#eldritch! tamlin agenda 2023

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Thinking about it, and Tamlin's powers are terrifying and have the potential to be world-ending. He can essentially bend reality, via shapeshifting himself, other people, and his environment. And, he can manipulate the very air you breathe, like that's low-key awesome.

That's super eldritch of him.

And these terrifying powers are slept on in-universe.

Shout out to @bookishfeylin and her really awesome Villain! Tamlin oneshot that inspired this post.

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Blurb 1

During his adventures into the Strange Lands (the Americas of ACOTAR) and mythical corners of the Continent, Tamlin attained exceptional degrees of transformational power, which he concisely classified into two distinct outcomes: Outwardness and Inwardness.

Simply put, Outward transformations refer to alterations that violate the conventional reality, affecting the framework of the world itself. On the other hand, Inward transformations involve modifications that impact those who abide by such a framework.

During his tenure as a High Lord, Tamlin exclusively wielded the strength of the Inward category.

Inwardness is philosophically understood by the Metamorphs as the capacity to transform one into a multitude of creatures, a diverse array of plants, a myriad of interesting shapes and forms, inanimate objects, and even sentient but lifeless entities, all within the bounds of nature.

By adhering to this tradition, one can reproduce an aspect of Spring's primordial magic so long as they grasp the nature of the target they wish to turn into. Failure to follow the intricacies of the target may lead to unforeseen consequences and potential backlash.

In the case of Tamlin, his Chimeric Beast form was a made-up animal originally drawn in crayons, an abnormality that could not have existed in the natural world in the first place. As a result, he would endure heavy punishment in the form of anger befitting his hide, with its effects somewhat reduced by possessing a Heart of Stone. His combat prowess in this form is as stellar as the chimera is fantastical, at the very least, thanks to his strong attunement with the childhood creation.

In the annals of history, ancient High Lords of the Spring Court were reputed to have warped entire physical terrains of Prythian, plucked mountains to make missiles that destroy armies, imparted diseased limbs or parts onto another, as well as turned their enemies into weakened, crippled versions of themselves. However, throughout his reign Tamlin largely underutilized this authority due to his inability to fully accept the High Lordship that the Magic forced upon him, his unfortunate lack of ideation and necessary pursuit of knowledge to tap into the potential, and the mandatory ruthlessness to even begin sparing this kind of usage a thought.

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The more I think about it, the more creepy animal traits I can assign to Tamlin.

Because there are. So many animals, and it'd be funny if Tamlin could blend into his surroundings like an octopus, or regenerate parts of his body like an axolotl, or spit venom like a spitting cobra, or shed his skin like a dang reptile, or do any of the myriad of other cool things animals could do, in his creepy, already-mostly-animal High Fae form.

The horror potential is literally endless.

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The Death of Night (3-13-23)

"It's over Tamlin." Rhysand sneered at the Lord of Spring, as the Inner Circle stood behind him, ready to back their High Lord if need be. "You've lost, I've won." The Lord of Night smirked. "Although, I must admit, this game was fun." Tamlin didn't rise to the bait, merely staring past Rhysand and at Cassian. None of the Inner Circle knew it yet, but the grounds of Rosehall would be their resting place.

Cassian coughed, finding it hard to breathe. Was the air thin? He could've sworn it hadn't been a moment before... Rhysand was too caught up in his gloating to the air around the Illyrian general was... thinning. He coughed again, a bright splatter of blood coating his palm. Alarmed, he looks up, meeting Tamlin's eyes.

"I'll have to admit Rhysand," The Lord of Spring's voice is measured, quiet. "I do find it...amusing, to be frank."

"Amusing?" Rhysand arches a black brow. "In what way is your defeat amusing?" At that, Tamlin chuckles, the sound eerie.

"Defeat? Rhysand..." Tamlin's eyes are vicious and feral, glowing iridescent with the tempest of the immense power within him. He cocks his head, the gesture unsettling, inhuman. "You've been the unwitting prey this whole time, stumbling into a trap."

Behind Rhysand, Cassian makes a pained cry as he feels his lungs rupture within his body. Blood bubbles out of his mouth, and his heart begins to beat at a manic, frenzied pace, tearing itself apart. The Illyrian general falls to the ground with a thud, blood still seeping out his mouth. Azriel launches himself at the Lord of Spring, dagger raised. The shadow-singer explodes to pieces a moment later, body parts and gore falling to the ground.

"Tamlin!" Rhysand watches as Mor begins to shriek in fear as thorns burst through her skin, blooming into blood-red roses. She collapses to the floor in a heap of bloodied stems and limbs. Amren's eyes flash silver, but the ancient creature is pulverized by the very atmosphere itself, reduced to a bloody smear on the soil.

In a fit of rage Rhysand calls upon the darkness, but before he can act, Tamlin lunges at him, in his beast form, pinning the Lord of Night beneath him. His jaws clamp around Rhysand's throat, and his claws dig deep furrows into Rhysand's chest. Rhysand struggles, as Tamlin rips a bloody hole in his torso, exposing the fae's beating heart.

"You say you are the most powerful High Lord in the history of Prythian," Tamlin's voice is guttural and beastly. "But you bleed the same as any of us." With a single, vicious motion, Tamlin rips Rhysand's heart out, piercing the organ with his claws.

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Tempted to make an AU where Tamlin is actually a villain and eldritch and he and Tarquin ally, and set out to destroy Rhysand and the Inner Circle.

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Tamlin, Plants, and Reanimation

Tamlin could very well reanimate people using fungi. They wouldn't be the same, mind you, but there was an attempt.

Lucien's the only soul Tamlin's shown the ability to, and Lucien doesn't ever want his closest friend to ever do it again, because reanimation, like all magic, is a give and take...

And Tamlin can't give a body life without the magic taking a little bit of his soul in exchange, which he can never get back, even with the benefit of being able to control the now living corpse.