#Agness Obel

[dancingandsingingintheforest]

The ever-growing playlist. I add a couple of more songs spontaneously.

[monstersinthecosmos]

Vamptember Day 1 - Experiment

{agnes obel - kamma}

Daniel’s thoughts don’t make much sense.

Like everything is a fragment, like nothing is in order. 

Sometimes, a sound has a taste to him. Some remembered flavor from his human life, that he’ll never really know again. Sometimes a color has a smell. Sometimes, the music in the background of a television ad sends him spiraling into a memory so deeply that he can’t remember where he is when he comes back up for air.

His thoughts shuffle together. Don’t make much sense. Marius tries to keep a respectful distance, to give him privacy, but checks in from time to time, just to know how he’s doing. It’s often hard to tell. His thoughts are like a kaleidoscope some nights, and the sound of radio static on others. Sometimes he’ll be tidy, in perfect working order, until some intrusive thing sours him. It can be a texture beneath his fingers, a scent, a painting. It’s like an ink bottle tipping over to ruin a half-written page. 

Perhaps, Marius wonders, to someone Daniel’s age it’s more like the electricity shorting.

Some nights Marius stares at him, and Daniel doesn’t seem to notice. The child of his child, unmoving for hours, curled into the corner of the sectional sofa. It’s hard to tell how much is his own bias, but Daniel always looks young like this. The Blood had restored the weight in his face, erased the human signs of age, but it’s how small he makes himself. Marius stares, and thinks that Daniel seems like a broken little thing. 

“I heard that,” Daniel mumbles.

Daniel rubs at his face. His hunger cramps through his thoughts, permeates the entire room, and the pain in his strained arteries somehow becomes a color in his mind that he can’t unsee. He squeezes the bridge of his nose and pats at the breast pocket of his flannel shirt, as if looking for something.

Old human habit, Marius imagines. Looking for cigarettes that he hasn’t touched in over a decade.

“Would you like to hunt?” Marius asks. 

Daniel just shakes his head. He pulls his knees close to his chest. Nails scratch against his scalp.

“You’re hungry,” Marius says gently. He leans into the door frame, crosses his arms over his chest, wondering the best solution here. 

Marius is old. He can handle hunger. Likes it sometimes, the way the pain can clear him out a little bit. But Daniel is too young. Shouldn’t go so long without feeding. The weakness brought on only makes his acuity worse, makes him less patient, more quiet. The bad kind of quiet, though.

Daniel’s thoughts race, imagining the next handful of steps it takes to go hunting. Changing his clothes, putting shoes on. The cold wind outside and then the sweltering heat of a bar. The noise. The bitter chemical taste of perfume on a woman’s throat. Cleaning up afterwards. Too much for tonight, and the thought of the swoon isn’t even enough to drag him off the couch.

It’s not good to let the hunger build like this, though. Not for someone like Daniel. 

Marius reaches for the light switch beside him, twisting the dimmer to bring the lights lower. He grabs a blanket from where’s it’s lazily thrown over the arm of the couch and brings it closer, drapes it across Daniel’s shoulders as he takes the seat beside him.

“Drink from me, at least,” he says gently, as he unbuttons his cuff, and rolls the sleeve up his forearm. 

Daniel turns in his seat. Leans his temple into the soft couch cushion. Rubs his cheek in the fabric for a moment, as if it’s soothing.

Armand’s child. Marius looks at him, really looks, and he can see what Armand saw, just for a second. 

Marius holds out his hand. The purple veins still show, just barely. Enough that Daniel’s breath hitches when he looks down and sees them. He shifts, crosses his legs, pulls the blanket tighter around himself. Marius waits, with all his patience. He lets his hand fall into Daniel’s lap, inviting his control. 

“I always thought I’d be afraid of you,” Daniel says. 

It’s the most he’s spoken in months, but Marius doesn’t point it out. Thinks Daniel might take it badly.

Marius doesn’t answer, either. A quiet Hmm in consideration, to acknowledge him, as he settles back into the cushions. He tucks one of his feet beneath the opposite leg, lifts his free arm to rest on the back of the couch. Snow is beginning to fall outside, and he watches as frost grows on the corners of the windows.

The cool grip, finally, as Daniel touches him. Fingers tentatively curling around Marius’s forearm, as if reaching for a slithering thing. Not real revulsion, though, Marius can tell. Just the exhaustion and curiosity, too fragile to deal with any surprises tonight.

And then his teeth, and the cautious wet-cold press of his tongue. The pain tingles pleasantly in Marius’s spine, breaking through the barrier of immortality for a moment. 

“My fledglings weren’t like you,” he says softly, as Daniel drinks. His eyes are closed and he moans, just enough for Marius to hear. Quiet little noise, sated for the moment. Marius wonders what Daniel sees in the Blood, and tries to think of beautiful things.

But my fledglings weren’t like you, he thinks again. Even at her most morose, Pandora still floated at the surface. Amadeo could be reclaimed by a game of the switch. 

Maybe Marius just never knew, though. Never saw into their heads like this. Maybe Amadeo was this disorganized, too, maybe that’s why he liked this one.

Daniel pulls away with a gasp, and his voice garbles around the blood in his mouth. 

“Armand thought of me as an experiment,” he says. He drops Marius’s wrist and falls back against the cushions. He licks the blood from his teeth.

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not—”

“He told me once that he was an experiment to you, too.”

Marius rubs a thumb over the healed wounds in his wrist. Straightens his shoulders as he buttons his sleeve back up. 

His throat cramps, and his heartbeat is loud in his own ears. He glances at the snow outside.

“I need to hunt,” he says. He pats Daniel’s thigh as he stands. “Please don’t leave the house without me.”

[mightybog]

Twenty Questions for Fanfic Writers

Thank you @liviapeleia for the asks <3!!

Tagging longtime frond @breadkween, fabulous runner of @merlinmicrofic @queerofthedagger (thank you!) and reader and writer who's left me lovely comments @achillesuwu. @mythandmagic, Ao3 is down rn so I can't check but if you have any fics yourself, here's an ask game for you! There's no obligation, presh or time limit of course! Also like @liviapeleia said before me, consider yourself tagged if you see this!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

11

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

265,960

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now just Merlin. I've written for other fandoms in the past but each of those works have been standalone.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Always His Destiny | Merlin | A true love's kiss, resurrection and golden age AU written for Glompfest 2024.

Like Every Tree Stands On Its Own | Merlin | A longfic inspired by other Arthurian media/sources featuring Wildman Prophet!Merlin and a magical forest. This is my magnum opus.

What's Mightier Than a Sword and Robs a Prince of His Servant? | Merlin | Pre-slash Merthur minor canon-divergence in which Merlin's talents in speech writing land him a promotion and Arthur is Not Pleased™.

Only Human | Venom | A short gift/exchange fic about masturbation, lol. The fic I received in exchange was also about masturbation. In my defence this was a writing exercise (I promise).

The Sky Is Falling | Nightvale | Unfinished fic about alcoholism recovery, love, community and the complete collapse of reality.

...Okay wow what a mix :D

5. Do you respond to comments?

I really love comments and I love getting into discussions with readers! It really makes my day to see that someone has commented on one of my fics.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Am I allowed to choose a soon to be published WIP? Words Are Dead, a microfic inspired by the Agnes Obel song of the same name in which Merlin and Arthur are unable to communicate when Arthur returns. Merlin has lost Brythonic, his first language, and his capacity to relearn it. He's simply been alive for far too long and his mind has suffered :(

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Like Every Tree has a prolonged bittersweet kind of ending but I think Always His Destiny wins.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope/not yet!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, though so far it hasn't been the focus of any of my works, there's no reason why that can't change though (the Venom one doesn't count, I make the rules here). As to what kind I'd say loving and intimate, I guess? Sometimes with a bit of a hurt/comfort element to it. Again, no reason why I can't branch out in the future ;)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

While not labelled as a crossover, Like Every Tree was heavily inspired by Arthurian media both new and old, and one medieval Irish source. I did so much research for this fic and I'm still down those various rabbit holes. It was a homage to my favourite, janky cartoon movie from my childhood Quest for Camelot. Otherwise I don't write proper crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also don't think so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but I would love to!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I guess it really has to be Merthur! I don't recall a ship ever having such a hold on me. Those two are doomed but made for each other. The way they interact is so much fun to read/write.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Damn, this is definitely Be Here When the Weather Turns, a Mushi-shi fic. It has a very soft, restful and liminal vibe and I adore it. I really do wish I can finish it someday. So sometimes like a song, you share a piece of media with someone, or you associate it with a particular chapter in your life, and that song/piece of media brings up feelings. I'd like to think it's still worth a read. If you don't know Mushi-shi, please consider checking it out, it was weird and quiet and beautiful.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I can't deny that I put a lot of love into this hobby. Also @breadkween has told me that they really like my dialogue :3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm really prone to typos. I can re-read something a hundred times and just fail to see them. I'm a very slow writer; what I put out usually goes through months of edits and change-ups. Lastly I have embraced a faux-pas or two for fun, such as starting sentences with 'and.' And no one can stop me >:)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'd only be comfortable writing dialogue in a language I've formerly learned and have some level of familiarity with for fear of getting something wrong.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Okay I love this question because the answer is the highly formative Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, a YA series I was obsessed with, and have continued to read, and re-read as an adult and as unexpected prequels and sequels popped up in more recent years. I wrote it on a literal floppy disk :D First fandom I wrote for that I actually published online was Undertale.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Definitely Like Every Tree. I'm just really proud of it :3

[toddandersonsyawp]

I haven't done a post like this in a while, but I just came across a dps edit on Pinterest (not sure if the op made the edit, I've asked them for proper credit- will update if I get an answer) it was called "The Beauty of Dead Poets Society." Here:

(if you get a notif for my acc, dw I didn't doxx myself- it's an alt. just ignore it ^^)

Whether it was just the nostalgic visuals, the song playing in the background (September Song by the talented Agnes Obel), or a mix of both- it honestly invoked a different view of the film in me.

The story of these kids finding passion admist suppression - I applied it to a larger picture. I think that the whole film/book was an overarching metaphor that mirrors our lives as human beings living in modern societies.

We are the kids. No matter our ages. We all come from different backgrounds and have different specific struggles, but in the end, are our struggles as a whole that different? Look at Neil and Todd, for example. Todd is the other sibling; he'll never be his older brother in his parents and society's (the school's) eyes. He carries a burden and an immense amount of pressure. And Neil? Different situation. He is the golden/only child; he carries that on his shoulders as well. Although their situations can be deemed opposites, they both are similar in the way that society has put massive pressure on them. Sound familiar? Yeah, one of the main reasons most of the dps audience can relate to them so much (and ALL of the other kids) is because of how much of a burden our society throws on us even as we grew up.

Notice how there are so many different personalities in the students; from anxious Todd, confident Charlie, rule-follower Cameron, to even Hopkins (unleash your inner "a cat sat on the mat"), I feel like everyone watching the film can relate even in part to at least one of these characters. These kids are a perfect way to express different types of people put under societal pressure and how they react differently (more on that later)

Queue Mr. Keating! Ah yes. I think we all have or will have a Mr. Keating in our lives. Mr. Keating symbolises pure inspiration. Our first and strongest taste of "what could be" if we only took the burden of society and threw it out the window. Despite the school (which represents society as a whole) trying to enforce its normalities and trying to fit us in a single tightly-packed conformity, we have that one inspiration admist the system that gives us passion. Does the system like this? No, not at all. This taste of freedom, that is already limited, is giving us reasons to be curious: "What could I become, who could I become, if I didn't conform?". Curiousity can be easily concealed, luckily. Confidence is what the people in control see first. Our "paces" change.

Confidence mixed with curiosity is the most powerful weapon against a static society.

We all don't react the same to this mix. Some of us take a path of full rebellion. Those people are able to break out of the system successfully when they want to. This is the path that Charlie Dalton symbolises. All he needed was that spark of inspiration (again, represented by Mr. Keating) to completely face society head-on, smirking. He got expelled from the school on his own accord. (I will add, I'm not saying this path is easier than the others. How you react to inspiration does not equal the burden you took on prior or during exposure to it) Some also have a path of confidence- however, they don't make the best decisions with their new freedom. This is a result of being oppressed for so long; the explosive taste of "possibility" clouds their judgement. Knox, fortunately, learned along the way, as most people who take his path do.

Probably the most explored in the film: others, well, they don't face societal expectations head-on. They want to. With every fibre of their being, they need to. They can go on either path; play by the system's rules until they acquire more freedom (Todd), or give up. Neil; he couldn't break out of society, but he couldn't live in it either. His method of escape was not like Charlie's. Neil believed that society was a heavy curtain draped on all people and couldn't be lifted up to let them breathe. Suffocation. Many people take this path. We see it everywhere.

Dead Poet's Society is full of so many different paths taken by so many of the students and those around them - it's all to show how we react differently to the world's pressure and burden.

Inspiration (Mr. Keating) is a spark that spreads across so many of us. As I've discussed in a previous post, inspiration has no end; it can reach those who are bound to and/or enforcing the system (the Latin teacher). It reaches out to our lives; how we react to it and use it against its inverse- society (Welton/ the parents)- is dependent on all of our own individual paths (represented by the students). The Dead Poet's Society itself represents the people who dare take control of their lives with passion and inspiration. This "society", in every way, is what our society should be.

[canonicallyanxious]

once a king... // A fanmix for the Pevensie siblings

i recently finished a reread of the chronicles of narnia [my first since i was a young child, so this was a trip and a half] and while i have an uh shall we say complicated relationship with the series itself my feelings about the pevensies are not complicated at all, which is to say i love them to absolute pieces. so in celebration of the finished reread, here is my small tribute to them! This fanmix is actually four mini-fanmixes in one! Every ten songs are for a different pevensie sibling. Full tracklist under the cut.

i. peter the magnificent

01. The Golden Age | Woodkid // 02. Willow Tree March | The Paper Kites // 03. King | The Amazing Devil // 04. Sleeping Giants | The Crane Wives // 05. The Trees Were Mistaken | Andrew Bird // 06. War | Son Lux // 07. Faith and Anger | Phil Beaudreau // 08. Family Curse | Beirut // 09. Little Brother | Lady Lamb // 10. Sisters | Radical Face

ii. susan the gentle

11. Something Unseen Touches a Flower to My Forehead | Cross Record // 12. Kerosene Dreams | Låpsley // 13. Bride | San Fermin // 14. White Words | Eliza Rickman // 15. Ophelia | Marika Hackman // 16. Moonchild | emune, Ashley Helal // 17. Grizzly Man | Rockettothesky // 18. After the Zero Hour | Wolf Alice // 19. The Archers | Laura Veirs // 20. Crimson | Skott

iii. edmund the just

21. I To The Maybe Go | Cosmo Sheldrake, Bunty // 22. You Know Where to Find Me | Imogen Heap // 23. Winter's Eve | Kishi Bashi // 24. They Stay Down Deep | Giselle // 25. Avenue | Agnes Obel // 26. Doomed ("Live from Blackalachia" version) | Moses Sumney // 27. Carrion Comfort | aeseaes // 28. I'm Your Man | Mitski // 29. What Shouldn't I Be | Sampha // 30. The Transfiguration | Sufjan Stevens

iv. lucy the valiant

31. Queendom (Harp Version) | AURORA // 32. I Sleep With the Windows Open | The Family Crest // 33. The People Who Raised Me | Gregory and the Hawk // 34. Wooden Walls of this Forest Church | Lost In The Trees // 35. There Beneath | The Oh Hellos // 36. Bluebird | Laura Barrett // 37. On the Summer Solstice | aspidistrafly // 38. There There | mmm // 39. While We Have the Sun | Mirah // 40. Open Arms | Mree

[listen on spotify]

[smallraindrops-blog]

heeey wanna wish good luck with the writer's block and ask if you write for charon ? thought I'd be a cool challenge and I really like the way you write hyp and than if not that's cool

Adventures in Babysitting.

Hinted Charmes

(a WMFTD oneshot)

warnings: No beta

word count: 2.6k

Summary: Charon didn’t care what his mother thought. He was not a babysitter.

Notes: thanks for waiting and encouragement, sorry for taking so long! Tbh I might be adding more of babysitting stuff, pretty fun to write.

The masterlist

Enjoy~

The moment the oar had formed in his hands, heavy as the world itself, Charon had understood his divine role in the universe.

The Ferryman of the Dead, serving the grim masters of the Underworld.

When he received his first fare, a copper obel that gleamed in the dark, Charon thought ‘Mine.’

However, his mother had decided he was also the babysitter to his younger brothers, a set of twins. With a grimace, Charon stared down at the very young boys who stared back with matching golden eyes.

Thanatos with his neat posture and silky hair, gave Charon a formal nod, looking every inch of a little gentleman. 

In comparison, Hypnos looked ready to fall asleep, his curls ridiculously fluffy and he yawned loudly into his palm before giving Charon a lazy wave.

“Mother Nyx. I cannot do this, I have work.” Charon tried to inform Nyx but she merely gave him a cool glance. He knew how he sounded like others outside of the family but thankfully she always understood what he said.

“I understand. However, Lady Mania is having an episode and I don’t want her near the children.” Mother Nyx exhaled, “I need to know they will be safe.”

That shut down any possible arguments from Charon. There were not many creatures that Charon got nervous from but she was one of them. He didn’t like that she was unpredictable, a friend for a day then a foe the next. 

That and she always got a greedy look in her roaming eyes when she spied Charon’s obol.

“Will you be safe?” Charon said, moving aside to let his little brothers into his boat. 

She nodded, glancing down at the children. “Be good for your big brother.”

The twins muttered their agreement, with Thanatos helping Hypnos get into the boat. They were too small and light to make the boat rock much, only causing faint ripples in the river. Charon let out a deep sigh once their mother left.

Then he glanced down at the boys. 

“First, we are doing some ground rules.” He pointed at them with a boney finger. “You will not interfere with my work, you will not act rowdy, be quiet and if you fall in the rivers, you will have to swim back on your own, understood?”

They blinked up at him. Charon frowned, unsure if they understood him or if they just heard nonsense.

Thanatos nodded, his expression far too serious for a young boy. “Yes, big brother.”

Hypnos blinked owlishly once more, a finger on his lips then lifted his hand up in the air as if he had a question. 

Charon sighed, wondering if he really wanted to entertain whatever this was. “Yes, Hypnos?”

”Why are they called ground rules if we are in a boat? Shouldn’t they be called liquid rules? Oh! Or maybe boat rules?” Hypnos tilted his head, his curls flopping into his eyes.

Thanatos slapped a hand on his forehead, “Hypnos. You always ask the dumbest questions.”

Charon groaned and turned around to begin the journey.

~

The first group of shades were mostly middle aged men, all laborers with calloused hands and sunburnt napes. There were a few young ones and a few elders as well. 

To Charon, they all looked the same to him, dead and gone. Mere shades. 

When he held out his boney hand to accept their fare, one by one they each placed an obel in his hand. Charon counted it, the obol bright in the dimly lit cave. 

Once he was satisfied, he tucked the coins away.

His oar cut a powerful line through the bloody water of his sister's river, parting easily for Charon and his passengers. The shades were quiet, grim faced as they were carried into the underworld. 

Charon preferred the quiet. 

He never liked it when he had to deal with the crying ones. Children were especially loud, weeping for their parents as they cowed from him.

“Oh, wowie. There are so many of you.” Hypnos said, his voice loud as he peered into the face of a confused man with a beaming smile. Charon glanced over his shoulder, annoyed. The shade’s eyes darted around as if silently asking for help. 

Charon only shrugged at the shade.

”How did you die?” Hypnos asked, almost nose to nose with the shade. The man leaned back, “Um. Rock slide. All of us, I think.”

“Hypnos!” Thanatos hissed before Charon had to. “You can’t just ask people how they died.” 

“Oh. I didn’t know that.” Hypnos patted the shade’ knee in apology. “Sorry.” He yawned, causing the shade and those closeby to yawn as well. Some dozed off.

Eventually the boat arrived at Asphodel, the meadows filled with snowy white flowers, the air heavy with a heavenly scent. It was one of Charon’s favorite places. Here it was actually peaceful, unlike battle bound Elysium. 

However, his eye darted down the River Phlegethon. The heat was so strong, Charon had to shift his hands higher up on his oar. 

Charon had heard that many shades were fearful that the river was growing, and maybe he had been listening to too many rumors, but… the river did seem wider than before.

Faint voices reached his ears and Charon peered from under his hat.

A few shades stared at the boat, looking to see if it was one of their loved ones. One of the shades said something to another shade, pointing farther in. That shade took off, lost between the swaying flowers.

The boat made a dull thud as it reached a worn out pier, the wood creaking as the boat settled. 

One by one, the shades disembarked.

“Bye bye- farewell-sayonara.” Hypnos said between yawns, oblivious to Thanatos’ eyeroll or Charon’s annoyed sigh. 

Thanatos glanced up at Charon, his serious expression undone by the youngful curiosity.

“Charon?” Thanatos waited until Charon looked down at him. “Will we stop by Elysium?”

Hypnos’ head snapped toward them, it was the quickest he ever saw the little god of sleep move. Hypnos clasped his hands under his chin.“Oh please say yes!” 

Matching pair of puppy eyes stared up at him, with Hypnos nudging Thanatos to copy him which he did, clasping his own small hands. 

For the first time in his long memory, Charon wanted to laugh. He felt his lips twitching in response.

His brothers were silly little creatures and Charon didn’t know what to do with them.

”If there are any shades worthy of going, you will get to see it.” Charon told them, pressing his oar against the pier to push them away. The twins huffed, clearly grumpy at his response yet Charon still wanted to chuckle.

He shook his head, the sooner his mother came back for them, the better.

“Hektor?” A feminine voice called out, getting all three gods’ attention as the boat began to pull away, his oar in the river once more.

The shade that Hypnos was bothering earlier whirled around, stepping away from the group. “Alytrona?”

The two shades rushed toward each other, meeting in a passionate embrace. Hektor lifted and spun Alytrona, both laughing as tears spilled down their faces. They met in a kiss as other shades began to cheer and clap.

Hypnos joined in, even though the boat was now too far away to even hear much. When the shore was no longer in view, he yawned heavily, his smile wide as he settled in. “I just love a happy ending.”

“They both died.” Thanatos scoffed, settling in next to Hypnos. “They didn’t even die together.”

”But they found each other even after all that. That is what counts in the end.” Hypnos grinned up at Charon. “Right?”

Charon only shrugged. He never bothered to think about the shades beyond the fares and their final destinations. He saw no reason to begin now.

~

They were almost to the next location to pick up the new shades when a loud, far too chipper voice came from above. A powerful gust blew over them, rocking the boat and Charon wanted to bang his head against the oar.

”Oh well look at this! Two little boatmen!” A flash of copper gold, bright as the sun and just as warm and The god Hermes stood on the far end of the boat, his toes barely resting on the boat’s tail. 

He laughed merrily at the awestruck looks on the twins’ face, his scarf flicking like a flame, his wings flaring around his windblown locks like sunbeams. 

He was so radiant, it should have hurt to look at him. “Charon, my professional associate, You didn’t tell me you were getting new colleagues.”

Charon made a strangled noise in his throat. It was bad enough he was babysitting while working, he didn’t need to deal with Olympus’s messenger pigeon on top of this.

Hermes leaned down, crossing his forearms as he took the twin’s hands. He rapidly shook Thanatos’ and Hypnos’ hand at the same time, winking at them. “Hello there! The name is Hermes, pleased to be at your service!” 

Thanatos held a hand in front of his eyes, scowling. Hypnos laughed in delight, squinting up at the shining god with admiration.

Hermes pulled away, digging through the bag. “Now Charon, I dropped off the latest batch. All going down to Tartarus. Nasty lot, not people I would make deals with. Now, where did I put it?”

Charon shifted, holding out his hand as he waited for the other god to hurry it up. 

Only Hermes didn’t. With an annoyed huff he placed a turtle in Charon’s palm.“Oh perfect, hold Shelly for me.”

Charon stared at his hand in muted shock, the turtle darting back into its shell as his brothers tried to get a better look at the poor critter. Hermes stuck his head in the bag, his wings fluttering, then with a loud ‘ha-ha!’, he pulled out a large stroll.

“A message for your lovely mother.” Herems said, taking Shelly back and dropping the scroll in Charon’s hand. The winged god gave the turtle’ head, which was beginning to poke out again, a loud kiss and placed her into the bag.

”Thank you, Lord Hermes. You may go now.” Charon said but Hermes leaned back down with a foxish smile. “Oh I think you lads have something I lost.”

Hypnos and Thanatos exchanged a confused glance as Hermes chuckled. He reached behind their ears with wiggling fingers, getting them to both laugh, their shoulders hutching up.  “Oh yes, right behind… here.”

He pulled a coin from both behind their ears. Hypnos gasped, patting a hand behind his ear as Thanatos eyed Hermes suspiciously. “How did you do that?”

“A magician never reveals his secrets.” Hermes informed Thanatos as he booped the little godling’ nose. Thanatos scowled, rubbing his nose.

Charon groaned, purple smoke trailing from his lips but Hermes only laughed, “I know. I know, Boss. Here ya go, lads! A little gift from your new business partner.”

He gave the coins to the twins before he darted toward Charon. He was so quick that Charon didn’t see a blur, all he knew was one moment Herems was on the far end of the boat then Hermes’ hand was on his shoulder, another one covering Herems’ mouth as he leaned in to whisper. 

This close, Charon caught the scent of sunshine and wind, of prized spices. His hand was surprisingly heavy. Charon’s mouth went dry.

“Athena is ready. Summon me when it’s time.” His tone had darkened, no longer playful. Charon nodded slowly, keeping a watchful eye on the twins. 

They were ignoring Charon and Hermes, Thanatos attempting the coin trick on Hypnos with little success.

Hermes gave Charon’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before pulling away. 

He darted into the air, his arms spread wide and his playful grin back on his face. His scarf flickered like the sun, his godly presence was a beacon in the gloom of the underworld. “Gentlemen! Alas, I must go! The wind is calling for me and I got messages to deliver!”

With a flash, Hermes was gone, no doubt to give someone else a headache.

Charon rubbed his brow, suddenly worn out. He felt the weight of his bones and it was by sheer willpower that his back didn’t bow over like an old man. 

Hypnos yawned, twisting around to look up at Charon with drooping eyes. He grinned, the coin safe in his little fist. “I like him. He is funny.” 

“Well, I don't.” Thanatos huffed, rubbing his eyes with a pout. “Too loud and too bright. Does he ever stop?”

Charon glanced toward the spot that Hermes was just in, not even a gleam of copper to hint that he was once there. Too fast, too bright for a greedy creature like Charon to touch. It would be like trying to hold a burning star in his hands.

“No.” Charon sighed, his oar cut through the styx river once more. “Never.”

~  

And so the boatman traveled onwards, taking souls to the underworld. Their last debt paid and all there was left now was the afterlife. Some went to Tartarus, others to Asphodel. 

The rivers flowed, just as he did. Just as the dead souls did.

It was after he dropped the last souls of Asphodel that he let the boat pause by the pier between the lands, patting the scroll to make sure it was still there.

When Charon felt a weight on his tunic, he peered over his shoulder. Hypnos had fallen asleep, curled up on Charon’s tunic, small and pale on the dark fabric. Charon almost pulled on the hem to knock Hypnos off but something stopped him. 

It seemed cruel to do such a thing to a small thing, even one annoying as Hypnos could be. With a huff of smoke, Charon looked over to Thanatos. He was leaning over the boat, his fingers dipping into the waters.

”Careful.” Charon warned him. “I won’t turn around to get you if you fall in.”

Thanatos obeyed with a nod, his own eyes dropping as he laid on the bench. It had been a long day already, and he still hadn't heard from Mother Nyx.

Charon knew she was strong, stronger than he could ever hope to be but he still worried. 

As if Thanatos knew what Charon was thinking, he sighed. “I miss Mother Nyx. When will she come back?”

“Soon.” Charon promised even though he knew better to make such promises. Thanatos yawned, opening his eyes as if he was trying to fight off sleep. 

When Charon looked over the land they were passing, there were shades resting against rocks or on the ground, unknowing victims to Hypnos’ powers.

Charon felt the same call but resisted it. Barely. Although he was surprised by the strength of Hypnos’ lulling calls to sleep. So young and he was already this strong?

“Can we go to Elysium now?” 

With a surprise noise, Charon looked down at a half-awake Hypnos, who yawned and Charon fought that off as well, his jaw tight. Thanatos snored quietly, unaware of Hypnos being awake.

“Please? Than really, really wanted to see it.” Hypnos added with another yawn. He nuzzled Charon’s tunic, his eyes closing once more.

Charon sighed, looking over them both with a thoughtful expression. “Why not?”he said and a strong push, changed course to Elysium. 

It was worth it. 

He had woken his little brothers up just before they arrived, their faces grumpy until the boat left the cave and went into the gentle lights of Elysium. 

Their lips parted in surprise, jumping up and pointing at everything as he carried them down the misty, peaceful waters of the river Lethe and Charon couldn’t - didn’t hide his grin. 

At least until they both almost fell in, it was only by sheer luck that Charon grabbed the back of their tunic in time. His heart raced as his brothers laughed, oblivious to his suffering.

When Charon spied a dark owl overhead, the purple wings dotted with stars, he knew it was time for them to return home. 

All of them.

[ruinedholograms]

(2013)

• Body/Head (Kim Gordon) - Coming Apart

• Queens Of The Stone Age - …Like Clockwork

• Tim Hecker - Virgins

• Hans Zimmer - Man Of Steel

• GB - Within These Machines

• Arcade Fire - Reflektor

• David Bowie - The Next Day

• Autechre - Exai

• The Haxan Cloak - Excavation

• Agnes Obel - Aventine

• Grouper - The Man Who Died In His Boat

• Atoms For Peace - Amok

• V/A - Sound City: Reel To Reel

• Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks

• Washed Out - Paracosm

• The Knife - Shaking The Habitual

• Julia Holter - Loud City Song

• Majical Cloudz - Impersonator

• Chelsea Wolfe - Pain Is Beauty

• How To Destroy Angels - Welcome Oblivion

[booksandabeer]

Username Song Game

I got tagged by @somanywords 💛 and @xoxobuckybarnes 💜

(one million years ago. sorry. 😬)

Rules: Pick a song for each letter of your URL and tag your friends!

B - Black Gold by Esperanza Spalding

O - Odyssey by Beck & Phoenix

O - One I Love by Jean Ritchie

K - Kamikaze by PJ Harvey

S - Shade of Gray (Live) by Robert Earl Keen

A - Angelica by Wet Leg

N - Nashville Money by Myron Elkins

D - Dorian by Agnes Obel

A - Allan Align by Drangsal

B - Bodyguard by Beyoncé

E - Émigré by Alela Diane

E - Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac

R - Right Where It Belongs by Nine Inch Nails

Seeing as it's been ages since I was tagged and I don't want to double or triple tag people who already did this 3 weeks ago, I'm taking the easy way out this time and declare this an OPEN TAG! Please, anyone who wants to do this, tag me! I'm always interested in finding new music.

[jewishbarbies]

Apologies if this isn’t okay to send, but for the person who was looking for artists with poetical music I can’t suggest The Crane Wives enough. Their music is a bit of a different style, but as far as I know they’ve never done anything shitty and their songs oh my god. Never Love An Anchor, Unraveling, Shallow River, Metaphor, Ribs and Take Me To War I think are among their best lyrically.

“On some level I think I always understood

that these hands of mine were clumsy, not clever”

“on some level I think I always understood

that a ship could never truly love an anchor

so I did the only thing that I could

And severed the rope to set you sailing from my harbor”

“Oh my ugly organs, how lucky we are”

Taylor could never

The Oh Hellos, The Paper Kites, The Arcadian Wild, Fish In a Birdcage, and Agnes Obel are some others. Oh, and of course The Civil Wars who actually did Safe and Sound with her ages ago. They’re all I think fairly close to her early sound. It sucks having to kind of mourn the love for songs, but there are really good alternatives who don’t think dating gross racist antisemites that are proud to claim the flushed away rat is based on them for some reason is acceptable

@apeainapot

[bdafic]

Goeth Before Destruction // A Solas playlist

Arranged chronologically, over the rise and fall of two narrative arcs.

[ Full playlist - Spotify version  //  Full playlist - YouTube version ]

Arc One Rebellion, rise:

Dear God - Lawless, Sydney Wayser But all the people that you made in your image See them starving on their feet Cause they don't get enough to eat from God(s) I can't believe in you

Murky - Saint Mesa Dizzy us, manipulate Feel the power, start to fall Kill my brother, curse my name Murky water covers all

Which Witch - Florence + The Machine Who's a heretic now? Am I making sense? How can you make it stick? Now that I’m on trial? Waiting 'til the beat comes out Who's a heretic, child?

Throne - Saint Mesa Believe there's freedom, took my soul I'll burn your shit alive and take the throne

Rebellion, fall:

World on Fire - Klergy If you close your eyes and you pick a side Will you find yourself broken and heartless? In a world on fire, in a world on fire

Land of All - Woodkid I took a chance to build a world of mine A one way ticket for another life On a petrol stained sailboat

Achilles Come Down – Gang of Youths Loathe the way they light candles in Rome But love the sweet air of the votives Hurt and grieve but don't suffer alone Engage with the pain as a motive

(Interlude - “Now you must endure”)

My Body is a Cage - Peter Gabriel I'm living in an age Whose name I don't know Though the fear keeps me moving Still my heart beats so slow My body is a cage

Flesh and Bone - Black Math I walk alone, beside myself Nowhere to go This bleeding heart Is in my hands, I fell apart

Iron - Woodkid A million miles from home I’m walking ahead I’m frozen to the bones A soldier on my own I don’t know the way

Dear Fellow Traveller - Sea Wolf You spoke my language and touched my limbs It wasn't difficult to pull me from myself again And in our travels, we found our roads You held it like a mirror, showing me the life I chose

Arc Two Love, rise:

Falling, Catching - Agnes Obel 🎶

Dancing After Death (Stripped) - Matt Maeson If I don't get better than this man in my skin If I let go, would you hold on, would we fly? Is it safer if we just say that we tried? Are we laughing at the danger? Are we dancing after death, you and I?

Sunlight - Hozier Each day, you'd rise with me Know that I would gladly be The Icarus to your certainty Oh, my sunlight, sunlight, sunlight Strap the wing to me Death trap clad happily With wax melted, I'd meet the sea Under sunlight, sunlight, sunlight

Power - Isak Danielson I was lost until I found me in you I saw a side of me that I was scared to But now I hear my name and I'm running your way

Technicolour Beat - Oh Wonder And I feel life for the very first time Love in my arms and the sun in my eyes I feel safe in the 5am light You carry my fears as the heavens set fire

Love, fall:

Alive - Amarante I wanna touch your skin I wanna know you again I wanna feel your light I hope we last the night

Run Baby Run - The Rigs Look, can you see behind these eyes Can you see what isn't there The truth dressed up in lies Oh, daylight' dying Run, baby, run, baby run

Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons But it was not your fault but mine And it was your heart on the line I really fucked it up this time Didn't I, my dear?

The Hearse (Stripped) - Matt Maeson I am the man we both couldn’t stand, I can’t wash off the dirt from my hands, What was it like to feel in love? What was it like to feel in love?

Image credits : Bioware Facebook [ x ] Nick Thornborrow [ x ] “King of a Dead World”, Nipuni [ x ]

Other playlists : [ Ellana Lavellan // Roses Where Thorns Grow, Part I: Graft ] [ Ellana Lavellan // Roses Where Thorns Grow, Part II: Roots ] [ Coda/Prologue ]

[amanitus]

Hello! I was wondering if you had any song recommendations that you think fit well with your fanfic “Prepositions” and “Angus Dei”? I hold those two close to my heart 🥺💕

While I was writing Prepositions I did compile some playlists which were public on Spotify for a while. (I no longer use Spotify because screw them; I migrated my lists elsewhere.) Some of those songs still feel Ciel-coded to me, such as Maddie Medley's Coming of Age (the demo version is better) and Churchyard by Aurora.

Some pieces I carried over to my current WIP playlists: stuff like Autumn Bone by Claire Bowditch, and Siouxie and the Banshee's Trust in Me. I tend to return to similar themes and dynamics in my writing so the musical atmosphere doesn't change much either.

However I didn't always actually write while listening to those playlists. I often need instrumental things so i don't get distracted by lyrics: imagine several hours of stuff like Agnes Obel's Parliament of Owls and that's basically all six of my daily writing lists.

[mayxthexforce]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN.

respond to the prompts out of character!

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have? Hard to say. I gravitate towards obscure and tertiary characters because of the freedom that gives me to develop them beyond what we were given, but I also have some characters who have A LOT of lore (Obi-Wan, Luke, Leia, Han) because of how much information there is to pick from. I guess something else that most of my muses have in common is that they are, to different degrees, confident and passionate about whatever goals they have, no matter how different those goals might be or how different their alignments are. They might not be too sure about who they are as individuals, but they know where they stand, they know the role they play, and they're either embracing it or actively rejecting it.

is there anything you don’t like to write? There's a few. A big one is smut for the sake of smut and violence for the sake of violence, for both I need a certain amount of plotting and some kind of chemistry between the muses + understanding with the other mun of how things might go. Cheating plots are a huge no, I don't want my muses to cheat nor to get cheated on. Obviously incest, non-con, anything involving bathroom stuff in the bedroom. Also I don't enjoy writing one liners-single paragraph replies, the shortest I can give is 2 paragraphs without counting dialogue lines and even that is super rare.

is there anything you really enjoy writing? I love fleshing out dynamics that didn't exist in canon (e.g: Han and Dryden, Maulkiller and Maul, Myles and Din, Koska and Paz, Roan and Anakin, Nuru and Thrawn) or didn't get explored as much as they could have because they were more background dynamics (e.g: Quinlan and Agen, Sabé and Anakin, Garen and Obi-Wan, Medrit and Boba, Bossk and Jango, Elodore and Dooku). I also love writing the scenes in between, the things we didn't get to see but that could have led to how things went.

how do you come up with headcanons? I look at a character and focus on the gaps in the story. Be it a blank in the plot like what Sabé's family life was like for her to so quickly and happily leave them behind and never look back, or something small like what about hoi-broth makes Obi-Wan have such dire allergic reactions (it's the oxidized spices).

do you write in silence or do you play music? either with instrumental/repetitive music or with some random YouTube video (analog horror and AITA compilations are very useful for this lately) in the background. A personal favorite for writing or Under Giant Trees by Agnes Obel.

do you plan your replies or wing them? I plot them a bit. First, I figure out what my character would do and say in response to what my partner's reply said, if it's a longer reply I even do bullet points, and then I actually put it into words.

do you enjoy shipping? I love shipping. Romantic, platonic, familial. It's all awesome!

what’s your alias/name? Mica.

age?  23.

birthday? October 29th.

favorite color?  Green, red, purple.

favorite song?  Zombie by The Cranberries.

last movie you watched?  Diary of the Dead by George A Romero.

last show you watched?  The Simpsons.

last song you listened to? Ainsi Bas La Vida by Indila.

favorite food?  Rice and tuna with butter and cheese.

favorite season?  Spring.

do you have a tumblr best friend? I have a few. Tanya (corruptedforce), Vani (galaccias) and Luna (foundjarin) have been here since my humble beginnings. Break (mutatiio) is a more recent addition but I'm just as attached. Cato (monstarousmythos) isn't in this fandom but has put up with me through it and through so many other fandoms, and then there's Liz (nieithryn) and Viktor (@virulentmastermind) who I've been talking to a lot lately and really enjoy our conversations. Special mention to Dylan, who -while most of our interactions happen on discord- first interacted with me through Tumblr and I wouldn't be this deep into Star Wars roleplay if it wasn't for them being the first nice experience I had in this RPC.

TAGGED BY: Stolen from @nieithryn.

TAGGING: @galaccias, @corruptedforce, @d4gangera, @monstarousmythos, @mutatiio, @k4ssa, @tacticalvalor, @foundjarin.

[hextechery]

Was pleasantly tagged by @dontbotherwiththepronunciation! Thank you <3

Last song: I live alone. I listen to music nonstop. This answer has changed five times already, but the most fun answer is Roma Fade by Andrew Bird. Been listening to a lot of Andrew Bird, but my star of the summer (and year) by far is Agnes Obel.

Currently watching: So many shows on Dropout. I've been bingeing Breaking News, Um, Actually, Game Changer and now I'm on Dirty Laundry and Adventuring Academy. Free promo right here but god I love Dropout. Money well spent, would recommend.

Currently reading: Sexualitetens omvandlingar by Johansson & Lalander which is a compilation and summary of different qualitative studies on sexuality in various contexts (ex. all-male middle aged sports team, neo-religious youth). I'm also reading Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir but I'm only like fifty pages in, confused as ever but hopeful (and sort of reading it as a book club with my best friend, which is fun!).

Current obsession: No joke, Pokémon GO. Been competing in the battle league for weeks now and I'm so close to reaching the ace trainer level that it makes my blood boil. I guess D&D could count as another obsession because I'm preparing to DM Curse of Strahd with my friends once term starts.

Tagging: Anyone who feels up to it! These are fun

[tevinterspirit]

tag 9 people you want to get to know better

tagged by @mx-sinisters thank you so much ❤

three ships: wei wuxian / lan wangji, sora / riku, utena tenjou / anthy himemiya

first-ever ship: god it was probably sasuke uchiha / naruto uzumaki

last song: riverside by agnes obel

last movie: rewatched into the spiderverse with my girlfriend :)

currently reading:��i just finished interview with the vampire today so i haven't started a new book yet but i might read the last sun by k.d. edwards next

currently watching: just buddy daddies and berserk the golden age arc memorial edition

currently consuming: a mix of cranberry and grape juice

currently craving: i’m always craving thai milk tea boba 🧋

tagging: @xsetmyheartablazex | @sstrawbearies | @ponchizs | @evaangelion | @distant-snow | @villainii | @criticalroles | @astralx | @serene-sabo 

[nyx-lacrymaria]

20 & 44 for the get to know me asks and 19 for the weirder asks (:

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?

I would say probably either GRRRRLS by AViVA, Familiar by Agnes Obel or Riverside by Agnes Obel

But this literally changes like every day lmao

44. age you get mistaken for

People generally think I'm my age (13) but I have been mistaken as 14 sometimes cus of my height

19. imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails?

yes!!!!! I would paint your nails!!!!!!

[hyperionswrath-a]

                                              𝐒𝐄𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐘

ˮᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʏ ɪ ꜱᴇᴇ ɪᴛ, ᴀꜱ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴀꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ꜱᴛᴇᴘ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ.

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 

⸻ Hair:                                          Blond ⸻ Eyes:                                           Cyan ⸻ Age:                                            31 (verse dependent) ⸻ Height:                                             6'2 // 1.88 m ⸻ Education:                        SeeD-Applicant (failed final exam) ⸻ Occupation: (Verse-dependant)                                             Bartender / Dock Worker - Homecoming Verse                        Mercenary - Most other Verses ⸻ Sexuality:                                             gay (closeted)

                                         𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇 & 𝐔𝐏𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆

Seifer was born in Galbadia in a small town between Obel Lake and Roshfall forest. While he has no memory of this time as he was still very young, his father served in the Galbadian army and died during the Sorceress War initiated by Sorceress Adel when she sent Estharian troops to Galbadia in an annexation effort. With his place of birth being located rather close to the Galbadian shoreline, fights were soon brought to the town when more forces arrived at Mandy Beach, laying waste to the surrounding area. During the occupation efforts of the Estharian troops there, Seifer's mother was killed as well. As the Kramers had already built Balamb Garden several years ago with the help of Estharian researchers before war broke out, and having been looking for orphaned children all over the world during the war, they eventually brought Seifer to their orphanage at the Cape of Good Hope in Centra as he was still too young to be admitted to Garden.

The war and the losses from it naturally affected the young boy and growing up over the following years, he dealt with the scarring events by putting up a tough front, wanting to become strong and able to both defend himself and protect those important to him (while outwardly keeping most people on a certain distance with his standoffish nature). It was in the years he lived in the orphanage that he latched on to the tale of the Sorceresses Knight, wanting it to be read to him every night before bed and eventually watching the movie when the Kramers were able to get it for the children. The Knight, Zefer, was exactly what Seifer imagined he wanted to be like and he decided then that he would become a gunblade-professional as soon as he was allowed to receive training.

Seifer was eventually selected by the Kramers to be transferred to Balamb Garden, where Cid Kramer offered them to undergo education and training - the latter being something the blond boy wanted desperately, demanding right away to be trained in such a way he would eventually be able to pick up the gunblade.

                                          𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌

Balamb Garden seemed to offer Seifer exactly what he had wished for, providing both the physical training as well as the needed education to become a fighter like the knight who he made into the hero of his childhood. It allowed him to become strong, skilled and able to assert himself, but at the same time this caused his ego to become bigger than his rational thoughts as he grew older. Soon the already standoffish traits of his character bled through and caused him to clash with Garden authorities more often than not, caused by his strong sense of how he felt things should be done and not accepting another opinion.

Still, Seifer was a grade A student and honed his skills with the Garden provided gunblades to a point where he was not just proficient, but excellent. Determined to wield the weapon the same way as the Sorceresses Knight, he eventually managed to let Garden comission a gunblade model fitted exactly to his needs - Hyperion being a lighter model allowing Seifer to wield it with one instead of two hands.

The years passed and he grew up to become a boisterous, arrogant youth believing he was chosen for greater things. His ambitions might have been high, but his troublesome character caused him to fail multiple SeeD field tests. Knowing that Garden would expel him if he failed the next SeeD test due to him turning 19 in the same year, he decided to take matters into his own hands and investigated possible contractors for Balamb Garden in order to prove to Headmaster Cid Kramer and Garden as a whole that he had what it takes, despite Garden's opinion that he was nothing more than a troublemaker at this point.

He came across the Timber Owls, who tried to get an appointment with Cid Kramer over an ambitious plan, and during his summer vacations, Seifer left for Timber to meet the head of the Timber Owls, Rinoa Heartilly. Seifer helped the group to perfect their plan of abducting the Galbadian President for their liberation effort and returned with the information to Garden, managing to have Cid Kramer agree to meet Rinoa during the upcoming SeeD festivities. Certain that he would finally succeed in besting the final field exam, Seifer packed to leave for Timber again as soon as Rinoa would have talked to Kramer, unknowing that things would not turn out the way he wished at all.

YOU COLLECT SCARS BECAUSE YOU WANT PROOF THAT YOU                ARE PAYING FOR WHATEVER SINS YOU HAVE COMMITTED

 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍-𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒

⸻ Seifer suffers from definite signs of PTSD that show in different ways. Some are easier to hide than others, including his nightmares, some are harder to go unnoticed (certain events may trigger tremors in his hands, him lashing out irrationally, etc.) ⸻ He never heals up fully if he can avoid it in order to keep the battle scars as a form of punishment for the things he did. Additionally, he is also more reckless than before, not caring if he gets hurt or puts his life in danger ⸻ As he doesn’t see a way to redeem himself truly and fully, he doesn’t care if he makes things worse for himself. While he may try in his main verse to leave the past behind and do something good and useful with his hands, the lingering feeling of not being able to escape his past or himself remains. The feeling of failure lingers as he has tried and failed multiple times to redeem himself in the past and while he would never openly admit it, he gave up believing he could in his later years make up for it. ⸻ He relies on alcohol and sometimes drugs to stop his mind from spiralling down dark corridors and remembering what he did. ⸻ Seifer will not name Ultimicia by her name. ⸻ He has a tattoo of his red cross on his left biceps which looks exactly like the ones he used to have on his old trenchcoat. ⸻ Knowing it bothers most people he will try to invade their personal space to provoke them if he is in a mood to pick a fight, which he tries often (more in certain verses than others) in hopes of finding someone able to overpower him, the goal being to simply be beat up so he can feel something. ⸻ Despite it all he refuses to lay down and give up, being driven to keep going out of spite. What he does now and what he is left with is all he has and though he is reckless, he clings to that with a form of desperate fierceness, refusing to go down easily. He is both too stubborn and too spiteful of how life treated him to become apathetic.

𝐀 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍

⸻ While he can be sociable, companionable or even charming, my Seifer is not a fluff character. I spent a lot of time on his characterisation ever since the original game released in the late 90s, partly for roleplay, partly for writing fanfiction. He has a highly troubled past and it will show during interactions to various degrees ranging from him being your regular bastard, over bad coping mechanisms to showing the side effects of his trauma in various ways that may be triggering. ⸻ Yes, he is an asshole. Yes, he will act like one for the most part. He will be antagonizing, in other character’s faces, rude and depending on the verse even volatile, manipulative and toxic. However, he is far from being one-sided - he simply doesn’t show it right away. ⸻ It is interesting to learn new things about your muse even decades later, and one of the more recent things I realized about my Seifer muse is that he is gay. I label him as closeted because I have ships with other female muses going and don’t want to completely drop the threads rather than develop them in the right direction. Also with his military upbringing I could imagine him having trouble to grasp his sexuality at first. Given his character, he will definitely not care about it once he accepts it, however.