#i could write essays on Fae Ghost

[danikamariewrites]

Hey, I saw you wanted some dark Elain requests and I loved your head canon that involved Elain growing poisonous plants so I was thinking what if Elain has become successful growing some of Prythian’s deadliest plants and is also an expert at making poisons? Maybe Reader was sent by someone to collect a potion from Elain and she’s captivated by the juxtaposition of her soft aesthetic along with her ability to be super scary with her poisons.

Then maybe Reader keeps coming back with the excuse of buying potions from Elaine when in reality she’s just throwing them away when she leaves. Elaine finds out and is really annoyed and then it is revealed to her that it was all a ruse for Reader to spend time with her. Then maybe a bit of fluff or smut once Elaine finds out the truth?? Whatever you think fits and feel like writing 💕

Totally get if this isn’t the sort of thing you are looking to write, but I had it floating about in my head and I feel like you’d be the perfect person to write it ❣️

Sorry for that essay 😂

Hope you have a lovely day! 💖

Pick Your Poison

Dark!Elain x reader

A/n: this was perfect anon! Also I’m so sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I haven’t been feeling great lately but I’m trying to get over it.

Warnings: not fully dark!elain, mentions of poison

Poking around the different elixirs laid out on the table you were careful not to touch them. Not knowing what they were capable of. Glancing around the apothecary and taking in the familiar warm scent you couldn’t help but feel at home.

Elain’s shop was odd but perfect for her. The soft pinks and greens that decorated the walls at odds with the dried up deadly bundles of plants hanging from the ceiling and walls were discerning to most. But not you. You could spend hours in the tiny shop.

Many people avoided the middle Archeron sister’s shop. The rumors of her powers mixed with her occupation of poisons kept most people away. Some were crude and called her the Weaver of Velaris, turning her into a ghost story meant to scare children. Some just claimed she was the worst kind of witch. That angered you. Elain is too sweet for that kind of treatment.

You remember the first time you came to Elain’s apothecary. Your boss had asked you to pick up a special plant (not out right of course). Knowing your boss’s business and where you were being sent you knew it was poison. Entering the shop your fingers were trembling, you didn’t know what to expect.

Elain’s sweet demeanor relaxed you as she helped you find what you were looking for. After an hour and over a hundred questions from you later you had the plants for your boss and an oil to help your hair grow faster. Since then you have made it a point to stop at Elain’s shop once a week.

Tonight you stopped on your way home from work. When you walked in the shop was empty, Elain missing from her usual spot behind the counter. You figured she was in the back with a client, so you decided to peruse. You were here to buy something anyway, your blanket excuse to see Elain.

The office door opened causing you to stand straight, abandoning the elixirs you were bent over. Elain bid the lesser fae goodbye. Once the shop door closes she turns to you, a bright smile on her face as she takes you in. “Y/n, how are you?”

You just stood there, practically gaping at her beauty, like an idiot. You always stumble over your words and blush around her. “I’m well, and you?” You stuttered out.

Fuck. You should just pick up something random and go. This conversation is already ruined, you tell yourself.

Elain was speaking to you but you couldn’t hear her over the blood rushing in your ears from nerves. A tightening sensation worked its way down from your chest to your stomach. All you could do was nod and smile at her. “Were you looking for something? Let me show you these new oils I made.” She said, that excited look she gets when talking about her creations plastered on her perfectly round face.

“Oh no! That’s ok,” you rush out. Cauldron, where was this anxiousness come from? Snatching a bundle of something from the wall you held it out to show Elain, “Just this.” Elain nods her head slowly, giving you an unsure look. You followed her to the counter, pulling out the money to pay her. Rushing your goodbye that tenseness built up in your chest to an unbearable amount.

Fleeing the shop you drop the bundle of poison, starting to jog until you knew Elain couldn’t see you.

An hour later Elain couldn’t help but go over your conversation. Did she do something wrong? She’s been doing her best not to scare you off like she has with others. You were different. Elain didn’t feel the need to draw you in and dispose of you, she wanted to keep you, forever. Even though it had only been two months you already felt like hers.

Locking the shop, Elain noticed the bundle you just purchased lying on the ground. Scowling, she bends down to pick it up. What the hell? She worked hard on each bundle of poison. Why would you do that?

Marching up the steps of your house Elain didn’t think twice about confronting you. How dare you waste her talents like this! After three quick knocks you opened the door, stunned to see Elain on your front stoop.

“Care to explain why I found this on the ground after closing?” She thrust the little bundle out for you to inspect. You stared between the poison and Elain’s angry face at a loss for words.

Elain was quickly finding herself at a loss for world (and in la la land) as she scanned your appearance. In her rage Elain didn’t realize that you were only dressed in a small nightgown, black lace lining your breasts and a thin nightgown slipping from your shoulders.

“I should probably tell you the truth,” you move aside to let her in.

Elain took in your home. The warm light and dark furniture making her feel relaxed and welcome. She followed you into the sitting room, setting her stuff down on the low lying table by the couch. As Elain sits you drape a fluffy, crème blanket around her shoulders. Elain mumbles out a thank you, shocked by your kind gesture.

Siting on the other end of the couch you picked at your nails, anxious to tell her about your feelings. You had planned to tell her earlier tonight but that building feeling in your chest stopped you. It’s been hours and though the feeling has lessened it was still there. With Elain now mere inches away from you the feeling was growing again.

“I’ve been stopping by your shop for you. I’m-I have been working up the courage to tell you that I like you. And I understand if you don’t feel the same. And I’m sorry that I just threw that on the ground, I didn’t mean to be wasteful,” you rambled on and on, looking down at your lap the whole time.

When you finished you look up to find a small smirk on Elain’s pink, plump lips. In the time you spoke she had inched closer to you. A small gap separating your thighs. You wanted to close it, to feel the warmth of her through her dress. But you restrained yourself, waiting for her response.

Elain placed a hand over your tangled fingers. “Can I tell you a secret?” She whispers. You nod, that feeling in your chest turning to a comfortable warmth. Elain leans in so close to your face that her nose brushes slightly against yours. “I really like you too.” Elain pecks your blushing cheek, running her fingers through your hair.

Your heart soars at her confession. You throw your arms around her neck, pulling Elain into a crushing hug. She hugs you back tighter, burying her face in your neck to inhale your familiar scent.

In that precious moment the bond roared to life in Elain’s chest. That warm, golden thread connecting her to you forever, tied tight around the rib closest to her heart. Elain was overjoyed. You are hers forever. To hold and to keep. That night as she laid next to you in bed, watching you sleep peacefully, Elain vowed that no harm would ever come to you. That she would kill anyone who dared to touch what was hers.

[thelonglist]

Masterlist - Part 6 - BNHA fan fic recs

3.5 months later and time for an update on this long list. I had a busy summer. I worked a summer camp job, I made a princess tutu cosplay from scratch, drove my sister around, had an existential crisis and did lots of collage touring and essay writing but, luckily, still somehow had plenty of time to read. Make sure to show these beautiful authors your appreciation and leave them a kudo! List number 6 lets go! 

Here are links for Part Five, Part Four, Part Three, Part Two and Part One

For reference:

L - longer fic (50,000+ words)

O - One shot

& - ongoing

# - Complete

! - favorites

Thank you!

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

Cute

Easy as 1-2-3 - O# izuocha teacher au

sweet and soft (when you need it most) - O# drugged up izuku hurt/comfort

the late night meetings of Insomniacs - O# shinsou and izuku

Lucky Bite - O# hickeys izuocha

! colorblindness, not a concussion (you dipshits) - O#

Bran Torino - O# toshinori gets a fish

Monoma and Midoriya's Ultimate Heroic High School Love Story - & monoma/izuku rarepair

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

Supernatural

!The Highest Stakes - O# poker with fae

with a face only a mother (aka All Might) could love - & eldritch izuku

softly the sea swallows the sun - # ghost izuku everyone in this a au is kind of a bad person

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

Found family

One Man's Trash is Another Man's New Son - # dadzawa

The Acquisition of Dads  - O# dadmight

Maybe Not - O# dadmight

Contract Killer Universe - & series hit man aizawa & kid izuku dadzawa

Great at Crime - & eri and izuku villain? izuku

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

Dad for one

! Meet the New Boss - O# DFO lady nagant

Rules - O#

Dragon Taming for Dummies - O# fantasy au dragons

! and if that mockingbird don't sing - O#

! Puppet - O# longshot - fantasy au demon king afo

Custody Battle - # yoichi and afo and izuku

Starlight - & series izuku has afo quirk

Ill-Gotten Gains - L& dfo izuku has afo

Naïve Melody - & very creepy inko is afo's daughter

Genetic Ties - O# the inability to tie ties is genetic

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

Angst

in the ashes -O#

Lost in the Abyss - # izuocha mc death grown up au but it's wayy dark so it goes here

simmer down, keep your head down low - # quirkless cult

I always make such expensive mistakes  - O# traitor momo

but I have promises to keep - O# forced villian izuku & aizawa

I don’t relate to you (I’d never treat me this shitty) - O#

Behind Enemy Lines (the fight to survive) - L& series - izuku accidentally joins the lov

Total Amnesia - & afo is creepy to yoichi

Fractured Reflection  - O# quirkless izuku baku is bad in this one

Ill-Gotten Gains - L& dfo izuku has afo

Naïve Melody - & very creepy inko is afo'd daughter

No, It's Not His Quirk - # izuku can't feel pain

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

Quirkless Midoriya

Friendly Neighborhood Yakuza Boss - &

simmer down, keep your head down low - # quirkless cult

no greater motivation - O# quirkless mido sports fest

Fractured Reflection  - O# quirkless izuku baku is bad in this one

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

Quirk causes plot

Curiosity Killed the Cat, but Satisfaction Brought It Back  - O# longshot Izuku is turned in to sushi the cat time travel

shimmering sun - O# haunted OFA ghosts

Multitool - O# series - quirk!izuku

Convergence Upon Singularity  - & haunted OFA sort of posession

Little Sunshine - O# izuku is a cat that gets picked up byaizawa

How to spare your friends (a demonic existence) - O# izuku is yeeted to demon slayer universe via a quirk

(When I Don't) Remember You - & shindeku temporary amnesia

! Nightmares Are What Dreams Are Made Of - # trapped in dreamscape dfo

book's haunted -LH quirk!izuku

reconcile - & izuku and shigaraki are trapped in a box together

Absent Footsteps - # izuku gets bakugo's emotions

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

Assorted AUs

Hunger of the Pine - & zombie apocalypse au

heart on my sleeve soul on my shoulder - O# deamon au shinsou & Izuku

! to hold a tiger by the tail - O# deamon au

! The Earth of Me  - & izuku is trafficked by aliens space au

white sails - O# hunger games au

Cute But Deadly - & izuku and tenko are brothers, humans are space orcs space au

The Orpheus Trial - O# tododeku hadestown au longshot

The Greenie Conspiracy - O# my favorite niche bnha trope where izuku isn't in 1A but 1A all wonder who he is and make up conspiracy theories au

a dead pilgrim is following (but he's a friend of mine)  - O# zombie au

Brightness, and other demonic traits - # demon!izuku

A Hero Straight From Hell - H demon!izuku

The Tickle of the Trees - O# zombie au

! Izuku Loves an Illegal Ring Fight - & series 

A Student and a Pro Hero Walk Into A Bar...  - O# underground analyst izuku au

Villains - O# class 1A villain cosplay at UA

it was a grave yet bore no stone - O# ofa reveal izuku's notebooks

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

Time travel

Misplaced Hero - & USJ time travel

! and i said to the sun, “did it hurt to become?” - HL time travel fix it

Displacement - & izuku wakes up in shigarakis body, bodysharing

Not This Shit Again - O# fix it

One Thing After Another - # dabi/miruko timeloop rarepair

Ball Throw (2.0) - O# angst bakugo & izuku

The Detective Dad And His Time Traveling Son - &

Just a Memory - O# USJ time loop

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

Crack

! u/mightyfitnesstrainer - &

! A Father's Paradox (Time Travel is a Scam) - O# touya todoroki is izukus dad, trust me its hilarious time travel

A man's best friend - O# Izuku gets a scary puppy

! Izuku Loves an Illegal Ring Fight - & series

For Want of a Hair - O# truth of dare

"Are you All Might's secret lovechild or something?" - O#

The Toes Show - O#

Google Can't Fix This -O# fanfic author izuku

Mad Dabi: Fury Road - O#

Izuku Breaks Quirk Science - O#

! That time I got reincarnated as a doomed side character - & Izuku is isekaied crack treated seriously

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

Characters are grown up

When Giants Fall - & grown up au izumomo

the cute guy next door - # L shindeku quirkless izuku

the fool - O# shindeku

Wisdom: To Understand - H hero momo/vigilante izuku bakery au

could i but teach the hundredth part - # Grown up 1A visits all might

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

[capricornsicle]

I have a feeling your ask box and I are going to be familiar. You might be hot-taked out after that killer Satomi discourse. But whenever you’ve got it in you, I’d sure love to hear what you think about Kira and her Jeff-deemed-absolutely-necessary departure.

Oh, definitely. And I do love content, so...

Kira Yukimura was done so dirty by the writers and Jeffrey “I’m not racist I’ll prove it by arguing to poc calling me out for it on twitter” Davis. Her treatment was racist, tokenizing, and it wasn’t even high-brow racism. It was sloppy and lazy. If you’re gonna write all your characters of color off the show, commit to it. She went to the desert like 5 times before she stayed. Cowards.

Kira was only meant to be on the show for the Nogitsune storyline in 3b. However, fans liked her so much that, as with Theo in season 6, she was brought back for more episodes. The difference is that Cody Christian is white-passing and male and Arden Cho is not. Female characters don’t exist on Teen Wolf without a relationship to a male character. Hayden existed for Liam. Tracy existed for Theo. Melissa existed for Scott and Argent. Allison existed for Scott. Lydia, the female character with the most screentime of all of them, spent a lot of her time existing in relationship to Jackson, Stiles, Parrish (shudder), and other male main characters. Women on the show were reduced to love interests and mothers more often than not, and Kira was the same.

I loved her character. I loved her arc. I loved Arden Cho, who in real life is as sweet and kind as her character. I enjoyed her parents, both Noshiko, who’s surprisingly funny and a total badass, and Ken, who’s the most wholesome man in the universe. The only straight man we stan. I love him.

Anyways, Kira was getting a fun arc outside of being Scott’s girlfriend, with her parents and her powers and all, and then wham, white-passing boy shows up and no more main character status for Kira. Guess there wasn’t enough room to keep the only interesting plot line of all the ones happening in s5. Personally, I would have chosen Kira over the Marrish garbage fire of underage relationships, but that’s just me.

Then. The Skinwalkers. I could write a whole essay about them, but this is a Kira post, so I’ll limit it to her. At least Luther got sent to the moon for a reason. Kira got sent to the desert for “rEaSoNs”. There was no indication that her power was out of control, but every indication it wasn’t. She was growing and learning. Then, suddenly, she was “too powerful” so she had to go to the desert and disappear for a few episodes and then go back and forth for a while before they wrapped up sending Theo to the upside down or wherever he went and she could finally go... hang out with the people who we were told could help her control her power but who only threw spears at her and gave her a season finale ex machina. Then back to the desert with you!

You can tell something was going on backstage in her treatment. Arden Cho wasn’t informed she was being cut, she had to be told by fans. Her departure was carried out as swiftly as possible, and not for any real reason. Kira would have been tremendously helpful against the hunters and in a lot of later scenes, against the Ghost Riders (and let me remind everyone that KIRA WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD LYDIA ABOUT THE WILD HUNT), against pretty much anything. Immune to electrocution? Don’t help with the hunters who love electrocuting people. Sloppy writing through and through.

And what’s more is that Kira was cut just in time for the Scalia thing, which was so fucking rushed oh my GOD nothing has ever been less natural- this is a Kira post, calm down capsicle. Anyways, Kira got replaced as Scott’s love interest and not much else by a white girl, no hate on Malia or Shelley but much on the writers. I loved Malia and Kira’s friendship, and if anyone should have gotten with Malia, it should have been Kira. (The first time I saw Malia I wondered if we were getting another ambiguously brown character, actually, but no, just Georgian and well-tanned. But I bet not all my followers knew Tracy was played by a Chinese and Cherokee actor. Or that Nolan was played by a Mexican and Caxcan actor. Or that Theo was played by a Penobscot Native actor. The list goes on of white-passing POC who got to stay marginally longer than Black or brown characters.) The “Scott ends up with a white girl he has no chemistry with” threw me for many loops, especially after I was surprised to find myself liking Scira, even though I’m usually bored by straight relationships because of their one-sided focus and nonexistent chemistry. Kira got to be a character outside of Scott, and I liked their romance better for it, and then desert for a thousand years!

TLDR on the canon end of things is that Kira and Arden were done dirty by a group of powerful white men who wanted to tell a cishet white story.

Now, on the fandom end of things, I’m stepping into the real hot water. It’s safe to say that Kira’s story was sloppy and Arden didn’t deserve that ending, but it’s less safe to say that this fandom doesn’t treat her that well either. Here’s the most popular x Scott ships on Ao3, under the Teen Wolf tag with no other filters.

Scott and Allison. Scott and Stiles. Scott and Isaac. Then Scott and Kira, in dead last. Scott and Malia don’t even make the top ships list, probably because of how rushed and sloppy it was, but I digress.

People love Scott and Allison a lot, and I get that. I liked her too. I was also sad when she died. But, unlike a lot of sentiment I see in this fandom, I don’t think she should have been brought back to fight the beast in season 5 and get back with Scott. Not only do I think bringing characters back to life without very good reason and explanation (which they wouldn’t have, come on) cheapens their death, and that bringing characters back to life is weak storytelling in general, but let’s recall that Scira is still a thing in season 5. They’re still madly in love when Kira leaves. Allison should not have come back and love-triangled so Kira could be written off for a different white girl or so the massive amount of young white girls in the fandom who love Allison would be angry at Kira for breaking up their OTP. That would have been the one thing that could have made season 5 worse. (Well, they could have made Marrish a thing or killed Mason, but Jeff Davis thought about it and a shiver went down his spine because the ghost of Christmas future hears my name in its nightmares.)

Even if people aren’t “bring Allison back” campers, they largely ignore Kira’s entire existence. People who post gifsets and posts about Allison or Lydia don’t give anywhere near the same amount of attention to Kira. I see more Malia posts, actually. And while all of them had more runtime than Kira, none of them paired with Scott quite as perfectly, or had such strong independent storylines. Lydia almost did, but it kept petering out and she kept going back to main plot only. I see lots of appreciation posts for Allison and Lydia and Malia and the men, obviously, but NOTHING for Kira or Arden Cho. We all know what happened backstage because we read the same post in 2016 or whenever and then we all stopped talking about it.

Even the racism in this fandom skips Kira. Scott antis, I’m looking (controversially) at you. I’m glad Kira isn’t the subject of a bunch of obvious racism (as much as “bring Allison back!” makes it subtle), but not because she’s a forgotten side character. Kira made the main credit sequence! She has a sword! What else could you all POSSIBLY want?

And here’s where I burn at the stake: Kira was written off her own damn “look Fun Japanese mythology” storyline half the time so it could center around Stiles. A white boy. There were numerous issues with the mythology before that — “Oni” means demon, not “firefly samurai ninja”, and it refers to a similar mythology as the western “fae”, a large collection of creatures benevolent, malevolent, and in between, with different traits and origins. Kitsunes are meant to be red or white, not gold, and they’re foxes, not cats, animation team. “Nogitsune” refers to the malevolent class of “low” Kitsune, or “wild” Kitsune, who didn’t align themselves with the goddess Inari and do divine and pious work. There are many of them and the most they really do is harass people at shrines, not murder indiscriminately for funsies. They’re only malevolent in that they like doing bad deeds, not that they’re serial killers. And they’re not one of the usual 13 low Kitsune, two of which are bad of their own accord! (Spirit and Air. Google it!) They are meant to be dealt with by Inari-aligned high Kitsune, not your average tricky fox. Among other things.

So Stiles. Outside of the Kira storyline, he’s used in a lot of fandom discourse about racism and sexism. And queerbaiting. Y’all love a scrawny white boy. Anyways, Stiles gets possessed by the Nogitsune (that’s NOT how that works but okay Jeffrey) and suddenly s3 is about him. Kira’s not evil, now let’s look at Stiles being tired and messy and killing people. Dylan #1 did a great job playing that part, no hate on him, but the fact that a white boy became the main character in a Japanese (or Korean, if you’re Jeff, same thing) girl’s storyline is. Hmm. How do you call it? Blatant racism. And erasure. Which is racism. YIKES, Jeff. There is so much wrong with Stiles being the Nogitsune and controlling the Oni and his whole story (and oh my god the other guy who got possessed was also a white boy instead of a Japanese character played by the same actress Jesus fucking Christ). I’m not going into that, because that’s its own essay.

Anyways, because of how much this fandom loves Stiles, it’s easy to ignore how Kira and Japanese characters were treated. People project onto Stiles with glee. He’s white. He’s awkward. He’s (supposedly) not super attractive. (Yikes.) He’s ditzy and bouncy and all that fun stuff, but he also always saves the day. He got written off for most of 6b and he still saved the stupid day. And hey, dark!Stiles (let’s not get into calling him dark instead of Nogitsune that’s just too much wine we’d have to crack open to say it) is a fun trope and people like posting and creating about him. Except that he’s the white boy who took Kira’s storyline. Her independent story about Kitsune and the like was all given over to him, not just by the show, but by the fandom. So now every post about Kitsune is a Stiles post, even if it started with Kira. And because it’s Stiles, and this fandom loves him, and is easily offended by people leaning too hard on the glass house around them and him, Kira gets forgotten and swept aside. Everyone would rather talk about Stiles. Who is incapable of bad. Or cultural appropriation. But if you attack him you’re being ableist because he has ADHD. This is why I relate to Nolan for anxiety feels instead.

TLDR on the fandom end, y’all don’t treat Kira better than the show did. I see a few posts here and there from some dedicated users — typically the same people posting about Boyd, Deaton, Morrell, yeah that’s it I’m the only one posting about Kali. (Un-fun fact: Kali was not played by an Indian actor, but by a half-Black actor. Jeff Davis, when called out on twitter, said “wow ok idiots we tried to find an Indian actress but it was hard actually SUPER hard so shut up and stop telling me how to write MY show”, which is paraphrasing with intent to make fun, but exactly what he said.) Y’all who know about Arden and Kira should diversify your blogs to include more POC, especially ones where the actor AND character were rudely sidelined for vague white people reasons. Post gifs of Kira along with Allison, Lydia, and Malia. Post ship stuff of Scira too. Post about kitsunes, the origin story of the Nogitsune, when you post about the white boy who became the main character of that arc. Call the show out. Call the fandom out. Stop making every bit and piece of her story about Czechoslovakia White Boy. Demand Kira in any future runs of the show, if season 7 or whatever does happen. Include her in your fanfictions, in your headcanons, in your art. You don’t have to love her, but you have to remember that she’s as there as any of the white characters are.

This take is very hot. If I receive racist asks and/or messages about this, I’m going to make fun of each and every sender.

[cricketnationrise]

March 2021 Reading Roundup

jan 2021 | feb 2021

quarantine reads

below the cut there be book thoughts

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire: book 5 in the wayward children series. characters from earlier books make a reappearance i am once again begging you to read them in order

Juice Like Wounds by Seanan McGuire: tor.com short story set between books 4 and 5 of the wayward children series

#Spring Love, #Pichal Pairi by Usman Malik: tor.com short story

The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian: book 3 of the Turners sereis, romance, sex on the page, can be read out of order

A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian: novella in the turners series, set after book 3, helps to have read the others, but isn’t that important, single lesbian raising her child in secret while working for a wealthy family, falls in love with the daughter

Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett: book 14 in the discworld series, part of the witches strand of books, but technically you could read these in any order. i think it helps to start with the first book of the witches strand but thats just me, technically picks up after events of wyrd sisters and immediately after the plot of witches abroad

The Island by Ben Bender: book 1 of the comic “Beorn: The Littlest Viking Saga,” got it from kickstarter, art reminds me of calvin and hobbs, but basically this small viking child sails off to seek his fortune and finds an island

Theatre of Cruelty by Terry Pratchett: short story set in the discworld series between 14 and 15, part of the City Watch strand, free to read here

A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel: nonfiction, series of essays about books and reading and how trends around reading and writing evolved, kinda dry at times, but ultimately pretty interesting

Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford: woof okay. so. its a novella, and its very dark, theres a father and his daughter living on the edge of town and most of the townspeople are scared of them because they don’t age and seem to be magic. hard to tell what time period this is supposed to be, but there are fairly modern cars. trigger warning for blood, sexual situations, eldritch stuff, buried alive, violence, mind control? sort of; im sure somewhere else has a better list of triggers, please do your research before reading especially if youre a sensitive reader.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: ww2 novel told from 2 perspectives, a lot of it is epistolary, follows a pilot and a spy, time jumps, warnings for nazis/the holocaust and all that goes along with those, major character death

Magic Kingdom by ExtendedPlay: volume 2 of the webcomic Stuffed, also found here on webtoons

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh: novella, mlm relationship, the forest as a character, wood nymphs, malevolent ghosts/fae/creatures, new historian moves to town and proceeds to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong and mess up local hermits life (all of that is a major oversimplification but it amuses me sooooo), book 1 in a duology

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward: novel following 3 narrators, a mother, her son, and the ghost of a young teenager that knew the son’s grandfather when they were both in jail, i would call this magical realism; warnings for racism, violence, murder, prison system, drug addiction, harm to children, acab, character death

Masquerade Season by ‘Pemi Aguda: tor.com short story, a young boy gains 3 spirits?? who follow him around and his mom starts trying to take advantage

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik: book 1 in the scholomance series, dark fantasy, the characters are all magic teenagers with different specialties and trapped in a school in the void that appears to be trying to kill them, fast-paced, lots of snark, has that trope of oh i have no friends everyone hates me (except that they do have people who want to be their friend if they just looked up once in a while), felt a lot like hunger games in places; warnings for murder, death, violence, blood, teenagers, dark magical creatures trying to digest you slowly over decades (and other horrible things), very buffy vibes of “oh my town is a hellmouth”

The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin: book 3 in the broken earth trilogy. holy cow this series is amazing please read them in order, awesome worldbuilding, she definitely desrved the 3 hugos she won for each of these books; warnings for violence, major character death, body horror, mind control, the planet as a malevolent character bent on wiping out humanity, harm to children/teenagers, murder

Across the Grass Green Fields by Seanan McGuire: book 6 in the wayward children series, this one i think you only need to have read the first one before this, novella, portal fantasy, the world the protagonist enters is populated entirely by talking creatures except for a single human “hero” that stumbles into their midst once a generation or so, as always with seanan mcguire, all is not as it seems; warnings for harm to children, kidnapping, violence

[lostonehero]

A split

Lazarus read the note again, his mom is working again so he had to make dinner alone. She probably wouldn't be back until he was asleep even then she would be at her second job before he woke up for school. She worked too hard for this shithole of a place.

His father well he never met him. His mother was raped and that's how he came to be. His mother was an amazing women she gave up everything for him because she was pregnant out of wedlock. She would tell him so many amazing stories of her old family and how she missed them, but she can't go back because of him.

This hurt him but his mom never blamed him nor harmed him. He just felt the weight of that burden even if nobody told him he should. He removed his eyepatch showing off a black eye where the white should be and a yellow snake eye glowing against the black. Mom says he is a half ghoul which she says was impossible so she calls him a miracle. She even help trains him to control the inhuman abilities.

He finished making his mother's day card filled with a essay of why she is an amazing mother. Leaving her favorite chocolates on the card before heading off to bed.

.....

Lazarus stared at his bedroom ceiling with unease settling in his stomach. He was going to a special summer school for people like him as a precursor for college. His mother kept going on about how he will meet people like himself. He had no idea what that meant but she was really excited for him, and it will help pay for college. That made him excited because his mom didn't have to work so hard.

......

It wasn't even a bus it was a hearse that stopped in front of his house.

"Have a nice summer remember to write and don't forget to tell them what you need to eat I love you Lazarus." His mom said trying not to be seen by the driver. "Oh don't forget the extra eyepatch I got you and I packed you something special."

Lazarus could only smile as he nods and he hugs his mom. "I will never understand why you hide from this stuff. Love you mom."

Lazarus walks out and enters the hearse with a suitcase in hand and his note that he hands to the driver. He removes his eyepatch to show off what he is.

The driver looks at Lazarus in pure shock. "I thought they were fucking with me. I will tell the headmaster that you are for real." The driver says pointing to the seats that Lazarus sits in. The hearse driver mumbles "half ghoul wow I might ass well be in heaven I've seen everything."

Lazarus sits next to a princely fellow tieing his eyepatch back on as the man looks at him in shock.

"You're a half ghoul, your in my prophecy." The prince guy says.

A much more disheveled prince guy jumps to look over the seat. "Looks like you're getting hitched Roman didn't think it was possible."

"Oh shut it Remus you're suppose to marry a demon." The prince guy Roman says.

Lazarus stays quiet not knowing what to say.

"You know where we're going right?" Remus asks.

Lazarus looks up. "A summer school for monsters?"

"YES"

"NO Remus it's an educational training facility for beings other then pure humans. It's a training on how to blend in with humanity and how to be associated with hunters as not to be killed its require if you want to live with humans." Roman huffs.

"But I already live with humans this is paying for my college." Lazarus responds.

"Wait you already live among humans? What's it like? We've never left our kingdom Oh right I'm Roman that's Remus we're fae princes and we're going to live with humans for a long while until we marry or just decide to go home." Roman says smiling

Lazarus shrugs "I dunno hopefully this is better."

.........

Lazarus ended up rooming with Roman after the headmaster passed out realizing he was a half ghoul. He was thankful since Roman he already kind of knew him, his brother got paired with a guy with really thick glasses and two other people he wasn't paying attention to.

He was setting up his room and placed a picture of him and his mother on his desk as he finished laying on his black and gold checkered bed. He was growing uncomfortable with Roman gawking at him.

"You didn't use any magic. How did you do that?" Roman asks amazed.

Lazarus blinked obviously confused. "What? That's how I normally make my bed and put things away."

"Can you teach me? I've never done things the human way." Roman looks at Lazarus with eyes filled with curiosity.

Lazarus nodded and began to teach.

.......

It's been a month and he got his first letter from his mom.

"Hey sweetie how are you? Sorry for taking so long to respond things came up, you'll understand when you get home. Anyways this Roman guy you keep going on about sounds amazing you should bring him home for dinner. You made other friends too Logan Remus Patton and Virgil they all sound nice. Oh make sure Patton eats before a full moon it will help him, and sweetie I hope your eating right because we both know you can't go too long without eating han flesh. Anyways keep sending letters it sounds amazing, love mom."

Within the note is attached what looks like jerky which Lazarus begins to chew on.

"Oh got a gift from home, what did your parent send you?" Logan asks his speech finally sounding less robotic he was a demon not a robot.

"Jerky my mom makes it herself, she works as clean up in a hospital biohazard stuff aka human flesh." Lazarus mumbles chewing on his food.

"Huh neat isn't your mom human? Its surprising that she is ok with all this." Virgil says sipping on his blood milkshake.

"Well she has been doing this since I was born so I guess knew what happened after she was raped." Lazarus frowned at the shocked faces. "How did you think I was made anyways?"

"Love and compassion." Patton sniffs looking upset pulling Lazarus into a hug.

"You do know what ghouls are Patton. Soulless creatures that are neither demonic magic or angelic in nature they are in a category in of themselves which makes them dangerous and extremely hard to predict. They are violent and powerful a half ghoul is well was impossible usally ghouls just kill outright I guess yours got frisky with juicy things." Remus winks.

"You had me in the first half bro." Roman says leaning on Lazarus.

"I have to disagree that was quite informative you really do your research." Logan says impressed.

Lazarus shrugs. "Eh she is fine never blame me."

"I want to meet the wonderful woman who made you Lazarus." Roman says

Lazarus blushes. "Ah shut it Roman."

Roman sticks his tongue out.

.......

The end came way too fast for Lazarus's liking but Roman was coming home to meet his mother. Hopefully she wouldn't be upset. He stops for a second remembering a picture from his textbook on hunters. One of the reoccurring pictures reminded him of his mother. He shrugged it probably wasn't her.

Lazarus opened the door to his house Roman behind him. He stopped dead when he heard Roman shreik.

"THE HUNTER QUEEN DON'T KILL HIM." Roman pulls Lazarus behind him and prepares to take the blow but is only met with a soft tisk.

"Lazarus who's your friend? Oh is this the Roman you wrote to me about he is cute." Lazarus's mother says looking over the two.

Roman was shaking he heard horror stories of how countless faes fell to her blade. "Y-y-you know me?"

"Of course my son sent me a bunch of letters."

Then it clicked for Lazarus. "Oh that makes sense you used to be a hunter no wonder you're ok with everything."

"Oh correct I'm retired now unless someone here breaks my son's heart." She chuckles "oh I'll make your favorite for dinner do you have any requests Roman?"

"Not to die." Roman looks pale as a ghost.

"Do you like spicy chicken I'll make that." She smiles.

Roman can only nod now hiding behind Lazarus who goes up to his room.

.....

"Your mother is what horror stories are for my well every supernatural kind. The cursed immortal hunter who can kill everything she sets her mind to." Roman gasps

Lazarus hums. "That explains why she looks so young."

"Why are you not freaking out she can kill us."

"Roman you forget she is my biological mother, and retired." Lazarus looks to Roman who seems to be in deep thought

"THAT'S WHY SHE VANISHED IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE. Also explains why you went to the summer school so you wouldn't be targeted."

Lazarus sighs. "Why did I fall in love with you?" He quickly slaps his hand over his mouth.

"You love me?"

Lazarus looks away nodding.

Roman looks at Lazarus with amazement. "Fuck fear I love you too."

They kiss.

[underwater-light-weaving]

Lair Review for cantripping #444715!

@jellydrone has a lot of very lovely dragons, and not only that, but they are all wonderfully well-themed! Honestly, I had such a hard time choosing only six dragons, so I'll post some honorable mentions at the end of this!

First off we have Juu! I have to say, the color scheme here is excellent. Sometimes, vibrantly colored dragons are pretty, but are hard to look at. Juu here manages to have all the wonderfully vibrant candy rave colors while being very pleasing to the eye! I also love the use of the leg bows here, I don't know why, but they really stand out to me!

Next we have another dragon from the Rave Cave, Rafi! I love the wraith gene here, and honestly? The art on his page is so gorgeous, you have to see it! It may have been a large part of the reason I chose him. This custom accent is also absolutely wonderful, and it fits him so well. One of the prettiest dragons I've seen on FR, really.

I would be remiss not to pick Vayentha, she's absolutely precious! I understand why she'd be a favorite of Mother's. Honestly, her colors and the scorpion gene work so well together, I wish I could write an essay on that alone, but admiration will have to do. For now.

Pallabi had to be included here, honestly, there's so much I adore here. I'll start with my favorite part, which is the use of the sludge gene. Is it lava or is it the contents of a lava lamp? Probably the former, but either is pretty cool! Also, her biography is rather haunting, which I very much enjoy. Lastly, and this is a small detail, but I do love how the blue from the skink gene accents her eyes, it's very striking!

Narumi hits a particular weak spot of mine, as I love both pearlcatchers and marine-themed dragons, so she absolutely had to be one here. I've gotta say, every aspect here is perfect. She makes me think of ghost ships with the shroud and kelp apparel. The accent she has is really just the icing on the cake for that. I absolutely love those scale greaves and bracers as well; they give her a slight wintery vibe!

Finally, we have Sanbica, who has one of the best looks I've ever seen on a Fae (and my lair is 50% Fae by volume). He certainly has the vibe of both a goth and a herbalist! There's so much detail, so many layers, and yet another wonderful use of a kelpie mane! I hope he gets to write about all the plants his gay heart can handle!

Now for some Honorable Mentions!

Some dragons that I loved too much to not at least mention them!

Zero!

Meru!

Mirach!

Araminta!

I really enjoyed reviewing your lair, you have such wonderful dragons!

Want me to review your lair or do some other writing for you? Look here!