#but if you want to imagine them as the let's go protags or trace go for it

[a-tale-of-legends]

Green, on a fun day out with Red and Blue, is approached by a child. Said child has a piece of paper and pen. Looking behind them Green can see what she assumes is the kids mom, giving an encouraging smile. The kid wants an autograph, clearly. Green has been in these situations before though. They don't want an autograph from her. They want one from Red or Blue. Green has long since accepted that fact, so she gives the kid a smile before they can open their mouth.

" Hey there kiddo! Blue and Red are a bit busy at the moment, but they'll be back soon. Wanna wait with me?" A practiced line that she hopes doesn't leak any of the small bitterness she feels. That wouldn't be fair to the kid. Hell, that wouldn't be fair to Red and Blue. The child looks up at her in confusion, shifting awkwardly and fiddling with their pen and paper.

" U-um. I...I actually wanted your autograph, Miss Green!"

Eh?

The child continues, getting braver with each word, " I-I just think you're really cool! I like watching your battles a lot, a-and I wanna be as cool as you are someday!" Bowing slightly, thrusting the pen and paper forward, " C-can I please have your autograph?!"

Well. Damn. Fuck. She wasn't expecting this. Since when did she get fans?! Was her head too stuck in her ass to notice? Well now she feels like shit. Now she....now she feels like she's gonna cry. Fuck.

" You're really sweet, kid..." Green tries to keep her voice steady, a new reality settling in. She has a fan. Said fan wants her autograph. Holy shit, " Of course, I'll give you an autograph! Lemme see..."

She gingerly takes the pen and paper from the kid, and signs it. She winces at her work. She really needs to work on her signature. Kinda sloppy, and the kid doesn't deserve that. Still, not wanting to hold up the kid and their mom up any longer, she gives the pen and paper back, giving them a wide smile and a wink.

" Here ya go! One autograph for a very special fan, right here!" The kid eyes practically sparkle, excitedly taking both items and staring at it as if it's the entire world. Arceus, Green can feel the tears starting to swell, fuck.

" Thank you, Miss Green! I'll cherish it forever! " The kid quickly bows and runs off to their mom,cheering as they do. The mom happily looks at the autograph her kid is showing off, looking up when her kid isn't looking. She smiles at Green, mouthing a quick 'thank you' before taking her kids hand and walking off, the kid rambling excitedly as they go. Green waves them off, a swell of emotion in her chest.

Cherish it forever.

Green chuckles- it's wet and coarse,no longer able to keep it in. Was someone really going to remember her? Cherish her name,forever? The bitterness in her laughs at the thought. The sweetness from that encounter shoves it to the side, and she relishes in it. She is crying fully now, smiling to herself as the kid and their mom are long gone.

" Hey, sorry for the wait. That line was terrible - what the fuck happened to you?" Blue's voice catches her attention. She turns, eyes full of tears, to Red and Blue, who's looking at her with concern.

" I have a fan!" she croaked, raising her hands to gesture writing, " They wanted an autograph!"

Blue blinks, then shakes his head and sighs, " Green..." He says, though the affection was not lost of her.

Red's worry melts away with a smile, signing to his best friend, ' I told you so'

"Yeah, yeah," she waves him off, sniffing and wiping away her tears, " Pass me some food before I start bawling,you dorks".

" Dorks-"

The day goes on as usual after that. Blue and Green's banter, Red following along half-paying attention, half in his own world. Pikachu and Eevee playing with each other through it all. Green repeats the words the kid said to her throughout the day, a big goofy smile on her face that not even Blue's assholery can wipe off.

Cherish it forever.

[albatris]

ok ok alriiiight ok so the plot of ATDAO

this post is not, like........... well, it’s not gonna be a blurb or a summary or a nice neat synopsis, this is not Professional Writeblr Business, this is, this is, uhhhh

this is like drunk house party logan rambles

works best if you imagine ur just like “hey man how’s it going” super casual and I grasp you firmly by the shoulders and look you dead in the eye and just ramble all of this without taking a single breath

could I have explained in a nice neat concise "elevator pitch" sort of way? probably. mind ur business. that’s not how we do things here at albatris.org

anyway the purpose of this post is “hey people seem to know a lot about the characters and the worldbuilding and the premise but have no clue what happens in the actual story” so I’m not going to be talking about said characters and worldbuilding and premise in depth

in terms of rambles, that stuff’s been covered! this post assumes you know what Ports are, n what the nature of the ATDAO apocalypse is, vaguely what the MCs are like as people......... though I can fetch this info for you if you like

but yeah if you are coming into this post with zero prior ATDAO knowledge........... deeply deeply from the bottom of my heart: sorry

also if this is your first time experiencing One Of These Rambles

also @safe-in-the-steep-cliffs​ and @siarven​ I am tagging you because you said you would like to be tagged and also hi and also I hope y’all knew what you were in for

anyway without further ado

(visual representation of my approach to this rant, not of how complicated my plot actually is)

(my plot is not that complicated)

ALRIGHT

there are two viewpoint characters! and two plotlines which converge near the end of the story, but honestly there’s a very real possibility I will decide these are two separate books meant as companion stories to each other because I love making things difficult for myself yeehaw

ATDAO’s co-protags are Tris and Noa, best buds four years and counting. their friendship is one of the single most important aspects of the story, n the ongoing love and trust they have for each other despite the way unfolding events force their relationship to change is integral to the themes and making the heart of the story what it is. I will now proceed to not mention this friendship for the entire remainder of this post. they’re bros. that’s all u need to know. listen. listen. I have a lot to cover

so yeah, ur first key player is Tris Greer, whose parents are dicks but whose siblings are chill. most notably of said siblings there is Jacob, older brother by thirteen years, whom Tris believes is just about the coolest person on the entire planet. this plotline kicks off when Jacob gets caught in the midst of a freak car accident that kills a dude and wrecks a street corner and also somehow causes Jacob to just kind of................. blip out of existence entirely and without a trace?

n Tris is understandably horrified and distressed by Very Much All Of This, but hey, at least there are responsible adults who can look into this obviously Port-related weird disappearance and figure this mess out, right?

INCORRECT

the relevant interdimensional authorities are brought in to suss out the situation and these authorities are kind of like “hmmmm idk about this” but are all set to take Tris at least somewhat seriously until they learn the following:

that Jacob had already been reported missing to police in his home state three days earlier

that Jacob was in the midst of several ongoing personal crises and at least one nervous breakdown

that Jacob was allegedly tangled up in some real weird shit that would more than account for a disappearance under suspicious circumstances

that Tris is schizophrenic, prone to hallucinations, confusion, memory issues and quote unquote “letting his imagination and anxiety get the better of him”, and precisely zero people can actually corroborate his story that Jacob was even there are the time of the accident to begin with

and after some back-and-forth and Looking Into The Evidence pretty much everyone in any position of authority comes to the conclusion that this is just Ordinary Regular People Crimes and whatever happened to Jacob had nothing to do with weird apocalyptic energies, and that Tris is (at best) stressed out and delusional or (at worst) lying through his teeth because he knows more than he’s letting on

so Tris is forced to hop pretty quick from “I’m sure someone will handle this” to “no one believes me but I’m sure if I can find some concrete proof they’ll listen and someone will handle it” to Well Fuck I Guess That Someone Is Me

cue bizarre reality-hopping fantasy quest, which is ten times easier said than done when most of the time Tris is terrified enough just, like, going to the supermarket

he enlists the help of his new classmate Shara, amateur paranormal investigator and professional weird-bullshit enthusiast, who agrees to help him puzzle out what the fuck happened to Jacob in exchange for his assistance in mapping out Adelaide’s interdimensional “fault lines” as part of her ongoing quest to track down the source of the apocalypse

she’s got big fuckin dreams, ok, go hard or go home

slso worth noting at this point that there HAS been an uptick in Ports and their related reality-bending strangeness in Adelaide recently which is why this is of particular interest to her currently. gotta find out What Makes The Weirdness Tick, gotta find out Why The Sudden Extra Weirdness

..........and also Kai is there

Kai has no nice neat reason to get involved with the plot, Kai just likes drama and being all up in people’s personal business. Tris brings them on board for one single afternoon like “hey I will pay you some money to come to my house and fix my fucked up phone so I can listen to an interdimensional voicemail” but forgot the apparently key addendum “and then leave”

their first three chapters of knowing each other is basically Tris being like “stop inviting yourself into my house we are not friends” and Kai being like “that’s a rude thing to say to your friend. also your sister gave me the netflix password and I used your kitchen to bake pastries feel free to help yourself”

but yeah so Tris’s story mostly focuses on his quest to figure out where Jacob got yeeted to and how to get him safely home (y’all probably know a bit about The Unreality already maybe?), whilst also dealing with rising family tensions, whatever shifty stuff Jacob was involved with prior to his disappearance, and his own creeping doubts about his perceptions of reality

n I’m also saying flat out it’s not a plot that’s going the “oh the whole thing was just a delusion all along” route because ew

his psychosis is a fairly involved part of his character but the explorations around it are more to do with, like......... the difficulties he has in trusting himself and whether he has the luxury of letting himself get swept into some Big Weird Implausible Adventure when this has extremely different implications for him than it would someone else. n eventually to how his success and survival is not ~in spite of~ but specifically because of the different way he understands and interprets the world and the skills he’s developed

THAT TANGENT WAS A PERSONAL RANT IT WAS NOT RELEVANT I just have words to say on the subject of how psychosis is treated in fiction and didn’t want people jumping to the “none of it is real” conclusion anyway ok moving on

ur SECOND key player is Noa Yun, who has rather a lot on her plate right now. she’s broke as fuck and her mum is sick and her car is making Noises and she’s not getting enough hours at her job at Not-IKEA and everyone is on her back about her failing studies as if that’s a thing she has the energy to care about. feeling rather backed into a corner by life’s bullshit and her financial situation, she blatantly lies her way into a field job at the Department of Interdimensional Instabilities, because A) surely it can’t be THAT bad, and B) what does she have to lose?

so more or less what she’s doing is the equivalent of emergency services for Port-related weirdness, it’s going out and dealing with highly unstable otherworldly energies head on, navigating Weird Phenomena and bendy patches in reality......... it is, among other things, a job that’s relatively easy to get into because no one wants to touch it with a ten foot pole unless they absolutely have to

n the DII is a whole other post, this shit has lots of different functions and levels and branches and corruption and secrets and a tendency to view workers who have to go out and deal with the brunt of the apocalypse head-on as vaguely expendable and I’ve talked about it a bit before and in more Serious Words

things kinda kick off for her when in true Noa fashion she hurls herself into a dangerous situation to help out a coworker, n enters a pretty standard issue “overlap” where the barriers between universes are a little fucky, but hey, she seems to come out of it with nary a scratch, so it’s reasonable to assume everything is fine, right?

INCORRECT AGAIN

she basically gets some whacked-out otherworldly energies latched onto her that are now following her through her everyday life, and it turns out she’s starting to bend the reality around her the way certain types of Ports do, which is! obviously not ideal! she’s not exactly a Port herself, because she’s pretty sure that’s impossible, but it’s clear capital s Something happened to her in that overlap, and she doubts it’s good news. and to make matters even more disconcerting, she’s now being dogged at every step by strange visions of a child who speaks in an unfamiliar language and who seems Real Fuckin Pissed at her

so her thing is basically “I acquired fucked up reality-bending powers against my will and they might be lowkey killing me ‘cause Ports are notoriously unstable like that and also I’m haunted for some godforsaken reason” which all somehow ended up being, like, the least interesting part of her plotline for me lmao

oh and Noa also enlists the help of Shara, Because Ghosts

anyway yeah so her search to find out what’s happening to her re: Weird Children, being a Port-adjacent something-or-other, and whether there’s a way to stop her own unravelling leads her to (rogue computer programmer? mad scientist? general shifty bastard?) Laurence Marrick Thiele, who claims to have suffered a similar affliction in the past and now does some real interesting research on the subject. n this guy. well. he’s got some fuckin stuff going on

he definitely knows more about the nature of Ports than he should. also is he actually researching what he says he’s researching? also what’s with all the weird tech? also did he just straight up murder that guy Avery? all will be revealed later, maybe, if I feel like it

but yeah at about the same time as Noa goes “actually fuck this you’re shady as hell I’m out” she stumbles into, like, The Actual Reality of what Marrick is up to re: manipulating Ports and interdimensional doorways for his own gain, and the various ways this spells bad news not only for her but potentially for the entire city and anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire, and she shifts gear to “actually you know what I’m gonna kick your ass”

there are various reasons for this, but first and foremosterly you have to understand that Noa’s got a fuckload of pent-up rage and she will bring it in full force the moment you say some stupid shit like “some people are expendable” or “it’s inevitable for the greater good”

(there’s also a fun ongoing subplot with her work at the DII where she and her team are investigating a string of strange illnesses with bizarre symptoms that appear to be spreading via obscure radio stations so that’s. happening. I guess?)

but yeah the main story here mostly follows Noa’s attempts to undermine Marrick, bastard supreme, and find a way to fuck him up before he goes, like, Full Cartoon Supervillain, n also like........... her attempts to keep up her work at the DII despite her rising paranoia that the teammates she’s growing to care about will notice her increasingly unstable state and the fact that she’s all tangled up with the very forces they’re meant to be thwarting. n along the way discovering the reality of what happened to her in The Aforementioned Overlap Incident and about her visions and such

so that’s all that. did that make sense

n she’s got a whole arc going on about trust and learning to lean on others, like, she comes into this story as a very standoffish person with lots of paranoia, she’s spent much of her life feeling like she can only rely on herself, n she’s. well. yeah, like I said, she’s got a lot of anger at the world and at the various systems that have failed her and her loved ones, n the story puts her in a position to become even more isolated

and her plotline isn’t so much “you have no reason to be angry or afraid” or her learning to Not Be, It’s more, like........... yeah you have every fucking right to be furious and of course you’re afraid! but there are people around you who love you and who will jump at the chance to defend you and who will help you carry the weight of your anger and grief and none of this needs to be yours to bear alone which is extremely cheesy

which applies to both her Weird Supernatural Goings-On as well as her regular ordinary life goings-on

I feel like Alice and Jet deserve a mention for Noa’s plotline but also this went on and on too long already so. well. Alice and Jet exist! yep. they work with Noa at the DII. I have things to say about them. I will not be saying them today

and uhhhhhh

in general, for Tris, his plotline, you wanna think, like, fantasy/adventure vibes which veer pretty sharply into horror, and for Noa you wanna think...... kinda, sci-fi mystery conspiracy vibes with a dash of some superhero bullshit maybe except not really

and that

pretty much is it I think

also the fact that Kai just invites themself into the plot for funsies and then is dragged kicking and screaming into caring about themself and making positive changes in their life means there was no convenient place in this post to be like

"oh there's also a whole major subplot about a time loop"

but there's also a whole major subplot about a time loop

goodnight! thanks for coming to....................... whatever this was! have a nice saturday everyone

[magioftheseas]

Palliate

For @i-demand-a-hug and @badthingshappenbingo

Prompt: Biting taken from here.

Rating: T+

Warnings: Vampirism with all the implications you’d get from a story still rated T+.

Notes: This is a continuation for Pariah, written for 2/2 also known as the in-game day Akechi and Protag-kun confirmed their love in Persona 5 Royal. But also with Vampire!Akira because lmao why not. However, it’s kinda angsty. Have fun.

***Alternate Ao3 Link***

Commission? Donate?

“It’s not a problem, right?” At one point, Akechi had asked that with a perfect and plastic smile. Head tilted, eyes crinkled, a smile emphasized with only soft curves. Not a flash of teeth—until now. “Right, Kurusu?”

The raw Akechi Goro was still such a sight to behold. He wondered if he ever doubted that for a moment. He supposed he should at least be glad for the scarf wrapped tightly around the neck. Somehow, his teeth still ached.

The words before had been like poison.

“Can you stay a bit?”

He knew from the second he asked that he made a mistake. And Akechi’s reaction—

The Detective Prince was perfect and plastic. Always offering a smile. Always assuming an act of innocence even when tucking his hair back to expose his throat. The image of charm, graceful on the line between friendly and intimate. It had only been those eyes that indicated his danger. A soft and sweet front—but there was no hiding that sharp and intelligent stare.

A stare which is now just a glare, lips pulled into a sneer.

“This sentimentality isn’t going to cause problems, right?” Any sweetness that could be gleaned was dripping with sarcasm. Ah, has Akechi always had sharp canines? Maybe that was just projection. “I can trust you to cooperate, yes?”

And, then.

“It’s not a problem, right? Right, Kurusu?”

Of course it’s a problem, he wants to scream. It’s been a problem since the day you shook my hand.

It’s been a problem since the day you came back with a godforsaken cocky fucking smirk.

I’ve been stuck on you like a parasite from the start.

“You didn’t answer the question,” is what he says instead.

“It’s a stupid question,” is Akechi’s blunt response. “What do you expect to get from continuing this?”

“I...” You speak so detachedly. “It’s the last chance I’ll get to taste you.”

With just the right stare of his own, Akechi stills. It’s not like a deer in headlights, not yet, but Akechi does stiffen when Akira strides towards him.

“You knew,” he said. “From the start. And you were curious. You always pressed so close, acting so innocent. If we were both normal humans, that’d be one thing. Maybe I could brush it aside.”

“Even if you were a human, you wouldn’t be normal,” Akechi said, clipped. “But, you’re not much of a vampire, either, are you?”

He’s not. But he can still practically taste the memory of Akechi’s thumb pressed against his fangs. Akechi’s grabby little hands. On his teeth, on his back, on his shoulder. Akechi, who knew and still acted like that.

Akira grips the damn scarf. Akechi doesn’t stop him, but he doesn’t rip it away. The fabric gives under his grip, but he doubts Akechi will care about a few extra wrinkles in the folds.

“You’ve never even bitten a human before,” Akechi said next, and those sharp blood-red eyes bore into him. Reflected back is an unwavering shadow. “I didn’t need to confirm it, although the lack of bite marks on any of your merry gang of thieves did strengthen my conviction. They always showed their wrists and necks without a hint of restraint—how comfortable they were around you.” Akechi’s long lashes lower, and there’s still no falter. “You look at me differently. Full of surprises, aren’t you.”

His thumb hooks into the scarf.

“Let’s not talk about that.”

With that, he pulls, pulls, pulls—

--

Until Akechi is standing in the attic, staring him down. The scarf has unraveled a little, but the fabric sticks to his throat like a flimsy shield. He has thin bedsheets that would provide more of a defense.

Haah.

“I would have been fine just admiring from afar,” he finds himself saying. “But then you had to go and get yourself killed.”

“And now I’m back,” Akechi says, too unimpressed to muster up a smile, no matter how sardonic. “Don’t you feel indulged?”

This is only the start of that.

He leads Akechi to the bed, seating him, keeping him upright. Tugging at that scarf until, finally, Akechi’s pale neck was exposed.

At the laundromat, I wanted nothing more than to pull you close and sink my teeth in. Just to see if you were really alive, I thought to myself, because I couldn’t believe my ears which picked up not only your voice but your heartbeat.

And what a frantic heartbeat it had been! Even now, it’s beating fast in spite of Akechi Goro’s stoicism.

When fighting you, your heart raced so much that I worried it would come beating out of your chest.

Akechi sighed, tilting his head. His eyes closed, and resignation washes over his features.

His heart is still so agitated.

So much so that Akechi does flinch when a hand comes around the side of his neck.

It’s human to fear death, Akira thought. With his other hand, he plucked off his glasses to set them aside.

“I did find it strange,” Akechi commented suddenly. “Did Maruki not know about your condition?”

“It’s not something I go around telling people.” Not a very good attempt at lightening up the mood. Come on, Akechi, you’re better than this. “Very few people figure it out on their own, too.”

Akechi’s lips pull into the straight, thin line.

On impulse, Akira leans in close to kiss the corner of them. That gets Akechi to jump.

“What,” he growls. “The hell—”

Akechi freezes completely when a fang nicks his jaw. Locked in place. Just like that. His heart pounds against his ribcage, not calming even as Akira rubs his sternum with his thumb.

“Afraid?” he asks. Even if he meant to be teasing, his breath comes out in a chill against the other’s ear. “I don’t want to hurt you. Even if I should.”

Traitor. Killer. Tease. You’re as dangerous to others as you are to yourself.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he repeats. “Which makes desiring you a bit of a problem.”

Akechi does blink.

“Goro,” Akira sighs against him, and the spell is broken.

Akechi’s gloved fingers weave through his hair and yank without mercy. And Akechi is the one to bite him hard on the neck, hard enough to draw blood.

“Ah,” Akira mumbles blandly.

His teeth are sorta sharp.

And they dig in so fiercely, too. Grinding in frustration.

How human.

“Oh, Goro,” he murmurs, holding him close, pressing him closer. He feels the tension in Akechi Goro’s shoulders get tighter, precarious like a rubber band holding the blades together. “Please, please stay with me.”

Akechi bites down harder than before. When he pulls back with that defiant glare, his lips are speckled with the same shade of crimson as his eyes. The wound stings, blood beading along the surface. Wiping that away with his thumb, he smears it against Akechi’s mouth. Strokes his puffy lower lip, and kisses him.

Gently. Mouth closed, even when Akechi nips at him.

“You spineless piece of shit,” Akechi breathed harshly, huffing. “What the actual fuck are you doing?” His fists ball up in his coat. “Are you going to bite me or what?!”

He pulls at Akira’s hair, his stare narrowed.

“Well?”

Akira runs his fingers through the other’s hair in return. The soft caramel strands don’t even get tangled. Akechi is still so particular about his appearance regardless of the world’s state. Akira thinks about pulling, but he can’t bring himself to do it.

“Well?” Akechi repeats, hissing. “What are you doing, Kurusu?”

“How did my blood taste?” he finds himself asking.

“It tasted like shit! What’s your point?!”

Shit, huh? Yeah. Vampire blood isn’t appetizing at all. Appetizing—

Then, something happened.

Akechi bit his own lower lip. Like before, he bit down hard. Hard enough to draw blood, which dribbles down his chin. Immediately, Akira leans in to catch it on his tongue.

Fuck.

He laps it up and tastes Akechi’s vicious smirk with it.

“Goro, you...” Cutting himself off so that his lips can close around that hole in Akechi’s lip. Akechi shudders against him, but he’s still grinning wildly, amused to the point of a soft puff of laugh scraping its way out between his teeth. “God.” Akira wanted to laugh, too. “I hate you.”

“Kurusu—”

Akira nuzzles into his neck and doesn’t wait another second before sinking in his teeth.

“Kurusu,” Akechi pleads, voice strangled. “Kurusu...”

His pulse is fluttering like a trapped bird. Fitting, isn’t it? For all that aggression, Akechi Goro is still vulnerable like any other human, like any other living creature at another’s mercy. And he tastes so great, warm with a hint of spice.

“Don’t you feel indulged?” Akechi had asked then, and he only whines now. He really had no idea—did he even imagine? “A... Akira...”

Warm and alive—there wasn’t a doubt about it, especially with the way Akechi squirmed when a hand slipped under his coat—

“Enough,” Akechi gasped out. “T-That’s enough, Akira.”

--

He applies a bandage to the bitemark but tells Akechi that it shouldn’t take long to heal.

“It’s not a replacement for proper treatment, but my saliva does have healing qualities,” he says, handing Akechi an opened water bottle. “Don’t move around too much...”

“I know the standard procedure for dealing with blood loss,” Akechi snapped. He takes a swing before Akira can stop him. Even if he chokes a little and swallows it down wrong, there’s not much to do besides let him be.

Akechi’s glove has been rolled up a little. Akira’s fingers twitch when he notices.

“With that, all is settled?” Akechi asks, lips wet with his grip on the bottle tilted. “Are you satisfied?”

Fuck it. Just what does this guy expect when he asks?

“We’re not taking the offer,” he says as he takes that hand with the unruly glove. Rather than smoothing it down, he traces the vein of his wrist. Once, twice, each stroke harder against the skin. Until he leans down and kisses that pulse. The flutter is enough to make his lips tingle. “That should be enough.”

“You’re not the type to go behind someone’s back, for better and worse,” Akechi sighed, and he turns away rather than pulling his hand back. “I can trust you. Don’t disappoint me.”

Akira’s grip on his hand tightened. He thinks of biting both of Akechi’s wrists, to let blood drip from them like severed puppet strings.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Akechi didn’t look at him. He refused, only giving a polite nod.

[timeforelfnonsense]

Mistress Wit

Wyll x Criella

Rating: T 

Ao3

With Patch 3 out now, I decided to make another bg3 oc to romance Wyll! Dafni will still be the main character so to speak of my bg3 writing with Criella serving as a secondary protag & member of the party in Sunshine and Starlight. She and Wyll will also be getting their own little collection with Dafni & Astarion serving a similar role! However, as my writing is pretty ship centered you wouldn't really need to read one to enjoy the other!

                                                     Prologue

Criella brought her hands above her head, fists pounding against the transparent shield that kept her snuggly trapped in the mind flayer pod. If she could just find a weak spot…

Ah-ha!

It was faint but, Criella spotted a hairline fracture in the upper right portion of the glass. Perfect. Her tail dipped into the worn leather bag strapped to her thigh seeking her tinker’s tools. If she could just find her mallet she’d be able to shatter the glass and free herself from her confines. She reached for the top of her head, pulling her goggles over her eyes. With one precise strike, the mallet made contact with the pod’s lid. What had started as a single small fracture now spread across the whole surface in a spiderweb of spits and breaks. Carefully, her fingertips traced the somatic symbol needed to cast a gust cantrip.

“Ventus!” With the command spoken a small tempest broke free of her palms sending shards of glass flying across the clearing.

Her boots hit the ground with a soft thunk, the collateral of her escape crunching beneath her feet. She scanned her surroundings nose wrinkling with repugnance. This was definitely not Waterdeep. She’d crashlanded in some sort of hinterlands located god knows where. She brought her fingertips to her temples rubbing away the tension with little circles. She needed to locate civilization and quickly. It was only a matter of time before the dangerous effects of the tadpole squirming behind her eye would manifest.

She dug around her bag until her hand found its target. A spyglass forged of brass, runes of her creation glowing across the tarnished cylinder. Pushing her googles back up, she pressed the scope to her eye looking out into the forest. Her mind tingled, the Spyglass of Clairvoyance reveling a small settlement nestled in a nearby grove. It was no city of splendor but it was a lead. The only one she had anyway. Perhaps, whoever called the grove home would be able to point her towards the nearest healer if they didn’t have one of their own. Her body ached from the top of her horns to the tip of her tail. Even if they couldn’t see to the parasite they could ease the discomfort of being crammed into a pod had caused.

----------

Criella sat atop a traveler’s chest, her tail flicking idle from side to side. The groves healer had just set out alongside a mercenary band just recently. Meaning her only choice was to doodled among the druids until their Master Halsin returned. She let out a huff of air, blowing away a stray strand of straight, lilac hair from her eyes. If someone were asked to rattle off a list of locations they might find Criella Wit of Waterdeep, a druid’s grove would certainly not have been among them. She’d never been one for nature’s charms. Given the choice between a bustling market or a quiet glen, Criella would have picked the crowded walkways and noisy rabble of the city to the glen every time. At least she was among kin. All around her other Tieflings mulled about weary faced as they set to packing up what little they had. Criella’s gloved fingertips tapped out an anxious rhythm on the side of the chest. Criella knew better than most that right and wrong could be terms with objective definitions. But turning out helpless refugees and children? That was wrong by every definition. She had sat in Zevlor’s quarters discussing the events that lead his people to take refuge among The Oak Father’s servants. They had come from Eturel originally- Collateral damage in the wake of post-Decent xenophobia. People who had once been treasured friends and neighbors became easy scapegoats for the suffering Elturel’s people experienced in the hells. Her grip on the chest tightened. Were it not for the black leather gloves her pointed fingernails would certainly have left a mark on its suede surface. Well, if the druids weren’t going to help she would. She pulled out a well-weathered note pad and nub of charcoal. She could adapt her design for the Protector canon with relative ease. She’d have to find a way to streamline and simplify it given her the groves appalling lack of anything metal. What she wouldn’t do for steel and iron! Perhaps their smith would have some to spare though she doubted it by the state of his forge. “What are you drawing?” a tiny sing-song voice asked. Criella glanced up from her work. A little tiefling girl of no more than 10, was staring owlishly over the edge of her notebook. Criella’s lips quirked, tuning the book so the girl could get a better look at her scribblings. “It’s a diagram of an Eldritch Canon. I’ve made hundreds of the things but today I’m working on one just for you and your friends. To keep you safe.” She explained, tapping the tip of her finger to the sketch, “It’s sort of a… a mechanical cleric! If anyone gets hurt on the road it might be able to help.” “You can make that?” The child whisperer reverently. “I can make anything.” Criella winked, “Just give time and the right tools.” “Could you teach me?” She asked, her lower lip quivering ever so slightly, “I want to be able to make anything! I want to help! I’m not good at fighting or sneaking like the others maybe I’m good at making things!” Criella let out a chime of warm laughter. The little girl’s eyes were full of wonder and optimism despite all she and her kin had endured recently. She’d too had been more interested in tomes and tinkering as a girl. While her peers were swinging sticks and imagining themselves as knights and guardsmen, little Ella would climb the tallest tree in the yard and name it Blackstaff Tower. “Well I can’t teach you how to make everything in just one day but, I can show you a few things.” Criella brought her hand to her lips, sharp teeth tugging the grove from her left hand. With a heartfelt smile she extended her hand to her would-be apprentice, “They call me Misstress Wit of Waterdeep but since we are friends, you can call me Criella.”

Wyll walked the length of the makeshift training ground. Adjusting postures and offering up every word of tender engorgement he knew. The tiefling children had been ecstatic to meet a ‘real-life hero’, bombarding him with sweet, curious questions the moment he stepped through the gate. After such a warm welcome teaching a few sparing lessons while he waited for Halsin to return, was the least he could do. These children had already witnessed more than many noble old men would in their whole lives. They should have been chasing frogs, enjoying their childhoods without fear. Not training for battles they couldn’t win. Despite the cheerless nature of his thoughts, Wyll put on his warmest, bordering on a fatherly grin. “Not bad! Not bad! Now, remember not to keep yourself so open.” He instructed demonstrating his instruction for a little boy with rusty hair, “Like this.” “Keep it up little one. You’ll be a fine warrior one day!” A lovely voice called. The gentle, golden timbre belonged to a statuesque tiefling woman. Wyll’s heart sputtered a bit when her soft silver eyes fell across his face. A dazzling smile on her rose-petal pink lips. Walking beside her was a child- Nalia, the little girl with a missing horn. He’d invited her to spar but she’d only blushed and ran off. “Wyll! I look at what I made!” Nalia shouted dragging the pretty-pink woman along behind her. When she reached the ring she pulled free a small metal gadget no bigger than her palm. The steal contraption glowed with a soft purple light. It’s slivery surface marked with an inscription: Be Brave, scrawled in infernal. “Aren’t you clever!” He said crouching down to admire her handiwork, “What is it?” “It’s an eldritch canon!” She rolled her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world The woman stifled a giggle, covering her grin with the back of her gloved hand. “Is that safe?” He asked cocking an eyebrow at the smirking beauty. “Yes! think of it as a mechanical cleric, Wyll!” Nalia said winking at her companion, “I’m going to be an artificer just like Mistress Wit!” “That’s right!” Wit nodded, “I think you’ve done enough work for today apprentice. Go on, take the rest of the day off...” As Wit trailed off a strange feeling began to unwind in Wyll's mind. The sights and smells of an unfamiliar harbor city danced across his senses. He could almost feel the sea breeze on his face. He saw a workshop so organized and meticulous it reminded him of his time with The Fist. He felt the uneven surface of cobbles stone under his feet as he tore after a thief, tears stinging at his eyes as the hooded figure mad off with the last project he and a half-drow woman had planned before she left. Lastly the memory of being confined to a pod and dragged to the hells. Wit blinked back at him dazed. Her slender nose wrinkled, her lips turned down in a worried grimace. “We should talk.”

Criella sat across from the Wyll at a shabby picnic table, poking at her gruel with a wooden spoon. The old woman had called it vegetable soup but remind her too much of the oil she used for in some of her machines to be palpable. “Not much for stew eh?” He teased taking a long sip of his bowl, “You haven’t spent much time in the wilds, have you?” “I am I that obvious?” she giggled, “I’m from Waterdeep- I’ve lived there all my life. Not much work out here in the woods for someone in my line of work.” Wyll tilted his head, bringing his chin to rest along the top of his knuckles, “Oh? And what is your line of work Wit?” He hadn’t heard of her? How strange. She was something of an arcane darling back home. If you asked someone where to inspired spellwork or magical mending. If they had any sense they would give you one answer: Wit and Wander. Well- Just Wit since Zoria had left for Neverwinter with her new wife…. “I’m many things; wizard, artificer, genius. Take your pick.” Wyll chuckled raising his tankard in approval of her assuredness, “Impressive.” “And what about you Wyll?” She said playfully, “Let me guess? You are a soldier. Mercenary? No, you are too upstanding to be a sellsword.” “They call me the Blade of the Frontiers.” He stated with a proud nod before continuing “Monster hunter. Hero. Protector of the common folk.” “The Blade of Frontiers? Now that’s a name!” She whistled, “And I thought Misstess Wit was a clever epithet! Now tell me Blade- How did you find yourself aboard the nautiloid?” Before he could respond the sound of a war horn rang out across the grove. Zevlor sprinting past them as shouting about a goblin siege at the front gate. Both adventures sprung to their feet as panic spread among the refugees. “Alright Blade.” Criella purred pulling her storm canon from the holster at her hip, “Let see if you live up to the legend.”

[puppyluver256]

Okay, so since I mentioned it, here’s some ideas I’ve for for an SFM x Persona AU.

Flower Kid’s the wild card (going by the rules for P3 and onward for this as that’s what I’m more familiar with), meaning they have the contract with the Velvet Room and can use multiple Personas.

Most of the Persona users are gonna be the kids (some of ‘em aged up so that they’d all be in the same school, not for any weird reasons), with only one adult I can think of atm who’d have one and also be on the protag team.

There’d have to be some finagling with social link/confidant assignment because there are 22 major arcana and 24 viable SFM characters counting FK and Habit, but thankfully P3 FES and P4G provided some extras from non-standard tarot decks to make everyone fit yaaaayyy

Storyline ideas: FK is sent to live with a friend of their mom in a small town for a while for as-of-yet undetermined reasons. That friend is Kamal because I both want him to be heavily involved in the “main” plot and need someone to pass on the details of a certain event that unknowingly kickstarted the story’s major conflict.

Apparently a few years ago his former boss (and budding love interest) just...vanished without a trace. No one had any clue where he went and it was the talk of the town for a while after, but the disappearance was never solved. Kamal believes he’s still alive somewhere, even though hardly anyone else thinks so given the timespan between then and present.

First night they’re staying at Kamal’s place, the TV in FK’s room acts up a bit. Starts playing this weird late-night puppet show for some reason? (yeah you can tell where most of my Persona love is funneled here, Midnight Channel homage combined with the PSAs hehehehe but that’s as far as it goes, we’re not jumping into TVs here)

FK goes to school and meets two of their classmates, Nat and Trevor, and Trev immediately starts getting into the conspiracy theory stuff while Nat’s tryin’ to get him to not overload the new kid. Though even she has to admit this town has had some weird things happen, like that old couple a few months ago who disappeared only for their dead bodies to show up again days later, teeth gone and flowers somehow growing from their insides? And someone else has gone missing lately, some real estate lady that no one liked. Guess who shows up the next day in the same condition as the old couple? Whu-oh.

One thing leads to another and this trio somehow stumbles into an alternate dimension of sorts. The “other world” in this AU consists of gardens that find a person with serious pent-up emotions and target what’s really eating them inside and bringing them down in order to, well, prune those bad feels for lack of better phrasing. The shadows there believe they’re making people happy, but you can probably guess that ain’t the case

This is where they get their Personas! Idk what Personas they’d have (except I think it’d be funny if Nat’s was Alucard because vamp fam jokes and idk if he’s this way in anything else he shows up in but the one I vaguely know is half vamp too) but regardless FK, Nat, and Trevor are the first three of the Persona-using protag team.

In a vein similar to P4′s floating cards, P5′s masks, and *ahem* P3′s method (not describing for reasons of suicidal imagery, even though there’s no actual death involved), the Persona-users in this AU get flowers that appear on their chests while in the gardens. And yes, the flowers I imagine they’d have are the ones I’ve been putting in the backgrounds of my Habitician illustrations. :3c

There’s this weird long-haired kid that keeps showing up and only FK can see him for some reason? He seems to know things about the gardens (which he collectively refers to as Eden) and gives them advice for a while. He’s very protective of that potted plant he carries around, too...

Social Links abound! So many Social Links. Everyone gets a Social Link!

Igor remains unchanged, because he’s friggin’ Igor that’s why. The Velvet Room assistant this time is a more human-looking variant of the Carlas, specifically the fortune-telling one. Her hair would start off the same color as every other Velvet Room assistant sans Marie, but at some point she’d wanna get it dyed the same color that her original SFM counterpart’s is. I imagine she’d be a lot like Elizabeth in that she’d not just have fusion requests but also want random items or to visit the town with FK for funsies.

Oh yeah, I should probably talk about Habit in this AU, huh. Well...let’s just say Kamal was right about him still being alive and kicking. ;-)

(spoilers he discovered Eden as well, started calling it the Habitat and set about making it his own in order to make people happy, or that was his intention and now it’s just spiraling all kinds of wrong)

FK’s ultimate Persona and Habit’s? Nearly the exact same. Think Yu’s Izanagi vs Adachi’s Magatsu Izanagi, except Habit’s version of this shared Persona isn’t even close to being an Obviously Evil Duplicate. Just slightly altered aesthetic, maybe a shifted color scheme, nothing too drastically different.

If anyone has any more ideas, especially for potential Personas the characters could have, feel free to throw ‘em at me! I really wanna start thinking of what arcana they’d all be too, but I’m confident enough in my knowledge of tarot to figure that out pretty well on my own. As both a NiGHTS fan and Persona fan, I probably know too much about tarot than anyone who doesn’t actually use the cards reasonably should. (and yeah, if anyone’s curious about the NiGHTS thing, fan favorite boss Jackle throws tarot cards atcha and that’s how I got interested in the subject XD)

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

Comic Series to Read (Pt4)

+REDLANDS by Tom King, Vanessa Del Rey & Jordie Bellaire

A mysterious and bloodthirsty matriarchal force runs the town of Redlands, Florida, and in order to stay on top, sacrifices must be made. Someone is intent on removing these women from the top of the food chain, and he's ready to unleash their darkest secret but has seriously underestimated the lengths the townspeople will go to protect the new order of things.

So this is pretty fucking dark, like it’s fascinating and you do want to know what’ll happen next but... it’s dark. It really is worth the read, unless such things stress you out, in which case try another item on the list! [POC/WOC protagonists, witchcraft, nsfw, sex scenes, murder, human sacrifice, nudity, violence, slavery/prostitution, possession, alcohol/drugs, etc.]   

.

+NAILBITER by Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson & Adam Guzowski

"Where do serial killers come from?" and why has Buckaroo, Oregon given birth to sixteen of the most vile serial killers in the world? NSA Agent Nicholas Finch needs to solve that mystery in order to save his friend, and he'll have to team up with the infamous Edward "Nailbiter" Warren to do it. Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson deliver a mystery that mixes Twin Peaks with the horror of Se7en!

It will repulse you, it’s meant to. The mass-murderer-who-went-free is the titular nailbiter, he has a thing for chewing people’s nails off, before/after death, which was yikes. Turns out he’s from a town where there’s been a metric fucktonne of serial killers, all with highly specific ways of killing, like weird ways.  People have been trying to capitalise on that. Except now people are dying, and while a copycat is suspected, when the protagonist’s friend goes missing looking for answers, he has to step in and find out wtf is happening. [POC protag, serial killers/murder, body horror and gore, violence, animal cruelty, blood, swearing, lynch mobs, etc.]

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+RAT QUEENS by Kurtis J Wiebe & Ron Upchurch

Who are the Rat Queens? A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all god's creatures for profit. It's also a darkly comedic sass-and-sorcery series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!

An instant favourite, honestly. You can’t NOT love these fucking disaster babes, no matter what happens they find a way to fuck up and then fix it. Re-readable a million times over, can’t wait for the next book to be honest.  [LGBPTA+, nudity, sex, alcohol, drinking, violence, magic, dark magic, crazy bullshit and stoned smidgens]

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+ELFQUEST by Richard & Wendy Pini

If you don’t know what elfquest is, google it people, I love it. It’s like 40years old at this point, and you can read MOST of it online (the original coloured books/graphic novels are expensive and rare, but the black and white omnibuses are for sale). 

If you like it, Elfquest: The Final Quest has just been written/finished. That was a fucking emotional rollercoaster i tell you what.  LGBPTA+, poly families, violence, killing, humans are assholes, affections, family, magic, nudity, sex but like... tastefully, mostly... etc.

Read book 3 in the library when I was beginning high school, never looked back, fucking loved them. 

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+MOONSTRUCK by Grace Ellis, Kate Leth & Shae Beagle

Werewolf barista Julie and her new girlfriend go on a date to a close-up magic show, but all heck breaks loose when the magician casts a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it's up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it's too late.

Reading it right now, very cute and easy to relate to. Love the artstyle, it suits the story really well; and the plot is just WHAAAAAAAAAAT, and chaotic. Hard to put down. Awkward wlw werewolves, love them.  [LGBPTA+, nonbinary centaur, gay werewolves, chaos, magic, etc.]

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+BABYTEETH by Donny Cates, Garry Brown & Mike Marts

Sadie Ritter is sixteen years old, nine months pregnant, and scared out of her sweet nerdy mind. Having a baby that young is tough. But with the support of her loving family behind her, everything should be okay. OH YEAH, and also her baby is the antichrist and it's going to break open the barriers between the earthly and demonic planes and unleash eternal suffering to all of humankind. Other than that, though...should be fine.

Don’t own the series yet, but have read a lot of it. Turns out being the mother of the antichrist really, really sucks and your family can be your greatest ally... or craziest cultist bullshit enemy. So hard to put down, I really loved it. [Violence, antichrist, demons, gore, murder, kidnapping, child-stealing, demon raccoons, etc.]

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+THE WOODS by James Tynion & Michael Dialynas

On October 16, 2013, 437 students, 52 teachers, and 24 additional staff from Bay Point Preparatory High School in suburban Milwaukee, WI vanished without a trace. Countless light years away, far outside the bounds of the charted universe, 513 people find themselves in the middle of an ancient, primordial wilderness. Where are they? Why are they there? The answers will prove stranger than anyone could possibly imagine.

Just got this, haven’t yet had a chance to read it (bc Moonstruck), but very excited to!

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Will put up additional posts when I can afford to get through the other like 6 fucking pages of my graphic novel wishlist, lmao. 

If you have a suggestion, let me know or add it on.

[drhu0806]

5 - Take what you need

Fictober day 5. A little late, might post day 6 later today. More fanfic for Persona 5. 

P5 protag x OC. Spoilers for the game October going forward.

Despite all that was going on, the school’s culture festival was well on its way. The school buzzed with frantic energy as the students tried to muster as much halfhearted energy they could to get their displays up in time.

Though they were in different classes, Ren found himself seeking Katsue’s help, guilty as he was considering she had her own preparations to make. She wasn’t particularly bothered about it.

“Maid...outfits?” she asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I wasn’t part of that decision, I swear.”

“Okay… So you came to me because…?”

Ren nervously tapped the ground with his feet. “I’m not asking you to make all of them. Just if you have anything to spare or, uh, know where to start.”

“You think I dress up as a maid or work at that cafe in Shinjuku or something?”

An embarrassed flush crept up his neck. “No, wait, that’s not what I--”

Katsue’s serious expression broke as she burst into laughter. “Oh, wow, I didn’t think you would--Sorry, sorry, I’m just messing with you. I have some stuff at my place you could maybe use.”

They made their way back to her home, making small detours through Shibuya to grab some food. While he was normally never the most talkative type, Katsue wondered if Ren was quieter than usual. She could tell he was listening to what she was saying, but drawing any sentence longer than two words out of him was a massive feat by itself. Even when enticed by his favorite snacks, he did little more than grunt noncommittally.

Under the glasses, she wondered if she was just imagining the small shadows under his eyes.

Having arrived in her apartment, Katsue pulled out whatever she had on hand for Ren to see. Together they searched for a suitable design, searching online for places to get materials. They approximated measurements, calculated costs, even quickly whipped up a rough sample for the final product. At this, something occurred to her.

“They aren’t...really making you do all this work, are they?” Katsue said. “I mean, not that I mind helping you but this just seems a lot of work to begin with for one person…”

Ren refused to meet her gaze and shrugged. “This is what I was assigned to do.”

“And what’s everyone else doing?”

“Dunno. Not much, from what I can remember.”

Indignant, she hissed, “What the hell, man? What about Ann?”

“She got ‘volunteered’ to be one of the girls in the maid outfits but she might have planned on talking herself out of it.”

Katsue’s hands clenched into fists. The amount of work they’d heaped onto a single person was borderline inhumane, especially for something as difficult as costume design. Ren’s reputation no doubt had something to do with this decision. All of a sudden she felt the urge the rip apart all of their work and tell Ren to abandon the effort out of spite. As if reading her mind, he shook his head.

“I don’t want to ruin their fun.”

“It’s ruining someone’s fun,” she replied, looking at him pointedly.

He shrugged, and for the first time that afternoon she detected a small smile playing at the edges of his mouth. “It’s fun when I’m with you.”

“Don’t think you can sweet talk me out of this” she warned, though her anger abated just a little.

But up close, she could see past the glare across his lenses, and Katsue was struck by how tired he looked. What scared her more were the traces of fear and doubt that slipped through, his placid mask cracking now that he was away from the public eye.

“You okay, Ren?” she prompted, quietly.

He rubbed his eyes. “I’m fine. I’m just...worried about Haru.”

Well now she was worried about the two of them, she thought to herself. She wondered how long he stayed awake at night thinking about what happened at that press conference. She wondered how long he turned over different scenarios in his head, asking what had gone wrong. She wondered if he blamed himself.

“Let’s take a break. You want something to drink? I can make some tea.”

Ren went and slid into the sofa in the living room as Katsue busied herself in the kitchen. She picked the most soothing flavor she had, brewing more meticulously than normal to make sure everything came out just right. Soon the space was filled with a pleasant, sweet aroma, and she emerged with two steaming mugs, setting one down on the table next to her companion.  Eager at the prospect of something other than coffee, Ren slowly took a sip, holding the drink close to him, finding comfort in its heat. Katsue flipped on the TV, deliberately surfing through channels that never aired anything related to current events. She settled on an animal documentary as she sank into the cushions next to Ren.

When she looked over, his eyes were half-lidded, barely open as he stared at the moving pictures on the screen. Katsue gently took the half-finished mug, his fingers offering no resistance.

“Sorry, I might have to take a few things when I go, for later,” he muttered. “Gotta finish, you know.”

She wrapped a blanket around his slumped form, gently pushing him so that he was in a more comfortable position. The boy’s eyes fluttered, but he was fading fast.

“You take whatever you need, Ren,” she whispered.

[coffeebooksorme]

‘FURYBORN’ REVIEW

GOODREAD’S SYNOPSIS:  The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it. When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first. A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined. As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

I received a a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As per usual, I was sucked in by a badass cover and intriguing premise, only this time it paid off! I read this book (a 512 page book) in a day. A DAY! I hardly ever (meaning, very very very rarely) do that! I was so enthralled by this story and its characters that I honestly could not put it down, even when it meant being exhausted for work the next day. Totally. Worth it.

I’m being 100% candid with you when I say that I think this book is going to be one of the next top fantasy YA books. It’s got action, romance, magic, TIME TRAVEL, well fleshed out characters, and a really interesting premise. It’s original without being all “But I’m not like other YA books”, wah. There’s really something here for everyone in this book and I think anyone who has any inkling for fantasy or just...badass books in general, should pick this up when it comes out.

The premise does a very good job of giving you an idea of what this book is about, but it still leaves enough to the imagination that there will be points in the book where you will gasp in shock. And laugh because the author did an excellent job of incoorporating some humor to lighten it up every now and again.

Our two main protags are Rielle (the past) and Elianna (the future) and they’re obvious the Blood queen and the Sun queen, respectively, in our story. We start off the book knowing Rielle is the blood queen and end knowing that Elianna is the sun queen so...no spoilers, I promise. 

Rielle is this sheltered...I don’t want to say meek, but let’s say...hrm, she’s been beaten down. She’s got this awesomesauce power that no one else has (yeah, yeah, trope-y tropiness going on here) but she’s taught by her dad and the ministers of her faith to tamper it down because it’s weird, the yokel locals might not like it, and this awesomesauce power caused a horrifying accident when Rielle was little. Secretly, she’s a badass magician who just wants some Princely loving and to be allowed to live her life like any other normal chick. Simple enough.

BUT OH NO! She shows off her awesomesauce power and as predicted, the yokel locals and ministers freak the heck out! In order to prove that she’s not some rando magician willing to murder everybody, they decide to put her through a 7 week trial where she proves to everyone that she’s loyal and devot in using her powers only for good. Rielle, who has never even been encouraged to use her powers let alone really learn about them in depth (like every other magic wielder in the country) is totally gung ho for it! Thus, shenanigans ensue!

With each trial, we see more and more of who Rielle truly is shine to the surface. It was so great to really see the growth of her character and cheer her on as more of her badassery emerged. I know the ‘chosen one’ trope is there with her and it makes you want to roll your eyes that she has this ‘power that no one has’ but I really enjoyed Rielle as a character. She is fiercely loyal to her friends, absolutely dedicated in wanting to prove this loyaltly, a 100% fighter to her very marrow, and yet she’s vulnerable. We get to see this vulnerability throughout her interactions with her father (who has never shown anything more than barely checked disdain) and it just made me want to reach into the book, hug her, give her some cake, and tell her it would be alright.

The next POV is from Elianna who is this smarmy, smartass, egotistical assassin who is literally snapping necks and cashing checks. She was taught from a very young age by her mother how to kill folks in order to put food on the table. I was very pleasantly surprised at the fact that the author made her mother an amputee because I had never encountered that in a novel. She’s a side character so I don’t want to say it’s rep (?) but hey, I was surprised. And then pissed off with what happened to her character later on. I won’t go into it because it’s major spoilers for the book, but...yeah. Back to Elianna.

Elianna is annoying at first. Think Celaena Sardothien from the ToG series or Mia Corvere from Nevernight and that’s pretty much Elianna. She’s got amazing fight skills, she’s stealthy, she’s sexy, and she knows it. Oh, and she’s like Wolverine because she can heal from anything. She is indestructible! But she has no idea why. But, of course, she’s got an ooey gooey inside to her. She portrays this mask of hardness in order to hide the ooey gooeyness because killing folks is how she supports her family, it’s how she’s going to get them out, and if she doesn’t do it, then they’ll starve. She is the breadwinner for her family and her devoutness to her family really sold me with her character.

Her POV follows her going from hunting down this known rebel and being ordered to kill him to basically lusting after him and joining his rebel cause. It’s all a ruse at first and then, of course, as the story progresses, Elianna’s ooey gooeyness comes to the surface, one of the rebel leaders (Wolf and Elianna’s man) and a princess in disguise (no, not Jasmine) basically submerge her in what is actually the real world and help her come to terms with the fact that she’s been part of the problem instead of the solution. 

Rather than rehash the book, I’m going to leave it there because going any further would spoil it and I don’t want to do that because it is so good and you must read it! There’s diversity of characters but it’s never made into a big deal. It’s always thrown in like ‘Yeah, I like chicks.’ or ‘Yeah, my name is Bob and this is my husband.’ Women are in high positions of power. There’s a king in Rielle’s time frame but he isn’t the kingly type that puts down women. I mean, the entire religion in the book is focused on two queens. None of the women hate on each other over a man. There’s actually some really good positive female interaction through the entire book. I dig it a lot.

The writing itself is astounding. The author did such a good job painting a picture of not only one world but two different worlds and still making them weave together that I didn’t feel like I was reading two entirely different books. That is difficult as hell, but it was pulled off so beautifully. The characters are well written and even though they could be considered trope-y because of what I mentioned before, they have enough flaws and different characteristics to really set them apart. Not to mention there is significant growth throughout the book! I can only imagine what happens throughout the rest of the series. Not to mention, the side characters are awesome! Our sidekicks, if you will, are just as fleshed out as our mains and were so much fun to read! I loved them just as much as I loved the two mains. Heck, there were some characters that only appeared in the book for a chapter or two and I fell in love!

Oh, before I forget, this is a pretty explicit sex scene in the book. It was...weird. I mean, I’ve read SJM so I’m used to explicit sex scenes in YA but this one just felt...unnecessary. It could have faded to black and I would have been fine with it. I mean, I used to write NSYNC smut back in the day, I’m fine with smut, but this was just...weird. I honestly have no other word to describe it. Well, wait, no, I lied, maybe bad. Bad would be a good word for it because it made me feel awkward and I didn’t appreciate the fact that the author perpetuated the idea that a girls first time is supposed to be painful. Nah, son, it’s not...not unless you have something physically wrong with you or you’re not properly lubricated. Otherwise, the first time just feels weird and awkward and then should move on to amazing. Not painful. But whatever, let’s keep that stereotype ball rolling, eh?

So...if you like assassins, magic, diversity that’s in there without needing a huge neon sign pointing to it, badassery, and just an all around amazing fantasy novel, then this is the book for you!

[regenlen]

To Be A Mother

Wrote three little ficlets to celebrate Mother’s Day! Each one deals with the perspective of each Dragon Age protag, and their life as mothers. Hope you all enjoy.

Pairings: Alistair/Warden Cousland, Fenris/Female Hawke, Cullen/Inquisitor Trevelyan

Warnings: Minor suggestion of smut, but nothing explicit or what I’d even deem NSFW

Note: Yes, I know the holiday doesn’t exist in Thedas. Just roll with it. Also, this is generally set post-Trespasser.

Mother’s Day, like any other holiday or special occasion, comes with guests and schmoozing nobles. Even in Ferelden, nobles pounce on any excuse for a dinner and a chance to gather and gossip. Riona Cousland politely smiles and thanks those who offer her a “Happy Mother’s Day, Your Majesty.” Many are just tossed out, but a few are sincere, and those are the ones she remembers.

But none of that matters. To her, the real joy comes with the arrival of the pitter-patter of small feet hurrying towards her. Despite being surrounded by guests, she ignores all of them and move towards the sound, her smile brightening.

“Mama!” Prince Scott, barely three years old, runs towards her at full speed. Riona bends down and scoops him up, pressing kisses to his face as he squeals.

Alistair follows not far behind, paying no mind to those approaching him to catch his attention. His eyes are on his family, grinning from ear to ear. “Someone demanded his mother’s attention. It is Mother’s Day, after all.”

“Hap’y Ma’s Day!” the little boy exclaims. “Papa and I made cake!”

“You did?” Riona glances skeptically at Alistair. She knows how much of a baker he is not.

He smiles sheepishly. “Attempted, at any rate. Cook might’ve had to step in halfway through, but it’s edible.”

She presses a kiss to Scott’s head, before moving to Alistair and doing the same. “Thank you, both of you. Having you both here, it’s all I could ever hope for.”

Alistair bumps his forehead against hers. “Happy Mother’s Day, dear. You’ve worked harder for it than anyone I know.”

Riona truly did. She went through so much to get here. She remembers all that time on the road, looking for a cure to a millennia-long scourge that threatened to end her life and rob her of any chance of having a family. It strikes her how impossible this moment once was, just five years ago. And now here she stands, alive and holding her son. She couldn’t be happier, and judging by Alistair’s smile, he couldn’t be either.

Her only concern now is to figure out how to tell him they were due to be parents again.

Mother’s Day greets Hawke with the sun trailing through the open window. She feels the bed shift and dip next to her. An arm wraps around her waist, and a nose nuzzles against her neck before familiar lips place a kiss there.

“Good morning,” she says to Fenris.

“And to you. Happy Mother’s Day.”

She smiles, stretching before leaning back against him, humming contentedly. “It seems Shae is honoring it by letting us sleep in. Oh, he knows how to make his mother happy.”

“It is rather late, isn’t it? I wonder if we should be concerned.”

Hawke turns over, facing him. “Well, I don’t smell anything burning and didn’t hear any screams, so he’s probably alive and unharmed.” Her fingers run over his chest, tracing the outlines of his muscles and scars. “And it’s such a nice morning…”

Fenris rolls them over, kissing Hawke deeply. They get lost in each other for awhile, taking advantage of the peace and quiet.

Eventually, from somewhere downstairs, a young voice calls out, “Mum! Mum, wake up! I made something for you.”

Hawke lifts up her head, chuckling a little as she begins to get up. “And there he is.”

Once they don clothes, the pair walk out of the bedroom and to the railing overlooking downstairs. In the main room stood Shae, proudly standing over his creation. Somehow he had gotten his hands on a canvas and had stretched it out over the floor. Jars of paint stand around it, and a few drops dot the floor around it. The painting is of Hawke, carried out with as much artistic skill as a six year old is capable of.

“It’s you!” Shae grins. “Happy Mother’s Day!”

Hawke climbs down the stairs, almost in awe as she rounds the corner and walks up to the painting. “How did you get all of this?”

“Uncle Varric.”

“Ah, I should have known.” Hawke smiles widely as she looks down at the painting. “Thank you. We’ll have to find a frame for this.”

“You really like it?”

“Of course I do.” Hawke really does. Even if it’s no artistic masterpiece, the work and thought he put into it almost brings her to tears.

Fenris steps over, smiling softly as he admires the painting. “Luckily, he has your artistry and not mine.”

Shae snorts. “Yeah. Sorry Dad, but even your stick figures are bad.”

Hawke bursts into laughter, even as Fenris looks (mostly) mock offended. She pulls Shae into a hug, snickering as she kisses his head. “All right you. Let’s clean this up, and see if we can’t make some breakfast.”

But rather than immediately join in, she simply watches for a moment as Shae begins picking up his jars, grinning apologetically at Fenris. The elf huffs out a laugh and ruffles Shae’s hair before bending down to help.

Hawke never expected to be a mother. Shae had been a surprise to her and Fenris, born in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty. She hadn’t been sure she was even cut out for the job. Yet, after having lost so much, especially family, the thought of gaining family, of bringing something good into the world won out. And now, she can’t imagine life without him, the precocious boy who’d stolen his parents’ hearts. She’s been many things: refugee, Champion, figurehead of a resistance. But the role of mother, for all its simplicity, is the one she is most grateful for.

Mother’s Day comes as something bittersweet to Ilia. She once hated the holiday, never wanting to celebrate a mother who looked down on her. Too often on this day, she had to swallow her anger and hurt and pretend that she loved the wretch who tore apart her self-esteem and did everything she could to make her youngest daughter miserable, all because she was miserable, and wanted someone vulnerable to take it out on. When Ilia finally got away, she swore to have nothing to do with the day again.

But now, there’s happiness in the day again.

As she walks out into the kitchen, her brow raises at the sight of Cullen standing in the kitchen, perching little Owen on his hip as he helps their daughter, Aislin, stir something in a bowl. He murmurs instructions to her, holding the bowl still as she stirs the spoon.

Owen turns his head, and he lets out a sound at the sight of his mother. Cullen and Aislin turn, and the little girl abandons her task for the moment to run over to the table. “It’s Mother’s Day! We got you flowers!”

As stated, there stands a vase of wildflowers. “We’ve been busy this morning, I see.” Ilia lets her daughter hand her the vase, carefully taking it from her with a smile. “Thank you, lovebug.”

“She insisted,” Cullen says with a smile. “And also on us making you breakfast. Though I can’t attest to how it’ll turn out.”

Ilia sets the vase down, herding Aislin back into the kitchen. “You’ll be all right, so long as you’re not planning a full Orlesian spread or something.”

“Like we’d make something Orlesian in this household,” Cullen says with a scoff. He glances down at the bowl. “Just eggs and some bread. We were hoping you’d sleep in a little while longer so we could serve it to you in bed.”

“The lack of commotion woke me up,” Ilia teases, leaning against him. “Peace and quiet are usually signs of trouble.” She smiles at Owen, reaching around and brushing some of his curly hair out of his eyes. “I can help out-”

“No!” Aislin pouted and pointed to the kitchen table. “Momma’s not supposed to work today! Daddy and I gotta do it.”

Ilia suppressed a laugh, though she couldn’t quite smother a smile. “Are you ordering me to not help?”

“Yes!”

Cullen snorts, a smile playing at his lips and lighting his eyes. “Best do as she says, love.”

“All right, all right. Want me to at least take Owen?”

Cullen nods, handing the baby to her. It’s always difficult, with only one usable arm, but Ilia decided a long time ago that it would not stop her from being able to hold them. After some adjusting, she has him secured and walks over to the table. She sits down, placing him in her lap.

It’s such a tame thing, she thinks, taking joy in watching her husband and daughter chatter away as they make breakfast. But only because of the life she led just a few years earlier makes this seem so modest. She once led the Inquisition, felling Corypheus and going up against an elven god. Some might even think she’s fallen from grace. To her, the domesticity and contentment she finds here is not a trade-off, but a reward. Here, amongst her family, she’s finally learned to be happy.

[nickireadstfc]

The Foxhole Court, Chapter 1: Angsty With A Chance Of Extra™

In which we are introduced to Neil Josten, the angst-iest protag since OOTP!Harry Potter, and we meet his new friends: Coach Wymack, a Certified Hufflepuff, Andrew Minyard, a kitten who thinks of nothing but murder all day, and Kevin Day, a Big Deal. Everyone is blessed with a healthy dose of Extra and Dramatic™. Hernandez is also there, I guess.

Sounds good? Then it’s time for Nicki to read The Foxhole Court.

So a while ago I made this post demonstrating my absolute confusion over what the fuck The Foxhole Court is (What is the court everyone’s talking about? Why so much orange? What is that weird ass sport? What is the court???). Since then, I’ve had countless anons trying to explain the plot to me and/or urging me to read the damn books.

So here I am. Reading the damn books.

Disclaimer: This is, first and foremost, 100% inspired by/based on Mark Reads ‘Harry Potter’ which I truly believe is one of the most hilarious and well-written things you can find on the Internet. Mark, I owe you everything.

Let’s fucking go.

           Neil Josten let his cigarette burn to the filter without taking a drag. He didn’t want the nicotine; he wanted the acrid smoke that reminded him of his mother.

What the hell. Two sentences in and I can already tell that Neil is extra. Like, seriously Super Extra™. I get that it’s meant tragically and refers to past trauma and all, but oh my god. This is some Augustus Waters type shit.

For the record: I love it.

(Please do not ever take anything I say at face value. I’m a sarcastic piece of shit and I can already tell I’m going to love this series. Please.)

So apparently, Neil’s dad is in prison and his mom is dead. He is also an actual homeless dude who sleeps either in an abandoned real estate or just in his school’s locker room. What the fuck, that is the saddest shit I’ve read all day. No wonder is angst levels are through the ceiling. Someone care for this kid.

           His neighbors rarely left the comfort of their couches and daily soaps, but every time he came and went he risked getting spotted. If people realized he was squatting they’d start asking difficult questions.

Okay so this is my bilingual brain talking, I know squatting means something else here, but I just imagined Neil idly doing his squats in his appropriated backyard.

No shit, dude. I’d start asking questions too.

This is the point where we finally get some info on what the fuck Exy is.

           Exy was a bastard sport, an evolved sort of lacrosse on a soccer-sized court with the violence of ice hockey, and Neil loved every part of it from its speed to its aggression.

MURDER LACROSSE! Yay!

Why is it called Exy though, is what I’m wondering. Because that is a dumb ass name. Endanger and eXplore Yourself? Extremist Youngsters? Extremely Yellow?

The last one is a joke. We all know that they’re fucking orange.

What I’m also wondering is how the hell that sport came to be. It evolved from lacrosse, sure, but like… How? Someone just thought “Hey, I want my lacrosse to be a lot more MURDEROUS so I’m gonna play it on a BIG ASS FIELD with VIOLENT ASS PLAYERS”?

Then again, someone also thought to just play golf but with tiny weak balls and clubs, and today we have mini golf. So there’s that.

Now it’s time for the entrance of someone who’s shaping up to be my first favourite character: Coach Wymack.

           “Bullshit,” Neil said. “No one recruits from Millport. No one knows where it is.”

           “There’s this thing called a map,” the stranger said. “You might have heard of it.”

That’s his first line. That’s his first line. I love this guy.

I continue loving this guy because he offers Neil a way out of his shitty living situation: Hey, come play with my team of rejects, homeless dudes, juvies and addicts! We might be so shitty we’re gonna get kicked out of the Almighty Exy League if we don’t deliver, and our players have regular actual suicide attempts, but at least we’re getting a lot of media coverage! Oh, you’re on the run from your murderous dad and trying to lay low? My bad.

What a dude.

Next up, another character introduces himself in a wonderfully defining way: Andrew Minyard, who likes Neil’s hot bod so much he decides to smack a racquet into it.

          “God damn it, Minyard. This is why we can’t have nice things.”

I agree. Chill out, my man, no need for violence.

(I have a slight feeling “No need for violence” is not exactly the Foxes’ team slogan.)

Surprisingly, Neil turns out to be a massive stalker fanboy as he exactly knows who Andrew is and has been collecting newspaper clippings on him for, like, years. No biggie. I can already smell the shippers lurking in the distance.

Spoiler alert: I also know that those two will end up Banging™ at some point because tumblr told me. It’s seriously the only thing tumblr told me was for sure happening.

What can I say. We love our gays here on this hellsite.

However, Neil’s ability to easily follow all the drama that was going on in Exy World also adds to the questionable existence of Exy. A sport has to be around for some time to get that kind of news coverage.

Example: My best friends do competitive cheerleading, which has been around for years and years, but it’s still a minority sport here in Germany. They have massive tournaments and fierce competition between teams, yet no one gives a shit. Only like, two teams even get any news coverage, and certainly not enough to make this level of stalking possible.

I’m calling bullshit artistic freedom.

(I don’t actually mind too much because I live for the drama. Also, Palmetto State Uni is fictional as well, so who gives a shit.)

It’s time for another wonderful character introduction: Meet Kevin Day.

We don’t know much about Kevin yet except for the fact that he’s a Big Deal in Exy World and Neil sorta hates him. They go way back, apparently.

           Kevin was sitting on top of the entertainment center along the back wall. He’d pushed the TV off to one side to give himself more room and covered the space around him with papers.

Again, this may be me bilingual brain talking, but. How am I supposed to understand this?

Papers, as in newspaper that he’s been reading? Like “Oh god, you guys were taking so long being Emo and Persuasive out there with your contracts I just had to read something to save myself from actual brain death”? Or papers, as in actual sheets of paper that he just spread around himself for dramatic effect??

Either way, it’s Extra and Dramatic and I love it.

           He and his adopted brother Riko Moriyama wrote the numbers one and two on their faces with markers, tracing them over and over every time they started to fade. Neil didn’t understand it then, but Kevin and Riko were aiming for the stars. They were going to be famous, they promised him.

Literally what level of E X T R A.

I cannot stop laughing at this.

What a nerd.

Also: Riko! I’ve heard that name before. I think he and Neil don’t exactly wear friendship bracelets. I think.

Does he wear friendship bracelets with Kevin?

Intrigued for more. #findrikosfriendshipbracelet2k17

Kevin is also probably kind of an idiot. Like, you watched a man get murdered with this guy and yet you don’t recognize him with a little bit of hair dye on? Either Neil is Hannah Montana or you’re just a massive dumbo.

(Or he’s just pretending not to know him for Plot Related Reasons, which is the most likey answer. But let’s go with Hannah Montana for now.)

           “Your opinion has been noted and duly dismissed” Wymack said.

Fury, anyone?

           “You need one of us to talk to your parents? (…) Are they the ones who hurt you?”

Have I mentioned I love Wymack.

           “You know the people I look for. (…) Foxes are Foxes for a reason and they know we wouldn’t sign you if you didn’t qualify. That doesn’t mean they know specifics. It’s not my place to ask, and I’m sure as hell not going to tell them.”

Okay but have I mentioned I love Wymack.

           Coach Wymack was quiet for a minute. “Did you think I made the team the way it is because I thought it would be a good publicity stunt? It’s about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as ou get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you.”

Okay but HAVE I MENTIONED I LOVE WYMACK.

Holy fucking shit. I cannot get over this guy.

This is the most Hufflepuff thing I’ve read in probably forever. Like, he deserves a badge. A Certified Hufflepuff badge. Which is, in my opinion, the highest honours you can give someone. What the hell.

Obvs, Neil signs with the Foxes after that shining, glittering star of a motivation speech.

Next up: University! Murder lacrosse! Childhood trauma! Fun gay times!

(Side note: I feel like that’s a good description of the series as a whole.)

I seriously cannot wait.