Yes, I mostly intend for this blog to be fun and interactive, I do want to explore some topics that are darker than usual so, please keep these in mind!

Body horror, scars, descriptions of panic attacks/meltdowns, use of caps, blood, violence, mild to moderate to severe body horror, war (via the Illager's flashbacks and their nature), possible self-harm, suicidal thoughts, implied gore, implied death, implied cannibalism, these next few will have a warning just in case, on-screen gore, on-screen death, on-screen cannibalism.

I will probably make a lot of out-of-character posts as I have a lot of ideas and thoughts! I will label them accordingly in case no one wants to see them.

💀☠️💀☠️

ABOUT MUN 

Greetings! You guys may call me Illager, Illager Queen, or Illager Fanatic! I prefer not to disclose my real name for safety reasons so please call me by one of the other names. I use she/her, and I'm 29. Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons has taken over my brain, and so I made this blog to enable users to find joy in the Illagers like I did and to offer a safe space for people who would like to talk and interact without fear of bullying and judgment.

Main user blog: 

(This is my main blog and also the user who created this Illager blog is from.)

[elwynten]

Sword Oritoria Chapter 8

Orario sewers in search of a way into the Dungeon

Iris, Kimmy, Cindy and I were in the sewers of Orario. I had 'heard' that Loki and some of her Familia were headed down into the sewers looking for a certain person named Barca although they don't know his name. Although they thought they had found an entrance to the Dungeon although it is really an entrance to Knossos. We are positioned a short ways from the entrance to Knossos waiting for Loki and company to arrive.

Our Companions were back at Hearthstone Manor. They didn't want to venture into the sewers with us and I didn't blame them. We wouldn't be down here if it wasn't for the Loki Familia searching the sewers in the first place.

We didn't have to wait very long before Loki, Riveria, Gareth, Finn and the others showed up.

"Who are you!" Gareth demanded when he was us.

I turned to look at Gareth. "You forgot about us so soon?" I asked grinning at him.

"You!" Finn said. "Why are you here?" He almost demanded.

"Is that how you treat people that saved your butts on the 50th floor and the 59th floor?" I replied to Finn.

"As for why we are here. We are here to give you a warning. Knossos, the area you are headed to, is a trap. The Ikalos Familia as well as Thanatos and his Familia are down there with Barca, a descendent of Daedalus. As well as Valletta and Levis and they have a large number of cursed weapons at their disposal." I informed them. "I have my own plans to deal with several members of the Ikalos Familia, so in a month or so over half of the Ikalos Familia will no longer be a problem. When I've done my part, I'll let you know so you can deal with Ikalos and the rest of his Familia. You should also know; they have a pedestal they can use to see everywhere in the Knossos labyrinth. Because of that they can open and close doors to trap you and to release monsters so they can attack you." I informed them.

Loki looked at me thoughtfully "You know an offal lot about what's goin' on in there." She stated suspiciously.

"If you're implying, I'm involved with Ikalos, Thanatos and Enyo. You would be one hundred and eighty degrees off. I'm just here to warn you that you're headed into a trap and if you go ahead and head on into it, you could lose several of your followers." I told Loki. "And you should also know, they have demi-spirits in there. Several of them infact." I added.

I created three Daedalus orbs and handed them to Loki. "These will help you out. They are Called Daedalus Orbs. They are keys that open and close the orichalcum doors. There are even a few of the doors set into the floor, they use as pit traps." I told Loki. "And for your information. If a 'god' dies in Knossos it will trigger an alter to release or create plant flesh to a degree it will fill all of Knossos in a matter of minutes, devouring everything organic in its way."

"How do you know all of this?" Finn asked me.

I grinned. Since I'm dealing with Loki the trickster… "I read it in a book." I replied.

I turned and looked towards the entrance of Knossos. "Isolation!" I said, putting Thanatos, Barca, Dax and Levis in isolation, which locks them in their own heads with no input of any kind. They do not hear, see, feel or taste anything and they cannot communicate in any way. "I just made it a little easier for you. I just put Thanatos, Barca, the creature Levis and Valletta out of commission for a few hours. Although I allowed them to hear what was going on, so they won't go insane." I told Loki as I motioned for my Team to follow me out of the sewers.

"W-what do you mean you made is easier for us? What are you talking about?" Loki called to my back as we walked away.

After walking a few feet, I stopped and turned around. "If any of your Familia happen to die in Knossos, which I hope does not happen, but if it does. They are mine." I told Loki, then I turned to the Loki party. "If you happen to find yourselves in a graveyard. Say hello to the caretaker for me. Her name is Dawn. And let her know I'll be seeing to her shortly." I said loud enough for everyone there to hear me. I turned back around and headed out of the sewers as I heard murmuring from those in the Loki battle party.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Loki called out from behind me.

I didn't reply, I just walked away.

==========

While we were in the sewers with the Loki Familia. I did a little searching of their minds. I wanted to find out all of the names of the people that would be going in with Leene. Once I had all the names in their party I went to Pern and gave the list to Dawn, the Spirit Grave tender so she could put their names on some of the tomb stones. That way if they are killed while in Knossos or anywhere else for that matter, they would find themselves healthy and whole in the graveyard in the front yard of my house on Pern. They will probably be confused, but that's better than being dead.

I also instructed Dawn to explain what happened to them if any of them did happen to show up, and where they can go to find any of the girls living in the house.

With what I had done by putting the leaders of the Evilus group in "Isolation". It would change what happens in Knossos, but I wanted to make sure any of the Loki Familia members that died in the Light Novels would be safe even with the changes I had made.

==========

Back on Pern

Things are starting to get interesting. After finding AVAIS everyone was wanting to go south to find out what was really happening at Landing or to help discover and rebuild the past.

My Hold was doing well. We had set up six minor holds for when people were ready to move south. They were all between Tel Aviv Hold and Billings Hold. It gave each Hold plenty of room and they were still fairly close to the main Hold, and within easy walking distance of each other.

Mercedes had finished putting together all the equipment for the radio station. I decided to set it up between Tel Aviv Hold and Billings Hold. That way it would be almost dead center of my holding. The main building for the radio station was set up and the equipment installed. While the radio tower was still waiting to be put up. We had all the parts, we just needed to install it, and it should be put up within the week.

We had finished setting up the shops at Landing in what I have named 'The Market'. The girls working at the restaurant and the shop aren't doing much business yet, although they were getting a few customers. I suggested they give out free samples of the food they're selling, so the people arriving at Landing and living there will know what they are making and selling and what it tastes like.

I've spent several weeks trying to decide who to give Companions to. I already knew I would give most of the Dragonriders Companions, to help them to not get Thread scored and to heal faster if they do happen to get Thread scored or hurt. But I needed to check out each person I wanted to give a Companion to, to make sure they wouldn't take advantage of the Companion's abilities and go rogue. Although I can give people Companions that do not have durability and/or regeneration. Or If I do give them durability and regeneration I can reduce their strength. Meaning the regeneration is 1/4th as fast and do the same for durability. I can also give Companions that don't have a breath weapon or magic and so on.

I want to be fair about who gets a Companion, but I also don't think everyone should get one. Or I could give Companions to people as gifts and for most of the dragonriders and Lord Holders I can give durability, Level 1 regeneration and Sustenance. That way Companions would be rare and only those that I believe deserve them would get one. That sounds like the best idea.

With AIVAS uncovered a lot was starting to happen. More people, as in Lord Holders and Craft Masters were showing up wanting to know what was going on and to hear the story of finding Pern.

It didn't take long before F'lar asked AIVAS how to eradicate Thread permanently. Right after that was when activity at Landing really picked up.

I suggested to Mercedes that she might like to help assemble the computer stations. With Mercedes helping with that project, they would have someone that knows what they are doing, other than AVAIS, that is.

==========

At the end of the week, I opened a portal so Welf, Cindy, Iris, Kimmy and I could go to Pern as usual. There was a difference this time when we arrived, because today there were two people standing in the graveyard talking to Dawn as we walked by.

"Hello Dawn. Who are your friends?" I asked, although I had an idea of who they might be.

The two people turned around to see who was talking. A male cat person glared at me and pointed a finger at me. "You! How did you bring us here. You said we would come here.!" He demanded.

"Hello Leena, Lloyd. How are y'all, and no I didn't say you would come here. I said if any of the Loki Familia going into Knossos that happened to die would come here. That means the two of you died in the Knossos dungeon." I started to explain.

"What do you mean we died!?" Leena demanded.

Welf gave his usual cheeky grin. "You can explain all of this to me later." Welf told me and headed to the front door of the house. My Team followed after Welf into the Hold.

"Ya, see you later." I replied to Welf and chuckled.

I turned back to Lloyd and Leena. "Just that. Y'all went into the Knossos dungeon and for some reason or another you were killed there. Am I correct?" I questioned Leena.

"Some crazy guy wearing goggles! He attacked Lloyd with a black spear. I tried to heal him but none of the cuts would close. Then he came at me…" Leena told me.

"That was Dax of the Ikalos Familia. He was using a cursed blade. Lloyd bled out, I'm guessing, and since you tried to heal him Dax went after you as well." I tried to explain. "I didn't think Dax would get involved. He tends to do his own thing going after intelligent monsters." The last I said more to myself than to Lloyd and Leena.

"Why are we here?" Lloyd asked. "Is this heaven?"

"What do you mean intelligent monsters?" Leena added.

"Well, that's kind of a difficult question to answer. You see, I had Dawn, here, put your names on two of the gravestones." I said and pointed to Dawn then to the gravestones with their names on them. "If your name is on one of these gravestones, when you die, you appear in front of your gravestone whole and healthy. It's not heaven from where you came from, but I think it's pretty close to heaven. It's called Pern and this is my home." I told them pointing to the house.

I turned to Leena. "Yes, intelligent monsters. For some unknown reason even to Ouranos, the Dungeon spawns' intelligent monsters from time to time. Right now, there are only thirty to forty intelligent monsters living in the Dungeon. They don't want to fight humans, but they do defend themselves if they are attacked by humans. Unfortunately for them, other monsters attack them as well. So, they have it twice as hard as normal monsters." I explained.

"That's not possible, there is no way there could be intelligent monsters!" Leena exclaimed.

I shrugged my shoulders. "As far as the two of you are concerned it doesn't matter any more." I told them.

"Speaking of which. I've neglected my duties." I said and turned to Dawn. "I've given everyone else in the Hold a Companion, but I didn't give you one." I apologized, and a small Titanium Dragon flew up to Dawn and landed on her shoulder.

Eabha/F (to live) Mythical - Titanium Dragon, Lizard/Golden Eagle Colors: Pink, light blue, peach, green Regeneration L2 Size L2 Sustenance L2 Intelligence L2 Durability L2 Flight Shapeshifting L1 (Forms: Eagle, Bearded Dragon, Horse, house cat) Agility L1 Magical L2 (Dancing Lights, Mending, Cleaning, servant,) Teleportation L1 Speed L1 Strength L1 Agility L1 Elemental attack L1 (Fire)

At seeing a dragon, Lloyd and Leena went into defensive mode getting ready to attack the dragon.

I stepped in between Lloyd, Leena and Eabha to stop them from attacking Eabha. "Eabha's not a monster to be killed. She's very friendly unless you attack her or Dawn or anyone else that lives here." I started to explain. "And you have to remember, you no longer have Loki's falna so your no stronger than any normal person."

"That's not possible!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"You died in Knossos. Other than not being reborn as a baby and not knowing about your past lives. What is not possible about you being here?" I asked.

Both Lloyd and Leena just stared at me with shocked expressions on their faces.

"How did we get here and what are we supposed to do if what you said is true?" Leena asked.

"Yes, what I have told you is 100% true. As I said, your names were put on the tomb stones so when you died you came here. That is how you got here. About what you're supposed to do. You can do just about anything you want to. I own the land we are on, so you could work for me if you want to. You could apprentice under Verdi and Heather and learn about raising cattle or you could apprentice under Snowdrop and Violet and learn about orchards and gardening. We also have a couple stores at a place called Landing you could work at. You don't have to stay here with me, but I would suggest you stick around for a while until you learn about your new home." I suggested.

"Can we go back to Orario?" Lloyd asked me, hopefully.

"You died there. They buried your bodies in the Adventurer's Cemetary. What do you think would happen if you turned up after your Familia put, you're bodies in the ground?" I countered.

"They burried us already? They think we're dead?" Leena inquired.

"You died in Orario so, yes you are dead there and they buried your bodies." I agreed.

"I don't know what they would think if we showed up, now." Leena said with shock and worry on her face.

"So, we're stuck here?" Lloyd said more then asked.

I chuckled. "I wouldn't put it quite that way, but yes, you are here for the rest of your lives." I informed them. "Just think of it as if you converted to a different Familia and now you are members of my Familia here on Pern." I tried to make it easier for them to adjust to being on Pern.

"That kind of makes since. We're just in a different Familia that's not in Orario." Leena said.

"I think I can go with that. It does kind of make since." Lloyd added.

"Where are we going to live then?" Leena looked at Lloyd and asked.

"I don't know." Lloyd answered her.

"As I said before, you can work for me for now. You'll get a place to stay, food and a little spending money. Although they don't use valis here, they use what they call Marks for money. I'll show you where your rooms are if you want to stick around. But I will warn you there are hazards here that can kill you if you don't know what to look out for." I offered.

Leena and Lloyd looked at each other for a few moments. "What do you think?" Leena asked Lloyd.

Lloyd made a face and shrugged his shoulders. "It's all we have for now." He admitted.

I turned to Dawn. "Before I show these two the house. I know a lot of what Eabha's abilities are you don't need, but they will help her. Plus, she does have some abilities I'm sure you can use. She can go to the theater and watch a show and you can see it through her eyes. And you can have a conversation with anyone through Eabha. It's not perfect, but at least you will get to see some shows and talk to people when they're not here with you."

Dawn gave me a big smile. "Thank you, lord Eilwyn. It was generous of you to give me Eabha. I'll cherish her for as long as I live." Dawn told me.

"You are more than welcome." I replied.

Turning back to Leena and Lloyd, I smiled. "Follow me." I said and gave them the fifty-cent tour of the house. Ending the tour, I showed then the Cafe, the Bakery and the apartment they could use.

I gave Lloyd Normalization. "I will let you know that outside my Hold. A Hold is what they call your house and/or land you own. So, a Hold can be hundreds of square miles. But, as I was saying, outside of my Hold there are no demi-humans. And so you know, this world is a lot different than back in Orario. There is no magic here, no potions for healing or anything else like that. Although with what the two of you did in Orario. I would say you are probably above average in strength, durability and agility. So, you have that going for you." I told them.

I turned to Taima. "Would you go find Kangee and let her know I want to see her, please?" I asked Taima.

Taima smiled. "I'm on it." She said and walked away.

As we waited for Kangee, I took them back to the Cafe. "Have a seat." I motioned with my hand for them to sit down then I took a seat myself. "As I said before, this is 'the Cafe'. You can come here and eat and it doesn't cost you anything. The same goes for 'the Bakery'." I told them as Cammie came out to the table.

"May I take your order?" Cammie asked us.

"Hello Cammie, how are you doing today?" I greeted Cammie.

"I'm good. How are you, lord Eilwyn?" She replied.

"I'm doing better now seeing your pretty face." I told Cammie.

Cammie blushed and smiled. "Thank you." She said as she looked at the table.

"I'll take a sweet tea." I told Cammie then looked at Lloyd and Leena. "Do you want anything?" I asked them.

Lloyd and Leena told Cammie what they wanted, and Cammie left to fill our orders.

Kangee walked into the Cafe. "Taima said you wanted me." She said as she walked over to me and gave me a hug.

I returned the hug. "Have a seat." I offered.

Kangee sat down beside me, and I told her what was happening with Lloyd and Leena. "I would appreciate it if you would help them out. You know, guide them in what they need to know about thread, the dragons and dangers. They can take, say, five days to get used to being here. After that they can decide what they want to do." I told Kangee.

Cammie brought our drinks out and put them on the table. Cammie looked at Kangee. "Can I get you anything, Kangee?" Cammie asked.

"No think you. I'm good for now." Kangee replied.

Cammie walked back to the kitchen.

I turned to Leena and Lloyd. "Kangee is in charge of security at my Hold. But, for now there's not much need for security. So, I'm putting you in her capable hands." I told them and made introductions all around. "Get them each a set of shifting clothes if you would. I'll take them to Landing tomorrow so they can see the stores and what's going on there. They can take the rest of today to get settled in." I told Kangee.

I looked at Lloyd and Leena. "Kangee will be your guide. She will let you know just about anything you need to know about Pern. You might ask her about the beach. It's out the back door. I didn't show you that." I suggested.

I turned to Kangee before she could lead the two off. "They can use The Apartment for now. You might want to take them there first so they know where they can sleep." I suggested.

Kangee nodded her head in understanding. "I'll do that." She said then Kangee gave me a hug and a kiss.

I returned the hug and kiss, then I released Kangee so she could do what I had asked her to do.

==========

The Next morning, I showed Lloyd and Leena how to use the port points and took them to Landing.

I told them a little of the history of Landing and about Landing being found after a very long time.

We stopped by The Market and my stores. "They don't make magic swords here but most everyone carries a knife for protection and/or for eating with. Sucki is our Hold's local black smith. She makes knives and other items to sell in one of our stores. And Willow makes jewelry to sell as well." I told Lloyd and Leena as we walked though the store.

"Hello Eilwyn." Willow said.

"Hi Willow." I said and walked over and kissed Willow on the cheek.

"Where's mine?" Yuki asked giving me a fake pout.

I chuckled and walked over to Yuki. I gave her a hug and a kiss of the cheek. "That better?" I asked.

"Much." Yuki replied with a smile on her face.

"Who are your friends?" Willow Asked.

"I'm sure you've seen them around the Hold. This is Leena and he's Lloyd." I introduced them.

"What Hold did you move from? Yuki asked them.

"We're not from a Hold. We're from Orario." Leena replied.

I looked around to make sure no one was close other than one of my girls. No one was in the store other then us at the moment. "I should let you know. It's not really a good thing to talk about where you came from. The people here other than those in my Hold, don't know about Orario. So you shouldn't go around talking about Loki, the Dungeon, monsters and Orario when your out and about, unless you make sure no one is around. You can talk about any of that when your back at the Hold." I suggested.

"Ok." "Gotcha." They replied.

I'm going to show them the restaurant, next." I told Willow and Yuki.

"See you back home then." Willow said as she walked over to me and gave me a hug.

After leaving 'The Forge', what we named the store where we sell the knives and jewelry, I took them to our restaurant at The Market. We are still working on what to name it. But then, on Pern they don't really give names to any of the shops, so we are starting a new trend with giving our stores names.

"We sell what the locals consider new foods here. Crystal and Robbie are working here today." I told them, then introduced Lloyd and Leena to Crystal and Robbie.

"How is business" I asked Crystal.

Crystal came over and gave me a hug. "We're doing pretty good. It hasn't been too busy but we have been getting several customers." Yuki told me.

I returned Crystal's hug, and I gave her a kiss. "That's good. We haven't' been open for very long and we are competing against the food tent where the workers can get free food. Once most of Landing has been excavated and more people come to take classes, we should start getting more customers." I assured Crystal and Robbie.

"I hope so. I want this place to make good money." Robbie said as she walked over to us.

Again, I made introduction.

"Why is it everyone you know are women?" Leena asked.

I chuckled. "That is kind of a long and complicated story. It wasn't planned but all the people that live at my Hold, other than myself, are girls. That's not counting Lloyd, here. He's the second male living at my Hold now." I replied. "I do know several men. Masterharper Robinton, Lord Holder Jaxom, Masterharper Sebil, Harper Journeyman Piemur and a few others." I added.

"Masterharper? Harper journeyman? What are they?" Lloyd asked.

"Pern works on craft halls and apprenticeships. The Harper Hall is a group that teaches by using songs. They also entertain and spread news. There is also the Smith Craft Hall, they make tools and about anything else a black smith would make. And the Healer Hall which of course works on healing people the natural way. As I told you before they don't have potions or spells to heal anybody here. Sucki is a Journeyman or Journeywoman in the Smith Craft Hall. So technically she is Journeywoman Sucki, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you just call her Sucki." I explained.

"As I said Kangee will fill you in on all of that, or she can get you a book or two about the terms they use here and how the planet is run and organized." I offered.

"Do you have a Tital?" Leena asked me.

"Since I own a very large Hold. My Tital is lord Eilwyn or lord Holder Eilwyn. I'm not big on people calling me by my Tital but there are some lord Holders that insist you use their totals. I told Leena. "I'll leave you in Kangee's capable hands and I'll see you back at Tel Aviv Hold. Tel Aviv is the name of my Hold. The smaller Holds on my land also have names, but you'll learn them with time." I finished and sent them on their way with Kangee.

==========

I ported back to Tel Aviv Hold and went to the Lab.

Welf and Mercedes where there are usual. "Hi Mercedes." I said as I walked into the Lab.

"Hello Eilwyn." Mercedes replied without even looking up.

I chuckled to myself. 'That's Mercedes.' I thought to myself and walked over to Welf.

"Hello Welf." I said to let Welf know I was there.

Welf looked up from the sword he was working on. "Hello Eilwyn. You here to explain why those two are here?" He asked.

I chuckled at Welf's bluntness. "If you can take a break, yes." I told Welf.

"Ya, I guess I could take a break." Welf said and put the sword he was working on by the forge and laid his hammer down and looked at me. "How'd they get here?" Welf asked.

I leaned back against a table and crossed my arms over my chest. "Before the Loki Familia went into the man-made Dungeon Knossos. I had Dawn put several of their member's names on the tomb stones, just in case." I started.

"Just in case of what?"

"Just in case any of them were to be killed while in Knossos. I had helped them out some in an attempt to prevent any deaths, but there was no telling what would happen, so I had Dawn put the names on the tomb stones so if any of them were to die, they would show up here in front of the tomb stone with their name on it whole and healthy." I explained.

"Why would you allow members of the Loki Familia to come here?" Welf asked confused.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Why not? They're not bad people in general. They were killed by a member of Evilus as they tried to check out Knossos. And because they were killed, they showed up here. Besides, they are no longer members of the Loki Familia. Their falna vanished when they died. I explained that to them and that they can't go back to Orario." I told Welf. I cocked my head to the side. "Weeelll, technically I could take them back, but I don't think that would be such a good idea. If word got around that People didn't really have to die, they would be clamoring all over me trying to get me to have their names put on the tomb stones here. And I definitely don't want that." I added.

Welf nodded his head in understanding. "Oh, ya, I can see how that would be a big problem. So, they are here permanently, and they are free of Loki's blessing?" Welf stated more then asked.

I nodded my head in agreement. "Yes, they have no falna and they are here for the rest of their lives." I admitted.

"If they're going to be living here, who are they? I might as well know who they are."

"The male cat person is Lloyd, and the human girl is Leena. I'm not sure if they're going to stay here yet. I told them, they could take a few days to get adjusted to being here. After that, they could work for me or go to Landing and work there. We'll just have to see if they stay or not. Although, since they know me some or at least they've seen me and my Team around Orario, they'll probably stay here for a while. I told them they could apprentice under Verdi and Heather and learn about raising cattle or they could apprentice under Snowdrop and Violet and learn how to work the orchards and gardens. I also suggested they could work in our stores at Landing." I informed Welf.

Welf shrugged his shoulders. "It's not my place to tell you what to do here and I don't really see anything wrong with your thinking. But what do I know is I'm just a smith." Welf said with a chuckle.

"I'm glad it meets your approval." I replied with a grin. "I'll let you get back to your work." I said and turned to leave the Lab.

"Ya, get out of here. I have several orders to work on. I don't need you slowing me down." Welf said with his usual cheeky grin on his face.

==========

I left Leena and Lloyd to settle in and I went about the usual business of running my hold.

This week we would be putting up the tower for the radio station. Most of the equipment for the station was already set up inside the building at Midway Hold. Now we have to put up the tower and connect everything together to see if we can send the radio signal.

It was named Midway Hold because it is midway between Billings Hold and Tel Aviv Hold as well as midway from the east border and west border of my Hold. So, Midway Hold. Yes, I know, not very creative, but it works.

Crystal, Gina and Robbie volunteered to help me put up the tower.

Mercedes constructed a three-sided tower in twenty-foot sections, with the base being ten feet from pole to pole. Each section has a flat plate on each pole, The plates line up with the bottom plates of the next section and the two sections are bolted together. Even though there are not planes on Pern there is still a flashing light on the top of the tower so dragons and their riders can see where the tower is at night.

Crystal, Gina and Robbie were equipped with pouches to hold the nuts and bolts and two wrenches to tighten the nuts and bolts with. As well and safety harnesses for safety. Although if they did happen to fall they could just shapeshift into their dragon or bird forms and fly back up to the top of the tower. And each girl took a different pole on the tower to work on. While I will use my telekinesis to lift each section of the tower up and set and hold it in place so the girls can bolt the two sections together. I can also fly up as I lift each tower section up, so it will be easier to set the upper section to the lower section.

Putting all the sections of the tower together took six hours. It probably would have gone faster, but the girls were having too much fun bossing me around in what direction the upper section of tower needed to go to match up with the lower section.

The next two days Mercedes and I connected all the wiring so we could broadcast up to the spaceship the Yokohama above Landing, using the Yokohama as a satellite, and to also broadcast horizontally for local receivers. Although most people will receive the radio signals from our radio station via the Yokohama.

We will probably have to make a few satellites to bounce the radio signal off of to reach all of the Holds in the north. But that can wait for now.

==========

I met up with Leena and Lloyd in the Cafe after they had been at the Hold for four days. I wanted to see how they were settling in.

I walked into the Cafe and upon seeing Leena and Lloyd siting at one of the tables I walked over to them. "May I sit with you?" I asked.

"Sure." Lloyd said and motioned to an empty seat.

I sat down and smiled. "What do you think of the place so far?" I asked looking at both of them.

"It is a lot to get used to. I've lived so long in Orario, I'm not used to not having so many people and shops around all the time." Leena answered.

Lloyd nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, it's so strange to go out and not see anyone. It's kind of spooky. But it's also kind of nice to go out and actually see trees, bushes and animals instead of roads and buildings everywhere." He replied.

"Although there isn't any place to buy anything." Leena added.

I chuckled. "Yes, it's a lot different here, but it's nice here as well. As for shopping. There is the shop in the hall. The sign is over the door. They have just about anything you would want and then some. But if you're looking for local merchandise. I'll have to take you to one of the next Gathers they have here." I told them.

"Gathers? What's that?" Leena asked.

"They don't really have regular stores here other than at 'The Market' at Landing, and I came up with that idea and set it in motion. But, normally at a Hold they don't really have normal stores so when there is a rest day that no Thread is going to fall, they have a Gather. The local craft halls, bakeries, brewers and such gather at the local Hold square and set up booths so they can sell their merchandise. It's usually an all-day thing because small holders come in and might sell or buy animals. They'll also can buy other things they need. The local Harpers will usually play and sing to entertain the people and if there are enough Harpers they'll set up a dance square for dancing." I informed Leena and Lloyd. "The Gathers are somewhat different in each Hold. At Ruatha Hold lord Jaxom will usually have horse races. Although here on Pern they call horses runner beasts and cows are called heard beasts. At Benden Hold there is always a lot of music, singing and dancing because the Harper Hall is at Bendon Hold. So, they always have more than enough Harpers to entertain the people during a Gather." I added.

"That sounds nice. When is the next Gather?" Leena asked.

I'm not sure. Right now, almost everyone lives on the northern continent. So, I'd have to check thread fall for each major Hold to see when and where the next Gather will be. I'm sure several of the girls here would like to go to a gather as well." I replied.

"Have either of you figured out what you want to do here?" I asked, changing the subject.

Lloyd shrugged his shoulders. "I'm so used to killing monsters in the Dungeon. I'm not sure what I want to do sense I can't do that, here." He admitted.

"That makes since. You might try doing different things for a couple weeks. That is, try working with the cattle for a couple weeks then working with the orchards for a couple weeks. Then work one of the stores for a couple weeks. That would give you an idea of what it would be like to do those jobs. If you still want to 'fight' I'm sure Kange and Kimmy would let you try out being a Hold guard. Although right now there's not much for them to do, since we don't have any real neighbors there's not really much of a need for protection right now, other than killing some of the big cats and wild wherries to keep them under control." I suggested.

Lloyd nodded his head. "That might work. What do those jobs pay?" He asked.

"Lloyd!" Leena exclaimed.

I chuckled. "That's all-right Leena. It's an honest question." I told Leena then I turned to answer Lloyd's question. "We're still working on what people earn here. But you're getting free room and board right now and I'll make sure you get a few marks for spending money. And for reference, an apprentice that has one or two marks is considered well off. Oh, and when you buy things here, be prepared to haggle over the price. The prices they put on products here are not firm, you have to haggle to try to get a better price. If you haven't haggled before, it can take a little time and practice to get good at haggling. Some of the girls here can teach you how to haggle if you want. They are quite good at it." I offered.

Lloyd frowned. "That doesn't sound like much money." He told me.

"I understand, but you're not in Orario so the money is different here. It's a rough conversion but add three zeros to the value on the mark and you have close to what the valis value is. So, one mark is worth little over 1,000 valis, probably closer to 1,500 valis, and a two-mark piece would be somewhere around 2,500 valis." I told them. "Plus, the value of things different between Pern and Orario. So, that makes a difference in the prices or value as well. For smaller denominations they have half marks, quarter marks and an eighth marks."

"It's going to be hard to figure all that out." Lloyd said.

I chuckled. "I'm still working on figuring it out, myself." I told Lloyd.

I turned to Leena. "Do you have any ideas of what you want to do here?" I asked her.

"I was a healer and mage. That's all I know what to do." Leena stated.

"As I told Lloyd, you could work at different jobs for a couple weeks each to see what you might like to do." I reiterated.

Leena looked thoughtful and brought her hand up and rubbed her chin for a few moments. "Could I see about working at one of the stores at The Market?" She asked.

I nodded my head in agreement. "That's not a problem. I'm sure Willow would love to show you how to make jewelry when there are no customers around." I replied. "How about starting tomorrow morning? That way Willow can take you with her to Landing and show you what to do." I offered.

Leena gave a quick nod of her head. "That sounds good. What time in the morning?" She replied.

"Be ready to leave here at eight in the morning. I'll let Willow know you'll be joining her." I told Leena.

Leena looked thoughtful for a moment. "I remember Willow. We met her at the store at Landing, right?" She asked.

"Yes, she was working at, The Forge. She has fairly long black hair. Can I tell her? Is she here at the, um, Hold?" Leena said.

I took a moment to do a mental search for Willow. I smiled when I found her. "I don't see why not. Willows in the Theater. It's the room with all the big conferrable chairs in it." I told her.

"I remember that room. I'll go talk to her now." Leena said and stood up to leave.

I turned to Lloyd. "If you haven't figured out what you want to do yet, I have an idea." I started.

Lloyd looked at me. "What would that be?" He asked.

"We just finished setting up the radio station. There are only a couple people that want to be DJ's so we could use more. You could try your hand at working at the radio station." I offered.

"Radio station? DJ's? what is all of that?" Lloyd asked.

"I was getting to that. DJ is short for Disc Jocky. Music and stories were recorded on special discs so they could be played any time you wanted to hear them. So, the people working the radio station were known as Dick Jocky's or DJs for short." I started to explain.

Lloyd had a slightly confused look on his face. "I think I understand that." He said.

"I can show you one of the discs later. The radio station is kind of like when Orario had the war game. If you remember the 'gods' put up magic mirrors so everyone could see what was happening during the war game." I said.

Lloyd nodded his head in understanding. "I remember that. I was rooting for your Familia." He put in.

"Thank you. We appreciate the support. But, the radio station is kind of like the magic mirrors, except it only sends out audio or sound no pictures. The DJ talks at the radio station into a microphone, the sound goes out to radios people can buy that pick up the sound and allows people to hear what the DJ says. And if the DJ plays a disc that does the same thing. That way people can hear the music, stories, news and weather wherever they are as long as they have a radio to listen to." I told Lloyd.

The confused look disappeared from Lloyd's face. "I think I understand. So, when do you use the radio station?"

"Since we just set it up, we haven't used it yet. I need to give it a trial run. But as for when we use the station. We are hoping to get enough DJ's to be able to run the radio station twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. Although right now we only have Gina and Amber that want to be Dj's. So, we'll only broadcast. That is what it is called when you are sending out the audio from the station to the individual radios, broadcast. We will only be able to broadcast the radio shows for eight to ten hours each day. That means Amber and Gina will work four to five hours on Air every day they work. So, the more Dj's we can get the longer we can broadcast each day. That means if you wanted to be a DJ, we could broadcast for twelve to fifteen hours per day." I explained.

Lloyd looked thoughtful but didn't say anything.

"How about we go to the radio station. That way you can have a look around and I can give the station a trial run." I suggested.

Lloyd shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I could take a look. I'm not doing anything else right now." He replied with a light chuckle.

"Taima, would you go tell Mercedes we need her at Midway Hold to give the radio station a test run." I asked.

"I'll let her know." Taima replied and headed off to do as I had asked.

As I stood up. "Let's go. We can have a look around before Mercedes shows up." I suggested.

"Ok." Lloyd replied and stood up as well.

I led the way to the port point to Midway Hold. Once at Midway Hold, I gave Lloyd a tour of the radio station. Mercedes walked into the control room as I was showing Lloyd around.

"I was in the middle of a project when Taima interrupted me about testing the radio station." Mercedes said in a huff.

"You're always in the middle of a project, Dear heart." I told Mercedes as I put my arms around her and gave her a hug and a kiss.

Mercedes put her arms around me and returned the hug. "I'll let it go this time." She teased.

I released Mercedes and took a step back. "Well, we need to see if everything is in working order." I stated.

Mercedes looked over at Lloyd. "Who's he?" She asked me.

"Mercedes, this is Lloyd. He is from Orario. Lloyd, this is Mercedes. She's our local tinkerer. She can build or repair almost anything she can think of." I made introductions.

"Nice to meet you." Lloyd said and gave Mercedes a bow.

"Yes, nice to meet you." Mercedes replied. "Shall we get to work." She continued as she headed towards the control room.

I looked at Lloyd with a grin. "That's just how Mercedes is. She prefers tinkering or building things than talking to people." I told Lloyd.

Lloyd nodded his head in understanding. "I see."

Mercedes took a seat at the radio station's control panel. She flipped a couple switches and moved some of the sliders. Then she put a disc into the player. Once everything was to her satisfaction, she turned in the chair.

"Get one of the radios and set it to our frequency, 100 on the dial. Take it to Tel Aviv Hold and see if you can hear anything." Mercedes told me.

I gave Mercedes a salute. "Yes, ma'am!" I replied somewhat formally.

Mercedes blushed and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry." She said just above a whisper.

"I'm teasing you, Mercedes. You're the boss over setting up the radio station and getting it running, so you should be giving orders and telling others what to do." I told Mercedes and put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her to me, and I kissed her on the top of her head.

"Then get busy then." Mercedes told me with a smile on her face.

"Yes, Ma'am!" I said again with another salute. But this time Mercedes grinned and turned back to the control panel.

I turned to Lloyd. "Let's go. I'll get a radio from storage, and we can go back to Tel Aviv Hold and see if we can get a signal." I told him.

Lloyd looked around for a moment, then he looked at me. "Ya, sure." He replied.

I lead Lloyd out of the room and down the hall to a storage room. There were many radios the girls had built lining shelves along the wall. I walked over and picked one up then I turned to Lloyd.

"Back to Tel Aviv Hold." I said and headed out to the port point that would take us back home.

"It's a lot of walking back and forth." Lloyd stated.

I chuckled. "It can be, but at least we have the port points to make it easier. At least it's not Daedalus Street. And I'll tell you that only my Hold has port points. The rest of Pern doesn't know about port points, yet." I explained.

"Oh, ya, Daedalus Street. Don't bring that place up. It gives me nightmares just thinking of having to go there." Lloyd told me and shivered.

Once we were back at Tel Aviv Hold. I lead Lloyd through the house and to the gazebo out by the beach. I sat down and offered Lloyd a seat as well. Lloyd sat down across from me at one of the tables. I set the radio on the table between us and turned the dial to channel or frequency 100 and waited to see what would happen.

If this works, Mercedes will have to set up a relay on the Yokohama so we can broadcast up to the Yokohama and it can relay the signal back to the planet.

[We are ready, when you are.] I sent to Mercedes.

[What do you want to hear?] Mercedes asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. Ya, I know she can't see me. [The Sound of Silence, Believe it or Not, some American Indian flute music or some Celtic hammered dulcimer music. Which every you have handy.] I replied.

[Let me see what I can find.] Mercedes told me.

After a minute or so. [Okay, I've got it. You should be hearing it any time now.] Mercedes announced.

As soon as Mercedes told me, I could hear it. The song "Sound of Silence" started playing.

Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams, I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone 'Neath the halo of a streetlamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light, I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs that voices never shared No one dared Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools", said I, "You do not know Silence like a cancer grows Hear my words that I might teach you Take my arms that I might reach you" But my words like silent raindrops fell And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls In tenement halls" And whispered in the sounds of silence

[We can hear it. It's coming in loud and clear. Good work Mercedes.] I sent to Mercedes congratulating her on a job well done.

Lloyd sat listening to the song with wide eye and an open mouth. "Th-that's coming from where Mercedes is?" He asked shocked and surprised.

I nodded my head in agreement. "Ya, that's coming from the radio station where Mercedes is. Now that it is up and running, we can start broadcasting songs, weather, news and whatever else we want to broadcast. Let's go back to Midway Hold and let Mercedes know it's working and the signal is loud and clear." I told Lloyd.

I left the radio on the table while Lloyd and I took the port point back to Midway Hold.

We walked into the control room of the Radio station. Or is that, the broadcast booth? I guess it really doesn't matter what we call it.

"It was loud and clear." I told Mercedes as we walked into the room.

"Ya, you told me. Now all we have to do is see if we can relay the signal off of the Yokohama and back to the planet. But until then we can broadcast to the Hold." Mercedes told me.

[suspicious-pools-of-blood]

Tag Game

I was tagged by @i-can-even-burn-salad.

Favorite video game: I really like Oblivion and Assassin's Creed; I'll go with AC: Revelations, the third game in the Ezio trilogy. Broadly speaking I think the Ezio games are the best in the series (though I haven't yet played past AC3), but Revelations is set in İstanbul so it's way more fun for me because I can check out all the places I've been irl, and sometimes random characters yell at you in Turkish which is really funny to me now that I can understand them.

Favorite video game character: Yusuf from Revelations because he looks kind of like my brother lmao

Favorite movie or TV series: Shocking absolutely nobody who has ever looked at my main blog, Xena: Warrior Princess.

Favorite movie or TV series character: Xena herself, no question

Hobbies: leatherworking, writing, sketching, rock climbing

Obsessions: Have I mentioned Xena yet? Because whenever I'm not thinking about my OCs, I'm thinking about Xena.

Favorite genre/type of background music for whump daydreams: Usually I listen to specific songs/playlists for my OCs, since my whump daydreams tend to be about specific characters. Genre is kind of all over the place, but tends to be the type of music I would describe as "vibes" (which I'm aware does not narrow it down at all, especially given I probably have a different definition of vibing music than most).

Favorite whump trope: Ough I'm supposed to just pick one?! OK not necessarily my favorite, but one I like a lot, is whumpees whose trauma turns them into whumpers. Cycles of abuse and whatnot.

Favorite whump pairing: Edit: whoops forgot to answer this one. Uhhh can I put my own OCs? Because if so, Elvan and Asenath; more broadly though any pairing where one person gets hurt and the other person goes feral in response, be it out of defense or revenge.

First time you experienced whumperflies: That scene in Disney's Aladdin where Alaadin is in a prison cell with his wrists shackled to the wall above his head. I haven't seen that movie since I was a very little kid but that's the one scene that stuck in my mind haha

Favorite whump scene from a piece of media: A couple scenes jump to mind from Xena. The first is actually from the show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, of which Xena: Warrior Princess is a spin-off. The episode is called "The Gauntlet" and is one of the episodes that introduces Xena as a character. As the title implies, the climax of the episode is when Xena's general overthrows her and takes her army, and her own soldiers make her run the gauntlet. Joseph LoDuca has my entire heart and soul for the soundtrack in that scene, and the direction is fuckin impeccable. The other scene is from season 6 of Xena's own show, an episode titled "Who's Gurkhan?" in which (for various plot reasons I won't get into here) Xena and Gabrielle both separately sell themselves into slavery to a sultan; Gabrielle tries to assassinate the sultan but Xena sees her about to go for him and knocks her out cold, stealing the knife, so that they would think it was her instead of Gabrielle; she also plays it off as if she was attacking Gabrielle out of jealousy, rather than there being any threat to the sultan. Anyway the relevant bit is that Xena gets taken to the dungeons and tortured at length, mostly just getting the absolute shit beat out of her, including while being hung upside down by shackles on her ankles. 10/10 incredible whump tbh, while there she also hallucinates Gabrielle bellydancing in front of her because that show is gay as all fuck.

A book you would recommend, whump or not: I would highly recommend the historical fiction Lady Slayers series by Lana Popović! There are two books (so far); Blood Countess, about Erzsébet Báthory, and Poison Priestess, about Catherine Monvoisin. They're overtly queer and very very well written (and decently whumpy tbh).

Add your own question: Favorite whump scene from a book?

I'm leaving this as an open tag as usual; if you want to do it, consider yourself tagged!

[discordapples]

PT. 11 The Mimic

Word count: 2.8k (9 mins read)

Characters: Ominis Gaunt, Sebastian Sallow, Livia Novik.

Summary

Livia, Ominis and Sebastian find themselves once again in the company of the Collector. They learn more about the enigmatic entity that inhabits the Room of Requirement and its motives...

Read the eleventh chapter below.

Livia | Hogwarts, Early September, 1893.

For the rest of the afternoon, Livia spends her time cutting herself on serrated memories she wishes she had kept fastened in her trunk. Digging for the Mimic implied rummaging through the sundries she brought all the way from Ukraine.

Laurence's pocket watch, her mother's hairbrush, her father's glasses, all are scattered through silken scarves and poplin skirts for safe keep.

The last mementoes of a culled family.

The ballast of solitude ties itself to her waist, keeping her rooted to the floor of her bedroom for an hour and dewing her eyes with tears as her fingers skitter along the objects that are a testimony to a life that is no longer hers to hold.

After her momentary lapse, Livia leaves her dormitory, the handheld mirror in tow, to join Ominis and Sebastian before the Room of Requirement, where, if the Collector is truthful, the door will appear.

And in the corridor of the Astronomy wing, she finds Sebastian slanting against the wall, hands pocketed, and Ominis pacing his tormented thoughts into submission.

Livia extends a curled roll of paper to Sebastian.

"What's that?" He asks.

"Your question."

"Good to know we spent three hours in the Undercroft for absolutely no reason at all," he jests.

"Having people to brainstorm with is much better than speaking to my reflection in the mirror," she retorts. "Was an afternoon with me such a torture, Sebastian Sallow?"

"I endured worse. I've been bunking with Ominis for seven years." His chin jerks in the Mimic's direction. "And were we so bad at brainstorming that you changed your mind and brought your mirror?"

"This isn't a simple mirror. You inspired me when you mentioned Malisect and how it allows you to relive memories." Ominis drifts closer, his fingers grazing the metallic frame of the mirror. "We had our own Garreth Weasley at the Winter College—Viktor Kozmenko. Except he didn't dabble in potions. His thing was imbuing objects with magic. This is called a Mimic. An enchanted mirror that, if aimed at a subject, will replicate their personality and their reactions. For our Magical Law class, we'd be tested on our ability to defend a case. We'd each be appointed an Inquisitor, so we used the Mimic to capture our Inquisitor's personality and practice with questions they would be likely to ask. If we point the Mimic at the Collector, we'll be able to ask its Mimic as many questions as we like."

Perplexity etches a line between Ominis' brows. "What's to say the Mimic's replies will accurately reflect the Collector's thoughts?"

"Nothing, unfortunately. What the Mimic answers is only hypothetical, and it can be wrong, but it might also give us some insight. See it as a way to learn more about the Collector without asking him directly. A way to circle around his three questions rule."

Sebastian lets out a chuckle. "That's clever. I stand by my belief the Sorting Hat chose right, even though it's a sin to have you locked up in that tower. We have better dorms in the dungeons."

Livia graces him with a sarcastic smile. "I'm sure you're a bliss to wake up to. If one likes to be bullied before their first coffee..."

There it is again, the game sprawling with ease between the two of them. Livia wonders if it feeds Sebastian's fire as much as it does hers, and the oily eyes he gives her tell her he might.

"Who's the bully now?" He asks her playfully before Ominis clears his throat.

"The door..."

Livia and Sebastian whirl around in time to see the portal flicker into existence. The air gorges itself with a strange scent, something between rust and sulfur, and when they step inside, they are faced with the same antiquated looking-glass.

"This is such a bad idea," Ominis mutters.

"You can wait for us here," Livia suggests.

"And leave two morally flexible individuals alone with an evil entity?"

"What a hero you are, Ominis," Sebastian teases him back.

"We don't know if the entity is evil," Livia points out.

Ominis sheds a cynical scoff. "Maybe you two have been sensitively impaired... Couldn't you feel something sinister in that room?"

"The most potent fear is fear of the unknown," Livia voices, and the aphorism whisks an irked sigh from Ominis.

"Can we just proceed before I change my mind?"

As she inches closer to the mirror, it appears to Livia as if the finger stains on its surface have multiplied. Despite her desire to focus on the task at hand, her mind swarms with questions. Questions, she promises herself, she will ask the Mimic about.

She presses the pad of her fingers to the glass and another storm of sounds and light breaks upon them.

When the fury dies out, Livia opens her eyes. They no longer stand in the chaste white room, but rather sit around a long table.

Before them, an unblemished ivory tablecloth is topped with nine candelabras, all fluttering with versicolored flames. It takes Livia but an instant to commit them to memory: Geranium pink, blood red, orphic purple, malachite green, golden yellow, celestial blue, rust orange, vestal white and ink-black.

Why nine?

The dining room is paneled in mahogany wainscot, the upper half of the walls dressed in crimson flourished wallpaper. Hung on the walls, empty frames, florid with intricate tinsel work, their canvas a stygian black swallowing all the light. Glancing around, Livia notes four latched doors—one on each wall—no windows, and a ceiling so high it disappears into a boundless patch of swirly murk, as if a night sky choking with clouds.

Are they still in the castle?

Sebastian and Ominis are respectively seated to her right and left, while the Collector sits at the other end of the table, the tatters of his black cloak churning on each side like tendrils of mist.

There is no smell in the room, no sound beside their own staggering breaths, and Livia wonders how much this kind of sensory deprivation weighs on Ominis.

"First question?"

The Collector's voice is like the cry of young thunder in the stillness of the room. For a fault of perceiving any other sound, Livia's mind is splintered with it and hairs rise on her arm. Perceiving her dismay, Sebastian sets on uncurling his roll of paper.

This provides enough of a distraction for Livia to aim the Mimic's under the table without alerting the Collector.

Sebastian clears his throat as he fumbles needlessly to smooth the curled edges of the paper.

Has he caught on Livia's intentions?

At the opposite end of the table, the Collector is placid; his featureless mask polished as a coin and unmoving.

"What is your true nature?" Sebastian asks when he has wasted enough time.

Again, the sepulchral voice jumps from particles through particles, trawling through the air and conquering it entirely. "I am not alive nor dead. I am sentient, but I cannot feel. I can make, but I am not made. I have desires, but no way to satiate them."

The gears in Livia's mind turn full-steam, but so do her other two companions'. When Sebastian opens his mouth to voice another question, her hand shoots to his arm, and he clenches his jaw shut.

There will be enough time to ponder over the Collector's words. Even more to interrogate its Mimic in the rustic comfort of the Undercroft.

For now, Livia focuses her attention back on the Collector. "You gave us three questions and time to ponder over them," she remarks, "undoubtedly to establish a form of trust with us. What do you have to gain in such a transaction?"

"The potential to feed on your emotions through you."

"You have desires, but no way to satiate them..." Livia parrots for herself. Slowly—collectedly—the entity nods.

She wants to ask which desires he hungers for, how he will feed, if he requires of his proxies to merely act the desires or feel them truly, but she is out of questions.

The third is reserved for Ominis.

Livia has designed it to be a show of trust. A necessary sacrifice of an insightful inquiry, if Livia hopes to convince the cautious wizard to help her and Sebastian in their cause, for it is now apparent to her that he has nothing to gain from finding the Promissum Mortis; that he doesn't share the same longing or the desperation to knife through rules.

What he did so far, he did for Sebastian.

But she is no one to him. As he said it himself, she is not Slytherin. She is not one of them.

Ominis understands her forgetfulness as an intended gesture and turns a perplexed expression on her. "You didn't slip me a paper."

The wager is a dangerous one, and Livia knows she might allow a lick of fire to run over the trust bridging her and Sebastian together. Maybe he will assume she thinks little of his abilities, but she is persuaded she can mend the torn seams later.

He seems to her like the kind of man that can weather a little scorch.

"I trust you," she tells Ominis, and just as surely as she postulated, Sebastian's knuckles tighten around his piece of paper, his gaze knifing seethingly on the tablecloth.

Ominis stiffens, more furrows creasing his forehead, but he relents, his sightless eyes going in the general direction of the voice he perceived. "Exhaustively, what does that feeding entail?"

There is no change in the Collector's gait, and when he speaks, it is akin to a puppet mouthing the words of an invisible ventriloquist. "In order for me to feed, the nourisher needs to experience an emotion genuinely. During this happening, I will attach my twine to the skin of the nourisher. This process is painless, albeit uncomfortable. Once the twine is attached, I will leech on the emotion for a few minutes. The more powerful the emotion, the faster the process. Once I have absorbed the emotion, the nourisher will experience a short period of euphoria, followed by a mild fatigue. The leeching process has no other serious consequence on the human body besides those aforementioned. The leeching can only happen in this room and with a consenting nourisher. Nine times, I need to feed to sustain me for a decade."

The word parasite is the first that chisels itself into Livia's mind. An icky concept to most, but she knows not all parasites entertain a vampiric relationship with their host.

Sometimes, the relationship can be mutually beneficial.

"I believe you had a question for us," Livia remarks.

The Collector lifts a bony hand, his fingers outstretching in their direction, and for a heartbeat, Livia thinks him about to cast a hex on them, but instead he twists his wrist so his palm face up and from the vast expanse of the table burgeons a banquet. First, intricate silverware, then crystal chalices and baroque ewers, at last, a coterie of fruits and cheeses, heaps of steaming meat.

Smells effloresce through the room, filling the space just as much as the entity's voice.

"You cannot pull things from the veil of reality like I do," he explains, "but you are finite and this finitude allows you to hold within you the material and the ethereal like—"

"Feelings?" Livia suggests.

The Collector nods. "You can eat and drink. I can pull through the strings of reality, weave a new tapestry of possibles, fabricate anything, provided it is tangible."

Livia leans forward. "Only fallacies or originals?"

"I can give you anything you want, whether from this world or another, provided you can touch it with your fingers."

"Even the Promissum Mortis?" Sebastian asks, and Livia's fingers tighten around the brass handle of the Mimic.

A flush of heat blooms beneath her cheeks at the imprudence of telling the entity what they are truly after, but the words have escaped Sebastian's lips and it cannot be helped.

The Collector nods.

"You said you had a question for us?" Livia asks their host, eager to leave the entity's vicinity before Sebastian can think of sharing the exact coordinates to their dorms.

"If given the same opportunity, would those you wish to save squander it?"

Livia's heart squeezes, but she lets nothing show. Instead, she lifts her chin. "A waste of a question on a rhetorical one."

"It is only rhetorical because you know the answer to it," the Collector replies passively. Another gesture on his part dissolves all the food on the table, and it is as if there was none at all. "The arcane object you hold under the table will not wield the answers you seek, Livia Novik. I have pondered over any you could think of, and always came short. You cannot understand me. No more than I can."

"Let us have a sample before we make our decision," Livia suggests, her heart pounding at her brazenness. "You made a banquet appear before our eyes, yet you didn't allow us to eat. Let us have a taste of your leeching, and I'll let you have a bite of my emotions. If we both find it palatable, then I'll consider discussing terms with you." Above their heads, the dark fog churns and churns. Livia doesn't falter. "You said the nourisher has to consent to you feeding on them. You need to earn my trust, and this is how you will."

"Agree to her terms," Sebastian adds, "and you'll have at least two people to feed on."

The Collector rises from his seat, the shreds of his cloak winging up in the air. "If the third agrees to participate in the first leeching, I will warrant you a limitation. A safety, to show my good intentions. Ponder over my offer, and return to me when your heart hungers for its missing piece."

Livia nods, her heart lurching against her ribs, and when the squall of the Collector's tempest simmers down from the ceiling and swallows them, Livia, Sebastian and Ominis are surrendered back into the corridor instead of a noose of bedsheets.

"I'm starting to believe you are more Slytherin than Ravenclaw bargaining with that thing like you did," Ominis says as soon as their senses have trickled back into their limbs.

"It was quite sly, indeed," Sebastian adds, bitterness bleeding through his tone.

The blow shouldn't have landed through her armor, yet Livia feels it bludgeoning all the same. "Ominis, would you mind giving me a minute alone with Sebastian?"

"I'm exhausted, anyway," the Slytherin replies before leaving them to their meeting.

Sebastian's jaw is corded, his gaze fleeting and dark, the slants of his face sharper.

Something inside of Livia coils into its shell—something brittle, frightened.

The questions that swell through her mind are agitated. Dreading.

Would she have held her ground before the entity is she was alone?

Could she dive into the Collector's chasmal uncertainties if she had no one to hold her?

Why is the idea of seeing him walk away from her knifing so deep into her gut?

"I know what I did wrong," she confesses. "I didn't mean for you to think I don't trust you."

His jaw loosens, but he cannot speak, or else she will lose the courage to bare herself, so her fingers twine around his arm, and already his heat blisters through her as if it is a sentient thing eager to slide into the cracks in her ice.

"I'm a stranger here, Sebastian," she tells him. "Maybe I'm being presumptuous in saying so, but you're the only one who trusts me. You know, before the dueling night, I lied to the other Ravenclaw students by pretending I didn't speak English. Then I used a bad spell and nearly maimed a girl. A few days later, I asked Ominis to damage his reputation for me—a stranger..."

Sebastian gelid demeanor thaws with her touch, the angles of his face planed by her words. "His reputation is already beyond repair... But I thought you didn't care about Hogwarts."

"I shouldn't," she replies, "and maybe it doesn't show on my face, but when I walk in a classroom and all conversations stop, it... hurts me. So I suppose I do care. At least a little..." she sheds a lithe scoff. "I guess the Collector could've fed on these inconvenient insecurities of mine." She turns her face to him. "I know he'd be replete with my sorrow if I lost the only friend I made here."

A smirk cracks through the varnish of Sebastian's ire and when it has completely slipped from his features, he tugs her along as she hangs at his arm. "I hope you're an early riser, new girl."

The tight coil inside of her loosens and she is able to relinquish a smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Because making you as popular as me will take a good day or two. So we better start early."

[stxrmnight]

Tentative Rewrite of the Void Patches

So, I alluded in my Void patch posts that I didn't vibe with some decisions. But can it be any better!

Surely! I feel they just forced some areas cause they wanted one dungeon per endwalker era (with the last one being, space in a way). The one that sticks out like a sore thumb is the Aetherfont, cute as it may be at points. Even with that, I feel swapping the order around can do a lot for fixing the most jarring things

Endwalker Patch Spoilers of course

First of all, all of 6.3 should be in Radz-at-han. It should center around passing time with Zero as she tries to explore the town and the outside nature, all while the brains are trying to improve Alzdaal's Legacy portal for Vrtra's draconic form, or seeing if they could make it go to other places in the Void

Thanks to that, we spend more time with Zero causing troubles and miscommunication around town, still insisting to interact thru barter even when many aspects of the town feel familiar. This is why she is wandering in the first place: chasing the memories repressed of being the protector of a village. Since reparting bread felt familiar, she must have done other active community things. By going through the town and villages this way, her comments would indirectly tell us about life in the Thirteenth building up to that eventual instance later.

But, is it totally implied her memories are repressed rather than back end? I argue being twisted by Fandaniel likely caused mental trauma, and she talks about the bread in Garlemald like something new but familiar, not something she knew of before. Her seeking these memories actively would lead her to get out of the barter logic herself than be therapy add libbed by others, which would be much more satisfying to see happening!

But the shift to oppenness wouldn't be instsnt of course. Zero has done all this exploration, but she has not recovered her memories. She might still be apprehensive of WoL pointing her actions are out of barter ways, justifying as simple adapting to the logic of "those who don't toil in the wheel. Just because I understand it doesn't mean I will be blindly trustful. I'm still in debt to you at the end of the way." The WoL could then ask, does she really want to leave them? Cause they don't intend to hold her captive. They only brought her here to heal her

Suddenly, there is a distant explosion: Rubicante has broken through Vrtra's voidgate, so him and Ysthola have no choice but to shield everyone as Rubicante launches destructive flames instantly. Y'sthola linkshells to warn of the oncoming danger, but Rubicante arrives to the hill just to contemplate and await for a peaceful death

To make Golbez' plan less on the nose, I would have Rubicante say Azdaja is trapped on the Moon, and react to Zero talking of the First. I found it odd she didn't mention it. I also would make her speech not suddenly judge her own kind for trying to survive, but find value in the logic of this world with life, which the Void lost way before the flood and being corrupted. That would be a more satisfying development that is halfway there (no fire in chest yet, just more logical perception autism style)

Because of the loss of the Voidgate, we go to the Aetherfont this patch to prepare to make a portal to the moon, and the brains go back to work while the aether transport takes a LOT of time. It's only the first step in getting it done after all. Urianger wouldn't do his weird condescending dialogue, but only call for Thancred for support. I do think he could have been a fun opportunity for banted and clash as the more socially going person in the cast. MLM WLW animosity

So what does this imply? Yes, putting 6.3 Garlemald plot in 6.4 before Golbez instead.

We go to Garlemald straight to prepare the tower, which by rolequests have stablished, is still used by Garleans themselves to go to the moon and back from research!!! So it has been used before, and there is no reason to fear any transmission really. The aether storage could actually be teleported and used directly on the moon by the loporrits. Why did they make it beam like the Crystal Tower lol

So yes, it's cutting the whole deal with the bigoted politician cause it's a waste of time

In helping the twins while the others make arrangements, Zero and Alisae interact more and we get more funny bite out of Zero and her foodie tendencies almost doing anything for food, which the WoL has to put a stop to before she reaches her own limits.

The leadup for the voidsent instance can still happen. Zero is still operating on barter logic while trying hard to stick to selfishness, and so her deja vu hits harder as we realize her cover was a cover to her frustration at failing to protect others in the past, reflecting her dismissal of friendship and trust to be a mistake... and then the rescue happens as usual :)

We go to Lapis Manalis to find the source of the sudden voidsent uptick, not knowing Cagnazzo is there. He pretends to be a coward, and doesn't say the taunt he does nor, spell Golbez' plan as he dies. He wails moreso that at least he's free and unbound, and from his corpse falls Azdaja's eye. This leads the gang to think that he used the Eye to escape... and ah, Vrtra's feelings are not dismissed.

When we take everything back to Lapis Manalis, we find Y'sthola has finished the preparations on the moon with Urianger. The Golbez trial proceeds as usual, and hopefully coming off less as a painfully foreseable trap now. It feels like we genuinely got duped good than, being kind of silly.

With this, 6.3 would hopefully have more time for Void information and lore, maybe even discussing the Fell Court of Troia in 6.4 when Zero recovers her memories.

With this and 6.5 going as it is, we lose no trials or dungeons.

I rest my case

[tolkien-feels]

Do you think feanorians are in the void? Ik that's what the book says but it kinda makes no sence for Fëanor to be locked in the halls even tho he is the reason the oath came to be in first place while his sons get Morgoth as a cellmate. Also elves are not supposed to be there? Some Ainu stayed in the void while the Valar were shaping the world so it makes sence for Morgoth to be there but elves? As bad as they can be Valar won't be going against the will of Eru and just toss em there cuz they demanded it. Sure the Oath has power and force of it's own but strong enough to overrun the laws of the world set by one omnipotent god? That would imply that Fëanor's will and power was stronger than Eru's.

Okay so like I always say, I straight up do not get the metaphysics of Tolkien's world. Politics and metaphysics are my weakest suits by far. The smallest the picture, the more comfortable I am and vice versa. So I'm on very shaky ground here. Don't take this as any sort of smart and knowledgeable response, I'm just sharing thoughts. Don't ask me to defend any of them because I'm painfully aware I can't back any of this up confidently.

Given I am very much a Feanorian fan, I've read a lot about this. A lot. And I still don't feel like I get it. To begin with, I'm not even confident that there's a 1:1 relationship between Everlasting Darkness and the Void. My main reason for that is that Mandos straight up says several times that Feanor and other Noldor will go to him. I tend to trust Mandos's very precise and persistent wording over the relatively vague "Everlasting Darkness."

Given that the Oath was the same for all the takers, I can think of a few scenarios if Darkness = Void: everybody goes to the Void, only Feanor as the leader goes, or nobody goes. Everybody but Feanor would be straight up both nonsensical and sadistic. And Mandos singles out Feanor as going to his Halls, therefore Feanor doesn't go to the Void, so the only option that makes sense to me is that nobody goes. Which, if the Oath has any binding power (which it absolutely does) must mean the Everlasting Darkness is not the Void.

If it's not the Void, though, wth is it? I honestly don't know. My best guess is that it's almost... psychological? No, that's not the right word. Spiritual maybe?

Like... Mandos isn't hell. It's not a bad place, as far as I can tell. It's not pleasant, but it's unpleasant like a hospital is unpleasant? You don't want to be there forever but it's not an unnecessarily cruel or even punishing place. Those who do find it hard to bear cry to Nienna and she comforts them. So even if your time in Mandos sucks, you'll grow in wisdom. It's not Angband, it's not torture to amuse Iluvatar.

I tend to headcanon though that turning hospital into dungeon is what the Feanorians call upon themselves. I think what they call is darkness without hope, suffering without wisdom, pain without comfort. The Oath will so torment them that not even death will grant them rest. Until Arda is remade, they will suffer endlessly without anything that can bring them any relief. Like the Doom of Mandos, this isn't sadism, it's a logical consequence. It's not in the power of the Valar to undo regret. (Except I suppose by erasing people's memories, but that I think the Valar would be forbidden to do, if I understand it right - complete forgetfulness is offered to Luthien as a gift equal to sharing in Beren's mortality, so it's presumably a big deal.) Even if Feanor regrets every single minute of every day of every year that he's lived, even if he begs Mandos to help him, the guilt and horror are beyond the help of the Valar.

Until everything the Oath has set in motion has played out in full (which amounts to the whole History - great tales never end), Feanor and his sons cannot rest. By saying nothing can stop their quest for the Silmarils, the Feanorians have trapped themselves in a cosmic tragedy they can't leave. Whether they play their part well or not, they're tied to the story virtually forever. It's like Morgoth's crown that's really a collar - if you want to pursue the Silmarils until the world ends, that's fine. Your punishment will be that you have to pursue the Silmarils until the world ends. If you're cosmically unable to do that, that's too bad, the Oath will not torment you any less on account of that.

But this is just me trying to make sense of something I don't understand. I'm sure if anyone who follows me feels very strongly about a theory they'll share it and you can check out the notes for better insights, but when I think about this subject (which is rare) that's more or less how I see it. I'm...... likely to be wrong, though.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 5

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!

[oftenderweapons]

Dear 3 Mister Sugar,

I would love to ask hmm, have you guys ever feel tired from your works?

And when all of you feel it, what are you guys doing or perhaps imagining something that could erase those tiredness?

Hope you guys (and also Ms. Writer) always happy and healthy!🤍

Hi there! Longish reply so it's under the cut. Enjoy 💜✨

KNJ: “Oh, thank you for your well wishes!” *smiles radiantly, dimples out, eyes turned into happy crescents*

KTH: “Thank you!” *gleeful and sober expression* “Seokjin-hyung, would you like to go first?”

KSJ: “Oh, okay. Well, it’s normal to feel stressed and tired every now and then, especially considering we’re all submerged with responsibilities pretty much 24/7.” *chuckles* “As I mention, I usually take a trip on the Hermes, my boat, when I can take enough time away from the office — which doesn’t happen often. Otherwise I unwind at home with a good gaming sessions. I have my assistant prepare all my snacks and games and everything and I just camp on my gaming room for two days, living on instant ramen and cheap takeout.” *nods solemnly* “That’s life.”

KNJ: “I think the question implied if there’s anything we’d like to do with the sugarbabies in order to relax.”

KSJ: “OH.” *blinks, thinks about it* “I like the idea of… Of spending time together, just… I— I don’t know really. I don’t usually relax when other people are around. I like being by myself.”

KNJ: “I don’t know why I imagined something profoundly immoral from you. Stuff like adult clubs, so to say.”

KSJ: “Sex dungeons?”

KNJ: *blushing to his ears* “Of sorts.”

KSJ: “So coy and posed. Little Namjoonie.”

KNJ: *rolls his eyes* “When I need to relax, I usually take a long walk. I schedule a visit to a vineyard, or I try to visit the firms I usually work with, both sellers and producers. It helps me understand my clients better and it makes them feel like they’re actual part of my business — which is true. I also like visiting bookshops or libraries. Or comic book shops.” *smiles, rubs his hands together* “While with my sugar baby… I guess it depends on them. I would love to give them the chance to take me wherever they want, just so I can learn more about them and who they are as a person, outside of the arrangement. Sure, as long as it doesn’t take too much time. Unfortunately, I don’t have much of that.”

KTH: *looks at KNJ* “My turn? Okay! Well, now that I’ve heard my hyungs, I think I’d love to unwind with my sugar baby at one of the beauty farms. My marketing team created a program for couples but I’ve never tried it. I think it would be fun doing that together. Also, very relaxing.” *waits and thinks some more* “But I’d also love to try challenging hobbies, like pottery classes and… More art-related stuff. I know there are little studios where you can enter and paint pottery and bake it to make your own cups and plates and dishes! I think that would be great!” *nods, pleased with his reply*

—————————————

Hello bby! Thank you for your kind words and your request! Unfortunately I should have had an easy week but my boss is absolutely incompetent and messy and unorganised so I've been called in even during my free hours and I'm pretty much exhausted. But at least I’m working with books and social media, which nourishes my creativity and widens my set of skills.

Now, personal matters aside, if you’re curious about our gentlemen, here are their profiles, and here you can send them more questions 💜✨

[geekgirles]

Eclipsa is a far better Queen than what everyone thinks.

I know this might sound like another one of those "Eclipsa's not evil!" essays written by hardcore Eclipsa stans, and I will not lie, I've believed in Eclipsa since the first time she appeared.

That, however, is not what I want to discuss.

Mewmans have always said Eclipsa only ever thinks about herself and her family, that she's some sort of unhinged dark queen, but the thing is, Eclipsa's probably one of the wisest queens out there.

It's undeniable that she has been rather impulsive when it comes to her family, take "Tough love" and "The monster and the queen" as examples. Even so, when it's time for Eclipsa to think about her kingdom, she does not beat around the bush.

From the very beginning, she understood that the best way to unify monsters was through gaining the monsters' trust. Of course, that caused her to be very... controversial with other Mewmans. Should she care? No. At least not before solving certain things.

Just like the dungeon guy and the Spiderbites implied in "Butterfly follies" & "Surviving the Spiderbites", Mewni already distrusts Eclipsa merely because of her past. They were not willing to easily give her a second chance. Now, monsters... Eclipsa needed them the most because they have always been the one who needed help the most!

This is something she knew back in her time and, most importantly, is the reason why everyone had suffered for so long. I, myself, think Eclipsa decided to take that course of action because, in the long run, it had been that hatred towards monsters what previously led Meteora to become a vengeful psycho (Marco does not count since she originally only intended to make HIM alone pay, not all of Mewni). Mewman prejudices took everything from her and her family, just like they had taken everything from so many monsters before and after them. And it was time to stop that.

And hence, she gave monsters what had previously been theirs back, allowed them near any other Mewman citizens, made them an important part of her court (Reginald as her closest butler, her knights, her other servants...) and tried to make her kingdom a better place for everyone.

Now, when it comes to her magic, the magic book of spells showed that Eclipsa has indeed gone against tradition by creating spells for herself. But she never used those spells for pure selfish reasons. Except for when she read Shastacan's mind, but just like she explained in the book and "Butterfly trap", she never wrote down tons of darker spells. Probably because she knew they were truly dangerous in the wrong hands.

And as for her darkest spell... This is where I'm convinced she knew she had to be extra careful for the sake of others. Look:

1) These pages are in Low-mewman, an almost extinct language only female members of the Royal family can learn.

2) When Moon asked for her spell she a) asked her if she was sure she wanted to unleash such power, b) explained it required a magical contract. Something I wholeheartedly believe Eclipsa did as a way to keep everyone safe from her spell since not everybody would be willing to negotiate with her.

3) After today's episodes, I'm starting to think either Eclipsa didn't actually gave Moon her darkest spell or she somehow, for a lack of a better term, "baby proofed" it. Think about it:

The incantation is completely different:

Moon's: "I call the darkness onto me, from deepest depths of earth and sea. From ancient evils unawoken, break the one that can't be broken. To blackest night I pledge my soul and crush my heart to burning coal. To summon forth a deathly power, to see my hated foe devoured!"

Eclipsa's: "I call the spell which has no name, my mother's gift with which she reigned. Eclipse my heart with rightful power, stand before the Queen and cower!"

See? There's an entire abyss of difference between the power used in both incantations! Not to mention, Moon's only destroyed Toffee's finger and caused an explosion, Eclipsa's destroyed everything it had in its path!

"Here to help" and "Pizza Party" have also proved that everyone can become what they say Eclipsa is: selfish. Once again, many a man have stated Eclipsa only cares about herself and her family. But what did Moon do? She betrayed her own daughter because she held a grudge over being "sent" to the Magic Realm. When Eclipsa had been chased, chrystallised for hundreds of years with her husband imprisoned as well and a daughter who was cast aside in favor of a Pie folk orphan based solely on her monster heritage. And yet, she faced her family in times of crisis and put the kingdom first.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I stan my Queen.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Could you maybe talk about how HM finally shows us some food/nice Slytherins in Barnaby and Liz. (MC and Rowan too but that's up to the player.) As a Slytherin, I was so happy to see them not use the 'all Slytherins are bad' trope wich they had used with Merula and Ismelda. Also, I'm in year 4 the celestial ball, (Obviously I'm choosing Barababe) so I don't know if Merula or Ismelda get better as the story continues.

Oh, gladly! 

I think that this is something that people have strong feelings about. I’ll be the first to say that I don’t think the way that Slytherin was written in the books was necessarily wrong (Though I shall never forgive that “The dungeons would do.” nonsense from the film. Minerva McGonagall would NEVER-) the isolation of Slytherin House and the unfortunate racism that has become systematic, is part of the story. I’d actually speculate that Slytherin wouldn’t be nearly as popular if it didn’t have the whole angle of being misunderstood. 

That being said, I really like the way the House is developed in Hogwarts Mystery, especially from the point of view of a Slytherin MC but even without that. Merula and Ismelda start out as the trope for being evil Slytherins, but this gets deconstructed well with both of them. It’s been clear for ages that they’re trying to live up to an image, a perceived legacy, rather than embodying anything that comes naturally to them. But then there are characters like Liz, who are so keenly aware of the stereotype and ready to challenge it. She works against the image people have of Slytherins (especially in the aftermath of the first Voldemort war) and never gives in. I love how Liz is, in some ways, the wizarding world equivalent of a social justice warrior. Sure, you can complain about her, but face it - you’re only complaining because she has a point and you want her to be quiet. But she won’t be quiet. Seriously, Hermione and Liz would get along so well. But I also think that she would be friends with Luna. She’d sense Luna’s inherent goodness and bond with her about creatures.

 I actually don’t think it’s any accident that a number of the new Slytherin characters - Liz, Barnaby, Felix - have ended up having a passion for magical creatures. Because creatures don’t have the same hangups as human beings. They don’t judge you for trivial things - like what word a Hat screamed when you tried it on at age eleven. They aren’t caught up in human politics. If you are kind to them and learn how to understand and respect them, they will respond accordingly. A Hippogriff just wants you to bow to them - they don’t care what Common Room you call home. They just care if you brought them some tasty ferrets or not. To Slytherins especially, I feel like there might be serious appeal in having friendships like those. 

Barnaby is the best example thus-far, though. He is literally a case of how, yes, Slytherins are often misunderstood and are actually truly good people...but sometimes, there’s nothing to misunderstand. Hogwarts Mystery doesn’t just show us that the people we judge might have more to them than we know, it also shows us the students that Harry never interacts with. The ordinary, good people, who are entirely likable. Barnaby is a sweetheart, an utter cinnamon roll. But he’s not misplaced as a Slytherin, not at all. He wants to be the best Wizard he can possibly be. To him, that’s what Slytherin is all about. And it is! Or at least, it should be. If one of the defining traits is ambition, then being the best you can be is the end goal, right? What I love about this is that it challenges the notion that was somewhat implied by the books - that ambition is a slippery slope toward being corrupted. Characters like Barnaby are some of my favorites because they teach the lesson that seeking power is not inherently evil. I think the only other character I’ve ever seen teach that lesson in such a wholesome way was...Ash Ketchum? 😅

But much like Liz, Barnaby is not immune to the way people often treat Slytherins, nor can he entirely escape the Slytherins who perpetuate the stereotypes. I don’t think it’s any accident that he befriended Merula and Ismelda at first. They probably didn’t treat him that much better than his own family does at home. This is why I’m really happy that he’s now a lot closer to Liz. They have common interests, and especially with her unique perspective, she’s going to know how to treat him and make sure they both feel happy with themselves as who they are. Slytherins, and proud to be.