#someone save me.....my hubris man

[doodles-in-sand]

"Those who believe in "Because it's Not My

justice assemble!" Fault!"

"An ever-victorious FIRE "Why won't you

burn so high till it stop hurting me?"

becomes ash"

[yuri-is-online]

And Your Name Is? (Malleus and Ace)

Synopsis- After successfully resolving whatever was causing NRC to be trapped in an endless time loop of overblotting and disaster, one last reset should give him a chance to experience a normal school year with you. But instead you find yourself trapped in the here and there, appearing as a vague shadow around the school that vanishes as soon as he catches up to you. The kind thing to do would be to allow you to be forgotten in the chance it lets you return to your world.

But this is Twisted Wonderland where the kind thing is seldom done, and he wants you back as much as you want to find him again.

a/n: The first version of this can be found on my masterlist here (x) . I have been thinking of a million scenarios for each of the boys because I am real attached to this sort of trope and will probably write more in the future.

notes: they/ them pronouns used for Yuu, angst with the intent of comfort. Everyone in this post is a wee bit pathetic but then these two kinda are. The love triangle of all time I tell you /j

Malleus Draconia

Malleus is a king, his rule is absolute and his word commands the reality around him.  Literally sometimes, it would appear, as he looks up longingly at the ramshackle window.  A shape flickers there, one he has flown to greet many times before.  For memories that don’t exactly belong to him they are vivid, the shape and feel of your hand weighs heavy in his as he wills himself to remain on the ground; there is no guarantee the night sky will remain cloud free if he is forced to watch you disappear now.  He used to think the thought of a power beyond him laughable, but when he sees you now, this strange colorless void that refuses to fully leave his world, he is almost certain that there must be.  There must be some divine force in the world that is punishing him for his hubris in thinking that he could stop the wheel of time; punishing him for refusing to treasure the time he had to spend with you and thinking he could spend your life as he pleased.

It was ironic really, how powerless he felt when you disappeared from view.  Like you were the god and he was the child of man groveling at your feet for a chance at salvation.  An introspective part of him wonders if this is how his people see him; it is most displeased with how little he cares, all regalia abandoned at the foot of a human that cannot be saved with any magic he can weave.

“Lilia says I should see this as practice for when you are older.”  His guardian had decided to be considerate of his feelings when he came to him for advice.  If Lilia had been acting only as an advisor, it hurts his heart to think of what he would have said.  “I wonder, would you prefer me if I was human?  Would this be easier, could I have made you stay?”  You do not immediately appear to reassure him, no one does.  He supposes no one could, Malleus Draconia is not above wishing for things despite what Sebek might think.  A light layer of frost covers the walls of the old mansion, it is becoming harder to focus on the stars.  “It is cruel of me to wish to keep you here with me, children of men do not belong trapped in the dark; but what a sight you would be.”  He can picture you clearly, time is cruel but this re-set timeline is much crueler.  Your face and the sound of your voice are still his to cherish, but he has no pictures or records to refresh his memory when it inevitably begins to fail.  

“Tsunotarou?”  Yes, the frost begins to retreat as he resigns himself to his grief, that is what your voice sounded like.  Someone reaches to touch his face, and to his surprise he allows them.  Yes, he takes in a deep breath that goes on for so long it almost hurts him, this is your scent, your appearance filling his vision and blocking the stars from view.  “You look so lonely.”  And you look so confused, but more importantly you look unafraid as he takes your hands from his face and intertwines your fingers.

“And if I am?”  He tries to give you a charming smile, one that he knows will only work on his family and you.

“Then…”  you look confused, like you are searching his face and recognizing him but unaware of what you are looking for.  “If you are my Tsunotarou, then I wouldn’t want you to be lonely.”

“Then stay.”  Stay here and keep him company until you are nothing but the dust you were born from and allow him to stay by the side of your grave forevermore.

Ace Trappola

This was unfair.  Infuriatingly, ridiculously, beyond merely mildly unfair.  Ace had never been more enraged with the way things work at Night Raven College.  “The strong bow to the weak” his ass, how many of these housewardens (and Jamil) bowed to you only to dismiss your current status as not their problem?  It was their fault, and as far as Ace was concerned they were well beyond needing to take responsibility for their actions.  He had no problem telling you as much, pretending the way you were constantly out of his reach was not his problem.  That it didn’t bother him to run after you for hours, chasing you down hallways, through the rose maze, anywhere you went Ace Trappola followed.  If you were not made of memories and mist it would be just like it was before.  You went and he followed, if it would bring you back to life he’d crawl.  Riddle had said his behavior was unbefitting of a card soldier.  Ace had told him he was one to talk.

And just like that he was back on a couch in Ramshackle, a collar around his neck he swore up and down didn’t belong.  But you were not here to see it.

“Honestly, who does Riddle think he is?”  He grumbles as if you could respond, sometimes he swears you do.  Deuce thinks he is losing his mind, Riddle probably does too.  They might be back in the past, but Riddle remembers his mistakes and what little growth he’d squeezed from the stone cold loop of time.  He is strict, but seldom tyrannical, if Ace wasn’t in the middle of a spiral he would be willing to acknowledge his housewarden’s willingness to try and help you.  “Hey-” the door doesn’t open for you when you appear, Ace doesn’t think you can interact with objects the way a ghost can but that doesn’t stop him from talking to you like you are one.  “Bet this looks familiar.  Honestly, how many times am I going to have to show up like this before you let me take the bed?  I’m super skinny and you’re not- you’re not there.”  Memory isn’t like a video Ace can replay, but from the timelines he’s spent chasing after you he is almost certain this shade of yours is simply following an echo of your routine.  It has a set path, if he gets too close you will evaporate from view, but still he reaches when you approach, praying that this time his hand will find purchase.  “Just what is it you wanna hear huh?”  He finds something, cold and slightly wet like this shimmery shape is made of melting ice.  “That I didn’t think you would be my type because I already knew you were?  That when I said what was really important was finding someone you could laugh with I thought of your face?  That I’m a coward who couldn’t reject a girl he didn’t like and who couldn’t face it when he saw what he actually wanted?”

“I want Ace.”  He feels it more than hears it, as much as he wants to smile and hide behind himself Ace Trappola is smart enough to know he can’t.  Not this time, he has to watch you fill in your outline, eyes unhurried and unfocused but locked solely on him.  If he doesn’t watch you come to he will never believe he is looking at you again.  “I want to stay with Ace.”  Your arms are around his neck pushing him back onto the couch with a thunk and he wraps himself as much around you as he can.   “Just what am I going to do with you?”  He tries to laugh but between the collar and you it’s hard to breathe, but he can’t bring himself to move.  “I guess I’ll have to make you happy for the rest of your life.”

[wp-blaze]

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[swordcreature]

Hellooo! I want to ask you to help me get rid of the thoughts, please. Angsty thoughts. Tieflings reaction to kidnapping of their loved one. Or a situation where they were both taken hostage, possibly to put pressure on the council. I can't sleep.

oh man anon i love thinkin' about sad men in love. hoooooo boy.

this was just something small for each tiefling becuse i wanted to keep things vague, and just talk about how they feel in that moment kind of thing. hopefully that comes across idek.

it's a lil different than my normal HCs

anywho. hope you enjoy and ty ty ty for the request! sorry it took so long!!!

Dammon, Rolan, & Zevlor - Kidnapped Love One

just the teeniest tiniest inference of self-harm/suicidal ideation (like you kinda got squint to see it) but wanted to say something just in case.

How the tiefling boys feel when their loved one's kidnapped

Dammon:  

For the first time in Dammon’s life that he can recall, smithing isn’t doing anything to keep his mind clear or calm. In fact, it’s making things worse. Every hit of his hammer, normally soothing and repetitive enough to lull his worries away, makes him recoil. The sound thrums through his head like a bad headache. It’s the only thing he’s ever known to help steady his thoughts, but with his loved one taken from him it’s not enough. The terror rattles around ceaselessly inside his head. They’re probably dead. You can’t save them – you barely know how to fight. What good are the weapons you make if you can’t protect them? There’s nothing you can do. When that voice in his head whispering all his faults and failures and fears gets too loud, he snaps, throwing the hammer across the room with as much force as his wiry arms will allow. He’s angry at the world, at the gods, but mostly at himself. Because he knows the little voice inside is right. There’s nothing he can do.  

Rolan: 

Rolan is furious. He’s fucking fuming. He paces around with his hands pulling at his hair because how in the world could something like this happen? After all this time? After everything he’s gained, all the power he has? It’s like the universe is mocking him and his hubris, shoving his face in the dirt to snivel at him for thinking he would ever have any control over it. What a pathetic fool he has been, he realizes now. The tower, Sorcerous Sundries, the hundreds of tomes he’s read, the magical knowledge he’s pursued – none of it was worth anything if he couldn't even do the simple job of protecting his family. The anger fades and in its place sits self-loathing and despair: two of Rolan’s oldest friends. He sinks to the cold floor as reality creeps in. As long as he has people to care for, he will never be powerful enough; the universe will always find a way to take them from him. And he fucking hates it.  

Zevlor: 

He should have seen it coming. He’s trained endlessly for situations just like this. But when it happens to someone Zevlor cares for, someone he loves? Everything he has ever learned goes down the drain. It’s his fault then that they were taken, he thinks. He failed, yet again. Like he failed in Elturel. And the Grove. Then the Shadow Cursed Lands. When was the last time he succeeded – the last time he was able to actually fulfill his duty to protect that he had taken on so many years ago? He can’t remember. Some part of his brain wants to give up, to dig a hole and sit there until the world crumbles around him. But if there is one thing Zevlor does well, it’s persisting. Because he owes it to them and to all the people he has failed to get up and move. So, even though he wants to let fear drag him down to the pits of Hell where he thinks he belongs, he tries to hope. To see the sunrise on the horizon after a long night. To believe they’ll be returned to him safe. He’ll take penance for his failure some other way.  

[voidofgrace]

So, I've done a couple play-throughs of Baldur’s Gate 3 now, and I have some thoughts regarding companion romances; namely, Astarion and Gale. Warning, this will contain spoilers.

In my first game, I romanced Astarion (because obviously), and I loved the way they handled his traumas, his growth, and the nuances of his character. I could pen an essay, but I doubt there is anything I could say that hasn't been said already.

My second game, I decided to romance Gale. I won't lie, I mostly did it because thanks to the weird way he was bugged, I got a flag for his act 2 romance cut scene in my other game. Out of curiosity, I went through it, and it was honestly so sweet, and kind of sad. After that, I wanted to see how the rest of his romance played out.

And folks, I hate to say it (no I don't), I loved his romance more than Astarion’s. By the end of Astarion’s story, while wonderful, I didn't want to be with him, but just like, protect him and help him live his life and just learn how to be free. The revelation of his headstone, and his age of death. He was so young when he was murdered and turned, and it's so heartbreaking.

Also, the man literally says he really didn't like you at all at first. I mean, fair, but was that really the time to say "I thought you were a total loser, but ily now ❤." Kinda rude, Astarion.

And then there's Gale. The man who loved his Goddess so much, he tried to return a piece of magic to her he thought she had lost. Now don't get me wrong, he did it as much out of hubris as he did love, but in doing so, he wanted to earn a fraction of the love he felt for her in return.

This is a man who was sentenced to death by the woman he loved, as a means to an end that she and the other gods could achieve.

And what does this man do, when thinking about how he was close to the end?

He creates a sky full of stars, a pocket of something beautiful in a place that's cursed. And he tells you he loves you, laments about how he wishes he could do it properly. He gives you a glimpse of his life in Waterdeep, the place where he is happiest, because he wants to share that with you.

It is so wonderfully sweet, but it's also soured by the fact that he believes he has no choice but to carry out Mystra’s will. He believes he needs to be forgiven for his transgression against her, and that forgiveness will only be granted with his death.

Then we get the the start of act 3, and the circus. When you take Gale through the Dryad's test, the questions felt very shallow, especially when compared to the ones given with Astarion. What kind of food is Gale? Really? At least, until the very last question: what is Gale’s greatest flaw. One of the answers you can choose is "He thinks that he, and the world, might be better off if he were dead."

His response? He agrees... As someone who has struggled with mental health and similar thoughts, that one hit home. But then, in the next sentence, he shows that he has hope. Maybe it's not true. Maybe fate can be defied.

Moving on to later in act 3, there was the revelation of the Crown of Karsus, a relic from Karsus' attempt at achieving Godhood that survived. And Gale sees the possibilities that crown opens up. A chance to do what the other gods refused to do - what Mystra refused to do. He saw the chance to save Faerûn, to save his friends, and to save the person he loves (which again, Mystra refused to do, in his eyes), Ao be damned.

But, he also sees it as a way to finally be worthy. Worthy of the love he had been denied by Mystra, deserving of the love you have given him. After all, in the past, it was only ever because of his power that he was ever deemed worthy for anything, and what greater power is there than that of a god?

And that is HEARTBREAKING. The man only thought he was worth anything because of his power, because that had been the only thing people had really cared for about him. And when you tell this man you love him just for him, not because he's powerful or because he could he a god, but because he's a sweet man who loves books, who sometimes writes poetry, who loves curling up by the fire with his cat, a book and a glass of wine, he turns down that power. Show him care and love for who he is, and the man shines.

How could anyone NOT love Gale?

But yeah, Gale is 10/10. And Mystra sucks.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[futureplayboibunnie]

Reader being turned on by Stephen being good with kids or just being a dad and baby making kink and whatever else? Bc man who is good with kids makes me FERAL

Thank you💕

‘Messy’

Dr Strange x fem!reader

- never in a million years would i have imagined myself writing about breeding but here we are. i genuinely think this is my filthiest one yet, i had to just stop and think about what i was doing a few times and how my life got to this specific moment. i love possessive Stephen so much, gah damn. anyways, enjoy this filth xo

Stephen had been looking at you funny all day, not badly but just...strangely.

He was wearing himself differently than usual, head tilted back and eyes gleaming in a wicked dimmed sparkle, his conscience was heavy with something and you were keening to find out what his beautiful mind held. You let it sit with you throughout the day, letting him come to you for once.

He was sat in his big, antique chair that was nooked in the corner of his room, the night bleary with frost whisped air as his window showed him the New York lights like a cinematic experience made just for him; but the neon lights weren't enough to shred light to his thoughts. When Stephen saved America from the eternal torment of the Scarlet Witch, he grew a weird sort of attatchement to the idea of having someone he needed to protect. Of course he had you he needed to keep safe, if anyone laid a finger on you or looked at you the wrong way he'd enjoy torturing them for weeks on end before sending them to burn in a dimension of fire and darkness but he wanted more with you. Stephen couldn't imagine letting anyone else in let alone imagining a life with them, a life with kids and then you walked into his life and turned everything upside down and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't rid himself of you, an itch that couldn't be scratched. Now he was so in love he was sure he was replaced by a lovesick fool, not the hard and arrogant neurosurgeon he was eons ago.

Stephen needed you to have his kids. He wanted you dripping with how much he needed you.

You on the other hand noticed the way he was with children. Fucking hell, he was just a natural with them and it was surprising to you. The man that was once so egotistical it blinded his whole worldview is now a man that held children as if they were his own, able to calm them down in just a few seconds. It was easy enough to fall in love with Strange, seeing through all the hubris and insecurity he never let himself be free of, you haven't really been the same since then. You hated being treated like a damsel in distress, you could take care of yourself perfectly fine but Stephen was overprotective of what was his. He didn't have time to rationalise, no rhyme or reason to why he did the things he did. Stephen didn't like sharing. Not now. Not ever. It was so damned attractive, so mature in a way you'd never seen him.

You walked into Stephen's room, darkened and gloomy but only the light of the street outside serving as an ambient lamp. He was staring outside intently, fingers grazing over his lips completely lost in his own thoughts, clouding him grey like the night outside. He wanted to breed you, make you have his kid but he knew you well enough that you wouldn't even think twice about it. Stephen let out a shaky breath when he heard you padding slowly in the room.

‘’What you thinkin' about?'’ Your voice was honeyed, slow; a means to tease him out of the walls he was building up, he's been quiet all day, moving in silence in a way you hadn't experienced since you first met him. It took you a while to get him to open up to you.

‘’Nothing.’’ He finally said impassive in tone.

‘’Then why do you look like you're about to kill someone?’’ You smiled slightly and he let out an almost unreadable scoff.

Stephen's face was blank when you caught up to his chair, he was holding a stiff drink in his hand trying to absolve himself of something that you couldn't quite place your finger on. His brows were furrowed and his lips contorted into a hard line and his mouth fell dry, his free fingers were tapping away at the arm rest of the chair. He was restless. Impatient. Stephen's eyes finally looked up at yours and they were darkening with every moment he looked at you- wearing one of his button downs that hugged all the right places, legs bare, no panties. Fuck if he could just have you right now, stuff you full of him, have you leak for him.... heaven would rest on his shoulders and prick the tips of his ears.

‘’You just gonna sit there all lonely? You haven't been all doom and gloom in a while.’’ You breathed with your head cocked, looking down at his stern face. "You gonna tell me why?’’

He was still radio silent, his mouth not loosening at your voice alone so you opted for another way to get him to talk. You slowly climb onto his lap, eyes still unwavering from iced blue when you nestled between those massive thighs.

You shivered a little when your bare pussy met with the roughness of his jeans. God it felt good. Stephen’s chest caved a little as he huffed at you impatiently, trying so hard to not give into you, he was actually a little nervous telling you he wanted to knock you up, fuck you so hard you were reeling from how full you felt.

‘’Come on, baby. You know you can tell me anything.’' You muttered as you slung your arms around him, playing with little tufts of his hair. You weren't even teasing at this point, you were tired with him and his mopiness. Stephen was stifling a moan when you clambered onto him, he felt himself harden against you. You had grown tired of his shit, to your dismay you let go of him and stood yourself up. Letting out a little annoyed "fine' you started to walk away.

Stephen twiddled his thumbs for a moment, very certain of the next move he was going to make but it was like he lost control. Before you could leave the room he followed behind you and pulled you by your hair. You let out a yelp and struggled against him before he grabbed you by the back of the neck to face him, other hand wrapped around your waist, pinching so hard on the skin through the fabric it made you let out a breathless whine.

‘’Stephen! My hair.’’ You both stilled against each other. He was so close his breath was fanning against your face but it felt like you weren't even breathing.

‘’I want to put a baby in you.’’ Stephen muttered so casualy as he tugged onto your hair even harder so your chin jutted up towards him. His hold on you was ironlike, his grip industrial.

‘’You do?’’ Your eyes were wide in surprise. Fuck. You thought that this was a lucid dream, him telling you all the things you wanted.

‘’I want to fuck you dumb. I want to fuck you so stupid you're just aching for me to fill you up, make you leak down those bare legs you flash around so carelessly. You know I love you sweetheart, but I need to fuck you like a slut, my slut, a mindless whore until I put my kid in you.’’ He gritted out breathlessly but so certain on every single word he uttered. Your mouth was agape in his filthy words and you drank it all up. He had never been this rough with you, ever, and dear God you were begging for more.

You can't remember the last time he creampied and it made a small smirk appear on your face.

‘’Do it then.’’ You whispered against his lips, eyes heavy as you gawked into his.

The air was dense with need, so humid that if you made a fist in the air water would fall onto your lap. The extent of his need was stretching so thin it was wrapping his brain up and suffocating him.

Stephen smashed his lips against yours, practically devouring the taste of you off your tongue, your mouth so sweet and potent like a street drug- begging for hit after hit. Your tongues banded together to create a symphony of erotic sounds and when Stephen pulled on your hair even harder than before, you moaned into his mouth and he swallowed the noise in its entirety. His free hand travelled to your ass and squeezed mercilessly, he spanked it as his mouth melded to yours. He wanted to spank you until your ass was a bruising shade of red. He slowly unbuttoned every single button on your shirt at an atagonsingly slow pace, a major contrast to his heavy and fast paced words from before. Your tits fell free and you shivered at your bare skin against his.

‘’You're mine.’’ He grumbled possessively and it made your head spiral.

‘’I'm yours.’’ You hummed against his lips.

With those words alone, he pushed you on the bed facefirst by your hair and it made a broken moan fall from your raw throat. You could feel Stephen reach behind his back and he pulled off his shirt, then you could hear the clank of his belt. Your ears pricked up at the sound, eyes covered in a glassy wicked sparkle as your tongue licked at your teeth. You heart was thundering with excitement, giddy off of the high he was going to give you, the anticipation in the air driving you crazy. You grunted when he grabbed your arms and pinned them behind the small of your back, using his belt he looped around your wrists multiple times and the leather pinched your skin delectably. He tugged to tighten them up and you whined at the sensation.

‘’Gonna have you drooling for me.’’ Stephen promised as he spanked your ass again, the sound cracking through the air. It was a lazy hit but still hard, he revelled in the fact that he was leaving his handprint on your ass, his mark on your skin indenting him as a claim on you. His finger prints dug into your skin and you felt your body squirm under him.

Stephen flipped you over so he could look in your eyes while fucking you, arms still tied behind your back as you recoiled. Your eyes were alight with a demanding fire, a heady cyclone swirling in desire and whatever twisted thing he had in mind next. You knew he had an aggressive nature, his bouts of arrogance showed that but this was the best extention of that. God, it was like you were his own fuckdoll. He wanted to fuck your hole sloppy and wet, your arousal was insurmountable. His mouth was on yours, saliva and spit covering all over your lips and down your chin, his teeth bit at your jaw and neck, he provided you with those bites you loved so much, it was like the man was made for you.

‘’You wanna put your cum in me? Make me have your baby? Do it, Stephen.’’ You practically whimpered. stephen groaned when he wrapped his lips around your nipples and bit hard.

‘’Wanted to fuck you like this for weeks.’’ He sounded exasperated and needy, a mess just like you were. Stephen discarded of any remaining clothes and he was as hard as a rock, aching and desperate for you; so willing to dump his cum into you and use his cock like a plug.

You were a mewling mess. A bitch in heat. Face etched in that pathetic pampered pain as tears pricked in your eyes. It was like sin. All of it.

‘’So wet. And it’s all for me?’’ He stared you down as the tips of your noses touched, he bit down on vour plump lower lip glazed in spit and tugged it back. You nodded but it was difficult to differentiate if he was mocking you or not.

‘’You’re so generous.’’

He dragged his leaking cock through your folds before ultimately sliding into you, you made it so easy for him. Stephen didn't give you any spare moment to adjust as he rutted in and out of you as your chest heaved and your cheeks were blush bitten. Your brows tensed with every stroke, knot after knot so close to being undone. You were going to make all of his wildest dreams come true.

‘’You're a bad influence on me Strange.’’ You flirted with a smirk and all your peripheral could view was his shit eating grin threatening to slice his face in half.

‘’You love it you slut.’’ Stephen slapped you ass again. It felt divine.

‘’I'm offended. You dirty dog.’’ You giggled and tutted at him, scolding him like an irresponsible child and he was loving it.

‘’My slut.’’ He tried to acquiesce and it worked when your lips met his again to make him shut the fuck up. Sweat was falling out in dewdrops down his forehead and across his brow, the growls he let out with every stroke inside of your warm wet pussy was only fought with your sweet lust sprinkled moans. He was serioulsy tearing up and destroying your cunt like it was all his to live in, he made his mark and now he wanted to stay there.

‘’Cum inside of me. Show me you want me.’’

You breathed so sensually and Stephen had to do a double take, his patience was wearing thin and he needed to fill you to the brim. You felt the bulge of him nudge you so deep, he placed his large palm on it when he was appearing and disappearing out of you.

‘’You feel that? That's how deep I am inside of you.’’ He grinned and kissed you sweetly this time, you were sure you were blushing like an idiot. ‘’Dear God, you're so perfect it drives me insane. It's like you were made for me.’’

A moan erupted out of you, your high just visible and you were a few more footsteps to the top, that final rut into you made you see specks of euphoria in your eyesight, the look of primal desire on stephen's face made you finish that much harder, you bit your lip to stifle the louder screams about to raw your already sore throat. You were sure Stephen's dick was made of magic, you wanted him inside you forever and knowing how fucking hard he was, he did too.

Stephen let the waves crash to the shore, he let the ecstacy wash over him and he had never came like that in his entire life. Filling up your sloppy pussy to the brim and he got what he wanted, you were leaking all down your legs, eyes wide and panting with the air that barely satiated your lungs. He was giddy. Glee was all he could feel. He just loved you so much. sex was alwavs such a dream with you and this was the most memorable moment of it yet. He stilled inside you for a while before he sadly had to let you go, it pained him because you always gripped onto him so tight.

‘’Stephen…?’’

‘’Mhm?’’ He mumbled out when he flipped you over and undid the harsh knots of the belt, you sighed in relief at the freeing sensation. He threw his belt across the room.

‘’Why are you always right, goddamnit. I-I'm leaking. It's gonna take forever to clean up.’’ You blurted out, mildly annoyed at the mess he made of you.

‘’You're so messy for me, I can’t control that.’’

[martianbugsbunny]

Ahhhh thought I’d return the favour following your ask for me: gonna mirror it this time, what’s your LEAST favourite element of rumple’s arc in the show?

OMG this is wily of you!!! So excited to answer this lol

I think my least favorite thing about his arc is when he reverts to being villainous in the later seasons. I think it works pretty well for his character to revert, don't get me wrong, because the ongoing struggle becomes this sort of epic narrative as it continues across all 6 or 7 seasons depending on where you stop watching, and it makes him more human and it adds a layer of difficulty for him in actually accepting a happy ending that other ex-villains don't get. I just don't think it's handled well. As the show goes on it feels more like he's just in love with the power, and that doesn't really align with the best-written parts of his story. I adore Rumple when he's reluctant about power, when he begins to crave it once he has it because he didn't have any for so long, when he uses it for dark things, in the early seasons, because it always feels like it's born out of his immense love for others. He takes the dagger for Bae, to save Bae, but that ends up being how he loses Bae, too, so what does he do? He uses his magic, he collects more power, over centuries, because he refuses to believe he's been parted from son forever and he will do anything to get back to him and apologize and try to fix their relationship. He pushes away the other most important person in his life, Belle, because he thinks she might take his magic away from him, and he needs it to find Bae. All the wheeling and dealing over the years is for one reason: causing the Dark Curse to be cast so he can find Bae.

Stuff like that, where Rumple is doing the wrong thing for the sake of the love he has for someone else, but where he maybe enjoys the feeling of power because he was about as powerless as it gets, is really good. But that doesn't feel like it's how he was treated in the later seasons, where it's kind of just, oh he likes the power, he likes the darkness, he's chosen it over everybody he loves time and time again and they either have to live with that or leave him. That's not nuanced enough for him, and it starts to feel really annoying after a while, because he's such a brilliant character and he shouldn't be making the same poor, badly explained decision over and over again if it's not going to contribute something to the good core in him. Every time he chooses the wrong thing, but it adds to his innate goodness a little bit and gives a glimmer of hope that he'll redeem himself eventually, I love. Every time he chooses the wrong thing, and it feels like he's being a jerk to the people he loves for no reason, I loathe.

I also don't really like the element of his story where he keeps lying to Belle about his powers. He's an intelligent, cunning man. He had to be, to get the Dark Curse to align, even with his foresight (which is not a perfect power). He shouldn't be dumb enough to think okay, this time I'll totally get away with it, this time she won't figure out I'm lying. He's met his match in Belle, he knows it, he knows how intelligent and clever she is, and even if he has a touch of hubris after all the years of success in constructing his ultimate plan, it doesn't make sense for him to underestimate Belle consistently like that, and it makes him look less clever than he is.

gonna pull my own uno reverse card here: @wastingstarsss what's your least favorite element of Rumple's arc?

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

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[shadowmaat]

Mischief and Misinformation, part 2

(Part 1)

"Knight Kenobi!"

Obi-Wan turned to see a grinning Kit Fisto bearing down on him. His fellow Knight was a few years ahead of him in classes, and there were whispers he might be on track for the Council someday.

"Kit, I've been a Knight for two years, now," he smiled. "Throwing my title at me is getting a little old."

Kit laughed. "Says you!" He clapped a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Do you have time for a spar? Or do your Knightly duties call you away from your resounding defeat?"

"You wish, Fisto!" Chuckling, he glanced at his chrono. Anakin would be in classes for another two hours, which should leave him plenty of time.

"I think I have enough time to show an old man the dangers of hubris!"

"Old man!" Kit clutched his chest, bare beneath his outer robe. "I think you meant handsome! Or clever. Or-"

"Save that energy for the salle, Kit." Obi-Wan winked. "You're going to need it."

-

After working out the rules and going through their warmup stretches, they launched into the spar without too much preamble.

Kit's style was flashy, which made for a good distraction to the power behind the showmanship. He also had a more fluid sense of movement, which was something Obi-Wan found common among the aquatic and amphibious species.

They traded good-natured barbs as well as saber strikes, but then Kit seemed to shift gears.

"I wanted to say how sorry I was about what happened to you on Melidaan," he said, leaping over him to attempt a slash at his back.

Obi-Wan blocked it, frowning. "What?"

Had he been offworld recently? A few smaller mission, but nothing dangerous, not with Ani to consider. The name did ring a vague bell, though. He tried a leg sweep, which Kit avoided by flipping up to the wall and launching himself in another direction.

"I know Master Jinn was a highly-respectable Master, and his loss still ripples through the Temple-"

Kit reversed direction, scored a tap against Obi-Wan's arm, and got a tap of his own for his effort.

'-but leaving you alone in a war zone for a year is unconscionable!"

"What?" Obi-Wan repeated, blocking another swing. "What war zone? Wait- Melidaan..." Memory started to bubble forth, along with an uneasy sense of déjà vu.

"Have you been in so many wars you can't remember?"

Kit's tone should have been teasing, but there was a degree of worry mixed in as well.

"No, I remember." He hissed as Kit got in another strike on his leg. "But Melidaan... Qui-Gon didn't abandon me there, certainly not for a year. We were there maybe a tenday, and Qui-Gon remained in charge of the mission until it was safe for us to leave."

Between storms and bombing, there hadn't been a way off the planet. Qui-Gon's attempts at mediation had failed. Obi-Wan had done what he could for the victims of both sides- including a group of children- but in the end, and with Master Tahl's condition worsening, they'd taken the first opportunity to leave and dump the problem back in the Senate's lap.

"I'm relieved to hear that."

Kit made a move Obi-Wan couldn't quite track and scored a final hit to his shoulder.

"Solah." Disengaging his blade he rubbed his shoulder. "Where did you read about the Melidaan mission? This isn't the first time someone's come to me with a spacer tale version of my own life."

It was Kit's turn to frown. "The mission archives. I heard about-"

Obi-Wan's comm went off. It was Master Bear, Ani's ropework instructor.

"Ani threw up all over the nets and has been taken to the healer," the gruff voice of the Harchian Master said. "You'd best see to him."

The comm clicked off and Obi-Wan swore under his breath. The cafeteria had been serving custard yesterday and he'd bet his lightsaber that Ani's vomit was primarily blue.

Kit shook his head, rattling the bands on his ahwey. "This is why I'm never taking on a padawan," he said. "Go see to Ani. We can finish catching up later."

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, already striding for the exit. "I'd like to know what else the mission archives have to say about me."

As the doors closed he could hear Kit saying, "You aren't the only one."

[alfonzone]

I always see you reblog posts with the hashtag someday or fatherhood. How do you stay positive in those days when you feel kinda sad it hasn't come yet? (if you ever feel that way)

hmm, interesting question —

I could be a goof about it and just say that straight up delusion keeps me positive about such life or dream of mine hahaha, but I'll try to be more honest.

Keep in mind that it's different for everyone, okay? 😊😊

Firstly, for the "someday" because it's more broad with stuff like life goals, life, family, love, adventure, etc- ...I understand my reality or where I'm at in life. I accept that I've rejected advancement in relationships, career opportunities, and travel opportunities in general. At the same time, I've also made peace that I've missed out on opportunities when it pertains to the same things. But mostly important, I acknowledge that some setbacks or missed opportunities were due to my immaturity, mental health, inexperience, and hubris. I just didn't know better.

And that's okay.

So that's step one: understanding the reality of my situation and where I am in life.

And, well at least for me, it does get lonely, quiet (or loud depending on how you see it), hopeless, meaningless, and disheartening feeling as though you won't be able to experience joy in life or love in general.

However, I'm just optimistically in love with life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I will always choose to or try my best to remain in love with life because each day is a new day and you never know what it might bring. I'm intentionally choosing to make the most of what I have currently in my life and appreciate it. I'm choosing to be grateful for the friends I've made and currently have. Cherish them as much as I can. Moreover, where I'm at in life is not where I'll be forever. Meaning, maybe I have a job I don't enjoy.. I can always find another one or endure it for the sake of survival, and saving up money until I find a better job.

I'm trying not to ramble and make sense at the same time —

Do I want love? YES. I want to be that person someone wants to call to talk to and wish good night. I want to be that someone's daydream. I want to be someone's good thing. And everything else I've reblogged about love. And I will. I'm hopeful I'll find them or they'll find me 😊😊 and when that happens, forever will start.

Until then, I gotta keep growing as a person, friend, family member, and man. I gotta keep trying to be the best version of myself every day 😊😊

That being said, try not to drown in the longings to where it becomes an ocean of sadness. It's okay to want that and grieve for it as well BUT get the fuck up, look up, and breathe. You'll get all of that in due time 😊😊

Tumblr is a good place to read this post I'm about to paraphrase - you ever came across that text post about romanticizing your life? DO THAT. Be in love with the life you currently have, love your friends, family and yourself. Make the most of what you have and what you can experience, all while being excited and curious about your tomorrows 😊😊

It's not easy, and it will never get easier to deal with those sad, lonely and empty days, but it'll be worth it. time will pass anyways so you might as well be good in it 😊

—

As for "fatherhood"?

I think the fact that I'm an uncle to 10+ niblings makes it easier for me to deal with that "missing part" of my life hahaha—

There's not really much to explore other than the fact that I hope someday I get the opportunity to be a dad or be seen as a father figure? Whether it's biologically or as a step dad. That's all. I don't know if it will ever happen, that's out of my control like most things, BUT I really really really hope it does. I feel like I could make the best dad/step dad out there 😊😊😊

———

okay.. this is how I approach life, anon. It's messy, and chaotic and extremely delusional, but I try to take a minute or two to appreciate what I do have and even if I have nothing, I'm choosing to remain optimistically in love with life. 😊😊

thank you so much for the ask, anon. I hope I made sense(?) and this helps you in any small way in figuring out how to deal with those difficult days. Good luck, rooting for you. 😊✌🏽

[friendly-books]

Dresden Files Dead Beat live blog

Dead Beat live blog

This is going to be a two parter comment because I apparently have a lot to say. Part one

Thomas and Harry living together!

“Thomas looked like someone’s painting of a forgotten Greek god of body cologne” pg. 18 Bi Harry 20

On Harry’s bed?!? Thomas! That’s rude at least keep it to the couch 

Oh Kincaid and Murph are going to Hawaii together good for her as far as I’m concerned Kincaid is better than Rich 

Uh oh Mavra’s blackmailing Harry

Harry’s grave 

Aw Harry’s got pyrophobia :(

Oh Bob thinks someone is Evil

Kemmler started WW1 glad to see urban fantasy address it for once *cough* Harry Potter *cough* What about WW2? 

He died several times and it took the whole White Council wow he was powerful 

Oh Kemmler had Bob before 

Aw Bob :(

I’m glad Harry and Bob are friends and care about each other 

Butters! 

Oh cool science as to why wizards live long lives 

Poor Phil

A fedora really? :| 

No Butters it isn’t a cool hat

Zombies are scary in this universe 

Top 30 wizards is impressive stop selling yourself short Harry

Harry you not being popular among the White Council is an understatement 

Oh yay White Council bashing my favorite I have so many issues with the Council it could be its own comment 

“Roommate” sure Harry can’t wait for Butters to meet Thomas 

Why not let the Alphas help Harry?

Cool that Ebenezar wrote a book

“Touché, O dark master of evil bathrobes” pg. 139 Ha

“And again do I answer thee. Bite me” pg. 140 Ha

“At Biacana’s masquerade” “It’s been coming back to haunt me for years” “A great many things of significance happened that night” pg. 141 That’s what I’ve been saying. What kind of Checkhov’s party was that? So many checkhov’s guns and and people were there. It was only the third book in the series. How can one party be this important? Did Biacana know how important this party was going to be. Or how important she was as a minor character. She was only in two books but her party and death set off a chain reaction. 

Cool that Harry flipped a car

Lash’s influence 

“I think you need to talk to someone. I don’t think it’s important who it is. But you have a lot of pressure on you, and if you don’t find some way to let them out, you’re going to hurt  yourself” “People talk to their friends, man. No one can do everything alone. You work through it together” pg. 162 that’s what I’ve been saying Harry talk to your friends or a therapist please 

“Why didn’t I pick up the kid instead of Lasciel ‘s coin” pg. 165 That’s what I asked 

Mort’s back!

Mort I thought you and Harry were friends :(

Harry’s dad!

“I’m fresh out of vorpal swords, the closet I can get is a Snickers snack” pg. 185 Ha

“While she’s in Hawaii” “With Kincaid” “Thomas stopped running” pg. 192 Ha Thomas is a Harry/Murph shipper 

“Of all the ridiculous immature nonsense” I said. Then I hooked a foot behind Thomas’s calf, shoved him down to the sand and took off down the beach at a dead sprint” pg. 195 Ha 

Rawlins!

“If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s ruining people’s day.” “You can say that again” “If there’s one thing I’m good at-“ pg. 217 Ha and very true 

“Yes my Lord” pg. 228 Interesting the ghoul could be progressive but I doubt it 

“Bony Tony worked for John Marcone” pg. 232 Yay Marcone mention 

I’m half convinced that Marcone’s cursed with how many of his men have died at this point

“That stupid polka suit filled up most of the backseat of the SUV” pg. 236 Ha 

“Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is a jar” pg. 237 Ha

Aw Harry isn’t allowed at the bookstore anymore :(

Mind battle so cool

Ninja Ghoul is cool 

Cool that Harry used his pain against Lord Corpsetaker 

Gard! 

Marcone! Yay Top five character has arrived 

“He looked handsome and wholesome” pg. 274 Bi Harry 21 

“You must admit Dresden that I have just saved your life. Again” pg. 274 Yep and you’ll do it again I’m sure

“What is the point of having free will if one cannot occasionally spit in the eye of destiny” pg. 275 Ha

“Hubris. Mortals never understand” “Tell me about it” I said “Everyone makes that mistake but me” pg. 275 Ha 

“His eyes wrinkled at the corners. It was nearly a smile” pg. 275 aw glad that Marcone thinks Harry is funny 

“I don’t have time for any more banter” pg. 275 I do keep the banter going 

“I suspected you would somehow become involved with the events at hand” pg. 275 When is Harry not involved in supernatural event in Chicago?

“Because I know you. I know that you would oppose them. Just as you know that I will not permit them to take one of mine from me without punishment” pg. 277 They really know each other 

“Stay off of it for a few days at least” pg. 286 like that’s going to happen 

“Since they arrested you there, they haven’t lost one” “You did something” pg. 288 It’s nice to see Harry’s good deeds come around 

Welcome to the world of gray magic Harry

Harry be nice to Mister

“He’s a coward” said Thomas” pg. 295 Thomas you should know better than to talk bad about Harry’s friends also that’s rude 

“You have a date” pg. 298 Ha that’s the part he picks up on

“Good God. You’re shy” pg. 299 Adorable 

Mab? Why is she here and not Lea?

I like that Harry is protective and sentimental of his friends and things. Lea might not have been “nice” to him but she’s his Godmother so he cares 

“Nothing that I could imagine would truly rattle Mab’s composure, but that sentence apparently came close” pg. 313 oh no that’s not good

“My offer of knighthood yet stands open to you” pg. 316 Yet another job offer from Mab. What is it with people and offering Harry to work for them? First Marcone, Mab twice, and Nic with Lash’s coin. What about him inspires such fanatic employment offers? 

“I’m never going to be your knight” pg. 319 ouch painful irony 

“There’s no way they’re going to get in here” pg. 32 Harry you should know better than to say that 

“Because Thomas is too pretty die. And because I’m too stubborn.” “And polka will never die” pg. 331 Ha and Bi Harry 22

“Oh no. A risk” I said “Well we wouldn’t want that, now, would we” pg. 341 Ha

“No one likes a wiseass Harry” pg. 341 No I like Harry being a wiseass 

“Well That you know you’re gay” pg. 364 Ha and Harry is Bi obviously 

Lasciel has arrived! This is going to be fun

“By any chance does all this knowledge and power and good advice come for only three easy installments of nineteen ninety-five plus shipping and handling?” pg. 372 Ha

“Or maybe it comes with bonus set of knives tough enough to saw through a nail, yet still cut tomatoes like this” pg. 372 Ha

“You aren’t nearly as funny as you think you are” pg. 372 Ha and I think Harry’s funny

“They’d use both of us against each other” pg. 383 aw :(

“You could just leave this whole thing. We could head for Aruba or something” pg. 384 Ha Thomas you tried it’s never going to work but at least you tried

“No one has remembered me birthday since Susan left” pg. 385 aw :(

“But you can be a really scary guy” pg. 401 aw Harry’s friends are scared of him :(

“Say please”

 “Please” I said 

Her smile widen “Pretty please”

“Don’t push me” pg. 413 Ha 

“You’re either incredibly stupid or one of the most courageous man I’ve ever known.” 

“Go with stupid” pg. 417 Ha and it’s both 

Oh a body switcher cool

Ugh Morgan why him? 

So this is how Harry became a warden Morgan must be so mad

Outsiders so He Who Walks Behind I see that capitalization 

“You don’t to be Merlin of the White Council by collecting bottle caps” pg. 454 Ha

I’m glad that Harry still cares about Ebenezar to ask about him 

Why would Harry want to become a warden? The white council has been out to get him since day one. They haven’t made an effort to ingratiate themselves to Harry. With people like Merlin, Morgan, and LaFouter why would Harry trust or like the white council? Luccio you need better arguments. 

“When the Council is in its hour of need, it will make our people look at you differently” pg. 467 till they kick Harry out 

I guess Harry got drafted :(

“Harry, do you feel any more judgmental and self righteous than you did this morning?” pg. 476 Ha

“He offered his hand and we traded grips” pg. 479 What no Harry and Thomas should hug each other 

It’s very cool and immersive that Harry was able to bind and push back against the Erkling 

Oh no they took Bob :( 

“How could I be so stupid” pg. 507 Harry stop being so critical of yourself 

“I whirled in a fury and slammed my fist into Murphys fridge so hard it dented the side and split my middle knuckle open” pg. 507 ouch

Ooohhh Shelia is Lasciel 

Look Lasciel I know you haven’t known Harry for long but surely you know by know that Harry’s really stubborn and when he says he’s not going to take up the coin he means it

Liver Spots is Cassius how did he aged so much?

How does Harry not have more brain damage from all the blows to the head he’s had? I know he doesn’t like hats but I feel like he should wear a helmet 

“You’re about the fifth-scariest person I’ve met today” pg. 548 Ha

Shiro :(

If Michael or Sayna could show up that’d be great 

Why does Cassius think the coin is on Harry? Why is him not having the coin so impossible?

“Surrender your coin” he purred” pg. 554 Creepy 

“No one is coming to save you Harry” pg. 555 :(

BUTTERS!!! 

Mouse and Butters to the rescue 

“Butters skittered away from the knife, eyes wide with terror.

But he skittered directly between Cassius and me. 

And held his ground.” pg. 556 So cool Go Butters!

“DIE ALONE” pg. 560 A death curse so cool but kinda lame curse. I don’t if it’s because I know he’ll come back or if I’m just a lot more chill about death than I realize cause everyone dies alone 

Interesting that Lasciel and Id Harry talk 

“Both I and my alternate self said, at the same time and exactly same voice 

“Shut up” pg. 564 Ha 

“It’s the right thing to do” pg. 566 Yep

“I promised that I would live my life by my terms. That I would know the difference from right and wrong and that I wouldn’t cross that line. I wouldn’t allow myself to become like Justin DuMorne” pg. 567 I like this bit

ZOMBIE DINOSAUR SUE!!!!

Sue is so cool this fight is going to be so cool best part of the book

“I didn’t know this before, but as it turns out, Tyrannosaurus can really haul ass” pg. 581 Ha 

“Here’s something else I bet you didn’t know about Tyrannosaurus: they don’t corner well” pg. 582 Ha 

“You’re like a human wrecking ball!” pg. 584 Ha and an accurate description of Harry 

Nice that the wardens are protecting the kids trick or treating 

Luccio is cool

“Sue ate him. Snap. Gulp. No more ghoul” pg. 591 Ha 

“I told you he would turn on us. This latest violation of the laws only proves what I’ve said all along” pg. 595 Take a hike Morgan no one wants you here. What’s it going to take for you to realize that Harry is a good?  

Go Butters! Nice circle

MORGAN STOP THAT >:( 

Harry is being the voice of reason 

Morgan Harry isn’t fighting you 

Luccio to the rescue hooray! 

Morgan definitely loves Luccio not sure what kind. Cause coworkers don’t react like that when they’re coworkers die 

“Everyone else who lets me ride on their dinosaur calls me Carlos” pg. 618 Ha 

I’m glad the younger wizards look up to Harry 

I bet that Carlos has never dated nor had sex with a woman. No one who has talks like him. He’s a virgin guarantee 

Oh no poor Bob :(

“Bob wasn’t precisely a friend to me” pg. 634 No you two are friends 

Go Bob 

Even the Erkling thinks Sue is cool

“I’ve got a fallen angel tripping all over herself to give me more power. Queen Mab has asked me to take the mantle of Winter Knight twice now. I’ve read Kemmler’s book. I know how the Darkhallow works. And I know how to turn necromancy against the Black Court. So once again, let me be perfectly clear. If anything happens to Murphy and I even think you had a hand in it, fuck right and wrong. If you touch her, I’m declaring war on you. Personally. I’m picking up every weapon I can get. And I’m using them to kill you. Horribly.”

There was utter silence for a moment 

“Do you understand me?” I whispered 

She nodded 

“Say it” I snarled 

“I understand” she rasped” pg. 644 So cool 

“Son. Everyone dies alone. That’s what it is. It’s a door. One person wide. When you go through it, you do it alone” pg. 645 Nice, see it’s a lame death curse 0/10 Cussius you could have done better 

“He died doing the right thing” 

“God I hope so” pg. 646 I’m not sure if he will as he does commit suicide and then come back. Would that be the death curse? An outside force? Speaking of death curse with Harry dying does that fulfill the death curse? Does coming back negate it? Is it a one time use? This is another reason the curse is lame. 

Now Morgan thinks Harry isn’t doing anything out of malice finally 

“You know, Butters, for a mortician you’re a pretty good healer” pg. 651 aw :)

Final thoughts 

I liked this book. We had two Bi Harry moments up to 22. I always liked the Marcone moments.  Loved the White Council bashing. I loved Butters in this. I’m glad Bob is safe. Harry should punch Morgan as a treat. I hope to see more of Thomas and Harry interacting. I’m glad Dresden files kinda addressed the WW1 question. What I mean is that a lot of urban fantasy with magic and monsters don’t really address WW1 and by extension WW2. Like if you had magic where were you during WW2 and the Holocaust? With Kemmler he started WW1 which led to WW2 and his whole mass graves. The death curse was stupid and a waste from Cassius. I liked the Erkling. I loved Sue she was so cool. I hope I get more Lasciel. I like Carlos and I’m glad Harry got a friend. Harry’s threat to Mavra is very cool. Onto the next book.

[haloburns]

phic phight #13

all eyes on me in the center of the ring

Freakshow fancies himself the Master of All Reality. Danny just so happens to have the Ancient of Space and Reality on speed dial.

Part of the the magic that binds us series.

He’d assumed Freakshow was just some hack occultist wanna be. That he was smarter than the ringmaster because he’d bested him once before. He should’ve seen that the man was smarter than he’d thought when he broke out of GIW custody, when he’d forced Tucker to reveal himself on national TV, when he’d gotten Danny of all people to make a deal. But he’d let his own hubris get in the way, and now his family and partners were going to pay for it.

“You manipulated me,” Danny breathed out in disbelief, shaking his head. Damn the fae rules.

“Yes, yes I did,” Freakshow gloated. His face split into a manic grin. “Goody for me. But it wouldn’t be a show if I didn’t give you a sporting chance to save them!”

With another wave of his hand, Danny’s bindings disappeared. He immediately rolled to his feet, graceful as always. He clenched his fists and readied himself for an attack. But one never came. Freakshow was too busy monologuing about being the master of all reality, which Danny really couldn’t be arsed to listen to. He was instead focusing on his family and friends on that roller coaster. He began muttering the blessings and offerings for his protector, hoping it would still protect him through this mess of his own creation.

Danny’s eyes fell closed and he breathed a small sigh of relief when he felt its power surge through him in a familiar rush of sparks. “Thank you,” he murmured, pressing a hand to his heart briefly in gratitude.

He opened his eyes and knew they were otherworldly white, ringed in a strange, neon blue. His protector’s calling card, of sorts.

First things first. He held an open palm up at the car barrelling down the roller coaster tracks and began a momentum altering spell. If he could slow the car down, he would buy himself enough time to defeat Freakshow. He knew he wouldn’t be able to save them until the ringmaster was powerless, but that didn’t mean he had to let them race full tilt towards their doom.

Before he could finish the spell, Freakshow caught wind of what he was doing. The clown simmered at the thought of this child stopping him with the magic that he controlled.

He would just have to show him how things were done, then. “Aht-aht! None of that, now!” Freakshow reprimanded as he strolled over. “Don’t want to ruin the show, now do we?”

With a wave of the Reality Gauntlet, he cast a powerful, sigil-heavy anti-tampering barrier around the roller coaster. Danny turned and glared at him.

“That’s cheating,” he accused. “What, your magic not strong enough to go toe to toe with mine, so you have to tie one hand behind my back?”

“No one said I had to make this fair,” Freakshow sneered right back. “I’m Master of All Reality! I make the rules.”

A shiver ran through Danny and he smirked as the energy dissipated around him. His patron really didn’t like that. He shook out the sleeves of his over-the-top coat and faced Freakshow, widening his stance to something more stable.

“I know someone who might disagree.”

Continue on AO3.

[wonderwomemes]

Grim thoughts about the Titan, don't read if that's not your cup of tea

It's was a slow day at work so of course my mind kept going to the Titan and the people inside. Also I probably consumed too many stephen king stories, but i wonder what they are doing if they are realy still alive right now. they know that the air will last only a few more hours. At least if they are 5. Again, don't continue reading if you do not want to think about this.

I am 99% sure that if they are ''just'' lost or stuck and have to wait for rescue, and there wasn't a leak or a murder or an accident that killed them already... they must have discussed the possibility to try to save at least someone from the group. Or keep someone alive for as long as possible. Do you think it's the kid? do you think the biggest ego already killed the rest to preserve oxygen for as long as possible? Did they already suffocate because they kept arguing about it instead of trying to safe air?

What would you do? like for me it would be obvious to try to save everyone by briefly discussing it and then shutting up, holding hands, and try to wait it out. i don't know if they have a timer, if any of the equipent still works or if they are completely in the dark. but i hope they have at least one watch that is working and something to give them light.

Maybe they are floating on the surface. But still trapped and running out of air because they can not open the thing themselves.

But what if no ones is comming? Is the Father going to volunteer to get strangled first so his son might survive on the additional hours of air? Are they going to draw sticks? are they making deals and try to get saved by the money they have?

What if they find it and there is only one survivor who killed the rest? Who would it most likely be? The ceo? The father? The kid? The specialist? The billionair "adventurer"?

Maybe someone just went mad in there.

What if they survive and learn something from it? I think chances are small and even smaller for them to change for the better. And i would bet that if they get out, they will not wait for a week before they get book and movie deals to make them even richer. it's billionairs. they will monetize their horrors if they can make money from it. at least that way i will get my questions and my morbid curiosity answered.

Idk man, a lot of people have already put it into words. I don't *wish* for their death. Not like this. If anything i would wish that the sub just imploded suddenly. I hope this is what happened. A quick death for billionairs, i can live with that. The fish can eat the rich.

Most of all I'm just baffled by the hubris and enormous stupidity of every new detail we find out. I would feel similar if billionairs who paid to pet a Gorilla got thorn apart instantly. Like.. what did you expect? That somehow the whole world is playing by your rules because you can usually change the rules with your money?

Anyway. I am looking forward to when we know what happened. Because they will find them sooner or later. And i hope we get the details. Either from the news or from the movie that will be made about this. I will read the plot on Wikipedia

[flowersforvax]

Your last post had me thinking. Do you think any of the group would save themselves(don’t ask me how) or stay with everyone else as it ends?

Ohh love that question! What do I think...? I... think.... hm. Wait that's more complicated than I first thought.

Zerxus is the First Knight of Avalir and he's going to honor that title. Not just because he's honor bound to the city and its people but also in memory of Evandrin

Loquatius is...  probably... self-serving... wait no, he's played by Sam Riegel who always plays characters that pretend to be self-serving and actually turn out to be self-sacrificing as all get-out. "My secrets are fun!" my ass. Final verdict on Loquatius: I don't fucking know man, Sam is an enigma. But he'll probably stay by Laerryn's side to the bitter end.

Speaking of Laerryn: she'll do whatever it takes to protect her creations - "it has to have been worth it" - I can see her as someone who theoretically puts future inventions, discoveries, and her survival before saving anyone else but i can also see her getting stuck in the moment, thinking "there's still time, I can still do this" until time has run out. So. I think she would save herself, if she can see past her own self-confidence (arrogance?) to realize this is the moment to go.

Nydas.... I think part of him is still that awe-struck orphan, believing magic can do anything, thinking it's the most beautiful thing in the world, seeing Avalir, the City of Crowns as more than it really is. I can see him trying with all his might to save the city, I can also see him going down with Laerryn's hubris.

Patia is... interesting. Out of all of them she reads as the most self-serving, the most ambitious character to me. (also I'm almost positive she's an Enchanter and enchanters are just inherently fucked up lmao) BUT! This city is her family's legacy! Her grandfather lifted it up into the air and I can see her pride making her want to keep it in the air with everything she has. Also she deeply believes in the advancement of magic. In true Marisha Ray fashion she takes notes, collects knowledge everywhere she goes - and she doesn't keep it to herself (although she... does have secrets of course, and a lot of... forgetful friends) she adds to the library, to a collection I'm sure she wants to see continue to grow for many generations. I'm conflicted with her. But ultimately I think she would prioritize her own life, her mind, as a collection of knowledge herself... yeah, she would save herself so the advancements of this Age of Arcanum would survive with her.

.... Cerrit.... if he wasn't a father? I think he'd try to save his city. But as it is... given the chance I think he would try to save his children. I mean. They have wings. They can just fly away.

But "if given the chance" is the thing: I don't think they'll get much chance to make a real decision. Shit is gonna hit the fantasy fan soon and hard and there's gonna be so much of it in every direction and- sorry that got really gross lmao. But you know what I mean.

[angelsndragons]

oh luis, it is a relief to know that ace folk like me aren’t the only ones who completely miss the undertones when we’re producing stuff. also i am punch drunk tired because it has been a long day over here.

but also i’m just going to sit here and laugh at the fandom for a good long time because i was so annoyed at how many bad takes on my boy zerxus are floating around (and how one in particular feels like a dig at me, if you know, you know, if you don’t you don’t) but now it’s just not as annoying anymore. my reading on zerxus is so much closer to where luis’ head was at than the vast majority of people that i ain’t even mad anymore at the people saying zerxus should have had the wisdom to know when to walk away, very pointedly using the mechanics as a sort of gotcha instead of understanding that it’s not hubris to try to make a difference, even a seemingly tiny almost imperceptible difference to the world. when mortals are but ants to the cosmic giants running around, margins matter. it’s not hubris, it’s compassion and anyone who’s yelling at zerxus for trying and failing needs to stop liking the everlight for doing the exact same thing knowing that someone else had failed before her. please, enlighten me as to the difference between their attempts. and don’t say it’s because she’s a goddess and he’s a mortal, the raven queen already proved that the line between the two is much thinner than either would like to admit.

i need to people to recognize that the instant zerxus realized that asmodeus wasn’t serious, he immediately went into damage control and mitigation. when asmodeus actively rejected zerxus’ attempt, as opposed to passively in that one vision, zerxus made it his mission to mitigate as much of the fallout as he could. this man took the first arm of the betrayer, knowing the contract it held, and came back to fuck up asmodeus’ plans as best he could. and he succeeded! he succeeded so hard that eventually, because of him and the ring of brass, the calamity will end. asmodeus gave zerxus the chance to save the world and zerxus took it, hook, line, and sinker.

i need people to understand that zerxus choosing to go to asmodeus in the end is not borne of arrogance or a lack of wisdom on his part. it’s borne of faith. he’s not going to asmodeus because he is still trying to save asmodeus, he’s taking the contract to save himself and to make whatever minuscule difference he can in between the floggings, the slaughtering, the whatever that asmodeus will force him to do. he’s taking it out of the hope that one day he will get to see his husband and son again.

i need people to understand that death does not equal redemption, death just equals death. being alive will always accomplish more, good and bad, than being dead. death just stops everything; it doesn’t fix it, it doesn’t leave you the room or opportunity to make amends. it just makes people dead.

i also need people to understand that your line is not zerxus’ line. i, personally, could not do what zerxus does here. at all. i probably couldn’t even play it in a game. that doesn’t make zerxus wrong because if we talking grand cosmic scale the likes of which even we as nearly omniscient audience members cannot see, the only way to “balance” the scales (and lord i hate that notion, that a good thing done cancels out a bad and vice versa) in the end is for zerxus to live, to be able to one day add good to the world again.

tl;dr: stop saying that zerxus does not know his oaths and that his fatal flaw is his low wisdom and high arrogance. his fatal flaw, if it can be called that, is his high charisma and his unyielding faith.

[grapecaseschoices]

find the word tag 🔍

@laufire-writes tagged me .,... idk when lmao. with the words:  COSTUME, DECAY, MAGNETIC, FAVO(U)R.

COSTUME

Kendis’ lips curved into another grin; this a pale manifestation to the sudden, bright bubble of excitement that threatened to burst through her. “Right!! Like, all right, the whole waking up with someone else’s memories is like some deep shit. But come on! You also wake up a whole superhero! Think about the things you could do! The people you could save? I know this is kind of out there, or maybe it’s not. I mean. Like, come on.” As they’d been saying ‘out there’ was re-defined. Why couldn’t people go and redefine what it meant to put good back in the world? “People could get costumes! Secret identities and like alla that.” 

from an old thread in 2019 where (og) kendis and a heart sibling talk about the sudden influx of past lives & powers.

DECAY

She took a careful step closer, and cocked her head like a bird inspecting the scavenged sight left before it; clinical --- displeased. She huffed out a little laugh, a disparaging sound. “That little bitch.” She closed her eyes slowly and breathed in just as carefully. “Crafty.” Lupe murmured, curious. Crafty yet disrespectful. She supposed that summarized who and what the town had been dealing with for months. “The body isn’t decaying.”

Lupe turned to the group -- she almost looked impressed, still very much displeased, yet impressed.

She mulled her words for a moment before she continued to explain: Even a body set to be preserved by human means was set to decay, eventually. But the means preserving Cass were far from human. It was almost as if magic was holding her death hostage.

another old thing, about last year; a mini-narrative. one of my characters Lupe - whose abilities involve death - is analyzing a body of someone she knows that’s been fucked with magically.

MAGNETIC

She hesitated before her gaze moved toward his, dark eyes met brown, as if unbidden. Even though it had been lured toward his like the attractive sound of 'psspss' to a cat. He asked and she felt compelled to answer; not like a puppet on a string, not like metal to magnet -- but rather a faced tugged close by a warm hand. There was the choice to pull away but was it really a choice when the best option felt like saying yes? 

Their breath caught as something warm filled their chest -- he still smelled like citrus, like sharpness and brightness was at the core of him and couldn't be washed away by the grime of 2023. Something warm tried to fill their chest but panic drowned it over. 

Kendis tried to swallow but took, stumbled, a step back. He had such pretty eyes. And maybe it was because they were smarter now, because Kendis a few years ago would've thought their eyes were open and fallen into their own hubris -- as they had with Dove. 

This time they were -- This was... No.

"I need to go.  So I'm gonna ... leave. Bye." They turned abruptly and began walking away.

listen, this is the best i got. at least this one’s THIS YEAR. formerly titled: ‘The Ugly Meet Cute. Or is it The Cute Meet Ugly?’; originally Fitz and Kendis’ first meeting but we tweaked it, and they ran into each other two times before this (at Pride!) lmao

FAVOR

"I did not know!! Delilah, I swear it upon your mother, I did not know. I am not to blame. I could not lead them anywhere, it was all by chance. It is the gods, it is the gods!!"

"You would not.

"Delilah, please."

"Do not whisper your begging, bitch. Let your gods hear it, let them know, and understand that I will grant their "righteous" rebellion the same leniency that they placed upon my family. Beg me for the mercy that they did not grant Kyrios or our children -- in all the fucking lands, in all the fucking homes, they chose mine to rebel in. My husband may have been ambitious and arrogant, but his connections to the praetor were no stronger than any other man seeking favor. They could have struck any other family. Yet they came to my city. How odd, how odd, indeed."

funnily i have a lot of threads/narratives with the word favor, most of them involving kendis -- and i think a majority of THOSE involving their various past lives. this one centers around one of the most recent ones delilah and is a snippet from a narrative that showed her downward spiral to ‘villainy’ (i mean yes she killed a lot of people - and some of the “wrong” ones - but they killed her family first, so is that BAD?)

tagging i have too many writers (not ACTUALLY complaining) 234rew umm @equusgirl-writes  @writerray @wayhavenots @shady-saint @thelittlestspider @lizzybeth1986 @impossible-rat-babies and really and TRULY whoever wants to (also ignore if you want <33) !!

your words are CRACKED, FAUNA, IMAGE, FREEDOM 

[rphelperblog]

These Broken Stars Book Quote RP Meme

book by Amie kaufman and Meagan spooner- feel free to edit or change pronouns for rp purposes

“I know she is playing games with me, but I don’t know the rules, and she got all the cards.”

“Dislike is much easier to handle than sympathy.” 

That's my kind of girl!”

“Sometimes you take all my words away from me.” 

“You don’t mention death when it was hovering near someone you love.”

“But she's here, she's mine. I'm hers.” 

“And there it is, against all hope, like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. The smallest hint of a smile.”

“I'm not doing much at all. I might as well be a rag doll. Comes complete with matching shoes. Spine sold separately.” 

“Then you ought to kiss me while you can. It may be a while before your next opportunity.” 

“The anger is a shield, and if I relinquish it, I’ll shatter.” 

“Promise me that no matter what you hear, you won’t go off on your own to investigate. I want your word.” There’s

“You saved my life. Again."

“I know what you would’ve given up for me. I could never let that be for nothing.” 

“If you die then I will too.” 

“How is it that I can want him so badly when he's only been gone from me for a minute?” 

“It’s all I can do not to turn my face toward his, the way a plant grows toward the light.” 

“When she smiles, she looks like somebody I could know.” 

“You'll face it all with me?"

“Just once I’d like to look like I’ve got myself together.” 

“Beautiful? I’ve always been reasonably pretty—but enough money would turn even a cow into a catch.” 

“I’m going with you. You kept telling me you’d take me home with you, and that’s what you’re going to do.”

"I had to. I wouldn't last a day around here without you.” 

“I love you, and I should’ve told you before you—” 

“You don't mention death when it's hovering near someone you love. You don't want to attract the reaper's attention.” 

“I'm not doing much at all. I mimght as well be a rag doll. Comes complete with matching shoes. Spine sold separately.” 

“Then she smiles, and it turns out she has dimples, and it's all over.”

“But who names a starship the Icarus? What kind of man possess that much hubris, that he dares it to fall?” 

I reach for her hand and wind my fingers through hers, turning them so the rain patters down onto her palm. I trace a circle there with my thumb, smoothing the water in her skin. I want to show her there's nothing to be afraid of.”

“...if you ever wanted to take a run at it, I'd say now's your time. There's hardly any competition, unless you count me. Though I am of course very handsome, even dead.” 

Even now, she looked radiant to him. How ridiculous that he'd be romanticizing her in these final hours. What could have once been love was now the resignation of a heart long broken. “

“All of it—for this. Leading us to a door we can't open, a password we don't have.” 

“How do you live again, knowing what waits for you in the end?” 

“I could tell myself that I’m doing it because she’ll get back to her feet just to spite me—but the truth is, I really just want to piss her off. Keeping her moving is a bonus.” 

“We’re being exact, Major. We’d appreciate it if you tried to do the same.” 

“I think I’d rather an instrument told me so. Not that I don’t trust your extensive training.” Her eyes narrow, and if looks could kill, then toxic atmospheres would be the least of my problems.” 

“We’re in luck. This place looks like it’s terraformed. There must be sensors for checking the air quality outside.” 

“Abandon her? If only my duty or my conscience would let me. The galaxy would be better off, if you ask me. Who’d even know we were in the same pod? Except that I would know. And that would be enough.”

“I know a thousand different smiles, each with its own nuanced shade of meaning, but I don't know how to reach the few feet away to touch this person next to me. I don't know how to talk to him. Not when it's real.” 

'You're the same girl who crashed on this planet with me, who I dragged through forests and over mountains, who climbed through a shipwreck full of bodies to save my life. You're the same girl I loved, and I love you now.” 

She rolls over with a little protesting noise, reaching sleepily after me. Then she begins to register the raindrops as they connect with her skin, and she sits up with straight with a gasp. I'm busy sitting up too, because when you go to sleep wrapped around a pretty girl, there are some things going on first thing in the morning that you don't exactly want making headline news. “

[nochiquinn]

exandria unlimited: calamity: episode 2: the calamity is a marquetian hoax

let's go lesbians

I was joking but everyone here is dressed as a different genre of lesbian

"laura's gonna kick my ASS"

just. just say queer. literally just say queer I lose a year off my life every time someone tries to say the whole acronym in a sentence

"but it's a slur" fuck you, read a book

sdlfkjslk

this is fucking adorable

and he PLAYS ALONG I love him

now it hurts

"this kid is way cooler than my kid" rude

too many kids in this campaign where everybody's gonna die

If I Don't Acknowledge It It Can't Hurt Me

the TAXMEN

"I know exactly what I'm doing" - someone who has no idea what they're doing

"friends with bad memory"

"you don't geT IT"

I ain't droppin no eaves mr cerrit

"I wouldn't repeat that mistake" sir

"it started off as a fuck machine"

the what the fuck now

ohh she knows

oh SHIT

what did you DO

aww marisha getting luis tissues

this whole scene make me feel like I missed an episode

[eggman voice] what the FUCK are you two talking about

if this is happening not even an hour in then what is the other four hours for

shit what are the other two episodes for

LEYWRIGHT??

as in WRITING LEYLINES

and then....light

uhoh

[puts mouth directly on mic] give me the secrets

that has to be an ashari ascendant right

magic bloatware

not here as zerxus, here as The First Knight

"she talks a lot of shit AND has given you very detailed maps"

his husband was first knight??

marisha is me

"the visual is loud!"

"I don't like the way you said that"

"he can see in ultraviolet!"

"...I can be late"

sitting next to pregnant laura means sam has lost all fear of being murdered by his castmates

"this plane is great, it's where I keep all my stuff"

ahh, wizard hubris

samuel

"we learned it from watching you mom"

HELLO???

yeah yeah hell yeah

insighting the world

check the ring cam

"I made a donation on your behalf" he PLEDGED to make a donation on her behalf

BRENNAN

"this miniseries is too stressful, I'm canceling it"

what the FUCK

"and it smells like juicy fruit"

"I don't pay attention to people dumber than me"

she done gone got her memory modified

morse code somatics??

"I saved someone's life today" "DON'T tell him"

"you guys changed canon"

"I'm sure you can make up with her tomorrow" sam

he's checking the slush pile

oh they're gonna get jump scared

"take it to PMs"

ZOOM AND ENHANCE

"it was keebler elves THE WHOLE TIME"

someone tell travis there are numbers between 32 and 1

oh shit

rogues are whatever

NOW he remembers how to roll low

mala: look, he heard you!

"what's the biggest, dumbest construct in here it's mine now"

MAP MERCER

I can only ever hear the word "enchantment" in sandal's voice

wizard racist

druids saw their search history and put on the child locks

ahh. they know.

.....ah

they saw the end and it broke them

a foul bauble of man's vanity

oh now that dog tag/dog collar tweet makes sense

oh I don't like it

anybody else seen constantine

luis: I'm approaching aabria: wHY

we have achieved travis hiding in his shirt

thrOUGH?

"THIS IS WHY WE HAVE BUDDIES"

what in the lucifer

OH?

oh hey I'm crying

"he is not of my blood but that is my son" hahaha non-bio parent emotions ACTIVATE

"he was somehow near" "did you ever try to bring him back" beacon? luxon??

"YOU HAD THIS COMING"

sdifjhods

excuse

didn't appreciate that

DON'T APPRECIATE THAT EITHER