lordofthestrix

[lordofthestrix]

If your muse had the opportunity to turn into the opposite sex for a day, would they take it? If so, what would they do?

It is unfortunately the boring answer as far as expanding the scenario goes but it is also the truth: No. If we are talking exclusively for the sake of the new experience, he wouldn't do it. The two of us talked about hypothetical scenarios where Tristan inhabits other bodies before. So it isn't that he is universally against the concept if there are practical necessities involved. Anyone wants to place his consciousness inside another body while his body drowns in the ocean? Absolutely. Resurrection inside of a new form? Not ideal but he would happily agree to it if the only alternative is ceaseless death. But those extenuating circumstances need to be present for him to consider not being fully himself for a while. I think Tristan had enough of not being himself during his first century of immortality. He lost all appetite for it. It is something I try to play with here and there. Because there is, classically speaking, a lot of self-loathing with a great number of vampires. On different layers of consciousness and admittance. And I found the idea of toying with the opposite interesting. For the most part, Tristan de Martel genuinely and greatly enjoys being Tristan de Martel. If he could chose who to be from anyone in the world, he would choose to be himself. (This also makes the experience of suddenly being a music box that plays a tune that isn't his own for a century all the more tortuous.) Basically I think he has a deeply established sense of identity following that experience. This will be mildly controversial, no doubt: Tristan is just the tiniest bit arrogant about who he is and the things he can achieve (Pause for dramatic gasp) And I never detected any hint of fake bravado or feint about it. He is genuinely unusually confident in himself compared to most humans and vampires. I do write this as a double edged sword. Something just as capable of playing against him. Because the thing about having a very healthy opinion of your worth is that it leaves no excuses to be made when your mistakes arrive. That is where Tristan's own brand of self-hatred manifests (I never said he is fully immune to it.) He never tells himself "I wasn't good enough." It is always "I should have been good enough. I could have been better than this. And I wasn't. Because I didn't see something, because I was too weak in some sense or because of whatever else." It is worse in some ways. Because it is always entirely his fault. Something to correct. So, Tristan thinks quite highly of himself but he is not always kind to himself. Far from it. It is also why he always contextualizes any personally painful experience into an instance of learning. "After all, it was you who taught me never to be weak again." "It taught me so much… But nothing more important than how to not be you."

[lordofthestrix]

"No. You are not prepared for that. You are in no position to understand the world through my eyes. I was human once. You have never been a fiend. More importantly in this case: You have never been me. There are stories about me that would make your blood run eternally cold in my presence."

open

"-what kinds of things did you do?"

[lordofthestrix]

“Let’s put our differences aside for now. There are bigger issues at hand.” rebekah

"How refreshingly novel. I'm habituated to being the one reaching other people's thresholds with what is often interpreted as Faustian bargains." Tristan made no secret of sizing her up for a lingering instant. Still deciding what to make of the peculiar selection of Mikaelson paying him a visit. "I am listening."

@theceruleanskye

[lordofthestrix]

"Are you?" A phlegmatic darkness responded. The contrasting, near contradictory gentleness echoed in undertone still. Although more of its true nature was revealed. Not scrupulous shielding, not at this hour. Nevertheless, there was certainly a feral possessiveness, a correspondence to it. Tristan approached. A bit too close. Exceedingly too close for someone bathed in the scarlet death of others. And there was to his movements the smallest, reminiscent insinuation of one of the lions she was familiar with addressing his mate. If he was in any condition to detect her previous inklings of exasperation or not remained uncertain. Somehow, this time, it seemed more likely that his instinct alone made a case against current assumptions. "Because I felt the terrible urge to monopolize the hunt." No. At this particular crossroads, it wasn't the voice of a dark knight guarding a lady. It was power speaking to power. It was beast speaking to beast. In all the strange and teasing intimacy of that union. "You ought to be terribly cross with me, sister."

@lordofthestrix continued from here: x

These sorts of places did not usually have vampires. Really, Aurora actually hadn't intended to go and start trouble. Not much trouble anyway. She had only come because she was hungry, and she thought learning that she had chosen this bar in particular would inspire Tristan to clear his afternoon in an effort to convince her to find a more appropriate meal. Somewhere with ambiance that differed from that of a grimy, dingy hole in the wall of a bar. On that account, Aurora had been correct. Tristan had arrived not long after she had. Aurora had barely begun their little dance of persuasion when the man accosted her. Perhaps if she had bothered to take note of any of the patrons, she might have recognized him as a vampire. Unfortunately for the gentleman, Aurora hadn't much cared for any of them, and the poor dear hadn't known well enough to leave her to her games with Tristan.

Really, when was the last time a hand had touched her without her permission? Especially one intent on harming her. It had been ages. The sheer gall of it took Aurora aback, but Tristan was not similarly frozen at the audacity. No, Tristan's movements were swift. Direct. Punishing. Yet they were restrained. To one that did not know him, it might have looked like he was blinded by rage. Yes, rage was there, Aurora knew it by the way that he asked her to stay back. Some might have mistaken it for Tristan's desire to see her remain out of the fray for her own safety, or perhaps taken it as him wishing to play the gallant knight for a distressed damsel. While there were certainly elements of that, Aurora knew immediately that Tristan's words were meant more as a request that he have the pleasure of subjecting them to his rage. He was going to play with his food a bit. There would be no quick plucking of hearts from chest; Tristan was going to take pleasure in this. How could she deny him this? He seemed to need it.

Aurora slipped away enough to find a stool where she could press her back to the wall and watch as Tristan went to work. It was beautiful. Utterly beautiful. A perfect union between primal rage and her brother's ever present finesse. It was as if she was watching art be made. She could feel herself growing aroused as she watched, and wondered if Tristan was showing off for that purpose. On any other day, Aurora would have assumed the performance was for her benefit, but he seemed to be losing himself to the feeling of rage in a way that he seldom did. He even allowed his eyes to blacken. That should have concerned her, it was a rarity that he allowed his mask to slip that far. Aurora couldn't find it in herself to be too concerned though. Her focus remained on how attractive she found the scene. He was embracing his emotions, nearly losing himself to them. He rarely indulged in such things, leaving it to Aurora alone, even when she wished for him to lose control just for a moment. He hadn't lost control now, but he was close. Though Aurora had initially resolved to remain out of the fray, she was tempted to intervene to bring the scrap to a conclusion so that Tristan could whisk her away before his cooler head returned.

The bout was over before she had to come to a decision on that point. Tristan was stained with the blood of the vanquished and then he turned his attention to her. His hand brushed her cheek with a gentleness that had her groaning before she could help herself. So they were back to this. Treating her as if she might break.

"I'm fine, Tristan. Though I will have to find somewhere else for lunch."

[lordofthestrix]

Continued from (x) "You know...I have always detested the very notion of romantic triangles." Tristan mused with placid calm and the eyes of a sleeping demon. Staring back at him. "They are appealing enough for inexperienced dreamers, I suppose. Shallow fantasies of being desired. Still, the moment one knows love...Well...It is quite a vicious poison, is it not? Love roars savagely. With a hunger that surpasses even our appetite. It consumes and creates new corners of our soul just to fate them to burn evermore for the object of our affection. The most cruel thing the actions of someone you cherish can tell you isn't that they don't love you in return. No. There is, at least, a grotesque finality to that tragedy. The most horrifying truth of them all is to know that they do reciprocate your feelings...Just not enough as to not need to love someone else as well. That while you would choose their laughter, their smile, their happiness over the joy of any other, their own devotion is more divided. The mere existence of a competition must be agonizing. And for a man of your pride to find himself second best in such ranking...." There was no hint of a smirk. No biting, sardonic provocation. He simply stared back still. Like a raven turned owl at a bust of Pallas. "No. I did you no favors. Your attachment to your games of disguise is passionately tenacious. You adore to play pretend. To left the venomous ink inside the inkwell. But tell me. Could it be that I made her a favor? When have your interest ever been anything but arsenic for your unfortunate paramours, Lijah? The one who wore her face before we met? Not likely considering you failed to introduce yourself along a joyous partner. Aya then, whose devotion to you was repaid with cowardly abandonment? The one you so lovingly insinuated an ant a moment ago? Was Katerina Petrova lucky to know you the first time? Do you genuinely reckon Katherine Pierce will fare any better? That you are any less yourself?" The smirk finally appeared. Although it was distant and not directed at him. "I am your friend Elijah. Unless you can miraculously introduce me to someone else who would dare to call himself such after knowing you like I do. Why would that mean I don't find satisfaction in your suffering? You earned that. Although my enjoyment exists among many other far more riveting pleasures, I promise you. My eternity isn't nearly as grim as yours." An emphasis darkened the room. "Don't despair, old chum. The fact is...Your heartbreaking melodrama could end as soon as tomorrow for all we know. It is likely, even. A merry reconciliation and teasing promises of renewed adoration. I can envision it already. I am simply acting in the name of that helpful voice of what goes unsaid. Telling you nothing that you don't already know beyond your voracious self-delusion. Ensuring any instant of bliss is understood, on the back of your mind, as prologue to the next misfortune. And the unavoidable agony of those closer to you." His gaze, in that moment, was curiously open and sincere. "You are the problem. And you do not deserve an iota of happiness." @deceptivemorals with special allusions to @malka-lisitsa (I still have no idea how he ended up somewhat involved in this just because he played a harmless game. At least he is deescalating the situation.)

[lordofthestrix]

-Added to the folder Tristan's badges of honor-

Damn @lordofthestrix really fucked up kathlijah with ONE ASK.

[lordofthestrix]

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

[lordofthestrix]

Tristan arriving in the middle of this oncoming storm of a situation and deciding "Oh, no. I get that an Original vampire just abandoned all of you because he deemed you a lost cause. And yes. I am fully familiar with Mikael. Mikael and an army, you say? Fun twist. What you are not getting is how much my presence changes that inevitable doom at your doorstep." It wasn't bloodless, mind you. Anytime anyone references the event, they mention quite a few deaths. But the fact that Tristan arrived at the eleventh hour and claimed triumph over the threat will always be an extraordinary win.

[lordofthestrix]

Tristan after his perfectly innocent question to @malka-lisitsa causes @deceptivemorals to leap into a small dissagreeemnt. "I will never understand people who are under the impression that my dear sire is hard to direct."

[lordofthestrix]

“Control is an illusion, something to make us feel grounded and in charge of our destinies.”

Old. Older than most by how well he took the sudden push forcing him away from her. Older than Tristan's people, even. It was no wonder the portly figure managed to surprise Aurora long enough to constrict his hand around her neck for a moment. They were no longer accustomed to strangers matching their might. Ancient vampires were an endangered species. In another world, under a different sky, Tristan could have been amused, even slightly curious about the bald-headed, leather-cladded gang leader and his entourage of bikers. One seemingly almost as primeval as them. In this world, under this sky, all he burned with was the scorching image of his hand squeezing his sister's neck as he began spouting some trite poison about his territory. Ancient vampires would be more of an endangered species by morning. The man had the good sense to reassess. Quick glimpses at the two of them. Thinking for a fraction of a moment before opening his mouth again. Be it to withdraw or double down. His hand closing against her neck. The motorcyclist spat out blood with inexpressive pain. Tristan struck against his throat before he could offer a word. Mercilessly. He wasn't feeling in the mood to talk. "Let me." He managed to the only other person with the right to survive the occasion. It had been a while, yes. A while since bones that refused to instantly shatter and hits capable of harming him. A while since any fight unleashed for anything other than sport that wasn't a mere execution. The fever raised as strikes were exchanged. The flames of the image consuming him. Growing overwhelmed, the man zealously hide on the defensive. Still rabid enough to protect the path to his heart with feral wildness. Quite the annoyance. And it was only a matter of time before his pride gave in and he unleashed that increasingly nervous swam of mosquitoes to aid his no doubt until then undefeated leader. Fine...Defend yourself. His hand promising her pain. Tristan struck against his eyes. It wasn't clean. The claws of a malefic creature capturing its prey. Pushing with vengeful ardor. Until his eyes exploded. Until his eye-sockets bled black. And Tristan pushed still. Remembering his threatening insolence against Aurora all the while the still fractured voice screeched. Tristan pushed. Finally, the skull violently shattered out of him. His breath wasn't quite recuperated when one of the men left behind by his failure pleadingly tried. "...I swear! we don't wan-" The hand of the dead man. Almost hurting Aurora. Tristan de Martel roared. Bending the room to its knees. Viciously. Dark veins tainted demonic eyes and the fangs of a monster visited his visage. Another uncommon event. It had been a while since Tristan last showed his real face to anyone who wasn't dinner. They were not a challenge without their ringmaster. They were carnage in motion. Fleeing. Battling. Begging. It was all the same. Vivid, giant stains of red on a suit that had once been blue. Strangest of it all perhaps, was the terrible sincerity and ceaseless fondness the ruthless beast was capable of effortlessly changing into once the affront found justice and it was her he was addressing. "Are you okay, darling?"

@ladamedemartel

[lordofthestrix]

𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐂 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒. all these sentences come from a search on goodread's keywords for high fantasy and epic fantasy. please change names, locations and pronouns as you see fit.

“Wouldn’t the joys of life lose all colour, if life was eternal?”

“True siblings are bound together by far more essential things than blood, while more times than many blood isn't thicker than water.”

“I believe with all my heart, that Magnus is a worthy and superior successor to your current king. ”

“Fate was a fairy story and a bullshit one at that; fate could get fucked and go bother someone else.”

“You shouldn’t ask the girl blessed by Death whom she’ll die for. You should ask her whom she’ll kill for.”

“You are what I imagine the sun to be like. Fiery. Beautiful. Damning”

“We’re all selfish monsters— the only difference is some of us are more honest about it than others.”

“Tell me a secret, then. One you can part with.”

“Control is an illusion, something to make us feel grounded and in charge of our destinies.”

“Don't overthink everything. You might be surprised by how much you'd like being out of control. Being alive is chaos, and living in it is half the fun.”

“Her hand in mine is as good as gold.”

“One taste, and a thousand deaths you shall receive.”

“You and what army?”

“Maybe today was the day the fire roared and defeated all the rest.”

“To love was a privilege not afforded to those of us born in these trying times when survival was never guaranteed.

“No one doubts your honourable nature, most noble of kings and best of brothers.”

“Don't dwell on your past - it's not where you're going”

“It's your life. Do what you want with it.”

“Ambition comes with a price attached. Of course, that price comes too high if you die for nothing. The reward for ambition too great... is self-destruction!”

“Don't you wish you were here?”

“Most animals are willing to talk. It's the human who don't listen.”

“Some call it brash. Others call it independent. Pick your interpretation.”

“How can I even begin to understand the nature of power when no one shares a common definition of it?”

“No one used my family against me to accomplish their own goals. Not even God or an Immortal.”

“You remember him as a hero, so none of it makes sense for you. But you can remember him like that without caring what others think. No parent is perfect, and growing up is realizing that.”

“The dark doesn't mean you're alone.”

“The tongue is shallow, like water lapping at the shore. To fully understand is to swim in the deep ocean with all the senses.”

“The same thing that you value. Justice for the sake of it, and the safeguard of those who need it. Our methods may differ, but our hearts are the same.”

"My goodness, look at your face! Why ask if you thought I'd say no?"

“Come with me, I think I have a new escape for you.”

“Why should injustice, the darkness of justice, exist and not be an imperfect entry in a book unread for centuries? Until it is so forgotten, that no one remembers it was ever there.”

“That's what friends, that's what brethren are for. To be there, where words cannot.”

“What a thraldom, to be able to dream and only then to be free!”

“The wise man does not play games with dragons.”

“I don’t want to be remembered . . . I just want to live without fear.”

“A name does not make the man, just like a lie does not tell the full story.”

“He told me that everything I was afraid of in the dark was also there in the light. The only difference was the way it looked.”

“Hate is what will obliterate the brightest of the stars that shine inside your heart.”

“A smile is deceptive, I have found. Some are real… and some are false. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference.”

“Nothing is truly real until one is willing to believe in it.”

“Those who long for perfection will never achieve it, while those who expect failure are always surprised.”

“I don’t have friends— only accomplices and enemies. You’d be amazed at how often they change sides.”

“Fathers are like that, Always disappointing their children when they need them the most.”

“Of course I would fall for Captain Emotionally Constipated. I could train a rock to hold more affection for me.”

“Because that means you’re thinking, and a thinking woman is usually something to fear.”

“Everything makes so much more sense, when you forget what life forces you to remember.”

“Influence is like the tide. Sometimes it goes, sometimes, however, it comes.”

“What kind of person do you wish to be? A part of those who take action, who try the hardest, or of those who go with the flow?”

“The same good folk who would burn me for a psychal now paid me to use my cursed gramarye to guard their sheep.”

“The God-War is coming.”

“Why must we overlook what we are most likely able to do?”

“I speak of the laws man has made, to make everyone lawful.”

“Before, I never knew how far I would go. Now I believe I have the answer. I will go as far as there is to go. I will go way too far.”

“Show your power by appearing powerless.”

“Books are keys that open many doors.”

“I am going to go into this world, and I don't care if you and your narrow mind cannot be a part of it.”

“You are blessed with a knack for sucking the wonder out of the extraordinary.”

“Right and wrong matters little when survival matters most.”

“The hard truths are the ones to hold tight. - Old Bear”

“One can't exactly savor vengeance when one is dead.”

“This was not going to be a peaceful day. No. It was going to be a mess.”

“When a mortal man breaks a people, it is always blamed on the gods.”

“That is the way of the gods. When they intervene, everyone loses something.”

“Life was cruel. It pitted the weak against the strong and never even blinked when the weak were crushed.”

“You were bringing me all those flowers when I was sick, like you were wooing me. How could my poor, weak heart resist?”

“I would choose freedom over comfort every time.”

“Women were always the cruelest where other women were concerned.”

“Is this a knight who comes before us, or the answer to a child’s riddle?”

[lordofthestrix]

And so, Phantom Lex slowly vanishes into the void.

I'm almost home.

[lordofthestrix]

🔮

Send 🔮 for my muse to reveal something. "In words attributed to Seneca, luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. And I most certainly believe in taking advantage of just about any convenient excuse to slay the unseemly distance between us, my beloved Rory."

@ladamedemartel

[lordofthestrix]

A pleasant conclusion to this chapter and wonderful new beginnings for each of you, ladies and gentlemen.

[lordofthestrix]

Dig into my muse's life | headcanons

[lordofthestrix]

@ladamedemartel suggested: What if chess but with people? "Do you have an inkling of how mortally dull and tiresome eternity would be without you by my side?" The two armies Aurora conscripted stood at the ready. Outfitted for battle and mesmerized into an immobility that awaited for orders. "Majestic. As ever." He fondly judged of her latest flight of fancy swiftly transmuted into reality. "The usual rulings or are we to take the uncertain winds of combat into consideration? Can the pieces defend themselves from an incoming attack?"

[lordofthestrix]

Reblog this if you’re okay with people sending unexpected IC asks to your muse at any time! No meme prompts needed!