#her story is getting hella convoluted

[luna-the-bard]

Got genshin brainrot so I’ve been stewing on my old fan oc and her story; decided to give her a redesign only to scrap it and start anew.

Here’s an assortment of wips and sketches and whatnot from the past month

I’m still not satisfied with her design so this is goin to change like a thousand times probably.

Also if anyone has any idea of how to design a proper polearm for her plz hmu I can’t do gayshit impact style designs for the life of me.

[mai-mai-lim]

Streamer AU! doodles

this has been sitting in my files for a while now i finally decided to color them yipeee, we already got Cam and Brutus (feat. Charles) but i also made on how Ashley and Henry would work in this AU.

"but Mai, Henry being a streamer wouldn't make sense cause canon still exist" you right, it doesn't, which is why he's not THE Henry Stickmin in this AU, he's steering towards OC territory and he's being referred to as Seung-jae/Henry Min more instead

Cameron (c) @rarestdoge

Brutus (c) @smoresthehalloweenqueen

some info about the cousins in this AU:

Henry's parents still died, but Ashley's family adopted him into the Jang family and they all moved to the US instead, Ash and Hen are legally siblings, but he still keeps his last name

Ashley started streaming during her college/university years as a solo streamer at first, but one day brought Henry in as a guest, and became a co-streamer with her, tho occasionally both of them still do solo streams

Hen is self-conscious about his blue eyes hence he wears sunglasses in streams, viewers are often curious about his eyes, and eventually he reveal it in a stream (with a hella hefty amount of channel points being redeemed / unlocked event lol)

Both of them are variety streamers, they often do gaming sessions, chatting streams, and challenges. for solo streams, Ash plays simulation games like animal crossing and stardew valley, while hen opt for story-driven games and RPG

Ashley knows Brutus when she happened to watch one of his streams and enjoyed it, Henry is a fan of Cam's streams and often talks about it (to Ash's annoyance)

This is them whenever they discuss some convoluted game lore:

(dont worry guys, he'll get it eventually)

[misty-wisp]

1, 7, and 14 of the OC ask game for the three (winry, vin, asuka)? :o

What memory would your OC rather just forget?

i already answered this for asuka here

for vin, there's erm. a lot of those. literally any moment where he feels embarrassed works

for winry, prooobably the first time she witnessed niko die. they were fighting :] and niko just fucking died out of nowhere :] and then she started a time loop to save them :] :]

7. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

the main thing about winry that's changed is just...her age. when i first came up with her (and my pals came up with their respective ocs) she was a high schooler, but that's been changed to her being a college student bc like...i don't see the appeal in writing kids these days. it's not really my thing unless it's for fanfic

oh god, where do i start with asuka. she was originally literally my self insert, and a lot more outwardly rude and standoffish. and at first her special deal was that she became self aware of being an oc and has an existential crisis😭yeah i had to change all that

vin. oh my god vin. vin's the most drastic out of all of them. i first came up with him at 15 as a fan character for a different anime/manga i will not name as i do not want to be associated with that crowd. imma call him beta vin bc at that time he had a completely different name

beta vin was supposed to be this bad guy that manipulated another one of my ocs into giving him inside info on the good guys. he was also supposed to be hella gay for this other bad guy character but then that character turned out to be genuinely terrible and a relationship between them would Not work so i scrapped it.

but here's the thing it wouldn't have worked out anyways bc the friend i discussed ocs and shit with at the time (who is now cut off) sorta just pried me away from the mere concept of pairing two men together; instead i had beta vin's childhood friend who's supposed to be dead be brought back by basically literal necromancy? so he could get with her instead. which was really stupid bc this character was also originally supposed to be male but i was led into making her a girl through pretty convoluted reasons.

it's okay though bc that character is being used for entirely different (more original) means and she's also a lesbian now <3 her girlfriend's a lookalike of vin in terms of design (and there is reason for that but. that's a whole other can of worms i don't think i should spill) but i don't really plan on changing it bc i like it a lot

14. How does your OC want to be seen by other characters?

winry does Not want to be perceived by anyone but niko. she wants to do her shit and figure things out completely alone. unfortunately her story's pretty much an anime so she's gotta learn about the magic of friendship

i was gonna say vin wants to be respected if not feared, but then i thought for a second. no. no he does not. his whole schtick is that he tricks people and pisses them off. he wants to be seen as a prick, a troll--some asshole who won't leave you alone. a bastard who plays with his food.

asuka wants to be known, loved. she wants to be seen as normal as anyone else, as an actual human being deserving of attention, bc she doesn't really get that outside of when she acted on stage in the past. she wants to be pitied, she wants to be saved--she wants a friend, if anything. a friend who understands her, shares her interests, all that.

[ciaossu-imagines]

If you're feeling it, Day 5 prompts but for your favorite personal OC/self-insert? :)

Okay, but please excuse me everyone for taking a break from the actual writing I’m trying to do to answer this (the ideas are so there, but it’s tweaking them into proper words)! I promise I will have fic/requests being posted soon (hopefully quite a bit put up tomorrow and Wednesday– just as a head’s up, I’m not going to be on the blog at all Thursday and Friday because I have some real life stuff that needs to be taken care of, but will be back hopefully on Saturday to resume my regular writing and answering messages and PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN ALL THE REQUESTS because they are the best part of my day and I get so excited with each new one sent in and there is no such thing as spamming me with asks or asking too much). But like, I never actually spend too much time talking about my own OC’s or the writing I do just for me because this blog is focused more on ya’ll, and I love that, but it’s also kind of exciting to dive into this topic. I didn’t quite use a prompt and just fucking rambled and hope that’s still okay! Because this will be a hella long post, I’m going to use a read more, especially since this definitely will not interest everyone! For those who do read it…I’m kind of curious on who will pick up on what and who will pop in to my ask box or messages or replies to lovingly call me out!! I look forward to it, actually!

Okay, so I’m going to set the stage here because this is a little convoluted and complicated because the one I imagine the most, the one I drabble for the most and daydream about and have the most fun with is an absolutely gigantic crossover/AU!

There’s a land called The Ever Young, where all the characters from all my fandoms reside. The Ever Young is broken, stuck with time permanently stopped and nobody new can be born and death has no hold. It’s separated into different warring factions between and within the different claimed lands or regions, with each fandom kind of being its own region. Every region blames the others for the magic on the land and each believes that, by winning control and eradicating or subjugating the others, they can force time to restart. Also, with it being an obviously magical world, there are different fantasy species, and everyone has some sort of magical ability, though, with the world the way it is, the abilities don’t work right. There are kickbacks to using them…they cost you your life-force, your ���youness’ and when you use up all the power you have, you’re gone. Your body remains, but it’s for all extents and purposes just a shell and nobody knows quite what happens to the people’s minds and souls.

There’s a Record-Keeper for each land, one canon character from each fandom, who not only keeps the record of the life of these different regions but have some precognitive abilities that they can use to try to forewarn their own regions of coming events. They’re identified by the pocket-watches they all woke up one day with. Each pocket watch has a crystal heart in it that gives the holder their abilities and all the Record-Keepers do occasionally meet up and are the only true neutral parties in The Ever Young.

On top of all this going on…there’s a legend, a story that by now everyone is convinced is just a fairy tale for children, of The Thirteen. The legend states that The Ever Young was first created by a witch of great power who could create something from nothing, who could bring life and prosperity as well as death and darkness, all in perfect harmony. And at one point, The Ever Young flourished and all was peaceful and idyllic. But then sorrow came…it’s said that something caused the Witch such great sorrow that her heart literally broke, shattered into thirteen shards that flew far and wide across the land she’d cherished so deeply and that she retreated far from the world, never to be seen again. To get back to the days of peace and happiness, these shards must be found by those to whom they call, The Thirteen Heroes who have the power to set the universe right again and heal the Witch’s heart and mind. Only then, the legend says, will time start to flow, and life begin to start anew.

So, obviously, aside from the wide, wide variety of canon characters, it’s obvious my OC’s, not all of whom I have, are the Thirteen, plus one oddball so I’ll start going into them now that the scene is all set.

First up, there’s Tea! Branded ‘The Shadow Warrior’, beautiful and fierce, this woman has a fearsome reputation. Often seen with The Kokuyo Gang, her name is whispered along. Powerful, strong, but also just and kind, Tea is also fair, never hurting those who don’t deserve it or who leave her no choice. She’s someone you want at your back; a trustworthy companion and just as fierce in friendship and love as she is on the battlefield. Her natural ability is that of being able to transform herself into a shadow, able to remain unseen and seemingly disappear and reappear at will. However, she also finds the seventh shard, resembling a smooth piece of turquoise glass in the shape of a serpent that she wears as an amulet. This shard not only makes her one of the legendary Thirteen, but gives her an additional ability, where she can control others through the force of her voice, at the cost of losing her voice for a full sunset afterward. My personal face-claim for her is Teresa from Claymore, if anyone is curious.

Next up is Mari! Most often seen beside the Cavallone family’s boss, she comes across as alluring, mysterious and quiet, but this woman is incredibly sweet, kind and has a huge heart. She wants nothing more than a quiet life, with those she loves safe and sound, but with war raging around her, it’s not quite that easy. But she works for it, quietly slipping through the different regions, playing diplomat and trying to foster peace wherever she can. Once you know her, she has this incredibly fun, playful side and her smile disarms all but the most hard-hearted. Her natural powers help her in her diplomatic missions, as she has the ability to judge others true natures and desires correctly. However, she also finds the sixth shard, a smooth piece of green glass in the shape of a heart, which she fashioned into a hair barrette that she wears, which gives her the power to manipulate the emotions of those around her, at the cost of leaving her feeling hollow, lazy, and pessimistic until the next sunrise. My personal faceclaim for her, if anyone is wondering, is Chiyuki from Death Parade!

Next up is Marta! A dreamer, she sees all the potential in what the world could be. Sweet, kind, and encouraging, with eyes you get lost in and a face as expressive as her boss's is neutral, she’s fiercely loyal to those she loves and cares about and the sort of friend that keeps everyone happy and together. With her tireless creativity and curiousity, she seeks to create a better world and works alongside Hibari’s group to explore all the secrets of The Ever Young, slipping quietly in and out of the various regions, accompanied either by Hibari himself or Kusakabe, trying to find ways to leave the world a better place for her family and friends. Though she prefers not to be in the midst of battle, she’s more than able to hold her own, with the help of her magical paints and paintbrush, which she can use to imbue life into anything she paints temporarily – at least long enough to allow her or others to escape risky situations. The holder of the ninth shard, a violet piece of glass in the shape of a bird, which she wears as a brooch, she also has the ability to heal others, at the cost of having to feel all the pain of the injuries herself. For those curious, the face claim I have for her is Michiko Malandro.

Up next is Dell! A charming rogue blessed with the gift of shapeshifting, they breeze in and out of the regions, trying to prevent out and outright war from breaking out wherever they can, working with god only knows who (and they prefer it that way, thank you very much). Though their silver tongue and fearlessness may leave you with the impression of a trickster or someone only out for themselves, Dell is actually ride or die for those they care about. They take care of those that matter to them and everything they do is to ensure the safety of their loved ones. However, very few are lucky enough to see that soft, sweet side of theirs, often getting either that charisma and fake niceness or the sharp tongue that Dell possesses. Another thing they possess? The second shard, a red piece of smooth glass in the shape of a house, that allows them the ability to manipulate nature itself, at the cost of the use of their limbs until the sun sets next. For those curious, I picture Akito Sohma for Dell!

Then there’s Amber! The very definition of big-titty goblin girlfriend, Amber has a huge personality and, while she can be a (very bitey) handful, she’s friendly and charming and makes friends wherever she goes. Often found with Hiruma, who is holding secrets of his own, Amber is social, sarcastic, and the life of the party. But all that charm and charisma? It’s the sweet front to the spice and steel she hides from most people. With her own moral compass, she’s a force of chaotic good aiming to end the war in The Ever Young, viva revolution style, come hell or high water. A living lie detector, she’s also the holder of the fourth shard, an smooth orange piece of glass that she wears as a pendant, that allows her to make herself absolutely irresistible to anyone she touches, to the point that the person would abandon all reason and do anything to make her happy. However, she can’t just turn it off at will and the person remains obsessive, at times murderously so, until they see the moon.

Next up is Nina! Don’t let the cute face and tiny size fool you…not only is this girl unafraid of a battlefield, but she actually finds them exhilarating! Blessed with super strength, her heart is always in the right place, whether it be squishing a friend in a hug that might make a few bones pop or throwing a tree at someone threatening the piece of her region, she lives honestly and does her best to keep things safe, both for those she loves and all those friends she hasn’t met yet. Disarmingly sweet, sincere, and small, she is another renowned warrior who simply wants to be fighting only for fun, instead of to prevent outright war from disrupting lives. She found the first shard, a smooth piece of black glass in the shape of a square that she wears as a tie clip, which gives her the ability to freeze time temporarily, with the drawback of erasing her memories of everything that happens during that time. For anyone curious, the face claim in my head for her is Azusa Nakano!

Then there’s Brooklyn! She’s almost always found with the boys of HOMRA, where her water manipulation powers can cool the hotter heads around her. Though quiet and often overshadowed by the louder, brasher personalities around her, she’s friendly, smart, and cute, the quintessential good girl to the bad guy. But when you get to know her, she’s got street smarts and a surprisingly naughty side to her that keeps you guessing. And, though the idea of war terrifies her, because she can’t stand the thought of another of HOMRA’s boys just never coming home again, she is more than capable of defending her found family, with a temper that is slow to ignite but deadly when needed. The holder of the third shard, a smooth piece of light pink glass that literally gives her the powers of Cupid at the result of losing the memories of one of her loved ones, she’s bound and determined to bring about that peace that her family deserves, no matter what. For those interested, I see her face claim as Lenalee Lee!

Moving on to Lou, a reformed pickpocket who now runs an orphanage on the border of the regions between those with the K Project characters and those with the KHR characters. Changeable….literally, given that their natural ability makes them change between male and female from night to day, they’re a bit of a trickster but one with a huge heart and a desire to keep any children from a dark past like the one they had to go through. To protect the children of The Ever Young, they’re more than willing to stand on the battlefield. I’m still kind of getting this OC down, as they’re a relatively new one, but they’re the holder of the fifth shard, a smooth yellow piece of glass that they carry in their pocket and which gives them the ability to make someone psychically live through their worst nightmare, at the cost of them going temporarily blind until the code-word is said…though don’t they wish they knew what that code word was. For those interested, it's the Kagamine twins (Vocaloids) that I picture as face claims!

Then there’s Whisper! A mute, selectively so, who wanders throughout the regions. Rumors say that she can get you anything you want though and her ability to slip through the cracks and remain unnoticed because of her disability means she deals in the all too dangerous area of information brokerage. Always moving under the cover of darkness, Whisper (who looks like Taiga Aisaka to me) manages to stay one step ahead of a past that she’s trying desperately to escape from. She doesn’t care much for the war, or what happens – she’s trying to get through each day and find a safe place to land, which isn’t easy when you’re literally seeing inside people’s minds whenever you touch them. She finds the eighth shard, a smooth indigo piece of glass shaped like a person, which heightens her own psychic abilities to include telekinesis and telepathy, but at the cost of her health deteriorating.

Last and least, the one OC who stands in a class of their own, wandering in and out of everyone’s stories in the background, yet always appearing where she needs to be, when she needs to be. An amnesiac who calls herself simply Mirror, she exists outside the factions, with ties to no one. She fears people a little and is terribly shy and socially awkward, until it comes time to explain the things she knows….and oh, the things she knows. While who she is remains a complete mystery, even to herself, she sees all – all that was, all that is, and all that could be, fragments of multiple possible ever-shifting universes that hold her at their whims and mercies as she frantically tries to stop every worst case scenario from happening.

[valleyfthdolls]

come to think of it, it may as well be impossible for me to find suitable slasher / gore horror lmao

why? it's because of the screaming. my SPD is very audio-focused, so it can induce pain and headaches, possibly even migranes. the uh. occasional auditory hallucinations i get of women screaming also don't help.

however, if you have any recs for stuff like found footage or EAS scenarios ( especially SCP ones ), i have found a fondness for them while experimenting with what types of horror i enjoy ^-^

( sorry if i word things weirdly oiyfdxchigfc )

You get occasional auditory hallucinations of women screaming too wtf-

Here are some things you could watch. I'm really, really sorry in advance if any of these have triggering content for your sensory issues. I tried my best to make sure they were all accessible, hopefully I did alright.

For found footage horror films, immediately The Blair Witch Project comes to mind, but I gave that a 4/10 lmao. Good to watch for the experience of having watched it though. Not much screaming, but I do distinctly remember once scene of one of the characters screaming "PLEASE HELP US" and the main character (who is a woman) screaming for another character near the end. No straight screaming as I recall, but scream-yelling.

I've heard great things about Lake Mungo, which apparently has no jumpscares, and is a found footage-style psychological horror mockumentary that I really need to watch.

Ringu- the original Japanese version of The Ring- doesn't really have the screams or as many jumpscares as the American adaptation, but it's pretty tense regardless. If you like horses, I would prefer this version over the American one. Also if you have sensory processing disorder. It doesn't really rely on a lot of the hella discomforting sound design of the American adaptation, which is def scarier, but god, Sadako is like 10x more nightmare fuel than Samara, even if I ultimately like the execution of Samara's character a lot more. Just watching the original Ringu, Sadako is still a good character, I just think her story got convoluted later on. The TV scene in the og too is horrific. I love it

Candyman is widely considered pretty good, but I've heard people say its themes of racism are tone deaf at times. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm familiar with it. Lacks jumpscares, should be good on sensory problems, bc it's my understanding there's not much meant to elicit abject fear, but you may have to be careful.

I love The Walten Files, but given your sensory issues, I wouldn't recommend it unless you truly believed you could handle a lot of bad sensory input. If that ever happens, check it out. If not, avoid it.

However, a similar but much lighter seeming ARG called Welcome Home may be up your alley, currently it lacks any jumpscares or similar shocking noises. It's like Poppy Playtime but actually good.

Serial Experiments Lain is a good, ominous slow-burn psychological horror anime that lacks any potentially harmful sounds. Another is more gory and dark, but doesn't have a lot of loud noises or screaming either.

Local 58 is a well known analog horror that kind of checks the EAS scenario box, and lacks any jumpscares, but is very eerie and dark. Gemini Home Entertainment is much more so, but also has jumpscares as I've heard, so while I'm not familiar with that one I suggest you exercise caution. Local 58 I have seen and it's pretty good and should be safe for you and your SPD.

UrbanSpook has no audio jumpscares, but a lot of visual ones. Pretty good body horror stuff too.

I also tentatively recommend Petscop. Tentatively because it has absolutely zero SPD triggers, but its themes heavily revolve around child abuse, childhood trauma, esp parental abuse, and some readings even involve transphobia and ableism. Darker interpretations can also gather themes of CSA. That one is all up to how you read it (aside from the very explicit child abuse themes) so be careful for mental health reasons.

(I also very tentatively recommend it because I don't like recommending Petscop to people. It's a very personal comfort for me and I don't like giving it out to just anyone as a recommendation.)

[e1dritchjackal0pe]

Hi !

I’ve really enjoyed your writing and thought I’d take a stab at an ask ! Cause I’ve been in lost boys hella since I recently watched the movie for the first time and am rabid for these boys , especially Marko lol. Also no rush and no worries if you’re too busy.

Ps. Sorry about how long this is.

I’ve been dying for Someone to write an angst fic with Marko that takes place during the film and where he recently turned his mate, who hasn’t fed yet so is only half cause I need some convoluted way for her to survive lol, gets staked instead of him by accident. Marko , being extremely possessive and over protective was able to keep her existence hidden from Michael and kept her away from Max , much to his and David’s annoyance who though he was being a bit overprotective but David enjoyed seeing his brother so happy and generally enjoyed the brighter presence she added to there family.

Somehow the frog brothers failed to notice her sleeping wrapped around the front of Marko, head buried in his chest maybe somehow covered by his jacket, her favorite sleeping position since she turned, so she gets staked through the back of her shoulder waking up Marko and the boys with her scream. Ensue angry chase scene and a panicked and pissed Marko.

Sorry this is so hyper specific but I’ve had this exact scenario bouncing around my head for WEEKS lol.

ℭ𝔯𝔲𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔡 ℜ𝔢𝔡

Note: I wasn't able to put as much time into this as I would have liked, and I did make some small changes (not enough to ruin the story for you, I hope). I made this a sort of unofficial add on to my first Marko fic, but I hope you enjoy it!

Something strange bleeds in through the placid blanket of sleep, all distorted and warm, humming like heartbeats. Slipping through the dark fog in the faint chime of hushed whispers. Voices exchanging softly, all dim and low like they were sharing secrets. It has you twisting under your sheets. Tugging the barrier of the soft blankets up higher and closer over your head, burying your face in the pillows in an attempt to muffle out the sounds, desperate to escape fully back into the comfort of a deep sleep. 

It's still daytime. Something instinctual, deep in your gut and the back of your mind assures that the sun is still high up in the sky, scorching and hot. An intuition that you don't quite understand yet, but it has your limbs turning heavy and lax, muscles relaxing beneath the sheets and covers stretched over your body like a cocoon. Your exhaustion has you going numb to the world, the delicate rhythm of the waves crashing outside the cave muting down into nothing, the sound of the quiet voices vanishing. 

It must be the boys. Awake already. It would strike you as odd on any other circumstance, and to a degree it does, but your sluggish brain is quick to let go of that train of thought. Letting it slip away as easily as a branch snagging away on a rock in a river, catching momentarily before it succumbs to the strength of the current and disappears downstream. 

The insistence that something is wrong fading into an ignorable afterthought. Forgettable like the brush of fingers along the nape of your neck. The pale scuffle of shoes along dust and stone ignites a tremble down the notches of your spine, as though your body is begging for you to wake up and investigate while it simultaneously sinks further into the old mattress, desperate to soak up the weak scraps of heat that's soaked into the blankets. 

Something isn't right, something isn't right . . . 

It's like a chant. A primal whisper that coils through your bones and sinew. Leftovers from your ancestors, remnants of the instincts that had kept them alive, but it all seems null and void against the fatigue that seems to press you down like a physical weight. Even while hidden away from the sun it seems to sap you of all your strength, turning you as pliant and weak as melted wax left out beneath the midday sky. 

It's impossible to even try to rouse yourself. It's as though you're held under water. Tucked away beneath the pressure of the ocean, tucked into the dark of it while the world above soldiers on. Sleeping now feels like dying, a part of you disconnecting and hibernating, all while your chest still expands and your heart pumps sluggishly in your chest. So much softer and lethargic since you've drank his blood. It makes you split, cut into two halves. One screams and nudges for you to finally tug the blankets back from over your head and search for the source of the voices that are still dully bouncing from the stone walls of the recessed hotel, while the other piece demands that you finally relax and pass out again.  

The strength of that debilitating exhaustion sweeps back over you, making the sound of the angry, masculine voice that rises up high within the cave, reverberating from the dust covered stone, dim and distant. As though it's miles away. You hardly register the disturbed sound of pigeon wings fluttering in the air, the noisy thump of shoes pounding along the floor in a rapid pace. 

"There's one over here." You hear from far-away, murky and vague. Another layered scuffle of feet follows, and your brain just barely recognizes the rustle of fabric - a curtain being shifted out of the way. Close by and along the edge of your bed. The same curtains that border the sides of your mattress. It has your pulse spiking, seeming to ricochet in your chest, and yet your body remains immobile and heavy limbed. Trapped inside your own body as though you're truly and finally dead. 

"What about this one?" The question rises up through the air, carried by a heavy but youthful tone. Thick with determination. "He didn't say anything about them." 

A nervous voice pitches up then. Uncertain and a little shaken: "I don't know guys. This doesn't seem like a good idea, maybe we should wait for Mike." 

Mike. Mike. That sounds familiar from somewhere - someone. A name mentioned in passing. Mike. Michael. A discussion carried on by the boys while they were all encircled around one of the burn barrels one night, hunched close while sipping on lukewarm beers and rolling joints. So casual while they considered the fate of a complete stranger as though they were discussing dinner and not the destiny of a man's soul. Some poor sap that had apparently caught the eye of Star. She hadn't wanted it to go far, but then again, it's never supposed to go that far. But David wanted the guy dead. He was meant to be her first, her ticket into finally bringing her over to the other side. The fresh blood that would make her one of them.

She hadn't been able to do it. 

She told you as much, curled up on your bed one evening with tears in her eyes. You couldn't blame her, and you wouldn't. She's the only normal one here apart from Laddy. Just as trapped as you. Turned into a monster, something beyond humanity, clinging onto her own soul with just as much conviction and hopelessness as you are. 

She told you then, that it was a punishment for her when David had tricked Michael into drinking his blood. She gazed up at you with damp eyes, unshed tears glittering in them like diamonds, threatening to spill while she had clutched onto one of your pillows. Fingers digging deep as though she meant to tear the silk with her nails. 

"He wants me alone. He turned Michael to keep me trapped, I just know it." 

A wave of muddled scents breaks past the barrier of the linens and blankets. Unfamiliar and thick, coated with cologne and shampoo that you don't recognize. All of it twisting with something even more out of place here. Something alive. Heat and life and blood. Iron, warmth, and salt. It's distinctly human. Living. 

The alarms go off in your head. Raging and flashing red in a way that's violent. It seems to be enough to push your spirit back into your limbs. Vigor slipping back into you, and it gives you enough strength to move under the covers. It pierces through the fog and black packed inside of your skull, parting the cloud of it all like the split of lightning striking through a peaceful storm. You feel slow, arms lazy and weakened as you use them to slip the layers of blankets from over your head, crumpling them down just enough to peek over the edge of the rumbled sheets. 

Your eyes blink, lashes fluttering as you try to fight the sleep weighing your lids down. Your vision blurs a little, straining through the exhaustion, but when you notice the three figures standing above your bed and looming over you, it has you sucking in a strangled gasp. 

They're children. Looking lost, dressed in camo and gear as though they've prepared to fight a war. Youthful faces staring at you with equal surprise and one even screams. His wide blue eyes reflecting a visible panic while he stumbles back away from the other two. Another swears, cursing sharply under his breath while he flinches. But it's the one closest to you that moves. His dog tags glinting and chiming from a movement so sharp that it had to be a reflex, but the determination burning in his eyes is purposeful. 

You just barely notice the pointed wood clutched in his fist, cut and shaped to be lethal. A weapon - a stake. 

"Shit, get her!" The one beside him cries, eyes wild while he clutches onto the others shoulder in an alarmed grip. 

An animal kind of panic tears through you, lighting up your nerves like lives wires, electricity and adrenaline burning through your veins with the white heat of fire. You jerk up - or try to - but the way that you had fallen asleep, face pressed into the cushions and stomach flat along the mattress impedes your mobility. Your limbs struggle, sleep thawing in your tired arms and legs, weighed down by the blankets. 

"Kill her, kill her!" One shouts all while the blonde in the background yells at them to stop, but it falls on deaf ears. It's chaos. Voices clamor and shriek, your heart thumps like it might explode while you struggle to tear yourself free from the weight and length of the blankets. The boy wielding the stake lunges forward with a war cry. Lurching onto the bed just as you manage to scramble free from the covers. 

A panicked shout rips from your throat as you claw across the mattress, moving as though you've been lit on fire. Crawling wildly across the bed in an effort to make some space between the two of you, but he's much quicker despite the gear weighing him down. The exhaustion that still clings to your bones and the confusion blanking over your mind makes you clumsy and slow regardless of your fear. 

"Marko!" You cry even while it feels like poison on your tongue, scorching inside of your mouth. 

"The bitch is calling in the calvary, you gotta get her before they wake up," someone shouts in a panicked rush. 

Your fingers reach around onto the edge of your bed, fastening on to drag yourself forward and down onto solid ground but the mattress sinks behind you. The weight of someone's body pressing it down as they scramble up close to you. It has your head whipping around, just enough to glance over your shoulder. It's like slow motion when your eyes latch onto the sight of the stake, raised high. Poised in the air, high above the boy's head in an arch. There's hardly any time to act and fear sinks in your gut, chilled and frozen as he drives it down with all the strength he has in his body; his lips curled in a hateful snarl. 

He's going to kill you. This is it. This is how you die. Your mind screams it over and over again on a broken loop, but your body acts all on its own, raising your leg back to strike him and unbalance him from your mattress. You both land blows on each other at the same time. Your foot meets him square in the chest, kicking out with enough force that you can hear the breath rip out of his lungs in a strained burst. 

There's no time to rejoice when it knocks him back. The stake is already piercing your skin. It sinks in deep, parting flesh and muscle beneath its lethal point. The boy collapses and tips over the other side of the bed just as you hurtle yourself onto the floor. You don't initially realize that you're screaming. You feel it first. The strength of your agonized wail shreds up your throat as though you've swallowed nails, but that pain is secondary to the fire and anguish pulsing through your shoulder. The stake is still wedged inside of your back, burying past skin and meat, prying at your shoulder blade like it means to rip it free from the sinew keeping it intact with the other bones. 

You're bleeding. You can smell it, sharp and distinct in the panicked air. The pain is crippling. Ripping and engulfing, eating up your spine. You have to force yourself to breathe past the agony, twisting around onto your knees to face the danger with unshed tears blurring your vision. It strains your shoulder as you back away, scrambling on bare palms and feet to get away from them. 

All three of them are pulling at each other. The other boy dressed in camo is tugging at the other, trying to pull him up from the floor while he eyes you with terror and hatred, all while the blonde pulls at him like he's trying to nudge them toward the mouth of the cave. They're all yelling. Voices overlapping in a crazed hysteria. 

The one with the army beret - the one who stabbed you is now on two feet, and he looks like he's willing to make a second attempt. You shuffle wildly on your hands, wincing past the searing ache that's pulsing and ripping up your spine. The stake lodged in your back, pinned near the edge of your shoulder blade and it impedes your movement, the bone nudges up painfully against the wooden intrusion with each jerk and reach backwards. Your eyes sweep around the cave in a panic glance, bouncing around to the entrance, judging the distance between you and it before you fleetingly scan over Star's bed and then Laddie's, expecting the worst. Expecting to see carnage and bloodied corpses. Your stomach drops for an entirely different reason when you see that they aren't there. There's no lump hidden beneath the covers, no rise and fall of his or her breath. They're gone. Terror grips ahold of you. The thoughts in your mind running off in a wild swarm. 

It has your attention frantically shifting over the large gap in the southern wall, dark and wide like a mouth, overcome with dead roots. The boys are hidden somewhere within. Slumbering and concealed, ignorant to what's happening. God, what if they don't hear you? What if they don't care? What if he doesn't? It makes you nauseous. Insecurities and all the assumptions you've been clinging onto well up, all of the honey covered words he's fed you seem bitter. Turned acrid from your fear. 

Your voice hitches in your throat, the air shuddering in your lungs while the hush of his name sits on the tip of your tongue. Doubt weighs it down. Insecurity and fear tell you that he won't answer. Whispering that you're on your own. 

But then the boy with the blue bandana wrapped around his head is stepping forward, already clasping a stake in a white-knuckled hold. The resolve in his eyes is haunting. The desire to kill you fervent and glaring in his stare. That's all it takes to have your voice spilling from you, rising up in another terrified shout as you crawl over the dust and stone while your arm prickles and burns. 

"Marko!" 

"Say your prayers bloodsucker." He practically spits it out, lips twisting in a grimace as he moves towards you and your muscles coil, body pulling taut in preparation for a fight. 

And then combined voices echo out from the pit gapping out from the wall of the cave, layered and distorted from the depths of it as though creatures from hell were all climbing up to answer the call. Hissing and snarling in layered tones that trembled within your bones. The three boys freeze in place, locked by an icy grip of fear as their heads all collectively turn in the direction of the hole yawning open the earth. 

You can smell their terror spike. Electric and thrumming with adrenaline as they all suddenly grab onto each other, talking over each other in a frightened rush. 

"Shit, they heard her," one of them notes. 

"Guys, guys, we gotta go." It's the blonde that's repeating it over and over, stumbling over his words while he jerks on the other's arms. They give in without any resistance. Fear alive and bright in their eyes, even while the kid with the bandana points his stake in your direction and tosses a quick "This isn't over" at you as the three of them take off in a brisk jumble in the direction of the entrance, rounding around the broken fountain with the speed of people lit on fire. 

The growls from within the cavern raise up higher, drawing closer and it has the kids in a full-blown panic. Tripping over their feet in an ungraceful run as they try and reach the opening of the cave, slipping on the thick layer of dust the coats the floor. All of them screaming and pitifully staggering and clawing up the steps ascending up to the entrance, trying to carry each other up the incline as the snarls grow louder, reaching for roots and vines to help them rise. 

Your arms tremble and your head rolls back on your wounded shoulder, suddenly lightheaded and weak. You can feel your lung snag and pinch as though it's being burned from the inside out, catching on the point of the stake when you inhale. It has you crying, a tear managing to trickle free as you keel over, your ribcage shuddering violently as you gasp. 

You don't want to take your eyes off of them, desperate to track their panicked flee, but your eyes cloud over. Stars dot your vision, spotting and flickering in shifting colors as a vignette blurs around the corners of your sight. You collapse onto your elbows, arms quivering while you struggle to keep your face from flattening onto the ground. You can still hear them all wailing. Screaming and cursing as they scramble up to the entrance of the cave.

Despite your efforts though, you collapse, falling on your stomach while iron coats your tongue. Thick and wet. Bursting up from the back of your throat while you try to breathe, spitting up with each labored inhale. You can feel your life waning. The strength diminishing, shrinking under your skin. Dying out like a flame that's being smothered. 

"Oh, my god!" 

It's one of the kids. The tone of their cry is saturated with terror. Fear trembling within it noticeably, and you can hear the sound of claws ripping across the earth as the four of the vampires tear their way out of the chasm like creatures pouring out of hell. It makes that sick part of you - the violent, unrecognizable half that you've fought so hard to ignore and resist, delighted. A twisted kind of revenge soothing through you while you struggle to pull oxygen into your lungs. 

You feel the chill of the stone against your forehead when it drops on the ground, hanging limply while blood chokes your throat. The hatred in you longs to ignore the agony crippling your body in favor of watching the kids get ripped apart, but the agony sinking and twisting in your shoulder, the air strangling in your chest, keeps you lamed and paralyzed on the ground. 

You hear muffled screams and shouts. The dull thud of hysterical footsteps as they rush to escape before death can seize them. But you can't manage to lift your head up from the dirt. Not even when you hear David's bellow roll throughout the cave, crashing over the screams from the horrified children. The loud chaos of it all grows dim - distant as they're no doubt running up the mouth of the cave, crawling and shrieking while Paul's demented laugh rings out from somewhere far away. 

It makes you jump when a pair of hands smooth over your shoulders, light like a caress, but you can still feel a heavy tremble run through the fingers. A voice hums out, cooing softly to hush you when a strangled sob wrangles out from your body. The way they handle you is delicate, softly turning you over onto your hip and lifting you up to cradle you against their chest as though you might shatter into a million pieces otherwise.

You're brittle. Clinging onto life while your heart trembles like a feeble, fluttering bird. It's instinctive when you cling onto the weight of the body, fastening on with trembling arms as you draw in a familiar scent with blood-soaked lungs. Breathing past the wet iron to try and notice the traces of spice and earth and musk. 

Marko. 

It's Marko. 

Your fear makes you hold onto him. Clawing your nails into the thick fabric of his coat with desperation, the hatred buried beneath it all turned dull in your panic. You try to say his name, but your throat tightens, choking on blood. You can feel his fingers grip your bicep, holding you still and you know that he's looking at the stake punctured deep in your flesh. His hold is nowhere close to the to the wound and yet it flares pain across your nerves, making you twist in his arms while a gutted sob wracks from your body. 

"I know, I know, baby. I know," he whispers it into your temple. He sounds so entirely unlike himself. He sounds panicked, shaken. "I have to take it out." 

It's difficult to hear his voice past the roaring in your ears, but once the words make it past the hum, it's hard to resist the instinctive urge to resist and shove yourself out of his arms. It's like you can feel the agony already, simmering and slicing across your fried nerves like the edge of razor blades. But it's really the firm grip he has around your waist that keeps you secure in his lap, pinning you down as delicately as he can without injuring you further. 

He whispers softly at the pained cry that slips past your lips, doing his best to soothe and distract you. It's a tone that you've never really heard from him before. Usually, his voice is all lightly barbed. Laced with sarcasm and thinly veiled insults. What little tenderness might have been there in the past had always felt too fake to you. So saccharine that it would become sickeningly sweet. Too good to be true. A guise of care and affection designed to pull wool over your eyes. 

Maybe it's just the blood loss and the pain, but it sounds so genuine in the way that his voice trembles, soft and clipped as though he's barely holding himself together. 

He cradles your face with a hand, the buttery chill of the glove feels like death on your skin, cold and intimate. It makes your lashes flutter, and you have to force yourself to keep your eyes open with how heavy they've grown, weighing heavy and threatening to slip closed. When he tips your head back from where you've tucked it against his chest, it still manages to strike you through the haze of it all, the emotions that seem to burn in his stare. There's so much reflecting in the soft blue of his eyes, usually delicate and bright with a puckish mischief, are now dark and wild. Chaotic and glassy with rage and fear. 

He's actually afraid. 

He looks almost broke. Split between anger and horror while he clings to your wounded body. You know that he's fantasizing about tearing those kids apart. Wishing that he was snapping their limbs from sockets with a wet, tortured pops. But instead, he's here, holding onto you as though you've already passed on. It makes your chest ache for an entirely different reason, longing and hope burrowing in alongside the pain. 

"If I don't remove it, you'll die." It's matter of fact despite the worry lacing his tone. As though he's trying to slip away from himself, falling back into the familiar, callous skin to keep from being taken over by the terror and anger. But you can still feel it all in the tremors shaking up through his fingers and bones. 

There's a protest lodged somewhere in your mouth, slick from the blood and caught on a broken gasp, but you don't have time try and voice it. He doesn't give you the time speak. He uses the distraction, acting while you're caught up trying to get the words out. Before you notice it, he's grabbing the stake and pulling. The oxygen leaves your lungs in a tight rush. You want to scream, but there's no air left in your lungs for you to do so, and all that makes it out is a ragged, splintered gasp. 

Hellfire pours into your veins as he rips the wood from your shoulder. It slices ribbons up your spine, feeling bone deep and white-hot, acid lashing up your muscles and eating at your flesh with jagged teeth. You twist in his lap, writhing like a fish that's been tossed onto a dock and left to suffer and suffocate. He keeps you pinned still as best as he can, tensing the arm he has around your waist until it's as tight as a steel band while he jerks the stake from your body as though it burns to the touch. 

There's hardly any relief once it's removed. The damage it's done is still agonizing, coiling through your muscles. It's as though the flesh on your back has been flayed. You feel exposed, pulsing; your legs kicking out against the ground from the excruciating heat and blades raking down your body, digging into the hole that's been brutalized into your shoulder. 

The clatter of the stake skipping across the stone floor sounds muffled and deep, like gunshots bleeding past concrete walls. But his voice rises out above it, tucked close against the crown of your head. 

"It's alright, baby," he murmurs, soft and tender, but still simmering with the hatred smoking underneath it all. "It's okay - I got you." 

None of it seems real, and yet it's also horrendously tangible. You're suspended, floating away from yourself and simultaneously packed tightly within your own body. Crammed inside sinew and flesh that's too tight, too painful. Ensnared within veins and nerves that throb and sting. 

"You have to drink." 

His wrist is suddenly pressed to your lips, smearing and leaking red from a gash he's made with his own teeth. It's kneejerk to resist even though it isn't human blood. Your head twitches back on reflex, a minute, weak movement that's not entirely intentional. He's fed you a few times before. You aren't a stranger to his blood, but you still always find yourself avoiding it. Holding yourself back and fighting against your own hunger, refusing to properly hunt until you either bow under the weight of your own starvation and drink from him on your own accord or until he wrangles you into his hold and dumps the life from his veins into your mouth. 

This time is hardly any different. He all but shoves his wrist past your teeth, wedging his flesh under your tongue until the liquid iron and vigor is pouring down into your throat. It makes you swallow on instinct, muscles working to keep you from choking and it has you swallowing down gulps of it. The flavor spills over your palate, metallic, rich and something distinctly Marko. You can't keep yourself from latching on to him. Clasping your fingers around his arm to keep him secure between your teeth, even though he doesn't make any attempts to fight against you. 

He draws you closer, tucking his face closer into your hair, and you can feel his chest expanding with a breath as though he needs your scent to remind himself that you're still alive. The way he's holding you almost cripples you more than the wound torn beside your spine does. It's too tender for someone like him, turned detached and wild from all the years of brutality and murder, but now he's all softened edges and you can't help but to fall into the safety of him. 

Life floods back into you with each gulp, syrupy and warm and languid. The hole made in the split meat and torn flesh of your back begins to mend in a sluggish process, stunted and slow by the dead blood that pours into your mouth. It's lost the vigor it once had, turned a little dull from the chill of Marko's reanimated body, used up for all of its nutrients and vitality. But to you, it tastes velvety and earthy, honeyed from your inability to compare it to fresh blood, and you drink it down with the desperation of an addict. 

Your teeth have sharpened against your will, lethal enamel sinking deep into his flesh to pull more of that saccharine red out from underneath his torn skin. He cradles you to him protectively, holding you close as though he means to make himself a shield. Curling over you as best as he can, brushing his lips over your forehead as though it might soothe the pain.  

It's easy now to let go of all of the betrayal and hurt that you've been clinging onto for all this time. Releasing it, even if it's only temporary, to allow yourself to indulge in the comfort of his weight pressed against you. You let yourself forget, sinking further into the press of his body. Allowing yourself to bask in the subtle chill of his skin, the scent of his cologne and natural musk. 

"How is she?" 

It's David. There's a rawness to his voice, a breathless edge despite the non-necessity of breathing. You don't look up. You can't. Your focus has dwindled down to the flesh in your mouth and the sensation of Marko wrapped around you, but you can hear David's anger. 

"Alive." Marko answers, clipped. Strained from his own temper. "Did you get them?" 

The thick silence that follows is answer enough and you can feel him tense up beneath you, muscles drawing up taut like he's making a physical effort to restrain himself, to keep himself calm. His face is still pressed to your skin, but you know that he must be glaring up at David, eyes burning and dark. 

"I want them dead." He spits it out like it's venomous, toxic and stinging on his tongue. 

"I know," David answers, but it sounds like a promise, a reassurance. "We'll take care of it." 

You hear the soft scrap of boots tracing over dirt, telling of his departure, but the scattering of voice bouncing from the dark walls of the cave let you know that he isn't far, talking closely with the others. 

"They got Star. And Laddie," comes Dwayne's hushed tone. It makes you wince. Guilt and nausea curdling in your stomach. Mike. One of the kids had mentioned Michael. The name's been seared into your brain from all of the hours Star would spend talking about him, from all of the times that David had discussed his fate; either killing him or cursing him with the same disease that's been passed onto the rest of you. It makes you wonder if this is some sort of revenge. A means to get even for affliction that David has damned him with. He was tricked - given no other choice just like you had been, just like Star. 

You pray that she's okay. That Laddie is safe. That they've been rescued instead of kidnapped, but regardless of the hope your stomach still sinks like lead. 

You gorge yourself on Marko's blood until you feel sick with it. He doesn't pull you back from his flesh as he typically would, allowing you to feed until you can't. It's only once you extract your fangs from his flesh that he leans your head back, urging your chin to tilt with the pressure of his thumb on your jaw. 

He looks exhausted, dark bags beginning to blossom under his eyes, and his skin has turned pallid. He's lost the life that his victims' blood had brought to his cheeks, the blush now dull and white now that you've drained it for yourself. He's weary, and the embrace he has around your middle has weakened, lethargic. But he still holds you close, cradling you as though you might disappear otherwise. 

"You alright?" he asks, and his brows pinch close, worried and fatigued. His face is shadowed from the dark, distant traces of light glinting softly from the scant threads of sun that sneak in from the fractures in the ceiling.  

You loathe how cherished you feel. How safe you are in his arms. It's bitter, and it makes all of those complicated feelings rise up again, all twisted up and confused like a pile of crossed wires. You want to hate him. God, you really do, but he makes it so hard. He makes instinct and reason, desire and hatred all spin out, clashing and mixing, until you can't differentiate one from the other. Your betrayal is still raw. Hurting and alive, but the closing of the wound on your back, the taste of his blood on your tongue and the tender emotion in his eyes makes it easy to forget. 

"I'm alright." It hurts a little to speak. The sting from your screams is still present, slowly healing alongside the other damage on your body. 

"From now on, we sleep together. I don't care if it's just us or with the others, but you're staying with me." 

You want to object. Your bed has been your only place of peace - until now, that is. A small haven that hadn't been infiltrated by the boys or just Marko. Sleep is your only solace, the only time that you were afforded the solitude of being alone. But the conviction in Marko's eyes can't be argued. But even if it could be, you don't think you would fight against it. Maybe it'll wear off, but as of right now you can't imagine being anywhere else. The thought of him pulling away from you and leaving you cold on the ground makes you cling to him all the harder, seeking out his weight and scent - a comfort that you've hardly allowed yourself to accept. 

"Okay." You agree, tired, broken and put back together once again by the blood of the man you should despise. But that grows harder and harder each day. Your hatred should be as easily as breathing, but you grow further out of touch with it with every passing second. It seems impossible to hate him with how carefully he holds you, keeping you secure to his chest as though you're something worthy of worship. 

There's no disgust or ire when he presses his lips to the corner of your mouth, smearing his own blood onto his skin, staining each other in it. You can still feel the wrath thrumming through his body, tensing up his muscles while he keeps you close. As soon as the sun sets you know that he'll leave with the others. Take off into the night quell the fire running in his veins, to satiate the bloodlust twisting up inside. And you know that by the time that the morning rises, Michael will probably be dead. 

You can't remember the first time you've wanted him stay. It seems like a lifetime ago, and you had convinced yourself that you would never entirely allow yourself to want him again. Not in any compacity, and yet the thought of him leaving seems sour. It makes your gut flip and tighten with unease. He hasn't kissed you since that night out on the beach at the concert, when you were both high off of blood and the charge of your emotions. It's left you both uncertain, unsure of how to traverse your already strained relationship. Where it brought you closer in some respects, it's also driven you further apart in others. 

You're still hesitant. Clinging onto your slipping humanity with shaky fingers and drawing closer to Marko has always seemed like it would denounce that fragile part of yourself. But right now, you can't be bothered to care about that. You press closer to him, hiding you face into his neck, breathing in the fragrance of him from the gold coils of his hair. 

"Can we stay like this for a minute?" You whisper it into him, private and tentative. 

One of his palm's splays over the back of your head, keeping you close, inviting you further against him. You feel him nod, a light movement that nudges him further into his throat. You'd be able to hear his heart thud and skip if he had a pulse, and somehow, the silence in his chest is calming. The chill and quiet of his flesh, the spice and metal of his blood, all lulls you into something almost dreamlike. 

"Yeah," he replies. Just as hushed, clandestine. A private murmur between lovers. "We can stay here for as long as you need." 

You can't tell him that maybe you'd want to stay this forever. That secret remains unsaid, just for you. 

[luxmaeastra]

//I THINK YOUR GOING TO LOVE THIS ONE!!!//

The Daglan had struggled to rebuild after the devasting blow Maeve's army had delt them. They were scattered, holding power they didn't deserve.

They squatted with Valg in lands that didn't belong to them.

Azor stared at the tapestry. It hung over his castle and would never rot or fade. The magic to make it ensured that, countless souls of Valg and Daglan bent to make it. An individual thread took one hundred souls to craft, the tapestry easily had thousand threads.

Here he could hear the Quintessence easily. They all forgot the point of the story.

Ostium fell with its god, its bones scattered in the Wyrd. But it's blood? It's blood had been collected and forged into something else. It held its last breath, it's tears....

Prythian, their ancestral lands had been forged from their Goddess. The last sacrifice to protect Her people.

At least that's how the story went. Prythian had been made after Ostium had been shattered. While yes, yes the Valg claimed their Goddess. The Ilken has always been there too.

They'd been Made, things to hunt and eat when the Daglan and Valg had fled the Four Realms.

The Wyrdgates hadn't opened since, not in the last 1,500 years and his people had been used since. They had just every right to exist and rule as the others. It wasn't his people's fault they'd been seen as little more than dogs, animals.

He touched his horns turning from the tapestry to the boys. They were young, angry. The eldest only 13, but there was a rage that belied his age.

All these years he'd never figured to get the Daglan and Valg to see his people as more than cannon fodder.

But now? He had children, girls pretty enough for a Valg when they came of age. He slid his eyes to Orcus, and tilted his head.

"Do you accept my turns Orcus? We help you take your throne back and one of my daughters, you may choose will become your consort."

Why not use them the way they'd always been used?

Orcus raised his chin, his brothers didn't speak simply waited. The young one, Erewan kept shivering. Azor hoped for his brother's sake he didn't drop dead - he didn't want to deal with Valg Grief anymore than he had to.

"I accept."

Azor held out his hand, waiting for Orcus to do the same. They didn't do blood vows, too messy and convoluted. Their wrists were side by side and Azor brought the brand down. His people may have never been taught Wyrdmarks but they knew how to identify them all the same.

The Valg had gained their freedom but no one had bothered to care about his people. So he would, he'd free them if he had to kill every last Valg and Daglan to do it.

------

Sebastian frowned, looking up from braiding Alina's hair.

"A massacre? In Spring? What ever for? Last I checked they were just revelers."

Eldred sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing at his forehead.

"And my boys nearly killed each other. Apparently Cassandra had a proxy in that court. She took Princesses from the other courts...it was a bloodbath. Hellas lead the charge and -"

"Of course he did. Just like he did 200 years ago."

Eldred stiffened, looking from the girl back to Sebastian.. Sebastian didn't bother returning the look. He finished the braid and kissed her forehead.

"What do you think? Did Papa do a good job love?"

He turned Alina to the mirror, she was ready for her first full Solstice Festival.

"Sebastian did he -"

Sebastian stood and looked to Eldred. Still so young, even if he acted like he wasn't.

"Hellas told us himself, said it was justified because our families were corrupt and went against the Natural Order of Things. He's a fucking hypocrite...but I'm glad he got his precious baby girls back."

Eldred stiffened, his body paling. He followed Sebastian a few feet away hoping the girl didn't follow. He'd never regretted tying his family to Sebastian and Natalia. His grandmother would be spinning in her pyre. But Mab was dead and his family needed to survive.

"Sebastian did you have something to do with -"

"With Sarai and Thesan? No of course not. I don't use children as bargaining chips. That would be hypocritical, I just mentioned to a few friends their potential."

Eldred didn't push, that darkness..the look in his eyes. He remembered those looks in the Kavalla Prison. Valg who had nothing left to loose and would take down as many people with them as they could.

Sebastian snapped out of it, humming as he turned to find some more jewelry or ribbons for his baby girl. Eldred moved to the window trying to keep his revulsion from showing.

"You know Eldred, if it bothers you that's understandable. It's horrifying, just remember no court helped us when we ran. They still refuse to acknowledge it, sad isn't it?"

He held up two ribbons for Alina to inspect, trying to tickle her neck with one..

"What do you think love? Which do you want? Purple or pink?"

Alina enjoyed spending time with her papa, she enjoyed the moments when he tended to her hair, or they spent time doing things. Even with the heaviness of the topic they spoke about, she sat quietly as her papa braided her hair. She always loved the hairstyles he done for her, she loved feeling pretty once he was done.

She beamed when he turned her to the mirror, her smile growing as saw herself for the first time. She was her papa’s girl, she adored him so much and how he looked after her.

“I love it papa, you done an amazing job!” She responded. She almost felt as if she was glowing from how happy she was. Her attention turned to the reflection of Eldred in the mirror, falling quiet as she sensed the atmosphere in the room. When the adults got like this she knew it was better not to interrupt. There were many things about her parents she didn’t know yet, had been too young to be fully told.

Her smile returned when her papa returned with the ribbons, giggling slightly as she felt the one tickle her neck.

“I like the purple one!’

——————

That was the thing with wars, with raids and massacres. Views were always different depending on the side you stood on, memories varied depending on what each had gone through…And sometimes the more powerful rewrote the truth. Even as he stood in the doorway watching his two baby girls sleep after their ordeal, he felt the throb of his headache return. The push of pain from the division of the truth and what he was left to believe.

He nursed his cup against his chest, watching the steady breath of his girls as they slept. The sign of life, the sign that they were there. To have something taken from you, to have someone tear into your home and take them. Flashed of a darker scene surfaced, the feeling of shear horror tore through his body as he remembered that day. The screams, the terror.

The sight of the other’s face as he stared back at him, the look of hurt and betrayal as the realty of it all came crashing down. The false truth stripped away, this wasn’t some uprising or stop over in an ally kingdom. His men had been told they would have been moving on to another place after this, yet this was the target?

He remembered looking to Rook as the realization hit them both, as they stared upon their ally and friend as the one who lead all of this barked orders to continue on.

The punishment for desertion, his fingers rubbed at the burn upon his wrist. Once he and Rook had put enough distance between them and the scene, after their minds had been warped and the memories changed, they worked together to burn away the brand. The burnt skin a reminder, as was the false memories - Anneith had been the one who helped break through it all. Seeing her had made him realize.

Yet the damage was done, whatever friendship they had was now gone. He and Rook became closer after they had lost their other friend, even if they had attempted to reach out, what could they do?

Endymion cleared his throat as he approached. Hellas’s attention turned away, looking towards him as he gave him a smile. “Fighting with family is not the easier, especially those who you deem as a brother.” He spoke honestly before he looked back toward the girls.

“I would do anything for Thesan and her family, even if my blood and my life started with my father and brothers, where I end up is where I am meant to be.” Endymion responded.

Good, the boy would make his daughter happy. The day their mating ceremony came would be well celebrated in Dawn he was sure, he was sure he would the ideal partner and support. It was clear the love the two shared, it was clear-

He felt a twang of pain though, he knew the prophecies about his children. He knew each were destined for great things, but he also knew how close they all were - even Amaya and Helion who fought like cats and dogs. He knew the day they began starting their own lives some would be left behind, he knew the hurt they would one day feel.

“When the time comes, take care of her Endymion. She deserves a happy life…”

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: ML SEASON 4: Episode 15 Glaciator 2.0

Spoilers below

-Ah, that guy is CLEARLY reading an art magazine (As there are two pieces of art on it)

-People they are saving are complimenting them. Chat noir is confused but Ladybug is just annoyed.

-They are fighting Glaciator. So what happened?

-OH MY GOSH ITS EVERYWHERE. All the ads that once had Adrien now have Ladynoir. (Paris has never looked so beautiful.) LOL

-They stopped fighting to argue with the akuma about their love lives. AMAZING

-Chat noir you kind of deserved being thrown in the trash for that one. You got the first one in for free, but she told you now wasn’t the time for it.

-Did… DID SHE JUST BEAT HIM OFF SCREEN?! Damn, that is a record

-Okay, picking up the trashcan and throwing it on the roof with your partner in it WAS a bit harsh Ladybug. I get you are annoyed but still. A bit harsh.

-Chat noir tried to make light of the situation and Ladybug it NOT having it. But he did apologize for pushing the story too much. So good. That is important to show he acknowledges that.

-I am proud of Chat noir here, he acknowledges that Ladybug doesn’t feel the same way and isn’t putting the pressure on her to accept.

-So Chat noir says he will try and stop. Though even he acknowledges that it will be hard. Ooof. That hurts. But He is trying for her sake.

-Oh damn he deleted the ladybug pics! BOY IS SERIOUS

-Marinette is now making alya do the same.

-Alya protests but gives in.

-Adrien is heartbroken, and Kagami notices he is getting his but kicked by someone not her. CLEARLY SOMETHING IS WRONG

-Kagami trying to cheer up her ex but it aint gonna work

-Oh damn Adrien is really sad… and the sad version of the theme… F*** (On another note, could he have just told G to stop the car at anytime ever?)

-OH S*** HE IS CRYING AND SHADOWMOTH SENSES IT!

-Shadowmoth senses his sons disappointment and stops being evil to actually be a parent?! Damn that is weird

-Marinette was calling to get the Billboard taken down. That convo was funny

-Also She sees Adrien’s sad and is happy to try and go fix it?! Tikki being like (b*** you don’t even know its your fault)

-Marinette having gifts for Adrien on EVERY OCCASION. Also the fact that Tikki knew which one. Considering that in Chrismaster she had gifts until he was 50. Now people will make the argument that she is being creepy, I say she is hella prepared. (I have a friend like that gets her Christmas gifts for people ready MONTHS in advance.)

-Marinette you are WAY too Sus with that whistling

-One convoluted explaination. And Adrien is like “Okay … sure?”

-Takes the gift. Adrien is just like ‘Sure I like gifts’

-DID SHE GET HIM A HAMSTER?! Or like a hamster cage!? Also, they have the same fave animal.

-Oh it’s a dream sequence! She got distracted by her own delusion! Damn! I knew future episodes and it got me for a second!

-A POTTER WHEEL!

-SHE YEETS IT OUT OF SHAME!

-He was still fine with the gift, but Marinette’s focus on a perfect gift actually ruined the moment and made him sad.

-Kagami arrives just as Adrien leaves. Kagami about to fix her ship!

-THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST OF THE EPISODE. Gabriel actually TRYING TO BE A FATHER! I AM SHOOK. Also Adrien is too bummed out to care. Damn

-Plagg nailing how I feel. 3 sentences in a row!

-Oh… OH S***! I don’t want to live like my father. GOOD FOR YOU ADRIEN!

-Kagami “His blade has lost his shine” Marinette : “HIS WHAT!?” This will be taken out of context

-Kagami is trying to be kind. “Youre both weak… Sensitive to other people”

-Kagami is trying to explain that Marinette has to be on the attack and confess already. Using fencing terms. Did not expect all of this Kagami but I am LIVING FOR IT.

-So Kagami sets up the Marichat later on… Kagami you are a genius

-OH S*** HE IS DESTROYING ALL THE ADS!”

-EVEN PLAGG IS GETTING TIRED OF THIS AND HE LOVES CHEESE!?! Adrien is going hard tonight!

-“ALLL OF THEM?!” aLSO Paris…. WHY SO MANY ADS.

-Tikki is like “Isnt it weird that he is here!?” “Cats are always on Rooftops.” Marinette that made me laugh. Tikki is like “I know the truth and its KILLING ME!”

-Chat noir is saying he loves no one adamantly to move on from Ladybug. Poor boy is trying not to be his dad

-Chat noir is so confused by what Marinette is asking. And Marinette isn’t explaining it

-Okay so Chat noir was still like “I don’t feel that way about you.” And Marinette then explains that’s the point. He finally gets it.

-ADRIEN IS NOW BUTTERCUP!

-CHAT NOIR HAS A SERIOUS FACE?! Did… Did anyone else know that?

-Marinette is kind of being a b*** right now.

-Chat noir has some valid critiques here. So Marinette is like “FINE YOU DO IT THEN!”

-And naturally chat noir has confessed 100s of times. The boy could confess in his sleep.

-Chat noir being an expert on confessing and helping marinette calm down is cute. This is some SOLID marichat.

-Chat noir uses his stick to get around…. I swear they are doing these on purpose

-Glaciator sees his NOT SHIP! OH NO

-So the movie they ended up going to ended up being a romance movie… Paris is f***ing weird

-Marinette is just baring her soul to chat noir here. Marinette being self aware maybe my favorite part of this episode.

-The guy who yelled at them is right, he wants to watch the movie.

-EVERYONE THE STAFF TURNS INTO AN UMBRELLA!! FANFIC MATERIAL! EVERYONE! JOT IT DOWN!

-Wait… are we getting a marichat umbrella scene!? S*** we are being fed so much

-Now chat noir’s turn to bear his soul. This is some good stuff. The essence of Marichat. Two people that can confide about their feelings for another and help.

-Glaciator cant handle his OTP not being together

-Oh so Andre thinks he is losing his power of ice cream.

-She never gave andre the charm.

-Ladybug is like “B*** are you making fun of me!”

-Chat noir is like “Nah, I am just trying to move on.”

-SHE SUMMONED THE CAR!!!

-oh they both drove

-And here we have Ladybug setting Clear boundaries with Chat noir. “If I say something is bad. Stop.” GOOD!

-Huh… That was cool (get it!?)

-Good thing she only needed to throw the keys. But I wish she yeeted the car.

-Oh damn she is going genuine for the confession

-Also Adrien won a tournament. Good for him

-KAGAMI’S STRATEGY WAS FROM A MANGA! I… I AM SO HAPPY! IM DONE! THIS IS THE BEST EPISODE OF SEASON 4. BAR NONE. THIS WINS. WE ARE FINISHED.

-Adrien admits chat noir is a role. Yep, this is it. This is the best episode of season 4

________________________________________________________

11 out of 10. (Though actually 9.5/10)

This is now my new fav episode of season 4.

The marichat was good. The kagami was good.

Even the bits that originally seemed to be harsh were actually quite fair.

I think this was the best writing for the season, and also Kagami is now tied with Plagg in my heart.

[paradisetemporarilymisplaced]

Book recs: Similar to but less sad than TSOA

Hello everyone! @lordeteams requested some book recommendations that are not as sad as The Song of Achilles so here we go. I read a lot of books and since 2019 I've kept a running list of what I've read so honestly I'll take any excuse to subject people to my interests🤗 List is below the cut, not in any particular order (except from the first entry which is my current favorite), and includes NA, YA, and adult fiction. If you're curious about the distinction I'll refer you to this (sadly, now-deleted) tweet from Maggie Stiefvater:

One Last Stop (Casey McQuiston, NA): This one is brand new and instantly became a favorite. F/F romance in which August Landry, newly transplanted to Brooklyn, meets Jane Su on her morning commute. Turns out, Jane is stuck on the train and has been since the 70s, but has no memory of how it happened or of her old life. Part romance, part time-travel mystery, but entirely a love letter to queer communities everywhere. Found family trope abounds with August's roommates and coworkers, which include drag queens, people of every flavor of queer, and a real life psychic, all of whom are ready and willing to help solve the mystery of why Jane is on the train and how to fix it. In the process, August learns things about her own family, as well as events in American queer history that few people remember today. I really cannot express enough how much I love this book. Please read it.

Red, White, and Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston, NA): Odds are, if you've heard of Casey McQuiston, it was because of her first book (this one). M/M romance about Alex, son of the first female US President, and Henry, prince of England. Enemies to friends to lovers, featuring queer self-discovery, coming out, PR/corporate closeting (hello, larries!) and just a delight. This is a very different queer story from OLS - OLS is a romance, but more plot-heavy and the romance isn't the entire focus. In RWRB, the romance is the plot and it reads like fanfiction which is very fun.

The Raven Cycle (series, Maggie Stiefvater, YA): This series is a character-driven, coming-of-age, found family story about a bunch of weird-ass teenagers (affectionate), magic, prophecy, and Welsh kings. This is the rare story in which every single main character plays a critical role in the plot and grows and changes with the story. You will fall in love with all of them and their relationships with one another. Plus, the worldbuilding is incredible and has such an intricate mythology that you'll want to reread just to get the details. Followed by the Dreamer Trilogy, of which two books have been published, but I've only read the first one so far.

All for the Game (series, Nora Sakavic, YA): This is the series that got me back into reading for fun five years ago and as such it holds a special place in my heart. The plot is wacky and convoluted - college athletics, a made-up sport, a kid on the run from his mob boss father - but don't let that discourage you. Hella found family. (Are you seeing a pattern?) I will warn you, this deals with some pretty heavy stuff, including torture, abuse, addiction, sexual violence, and more. Here's a comprehensive list of trigger warnings, with detailed descriptions at the bottom. It's intense, but the friendships and romances make it worth the read imo.

Grishaverse (series, Leigh Bardugo, YA): This is actually three series: the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, and the King of Scars duology (which I haven't yet read). If you've seen Shadow and Bone, the S&B trilogy covers the Alina storyline, while SOC covers Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, and Matthias. S&B is a chosen one/coming of age story, while SOC is found family committing heists. It's great.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Benjamin Alire Saenz, YA): Coming of age M/M romance. Set in the 1980s in El Paso, it describes the friends to lovers journey of Ari and Dante over several years, as well as Ari's journey of self-discovery. It is the most beautiful book and one of my comfort reads. There's some themes of homophobia and violence, but with a happy ending.

Carry On (Rainbow Rowell, YA): This is basically Harry Potter fanfiction, but better because (a) it doesn't take itself too seriously and (b) the author is not a violent transphobe. Seriously, this book is so fun. It's a twist on the chosen one trope because Simon, said Chosen One, is just spectacularly bad at what he is supposedly destined to be. Plus you have an enemies to lovers storyline, which is my personal favorite trope. Followed by Wayward Son, which is literally a road trip AU, and Any Way the Wind Blows, which will be released next month.

The Queen's Thief (series, Megan Whalen Turner, YA): Fantasy series centered on Eugenides, who is very proud of being a great thief but also wants to be famous, two goals which are not really compatible. This series is interesting because every novel is told from a different character's point of view in an increasingly zoomed-out lens such that you're seeing how Eugenides' influence grows over time and space. The setting is vaguely based on the ancient Mediterranean region, but with a mythology all its own.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Taylor Jenkins Reid, adult): This is a frame story in which aged Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo, famously tight-lipped about her personal life, hand selects a young journalist, Monique Grant, to finally tell her story. Evelyn tells Monique all about her life - how she became an actress in the mid-twentieth century, how she got involved (and uninvolved) with all seven of her former husbands, and who was the true love of her life. There are some sad moments for sure, as it's a retrospective on the very long and very full life of an actress at what she knows is the end of hers. But it's such a good story and worth the bittersweet tones.

This Is How You Lose the Time War (Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, adult): Sci-fi novel told by Red and Blue's letters to one another across time and space. They are on opposing sides of the Time War and as they perform their respective missions, they leave letters for the other to find. Their letters start out as "I'm coming for you, you better run" but then eventually turn to friendship and then love. Ultimate enemies to lovers. It's a short novel but you'll read it again and again to pick up more details. It's so good.

The House in the Cerulean Sea (TJ Klune, NA): This book feels like a warm hug. Linus Baker is essentially a child protective services worker, overseeing the orphanages housing magical children. He is then assigned to the most remote orphanage in the system, in which six dangerous children reside, to determine whether any or all of these children are capable of bringing about the end of the world. Once more, with feeling: FOUND FAMILY. Also nice because it's a metaphor for queerness that also features canon queer characters.

[algernoninwonderland]

Miraculous is playing one big game of Calvinball with its magic/power system and it undermines the show quite a bit

TL;DR: Miraculous has, at first glance, a very basic power/magic system… Only whenever it tries to get more complicated than “Moon Prism Power, Make up!” it ends up being an unspeakable mess, due to poor creative decisions that don’t allow for the audience to truly understand what is going on and why, outside of “whatever the plot requires so that we can get to the next scene”. 

It may well be because the people making this show wanted to shift their attention to kwamis and their powers in the future seasons, but holding onto that for seventy-something episodes has done the show a disservice.

Longg isn’t the kwami of Perfection. Longg is the kwami of being a cool dragon. And sometimes, being a cool dragon is enough, you know? Instead of doing complex things poorly, you can tackle simple concepts really well and people won’t think any less of your creation, au contraire.

Throughout the history of the superhero genre, a pretty nifty thing most creators have understood is that you need to explain a bit of how and why the hero’s powers work. Superman is superpowered because it’s all a matter of gravity, a fact underlined in the very first issue of Action Comics, in the very first page of Superman ever. The X-Men are mutants. Sherlock Holmes was bitten by a radioactive detective.

Basically, what happens in most cases is, the creators come up with a set of rules to sort of explain the storyworld so that you know to manage your expectations, so that the storyworld feels more cohesive too. That’s what I call a neat way to allow your audience to suspend their disbelief and feel more involved in the story being told! Things happen and are allowed to happen a certain way for a reason in-universe, there is a kind of logic proper to the work of fiction being built that makes it easier for the audience to fully get into said work.

In Hunter X Hunter, Nen is a pretty cool concept that is well-defined, we see what it is at first with no explanations, and it’s hella intriguing, which makes you want to know more (and that’s deliberate) and then the manga explains it to you a few chapters later and for the most part, Togashi sticks to that definition. And now we understand what is going on and how. Cool, right?

What do we have here? Creative decisions that are often given justifications in-universe to make them more believable in the context of the story being told, even though they are ultimately arbitrary decisions which can be challenged (see how Superman’s powers changed over time, for instance). You can toy with these explanations and that makes for great comedic potential, just look at One Punch Man!

Magic can be a little murkier for sure, because magic doesn’t necessarily follow rational logic. I won’t be getting into the soft/hard magic talk here. Still, if you want your audience to understand what is going on and if you’re not a complete hack (looking at you Joanne Kathleen), you tend to set up some rules so that the audience can grasp what the hell is going on, understand why something is really impressive or really basic. Is it really such a big deal that a character is able to master that one spell? Why? Ursula Le Guin and Brandon Sanderson are really good at that, and manage a good balance of mystery and understandability.

Miraculous fumbles the bag pretty hard when it comes to how its magic/power system works. Which, after 70-something episodes, is not great. 

Part of it is due to the exposition style Miraculous has chosen for itself, which could be great but ultimately isn’t, and part of it is due to poor definition in the first place.

Miraculous hates exposition dumps most of the time, and I think it’s actually a good thing. No one wants to feel as though they’re sitting through a boring class instead of having fun. Well done, guys! Exposition dumps often make you all the more aware of the artificiality of a story. And so, Miraculous mostly relies on context cues as a means of introducing you to the world. They just show you the thing and trust you to understand and interpret it properly. And sometimes, it works really well!

I still sincerely believe that Stormy Weather is a fantastic first episode, and it does its job amazingly well. In 24 minutes, you learn the very basic outlines of how stuff works, relationships between the characters and superpowers. Yes, it’s very basic, but that’s fine, you can’t drop all that new information on your audience all at once. We understand that the power within the Miraculous, that of the kwami, allows for its wearer to transform. This comes with nifty perks, heightened agility, reflexes, amazing strength, magical accessories, and special quirks unique to each of the Miraculouses.

Are we good so far? See, if we stuck to that, it’d be fine. Not mind-blowing but pretty okay still. Doesn’t have to be too complicated to be enjoyable, just look at Sailor Moon!

And then Miraculous tried to spice things up and communicated its ideas so poorly that the arbitrary decisions taken by the writers are glaring, and seriously affect the audience’s suspension of disbelief and enjoyment. 

The kwamis aren’t just cutesy mascots, they’re gods. And yet their powers are very limited. Why? Well, the show doesn’t really bring that question up, we can only try and infer things. Now, what are these limitations, and why do they exist in the first place? I’ve got a vague answer to the first question (a time limit for transformation once the special power is being used).

The answer to that second question is very unsatisfactory, and that’s the only one I’ve got: “because the plot requires it if we want to do such and such thing”. Which is an answer that applies to absolutely all creative decisions in fiction, yes, but there’s usually more to it as well, in competently-made shows at least, it’s not so transparent. Why is Marinette able to wield so many Miraculouses at once? Well, it’d look cool and it’d make her look powerful, so why not! But Adrien can’t. Why? He just can’t. No explanations whatsoever. Just because. It’s magic. Shut up and watch the show.

Well, that’s not entirely true. We’ve got fleeting remarks about being able to unlock kwami powers and maintaining a transformation for longer and whatnot. The problem is, they’re just that, fleeting remarks, and worse, they are so scattered across the show it’s really easy to forget about them in-between episodes, especially since the release schedule is absolute nonsense (it isn’t the creators’ fault, but it certainly has an impact on the way the audience engages with the show). So no, the show isn’t going down the “just roll with it” route, not entirely… And that makes the lack of proper explanation that much worse.

It feels as through the few rules there are in Miraculous are being made up on the fly and… Heh. That’s just not great.

It doesn’t help that the powers themselves are… Really something, huh?

Chat Noir’s power is the only one that really fits with what his kwami is meant to represent. Destruction. Easy to represent, right?

Creation is trickier, that requires being imaginative, and Miraculous isn’t terribly imaginative when it comes to its lucky charms. Hey kids, did you know that you could use a ladder to stop an ice-skater? How creative! I mean you could also use salt to melt the ice, or a baseball bat to smash his kneecaps, then… The point is, being convoluted isn’t the same thing as being creative, and while Chat Noir gets to decide what he destroys, Ladybug gets an item thrown at her and you better believe she’ll find an use to it… How is that creation exactly? Is the lucky charm popping out of thin air creation? That’s a bit underwhelming, isn’t it?

Tikki represents convolution, Nooroo is the power of creating minor antagonists…

I had to check the Wiki to remember what concepts the other kwamis are meant to represent. There’s a disconnect between that and the way powers are represented on-screen. Pollen isn’t the kwami of Subjection. Pollen is the kwami of stabbing people with a stinger. How do I know that? I watched the show and nothing else.

If you want your audience to not be confused, if you don’t want your story to feel completely arbitrary to your audience (though it’ll always be just that), maybe take the time to explain things that are crucial for the understanding of the storyworld’s inner workings. You don’t have to give everything away in the first ten episodes, not at all, but you should explain them at some point, take the time to do so if these are more complex concepts that are crucial to your show. And if they aren’t key to your show, you don’t have to include them, and I promise no-one will notice.

[dutifullybitchypeach]

ACOSF FINAL THOUGHTS. 3/5

It was good. But it could have been EPIC. I think I got caught up in the hype and should have remained blissfully ignorant. Loved Nestas journey and her finding happiness. WELL DESERVED.

However lots of loose threads, ignored angst, rushed ending, pregnancy plot overshaowed a lot - 2 chapters wasted!

It was Nestas book with Cassians POV to balance. It was interesting to read how skewed, almost backwards it was the way Nesta saw things. Like the IC behaviour/comments at times to her was counter acted then with Cassians interpretation. Really showed her low her self esteem was.

I know it's Nesta letting go and being happy with herself and I believe SJM wrote it this way to be deliberately CLEAR that the IC are NOT perfect and are 100% capable of being total pricks. BUT that they are not held accountable for their actions the same way Nesta is, was frustrating. Cold hard facts: Nesta never murdered/stole/lied/tortured/assaulted anyone. She was a bum and a drunk who spewed hurtful shite. An angry bitch. However the only thing she ever wilfully killed was the King of Hyburn at the NC's request. The level of disgust from Amren/Rhys/Mor directed at Nesta in the beginning was uncomfortable to read and didn't sit well with me.

I'll have to read it again but I was not satisfied . Nestas character arc started half way through ACOWAR. She stepped up when they needed her to.

Feyre agreeing despite her experience in Spring was a step backwards for me. Then again it's exactly what Nesta needed. Cruel to be kind. And Feyre had Nestas back repeatedly throughout the narrative.

Loved Nestas story all of it, training, friendships, self love, etc etc. Gwyn and Emerie ❤ All epic. And she's well...more interesting! Detail on Cassian killing all those monsters, scene in the big, wow so good.

Feysand overkill or perhaps Rhys overkill. Sorry SJM but you need to pull back.

Nessian happened the way I thought it would. That Cassian isn't perfect is normal. His heart is Nestas, it's pretty clear. Smut scenes, I've read better sorry !!! Intensity was not the same as previous books. More sexy and less crude for me. Missed Cassians swagger but I guess we are in his head, and he's a big cuddly insecure bear. With a big d**k.

More thoughts (in my humble opinion).

Feysand pregnancy DRAMA. Unnecessary. Keep it, just don't let it happen the way it did. I've already said I thought the sacrifice should have been for Gywn/Emerie and there is a simple tie in IMO (see previous posts). Or perhaps Cassian actually stabbing himself rather than hurting Nesta with the Queen. But I get SJM and 'losing' her power, that much power just undermines the remaining plot for next few books. Nesta could just blast them all to hell. And she stole it in anger and has let it go with love. Growth! She is clearly still hella powerful. We don't know the half of it.

For me the above was the most irritating. The ending squeezed in. And I like Feysand. But Nesta healing with Feyre needn't have been so convoluted. Or drastic. More private, perhaps a real angsty, tense conversation and confession. They didn't discuss anything.

The last few chapters too much went on...important moments; first females to win The Rite, sidelined. Accepting the mating bond, sidelined. WTF is Nestas power now, sidelined. Queen dead, sidelined. An ILLYRANIAN FEMALE KICKING ASS sidelined. I mean Christ that was Cassians goal! And nothing. NOTHING. Not even a handshake.

Rhys. It was plain uncomfortable. But someone mentioned SJM deliberately wrote Rhys that way for this book and that's true. In the Feyre POV she mentions "two mates" the reasonable one and the asshole so that, I think, is telling. He's def more HL and pulls rank in this book with everyone.

Rhys clearly witnesses Nestas trauma from her nightmare but there is no recognition with Nesta. Not a peep. Yet he clearly feels massive regret. Is that for our benefit, the readers? That at least we know. Don't hate on Rhys. (I like Rhys btw)

I'd have liked a full circle scene where they are back in THAT sitting room admiring baby Nyx and Nesta just says a few things. Cooly and calmly. She's happy they intervened, but for all their wisdom and years of living it left a lot to be desired. Nothing too crazy, just a few delivered lines, Nesta style.

Felt Nesta lost a little of her fire. But maybe you see it more from the others POV. Though they always provoked her and it was a defence mechanism. And she was a bitch at times. With others outside the IC it's clear she is not like that. Make what you will of that.

I know SJM doesn't like to over detail things but a moment with Feyre/Nyx/Nesta alone would have been nice.

The sisters never meeting Gwyn or Emerie. A scene like that would have been powerful.

Amren is as Mor rightly said is a "cranky old bastard". And "Welcome back to the Night Court Nesta Archeron" screamed, now that you've scrubbed up love come on home. I don't know. Amren was clearly done with Nesta she was the one that stood by her the most and got sick shit of her. All Amren can command is respect now and Nesta really wanted hers, possibly the most.

Can I make a point about people harping on about slut shaming. Amren made one catty observation, that Nesta would ride almost anything. No other character mentioned it. Not one. And Nesta enjoyed her bed partners, she refers to some of it (threesome!). There was zero shame. And SJM hates slut shaming. So stop. It's not a thing.

I'm nitpicking but there was a lot of hurt just left off. Perhaps that was the point. SJM was like, fuck it, Nesta doesn't want to feel that anger or resentment anymore she wants to live and be happy. She's found inner peace with herself and those that matter most. Me wanting justification for how they treated her at timea is not the point!!! Lol.

The painting, that stood out for me in ACOFAS. It hurt to read it. Maybe Feyre had nothing to paint of Nesta. They didn't talk. Share thoughts. I think Feyre asking Nesta herself to show her memories of The Rite so she could paint it would have had more impact. But it read very plainly like now you've earned your spot here...or I like you now or something. She was deliberately not there, perhaps until she wanted to be. Or finally accepted and embraced life with the IC. It was an unnecessary detail that just fueled the Feysand halo (again I like Feysand).

Nesta made those weapons therefore they are hers. Amren is power hungry. Rhys seems happy to hand them over. High King drama, I can see it. It could happen.

It's clear that Nesta didn't want to leave the NC, therefore she had to fall in. People have a problem with 'who's boss' but we've only ever had court dynamics from Rhys/Feyre POV. And they are the top dogs in the NC. We are going to have to get used of seeing Feysand make decisions from the outside. It's THEIR court. And to be fair, Feyre always had Nestas back.

And yes I believe you always have a choice with Rhys. I know some scoff at that.

Rhys kneeling to Nesta further proves our gal is a Queen. Feyre is the only one he's ever bowed to. SJM gave us that moment for Nesta and we will have to be content despite he's questionable aggressive behaviour. He clearly has issues with family given his past.

Enjoyed seeing a bit of Elaine. Finally. And Nesta delivered some home truths! Elaine needs to find some backbone. Really looking forward to her story. Go mad SJM!

Feysand POV should have been the fallout of Rhys keeping baby drama from Feyre. Now THAT I would want to hear. And perhaps Feyre saying to Nesta I'm "secretly glad you told me".

Eris I always found super interesting. It's clear to me he knows Mor is gay. Him helping her would have meant she was trapped in the AC. 'Rejecting her' allowed Rhys and Co to save her and to have freedom. She screwed him by keeping it secret. His arc will be with Lucien I think.

Az and Elaine not for me. Sorry. I'd like Lucien to find some happiness. I've spoken of this before see other posts. Az tortures people for a living, he has serious issues.

I've already spoken about Mor....remember her lol. Where is she! Ha! Actions speak louder than words with Mor. Winnow please my mate is being a dick, teach me to dance, dress shopping. But I guess she's Feyres friend, Nesta has hers. Nesta feeling ashamed as to how she treated Mor, will be interesting to see how Mor feels about that oul time when I was such a hypocrite, lol, what I really meant was....

There are 2 more books and a novella so who knows. Nessian ain't over.

Going to look forward to the fanfiction!

Thanks SJM.

[albatris]

Wait that sounds cool tell me more about Bright and Burning Things? (If you want to ofc you definitely don't have to)

:D!!! of course, I can tell you some stuff!!! thank you for the question, I'm happy you think it sounds cool!!

this is not really a super sensical explanation, this is some rambles, as usual

so, this is a short standalone project of mine, it's uhhhh........ hm. something something fantasy comedy something. it's meant to be a bit of a light-hearted adventure, but as it is with most of my more silly stories, it takes a sharp detour into some "oof" territory c':

bits of the premise sound kind of Heavy but silliness and heaviness go hand-in-hand quite nicely I think

the central character is a ghost kid! this kid’s name is Max! the story kicks off right after they die and they’re being ushered onto the bus that will take them to the afterlife. as they are being ushered onto said bus, they’re like “holy fuck wait no” because they have unfinished business in the living world. they got straight-up murdered!  their life got cut short! they don’t have any closure! they don’t even know who killed them!! so they make a run for it and go ghost

and like, oh, this happens sometimes. the dead are sometimes quite affronted by the fact that they’re dead and kick up a bit of a fuss when it comes to Moving On. the thing is, souls aren’t really built for Being Ghosts and can’t really survive long out in the living world, so there’s a bit of a time limit on Max’s quest to figure out who killed them and solve the mystery of their own death, since if they stay too long in the living world as a disembodied soul they’ll start to unravel

related, and perhaps more pressingly, is that there’s various agents of the afterlife who are attempting to find them and bring them back and Make Them Move On. these forces take on a bit of an antagonistic role in the story, but they’re not really any malevolent force that wants to hurt Max, they’re just the folks who go after stray and panicked souls and try to bring them to the afterlife before they fade away and disappear completely

Max’s got shit to do, though, like I said

so the story follows Max over the course of one night as they piece together the story of their death and fill in the gaps in their memory, while also attempting to stave off their unravelling for as long as they can

Max becomes acquainted with various other supernatural beings who are on their own time-sensitive quests on the same night, n they form some sort of kinship over this fact and band together to help each other out on their missions

firstly there’s Daisy, stir-crazy thousand-year-old heir to the vampire throne, due to be crowned the next day, who suddenly had an existential crisis and was like “actually vampire society is dull as hell I wanna LIVE”

so she goes out into the human world and robs a pizza store and starts several fights and is like “hell YEAH this slaps” and basically decides she’s just gonna kick up some real chaos since this is her last night of freedom, basically, n she’s gotta make it count

she’s very smart! she knows next to nothing about human society and how to be a normal person though, and if you leave her unsupervised she will attempt to eat marbles

also the structure of vampire society is very convoluted and confusing and full of complete nonsense. it makes no sense to anyone but the vampires themselves, and even then the rest of the supernatural world is half convinced the vamps are just playing the long game with an extremely elaborate prank. their royalty live in an abandoned petrol station? they wear those little paper crowns from hungry jacks/burger king. they take themselves very seriously

also this is the story in which I was really drunk when I was planning it n just slammed some vodka and was like “VAMPIRES COME FROM SPACE NOW” and then sober logan just had to deal with that

ANYWAY

next there’s Hope and Deckchairs, a socially anxious uni student and a socially anxious demon respectively, and the deal with these two is uhhhhh

well, Hope was trying to be a Cool Kid and tagged along with some Cool Kids who wanted to do a demonic summoning ‘cause Hell Yeah That’s Edgy And Cool

and Deckchairs (not named Deckchairs at the time, this is a name that’s adopted during the story) was doing their very overdue demon taxes and stressing over demon finances, n then got yoinked out of the underworld because of the aforementioned summoning

(I think this is generally viewed among demons as a mild inconvenience, sometimes you get Yoinked when you’re right in the middle of something and you just have to be like “ugh fine I’ll just kick up a bit of a ruckus then come back”)

however, when the summoning actually works, the Cool Kids freak out and scatter and in the chaos Hope gets her head bonked on the side of a dresser and fuckin starts bleeding out, and Deckchairs is like “oh fuck I did not sign on for this” ‘cause they’re........ yeah, look, they’re gentle and anxious and not a very good demon, maybe. n so Deckchairs possesses the body of Hope to keep her alive

so now these two are co-piloting a body, and have to figure out a way they can split and return to their lives without Hope dying. however, they’re also being hunted down by

the Cool Kids, who are now all keyed up and paranoid and convinced they’re the heroes of a horror movie n they have to kill the demonic entity they brought into the world

the underworld, who.......... now, I haven’t figured out whether they’re pissed ‘cause they think Deckchairs is committing tax evasion by body-hopping into the human world, or they’re pissed just ‘cause Deckchairs has work to do and they don’t consider one human life to be worth all the hold up

so that’s not great for either of them, but like, yeah, if they can figure out a way to split and be done with it, it’s problem solved for both of them. yeehaw. too bad they’re both nearly too anxious to speak to each other

and that’s................................. all that

facts?

there’s a plot twist at the end that I am SUPER psyched about! and it has taken literally all of my willpower not to spoil it completely

I feel like it’s an easy one to guess, but it’s perfect for the story and the themes and it’s one I’m hella excited about

and this is..................... this is I think the only story of mine where I would say it doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending? like. it certainly doesn’t end in TRAGEDY, but this is definitely a bittersweet ending, it’s got some real sad undertones

it’s the best possible ending for the characters, but like, hey, my protagonist is already dead, y’know?

anyway if you read this far I hope some of this was fun for you :’))

thanks for coming to my ted talk I hope you have a nice day :D

[lightneverfades]

Frostiron Holiday Wishes Challenge ❆ 🎅🎄Master Post! 

Thank you to all those who’ve submitted a prompt/wish and lovely artwork/fics for these wishes! Here is a compiled list of all the prompt fills received! :D <3 

Requester: @kimmycup Wish (Prompt/Idea): Invasion fic where Tony figures out Loki was mind controlled before Loki does: "But I WAS in control. Thanos didn't control me like I did Clint." "Yeah sure. And if you wanted to take over the world, what would you do?" Loki spluttered, fully aware that plan was dumb. Still, he would KNOW if he were controlled... Right? "But I wasn't mind controlled! It was me!"

❆ Fill: By @worstloki Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638613717830008832/

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Requester: @brianadoesart Wish (Prompt/Idea): Cupcake shop au!!!  One of our boys owns a cupcake shop and the other one is a FREQUENT visitor to said coffee shop. Lots of people think its because they have a sweet tooth, but they're just hopelessly in love with whichever one owns the shop.

❆ Fill: By @worstloki Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638613402351239168/

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Requester: @snarkyship Wish (Prompt/Idea): Human/no powers AU. Sort-of-enemies to friends to lovers.Tony rents this house/bungalow by the sea for the summer, with a kind of private beach where there is also a cute gazebo. Only that the gazebo is exactly halfway with the other property (by some mistake?). And the tenant of the neighbour bungalow is Loki, who's not so keen on sharing. So Loki&Tony will start a "war" to gain possession of the gazebo, doing their worst using the excuse of "this is my half, I can use it as I want". ((Optional: there is a table right in the middle, so at the beginning they sit at their own side glaring at each other, before starting deploying more convoluted tactics)).Mischief after mischief, they will start to know each other and of course everything will end with one of them inviting the other to their half for a romantic dinner and they'll end up sharing more than the gazebo <3((I hope it's enough clear and but also not too detailed??))

❆ Fill: By @worstloki Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638612819398606848/

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Requester: @loufeysson​​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): Hi! my prompt is teenage Tony and android Loki in a futuristic universe (in the style of Black Mirror, maybe?) 🥺👉🏼👈🏼 Thank you!

❆ Fill: By @lightneverfades (yours truly haha!) Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638487122698010624/

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Requester: @lightneverfades​  Wish (Prompt/Idea): Loki is a yoga instructor and one day Tony goes to one of his classes and finds out the best positions to ‘relax’ - body, mind and soul >:D. (I love puns, so go crazy hahaha!) 

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​  Link: https://snarkyship.tumblr.com/post/638415118181580800/

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Requester: @martiszcz​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): Someone is trying to break them up by making Loki jealous, mentioning Tony's playboy years, talking about the time they slept with Tony, talking about how much time he spends with some friend (Pepper, Rhodey, I don't care who) but Loki doesn't react - they trust each other.

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638434199159865344/

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Requester: Nivael * Wish (Prompt/Idea): Loki and Tony are in an established relationship. Things go great, but Loki is still unaccepting of his Jotun heritage and body. While Tony is completely fascinated by it, partly because Loki tries to hide it so hard. So he gets a fancy magical gadget from Strange (amulet, bracelet,...?) to be able to avoid frostbite so he can touch Loki even when he's in his Jotun form. Then there will be smut! :D

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638434042873872384

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Requester: @loufeysson​​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): Hi! my prompt is teenage Tony and android Loki in a futuristic universe (in the style of Black Mirror, maybe?) 🥺👉🏼👈🏼 Thank you!

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638433959345274880/

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Requester: @arandomsewer​   Wish (Prompt/Idea): I just want him to live on and being supported by his Friends and his brother recognizing him, that's basically the prompt. Tho here's the details of the Idea I had: Loki is living at the tower with the others (of course) too proud to say out loud how much he likes life on earth... The usual.Something happens and suddenly the magic that made him look Asgardian is just not working anymore. Understandably, he freaks out. Im talking hides in his room, crying, anger, hate, on himself and others... The whole lot, he just throws a major fit.The others know him and kind of understand and are patient... But it’s not getting fixed. Days pass, and he's stuck like this. After a while Tony snaps him out of It, and he slowly calms down and starts learning to accept this side of himself. It’s specially strange to him how he can just walk in a room and no one treats him different. How the others are even fascinated by this form. I expect Thor being shocked and curious and snapped at and reminded how he (and his people on general) have been unfair to Loki... And of course, there's the romance with Tony, Who loves him in all his forms (and they fit together 'cause he's kinky and Loki a shapeshifter)Also imagine Loki being terrified of touching Tony and then finding out he's cold to the touch but not actually dangerous (my headcanon: he's the son of Hella. Half giant and half Asgardian, and the actual heir... But that's for another fic)

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638433872244326400/

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Requester: @kimmycup​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): Loki in Tony's MIT sweatshirt.

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638403067804598272/

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Requester: @worstloki​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): Tony and Loki both having panic attacks at the same time. just make it wild. whatever the reasons are, maybe it's the same reason? maybe they have shared triggers? maybe it's separate reasons? maybe the other avengers are around and don't realize the incoming attacks and keep bringing up bad memories? maybe one of them notices the other is freaking out and defends them? maybe drags them away only to also start having a panic attack? whatever. they're both freaking out and just kinda do that. they then bond over it. (this can be crack or angsty I don't mind)

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638402945408499712/

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Requester: @shinindragon​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): The Avengers + Loki fight a villain. Loki uses a lot of his magic, eventually almost draining his energy completely when he protects Tony from getting hurt. When the battle is over, they return to the tower, all of them exhausted. Tony notices Loki doesn't look well, he asks if he's okay. Loki barely gets a word out before he collapses into Tony's arms, unconscious. Thor carries Loki to Tony's and his bedroom, explaining to Tony that he'll be alright, it's just exhaustion from an excessive use of magic. Tony stays with Loki, taking care of him. Fluff and with a sprinkle of angst. 

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638402848705675264

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Requester: @blancoluna​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): Basically Friga wonders where she went wrong, asks the Oracle and goes on a guilt trip realizing she messed up to Valhalla and back. The idea is, being a queen-godess of family, she should be able to do something about it, maybe traveling in time or something... And Loki's gonna need powerful allies and Friends, like the Avengers, for example Now the same, but with detail. This is the way I imagined It. Perhaps it’s too much drama? I just don't know how to tackle It or how to go from here:After everything that happened, Frigga wonders where she went wrong, not just with Loki, but with Thor who didn't appreciate his brother, Odín, who treated him unfairly and even the servants, Who didn't respect him.She wonders if she could have done anything, and the guilt wont let her sleep until she goes to the well of wisdom, the Oracle, to seek answers.She is warned the truth may be even more painful. She may not like the answer... But she goes in.It is way worse than she thought: in one second she is reminded of all the times she should have acted, and chose not to, and she sees how It affected her family.She could and should have done something, and she had plenty of time, but at every chance she chose not to. And its perhaps worse than what Odin did because she knew It was wrong but chose to do nothing about It.But even more: It is confirmed to her that not only Odín never gave Loki a chance: he didn't find him. He stole him from the temple where he was guarded. He is not just the son of Louffey, but also of Hella, and thus, the actual heir to the throne of Asgard.She was supposed to be the godess of family, and here she was, consumed by guilt and shame, by having followed blindly a King Who abused her children and betrayed his own heir, aside from many other crimes.But Frigga can't just spend the test of eternity crying. She must do something. She was raised by witches!!Will she manage to get her hands on the time Stone? Or Will she just travel to another dimension to warn a younger version of herself? Will this be the beginning of a new multiverse? The possibilities are endless, when the godess of family must avenge her child...But first: for him to have a better Life he would need support, allies... Friends. (Enter the Avengers)

Add-on: Frigga having this vision was just meant to be a one shot that would connect many different alternative stories, all with the 'what if Frigga did something for Loki' as a common base. All of them would be Frostiron 'cause I honestly believe they are just meant for one another! It is just so open to so many possibilities... That I never got to writing any of them.

One of the first ideas I had following this concept was of Frigga introducing Tony and Loki early on somehow: as kids they would be like 'imaginary friends' then Tony manages to contact him and they are webcam buds... As young adults, they would help each other go a different path than they did in other lives.... and when Loki needed help, he had allies to back him. (The Avengers, whom Tony may have introduced to him earlier)

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638402661807521793

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Requester: @brianadoesart​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): A.... Among Us au.......  Impostor Loki protecting his crewmate friend Tony from the other impostors.... I..... Tony and Loki as Among Us beans...

❆ Fill: By @snarkyship​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638403011653353472/

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Requester: @kimmycup​  Wish (Prompt/Idea): Loki in Tony's MIT sweatshirt.

❆ Fill: By @shinindragon​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638390052569907200

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Requester: @brianadoesart​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): A.... Among Us au.......  Impostor Loki protecting his crewmate friend Tony from the other impostors.... I..... Tony and Loki as Among Us beans...

❆ Fill: By @kimmycup​ Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638390059063803904

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Requester: @brianadoesart​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): MERMAIDS. I like mermaids. Either a fic or art, but I just want more content of mer-Loki or mer-Tony.   I always enjoy versions where Loki is an underwater prince who falls in love with a stupid human inventor by the name of Tony. He's never been 100% happy in the palace with Thor and the others, so he often would go to the shore to watch the humans. He sees Tony working on the beach one day and becomes interested in him from there on. Basically a little mermaid type thing... I am easy to please. I just like mermaids.

❆ Fill: By @lightneverfades (yours truly haha!) Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638511932186525696/

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Requester: @snarkyship​​ Wish (Prompt/Idea): Finally Tony has managed to locate Loki's whereabouts. And it turns out the godling lives in a pretty loft in Manhattan, with all the comforts and the most advanced midgardian technology ((lighting, temperature and everything controlled by a tablet - the Stark latest model!- , appliances linked to the wifi, and has that roomba a knife??)).Tony decides to have a little fun: who said Loki is the only one who can do a little mischief?? So he takes control over Loki's apartment hacking its system; he starts with some flickering lights, the roomba changing suddenly trajectory to stab him, then blasting music in the middle of the night and so on.And Loki would be so frustrated: at the beginning he thinks about some failure in the inferior midgardian technology, then he'll think to be under attack, but he can't feel any magic signature!! Maybe he'll freak out a little, because there is some kind of unknown entity??? ((And while he may be using all the technology without problems, it doesn't mean he fully understands its working)).Tony will have fun, but he also will discover some cute aspects of Loki's personality, like he sings to his plants and he likes to wear fuzzy socks ((ok it sounds voyeuristic, but Tony would respect part Loki's privacy, maybe he'll spy on him only when in the living room or kitchen)).((And maybe he would help Loki as well? Like, the godling had a nightmare after falling asleep on the couch, and Tony would gently woke him up with music))Loki will eventually understand that Stark, the most clever midgardian, was behind all of this, and well, he's the God of Mischief, he can appreciate a well planned trick. Time to return the favor ;)

❆ Fill: By @lightneverfades (yours truly haha!) Link: https://lightneverfades.tumblr.com/post/638390071764074496/

[telesthisia]

HANDY DANDY RP PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET FOR PRINCESS ZELDA (A Link to the Past)!

Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the of juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.

Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, and repost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit. Template here.

mun name: Amber!!  ooc contact: My DMs are always open for mutuals and non-mutuals alike (I think at least, if not don’t be afraid to send in asks either I try my best to get to them ;v;)! I do have a personal blog but weeps.... me no longer active on there. And a twitter but weeps once again, it’s an oc twitter despite my yellings of off topic things. MY DISCORD TOO!! Though my activity is very inconsistent somedays I’ll be on others not so much! Don’t be afraid to ask for that uvu 

who the heck is my muse anyway?

HOHO!!! For those who never touched The Legend of Zelda in their lives, I’m sure it’s pretty dang confusing to see more than one design of both Zelda and Link, I’ll try my best to explain this! The series follows a very, very convoluted timeline filled with plotholes, as such the Links and Zeldas we see throughout different titles of the game are actually reincarnations who are destined to seal away whatever darkness may threaten the lands known as Hyrule.

The Zelda I play as is the princess of Hyrule during a point in the timeline known as “Downfall Era” where the Hero of Time in OOT lost against Ganondorf in the final battle; Ocarina of Time is the reason for why there’s multiple timelines with each having their unique era depending on the choices in that game. The Downfall Era is known for having games known as A Link to The Past, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Time, Link’s Awakening, A Link Between Worlds, Triforce Heroes, The OG Legend of Zelda, Annnnd Adventure of Link! The Zelda I play as comes from A Link to The Past as well as the Oracle series and I guess Link’s Awakening despite having no appearance. The events of A Link to The Past and Oracle Series has deeply affected my Zellie in that she suffers from unspoken traumas as well depression. See, before the events of ALTTP there was a war known as the Imprisoning War, that war ended where the seven sages seal away Ganon. Peace reigned for a while until a series of plagues and droughts struck which affected the kingdom. It wasn’t until the antagonist of the game, a wizard by the name of Agahnim, would put an end to the misfortunate blighting Hyrule with his magic, gaining favor with the king. He was able to worm his way into court and from there act on his plans in breaking the seal to the sacred realm where the triforce and Ganon rest. Doing so, he must capture the seven maidens who are descendants of the seven sages and sacrifice them in order to break the seal and well, guess which princess happens to be one of those seven maidens? Suffice to say, he was successful in breaking the seal with Zelda being the final sacrifice. Here we find out that he’s actual the alter ego of Ganon (don’t question it too hard) and we also find out she’s not dead! Hooray! But she is trapped in a plane known as The Dark World, once the sacred realm corrupted by Ganon’s greed. So as all LOZ stories goes, Link saves the day. Happily ever after, right? Well... no, see unlike in the game where the ending is happy and everyone who died is alive I follow both the 90s comics and Himekawa manga where those who died in the games did not come back to life. This includes Zelda’s father, Link’s uncle and some of the maidens. It’s very bittersweet in that, the day is saved and Ganon is gone forever but at the cost of loved ones no longer coming back. 

Well... Ganon comes back! In the oracle series! Two years after ALTTP, Twinrova tries to resurrect him by using the blood and body of Princess Zelda, meaning she can actually die this time around. But Link saves the day once again. Which leads us today, the main verse of the blog which is a year after Oracles and three years after ALTTP! NOTE: That my smash verse more or less follows this timeline I have in place for this blog. 

things you should know

I sound like a broken record but. She’s a glass canon of sorts. Where she’s very powerful thanks to blood of the seven sages, the light force, and having hylia’s blood in her veins. As such, she’s very powerful and her magic super potent which is why so many people wanna sacrifice for dark rituals... BUT!! She has super power health issues that affects her magical stamina and body as such she can’t even use half her powerful magic and this upsets her greatly. It’s a small headcanon of mine because in the games and manga, she doesn’t really do much despite being a powerful magical princess. Keep in mind that ALTTP came out before the retcon that is Skyward Sword and before they decided to add more to Zelda’s abilities throughout the course of the series... so my brain went to: she’s powerful but can’t use magic too much due to poor health. It worked!! Before smash came along but I swear I’m not at all salty. To be fair, it was my fault for assuming things but imagine: glass canon Zelda. It sounded super cool at the time! 

She represses a lot if only for the sake of her nation and to appear as a good leader for her people. As such, she’s almost always calm and has a gentle smile on her face despite radio static sounds resounding in her thoughts. Give her time, she’ll open up and show you her playful side! 

She’s been surrounded by death considering before ALTTP, during ALTTP and kinda with Oracles if you count Twinrova, as well as having a connection with the spirit realm due to freaky PSI powers. So, she doesn’t really have a negative view on death and has actually gained that edgy romanticist view as the result of her life experiences. She’s very much someone who likes to live life to her fullest as the result... and well, it doesn’t help that she’s aware of her short life span thanks to her future vision. Something she won’t reveal to anyone more than likely as to not worry them. She’s more or less accepted her fate... speaking of which

She hates fate/destiny/etc but accepts whatever happens because again clairvoyance has proven that there’s no changing what’s been planned. So, she doesn’t bother fighting against it. But, what impresses her are those who manage to overcome destiny, something that Link does sometimes which is why she looks up to him. He’s that variable that the future can’t keep track of due to how ever changing he is. 

 She loves exploring creepy places, ruins, caves, and dungeons that are scattered throughout her kingdom, for both history and the spooky aesthetics of it! So if you see her outside the castle she’s more than likely getting ready to explore some spooky place. She’s almost always wearing her cloak but there are rare moments where she’s not either ;v; she’ll always go by the name Elle... worth mention she doesn’t bother hiding the mark of the triforce on her right hand.

Speaking of which, only people from the capital known as Castle Town and even some from Kakariko village as well know of the princess’ appearance. Various small towns throughout the land of Hyrule however, only remember her appearance from ALTTP where her hair was a more golden blonde rather than the platinum color that it’s taken from the various fear and stresses from her life. And also, she’s more freckly due to not wearing coverup when outside the castle. Ok well,,,,, here’s the best side by side comparison I have...

If you ask her what the light arrows are, she’ll look at you funny. She comes from a time where silver arrows are a thing :’) the few things that can defeat Ganon

Closet romantic, as in she loves love and wishes for a romance of her own but when it comes to her own feelings she’s an idiot due to repressing feelings.

what she’s been up to:

main verse: Which is during the events of Skyward Sword, as such she’s no longer in Skyloft nor does she have the full knowledge that she’s Hylia but Zelda is suspecting that there’s a connection there. She does not know how to wield her magic as it comes and goes in spurts. She’s seen throughout the Surface so she can be anywhere! Even in other timelines due to using the Gate of Time, we can just say that something screwed up causing for her to end up in another time period or even verse! LOZ series is pretty flexible in time travel.

where to find her:

Graveyard + Sanctuary: It’s a soothing place to visit and also to pay respects to the fallen in ALTTP. 

One of the three provinces (my rendition of Hyrule is a little bigger than the in game map so don’t be afraid to add places that aren’t in ALTTP but in other titles, I know I tend to do): aka anywhere in the fields, she’s a woman plagued with wanderlust and doesn’t like being confined to one place

Kakariko: the villagers who know her true identity are hella nice to pretend that it’s not the princess but Elle! Guards tend to be here after a certain time though, so to avoid them she always avoids going to the village when it’s nearly sundown

Ruins, catacombs, abandon shrines etc: again she likes creepy or historical places or both! 

Haunted Grove: Well... it’s haunted! So :’)

Castle: it’s possible to meet her here too! Whether as princess or someone sneaking either out of the castle or back into it. 

current plans:

Lead her kingdom to the Golden Age, something her father tried to do before his demise. While wishing to see Link once more. 

desired interactions:

I would love the usual adventure threads!!! 

FRIENDSHIP!! She needs friends, pls!! 

ENEMIES!! It’d be fun to write a more angry Zel who doesn’t get along with someone! 

ROMANCE!! I’m a sucker for cuteness ;v; and slow burn ;v; 

HORROR AU!! HORROR AU!!! 

Creepy gothic threads of Zelda running into a creepy cryptid in a gothic castle on a stormy night.... this is very specific but listen, cries... 

Comfort thread ;v; 

things that bother me:

People who know she’s the princess right off the bat ticks me off ngl. A-ok if you muse is unaware of her otherwise! 

PEOPLE WHO KNOW THAT SHE’S FROM A BLOODLINE OF A GODDESS AND SAGES DHSJAKJADB no one really knows that the royal family actually did descend from gods, unless your muse is an immortal and is aware of the events that goes on they shouldn’t know this fact. The only thing the public is aware of is how the royal family have mystical powers different from the population. 

uhhhh that’s about it? Mostly metagaming pft, not too much bothers me now that I think about. 

tagged by: i pirated it ;v; from myself! 

tagging: whomst ever! i recommend doing this since it’ll help a ton with those who still are unsure with your muse but feel too nervous to ask questions.

[mintgator]

MDZS fic ideas

Things I’d love to see in Mo Doa Zu Shi fanfiction. These are my notes for things I have told myself I am not allowed to write. I’ve read...so many fics for this fandom, like most of the archive, and I’m sad that I’m pretty much at the point of rereading/waiting for updates. These ideas have been swimming around in my head that I have no time to write, so PLEASE someone take them and gimme some new words to read, I beg you.  Of course, end goal should be wangxian in some way, because otherwise WHAT IS THE POINT, but I don’t have time to write these, so...here you go. Please let me know if you use them. I wanna read these, but I don’t have time to write them, so maybe someone else will want to.

*Time Travel AU in which WWX goes back and for some reason tells Madame Yu all the bullshit that’s gonna happen, so they team up and fix all the things. I just...really want Mama Yu to like WWX thanks. And dear god, LET JC BE HAPPY! I need so much more resolution on that front. Even the book did not satisfy me. I WANT MY BOYS TO GET ALONG! And I want Mama Yu to not be awful and abusive to WWX! I mean she had reasons for being salty but uh that is NOT good justification for the shit she pulled with WWX. Also, hell, let Jiang Fengmian get his core melted and have Madame Yu run the sect. WE NEED FEMALE REP.

*Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze live so WWX gets to grow up with his parents. He meets LWJ as a rogue cultivator or something idk. This would make a fun oneshot.

*LWJ’s mother lives! Honestly, I just want happy Lan-fam. Can I get that please? Just how much would it change the dynamic of the story if LWJ’s father led the sect properly and his mother wasn’t locked away in a goddamn building and actually got to spend more time with her kids? I am forever salty that we’ll never know why Mama Lan killed her hubby’s teacher or w/e. Somebody GIVE ME SOME REASONING.

*WWX gets taken in and claimed as heir by Wen Ruohan...and WWX doesn’t learn that their ways are wrong until he’s at least a teen (perhaps when sent to train at the Cloud Recesses?) and realizes how the other Sects really feel about them. Give him some convoluted morals that he has to unlearn. Make Wen Xu and Wen Chao hate him for being chosen over them. Change Wei Wuxian/Wei Ying into Wen Ying/Wen Wuxian and have it be a secret that he’s not actually a Wen. Have WWX actually not want the Wen Sect destroyed because despite how messed up its people are, not all of them are bad--mostly just those in power (it still baffles me that the other clans just DESTROYED an entire sect, like I know the Wens burned Lotus Pier but DAMN that’s cold!) Even some kind of variation where WWX influences Wen Ruohan and his children’s evil mindset would be really interesting. Otherwise, can you imagine WWX with Chenqing on the Wen side? Ouch. Also, this sticks WWX with Wen Ning and Wen Qing early on and I LOVE THEM, so there’s that.

*WWX doesn’t come back after his first death, and LWJ achieves immortality because he’s stubbornly still looking/waiting for WWX. Two centuries pass (we’re going to ignore any technological advancements and replace them with cultivation advancements or something) and LWJ ends up befriending a nice lady cultivator who falls for him, and even though he only considers her a friend, he agrees to marry her. They have 1 very stubborn gay daughter (only from consummation sex which brings up a boatload of other problems) who somehow stumbles across a reborn!WWX with all his memories--daughter is hella bitter that her father clearly does not return her mother’s affections and that he is apparently pining for someone who is so long dead that people don’t actually remember his name (ie - people remember Yiling Laozu but not that his name was Wei Wuxian). But without knowing who he is, the daughter ends up liking WWX until she finds out the truth about who he is and drama ensues. Can you tell I’ve wanted to write this one so badly? I mean I could just about draft an outline, but I HAVE TO FOCUS ON MY ORIGINAL NOVEL I’M SORRY.

*Time Travel AU in which Yanli alone gets a do-over with all the future knowledge and fixes everything just by being her amazing self. I feel like she’d be a really keen manipulator.

*The story from NHS’s pov. I wanna read all his manipulations and him putting them into place. Is there anything like this out there? Because oh my GOD I wanna know what’s going through his head sometimes. I really, really do!

*Jiang Cheng/Wen Ning - AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THIS WOULD BE AN ENTERTAINING SHIP? Just...I sort of tolerate the JC/LXC and JC/NHS pairings because they’re commonly used, but honestly, I’m not crazy about either one. However, WN is such a sweetheart and JC is such a hothead and there is so much opportunity for drama there. Also, in some cases depending on timeline...WN is, yunno, a corpse--a fixable thing if you weave in WWX’s involvement and make him and JC get along again. GIVE ME THAT. Like I don’t read much other than wangxian focused fic, but I would read the hell out of this (also you could easily balance those two pairings).

*Somewhere in the waiting gap, LWJ is given three tasks by a deity of some sort who promises to bring WWX back if he completes him...but these tasks have to UTTERLY go against LWJ’s character and completely destroy his reputation as Hanguang Jun. Honestly, this could go cracky or painfully dark.

*No idea how, but Mo Xuanyu manages to bring WWX back fully in-tact and they both get to live. WWX of course takes MXY under his wing, and together they avoid the notice of even LWJ for a lot longer than WWX did in canon. I would love to see them figuring out the whole JGY plot in the background and LWJ tailing them around just a little too late to the party each time a major event goes down until finding out in some kind of dramatic finale that WWX has been back for a while. I have yet to see characterization for MXY that I really like. Most people make him either ridiculously whiny or so much like WWX that they may as well be the same character. :/ So, uh, maybe a different approach? I mean MXY is allowed some complaints, he’s had a rough time of things, but come ON.

*Lan Wanji never finds Wen Yuan and poor widdle Shizui manages to survive into adolescence living on his own in the burial mounds...accompanied by the fragmented ghost of his Xian-gege who very slowly is pieced back together by A-Yuan, who has sort of naturally started using demonic cultivation and somehow develops a heroic reputation as a rogue cultivator. Why? Because he’s Shizui, and Shizui is SO PURE OK? Maybe he has a fascination with LWJ, even though his memories of Rich Gege are kind of fuzzy. Shizui matchmakes his two ridiculous dads. Oh and inquiry doesn’t work on WWX cuz his soul is shrouded by the resentful energy in the burial mounds.

*The Wen clan burns the Cloud Recesses to the ground around the same time WWX has lost his parents, but LWJ somehow escapes. Reportedly, everyone in GusuLan is now dead, but he somehow ends up in the same town as WWX. They meet and bond immediately. Maybe LWJ saves WWX from the dogs. Anyway, JFM never finds WWX, so he and LWJ grow up together in poverty, eventually teaching themselves cultivation and night hunting, until their fame grows so much that they catch the attention of the Wen clan (or something). Have them ridiculously dedicated to each other, already in love and thinking of themselves as cultivation partners. I want their bond to straight-up shock people. LET THEM BE SHAMELESS. LWJ would have to have a fake name and wear something other than white.

*LWJ and WWX figure out their relationship stuff a lot sooner and end up building a proper sect in the burial mounds. I want LWJ wearing WWX’s colors. I want demonic cultivation to work hand-in-hand with regular cultivation. I want them to find artifacts or books or something in the burial mounds indicating a civilization used to be there that also studied demonic cultivation, or maybe they actually find some long forgotten god/dess of demonic cultivation who empowers them in exchange for worship.

*LWJ was not whipped for protecting WWX, he was imprisoned for life, not in GusuLan, but in some godforsaken prison that is so intense no one in the clans really likes to talk about it. I want him flung into some hellprison with ghosts and demons, where only his cultivation keeps him alive (and relatively sane) for that decade-ish gap until WWX’s fragmented ghost somehow finds him. Of course, WWX realizes LWJ loves him, which triggers in WWX a want to finally come back to life. He finds a way back to the living world and rains hell upon the people who decided it was a good idea to imprison LWJ until someone finally tells him how to get to the prison. He frees LWJ and helps him recover while all the JGY stuff is going on the background. Wangxian returns to the cultivation world in time to stop that catastrophe. (Before LWJ is imprisoned, he makes LXC promise to take care of A-Yuan of course!)

*WWX gets flung into the burial mounds and embraces demonic cultivation, but realizes he has somehow bound himself to the awful place and can’t leave. Over time, he lures stragglers and refugees to the mounds, where he welcomes them to stay and live safely. Outside, the Sunshot Campaign is a failure and what remains of the sects bow in subservience to the Wen clan. Inflicted with some permanent disabilities from the war and left to run GusuLan now that his brother and uncle are dead (sorry Xichen), Lan Wanji never gets the chance to go looking for WWX. Thirteen years pass and WWX has absorbed so much resentful energy from the burial mounds that he is practically a part of it. Finally, he is able to leave, but the world he finds is much different from the one he remembers, and his health fades fast when he is outside of the mounds. Somehow, WWX figures out that demonic cultivation doesn’t damage the body/soul/temperament if somehow counterbalanced properly with a golden core--and since he doesn’t have one, he and LWJ do a soulbond thing so that their cores (WWX: demonic and LWJ: golden) balance each other. Then he can take on the Wens.

I could literally whip out ideas nonstop, but these are the big ones that have been just...beating on the walls of skull trying to get out. Of course, they don’t always account for everything, so more thought is needed. Anyway, if you write any of these, please let me know so I can read them, and of course a shoutout would be nice. c: My username on ao3 is the same as here. Enjoy~!

[theyearoftheking]

Book Twenty-Seven: The Tommyknockers

“Late last night and the night before, Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers. Knocking at the door. I was crazy and Bobbi was sane But that was before the Tommyknockers came...”

Last night at dinner, I was explaining the plot of The Tommyknockers to my family, and told them the book completely jumped the shark when a soda machine killed a guy. 

My husband innocently asked, “What kind of soda?”

Me: “It was a Coke machine.”

Slow blinks all around the table. There’s a deep metaphor for you, wrapped in just a hint of irony. 

Guys, The Tommyknockers was a shit show, and I really hated reading it. It dragged on forever, I wasn’t even sure what was happening until almost the end, and all of the characters just melded together into an unappetizing blob. The last few pages gave me the closure I needed, and I will be happy to never crack the spine of this book ever again. 

The only redeeming, interesting thing about this book, was how many other Steve universe references there were. Ready for the list? Because yeah... I kept track...

The town of Cleaves Mills (The Dead Zone)

Multiple mentions of Derry (It)

Ka: (Dark Tower)

Jack Sawyer* and The Alhambra (The Talisman)

*Jack discussed his mother dying in a drunk driving related car crash. Soo, that’s an interesting update. 

“Sometimes he would lie in the dark and think he heard chuckling noises coming from the drains...” (It)

“...he heard the story of a fellow named John Smith, who had taught in the nearby town of Cleaves Mills for a while. Smith had been in a coma for years, had awakened with some sort of psychic gift. He went nuts a few years ago- had tried to assassinate a fellow named Stillson...” (Dead Zone)

These easter eggs were fun, but not enough to justify reading this book, or picking it up ever again. 

The Tommyknockers is a weird convoluted story about writer Roberta (Bobbi) Anderson, who lives on her uncle’s secluded farm in Haven, Maine. She and her beagle, Peter, are out for a walk one morning when she finds a rounded metal edge sticking up out of the Earth. 

Beagles... to know them is to love them. This book should come with a trigger warning for animal cruelty. Just throwing that out there.

Meanwhile, Bobbi’s friend and former lover, Jim Gardener is making a drunken ass of himself after a poetry reading, and manages to offend most of his collages, before he’s eventually kicked out of the party.

He wakes up hella hungover outside The Alhambra, and hitchhikes to Bobbi’s place. He finds Bobbi looking thin and unhealthy, Peter the dog is dead, and all her appliances are running on battery power instead of electricity. Oh, and she cranked out an entire novel (maybe the best one she’s ever written) in three weeks. It’s like she’s on battery-operated meth. 

Bobbi tells Gardener about the strange metal thing she found in the woods, and they spend all their time digging it up. Gardener has a metal plate in his head, so is immune to the strange energy this metal thing puts off, but Bobbi keeps getting thinner, her teeth are falling out (meth!!), and her skin is getting translucent. 

The other folks in town are soon drawn to the strange metal disc in the woods, and random shit starts happening in town. The most heartbreaking is when little Hilly Brown conducts a magic show and makes his brother David disappear... and he can’t bring him back. The adults assume he was abducted, but Hilly is hysterical and no one will listen to him. 

But the people in town are very protective of their new metal meth machine, and kill any outsiders who try to come into town and find out more about it. This includes Bobbi’s sister Anne; a formidable woman coming to drag her sister home for their father’s funeral. 

The townspeople finally get the metal meth machine unearthed, and they find out it’s a UFO... with a bunch of dead aliens inside. And the aliens look a lot like the townspeople of Haven: translucent skin, no teeth... od’d on meth. My favorite was when one of the male citizens of Haven smears himself with his wife’s Max Factor make-up in an attempt to look human again. 

I’m slightly unclear about this part, but there’s a shed where they keep dead bodies for energy? Or something? But Peter the dog, and Anne the sister are both strung up there, along with some murder vacuums. I don’t know. 

Eventually, Gardener starts Bobbi’s whole property on fire, and flies the saucer out of Haven. I think. And most of the meth-ed out townspeople end up killing themselves. The end was a little loose. I won’t spoil the last two pages, because that was really the best part of the whole damn book. 

It was a mess. I don’t recommend it. If I wasn’t participating in this challenge, I would have just chucked the book, and moved onto something else. But here we are!! You’re welcome, constant readers! 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 16

Total Dark Tower References: 22

Book Grade: D-

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

The Tommyknockers: D-

Next up is a lovely palate cleanser of a book: Nightmares in the Sky. I flipped through it while on a boring compliance call yesterday, and it was the perfect brain break. If I had a coffee table, I’d put this beautiful book on it. Stay tuned for that review in about an hour...

Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights,

Rebecca