#also every other skeksis at the castle

[scientistservant]

I have never heard of the Dark Crystal until I saw your posts. What is it about, and what do you like about it?

Oh ho?

Sit down, anon, and let me tell you the tale of... The Dark Crystal.

*theme music plays*

In a world called Thra, there exists a powerful gem called the Crystal of Truth. It is in tune to all of Thra, including the planet's most civilized race, the Gelfling.

A thousand years ago, new beings came to Thra: the Skeksis. The Skeksis, wise, hedonistic and benevolent, were tasked with protecting the Crystal of Truth by Thra's avatar/mother-nature of sorts, Mother Aughra. Because of their wisdom the Skeksis also ruled over the Gelfling and their seven Clans, while Aughra journeyed the stars and space.

But one day, the Crystal cracked, causing the Crystal to become corrupted, and a miasma, the Darkening, to spread throughout Thra. In an attempt to fix the Crystal, the Skeksis discovered Essence - the soul or life-force of every creature on Thra. Instead of taking life from the Crystal, they decided to take life from something else - the Gelfling. Because the Gelfling are the closest creatures to Thra, their Essence is pure, more potent.

The Skeksis became obsessed with Essence, and obsessed with draining Gelfling, killing them and drinking their Essence to obtain eternal life and youthfulness. All Skeksis, but the Emperor especially, were terrified of death. For when Skeksis die they do not return to Thra.

And so, a genocide occurred, and all Gelfling perished.

All but one. For there was a prophecy, told of a young Gelfling named Jen, who is destined to heal the Crystal and bring the Skeksis reign to an end!

What I love about The Dark Crystal is its world-building and characters. Its cast isn't just black and white in morality, it's more than that. The protagonists can make mistakes, and so can the antagonists. The Skeksis were good once upon a time, they once cared about the Gelfling, but their greed and fear of death overtook them. Thra is beautiful with many different settings and wildlife, even the Castle of the Crystal is gorgeous with it's fantastical and alien gothic architecture.

I'm mainly talking about the prequel series, Age of Resistance, here. It was made almost 40 years after the original 1982 film, but unlike many modern sequels and prequels it's not a cash grab at all; it was made with love and respect to the original, expanding on the world of Thra. Not saying the original film was bad, it's a wonderful piece of media! I just think it's lacking a bit in world-building and context, and Age of Resistance helps immensely.

As for characters, I'll be talking about the Skeksis, Gelfling, and Mother Aughra. There are other characters and creatures too, but I don't want to venture into spoiler territory!

The Skeksis

As I said above, the Skeksis are not from Thra. They are reptile-like alien vultures with a very hedonistic lifestyle. They adore food, various forms of entertainment, the most lavish of robes, and being praised for their wisdom and status as Lords of the Crystal.

Each Skeksis has a title and role they must uphold. For example, the Ornamentalist makes his fellow Lords' robes and decor for the Castle, while the Scroll-Keeper is in charge of the Castle library and keeps records of tomes and scrolls going back a thousand years of Skeksis rule.

All the Skeksis are important and unique, but the most popular and well-known by far is the Chamberlain. He has a "whimper" as a tic and speaks in slight broken English, yet is the craftiest, manipulative, and cunning of the Skeksis. A very Starscream/Littlefinger-type character, he's fantastic to watch. (He's one of my favourite characters, but not my top favourite, that honour goes to the Scroll-Keeper.)

The Gelfling

The Gelfling are small, elf-like humanoids that vary in looks, culture and skill between their seven different species/Clans. There is the Stonewood, Vapran, Drenchen, Spriton, Dousan, Sifan, and Grottan. Unfortunately, many Gelfling tend to be xenophobic and untrustworthy towards other Clans, though some do manage to become friends despite their differences. Most Gelfling are also illiterate, but there are a very small few that can read and write.

Gelfling are the closest beings to Thra, and have the special ability to Dreamfast with one another - a rather intimate gesture that allows them to share their memories and thoughts by touching hands.

They also differ between genders; female Gelfling have wings, while male Gelfling do not.

Because of their small noses and large eyes and ears, some of the fandom tend to call Gelfling "fairy mice", even giving them whiskers and tails!

Mother Aughra

Mother Aughra is Thra, and Thra is Mother Aughra. She is as old as the planet itself, and perhaps as old as the Crystal of Truth, too. She is connected to the Crystal, able to tell when it is healthy and when it is not.

She and the Skeksis used to be friends, admiring their wisdom and beauty, yet that all ended when she discovered what they had done to the Crystal of Truth.

Aughra is sassy and somewhat grumpy, yet she loves and cares for all the creatures of Thra, especially the Gelfling, who see her as a mother-figure. She has the ability to remove her one eye and use it to spy on others or to see things up close, even from far away.

If you enjoy the fantasy genre, puppets, practical effects, and alien worlds, I highly, highly recommend The Dark Crystal and The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance! There are also graphic novels, and YA novels by J.M Lee.

The world of Thra must never die!

[gretchensinister]

@synisysm also gave me the word demagogue.

Demagogue

There has never been anyone like him. SkekSil is sure of that. If there had been, surely what he does would not be so easy.

He doesn’t pretend that he’s like SkekGra or SkekMal, SkekUng or SkekVar, or any of the other skeksis who drag their swords and claws across Thra to pull every gelfling into the particular seven clans that were already so deeply enmeshed within the system of roads and calendar and script and language that flowed from the Castle of the Crystal.

It’s not the violence—SkekSil loves blood as much as anyone, but he refuses to let it distract him.

It’s his purpose. His power. The way he can shape the world with words.

Even the sharpest sword can be blunt—a resisting town falls, and the gelfling there become Drenchen or Spriton or Stonewood. But do the gelfling feel it? Will a new Drenchen scorn a new Stonewood? Not without SkekSil’s guidance. His finer blades of words cut the gelfling into new shapes, showing them how they are like their new clan, how they fit so well together, they were always-already what they were named after the war. He teaches them to love their clan, and it works. He teaches them to scorn and be suspicious of the other clans, and it works even better.

He loves talking to them, and it feels that there is no end to what he can do. He makes the skeksis sacred to the gelfling, much more easily than SkekZok ever could. He makes them grateful for the tithes, and when skeksis demands strain the gelfling, he can make them blame other gelfling’s needs and never think about what they ever get back from the skeksis. He can erase the excesses of any of the other skeksis by making them into things other clans would do, into things that are done by those gelfling that are useless to the empire. He can even, in certain extremities, lay the blame at the feet of the mystics.

And they believe him. They want to believe him. He’s giving them something they want, though it’s really something only good for the skeksis. And for him.

There’s something wonderful about being able to reshape the world with his voice. It’s almost like magic. It has to be better than magic. It’s so wonderful it almost hurts. It’s so wonderful he’ll never stop.

[ladystormcrow]

Ten First Lines Game

Rules: Share the first line of ten of your most recent fanfics and then tag ten people. Don't have ten? Not to worry, just share what you have.

Oh wow, thank you for the tag, @les-gnossiennes-fantomatiques! And @a-partofthenarrative too!

In The Lonesome October

(POTO, rated G. Erik recruits a grieving Madame Giry to help him with some Halloween mischief.)

The skies over Père Lachaise were ashen and sober as Antoinette Giry made her way down the cobbled path.

Trio Sonata

(POTO, rated M. Post-canon AU: instead of leaving Erik behind after she returns the ring, Christine asks him to leave the lair with her and Raoul in order to save him from the mob, and all of their lives take an unexpected turn. Starts out mostly Raoul/Christine, but the endgame is Erik/Christine/Raoul, with some Daroga/Madame Giry on the side.)

Christine Daaé knew she must not look back. 

Imprints In Time

(POTO, rated T. Prequel to my other two POTO fics, exploring an origin story for Madame Giry: her childhood in a Romani caravan, her rise through the ballet corps, how she met and lost her husband Jules, and most of all, her long and complicated relationship with Erik.)

Anna Reinhardt was admiring her earrings for the third time that day.

Katabasis

(The Dark Crystal, rated T. Seven years after the Great Conjunction, the surviving urSkeks discover a new threat to both their world and Thra. They must return to Thra in the hope of seeking answers from their dead comrades, which also means once again facing Jen, Kira, Aughra, and all the peoples of Thra they harmed in their former lives. Features a lot of Jen/Kira, who are expecting their first child.)

The light was every bit as bright as they remembered.

I'll Keep You

(The Dark Crystal, rated T. Silly, fluffy oneshot involving skekLach reluctantly getting a makeover in Ha'rar after her clothes are ruined on the tithing journey. SkekLach/skekOk, and also features some of my headcanons about Gelfling wedding customs.)

“I still don’t see why I have to be there.”

Agony and Ecstasy

(The Dark Crystal, rated M. Oneshot featuring a night of BDSM sex between skekZok and skekSa, in which the Ritual-Master can finally drop his austere image and enjoy being on the receiving end of pain and torture. Established skekZok/skekSa.)

“Ah, some happy news!”

Mine

(The Dark Crystal, rated M. AU oneshot where, instead of declaring war on the Gelfling after Lore's attack, skekSo tries to strengthen his alliance with the new All-Maudra Seladon by proposing marriage. Seladon moves to the Castle, gets in touch with her inner Skeksis, and eventually takes matters into her own hands to get her new husband's attention. SkekSo/Seladon.)

For once in his life, Emperor skekSo listened to moderation.

A Prophecy Reclaimed

(SWAT Kats, rated T. Prequel to the episode "Bride of the Pastmaster", featuring a teenaged Queen Callista, her grandmother Oriana, and how their family's troubles with the Pastmaster first began.)

"The king is dead.”

Tagging @cornistasiathecoblinking @nientedal @undynedevotion @theawkwardarchaeologist @reikiajakoiranruohoja @chaifootsteps @margoteve @apileofpans @garnet-xx-rose

[thebibliomancer]

I saw a fanon once that urGoh and skekGra planning an opera and a puppet show for when Gelfling showed up happened because they were left alone with each other, a lot of free time, and a bunch of drugs. A simple lore dump became a big production because they kept embellishing it.

I think the same might be true of the whole quest they set up.

All Dark Crystal content is dubiously canonical to all other Dark Crystal content but for fun I’m going to consider Age of Resistance, the Age of Resistance comic, and the River Horse RPG.

First, the Dual Glaive. The show argues, through Brea at the end that the Crystal Shard was the most important part of it. Fire Skype and draining essence are well and good but the essential bit is that Gelfling have the Shard so they can heal the Crystal.

The Fire Skype was very useful for gathering everyone. Although, it’s not the best communication option considering the Skeksis easily broke into the call.

(Since every fire tapped into the call, I wonder if the Firelings in Mithra received the signal in their hair and had no idea what it meant.)

The essence draining is… a mixed message? Since draining was one of the big moral event horizons the Skeksis were doing? And urGoh and skekGra invented it before skekTek ever did? Weird thing for them to add on.

(Maybe the Shard did that on its own, to try to balance things after the Skeksis were taking so much out of the energy cycle of Thra. But the Glaive drained the essence of the chimeric Ascendency in the AoR comic and you can’t say that the Arathim were destabilizing the world in the same way. It just seems like it was designed to steal essence way before anyone else had the idea.)

Anyway, the sword made a good symbol to rally around but it’s not a great loss that it broke since the Shard was the important thing.

Maybe the Dual Glaive was created when urGoh and skekGra worried that Gelfling wouldn’t be sufficiently impressed by the missing piece of the heart of Thra.

Thus, the two of them trek down to the inside of the planet to make a cool magic sword that’s sure to impress anyone.

So, a cool quest to find a cool sword to unite the Gelfling clans and deliver the Shard they need to heal the Crystal and end Skeksis rule and hopefully get the Mystics and Skeksis reunited so urGoh and skekGra can have a forever hug existentially.

But how to get the sword to the Gelfling. Can’t just hand it to them. The Gelfling still think the Skeksis have their best interests at heart. Giving them a magical super weapon and telling them “please overthrow society” isn’t going to have ideal results.

Can’t keep it at the Circle of the Suns. The Castle Skeksis were content to leave skekGra alone even knowing about the Dual Glaive because it was inconvenient to get out to them. But if they had the Glaive with them, maybe they’d make the effort.

But where else is inconvenient for the Skeksis to go? The Caves of Grot! And it happens a good buddy lives down there!

So urGoh and skekGra hide the Dual Glaive in the caves and trust it to urLii to keep an eye on.

Except they also put it behind a booby trap laden obstacle course and you must have at least one friend to get the prize. Also, urLii is a troll who might require bribes to guide anyone to the Glaive.

This part of the quest gets massively simplified after Ordon uses the Dual Glaive in the comic. One half he hides at Stone-in-the-Wood, the other he gives to Maudra Argot to take care of. And she’s much more helpful than urLii as a keeper.

(Apparently this update never got back to urGoh and skekGra since they live in the middle of nowhere. They seem to think the Glaive was still entirely in the cool obstacle course they made in the Caves of Grot)

But okay. Pretty straightforward (after Ordon updates the latter half). Talk to urGoh and skekGra, they point you to the Caves of Grot, you ask around and talk to Maudra Argot, she gives you her half and points you toward the other half at Stone-in-the-Wood.

How do you know to speak to urGoh and skekGra in the first place if they live in the middle of nowhere?

Well, they set up a helpful Lore dump to point Gelfling in the right direction!

If said Gelfling gets suspicious on their own that Skeksis are exploiting the Gelfling, manifests a mysterious symbol, asks the Sifa about it, asks a less jerky Sifa about it, gets a hint to follow a moth, finds a secret chamber under the All-Maudra’s throne (how and when did the comic relief duo set that up?), solves a puzzle by refusing to solve the puzzle on moral grounds after having an epiphany mid-puzzle solving about their own prejudices, and meets Lore! Who will guide them to urGoh and skekGra and even escort them there!

See, I get the sense that urGoh and skekGra started embellishing the quest line too, out of boredom and too much free time, when it took too long for anyone to follow it to them.

And the RPG implies that maybe they worried about how esoteric this all was and created more constructs like Lore and sent them out into the world to point Gelfling the right way in case they never find the secret throne chamber. The RPG book says the two don’t even remember how many Lores they made, because of all the berries, no doubt.

(I like to think that in the post movie era someone is going to stumble on one of those long lost Lore siblings and get incredibly confused by the message)

So it all adds up to an incredibly complicated questline that would made the Redwall founders sit up and take notes.

It’s a good thing urGoh and skekGra got way into puppetry because imagine how much more they could have embellished the quest side of things. Did I mention that you couldn’t get the Dual Glaive in Ordon’s day unless you brought a friend and learned a lesson about not being able to do everything by yourself?

[fishtail-tavra]

it’d be funny if Gelfling gender was just “Wings = woman, Wingless = man” purely for the chaos of

skeksis not getting how this works

(not helped by Gelflings almost always wearing cloaks)

skeksis getting frustrated at being corrected every other word bc they addressed someone wrong again

(apparently it's rude to ask if someone has wings)

emperor skek’So having to ban throwing Gelflings out of windows just to check what gender they are (winged or traumatized)

skek’So making new laws to make sure only women get important positions partly to control Gelfling society but also partly in the hopes this will Simplify Things

skek’So messing this up when he promotes a Gelfling for her leadership during the Arathim wars and makes her captain of the castle guard only to be told afterwards that Ordon is in fact a MAN

skeksis giving up and defaulting to calling all Gelflings “Gelfling” because gender is stupid

different clans having stricter or laxer ideas of what makes someone a woman or a man depending mainly on how close that clan’s social ties to the Skeksis are

re: Stonewood, Spriton, and Vapra being very No Wings No Woman and No Woman No Leading while

the Sifa let men be captains and love mixed up things including genders

the Dousan keep to older traditions including allowing men to be Sand Masters

the Grotten left Ha’rar partly because of the silly new rules the Skeksis were pushing there, including wing stuff

and the Drenchen have medical transitions thanks to the healing vliyaya of their Maudra’s family  

Gelflings calling the skeksis “Lords” instead of “Ladies”, even though in their culture it’s the ladies that usually do the leading, just because the skeksis don’t have wings

Gelflings calling Aughra “Mother” even though she doesn’t have wings because even though they don’t remember how important she used to be to them the tradition of referring to her with the most respectful way they have still lives on.

Gelflings assuming Podlings are all men or eternally children

Podlings having fun with this by sometimes pretending to pull a newborn baby out of a pod while a Gelfling watches and goes ‘OAO` ????

Jen and Kira’s exchange of “Wings! I don’t have wings? :C” – “Of course not. You’re a boy XD” getting extra silly bc

poor “raised-by-mystics” Jen doesn’t know how Gelfling gender works and

Kira “remembers-her-mom-and-was-raised-by-podlings-who-understood-gelflings-gender-perfectly-fine-even-if-gelflings-wouldn’t-return-the-favor” thinks Gelfling gender is so obvious she doesn’t explain that “no wings = boy”, instead of the “boy = no wings” that Jen probably understood it as

Jen getting very confused when some of their kids start growing wings like ??? if they can grow wings... can I grow wings? OuO

Kira repeatedly having to save Jen from jumping off tall things

everyone watching the two saviors of Thra go crashing into the trees again bc one of them is sure if he falls enough times he will someday Fly

and the other literally died and got better so this doesn't even seem that far out to her and she completely supports her partner in Jumping Off All The Things

speaking of being supportive

Onica is still called a woman even after losing her wings (supposed indicator of womanhood) because she is either dealing with

her own clan (who don’t care)

other people from other non-conforming clans (the Grotten and Drenchen)

Kylan (who is a sweet heart)

or Tavra (her loving wife who cares more about people than any laws or tradition that might hurt them so much she died for it [and then also got better])

BONUS:

it would also mean Amri The Ally dressed in Gelfling drag to help a lesbian save her wife

and he rode off into the sunset with Naia, possible medically transitioned winged Gelfling who is now literal queen of her swamp people

[skekheck]

Random assortment of Skeksis headcanons I had scattered in my drafts/notes I wanted to share:

SkekVar never took off his head gear which led to baldness. He tried to keep it a secret, but after he kept requesting his Gelfling guards fetch him hair remedies the word got out and the Skeksis openly mocked him about it. The General profusely denies this and threatens he'll beat anyone up if they keep going on about it.

SkekMal was always knowledgeable about hunting, but failed miserably as a hunter when he was freshly divided because he couldn't coordinate his new body well.

Same can be said for the other Skeksis. They weren't fully accustomed to their new bodies which brought out a lot of frustration and violence. They were also just as clumsy as their Urru counterparts.

SkekLi is near-sighted but refuses to wear glasses because, in his own words, makes him look like a nerd. He constantly squints in order to see faraway objects clearly.

SkekVar and skekUng were on-and-off-again friends. They get chummy at one point but then the next they're fighting each other. SkekUng usually instigates a lot of these fights because he has always eyed skekVar's position in power and believes he'd make a better general. Their friendship was usually rebuilt once they talked about how much they hate the Chamberlain's guts.

He wasn't that sad hearing about skekVar's death, but he started getting suspicious when he heard skekSil was there. Whenever the Chamberlain mentions about skekVar in conversation, skekUng gets defensive over the former General.

SkekLi needs a walking cane to get due to a leg injury that didn't heal properly. The cane is detachable and can be used as a rod which skekLi uses in performances.

Sidetic was a domesticated animal brought in by Gelfling for skekTek's experiments, possibly done to meet a quota. However the Scientist found himself suddenly attached to it when it showed him affection.

Sometimes when the Scientist is not dealing with gruesome experiments, Sidetic sits on top of skekTek's shoulder.

Although he refers to him as Sidetic, skekTek sometimes nicknames it "Meatball". He nicknamed it that because he was hungry one time.

The top of skekLi's cane is a head bust of himself. When skekLi asked skekEkt to make it for him, the Ornamentalist gave him a look and remarked "even the Emperor isn't that self-absorbed".

Much like how the Sifa use skekSa's likeness for good luck at sea, skekLi's is also used for good luck but during performances.

SkekMal's first trophy was his oldest bone mask. When he was kicked out of the Castle for his wild behavior, he was forced to wear Skeksis facial armor as to not jeopardize their alliance with the Gelfling. But since it was very reflective, skekMal had trouble catching prey. Eventually he managed to hunt down a couple of creatures to try on their skulls to see which would nicely fit him.

Although relatively attached to his trophies, skekMal will eventually discard them if he doesn't have room or it becomes broken beyond repair. He views this as him already absorbing the strength of the creature and no longer needing it. But he will quickly fill that empty space with another he finds worthy to put on his person.

However if anything happened to a new trophy he was still attached to he will go absolutely ballistic and take it out on any living thing he sees.

SkekMal has gone through several bone masks, one of which was an ancient forest "god" he killed to assert dominance as the apex predator of the Endless Forest.

SkekShod mostly lives outside of the Castle in his own private estate where he "works" (which is most of the time is just being lazy or hyperfixates on organizing random thing of the day), located within one of the Spriton villages. He dreaded going to the Castle when summoned and even moreso when he had to flee his estate to stay there permanently when the Gelfling Rebellion happened.

When they were younger, skekAyuk and skekEkt would skip work to sneak out of the Castle and roam the fields to go on romantic dates. They got in trouble, but it was worth it every time they did.

SkekLach always had allergies but she was able to tolerate them when she was younger because the symptoms were minor. Over time with her personal hygiene declining, they got worse.

SkekSa's alcoholism gradually got worse over time to the point she requested skekEkt to make a jug holder belt. A lot of her pirate escapades has her usually tipsy or drunk.

Even so, skekSa has the best alcohol tolerance out of all the Skeksis. She's beaten every Skeksis who challenged her to a drinking contest.

When he was younger, skekMal had no rules against who he hunted so he went after Gelfling and Podlings. This phased out when he established a code of honor and left them mostly alone. However, he cheated his code when he got older, sometimes having trouble taking down prey due to his old age. Sometimes he would begrudingly hunt weaker prey, including Gelfling or Podlings, if he had plenty of unsuccessful hunting attempts and he couldn't ignore the hunger anymore.

He will also ignore his code if anything got in the way of his hunts. This is what essentially happened to Kylan's parents: they were killed when they ended up in the cross-pathes between him and the creature he was after.

[skekgroodie]

The Age of Division - First Encounter (1/3)

The continuation, finally, of Yalvah's little story! Again, it's very summarized but I try to highlight the key points of her story and the questions she might have had during those times. I try to respect the original characters as much as possible, how they could have acted in those circumstances, but it's obvious that I have to shape them a little bit in my own way so that the story remains coherent with my Au! Also slight trigger warning: there will be mention of hunting, wounded animals, carcasses (no graphic details). I hope you'll like this new part!

Her first encounter with a Skeksis was while she was wandering around the west of The Endless Forest, noticing the changes that had taken place in such a short time. First of all, the fauna had become rarer, the larger animals had migrated to another part of the forest; and with them their predators. The flora was also not unchanged, some shoots showed strange deformations. She suspected that the presence of the Crystal Castle further west had something to do with it and hoped that the disease that was beginning to attack this area would not spread further. In order to better monitor the condition of her proteges she decided to camp in the area for an indefinite time. Every day she walked through this part of the forest looking for something, whatever it was. This is how she met her first Skeksis. During one of her usual walks in search of a group of Landstriders whose little one seemed to be in bad shape, she almost came face to face with a grotesque and deformed creature. They stared at each other for a while, gauging how dangerous the intruder was and whether it was right to attack. The beast looked like a bird mixed with a Rakkida with the tail of a Gizzizzy. This formless beast inspired a violent disgust mixed with a morbid curiosity; this creature did not seem to be in adequacy with the Song of Thra, it was as if it was this bad note which had so much disturbed the world. She made the connection quickly that this being was surely the fruit of the Split. They walked away in silent agreement, watching each other out of the corner of their eyes as they went their separate ways. Yalvah did not see him again for a while, only occasionally finding the remains of a nest where he had rested or a carcass. Her questions and curiosity grew as she found more and more traces of his passage. It was probably a predator, but its hunting style seemed very clumsy, like a newborn starting to stalk its first prey.

[fanfarescribe]

hii requests open i hear 👀 please... i need tekgra in my life ahuugh

TekGra! A rarity indeed! I'll be sure to try to do it justice!

Also you didn't technically ask for it but I'm going to include a song lyric anyways. Because this fits them too well it hurts.

Pairings: SkekGra/SkekTek, veeery implied SkekGra/UrGoh/SkekTek

Try to leave the past behind me But you just keep reminding me And threw it in my face so wrong wrong wrong

I try to see things your way but something changes everything And every question way too long long long

Something Different by Godsmack

(I know I'm taking some liberties with this such as the fact that there's no way that SkekTek would leave the Castle or even get to the Circle of the Suns in time but screw it. The movie and show took liberties with time as well. Also this is longer than I expected. Oops)

SkekTek hastily puts on his robes, trying to avoid stepping on all the frivolous art projects SkekGra has laying around the Circle of Suns. He's spent time here an hour too long, the Skeksis will find out he's gone, he needs to get back. He makes his way to the entrance of Grot, to the shortcut that SkekLi lead him through when he hears that grating voice he's come to feel conflicted about.

"Leaving so soon?"

SkekGra is leaning on the cave mouth, waiting for him the whole time.

"It would be a real shame for you to leave. UrGoh has really come to enjoy your company," SkekGra says.

"Don't try to guilt me with lies, SkekGra!" SkekTek snarls. "As if I want to spend time with the traitor and the imbecile who tamed him. As if a Mystic would enjoy my company!"

"Oh no. He does. If he didn't, you would know." SkekGra walks closer to him. "I have to wonder why did you come in the first place?" SkekGra asks, leaning a hand on the wall besides SkekTek, making the Scientist feel smaller, and yet...safe. "You specifically asked SkekLi if he knew where I was. Why?"

"I-I..." For once the loquacious Scientist is at a loss for words. "The Skeksis are livid with you after that stunt you pulled with the Dual Glaive."

SkekGra snickers, moving in ways that reminds SkekTek like a puppet. "I expected lividness."

"This isn't something to be taken lightly, SkekGra! There's talk of eradicating you!"

SkekGra grins only wider, SkekTek recognizes that look. He's nervous, but he doesn't say it. "So you were worried about me?"

SkekTek looks down not denying it. "There's no weaponry with you....." SkekGra tilts his head in response to that. SkekTek continues. "How do you expect to fight back without any weaponry?"

SkekGra snickers. "Well, you know me, SkekTek. I'm quite agile."

"So you plan to run away from the fight. That's not the Conqueror I know." SkekTek grumbles disapprovingly, but flinches back when SkekGra snarls.

"Well I'm not the Conqueror anymore, am I??" SkekGra looks at the timid look on SkekTek's face and takes a deep breath. He reaches out, and when SkekTek doesn't move back or pushes his hand away he takes his shoulder. SkekTek closes his eyes, expecting a blow, but receiving an embrace, much to his surprise. SkekGra's arms wrap around him, the scent of paints and wood reaching SekTek's nostrils. Not the scent he's used to. Yet he finds himself inhaling it.

"Forgive me..." SkekGra murmurs. He lets go and nuzzles his head on SkekTek's head. "You don't have to leave you know..."

"Yes I do." SkekTek instinctively says. "The Emperor needs me."

"So you can drain more Gelfling and Podling slaves?" SkekGra asks with a hint of disgust.

"Since when did you care about the Podlings as well?" SkekTek growls.

"Last week." SkekGra admits with a shrug. "There's a much bigger world outside the Castle, SkekTek. Even I'm still learning about it." He reaches up and pets his cheek. "When will you see that you are letting yourself burn up, just so you can keep the others warm?"

SkekTek leans in to SkekGra's touch and nuzzles the Heretic's neck feathers, prompting SkekGra to purr. SkekTek is shaking so SkekGra pets his back, rubbing his hand down his spine just how he used to like it.

The Scientist sighs and pulls away. "I can't. The Skeksis way is the only way I know." He turns and walks away, not looking back. He can't get used to the comforting touch. It holds him back.

"...Now doesn't that sound familiar?" SkekGra mutters, watching his Scientist disappear into the caves. He returns to the Circle and makes his way to the Canopy bed he shares with UrGoh. He curls up against the warm mystic, letting out a shaking sigh.

[soultek]

Love Bites (And So Do I) - SkekSo/Reader/Skektek (Dark Crystal: AoR)

Author’s Note:  Alright, like a whole year later let me post the fic that I made this whole damn blog for!!! And then didn’t finish until now-!

I mean I wasn’t gonna post it but then... I... This blog is literally called So(ul)Tek. These two are... why it’s called that. 

Anyway, happy to provide this fandom with some content (sorry it’s so late!) that’s for sure! 😊😊

Disclaimer: Age of Resistance/The Dark Crystal and all associated characters nothing to do with me / title taken from song of the same name by Halestorm / obvious female reader.

Premise: The arrival of a creature such as you to Thra attracts the attention of more than one Skeksis. The Emperor is quick to claim you as his, and will mark you as such. He can fulfill your every desire, but he does not own your heart. When you need love, to feel like someone in this strange land actually cares for you, you go to The Scientist.

Words: 1641

Warnings: alluded to sex / biting / mentions of blood / not really a poly relationship and yet kinda *is* a poly relationship. / monster kink (I guess!)

________

It wasn’t a good night unless you were bleeding. Unless you could wake up with marks. Jagged wounds from sporadically placed teeth, running from your shoulder down, in an arrow towards a sharper puncture mark. Your skin was so easily marred – such was the nature of your body. And the perforations ran on both your back and your front. Covering them was more of a problem. And sometimes that was because they were not meant to be covered – but to signal to others whom you belonged to. Not that they did not already know that, but on sheer number of teeth alone it was obvious as to whose bite had left indents in your skin. He couldn’t risk them over your neck – if he caught you just wrong then he would no longer have you; and that presented problems. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t scratch those talons across your delicate skin, and on occasion dig them into your neck; feeling your heartbeat as your blood pulsed through your veins. Life. Yours not eternal like his. But a life that could be his to give or take.

 Whilst he may well have had your fear, your respect, and every desire and carnal thought you’d ever had… he did not have your love. That, and your heart, belonged solely to another. And the Emperor only let you have that relationship because it kept you happy, and if your heart was happy… you’d come back to him at night for what you really needed. He just had to keep his court in check – though he would think the Skeksis to whom you gave your love would not dare step one toe out of line.

 It was a strange union – in that nothing would ever come of it. Foolish to think that anything would. You were not of Thra. And he was not of Thra either – but you were still not of the same world. He’d given up on that notion some time ago; but at least he knew that you would have a union with no other either… And yet it was something. And he had to keep you. You were as tall as the Lords of the Crystal, smart and sarcastic – holding your own against any one of them if it was called for. And agile, quick on your feet – if he called for you no matter where you were, you could be at his side in minutes. A fraction of the time he knew it would take any of his court. Almost as quick as Skekmal, in fact.

 As the morning light broke through the windows to the Castle you studied the lesions in the mirror. There was honour in being marked in such a way by the Emperor, and the sheer ecstasy it brought you under the cover of midnight… But running your fingertips over those indents the morning after, when your head was clear and there was no lust running through your veins, brought you a different kind of clarity. You would have to return to the one you loved most looking like this. And he would notice. Eventually. You may be able to hide them – but the Emperor would not allow you to cover them in his presence… Your eyes swept the room with a sigh; he had already left for court duties. Allowing you and your body the respite of sleep. You pulled your dress on and slipped quietly back to your own room, it wasn’t much, but it was still somewhere of your own. You couldn’t stay there too long, however, doing nothing more than changing your clothes before you made your way to where you really wanted to be…

 It was cooler in this part of the castle, making your way down to the lab, sticking close to the shadows and walls. You were about as wary of the Gelfling guard as you were any other Skeksis; and you certainly didn’t want to run into any of them so far from the Emperor’s side. You knew the temperature would change a little as you reached the Scientist’s workspace; here you were closer to the centre of Thra and the molten rock that flowed sluggishly through the heart of the planet.

You padded softly through the castle, and paused at the door with a smile to watch, as you reached your destination. He was already tinkering away, muttering to himself as he did so. You rested your head against the door frame, smile growing. As you listened a while you realised that Skektek wasn’t just muttering to himself, but he was grumbling. You wondered which of the others had set him off today – not that he ever needed much of a reason – and couldn’t contain your laugh well enough, as a small chuckle slipped out. This immediately alerted Sidetic to your presence, and the little green fluffball - whom Skektek called ‘friend’ - chirped happily at you from his cage.

The Scientist turned from his work with a huh, and his amber eye focused on you. “Oh-!” He placed his tools down and fussed with his clothing for a moment as he stepped back from his work bench, “Top Gear.” You weren’t sure exactly where this cute nickname Skektek had fashioned for you had come from, but it made you immediately beam. “I wondered if I might be able to help you today?” There was only a moments hesitation, “Surely the Emperor would prefer you to accompany him?” It stung a little, that hurt in his voice, even when he knew it had to be this way. “Not that he requested.” “So you have not cleared this with him?” Skektek took a step back towards his workbench. “I haven’t, but what I do with my own time is not of concern to him.” You voice was firm in it's conviction. “No, but you and I…” He trailed off wistfully and fumbled with his tools for a moment. “Perhaps you should confirm that you will not be required in court today.” “He would keep me there out of spite for me wanting to be here!” You crossed the room, begging him not to ask you to go. You needed Skektek now, you needed to feel loved - as if someone cared for your more fragile emotions, needs and desires.

Pushing yourself between him and his work, your eyes were determined, “If the Emperor wants me, he can come find me himself-!” “I-!” You cut the Scientist off before he could protest, “I’m staying. Relegate me to a corner if you must, but I would rather be useful.” There was a silence between you that you tried not to see as uncomfortable as his eyes searched yours, your head tilted, frown absentminded; you always worried about his mechanical one. Something you weren’t sure you could forgive the rest of his species for. You were a fairly good engineer, that much was true, but you also knew you had nothing on him – and everything here on Thra put you a little out of your depth. “Please…” Begging wasn’t beneath you, and your voice wavered the perfect amount, “don’t make me go.” Skektek was almost reluctant to say it, and he looked away from you again; “You can stay.”

Although relieved, you didn’t move from your position between him and the bench, and all of a sudden your emotions overwhelmed you, finding your eyes flooding with tears that you tried to keep from spilling. Startled by your first sob, Skektek recoiled, before - bringing his clawed hands up to nestle on your cheeks - giving his best attempt at wiping those tears away. “Now, now, there’s no need for that.” You gulped them back, hands upon his, not quite lacing your fingers together, “S-Sorry. I just…” You didn’t need to finish the sentence for him to know, and he lifted you up onto the counter top. Your clothing fell just a little more suggestively than you had meant, but you weren’t about to readjust anything at the significance of this pause.

You noticed the way his eyes lingered on your now exposed thighs, and wondered if perhaps you could make something of that. That you could be loved on now… that you could wash away the way last night was currently making you feel, now you were in this moment with him. You pulled Skektek into your body gently, planting a series of sweet, chaste kisses over his snout. The Scientist's movements were instinctive, even when his hands trembled the way they always did, and he began to inch your dress down your body. You couldn’t help the spike in your heartbeat, that tender flutter of anticipation you felt. Every. Single. Time.   He paused; hesitation apparent by the fading marks on your shoulder, across your chest and thighs. You would wait days between one and the other, just to hope that they would fade quicker. But they never did. “Please…” You pulled Skektek’s eyes back to yours, fingertips delicately ran his beak, “…I need you…” “But- I-” Try as you might you could not keep him from tracing his Emperor’s markings. And you swallowed hard. “Bite me.” “…What!?” The Scientist nearly recoiled at that. Why would you ask such a thing of him? Your love was delicate, you came to him to recover, to revel in being loved, for once. Not to be broken as you were upstairs. If you awoke with him - and it was always with him - he would curl himself around your body protectively, tail always wound around your legs. And when he slept with you in his arms tangled in his sheets, he emitted a sound not unlike a purr. And in this strange land, that was where you felt safest. That was where you felt like home. “Please.” You took his talons back in your hands, “Mark me. As yours.”

[nurloxx]

in which hijinks ensue

summary: the castle trio hatch a plan to swipe some sweets from the skeksis kitchen while getting ready for bed.

a/n: it’s about time i dipped my toes into polygelf. also the power of horny compels gurjin. happy valentine's day 💕

"You know, I could just... grab something for you two while I'm on my rounds. The cart always passes by my post on the way to the dining hall. It wouldn't be that difficult."

Rian shot Gurjin a look, keeping the Drenchen under his gaze while expertly undoing Mira's intricate braidwork.

"Well.... obviously, yeah. We could do it that way...." He trailed off, slowly letting his eyes shift back down to the Vapra sitting between his legs.

"But where would the fun be in that?" She finished for him, throwing a cheeky look of her own over her shoulder. Both of them burst into laughter at the sight of Gurjin's flat expression. Rian shook his head and put him in a playful headlock.

"Aw come on Gurjin! Where's your sense of adventure?"

If it wasn't for Mira's precarious position in Rian's lap, Gurjin would have already flipped the Stonewood onto his back with his wrists pinned to the sides of his head. Instead he settled for wrenching the arm from around his neck and trapping Rian in a headlock of his own.

"It left the moment I got my second strike during our last little "adventure". Or need I remind you myself?"

Rian let out a choked yelp, maneuvering Mira out of his lap as gently as he could manage before wrestling the larger Drenchen to the mattress. "You're really that scared of a little strike?" He asked in a mocking tone of voice, keeping their faces mere inches away from each other. It seemed almost purposeful, and Mira was quick to notice.

"Should I give you boys a minute?" She teased, now sitting at the foot of the bed so she wouldn't accidentally get caught in the tangle of limbs her boyfriends had become. Her last braid had since come undone, leaving her snowy locks to flow freely down her bare shoulders. Bare shoulders that harbored noticeable dark bruises and imprints of fangs on the freckled surface.

Unsurprisingly her words fell on deaf ears as the two continued their back and forth while simultaneously trying to claim the position on top. Gurjin was currently the one gaining headway.

"I'm not going back on kitchen duty, Rian! They make you clean up the scraps after every meal...."

An atmosphere of general disdain had permeated the room. Mostly from Gurjin and Mira's ends. Rian had been somehow fortunate enough to not have earned his third strike yet. Though the less than savory stories he'd heard through the grapevine had him looking between the two with an expression of slowly growing unease.

"Is it.... really that bad...?"

"Rian my love, I'd go into more detail but I don't feel like losing my lunch tonight." Mira sighed. "Besides, if this plan goes off without a hitch, no one is getting another strike on their record. We get our sweets and our poor Gurjin is saved from the scullery."

"I still don't know what impression you're under that I agree to any of this" Gurjin huffed, dragging the pillow out from under Rian's head and smashing it over his face. The muffled sounds of cooing and fawning could be heart from the other side.

"Aww pleaaasse Gurji?"

"We promise it won't be that bad!"

"You don't even have to do any of the dirty work! You'll just be there to provide the distraction long enough for us to-"

"No means no, you two"

That didn't seem to put a halt in their advances. In fact, it only gave them more fuel to up the ante.

"Gurjiiin..." Mira crawled forward and ducked her head down so that she could be heard as clearly as the pillow would allow. Rian watched with mild curiosity as she whispered something indiscernible to the Drenchen. Whatever it was, it apparently worked since not even a few seconds later did he sit straight up and give an affirmative nod in their direction.

"All right. I'm in."

The Stonewood gawked at his proclamation. He turned to Mira and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What on Thra did you say to him?"

The Vapra shrugged demurely. "Oh, just that we'd make it worth his while, no matter how successful this mission turns out. It's the least we can do for putting him in such a vulnerable position"

Rian did not miss the suggestive nature of Mira's tone, or the way Gurjin's face flushed immediately after the fact. If the point she was trying to make wasn't obvious enough before, it certainly became crystal clear to him when she placed a fair colored hand on Gurjin's broad chest and flirtatiously played with the lapels of his nightshirt.

"Ah, I see...." Rian's mischievous blue hues found his boyfriend's, and he smirked. "Sounds like we'll be getting a treat either way."

"Speaking of which," Mira suddenly pulled away from her mates and bent over the side of the bed. The two got a good long look at her.... assets as she rummaged through a compartment tucked under the bedframe. When she returned to their sides, a small woven sack was held comfortably in her palms.

"On the off chance the plan goes south and our stash goes unreplenished for a while, I say now is as good a time as any time to savor our remaining cakes."

As she spoke, she undid the drawstring and opened the bag to reveal three frosted tea cakes a little larger than the size of her hand. For as long as they'd been stowed away for, they hadn't acquired any staleness, and still tasted as fresh as the day they were swiped.

Rian chuckled, fishing out his own cake before tossing one to Gurjin. "I remember when this bag was nearly overflowing. There were so many cakes we barely knew what to do with."

"Oh but rest assured, we found plenty of things to do with them" Gurjin chimed in, purposefully sinking his tusks into the soft pastry with heavily lidded eyes set firmly on the Vapra sitting at his left. "Didn’t we, Mira?"

When the only response he got was an awkward clearing of the throat, he scoffed and scooted closer until their shoulders were flush against one another.

"Don't get shy on me now, Vapra. You'd have to have a pretty shotty memory to forget that wonderful night we had a few unums back."

Gurjin's voice took on a low purr, one that even Rian could feel rumble in his chest. When he looked over the Drenchen had taken some of the creamy white frosting on his thumb and was in the process of smearing it over the crook of Mira's neck.

"S-something tells me I'm about to get a refresher..." She stuttered, finding it hard to keep a steady hold on her own cake. It dropped into her lap as her fingers went to grip the sheets.

"More like a preview," He hummed. "If this plan really is as full proof as you boast it is, then we should have many more like it in the future."

His tongue was on her before she even had the chance to respond, lapping at the frosting rather ravenously until there wasn't a trace left. The little hitches in her breath and squeaks she'd let out were music to his ears.

"Oohhh I really hope this plan works Rian" Mira drawled breathlessly once he was finished, practically swooning as she slumped against the Stonewood's front.

He snickered. "For your sake, I hope it does."

Leaning in, he added in a husky whisper.

"I get the feeling you'd be very dissatisfied with either one of us being sent off for kitchen duty."

"The same goes for you too, missy," Gurjin's hot breath hit Mira's other ear, making her shiver. "I'd hate to think of all the fun you'd be missing out on while scrubbing plates and clearing that very messy dining table"

A pair of long incisors nipped at the healing bruises on her shoulders, and Mira groaned to herself.

It was going to be a very long night.

"Alright alright, don't get carried away now" She placed her hands on both their snouts and pushed them away. "Save that for after we make it out scot free. The last thing I want is to have a premature celebration. In the meantime..."

Rian and Gurjin chuckled when two pale arms wrapped around their respective waists and pulled them down onto the mattress.

"Cuddling will suffice just nicely"

They had no objections to that. The next day's excitement definitely called for a restful night's sleep. It was twilight when they had settled into their chosen snuggling positions - Rian spooning Mira from behind while Gurjin engulfed them in a hug from the front. By the time the moons had climbed to their peak in the sky, the trio would be fast asleep with nothing but pleasant dreams and a warm body to hold close.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

Why I like Tolyn and Seladon

Or, rather, why I love that the gelfling in AOR aren't all blameless victims. Because it makes them feel very real and gives the world a sense of context that portraying them innocent would not. Outside the movie, I'm glad to say that most TDC media does discuss the inherent flaws of the gelfling and their society. Jen and Kira were extreme outliers of their kind, simply because neither was raised in their own culture. As bad as the Power comics are, they still showed us how easily gelfling could turn dark and prejudiced. Of course, Creation Myths has us witness how happily the gelfling started looking up to the urskeks and not Aughra OR Raunip. In general, there is an inherent sense of superiority in gelfling that is present but never spoken aloud. Gelfling are 'the closest to Thra', they can fly and they can dreamfast and thus connect to the Crystal. They have been told they are special by Aughra, the urskeks, the urru and the skeksis. They are special, they are important. And they -know- this. The gelfling think of themselves as blessed and closest to Thra and act like it. Though they humble themselves in front of Aughra or any other authority figure, there still is a mentality of being at least second best. But Thra is not just the home of gelfling, their gods and a couple of aliens there are other sentient species native to the planet. If you were to ask these people about the gelfling, you would get an entirely different story. Podlings, Gruenak, Arathim and how many other species were put down not just by skeksis claw, but by gelfling hand happily aiding that claw. From fighting in skekGra's and skekVar's armies to supporting their other campaigns of oppression, the gelfling are not innocent. It is the reason why I strongly headcanon that the clans existed far before the urskeks arrived. Maybe Grottans later, but in general every clan lives in such distinct places on Skarith that it makes more sense for me that they needed no manipulation to form them naturally. In AOR, all of this was depicted and discussed beautifully. The first thing we see Rian and Mira do is to steal food from the podling servants and dismiss their concerns. This mentality towards podlings repeats in the Deterge, punishment for Vapra that involves washing podlings without their consent. There is also an underlying implication what the role of the podling at the Castle of the Crystal is. When Rian is arguing against skekSil, he uses the word slave. He mutters that gelfling are not skeksis slaves. But that then begs the question, who -are- the slaves? SkekGra's tone-deaf comment about Hup clears this up, the podlings. In that scene, notice how only the Grottan Deet disagrees with calling Hup a slave. Others seem pretty content just letting the remark pass.  Deet, as a Grottan, has had no direct contact with podlings before arriving at the surface. While the rest of the group have. Arathim face harsher prejudice, having been chased from their former home and thus having no love for the gelfling. Enough that they'd ally with the skeksis -just- to get their home back. The two Gruenak don't exactly fight back at being forced to drain gelfling as well. The gelfling are as much to blame for the wrongs committed on Thra as the skeksis. And only turn against the skeksis once -their- hides are on the line. It is selfish, but people in privileged positions often do not see oppression until it strikes them. Why this matters, is that the gelfling finally have the wool pulled from their eyes. There are no star-gods to rescue them, nor lords. Their way of life for 1950 trine is flawed and let them stay blind to the suffering of Thra and its creatures. The Resistance cannot just be the seven clans united it has to be -all- of Thra. Because no outside force can rescue them anymore, nor be the beacons of what they should do. The urskeks are gone, the urru prefer to hide and the skeksis are the aggressors. The most heroic urru died to take out a threat. The gelfling have to make their stand, and that is something new to them. Through that, they must remake their ties to the podling, the arathim and those gruenaks who remain. In a setting where creatures like the skeksis exist, it is easy to point at them and say 'it is their fault.' It is easy to ignore personal responsibility when you have something worse as an excuse. AOR does not do that. Instead, it gives us a good idea of why the empire lasted for so long and how much work the gelfling have to do to repair what they broke.

[skekos]

Here's the list of skeklings from my universe;

Well @absolutelythelargestbeefiesthog, here's the list of skeklings I promised. Let me know if any of them are good enough for your "absolutely amazing and perfect in every way possible" childling @skekguf or not.

SkekEssence: She is around 10 trine old, making her the oldest in this list. She is bright pink in color and has blue eyes. SkekEssence is the daughter of skekEkt and skekAyuk.

SkekRot: Only visits the castle occasionally with her so called mother and afew of their pets. She is 7 or 8 trine old. SkekRot is greenish blue in color, with pink and amber eyes. Her father is skekTek, but her true mother is unknowen.

SkekChald: He is 5 or 6 trine old, and he has dull purple fluff all over him. He is rather fat, and was cared for and named by skekLach. Apparently, the skekVar of my universe is his father, and he only exists because the skeksis of my universe wanted to see if they could make the biggest and strongest skekling possible without calling skekSa back to the castle.

SkekFluff: She is 5 trine old and is pale pink in color. Her eyes are also pink, as is her beak. We have no idea who her parents are.

SkekZiz: She is 4 trine old and has yellow and red feathers. She likes to hide in corners and pockets to spy on the others. She believes the skeksis are doing everything wrong. Whilst her parents are officially deemed unknowen, she shows physical traits of both skekEkt and skekSil.

SkekYan: He is 3 trine old, and often hangs around skekEssence. He has yellow fluff and brown eyes. He is the son of skekUng, although as of yet he still appears to be sort of weak.

SkekMas: He is pretty much the youngest on this list, being only 1 trine old. He is dark purple with reddish pink eyes. His parents are skekMal and skekSa.

Well, that is pretty much it. Let me know what you think of them, and if they are sufficient for your precious childling.

[gretchensinister]

Dark Crystal Vampire AU Part 2: AFTER THE SPLIT

Part 1

The argument about the success or failure of the ceremony isn’t resolved because none of the new skeksis and urRu want to stand around naked and covered in blood in the ceremony room. The skeksis bully the urRu until they all agree to say only that the ceremony didn’t go as expected. This allows them to leave the ceremony room to the rest of the castle, where the only other people present are very loyal cult members. (To make this work, AU SoSu had a castle for all of this to take place in.)

So the urRu and skeksis are able to clean up and get dressed (in their former URSKEKs’ clothing), the other cult members are gathered and sworn to secrecy, and they all agree to use the castle library to try and figure out what happened.

In this part with everyone at SoSu’s castle the urRu and skeksis are able to learn that each of them still looks enough like their URSKEK to mostly pass for them under dim light, but in daylight it’s disturbingly obvious that they’re not who they once were, nor are they human (for those who are able to entertain the notion that they might be meeting someone not human). Everyone fills in their memory gaps as best they can, while personal-type URSKEK memories fade until they don’t feel personally connected to the skeksis or urRu they belong to. The castle is not harmonious at this time. Every skeksis and urRu feels like there’s something wrong about their situation. The skeksis blame the urRu, the urRu become more withdrawn, there’s no answers for what happened in any of the books they have, and life just...itches. Something is missing.

What’s going on of course is that they’re all getting thirsty again. The urRu try to ignore this, while the skeksis are talking among themselves about how to go about it so it can still be secret (they know that even among loyal cultists, banking on everyone ignoring a murder isn’t a solid idea). Also they’re pretty sure they need to convince the urRu to also drink because otherwise won’t they all die?

Let’s say SkekSil persuades one of the cultists to sacrifice himself even if he’s not totally clear what that’s going to entail. Anyway, it’s all done as ceremoniously as possible but it’s still 32 vampires and 1 human. They all feel better after drinking from him, but a) it obviously wasn’t enough and b) that guy is still dead. (It’s like maybe 6 oz each if the guy was tall and they didn’t spill any and they’re getting every last drop out.)

The next phase is short, like only a couple weeks. The urRu and the skeksis talk to each other very little, but they’re all talking much more among themselves, trying to figure out what they’re going to do. The urRu feel that drinking human blood is deeply fucked up, but, like, they are starving. This is the point where they learn that animal blood does nothing for them. The skeksis are just trying to figure out how they can get away with draining some more people without the urRu knowing.

The skeksis very quickly reach the point of “well, what are they going to do? We’ll just close the door and not invite them to our blood party.” But it gets out of hand, details details details, and in the early hours before dawn the urRu are all fleeing the castle; they know they will get worse if they stay around their other halves (and yet it’s still painful to leave).

Part 3

Part 4

[pinestripes]

you must lift your head, chapter two (TDC: AoR)

If you prefer, you can also read this chapter on AO3 and on FFN. 

Ordon is such a dad, I don’t make the rules. As mentioned, the title of the fic and all chapter titles come from “Father to Son” by Phil Collins. 

Chapter Two: 

you won’t be alone

Ordon trudges through the forest with Deet and Hup. His two new companions have been mostly quiet, a thick cloud of anxiety hanging over them. This is likely in no small part to the thunderous aura he knows must be emanating from his own form. He has been trying not to take his fear for his son out on the poor girl or the podling, but he doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job at it.  

While his every nerve had screamed for him to chase after skekMal with all his strength, logic had won out quickly. He could not catch up to the larger, faster skeksis, especially not one so adept at hiding his tracks. Instead, he had asked Deet where she and the podling were going. When she had explained her vision and quest to go to Ha’rar, he had chosen to go with her. His honor would not let him leave a young, untrained gelfling to travel alone through the unfamiliar surface  (even if she did have a noble, spoon-wielding podling with her). Besides, he thought, perhaps the All-Maudra could lend him forces to storm the castle and rescue his son—or, a tiny, traitorous voice in the back of his mind supplied, take revenge.

They finally settle for a rest. As they sit on a couple of boulders in a shady spot, Ordon can tell his companions are weary by their heavy sighs and slumped shoulders. He winces inwardly—perhaps in his state he had not thought to slow down for shorter legs. 

His attention is caught by Deet’s movement as she pulls out a jar of something and unfurls her wings. She carefully pulls the left one in front of her. Picking up a little of whatever is in the jar with her fingers, she begins to rub it along her wing. 

When she winces, he asks, “Torn wing?”

Deet jumps a little, startled. “Oh! Yes. It happened when I was bitten by the darkened nurloc.”

“So you’ve been traveling on foot?” 

She nods, a small, gentle smile appearing on her face. “It’s alright. If I hadn’t been, I probably wouldn’t have met Hup!”

Hup gives an exaggerated shudder. “Egh.”

Deet giggles. 

A thought occurs to Ordon. “When you came to my rescue—” he starts to ask, but Deet cuts him off.

“Oh, don’t worry about that!”

“But doing that—did it make things worse?”

Deet squirms under his enquiring gaze, and he can already tell that she’s going to try and downplay what was probably a serious aggravation to her healing injury. “It’s alright. It will heal, and I was still going to be traveling on foot anyway.”

“Hm.” He decides to let it go. She isn’t a childling who needs to be scolded--and she especially doesn’t need to be scolded for throwing herself into danger to rescue his sorry life. He tries to put a damper on his fatherly instincts. 

As they set out again, it becomes clear that their little conversation has made Deet feel more comfortable approaching him. She tentatively does so, walking more alongside him than behind, reminding him to slow down a little. She and Hup make conversation about the creatures they see and the caves. Ordon listens with interest and even occasionally provides a comment, his heart lightened a little as he focuses on the task at hand and not on the heavy knot of worry in his chest. 

He finds himself asking, “What of your family, Deet?”

Deet, who has been explaining to Hup how she feeds the nurlocs, turns to him. “Sorry?”

He winces at having interrupted her but forges ahead anyway. “Do you have family?”

She lights up. “Yes! I have two fathers and a little brother named Bobb’N. We’re nurloc farmers, which is why we’re in charge of feeding them. Our house is pretty deep underground, since that’s where the nurlocs like to live best, but we aren’t too far away from the other Grottans—” 

She continues on, babbling stories of the caves and her childhood, and he finds himself smiling, just a little.

[thebibliomancer]

Shadows of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 20

Shadows of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee because Naia is at the castle!

Last times on book: Naia was on a journey to Ha’rar to defend her brother from a treason charge until Tavra told her to go home. Naia decided not to go home, had a fight with traveling companion Kylan, had a spooky time in the woods AGAIN but this time with the Hunter stalking her, and arrived at the castle!

Chapter 22

Naia enters the castle and is present for a very weird and confusing conversation between Tavra and the Skeksis. Things just keep confounding this poor Naia.

Naia reached the castle!

There’s a picture! It does a really good job selling how small she feels - and is! - next to the castle.

The path of engraving snaked around the warped castle base, below the extended leg-like buttresses until it finally arched in again, leading to an enormous set of thorny doors that made Naia feel like nothing but a fly at the mouth of a gate made for giants.

That’s some good scale.

Also, Tavra is also at the gate and Naia is like ohshit but also ah ha.

Because she might get in trouble but this confirms to her that she made a good, smart decision to go to the castle because its where her brother is.

Instead of getting angry, though, Tavra only paled in the bright gold torchlight. Her eyes widened, and she gripped Naia’s shoulders.

“Naia, in Thra’s name, what have you done?”

The urgency and fear in Tavra’s voice took Naia by surprise.

Tavra, what do you know?

Also, there’s a shadow to Shadows of the Dark Crystal that tells Tavra’s story and its gotta be mostly Tavra fretting about this child who keeps throwing herself into danger while flipping the double birds.

I’d like to read that story, honestly.

The doors groan open and Tavra desperately grabs Naia’s cheeks (making a stupid sandwich?) and tries to dreamfast with her.

Naia realizes that Tavra is trying to tell her whats going on but refuses the dreamfast and declares she’ll hear the truth from Gurjin instead.

Tavra tries to dreamfast again but the Chamberlain shows up. God only knows what he makes of one gelfling grabbing another gelfling’s face.

Lets get some good Skeksis prose here.

Seeing the creature sucked the breath from Naia’s lungs. Although she had seen Lord skekLach and Lord skekOk in Sami Thicket, it had been from a distance. Now, tall and decorated, here was another standing before her, so close she could smell the musty sweet perfume that saturated his robes and oily skin. His cloak and mantle were propped high above his head with a complex structure of ribbed boning, adorned with jewels and shining metals.The cloak itself was crimson red with beaded patterns in black, studded here and there with furry black kiznet tails. Protruding from the mass of shining fabrics and extravagant ruffles, the Skeksis Lord’s pale-eyed face dangled off a long muscled neck, sinewy lips pulled back in a wide smile as he took in the Gelfling standing before the gate.

Tavra immediately stops squishing Naia’s face, I assume, and falls into a kneel, dragging Naia down into one too.

Which is a bit I always appreciate when I see it in visual media. The person who doesn’t know or doesn’t care about etiquette dragged down by the person who does.

Tavra also claims that Naia is her retainer which is surely to be a road to hilarity.

Also, why is Chamberlain answering the door? Is that... what his job is?

When he spoke, his voice was high and bleating, almost in singsong as it resonated through his hornlike face.

“Katavra!” he cried. “Daughter of Mayrin! Come, come! Retainer, yes! Bring, bring! Everyone in!”

Geez, that is top-notch dialoguing. I can hear that in the movie and series voice.

Also, ha Tavra’s full name is Katavra.

Kind of makes Brea the odd name out with Seladon and Katavra on the table.

Naia is kinda screaming internally as she realizes that Tavra is the All-Maudra’s daughter and feels stupid for not realizing it all along. Story of Naia’s life.

Ahead, Lord skekSil weaved back and forth in eccentric zigzags, as if his two feethad differing minds of their own, in a constant battle to dominate his trajectory.

Sil, are you really so tricksy that even your feet are at odds? Whats going on with you, man?

Naia can’t be mindblown about Tavra for long because then she gets mindblown by the opulence of the castle which she had long imagined.

Two long tables were arranged in a cross formation, draped in gathered silk sheets and dozens of runners and linens. Metal platters overflowing with squirming savory-smelling delicacies were lined up, one on top of the other, barely leaving room for the goblets of wine and glass decanters that poked out of the banquet settings like saplings. Banners and curtains in gold, red, coral, navy, ivory, and white dropped from the high vaulted ceiling like sails, drawn and bunched in an array of textures and colors with braided, tasseled cords and chains. Seated at the banquet table, in feasting thrones resembling the hands and fingers of the castle itself, were the purple-skinned razor-beaked Skeksis.

And their table manners are about what you’d expect from the movie.

So, wait, not only did Chamberlain answer the door, he answered the door during dinner?

Guy lost a coin toss, didn’t he? ‘Someone go get the door!’ ‘Make Sil do it!’

Story of his life, right?

Naia also notices a pair of guards at the dining hall door but they’re so silent and unobtrusive that she wouldn’t have noticed them at all if she hadn’t been wanting to see what her brother’s duties looked like.

“Gelfling! Gelfling! Silverling and Sogling!” cried Chamberlain skekSil. He held their shoulders and shook them slightly, as if giving them motion would attract the attention of his brethren.

‘Pay attention to meeeeeeeeee’ - skekSil.

The other Skeksis are confused and suspicious that the All-Maudra’s daughter is here but the Emperor tells them to shut up.

He was not the largest of the Skeksis by size, but the immediate response his sharp voice garnered carried more weight than any of the others were willing to contest.

Then he spills soup all over himself. Or more like his various jewels dip into stew as he bends over his food.

The Skeksis experience: grand, terrifying, a little messy!

Naia is panicking because she didn’t expect to be in front of all the Skeksis, she expected to deal with underlings. And here she is in front of the lords, covered in mud from her run through the spooky woods, and with Tavra desperately trying to tell her something.

Whoops. Too impetuous.

The Emperor questions why Katavra is here and also looks at Naia and basically goes ‘is this a gurjin?’

Did the Skeksis know their guards so little they mistook her for her brother? He’d hardly acknowledged her, much less looked at her long enough to realize she was a girl.

Tavra says that Naia isn’t one of the guards that the All-Maudra was asked to find. So the Emperor asks why Tavra is wasting his time instead of being out and looking.

“I wished to directly report to you, Your Greatness, the status of the assignment with which you have so honorably endowed us.”

“Waste of time!” Emperor skekSo repeated, so harshly the spines along the sides of his head jutted out like quills on a muski. “Gelfling are the ones causing problems, so Gelfling the ones that do the fixing!”

That sure is an argument.

But hey, Tavra said that Gurjin had been found and held captive and then came to the castle where the Skeksis are like ‘hey why aren’t you finding gurjin?’

What do you knooooooow, Tavra?

The Emperor tells Tavra to gtfo, get back to work, and search everywhere for the troublesome missing guards.

Tavra uses some etiquette judo though, saying of course she’ll go back out and search but I mean geez there’s a storm tonight and all and of course the All-Maudra would happily extend the search if she knew it had the support of the Skeksis.

The Emperor starrrrrrrres at Tavra and then goes yeah fine leave first thing in the morning but make sure you search all the places specifically outside the castle.

“To Ha’rar, to the Silver Sea. To wherever, and for however long it takes to find the traitors. Let all Gelfling know they are nothing but lies. We love Gelfling, we do, we loves them, of course, but traitors... No one loves traitors, Silverling... No one.”

This fits with a thought that Naia has that the Emperor seems weirdly defensive about some Gelflings spreading lies. But what could it meeeeean.

Tavra dismisses Naia by using the retainer ruse to order Naia to go prepare a chamber for her while she stays in the dining hall for a time.

Naia realizes she’s being dismissed but not out of contempt more excuse for her to leave.

Also, one of the Skeksis is just staring at Naia.

A familiar watching, like holes burning into her back. At the far end of the room, one of the lords was poised with his claws laced together, chin resting on his thick bony knuckles, red eyes fixed on her. His cloak and garb were all in black, giving him a countenance that seemed too wicked to befit a lord, or perhaps it was just the way he watched her.

... Is this skekVar? Whats your game, General?

So, yeah, Naia is happy to take the excuse to leave when some of the Gelfling guards come to take her to the All-Maudra’s guest chambers.

... with all the restraint she could muster, she fled, feeling the weight of the Skeksis’ stares on her shoudlers even after the doors to the banquet hall had closed.

Oof, tense conversation, amirite?

Castle isn’t so great as your imagination, I guess, Naia.

[skekshroom]

What will SkekSo’s dream wedding will look like when he marries his beloved?

A grand affair! (In my fic Leave with me, I talk about how the 3 week pregame to the wedding)

also like. spoilers for the entirety of the entire blueprint for that fic lol.

If all things go to plan, your wedding will be an extremely elaborate and ecstatic rite. The wedding is three weeks long. Every week a phase for each sun. In the first week, Preparations are made. Your throne begins construction.The castle is cleaned and decorated, summons are sent out to the outer court, the maudras of each clan are notified. You’re briefed on your roles (etiquette for meeting the outer court and interacting with subjects as the new Sovereign before and after your title is officiated. A skeksis is appointed as your wedsmaid, basically your attendant throughout the duration of the wedding. They will keep you company, keep you groomed and keep you looking sharp and updated on information you need. Briefing you on what you need to know for the next day, who you will be interacting with and how, etc etc. 

In the second week, the outer court should be arriving, and festivities begin. There is a grand homecoming feast where you and the rest of the skeksis meet. The next day will be a day of leisure with the court. The third day is spent alone with your fiance. The rest of the court will be off catching up, but you and SkekSo will be sharing quality time together. The fourth day you spend separate from each other. You both spend it with the other skeksis, before the fifth day when a large party is thrown. Its a big, debauched party full of much merrymaking. The next day begins late after everyone sleeps off their hangover, and is spent mostly in the spas. 

The next week begins with more preparations being made. All of your belongings are moved into the Emperor’s chambers, which have finished being remodeled to accommodate you. Your throne is complete. Then, the festivites move to the sector of the castle where gelfling are welcome, and a feast is held with esteemed guests. The Maudras, captains, and gelfling nobles are invited personally. There is a feast, gifts are received. The next day is for the discussion of policies and politics between the rulers of the empire and the gelfling figureheads. Afterwards, a much more public ceremony is held on the fourth day. This lasts until the fifth day. Afterwards, begins the private wedding. The gifts from the outer court are finally revealed. You thank your wedsmaid for taking care of you. There is a ritual officiated and overseen by the Ritual master, and you two are formally bonded. The festivities are kicked off into full swing. The wedding’s run is complete, but it only truly ends when the rest of the court leaves.