#i drew the fire with no reference this is great

[ickmick]

oh my god its the guy

BREAKING: Sculk cub returns, all thrilled

[burst-of-iridescent]

South Asian and Hindu Influences in ATLA (Part 1)

disclaimer: i was raised culturally and religiously hindu, and though i've tried to do my research for this post and pair it with my own cultural knowledge, i'm not an expert on hinduism by any means. should i mess up, please let me know.

please also be aware that many of the concepts discussed in this post overlap heavily with religions such as buddhism and jainism, which might have different interpretations and representations. as i'm not from those religions or cultures, i don't want to speak on them, but if anyone with that knowledge wishes to add on, please feel free.

it's well-known that atla draws from indigenous, east and southeast asian influences, but something i rarely see discussed in the fandom is the influences the show takes from hinduism and south asia, and there are actually far more than i think people are aware of.

so here's a (non-exhaustive list) of the main inspirations atla drew from south asian culture and hinduism, starting with...

The Avatar

the title of the show itself is taken from the ancient language of sanskrit, often considered the sacred tongue of the hindu religion. in sanskrit, the word "avatar" means to "descend" or "alight".

the concept of the avatar is a very old one, referring to the physical incarnation of a powerful deity or spirit. the idea of the avatar is most often linked to the god Vishnu, one of three supreme hindu gods collectively called the trimurti, or trinity. the avatar is said to manifest upon earth primarily in times of great need, when balance must be maintained between the forces of good and evil.

atla borrows heavily from this idea in having aang be the incarnation of a divine spirit who returns to the world during a time of immense strife, and is tasked with defeating a great evil to bring balance back to the world. and though i don't know if it was an intentional reference, it's interesting to note that Krishna, the most famous incarnation of Vishnu was also reborn amidst a fierce storm and carried through a raging sea to a new home where he would be protected from the king who sought to kill him. sounds a little familiar, doesn't it?

Agni Kai and the Philosophy of Firebending

the word "agni" derives from the sanskrit name Agni, the god of fire, though it can also generally mean "fire".

the concepts of lightning bending and the sun being the source of firebending are likely also taken from the idea of Agni, since he's said to exist simultaneously in three different forms on three different dimensions: as fire on earth, as lightning in the atmosphere, and as the sun in the sky.

Agni is a significant aspect of many rituals, including marriage rites, death rites, and the festivals of holi and diwali. the concept of Agni is one of duality: life and death, rebirth and destruction. hindu rituals accept and celebrate both aspects, revolving around the idea that destruction is not separate from creation, but rather necessary to facilitate it. the cremation of the dead, for instance, is seen as purification, not destruction: burning away the physical form so the soul is unencumbered, set free to continue the reincarnation cycle.

this influence can be seen in the firebending masters episode, which discusses the idea of fire being vital to life. the sun warriors safeguarding the original fire and demanding that zuko and aang bring fire to the dragons as a sacrifice could also reference the ritual of Agnihotra - the ritual of keeping a fire at the home hearth and making offerings to it. the purpose of this ritual differs depending on which text you refer to, but it is generally believed to purify the person and atmosphere in which it is performed, similar to how zuko and aang must make offerings to ran and shaw and survive their fire before being deemed worthy and pure.

Agnihotra is said to serve as a symbolic reminder of the vitality and importance of fire as the driving force of life, a lesson that zuko and aang also internalize from their encounter with the dragons.

Bumi

bumi's name is taken from the sanskrit word "bhumi", which means "earth". it's also the name of the hindu goddess of the earth, bumi or bhudevi.

one of the things the original animation didn't do and which i really enjoyed about the live action was that they made bumi indian and added desi inspiration to omashu. it makes perfect sense for a king whose name is as hindu-inspired as they come.

NWT Royal Palace

chief arnook's palace in the northern water tribe takes inspiration from the gopurams of hindu temples, massive pyramidal structures that served as entrance towers to the temple.

gopurams were built tall enough to be seen for miles around, beacons to signal tired or weary travellers who wished for a place to rest that a temple was nearby. it's a nice touch that the chief's palace is located in front of the spirit oasis, a similarly symbolic entryway to a sanctuary housing otherworldly deities.

Betrothal Necklaces

to preface: i doubt this was an intentional reference, and this great post talks about other cultures that could have inspired the water tribe betrothal necklaces. given the desi influence in the nwt architecture however, i figured it was worth mentioning.

the idea of betrothal necklaces being given to women by their male partners is similar to the thaali, a necklace given to hindu wives by their husbands. during hindu weddings, grooms tie the thaali around their brides' necks to symbolize their marriage. once given, wives are expected to wear their thaali till the day they die, as doing so is believed to bring good luck, health and prosperity to their husbands.

Chi-Blocking

though chi-blocking takes primary inspiration from the art of Dim Mak, it is also influenced by the south indian martial arts forms of adimurai and kalaripayattu, both of which include techniques of striking vital points in the body to disable or kill an opponent.

kalaripayattu also shares parallels with firebending, being a very physically demanding, aggressive martial art that emphasises the importance of discipline and mental fortitude. control of the mind is essential to control of the body, a philosophy similar to that espoused by iroh across the show.

Wan Shi Tong's Library

the library draws inspiration partly from the taj mahal, the famous mausoleum constructed by shah jahan during the mughal empire as a monument to his beloved wife, mumtaz mahal.

i'll end this post here since it's getting too long as it is, and the following section will be even longer. for while atla treated the concepts in this post with respect, the same unfortunately cannot be said for its depiction of guru pathik and combustion man - both of which we'll be discussing next.

[luvendiary]

3 times hiccup asked you to marry him + the time you realized he meant it

hello! this was an early draft for this request: Hello!!! Imagine hiccup telling reader "I'm in love with you" / "Marry me" out of blue after a stare down (can be established relationship or not muahahaha) I like how this turned out, except for the ending. it's sort of shitty in my opinion. also, this isn't proofread. and sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language. feel free to point them out. also, there’s a slight corpse bride reference with the vows!! as always, thank you for reading. let me know what you think and if you'd like more of this. requests are always open!

1.

Snoggletog was one of your favorite festivities. The beautiful coat of snow that hugged the soil, and the way the sunlight softly reflected on it was perfect to you. You loved to see how vikings busied themselves by hanging up ornaments and mistletoe on the doors. You loved hearing the out-of-tune carols that echoed across Berk. And you loved the late cold nights as you and the dragon riders sat around a warm fire and talked about the day’s happenings.

One thing you did not love though, was the Snoggletog play, specially because it had been assigned to you all this year. It was the dragon riders’ responsibility to plan, organize and act it out the day of Snoggletog.

“What about the start of dragon races?” Snoutlout suggested.

“They did that two years ago,” Astrid replied as she sharpened her axe.

“We could do Loki-”

“We’re not doing Loki day Tuffnut,” Hiccup interrupted him.

A moment of silence passed amongst all of you.

“What if, we make a reenactment of Odin and Freya’s marriage? How they stopped the Aesir and Vanir war,” you said while nibbling on your thumb.

“That could work,” Fishlegs said.

“I like it, we could even get the dragons in on this,” Astrid suggested.

“Of course, brilliant idea (Y/N),” Snotlout said as he stood up with a cocky attitude. “Specially because I would make the perfect Odin.” He flexed his muscles and stroke a victorious pose.

You chuckled and pushed him away, “Sit down Snotlout. I was actually thinking that Astrid and Fishlegs could be Freya and Odin.”

“Oh no,” Astrid said immediately. “I’m not good at performing. Plus, you gave the idea, you should be Freya.”

“Alright,” you said. “If no one else is up for it, I’ll be Freya. Fishlegs, are you ok with being Odin?”

“Ye-” his reply was interrupted by Astrid elbowing him. “I mean, I wish I could but…I-I don’t like performing.”

“What but you love perfor-?”

“Hiccup! Why aren’t you Odin?!” Astrid chimed in as she placed her arm around your shoulder while the other went around the brunette-boy’s shoulders.

“Uh…I-I guess,” Hiccup said.

Astrid grinned while looking at you, “Great! It’s settled then!”

“Why would you do that?!” you shrieked as you pressed the palm of your hands to your eyes.

Astrid, who sat next to you overlooking Berk from a nearby cliff, shrugged, “Oh I don’t know. Maybe because I’m tired of you two beating around the bush. Why don’t you kiss already? It’s obvious you want to.”

“Shut up Astrid,” you said while sitting up. You rubbed your hands together to provide some heat to your body. “I’m not even sure if he likes me.”

“You’re as blind as Gothi is mute,” she replied.

“How can you be so sure? Has he said anything about me?”

“You’re hopeless Y/N.”

The days went by, and Snoggletog drew closer and closer. Right after training, you went to rehearsals, and while most of it went by in fits of laughter and jokes, you all managed to build a production. You often tended to practice with Hiccup, since you had the most line together, and it gave you an excuse to spend more time with him. During this period, you had managed to gain some small victories in the love department, holding his hand, dancing with him, and hearing him laugh while you acted out some of your scenes being some. However, there was something you both had been avoiding: the marriage kiss. It made your heart flutter and your stomach swarm with butterflies every time you though about the possibility of kissing him; on the other hand, it also felt like Gronkle iron swishing around your intestines. What if he didn’t want to kiss you? What if he just did it out of pity?

Your mind was plagued with questions up until the big day.

“Good luck,” Astrid said while she gave you a knowing look. She was looking forward to the kiss, and if what she had told you was true, all of the dragon riders were too.

The play started out good, Snotlout and Tuffnut played the Aesir family, while Ruffnut and Fishlegs played the Vanir.

The scene changed and the Aesir were complaining with Hiccup about how Freya’s magic and her help towards the Vanir was the reason for their shortcomings.

I was then your time to appear. After several attempts from the Aesir to try to kill Freya, you and Odin came to an agreement: you were to marry each other.

“Marry me,” said Hiccup. And as you looked into his eyes your breath hitched. He had a smile plastered on his face, and his eyes gleamed.

“I will marry you,” you replied as you offered him your hand and he put the ring on your nuptial finger.

The scene was supposed to end there, you were about to take a step backwards so that the actual marriage scene could take place, however you felt a hand wrap around your wrist, and before you knew it you were being kissed. You were being kissed by Hiccup Haddock.

Your shock was palpable, however you dissolved into the kiss once the initial incredulity had passed. Once Hiccup felt the kiss was reciprocal, he wrapped his arms around your waist and drew you closer.

2 .

Dragon racing was a hefty sport. Ever since it was created, it became a fan favorite amongst Berkians. Once every full moon, a match was held that was sure to be the talk of the town for at least a week. On summer and winter solstice, you held the dragon riding tournament, that usually lasted for about a week; except for that one time when the black sheep had wondered deep into the woods, and you weren’t able to find it for two days.

Point of the matter is, dragon racing was a serious issue for vikings. And that’s why victories where celebrated so grandly. You never particularly cared for the celebrations, however wining was important to you; your usually carefree nature was irrecognizable when it came to the sport as you became a furiously competitive rider. This change, spared no one. Not even your boyfriend.

“Incoming!” you called out before snatching the black sheep from Hiccup’s arms, as you held on with your legs to (Y/D)’s saddle while she flew in an upside down position.

“Hey!” he shouted in response with a light chuckle.

“I wish I could say I’m sorry, but I’m not!” you replied with a shit-eating grin directed his way. With the black sheep secure in your arms, you flew away, not a hint of remorse visible on your face.

You returned to your upright position and quickly flew up to your basket and threw in the black sheep. As soon as you do so, you hear the crowds cheers and applause mixed with the blow of the horn, signaling that the match has ended.

Astrid joined you on the platform, followed by Ruff, as they cheered you on and celebrated your team victory.

Hiccup watched you, still mounted on Toothless with a lovesick smile present in his features, “I’m going to marry her,” he said as he took in your beautiful smile.

“I don’t think you’re her type,” said a voice next to him. Tuffnutt flew next to him with a pissed expression -probably because of their defeat- “but go for it. I’m sure my sister would be flattered.”

3 .

“Do you think there are other people out there?” you asked as you stared blankly at the stars. “I mean, besides us dragon riders and dragon hunters. Do you think that maybe there’s another civilization that has been familiar with dragons long before us?”

You heard Hiccup chuckle, “Possibly, maybe they even know of species we have yet to discover.”

“I wonder if they maybe think the same of us. Maybe we’re some strange advanced civilization to them”, you said with a light giggle as your thoughts went wild with the idea of the unknown. “Or maybe, we’re cavemen in comparison to their civilization. Maybe…they know about our existence, and they have just decided to leave us alone because we’re not worth their time.”

“That’s a bit depressing isn’t it?” Hiccup asked, humored by your rambling.

“I don’t think so. I think it’s exciting…” you said slightly breathless as you stared at the vast abyss of twinkling lights that spread above you and beyond. “Just imagine everything we’ve yet to discover.”

You faintly heard the huffs and growls of your dragons, who were entertained by Hiccup’s prosthetic leg as they fought each other for it.

Hiccup allowed himself to steal a glance at you for a fraction of a second. He thought that the view in front of you was beautiful, but to him, the real wonder was sitting right next to him. You looked breathtaking with the starry abyss reflected in your eyes. Yet, you were so unaware of it.

“Marry me.”

He didn’t mean to actually say it. But he just couldn’t control himself when he was with you.

Your trance was broken and you stared at him wide eyed, in disbelief at what he had just said. However as soon as you saw his expression mirroring yours, you burst out laughing. You couldn’t say truthfully that you had never though about marriage, especially with Hiccup.

Hiccup’s startled expression morphed into confusion.”W-What? Why are you laughing?”

“Are you sure you want to marry me?” you asked in between giggles. “You don’t seem very sure.”

“What? Y-Yes! Of course I’m sure! Why wouldn’t I want to marry you?” his eyebrows furrowed in the way you loved. The way that told you you had successfully managed to get in his head. He had turned his body so that it was now mirroring yours, and his shoulders were raising up and down as they usually did when he was trying to explain something or defend a point.

“Fine then. I’ll marry you.”

His rambling stopped immediately. “What? Y-You will?”

You shrugged your shoulders nonchalantly. “Sure. Why not?”

You stood up then as you walked around the small island you had stumbled upon earlier that day. Leaving a very flustered and confused Hiccup behind.

“Wait! Where are you going?” he called after you as he struggled to get up. He rambled on as he chased you, asking about arrangements and other things.

“Aha!” you said victoriously as you crouched down over a patch of grass with some wildflowers sprouting out.

Hiccup peered over your shoulder, trying to see what you were doing.

Eventually you stood up and extended your hand towards him. He stared at you blankly for a moment, and muttered to himself, tryin to understand your actions. Still, an amused smile was present on his face.

“Well?” you said after a bit. “Give me your hand.”

He did as you instructed, and then you took out your other hand from behind, which gently held a blade of grass along with some small wildflowers intertwined with each other, forming a ring.

“I know it’s not the best craftsmanship, but I figured we couldn’t get married without rings,” you explained with a soft giggle.

Hiccup grinned down at you, and laughed incredulously. He wondered how he ever got you to agree to be his. “I’m afraid to tell you dearest, but I don’t have a ring for you.”

You sighed mockingly and rolled your eyes. “I know that. I assumed you would be too in your head about your future duty as chief and the dragons to think about me.”

“Hey!” he protested immediately. “I’m always thinking about you-”

“But worry not!” you said as you giggled playfully. “Since I know you well enough to be married, I know you well enough to be prepared for our wedding.” You reached into one of your pockets and puled out and identical ring, which he gently grabbed.

He stared down at you, with a skeptical expression.

“Well, go on with it. Do you want to marry me or not?” you asked as you tilted your head slightly to the side.

Hiccup sighed and then locked his eyes with yours. “I, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, the Third, make this oath. With this hand I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine."

Once the traditional vows were finished he gently took your hand and slid the delicate ring onto your nuptial finger.

You watched with a smile as he carefully placed it, and once he was done, you repeated the vows and slid his ring onto his own finger.

With your ceremony done, your lips met in a gentle and warm dance. You felt as his hands slid down your back and rested on your hips, holding your body closer to his.

“This is the second time we’ve been married now,” he whispered as he broke apart form the kiss,

“How scandalous,” you whispered back with a soft laugh, as you remembered the Snoggletog performance and how it ended up with your first kiss.

“Maybe the next time we get to do it, you’ll actually be wearing white.”

You stared up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Is that so? Does that mean you’d like to bed me next time?” you teased.

“I’d love to bed you now,” he said with a slight chuckle. “But I’m aware you’d rather follow the traditional path.”

You laughed and patted his chest. “Well, you’ll better get me that white dress quickly then.”

4.

Hiccup had been acting weird all day. Evading you and whenever you managed to track him down he responded any question you had in a dismissive manner. You had figured you should let him alone for a while, at least until he was ready to talk about whatever was bothering him.

He did tend to get too into his own head whenever he was worried, and it took you telling him about it for him to realize he could share his burden with you. But this time it was different.

When you had asked what was bothering him he dismissed you as soon as he could and continued what he was doing.

It had hurt you. It made you think if you had done anything wrong, but you couldn’t think of anything. It was scary thinking about what this could mean for the both of you.

“And you’re sure he hasn’t ever acted like this before?” Astrid asked as she tried to make sense of the situation with you.

You where both sat in the Great Hall, as the rest of the vikings ate their dinner. You however, couldn’t seem to make anything go down past your throat, as worry consumed you.

“Yes Astrid, I am sure,” you replied rather harshly. “I don’t even know where the hell he is right now. For all I know he’s probably off in another girl’s house. Maybe he got tired of waiting for me. Maybe he realized he doesn’t want this sort of commitment…”

You knew that this was irrational thinking. Hiccup had never given you signs that he didn’t want to be with you anymore, on the contrary, he was always very reassuring on how much he liked being with you. Up until now you had never had any reason to doubt your relationship; but up until now, Hiccup had never behaved like this either.

“Don’t say that! That boy is crazy for you. He has been since we where thirteen.”

You sighed and buried your hands in your hair. “Then why is he acting like this?!”

“I think you should ask him yourself,” Astrid said as she placed a comforting hand on her friend’s back.

“I’ve already tried that…” you groaned out. Your voice muffled by your arms, on which you were resting your head.

“Give it one more try. Maybe he’ll snap out of it.”

Reluctantly, you agreed and made your way up to the watch tower. It was Hiccup’s turn to keep watch tonight, so you knew he wouldn’t be able to escape this time.

You felt the heat of the fire before you saw it, and you knew he was there.

“You need to cut the crap Haddock,” you started as you saw the faint outline of his shadow as you were nearing the end of the stairs. “If I did something wrong, just tell me right now because I can’t keep doing this. We’re not teenagers anymo-”

Your throat closed up as soon as you saw him. A gasp escaped your mouth and your hands flew to your face.

In front of you, Hiccup was down on one knee and a small wooden box sat comfortably on the palm of his hand.

“You bastard,” you whispered just to yourself.

He chuckled at that and smiled as he saw your reaction. He then opened the box to reveal a small silver ring in the shape of some intricate patterns.

“My dearest Y/N…” he started, but the lump in his throat wouldn’t let him go any further.

“Oh Hiccup…” you breathed out as you approached him slowly.

“Please marry me,” he said finally.

You crouched in front of him with tears in your eyes and held his face in your hands.

“Of course I will marry you,” you replied as a teary laugh escaped your throat.

To him, it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

He laughed then, as he slid the ring in, and looked up at you. He cupped your cheeks with the palm of his hand and pulled you closer until your lips met. He tasted tears and relief in that kiss.

You eventually separated and you hit his chest lightly.

“Don’t ever do that to me again you bastard!” you said as the tears flowed, and you whipped them off as nervous laughter escaped your lips.

“I swear this is the last time love,” he chuckled as he crouched his head slightly to help you whipe your tears.

“Not that! Don’t ever avoid me like that again Hiccup! I was starting to think that maybe you didn’t want me anymore…”

Hiccup grabbed your chin gently and made you look up at him. “Theres no one else I’d rather want.”

You laughed nervously once again and offered him a teary smile.

“I’m sorry I scarred you love. I just…I was so nervous.”

“It’s ok…” you reassured him. “I understand.”

He smiled down at you and whipped another tear. You didn’t mean to keep doing it, but you had been so worried all day long that it was finally coming out. You didn’t want to ruin your moment like this. It was supposed to be a moment for celebration and happiness. You tried to make it stop.

“You can cry. I will lift your sorrows,” Hiccup said with a soft laugh as he whipped another tear.

You smiled then, tears still flowing out. But you knew it would be alright. He would make you feel alright. He always did.

[thepepsicolafams-blog]

Everyone is talking about the parallels between this new chapter of BSD (Chapter 121) and BSD Beast.

Before in the last few chapters (Chapters 115 - 120.5) were compared to the BSD Novel “STROMBRINGER”— specifically of how both Atsushi and Chuuya had lost close members that they considered friends and family to a power Ability Users that knows way more about them then they know themselves and wants them to themselves for reason yet to be known.

But now in this current chapter though, it parallels to the BEAST universe with Atsushi and fear.

Here we have “Hallucination Dazai(?)” talk to Atsushi about how he never needed to be ‘brave’ or ‘strong’ to get stuff done or fight what he fears.

The chapter talks about fight fire with fire— or in this case fear with fear as “Hallucination Dazai(?)” directs Atsushi’s attention away from how scared he is to fight Ame No Gozen to save Akutagawa because it was way he had lost a great portion of his friends/family—to the now fear losing whatever now remains of his family and friends with Lucy and Kyouka still waiting for him in the ‘Anne Room’.

This fear turns into motivation that makes him keep fighting.

Somewhat similarly, this is also seen in BSD BEAST of how BEAST!Atsushi used his fear of pain, suffering and specifically Death to become the Port Mafia’s White Reaper.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And this is just my thoughts so feel free to just skip this, but I find it interesting that this is not the first time something like this happened. Every time we saw “Hallucination Dazai” previous it said the same if not similar things to Atsushi.

I get that it's in his head, that's what a hallucination is, and he has the same thing with The Orphanage Headmaster, and I know it takes Dazai form to guild Atsushi and that’s it’s a hallucination in his mind so that it shouldn’t mean so much. But after seeing the end of this chapter I'm wondering how this will go out.

Like all I want to see now are some answers to Atsushi “Who you really are” like my guy... what do you mean!!! Is this a hallucination or something else? Is it Atsushi’s Bookmark powers telling him what to do and stuff, is it Atsushi connecting to the Book with how much it reflects to the world of BSD!Beast or is it Atsushi’s tiger powers/Byakko talking to him.

I say this because Atsushi had referred to know what this “hallucination” really is meaning that it’s not what we originally thought it was/that’s it’s not really a hallucination of Dazai but something else entirely.

Or

Is it Atsushi finally understanding what Dazai had been teaching, what he is telling him, this whole time and discoing/realizing who he really is.

Looking into himself in the picture he made of Dazai to help him keep fight to finally understand that he has a right to live, that he doesn't need to be brave to fight-- that he always been able/has been doing this and that he should stop now because some rat drew some pictures and ripped some paper.

Having that anime protagonist moments of self-discovery and finding the will to keep fighting.

Guess we just have to wait and see. Next Chapter is coming next month, and I can't wait for what happens next!

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On another note, it's a very funny coincidence that when I went to the library the only BSD Novels there were that day were BSD! BEAST & BSD! STROMBRINGER-- both of which i took with me and am now reading! What a coincidence!!

[outofangband]

Blood and Darkness: An Updated Post on the Darkening of Valinor and Maedhros’s testimony from Morgoth’s Ring (History of Middle Earth Volume Nine)

Notes: since my original post, I’ve made several others which can be found in my tag “The Darkening of Valinor” and I might link to them and refer to them throughout

Also special thanks to @nelyoslegalteam and @potatoobsessed999 for listening to me ramble about this a lot

So, for background, just as within the original Silmarillion, Fëanor has been exiled to Formenos for many years and today, during the Mingling of the two trees, he has come to Manwë's court where he was meant to speak to Fingolfin and forgiveness to be reached. Of course, we know, something more happened. Morgoth attacked with Ungoliant and the two trees were destroyed. In Morgoth's Ring, we get a vivid description of the atmosphere around the Darkening and it's also one of the most dialogue we get for Maedhros anywhere.

I imagine this is a post I'll continue to edit and revise, it's one of my favorite scenes

But even as (Nienna) mourned there was the sound of feet hastening in the night. Then through the throng came the sons of Fëanor, flying from the North and they bore new tidings of evil. Maedhros  spoke for them. ��Blood and darkness!’ he cried. ‘Finwë the king is slain and the Silmarils are gone!’

I made an entire post about it here but to summarize, these words are so important because they are likely among the first times Maedhros has known anything like darkness or seen blood in this way. He's hunted certainly but this sort of violent death is the stuff of old tales. His cry of blood and darkness, darkness and blood, are not just abstract exclamations of the horrors he has just witnessed, they are also genuine reactions to what was not natural or familiar phenomena to him.

Then Fëanor fell upon his face and lay as one dead until the full tale was told.

‘My lord,’ said Maedhros to Manwë, ‘it was the day of the festival but the king was heavy with grief at the departure of my father, a foreboding was on him. He would not go from the house. We were irked by the idleness and silence of the day and we went riding towards the Green Hills. Our faces were Northward but suddenly we were aware that all was growing dim.’

Maedhros captures the atmosphere so vividly here. Something like a quiet, summer day when there shouldn’t be a thunderstorm but it feels like there will be. Slow and almost crackling and the heavy air starts to feel like dread. I love this description and I’m not doing my response to it justice.

I am just thinking...imagine you have never known true night and all of a sudden the light starts to go away. Indeed, even if you did know night, if the light started to fail at midday?

‘The light was failing. In dread we turned and rode back in haste, seeing great shadows rise up before us. But even as we drew near to Formenos the darkness came upon us; and in the midst was a blackness like a cloud that enveloped the house of Fëanor.’

‘That enveloped the house of Fëanor’. He means this literally of course; he was out riding with his brothers and a cloud of this awful growing dark closes in on them but it's obviously a poignant symbolism as well.

‘We heard the sound of great blows struck. Out of the clouds we saw a sudden flame of fire. And then there was one piercing cry. But when we urged on our horses they reared and cast us to the ground, and they fled away wild. We lay upon our faces without strength; for suddenly the cloud came on and for a while we were blind. But it passed us and moved away north at great speed. Melkor was there, we do not doubt. But not he alone! Some other power  was with him, some huge evil: even as it passed it robbed us of all wit and will.’

The sense of chaos and sheer wrongness is palpable here. I don’t know if this makes sense but the buzzing of the air with tension, the birds and insects and warm weather frogs have gone quiet, like a solar eclipse in a world that does not yet have the sun.  The forced cheerful but wary day of riding turning afoul when this cloud comes and screams are heard, the confusion, them being cast from their horses which have  and unable to move as this dreadful, ancient power draws nearer to them? The Fëanorians were trapped as this horrifying entity passes by them and survive only because they are not directly in the way. 

A sense of dread, static atmosphere, trusted animals acting oddly and then violently, the light going out, helplessness induced as though by an otherworldly power. It's a scene out of a horror tale.

And then what they find when they finally reach home. 

The Silmarillion says that Fëanor would have almost certainly been killed had he been at Formenos when Melkor arrived, indeed it was likely Melkor’s aim. (And Fëanor cursed also the summons of Manwë and the hour in which he came to Taniquetil, thinking in the madness of his rage and grief that had he been at Formenos his strength would have availed more than to be slain also as Melkor had purposed “The Flight of the Noldor”). We can’t say for certain what would have happened in hypotheticals that the author didn’t directly addresses but I have a hard time imagining that Melkor would have showed much mercy had the sons of Fëanor not gone out riding and had instead attempted to aid their grandfather. 

Also the mention of how the cloud that passes robs them of their wit and will. It's intriguing and horrifying. It could almost be read as a natural response to such a traumatic event, hearing your grandfather attacked and slain, his crying out, and knowing you won't get there in time...except for how total and visceral it is.

I've talked a lot about this when it comes to The Wanderings of Húrin and it's always difficult to know how much is intentional but I frequently find it interesting how often these influences of darkness and evil mirror trauma responses, such as Húrin walking 'as one in a dream' and the shadow that takes over him upon waking from nightmares.

‘Darkness and blood! When we could move again we came to the house. There we found the king slain at the door. His head was crushed as with a great mace of iron. We found no others; all had fled and he had stood alone, defiant. That is plain; for his sword lay beside him, twisted and untempered as though by lightning strike. All the house was broken and ravaged. Naught is left. The treasures are empty. The chambers of iron are torn apart. The Silmarils are taken!’

I'm also struck by how incredibly coherent and detached description of finding the murdered body of your grandfather in a place that had not ever seen violent murder. That he had the presence of mind to get his brothers away from Formenos and go directly to where Manwë was is pretty notable! Especially in the dark! I can imagine what that journey must have been like, not knowing who or what is still lurking out there.

And again, I made a full post about Finwë’s perspective on this here but... to think of Finwë’s last stand against this shadow of his childhood who has now haunted him across two continents, who’s evil deeds he has known from the very beginning, who started as a shapeless horror that stole away his kin in the dead of night and became this knowable threat he still couldn’t escape..knowing his grandsons are minutes away in this shadow....

And the detail of Melkor further destroying the whole house! Killing Finwë was likely unnecessary, he could have almost certainly cast him aside, knocked him unconscious, etc. Melkor likely became enraged when another member of that family denied him entry and so he destroyed all he could in his path.

Final note: some of the descriptions in Morgoth’s Ring about the reaction of non Finwëans is also striking so I’ll post about that soon

[momo-minomo]

Fic Fairy Friday: Dick Grayson-centric Recs

My second favorite Robin! Some of my favorite comics are the ones where Tim and Dick team up to be brothers and kick ass. Fandom often assumes he's just the happy, cheerful brother but Dick definitely has a dark side to him and is constantly struggling with his own anger issues. Dick is fiercely protective and possessive of his family. With each new person Bruce or Tim want to bring into the family there's the inevitable period of Dick being very untrusting and unwelcoming until they slowly grow on him and he decides they're his now.

Tim was the sibling he accepted the fastest, since both Dick and Bruce were drowning in their grief and loneliness and Tim was determined to help. Jason and Dick love each other but they're just as likely to punch each other in the nuts as help each other, their mutual anger problems getting in the way of a more affectionate relationship. Cass is someone Dick never really knows what to do with and unfortunately isn't very close to. Damian is something between a brother and a son after the year he spent as Damian's guardian. His relationship with Bruce is always troubled and rocky but like with Jason there's a lot of love there, too.

The Fic Fairy Friday Masterpost

BTW this list isn’t as long as I usually like to make them due to a storm coming through and knocking out our internet and power. I’m struggling to get this posted on our overburdened 5g network but I didn’t want to not post for two weeks in a row. (I’m blaming the AO3 curse)

persephone's in hell by Whiskey

Summary:

He’d been mistaken – never in his life has he experienced pain like this. It’s like staring in a funhouse mirror at the carnival, Dick’s reflection coming back distorted and horrifying and otherworldly as he watches everything he’d worked for be taken from him, again, for the second time. Tony Zucco snapped that first line and then Bruce Wayne kicked off him right off the edge into the abyss. Dick Grayson has just been fired. Dick Grayson wakes up in a world with five Robins.

Momo's Notes: TRIGGER WARNING for Deathstroke being suggestive and threatening towards a teenage Dick. Okay, this one is pretty heavy but I love the look inside 16 year old Dick's head and his relationship with his Titans team. Fair warning though, this fic is not very kind to either Jason or Bruce. Bruce is legit a terrible dad in this (and that's fair considering the canon comics it's drawing from) and since this is set before the New 52 and Rebirth Jason is still mostly viewed as a villain with flashes of something more sympathetic here and there. That part was hard for me to see since I love the Outlaws and seeing a Roy that kinda hates Jason hurt. This fic does a great job of exploring Dick's flaws (his anger issues, his fear of emotional vulnerability, and his need for control) in a realistic and sympathetic way. It's also one of the only explorations I've seen of how Dick's belief system might be shaped by his Roma heritage.

Laundry and Movies by short_bc_of_coffee

Summary:

He'd be okay when the rain stopped. He always would be. He wasn't even outside, he was being irrational. He was okay. Yes. He was. His phone ringing drew him out of his thoughts. He fumbled it out of his pocket and stared at the caller ID. Tim was calling. For what, Dick didn't know. "Hey, Dick," Tim greeted. "I, uh, I need some help." - Tim calls Dick whenever it rains, until he doesn't.

Momo's Notes: TRIGGER WARNING for non-graphic references to Dick being SA'd by Tarantula in Nightwing (vol. 2) #93 and the resulting trauma. Dick never told Tim about what Catalina did to him on that rainy night, but somehow his little brother knows and is determined to distract him on dark rainy nights when the memories get too loud. This is a great example of Tim and Dick's relationship as brothers, how they both support and rely on each other, and a great look at how their falling out during Bruce's "death" would affect Dick.

Blüdhaven Sucks by TimDrakeIsMyPatronus

Summary:

Dick, while on duty, stumbles on to a bad car wreck. Things get complicated when he finds Tim gravely injured in one of the cars. Prompt: pinned down by wreckage

Momo's Notes: TRIGGER WARNING for a major car crash causing life threatening injuries and the first responders attempting to save the victims life afterward. I can't think of a better example of Dick Grayson's personal hell than for him to be forced to watch helplessly as another member of his family is slowly dying in front of him. At least this time he has some hope they can be saved.

A Thousand Ninjas by silverwhittlingknife

Summary:

Dick and Tim, through the years: from Lonely Place of Dying, through Tim's Robin years, and beyond Red Robin. "Watch me on the trapeze, Tim. I'm going to do my act - 'specially for you." (B 441) "Who the hell are you?" (NT 60) "Dick Grayson is my brother. My best friend." (R 181) "You're my equal. My closest ally." (RR 1) "I can't see him. You can't see him. But I know Robin. And Robin's always there when you need him." (TT/O Secret Files) "You're my brother. You'll always be there for me." (RR 12) "And then I think... no... it's for Tim. For him, a thousand ninjas is just the start of what I would do." (N 138)

Momo's Notes: TRIGGER WARNINGS for Dick dealing with the trauma from canonical SA. Goddamn I love this series. It explores some of Tim and Dick's most iconic comics moments from their brotherhood together. I'd wager a lot of fandom has never even heard of some of these moments and that is a CRIME for any Tim or Dick fan. My personal favorite in this series is the one about that time Dick gave Tim a happy Christmas when his dad ditched him for a trip with his new girlfriend despite Christmas Day being the anniversary of his mom's funeral. (God Jack Drake was the WORST) The author does an amazing job delving into Dick's head and how he feels about Tim as his brother and their shared history.

A Darker Shade of Gotham by JackHawksmoor

Summary:

Dick and Tim are stuck in a crappy alternate universe where most of the heroes they know are dead, Bruce Wayne's bad health meant he never became Batman, and Tony Zucco runs Gotham City's underworld. When Dick is shot by the mob, they take a risk and go to Bruce for help. Alternate Bruce didn't have children, but as he gets to know Dick and Tim, he starts wishing he did.

Momo's Notes: Okay, let's check out something with a better Bruce, yeah? This one is technically an unfinished two shot but the chapter we do have feels complete enough to me to qualify as a one-shot. This fic has so much to love. A Bruce Wayne that never became Batman meets his kids from an alternate universe and catches a glimpse of the warm, loving family he never got to have. Bruce and Alfred in this are kinda tragic and trapped in their grief as they meet and are kinda dazzled by the reality of Dick and Tim and the future they could have had. It's bittersweet but kinda hopeful. This fic isn't a direct sequel but was written in response to another one from Tim's pov called Not So Large but Definitely In Charge by dottie_dc. You don't have to read that one first but it definitely gives more context to how the situation developed before Dick woke up.

do more harm by dizarys

Summary:

"Hey," Jason laid a hand on his shoulder, "We’re gonna get him back." "Yes," Dick growled, drawing his escrima sticks and clenching them tightly. "We are." He flipped off the stack of shipping containers with a tight somersault, landing lightly. A split second later Jason landed heavy and solid behind him. The four guards didn't stand a chance. --- Dick's temper isn't usually a problem. But when Robin disappears...crossing the line seems a lot easier.

Momo's Notes: There aren't enough fics delving into Dick's serious anger issues and how it's wrapped up in his trauma. After losing his parents and Jason, Dick in the comics is clearly terrified of losing someone else he loves. Whenever someone badmouths or dares to threaten Tim he absolutely loses it. Tim has had to bodily pull him off of people before. So what happens if the brother Dick usually depends on to keep him from going to far has been taken from them? I love the relationship between Jason and Dick, here. Neither of them is sure of the situation or each other but Dick needs an anchor, Jason wants his family back, and they both want to save their baby brother.

darling boy by deitybird

Summary:

His comm crackles to life. “RR’s suit is in a pile on the floor,” Jason says, voice grim. “But no sign of him. Something bad must’ve happened if he ditched it all.” “I wouldn’t say it’s bad, per se,” Dick replies, gazing down at the kid nestled against his chest. Now that he’s looking properly, he can see hints of his little brother in those small features. “But at least I can confidently say that he’s not dead.” Or: Tim gets de-aged to four. Dick takes care of him.

Momo's Notes: TRIGGER WARNINGS for references to past SA, torture, and kidnapping as well as a few dissociative episodes. Don’t be fooled by those trigger warnings tho, because for the most part this fic is goddamn adorable. It’s not solely in Dick’s pov but his viewpoint, feelings, and relationships are a big part of this. Other chapter povs are Jason, Bruce, and Damian. This fic has a lot of family bonding, good dad Bruce, and Dick’s complicated feelings towards being both a big brother and a parent to his dad’s kids. Bonus points for FTM trans Jason, Dick/Wally, and bisexual Bruce Wayne.

[highladyluck]

Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 4 (kind-of-a) Liveblog

FUCK THAT ORB SPECIFICALLY

I think they nailed it.

This is not precisely a liveblog because I'm writing up my thoughts immediately after, but whatever.

My spouse was like 'how are they going to compensate for us having spent less time with the Aiel than in the books, and knowing them less well?' and I think they did a lot to show the stakes of oaths and swords for the Aiel both right before the pillars and during them. I'd be curious to know how it went for non-book-readers!

Some of the mishmash of influences for the Aiel that RJ drew on was aurally and visually referenced in a way it hasn't been previously; the Wise Ones and the 3 silver rings are very aggressively Dune references, but the new stuff includes visual references to Travellers/Roma, Irish accents, and Jewish kippah-esque headcoverings. (Also, as my Jewish spouse said, 'the moving to the desert and then doing war crimes'.) That's only half the stuff that RJ used to make the Aiel, but we kind of already got the Bedouin & Native American influences, and I know there's probably more I'm forgetting. But it's great to see the references spelled out in a new medium.

I also appreciated that the visions were a little more personally emotionally devastating, and tbh given the very late-series developments re: the pillars, I actually think it's ok that Rand got shown stuff from after the founding of Rhuidean, even though it's not strictly canonical. Seeing the immediate aftermath of his birth served an important story purpose and I like that it caused Rand emotional damange. :) It always bugged me in the books that Rand kinda cheats his way through the glass columns since he doesn't have the same cultural upbringing as the Aiel; the trial doesn't test the same qualities or go as hard for him. He's on easy mode. The vision of his parents + the hobbit-y 3 besties addition evoking Mat and Perrin seems specifically designed to increase the psychic damage, which is juicier to watch and makes it more fair.

It made sense that they used Latra as a stand-in for every named Aes Sedai- I forget if that's canonical or not but it makes sense to condense those roles.

I hate how hot the Aiel version of Rand who gets the Sakarnen is. I don't want to think Rand is hot. But that haircut and uniform is really working for me. (Also I love that he's got a boyfriend/husband and did you see their rings??? They looked kind of like the show's Great Serpent rings!)

I love to see the Sharom explode. :D Fuck that orb specifically. Give it the fire exits they never deigned to build in!

I also love how it's really ambiguous whether Mierin actually intended to let the Dark One wreak havoc or not (as it should be!) I lean towards yes, she exploded everything on purpose to serve the DO/herself, but that's my pre-show opinion. She got her Aiel servant out with some pretty portentous words about being with loved ones, and Lanfear likes to say she's strategic about violence (although Lanfear's idea of being strategic or her idea of appropriate violence might not be, uh, baseline.) The big event being supposed to happen the next day is ambiguous- she could have made sure he wasn't inside and then triggered it, or it could have been an accident, either thing is supported. And even the portentous words about being with loved ones could just be her pining after LTT, and that's where all the weight comes from. So I think you can view it either way, and if you come down on a specific side it's because you have a previous opinion/bias one way or the other. Which I think is the right tack for the show to take!

The tattoo materialization was really cool. Honestly, the visuals were very very cool. The pillars were about what I imagined, and I LOVED the silver rings- they were exactly what I imagined and the suspensions were so visually arresting. I wish we'd seen more of the weird semi-AoL-ness of the city, but I'll settle for the Romanesque statue and Avendesora surrounded by like, fancy parking bollards. We already front-loaded the visual modernity of the AoL so it's less necessary to do it in Rhuidean. (That said, I did enjoy the very modern setting where Latra handed over Sakarnen- it looks like the outer edges of a modernist art museum.)

The show did some really effective 'speaking in unison' moments this episode- both the banishing of the dead and the Hirschhorn parking garage oath sounded great, evoked a religious mood, and were genuinely moving.

I also liked that the Laman backstory was shared between Moiraine and Rand- the books never really tugged too hard on the familial connections between all these characters so I'm happy to see Rand reacting to it. It's also funny that Moiraine is the one to steal a cultural artifact from the Aiel* this time, rather than Rand, and that Moiraine gets to get fireman-carried out of the Waste in lieu of Mat. (*To be fair, it did originally belong to the Aes Sedai, so she's not pulling a full British Museum, but my spouse is right that the Aes Sedai are basically the British Museum.)

Again, I think they nailed it and it was a very compelling episode. I hope it wins an award- I'm going to have to make sure I'm a voting member of Worldcon in time to nominate it for the 2025 TV episode Hugo. (2024 nominations are happening soon, or have just happened, I think.)

[yourwordmagination]

Kinda wish that there were more cooking mini games in the Nancy drew games. The cheeseburger one from TRN is my favorite.

It would be so cool if Nancy had a mystery at a summer camp. Suspects could be other camp counselors, the staff members, and maybe even a camper.

Could be that there is a mysterious monster in the woods that is scaring all the campers. Friday the 13th and sleep away camp references.

Second chances could be Nancy falls off a cliff, rope bridge breaks, she falls into a push of poison ivy, or she sets the entire camp on fire.

HER interactive pls hire me, I have some great ideas to revitalize the franchise.

[elodee3]

HERMIT A DAY MAY - DAY 2

Xisuma x Dethklok

I drew Xisuma in the style of a Dethklok music video!

I picked this one for him because X is a big fan of metal and I am a big fan of Dethklok, a fictional death metal band from the show Metalocalypse. Even though the band is fictional, they produce real metal and their music is great.

Warning: Metalocalypse is hilarious but also very adult, with graphic depictions of violence and inappropriate themes - this extends to a much of Dethklok's music and music videos as well, so please be aware of that if you decide to look them up. Obviously I wont be posting anything like that here.

If you want to learn more about Metalocalypse and Dethklok, or just want to see my style references, keep reading below the cut!

Dethklok is a fictional band created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha. Small both writes and is the main performer for the band. The band, consisting of 5 members that don't actually exist, are stars of the show Metalocalypse.

In the show, Dethklok has become so popular that they control the entire planet. Nearly every episode ends with the band performing one of their original songs, which somehow causes horrific violence to everyone listening. However, since they are idiots, they also seem oblivious to the destruction their awesome, face-melting, eldritch-beast-summoning music causes...or they just don't care because they're ultra wealthy megastars.

The show heavily, but lovingly, satirizes the metal scene and, less lovingly, the music industry and celebrity in general. The over-the-top gore is played for laughs, but the characters are interesting and endearing. There is genuinely a lot of heart under all that growling and corpse paint and a lot of care goes into their (often very funny) music.

If you are interested in checking out their music and want a PG track, I recommend Go Into the Water. This is one of their few non-violent music videos (big epilepsy warning though) and there's no profanity or graphic imagery in the lyrics. The premise of the song is that the band realized that fish can't listen to metal because they're in the ocean, and they thought that was sad, so they set up a concert just for the fish.

Style references:

Set design/aesthetic from Black Fire Upon Us (this song is awesome and was my primary design reference, but the music video is VERY violent, so be warned)

Nathan Explosion's evil DnD paladin fit also from Black Fire Upon Us

Dethklok's band logo

[kai34902]

Addiction to Tranquility

Blurb: When all eyes are on you, you are forced to preform. till your legs bleed, your heart torn apart, and your mind goes numb you must not stop. Until a boy who has no interest in anything but science and space becomes a safe haven for you.

Or alternatively

When two people realize their feelings too late, and now must rebuild civilization while also try to get rid of their feelings for the other. Just one problem: they're addicted to each other

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔《✽✽✽⋆⁎⋆☽♡☾⋆⁎⋆✽✽✽》°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔《✽✽✽⋆⁎⋆☽♡☾⋆⁎⋆✽✽✽》°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔

Parings: Senku x reader

Can be found on

Ao3

Quotev

Chapter 4: Remembrance and Wine

summery: making wine for nital. Plus Taiju's pov

<Previous ☽♡☾ Next>

Word count: 2874

Warning: not proofread, Taiju's pov in the second half

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔《✽✽✽⋆⁎⋆☽♡☾⋆⁎⋆✽✽✽》°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔

Surviving with Taiju has been very interesting to say the least. In a good way obviously. His loudness brings life to Senku and I’s workaholic lives. He also has been a great help for gathering materials and hunting. But there are some mishaps.

“WHY DID YOU HUNT THE BABY BOARS” I yelled at Taiju who had a very scared baby boar in his hand. It was about to spill tears.

“Well you said the animals that get caught in our traps are our food right?” He looked at me innocently.

“Yeah but the babies barely have any meat on them and we need them to sustain the boar population here!”

He put the boar down carefully. When it felt the grass it scurried away from us with a speed that didn’t quite match its body. I told Taiju in depth on how to hunt, and what things we were looking for. But then it came to gathering.

Taiju brought me a large basket filled with plants and herbs that he’d found in the forest. I started listing off the plants and if it's edible or not for future references.

“Amanita virosa: poisonous, Buna shimeji: edible, Amanita muscaria: poisonous.” I looked at the next one, surprised that he’d even think to collect this. “You can't tell this one's bad?” I lifted the mushroom up. “It looks like it came right out of Mario game”

I continued onto the next one. “Mugwort: edible, Monkshood… Are you trying to kill us sweet pea?!” I looked at him deadpan. Taiju might just accidentally kill us before whatever petrified us can. I grabbed the few edible mushrooms he had collected, cut up some adult boar meat, and seasoned them all. Then I punctured the meat and mushrooms with sticks, and then finally got them to cook over a fire.

“Oh, Man! What the heck did you season this with!” He munched real hard on his food like a starved bottomless pit.

“I seasoned it with-” my mind drew a blank. Senku made a bunch of it right before I arrived and made some more when I was away hunting not too long ago. So I didn’t know where it came from nor did I care to ask. It does however make food taste ten billion percent better than when it's just roasted over the fire.

“It's just some salt that I pulled out of the seawater, we can utilize it for pickling food as well. One of man’s primitive discoveries id say”

“Thank you Senku and (y/n) for the cooking. This is Perfect! I may not know all the stuff that you guys do but I’m gonna bust my back working for us” He got up with his basket and started running for the woods.

“He barely even finished eating…” I spoke softly.

“Let him be after all you know how he is” He turned to me. “ After all, doll, you and I have some things we need to do, so finish up.” he continued eating. I just let out a chuckle before finishing my meat skewer.

Once we finished eating, Senku led me to the shack where we had been conducting experiments on denitrification. Shelves filled with petrified sparrows filled the back part of the wall. Clay pots I made a while ago to replace the horrendous ones that Senku made before aligned the right side of the walls.

By instinct I headed towards the shelf at the back and swiftly grabbed the clay pot with the nitric acid in it. It was lighter than what I remember it to be. Confused, I swirled the pot to test how much was in it. There was less than 50 ml in the pot.

“Hey genius, I hope you don't need much nitric acid for your experiment cause there's barely any left”

“Well then that means we just have to get some more” He replied leaving the shack. I followed shortly after placing the pot back where it should go.

I hate walking to the miracle cave. It was long and boring with nothing to keep me entertained. Normally I wouldn’t make this trip but after last night I just wanted to spend some more time with Senku. But I was still bored so in a last ditch attempt to occupy my mind I started to hum a tune.

After some time I heard Senku say: “I haven't heard you sing in a while what's the occasion”

“I don't know! Just feel like it” He chuckled in response.

The silence of the forest quickly returned, minus my humming, before we reached the entrance of the miracle cave. We heard someone screaming. I knew the moment when he spoke Senku’s name that it was Taiju.

“It was us you idiot” Senku started to scratch his ear with his pinky. A habit that maintained even after petrification.

“Oh! NO WAY!” he continued screaming. “Are we the only ones left for real? Like the last humans still alive?” Senku and I moved ahead. Stopping where Taiju was standing and stared at the bottle filled with nitric acid.

“We’ll get more. That's the top priority” Senku said before switching tones.

“I mean, the three of us alone, just a couple of dudes and a girl. We can’t “restart humanity” unless one of us procreates with our doll here”

Taiju lifted me up away from our friend with such speed it seemed like I was a feather. He quickly covered my ears, fearing that I would hear what else Senku had left to say. But it was too late, I heard everything. The term “procreation” was enough to make me flush red, let alone the images that came afterward.

“How could you say that to a lady?! Do you have no respect for her?!” Taiju pointed his finger at him. In the meanwhile I was covering my face while also regretting coming here.

I grabbed Taiju’s basket backpack and came up with the excuse of getting more plants for later then left. I couldn't face Senku again, not until I composed myself. I ran and ran till I saw the river, and I collapsed right beside it. Splashed some water onto my face till the top of my clothes were practically soaked. Bad idea in the long run but it cooled my fiery body.

“Stupid Senku” my thoughts repeated that phrase till it was engraved into my soul. I wanted to cry. I never felt anything like this before. My heart was racing as if I had run a marathon. My body felt hot like I had a bedbound fever. My throat was dry as if I had eaten a pound of salt a moment before all this.

During times like these I would run into my baba’s arms and hug him tight. He would then give me a piece of advice or help me through what I was going through while also patting me into his lap. It made me feel better, enough to the point where I wanted to challenge what made me feel that way.

But I can’t run into his lap anymore. I can’t brush through his gold like hair while we gossip about classmates or coworkers. Not anymore, not in this new world. After all, he's still petrified… Senku was right love is troublesome

.

.

.

I looked at Senku who was switching out the bottle filled with the miracle fluid with an empty bottle.

“What the heck was that man?!” I yelled at him. “I know you two like to flirt in strange ways but come on! you even chased (y/n) away!”

“She’ll be fine, you big oaf she just needs to compose herself” He gave me a quick reply as usual.

“But if you leave her like this then she’ll get the wrong idea! And besides, why did you bring up procreation when you know damn well that I like Yuzuriha!” I yelled at him

“So unless you're talking about yourself this is weird. Though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since everyone can tell you treat (y/n) differently, heck you still call her by that nickname since we were kids! it's totally obvious!” The last part convinced Senku to turn around and look at me.

“It's obvious that you like (y/n)” I finished

“What the heck are you talking about you idiot” He picked at his ear while also giving me the face that he would normally give me when I do or say something stupid.

“Is that not the case?!” I yelped in surprise. I was starting to rethink all the moments that lead to this moment.

I first started to suspect something when Senku was acting differently. It was during the summer before our third year of elementary school. (y/n) had come back from America but she was acting differently. She was afraid of everyone and started to hide behind me when meeting new people.

I later found out that an assasination attempt on her life happened. But unlike last time she almost truly died. I let her hide behind me for as long as she liked.

Senku on the other hand was quieter than usual. He talked to her softly compared to other people, it was almost unnoticeable if you didn’t know him as long as I did. His habits changed too. He'd get excited when someone mentions her name. He’d talk about her a lot even when she wasn’t previously mentioned, and had to be beside her almost all the time.

It started to show more in middle school when she switched over. He’d give her things, participate in whatever she wanted to do, and tease her. I soon realized that he was flirting with her, in his own strange way. It took me a while as it wasn’t vocal like the shows portray it being. That changed during our final year of middle school where they would sometimes make remarks that crossed to the flirting territory.

At first I was so upset that they were beginning to hang around each other more than we all do, But it was when I met Yuzuriha and realized my feelings for her did I realize something about my first best friend. He likes (y/n)! That day I made a promise: as his best friend I wasn’t gonna reveal it until both of them were comfortable..

.

.

.

I was still racking my brain as to where I went wrong, what did I miss? I was almost positive that Senku liked her. Heck I've been watching them for ages now to the point I'd say they're closer now than ever before!

Last night I caught them sleeping with each other. Not next to, WITH. They were cuddled so close as if this wasn’t their first time doing it, soI honestly thought their relationship grew while I was still petrified. I gave up thinking about it in the end as we were about to pour the whatever acid onto the bird that Senku placed on top of a tree stump.

As Senku poured the miracle fluid onto the bird we stared at it insanely, but it didn’t move an inch. Senku looked almost defeated. “I've been working like a madman on this project. Using every last method I could think of.”

“Over and over. Again and again.” He continued. “It's like something from a fantasy world. Is it all mineral? Are there living cells underneath? I dont have the laboratory for in-depth analysis”

I tried to wrap my head around what Senku was trying to say. “So basically what you're telling me is that there are things science can’t explain.” He chuckled instead of calling me a big oaf.

“There we go, that tired old cliche. Truth is, it never quite stands up to the scientific method. Science is often a slow process; some liquor might speed things up.” He was starting to talk to himself. But I was barely paying any attention to him due to the idea that was forming in my head.

“Combined with nitric acid. We could make something nice and potent. What's commonly known as nital which is an industrial-strength etching agent.”

“What did you say we needed?” I managed to speak before he continued further.

“Huh, I said we could make nital. It gets into the ferrite grain boundary and-” I interrupted him. “No! Don't confuse me with some kind of ‘science talk'. I mean the part about liquor” I tried to grab the grapes I found earlier but I realized where it was at.

“Gosh darn it! I forgot that (y/n) has my basket bag!”

“Hey you boys back yet” (y/n) peeped into the shack

“(y/n) there you are! I need something-” I looked closer at her. She was soaking wet

“Why are you soaking wet?!” I asked which brought out a yelp instead of an answer.

“Well I found a baby sparrow on the ground so I decided to bring it back to its nest. I just fell into the river when I misplaced my foot.” She tried to smile it off but Senku wasn’t buying it.

“Go dry yourself as much as you can and leave your wet clothes outside. I’ll go start the fire” He walked towards her and took the basket bag from her shoulders.

“Ok” She sighed and left the shack

“As you were saying” Senku beckoned for me to continue

“Oh!” I dug deeper into the basket. There were more grapes than what I remember collecting, (y/n) probably collected more when she was out. I took out two bundles of grapes and showed them to Senku.

“Wine comes from grapes, yeah? And that is a type of alcohol isn't it?”

He smiled at me. “Not bad, you big oaf.”

Senku made me pour all the grapes into a big pot and then made me clean my feet while he started a fire. He hanged (y/n)’s clothes to dry while I stomped on all the grapes.

(y/n) soon came out with two deer skins wrapped around her body and tied together with a rope like belt. It would’ve looked nice if it wasn’t so short.

“ISN’T THAT TOO SHORT MISSY” I scolded her for her poor choice of clothing. But I was careful to not slow down on my stomping.

“I'm not gonna wear this forever!” She blushed. “I just needed something to cover myself cause I wanted to see what you buys were doing”

She sat beside Senku who strictly stared at me or the fire. Maybe I was wrong in his feelings for her.

“Whatcha making” She asked him

“Wine” he answered

“Isn’t making wine without a licence you know…Illegal?”

“It was 3718 years ago” I caught him peeking at her before going back to the fire. “And besides, didn't you make alcohol with your dad when you were a kid” That remark apparently shut her up.

The next step led me to pour the grapes I crushed into a pot and stir it for a couple of days till it was ready to be sealed and ferment for some time. Well that's what (y/n) said. After three weeks we had to strain the liquid from the impurities as well as the skin from the grapes. Thanks to the handy dandy strainer (y/n) made earlier this step was easy. While in the middle of it I came to a realization: “I thought of something, underage drinking is a crime too isn’t it?”

Senku laughed before responding. “Not a problem! After all we’re all a little over 3700 years old”

“Oh yeah, That's right!”

Senku and I took a sip from the freshly strained wine. Strangely (y/n) didn’t want a sip despite being the only one out of the three of us who had a drink of wine back in the modern world.

Apparently in America as long as you have your parents consent, and you're on private property, you can drink underage and it’d be perfectly legal. (y/n) whos dad is a well known wine conosur had her fair share of wine in America.

The second I felt the taste of the win I spat it out.

“I thought that this would happen” said (y/n) in between my coughing fits.

“It's not bad, in fact it's better than what I expected for our first try. But I bet it's 10 billion times worse than the ones on the market, right, doll?”

“Im guessing so but im not tasting that crap” She plugged her nose when looking at the wine

“You gotta get rid of that privilege tongue of yours, you spoiled girl” He laughed

“Sure when you kiss me on the lips i’ll consider getting rid of it” she grinned at him

He looked at her, grinning from ear to ear, “Oh? Is that all it takes, that’s a dangerous game to play, doll”

She laughed in response. “Of course not genius~”

“So is this what you need to make that nitrate stuff Senku?” I jumped into the conversation. But I regretted it soon after as I realized that I could’ve gotten my closure from their bickering. Or was it flirting? I don't know anymore! Help! They’re confusing me!!!

next>

[one-beer-is-not-enough]

i'm SUPER curious how Marcel would interact with my OC Julia, what he'd think of her. I love Marcel btw and your art style is so comforting <3 great work!

That's so sweet, thank you :D I really like Julia’s look, she reminds me of that sly cat threatened with a knife meme lol. Immaculate memes btw

The vibes they bring to the function:

I drew Julia in the school uniform, since I wasn't sure what her full outfit in the character sheet looks like. And yes I gave Marcel a flip-phone. Please ignore that it looks nothing like an actual phone. And the dumbass butterflies

Now as to how I interpret their interactions:

First off, I’m not sure they could hang around each other for extended periods of time, because Marcel is kind of a dick by default, and Julia probably wouldn't like seeing him treating other people so rudely. But in small doses, they’d have a cool dynamic!

Nine times out of ten, Marcel makes an enemy rather than a friend when he meets someone new. But considering Julia is a very laid-back person, he’s not even sure how to react, since most people from Bullworth are quick-tempered and tend to hold grudges. I think a likely way they’d meet is through Pinky. She’s fascinated by both of them due to their poor status, so I could see her just introducing them to each other at some point

It's also possible that Julia swooped in to help Marcel during his first couple weeks at Bullworth when he’d just lie there and take the bullies’ beatings, paralyzed with fear due to the years of abuse. Seeing someone actually give a damn about him could be his wake-up call. These guys are not like his father, he's on equal grounds with them; he can stand up for himself at last

He'd be too prideful to admit it, but he'd always feel indebted to Julia for something this major, and offer to do her a favor/errand once in a while. Free of charge

Marcel is lowkey fascinated by the way Julia speaks, though it probably goes both ways since he slips in Italian words and cliché mafia slang he learned from movies. Their conversations must be unbearable to listen to lmao

If Julia ever wanted to, Marcel would be down to 'teach' Julia some boxing techniques (he wants to flex so bad) when none of the other preps are the at Glass Jaw. However, he's kind of apprehensive about fighting a girl (if his sister found out she'd kill him). Though once he sees that she's quite good, his competitive side wins over and they can have an actual match

His respect for her skyrockets when he finds out she has a little sibling too, especially since Julia strives to set a good example to her. He’s like: “They’re so innocent, y’know? Gotta be a good influence” and in the background his little brother Rafael is setting some kid’s hair on fire

Marcel occasionally gets up to mischief like Julia, though it’s mainly to get some extra cash. And since Julia is skilled at breaking into places, he might ask her to tag along with a bullshit excuse, but only when it’s low risk. He doesn’t want her getting arrested because of him.

Like, they'd break into an abandoned warehouse "because it'd be cool as fuck", but Marcel actually just wanted to loot the place and needed someone who knows how to pick locks💀

+ the meme I was referring to

[oldlight117]

12. A kiss of grief 😈

Long had the hours passed since Shadowheart collapsed into Violet’s arms, lost for a moment to the Shadowfell, to the wrath of the goddess that once was hers. At her first taste of freedom — Shar’s grip on Shadowheart loosened for what felt like the first time in four decades — she fell headlong and willingly into the arms of another.

Shadowheart could scarcely recall a time she was permitted to stand on her own two feet without the will of someone else imposed upon them which direction they were to go, or how fast they were to get there. Who was she on her own? Little to no memories of her life before this illithid nightmare unfolded, and no hope now of ever restoring them. Who was Shadowheart without her faith? Who was she without her dreams of the future? She was nothing, and she was no one.

Soon Violet would see this plain truth as well. Shadowheart was an empty vessel to tire of and discard. Is that why she had poured her heart out on the ground at Violet’s feet, mere moments after cheating death — some desperate ploy to bind herself to a lover, to tether what was left of her soul to another so she didn’t simply blow away as chaff in the wind?

*I’ve squandered too much time already. I want to be with you, now and always. Do you want the same?*

The silent moment that followed seemed to stretch out infinitely. The unreadable look in Violet’s eyes as they widened in surprise — after all, had it not been Shadowheart that distanced herself before? Had it not been Shadowheart that drew a line in the sand neither one could cross? Yet in spite of every blunder along the way, had the smile not reached those violet eyes of hers a beat before it reached her lips? Had she not held fast to Shadowheart’s hands, her thumb brushing tenderly over the incurable wound with the only balm that ever made a difference — her gentle affection? Had she not accepted, and sent Shadowheart’s head swooning with happiness and hope, and a heart full of promise?

Shadowheart knew she should be meditating, resting, coming to terms with the force behind the magic she could now feel coursing beneath her skin, tingling at the tip of her tongue and fingers; magic words she knew that once she dared to speak, it would be impossible to deny their source. She closed her eyes and pictured a shining silver moon. She craved to be under its light, and it was impossible to deny the way she longed to be held by familiar arms and for them to never let her go. If only she were worthy of either of them now.

~~~

Shadowheart was distraught. No shit, thought Violet, as she studied the cleric from across camp. It was increasingly difficult not to stare, and Violet was beginning to lose the battle. She busied herself at the fire, preparing a special meal.

Camp dinner had been something Gale referred to as stew, and their companions sipped it through tight smiles, all but Shadowheart. It was nutritious, but it was not quite comfort food, not quite what Violet knew her friend needed — her partner needed? — Vi’s head was still spinning to process that development.

If Violet knew anything for certain in her time with Shadowheart, the woman was not great at keeping herself fed in times of distress. Cold stew simply wouldn’t suffice to tempt her now. So Violet busied herself with preparing a small meal just for her favorite cleric, something that would hold up even if she couldn’t bring herself to eat until morning.

As it cooked she stole another glance at Shadowheart, whose head was down, but not as in prayer. Her shoulders slumped forward and down, like Shadowheart’s slight frame was somehow pulling her toward the dirt itself, its very own laws of gravity at play. Her eyes flitted wildly, like they couldn’t bear to stay fixed on any one speck of dust for long. There was something in the angle of her feet too, Violet noticed. They were turned in on themselves, as though Shadowheart wished to retreat deeper and deeper into her thoughts.

Violet wasn’t always adept at connecting body language and the emotions it conveyed in order to link them to the correct word. She liked to think there was a time she could place this emotion correctly as she observed it etch Shadowheart’s face. For now the word was simply out of reach.

She pondered the significance of Shadowheart’s words outside the mausoleum. How could she be considering their relationship at a moment like that one? Violet knew her heart belonged to the cleric, and had known it for some time now. Was Shadowheart so unsure of Violet’s devotion she felt the need to speak to it there, in front of everyone, without so much as a moment to catch her breath? As Violet watched Shadowheart now, it was impossible not to wonder if it had all been a mistake, words Shadowheart spoke in the heat of the moment that she regretted now that the dust had settled.

It was with nervous steps that Violet finally approached the tent, meal in hand.

“Shadowheart?”

“Did you need something?” The words weren’t cold or harsh as Shadowheart said them, rather Violet could feel the dread and concern that drenched each word.

When her eyes met Violet’s, her gaze finally shifted up from the ground to meet her stare, something shifted in Violet’s mind.

Flashes of an old woman in her eyes, a willow tree, a fire. Loss. Her mother? Impossible to say. But the feeling was unmistakable. The woman slipped away, and Violet felt violently empty inside, an emptiness soon replaced with an ache that threatened to burst through her chest and seep back into her every pore. Impossible, suffocating pain. It was the feeling she saw reflected in Shadowheart’s own green eyes.

Grief.

“I don’t want to interrupt, I only wanted to bring this to you in case you weren’t able to eat the camp meal this evening.”

Shadowheart’s eyes darted back and forth as she looked back at Violet, unable to steady them a moment lest the tears that welled up behind them threaten to fall.

“Thank you,” she said finally, but Violet was already turning to leave. “Wait.”

Violet stopped obediently, and Shadowheart’s words failed her. She felt her mouth open and close several times as she struggled to compose her thoughts.

“About what I said before,” she began, but Violet couldn’t refrain from cutting her off.

“Don’t worry about what you said, I won’t hold you to anything, it’s alright.”

“Oh,” Shadowheart’s face fell, insecurity pouring back in like rising tides, sure to drown her.

“No, it’s not that I don’t want it. I do. More than anything. Just take your time. I’m not going anywhere—“

Shadowheart’s hands were holding Violet’s face in an instant. Their eyes locked for a moment before Shadowheart pulled her in, pressed their lips together and kneaded her fingers into Vi’s soft white locks. She felt Vi’s arms wrap around her waist, holding her like she would never let go, and to Shadowheart’s surprise she felt more in control of her destiny now than she could ever recall.

It wasn’t fear of being alone driving her forward. It wasn’t fear at all. She smiled into the kiss — one that started as a kiss of grief, but had already taken the shape of something so much more.

[raayllum]

Gift Giving & Primal vs First Elves :: Or Going Off Into the Deep Lore Deep End

Remember that meta I compiled about Greek mythology, deceptive gift giving, and TDP? Yeah it's time to talk about the gift motif properly as well as some other deep lore things because these excellent thoughts ( @spicyviren, @kradogsrats, and @its-leethee) got the wheels in my brain spinning.

AKA an unknown amount of sectioned word vomit into the nature of magic, where it comes from, how deep magic operates, some gifts and motifs, and Leola, just a little.

Let's go.

Gift Motif

The gift motif is one that's a bit of a slowburn in TDP. While characters will often pass and hand over objects — tools, artefacts, metaphorical responsibilities or trust (handing over the egg, for example) — to one another, there's not a big emphasis on gifts in the first three seasons.

There are some, such as Callum's letter from Harrow (that he's given by Claudia once again initially as a goodbye), Ezran giving Bait to Barius in S3, and Rayla's family pendant, but most of these, as you've might already noticed, are contextualized within Goodbyes. Whether the gift motif will amount in arc 2 to escaping this "final gift" context remains to be seen, but that's how it tends to work in interpersonal relationships.

There is an element of peace offering in hoping that returning Zym — a gift and/or gesture of good will — will help usher in peace, but I think (as of now at least) that ties further into the series' theme of Reciprocal Exchange (the assassin mission being an eye for an eye vs olive branch for olive branch) than outright gift giving. (Although we will probably talk about Exchange and gift giving at some point because there is also a thematic tether there.)

However, there is one other thing that is more and more often referred to as a gift in Arc 1, and that's Magic. Specifically, dark magic.

Now, this actually isn't that dissimilar from what the Goodbye gifts amount to, either. In Harrow's letter, he gifts Callum the Key of Aaravos believing it to be a powerful magical relic of some kind; Rayla's pendant makes its way from Ethari to her to Callum, who then uses it for magical purposes; and Bait, as a glow toad, is connected to an arcanum himself.

I do think it's noteworthy though that in Arc 1, (dark) magic being a gift is emphasized upon, specifically because of these lines for Khessa:

Upon first watching it back in 2019, it made sense that dark magic would be referred to this way, even when I just thought maybe it was that humans had been given 'nothing,' as Claudia says. Dark magic is closely tied to ideas of theft and thievery — stealing magic from others to harness its power for yourself — and the series is deeply interested in concepts of ownership or who has 'true' ownership over something, in magic, a throne/crown, a price to pay, etc. This follows neatly into Arc 2 (for ex: why Karim seeking to steal the Sun Seed is a metaphorical dark path even if it didn't outright involve dark magic through Kim'Dael), which we'll build on later.

That said, given the depth of the knowledge at the Great Bookery that is open to Sunfire elves more than any other type of elf, and the information that Tales of Xadia and Ripples gives us...

While elves warned that if humans were meant to wield magic they would have been born with it, [Leola] gifted the wisest humans with secrets: the language of the dragons and the runes that shaped spells. With the unicorn’s gift, the most determined minds among the humans could finally harness primal magic.

It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters [...] Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have. And so there came a calamity.

It makes it more than likely than, unlike other elves such as Lujanne or Ibis, Khessa had reason to believe/know that there used to be primal human mages in the past... and that it wasn't 'enough' for them ultimately, because they still hungered and developed (and were given?) dark magic. "Your kind could not be satisfied with what you were given" was about the rejection of primal magic from Leola (the unicorns) in favour of a darker kind that involves theft and "dirtying yourself" (5x08) with dark magic.

But at the same time, this complicates the Gift Giving motif of including not just dark magic, but being also for primal magic — for humans, at least.

And also for elves. (Ignoring how "great orb" is very similar to "great one" for now.)

Janai: It was a gift. But there's more to it than that. The great orb began as this. Karim: This is... a sun seed?

Now, the Great Orb being grown from a Sun 'literal' seed makes sense. We've known for a long time that in Xadia, "magic is everywhere. It's just part of the vibrance or spirit of things" (1x05). Primal magic naturally occurring in plants, animals, and elves likewise makes sense on that note. Just as not "many could bear the gruelling path of a rune mage," Karim cannot bear to have patience and faith in something that will only come to fruition centuries later.

That said, I raise the question: how functionally different is the Great Orb from say, a sun primal stone would hypothetically be? If primal stones and primal magic were gifts to humanity from unicorns — from creatures connected to the Star arcanum, for lack of a better understanding — then why not magic from Startouch (?) elves to other elves.

How do we know that all magic isn't simply a gift that was given once upon a time?

From the First Elves to the Primal Elves.

Primal vs First Elves

So what's the difference between First Elves and Primal elves?

Well we have a few pieces of lore:

1) Zubeia's status as a "heavenly majesty" (which we'll come back to in the next section) gives her authority to speak in the name of the first elves, who are effectively gods to humankind and/or Xadians ("Have our Gods died? / Where do the fabled Great Ones hide?" —the Epic of the Void

2) It seems that the First Elves are, as of now and for a while, exclusively in reference to what would otherwise be called Startouch elves, although the latter is seemingly a name that came later given Rayla's affirmation of "ancient legends". This is reaffirmed in Tales of Xadia's two lone mention of First Elves:

No group of elves presents a greater mystery than the Startouch elves. Sometimes called the First Elves, those bound to the Star primal are rumored to have made great marks on Xadia’s ancient history—but beyond story and legend, little real evidence is left to us today [...] Among the few extant records of Startouch elves are the Scrolls of the First Elves, now kept in the Great Bookery of Lux Aurea.

3) At a post-S2 con in 2019 (how's that for a far reach?) we got a timeline of the events of Xadia laid out for us. The description of the very first piece of history and era we know of goes as follows, with the Rise of Elarion happening 2000 years ago re: the Dragon Prince era ("The Return of Aaravos"):

The Era of the First elves is the first recorded era 5,000 years prior to the current era. Dragons and elves were not allied during this period. There were no distinct primal elves. This is an era before all that. Humans suffered during this period. 

—2019 con timeline

4) Justin and Aaron reaffirm this at the 2:30 ish minute mark of this video (a couple of months before even S3 was released) by reaffirming distinctly to Primal elves. Later (7:40-ish mark) we see this distinction reaffirmed again through the statement of, "The patterns have been that these primal based elves have grown cultures and civilizations that have become separate and differentiated from kind of whatever the early days were with the First elves were."

Okay, so there was 100% a time where there were only First Elves, and humans, and Primal elves as we knew them (maybe still with the hands and horns, but no arcanum? Or no singular, distinct arcanum) didn't exist. Why does this matter?

This is where the deep lore timeline gets tricky, as we don't know precisely when 1) humans received magic and 2) at what stage the First Elves / Great Ones / Startouch elves 'left' Xadia, only that they did, apparently, when Elarion (the human city) needed help: "Elarion, unworthy whelp / Wept as the stars turned black the sky / They donned their masks / They turned their backs / And left Elarion to die". Why abandon the city (beyond indifference/cruelty as Aaravos would likely claim), who knows.

However, we can assume the timeline looks something like this:

Era of the First Elves

Primal elves (and presumably archdragons *) are crafted / develop into being, whatever that means

Humans are magic-less and are having a bad time

Unicorns / Leola extend sympathy despite the fact that the First Elves tell her not to (Book One: Novelization / Tales of Xadia)

Humans have primal magic (Ripples / Tales of Xadia)

This attracts negative attention, consolidated in Elarion ("the stars she asked their light to cast / and stop the dragons’ fiery might" / "as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted")

Elarion asks for help and the Stars leave

Aaravos, the last star — presumably already Fallen from the First Elves — gives them dark magic under the guise of protection even though it will inevitably help him (i.e. give him the ability to possess people)

Dark magic replaces primal magic as the primary form for humans

Tension and violence escalates (unicorns are hunted to near extinction). Sol Regem is removed as King of the Dragons

Under Dragon Queen Luna Tenebris, the daughter of an elven leader suggests the Judgement of the Half-Moon, causing for humans to be banished rather than eradicated, and the continent split in two

Again, nothing too crazy / not too much we haven't already known or guessed at for a while.

But like I said, I'm gonna propose two theories, so bear with me:

Theory #1: What is Deep Magic?

The First Elves engaged with what we're gonna call Deep or Old Magic, for lack of a better term. There can be an assumption at times that this magic would be more 'pure' or less 'diluted' than dark magic or even the primal magic we've seen on screen. However, I think that's less than likely. Dark magic is often times a bad path for good outcomes, and primal magic can be a 'good' magic for bad outcomes (the blood freezing spell, for example).

While dark magic is a more textually malevolent magic system and primal magic is more true neutral — able to be used as a tool and a source of connection for the user — I don't think this necessarily means that Deep Magic is inherently enlightening (we see with the Ocean arcanum and S5 that knowledge can be an immense burden) or that it's on the opposite end of the spectrum and is outright benevolent.

What, then, am I suggesting Deep Magic to be? Well, we have some clues likewise from the same old interview post-s2 that we haven't had much basis to (potentially) understand until now, in which it's stated:

Deeper magic and deeper gifts that the original beings received [...] practical, usable, powerful magic is drawn from the six primal sources, right? But there is this idea that there's this earlier, less differentiated power kind of magic that's deeper and more - I don't kind of want to say what all of them are. It's not that important now, it has more to do with the history of beings and their interactions with each other. But Aaravos cares about some of this stuff. The best I can say is that one of them's Power — but well, what does that mean?

The six primal sources — potentially just five (hence why only 5 gemstones seem to occur naturally in nature, and Star seemingly doesn't) — are all based around physical, somewhat tangible principles. Earth, Ocean, Sun (fire/light), Sky (wind/weather) are perhaps the most tangible, with only Moon dipping into something into something more metaphysical: illusions and questioning the nature of reality, the nature of death, etc. However, I'd argue that the Moon arcanum's emphasis on death still makes it something that is particularly important to creatures who are mortal (but more on that later).

What I am arguing for is then, therefore, that Deep Magic is magic drawn from Concepts and Ideas > tangible things found in nature or parts of other magical creatures.

Three concepts, to be exact: (translated dark magic screenshot from Cartoon Universe spells reversed).

Zubeia: He chose as his instruments those who had strong hearts and strong minds, but who had an insatiable thirst and fascination with magic (power).

Three quasar diamonds, three deep magic concepts. Heart, Mind, Power.

("To know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. Mind, body, and spirit." / "She laid before me her scales, her blindfold, and her sword, and told me to choose.")

Now, I don't know if it's these three concepts exactly — I could Truth, or Justice, or something like that — or even if it's three. But given what little we know about Deep magic thus far and how much the series' likes its threes, I think that's the likeliest number and combination.

We've known for a while that there's something weird with the connection between dark magic, spells that use blood, and 'star' magic. We know it's unlikely that Aaravos being able to possess people who have used dark magic was just a happy accident discovered after humans started using it. We know that when Callum is offered the dark magic version of the cube in his dreams, the symbol is blood red: "You can have unlimited power." And that dark magic "became the key that unlocked a place of power for humans in Xadia" (Tales of Xadia).

So what if dark magic stems from the vein of Deep magic that's taken from the concept of Power? What if when Aaravos offered his pawns "unlimited" Power, or when Kpp'Ar accused Viren of (potentially using star magic) "making the same choice you always made: the one that gives you Power," they meant it?

Alternatively, this could mean that most other Startouch elves — their longevity, their indifference — comes from the vein of Mind and subsequent intellectual detachment? Enough intelligence and reason not to hunger for more (Power), but not enough compassion and empathy to sympathize with others (Heart).

And it would also tie into Leola being unique among her own kind for her heart taking pity on the humans, and giving them primal magic — perhaps in the vein of Heart, if we're keeping things consistent — and why love ("To know something truly and deeply [...] I love you with all of myself, and I always will" / "To love is simply to know this: the tides are true as the ocean is deep") has been consistently tied to Callum unlocking arcanums. The "Narrative of Strength (power)" vs "Narrative of Love" being even more literal than we thought.

This wouldn't be too out of line since Moon arcanum philosophy already borrows heavily from Plato's idea of the forms/reality (Plato's allegory of the cave, anyone?) and the forms basically mean "your imagined ideal of the object in your mind is going to be more perfect than any tangible, 'real' version of the object could ever be." That being applied to living beings who are literally in the sky would track a certain amount, in addition to the idea that however primal magic is set up in Xadia right is "the whole world is like a giant primal stone; sky magic is all around us, and it's also in me, with every breath we take." But I digress.

With the distinction of Deep Magic as 1) separate and a sea that flows into the primal as well as 2) older and earlier than primal magic, now onto the next theory:

Theory #2: First elves and the Archdragons?

Now admittedly this one is more speculative since beyond knowing 1) the First elves = what we'd call Startouch elves, 2) the rest of them except Aaravos 'left' Xadia a while ago, and 3) the aforementioned possible 'Mind' deep magic thing, we very quickly run out of set knowledge into full blown speculation. Beyond

With that in mind, I wanna talk about the... weirdness, I suppose, between the Archdragons / draconic royal family and the First Elves.

There's a few notes to this: we know that Ancient Draconic is the language of primal magic, indicating that dragons existed and presumably had primal magic before elves did, and that elves had to be given that linguistic knowledge at least to a certain degree.

Then we also have the way Zubeia is referred to being mirrored with the way she describes Aaravos later:

Likewise, the one person/creature we've seen referred to as a god outside the Epic of the Void poem is Avizandum by Harrow (bonus points for the game motif of "entire armies have fallen like toys" because of him):

Bloodmoon Huntress also asserts that from an elven point of view (or at least Lain and Tiadrin, and presumably Runaan, too) that "Dragons are the lifeblood, the very core of Xadia" and generally assumed that dragons have the most powerful connection to their individual primal sources.

So I'd be willing to wager (esp since Sol Regem is at least 1,2000+ years old) that Archdragons at least once upon a time had been contemporaries of the First Elves if not peers. What and why that connection exists and how relevant it is for today, I don't know, but I do think there's something there, especially since the one example we have of a First Elf-Dragon relationship in Aaravos, Avizandum, and Zubeia, was perceived to be positive somewhat on all sides — a matter of trust on his end (in order to be "betrayed") and a matter of reverence and importance on theirs; "admired and loved by all" / "you meant something to him".

There is also something to be said for the Archdragons being the most powerful embodiment of the primal sources (alongside maybe some rare and noteworthy elves, like Queen Aditi) still being "unable to risk a direct confrontation" with only one singular and Fallen Startouch elf. What would a whole slew of them at the height of their power look like? (And yet it is implied that the Nova Blade is "ivory draconic" so... maybe you just have to get a First Elf close enough to the mouth to be consumed / bitten? Or perhaps the Nova Blade is made from the tooth/claw of a 'Star' arcanum dragon.)

TLDR; it's looking more and more like Startouch elves as we understand them and First Elves in generally are — while emotive and feeling the way humans and elves are — something very different from anything else we've seen thus far in terms of knowledge and power skill, and that distinction is only going to be made more and more apparent as the story goes on.

Theory #3: Where do we go from here?

So if Deep Magic is distinct from Primal, and is distinct from 2/3 kinds of Deep Magic in dark magic (derived from 5-primal and Power deep magic thoughts)... where do we go from here, magically speaking?

Well, the important thing to note is that the story has given us some thematic clues. Aaravos is concerned with exile and power, both things we see thematically most represented by human characters (with some elven exceptions like Karim and Kim'Dael). The other Star touch elves are very on brand for "Xadian exile" as their favourite punishment as well as extreme isolationism ("I knew I had to be strong alone" etc). Therefore, whatever answer we give Magically also has to reconcile these issues from a thematic and character based standpoint.

It seems like a switch of where people are concentrating energy — for Startouch elves and humans — needs to have a drastic shift to one of the other veins/concepts of deep magic that will hopefully heal the rifts. If Aaravos is Power (humans) and the others are 'Mind' (Xadian indifference/isolation and banishment) for lack of a better idea, then subverting that binary and shifting more to a third 'Love' path seems to be very on brand for TDP. Holding both at the same time but being guided by a higher principle of peace and harm reduction is what Ezran's 4x03 speech is all about, after all.

Something something both Xadia and magic and the First Elves being reunited with Xadia / humanity and elvenkind as TDP's endgame, something something.

Other Gift Giving Thoughts

The other thing I wanna talk about now that everything else is laid out is how gifts are Given, in TDP. We see time and time again relationships and magic systems being framed on the idea of whether they are giving, taking, both in a bad way or in a good way. There seems to be two main indicators for gift giving, therefore, either that in the receiver is worthy, or that the exchange is going to be reciprocal.

At its best, a gift works as intended.

Humans (and elves?) are given primal magic and generally use it for exploration and to care for themselves / one another The sun seed is given to the Sunfire elves, but they must nurture it. Callum gives Rayla her father's bow and she uses it to protect them. Callum achieves enlightenment and understanding of him and is rewarded with primal magic twice, even if the Ocean in particular is a bit murkier than he'd probably like. Gifts and belongings are relinquished or restored for freedom, for hope, for peace.

Here we have to wonder if Leola's Last Wish reconciles both the Goodbye gift motif and the gift of Magic motif, possibly resulting in the gift of the sun seed or more likely something to do with primal magic / alleviate the fallout of dark magic's consequences.

For example, to get an answer from Rex Igneous — a seeming wealth of knowledge — you have to give him a worthy gift that is also a sacrifice of some kind, according to Nath'an.

However, Ezran points out the major flaw in this line of thinking, as "We offered gifts that meant a lot to us, but the truth is, they don't mean anything to you." Not everyone is going to value the same thing or think the same thing is worth the price that was paid.

We see this interpersonally most with the mage fam ("Maybe the world would be better off without magic" from Soren, whose life was saved with it) and with Rayla and Callum (as Rayla's gift of sacrifice by leaving is something Callum did not want and rightfully did not receive well, alongside her moonstone pendant). Again: what is defined as worthy, or worthiness, is in the eye of the beholder.

Just like one of the initial thoughts that inspired this meta, Khessa asserts that dark magic is a magic that "takes" > being reciprocal for both parties, nevermind a gift. The irony, however, runs a bit deeper, as Aaravos thinks the same of his fellow stars:

But the stars kept from them one secret still: that their first lesson—patience—was not a gift of the stars at all. You see, patience is a lesson the humans taught themselves. No, the stars do not know patience, for they have no need for it. The stars want for nothing, and take all to their liking.

And we see this idea of a 'false gift' show up time and time again in the series. Nyx pretends to offer passage but actually wants to steal Zym; Rayla's act of love in leaving is a curse upon Callum's heart and wellbeing; dark magic itself is a false trade of sorts, given how unevenly it tips scales in Aaravos' favour and how much it ruins both the environment and body of its caster.

[The elven thief Lasair] never saw the precious blossoms fade and turn to cold ashes when exposed to the dawn. They never learned their gift was perceived as a curse, not a trade. 

—Tales of Xadia

Kim'Dael goes to Queen Aditi under false pretences ("The Queen's Mercy") but the gift that Aditi gives her is nothing good at all:

What pretty bauble, she wondered, had she tricked the queen into forging as a token of protection? What could be powerful enough to ward away the wrath of dragons?

Just as humans sought the stars' help to protect them from the ire of the dragons, Kim'Dael sought Aditi's. And just as Aaravos offered them a false magic that would protect and ultimately trap/destroy then, so does Aditi, with magic that doesn't seem to be entirely dark or primal:

“But know this: the binding around your neck—it is made with magic not unlike your own. It is a magic that demands, that takes."

A form of magic even maybe that demands sacrifice for that kind of Power.

You could almost say it's something Deeper.

Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed going completely off the rails with me, and that this long (winded) post got you thinking! I'll probably do a followup discussing the implications of what we have here for potential Laurelion-Aaravos later. In the meantime, take the fruits of my labour, and spin your own hamster wheels if you'd like.

[pursuitseternal]

Secrets and Sensuality in Chapter 3 of “A Night with the Ascendant”

Ascended Astarion x Spawn (Lumina) | E | 2.8K

🎨 by @snowfolly

Summary: Lumina confronts Lord Astarion about the sudden change in her abilities. She only finds more questions and a stronger curiosity over her possessive, obsessive Master who distracts her the best way he knows… in his bed.

CW: half-truths, smut as distraction, sneaky (not)-spawn Lumina, BG3 game references, No Tav, dom/sub dynamics, oral sex, throat fucking (that kind where she’s upside down off the bed).

Previous Ch | ao3 link | Masterlist

Chapter 3…

⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️

“What happened?” Lumina asked, direct but softly as he let her in through their conjoining door.

“Good morning, my little mistress,” Astarion smirked down at her, looming over her for a moment too long before he stepped back to allow her inside. “It seems to be a beautiful day out,” he flashed her a devilish smirk as she drew to a stop in the patches of sun spilling from his windows.

“What… happened?” she just repeated. Oh, she was good, he assessed. Eyes downcast, and hands clasped softly, but the tension in her shoulders and jaw, that hard press of her voice in her throat…. He could tell she was nearly ready to scream.

He looked at his nails, perfectly manicured, keeping his eye from her diverted, if furious, scarlet stare. “You mean what gives you the power as a spawn of mine to stand in the sun… to feel so strong and powerful?” He glanced up sharply to watch her give a single nod. Controlled and suppressed, daring of her. “Simple, it is I who give you that power… it’s because of my generosity and favoritism towards you. No others will call those powers their own…” he lowered his hand, half of a bow to her in mock deference. “They are yours alone, my treasure, because you are mine.”

Lumina drew her little frame to its full height, still only reaching her face to his neck. “That may be, my lord, my love, but I know magic when I feel it.”

“My dear, my very existence is magic,” he swept his arms wide. “And you, blessed you, are the only one to share in a mere sliver of that magic.” He reached for her jaw, cradling it to draw her face even closer to his own. “Let that answer be good enough for you, my mistress,” he breathed, his words sweet in tone but exacting as a command. “I would give you anything to make you happy… the world, my own essence, my magic… to keep you as mine.” I pulled her forward and ordered her, “Kiss me.”

Lips devoured hers, fangs clacking on her own, his kiss branded her mouth and flooded her senses. But her mind still raced, seeking out those tendrils of his power that usually accompanied his orders. But they never came. She sequestered away that observation as she soon grew lost in his taste and touch that permeated every following coherent thought. Her body lifted into the air, cradled in his arms to then be rested gently in those silken sheets across his familiar bed.

No more thoughts crossed her mind, not as he hiked up her skirts and his cock slid into her, that scent of his skin, of perfume and sweat and sex intoxicating her. More, she needed more after being at such a great distance from her heart’s desire for so long before this. His voice hissed into her ear, lustful words that made her quake with need. “My little mistress, my little treat to savour, all flushed now and hot for me…”

Lumina groaned, her body indeed on fire now, pinned and naked for their pleasure. “Yes, gods yes…” she groaned as he filled.

“Much more to me than a plaything, than some spawn,” he continued. “So much more…”

Limbs hummed and clung to his frame as he began to slowly thrust in and out, that devilishly tempting pace she had grown addicted to. “But you seem to be having… fun, my lord.”

He chuckled deep in his throat, the vibrations passing into her own skull it seemed. “I am… it’s hard not to with you, my Little Light.”

She rewarded that with a kiss, a never ending tangle of tongues and gnashing of fangs that stole her breath. Lost was the end of her body and the beginning of his—he was everywhere all at once, as if his presence raged in her very veins.

Pleasure swept her away, time after time, round after round as he had savored her affections before his journey. And in the end, even in the pooling sunlight of the afternoon, she ended the same—resting semi-conscious and sweetly smiling in his bed. The last sensation she recalled were his smoothe, dexterous fingers brushing through her straw-golden locks.

Then she rested.

The sun had risen high by the time Lumina stirred. She stretched her aching muscles, looking out the open window to see the City bathed in the sun, to hear the voices of life whining in the distance from beyond the place walls. She stood, scanning his rooms to find herself alone. It was such a bright and airy chamber, it stole her breath, never having witnessed it during the day… before…

…before whatever it was that had given her this power to stand in the sun and not char to a crisp.

Crystal chandeliers gave off sparkles of light, the brilliant hues of leather covers dotting the room in a prism of colors. Such decadence and luxury and beauty.

Just like him.

But as her wits finally returned, as the allure of his sensuality faded, Lumina couldn’t push away those suspicions anymore.

What had she become… what did he do to her, this gift of being made his mistress. What did it all mean?

Perhaps, he hadn’t meant for her to wake up alone, perhaps this was a chance.

And, from what she knew in life, urchin wretches like her had to take their chances.

A

On silent feet, she scrutinized his room, those sharp eyes that could find any object out of the ordinary, the keen sense she had honed as an indentured servant, a slave to a brute of man, came back raging full force as she looked for… anything.

She scanned his vanity, nothing out of the ordinary, kohl for his eyes and bits of fine jewelry, a basket of rings, a collection of scents and oils for his body and hair. Just looking at them made her smell his scent in her nose.

It made her salivate and grow insanely wet between…

No, no. She had to keep searching.

Shelves, lined with books upon books, cast some of the only shadows in his room at this time of day. Tidy and cared-for, well-loved and organized. Each stack held different topics—botany and necromancy, the magic of Karsus, the history of Avernus, the legend of the Blade of Frontiers, and Sharan worship… such a unique collection of topics, she observed.

But something drew her notice… a smaller bound leather journal wrapped tightly in its own little bindings. Glancing at the door, she pulled this one from the shelves. Nervousness shook her hands.

Surely… he had been so generous before, letting her choose any book at whim. Even if this was a journal, not a book per se.

Opening the cover, it was written in a tight and exact hand. Each page was speckled with regular updates, lists of quests and questions… Observations of Illithids and healers, Tieflings and Goblins in the… Emerald Grove… little notes about individuals… the Daughter of Darkness… the Wizard of Waterdeep…

Lumina paused. Titles that rang some bell in her head about the history of Baldur’s Gate. Her mind whizzed through the stories, accounts from the history books told by the actors themselves. The heroes.

Finally her eyes settled on one list of notes on the Pale Elf….

“Astarion…” she breathed into the silence, “the Saviours of Baldur’s Gate.”

She sat down with the journal, pouring over it as she settled cross-legged on the floor. So many details and intricacies and trials and tribulations, stated so matter of factly… words flew by her in a flash, she couldn’t devour the notes fast enough. They were fables, tales from two centuries ago, the literal stuff of legends—those six companions and their tadpoles who brought down the Dead Three and the plot of the Absolute.

She could feel her heart racing, the account of Astarion, a slave and spawn, seeking vengeance against his tormentor and master, taking his power, taking for himself everything that was so long denied to him.

Her heart could burst… from pride in him, from envy for a story not unlike her own. For as much as those in the Upper and Lower Cities whisper about the Ascendant as ruthless, a monster… a villain. For all of that, he was her hero.

Astarion, her dark saviour, scooping her from the darkness to give her light… sent to sweep her off to his palace, giving her a place where she belonged.

With a sigh, she lost herself tin that feeling, her fingers tracing over the worn vellum pages in a sort of bliss….

“Little Light, whatever could be the matter?” his voice purred from above her. Glancing up, he towered from behind, his elegantly stitched trousers hugged his muscles. The ivory of its silk let all the heat of his body radiate against her back. “Why ever are you on the floor?” He leaned closer, his breath seeping into the mussed curls of her pale blonde hair. “And what have you… found?”

His voice dropped from that sultry velvet of a purr to something deeper. A growl.

Lumina gave a radiant smile from the floor at his feet. “Oh, just a uniquely scribbled little journal from two-centuries ago…”

A slow roll of a laugh drew closer as he crouched beside her, deftly his fingers grabbed the journal from her hands and tossed it across the room. “You should forget what you have read, my love. Ancient records of people long gone, names all but faded from history and time, mouldering graves and dusty bones…”

Her nose wrinkled at him, her pale brows furrowed. “Not you, not the Pale Elf…”

The scowl on his face silenced her faster than if he had smacked her across her cheek. “You will not call me that,” he snapped on each word. Grabbing her by the arm, he dragged her to her feet before him to stop at the edge of his bed.

“I… I thought it would be acceptable to look through your books as you have allowed me to before…”

He laughed, low and quiet. Dangerous. “I leave you alone, my lovely little mistress for an hour or so, and you’ve gone and pried into things you shouldn’t have,” he hissed, bringing his lips right to her ear and nipping the soft flesh of its lobe. “Cheeky little pup. I’ll have to do something about it, like punish you.”

“P-punish?”

“Oh, no, nothing you won’t also enjoy, I’m sure,” he led her towards his bed, his hand wrapped firmly around her arm, touch hot through the silk sleeve of her dress. “After all, I am enamored of your spirit, your brilliance and sneakiness… but…”

He looked down on her, slowly slinking closer and closer until she butted against the edge of his bed. Instincts roared at her, she placed a hand on the thin fabric of his shirt and teased her fingers into the deep cut that ran down his chest. “If you want to play, all you have to do is ask. I don’t require threats of punishment to… be a good girl for you, my love.”

His grin spread like a shadow, silent and creeping, to twist his face. Lurching forward, he closed in on her, hands braced on the edge of the bed as she flopped down on her butt, almost bouncing on it. His smirk was elegant and dangerous. Just like him. “What a good little mistress you are… I’ll reward you for your spirit then, but I will remind you that I am no hero, Lumina. The man you read recorded in that journal is dead, along with all those other unfortunates…”

Those soft scarlet eyes reflected up at him, a sadness behind the shine of her lust. She licked her ruby lips and let a single fang bite into that pouting expression. Devotion incarnate, he grinned.

So many words filled her thoughts as she looked up at him. So many questions, all of them rooted deeply in her admiration for him and in the profound sadness she knew she saw behind his steely gaze. But every word, she swallowed down for now, parting her lips instead and pulling him by his collar to kiss her.

Devouring, consuming, his lips stole her air from her lungs and senses right from her mind. All she was now was need and desire, a whimper breaking from her throat as he pulled from her kiss all too soon. His look was pure lust, dark desire as he twirled his finger at her. An order to turn around. Obeying, she turned her back to him as she sat near the edge of the bed.

His breath was hot in her ear as he whispered against it. “Lie down, Little Light, and do try not to gag….”

Eyes shot wide, Lumina shivered as she scooted further into the center of the bed, laying on her back up at where he stood over her. His smile flashed at her upside down as she was, all the more thrilling and slightly sinister as she felt disoriented. Hands gripped under her arms and slid her just right, making her head hang off the ledge.

Her world practically spun, watching his fingers unlacing his breeches, that thick, hard, and veiny cock releasing from within to hang its shadow over her face. Fingers curled deftly around his shaft, stroking him harder, the other hand thrust a thumb inside her mouth to pull her jaw open gently. She could help but smile as his fingers stroked under her chin, that pink head of his cock slowly sweeping into her mouth and down her throat.

The undead beat of her heart pounded harder, already she could feel a light headed tingle as she felt him pull out slowly and thrust back in. Deeper this time. She laughed around his cock, feeling it twitching in her mouth as the vibrations tickled him.

Hips slowly pistoned back and forth. Every thrust sent the front of his hips to press against the top of her head, flooding her nose with the musk of his arousal. Lumina closed her eyes, keeping herself lost in the feeling of his cock in her mouth and his hands wandering over her neck and into her dress. Fingers latched around a breast, Astarion squeezed as he began to thrust harder into her mouth, leveraging his movements on that swaying fullness in her dress.

“Swallow around me,” he growled, “let me feel how hungry you are for your reward, even when you’ve been rather willful.”

She obeyed, her throat closing around his thrusts for a moment. A new magic pooled inside her mind and went taught, as if something was struggling to make itself known. A growl in his throat, and he just fucked her faster. “See, my naughty little minx, I am not some hero. A rake, a monster to some, a lover and master to you, Little Lumina….” He clawed his nails into her flesh, one around her breast, the other into the side of her throat where he gripped her now.

She needed to swallow again, drool running up her cheek as she hung suspended for his pleasure. A clutch of his fingers hard on her nipple, and she moaned with full voice. Suddenly, she tasted him, that sweet, warm bitterness that she knew so well filled her throat. As he groaned loudly over her, hands clawed hard into her skin, she felt a snap in her mind… images of Astarion, dressed in armor, blood spattered and beautiful, two daggers in hand as he tore through enemies…

She opened her eyes as he pulled his cock from her lips, letting a trail of cum dribble up her face. He stroked his finger through it, caressing her cheek. Palm at the back of her shoulder, he rolled her over and raised her up to his smirking mouth with two fingers under her chin. “Now…”

But she placed a hand on his lips to quietly hush him. “My love,” she whispered, looking up at him through her lashes. “You don’t have to be a hero to the City, or to the world, or in memory of anyone you lost. But you should know… you are a hero to me. You pulled me from a fate worse than death by giving me undeath.” She kissed his lips softly,”I will forever be thankful for that, my lord.”

His lips were frozen as she worked hers feverishly. Pulling away from her, he quickly stuffed his cock back into his trousers to run a hand through his hair. “I’ll see you tonight for dinner, my darling.” He tried to return to that velvety tone in his voice, that confident swagger in his stride, but he nearly choked and nearly laid himself out flat prone on the ground. “Be in the dining room sharply for me…”

With that, the door shut behind him. And Lumina was left perching on his bed, with more questions than answers and with a new tingling sensation in her mind.

It was different than his tendrils of compelling, brighter and stronger, a bridge and not a leash.

Perhaps… something would help her find the answer to what sort of magic he must have done to her. Whatever it was that gave her strength to endure sunlight, awareness to sense his innermost thoughts. Somewhere here… he must have the answer to his secrets. She just had to find them.

[quibbs126]

So I woke up this morning and for some reason, I had some of my old fankids in mind, specifically the darklico ones, so I was like “screw it, I’ll draw some fankids as humans”

This is a screenshot and unfinished however because I realized, of the human designs I’ve done, not many of them do I have ships for, or at least that I’ve completed

Like of this group I do have some, like Dark Cacao/Hollyberry, Sea Fairy/Moonlight, and I think Sea Fairy/Fire Spirit, but when I was looking at the first two for the references here, I realized that I didn’t have many outside of ships within the Cookies of Darkness. Which even then, I only have two pairings completed

So basically, I have to put the rest of the page on hold now. But I still wanted to show off what I did draw, so here’s a screenshot of the current lineup

These are their Cookie forms for reference

There is a third darklico kid, Gancao, but I’m also aware she’s in need of a design overhaul, so I didn’t include her here. Also Licorice Cream here is older than how I drew her initially, because I later decided she was the oldest due to her being an accidental homunculus rather than a product of the two getting together. So she also needs a redesign, but I at least have some reference to how she’s supposed to look now

In all honesty, I do think Licorice Cream looks the worst here. She’s not terrible, but I think her eyes are slightly too small and her face just isn’t quite right. Also for some reason when I look at her, I think of Iris from Pokémon

But I mean, I can probably chock up her off design to the fact that I drew her at like 3-4 in the morning. I woke up randomly super early and it seems like I went to sleep at random as well last night. I refused to go back to sleep this morning so I stayed up, but I don’t think my brain was operating at full capacity yet

Black Choco I think looks plenty better, though maybe not much like his counterpart. But also I can’t give him his hair streaks or purple fade, since my rule with these is that they can only have dye or contacts if it fits the character, and he’s a small child so I don’t think he can. I at least tried to compromise with the brown fade

Also I’m not sure I have his expression right. It was an issue while drawing, because I recall that he’s not supposed to be sad or anything, just jumpy and nervous, and he’s supposed to be looking around. But this was the best I could do, so oh well

Zuccotto on the other hand I think turned out great. I had it in my head that he generally looked like Affogato, which I think I achieved (to me they definitely look related), but he acts more like Red Velvet. I don’t entirely remember if that’s his character, I haven’t looked at his post in probably a good year, I just remember he’s Licorice Cream’s bestie and the straight man to her antics

But yeah, I think he looks pretty good. Admittedly though I don’t know why he, in-universe, has the super light hair when I made both of his parents naturally brown haired. I mean maybe it’s dye, but I don’t know how feasible that is with a lighter fade at the end as well as dark streaks. But oh well, it’s what worked best with how I designed him

And yeah, that’s about it. Hmm, maybe I need to go and make more human designs. And/or more fankids

[erikiara80]

March 22nd and all the birthday references in ST

Will's birthday has always been important.

A birthday mug in episode 1

Same mug in Mike's basement. We see it in scenes with El in S1 and Will in S2. Yeah, I think birthdaygate could be about her, too. Will is the only character whose birthday was used to literally save him and the whole town. And we've seen El's birth and birth certificate, but we still don't know when she was born? Strange

The I forgot your birthday card in Will's room in S1

But in S2 we only see it when Joyce looks at the Will the Wise drawing. In all the other shots the card is not there, and the drawing is on another wall. This could be a hint at different timelines (of a timeloop?) More screenshots here

Basically, I have two theories about Will's birthday: either people really forgot it in S4, or the Will who was born on March 22 is the brown-eyed Will in the Missing poster, in the timeline we see in the shed scene, and not the hazel-eyed Will we see in the rest of the show. Maybe they hid the truth in plain sight, they let people believe that his eyes were different because he was possessed. But then in S3 they show that Billy's eye color never changes (here) Can't wait to see what this means

No birthday card in these shots

Lesbianmindflayer found a video posted on the official IG account in August 2017. At the time, they had already filmed S2, they knew there was an important scene about Will's birthday, so why posting the wrong date? Is it actually a mistake, or that's really his birthday in another timeline? We'll see!

The amazing shed scene. One of my favorite! Joyce talks about Will's 8th birthday. That was in 1979, the year of the massacre. She also mentions his rainbowship, a hint at his queerness, but also a reference to the lab. And I think there's a connection to the "rainbow rocket" near Creel House, and the ship of Brenner's father, who was involved with Project Rainbow, and the first man to wind up in Dimension X. This scene is so important!

Will drawing a spaceship could also be a parallel to Olivia Dunham (Fringe), who drew what she saw in another universe. A Zeppelin

Olivia's drawing (Byler-Polivia parallel and Subject 13)

3x03. Happy Birthday and '76 on the poster. The lifeguard is talking to El and Max here. My theory about what this could mean and what might have happened in 1976 here

The original title of episode 3x06 was The Birthday. There is no birthday in that episode, but after the intro, the song that plays is Stand up and Meet your brother, and then El meets the Mind Flayer/Vecna (as a lab kid, Henry is kinda her brother), who is possessing a boy named William. A surfer boy.

Episode 3x08, posters of Firestarter and Sixteen Candles. Will is associated with fire, and in Sixteen Candles a girl hopeful thar her 16th birthday is the beginning of a great year, is shocked when her family forgets it because her sister is getting married the next day.

Sixteen Candles and a boy's 16th birthday are also mentioned in S4, and it is likely that S5 is set in 1987, after the time-jump, when Will is 16.

S4. There are so many mentions of birthdays in this season, it's crazy to think that the writers forgot Will's birthday.

Mentions of birthday and stolen thoughts in the opening scene.

Birthday party at Rink-o-mania. I could be wrong, but it looks like a party for two people, to me. And there's a hidden reference to the massacre. The game Asteroids was released in 1979 (here)

The scene that made many people believe that the writers forgot Will's birthday.

March 22. The Rink-o-mania scene is a parallel to the lab scenes, Asteroids was released in 1979, and the day of the massacre El remembered her birth. Maybe a hint that her birthday is also on March 22?

They call her little baby, and two of the bullies are twins.

Murray says that a one-year-old won't remember their birthday

Also, the wallpaper reminds me of these birds we see in his house, when Alexei explains how the two keys open a gate

Murray says that his "son" is almost 16

Mention of Sixteen Candles

Mike's Happy Birthday mug

At Suzie's, Will mentions Dustin's birthday

Yeah, I think something will happen to Will in 1987, when he's 16. And it won't be funny, lol. But he'll get his happy ending.

Happy birthday, Will!