#fairytales slashed

[dimalink]

Fields and slimes – funny adventures

Pixel art for today based on videogame Seiken Densetsu 2 for game console Super Nintendo. Role Playing game with powerful graphics. Something about visual like Legend of Mana.

Beautiful colorful palette. Some little animals. Slimes, porings. Something like that. Action role playing game. Fairytale atmosphere of good and kind adventure! I remember third part, when I see it with emulators, and I was surprised and crazy about graphics. It was one moment, sad, that it was with Japan language. Now, I think there are translations.

And this is my drawing based on the same theme. You are with your friend grasshopper everyday are walking around the field. Summer. Excellent weather! And at the fields, it is a massive appearance of slimes, porings. And creatures like them. They are brightfull and colorfull. And they cover all the place around.

To cross the field it is not so easy thing. You are going after this flow of slimes. They are colorfull and not evil. But there are some of them – they are dangerous and evil. And it is hard to say who is where. At first look, they all are colorfull. But there are good and kind. And there are evil. They at once start to attack you.

So, it should to be somewhere here a enter to dungeon. Before this days, Slimes were living in a small amount in dungeons, in cold. And no one take attention to this. And now there are lots of them. And colorful. And good and kind, and evil too. So, these are the news!

Before, someone saw a big snails. They are also were living in a dungeons. They are big and it is not so easy to see them. So, I think, it is good to check snails, at first.

Dima Link is making retro videogames, apps, a little of music, write stories, and some retro more.

WEBSITE: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/home_eng.html ITCHIO: https://dimalink.itch.io/ GAMEJOLT: https://gamejolt.com/@DimaLink/games

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[quirinah]

SLAY THE PRINCESS (chewing on drywall)

[tokuteasings]

I saw the tag regarding how Daishinji 'hurts' you on my ask regarding my relatability to him and Neon. I want to know more about that, how about it?

its been 70 years since i watched saber but uh lemme try...

Sometimes you don't need a reason to latch on to a character. But honestly, Daishinji is a quiet person and quiet people tend to suffer the most.

IDk when he cried like that...to see his emotions come out in such a tragic way, I just...

It's a glimpse into the maze of his mind, a labyrinthe set of walls he closed off to the people around him and only allows a select few with the keys to view it. But even then, deeper deeper within that maze not even his friends truly know him after all, you cannot be a mind reader.

But we are seeing those walls crack, water seeping through the walls and almost flooding his mind with emotions that was normally held back by dams and such.

It makes you want to repair those walls, but also tell him, "It's okay to let them crack and break just a bit." and just stay there, by those walls, waiting for the prince to come out of his tower on his own. You can coax him, gently, but it will take time.

[figjelly]

Munch munch

Chomp chomp

Gobble gobble

Gulp

[animeyanderelover]

Hello can I request a yandere jjk x angel reader.

Geto, Gojo, Yuta, Sukuna. Thank you!!!

Tw: Yandere themes, possessive behavior, obsession, delusional tendencies, cligniness, paranoia, sadism, abduction, isolation, violence

Tags: @lovley-valentine7

Angel s/o

Ryomen Sukuna

🗾​This is no forbidden lovestory. No tragic fairytale of two people who aren't meant to be together. No, the only emotions brooding between the two of you are those of repulsion, disgust and, on only Sukuna's side, an attraction that only fuels the hateful obsession. He is the King of Curses, you are a being of pureness and protection. The two of you are supposed to be enemies, intertwined in an eternal fight until one of you falls through the hands of the other. Those emotions though, they shouldn't be there. He should loathe you, he does loathe you. So why does he experience those sensations whenever the two of you clash? This thrill pumping through his veins goes beyond the bloodthirst and sadistic ecstasy when fighting someone, beyond the fantasies of slashing and devouring. Other feelings co-exist within those carnal desires Sukuna is so familiar with and if he would be someone lesser he would accuse you of bewitching him. Only someone weak would fall for a cheap trick that were to influence their perceptions in such unfamiliar ways, twist them into something so pathetic. You only add salt to the wound within his ego as he is the only one suffering from such a disease.

🗾​A primal part of him longs to slash you into bloody pieces so that your body and face may never tempt him again. Far too merciful would that be though, not enough for Sukuna's heart yearning for revenge. He has suffered a great humiliation because of you, feelings of love and attraction that have weakened him and his resolve. You deserve something far worse than death. He will drag you into a pit of hellfire even deeper than his, will break you and shape you until you are even more pathetic than he is. You will be punished for the seeds of feelings you have planted within him. You will be captured, kept and tamed by him until you are too tainted to return to the holy place where you originated from. He is going to enjoy ruining you and weakening your resolve, to shatter you until you have no option but to stay with him. As soon as you are in the position where he wants you to be, you will be kept as his obedient pet. Your abilities are going to be of great use for his plans after all. It's affection that keeps him still chained to you, a bond that even he will be unable to sever. You will be his. Because if you aren't, then he will burn you alongside the world you have sworn to guard over.

Gojo Satoru

🩵​His appearance and his powers have always put Gojo closer to a being closer to a deity, at least in the eyes of some people. The power that emits from you is something that even non-sorcerers can sense though they do not sense what you are. Gojo with his Six Eyes instantly discerns that you are an existence that no sorcerer has ever encountered. A messenger of an even higher being that has graced earth for purposes unknown. Gojo proceeds with a healthy mixture of caution though as he believes those in power to be rarely innocent. Being close to you is a dizzying experience, the energy you emit strong enough to evoke reverence within an average person. Even Satoru is not entirely immune to those feelings yet he isn't swayed as easily as he remains wary when around you. Every word, every gesture, every flutter of your eyelashes is something that he observes closely as he tries to figure out your purpose for your ascendence to earth and its people. He fails to inform people of highest position of your existence though as he would only dread what they would do with that information. Maybe, just maybe, there is also a part within him that wants to keep this extraordinary experience to himself.

🩵​The rapid fluttering within his chest, the warm adoration pulsing through every fiber of his being, the weightlessness he experiences whenever his gaze falls upon you. Around you Satoru feels a safety and a comfort that only someone like you could provide him with. It initially scares him, the sensation of a heaven on earth something that has never been granted to him. Soon he gives in to everything though and that is when the clinginess and paranoia start. Both of you are from different worlds entirely as his life is but a short spark in comparison to your life of eternity. It is this knowledge that he is a being chained to time that torments him greatly. He doesn't wish you to move on, to forget him as the centuries pass. It is a selfishness of the highest degree, perhaps even blasphemous in the face of a holy creature like you. Gojo is only human though, riddled with flaws and an imperfection that someone like you could never possess nor understand. It is you who triggered those feelings within, you who made him this way. If you truly are what history hails you to be then stay and save him from his solitude. Do that or watch him fall victim to his dark side where he will only accept salvation from you.

Geto Suguru

🗻​How utterly ironic of the monk to be met with an otherwordly being as yourself. Geto is not overly welcoming, at least not anymore the moment you voice your own doubts about his vision. A cast of judgement from someone like you cuts deep, so much deeper than Suguru would have ever imagined. In his mind he does what will be best for his own kind, his opinion of non-sorcerers tainted in nothing but hatred. What you try to protect is a creation that is beyond saving. Just take a look around you after all and see what the barbaric feelings of those monkey give birth to. They are the reason curses exist, they are the reasons why his kind dies in an attempt to save their ignorant lives. But for what reward? If they were to find out about the powers the sorcerers possess they would revert back to witch hunts and fear. He has seen it. There is nothing worth protecting within the non-sorcerers. But he could create a paradise like it is written down in so many ancient works across the globe, a place where the hatred and judgement wouldn't exist anymore. His own belief clashes with your own passive one yet to him never before has approval mattered as much as it did with you.

🗻​Suguru obsesses over the fact that he wants your approval for his plans. His mind is set and nothing can stop him, not even you. He will execute his plans with or without your blessing yet he cannot stop himself from obsessing over it anyways. It is an unbearable burn within his heart to know that a literal angel like you are do not agree with him. He constantly seeks you out, tries to convince you to understand his greater vision. He even takes you with him to show you the pettiness of humans, to make you see that they are beyond saving and that a future only lies within sorcerers like him and all those who have joined his cause. The silent look you always give him though always threatens to tear him apart as you gaze at him like he is a lost child who needs saving. He doesn't need that though. He has discovered the light already and yearns for you to join his cause. If he were in possession of your approval, of your love, there would be nothing in his way anymore. If you refuse though, if the threat arrives that you may disappear, Suguru will do his everything to keep you bound to his side. He is no sinner, not at all. He has seen a different salvation, one he will have you understand.

Okkotsu Yuta

💍​He should stay alerted, he should stay cautious when he approaches a being so out of this world. However, your mere presence is enough to eradicate any hostility that he could have possibly harbored for you. His whole body forcibly relaxes as if put under a spell, the grip on his katana easing. A heavy gulp that has his Adam's apple moving before he slowly steps closer to you, each step filling him more with sensations of elation and joy of the likes that he has never experienced before. Rika seems to be slightly uncomfortable within your presence though, baring her sharp teeth and hovering over Yuta as if warning you to not try anything on him. Rika's presence seems to be something that elicits a reaction out of you just as much. For one short moment he dreads that you will exorcise her, won't like her due to being a Curse. To his relief you deem her to be a creature that can do more help than damage though, sparing him the horrible scenario where he would have to defend her against someone as magnificent as you. You are beautiful, a fact that Yuta can't deny. Every time he does as much as think of you he feels those butterflies erupting within his chest.

💍​Your presence is addicting, every touch of yours electrifying bliss and your appearance radiant, transcending the beauty that he has been familiar with so far. Your figure visits him in his dreams, your voice a call he can only answer. Yuta wishes to worship you, to go down on his knees and praise you for the holy being that you are. Someone like you is too pure for this earth though, a place crawling with curses and humans. He feels this unexplainable urge to slash all those who commit evil, to rid your path of such unsightly beings so that you may only experience the good. It is a thought that grows louder each and every day, becomes hard to reign and only quietens when he is with you as if your presence cleanses him from such inpure desires. Still, the urge never disappears and manifests itself every time he catches sight of an ugly curse or a human who you should not have to witness with your magnificent eyes. His own spiral into insanity is not something he is oblivious to and it threatens to pull Yuta down with shame. How can he protect you after all when he himself has such unholy thoughts about you? You should need protection from him.

[lavandulawrites]

Gimmie yandere sanemi with a plump reader! He loves her so much and he knows he can't do better than her and she's convinced he can do better. She's ok with his yandere tendacies cause it means he wants her.

Bonus if you give her blue eyes and freckles please~~~

Yandere Sanemi with an insecure darling

Yandere Sanemi x reader

My first time writing a plus size reader so I hope I did it some justice. I chose not to include blue eyes and freckles.

Masterlist

Warnings: plus size reader, female reader, imprisonment, insecure reader, soft yandere

Word count: 606

His head leaned against the slide doors that lead to the terrace. The crisp autumn wind ruffled his hair as his lilac eyes raked over your form and a smug smile tugged on his lips. You were sitting comfortably on a chair while you read a book. When he had asked you what it was about you had told him it was a fairytale. You had always been fond of fairytales. You admitted to him quite early on in your relationship that it was an escape. An escape that you very much needed.

After that he had bought you every fairytale book he came across, though he told you to read it for your enjoyment, not as an escape. You had agreed after the Hashira kissed you gently on your cheek. Such uncharacteristic action always threw you of guard which he very much enjoyed.

As you flipped through the pages silently he was lost in thought. He was thankful you excepted his advances, because who knows what he would do if you didn’t. You hadn’t objected when he had whisked you away, which he found weird at first, but he soon shrugged off. He didn’t complain. Your corporation was something he appreciated. It made it easier to protect you.

However, Sanemi had started to sense that something was off. At first he thought you were secretly plotting your escape, but after a while he realised that that wasn’t the case. Then he thought that maybe you had feelings for someone else. Though that would’ve been unlikely since you spent your days inside his estate or in the garden surrounded by high fences.

He rose from the terrace and sat beside you on the chair. “Is anything the matter, love?” he asked with a gentle voice. The pet name felt foreign on his tongue, he never seemed to get used to it no matter how many times it fell from his lips.

Your pretty eyes lifted from the pages and found his. “No? Why are you asking?” you asked with a smile.

Sanemi might have not been the best with feelings nor people in general, but even he could tell that you were lying. “Don’t lie to me” his voice was stern.

Your eyes cast downward to your hands that were clutching the fairytale book. You remained silent for a few seconds before you opened your mouth. “I just think that you can do so much better than me. You shouldn’t force yourself” your voice was meek, but fully audible.

The white haired man blinked for a few seconds in disbelief. “What?”

“I mean it. I don’t want to hold you back” you looked away as you furiously blinked.

Sanemi’s face was twisted in disbelief. He crutched in front of you in the cold hardwood floors as he took your hand. “Don’t ever say that, ever again. You are perfect and I love you so much that it hurts” his voice was loud and laced with anger directed at those who made you think like that. He would find a way to get their names out of your pretty mouth and slash their throats. They would pay for their actions.

“You are perfect, both your appearance and your personality. If I catch you say something like that again, I will make you believe my words whether” you rose and leaned over you. His breath fanned over your face. His intense eyes fixed in yours. His lips locked with yours and his eyes closed. His calloused hands held your plush hands in a tight grip, as if he was afraid that you would disappear if he let go.

[yandere-wishes]

⋆𐙚⋆ Imagine being Darth Vader/ Anakin's presious little darling. You're the only thing that keeps him living, keeps him from tearing his chest open and clawing out his black dysfunctional heart. You're the only good thing in his life.

⋆𐙚⋆ That's why he keeps you locked up on Mustafar, in a dark, somber castle surrounded by lava. It's how he can insure your safety. Make sure you're always waiting for him alone and scared. It's easy to believe that your sweet smile is because of him, much easier than believing you're despreatly starved for company.

⋆𐙚⋆ Anakin's fairytale ends when Obi Wan learns of your existence. Learns that Anakin has taken an unwilling bride and locked her away on a planet of eternal night. Old habits die hard, and despite all his failures, Obi Wan is still a Jedi. He knows he has to rescue you.

⋆𐙚⋆ Imagine running through Mustafar. Fingers laced with a Jedi master who smells of sweet desert fruits and dying suns. Running through forests and jumping over lava streams. You can hear Anakin behind you. His rage ripples through the air, thick and menacing. You smell the burn of bark as his saber slashes through the trees. His screams of rage burn your ears. But you see the starship. You taste freedom in the back of your mouth. You're so so close.

⋆𐙚⋆ You only let go of Obi Wan's hand when you're inside the starship, and the hatch is sealed shut behind you. Only let out a breath when the engine roars and the ship lifts into the air. Obi Wan sits at the pilot seat, rotten nostalgia coursing through his veins. He offers you his smiles his golden smile, trying to reassure you that you're finally finally safe. And you believe him...at least for a moment.

⋆𐙚⋆ The starship rattles, shaking you and him from your seats. The engines scream the metal frame creaks and bends. You dare a glance outside a shattering window only to see him. Vader's arm is raised, fingers stretching, power radiates through him, pulling the thousend ton ship from the air. It's funny to think that one man holds so much power. You cower on the floor knees to your chest. Doe eyes overflowing with tears, you knew freedom was too good to be true. Obi Wan tries to wrangle the ship from Vader, but there is no hope left...

⋆𐙚⋆ All too soon, the ship crashes back onto igneous land. The metalic doors and walls are peeled off harshly as Vader uses the force to rummage through the wreckage. Your bruised and battered body is pulled towards him. His furious grasp snakes around your neck. "YOU LEFT ME, YOU ABANDONED ME." it's hard to miss the sprinkles of pain upon the rage-filled timber of his voice. "Ani, I'm sor-" you try to choke out, despreat for a mercy you know will not be granted. "LIAR".

⋆𐙚⋆ He doesn't kill you. He can't. He may be rage born and hatred raised. But you... you are truly something special, something that deserves punishment, not death. Anakin drags you back to his fortress. Leaving Obi Wan bleeding amongst the wreckage...

[it-happened-one-fic]

Stuff of Fairytales - Floyd

Author Notes: Happy MerMay Twisted Wonderland! I won't lie, this fic kind of flew together while I was just sitting and chatting with my mom and sister. It doesn't have any specific music that it was written to or anything like that and my only real idea that went into this was MerMay. Nonetheless, I had fun writing this fic. As per usual, Reader is gender-neutral. I hope you enjoy!

Type: Gender-neutral reader/ MerMay/ fluff/ romance implied/ sfw

Word Count: 1264

Ignoring Floyd was always something that one did at one’s own risk. Especially when he was staring quite as pointedly as he was staring at me right now. And even more especially so considering that I was sitting on the edge of the pool while Floyd was in his merform.

He drifted over, and I cautiously met his stare, not entirely sure as to what I should expect from him.

For one thing, he’d been oddly peaceful this entire time. And while that didn’t necessarily mean anything, it still felt suspiciously like the calm before a storm.

He tilted his head, slowly coming to a steady stop right in front of me before crossing his arms and resting them on my knees, where I had my legs hanging over the edge of the pool and in the cool water, “Hey Shrimpy, did your world have any merpeople?” 

His tone was relatively innocent, but I still felt my eyebrows lift warily before I shook my head. Half-surprised by his question even as I answered him, “No… They’re the stuff of fairytales in my world…. Kind of like magic is.”

He hummed, rolling his mismatched eyes up to meet mine as he rested his chin on his arms. Almost as if he were, suspiciously enough, trying to look innocent.

I watched him silently for a moment before finally biting the bullet and questioning him as he continued to stare up at me, “Why?”

That singular word had a grin splitting its way across his face, perfectly displaying his too-sharp teeth that made so many others uncomfortable.

But just like how I’d somehow gotten used to his merform’s slimy texture, I was perfectly used to his sharp-toothed grins by now.

“Nothing~ It just explains why you had such a cute, surprised reaction when you first saw mine and Jade’s merforms.”

I rolled my eyes slightly at his teasing tone, even as I smiled despite myself at his words, “You say that like I was the only one who was surprised. I seem to recall Ace, Deuce, Jack, and Grim all being pretty shocked too.”

Despite my words, I couldn’t deny that I had been genuinely startled. Floyd and Jade were nothing like the fluttery, magical creatures I’d imagined as a child. Instead, they were far more dangerous-looking. Something that was fitting, considering their personalities.

But even then, there had still been something enchanting about seeing a merperson for the first time. Much less two of them.

Not that I was ever going to tell Floyd that. He was already amused enough as it was.

Floyd faux-pouted up at me in an almost playful manner, “But none of them were cute. They just looked like a bunch of guppies silently opening and closing their mouths.”

He paused as I fought the urge to snort at his analogy, and, as if somehow he could sense my amusement, he grinned again. His tail slashing through the water as his eyes all but sparkled at me, “You weren’t like that though, Shrimpy. Your eyes were all bright. Like you were excited.”

I almost sighed at his pointed, pleased-sounding words. Because while I couldn’t say that they were wholly accurate, they were a little too perceptive in a way that I could only describe as very Octavinelle.

Floyd, Jade, and Azul were all practically uncanny when it came to their ability to hit upon something people didn’t want them to know.

“I wasn’t excited….” I trailed off unconvincingly, not entirely sure how to defend myself in this situation since he wasn’t entirely wrong.

Lying would be useless. Floyd was so used to his brother’s slippery nature that he would be able to see through any fib I came up with in a nanosecond.

I didn’t have to rush, though. Floyd was waiting. An amused smile on his face as he waited for me to give up in a rare display of patience from the usually restless young man.

But then, I supposed being patient might be easier when victory was assured. His grin wasn’t making it any easier for me to come up with an excuse, though.

“Well, how would you react if you suddenly saw something out of a fairytale?!” I gave up in an exasperated half-surrender.

I refused to tell Floyd that a slight bit of childish enchantment and awe had shot through me when I’d first seen him and his brother’s merforms.

Doing that would just result in him telling his brother, and then there really would be no escaping the teasing and harassment.

As it was, I would just have to put up with Floyd’s teasing and amusement until he drifted onto another topic. He might bring back up my initial reaction to his merform every so often, but I could deal with that. 

After all, it was only fair with how often I got to pick him on numerous things as well.

At odds with my expectations of his laughter, Floyd straightened from where he’d been resting his chin on his arms this entire time and tilted his head in a thoughtful fashion.

After a brief moment, he grinned, and something ever-so-slightly worrying flickered through his mismatched eyes as he met my gaze once more, “I guess I’d squeeze ‘em.”

Before I could even think about reacting, his arms were wrapping themselves around my waist. Pulling me closer and squeezing me with a surprising degree of care considering who it was that I was dealing with.

I gasped slightly in surprise at both his actions and the cold from his wet arms, my hands flying up and grabbing hold of his shoulders in a slight panic. Not entirely trusting him to not pull me into the pool with him.

I didn’t go splashing down into the water though, and my reaction only caused Floyd to grin even more at me, “Your reactions are too much fun, Shrimpy~”

His words were all but cooed, and I frowned slightly, “Floyd, you know your slime is hard to get out of clothes.”

I scolded him in retaliation, continuing to frown down at him, but my words were met with little more than a nonchalant shrug from the merman, who certainly didn't seem like he was going to be letting go of me anytime soon.

In fact, he seemed perfectly content, smiling up at me from the pool that I was now perched precariously on the edge of. Fully relying on Floyd to keep me balanced as he held onto me.

He smiled, tilting his head slightly, perfectly unbothered as he grinned up at me, “Just use the washer at Octavinelle and tell Azul it’s my fault.”

I sighed at his words, feeling myself surrender ever-so-slightly as I let a smile slip onto my face. Sometimes it really did feel like there was no winning against Floyd, and, to be fair, his plan probably would work.

Azul was nothing if not used to Floyd’s mercurial ways that often caused him troubles. 

I relaxed, letting my hands continue to rest easily on Floyd’s shoulders as I smiled down at him, “Just don’t come whining to me later.”

 He outright grinned at my words, his eyes sparkling in an almost challenging way, “No promises~”

I shook my head fondly at both him and his words as I continued to smile down at the man who hugged me close to him.

Floyd himself might not exactly be the stuff of fairytales, but he was definitely  unforgettable, and there wasn’t a thing I would change about him. 

Even if he could be a pest sometimes.

[tomionefinds]

Spooky/Creepy Fics

h/t to mod @april-17-rose for the graphic!

For Spooky Season (mind the tags on all fics listed below)

Check out our list of Halloween/Samhain themed fics

Apple of My Eye by MrMxLemons

E | One-shot| 18k

Hermione wants to help the boy. The boy who has nothing to offer but an apple. - “I do not ask for much: I only want you to take a bite of my apple. Is that truly such a large favor to request? Have you no heart, Hermione?” She did have a heart, but when her gaze flickered back up to his it stopped in her chest.

Revenant by quinault

E | One-shot | 2k

“Hermione” he whispered into her cool, pale skin, crushing her mouth against his. She tasted exactly how he remembered, like raspberries and mint and something slightly tart, something that made him want to take her into his very pores. The wind picked up, rustling through the grasses of the wood, rushing through the trees. The whole world sighing in recognition. — Submitted for the tomione smut fest 2021. Object prompt: resurrection stone

Damned by Meowmers

M | Complete | 38k

"That's what I like about you," He told her, his fingers pressed against her pulse, "You don't believe in fairytales," His thumb traced the curve of her jaw and she watched his eyes flash red for a single, dream-like moment, "Do you believe in nightmares?" Tomione.

Demon Lord by WildKitsune

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Hermione gets captured by the Death Eaters and is about to be sacrificed to summon their Demon Lord. Too bad for him that is exactly where she wants to be, they may not survive.

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Hermione makes a bet with one of her students on the first day of class. Now she is dragged into a world of demonic intrigue and the best sex of her life. Will she find a way to free herself, or will she end up as Hell’s newest queen?

Reflection by uleanblue

T | One Shot | 1k

The sound is so faint it almost doesn’t register at first.

The Summoning by LovelyVillain

E | One Shot | 4k

Hermione never meant for this to happen. No one was supposed to get hurt. She was summoning an Angel after all... She forgot to read the fine print.

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It was strange being here at 12 Grimmauld Place alone, but nothing was as strange as Hermione Granger wondering if she was losing her precious mind.

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Any Other Verse by disillusionit9

T | Two-shot | 3k

His not-quite corporeal form leaned against the opposite end of her workbench, his neck exposed to the setting sunlight, a streak of red-tinted light across his neck in a violent slash. Hermione was doing her best to ignore the way his breathing filled the space between bubbles in her potions or how the air in the room changed whenever he entered. AU. COMPLETE.

After 3 Am by Nekositting

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“W-what are you?” Hermione breathed, voice wavering when a low laugh bubbled from the mouth at her neck. Her ears rung with the sound. “The man of your dreams.”

Sleep is the cousin of death by Nekositting

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“Your scent—“ The creature sniffed the air, its eyes closing for a brief moment before its gaze flickered to hers. Hermione could only cringe. Its eyes were hungry, no, famished. “—is absolutely delightful.”

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Don't Check the Closet by LadyUrsa

E | Complete | 23k

After a slew of miserable dates, including being stood up four times in a row, Hermione can't believe her luck when she gets the attention of a man like Tom Riddle. He’s brilliant, gorgeous, and absolutely devoted to her. He’s perfect for her in every way, and her life is so much better with him in it. Everything is perfect with Tom. Completely perfect. Except… Except he knows things he shouldn't. Except there are four missing Quidditch players who stood her up and then vanished. Except Tom has a closet door that’s only sometimes there. Except he lies to her about the door when it’s not. Except Hermione wants to know. What’s in the closet?

[arcane-vagabond]

Trapped in Silk: Prologue

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: The world has been turned on its head ever since news spread that vampires are not only very real, but many have walked the earth undetected for centuries. You keep to yourself, head down and out of everyone's way. That is, until you bump into a stranger while avoiding a group of men chasing after you. You think you've seen the last of this stranger, only to run into him once more. Your life is turned upside down as he envelopes you into his life and into his riches. Are you a passing fancy, or are you the latest addition to his treasure trove? Only time will tell. (Vampire!AU)

Content Warning: Lots of talk of blood, Excessive prose, Vampires, self depracation. I think that's it, but please let me know if I missed anything!

Word Count: 1.2k

Masterlist || Series Masterlist

When considering all things sacred, blood is perhaps the one thing more precious than gold.

Blood not only keeps people alive, it carries their memories through their veins, cycling through them like the seasons that pass as time creeps on. Blood is sacred in that oaths are sworn upon it, one’s life tied to another in a promise so great that another’s life was staked upon it. Brotherhoods are formed in blood, cuts slashed into skin to allow the intermingling of one’s self with another.

The taking of blood was a great sin, condemning those who commit the act to an eternity of damnation, vying for salvation in any form they could find it. Cain stole Abel’s blood at the dawn of time, unleashing blood that was not his to give upon the earth and dooming all those that would follow in his path.

Humanity’s greatest monsters were those that ripped through flesh and stole blood from unwilling victims, rivers of blood like red silk against porcelain skin. Demons who once called themselves humans now drank their fill, casting themselves into darkness in fear of the shame the light of day would cast upon them.

These creatures had many names given to them over the centuries. Known as shtriga in Albania, vrykolakas in Greek, and strigoi in Romanian, most people knew them in modern times simply as vampires. Humanity had lost their fear of these creatures, writing them off as fairytales conjured up by ignorant, village folk who needed a reason for every bump in the night and a reason to keep their children in line.

Mutilations that were once the obvious work of the blood sucking dead, were now attributed to fellow human beings if not the odd wild animal attack. Humanity had strayed from the knowledge of their ancestors to favor the logic of the modern era. There couldn’t possibly be creatures that sustain themselves off the blood of other living beings, not ones that take the shape of a human, anyway. Of course you had insect species and small mammals that did so, but what evolutionary purpose would it serve a humanoid to sustain on nothing but blood?

How naïve they all had been.

No one was quite sure what to make of the press conferences at first, some believing them to be some kind of mass prank or some elaborate movie advertisement. It wasn’t long after that their kind started coming out in waves, no longer content to hide in the darkness that had once been their sanctuary.

The world had been in shock as droves of these creatures made themselves known, neighbors showing their true nature and some even advocating for the full integration of their kind with humans. Of course, there had been just as much pushback. People demanding that vampire kind leave, to where, they didn’t care. Just so long as they wouldn’t be forced to mingle and play nice with something they didn’t understand.

Vampire advocates had smiled placatingly each time, assuring the general masses that they had nothing to fear, reminding them that vampires had been there the whole time. Most people accepted this, most somewhat begrudgingly. After all, with their presence out in the open, at least there could be consequences and regulations, right?

Those in charge assured everyone that by working together, a new status quo could be created, the call for blood donors going out. While open feeding was not outlawed, it was highly discouraged—the powers that be wanting to maintain some semblance of control. A surprising number of people jumped at the opportunity to donate blood, whether it was through the hope that doing so would keep them from being attacked in the future or simply out of sheer curiosity and enthusiasm. It was the younger generations that seemed more at ease with the sudden development, a sense of cautious excitement ringing in the air in those first few weeks after the initial announcements. You had been finishing up some documents for a report to hand into your boss at the end of the day when Madison had stopped at your desk, a mischievous smile to compliment the spark in her eye.

“Can you believe that Dave from accounting has been a vampire all this time?” She whispered, though you don’t know why she bothered when her voice carried the way it did. You arched a brow at her, hands not stopping in their work as you waited for her to continue.

“I mean,” she scoffed, “who would have thought Dave of all people to be a vampire? He’s so…boring.”

“Vampires are just people, Mads,” you supplied, noting how strange the words felt on your tongue. It was true, of course, but three weeks ago, you’d never imagine having this conversation.

“Yeah, I guess,” she pouted, twirling a finger in her blonde curls. “I dunno, I just thought vampires were supposed to be these natural seducers or whatever. Hot and mysterious. Dave is…well, actually he’s not that bad now that I think about it a little more.”

“You’re ridiculous,” you snorted, a smile tugging at your lips as you paused in your typing to look at her. The grin was back on her face as she waggled her eyebrows.

“You love me,” she declared with a shrug. “Besides, you’re going to tell me you’ve never thought about what it would be like to do it with one of them?”

“No, Mads,” you rolled your eyes. “The thought of never crossed my mind of what it would be like to ‘do it’ with them. They’re the same people they’ve always been, just like I’m the same person I was three weeks ago. Not much has changed, not really.”

“You’re such a bummer sometimes, you know?” Madison giggled with a shake of her head. “You can fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me, babe. I know you’ve got a wild side in you somewhere. We just have to find it!”

She didn’t wait for your response before she turned on her heels and walked away. You loved Madison dearly, really you did. You’d been friends since high school, and you knew she meant well, but you also knew that her words were more than just words. You’d find out what she was up to eventually, and you knew you wouldn’t like it.

You glanced at the clock—almost quitting time. You leaned back in your chair with a grunt, stretching out your back and shoulders before slumping forward. You knew you weren’t the most exciting person, that had always been Madison. Where she was the life of the party, you were content to hug the walls, watching the party go on around you in mild fascination. Madison had no problem going out and meeting people, the string of boyfriends and girlfriends she left behind her a testament of that. You hadn’t had a date in ages, vaguely recalling the first date with some random guy Madison had set you up with. He was a decent guy, Randy or Ricky or Rocky or whatever his name had been, but the spark just hadn’t been there. You supposed you were getting too old to believe in the possibility of true love or love at first sight. You’d have to settle like most anyone else.

With a sigh, you began closing out of the different programs you’d had open on your desktop, making sure that you had all the components for the report for your boss before slinging your purse over your shoulder. Yes, vampires may be real, but a fairytale romance surely was not.

A/N: Okay, yeah lol We're trying something new. We're branching out into uncharted territory. What of it?

As always, reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated. I no longer do taglists, so if you would like to be notified on when I post, please follow my sideblog ( @sailoraviator-library ) and turn on post notifications! You can find me and my works on AO3 under the username arcane_vagabond. Until next time!

[cloudshuffle]

a new dawn. yan!childe

index / prev / next

You rise from a deep, dreamless slumber, tangled up in soft sheets and insistent hands. Ajax’s chest rises and falls gently, ginger lashes shut over his blue eyes, cradling you to him like his most precious treasure.

Asleep, he looks more like a boy in need of affection than a warrior.

The moon is still suspended in the sky, a silver balloon ready to burst. A glance at the clock tells you that you’ve only been asleep for about an hour. Enough time to sneak back into the cabin and pretend you've been there all night.

You begin to negotiate your way carefully out of his hold. With the alcohol no longer sparkling in your veins, you feel nothing but a vague sense of urgency to return to your cabin before anyone else sobers up and notices you’re gone.

It’s a declaration. It was exactly the sort of lovesick, foolish fairytale he’d fall for. And though you’d both enjoyed those once upon a time, one of you had to grow up. Had grown up.

A puff of air ruffles your hair, and you look up to meet his eyes, blinking slowly.

“Going somewhere?” he mutters sleepily, snuggling you closer.

You tense up so he doesn’t get too comfortable. “Yes, actually. I should be getting back before anyone notices I’m gone.”

His gaze roves around the room, as if he didn’t recognise where he was, followed by a lazy yawn. “I can sneak you off the ship. Stay here.”

You push against him and he releases you, more out of surprise than anything else. “Ajax. Be serious.”

“I am.” His puppy-dog eyes follow you as you get out of bed, collecting your discarded clothing and pulling it on. “Please?”

“No,” you reply, more sharply than you’d meant. Adjusting your outfit in the mirror, you just pray that no one can see the creases in the darkness. Or the torn stocking. Behind you, his expression is a little hurt, but it only fills you with a grim satisfaction. Good. Whatever it took to keep him at arm’s length. “Do you have a rag?”

He sighs, climbing out of bed to find one for you. You soak it with water, wiping down the parts he’d left more than just bruises on.

He accosts you on the way to the door, nuzzling a kiss right by your ear. “You’re so eager to get rid of me.” His sleep-warmed skin is littered with scars, you realise, slashes and stabs of all shapes and sizes, some pale with age and others fresher.

A pang of guilt. “Sorry,” you whisper, and then you’re gone.

────────────

Liyue Harbour dawns on the horizon, sprawling and golden in the morning sun. The roofs seem to glow, speaking of riches untold - but only if you knew where to look. Which was why the Tsaritsa was expanding her presence here, entrusting the task to her harbingers and soldiers.

High above, the Floating Palace looms like a sentry, guarding the city from celestial destruction. Your fellow soldiers gather at the side of the ship, watching in awe as Liyue draws closer in all its glory. Even your heart stirs at the sight.

Childe is nowhere to be seen, likely holed up in his cabin, doing last minute paperwork he hadn't had the chance to last night. 

Probably for the better. After… that, now there's a strange, ambiguous feeling in your relationship, one that had been carefully kept nonexistent during your time back in Snezhnaya. 

And like a wounded fox offered easy prey, you're not sure how he might strike out next.

There's a scramble of activity again as goods are unloaded, sailors prepare for docking, and you're all ushered off the ship like a flock of sheep rather than esteemed Fatui operatives. But finally you're on solid ground again, having arrived safely at the port of Liyue Harbour.

Nadia’s eyes are so wide you think they might roll out from her skull. You wonder what you all look like to the locals - foreign operatives here to butt into their business, dressed in heavy coats absolutely not suitable for the weather, looking around in awe like a group of schoolchildren. No wonder the Northland Bank was running into so many problems here.

Only once you’re sequestered safely within the walls of the Northland Bank do you begin to relax. Despite its golden walls and Liyue-esque decor, you’re relieved to see a Fatui mask at the front desk. She gives you all a tired once-over, then returns to her ledger.

You’ve been assigned to fieldwork - meaning tax collecting, outwardly, but also venturing out past the walls of Liyue Harbour and doing whatever Childe required of you. Knowing the Fatui, there was no such thing as simple tax collecting.

As you linger at the back of the group, following the Fatui senior on a brief tour of the bank, you think of what you’d seen in Childe’s cabin. Papers. Maps. Diagrams. Theories about… dragons in the water and adeptal magic? You couldn’t be very sure about what you’d seen.

You’re dismissed to your little offices to get settled in and start on some paperwork.

You shut the door, exhaling a sigh of relief. It’s a blessing to be alone with nothing but your thoughts. 

You head over to your window first, peering carefully outside. Your view overlooks a regular street, lined with other businesses, their employees stationed outside to entice customers in. You watch as a gentleman, his long brown hair tied back, strides meaningfully past. He glances up.

You duck back, holding your breath until he passes.

Enough excitement for today. You shake yourself and take a seat at your desk, thumbing through the various files and folders for you to handle. Most of them are about clients of the bank you need to keep an eye on, but they’re all normal, low profile civilians. You don’t think you’ll have a problem dealing with them.

At the bottom of the stack, substantially thicker than the rest, a folder waits for you. It’s bound in red string, full to bursting. You untie it gingerly and flip it open.

Papers spill out across your desk. Adepti, rituals, ancient ink on gold paper.

Talismans.

You feel like you’re holding your breath as you sift through the information. It seems as if the Fatui in Liyue had been doing extensive research on talismans infused with adepti magic - Sigils of Permission, more commonly known. Created by Rex Lapis and infused with adeptal power, these sigils were once used by mortals to channel divine power.

On the last page is a breathtaking hydra, rising from the waters of Liyue Harbour - no, created from the waters of Liyue itself, jaws fixed in a ferocious roar.

Oh, Ajax. What are you up to now?

────────────

“What’s that?”

You wiggle aside to make room for Ajax. There’s not much room on the windowsill, but it’s just perfect for two little children about to waste the afternoon away reading fairy tales.

“Mama and Papa got me a book of Liyue legends.”

He hooks an arm through yours so neither of you slide off your seat as you flip through the stories, reading them out loud so he can keep up.

Something thuds against your window, startling both of you from a particularly riveting passage where Rex Lapis, unable to defeat his primal foe, pins Osial to the ocean floor. 

“Ghost!” someone yells from outside. “Dead girl!”

A jarring chorus of laughs as the boys ready another round of snowballs.

“Go away!” Ajax yells back, making a rude gesture, to which he receives one in turn.

“Nikolai!” One of their mothers hurries past, gathering the children up in her skirts. “Come now. It’s time for dinner…”

Her fearful, fleeting glance isn’t lost on you, as have the looks from so many other adults. They say you’d been in the water for so long that even a grown man couldn’t have withstood it. That the cold had infected you, kept you alive to spread its clutches into your village. Some of the elders even make the symbol of warding off evil whenever you come by. 

It doesn’t hurt quite as much as it should have.

— word count: 1368. thank you for reading!

[moutainrusing]

fairytale

608 words, @wolfstarmicrofic

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”

When the mirror displayed the face of her son, Sirius, Walburga slashed it to pieces with her nails.

“Execute him,” she ordered.

- - -

“Go,” James pushed Sirius towards the forest. “I won’t let the executioner kill you.”

“But,” Sirius pleaded. “James, come with—”

“No,” James shook his head resolutely, turning towards the castle gates.

- - -

“Everything is cool,” Sirius hummed, snapping twigs despite his attempts at silence.

“AHHH, SPIDER!”

- - -

Sirius wiped his forehead, sighing in relief as he leant back on a tree trunk, closing his eyes after his exhausting escape from a spider.

When he opened them, there was a knife to his throat.

“Hey, princess,” the huntsman growled.

“Oh,” Sirius mumbled shakily. “Hey, Remus.”

- - -

There was a long silence between them before Remus sighed, “So, are you gonna try to defend yourself? I can’t really kill someone who—”

Sirius kneed him in the nuts.

“Ow!” Remus hopped away.

Sirius smirked, and kicked him again. Remus’s knife flashed dangerously as he turned it on Sirius, and then…

Sirius ran away.

“HELP! HELP ME!”

- - -

“Fucking princess,” Remus smiled despite himself.

He chased after Sirius, and promptly tripped over.

“Ha,” Sirius grinned, picking up the knife he’d just dropped. “So,” Sirius twirled it. “I can’t really kill someone who’s not defending themselves.”

Remus glared. Sirius sat down next to him, knife gripped in hand.

- - -

“How much did my mother pay you to kill me?” Sirius asked casually.

Remus looked away guiltily. “My… my family’s struggling a lot. We have… nothing. She gave me a thousand.”

“Damn,” Sirius whistled. “I’ve never felt so precious before.”

“You… you are precious,” Remus mumbled.

“Says my killer,” Sirius pointed carelessly. But he cared. He cared so much.

Remus shrugged helplessly. He looked at Sirius, then away, then at Sirius, then, “She’s captured James for protecting you. They’re torturing him.”

Sirius got up immediately. “Well, then. We have to save him.”

“We?”

Sirius rolled his eyes, and hauled Remus off the ground.

- - -

“Townspeople!” Sirius hollered. “We all know Queen Walburga’s a conniving bitch—”

He smirked triumphantly at Remus when the entire town went up in cheers.

“To kill the Queen!” Sirius raised.

- - -

“James! Love of my life, I have freed you!” Sirius pulled him into a hug.

Remus shuffled awkwardly behind them, letting out a sound of surprise when he was tugged into the hug too.

“Okay,” Remus patted their backs. “That’s enough hugging, damsels. We need to kill the Queen.”

- - -

Remus spun his knife in one hand, parrying the guards with the other. Around him, townspeople were dropping buckets of dirty water onto guards’ heads, tripping them up with washing lines, knocking them out with metal pokers.

He grinned, manoeuvring himself to the Queen’s quarters.

- - -

Sirius screamed, kicking as the guards dragged him to the Queen’s quarters.

“Well,” she snarled. “If no one else can kill you, I guess it’s up to me.”

Sirius’s eyes widened as an apple materialised in the air. He felt drawn to it, a halo around it, he needed to taste it, the sweet, ripe flesh…

- - -

Remus drove his sword through the door, hacking it open furiously. He twisted back, flinging it open.

“SIRIUS!” Remus yelled, grasping the apple in both hands, feeling the urge to press it to his lips…

But then he tore his eyes away, fixating on Sirius. He would rather press Sirius to his lips.

Remus chucked the apple away, and it landed in Walburga’s gaping mouth. A crunch. She collapsed on the floor.

Seizing his arm, Sirius tugged Remus into a hug, face buried into his shoulder as he let himself finally break down.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep1 Musings - Daciana: History through Visual Context in Ploiești, Romania

I immediately fell in love with The Vampire Daciana & her Romanian castle, and wanted to know more about it all.

We already know how much the set/costume designers on IWTV looooove attention to detail; they tell whole stories just through architecture, furniture, clothes, etc. So I was like OK, AMC, I see you; lemme start doing some reading up on Romania, so I can try to figure out what might be going on with Daciana. (Warning: I know eff all about Romania or Eastern Europe.)

ROMANIA

Map of Romania. Ploiești's the dot just under Muntenia, north of Bucharest, the capital. Ploiești's part of Wallachia, the IRL kingdom of Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula). Louis & Claudia went there in the 1940s, so I hope this map is accurate enough. (There's this map, but I dunno the date.)

DACIANA

The most obvious thing about her is that she's not dressed in the typical traditional Romanian folk clothing I see all over Google, full of white-red-blue/black palettes.

Daciana's not following traditional 19th/20th-century Romanian nationalist images. Her green/brown palette & silhouette is telling, as she lacks the puffy white blouses & dark skirts. (Despite her name, I'm ruling out her being Dacian (X X)--you think you're FUNNY, AMC! But IDK about Cezare Romulo (X X); might do a Pt2!)

Sleeves

First thing's her trailing slashed open sleeves, which were screaming Medieval! at me. Here's some 15th century Renaissance examples, but with surcoats, which is different, but the sleeves reminded me of hers so IDFK.

We could chalk this up to Daciana's design as just generic "medieval" fairytale stuff and keep it moving. But to give her a fair shake, I looked at local examples for anything similar that's more recent.

Traditional clothing from Huedin, Romania (north Transylvania), (X X).

Traditional clothing from Cluj, Romania (north Transylvania).

Keep Transylvanian/Muntenian cross-cultural contacts in mind when we get to Daciana's castle, cuz it's important!

Wrt rarer non-puffy sleeves, the square cut (light blue) seems to be more prevalent in Wallachia/Moldavia/Bessarabia (southern & eastern Romania); while the rectangular cut (dark green) is all over Romania, but definitely has a concentration in Wallachia & Moldavia.

And this makes sense, cuz the style seems to also be prevalent in 19th - 20th century Bulgaria, just south of Wallachia. Hrm....

Daciana's sleeves hang very long--the only example of super long sleeves I could find is a 19th century one at the Met (C.I.47.3.4a–d). The only example of slashed sleeves I could find is in this museum exhibit at Bran Castle (yes, THE Bran Castle--I'll get to it in a minute!)

Belt, Bodice, & Fabric

Daciana's belt is so plain compared to everything else. Is it supposed to be a leather Romanian chimir (worn by mountain/forest folk)? Those are only worn by men though? Or it depends? Or is it a just a plain cloth belt? It's reminding me of these examples (X X):

I wish I could see more of Daciana's bodice, if there's any particular kind of cut or patterns. Is the diamond netted/knotted/roped pattern on her arms significant? Her fabric is interesting, too:

What's this embroidery? Brocade? (Byzantine-Renaissance?) Damask? (c. 14th-16th century?) Lace? Something else? My brain wants to assume it's imported? Meaning: she's hella rich. Cuz like, the traditional Romanian blouse & skirt used to belong solely to peasants, b4 19th-20th century aristocrats started wearing it, too.

IDKY--more reading led me to a whole bunch of complicated stuff, that can probably be simplified by just saying: The Ottomans. XD

The pre-19th century Romanian aristocracy wore super opulent clothes, inspired by not just the Ottomans (X), but also the Byzantine Greeks (via 18th century Romanian Phanariote boyars (X X X)), etc. But aside from the hanging sleeves, Daciana's dress doesn't really resemble any of these foreign examples. However, it does track with my theory that Daciana predates the 19th-century Romanian nationalist/traditional clothes that became so iconic later on.

Like Louis & Claudia did, let's follow Daciana to her castle! ^0^

DACIANA'S CASTLE

I NEED to know if AMC filmed on location in Romania, or if Daciana's castle is just a studio set/green screen.

The interior's nowhere near what I expected, considering Daciana's haggard appearance. It's really nice--clean & tidy. No spiderwebs, no chipped plaster/paint, not even any bloodstains--but I've mentioned before that I think it's indicating that Daciana's a mother who takes better care of her home (and "child") than herself.

Archway

The first thing is the arch when they first come in (noticeable mostly cuz of how Louis had to bend down to get in, he's so tall).

These types of doors/arches are called "shouldered arches," dating from the Medieval-Gothic periods, which Europeans adapted from Islamic architecture during the medieval Crusades. (Examples inc. Lainici Monastery in Wallachia, and the Academy of Art in Cluj-Napoca (north Transylvania).)

The left pic's Biertan Fortified Church, in Sibiu (south Transylvania). (Another door.) The right pic's Bran Castle, in Brasov (south Transylvania). (Another door.) (Vlad Tepes/Dracula historically never owned this castle, but pop culture says otherwise.) Both places were built by the German/Saxon Transylvanians in the 14th-16th centuries; which might help date Daciana's castle, if not Daciana herself? (The Saxon Transylvanians were in Wallachia, too.)

Wall Ornamentation

The last thing I'll discuss is the wall ornamentation/decoration:

The painted floral trim everywhere instantly reminded me of The Witcher 3, as found in Hungarian, Polish, Ukranian etc buildings. Apparently the designs are all related to fertility, growth/luck, and the Tree of Life. Walls (X X X) and doors (X X) were painted. You can see northern Romanian painted ornamentation in Suceava (Bukovina).

There's painted wall designs in southern Romania, too.

"The research of the popular interior in the Argeş and Muscel areas leads to the determination, along with a local specificity, and some Transylvanian influences, in the contact areas between southern Transylvania and northern Muntenia. In the researched areas, two lines of development of the popular interior can be observed, one relatively simple and the other complex. If the first is the prerogative of a typical Subcarpathian interior, the second represents a distinctly Transylvanian form, which was also imposed due to the presence of the Transylvanian population in the south of the Carpathians, settled in numerous villages." -- (Google Translated from Arta populară din zonele Argeș și Muscel, 1967)

(The website RomaniaDacia has A LOT to say about Transylvania, and the impact of the Germans, Saxons, Hungarians, etc on Wallachia & the rest of Romania.)

Sure enough, I was finding way more carved ornamentation (X X X X X X) than painted ones.

But I wonder if that's why a lot of southern traditional Romanian interiors I've been finding have totally plain whitewashed walls, too, with no painted ornaments, just tapestries (X X). I did find Romanian interior floral wall painted trims (X), but not nearly as much.

Cuz actually, the closest comparanda I was finding for Daciana was Northern European rosemaling (X X), which is also giving me medieval vibes (X); specifically: trims on illuminated manuscripts like the Book of Hours (X X X)--which we know from Lestat in S01E06.

And we do see some Romanian medieval fresco borders & frescoes that had been plastered over & whitewashed, in Biertan's 15th century churches, and in 13th-15th century Darjiu (Transylvania).

So, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of Romanian buildings (especially castles with whitewashed plastered walls) were formerly painted similar to Daciana's. Unfortunately, I just can't find an example or figure out what AMC might've been inspired by--Romania has hundreds of castles & churches.

So, I'm tapping out--this is the most I could find so far. U_U

Results? Inconclusive! 😭 My Google-fu has failed me, LOL!

I still have no idea what time period Daciana could be from. We could go several routes:

Go by her name, and say she's ooooold AF, an actual Dacian. She's just been collating Eastern European culture as she ages, but stopped at some point (as her mind deteriorated)

She's medieval, somewhere roundabouts the 14th-16th century (making her ~500 years old, the same age as Armand--but she's weaker (as I've theorized b4), which is why she was able to burn herself up.)

Settle on her being a local Wallachian from Southern Romania, likely pre-19th century / pre-industrial early-modern Europe

Handwave everything aside as Renn-Faire fairytale fantasy; let the tale seduce you~!

OR, we can just bully AMC until they give us an extended BTS look at how Daciana was conceptualized, telling us all the tea about her! 😈

[polarisbear]

a fair breeze blows to the south, a cutting wind in hand.

past the thicket, into the heart of the storm, he found a coppiced sakura surrounded by thorns. seeing the coppice’s branches struggle, he took his breath and slashed! through the bramble to find…

[longer image id, concept art and notes under cut]

[image id: a drawing of sakurazaki joji/briar bloomhurst and sasanami unmei/destin billows from inazuma eleven victory road surrounded by thorns and a strong backlight. sakurazaki is wearing a button up, vest, multilayered skirt, pants, and boots all in varying shades of dark purple. the skirt becomes pink-red at the bottom to mimic a rose.

sakurazaki is running with his skirts in one hand, looking surprised at unmei popping up under his arm. unmei is trying to hold sakurazaki from behind as his sword leaves a trail of slashed thorns behind, a determined furrow in his eyebrows. sakurazaki’s skirt and unmei’s cloak flow behind them in a dance-like fashion.

unmei is wearing a white prince’s outfit with thigh-high, wedge-heeled boots and a dark blue cloak. he has a gold sword to match the gold accents on his outfit.]

uhhhh here’s the first draft, outfit doodles and thumbnailing and colors :) i actually did the first draft before everything else and then thought. y’know i should probably plan this out a lil more so i diddddd.

one of my favorite touches is how both the skirt and cloak are ripped up. this. didn’t Quite make it into the final (bc i got lost in the ruffle sauce) but it is supposed to make it seem like unmei’s princely goals are in tatters but he’s trying to ignore that best he can, and for sakurazaki it’s to show how the princess ideal his dad wants for him is being torn away at to reveal a much more vibrant and fiery core.

i didn’t mention the original inspiration. okay so i have a Less explicitly romantic view on these two than a lot of people (they just kinda read to me as two kind of insane people who got attached Very quickly) so the “prince saving the princess” thing is secondary to the fairytale premise. which all started bc i thought to myself “y’know briar is also the name of sleeping beauty in the disney movie.” and i went from there.

so! the smidgen of writing is mostly to rephrase chapter 1 from the game with unmei as the wind and sakurazaki as a cut-down stump that’s trying to regrow but has a hard time bc of his dad acting as thorns + whatever personal walls he’s got up. i think unmei cutting through those should be obvious the reason. there’s more au-y stuff in my head too but this piece is ultimately meant to be more symbolic than literal.

[saintsenara]

if you are still doing ship game, thoughts on jily?

thank you very much, anon - i am always taking questions both on romantic ships and on characters' platonic vibes, the more unhinged the better.

although jily can't really be described in those terms, not least because their narrative purpose in canon is to be little more than blank canvases onto which harry can project as he goes through his series-long character arc, shedding his initial hero worship of james when confronted with the reality of his father's behaviour in order of the phoenix and starting both to fully appreciate lily's centrality to the course his life is taking and to see his dad with nuance as a real and fully-rounded person, flaws and all.

this narrative role means that the glimpses we get of them in canon feel kind of superficial - their bantering during snape's worst memory is basically high-school-teen-movie level, the snapshots of their life under lockdown in deathly hallows lovely and bittersweet but also just colour to a storyline which is already all of those things.

and this is not to say that i find jily uninteresting as a ship - i completely reject the common anti-jily position that they didn't really like each other, that they had nothing in common, or that their backgrounds made them incompatible [i'll expand on this below, but while i do think that their respective blood statuses and the impact of these on their relationship are worth thinking about, i loathe fics which portray james as chafing against his marriage because, as a pureblood, he'd be more comfortable with someone 'of his own kind'. this is bullshit, and there's far, far too much of it in this fandom]. my views on one of james' most frequent non-lily partnerships are well known, and i share the outrage many jily fans have for the way lily in particular is treated in a subfandom increasingly dominated by rigid fanon which prioritises giving depth to male characters [even if those characters are, in essence, oc's] and slash relationships over exploring the canon female characters, partnered or not.

but i do also find that a lot of jily falls into the same trap as much of the hinny i dislike - that is, a tendency to present as a sunshine-and-roses fairytale a relationship which is much more interesting if the things which canon implies [and which can be reasonably inferred outside of canon scenes from a canon coherent engagement with the text] might have introduced an element of dysfunction into james and lily's partnership are taken into account.

the shadow of the war is obviously one of these things. what role lily actually plays in the resistance is something which preoccupies me [she is never mentioned in canon to have taken a combat role - and i find it considerably more plausible that any attempt voldemort made to recruit her was at snape's request and connected to her potions prowess] particularly because, as we see in the way her death is memorialised in deathly hallows, the series regards the defence of the integrity of the nuclear family as a key aim for the good guys. how does she interact with james and his wartime role when she's pregnant, nursing, or in hiding for the vast majority of her time in the order? how does she feel about her husband being a soldier if she's behind the scenes?

indeed, what role james [and sirius] plays in the order is also something i'm obsessed with thinking about - not least because so much of the inherent tragedy of the marauders' storyline is caused by the fact that james and sirius think they're fucking invincible and that their plans to keep the potters safe are foolproof. it's entirely reasonable to read james and sirius as being pretty gung-ho about being paramilitaries - and my headcanon is absolutely that more battled-hardened order members didn't like them very much [moody does not, after all, seem massively fond of sirius] - and lily seems affected by this too [she's not holding her wand either!], and what they thought they were doing as 1981 rolls around is compelling to me.

james and lily's divergent backgrounds is also something i'd like to see explored more in fandom - not, as i've said, in the dull 'james should have married a pureblood' way, but in a way which deals with the fact that their relationship follows wizarding norms. molly weasley can blame the war all she likes, but [although i doubt this was jkr's intention] the evidence of canon is that witches and wizards marry and have children extremely young as a social standard, that couples generally don't live together before marriage, that divorce doesn't seem to be common, and that married women tend not to work. lily - a mother at twenty and, therefore, presumably married at nineteen - is coming of age, then, in a magical world which thinks about gender very differently from the muggle world of the 1970s, and i think that tension is worth exploring.

[similarly, the way in which her marriage is self-protective - lily gains a pureblood name and the social cachet which comes with it at a time when she's in rising danger on account of her birth - is something i think it's worth looking at when considering the pairing.]

there are other flashes of dysfuntion which i adore thinking about in relation to jily - lily's relationship with the other marauders [you can pry the reading that sirius resents her for stealing the love of his life - and i certainly don't mean lupin - away from him from my cold, dead hands]; how much of his misbehaviour at school james conceals from her; the fact that lily becoming more overtly interested in james from her sixth year onward must have a little bit of attempting to make snape jealous mixed into it - and whenever i stumble upon them in fics i say oh ho like horace slughorn and kick my little feet in the air.

i care rather less about 'we're so hot and flawless and not doomed' as a trope.

but i do stan james for beefing with vernon dursley even though lily told him to behave. the man really is just that annoying.

[archerandthefoxx]

So I was up from 12am to 5am reading ACFTL and I honestly can't believe that it's over now. Like my brain can genuinely not wrap my head around it. The book I have been waiting for months. The series I've been reading since it was only ouabh. I honestly can't believe it's done now.

So these are just my thoughts on acftl: (SPOILERS BTW)

So I want to start with things I didn't like because I like to end things on a more positive note:

● There was a lot of potential for other things that Stephanie has hinted to in the past (just basically a lot of unanswered questions) that I can't simply believe isn't anything bigger:

> "too familiar nickname" when Jacks called her Little Fox for the first time. This had the potential to be something really big, but the fact that Eva has no connection to the fox is just leaving me confused (as in being the first fox or a reincarnation). Like how. Especially when it was heavily hinted to in the past.

> "heavier than an apple should've been" when Jacks threw an apple at Eva in ouabh. I don't understand what this was supposed to mean if it just ended up being nothing. Like why did it have to be mentioned

> An Evajacks wedding was heavily hinted to in ouabh (even the reverse dust jacket for bn acftl). I just would have liked to see that.

● For me, some of the plot points just felt very disconnected and not linked, to the point where it felt like just random things being stringed together. Like it felt like things were just happening, as if I was reading different books at the same time.

● Acftl kinda feels like after tbona, Stephanie went online and saw everyone's theories and aimed to do the exact opposite. Sometimes I felt so confused because it felt like random facts and points were just thrown at me. Or this felt like this was the original version that Stephanie wrote.

●Why was time personified constantly?

●Where was my boy, Luc? I love him and I missed him so much. I was waiting for him to pop up on the page or make a creepy/funny appearance ("Hello, Eva" - I always laughed when he pulled stuff like this).

●Even though she's not relevant, where was Marisol? You can't tell me she just disappeared. I would have just liked to know what happened to her.

●Aurora's role felt so random.

●The whole thing about Jacks's curse felt to simple and barely touched on.

●I would have liked a better answer on Jacks’s obsession with apples. Like I understand it was left like that on purpose but it would have been nice.

*

●I would have liked the return of Scarlet and Tella. They were the ones who sent Evangeline to the Magnificent North. It would have been nice to see them after all of that and Jacks and Tella could have gotten some sort of closure.

●I love how everyone was hell-bent on the fact that apollo is lysander. The fact that everyone believed Apollo was Lysander started to make me doubt it. When Lysander appeared on the page, I was surprised tbh.

● Tbona established their clear feelings for each other and acftl was them just accepting it.

●Anyways I need domestic evajacks. Like 20 chapters. The bonus epilogues healed me.

My theories that were actually right: ●Tiberius slashing Apollo’s back

●Aurora having some type of magic and being the true villain. I was so sure that she was obsessed with Jacks and placed the Archer's curse.

~"My turn" if you know, you know. Something I never knew I needed. And I need more. There is never such thing as too much Evajacks.

Me having mixed feelings about acftl hurts so much because I've been waiting for this book for so long (I've been reading this series since it was only ouabh). I haven't been able to wrap my head around the fact that this is the official book. Ouabh and Tbona were soo amazing. They were so magical and fairytale like and I cried after I finished acftl, not just because the series was over (because I did) but because it didn't live up to the expectations I had and the high standards that ouabh and tbona set.

This series will always and forever be the series I go back to when I'm sad. Regardless of how it ended, I loved it because Stephanie created a new definition of magic and fairytale for me.