#she's a wild magic barb

[chaiteadraws]

finally started BG3 this week! here's Blithe

[mutio-von-mutio]

so smol

[coolgoodandfine]

D7 Drawtober Prompt: CG Fairy Barbarian

Small but crazy!

[waterdeepthroat]

respeccing companions is so fun and good actually

[green-eyedfirework]

It was a slow day, and Dick was finally getting around to reorganizing his herbs after Tim and Cass had gone through them.  He loved his little siblings, he really did, but Tim’s organizational system could only be comprehended by him, and Cass had a bad habit of not cleaning up after herself.  His last client had hobbled home to finish resting her once-broken ankle, the house call to the new mother and baby was over in early morning, and he had all the time to rearrange his cupboard.

The door creaked, and a shift of fresh air tugged at his hair, accompanied by heavy, bold footsteps.

Well.  Dick stared at the array of herbs spread around him and sighed.  Maybe he should invite Jason over, his little brother wouldn’t be able to help himself from organizing Dick’s stuff.  “I’m coming,” Dick called out, levering himself off the floor and clearing a path to the front with a snap of his fingers.

Three sets of footsteps and no greeting, so Dick wasn’t expecting anyone from the village.  He lived a little further into the woods—closer to the plants he needed and the wild call of nature he used to replenish his magic—but most of his clients came from the village.  They were familiar and friendly.

He sensed the spark of wild magic a second before he saw the scowls on their faces.  Werewolves.

“Hello,” he said pleasantly.  “What can I do for you today?”

The one in the lead, silver hair bound tightly in a braid, bared her teeth at him.  It would’ve been a lot more intimidating if she wasn’t a teenager.  “You can come with us, mage,” she sneered, “We require your services.”

There was a chill down his spine, easily brushed off.  Everyone and their pet wanted a collared mage—the trouble was putting the collar on them in the first place.  Someone like Dick, who’d honed their magic for years?  It would be easier to put a leash on a werewolf.

Healing and killing were two sides of the same coin, after all.

“Are you injured?  Is someone in your pack injured?” Dick asked, still pleasant as he sent out a testing probe.  Three werewolves here, three more skulking at his back window, two outside the front door.  No more in the immediate vicinity, but their pack had be close by for a show of force this large.

The posturing werewolf snapped her teeth.  “We have enough wolves to take you down,” she threatened, “Either you come with us quietly, or we’ll drag you behind us.”

Dick let his smile drop.  “Well,” he said in the tone of voice he used whenever he found Tim and Damian fighting, “That’s rude.”

On his little brothers, it could barely quiet a vehement argument.  On the wolves, it sent them skittering a step back, hackles raised.

“You’re coming with us,” the wolf said, but her voice wavered, her gaze locked on his hands as he rested them on the table.

The door behind them swung open.  In the distance, they could hear growls and curses.  “You should probably not threaten a mage in their own home,” Dick chided lightly, and flicked his fingers.

The wolf’s eyes widened to pale blue saucers, but she couldn’t get out more than a half-strangled, “Wait—” before they were spun out and the door slammed shut behind them.

Dick exhaled slowly, and let the sparks of magic recede back under his skin.  Then he stepped back, over the piles of unsorted jars, and picked up his satchel.

~#~

The curse is a nasty, sunken, barbed thing.  Half of it is hidden, which means that Dick spends more of his magic than is wise before he realizes the scope of the thing, realizes he can’t just yank the thing out.

Under his hands, the wolf is screaming.  He does his best to tune it out.

The surge of magic battling magic is enough to keep any interference away, so Dick settles into the slower, longer, more meticulous path of prying the curse out, tendril by tendril.  It fights his attempts to destroy it as he goes, so he has to expend even more magic on containing it until he can get the whole thing out.

It’s tedious, draining work.  It’s gone firmly dark by the time he finishes sliding the last piece out, and the twist it takes to compress the curse into a tiny speck and shred it to whispers nearly makes him stagger.  His magic reserves have gone distressingly low.

Dick abruptly remembers where he is.  The camp around him is full of wolf growling, loud and agitated.  His patient is passed out, skin gray and clammy and looking ten times worse than when Dick started.  The cuts—the cuts are bleeding freely, red and thick.

He needs to leave.  He has just enough magic to put on a show of force if needed, and he needs every last sliver to bluff his way out.  He cannot be caught here.  Not by a pack that’s already expressed interest in putting a collar around his neck.

The boy is bleeding.  He will die, werewolf healing or not.  Dick can sense the corruption the curse wrecked, magic gone but its effects lingering.  If he heals this, it’ll take every scrap of magic he has left.

It’s a choice that’s not a choice.  Dick’s a healer.  He can’t go against his nature.

Dick breathes in and breathes out, and lets his magic pour out.

Heart and lungs and kidney and liver, a thousand tears in muscle where the wolf tried to fight the curse, blood loss and weakened bone and a hundred small damages.  The cuts, large and bloody, slowly knitted together under his trembling fingers.  Too slowly.

His vision is going black.  Dick fights it, fights it with every breath.  As long as he can remain upright when it’s done, as long as he can walk out—he’s proved his fighting capabilities, as long as he gives them no reason to doubt him—

Dick’s head swims.  When he forces himself back to consciousness, he’s half-collapsed against the bed.  He uses the movement to examine the wounds, as though that was his intention all along, his heart pounding loud and sluggish.  They’re almost closed.

Something pops in his ears and the growling disappears to a low buzzing.

He does one last check for any lingering damage as pink, waxy skin unfurls across the wounds.  There are some minor injuries left, but the werewolf can heal those on his own as soon as he’s gotten some food.

It’s time for him to go.

Dick curls shaking hands on the edge of the bed and allows himself one breath before he lets go.  Everything is curiously muffled, muffled and ringing, and when he drags his head up, he can see the alpha on the other side of the bed.

Mouth moving.  He’s saying something.  Dick can’t hear him.

He takes a step back, away from the bed, away from the alpha—he needs to get out, needs to watch for a path, needs to avoid being cornered because all he has is dregs and it’s not enough to scare off a bear.

His head aches, like someone took a hammer to it.

Dick needs to leave.  Now.  Only he’s not sure he can turn without everything spinning.  The ground feels like it’s roiling under his feet.

He blinks, and the alpha is suddenly much closer.  Dick stumbles back another step in surprise.  His stomach turns over, but there’s nothing in it.  He worked too long and without food.

Dick has to get out.  He has to—everything inside him is screaming danger—he can’t stay, they want to keep him, he needs to leave—

Something wet touches his lips.  Dick raises a hand, feeling like he’s moving underwater, and wipes it across his mouth.

It comes away red.

It’s the last thing he remembers seeing.

~#~

No one can get to Grant, no one can even touch him with all the magic swirling around the mage, and Slade is forced to stand there, a few steps away, and watch his firstborn scream under the onslaught.

Nothing works to stop it.  Not words, not weapons, not every magic-dampening sigil they’ve ever collected.  Slade can do nothing but wait.

Grant stops screaming.  His wounds run red and red and red.  Slade’s claws are fully extended—he will tear the mage from limb to limb if it’s the last thing he does.  He just needs an opening.

Slade doesn’t know how long before the magic falters.  It’s just a second, but the second is enough to register how much worse Grant looks, like the mage is draining his life away.  By the gods and the moon, they should’ve left it alone.  At least Slade would’ve been able to hold his son while he died.  At least he wouldn’t be in so much pain.

The magic swirls back before anyone can attack, and the pack paces restlessly along the perimeter.  Everyone’s expressions are twisted in grief and fury.

The mage will not leave here alive.  That much Slade swears.

The magic is…quieting almost.  Like it’s slowly winding down.  Still impenetrable—Rose tries and fails to get past it, but the shimmer is receding.  Slade stares at Grant, half-dreading that his son is already dead.

But Grant’s chest still rises and falls.  The amount of blood loss is…shrinking.  The wounds seem to be closing over.  In fact, when Slade darts a glance at his son’s face, Grant appears to be getting better.

His skin is no longer ashen, his breaths are fuller, and as the magic recedes, Slade steps forward, stuck in an incredulous daze.  Grant looks better.  Grant looks like he’s healing.

Slade pays no attention to the mage’s movements, his gaze fixed on the miracle in front of him.

The magic dies down to nothing but flickers, and Slade can finally touch his son again.  Grant is warm and alive and healthy under his fingers, and Slade lets out a shuddering gasp.

“Thank you,” he says hoarsely, lifting his gaze to the mage.  He doesn’t know what the man did, but Grant is alive, Grant is healed, Grant is safe.  “I don’t know how I can ever repay you—”

The mage looks terrible.  His skin is waxy and gray, his eyes sunken, his frame curled in on himself.  He’s trembling, and his breaths keep breaking.  As Slade watches, the mage takes a step back and nearly trips on flat ground.

“Hello?” Slade calls out slowly, tension creeping back in.  “Hello, can you hear me?”

The mage looks at him blankly.

Slade rounds the bed, casting one last glance at Grant—alive, healthy, alive—before inching closer to the mage, who looks as worse as Grant had at the start.  Slade doesn’t know a whole lot about mages and magic, but he doesn’t think this is a good thing.

“Can you hear me?” Slade repeats, before he notices the red creeping down from the mage’s ears.  The mage’s expression has gone unfocused.  There’s red creeping out of his nose too, blood smearing across his lips, and the mage raises a hand to wipe it off.

He blinks down at the blood on his hand.  And then he crumples.

Slade is close enough to lunge and catch him before he cracks his head open on the ground, and the mage is alarmingly light.  “What’s the matter with him?” Slade growls as the pack presses in, all concerned murmurs.

Villain manages to fight his way to the front.  “Magic overuse,” he diagnoses after taking in the mage’s—too weak—pulse and examining his face.  “He’s drained himself nearly dry.”

Slade looks back at Grant, sleeping peacefully on the cot, and down at the mage, who appears to be two and a half steps from death’s door.

“Will he recover?” he can hear himself ask.  Slade was willing to do near anything for his son’s health, but to use a life to restore life?  That kind of sacrifice, from someone not pack—

“He should.  Time, and rest, and enough food.  Come, he’s too cold, he needs to be kept warm.”

[abominable-space-they]

Ok everyone has me in a punk Steve & Eleven mind set.

This is refining & combining two separate Steve being close with the girls/El au ideas I've had recently

So, what if Steve was the one who found Eleven on that first night, everything would fall out so differently from there

Since he cancelled on Nancy no party with secret government psychic kid on the property, Barb didn't die. When Will got taken, Barb & Nancy both know Jonathan so they get involved through helping & supporting him.

Meanwhile Steve was panicking while actively hiding a mostly nonverbal child. He's almost certain she's been severely neglected at least, probably abused. Bad things have happened to her, he recognized the signs. He'd been that kid. He sees himself in the way she's jumpy, defensive, weirdly naive, in the way she always waits to see what he's doing first, before she says or does anything herself.

He won't to give her back to whomever she ran from, can't bring himself to do that to another kid. His parents were never home so they're not a problem but he doesn't know what the fuck to do about the government.

In a panic he went to the guy he bought his weed from (he knows how to hide from the cops right?)

Eddie Munson

Eddie didn't know what was going on in Hawkins but what he did know was that all these undercover government vans weren't here for a wild animal attack... or him, thank the Deities for small favors.

So when Steve fucking Harrington showed up on his doorstep with a magical child, panic in his and eyes, and no idea what to do next, Eddie was mostly relieved.

Relieved and maybe just a little intrigued

An escaped secret government psychic kid, a totally different missing kid of the same age, a town full of under cover fbi vans(or worse), and these reported animal attacks had to be connected, if Eddie was running this campaign he would never have this much going on at once that wasn't part of a larger connected story. He just couldn't see the whole picture yet. They needed more information & they needed resources

Jonathan & Nancy had been acting super suspicious the last few days. Eddie usually minded his business but under these circumstances, after a brief urgent discussion, they decided it might be wise to just pop in and see what was what. Maybe they knew what the hell was going on. They could all compare notes at least

They took Eddie's van bc he was not gonna be at the mercy of Steve Harrington for transportation. Doing foolish shit like that could get you hate crimed... Plus being the town weed slinger had it's benefits. He knew where everyone lived.

On the way to try and find the other kids to compare those notes, Eleven, who was very quiet but had an eerie way of just knowing things, found the crate he kept ppl's forgotten tapes in, there was a little bit of everything in that crate, a musical lost and found that he couldn't bring himself to discard, even if he personally thought the music was boring

Eleven picked a tape, waving it at them like it had significance.

Well why not?

Steve showed her how to put it in the tape deck. The Runaways crashed into life on his better then average speakers. Eddie expected Steve to complain, but he just listened very very closely, eyes closed like he was straining to hear the lyrics over the heavy guitars.

"you ok Stevie?"

"huh? Yeah yeah, this is just... relatable. I kinda didn't expect it, you know? ... Do you think they'll be able to help?"

There was only one way to find out, they were here. The Byers residence blinked dimly. Eddie thought the cheer was ominous given the circumstances.

Eleven appeared between the seats, brow furrowed.

"we need to hurry, it's coming"

WELL THAT WASN'T TERRIFYING AT ALL-

[howlingday]

everyone has jaune as a paladin or a fighter, lets see jaune as a barb everyone is terrified of this tall tattooed wild man and they think he's kidnapped ruby... they were just talking about their hobbies why's everyone so mean to ruby's new friend? of course also give us an obligatory jaune rage moment

"There he is."

Weiss and Yang peered from their hiding place to match their view with Blake. Ahead, their abducted leader sat across the fire, trapped by the hulking beast with his eyes on her. She looked like she was about to cry. Yang-

"Wait." Blake held her hand against Yang's chest. "We can't just rush in. Ruby could get hurt."

"Not if I hurt him first." Yang growled.

"Yang, he was able to take Ruby on his own." Blake reasoned. "And with Ruby already taken hostage, we can't risk any harm coming to her."

"Or any further harm." Weiss added.

Yang was angry, but she couldn't just rush in and vent them out on the guy right in front of her. She hated it, but she didn't have a choice. So she sat and waited, watching as her sister wept in front of her.

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

"That's so sad." Ruby sniffled. "And you couldn't do anything to stop her?"

"Pyrrha was always the better fighter." Jaune sighed. "Even if I wanted to, she would've found a way to stop me from taking her place." He traced his fingers down his arm, his digits kissing the spear and shield tattoos decorating his fallen friend and lover. They seemed to glow at his tough.

"Are they... magical?" Ruby asked.

"In a way." He gently smiled. "It helps me connect with her spirit." He chuckled. "Even now, she's ready to protect me."

"Can... Can I touch them?" He nodded, and she carefully approached him. He may have seemed gentle and kind now, but his earlier abduction of her made their friendship a little tenuous. He held out his arm, and she drew close, tracing her delicate fingers as he did. There was a magic in these arms, and the catalyst for their power were these tattoos. "Why did you abduct me?"

"Because I know you were there." Jaune answered. "And I didn't want a friend of Pyrrha to meet the same fate as she did."

"What do you- Whoa!" Ruby fell backwards, slipping in the mud. Jaune caught her arm, and she winced. "Ow!"

"Oh, sorry," Jaune said as he reached a hand out to steady her, "are you oka-"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY SISTER!" Ruby fell on her back as a familiar voice signaled an explosion in front of her. Yang threw a bomb at Jaune's face, likely hoping it would ony slightly injure her and fatally wound Jaune for some protective reason.

"Yang, don't-!"

The blonde bombshell rushed into the taller blond, swinging a hard fist into his face for good measure. Enraged, her eyes glowed red as she continued to strike her foe, unarmed save for the gauntlets covering her fists. There was a thundering crack, signaling that bone was broken.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Blake asked as she kneeled next to her leader.

"I'm fine," Ruby stood up, "but you guys need to stop attacking! Jaune's not our enemy!"

"Who's Jaune?" Weiss asked.

A scream pierced the air, drawing attention back to the mentioned barbarian. Holding Yang in place by a broken arm, what rage she felt died as she was made helpless by him. She couldn't pull away, the pain unbearable at every attenmpt to free herself.

"Yang!" Blake ran in, swing her ribboned blade in a wide circle before launching it at the assailant. As the blade neared, it harmlessly bounced off with a deafening gong. Where it struck, the barbarian's shield tattoo gave an ethereal glow. "How did..?"

"Blake, get back!" Weiss ran past, closing the distance between her teammate and their opponent.

She thrust forward, narrowly missing as Yang was released. Rather than retreat, however, the mountain of a man instead took hold of his longblade, readying it to engage Weiss' rapier. Again, his tattoos glowed.

"STOP!" Weiss and the barbarian lowered their weapons and took notice of Ruby. "Just... let me explain!"

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

"Geez! You could've told me that you were just looking out for her!"

"I couldn't," Jaune said as he healed Yang's arm with his aura, "you broke my jaw."

"Yeah, well, don't be so scary next time. Or kidnap people's little sisters. How would you feel?"

"I would probably do the same thing." Jaune nodded, wrapping a bandage over her arm. "Of course, I wouldn't punch them in the face."

"Guess I'm more of a risk-taker than you." Yang stuck her tongue out.

"Not to interrupt your stupidity, but why exactly did you... carry Ruby away?"

"I needed to get her alone." Jaune said, raising many eyebrows. "Uh, to get her away from anyone who might be listening to you guys. That's why I grabbed her and not her stuff."

"What did you want to tell us?" Blake asked.

Jaune opened his mouth to argue, but there was no point now. They really were a team. He held back tears as memories of JNPR came to mind. Swallowing his pride, he spoke his truth.

"Do not trust Ozpin."

[violetasteracademic]

Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow: Chapter Ten (Ao3 Azriel x Elain Fanfic)

I hope it is a lovely day wherever you are in the world! Chapter 10 of Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow has just dropped, and as the namesake chapter it is SO friggin special to me! I will be sharing some amazing treats by @rae2velaris tomorrow that have been secretly at work for this chapter, and there will be much more to come after that! She has been doing some seriously incredible work and there have been tears. On my end.

If you are not caught up, you can find a master list of each chapter here. Link to the new chapter will be at the bottom of this post, as well as updated on the master list!

And now for our sneak peak!

Preview:

Elain

Elain could still hardly believe how the bodysuit looked and felt. Like it was perfectly crafted for her body and hers alone. Nuala and Cerridwen had helped her braid back her hair to keep it out of the way while she and Azriel did… well, whatever it was they were going to do. She really had no idea what it meant to explore the nature of power sharing. Nor did she know where she was going.

She turned and looked over her shoulder in the mirror one last time, taking in the upward curve of the faintly glowing feather barbs extending outward from her spine. Impenetrable Ascalaphus feathers. It was breathtakingly beautiful. And strong. She had run the sleeves directly over a lit candle. Nothing. The flame didn’t so much as leave a yellow stain behind.

It meant so much to her that Azriel had not thought less of her for the way she chose to approach fighting. He made her feel like… like her magic was enough. Her sight and the way she could wield the earth in her hands was enough. She did not need to be a High Lady or Valkyrie to be powerful. She and Azriel, with their new shared abilities, would be able to speak to each other in any confrontation. To give and take from each other, and work as a team. For one of the most feared warriors and spies in Prythian, she knew he would not make that decision lightly.

When she was ready, Nuala and Cerridwen shadow-walked her to the outskirts of Velaris. Azriel kept hidden beneath the loosely swaying tendrils of a willow tree. He was absolutely devastating in his leathers, the dark counterpart to her gold-trimmed light.

“We’ll be on alert all night if you need anything,” Cerridwen said quietly.

Azriel nodded his thanks before they disappeared and extended his arms to Elain. She stepped in close to him and gasped as he swept her up, cradling her to his chest as he so often did. “You ready?” He whispered into her ear.

She couldn’t help tilting her chin up to press her lips softly to his, sighing a bit before she replied, “Yes.”

His eyes danced, that beautiful grin reserved only for her gracing his full lips before they leapt into the skies.

She had flown with Azriel before, but it had been such a long time. And now that she had become so intimate with him, so addicted to his scent, it was as if the sky itself smelled like him. The night air and mist in the clouds, the cedar trees peppering the mountainside as they soared. It left her completely breathless.

Azriel had truly never looked so beautiful as he did when cloaked in moonlight. She reached up to cup his cheek, and she knew his shiver was from more than the cold as he leaned into her touch.

She nuzzled up against him and enjoyed the view as they flew. She had no idea where they were going. It saddened her to admit it, but she simply hadn’t seen as much of Prythian as her sisters had. She didn’t notice any change in courts as Azriel smoothly carried them on the wind. They only went over the mountains, an endless forest on the other side of them.

A small clearing revealed itself, a low valley amongst the trees. Night blooming jasmine clustered in lovely, wild patches. They almost seemed to glow under the light of the moon.

Elain was circling slowly, taking in every inch of the valley, when Azriel grabbed her by the waist and pressed her back into a nearby tree. Her mind quickly scrambled as Azriel slid his tongue along her bottom lip. She opened for him, and he gripped his hands around the backs of her thighs to hoist her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around him as their kiss became desperate and frantic, her hands running up his firm chest and through his hair. His tongue stroking her exactly how she liked it.

He pulled away, taking a few sharp breaths before lowering her back to the ground. “Sorry,” he panted. “I needed to do that just once before we got started. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to focus.”

“Mmm,” she murmured, her lips still ghosting his. “Very wise, shadowsinger.”

He stole one more deep, thorough kiss before releasing his grip on her.

“I thought the frenzy was something that only occurred with the mating bond? Since it’s for… well… mating.” Elain mused. She hadn’t expected it to happen to them. And now they could barely stand to be near each other for more than five seconds without being overwhelmed with the need to tear at each other’s clothes and press their bodies together.

“Orissa’s notes didn’t say anything about it. I mean, she might have left that part out but… I think— I think it might not be the carranam bond. I think it’s just us,” Azriel replied, his simmering gaze not fully cooled.

She had to shake her head to clear the fog of lust. It had been less than twenty-four hours and they had already had numerous, exceptionally thorough lovemaking sessions. But there were important matters at hand.

They needed to master what their unique bond could do. Prove to everyone that it was real, and hopefully somehow set a precedent for the rarity of what they had. Like her own powers, like the feathers of the Ascalaphus owl. Something forgotten, thought extinct, only to suddenly emerge. Something so deep and intrinsic, so interconnected between them that perhaps it would even trump a mating bond. She smiled at the thought.

“Shall we?” She grinned, and he did not let go of her hand as they walked to the center of the valley.

[rebelspykatie]

that green light, i want it

Part 4

“We don’t have time for this,” Steve sighs, wiping the sweat from his brow and shoving more clothing into his bag. “Nancy is my ex. Barb was her best friend. We were the last people to see her alive before she disappeared into the woods. Cops thought it was me for a while, but there’s obviously no evidence. They let the case go cold. Couldn’t find a body.” 

He gets down on the floor to pull some things out and pack them away. 

“Nancy wouldn’t let it go. She retraced Barb’s steps and ended up in the woods alone. The coven found her and taught her magic.”

“Just like that?”

“No, it wasn’t that simple. I think they wanted to harness her power. It was raw and wild because she was so angry. Nance thought it was for her benefit, but now I think they were covering up their own tracks. Maybe they even purposefully led her away from the truth, but the power was killing her. It feeds on emotions and she was grieving, so when I found her, she was barely alive.”

He gets off the floor and keeps fluttering around the room, not even looking at Eddie as he continues. 

“I made her take me to them. I promised to protect her and took her place. We kept searching for answers. The power came more naturally to me than it did Nancy. Guilt is a better conduit than grief.”

“Why do you think you’re guilty? I mean, besides digging up dead bodies, but it sounds like that was for a good reason.” 

Steve feels a weird flutter in his stomach at that, that someone would believe he wasn’t an awful person. Eddie has no reason to trust him, especially after Steve attacked him, but here he is, offering up words that mean more than he could possibly realize. 

“I was the last person to see her alive. Both of us were. If we hadn’t…well if we hadn’t made a dumb decision to go sleep together, Barb might still be alive.” 

“You didn’t push her into the woods, right?” 

Steve freezes, holding a shirt in one hand and looking up at Eddie, “No, of course not.” 

“Then it’s not your fault,” and he says it so simply, like it’s a fact. “You were a kid when that happened, if I remember what Wayne said,” Steve nods, “She made a bad choice. The only person at fault is the person that killed her.” 

Silence follows that, the only sound in the room is their breathing and the soft scratchy friction as he picks up another pair of socks and crams them into his bag. 

“We lied to them about what we were doing,” he finally adds, picking up the old book and holding it up. “I took this. It’s an account from a necromancer. I didn’t realize how helpful it would be.” 

“You’re telling me these hags in the woods have a library?” Eddie takes the book and flips through it. 

Steve snorts, “It’s not that impressive. Just a bunch of old shit that nobody really pays attention to, books and journals from their ancestors.” 

“Is magic genetic?” Eddie looks up at him, curiosity radiating off of him.

“Not exactly.” He’s being entirely unhelpful to Eddie’s plight, if the deadpan look he shoots him is anything to go by, but they really don’t have time for this. “Look, do you remember the caretaker that was there before you?” 

“Old man Herman? Of course I remember him. He’s the only reason I have this job in the first place. His son used to work with Wayne, so he did me a solid and gave me this job.”

“What if I said he didn’t die of a heart attack?” Steve waits, confusion washing over Eddie’s face. “The coven poisoned him. Made it look like a heart attack.”

It takes a minute. Steve can practically see the gears turning in Eddie’s head, how he looks like he’s about to vibrate out of his skin as he paces around the room. There’s something about Eddie that feels too big to contain in any room, like his energy is going to ricochet off the walls and knock Steve over. 

“He saw something,” Eddie mutters, more of a statement than a question. 

“When Nancy started all of this, she was just looking for clues. The coven promised they could help her, taught her tracing spells and they must’ve known it wouldn’t lead anywhere, it kept pointing us back to the woods. We tried everything, looking for witnesses, combing through every inch out there. Nance even tried a time travel spell, but it didn’t work.”

“Time tra-” Eddie’s eyes look like they’re about to pop out of his head.

Steve ignores him, presses on. “Nancy heard one of the others talking about necromancy. It was like an old wives tale they passed around, a warning to new witches about the dangers of using dark magic.” He shakes his head, laughing a completely unamused laugh. “It gave her an idea. Before, we were operating as if she was still alive, but what if she was dead? What if we could find Barb’s body and communicate with her?” 

He sits on the edge of the bed, scrubbing a hand down his face. “We had to practice. Well, I had to practice. I wouldn’t let Nance go anywhere near that kind of magic, she was already burnt out. So I worked my way through the graveyard. It took months to get right. Working only when the coven wouldn’t catch wind of our plans.”

Eddie sits down on the bed beside him, closer than Steve was expecting, thighs touching and his hand settling on Steve’s knee. It’s comforting, even if Steve hadn’t realized how unsettled he’d become. 

“Tonight was just supposed to be a practice run for if we ever figured out where Barb was. The first time I really got to speak to the body. It was Herman. I remembered that he used to work there from when my grandpa died, so I asked if he’d seen anything. Thought it was a long shot, but-well, then he started talking.”

“And now you know who killed her?” Eddie tilts his head to catch Steve’s eye, but he lets his gaze fall to the floor in front of them. Eddie doesn’t really need an answer, but he nods anyway. 

He wishes he didn’t know. He wishes he had never followed Nancy into the woods, or up the stairs to his bedroom that night. He wishes he could close his eyes and make everything melt away into oblivion and bring Barb back. His whole life just feels like a series of bad decisions. 

Maybe then he wouldn’t feel this gnawing ache in his gut every day. The guilt wouldn’t be clawing at his throat. Nancy would be happy and whole again. He wouldn’t have to live with letting everyone in his life down.  But that’s not reality. He has to do something. They’re sitting ducks here.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Epilogue | AO3

[thestobingirlie]

This may just be me so let me know if this is a wild take, but some people act like the issues that Nancy had in her past relationships wouldn't bleed over into R0nance. All of the things that hurt Nancy's relationships with Steve and Jonathan (guilt, trauma, maybe some resentment, miscommunication, and Nancy's own actions/words) would carry over because nothing ever got addressed. I don't think things would magically change because she's in a relationship with Robin.

i’ve seen so many posts that start off with “nancy has major relationship issues, she clings to romance because she still hasn’t gotten over barb dying. one thing that needs to happen to help her heal is to make a close female friend! bond with someone in a platonic way that isn’t just nancy trying to avoid her trauma.” and then the posts ends with “and that’s why r//nance should get together!!”

really? you didn’t read your own post lmao?

but yeah, nancy’s issues aren’t just gonna be healed because she’s in a relationship with a woman. even if you believe some of her issues come from being a comp-het lesbian, she still has other issues!!!

i actually kind of especially think her relationship with robin would implode in a way her relationships with steve and jonathan didn’t, purely because both robin and nancy would be in a closeted relationship with a woman for the first time. that’s not a relationship where you can have major communication issues.

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @sergeantnarwhalwrites!

OC in Three

Rules: Pick three images that fit the vibe of your oc. Any image will do.

I've done about all of my main characters for this game, so in light of that, here's my hot mess of a dnd character, Tiany Treewalker!

Here are some facts about her!

She shares her brain space with an alternate universe version of herself named Rhonda and a vampire named Kas (yes, that Kas from the sword)

She's a level 8 wild magic barb/level 4 battle master fighter and an earth genasi

She runs a rat cartel

She might be a past version of the Lady of Pain (yes, that Lady of Pain, Planescape is a blast)

Her mom is a time cop named Donna

She's lost two limbs over the course of the campaign and now has a Leg of Flying (like a broom of flying, but she has to balance on one foot)

She plays the saxophone and her proficiency in calligraphy comes up waaay too often

She was in a roller derby once

I love my friday game with all my heart, nothing normal has happened there once ever

I'll tag @elsie-writes @midi4ri0love @kaylinalexanderbooks @verba-writing and anyone else who'd like in!

[phasebun]

| Dione | Galactic Warrior Wild Magic Barb |

She was in complete awe with the flip Lae did, starstruck even-

Alien, warrior women was on my mind and I had to get the itch out...

I couldn't focus on my tasks...

[camelliagwerm]

Savour Its Sweet, Bloody Taste • Chapter V

RATING: M PAIRING: Knight-Commander x Camellia ; Valerius x Camellia TAGS/CONTENT WARNINGS: moderate references to violence, post-game fic, a wild Elyanka appears SUMMARY: with the final preparations being put it in place, long-standing tensions and fears come back to the fore. 3086 wordsAUTHOR'S NOTE: a combo of lack of inspiration and full-time work has been an absolute killer on the motivation to write but I'm glad I've finally managed to get a chapter out (let's not talk about how it's been 7 months)

With the plan set in motion, Valerius has found his time being divided between his regular duties and visits to the sweltering laboratories set up in the depths of the old ziggurat; Elyanka’s people have taken to the work with zeal and curiosity, but they are still Elyanka’s people – and so he placed a trusted friend and a loyal subject as the overseers of the project.

By now, he has seen enough of the process: it required his participation in order for it to work. And that process is bloody, brutal and yet brilliant – a marriage of science and magic, crafting and shaping a copy of him out of little more than a few locks of hair, droplets of blood and seed, and a small flaying of the flesh. The flaying, done by the Shackleborn tiefling Nela – who came to the city in search of a patron –  still aches. It had been agonising as she’d expertly taken just two small cuts of skin from him, droplets of blood pooling at his eyes as he’d bitten down on a block of wood to stop his screams; the wood had snapped far too quickly and he had to spit splinters from his mouth.

“The pain will be a lasting memory, a taste of His Enlightenment, your Grace,” she had told him, her barbed tail curling her flayer’s knife, the smell of blood clogging the air of the laboratory.  The knife’s burning sting could not even be soothed by the cold touch of his necromantic healing – a lasting reminder of what he has to do in order to no longer have Mendev snapping at his heels.

READ ON AO3

[misc-obeyme]

hihi I'm back again, and here to ask who in the cast you think has the skill to do hair/up do's?

I'm 5'9, but my hair is now down to my mid thigh, and like around three feet long ?? I haven't chopped it since 2018, only trimmed it. Yet I only know how to do a simple braid, my hair basically lives in a low ponytail lol (though my mom will still do my hair if I ask her for help, which I'm grateful for)

anyway I got to read vol 2 of the manga and I remembered that the artist drew their interpretation of Lilith. So, it made me wonder if Beel or Belphie would know how to do hair, since they were the closest to her, and if she ever asked them for help?

I think Levi would be able to follow any tutorial, or figure out how to do something by trial and error since he cosplays (I bet he made his ruri-chan wig himself). I'd love to show him a picture of the heroine from whatever anime I'm watching and ask if he could help me recreate their style

Asmo we've seen in the dame cards, he's done some cute hairstyles!! I bet I could go to him if I had a fancy event.

I still think about Mammon's dame card... The chokehold it has on me is wild. We saw him do his own make-up in the art, and I think it was said he made his own outfit. So he's a maybe I could go to him? Or he'd put a lot of effort into learning because he knows it'd make me happy lolol

Barbatos also looks really pretty in the dame card !! I haven't read that devilgram, so idk if he did it himself, but what can't he do? I know in TTWF devilgram he literally makes MC's outfit and it made me SWOON

my last thought is if you can just do stuff with magic instead. Does it drain your energy to keep the style, or is it a one and done kinda spell, and don't gotta worry about it? Could a really powerful sorcerer change their hair color, and never have to worry about it fading? That'd be really cool, since I need to re dye the streaks in my hair. That would save lots of money LOL

okay I'm done 😅 time to wait ten billion years for my hair to dry now and try drawing (aiming for every other day to create something new to get better!!)

- ✨ anon

HOW do you handle having hair that long?!?

I'm 5'7" and I used to have my hair down to my low back. It was during the pandemic when I couldn't exactly go get it cut, so I just let it grow lol. And it grows dang fast, but I don't think I've ever had it past the low back area??? Do you accidentally sit on it sometimes? Or is it usually okay because you have it tied back?

All I know is I was so relieved to chop it all off lol! It's super short now, which is how I like it. It takes me ten minutes to wash and style it. I just don't have the patience to maintain it when it's long. And it's naturally curly, so having it short also means I can just let it curl and not worry about it. Ah but I am pretty envious because I always wanted to be able to have one of those really long, thick braids...

Anyway, getting off topic here, back to the question! I do think magic can be used to alter hair! I think sometimes you can get stuff that's temporary (I do believe there was a daily chat about this where Asmo put some kind of potion or something on Lucifer and Mammon?), but I would be surprised if there wasn't some kind of magic spell to permanently keep your hair whatever color you want. I think it's probably just a one and done situation so you wouldn't have to maintain it. Or at least, they'd want to develop something like that because otherwise it wouldn't be worth it right?

As for the characters, I agree with your assessments! I do think in a general sense, they'd all try their best to do your hair if you needed them to.

But as for who would already be capable without having to learn first, I think Asmo is a top contender. Barb can absolutely do anything and I don't doubt that styling hair is something a good butler should know.

I think Levi is another good option for the same reasons you said! I think he probably does have some skill at wig styling! And due to his ability to do costuming in general, I kinda think he'd be able to do a good job on real hair as well if he wanted to.

I love the idea of Beel and Belphie being good at it because of Lilith. Like I'm imagining they only know some really basic styles that were her favorites, but they're happy to do them for you any time. Maybe they get a little misty eyed while doing it because it reminds them of her so much. Awww...

I actually think Lucifer would do a good job, too, but expect to be sitting around for hours because he's gonna make sure no hair is out of place. Only perfection will suffice.

I think Mammon probably mastered whatever style he needed for his dame outfit, but I do think he would learn for you if you wanted him to.

Satan probably already learned from a book or maybe just from watching Asmo doing his hair. But I could see him wanting to do really elaborate styles or maybe using magic to style your hair.

I think Solomon would also be someone you could try, but he would absolutely use magic. I think if you really wanted him to, he would know how to do simple styles by hand. I could see him being really happy to carefully braid your hair by hand. But he wouldn't be able to resist a little bit of magic, maybe to give it an extra sparkle or a streak of color~ I think he'd develop all kinds of hair styling magic if you wanted him to lol.

Diavolo strikes me as willing but perhaps not the best at this particular thing... he doesn't exactly have experience with his own hair.

And I'm not sure about Simeon. I feel like he's pretty competent (except for technology obviously), so he would probably be able to learn how to do it fairly easily. But I don't know if he'd already have some knowledge. Same with Raphael. Though I love the idea of both of them like... doing the hair of little angels~

Mephisto would know about a bunch of fancy Devildom styles, but would he be able to do them? I think you might end up with your hair braided like a horse's mane instead.

Thirteen would know how to do everything. She's got her own long hair and there's no way that she hasn't experimented with it over the years! I love the idea of her doing your hair and her own hair in the same style so you match.

Anyway, I hope you have been able to get some drawing done! Every other day is an excellent goal! I'm rooting for you!!

[lavenderstobins]

who's who in the dragon age au?????

Bear with, this might get long, so I’ll try and break it down by game.

Dragon Age: Origins

Chrissy is the Warden / the Hero of Ferelden, recruited by senior Grey Warden Ser Robert Buckley. I haven’t yet decided her class. Jason had been one of the recruits too but he either didn’t survive the Joining or was killed when trying to back out of it.

Jeff is the other Grey Warden, essentially filling Alistair’s role. Haven’t yet decided whether to incorporate more of Alistair’s plot for him yet! He’s a warrior.

Eddie and Wayne live in the Wilds. Eddie fills Morrigan’s role initially, with Wayne able to save Chrissy and Jeff at Ostagar—not as Flemeth, but as a passerby. Eddie’s a mage!

Nancy fills Leliana’s role. She’s a former chantry sister and a bard. She and Mike are fleeing from Lothering when they meet the trio. Nancy’s a rogue, Mike is a warrior.

Freak joins them at Redcliffe, where Jeff was raised. I’m thinking Freak is a warrior.

Gareth is a Crow (assassin) sent by Brenner to take out Chrissy. Nancy takes him out with ease and he offers to join them on their journey. He’s a rogue.

Barb also lived in Lothering, but she died in the darkspawn attack. She’d been a chantry sister same as Nancy.

Chrissy makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to end the Blight, leaving Jeff as the only Ferelden Grey Warden. He’s the one who goes to find the cure. The group separate after Chrissy’s death, which brings us to:

Dragon Age 2

Steve and Robin are both simultaneously Varric and Hawke. Steve finds his passion in storytelling and writes about their adventures and Robin ends up with the title Champion of Kirkwall. Steve’s the one with the family estate, Robin’s the one with the blood connection to seal away Henry Creel.

Vickie fills the role of the surviving twin, having escaped Lothering with Robin back when the Blight broke out. She contracts the Taint during the Deep Roads expedition and is saved by Jeff and recruited to be a Grey Warden.

Tommy and Carol fill Bartrand’s role, being behind the Deep Roads expedition. Tommy finds the lyrium idol and it eventually drives him mad, which prompts Carol to seek Steve and Robin out years later (after she and Tommy had abandoned them in the Deep Roads prior).

The Byers run the Darktown clinic. Will’s the apostate healer, with Jonathan and Joyce running the clinic with him and keeping him secret.

Max stole a Qunari relic and is trapped in Kirkwall, just like Isabela.

Lucas and Erica are two rogues who live in Kirkwall, friends with the Byers. Dustin’s also friends with them and has far too much of an interest in runes and magic despite not being a mage.

El’s a former circle mage, now apostate, who escaped the circle with the help of a Templar named Benny. Lucas, Erica, Dustin and El imprint on Steve and Robin like ducklings; I think they’d be getting into trouble in the city and Steve & Robin would intervene once and they’d immediately latch on.

Billy would be Meredith I think, I haven’t thought too much about it. I also don’t have anyone specifically behind the chantry incident at the end of the game yet.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Nancy’s a nightingale now, still filling Leliana’s role.

Eddie’s the Inquisitor rather than Morrigan, having been at the wrong place at the wrong time. He has the rift anchor in his hand.

Steve, Dustin, Lucas, Erica, Max, El, Jonathan and Joyce come to Skyhold once Skyhold is established. Steve claims to have no clue of Robin’s whereabouts, intending to keep her safe.

Hopper I think would have Cullen’s role, being a templar and an advisor. The other advisors are Mr Clarke, Nancy and Murray.

Briefly mentioned prior, I’ve got Henry Creel/Vecna as Corypheus. Robin’s father (Ser Robert Buckley) sealed him away years ago and Steve & Robin accidentally unleashed him while ironically trying to prevent his release.

Argyle is the potions master. I think Jonathan would become the stable master.

Vickie reappears as the Grey Warden contact for Here Lies the Abyss.

They don’t all fit the characters 1:1, more their roles in the plot, and as you can tell there’s a lot of overall changes! It’s SO fun though I’m having a blast

[ohlookanothercartoontofallinto]

The Lu boys using some of my favorite lines from rottmnt 

(Twilight, Legend, Warrior, and Wind in a Dungeon) 

Twilight: Wait where’s Wind. 

Wind no brain face staring into a long hall: ECHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Wind turning around smiling as keese grab him and begin to carry him away: I REGRAT NOTHING! 

Warrior: Is he going to be okay? 

Twilight: He’ll be fine. 

-

Legend: You know I wish you guys would take a greater interest in my talents, we’re brothers but sometimes it feels like we’re just travel mates. 

Sky: Legend if you don’t cut it out with you middle child nonsenses I’m going to shove your head into the spirit realm. 

-

(The chain before a snowball fight) 

Wind: No weapons, no items of any kind, we aren’t savages. 

Four stroking a skull shaped snowball: Speak for yourself. 

-

(Time interrogating the boys mainly wind because one of his mask feels off, because the boys replaced it)

Wild: Psst, don’t you rat us out to the rat. 

Wind nervous sweating: Dad, the truth is um. 

Wild coming up behind wind with his cooking pot: Snitches get stitches. 

(Later) 

Wind: We have to go back for our brother’s or are you going to replace them to. 

Wild all ready carving mask of them: Oh 

Wind: WHEN WILL THE LIES END!

-

Warrior: But it’s only a sailcloth

Sky: It’s only a sailcloth I’m so sorry, Hyrule what did he say did he say it’s only a sailcloth? 

Hyrule: Yep 

Sky: Did he say it’s only a sailcloth? 

Hyrule: Yes he did. 

Sky: OOOkay!

-

Mask talking with the toons: No, wait I got a fix, but it ain’t going to be pretty. 

Mask, Wind, Spirit, SP Zelda on their knees Tetra’s standing: Warrior you gotta let us fight in this war. 

Wind: Will do anything! 

- 

Warrior: I can’t do it, I got no magical powers or items I’m useless. 

Time: Hey that’s not true brother you just gotta believe in yourself and know this. If I die in this maze I will haunt you for the rest of your life. 

-

Hyrule Four & Wind: Dibs on killing them. 

Twilight: What no, we only call dibs on food, treasure chest, and Legend’s stuff. 

Legend: Hey. 

-

Wild: No way! And original Gerudo male royal dress and a- 

Hyrule: CRAZY HEADRESS! (Hyrule taking it and getting mud all over the fabric) How do I look wild!

Wild: Like a man who doesn’t know what’s coming his way. 

Hyrule: Wait what? 

- 

(Wild, Hyrule, Legend, Four, and Wind trapped in a net) 

Four: Guyssssss 

Wild: Anybody there? 

Hyrule: Can somebody untie us? 

Legend: I’m afraid of togetherness.  

-

Wind: I hope she like’s me. 

Spirit: She will, of course she’s goanna to like you. You’re adorable. 

-

Warrior: That’s it! Legend’s wrong! 

Legend comforting Wind: The world is ending yet the barbs continue. 

-

Twilight: My face takes damage like a boss! Four hit me! 

Wind behind twilight Skull hammer raised: OH PLEASE LET ME! 

Time and Warrior tackling him: NO