#like. at least fintan has one.

[isolde-illustrates]

Elysian Theories

Elysian's Powers:

The current known trait of her ability is being able to stop a person from using their ability. Additionally, that includes being able to stop multiple people from doing so as Sophie, Maruca, Marella, Fitz, Keefe, and Gisela were immediately cut off from using their abilities. We do not know the duration of their power loss, but the closest thing to this instance is when Grady Ruewen mesmered the Council into slapping themselves. That was short lived, but involved twelve people being controlled, in comparison to the six people here, adding to the plausibility of that many people being controlled, even if the nature of the ability itself is very powerful.

The specifics of Elysian's powers include flicking off a switch inside of the person, shutting down their unruly emotions, and clearing their vision, which can be generalized to clearing their emotions like a reset button. In contrast to Sophie's reaction, Fitz appears to get a headache from the loss of his telepathy, which could be due to the fact that Sophie is the moonlark and has an unnatural defense built in that might make her reaction easier to manage. Still, she has reacted similarly to Fitz when around humans, so that is not as likely.

As for Elysian's nature, she is described as a "figure in a gray cloak" who "[steps] out of thin air," likely blinking as Sophie does when playing base quest in the beginning of the series with Biana, Keefe, and Fitz (Messenger 728). Additionally, she says, "I am the power source you're all here looking for," which can be seen as cocky or just plain factual (Messenger 728). Either could add to her character, making her arrogant or almost numb, like an empath, although that does not necessarily matter right now.

For the actual theory element of this, Elysian's power appears to relate to illusions in the mind as she seems to put up a wall between the person and their ability. The most notable illusionist, Vespera Follend, expressed the need to keep Elysian locked up, which could be due to prior knowledge, perhaps forgotten secrets that were not necessarily removed from Vespera, who might have already been put in jail at the time and essentially forgotten herself. The only other ability close enough to creating illusions is a flasher, but considering that the ability was one used to find Elysian and release her, I doubt that she has that ability, since the people who locked her up would not want her to be able to break out of any section of her prison. Therefore, Elysian has elements of an Empath's ability, which is further proven by how Keefe's combined polyglot and empath abilities allow him to control people through verbal tone and emotions. Elysian did not speak until afterwards, so the tone is likely not part of how she works, but the emotional side of the empath very well could be.

Similar to the shows Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, Elysian appears to be able to disrupt a person's connection to their ability, much like chi blocking. Considering that ancient minds are practically impenetrable, she would be able to put up mental shields in her own mind (with the assumption that she would be an Ancient). Additionally, Elysian's ability extends beyond her own mental shields, like the shields against telepaths and empaths, as seen by Fintan and Gisela (although not an Ancient, she hid her true emotions and thus her lies from her family who consisted of empaths). Elysian can put up a mental shield between a person and their ability. Her genetics were likely a hybrid of an inflictor, telepath, empath, and/or mesmer. While Bronte is the only known inflictor, the genes likely appeared earlier, at least the elements of what developed into his, and they possibly remained dormant in other people, but not necessarily in Elysian.

Why Elysian was Locked Away:

Her ability is clearly dangerous, which would cause the other elves to be hesitant of her. Elysian likely came before the pyrokinetic ban as that would be the first moment that an ability like hers would have been necessary and possibly why Kenric would have sought out Elysian, becoming weary of the ability and wanting a failsafe that could temporarily, if not permanently remove the ability and therefore remove the problem. There is not something that necessarily suggests that Kenric would want to remove the pyrokinesis ability, still, he did search for the woman. People do not look for a power source without a plan of how they could use it, and for a Councillor in charge of protecting a world that did not even know it needed to be changed, Kenric Fathdom had a lot of reasons to go searching for Elysian.

Because stellarlune has become such a big part of the series, Elysian likely experimented with this as a younger woman, and she likely found a way to use that as her own way of getting permanently enhanced, removing the need of that ability in order to make her extremely powerful. That would have made her a target to the Council, who would want to know that they have absolute power, but would never be assured of that if she was able to roam free. The prison was a way to safeguard themselves, and the Council knew that none of them had a power that strong.

How Elysian Pulls Stellarlune and Legacies Together:

Shannon Messenger did not originally plan for Keefe Sencen to be a character in her book series, but since then has clearly embraced his role in the series. His mother, Gisela, has no clear connection that would allow her access to the knowledge about Elysian, so I am going to get a little far from reality in this section of the theory and say that Elysian was part of Gisela's family tree, specifically her mother's side. Those who were related to Elysian likely had two primary choices; they could try and forget that she ever existed because of how jealous they felt when they remembered that she had such a powerful ability and they did not, or they could continue her work, keeping everything related to her and stellarlune as they passed it down for generations to the bright children in their family line who they expected to continue the work without telling others. Through this, the family would have learned the time that the stars would align, allowing for the location of Elysian to be accessible. The family would have passed this down slowly, likely waiting until they were a couple hundred years old and wanted to essentially retire from the work. At this point, they would likely pass down the knowledge of Elysian to their child, who would be in the mid hundreds at this point.

The only exclusion to this tradition would be Gisela Minette, a girl who was so promising that she manifested with two abilities. There are two version of this that could have occurred. The first would be when Gisela was a kid. She manifested as a polyglot first, so her mother told her to hide her other ability, which she manifested at home, from the Council, and even her father. Young Gisela would have been trained extra hard in her polyglot ability by her mother, but only watched her father whenever he conjured something, trying to copy the ability in her room when the door was locked. The other version would be that Gisela had aftereffects of the contents that she drank while pregnant with Keefe, and that caused the potential in her to be brought out in the form of a conjurer. She could have privately trained in the ability, but still not gotten anywhere near mastering it as she still struggled a decade and a half later.

As for the "family legacy," Gisela learned about the details when she was a couple hundred years old, sooner than her previously family members, as her mother trusted that she would be the one to complete the tasks, knowing how special and driven Gisela was. (This would have occurred before Gisela had married Cassius and had Keefe.) Based off that, she would have developed her idea for stellarlune and Keefe's legacy before marrying, choosing Cassius because he was a strong empath, and Elysian had genetic connections to the ability. Through that, Keefe's legacy is to become the next Elysian, extending beyond the ability to shut off elves' special abilities, but to also prompt people to manifest and control their physical actions.

In summary, Elysian's ability allows her to put up mental blocks between a person and their connection to their special ability. Gisela is Elysian's descendant, and Keefe is the product of his heritage and experimentation. Elysian is not an overpowered character; she can only shut off elves' special abilities, but the Talentless have been living without them and therefore can survive without that power. The one who is overpowered is Keefe, because now, he has Elysian's ability and Grady's ability combined into one, allowing him to control both the mind and the body, making him the most powerful character in the entire Keeper of the Lost Cities Series.

[crescentpaws]

now on the more chaotic side….

- fintan figured out how to make a clone of himself.

- they fought a magic duel and he LOST

- was getting annoyed at the clone tbh so i made fintan set him on fire repeatedly but that guy would Not die

(ft vespera just watching…..)

- umm i read that you have to order the clone to do something in order for it to despawn or whatever but by that point the clone was evil apparently so fintan wasn’t able to give it orders anymore???

so now he’s just listed as fintan’s brother?? help???? his name is Nelson. i will find a way to kill him one day i promise you that. fucking nelson pyren. fucker.

this is a cool picture tho. with the fire & the phoenix & everything.

- next are all my horrible attempts at trying to make fintante happen:

- my first plan of course was to use the infatuate spell. unfortunately i chose gisela for this mission and she is not very high leveled when it comes to magic so the spell backfired. and fintan ended up kissing her instead 💀 obviously i started freaking out and started spamming negative interactions to get the romance bar back down which led to them getting in a fist fight (which fintan won) but even though the bar is red now she’s still listed in the romance category for him 💀 going to just. ignore that.

- my second plan was to take what just happened and apply it to fintan instead (make HIM use the spell and then hope it backfires) but unfortunately he is a master rank spellcaster so his spells rarely fail… i got him up to a dangerously high level of spellcaster charge before trying the spell in hopes that it would fail but he’s too good….

- i ended up applying some curses to him as well to increase the chances of the spell backfiring but it only ended up making things worse for him 💀 accidentally gave him another curse which made this creepy asshole follow him around all night and prevented him from sleeping

- in another attempt he just straight up fucking died.

first grim reaper appearance haha… (his familiar actually ended up reviving him though… but it didn’t matter because i was just resetting from the same save point anyway.)

- at some point throughout all this fintan gained the fear of… swimming?? which is very random considering he has a pool in his yard that he’s swam in multiple times before… but ok

- the spell actually DID end up backfiring correctly but even when they kissed the romance bar never showed up 💀 which pissed me off because it showed up with gisela… homophobic ass spell

- ended up giving up on the spells and tried giving romantic gifts… which SEEMED to go well but it did not actually improve their relationship at all…

only game where your characters can be sworn enemies and still say shit like this about each other (the romance bar did not go up even a BIT. so this is really funny.)

- tried the potion of forced friendship next because i was curious to see what it would do… i thought it’d just make the interactions go smoother but apparently it puts the friendship bar up to max 💀 so. that part was solved i guess?? they’re no longer enemies at least…

- but of course them being them they somehow managed to get the bar back down to zero 💀 they basically had to start their relationship over from scratch…

- finally got them to kiss though (for real) so idgaf

- fintan loooves to randomly insult him though. so. idk how long this will last. the sentiments are already very conflicting

(funniest photo)

[a-random-person-on-the-interent]

CALLING ALL PEOPLE WHO DISLIKE THE LOST CITIES AND THINK THEY'RE SHIT

we need to make like a discord or something to talk about it, or like write essays which I think I'm planning on doing, because the lost cities is shit, I feel very strongly about this as a disabled person, and you might ask why would me being disabled have anything to do with it, EUGENICS and the Talentless and even how disabled people are treated by the narrative. Because didn't Keefe descripe feeling talentless people as being hollow and not quite complete, WHICH IS WHAT DISABLED PEOPLE (or at least people with Autism like myself) HAVE BEEN CALLED FOR YEARS. I really want a charcter to have been born with a disability (ADHD, ASD, EDS, down syndrome, Dyslexia, dysgraphia, ect) or for the series to recognize that being talentless is having a disability or even the series to recongize mental health conditions (PTSD, BPD, Depression Schizoprenia, delusions) like Sophie has all the symptoms for PTSD, and one could argue she's dyslexic with her not being able to read runes. Also back to the eugenics talk, eugenics in history have been useally used on disabled people, like myself. There are no LGBTQ characters which can be fine, I'd like some but it's not a big problem expect... EUGENICS. the elves soiciety is based on Eugenics meaning that if someone was gay or lesbian or aroace, they probably would be scorned if not it being banned to be gay or lesbian. What about trans people? well the lost cities seem to function on that they are perfect the way they're born, and if one is not born perfect (Like the talentless) you are socially exiled. The susicde rates must be massive there, but I doubt anyone will talk about them because they'll be shamed.

Let's not even get into Exile cause that is just Touture, and I'm not kidding solitary confine meant is torture, fintans cell tourture, I'm not saying it isn't effective cause it is. but the elves claim to be morally superior to humans than do that. Memory breaks would also count as tourture as you are breaking someones mind till they are practically dead. And we saw how that effected Aladin. What about the white room tourture they had Vesperia be in for centuries. there politcal system is fucked too, Cause a friendship is just as important as a romantic relationship so if they wanted them to be completey unbiased the councliers shouldn't be allowed to have friends or family, and that doesn't stop the heart from from falling in love with someone and giving them special treatment.

I think anyone with half a brain could tell you that feeding carniverous animals strickly vegan diet is bad, so let's move on to the education system and I'm 90% sure that elves are just lying about how much they helped humans, like I'm 100% sure that Mr. Forkle only thinks he inspired Loki, cause if you know any myths about him you'd know they are not similar at all well maybe aside from the shapeshifting like didn't at one point they say they helped them discover electicity, like eceletricity was ORGINALLY discovered in 600 BCE they at that time were probbaly still living among humans, like I'm sorry but you guys probbaly didn't help with anything and might've actually prolonged the process because you thought you knew better. and y'know what they probbaly haven't even gotten to the center of the earth yet which is 2,9000 KM down, but back to education, it's so heavily bias, that all the other speices that aren't elves are like what the fuck is this, this isn't how it happened, so my best guess is that it's full of misinformation. Y'know what I should make a skit of, "If I was in the lost cities"

[bookwyrminspiration]

(warning: this is... long. i had to put post dividers on this to make it readable. i would have put a read more but i can't in an ask, sorry.)

i think the most puzzling thing of all about this drama is that like.... i've been doing this forever. i've been posting keefe/fintan stuff (not regularly, but still!) since at least feb 2022 on the dolentsnows account. hell, i KNOW i've even talked about tam/linh specifically before then, though i can't remember if it was public or not.

and there was no problem! people just blocked each other and filtered and it was fine!

i'm frankly just. SO confused as to why that post of all things is what set it off. like guys. what.

also, re: "it normalizes pedophilia/incest/abuse/whatever" my posts get like ten notes max, most of those being likes from my dear mutuals who dont necessarily love the stuff i do but still wanna show they support me anyway.

if you'd just think for a minute, i think it's pretty easy to see that no one's gonna be converted into a sex freak any time soon.

and the fact that people are calling me a pedophile for... *checks notes* writing about characters that are the same age as i am or older in relationships with adults is. something. especially considering that:

in all the ACTUAL content i've made, excluding ONE post about alvar being keefe's gay awakening, the characters have been over the legal age in france (my country), so even the "it's illegal" argument falls apart.

why do you immediately assume i'm imagining myself to be the adult here? you don't know what's going on in my life. you don't know my reasons for doing what i do. i started shipping those kinds of ships ever since i was a pretty young kid, and i don't have to explain myself to anyone. (note: i am not a victim of csa, just want to make that clear. i've got other shit going on. but also you guys don't actually care about survivors and it's obvious.)

and fun fact: incest is legal in france as well, as long as it's between two consenting adults. i have decided, right now, effective immediately, that linh and tam are both over 18 in those drawings. since it's legal it means there's no problem right?

all this to say, let's just drop the whole "legal = moral, illegal = immoral" train of thought right here.

i do have one thing to apologize for, though: i didn't properly tag the first post. that has since been rectified and i've added community labels for good measure. i have and will apologize again for that mistake because it was entirely on me. i'm genuinely sorry to the people who saw that with no warning and i won't make that mistake again going forward.

but i also know that there are people who clicked on some of my posts even after i added the community labels and then complained (in my ask box, no less!) and to those i say: just read the tags, guys. they're still visible even with the community labels hiding the post.

sorry for the angry tone, but i am kind of miffed about all this. mostly that it turned into such a big deal when it really didn't have to be.

to conclude: stay strong out there guys, hopefully modern fandom will develop basic internet skills one day.

No worries about the length or tone, you're good.

I believe the reason that one post sparked issue is because, I don't know if you're aware, there's actually been a pretty significant surge in new fans in the past few months following info about Unraveled.

So while you have been here and posting your stuff for a while, for a good chunk of the currently active people, I think that was their first time seeing you. And also possibly one of their first times seeing art/ships like that up close, since keeper tends to be a first/earlier fandom.

Hence the stronger reaction. Though I don't think it's fair to blanket statement say they don't care about survivors. That's the sort of strawmanning/ad hominem talk that leads to shutting down/self-defense that doesn't get us anywhere. We can all rise above logicial fallacies <3

But anyway, the worst seems to have passed, unless we all feel like regressing for some reason :)

[fucked-up-mover-shaker]

BOOK 10: ELYSIAN SIGN UPS

ALRIGHT! I HAVE ENOUGH INTEREST, IT IS TIME!

First off, the outline of everything we will be using in our creation of book 10, or Elysian (Endgame is a great name, but Marvel), as I call it.

Next, everything I'm using in Elysian.

I am also tagging everyone who has helped me come up with ideas, as well as edited, since we share one braincell, and have a lot of similar things.

Sorry for cut it's LONG

@moonlarked

Marellinh

Council gets overthrown

Sophie gets to kill Mr Forkle

Alvar dies in Fitz’s arms

Sophie starts an human outreach program

Jensi remains Talentless and helps other Talentless

Exillium gets to be relevant

Tiertice adopt Tam and Linh and Rayni

Fedex

Ruy appears and does something idk

Trix joins up with the gang

@the-great-gullon-incident

Biana, Stina, and Dex team up

Biana has a sword

Sophie teaches the rest of the keeper gang about lgbtq+ people

Crazy fights

Gethen and Ruy show up to do stuff

They/them Elysian

All the mysteries are finally revealed

@stopstealingtomatoes

Lady Gisela to die

Amy to have a bigger role

Lord Cassius to either formally apologize to Keefe or else shove a stick in it

T h e r a p y

Ships to finally sail

@amandayetagain

Elysian’s big naturals

frognate rings

explicit language

vertina pagetime

more void lore

Sophie strikes out on her own and forms her own group

we learn about Keefe’s human friends

Details on some of the parents top secret missions (mentioned in their unlocked files)

Embarrassing middle name for keefe

foot power

Sophie channels someone’s heart/skull, or uses telekinesis on someone’s neck (it’s them or her friends. And she’s already lost enough.)

Biana and Sophie commit arson again (Neverseen)

@you-have-been-frizzled

JENSI PAGE TIME

the triplets

Kesline

Elwin officially adopting Keefe

Biana kills somebody (can we just bring Vespra back so she can kill her)

Tam gets hurt and Linh goes batshit

Bronte with curly hair

Sophie eats sweet and sour chicken to everyone’s horror

MORE ARSON

Alina redemption arc (literally wouldn’t suggest this but Ciara is the one running it and they’re part of the Alina deserves redemption club)

Dex losing an arm (his name means right handed it’s ironic oaky!)

Tiergan punches Quan song when he tries to say something to the twins

Sandor and Giselle scenes

KESLER AND GRADY BROMANCE I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT ABOUT THEM

Juline and Edaline being sisters

Keefe and Grady bonding

Alvar isn’t dead and gets redemption

Caprice is relevant other than just being the crazy lady

@official-kenralie-fanbase

Sophie loses it during a battle to fulfill the whole "the moonlark could tear this whole place down" thing

Sandor finally has to dance in sparkly pants

Someone punches Alden

Or Cassius

Or both. At the same time.

More of Grady's mesmerizing please and thank you

Gradaline moments

Sophie's dad reveal (maybe do a poll on who people think that should be? I'm hoping for Fintan)

Oralie actually fights in a battle

Someone finds out about Oralie and there's a bunch of drama with all the people

@ever-blaze

more jensi, dex and rayni

jensi not manifesting an ability yet playing more roles in the story (eg. fighting the neverseen with a weapon or something)

keefe and fitz friendship moments/actually being best friends again

MORE OF THE TRIPLETS !!!

more backstories? tinkers maybe?

blur or wraith or tinkers identities

the return of the amazing amy foster

keefe’s human friends (hoping at least one is a celebrity) and human world adventures

------

Next, breaking this up. Anyone can join, I just need people to help organize this, and the plan is we sort it up by character/group, and eventually break it down into chapters, ordered by what would make sense in a basic plot structure. Then we will start figuring out technical things such as who is writing what.

Simply send me an ask or message if you're interested in helping me organize this!

And, if you have any and all suggestions, feel free to tell me!

REBLOGS >>>>>> LIKES

[indigothemuse]

Fatphobia in Keeper

DISCLAIMER: I'm not calling anyone out specifically. I'm sorry if it seems that way. Feel free to @ me, or start up a discussion! I'm happy to hear other points of view, all I ask is that it be kept respectful <3

So. Fatphobia in the Keeper of the Lost Cities—both the books and the fandom. Please keep in mind that this is my perspective, both in being plus sized and seeing how it’s treated in other books! And, of course, this is NOT a callout for anyone specific!!

Alright let’s get started! Recently, a discussion happened—people comparing Gisela to Forkle. Which, obviously, is fine. It’s fandom and character comparisons happen. That’s not the point. The point that got me thinking was that people, overall, like Gisela more than they like Forkle. And that’s fair! People will have opinions and views. However, this pushed me down a path of no return. I went from screaming in dms to being struck by the urge to sit at my keyboard and scour the fan wiki. 

Now. What point am I trying to make here? The thing is: fatphobia and the view of what is and isn’t conventionally attractive has sunken its claws deep. This can be seen in one major way: characters (especially women) are excused for their crimes and what they’ve done, on the reasoning that they’re “just hot” and other similar thoughts. 

Which, I’ll be fair, I don’t entirely get. Being demiromantic and ace is…kind of hard. (I can see objective attraction, but.) Still though, returning to my earlier example, why is Gisela allowed to be awful and still liked, but Forkle comparatively better, yet still disliked? 

As a dear friend of mine once said: “it's all fatphobia.” And that’s the truth, isn’t it? We lie to ourselves and say, “no, they're just creepy!” or “no, [x] is just weird!!” But all along, it’s just been how they aren’t conventionally attractive or “appropriately” skinny. 

How does this relate back to Keeper though? Well, I’m happy to explain! (Using the Fintan and Forkle example this time!)

Fintan: a known member of a terrorist organization, canonically killed at least one person, worked with the ogres to use chemical warfare on the gnomes, possibly more, and helped train one of the characters to harness her ability. 

Forkle: leader of the other secret group, genetically modified a fetus, has possibly killed people, helped heal the main character twice, although he did keep secrets before. 

Now, both of them have done both good and bad things. But, do you want to guess who’s better liked? …Fintan! Don’t get me wrong, I do like Fintan. 

But why is it that Forkle is seen as somehow lesser, the bad option, the one that you’ll get mocked for liking? Well. Fintan (and Gisela, from earlier) are both conventionally attractive and described as slender, for Fintan, and never described as anything other than the norm, for Gisela. Forkle, however, is described as being wrinkly, bloated and old. 

Overall, it feels like it just points down a path where if you’re not slim and conventionally attractive, you’re the bad option. The mocked portion of the fandom. And I’m not saying that Forkle is better or worse than Fintan and Gisela. All I’m asking is that when it comes to fat characters, please rethink why you don’t like them. 

[squishmallow36]

It's all I wish to hear tonight, and you're all I wish to be, and this is how we all fall - Chapter Two

Summary: the garvar fic has turned garvarioli! We've done a bit of a time skip because I didn't want to write the dating and the blushing and the getting to know each other blah blah blah. So now they're just in a relationship and the fact I didn't feel the need to slowburn it is astonishing to me. Anyway Garwin's gonna be joining the Neverseen officially. Yeah that's pretty much the whole plot.

Word count: 3011

TW: drug mention, murder mention, implied sex, swearing. This is the farthest into pg-13 territory I've gone but these idiots demand it.

Taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed!): @stellar-lune @faggot-friday @kamikothe1and0lny @nyxpixels @florida-preposterously @poppinspop @uni-seahorse-572 @solreefs @remember-me-in-another-time @rusted-phone-calls @when-wax-wings-melt @good-old-fashioned-lover-boy7 @dexter-dizzknees @abubble125 @hi-imgrapes @callum-hunt-is-bisexual @xanadaus @callas-pancake-tree @hi-my-name-is-awesome @katniss-elizabeth-chase @arson-anarchy-death @dizzeners @thefoxysnake

The people who aren't on my taglist and I'm sorry for bothering you but you lost your minds on the last chapter so uh you did this to yourself (?): @camelspit @tw-5

On Ao3 (users only because, you know, AI) or below the cut

Previous chapter in case you missed it, but you don't really need it to read this :)

    “You know, if you ignore all the work camps, Sadlitzagvadtka is a lovely place,” Alvar remarks. 

    Ruy’s laugh drags Garwin’s attention from the bubbling Eventide River, bright green as it crashes against the rocks. 

    “I mean, you could say the same thing about the USSR,” Garwin muses. 

    “Yes, but we ignore those parallels, love. I don’t want to have to send you to the gulag.” Alvar replies, crossing one leg over the other as he takes a sip of his choyi. 

    Much like most of the foods of the non-Forbidden Cities, choyi looks nothing like how it tastes. The sludgy green slime is in a direct contrast to its strawberry lemonade milkshake flavor. Although how it doesn’t curdle is apparently “beyond human comprehension.”

    That’s just code for “we don’t know and we don’t want to admit it.” It was annoying at first, but it’s kind of become a running joke. 

    What the rest of the Neverseen doesn’t seem to grasp is that he does the same thing to them whenever he doesn’t feel like telling them about some cursed human shit. 

    They absolutely lost their shit when he told them about Twinkies. If they can’t handle apocalypse-proof snack cakes, there’s a hundred other food crimes several points higher on a logarithmic scale they won’t be able to conceptualize without their pathetic little elvin brains shattering. 

     Like pineapple on pizza. 

    Garwin can’t physically have less of an opinion, but the idea of having to explain the concept to elves makes him want to jump off a cliff. And not in the Sophie-teleportation way. 

    Hey--don’t think about that bitch. First she’s accepted into Yale with a full scholarship and now she has four abilities. Apparently she’s some sort of science experiment. I hope they transposed a decimal place. 

    “What am I in for tomorrow?” Garwin asks after a moment of silence. 

    Alvar opens his mouth, but Ruy interrupts him before he gets the chance. “Cállate, mi vida. Sharing any details would be a violation of the Neverseen code article seven, section three, ‘the council is always watching so don’t discuss confidential shit in public.’”

    “I call bullshit. You people are nowhere near organized enough to have an official code.”

    “Well, yes,” Alvar concedes. “But it’s more fun if you don’t know what’s going to happen. Besides, I’m sure Fintan has cooked up some interesting changes from when we swore fealty, so anything we tell you could be completely wrong by now.”

    “Yes, but I’m sure at least one of you have been involved in the planning,” Garwin argues. 

    “We can neither confirm nor deny that,” Ruy says, admitting his guilt. 

    Garwin rolls his eyes. I picked these dumbasses over going to a nice, normal, human, non-ivy league school ? I mean--at least there’s no finals. I guess. 

    He takes a sip of his choyi.

    “I promise it won’t be that painful,” Alvar says in an effort to remedy the situation, earning himself a glare from Ruy. 

    Garwin leans forward, head resting in his cupped hands. “And when did you become such a goody little two shoes rule follower, Exilium boy?”

    Ruy rolls his eyes behind his addler, because of course he has it on. We’re in public--well, sort of, as there literally aren’t any ogres in a hundred foot radius--and that means we’ve gotta wear the addler. 

    It’s like how Garwin also conditioned himself to wear the same sweatshirt almost every single day one school year like it’s his own personal security blanket but we don’t talk about that. 

    But now the elves have stupid capes, so that solves that problem. Even if he doesn’t have an officially licensed Neverseen cape until probably tomorrow. Unless there’s some elaborate scheme being planned. Which of course there will be. This is what happens when you take three or more gay idiots and tell them to plan something. 

    If it ain’t absolute batshit, what’s the fucking point? 

    Alvar’s smile falls as he pulls out his Imparter. He must be getting harassed once again. This is why Garwin doesn’t have one. Well, that, and the fact that he’s not a legal resident of the Lost Cities. Same thing. 

    “Y’all can see that I’m busy right now so I can’t answer a hail, right?” he says tiredly. 

    “Yes, indeed.” Garwin throws back the last of his choyi, smiling. 

    “The Fork Man wants me for some shit and I’m having a good day, so he will be getting ignored for a while. Are we really sure I can’t come out to the Bullshit?” 

    “Bullshit” is Garwin’s nickname for the Black Swan because it both represents their ideology and, at least in English, they can be abbreviated the same way. At least his pathetic short human life will be worth something, even if it is just an inside joke that’s more explanation than it’s worth. 

    “You know what Fintan’s orders are, and if you don’t wanna get burnt to a crisp, I’d recommend following them. Now, that doesn’t mean he knows what he’s doing. It’s just a matter of self preservation. I don’t make the rules around here. If I did, we’d have to replace more Councillors than just the one.”

    Alvar rolls his eyes at his Imparter. “The Fork Man is being very insistent. I have a feeling I’m gonna have to drop you two off at home and talk to him. Be prepared for some shit to be going down soon, regardless of whether or not I have a chance to share details.” He turns to his imparter, inventing new swear words just to curse at the Fork. 

    Like he said, Alvar drops Ruy and Garwin off at “home”--their assigned room at a Neverseen facility Garwin’s not allowed to know any details about--to much argument. He shan’t be allowed to have all the fun without them but alas, ‘tis the way the world works sometimes. 

    The next morning, Garwin sleepily blinks himself back to the land of the living, snuggled into the crook of Ruy’s neck, but there’s no Alvar to be found. 

    He better fucking be okay. 

    Ruy’s hand absently twirls Garwin’s hair, and when he notices that Garwin is slightly less dead to the world than usual, he smiles. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

    “It’s still morning? Damn. Guess I gotta go back to sleep. Need my beauty rest.”

    “Bitch, no amount of sleep is gonna help.”

    Garwin huffs, turning away from Ruy. “Fuck you.”

    “So soon after last night, mi amor?”

    Garwin leans back to look at him. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”     

    “Yeah.” Ruy presses a soft kiss to his lips. God damn. If you weren’t so fucking hot, J wouldn’t put up with you. Love you, Rue. 

    Garwin kisses him again, pulling him close. 

    Ruy gently pushes him back. “Finny’s gonna be pissed if we miss the prescheduled time.”

    “Fuck Finny.”

    “Look, I get that you’re polyam. I know, no shit, Sherlock. But there is no way I’m going anywhere near him or near you again if you do. Man’s got his own harem.”

    “Ooh, please do elaborate.” 

    “Let’s see…I’ve heard rumors that he and Bronte are or were a thing. Not sure if they’re still a thing though, considering the war crimes, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were. And then have you ever wondered about the alliance with the Ogres? Dimitar. Fintan. Yeah. Then there’s Fallon, one of the original three Councillors. And I’m not completely sure on this one but there’s a prisoner in Lumenaria and I’ve got mixed evidence but I don’t doubt it. Uh, then there’s J.R.R. Tolkien. You might’ve heard of him because he’s a human. And how could we forget Shakespeare. He’s…also a human. If I remember correctly. I’m sure there’s more that I’m missing because I have actively tried to ignore everything, but yeah.”

    With each name, Garwin regrets his life choices more and more. And more. “What the fuck do you mean Shakespeare? Like, the one of the William variety? The playwright?” 

    “Yeah. Sometimes Finny drops into iambic pentameter just to make us suffer. Are you really sure you want to be exposed to all of the Neverseen drama?”

    “Might gouge my eyes out but, eh, whatever. Sounds fun. If Yale doesn’t want me I guess I’ll have to cause large amounts of havoc instead.”

    Ruy smiles. “I’m going to go foraging for some semblance of a breakfast that doesn’t taste like dogshit. Don’t cause too much havoc while I’m gone.”

    “No promises.”

    Ruy shakes his head as he gets up, joints singing the song of his people--the Rice Crispy elves. 

    Garwin throws on some clothes and inhales breakfast before he’s led to a hideout he’s never seen before. 

    This one is really fucking bleak and really fucking disappointing. There’s probably tetanus on every surface of the grimy, ragged brick walls. It’s the exact kind of place where you should expect to have your body never found, but honestly if they’ve waited this long to kill him, that’s kind of their own poor planning. 

    A set of stairs leads into the even more murder-y looking abyss below. 

    Having no better options, Garwin slowly begins to make his way down without slipping on the mossy, uneven stairs and falling and bonking his head and dying. 

    At the bottom, he finds a room, larger than it seems like it should be, lit entirely by flickering, yellow candlelight. It catches on bottles of what appears to be wine set into racks every few feet or so. 

    He will never admit that this reminds him of a short story he was forced to read--and perhaps even enjoyed reading--in ninth grade English. 

    As Garwin steps closer to the middle of the room where a space has haphazardly cleared, he notices the first of many cloaked figures, white eyed lapels glowing in the dim light.

    In total, around a dozen figures surround him, and he searches for Ruy in the crowd. Well, it’s not exactly a crowd, per se, but it feels like one in the cramped space. 

    It doesn’t take much effort to find him, with his long, dark hair curling out and escaping the hood. 

    That being said, Garwin can tell who most of the figures are without trying. From Umber’s absolutely sunny disposition to Fintan’s concave ass, it’s not exactly difficult. It’s just a little dissatisfying that Alvar isn’t there.

    Fintan lowers his hood like it’s some huge reveal, whispering ominously, “Garwin Chang. You wish to join our order?”

    Garwin nods. “That’s…kind of why I’m down here. Although these wine bottles do look like they could be some fun.”

    A low, overprotective growl echoes behind him as his fingers trace the label written in fancy Trollish. One of the many, many languages not on Duolingo that no one bothered to teach him how to read. Hell, most of the time he can barely read English but that’s an issue for a different day. 

    “I trust you know you’re the first non-member of an intelligent species to join our ranks in a long while,” Fintan says. Garwin’s hand falls to his side. 

    “I wouldn’t exactly call Ruy intelligent, but okay.”

    That got a couple of snickers out of the crowd and a death glare from Ruy despite most of his face being cast in shadow. 

    “Well, you got me there. I was prepared to make a convoluted line of reasoning like I’m hopped up on a cola before all of those pesky safety regulations were introduced, but you made it for me instead.”

    Wait, is he an old man bitching about New Coke or is referring to when the recipe had cocaine? Or just…caffeine? And sugar? Any of the above interpretations are fucking hilarious, so it doesn’t matter which is true. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an objectively best answer. 

    “The rest of the requirements are simple: do you promise to do everything in your power to help our world?”

    “Yeah, sure. Why not?” Garwin shrugs, smirking. 

    “Convince me.” Fintan’s icy gaze stares into Garwin’s soul. A threat behind his words.

    “I’ve been seeing Alvar and Ruy for months on end now. Do you really think I would go through all of that if I wasn’t committed? I could’ve blackmailed my way into a Yale scholarship long ago, but I’ve stayed. And for what? Because I almost care about this place not being a shithole. Also because there aren’t any taxes but we don’t need to mention that.”

    “Yeah, the cost of living is real fucking low when you’re mooching off of Alvar,” Ruy mutters. 

    Cállate. 

    …Holy fuck, Ruy has infected my brain. I don’t like this. How dare he keep sprinkling Spanish into everyday conversation? It’s like he wants to prove that he’s not an idiot to this human idiot because he knows, like, four words in a human language.     

    In reality, it’s because he lived in an undisclosed Spanish-speaking country during his time at Exilium and hasn’t broken the habit. But why be reasonable when you can be petty and bitter because he knows more Spanish than you do even after taking it for three years? 

    To be completely fair, he didn’t pay attention and convinced a kid to send him pictures of the homework and cheated on the tests, but in his defense, he didn’t realize he’d need it later in life. At least Google Translate exists all of its glorious inaccuracy. 

    “I bestow upon thee thou official codename: Elay.” Fintan says, bowing his head. “Alvar came up with it so don’t ask me what it means. Normally each person gets to pick out their own, but he was insistent and it’s not important enough to me to argue with him.”

    Yeah, that sounds about right. Gonna have to ask Alvar about it later. Maybe he’s avoiding me because he doesn’t want a full interrogation in the middle of this murder chamber. Yeah--let’s go with that. It’s better than imagining him in a Black Swan murder chamber. 

    Fintan takes a metal rod and heats it until it glows a faint red, bright in the dim light, knighting Garwin. And thankfully not sizzling his ears off in the process. 

    Fintan nods at a hooded figure Garwin only knows by his codename and that he’s a guster. “Trix, if you please?”

    Trix hands Garwin a bundle of dark fabric, emblazoned with a bright white eye. 

    It unfolds like the little bitch folded things always are, causing unattached pieces of concerningly neon fabric to fall to the ground. 

    As Garwin reaches to pick them up, it becomes all too clear that they’re not only bright pink and orange but also a very, very 80s leotard and legwarmers.

    What the actual everliving fuck?

    …and also maybe Fintan did mean New Coke. 

    It’s up to the stars above to decide which is a worse revelation. 

    “You know, Ruy, if you wanted me to wear this, you could’ve just asked. No need for all of this.”

    Ruy flips him off. He’s probably glare-smiling behind the hood though. 

    Garwin drapes the cloak part of the Neverseen uniform around his shoulders. It’s wonderfully heavy, like a weighted blanket, but surprisingly breathable. It’s probably made from a gnomish fabric which is weird because the gnomes hate their guts as much as plants are capable of hate. 

    And now I’ll finally be allowed to know why that is.

     The crowd begins shifting around him, escaping slowly up the narrow steps and light leaping away to god knows where, and soon only Ruy and Garwin are left. 

    “I got an update from Alvar,” Ruy smiles mischievously. “This should be a fun first assignment for you.”

     No fewer than three light leaps later, Garwin is in the Lodestar system, standing in front of a blonde boy with ice blue eyes. He’s immediately recognizable from Alvar’s stash of pictures he keeps to pretend like he’s still connected to his family. 

    He also knows Sophie, a regrettable decision. 

    “Meet our new son: Keefe,” Alvar says, mussing his hair. 

    Keefe flinches away. “Bitch, I’m literally only, like, six years younger than you,” he complains. “Also hasn’t my dad fucked your dad?” He puts air quotes around both uses of “Dad.” Fun family dynamic and it hasn’t even been five minutes yet. 

    “I do believe I was the one who told you about that.” Alvar turns to Ruy and Garwin. “I’ll take first shift babysitting.”

    “Nonsense. I don’t trust Garwin nearly enough to be by himself and you’ve been up all night causing problems and destroying half of Ravagog--”

    “--which is a perfectly normal way to spend an evening, thank you very much.”

    “--so you will be going home and you will take a nap. I’ll make sure Blondie here doesn’t have any tricks up his sleeve.”

    There’s a glint on Alvar’s eye that looks like he wants to argue, but a yawn cuts him off before he gets the chance. 

    Garwin almost has to physically drag him back home, partially from him being tired and partially from him not wanting to go to bed because some days he acts like a toddler. 

    “Sorry I couldn’t be at your coronation today.”

    Garwin kisses his cheek. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure sooner or later, Ruy’s gonna end up doing a whole reenactment except I actually get walled into the wine cellar this time.”

    Alvar laughs halfheartedly. 

    “And, besides. It’s not like it’s gonna change much. Do I still hate the elvin government? Yes. Is the Bullshit still a bunch of useless dumbasses? Yes. Are you still going to tell me shit that’s way above my pay grade? Abso-fucking-lutely. It’s just now I don’t have to steal your cape when it’s cold out. But I will anyway for old times’ sake.” 

    “Unmapped stars, you’re such a little shit.”

    Well, if you can’t make your boyfriend regret being with you, what’s the fucking point? 

  “And yet you’ve repeatedly chosen to not leave me to die in the middle of the neutral territories. So who’s the real winner here?”

    Alvar sighs, shaking his head. 

    God damn, he’s cute when he’s annoyed. 

[camelspit]

alvar voters just don't get it. brant is the most pathetic man in keeper, hands down. alvar may have older sibling syndrome, but at least he didn't accidentally blow up any of his three weed smoking girlfriends.

brant has his ability banned. he gets manipulated into joining a rebel orginization by a guy who views him as nothing but a vessel for his own ambitions. he accidentally joined the opposing group to his fiance.

this boy only really had one person in the world. the ruewens loved him only because jolie did. he was only ever hers. she was his only somewhat healthy outlet.

and then he killed her. i don't think it was on purpose, and that makes it even more pathetic I think. the one person, probably the only person, he's ever had a true connection with.

and she betrayed him, in his eyes. so he let his anger out. and he will always regret it.

and at least alvar was able to somewhat carry the guilt of his actions? if he had any? not brant.

brant just. everblaze is so interesting because even when its revealed he's not fully broken, he's still so cracked and messed up. he has nothing to live for but his own desperate attatchment to the neverseen and what fintan offered him when he joined.

he's in too deep. he killed jolie (accidentally) in part because of them. if he hadn't joined them, it probably wouldn't have happened. if he goes back, if he gives up, it will have been for nothing.

so instead he clings on to his last shreds of sanity and does whatever they ask of him.

and he fucking loses it when he sees sophie. the symbol of the orginization that helped destroy him. one of the main roots of his anger. and she looks just like jolie.

he is haunted by a ghost that just fucking appeared in front of him.

and then oh god. grady and his hand. his scars in general. he's covered in burns from what I can only assume is everblaze, which is fascinating. everblaze is insanely hard to summon. so either he felt just that deeply about jolie, or he did it to himself to cover up the murder.

either way, it's pathetic. it's sopping wet. it's cat-like behavior.

and then grady does even more. he takes one of his hands. he almost drives him off a cliff. and this is someone who, at one point, cared at least a bit for him. even if it was only because of jolie, he looked after brant for years.

but you can't even feel bad because he did this to himself. he is a victim in his own story and a villain in everyone elses. except perhaps the one person he destroyed.

in the process of trying to fix his life (joining the neverseen), all he did was destroy it even more. he turned himself into a fragmented version of what he once was.

he is drowning, and he's been doing it for so long that he doesn't even remember how to swim anymore. doesn't even know if he even wants to.

and then he proceeds to have the most forgettable death in keeper, barring brielle.

go vote brant guys 👍 for me. also. brant day is may 1st. don't forget.

[dreaming-of-the-end]

2: a lesson in forgetting, and being forgotten

A/N: Second chapter of “the art of running away (the disaster of returning)“ Fitz pov time!! Comments and reblogs are better than Fitz crying!

Warnings: swearing

Links: [ao3] [wattpad] [masterpost] [prev chapter] [next chapter]

Tags: @an-ungraceful-swan @seulgibabes @gay-otlc @fruity-fintan-fortythree @synonymroll648 @bookwyrminspiration @skylilac @song-tam @gaslight-gaetkeep-gayboss @abubble125 @rainy-nights-and-fairy-lights @kamikothe1and0lny @arsonistblue @daphneisntreal @lemon-girl-in-devil-town @istanrandomfandoms

Keefe ran away.

To a place he can not follow.

Fitz isn't exactly sure what they expect his reaction to be. Sophie stares at him like she's waiting for a bomb to explode. Biana worries her lip with her teeth, a habit she'd broken years ago, and Dex twists his fingers into knots until the knuckles turn white.

"He's gone?" Tam leaves out the word they are all thinking. Fitz hates him for it: he wants to tell him to say it. Remind everyone that this happens all too often. He is rewarded with a dull glance up, eyes widening in mock surprise. "Typical."

This is the part where he becomes a tea kettle and starts screaming.

But Fitz just says, "Let him stay there." His insides twist tighter than Dex's hands. He doesn't think he remembers how to breathe.

"I think he doesn't want to be found this time," Sophie admits. "Last time, we only knew where he was because I hitched a ride. This time, there's no way to know."

"Good. Let him stay there," Fitz repeats. His throat chokes on itself, but Biana's giving him the look that means his face has gone into a mask again, cold and stony, poster child of sculpted stone. "The Forbidden Cities? God, I've told him about being there enough. Alvar's told him enough. He knows plenty. He'll be fine without us."

Without me.

But they've been without each other for a long time, haven't they? Fitz thinks they've been playing hide and seek, lost and found, ever since Keefe left the first time and took a chunk of his heart with him. They've never had the conversation about its safe return, and so he continues with a hole in his heart and the missing piece too close and too far away.

"Fitz—"

"I agree," Wylie says, hands folded behind his back, eyes stormy. "He can always light leap away at any danger." He's perhaps the one who knows Keefe least, and maybe this is why Fitz feels a sudden surge of anger. Who is Wylie to decide Keefe's not worth saving? Agreement feels laced with poison to him, every word an insult and his saving grace.

Maybe he didn't mean it.

But there are nods now. So Fitz nods, forces a smile on his ice-cold face. "He doesn't need us." He's trying so hard not to let his bitterness leak through.

Sophie, he knows, isn't fooled. Not Biana, either. Tam meets his eyes and shakes his head like he knows the push and pull of the maelstrom whisking his lungs around his body, the nausea rising in his throat. But no one says anything. They can't find anything that doesn't call him a liar.

He ran away from you.

"How do you know where he is?" Stina is the one to ask the question, fingers twisting in the loose curls past her shoulders.

Sophie hesitates. "He... he left me a letter."

Another sting, another fire in his head.

He is a liar. Perhaps to himself, because he knows that this time, the cowardice had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the danger of newness and the violence of terror. All of Keefe's worst fears.

I know you, Fitz will say when he sees him again. So why does it feel like you've forgotten everything I ever was?

...

Fitz digs through his bedsheets, under his pillow, under the mattress, inside his pillowcase, fingers flying desperately across gold-trimmed navy blue.

His desk sits in disarray, every drawer spilled out across the carpet he's checked under, every pocket of every item of clothing turned inside out to check for anything, any acknowledgment of his existence. Of his importance.

His bathroom is spotlessly clean, as always. There is no space to hide an envelope. No place to hide a letter.

The fire builds with every moment. Nothing, nothing— Fitz rips the sheets from his bed in vain, the mattress empty—nothing.

He left him with nothing.

Fitz lets himself erupt, punching the wall hard enough to make him leap back, cradling his fist. He needs something broken that isn't him. He needs to be fixed. He needs to be fixed. Keefe needs to be fixed. Everything is broken.

His pillow explodes behind him with a pop, sending brightly colored feathers fluttering all through the air, and Fitz whirls to face it.

He hadn't realized he was outward channeling. His hands shake a little, and he's not sure whether it's from the effort or from all the feelings forced down his throat. He swallows hard.

Fitz sits carefully on his bare mattress. Keefe used to sprawl out on it like he owned it, fingers barely brushing the headboard as he flung them back past his head and mussed his hair a little more—but that doesn't matter anymore. The bed is empty.

He doesn't know why he thought Keefe would care enough to leave him a letter. He would have taken a note like the ones he remembers reading about in human books during younger library visits: Gone fishing. Be back in a few hours, maybe a century. When the world has moved on without me. Moved on from me.

What a fucking coward.

[isolde-illustrates]

Fintan at the 5 Pyrokinetics' Plantings

(mentions of things from Flashback or Legacy, tw: death)

@crescentpaws's you're going to have to learn to live with this fanfiction is literally stuck in my brain, so now I have started thinking about how Fintan would cope with the plantings he would have to attend.

Considering how he would already be despised by a lot of people, Fintan probably would try to stay out of everyone's view, being physically there, but not wanting the others to see. He would probably also just ditch the idea of wearing a circlet since Fintan was basically already off the Council, so besides the fact that people would be avoiding standing near him, Fintan would probably look enough like a normal person that he would just avoid everyone else.

If short haired Fintan is in the beginning books, this would probably be when he cuts his hair (going off the idea from the fanfiction crescentpaws's fanfiction that his hair would have gotten burned). The long hair would probably serve as a constant reminder, and he would keep it cut short throughout most of the series, until he no longer has access to something sharp to cut his hair. Probably, the time that his mind was broken was the first time in a thousand years since his hair was short, causing him to resemble the reckless elf who first ruined the lives of pyrokinetics. Then, he would have it cut for a few years until he ended up in the ice prison and would be forced to grow his hair out super long again. Shannon really misses a lot of really good chances to add symbolism with Fintan's hair, which is regretful because there could be so many great scenes where he is shown losing his sanity as his hair gets longer and longer (kind of like how Gisela's fa��ade starts cracking, and her hairdos falling down symbolize her lack of sanity).

The gloves, long sleeves, and short hair are derived from the fanfiction (short hair because he cut off all the burnt hair).

I think that whenever Fintan was at the plantings for his friends, the only people who would come over to him besides other members of the Council—not including all of the people who just came to yell at him—would be the kids of some of his friends. I don't think that he would ever be really good with kids, at least not his own, but probably before the accident, he was tolerable. At least one of his friends had to have a kid who saw Fintan enough that they just went ahead and started calling him "Uncle Fin." In my sketch, one of the pyrokinetics' kids was told to plant the seed for her father, and she felt the pressure of everyone looking at her and her other parent just being mad at the world. So, she went over to Uncle Fin to get help, despite him trying to shoo her away so that he would not bring any more attention to himself, but she refused and made him plant the seed with her. I feel like that would be a really beautiful way for him to learn how to heal from the pain of losing his friend, but also hint at just how wrecked pyrokinetics were going to be because of what happened.

[crescentpaws]

btw sorry if I’m sending in too many, feel free to leave some out

for the otp ask game: 1, 3, 12, 13, 22, 25, 27, 29, 34, 36, 48, 51, 58

thanks

replacing the ones i’ve already answered with the number next to it 👍 bc i need to get the brainrot out there

(all under cut bc it’s long & i don’t want to annoy people)

1. Who would end a heated argument by defending their actions with 'because I love you!' ?

depends on what era they’re in i think…. if it’s pre-pyrokinesis ban i think it’d be bronte yelling that, but present day/neverseen era it’d more likely be fintan

(3) 2. What would they do if the other woke in a manic state after a nightmare?

i imagine fintan as being someone who has nightmares often. which is part of the reason he has trouble sleeping. he’s always had awful dreams about the everblaze accident that led to the pyrokinesis ban, but at least those got slightly less intense over time. i think now he would have additional nightmares about his memory break though. and he’s just kinda unstable in general so who knows what kind of fucked up scenarios his unconscious mind can produce. sometimes he’ll just wake up with a start, realize it was just a dream, and compose himself fairly quickly, but other times he’ll end up rocking back and forth hugging his knees and hyperventilating (he probably also occasionally hears the voices of people he’s killed. which, i mean. karma.). i think physical comfort is most important here though, because his mind might be too panicked to focus on actual words being said. i think the two of them are better at showing affection this way anyway. words can be awkward & frustrating. i imagine bronte in this scenario just holding fintan tightly until he calms down a bit, rubbing his back & gently running his fingers through his hair. maybe a forehead kiss. he might mumble some words of comfort once the hyperventilating dies down. though sometimes fintan’s panic/breakdown will be so great that the only way to snap him out of it is to lightly inflict on him 💀 he is a bit fucked up in the head i think sophie might need to come heal him again.

but then there’s also the very likely scenario that fintan will wake up flinging sparks & flames everywhere, so sometimes bronte has to quickly scramble out of the bed to avoid being burned. & he cannot touch him if that happens. in that scenario he has to hope that the words of comfort will snap fintan out of it quickly. & hope that he doesn’t catch anything on fire because fintan we just bought this blanket please don’t end up burning it like you did with the previous one last week.

& bronte has nightmares less often but fintan has learned to comfort him in similar ways (at least he isn’t a pyrokinetic)

(12) 11. Do either try to hide their emotions if upset? Can the other still tell?

yes and yes. they know each other too well to be able to hide their emotions from one another. doesn’t mean they won’t try though.

13. Who's the bigger tease?

fintan for SURE

(22) 23. Who's more likely to convince the other to stay in bed come morning?

probably fintan? i imagine bronte as someone who wakes up early in the morning (even if he doesn’t have work to do. but he usually does because he’s kind of a workaholic i think.) and fintan as someone who stays up the whole night, so fintan would probably still be tired in bed wanting the warmth of another person beside him (he does wake up early if he has important neverseen stuff to do though). & if you’re sleeping in a bed with a pyrokinetic it’s all too easy to let them convince you to lay down for a few more minutes because mmmm warm cozy.

25. Do they have any hobbies they share?

they would both be book nerds i think…. they like reading & discussing literature & stuff. i think they’d also be good at debating. & public speaking too.

sometimes bronte might come out & help fintan with his garden if he’s feeling nice

27. Who is the light weight that needs to be taken care of after a party?

honestly idrk. i don’t think either of them would be lightweights but fintan would probably drink more irresponsibly (especially after the pyrokinesis ban. man was going through it.)

29. Who is more likely to jump in an elevator? Who freaks out?

i think fintan would just to freak bronte out. but idk how many elevators they have in the lost cities. if they ever went to the forbidden cities together though he would definitely do this. ‘stop that, you know how faulty these human contraptions can be.’ ‘if it does fall we can just levitate, it’s fine.’ ‘???’

34. Who's more likely to tell a dirty joke or story to make the other blush?

also fintan. making bronte blush is his favorite pastime (other than arson)

36. Who's more likely to fire up the stove at 2am because the other woke up in the middle of the night hungry?

neither of them tbh. the convo would just be like ‘hmmm. i’m kinda hungry’ ‘go make some food then’ ‘will you make it for me’ ‘no *goes back to sleep*’ i think fintan would be worse at using the stove though. he is too used to using his ability to heat things and doesn’t know how to work it properly

48. Who's the better driver?

well considering they’re both elves i’d assume they’re both pretty bad at driving… but fintan might be slightly better because he’s probably spent more time in the (modern) forbidden cities. but at the same time he might run a few people over on purpose.

51. What's a non verbal way they say I love you?

basically any soft touches, caresses, etc. bronte will sometimes trace his fingers along the burn scars on fintan’s back, which to fintan is like. the most intimate thing ever 💀 & fintan might kiss the tense spot under bronte’s ribs where he keeps his emotions balled up. whatever. they suck and i hate them.

58. Who's more likely to hold a grudge after an argument?

both of them. though i think fintan is more likely to hold his grudges for longer

[svtellify]

This isn’t really a conspiracy theory just something I’ve inferred from canon, but… the Neverseen are racial supremacists. At least their leaders are. And they get other elves to join their cause by preying on their insecurities and how society has wronged them and “wouldn’t everything be better if we were in charge?” They use the other intelligent species, like ogres, to carry out their plans, but they don’t actually respect them.

okay so this is interesting for me bc it could honestly go one of two ways:

the neverseen are fully aware of their racial supremacy agenda and don't particularly care about what it takes to get there.

the neverseen are so singlemindedly focused on their agenda that they don't even realize that this is what it comes across as.

the problem here is that we don't entirely know what the neverseen want. vespera was introduced, described as even more ruthless than all the neverseen members so far, and then gisela killed her cold blood.

keep in mind, the neverseen is also kinda. split at the moment. there's gisela's version of it, and her agenda is to amass power and merge abilities with her son as a guinea pig, as far as i can tell. i'm assuming we're going to get more of an explanation in the next book about why she's the worst villain of them all, and how we managed to get there.

on the other hand, there's the fact that fintan was well aware of the noxflares and their use, despite forgetting some of it. not sure what that agenda was, but there is that.

these two are parallel agendas, i assume, but neither connect with what the neverseen have done in the past. they most certainly do prey on whoever they feel like and use the other intelligent species, but you have to keep in mind, the other species have also agreed to whatever treaties these are. this is mostly with luzia and the trolls in mind, along with the rest of the mysterious vacker legacy, but could be applied to ogres to some extent too. it's no secret that the elves have a superiority complex⎯just look at sophie's bodyguard roster. like you said, there's definitely a lack of respect there, but i think that's a big part of what sophie and her friends are trying to change. sophie's human upbringing probably allows her to see the same similarities you did, even if its subconsciously, and she'd definitely want to change things.

(i think it would be more species supremacy though, bc racial supremacy would be a little more similar to the abilities/talentless struggle, since race is within the same species? but that's semantics lol)

honestly though, i do wonder if the neverseen even want to be in charge. this is just me thinking out loud, but we're left in the dark as much as sophie is regarding the neverseen and their purpose. shannon has done a really great job of putting us through 9.5 books, and this 10th book is going to be crucial for the future of her series. there's a lot of loose ends, plot twists, and reveals that have to come through, and i'm really hoping we all get that "oh. oh. OH." moment, when she ties everything together.

thanks for the ask!

[bookwyrminspiration]

just had yet another keeper omegaverse thought (btw please tell me if these are unwelcome.)

registry pendants would absolutely not be chokers in an a/b/o world simply because having your neck covered/uncovered means a Lot in omegaverse and so that would definitely be a very personal choice to make, not to mention that due to the material they're made of it would be way too similar to a collar for anyone's comfort. instead, they're probably just pendants (which... why are they called pendants in canon if they're chokers? so strange).

also, scents. hm. lots to think about here. since in the present day the elven population is composed of mostly betas the rules would be more lax, but historically it's very probable that covering your scent was a sign of status (because you had the money to buy scent blockers in the first place) and anyone who didn't and who wasn't mated was considered, uh, promiscuous, we'll say.

oh, and cuz ive got terminal bronte brainrot:

his entry in the registry marks him as a beta because he and fintan forged the records when the council was set up

oralie probably knows he's an omega, but no one else on the council does. (except maybe velia.)

i.... should maybe be embarrassed about the fact that all it took for me to get back into kotlc was throwing a/b/o in there but like. too late for that now.

Reading through this and nodding like a studious student with a pencil and paper before me writing everything down in glitter pen and highlighting and underlining important details. (also your asks are always welcome :), omegaverse or otherwise )

Professor what is the significance of a neck covering. Does that have something to do with like. Availability of a person? That's the first explanation I came up with at least, that having your neck covered means you belong to someone else already (relationship wise). But again idk so I'm appealing to you professor.

I think they may be called registry pendants because Shannon preferred that over registry chokers. Sounds fancier and more elven, and it's possible chokers could be seen as too mature for some of her audience.

This scent this piques my interest. I'm assuming the economy also works differently in this situation, otherwise everyone could afford scent blockers and it wouldn't be status signifying. Promiscuous, you say...mark me down as intrigued.

Bronte! Can't have victor without his Bronte shenanigans. Fascinated by the implications this has for Fintan and Bronte's relationship--they were close enough to forge them together and for Fintan to know of this status, and then when everything went down he held this knowledge over Bronte. And maybe it wouldn't get him kicked off the council because things are apparently better now, but it would still change things negatively for him. And yet he didn't use that against him...

Curious how Oralie knows, can Omegas sense/intuit each other? Does she just clock him? Look at him and go yeah there's no way you're a beta. Velia I'm assuming is because of the not asking questions/knowing secrets-esque personality.

I know you don't have fond memories of your time with kotlc and you generally avoid it now, but I am delighted there is a thing that has reconnected us and I get to hear victor thoughts in my inbox once more, for however long the a/b/o holds you :)

[archived-and-moving]

i feel like biana deserved to kill Vespera but I'm still happy she's dead.

(also fuck Geisla)

She totally did bestie ur so right.

Hmmm I don't like how Gisela is the main villain now. I think it's interesting that she broke away from the Neverseen, and we've been given a little tiny itsy bit of her motive. But like. She's the least interesting of all of the main leaders of the Neverseen.

Fintan had a couple mentions! And it just made me all the more interested in him. The way how he's so unpredictable, how he's simply losing his mind through the temptation of fire, how many memories he has left in his cache? Really really hope we get more of him (I hope he's Sophie's father.)

Vespera also interests me. Flashback revealed most of what she's done, but it doesn't tell use what she wanted to do. I feel like her death was more of that 'oh shit, that surprised me' more than anything else, you know?

And Gisela...she literally got a new ability this book and I still don't really care for her. I don't truly hate her, (i dislike her, but more so because she is the main villain, not for the character that Shannon has created) it's more just...apathy. She's still a terrible person, yes. But she's not one I really care about.

And the rest of the Neverseen is kinda gone. Alvar is probably dead, Ruy and Gethen r MIA, Umber is dead, Vespera is dead, Trix is...the only one still contributing apparently, great perseverance bud. Glimmer/Rayni is with Sophie & Co...

Idk! I just feel like it'd be cooler if literally anyone else other than Gisela was the main villain rn. That could definitely change with the next book's release, when her true motivations are completely revealed (hopefully.)

[official-kenralie-fanbase]

Thoughts about Kenric being alive? Would he have a dramatic comeback? How would Oralie react? Or is he evil now?

Sorry this took so long! (everyone else who sent me an ask recently I'm not ignoring it I promise I've just been super busy lately)

Oohhhh my goodness this is the type of thing that I think about a lot, no matter how unlikely I think it is. At this point, I highly doubt he's still alive, but a girl can dream, right?

But... that being said, there could be the potential for an EPIC comeback. And there are three ways I think it could happen:

OPTION #1: Dramatic entrance during a battle

Picture this: The entire Keeper gang, including adults, is in a battle against the Neverseen. It's not going well. The Neverseen had greater numbers than they thought, and they're much more experienced in their skills/abilities than, I don't know, the literal children they're fighting

Suddenly, a cloaked figure comes in and begins demolishing the Neverseen

Sophie and her friends, bloodied and beaten, watch as this person fights off the Neverseen, killing some of them but not everyone (because that would be a really cheap way out of the final battle)

They're too exhausted to fight back as some of the leaders of the Neverseen get away, preparing for their final vengeance.

As the cloaked figure stands among the bodies of the Neverseen members they've destroyed, they watch, incredibly curious to see who this person is.

The person turns around and removes their cloak, revealing messy red hair and an all-too-familiar wide grin.

"Hey, Ora," Kenric says, looking at no one but her.

Oralie would simply stare at him, not believing her own eyes.

The silence is deafening as the two of them simply stare at each other.

And then Kenric says something like, "I never wanted to leave you," and I start sobbing in my college dorm room

He explains what happened, how he couldn't come back to the Lost Cities for some reason, and is beginning to go on a long ramble, apologizing for how it was all his fault when Oralie walks right up to him and stops him with a kiss.

There would be a long reunion between the two of them and then several short ones with him and the others

Probably a really cute moment with him and Sophie where he says she's just like her mother or something

Oralie would probably quit the Council soon after, and the two of them would just become Black Swan members, helping the others win the final battle against the Neverseen.

OPTION #2: Prisoner of the Neverseen all along

I think this is the most likely one if any of them were to happen.

Especially now that we know Elysian is a person.

Potentially Elysian and Fintan were working together, and Fintan captured him during the Healing and imprisoned him because he knew too much.

In this scenario, he probably would have been a prisoner of Elysian, and maybe the gang would discover him after searching the hideout.

He'd probably be beaten and tortured, but after a few visits to Elwin, he'd be good as new and become a member of the group.

He would have vital knowledge for them of Fintan and/or Elysian's plan

Oralie would stay by his side the entire time he's being healed, and I can just imagine Sophie also being in the Healing Center and hearing a really cute interaction between them while she's "asleep"

In this scenario, I imagine Oralie wouldn't quit the Council right away.

She'd spend every waking moment that she possibly could with him, but she'd also want to be on the Council to help stop this from happening to anyone else

And there might be an epic battle between her and Fintan or her and Elysian as she takes revenge on them for what they did to Kenric

I think there'll be a showdown between her and Fintan regardless, but that would make it especially interesting

OPTION #3: He turns evil

This would obviously be my least favorite, but... it has the potential to be really interesting

This could go down in several ways:

He might be being brainwashed or pressured or something like that, which I would love (love me some good old "forced to join the villains" plotline)

Or he might have been on the Neverseen all along.

Which... after reading some of the scenes with him in Stellarlune... as much as I loved those scenes and as much as I love Kenric, it's not entirely impossible.

Because like... I know other people have pointed this out (and maybe I have already too who knows) but three of the people Kenric talks to in his cache are later arrested: Prentice, Benham Aria, and Fintan

Could be a coincidence, but knowing Shannon, it's unlikely.

Oralie would be heartbroken.

She'd try to talk sense into him, but quickly realize that the Kenric she knew and loved was a farce

Perhaps he simply tried to get close to her to get information and never really loved her at all...

Or maybe he did end up falling for her, but put his duties over his heart.

Either way, now he would despise her and aim to get revenge.

There would be a battle between the two of them where Oralie tries to get him to realize what he's doing wrong, but then she fully realizes that he'll never be the Kenric she thought she knew

She'll end up having to kill him.

But when she grieves, she'll grieve once more for the Kenric she loved, not the Kenric he'd become by the end.

[crymeariveronceagain]

The elven world has a long history of violence. Most elves are not older than 200 years old (at most, most elves don't live past 120 ish). Bronte, Fintan, Vespera and Terik are the only ones Old enough to remember of the times when the Elves were violent conquerors. It's the reason the other species are so willing to do things like basically be their servants or bodyguards (gnomes and goblins respectively), despite their own powers, and why their relationship with the ogres is so bad.

The Council was formed from the ashes of a society that had killed itself along with others. It was their propaganda that completely rewrote Elven history to be peaceful, that wiped out all Elven cultures except one kind, that only allowed one language to be spoken. They started the myth of Elven Guilt to dissuade anyone from beginning the same conquests that nearly ended the race again, and chose to exclude humans from the other Intelligent Species because there were too damn many of them to brainwash them in the same way they had their own population should they keep them in the loop.

That's why Fintan and Vepera are Like That, and why Bronte and Terik were (and still are for Terik) the 'only ones' with their abilities - the Council literally oppressed and covered up certain groups to keep control in their New Society, until they almost ceased to exist. Prokinetics were rare enough to not be a threat (but we see them get banned anyway) at the time.

It explains why Elves can do such violent actions despite their 'guilt' (breaking minds, Grady is willing to kill on multiple occasions, Brant is still somewhat sane after he killed the love of his life, Juline freezing off Gethen's(?) fingernails). And also why the Council has so much power, why there are so few elves, why there's only one culture, and why certain talents seem to be limited to Ancients (at least until Sophie shows up).

Also how's your year going so far :)

O_O

uhm. good. year's going good.