#but god some of y’all treat them as inhuman

[cntarella]

Tell me you haven’t worked in publishing without telling me…….

1. Cover artists aren’t all specifically commissioned for books. Unless there’s a specific art direction they will use assets from bigger companies cause art directors have to work with an excess of 30+ books PER SEASON. It’s highly likely (and confirmed by Tor) that they bought this asset from a vendor that they weren’t aware was using AI art. Does that excuse usage? No. But it’s also pretty normal that they can’t vet what amounts to literally thousands of assets. They have to trust vendors and sometimes it doesn’t pay off.

2. When an author “approves” a cover, they literally get the jpg and made comments on if they like it or not. That’s basically it. Then it gets sent to marketing and sales, who look at their clients like BN and Amazon and see what’s selling. Even if the author likes it, the sales dept might ask for changes and it’s a protracted fight that usually the sales dept wins—even with big authors. It’s not authors commissioning their own covers 🙄 usually they get several versions and they say yes to the one they like best. Paolini prob had no idea that the cover was not produced in-house.

3. Depending on how big a print run is, the components have to be made in advance. The bigger the print run the more time you need to print more—months ahead especially with the supply shortage in publishing at the moment. They also print ARCs ahead with the cover if it is done by that time to hand out to publications and other authors for quotes and reviews. It’s part of the marketing strategy for cover recognition (but neither here nor there for this point). It just means this cover is OUT. In the world. Likely the jackets have finished printing and they had to make the call to spend more to commission and reprint covers and create more waste—or to go with the first print run of this cover until it sells out and they have to do a second run. Print runs for big authors can run into the tens of thousands of books. As the OP pointed out—this is an author with 24 million books sold. The print run is Not Small.

4. All this leads to—often, publishing imprints don’t have individual budgets for their authors. Their pool comes out of a bigger budget for their authors, and allocated per book of the season depending on their P&L projections. This means they’ve already spent the money on Paolini’s books, and exceeding that by prob more than double given that rush jobs ALWAYS cost more leads to depriving their other smaller authors of their marketing share. Authors who would hurt a lot more than Paolini will if he doesn’t get a new cover.

Thus doesn’t mean that the use of AI art should be accepted as a cost saving measure—just that this fuck up got so far in the process it actively hurts more people than it helps to pull out in the middle of it. If Tor does it again, then yeah they don’t give a fuck about their artists. But them not doing it now is a careful calculation about how much they can give to other authors they also have responsibilities too. Paolini is also not someone who is exactly at fault here, just a lesson that he should ask more questions abt his cover in the future. Given that Eragon was self-published at first before it was picked up and commissioned with a specific artist, he prob doesn’t know all the details of in-house cover making.

[hero-israel]

#4 sounds like white people at the end of slavery… “we didn’t want to end it because what if there’s retaliation? There have already been slave riots. Imagine what would happen if we gave them freedom or if we became the minority?” It’s not speculative it actually happened the fears had basis. That’s what number four sounds like. It also feels like you only care about one view point like you expect me to believe y’all are perfect victims that did one thing in retaliation?

#4 sounds like that to you because you are an American who thinks the whole world is America and all history must be the same as yours. So you should start by asking yourself what it is in your cultural upbringing, and what in the media you consume, that has you automatically believing the worst possible claims against Jews, to the point of seeing it as understandable for us to be mass murdered.

Jews did not - and do not - want to live in an Arab or Muslim majority society not because of any issues related to "slave uprisings" you are teleporting into this discussion, but rather because Jews had already been brutally oppressed, persecuted, and genocided by Arabs and Muslims for 1,000+ years before Israel or political Zionism were ever invented. Mohammed himself got his hands dirty with this, wiping out the Jews of Yathrib and renaming the gore-drenched rubble into something called "Medina." No less a source than Maimonides wrote in 1172 "God has entangled us with this people, the nation of Ishmael, who treat us so prejudicially and who legislate our harm and hatred…. No nation has ever arisen more harmful than they, nor has anyone done more to humiliate us, degrade us, and consolidate hatred against us... We bear the inhumane burden of their humiliation, lies and absurdities, being as the prophet said, ‘like a deaf man who does not hear or a dumb man who does not open his mouth’.... Our sages disciplined us to bear Ishmael’s lies and absurdities, listening in silence, and we have trained ourselves, old and young, to endure their humiliation, as Isaiah said, ‘I have given my back to the smiters, and my cheek to the beard pullers.’”

Because there is a long history of this, there is much you can read about it, if you care.

Some very random examples:

The "badge of shame" was invented in medieval Baghdad, only later migrating to Europe

Life for Jews in Yemen: The Jews of Yemen were treated as pariah, third-class citizens who needed to be perennially reminded of their submission to the ruling faith…The Jews were considered to be impure, and therefore forbidden to touch a Muslim or a Muslim’s food. They were obliged to humble themselves before a Muslim, to walk on his left side, and to greet him first. They were forbidden to raise their voices in front of a Muslim. They could not build their houses higher than the Muslims’ or ride a camel or horse, and when riding on a mule or donkey, they had to sit sideways. Upon entering a Muslim quarter, a Jew had to take off his footgear and walk barefoot. No Jewish man was permitted to wear a turban or carry the Jambiyyah (dagger), which was worn universally by the free tribesmen of Yemen. If attacked with stones or fist by Islamic youth, a Jew was not allowed to defend himself. Further, the Jews were forced to wear sidelocks or peots. The wearing of such long and dangling peots “was originally a source of great shame for the Yemenites. It was decreed by the imams to distinguish the Jews from the Muslims”. More degrading and insulting decrees to the Jews were the Atarot (Headgear) and Latrine Decrees. The former was a seventeenth-century decree forbidding the Jews to wear a headcovering or turbans. The Latrine Decree was a nineteenth-century edict in which the Jews were forced to clean out public toilets and remove animal dung and carcasses from the streets. Another discriminatory edict was the Orphan Decree which gave the Zaydis the right to convert to Islam any child under the age of thirteen whose father is dead. Further, evidence by a Jew against a Muslim was invalid and a “Jew was forbidden to pass a Muslim to his right, and whoever did so, even unwittingly, could be beaten without trial; the Jews were forbidden to make their purchases before the Muslims had completed theirs; a Jew entering the house of an Arab or the office of an official was only allowed to sit down in the place where the shoes were removed” . Tudor Parfitt summarizes some of these laws in the following: [the Jews] were required not to insult Islam, never strike a Muslim, or to impede him in his path. They were not to assist each other in any activity against a Muslim…They were not to build new places of worship or repair existing one…They were not to pray too noisily or hold public religious processions. They were not to wink. They were not to proselytize. They were not to bear arms. They were required to dress in a distinctive fashion in order not to be mistaken for a member of the Muslim occupying forces. In other words dhimmis had all the times to behave themselves in an unostentatious and unthreatening manner, one appropriate to a defeated and humbled subject people. They were to avoid the slightest show of triumphalism and they were forbidden any activity that could lead to proselytization. Yemenite Jews were “excluded as it almost always…from affairs of state, and from the great institutions of the country”

1941 Farhud pogrom (Iraq)

1929 Hebron Massacre ("They cut off hands, they cut off fingers, they held heads over a stove, they gouged out eyes. A rabbi stood immobile, commending the souls of his Jews to God – they scalped him. They made off with his brains. On Mrs. Sokolov’s lap, one after the other, they sat six students from the yeshiva and, with her still alive, slit their throats. They mutilated the men. They shoved thirteen-year-old girls, mothers, and grandmothers into the blood and raped them in unison....")

1921 Jaffa Riots

1920 Nebi Musa Riots

1910 Shiraz Blood Libel (Iran) ("In the middle of the 19th century, J. J. Benjamin wrote about the life of Persian Jews: "…they are obliged to live in a separate part of town…; for they are considered as unclean creatures… Under the pretext of their being unclean, they are treated with the greatest severity and should they enter a street, inhabited by Mussulmans, they are pelted by the boys and mobs with stones and dirt… For the same reason, they are prohibited to go out when it rains; for it is said the rain would wash dirt off them, which would sully the feet of the Mussulmans… If a Jew is recognized as such in the streets, he is subjected to the greatest insults. The passers-by spit in his face, and sometimes beat him… unmercifully… If a Jew enters a shop for anything, he is forbidden to inspect the goods… Should his hand incautiously touch the goods, he must take them at any price the seller chooses to ask for them... Sometimes the Iranians intrude into the dwellings of the Jews and take possession of whatever please them. Should the owner make the least opposition in defense of his property, he incurs the danger of atoning for it with his life... If... a Jew shows himself in the street during the three days of the Katel (the start of Muharram)…, he is sure to be murdered")

1840 Damascus Blood Libel (Syria)

1839 Allahdad Pogrom (Iran)

1834 Hebron Massacre

1834 Looting of Safed

1700 Jerusalem oppression / apartheid: ("Muslims are very hostile to Jews and inflict upon them vexations in the streets of the city… the common folk persecute the Jews, for we are forbidden to defend ourselves against the Turks or the Arabs. If an Arab strikes a Jew, he (the Jew) must appease him but dare not rebuke him, for fear that he may be struck even harder, which they (the Arabs) do without the slightest scruple...")

1679 Mawza Exile (Yemen)

1660 Destruction of Safed

1500s Iran: ("After the ascension of Shah ‘Abbas II the Jews of Isfahan faced a lot of persecution. Most communities were forced to convert to Islam. Furthermore those who refused to convert would have most of their inheritance taken away as the inheritance laws at the time allowed for those who converted to Shia Islam to inherit the property of non-Muslim family members. Some communities did not convert and were thus forced to wear a special badge to show that they were Jewish. The maltreatment of the Jews weakened their community ties and influence throughout the region. By 1889 there were only around four hundred Jewish families left in Isfahan and most very poor.... by the middle 20th century 80% of the Jews of Isfahan lived on the verge of poverty.")

There's so much more I really don't know where to start or where to end. Afghanistan revoked all Jewish citizenship in 1933. Turkey banned all Jewish names and held massive antisemitic pogroms in 1934. Iraq banned Hebrew schools and Hebrew names in 1936, pogroms throughout Libya 1945, Syria fired all Jewish government employees 1946. Tripoli pogrom 1785. Algiers 1805. Cairo 1844. Istanbul 1870. Safed 1517 and 1799. Jerusalem 1665 and 1720. Granada Massacre 1066. Fez Massacre 1033. How many Wiki links do you want, how many textbooks?

This is an old, old conflict, and the Americanized "colonizer / slave plantation" frame is off-topic.

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

Fic Idea: Geralt being very self conscious about literally all of the inhuman traits he has (he probably has even more than most Witchers because of the extra trials) and trying to hide them entirely or just make them less obvious when Jaskier starts traveling with him, probably angsting whenever Jaskier notices, and some nice h/c from Jaskier ( + feral bard ready to stab all the humans who made Geralt feel like that and/or horny bard with a broken brain bc “oh no hes getting hotter”)

so I did this from Geralt’s pov bc honestly I was just feeling the angst today? Its the first day of classes and a bitch was overwhelmed so here. we. go.

also I couldn't get that face out of my head from the betrothal episode where he’s watching the chaos before the fight breaks out and he looks like a confused puppy?! y’all know the one? god its so cute.

Waringins: none

__________

Geralt had always managed to stay far away from the average human. They always cringed and drew back at his slightly off appearance, until Jaskier started following him. 

It started with his teeth. On the rare occasion he gave in and smiled at the bard’s jokes he noticed Jaskier staring at his teeth. They weren't fangs per se, but he had pronounced canines before the trials, now they were rather obvious. 

Jaskier made to say something, paused, then changed the subject. Geralt ran his tongue over his teeth and feigned attention for the next few minutes of the bard's story. He spent the night trying to decide if Jaskier was scared or disgusted by him.

When Jaskier insisted on brushing twigs out of Geralt’s hair after a contract rather early on Geralt felt a panic he wasn't sure what to do with. He’d already accepted that he needed the bard, though whether for personal or professional reasons he hadn’t made up his mind, and he didn't want him running when he realized Geralt was more wolf than expected. His hair was coarse and unruly, another side effect of the trials, but Jaskier hummed in content as he ran his fingers through it. 

“It’s softer than it looks.” he murmured.

Geralt only grunted, surprised but still not entirely at ease. 

Months down the line they were having to haggle over the fee an alderman owed and Geralt growled. Not a human growl, no. He was tired and covered in blood and, frankly, really fucking angry and he’d let an animalistic growl leap out of his chest. He could smell the fear in the air and made sure to avoid Jaskier’s eyes. He couldn’t bear to see the disgust reflected at him. They got 100 orins above asking price though. 

When they reunited after the winter Geralt was far more careful. Less smiling, kept his hair neat so Jaskier wasn’t inclined to fix it, even made sure to rest better so he didn’t slip up again. 

Of course his plans went to shit after a week. He’d taken quite the beating from a bruxa before killing it and Jaskier had insisted he lay down while the bard skinned and cooked their dinner. 

While it roasted Jaskier laid down next to Geralt, brushing the hair out of a cut to begin with, but when Geralt leaned into the gentle touch he ran his hands through his hair. Half asleep, Geralt thought maybe this was a bad idea, he'd managed to keep up his civilized human act for a few days now, but it just felt so nice. Jaskier continued his gentle strokes for a few minutes, nudging Geralt closer to sleep despite the hunger eating at his stomach. When the bard finally pulled away to check their dinner Geralt gave a high pitched whine, not unlike a puppy.

Jaskier froze, "Did you…"

Geralt cleared his throat, gingerly sitting up to lean against a log and grumbling, "No." 

"Yes, you… Geralt that was cute." Jaskier was squatting next to him, fussing with his bandaged arm to busy his hands.

Geralt was too tired to control his facial expressions, completely baffled by his words he turned to him, "I'm an animal and you think it's cute?" 

Jaskier sighed, abandoning the bandages and resting his elbows on his knees, giving Geralt an exasperated look, "You are not an animal. I, for one, am quite drawn to your differences."

"You mean the fangs and fur for hair?" Geralt didn't believe him for a second and he made it clear with his tone. 

"Your teeth don't scare me in the slightest." He heaved a sigh as he stood to take the rabbit off the fire, "In fact I think they suit you well." 

"Suit me?" 

"Yes. Adds to the total attractiveness you have going on." Jaskier handed a rabbit leg to Geralt as if their conversation was completely normal, as if Geralt's heart wasn't about to beat out of his chest. 

He realized he was staring, probably oogling up at the bard but he was too lost to care, "And the growling like a dog…?" 

"Mm!-" Jaskier spoke around a mouthful, waving his free hand as if conducting an orchestra, "-That was rather hot." 

"What!?" The panic in Geralt's chest was slowly disapating until Jaskier's words transformed it into something else entirely.

"Oh please! Don't act so surprised," Jaskier was snickering now, looking down at Geralt with an amused bewilderment, "You've fallen into many a bed since we first met, how do you not know?" 

Geralt picked at the hare, more self conscious than ever, "I just… most of them think it will be a story for the tavern, the, uh, 'thrill of the other'. A challenge."

"Yeah. Idiot. I too would be telling everyone about bedding the hot witcher who saved the townsfolk." Jaskier rolled his eyes as he sat on the ground next to Geralt, "Not to be untoward-"

"You always are." Geralt teased.

"-It's more fun- what I'm trying to say is, I find all of you appealing. Your little wolfy bits and habits and the quintessential humanness of you as well. You are not an animal, Geralt, and you don't deserve the way scared little weasels treat you." 

Geralt was silent for a moment, chewing at some gristle stuck in his teeth as an excuse to think. 

Jaskier lowered his voice, a hint of nerves on his tongue, "I know you're realigning how you view yourself up in there but I did just do a little confessing and it would be nice if you said something. Anything." 

Geralt tilted his head, looking at the bard from under a furrowed brow, "You're attracted… to me?" 

Jaskier nodded, now the one to look away, "When you say it so plainly…" 

"Hmm." The panic from before was entirely replaced by a terrifying warmth spreading through Geralt's chest. This idiot of a human who had seen him at his worst wanted him for him. In 80 years the closest he'd come to this kind of feeling was the bond with his horses. 

He couldn't put words to it, not in a million years, so instead he shuffled closer to the bard and rested his head on his shoulder. Jaskier placed a hand on his knee and he let out a deep rumbly sigh of content. 

They finished their meal in silence, more than enough words passed between them for the night. 

[writersblockandapotoftea]

do you think you could give some tips on worldbuilding? your worldbuilding is really thorough, and i'd love to get some worldbuilding done, but i dont have any idea where to start. just a quick runthrough of how you do it would be great. Thanks!

Alright, thank you so much for the ask! This… Is Hard to Make Concise, because I don’t follow a set pattern apart from starting Big and going to Small. Fill the big parts of your world before your small parts. I’ll try to make it clearer with the next few paragraphs, but the tl:dr, always start with the big picture, go into niches later. I’ll go into ecology and culture and hopefully, it won’t be too much of a mess.

Ecology: The Natural Systems of the World

Ecology is FUN. There’s so much in the natural world you can draw inspiration from. Before starting this, I’m gonna preface this by saying I am not the best at biology and usually pull it out of my butt.

Whenever I’m worldbuilding, I always start with the biological world and the start of any world is geography and I try to answer these questions:

Geography:

What are the defining features of the landscape?

Where are the mountains?

What does the coast look like? (Maps are sweet for this part.)

What’s the water table like? Are there glaciers?

What biome is in that location? (Eg. Temperate Forest, Taiga, Rainforest, Tundra. Fun fact: the largest biome in the world is the sea floor.) This’ll help you define plant life, and plant life helps determine what animal species there are. Plants are important, y’all.

Biology:

What do the plants look like?

What are your specialists? Your hypercarnivores and giant herbivores shape the world around them a lot. These are your theropods, hyenadonts, elephants, whales and sharks?

.What are your generalists? Think hell pigs, beardogs and well, modern bears. Generalists have a better chance of surviving catastrophes. The mammals, reptiles and birds that survived the end Cretaceous Extinction were small and unspecialized.

Good things for ecology learning: PBS EONS, DND MAPS, BLUE PLANET I and II

Culture: The humanoid systems of the world.

To get this out of the way first: Culture is a system of collective fictions that a group believes in. Money, religion, art, they have no value beyond what humans, elves and dwarves ascribe to them. So, keeping this definition in mind, let’s do some more worldbuilding.

When I worldbuild, I don’t answer questions like I do for ecology, instead, I try to fill out the big five that almost every society, big or small, has.

Knife: This is a weapon, a tool for everything from hunting, to cooking. What does their knife look like? Is it chipped stone or animal bone? Is it bronze or steel?

Bread: Bread really is just grains and water mushed together and cooked. Is it made from big grains or fine flours? Is it sourdough or unleavened? How is it cooked? (Make a bread recipe for your world.

Art: What does their visual art look like? Is it painted, statues? Is it as simple as a handprint on a wall? What sort of music do they listen to? What do their instruments look like? Religion, stories and art often go hand in hand.

Records: Where there’s records, there’s usually an economy, a set of rules. So who sets these rules? Is it an oral tradition or are there physical imprints of it? Cultures without writing usually have an oral tradition. (This is where history is kept, so brief bit: What events/people/cool bit of shiny metal do they see as important?)

Bones: Do they have doctors? Do they bring the infirmed with them? Are the dead buried with any ceremony? How are children treated? The elderly?

Economics:

Despite how the highs and lows of capitalism may make you feel, economics are important. I have these questions I like to have answered with economics:

Are they a barter system or no?

If yes:

What is the equivalency? If someone gives you a chicken, do you fix their shoes?

If no:

What does the currency look like?

What are your cultures' imports and exports, if they have any? (People can be included in this, BTW.)

(Read the Ascent of Money by Niel Furgeson)

Now to tackle the biggest part of a lot of cultures; religion. Religion is… Complicated to say the least. I recommend reading the Reason for God to help with this. When worldbuilding religion, start big and go small. Remember, religions are highly connected to the world around them, for example, the cyclic mythology of Ancient Egypt.

Are they poly or monotheistic?

What values do they ascribe to the gods? Are they caring parents? Apathetic watchers? Vengeful warriors? Horny fuckers with no regard for the wellbeing of the people they’re supposed to be caring for?

Interesting thing I noticed while reading: Goddesses are more likely to where the heart of the values people believe are to be ascribed, which I thought was neat. E.g, in Greek Mythology, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and the male gods all have these big, undefinable, inhuman realms, like the sky, and the sea and the underworld. In stark contrast, with the exception of Aphrodite, the goddesses have smaller, more human roles. Marriage, the harvest, wisdom, the hunt, the hearth.

Of course, that’s only a thing I’ve noticed in the very few mythologies I’ve got any semblance of knowledge on. This could be completely untrue and I could be talking out of my ass, which happens sometimes.

If they’re polythestic, which gods hold what roles? Which is the god that everyone worships as the most important? (Zeus, Aphrodite, Ra, etc) aka, who’s the boss?

Are there cults?

Resources for religion and culture:

Sapiens

Guns, Germs and Steel

Collapse

Finally, every society should have:

A food source: Agriculture or hunter gatherer? Do they store food for winter?

A water source: Are there wells? Do they irrigate crops?

A way to deal with waste, including, but not limited to: food waste, fecal matter, material waste.

A way to defend itself against disease, invasion or internal disarray.

Tl:dr Read and watch a lot of nonfiction. Start big and go to smaller stuff later. Everything society is built on is a fiction.

[vicunaburger]

Imperfect and inhuman, are we?

Fandom: School of Rock: The Musical (AU Verse) Chapters: 1/? Pairing: Dewey Finn x OC (Magdalena Newton) The Players: Dewey Finn, Magdalena Newton, Ned Schneebly, The School of Rock Students Word Count: 1,978 Warnings: M for Future Things

Notes: Y’all remember when I said I was going to play in in the Dewey Finn + vampire universe? WELL...here we go. Trying out a new “free-form” scene by scene chapter format, rather than a standard chronological order. We’ll see how this plays out

Chapter 1 - Night - Routine

The alarm went off at precisely 8:14pm.

From under the massive pile of blankets covering the twin-sized bed, an arm slithered out, feeling along the nightstand in the dark. The vibrations from the cellphone led the fingers toward their goal, tapping the screen - a few misses - before the noise finally ceased. Finished with its task, the arm retreated under the blankets, tucking itself inward like a snake retreating to its den.

At 8:17pm, the alarm went off again.

This time, an entire body followed the arm out of the blankets, turning off the alarm with one hand, and turning on a small desk lamp with the other. With a wide yawn, they stumbled out of bed, shuffling along the carpeted floor until they reached the bathroom. Luckily, this room had an automatic light fixture, the space filling with a soft white glow. Another automatic feature kicked on around the same time; a TV screen built-in to the vanity mirror taking up most of the wall. At once, the familiar voice of the weather channel anchor echoed around the tiled bathroom.

Magdalena Newton looked a mess when she woke up.

Her only saving grace was the fact she had the forethought to plait her long hair into a braid every night, or else she would have to deal with a rat’s nest besides the general unkept-ness of her appearance first thing in the morning. Absently, she untied the ribbon in her oil-black hair, watching the weatherman as she started to untangle the strands.

Sunrise was at 6:28am that morning; a good amount of time to take care of her errands.

Magdalena tapped the center of her vanity mirror and another screen snapped to life, along with some ring lights attached to a small camera. Within a few seconds, she could see herself in the mirror’s surface, as clear as though she were looking in the actual glass.

Technology was a marvel.

Her reflection was always such a strange thing to look at, to be honest. There were moments it didn’t seem like she was the one looking back at herself, only recently getting the ability to see herself within the past few decades. It was centuries before she could recall what she truly looked like, relying only on a painted portrait or a lover’s descriptions.

Both of which were never accurate.

Wincing at her haggard appearance, Magdalena started to work on fixing herself up for the night. No use going out looking like you just rolled out of bed… even if it were true. She was raised to be a proper lady when in view of other people, and that took some care and effort on her part. Besides, one never knows who you might see wandering the streets so late at night, or whom you might be looking for.

—

Was it just him, or did the sliding door of his van sound louder when it was dark outside?

Checking his watch in the circular beam of the streetlamp, it was just around 9:00pm when he parked his van outside of his apartment building, sliding open the door to start moving equipment from the vehicle to the home. It had been another late-night practice session at the concert venue with his students, which meant he had spent the last hour or so of practice getting berated by parents for keeping their kids so late.

The gods of rock care not for simple mortal concepts like time. Or calling parents in advance. Or responding to the last 15 text messages you got.

Eh, he knew they would shut up about it once they saw all the hard work the kids were putting into the show. It was shaping up to be quite the epic mid-summer concert spectacular he had seen in his dreams. The uptight little bastards were really doing him proud.

Dewey Finn stuck the handle of his guitar case between his teeth, trying to balance the bottom half with his knee, and simultaneously grab his satchel from under the front seat. It was a good idea, in theory, had it not been for the fact that the angle of the guitar case was preventing him from reaching into the van. He wasn’t about to set his prized guitar case on the street, nor did he feel like making two trips up and down the building’s stairwell.

He lost count of how many times he had sent angry emails to the supervisor about the busted elevator, only to be told it would “take some time” because it was a “historic building”.

Historic was a polite word for collapsing at any given moment.

Dewey couldn’t complain too much, all things considered; the apartment’s mysterious landlord company gave him a break on the rent due to him using the space for education. Apparently, whoever own the place was a fan of music, which gave them an upgrade in the landlord scale from Hell spawn to Minor Annoyance.

Shifting his weight to keep the guitar case balanced, Dewey tried again to reach the satchel, muttering a slew of curses with a mouthful of leather handle.

—

Magdalena heard the van door before she even rounded the corner, which made her take pause during her speedy trek down the sidewalk. Pulling out her phone, she checked the time: 9:07pm. He was a little earlier than she anticipated, putting a significant kink in her plans for that evening.

For the two and a half weeks, she had clocked him arriving at his apartment no earlier than 9:39pm, which would leave her plenty of time to scale the fire escape until she reached his floor. Nothing scandalous ever happened during her vigils; she was more than content to listen to the sounds of life from his apartment. His weighty footsteps padding around the creaky floors, rummaging around for something to eat, playing video games late into the night. Speaking with other people either in person or on the telephone.

And her favorite hobby of his: singing.

Was it still considered voyeurism if one didn’t actually look at their object of affection? Listening was more than enough. Hearing him plunk out little tunes on his guitar and sing classic rock ballads were something she could have listened to all night if she had the opportunity. She would risk staying out beyond daybreak if he had stayed up all night singing; her own private concert, and he didn’t even know anyone was listening.

For now.

Still, she was debating if it was too early to introduce herself. What is in doing so, she was committing a grave miscalculation of her plans and would therefore have to resort to… unpleasant measures? What if he didn’t want to know her? What if he ended up not liking what he found out?

What if it was something mundane: she wasn’t the right type? The right build or height? The right gender? He hadn’t brought anyone into his apartment save his friend - Nathan? Nolan? - that she could tell. However, his daytime activities were as of yet a mystery, which could have meant this entire plan would end in utter disaster if he were spoken for.

Nope. There was no use thinking the worst of things without even making an attempt.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

—

The more he struggled, the more his jaw began to ache.

Dewey was stubborn more than anything, which his best friend Ned always pointed out just how illogical it was for him to be such a damn slacker 90% of the time when he would get into his hellbent fits of motivation. He was going to make it up the stairs in one go, and he wasn’t going to make a fool of himself doing it.

Such delusions of grandeur can only go so far before one’s hubris decided to take the driver’s seat.

Dewey’s jaw finally gave out, causing his guitar case to tip over across his knee and gain a bit of air before starting to fall to the dirty sidewalk below. The whole thing was like a slow-motion sequence in a movie; Dewey reaching out his hands, fumbling for purchase on the leather case, and ultimately sending it further away from him when he failed to grasp it tight.

Unable to watch the carnage, he screwed his eyes shut tight, waiting for the inevitable crashing of his precious instrument hitting cement-

-which never happened.

Cautiously opening one eye, he peeked out in the darkened space beyond the streetlight, seeing his guitar case being held oh so carefully by a pair of delicate hands. Fully opening his eyes, he followed those hands up their respective arms until he came face to face with his savior. A woman, about his height, stood next to his van with the case secure in her grip. It was hard to see her in the shadows, even more so with her face obscured by the neck of the guitar case.

“Clumsy.” The woman said, her voice clear and crisp in the still air.

Dewey was immediately taken aback by her speech, his overly sensitive musical ear picking up a mix of accents he couldn’t place, and a soft, rounded lisp near the front of her mouth. Within a few seconds, however, he was far more concerned with the welfare of his guitar, reaching out and gently taking the case from her.

“You… you saved Tawny from certain death. My precious axe. My baby.” He cradled the case like a small child, setting it down in the van with great care. “I was such a fool to treat you so carelessly.”

The woman tilted her head, “Tawny?”

“Tawny. Ya know, like the girl from the White Snake video? Only the hottest woman to ever dance on the hood of a car.” Dewey replied, “Not… not that it was her only quality.”

“Never met her, so I couldn’t say.” She replied, a bit of laughter lilting through her voice this time. “She was attractive though, no shame in saying it.”

Whirling around on his heels, Dewey finally turned his full attention to the woman, almost falling over into the passenger door of the van once he got a good view of her. He didn’t know what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t… her.

“Snow White” was the immediate image that popped into his head. She looked pale as a ghost in the dim shadows, with dark hair tied intricately with braided bits gathered into a low ponytail, and her bright blue eyes catching the light like some nocturnal creature. The stark difference between her skin and her inky hair, coupled with her all black ensemble gave her the appearance of a living black and white image. The only color visible in the darkness with a bright, robin’s egg blue scarf tied in a bow around her neck.

“Uhhh…. I… you… wow…” Dewey leaned against the van, trying to act casual. “I mean, w-what’s a girl like you doing on a sidewalk like this? It’s late for a casual urban hike.”

“Protecting defenseless musical instruments from certain death.” She mirrored his stance, placing a hand on her hip. “I moonlight as a vigilante.”

He nodded, holding out his hand in a friendly gesture, “Ah, well, consider me a grateful citizen oh Superhero- Lady- Ma’am. Wow- you know what? That was lame. I’m just gonna show myself out before I embarrass myself any further.”

Dewey started to take his hand away, but not before the woman took hold of it, shaking it with a firm grip, “All in a night’s work, fair citizen.”

The woman - reluctantly- let go of his hand, stepping around him and continuing her way down the sidewalk. As though finally discovering that: yes, he had a brain, and yes, he should use it immediately, Dewey jogged a couple paces to try and catch up to her. She stopped when she heard him approaching, which made him bump into her softly, having not anticipated the sudden pause.

After steadying himself, Dewey ran a hand through his hair awkwardly, “Listen. Maybe… maybe we can start over? Because this whole night is gonna keep me up for weeks if I don’t try and regain my dignity. I’m Dewey Finn.”

Laughing softly, though she covered her mouth delicately with the back of her hand, she nodded. “Fair enough, Dewey Finn. I’m Magdalena.”

Writing Tags: @amywright @mrgeuse  @hoodoo12 @mr-geuse @paxenera @leiasolo77 @go-commander-kim @a-subconscious-manifestation @asriells @missihart23 @heknowshisherbs

[magick-with-a-k]

Witchy Knowledge with Waya!

👻spirit communication👻

~As with all posts, this is my take, my opinion, my knowledge. If you make your magick in a different way, great! Don't hate on other ways of the Craft. As I say again and again, there's no wrong way to witchcraft.~

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This is going to be a pretty long post, but it’s what y’all said you wanted, so enjoy!

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Samhain is soon approaching, and I thought it would be a good time to write about tips for spirit communication, what with all the Ouija boards soon to be broken out by curious peoples.

Spirit boards and other forms of spirit communication are usually taken as games. However, many believe they can be used to contact serious spirits and even demons, and that if you don’t know what you’re doing, you run the risk of hauntings, possession, and even death. I do revere and respect spirits, and I use Ouija and other forms of spirit communication seriously. Others do not. The Craft is all about what YOU PERSONALLY believe.

Communication with spirits may be tricky, no matter how you do it. Meditation, spirit boards, cards, whatever you try, you have to remember that spirits are speaking through a veil. Words, especially written messages, can get messed up and muddled. Remember “Redrum”? Like that. Here are some tips for clear and safe communication with spirits!

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GENERAL RULES

💀Always protect yourself. When speaking with spirits, you leave yourself open to being contacted by less benevolent energies. Circles, prayers, salt lines, and other forms of protection are vital. ALWAYS research what you’re doing, and safe ways to do it, before you do it. Research safe ways to end communication when you’re done speaking. For example, when using spirit boards, you must always say goodbye, or you may leave the portal of communication open for malevolent energies and spirits, even demons, to come through.

💀Be respectful, say please and thank you, but BE FIRM. Do not let the spirit lead the communication. Be commanding.

💀Think about your words. You never know what may anger a Spirit.

💀Don’t mention breathing, eating, or any “living” things, unless the spirit asks or brings it up.

💀DO NOT CALL THE SPIRITS “GHOSTS” OR “SPOOKS”. It’s derogatory and rude.

💀Written/spelled out messages may be unclear. If you’re confused, try analyzing the words backwards, forwards, try anagrams, double meanings, etc.

💀Do not ask the spirit how it died. You may ask if they WANT to tell you, but if they do not, don’t push the issue.

💀Do not ask how/when you will die.

💀Be very literal. If you want a spirit to “prove” itself, ask it to do something extremely specific. General terms have loopholes, and less benevolent spirits WILL exploit them. (Asking a spirit to “prove” itself by moving an item is extremely dangerous. You’re giving a Spirit permission to exit the Board, and they can escape this way. If you are going to ask a spirit to prove itself, you either need to know exactly what you’re doing, or just not do it. Not doing it would be the safer and more intelligent option. If there’s a spirit with you, you’ll know it already. It doesn’t need to prove itself. If you do ask it to prove itself, be very thorough with your explanation of what you want it to do. Leave no room for loopholes or misunderstanding. If you just say “prove yourself to me, make this candle flicker”, the spirit could not only make the candle flicker, but because you didn’t say not to do anything else, it could knock over the candle, it could shatter mirrors, it could do any number of things. A safer set of instructions would be “ leave the board only to make the candle flicker once, and then, without affecting anything else, go back into the board.” Again, the best option is not ask a Spirit to prove itself. If there’s a spirit present, you’ll know it with your intuition.)

💀Do not ask if they are a “good spirit”, or if they want to hurt you. This may upset or insult them.

💀Spirits can talk through anything if you give them an outlet. Try recording the ceremony, you may find that you missed something that couldn’t be detected by your mind during the playback.

💀If The lights flicker, do not be alarmed. Spirits need energy, especially if they’re going to visibly manifest. They may take this energy from your lights or electronics.

💀Never tell spirits (or ANY inhuman beings) your real name. Use an alias or a pseudonym.

💀Remain calm. If anything starts happening, safely end communication. Do not panic; panic makes you vulnerable.

💀Do not try to trap a Spirit. If they want to leave, let them.

💀Be aware of trickery. Some spirits may try to get in your head by pretending to be loved ones who have passed on.

💀Remember that every communication, and every spirit, is different. BE CAUTIOUS.

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Ouija/Spirit Board Etiquette

💀Be serious if you like, or treat it as a game if that’s how you view Ouija

General Ouija rules:

💀Rest the planchette on G to start.

💀Keep your eyes on the planchette at all times. If it begins to move strangely, end the session.

💀Legend says to end the session right away if you come across the words ZoZo, ZaZa, or MaMa. (Some do not believe in these demons or legends/rules, some do)

💀Be careful what you wish for.

💀If the planchette repeatedly makes a figure 8, or goes to all four corners of the board, you have contacted a wicked spirit. End the session.

💀There is only one way to dispose of a board; cut it into seven pieces, sprinkle them with blessd water, and bury each piece in a different location. Spirits of improperly disposed-of boards will come back to haunt the owner.

DO’s:

💀Always say “goodbye”.

💀Keep the planchette ON the board at all times. If it tumbles off, the spirit can escape.

💀Be obeisant; never try to anger a Spirit.

DONT’s (a MUCH longer list):

💀Never use a board in your home.

💀Never use a board in any state of mind but a calm one, and never when ill. Physical illness, depression, anxiety, stress, etc., can lead to manipulation and even possession.

💀Never let the spirit go through the alphabet or count down through the numbers. A spirit can escape this way.

💀Do not believe everything it tells you.

💀Do not leave the planchette on the board after you say “goodbye”; the spirit can escape this way.

💀Do not burn a board; it will scream, and those who hear it usually die within 36 hours.

💀Do not gift a board to someone whom you know will use the board incorrectly.

💀Do not ask about God, heaven, Satan, Hell, when/where/how you will die, or where the gold is buried.

💀Do not use the board in a graveyard or anywhere a terrible death occurred, you will bring malevolent spirits.

💀Do not ask questions that you know will scare you.

💀Do not bombard the board with questions. Start slow and simple.

💀Do not use the board alone, and when in a group, try to have an even number of people.

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Tarot Card Etiquette

💀Refer to GENERAL RULES.

💀Cards are used to contact spirits you already know/are close to (relatives, friends, ancestors, etc.)

💀Cards are a gentle form of contact.

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Rune/Letter Etiquette

💀Refer to GENERAL RULES.

💀Can use runes, homemade letters, or even scrabble letters.

💀Draw/cast the runes/letters to interpret signs and signals from spirits.

💀Write down what you see to analyze later. Remember “Redrum”.

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Alright! Those are my rules and tips of spirit communication! Questions and comments are always welcome! Blessed Be, witches! 💕

[ir0n-angel]

Okay, so I know TWCC, part 4 of Chicken McNoodle, can guess Ill-Considered (squee), and I know Unicorn and the Lion and Awake My Soul. The rest of those, though...tell me. I have grabby hands.

*bonks my stupid head with yours* I love you.

Good money would say, yes, you know what Ill-Considered is. 😉 So a couple of these are WIPs from my FO days that I have about 1k words for that I don’t want to just toss. They may or may not get scrapped and repurposed for something else in future, though.

Send Me An Angel (FO4) - I think we discussed this one, maybe?? The SoSu changed/saved a lot of lives in the Commonwealth. Every person we touch leaves part of our soul with them, even if it’s no bigger than a grain of sand. But what would happen if they didn’t make it out of Vault 111? Y’all really ought to be nicer to the Vault Dweller, just sayin’.

Necessary Inhumanity (FO3) - A Charon fic. Necessary inhumanity is the term used to describe the alienation required of doctors to treat patients. Charon has trained himself to not care about his contract-holders; just follow orders and don’t ask questions. Until the Lone Wanderer gets injured and he VERY reluctantly has to take care of them during recovery. Trust me, neither are happy about it. Why did she think it was worth it to pay that many caps for the contract again?

Mara’s Aid, Dibella’s Blessing (Skyrim) - Welcome to Rare Pair Hell, this one. Nords are stupid drunks. So stupid, in fact, that troll-hunting sounds like loads of fun. Athis, the dunmer Companion, gets dragged along. Yeah, it doesn’t end well. Only by sheer luck (or Bethesda’s game mechanics), the Dovahkiin saves them and takes them back to Heljarchen Hall to be healed and recover. Lots of nods to the game mechanics where the player character becomes the most eligible bachelorette while wearing the Amulet of Mara, which grants a boost to restoration/healing spells. Mostly just an excuse to latch on to a character/pairing that doesn’t have many fics written -- currently there’s only 15.

Secrets, Visions, and the Lies We Tell Ourselves (Stardew Valley) - Canon divergent explanation and the following ‘heart events’ involving Shane, his alcoholism, and his habit of self-destruction. The spell to wipe his memories of being in love with the farmer went very wrong, adding one more thing to regret and hate himself over.

Ask Them (DA:I) - A sweet one where Cole uses his abilities to help the companions go after their heart’s desires by giving them courage and self-confidence to just “Ask them”. Multiple pairings.

Tides (Stardew Valley) - Elliott finds his muse in the new farmer come to Pelican Town. And then promptly fucks it up. Communication in relationships is IMPORTANT, people.

Crisis (DA:I) - When the dust has finally settled from the Exalted Council and the immediate danger is over, Eve -- a sword-and-shield warrior -- takes the lost of her arm very badly. Learning how to accept a new disability, to trust people enough to help you, and just learning how to ASK for that help is a much greater trial than facing would-be gods.

The Nobility of a Fool (DA:O) - Elissa refuses to ask Alistair to perform the Dark Ritual with Morrigan, guaranteeing her death with the defeat of the Archdemon. Morrigan’s despair over losing her one true friend because of some (in her opinion) misguided sense of nobility sends her into a rage at the plot-ignorant bastard prince. Consent is everything.

Well, what do you think? Interesting?

Thanks for the ask, love. 💜💜💜

[cold-neon-ocean]

Let’s talk about Ronan and Crystal for a hot second please

Y’all it astounds me how much this fandom grossly mischaracterizes Ronan and sleeps on his relationship with Crystal like... have any of you read the comics??? Do you not know what an absolute love-struck doofus this man is?????

The War of Kings and Realm of Kings comic runs were are first REAL look at Ronan’s character. Prior to he’d been mostly an antagonist figure who was slowly evolving into more of an anti-hero. But we hadn’t spent any significant time getting to know him outside of the Annihilation run (and even there it was still limited). How he behaves with Crystal is a showing of who he genuinely is and how he naturally behaves. The Kree are in a very difficult spot in their history at this time, being unable to evolve, but despite this Ronan never has a short fuse with Crystal, never raises his voice at her, he’s never once in his whole character run even REMOTELY angry with her of his own mind, even when Medusa pushes him to his limits. He never takes out any of his frustration on her, and is only ever respectful and understanding. Coming from all the previously known info about Ronan, painting him as nothing but this difficult, aggressive, blood-thirsty, conquest hungry, warlord, to THIS, a very caring individual capable of loving and loving purely, giving his 100% devotion to this one woman was very surprising to say the least. 

I could get into all my thoughts about Ronan as a character as he’s my end all be all single favorite fictional character and has been for the past... almost 6 years now~ but I’ll save it and get into beginnings of his and Crystal’s relationship! 

I’m gonna start from the beginning of Realm of Kings, after the complicated war with the Shi’ar just so I can get to the meat of their budding romance and just how much of an absolute dork Ronan is (I’ll touch on the preceding events in War of Kings and some stuff after Realm of Kings a little in this too but I’m gonna save most of it for a separate post!) For context, the Kree are now being ruled under the Inhuman Royal Family. Ronan and Crystal were arranged to be married as a political symbol of the two races’ newfound unity and it was meant to be just that. Their relationship was a pretty slow burn that neither of them, or anyone, expected.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 01 ] So from the get go Ronan is just,, PROTECC even tho at this point their relationship is SUPPOSED to be purely political he’s still so sweet and polite with her just out of seemingly sheer natural instinct. This guy isn’t used to relationships okay, he’s literally only ever been in one other one his wholeass life and it didn’t really go very well. He’s very much just trying to do the chivalrist thing and doesn’t demean her in any way, or at least he very much doesn’t mean to, nor does he think she’s incapable he’s just naturally trying to be a gentleman.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 01 ] Their growing relationship is very subtly hinted at in the early interactions between them, as they’re both very polite with each other. Crystal’s genuine kindness towards him REGULARLY catches Ronan very much off guard as he’s just... not used to that kind of interaction with others?? He’s so used to being approached with hostility or fear or an uncomfortable worship like respect that when someone is just.. genuinely nice to him he can hardly process it.

Crystal would visit him in the hospital after the Shi’ar attack on their wedding (where Ronan nearly died) and Ronan was probably so surprised to see her there like “I forced her to marry me so I could maintain some political status over the Kree which I already felt bad about, then our wedding was laid waste to by the Shi’ar but she came to visit me in the hospital??? Why would she do that, doesn’t she hate me?????” But no she doesn’t hate him, and not only does she visit him to keep him updated on how the Kree were fairing she’d go so far as to just take him outside for some fresh air and a break from staring at nothing but four hospital walls all day. She doesn’t HAVE to be doing any of this, she doesn’t HAVE to care about the Kree or him but she does, and Ronan is just unable to understand why because all he ever receives is hostility; the Kree abandoned, tried to wipe out, then tried to re-enslave the Inhumans, he was well aware she didn’t want to marry him, and yet here she is- caring about all of the Kree, caring about him. Even the Kree people themselves have been shown to be quick to turn on him, despite his lifelong devotion to them; but SHE, despite having no reason to, is genuinely compassionate and caring with him so how could he not start falling for her just a little?? 

Alrighty so this is gonna be a LONG ONE so I’m putting the rest under a cut for the sake of your dashboard :’D 

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 02 ] More big protective husband mode. I love that she keeps having to remind him that she’s fine but his brain is just in constant “PROTECC WIFE MODE” he’s a disaster. A total and utter disaster of a man. Also Crystal casually calling him “husband” kasjdfashf meanwhile he’s not sure if it’s okay for him to refer to her so casually (even tho it is you blue dumbass) so he just calls her either “my lady” or “Lady Crystal” respectfully or just by name. He called her “my wife” once before this in WoK but he was talking to Medusa as he said it and not addressing Crys directly.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 02 ] By far one of my favorite single comic panels in existence. STILL BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY REALIZE AND GIVE IN TO THEIR FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER, he get 1(one) kis for checking in on her after they run into Pietro (who is an absolute garbage man btw I could talk about him too). Look at his face. He is on cloud nine right now, he could die happy right here. He got kis and frankly he deserves u3u (I’ll talk more about this panel later!)

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] (sorry if this is a little hard to read) Look at him confess to her at how genuinely impressed he is with her. Not because of how she treats him, he’s of course leaving his personal gratitude out because he’s already been told their relationship is supposed to be political, but because of how she’s gained respect from the Kree people- more so than her family has! Because why? Because Crystal has shown actually cares, wow! The Kree aren’t exactly what one would call “popular” among other races in the cosmos, and they don’t particularly care, so Crys giving a genuine care about them (especially given the Inhuman’s personal relationship with the Kree) is astounding. The fact that she has any room in her heart for them and assumes her responsibility over them maturely and with and honest desire to do right by them~ Ronan is so grateful, especially given that she’s pretty much the only one aside from himself advocating for the well being of the Kree to Blackbolt and Medusa.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] Another of my favorite Ronan moments because.. just.... GOD! It’s Zarek’s insult to his patriotism that sets him off because he’s been through plenty of that before, but you DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT INSULT HIS WIFE! It’s the insult to HER that enrages him. Let’s face it, if Crystal hand’t asked him not to, Ronan would have ceased this man’s whole existence in an instant.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] But of course, she still appreciates the sentiment! Also Ronan’s deadpan “Just about” makes me wheeze aloud ever time. He wanted to eviscerate this dude for insulting her but didn’t because wife asked him not to. He’s so fucking mad tho look at him akjsdhfa wife please let me destroy this man in your honor

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] And then he goes and lets his feelings slip! Which she’s actually kind of amused by, as she’s been picking up on his affections for a little while now (he’s been totally subtle about it /s). But her last marriage didn’t end well at all so no doubt she was probably withholding to see just what kind of man Ronan is (spoiler alert: he’s a grade-A husband turns out and a really genuine guy when you get to know him. Or should I say when he lets you get to know him lol!). He also very subtly calls her ‘fine’ here which, I mean.. she is let’s be real. 

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] (again, sorry this is hard to read! tumblr really didn’t want to work with me on these pics akjsdh) Probably one of my top two favorite Ronan and Crystal moments. She calls him out on calling her “beloved” and this ABSOLUTE DUMBASS first tries to play it off like he has no idea what she’s talking about then is just like “oh uh.... well I mean... it was... the heat of the moment......” Excellent cover, my good sir, no one suspects a thing. But of course Crystal isn’t gonna let him get away with that so easily. And in a moment of pure bad bitch energy she THREATENS TO KISS HIM if he keeps it up. And he’s just AGHAST, SCANDALIZED, HOWEVER COULD SHE HAVE FIGURED OUT HIS FEELINGS FOR HER??? HE WAS SO SUBTLE, SO RIGID IN HIS COMMITMENT TO KEEPING THINGS PURELY POLITICAL. SHE MUST BE SOME SORT OF PSYCHIC! (insert metal gear solid exclamation point sound effect on Ronan’s face in the last panel someone help this man)

Crystal: “You said you liked me.”

Ronan, the pinnacle of Kree dignity: “.......... No I didn’t..”

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 04 ]  Crystal is nothing if not a lady of her word and it doesn’t take her long to cash in on that threat~ When Maximus mind controls Ronan and tries to force him to kill himself (Bioshock 2 style) Crys figures this is the perfect way to snap him out of it, and she was very correct. Ronan’s face I just sob lol, he’s always so lost for words when flustered bless this adorable soft man. He’s not used to kisses. (Also Crys putting a hand on his chest is my favorite thing, and just wait until they start holding hands)

And from this moment on these two are pretty much all in on this relationship. No more hiding, no more denying their feelings for the sake of politics. There’s of course a lot more in War of Kings about the very beginnings of their character dynamic and their arranged marriage but I’ll get to that in a separate post (if you made it this far I appreciate you so much and apologize profusely)! 

What I’ve always loved about their relationship and why it’s my all time favorite is just how pure and genuine it is, and how much they benefited each other and how much they grew as individuals through each other. Ronan from the beginning felt bad about their arranged marriage, he didn’t do it for any other reason than needing to maintain a seat of authority when handing over leadership of the Kree to the Inhumans in the hopes the Inhumans would help them with their stagnant evolution. He never tried to solicit anything from Crystal, and maintained a respectful space, never overstepping any boundary unless SHE invited him to do so, but always offering himself should she need. The relationship only ever moved at the pace she wanted. Ronan valued her input and views and demanded nothing but respect for her from others (I mean look at what happened to Zarek when he called Crystal a “pink-fleshed lab animal”).

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 02 ] (spliced this page for the sake of posting) Jumping back in the timeline a little bit, this particular moment is one I find very important. Crystal defending Ronan in front of her ex-husband Quicksilver (who sucks) while also subtly hinting at her own growing affections for him. She says that Ronan is actually “rather sweet”, so his constant protectiveness is clearly something she takes no offense to. Not only that, but when Quicksilver asks if Ronan makes “her feel the same way he used to”, Crystal ADAMANTLY says that Ronan does not and the’s grateful that he doesn’t. She told him that she doesn’t need to justify anything to him yet she makes a point to be very clear that Ronan has shown himself to be better of a husband than Quicksilver was. Remember, Crystal and Quicksilver’s marriage didn’t end well (I’ve personally never liked how lightly Marvel has taken it and how things seem to smooth over rather unrealistically. The things Quicksilver did should be unforgivable.) so not only is Crystal going to let Quicksilver show up and interrogate her on her new marriage, she’s definitely not going to let him down-talk her new husband, who frankly, she’s surprisingly happy with and who’s treated her better and valued her more than Pietro ever did. Also to clarify, this is the conversation where Ronan comes in and checks on Crystal afterwards, asking if she’s alright and insisting he’s not trying to pry (and getting that kiss on the cheek from her); he doesn’t butt in on the conversation at any point and gives them space. I don’t think he’s aware of their previous marital status, that subject might be a bit too heavy for Crystal to share with him so early on, but he clearly senses the tension and makes a point to ask Crystal if she’s okay when he’s able. I think Crystal saying aloud what it is about Ronan that sets him apart from Quicksilver, and how he’s turned out to actually be a really good husband is what maybe flipped that final small switch in her, like hearing it out loud made her think “huh he really has been nothing like I expected, maybe he is someone I can be happy with~” thus prompting the kiss on the cheek even tho she hasn’t yet confronted him about his feelings or made her own clear to him. She’s just very grateful to him, of how kind he’s been, how he’s listened to and valued what she has to say more than Quicksilver or her own family seems to, and of course she’s just endeared to his surprising gentle and sweet nature.

It’s a real shame that Marvel erased all of this in the MCU, Ronan has shown a few minor hints of what could be a personality similar to this in the movies but we all know that didn’t last long. Ronan’s a surprisingly deep character, and a rather sad one when you look at his history, it’s just a lot more subtle than a lot of the big name Marvel characters. Crystal was probably the first truly good thing to have ever happened to him, and aside from her daughter of course, he was probably the same for her as well. The writing of their relationship is my absolute favorite due to how mature and subtle it was. Ronan never tried to win her over so that their marriage would seem more like a desirable thing to her like you’d expect characters in a situation like this to do. He gave her space and respected her boundaries and was just genuine and kind (something we didn’t know he was capable of up until this point), and in doing so she just naturally gravitated towards him. They were both always mature, no petty relationship drama like jealousy or miscommunication like so many couples in fiction are written for the sake of making things interesting (which they never do in my opinion, it’s just annoying) and then is dragged out unnecessarily. None of that cliche “they could easily sort things out if they just talk to each other!” or “person A is jealous of person B just talking to their ex even though there is no reason for them to be”. Crystal and Ronan are both too old and have been through too much to deal with petty nonsense like that. They see each other for their true and genuine selves and love each other for them and that’s all that matters. Like I said, Ronan was willing to defy the whole of the Kree empire, the empire he’s given his life to, for her without a shred of hesitation; and when the Inhumans decided to leave Hala and return to earth, Crystal chose to stay with Ronan (all moments I’ll talk about in a separate post at some point!) 

There’s so much more I could say about just these early stages within Realm of Kings alone but there’s even more within War of Kings and following comics like Fantastic Four and others I want to touch on in another post as alas I don’t have the room for all the images I want to share :’D 

But thank you for reading this far if you did! These two are so special to me and I could talk about them endlessly ;;

[fanfic-collection]

Loki x Reader - Whumptober 28 Beaten

28 Beaten

-

This one got kinda idk even - but I’m throwing it at y’all to read cus I wrote it

-

With a grunt, you hoisted the Asgardian into the air, grasping him by the throat and slammed him into the ground. There was silence for a moment as those watching stared in silent awe. Slowly you straightened up, looking around for another contender. The man on the ground struggled for a moment before falling still.

'Stay down.' You growled, sticking your boot on his chest, 'You're beaten.'

Cheers rang out, men and women alike. Flagons of mead ran freely as drunken song started up at your exploits. You gazed around the ring of Asgardians, looking for other possible contenders, but no one else seemed keen on stepping forward. With a stiff nod, you stepped to the side, reaching for your daggers and cloak.

From amongst the crowd, a man seemed to materialize, dressed in a green hooded cloak, pulled low over his face. He seemed to be maintaining a low profile as he held out your cloak to you. You raised an eyebrow as you stared at the man, looking down at him. He didn't seem perturbed by your unusual height or pallid skin, nor inhuman black eyes.

'Thank you.' You murmured as you took the grey-silver cloak from him and clasped it around your shoulders.

The man nodded, 'Might I talk with you?'

You looked at him curiously before nodding and following him through the crowd.

He passed through the people easily, cutting through like a snake through sand. For you, the people parted, giving you a wide birth when they recognized who you were, try as you might to disguise yourself; your height gave you away. Still you ducked low and struggled to twist and turn, dancing your way through the crowd, following this mysterious man, making your way from the main thoroughfare, curious as to what nature of business he might have in mind.

You were more than confident, armed fully once again, if he were some sort of assassin that you could defend yourself. Though you didn't know exactly what he wanted. The earlier sparring matches had mostly been simple wrestling bouts, had they been to the death, you supposed it might have drawn more attention, but this was unusual.

Finally you rounded the corner, into a dimly lit alleyway and found yourself face to face with the man from before. He stood gazing at you, a small smile on his face, a small crown on his forehead with short gold horns that hadn't been immediately visible beneath the cowl of his hood.

'Prince Loki.' You blinked, tilting your head, recognizing the symbol of the crown prince of Asgard.

Loki pointed at his horns, 'My reputation precedes me. I thought I'd wear smaller ones these days, for subtlety.'

'I have never heard of you to be subtle.'

Loki smirked. 'I have heard of you though, fair lady, though less in name.'

You crossed your arms.

'It seems you've finally come to Asgard, to thrash the hel out of our lovely soldiers.'

'I have heard tell of their strength.'

Loki nodded, 'Yes, you put a good thirty of them in the infirmary before they stopped coming at you. It's a pity Thor's eyes are for another and Sif isn't interested.'

You smirked, 'So it would seem.'

'So your challenge goes, any who can defeat you in single hand to hand combat, shall have your hand in marriage as well as your vast wealth and power?' Loki asked.

You nodded, raising an eyebrow. 'Yes, if they can beat me. What is your play, Loki, god of tricks and mischief?' You felt your heart flutter, you had never been this close to the trickster before. There had been stories of trickster god but you had never actually heard stories that he was this... handsome. The stories spent more time discussing Thor these days. Someone really should rectify that. Your eyes flickered to his long black hair, his angled face, his pale complexion... You looked at his green eyes, the way his gold horns rested menacingly on his black brows as he gazed up at you almost innocently. The slightly parted lips as he spoke, you couldn't help but wonder how they felt, slightly pink, parted and soft.

You felt a bit of heat rise to your cheeks as you were pulled back to the moment.

Loki raised his eyebrow.

Glaring at him, you had the vaguest sensation that he might be able to read minds. 'I asked you a question.' You demanded angrily, fighting the urge to stamp your foot.

Loki chuckled softly, 'I heard your question, and I am aware of my many colorful titles. Perhaps I am interested in your riches and power?'

'For yourself?'

'Perhaps I wish to add affluence to Asgard's vault.'

You snorted.

Loki rolled his eyes, 'Perhaps I have my own reasons.'

'Name them. You are not one to seek out a fight for fun.'

This time Loki flushed and looked away. 'It's not important.'

You tilted your head and looked at him curiously, 'What do you mean?'

Loki crossed his arms, looking back at you and glared, 'Does it matter, I said I wanted to challenge you. You said you would accept any challenger.'

'Well there has to be a witness so it is known that I did not throw the competition and you did not cheat.'

'Why would you throw the competition?' Loki turned his head to the side and gazed at you from the corner of his eye.

You sputtered for words, 'It is my oath, I must be honest to it.'

Loki nodded suspiciously, 'If you don't want to fight for your hand in marriage you don't have to.' He muttered.

You grumbled irritably, 'I have made an oath since the day I could fight, and I intend to keep it.' Once more gazing at him suspiciously you asked, 'What is your reasoning? And you can't say it doesn't matter.'

Exasperated, Loki tossed up his hands. 'I didn't just happen upon you by chance.'

You blinked and nodded slowly, realizing that actually made a bit too much sense. 'Have you been following me?'

Loki glared. 'It sounds terrible when you say it like that. I haven't been following you per se.'

You raised your eyebrow.

'I may have been... keeping... watch or monitoring your situation in Asgard.'

You blushed, crossing your arms. Loki sighed, 'The times when you were alone, away from the crowds and the fighting.' He looked away, trailing off.

Your face softened, 'You saw that?'

Loki nodded looking back at you.

'How much of that?'

'I saw you reading, I saw you at the shops trying to blend in, I saw how you struggled to because,' Loki picked at his hand.

You nodded, used to your unusual appearance, you were an unusual creature, your species uncommon. You tugged slightly at your cloak, subconsciously wrapping yourself tighter in it, though Loki didn't seem to notice.

'I saw you gazing at the stars, feeding the animals in the streets, but you always held yourself with poise and grace, no matter how you were treated. They see you as a prize to be won but you're more than that.'

You felt tears welling in your eyes, stepping forward you wrapped your arms around him and hugged him tightly, 'Damn the vow... I must keep it but damn it. For me, you have to win. I will try harder than any other against you, but you must win.'

For a moment, Loki stiffened in shock before slowly hugging you back. Kissing the crown of your head, Loki whispered, 'I will.'

-

The next day, the crowd gathered as ever. Your cloak hanging with your daggers and belt on the edge of the ring. 'Who will face me?' You called, wondering which Asgardian challenger would step forward. To your surprise, none did. The many men that had tried and tried again stood wearily around the edge of the ring shaking their heads, seemingly having learned their lessons.

The crowd fell hushed as the ring parted and a man in a green cloak stepped forward. Lowering his hood and dropping his cloak to the side, Loki stepped forward. A babble of voices rose up at he realization that the crown prince Loki was taking the challenge.

'Loki?'

'Loki's challenging?'

Confusion and slight outrage, wondering if it was allowed, wondering if this was a trick in some way, how would he cheat? Would he cheat? Would there be honor to this? Could the trickster be trusted?

'Do you challenge me?' You asked.

Loki smirked. 'I do.'

You blushed, 'Very well.' You sank into a fighting stance, wondering how he would rush at you. You didn't know how he could cheat, given that this was a fist fight, but he seemed unarmed. Biting your lip, you prepared to parry his blow.

Loki grinned.

Blinking, there was a shimmer of green, and suddenly there were four of him. The crowd gasped.

'He's using magic!' Someone yelled.

'Is that cheating?'

You laughed in disbelief as the Loki's approached you, not sure which one was real, you had to assume all were real. You couldn't parry two kicks and two punches properly, so you settled into group fighting, preparing to fight off a group, something you were also trained for, but apparently Loki was trained to fight as a group. The onslaught of blows came at once, and as you bashed away at the illusions, the real blow came from behind, hitting you in the back and knocking you to the ground. You gasped as you fell to the ground. The crowd gasping as you struggled to stand back up.

One blow was not enough to knock you out, nor truly wind you, even though Loki hit hard, but it certainly threw you off. He hit harder than anyone else who had managed to land a blow and that... was few and far between.

You blinked, staring at him dazed.

Loki danced back to where he started, smiling at you as again, his illusion returned another small army appearing.

This time the small army approached again, and you spun around, prepared for the blow to come from behind, but as you turned around to block it, the blow came from what had been your front. You snarled, turning around and grabbing at him in time, tossing him to the ground. Loki rolled away back on his feet and springboarding back upright with a soft laugh, light on his feet.

The crowd watch the lightning fast movements, amazed.

Once more Loki was back where he started and you watched, waiting for the army but he didn't bother. It occurred to you that Loki was showing off, for you. He was displaying his fighting prowess in front of the crowd to show that he could beat you to protect you.

Panting heavily, chest heaving, you watched Loki as he walked towards you, light on his feet. He was toying with you. You lunged at him and Loki sprung back, the two of you tussled on the ground, you getting the upper hand as the two of you fought back and forth. Loki excelled at daggers but you truly were excellent at hand to hand combat.

A burst of green magic erupted from Loki and you flew into the air, launched back and landed on your back groaning softly, Loki sat up, walking over and stood over you, foot on your chest as he breathed heavily. 'Do you yield?' He panted.

You moved to grab his foot and throw him off, but you felt magical energy binding your wrists, pinning you in place. Tugging futilely, you pulled with all your strength, thrashing on the ground, the crowd watched in hushed silence as you tugged and thrashed.

Snarling and growling, you continued to tug at the bindings. Glaring up at Loki from ground, you continued to pull as hard as you could, threatening to dislocate your shoulder.

'You're going to hurt yourself.' Loki muttered.

'You cheated.' You grumbled softly under your breath, as you panted heavily, finally collapsing into place.

'You never said I couldn't use magic.' Loki replied, foot still planted firmly on your chest. 'Really, never once have you fought a sorcerer?'

You grunted, still tugging at the bindings. 'Not one as skilled as you, most just throw fireballs, which can be avoided.'

Loki smirked, looking suitably smug. 'So do you yield?” Loki asked again, loudly.

Finally the bitter words you thought you would never say but to the one you were pleased to say them to, left your mouth, 'I yield to you, Loki of Asgard.'

Loki removed the bindings and stepped off of you, reaching down and taking your hand, pulling you to your feet. 'Excellent.'

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Green Wounds, Ch. 4

And we’re back with Green Wounds! Here’s hoping Tumblr makes it easier to post this one... because I swear to God it should not have been that hard to post the KISS Unsolved story. But we’re not here to gripe about Tumblr. We’re here to see what’s up with Starchild! 

Hoo boy, I am actually excited for y’all to read this chapter. Some heavy shit goes down in this chapter and it was insanely fun to write it! If you guys have seen Maleficent, then you already know what’s gonna happen... 

Read on and enjoy! 

Starchild stayed in the ruins for a month, sending Peter every day to spy on the ongoings of Jendell. King William died after a fortnight—at which Starchild felt a rush of satisfaction—and his successor was to be crowned in some weeks after his marriage to the king’s daughter, Jeanette. But Peter never saw anything of Ace.

Peter flew down behind Starchild, who was staring out in the direction of Jendell. He was often staring out at the kingdom whenever Peter saw him. He wasn’t sure what Starchild did while he was off spying for him, but he hoped it wasn’t just staring out obsessively at the kingdom.

Starchild waved a hand and turned Peter back into a man. Peter immediately crashed painfully to the ground, letting out a groan of pain. He really hated being a bird—it felt like a betrayal to his feline species to have the form of one of their favorite animals to hunt. “Why do I always have to be a bird?” he grunted to Starchild as he picked himself up. “Can’t I be a cat?”

“Flying is faster,” Starchild replied bluntly, not turning around to him. “Did you see anything?”

Peter shrugged. “I saw a bunch of servants carryin’… carryin’ multicolored skin? And some of it looked like animal fur. What was that?”

“Probably clothes. Did you see what they did with them?”

“Uh, no, I didn’t. Other than that, I didn’t see anythin’ else.”

“Did you… see Ace?”

“Uh… no. I didn’t see him.”

He couldn’t see Starchild’s face, but from the way he spoke he sounded like he was frowning. “Fine. Go get some rest, and go back in the morning.”

“What do you even want to know about this Ace guy, anyway?” Peter asked, by this time very curious. “I thought you didn’t like humans.” Why would he? Humans were dirty, inelegant creatures. Not at all like the sleek, civilized superiority of the cats. “Plus, he stole your wings. I would think you wouldn’t want anything to do with him anymore.”

Starchild finally turned to look at him over his shoulder, and Peter was treated to an icy glare. “I don’t like humans. And I also don’t employ you to ask me ridiculous questions,” he said just as icily. “I have my reasons.” He turned back around. “Just… Just leave me alone. Go hunt or something.”

“… Could you turn me back to normal again?”

Without replying, Starchild waved his hand and Peter was (thankfully) turned back into a cat. Peter quickly slunk off to hunt, not wanting to be around the faerie longer than he had to be. 

-*-

What Peter was unaware of was that Starchild did not actually spend all day on a ledge in the ruins, staring out at Jendell. His days were usually spent going around the ruins, sometimes exploring and other times simply wandering. Occasionally he ventured out of the ruins into the fields.

On one such time, he was wandering along the edge of a field nearby a forest when suddenly rustling made him turn his head. There coming out of the forest was a red fox. When Starchild saw the tip of one of the fox’s ears burned off, he realized it was the fox he had encountered at the glade. Had it been following him?

Starchild frowned at the fox. “I thought I told you to go away,” he said to it, even though in the back of his mind he thought, You’re talking to a fox. A FOX.

The fox tilted its head and stared at him, with the same piercing, exposing stare. Starchild wanted to hit the fox with magic again, but this time stopped himself. Instead he tightened his grip on his walking stick and glared back at the fox. For a long, long moment, neither fox nor faerie moved. Then Starchild curled his free hand into a fist, his hand glowing dark purple, and ground out, “Go. Away.”

After a moment, the fox lowered its head, turned around, and disappeared back into the woods.

Starchild turned and walked back towards the ruins. He wasn’t sure why that fox had appeared to him again, but he didn’t like it at all.

As Starchild spent more time alone, away from the Moors, and as his mind descended further into obsession, he gradually began to lose more of the faerie he had been before Ace stole his wings. And as summer turned to autumn and the world turned steadily colder, so did what remained of his heart.

-*-

Finally, after a month of hearing nothing and seeing no sign of Ace, Peter saw something.

He was perched on a window that looked into a gigantic room with a platform on one end, the platform housing two regal-looking chairs. A huge crowd of elaborately-dressed people was gathered in the room, waiting for something.

After a while, the doors to the room opened, and the crowd parted, leaving a path through the middle of the room to the chairs. Men wearing armor marched into the room first, then stood in line on both sides of the path.

Then a beautiful dark-haired young woman entered the room wearing a lavish dress that, honestly, made Peter wonder how she didn’t trip and fall in it. All the people in the room bowed to her as she passed, and Peter couldn’t help but notice that the young woman seemed a little out of her element as she nodded her head in return. She walked up the platform to the chairs and sat down.

More footsteps filled the air, and Peter turned to look at the entrance again. His eyes widened slightly.

It was a man, with dark hair cut to his chin and a rather odd face. He was wearing the lavish clothes and animal furs that he had seen before, but Peter recognized him immediately. This was Ace, the man his master was so obsessed with.

Ace walked up the platform, but instead of sitting down in the other chair, he instead went to stand between them. Another man came forward, carrying a golden crown in his hands, and as Ace knelt down Peter realized what was happening.

The man placed the crown on Ace’s head then stepped back, bowing his head. Another man spoke. “I present to you, the first of his line,” he said to the crowd as Ace stood up. “His Royal Highness, King Ace.”

Excited murmurings went up in the crowd. Ace looked out at the crowd and briefly nodded his head to them, then turned to sit down in the chair alongside the young woman, obviously the Queen.

Peter turned around, spread his wings, and flew off back toward the ruins. A large part of him didn’t particularly want to tell Starchild what he’d seen, but he really had no choice. At the same time, Peter also remembered the story his master had told him, about that Ace taking his wings, and actually felt a twinge of indignation. Taking a faerie’s wings so he could have some crown on his head? That was just low, even for a human.

-*-

Starchild had gone very, very still by the time Peter finished his report.

“Someday, y’know, I’ll live there, in the castle,”

Of course. How could he have so stupidly forgotten the one thing Ace had always wanted?

He finally spoke, his voice shaking… with what, he wasn’t sure. “He did this to me… so he could be king?”

He didn’t want to cry anymore. He had cried more than enough tears over Ace and his betrayal. What he felt now was rage.

Deep purple magic began to materialize around him as his anger rose higher and higher. His breathing turned ragged and his shoulders shook. The grip his hands had on his walking stick tightened until his knuckles turned white, and for a moment he imagined it was Ace’s neck.

He turned his head to the sky, and let out a long, primal scream.

The deep purple magic shot up into the air and broke through the clouds, twisting into a column of purple light. Purple lightning bolts shot out of the column and struck stones around the ruins, exploding them all to rubble. For a moment, Starchild stared up at it, frozen, eyes blazing.

Then he lowered his head, and the magic dispersed. Sheer rage was still surging through him, and inhuman growling came from the back of his throat as he breathed raggedly.

I’ll never hurt ya Starshine This is true love Starshine Let me help you I’ll keep you safe

I love you, Starshine.

Lies. All of it had been nothing but lies. And he’d fallen for all of them.

Behind him, Peter spoke up. “What now, Master?”

Snarling like an animal, Starchild turned around, his eyes wild with rage. He wordlessly waved his hand, turning Peter back into a cat, and stormed off. With every step, stones flew out of his path, and as he passed under a still-intact entryway, the entire entryway broke apart and flew in all directions.

“Well, when I become king, we can change all of that.”

“We could really unite the two kingdoms?”

“Sure! We’ll do it together, Starshine!”

He wanted to travel back in time and berate his child self. How could he have been so naïve as to think Ace would be any different than all the other arrogant, selfish humans?

As Starchild left the ruins with Peter bounding after him, leaving them in much worse shape than when he’d arrived, the one coherent thought that broke through the anger consuming his mind was Get back to the Moors.

He couldn’t live like this anymore; hiding away in pitiful ruins (human ruins), scavenging for food, waking up screaming and crying every night from the same dream… and letting Ace go unpunished for what he’d done.

He was tired of humans controlling his life. And he was not going to let another human shatter him again, or take away anything else he cared about.

Get back to the Moors.

-*-

He walked all through the night, and would have continued into the day if Peter hadn’t insisted on stopping to rest. So he begrudgingly stopped and let Peter take a brief nap, before setting off again. The entire time, his anger never faded, not even a little. If anything, it increased. The ground would lightly rumble under his feet, any plant growth he passed would burst into dark purple flames and die, and dark clouds seemed to follow him overhead. He passed between two small divides made of stone, and with every step he took the stones were flung out of formation into all directions behind him.

It seemed to take an eternity, but finally, Starchild saw the familiar standing stones up ahead. He was nearly there. He came to the boulder he had perched on just over a month ago, and climbed to stand atop it. He opened his mouth and began to shout in the tree language, his voice projecting out into the forest. “Border guards! I summon you here now!”

For a long moment, there was nothing. Then he heard rustling and heavy footsteps, and turned just in time to see Gene appear from out of the trees. Upon seeing him, Gene froze in surprise, then began to growl at him, demanding to know where he’d been. Starchild ignored him and looked out into the forest, watching as more and more of the border guards emerged. When they saw him, they all began asking him where he had been, what had happened to him… and what had happened to his wings. They were all especially shocked to see him without his wings.

Their constant questioning about his wings did the most to make Starchild’s rage flare up again. His hand tightened around his walking stick, glowing faintly purple, and he raised it up in the air then banged it down against the boulder. “QUIET!”

Purple magic shot out from the tip of his walking stick, hitting all the border guards. There was instant silence.

Starchild looked out at them all, then began to speak, his voice the most powerful it had ever been. “I know you all have many questions. You ask what happened to me, and my wings? I will tell you what happened. They were taken from me… burned off my back by the same filthy human that now sits on the Jendell throne! He tricked me, made me think he wanted to help me, even made me think he loved me,” he spat out the word like it was poison, “all so he could steal my wings and become the king! He blinded me with all his lies, but I see him now for what he truly is—a greedy, selfish, arrogant piece of filth, just like the rest of his kind! Have any of you ever wondered why we continue letting humans invade our home? For centuries, it has been war after war after war, with the greedy humans forcing us to defend ourselves. At the end of every war, they say there will be peace, but they lie! Not even a month ago they tried to take the Moors again, not even thirty years after the war that took my parents’ lives! They don’t stop… they will never stop!

“Why do we let them attack, and always force us to defend? We have always been nothing more than sitting ducks! Well, I say, not anymore! The Moors cannot survive with us simply trusting in one another; we need clear and strong leadership. And although my wings are gone, I am still protector of the Moors. I can give us that leadership! But I cannot do it by myself. You have all fought by my side in defending the Moors, and I cannot think of anyone better to help me! Join me, and I will make sure the Moors are never defenseless again!”

Starchild looked out at all the border guards. “What say you?” he asked of them. “Who will stand with me?”

For one long moment, there was silence. None of the guards moved, or spoke, only stared at him.

Then…

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Starchild turned his head. At the front of the group of guards was none other than Gene. He held his spear out in front of him, and was banging the end of it against the ground. Then Starchild heard another tapping spear join Gene’s, then another, then another… until every single one of the border guards were banging their spears against the ground.

The corner of Starchild’s mouth quirked up into a miniature smirk. He turned around and walked out of the clearing, the border guards falling into step behind him.

-*-

Clouds rolled over the sun, and the sky went utterly dark over the Moors as thunder rumbled. The glowing lilies floating in the lake one by one winked out. The Fair Folk looked around in surprise and confusion… then turned and froze when they saw Starchild come out from among the trees, the border guards behind him. Gasps went up when they saw the faerie, and someone cried out, “His wings!”

For their protector no longer had his large black wings. And although he looked the same, save for a black jacket and black boots, his features were no longer soft and gentle, and kindness no longer radiated from him. His features were now sharper and cold, and what the Fair Folk felt from him now made them all incredibly afraid.

He walked past them all toward the very center of the large lake island. As he did, the branches on the trees grew longer, growing and connecting with branches and vines that grew out of the ground. The branches and vines twisted together, forming the back and seat of a makeshift throne.

Starchild walked towards the sprouting throne with his head held high, and the look on his face perhaps would have been solemn if his features weren’t so cold and stony. Each step was slow and deliberate, to better make the Fair Folk realize what was happening. He didn’t bother turning his head to look at them as he passed, but could feel the shock and terror radiating from them all.

When Starchild lowered himself to sit on his throne, he understood for the first time in his life why humans loved power so much. He ruled over the Moors now, had a different power that wasn’t magic, that would allow him to get what he wanted… and knowing that made him feel more powerful than he’d ever felt in his life.

Peter jumped up onto a stone beside him, and Starchild lifted a hand to run his fingers over Peter’s fur. He finally turned his head and looked out at the Fair Folk, taking in their intimidation and fear. Every movement was smooth and calculated, and every inch of Starchild gave off the impression that he could easily rip them apart if they even thought about protesting this new reality. To his satisfaction, the Fair Folk all averted their gazes whenever his eyes met theirs.

To his left, Gene pointed his spear at the Fair Folk and growled threateningly, the other border guards following suit. Shaking in fear, one after another the creatures began to bow, until all of them were bowing in respect to Starchild.

Starchild looked out at them all, and for a moment, he felt a flash of something akin to guilt. The old Starchild would have been appalled at the thought of doing this, and would (ironically) rather cut off his wings than impose his own authority on the Moors.

But that Starchild was a fool; a naïve, starry-eyed fool who thought he’d been given true love’s kiss. He had been content to cry, wanting nothing more than to wallow in misery and sob over Ace stealing his wings and ripping his heart to pieces. That Starchild was dead. And this one, this new Starchild, did not want to cry. He would not cry anymore.

What he wanted now was vengeance. 

And he would get it, one way or another.

Lightning flashed, illuminating Starchild’s cold face.

[crashdevlin]

It’s Not Christmas

Author’s Note: Written for @ne-gans 5k Xmas Challenge. The prompt I chose was Decorating the Tree.

Summary: Y/n is the Winchesters’ Omega. It’s her first winter in the bunker and she’s not happy with the lack of holiday cheer in her new home.

Pairing(s): Sam x Omega!Witch!Reader, Dean x Omega!Witch!Reader

Word Count: 2659

Story Warnings: fluff, slight angst, A/B/O dynamics, small surprise (which is listed in tags), mentions of Daddy!Kink and breeding!kink (very lightly)

“You know we killed Santa, right? And Mrs. Claus, so… all this is pointless.” Dean gestured at the tree you’d brought into the bunker and placed in a tree stand, which you were currently filling with water and crushed-up aspirin.

“That’s not the point of Christmas.” You grumbled.

“And we’ve met God and he was intimately knowledgeable of escort services. I can’t imagine he had a hand in creating the Messiah.”

“I'm a witch, Dean. You think I care about Christ?” You rolled your eyes and straightened up, setting the pitcher on the map table and turning to him. “Look, I had to deal with Sam being a Halloween grump last month and that’s my favorite holiday. You don’t get to Grinch me outta Christmas.”

“But it’s November. We haven’t even done Thanksgiving, yet.” Dean complained.

“We’re not having Thanksgiving.” You said, shortly.

“What? What- why?” His eyes were wide and you fought back the smile that wanted to take over your lips.

“Why would I make a holiday you like happen when you refuse to participate in the ones I like?” You put your hands on your hips and cocked your head. “I got Jack all excited about Halloween and what’d you guys say? ‘Jack looks too old to go trick-or-treating’. So, I said ‘Fine, we’ll just get dressed up and do something here’ and you said you weren’t going to put on a costume and Sam proceeded to poison Jack’s enthusiasm with his ‘Our every day is Halloween’ bullshit and Jack ended up watching Hocus Pocus with me in the safety of my room to escape y’all’s negativity.”

You pursed your lips in anger. “We could’ve had a lot of fun on Halloween, but you ruined it, just like you’re trying to ruin Christmas. So, why would I spend two days prepping and cooking a turkey, and mashed potatoes, yams, green beans, deviled eggs, my grandfather’s famous sage sausage stuffing, and pumpkin and apple pies for you, if you don’t want to participate in the things I like?”

Dean’s eyes went wider with hunger at every food item you listed. “Sam! Jack! Get your asses in here! We’re decorating a Christmas tree!” He called, pulling open the box of 160 shatterproof ornaments you bought at the hardware warehouse where you picked up the tree.

“We’re what?” Sam asked, walking into the War Room with an incredulous look. “Christmas already, huh?”

“If you want Thanksgiving, you’ll put some Holiday cheer on your face.” Dean warned, starting to slip hooks on the ornaments.

Sam laughed. “She’s threatening to withhold food if we don’t participate in this shit?”

You chuckled. “Well, I could withhold something else, but with your rut right around the corner, I think that’d be a cruel and inhumane punishment.”

“You wouldn’t.” Sam said, seriously.

“I considered it.” You answered, just as serious.

“You’d deprive me of my Omega, when I need her most, over stupid Christmas shit?”

“I said I considered it, but I decided that getting to Dean through food was a better plan than getting you, either of you, with sex. Threaten the feast, get results.”

“She does know me well.” Dean said, handing an ornament to Sam by its hook.

Sam rolled his eyes and started to hang the ornament near the top of the tree. “What are you doing?” Your exclamation forced him to stop and turn to you. “That’s a big bulb, it goes near the bottom.” You scoffed and shook your head. “I get that you’ve never done this before, guys, but come on. It’s just like the tree, itself. Big at the bottom, medium in the middle, small at the top.”

“And you put the topper on last!” Jack exclaimed, rushing into the War Room.

“How do you know that?” Dean asked, looking around Sam to Jack.

“Y/n signed me into her Hulu. There are a bunch of Christmas movies and a lot of them show people decorating the trees.”

“You didn’t set him up watching Hallmark flicks, did you?” Dean raised an eyebrow as he turned to you.

You shrugged. “He asked! He walked in while I was watching A Crown for Christmas and wanted to see more. Not my fault.”

“It’s your fault you were watching A Crown for Christmas.” Sam sassed back.

“It’s cute! I like Christmas! I like romance movies! I like Christmas romance movies!” You swatted Sam and Dean each twice and turned back to the tree.

Dean chuckled. “You’re such an Omega.”

The teasing comment hit you a lot harder than intended, and you knew he didn’t mean to be such an asshole, but it hurt when he made fun of your presentation. “And you never have a problem with that when you need a ‘mega, do you?”

“Sometimes we just want one.” He responded with a smirk.

You bit your lip and turned back to the tree. “This is our first Christmas as a pack, you guys. We have to do it right.”

“It’s not Christmas, yet.” Sam and Dean argued together.

You sighed and shook your head, your lips turning down deeply at the sides. “You know what? Fine. You guys don’t wanna play, we won’t play. It’s not Christmas and it’s not gonna be.” You pointed at the tree and swiped your hand through the air. The tree followed the path your hand took, flying through the air and across the map table to crash on the floor. “Fuck me for trying to have something nice.” You growled as you stomped away toward your bedroom, leaving Sam, Dean and Jack looking completely shocked by your outburst.

You thought sometimes Sam and Dean regretted taking a witch as their Omega, especially one who obviously couldn’t control her emotions. They had to. It was weird, though, how they could make a woman so powerful feel so powerless, how they continuously made you feel completely out of control. How they made you completely lose control. You were crying overwhelmed tears into your pillow when the door opened. “Go away.” You demanded.

“Come on, y/n/n. You have to know that was an overreaction.” Dean said, softly.

“I just wanted things to be Christmassy. I just wanted us to do something together. My favorite childhood memories are of decorating the tree with my family and you guys are my family now and you wouldn’t do this one fuckin’ thing with me.” Your words were muffled by the pillow, but you knew that your Alphas had heard you. Your mattress dipped on each side of you and two large, warm hands dropped soothingly to your back.

“We were just messin’ around, baby. We wanna do this Christmas stuff with you.” Dean said, softly.

“We’re just not good at it, yet. This family stuff isn’t… I mean, all Dean and I had was each other for our whole lives, you know. We didn’t… Christmas wasn’t… it wasn’t like you had.” Sam concluded.

“Yeah. Neither of us have decorated a tree. I mean, the only time that was even close to an option was with Lisa, but she didn’t believe in the tree thing. Said it was a waste of an evergreen.”

“Well, I mean…” Sam started, before clearing his throat. “Amelia and I decorated a tree, but she did most of the work. She didn’t trust me with her ornaments. She only had me put the star up because I was tall enough to reach it.”

You let out a sob at that. Dean sighed, loudly. “Great job, Sam.”

“Should I have lied, Dean?”

“When she's like this? Yes! Lie, make her feel better! Jesus Christ, Sam, I can’t deal with her cryin’ like this.” Dean’s hand moved soothingly across your back. “Baby, turn over and look at us, please.”

“Why? Just go away.”

“Come on, Miss Emotional. You’ve been on edge and over-sensitive for days, what’s up with you?” Dean asked. “You sick? You on your period? What can we do to fix this?”

You sniffled and turned over, wiping at your eyes. “It doesn’t matter, guys. Just… just go away. I’ll get myself sorted and then I’ll… I’ll clean up the tree mess.”

“The kid’s already on that. Think he said something about, uh, stringing popcorn?” Dean said, leaning forward. “Now, come on. What’s got you all fucked up?”

You shook your head. “It’s not… I just… I…” You sighed. “I’m sorry. I just feel a bit overwhelmed about everything. You know, when I left my coven to come here and be with you, I knew things would obviously change for me, but…”

Sam took a deep breath and his eyebrows tucked together. “You change your shampoo?” You shook your head and Sam leaned closer to you. “New perfume?”

“You know I don’t wear perfume.” You responded, pushing him away to get some distance, but then Dean just leaned into your personal space, sniffing at you.

“Yeah, he’s right. You smell weird.” Dean leaned back. “Not bad-weird, just different-weird. Like, not as sweet as you usually smell.”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “Great. First you ruin my Christmas plans and now, you tell me I stink?”

“I sense a deflection.” Sam said, grabbing your chin and forcing you to look up into his eyes. “What’s going on, y/n?”

You took a deep breath and slid off of the bed, swatting at the Alphas’ hands when they tried to stop you. You opened your top dresser drawer and pulled out a long, thin box. It was a bracelet box that you’d repurposed, with a red bow and a tag that said ‘To My Alphas’ in the neatest, prettiest script you could manage. “This was gonna go under the tree when we got done with it. I was gonna suggest you open it early. It was gonna be your reward for doing the domestic thing with me.”

You set the box on your mattress between the two men and bit your lip as they each grasped one end of the lid and shook the box open to reveal a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test. They stared at it for a few moments before looking up at you with wonder in their eyes. “Pups?” Sam whispered. You nodded, tears popping up in your eyes.

Dean sighed, heavily. “We’re assholes.” He stood, suddenly, wrapping his arms around your shoulders. “You just wanted to do something nice and we fucked it up.”

Sam moved around the bed and wrapped his arms around to splay his hands across your belly. “How long?”

“I’m three weeks late, so…”

“Three weeks late? When’d you do the test?” Dean asked, moving to cup your face in his hands and look into your eyes.

“Last week. Little Miss Patience called and told me it’d be a good idea to take one.” You whispered.

Dean smiled, brightly. “Let’s go get that tree dressed up and pretty.” He pressed his lips to yours and moaned happily when you nibbled on his bottom lip.

“You know what’s great about you being pregnant?” Sam started to walk away with your hand in his, pulling you away from his brother.

“Besides the fact that she’s gonna look amazing all round with baby Winchesters?” Dean grabbed your other hand and followed you out to the War Room.

“She’ll be able to call us both ‘Daddy’ without it being something weird.” Sam looked back with a smirk.

“Was that something weird before? ‘Cause you’ve been havin’ her cryin’ out ‘Daddy’ since her first heat.” Dean teased. “And you know I prefer a simple ‘sir’.”

You were smiling when you got to the War Room and you gasped when you saw the work Jack had put in, already. The tree was back in the tree stand, the mess of water and pine needles cleaned. There were strings of lights blinking on the ground, a huge bowl of popcorn that Jack was halfway through stringing on a roll of fishing line, and the ornaments had been divided into three piles by size. He looked up with a smile. “Are we going to decorate now?”

“Yeah, buddy. We’re gonna decorate now. Let me take the monotonous part off your hands.” You smirked as you pointed at the popcorn and fishing line and the two moved through the air, popcorn forcing itself onto the fishing line. “I have to focus on this. You guys start stringing the lights. Complete coverage. Don’t neglect the backside.”

“Do we ever?” Sam joked, pressing a kiss to your cheek and swatting his palm across your ass before walking away to grab a set of the blinking lights.

By the time you turned around with the string of popcorn, they had the tree blinking brightly and Jack had started to place large bulbs near the bottom of the tree. You smiled brightly. “You guys are doing a great job! Popcorn time. Sam, take this end, it goes at the top.” You handed one end of the string to the younger Alpha and started to roll the string around the tree and down.

It didn’t take long for there to only be one step left on the tree: the star. You bit your lip as you looked down at the expensive yellow crystal heirloom you’d taken without asking when you left your coven, trying to determine who to hand it to. Sam and Dean were both tall enough to reach the top without an issue, but Jack was a child and this was his first Christmas tree.

Sam made the decision for you, picking you up and putting you on his shoulders in one quick move. You hugged his head with your thighs as you leaned forward and secured the star to the tip of the tree. He stepped back and the four of you surveyed your work. “Huh. We did a pretty damn good job.” Sam said, reaching up to pat your thigh.

“You gonna let me down?”

“Nah. I kinda like you there, ‘mega.”

Dean smirked and looked up at you. “Only time she’s ever gonna be the tallest.” Then he looked at his brother. “But you better let her down, because we’ve got celebrating to do, and it can’t be done with her up there.”

“Are we celebrating the pups?” Jack asked, innocently.

“You know, if I hadn’t already told them, I’d be pissed at you for dropping the ball, Jackie.”

“He knew?” Sam exclaimed as he pulled you off of his shoulders.

“He smelled the difference in my scent a couple days ago. I made him promise to keep it a secret.”

Sam and Dean both shook their heads. “Okay, so, let’s call Mom, we’ll go get some pie and-”

“We can go somewhere to celebrate and then get pie on the way back. I don’t wanna go to Shari’s or Biggerson’s, dude.”

“But Shari’s is amazing, babe.” Dean argued.

“The closest Shari’s is in Nebraska, Dean!” You argued back.

“And I’m kinda tired of Biggerson’s.” Sam supported.

“See how it is. Fine. We’ll go to a real restaurant that doesn’t have a pie bar.” Dean rolled his eyes and pulled his phone out. “We wanna tell Mom at the restaurant or over the phone?”

“In person. Always do big news in person.” You coached.

“All right. Go get a pretty dress on.” Sam instructed.

“Okay, Daddy.” You teased, skipping off toward your bedroom.

Sam and Dean watched you disappear into the hallway and smiled at each other. “You know, sometimes I’m really happy we were able to steal her away from the Calla Coven.” Sam mused.

“Yeah, like every damn day.” Dean said, sending the call to Mary through and putting his phone to his ear. “Hey, Mom, you busy?”

Jack stepped up next to Sam and smiled up at him. “I think y/n’s going to be a very good mother.”

“You know, I think you’re right.” Sam said, reaching over to straight the star on top of the tree.

Hunters- @mrswhozeewhatsis, @adoptdontshoppets, @letsby, @spnskinnyballs

Everything- @heyitscam99

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

Fantastic Beasts: CoG Thoughts and Observations

*SPOILERS* Press ‘J’ if you want to skip to the next post.

Grindelwald is a badass. I don’t even like him and yet he’s a fucking badass. He was in fucking prison for 6 months and they had to change his guards multiple times because he’s so damn charismatic that he kept luring the Aurors to his side!

He then got out long before he was supposed to be transported and literally took out everyone on the transport team. And he drove the damn carriage and without even looking behind him, directed bolts of lightning to take out some of the Aurors on their brooms.

He did not come to play.

Newt is still my adorable child. He’s so awkward and still feels like he did in the first film which is great. A lot of people whined about how he wasn’t ‘manly enough’. Because Newt shows compassion on the regular and is more soft-spoken and not interested in ‘manly professions’ or some shit, so he doesn’t fit the ridiculous type of masculinity Hollywood shoves down our throats and dudebros can’t relate to him.

“There are no strange creatures, only wicked people,” is a great line and should be used in reference to animals as well since some people still walk around acting like sharks and pitbulls are evil incarnate. I really love Newt.

Leta knows him well enough to know what he’d say in response to her comment. They have an awkward air of camaraderie about them.

Newt stood up to a teacher with that line of his and got a month’s worth of detention. Leta left a dungbomb in his office to get back at him so she could join Newt. Good friends fight the intolerant assholes in charge of your education together.

Theseus gives off this smarmy vibe. I seen people praise him as a good brother but at present just the way he stands annoys me. And it makes me sad that Newt feels like he can’t be himself in order to be rightfully treated like a human being should be treated.

The dude playing Theseus really does resemble Eddie though, so props for getting that right at least. I can believe they’re siblings.

As usual the Ministry is useless. Grindels is literally the reason NYC got fucked up. Him and his messing with Credence. Newt made some mistakes but actually worked to fix them and then saved all their asses in the process. Why is he getting blamed with misinformation? Even in the 20s Magical Britain’s Ministry is full of morons.

There’s a black dude in a high Ministry position. I think there are more POC in this film than all the HP films combined, jfc. ‘bout time!

Also, they never told Newt that Credence is alive and are now using that fact as a way to try and guilt-trip him into joining the Ministry. Cleverish I suppose, but I still don’t like them.

Some dude just referred to Credence as an IT. wtf? Credence is a wizard who, because magical people suck at getting abused children the help they need, ended up a massive mess. He’s not some thing to be treated like shit!

The brothers are arguing and Newt starts spouting off things he’s mostly likely heard from Theseus and his parents. I will admit Theseus seems less annoying now that he’s spoken a bit, but the fact that Newt starts saying, “Okay, right, here we go, selfish, irresponsible-” speaks of somebody who is used to being compared to another and having what others consider to be ‘faults’ shoved in his face and complained about. That sucks a lot.

Okay, Theseus isn’t as annoying as I expected him to be. He does seem to care for Newt and understand how his mind works to an extent. He isn’t offended that Newt doesn’t go to hug him back. Newt is just awkward with physical contact from humans. He’s always seemed to be on the spectrum for me and I’ve only recently found out that others feel the same, which makes his character more interesting imo.

Grindels is in lift shoes! Needs that extra height that badly? 5��10 isn’t short or anything but he really needed that lift to 6′0″? XD

At least Grindels and the Gang are only using AKs(silently btw). I don’t get why everyone always acts like AK is the absolute worst spell in HP when literally it’s just a quick and painless death. There are a bajillion others spells that are actually terrifying.

Newt easily noticing that he’s being followed and fucking with his stalker is the best. People who say Newt is weak are effin stupid.

I would not take the hand of some random glove hovering in my face. Now way, no how. idc who it might belong to, that’s some shady shit. I don’t trust people.

Though we have to admit that the glove forcibly Apparating him, even if it’s a small distance is pretty cool. Dumbles annoys me but as Phineas Nigellus will say in the future, “He’s got style.”

The fact that Newt knew it was Dumbles makes me wonder if Dumbles has done this before.

Dumbles literally just summoned a big ass fog to cover the city! I don’t like him but he keeps impressing me! It’s annoying! Stop it!

“A Phoenix will come to any Dumbledore in desperate need.” Interesting.

A wizard doing sleight of hand. Oi vey. Dumbles is a drama queen to the umpteenth degree.

God he was a cryptic asshat even back then. It’s very easy to believe this dude becomes the Dumbledore we all know. I think people are just bitching because they refuse to see Dumbledore for who he is. Lots of people whining about ‘how manipulative Jude’s Dumbledore is’ not realizing that HP-Dumbles is literally a Master Manipulator.

Baby Nifflers are effin adorable and I love how well Newt knows them!

Newt literally has someone working for him. And he’s been nothing but reassuring in his own way. He especially tells her to avoid the Kelpie because he doesn’t want her to get hurt. I have seen several people whining about him ‘being mean’ to her and I just have to ask, are y’all fucking stupid? He knows his creatures and when he tells her to not go near one alone because of how dangerous it is and she might lose a finger, he’s not being mean. He’s being a responsible employer. I know some of your bosses don’t give a shit about your well being, but Newt is actually a decent bloke. Chill the fuck out.

She’s flirting with him and is really bad at it. But it’s kinda funny at the same time.

Also can we just stop and talk about how talented Newt is that he can create such realistic habitats in such seemingly small and cramped places? He’s really good at magic.

Queenie and Jacob are cute. And to all the people whining about how ‘unnecessary’ he is to the plot, can y’all chill? He is there for a reason. To show how fucked up MACUSA is when it comes to dealing with Muggles. Queenie will literally be imprisoned if they find out she’s with a Muggle. It’s ridiculous and his character is supposed to show how even the American wizards are messed up.

Queenie calling Newt, ‘honey’ is sweet. I swear she’s the Molly of this new group of friends. Seems like she wants to take care of people and just adopts everyone who comes along.

God, even the magical gossip rags are shit even back then. They deliberately made it so it looked as if Newt and Leta were a thing. Though tbh nothing really happened between Newt and Tina in the first film so her being all offended over him possibly marrying another woman is ridiculous.

These weird shots that are supposed to be directly from someone’s point of view are a bit annoying, I must admit. It’s kind of like watching through a somewhat less annoying fish-eye lens, but still annoying anyway.

Newt is very smart. He notices very quickly that Jacob is out of sorts and that he hasn’t been acting normally. He deduces very quickly that something is up and then stops it.

I really like how level-headed Jacob is about everything considering all the crap he’s just thrown into. He cares enough about Queenie to not want her to be imprisoned/possibly killed for breaking a stupid law. I got really emotional at that part because MACUSA is full of idiots.

Jacob is right though, she’s not being sensible. There’s a lot at stake and it isn’t smart for them to marry yet no matter how much they want to. 

Jacob looks at the bird thing and then’s just like, “I got my own problems.” He’s been through enough shit to just not care atm.

And now everyone’s basically going to Paris anyway.

Walking through weird barriers into new places should no longer impress me but it still does!

The magical circus looks kind of awesome but the I’m also not a fan of how circuses are handled. So it’s this cross between amazement and annoyance at the inhumane way animals(in this case creatures) are being handled.

Literally, they are kept locked up in filthy places, I am unhappy! Also Claudia Kim, who portrays Nagini, is so very beautiful and I am so very gay.

Nagini’s hair has that little serpent-like curl at the end as it rests against her neck. It’s such an awesome little detail to throw in there.

Her transformation is really cool btw.

Wow! You treat the creatures like shit and mock them, and get all confused when they attack you? I hope pain was dealt.

What is it with all the bad guys in everything having to incorporate skulls into their dirty business? Is this supposed to be a play on the whole skulls and crossbones thing meaning death?

Though Grindels does make it more interesting than some wiggly tattoo at least.

Dumbles is considered the greatest threat to his cause when he’s practically been doing nothing but playing teacher. That’s some high praise I suppose.

He’s already known as ‘The Great Albus Dumbledore’! What did he do to gain such belief in his prowess? He’s like 46!

Newt’s asking Jacob for advice on what to say when he sees Tina again, and Jacob gives him great advise. “Best not to plan these things.” It’s good. And then Newt’s like, “She has eyes just like a salamander,” and Jacob’s tune changes immediately! XD “Don’t say that!”

Jacob is a good friend. I really like him!

Jacob’s reactions are the greatest because he’s literally like an in-universe representation of the fandom when we saw magic in the movies for the first time!

Do people know that Eddie Redmayne actually licked the ground?

Newt talking about how narrow Tina’s feet are and Jacob just being like, ‘okaaaaaaay’ is the best!

Queenie must be so lost. Hearing all these thoughts and not knowing the language they’re in. And it must be stressful to not only be in an unfamiliar place but also be completely unprepared for everything going on.

That is the perfect moment to trick her. Literally, I don’t get how people can’t see that she’s emotionally vulnerable and a prime target for manipulation right now.

Credence is just a mess. He needs friends. Glad Nagini seems to be filling in that role but honestly he needs a few more. Those who are ‘cursed’ in essence, like he is. So they’ll understand him.

I really love Jacob’s character. He’s just so amazed by magic and all the things it can do. ^-^

Newt! Knows how to tame and capture creatures he’s never even met before! Zuowus are cute imo.

Hedwig’s Theme, I am crying!

Also, Hogwarts brings back my feels.

Very confused about the McGonagall thing unless this involves time-travel which idk how advanced that was at the time.

The fucking Aurors just break into the class and Head dude’s like, “I can go wherever I please. OUT!” And all the kids just standing there and look to Dumbledore for direction. It’s fucking hilarious that they won’t even listen to the dude who could imprison them with whatever excuse he can make up. 

Now, there seems to be students of all ages in this classroom, which makes me wonder if it’s actually a class or Dumbledore has a Dueling Club set up, because he’s literally teaching a Gryffindor how to not make the same mistakes in a duel, right before owning his ass. idc what anyone says, no class of 17/11 year olds will have multiples students the size of first/seventh years in it. People are either really really tall or really really short. So I vote for a Dueling Club happening.

The Gryffindor who just lost the duel gets up in the dude’s face and is like, ‘he’s the best teacher we’ve got’. Props.

Dumbledore is way better than this Travis dude. And I mean by power and presence. I don’t like him any more than I do the Travis dude. Meaning not at all, But you get what I mean. Dumbles is far better for the good guys than this hoity toity asshat who thinks that because he’s Head Auror he can do anything he wants. Him ignoring Dumbledore’s warning is going to get a lot of people killed.

“We were closer than brothers.” How else can anyone take that? What is closer than a familial tie? A romantic one! Duh!

He’s banned from teaching DADA. But he isn’t banned from teaching any other class! Travis should have been more specific! This is probably how Dumbledore ended up teaching Transfiguration during Tom’s time at school since he doesn’t fight Grindels until 1945. I love loopholes!

Are the candles in the Great Hall just lit all the time?

I for one, think that ‘Talk Shit, Get Hit’ is a very wonderful saying to take to heart. So when people were talking shit about Leta, she damn well deserved to tear them a new asshole over it! I applaud her for cursing that gossiping little bitch’s mouth shut in the corridor. She deserved it. I am a blood-thirsty bitch!

Young-Newt literally looked like a young Eddie Redmayne. Superb casting on that part, God damn! He even got all of Eddie’s chosen mannerisms down!

You know, I’m not shocked that Leta’s being harassed by Gryffindors. The whole school treats Slytherins like shit the moment they’re Sorted. Even when they aren’t raised on the magical side and know nothing about Slytherin’s reputation.

I have mentioned how annoying I find the weird fish-eye-like lens view, right? ‘Cause it’s annoying me again.

BTW, I will always firmly believe that Hufflepuff/Slytherin friendships are the strongest. That is a deadly combination right there.

Albus admits that he didn’t love Ariana as much as he should have. Age does somewhat remove that veil from the eyes, doesn’t it?

I really, honestly think that people just decided that anythngn they saw in this movie was going to be horrible and that’s why y’all are being a bunch of whiny bitches over everything. Queenie didn’t just up and decide hey, I’m joining Grindels! She’s honestly at the end of her rope and is getting manipulated. Y’all are fucking ridiculous. Don’t pay for tickets if you intend to find fault in everything the movie has to offer.

The good sis stands up and points her wand at Grindels despite knowing full well she wouldn’t be able to do shit to him. Temerity ftw.

You gotta give Grindels some props. This dude knows how to play on everyone’s soft points. He just sees them and immediately goes in for the kill. Was Voldy like this in the 70s? It makes more sense that people would follow him if he acted like this before ‘dying’ the first time. ‘Cause after his resurrection he wasn’t follow-worthy imo. Too frantic and mad to take seriously.

He literally tells her that she’s an ‘innocent’ and that ‘he doesn’t wish her harm’. He then tells her to leave, which puts her under the impression that she’s safe from him and can make her own choices. This is a prime manipulation tactic because she’ll come back eventually once she remembers that he supposedly gave her a choice and no one else will. She told Jacob he wasn’t giving her a choice, and now Grindels, the supposed bad guy, is doing just that. And he makes it like he understands her suffering in her desire for love without restriction. Even good guys make mistakes. Y’all want to kiss Dumbledore’s ass for every shit thing he did by saying he was trying to save the world, so you can get over Queenie having a lapse of judgment during an emotionally and mentally trying period.

Ah, the Mirror of Erised, in which you see your heart’s greatest desire. And Dumbledore sees him and Grindelwald alone.

Also, I’m just saying that pressing their hands together would have been enough to make the blood mix. Linking their fingers is not necessary at all.

Finally it’s just Grindelwald as he currently is, staring him down with an innocent expression. And Dumbledore’s sad smile is the only thing we see as the scene fades to black.

Newt is so good with creatures, I love him!

Every time he comes out of that case I am reminded of how slight Eddie is.

Newt asks Jacob to get the tweezers from his bag, but after the mishaps in the last film where British and American English were proven to be different to a degree, he goes on to explain what they look like and both Tina and Jacob are like ‘we know what they are, dude’. XD

They disinfect the unconscious dude, Tina gets her info and heads off. And Jacob tries to get her to come back and then looks at Newt and is all, “You didn’t mention salamanders, did you?”. XD

Upon Jacob’s insistence he goes after Tina and tells her she’s different from other Aurors because she’s got Middle Head, in reference to the middle head of a Runespoor which is said to be a Visionary/Dreamer and doesn’t argue like the heads on either side of it. Tina doesn’t want to kill Credence like everyone else which makes her a different kind of Auror.

So that whacky black shroud that covers the city is Grindels’ way of calling his peeps together?

Grindels’ appears before Credence and tells him he ‘wants nothing from him and wants everything for him, that Grindels never had’. He and Dumbles are perfect for each other. Master Manipulators. A certain kind of Dynamic Duo. Grindels even uses the whole ‘my boy’ thing!

The shot is on Jacob. His stomach growls and it pans down and then up. And Flamel is right behind him when it comes back up! Shit like that always gets me in films! The only kind of jumpscare I’m not into. I don’t like my back being exposed so shots like this kill me.

The Flamels don’t keep food in their house. What exactly was the exchange for living so long? Like, I just thought the Stone kept them youthful and stopped their aging, you know? Apparently they have no need of food. Wouldn’t living that long be boring as hell when you can’t even enjoy the basics of life?

“You don’t look a day over 375.” I love Jacob! XD

Seriously though. Nicki looks like he’ll fall apart at any moment. Is living forever like this really worth it?

Nicki “Hasn’t seen action in 200 years,” OMG!

Newt Polyjuices himself into looking like Theseus and calls him ‘an Auror and a hugger’ in this long-suffering but fond tone.

Theseus and Leta are literally right there too!

It was all going so well and then Theseus looks down and isn’t it always like that? The plot must continue on somehow? I’m dying! XD It was a good plan until that happened.

Tina gets him down with a flick of the wand? The War Hero? Really? Good for her!

Newt is such an awkward turtle. I love that they didn’t insist upon Eddie changing up the way he portrays him!

Newt describes Tina’s eyes as “Having and effect in person. Like fire in water, dark water,” and if that isn’t the nicest way to describe dark brown eyes idk what is. HE’S TRYING SO HARD NOT TO SAY THE SALAMANDER LINE! XD

SHE SAID IT INSTEAD! XD How she got that I have no idea. I don’t know shit about salamanders.

And Leta finds them and runs with them. I wonder if Tina is feeling awkward.

He’s known the Zouwu for so little time and it’s already cuddling up to him! The Snow White of fucking wizards, everyone! He is a cinnamon roll and must be kept safe!

Honestly I am proud I kept up with the whole Lestrange family tree business because holy shit it was convoluted!

The Lestranges are so sexist. Only the men get recorded on the family tree, what bullshit. Leta’s father Raped her mother via Imperius and never loved her. Frankly, a child being jealous of a new sibling that he did love shouldn’t be surprising. Kids make mistakes all the time and hating her for making a rash decision she didn’t fully understand at that age, is ridiculous. She didn’t even mean to get him killed. It’s not like she’s some super horrible person for that.

Newt gets this! He literally gets it! And she tells him “You’ve never met a monster you couldn’t love”. I hurt. She’s not a monster, she’s a fucking human being who made a grave mistake when she was like 7 and it haunted her for the rest of her life.

Nagini doesn’t trust Purebloods because, “They kill the likes of us for sport”. Her life must have sucked.

And here’s where is all leads up to. The literal Crimes of Grindelwald. And not in the sense of law-breaking, although there has been a lot of that. The title means in reference to an act of of great offense which isn’t illegal but still considered morally reprehensible, against another person or persons. He’s spent this whole time manipulating the hell out of everyone and doing things both illegal and simply sinful. Lying isn’t against the law, but the way he’s doing it is wrong, and it helps him commit his ‘crimes’.

Also what the hell is with evil people and graveyards/tombs? Is this a requirement in joining the dark side?

Grindels finds muggles “Not disposable but of a different disposition.” He’s really workin’ it because he knows the kinds of people who showed up to this little speech thing of his and he’s getting all of them at once.

He’s literally showing them a vision of what will happen in WWII with the bombs in order to scare them into joining his side. It’s what will ‘rise up’ from the muggles, and Jacob understands it instantly. Scare tactics ftw! He has a point in a sense. Could we really say that the leading governments of our world wouldn’t try to enslave magicals in order to have the most power over all other countries?

The Aurors are called down to face the crowd and Grindels knows just what to say to stir up feelings of distrust. Though they’re cops so it’s not shocking. They’re all power-hungry and with the experience a lot of the people have with Aurors, plus Grindels sweet-talking them all, of course some chick just up and moves against them and get murdered on the spot. Not even detained. Cops kill first and ask questions later, not shocking magic ones do the same.

Auror used an AK without hesitation. But you know, everyone says that is the most evil spell in HP, right? And no one, not even Aurors, should use it?

And as expected, it all plays in Grindels’ plans. I’m not shocked. “Spread the word. It is not we who are violent.” Right after an Auror just murdered someone. Talk about playing on the emotions.

The fire Grindels’ conjures is blue, compared to normal fire. Which means it’s hotter. Voldy’s fire was also blue. Is this just because they’re magically powerful or are both Dark Lords?

Grindelwald uses magic like he’s a conductor. It’s interesting because everyone else but Voldy has only ever had a death grip on their wands. Voldy holds his wand more gracefully and loosely.

Nagini does not side with Grindelwald. And she has a point. He knows what Credence is, not who he is.

Okay, so a lot of people died in the blue fire, but Newt was able to hold the fire off from consuming him several times. My child is so powerful! He’s just never violent with it! *APPLAUSE*

Queenie’s desperation makes me so sad. She and Jacob love each other but go about it very differently.

I can’t tell if Leta was saying ILY to Newt or Theseus. Maybe to both but with different meanings? Romantic Love isn’t the only kind of love out there. One is her long-time friend whom she could have romantic feelings for if their bond is deep enough. The other is her fiance though her bond with him doesn’t seem that deep. Confusing and shot deliberately like that to confuse us too.

She tries to kill Grindels knowing it won’t work. I like Leta. I don’t get why people don’t like her.

He’s literally using his fancy Fiendfyre to destroy Paris. This dude aims big!

Flamel is a genius and a bunch of people, most who aren’t trained Aurors, just had to put out some powerful magic that would have destroyed a whole city.

Newts hugs Theseus!

The Niffler lives and got the Blood Pact thing from Grindels! How did he not notice it?

Queenie’s skills are very useful to Grindels in how to deal with Credence without scaring him off. He knew what he was doing in manipulating her to his side.

Grindels and Dumbles agreed not to fight one another. Wonder what would happen if they turned their wands on each other with intent to do harm. Pain? Or maybe... their spells being directed elsewhere by some unseen force and hitting nearby things(*cough* Ariana *cough*)? 

So here’s where I am confused but I have many thoughts. A.) Percival Dumbledore died some time after 1890 but no date is given. He was in Azkaban during the time and immoral things happen in prison. He could be the father. B.) Kendra Dumbledore died in 1899 and Credence was born ‘circa’ 1901(meaning around that time frame but no specific details are known) so she could have birthed him. Albus wouldn’t know since he wasn’t very present at home and was distant to his siblings. Kendra isn’t actually a Dumbledore but she had the name, Credence doesn’t know the details, and Grindels could have sent the Phoenix in some way. C.) Grindels is just lying altogether but he’s really believable. D.) He used the word ‘brother’ to mean family, like how he addressed the people as his ‘brothers and sisters’. His fellow magical people. So perhaps he meant as in like Credence’s kin. So he could be a child of Aberforth who would be old enough to sire a child(teens do it all the time), or of their Aunt Honoria who could have had a kid for all people know.

Dumbles is the one to tell us all about the Phoenix thing first. Grindels strengthens that fact later on, making it not just some children’s tale. It’s all left to us to wonder if he’s lying about Credence or not.

I observed a lot.

So for the cinematography, it was really well done save for the fish-eye lens crap. I really didn’t like that. But I am a sucker for panning from above. Also clever use of the camera while certain people speak. Angles can do wonders to tell a story.

I thought the plot was very easy to follow. I’ve seen people whine about it not making sense but literally, in stories about multiple people, the POV shifts. A lot. In order to understand why everyone is doing what they are doing, you need to know what is going on from their ends. So yeah, why is everybody just randomly in France of all places? Paying attention lets you find out!

I do have one really big annoyance and it’s more for it taking this long instead of it happening at all. In the original HP films there really aren’t a lot of non-white actors portraying characters, even if they’re just extras to fill in for other students and such. In this film there were extras of all kinds of nationalities. I saw a lot of Black and Asian folks just filling up the background. And I’m glad the universe now seems more realistic and diverse. It’s just annoying that the most diverse of all the films in this fictional world, is the newest one and kinda makes the others a bit disappointing since the 20s were less progressive than the 90s.

My initial opinions on certain characters did change. Naturally I hate Dumbledore as a character no matter what but he’s more interesting than before. And I don’t really like Grindels all that much but he is a badass and watching him is interesting. Theseus and Leta grew on me with such little time. I cried for both of them. I’m disappointed but not shocked or angry at Queenie’s actions. I cried for her too. Flamel creeps me out still. I like Nagini. She’s been through some tough shit and is mildly distrustful of everyone. And now she’s away from possibly her only friend(I got not romance vibes between she and Credence btw).

I liked all the story-telling. There were a lot of creatures. A lot of talking. A decent amount of action. And humor spread out here and there for some levity.

I thought it was a fine film. It was good. I’d re-watch it with the first without hesitation. I had moments where I laughed, moments where I cried, and moments where I wasn’t sure what I was feeling at all.

Grade: A

[thechroniclesofwriting]

Right

I have things to say about the Winchesters being slightly terrifying.  Y’all ready for an entire essay? Strap in kiddies, I’m procrastinating a thesis and slightly tipsy. 

Firstly. Even in height, the Winchesters exceed normality. I want you to consider how high the average interior doorway is. Seriously, go look at your nearest doorway. Pretty high, right? Google tells me it’s 6″6. Dean stands at 6″1, while Sam is 6″3. So, Sam is less than an iPhone away from hitting his head on the top of your average doorway. And unlike NBL, AFL, whatever you national sport acronym is, players, they aren’t just tall. No. Both men are made of muscle. 

For reference, a normal man, no, a skinny teenager, could incapacitate me; female, 5″2, 120 pounds. My 5″11, 21 y-o brother can nullify my most persistent attack in about point two of a second, and continue a discussion at the same time. Imagine what a Winchester could do.

Having said that, one of the Australian Jiu jitsu champions is a dude who spent most of his life shorter than me; I should know, I went to both primary and high school with him. Watching him incapacitate opponents several times his size is a work of art. (Do not tell him I said that). Now imagine that same training in a man double his size. In fact, in two men, trained from a very young age.

Secondly, Sam and Dean fight for a living, where the living is literally ‘living or dying’. If they lose, they die. Violently and painfully. I don’t know about you, but I’d have to be pretty fucking confident that I was going to win a fight if I was going to put my life on the line. So to Hunt, per se, as a living, you are a) very physically strong and b) confident as fuck. 

Confidence is often touted as an attractive quality. Which it is, and Dean and Sam are both incredibly attractive (what nothing). But imagine that confidence being lethal. I don’t know about you, but I generally find lethal intent a little terrifying. Just saying. SO you have these two, very tall men, who work in a unit, who are very well trained, walk a diner, with the soul purpose of finding someone, and killing them. So you have these men who will use everything from charm to straight up, Geneva Convention banned torture, to get their information. Seriously, they break all of the agreements of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment  (UNCAT). 

Thirdly. Vampires, ghosts, shapeshifters, werewolves and demons. Things of myth and legend. The questions that the Winchesters have to ask to determine whether their case is supernatural or just humans-murdering-each-other are mad.  I don’t know about you, but if a dude ask me if I felt ‘cold patches’ in a room, I would straight up tell them ‘yeah around you’ and leave. Who is interested in answering those questions, FBI or not? Guys c’mon. I know it varies from person to person, but how difficult is it to convince someone of a mystical force? And how many people would thoroughly believe that said force might be benevolent? How many would make it God and how many would make it science? And, how many would make it a mental institution? So here we have two grown, confident. trained and intimidating men spouting mystical crap while running around in a Chevvy full of guns? Idk about you, but in this situation, I’d probably favour Chuck’s response.

Fourthly, we are currently in our 14th season. Now, some say we’re beating a dead horse. I say, that’s at least 14 YEARS of Sam and Dean being well renowned, death defying, universe saving, legendary hunters. They show up, other hunters are surprised, they have things to say. In their field, they are essentially Bill Gates (okay no but you get the point). Now to be that hunter, to be that good, you have to spend a good portion of time training. Their Dad raised them in this life, albeit abusively. But do you remember Samuel’s little test for Dean in season 5? ‘Do you kill a Vamp with a wooden or silver stake?’ HA. When was the last time Vamps were the real problem in a SPN episode? I’d imagine that the Winchesters are the cautionary tale that monsters tell their kids. To plagiarise John Wick - he’s not boogey man. He’s the one you send to kill the boogey man. They’re the shadows behind the curtain, the monsters in the closet. Their body count is higher than they are. If the Winchesters arrive, you know it’s universe threatening. 

Fifthly, not only are they renowned and feared hunters who have travelled through time, space, heaven, hell, probably Tartarus and Jahannam, they are also privvy to information that was not widely known to most hunters. Remember that Mary, in 1978, didn’t really know what Angels were? She was 23 and had been raised by a feared hunter. These two have fought against Lucifer, God, God’s weird sister, etc etc. They’re approaching 40 and really very little fazes either of them. You could stab a Winchester and they’d be like ‘good shot can you call Rowenna’. Most of their big bad’s? They befriended later. ‘Oh yeah Crowley we kept you prisoner for a bit but no welcome bring your mom, we’ll help you’. So now we have upbringing, physical strength, training, confidence (and a damn good track record of, y’know, not dying/coming back to life). 

SO FINALLY lets talk genetics. On one side, we have hunters, and the other, the Men of Letters. So overall, two fairly ferocious families. But Mary kills me every time, mostly because of the excellent casting of young Mary. She is so, so Dean. The first time she meets Dean, she confronts him. She’s maybe 19, while Dean at the time would have been approximately 30. I’m 23, and I run from 16 year olds. But she confronts him, and matches him blow for blow. THEN LATER in 78 (so she’s my age, and I’m still fleeing from high school boys) fights an ANGEL and mostly, bests her. 

So we’ve got Mary, the born and bred hunter. But then we have John, Pretty, naive John, who is thoroughly offended that he’s treated as useless, which frankly tells us a lot about him. Where Sam and Dean try to protect their naive father of the horrors of the life that befell them (by his hands), John is forceful in proving his worth. He won’t shy from protecting Mary, and you can see how that might ferment into revenge. That sheer determination; it’s so Sam. You can argue with me, but as a law student, I can tell you that nothing but sheer, cold, logic, like the kind we see in John in 5x13 gets you into Stanford Law. Maybe that’s why he and John clashed so much, and why Sam was so compassionate to Henry; maybe that’s why Dean tolerated his dad more than Sam did. Sam did have a mom, and it was Dean. Because Mary is so upset, so affected by her family, and would’ve protected them at any cost. Like Dean does. (Also I like to imagine Dean being like Samuel, if and when he has a child.). Nature, per se, has given them all the tools to become thoroughly terrifying human beings.

So we have training, confidence, knowledge, experience and genetics. Ladies and gentlemen, I presently to you my thesis on why Sam and Dean Winchester are not people you ever want to encounter.

[askmyboys]

M o r e characters (they aren’t related tho!)

I really should keep up with posting my characters when their done so oop- here y’all go enjoy a good man and a bastard (derogatory) | Name: Gordon Goodman

| Nicknames: Gord, Don, or Gordo

| Gender: He/Him and They/Them

| Age: 30

| Height: 8’2”

| Species/Race: Unknown

| Hair Color: Bubblegum Pink (his hair is usually in a man bun or a ponytail)

| Eye Color: Black (his eyes are literally like googly eyes, the pupils are usually in opposite spots of each other)

| Skin Color/Body Type: He’s pretty pale and he’s VERY lanky and to be honest it almost seems like he hasn’t got any bones in his body the way he can bend, stretch, etc (another thing to note, a lot of his body is just,, l e g s- bigem legs fdjksljfd)

| Appearance: His main outfit is literally a rainbow one, he’s got a rainbow suit on, pants to match and even somehow rainbow looking oxford shoes (he got ‘em custom made) and imma tell you rn it isnt a soft/light/pastel rainbow, its fuckin FULL ON burn your retinas bright- But… If your eyes are sensitive to bright colors he carries around a certain case (it’s got his other outfit that he prepared just in case someone’s eyes are too sensitive and hurt by bright colors) his secondary outfit is a light blue suit vest with a long sleeved light pink shirt underneath it, his pants also match the undershirt and his shoes are pink n blue oxfords (he does wear a pink n blue bowtie as well, it's much more soft light almost pastel colors tbh) They don’t have any inhuman features honestly, no fangs, nothing the only thing inhuman about them is the fact they seem so toon like and can do many things humans just cannot. He also doesn’t have a beard or any sorta facial hair either (hes babyfaced p much)

| Personality: I’ll be blunt, Gordon here is 100% a himbo, he’s super sweet, kind, caring but not very intelligent- he’s got a heart of gold and a smol brain (sometimes he can actually say some intelligent stuff but then like not even a few seconds later he won’t even remember saying any of that) despite being so lanky he seems to be VERY strong as he can pick up very heavy objects that a normal human couldn’t, he can also fit and squeeze into places most people couldn’t thanks to this ability, honestly there’s not much to him backstory wise, he didn’t have no traumatic past or any trauma really! Sure, I mean, there have been people who have been mean n awful to him BUT he still treated them kindly even then, he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body! Not cruel, not sadistic, not evil, none of that! He’s just a Goodman! (heh) a 10/10 boy

Who could do no harm to anyone, if they try to get physical with him he’ll legit just pick them up and hold them in a hug instead like “Shh! It’s okay, we don’t hafta fight…! I’m sure all ya need is a nice big hug!” but ye that’s about it for personality wise stuff.

| Side Facts: Likewise he has a lot of toon abilities, for an example- He has once pulled a flower out of his ear (which made his eyes rattle and roll around before falling back into place) and has handed it to someone, don’t worry the flower was as clean as it could be- It’s not only flowers though, he can pull anything out of his head essentially (bigger items though take a lot out of him and it’s a lot harder to pull those out so pls try to stick with smaller themed items) it’s not that he can’t because if he were determined enough he could pull something as big as a fucking sofa from his mind if he so desired ...but he’s never had to do that before- That’s p much his item summoning ability and how it’s done.

He’s super stretchy, flexible, and even moldable! He’s like a contortionist but probs without any limits whatsoever, he can bend, twist, etc- Hell, bc his body is mostly legs- He can legit without even having to balance on his hands just fall backwards to look at you, he usually has a grin on his face but with him it’s not spooky at all tbh- he’s just a bright, happy, outgoing and friendly dude! He loves to have a smile on his face but more importantly he loves to put a smile on others faces! Now that being said, he does understand sadness is a thing, anger, etc- And it can’t just magically go away, heck- while he doesn’t usually feel much anger- He does get sad sometimes himself! Even if he gives someone a hug, holds their hand, or anything he knows that won’t automatically make everything better or okay, he might be a himbo but if there’s ONE thing he understands it’s feelings and emotions ...Well he understands them to s o m e degree

He’ll be there for anyone who needs him though! If you want a hug he’ll wrap his arms around you! (if it's more of a snuggle, he’ll coil his arms around you ...pLEASE THO- remind him of how you have bones and your much more fragile than he bc he would never hurt anyone on purpose but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to accidents now does it?) or if you need someone to listen he’ll be happy to listen to you! If you need advice? ...H-He claims he’s not good at that but he has intelligent moments there sometimes but then he forgets what he says afterwards but he knows whatever happened it seemed like it helped so that makes him smile!

| Name: Darius Sullivan Gibson

| Nicknames: Dare, Sully, or Gibs

| Gender: He/Him

| Age: 39

| Height: 9ft (he IS hunched over a bit tho so he’d probs be 8’8” since he’s got them boots)

| Species/Race: uH- dEFINITELY NOT HUMAN FOR DAMN SURE

| Hair Color: Black (his hair has got a lil curly bit in front and that’s what I’ll give ya, a lil curly swirl jgfkdslfdj)

| Eye Color: Dark Green

| Skin Color/Body Type: Ghostly pale and he’s VERY large and wide, hims a BIG B I G man, this man is shaped like a fuckin B L O C K fghjdksljfhdk

| Appearance: His main outfit is a long black trench coat (a leather one) he usually doesn’t keep it buttoned either with a dark green turtleneck underneath it, he also wears a black ribbon tie and his pants match his turtleneck and he wears heeled black leather chelsea boots and he also wears a black cartwheel hat, he also wears fingerless gloves that match his turtleneck/pants. He has a fairly thick beard and sideburns (not really a long one but its just,, well, t h i c k) he has long pointed ears, multiple green tongues, some green tentacles (its that dark green shade, bright colors are b a d for him), and even a weird black tail that has a green fluffy bit at the end, and all his teeth are sharp but he has two particular sets of fangs top and bottom in his mouth that stand out more so than the rest of his teeth. And of course, he has sharp black claws as well (even though you can’t necessarily see it on his hands, his fingers are purely black, the best way to describe it is just pure dark energy lmao). And finally he doesn’t really have prominent scars but there’s scars LITTERED all across his body.

| Personality: Oof he’s baad, like- purely disgusting- literally tbh- He’s a smug, cocky, and arrogant bastard- He thinks EXTREMELY highly of himself, perhaps he has a God Complex even tbh- But also when I say he’s purely disgusting, this man smells like so many things and NONE of them are good- he’s also a murderer (it isn’t technically cannibalism but he does eat humans), he’s cruel, sadistic, and evil af- A bad bad slasher man, his favorite weapons are a cane, knives, or guns tbh- But then again those are just favorites- he’ll use ANYTHING he can as a weapon tbh, hell he’d pick up a random human and use them as a baseball bat to another- he’s also flirtatious but in a bad dark way, one example is he’ll flirt with you by literally stating how he’d love to just eat you up ...and you might think oh how sweet but um n o, he means it, just- come near him, stick your arm into his enclosure and see what happens hjfdksjdfks- you’ll be missing an arm-

Would easily use you like a lollipop tbh- oh god he’s gonna commit the b i t e of 87 hjfdkslkjdfs- he’s just, god he’s so awful- i wanna punch my own creation but he could easily defeat me and he would tbh, he’d be the one to challenge and fuckin kill god, there can be o n l y one fjkdclsjkd there is no tragic backstory btw, he’s straight up just a slasher, murders because he thinks its fun and everyone is so weak and pathetic compared to him!

There is no “befriending” this man, BUT… If he does grow “fond” of you then you’d more than likely be nothing more than a mere pet to him and nothing more or a possession even but if you're in his possession, a pet of his… You’ve definitely got the b e s t protection you could ever get in your life ...Well from ANYONE else, from him though? I mean, it's still risky, he IS a killer so just bear it in mind okay?

| Side Facts: Another thing he’d do, bc he smokes a LOT of cigars and I mean a l o t, he’ll legit bend down JUST so he can blow cigar smoke directly in your face, he also might put a cigar out using your head while also calling you a good little ashtray ...the more I talk about him the more I,, hate my own creation- i hate him purely and wholeheartedly

He lives in a place called Shademoor City and more specifically on a street called Brinewood, his street is definitely one for the not so nice ones of the city, like the further you go and closer you get to Brinewood St the more grotesque and nasty everything looks, and his “home” well it’s sorta more like a hideout area- He probs does have a mansion somewhere bc he uh he I S a rich man, what he did/might be doing to earn said money? ...Eh don’t worry about it- but if he does that mansion is EXTREMELY far away from Brinewood Street.

He’s more so a night owl but very rarely will you actually see him in the daylight, the nighttime is just the easiest to strike at, after all- it's so easy to hide within the shadows, hide in the alleyways and wait for unsuspecting prey to walk by.

He has a black cane with a skull on top of it and fun fact, it’s not just a cane haha fuck youuu!! Its also a SWORD B I T C H! (to him, swords are just bigger and fancier knives, either way, it still kills the victim!)

[eiwyn]

NON ADOPTEES SHUT THE FUCK UP AND FUXKING LISTEN

i just saw a stupid fcking post with obviously white non-adopted feminists tryna look good and openminded and progressive and understanding by promoting adoption without having any idea what they’re talking about lmao can someone just kill me already. why is adoption so romanticized? why do ppl think adoptes just ”wait” to get adopted and that adoptive parents are some sort of ”heros” or ”good people” for adopting??? why do white rich ppl think they have MORE right to have another persons child than the fuxking biological parent themselves?? that must be like the most toxic mindset and its SOOOOO typical white rich ppl and their savior complex. THEY know BETTER on how to take care of brown poor peoples children than themselves. like this is just colonial bullshit. you’re stealing poor brown peoples children and excuse yourself with ”knowing better”????? you have every fucking money and privilege in the WORLD to help brown poor people to stay with their children or use birth control, yet you DONT!!!! bc you USE them to boost your disgusting white rich savior image. im so triggered by non-adoptees talking about adoption. that post had like 200k + and im just here like.... youre all fucking stupid. honestly. ITS NOT THAT EASY, STOP TREATING US AS OBJEVTS, STOP TALKING OVER OUR HEADS AND START LISTEN TO ACTUAL ADOPTEES god i hate them so much lmaooo. its just SO FUCKING CRINGE, they literally out there wanna feel good about themselves for being so ”openminded” and ”seeing adoptees as children lile their own” like wow you want a fucking prize or smth?? they act like the prejudices they face are the WORST ever when in fact, the prejudices adoptees face from their adoptive parents are WAY worse than any random stranger saying ”i could never adopt”. i just wanna say that adoption isn’t something good and anyone who thinks that is dumb af and can unfollow me right now. now repeat after me; ASOPTION IS NOT GOOD. ADOPTION IS TRQUMA. like why would it be GOOD TO BE ABANDONED BY YOUR PARENTS, HAVING TRAUMATIC ISSUES, THEN GET YOURSELF A PAIR OF WHITE ADOPTIVE PARENTS WHO ACT AS OF THEY DID YOU A SERVICE BY ADOPTING??? adoptive parents dont want to help children lmaoo. they just want a child + feel good about themselves. white rich adoptive parents have EVERY PRIVILEGE IN THE WORLD to help poor brown families stay together, wether its about birth control or financial contribution and less racism. but nope, they don’t. because they know they can use these poor people to adopt their children. it’s capitalism and colonialism in a nutshell. rich ppl loves to think they help poor people by exploiting them as if they were slaves. and white ppl loves to exploit brown ppl and take their babies and ”assimilate”, ”civilize” them. i hate white feminists who think adoption is the solution to everything. i hate white feminists who think poc and gays and poor ppl should adopt more because ”thats so progressive and diverse” without thinking of the DAMAGE adoption caused children?? like lmao you think its fun to be shipped around the first few years of your life??? you think this will just ”get better” later? (you fucking inhumane piece of shit. i got big abandonment issues and im emotionally unstable which has caused me to fuck up many relationships, only making my abandonment issues growing stronger. and thats probably smth i’ll have to learn to live with for the rest of mt life. fick you.) you promote for minority and oppressed groups to adopt without even realizing that its THESE GROUPS adoptees come from?? like maybe you should HELP THEM keep their children instead?? i know whites in the america who make like campaings and shit so ppl can DONATE to them so they can ADOPT????? but they cant even help the MOTHER to KEEP her child???? not to talk about sweden were adoptive parents get 80k to adopt bc ”poor ppl should also be able to adopt” but us ADOPTEES dont get ANYTHING to be able to revisit our home countries??? no instead we have to pay a membership flr these disgusting adoption orgnakzations, tell them our whole life story and our revisit and PROMOTE their organisation so OTHER adoptees will pay them and OTHER adoptive parents wanna adopt with them??? yeah. unpopular opinion but adoption is fucked up. adoption isnt a human right, no one has the right to take another persons child. however the CHILD has the right to know who their parents are and where they come from. adoption is nothing but human trafficking and capitalism, racism, colonialism and sexism all in one. and i refuse to think otherwise. also if you’re not adopted, then dont fucking speak about us. dont fucking talk about us. you think you’re our allies LMAO you think its us ”adoptive parents and adoptees against the evil ignorant racists” but you’re fuxking wrong. its US ADOPTEES agains adoptive parents and adoptive prganisations constantly trying to profit from our seperstion with our biological families. youre not our fkn allies, you dont undersyand shit. do you know how many times ive spent my free time in trying to educate adoptive parents FOR THE SAKE OF THEIR CHILDREN and they dont undersyand nor care a shit?? its not bc they’re stupid. i grew up with the same parents, i learn everytjing mysELF (thanks to other adoptees, thanks to my experiences as a brown adopted woman and thanks to my interest for polticis and human rights). if I CAN DO IT SO CAN YOU. ppl get so triggered when adoptees question adoption y’all be like ”omg u must have had a shit childhood im so sorry for you”, ”wow youre SOOO ungrateful!!! you should just have been a child prostitute back in asia then???” (lmao that says a lot about tour fucking reasons bejind adopting and your fucking pride. so many adoptees being threatened to be sent back, guilt tripping them, which definitely is abuse but no one gives af about that). people get so triggered by adoptees questioning adoption but they dont undersyand my adoption isn’t better or worse than anyone elses. ppl assume im mentally ill or hate my adoptive parents but in reality i just hate capitalism, racism, sexism and classism. like its not that hard to understand lmao. ITS COMMON FUCKING SENSE YOU CANT CLAIM TO CARE ABOUT WOMEN, POC OR POOR PEOPLE WITHOUT VARING ABOUT ADORPEES. yet its SOOOO taboo to claim youre against adoption bc adoption is so romanticized due to all the whites saving war orphans. its not adoption ”in itself” im against FUCKING OBVIOUSLY but the INDUSTRY. like idgaf if your step father, who’s been your stepfather since u were 2 after your biological dad died, adopts you?? im obviously against the exploitation of poor people but that is SOOOO TABOO even among ”feminists” which i find so fkn weird tbh and EXTREMELY hypocritical. adoption is a feminist issue, yet no one gives af. if you’re one of those people promoting adoption, CLAIMING to care about us, but agtually u just want money/children and to look good then fuck you block my ass and dont ever look at a child ever fuxking again.

[moonichor-blog]

1. Detail her relationship with her mother and how it affects her view of herself/her own duties. 2. Is it better to save one life that she loves or a group of strangers? 3. Does she think she's pretty? Intelligent? How is her overall confidence and self image?

META TIME.

Those are excellent questions, Lolly, and I adore each of them since they push me to think about thematics I may have only briefly thought about, or never had the chance to write out at all. Let’s see if I can give answers to them. ( also I apologize already if there may be confusing wording or it’s too much ramble but luna.freya nox. fleure.t is— giving me so many words istg )

i. I strongly believe, she does idolize her parental figures, including her mother – since at a later age, Luna herself will be responsible for multiple aspects that go beyond the norm. she must focus on a person or traits of them, to aspire to learn and reflect on herself. oracles, in their medic and religious / traditional role are some sort of light the suffering people cling to, and such alone requires discipline, but also a heart and soul to be patient enough. it may be debatable if Sylva had the requirements, since we technically have only quickly seen her, but she must’ve been a person who does act selflessly - even self-sacrificing, if we remember the movie. someone like this, could not only be heavily idolized or seen as the embodiment of perfection by a daughter who will have the same duties passed down upon, but maybe she was not in reach either in a personal sense. in a way it could be possible that mentally, she is so distant from this perfect human, a friendship between parent and child  cannot fourish out of it. there is a wish to make her mother proud, yet not only because as a single parent and leader of a country it would 'lift some weight off her shoulders', but the girl may even be inspired to go farther than what’s expected of her. yet, this breeds some sort of pressure, perfectionism into herself, even the fear of not being strong or good enough. This may be part of reason why she is so iron-willed, almost inhumanly numbed but also frustrated in her duties, until she has her low points in these flashback scenarios.ii. as much easily answerable this question should be – there is no answer in her perspective. it would mean, one life she just happens to admire would be more worth and valuable than that of a stranger. yet, we all go by the moral each and any life is equal to another. ( however, apparently gods and deities don’t work that way because – a moral is a human concept that’s born out of the feeling they were treated unjust ) back to luna. as one who has the duty to sacrifice not only time but mental-health and physical-health for a lot of people who are in pain, i doubt she is and can allow herself to be picky, although she could push them all aside and ‘selfishly’ say ‘y’all can rot i’m not obligated to anything’ – if that makes sense. so if it was possible she would safe all, or tried to watch over them equally. i think she is in a way, too rational to set one life above another hence she does what we see in game.iii. in regards to self-image and also in relation to the moon: she views herself, in entirely opposite to her mother, as the embodiment of IMPERFECTION. her mentality is scarred, her surface is ‘scarred’ — as perfectionist, there is always a higher level to reach, if you have reached that one, there is yet again another, better step on these endless stairs. extravagance, inhumanity could count as the sphere she yearns to be ( even MUST be ). not only is she a deity in a human body, and this makes her already feel misplaced in each possible way, she also will always make sure to expand her horizons, her knowledge, her interests, and the way she appears, the way she is clean and hygienic. the fact that she is feeling constant sickness and exhaustion does have effect on her feeling to be impure. even more if we think about how her body hoards the plague, if we remember back how blackened her blood was. take for example her white clothes, her color choice of 'purtiy' has perhaps tenfold increased like she wouldn't wear anything else anymore. therefore, satisfaction about herself is nothing she has ever learned to know.