#I don't want to stop writing

[chaosangel767]

For The Kingdom Chapter 3

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 

Summary: The only Princess of Rhodolite, Mercia Michael is content fluttering around the castle. But that changes when a letter is received from Obsidian. In order to prevent war there, she must marry Gilbert. Raising her head, she takes on the new challenge, this is For her Kingdom.

Pairing: Mercia Michael x Gilbert von Obsidian

A/n: This fic has been constantly in my head. I am so excited to work on it. 

Tagging: @thewitchofbooks, @toloveawarlord - If your name is crossed out I was unable to tag you. If you want to be tagged/untagged please let me know.

“Lucius. Sheathe your sword and take Mercia away” Chevalier cuts in before the maid can answer, standing up from the gazebo and drawing his sword. The guard hesitates, not wanting to let the maid go, an uneasy feeling in his stomach. 

“She was plotting to separate us from the Princess. We need to deal with her before the Princess gets hurt” Lucius stands his ground, the light of the afternoon sun almost seems to cast an unnatural glow over his steely silver eyes. Sensing the clash between her brother and Lucius,  Mercia rises and approaches the group carefully. 

“Lucius, please” her voice pulls him from his state and he lowers his eyes from Chevalier’s harsh gaze. Mercia runs her fingers across his shoulders, soothing her guard into lowering his sword. A breath leaves her when he finally sheathes it and steps back. 

“Go Mercia, your books will be in the library after the ball” Chevalier commands, his gaze never leaving the woman before him, his sword having taken Lucius’s place at her neck.  “I’ll take care of your books Mercia, they will be in the Library for you after the ball” Mercia slowly steps back from the situation, noting the dismissal in her brother's voice. Very few times has he been this stern with her, and she turns to go down the way Lucius came, her guard on her heels. 

“Princess-” Lucius stops her once they are out of sight of the gazebo, pulling the Princess into his arms. 

“Lucius-” Now that the adrenaline wears off Mercia, her hands start to shake slightly as she hugs her guard for a bit of comfort. “Thank you for saving me” Lucius smiles down at his charge, still alert to their surroundings. 

“I promised you didn’t I?” Kneeling in front of her and picking up her hand he presses a kiss to the back of it. “I will protect you until my last breath. No matter what happens. I will always stay right by your side.” His silver eyes soften as he watches her face flush. “Now come, we don’t want your brothers getting worried about you.”  Rising to his feet, he offers his arm to the princess, but one hand still holds his sword. They walk in silence until three figures appear in the distance. Mercia pauses before a smile breaks out across her face, her steps quickening. 

“Prince Keith!” Her voice carries to where they are sitting and the three turn their attention to her. Rising from his seat, the Jade Prince bows as she ascends the stairs to the gazebo. 

“Princess Mercia, it's an honor” Taking her hand, Keith brushes his lips across it, and Mercia cuties. 

“The honor is all mine” Mercia winks before they both exchange a grin. 

“Hey Yves, hey Licht” Mercia greets her brothers with a smile as she sits between them, right across from Keith. Lucius gives one final bow and steps away from the gazebo to provide the group with privacy. His hand stays on his sword, drawing Licht’s gaze. 

“What happened Pixie?” Licht asks, startling the Princess as she looks up with widened eyes. Her gaze follows to where Lucius stands, and she looks back down. 

“We had a slight incident a little bit ago. Chevalier is taking care of it now” Mercia avoids the question and Yves stands up to go to her side. He checks her over as she protests. 

“What incident? Tell me everything” Yves orders, his hands clasping her shaking ones and she lets out a soft sigh. 

“There was a maid that approached Chev and I in the garden, but she wanted me to go alone with her to your room. She tried to say that you summoned me without Lucius and got sort of aggressive. Chevalier is handling it now.” Mercia explains, her thumbs running over the back of Yves’s hands, soothing herself. 

“Oh Mercia, that must have been scary, no wonder why you two are so tense” Yves murmurs, his eyes darkening slightly as he looks over to the edge of the garden. 

“I wonder who sent her?” His murmur is almost silent and Mercia hums, pulling her hands away from Yves. She brushes off the topic, shooting the Jade Prince a smile. 

“Prince Keith, how have you been? It seems like forever since we have had a tea party, or even talked!” Her signature grin sets the princes back at ease and Keith smiles, nodding his head, standing up he sets a plate of sweets before the princess, explaining what each is and Mercia lets out delighted laughter. 

“I’ve missed your treats and I’m happy to see you in such high spirits” Her words bring a blush to the prince and he lets out a soft smile. It isn’t long before laughter fills the garden, the three princes and princess getting comfortable in the afternoon rays. 

~~ 

“Hey Mer, we have to go get ready for the ball” Yves finally comments as the teapot empties, and Mercia looks at the darkening sky. 

“Yeah, I suppose we should go get ready. I’ll see you later Licht. Bye Prince Keith” Curtsying to the two princes, she stands up with Yves by her side. 

“See you in a couple of hours Mer” Licht murmurs, and Keith reaches out to her hesitantly. Turning to him with a soft smile, Mercia tilts her head in question. 

“Is there something you need Prince Keith?”

“Will you save a dance for me?” A blush colors his face when he hesitantly asks. Mercia's eyes light up at the question and she nods, her smile widening at the Prince.  

“Of Course,  I always do,” A flush colors her cheeks as she leaves the gazebo, Lucius appearing silently by her side, his hand no longer holding his sword.  Bowing to the Princes, he offers Mercia his arm as they make their way through the twilit garden, Yves on her other side. The flowers around the garden sway in a slight breeze, carrying all the scents through the air. Mercia’s smile turns more tranquil as her attention turns to the various flowers, noting which ones needed to be tended to. Tomorrow she would speak with the gardener about some of the flowers and check on her own bed to make sure they are flourishing. 

“Princess, I was thinking that we should stay away from Prince Yves' room for tonight.” Lucius requests softly, pulling her from her thoughts, Yves stops and pulls Mercia to his side, anger flickering in his gaze. 

“What do you mean keep Mercia out of my room! How are we supposed to get ready for the ball without being in my room?” Yves starts to huff and Mercia squeezes her hand. 

“It’s okay Yves, I agree with Lucius. The maid was content to bring me to “your” room.  I would feel much safer in my room today. I have all the stuff you have given me over the years still as well. We can use that and the new mirror I got.” Mercia can’t get rid of the chill down her spine, even after the hours spent at the tea party. It had been months since the last attempted kidnapping. 

“Very well, we can get ready in your room tonight. Go take a bath, and I’ll be along with your dress and accessories in a little bit” Yves agrees with a grumble. Silence falls on the group as they approach the Princess’s door. 

“Princess, let me clear your room before you go in. Prince Yves, would you mind keeping an eye on her?” Lucius asks as the trio approaches the door,  and Yves nods, his fingers curling around his sister, pulling her against him. The guard steps into the room, silence reigning for a moment before he returns with a bow. 

“Someone was definitely in your room, I found these letters on your dresser, but there is no one in here now,” Lucius observes, black envelopes in his gloved hand.

“Alright, let's get a bath going, I’ll deal with the envelopes later. Ball stuff first” Mercia orders, servants appearing at the wave of her hand to start her bath. Yves squeezes her shoulder before wordlessly leaving her side down to his room. Stepping into her room, Mercia can still feel the edge, looking over everything to make sure nothing is out of place. Sitting at her vanity, she releases her hair from its braid, brushing it out as the maids bustle around her room. One curtseys before her, a smile lighting up her face. `

“Your bath is ready Princess, do you want help getting ready?” 

“No, Lucius will wait here for Yves, and I can wash my own hair. You all must be very busy with the ball preparations. I’ll let you get back to those” The servants all bow and leave the room with grateful smiles. Entering her bathroom alone, Mercia can’t shake the feeling of eyes on hers, the same feeling that she had in the garden. The feeling seems to dissipate when she sinks into the tub, breathing in the floral scent of lavender and rose. Voices signal the end of her bath, and she slips into her chemise and a robe to see her brother. 

Lucius and Yves are in a hushed discussion by her bed, so she steps over to her vanity, and starting to dry her hair. After a moment, Yves comes to stand behind her taking over and drying her hair, his fingers detangling her curls as he works. 

“Sorry Pixie, we are just worried about you” Yves murmurs, turning back to his conversation with Lucius. 

“You don’t think that there are still people after the Princess do you?” His voice is hushed and Lucius looks grim, eyeing the door with a distrustful gaze. 

“It is hard to say. Between all the extra ambassadors, nobles, and Princes from the other countries here, there are so many eyes.” Lucius sighs heavily,  his job is always made harder when the castle is crowded. Considering the fact they attempted to take the Princess in front of Chevalier of all people. They are either very confident in their abilities or they have a death wish. Prince Keith is the only Prince I currently trust to not have any reason to take her.” Yves nods in agreement, and Mercia lets out a smile at the Prince’s name. She always has felt as safe with Keith as with any of her brothers. The feeling of Yves’ fingers on her scalp has her shutting her eyes, soaking up his comforting touch and tuning out the men's voices. When his hands are still she finally opens her eyes. Lucius has disappeared, leaving only Yves in the room as he sets down her comb. 

“What do you think?” Yves’s sky-blue eyes meet hers in the mirror and she excitedly examines her hair. 

“Yves it’s so beautiful. Look at how the gems catch the light, and you used my favorite Tiara. Oh, I love it so much”  Gushing over her hair, she turns her head both ways to watch the gems catch the light. she smiles in excitement. Tilting her head both ways, she admires how the gems in her hair catch the light.  Yves has selected her favorite silver tiara decorated in aquamarines and sapphires. Delicate curls line her face and the rest is tied up in a delicate updo and held with silver pins.  Yves turns her chair to face him and cups her chin. 

“Makeup time, hold still” His voice is tender as he focuses on her face. Mercia nods, holding still while Yves brushes a little blush on her cheeks and presses a little makeup to her lips. “There, you are so pretty you don’t need much” Yves murmurs, reaching down to grab some jewelry. Lucius reappears out of the corner of her eye and moves the dress into the bathroom, not letting Mercia see the fabric. Mercia lets out a huff before turning her attention back to the mirror. Having adorned her neck and ears with jewelry that matched her tiara. 

“Now, into the bathroom with you, it is almost time to go” Yves shoos her into the bathroom to put on her dress, a couple of maids appearing to help her get dressed, being careful not to ruin her hair or makeup. Taking a final look in the mirror, a blush forms across Mercia’s face. A dress of varying shades of light blue and sapphire drapes along her body. The off-shoulder corset has a white rose in the middle of it. A knock on the door brings her to Yves's side as Lucius answers the door before opening it. Chevalier steps into the room in his formal wear. A small smile graces his lips when he looks over Mercia, spinning her around to make sure everything is in place. 

“You look ready” He states, his eyes conveying what his lips don't and Mercia gives Yves another delicate hug. 

“I wish you would come to one of these balls” She whispers, and Yves just squeezes her shoulder a little tighter. “Thank you Evie for everything,” hurrying back to Chevalier's side, she takes his offered arm as Lucius follows behind them. 

Their presence is announced as they entered the crowded ballroom. Looking around the room, Mercia spots her brothers and Prince Keith, but she cannot see any other Princes. Nobles rush forward as soon as they descend the stairs, swarming the siblings. Parting ways, Lucius stays close as another prince Steps forward offering his arm to Mercia. 

“Fancy meeting you here, come let’s go test some of the food”

[anneapocalypse]

So, just curious how many writers and creators will have to be forcibly outed by relentless harassment before we acknowledge that "This queer characters was written by a cishet person and that's why they're bad" is not good criticism.

[thevioletcaptain]

i genuinely don't care how good a piece of ai generated art or writing looks on the surface. i don't care if it emulates brush strokes and metaphor in a way indistinguishable from those created by a person.

it is not the product of thoughtful creation. it offers no insights into the creator's life or viewpoint. it has no connection to a moment in time or a place or an attitude. it has no perspective. it has no value.

it's empty, it's hollow, and it exists only to generate clicks (and by extension, ad revenue.)

it's just another revolting symptom of the disease that is late stage capitalism, and it fucking sucks.

[inkskinned]

i keep thinking about hobbies and how i often spill over myself to pick up new ones. i have adhd, i end up trying something for like a month and then just getting far enough in it that i move on, satisfied.

and that should be fine; but it's never fine.

i am a pretty decent artist; but i can't just make art for my dnd campaign, i should be selling dnd maps and character designs and scene setting pieces. i can't just make my friends matching earrings, i need to get an etsy and ship them internationally and take bulk orders. i make pretty good props and decorations and use them to throw my friends parties - but i should be running a party planning business and start taking paying clients and networking and putting my skills to actual use.

for some reason, i never figured out the specifics of pottery. it was a fun class and i enjoyed myself - and still, i'm embarrassed, years later, that i put in all that useless effort. everything i make has to be stunning. stellar. i should have applied myself more. maybe i'm too lazy. maybe i'm broken and selfish and needy. actually creative people would have kept going; they would be bettering themselves at every possible opportunity.

we find ourselves in this trap, even accidentally: we need to commodify our time, because it is a commodity. if we spend our efforts and our time not earning, isn't that the same thing as burning free money? and god forbid you ever take up a hobby that ends up being more expensive than you thought. you sit in your car and you look at the receipt and in your head you hear a conversation that isn't even happening - your mom or your friend or your partner all saying oh great. not this shit again. it's always something with you, and it never actually means anything.

i have realized this horrible thing, recently - i'll get excited to start a project, pick up a new hobby. and then i just... stop myself. i start thinking about the amount of time it will take, and how it'll look in my monthly budget. what if i can't even produce a good enough final product. sure, it's exciting to think about how i could make my friend her own custom dice. but i'm just polluting the earth if i don't get it right. better not bother. better not try.

restless, i get caught in the negative space. the feeling that oh god, i want to create. and that horrible sense - yeah, but i don't have the time to just put to waste.

[spicyet]

What are you looking for here? Scroll back up.

Just kidding, here’s a treat:

[forgetme-eternally-blissfully]

“So, babysitting?”

Alberu follows after the delinquent. From the record the vice-principal gave him access to, Cale frequently drinks alcohol, he often gets himself into a lot of fights, and he barely passed his classes at the end of the grading period. The teachers never call on him in class, girls and boys avoid him alike, and he is- supposedly- completely intolerable.

Which is why Alberu Crossman, who’s only a little older yet infinitely more mature has been assigned by the principal (his father) to get the troublemaker under thumb. Cale's father is quite wealthy, actually, and since there isn't much known about the successor to the Henituse family... it'd be bad if he had to be expelled.

Cale scowled. “Yes, babysitting, your highness. Please, leave if you must,” He jeers at Alberu, but internally he thinks, 'No, really. Please leave.' Otherwise, he might get caught in the act.

Of not actually being Cale.

Roksu aims a sour expression at Alberu, who returns it with a more flowery one. Acting as his twin for the day had been easy enough, mainly because being trash is great!- until Alberu Crossman strolled into his lunch period and introduced himself.

He is even following him out of the school to his job. Well, this job is Roksu’s and not Cale’s, but because he can’t ditch work nor can he get glib-tongued Alberu off his tail-

Well shit.

Thankfully, the kids call him hyung. Except Raon, who calls him human. Hopefully Alberu doesn’t look into it too much. If everything goes right, Alberu Crossman will be Cale's problem to deal with tomorrow. As it should have been.

“I didn’t know you liked kids, Cale,” Alberu smiles charmingly, walking side by side with Roksu. “Can you introduce me?” Roksu struggles to not put on his own disarming smile out of spite, instead plastering on a classic Cale Sneer™. It fits on his face perfectly, like he’s playing a character in a play.

They enter the building and ‘Cale’ guides Alberu to a colorful playroom, decked out in toys and a fountain of running water as the centerpiece (A gift from his father, who is still upset that Roksu doesn't visit more often). There’s a tray of fruits and oatmeal on the small table in the corner of the room, except not a soul to be seen. Picking up a bowl of oatmeal and finding the ceramic to still be hot, Roksu almost smiles.

Alberu frowns. Where are the kids he's supposed to babysit?

Roksu tells the empty air, "Come on out."

Three children appear out of nowhere in front of them.

“Hyung!”

“Human! You’re back!”

“Hyung, nya.” On examines Alberu some more.

All of the kids had been revealed the moment that Roksu spoke, as Raon unveiled the invisibility on them.

Raon runs up and grabs Roksu’s hand, who places it on his head, rubbing the black hair comfortingly. “Mm.” Raon beams at the affection.

“Raon, On, Hong,” they each look up at him at the call of their names. “This is Alberu Crossman, he is doing a report on my trashy behavior. Don’t be rude."

All three children become hostile immediately. “He isn't trash!”

On observes Alberu with an intense glare. Raon shifts under Roksu’s hand, his deep blue eyes glinting with magic. Roksu positions him away from the older teen’s view. Raon grips onto Roksu’s pant leg with a vengeance. Hong stares openly, offensive.

Alberu smiles at them.

"I'm visiting with Cale Hyung for today, nice to meet you."

Hong gasps suddenly.

“He-!” On gives her brother a look, and he clamps his hands over his mouth. Alberu feels a deep curiosity, as if something isn’t quite as it seems.

Roksu sighs. It’s going to be a long hour.

At the midway point, Alberu has easily disarmed the children. They look fascinated at the magic he shows them, while Roksu can only rub a palm over Raon’s shoulder as a warning to keep his dragon magic under control. He's still just a child that wants to brag. Everything is going well.

Bang!

“Hey Roksu! How was-“ Cale bursts through the door, bright red hair equipped with a shit-eating grin, wearing clothes far less fancy than his usual. He tenses up, frozen in place when he spots Alberu on the floor, politely sitting "crisscross applesauce" with the children. Roksu narrows a withering glare at his twin.

“… Roksu?”

Alberu looks at ‘Cale,’ sitting next to him, the one he's spent the entire day with, who is trying to send what must be the real Cale into the sun with his eyes.

“Ha… ha?” Cale winces. Roksu wipes his expression from his face.

“Cale-hyung, run! That’s the human’s bad look!” Alberu’s eyes widen as he watches the confirmed real Cale bolt back into the hallway and out of the front door. Alberu whips his head back toward the stranger behind him, who is a perfect replica of the Cale who ran like Hell. Cale has an identical twin?? Since when? Why doesn't he go to school?

Roksu levels an emotionless gaze at Alberu. “Hello, your highness. Don’t mind me.”

Alberu can only watch in astonishment as this stranger walks out of the playroom, with a smooth and deadly gait as he hunts down his twin like a predator would to prey. He recalls the look 'Roksu' gave him and it sends a shiver down the principal’s son’s spine. That gaze held secrets.

Something about this stranger is even more interesting than the sudden appearance of a twin.

On walks up to him, sitting down in his lap and looking into his eyes. “Roksu-hyung will be back soon, nya!” Hong bounds over and sits next to his sister, grinning widely. Raon huffs and looks at the door. He wants his human to come back.

[pmpwbrrs]

Yeah no I'm not done with them yeaah no

I hate them so much these two fudkers they're NOT gonna be happy . No. Right now they are maybe(not really), but later? No

[forestdeath1]

Remember, in the wizarding world, black torn robes are like leather jackets for cool, rebellious, misunderstood teenagers. 🦄

The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn.

[highlordofkrypton]

I need to satiate my curiosity. If you have posted, liked, reblogged or are a part of the #elaingate movement:

What are your ACOTAR OTPs?

I've been seeing some accusations flying that x shippers are responsible for the start of elaingate but I'm pretty sure there is quite a variety of shippers in the pro elaingate.

[teainthesnow]

i shouldn't need to spell it out and yet

friendly reminder that unwanted 'constructive' criticism and useless comments (e.g. i don't like this. i'm confused.) are just rude. and this is true for fics, comics, and anything people are posting online

don't be that person

and if for some reason you decide to say something anyway, be nice about it. It costs nothing to be nice (:

(also note - even nice feedback and comments are hard to get these days. if negativity is all or the majority a person gets, well that's just hell to deal with... and also not a reflection of the author/artist/ect abilities)

image 1 - desc

TEAS GUIDE TO ONLINE ETIQUETTE (aka, how to not be an ass)

So, you're confused reading someone else's story?

no -> Hell yeah! tell them that you enjoy it!

yes -> do you feel the need to inform the author?

no -> nice

yes -> did they ask for your opinion?

yes -> then let them know (nicely)

no -> leave them alone -> but it's bugging you? -> will rereading help?

no -> then tough. leave the author alone

yes - go do that -> but it's still updating -> then of course it won't make sense yet, you wallnut

-> still confused -> have you tried looking for a thing called subtext

still confused

-> THEN TOUGH. LEAVE THE AUTHOR ALONE.

- ---- -

image 2 - desc

should you tell someone they made a spelling and/or grammar mistake? -> Did they ask to be told?

yes - then go tell them NICELY

no - then leave them alone

- ---- -

image 3 - desc

You want to tell someone that you don't understand their work? -> Did they ask for your opinion?

yes -> then tell them (NICELY)

no -> Then leave them alone. No buts. Don't be an ass.

[stormisblooming]

🎨 at last… my final riddle..

Can I request a muichiro x father figure! reader where the father is washing his hair for the first time… scrub scrub scrub

WAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Hey Dolly! I am going To kill you with a Bat! /a

Muichiro and a father figure; washing his hair for the first time!

contains; brief implications of Mui dissociating (it's one line), reader has a good knowledge of hair care, your honour they are found family

word count; 514

Mui… oh my baby boy Mui… My son whom I adore so

as a Hashira, Muichiro’s mind is often far too preoccupied to think too hard about self care, when he’s not spaced out of course.

however, no one grows their hair out that long without learning to take care of it at some point! Giyuu and Mitsuru have given him the hair care shakedown in the past and as a result his hair is for the post part fine — clean, but not particularly shiny or silky.

I think he has pretty thick hair too, so oftentimes washing it can feel like a bit of a chore…

is he going to cut it though? no, he actually quite likes his hair. it helps to have something to fiddle with when he’s looking in the mirror to remind him that the boy looking back at him is himself.

so when you, a fellow Hashira he’s found himself in a strange familial situation with, offer to wash his hair? he stares for a second in shock, then quite readily agrees.

(he gets excited to spend time together like he does with Tanjiro 🥺)

since joining the corps, he’s been the only one washing his hair — his mother always seemed to know what to do and she enjoyed doing it, so he would always just sit back and relax while she washed his hair… and he can’t help but think back to that time when the memories come back to him in a wave.

he sits in the bath almost limp as you gently rub his scalp and run the shampoo through his long hair, sat on a stool behind him with everything you need on the floor by your feet. it feels more like you’re talking at him than to him, but that’s only because he’s just so relaxed that he can’t think of much in the way of a response other than an occasional “mm…”

if his skull wasn’t in the way, he’d think you and your magic hands had turned his brain to mush.

once he’s out of the bath, you help him dry his hair and joke that you could use him as a mop with how long it was. he doesn’t say anything, but you do see a tiny smile in the mirror.

then, just before bed, you braid his hair to keep it safe while he sleeps and give him a cuddle before you leave to get ready for bed yourself. he hasn’t said much all evening, but you have a feeling he wouldn’t complain about doing this again.

Muichiro basically passes out as soon as his head hits the pillow. the second you’re out the door, bang.

the next day, he notices just how many people compliment his hair and how nice it looks, how shiny it is. when he sees you again, he doesn’t mention it, but he does go to you for hair care advice from then on out — if you offer to wash his hair for him again when he does, he counts that as an absolute win!

please do not repost

[jadewritesficshere]

Steddie x female!reader thought 18+ only

Eddie blinks his eyes a couple of times to make sure he is actually seeing what he is seeing. He must be living in a nightmare.

You're laying back on one of the pool loungers. One leg dangling over the edge keeping your foot on the warm cement ground, the other spread over Steve's lap as he absently rubs his hand up and down it while he bitches to you about something from work. Your hand rubs up and down Steve's back in comfort. But that isn't the nightmare.

Your bright red bikini bottoms covering enough, but with your legs spread a bit more skin is shown then intended. Spread in such a way that makes Eddie want to just dive in. Get on his knees and worship you, rub his face over your mound as he licks and nips and sucks. Moan as the curly thatch of hair brushes against his face.

Except the curls of hair he is expecting to see peeking around your bikini are gone. Just smooth bare skin. And that isn't the only nightmare. Steve's chest is smooth like when he was in school on the swim team. Not a speck of that beautiful chest hair Eddie would curl into after getting hot and heavy. Not a single curl of the "love rug" he jokingly called it.

Eddie wants to weep. To throw himself down like a little kid and thrash his arms and legs around. Yeah, it's your body and you can do what you want, but he still is sad its gone. Eddie doesn't like change, and suddenly walking in to see both of his partners change something without any warning? Uncomfortable. It makes Eddie feel itchy.

Eddie can barely speak as he walks over and sits next to Steve. He doesn't respond to Steve's warm greeting. Doesn't respond to you asking how the day is. Just stares with big wet eyes at the sight in front of him. A pout on his lips.

A warm hand lands on his shoulder, gently squeezing. Steve's brow furrowed in concern, your wide eyes blinking at him.

"Shaved?" Eddie asks in a quiet voice, eyes darting to Steve's chest and then your clothed pussy. Steve lets out a huff of laughter, "Fuck, thought something was wrong man." Eddie glares," It is."

[radiance1]

Pariah Dark. Ghost King. Master of War. Tyrant. The Breaker of Worlds.

Currently found himself... perplexed and at a loss.

He had assumed he would never be free once more, the one-time his punishment was cut short he wrote it off as the mistake it was. A pitiful fool who believed he could claim his crown from his prison without consequences.

The second time.

Well.

He would not have thought himself to be so lucky, assuming that no other would be foolish enough to free him once more.

He most likely should have learned not to assume a lot of things, when one is more than acquainted with the Master of Time. There was a lot he would do and did for the other before his eternal rest, and a lot of things he could've wrapped his mind around, found out the reason for, even so long as he had the clues no doubt left by Time.

But this.

This.

He was not exactly sure what his expression was, he could not even decide what exactly he was feeling, even. "Dearly belo-" Pariah Dark hid his mistake by clearing his throat. "Master of Time, what exactly do you intend for me to do with... these."

'These' referred to the small beasts currently amusing themselves on his body. A pitch-black chick with red eyes currently nesting in his hair, a snake trying to loop itself-and failing at looping- itself around his neck, a puppy currently resting on his arm and a cub currenting trying to get said puppy's attention only to be zapped away by the pup's foot.

Yes.

Zapped.

Despite this utterly befuddling situation, he was amused by it nonetheless.

"Your parole," The Master of Time said, all-knowing smile on his face. "Surely you would know what to do with children, would you not?"

Pariah Dark blinked. "What in the infinite is a parole?" Pariah tasted the word on his tongue, as if it was foreign to him. And, well. It was. "And what, exactly, would that have to do with children?"

The Master of Time's smile eased into faint amusement, as if aware of some joke the king himself was not.

Which happened more often than not, actually.

"Take good care of these children, and you shall be released from eternal sleep." He said, as if that explained everything. But Pariah Dark was staring at him in clear and undisguised puzzlement.

He then raised an eyebrow. "You would leave me alone with children? Truly? With no qualms?"

The personification of Time nodded, and Pariah could blink slowly, as if he had trouble wrapping his head around this. "Dearly beloved, surely you would not think that this-" If Clockwork noticed his slip of the tongue, then he didn't point it out as Pariah Dark continued. "Would be the best of ideas, no? Surely, you should be worrying for their safety."

Clockwork's eyes filled with mirth as he inclined his head slightly. "Well, do you currently hold any thoughts of harming these children?"

Pariah Dark's face gave away his faint confusion. "Not particularly, no."

"Then that is that." The ancient ghost nodded, as if everything was already decided and done as Pariah could only stare at him in unsurprised exasperation before shaking his head.

Perhaps, he should have expected this.

"The one currently making a nest of your hair goes by Vlad, the Pheonix King." Clockwork pointed his staff to the chick in question, who squinted open an eye before nestling further into the king's hair. He then pointed to the snake. "The one currently trying to strangle you, is Danny. Our prince as well as what humans would call an eastern dragon."

The way Clockwork pronounced our had Pariah feeling like it held another meaning and not just him being known as the prince.

Was there something he was not aware of...?

The staff then pointed to the pup dozing off in his arms. "That one," Clockwork said with faint amusement. "Goes by Dan, a fusion between the phoenix and dragon resulted in his creation and he soon became his own entity after becoming secluded from his timeline after its erasure." He said this casually, as if it weren't something that would cause questions. "He is also a Raiju."

How a bird and snake gave way to dog, Pariah does not know.

The staff then pointed to the last child in his arms, trying to bother Dan and being kicked away and zapped for its efforts. "That is Dani, formally Danielle. She is a Mishipeshu who is the only successful clone of the phoenix and dragon, making her our technical princess."

Again, the emphasis of our left Pariah feeling like there was something he should know. A missing piece to a puzzle he didn't even know he had started.

"You said this one was a king, correct?" Pariah asked, shifting around his arms to better support the pup and cub. "Would the phoenix's not take offense to me of all people being the one to raise their ruler?" As soon as the words left his tongue did he remember who exactly he was talking to.

He was met with a vicious smile, one that he did not see until the days of yore. His non-existent heart skipped a beat.

"Well, if they would like to voice their... displeasure." The Master of Time practically purred that sentence out, and Pariah felt something odd shift inside him. "Then they are surely allowed to do so."

Pariah grunted, silent for a few moments. Clockwork moved towards him in that time, and Pariah stood still, only tracking the ghost with his eyes. "I am quite certain you would make a wonderful father, dear-"

Excuse him, dear..?

"-So why not prove me right as you always have, hm?" Pariah Dark blinked, opening his mouth to speak before his mind screeched to a halt as he felt a pair of lips upon his own before they moved away in the next moment.

A ghost of a kiss.

"Now, run along now why don't you." Clockwork had a mischievous glint in his eyes, before Pariah found himself surrounded by a wide pasture, spanning as far as his eyes could see (and he could see very far) and at the end a forest with a house behind him.

But he could not react, even as he felt pecks upon his head, a bite at his ear and most surely the scratching of claws against his form.

His hair burst into green flames as he stood stalk still.

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

So we know that Wei Wuxian's treatment after his death was horrible. Even if nothing could impact him directly, there was still neverending slander, hatred, misinformation, theft...

But, for a while after he died, the sects did try to impact him directly – namely, frequently trying to resummon his soul. And today I'll explore the possible reasons for this, their likelihoods, and why I'm so, so thankful that Wei Wuxian's soul managed to resist the summons. Because, spoiler alert (or, you know. maybe not)... none of them are good.

(Long meta ahead)

In my opinion, there are four likely motivations for this: confinement, coercion, torment, and potentially destruction.

Out of all of these, confinement is probably the most likely motivation, at least for most sects (Jins and Jiangs excluded, though it was likely what the Jin sect said their motivations were – but I'll get to them later). This one is the most simple – we know spirit-trapping pouches exist, and we know the sects also placed 120 stone beasts on the Burial Mounds to prevent Wei Wuxian's soul from escaping. Therefore, this seems to be the most likely motivation – and fortunately for Wei Wuxian, probably also the best case scenario, though it still certainly isn't a good one.

For the second, coercion – this is where the Jin sect come in (more specifically Jin Guangshan with the help of Jin Guangyao). Due to their wealth and resources, they're likely the sect who played the largest role in the soul-summoning rituals. We know what they're willing to do to try to gain power – keeping Wen Ning under the pretence he was burned to death and trying to control him with the nails, and working with and helping Xue Yang torture people to help him refine his demonic cultivation, in order to have the Yin hufu fixed. Along with working with many other cultivators, alongside Xue Yang – Jin Guangshan really, really wanted that seal.

And so, Jin GuangShan sought after all those who imitated Wei WuXian in cultivating the ghostly path and gathered them under his rule. He spent a great amount of money and resources and these people, ordering them to study and analyze the structure of the Tiger Seal in secrecy so that they could replicate and restore it. - Villainous Friends extra, EXR

(Note that working with these cultivators very likely happened after Wei Wuxian's soul had failed to be summoned, since this happens some time after Wei Wuxian's death, whereas the soul-summoning ceromonies presumably started happening very close to it.)

In the previous paragraph, he's also quoted as having 'lusted after' the Yin hufu, which we already knew but it's nice to have a direct quote as evidence.

Now, would Wei WuXian willingly work with the Jin sect in doing this? No. We know that, and, given Wei Wuxian's actions in his first life (refusing to hand over the Tally, not being afraid to stand up to the sects, etc), I’m pretty sure Jin Guangshan knows that, too:

He beat around the bush a couple of times, using all his skills, yet Wei WuXian didn’t give in no matter what, and it made him run into a bunch of obstacles. - Villainous Friends extra, EXR

So this could actually make things go two ways. One, I'm wrong and that wasn't actually part of the Jin sect's motivations, since they know they wouldn't be able to control him (and in that case, had they managed to summon him, I could imagine them putting him in a spirit-trapping pouch and doing something similar to what Jin Guangyao did to Nie Mingjue's head. Which, also, not good). Two, it was a part of their motivations, and they hoped to find a way around that. After all, there are other guidao users out there now, and Wei Wuxian would now be a gui*. Also, cultivators can obviously harm ghosts – see the very existence of Night Hunts, and I'd include Xue Yang's talisman-caused destruction of A-Qing as well (while he isn't a traditional cultivator, talismans can be used by everyone).

Now, would either of these methods actually work? I'm inclined to think not really (and I expand on the former method in a note below). Would that stop Jin Guangshan/Jin Guangyao/the cultivators they employ from trying? Especially considering Jin Guangshan's lust for power?

I'm inclined to think no, too.

For the third, look no further than Jiang Cheng's reputation of capturing and torturing demonic cultivators after Wei Wuxian's death, due to thinking they could be him. And this does happen – Jin Ling knows and talks about it, and there's not real motivation for him to negatively lie about someone he loves. Also, when they come across each other at Dafan Mountain, we're told this in Jiang Cheng's inner voice:

A moment ago, Jiang Cheng was certain that this person was Wei WuXian, and all of the blood in his body started to boil. Yet, now, Zidian was clearly telling him that he wasn’t. Zidian definitely wouldn’t deceive him or make a mistake, so he quickly calmed himself and thought, this doesn’t mean anything. I should first find an excuse to take him back and use every possible method to get information out of him. It’s impossible for him to not confess anything or give himself away. I’ve done things like this in the past anyways. - MDZS Chapter 10, EXR translation

This mainly shows that he's tortured people before, rather than that he's tortured people because he thinks they're Wei Wuxian, but this reason is confirmed by Jin Ling in Chapter 24. Of course, the reason is also mentioned in this chapter, and there are other moments in the chapter that illustrate my point better**, but they come from second-hand sources which I know are easier to deny. Do take note of Jiang Cheng's expression both times he comes across 'Mo Xuanyu' (after he suspects he's Wei Wuxian) in Book One***, though:

After a moment, the corners of Jiang Cheng’s lips pulled into a twisted smile. His left hand started to unconsciously stroke the ring [Zidian] again. He spoke softly, “… Well, well. So you’re back?” - Chapter 10, EXR Although his face had always been clouded, marked with arrogance and satire, it seemed as if every corner of it had come alive. It was difficult to determine whether it was vengeful wrath, fathomless hatred, or raving ecstasy. - Chapter 23, EXR

This does seem to line up with what people say his attitude to Wei Wuxian is – there doesn't seem to be any happiness at seeing him again at all. The only time a word that could suggest that ('ecstasy') is used, it's accompanied by 'raving', and considering the context and the other possibilities of his expression, it's... probably not due to happiness at being reunited.

So, considering 1) this, 2) his contribution to the Siege specifically intended to kill Wei Wuxian, and 3) that at the time of frequent soul-summoning Jiang Yanli's death would be even closer for him, I feel pretty confident in saying that yes, this is likely a motivation for the Jiang sect in trying to re-summon Wei Wuxian's soul after his death. And, as mentioned earlier, cultivators can harm ghosts (and we know Zidian is able to remove souls posessing a body from that body, and that Jiang Cheng used Zidian on 'Mo Xuanyu' in Chapter 10. If it wasn't able to restrain/harm ghosts, or other methods weren't able to, why would he risk Wei Wuxian's soul escaping?).

And finally, option four: destruction. We're heading into much more speculative territory here, so don't consider this on par with the first three. But consider this:

We know there are some spells, like Xue Yang's talisman used on A-Qing and the body-offering ritual, that can ruin the returning soul’s reincarnation cycle by destroying it. Therefore, soul destruction is possible.

The 'main'/supposed reason for summoning Wei Wuxian's soul back is to stop the "cultivation world, or even all of mortal land" from being "faced with the most insane damnation and revenge, sinking into nothing but chaos and despair" when Wei Wuxian inevitably returns. While, as mentioned above, I severely doubt this is the motivation for certain sects – and to me is likely a rumour which the Jins (again, especially Jin Guangsha) fanned the flames of to justify summoning Wei Wuxian back for their own purposes**** – there are other sects which would take it more seriously.

Although likely disrespectful, people already thought it served Wei Wuxian right to die without his body intact by the time of the second siege – something believed to negatively affect your reincarnation in your next life*****. This is only the logical next step, and I'm pretty sure the vast majority of people would believe that, again, it would serve Wei Wuxian right, or would at least lead to less harm of the world in the long run.

For these reasons, I could definitely see this as an option for some sects, especially the sects who consider themselves more 'righteous' (cough cough the Nies under Nie Mingjue cough cough). After all, evil is evil and good is good, and the evil deserve what's coming to them. And what better way to prevent that than from preventing his soul from returning at all? So for the Nie sect – and likely some of the smaller sects involved in the Siege, since among them, additudes probably vary – yes, I do think it could be a motivation.

I’m not as sure about the Lans being willing to go this far, and that’s largely for two reasons. One, Lan Wangji’s presence and his relationship to Lan Xichen, who does (not always, but he does) let this affect how he treats Wei Wuxian. An example of this is that, when Wei Wuxian's return is made public, Lan Xichen does let him hide and shelter at the Cloud Recesses instead of trying to pursue him, likely majorly due to Lan Wangji. I'd argue that the aftermath of the Nightless City also acts as an example of this, although it definitely isn't perfect. But though he, Lan Qiren and the 33 elders do come to find Lan Wangji and do not let him continue to shelter Wei Wuxian (after they see Lan Wangji's feelings), Lan Xichen doesn't use this opportunity to kill/capture Wei Wuxian, despite Lan Wangji being in a worse condition due to having fought 33 elders, Wei Wuxian being catatonic, and Lan Qiren likely supporting this outcome (especially considering he was the one who led the Lan sect in the Siege – chapter 68, Wei Wuxian's POV). And he did let Lan Wangji take Wei Wuxian back to the Burial Mounds after:

After he went out of his way to send you back to Burial Mound and returned in such low spirits to receive his punishment, how long he kneeled before the Wall of Rules! - Chapter 99, EXR

Again, this was right after the Nightless City massacre – there isn't any goodwill towards Wei Wuxian at this point in time.

Of course, the Lan sect did participate in the siege after Lan Xichen knew of Lan Wangji's feelings towards Wei Wuxian, which Lan Xichen was no doubt a part of (although Lan Qiren lead the Lan sect in the siege, Lan XIchen had to have at least known/given his support, if not participated.) And it should be considered that Lan Xichen letting Wei Wuxian shelter at the Cloud Recesses was after Wei Wuxian had been back for a while, and had not caused the downfall of the Cultivation World, like many suspected he would after his death. And of course, as stated previously, his handling of the aftermath of Nightless City wasn't perfect either (though please note that his main motive here was to protect Lan Wangji from being potentially executed, rather than anything about Wei Wuxian himself). So caring about Lan Wangji doesn't mean he won't harm Wei Wuxian. But I do think he could find bringing Wei Wuxian's soul back to completely destroy it a bit excessive. There is, though, the chance that the elders of the Lan Sect would react to this differently, and of course they would have a sway on both Lan Xichen and the Lan sect as well.

The second reason is smaller, but there seems to be more focus in the Lan sect than in others when it comes to letting ghosts rest peacefully/helping them move on. And that could definitely lead to more resistance to the idea of summoning a soul back to destroy it as well, which could especially impact the elders. So I'd assume that the Lan sect would be the most likely sect to summon Wei Wuxian's soul back just for confinement, or just for some way of making sure any resentment is disippated, his spirit moves on, and he can't cause more harm to the world (eg via Inquiry)******. Not that he would or does as a ghost or as a reborn person, but that's unfortunately not relevant to this.

But yes, as a motivation for the Nie Mingjue-led Nie sect? Absolutely.

So, these are the main motives I suspect to be behind the attempted summoning of Wei Wuxian's soul after his death (and if I've missed any, please let me know – I'd love to have a discussion). And, of course, none of them lead to anywhere good. Because of course it wasn’t enough to besiege Wei Wuxian, murder the 50 non-combatants he was responsible for (and throwing them into the blood pit as a mark of disrespect because why not?), and lead to his death via him getting torn apart. It wasn’t enough to steal all his inventions, and use them commonly while still slandering him with no reprieve – or to steal his notes and give them to people like Xue Yang to study (Villainous Friends, again) and to use for their own, extremely extremely harmful, purposes. Of course, the cultivation world has to try to harm Wei Wuxian after death as well ((:

We don't know whether Wei Wuxian rejecting the summoning ceremonies was conscious or unconscious, but if it was the former, these are very likely reasons he refused to return in this way. If it was unconscious – for example, maybe during the frequent soul-summons his soul was in a weakened state due to him dying from a backlash of resentful energy and getting torn apart, and it healed over time but not before the soul-summoning rituals stopped – well, I can only be thankful.

Finally, let me leave you on the thought that – although it may well have happened since we don't spend much time in the immediate aftermath of the Sunshot campaign – there isn't even any textual mention of this happening to Wen Ruohan. Who, while not being a guidao user, was still very dangerous, still an extremely powerful cultivator, and still had a lot of reason to feel resentment. So.

:')

Thank you for reading!

--

*Considering what we see of how Wei Wuxian's guidao functions – redirecting the ghosts'/corpses' resentment into doing something they'd want to do, eg attacking people, and directing it towards a target – I'm not sure using it to force a spirit to do something 1) extremely specific, and 2) explicitly against their will would actually work. Iirc the closest thing we get to this in text is Wei Wuxian using the corpses of Wens to attack other Wens in the Sunshot Campaign, but he's still just directing their resentment to a target of his choice, and fierce corpses do tend to be on the less concious side of things (hence why Wei Wuxian had to awaken Wen Ning's consciousness). Considering how Wen Ning attacks Wei Wuxian and the Burial Mound Wens before his consciousness had fully awoken, I... really don't think those fierce corpses were able to differentiate (or didn't care).

Meanwhile, ghosts seem to be a bit more in control of themselves – see A-Qing, and Wei Wuxian's own descriptions of his ghost self.

That, alongside ghost!Wei Wuxian being able to resist his soul-summoning and the fact that pretty much all of the new guidao users are a lot weaker than he was, does make me think that this this wouldn't work. I do wonder about Xue Yang, since his methods are pretty different as well, but he's more of a modao user than a guidao user (he controls living corpses rather than dead people) and I don't think you can insert physical nails into ghosts?? Though if he was specifically instructed to figure out some way to control ghost!Wei Wuxian (who's probably kept in a spirit-trapping pouch in this scenario), he might be able to do something at least. Though also he was also struggling to piece Xiao Xingchen's ghost soul back together, so he may struggle with those areas?

Well, whatever the potential outcome, I'm so so happy once again that Wei Wuxian's soul managed to resist the soul-summonings...

**Mainly this:

Everyone in the cultivation world knew that the young leader of the Jiang Clan watched out for Wei WuXian in an almost crazed manner. He would rather catch the wrong person than let go of any possibility, and took anyone who seemed like they held the soul of Wei WuXian away to the YunmengJiang Sect, inflicting severe torture on his victim. If he wanted to take someone back, the opposition would surely lose half of their life. - Chapter 10, EXR

But I have heard people say 'you can't prove that it's just more rumours' before, and I wanted my evidence to be as watertight as possible.

(And, off-topic... isn't it really sad how Jiang Cheng, in the present day, is described as young? Because, for a clan leader, he is. And another thing he is, is close in age to Wei Wuxian – who was killed 13 whole years prior :') )

***And do note that the only other time they run into each other before Wei Wuxian's identity is revealed to the world apart from this is their brief interaction at Jinlintai, where he can't just act however he wants. The next time they run into each other after it, Jiang Cheng is literally taking part in another siege against him, and still extremely hostile ("surrounded by hostile energy, face insidious, staring straight at him" – from EXR chapter 60). Then he loses his spiritual powers and can't do anything. By the time he regains his powers, Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and the Wen remnants' corpses have saved everyone during the Second Siege, and though public opinion hasn't properly shifted quite yet, it will soon after Sisi and Bicao tell the story of Jin Guangyao, and voila, a new scapegoat (do note that he doesn't completely bar Wei Wuxian from entering Lotus Pier after the Second Siege, though). Plus, throughout it all, Lan Wangji is still constantly present, which makes it hard for Jiang Cheng to really do anything. And then he's finally faced with the Golden Core reveal, which does alter his motivations towards Wei Wuxian (obviously the resentment is still there – read chapter 102 – but it's also mixed with other complex emotions, and he seems to start being able to move away from that a little in Chapter 103). I still definitely wouldn't describe Jiang Cheng's attitude towards him as positive, but it isn't at the point it was at the start of the novel (eg Chapter 10).

But even if his attitude does change, or would for whatever other reason apart from the reveal, that still doesn't change an initial motivation so isn't relevant to this meta. We know his intentions at the start.

****It's also possible they may have originated it, but I think WWX's reputation was bad enough for it to form naturally. Though you can trace a major part of that back to them, too.

*****That belief isn't outright stated in MDZS, but the fact people are specifically talking about the status of WWX's body in the aftermath of his death suggests that this belief does have some grounding in the MDZS universe, at least? And we know MXTX has included it in TGCF (though that doesn't mean it's definitely in MDZS), so she has used it in her works. If this isn't the case in the MDZS universe I am sorry (although that could also mean there's less importance placed on not disturbing the reincarnation cycle in the world of MDZS...? Which would work towards my original argument) – I don't want to spread misinformation that something is definitely true, I just think there's evidence to suggest it is true, which isn't the same thing.

******Again, I think this would depend on who ends up having more influence over who in the Lan sect. After all, normal resentful spirits only do what they do because of their resentment in death, whereas Wei Wuxian is 'dangerous' because of who everyone thinks he was in life – so him being reborn naturally could also 'cause a lot of harm to the world' during the time period this version of him would live in, unlike the resentful ghosts they appease. This could definitely lead to many advocating for confinement, I think.

[fearandhatred]

could not get this idea out of my head so i present vulture crowley as death <3

[gingermintpepper]

I continue to be in the foulest of moods so here are some Zeus + Apollo headcanons because they make me happy :)

(Important note: this is largely specific to my original work and is not me making inferences from mythical or historical texts)

Zeus and Apollo spar. Like a lot. Like a lot. A big reason why Apollo gets so good at boxing is because he usually sparred with his father as a young god and getting hit with one of Zeus' punches is!! Not advisable. He focused on becoming fleet-footed to combat Zeus' more solid fighting style which was definitely helped by his dancing. Conversely, Hermes would later develop wrestling partially as a response to Apollo's annoying fleet-footedness in combat.

Zeus decides to tie his mind to Apollo's when the strain of Apollo's visions become too intense for him to handle alone. When Apollo first returns from his exile after slaying Python, his visions are so severe that he suffered from 'time-blindness' where he could only percieve the future and was completely unable to see the present. Zeus shoulders some of that strain until Apollo becomes strong enough to handle prophecy on his own - though Zeus is careful not to give Apollo absolute prophecy lest he get overwhelmed again.

Despite their closeness, or maybe because of it, Zeus and Apollo argue quite a lot. Usually it's banal things like administrative work or squabbling over which of them should get the larger portion of a hecatomb, but they do argue about how prophecies should be carried out quite frequently too. There's a general agreement for Zeus not to bring up Apollo's children after how messy Aristaeus' anointing was (and how angry Apollo was at Zeus' disagreement with his decision to make his firstborn son a god) but the odd occasion where it cannot be avoided is usually when they have their most grave spats.

One of Zeus' greatest regrets is his relationship with Ares, partially because Ares grows up seeing him dote and teach Apollo with his full attention. There is... a lot of himself that he sees in Ares. A lot of Kronos too and the part of Zeus that is a warrior before he is a king has done his best to keep the boy at arms length entirely because of that familiarity with the face staring back at him. It's another of the things he and Apollo have argued ceaselessly about. Naturally, Apollo has attempted to bridge that gap many times and while Ares is still quite close with Artemis, when it comes to Apollo, he is particularly sensitive.

Zeus is the one that ultimately decided that Apollo should never marry. Due to Apollo's love-curse and his already concerning tendency to be overly attached and committed to his mortal affairs and offspring, Zeus decided that marriage would be doom to Apollo's spirit and proclaimed him unfit for the ceremony and its status. Instead of the expected argument, everyone was quite surprised when Apollo merely bowed his head and accepted such an outrageous decision.