#I blinked now this is here

[expelliarmus]

[stella-lesair]

Okay, the cogs turned faster than expected:

Destiny was, and always has been, a cruel companion. But still, it managed to get confused by twins. Prince Halt knew, since the first thing he remembered and before that. As the older one, it should be him who inherited the throne, but how could anybody be sure with twins?

Anybody, in this case, excluded Halt and Ferris. Ferris, being treated with the same respect as the Crown Prince – as far as people knew he could be Destiny's Chosen – was naturally convinced that he should be the one wearing the great heirloom of the O'Carricks, the Ruby Crown. Halt had seen his brother's ego and felt his selfishness, so he knew that he wasn't Destiny's pick. Or so he hoped. But he knew that he was far from being the Chosen himself.

When he was eleven or so, his father the king had handed him to the Ruby Crown. Not to wear, heavens forbid, but to simply hold it.

‘Can you feel it, my son?’ the king had asked proudly. ‘Can you feel the cool and relaxing nature of this jewel? This, this, is our family's honour. And one day, you will carry it.’

Halt had gulped, and scanned the crimson crown. He hadn't answered, not because he hadn't wanted to, but because he had not been able to, due to the pain. With every second that he had held it, the pain had doubled and the panic had tripled.

In his hands, the ruby had burned. He had been able to feel imaginary flames licking on his arms, engulfing his mind and spirit. The crown had spoken to him at that very moment. It had said: You will never be able to wear me.

The flames had haunted him for the years to come, mostly in his dreams. He dreamt of a burning inn, and a little girl calling for help from within. He dreamt of a burning, raging war. He dreamt of a bridge hanging in what seemed to be the vast nothingness. It burned, as all things did in his dreams, while a young man stood on his side of the scene, while two other ones tried to fend off Skandians, and… bear-monsters? Halt wasn't sure what he was seeing. He couldn't make out the people's faces either, nor any defying physical qualities. They always blurred together.

On his sixteenth birthday, tension spiked. By some miracle, eleven year old Halt had managed to fool his father into thinking that the crown would accept him, so now he wanted him to wear the crown. Ferris would have his turn after Halt, so that they can finally see who Destiny's Chosen, the next king of Clonmel, would be. In all honesty, Prince Halt would have played with the thought of running away days before, if it hadn't been a spontaneous decision of his father's to consult the great link to destiny.

He tried to talk his way out of wearing the crown, saying Ferris should go first, but it only angered his father. And so, despite knowing what would happen, Halt placed the century old heirloom, the pride and joy and honour of all of his ancestors, the country's direct tie to destiny, the Ruby Crown, on his head. Fearing the consequences, regretting his choices even before anything happened, he waited.

One.

Two.

Fwoosh!

He didn't feel the heat, the flames were mercifully cold, but he sensed the rapid decay and ruin of the ruby, until only a ring of fire lingered on his head. Halt didn't dare to look at his family, guilt burning in his stomach just as brightly as the crown.

‘WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?’ his father roared, but Halt remained cold.

‘Nothing,’ he responded truthfully. ‘Ferris and I are twins, and Destiny cannot decide, so it destroyed the thing that would make it choose. That's why the fire didn't burn me either.’

‘You, you knew this would happen!’ Ferris accused, sounding like he was about to cry. He probably was, given that he loved power so much.

Halt shook his head. ‘I didn't know that the crown would burn, I just knew that neither of us would be chosen.’

‘Then who would have been chosen?’ Caitlin asked. She didn't seem sad or angry, she seemed scared but curious, caring about people more than the heirloom. He smiled woefully but didn't respond.

‘OUT!’ his father yelled. ‘OUT OF MY SIGHT! NOW!’

Halt bowed and left, followed by Ferris.

‘Why did you do this, brother?’ the younger prince called after him. ‘Why?’

Halt stopped to turn to face him calmly. ‘I didn't do anything. If you mean the mere act of putting the crown on my head, you should ask His Majesty why I did it.’

‘But–’ Ferris met his cold gaze and fell silent. ‘How could anything have burned by your touch when your heart is as cold as ice?’ He sighed. ‘We will talk later, brother.’

He turned to leave another way, but Halt saw the murderous hatred flicker through his eyes. The prince shook his head. Ferris had glared at him like that before, it would pass, he thought as he stepped outside.

CLIRR! 

He whirled around, only to see a broken pile of clay tiles right behind him – had they fallen a second earlier, they would have killed him. Still in shock, he looked up to where they came from, and shock turned into deep twinsting agony as he saw his brother fleeing the scene. No, he had been wrong this time.

This time, it would not pass. This time, Ferris would only stop when Halt was out of the picture.

As people flocked around their crown prince out of worry, Halt finally understood. Destiny was not just cruel, it was a tyrant doing everything to watch humanity burn.

It felt strange, fleeing from the home he had always known. It tore a hole into his soul, ripped his heart open and threw his spirit into a fire. But he had no other choice, so he wandered the hills aimlessly. That was, until a man noticed him and took him under his wing. They were alike, both of them refugees, so they stuck together, the dishonoured crown prince and the disgraced ranger of Araluen.

At Pritchard’s side, Halt finally felt free, away from the burden of being a prince, away from his twin and the uncertainty that came with him. Living and learning under Pritchard wasn't easy, but it was all he had ever hoped for.

One day, while he was washing up the dishes, Pritchard sat at their small dining table. ‘You remind me of the apprentice I had back in Araluen,’ he randomly said, then scoffed. ‘I suppose I cannot escape my destiny, while you seem to be finding yours.’

And Halt froze. Tears welled up in his eyes as he finally realised the truth.

Destiny did not get confused by twins. And while its reign was inescapable, it tried to be a kind ruler.

Crown of Fire

[millleti]

13/7/2021

there is a video on THE photo of charles and carlos??

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

Thinking about kaveh’s newly found confidence in his relationship with alhaitham, in that he can openly talk about things with ease, such as seemingly mundane things such as his day, while previously personal information was not been shared between them due to their strained rapport and kaveh’s unease with how he fits into alhaitham’s life, such as kaveh going to the desert during the archon quest and not telling alhaitham. Previously viewing himself as a hindrance in alhaitham’s space, taking on all the household chores out of guilt, now kaveh actively takes up the space, both in the house and in alhaitham’s day.

Kaveh sits on the table in the living room because he feels comfortable in their living space, he feels comfortable to do so, as well as sharing wine, and snacks, because he knows alhaitham won’t reject him. they share their evenings together, kaveh buys coffee beans for the two to try together, kaveh buys wine for them to drink together at home, kaveh talks about things of interest in his day, which alhaitham shows active interest in – which is such a contrast to their previous rapport, in which kaveh avoided being upfront with alhaitham due to his perception of alhaitham as critical or judgemental and ultimately misunderstanding him

kaveh doesn’t think twice about picking up research on the temple of silence with alhaitham, despite how it mirrors their past thesis of king deshret and how it manifested in their differences pushing them apart, he openly offers to help alhaitham �� in fact, he doesn’t even ask, he hears alhaitham’s unspoken request and responds to it in kind, agreeing to combine their efforts where they had previously rejected each other

when alhaitham excuses himself from the gathering at puspa’s café, saying that it’s him ‘done for the day’, kaveh follows this up with asking alhaitham if they should head to the house of daena before returning home. Kaveh is confident in his position as a priority in alhaitham’s life, whereas before, he couldn’t understand what alhaitham wanted from him, but here, kaveh understands that alhaitham simply wants kaveh’s presence – kaveh is assured enough in this to separate himself from alhaitham’s excuse to leave the gathering, he states ‘should we’, coupling himself with alhaitham, as he knows alhaitham won’t reject him – and alhaitham doesn’t reject him at all, in fact he shares the same mind as kaveh, stating ‘my thoughts exactly’ in the two leaving the company of the party, and heading home together. The two now have shared, aligned priorities – each other, and this is known between them

kaveh is all too aware of their differences, believing them to be mirror opposites, but, unlike alhaitham, he previously believed them to be ultimately misaligned – having opposing views to never intersect, whereas alhaitham believed that kaveh, as his mirror, was integral to the enhancement of his world and of his character. Now, kaveh has not only accepted himself as alhaitham’s mirror, seeing the benefit in the two of them finally working together once more, but also is comfortable with this, with this importance that he has in alhaitham’s life. rather than being guilt ridden about the burden he perceives he places on alhaitham, he accepts and enjoys alhaitham’s regard of him, as now this is an expressly mutual sentiment.

Kaveh is now confident in alhaitham’s esteem of him, his care, his intentions. he knows how tenuous their relationship was and the harm they caused each other, and he’s accepted this, and he’s moved on, alongside alhaitham, and together they’re building something familiar, and completely new, for themselves. Rather than rejecting alhaitham out of pride for his scholarly principles and any lingering hurt, he has accepted alhaitham, the other side of the mirror, and in this, he has accepted himself, and now, he can finally make steps to move on, to better himself, alongside alhaitham

[hazelnutnebula]

and what if. .. more lil thangs :)

[ganondoodle]

(scrapped painting)

its kinda fascinating how you can draw something well and instead of learning from it for the next drawing you repeat the same old mistakes that kept you from improving in the first place

(was supposed to the next scene after the previous good painting lol)

its a rly early sketch (i know it wont work out though, too much wrong) but Zaphira (standing) was winning the fight against the guy that challenged her (he also cheated and attacked her weak leg with a dagger despite it being a fist fight) so he ordered the soldiers he hid in the audience to shoot, Shargon is catching the arrows in the air before they can reach her and she trusts him enough to not even react to it

[sleep-deprived-luka]

Gog au niigo for tonights doodle

[shima-draws]

Thinking about a Cora lives AU where Law just. Doesn't get sick after Amber Lead Disease. He takes good care of himself and generally his immune system is pretty solid (and he avoids his crew members if they have smth contagious like the flu or a stomach bug). But eventually his good luck runs out and he catches a cold, just a minor one that makes him a little feverish and gives him the standard cough and runny nose. Bepo notices him swaying on his feet and immediately sends him to bed (even tho Law protests like a stubborn brat).

When Cora finds out Law is sick he flips his SHIT. Literally he falls flat on his ass and catches himself on fire. Then he rushes all around the Polar Tang grabbing medical books on how to treat colds and preparing a compress and shouting at the cook to make hot soup for Law and digging into the cabinets for medicine and then he's hauling ASS to Law's room

Law wakes up from a nap and looks over to see Cora sitting at his bedside looking at him like this

And he has to reassure him no Cora-san I'm not dying, it's just a cold, yes Cora-san I'm going to be okay. You worry too much

(But Cora's paranoid bc he's only seen Law sick once before and that was when he was dying, literally days away from succumbing to the poison eating at him, so of course there's trauma there, of course he sees Law cough one time and thinks the world is ending 😭)

[alexturntable]

warming up

[laurrelise]

ok so: the umbrella academy except it’s about the hargreeves siblings in 40 years when five is a very, very old man but really in his early 50’s while the rest of the siblings are senior citizens whom five has to take care of against his will

someone please read the tags and yap about this with me. thank you

[o-sahiba]

[guardian-angle22]

911: Lone Star | Mateo Chavez

[sillylilfang]

evil nap

[th30ra3k3n]

I can see that you've had enough

I can see that you're giving up on me

I can see that your hands are up

I can see that you're giving up on me

I hate the way that you're better off, better off

I numb the pain but it never stops, never stops

Wish I could say that I'm better off, better off now

But I don't really like myself without you

Every song I sing is still about you

Save me from myself the way you used to

'Cause I don't really like myself without you

I really wish I hated you right now

[shalpilot]

given form

[bumblingbabooshka]

T'Pel is pregnant! [Patreon | Commissions]