#rambling from the berry bush

[the-messy-artist]

Has this been done yet

[majorproblems77]

Maaajjoooor

What's your favorite things about fall time???

Got any fun traditions or smells and foods and stuff??

🐟

Ahh hello, anon!

I really enjoy the colours, reds, oranges there are even some purples around which is cool.

I did... Whether I do it this year I'm not sure... Me and mum would make jam at this time of the year. Alongside making up the Christmas pudding which is a pudding you make in October or early November. As it has to sit for a while.

Thanks for the question Anon, always good to see you

[sharpedgedfool]

Winter Fairies! Figured out a way to include the robots without it being too far out I think!

More rambles under the cut:

Rouge is Mistletoe! Seemed fitting, it has the romantic symbolism but it's actually quite a nasty plant and steals resources from other trees! She's proud of her berries, she sees them like pearls and after seeing mortals create jewellery she's taken to swiping the real ones too. Seeing mortals romanticise her plant's gotten to her head a bit, so she doesn't like to be seen without an extravagant dress. Winter fae don't die annually, so they can afford to create longer-lasting clothing out of cloth and furs that aren't made out of plants. Rouge has a sort of jumpsuit underneath out of her leaves, but prefers layers to keep warm so she doesn't freeze over like some other fae.

Omega is the Holly bush, and he hides away in this bulky armour made out of thorns, bark and wood. He has a 'false face' made out of berries, but he peeks out from gaps in the wood. No one knows what he really looks like, but he's gotten incredibly proficient about launching berries at people so no one dares try to find out. A select few have seen his real face though, Hope is often the one to help rebuild his exterior if it gets damaged somehow.

Hope is Snowdrop, a flower that symbolises hope (haha) She's a clumsy flier, but makes up for it by being able to fix anything she accidentally breaks! She's one of the only flowers to bloom during Winter so she likes to show off her petals as a dress, even if its cold! Luckily, by the time her flowers bloom Spring's starting to warm the place up.

Metal Sonic's the Crab Apple fairy, he flies around in the cold unbothered so his skin's sort of frosted over and has a metallic sheen, it also makes him super aerodynamic. Winter fae have a more vicious appearance, and his claws can do major damage if he wishes. He doesn't have a mouth as he has no need to speak, but enjoys company on occasion. He's one of the fastest fliers of all the fae, but keeping to himself means most don't know about him. Crab apples and wild cherry look pretty similar, and so do damselfly and dragonflys, so it's fun to have Sonic and Metal mirror each other still!

[evvyyypeters-fics]

Dragon Prince! Evan Peters Headcanons + ( x gn!reader)

Warnings! Mentions of violence, fluff, little angst, lots of rambling and dragon lore stuff, not rlly proofread

Disclaimer! This is obviously not an accurate representation of Evan Peters as a person. This is a characterized/ fictionalized idea/ concept. Do not take this as fact. It is entirely fiction and based on my own opinions, thoughts and conception.

Good lord this photo does things to me. Eye contact with Evan has me melting

Requested by @jazz-berry (as usual) and inspired by @lemoniiiiiii

Y/N is definitely a self made boss, bounty hunter/ hunter/ pirate/ archer, etc. and Evan is extremely protective over them, it’s in his nature, but he knows how they feel about him being overbearing or getting in the way of them having their independence. So he kind of steps to the side, while keeping a big eye on Y/N. And if they’re ever in immediate danger and he’s around, you know he’s going to be the one to come save their ass instantly. He’ll be dramatic about it too, he has a stoic face where he acts like he isn’t super worried, but he’ll pick Y/N up even if they aren’t injured bridal style and carry them to a log or some sort of chair, bench or bed to sit down and heal.

“Y/N” He shouts, his voice louder than anything you had heard before, it was passionate and almost frantic. And yet, it almost sounded like a roar with the anger that was built up inside.

He rushed towards the dragon that had trapped me at the edge of a forest, its leaves barbed by rows of thorn bushes. To enter them would not only seal my fate, but also be a painful journey. And Evan was allowing neither. His cape bellowed, flickering before my eyes before I could clear the blood dripping from my head and traveling down my eye, his stance confident before the tall beast. He drew his long sword, sheathing it and wielding the heavy weapon between both hands.

I knew that Evan was the ‘dragon prince’ (even though I truly didn’t fully understand what that meant yet), but it still amazed me each time that just the mere look inside of his eyes and the gleam of his large sword made the firey creature cower, picking up its heavy wings, floating above the large scape of land. The grass shuddering beneath each audible flap, Evan’s gaze following the dragon as it rose in the air and turned away, disappearing behind the icy capped mountains in the distant lands. Evan instantly pivoted on his heels towards me, sheathing his sword back into its halter. I could hear the jingle of the chainmail on his armor and the buckle of his boots as he hurried towards me, lowering himself to my wounded position in the grass. He places a leathery, comforting hand on my cheek as he eyes the wound that to his relief, quickly crusted.

“Come on, let's get you out of here.” He says in that same cold tone he always uses. But there’s something oddly sweet with the way he scoops me up from under my knees, forcing my arms to flail around his shoulders, holding him tight as he carries me back to the kingdom like his bride.

“Is this truly necessary?” I ask, flustered. He only hums in response, not letting go. In fact, I swear I could feel his grip get tighter for a moment, adjusting me more comfortably in his arms. My eyes focused on his stubbly chin, his cape flickering behind him in the corner of my eye.

Headcanons:

(lore)

- He’s a dragon prince, so I think he would actually have some sort of DNA connection with the dragons/ spiritual one. His main defense mechanism against them being his ability to communicate with them, more in a telepathic sense. His eyes may glow yellow or have a more “dragon-like” appearance when he uses that part of himself

- He has a sword specifically made to pierce the tough scales of a dragon and is derived from special materials that are toxic to dragons

- Anyone can train a dragon in this world, but he has an easier time due to his communication ability, being able to tame them easier. He has lots of dragons who he is allied with who help me slay the other territories.

- There are multiple kingdoms made of dragons, and they go to war with each other, and humans can get crossed in this mix which is where he comes into the picture

- He’s sort of a hybrid mitigator for dragon-human wars, and even helps the dragon allies with their own turf wars

- His main duty is as a guard/ knight for the kingdom, he keeps watch for dragon attacks as well as humans. He used often as a weapon against dragons by the kingdom

- The royal family of the kingdom doesn’t recognize being a “dragon prince” as a real royal standing, so while he’s technically royalty and is part of a rare bloodline, he is not considered so by many. The highest ranking he has is being close to a commander/ knight, but only in the ordeal of dealing with dragons during war/ an attack

- He has his limits when it comes to slaying dragons. He will only slay dragons that are an active threat to the kingdom or someone he loves. He will never slay a dragon without a valid reason, and will negotiate with them before making any attacks

- He’s part of a royal bloodline, mixed between dragon and human, they’ve existed for thousands of years but were feared by many and slowly died out/ got colonized/ executed. He was abandoned/ his family was massacred when he was young and was found by a blacksmith of the kingdom when he was young. So he didn’t know he was part of the rare bloodline until he came in contact with a dragon when he was 13 and learned of his ability. His father then told him the truth of his origins and he began training as a knight to become a guard in the kingdom, thanks to the help of his adoptive father.

- He sometimes gets visions of the future, of course pertaining to things that involve dragons, but also premonitions of things that could lead to the end of the world. Dragons and humans are interlinked from ancient history, so certain clashes have almost led to the destruction of the world. There were a few ice ages and purges of life, but they eventually came back. Evan can get dreams/ spontaneous visions of these events due to his connection to both human and dragon and it’s essentially his job to keep order.

- There are others like him in the world, but because the bloodline has died out so much, they are rare to come by and most that are aware of what they are have hidden away in fear of being sought after and murdered for their powers.

- The kingdom where Evan lives needs his powers to survive in the kingdom because they live right on the edge of a mountain range where on the other side all the other dragon kingdoms reside, so they are more likely to get attacked or hit in a crossfire. Evan living there gets automatic protection, so he hasn’t left and is given fairly decent hospitality. He also has lived there his entire life and hasn’t put much thought into the outside world. Too focused on the job he has in his home to consider exploring or finding others

(relationship to Y/N)

- Y/N and Evan have known each other since they were kids. Around 6-7. They didn’t always get along, having a more frenemies relationship where they would pick on each other.

- As they got older they both became closer and better friends, relating on the fact that the other teens and children of the kingdom found them weird and they were both slowly isolating to each other

- They spent a lot of time together by the creek/ river, playing in the woods and skipping rocks

- They would both stay out together as long as they could, avoiding their own homes because not only did they not want the fun to end, but they both didn’t want to go back to their homes where their lives didn’t feel perfect or less lonely

- They found solace in their friendship together

- They each had their own separate dreams, Y/N wanted to explore the world outside the kingdom whereas Evan wanted to stay in the kingdom forever and become a knight. This caused them to start fighting again occasionally when the topic was brought up, and as they got even older, they began to distance themselves

- Y/N was the first to know about Evan’s connection to the dragons, having been there when they were playing by the edge of the woods and a dragon came and landed in front of them. Evan, being naturally protective, got in front of Y/N and found he could speak with the dragon and have an understanding. But Y/N, not having any such power just saw the two standing before each other for a few tense minutes before the dragon flew away

- They were both freaked by the incident at the time, and as they talked more about, became slightly excited. Evan already knew he wanted to use his talent to protect the kingdom, but Y/N believed he could do more with it. Like bringing peace between the humans and dragons for millenium.

- Eventually they both turned 18, and Y/N fled the kingdom and began traveling while Evan stayed and became a knight

- They spent at least a decade apart until Y/N came back to the kingdom with a group of thieves, helping them steal money from the townsfolk and hoping to steal the riches from the kingdom. They had their own reasons for doing so, mainly just trying to keep themselves alive and look out for themselves.

- Evan hears about the group of thieves that have entered the kingdom and is tasked with keeping them out of the castle. He catches one of them during a small ambush, realizing it’s Y/N he is confused, angry and distraught. They explain their reasoning for being a part of the group and the pair are still on rocky terms

- In return for not sending Y/N to jail, they come to an agreement/ deal that they will help him track down the rest of the thieves and imprison them

- They slowly reunite and warm back up to each other, remembering the old days as they spend time together getting into fights across the kingdom to find the thieves and catch them before they get to the castle, rekindling their once broken friendship

- They bond over their individual memories, Y/N telling Evan stories of the outside world and what they were doing, and Evan talking about his adventures as a knight and mitigating for the dragons and the kingdom

“You know, when we were kids, I had a huge crush on you.” I laughed as my stomach tickled, feeling the warm flames of the fire flickering, licking and trying to reach me from its cage of rocks and sticks, only getting a small tickle of warmth through the cold night air.

The stars were heavy above, twinkling like the ripples of water from the ocean. I could see Evan’s stoic face, outlined sharply by the yellow flames dancing across it. His cape draped over the back of the thick log he was perched upon. Despite the blank expression on his face, I swear I saw a twinkle in his eyes of surprise and that’s when I felt the air around us get thickly uncomfortable. The silence becomes stale and quieter, practically deafening if it weren't for the chirp of the crickets–which I call the birds of the night. It’s almost as if he can sense that his reaction has made things more awkward, because he lowers his gaze to the fire and says something I truly didn’t expect.

“Yeah, so did I.” His voice is soft, almost romantic in a way. I feel as if the wind has been knocked from my lungs. All this time, the boy–the man, who had been in the back of my mind all of these years. The one who got away, the one who I had never thought in a million years would ever love someone like me. He just admitted he had a crush on me? I could hardly fathom it, let alone hear it. I almost believed I was dreaming.

“Is it that surprising?” He asks curiously, as if I gave him an offended look, realizing that my eyes were probably blown into saucers after what he said because I feel him practically snap me out of a daze with those words, forcing my face to relax. I can almost see a smile stretch at the corner of his mouth after my expression softens, his gaze finally lifted back to me fully and searching my eyes.

“N-No I uh, I mean I just–I didn’t expect that. Really.” I said, my words tripping over themselves. There was that silence again, the loud ambience of the night filling my ears back up like cotton balls.

“You know…” I said slowly, breaking the silence, my eyes flickering around. Trying not to land my gaze back into his eyes as I feel my heartbeat begin to quicken, squeezing inside of my chest. “I still think you’re kind of handsome…” I almost hoped he hadn’t heard me, too flustered by the admittance. My feelings hadn’t changed for Evan since the day I left him, if anything they had gotten worse the moment I saw that it was him who had caught me that day. The way he was so strong, perfectly groomed, the chubby look on his face I had always pictured of him was gone and in return left with the most perfect frame. His light curls thick and fluffy against his head, the length I had remembered that always covered his eyes having been cut to a charming length revealing the deep black pits that were his irises. A color that could only be matched to the obsidian with the way it shimmered and yet there was no light inside of them, as if it was soaked up inside of them.

I gain the courage to look at him again and I’m shocked to see that a rosy tint has spread across the apples of his cheeks and spread to the tips of his ears. His eyes wide, the obsidian black irises stark against his sclera, like a pebble. I cover my lips as I catch an escaped giggle at his expression and he quickly softens it, realizing how stupid his reaction must have been. Now he’s the one who can barely look me in the eye.

There was something different about the rest of that night, in the way that we looked at one another. More attentive, more passionate, something lingering in the distance. Words unspoken and yet so many told. I don’t think I would have traded it for anything.

May do a part two if this is popular. You can request a fic about this concept if you want ♡

Taglist (you can be added or removed at any time):

@fear-is-truth @xkaisxjazzxsingerx @lemoniiiiiii @jazz-berry @marchsfreakshow @colinzabelswife @dearlizzies @am3ricanh0rrorwh0re

[clangenrising]

Month 16 - Greenleaf

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When Aldertail had volunteered to go herb gathering with him, Oddstripe had been delighted but he had definitely expected her to get tired and lose interest by this point. The day was hot but there was a nice breeze and, as they meandered the territory looking for patches that hadn’t already been harvested, Oddstripe couldn’t help but smile. 

“Y’know, I’d really love to find some thyme or juniper,” he said, hopping over a stone in his path. 

“What do those do?” Aldertail asked, carefully picking her way after him. Her legs were the best he’d ever seen them. There was almost no redness and the fur had nearly grown back in. Oddstripe was so proud.

“Thyme is very calming and juniper berries are just all around useful. On top of being calming, they soothe belly aches, help with coughs, and they can even treat aching joints when mixed with the proper herbs. I’d love to get some for Sagetooth.” 

Aldertail’s ears pressed back briefly. “Mm, would that help?”

“Oh, yes,” Oddstripe nodded. “When she isn’t suffering from her aches, she’s really, actually very kind. It can just be hard for her to stay that way when she’s in a lot of pain.” 

“I guess,” Aldertail shrugged. “I feel like you don’t just start being mean to people though, if that makes sense.” 

“I get what you mean,” said Oddstripe, “but something you have to remember is that your body and your mind aren’t two separate entities. They’re both you and they influence each other.” Aldertail winced in an attempt to seem less skeptical. Oddstripe laughed a little and tried to think of a better way to explain. “Oh, for example, when your mind starts to run wild, you feel sick to your stomach right?”

“Yeah,” Aldertail nodded. 

“So that’s your mind influencing your body!” Oddstripe grinned. “But the inverse is also possible. Like, if you’re very scared, we do those deep breaths and the act of calming your body calms your mind.” Aldertail hummed thoughtfully. “So when Sagetooth’s body aches it makes it harder for her to control the way she speaks to people. You’re right that it doesn’t make her something she isn’t but it’s also not entirely her choice. Even I can get snappy when I’m stressed or ill.” 

“Really?” Aldertail didn’t seem convinced. “I can’t picture you snappy.” 

Oddstripe blushed and laughed as he replied, “Oh, that’s very sweet of you.”

“It’s true,” she said. “You’ve only ever been kind and gentle.” 

“Well, I’ve been lucky that I’ve never felt ill enough to snap at you,” he said, full of pride. 

“Mm,” Aldertail chewed her lip. “So where would we find juniper berries?” 

“Hmm,” Oddstripe scrunched up his face in thought. “I know a place they’ll definitely be but its a bit of a distance. Would you still want to come along?” 

“Of course!” she nodded vigorously. “I like learning about medicine.” 

“Really?” asked Oddstripe. 

“Mhm,” nodded Aldertail. “It’s so… powerful. I can’t imagine being able to do what you do.” 

“Oh, it’s really not that hard to learn,” Oddstripe said, changing course. “I’ll show you.”

As they made their way towards the juniper bushes, Oddstripe went over all of the basics he could think of. Healing was something he was intensely passionate about and Aldertail indulged him in his ramblings for the entirety of their walk. Oddstripe couldn’t remember the last time someone had let him ramble like this. It felt amazing. 

They crossed the eastern border and Oddstripe assured Aldertail that everything would be alright. Eventually, the grass petered out and the earth beneath their paws turned to dry, sunbaked mud patterned with cracks and ridges. Oddstripe smiled at the feeling of it under his paws. It had been too long since he’d stepped foot in the desert and he had missed it. They passed little burrows and scurrying lizards and dry looking shrubs and then finally came across the big juniper bush.

“Tada!” Oddstripe declared, unfurling his tail towards the cloudless sky. 

“This is a juniper bush?” Aldertail asked, glancing around its leaves as if something would jump out. 

“Mhm!” he purred. “The berries near the bottom are usually gone because creatures eat them but we can jump up and snag a few branches to take home. Maybe we could even plant one closer to the territories.”

“That would be a good idea,” Aldertail squirmed. “I don’t like this place.” 

“Really?” asked Oddstripe, tilting his head.

“Yeah, it’s too open,” she shuddered. “Let’s hurry up and go home.” 

“Alright,” he frowned worriedly. He’d never considered that someone might not enjoy being able to see the world stretch out endlessly around them. He bunched his legs underneath him and sprang into the bush, but failed to grab onto any of the branches. “Mousedung. Let me try again.” 

He jumped again, this time snagging a branch in his teeth, and his weight pulled it down to a place where Aldertail could help him snap it off. He handed the branch over to her and tried again. The leaves rattled as he fell through them, this time taking another two tries before he caught another branch in his claws. It nearly slipped and he had to scramble to clamp his jaws down around it, smearing berry juice all over his muzzle. 

“Are you okay?” asked Aldertail. 

“Uh huh,” he said awkwardly. “‘Ah you ‘reah ih?” 

“Oh, right! Sorry!” Aldertail hurried forward to start chewing through the branch.

“S’alrigh’,” he chuckled, feeling silly. She met his eyes and flushed pink, quickly averting her gaze to focus on her work. He laughed again. She was such a sweetheart. 

A voice startled them both. “You shouldn’t be out here.” 

Aldertail squeaked and flattened herself against the ground. Oddstripe tried to turn around but struggled to do so without letting go of the branch which didn’t occur to him at all. The cat who had spoken, thankfully, stepped to the side into his view. She was a plain looking grey tabby with bright, golden eyes, and she was watching them with an expression that read to Oddstripe as professional. 

“Oh, sahhy,” he tried to say around the branch in his teeth. 

A small smile poked at the edges of the stranger’s lips and she glanced carefully at Aldertail before asking, “Would you like a paw?”

“Mm!” Oddstripe grinned and nodded clumsily. “Mhm!”

The stranger chuckled softly, dropping her gaze to her paws for a moment, before she stepped up and swatted the branch where Aldertail had been chewing it. The force of the blow was enough to snap it and Oddstripe stumbled away as the rest of the branch sprang noisily back into place. Aldertail squeaked again, and scrunched herself closer to his side. 

He laid his tail over her back, dropped the branch, and then licked his muzzle before speaking. “Thank you! I really appreciate the help. My name’s Oddstripe, what’s yours.” 

“Oscar,” the she-cat smiled with a polite dip of her head. “I’m glad to be of assistance but I really must urge you to leave this place.” 

“Oh?” asked Oddstripe, ears perking. “What for?” 

“This is coyote territory,” she said, scanning the area with a sharp gaze. “You aren’t safe here.” 

“Oh, I didn’t realize the coyotes had come so far west,” Oddstripe said. 

“You live here?” asked Oscar, brow furrowing. 

“No, no, but I used to live near here,” he said. “Now I’m out in the grasslands.” 

“I see,” Oscar nodded. “Well, I must insist you return home, for your own safety.” 

“We will, thank you,” smiled Oddstripe.

Oscar glanced around again and said, “Should you require an escort, I would be happy to oblige.” 

“I don’t think it would hurt,” Oddstripe said. “Aldertail, honey, is that alright with you?” Aldertail simply shrugged, eyes wide enough to show the whites. 

Oddstripe’s ears drooped in pity. “Oh, you poor thing. Here, let’s head back to camp.” He licked her cheek and helped her stand, then handed her one of the juniper sprigs to carry. Having something in her mouth would keep her occupied, he thought. Picking up his own branch, he glanced at Oscar and said, “It’s just this way.” 

“I follow your lead,” she deferred with a bow of the head. Oddstripe blushed, a silly little flutter dancing in his stomach. Something about her seemed right out of a story. He’d never felt that way before. 

Shrugging it off, he led the way, tail wrapped around Aldertail’s leg reassuringly. She stayed close to his side, ears flat against her skull, and Oscar stayed on the opposite side of him, at least two tail lengths away. Oddstripe wanted to walk closer but the distance was probably best for Aldertail. How considerate of their new companion, he thought. 

“So, Oscar,” he asked, able to speak around the sprig this time, “why are you out here in coyote country?” 

“I’m patrolling,” she said. “I look for creatures like you and give them the warning.” 

“Creatures?” Oddstripe chuckled but Oscar nodded seriously.

“Yes. Anything I can speak to. Cats, deer, snakes, most birds.”

“Wow!” Oddstripe marveled. “That’s amazing! I didn’t realize you could talk to those kinds of things.” 

“It’s simple if you have a teacher,” said Oscar humbly. 

“It seems most things are,” laughed Oddstripe. 

It wasn’t long before they reached the edge of the grass again. Oscar stopped under a scrubby little tree and said. “I should return to my patrol. Will you be able to get home from here?” 

“Oh, yes,” nodded Oddstripe. “Thank you so much, Oscar, it was lovely to meet you.”

She shook her head. “I’m simply doing my duty.”

“Well, thank you anyway,” said Oddstripe. She smiled, dipped her head in a polite bow, and then turned and bounded back into the desert. Oddstripe watched her go like he was trying to catch every last moment of her before she disappeared forever. Eventually, her shape disappeared into the shimmering edge of the horizon. 

“Oddstripe?” asked Aldertail quietly. 

“Oh,” he blinked and looked down at her. “Yes, dear?” 

“I’d like to go home, is that okay?” 

“Oh, of course it is,” he said, “let’s go home.”

“Sorry.”

“No, no, that’s alright. Sorry I got distracted.” 

“What was her deal?” Aldertail asked, craning her head to see if she could spot Oscar in the distance.

“I don’t know,” Oddstripe breathed softly, doing the same.

[echantedtoon]

Demonstober Day 14 Fairy

A small imaginary being of human form that has magical powers, especially a female one.

Tagging: @lavenderdropp @six-eyed-samurai @trancylovecraft @shadyd3ar @cherrysuzaku

@nousija @mspurpl3

Remember if you want to be added to the spooktober taglist lemme know

Stay away from mushrooms that grow in a circle. That's where fairies dance and if you step inside a fairy ring they can spirit you away.

Or at least that's what you've always been told. And that's what you've always heard. Then again you weren't very superstitious. Don't get you wrong. You never said that there wasn't no such thing as stuff like fairies, ghosts, and demons...

But you never said that there WAS such thing as them either.

You leaned more towards that they didn't exist though. Why? Well you never saw any ACTUAL proof of them existing. The supposed ghost that haunted your parents attic for years? Turns out it was a raccoon infestation. The supposed zombie that roamed the graveyard? A homeless man taking shelter in one of the mosoleums. Imps taking your grandmother's things? Turns out she just had memory problems and kept forgetting where she had put things.

Everything always had a logical  explanation in the end.

Which was why you honestly didn't think much about anything supernatural. Sure you still left offerings at the local shrine and prayed every so while if you needed a bit of luck but you weren't sure if you believed in them. A little extra luck never hurt anyone though. Maybe that's why you weren't so concerned when you went to go pick wild blackberries with your cousin. 

It was a perfect day. The sun was shining warmly in the summer air but all the shade of the trees made it cool. The walk to your favourite patch of wild blackberry bushes was only an hour long walk into the woods behind your house and the woods was beautiful. Lush greenery. Fresh air that smelt like wildflowers. Birds singing. And the sounds of your laughter as your cousin made you laugh by her jokes and stories. You both didn't have a care in the world as you both walked all the way there laughing with your baskets and then going on to start picking the berries from the bushes' branches. There was no problems. None at all. Not until your cousin had filled up her basket faster than you had and she had come to see what was taking you so long.

That's when she froze.

Her face paled like she saw a ghost. A terrified gasp left her throat making you jump and snap to her in surprise. Her basket fell to the ground with a thud toppling over and spilling the berries all over the ground. Before with a trembling hand she pointed to the ground at your feet.

"Look at where you're standing!," her frightened voice cried out loudly. 

You snapped down terrified and worried that you might've stepped on a snake or maybe a hill of fire ants or some other great danger! But you blinked as you saw nothing... Literally nothing but a few mushrooms. Red mushroom with white polka dots to be exact. You blinked and turned your head this way and that and just now noticed that you were standing in a circle of red mushrooms with white polka dots about a yard wide. Your cousin looked like she had seen death itself but you only blinked.

"Oh. It's just mushrooms."

"ARE YOU MAD?!" She shrieked like you were actually crazy. "YOU'RE STANDING IN A FAIRY RING!!"

You blinked as you again looked down.. before shrugging it off and turned back to finish filling your basket. "Oh is that all? Don't make such a big fuss over it."

"That's the fairies sacred dancing space! You're not supposed to stand in it!"

"Next you'll be telling me not to fish in the lake because I'll anger the mermaids."

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!! YOU'LL MAKE THEM ANGRY!!"

"If the fae are angry with me standing in their circle I'm sure they're more than capable of telling me."

You almost rolled your eyes at your cousin's fearful ramblings as she babbled about waving her arms but you didn't and kept your tone polite. Continuing to pick at the berries and drop them into your ever filling basket. Honestly she was blowing things out of proportion. If the fairies were angry, considering if they existed at all, then they could tell you themselves if they were upset with you standing in their supposed circle.

"Actually I would appreciate it very much if you didn't stand there."

Your cousin shrieked out, her voice echoing over the trees as both yourself and her snapped around wide eyed and were surprised to find a third woman there. What the-..Where did she come from? The smaller woman stood there between a tree and a bush staring at you with pretty purple eyes and a small smile. Her clothes were almost big like flowing over her body. But the shining of a butterfly hair clip in her hair caught the light as her head tilted at you specifically. You both continued to stare at this new woman. It must've been a full minute before you realized that she was staring at your feet.

You looked down at your boots standing in the circle. Then back to the woman. Who still stood there staring at the ground.

"I'm..sorry? But who are you?" 

She took her time turning her gaze back to you before smiling wider. "I'm the one who planted the mushrooms you're standing in."

You blinked. Someone actually planted these way out here. With another shriek from your cousin in knowing horror, you winced as she turned and fled. Footsteps thudding against the ground as fast as she could go and brush cracking with her retreating form. You winced rubbing at you ear as you looked back up..But your cousin was gone. The only signs being there was the basket she dropped before. You just...stared at where she had been for a long time but the woman's gaze never left you. Eventually you did slowly look back to her.

The two of you staring at each other for another long moment.

"I'm..sorry about her. She's very..paranoid." You apologized on your cousin's behalf before staring at your feet...and taking a massive step back out of the ring of mushrooms. "And sorry for trespassing into your mushroom circle??" You tried apologizing. "I didn't know anyone lived out here." You raised a confused brow at the mushrooms again. "Or had a garden."

She gave a closed eye smile. "It's alright. You didn't damage any of them so I'll let you off with a warning this time."

"Um..Thank you??" You stared at her.. before holding up your basket making her blink. "Here. I know you can probably pick your own blackberries, but it's the least I can do for trespassing."

The woman tilted her head at the basket then at you before smiling wider. "That's very sweet of you but if you really want to make it up to me, then come dance."

Your brows rose higher as she nodded. "Dance?"

She walked forward until she was standing right in front of you, inside the circle of mushrooms, and held out a hand. "Yes. Dance. I'll even show you how and it's been so long since I had a partner. What do you say?"

You still stared bewildered. Dancing? Seriously? That was a strange request..but you did kinda feel bad about trespassing on her mushroom garden thing. So..one dance couldn't hurt if it made this woman feel better.

"Sure."

By the time your worried family members got there, you were no where in sight. The only signs being two knocked over baskets.

[nomsfaultau]

Hybrid AU in exile week where avian instincts can take over to a degree that is almost horrific, erasing someone’s personality and rationality when they’re panicking. First part here.

Tw child abuse/(non sexual) grooming

Away from the cabin, Tommy picks berries. The snow is cold, but he wants to be helpful. Footsteps come up from behind, too light to be Techno. A happy little chirp burbles out of Tommy’s throat as Philza ruffles his hair. At once his hands slap over his mouth. But— but Phil said the chirping was a natural, good thing. And it hurt so much to suppress it. So Tommy lets the trilling song be free, belatedly recognizing it as the chirp to greet his guardian. So— oh. The stab of panic is swift, but- but Phil is safe, won’t abuse how he feels. So if Tommy deep down sees him like a dad, that’s okay then. Okay. That is okay. Warmth fills chest as Philza affectionately strokes his hair.

Tommy’s rambling about picking berries with the hopes of making a cake is interrupted. “It’s time to come back home, Tommy.”

But it isn’t Philza’s voice at all. Tommy’s blood freezes, turning slowly to find his abuser looming over him. The feathers from where his abuser clipped his wings fan out cheerfully around his mask. 

Scrambling away, Tommy fumbles for his sword. Glowering at his abuser, he charges, shouting wildly. A shield blocks his blow, and the next, and the next, till suddenly slamming him harshly into a tree. He never draws a weapon, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, the shield bashing against his head or driving him into thorny berry bushes. As Tommy screams at his abuser, he’s met with calm words explaining that he’s being manipulated by Techno and Phil. It’s all in his head; if he just comes back it’ll make perfect sense.

Obviously Tommy isn’t stupid and doesn’t buy it. Frustration fills his abuser. “Perhaps if I nurse you back to health you’ll be more grateful for all the care I gave you.” His netherite axe gleams with enchantments, and suddenly his abuser is unrelenting, wickedly fast in a way Tommy can barely keep up with.

Quickly bloodied and realizing he very well might die, or worse, be abducted, Tommy turns and runs. A fist catches roughly around his feathers, but his enderpearl is already thrown. If he can just get back to the cabin—

The pearl breaks against the tree branches, and suddenly Tommy is falling. His wings snap out, trying to slow his descent, but something slams into him midair, a net constricting around him.

Impact is brutal. Tommy weakly thrashes, trying to escape the net, but he’s hopelessly tangled. He’s panicked, and hurting, and frozen in his instincts. Maybe he could enderpearl out, or cut the net, but all Tommy can do is cry out. He hates the way his heart calms the moment he sees his abuser through the mesh of the net.

“I’m— I’m not afraid of you,” Tommy barely manages. It takes everything he has to suppress the distressed chirp building in his throat. It hurts.

“Why should you be? We’re friends.” The axe gleams in his hands.

He suppresses a yelp as it swings, scoring a shallow mark across the base of one wing. The net frays, and with a snap he gets it free, flapping wildly. “Stop-“ it bites off into a shrill chirp as his abuser drops on top of him. Tommy twists, trying to smack him with a wing only for it to get pinned beneath his knee, his abuser straddling him. Fingers claw into his shoulder painfully, tighter and tighter as he thrashes beneath the man’s weight. “STOP-” Deep coos pour over him, soft and sweet. It makes him feel sick, realizing what’s about to happen to him. Even the freezing panic would be better than this. Tommy begins to hyperventilate. “STOP—!” He shudders as his abuser runs a gentle hand down his wing. Tommy’s desperate lopsided flapping is useless to buck his abuser, the ropes cutting in as he strains for freedom.

But all Tommy can do is tremble in place as his abuser begins grooming him. The deep cooing is so warm and loving, his touches so wonderfully tender as they smooth out the damages from the fight until it’s as if it never happened. He knows he’s bleeding out in the snow, and yet the hurt fades away. The fearful fluffed-up feathers lower beneath his abuser’s hands. Slowly, Tommy’s panicked hyperventilating ebbs.

The next thing out of Tommy’s throat isn’t a plea, but a soft coo. The tension in his body releases, melting into the grooming. The world becomes hazy and pleasant for all the nausea in the pit of his stomach. Tommy hates this so, so much, but he’s trapped in a body so easily manipulated. All his instincts know is his guardian is finally back, and they rejoice to finally be safe when Tommy’s never been in more danger. It doesn’t matter that the ropes cut in so deep he’s bleeding, doesn’t matter the snow he’s half burrowed in is freezing, doesn’t matter that each coo makes it a little harder to reach his real thoughts. It feels so good to be loved.

The fingers threading through his feathers slow. A shift of weight, and his abuser looms over, the kind cooing ceasing. “Are you ready to come back to the nest?”

His brain is frazzled, and suddenly that’s all he craves, the warm safety of their roost. It’s so cold here. He wants to go home. That would cure the twisting dread in his chest.

With the last of his sense, Tommy releases an ear-piercing shriek. It’s the loudest chirp he’s ever managed, scraping his throat raw. He gathers breath for the next one, only for a hand to clamp down on mouth, muffling his cry for help.

Deep coos pour over him, rushed and irritated but soothing regardless, only ceasing when a responding coo is torn from Tommy’s throat. Hands card through his wing, faster and faster, his abuser murmuring about how nice the nest will be. Safe and warm. And remember all the fun we had together? Exile blurs in his head, confusing and scary but his abuser will protect him. Why else would he still wear Tommy’s feathers?

The world dissolves into a pleasant dream as he’s shoved back into a trance. He tries to thrash as he’s submerged, but he’s drowning in his instincts. Tommy doesn’t even want to break to the surface, because he knows if he tries to ruin this it’ll only hurt so much worse. All he can remember is his abuser’s kindness. If ever he weren’t, it was Tommy’s fault for messing up. He’ll do better this time. He’ll do anything.

“You’re my hatchling, aren’t you Tommy?” A happy purr of coos tumbles out of him. “Say it. You’re never going to run away again. You’re mine.” Language escapes Tommy, locked in chirping. He nods, and his abuser relaxes, resuming running a hand through his feathers. “Good. We’re going back to the nest. If you ever leave again I’m breaking your wings, got it? Not like you need them, they’re useless. Honestly I'd be doing you a favor.” Tommy doesn’t understand what’s being said, but coos warmly. His abuser doesn’t coo back. Has Tommy done something wrong? His fear grows, he’s messed something up somehow, he always does. 

His coos grow insistent, needing a response, and his abuser huffs and gives a sharp coo. Tommy’s feathers unruffle, melting back into warm complacency. “Really Tommy, you don’t have to be scared if you’re obedient. I hate when you force me to hurt you just as much as you do.”

Tommy sighs into the blood-covered snow, basking in his guardian’s affection. He missed him so, so much. All is safe and good in the world now that he’s back. Tommy is loved. 

Next>

[luvteyams]

TAG YOUR MINE

Characters: Neteyam Sully(26) x Fem Omaticaya Navi Reader

Warnings: none, just sweet fluff

Word Count:

Synopsis: Childhood friends play a game…could it lead to more?

Neyrali begged and pleaded as you gathered more sweet berries, popping a few between your lips as you plucked more. She had been rambling for a while about a much needed break from the heat, proposing to stop down by the stream after harvest was over.

“Please just come with us, I promise it’ll be fun and relaxing”, she pleaded, pushing her body into yours.

You could feel the blistering sun burn against your skin as you weighed your options, which weren’t many at this time of day. Going back to home tree meant your mother would be fanning over your every move, and heading back with the harvest group meant being hunched over as you peeled the thick skin from many of the fruits to get the sweet flesh inside.

A sly smile raised as Neyrali began pestering you again, “it’ll only be us girls, and you can even finish that cute little top you were making”, her smile wide now as she grasped your working arm, shaking it gently.

You could feel your resolve slipping, with no real objection except that with Neyrali, it was never just us girls. Neyrali was popular, loud and energetic as she worked within the clan. If Neyrali and Tili came then of course Tanu and Bexti were not far and with Kiri, it meant the entire Sully gang was not far behind either. Causing the peace to be upturned into hormonal chaos and pending trouble.

As you stood stretching high into the thick leaves of a yovo fruit tree, you pulled your final fruit for the day, laying it to rest along the variety of other fruits in your picking basket. Scanning for the other harvesters you could see Neyrali’s long forgotten basket back at the small bush of sweet berries in the distance.

“Okay, fine Neyrali…we can go,” you huffed as Neyrali shrieked, jumping into the air. Her happiness was short lived as you sharpened your tone “BUT only if you promise, no. funny. business” jokingly pointing your long fingers into her chest with a deadpan face.

She rolled her eyes hard as she began to pull you along, further into the thick vines of the forest. You stumbled after her, adjusting your heavy sac, that carried all your weaving tools and even pieces of your pending top, back onto your slim hips. It wasn’t long before you could hear the rushing water splashing against the nearby rocks and rippling back out into the forest.

As you entered the familiar clearing, the sounds of laughter could be heard coming clearly from Tili as she fended off Loak and Tanu from drowning her. A flurry of emotions fluttered within as you scanned the rest of the clearing, many more Omaticaya your age resting all along the bank of the stream. And as your eyes landed on the bulk form of the future Olo’eyktan, sitting atop one of the much higher rocks along the stream, you could feel your body begin to tingle all over. He was a sight to see, the crush you harbored from childhood burrowing deep into your chest once again. All those years of carefree playing as friends had slowly slithered away as duty became more important. And although always sweet and respectful in passing, that really was just Neteyam.

You were extremely hot now, your eyes downcast as you made your way toward the water, farther away from the crowd.

As you settled onto the waters edge allowing your feet to dangle into the calmest part of the stream, your eyes naturally began to wander back to Neteyam’s form. He really was gorgeous in all his glory, Olo’eyktan training doing his body justice as he filled out. As your eyes trailed up his torso, you could feel the burn within your stomach,perspiration building a slick layer onto your skin. His chest, full and round as it rose and fell, his neck stretched back as sweat begins to pool in the dip that meets below, up past his soft pink lips, you could now admire his bright amber eyes, intense and focused as he gave his full attention to his surroundings. And usually he was focused on everything, observing his comrades, sweeping for potential danger, and keeping a watchful eye on his rowdy siblings, but now his eyes were only focused on you.

He was always so intense, his eyes quickly tracing your form as his lips quirked into smile, and before you could feel the tingle spread from your stomach to your burning cheeks, he was walking over.

His stride long and quick as he shuffled through the playful hunters and dancing healers. You could feel your heart quicken, thumping against your ribs as it began to drown out Neyrali’s insistent plan to get with Bexti after eclipse.

She abruptly stopped feeling Netyams strong presence behind her, a sly smile spreading across her face as she eyed his body up until she was squinting up at his face. The sun outlined his body in a heated glow that made your mouth go dry and you palmed at the moss below, grounding yourself in its cool feel.

“Hi”, he spoke softly keeping his eyes solely on you, his shoulders creating a dark shadow for you to look back up at him.

An awkward pause stretched between the three of you and you could see Neyrali roll her eyes with a small giggle pulling from her lips. She was the first to leave, not even so much as a goodbye, swaying her hips towards Bexti, who waited for her with open arms.

The silence was almost deafening, only the beat of a nearby drum, and the loud crash of water filling the space between you two. You could feed him shift down, not towering over you but hovering close as he eyed you with a smile.

“You know we haven’t spoken in a while, I miss playing with you”, he was confident as he flirted, his attraction seeping into you. His confidence made you giggle, but no response would come.

This wasn’t unusual. You know Neteyam, at least you used to. When he was young and oblivious, a playful boy, who only dreamed of becoming a mighty warrior. He spent more time with you then, playmates who spent from dawn to eclipse together. You both the same height, him taking your slightly smaller hand into his as he guided you to the small fishing pond he liked, or teaching you and his siblings how to swim on a warm day. A big brother to the small and weak, picking you up when you fell and encouraging you to run a little faster when you were almost in his grasp.

He was still that Neteyam, just taller, broader, handsomer- you smiled, but still confident and forward.

Your face turned a hue too purple and you could feel his heated gaze all over you now, burning your neck, chest, and thighs as he gaucked shamelessly.

Turning your head down back to the flowing water, you mimicked his greeting,” hi, sit with me ‘teyam”, you grinned as that childhood nickname slipped past your lips.

He was bright now, glowing as he made room for himself next to you. Leaning back into the wet earth to bask in the sun.

•

Eclipse was beginning as the hot sun began to dissipate. A slow progression as your skin began to cool and a slight chill began to slither across your skin.

Your body still slightly pressed up against Neteyams as he watched your work intently. A quick learner always as he began to twists and braid some of the extra twine you carried in your sac. Every so often pulling small beads from his hair and weaving them into the dainty jewelry he was making. Working alongside him was easy even when your ears spiked and a shiver ran down your spine at the touch of his thigh against yours. No words were exchanged as the sounds of everyone around drowned out seemingly into the distance.

Your hands had begun to ache as your nimble fingers worked simultaneously weaving the brightly colored beads onto the waxy thread. The multiple hues of purple shimmering as you twisted them tightly together creating a contrast to the dark blue feather tangled into hanging vines. The top was coming along nicely, and a smile graced your face as you worked along.

Every so often you could hear the giggles and shrieks from the frantic Navi playing in the water, but overall it was peaceful and you could feel your tense muscles relax as you laid along the waters edge, the small fish kissing along your legs.

The cool breeze blew against your back, a stark contrast from the heat that consumed you every so often from his amber eyes dancing along your exposed legs.

His eyes had been glued to the side of your head as you worked, sitting up against him to hold yourself up from the long day of harvest. And as you relaxed, you sunk further into him, like you once did as a child.

The seemingly serene peace was broken as a sopping wet Loak landed near you, setting himself onto the mossy edge with an obnoxious sigh. His lanky form crowded over you, his beaded hair dripping water all over your lap as you rolled your eyes, you knew it was only a matter of time.

“Loak, always the charmer”, you slipped as your eyes rolled back harshly. He was truly a show boat, even in childhood. Calling the attention of anyone who’d look to showcase his itty bitty muscles, or running through the village creating a path of chaos for all the kids to follow.

His smile was wide, canines on display as he chuckled loudly. Resting on his forearms, laid back he hadn’t so much as acknowledged his brother until you felt his arms reach around you, pulling you into his warm chest and away from his soaking wet little brother. Scolding him for his lack of manners. Neteyam ever the gentleman was still as protective as you remembered.

“ Bro, don’t be such a buzzkill, I just missed my girl”, he charmed with a toothy grin.

Now he was hovering over you, pushing you further into Neteyam’s sturdy chest. You gasped feeling smothered by the large brothers.

“Loak, please, I’m not your girl or anyone’s for that matter”, you snapped, shoving his tawny body from your personal space. You could smell the sweet scent of yaku berries and healing paste seeping from him and so you teased “even after a bath you still smell like Sati”.

It was Loak’s turn to stutter, a purple blush spreading across his face as his flickering ears burned a painful looking red. You giggled, a sharp cackle spreading through the clearing as a low rubble of Neteyam’s chuckle soothed against your back.

Loak was so easy to tease, even as he had grown up with a quick mouth, you had a slick tongue that was quick with retort. His gasps halted as he eyed you with sharpened eyes, and you had returned to weaving, knowing that he would have much more to say.

“Well at least I’m not cuddled up with the next Olo’eyktan,” he quipped and now it was your turn to choke.

Neteyam’s solid body was now hovering over you from behind, rubbing your back, and pulling you back into him further as he scolded his brother.

Without looking you could hear the bright smile he held and it felt like old times. Loak teasing you about the very obvious crush you had on his older brother, and a Neteyam’s gentleman like nature allowing you to hide within his chest as a blush creeped along every point of your body.

Now he was pushing his younger brother back into the shallow waters edge, a loud splash crashing against both your legs as he surfaced back up for air.

“So low bro and you know it”, he gasped with a roll of his eyes.

Neteyam’s boisterous laugh sounded out into the crowd calling the attention of the few people still left as eclipse was ending.

The darkness had begun to descend upon Pandora calling the bioluminescent flora to glow with the absence of light. You began packing up your bag, placing your almost finished top at the bottom of your satchel.

“Neteyam were you able to finish”, you inquired with a small smile and he began fishing through the moss where he left the forgotten project.

As his large body turned back to your own reaching out for your long arm. His fingers clasping onto your own as the feeling of wooden beads gliding up past your fingers and then onto your wrist. A tiny bracelet with turquoise pebbles woven tightly between flower shaped purple beads you had stuffed at the bottom of your own collection of pebbles.

Your entire face lit up, a now pink blush creeping along your cheeks as you recognized the gleaming teal beads that matched the many beads within his own hair and jewelry he wore everyday.

You didn’t imagine the small project to keep himself occupied as he relaxed at the river would be for you, but like Loak he was still a confident charmer, and you smiled knowingly as your eyes admired his work.

His notable skill as a warrior trumped any of the other skills he had learned within his 23 years of living, but still his weave-ship rivaled a few of the skilled weavers within the clan.

“It’s gorgeous teyam..is this really for me?”, you gushed as he fiddled with his work wound around your wrist. His response came much later, a small bubble of silence that made you look up into his awaiting eyes.

“Of course, love”, his smile gleamed the same bright glow as the surrounding flora and he pulled you into him, crushing you against his warm chest.

“ Alright lovebirds, how about a game before we head back” you could hear Loak snicker from behind you, his soaking wet body making the moss below mushy.

Now he was yelling, calling attention to the few who were still lazing about the clearing. You could make out the pile of Neyrali, Bexti, Tili, & Tanu near the edge of the clearing, laying against the massive tree that shaded parts of the pond. They seemed to be in a relaxed conversation with slight smiles as they flirted with each other.

Over the years you knew that each pair was endgame, but no one was in a rush, our youth consumed with finding our place with the traditions of the omiticaya and excelling to live up to our proud parents.

As Loaks voice sounded out into the clearing again, competing against the howls of nightly creatures lurking far within the distance, the group had made their way up and over the waters edge near us.

The boys hollered as some much needed fun was suggested and you could feel yourself being pulled up to stand, Neteyam pulling you close against his chest again.

“how about a game of truth or dare?”’ Loak suggested a smirk forming as he stared down Sati. Her dark hair hung in waves, flowing against her back as she rested against a nearby rock.

Everyone tracked his eyes, landing on her form as she sat oblivious to the many eyes resting on her. She was a great warrior, following after her father to be a notable scout and guard in the late hours of the night. Loak and Sati had been partners sinde she passed her iknimiya. His training had proved fruitful and they were a noticeable pair within the clan.

You called out to her, adding to the crowd of young Navi looking to have a little bit of careless fun before trekking back home.

Although many people were all up for the teasing fun that accompanies playing the human game introduced by the current Olo’eyktan , Toruk Makto.

You had personally played the game with the sully kids many times. Always in the comfort of the sully families hut, as the game always seemed to get out of hand when played within the forest. The first and only time we played in the forest lead to baby Tuktirey being lost for hours, only being found long after eclipse. Loak having dared her to stay hidden within the forest until she was found. The brave Tuk had blindly completed her brothers dare, giving her father a “heart attack”, as he berated Loak once again for such dumb antics.

As you began to decline the game, in respect for the rule, Neteyam’s deep voice beat you to it, “ you know we aren’t allowed, plus we need to ALL be making our way back to Hometree”, his stern voice seemed to pierce everyone standing around and many had begun to disperse, slowly heading to the path that led home.

Loak huffed loudly, stilling everyone,” we’re literally all adults Neteyam-“ he retorted harshly but continued.

“-but fine how about tag” he suggested with roll of his big eyes.

You remembered the game fondly, your small legs racing through the forest, your skrawny limbs being thrashed by whipping vines and harsh roots sticking up from the ground. Your short body was still a bit clumsy, as you tried to leap from branch to branch. You rarely lost even with that disadvantage and you smiled boldly as you knew you could win again.

“we haven’t played that in so long”, you gushed, jumping up and down in a giddy childlike manner.

You could hear Loak and Neteyam snicker as they gaped at your excitement. Neteyam’s body had jostled a bit as you jumped against him and as his hand smoothed itself over your head, with a light pat, you grinned harder.

As if on autopilot, the crowd began to disperse. Female Navi shifting to the edge of the clearing, readying themselves in the direction of hometree.

The warriors still left, huddled at the waters edge, eyeing up the female Navi, picking their prey. The human game of tag had many years been morphed to a game of hunt. Young Navi learning to track and flow with the movement of trees, eager to become revered warriors within the clan. In all it’s fun, it had given many of them the confidence to begin training at a young age and pass their rites early too.

Hometree, our safe haven was base, and every prey who made it to its thick roots at its base was safe from the strong grip of their hunters.

If caught you were subjected to whatever desires your hunter requested, and most caught female Navi ended with courting gifts and shared whispers of love in the glowing night.

In much younger age you remembered the chase to be just as exhilarating as it was scary. You’d forgone playing many times, and only when Neteyam pinky promised to be your hunter for the game did you relent. With watering eyes and a bobbing poked out lip, you begged against his chest to go easy on you. His soft eyes and calm voice always reassuring you that he would protect you no matter what.

You smiled brightly every time you barreled through the thick vines covering the entrance to Hometree, spinning around to jump against Neteyam’s unwavering form right behind you. He was always so close, but never close enough.

“We’ve picked! Does everyone remember how to play”, a young hunter by the name of Tsu’mey called out into the clearing.

He was eyeing up another young harvester, Juma. The intense gaze of every hunter was cascading over their prey and you could feel the weight of Neteyam’s gliding over your skin.

His intense stare caused a hot prickle to begin crawling up your skin, every hair follicle on edge as your body turned over to fight or flight.

Your chest began to squeeze, tightening around your beating heart. Your widened eyes, pinching into slight amusement. The game was about to begin, and as you readied your shaking body, steadying it against the solid ground beneath you, you called out to him, loudly amongst the overlapping calls of daring hunters, “so close, ma teyam”, pausing for dramatic effect, “but never close enough”.

He was crouched now, his looming body morphing into the form of a beast, his eyes as daring as a palulakan itself.

Your sharp eyes had began to search for his form among the hunters. They had crowded around at the ponds edge, waiting for the countdown to begin for our headstart.

Neteyam must have stood at its center, his bulky form hidden well amongst the others so you crouched, tensing your body to prepare to run. 10 seconds. That’s all you get before he’s behind you, you reminded yourself.

“READY”, was what silenced everyone. The one word calling out into the clearing, jolting your body for the rush. Your toes dig deep into the soil below, a slight breeze chilling your wet skin.

“SET”, a low voice called out, stilling all the surrounding Navi. The silence was palpable, even the surrounding foliage and native creatures stilled to a pause.

You could hear your heart beating against your rib cage. Knees bent and hands outstretched to pull against the cascading vines.

“GO”,a deeper tone sounded out, the familiar accent sounding out into the clearing. You sprung into a sprint, pushing off the soil as soon as the Navi next to you did.

10

9

The load chants from the hunters spurred you on as you knew they would be barreling behind you any second now. Surely their eyes were tracking their prey, seeing the direction and scenting the path.

8

7

You pushed on, past the clearings bordering foliage and up into the trees for hopefully an added advantage. Home was not far and you knew you could swing further up higher so you pushed on.

6

5

The vines were twisted, forcing you to pull against them to make way for your slim form. Desperately clawing at the air to keep your head clear of the heavy leaves blocking your view.

4

3

2

1

You could hear the loud calls of hunters on the loose. In every direction they called familiar chants, as if they were hunting tailoang, in the night air. A slight burn was creeping up into your thighs, the soles of your feet beginning to ache as you landed harshly on a giant branch, high in the air.

You could feel him, he wasn’t close just yet, but his presence was easy to pick out many paces away. His adept body moving through your cleared path smoothly, catching up to your form, in less time than usual.

Your fingers were stinging now, small scrapes adorning your nimble fingers as you pulled against some particularly strong vines.

This may have not been a good idea, you thought. On the ground you only had to worry about the deep roots sticking up out the earth. Hopping over them with ease, and avoiding the chaos of other avoiding prey and hunters.

As you pulled against a thick cascading vine , pushing your body into the air to land against a branch further ahead you could feel the soft touch of his fingers.

He was way to close now. Neteyam was insanely fast, well past his peers in agility, speed, and strength but your head-start should have afforded you a good distance.

You could hear his harsh breathes now, almost as if he was right on top of you. Pushing your sore legs further, a harsh burn began to ripple through them. The thump of your heart beating against your ribs pushed you on, your wideshot eyes seeking out a quick escape.

A sigh of relief left your lips as the pink glow peaked around the corner of a large branch up ahead. Slipping down the slim branch you began to jump down quickly. Hopping clumsily from branch to branch, as you closed in on the landmark, the bright flora of (pick one) growing against a tall tree, almost as tall as kelutral??. Its roots spiraled around the tree in a magenta hue covering.

You were close.

Pushing forward the quick whips of branches and vines slicing against your skin stung, twisting within your braids before being snagged out. You could hear the path behind you shuffling loudly, tree bark scratched and leaves ruffled to make way for his opposing frame.

The loud hoots and calls of hunters surround you, as you closed in on Hometree. Your rapid breaths pushed out between your lips, heart beating harshly against your chest. But you could see your home insight. Just a few feet before you would be passing the grand threshold of the tree winding branches.

And then you felt it.

Warm hands tugging against your strained arms pulling you back from the winding roots leading to the entrance of kelutral. His hard chest pressed firmly against your back as he forced your body to come to a sudden stop. The air rushing from your lungs halted and a harsh gasp pushed past your lips as you swung around to face your predator.

Then his lips are covering yours, a passionate dance of tongue and clashing teeth. His bulky form pushing you over until you were leaning uncomfortably far back and holding onto his shoulders tightly.

As his lips began to pull away, you could feel your body following, begging to be kissed again. You could feel his hands all over now, on your cheeks, neck, shoulders, waist, and lastly your ass. His musky scent mixed with the sweet scent of moss surrounded you and you feel into his body comfortably with your eyes closed and head tucked into between his pecs.

“Your mine now”, he rasped. His lazily flicking tail wrapped around your thigh, holding you flush against his form.

Authors Note: Finally posted my first writing so I’m excited and happy I could finish it. There might also be another chapter for this story but nothing more than that. Let me know your thoughts plss!!!

💗 @pandorapromises @pandorxxx @thewalkingwillowtree @theblueflower05 @neteyamsyawntu @vivid-ink

[alittle-toosilly]

I made a small cotl Narinder ficlet. It's my first one, so let me know if I make any slip ups or mistakes. Please enjoy :)

Summary:Narinder receives a gift. Self doubt is annoying and there's a crap ton of fluff. Idk what else to put here.

(Ficlet under the cut)

Children.

A lot of things were children at some point. Narinder himself was a child. And just like any child, so full of curiosity and wonder about this strange world he was brought into. Questions as well. Children ask an awful lot of questions. Maybe too many.

Why do did that bird fly away from me? Why is the sky blue? Where does the moon go in the daytime? Why are plants green? Why did hurt when I fell? What do clouds look like? Why does my tummy hurt? Why won't you play with me? Why are there black things under your eyes? Why this? Why that? Why? Why?

Why.

Many children ask why. Many adults ask why. Everyone asks questions. It's how we come to know about things, after all. 

Today was a day Narinder asked "Why?" A lot.

It all started midday. Narinder was busy farming, pulling roots from the earth, picking berries off bushes, digging mushrooms out of the ground, only to replant them for the next time. Monotonous cycle, wasn't it? Monotony was very common in mortal day-to-day life. Washing dishes for breakfast tomorrow, washing clothes for next week, washing bones for this month's ritual. (He somehow always ended up with the washing jobs.) Maybe routine would be a better word. Monotonous seems to have too harsh a connotation. He doesn't hate every part of his day, not all of it, no-

"Excuse me, mister?"

Narinder looks up. It's a small child. 7 or 8, maybe? Most likely the child of that deer follower. They do look quite similar, maybe a little too similar.

His face softens. This is a child, a sweet innocent soul.

He cannot be irritatable or standoffish, lest he try to explain why he made a kid cry.

"Yes?" He responds. He hopes he doesn't look too annoyed, his face has a habit of doing that. Not ideal for socializing with children.

The kid fidgets with something behind their back.

"Uhm...I uh...made this. For you."

They bring their arms forward, revealing a crudely made flower crown. It's made of many wildflowers they must've picked from the meadows not too far from this here farm. He can identify a few. Daffodils, orange pansies, bluebells, purple crocuses, and some camellias (That were probably stolen from the farm, he thinks. Camellias don't really grow wild here. And some of these flowers probably aren't in season, either.) All in a repeating pattern of lightest to darkest. Simple, but very pretty.

He tilts his head. The child keeps on nervously rambling while their fingers curl around the crown slightly.

"It's for you, uhm...mommy said yellow and orange make red stand out and your eyes are red and uh-" they stammer, looking away frequently.

He places a hand on the flower crown. They let go of it, staring at him with wide eyes. He holds it in his hand gently, careful not to crush it.

"It's beautiful, thank you." He says, a soft smile on his face.

The kid's eyes light up brighter than the night sky, their smile stretching wider than any road ever built. Pure joy is on their face. Pure joy on anyone's face is a wonderful sight, especially if you are the reason it is there.

"Really!?! I kinda smashed a few, so I dunno-" they exclaim, rambling again

Narinder chuckles "Yes, it is. Even the smashed bits. Tell your mother that she was right about the colors for me, okay?"

The child closes nods and scampers off, shouting for their mother. Narinder sighs and shakes his head, a dumb grin plastered in his face.

"Heh, kids."

He stares at the crown, before putting down his trowel and placing it upon his head. It's a little too large, so it slides down a little too close to his eyes, partially obscuring his vision, not to mention the stems and leaves that stick out and make his face itch. But he can't care less. Somebody, a child, had made this for him for no other reason than to be nice. And he would wear this fantastic gift with honor, no matter how silly he may look. (He in fact, looked very silly.) It is a god's...er...ex-god's duty to accept each offering with grace and respect, especially the homemade ones. It would be cruel and stupid not to do so, wouldn't it?

He goes back to harvesting crops, the grin threatening to stay on his face long overdue. Hell, he might actually cry. Because dammit, wasn't this the sweetest thing he's ever been a part of? A child, a sweet innocent soul decided to give him a homemade gift out of the kindness of their heart. No manipulation, no strings attached, no mockery. Just a simple kind gesture to make his day better. They even felt the need to specify how they didn't mean to smush a few flowers, as if the quality of this fine gift mattered to him. He's seen much worse than a flattened dandelion, but he'll humor this child. He needed that today, this kindness.

But why him? Self doubt and hatred are brutal, more brutal than any type of disease (For him in this moment, at least. Whether or not internal conflict is worse than vomitting or stuffed noses is for the philosophers of the future to discuss.)

Did he even deserve this gift? Even after everything he's done? Thousands of sins committed, Millions slaughtered in his name or because of him, a mother separated from her children to curb his own self-infliceted loneliness. He's done terrible, unforgivable things. He's deplorable. His words have often been pejorative and vile. He attempted to use his vessel for his own gain. This mortal body is a prison, right? Why did he get this gift, then? Why did that child deem him worthy of such an exquisite gift, such a meaningful act of kindness?

Why can't his mind just be silent for once?

He huffs, wipes a small bit of moisture from his eyes, and goes back to his duties. Their mother was right, the yellow and orange make the red in his robes pop, and the blue and purple provides nice contrast.

He claws at the earth for crops once more. 

At least somebody's thought of him.

[faelynfawn]

Maybe something with scar and tango? Your recent chapter from tangos pov has me craving more of them :] I don’t have any specific ideas aksjjs maybe something decked out related? Maybe some protective tango or something but it’s up to you!! <3

For anyone who is unaware of my disability Scar headcanons (I truly should make a post about it) the one relevant here is that death create pain and other symptoms for him but do not for others.

-----

This was probably the most on track conversation Scar had ever had with Tango. They were both so distractable and fed into each other in the best (most unproductive) way. Clearly Tango had a point he was trying to get to as he rambled on and on about Decked Out 2, one Scar was trying so hard to let him reach.

“So, yeah. That’s how the game works,” Tango said.

“Can’t wait to play it!”

Tango frowned, “No, Scar, this—this conversation wasn’t to get you to be excited, it was to explain that in order to play you have to die. Repeatedly. Every single run.”

Oh.

Scar felt an uncomfortable lump forming in this throat. He swallowed around it and put a cheery smile on his face, “Oh, I die so much, what’s a little bit more?”

Tango’s eyes widened, “No! No! I’m not—Okay, so, I’ve got a plan. I came to run the plan by you. That’s why I’m here. I’m not—I wouldn’t have built the game if I didn’t think there was a way you could play it.”

That was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to Scar. He knew how much Decked Out 2 meant to Tango. The idea that he wouldn’t have built it if he couldn’t make it accessible made him feel a little bit giddy. Guilty, but giddy.

“I’m all ears.”

“They're not that big. So, I was thinking, in Decked Out people aren’t supposed to have armour. But I could just spectate all your runs and keep track of where your health should be and when you’d be dead if you didn’t have armour, I pull you out. That way you don’t have to die and you still get to play.”

Scar hesitated, “Wouldn’t that give me an unfair advantage? You were just saying how berry bushes were such a big thing and if I didn’t actually take the damage I wouldn’t need to eat as much.”

Tango laughed and wrapped Scar up in a hug, “I’d keep track of that too. Even if it did give you an advantage I think I can speak for everyone when I said we’d much rather you have a little bit of an edge and not be in pain after playing. It's a game, Scar. Besides,” He pulled back to cup Scar’s cheek, “I’m the Dungeon Master. I make the rules."

-------

I managed to make it less than 400 words. That is as close to a drabble as I believe I am capable of creating.

Also, I am so pleased people are enjoying my Scargo agenda. I love them so much, they are so important to me. Here is a video of them that I believe everyone should watch. (It also has a part 2.)

[kimaswork]

Could you pretty pleeeeeaaaassseee do a work of Thoma x Male!reader?? Or a Tighnari x Male!reader?

I love them both so choosing between them was really hard, buuuuut I had to go with my fennec fox baby. For the good luck on hopefully losing a 50/50 to him lol

"Dammit..." You mumbled under your breath as you picked through bushes to get berries. You were currently gathering ingredients for Gandharva Villes... medic? He was a the main forest troupe, leader, person, thingy, you didn't keep track of his titles very well. But you knew he was important and that he took care of the forest, the scouts, and most importantly, you.

Tighnari had recently started dating you, having asked you out nearly two or three months prior.

Hearing your quiet curse with his fox-like ears from the other side of the river, his head perked up. "You okay over there Lo?" He asked, his voice clearly concerned.

'Lo' was his nickname for you. You were his little lotus that bloomed and grew more beautiful everyday. You adored the name, it quickly became one of your favorites.

"Yea- Just these darn thorns, always pokin' me..." You responded, your voice growing more quiet near the end as your answer turned more into complaining.

Softly chuckling he walked through the shallow water, the ripples making the nearby golden bass swim away. "Here-" He said softly, his voice smooth. You could tell he was close by the way you could feel his warm breath on your neck, making a light blush creep up your cheeks. Turning you saw he was giving you his gloves. "Oh babe no, you need those-" You began before promptly getting cut off. "My hands will be fine Lo, I've gotten scratches before. But I want your hands to be okay, Archons knows how clumsy you can be." He says with a playful smirk as he pulls the gloves onto your hands for you, not giving you another chance to refute.

"And I don't want to have to treat my little lotus for a few scratches if I can help it." He mumbles as he pulls your hands up to his mouth and kisses your knuckles, his long ears sticking out and tickling your nose as he did so, making you laugh.

Once he had finished with his affections he released your hand and placed a gentle kiss on your forehead. "There- all better." He states confidently.

A quick glance to your basket later and he has you by the hand, walking to another bush full of berries. "This one here is full of ripe ones!" He says as he kneels down and picks at the miniscule fruits with you, throwing them into the basket.

Time passed slowly as the two of you gather ingredients for the infirmary, but you were content, you were with your boyfriend, so you saw this as a date. Over the span of multiple hours the pair of you gathered berries, lotus', sweet flowers, mints, and many other plants. Each plant the two of you picked was a new conversation starter, 'Nari had so many facts about medicinal properties and plants to tell you and you just let him go on. Truth be told you had no clue what he was going on about, but his voice was so soothing to you, so you simply listened to his rambles.

After the sun began going down you returned to Gandharva Ville to be met with a warm welcome from Collei. "Master Tighnari!" She said with a smile. He smiles back at her and the two began chatting away which had a massive grin crossing your face.

You were so thankful for the traveler, thanks to them Irminsul was saved and Elizar is a disease of the past. You had never seen Collei so upbeat and happy before, you were estatic you could see her as such.

You went to Tighnaris hut and began making the both of you dinner to share, this had became your routine. Tonight you were feeling a but lazy however, so you made simple chicken mushroom skewers. As you were setting the table 'Nari came in and helped you finish up then sat down to eat with you.

Mundane as the day was, it was sweet. Being with your boyfriend made your heart soar and it only got better when he said. "It's late. You should stay the night."

Oh Archons. When you say your heart was soaring.... Clearly you said yes and before you knew it the two of you were curled up in his cot, all cuddled up and cozy. His fluffy tail was draped over your waist like an extra blanket and your arms were around his neck.

Peeking over him you saw you still wore his gloves. "Oh, one moment." You whispered in his ear as you sat up to peel off the gloves and set them on his nightstand before lying back down in his arms with a smile. "Better?" He asked. You responded with a nod. "Thanks for letting me use your gloves, though I'm sure I would've been fine with a few scratches. Even if I had to wait in line to get patched up, I'd live." You chuckled. With a playful roll of his eyes and a shake of his head he kissed your nose to grab your attention.

"Lo, you wouldn't wait in any line for me to patch you up and of course I'd give you my gloves." He says, his gentle green eyes gazing into your soul. "You are my priority. My main priority. My first and foremost." He states, honesty in his words.

You knew you loved this man, but now you were pretty sure you wanted to marry him on the spot. He tenderly kissed you before pulling you close and cuddling you to sleep for the night.

I think I might like to try to get into trying some headcannons of some of the characters, so gimme ideas of scenarios and characters that you'd like to see!

[the-messy-artist]

Combine them, cowards

[etoilehistoire]

When talking about Astarion’s choice to ascend or not, we tend to act like it's our choice. The player decides if he ascends or not. But... there IS a roll involved. Yes, as players if it doesn't go the way we want we can always reload and try again, but... in-game, the characters don't have that option. What would happen, then, if a Tav desperately tried to talk him out of ascending... and failed? Rolled a one? What might they do? What might happen next?

This story takes place after the end of the game.

The little farmhouse was in the middle of nowhere – no other homes in sight, miles from the nearest town.

Not that Wyll was surprised. In her shoes, he’d surely value his solitude too.

It was pretty, he noticed as he rode up the path. A dark brown roof over white walls, almost completely hidden behind trellises of morning glories, climbing roses, and other flowers. A spray of sunflowers nearly hid the door. Berry bushes sprawled across the front yard in glorious disorder, many of them sporting ripe fruit that filled the morning air with a sweet scent. And there, filling a bowl with blueberries, her dark hair pulled back in a scarf, was Xia.

She turned when she heard his horse's hooves, a slow smile spreading across her face. “I’ll be damned. How long has it been? Ten years?”

“At least,” he agreed with a grin. Hopping down, he clasped her arm in greeting, and wasn’t the least bit surprised when she pulled him into a full-bodied hug instead. “Oof! You’re strong as ever. Country life suits you.”

She looked well too, he mused a moment later, stepping back to look her over. Her hair had a little grey at the temples, and crow's feet were beginning to form at the corner of her unscarred eye, but she seemed more at ease with herself and the world than he remembered her being before.

She laughed at the comment. “I suppose it does. But what about you? I didn’t expect to see you out here in the middle of nowhere! How’s the war going? How’s Karlach? How’s her heart?”

He threw up his hands in mock surrender, laughing. “So many questions! And the answers are all related. The war never ends, of course – it will outlive all of us. But sometimes you have to step away from battle for a moment, to focus on more important things.” He smiled, a softness entering his voice. “Karlach's new heart is treating her well. It’s stable. So stable, in fact, that… well, that’s part of what I came to tell you.” His dark skin flushed even darker. “We’re expecting.”

She gasped. “No.”

“Yes! Dammon's with her now; she’s already complaining about us coddling her.”

Xia laughed, the sound open and free. “Oh, I’ll bet. Tell her you’ll knock her down and sit on her if she doesn’t behave.” Looping her arm through his, she continues. “You have to tell me everything! Let me show you around while you do; I’ve got a little orchard started – the trees won’t bear fruit for another year or two, but it’s pretty. And oh, do you like tomatoes? Please say at least one of you does, I have so many tomatoes and I don’t know what to do with them all…”

She’s freer with her words now too, he noted, holding back a smile as he let her ramble on. She gave him a quick tour; he dutifully admired the gardens, and smiled at the chickens and the cantankerous goat.

Finally she gave him a sideways glance. “But happy as your news is, it could have been delivered in a letter. And you didn’t come all the way out here to see my flowers and be loaded up with spare vegetables. What’s up?”

He gave her a gentle smile. “Actually? I wanted to check on you. I was surprised to hear you’d hung up your sword.”

She smiled, but it seemed more reserved now. “I got out of the game, Wyll. It happens.”

“Doesn’t usually happen to someone who makes the kind of name for themselves as you did.”

She was silent at this. After a long moment he added, gently, “They’re singing songs about you, you know. About what you did.”

Now her shoulders sagged. “Ah.”

“Is it true?”

She looked away, dark eyes staring off into the blue morning sky. “They would hardly sing songs about it if it wasn’t.”

He touched her shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“What is there to say?” She still didn’t look at him. This, this was the Xia he remembered, careful and closed-off. It made him sad to see. “The ascended vampire lord has been destroyed and his budding empire torn down. I dealt the death-blow myself.”

His heart hurt for her. He, too, had grieved what Astarion had become, but he’d never been as close with the vampire as she was. Xia had always been driven to do the right thing, but he couldn’t imagine how it must have felt, having to kill her former lover. “Is that why…?”

“Why I stopped?” She shrugged. “I made a mess, Wyll. It was on me to clean it up. Once I did, that life didn’t have much appeal for me anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and meant it. “We should have been there with you. You shouldn’t have had to do it alone.”

“I did have an army with me,” she replied mildly. “I was hardly ‘alone.’” Glancing over at him, she gave him a small smile. “I’m glad you weren’t, honestly. It makes me happy that you and the others are living your lives. You deserve some peace.”

He returned the smile. “Well. So do you.”

“And I’ve found it.” She leaned into him, wrapping an arm around him in a half-hug. “Listen, I do want to catch up, and I have missed you, but I’m afraid I have to be a bad host. The house is a mess – turns out I’m a much better gardener than I am a housekeeper – and I never get company out here so I don’t have a guest room set up. Maybe we could-"

Just then the door banged open and someone strolled out of the house. Lanky build. White, curling hair. Skin tanned pale gold from the sun. Pointed ears. Clutching a mug of coffee in his hand.

“Darling,” he drawled, “did a blight destroy our berry bushes overnight? Did you have to plant entirely new ones before you could pick the blueberries? I don’t mean to be impatient, but you promised me muffins, not abandonment-"

“Astarion??”

He froze. She froze. Wyll stared between them, his eyes growing wide as he tried to process what he was seeing.

Then Xia turned toward him, slowly, with the absolute strangest expression he had ever seen on her face: a guilty, sheepish smile.

“Explain.”

 

~15-20 Years Earlier~

 

Astarion sat on Cazador’s- no. His throne, now. His, all his, and he should be happy about it, damn it. Instead he drummed his fingers, their last conversation playing in his head.

“You will regret leaving me. More than anything else you live to regret.”

She’d simply looked at him with her quiet eyes. “No, Star. The only thing I regret is that I couldn’t stop you from doing this to yourself.”

He scowled. What did she know? He hadn’t ‘done anything to himself’ except seize the power he deserved, the power that always should have been rightfully his. After 200 years of pain, of fear, of being weak, now finally he was the one who was strong. He would never be afraid again. He could have kept her safe too, could have given her everything she ever wanted. Instead she rejected it. Said she liked him better when he was weak. When he was pathetic.

She didn’t deserve him. Didn’t deserve the gifts his power would have bestowed. So be it. She could grow old and suffer and die, while he was beautiful and strong forever, and he wouldn’t care. He was better off without an ingrate like her anyway. He would put her entirely out of his mind and never think of her again.

*

It didn’t go as well as he’d hoped.

The first thing to do, of course, was make new spawns. He was powerful, of course, but he was only one man. An army of offspring, all loyal to him, all able to be controlled by him, would increase his power exponentially, allow him to effectively be everywhere at once.

So he started.

His first spawn was less than pleased by his new fate. That was fine. Astarion hadn’t suffered under Cazador all those years without learning a few tricks to break the will of a rebellious slave. If the boy couldn’t see the advantages of serving the most powerful vampire lord to ever exist, he would instead learn the folly of resistance. He’d come around in time. Astarion would make sure of it.

The second, by contrast, took to it like a duck to water. She had a streak of cruelty that delighted him, and she was a sensible girl, able to understand the quid-pro-quo of “serve me loyally, and I’ll be good to you.” Yes, she would work out nicely.

It was when he was out hunting his third spawn that he hit a snag.

A tall girl. Well-muscled from hard work. Dark hair, dark eyes – a round face with a serious expression. Not Xia, of course, but similar enough to her that they could have been sisters.

He brought her back, of course, fully intending to turn her. As he should have turned Xia, nevermind that she said she didn’t want it. Once it was done she would have seen the benefits, and even if she hadn’t, she couldn’t have left him then anyway. He should have done it.

Her face came back to him, the way he’d seen it last. Cold. Sad. Judgmental, as if she had any right to judge him. He snarled, the rage filling his mind, and lunged.

When he drew back she was dead, her glassy eyes staring at the ceiling as the tattered remains of her throat slowly dripped onto his second-best couch. Ugh. Such a waste.

He made his first spawn clean up the mess – it would do the boy good to get used to such things. His second spawn (he should learn their names eventually, or perhaps give them new ones) he sent out to hunt a replacement. “And,” he added, glancing back to the cooling corpse. “If you can… find someone who looks like her.”

He could control himself better the next time. Of course he could.

*

He saw her again, a year or so later.

By that point his influence had grown enough that he was making alliances with other power players, but he wasn’t quite high enough – yet – to force them to come to him. So he was traveling, visiting a strange town to seal a deal.

He hadn’t had to hunt himself for months – his pets brought him all the fresh blood he could want. Still, there was nothing quite like the thrill of the chase, and he was in a new place where his face wasn’t widely known… so why not? Why not, for old time's sake? He donned a cloak, headed to a nearby tavern, and watched the crowd.

And there she was. Singing, for the gods' sake, like she was some common wench and not a paladin. His lip twisted in pity and disgust. If she’d only listened to him, she could be living in luxury right now, her every whim seen to, instead of debasing herself like this. Singing for her supper. She might as well whore herself out.

He stayed and listened, his fury growing as he did so. The song was sad, and told the story of a woman who had loved a powerful man, but her love wasn’t enough to keep him with her and so he had abandoned her.

How dare she. As if she hadn’t left him! As if he hadn’t offered her the world, if only she’d stayed! How dare she paint him as the unfaithful one, how dare she mourn their love! She had no right!

His hunt forgotten, he waited for her until she left the lights of the tavern. Stepping out of the dark night, he grabbed her by the throat and forced her back against the wall. “You know, darling, if you miss me that much you could always come home.” He bared his fangs, moving in closer. “Your place as my consort is still open. In fact, I’ve half a mind to put you there anyway – there are others who would kill to be my most beloved spawn, you’d learn to appreciate it in time.”

A blade pressed against his throat – gods, he’d forgotten how fast she was. Cold eyes stared into his. “If.”

He considered his odds. Her throat was right there – but lunging for it would mean the dagger slicing into his own neck. Possibly he could incapacitate her before it cut all the way through… but possibly not. “Beg pardon?” he asked, playing for time.

“If.” Her gaze grew, if anything, even harder. “I told you that it was a big ‘if.’ That I didn’t see it happening. But it’s getting closer.”

He stilled. He remembered now – a conversation long ago, around a fire. How pathetic he’d been then, cringing and sniveling, as if he needed her approval or affection. “Oh, pretty paladin, please tell me you aren’t threatening me.”

“Not a threat. A warning.” Now she leaned into him, bringing their faces close. “I know that ethics won’t move you, nor morality. Not love, not mercy, not kindness. You’ve seen to that.” Her words were quiet and emotionless, fired at him with a dreadful matter-of-factness. “So I’m appealing to enlightened self-interest. Keep your predations to a reasonable level, vampire. For your sake and mine: don’t become something I’m honor-bound to kill.”

He snarled, hate twisting his features. The blade biting into his neck was becoming uncomfortable; he took a few steps back, pretending it was his own idea, glaring all the while. “The arrogance. You really believe you could do anything to me? To me?”

She sighed. “Oh, Star. You know I was never afraid of you, right? Not once. Not even with your teeth in my neck. That hasn’t changed.” Her knife disappeared, vanishing into whatever hidden pocket she’d drawn it from. “Perhaps you should have been more afraid of me.”

And with that, she turned her back on him – deliberately – and walked away.

And Astarion, for reasons he absolutely did not understand, let her.

*

It wasn’t enough.

He wasn’t safe enough.

He wasn’t strong enough.

He had an entire horde of spawn bound to him, yes, but they could only operate at night. That was a limitation, and limitations were weakness.

He’d had the idea, once, to cover the city in fog and clouds, blocking out the sun, making it safe for his little pets. So he did. It took a while, of course, but he figured it out in the end.

Of course, then the people in the city were angry. There were rumblings of discontent. That wouldn’t do. The city should be his – he deserved that much, didn’t he? And anyone who disagreed, well. He always needed food. And he always needed entertainment. Those who spoke against him could provide both – quietly at first, then as publicly as possible – until no one else dared to speak.

So the city became his. But then it occurred to him – it was only one city. A single city could be destroyed, could it not? No, it wasn’t enough. To be truly safe, to be truly powerful, he needed multiple cities.

He needed an empire.

And, after all, why shouldn’t he have one? Why shouldn’t he rule this land? Who could stand against him?

Some years into this, the rumors first reached his ears. Whispers of tales told in taverns and common rooms, songs sung in secrecy. The story of a paladin who had been betrayed by a vampire lord, who would ease her heartbreak by taking revenge on her evil ex-lover.

He was furious. He sent out an entire squadron of spawn, with instructions: tear out the tongues of anyone heard repeating this rumor. He nailed the tongues to a board in the square, scores of them, a grisly display for all to see.

But the stories kept being spread.

Soon it was more than whispers. An army was amassing to the west, led by a scarred paladin, sworn to bring him down. Xia's name seemed to be on every pair of lips – a beacon of hope, they called her. A hero, come to free them from the scourge of – well, of him.

He hated her. Gods, he hated her. How could he have ever thought he loved her? It wasn’t enough to abandon him, to throw away everything he’d tried to give her. She had to try to destroy everything he was working so hard to build, too? Everything that would finally, finally make him secure, safe, happy?

They moved slowly. First a tiny border town, one he had only barely secured. The spawn he’d left in charge was killed, the fog dispersed. The people were free.

He sneered when he heard it. ‘Free.’ Free to live their miserable, pathetic lives, perhaps. To die meaningless deaths. Instead of being led by someone with vision, someone who would have protected them, who would only have taken a few lives here and there – and even then, those who died would have known they were sacrificing to further a glorious cause! But no. They wanted to live and die like animals? Fine. He didn’t need that town anyway. He had others.

But her army didn’t stop there. They moved forward, inexorably, whittling apart his budding empire and growing stronger all the while as people flocked to her banners.

He screamed as the reports came in, as he heard of each new city lost. Sometimes he took it out on the messenger. Sometimes he took it out on the townsfolk. So what if he did? It was her fault anyway, for angering him like this.

Then they were there, in his home city, moving closer, fighting pitched battles in the street. It should have been impossible for them to fight him here, in his own territory, but here they were, growing closer by the day. Until the city was theirs. Until they reached his walls.

And stopped.

They didn’t move on the castle.

Maybe they were recovering from the battle, licking their metaphorical wounds. Maybe they didn’t think they were strong enough. Maybe they were doing reconnaissance, or building a powerful weapon, or waiting for the stars to align. Whatever the reason, they stopped, and for months there was a stalemate. Astarion took advantage of it, building up his defenses and training his pets. If they were going to give him breathing room, he’d make them regret it.

Then, after several months, something changed. He wasn’t sure what – he shuddered, as if someone had walked over his grave, and afterwards he knew something was different. Something had fundamentally changed, and he hated that he didn’t know what.

A week after that, the attack came.

The fighting in the lower levels wasn’t going well, he could tell by the sound. His spawn were fighting for their own lives and his, he’d summoned wolves and bats and everything else he could think of, and yet the army kept coming, kept slicing his forces apart.

And then she was there.

In his private rooms. Alone.

He grinned when he saw her. “The years are catching up to you, Xia. Is that grey I see in your hair?” He clucked. “Should have let me turn you when you were still young and – well, as pretty as you’d ever be.”

She regarded him quietly, naked sword in hand. “I didn’t come here to talk, Astarion. I came here to kill you.”

“You still think you can?” He sneered. “Your little soldiers down there might be able to defeat my spawns, pretty paladin. But I am the ascended vampire. You cannot bring me down.”

“I can,” she said – calmly. Steadily. “And I will. I promised to make it quick, Astarion. And it will be.”

With that, they flew at each other.

She was every bit as fast and strong as he remembered – more so, even, after the decade or more she’d had to improve. But he was stronger too. Faster. And he had more tricks up his sleeve.

He drew first blood – the fingernails he’d allowed to grow long, had sharpened into talons, missed her neck but scraped against the melted flesh of her scar. He paused, grinning, and licked a drop of blood off of one of them.

Hells below, it was sweet. He’d forgotten how good she tasted.

“Oh, I’m going to enjoy draining you dry,” he purred, and lunged again.

He relished the look of surprise on her face the first time he turned into mist, her sword passing harmlessly through him. He danced around her, waiting for her to grow tired and out of breath, something he no longer needed to worry about.

She stabbed. He misted. He laughed inwardly at the confusion in her eyes as she looked around, trying to figure out where he was this time. Silently, he materialized behind her, moving in for the kill.

Too late, he realized it had been a feint, as she whirled to face him, knowing exactly where he’d be.

Too late, he saw the blade swinging for his neck.

Too late.

Too late.

In his cold dead heart, he hadn’t actually thought she could kill him, any more than he could kill her. Oh, he could consider it. Fantasize about it, even. But actually do it? No. They were bound together. He would disarm her. Render her helpless. Then turn her, as he always should have, and they would be together. Forever. As it always should have been.

He was wrong.

There was the excruciating pain of the sword through his neck. The sickening spin of the world as his head left his shoulders and tumbled down. The darkness taking over his vision.

Then nothing.

*

The first thing he was aware of was… warmth.

He was warm.

That was new.

He opened his eyes to see Xia bending over him, her eyes red and puffy, tears streaming down her cheeks. That was wrong. Xia never cried. Not once, in all the time he’d known her.

“Oh gods,” she gasped out, as soon as she saw his eyes open. Then, standing, she stumbled away, turning her back to him as her shoulders shook.

Carefully, he sat up. His body felt… weird.  Something was on him, littering his lap and the floor near him. Little stones, or gems maybe, but hollow and blackened as if they’d been burnt from the inside. He touched one and it crumbled to dust.

Something was wrong. Something felt wrong, familiar and alien at once. He stilled, trying to feel it, to understand what was happening to his body.

It was a heartbeat. It was his heartbeat. For the first time in over 200 years.

He stared at the paladin’s back. “Xia… what did you do?”

The answer was slow in coming. When it did, it was in a voice that was dull and despairing. “I undid the most important choice you ever made for yourself. I ignored your wishes and turned you into what I wanted you to be, without your consent. That’s what I did.”

His breath (he had breath!) caught. He stared at the crumbling gems again. Diamonds, he realized. Or they had been, before.

He remembered… oh, he remembered the ritual. He remembered Xia trying to talk him out of it. He’d ignored her, so sure he knew what he was doing, so sure it was the only way.

He remembered everything he’d done after.

His stomach heaved and he doubled over, retching, unable to bring anything up except strings of yellow bile. Still the horror and disgust washed over him in waves.

He'd become his own worst nightmare. He was as bad as Cazador.

No. He was worse.

When he finally regained the ability to speak, he croaked, “Why?”

She shrugged – one-shouldered, listless. “Because I’m selfish? Because I knew I needed to kill you, but I wasn’t ready to live in a world without you in it? Because I would rather have you alive to hate me dead.”

He shook his head, not understanding. “No. Not – what? Why would I hate you?”

She hesitated. “Star. You made a choice. You chose power. That was your choice; my choice was to fight you. And that choice was mine to make… but I didn’t have the right to take your choice away. You’ve been treated like a thing for too long, you deserve to make your own choices about your own life. And I knew that, and I did it to you anyway. Knowing it was wrong.”

He felt sick. “No. I didn’t – I didn’t know. Xia, please, I – I chose to do the ritual, yes. But I didn’t know it would be like this.” He swallowed. “I didn’t know I would be like this.”

She did turn then, tears streaming from her eyes, turned and knelt with him. Shaking, her hands reached out to cup his face. Hope, wild and fierce, blazed in her watery eyes. “You didn’t? Star. Please. Swear it. Tell me you didn’t want… this.”

He shuddered, shaking his head fiercely. “I swear it. Xia, the things I wanted to do to you – I would never.” He covered his face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Strong arms wrapped around him then, holding him close; he let himself lean into her embrace, feeling like he didn’t deserve it. “You should have killed me,” he whispered. “You should have let me stay dead. The things I did… Xia, you don’t know the things I did.”

“You can tell me,” she murmured back, “if you want. But it wasn’t you. If you didn’t know what the ritual would do… then you didn’t choose what you’d turn into. The person who did those things, it’s not you, and it’s not anyone you would choose to be.”

“It was still my hands,” he whispered. “Still my voice that gave the orders. You tried to warn me.”

“I did,” she replied, rubbing his back. “With things I guessed. Suspected.  Not things I knew. You were scared. You wanted something to make you strong. I wouldn’t have believed my warnings either.”

He had nothing to say to that, unable to believe in the easy forgiveness but unwilling to reject it either. He clung to her in silence, until the shaking stopped.

Finally he asked, “…What happens now?”

“Mmm. My army is pretty gung-ho on ‘kill the vampire,’” she mused. “Probably you’ll want to lay low for a while. I’ll tell them you’re dead, and after things calm down I can smuggle you out of the castle.”

He nodded, sitting back and wiping his face. “I’ll… I don’t know where I’ll go,” he admitted, “but I’ll figure something out. I won’t make trouble for you, I promise.”

She frowned. “…Oh,” she said after a moment. “I mean… yes, of course you can go off on your own, if that’s what you want.” She hesitated. “I just… can I give you anything? Money, supplies?”

He shook his head, not looking her in the eyes. “You’ve given me the greatest gift I could ask for. I’m… Xia, I’m alive.” A laugh escaped him, soft and disbelieving. “I never thought, never even dared to hope… it’s freedom. True freedom. A second chance, despite everything I’ve done. I… I couldn’t ask for more. I’ve done enough to your life as it is.”

Silence. Then slowly, tentatively, gentle fingers reached out to push hair away from his face. “I mean,” she said, hesitant. “You could do more.”

He looked up then, meeting her eyes with a look of utter confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I delayed my attack for months – over the loud objections of my generals – until I could get my hands on the magics that could bring you back,” she said. “Because I didn’t want to risk killing you for real. I mean that even knowing that I had the magic to fix it, it still hurt more than I can say to see you dead by my hand. I mean that I didn’t do all of that because I never wanted to see you again afterwards.”

Now his eyes filled with tears. “Xia. You can’t mean that.”

“Can’t I?” She met his stare unflinching, and there – in her dark eyes, there she was, his quiet, pretty paladin. “Astarion. My Star. I love you. I’ve always loved you. Nothing has changed that. Nothing could.”

He shook his head. “I’ve killed people. Enslaved people. Tortured people, mutilated people. For bad reasons, when there was a reason at all. I don’t-" He ducked his head. “I don’t deserve you. I never did.”

“Oh, Star.” She reached out, her fingers soft in his hair – and then, suddenly, she was gripping his hair, gently forcing his his head up like she did the first time he fed on her, when he lost control. She raised his head until she could meet his gaze. “I already cut your head off once.”

He stared at her. “I. What?”

“I already cut your head off once.” Her mouth twisted. “It almost killed me to do so, but I did it. Was that not enough punishment? I can do it again, if you need me to; bringing you back should be much easier now. Or I can just yell at you a lot, if that’s easier. Tell you what a horrible awful person you are and why you should feel bad.”

His heart lightened even as he scowled. “You’re making fun of me.”

“Little bit.” Her grip on his hair loosened and she sat back, ruffling the curls once before letting her hand drop entirely. “I could tell you again that I don’t blame you for what you did, but you didn’t believe me the first time, so. Let’s do this instead. You say you don’t deserve me. But what do I deserve?” She leaned in. “Do I, or do I not, deserve to finally be with the man I love? After fighting for him all this time?”

Gods, she was going to be the death of him. Again. He swallowed hard. “Can you blame me for thinking you could do better?”

“Better than the love of my life?” She smiled. “Can you blame me for not believing that that’s possible?” He melted. How, how could she still believe such things about him?

She touched his cheek again, her thumb running lightly over his cheekbone. “Beloved. My night has been empty for over ten years.” She leaned in. “Please. Give me back the stars?”

He felt himself sag forward. Felt his lips meet hers.

It felt like giving in. It felt like giving up.

It felt like deciding to live again.

 

~Present Day~

 

As the story wound down, Wyll reached for another blueberry muffin – they were really very good. “So… a combination of Wish and True Resurrection? Clever.”

Xia nodded. “I cast Wish ahead of time, to undo the time limit on my next use of True Resurrection.”

“Which I felt,” Astarion chimed in. “It was itchy, feeling someone mess with my fate.”

“I’m not sorry. Anyway, I took a week to recover from the effects, and then the rest is history.”

He nodded. “How did you know it would work?”

“She didn’t.” Astarion arched an eyebrow, smearing butter on a muffin. “Which I remind her of all the time, that if her theory had been wrong I would be dead for good.”

“Yes, you do, love, and it’s not traumatizing at all,” Xia deadpanned, poking him. “But, Wyll, you can see why we keep it a secret?” Her eyes met his, pleading. “You and I, we knew him before, and we understand the circumstances. But someone who lived through the Dark Times… whose son or daughter or sister or husband was taken to the castle and never returned… they wouldn’t forgive. They’d come looking for him.” She glanced at the elf by her side. “Maybe they’d even have a right to. But gods help me, I don’t care.”

He nodded slowly. “No, I… I understand the predicament. But… well, you understand I’m not the only one who cares about you two?” He leaned in across the breakfast table. “Astarion, I’ve talked to some of the others from back then. We all grieved, when we thought you were dead.” He glanced at Xia. “And for you, when we thought you’d had to kill him.”

Astarion blinked, but recovered quickly. “Hmm. I would have thought I’d burned those bridges long ago. Surely a decade or so of terror matters more than a few weeks of sharing a common enemy?”

Wyll reached out, laying a hand across his pale wrist. “You were our friend. We didn’t forget that, even after you changed. We never stopped caring about you.”

Astarion blinked again, then looked down; there was a rustle under the table, like the sound of one person kicking another. “I told you,” Xia murmured, then turned to Wyll. “Every new person who learns a secret increases the chances that it will get out,” she said seriously. “That’s why I was trying to get rid of you before. Nothing personal, just. That’s how the numbers work.” She sighed. “But… we do trust you. If you’re in contact with the others, if you think they can keep this secret… we’ll trust your judgment.”

He felt a rush of warmth within him at the words, at the two cagiest members of his old party choosing to trust him with something so monumental. “It’s been about fifteen years,” he remarked. “Maybe twenty. Might be high time for a reunion. We could have a party and everything.”

Xia and Astarion glanced at each other, a whole conversation seeming to pass between them. Finally Xia sighed, turning back to him with an expression of resignation that didn’t actually hide the joy beneath the surface. “You’re really going to make me set up that guest room, huh?”

He grinned. “I am. I really, really am.”

[gluedwithgold]

Late night/Early morning rambles of Au loreee

I’m sleep deprived, it’s like 1am, and no one can judge my shit rambles! 😤

———

Darkwood used to be a beautiful, healthy forest with a large variety of wildlife thriving under the protective watch of the Chaos God.

Despite the seasonal cycle dying out at the hands of the old faith centuries ago, Darkwood had its own version of season changes. Beautiful flowers blooming year round to indicate a “season”. They bloomed into every color imaginable, with plenty of unique insects to pollinate. Patches of thinning old growth allowing the sun to reach the forest floor, the forest floor that was covered in a patchwork blanket of mosses, clovers and grass. Winding rivers flowed through the forest like veins, acting as guid trails to different communes. The the forest was too dense and grew too fast to create any desired pathways.

Cultists planted and maintained fields upon fields of not only food but flowers as well. And their harvests thrived. Flowering vines engraved into the sides of buildings, natural walls of berry bushes grown into fences to protect villages. Tree branches acting as the perfect steps for those who lived higher up.

Every hundred or so years. Parts of the forest would burn down to make way for new growth, and ceremonies would be held in celebration of their beloved Darkwood starting a new.

Villagers were one with the forest, living amongst the trees, dirt, and bugs. They were apart of Darkwood just like any other beautiful, unique organism that Darkwood breathed life into. The perfect ecosystem.

But that all changed when their God was banished. Darkwood was alive and it was He who had tamed it. Molded the forest to fit the needs of his people and give them all they could ever hope to want. Without him, the forest grew hungry and rabid.

Sudden bursts of unstoppable growth caused buildings and farmland to crumble into dirt, forcing villagers to abandon their now uninhabitable homelands. Without the villagers and cultists to maintain the farmlands and partake in the ritual burnings, there was nothing left to stop the forest from taking that land back. And a fight for resources broke out immediately.

Buildings were reduced to rubble as trees bursted through brick and lumber from the inside to grow higher. Invasive species, once held back by farmers, spread like the plaque, thorny berry bushes stole all of the resources for their own survival , leaving the other fruit bearing plants to die out and be lost the sea of ever growing trees. Trees that grew on top of each other, racing for the sun. The only dependable resource left.

The flowers, once vibrant and full of life, twisted and grew hungry, snatching any poor soul unfortunate enough to wonder too far into the twisted forest. Some say that he can watch through the eyes of the forest. They say that every crooked notch in the tree bark, every soul piercing stare of the flowers, is him. Watching. Waiting. Plotting.

The forest was a living being. It saw all who entered, and consumed all who tried to leave. Darkwood, which now truly lives up to its name, loomed over the region. A forest so big and full of life, yet so dangerous and forbidden. Darkwood was an immovable reminder of the threat He lf Havoc posed to the safety and stability of the Old Faith. Darkwood, his domain, was-and still is! Far too dangerous for any soul to control.

It is better for everyone safety to let the forest fester and eat itself from the inside out.

[saturncoyote]

Hello, I am again returning with a small collection of my almost-no-context troll knowledge

Prior to assuming Mr. Dinkles was basically a stuffed animal that made noise, I did think that he was some sort of troll larvae, only to later see Hibiscus and the troll reproduction post and go “Ah. Probably not then.” (Tangentially, based on how you described troll reproduction, I’m tempted to say it sounds like they kinda passively pollinate eachother just because of the phenotypic variation in the children, but also that’s the spec bio nerd in me, not an actual guess at trolls lore).

I know that trolls have genre-based settlements of some kind, and I’m under the impression that there’s some form of monarchy in at least some of them because Poppy is a princess(?) and I’m 80% sure, based on very doggy memories of the first trolls movie, her dad was some kind of troll king in the tree that got the bird cage around it.

Also, there’s definitely different species (or races? I guess it depends on if you’re going with the kinda DnD style thing if calling all different sentient species a “race” or if you’re going by existing human definitions of race). I know that the trolls are one species and the bergens are another, and I suspect that Mr. Dinkles is also a separate species? And there has to be at least one more species because I’ve seen bits of the big tall noodley looking ones, and I can’t imagine they’re bergens just because they don’t look like them at all.

also, it seems like the Bergens and the trolls both have wildly different tech than the noodley ones cause I recall the noodley one’s dad being a dentist and it sounded like their society had to have at least gotten past the tech equivalent of the industrial revolution since they had boxed cereal and modern dentistry and suburbs(?). And I recall the Bergens appearing to have a medieval-looking castle that didn’t seem to have any fancy new tech like gas stoves or anything. Also, I’m reasonably sure the trolls have spotlights, so maybe it’s just the Bergens that don’t have much tech.

Also, to end this with a complete side note, I am deeply curious about what trolls eat because they’re so small that I imagine farming must be extremely difficult for them without significant physical infrastructure to support it. Even somewhat small foods like berries and such grow on comparatively very large plants and, while I can definitely imagine a society getting food from what is essentially a gargantuan fruit tree, I can also only imagine that it’s physically tricky since It’s A Gargantuan Fruit Tree. Also, I have to wonder how being able to get so much food from one single source would effect their society and culture. Would berry bushes and other similar troll-accessible food-producing plants be to ancient trolls as river deltas were to ancient humans? Would relying on singular plants encourage more nomadic lifestyles due to the unreliability of having one or two singular plants as your food source, or would they simply find ways to cultivate plants for longer?

Anyway, I like to ramble about worldbuilding, if you can’t tell, so I’ll happily ramble about more trolls assumptions as I remember them. I am very curious to see how many hold up because, oustide of your posts, the clearest trolls-related memory I have is from listening to a MBMBAM podcast episode where the hosts were joking about how they needed to voice act for trolls 3 (or 2? I forget) and then laughing at some article I ran into about how they actually got into it.

Ok first of all troll larvae is fucking insane we're really diving into the "trolls are bugs" territory with this one, we've cracked the code they're not monotremes they're fuzzy bugs, like woolly chafer beetles

You are correct about the troll monarchy, if anything the second movie confirms that most (or at least a good part of em) troll societies have a leader of some short (most having kings or queens, Country trolls however have a sheriff/mayor and Classical trolls have a conductor) plus Poppy is indeed a princess and is promoted to queen at the end of the first movie

There is like a SHITTON of different species in the Trolls universe (different genres of trolls are a bit tricky to categorize because while they are refered to as purely different 'tribes' it would make sense to call them subspecies of trolls since many of them are so physically different from each other) some of those would be bergens, vacaytioners (tall puppet guys) and mount rageons (the noodley ones as you call em) Mr Dinkles however is just a worm, there isn't much more to that guy

The technology of the trolls world makes absolutely no sense because although mount rageons seem to have very advanced technology (they have floating car lanes for god's sake) and bergens hold a more medieval style of life (although the Bergens cookbook tells you to put the trolls in an oven, and they do have pizza) the technology of trolls themselves varies from actual robots to wooden boats and sometimes just straight up bugs (there's caterbuses, it's a caterpillar that is also a bus)

Fun Fact trolls actually canonically farm animals since in the second movie Country trolls are shown milking and turning buffalo creatures into burgers, there's actually a variety of plants and animals that are just troll sized (puffalos, glitter fish, grossums and eight goats being some of em) and although the diet of pop trolls seem to canonically consist of mostly sweets and fast food i'd like to think that the rest of their diet consists of assorted fruits and also more bugs, i think they should be allowed to eat the bugs, let them eat bugs

Plus i can confirm that the McElroy brothers have indeed voiced characters in the second movie, they have very important roles like Techno Beat Drop button, actual tumbleweed, the single tear rolling down a rock troll's face and the single tear rolling down a country troll's face, oh and also this thing

[specialagentlokitty]

Arthur x reader - only you

Merlin x twin! Reader & Arthur x Reader - Merlin's twin confesses their love for Arthur on accident through magic flowers - @mxacegrey 💜

Humming to yourself, you were enjoy the peace outside of Camelot, you were knelt by some plants, looking through them as you picked certain ones.

“Is there any berries?” Merlin called.

Looking up, you pointed to the other side of the bushes and he smiled before going over that way while you carried on with that you were doing.

Coming across a small patch of dead flowers you frowned heavily.

Holding your hand out, you whispered a small spell and watched as they brightly came to life and went into full bloom.

“So pretty.” You mused to yourself.

Standing up, you picked a few and did the same thing, waving your hand over them you whispered a small spell and watched as they bloomed again, letting you pick some more.

You didn’t hear the Prince coming up behind you, or noticed how he stopped to watch you.

Once you were satisfied you grabbed the bunch of flowers and placed them in your basket as you turned around only to come face to face with Arthur.

You beamed happily and padded over to him, grabbing the flowers as you held them out to him with a small, shy smile.

“I Uhm.. I thought you’d like these…” you whispered.

Arthur took the flowers and you skipped away towards your horse while he stood there trying to figure out what he saw.

Since he couldn’t be clear on what happened he chose to ignore it and decided to keep a closer eye on you.

You loved flowers, you were always surrounded by them, and as you stood at the top of the caste a few nights later, you watched as the sunset over the field behind it.

Again, you whispered a small spell and watched as the flowers started to bloom.

“It looks better with flowers.”

Someone walked up next to you making you jump.

“You think?”

The prince smiled at you and turned to the field now covered in flowers and he froze when he saw what they were spelling out.

You turned to them and you felt your heart drop, trying anything you could to stop the spell but it was too late.

Arthur had disturbed you while you were still silently casting the spell, and since your mind went to him the spell decided to take a mind of it all.

“I love you Arthur…” he read quietly.

You felt your blood run cold, not only had the Prince just seen you using magic, you had just confessed your love for him and you had no clue what to do.

You were frozen in place, unable to move as you stared at him in absolute horror.

“You know, I always thought of you as Merlin’s twin, when I first met you.” He mused.

Arthur turned to face you, leaning against the wall with a small smirk on his lips.

“I’ve got to admit though, you’re better than Merlin in every single way.”

Arthur walked over and stood in front of you.

“How long have you been growing them?” He asked.

“G…growing them…?” You stuttered out.

“Yeah you know the things you do with plants to make them grow?”

You quickly nodded your head and swallowed your nerves away as you took this chance to somehow save yourself in a way.

“All spring sir…”

He hummed, nodding his head as he looked back over to them.

“Who put you up to it?”

“N.. no one…”

He titled his head a little.

“You mean… it’s from you…?” He asked quietly.

You slowly nodded your head and took a few steps back away from him.

“I.. I know it’s not appropriate and you’re a prince and I’m not royalty…”

You carried on rambling about why it would never work and everything that would happen if you did get together and every reason why you knew you couldn’t.

Arthur listened for a minute before he walked over, placing a finger under your chin he crashed his lips against yours in a kiss to shut you up.

Your eyes shot open as he wrapped an arm around your waist, the other going on your cheek.

You quickly relaxed into the kiss, wanting to make the most of it even if it could be some sort of cruel joke he was playing on you.

When Arthur pulled away he smiled softly, placing his forehead on yours.

“I don’t care about that… when I’m king it’s going to be you I marry…” he whispered.

“Marry…?”

“You’re the only one for me…”

You smiled, closing your eyes as you wrapped your arms around his neck, wanting to stay in this moment for the rest of your life.

All your dear and worried we’re melted away with his arms around you, his breath against your lips and his head against yours.

You had nothing to fear.

Nothing to worry about.

Not right now at least