#so her idea of locke and his influence on others was already established so she would not “retcon” it too much

[writing-wh0re]

Don’t Blame Me - 1

Don’t Blame Me - Mini Series

All Stories will be tagged #writing-wh0re-requests. 

Eddie Munson x Cheerleader!Reader - *established relationship* 

Warnings for series and chapter: Smut 18+, Oral (Male and Female), Unprotected Vaginal Sex, Slight Dom Eddie / Sub Reader, Drinking, Drugs, Angst (?), Language. 

A/N: Please feel free to send any requests to incorporate with this series, I have a flow and ideas going for it but if you’d like to suggest anything, please do!

Masterlist

Love Made Me Crazy - 2

If It Doesn’t You Ain’t Doin It Right - 3 - Final

//

Hanging out with Eddie Munson was something that closed minded people would call social suicide. No one knew Eddie like I did. 

Eddie and I had known each other since elementary before the popular kids separated from everyone else and forced people into their own little groups. 

I however was lucky enough to float between the groups, having top grades meant I was able to fit in with the "nerds" as Jason would call them and being a cheerleader meant I sat with Chrissy and the basketball boys. Although there was a side of me not many people saw or would understand. The part of me that was fascinated by the world of DnD and the Hellfire club. It was mainly my fascination with Eddie Munson. That, that was something people wouldn't be able to wrap their heads around and it's only something I had figured out recently.

Eddie and I bonded over DnD in elementary and it had been a few years since I even thought about the game. Until one day when Eddie was wearing his Hellfire T-shirt, who knew a shirt could look so good on someone. 

Eddie and I had been fooling around for a few months now, nothing serious and mostly under the influence of weed. I guess clouded minds paired well with wandering hands. Although Eddie and I had never gone the whole way together, worried having each other to the full extent would complicate our already complicated friendship. 

//

I walk the halls with Chrissy Cunningham listening to her laugh about a joke Jason told her. 

“I didn’t land it, did I?” 

“Sorry?” I ask as Chrissy huffs. 

“You keep spacing out.” 

“Ah, just nervous about the upcoming game, do you think they will give Lucas game time?” I ask, trying to divert away from my absent mind. 

“I hope so! Sinclair has so much potential, maybe I should say something to Jason.” 

I smile at Chrissy encouragingly as she continues to talk about Jason and how kind he is, which causes me to roll my eyes. 

“You’ll have to meet Steve!” I hear Dustin say across the hall as I stand by Chrissy’s locker with her, my eyes flick over to the group dubbed the ‘Hellfire Club.’ 

“Isn’t Harrington a douchebag?” Eddie laughs, causing Dustin to sigh almost defeated. His eyes flick over to me, quickly wandering up my body as I feel blush rushing up my face. Eddie sends a swift wink my way causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. 

Chrissy shuts her locker, my body jumping at the sudden sound as I lock eyes with her. I smile weakly as she shakes her head. 

“Clearly you're not listening, you honestly shouldn’t be nervous.”

“Easier said than done.” I laugh. I feel a warmth behind me before an arm is hung over my shoulders noticing Patrick pulling me into his side. 

“And how are Hawkins finest?” Jason asks, quickly kissing Chrissy as she giggles. 

Patrick smiles at me fake gagging at the couple in front of us. I laugh with him before looking back over in Eddie’s direction noticing he’s gone. I mentally slap myself ‘It’s just Eddie’ I tell myself repeatedly, not being able to convince myself that the butterflies and stares mean nothing. 

//

“C’mon there is only 2 minutes left before half time.” Chrissy tries to encourage us to cheer the team to get them over the line. 

I nod in support as Chrissy smiles and grabs my hand. 

“Let’s go Tigers! Let’s go!” Chrissy starts as I follow her lead encouraging the grand stands to join us. 

My eyes scan the crowd before I catch myself, shaking my head slightly. 

``It's a basketball game y/n, he wouldn’t be here.’ 

The whistle blows signaling the end of the first half. 

I turn around and look at the scoreboard. 

Home 46

Away 48

“Awh man.” Chrissy huffs, causing me to smile. 

“We bought them up by two points.” I try to encourage as she smiles weakly. Chrissy perks up when Jason walks over, handing him a bottle of water and a kiss to the cheek. I see a familiar figure disappear into the crowd as my heart races. 

“Just going to the bathroom.” I smile, walking away from the crowd and walking through the halls to the locker room. 

A sigh escapes me, the silence of the locker room soothing me. 

“I know you’re in here.” 

“M’lady.” Eddie smirks, tipping his head in my direction. I smile in response, raising my eyebrow and setting my hands on my hips. 

“Thought co-curricular activities weren’t a part of Eddie Munson’s vibe?”

Eddie scoffs softly, rolling his eyes “You’re forgetting that half my customers are in attendance.” 

I click my tongue in realization. 

‘Customers, right.’

“Don’t be sad.”

“I'm not.” I mumble as Eddie walks closer to me, my back hitting the lockers behind me. 

“I saw you and Patrick getting cozy in the hallway, something I'm missing?” 

“I’m not sure yet, maybe he will make a move at the party tonight.” 

Eddie’s jaw clenches, his eyes flicking to my lips. 

My breath hitches in my throat as his fingers trail up my exposed thigh. 

His warm breath fans my neck, lips brushing against my ear. 

“I know you love it when the crowd cheers with you, catching everyone’s attention.” 

His fingers grip my thigh, slapping the skin before he whispers again. 

“You’re a good little cock whore, aren’t you?”

A rush of arousal pools between my thighs, my breathing labored. 

Eddie leans forward his lips inches from mine, our breath mixing together. 

“Y/n! Y/n!”

I quickly pull away from Eddie, hearing him groan and kick the metal locker as I run through the halls.

“C’mon, we have 30 seconds until the second half.” Chrissy says, grabbing my forearm and pulling me behind her. I quickly look over my shoulder, Eddie leaning against the door of the locker room, eyes locked on me. 

I guess wandering hands don’t always accompany clouded minds.

//

To Be Continued 

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[icequeenbae]

Daddy’s Struggles (m) | BBH

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Dad!Baek, domestic au, established relationship (duh), a slice of life, fluff, a lil smutty(!)

Warnings: some friskiness between mom and dad if you know what I mean, mentions of teenagers watching porn (I’m not promoting it, you guys lol), also this gets fluffin’ sweet get a bucket in advance

Word Count: ~2.2k

Summary: Baekhyun overhears your teenage daughter watching porn. You have to handle a small crisis.

Event: the BBH day @supermwritersnet​

© Please do not copy/ post on other platforms without permission.

Author’s Note: This… came out of nowhere:D I blame my dear beta @baekshoney​​ – we'd once discussed the idea of Baek being a teenager’s parent (in relation to a different story). Don’t we all love dilf Baek though? lol Anyways, this is a tiny glimpse into his future as a cute af father and husband <3 Let’s name him puppydad!Baek 😊 I hope this lifts your mood a little on a day like this!

On that note – happy birthday to our genius idol (aka mochi-cheeked hyperactive puppy), I wish that he stays healthy and happy and on the radar throughout the next 2 years (and forever)!! Don’t be too sad, guys, he’s hopefully going to finally lead a somewhat normal life for a bit 💞 Ok, I’ll let you get to it already~

A yawn.

You rubbed your tired eyes and dictated a reminder for tomorrow morning to your AI assistant. It was pretty late and you had your hands full all day with your kids. And while family time was always great, there hadn’t been a spare moment for you to tend to your own business. But two decades of dealing with your hyperactive yet loveable children (and husband) taught you to make the most out of what you got. So you were doing just that, organizing your errands and sorting important emails after everyone had scurried off to their rooms, and your husband — to the shower.

Baekhyun was quite exhausted himself, so you realized he must’ve gotten in the common bathroom by the time you exited the one in your bedroom. He did that sometimes when you locked the door out of habit. Not that he couldn’t come in, it was just… You used to scold him pretty badly for breaking into the bathroom. Picking locks wasn’t something you wanted your juniors to acquire as a habit. They had enough of their daddy’s traits as it was.

The thought made you chuckle. Your eldest son had already outgrown his father by at least five and a half – gotta be precise here! – centimeters (which made daddy very proud, but also a teeny tiny bit jealous). Despite his height, which, you were sure, was going to break the golden 180cm in the next few months, your boy’s build was exactly the same as Baekhyun’s. His shoulders were broad, his hips wide, and his waist was naturally narrow. Legs long and lean, and eyes always mischievous. He was eighteen and already seemed more like Baekhyun’s best friend rather than his child. Being both the hyung and the oppa of the household, he was the most mature out of the bunch, and always a big help to his parents.

Your middle child, your precious daughter, resembled you a lot. Her wavy hair and her big eyes with the longest eyelashes either of you’d ever witnessed. Seriously, that was the first thing Baekhyun’s friends had commented on when they came by to meet your new baby. ‘Is this even normal? Can she see through those? That’s one pretty baby!’ She was even prettier now, at her sweet sixteen, cheeks still a bit chubby, which – just as her button nose – were definitely an homage to her dad. Not to mention her hands that were even more delicate and exquisite than his.

The youngest, your six-year-old son, was a blessing. You weren’t planning to have more children after the first two until you suddenly thought… why not? Cannot say that you weren’t a little bit under the influence at the time. It was one of those rare weekends when your kids had a sleepover at their grandparents’, so you had the whole house to yourself. Deciding to have a domestic date and enjoy shameless daytime drinking, you indulged in a whole glass of wine before both of you were tipsy and giggling, then you added one more to the mix. At that point, all kinds of crazy things were brought up.

‘We should do this more often…’ You informed your partner. ‘This is exciting! We can walk around naked the way we used to before we had teenagers in the house!’

‘I miss our naked Saturdays…’ Baekhyun whined, almost spilling his wine while trying to sip it gracefully. ‘Now I barely even see you naked with your shower locking obsession!’

Pursing your lips, you dismissed his complaint.

‘After that incident… You cannot blame me for my caution.’

The incident was, well, your son needing to use the bathroom while his sister was taking too long and heading to the one in your bedroom. He nearly walked in on… an adult scene.

‘He didn’t even see anything, Y/N-ah,’ your husband grumbled, but you waved him off, downing your drink as if it was a shot of tequila rather than a glass of wine.

‘I don’t see a problem though,’ he blinked at you, not following. ‘We’re alone. Why not… See each other naked again?’

‘Right. We can also- Y/N-ah!’

‘What?’ You eyed his suddenly enthusiastic form with nothing but suspicion.

‘We can create a distraction!’

‘Hm?’

‘A distraction for them. So that they’d be busy with something else while we’re away.’

‘Hmm?’ You still couldn’t locate the source of his excitement.

‘Lemme show you,’ he slurred, tugging on your wrist to get you up and dragging you to the bedroom.

Let’s have another baby – that was his brilliant idea. Had you both not been such poor drinkers, one of you would’ve thought this through.

Nevertheless, you were glad that you didn’t. Because your little angel, who could sometimes be more of a tiny demon, to be frank, was the single sweetest thing to ever exist on planet Earth. He had his entire family wrapped around his little finger, and you – most of all. How could anyone blame you? That troublemaker was the spitting image of his dad and had a personality to match — just as playful and affectionate.

The chill spring breeze from the window licked at the bare skin of your arm, causing you to shiver slightly, coming back from the land of reminiscing. You stretched on the bed, noticing how protruding your nipples became from the cold even while hidden by the gentle fabric of your nightgown. Pulling the covers up, you grunted under your breath, wondering what was taking Baekhyun so long.

Just as you did, the door cracked open, and your husband sauntered into the room.

‘Ah finally, I thought I needed to go rescue you again,’ you chuckled.

That had happened before. He once used the common bathroom to shower before bed and ended up captured by your daughter, who was around six or seven at the time, in the hallway. She then demanded cuddles, knowing that her father was too weak to turn his precious girl down and send her back to bed. You found them both huddled up asleep on the couch, with your husband’s head tilted dangerously to the side. Terrible sleeping postures always had consequences, so you spared him the agony of the next morning, waking him up mercifully and helping to get your little girl to her bed. This was only one of many occasions – Baekhyun was a softie.

This time, however, he was a bit stupefied.

He didn’t react to your remark and seemed like he was going on autopilot when he came closer and sat on the bed.

You lifted the covers, inviting him to join you, and he followed your lead, still staring at the wall across the room.

‘Yeobo,’ you called, getting slightly alarmed. ‘Are you okay?’

He blinked, the stupor breaking, and looked at you with astounded eyes.

‘I- I think,’ he began, making you shift to face him properly. ‘I think I just overheard our daughter watching porn!’

His voice lowered to a whisper by the end of that sentence.

‘Oh my god,’ you whispered back. ‘How do you figure?’

‘I was walking down the hallway, and I thought I heard something from her room. I didn’t fully register what it was, but now that it processed… It was definitely porn!’

The signs of distress on his face almost caused you to break down in a fit of laughter. You held it in with all you got. Fathers and daughters, the eternal struggle.

‘First of all, ew. Aren’t you even a little bit ashamed to be eavesdropping on your kids like that?’ You didn’t let him protest. ‘Also, how do you even know it was porn, you know she sometimes mumbles and whimpers in her sleep. Like someone else we know…’

Giving him a pointed look, you leaned over his chest to turn the lights to the lowest mode, leaving the room dimly lit. It was always effective when you wanted to help him relax.

‘I wasn’t ea- And you think I can’t tell what porn sounds like? There are some generic… sounds. That give it away.’

‘When was the last time you watched it?’ You murmured, eyeing him curiously.

Of all people, you knew best how short his attention span was. Sometimes it could work to your advantage. Like right now, when you needed to de-escalate this before you could reason with him.

‘I- wh- I don’t know, probably when you were pregnant,’ he recalled. ‘The third one was somehow the toughest on me. You looked way too attractive for a heavily pregnant lady, let me tell you.’

‘Heavily pregnant??’ You scoffed, softening right after. ‘Well, you have a point, he was pretty huge. I swear, if he doesn’t grow up to be taller than Chanyeol, I’d be offended. That boy’s giant head prolonged my healing by at least a month.’

Baekhyun sighed and looked up at the ceiling, thinking back to that time.

‘He was the only one who caused you to tear, right?’

‘Yeah. Which is weird, considering that he was my third one. Ah well, I guess I’m not getting any younger…’

‘Aren’t you though? I’m constantly being asked about my pretty young wife,’ Baekhyun smiled at you charmingly. ‘And you only became prettier after the third pregnancy. I say it’s the hormones.’

Your cunning little plan was working. He was incredibly easy to distract.

‘Tell me the truth, was it the boobs? Or my butt? I did gain the most weight with the little daredevil, that’s for sure.’

‘It was all of you. You always looked so sexy when pregnant, I just wanted to have you all to myself,’ he cooed at you. ‘To feed you handpicked strawberries. And smother you with kisses. My beautiful young wife.’

At some point during this conversation, you shuffled closer to each other, now cuddled up snugly on the bed. Your finger slowly traced abstract patterns on his chest, happily exploiting the access to his skin where his pajama shirt was unbuttoned.

‘Ah, you’re just saying that to get under my nightgown,’ you batted your eyelashes at him, and he shook his head.

‘Maybe a little, but that’s true. And it’s not surprising that people are noticing – you are younger than me.’

‘A couple of years is nothing at our age,’ you murmured, bending your knee and moving your leg slightly up his to get cozy.

‘Well, you know what people say… Small kids make parents younger. Wanna have another one?’ He nudged you gently and laughed at the dirty look you gave him.

‘Yeobo- please don’t make jokes like this. I’d rather look for other elixirs of youth than go through that entire ordeal again.’

You knew that he was kidding, but the thought made you shiver.

‘I know, honey, I know. Like I said, you’re not in need of any elixirs.’

At this you relaxed, melting into his shoulder, and guiding his arm to wrap around you, warming your exposed shoulders.

‘Well, Mr Byun, same to you. Still as charming as two decades ago.’

‘Hey, I’d like to think that I’m more charming now. The experience and all.’

‘Who helped you gain all that experience though?’ You poked him lightly, and a low chesty laugh escaped his lips.

‘Of course, it was my one and only, my young, and beautiful, and smart and sexy little wife,’ he punctuated each compliment with a chaste kiss to your cheeks, nose, lips, and neck.

You squirmed in his arms.

‘Ah, you make a woman go mad,’ you purred into his lips mockingly.

He snickered softly, ready to lean in, but then stopped abruptly.

‘Wait a second- What about-’

‘Baekhyun…’ You murmured as he fussed on the bed.

‘I should probably go in there, and-’

‘And what? Embarrass your daughter?’ You held him down. ‘She’s sixteen, honey, it’s just the hormones. We’ve both been there. Let her be.’ You nuzzled his neck, pressing your lips to his sensitive skin lazily.

His mind was growing cloudy again since your hand was now caressing his inner thigh foxily. He’d probably realized what you were doing by now, but you were right, so he allowed you to sway him into giving the idea of an immediate intervention up.

‘Besides, I’m sure you wouldn’t be nearly as appalled if that was our eldest,’ you scoffed and added in an exaggerated tone. ‘Never took you for a sexist.’

‘But- he’s eighteen, and she- she’s my little girl…’ He mumbled in a small voice, hazed further by your not-so-subtle seduction. ‘I can’t let her- watch that-’

‘Don’t worry, yeobo,’ you whispered soothingly in his ear, slipping your hand into his loose pants. ‘I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Without you. No need to traumatize the poor girl, that’s how daddy issues develop.’

‘You should know,’ he bit back meekly, sighing when you finally wrapped your fingers around his semi-hard length.

‘The sass! It’s almost like you still got it, Mr Byun. Care to impress that young wife of yours?’

‘I sure will, you cunning woman,’ he growled playfully, completely giving in to it and attacking your laughing mouth as he lifted the covers over your head.

A/N: Thank you for reading! As usual, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments/ asks, and if you’re new – check out my Masterlist ^^

[bloededhoine]

world building cause twn doesn't part 9: mages

you probably know a lot about mages on account of them being fucking awesome and super sexy, so let's dive into what exactly makes them that way.

colour code cause i fucking love colour codes - already happened/introduced, probably s2, important background info, stuff that might be in the prequel, extras

series masterpost

what are mages?

put simply, mages are anyone skilled and educated in the use of magic. but, most mages are also incredibly adept in politics, science, and religion

the vast majority of mages serve on royal courts, but others are teachers, researchers, or just kinda hobos

anyone can use basic magic (ie witcher signs), but it takes both natural talent and extensive training to be an actual mage

also important to note that while druids and priests can and do use magic, they aren't usually considered mages since they're not as involved in politics and science

education

mages go to school! a lot! powerful mages tend to track down young potential students and bring them to a school to receive formal training

well, "bring them" is a bit reductive, it's more like kidnapping.

there are quite a few important schools, so let's go!

aretuza is definitely the one you are the most familiar with, mostly because it's just the best. aretuza is an all girls academy located in temeria, a northern kingdom known for its powerful mages

aretuza is led by a rectoress, an incredibly powerful sorceress responsible for training the young adepts. i think there's only been 4 ever, first klara larissa de winter (also the founder), then leticia charbonneau, then tissaia de vries (the milf right there, and rectoress as of twn), and finally margarita laux antille

ban ard is the boys version of aretuza, located in kaedwen. the magicians from ban ard are notably... unskilled? they're just kind of clowns. the rector of ban ard was gerhart of aelle, also known as hen gedymdeith, because there's nothing like a nonsensical pseudonym to up your credibility. gerhart was literally the oldest mage alive until his heart died. after him, dorregary of vole took over as rector

mages in the north are pretty much exclusively trained at either aretuza or ban ard, but nilfgaard has a magical academy too!

the imperial magic academy is a co-ed school in loc grim, one of nilfgaard's two capitals. the emperors of nilfgaard tend to hire mages directly from this school

types of mages

most mages tend to specialize in a certain area of magic, such as illusions, alchemy, divination, polymorphy, weaponry, or spycraft

this is extra useful when assembling a team. not that anyone in particular is assembling a team, it's just good to know.

the brotherhood of sorcerers

the brotherhood is the main organization of mages in the witcher. they basically set the rules of magic for all the mages in the north, which are that demonology, necromancy, and artifact compression are strictly not allowed. the punishment was exclusion from the brotherhood and being locked in dimeritium (mage kryptonite) for centuries, but practically no one followed the rules or was punished

the brotherhood exists on a hierarchy, with most mages in the north making up the lower level, the council of wizards in the middle, and the chapter of the gift and the art at the top

the council is made up of a small group of mages that hold influence over the brotherhood but still need to answer to the chapter, as of twn the members are yennefer of vengerberg, philippa eilhart, radcliffe, carduin, and fercart. sheala de tancarville was part of it too, but she left

the chapter has the highest influence of magic in the north (and possibly the continent). it was founded by herbert stammelford, aurora henson, ivo richert, agnes of glanville, geoffrey monk, and radmir of tor carnedd. by twn, all of them had died or left, so the chapter was made of tissaia de vries, enid an gleanna, gerhart of aelle, vilgefortz of roggeveen, and artaud terranova. narses de la roche was the grandmaster of the chapter in 1245, but wasn't that involved much after.

politics

after mages graduate, the brotherhood usually places them on the court of a king/queen as an advisor. they're supposed to help strategize, conduct research, and just heighten the magical abilities of a kingdom

do they do this? nope

most mages are meant to clean up their king's messes, but usually get fed up and rule the entire kingdom from behind the scenes to fit their own agendas

can mages have babies?

short answer: yeah! although magic can make it harder to have babies, lots of sorceresses would take extra care to make sure they were as unaffected as possible. the forced sterilization was tissaia de vries' idea, and since she trained the vast majority of sorceresses we meet, most of them can't have babies

and yes, it's irreversible. sorry yen

geralt's mum, visenna, was trained as a druid, so she was still able to have geralt while practicing magic

who are they?

we meet a Lot of mages, so let's get to know a couple, starting with the ladies!

let's start with the lovely lovely yennefer. she was trained at aretuza under tissaia de vries, who became a mother figure to her. yen was also the youngest member of the council, as of twn she's 90. yes, that's very young to have a position of that caliber, especially since yen wasn't even an official advisor to aedirn's king

we all know and love hate triss merigold. she's one of the youngest sorceresses we meet, at the first season of twn she's 40 (book canon, she's made older in the show). triss also studied at aretuza and is currently one of king foltest of temeria's court mages

sabrina glevissig. slutty sabrina (affectionate) was yennefer's classmate at aretuza and became advisor to king henselt of her native kaedwen.

fringilla vigo is supposedly yen and sabrina's classmate from aretuza, but she is actually quite a bit younger than both of them and went to the imperial academy in her home country nilfgaard. fringilla specializes in illusion magic and (in book canon) is really not evil. she's a little slutty and stupid, but so is sabrina and dandelion and about half the people we meet!

we see skelliger sorceress lytta neyd, aka coral, aka astrid lyttneyd ásgeirrfinnbjornsdottir, at the battle of sodden hill where she unfortunately dies. coral was also very fond of breaking the brotherhood's rule against article compression (magically turning a person into a jade figurine, a wholly unpleasant experience)

temerian sorceress keira metz is one of the youngest mages we meet, she's around the same age as triss, whom she serves on foltest's court alongside

i mentioned philippa eilhart as a member of the council, and i'll mention her again as the love of my life. philippa is old. like, over 300. she's also one of the only mages to master polymorphism, and spends a solid portion of her time as an owl. philippa is redanian king vizimir's official advisor, but she, along with trusted?? associate lover sigismund dijkstra, really rules the entire country with vizimir as a puppet

sheala de tancarville is yen and phil's colleague from the council, but she left because it got too realpolitik for her tastes. sheala's from creyden (same place as renfri), but very rarely served her country's interests in favour of researching magic and being a reclusive bookworm. i'm serious. her nickname is literally the recluse of kovir

tissaia de vries. easily one of the most powerful and respected mages on the continent, member of the chapter, current rectoress of aretuza, and general badass. like most scholars, she wasn't involved in politics and doesn't even have a known nationality.

francesca findabair, also known as enid an gleanna, is an elven sorceress and member of the chapter. by twn she's easily 150 and very well established, although a sufferer of chronic backstabber syndrome.

assire var anahid is one of fringilla's nilfgaardian besties, although neither are actually nilfgaardian. assire is our good friend cahir's great-aunt, a military expert, and mom to her cat merlin

onto the gents!

let's start with the worst, istredd! i for incel, s for stupid, t for testicle-less (once i find him), r for racist, e for ew, d for dead (again, once i find him), and d for dipshit. in twn he's in cahoots with equally disgusting sorcerer...

stregobor! *vomits* you remember him as the koviri sorcerer who loves tracking down and murdering young girls, many of which have been exiled from their homes and tortured. he's just a lovely guy.

vilgefortz of roggeveen is sort of a walking spoiler, so i won't go too much in depth about him, but we can know he was raised by druids and, when offered a magical education, refused. he then became a mercenary, then a spy, then a wanted man, and finally trained to become a mage. despite his unusual backstory and late start, vilgefortz was insanely talented and, at less than a century old, became a member of the most powerful group of mages on the continent.

i mentioned gerhart of aelle aka hen gedymdeithe, as the oldest mage alive. he's at least 500. and then some. he's also a member of the chapter, but this position is more of a courtesy than a meaningful addition to the brotherhood.

finishing up the chapter, we have artaud terranova. he's not important yet, but will probably be in season two. all you need to know is he's short and a little mean and trusted by vilgefortz

fercart of cidaris is the third (but only male and non-temerian) member of foltest's royal council, and fairly unimportant member of the council of wizards

carduin of lan exeter was advisor to koviri king esterad thyssen and member of the council. he was also one of radovid's advisors, which didn't go over too well as radovid's other advisor, philippa eilhart, doesn't share too well

last and sort of least, we have radcliffe of oxenfurt. he was advisor to demavend of aedirn, from whom he probably met yennefer.

[agentrouka-blog]

I think SweetRobin dying and then LF gaslighting Sansa in order to have his grips on her makes sense. Grrm did say that characters will be at their lowest in TWOW . After that they will emerge victorious ( delivering justice within Winterfell after meeting Jeyne and her siblings ) . Also the guilt of being involved in her cousin's death something which I could see LF gaslighting her could take a mental toll upon her . Also all the child heirs- Shireen, Rickon, SweetRobin, Tommen and Myrcella , I could see them dying. I think SweetRobin's death could pave way for Harrold succeeding him ( though he will eventually die too ) in leading the Vale forces North to help her betrothed regain her home back. Also the theme of " triumph at what cost " also encapsulates perfectly. SweetRobin's survival and just I don't know makes the narrative look quite easy for Sansa . It's going to be hard for each of our Starklings before things go normal . Arya will be deepening in guilt with whatever violence and trauma she had to endure , meeting Stoneheart . Similar will be Bran who might harbour guilt for the death of an innocent ( Hodor ) . I think Sansa's could be similar too.

Hi anon!

The thing with Sweetrobin is that he is the rightful heir in Littlefinger's grasp. The bird in the hand. Being his stepfather (and bribing a few Vale lords, and Cersei's command to see him unharmed) is the ONLY reason he is Lord Protector of the Vale. Remove Sweetrobin, and Littlefinger is out because Harry is a grown man and needs no regents. Killing Sweetrobin would be self-sabotage. He could go off packing to Harrenhal.

The reason he is spending time and money on making the betrothal to "Alayne" happen right now is the fact that Harry is still only an heir with few prospects outside of that, he is not independently rich or impressive on his own. His aunt can chastise him and pressure him into marriage right now. Not once Sweetrobin is dead. He'll be everyone's boss then.

If the betrothal happens, Harry is locked into Littlefinger's influence by oath. He cannot marry someone else and father legal heirs without tainting his honor. This is a good status quo for Littlefinger to wait and see how things develop. During this time, he still needs Sweetrobin alive. Because while dishonorable, a betrothal can still be broken, especially if one party is a lowly bastard girl and the other the next thing to a king.

But even so, a marriage to "Alayne" would be impossible because she doesn't exist and a marriage to Sansa is impossible because she is already married, so he cannot lock down Harry in this final way and have control over Harry's future legal heir by Sansa. Would Harry go to the trouble of fighting for Sansa's rights - when she is already married! - if he already has the full power of his new title and could marry anyone he wanted?

So he still needs Sweetrobin alive until Tyrion turns up dead or an annullment becomes feasible. Harry the Heir is much less independently powerful and may be swayed by the prospect of glory in battle and the appeal of his future wife's inheritance. Because Sweetrobin might not die.

And even if they marry, who's to say that Harry will allow himself to be influenced by Sansa in any way? What power would Littlefinger truly have once he hands his not-daughter Sansa Stark over to him? Unless he is still Lord Protector, none. So he still needs Sweetrobin alive.

Of course, for Littlefinger to keep full control, Harry definitely needs to die as soon as Sansa has had a child by him. That baby is the new Sweetrobin for Littlefinger to base his power on.

And only then would it be safe for Sweetrobin to die. If he can be replaced with a new child heir in Littlefinger's control.

So while there would be angsty potential, there is very little logic in the idea that Littlefinger actively wants Sweetrobin to die any time soon. He just wants the idea to be firmly established as an expectation, because it increases Harry's importance and reduces doubt if/when he actually does die.

Besides, Littlefinger has already trapped Sansa in a dangerous lie. Testifying that Marillion killed Lysa is Sansa's darkest act by far, hands down, in the entire book series, and while we understand her motivations and are privy to her inner conflict, from the outside it makes her look like she went from kingslaying Joffrey to conspiring to kill the leader of the Vale (kinslaying her aunt!) all in a, what, span of a few months? If Littlefinger really wanted to milk it, he could bring up how she came to Cersei when Ned wanted to send her away from KL. Then he could bring up her "complicity" in trying to poison Sweetrobin.

He could gently imply his ability to ruin her reputation far worse than Jaime's, and make Sansa feel like she earned it. She already feels guilt over Marillion. Even though he was a rapist actively helping Lysa try to kill her. Sweetrobin doesn't have to die for Sansa to struggle with the consequences of her choices.

Also: In what universe has Sansa had it easy in the narrative? Being beaten, molested and forced into marriage, used as a tool for murder? She is the Stark with the absolute least amount of personal agency. And still where she has the opportunity, she usually chooses to help, to be compassionate, even to her enemies. She downright berates herself for it. That contrast to Arya and Bran is not a narrative "easy" path, it is an expression of her character and a different angle on enduring hardship. Sansa is not less of a character for being a good person. It is not easy. It is hard. And worthy.

Making hard choices will be part of Sansa's path, but neither does she artificially have to match the darkness of Arya's violent path, nor does Sweetrobin have to die to make it happen.

[sergeantsporks]

Whatever It Takes

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

TW: Self-harm, attempted suicide, emotional manipulation

“While I’ve got you here, want to hear the complete history of wild magic? I’m sure you’ll find it very interesting, considering that you’re old enough to have lived through it.”

“I am not, you little brat. Shut your mouth, I don’t want to listen to your voice.” 

“Yeah? What if I don’t want to shut up? What if I feel like singing?"

Hunter is a difficult prisoner to keep, and Lilith and Eda are about to find that out the hard way.

Ao3

Ch 4/4: Set Free (to fly into another cage)

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3

“… Lilith? Do… do you really hate me?”

Lilith jumped at Hunter’s slurred voice, twisting to look at him. His eyes were only half-open—the sleeping potion hadn’t quite worn off yet. Still, she reached for her staff, just in case. He was still white as a sheet, and his hands were shaking uncontrollably. “You’re still in shock—I’m going to go get more—”

“Do you?” he pressed, wincing at every word. His palisman stared at her judgmentally, protectively wiggling down further into Hunter’s hair.

Lilith twisted her hands in her lap. “I… I hate what you represent. Emperor Belos. The coven I served faithfully for thirty years of my life that threw me out like trash. My replacement, my failure, the fact that there’s always someone better than me, someone more favored, someone born better than me in some way that I can never catch up to with hard work.” She sighed. “But… the weight of being coven head will crush you. I hate what you do for the emperor, but at the end of the day… You can be annoying, but I can’t hate you—in another reality where I didn’t have Edalyn, I would be you.”

The barest ghost of a smile crossed his face. “You… wish you could be me…”

Lilith snorted. “Yeah, right, brat.” She took in a deep breath. “Let me ask you something: why does it matter?”

“…huh?”

“Why does it matter if I hate you or not? You’re a loyal coven member, right? And I’m a traitor. By all rights and purposes, we should hate each other. You have Belos—why do you need my love?”

She got up, going back to the kitchen and grabbing another bottle of sleeping potion. “I don’t know why I’m bothering. You probably won’t even remember this,” she murmured, uncorking the bottle, “Alright, sleep for you until your nerves settle. You look awful.”

Hunter’s hand twitched, like he was trying to grab her hand, and his palisman fluttered down to his shoulder, chirping comfortingly. “I didn’t try to kill myself because I failed,” he mumbled. His dazed eyes stared into hers desperately, like he needed her to understand what he was talking about. “It was just that I was more useful to Belos dead.”

A chill ran down her spine, and Lilith’s hands shook as she held the sleeping potion to his mouth, tilting it back. He fell back asleep as his palisman nuzzled his face, and she tossed the empty bottle down onto the table, her hands still shaking. She tucked them into her lap, willing herself to be still.

Still, she couldn’t forget his magenta eyes locked onto hers, and how desperate they looked.

Titan, that had been freaky.

Lilith could imagine being so scared of Belos’ disappointment, so scared of the punishment he would met out that she could despair and take her own life.

But the idea of willingly tying the noose around her neck because she thought it was what Belos would want-!

That was a level of loyalty—really more border-lining on blind adoration and worship—that she couldn’t understand.

Lilith briefly thought about calling Eda and telling her about this disturbing new development, but she shut her mouth before she actually made a sound.

“Hootcifer?” she called faintly.

The house demon was at her side in a moment. “I heard, Lulu.”

Lilith rubbed her temples. “Can you just… keep an eye on him for a bit? I’m going for a walk. I need to clear my head.”

“You can count on me!”

Lilith patted her friend’s face absentmindedly and wandered outside.

She’d always known how Belos was, she told herself, she’d always known how good he was at manipulating people.

She’d just… never quite considered the ramifications of only having Belos as an influence. Coven training, and old self-preservation habits still kicked in on her sometimes. But at least she’d had a different upbringing. She could take a step back and remind herself what was right and wrong.

No, she realized with sudden clarity, she didn’t hate Hunter at all.

She just pitied him.

Xxx

Eda traipsed down the stairs to see Hooty rocking a passed-out Hunter back and forth, singing some demon lullaby about eating bugs to him while Hunter’s palisman flew frantically around him, pecking at her house demon. She had to stop and stare at that for a moment, just trying to figure out what was going on.

“Do I want to know?”

“Lulu asked me to watch him! I think he likes my singing, he hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s because he’s drugged, Hooty.”

“Oh.” Hooty dumped Hunter back on the couch unceremoniously, and his palisman fluttered down, warbling angrily. “I guess drugging your kids to go to sleep isn’t a parenting choice I’d considered.”

“Drugging my—Hooty, he’s our prisoner, not a new kid! Are you kidding me? He’s the Golden Guard!”

“Tell that to Lulu.”

Eda pinched the bridge of her nose. Oh, no. “Explain that statement right now.”

“She feels bad for him.”

“’Bout time. Of course she feels bad for him, everyone feels bad for him, he’s a tragic-faced little angst-ball, that doesn’t mean we’re going to adopt him! He’s tried to kill us several times, for titan’s sake!”

Hooty flopped down over Hunter, earning more angry tweets and pecks from his palisman. “I think he’s fun. He reminds me of Lulu. You keep him prisoner, I’m going to be his friend!”

“Hooty, that’s very nice of you to offer, but we already established that we’re not going to torture him. Get off of him before his bird has an aneurism.”

Eda heard a knock on the door, and she gestured frantically to Hooty. “Hide the kid!” she hissed.

Hooty swallowed Hunter whole.

“Oh—okay, that happened. You are going to spit him back up, Hooty.”

He nodded unconvincingly while Hunter’s palisman went ballistic, flying up and down the length of Hooty’s neck, chirping anxiously. Eda ignored them, opening the door to see Darius standing outside. “Coven head. How nice.” She stepped outside, closing the door behind her, hiding the Hooty situation. “Get off of my lawn.”

“Oh, I’m not here to pick a fight!” Darius said, his voice oozing with fake sincerity, “I came to inform you that I’m relatively certain I saw the owl beast! And it attacked me!”

“Aw, really? Shame. Well, you know how it is! That thing’s a wild animal, can’t control it!”

Darius sniffed. “Disgusting creature. Yes. But I believe that someone else may have been controlling it.”

It took every ounce of Eda’s very limited self-control not to haul off and punch him in the face. The owl beast inside her snapped angrily at the insult. “Ohhhhh is that so?”

“Yes. One question for you. Where. Is. Your. Sister?”

Xxx

Lilith turned on the path back towards the Owl House. She shouldn’t leave Hunter alone with Hooty for too long—she adored her friend, but he could be a little much to some people.

She froze in her tracks as she saw Darius, talking to Eda. Eda gave her a go away look.

“NO, Darius, my sister has NOT been controlling my owl beast form,” she said loudly, “I don’t know WHY you’d think that, and I CERTAINLY don’t know where she is!”

Lilith ducked around the back of the house, coming in the kitchen door. If Darius found Hunter—it was all over. She ran into the living room, but Hunter wasn’t there anymore.

Then she spotted Hunter’s palisman fluttering around Hooty’s face, tweeting angrily. She pointed one finger at the ground. “Spit him up, Hootcifer.”

“Eda told me to hide him.”

“I’ll take care of that now. Spit him up.”

Hooty retched, and coughed up a roughly Hunter-sized owl pellet. Lilith tore it apart while Hunter’s palisman perched on her shoulder, watching anxiously.

“There, see, he’s fine,” she told the bird, lifting Hunter up, “He didn’t even wake up.”

The cardinal settled down on its witch, warbling softly.

There was a loud bang from outside, and a lot of yelling. “GET OFF OF MY PROPERTY!” Eda yelled, her voice rising to the shriek of her harpy form.

Hunter’s eyes fluttered open, and he stared up at Lilith. She promptly dropped him.

“Ack! Sorry.”

Hunter blinked, disoriented. “Wha—what’s going o—”

Lilith drew a plant glyph, vines tangling up Hunter’s hands before he could grab his palisman. “Darius is here,” she whispered, “He’s looking for me—and by extension, probably you.”

Hunter’s face, surprisingly, paled at that. “Eda won’t beat him—you only beat us last time through the element of surprise. This time, he’s made the first move.”

“Yes, and I’m sure you’re quite pleased with that.”

He shook his head, white as a sheet. “Don’t let him find me,” he begged.

Lilith’s heart thudded in her chest, barely daring to hope… “What? Why not? This is what you wanted, isn’t it? To go back?”

“No! Not like this! If Darius finds me, then Belos will know I was captured, and—I have to get out of here!”

“And go where? I’d love some suggestions as to where I can stash you.”

Hunter bit his lip. “We can help each other,” he said suddenly, “I’ll make a deal with you—let me go. Emperor Belos won’t be as angry if I’m just late.”

“Yeah, I see how that helps you. But I’m still dead meat.”

Hunter shook his head. “If Darius doesn’t find me here, he won’t know what you did. If you let me go, Lilith, I promise that I won’t tell the emperor what happened. I don’t want him knowing that you captured me any more than you do, trust me.”

“Ugh—yes, yes, I know how it is. I trust you on that, at least.”

“Okay. It’s settled, then. You let me go, and I pretend like this whole thing never happened. Eda might get in a little bit of hot water for fighting a coven head out there, but everyone gets off scot-free, more or less.”

“It is not settled! You’re really going to go back?! You’re so scared of him finding out you got captured that you’re going to lie for the rest of your life about what happened, but you’re still going to go back to him?”

“Of course I am—Belos sent Darius to rescue me. He wants me back, Lilith, he didn’t give up on me!”

Lilith thought her heart might just snap in two. Just when maybe she’d gotten close—this really was the worst time for Darius to show up looking for him. “Ah—titan, Hunter, he doesn’t actually care about you! He doesn’t care about any of us! He’s just using you!”

“Well—maybe that’s enough. To be needed, useful. Please, Lilith.”

Lilith looked down at his pleading eyes. What would happen if she said no? He’d keep trying to escape, only for her to drag him back? What if she wasn’t watching as closely one day, and he succeeded at killing himself? Could she live with herself if that happened? And that was assuming they even got out of this situation. She sighed, untying his hands and grabbing his coven staff from Eda’s weapon room. “Let’s go.”

They snuck around the fighting Darius and Eda, soaring up into the sky on their staffs. Lilith touched down with him outside the keep, holding out his staff. “How are you going to explain what took you so long? And why you look like…” she gestured to his blood-stained clothes. “…that.”

Hunter dropped his palisman staff, and his bird transformed back into its live form, perching on his shoulder. “…You’re right, I need something believable.” He looked at her, then down at his feet. “Lilith… you know how it works… Eda could never…”

Nausea swirled in Lilith’s stomach. “Oh, no. Hunter—”

“The healers will take care of it, I’ll be fine, I just need an excuse.”

“I—I don’t want to… Titan, Hunter, Belos is not worth this.”

“Do it quick. Before I change my mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, putting his hand in his mouth.

“Are you—”

“Just do it!” he growled around his glove.

Lilith sucked in a deep breath, and brought her staff whirling around into the side of his knee with a crack. He bit down on his hand with a strangled scream, and she caught him by the arms, lowering him gently to the ground while his palisman warbled comfortingly to him. “It’s not too late to come back. We can figure out something for Darius—you don’t have to go back.” Please don’t go back.

His eyes shined with that same weird, uncomfortable light that they had when he’d told her that killing himself was what Belos would want. “He—needs—me. I want to go back.”

Lilith sighed, and gently scooped Hunter’s palisman up in her hands, straightening up. “Hey,” she said softly to it, “Take care of him, okay? Make sure he has a voice other than Belos’. I’m sorry that I can’t get through to him. Maybe you can.”

The cardinal nodded and gave her wrist an affectionate peck before turning into solid wood. Lilith tucked the palisman into Hunter’s cloak and mussed up his hair, tucking a twig into it. “There. So you look the part.”

He smiled weakly. “Thank you, Lilith.”

Lilith squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then sat back on her staff. “Don’t thank me, Hunter. Not for this. Never for this. If I really cared, I’d take you far, far away from here.”

“This is where I belong.���

Lilith shook her head, flying back towards the owl house and trying in vain to forget about the injured boy she’d just left behind.

No one belongs here. Certainly not you.

Xxx

 Eda growled, twisting and straining against the abomination goop pinning her to her own wall. Darius tore through the house, holding Hooty at bay by sticking his mouth shut with more goo. Eventually, the abomination-man slimed his way back. “She’s really not here.”

“Of course not,” Eda snapped, “Get out of my house.”

He snarled at her. “You seem to have an awful lot of control for just a dumb beast. You’d better hope that I forget about this, Edalyn.”

And then he was gone, his slime following him. Eda let out a sigh of relief, switching back to her regular body. “Alright, Hooty, cough up the kid—hey, where’d his palisman go?”

“Lilith already took the golden guard!”

As if he’d summoned her, Lilith touched down from the sky.

Notably without Hunter.

“Liiiiliiii,” Eda singsonged in a you’re-in-trouble voice, “What did you do with my prisoner?”

Lilith clutched her staff tightly, looking down to the side. “I let him go,” she said softly.

“You did WHAT?!”

“He won’t rat us out, don’t worry.” To Eda’s surprise, her sister’s shoulders started to shake. “I forgot how alone you feel in the coven,” she murmured, “Like no one can help you, and it’s all you can do to survive.”

Almost all of Eda’s anger immediately dissipated, and she wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “Ohhh, okay. Okay. He’ll be alright, Lilith.”

“I wanted to protect you, and I was worried he’d keep trying to kill himself if we kept him, so I left him, but he won’t be okay, Eda, no one there is okay, and I just left him there to protect my own stupid skin!”

Eda rubbed her sister’s arm. “Hey, you did what you thought was the best of a lot of bad options. There wasn’t a scenario where everyone got out okay. He can hold out for a while, Lilith. He has his palisman. And if you want, we can kidnap him again some other time, okay? Better yet, we can send Luz, she’s very good at making people like her and rebel for her.”

Lilith snorted a little bit at that. “Thank you, Edalyn.”

“Send me where?”

Eda whirled around to see her apprentice standing on the path, King behind her. “Oh! Hey, you’re back! Uh, on some errands, of course! Lilith ran out of elixir!”

Luz nodded to Lilith. “Oh, hey! What have you two been up to?”

Eda and Lilith glanced at each other. “Nothing,” they said in unison.

Xxx

“Ah, Hunter. You’ve returned.”

Belos watched his nephew struggle to kneel, biting his lip so hard it bled. “Emperor Belos—I apologize for the delay in my return.”

“Darius said he left you behind fighting the assassins.”

Hunter nodded.

“And?”

“A couple of low-life thugs—no one important.” Hunter made a vague gesture at his bloody clothes. “I took care of them.”

A lie. Belos knew that the owl lady and her sister had been behind this, and he also knew that they were still alive. Which meant it wasn’t their blood staining his guard’s clothes. Interesting. He’d let the boy get away with it for now, but if Hunter started to make a habit of lying to him, he’d have to find a way to quash it. “And your injury?”

“Sustained in the fight. Again, I apologize for the delay it caused. It won’t happen again.”

“No. It won’t. See yourself to the healers. I need you healthy.” Belos watched him haul himself up, leaning on his staff for support. “I’m glad you’ve returned, Hunter.”

Xxx

Hunter limped to his bed with a sigh, collapsing on it and rubbing his knee. The healers had mended most of the damage, but it was still sore. His palisman fluttered out of his pocket, chiding him.

“It doesn’t hurt that bad. I’m okay, I promise.”

A disgusted chirp.

“Don’t talk about him like that! He’s the emperor, there’s appearances to keep up—even if you get hurt.” Hunter held out a hand for the bird to perch on. “Hey—he was happy to see me. Lilith doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

His palisman gave his hand a disdainful look, and fluttered up to his shelf, fluffing up its feathers.

“Well, fine! Be that way.” Hunter flopped backwards on his bed. Somehow, the room seemed emptier than it had when he’d left.

Why do I need Lilith to like me?

He shook himself.

Forget her. You’re home. Belos needs you. And that’s all that matters.

[mrvdocks]

Under the Skin

Summary: Reader is a celebrity Kurt looks up to and chauffers for a bit before everything goes downhill. 

(requested by anon) gif credit to the lovely yocalio (x)

Word Count: 2K+

Warnings: smut, roughness

He outruns the police when they turn their back on him for a second. He runs as fast as his shaky feet can take him, wrists cuffed together. There’s a ringing in his ear that muffles the sounds of rubber shoes against the pavement and the officers behind him. He laughs maniacally, they wouldn’t be able to put a damper on his plan. Not yet.

He wanted to look good for when he met up with Jessie later, but he knew better than to lead the police where they expected him. That’s why he had to go somewhere they wouldn’t expect him to go. Your place. 

He estimates he’s been running on adrenaline and on the streets of Alhambra for about five minutes, but when you’re close enough, he ducks behind a building and slows down. He shuts off the stream momentarily, it’s better to keep them in the dark.

He knocks on your door rapidly, scanning the area for any signs of nosy neighbors or people passing by. He hears you rushing to the door and once it swings open, he meets your faltering face. It switches to panic, eyes wide, and paranoid sweeping looks to the outside. 

“What have you done, Kurt?” You step back, hand gripping the knob. 

You’ve been following his spree up until now, only realizing the gravity and danger of what he’s done when he shows up bloody and beat up on your doorstep. You’re about to ask how he found your address but figure with everything he’s done, him committing some privacy violation is not the worst to worry about.

He strains against the cuffs, wincing when he can’t fit his wrist through. “We can catch up later, I just need your help.” He pushes past you, rushing into your kitchen to find anything that could either saw or fit into the hole to free himself.

Feeling rightfully worried, you lock the doors and shut the blinds. You are cautious when you get close to him, he’s operating on another mindset.

“Kurt.” You try to get his attention. He opens drawers and cabinets frantically, coming up empty. He raids your bathroom and rummages through drawers, trying out bobby pins and clips.

“Kurt.” You repeat firmly. His manic searching stops for a second. Even with his back to you, you can hear his breathing is ragged, his broad shoulders moving up and down to get steady. 

You put a hand on his shoulder warily, turning him to inspect the damage. He’s got cuts on his face and a bad lip. No doubt the results of him crashing the car. His face scrunches at the sudden light of your phone shining on his face. 

“What’s gotten into you, Kurt?” You cry in disbelief. 

This couldn’t have been the one who spent the whole week basically chauffeuring you, could it?

“You’re not like this - this isn’t you.” 

“And what is like me? Who do you think I am?” His figure towered over you now, establishing some sort of dominance over you. 

You can’t completely answer that now. You’ve seen a side of him that snapped. One that was done playing the fool to the once King Bobby. 

“Kurt, you can fix this. We can make this go away.” 

“I can’t.” He closes his eyes in slight annoyance. “Not when I’m just getting started.” 

“I can’t let you keep doing this.” Your voice wavers, betraying the brave front you were trying to put on. “We’ll get you help, it’s going to be fine.” 

You stray from his plan, dialing the emergency line as quickly as you can but he snatches the phone from your hands and throws it away from you. The sudden roughness makes you recoil. Kurt takes a hold of you by your shoulders, pushing you back until you hit the wall with a grunt. Gone was the boyish and awkward Kurt who was gentle with you. 

“Yeah? You wanna film and post that too?” 

The accusation is a slap to the face. In the small window of time you two knew each other you grew comfortable with him, not even thinking of using him for what he definitely would use you for. It would propel him, sure, but it wouldn’t give him the image he wanted to curate.

“Pretty ballsy move,” he mocks your pluck. “But I can’t let you do that.” 

The cold of the cuffs against your flush skin makes you shiver as you feel the adrenaline in you pick up. How blind were you really to his dark desires?

His gaze is intense, eyes darker than the dimly lit corner of your home he’d pushed you against. 

“Do it then,” You pant. Your eyes staring back into the abyss of his own in awe and then onto his bleeding lip. “Finish this.” 

He smirks. “I’m not going to kill you. You’re no good to me dead. I need you.” 

“Kurt,” You try to give reason a try again. “This isn’t what you want.”

“This isn’t what I want? Or is this not what you want?” He counters.

This should’ve been a bad idea. He shouldn’t have gone to you if he knew you were going to react like this. But you were his idea of safe, even if it was something he just didn’t want to be anymore. He wanted risks. He wanted to take the world by storm, to be seen as some kind of twisted hero for those like him. After all, he’d taken most of the brunt of it for it to fail now.

Kurt being a threat was definitely something you would have laughed at before. He couldn’t even kill the spider in the car that one time. Him being rough wasn’t without reason, you’d seen it before with other passengers that harassed you. Hell, you’d even liked it in the bedroom. But this was different.

“You don’t know what I want.” You grit.

His brows raised. “You don’t want out of this? The cycle of bullshit they keep making you do? Your ideas shot down and forced to do degrading shit?”

He wasn’t wrong. Though the fame came at a price, it wasn’t even you or your personality people were really seeing. Everything was controlled by someone else. You were the puppet. 

He must’ve known you were mulling it over, a sly smirk on his lips becoming prominent in the little light there was illuminating him.

“What do you want?” 

Kurt chuckles to himself, “I’m not asking you to do the dirty work. Just don’t call the cops when I do it.”

“Is this you admitting you need a partner?” 

He’s always liked power. The exposure and influence and the legacy that others before him had. You had that, even if you didn’t like it, and it only made him more attracted to you. You could be a power couple if you agreed. 

He chuckles. “I’m saying you have that urge in you too, somewhere. You just have to trust me to help you find it.”

You laugh ironically. “Trust you? You’d sell me out. Anything to boost your views.”

He shakes his head. “Like I said, I need you. Besides, I think you’d like to be free.”

“You mean be like you.” You writhe under him, trying to get free.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” he pauses, remembering he had you pinned against a wall. “Not any more than I already have. I’m here to get you on my side.”

If you agreed with him, then great, things would go on without a hitch. But if you didn’t, things would get difficult and he really liked you too much.

Your breath hitched when his fingers came down to your chin and tilted your head back. 

You should be running for the hills. Calling the police. Screaming for someone to help. But oddly enough, none of the red flags before remained. This cat and mouse game somehow made you feel sought after, even with the undertone of him using you just for his personal gain. 

There was a warmth between you two, tension in the dimly lit corner. He’s dangerously close, his hips pushing against yours in a way that makes the feeling in your lower body ache for him. 

“Did you mean it when you said you were willing to make a sex tape?” 

His face softens in amusement. “It all depends on how the night goes.” 

“So you would’ve fucked Daisy’s brains out?”

He eyes you, studying you, noticing the shift in tone in the room.

His shackled hands come down in between your bodies, one hand gripping your hip and the other settling on the danger zone; above your crotch. 

“Yeah maybe I would’ve,” he surmises, taunting you. “I could’ve had her screaming my name for everyone to hear.” 

He traces over your body, reaching every dimple, dip, and the sensitive area he could get his eager fingers on. He’s memorizing your body in the dark, keen on staying true to his word. 

“She would’ve disappointed you.” 

He pauses his movements, lips coming close to your ears. “Maybe. But I’m sure you could do better.” 

His voice is low, it makes you imagine just how he could use that teasing mouth between your legs, the vibrations that would send shock waves all throughout your body. You gasp when he slips his hands into your pants, fingers ribbing you up and down and making your knees buckle. 

The small moment of dizziness is good enough for him to use his foot to kick your ankle to the side, allowing him more access for him to slide his fingers in. The height difference between you two proved helpful as you let your head fall against his, bucking your hips against his relentless pumping. He revels in this, taking the opportunity to glance at you and flash that shit-eating grin. 

Your breathing quickens and sharpens with each pump of his fingers, him adding a second and then a third. The introduction of more in you forces you to shut your eyes and squeeze his bicep in both pain and pleasure.

The coil in your core keeps bubbling, knowing if he kept it up you would be done for. Then he does it, he curls his fingers and his thumb plays with your pearl making you cry out and clutch him closer. 

He hums, “You always looked good like this, so vulnerable and desperate.”

“Oh fuck you.” You moan in light pleasure, feeling the coil only tighten more.

“We can make that happen.” He goads you, his pace in you getting faster to the point where you can’t bear the thought of standing anymore. 

You press your legs together, desperately trying to get more than what he’s giving. If you had it your way you would’ve already ridden him to get rid of the friction. But he’s nothing if not cruel.

Your chest heaves in rapid breaths, head falling back against the wall in quiet euphoria. You’re almost there and he can tell. Just as you bring your leg up he stops and removes his fingers, prompting you to mewl at the loss of his fingers in you.

“C’mon, didn’t think I was going to let you off that easy now, did you?”

You pounce on him, taking him by surprise as he topples backward onto the couch. You make quick work of his stolen and bloody pants, lifting his hips up and out of his briefs. You almost literally tear through your pants and discard them somewhere behind him and shove your panties to the side to ride him. 

You tease him a bit at first, hovering over him and lining him up but not fully sitting all the way. It’s his turn to buck his hips. 

Confidence looked great on you, he thought.

You impale yourself on him, gripping his shirt in fistfuls as you wait to adjust to his size. His head dips back into the cushion at the feeling of filling you up and settles his hands on your hips. You move agonizingly slow, in languid strides before changing into circles. He makes a pass to squeeze your ass but you move his arms above his head, keeping a grip on them. 

Kurt closes his eyes in ecstasy, your moans and whines are music to his ears as you basically fucked yourself against him. 

He brings his upper body up to take a hold of your hair from behind and takes your lips into his, tongue pushing into your mouth. Yours fights his, eventually letting him lick at your neck and kiss at the sensitive area all the way to your jaw. He thrusts upward roughly, forcing you to clutch onto him in a semi hug. He slides in and out of you with ease, the sound of skin against skin and smell of sex permeating the air. He grits his teeth and brings his forehead to connect with yours, slick with sweat. 

“Look at me,” He grunts, hand coming to grasp your chin to force you to face him. You can’t look at him in the eye, still lost in the sensation of him hitting the right spots. With his right hand coming in between your bodies, he flicks and teases at your pearl sending shock waves through your body. “You don’t cum until I tell you to.” 

He pulls out of you, making you huff in annoyance but compliant. He flips you over, pushes you down onto the arm of the couch for you to lie on. His clothed chest is flush against your back, bringing your lower body against his stiff cock. You inhale sharply as he slides back in, thrusting hard enough to make the fabric of the couch mark you. 

He grabs your hair and pulls you back, still delivering devastating thrusts from behind while attacking your neck with slobbering kisses and grasping your throat firmly. The pleasure of it all made you cry, feeling your lower belly pool with warmth as you gripped him. 

Finally, his thumb grazes you in the center of your core again and rubs in small circles, before using the index of his fingers to finish you off. He’s hitting you in all the right spots, rendering you completely babbling and incoherent. He kneads your breasts with his other hand, pinching your nipples to get a rise out of you. 

You feel like you’re seeing spots when his thrusts stop being hard and fast and instead wane. With an arch of your back, he groans as he feels himself twitch in you.

You come down from your high, vision hazy but feeling blissful and fulfilled. He pulls out of you and turns you over again, bringing your head to level with his pumping hand. You open your mouth hungrily, letting him spill himself. 

It runs down your chin but you nonetheless swallow with ease.

“Good girl.” He chimes, grinning from ear to ear. 

You collapse back onto the couch, panting and trying to come back to reality. He rests next to you, giving your thigh a squeeze, satisfied. 

“Partners?” He asks, arm under his head as if he hadn’t just fucked you into oblivion a minute ago.

If this is what came with being partners, you would’ve been an idiot to decline.

“Partners.” 

[tarithenurse]

Stolen - 37

Fandom: MCU Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x fem!gifted!reader Content: A bit of angst and resentment. Probably spelling/grammar/etc errors. A/N: I love my job – thank goodness, I quit my old one and got this instead <3 Ask or re-blog for tag.

37. Tainted Love

...   Loki   ...

Questions, blame, even hatred has been festering deep inside Loki since he first learned of his heritage. It has brought him to an understanding of why Odin, the man he had presumed was truly his father, had favoured the older son. The only son. But the pain caused by the negligence of a simultaneously doting mother has cut...maybe not deeper, but inflicted a wound that has festered slowly.

“Why?” Loki interrupts the queen in the middle of bringing him up to speed on her actions to ensure [Y/N]’s safety. “Why did you never -...you knew.” There’s sadness in her eyes and yet he finds he can’t stop. “Did you never question his decisions or did you truly approve of the meaningless game he was playing? For what purpose, mother?” The last word is a mockery at the relationship he misses so dearly.

“There’s always a purpose to everything your father does.” She repeats the past but this time follows up with a sigh, “but even the best intentions can crumble to the weight of reality. Time passed and he didn’t see the same as I when looking at you.”

“A monste-”

Perhaps due to his natural coldness, Frigga’s glare seems filled with fire. “No, not a monster. To me, you were kin in heart and soul. Contemplative. But Odin was influenced by your appearance and in his eyes your colours of black and green were tied to a memory of cunning, blood thirst, and insatiable power.”

He can feel it, like an undercurrent in the sea something seems to pull Loki’s attention to what isn’t said. “What are you hiding?”

“More than is relevant at present,” the queen attempts to skirt his query, “it was never a lie, when we raised you as a prince. You truly were meant to sit upon a throne and, the All-Father hoped, become the one to bring peace to Jotunheim and bridge the divide between our realms.”

Loki can see it now, how the rightful heir of Laufey could be the one to turn the minds of the jötun from the desire to wage war. Kept alive in the Asgardian court, he had been both a hostage and an investment to guarantee a truce (or at least a cease-fire) until a deeper cooperation could be established through diplomacy. Silvertongue. It would have taken more than rhetoric to repair the damage wrought over centuries. Instead, Loki had been the one to deal the final blow to a realm already brought to the brink of extermination.

“I always tried to please him.”

Frigga nods sadly. “The doubt and fear growing within your father was not of your doing.”

“Still...I managed to prove it right to him,” the former prince groans. There is more to this, but for now he has to settle for less than he wants. “Either way...the past cannot be undone.”

... Reader   ...

Between spending your time worrying about your situation, you try to create magic on purpose.

That is to say, other than healing, every snippet of song that has helped you before have simply plopped into your head at the moment you needed it and slipped out between your lips without alerting you of the effects it would have. The fog you conjured when you first escaped your prison onboard the spaceship? Pure luck.

Maybe...maybe you’re getting close to something as a staccato melody with schwung fills the room together with the dancing light of a flickering candle – the flame growing and jumping along with the song, it seems. The words don’t all make sense yet but the ones that do are deliberate choices you’ve made along the theme of fire and light, dancing and moving.

On the other hand, when you’re interrupted by the sound of a key in the lock, the illumination still moves erratically.

As unlikely as it would be, you hope for Loki to be the one passing through the door to your confines and you can’t disguise the disappointment when it’s his brother instead. Adoptive brother. How could you ever have thought they were related?

The man entering and sitting down on the only available chair is blond like his parents; his features rough, and build muscular, but most of all powered by something bright and warm that can’t be seen with the naked eye. Summer, you muse at the heat of his persona. You can only imagine the kind of summer storm he’d resemble in battle: towering, boisterous, scorching.

Loki, on the other hand...

“The All-Father is in an uproar,” Thor begins without any pleasantries first, “the idea of you and Loki working together...a lesser man would have had you executed on the spot.”

In other words: Odin has considered it. “I suppose, I should be grateful that he wants evidence before passing judgment.”

You don’t dare to consider the consequences if you’re found out. Since Loki entered your life, the threat of death has lingered like a shadow – at times closer than your own – haunting your steps as one danger was replaced by another greater one.

The God of Thunder shakes his head with a sigh. “Your sarcasm will not save you, little mortal.” He ponders your face momentarily. “However, the repeated references to Thanos does help your case -” he stops your question before a sound escapes your lips -”yes...even your would-be accuser speaks of the Titan.”

Arox has never been talkative, so what you know of him and his background is limited. “He...his home...”

“Aye, Thanos attacked and laid waste to the planet. The desire to get revenge is what drove Arox to side with my brother...or so he claims.”

“Why should he lie?”

Darkness rests on Thor’s face as he looks away briefly. “Silvertongue...God of Chaos, of Mischief...of Lies...”

“He was raised under false pretenses and yet you people call him a liar?!” Too late, your hands slap over your mouth as if to force back the words and anger. I should not have said that.

But the blond man just nods, his gaze falling to his hands as the fingers twist awkwardly. “That did come as a...as a shock.”

Of course, Loki would not have been the only one living with the wrong understanding, but you can’t find it in yourself to feel sorry for Thor who clearly suffers under the absence of his brother, probably longing for things to return to how they were before everything went wrong.

“What did you want, anyways?”

Your question seems to startle him back to reality. “How did you come to be here? On Asgard, I mean.”

Uuuuuhm...shit. It hardly seems like a good idea to explain how Loki threw his spaceship low across a desert of blackish sand and stone one second and then suddenly appearing inside a cave with a view of the golden city by the rainbow bridge.

“I don’t...it doesn’t make sense,” you try to buy time, fidgeting with the sleeve as if attempting to understand, “one moment it was one place and then it’s like the air squeezed me and then poof it was somewhere else completely!” Technically, you’re not lying.

Maybe the crown prince is aware that you are trying to answer; it’s hard to tell, but he doesn’t push the subject further, merely nods before telling you that he will continue what he can to uncover the truth about Thanos. Then he leaves.

[mask131]

AHS look back: Home Invasion

Second episode of the first season. 

As usual, SPOILERS AHEAD and I am rewatching the episode as I make my notes.

# 1968. The infamous nurse murders. This story actually begins introducing another idea linked to the Murder House (and haunted grounds in general in the AHS world) - the murder house attracts bad people. It is probably no chance that the murderer targeted this specific house. 

# The mention of Jesus and the Christianity of Maria makes much more sense when you realize that this season turns out to be mostly around the devil.

# Ah yes, a nice Psycho reference.

# I just realized now that Hayden’s character is a reference to Fatal Attraction. How could I have missed that?

# Ah yes one of the first clues that Tate is a conduct for whatever devilish power resides in the house. “I believe in the devil, I looked into his eyes”.

# Remember when I said I loved how they played with the guessing game of who is alive and who is dead? Making Larry seem like a ghost and then not? Well it is the same here with Tate - while him lurking over Violet’s bed could be a clue to him being a ghost, it also could be simply him entering the house as Adelaide does (especially since so far we have no solid clue he might be dead) ; and of course it fits with the breaking in. 

# You can already feel Ben’s downfall. Of course him being sexually frustrated to the point of cheating and influenced by the ghosts until he sleepwalks has been already established - but here his obsession with “second chance” and “salvation” shows up. When you look closely you realize he first put it all on the house itself (pilot) and now he displaced this desire on the baby, and this is the first clues that he will get desperate at being “forgiven” or having a “normal” life back, to the point of turning onto his wife later.

# One of the first glimpses of Constance’s psychic abilities. It is something often overlooked, but Constance has some sort of unnatural senses. Not only did she paint the murals (I’ll talk about later), but she also knows Vivien is pregnant the moment she sees her. 

# I hope Violet didn’t left the cupcake for the dog cause she ought to know chocolate is poisonous for dogs.

# The copycats of Franklin actually are another double-play. On the first level they are a play on the home invasion horror subgenre, and a denunciation of the loony serial killer fans and dangerous murderer copycats On the second level they are actually another illustration of how history in the house keeps repeating itself over and over again. There is also a very dramatic irony in how they started AHS denouncing serial killer fans and then ended up doing exactly what these same fans are doing (I am looking at you 1984 Ramirez).

# If Vivien is covering up the mural paintings, it is because of a decision of the creative team. The heads of the show believed that having the murals be always present, all the times, would have been too much and forced too aggresively the creepiness. They decided to be more subtle and discreet than that, and so they decided to have Vivien cover them up again. 

# Something I like with Constance as a character is that they perfectly illustrated the type of abusive person that still loves the one they abuse. Yes she is psychologicaly and verbaly abusive as well as terribly neglectful towards her children, and a very bad mother... but she is also shown as being extremely possessive and protective of them, and we see it in this scene. She locks Addie in the “bad girl closet”, but she also is seen almost crying and having a painful expression as she does so. She is not a purely evil character, she is not a sadistic brute - she has a moral complexity because she acts mostly out of vanity, possessiveness, selfishness and arrogance. She is still able to love and care, and she still has a moral code and moral limits, no matter how warped or twisted they are, but she cannot help putting herself before others, relishing in the suffering of those she dislikes, and disdaining everything she does not deem perfect, beautiful or hers. Many point out that Tate’s sociopathy probably comes from her mother, since she also shows the same traits - lack of empathy, an habit of manipulating others and lying about herself, a love for preying on those she sees as weak or inferior... 

# Once again we see Tate acting as one of the “master ghosts” of the house and one of the “manipulators” among the spirits - this time by teaming up/controlling the ghost of the nurse students instead of the Infantata. It is something very overlooked by fans nowadays, but the creators and writers explicitely stated Tate was one of the “strong spirits” with a form of control over the others. 

[404-potato]

definitions of indefinable things [IronStrange] chapter 30 preview

[start of Infinity War flashbacks]

If you didn’t read the fic, prob won’t make sense - sorry. I usually try not to post excerpts that can’t be more or less read as standalone but... this has been sitting in my docs for soooo long and posted a small portion already on twitter so... lol

“Slow down- slow down seriously! I’m totally not kidding!” 

Pepper slowed her pace, laughing as she eventually came to a stop.

Now, Tony managed to catch up to her. In contrast, panting heavily as he was finally granted the rest he had been pleading for the last quarter mile. 

“Seriously, woman. You can’t be doing this to me this early in the morning,” he complained loudly. 

The other smiled, shaking her head lightly. “It’s nearly noon! And you need this. You’ve been behind a desk for the past months-“

He threw Pepper his trademark smirk, which only made her smile wider. 

“Heavy that wears the crown.”

“So…” Though she paused. Waiting for a group of joggers to pass them. Then lowering her voice a level, “…The Council finally starting to catch on to what you’re doing?” 

“I’m sure they had an idea from the start. Just couldn’t do much to stop me.” 

The next time they locked eyes, Pepper had on a worried look. One that Tony was awfully familiar with. Soon, a firm hand found its way to his forearm.

“Tony, I want this for you. I do. …But you’ll be careful, won’t you?”

He smiled, giving a short nod. 

And another squeeze, then she let go. Turning her sights to the trail up ahead. 

He can see the little hints of worry still. In the stiffness of her shoulders, the traces of hesitance a sharp contrast to the usual clear gaze. 

He understood. Appreciated it. Though this time, Tony was quite sure her worries were for naught.  

This wasn’t one of his reckless whims. He knew exactly what he was doing. Had a plan.

And it was working. Actually working. Perfectly. Everything about the situation was playing in his favor. Every piece in his corner. Everything from Cap and the rest being declared fugitives to Fury still wanting to be perceived dead. Sure there were still Everett Ross but he had his shortcomings and Rhodey was still recovering. 

All in all, there was a power vacuum that was getting bigger and bigger and slowly… but surely, Tony was grabbing it bit by bit and tucking it into his pocket.

It wasn’t even all too hard really. At times it was as simple as lightly offering help, assistance, advice. With there being not much other options many took it gladly or eventually did when situations eventually became dire. And when it got dire, the billionaire made sure he was always coincidently at the right place at the right time.

He spent months trading small favors, establishing goodwill. Doing large favors but not cashing in. It was evident more recently now that he was the one everyone contacted first when something major happened. Those with influence called to ask for his opinion, some bluntly and some in a hushed whisper. 

There were talks about re-establishing SHIELD. Inevitably needing to form a new team of Avengers. 

At the moment, Tony wasn’t even sure what he exactly wanted. Being the new director? Finally, become the sole leader of the Avengers? … maybe both. 

But one thing was for certain. The Council, the governments, anyone with any influence or in the circle really… all seem to recognize the inevitable. He, Tony, was the last one standing. One with the most influence in this playing field now. That any before standing in his way, who could have vocally opposed were gone. Few may still be unhappy about it but all they can do is watch. 

And sure, the road to power can be a dangerous one. Risky. Can change with the next day’s wind. But this time it will be different. His plan, his moves were good. Perfect. Had the stamp of approval from the cunning god who seems to have millennia of experience. Double-checking all his moves, being a second pair of eyes. And when it was absolutely necessary… helping Tony cheating the system a little with some very useful tricks.

Loki…

Though he had to admit, it was starting to worry Tony just how long ago he had last seen the Asgardian. It wasn’t like the god to disappear like this for weeks without so much as a whisper or prior warning. The first week he assumed Loki simply got caught up in playing king. By the second, wondering if some disaster had struck Asgard. And by third…

Tony half-heartedly flipped through the last interaction of theirs he could recall. If perhaps it was something he had done or said that could have set Loki off. But he really couldn’t think of anything worth noting. 

The last time things got heated was way before Loki’s absence. During that final conclusive confrontation about Stephen’s death…

“…Stephen…?”

That snapped Tony’s attention right back to reality. Worried he may have started accidentally voicing his thoughts out loud.

But when his sights fell on Pepper, she wasn’t looking at him at all. Her gaze was dead set somewhere over his shoulders. An odd look coming over her that sent a chill up Tony’s spines.

He didn’t want to. He really didn’t. But slowly Tony turned. 

And… it stopped. Everything stopped. His thoughts, his heart, his world… stopped.

As it always did. …For him.

Of course.

Of course, it did.

Just when he felt like he had a grasp on things. Just when it felt like things were under control. Like he found a new rhythm, a path, knew where he was going, headed…

Of course, it would be flipped upside down. Again. 

Just with a single look.

That look.         

Those piercing gray-blue that Tony would love to pretend doesn’t make him feel so… 

“Tony… I need you to come with me.”

[adifferenttime]

Honest Hearts: A Rough Rewrite

Hey! I’ve been working on an Honest Hearts rewrite-type-thing for a bit and figured I’d solicit feedback/assemble a post to store some of these ideas.

A detailed explanation of the premise is under the cut, but I’ve made this as a more interesting reintroduction to major locations, along with the characters who live there. I also have some lore consisting of letters, scripture, and holotapes that’s still in the early stages, along with a complete companion wheel for Salt-Upon-Wounds (he’ll follow you around for a little if you decide to help him out). Endings are now finished as well. I’m not planning on expanding this into a full mod, but I’m assembling everything in Twine so I can utilize branching dialogue and mimic skill checks.

I want to keep adding to and editing this because I’m having fun with it, so if you have any input, let me know!

Essentially, the story proceeds as written up until the point where Daniel sends you to either kill the White Legs or destroy their war totems. You quickly realize that their camp is deserted, at which point Salt-Upon-Wounds ambushes you, convo-locks you, and tells you that there’s an entirely different side to things here that you might not have considered.

Factions

The Mormons have established a theocracy in the Utah called Deseret, with New Jerusalem - what was once Salt Lake City - as its capital. Large numbers of them survived the initial apocalypse due to their pre-War focus on strong community ties and disaster prepping; over time, they have returned to the model of self-sufficient agrarianism that characterized the historical Mormon state of Deseret that existed in Utah in the 1800s. Their President, who wields supreme executive power, is also their Prophet. The Mormons believe he communes directly with God, but there’s some discontent in New Jerusalem over his hands-off approach to foreign policy and unwillingness to assemble a standing army. The Elders of the Priesthood are pushing him to allow for some kind of formal military to oppose what they see as revived versions of their ancestral enemies: America, Rome, and the “Lamanites” (this is what Mormons call Indigenous Americans; the “Lamanite” idea has historically been used as a justification for racism, and I’m reflecting that here because it’d be kind of heinous not to). In more than a few respects, Deseret serves as a mirror to the Legion and an exploration of the other side of the coin re: the tactics utilized by colonial empires to present themselves as legitimate while still claiming territory and steamrolling the opposition.

The White Legs are now more explicitly Shoshone, and I’m relying most heavily on the Timpanagos Band for names and historical inspiration (apparently the question of whether they’re Ute or Shoshone is pretty controversial, but I’m sticking with what the Timpanagos have said about it until someone corrects me). After migrating south in the wake of the Great War, the White Legs eventually settled in Ogden, about a day north of New Jerusalem. Initial interactions with the Mormons were friendly, but as New Jerusalem grew and its need for farmland and resources increased, tensions rose before culminating in open violence in around ‘76 or ‘77. Deseret’s party line is that the White Legs conducted a “raid” on one of their settlements and had to be driven away from Ogden; the White Legs claim the violence was not a raid, but a revenge killing after a Mormon killed a young man and was found not guilty by Mormon legal authorities (this is a theocracy, so “legal authorities” here can be understood as indistinct from “the church”). The Mormons established a new settlement on the ruins of Ogden, which they called New Canaan, and the White Legs fled to Salt Lake, where they have been dwindling in number ever since. Salt-Upon-Wounds’ plan to seek entry to the Legion is a last-ditch attempt to save his people from eradication when their neighbors and the land itself seems intent on killing them (not that that makes all the war crimes ok, which is a sentiment you’ll be able to express to his face if you engage him in conversation).

The Dead Horses are a pastoral society from out of Dead Horse Point, and are split almost down the middle along political lines. The more conservative, religious side opposes intervention in Zion. Graham desecrates the corpses of his enemies as an intimidation tactic, and because the Dead Horses’ religion is so eschatological and heavily focused on properly cleaning, preparing, and interring the dead, a big chunk of the religious leadership opposes him on that basis - they think his tactics are ungodly. They’re also worried that any Dead Horses who die in Zion and are interred there will be severed from their connection to Dead Horse Point and doomed to a separate, lonely afterlife. The younger, more progressive elements of the tribe are less traditionalist, sometimes less religious, and overall not as concerned about Graham’s treatment of the dead because of the potential benefit they might be able to derive from him. Follows-Chalk is their de facto leader, and while the Dead Horses don’t formally allocate political power, he’s among the most influential people in the informal tribal leadership. Most of the Dead Horses who’ve come to Zion have done so either because they support Follows-Chalk politically, or for practical reasons - namely, Graham’s access to a dizzying number of guns and his willingness to give them to anyone who’ll fight for him.

The Sorrows are now a terrace-farming agrarian society instead of hunter-gatherers (Zion has a lot of agricultural potential, and there’s already a few farming plots in the Sorrows camp you see in-game, so it’s not a huge departure from the canon). I’m keeping their Mexican heritage, but I’d like to give them some Ainu influences as well - partially for selfish reasons, but also because bears are extremely important to our culture and theology, which gels well with the elements of Sorrows culture and religion that appear in the canon. I’d like to keep the Survivalist because I like him, but I want to expand on their faith. One of the ways I’m doing that is by deciding they can still read English, even though they no longer speak it; it’s basically their equivalent of liturgical Latin. They’re also rigidly matriarchal and in contrast to the Dead Horses (who eschew formal political hierarchies) or the White Legs (who elect a chief who serves until he dies, is deposed, or voluntarily abdicates), leadership positions are allocated through matrilineal primogeniture; Waking Cloud inherited her position from her mother. Religious leadership, likewise, is only available to women. You’ll be able to talk to Waking Cloud about some of the ways this framework is incompatible with the Mormon perspective, and can appeal to her desire to retain power.

Characters

Canon Characters

Joshua Graham and Daniel are largely unaltered except through the addition of lore that gives insight into their cultures, motives, and pasts.

All three tribal leaders (Follows-Chalk, Waking Cloud, and Salt-Upon-Wounds) are either given new backstories, a different set of motives, or different approaches to one another/Graham and Daniel. They’re also explicitly leaders now - what power Graham and Daniel have, they derive from whichever tribal leader they’ve managed to attach themselves to. Of those three, I’m altering Waking Cloud the least and Salt-Upon-Wounds the most. Like I mentioned, I have a companion wheel for him so far and the bones of two other conversations - one, where you meet him for the first time, and the second, where you speak to him before the final battle. Will link as I finish them.

Original Characters

Each tribal leader now has a rival or right hand within their tribe so I can reflect the different ways the values of a specific community can express themselves.

Follows-Chalk’s primary rival among the Dead Horses is a man who refuses to tell you his name. That’s because using someone’s name in casual conversation is considered unspeakably rude, and the fact that Follows-Chalk is willing to share his own with you is, to Mysteriously Named Old Man Character, yet another sign of how disrespectful and laissez-faire Follows-Chalk is about their shared traditions. Old Man Character is suspicious of you initially, but if you speak to him more he starts to warm to you. The goal is to give you a sense that this he’s pretty xenophobic but for good reasons, and despite his political conflicts with Follows-Chalk, has a lot of love for him. He just wants what’s best for his family, and Follows-Chalk is part of that, even if Mysteriously Named Old Man Character thinks he’s making the wrong choices.

Kiiki is Salt-Upon-Wounds’ right-hand woman and intended as a contrast re: the approach to war and its costs. Salt-Upon-Wounds has done some horrible things and gets a fair bit of dialogue about that, but Kiiki is willing to go even further than he has with very little prompting. Her chief copes with what he’s done by trying to assure himself that the ends of war are worth the cost; Kiiki deals with it by trying to convince herself that the means weren't so bad, actually, and that anyone who isn’t nailing corpses to walls is being naive. All of that makes her sound pretty shitty, but she’s nowhere near as devoted to the idea of a Legion alliance as Salt-Upon-Wounds is. It only takes one very low Speech check to convince her that going Legion is a bad move, and one of the paths involves assassinating Salt-Upon-Wounds and installing her as the new leader as a way to stop the White Legs from joining Caesar. I haven’t added this path to the ending Twine because I’d like to finish Kiiki’s dialogues before I do that.

I’m replacing White Bird as the Sorrow’s spiritual leader with a woman named Imekanu. She’s incredibly old, savvy, and knowledgeable - she’s never been outside Zion, but has a store of books in English, Spanish, and Japanese that have allowed her some insight into what caused the war, if not the current state of the world. She’s also aware of the Survivalist’s origins - not because she’s entered any of his hideouts, but because she’s read over the scriptures and has correctly identified them as letters. Her perspective is that the Father in the Caves was a human being, but that doesn’t diminish his religious value. She sees him as analogous to the Buddha or a Catholic saint: human, sure, but still with access to some deeper truths about the purpose of man and the nature of human goodness. You’ll discover that this idea (that the Survivalist was a holy man rather than a literal god) is the most common perspective among the Sorrows, and you can talk to her about how this departs from Daniel’s perspective that the archetypal Father is divine, not human.

Quests

Each tribe has a specific quest that will either lower or bypass some of the penultimate checks that will determine your ending (people are more likely to believe what you’re telling them if you’ve already won their trust).

The Dead Horses: Joshua Graham has been putting the heads of the fallen up on pikes across Zion. The Dead Horses’ religion is deeply concerned with proper treatment of the deceased, and Graham’s decision to desecrate the corpses of his enemies goes against virtually everything they believe. The old man who won’t tell you his name asks you to take the heads off of the pikes and bury them deep in Zion, and to bring Follows-Chalk with you so you’ll have someone to tell you how to treat them properly. Over the course of the quest, Follows-Chalk will share some of his own beliefs about death, and you’ll have the opportunity to share your own. If you complete this quest without sabotaging it, Follows-Chalk will be willing to betray Graham to the White Legs before the final battle.

The Sorrows: This is basically just Ghost of She, but after defeating the Yao Guai you’ll discover a holotape revealing that the girl wasn’t killed by the bear, but by one of the murderers from Vault 22. Waking Cloud will speculate that maybe the Yao Guai wasn’t the ghost of the little girl at all but some other force that wanted to push you to discover the truth. If you wait until the end to tell Waking Cloud about the death of her husband, you’ll have to pass a Speech check of 75 to convince her you’re telling her the truth; completing this quest drops the check to 50.

The White Legs: Salt-Upon-Wounds will ask you to help him sabotage the Mormons’ preparations for the battle. If you help him with this, it’ll drop the Speech check for you to convince him to leave from 100 to 80. It’s not necessary at all to get the tribal confederacy ending, but a new note will appear in your inventory if you finish it and meet a couple other requirements (asking him certain questions, not attempting that one Speech check about religion, etc).

Endings

I’m trying to incorporate as much variety as possible, but there are three main ending paths: siding with the White Legs, siding with the other two tribes, and peace. The basic idea is that the outcome is predicated less on your direct intervention, and more on how other people act based on the facts they have available to them. Most of your influence is through your choices to hide or reveal key pieces of information, and the skill checks you need to access certain endings are less you convincing a character to do something and more convincing a character to believe you’re telling them the truth. There’s one major exception to this, it requires maxed Speech, and the ending it gives you is markedly bittersweet because you’re trying to get a guy to act against his own best interest. I’m writing all the endings up here, and will probably edit them as things change. The post where I explain them in more depth can be found here.

And that’s the story so far! Thank you for reading, and again: if there’s anything here you think is poorly-conceived, let me know. Thank you to @baelpenrose, who’s a grad student in the history of the American West, for helping me workshop a lot of this stuff. If you’ve got expert knowledge on any of the concepts I touch on or are personally a member of any of the groups I’m describing, please feel free to hmu: anon is on, and you’re always welcome to DM me. I’m just doing this for fun, but I still want it to be as not-shit as possible.

[not-so-mundane-after-all]

Well, I think it’s time to create my own list of thoughts and wishes for season 3 of Titans

(I am well aware that some of these points are merely a wishful thinking but a girl can dream, right?)

First of all, the official stuff we found out so far:

- Redhood - I know Jason was treated poorly (to say the least) in s2 and that is a legit reason to be angry at the team but please let this transition make sense. Curran is putting a lot of work into it and I am sure his performance will be amazing, but storywise I really hope it’s not gonna end up being done in a “bratty kid throwing a tantrum” kind of way.

- Barbara Gordon - I don’t want to hear anything about a love triangle, got it? She’s being introduced as Dick’s ex for a reason. There might be some little things thrown in here and there like we had with Dawn in s1 but a full blown drama? We don’t need that shit! And besides, it’s been said she won’t be very happy to see Dick, neither she’ll be thrilled about Nightwing and Company running around her city.

Unless they turn it all into a comedy where instead of Kory being jealous - it’s the kids! Gar and Rachel going completely feral whenever Barbara gets close to Dick, giving off you’re not our mom so get out vibe and Kory lets them because she finds it hilarious (this season is supposed be *lighter* and *more fun* as I’ve heard, right?)

- Scarecrow - I am VERY intrigued to see that character. He’s supposed be locked up and working with GCPD but I do hope we’ll get to see him in action. I’m not really into comics world, I had to do my research on him, but from what I’ve found… Damn, fear toxin torture that show their biggest fears and nightmares would be awesome for my angst crave

- Blackfire - personally I don’t find a reason to panic. I know that the treatment of both Anna and her character, especially in s2 was unacceptable, I 100% agree with that. And it does give a reason to worry for s3. BUT why am I not worried?

1. Damaris Lewis has been promoted to a series regular a long time ago

2. Even with all the stuff happening in Gotham, Blackfire is still set to be the main villain - we had the same situation in s2. Cadmus was brought up to introduce Conner, even though Deathstroke was the main villian. So whatever is happening in Gotham, it’s for the introduction of Red Hood while Blackfire remains main villain.

3. Look at what Anna has been saying and the vibe she’s giving off! Would she be this happy if Kory wasn’t getting more screentime? Would she be getting calls from the showrunner about creating Kory’s background and having a chance to pitch him ideas like incorporating her native culture in building the world of Tamaran? WOULD SHE SAY WITH A HUGE SMILE ON HER FACE THAT THIS IS THEIR BEST SEASON YET?

So don’t worry too much about our girl. I’m sure she’s getting her time to shine. Even if it ends up being not as much as we would want, it’s still progress from last season.

And if the writers follow a similar schematic as for previous seasons, I see it going like this:

Blackfire = Deathstroke = Trigon (Main Villian)

Gotham stuff/Redhood = CADMUS/Conner = The Organization/Nuclear Family/Angela (side villian/introduction)

Scarecrow and Barbara = Doctor Light = Amy Rohrbach and Nic Zucco (plot device, appearance in 1-3 eps at most)

I might be wrong though, so don’t hold me on that. Because there’s also another storyline that needs to fit in between all of this

- Rachel on Themyscira - I am sure they won’t show as much of the island as they were originally planning for the same reason they moved the team from San Francisco to Gotham - weather conditions in this time of year resulting in lower temperatures, shorter and less sunny days. All of that wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for filming being pushed back due to Covid. I also had a feeling from the beginning that Rachel won’t come back victorious, or at least she will come back alone, with Donna showing up on her own later or at the end of the season. Now, with an information of the possible use of Lazarus Pit, it all makes even more sense. All my knowledge about those pits comes from Arrowverse so correct me if I’m wrong, but is Donna going to struggle with Blood Lust because of that? It is possible imo.

- Roy Harper and Tim Drake - I don’t have much to say about them, really. I’m excited to see Roy but the only valid reason for him to show up is to grieve Donna and maybe share his condolences to Dick or something like that. We don’t need more OG Titans drama. And Tim… well, new Robin in town will catch Jason’s attention and definitely spark some jealousy, evolving into a feeling of being ditched and abandoned, further confirming his belief of being a “reject”. All of this will only push him further to Red Hood.

Now, for the things I personally want to happen…

- Dickkory getting together - even if it happens in the finale, we need to see the progress! I don’t want this to happen off screen during the possible time jump. I want to see them supporting each other and being there for each other. I want to see Kory being his right-hand (wo)man and them leading the team together. And most importantly for me - the one thing that really brought them together in s1 - a continuation of their co-parenting of the younger Titans.

- Gar’s trauma being adressed - and I’m talking BOTH SEASONS. He really struggled with killing that guy in s1 and what CADMUS did to him made it all worse. He needs to talk about this with someone (and I hope that someone is Dick). And I really want to know if what happened to him is gonna have any lasting consequences.

- Donna and Dick need to talk things out - the worst thing about her death for me is the fact that these two didn’t get the chance to talk about what happened. Donna wasn’t a saint either and I find her behavior in the second half of s2 very hypocritical. It almost felt like this Donna and s1 Donna are two different people! She and Dick have a very strong bond and a lot of history. I’m sure they’ve had their fair share of fights in the past. I really hope they will sort this thing out and get back to being this amazing duo I fell in love with in s1.

- Rose and Jericho - I really want to see how this relationship will work and progress with them not really knowing each other but sharing one body.

- Growth and progress in Kory, Rachel and Gar’s powers - I think I don’t need to elaborate on that. I want to see Kory and Rachel fly, Rachel using more of her powers and discovering stuff like teleportation and telekinesis, Gar turning into other animals (lets pray HBO MAX will provide a decent budget for all of that). And obviously, following that…

- Supersuits for those three! - do I need to add more? I don’t think so.

- And can we get rid of Hank and Dawn? - I liked them in s1, tolerated them at the beginning of s2 and by the end I just wanted them gone. They are completely useless. Honestly? If I were to pick one… Hank can stay, we can still do something with him. But Dawn can go and don’t come back for all I care. I only need her for one more thing I’d like to see but more about that later.

And now the two most important things for me…

- MORE CORE FOUR FAMILY MOMENTS - this was the magic of season 1 that we only got some crumbs of in 2x01 and then it disappeared completely. I am in desperate need of Dick and Kory co-parenting their two superpowered teenage kids. And can someone FINALLY call Dick a DAD?! I would pay fortune to see that happen.

- Relationship progress between the Core Four - all the possible variants, but especially with the kids. It’s already been pretty much established that Rachel is Daddy’s Girl while Gar is Mama’s Boy. And it was nice to see Dick and Gar growing closer during season 2 while Rachel poured her heart out to Kory. But I was VERY MUCH with Gar and Kory when they both asked Rachel “Have you talked to Dick?” because girl YOU AND YOUR FATHER NEED TO TALK! A lot has happened, okay? (Not just because I am an absolute sucker for this dynamic and they are my favorites, but… get ready for a rant) I really want to go back to the way things were in s1 where they had at least one scene together every episode, where they talked and bonded a lot, where we actually could see the progress of this relationship. We’ve been stripped of that in s2. A little bit at the beginning, something at the end (I’m still mad Rachel didn’t get any closure for that nightmare that scared the hell out of her and yet had no influence on further events). I want to see Dick really embracing that role of a father, stepping up to responsibilities he kinda forgot about in s2. It would be nice to see a callback to his conversation with Dawn in 1x02 about how he’s “not taking her in” because “he can’t do family”. I’d love for Dawn to throw one big “I told you so!” in his face (and Dick agreeing she was right all along). I want to see Rachel leaning on him for support and encouragement while also growing independent in her own way. I also need to see more physical affection. Hugs are great and we always want more of them, but a touch of hand on the arm or cheek, or a forehead kiss would kill me. And I dream about a verbal “I love you” everyday…

Well, I think it’s all for now. Nothing else comes to mind atm. I might update this list as time goes on and we get more details…

[honestsycrets]

The Gods Only Knew || [ Hvitserk x Reader x Ivar ]

❛ pairing | hvitserk x reader, ivar x reader (platonic? shit i dunno)

❛ type | series

❛ summary | Oleg brought you to a Thing. You’re pretty sure you know why-- despite your lover’s presence.

❛  tags | secret relationships, arranged marriage, brotherly tension, not really a love triangle, unless ya’ll want one, asshole oleg, like usual.

❛ sy’s notes | i wrote this on request for my-little-wolfe, but it isn’t exactly what she wanted. Patreons, I’m really sorry. I went to post this but it seems like the platform has been down.

The gods knew why Oleg made you come on his impossible trip to Norway. There was more than one reason to be here, he said. With Oleg-- you always had to be a step ahead. Always prepared for what would be inevitable. The inevitable was as you knew it.

Oleg had someone he wanted you to meet during this Alþing. As a woman of minor influence, you surely wouldn’t be involved in the creation of new laws or an agreement for the future. You knew he wanted you to meet someone to marry someone despite knowing very good and well that you already wanted someone.

So yes, the gods knew why Oleg made you come on his impossible trip to Norway-- and maybe you did too. It wasn’t as if he needed your consent to marry you off.

You sat with your falcon upon your wrist. On the outskirts of the gathering, you were well aware of the men coming in and out, boasting about their sexual prowess or lack thereof. More likely, lack thereof.

Olga squawked as Dym slashed at the meaty carcass of a small game animal between her fingers. She loved the thrill of feeding him, but not so much watching him snatch it from her. You watched Dym pick and swallow with envious ease.

“I’m sure its nothing,” Olga said. “It is-- well, he probably wanted the company.” 

You turned your head over, propping your cheek on your hand. “And that’s why he wanted me to wear this dress.”

“Well--” Olga puffed out her lower lip. She’s struggling to make up a good enough excuse. You don’t blame her. You would too. “At times we should--”

“Should what?” you snapped. “He’s lying to me.”

You just knew it. The only evidence you needed was whoever he would have you meet. You had your suspicions and your hopes. “It isn’t him he wants me to marry.”

“Have a little faith in him.”

You watched Dym swallow his catch of the day and imagine Oleg probably looks the same as he negotiated trades-- or rather, threatened his way through them. You smoothed out your skirt and stood, holding Dym on your wrist.

“It’s hard to when he’s a tyrant. I’m going to shop.”

The journey into the sea of tents was a short walk. Male boys soared past you into the maze of testosterone and their own simple troubles. On occasion, you might have the occasional child, a girl, who stopped to marvel at your presence.

“You’re a princess!” an exclamation of the headdress, rather than a question.

You smiled chastely, “Unfortunately.”

The blonde-haired girl barely understood what you meant now. But maybe, one day, she would. You pressed into the makeshift village. Your fingers had barely run across a fine fur when you heard boots tapping down from the tent’s roof. You glanced up in time to catch a whirl of green and pale skin touch down. The pleats of Dym’s peppered wings outstretched, almost to take off, but you quickly snapped back.

“Prince Hvitserk,” snapped the old vendor, a man from Kattegat, where Hvitserk was born and raised. “Don’t tell me you’re up to your old antics.”

“Old habits die hard, old man.” Hvitserk looked that way, then another, sliding carefully behind you as if to wait for you to finish. It was a lie-- the edges of his fingers considered the back of your dress, tracing the loops of the fabric looped into a bow with his fingertips.

“Here to see my wares?”

“I’m in need of a new coat.” He answers.

He’s being brazen. Many days had not yet passed since you arrived here for the Thing where food and goods would be traded. Hvitserk acted as if-- he was fearful of nothing. The old man’s eyes crinkled in fuller wrinkles, knowingly pushing aside his table.

“Perhaps you should come look at my finer stock.”

“What a good idea. You’re full of them today.” Hvitserk stepped inside. You on the other hand did not. Not until the old vendor gestured his hand with a flick of his head. “Hurry on then. I remember being young. Go before the eyes find you.”

Inside the tent, you did find wealthier furs and capes. There was a place where an old woman was mending cloaks, sitting with an old elegancy you hoped to only come upon in your old age, should you get there. Thwacking behind another flap, you were tugged to the side.

Dym didn’t appreciate that either.

“Ow fuck--” Hvitserk jerked his leather-clad wrist back, not at all ignorant of the bird that was so stubbornly protective of its master, but rather annoyed as you found a stand for one of the old man’s birds. “I thought you taught him not to bite.”

“Not to bite?” you asked, verging on laughter. You set Dym on the stand to sit, languidly moving toward Hvitserk. He brought his leather gauntlet up to motion toward the striations that dominated his wrist.

Hvitserk hissed. “Yes not to bite-- what else?”

“He wouldn’t if you didn’t scare him.” You took his wrist, setting a small kiss to the affected area. Hvitserk hummed appreciatively for the motion. “Maybe I can live with it.”

“I wasn’t sure that you’d come.” He takes a step forward-- and you take one back-- back and back until your back connects with the lip of a table. You pull yourself on top of the heavy table, complete with a pile of furs from small game animals. Ones that the old man surely would sell out of before long.

“Why wouldn’t I?” you kept him ignorant of the truth, partially, because you wanted to be ignorant of it too. It was better when his breath was warm and gentle against your lips, close enough to be familiar. His thin lips pull from their usual flat lipped appeal, pulling with a practiced smile.

“I don’t know. I thought he wouldn’t let you,” he moves his lips soundlessly against the corner of your lips. Small, practiced butterfly kisses verged on a genuine full kiss to your lips. You leaned into the warmth of his cracked lips, only to receive his typical well rounded kiss, the one that said he wanted something else. Then, he moved on, drawing one after another against your neck, the occasional bite that had you smacking him--

“Don’t do that!”

“Why not?” he heaved, his breath was hot and warm, and how could you deny him?

“He’ll see.”

“Then let him see.”

Ten kings were gathered for the Alþing that warm summer evening where the warm waters ran freely, cascading down a local waterfall that set a calm and tranquil backdrop to the warm flicker of an open fire that kissed his cheeks inside a full tent. Ivar’s food had gone bad in a span of minutes in his lap.

Oleg has a way of ruining food. All kinds of food-- doesn’t matter what it is. The way he leans on the edge of the boundaries of society and never means the truth. It truly aggravates him. Ivar might be on the outside looking in but--

At least he means what he says.

“Why don’t you let my brother marry her?” Ivar said.

Sitting across from him at the blacksmith’s tent was Oleg the Prophet. His hair was cut short, smooth with the violent tattoos that marked him as a chieftain of his people; those who sailed east and came back to trade their wealth of goods. This year, he would trade more than honey and slaves.

“He’s insignificant.”

Ivar glanced through the open flaps where you rushed out beside Hvitserk from the old man’s tent. Your long skirt tumbled over the grass. The little children seemed to notice that, stopping you to talk, before they would scurry on. It had gotten late. Night had fallen. You donned Hvitserk’s dark fur. He shared something sweet with you at the tent next to the old man’s, smoothing his finger over your plump lip, and no one said anything. No one would say anything-- a son of Ragnar, a sister of the prophet.

Hvitserk was brazen. Ivar’s head swayed one side then snapped to another. In a rare flicker of empathy, Ivar spoke without weighing his options properly. “I’ve taken too much from him.”

Oleg sat imposingly across from him. His heavy boots propped on a smooth rock, and as he leaned into the flickering flame, it was to bully him into what he wanted. “Come on, Ivar the Boneless. You can’t tell me you’re denying my alliance?”

“No--” he looked ahead, bent over the axe in his lap. “What I am saying is--” the words stutter on their way out, rare for Ivar who normally bore his father’s silver tongue. He gestures with his metal pick, “Look at them.”

Oleg does him that favour and looks where you both stood. Hvitserk bent to whisper something into your ear. Something that the tooth locked prophet hasn’t missed, not in the way you clutched your long waterfall sleeves to your lips, smiling, nodding. He almost lurched up, his brow scrunched up in annoyance.

“What of it?”

��They are in love,” Ivar leaned into the prophet. “How can I take that from him?”

Oleg stared in a way that supplied his reply. “It is easy. You tell them or we can eliminate him entirely.”

“Are you threatening my brother?”

“Do I need to?”

He’s reminded of Hvitserk’s oath. He was going to submit himself to the element of violence-- and in return, he expected Ivar’s renewed loyalty. Unspoken forgiveness. The guards standing watch outside the door are reflections of the men Oleg holds over Ivar’s newly established troops as king.

“Come on Ivar the Boneless… I did not think you were such a stupid man. Here,” Oleg barked your name. “I’ll show you.” You scurried in, setting Dym in his cage, before looking toward Ivar and Oleg.

There’s a sudden realization that spreads across your face-- as if you want to say you knew it, but with your hand tense on the fur, you’re more concerned with whether or not Oleg had seen everything. Ivar looks down, his nails bitting the thickened skin of his palms.

“What is it?” you asked. Hvitserk trailed your steps. He stopped when Ivar’s hand shot out to cut him off from going a step further. His hand tremors. Oleg seized you by the shoulders and sat you down where he once sat, bending in nice and close, where his short-cropped beard itched your rosy cheek.

“You’re marrying Ivar.”

When Hvitserk looked at him, he knew he was fucked. Ivar swallowed dryly and accepts the wealth of eyes upon him when Oleg steps away. “You see?” he pats Ivar on the shoulder on his way out. “It is that easy.”

He knew that look. He’s been here before. Only this time-- he wanted to shout, rather than explain to his brother, that it wasn’t his fault. You sobbed something out but he only catches the end of it. No, no. Hvitserk knelt before you. Ivar faded into the background of the tawny tent.

He’s fucked.

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[shadaofallthings]

Harrow is thoroughly haunted (also very mentally unhealthy due to her parents/culture’s practices)

There are a couple points to this theory crafting I have, but the basic statement is as such: Harrow is haunted by more than one revenant, at the very least The Sleeper and AL/The Corpse but likely way more, potentially including every one of the 200 ghosts Harrow’s parents killed to make her. I’d also like to note that this theory will discuss mental health a main subject of its theorizing. Having mental health issues or possessing certain traits that society deems mentally unhealthy is not a mark against your own character, or a reason to try and be normal by society’s standards. This theory will also discuss potential physiological causes for mental health issues. If you are sensitive to such discussions, this is probably not the theory for you to be reading on a bad day for your own mental health.   The first thing this theory hinged on is Ortus’ ability to contribute to the summoning of Matthias Nonias through, as Abigail says without the narrative challenging her, passion alone. This establishes that while most works of passion and people’s attempts to connect with their departed loved may not be enough to create a link, a notably obsessive work of passion and focus, one worked on for years, can have effects on The River, and Revenants summoned from it. Pretty simple, all you gotta accept for this one is that people with certain obsessions or fixations, the kinds that keep them thinking about someone for years, can help summon ghosts. The second thing this is hinged on is that when you summon/forge a bond through the method that Ortus did, you shape how the ghost will be summoned into reality. This is most easily demonstrated by Matthias Nonias commenting, multiple times, on the fact its strange that he is speaking in meter, that his behaviors in his duel with The Sleeper were not the normal ones of a trained, legendary fighter, and that as people took on/professed the belief in that work of epic poetry fanfiction was legit and could summon Matthias he actually managed to be summoned to the reality bubble they were in and impose specifically that fanfic’s rules on both Matthias and The Sleeper.  Third, this theory is hinged on the actions and mental state of Harrow the First/Ninth, and the actions/culture/beliefs of people surrounding her. First off, I would like to establish that Harrow has been exposed to conditions that would cause her to be likely to develop symptoms that are on the schizo-spectrum of disorders (schizophrenia, schizotypal, etc etc). The first of such conditions is actually the most important from a biology perspective: Harrow’s immediate family has a practice for keeping their secrets. When they wish to discuss the family business they draw a bath of cold saltwater, get in it, and do it from there. It is explicitly described as “freezing” in both Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth by Harrow herself. Repeat hypothermia is a physiological trigger that can cause a person to develop schizospectrum disorders, and I would argue that her parents exposed her to repeat hypothermia, and Harrow would confirm these baths have been going on since she learned to keep secrets (likely around 5-7). Second, we have contributing factors to this mental state, most notably is the Incense that is described in Gideon as being used by The Ninth House in their worship. If, and this is a big if given how little we know specifics, this incense was Frankincense or uses similar molecular structures (possible given the influence of Christianity over the Dademperor’s Cult), we would know that Harrow all her life has been exposed to a mild hallucinogen (and also antidepressant, but that effect of frankincense isn’t relevant), which while unless overexposed significantly (to the point it would cause some lung damage if done repeatedly) she would’t have hallucinations NORMALLY, we have already discussed why Harrow’s brain chemistry wouldn’t be normal and this could have an affect overall on the development of her mental health. We also know from Harrow’ behavior and information about her parents that she herself gives that she has been instilled with a rather potent guilt complex over the 200 dead who were sacrificed to make her (One of her prayers included “and let me be buried in 200 graves” ffs). More miscellaneous stuff to include in contributing factors to Harrow being predisposed towards guilt and hallucinations and fixations as well includes Harrow being around the dead and dying for her entire life, being a Necromancer, both bad ventilation due to the infrastructure of the Ninth House as well as exposure to a nerve agent that canonically throws your brain into destructive overdrive, and discovering The Corpse in The Locked Tomb (this last one being notable as having happened around the beginning of puberty or during giving her a reason that her death fixation might become what is in cannon called Corpse Lust). She’s a kid, basically, in a hormonal shitstorm of growing up: she doesn’t know how to stop her head from doing fuckshit to itself). In addition to her fixation on The Corpse however is the sheer amount of time she spent worrying about it, lusting after it, being comforted by hallucinations of it, and otherwise spending a large amount of her mental effort thinking about The Corpse one way or another. Now, lets braid these threads into a rope. We know that passion and obsession can make a legitimate metaphysical link to a revenant, allowing them to find their way back into Shallower waters or even the world through objects and ideas (such as an epic poem fanfic, and potentially people, but DEFINITELY prayers [poems and phrases repeated that cause certain patterns of thoughts) given the nature of what we’ve seen). We know that Harrow has spent a large amount of her life giving worship, strong emotion and most importantly obsession towards The Corpse/AL. Also, we know from Harrow the Ninth in direct statements by some spirit focused allies that Revenants can use any connection they have to the world to get back into it, even if that’s in a limited capacity. For good measure, we also know that Harrow’s been giving this treatment to a more nebulous idea of All The People Who Died To Allow Her To Be Born/A Necromancer, and we also know that she has more connections spiritually which likely support that 200 people as well. As such, my claim is this: Harrow is both mentally affected in a way similar to what she thinks is her stated insanity in that she does experience hallucinations, moments of paranoia and panic over very little/nothing, and so on (worth noting is that Harrow would be exceptionally well adapted for coping with this. These changes are physical almost purely, as Gideon while inside Harrow’s head and getting a show of her perceptions either can not tell that Harrow didn’t have a corpse under her bed, or didn’t know that a potentially fugue state ridden Harrow moved a corpse there (its very unclear what actually went down in that scene and there’s a lot potentially going down but Gideon experiences life as Harrow does and that is what’s important). On the metaphysical side of things though, Harrow is Haunted by at least 2 ghosts, likely many more. She wouldn’t know because she is bad at Spirit magic, and potentially could be having her ghosts give her an aversion toward learning it, but it is commented on by more than one capable spirit necromancer (Dademperor and Abigail). She has to be haunted by The Sleeper, as the plot literally revolves around that being a thing, but she also shows more signs of a haunting. Harrow loses one of the hallucinations that always has been present with her in times of stress when she leaves her physical body behind during the Resurrection Beast fight, but the same hallucination is also present when Gideon rides her body into The River, potentially being a saving factor for Harrow’s original body, the body that would actually have the connection to The Corpse. In addition, Harrow when she emerges from The River had a connection that she followed back to her home in the form of the tomb, and where her obsession previously slept, a body that could never have been moved by anyone but her, the Dademperor or the revenant herself. In addition, the Corpse gives her advice on things she could have never known about more than once, and generally tries to do things that Harrow would find helpful or supportive (even if that would be creepy to her, like “bringing her tea” during a conversation with someone). As such, we can say without a shadow of a doubt that Harrow is haunted by two people, The Sleeper who is latching onto her thoughts through magics, likely, and The Corpse/AL who is entering our reality primarily through Harrow’s thoughts as she figures out how to be a person again and is exposed to more things that would give her connections (note how she becomes more coherent and proactive after Dademperor reminisces about her, her only other strong connection to the world beyond Harrow and her corpse). We can also infer that after so much time thinking about all the people who died for her in terms of guilt and their lost lives that she might also have the revenants of a few angry children/teens/young adults holding on.  TLDR: Harrow’s got a ghost “girlfriend” (wildly unhealthy for her) that possesses Harrow’s hallucinations of her, is haunted by The Sleeper for the course of at least Harrow(the book) and is potentially haunted by the revenants of every person who died to make her birth/magic possible.

[accioromione]

your last fic was nice... can you do a drunk! Hermione being horny for Ron please :( I like how you do it from Harry's POV

Omg okay I will try

It was a Hogsmeade weekend. Harry was excited because he had not seen Ginny in one month, he was also eager to see Hermione. He had grown used to her consistent voice of concerns that it felt oddly quiet without them. Ron, who was accompanying him was also ecstatic. When the two of them had decided to go onto Auror training, they had known that this would mean that they would spend the year separated from Ginny and Hermione, who had decided to return to Hogwarts.

Harry, although sad that he had to leave Ginny and Hermione aside, was happy he had Ron by his side. Doing Auror training with Ron reminded him of his Hogwarts days, when they would sit in the back of their classes and play around. However, Ron and Harry did not even remotely goof around during Auror training, the sense of having his best friend there gave training a more positive feel. Harry and Ron, who were no strangers to dark magic, did not struggle much in training. Harry had seen a great change in Ron in the last few years, he was talented, confident and determined, he also figured that having Hermione by his side was a factor at his new found confidence. Because Ron and Harry were excelling quite well in their training, they had been granted permission for a weekend off, which both of them had requested, in the hopes that they would be able to visit Ginny and Hermione. 

‘Are we apparating?’ Ron asked Harry, indicating towards his bags. 

‘I dunno, maybe we should floo’ Harry suggested, ‘you packed light’ he added, indicating towards Ron’s backpack, they had established that they would be staying in Hogsmeade for the weekend, both of them had gotten rooms in Hogsmeade, and although Hermione and Ginny weren’t technically allowed to sleep outside of Hogwarts, Harry was hoping she’d break the rules for him, he knew Ron was hoping the same thing about Hermione, and they both had a silent agreement  to not make it a topic of conversation. 

‘Well yeah, it’s just the weekend after-all, besides there’s a chance that Hermione won’t-’ he trailed off, his ears turning red,  ‘and I used the extendable curse Hermione taught me so I wouldn’t have too much to carry’ Ron responded, Harry hit his hand on his head, why hadn’t he thought of that? 

‘I should’ve thought of that’ Harry sighed, ‘sorry mate, apparition would be easier, I hate flooing’ 

‘It’s fine’ said Ron, ‘we can put the extendable charm on one of your bags and just put the other two in there’ Ron suggested, and he casually placed the charm on his smallest bag, Harry opened the bag to see that it was much larger on the inside. 

‘of course, brilliant,’ Harry said, ‘Hermione is really starting to influence you eh Ron, before you know it you’ll be quoting Hogwarts: a history’ 

Ron’s ears turned red, ‘doubtful- as much as I love her-’ he paused, blushing at what he had revealed to Harry ‘you could never catch me reading that, pretty sure she's the only person in the world to read it, bet you the Bathilda Bagshot didn’t even read it.’ Harry laughed, choosing to ignore Ron’s confession on his love for Hermione. 

Harry put the other two bags into the charmed one. 

‘Alright so that’s it, we’re settled then? They said they’d meet us outside the Three Broomsticks’ Ron told Harry, ‘wish they would’ve been able to go last week, y’know, for Hermione’s birthday’ Ron added 

‘S’all right, we’ll celebrate today’ Harry added, ‘ready?’ 

‘Ready, see you in a second mate’ Ron said, both of them pulled out their wands, Harry closed his eyes and thought of the Hogsmeade and the Three broomsticks, and sure enough Harry felt a sensation throughout his whole body that confirmed he was apparating, when he opened his eyes he saw the Three broomsticks and Ron standing by his side, who was now twisting his head, to look around for Hermione and Ginny. 

‘Where are they?’ Ron asked, stretching his neck, looking for any signs of Hermione or Ginny. 

Harry looked around too, and sure enough he saw a girl with bushy brown hair and smooth ginger locks making their way to them. Ron spotted them too, beaming at Hermione. 

‘Harry’ Ginny yelled, running at him.  Harry embraced her in a tight hug and placed his lips on her. Ron, who was too fixtated on Hermione, did not seem to mind this.  

‘Ron!’ Hermione yelled, beaming at him. He embraced Hermione, lifting her up off the ground and spinning her around, also going in for a kiss. Hermione put her arms around his shoulders and deepened it. After the excitement of seeing their significant others subsided, Harry gave Hermione a hug and Ron gave Ginny a hug. 

‘Nice to see you Harry!’ Hermione grinned, 

‘You too Hermione, happy belated birthday,’ he added, reaching in for his bag, when he felt his hand find a wrapped gift he took it out and gave it to her. 

‘Oh Harry, you didn’t have to! Thank you!’ Hermione said, taking it and giving him another hug. 

‘No problem, not as good as what Ron got you, but then again, he was worrying about it for a month, so I reckon I couldn’t have beat him anyway’ Harry added and Ron’s ears turned red. Harry and Ron were being paid for Auror training, and Ron, who had been worried about what to get Hermione a month prior to her birthday had been saving up just for her gift. Harry had gotten her a book, but Ron, who knew Hermione loved books, wanted to get her something that showed more significance in their relationship. They had been shopping around, and Ron had asked and looked around the whole day for a suitable gift for Hermione. In the end, Ron had bought a golden bracelet, that had sapphires, which was Hermione’s birthstone. encrusted in it. Ron had then spent money to get it magically customized so that, when it was placed on a book, it would be able to scan the whole book, and have it be able to recite the contents of the book either vocally, or could present the contents in a projection in front of the reader. Harry thought it was brilliant, it was like a magical audio book and projector all at once, when Harry had told Ron this he had looked at Harry confused, not realizing what an audio book or projector was. But it was perfect for Hermione, as she always had her back hunched reading, this way she’d be able to read at ease, and also have a pretty bracelet to wear. Ron had put all his savings and a lot of thought into the gift, and the idea of Ginny seeing that scared Harry for the expectations he’d have for her birthday. 

Hermione looked at him with a sparkle in his eye, ‘oh Ron you didn’t have to stress about my birthday gift- you just started training!’ 

‘I wanted to’ Ron said Hermione beamed at him ‘I er...want to give it to you in private, if that’s okay’ Ron said shyly to Hermione.

‘Harry and I are going to go for a stroll’ Ginny said, taking the hint, ‘we’ll meet you in the three broomsticks for drinks later’ 

Harry followed Ginny and they enjoyed their private time together. The only other date he’d ever gone on in Hogsmeade was the one with Cho in his fifth year, and he had to admit, this experience was much more enjoyable. As the evening approached, he and Ginny went to the three broomsticks, meeting up with Ron and Hermione, and the four of them settled at a booth. 

Harry sat beside Ginny and Ron sat beside Hermione, who was now wearing the golden bracelet Ron had bought him. They each ordered a couple of butterbeers, Ginny suggested a couple of firewhiskey’s as well to celebrate being together as well as Hermione’s birthday. Harry took one shot, and decided that was enough for him. Ginny had two shots and one butter beer, and seemed to able to handle it quite well for her size. Ron, much to Harry’s surprise, only had one firewhiskey and two butterbeers. Hermione, however, was already on her fourth shot of firewhiskey, and her face was looking flushed. She was about to order a fifth shot, and Ron shot her a look of concern. 

‘You don't think that’s enough for the night Hermione?’ Ron hesitantly asked 

Hermione’s cheeks were now a deep pink due to the effects of the alcohol, she smiled at Ron and hugged him. ‘You’re always so concerned about me you handsome man’ she said as she kissed him on the cheek 

‘Did you two see what he got me?’ she sighed at Harry and Hermione, and she drunkenly lifted her arm to show the bracelet on her hand. Ron’s ears turned red and Ginny giggled. 

‘Yes Hermione I know, you’ve told us two times’ Ginny said, smiling. 

‘He didn’t even have to! I just wanted to see him! Even if it was just a bracelet....but no he had to go get it all charmed too.....isn’t he amazing?’ Hermione sighed, looking at Ron adoringly. 

Ginny sighed, half amused, half annoyed at the adoration Hermione was showing for her brother.

‘Yeah, until you hear him singing in the shower’ Ginny teased

‘Oi!’ Ron said, his arm around Hermione, as he was supporting her to say up.

Hermione seemed to pay no mind to the joke, she put her head on Ron’s shoulder and sighed.... ‘Ou, you’re right, I love Ron in the shower......Especially when I’m there with him’ she said, now closing her eyes and embracing him. 

Ron coughed embarrassingly and Ginny looked disgusted. Harry also thought he could have done without that bit of information.  Hermione seemed to pay no mind to what she had said, she had drunkenly made her way onto Ron’s lap and Ron was supporting her back, making sure she would not tip over. 

‘You sick prat, you’re loving this’ Ginny said to Ron, 

But Ron also was paying no mind to Ginny. He had been keeping his composure in front of Harry and Ginny but it looked as though that had been eliminated the moment she had gone on his lap. Ron and Hermione were now sharing a heated kiss and Harry and Ginny looked at each-other awkwardly. 

‘Right- yeah, well....we’ll be off’ Ginny added, grabbing Harry’s hand and getting up, but the only response Ginny got was Ron moving his hands to put through Hermione’s hair. 

Harry retreated with Ginny, leaving money on the table for their drinks.

‘TAKE CARE OF HER RON....’ Ginny yelled back before exiting with Harry 

‘Right- well...’ Ginny said as they were now outside ‘now we know not to mix alcohol and Hermione’ 

‘Didn’t know she had it in her’ Harry added, looking at Ginny amused. 

‘All what Ron needs right? His head to get bigger?’ Ginny joked. 

‘They’re good for each-other,’ Harry said, ‘I doubt he see’s Hermione that way- he....he really loves her.’ 

Ginny looked at him, with a now serious face, ‘I know...she loves him too.’ 

‘And I love you’ Harry said simply, Ginny kissed him.

‘I love you too Harry’ Ginny responded.

‘I er, I was wondering , I got a room, and I know you’re not supposed to sleep outside of Hogwarts, but seeing as it’s the weekend and-’ he was interrupted with another kiss, 

‘Since when did you think I’d follow the rules?’ Ginny joked, ‘I’m not going to see you for another two months, of course I’ll spend the night here....Hermione will with Ron too obviously, reckon she’ll get in less trouble doing that than showing up at Hogwarts all pissed.’

Harry grinned, he and Ginny started to retreat and saw a Ron and Hermione also leaving the restaurant. Ron was carrying Hermione on his back, and she had her head buried in his shoulder, he saw Ron turn his head back to place a light kiss on Hermione’s forehead. 

‘At least I can say my brother’s a gentleman’ Ginny sighed, looking at the two of them. 

Harry, without a doubt, knew that Ron was indeed a gentleman, especially when it came to Hermione. And as Hermione’s close friend, he was very happy that she was with someone like Ron, who clearly cared about her very much. And with that, Harry and Ginny walked off, and Harry decided to forget that he would be separated from Ginny soon, and enjoy the rest of the weekend. 

(I thought this would be smutty but it ended up fluffy idk) 

[marginal-notes]

TLOK Episode One a.k.a. Korra immediately goes on a rampage

So, as mentioned, I’m finally getting around to watching The Legend of Korra with all of my terrible tastes and general thoughts. 

Don’t give me spoilers, my indignation will be funnier without them. 

What I Know About Korra Going In:

If the show can have all of Aang’s bending teachers still around for the audience’s nostalgic pleasure, Suki better be alive and kicking too or I am going to throw a fit

Technology progressed pretty intensely in ways that I will want to pick apart later

Listen, what the fuck is Republic City. Why. Why does this exist. Show you better answer me fast with why this exist for a legitimate in world reason that isn’t just: “The audience is a bunch of American kids and teenagers and we want to uphold the liberal ideals of democracy because of course that’s the motives of the victors after a global war of probably unprecedented scope despite like, Zero (0) indication that the idea of democracy was rattling around anyone’s heads in ATLA.” 

If this is the reason, I’m going to quit watching. Disgraceful. Disgusting.

Something involving anti-bender sentiment.

Something involving something called the Red Lotus which I am side-eyeing the shit out of 

Bloodbending?????

Spirit World shenanigans and Avatar backstory that’s on thin ice with me. 

Love triangles. UGH. TERRIBLE. WHY DOES MEDIA DO THIS. WHO FINDS THIS INTERESTING. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SO YOU CAN EXPLAIN TO ME. 

Alright, here we go. 

WELL, 30 SECONDS IN AND I GOT MY WISH FOR AN EXPLAINATION ABOUT REPUBLIC CITY.

Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko transformed the Fire Nation colonies into the United Republic of Nations, a society where benders and nonbenders from all over the world could live and thrive together in peace and harmony.

Okay. I’m.... I’m going to withhold judgement for now until I watch like, literally more than 30 seconds to fully form my thoughts about this move. I THINK IT’S A DUMB MOVE AND IF THIS IS WHY PEOPLE KEEP HAVING FIRE NATION DEMOCRACY FICS I QUIT.

So. We get a panning shot into this city. Very urban city that’s the product of the industrialization and like whatever the hell that propaganda voice over is talking about. 

As a method of setting the scene and immediately letting the viewers feel and know the passage of time between ATLA and TLOK, I love this shot. There’s no mistaking this for being immediately after ATLA. We’re listening to one of Aang’s kids. There are skyscrapers. The Fire Nation palace in ATLA probably counted towards the architectural development towards urban skyscrapers, but that architecture is fully formed by TLOK. Brilliant. 

I'm the Avatar! You gotta deal with it!

What a cute brat. Her poor parents, oh my god. 

Also, is she supposed to be a prodigy. 

Again with immediately setting contrasts against ATLA. Very cool demonstration, extremely effective distinction between Aang’s journey around the world trying to find teachers and learning how to bend in the middle of a war vs. Korra at peacetime with a whole entire facility dedicated to her. 

Not sure about how I feel regarding the White Lotus’s presence. 

IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE KATARA????

That's your grandmother, Meelo.

Does he not visit his parents. It can’t be that hard to swing by for like. Yearly festivals if the Water Tribe has those. I don’t see why not. Maybe something for when the winter night ends, I can see that being festive. 

Tenzin do you like. Not call? Not write?? Sir???

Oh my god, Pema. I hope she really likes kids, despite how rowdy they are. 

Wait. How old is Tenzin. Thirties to forties? 

How old is Katara. 

Is this going to be a repeat of the Fire Nation royal miracle babies. 

I get that, but I don't think keeping me locked up in this compound like a prisoner is what he had in mind.

Going by the episode title, I bet we know what Korra has in mind. Speaking of this compound, where’s the Southern Tribe? The aerial shots look like it’s in the middle of nowhere. Is she so far removed that she doesn’t even spend time with the tribe she was born into? Cause that sure as hell wasn’t how Aang was raised. 

Honestly fascinating as these contrasts keep coming. The bizarre presence of the White Lotus. The way her teachers come to her instead of her seeking her teachers the way Aang and Roku did. 

The Avatar must have always been a special political figure, without any good contemporaries to our world, to be honest. Back in ATLA, we see that Roku isn’t beholden to Fire Nation citizenship - he seems to transcend that. And it honestly seems important that Roku and Aang went out to the world, experienced the other nations and their ways of life. I think Aang does have a line regarding this. 

Because Korra’s situation? Can easily turn into a nightmare, given the realities of what being the Avatar could easily mean. 

OKAY THIS SHIP. Very cool looking, very neat, I continue to love every visual manifestation of the passage of time between ATLA and TLOK. One small question. What’s with the rigging poles. 

(source)

To be fair, this is a battleship from the British navy, but aesthetically I think we can say this is a fair inspiration. From what I remember while researching the coal fic, the rigging and poles there serve no function. It’s aesthetical. At best, there’s a limited function, but it’s predominantly for aesthetics in the transition into the ships like the Titanic with no rigging at all. 

Which raises my question about WHY ON EARTH?? The Fire Nation navy in ATLA??? Were clearly way past this stage in design? Literally during Sozin’s time too??? Almost two hundred years before this current shot in TLOK? Why would the ship design regress like this??? The Water Tribe ships probably wouldn’t evolve into the designs that Europe used? Earth Kingdom ships would probably be more inspired by East Asian designs which also wouldn’t end up with this system for sails? 

Where does this aesthetic come from. 

IS THAT A CAR. 

....

.......

..........

I am not qualified at all for dissecting the potential social and cultural explanation for the western influenced aesthetics appearing. I am but an ignorant banana, I don’t know shit. 

.......

oooooooh this is going to slowly annoy me isn’t it.......... 

That will be twenty yuans.

[Jaws theme]

The city's huge. I bet we could find a place to rustle up something to eat.

You know, I’ve seen plenty of weird shit in Central Park and around NYC before. Korra, you are so unprepared.  

Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders? Then join the Equalists!

Oh boy. Let’s.... let’s put a pin in this thought. I’ll come back to it once I know more about what’s going on. Because. This will either be fun. Or I’m going to have to create a second spite fic folder. Please, show, don’t give me reason to create a second spite fic folder. 

On a different note though, I really do love the choices so far for setting up this show’s forward path. There’s no way to mistake this as a rerun of ATLA. This is it’s own separate story and I love that. I really do respect that. The way the different threads are emerging feel really smooth: 1) the impact of Korra’s isolation towards her culture shock in the giant city - which must smell and sound REALLY weird to her; 2) her prodigious talent in the physical, exciting parts of bending meshing with her teenage nature and also clashing with the spiritual parts of being the World Bridge; 3) the absolute hot bed of chaos every part of Republic City must be. 

Kinda funny that people would still have sideburns in the same style as from like. Seventy years ago. Vintage. 

Mr. Chung, please tell me that you have my money, or else I can't guarantee I can protect your fine establishment.

My terrible taste in interests rears its head again. Listen, you cannot imply something like the mafia or the triads exist in universe and not have me immediately ALL OVER THAT. Republic City, you are such a mess. Like, for this alone, I might write a single fic for TLOK that’s just about trash collection and disposal. And corruption. And- 

I am fascinated by the genetics and molecular/cellular biology behind the yellow and white eyes in this universe. 

Police! Freeze where you are!

Bitch what the fuck. How many of these rigid airships are part of the police. Are all of them for the police? Are the police literally patrolling people from the sky? 

Also, that better be helium in those ships instead of hydrogen by this point in time. I’ve already made my post about the fleet of hydrogen ships in Sozin’s Comet. 

How much property damage is being inflicted thanks to these couple minutes. The police just. Stab the brick work. There have got to be so many bitchy lawsuits about that. 

This poor girl’s culture shock. 

HEY I HOPE THAT POLICE OFFICER SWUNG THEMSELF ON A CLOTHLINE, NOT AN ELECTRIC LINE LIKE I FIRST THOUGHT. 

HEY YOU CAN RIP SOMEONE’S SCALP OFF LIKE THAT. 

HEY WHAT IS WITH THIS WHOLE SCENE. 

HOW ARE THEY JUST RIDING ON THOSE WIRES, HOW MUCH TENSION IS IN THAT STUFF. 

HOW DOES THAT ZEPPLIN MOVE THAT FAST AND LIKE. AGILE. 

YALL. 

WHY DOES THE POLICE STATION LOOK LIKE THAT

Well then, why are you treating me like a criminal? Avatar Aang and your mother were friends. They saved the world together.

Oh this bit is fascinating, I love it. It’s only been 18 minutes, but the level of sheer propaganda everywhere trailing after Aang is really cool. There’s so much I want to know now about how Aang got from the end of ATLA, where he probably wasn’t thinking AT ALL about this kind of cult legacy forming around him, to this. 

Lin Beifong’s shut down of Korra’s attempt to use her status as Avatar is great. Just because Korra’s born into this elite role and then locked up and probably pampered in her compound, where everyone is well aware of her status and what it means, it doesn’t mean she gets to strut around with no idea how stuff works or the context behind what she’s seeing and then doing whatever she wants. 

Contrasts, love ‘em. 

On a different note, the design of this room. 

As far as I can tell, it’s a dim, doorless room, which is honestly. Really terrible design. And it says something about the way the Republic City police functions and how that reflects on the chaos of the city itself. 

Putting someone dragged into the police station in a dim room without any door as a sign of a possible escape is just a terrible idea. The only thing you’re going to succeed in is making the person tenser and more belligerent. Your suspect or witness gets more nervous, gets more combative, gets more unreliable in this kind of environment. In turn, the police probably starts feeling more and more entitled to harsher retaliation. Conflict resolution? De-escalation? That really doesn’t look like its in the core of the city police. They’re wearing armor for god’s sake. 

Everything so far in this first impression of the police is really damning about their attitude and Lin Beifong’s leadership. Rather than using a rappel line down from the airships, they damage buildings. In chasing Korra, they further damage property. The armor, this freaking room. The fact that so much about the active police shown so far depends on metalbending, which implies that very few people can join the field police. The fact that for the gang to be so blatantly in the open about their presence and territory, there must be dirty cops on their payroll. 

There has to be so much Lin Beifong hate in this city. 

I have done my best to guide Republic City toward the dream my father had for it, but you're right. It has fallen out of balance since he passed.

If anyone tries convincing me Republic City was ever in “balance” they’re a punk ass liar. I don’t think the city could have ever been in balance, whatever that is. The way it was created, the speed it expanded, the life that must be lived there - balance? Don’t kid me with that propaganda. 

Tenzin could be trying to find a balance alright. I just wonder how many people vehemently disagree with his idea of balance. 

Hello? I'm Korra, your new Avatar.

Well, TLOK is definitely in the era of mass distribution of news and the idea of public sentiment at a level never seen before. This is going to be very interesting for its populist implications, along with other developments regarding politics. 

Oh Korra. Did no one try rehearsing this with you? This is a terrible first impression for you to give to people. 

Also, what is this building. Is this like a city hall? Why is the roof on the building to the side slanted like that. That’s an angle I’d expect from like. Snow concerns. In northern Europe. 

Love that Avatar Aang propaganda. Starting to feel like we’re going to see a lot of it going forward. 

Oh my god, everything about this press briefing (?) is highly concerning. This rampaging teenager suddenly appearing without any warning or announcement. The clear lack of script or practice. The open location just to anyone instead of to a select set of journalists who would be sympathetic/under government control. Lin fucking Beifong and Tenzin being the only people accompanying Korra on the stage. 

What a disaster. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

You know, I’m enjoying this more than I expected to. The general writing is great, the use of visuals and other small details to set the time and place is excellent, the worldbuilding implications are rich in potential. I’m looking forward to exploring where the plot threads introduced so far will lead towards!

[silver-spider-art]

ToA: Trollhunters vs Wizards

First I don’t want to come off like I don’t think people should enjoy Wizards. Its a fun story and as a stand-alone or an AU its funny with so many call backs to favorite characters, and many emotional moments. Lots to enjoy on its own. However, it is AU. It doesn’t fit in the same timeline of events as what was hinted at and implied in ToA:Trollhunters. I believe the biggest reason beyond the tight time frame the crew had to work under is just that the main writers that were responsible for the majority of the original script for ToA:Trollhunters didn’t return to Wizards for whatever reason (they are back for the movie so fingers crossed). The people who wrote Wizards mostly had teleplay credits on ToA:Trollhunters (edited the screen play but didn’t write it) so while they’d been deeply involved in the original... well clearly a lot of ideas were lost in the swap.

So, why do I say the timeline was screwed up by Wizards version of events?

The opening of Wizards tells us that it’s the late 12th century and then says the present is 900 years later. We know that the current year is 2016 because Enrique’s crib in the Darklands lists him as born in 2016 (so while this doesn’t directly set the shows date it can’t be much past that and assuming Enrique is less than a year old, we can say it is 2016). Now 2016 - 900 is actually 1116 which is early 12th century, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

This drastically changes how we understand the history of this world. If Deya is the first Trollhunter, then all other Trollhunters existed between 1116 and 2016. We see at least 14 troll statues in the Hero’s Forge and we also see several others in storage when Claire retrieves Angor Rot’s head for Morgana, so we can assume a minimum of ~20 Trollhunters. This gives us an average of 45 years as the life span of a Trollhunter. And yes that might seem long to a human but we are told the oldest troll was 5,352 years old and since Vendel, Blinky, Arrrgh, and Draal are all there to see the first Trollhunter chosen and thus well over 900 years old (Draal is straight up said to be 1200 years old during ToA:Trollhunters), then to be chosen by the amulet would be a quick death sentence. Now, while Blinky does only say that the Trollhunters date back to the age of Merlin, this is implied to be further back than the lifetimes of the trolls of Heartstone Trollmarket. Draal talks about spending his entire life training to be worthy of it. Kanjigar pushed his son away to protect him from the dangers of the Trollhunter’s duty implying Draal was young and not an adult during this time, and the absolute faith the trolls have in the amulet and their reliance on the protection of the Trollhunter implies that they’d grown up seeing this as normal. Yet as shown in Wizards, Draal was an adult when the amulet was made. If this was the case he would've seen the amulet pick literally anyone other than him for 900 years and have no reason to think it’d pick him now. Also while showing Jim the box of stones to try in his amulet Vendel talks about Maddrux the Many from legends of old. So old they’d all forgotten what the stone’s actual power was, thinking it was the power of great strength and not the ability to make copies of yourself. 900 years, as we’ve established, isn’t long for a troll. Would you call something a legend of old if it was an event you were alive for? Even if Maddrux didn’t hang out in Heartstone Trollmarket, Maddrux wouldn’t have been an ancient legend. Vendel would've been alive for every Trollhunter to have ever been, so would’ve Blinky, yet they talk about the Trollhunter and the amulet in a revered way that doesn’t befit something which happened within a single lifetime, a single troll generation. 900 years is long for humans, but not for trolls. They would all have to have such bad memories if this is to be believed. 

Another point of contention is Angor Rot. It is shown in a flashback that Angor Rot gets power from Morgana in 1297 with the location stated as Bulgaria, Black Sea... which Wizards shows us Angor Rot taking Morgana here after she drowns... but Camelot is in England/UK (in the normal legends)... that seems quite the journey for a dead girl he randomly found but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. He calls her forth by 4 names Argante (queen of Avalon or another name for Morgan Le Fey), Pale Lady, Baba Yaga, Eldrith Queen. So one, Angor Rot knows who he’s calling to, he’s not addressing the other spirits that Wizards showed using this place. Also it implies that Morgana has gained quite the legacy of power and influence. Now, when he gets her attention he says “Gunmar’s war for the surface lands has ravaged my village. I need the power to protect my people.” This very heavily implies that the war is ongoing. Based on Wizards, Gunmar was sealed away 181 years ago. It’s also strongly implied that all the Gumm-Gumms except Bular are gone now. So... who’s destroying Angor Rots village? Also we see Morgana’s hand in this scene, so either she’s really good at manifesting or she hasn’t been sealed yet. And if it was a manifestation, why would she make a physical ring? Regardless, she tells him he’s to seek Merlin’s Champions and kill his Trollhunters. Angor Rot was later sealed away in an ancient ruin of Aysa-Thoon in Ranthambore, India (which is in the middle of a tiger reserve btw). It’s old and overgrown implying he’s been there a while. Otto also says he found the location in old tomes so at the very least Angor Rot has been sealed away for centuries. So he runs around killing Trollhunters for ~300-400 years. If this is after the Killahead Bridge battle as Wizards would have us believe, then the only trolls on the evil side killing Trollhunters are just Angor Rot and Bular... which just seems off to me for how everything else is talked about in ToA:Trollhunters. 

The Janus Order and the changelings are another confusing point that Wizards makes worse. When asked about changelings Blinky says that in the Old World Gumm-Gumms stole their young and did something unnatural to them and that their main purpose was to spy on the surface lands. Blinky also says that the Janus Order is an ancient guild of changeling spies, as old as they are mysterious. The phrasing of both these points imply that changelings have existed for a very long time by troll standards, not something that happened well within the lifespan of every troll seen in the show. In Wizards we see all of one changeling who’s already an adult and implies his power is new. Gunmar uses plural when he talks about Morgana’s changelings but they are also very clearly a brand new thing. From ToA:Trollhunter we know that human babies and changelings are exchanged through fetches into and out of the Darklands but if Wizards is to be believed and all the Gumm-Gumms except Bular were sealed away after the Killahead Bridge battle in 1116... who was stealing the babies? Bular? Considering how much Bular hates changelings I have a hard time picturing him setting up the exchanges to get the Janus Order established entirely on his own. If we assume there were a few changelings left loose after Morgana was sealed away... maybe... but Morgana and Gunmar just met and have worked together for like 3 days max... why are they so reliant on each other. And if most of the changelings were made after Morgana was sealed away then why are changelings like Otto so beholden and worshipful towards her? In his Janus Order orientation speech Strickler calls her their Lady Creator and that seems undisputed by any of the changelings. It is implied that Morgana is the only reason their are changelings. NotEnrique says he’s centuries old which means he’d been waiting in the Darklands as a baby until he was needed which I always took to mean that all the captured troll babies had been changed by Morgana before she was sealed away. If Morgana isn’t actually needed to make changelings, then why do they worship her and answer to her over Gunmar? Also Morgana only whispered to the changelings like Otto, never to Gunmar in the Darklands, so she couldn’t have helped set up the changeling magic from that side. 

Then there is Morgana and Gunmar’s relationship. What we see in Wizards, Morgana becomes the champion of the 3 new elemental villains, she makes a changeling (off screen) and sends him to kill her brother, only then does she go see Gunmar. When Morgana talks to Gunmar she immediately brings up the Eternal Night, which... if she’s the champions of the 3 elemental beings who want the humans dead to bring balance to the world... how does the eternal night help them? It certainly wouldn’t help Nari of the Eternal Forest and I can’t think of any reason the other two would want that either. It only helps trolls (trolls who don’t realize that all their food sources need sunlight to exist). After we see her add the mind control power to Gunmar’s Decimaar Blade we don’t learn anything else she does for the Gumm-Gumms. To be honest, if I were Gunmar at this point I’d assume she set me up. Some sorceress shows up, is the king’s sister, she frees your son with a new troll hybrid thing you think is impure in order to get you to trust her and gives you a weapon upgrade to make you think you should go all in on the next battle and then you and your whole army gets locked away for 900 years... kinda no reason to think she ever had your back, especially not to the point that you trust people who say they’ve gotten visions from her in a worshipful way. She very clearly did Gunmar no favors in Wizards. 

Merlin, oh Merlin... one, he’s entirely useless in the entirety of Wizards and always doing something wrong or just not having any power to do anything which is just baffling compared to the power he was throwing around in ToA:Trollhunters. As we see Morgana get sealed away in Wizards, it’s Douxie doing the sealing and Merlin has already fallen down and is asleep for some reason. This despite the fact that in ToA:Trollhunters he claimed he needed to use nearly all his power to seal her away and that was why he was asleep. That her being free meant he could get his power back which just... isn’t how anything happened in Wizards. Also Merlin very pointedly claimed that Jim couldn’t defeat Gunmar as a human, that he would die. But, in Wizards Merlin had originally been building the amulet for Arthur, a human. It was only afterwards that he decided to make it for trolls. So was the only reason Jim had to be a troll because the Jim he met was a troll? Because that is just really fucked up. The speech he gave Jim about needing to sacrifice his humanity, it implied that Merlin had planned this all out, seen this moment... but Wizards Merlin was just constantly in reaction mode and was completely backing Arthur and ignoring literally anything anyone else said until right before they went to the trolls for help. Merlin didn’t give a shit about trolls and they also hated him... but afterwards they love him to the point that they’ll talk worshiply about him? And why did they have to go back to the past? Merlin was so insistent they go back to the past at the start of Wizards... implied like they needed to flee the enemy but a moment after the kids are lost in time he just defeats the skull ship and no one that’s left on Camelot is in danger  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. 

Also when Merlin and King Arthur go to the trolls to ask for help, at this point in Wizards it’s mostly been shown to be a battle between Gunmar and King Arthur for territory. It’s implied that the other trolls have until recently been more hurt by Arthur than Gunmar and Gunmar is only now trying to force them to join because he needs more recruits. Yet in ToA:Trollhunter the war was stated to be mostly a disagreement between Gumm-Gumms and all the “good” trolls and the humans just the victims. Everything in ToA:Trollhunters implied that humans didn’t stand a chance against trolls, Gunmar was endlessly dismissive but in Wizards King Arthur and company were a real danger to trolls, Cal/Deya was nearly taken out by an arrow. In fact the trolls of Dwoza were so useless that they needed humans to train them how to fight. They had no warriors? Where were Draal and Kanjigar during the fight with Arrrgh? So all of the trolls who would become the Heartstone Trollmarket trolls (including Bagdwella) had to be trained to fight by humans before Killahead but then were so disgusted by human Trollhunter Jim that they fainted? That they thought the very idea that a human could fight a troll was laughable? Yeah, that doesn’t make sense. 

And Killahead Bridge, let us not forget. It is the portal to the Darklands but as Cal/Deya walks over it she dismissively says its nothing but a bridge over a dried up river so clearly Wizards is saying that Gunmar isn’t actively using the bridge as a portal, in fact we see no portals or any sort of magic used by trolls in Wizards, not even the door like in Heartstone Trollmarket, Dwoza just has a physical door. The only person who seems to have known that the bridge was a portal was Merlin as he is making battle plans. This also implies that the whole point of the amulet was just to seal Gunmar away in the Darklands. Which is just... why? The amulet hadn’t even been tested against Gunmar yet at this point. This brings up so many questions about the Darklands that are more confusing like how anyone figured out the fetches if travel back and forth from the Darklands wasn’t a thing until after the bridge became a sealed door. 

As for the Trollhunters themselves, what were they all doing if every other Trollhunter existed between Deya and Kanjigar? Deya defeated Gunmar and sealed him away leaving only Bular and Angor Rot and the changelings. We know they weren’t fighting the Janus Order because Blinky had to look them up in a book and Blinky has actively been involved in several instances of Trollhunters (at least Kanjigar and Unkar) so he should know. Jim killed both Bular and Angor Rot, to whom everyone else just died. So what were they doing? Just cleaning up Gnome messes and Goblin battles? If there were no other Gumm-Gumms to fight, why was it a revered position that anyone wanted. The way Wizards sets up the timeline its more a curse that just means you have a countdown timer until Bular kills you. Also every single Trollhunter in the void tells Jim its suicide to fight Gunmar, even after he killed Bular. But by Wizards logic the first time the amulet was used against Gunmar it was able to seal him away forever with hardly a fight. If anything they should think Bular was more powerful than his father by that logic. It all just makes no sense. 

There is more, like character backstory elements that upset me. For example how Arrrgh’s trauma over his treatment as a pet by Gunmar was ignored by Wizards and how his fear of violence was intrinsically linked to that trauma which fueled his insistence on pacifism and how Wizards showed him just casually hitting people after swapping sides with out any issues and that is just very upsetting to me, but that’s a very different rant. 

In conclusion, Wizards has a lot of fun elements to it and can be a very fun watch, but it comes off like fan fiction to me, an alternate universe unconnected to the rest of canon. It doesn’t understand the world building that was established in ToA:Trollhunter and absolutely breaks its own timeline. 

I’ve always pictured the line of Trollhunters stretching back to the Broze Age and the beginning of humanity, a war that has lasted several millennia, long enough that every troll in Trollmarket grew up in war, their lives shaped by it. A war that stretched out into their parents and grandparents generations. Which is completely doable from what we know of troll ages. Gunmar could easily be 4,000 years old (he looks it with all his cracks) and still not beat the oldest troll on record. Merlin always felt inhuman and ancient (centuries long nap and he just has to crack his spine), so he could be far far older than the Arthurian legends and have gone by many names. Also I clearly wasn’t the only one with this idea as if you read the Trollhunters novels or comics based after ToA:Trollhunters those authors assumed as I did. One novel has Jim and the gang go back to 501 AD to see Gunmar lose his eye to Orlagk. The Comics show an early Trollhunter interacting with humans from the stone age. To me this makes so much more sense. Trolls are old and long lived, it only makes sense that their perception of what constituted ancient be very different to what we humans see as ancient. They are also shown to be very slow to change, which is why it makes sense that the Trollhunter mantel is something that has been around longer than the current living trolls.

So anyway, I just really hope the movie doesn’t rely on too much of the nonsense that was shown in Wizards and is a fun romp. I loved full troll Jim and I miss half-troll Jim already. It just feels like his whole sacrifice was meaningless, that by undoing it and showing that humans can fight trolls just fine that it had been for nothing. Its just very disappointing. But that’s just my opinion (but then I’ve always voted for a Jim who can change back and forth and really have one foot in each world).