#my soul is cleansed and i can finally rest

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

The year charlie stops being goth. Vaggie almost drops her cause, she looks really cute in that suit, and now she's kinda bubbly and sweet and omg

well now look what you did

Charlie: "Okay, new year, new me, same old pick up line. It's.... TRUST FALL TIIIIIME!" (yeets self) "WHEEE!!"

Vaggie: (swooping as usual) "Charlie!?"

Charlie: "Huggles!"

Vaggie: "What- you-"

Charlie: "You said my naaaaamee~"

Vaggie: "I- I almost didn't who'd climbed the clocktower this year- You, seem different?"

Charlie: "Yep! It's the suit!"

Vaggie: "That's, that's not what I-"

Charlie: "I started wearing them after last extermination!"

Vaggie: "-why-?"

Charlie: "Because I like it. Do YOU like it?"

Vaggie: "I’m, more wondering about the rest of you. You’re, smiling.”

Charlie: “I’ve smiled before!”

Vaggie: “But you’re happy smiling?”

Charlie: “Of course I am! I’m happy to see you.”

Vaggie: “….”

Charlie: (giggles) "Are you blushing under your mask?"

Vaggie: "No!"

Charlie: "Caaaaan I steal your mask for a second and check~?"

Vaggie: "No."

Charlie: "Aw. But I've MISSED you."

Vaggie: "... princess… how many times have you fallen off of the tower today."

Charlie: (twining arms around vaggie and kicking up her heels) "Only this once, don't worry."

Vaggie: "I wasn't-"

Charlie: "I only jump when I know you'll be there to catch me!"

Vaggie: "No you don't. That first year you didn't even know I existed, and you still threw yourself off the roof. Pointlessly."

Charlie: "To be fair it would've been pretty pointy if I'd landed on the spiked railing ten floors down..."

Vaggie: "And you would've gotten back up from that with only bruises, miss Morningstar, it would have made a mess and hurt a little and that's it. Pointless."

Charlie: "I know~"

Vaggie: "It’s a waste of my time AND yours.”

Charlie: “I don’t think so? You could never be a waste of my t-”

Vaggie: “It is a waste! These stupid stunts are just you publicly protesting the extermination by trying to catch the eye of someone up in heaven!"

Charlie: "And I did, didn't I?"

Vaggie: "No you didn't and you never will-"

Charlie: "I caught you."

Vaggie: "..."

Charlie: "…everything you just said? I finally realized it last year. Took a while but, it finally clicked and, it kinda changed everything for me. You know?"

Vaggie: "No." (lands on clocktower) "I should go."

Charlie: (playing with vaggie's mask) "Why'd you catch me that first year, scary lady exorcist?"

Vaggie: "That's not my name."

Charlie: "You knew who I was. The fall wouldn't kill me."

Vaggie: "Do you want me to drop you."

Charlie: "Why did you care?"

Vaggie: "I don't care- I just didn't let you fall."

Charlie: "Why?"

Vaggie: "What do you mean why? I'm an exorcist, an angel not a demon. I'm here to punish the souls of sinners, not to- not to BE like them."

Charlie: "But you haven't been punishing them for years."

Vaggie: "Yes I have. By keeping you out of the way of my sisters-"

Charlie: "I looked you up in the registers of heaven since last time. They're public records, did you know? Anyone in hell can check how many sinners an angel's killed. It's a warning I guess, and you... You're one of the best killers the exorcists have, aren't you?"

Vaggie: "How could you look me up. You don't have my name and THOSE are most certainly NOT listed in hell."

Charlie: "The "winner's streak" tally board has a mug shot of each of you on it, along with your kill count. Finding you wasn't hard. Every exorcist's mask looks a little bit different and I've doodled yours often enough."

Vaggie: "You what?"

Charlie: "ARE you one of the best exorcists?"

Vaggie: "Yes. I average five hundred per cleansing. Clearly hunting down sinful souls isn't a problem for me."

Charlie: "Right. And how many sinners do you think I save every year?"

Vaggie: "I don't know."

Charlie: "If it was enough to matter, or even just ONE, do you think I would have stopped doing it long enough to have climbed heaven's tower in the first place?"

Vaggie: "What does that matter."

Charlie: "You aren't helping anyone kill sinners when you keep an eye on me like this."

Vaggie: "I would be out there with my sisters right now if it wasn't for you."

Charlie: "But you're not."

Vaggie: "And who's fault is that?"

Charlie: "Yours."

Vaggie: "Your highness, this is stupid-"

Charlie: "You don't like killing people, do you?"

Vaggie: "Like it? No. Who could… But sinners have earned it."

Charlie: "I don't think so. I don't you did either."

Vaggie: "Don't group me with them. I'm nothing like them and not suffering down here in hell."

Charlie: "You're in hell right now though."

Vaggie: "For ONE day and only out of duty, to protect heaven. Your dashing new bowtie is tied on too tight, princess, it's constructing the blood flow to your head."

Charlie: "No other angels ever come here, only exorcists."

Vaggie: "Of course no one else comes here why would anyone-"

Charlie: "So what did you do to land yourself the job murdering souls for all eternity?"

Vaggie: ".... I chose duty."

Charlie: "That's what I thought, but." (whispering) "You've been ignoring that duty and your spear the whole time we've been talking..."

Vaggie: (sighs) "What does any of that have do to with you putting on suit and bowtie, princess?"

Charlie: "A lot." (smiling) "You like talking with me. You like me."

Vaggie: "The new suit factors in here somewhere I'm sure."

Charlie: "It makes me feel more me!"

Vaggie: "Congratulations."

Charlie: "Like it?"

Vaggie: "There is no way that one well-fitted suit made you turn this happy."

Charlie: "Ohhhh, well-fitted huh?"

Vaggie: "I can see that much. Everyone can see that much."

Charlie: "But I don’t care and aren’t asking them! Do you like what I did with my hair too? Look, I can smooth it back now all suave- Aw don't look away! You really are blushing under there!"

Vaggie: "You're infuriating."

Charlie: (laughs) "Well! That's says more about YOU and YOUR taste in women than it does about me!"

Vaggie: "My taste in w- My WHAT?"

Charlie: "I think you're very tasty too, bi the way~"

Vaggie: "I- I'm setting you down now."

Charlie: "Emphasis on the BI!"

Vaggie: "Please stop clinging to me, princess, you've always been head and shoulders taller than me, this looks ridiculous-"

Charlie: "Ridiculous? I think we're cuuuuuuuute."

Vaggie: "My lieutenant won't think so if she sees me like this!"

Charlie: "Um, uh- If by lieutenant you mean that one extra angry exorcist with the fancy officer's sword who was glaring at us a while ago-"

Vaggie: "SHE WAS WHAT!?"

Charlie: "Thennnnn I think you're about fifteen minutes of demon princess cuddling to late to worry about it!"

Vaggie: "Shit!"

Charlie: "Don't worry about it! At least we have each other." (snuggles)

Vaggie: "No." (lets go)

Charlie: (still dangling off of her) "...did I mention I've got good upper body and core strength too? I mean, I don't USE it much, but-"

Vaggie: (SIGHS) (crosses arms hugging spear) (sits down)

Charlie: "-OH I'm in your lap now that's- Wow!!!"

Vaggie: "I’m not talking with you."

Charlie: "That's okay! You're more the cool and quiet type, I can talk for both of us!"

Vaggie: "Please. Don't."

Charlie: "If you meant that then you wouldn't have kept on catching and listening to me, year after year, even when I was being all goth and emo and snarky about it!"

Vaggie: "I was not listening."

Charlie: "What's the names of my goat childhood buddies slash demon plushies slash part time bodyguards?"

Vaggie: "You mean Razzle and Dazzle..?"

Charlie: "And their fav food??"

Vaggie: "Doughnuts."

Charlie: "HEH. You call THAT not listening?"

Vaggie: "Ugh."

Charlie: "Now let's see- You have a VERY nice lap but, can we move spear a liiiittle bit? It makes it kinda hard to cuddle-"

Vaggie: "No."

Charlie: "Skill issue, gotcha. I'll figure something out!"

Vaggie: (groans) (does absolutely nothing else to stop the cuddling)

[love-toxin]

Sightseeing -> Navia

plot: you only came to Fontaine for a vacation, but you may not be leaving without some added baggage.

(cws: yan!navia, gn!darling, implied friends -> forced lovers, navia bein a bit weird & creepy, neediness, mention of drugging, preamble to kidnapping)

wc: 1.4k

At times, you often wished you had been born in this beautiful place. The cool, clear waters of Fontaine lapped at the sands just down the hill from where you stood, the same crystal-blue colour as the cloudless sky that passed overhead. The people and the city were one thing, they were impressive in their own industrious and elegant ways; but the sea was the real reason you came to Fontaine. You couldn't live the rest of your life without getting at least a glimpse of the exotic beauty of such a place. 

The call of your name soon broke you from your reverie however, and you turned your head to spot the golden-haired doll of a woman you had been travelling with thus far. She was kind, and she was a beauty all in her own right, but you tensed at the sight of her hurrying up the hill with her handlers at her sides. Your chin tilted back to face the open waters, and you took in one last deep, cleansing breath of fresh air before you would be set upon by your tour guide and newest friend. 

“There you are!” Navia puffed from the exercise with a smile on her soft, ruby-stained lips. “I worried for you, you know! I was afraid you'd gotten lost. Why did you just wander away, my sweet?”

Those adoring pet names were endearing, of course, if not just the slightest oddity from a woman you didn't know particularly well. But you just offered her a smile and an excuse off the top of your head, not wanting to pain such a lovely, generous soul as she. 

“I just saw a good view and wanted to take it in. My apologies, miss Navia.” 

She shook her head with a huff. “Oh! You and your formalities. I told you, the ‘miss’ isn't needed! You can call me by my name, darling.” She sidled up close to you, her dress clinking with all manner of jewel-studded trinkets as she moved. With a wave of her hand, she sent her handlers further down the hill to ease up and give both of you some space. “Well, let's see this view, then.” 

Overhead, the breeze whistled gently as it flowed through the trees at your backs. You turned your gaze away from Navia and back towards the sea–but you felt hers drift towards you instead, the beautiful view lost on her as she focused her gentle eyes on you instead. 

“...You know, if you ever wanted to live in Fontaine-”

“My home is elsewhere, Navia.” An ill feeling fell over your heart at cutting her off so abruptly, but you knew her enough by now to know that she wouldn't stop once an idea was in her head. She would keep going and going and going until she achieved whatever goal she decided on, and unfortunately for her your permanent residence here was not up for debate. You had family back home, friends, a life; and no matter how much you enjoyed your time with her, that would not supercede the loves and responsibilities you had back home. “I'm sorry.”

She turned her head away, effortlessly concealing the fall of her expression as she finally focused her gaze towards where yours was. With a sigh, she said nothing, just stared out at the ocean's crystalline waters and the smooth stone arches of the aquabus lines, all converging on the magnificent palaces of Fontaine's capital city rising out from the blue. Between the sky and the sea, the city much resembled a pearl cushioned between two halves of a giant, aquamarine oyster shell. 

The two of you stood there for quite awhile, looking out across the rippling sea. Even from up high you could smell the salt from where fresh and seawater mingled together, and the splashes of ocean birds and fish hopping up and out of the water each caught your eye. It was as if every moment you watched something new was unfolding. That was why you loved the sea, and why you were sure Navia was trying so desperately to pull you back towards it. 

“I'm leaving for home tomorrow morning.” From your peripheral, you caught sight of her flinching and whipping her head to stare at you, eyes wide with panic for only as long as it took you to return her gaze–by then she had steeled herself, though she still couldn't contain her tight-lipped frown. “Will you take me to the port? I'd like you to be the last sight I take in before I leave.” You smiled at her, and though the thought of you leaving so soon clearly still disturbed her, she could barely help the giddy twinkle in her eyes at having you show her such a beautiful smile. Just for her. That was how she saw it. 

“When will you be back?” Her voice rang so timidly now, so unlike her usual boldness that it took you aback. But you offered her some meager reasoning of ‘whenever you next had time’ and ‘so long as you had the mora’ and she believed everything she wanted to believe. In her mind, you were sure the best day for you to return would be the soonest you could possibly manage. She agreed albeit sadly, and you nudged her shoulder in a bid to cheer your new friend up. 

“Hey, it's okay. I'll return soon, alright? Maybe you can even come visit me in my home sometime, when things cool down over there. Then I could show you around my own hometown.” Emboldened, perhaps by Navia's own friendliness and candor she'd shown since you'd arrived, you reached out and swept a strand of her golden hair from her eyes. Your hand came to rest just by her cheek–but before you could pull it away, she reached up her own and held yours there, her breath hitched on her parted lips. 

“Promise?” She pleaded, eyes wide and so sweet your heart ached. “You won't leave me?”

“Not forever.” You shook your head, a bit surprised at her eagerness but still not without your comforting smile. “We had too much fun together for me not to come back.” 

You could've sworn she mouthed “Oh, thank Archons,” as she tilted her head back in bliss, only to tilt it back down with an eruption of laughter that–for some reason–left you with a sense of unease at how erratic and played-out it was. But again, her oddities seemed just that to you, and you would once again brush off a warning sign that you would later learn the terrifying consequences of. She squeezed your hand harder, and a soft yelp off your lips was the only reason she let it go though her grip felt like it would never loosen otherwise. 

“Then come! Let's return to Poisson–we must have a celebration in your honour. Snacks and all! We have to send you off the right way, don't you think?” Navia linked arms with you as the moment passed, and before you could get one last look at the view you'd been longing to see for this whole trip, she began dragging you down the hill back towards her handlers, who would then guide the two of you back down the path towards the little, hidden village. 

You were such a sweet, gentle soul, the most tender Navia had ever had the pleasure of meeting. You were more intriguing than the Traveler, more elegant than the Justice; beautiful and glorious in equal measure, more poised than even her own Archon. Yes, it was on par with blasphemy, but it was truth in Navia’s eyes–you were more than all of Teyvat’s most incredible people combined, none of them could even hold a candle to you. And for that, she would ensure you would not slip out of her grasp. She would find a way. 

She had a whole night, a whole banquet, and plenty of trust from you that you would never suspect your friend of anything. Something poured in your drink, a well-timed execution of play-acting to frighten you, and perhaps you would fall into her arms without her even having to lift a finger. 

[hanasnx]

❝ hosanna. ❞

── darth vader x reader

MINORS DNI 18+ WORD COUNT: 1.3k SUMMARY: you live to serve your sith lord. NOTES: as a former christian child, this song speaks to me on a level i cant explain. it is not a testament to my current religious standpoint, this is not pro or anti anything. merely a song analysis format in the perspective of a darth vader smut writer. "hosanna" by hillsong united. @xstarkillerx heavily influenced this fic. WARNINGS: heavy religious themes | sexual content | coitus | unprotected sex | virginity loss | objectification | worship | size difference | mentioned: blood, suicide.

Heal my heart and make it clean.

“Please, my lord.” your desperate croak echoes against the floor as you press your forehead to the stone in your kneel. You beg not for traditional mercy, but rightful extinction. To bask in the company of the Sith Lord DARTH VADER can only mean one thing. Finally, your mistake will be remedied. You’ll be scorched from the face of this planet by his righteous fire, fit to continue your spiritual journey with the help of his guided and generous hand. When it raises to clench around your neck, to squeeze the life from you, your soul will escape your wretched and human body.

Open up my eyes to the things unseen.

Sights you cannot fathom, planes you cannot reach, heavens you are unallowed to cross all become possible in the benevolence of his presence. A great exhilaration, the cathartic rush you’ve been bound to chasing your entire lifespan is at your fingertips. They prickle in anticipation, driving you to near tears over the discovery of divinity. To be at his feet overwhelms you, and you’re wracked with sobs. The pilgrimage you’ve been tasked with is at its end. Darth Vader stands before you, and you cannot bring yourself to utter another word in fear.

Show me how to love like You have loved me.

You’re brought to stand. His hand cups your chin, and you burn from his touch. By his grip, he raises your gaze, and you scan the ample length of his imposing form. Cloaked in black, shrouded in terrifying mystery, your weeping is quieted in the presence of his glory. The image of his expressionless mask in front of you runs your blood cold. You’ve seen his likeness etched into your planet’s culture, yet that awe is incomparable to the one that roars through your veins now. Legends depict his dark figure as a hunter. An insatiable pursuant that stops at nothing until the galaxy is cleansed. His abysmal love for all things is shown through his relentless protection of it. With a step, he shakes the very crust of the terrain he walks upon; with a wave of his mighty hand, corrupt civilizations fall and armies stab themselves so as not to face him; under his leadership, his empire thrives and spreads to the untouched and the perverted in his name. Dry mouth struggles to swallow as he remains silent, doubtlessly counting your sins as he scrutinizes you. You always knew you were to be judged, and here it is. Yet, you’re stupefied. His thumb against you does not feel like you thought it would, pinching your skin coldly.

Break my heart for what breaks Yours.

“Do I displease you?” you whisper. A single tear breaks from your eye in your tremble, grazing your cheek as it falls. A knuckle comes to dab at the moisture, and you flinch. His encasing is to hide his unseeable majesty from the galaxy. It is said a single look upon his true self will devour you whole, tearing you to shreds where you stand, and blaze your eyes from their sockets. If you survive the encounter, you’ll live out the rest of your blackened life consumed by his image as the last thing you saw, in blind search of it through endless deserts. Already you condemn yourself, cursing your own household for its transgressions against him and his vision, your appearance is unsatisfactory, your soul has been dipped in gold to weigh down the scales. You’ve been too prideful, vain, greedy. How could you have ever hoped to be here with him when you’re a demon in skin? He senses it, he must. You will atone.

Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause.

There is nothing you won’t do in his name. There is nothing that will keep you from him. Your boundless devotion towards the Sith Lord cannot be bought, cannot be measured. You are his vessel, a path to reach others, your eyes are his eyes. Can he see himself through you? If he, a being of endless power, were to attempt to inhabit your body, would you combust into ashes under his boot? Still, you try. Storms bend to his will, mountains bow by his word. What could you offer to him that is not within his scope? “Anything.” you plea through a broken voice, your hands hooking into your outerwear to pull it off your shoulders. His hand releases your jaw, and you step back for any offense you may have caused. Since his command suspends, you continue. Your straps are tugged down, and your knees buckle, dropping to the ground. Desperately, lovingly, you bare yourself to him, you crawl to his feet in worship.

As I walk from earth into eternity.

There’s nothing you don’t give him throughout the night. Anything you can comprehend is surrendered to him. You’re afraid. While he’s inside you, you’re afraid. Rooted deep, sheathed inside your purity, touching sacred parts of you that has never been offered to anyone else. You’re afraid of him. He’s said nothing, exhalting himself using you as you’ve invited him to, but in your eyes he’d need not ask. You are his. Large hands grasp your torso, bunching up the fabrics of your clothes, ripping seams more and more with each thrust. The pain of consummation is one you thank him for with lachrymal essence dripping down the corners of your eyes, wetting your hairline. The sins of the flesh are a stranger to you, until he breaks your virginity, fucking you through the blood. So as not to surprise him, you swallow your cry with a palm over your lips. Disillusioned with your surroundings, focused on the heat where your bodies meet, you notice how he’s changed his pace. A gentler angle to his hips as he caresses your insides with his member. Regardless of its stiffness, the velvety outer layer is sweet against your walls. True rapture introduces itself to you, growing in pleasure with each stroke. His cape veils your nakedness to the outside world, shielding you as he presses you to him in a surprising demonstration of humanity. Symbolically, your forehead kisses the crest of his headpiece, a stark contrast from the stone you’d bowed on, he is showing you forgiveness. Humility. He is grateful. The sensation of being filled by him becomes not only bearable, but welcome. Your wails are no longer wracked with the despair of ache, but of staggering passion. Newfound life flows through you, rejuvenating you, manifesting in the beads of sweat on your brow, and the tears of thankfulness as they stream from your blurring gaze. On the edge of your peak, you take pride. He wants you. He wants you. He wants you.

Hosanna, Hosanna.

You can’t see yourself, but you’re outside your body. The warmth of existence embraces you, curling around you like smoke. There’s nothing but comfort here. Nothing but a stretch of unconditional love and acceptance. Finally, finally you’re here. You’ve reached your heavens. You can feel it all around you. It is the light. It is eternity. It is. It is. It is.

You are. You are. You are.

As you open your eyes, the fleeting feeling dissipates. The prickle softens, your breathing evens out, the white hot sensation of your orgasm passes over you. No. No. No. It was right there, it was in your hands. You’re alerted as he pulls from you, the wet sounds of your joint pleasures spill from your spasming entrance, pouring down your body that still remains. Your body that drew your soul back in from salvation. Darth Vader does not realize he’d given you a taste of the Force in his ecstasy, entwining your souls to see through each other’s eyes for one honored moment. Nor does he foresee the future of you begging for him over and over again, just for a mere taste of it at your climax.

[gaiaseyes451]

7 Days, 700 Words - Storm Break - 7/7 - Complete!

Storm Break (new part in blue)

The patter of rain on the clay shingled roof interrupts our peace. Soft and languid a moment ago, your breath quickens; the crackle of the fire in the hearth a foreshock of the quake amassing in the slate gray clouds. Yet it is I who flinches when lightning flashes, casting the cottage sitting room into sharp relief. Too bright, too cold, too familiar.

Our fingers intertwine and reflexively I curl beside you. Whether it is to soothe my own anxiety or bolster your resolve matters not; you pressed against me, cheek resting in my curls, is a balm all the same.

I count silently, one…two…three… anticipating the sound that follows the fury. Thunder cracks, rattling the glass so droplets spill like tears down window pane cheeks. Through the tempest the unseen sun sets in the churning sky, violet and gold and vermilion glowing on the horizon. There is so much beauty in this world—once our ward, now made home—even in the storms.

But your vision is shuttered, goldenrod irises barricaded against the aftershock of memories of more insidious foes. I run my fingers through your hair and conjure the first storm we weathered, sheltered together as the rain fell over Eden. 

Poor protection though they were, we huddled together as the cold drops beaded on  my wings and ran off in steady rivulets, watching the world change around us. I remember the heat of the sun warmed stones beneath our feet, the whip of the wind against my robes and through your hair. 

But most of all, I remember the colors. In the rain soaked light greens were more verdant, reds richer, blues shades of indigo in their saturation. 

Your eyes, a soul suspended in amber, beside me.

“Do you remember Eden,” I murmur against your temple, “after the first rain?”

You look at me, the same golden soul, no less cherished for finally being mine, and smile. “I do.” 

I stand, our fingers still interlaced, and together we journey toward the garden and into the storm. I leave you on the patio, behind the curtain falling from the eaves, and step into the rain soaked grass to spread my wings. 

Before I can call you are beside me, glistening ebony wings perched carefully overhead 

“The scent of it,” you sigh, darker thoughts replaced by the breath of this moment. “Of dirt and petrichor, flowers and fruit. Life and Earth. You.”

We stand here, vulnerable and exposed, clothes dripping, sodden ground cold beneath our feet. We could turn, return inside, the breeze having whisked away the last remnants of our unease. 

Instead, we stay. 

This is precisely where we belong. We dwell in the cottage, but it is not our shelter. Its walls offer protection, but it is not our refuge.

The rain replenishes the silver necklace streams that adorn the land. The storm breaks the heat of long summer days and nourishes the jasmine that perfumes humid nights. It cleanses souls and slakes thirsts.

We need not fear the rain.

We did not seek refuge on wooden boats as the seas rose and the sky fell. Our safety was not heralded by a dove and olive branch. The ribbon of color bursting across a brilliant blue sky proclaims the magnificence of physics, not a miracle of faith. 

Troubles will always follow and we will surely fret and worry. Until the time the rain comes—as gale or shower, storm or drizzle—and washes our troubles away. The rain falls over everything. Even us. We shall always emerge from it, renewed and reborn, on our side.

We have learned to welcome the storm.

With unspoken agreement, we lower our wings, letting the rain wash over us. The storm is an old friend, the oldest we have. With each deep rumble and brilliant flash it greets us, in every heavy drop it bids us farewell.

Safety is the squeeze of your arm around my waist. Peace is seeing your shining eyes, day in and day out. Home is at your side; just as it has always been. 

You dip down as I reach up to capture your lips in a smiling kiss. This, too, we know well. After all, we were the first to fall in love in the rain.

****

The prompt was provided by @crowleysgirl56 and comes from the poem Troubles Follow by @lickthecowhappy . The stanza used as the prompt:

but a cottage near the / sea cannot shelter / from every storm / as rain falls / over all

It's done! I will be doing this again, I'll start the next one in a couple of days. :)

Got a prompt you want me to use next time? Add a comment below! Want to be on a tag list? Follow #Storm Break or comment below. Feel free to adopt this idea yourself! If you do, tag me and I will give you a prompt!

[readercognito]

A Wicked Spell

Palladium x Reader

I was rather shocked to see two students fly into my infirmary, not walk. Fly. If students were using their Winx on campus, that meant only one thing. Someone was hurt, badly.

Staying calm, I quickly gather my portable medic kit. Holding up a hand to quiet their nervous rambling.

"We don't have time for explanations, just take me to them." I said, urgently.

If someone is seriously hurt I don't have the time to translate flustered teenager babble. They mean well of course, but first year students don't do very well under pressure.

I followed the girls to the courtyard where my blood ran cold upon seeing who the poor soul was. 

Professor Athos Palladium. He looked pale, and was moaning quietly. With a worried Faragonda kneeling beside him. 

I rushed over to his side, using one of my physical diagnosis spells. Nothing, no poison, or any lesions of the body, no deep brushing either. That wasn't good, that meant there was a problem with his magic. Which for an elf, whose magic runs through their own veins just as their blood could be deadly. "This isn't good," I mutter.  

Faragonda and I looked to the two students who were still hovering nearby. 

"Alright girls, help Ms. (L/n) get Professor Palladium to the infirmary! Time is of the essence!" Faragonda commanded.

The girls and I quickly picked Palladium up and carried him to the infirmary. The girls helped me get him on to one of the sterile white beds. A loud groan escapes him as I settle him in. Dismissing the girls back to their classes. Using my strongest magic diagnosis spell I discovered there was a large corruption on his left shoulder. While it hasn't gone too deep yet, if it goes beneath the skin and gets into his bloodstream it could reach his heart and could do one of two things. It would destroy him from the inside out, or he would be transformed into something monstrous.

Acting quickly I take off his shirt, pausing for only a second to whisper an apology that he certainly wouldn't hear. 

There was a blackish-purple, spidery, mark on his left shoulder. It was spreading visibly down his torso and up his neck. This just went from bad to worse, I'm going to need a cleansing ritual, a strong one. I won't be able to do it myself.

"Oh Palladium, what did they do to you?" I whispered, stroking his cheek wistfully. 

After a call to Faragonda, who gathered a few of the other professors and Flora. Even though she was a student she was always a fantastic healer, and her natural affinity for nature based magic would help in this specific case. The ritual was long, and hard. The corruption fought tooth and nail, but we were finally able to confine it and eliminate it from his system.

Unfortunately, due to how far the corruption got in the first place Palladium was too weak to be moved. He would have to rest in the infirmary until his magic regenerates. The professors retired to their beds, naturally the process of cleansing dark magic is exhausting, I was tired myself.

"Is there anything else I can do Ms. (L/n)?" Flora asked, in her sweet gentle way. 

"Oh no Flora, you've done more than enough! Go get some rest, I can handle everything from here sweetie." I said.

Flora floated back to her dorm, I simply smiled and shook my head.

“I swear that girl is from a whole other plane of existence…” I laughed quietly to myself.

I looked down at Palladium, he hadn’t really moved since we finished the cleansing. But the mark on his shoulder was gone, only a faint paleness was still there. He would be in a magically induced healing coma for the next three days, and probably have to remain in the infirmary for at least one week.

My face grew warm at the thought of spending that much time alone with the handsome professor. Shaking that thought out of my head quickly I moved to set up the required monitors. Settling in for a long night of caretaking.

It was only two in the morning when I was woken up by Palladium groaning. I scrambled to check the monitors, but everything was stable. Palladium seemed just as still as before. Until he shifted letting out another groan and what sounded like a whisper, but it wasn't intelligible. So I leaned closer, trying to make out if he was having a nightmare or not. Palladium spoke again after a moment with a furrowed brow.

"Ugh- (Y/n) I- no, no…" He murmured to himself.

So it was a nightmare… And it had something to do with me. I leaned back again, and without thinking much about it. I started to stroke his cheek, tenderly. His brow softened and his frown settled into a gentle smile. A smile I had grown to adore from afar. Then he spoke again this time a little louder and more distinct.

"I think I love you (Y/n)…" 

I halted in my movements, my very thoughts stuttered.

"What?" I ended up whispering to myself. So in a state of shock I was completely numb to Palladium turning to his other side with a contented sigh.

I shook it off sure I was only dreaming, or at least that his whispered confession meant nothing. So I resumed my night watch.

It had been  a week since then. Palladium is wide awake and is finally able to feed himself without aid. He also has grown more talkative, making small talk with me during check ups and food deliveries. Though one morning during his breakfast he asked me something I hoped he wouldn't.

"(Y/n)?" He said. 

I turned to him from the monitor I was checking over.

"Yes, Athos?" I replied. We had long since been on a first name basis. He had requested my first name and to use his fairly recently after he woke up.

"Did I say anything while I was asleep?" He asked, fingering the bed sheet nervously.

I froze for a moment thinking back to that first night…

"A-ah, umm… well. You said that- you said you loved me at one point." I said trying to sound casual, and failing miserably.

Athos went red, stuttering out a simple "o-oh, well… Oh d-dear." 

I scrambled to retrieve the ease that had fled the room.

"Well I'm sure it didn't mean anything. You were deep in a medical coma and fresh off of a dark magic infection! I wasn't bothered by it." I said, lying through my teeth.

Athos didn't brush it off and resume our jovial atmosphere like I thought he would. Instead he looked me directly in the eye. While still a little flushed, he looked more serious than I had seen him in quite some time. 

"But what if it was- it is true?" He said

"What?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

"I do love you (Y/n), I'm not quite sure when it happened. But I have been in love with you for quite some time…" He said, looking me directly in the eye.

His sudden confidence seemed to waiver then, and he turned down the bed. Staring intently at the light blue sheets, though if his ears were anything to go by he was hiding a furious blush. One which I’m sure I was mirroring to some extent, judging by the heat of my own cheeks. Then I decided to do something, something I wasn’t very sure of.

I sat down on the chair by his bed, gently taking his burning face in my hands. Turning him towards me I leaned forward and kissed him. 

I felt him stiffen with a bit of shock and a mix of nervousness, then I got a soft but stalwart response.

It was wonderful, honestly I think it was the best kiss of my entire life. His lips were soft, and gentle, sparking a rush of adoration down my spine. I could feel myself smile into the kiss, his hand moved to my cheek. The tender brush sending fireworks across my skin, both taste and smell wrapped around me. Orange with a hint of mint, when we broke apart it was like he had taken a piece with him. So I chased him to get it back, but to my surprise he got to me first. It was fireworks, and gentle caresses all over again. Then we broke away for the final time, panting a bit to get our lungs filled again. I couldn’t help but laugh, I was so incandescently happy.

“So if you didn’t catch my meaning, I love you too Athos..” I giggled with a sigh.

He let out a mirthful chuckle of his own. Then his eyes with a deep affection, and softness touched his forehead to mine and said.

“I’m sure now, more than ever…”

[bullet-prooflove]

Oh please, if this prompt "But you can steal a kiss, I won't call you a thief But take it from me What I got to give you can have for free" is not for Matthew Keller, I don't know what is!

Tagging: @rosielou94 d @kmc1989 @toheavenwmydrms @fangirling-alert @soultrysworld

Prequel to:

My Girl (NSFW) - Noone puts hands on Keller's girl.

One More Night - Keller doesn't know when he came so sentimental.

Merlot - Keller misses you more than he'll admit.

Trust (NSFW) - You send Keller a message when he returns to New York.

Starry Night - Keller gives you the stars.

Dysfunctional - This thing between the two of you works because it's dysfunctional.

Honeypot (NSFW) - Keller doesn't realise you had a prior relationship with Woodford.

5 Times - Keller almost tells you he loves you.

Three Minutes - It takes three minutes for Matt Keller to lose his humanity.

Transactional - In the wake of your injury, you leave Keller a Dear John letter.

Barcelona - Matt finally shows you just how much you mean to him.

It’s the night you steal back your grandmother’s ring back that things between you and Keller change. Up until then you’ve seen him for exactly what he is, a thief, a liar, a manipulator, all the things you’ve needed to pull off this heist. It isn’t until the two of you were sitting inside the car outside Peter Burke’s place that you realise there’s so much more to him. There’s an empathy that he keeps hidden underneath all that armour, a moral code that’s tucked away amongst the shades of grey he wraps himself. After all it was him that supplied the can of gasoline to destroy that Nazi scum bag’s collection. Him who handed you the match box.

“I fucking hate these guys.” He’d said as he poured the fuel around the room, all over the teeth and the baby shoes. “They’re fucking animals.”

It’s you who lights the match, who flicks it into the room and watches the whole entire thing ignite. You hope it frees those souls trapped in there, that it cleanses them.

You don’t expect him to walk you to your doorstep, you didn’t think it was his style but he’s surprised you tonight and he just keeps surprising you.

“Be sure to get rid of these clothes yea?” He says his fingertips trailing lightly along the collar of your jacket. “We don’t need anything tying us back to that asshole.”

“Maybe you should help me out of them, take them with you when you go.” You whisper as his thumb traces along the line of your jaw and he smiles as he leans in close.

“Alright sweetheart. I can do that.”

You’re surprised by how tender his kiss, the softness of his lips. It’s nothing more but the brush of his mouth over yours but it unleashes something inside of you, something wild, raw and passionate.

You don’t remember unlocking the door or even making it through the hall, all you can focus on is the sensation of his body pressed against you, the molten heat of his skin. When you tumble onto the bed, he pauses for a moment, his dark eyes glittering as he looks down at you.

You look beautiful, skin flushed, shirt open. You’re wearing black lace underneath and it highlights your sensuality, his palm comes to rest on your throat and your hips arch against him, breath hitching.

“Oh sweetheart,” He drawls as his thumb traces over your lower lip. “The two of us are going to have some fun tonight.”

Love Keller? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[the-demonus-aunt]

TW: SA

If you write for the datables can I request the dateables version of telling them that you were r@ped in the past? No pressure ofc

Hi, so sorry it took me so long!

I really hope you're doing okay! I gave it my best shot. As I said in the brothers' version: Please tell me if I wrote something upsetting!

I don't write for Luke or the new characters (I'm only on S3), but I hope the rest of them bring you comfort ♡

Solomon

Silence. Long uncomfortable silence. Did he even hear you?

He's a bit confused. In his eternal life, of course, he has met people like you before. People who had to deal with things they simply don't deserve. So why is he reacting so...intensely?

Rage. Sadness. Helplessness. Frustration. The swirl of emotions that's taking him over is so foreign to him.

When he finally looks up, lifts his eyes to your confused face, he knows he's going to do something completely irresponsible.

But now's not the time. Now he should be there for you.

He gets up to prepare a potion. What kind he doesn't know - one to help forget? One to cleanse your soul? One to make you feel cosy and protected?

He starts a batch of each, fidgeting around without being able to think clearly

You literally have to tell him to stop, so that he notices that he forgot to actually react and comfort you

The firmest hug you have ever received ensues.

"I want to help. What can I do, MC? What can I do to make it better?"

Simeon

The angel has always struggled with the dichotomy of his nature and the violent thoughts that sometimes find their way into his head

By now, he's able to switch them off at will. They'll haunt him at a later point in time, but for now, your needs are all he sees

He'll take your face into his hands and wipe away the tears with a simple swipe of his thumb

He'll stare into your eyes until you can physically feel the love he holds for you

There's only you and him and comfort

It'll take years before he can stop randomly baking for you, randomly hugging you, obsessively telling you how lovable you are, just to show you how much you mean

"You're everything to me, so you deserve the world. Forget those who treated you badly. I will erase them from your mind."

Diavolo

The Prince might be a big himbo but he isn't stupid.

As the ruler of demons, he knows exactly what people are capable of. And yet, everytime he hears about the cruelty in the world, he just can't comprehend: how? Why?

It pains him so much that you, too, had to experience something like this.

For a second, he considers asking Barbatos to undo it. Make your past go away. Of course, he immediately realises that that's not what his butler can do at all. He does not erase the past. He can only switch timeliness.

So...what then? How does he make it go away?

He never stops wondering. But he does settle for protecting you as well as he possibly can. For being there for you when you need him. For doing better than the person that made you feel this way.

"I can't undo what happened. But I will make sure you will never know pain like that again. Please rely on me."

Barbatos

You can see how hard he has to swallow. How his fist cramps.

You can see the exact moment he decides that he will start checking on every second of your future. Of your safety.

Of course, you don't know that that's what you're seeing. You only know that a creepy kind of determination spreads across his face.

You have earned yourself a bodyguard. He is definitely overdoing it.

It's hard to convince him he's doing more damage than he's helping. But eventually, he understands.

That will not stop him from asking Solomon for protection amulets. From preparing you cursed desserts that make you feel warm and safe and tingly on the inside.

Also, did he start touching you more? Not inappropriately. Just his fingers grazing yours. His arm around you when you're standing next to each other.

"I'm here. Whatever you need, I'm here."

[shipcestuous]

Want to add to my message about "One hundred years of solitude" cause I reread the ending! Now, spoilers obviously. So, because of this "pig curse" (a belief that any incest between Buendias would lead to the birth of a child with pig tail. This proved to be true in the end), it's easy to see incest as depicted negative in the book. Which is reasonable, because not only the child has pig tail, but he is even called "mythological monster that was to bring the line to an end". Again, proved to be true because soon after his birth and quick death (spoilers of the very end) the city is wiped out by the wind, erasing it and the Buendia line forever, "because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth". Sounds very incest-negative. However! This is how the relationship between Aureliano and Amaranta Ursula decribed just before that:

"They would give themselves over to the worship of their bodies, discovering that the rest periods of love had unexplored possibilities, much richer than those of desire"

"Aureliano and Amaranta Ursula opened their eyes, dug deep into their souls, looked at the letter with their hands on their hearts, and understood that they were so close to each other that they preferred death to separation"

"Aware of that menace, Aureliano and Amaranta Ursula spent the hot months holding hands, ending with the love of loyalty for the child who had his beginning in the madness of fornication. At night, holding each other in bed, they were not frightened by the sublunary explosions of the ants or the noise of the moths or the constant and clean whistle of the growth of the weeds in the neighboring rooms"

"and then they learned that dominant obsessions can prevail against death and they were happy again with the certainty that they would go on loving each other in their shape as apparitions long after other species of future animals would steal from the insects the paradise of misery that the insects were finally stealing from man"

And this is how the birth of so-called "mythological monster" is described:

"Through her tears Amaranta Ursula could see that he was one of those great Buendias, strong and willful like the Jose Arcadios, with the open and clairvoyant eyes of the Aurelianos, and predisposed to begin the race again from the beginning and cleanse it of its pernicious vices and solitary calling, for he was the only one in a century who had been engendered with love"

This baby (also called Aureliano) is literally called the ONLY one in the family who was born from love. He's also the only one born from incest (if you don't count children of the original Buendias, first cousins). So, my question is if you really, really wanted us to think incest is disgusting and that was the only point of the book, why would you include that. Also, as Aureliano and Amaranta Ursula did not know about the pig tail prophecy, they were not alarmed by this, and the midwife even said that "the tail could be cut off when the child got his second teeth". Which would happen irl probably if such child was born.

So, of course I'm no literary critic in any way and it's probably better to hear their interpretations than mine, but I just think making an incest couple also one of the only couples in the book who were really in love does not serve to make incest seem off-puting. If I had that goal, I'd probably leave them at lust which they started with. Also I could show the grown-up child as a real horrible vicious person who puts an end to his bloodline through his actions, not through just being born and triggering the "curse", cause tail or not, the baby was innocent and I doubt any reader saw it the other way.

Also, a bit off-topic but this couple until the end thought they were brother and sister rather than aunt and nephew, well, not like it stopped them, lol.

[x]

Thanks for these extra details and that great passage!

Yeah, kind of raising my brow at all of this? The great incestuous undoing of the family is an innocent baby born of love with a physical disfigurement that's easily fixed?

[brokshi]

warhammer 40k rogue trader is interesting. the 41st millennium is a nightmarish hellscape designed from the ground up to be a place where only amoral fascist assholes can survive, let alone thrive. this makes playing a kind person feel pretty incongruous. everyone except the immediate recipients of your kindness hate and distrustt you for it, and even the people you help get a bit confused and put-off. there's immediate and long-term consequences too. you receive semi-permanent stat debuffs for a variety of choices where you choose to help people and, so far, no clear way to cleanse them.

in a way though, i think this is ideal. one of my biggest criticisms of mass effect is that, while renegade was billed as pragmatic and making hard calls, in the end paragon gives better rewards AND everyone likes you more. you get more, and better allies in the third game, and a more thematic plotline of unity overall. your companions are less likely to kill themselves too.

baldur's gate 3's only real rewards for being evil, aside unlocking from a potential super form or two in the final few hours of the game and midgame items, is seeing uncomfortably detailed murders of the few nice party members. and minthara, i suppose, but they made her available for good guys in a later patch.

contrast with rogue trader, where i've permanently lost some willpower due to the fact that i saved everyone i could from a planet falling to the demons, rather than blowing the whole thing up to prevent everyone's souls from being consumed. i saved a relative few and damned the rest, rather than committing outright genocide to deny the demons of the warp resources. I've lost a fair amount of profit and control so far due to doing things to save lives instead of tossing bodies at problems until everything works out. it feels more like i'm trying to do good, and less like i'm trying to get The Good Ending

[daineic-art]

-taps mic- Is this thing on?

Okay uh

Hi everyone!

It’s been a… long time since I’ve been actually active, hasn’t it? Well- I have a few explanations if you’d like to sit down and hear them.

To make a really long story short, I fell out of love with SSO. The game was not fun for me anymore and I found no joy in it due to multiple reasons. My own general drama moments, there were multiple things the company did, different things I got into, etc.

The biggest thing (now don't laugh I know how stupid this sounds in relation to Star Stable) was trauma. Yes, trauma. When you've been groomed using a game you've loved since you were 9 years old… you kind of stop playing that game. I resented this game for literal years due to trauma and SSO didn't help themselves by making some dumb decisions. But I was also a kid with trauma I didn't know how to handle. I can't even pinpoint exactly when everything happened, but I know it was around my mid-teens, and has been years since. I have done a lot of soul-searching and development since then because, wow, people can change! Some developments include; I started going to college, didn't like it, and I dropped out. I quit my very awful retail job and got something more akin to my field of study. Then finally, probably the most important one, I got out of an abusive relationship that I got into due to desperation. I'm in a new one with someone I genuinely care about and, frankly, want to spend the rest of my life with. It's insane how one person can open up your eyes so much and help you truly heal and change.

And because of that… I want to say sorry to those I might have hurt when I was still young and hurting. I know trauma isn't always an excuse but when it's all you know and you don't know how to control those feelings you are extremely volatile. I'm sorry to the friends I pushed away, I understand why you left. I'm sorry to the friends who stuck around and had to help me but I am also thankful for you. I'm also thankful to my audience who probably has 0 clue what I'm even talking about! I'm also sorry to those who had to witness my crippling hyper-fixation on You-Know-Who. I promise I'm over that LOL (while I still might draw That Specific Man, I am no longer mentally ill about him)

But why am I talking about this? Why all this deep conversation over a game where you ride around on a horse? Because I want to set my own record straight for myself and I want to start with a clean slate. This might involve a blog name change, maybe even a blog cleanse. But it starts here, with this post. And I'm really hoping this is the start to something better. I won't be posting right away as I want to get my own lore in order but I figured putting something into the world announcing my return (or that at least I've dropped my malice for the game) would be a good start.

I hope yall stick around! Lots of love from Sam 🦌🌿💚

[electronicwitchcollection]

Do you ever get caught up on the fact that the Arrancar are legions? I often have to stop and take a minute to think about the hundreds to thousands of souls that make up the Arrancar like a soul puzzle and it just happens that the strongest soul in the legion is the personality they display. (ԾㅂԾ)

-jplupine

When it was first explained how hollows could become Adjuchas and Vasto Lordes, it literally boggled my mind. Similarly to how it feels when you try to comprehend the size of the universe 🫨 it’s just beyond our capabilities

Most hollows are mindless, killing machines. Only thinking about their next meal. There are some hollows, however , who seem to retain some of their more dominant personality traits from when they were human. One of the best examples I can use is the hollow early on in the series, Shrieker. As a human was a sadistic serial killer, as a hollow he held onto those sadistic tendencies by torturing the young boy Yuichi Shibeta, who’s soul was trapped in the parakeet

I 💯 believe Shrieker had the potential to become an adjuchas, and therefore an Espada later down the line.

I like to think that everyone’s soul is made up of all these different emotions, in varying levels. Everyone has the potential to love and hate, hurt and heal. Feel joy and hatred, fear and confidence. I think that the dominant trait of that soul, fuels the hollow.

When they consume other hollows, and their souls, their dominant trait grows bigger and stronger with the same trait it had taken from the soul it had just devoured, the rest of the soul going towards the strength and power to the physical body.

All the Espada have such strong personalities, with particular traits highlighted, to almost an obsessive, consuming level, almost over showering every other part of their personality, that this leads me to feel right in my assumption.

 If enough of them dogpile each other, trying to feast on the other hollows, then they will merge into a single entity that contains all the minds and powers of the hollows involved. A Gillian-class Menos Grande is born.

When that hollow then goes on to a menos, most of them return into the mindless, hive like state of the other menos, loosing their identity completely . I believe only the souls with strongest, most undeniable traits, grown larger by all the other souls, can make it to the forefront, and control the menos as themselves and reclaim their identity.

This hollow morphs the Gillian into a new, unique form. Adjuchas or vasto lordes.  Were already in the hundreds or thousands of hollow souls, all devoured and combined to strengthen this one soul. Which is amazing to me. These Adjuchas are physically smaller than Gillians, tho incredibly stronger and smarter. Grimmjow is a great exaplme for the Adjuchas class: a panther hollow, vicious, a hunter, nimble and strong. He can take on Gillians with ease. But they have to work hard to stay that way, because if they don’t eat, they’ll loose their power and their mind, reverting back into the mindless Gillians, giving one of the other strong souls their chance to take over.

Alternatively, if an Adjuchas does eat enough hollows and gain enough power, it can evolve yet again, and become a Vasto Lorde. While this is very rare, it can happen, as we saw with Tier Halibel, Starrk, even the grand fisher made a reappearance as one. They are human in shape and appearance, incredibly powerful and fast, most similar to the final Espada.

All these souls, countless lives lost, combined to make just one entity, it mind blowing. When a hollow is cleansed, they free the souls. I hope that’s the case for all the levels of hollows. How many millions of souls would be lost otherwise with the defeat of most of the Espada?

[hellsgreatestshow]

Souls

All lore & headcanons has been painstakingly researched and cultivated by me with help from @hellsgreatestgame. For lore, I take influence and inspiration from many different sources of media. This lore will be prevalent throughout the Hella-Verse. Full permission for @hellsgreatestgame & @hellsgreatestperformance to share any lore.

This will elaborate on souls and my own lore based upon research.

The Soul & some facts

Souls are magical essence of the creator shaped into energy to be manipulated into life.

Every living creature with a stream of consciousness holds a soul. This means, humans, deities and animals.

The soul is a very powerful building block that helps balance the ebb and flow of the universe itself.

Souls are raw and powerful magic that can not easily be manipulated. Because of this, souls can only be handled by those with arcane knowledge and skill.

The handling of a soul was often left in the hands of the angels of creation, an elite set of angels who God selected.

Angels of creation carry out many tasks but their most important is to create and shape the universe as it constantly changes. This means they can bring life by forming souls to continue expanding upon the universe.

Souls in their raw form are pure, being blindingly white and bright.

Some souls are just unique and special, being considered prophets of the lord. These souls have a huge impact on the universe leaving their fingerprint by alerting the fabric of the universe in some way.

Sins Effect on Souls

Souls are impacted by the actions of the being. Meaning sins corrupt the soul. tainting it and causing the soul to be altered.

Every sin holds a color that will bleed through and stain the soul. Think of the soul as oil and sin as a droplet of color swirled in. It can disburse and spread but doesn't change the soul. the more sins added the more saturated a soul becomes.

Every sin holds some effect on the soul but not every sin is equal. The amount of color in your soul is determined by the sin and intention of the person.

Once a soul is fully saturated with color, it is condemned to hell for eternal punishment.

Most souls can not be cleansed without divine magic. This means humans can help purify souls of sins. They can mend their own and others as long as the soul seeks redemption through God.

Souls also can be cleansed by pure actions by the host of the soul such as what Sir Pentious' actions in the finale battle.

Death of a Soul

Souls are made to be eternal though there are some ways a soul can be destroyed. the first one is by divine magic of elder angels and angels of creation, the second way is by angelic steel which is blessed weaponry created by archangels to prevent rebellion again and the final way is through dark magic.

Dark magic that is required for the destruction of a soul is arcane magic that is often dangerous and unpredictable. This magic required for this takes discipline and raw natural talent. This is not a skill just anyone can pick up or maintain. Learning this magic also requires a great sacrifice. Those who wield this magic often succumb to madness.

When a soul is destroyed it begins a new state of being by changing into a star for its final resting place. These stars honor their lives. Some lives are so impactful that their stars can even continue to live on, pulsating to create new life and universes.

[gaiaseyes451]

7 Days, 700 Words - Storm Break - 6/7

Storm Break (new part in blue)

The patter of rain on the clay shingled roof interrupts our peace. Soft and languid a moment ago, your breath quickens; the crackle of the fire in the hearth a foreshock of the quake amassing in the slate gray clouds. Yet it is I who flinches when lightning flashes, casting the cottage sitting room into sharp relief. Too bright, too cold, too familiar.

Our fingers intertwine and reflexively I curl beside you. Whether it is to soothe my own anxiety or bolster your resolve matters not; you pressed against me, cheek resting in my curls, is a balm all the same.

I count silently, one…two…three… anticipating the sound that follows the fury. Thunder cracks, rattling the glass so droplets spill like tears down window pane cheeks. Through the tempest the unseen sun sets in the churning sky, violet and gold and vermilion glowing on the horizon. There is so much beauty in this world—once our ward, now made home—even in the storms.

But your vision is shuttered, goldenrod irises barricaded against the aftershock of memories of more insidious foes. I run my fingers through your hair and conjure the first storm we weathered, sheltered together as the rain fell over Eden. 

Poor protection though they were, we huddled together as the cold drops beaded on  my wings and ran off in steady rivulets, watching the world change around us. I remember the heat of the sun warmed stones beneath our feet, the whip of the wind against my robes and through your hair. 

But most of all, I remember the colors. In the rain soaked light greens were more verdant, reds richer, blues shades of indigo in their saturation. 

Your eyes, a soul suspended in amber, beside me.

“Do you remember Eden,” I murmur against your temple, “after the first rain?”

You look at me, the same golden soul, no less cherished for finally being mine, and smile. “I do.” 

I stand, our fingers still interlaced, and together we journey toward the garden and into the storm. I leave you on the patio, behind the curtain falling from the eaves, and step into the rain soaked grass to spread my wings. 

Before I can call you are beside me, glistening ebony wings perched carefully overhead 

“The scent of it,” you sigh, darker thoughts replaced by the breath of this moment. “Of dirt and petrichor, flowers and fruit. Life and Earth. You.”

We stand here, vulnerable and exposed, clothes dripping, sodden ground cold beneath our feet. We could turn, return inside, the breeze having whisked away the last remnants of our unease. 

Instead, we stay. 

This is precisely where we belong. We dwell in the cottage, but it is not our shelter. Its walls offer protection, but it is not our refuge.

The rain replenishes the silver necklace streams that adorn the land. The storm breaks the heat of long summer days and nourishes the jasmine that perfumes humid nights. It cleanses souls and slakes thirsts.

We need not fear the rain.

We did not seek refuge on wooden boats as the seas rose and the sky fell. Our safety was not heralded by a dove and olive branch. The ribbon of color bursting across a brilliant blue sky proclaims the magnificence of physics, not a miracle of faith. 

Troubles will always follow and we will surely fret and worry. Until the time the rain comes—as gale or shower, storm or drizzle—and washes our troubles away. The rain falls over everything. Even us. We shall always emerge from it, renewed and reborn, on our side.

We have learned to welcome the storm.

****

The prompt was provided by @crowleysgirl56 and comes from the poem Troubles Follow by @lickthecowhappy . The stanza used as the prompt:

but a cottage near the / sea cannot shelter / from every storm / as rain falls / over all

I’ll write and share 100(ish) words every day until the ficlet resolves at 700 words.

Got a prompt you want me to use next time? Add a comment below! Want to be on a tag list? Follow #Storm Break or comment below. Feel free to adopt this idea yourself! If you do, tag me and I will give you a prompt!

[bothzangetsus]

I don't want to disagree on someone else's post (people are free to have whatever interpretation they want!) so let me do it under the cut

This is just such a bizarre reading to me - ARE arrancar driven to find existential meaning? Starrk is, but the rest seem pretty happy in their position as evolved hollows - after decades or centuries they finally can stop fearing devolving. They have goals other than 'when is my next meal'. Aizen offering that evolution to them was 1) a choice, 2) a GOOD thing - contrast it with the unwilling making of the Visored (and of the semi-willing hollowfication of Masaki).

Overwhelmed by the naked truth of existence is such a strange phrasing to me, considering during that arc it was Ulquiorra who was more human. It was Ulquiorra who stopped Ichigo from killing a friend. The only time Ichigo showed a friendlier way was with this:

Which is, again, about... fighting. And, if anything else, directly contradicts the idea of Arrancar being an inherently hellish existence: if Ichigo had cut down Grimmjow with Zangetsu, he'd cleanse him. He'd send him to Soul Society. He'd stop being a Hollow. If friendlier existence via un-Arrancar-ication is what Ichigo is going for, asking someone to give up so they can fight another day is the wrong move!

She's a monster for healing them unwillingly, not for giving them a chance T___T she's a monster for having an ability dependent on her will, and she can will them back to life when they've not accepted it, and yet she cannot will her friend back to it (several times!)

[thehazeldruid]

Aang's Revival

A Ritual Bath/ Shower and Meditation based on Aang returning from being frozen in the iceberg to restore and refresh yourself Ritual Bath/ Shower

What You Need

A couple calming songs

Your favorite scent of soap (bar or gel, doesn’t matter) If you can, get a shower disk or bath bomb or loose herbs. (Things like lavender, basil, chamomile, lemon balm or green tea are good for cleansing and refreshing.) *MAKE SURE YOU AREN’T ALLERGIC AND THAT THE HERBS YOU”RE USING ARE SAFE*

A blue candle (wisdom, calm, protection) A white candle (healing, purification)

What To Do

Turn on the music, light the candles.

Start with colder water (as cold as you can comfortably start with) and let the water wash over you. As this is happening, the chill that you feel, visualize it solidifying around you.

Everything you are, mind, body and soul, visualize it encased in that cold, as if it were a giant sphere of ice. Say “Rest now weary soul, in cold water deep. Dream of a better tomorrow, in your needed sleep.”

Now, turn the water temperature up. Hot, but not so hot as to burn yourself. Add the herbs, and wash yourself at this point. Relax. Be at ease.

Let the warmth slowly take over your entire body. Imagine that sphere of ice melting away, as it does, and as you wash yourself, imagine the negativity, anger, sadness, anything that you no longer wish to feel, being washed away.

Say “I rise above the water’s tides, and I no longer wish to hide. As warmth returns to my bones, I am revived and I am reborn. The troubles of the past rinse away, and I will be refreshed today.”

Continue washing yourself and when you are done, simply relax and enjoy the warm water and cleanliness.

Once you feel ready, get out and put on comfortable clothes to prepare for the meditation.

Meditation

What You Need

The same candles from the shower, serving the same purposes.

Natural light if you can, and fresh air, if it’s warm enough out to be outside or sit in a room with open windows

Sage incense for clarity

More of the calming music if it helps you meditate

What To Do

Get comfortable, breathe slow and even. Close your eyes. The darkness around you is not scary or oppressive. It is safe and warm.

At the center of the this darkness is an orb of light. You realize, you are at the center of that light, encased in that orb, protectively. This you within the light is the you with the potential for growth and change. The clean slate of yourself that is ready to become more than you were before.

Slowly, with every breath, the orb rises through the surrounding darkness, which is still neither scary nor oppressive, it simply is.

You are safe within the orb of light. As it rises, you realize it is rising toward the surface of the darkness.

As the orb finally breaks through the surface of the vast ocean of darkness, the orb becomes solid, as if made of glass or ice. You are still safe and you are now warmer, as the light from above joins the light emanating from within the orb, from within you.

Open your eyes. Reach out, touch the orb/ bubble that surrounds you.

As you touch it, it pops, bursting into a thousand tiny diamond droplets, each reflecting the light from you and the sun in a brilliant rainbow all around you.

Breathe in the fresh air. Feel the warmth of the light on your skin. You are free of the troubles of the past. You are refreshed and reborn. You can become anything you wish.

It is done.

-This is an adaptation of one of my personal meditations for renewal and refreshing. A meditation to leave behind the old, accepting what was and is, and move forward into the future knowing we are capable of anything-

Good Luck and Happy Casting Witches!

M.G.

/|\

The Hazel Druid

[artyfartyperson]

Me on my way to lore dump about Trinity!AU Morro I just think he’s neat. (also doodle down the bottom if you’re interested)

Morro specialises in one-on-one combat. He prefers to sneak up on people from behind and to rely on surprise as an advantage.

His element of wind makes him able to separate a group and take each person at a time, or he can leave the rest of the group to whoever he is fighting alongside.

He can use his element of wind to allow himself to hover for short periods of time or to blast him up into the sky. He cannot use it to fly

He usually fights with two Katanas. He and Lloyd can also share if one of them lost their weapons or smth.

Morro is the most reserved compared to his other siblings. His love for people only goes so far thus he prefers to keep to himself.

The eldest of three siblings, Morro had spent all of his childhood training to become the green ninja, as it was stated that one of them do so in prophecies. It was believed that he would be the green ninja. He and Akako seemed to bond over this training and she supported him through all those years.

Their father Garmadon didn’t often show up, nor did Misako. Thus it was up to Wu to raise the three kids. Their childhood was built of mostly training, and not much ‘playing around’. Akako did slack off there and again with the youngest, Lloyd. But Morro consistently worked hard to earn the title of the green ninja.

When the time finally came, Morro was shown the golden weapons, and unfortunately not being chosen for the green ninja— to everyone’s surprise. After a heated argument with Wu and in a fit of rage he ran away. To him the past 17 years of his life were ultimately for nothing. He didn’t plan on returning, or even saying goodbye at this rate.

Both Garmadon and Misako blamed Wu for Morros’ disappearance, for building up his false sense of hope. In fear that Wu would turn to Akako or even Lloyd they had decided to take the two after a year or so when Morro was presumed dead.

Morro had been constantly travelling, and didn’t plan on settling down. He didn’t have anywhere to go in all honesty. He began studying said prophecies, trying to make sense of it all, why he wasn’t the one chosen of the three of them.

He had eventually discovered the existence of the cloud kingdom, and how they were the ones who wrote everything that was to be. He became obsessed, trying to find a way to find this kingdom. This is what lead to his obsession with the realm crystal.

This obsession however would lead to his demise, as his bones still remain today in the Caves of Despair.

After his spirit being banished to the Cursed Realm, his extensive knowledge on the Realm Crystal came to light, and was manipulated enough by the Preeminent to locate the realm crystal for her own twisted needs. She did this with the use of his rage towards Wu and the prophecy of the green ninja, especially since the youngest sibling, Lloyd, had been given the role of the Green Ninja.

He had possessed and tortured Lloyds soul in the events of Season 5. This possession had given Lloyd wounds under his eyes, to which the scars still show today. By the time he had abandoned Lloyds body, Lloyd was absolutely exhausted. When he had obtained the realm crystal he had put the preeminents' needs over his own, and opened the portal in order to curse ninjago and the 16 realms. However this plan failed when Nya had reached her true potential, defeating the preeminent.

In the final events Wu had tried to save Morro’s life, promising that they could start fresh. Morro however believed that he was beyond saving, and gave Wu the realm crystal before being dragged into the sea.

The events during day of the departed follow as usual, however when Morro makes amends with Wu and his soul is cleansed, he too is revived alongside Cole.

In the events that follow Morro does little himself to earn the trust of the ninja nor Lloyd. However Akako and Wu both try to attempt bonding with him again. Akako is more successful, and he loosens up just an insy bit. He eventually joins the ninja, now rocking teal lets go baby 💪💪💪💪

Him and Lloyd still have some healing to do, but itll come with time.