#dark star yorick

[aurelion-solar]

Dark Star Zoe, Kai'Sa, Sylas & Yorick Dark Cosmic Diana & Prestige

[lesbianalanwake]

Malevolent said oooh you wanna think about death and time so bad 💀⏳

the Dies Irae, the Day of Wrath, an apocalyptic poem about Judgment Day once used in Catholic masses for the dead...

Kayne tells them to give the Vanguard a mouth, and it's Yorick who refers to John and Arthur as this.

the Dark World, meanwhile, is described as death for the undying...

death for John's kind? death for old gods and eldritch powers? because that's not where Arthur goes when he "dies" this latest time, and it may not be what he briefly experienced the first time, despite believing so - it's never confirmed, only assumed.

(the first time, he hears a voice that sounds like John's - the King in Yellow, in the Dreamlands? or something else going on - John from a different time, or a different reality, and time and space looping around in strange ways? Kayne has demonstrated a hint of that - Arthur hearing himself in other worlds, in the past - and they've started to jump around in time now. which was a given from the beginning - the Hounds of Tindalos were mentioned by name in Season 4, and that is the foul creature that pursued John and Arthur in the hospital in Season 1, the first time they touched a corpse to see its death. beasts inhabiting time's angles, who pursue those they detect traveling through time.)

Arthur has died and come back twice. John has been in the Dark World twice. (third time's the charm?)

John makes himself a kingdom in the Dark World, the second time. a kingdom of the dead? of dead gods and monsters? what was he feeding on?

Kayne claims to have killed all other versions of himself, of Nyarlathotep, and speaks gleefully about the permanent death of one of his own, about how that kind of death leaves behind power. which is like how the so-called Fallen Stars are depicted in the Order's paintings... something falling from a being.

and Arthur is compared directly to the Black Stone.

I don't believe the Black Stone will be as straightforward a MacGuffin as it seems. I think, in one way or another, it's something that came from Arthur and John themselves - from the Arthur and John of other realities, and/or from their travels in time. it may have something to do with the Dark World, because John has been trapped there, and Arthur has died-but-not-really, and they are dripping with death motifs at this point.

death is not used or treated lightly in this story. it hovers over the narrative like a storm cloud (Faroe), and it's a visceral tool to drive home an emotion and a theme ("Lily") or a point about incredible danger (the Butcher). and now death has been presented as a possible engine of power.

after all, destruction and decay are necessary for life to exist and continue - the explosive deaths of stars scattering foundational elements, decomposition feeding the carbon cycle. existence and life as we know it is only possible because of entropy - the relentless forward motion of the arrow of time, allowing energy to be usable, guaranteeing a past and future.

but Kayne has found a way to play the strings of many worlds at once, to cut through time and space in whatever direction he pleases. he is clearly looking to go further than he already has.

and if the arrow of time changes direction, is reversed or bent out of shape... what happens then?*

*the fucking dogs come out to get you. I want to see my little boy (here he comes)

[desertrose244]

Hii!!

I was wondering if you could share some of your favorite fics? I've been in a drought and was just curious 🦅

RAH YES I CAN THIS IS MY FAVOURITE QUESTION TO GET!

I wasn't sure if you wanted fandom specific ones so here's just a collection of some of my all time favourites. These aren't one's that I've linked on this blog before, just because I already have given those appreciation posts and I have SO MANY FICS and authors that I love. Anyways, all of these are /reader - and most have mature tags, so just be mindful : )

BG3:

[Ongoing!] Hellish Rebuke by @bludazey is an Ascended!Astarion fic that answers the open ended state we left Tav and Astarion in. It's dark and filled with drama in such an addicting way I am literallly almost falling off my chair waiting to see what happens in it! Everyone within it is characterised well and the lore put into our MC makes choices a much more 3 dimensional thing as they are not a blank slate like the ingame Tav! [Complete!] Aleatory by @avas-poltergeist is a prequel fic for a durge run centering Astarion x Durge and it's a fic that knows the tone it should take and executes it perfectly. I especially love how it doesn't hold your hand through it's narrative and doesn't treat it's reader as if they are stupid. Some actions, feelings and thoughts are almost done as if they are environmental storytelling and I am a SUCKER for it. Also I just adore the durge being a halfling- they are characterised perfectly. Transformers:

[Complete!] Gravity by @shinyportalsandthings - ohhh my god I dont even what to say. This fic is a Starscream fic and wheeew boi it can be hard to make the gremlin a compelling romance but this fic blows it out the park. The dialogue is witty and natural- I adore the scale of it because it's not a "let's end the millions of years long war" it's just a "let's go be happy" - UGHHH It's just so fun, redeemed Starscream I love you. ((More reccomendations for Transformers are on my metal dune, found here!)) Misc:

(Doom (2016)): [Complete] Rip And Tear (Into My Ass) by Goremungunder is one of two inspirations for my entire writing style. It's a Doomslayer insert fic and it's just perfect in every way. Such an enjoyable read and an excellent fic for a x reader tag that doesn't get much attention. I think about this fic at least once a month and have read through it like 5 times pls give it some love its amazing.

(League of Legends) [Complete - I believe- but set to ongoing] Dream a Little Dream by OrangeCrushCrushCrush is just hilarious and at the end of each chapter even features some art made by the author! All of their work is enjoyable to read, even without knowledge on the world or a pre-existing like for the character. I mean, the second half of this fic is centered around Yorick Mori- a character in League I had literally NEVER touched- but then I read this and mained top lane for like 4 months after.

I think I could actually go on forever, but I'll stop here for now. Thank you for the question Star! I really love getting to go through my bookmarks and deciding what I want to reread XD

[league-of-skins]

Dark Star Sylas (Legendary), Kai’Sa, Yorick, Zoe, and Dark Cosmic Diana (+ Prestige)

these splash arts are so so beautiful

i personally think it’s difficult to make sylas skins look good in game but the animations at least look nice

as for the others…

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 44 – HORROR

MASTERPOST

Here are all the fics I recommended this week. For the more thorough recs, see the posts by clicking the corresponding numbers:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Demon Seed by SucculentHyena (1)

See You On A Dark Night by ironforged (sarisa), redpepperink (2)

The Official Avengers Movie Night Movie Selection Bylaws by phenominable_snowman (2)

A Cabin in the Woods by nightwalker (2)

Spooky Stony: Series by jacobby (3)

A Long, Lonely Time by asktheravens (4)

Captain's Favour, Devil's Due by Diomedes (5)

Cabin in the Snow by navaan (5)

Betwixt by tsukinofaerii (5)

over the picket fence (and into the walls) by ArcadeGhostAdventurer (5)

Never Seen by Waking Eyes by CSHfic, VSfic (5)

Diomedes (6)

The Cure and the Disease This Crowded Place Blooms in Frost Sleep Sisyphus (Guard your Star) Conversations at Yorick's Graveside

The Ghost in the Machine by Frankensteins_Monster (7)

Once the Brain Fog Clears by Impala_Chick (7)

Hypnagogic by CaughtAGhost (ghosthan), ghosthan (7)

Potshot by jellybeanforest (7)

Six Feet Under by SummerKnight717 (7)

[gffa]

THE HIGH REPUBLIC READING PROJECT UPDATE: Ssssssoooo clossssssse. I'm going to be a little sad about having to wait between releases again, but also excited about having more time for other books or just not frantically using every free moment I have to spend on Star Wars. (Which sounds worse than I mean it, I've genuinely enjoyed this and my giant pile of citations is going to be fun to catch up on, too, and I find myself satisfied by having a fun nudge to keep me going.)

MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE III:

The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness

The High Republic: Escape from Valo

The High Republic: Defy The Storm

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE III:

The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight - 4 issues

The High Republic (2023) - 7 issues [ONGOING]

The High Republic Adventures (2023) - 6 issues [ONGOING]

The High Republic - Saber for Hire (2023) - 2 issues [ONGOING]

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE III:

The High Republic Adventures: Crash Landing

This includes the comics that came out this week, and I'm down to about two hours left of Defy the Storm which is the last thing on my list! I still think each successive Phase has been better than the last. Part of that is that the stakes have slowly been rising with each wave, as well as more authors means more variety, and more time spent with the characters means more investment in them on my part, but I also genuinely think that each Phase has been better structured than the last. Not necessarily more fun/more enjoyable, but that it took a bit of time to find their feet and give it some teeth. Defy the Storm benefits from having a wider scope of characters and the two authors work really well together. I'm interested to see where Vernestra goes, because I'm really curious about how unsettled and unhappy she's seemed for awhile now, especially if The Acolyte seems to be gearing up to show her as having unresolved issues still a hundred years later or whatever. Because I can see an arc there, but now that she's found Imri alive, she seems more settled, so I'm wondering what even would be left, other than just general trauma over the war, I guess?? I'm also curious about where everything with Keeve Trennis is going, because it's almost guaranteed that she's one of the Lost Twenty, and her arc in the comics has felt like she's frustrated and disappointed with some of the stuff going on around her, but I'm not sure it's built up enough that she would want to leave the Jedi Order for it, unless she's leaving for something else, like Sskeer or whoever the little girl in the comic is. It has been interesting to watch the effect of the war on the High Republic Jedi, like Avar had an entire arc in the books and comics where she struggled with the dark side because of all the fighting, Elzar had an entire arc where he struggled with the dark side even before the war got really bad, Keeve is struggling, Ceret and Terec the twins from the comics are struggling, Ty Yorick left the Jedi, Lula officially left the Jedi in the latest Adventures comic, Vernestra seems to be struggling, like, these are the Jedi that the authors pitched as being just about the most perfect Jedi ever, and yet being thrown into a war and basically having the entire galaxy put on their shoulders is really hard on them. It's such an interesting parallel to the prequels Jedi, who were thrown directly into a war and had the entire galaxy basically dumped on their shoulders, and I think we've seen fewer Jedi crack under the pressure there than the High Republic is--and I think it's fair to have characters like that, even in people who've trained their whole lives to let things go. They're space psychic wizards who can sense others' feelings and they're surrounded by a constant bombardment of trauma, grief, and horror at what the Nihil are doing to people! Like, yeah, they're not designed to withstand that, that's why having a place they can retreat to is so vital for them, to have a place where they can shelter from the emotional storm that is just walking down the street with non-Jedi in the middle of a war or, god forbid, be trapped behind a storm wall where there aren't any other Jedi. Jedi weren't meant to be alone and so many of them are being pinned down in place and that's really hard on Jedi. Also, oh, man, the second issue of Saber for Hire was sooooo interesting, they had a Force-sensitive little girl named Lene and I would be surprised if that's not Lene Kostana, even if I'm squinting a little at how I guess she's supposed to be 200+ years old by the time she trains Sifo-Dyas? Also some banger lore about Force bonds, which I always love.

[simonnebethel]

Moodboards for the MCs of A Chant for Blood(Victorian fantasy/adventure)

Karliah Johanna Helisende

Grand Marshal of The Ostreinen Army, Virago of Carnikau, Beaudurine of the Compeer's Tourney, and Champion of Proeldore. A pious woman, she is both ambitious in her career as a soldier and her religion as a follower of Incarna. In her 20 years as a soldier, she has collected many ranks and titles and gained the respect of her fellow comrades. Ever since she was a young child, she has been haunted by the ancient temple that sits upon the Bauknan Mountains, it's red eye whispering dark, incomprehensible things to her. Despite this, it did not stop her from achieving her dreams and goals of helping to defend her country. After becoming the Grand Marshal, she thought she reached the highest point in her life, that she could achieve anything greater than what she already has, until strange unknown portals start spawning dangerous creatures in her beloved city, and a blood-drinking man strikes a risky bargain with her...

She is queer, in some way. Just haven't decided, and I might never decide, lol.

Yorick Gwynplaine

A strange, elusive mystery even among the humans that raised him on his own world, a future earth that has been reduced to a desolate wasteland. Some believe he comes from another world completely unlike this one, others believe he was a lab experiment made by some freak scientists somewhere out west. He has gone by many names in his life, included but not limited to Ratfink, Labrat, and lounge lizard. He takes it all in stride, living off the attention he received from his strange appearance. Bright blue bovine eyes, a metallic tail, and sharp yellow teeth. He has taken many jobs in his life, including a bar tender, cabaret dancer, body guard, and a mercenary, the latter being most necessary to survive with his...diet. The blood of humans(among other things) is the only thing that sustains his ever-present hunger, and it has also earned him a certain reputation among the criminals and delinquents of the human underworld. Just when he thinks his life is going nowhere, he flees through a strange portal and enters a world unlike his own, and meets an alluring woman he can't turn away from...

Yorick is bisexual! Also, you get a gold star if you can guess where his last name is from.

Will probably make moodboards for other characters in the future. Lemme know if you have any questions <3

[we-do-bones-bracket]

Who did bones the best? / Round 2

rules & guidelines

matches under the cut!

Brook (One Piece) vs. Skull (One Piece)

Laudna (Critical Role) vs. Enki Ankarian (Fear and Hunger)

Stalhorse (The Legend of Zelda) vs. Skeleton Mob (Minecraft)

Ryuk (Death Note) vs. Hero's Shade/Hero's Spirit (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

Skeletor (He-Man) vs. The Forgotten (Binding of Isaac)

Christopher Flores (Wayward Children) vs. Bones (Johannes Cabal the Necromancer)

Toro Muerto (The Book of Life) vs. Laika (Laika: Aged Through Blood)

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck (Bleach) vs. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Star Trek)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb) vs. Ianthe Tridentarius (The Locked Tomb)

Palamedes Sextus (The Locked Tomb) vs. Dr. Bones Cookie (Cookie Run)

Frank (Generation Loss) vs. Bone (Warriors)

Mamá Imelda (Coco) vs. Hector (Coco)

SkullGreymon (Digimon) vs. Jolly Roger

Cubone (Pokémon) vs. Boneknapper (How to Train Your Dragon)

Hector (Castlevania) vs. Lady Micte (Maya and the Three)

Pious Augustus (Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem) vs. Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant)

Sans (Undertale) vs. SkekMal the Hunter (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance)

Creatures of Grimm (RWBY) vs. Nina Zenik (Six of Crows)

Yorick (Hamlet) vs. Skelita Calaveras (Monster High)

Nico Di Angelo (Percy Jackson) vs. Death (Discworld)

Skid (Spooky Month) vs. Boneyard (Dungeons and Dragons)

Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas) vs. Skelly (Hades)

Dry Bowser (Mario) vs. Dry Bones (Mario)

Dyre Ode/Dyre Owed (Friends at the Table: Sangfielle) vs. Papyrus (Undertale)

Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Bones) vs. Death (The Arcana)

Kimimaro Kaguya (Naruto) vs. Death the Kid (Soul Eater)

Skull Knight (Berserk) vs. Mister/Director Bones (DC Comics)

Death (Horrible Histories) vs. Skeleton (I Spy Spooky Mansion)

SkullMan.exe (Mega Man) vs. Skully (Scary Godmother)

Marquis (Worm) vs. Señor Huseo (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Grim (The Grim Adventures) vs. Kamen Rider Genm/Kuroto Dan (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid)

Fone Bone (Bone) vs. Jared J. Hopworth (The Magnus Archives)

[heirsofdiscord]

Eternal Return

FFXIVwrite prompt #6: Ring | 4777 words A formation of various pieces of material orbiting around a planet or young star. | to resound, reverberate, echo. | A solid object in the shape of a circle. (⚠WARNING⚠ Canon Character Death)

Time usually goes in a line. Past to present to future. Yorick supposed his was still a line. He was a child, he was an adult, he was broken into a million pieces and had to trudge on as a Warrior of Light. He’d traveled to the past but what did that mean for him exactly? He returned to his own time, he grew older. One day he’d pass on as all things do. Nothing had changed. A line was a line.

Yorick was sitting on over four million gil. The idea of buying himself a home had been sitting at the back of his mind. He was hedging between that or just continuing his usual spending habits which included accumulating a half dozen baubles he’d inevitably forget somewhere as he had nowhere to keep them. Another reason to pick an abode but he had sentimental reasons for being resilient to the idea.

At any rate, he certainly wouldn’t be moving to Twelveswood where he’d have a higher chance of having an unpleasant reunion with his family he’d ghosted nearly a decade ago.

Finding his room at the Carline Canopy was a practiced ritual he was barely cognizant of. He’d walked those halls while bruised, while ill, while sorrowful, while so far in his own thoughts he couldn’t find his way out if he wanted to. Thousands of stumbling steps tread upon a beaten path.

The walls and floors and pretty much everything in the room really was all just the same wood. It was ornate enough that the paneling wasn’t too overwhelming  but Yorick still fancied it could use more color to break it up. The green rugs and its faded embellishments weren’t exactly cutting it. The water feature at the left wall with its flower bushes was a cute touch. It was also largely useless. Ul’dah’s had a bookshelf and both it and Limsa Lominsa’s had ample storage. Gridania, by contrast, was best suited for people who traveled light.

It also typically didn’t have any chairs. Yorick had to have one moved to his room. When asked what he was using it for he stated it was for contemplation. He’d meant it to be sarcastic but he’d been taken at face value for that one. That was Gridanians for you.

He’d taken his chair and dragged it across the room and sat it next to the bed. The purpose Yorick had had it brought in had been rendered inert three years ago. He figured it had just been pushed aside in the time hence. When he was satisfied with its placement he let himself drop unto the bed and stared at the seat that sat across from him; his head busy.

The first time Yorick had ever met one of their adversarial “Paragons” was when he and his Warrior of Light cohorts met him in the The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak. He’d said a lot of what Yorick considered to be nothing. Calling them all fascinating three of four times in a row before declaring their story would have to come to an end. It all rather felt like he was competing for a particularly dramatic role at the Mih Khetto’s Amphitheatre complete with a bow. Except for the whole dropping a very real and particularly agitated banemite on their heads. That was a lot of pincers and running out of pools of poison. Or it could have been acid. It’d been a good six years and he’d fought a lot of different arthropods in that time.

That was the end of that encounter and the Warrior’s of Light had left the old prison cells of Toto-Rak with their rescued elder. That wasn’t good enough for Yorick. He’d heard them talk about the Paragons and the Ascians or whatever other name they had. All this talk about bringers of chaos, light versus dark, good versus evil. It was all too superficial and summoned the smell of smoke to his nose. Bringing him back to the time meteors had fallen from the sky and his bow had snapped. When his friends had pointed their fingers at him and he’d never been right since. So he made his excuses and stayed in that chamber.

Yorick waited until he was sure his associates were out of earshot before shouting “,I know you’re still here, asshole.”

After all, one did not throw a monster at someone in that particular manner if they weren’t going to linger around and see if his enemy made it out or not. Yorick figured this didn’t have much to do with killing them. Maybe toying with but more likely testing. For what purpose Yorick didn’t know. Which is why he was taking a shot in the dark.

A guy lingering for no reason was bound to keep one interested enough to stay right?

“How easily you resort to insults when I’ve only treated you with the respect  worthy of my adversary.” The voice sounded echo-ie like it was coming from nowhere or everywhere. Yorick turned his head looking for any place he could have been hiding but found nothing. Infuriating because he’d sounded insufferably smug and Yorick wanted to at least look at his face to scowl back at him for it.

“I think it’s fair I get one free in exchange for the mites,” Yorick said, gesturing to the room and the remaining angry green liquid.

“I suppose you didn’t care for our game much,” Lahabrea’s voice came from behind him with the sound of that weird portal he’d used to leave.

Yorick turned his head casually, trying to cover up the fact he’d jumped just a little. “It’s antithetical for a thaumaturge to move from their place in a fight.”

“And yet you survived and relatively unscathed.” Lahabrea stated, pacing around him while noticeably observing him from behind his mask.

“We have three healers. Kind of hard not to be.” Yorick remarked in exchange. Returning his game with a quirked eyebrow and a curious look.

Lahabrea paused in front of him with an inscrutable look before asking flatly “,why did you call on me?”

“I wanna know more about you.” Yorick said.

“Always paying attention to the wrong thing,” Lahabrea stated in a way like he knew him. Then said with a familiar bitterness “,why don’t you ask your Scions. I’m sure they’ll tell you all you need to know.”

“Oh I’ve heard all about their ‘Paragons’,” Yorick said his face all disgruntlement. He’d been associated with Minfilia since the later days of the Path of the Twelve. He’d heard the growing worries and threats to the realm right before the organization collapsed with the Calamity and reformed as the Scions in smaller number. “I want to hear it from you.”

“You couldn’t possibly conceive the truth you’re looking for. It would serve me better to cut your inquiries short than answer them.” Lahabrea leaned over him. Yorick never quite hit five fulms in height so it wasn’t exactly hard to seem intimidating. He just didn’t have it in him to have a normal reaction about the difference. When the talons of Lahabrea’s gloves had come threateningly toward his throat, Yorick simply lifted his head and pulled his leather collar away to grant them greater access.

He shrugged it all off stating dryly “,got me there. Pretty stupid and need things written out for me more times than not. Nevertheless, I’m going to keep asking.”

The Ascian pulled back up to his full height and looked at him with some sort of smug emotion. Appraisal? Curiosity? He thought it was something positive at least. His voice was still cloying. “Are you sure you’ll be able to find your way in the dark after walking in the light?”

Yorick barked a singular indignant “hah” that didn’t quite count as a laugh. His face was all offense as he pointed a claw of his gauntlet at him. “I’m a Keeper of the Moon, sir! We’re meant to live there.”

The robed man brought his mask to sit against the claw with a “thunk” and crooned a mocking “,Maybe next time…”

That had begun their clandestine meetings. Yorick would spot Lahabrea standing somewhere only he’d see him and excuse himself from whatever situation he was stuck in. Not hard considering it was his wont to escape any situation he didn’t want to be in which was every situation that concerned other people. Even if he wasn’t adverse to them, the idea of becoming close to anyone left a bad taste in his mouth. Other times he’d appear in private. It didn’t seem like walls or doors mattered to the robe. Not a few times he’d wake up in the middle of the night of whatever inn he was staying at to find him sitting in a chair across from him.

Just like this.

Looking back, Yorick couldn’t really figure out why Lahabrea had humored him so. Knowing what he knew, he was dedicated to his one true god. Whether that be Zodiark or his late wife Athena from the corrupting force of her black auracite. Maybe they were one in the same in his mind. He had been a strange man. Never giving him any real answers. Or giving him all the answers and none of the context. He’d been right in a sense, he was blinded by his understanding of things so he couldn’t see the forest for the trees. It wouldn’t have changed anything.

He supposed he should feel guilty for going behind his associate’s backs. He didn’t. They only ever talked and they talked largely about nothing. Mostly they argued. Half a dozen moral debates that seemed horribly stilted. And then one of them might get angry and storm off. Yorick was easily wound but he also had a talent for being annoying. Part of which was his insistence on calling Lahabrea by any name but that. Laha was most common but others like Laheeha, Breeha, and if he was feeling particularly cheeky: Lahabreehaha. Other times they were quiet. Unable to find anything to fill the silence or a proper reason to be around one another and yet… they lingered. He hadn’t really meant to keep it a secret and had resolved to tell them. The problem was that Yorick was usually in a fog and was only ever coherent in these scattered moments and on the battlefield. Otherwise he’d simply forget and get lost in his own mind and if he thought about doing something hard enough he’d simply fool himself into thinking he had.

Lahabrea had killed him.

He remembered that clear as day. Yorick was not meant for the light and fire. He was meant for dark shadows of deep forests and the crushing abyss of the sea but ever since the meteors had fallen he’d been aflame. He’d turned from Thaumaturgy to the arts of Black Mages and though those arts were things he had long coveted, he was soon outpaced by his peers. They’d all fought valiantly but Lahabrea was on another level. All the fire and dark magic he possessed was unlike anything Yorick was familiar with. Just when Yorick thought they’d scrape by the skin of their teeth, he’d killed them.

He had the faintest idea that he should feel betrayed but he didn’t. That was their job and he would have done the same. This was preferable even, though he did mourn the loss of his associates who were worth more than him. It was more the power of Hydaelyn that made him rueful. That surged in him and his fallen comrades to bring them back. Bid him fight on in this never ending struggle. Oh, but the burn did not leave his mind.

“Cover me,” Yorick had called to his fellows.

The darker skinned dragoon with white hair yelled out a “what?” picking the most inopportune moment to turn around and almost got blasted for it.

“I said,” Yorick yelled louder, planting his feet and beginning to cast his spell. “,Cover. Me.”

Recalling the way those flames had swirled as it had consumed him. It was darkness and it was flame and it was something more. He couldn’t replicate that but he could just replicate some of the same principles. The fireball that was forming over his head grew to a fierce size in glorious reds and golds. And then it shrunk before exploding once more in a lovely shade of blue. Lahabrea’s head jerked from the assault of a dragoon and their various many healers just in time to see that blue ball hurtling at him, Yorick’s cackling resounding as it did.

What happened after that, the blade of light, Hydaelyn’s voice, the very many souls of their companions and allies pooling to banish Lahabrea from the body of the friend he’d possessed. That had to be told to Yorick after the fact as he’d immediately passed out after tossing his flame. He’d become a little glass canon after that. The fire was fierce but it took a moment and Yorick was not only defenseless while casting but more or less useless before and after while he recouped his mana. He was put on the sidelines more as he refined his technique and that suited him fine.

He’d also been told that Lahabrea hadn’t died. That they’d simply destroyed his corporeal body and he’d likely return. It was taking him time though and it was making him antsy. Really he didn’t know what irritated him more. The idea that Lahabrea hadn’t bothered to see him or that they might have hurt him a great deal more than they’d thought.

Yorick was a very foolish man prone to very foolish emotions. He’d done a damned good job of convincing himself otherwise when Lahabrea showed up again. Largely because that’s when things had fallen apart and they’d all had to flee to Coerthas. He was stretched thin at that point and Lahabrea had seemed like a blessing from Menphina. Like a warm darkness to curl up when one had been blinded by snow.

Yorick had all but run to him and felt stupid for it but he was all but spent and didn’t have enough left in him at that point to care. Nor to stop himself from grabbing unto those stupid robes just to feel something real. That was mildly more embarrassing after the fact and to keep his face hidden he’d plopped his forehead against Lahabrea’s chest.

“What are you doing?” Lahabrea asked, just as befuddled over the whole matter. He’d placed his hands on Yorick’s shoulder as if to move him but he never did.

“I don’t know,” Yorick groaned, his stubby ears and tail flicked with his embarrassment. When the shove he’d been waiting for didn’t come he added “I’m glad you're back.”

“That’s absurd.” The other mad said accusingly.

“I know.”

“You’re a fool.”

“I know.”

They were more quiet the second run. Yorick was fighting his own stupid feelings and trying to be oh so normal about all of it. There was nothing normal about any of this. Lahabrea was more irritated but less weird. He’d been boastful and loose with Yorick before but now he’d held himself with reservation. Yorick wasn’t sure about the change. He’d just settled on the idea that this was Lahabrea injured and just didn’t bring it up. The Yorick that was sitting across from an empty chair realized now that being kicked out of his body had likely freed Lahabrea from the influence of the Heart of Sabik and its corrupting influence to some extent. More in control of himself he should have cut things off with Yorick but they continued their meetings though they spoke with more care.

Still, Lahabrea would tell him nothing. Though it was not about the grandiosity of their plan but that it simply wasn’t Yorick’s place to know. Hydaelyn and her servants would need to fall for the reemergence of his dark god and it wouldn’t do him any good. It was almost patronizing but there was a note of respect there that kept Yorick from truly getting mad. He’d remind him that he didn’t know enough about the “Mothercrystal” to be so loyal and Lahabrea would consider him but ultimately deem it too risky. Yorick burned too much with her light.

They circled around the same topics though the events that took place in Ishgard gave them more than a few new conversation points for their moral discussions. Though ultimately Yorick’s opinions largely circled back around to “rich bastards are just like that”. He’d asked if Lahabrea or his friends were responsible for the mess in Ul’dah that had made them flee. Lahabrea said not every bad thing that had happened to him was a plot of the Ascians and they all did a good enough job ripping themselves apart with them. Yorick had snorted at that with amusement and had to agree. It hadn’t felt like him. It just felt like Ul’dah.

The last night in Yorick’s room had felt different. Lahabrea was alluding to half a dozen things he wouldn’t elaborate on that made his fur stand on end. Heavy tension like before the storm. Like the way the Twelveswood felt when the primal Odin was stalking its paths. He’d needed to reach out to him like before. Keep himself tethered. He grabbed one of his robes sleeves between his thumb and pointer finger. Flesh on cloth, It was too cold in Ishgard to keep wearing his clawed gauntlets.

Lahabrea had stared at his hands and said with a cruel note to his voice “,this won’t save you.”

Yorick frowned a half dozen other words coming to his mouth but settled on a remorseful “,I can’t save you either.”

That hadn’t been the point.

Lahabrea died. Killed in front of him. He’d burned the Archibishop and every single god damned knight that followed him for it. Damn his god king and his church and Halone and all of Ishgard while he was it. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. It should have been by his hands. Then at least he’d have guilt instead of just an empty room. An empty chair.

Yorick’s grief hid in the grief his colleagues held for another. None of them batted an eyelash but then Yorick wasn’t one who could let go of his losses. He carried them with him like medals that would one day drag him under. Let them, he’d thought. And let all who knew him watch as he let it happen. It would be his revenge against the powers that be for letting him live and Lahabrea for dying.

A lot had happened in the three years since Lahabrea died. He’d learned about other worlds, ancient civilizations and the horrors of their downfall. The missing pieces of the Ascian puzzle fell into place. They, too, were beings ruled by their grief. Yorick had come out of all of it a little weirder. Which wasn’t saying much but some of the weight he’d been carrying had been unintentionally washed out of him. He picked up a bow again though his aim was noticeably shittier than ever. He learned how to sing. Though in a way that perhaps unnerved his friends whom he still could not call friends. He’d chained himself to a voidsent. He was the best he’d ever been and the absolute worst. Which was exactly how he liked things.

Then the call for help rang from Pandaemonium. A sort of hellish research lab in Elpis; the past. The head of whom happened to be Lahabrea. Though it was not him he found there but a badly disguised Elidibus and another ancient named Erichthonios. Who also just happened to be Lahabrea’s son. Which had risen a couple of questions including a half thought out “Lahabrea fucks?” which had received Yorick a swift knock to the back of his head. Not enough to hurt but enough to remind him they were in particular company. Needless to say, Erich didn’t like him much to begin with. That was a pretty typical reaction to Yorick though it was hard to ignore his charms. Like a grungy stray that refused to be pet but wouldn’t leave one’s yard. It was endearing as it was off putting.

Lahabrea was not how Yorick thought he’d be. He wasn’t exactly sure what he’d expected and realized he’d probably be surprised by anything. After all, Yorick had gotten used to the mask that had shrouded Lahabrea’s possessed vessels that it was his face as far as he was concerned. Might as well have been considering he’d learned “Lahabrea” wasn’t even a name but a title but that was neither here nor there. It was weird seeing him bare faced with it hanging off his chest. Dark skin, gray (or really an off white pink) hair save a few spots of red. His face was noticeably lined with age which surprised Yorick who had never thought of him as being particularly old. Nevertheless he’d had that same extremely weird attitude.

“Lahahee,” He had said with such confidence despite the fact several confused looks were passed his way.

“It’s Lahabrea,” Erich had gently supplied.

“I know Labreeha, Erich,” Yorick stated indignantly, pointing at himself as he did so. “Erich” drew his lips into a line and the expression that passed over his face was of a man who was trying to decide if he should be concerned or laugh.

Then things got complicated as another Lahabrea showed up and the first one was revealed as an imposter named Hephaistos who still looked an awful lot alike Lahabrea just younger and to the left though that last part might have been because he had a noticeable lack of eyebrows. This had left Yorick all a little confused and put out. (Where did they [the eyebrows] go? Flashing in his head a half dozen times. That question was going to haunt him.) But the second real Lahabrea wasn’t dissimilar to how Yorick had known him after he and his cohorts had liberated him from his body. Which meant he had the affect of a very grumpy accountant.

He was also still very attractive. Yorick cursed out Menphina a half dozen times in his head and Erichthonios’ estimations of him took another steep dive as he was doing a shitty job of not looking interested. This had also shocked and horrified the other Warriors of Light whom were very interested in why his reaction had been more fond than adversarial. This is when Yorick had realized he never got around to telling them all about his little talks with their supposed foe.

That was going to get real annoying when it eventually reached Thancred’s ears.

At the moment they had bigger problems. Like a bunch of researchers (Or zookeepers? He’d lost the thread a while ago) were being grafted to their wards and some weird plot by Hephaistos that involved Lahabrea’s late wife. Soon to be undead wife? He wasn’t sure on that one either. He had been paying attention for once. He just still had no idea what was going on. It was pissing him off. Lahabrea had called him interesting again though. That was something. Technically all of the “aether thin” denizens of the future were understandably interesting to him but that wasn’t really relevant. Acting normal had been an ability he’d given up on a year or so ago.

Lahabrea did get the brunt of that as he’d made several attempts to interact which were derailed or rebuffed. They didn’t have the same history as before, Yorick noted. Yorick was also less of himself but something else. Another him entirely and this whole ordeal was making him increasingly weird about it all. The same dynamic of before could hardly be diminished but Yorick still liked to prod him, especially now that he could clearly see Lahabrea’s brows wrinkle with something between concern and annoyance. It was cute.

A family altercation had somehow turned into Erichthonius denouncing his father and getting spirited off elsewhere into the facility. A trap laid by Hephaistos counting on Lahabrea’s lack of consideration for his son’s feelings. There was a notable disregard for Erichthonios’ grief that Themis had to point out. Lahabrea made some excuse about wanting to save his son’s feelings and Yorick had more or less piped in that being a shitty father wasn’t the way to soothe hurts. Rage had spilled over Lahabrea’s face but smoothed over with his resignation to his faults.

It was weird seeing this side to him. Weird to learn more about his dead… whatever he had been to him. He was a shitty father, sure. Still he was trying. That was made clear when they’d proceeded further into the facility and unearthed the truth of Athena’s sins against her own son. Ones that had driven Lahabrea to kill her and rip his own soul in twain; Hephaistos and Lahabrea. Not everybody did well in the roles they were given or made the right choices but it was better to be able to lament ones mistakes than just choose not to make them. Yorick was mayhaps more than a little biased on the matter.

Regardless, the rescued Ericthonios and Lahabrea were able to hold an open dialogue and it wasn’t perfect but there was understanding. As they made to leave, Yorick pat Lahabrea’s back and gave him an “Attaboy” for the effort. A comment received with a derisive snort which Yorick returned with a cheeky grin.

There was more the story. Something in his present with Pandaemonium resurfacing in the aetherial sea where all dead souls are supposed to be. Another Lahabrea. Another fight. Most importantly he’d been directed back to Elpis to see the culmination of Lahabrea’s efforts in Pandaemonium’s cleanup. While he was there, Yorick was impressed upon by the fact this could be the very last time he’d ever see him alive and a familiar pain rose in his heart. Lahabrea received them with some suspicion but nevertheless filled them in on his efforts and made a rather showing confrontation with Hegemone over her allegiance with Athena.

How this Lahabrea had come to be the man he was familiar with was a question that plagued him. Mayhaps Hades and Themis were forced to flee not with Lahabrea but Hephaistos’ stone? Or it was Erichthonios, driven by the loss of his father and drawing a line between them. Yeah that one had felt particularly foolish but weirder things had happened. He’d learned to think big. The truth of it had been so simple. Lahabrea took Hephaistos back into himself to regain his strength and then, looking at Yorick and speaking almost as if he knew:

“You and I stand on peaks separated by vast chasms. Our perspectives shall never align. And never shall one give way to the other, for such is our nature. With that in mind...let us consider any debts between us to be void. Before you leave here, mark well these words… My resolve shall weather loss unfathomable, and yield before no obstacle. Walk your path with the same conviction.”

Yorick was first on offense but it was a knee jerk reaction. He’d no need to be hurt or bothered by any of it. He laughed. Not one of his cruel cackling peels or the bitter falsities that he was prone to but a clear and bright laugh. He’d thought to say a dozen things but settled only to say “,Understood.”

And he did.

Yorick plopped over in his bed and turned away from the chair. Painful in its emptiness but more painful to forget. He could never figure out why Lahabrea had reached out to him nor stayed so many nights simply to say nothing at all. He’d seen him. Known him. Lahabrea had stepped from his shadows and reached to Yorick through the tempering of the Heart of Sabik when Yorick had called him. And together they had walked this same path many times and would many more.

Yorick, abed, smiled to remember.

Lahabrea had died three years ago. He had talked to him just today. He would go on in a time Yorick had not been born with and would wonder as Yorick wondered of him. And they would meet at toto-rak and it would begin again.

Yorick would go on. He had a beginning and he hoped an end. A single line from a to b. But for them in that loop they were never ending. A circle of their own choices to chase one another bound them in eternal return.

[cosmic-navel-gazin]

"About the Blogger" Meme by @razielim

Haven't seen one of these in forever; I'm being the change I want to see. (You're encouraged to adapt/remove questions or add new ones to better suit yourself.)

Favorite Pseud: Cosmic is the new hotness but my indecisive ass has had a billion! Alas-poor-yorick! is an old one I'm still fond of because my child self really went and saw Hamlet and thought: "YES! THE SKULL OF THE DEAD JESTER! THAT'S WHO I WANNA BE!"

Time Zone: GMT

Star Sign(s): the one that's a COSMIC RAM! 🐏🌠✨

Favorite Holidays: every holiday is always tinged with just a tad of existential dread, a pang reminding me of the time that's already gone by, that I'm one day closer to death , I guess the ones during Spring and Summer, just because of the weather and that the days are longer

Last Meal: Soup and a piece of bread with olive oil (and olives)

Current Favorite Musician: my dear friend who plays the piano^^ (whom I hope never finds out about this blog and reads this or I'll never hear the end of it). Not sure if current, but I've listened to a lot of it regularly so, shout-out to Jordi Savall and his Hespèrion XXI group *gnaws on their many variations of the spanish Folías*

Last Music Listened To: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In) · Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

Last Movie Watched: Saw X and The Lobster

Last TV Show Watched: The Bear

Last Book/Fic Finished: Can't remember what was the last book so I'm going with: One of only two in existence A Field In England fics on AO3 😳

Last Book/Fic Abandoned: Kafka's The Trial (not abandoned, I just wanted to finish the ones I had started first before continuing because I know this one's gonna hurt for sure)

Currently Reading: Solaris by Stanisław Lem

Books/Shows/Movies/etc. You Want to Get Around To: For Films I have some listed on this ask. For books I got some Strugatskys to get to, some Terry Pratchett, some Kafka, some Horus Heresy, my sister got me Foundation *looks at bookshelf and ignores the dozens of others that have been sitting there for years, waiting for me*

Last Thing Researched for Art/Writing/Hyperfixation: Wild boars! Boarzinhos if you will.

Last Eureka, Breakthrough, or Neat Fact/Concept Learned: Have learned nothing and remain a fool.

Favorite Online Fandom Memory: I don't think I've ever been in a Fandom™ per se. It's usually just, sitting in my dark lair and enjoying a thing with a handful of other people. But, if it counts since it's the closest to interacting with Fandom I've had: these past (4?) years on tumblr in general. From the months-long (sometimes years-long) discussions about this or that piece of media and the insightful observations traded, the juicy meta, the joy and privilege of people sending you unfinished pieces of their art and writing through DMs (the trust and intimacy of it all!!!), sending each other memes and posts we think the other might enjoy, the nice messages, etc... all of it really.

Favorite Old Fandom You Wish Would Drag You Back In/Have A Resurgence: Am baby and haven't really experienced this yet.

Favorite Thing You Enjoy That Never Had an Active or Big "Fandom" but You Wish It Did: I literally can't choose because almost everything I love is some flavour of weird-ass-obscure thing! But uhmmm, *flips through enormous tome of interests* : Here! Rule of Rose ! I was starving for psychological horror games after the Silent Hill series and this is the closest I've ever seen to them while also not being just a rip off/clone of SH, and telling its own beautifully tragic story (the combat is broken and there's other issues but everything else, maaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn).

Tempting Project You're Trying to Rein In/Don't Have Time For: I will draw Rumata and Budach's Conversation™ from chapter 8 in full, in comic form, skill to pull it off and do it justice or not, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!

Tempting Project You're 100% Going to Undertake: It involves sandcastles and the joys of creation... but it needs to *gasp!* actually be written and not just daydreamed about.

Tagging: AAAAAA I DUNNO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO!

[aurelion-solar]

Dark Star Yorick, Diana, Sylas, Kai'Sa & Zoe Promo Art

[malevolentbigbang]

[ID: A graphic titled "Maltober 2024" with the following prompts:

Hidden Rooms/Warped

Fathers/Realization

The Butcher/Run and Hide

Hospital/Helping Hands

Oscar/Skepticism or Suspicion

Rainy Night/Deals

Scratch/Otherworldly

Detective Noel/Laid Bare

Fallen Star/Worship

King in Yellow/Power and Control

Multiverse/Life and Death

Mistaken Encounters/Unease

Yorick/Muddied Waters

The Witch/Identity

Light in the Darkness/Rest and Recuperation

Faroe/Guiding Light

Forest/Acceptance

John Doe/How We've Grown

Animals/False Leads

New York/The Past

Larson/Theatricality

Marie/Connections

Cults/Lost Knowledge

Instruments/Fondness

Arthur/Growth

The Waylay/Mortality

Drinks/Dwelling on the Past

Keeping Secrets/Revelation

A Gift/Led Astray

Kayne/Your Actions Matter

Malam/Vengance

/End ID]

I made a Malevolent themed prompt list for October! Rules (there are no rules): 1. It can be any created content. (can be writing, crafting, drawing, etc) 2. Have fun 3. Tag #Maltober2024 You can also tag me if you use it, I'd love to see! 4. Okay, one actual rule, no AI art/writing.

[manwalksintobar]

Insomnia // Fran Lock

And contemplate this: the heat-treated hairdos of next-door neighbors, the roseate nosebleeds of fuckboys in hoodies; your own face, rinsed in the mirror, the sweet green sweat you’re riddled with in mornings, a rock pool reflection under algaecidal light. You are going nowhere. This poem yokes you, to the pain you are chronic and adipose with; to the desk, to the chair, to ergonomic purgatory. And to the body, its spasms and its rhapsodies, three-part harmonies, one-chord wonders. You will never be whole. The voices. His voice, broadcast on your remedial frequency, making its way through a rubbishy dusk, the streetlamps beaming fizzy glow like Lucozade. You will never be whole. Vomit o’clock and the brain is Kraken, white and shaking. Open the window, pry the chipboard from the window; fill your punctured eye with stars. And contemplate this: Saturday night and the dirt purrs with it; cars, litter bins, pit bull dogs. A girl with high Yorick cheekbones drags a false nail down the scratchy surface of a bri-nylon sleeplessness. A man rides ignorance like a white horse, kicking mirrors from parked cars. You have the itch under your skin. Insectile dysfunction. Lust, with its own murky gravities. You will fail. You have not made a friend of this city and you will fail. Cup your eyes like coins. Addiction holds such simplicity. Check your used-car contours in the broken glass. You are going nowhere. They cannot nail you to a pronoun, hot mess of cravings and behaviors, tainted frailty, old meat’s rancid rainbow. Ugly. Contemplate. Consider: your lilies, toiling like deaf ears, tearing the tired night a new one, stirring a sulfate dust in your veins. Your eyes are blue with pseudo-scientific toxicity, with chemical expectancy, a dread that dries a smile like paint. Your blood is on fire, full of bellicose adrenaline, nitrate and neon; brighter, even, than the hoary fluorescence of angels. It is so late. And you are pining the rhinestone shine of a lost narcotism. Now trauma’s your ergotamine. Trauma, your ergot, your argot of rye. Awful thought that treads the brain’s rank breadth. Silence. Pray silence. Pray the dark room away, the candles, the pious vibrations of flame; the dim bulb with its gospel of moths, one hundred pairs of gloved hands clasped to powder. Marooned in your gooseflesh, one hand does not know what the other is doing. It’s three a.m., the mind’s alive like frostbite, a cold burn that blackens things. Your graphite smile could shatter. Thoughts of him have poisoned you, rust in the blood. You have not eaten for days, you mottle, run your own hands over your oxidizing thighs, watch the bruises ripen to a landmass, a landmark, a brave new world, a here be dragons. You listen to yourself, creaking like rope; your body, its canned laughter repeating mean and low, throwing out thought according to the malnourished algorithm some devil has devised. You clutch and sway in a crêpe air and you want-want-want what you’ll never have again: sleep; his image breaking across your scrubbed flesh like surf. Contemplate this: this is forever. There is no movie montage where you’ll shop yourself to transformation. You will never be whole. And grief is not a line we walk to wellness; the tidy smirk of therapy, the therapized, the girls licking flakes of gold- leaf pastry from a Pret a Manger croissant, saying you should take up yoga. Grief is a longing in the body, your body, the machine-tooled aesthetics of starvation. It’s so uncool, a super-terrestrial emptiness; the acetone-eroded teeth of your disorder. He will not come again. Sleep will not come and make an amnesty of bandages, the white ribbons rendering you prematurely maypole. It will not wrap you. It will not keep you. It will not launder or succor you. It will break into your ballerina box, will chew the jewels from their semiprecious sockets, set them pulsing in your frontal lobe. Your heart has a headache. Drink raw egg. Or Dettol. It’s up to you. The sky is pasteurized by thunder ... 

[trailshome]

If its possible, five times hugged for child!mc and Galleon and Hollond ? 🥺👉👈

.//mwah~! Of course, anon!! <3

[Five Times Hugged] -- Featuring Galeon, Hollond, Child!MC

THE FIRST TIME -- You had no idea where you were or what was happening. The last few hours were a blur of colors, sounds, and smells -- all of which were foreign to you. It was, without exaggerating, a very distressing situation. So far you've spent your time just trying to understand but the more you tried the more confusing it all got and the more confusing it got the harder you cried. You just wanted to go home. You settle under the blankets of the unfamiliar bed, huffing and sighing as you fought back the heaving sobs that wanted to leave you. You wanted to go home so badly, you wanted Ingrid to read you stories and Yorick to take you bug hunting -- heck, you even missed Bryn! You hear the door to 'your' room creak open, tensing as someone quietly pads inside. "Are you alright?" A voice rumbles.

Peeking your watery eyes out from under the blanket you spot a man, Galeon, hovering just slightly over you. He looks worried, two arms crossed over his chest while his second pair (weird, right?) play idly with a loose string on his shirt. He pauses seeing your tears, his face falling from worry to sadness. "Hey, what's wrong?" He sits on the edge of 'your' bed, holding out two arms to you. An invite. You hesitate, debating whether you should just hide under the blanket again, but you wanted comfort from someone. You push past your blankets, gathering them around your shoulders and crawl into his arms. He's warm and he holds you tightly, running a hand down your back. You close your eyes for just a moment and when they open again, the sun has risen.

THE SECOND TIME -- A spattering of stars glitter above you. They span forever and twinkle like a billion blinking eyes, all looking at you. Hollond rests beside you, a spare blanket tucked around you as you lean into their side. They whisper stories into the air, pointing out unfamiliar constellations, and spinning tales. Ingrid tells good stories too. You miss her. You feel the blonde's arm gather you close when you shiver, their free hand weaving gentle magic into the air and into a recreation of a story. Did your mother ever tell you stories? A sadness creeps over you, on that is both familiar and new. Your companion doesn't have to say anything, but you know, unexplainably, that they feel your sadness as they drift into another story, a happier one, one that makes you dream of bright colors and laughter.

THE THIRD TIME -- The medicine is bitter and as thick as molassis -- you really don't want to swallow it, but Galeon is persistent. You tried to tell them that it was just a dry throat, but with each cup of water the ache only got worse and your temperature continued to spike. Finally fed up, Galeon tucked your feverish form into bed with a sharp look and Hollond began to prepare a spoon full of nasty, which you vowed not to swallow. Sadly, you think the duo caught onto your plan and you found yourself being tightly held by Hollond as Galeon pushed the spoon towards you. Ugh... It smelled awful! "I know it doesn't taste good, but you must take it." You fought, craning your head back until the blonde's shoulder impeded you and you were forced to begin leaning sideways. "It'll be quick and we can get something to take the taste away but you must--" The man was cut off as Hollond's thin fingers deftly pinched your skin, holding tight enough to startle you but not to hurt. You yelp in surprise and the man takes that moment to dump the spoonful of medicine into your mouth. You gag at the taste but swallow (by accident might you add). Hollond holds you tight with an apologetic frown, "You'll thank us when you feel better." Puh!

THE FOURTH TIME -- You had a nightmare. One that felt so real that when you woke in the dark of the night, you weren't sure if you were truly awake. Your first instinct was to hide away beneath your blanket, but your horrified mind decided that wasn't enough to keep the monsters away. With your blankets clutched around your shoulders, you brave the dim hallway of the strange duo's home until you come to the door of their room. You can hear Galeon's sharp snores even with the door closed but you know if you knock that Hollond will hear it. You wonder if the monsters will hear the sound but you push it down, try to be calm, and knock.

Soon enough, you hear the gentle padding of someone approaching and the door opens to reveal the blonde. Their hair is a braided mess and their blue skin imprinted with the shape of bunched up sheets, their odd eyes scan the hallways before landing abruptly on you. "huh?" they ask lamely, swaying for a moment as they open the door wider and let you in once they finally recognize the fear on your face. After that, it was a quick matter of pulling you into the impossibly high and impossibly soft bed -- Galeon barely stirred. Hollond doesn't ask what brought you to their room nor do they ask when you huddle close to Galeon and pull on their arm to bring them closer. You feel safe tucked between the two and when you wake the next morning, it's to Galeon holding the both of you close... and Hollond drooling.

THE FIFTH TIME -- It feels like forever since you've seen them. Sure, it's only been a few days but it's a few days too many. Finlay holds your hand as they lead you through the winding streets of the tree city and back to your home. Your new home where you parents are waiting for you, no doubt worried and distraught over your disappearance. You aren't sure when you began to call them your parents and you're doubly unsure how you now recognize their home, but you do. You see their small home with the carefully maintained garden with the crooked birdhouse -- you see them through the windows, walking, moving, existing.

You let go of the knight's hand and raise down the path to their front door, slamming your hands against the peeling green wood. It takes only a few moments for a familiar giant to ease the barrier open. His face pales for a moment, looking down at you on their front steps, then he steps forward to scoop you into his arms. He lets out a yell of triumph, almost like a war cry, that brings Hollond in from kitchen. You can just barely make them out from over your papa's broad shoulders as they nearly collapse in their haste to see you. You missed them. You missed their hugs, their stories, their presence. It's good to be home... with your parents.

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 44 – HORROR

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Diomedes

No other fandom author that I know of has such a gift for invoking existential dread and the sort of quiet despair that follows you even after you finish reading. Diomedes' writing style is nothing short of incredible, and I adore every single fic of theirs that I've read. If you like horror, then their AO3 catalogue is a giant, tasty treat just waiting for you to gobble it up.

Here's some of their work that I think you should check out:

The Cure and the Disease

Pairing: Gen Rating: M Words: 6,952 Tags: Team Whump, Temporary Character Death, Hurt No Comfort

Summary: They break Stark first. One by one the rest of them follow.

Reasons why I love it: Holy. Shit. I doubt that if asked, anyone could've come up with a more perfect torture for each of these characters, it's so beyond brutal. And not in a violent kind of way, just – the psychological horror, it's unimaginable. And the explanation for what was going on at the end just makes it even more awful. It's brilliant, and if you're down for some gruesome angst, definitely check this one out!

This Crowded Place

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: M Words: 8,705 Tags: Psychological Horror, Obsessive Behavior, Religious Imagery

Summary: “Do you remember?” Steve croaked as the last of the inferno bled out of him leaving only ashes and ice behind.  Tony hesitated at the familiar refrain. “Yes.” Steve stared up at the grey ceiling and remembered a hell of their own making. He loaded the single word with contempt as he pushed it through his teeth, aimed like a weapon:  “Good.”

Reasons why I love it: I've recced the fic that this one is a sequel to before, but I'm still going to rec this one, because it's one of my favorite things ever. I love this version of Steve so much, how he's confronted with the realization that his dark side is a lot closer to the surface that he wants it to be, and maybe always was. It's dark and gruesome, and I really hope you check it out, because it's incredible!

Blooms in Frost

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 3,490 Tags: Body Horror, Hanahaki Disease, Not A Fix-It

Summary: Tony coughs up his first petal on the sixth of July. He has been married to the love of his life for two years. -- Bury a Hanahaki corpse in earth and it will beget the most beautiful garden.  All that love, it is said, must go somewhere.

Reasons why I love it: Jesus Christ, this fic hits you right where it hurts. It's so goddamn sad but wrapped in Diomedes' beautiful words, it's the most wonderful, awful dichotomy. I'm a huge fan of dark Hanahaki fics, and the body horror elements in this story are just perfect. I love it, and I bet you will too, so I hope you check it out!

Sleep Sisyphus (Guard your Star)

Pairing: Gen Rating: T Words: 3,426 Tags: Character Study, Howard's A+ Parenting, Introspection

Summary: Howard says Stark men are made of iron and this is not one of his lies. Iron is useful: it can be forged into weapons and bridges and keys alike. Iron is blood and magnets and the spinning core of the Earth. It is fool’s gold, it is armour. It is the heaviest element found in the heart of stars but much too heavy for a boy’s heart to carry. Tony will never forgive his father this inheritance.

Reasons why I love it: Oooffff, this one hurts. It's one of the darkest takes I've ever seen on Tony's self-image, and yet it slots so seamlessly into canon that it feels like it must be true. I love how the horror in this fic stems from something so human – the fear of never being good enough and your life amounting to nothing. It's amazingly written, as all of Diomedes' fics are, and I really hope you go and experience it for yourself!

Conversations at Yorick's Graveside

Pairing: Gen Rating: M Words: 10,886 Tags: Grief/Mourning, Delusions, Not A Fix-It

Summary: Two days after the funeral Stephen starts hallucinating a dead man. -- A ghost story for atheists.

Reasons why I love it: This fic is like a finger in the wound, a perfect representation of that feeling of 'it never gets better'. But at the same time, there are so many moments of Stephen working through his grief that are cathartic and bittersweet. I love this fic so much, and I really hope you check it out, because it's incredible!

[notoriouslydevious]

Goodbye & Good Luck Riot KateyKhaos

Yesterday Katey posted to her twitter saying that next thursday will be her last day at Riot (so most likely Sept 16th, 2021). 

She was known as the Nami-Mommy throughout most of the community and worked on a BUNCH of skins.  She posted this on her Riot anniversary on June 30th of all the skins she worked on: 

Since it's pretty hard to read from the picture, I'll do my best to list them all: 2014: Reaper Soraka Victorious Morgana Battlecast Kog'maw Captain Volibear Constable Trundle Winter Wonder Orianna 2015: Wild Card Shaco King of Clubs Morde Order of the Lotus Irelia Prehistoric Cho'gath Pool Party Rek'sai Pool Party Draven Captain Fortune Battle Boss Blitzcrank Arcade Riven Project: Yi Project Fiora Championship Kalista Warden Karma Warden Jax Marauder Alistar Marauder Olaf Marauder Ashe Marauder Warwick Demon Vi Slayer Jinx Void Bringer Illaoi Snow Day Syndra Blood Moon Elise Challenger Ahri DJ Sona Firecracker Jinx Sweetheart Annie Debonair Galio Headhunter Akali Urf the Nami-tee Archduke Nasus Definitely Not Udyr Order of the Banana Soraka Guardian of the Sands Rammus Arclight Vayne Risen Fiddlesticks Queen of Diamonds Syndra Ace of Spades Ezreal 2016: Challenger Nidalee Lunar Wraith Morgana Sweetheart Sona Heartseeker Orianna Death Blossom Kha'zix Hextech Ward Mecha Zero Sion Mecha Zero Ward Super Galaxy Kindred Super Galaxy Fizz Freljord Taliyah El Leon Gnar El Macho Mundo Deep Sea Nami Star Guardian Jinx Mechs and Minions Ward Victorious Maokai Elementalist Lux Elementalist Ward 2017: Heartseeker Quinn Love Dove Ward Festival Queen Anivia Dragon Sorceress Zyra Moo Cow alistar Dreadnova Darius Cosmic Blade Master Yi Cosmic Dawn Rakan Pulsefire Caitlyn Pulsefire ward SKT T1 Nami SKT T1 Syndra Pentakill Kayle Star Guardian Ahri Star Guardian Miss Fortune Star Guardian Soraka Beekeeper Signed Arclight Yorick Death Sworn Katarina Death Sworn Viktor Death Sworn Zed Mecha Rengar 2018: Sweetheart Rakan Sweetheart Xayah Lunar Empress Lux Lunar Guardian Warwick Lunar Guardian Nasus Dragon Master Swain Resistance Illaoi Pizza Delivery Sivir Dark Star Cho'gath (I went to HS with Brian, the guy they made this skin for ♥) SSG Ezreal SSG Jarvan SSG Xayah SSG Rakan SSG Gnar SSG Taliyah Pool Party Zoe Pool Party Caitlyn Pool Party Gangplank Mafia Braum (or now "Crime City" Braum) High Noon Thresh High Noon Urgot Divine Sword Irelia Enduring Sword Talon Infernal Amumu Count Kledula Trick or Treat Ekko Program Nami Victorious Orianna Pajama Guardian Soraka Pajama Guardian Miss Fortune Pajama Guardian Ezreal Pajama Guardian Lux Pajama Guardian Lulu Ice King Twitch Frozen Prince Mundo Winter Wonder Soraka Hextech Renekton 2019: Blood Moon Pyke Blood Moon Aatrox & Prestige Blood Moon Sivir Firecracker Vayne & Prestige Firecracker Sejuani Coin Emperor Tahm Kench Heartpiercer Fiora Heartbreaker Vi Papercraft Anivia Papercraft Nunu Arclight Brand Pretty Kitty Rengar Fuzz Fizz Corgi Corki Meowrick Dunkmaster Ivern Hextech Jarvan IG Leblanc IG Camille IG Fiora IG Kai'sa Dark Star Shaco Dark Star Karma Arcade Kai'sa Arcade Caitlyn Battle Boss Yasuo Demacia Vice Garen Demacia Vice Lucian Dragon Oracle Udyr Hextech Rammus Elderwood Ahri Elderwood Nocturne Elderwood Veigar Championship Ryze Valiant Sword Riven Majestice Empress Morgana Splendid Staff Nami High Noon Ashe Witch's Brew Blitz Bewitched Miss Fortune Count Kassadin Dawnbringer Karma Dawnbringer Nidalee Nightbringer Vladimir Nightbringer Lee Sin 2020: Mecha Kingdoms Garen Heartseeker Jinx Heartseeker Yuumi Furyhorn Cosplay Veigar Pajama Guardian Urgot Coven Zyra Coven Leblanc FPX Malphite FPX Vayne FPX Lee Sin FPX Thresh Spirit Blossom Yasuo Spirit Blossom Cassiopeia PsyOps Master Yi PsyOps Ezreal PsyOps Pyke PsyOps Viktor Championship Leblanc K/DA All Out Seraphine Cosmic Destiny Nami Battle Queen Janna Elderwood Xayah Elderwood Rakan 2021: Ruined Karma Ruined Shyvana Ruined Draven Space Groove Lux Space Groove Nasus DWG Jhin DWG Nidalee PROJECT: Sejuani Sentinel Irelia It honestly scares me that not one, not two, but now THREE people in the skins department are leaving back to back (Stellari, Zeronis in October of 2020 and now Katey.. like what the fuck is going on??? At least Steve Zheng is still getting commissioned.. I think). I will certainly miss Katey wherever she flips her fins. 🧜‍♀️♥