#fairies mistrust them

[fairy-verse]

I dont know if this was asked before but what do fairies and perhaps the firstborns think of their non fairy counterparts? Regular Skeleton monsters. How would their treat them?

Like eg. Instead of a human child wanders into the forest what about a skeleton child?

Or an adult skeleton?

The Big folk are not only just humans, but also regular monsters as well. While it is true that monsters hold much magic within themselves, this magic is in fact slightly different from fairy magic. They may be able to experience the magical world with much better ease than humans, but fairies are strange to them as well. They live by different rules; the kind that monsters know little about.

So, in short: The Big Folk include both humans and monsters, and if monsters are not careful around fairy territory, then they will be treated just the same as the humans.

[theminecraftbee]

got to talking with some friends about traffic!cleo before tomorrow and. do you ever think about how traffic!cleo is only ever happy in the endings where she does early enough it’s before anyone she cares about. how in third life she seems annoyed but satisfied with her ending, and in limited life she describes it as “happy endings are about where you end your story”. but in limited life she’s so angry and sad for so long because she loses the fairy fort to mistrust so EARLY. and in double life she holds on until she can’t hold on anymore, can’t force herself to take a shot that will hurt scott, and has one of the single most tragic stories in that entire series?

because like. I do. I think about this a lot.

no matter how much I want cleo to win. I don’t think traffic!cleo wants to. I think, for her, that’s the last thing in the world she wants, actually.

all she wants is to hold on to her people and never have to lose them.

[blackblooms]

The fairies:

A group of self-proclaimed researchers that established themselves inside the ruins of the dragon keep. Fairies collect and gather knowledge from all around the world and provide guidance to those who need it.

Fairies are pathologically honest and will always speak their mind, but they are also very protective of the information they gather, only sharing what is essential to make their point. Fairies tend to be perceived as callous and manipulative and most people see these creatures with mistrust and superstition. Very little is known about their species and only 6 fairies have ever been observed in Narkaas.

Morgan the Sky fairy (they/them) The purple fairy is deeply introverted, resulting in very sparse appearances compared to their peers. They are both a dreamer and a cynic, preferring the refuge of fairytales and music to any kind of social interaction. They can be found in very high places, such as mountains or the top of buildings, but will only engage with people they find interesting enough. They are the first person that Lady encounters on her journey and appear to have a particular interest in her quest.

Fomore the Tears fairy (she/her) The blue fairy is known to appear before those who are dying or grieving. She is a brooding and gloomy individual, with a fascination for the tragic and morbid. She can be found most often in graveyards, especially those in proximity to water. She spends most of her time reading, dancing, and quietly enjoys the sounds of the sea and rain.

Loki the Wild Fairy (any/all) A free and untamed spirit by nature, the green fairy's appearances are common but unpredictable. Loki enjoys meeting new people and tending to their plants. They tend to get into long rambles about whatever interests them at the moment and often get distracted. Loki is a fan of any place with plants and can often be found tending to the plants of any old forest or garden.

Agni the flame fairy (she/her) The red fairy appears to those who pursue progress or change. She has a fierce and hard-working temper and is most often found near any kind of machinery, working to either build or repair experimental devices. She is kind but tough and judgemental, having little patience for fools and cowards.

Baal the Heart fairy (he/him) The yellow fairy appears to those seeking love or joy. Baal hangs around public places, offering romantic advice and fresh baked goods to those he meets. He is known as a hedonist and a tempter, luring people to indulge in self-gratifying vices. Despite his sweet and caring exterior, Baal is known to get very petty and toxic toward those who upset him.

Yami the Light fairy (they/them) By far the most recluse and elusive fairy. The grey fairy only appears to those who settle on a long and dangerous quest for forbidden knowledge. They spend most of their days meditating in dark and quiet places, away from any civilization.

[annymation]

It's been awhile since I've done an ask in tumbler but it's time for me to slowly get out from my shy box. Anyways, these are questions for Aster:

1. How easy is it to earn his trust?

2. How easy is it to earn his mistrust?

3. Would he prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth?

4. What memory does he revisit often?

5. How easy is it for him to ignore flaws in other people?

6. How sensitive is he to his own flaws?

7. How hard is it for him to shake a sense of guilt?

I hope these aren't too much to ask, i'm really really curious about Aster as a character 😅

1. That’s a tricky question because it really depends on the person he’s interacting with, since he can see people’s star’s, that is, their deepest desires and essentially their soul. So for example, he took one look at Magnifico’s star, that was actually a black hole, and now he doesn’t trust Magnifico’s at all, sure he might get tricked by the guy but he would never trust him. However, even people with good in their heart can do bad things, but Aster kinda blindly trusts people that have bright stars. So I’d say: if you’re anyone other than King Magnifico and Queen Amable, then yes it’s very easy to earn his trust.

2. Okay, let’s say you’re someone with a good heart and you did something bad to Aster… They’ll most likely still trust you later if you apologize. Aster sees the best in people and believes everyone can do better, so I’d say you’d have to screw up REEEEEAALLY badly to earn his mistrust, it’s very difficult.

3. Hmm that’s interesting 🤔 I’d say he’d prefer an unpleasant truth, although he omitted the truth about him knowing Asha her whole life for most of the story, Aster hates lies, that’s actually something I was gonna implement in the story as “A star thing” like, Aster would mention all stars hate lying, as a reference to how the Blue Fairy made Pinocchio’s nose grow every time he lied. And that’s also why he hates the king and queen so much, they always lie. Also, no matter how unpleasant a truth may be, he’d probably find the bright side in it.

4. His memories are mostly from watching people bellow, and mostly watching Asha. I’d say his favorite memory is seeing Asha reading story books with her grandfather, she did it often, but he loved listening to the fairytales.

5. Really easy.

6. I’d say he’s sensitive about them, but not too much, as in, they manage to work through them, but when the insecurities hit they REALLY HIT.

7. Aster hasn’t shown it that much but he still feels guilty about how that plan he had about singing at the plaza (chapter 9, which btw you guys should revisit, I updated the song they play, now there’s ACTUALLY a song and not just me describing it) so yeah he feels guilty that the plan kinda backfired, and he also feels guilty for not realizing Asha got captured right behind his back, those guilts are still in him, but he doesn’t let it show since he internalizes it all a lot, I was gonna make him show that guilt more in chapter 12 but then I realized that was too much of a downer and would make it feel like Aster was making himself more of the victim than Asha, when they both equally went through a lot. So I decided to keep those feelings of guilt more subtle and implicit.

[hersweetrevenge]

corey cunningham headcanons [volume three]

corey has my heart, i want to know every single detail about him, and if i am not given that information then i will simply make it up (he told me through prophetic dreams). based on this set of questions. and if you missed the previous instalments, no you didn't: volume one and volume two.

[credit where credit is due, some of these hcs are shared with @/slutforstabbings, and i have merely adopted into my own belief system and expanded on certain points that i latched onto, so please go read through blake's stuff too because they actually know what they're talking about !!]

WARNING for angst, brief talks of sex, and mentions of child abuse, child death, mental health, trauma and sexuality.

[image sources: X, X]

What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

corey had a pretty isolated childhood, the internet wasn't really a thing for a while, joan put a lot of restrictions on his television time, and he never had play dates or the chance to hang out with people outside of school. therefore corey is the daydream king, always in his own little world. corey had a lot of spare time and he can sit and zone out for hours, unbothered, if he has the time. he's been chastised so many times by joan for not paying attention or being away with the fairies.

however, that's not to say he can't pay attention when he needs to, he has a very good attention span when he has something to focus on, like school work or reading or watching movies. but, if it's a mindless task he can do without thinking then his mind does tends to wander.

How easy is it for your character to laugh?

i've said this before but the way having a laughing fit with corey until my sides hurt would literally fix me.

corey has a funny sense of humour, kind of dark but kind of dorky. pre-accident corey laughs pretty easily. at school he had a kind of off-beat friend group who had an overall off-beat sense of humour that occupied them in the cafeteria or while they slacked off in gym class.

post-accident corey holds back from making his own jokes or being funny, like he doesn't know the social rules anymore. like he doesn't deserve to laugh or thinks people will be mad at him for thinking he can be funny.

How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

as previously mentioned, corey has a lot of time to think. he struggles to sleep well at night and honestly his daydreaming can make things worse if he latches onto a thought and keeps following it when he should be trying to clear his mind.

if he wants some stimulation though, he goes on wikipedia. he will fall asleep having fallen down a wiki rabbit hole and wake up in the morning on the page for like the 1847 great fire of bucharest with no memory of how he ended up there.

How easy is it to earn their trust? How easy is it to earn their mistrust?

it's not that easy to earn corey's trust. corey is used to being in a pretty emotionally volatile environment, so he does a lot of premature damage control around people that he doesn't know well enough to read their moods and behaviour. however, once he feels more comfortable, he's a lot more open (though still has a sense of wariness in the back of his mind). basically, it's not impossible to earn his trust.

post-accident corey is a different story though, he has an automatic distrust of everyone. he can't assume anyone intentions are solely good for a long, long time. honestly, he doesn't trust most people, he canonically only goes to one gas station because he trusts they won't speak to him. and he distrusts his co-workers at prevo for different reasons, i.e. he's been low-level pranked more times than he cares to remember.

What triggers nostalgia for them most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

corey gets good nostalgia and bad nostalgia.

bad nostalgia is usually something to do with joan, or remembering how he felt as a child when he was on edge so often. spaghetti truly was joan's worst meal so the smell, taste, texture and look of spaghetti is something he can't really stand anymore. if he never eats spaghetti again, it'll be too soon. rabbit paraphernalia give a lot of bad nostalgia.

corey's sense of good nostalgia is pretty specific. good nostalgia comes from watching old movies. he loves westerns and anything cowboy adjacent. a lot of the shows he watched as a kid were older cartoons so he gets a lot of nostalgia from those too. the smell of night time, where everything feels kind of dewy is good nostalgia for him, as well as the smell of the woodwork room at school.

What were they told to stop doing most often as a child?

i've mentioned before that as a baby, corey was actually very content and not fussy at all, which joan was unreasonably pleased about -- he was her perfect, happy, chubby-cheeked baby. however, once he hit the terrible twos and developed some autonomy, that's when joan's control issues started to really kick in with her parenting.

joan told corey off for doing all sorts of things as a child -- fidgeting too much, being too boisterous, getting grass stains on his clothes, not finishing his dinner, meddling with the rabbits (or anything else around the house), watching cartoon network, not holding her hand around the store, playing with a kid she doesn't approve of, asking too many questions -- the list is honestly endless, and not all of these misdemeanours have any logic behind them other than joan's moods and keeping corey on his toes.

Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

he swears sometimes but not that much. his first swear word was probably 'shit' (he overheard joan mutter it once), like out in the yard at recess him and his little friends all went around in a circle and said the worst swears they knew. once he hit middle school and high school, swearing becomes more common and he sprinkles it through his vocab. then when he starts at prevo it's a much more rough-and-ready attitude to language and he gets (light-heartedly) teased for how much more reserved he comes across compared to the other mechanics.

joan would kill him if she ever heard him swear, so he'd never dream of swearing in front of her. he has a distinct line he draws between his language at home and outside.

What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

corey lies a lot, but none of his lies weigh too heavily on his conscience.

corey would sneak out at night to parties and joan never found out about it. he can navigate his house is total darkness as to not wake his mom, and to his credit joan never found out. he used to lie about his day when he was in college all the time, and he lies saying that he comes straight home after work now.

i guess you could say he emotionally lies a lot? it's easier to placate joan with being agreeable than to admit anything (to himself or joan).

How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

joan used to (and still does) tell him off for fidgeting so he will restrain himself until he can leave the room and will then become a grizzly bear and itch his back on the nearest doorframe.

Are they easily embarrassed?

yes. end post.

but seriously, he is pretty easily embarrassed. corey has never had a very good self esteem, he honestly is under the impression he's kind of unlikable and that all his actions are under some kind of social scrutiny.

pre-accident his self confidence was healing a little bit with his growing independence, so he could more easily brush things off but awkward moments still stick in his brain for him to agonise over later.

although he's learnt to deal with it in most situations, if he's feeling more vulnerable or he's with someone he really likes/admires then he does not cope well when he feels like he's being made fun of -- he gets all defensive and sulky.

What is their favourite number?

i don't think corey has a favourite number, but if he had to pick one, i think it'd either be something like a mathematically "special" number, or something sentimental like his dad's birthday.

If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

oh man, this is not corey's forte at all. corey does not have a very good grasp on (his own) boundaries or the lines between different types of relationships.

i've said this a million times before (and no one has stopped me yet heehee), but because he's so used to the lines being pretty blurry with joan and having such an insular upbringing, he doesn't really know how to draw lines between how he loves someone. he's a real all or nothing type of person -- he's only ever learnt how to put all his feelings onto one person. joan wants that person to corey, because corey is that person to her.

subsequently, corey has only really experienced familial love in this abusive way, so projects the opposite (and what he reasons to be "normal") onto his imagined relationship with his father, idolising him to an unrealistic extent.

platonic is a sort of grey area for him, he tends to feel emotions either very intensely or not at all. he can go from really "loving" someone (either a friend he already has or someone he wishes he could befriend) to being mostly indifferent. the strength of his emotions tend to mean he can't really pinpoint exactly what he desires from the friendship/relationship. that's not to say he doesn't understand what "being friends" is, he does, but it doesn't always feel as poignant for him. it's something he was starting to figure out in high school and college, but then regressed with after the accident.

[this isn't the case for everyone] for corey romantic attraction and sexual attraction are usually linked, so romance does becomes slightly easier to differentiate. however, coming back to his boundary issues, even if he undeniably feels romantic love for someone, he's hesitant to communicate it unless he's figured out "the rules". everyone has rules (boundaries) to learn, and once he understands them, corey knows how to play the game -- he can do what he has to to be loved/wanted/tolerated enough to satiate his own feelings.

Why do they get up in the morning? 

currently, it's because ronald will kick his ass if he doesn't show up to work. well, ronald is usually pretty lenient on him, (maybe too lenient, and the other mechanics know corey doesn't get as much shit because he's ronald's step-kid). corey does actually like going to work though, his dream didn't pan out the way he expected but he does love being a mechanic -- it's just dampened by the rest of his circumstances.

corey has never been very good at getting up in the morning though, and back when he was at school he was no stranger to nearly missing the bus every morning.

during the manslaughter trial, he had so much to do, between trips to his lawyers office and then the courthouse once the trial actually starts, he is stressed enough that he gets up and ready for the day pretty early and then just sits and worries until someone tells him what to do.

after the trial though, he honestly just doesn't get up in the morning. he has no job, no social life, and honestly no reason to do anything at all. he spends most of his time in bed, unless joan nags him into showering, eating or running errands with her, or if he has an appointment with his shrink.

 Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom? 

as previously mentioned, corey is pretty self conscious so he won't admit to a crush under any circumstances, and he doesn't have a lot of his own experiences to talk about, so he's kind of refrained when talking about sex. he is a known prude, to be honest.

but, he is also a teenage boy with a weird friend group, so sex is a frequent topic. he can't talk about sex in regards to himself at that point, but he'll laugh at jokes and is kind of enthralled by hearing anecdotes (not that his friends have many).

in a relationship, i think it takes corey a while to open up and be comfortable talking about sex outside of doing the act itself. dirty talk makes him blush, and he's never really had a lot of experience or opportunity to seriously think about what he likes and then be able to convey that out loud.

 What are their thoughts on marriage? 

i don't think corey cares about the legal aspects, but he does like the idea of marriage. devoting yourself to one person and one person only, whom you love dearly, forever and ever until you both die? literally exactly what corey wants, the legal part doesn't really matter.

the only wedding he's been to was when joan and ronald got married at the courthouse. he was 15 and honestly had surprisingly few feelings about the whole thing -- he caught on pretty early on that his mom and ronald were hardly "in love" but this is what adults do, so here he is in his best clothes and thinking about the wedding cake he'll get to eat later. this is partly why he doesn't care too much about the legal side; anyone can get married, but the real true proven commitment if what love really is.

corey would be more than happy with a courthouse wedding himself, he just wants to be with his s/o forever, so a simple, no guests, sign on the line type wedding is good enough to get the job done.

 What is their preferred mode of transportation? 

motorbike, of course. he knew his dad had ridden a motorbike since he found some old photos, but corey never actually rides one himself until ronald gives him the kawasaki. he knew theoretically how to ride, because he knows the mechanics of a basic motorbike, but he truly learns as he goes when he fixes up his own bike. the motorbike gives him a huge sense of freedom, and fulfils all of his easy rider (1969) and the wild one (1953) fantasies.

corey learnt how to drive at 16 through drivers ed, but joan rarely lets him drive her car, and he obviously can't afford his own. sometimes she lets him drive them home from the store, but she is a serious backseat driver so it's sort of just a nightmare for everyone involved.

corey hasn't travelled very far before, so he's never been on a train, but i think he'd enjoy it. long journeys where he can zone out and just look at the landscape? a very good combination for corey.

and how can we forget his trusty bicycle. corey learnt to ride a bike as a child, joan wasn't a very good teacher, but he got the hang of it pretty quickly anyway. corey has had his current bike for almost 10 years now. the chain constantly comes loose, and he's had to tape up the seat and the handle grips more times than he can count. it mostly does the job, and it did give him a lot more freedom as a teenager than he'd had before that.

 Who do they most regret meeting? 

is it cliche to say the allens? maybe so, but it's definitely the allens.

if he never met the allens then jeremy wouldn't have died and corey would have gone off to college and got his degree and a graduate job at mercedes or boeing or somewhere and --

mostly corey tries not to think about the "what ifs" but they do creep into his mind.

[and, if you're that way inclined, if corey had never met roger he could have saved himself so, so much heartache, and maybe not have ruined his perceptions of relationships for the foreseeable]

 Could they be considered lazy? 

on a superficial level, maybe. he sleeps in late and doesn't do any housework, so maybe out of context he could seem lazy, but he actually has a really good work ethic and likes to be doing something. joan doesn't enlist him to do chores because chores are skills and she wants him to be dependent on her.

he definitely is not lazy at work though. when he first started a prevo, he mostly just did grunt work and the easy tasks that the other mechanics were too busy for but still needed to get done. he pulled his weight, no one can deny that. a few years in, he still doesn't handle many full jobs himself, but he is trusted to do more specialised things.

 How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt? 

joan ingrained it in him to feel guilty about a lot of things that aren't his fault. baseline guilt like that he can cope with, he just grovels and submits himself enough to earn forgiveness and then the whole thing starts over the next time joan finds a bone to pick.

after the accident though, his guilt is pretty constant. everything serves as a reminder of what happened, and even if he got acquitted, he does feel like it was at least partly his fault jeremy died.

Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)? 

corey has a great memory but he doesn't really have any particular system, things just stick with him. he's great with remembering conversations, and when he was studying he could retain information in maths/science pretty easily, but his "less strong" subjects required more work on his part.

he does remember all the states and their capitals because of the animaniacs song.

What memory do they revisit the most often? 

it's not his most frequent, but there's this memory that corey has about his dad that usually comes to him when he's on the cusp of sleeping and awake. subconsciously, i think he's aware that it's probably a false memory. wally "died" before corey could really form any proper memories of him, but he loves this one anyway. corey remembers himself, as a baby, laughing while his dad is holding him, maybe he's playing with him, or bouncing him on his knee, but the details are pretty fuzzy -- it's barely a fragment of a memory but it makes corey happy.

a memory that has involuntarily has made it's home in corey's brain is from the accident. the blood was bad, but mostly it's the sound that corey can't forget. that sick thud sound.

How do they feel about children? 

pre-accident corey didn't care much about children. he doesn't dislike them, but he doesn't really interact with them (he doesn't have any family, and at the houses he does yard work, the parents tend to keep their kids out of his way so he can work without dodging any kids). he's kind to them though, if a little awkward.

post-accident, corey avoids kids as much as possible. he's no more mean to them, but seeing kids just brings back too many memories of the accident and also it just is not good to be seen near kids when you're regularly called a kid killer in public.

corey never wanted his own kids. maybe in some half-baked daydream he thought about a life of college, then a salary job and marriage and 2.5 kids, but i don't think he ever took it seriously.

part of him kind of wants the chance to be a better parent than his ever were, but he also worries that he'd just fuck his kids up like his parents did him. maybe he'd be unable to break the cycle (no matter how badly he wanted to) and be destined to become a helicopter parent -- trying his best to protect his child but ultimately smothering them.

to be honest though, i think his idea of love is so skewed towards obsession, that a kid would just get in the way. he wants to be the only person his s/o loves, and they will be the only person he loves in return, a baby is going to take that love away from him.

How badly do they want to reach their end goal? 

at one point, all corey wanted was to go to college and get out of his house, out of haddonfield. he wanted that more than anything else, and if he just worked hard enough, for just a little bit longer, he'd make it. if he were in a better position (more supportive family, better socio-economic status) his goal would be much easier to attain, but if he did have those benefits, would he feel so strongly about that goal?

i feel like even though college is his way out, corey requires and enjoys mental/intellectual stimulation enough that he would want to go to college anyway, even if things were better for him at home.

post-accident, he doesn't have a goal at all beyond surviving, and even then we see his commitment to that goal is pretty tenuous.

If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so? 

ahh well if you read my hcs about corey's sexuality, you would already know. but that will not stop me repeating those hcs here.

corey doesn't really consciously label his sexuality, but if he was asked point blank i think he could probably connect himself with bisexuality, but he's way more of a euphemism person -- "swing both ways".

[acourtofserpents]

I can't imagine that MC would immediately believe that the Fae ROs actually harbor romantic feelings towards them. Would it be possible to set them three quests to prove it? I'm thinking like classic fairy tale ones, like make a rope made from ashes, get hair from the head of the devil, or herd all these cats to sit in a straight line.

there definitely won't be any kind of quests to send the Fae ROs on, but there will be enough mistrust and angst to compete with that!!

[lunarmoonanons]

Nuada x Reader

🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕  

Nuada spends the day with his lover, waiting for the birth of their children. A birth that will reassure his hope and joy in the world.

🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕  

Masterlist

In a cottage nestled in the Appalachian mountains, two bodies cuddled in a warm bed. The sounds of the mountains awoke the elven prince. His long white hair spread across the pillows that cradled his head. He sat up slowly, looking down at his lover who rested on her stomach, smiling as he traced his fingers around the designs of her wings that rested so close into her skin. She always slept on her stomach so that her wings could rest peacefully.

“YN… my dear we must wake up.” Nuada whispered, leaning down to kiss her cheek. She opened her eyes and smiled.

“Good morning. You look excited.” She teased. They both were waiting for today, as her dragon eggs were showing signs of opening. YN sat up and placed a kiss on Nuada’s lips. “I’m excited as well.”

The prince stood and carried the half fairy in his arms bridal style to the shower. It had been several months since he was sent here for “house arrest.” Following the event of him trying to take over the world with the golden army, the B.P.R.D. had him under heavy surveillance and lock up, once it was deemed he was no longer a threat to humanity or his sister via their bond Nuada was released to a trusted ally of the agency who could watch him closely. The house arrest involved him being close to nature so that the elf could still be a part of his preferred habitat.

She was instantly nice and open to him, he was still reserved and mistrusting, believing her to be a mere human who couldn’t contain him. Nuada had the surprise of his day when she was revealed to be a half fairy. Perfectly capable of watching and containing him. Once the initial mistrust was out of the way, the two bonded over their love of the earth, their stories about the old magic kingdoms (his from firsthand account and hers from her mothers account), and how they both just wanted what was best for their peoples.

Conversations gave way to genuine feelings of affection. Love and Friendship. Eventually YN felt comfortable enough to show him her children. Three dragon eggs nestled in the fire, she had been watching and caring for them as if they were infants. The eggs were likely thousands of years old, but they seemed so fragile in the embers on the fireplace. Nuada hadn’t seen dragon eggs in so long he nearly cried at the sight. They were hope, showing that in this age where so much of his world had died not everything was killed off. There was still magic in the world.

So the two dedicated themselves to the eggs, and their work seemed to be paying off. Under the stream of water they kissed and held each other. Seemingly unable to keep apart from one another. The time it took to get ready was filled with soft touches, eager glances, and many many kisses on each other's skin. Their domestic moment was interrupted by the sound of soft scratching from the eggs that rested in the lit fireplace.

“Nuada? I think they’re getting ready.” YN whispered against his lips. They both pulled away for a second to listen for the tell tale sounds, and like it was waiting for an audience the sounds began again.

“Scrich scrich scrich… scrich scrich scrich…”

They came in threes and were just loud enough to be heard in the house. YN and Nuada pulled away from each other, quickly putting on some clothing and running over to the fireplace. Nuada’s little golden contraptions fluttering away to keep the fire lit and active, for a prince bent on revenge for magical creatures he was also quite the tinker. YN had been amazed when he described the device he made for the forest god seed. If only things had gone a different way, he would’ve been famous for his machines.

The two lovers sat by the fire all day, and by night the sounds grew louder and louder. YN sat right next to the heat and focused on her eggs. The deep dark red shells had started to crack with little golden bleeds. The golden lines glowed and contrasted the dark shells, reflecting how soon the dragons would be ready. The objects shook slightly, and soft sounds of growling could be heard if one put their head to the flame. YN merely waved her hands over the three, smiling at them as they shook more in response.

“It’s going to be very soon my love. They already recognize you as their mother.” Nuada was breathless at the sight. His hand was grabbed by his lover as she waved it over the eggs as well. Eliciting the same reaction.

“And they know you to be their father. I think it’s time for the second phase.” YN remarked, standing up to grab the golden powder. The one that would catch fire easily and light the eggs aflame harshly. Nuada took the powder from her, as his hands were more adept and delicate at handling something so dangerous.

“I’ll handle this part.” He reassured her. Reaching into the bag to dash the powder on the three eggs. When it made contact the eggs lit on fire aggressively, blackening the red shells and illuminating the golden streaks.

YN rested her hand over her chest in slight worry, though she knew that this was the way to bring them out, it still worried her to see her babies alight. Nuada made sure all the powder was off his hands before resting his hand against her shoulder to comfort her.

“It’s almost over. Soon you and I will hold them in our arms.” His reassurance made the next phase just a bit easier.

YN nodded, and grabbed a golden dragon tooth. It was the length of her forearm and weighed like several novels. She whispered a spell into its side before planting a kiss on the shiny side, Nuada repeated the process before creating a divet in the center of the embers in the middle of the eggs.

YN breathed quickly.

In. Out.

And plunged the tooth sharp side down into the center. The sound of cracking earth ripped through the cottage, and for a moment it seemed like it had gone completely black. All lights were gone, only the red embers glowing before the lights returned. The shells were broken and disintegrating into the fire. Three little dragons remained in their place.

One was golden. With three heads and wide wings. Each head seemed to tangle into the other and bump around before catching their bearings.

One was black with red streaks going down its black. The undersides of its feet were red, and its wings were sharp and slim.

The final was green with long open ears on the sides of its heads. The wings on its body were akin to a butterfly design.

Each of them had long tails that flapped around for balance as they began to sit up. YN laughed in excitement and reached forward to hold them. Two curled right into her arms and began sniffing her in excitement, as well as in hunger for some milk. The Black dragon, acting haughty, stood up on it’s own and made its way to Nuada. Sitting daintily in his lap.

“Oh that one is just like you.” YN teased as her dragon children scrambled all over her. Nuada merely rolled his eyes and brought the young one to his face.

“You are a gift to this world, my child. You bring hope and a promise. Promise that you and this world can live in this world in peace. I promise you that We will always be here as your parents and protectors.” Nuada proclaimed and nuzzled his face into the smaller being's nose.

YN smiled and leaned toward him, kissing him affectionately. Their hands on each other’s cheeks, they pulled away and rested their foreheads together. The dragons curiously scattering all over them.

“I’ve just realized something.” YN whispered.

“What’s that my love?”

“We haven’t picked out any names.”

They both paused and looked at each other, before bursting into laughter. Today was the first of many days that would be filled with love.

[sadviko-off]

1. What do they think about their home nation? How likely is it for their country to betray them?

For everyone! （。＾▽＾）/✨✨

1. What do they think about their home nation? How likely is it for their country to betray them?

SV and IL: Can we call our country a plot hole? We have a positive attitude towards our country, but there is little to say about it. It's sunny and fun, music plays often, the island of dreams. We can take a tour later.

(the chance that they will be betrayed is 0.5% due to their strange appearance, many thought that they were Satanists when they returned after building a new island, but the island knows that their lives depend on the results of the battles of these two, so everyone supports them and they love you, but if it turns out that they are involved in black trade, then the chance of betrayal will increase to 35% After all, this is still a terrible act)

Eragon: I can’t tell you all much… I value my country and would give my life for it… I don’t want to discuss it, sorry…

(the chance of being betrayed is 0% This guy loves his country, but doesn’t want to talk about it, he’s out of sorts, sorry)

Gorgon: I was born in an overly conservative country… the treatment of the people there was terrible… young people often died during spy missions… we were treated horribly… blackmailed… brainwashed… I don't remember half of my life… and I don't want to remember… this is my story old life… if it weren’t for Fluffy and SV, I would have stayed there… and maybe I would have died… My country betrayed me right after my birth… I consider Lily Island my home… I don’t want to remember this anymore…

(already betrayed by his homeland, the chance that he will be betrayed by Lily Island is 0%)

Fluffy: *took Gorgon by the paw to calm him down*

I love my country! It’s very nice and cozy there… *blushes* Everything is very unusual here////)… Living here, you won’t want to leave the country/////….

(the chance that he will be betrayed is 20%. Since he is sometimes too naive and a little stupid, the previous army took advantage of this and shamelessly used it for dirty pleasures. Later I will write in more detail about all the guys)

Sinbihan: There were no problems in my country, Fluffy and I came from the same island, but we didn’t know each other!) It’s a cool and very colorful country, I advise everyone to visit it! You will be received cordially and with joy, because you will be a long-awaited guest!) But be careful when mentioning warriors, we don’t really like this topic, but we respect soldiers and will not refuse a good-natured welcome)

(the chance of being betrayed is 60%. If they find out that he is a military man who kills victims for black sales, and is also not averse to drinking blood, this is a direct road to mistrust, the country will 100% consider such people dangerous and send him to jail. He should be careful on his missions, when he visits a country he has to hide bags of blood very well from prying eyes. Then why 60% and not 100%? He is from a rich family and it will be difficult for him to ruin his reputation in the eyes of his family and other people, they will count it gossip.)

Magnesia: Hmmm… My country?.. I love and respect it… It seems like nothing bad happened during my life… Life there has always been like a fairy tale…

(the chance of being betrayed… it’s hard to say, he is quiet and secretive, their people are good-natured, so most likely they will never betray him. This guy is not a wordy)

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

Thanks for the question! ^ ^~❤

I'm looking forward to new questions!

sorry that there are few pictures today… I think that soon I will feel better so that the answers are brighter… I will be glad to continue the surveys)…

[inawearyworld]

another wren thought:

(regarding little details of the movie, more shakespeare nerdery, and the possible effects of the possibly-foregone conclusion)

it’s been noticed that, on wonka’s candy-making suitcase thing, when he presses a button to add lightning to noodle’s chocolate, there are some other buttons with little indicator pictures, and one of them has a heart on it. i think i saw a post here that wondered whether that meant he could make aphrodisiac chocolates. which could be VERY INTERESTING

i think that, at some point during the heist, as wren trailed the cartel and occasionally let herself be seen for half a second to throw them off, she overheard their conversation, part of which involved fickelgruber ranting to the others of how “that sickly sweet child stole my florence. i wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of his magic chocolates that did it. to dispose of a business threat is one thing, but wonka deserves what’s coming to him.” and the others are just “certainly, felix”, unsure how to feel abt the bombshell dropped yesterday re: his background but still sticking by him bc they’re in too deep now (and because i’ll die on the hill that, despite their nastiness, the cartel actually does care about each other, in their way).

so wren’s obv thinking a lot at this point. a) worried sick abt what exactly is “coming to him” b) realizing that, if willy is a “child” in felix’s eyes, so is she c) about the magic chocolate thing…he wouldn’t. he wouldn’t. would he? either way, i’ve known long before he came to town that something needed to change.

so she kicks her spying into high gear, trying to stop whatever’s about to happen from happening, but winds up losing the cartel at some point. then she and lofty rescue the pair and the story goes on. she does bring up later what she heard, and willy is stunned by felix’s implication, in the same way he’s shocked by any immorality through a lot of the movie.

he says simply that, in his travels through greece, he did come across a little purple flower in a field of white ones. remembering how his mom’s voice danced across shakespeare’s curious poetry of fairy magic and love-in-idleness, he bottled a bit of the flower’s juice (along with that of its antidote), but never used it.

and he’s telling the truth, of course, so her worry is put to rest. they’d probably think of it as something funny; she’d swoon, overact, wax poetic as if she had been taken over, and he’d laugh, because he’d never want her to be anything but herself. and something inside her would warm to know she’d made him laugh, because she loves him. she loves him, because there is a meadow in his eyes and a sky in his voice, because he is compassionate and creative and honest.

it isn’t until he gets older and jaded that he takes on wilder’s Core Wonka Thing™️ of wanting the outside world to never be sure whether he’s lying or in earnest at any given point.

…and then the question is how long wren stayed when that did happen.

presumably, the cartel didn’t face enough consequences when they landed to be truly ruined, if the plot sticks and they were able to rebuild their businesses and send spies. the worrying thing is that there is canonically a massive gulf of twenty-five years between the end of the prequel and the start of what everyone knows. apparently paul king said once that a sequel to the prequel would be much darker.

and where does that leave wren? maybe willy, as he became paranoid as described at the start of catcf, started to mistrust her. maybe her heart broke as she watched the kind young man who’d helped to set her free become everything that he swore not to be. maybe as he became more of the morally grey willy wonka that the world’s always known, more isolated and fearful, he made another emerald-wrapped heart-shaped almond milk chocolate, but he did press that button for the first time. maybe she realized it before it was too late and left, not knowing-perhaps not caring-that the second he pressed the button he immediately regretted it. of course he’d go back to the initial suitcase, of course he’d want things to be as they were when he first defeated the cartel and he was young and hopeful and kind and the world was full of possibility, bc even in the prequel one of his main motivations is nostalgia. “i just wanted it to feel the way that it did when i was a kid.” the first chapter of charlie and the great glass elevator is called “mr wonka goes too far”, which is a solid summation of just about all of his post-prequel characterization.

catcf as a story demands that willy wonka begin it alone. and of course wren would refuse to be manipulated by yet another chocolatier, to be kept in yet another cage. she is the songbird and she must fly.

she will get out if she has to.

…but maybe, just maybe, she won’t have to. maybe, to bring it back to midsummer, “the story shall be changed”. maybe the foregone conclusion isn’t so foregone. maybe he’ll keep his integrity and things will be okay in this universe. maybe she won’t have to be in a constant state of leaving in order to preserve her freedom. i do hope so.

[rutadales]

cdream and cfoolish having almost inverse character arcs drives me nuts. a kind man becoming ruthless and a violent man forcing himself to be kind? that's SO interesting, that and the fact that foolish has been considering and towing the line between going back to how he was?? ughggudjfjjgjgj

we all saw dreams absolute disbelief in the fact something like the summer home could exist without being destroyed, but he's also in disbelief of foolish. the thought that there is someone with that much power who chooses not to use it sounds like a fairy tale. it can't be real, it's a myth. how foolish talks about peace and the importance of connection sound so similar to things dream has said.

and foolish has such a unique experience with all of this because he's done it all before. he's already lived through wars and he's already died as a pacifist and that expirence colors so much of his perspective and him and dream have such an interesting dynamic because of it. the way they both have such a fundamental mistrust of others, how they are truly both the culmination of their experiences... how dreams main goal is server unity and he's willing to sacrifice himself to get it and foolish is so desperate to secure himself above all else, its all so compelling and I NEED more of them in season 2

[justanisabelakinnie]

I hate this fucking picture so much you guys have no idea. It completely misses the point of each of these princesses' movies. Ik we've all seen this shitty image before, but I'd still like to deconstruct each of these messages one-by-one:

Let's start with Snow White: "At first it may seem terrible, being so beautiful that other women get jealous enough to try and kill you. But don't worry, once your beauty attracts a man, he'll protect you." Totally fucking wrong. While I do concede that Snow White gets almost killed by the Evil Queen for being more beautiful than her, and how this can send a sexist message about women's motivations and relationships with each other, Snow White was far from relying on a prince to "protect" her. Sure, she sang about wanting her prince to come, but she spent a large portion of the movie living with the seven dwarves and cooking and cleaning with them. She showed a lot of inner strength for a fourteen-year-old girl who was hiding for her life because of a vindictive and jealous queen. She was strong-willed, kind, compassionate, charismatic, and found the beauty and joy in the simple things in life. And once again, she sings about wanting her prince to come, but what's the matter with that? In my mind, this is a sign not of her passive domesticity or sign as a damsel in distress, but a display of her unwavering optimism and bravery, her ability to see the silver lining in a situation and look forward to a more hopeful future, a better tomorrow, is what makes her a strong female character in my eyes.

Next, Cinderella: "If you're beautiful enough, you may be able to escape your terrible living conditions by getting a wealthy man to fall for you." Not at all what fucking happened. Cinderella didn't escape her abusive household just by batting her eyes at the prince. She got out because of the help of her fairy godmother, and because of her strong will and ability to stay pure and kind even with all the horrible stuff that she went through at the hands of her evil stepfamily. Cinderella's movie does NOT teach that a princess' only worth is the ability to look pretty and snag a man. It teaches the importance of kindness and perserverance, and, similar to Snow White, of being optimistic and looking forward to a better life than the one you have, not letting the horrible circumstances you are under get you down. I'm getting really tired of people acting like Cinderella's message is only to be a dutiful housewife and scrub floors until a man saves you from your dreadful existence, when it is quite literally the opposite.

Sleeping Beauty: "Pretty girls don't even need to be alive to get some hot princely action." is such a disturbing way to look at the movie and also such a narrow thing to focus on. While, yes, I can understand being disturbed by her being kissed while she was asleep, true love's kiss is a trope that has been around since the invention of fairytales, it's not meant to justify sexual assault, it's meant to be a show of...well, true love. And while I don't blame anyone for being uncomfortable with it, it is still leagues better than what happened in Sun, Moon, and Talia, the original version of this fairytale. Seriously, go look up what happened there, if you don't know already. Traumatized much? I will admit though that it can be frustrating to not see Aurora do much but snooze throughout her movie, but she still shows way more personality than just being a slumbering damsel in distress; she is shown to be sweet, idealistic, humble, kindhearted, a little bit mischievous, and also somewhat sheltered and mistrusting of strangers. Plus, Enchanted Tales gives her more of a fun-loving, dorky, and silly personality, and sure, a lot of people shit on this portrayal(as seen here), but we should all be glad that they gave Aurora more of a personality than just being the perfect, swan-like, graceful princess that she was often seen as prior. I mean, it makes more sense that she would act like this, as she's not quite used to being a princess yet.

Belle: "Appearances don't matter, what counts is what's in your heart. Unless you're the girl." Oh really? Then clearly we weren't watching the same movie. Belle has never been reduced to just her appearance. She has been shown from the onset to be a smart, independent, bookish, dreamy, and adventurous young woman. While it's true that the other townspeople say she is the most beautiful girl in their village, they also spend a lot of time gossiping about how weird and strange she is for liking to read, which was seen as rather unbecoming of a woman in that time period. The only one who objectifies her and reduces her to just a pretty face is Gaston. He only "loves" Belle and wants to marry her because she is the most beautiful girl in town, and the only one "as beautiful as him". He's beautiful, she's beautiful, therefore they are a match, and for no other reason. Belle was never reduced to just her appearance, and in fact it was quite the opposite, with Belle's kind and compassionate heart being what wins over the Beast and breaks the spell. Or are you just mad that she wasn't the one who became a big, ugly beast? Which, btw, is also ignoring the point and themes of the movie?

Ariel(holy shit this is my LEAST favorite one): "It's okay to abandon your family, drastically change your body, and give up your strongest trait in order to get your man. Once he sees your pretty face, only a witch's spell could draw his eyes away from you." I am so sick of saying and repeating this, but Ariel did not give up her voice and seek humanity only to chase a man. I AM SO SICK AND FUCKING TIRED OF PEOPLE CONTINUOUSLY PARROTING THIS LIE!!!! Ariel has always been shown to have a keen interest in human life and becoming a human herself even before she met Eric. Or did we all just sleep on "Part of Your World"? Hmmmm??? And furthermore, Ariel did not get Eric just by having a pretty face. Sure, she didn't have a voice, but they became lovers because of their similar tastes, Ariel's thirst for adventure, her dorky and curious personality, and ability to be friends with everyone she meets. She was not just a boy-crazy ditz who only cared about snagging a bite of that man-candy, and I am going to start biting and maiming the next person who dares slander my girl Ariel with this fabrication of an event that didn't actually happen.

And finally, Jasmine: "As a woman, your political worth is reduced to your marriageability." I...I just...*sigh* You really didn't pay much attention to the movie itself, did you? Jasmine's entire plot was that she didn't want to be reduced to a bargaining chip, with no power or worth of her own other than being the wife of a Sultan. She wanted to marry for love, to be more than just a prize to be won. And in the end, she gets that through marriage with a man whom she actually loves, Aladdin. She is not reduced to her marriageability, because in the end, she actually gets a CHOICE on who she marries. She gets some free will and is able to make her own decisions. She becomes more than a prize to be won, and only gets with a man because she wants to, not because it's been decided for her. She gets her happy ending because she FIGHTS for it, not because it's all she's worth. For Pete's sake.

Another thing about these shitty complaints that they ALL have in common is that they reduce all of the princesses down to their physical attributes. As if the movie is sending the message that your beauty is all that matters when you're a Disney Princess. Which is NOT FUCKING TRUE. While, yes, all of these princesses are beautiful, and their beauty is a large part of their character, it is not the only part of their character, it is not even the biggest part of their character, and none of these women are reduced to being just pretty objects for a man to win. They all have personalities and goals and messages to send that are about more than their appearances, or that even critique the idea that their beauty and status as princesses are all there is to them. They are not just bubbleheaded bimbos who wait around for man all day and look cute. They are SO MUCH MORE than that, and quite frankly, the fact that you are cherrypicking details from the movies to show that their looks are all that matter in their storylines shows that, in truth, YOU are the one boiling these women down to nothing but being beautiful. Not the movie. But YOU. YOU are to blame. I won't say that these movies are above criticism, but also have some self-awareness and critical thinking skills, and quit projecting your own misogyny onto these Disney Princesses, who are all remarkable heroines/characters in their own right.

I can't stand it when people slander the Disney Princesses in such shallow and misogynistic ways, and will defend them until the end of time.

[eerna]

so far, how would you rank all of the tfota universe books, if this isn’t too difficult to ask? :o

Not me having premonitions about this ask yesterday.... so you're just in time bc I ranked them in my mind

5) The Stolen Heir - Not that I think it's bad, but it's def a two-parter and I have no frame of reference for where the story is going and can't really say if I am gonna like it once it's concluded. BUT it had inconsistencies and a predictable twist whose execution didn't make up for the predictability so I'm pretty sure this would be a number 5 book either way.

4) The Cruel Prince - Again, not because I dislike it. In fact I think that this is the one I've reread most? It's just that I don't have as many intense emotions about it as the rest of the books. I still go feral over certain things (the DUELS the SWORD GIFTING the JUDE SEES CARDAN BEING MEAN TO TARYN SO SHE PICKS HIM UP AND SLAMS HIM INTO A TREE)

3) The Queen of Nothing - I know this book is bullied usually but I just. I just love it so much. I'm a fluffy bitch. I love that the first half is all the ugly feelings coming out and then the second half is so romantic and fairy-tale-like and. AAaaaaAAA I loved it as the conclusion. These books were never plot heavy and I def didn't need an epic conclusion so I don't mind that it's short. The thing that prevents me from ranking it higher is the lack of a Taryn character arc, she just flipped a switch and became normal because she got Eva'd and tbh I needed a journey for that kind of a 180 and love her too much to ignore it.

2) The Wicked King - I just think it's neat to watch Jude fall from the heights she climbed to in book 1 because of her inability to trust others. And I understand her, she has every reason to mistrust everyone, so it's not annoying to watch her flail around trying to be a one woman army. Also it's the only book I've ever read where my reaction to the ending was both "I WANT THIS TO BE A FAKEOUT" and "I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE A FAKEOUT" so congratulations on that

1)How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories - Because I feel like this is the rawest TFOTA experience possible. It's a storybook with illustrations. A STORYBOOK WITH ILLUSTRATIONS!! The perfect format for this series imo!!! And I really love the story, I love that it's about Cardan's relationship with narrative and self image and only a little bit about Jude. I love that it focused on stuff we had no idea about and those we only heard about in passing instead of just "here's what Cardan was thinking during THIS scene". And I love Cardan and his POV was so chill and filled with denial compared to Jude's and hhhhh lovely

[the-consortium]

Geophagia walked though her halls, making sure to pass through her wax museum of primarchs. To be honest, she had all 18, with the loyalists and traitors... but no matter. She would get that little xeno very soon.

She walked over to a private poker room in her casino and sat down in her traditional place, while waiting on Duco and hopefully his feathered companions to come. This was shaping up to be an interesting night.

After ordering her guards to leave, she turned to introduce the members of the current party. There were at least 4 people at the table with one of them being that Inquisitor whom seemed to fawn over Marines.

"Dont worry sir, the newcomer, will be betting the rare little xeno with him. That will be his prize."

Duco is quite a way behind Geophagia and her entourage, still with Kornelia under his arm like a revenant of an old Terran fairy tale. Behind him strolls Herik. The Emperor's Children Marine has the slightly glazed, satiated look that Fulgrim's sons sometimes get when they've overstimulated themselves.

Behind them, the heavy doors with their opulent gold fittings close and the noise of the casino is abruptly cut off. Just their footsteps, muffled by the thick carpet.

Duco concentrates on holding Kornelia gently but firmly, but pauses because he feels he is being watched. Only to be almost swept to the ground when Herik lets out a furious, angry bird call and suddenly spreads his wings.

"Herik! You bloody idiot! What-" And then Duco sees it too and rolls away, holding Kornelia protectively beneath him and reaching for a weapon that isn't there. The two Astartes instinctively stay back to back and stare at what seems to be coming towards them out of the semi-darkness. It takes them almost a second - an eternity by Space Marine standards - to realise that nothing is moving. And why.

Both stare. At the life-size, lifelike painted figures. In heroic poses.

Duco detaches himself from Herik, strolls over to the figure in midnight blue, who is only illuminated by subtle lighting, lurking in front of a pillar, his bladed fingers outstretched. He looks at the image of his father.

Disbelief, anger and then amusement flicker in his gaze.

Herik has also approached the wax figure of his Gene-Sire, his purple eyes full of mistrust and longing as he stands before Fulgrim before his apotheosis. With Fireblade and Firebrand, as before Laer. Before Isstvan. Before the black plain and before the dead world.

And around them, the silent band of divine brothers.

Herik shakes his head. Looks at Duco. His voice is unusually gentle and human: "Let's move on. This is far too old."

Duco nods and the two walk towards the illuminated high door at the far end.

As they pass Geophagia's guards and enter the room, the silence of the gallery has slipped away from them, leaving them behind as their fathers did.

[thesoulspulse]

Here’s my first real post of the new year, a character sheet for my Fae version of Dani/Ellie! She turned out super cute and I look forward to adding her into my Unseelie Vlad AU fanfic in the future once I’m finished with a few other story projects!

Name: Dani/Ellie

Gender: Female

Birthday: N/A

Age: Newly Created

Birthplace: Realm of the Unseelie Court

Species: Fae

Ghost Core/Element: Wind/Air (Not A Ghost In This AU)

Likes: Playing hide and seek, picking and eating berries, learning about humans, dancing, and flying.

Dislikes: Cruelty, lies, iron, being mistrusted, being bossed around, and feeling conflicted about betraying her King/Father and saving Danny.

Personality: Playful, curious, strong sense of justice, love, innocent, and mischievous.

Story: Just like the original Dani in the show, she was created by my Unseelie Vlad for the express purpose of luring Danny into a trap but after getting to know him and his struggles Dani make the difficult decision to betray her King. But before that Dani is shown how to glamour herself to look like a village girl in order to convince Danny and his friends that the Fae are trying to kidnap her too for similar reasons because of her appearance.

As she travels with them through the forest though Dani comes to realize the truth about what King Vladislav really wants, a Fae prince rather than another daughter which as you can imagine is pretty heartbreaking since that means Dani was only created as an expendable member of his 'family' in the Unseelie Court. That leads her to eventually reveal the truth about her Fae heritage and make peace with the fact that she'll be hunted for all eternity for not obeying Vlad's orders to bring Danny to him.

Powers: Transformation, flight, Fae magic, wind affinity, glamour ability, sleep induction, clouding thoughts, misdirection, and lesser Fae summoning (aka fairy lights and such to send messages with)

[ancestorsalive]

"Our pagan ancestors were not seers, magicians, witches, or other mystical types. They were farmers, bakers, hunters, builders, and common people living their lives. The average person did not maintain an alter, or cast stones... they were too busy maintaining gardens and casting seeds. They didn't search their dreams for divine meanings, they napped at the height of the day and dreamt of cold beer and crusty bread and days when the work was finished.

Magic wasn't something to be controlled, it was something lived alongside. You could ask favors of it, and it would expect favors in return, but it was no more supernatural than rain... it was just a part of the world. Our ancestors planned for it, adjusted to it, and went along with their lives.

Holidays were not for esoteric rituals for the common people... they were for taking a break from working the field to spend time drinking, eating, singing songs, and telling stories with your community. Rituals just provided a framework for community building.

Do not let "Celtic Priestesses", "Shamans", or modern "Druids" tell you that magic and ritual are the ways to be pagan and only they can teach you... they are just people desperate for power and filled with the need to feel special. They simply switched snake oil for essential oil and prey on our Judeo-Christian cultural predisposition for heiraechy and gave themselves meaningless titles. Avoid and mistrust anyone who claims to know the will of the gods... you will often find they coincide with their own desires.

Look to your elders and the people living lives you admire; Bake bread with old women and split firewood with old men and they'll teach you the world... they'll do it for free, they'll do it with a smile, and they'll never put on a crown and ask you to call them a title for the privilege.

Read historians and archeologists and learn about the lives and beliefs of the people before us, keep the culture and the language alive, and don't try and make it about yourself. Avoid people who think they alone hold the keys to knowledge, and who keep it hidden away from people they don't consider "worthy". Learning is an act of devotion, teaching is an act of worship.

Commune with the earth by nurturing a garden and growing your food... you'll understand the seasons and the land better that way than you ever will through spells or mediation.

Raise animals, breed them, care for them, kill them, and eat them... you'll understand life, love, and death in greater nuance than any prophetic vision can convey.

Walk the woods, the fields, the farms, and markets in order to watch the trees, the sky, the crops, and the people that you live around... this will let you feel the changes of time and tell you more about the past and the future of the world around us more accurately than any divination stones

Build a home, a greenhouse, a barn, a fence, or a wall... you will find an appreciation for the structure of the whole world greater than any cosmology ever written.

Love the people you live with and work with and share meals and stories with them... this will keep you more in touch with your ancestors than offerings and prayers." - Daniel Kearns

"It is not abnormal men like artists, but normal men like peasants, who have borne witness a thousand times to such things, it is the farmers who see fairies. It is the agricultural labourer who calls a spade a spade, who also has no axe to grind, who will say he saw a man hang on the gallows and afterwards hang around as a ghost."

- W. B. Yeats

[bandedbulbussnarfblat]

sometimes, i really wish i didn't live in the bible belt.

i've been atheist my whole life. or at least, once i got old enough to question things instead of just blindly accept what my parents told me. though i was never good at that either, i was one of those kids that had to know things. i never bought into the tooth fairy or easter bunny, and i thought santa was just a game we all played and pretended to believe it. the idea of god felt the same to me, like some thing we were just pretending to believe in

except the grownups (and even some of the kids) actually believed it. so i went along with it, because my mom made me go to church with her, so it wasn't like i had a choice. but it never felt true to me, though i tried to make it feel real

i was 11 when i realized i never would and never could. i had tried to force myself to believe, but it never worked. i knew, deep inside, that there was no higher power. more so, i knew i couldn't keep spending my life living a lie. i knew i'd never be the believer i pretended to be.

and that scared me. not because the idea of hell or anything, but because i'd sat through more than one sermon and heard about how non-believers would burn in hell with the sinners. and my church 'family' seemed to agree. so that let me know that these people who called themselves my friends would be fine with seeing me burn in hell for all eternity, just because i didn't believe in the same invisible man in the sky as them

i didn't even believe in hell, but just imagine that. knowing that the people you've known your whole life believe you deserve to be punished forever for not believing what they believe. i'd already spent my entire life feeling like an outsider (multiple undiagnosed mental illnesses/disorders) so when i realized i could never be what these people wanted me to be, that i would never be able to convince myself to believe, it terrified me.

so much so that i got 'saved' in front of the congregation the next sunday. i pretended to believe as hard as i could. hell, i even wrote fake entries into my diary just in case anyone found it and read it

i was so afraid to admit i didn't believe. but so angry that i had to pretend. so i questioned things and made people uncomfortable. eventually, i had enough and said i was atheist. i was more angry than scared by then, fueled by teenage angst and hormones and the undiagnosed depression/anxiety disorders

in the end, I stopped going to church when my mother stopped forcing me. but the damage had already been done. i'd spent years trying to shove myself into a box i didn't fit it, for people that frankly didn't deserve that kind of sacrifice on my part

and there are still people who hear that i don't believe and judge me. who try to convert me. who think of me as less than them bc i don't believe what they believe.

i don't know why i'm thinking of this today. maybe bc my country is hurtling into evangelical christian fascism and that scares me. but i think growing up like that gave me some low-key religious trauma

and now I'll have to go back to work soon. where i'll have coworkers who ask me about where i go to church, who try to invite me to there's. to students who sometimes ask me questions about religion, and I have to say i'm "not religious" bc if i say i'm an atheist there's a good chance parents will complain about me teaching their child

i've literally heard a coworker being gossiped about and mistrusted bc he's openly atheist. people blatantly admitting they don't want to work with him. so i stay in my lane and stick to myself and try not to engage with these people beyond a professional level

i have to sit in anger, when we're forced to do something like pray in school, something that isn't supposed to be legal. hell, our superintendent makes us all pray with him when we have our yearly meetings

add to that i'm pretty far left when it comes to politics, i'm queer, and neurodivergant i don't feel like there's a place for me here. i live in a very conservative area. i'm talking majority trump fans conservative. but i'm trapped, too poor to escape. and it eats at me sometimes, being around all these people who if they knew me, would condemn me. even if i believe in letting people believe or disbelieve whatever they want and minding my own damn business about it

sometimes, i really wish i didn't live in the bible belt