#it's so full of magic. unstable magic even. that its vegetation is so strong that it just. did all of that. invasive species through magic

[ruvviks]

COMING IN HOT WITH 🌹🍁🌻 & 🌾 for shivani pretty please 🫶 GORGEOUS design btw

d&d oc asks!

🌹 Where in the world does your OC feel most at home? Is there any reason why? If it’s not the place they were born, where were they born? Is there a certain somebody that makes them feel at home where ever they may be? What does home mean to them?

juniper was born in the feywild and lived there for most of her life, in the uncharted wilderness below the risen districts. she always loved exploring and this is what caused her to end up on the material plane at some point; accidentally wandered too far and crossed a border without realizing, and the portal had long closed when she found her way back to it :( with reality working so differently on the two planes her memories of it faded entirely too quickly, despite spending entire decades there; and even though she does end up returning to the feywild with her party much later on, she never manages to find her true home within back, and thus it no longer serves that purpose to her

her actual, real home nowadays lies within the city of dumad, a jungle town located in the feygate rainforest in caspen. it's small and cozy, a little cottage in the outer districts with a small vegetable garden; though she mostly uses it to grow various wildflowers and fey-touched plants, attracting dozens of insects that the neighbors don't really like but are vital to the rainforest's ecosystem and many would be threatened with extinction due to the feywild's influence on the environment. it makes her house more of a home for others, and she herself would've grown less and less comfortable within its confines over time

that's why her real home is with her party. she's always had the wanderer's spirit and with her friends she can go anywhere and everywhere, she can see so much of the world and that freedom is essential for her to feel comfortable and at peace. especially @mojaves' oc mairwen (an equally as tall firbolg barbarian girlie) makes her feel so at ease; the two of them met about two decades ago and juniper's life on the material plane has been so much easier since

🍁 Where does your OC go when they need to have some time to themself? Would they ever have their own “comfort corner” filled with all the things they like? Do they have a favourite spot outside that feels like its theirs and theirs alone?

juniper rarely needs time for herself as she loves being around others and she really just. RARELY leaves mairwen's side. the two are always glued together wherever they go, and if juniper needs to wind down she feels most comfortable in mairwen's arms. if for whatever reason she does need to be alone with her thoughts for a little bit (often triggered by a night full of night terrors from her patron, or direct contact with her) she likes to wander off from the rest of the party when they're resting somewhere, to just be surrounded by nature for a little while. if they're staying in an inn, she will go out into town by herself, preferably in the dark, and walk until she becomes sleepy enough to fall asleep immediately the second she gets back to the inn

🌻 What little things do they notice about people or the world around them that make them happy? What tiny little treasures do they find in the normal every day that makes the world seem a little brighter for them?

just in general juniper is forever fascinated by other people and their little quirks and mannerisms. gestures and body language indicating excitement would be what gets her excited as well, a very clear example of this being whenever mairwen or hindsight get excited about something and their tail starts wagging; it'd in turn make juniper's tail wag too, though she can hide it a lot better since it's very short and often covered up entirely by her dress

in addition to that, she loves seeing little critters in nature but also in the streets in towns and cities; rodents, but also insects, and she especially loves seeing little flowers blooming between rocks and stuff like that :]

🌾 Describe your OC through the eyes of someone absolutely head-over-heels in love with them

asked andy very niceys to describe juniper from mairwen's point of view for me and this is their answer: juniper is very warm and inviting. not necessarily in a ray of sunshine kind of way, but she just has a very vibrant personality that shines through in everything she does. she's very curious (mostly thanks to her fey background) but in a good way; nothing ever gets boring with her, she knows so much and because of that she always has so many interesting stories to tell. mairwen could listen to her all day

[badwolf-winchester]

Ancient Bloodlines

Pairing: Loki x Emy Nightstar (OC)

OC Summary: Emy is the newest Avenger. She specializes in Magic and close range attacks/ weapons. Her heritage is unknown to her as she was left at an orphanage door step when she was a young girl with only the memory of her name. She goes by her nickname Emy but has never told anyone her full name as its a reminder of her being abandoned. Emy can see through any illusion and Magic no matter how powerful they are or how strong the magic is and is unaware of this. Her powers include Telekinesis, Elemental Control, True Sight (as stated above) Enhanced healing and Shifting (she wont discover this till much later in the story). She loves to read, listen to music, play violin, sing, and draw.

Story Info: Takes place after infinity wars. Tony and Natasha are alive Steven comes back from the future after giving back the infinity stones. Vision is alive and living with Wanda in the tower. Thor and Loki live in the tower with the rest of the Avengers and for the sake of the story Himedall is alive and living with the rest of the Asgardians on earth in New Asgard (you will find out why later)

One last thing: Please do not repost my work on any other site or social media, however reblogging on here is fine. I work hard on all of my fanfics and it’s disappointing when people take my work as their own. I am the creater of all my OCs such as Sora Nightstar, Emy Nightstar, and Lithium Nightstar. My inbox is open for any and all requests as i am a multi fandom writer. Let me know how you like the story and i will do my best to answer any and all questions. As always i encourage any and all feedback as it helps with my writing. I hope you all like it!

The Beginning

They say that your parents are there to teach you the rules of the world, but what happens when you have no parents? Who will teach you then? The world is cruel but people are crueler. Ive learned this first hand when the person i trusted most in this world left me on the door step of the St. Trinity’s Orphanage. I was 9 when my mother told me she didn’t want me anymore and i guess I couldn’t really blame her. I mean who could love someone who couldn’t control the powers that grew with each passing year. Someone who started fires out of thin air when they had nightmares, conjured whirlwinds when startled, unfurled earthquakes when angered, spring forth rain showers when sad, and levitate objects when riddled with anxiety. I will never forget that day for its seared into my mind like its own person brand echoing with every beat of my heart. A monster thats what she called me, her own flesh and blood was a monster in her eyes, and i could see the relief when she ran from the solid oak door finally rid of the burden she had to put up with throughout the years. An abomination she cried as she reached the cobblestone sidewalk eager to be rid of me and by the pace she was going at i could tell she had more spring in her step than on the walk over from the bus we exited from. Unnatural she bellowed as she disappeared around the corner a ghost of a smile springing from her lips as she disappeared. These where the last words i would ever hear from my mother, if thats what you would call her.

Emy’s POV

Tonight was just like any other. Crisp cold air submerged the city in a blanket of dark and silence while it settled into your bones. I never minded the cold in fact I welcomed it, it reminded me of the cabin i found one year after running away from one of the many abusive foster homes i was forced to stay with. I’ll admit it was one of the times I was able to avoid the social workers for longer than a week and the happiest I had ever been in my life up until i was captured by Hydra. When I had a flair up with my powers, which usually ended up being fire, i would immediately get sent back to St. Trinity’s but this time i ran before they had the chance to toss me aside. The staff there used to place bets on how long i would stay with a family, they would joke saying i was cursed or jinxed but i knew the truth, no one wanted me. Once the parents found out about my abilities I was sent packing. I was labeled as a flight risk and a danger to others which only deepened my anti socialism.

Walking through the streets of New York i pull my dark purple jacket on and my dark brown hair in a pony tail as I get closer to my destination. Because i don’t feel the effects of the cold weather Tony, being such the dad figure he is, has made it his priority to make sure i still wear one just incase so here i was walking home in black ripped up jeans, a black v neck T-shirt, black and purple checkered vans and a light weight dark purple jacket. With my headphones in my ears and “I like it heavy” by Halestorm blasting I make my way to the place i call home, Stark Tower. Walking through the front doors i make my way past the receptionist who always greets me with a bright smile. As I walk towards the elevator I give her a small smile back and a head nod. After entering the elevator and pressing the button for the penthouse I start to reflect on how i got here.

By the time i was 15 Hydra found me in that cabin and took me away. I went from hopping from family to family to being used as a science experiment, constantly being poked and prodded just so they could get a reaction out of me. As a child my powers where very unstable mostly flaring up with my emotions, its no wonder that Hydra caught wind of me its not like i was hiding it very well or more so that i couldn’t hide it. They tried to wipe my memory to gain control of me “a blank slate” is what they wanted, but for some reason, they failed as I wasn’t susceptible to their conditioning methods no matter how much time i spent in the chair. However, I could tell they were scared of me I could see it in their eyes. This didn’t last long though as they used what they called their perfect weapon code name Winter Soldier to beat me into submission. After that first meeting that left me with a broken arm and a fractured ankle i started to obey, since then Ive met the Soldier a couple of times but if he remembers me he dosent let on and I dont blame him, he has been in that chair so many times Im genuinely surprised he can even remember how to walk. He is stronger than the others as most of the other test subjects had turned to vegetables after the 4th mind wipe, he was on his 10th the last time i saw him with Hydra.

Another test was done on me and this one was different. They used a teseract? If thats what they called it I can’t be sure nor did I care all I could feel was pain like as if someone injected lava in my veins. After they injected me I started screaming after a while I couldn’t even hear myself anymore, my throat was so sore and horse from the constant roar of my agony I just wanted it to end. How long was I out for? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days? Years? They didn’t keep clocks there or at least not in the dungeon like cell they had me in. When the fire faded i was left with this numbness and after further tests I realized that I was immune to fire. I can literally stick my hand in fire and i will be left untouched and unscorched. They did the same test with freezing temperatures to see if they could subdue me at least in some way. I must have been out longer than just a couple of days as during the tests i didn’t recognize any of the Doctors. In that moment I realized something, if they were trying to contain me then something must have happened to the soldier. It was time to plan my escape.

Back in my cell i could hear footsteps approaching me and then stop short. One of the scientists frantically trying to talk some sense into someone just out of my line of sight. “She is immune to anything we throw at her sir. We have done every test we could there is nothing left for us to do.” One of the goons in a lab coat stated to what i assumed is a higher up. “Bolden If her powers keep growing at the rate they are it could be days in which she will be unstoppable and with the soldier gone we dont have anything that can keep her in line. She broke Mandy and Rays arms the last time we tested her. She is getting too strong.” Brining a hand up to his chin the higher up Bolden stepped out of the shadows and looked at me with deep interest before he turned to looked at the man and scoffed. As he walked away i felt a cold chill ran down my back as I anticipated what was to become of me; I knew it was nothing good i had already broken their rules. His next words only confirmed what I feared. “ Its simple. Break her spirit or kill her Doctor. And when i say break her i mean in anyway means necessary.” His sadistic laugh is the last thing i remember before everything went black.

Its been 2 years since i have escaped and now I’m living in the avengers tower. I don’t remember what happened after that night in my cell its all a blur of red, screams, and gunshots. When i woke up next i was in a 6ft crater where I was being held captive without a scratch on me. Trees were uprooted and fallen over as if a bomb went off. Luckily the Avengers showed up not long after me waking up and took me to their base where i met Directer Fury. With his permission and 24/7 surveillance provided by Tony Stark via FRIDAY and training sessions to get my powers under control i was allowed to join the Avengers and fight for good. Little did i know that by agreeing to this I would end up in the path of a certain God or Gods who were also taking residence at the tower.

With the sound of a *ding* the elevator shook me out of my mind and back to the present. As i exited the elevator I pulled my head phones out of my ears and was instantly met with the sound of Tony losing his mind. “Where did she go? She knows she can’t be out this late. She could be taken again! Its 5 minutes past her curfew!” Rolling my eyes I roll my headphones up and shove them in my pocket and round the corner. “Tony it takes 5 minutes to get from the lobby to the penthouse calm down. I bet she will walk through that door anytime now.” Came the sweet voice of reason of none other than Pepper Potts. “I’m Home.” I said in a deadpan voice as i walked by the couple only for Tony to stand up and intercept me by placing a hand on my upper arm. “Where did you go and why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” I looked at him and raised an eyebrow pushing his hand off me. “Tony its Wednesday. I have training with Strange on Wednesdays and I had Friday alert you as I was leaving but you were in the lab with Bruce.” Not sure what to say next Tony mumbled a small apology. “Sorry I was just worried about you. I know you are grown enough to make your own choices as you are 25 but I just want to make sure you are safe. How was the training with The Wizard?” Sighing and shaking my head just wanting to go the library and read I decided to just let it go. “Strange is a hard ass that much you already know. It wasnt bad actually I think I’m warming up to him. I didn’t spontaneously throw him to the wall when he snuck up behind me as i was going over the ancient texts so i call that improvement.” I said sheepishly while side stepping around him. “I’m gonna go to the library now and grab some light reading before bed you guys have a good night.” With out waiting for a response I quickly made my way towards my new destination only to have Tony saying something about guests in the house but I ignored him.

Pushing open the library door I make my way to the poetry section to grab my usual copy of Edgar Allen Poe that I read before bed. As my had reached for the spot i knew i put the book in i find that its not there. “Wait what? Where is my book? I know I put it back here before I left for training so where did it go?” Frustrated I stomp back over to the entrance and rip open the door ready to go on a murder spree while shouting down the hallway. “CLINT! You better give me back my night time book or I’m breaking all your arrows again! No one reads in this tower but me! How stupid do you think I am!?” Straining my ears I listen for any type of movement but was met with dead silence. After a minute I finally hear movement through the vents coming from the west part of the tower and I take off sprinting. Sliding around a corner I barely miss colliding with Steve and Bucky who look like they were on their way back from a mission. Offering a quick apology before I continue my pursuit I hear Steve yell “Hey! No running in the tower!” Not faltering in my hot pursuit of the Hawk thief I continue to zip through the tower ignoring the Captains words until i was almost to the vent that lead to the 2 level family room. Using the railing for the steps leading down to the family area to give me more height i jumped as close to the vent as possible and conjured my signature Scythe to slice through it while twisting in the air kicking the vent free and off its track. A shocked and terrified scream resonates from the vent as the culprit falls to the ground with a thud and a grunt. I landed in a crouched position and slowly straightened to my full hight. “What the hell Emy?! When did you learn to do that?!” Clint yells as he sits up rubbing his left shoulder that he landed on. I started stalking towards him with the blade of my scythe scrapping across the ground as i went while giving him a death glare. “Give me back my book Barton.” At the mention of his last name his head snapped up to me fear replacing the pain from his fall. “Oh shit last name not good.” Scrambling up on his feet he turns and runs towards the common room that connects to the elevator with me hot on his tail and my scythe trailing behind me in my right hand.

“Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!!” He yells as he makes it fully to the room only to fling forward as i jump and kick his back tired of all the running. Twirling my weapon around I place it at his neck sneering at him. “I will not ask you again.” I said placing pressure on his neck with my blade. Sensing a fast moving object coming from my left from the kitchen I move my head back 3 inches as what looked like a hammer flew by me embedding itself in the wall. Turning my head slowly in the direction of the flying object, I confirmed it was indeed a hammer that was thrown at me. Irritation flared through me as i released Clint from the end of my scythe and turned fully to the kitchen to face my attacker. There stood 2 men that i did not recognize, one tall oak of a man with blond short hair, blue eyes and tan skin in blue jeans, a red T-shirt ,and grey jacket. the other shorter man made me stare at him and faultier for a second as he was so different from anyone i have ever seen, dark blue skin covered his entire body with darker almost black symbols and piercing red eyes, long black hair with black jeans, a green dress shirt and black jacket. Tearing my gaze away from his own curious one i looked between both men before i clenched my jaw letting my irritation settle back in. “Which one of you threw that hammer.” I said venom dripping with every word. “Whoa its ok Emy thats just Thor and Loki they are the asgardian Gods that live here in the tower part time when they are not in Norway.” Clint said standing up quickly. Not moving from my position i narrowed my eyes and flicked them over in Clint’s direction. The ground started to shake as my irritation and annoyance grew to anger remembering what i was doing before being interrupted by the Gods. Throwing his hands up in surrender he then quickly reached into his back pocket and retrieved my book. “Ok ok dont blow a fuse Em.” He said while tossing me my possession stopping me from causing an earthquake. Catching it in the air with my left had I inspected the book to make sure it wasn’t damaged before I let go of my scythe, with a wave of my hand it disappeared back to the pocket dimension I keep it in then looked back at Clint as the tremors stopped. “Touch my things again and i will be wearing your guts like my mom’s pashmina.” I said to the thief before walking out of the room and disappeared down the hallway not giving the Gods a second glance. As I entered my room i could hear a silky voice ring out from the kitchen. “Well isnt she interesting.”

Part 2 coming soon

@nickkie1129

[luna-almighty-god]

Guardian Angel N°10 [The culmination of your mistakes. The mistake of your life]

This is chapter ten !

This story is obviously not canonical, please do not refer to it if you are looking for canonical information.

Have a good read!

===

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

===

The living room was poorly furnished, with only the most important pieces of furniture such as a sofa and a shelf full of books. The rest was empty and dusty, as if the place was not even worth maintaining. This was probably the case. After all, it was only a makeshift shelter, a place they would soon leave and flee to a safer place, before danger caught up with them again and forced them to do the same thing again.

Dream weighed down gently, gazing at the pages of his novel without being able to concentrate. Another night he didn't sleep, another night of biting anxiety, of detestable anguish.

“Worrying won't get you anywhere.” he heard abruptly.

He barely jumped, grumbling with discontent at this unwelcome coming. Though the term was a bit strong... he simply did not wish to see Cross at this moment.

“Go to bed.” the guardian told with exasperation.

But the monochrome ignored him to come and sit beside him, leaning nonchalantly against the backrest while darting his one valid eye on the prince of dreams.

“What's bothering you? he asked, although he already knew the answer.

- Nyx is long gone, but nothing has changed. How can you expect me not to worry about that?”

The swordsman looked up at the ceiling:

“Who knows?

- Don't be so phlegmatic! He's still your pupil, and my nephew! Shit, what if something had happened to him? What if the portal had been unstable? What if... What if he was erased from this reality? Oh my God, what if... God...”

He took his head in his hands, and took a sigh from Cross:

“Dream, I was there. I saw what was on the other side of the gate. Don't worry, he got to the other side safely.

- You can't go safely through the past, damn it Cross!”

And as each time the guard got up sharply, starting to walk a hundred paces, waving his arms excessively, his eyes dark, his teeth clenched:

“If something happened to him, I won't get over it! I promised myself that I would support him, that I would relieve him of a burden!

- Maybe he succeeded, but it just created another timeline, without touching ours.

- Maybe it did! But how do we know that? Damn it, you should have gone with him! You should have!!”

Cross looked up at the sky:

“Don't scream, you'll wake Lux. And then he...”

He got up, approached the guard gently to make him stop moving:

“...do you really think I could have left you when you were facing Dust and Killer? Dream ... the multiverse is completely corrupted ... ...you and I have lost our families, our friends... I've... I've already lost Epic. It's just you and Lux and Nyx. We're alone, completely alone... and if I hope Nyx is happy in another timeline, I can never bring myself to abandon my husband and daughter.”

He took him in his arms, hugging him gently:

“... Even if it means going down with our multiverse ... I want to be with my family to the end.”

Dream responded feverishly to his embrace, his soul clenched.

If only... If only he could have stopped Nightmare in time... if only he could have prevented all this... there wouldn't have been so much loss, so much suffering, so much regret. The multiverse had already begun its downfall the moment Ink had let himself be corrupted by the black apples, but now that Error was dead in turn...

There was only a storm of miscodes left. Codes that were nibbling away at the last remnants of their world. The question was whether they, or the bad guys, would finish them off first...

*** ***

Horror frowned, perplexed, as he let go of the meat that was grilling in the pan. He wanted to believe that Nyx was bad at cooking, but not knowing how to hold a knife ...

“Nyx, are you all right?”

His doubt was confirmed when he saw his comrade stretching slightly, but as always, he took back his impenetrable mask and that false smile that was beginning to unbear the cannibal:

“Yes, I'm all right! I'm just having a little trouble with the vegetables.

- If you held your knife differently too...”

Horror approached him and stole the kitchen tool to better position it in his palm:

“You see, it's like this...”

He paused, perceiving from the corner of his eye the slight grimace of his apprentice. This worried him even more as he began to guess what was going on. Increasingly annoyed, he released the knife and grabbed Nyx's hand frankly, wrenching a cry of surprise and pain from him. Before the drawer could free himself, Horror rolled up his sleeve, revealing a wrist in poor condition, wrapped in a half-untied bandage as if it had been done in haste.

“Wh- I'm dreaming! What the hell happened to you?”

Nyx came out quickly, too abruptly as he grimaced again, aggravating the pain in his wrist. He brought his hand against him and looked away, suddenly feverish. Too feverish.

“N-Nothing...”

His stuttering, weak voice set Horror on fire, and he had to take a deep breath to avoid anger and to stay in control of his actions. He didn't insist, at least not verbally, as he came and grabbed Nyx by the arm - the one that wasn't attached to the broken wrist - and suddenly teleported him to the bathroom.

If Nyx gave him a confused look, Horror didn't explain himself and simply forced him to sit on the edge of the bathtub. Then he turned to the cupboards and searched them thoroughly, only to come out of the bandages a few minutes later.

“You're out of luck ... the cannibal growled as he walked back to Nyx. You've stumbled upon the only castle where no inhabitant is gifted with healing magic.”

The drawer remained silent, simply watching him take his wrist more delicately to remove the half-open bandage.

“Did you put that bandage on yourself?" asked the cook.

- ... Yes, I did.

- ... Damn it. . . You're as bad at cooking as you are at caring. Worse than Killer.”

Nyx laughed, which made Horror smile. Finally, the black-boned skeleton regained some of his good humour, even if it wasn't that yet.

“What's up? Are you going to tell me how you got hurt?”

The cartoonist massaged the nape of his neck:

“You might laugh...

- Eh, why? I promise, I'm not laughing!

- Mm... I was on my bed and I wanted to draw. I leaned over to the bedside table to grab my notebook, but I slipped and smashed on the floor.”

There was a great silence before Horror, looking hallucinated, burst out laughing:

“Oh shit, are you serious? You're even more clumsy than I thought! You'd never think of breaking your wrist like that!”

Nyx had an embarrassed smile. Embarrassment that passed for shame to the cannibal, when in truth the one with the black bones felt guilty for lying like that. But he could never have confessed the truth to anyone...

*** ***

Nightmare stayed for a long time watching the files on his desk, but he left them there phlegmatically, realizing that he could not concentrate. How could he? Nyx's case preoccupied him, preoccupied him too much.

It was hard to admit, and to tell the truth he would probably never admit it to anyone, but the master of woes had become gently attached to the damned cartoonist. And yet, the Creator alone knew how much Nyx could bear it! Seriously ... he came out of nowhere, was not known to anyone, but seemed to know everything about everything, as if he had studied every monster on the multiverse! Well, Nightmare was probably exaggerating a bit, but to see that Nyx knew him - a bit too much - well when he knew nothing about himself was ... terribly frustrating.

Not to mention this barrier around Nyx, a kind of mask, a role that the artist was giving himself. As if he was hiding his true thoughts, his true purpose, behind all sorts of tricks, spells ...

Yes, there was magic. Nightmare wasn't stupid: by noticing that he didn't feel Nyx's emotions, he understood that Nyx was using a spell, a terribly powerful spell that exceeded the power of the nightmare master.

One more mystery about the skeleton with the grey scarf.

And if that's all it was... Nightmare was willing to believe that Nyx was more powerful than he let on. But... from there to blocking his mind?

For no matter how hard Nightmare tried, he had to face the fact that Nyx did not dream. Every living being had a dream bubble at bedtime. A bubble that Nightmare could see and control, a bubble in which a dream, a nightmare, or simply nothing was diffused.

But the Nyx bubble didn't exist. Nightmare searched for it every night, waiting for Nyx to go to sleep, but it was nowhere to be found.

As if Nyx did not sleep.

But it was impossible. Everyone was asleep, skeletons included.

But then... (Sighs) Didn't Nyx look exhausted all the time?

It was true that his black bones perfectly concealed his dark circles.

But ...

Nightmare growled.

He had to get to the bottom of it.

*** ***

[Looks at me]

Shut him up...

[I love you, my angel]

Shut him up!

[I'll always be here]

Wha....

[I'll always be there for y...]

SHUT UP! SHUT HIM UP!

Nyx opened his eyes, too quickly to relate to reality, too quickly for his vision to get used to the darkness.

[It was dark. All dark]

Terror made him speechless, he got up hastily, took his legs in the blanket, fell backwards and felt his shoulder crack against the ground.

[Black, still black]

He ignored the pain, ignored the burning, the inferno of his soul, to rise up with uncontrollable trembling, erratic breathing, white dots dancing before his eyes, a sign of his confused spirit being tormented again by darkness.

He threw himself on the bedside table, had great difficulty in lighting the lamp as his hands trembled.

He was suffocating.

[He needed it]

The sob escaped him in spite of himself.

[WHERE WAS HIS FUCKING BAG?!]

He turned his head towards the office, beamed there instantly.

Using his magic made him twist, made him even more unstable than he already was.

[An apple]

He felt more than he saw the crack on his soul, the crack that spread a little more over his poor inverted heart.

[WHERE WERE HIS APPLES?]

His fingers couldn't find anything. The pain grew stronger, as did the white flashes that kept dazzling him.

He spilled his bag on the ground, in a din that seemed far away, too far away.

Stormy flashes, flashes of memories.

[His birth, a mistake]

He threw himself to the ground, nervously rummaging among the spilled objects.

[Desperate Ink, to the point of accepting a black apple]

Lack of sleep is fatal to health. The mind starts playing with us, deluding us. What is the dream, what is the reality?

Nyx didn't know. He never knew.

[The years of torture and rejection]

[Fighting Continues]

[Plum]

[His Plum]

[His parents]

[ERROR!]

New Flash

And Ink, whose wards had now disappeared, reaped the joy of his son's distress:

“Ah... ahah ... Pathetic and miserable... so this is what you have inherited from me... ?”

The fracture sounded like a mirage, a distant sound. A distant sound but yet so close, too close, too violent.

Plum's neck had just been broken.

Then there was nothing but dust, and the frightened look of Nyx. His gaze turned grey, empty of all emotion.

If he had not been born, the conflict between Ink and Error would not have become so serious. Killer would not have left Nightmare for Color.

If he hadn't been born, his parents wouldn't have continued their unhealthy relationship thinking that they only had this left.

If he hadn't been born, Nightmare wouldn't have been desperate, not so desperate as to upset the already fragile balance of the multiverse by corrupting the majority of universes. He wouldn't have taken possession of Underlust, he wouldn't have killed all its inhabitants except Plum.

If he hadn't been born... Plum wouldn't have joined the Badlands by force. He wouldn't have gotten dragged into this, attached himself to it, died.

And the best irony in all this?

Plum didn't even love him. Never had. But then again... Nyx was the only form of tenderness in the castle. So Lust had fallen back on him.

But Nyx had never needed to read his feelings to know how much Plum disliked him.

For ... Nyx was the son of Nightmare, the master of nightmares. As well as Ink's son, the former guardian, the traitor.

Nyx was the mistake of a lifetime.

But if Plum didn't love him... Nyx had sincerely loved him. From the depths of his soul.

“You...” he stammered, still on the ground, watching unbelievingly as Plum's clothes fell to the ground.

Ink looked at him, leaned his foot a little harder against his skull:

“What, are you going to cry now? Do it Nyx, cry! That's all you're good for anyway. You're only good at sobbing on your own s...”

The Creator stepped back sharply, dodging in extremis the tentacle that had just sprung from the ground, which had failed to perforate his body. He shuddered at the sudden drop in temperature, took another step backwards, lowering his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed.

The magical concentration around Nyx made him yelp. An unhealthy, feverish, trembling magic that accompanied the bitter tears that rolled down the young skeleton's cheeks, his bitter tears that blurred his vision but did not hide his blinking pupils.

Red, grey, red, blue, red, grey, red, blue, red, red, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED.

BLACK.

Nyx exploded:

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Ink petrified, his brush exploded against the ground. He screamed as his patella shattered, shattered cleanly by another tentacle. Falling one knee to the ground, the painter was suddenly propelled to the ceiling, spat out a sheaf of blood before being smashed against the floor.

Nyx was no longer in control, cowering over himself as he continued to scream, the negativity escaping him far too quickly to contain it.

His eyes turned red again. He looked at Ink with his red pupils, dangerous, threatening.

Another tentacle sprang up, grabbed the painter by the neck. But this time Ink had the presence of mind to teleport despite his weakness.

Nyx turned sharply, intercepted the punch with his arms. Ink, who thought he had him on his backside, growled loudly before he teleported his brush in his hand, spraying paint on his son.

The younger one hiccupped, suddenly finding his hands bound by chains, before Ink hit him with his handle, sending him crashing into the wall behind.

He was in the castle room, in another timeline, in another TIMELINE!

Nyx knew he was going to die.

He was out of apples, he was out of apples!

Ink was going to finish him off.

WHERE WERE HIS APPLES?!

But through his blurry vision, Nyx perceived this intrusive blue thread. This wire that he had never seen before, but whose owner he knew.

He found one. An apple. His last apple.

Error immobilized Ink, his livid face, as if he couldn't believe the spectacle he was watching, which he couldn't grasp as his little artist had turned in such a way.

He stuck his fangs in the black pulpit, sweeping away his last glimmers of lucidity, his mind finishing to twist when he felt the oppressive and foul embrace of anger, of resentment, materialize around his soul to tear it apart.

A cold sweat covered him, gravity grabbed him from all sides. He felt his body fall heavily, his skull hit the ground.

“Who are you, kid?”

Nyx didn't answer. Ink did it for him:

“A HORROR, A MISTAKE, THAT'S WHAT HE IS! THIS IS WHAT HE WILL BE FOREVER!”

Nyx groaned piteously, trying to regain his senses, to return to the present moment. But the memories were still playing out, Error's eyes were resting on him.

“I am Error, the Destroyer of UA.”

Nyx looked at him, half-conscious.

“I'm gonna get you out of this hellhole.”

Nyx blinked.

He looked up at the ceiling.

The silence was soft, terribly soft, after the inner screams of his subconscious.

He blew, clutched his tunic to the place of his soul.

His seizure was over... but for how much longer?

His energy completely drained, he turned his head softly, his pupils lingering on his things strewn about the floor.

Tears came, less painful than the previous ones. A form of fatality, of sinister acceptance.

[He ran out of apples.]

We knocked on his door with strength, drive, will. A noise that sounded like a terrible death knell for Nyx, who got up painfully and eagerly, hiding his objects under his bed with a clever turn of his foot. He dragged himself to the door, dressed in his impenetrable mask, with a smile that he knew to be increasingly false.

"Good evening, Nightmare," he greeted his host with a casual greeting.

The master of the house was not at all reluctant and entered the room without the slightest hesitation, sweeping it with his gaze before returning to Nyx:

“You're not asleep.”

An observation, not a question. The cartoonist laughed:

“That's right. But I was planning to go to bed soon.

- I'm not talking about now.”

The guest swallowed, didn't have the opportunity to answer that Nightmare's aura was more worrying, intimidating. For Nightmare was like that: he hated not understanding, that one thing escaped him:

“You're not sleeping. You don't sleep. Otherwise I would have seen it.”

Nyx tilted his head to the side, mimicking astonishment, then forced a laugh:

“It's true I don't sleep much, but when l-“

Nightmare's gaze grew harder and colder as he snapped his tongue:

“Don't take me for a stupid Nyx. I'm not able to feel your emotions, but I can still read people's eyes. And you lie like a little cheeky.”

Nyx felt faint. But he was lucky, this young skeleton. As lucky as a kid in a situation could be. Lucky that Nightmare showed up after his seizure. Lucky that he ate a black apple before confronting the master of misfortune. Lucky to be emotionally stable again, enough not to break down, not to reveal his weakness as he did in front of Horror.

His quiet smile of each day returned.

Nyx looked as confident as ever:

“Nightmare, I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you so much. But are you sure you're all right? Wouldn't your power fail when the baby comes?

- Wha...?

- Insomnia is adorable... but what energy he has! You and Killer must be exhausted, right? If you need help, I'm here, you know? I love the kid, I'm willing to babysit him for you once in a while!”

Nightmare blinked, not understanding how the discussion could have turned out this way. He was about to go back to the initial subject but Nyx cut him off again, leaving to retrieve his abandoned notebook on the bedside table:

“I could teach him to draw, he has a lot of potential! Look!”

The master of the house was slightly startled, surprised that the paper was put in front of his eyes. In spite of himself, he found himself looking at his son's scribbles. And even though it wasn't high art, he was quickly moved without even realizing it.

Nyx had a sweet laugh:

“Killer was talking about a new restaurant the other day... Why don't you go there tomorrow? I'll keep Insomnia with Dust!

- ... I'll ... Suppose we could do that, yes.”

Nyx walked him to the door with a smile:

"It'll be great! You're a couple, but you can't let up! Isn't there anything more beautiful than two lovers seducing each other every day? »

Nightmare got a little worse, not even realizing that he had reached the corridor. Nyx waved to him:

“We'll confirm all this tomorrow! Good night!”

He closed the door ... and Nightmare opened his eyes.

Seriously, though... Nyx managed to get him out?

Again?

He grunted, massaging the bridge of his nose, before turning his attention to the drawings he'd kept in his hand. Was Nyx right? Was he simply too exhausted after all? As much by his couple as by his child?

He grumbled. Nyx had turned the tables a little too easily... but it was true that Nightmare needed a break.

He turned around and went to his room, where Killer must have been waiting for him, sleeping soundly.

Yeah, well... tomorrow he was going out with his husband. Then he'd confront Nyx.

Anyway, there was no rush...

...isn't it?

===

Next Chapter

You can support me on my Utip or on my Ko-fi account !

===

Credits =

Dreamtale ->  Joku

Dust -> Ask DustTale

Error -> LoverOfPiggies

Ink -> Myebi

Killer -> Rahafwabas

Cross and Lux -> Jakei

Insomnia -> EnaPouyou

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #50: Oscar’s Great and Powerful Semblance A Squiggle Meister’s Views on ThatKaitoDan’s RWBY Theory.

megashadowdragon asked “what are your thoughts www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=9YElXr5_Mqw”

Squiggles Answers:

Well first off, appreciative shout out to both @che1sea-xiao-long​ and @megashadowdragon​ for sharing this video with me.

I actually really, REALLY like ThatKaitoDan’s theory on Oscar’s possible semblance being sealing---the ability to permanently take away someone’s ability to use their semblance in combat.

I like Dan’s concept because I appreciated how he was able to connect it back to Princess Ozma---the Wizard of Oz character that many RWBY theorists have speculated Oscar to be influenced by. So that titbit I enjoyed the most about his theory commentary. If Oscar’s semblance does have a sealing kind of effect then I can anticipate it being what finally stops Hazel Rainart in his tracks, should he and Oscar have their inevitable rematch.

The last time our heroes faced off against this rampaging juggernaut, none of them were successful to stop him. Neither the combined efforts of everyone teaming up to combat him nor Weiss utilizing her summons amplified by Jaune’s semblance was enough to thwart Hazel. Hazel, with his own semblance that enables him to block out pain, is a nearly unstoppable villain which currently places him as a very unbeatable foe.

The heroes were fortunate enough that the arrival of the Mistral authorities and the announcement of Cinder’s fall was what caused Hazel to retreat with Emerald and Mercury. If the battle had been allowed to continue, I don’t think they would’ve fared well.

Though Oz did make mention of Hazel having a ‘limit’ to his semblance, this still makes him dangerous because if Hazel can take being empowered by two shards of dust crystals into his body, then how much can he take? What exactly is Hazel’s limit?

I’m curious to know just how many dust crystals Hazel can take before he completely overloads himself on power. And even if he does combust from all the energy within the crystals, I don’t think a still rampaging and unstable Hazel Rainart will be any less a threat against our heroes.

Here’s what I think. I think in a rematch, Hazel will use so much dust that he’ll literally risk killing himself in the process. He’ll lose control and put his life at death’s doorstep. I think it’s in a moment like that where Oscar possessing a power that can seal or perhaps nullify another’s semblance would be a powerful asset. It’s what I think could be a very key factor in finally stopping Hazel.

Picture a crazed Hazel transforming himself into a human dust golem, no longer able to control the power being emitting from the embedded dust in his body. It’s in this moment where Oscar gets a crazy idea to climb on top of Hazel’s back.

Removing both of his gloves so that he can have better physical contact, Oscar uses the full extent of his semblance on Hazel; nullifying his abilities. This tactic works as it slows Hazel’s movements. With his pain resistance switched off a la Oscar Pine, Hazel begins to thrash around, now wreathing from the excruciating pain with Oscar holding on for dear life but still managing to keep the giant man neutralized.

This will later allow for the other heroes to quickly remove the dust shards from Hazel, ending his tirade. I figured this would’ve been how they defeated Hazel during the Haven Battle but no, the most we got was Nora Valkyrie going all supercharged on him and whaling him through the front door. This still by the way, didn’t stop Hazel either.

As I said already, the next time the heroes go up against Hazel, I doubt they’ll be able to stop him like last time. Not to mention that I figured a rematch with Hazel would be the best opportunity for Oscar to unlock his semblance in the heat of battle. The events of V4-V5 already set up Hazel being a sort of arch nemesis to both Oscar and Ozpin so if I had to predict a perfect time for our veteran farm boy turned wizard incarnate to awaken his own hidden power, it would be then. But this is just my assumption.

If Oscar can disable Hazel’s semblance then he can finally stop the juggernaut.

In Dan’s theory video, he referenced the scene from V1 C6 where Pyrhha used some of her aura to unlock Jaune’s. Another lovely tie in since I don’t hear folks often talk about that scene.

Speaking of which, there’s something I’d like to point out about that particular moment. As Pyrhha unlocked Jaune’s aura, she recited something:

“…For it in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above us, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul and by my shoulder, protect thee...”

I made note of this in my RWBY Recap of Volume 1. In my notes, I asked myself if it was absolutely necessary for Pyrhha to recite this whenever using her aura to unlock another’s. Almost like a little spell or ritual incantation of some sort. I’m curious about this since it was never mentioned or brought up again. We haven’t even seen another character use this technique after Pyrhha.

I call attention to this quote because its words make me wonder something.

Pyrhha said ‘For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above us, infinite in distance and unbound by death…’---why does this line somehow make me feel like Pyrhha is somehow still alive. Not physically but like…perhaps spiritually.

If Remnant is a world where super powered human beings, monsters, immortal beings and magic exist as part of the norm then surely supernatural beings such as ghosts and spirts are plausible things too, right? It shouldn’t be too farfetched if there are spirits who roam Remnant, right? 

I can’t shake this inkling of a feeling that after she died, because of her virtuous nature and her willingness to sacrifice herself for the sake of protecting her school and loved ones, that Pyrhha basically cheated death and returned as this sentinel spirit that now guards Beacon including the Vault of the Fall Maiden.

Ozpin mentioned back in V5 that he made things very difficult to find the Vault of the Fall Maiden. So my idea is that the Vault of the Fall Maiden is probably constructed like some kind of labyrinth with many hidden rooms and equally hidden traps and puzzles. 

I sincerely hope that Fall’s Vault is more fortified because what disappointed me about the Spring Maiden’s Vault was that it wasn’t as reinforced as I expected it to be.Another point is that Oz chose Pyrhha as a candidate to become the next Fall Maiden, right? Imagine how interesting it would be if Pyrhha’s Spirit went on to become some kind of Guardian of the Vault or Beacon Academy. 

I don’t care if her physical body got turned to ash. May Pyrhha’s spirit return as an eternal hero, still continuing to protect her school from beyond the freaking grave, dagnabbit? A squiggle meister can only dream.  

Anyways, back to talking about Oscar. Although I really do like Dan’s idea, I’m still standing by my own theory about Oscar having a mind semblance. While Dan’s theory connected to Oscar’s character influence, I based my idea more so on Oscar’s personality or…at least my interpretation of what little glimpses of it we saw last season.

As you guys know, V5 C5 was my all-time favourite episode of the last season purely for the scene between Oscar and Ruby. I love how Oscar was able to get Ruby to finally open up about how she truly felt regarding everything she’s been through since V3. Oscar has only known Ruby for a couple of weeks during that time and already he was able to do more for her than what any other character has done in just one scene.

Not to mention that he even attempted to do the same with Hazel by trying to reason with him during their fight.

That whole impression of connecting to others---understanding the way they think and feel and ultimately helping them come to their senses and thus assist them from within--- I figured these traits could be adapted into a strong mental semblance where Oscar is able to connect to other’s via their mind---seeing their memories, reading their thoughts and thus understanding them from an empathic point of view that wouldn’t require much physical effort. It’d be a supportive power as Dan mentioned in his video.

I based that purely on his current predicament being connected to Ozpin and forced to share a mind space with him while also considering Oscar’s inclination to want to reach out and understand others; be it ally or foe.

Not as fleshed out as Dan’s but…I really do like the idea of Oscar’s power having something to do with his mind. After all, the mind is a fragile thing and it represents the uncharted inner corridors of one’s very being.

Can you imagine a character having power over that especially if they’re a hero?

I also dig this concept because it also provides the threat of Oscar being able to possible control; manipulate someone’s thoughts and/or possibly destroying their mind. 

I just have this thought of Oscar letting his emotions get the better of him and becoming so furious that he uses his mental semblance to stop someone and the results leaves the person either brain dead, brain damaged or at least mentally unstable. 

For all the Young Justice fans in the FNDM community, remember how in Invasion, Miss Martian turned Aqualad into a vegetable after becoming angry and overdoing it with her telepathy powers on him? That’s how I figured it would be for Oscar.

We rarely talk about the dark implications a powerful semblance can have on a victim.

While Dan sees Oscar being like Eraserhead from My Hero Academia, I was more leaning towards a Professor Xavier from X-Men kind of power for Oscar. 

In a way, I think both can work really well cause they tie into Oscar as a character. As a matter of fact, I’d like to take both Dan’s idea and my own and combine the two together.

Theory Fusion Activate!

Oz mentioned that one’s semblance can grow and evolve, right?

So what if…Oscar’s semblance is Nullification. He unlocks the ability to disable one from using their semblance for a period of time depending on his aura levels. In the beginning, he’s only able to use this power by making physical contact with said person but in time, with more training, his ability evolves to the point where he’s able to nullify another' with his mind. While doing this places a bit of mental strain on Oscar’s part, the mental nullification proves more effective than the physical version.

Not sure how much this makes sense in the context of Ruby but it can work. It takes the best parts of both mine and Dan’s ideas and merge them to form something plausible for Oscar to have.  

My reasoning behind wanting Oscar to possess a mind or mental-based semblance is because at the moment, Emerald Sustrai is the only mental-based semblance user in the cast and she’s with the villains.

I wanted another mental-semblance user on the side of the heroes in order to counter Emerald.

Let’s say, Emerald is fighting Oscar and tries to use her illusions on him. But because Oscar’s power is Nullification, his semblance makes him completely immune to Emerald’s tactics so he’s able to negate her illusions. That’d be awesome.

Or even better, imagine Oscar’s Nullification growing to the point where he’s able to just activate his semblance by merely looking at his opponents. So anyone who dares step within close proximity of his line of vision gets their semblance rendered useless against Oscar. The only limit to that is at first Oscar is only able to nullify one person at a time but again, with more practice and training, he can grow till his range of ability could expand to more than one person depending on his mental strength.

To make sense of how Oscar is able to do that, let’s return to my theory of his semblance being mental or becoming mental-based in time so his Nullification evolves from requiring physical contact to just a stronger mental focus. So Oscar would need to become stronger mentally to help enhance his semblance which fits into his character. This could lend to Ren providing Oscar with some mentorship in meditation and focus.

The final form would be the sealing---permanently stopping a person from using their semblance for good. As Dan already mentioned, the series pointed out that aura can be used to unlock someone’s aura and training one’s aura is what leads to them eventually unlocking their semblance, correct?

So if semblance is awakened by aura and aura can be used to awaken aura. Then what would happen should someone learn to use aura to permanently disable someone’s aura so that they can’t use their semblance?

Aura is a term in RWBY that still eludes me a bit. Aura has been described as the manifestation of the soul. So…if someone were to seal off another’s aura…couldn’t that potentially kill a person if used incorrectly? Just asking. 

If Oscar does gain that kind of power in the end, then I’d imagine that it’d be a tactic Oscar would only resort to as last alternative because of the dangerous consequences of using it; not just on the victim but on Oscar himself.

Dan referred to Oscar’s sealing power being like Energy bending in Avatar the Last Airbender.

Wasn’t one of the drawbacks of energy bending that the user could be corrupted by the essence of the person who’s bending they were taking away? 

I can’t recall where it was said but I think I remember the lion turtle mentioning that to Aang when they first met. I��think? Correct me if I’m wrong here guys. 

But let’s say…Oscar does gain the whole sealing power as part of the final form in his Nullification Semblance. I only like the Sealing aspect of Oscar’s semblance as a last resort because I imagine a power like that could be very unsafe to use freehand.  The dangers of such a power are that one, this technique could run the risk of killing the victim since we are messing with aura---meaning one’s very soul, here. 

Not to mention that it places the user---Oscar at risk as well. Finally two, this technique would require a lot of aura on Oscar’s part or at least I’d imagine so. Like a lot especially to account for the victim resisting against the sealing process. 

After all, Pyrhha used some of her aura to awaken Jaune’s right?  So let’s say each time Oscar uses his semblance to nullify an opponent’s semblance, the effort to maintain this feat requires aura so the longer he maintains the nullification process, the more aura he drains from himself.

Somehow I’m visualizing Oscar’s nullification powers like chains that bind his enemies with an analog timer ticking down to how much longer Oscar can restrain his victim. A little exaggerated but you get the idea. 

So if sealing becomes a power for Oscar to have, it’s something that could help win a fight but can also potentially kill Oscar. I know it takes away the light-hearted ease of use of Dan’s original point but…this squiggle meister thinks a power like that would come with risks. After all, with great power comes great responsibility.  

But that’s just me. The more I think and elaborate on this, the more I’m really digging the concept of it. 

ThatKaitoDan is a genius for coming up with this theory for Oscar’s semblance. 

I doubt he’ll ever read my Tumblr post response to his theory but I would’ve loved to have heard his feedback on my add-ons to his theory. I’d love to hear his thoughts on my thoughts. 

He really is onto to something awesome and his idea for Oscar’s semblance is now one of my favourites apart from my own and the combination of our two theories. 

So if I had to pick which powers I can see Oscar having, it’s either a mental based power (like telepathy) or sealing or nullification---the grand combination of the two as I described in this post. That’s this squiggle meister’s thoughts on that. 

ThatKaitoDan’s Oscar’s Great and Power Semblance: RWBY Theory 

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2018) 

[justanotherwannabeclassic]

Bloom (4/?)

It’s nice for the latest edition of The Happiest Pregnancy Ever! In this chapter, Belle and Killian discuss Gideon’s magic, leading Killian to freak out about what it might mean for his unborn child. Good thing he has Emma there, right?

Many thanks for @unfolded73 for the beta!

[Ch.1][Ch.2][Ch.3]

You can also read on AO3! Chapter 4: Magic There were many things that Killian believed the denizens of the Land Without Magic took for granted. Warm running water, the machines that kept the air cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and the sheer availability of everything -- clothing, food, and information. The first time he'd stumbled across the food market, he'd marveled at the options. He could purchase fresh fruit and vegetables out of season, and there were spices from all over the world that cost barely any coin. Even better, he could use the magic box and "google", as Emma and the boy called it, a variety of recipes which he could then follow in the kitchen. He still preferred books to the Google, but he marveled at how easily he could find information cobbled together by experts on this matter or that. 

It was his quest for more information by means of books that drove Killian to the library. He had a few texts tucked under his arm to return, and was intent on gathering more. Besides, he hadn't spoken properly with Belle in a number of days, and he was eager to catch up with his friend. Unfortunately, when Killian entered the library, he found a mess of books scattered across the floor flung around the room, a shelf knocked haphazardly to its side.

Worry pricked at him, and he found himself reaching for the cutlass at his hip. It technically wasn't proper regulation for the Sheriff's deputy to carry a sword, but that was not a concession he was willing to make. Despite wearing the star of law enforcement, Killian was still a pirate, forever and always. A sword he would carry. He set down his stack of books, giving him free motion with his hooked arm. Should anything attack, he would be prepared.

"Belle?" he called out. Whatever caused this mess, he hoped that Belle was in a state to alert him of her location or safety.

Killian skirted around the books and upturned shelve. His stomach churned uncomfortably. He was not prepared for another villain, and Emma certainly wasn't in the condition to risk another battle, no matter how much she claimed otherwise.

He sighed deeply and silently thanked the gods when Belle walked briskly from the back of the library, a fussy Gideon secured in her arms, looking somewhat distressed but unharmed. Thankfully, she and her son were safe. 

"Sorry about the mess," she said. She swayed from side-to-side, her son calming at the motion. Killian took note for future reference. 

"Nothing for you to apologize for," he replied. He sheathed his sword. "What caused it?"

Belle frowned and glanced toward her son. "Gideon."

"He has magic." It was a statement, not a question. A foolish one at that, because of course he knew the boy had some magic. Killian saw what he became, the sorcery the boy's older self had used to torment him and Emma. Not willingly, Killian reminded himself, but it was difficult to shake the memory of Emma being stabbed. Killed.

"We didn't think it would develop so early," Belle replied, not taking her eyes off Gideon. "Well, I don't think Rumple wanted him to develop magic at all."

"That's surprising."

Belle glared at him. Her relationship with the Dark One was still a sore spot between them. He didn't trust the Crocodile, and doubted he ever would. Nevertheless, the man was still married to Belle, and they were trying to make the relationship work. Killian didn't necessarily approve, but Belle was her own woman, so he tried to keep the sniping remarks to a minimum.

"Believe it or not, he doesn't want that life for Gideon," Belle said evenly. "He knows better than anyone the damage magic can do, so he worries."

Belle sighed and walked over to the play area she kept for Gideon. After what happened with their child, both Belle and the Crocodile had been hesitant to hand him over to a babysitter. Killian doubted that Gideon would ever be allowed to be supervised by the fairies again. Not that Killian blamed them. If anything happened to his and Emma's babe...Killian shook his head, unwilling to think such thoughts. Their daughter would be fine.

Of course, Belle had thought the same with her son.

Killian watched the boy as he lunged for his toy blocks. He was already standing, and a few weeks ago, Belle had sent in a group message a video of Gideon taking tentative steps toward his father. How could this technically be the same person who'd run Emma through with a sword?

"For what it's worth, the only dark magic Gideon seemed to do was under the control of the Black Fairy," Killian said more for his own benefit than Belle's. He wouldn't grow up to hurt anyone, Emma or their daughter. "Magic doesn't necessarily turn one evil."

Emma was proof enough of that.

"That's what I said. Besides, between Rumple, Regina, and Emma, Gideon will have plenty of opportunities to learn how to control his magic. There are people here who want to protect him." Belle folded her arms around herself. She was clearly distraught by the whole affair. "Rumple doesn't necessarily see it that way."

"We would watch out for him, you know," Killian promised, feeling quite defensive. He might have his own issues with the boy, but he wouldn't want anything to actually happen to him.

"I know that, and I think Rumple knows that," Belle said, even though she didn't sound fully convinced. "It's just..."

She trailed off, and her expression knitted into a look of conflict.

"It's just what?"

She sighed. "Rumple wants to bind his powers."

Killian quirked his brow. "What does that entail?"

"He wants to use magic to remove his powers, temporarily -- until he is no longer a baby," Belle explained.

Killian considered her words. Loathe as he was to admit it, the Crocodile's plan wasn't the worst. He knew how unstable magic could be when wielded by an untrained user. Strong emotions still occasionally gave Emma trouble controlling her own powers, and she was quite capable.  An infant or toddler would have no such ability to manage its strength. Books flung around the library were one thing, but Gideon could accidentally cause more damage with a full-blown tantrum. 

Of course, Killian knew better than to give his opinion entirely unsolicited. He'd learned that quickly with Belle, so he instead tried to coax her to explain her own feelings. "And you disagree?"

"Yes? No? Honestly, I don't know." Belle replied. She looked over to Gideon, who was now banging loudly on a toy piano. Thankfully, Killian was the only patron in the library. "On one hand, he's right that it could cause more problems with him as a baby. You can see that." 

Belle gestured toward the books still on the floor.

"But?"

"But if we do bind his powers, then we will be denying a fundamental part of him, which feels wrong." She began to pace. "Honestly, it’s the whole thing with the shears all over again."

Killian recalled her conflict with removing Gideon's destiny and how it had driven her from her husband. He also remembered his own struggle with Emma’s fate.

“But you said yourself, it’s only temporary,” Killian reminded her. “It wouldn’t be removing his abilities completely. You could get them back.” 

“I know,” Belle sighed. “After everything that happened with Rumple’s mother and Gideon -- if we had used the shears like Rumple had wanted, would she have taken him? I sometimes wonder that I was wrong then, and if I am now…”

She trailed off, and Killian could see the tears brimming in her eyes.

“You did what you thought was best,” he assured her. He hated seeing his friend full of self-doubt. She had no way of knowing just what would come from her decisions early in her pregnancy.

“And I almost lost him.” Belle brushed at the corner of her eyes. She shook her head as if willing the tears away. She then moved to pick up the books, and Killian joined her.

They worked in silence to the backdrop noises of Gideon’s babbling as he played with his toys. Killian wasn’t sure what to say to Belle, or even the best way to comfort her, so he stayed quiet and busied himself with righting the bookshelves. He’d spent enough time here to learn the ordering system so he could put everything in its correct place. Finally, the library was sorted, even if Belle still didn’t appear terribly happy. 

“What would you do?” she asked suddenly, catching him off guard.

 “In which situation?”

“This,” she answered, gesturing toward Gideon. “What would you and Emma do, if your baby has magic? Have you talked about it?”

“Not explicitly, no.”

Emma made offhand comments every now and then, but they’d never actively discussed how they’d handle a magical child. They hadn’t even named the baby or decided on the color for a nursery (much to the chagrin of Snow). How could they be expected to discuss the possibility of their child being magical if they couldn’t yet make those simpler decisions?

Belle, thankfully, didn’t pry for more, instead settling on telling him, “You can read all the books, but nothing ever prepares you for being a parent.”

Killian didn’t stay long at the library after that, but Belle's words haunted him for the rest of the day. How would he and Emma handle their child having magic? They'd love her regardless. Nothing could ever make them not love their daughter, even if she decided to change her name to Gold and ally herself with the Crocodile. But fear had started to prick at him.

What if she had magic? What if she were given a destiny similar to Emma's? What then? These were things Killian had forced himself not to consider in the early months of the pregnancy, intent on creating an air of calm around an already anxious Emma. He tried to remember the words he'd used to soothe his beloved, reminding himself just as Belle had done that they had family to support them and protect their child. But Killian had never done well with calming himself, often feeling adrift in a storm of emotions. 

He knew part of the reason that fear gripped him now was the tangibility of their child. Before, though the pregnancy had been very real, it felt like just an idea. The possibilities were endless. But "it" had become a "she", the bundle of gray on the screen resembling a person. He and Emma had a list of names they endlessly debated, and in a few months time, he would be holding his child in his arms. Gods, he was terrified.

He tried to busy himself with tasks to keep his mind occupied. He filed documents at the station. He researched a particularly complicated recipe to make for dinner, and set out to the store for all of the ingredients. He cooked, and relished the way Emma's eyes grew wide when she saw the dish, as well as her sighs of enjoyment as she ate.

Unfortunately, none of those things kept the weight of his worries off his shoulders, a fact that Emma cottoned onto quickly.

"Okay, what's up?" she asked him as they worked through their nightly chore of cleaning dishes.

"Nothing to worry about, love."

"Uh-huh." She sounded unconvinced. "You've been broody all night, and you've been drying the same plate for the past five minutes. So, I'll repeat again, what's up?"

He sighed. There was no use in evading her questions. She was damn fine at interrogation, which he had the pleasure of witnessing occasionally at the station and the torture of being subjected to at home. "I visited the library and had a conversation with Belle that vexed me, that's all."

"Was it about her and Gold? 'Cause babe, you've gotta accept that ship has--"

"It wasn't about her relationship with the Crocodile. We discussed Gideon...and his magic."

"What about it?" Emma asked, leaning against the counter. The remaining dishes sat forgotten in the sink, and Killian knew that should they continue the conversation, they would remain forgotten.

"He's already exhibiting his abilities, which obviously worries his parents." 

"Um, yeah, I bet." Realization quickly dawned on Emma's face. She reached out to grab his hook, and nudged him away from the kitchen counter. "C'mon, this is a couch conversation."

He followed her -- he'd always follow her -- as she led him to the couch in their den. They settled together, Emma leaning her back against the arm to better face him. That sat in silence for a moment, and a quirk in his wife's brow indicated he was expected to speak first.

"Belle and the Crocodile are debating whether or not to temporarily bind Gideon's powers," Killian explained, "and she asked me what we had discussed if," he gestured to her rounded belly, "she did the same. Showed early signs of her powers, that is."

Emma pursed her lips. "You know, the benefit of our friends having babies before us was that we were supposed get advice from them, not the other way around."

Despite the severity of the situation, Killian couldn't help but crack a smile. "Aye, there's that."

"There's no guarantee, you know, that she'll have magic. She might not," Emma said, placing her hands protectively over her stomach. "I mean, Henry doesn't have magic. Neal hasn't shown any signs either, despite also being the product of True Love or whatever. And other than me, it's not like anyone else in my family is inherently magical. My magic could just be a destiny thing."

But that raised the silent question: what if she has a destiny?

The thought had him shifting uncomfortably on the couch. It was one thing to worry about her being a target because of him or Emma. That Killian was sure he’d at least come to term with and could potentially control. But an outside force -- fate, destiny, a god -- dictating his daughter's life and safety didn't sit right with him.

"But, hey, if she does end up with magic or a destiny, she has us and our family," Emma said, and Killian wasn't sure if it served as a reminder for her or him. "You told me that once."

"It's also what I told Belle."

"It's easier to say things than it is to believe them.”

He barked out a bitter laugh. "So it seems, my love."

Emma reached out to him, grabbing his hand and squeezing tight. "It's okay to freak out a bit, you know. You don't have to act one hundred percent fine with everything all of the time. You can talk to me about things that scare you." 

"Ah, but therein lies the problem: I don't wish to also alarm you."

"Yeah, well, sooner or later Belle would probably be asking me the same thing, causing me to freak out anyway," Emma replied with a shrug. "At least this way, I know I'm not alone in my anxieties. It makes me feel less like a hormonal crazy lady to know you also worry about these things."

"You are not a hormonal crazy lady."

“Damn straight,” she stressed. She bit her lip, and considered him carefully. “So what did you tell her? You know, about what’d we do in her situation. 

“That we hadn’t discussed it,” he answered truthfully. “That seemed to be enough for her.” 

Emma shifted herself so that she could lean against him. His hooked arm automatically went around her shoulders and she sighed. Her pressure against his side was a calming weight, anchoring his tumultuous feelings. 

“What side was Belle on with the whole binding Gideon’s powers thing?” Emma asked, her voice slightly muffled as she buried herself further into his side.

He placed a kiss on her head before answering. “She’s conflicted. She believes if she does, she’ll be suppressing something fundamentally him. But she also worries about his safety. A small child with unbelievable power and little control over it is dangerous, not just for him, but others.”

“What would you want to do?” Emma asked, finally getting to the point they’d been dancing around since they retired to the couch. She tilted her head up to look at him, her green eyes shining bright. He hoped their daughter inherited her eyes.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. He felt ashamed to say such a thing, as if he was failing his unborn child for questioning the best way to protect her. Emma tugged him closer to her.

“It’s okay not to know, Killian. I don’t either,” she said. She was quiet for awhile before speaking again. “I talked to my mom not long ago about being pregnant. Did I tell you that?”

“Regarding what?” he asked, confused. He knew that Emma and her mother talked often about a variety of things, and the pregnancy had factored in heavily recently. Of course Emma talked to her mother about being pregnant. He just wasn’t sure why it was relevant.

“About worrying and stuff. You remember how crazy she got when she was pregnant with Neal,” Emma replied.

Killian did remember, though he couldn’t recall everything Snow had discussed. She’d rattled off plenty of facts about pregnancy and illnesses, but he’d been distracted then, mourning the loss of the Jolly and desperately hoping Emma would someday see him as a better man. Looking back, he wished he’d paid better attention.

“Anyway, she and I talked about that, and she gave me some pretty solid advice.” 

“Did she now?” He didn’t doubt that; Emma’s mother was a wise and caring woman.

“Yeah. She told me we could worry about everything that could happen, stress ourselves trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario, or we could accept whatever might happen and go from there.” 

“That doesn’t sound like the best plan,” he said. As a ship’s captain, he’d liked to be prepared for all scenarios, best and worst case. Not that he knew what was which in this instance.

He could sense Emma’s glare in response. “Basically, she was saying that we can drive ourselves crazy over what may or may not happen to the baby, or we can take the problems as they come.”

“I’d prefer for no problems to come our way.” 

“We’re having a kid, Captain, there’s no avoiding it,” Emma said with a laugh.

“A man can but dream.”

“Hey,” Emma said, looking up at him and tilting his chin toward her. “I’m scared too, but we can plan and plan, and then once we meet her, we might realize our first plan was wrong and end up starting over from square one. She might have magic, she might not. But right now, maybe it’s best for us to focus on ensuring that she’s the most loved baby in Storybrooke.”

“She’s already the most loved baby in Storybrooke,” Killian countered with a grin. Emma matched his smile. Her words made sense, even if he still wasn’t sure. Then again, he doubted he ever would be. 

“Besides, we can just see how Gideon pans out with whatever Belle and Gold decide.”

This time, Killian couldn’t help but laugh at Emma’s comment.

“Aye, darling, sounds like a plan.”

[kayawagner]

100 Dungeon Descriptors Table

Nothing fancy today, just a list of dungeon descriptors, helpfully listed in d100 format. Oftentimes I find myself wanting to make a new dungeon or area and am short on ideas. This list is useful for inspiration, kickstarting design with an idea or two about which ideas can be formed. Alternately, you can pick one or two as overarching themes and then flavor smaller areas with another selection. Of course you may need to get creative if you end up with conflicting descriptors that make no sense together, but if it’s too bizarre you can always ignore the one you like least and/or roll again.

Here’s an example: We’ll go with an area with two random descriptors and three sub areas each with an additional descriptor of it’s own. Our rolls* are 9, 53 , 51, 14, 90. That gives us main traits of Icy and Rectangular rooms. So we have a start of an idea. Rectangular rooms is pretty standard dungeon stuff. Icy implies cold or ice creatures and a certain environment. Maybe this is high in the mountains, deep underground, a magical cold, or far to the north/south. We’ll decide later. Our three sub zones are Large scale, Geothermal, and Non-euclidean. Giant is easy. So we have a giants’ castle in the high mountains covered in frost and ice. Under the castle we’ve got a series of geothermically active caverns. We could go fire elemental here, but I like making the geothermal energy a power source for the giant’s castle better. So the castle has steam driven gates and other cool steam type devices, as well as few “ice giant engineers”, although no steam heat. In the caverns themselves, there are a few ice giant taskmasters (nearly naked because of the heat) and a bunch of slaves that maintain the steam pipes. Beyond the castle, carved into the mountain is a series of rooms with odd magical geometry. Let’s combine that with the ice to have sliding traps and block puzzles that rely on the non euclidean nature of the space, placed to protect some appropriate artifact. On advice of my test audience, we’ll also add some man sized blind penguins and ice-template gibbering mouthers to this area. That even gives us three adventure hooks: against the giants, free the slaves, capture the relic.

Wet: Moldy – damp, and mold grows everywhere

Wet: Flooded  – ankle to waist deep water everywhere

Wet: Underwater – entire place is underwater

Wet: Rotten – sodden, and everything is ruined, turning into mush

Dry: Crumbling – dry rot, crumbling stone

Dry: Dusty – a layer of dust and grit cover everything

Dry: Parched – dry air that makes you thirsty and uncomfortable

Dry: Dehydrating – moving air the pulls moisture away, full of mummified husks of small creatures, etc…

Cold: Icy – covered with a layer of ice, formations on walls and ceiling

Cold: Clammy – cold and damp air, works through your clothes

Cold: Glacial – biting cold, walls of ice

Cold: Crisp – cool but invigorating

Hot: Smoldering – piles of still warm ash, may have low oxygen levels

Hot: Steamy – geothermal vents, geysers, etc…

Hot: Magma – flows of magma (1500k about 3 times as hot as a campfire, 500k) in large rooms, heat may dissipate enough to approach, in small rooms maybe not

Hot: Warm – general warmer temperature

Live: Positive aura – depending on the strength, area may be covered in growth or items may animate or burst into frantic activity

Live: Swarming – filled with large swarms of vermin

Live: Live rock – dripping mineral water creates slow growing formations

Live: Genius loci – a spirit caretaker oversees the area

Dead: Bodies – corpses litter the area

Dead: Negative aura – may cause a feeling of illness or unease, bolster undead or even damage the living

Dead: Ruined – once worked the area is falling apart

Dead: Eerie – feelings of being watched, prickling of the skin, etc…

Vegetation: Overgrown/roots – plant growth and hanging roots block passages and cluster about the ground

Vegetation: Flowering – strange cave flowers grow or sprout from bushes or vines

Vegetation: Fungus/mold – large fungi or molds grow throughout the area

Vegetation: Gardens – carefully tended (once?) gardens dot the area

Natural: Solution caves – caves formed by minerals dissolving, often wet

Natural: Lava tubes – formed by magma flowing out of a space, stone is hard, rooms are tunnel like

Natural: Fracture caves – full of debris,  layers of rock collapse to form caves

Natural: Erosion caves – made by action of wind or water wearing down rock, may have strong winds or high tide

Manufactured: Hewn – crudely carved out of rock, surface still shows tool marks

Manufactured: Supported – soft stone supported by columns or beams

Manufactured: Rough Brick – simple stone bricks carved from rock shore up and finish walls

Manufactured: Advanced Brick – smaller, fancier, or simply better made stone bricks

Sounds: Whistling – sound of wind forced through tight passages or over odd formations

Sounds: Rumbling – perhaps an indication this area is unstable or of seismic activity

Sounds: Battle noises – inhabitants often get in noisy conflict

Sounds: Moaning – the wind? or something more sinister?

Smells: Decay – death, decomposition, mold

Smells: Dirt – the smell of earth and dirt

Smells: Chemicals – strange acrid brews, sickly sweet tangs, some kind of strange chemicals are on the air

Smells: Metal – the distinct smell and taste of metal, is this a metallurgists, a mine, or just an ore rich area?

Denizens: Beast – area is populated with animals, predators, scavengers etc…

Denizens: Lowlives – slimes, fungus monsters and insects

Denizens: Magical – elementals, undead, constructs and other unnatural things

Denizens: Humanoids – primitive or advanced humanoid tool users

Scale: Tight – small rooms, tight passages, crawling and squeezing through tunnels

Scale: Standard – normal room and passage scale

Scale: Large – larger passways, huge rooms, perhaps natural or built by giants

Scale: Mixed – a mix of scales, often natural but also a characteristic of an area inhabited by different sizes of creature

Shapes: Rectangles – standard square and rectangular rooms

Shapes: Ellipse – circles and ellipses

Shapes: Angled – angled rooms other than squares and rectangles, triangles, hexagons, unusual shapes…

Shapes: Natural – caves and natural passages

Maintenance: Maintained – the area is being maintained, passably clean and repairs are made

Maintenance: Expanding – the area is maintained and new areas are being built on the edges

Maintenance: Abandoned – no one is doing maintenance, most things still work but some don’t and wear is obvious

Maintenance: Collapsing – no one has done maintenance for a long time, few things work, most are broken, missing, or destroyed

Airy: Strong winds – winds howl through the rooms and halls, light items are blown away, doors may be flung open or characters pushed down

Airy: Cavernous – huge open caverns with vaulted ceilings

Airy: Chasms – deep chasms voids and pits

Airy: Open – one monstrous cavern with discrete areas within, sneak a little overland into your dungeon

Architecture: Monolithic – huge construction from large slabs of rock

Architecture: Sparse – clean unadorned construction

Architecture: Embellished – covered with engravings, runes, patterns, etc…

Architecture: Stylistic – an unusual or alien style

Obscured: Foggy – mists, steam or fog blanket the area

Obscured: Screened – webs, vines or other obstructions shroud the area

Obscured: Magic darkness – rooms or the entire area is covered in magical darkness

Obscured: Twisty – no special obstruction, just very few straight passages so vision only extends to the next bend

Size: Small – your classic 5 room dungeon

Size: Medium – larger complex, 5-15 rooms

Size: Large – larger yet, 20-50 rooms

Size: Extra large – sprawling multi-“zone” area

Unique: Architecture – contains a unique piece of architecture, statuary, or other landmark

Unique: Foe – contains a unique monster, NPC or the like

Unique: Magic effect – contains a special magic effect, either an aura over the whole area or a specific feature like a magical portal or pool

Unique: Treasure – has a special one of a kind treasure that may have its own backstory or associated quest

Danger: Hazards – venomous critters, naturally occurring rockfalls, pits or fire gouts

Danger: Traps – area is/was home to a trap builders and has many traps

Danger: Monsters – area full of deadly monsters

Danger: Curses – area holds curses or other magical dangers

Treasure: Coin and items – standard treasures

Treasure: Raw ore/gems – area has been or can be mined for raw ore and gems

Treasure: Art – area has art objects that can be looted as treasure

Treasure: Goods – not much in the way of treasure, but area has trade good that can be sold

Magic: Changing – shifting walls, moving rooms and other tricks

Magic: Non-euclidean – the area has a definite arrangement but its full of portals, bends in reality or other weirdness that make it difficult to map

Magic: Wild – magic in this area acts unpredictable

Magic: Null – magic in this area is suppressed or nullified

Crystal: Studded – walls are studded with raw crystal

Crystal: Monsters – monsters in this area are weird crystal versions or crystal themed monsters

Crystal: Walls – this area is carved from a massive crystal deposit, glass or obsidian

Crystal: Items – furniture, decorative items, tools, and weapons in this area are all made of crystals

Technology: Stone – denizens of this area use stone age technology

Technology: Bronze – foes in this area use bronze or another soft metal

Technology: Steel – this area has steel or another hard metal technology

Technology: Steam – this area features early steam tech

  *Using my Polyhero Wizard dice, because they’re what I have on hand. Now I can use the old “mad wizard” excuse when players look at me funny.

100 Dungeon Descriptors Table published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com