#anti beast descendants

[descenderintofantasy]

It. Is. CRAZY isn't it? Those kids did NOTHING WRONG, and they get RIPPED APART! Ben. Is. TOO. GOOD for them! Honesty, at some point he should have gotten a DNA test! Becuse how can someone THAT good and caring come from THOSE parents? From what we are shown, Ben and Lonnie are literally the only decent people IN auradon. And even Lonnie loses most of her credit with the Family Day scene. So that literally ONLY leaves Ben.

so does anyone wanna talk about the fucked up superficial morality in auradon

where the isle kids will just be having a chill and fun afternoon learning how to play croquet when they get berated and humiliated for crimes they didn’t commit and literally no one but ben stands up for them

and when the vks run off, ben turns to his parents and says, “this isn’t their fault!” to which beast replies, “no son, it’s yours.” like boy howdy isn’t That fucked up coming from the literal beast, king of second chances and redemption arcs from a history of being a temperamental dick

and so ben turns to his mom, belle, known for seeing the goodness and kindness in people despite the ugliness of the exterior, begging for her to take his side. and belle turns away, takes beast’s hands and walks off in shame, abandoning her son

and so ben looks around him to his friends, his best friends and ex-girlfriend and they look at him in disgust and walk away too. all for a fight that they escalated

and still through all this ben stays good and kind and compassionate towards these people. like damn at least if his parents let the easy life blind them at least whatever they passed on to him stuck

[hitchell-mope]

This is how it happened right?

[descenderintofantasy]

The standed of parents in Descendants is SO LOW!! The villain parents are obviously abusive, even with only the small things they can show on screen.

beast and belle are DESPICABLELY UNFIT and DO NOT deserve Ben!

fairy godmother is a hypocrite who doesn't/won't teach her daughter magic, even with her being half fae.

leah is a bigoted child blaming B***--she's a grandparent, but she's the only other auradon adult we see.

The only decent main parent shown in the end was HADES, and HE was portrayed as a DEADBEAT DAD to Mal...what does it say that the best portrayal of a parent they have...is portrayed as a deadbeat? smh.

(I wish I could count Smee and Dr. Facilier, but they have so little screen time.)

[kanzakurawrites]

Do you have any headcanons about Madellaine from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame 2 and whether or not she's on the Isle?

Not really. Canon wise, I doubt she's on the Isle. I fell like that would be mentioned at some point in the books if she was.

In this case, I can see her and Quasimodo being looked down on more by some of the royals (Leah and Beast really) because Madellaine was a thief, but I can also see Flynn and Aladdin defending her because they were thieves.

If she is on the Isle, though, that would likely mean that the events of Hunchback 2 took place after the Isle was already created. This way Beast was able to get control of things quickly. Madellaine was sent over with the rest of the circus, but instead of staying with them ran as soon as she got there.

The island likely helped her hone her skills, so she's able to easily navigate the rooftops and with her experience parkour comes naturally.

She probably would help kids, and because of this I can see her working closely with Anastasia (I can't explain this I just feel like Anastasia helps with the kids), Cassim, Cassandra, and (in the events he's on the Island) Bruno.

Somehow she ended up training Jay in parkour as a kid, which is why he's one of the VK's that's able to run on the rooftops so well.

And while she seems a bit too innocent for the Isle, thanks to her upbringing she's seen some horrors, so she uses people perspective of her to her advantage.

That's all I got for now.

[callous-and-misunderstood]

doing a half-assed rewatch of D2 as i work on a fic but. a thought on the Cotillian fashions--

Uma's dress is much more complimentary of Ben's. She has the gold, in jewelry and accents, and the military-esque epaulets which compliment Ben's gold and military-esque jacket. They're both in mostly blue, sleek looks.

They feel coordinated and intentional, presenting a united but independent front/pairing.

Mal's dress, especially before her transformation (dragon and literal), is very... individual. Obviously part of her journey over the course of this movie is to learn how to balance two parts of herself.

But the complete juxtaposition of her dress next to Ben's really speaks to the way their relationship plays out. She has no gold, no blue. She has yellow and purple (and later purple and black and green). The yellow is the same yellow that Belle wears, rather than anything that Ben is wearing. She has voluminous skirts that take up space, literally separating her from her friends and from Ben.

Mal does not compromise with Ben, does not compromise her chosen identities. She maintains her individuality, even if it isolates her.

Staying true to yourself is a good message for a regular relationship, but as rulers, not as much.

And of course, Uma and Ben's coordination can speak to the spell Uma has Ben under. But both their costumes are true to their characters without any huge adjustments, where for Mal to match Ben it would have to be a very different dress.

So just some thoughts on how Mal and Uma are presented in juxtaposition to Ben at Cotillion.

[olithetalker]

Oh please, spare me the sanctimonious 'Uma spelled Ben to free everyone from the Isle, she's a good bean while Mal's human garbage for acting on the orders of her mother, someone she's canonically afraid of'.

Uma. Only. Spelled. Ben. For. Revenge. Remember? She sang a whole freaking song about it!

Stop adding things to fit your anti-Mal narrative just because it's cool and trendy to have the whole fandom hate on a character.

Interesting, this is my first time meeting someone who doesn't like Uma. That's not me being sarcastic, I'm genuinely surprised.

But seriously saying Uma only spelled Ben to get back at Mal... I'm sorry man but that's just not canon. I mean did she kidnap and try and push him into the sea for that reason as well? Did she try and get the wand just for that as well? To boil down Uma's character in D2 as "just wanting to screw with Mal"... Is just spreading misinformation?

Uma spelled Ben to save herself and her crew from the isle. Does that make it okay? Of course not! How messed up is it to mess with someone's brain like that?

But Mal's spelling of Ben was much more selfish. She absolutely wasn't thinking about anyone else when she did it.

Also Mal spelled Ben knowing he was dating Audrey. Knowing that he would against his own will, cheat on her. While Uma at least spelled Ben after hearing that he and Mal had broken up, not putting her through the horror of an unfaithful partner.

[hannahhook7744]

Isle Kid T-shirt I Made (Digitally);

[descenderintofantasy]

Right?! It's like, HOW can people hate Ben?! He's a TEENAGER trying to do the right thing by everyone! He took on the responsibility of the kingdom at sixteen years old when He. Didn't. Have. To! As you say he could have been like "Why on earth would I do that? It's not like you're dying" to beast. But no, he took it on, and gets literally NO support from ANYONE in Auradon! His 'father' was constantly undermining him. If beast was there AT ALL! The only person you saw give Ben any support was Mal!

The way people hate Ben, as if he’s just there being useless and not the reason the story happened in the first place, is baffling. He defended Mal when he had every right to make her public enemy number one for the love spell, gave her and her friends grace, and could’ve been furious at Uma for another love spell but wasn’t because he understood that she was hurting and only wanted the best for the kids. He also refused to believe that Audrey was terrorizing Auradon of her own volition because he knows that’s not who she is.

He literally gave grace to everyone, despite the fact that they constantly disrespected him and undermined his authority and position as King. He had every right to tell them to “KYS.” Honestly, he’s better than me, because I would’ve abused my power as King and done far worse. Adam and Belle would’ve been locked up, Fairy Godmother would’ve been stripped of her magic, and I would’ve given the wand to Jane.

The way certain stans (I'm not gonna name them because I'm not in the mood of getting attacked by a group who stans fictional white characters) vilify him but Mal and the others get a free pass because of their circumstances as if Ben didn't know peace the moment he became king at 16. I'd hate everyone and had them locked in a dungeon just for that.

[thestrengthofevil]

is... is this yen sid teaching weird science in dragon hall?

[hitchell-mope]

Adam: you’re a monster.

Mal: well it’s a good thing that your son is a monster fucker then isn’t it hmm?

[lancastrianwasian]

adam/beast deserves to rot especially for the whole isle issues and well, everything. probably one of the worst parents in descendants.

ben, my guy, you deserve a better father. maybe burt hummel or phil dunphy would do.

[theobsessivesideblog]

Hook Where it Hurts

Astarion finds himself Experiencing Emotions™ after a battle takes a turn for the worse.

Warnings: violence/injury, death, angst BUT happy ending I promise

—————————————————————

Your time in the Underdark had been relatively uneventful, all things considered. Sure there were Minotaurs, the occasional bulette, and exploding mushrooms, but there was something strangely beautiful about the alien landscape. The myconids were a friendly, if odd and slightly bloodthirsty bunch. Your conversation with Omeluum had proved enlightening, and trade with Blurg and Derryth had garnered you some useful items. Overall you couldn’t bring yourself to regret following Halsin’s advice to take the subterranean path to the Shadow-Cursed lands. 

You set up camp at the Myconid colony, heading out at first light (or at least what you assumed was first light without the actual sun to confirm) to begin your trek towards the lake Sovereign Spaw had pointed you toward. An hour into your walk a glow appeared in the distance, lighting up the gloom of the cavernous landscape. 

“I say, that can’t be… I do believe that may be a Sussur tree!” Gale exclaimed from behind you. “Powerful things, and rare, uniquely capable of completely nullifying magical forces, just fascinating!” he continued, eyes alight at the prospect of examining one up close. 

“Sussur… that sounds familiar,” Karlach pondered. 

“Ah! Right you are my fiery friend, there were instructions in the village about making a weapon with the bark! That would likely prove to be a powerful tool, we should certainly take a look.” 

You gazed towards the tree, comparing its location with the heading you had gotten from Spaw. In all likelihood you would end up passing nearby, may as well go on purpose. 

“Seems like it won’t be too much of a detour,” you announced, glancing around the group. “All in favor?”

“I’d never say no to a new kick-ass weapon,” Karlach grinned. 

“That’s two for, Astarion?” you asked, looking over towards the rogue.

“I doubt our resident magician will shut up about it until we pay a visit, so fine. Let’s go traipsing through the monster-infested dark to look at the magic tree,” Astarion said with a dramatic eye roll. 

“Anti-magic, technically, you see the—“ Gale’s chatter came to an abrupt halt as Astarion shot him a withering glance. “Right, yes, um. Shall we?” 

——————— 

You had to admit, the Sussur tree was breathtaking. Far larger than you had initially realized, clearly ancient and powerful. You glanced over to see your companions’ reactions, breath catching as your eyes met Astarion’s. His pale skin was nearly pearlescent in the ethereal glow, the blue light making his red eyes darker than usual. He stared back, lips pulling into a smirk, and a shiver of desire ran down your spine as he began prowling towards you. You’d been playing this game of cat and mouse for days, taking turns taunting and tempting each other and you were curious to see who would break first.

A movement behind Astarion’s shoulder broke you out of your reverie, eyes catching on a monstrous creature slowly beginning to descend toward your troupe from the raised roots of the tree. Your face paled and you saw Astarion’s brow furrow in your periphery as he registered that he had lost your attention, turning to see what had distracted you. He stiffened as he caught sight of the beast, silently reaching to retrieve an arrow while you hissed quietly towards Gale and Karlach in an attempt to get their attention. Karlach looked your way and you subtly gestured towards the creature as it crept closer to the group, trying to hold back the urge to laugh as she reached out and smacked Gale’s arm, interrupting his lecture on the properties of the blossoms.  

A few more wordless glances between the four of you had everyone subtly moving into position, preparing for what was sure to be a short battle. You glanced across the clearing, locking eyes with each of your companions before giving a tight nod as all of you attacked at once. The creature let out a shriek as it was barraged by both metal and magic, falling from its root bridge and hitting the ground below with a sickening crunch. 

As the adrenaline faded from your system and you walked forward to observe the corpse you were nearly disappointed by how easily the beast had fallen. Not that you ever wanted to get your ass kicked but you had certainly expected that a monster with as many teeth and claws as this one would’ve put up a bit more of a fight. Karlach had turned away with a dissatisfied pout on her lips as she sheathed her weapon and Astarion had already started to wander off to investigate the rest of the cave as you gently nudged the cooling body on the ground with the tip of your boot. It was grotesque up close, a bird-like skeletal face filled with vicious teeth and enormous, razor-sharp hooks protruding from the end of each arm in place of hands. Beside you Gale was surveying the corpse with a strangely joyous expression.

“What a fascinating beast! We got quite lucky, they’re exceptional hunters, certainly wouldn’t want to run into one of these unprepared! They’re called Hook Horrors!” he announced gleefully to no one in particular.

“Did someone say something about whores?” Astarion called from across the cavern. Karlach snorted loudly as she and Gale began making their way over towards him and you rolled your eyes as your lips curled into a smile.

“Yes, Star, Gale has deeply insulted me,” you called back sarcastically. “You may need to come defend my honor! In fact, I–”

You cut off abruptly as a shriek pierced through the air, echoing off the hard rock. You all whipped toward the sound, weapons coming back to the ready as another hook horror climbed out from behind a patch of roots close to your three companions. As you watched it emerge you distractedly thought that it would be nice to go back to fighting above ground again. The way sound bounced around the rocks always made it sound like there was something behind you, and some paranoid instinct had you sending a cursory glance back over your shoulder to calm your nerves. 

You froze in place, realizing your fears had been well founded as another hook horror silently emerged from around the corner of the cavern wall and leapt towards you. You barked out a startled curse and jumped back as it took a swing at you. The first horror may have fallen easily enough against the four of you, but your companions were locked in battle on the other side of the cavern and you were well aware that a one-on-one fight was one you wouldn’t win. 

You kept your eyes locked on the creature as you began backing your way across the cave, hoping you could get within range of your party before it lost patience and struck. Based on the sounds the other monster was emitting it wouldn’t be a threat for much longer. You tightened your hold on your weapon, preparing to strike as you crept back another step, heart skipping as the rock you had stepped on shifted underneath your boot. You glanced down for a split second, trying to find your footing, a sense of dread filling you as you saw the hook horror jump into motion in your peripheral vision. 

The hook drove into your side and you screamed. Pain the likes of which you’d never felt before tore through you as the hook horror yanked its arm across your abdomen, tearing through your stomach. You thought you heard someone shout, but they sounded a million miles away as you collapsed to your knees before the beast, your sight dimming around the edges. You vaguely registered a flash of blades and a wet thump as the hook horror’s head hit the ground before your vision was taken over by Astarion’s panicked visage. His hands gripped your face, feeling unnaturally warm against your cheeks as the world faded away.  

“No no no, you can’t die, get UP damn you!” he shouted, desperately trying to staunch the flow of blood from the jagged cut across your midsection even as a small voice in the back of his mind told him it was too late. His shaking hands were covered in your blood but he had never found it less appealing, appetite long gone as he stared at your unnaturally pale face. “Please, my sweet, don’t do this to me,” he pleaded, vision clouding as his eyes filled with tears. He saw a red blur on his left as Karlach kneeled down beside him and he instinctively curled around you protectively, arms gently slipping around your back as he clutched your unmoving form against his chest.

“Astarion, we need–”  

“Give me a healing potion. Now.” he ordered, voice dangerously low.

“It’s too late, Astarion. We need to get her body back–”

“Don’t say it like that,” he growled shakily. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, trying to steady himself but choking on the scent of your blood in the air. “A resurrection scroll then,” he demanded, glaring in Gale’s direction.

“I… it won’t work. The tree–”

Astarion snarled out a curse and pressed his forehead against your frigid cheek, desperately trying to contain the sob attempting to claw its way out of him. 

“We need to get her to camp, Astarion,” Karlach repeated gently, a small line of steam rising from where a tear had just rolled down her cheek. “We need Shadowheart. I can carry–”

“No,” he murmured, gently brushing a strand of hair away from your face with a trembling hand before adjusting one of his arms beneath your knees and standing with you cradled against him. “I’ve got her.” 

———————

They were farther from camp than Astarion had realized, though perhaps it only felt that way because he had spent the entire walk staring at your lifeless face. He felt numb by the time they arrived, hardly hearing Karlach shout for Shadowheart as they passed the first of the tents. In the back of his mind he was aware that their other companions had gathered around them frantically asking questions, but the words didn’t register and he continued forward without acknowledging any of them. He walked to his tent in a trance, gingerly setting you down on his bedroll and kneeling at your side as his shaking hands tried to arrange your limp body into a more comfortable configuration.

“What in the hells happened?” Shadowheart snapped as Karlach pulled her roughly into the tent. He should answer, should try to explain, but he was frozen kneeling by your side, unable to pull his attention away from your unblinking eyes.

“She- she was-” Karlach bit back a sob, trying to catch her breath. “We got caught off guard. She was alone. She shouldn’t have been alone,” Karlach choked out, dissolving into tears. Shadowheart hurried to your side and knelt across from Astarion, immediately beginning to unfasten the straps on your armor and peeling the bloodied metal away from your skin.

“We need to get her cleaned up so I can see what I'm doing. Astarion, can you fetch me some water and clean washcloths?” she asked, continuing to remove your ruined clothing. When he remained unmoving she looked up to where he sat, his gaze unwaveringly focused on the brutal cut across your torso. 

“Astarion,” she repeated softly, waiting as he slowly drug his gaze up to meet her eyes. “I swear to you I will do everything in my power to fix this, but I need your help.” She paused, waiting until Astarion gave a small nod of acknowledgement to rattle off the things she needed, her attention returning to your still form as Astarion rose and darted around his tent gathering what she had requested. He returned a heartbeat later, depositing the items at her side as she instructed him to wet a cloth and begin wiping away as much blood as he could. 

She began chanting a prayer as he worked, hovering her hands over your sternum while he continued to gently clean your skin. Your blood had been a gift once, a delight. Now he shuddered as he attempted to ring out the bloodied rag in his hand, barely fighting the urge to retch as it dripped from his hands into the reddened bowl of water at his side.

A light sparked in Shadowheart’s hands, warm and radiant, and Astarion stopped his work, dropping the stained cloth and gently reaching out with trembling fingers to take hold of your hand. The light in her palms grew as she focused, directing its power towards you. A glowing beam split from the whole and snaked downwards, weaving through the jagged edges of your wound and drawing them together while the remainder of the light floated upward, hovering over your heart. She continued chanting, her eyes drifting closed in concentration as the glowing orb started to lower, dimming as it sunk through your skin and into your chest. The room grew silent as Shadowheart completed the incantation and lowered her hands, looking you over carefully. 

“Did it… did it work?” Karlach whispered. “Is it supposed to take this long? Why isn’t she–”

Your chest rose as you gasped in air, the breath immediately turning to a cough at the uncomfortable stretch in your lungs. The air tasted of iron and magic and you frowned, trying to open your eyes to observe your surroundings but surprised to find your eyelids heavy and uncooperative. Cool fingers brushed against your face, smoothing away the furrow in your brow and you instinctively relaxed at the familiar touch. 

“All is well, darling,” you heard Astarion whisper, voice sounding oddly constricted. “Rest now.” 

You were still confused, still couldn't remember how you’d gotten here or what had happened. It felt as if something important had occurred, surely you shouldn’t sleep now. You heard the soft murmur of voices around you, a strained chuckle, a soft sniffle. You frowned again, struggling once more to open your eyes and earning an exasperated sigh from the vampire beside you. 

“Please, pet,” he breathed, lips ghosting over your skin as he pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek. “Just sleep.” 

Your sense of unease fell away as Astarion began gently running his fingers through your hair. You felt him press another soft kiss against your forehead and relaxed into him, allowing yourself to drift off in his arms.

———————

The second Shadowheart had given the all clear Astarion had insisted everyone leave his tent. It was far too crowded and he wouldn’t have them waking you up when you were clearly in no condition to face their fussing. Even as he anchored himself in the sound of your steady heartbeat he still felt restless and off-balance, hands flitting over your sleeping form looking for something more to do. 

He felt ridiculous. You were here in front of him, healed and whole, and that should be the end of it. So why in the hells were his hands still trembling as he ensured your blankets were tucked around you? Why did his chest ache uncomfortably every time he caught a leftover whiff of your blood in the air? 

He huffed out a frustrated breath and sat on the ground beside you, staring at your sleeping face warily. This had never been part of his plan. He was never supposed to… care. Two centuries of distancing himself and building walls and somehow you had just waltzed right past his defenses and made yourself at home. He let out a defeated sigh and reached over, extracting your hand from the blankets to weave your fingers together with his. His gaze drifted to the steady rise and fall of your breathing and he found himself matching your pace, the tightly wound coil in his chest finally starting to loosen as you let out a soft snore. 

Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow he could deal with figuring out why that sound made him smile. Tomorrow he could obsess over how even just holding your hand made his whole body feel warmer. Tomorrow he could deal with the fact that in over 200 years of life he’d never before been as completely and utterly terrified as he had been today. For now, though, he would indulge. For tonight he would just let himself have this, whatever ‘this’ was. He closed his eyes and lifted your hand to his face, gently brushing his lips across your knuckles as he settled in to watch over you until morning. 

———————

The passage of time in the Underdark still confused you. You woke to the same darkness you had fallen asleep in, groggily wondering what time it was and how long you had been in bed. Your mouth was dry and your head was pounding. Had you been drinking? That would certainly explain why you couldn’t remember how you had gotten here. As unappealing as getting up sounded, you were parched and you couldn’t stay here forever. You hoisted yourself up and froze as pain suddenly lanced through you, your vision flickering and arms giving out as you whimpered and fell back toward your pillow only to be caught by a pair of cold, pale arms. 

“I wouldn’t recommend moving just yet, darling,” Astarion said, looking down at you with a worried frown on his face as he lowered you gently back to the bedroll. “Shadowheart did as much as she could last night but it took a lot out of her to bring you back. You’re not going anywhere until she’s gotten a chance to check on you again.” He leaned across you, determinedly avoiding meeting your eyes as he made sure your pillow was adequately fluffed. You saw a slight tremor run through him and heard a catch in his breath before he stood abruptly and walked across the tent, silently pouring you a glass of water from the pitcher in the corner.

“Bring me… back?” you questioned. Astarion stilled, jaw clenching as you took him in. His normally flawlessly tousled hair was tangled as if he had been running his hands through it and streaks of blood threaded through the white locks. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin looked even paler than normal, nearly translucent in the dim light. Your eyes flitted down to his wrinkled, untucked shirt and then around the tent, catching on the blood-soaked pile of clothes and armor to the side of the entrance and the red-stained towels laying by a bowl of water next to the bedroll. A dim memory flashed through your mind: a tree, an ambush, excruciating pain, and then… nothing. 

“Oh.” you whispered, exhaling shakily as you felt your chest constrict, breaths turning quick and shallow as the air seemed to thin. Astarion was by your side in an instant, one hand smoothing back your hair while the other cupped your cheek, his thumb gently wiping away a tear you hadn’t even realized had fallen.

“It’s alright, darling, just breathe. You’re safe now.” he murmured, continuing to stroke your hair as your breathing calmed. He let out a tremulous sigh and closed his eyes, leaning down to press his forehead to yours. “It’s alright,” he repeated even more quietly, sounding almost as if he were talking to himself, pressing against you for a moment before inhaling sharply and pulling away.

“Shit, you’re in pain, aren’t you?” he said, looking you over with worried eyes and immediately moving to stand. “I’ll get Shadowheart, she said she’d come by when she woke but surely she’s had enough sleep by now and–” 

“Wait, Star, I… can you just stay here with me for a moment?” you asked in a small voice. Warmth spread through him at your request and he obliged immediately, lowering himself to sit at your side and gently taking your hand in his. You sat in companionable silence for a moment, studying his profile as he stared at your interlaced fingers. Up close the bags beneath his eyes were even more pronounced and you frowned, gently extricating your hand from his to touch his cheek. He leaned into your palm and placed a kiss against the inside of your wrist, eyes drifting closed as he basked in the warmth of your touch.

“Have you rested at all, Astarion?” you questioned. “You look exhausted.” 

He huffed a laugh and cracked open an eye to look at your face. 

“I’m not sure you want to get into comparing looks right now, darling. You’re even paler than me at the moment,” he chuckled, eyes closing once again as he leaned further into your touch, a teasing grin spread across his face. “I assure you, however you may think I look, you look ten times worse.” 

“Hm, that’s not too bad I suppose,” you smirked. “Ten times worse than you is still at least three times better than the average person.” 

Astartion barked out a surprised laugh and opened his eyes to look at you again, something in them softening as he saw your gentle smile. 

“Whoever would’ve thought math could be so romantic,” he murmured, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss against your lips. He raised a hand to brush a stray hair off your forehead and his smile faded, brow furrowing as his gaze met yours with uncharacteristic vulnerability. “Please don’t scare me like that again, my dear,” he breathed. “I’m- I don’t-” he sighed in frustration at the mess of emotions in his chest, hardly able to remember the last time his words had failed him so completely. 

“Don’t want to deal with this group of weirdos all by yourself?” you teased gently. He grinned back at you, gratitude in his eyes for not pushing him to collect his thoughts just yet. 

“Precisely that,” he chuckled, the tension leaving his shoulders. 

“Well I’m not going anywhere,” you said, smiling softly at him. “Also I wasn’t kidding before, you look like shit. You really should get some rest.” 

“Hm,” Astarion hummed mischievously, narrowing his eyes. “I would, but you see someone went and bled all over my bedroll. Adept though I may be at washing out blood stains it’s a rather thick fabric, it will take a while to dry back out. I may need to stay with… someone… for a day or two. Or three. Maybe more,” he smirked, raising an eyebrow suggestively as you huffed out a laugh. 

“You’re incorrigible,” you replied, grinning up at him and rolling your eyes. “I suppose it does seem that I’ve made rather a mess of your tent though…”

“You certainly have,” he murmured, shifting to hover over you, slowly kissing his way along your jaw.

“And it would only be fair to let you bunk with the cleanest person in camp…”

“Mmhmm…” he hummed, kissing closer and closer to your lips.

“And I’m sure Gale wouldn’t mind letting you crash with him–”

“Excuse me??” he crowed, pulling back indignantly as you burst out laughing below him. He scowled playfully and shook his head at you in feigned displeasure. “You wicked little thing,” he chuckled, leaning back down and finally pressing his lips to yours in a gentle, unhurried kiss. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Whatever it is,” you smirked, pulling him back to you for another kiss, “I'm sure I'll like it.” 

[ryin-silverfish]

disjointed LMK S5 reactions from a Chinese sub + dub watcher:

-the animation looks somewhat better than the trailer suggests.

-the worldbuilding, however, is...confusing.

-don't get me wrong, the emotional and character beats still hit right, but...the more I try to make sense of the worldbuilding, the less sense it makes.

(at least my fears about the Ten Kings conspiracy didn't come true, the 9 non-traitor kings are still pathetic pushovers that got [spoilered] by [spoilered].)

-welp, I will attempt to do so anyways. Spoilers under cut:

-In the beginning, someone or something made the Pillar of Creation to ward the world from Chaos.

-Which isn't how Chaos works in the Chinese cosmology, btw, but LMK is mostly its own vaguely JTTW-inspired fantasy setting at this point, so I'll try to keep the mythos-nitpicking to a minimum.

-Then some guy cracked the pillar (in the mythos, that would be Gonggong, but S5 does not mention a single name), and Nvwa had to make the Five-colored Stone + sacrifice herself to fix it.

-The "sacrifice" here is mostly her/her soul getting stuck inside the pillar for eternity, though, since MK still got to talk to her once he entered it.

-Each Five-colored Stone is attached to a Divine Guardian, who also serve as the stone's container, so to speak. They seem to remain outside of the pillar as anchors of reality.

-These guardians are the Divine Beasts of the Four Directions + JE himself, which is why Azure killing JE has such detrimental effects on reality.

-For every Five-colored Stone removed from its container, said container is destroyed, the cracks in reality widen, and the end of the "Cycle" draws near.

-Apart from the Five-colored Stone, Nvwa also created the Harbinger...at some point, and placed it inside SWK's stone, presumably after he has already hatched from it (based on Subodhi's words in S4 that MK is born from the same stone, after SWK).

-This Harbinger is supposed to sleep inside forever, awakening only at the end of the "Cycle" so that he can sacrifice himself to maintain the pillar, keep the encroaching Chaos at bay, and maybe give the world a soft reboot in the process or sth.

-Enter: the Nine-headed Demon, king of monologues and convoluted metaphors, a descendent of Xiangliu——another nine-headed serpentine monster from the Chinese mythos (said to be a subordinate of Gonggong in the Books of Mountains and Seas, who was slew by Yu the Great.)

-My attempt to make sense of his metaphor: basically, he used to live happily inside this Chaos-free bubble too (dark cave), alongside people who have never seen outside of it before, until he walked outside, dived into Chaos (sunlight), and went "Hey, it isn't all that bad! No, it's awesome!"

-Unsurprisingly, when he returned to the world inside the bubble and tried to convince his pals to take the Chaos bath together with him, he got rejected by everyone and turned edgy.

-He impersonated the Tenth King of the Underworld, King of the Turning Wheel, and proceeded to awaken the Harbinger prematurely.

-Supposedly, it's because he wanted the Harbinger to have experienced life for himself in the fullest, instead of waking up only to walk like a lamb to the slaughter.

-But his motivation is pretty confusing, tbh, and hearing Pigsy calling him out for never shutting the fuck up is funny as hell.

(Despite that? I kinda like his personality.)

-What MK did at the end of S5 is...well, the way I see it, he is still using the Five-Colored Stone as reality anchors, but instead of infusing their powers into a single mega-strong container, able to withstand the massive strain, every living being become a container, holding reality in place through quantity rather than quality.

-However, the anti-Chaos barrier does seem to have weakened; before Nine-head escaped into the "Chaos Outside" once and for all like he always wanted, he said that MK had opened the "Pandora's Box", so to speak.

-My completely arbitary theory: the anti-Chaos barrier before is like a giant roof, held up by 5 pillars. Take out 1 pillar, and the whole thing is guaranteed to come crashing down, sooner or later.

-The new one is like a net, with each individual functioning as its individual threads. It can do its job——holding reality together, but also leaves a lot of little holes for the Chaos Outside to slip in and out.

[hitchell-mope]

Ben: my father can’t come to the wedding. He was at a yoga retreat and he fell out of the warrior pose and he broke his hip.

Mal: should we consider the possibility that someone pushed him?

Ben: Mal please. They were a bunch of peace loving hippies who spent two weeks in the rainforest with my father. Of course someone pushed him.

[descenderintofantasy]

beast creates the Isle, DOESN'T keep up with its upkeep, left INNOCENTS there when they didn't deserve to be. Then dumps all the problems he made plus his kingdom on his SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD son becuse he wants to play GOLF!

And somehow he's still a good guy here?!