#and ylfa is maybe always a wolf?

[feelingtheaster99]

“That’s not the type of story this is.” Powerful words, Brennan

[cottoncandybitchfuck]

Neverafter

“Because you were lied to does not mean that everything was a lie. Do not take the crimes of those who have manipulated us and put them at the feet of the world." -Cinderella

“The real friends, the ones that make miracles happen, the ones greater than any treasure you could find on any adventure, they see the wolf in you and love it too.” -Grandma 

“Purpose, true purpose is always down the scarier path through the darker part of the forest.”-Grandma 

"You are seeing something you absolutely should not see, the face of a divinity you do not worship, the smile of a devil you never believed in." -DM Brennan

“The face moves as though no expression of contempt can satisfy it.” -Brennan

“Real? I don’t give a shit. I don’t come from a nice story. I believe in you, and I believe in me, and I think we’re just real enough.” -Scheherazade 

“The thing that’s approaching you, It’s not as vast as what you perceived in the ink, but it’s closer to that than it is to you. And the problem with this thing is that unlike the things in the ink, it’s getting bigger, and it’s getting angrier. And it knows you.” -Brennan

“As the Gander and Goose have their powers within the realms of the Neverafter, times of shadow, times of plenty, the wolf is death which is endings. Which in a land of stories endings are perhaps the most important thing.” -The Fairy with the Turquoise Hair

“I met death, and death wants me to live! I don’t want to go back to my other story where I listen to my fucking elders!” -Ylfa 

“Gerard has already lived his story, and what happens after happily ever after is that more things happen, or I’m just going to be a two dimensional piece of paper.” -Gerard 

“Do you think that you found true love, or do you think you just found the first person that could turn you back into a prince?”-Rosamund

“Don’t learn lessons from my torment.” -The Gander

“Sometimes when you feel like your whole point is to be a helper, you just have to help at any cost, and that’s pretty unhelpful. Sometimes I didn’t have a good answer, and I should have just said that, and I’ll do better to just tell you when I don’t know.” -Cricket

 “You don’t get beginnings without endings, okay?” -Ylfa

“Some things simply are, and in time, all things will end. But if you fear that you have made a pact with something that cannot live within your heart, then what comfort i can offer is this. In no corner of the long ages of all the worlds that i have walked, have I ever for one moment felt the desire to devour everything.” -Big Bad Wolf

“Sometimes things are too late to be rewritten or undone, but there are more blank pages ahead of us, Little Red.” -Big Bad Wolf

“There is no story you can begin without making the promise of its ending, and only strange and very dangerous things try to make a story that never ends.” -Big Bad Wolf

“It is a deep and unsettling dread when you realize that you can, by taking charge, cause harm. It is an even deeper dread when you realize that in taking charge, you will cause harm. You will not make every perfect choice, and the fear that you will make some choice that does some wrong within the world is exactly what your enemies are hoping will stop you. So, we do as best as we can to do as good as we can, but not to let the Neverafter fall into the fate that the faeries intend for it.” -Snow White

“I think the story that’s happening now, I’ve come to learn, will maybe lead to something better. Because you’re right stories don’t just end.” -Gerard

“I don’t think you get love just by deserving it.” -Rosamund

“Everyone you ever knew who told you they would keep you safe as long as you behaved was already hurting you.” -La Bete

“All the finery in the world, is just a mask…” -La Bete

“Live your life without apology, little girl. It is never wrong to tell the truth about what you are.” -La Bete

“It’s never too late to decide who you want to be.” -Tom Thumb

“How convenient that in the moment of learning the lesson, you no longer need to have learned it.” -Brennan

“Because either all the bad things that happened to you were random, just chaos, hundreds and millions of choices of other people that just have nothing to do with you and your own story, or all the bad things that happened to you were destined to happen.” -Cinderella

[radiocrypt-id]

You know, I thought Ylfa was tragic and sad like all the Neverafter characters are in their own way, but I think I'm wrong.

Hear me out.

Ylfa's story diverges from the canon of Little Red Riding Hood when the Woodsman doesn't come by. But he doesn't just not come by that day, he doesn't come by for weeks. Unheard of. He visits all the time, brings wood and forage for the Grandmother, she'd freeze to death at night if he doesn't come by, it's part of his job or just a dude being kind to an elderly woman, enjoying the sweets or soup she makes him as thanks. But he doesn't come by. For weeks he doesn't stop by. And we don't know why, maybe he was hurt or sick, but we know he wasn't dead because the Second Story Ylfa goes and kills the woodsman. Can't kill what's dead. So he's alive, presumably doing fine and healthy, but he doesn't come by. The one person in the story that's supposed to protect Little Red and presumably the village people from wolves just doesn't do that. The one Ylfa is told will always protect her if she finds trouble doesn't protect her.

She waits for weeks for a man that never comes. A hero that won't save her because he's too busy doing something else. And while she waits, the Wolf waits with her. He doesn't chastise her, doesn't provoke and antagonize her, doesn't jeer or make fun of her for waiting for someone he knows isn't coming. He kindly waits in silence, watching over her in that tiny cottage. He's honest when she asks what happened to her grandmother, tells her gently but firmly it was the old womans time to die, but not Ylfas. Death looks this little girl in the face and gently tells her it's not her time to die, even as she yells at him that the woodsmand will come and cut him open, he's gentle and kind with her. When she demands he kills her already, since no one is going to save her from him, he refuses. Death refuses to take Ylfa, even as she waits for it, even as she demands it take her, Death will not do it. What's more, he tells her how to save herself, offers her his own strength, provides a way for her to be her own hero in this story. Hunger and despair eventually drives her to obey, and later she is horrified of what she's done.

Ylfa then runs home, sobbing, terrified, crying out for her mother, her siblings, her grandmother, anyone at all to help her. She's drenched in Wolfs blood, body trying to transform against her will. And what does she find at her home when she gets there? Besides a rightfully terrified mother and siblings hiding in the dark home? Because we know, in the story, that the wolf can take someones shape and trick people into coming close so he can eat them too, of course they'd be afraid of Ylfa, their presumably dead Little Red Riding Hood, showing up drenched in blood begging to come inside and dragging jagged claws along the windows and door. How are they to know it's really her? No one ever survives the Wolf. No one. Let alone one sweet little girl or her elderly grandmother. So what does her terrified family do? they try to kill the Wolf.

What's worse than all that? What's worse than them being understandably afraid of the Wolf at their door? The fact that they didn't have a funeral for their beloved Little Red. That they didn't acknowledge her death at all. They removed her place from the table, didn't make her a place of rest, didn't go looking for her or her grandmother. Little Red didn't come home, they assumed she died and they moved on immediately.

Something terrible and traumatic happened to Ylfa, something that effected her for the rest of her life, something that completely altered her. She searched for someone to save her, but no one would. She reached out for help and understanding from her family that supposedly loved her and they forgot her, attacked her, ran away from her in fear and disgust. Something changed Ylfa forever, and everyone she ever loved left her behind for it. Everyone, except Death. Death which did this to her, which whispered her name, gently caressed her soul, and refused to claim her. Death that told her she would be all the stronger for it, that being monstrous isn't evil or bad. That she can use his gifts, his curse, to defy him, fight him, maybe even stop him.

"I'm the Big Bad Wolf," Death says calmly, his hot breath warming her as he speaks.

"I'm Big and Bad now too, though," Ylfa whispers back, lips still trembling and face damp with tears.

"Then you just may be able to stop me, Ylfa," Death smiles, eyes crinkling at the edges "I encourage you to try."

Death wanted Ylfa to live. When everyone was fine with her dying, or preferred she be dead to what she became, Death wished for her to live. When even Ylfa has wanted to die or stay dead, Death lead her home to life, comforted her, encouraged her, forgave her for wanting to die before her time. Death was so kind and gentle with this sweet little girl, so honest in his answers, so soothing to her grief. He empathized with her confusion and pain, told her it was normal to feel the way she does, not just for the loss of her grandmother, or the abandonment of her family, but for what she's become. Because Ylfa is grieving herself as well. What she had been, what she could have grown up to be had the Wolf not come. Ylfa mourns for herself as much as she mourns her Grandmother.

He promised to take her one day, but only when it was her time, not a second before or after. In that way, she would never die alone, because Death would be there with her. The Wolf would always be with her now, forever and always. He would never find her monstrous or evil, he would never run from her in fear, never curl a lip at her in disgust. And Death, too, would never be alone as a result. Some of him is always with Ylfa, in some way.

I think some of us need this specific kind of comfort. Some of us need Death to look us in the face and say "No, not yet little one, try again, you can do it... Here, let me help you."

Some of us need someone, even Death, too look at how monstrous we've become because of what's happened to us, or how we were made, and be kind, and gentle, and meet us with such patient love as to refuse to let us go, even when we want to let go, even when everyone else has.

Ylfa met Death, and he wanted her to live. Death was dying, and Ylfa saved him.

Death met Death, and together they decided to Live.

[geometricalien]

BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN HAS NO RIGHT TO BE MAKING ME CRY OVER THE CROSS FROM GIRLHOOD TO WOMENHOOD WITHIN THE STORY OF YLFA "LITTLE RED" SNORGELSSON

Ylfa: Do you sometimes devour things that aren't people, because like I kind of feel like there's a part of me that's dying, as I become more like this wolf. Like, maybe it's the little girl, like the little girl is dying and right now that feels really scary. Is that gonna be good someday? Are you responsible for that?

Big Bad Wolf: In a sense. I have been there hungry and waiting and the end of every story, but I am in you, and in a sense, the part of you that is the wolf has already begun to devour the you that you can only remember.

Ylfa: What do you mean by that?

Big Bad Wolf: The little Ylfa that wandered into the forest to look for flowers was always going to be eaten, by me, or perhaps even... Or perhaps by you ... Do you not think in some way your grandmother devoured a little girl that used to walk through that forest as well?

Ylfa: ... Did she start a new story like me?

[thevalleyisjolly]

Something about Neverafter and consumption, devouring as an act of survival, defiance, fear.  Stepmother faced with the unbearable horror of her existence, ripping her teeth through every might-have-been and was-not and gorging herself on the endless, infinite glut of every story that forever binds her, a cosmic ouroborous.  The Baron of Bricks, who lived once and then ate, ate of industry and steel and arms and bricks, ate of Death itself, so that all that he fears, all that once made him feel small and inferior, he takes into himself and tells himself that now he lives, now he is stronger for it.  Candlewick, trapped in the nightmare of twisted childhood, turned to cannibalizing children just as the island has always done in its own way of sticky-sweet forbidden promise.  La Bête, taking apart every sinew and joint of her captor and this is no banquet but it is more than sustenance, it is victory, of a kind, to take what imprisons you and eat of it, to take its power over you unto yourself so that it cannot hurt you again.

(What they don’t tell you is that it doesn’t stop hurting in the first place)

((If consuming your misfortunes and devouring your prison is supposed to be a victory, the proof that you have taken the power over you and made it part of yourself, why have you never felt more cornered, more afraid, more desperate, more trapped?))

And then Ylfa.  An offer, by one who has eaten, will eat, will be eaten.  She takes what seems to have torn her life asunder, wolfed it down as it wolfed her Grandmother down, becomes the very thing that made her who she was, and lives.  Except.  Except there was an offer.  There was an offer and a choice, and maybe it was not the eating but the choice, willingly given, and a decision, willingly made. 

Eating, not as an act of survival but as an act of life.  Not gnawing away at the bones of your monsters until they can no longer hurt you, until you have proven your utter victory over the dust of their marrow, but digging into a proffered feast that may or may not have been meant for you but is nonetheless given to you so that you might eat and live.  Living not to consume, not to take what you please because it is there and you can and you need to or perhaps you just fear you will be the one devoured otherwise, but consuming as a part of life, taking your fill of what you need, of what is given to you for that very purpose, so that you may find yourself in the act.  Not just eating, but eating well.

All things are consumed in the end.  I love you.  I want us both to eat well.

[brionbroadway]

The path feels wrong under Ylfa’s feet.

It always has, but that feeling used to live only in her mind, and now it’s infected her body too. It’s easier to accept, the same way a broken bone is easier to accept than fractures of the brain.

She goes onto all fours and into the forest, understanding its danger in a way she didn’t the last time she made this choice.  It still feels like home: the texture of the leaves reminds her of her grandmother’s quilt, the noise of the animals reminds her of her grandmother cursing during gin rummy, the smell of the trees reminds her of her grandmother’s cinnamon toast rolls.

She gathers and hoards the memories, because she knows what she has to give, and she knows the Baba Yaga knows it too.

Ylfa is distracted by a young girl on the path, bright red cloak standing out against the green of the forest. She watches her eye the wildflowers, and wonders what they remind the girl of. Maybe it’s not something she knows yet; maybe it’s a promise of her future rather than relic of her past.

Ylfa blows the girl off the path, and questions if Death did the same to her. Perhaps she needed a reminder of what was to come to make the right choice for herself.

She chats with the girl, and she is as familiar as the forest. She asks her name, and the girl cannot say it.

Ylfa remembers watching The Stepmother eat her grandmother, the second time she’d watched her be consumed. Strangely, she seems like more of a person now that Ylfa sees her as a girl than when she only knew her as her grandmother. She may not have a name in this story, but she still matters in it, and in Ylfa’s story yet to come. Ylfa takes comfort in that.

Ylfa understands her role as her grandmother leads her to her own grandmother’s house. If she is Death, she is glad to walk alongside the one person who won’t judge her for being that. They see the wolf in you and they love it too. You’re not a monster. You’re not.  

Though, she was speaking of Ylfa’s friends, and they’ve confirmed what her grandmother said. Rosamund insisted they stray together. The frog prince—Ylfa can’t vocalize his name in her mind, and she can’t think about why right now—told her that maybe she is exactly who she needs to be to survive in this world. Pib not only rescued her, but sat with her after he did. Timothy told her she could never overstay her welcome. Pinocchio started snowball fights with her, and that was classic preteen friend—maybe even crush?—behaviour.

In holding onto her grandmother’s memory, Ylfa was also holding onto who she is to her grandmother. A rebellious child, who does not follow the path the world wants her to, but is loved all the same. She wants to be someone who loves like that, and when she considers her love for not only her friends, but Little Miss Muffet, Mira, The Golden Goose, and even The Big Bad Wolf itself, she hopes she’s making her grandmother proud. She hopes she’ll continue to even after she forgets who her inspiration is.  

If that is who she can be as Death, she is glad she will be the one to walk people to the end of the path.

[noddaduck]

Wish Rumplestiltskin had been in Dimension 20’s Neverafter. He’s the one of few villains whose name is the title. It’s technically his story. He might be powerful enough to know he’s in a story and have memories of other Once Upon a Times. He canonically rips himself in half in some versions of his story.

Honestly, he was my self insert as I watched Neverafter. I always make up a character and imagine they are in there when I’m watching D20, and little Rumplestiltskin, AKA Eiman Imp always holds on to that glass necklace and glass ring he takes from the miller’s daughter. He’s grown attached after all this time, he always wants to help her normally but can’t. Whenever he doesn’t die by his own hand at the end of the story he has to flee the country.

He’s got the hermit background so he can have already died and gone through other Times before the story started and the characters met. He has to break away from his innate deal magic to make his own unselfish decisions every new Time, but after all this time he’s learned magic through science and is a wizard. When the whole group dies he’s already done this before and might actually know the rest of them are doing it too now. He hops into the new Time right at the end of his story and manages to get the ending where he just flies away on a comically large ladle, so now he gets a magic item for flying.

He knows how bad it is to be a villain, even if he doesn’t know what it’s like to be a side character. Once he gets his book, he figures out how to make deals with his villainous role. He tries to heal the Little Mermaid, writes out a whole contract. Maybe it works. He sacrifices the party’s memories of him to Baba Yaga, but makes sure to leave whatever character growth they might have gotten arguing “it belongs to them now, they used me to make it, I don’t own that so I can’t give it”. He wanted so badly to choose to be kind and be loved for it, a life made by actually being the self that has grown outside the narrative.

When the story is over and everyone is traveling toward the new story he veers of just a little bit to the very beginning of time, saves the dinosaurs and becomes Arthur Aguefort but with ADHD instead of Autism. He goes up to the very first sentient beings as soon as they have the basics of communication down and hands them business cards with Eiman Imp on them.

When the Miller first starts bragging about his daughter spinning straw into gold Eiman dumps a pile of gold fibers on his head and ensures the story simply never happens. He gets deal magic back but he can use it for good and be creative with prices. Somebody dies while Eiman is hanging out with the Big Bad Wolf and Eiman brings him back in exchange for all the “interesting times” in his future, thus ensuring the man can go back to his family and live the most normal, non-disastrous life ever. Somebody else has to figure out that’s what Eiman did cause he never tells. If any of the other party members reach out for his help he is already there. Roselyn wants a spinning wheel for practice? Button of Summoning Infinite Spinning Wheels. Ylfa can have a dinosaur.

[saingirl101]

My continued neverafter ep 14 thoughts (Spoilers):

Before going to bed I had a lot of thoughts about the reveals in ep 14 and the impacts it has in the story and how to relates to earlier reveals.

First off I am immensely glad tim never gave the book to Snow White and the group was on alert doing their first meeting with her. It is now very, very, very clear that would have been very bad and it would have likely been impossible to get it back.

Second the interaction between elody and gerard. It is clear on reflection to me that Elody likely knows about the princesses plan. I think Elody was always on the verge of depression (like shes kind of autistic coded imo and as an auti myself we are very comorbid for depression/anxiety) and gerard death caused her so much grief it was the final straw. But Gerard coming back, apologizing, wanting a better future with her creates a wrinkle there. It makes sense that Elody asked for time to think. I think the convo introduced second thoughts for her.

Finally, we have the idea The End. We know the wolf represents the death, the end, the finality of stories. But we are introduced to an interesting dichotomy, in which the wolf wanted Ylfa to live and the princesses want everyone to experience their end. I am extremely terrified for the wolf now that both Ylfa and Tim mentioned The Hungry One (lol shout out to acoc) was responsible for getting them to the lines between. I think ultimately we might get a showdown between the girl who death wanted to live and the princesses who want to end/

Also something something destiny's children are the main characters from the good place and i believe the auroatory is going to become checkov's gun in this case. Because maybe the kindest think would be letting those who chose to go back into the comfort and purity of the oral tradition of stories and letting others choose to stay in their written forms to try and make things better.

[stormlit]

couple of lil bg3 aus that have been rattling round my brain:

ylfa. human werewolf, wildheart barbarian. you know what every party of assholes (affectionate) needs? a 12 year old werewolf barbarian who is just a little girl who has gone through the most Fucked Up Horrors - and she wasn't even infected with a parasite. she's learning to cope with the monster inside her, she's insisting that she should be fighting with the party (and the worst part isn't that she is a great fighter and built to soak up all the damage, it's that no adult in her life has ever stopped to say "hey maybe this is a step too far for this literal child"). is pretty sure she's slowly becoming the figure of death as well as a more corrupted wolf. she can be a travelling companion but can also just be found at camp, training with whoever else is there and hanging onto gale's stories. she's obsessed with withers. you lose her approval fast if you're shitty to kids or animals.

georgie. human, paladin, oath of the ancients. a soldier (from wherever in faerun has the mancunian accents lmao) who has spent her career healing, doing whatever she can to help innocent people around her, definitely the folk hero background. being kidnapped by the mindflayers was NOT her first kidnap and torture rodeo, and she's already dealing with that by the time the plot starts, so she seems extremely calm under pressure (but you might catch her fully losing it in camp once they're safe). she's a reckless, compassionate, extremely good aligned character who is ignoring all her own shit for the sake of the mission. also think her shitty ex will reappear at some point for her personal quest if she's in a companion role, but idk for sure how it goes yet and by default i'll probably have her be the tav, that fits her a lot and she's an excellent leader. she's not a fan of the illithid powers and fully does not want them.

nynaeve. healer-focused druid, probably a half-elf? she has a tadpole in her brain, she has a block when it comes to using any associated powers, and she is NOT happy about it. she also has a block when it comes to using high-level spells that she has to work through. once the chief healer and sort of leader of a village outside baldur's gate that got overrun by orcs and other monsters, she barely escaped with her life when one dragged her out as a spoil of battle and was spending her time in search of four of her friends who also got led out by a mysterious magic user right as the battle hit its peak when she got yoinked by mindflayers - finding her friends in the city is her personal quest. she's extremely magically powerful but it's almost always tied to strong emotion and she's yet to control it, though there's a group in the city who want to help (and use that power for themselves, in her view). blunt, fierce, extremely driven by her morals and doing the right thing.

[shcmook]

Neverafter has been one of the craziest seasons of Dimension 20 on a lore level but there’s still a lot we don’t know about the true goals of the many villains or how they connect to each other. so I made this

LIST OF FORCES AND FACTIONS IN THE NEVERAFTER RANKED ON HOW LIKELY THEY ARE TO BE THE TRUE BIG BAD OF THE SEASON

(Updated through episode 8)

Mother Goose’s Book

While sucking people into the book at first appeared to be a thing that Timothy was unwittingly doing TO these people, I think it’s become clear that Tim is genuinely helping these people. Same with Scheherazade. I think the two of them are, pardon the pun, on the same page. And the rest of their two groups of adventurers are on the right trail to fixing the problems in their worlds. More or less.

The Big Bad Wolf

Listen I understand ranking him this early on the list may be controversial but like? If any of the villains of the original stories is as much a victim of the times of shadow as anyone else, it’s the Wolf. I do not think that a being representing Death and The End would be a true villain in this kind of world. That doesn’t make sense from what I understand of Brennan nor this world he seems to be building here. Plus like. We KEEP getting more and more hints of something bad happening to the wolf? And it’s not framed as a good thing? PLUS Ylfa’s storyline ending in her still rejecting, rather than accepting the part of herself that is the wolf doesn’t make much sense imo. All signs point to the Wolf being a positive, albeit hungry, force in this world.

The Spiders

Obviously they took up a combat episode but. Anything evil about Muffet has I think been dealt with at this point. Her and itsy bitsy are good guy creepy crawlies. No true evil here.

The Princesses

I’m pretty sure the princesses are also good guys. Cinderella definitely is. But they also seem to have their own goals and agenda that we don’t know much about? I’ll be MAD if they are all ultimately villains though.

Aesop

A little mean but he seems harmless. Mostly. Like the Fairies he seems to have a very specific way he thinks things SHOULD be, but his worldview seems very descriptive rather than prescriptive. He believes in morals very strongly because his world has informed that, not because he’s made it that way. But… enough of the similarities to some of the other villains are there that I felt I should rank him separate from the other storytellers. Like. Remember when his Lion just had blood dripping from his mouth as he said he didn’t know what he ate? Something’s fucked up with the realm of birds and beasts dude it’s not just me being wary of Lawful Good characters. Or maybe it is idk.

The Staff of Between the Lines

Its possible they may have unwittingly overseen some kind of revision to the narrative or held to some rules that have allowed corruption to take root. However I do believe that Key and Legend are good people doing their best to help, and the library itself seems to be a good thing in this world. (Or… outside of it?) At worst they’ve been somehow manipulated by darker forces to do evil in a way we do not yet understand.

Lord Bandlebridge

Member him? Imagine if plot twist he was the big bad the whole time lol. Shoeberg was always kind of a scummy place from what we’ve been told but seems ultimately unimportant to the big picture. Not a good guy. Probably not a villain we’ll see again.

The Fox and the Hare

Pib, while a little bastard, ultimately seems interested in upsetting established order in a way that benefits the small, poor, and kind people of the world. The other tricksters don’t seem to… get that? I think they play tricks for selfish reasons, and simply to cause chaos respectively. I think that’s why The Cat seems to be keeping the other two in check during the times of shadow. Because pure selfishness and chaos actually uplift the established order instead of subvert it now. They’re def not secretly the big bads or anything but I don’t think they’ll totally get what Pib is doing with Mother Goose. If they show up again there will be conflict I think.

Ogres, Witches, and Giants

We have yet to see any of these kinds of creatures but all three have been talked about and play roles in various characters’ backstories. I think, like Fairies and Princesses, they have their own goals for the world. But ultimately they’re probably also mostly victims of the narrative casting them as villains. Currently there’s no reason to think they’re anything more than symptoms of the Times of Shadow though. They’re not a real faction vying for control of the multiverse.

The Seven “good” Fairies and the one Wicked Fairy

We’ve only actually seen 3 fairies total. The Wicked one, the Godmother, and Turquina. We know there were 8 fairies at Rosamund’s birth (in the second timeline). Maybe there’s more fairies but if so, why are so many playing different roles in so many different stories? I don’t think this is a race of beings but rather a small group of incredibly powerful individuals who came together to bend the worlds of the Neverafter to their desires. And well. that’s bad, mmkay? They’re definitely not the good guys that most of them appear to be. But here’s the thing. They’re losing. They like the Happy Ever Afters. They like the smiles and the songs. They like the family friendly morals. And the times of shadow are fucking with all that. The fairies are definitely bad but I think they’re secondary antagonists to the rest of this list.

The Authors

I have three theories for the Authors.

they were meant to be implied lore, like The Bulb in ACOC. A thing that hangs over the story but ultimately exists outside of it. The implication that ACOC is inside a refrigerator is never directly acknowledged nor important to the plot. But in Neverafter, Ally rolled a nat 20 the one time that would result in us learning a fragment of this greater reality and Brennan went cosmic horror with it. If true, this theory means I’ve ranked these beings too far in this list, as they aren’t actually directly affecting the plot themselves. They write all stories and this is simply one of them.

The Authors are the true villains. Bad things happen to good people because that makes a good story and for good times to return, we must kill the Gods that wrought all suffering and create a new world on our own image, free of torment and pain. Or. Something. Idk killing beings that are essentially gods in this world seems a bit… JRPG? But maybe that’s where we’re going? If so I’ve not ranked these beings far enough in the list.

There is a near infinite number of these beings. But only seven have their eyes on this particular version of the Neverafter. Six have given their powers to our heroes. One has empowered all of their enemies. The fairies, tricksters, ganders and stepmothers alike. This one devil will never show his true face to the heroes, but instead, through these various factions, seeks to tear asunder the world of Stories the others have sewn together, and that the heroes seek to protect. The heroes won’t be able to fight a cosmic being, whose very words are gospel within this world. But empowered by these other Authors, they can defeat the parts of the narrative under his control. In this way these beings are not themselves the true villains, but rather like a force, without which no character has any agency. If this theory holds, then as a group they are ranked just right.

The Gander

The Gander and the Times of Shadow are one and the same thing. We’ve known this for a few episodes now. The bad times. The destruction of the narrative structure that dictates the rules of this very reality are coming undone. That is itself The Gander as I understand it. That said. I refuse to accept that the final boss will be a mean goose guy that grants wishes but at a price. That can’t be… it. Not in the Horror season. So as much as the Gander is cosmologically at the root of what’s going on, I think it is just a part of a more sinister whole.

The Stepmother

I wasn’t originally going to put her at the highest spot bc this seems too obvious but. she is currently the only person that really makes sense as an actual villain that can be fought AND is cosmically large and scary enough that she seems above everything else. There’s a lot of mean and scary things in the Neverafter but nothing so far is as mean and scary as the stepmother and the more we learn about her the harder it gets to really imagine that there’s something meaner or scarier than her waiting.

Prove me wrong, Brennan.

[not-actually-human]

hmm 👽🫂💔 abt any of ur silly blorbos :]

hi!!! um thats hard. im gonna go back a bit and pick ylfa snorgelsson, from d20s neverafter!!

👽 A headcanon about a weird quirk of theirs

even though the wolf is gone sometimes when she gets mad her eyes turn bright yellow and she growls. but it happens sooo fast that people usually think theyre imagining it

🫂 A friendship headcanon

while i think pinocchio is probably her best friend for their childhoods i wanna talk about her and rosamund because they remind me of me and my older cousin :) their dynamic is so sweet and post campaign i think every couple months ylfa takes a trip and stays with rosamund for maybe a week and they have sleepovers in the living room and paint eachothers nails and gossip and bake things and just like have the time of their lives. its like a way to make up for the teen girl experience they both kinda missed out on

💔 An angsty headcanon

a part of her always feels partially empty. like the wolf is gone now, that part of her became death and all that. but its impossible to feel like a real person (especially as a teen girl) without that small bit of you thats monstrous. and thats gone now and she doesnt know how to feel

[mcrcki]

Was that [KAYLEE BRYANT]? Oh no no, that was just [YLFA SNORGELSSON], a [CANON CHARACTER] from [DIMENSION 20’S NEVERAFTER]. They are [EIGHTEEN] years old, use [SHE/THEY], and [ARE] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

how long has your character been here -

like maybe a week??? if that???? they kinda lost track of the days and have fully been sleeping in the park just trying to figure out what’s going on so, it could be three days, could be a week. idk

what is your character’s job -

a job????? they’re a mess of an eighteen year old, who was aged up from a pre-teen. they do not know what they’re going to do for work and probably wont for a while. she will most likely just idk steal things for a little bit? 

where has your character been pulled from in their fandom -

so, since i am still currently watching the campaign , they are going to be pulled from episode 5. they have gotten to the second story but i will be updating as i make it through the campaign

has any magic affected your character -

yeah, a fair bit, but not memory wise! beyond having aged up from being like eleven/twelve, they have also been made to look almost completely human. instead of their wolf like form, they are just a normal looking teenager, minus their eye being bloodshot. they are not vibing with looking like more human since they were starting to get used to the wolf side of them, so it’s just unlocked a completely different struggle for her

other notes -

hello , i should not be allowed to watch new media because i will absolutely want a character from it. especially when they are as iconic as my girl ylfa. anyways, imma ramble for a little, there will be some vague spoilers for neverafter until episode 5 so, just a heads up

ylfa snorgelsson is little red riding hood, and a little bit of the big bad wolf?? their nickname is ‘red’ , they would also accept red riding hood, little red, or just ylfa. no one calls them anything but ylfa or red, but they’d like it

total grandma girl - favorite games and gin rummy and bridge (normal kid games), loves oatmeal cookies, v much looks up to authority figures and wants to be A Good Kid

they are too feral and highkey messy to be a good kid, but they are trying. they slip up but they want to be useful, and good and brave. 

she does have constant “pink eye”, one eye is like always just looking rough 24/7 im so sorry. also sounds constantly congested. it’s just her voice, but that’s the best way to describe her voice???

(the pink eye is 100% from over exertion its not actually pink eye. it’s just from being young and small and raging to grow like three times her normal size!!!) 

otherwise v human looking,, no wolf paws or ears anymore. she wanted to be normal, but now they kinda miss it? definitely don’t know what to do with themselves now that they are not like obviously werewolf?

she has not gotten super mad / raged so she has not shifted to grow in size and get a more ? werewolf appearance , so look out for that if they ever get pissed

but if you know the story of red riding hood, you know the basics for ylfa, except for the fact that when they went home after finally leaving their grandmothers after she was killed, ylfa was distraught, and then their mother wouldn’t !! let !! her in the house !! 

there is a whole scene, where it’s p much alluded to the fact that ylfa killed her entire family, because when her mom finally let her in, her mom set a trap to let a silver dagger stab them !!!!! they were eleven !!!!!!!!

so ylfa did the whole “huff and puff” thing, and killed their whole family. 

they thought ylfa was dead and was the wolf trying to get in, but ylfa had a whole breakdown of like ?? if she was dead, where was her funeral?? why did they have such a nice sit down dinner if they thought she was dead????

pls someone just give this child a good family structure. 

that’s p much where the events of the campaign pick up, so ill update this as i watch and get more information and such

as of right now, they are here in dc, absolutely alone and don’t really know how they got here, how to get back, etc. they think that maybe?? they died during the fight they were going into, and this is a different story? that they’re in a different neverafter. 

important things to know : they are the bravest little girl in the world and will tank all damage for their party bc they’re the best thank u

connections :

✩ friends

pls be friends with them , they’re a total mess but are incredibly loyal and really just want to have?? another group of friends their age. they don’t really have that, and never have? 

also if you are an authority figure, they will probably hang around trying to get you to play card games with her

✩ roommate 

literally just someone to get her out of the middle of the park

like someone pls take a stray child home or something

✩ werewolf characters

hi pls show them being a wolf really is a good thing in the end 

✩ maybe a doctor

girl has fleas, pink eye, just a whole mess of wolfish issues, someone pls get them to a walk in or a vet

[stormlit]

❝ huh. ❞ ylfa chews her lip as she walks, thinking it over. she wishes mother were here; he would know what to do with all this information, he could write it in his book and make magic out of it. maybe help stop this upside down being so wrong. all ylfa can do is hit things...and become kind of messed up animals. she's not sure either is particularly useful, here, and she doesn't want to scare her new friend. they are friends, right? ylfa's not really an expert on making them. ❝ in my world, we call it the times of shadow. where everything's dark and wrong, and everyone's getting the bad endings to their stories. except there, it's the same world, not a separate one. but it sounds like the same, right? it's gotta be the same. ❞ maybe it's all leaking into each other?

she's really not the smart one. ylfa doesn't know why she ended up here. but elle is nice, and she's glad she did. probably. it might be really bad, at home, and she doesn't exactly trust gerard to protect timothy the way she would.

if she's being honest, ylfa doesn't quite follow elle's family, or naming journey, or whatever it's called, but it seems sensible to keep learning what this world is like, so she listens. ❝ my best friend's my grandma. she's called ylfa too, i was named after her. she's dead, ❞ she adds, as casually as she can. ❝ a wolf ate her, so i ate the wolf. i mean, after he told me to. ❞ when they get back to elle's cabin, she's probably going to expect ylfa to take her cloak off, given that it's wet through; maybe it's best that ylfa start sharing a little about herself, first. she doesn't think little girls here have wolf ears, but she does.

❝ oh. it looks like home. ❞ it looks like her grandma's cabin, without the little garden, the net curtains on the windows. it looks like any other cabin, really, but ylfa had no idea what houses here would look like. this is familiar. ❝ i'm always hungry. i hope it's because i'm about to have a growth spurt and take the next step on the puberty ladder. i like eggs. ❞

        “kind of,” elle replies. “the upside down is...like this place, but wrong. dark and bad.” in truth, she doesn't fully understand how the upside down is connected to hawkins, or how big it is compared to the world. is there an upside down chicago? an upside down new york? she doesn't know, and how could she. she's gone farther than that in the bath, so maybe those places do exist. maybe there is an upside down paris.

        she pushes her way through the trees, careful not to let any of the branches whip back and hit ylfa. “not everyone is a number. just me.” the others in the lab had been called by numbers too, of course, but she hasn't met anyone from outside the lab who is. “my boyfriend is called mike, and my best friend is max,” she explains. “my name was jane, first. before papa took me, and called me eleven.” a pause. she's not sure why she's sharing so much so fast. “elle was mike's idea.”

        as they head back out of the deep woods, elle clicks the flashlight on so they can see where they're headed. “i live with my dad in a cabin. his name is hopper.” she glances back at ylfa. “he's asleep now, so we should be quiet going in.” the cabin comes into view, the beam of yellow light passing over the front porch. “are you hungry? i can make eggos.”

[lettersofwrittencollective]

The Pull (Deleted Scene 1)

Author: @lettersofwrittencollective

Pairing: None

Word Count: 555

Prompt: “My sweet Natters 🥰 can I please get a little blurb about Natasha’s first day back home to heal? What it’s like for her to be reunited with her family and maybe if she’s wondering why she hasn’t heard from stiles?? I always wondered how she felt that he never texted her!” - @nicole-lynne Please note this is only thefirst part, there is a second deleted scene!) 

<<Prev || Masterlist || Deleted Scene Two || Next>>

Sighing in relief, Natasha made her way through the terminal. Her movements were slow and her body was sore… In fact, the soreness had intensified into a thrumming pain the further away from Beacon Hills she got. 

Aaric was right there with her. She figured that he’d either noticed it in her movements or could smell the change because he’d become quite protective. 

Isaac, Argent, and Ethan are grabbing the luggage before the small group makes their way to the Ragnulf Home. 

Home… 

Natasha found it interesting to think of home being with her father, brothers, pack… but without her mate. 

It wasn’t long before their small group was in the SUV’s and headed towards the house. 

Curling up beside her brother, Natasha watched as the city faded away and the trees became thicker. The closer they got to home, the stronger the relief. Being on pack lands, being so close to others that could carry some of this weight was a gift. 

Not having Stiles here made it somewhat bittersweet.

Hopefully, the regiment that her father’s emissary wanted to throw her on wouldn’t take too long and she would be able to make her way home soon enough. 

Allowing herself to get lost in the hum of the conversations around her and her brothers’ soothing scent, Natasha finds herself in that place between awake and asleep. 

The shrill call of a raven pulls her attention and Natasha finds herself sitting on the Nemeton again. 

Glancing around, it takes a moment but she sees the old man after a moment, smiling at her. 

“My child,” he smiles at her as he reaches out towards her. She knows who this is and instinctually, she reaches out towards the All-Father.  He has her wrapped in his arms, and he can hear him murmuring, “You did so well my child.”

Being wrapped in Odin’s arms is the same as being home. She simply allows herself to be held in his arms and as she does, he murmurs reassurances to her. 

She’s not sure how long the All-Father holds her but she feels better for it when her eyes open again. This time, she’s in her room at home. Smiling softly, she moves to sit up in bed but a grunt escapes her as her body pulls and she realizes that she’s still sore. 

As she groans, the door opens and the scent of four people is a welcome invasion as her brothers, Theo, and her father walk in. 

“Ylfa,” her father breathes out as he crosses the room and sinks onto the bed next to her, pulling the girl into his arms. 

The young wolf practically launches herself into her father’s arms... 

A moment later, the bed dips under the weight of each of her brothers. One on each side of the bed. As she pulls away from her father she in turn hugs each brother. 

The reunion lifts her heart as she holds each of them tightly to her. A moment to breathe and it’s enough for her. 

“Carina,” she hears and she looks up to see blue eyes that are so relieved at the sight of her.  Pushing herself up, she makes her way off the bed and, slowly, she moves over to wrap her arms around her oldest friend. 

“I’m okay,” she whispers to him.

-

<<Prev || Masterlist || Deleted Scene Two || Next>>

-

A/N: As this is part of our Welcome Back The Pull event, the fic is definitely more of a drabble... hope you enjoy!

Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24 @nicole-lynne @mummybear @emichelle @genius2050  @suhoey  @fullangelimagines

The Pull Taglist: @xceafh @n0rdicstar  @theholydestiny  @treestarrrrrrrr @delacxurs  @redsalv20  @truthdaze  @cutiepiemimi13  @unoriginallysara @the-three-eyed-ravenclaw   @linktomyheartpiece  @sasha-obrienn  @piccasoe  @msrawog  @eternallyvenus  @fandom-princess-forevermore  @michellebarista  @lostinwonderland314

All Dylan Stuff: @yaya2503 

Could not tag the bolded

Do not copy and paste my writing anywhere without my consent. This work is the property of lettersofwrittencollective . Associated characters belong to MTV and are being borrowed for this work, all OC’s are the property of lettersofwrittencollective. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

Posted 16 February 2020 

[lettersofwrittencollective]

The Pull (56/?)

Summary: The Ragnulf’s are one of the oldest lines of werewolves known. A gift from ancient times was gifted to them. Though not all of the line will experience it. There are some who will experience a Pull. This Pull leads them to their true mate, a soulmate. The problem is, just because the wolf finds their true mate does not mean that they are the same for that person.

Author: @lettersofwrittencollective

Pairing: Stiles x Hale!Cousin OC (Reader)

Word count: 1955

Warnings: Character Death, angst

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“Scott,” he hears Argent call, “Scott, look at me.”

It takes the younger alpha a moment but eventually his eyes move over to the older man and Alaric watches as he’s coached through what to do when the police arrive. Looking around he sees Isaac sitting with his sister and her mate. She’s still in her wolf form and Stiles is leaning heavily against her while Isaac’s hands are running through her fur almost as if he’s trying to anchor himself to something. 

“Don't get specific, Scott,” Argents voice grabs his attention again, “You saw something sharp and metallic. You think it was a knife.”

Argents coaching the boy further, “What do you say next? If you get confused, what do you always repeat?”

It all happened too fast… He thinks the same time that Scott responds. It’s what he would tell the local authorities, even at home. There are things that the human world will never understand. Things that cannot be explained to those that would choose to keep their eyes closed to the world around them. 

Making his way over, he felt the calming vibrations and realized that his sister was doing what she could to soothe both her mate and her friend. A small, sad smile pulled at his lips at the gesture.

“Ylfa,” he called out and watched as she turned her head towards him, “We need to get everyone else out of her. They’ll be calling the police soon.”

She nods her head and pushes against Stiles, trying to get him to move. It takes him a moment to focus but he eventually nods his head and stands up with Ylfa’s help. As she moves to stand, Isaacs's hand falls almost limply from her fur and she turns to him, licking his face with a whimper. 

“Ylfa,” he calls and when she looks at him he looks pointedly at Stiles. 

She seems torn for a moment, her eyes flicking from Isaac to Stiles for a moment before she looks at her older brother. Alaric walks towards his sister and, dropping down, he pulls her into a hug. “It’s okay… I’ve got Isaac. You need to take care of your mate,” he whispers in her ear before pulling back. 

You’re not sure how but you’d ended up at Kira’s house. Changing in her room, you find that in your human form, you have a harder time breathing. Gripping Kira’s dresser you can’t get Lydia’s scream out of your head. You knew the name...

Allison

You knew the person and while you hadn’t been friends long, she was still your friend. You try to focus on your breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth. In through your nose out through your mouth. In through your nose out through your mouth.

Stiles needs us, she reminds you and you nod your head, straightening your back and making your way back towards the living room. 

“No, chamomile tea,” you hear Noshiko saying and turn the corner to see her handing Stiles a  cup as she says, “Drink it.”

“He’s not safe here,” you say as you cross to stand next to him. 

“He’s not safe anywhere,” Noshiko tells you and you narrow your eyes at the older woman. 

“How does one manage to lose their last tail?” you ask the woman and watch as her face pales.

“I didn’t even realize that it was gone,” she whispers but before you can respond, Kira’s cut in.

“But Allison killed one of them,” she points out. “Doesn't that mean something? She killed an Oni.”

“How is that even possible?” Stiles questions Noshiko and you place a hand on his shoulder, 

 “I'm not sure how,” Noshiko responds and you sigh softly. 

“But she did it,” Kira points out and you can hear the underlying hope in her voice, “She killed one of them.” 

Your own heart soars at the thought that, your friend was able to take at least one of them out. You fully intend on holding their creator responsible for the creatures, however.

“Yea- and then they killed her,” Stiles points out and before muttering, “Now I guess the only good thing is it looks like I’m dying too…”

Growling softly at him, you grip his shoulder as you remind him “you’re not allowed to die.”

Brown eyes look up to meet yours and you can see an apology in them but you’re not particularly interested in the apology. 

“I mean it,” you remind him, your voice soft but firm in that moment.  You’re not actually sure what you would do if this one died. And it’s not even the fact that he’s your mate, it’s how he makes you smile and how he cares so passionately about the world around him. 

You’re getting lost in the depths of him when Noshiko’s voice pulls you back and catches your attention, “He made a powerful move by separating the two of you.”

“Wait, didn’t Stiles make the separation?” you question, “Wasn’t that why me and Scott went in to begin with?”

Noshiko shakes her head at you, “I don’t know. But Void is old, I doubt that it was as simple as that.”

“So then what’s our next move?” Stiles asks, trying to get back to the moment at hand, trying to figure out how to beat this thing. 

“At this point,” Mr. Yukimura speaks up, “You’ll need a divine move.”

“Which is?”

“In the game of Go- it’s what we call a truly inspired, or out of the box move,” Noshiko points out. “The Nogitsune has had sente, the advantage, until this point. What you need is a divine move in order to turn the game around.” 

“Alright, so is anyone feeling divinely inspired?” Stiles quips. 

It occurs to you that there was someone who has fought the Nogitsune before and been able to at least stop it, looking towards Kira’s mom you ask her, “How did you trap it last time?”  

Kira seems to see where you’re going with it because she picks up, “You put it in a glass back didn’t you?” she asks her mom. 

Noshiko nods her head, “It wasn’t the jar that trapped it. It was where I buried it.” 

She doesn’t elaborate on the where and just as you’re about to ask her about it, Stiles cuts in, “The Nemeton…”

Noshikonods her head, “It’s a place I don’t know too much about.”

“Well, who does?”  Kira asks and eyes turn towards you. 

Shaking your head, you point out, “We have a nemeton on our lands but it’s not… it’s never been cut down. I don’t know that it’ll be the same as yours...”

“What do you mean?” Stiles questions and you shake your head. 

Sighing, you move to sit on the arm next to him, “The nemeton is sacred within the supernatural community. Especially to any pack creature that works with or alongside druids. Druids use them for rituals and the nemetons allow for a certain level of strength among the supernatural. My family was taught that they are representations of Yggdrasil and that to harm one would bring fires, plagues, strife, death, and destruction of all kind to surrounding lands. The nemeton on our lands is sacred… but this one… this one was cut down and I don’t… I don’t know how mad it is…”

“So who would know about this one?” Kira questions and the room falls silent for a moment.

“Deaton,” Stiles says after a moment, “Deaton would know.”

“Is he going to tell us?” You ask and Stiles nods his head slowly, almost as if he’s unsure of the answer. 

“Maybe you should ask Aaric if he has any idea…” Stiles points out after a moment and you nod your head, pulling your phone out and calling your older brother while Stiles calls Scott. 

It feels like it’s been years later, though he knows it’s only been a few hours, when Alaric pulls up to the Argent’s apartment complex and walks Isaac and Chris Argent up to their apartment. Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere among both of the males is somber. Argent, however, is able to compartmentalize. Alaric watches as Argent methodically goes about opening the door to his apartment. Each movement deliberate and slow, like he is focusing on just that one task. Isaac, on the other hand, is a mess. He’s holding back tears but the boy is shaking like a leaf and once the door is open, Argent turns to them.

Clearing his throat, Argent’s eyes look from Isaac to Alaric and he takes a deep breath, “I appreciate the concern, but you don't have to stay.” He steps back from the door, though he doesn’t motion for them to enter, he also doesn’t close the door in their faces. When he speaks again, it sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself than he is anyone else, “I'll be alright. I've dealt with this before. I have a capacity and…” his voice breaks and Alaric is tempted to reach out to the older man but knows better. Argent clears his throat again before he continues,  “An ability to compartmentalize my emotions.”

“I don’t,” Isaac whispers and both men turn to look at him as the young wolf’s tears fall. Alaric moves towards the young beta but Argents closer and has pulled the boy into his arms as Isaac breaks down. 

Isaacs sorrow is uncomfortable not only in the air but in the bonds and he can feel the restlessness of the others. His father already called to make sure that things with Ylfa were okay and was currently making arrangements for Allison's funeral. As Isaacs sorrow filled the room and traveled through the bonds, Alaric allowed himself to try and soothe the boy. A soft rumble is heard through the room as the vibrations begin and slowly, Isaac and Argent both begin to relax. 

Green eyes meet his and Alaric can see the question echoed in Argents face and nods his head as he mouths the word, pack. Before much more can be asked, his phone is going off and, recognizing the ringtone, he quickly answers, “¿Que paso?*”

“Kira’s mom says she trapped the Nogitsune in the nemeton last time. But this one’s been cut down…”

“The sacrifices though,” Alaric began and was cut off by his sister, “I remember… think you can dig anything up on what might work as a substitute?”

“I’ll look into it, but we may not have enough time to actually find something,” he warns. 

“We have to try…” she responds before he can hear her sigh, “and Aaric… Stiles was saying that Deaton would know about the nemeton here.” 

“Of course,” he grumbles before telling his sister, “I’ll take care of it. You take care of things on your end. Love you Ylfa.” 

Hanging up the phone, he runs a hand through his hair, expelling a large breath he turns back to Argent and Isaac, “I need to go have a conversation with a Druid… Argent, can Isaac stay here for the time being?”

Argent nodded his head once before Alaric crossed to the beta and gripped his shoulder tightly, trying to pass whatever comfort he could before he walked out of the room. 

The sound of clicking hisses grabs Noahs attention and he turns away from Parrish to see the same black-clothed, silver faced creatures from the other night in Derek's loft. Before he can even say anything one’s already sunk their blade into Deputy Harris and a flurry of movement his eyes can barely keep up with.

Screams echo as black smoke fills the room and he can feel Parrish next to him as they move together.

-

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Could not tag the bolded

Do not copy and paste my writing anywhere without my consent. This work is the property of lettersofwrittencollective . Associated characters belong to MTV and are being borrowed for this work, all OC’s are the property of lettersofwrittencollective. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

Posted 16 September 2019

[stormlit]

❝ no, karlach. ❞ the weight of the world may as well be on ylfa's shoulders, for all they are slumped, her words heavy and weary. maybe she should agree, just because karlach said something. but adults aren't always right, and what good did being the placid, obedient little girl ever do her, huh? she'll listen to people like karlach because she respects them (and karlach is, after all, the most awesome person ylfa's ever met), but that is earned by deeds, not age or authority. fuck the rules. fuck doing what she's told. fuck authority.

and so karlach is wrong, in ylfa's mind, and she can tell her that, and it will be okay. because the heat in karlach's chest might as well be made of hope, it is so fierce and so bright and it almost burns ylfa, who found herself in the darkness of the shadow-cursed lands, who has a wolf in her chest raring to be let out. ❝ they won't want to be me. i'm the monster in the tale. i'm the one they lock their doors and hide from. ❞

but the monster is quiet, now, and she is just a tearful little girl who lets her axe clatter to the ground, anger spent. ❝ i thought the wolf would come, ❞ she admits, wiping her face on her sleeve. ❝ i-i know that's dumb. i know it's in me. i know it's not out there. but when i died, before the last light, he was there and he walked me to withers and— ❞ she doesn't hate him, the wolf. there have been times she's hated what he made her, but not him. is it weird to sometimes talk to the creature that sort of killed you and remade you in his image, even though you killed him?

some things can't be killed that easily.

❝ you came instead. i think that's better. �� abruptly, ylfa hugs karlach, unafraid of any heat as she wraps her arms around her middle.

she doesn't perceive her anger as pointed towards her — she understands what it's like to have anger boiling, burning, expanding until she can't hold it all in. ylfa is still only a kid, and where adults sometimes still struggle to direct their anger into something conducive, she can't be expected to do better than them. hells, she already does ( when she shouldn't have to ). anger is a part of their strength, but it doesn't change where hers came from. it doesn't change that when she says it's unfair, karlach agrees.

❝ the wolf in you is badass! ❞ she encourages, but it doesn't change that she's not the same as the other girls in the city. it doesn't change that some kids have privileges others don't. some kids experience horrors others never will. there's no rhyme, reason, and karlach can't pretend like she understands why things work out the way they do. orin deserved a worse death than what she received. slower. more painful. but her death is what mattered the most. ylfa's safety mattered most. the spiral is so tangible, the chain of events that brought tragedy after tragedy. the thrown axe steals her attention momentarily, calmly following its trail to where its wedged into the wood. fingers wrap around the handle and with a grunt, she pulls it free. ❝ you're the girl they'll hear stories about. they'll want to be like you. ❞ it's an unfair burden though, isn't it? because where stories celebrate adventures, they don't properly embody the horrors that force them to be brave.

❝ besides, normal families aren't always what they seem. but ours? we might be unusual, but we've done a whole lot more for each other than most. ❞ and by now, they were family, weren't they? karlach refuses to think that any member of their party sees ylfa otherwise. she's grown to care about all of them, in one way or another. karlach holds the axe back out to her, the tears she sees causing her to frown sympathetically, eyes softened.

❝ i'm sorry we didn't catch on faster. that we didn't get you out of there quicker. ❞