#stonewood clan

[ghostsessioned]

my son daughter is home !

[beasanfi1997]

Colin Firth reveals at the audience that Ordon and All-Maudra Mayrin are the grandparents of Jen and Kira and because he play with Helena Bohan Carter in King's Speech and Mark Strong in Kingsman and because the Vapra and Stonewood clan are connected

[talkin-tdc]

Gelfling come to earth AU

AU where the gelfling are transported to earth and find humans who want to protect them.

-I see Rian and Ordon ending up with a young pompous lawyer (think edgeworth from ace attorney) who only lets them live with him since he knows he wouldn’t want to be left stranded in an alien planet without help but hates them at first. He thinks Rian is reckless and that Ordon adapted poorly to change, but after getting to know them he grew more fond of them and enjoyed the excitement he otherwise wouldn’t experience since he lived alone.

-Mayrin and Seladon were found by a hippie artist (think the van from cars kinda hippie) living off of her parents wealth. She actually loved dark crystal and were worried the government would do something bad to them, so took them in. She teaches Mayrin and Seladon to mellow out a bit and have a stronger bond as she can relate to having a bad bond with parents (her parents gave her things and pressure not affection). In turn, she’s inspired by Mayrin and Seladon to take control of her life and become independent of her parents money by opening up her own art shop.

-Tavra and Brea are found by a local farmer family (best comparison would be apple family from my little pony) and they start getting to work around the farm to earn their keep and after getting to know them, the farmers offer them a place to stay. They learn about farm life and the family learns about Thra as well as how to be more organized as the farm was doing bad for a few seasons due to poor management. Brea and Tavera learn about earth, and Brea in particular is intrigued with their political sphere and how different it is from Thra.

-Naia and Kylan are found by a struggling actor (any male actor you like will do but I prefer thinking of it like a young Daveed Diggs) . He works at a local coffee shop and lives upstairs barely being able to pay the rent and food (don’t ask about his student loans…). From them, he learns to be more persistent and still follow his passion. Naia learns to forgive herself from her past mistakes and that they don’t define her (she messed up a spell that was supposed to be her coronation into being Maudra so feels guilty like actor does for his loans and not being able to pay). Eventually, Kylan teaches the actor some gelfling songs and actor decides to put it online.

-Well the song gets massively popular because of its sound, it resonating with people, and no one being able to translate the lyrics. Actor guy gets super famous from it and goes on a few talk shows and does interviews etc.

-It’s playing in the background of the news one morning as lawyer and Ordon/Rian are getting ready and listen to the song and Rian’s like “Hey! That’s gelfling!! HE’S SINGING GELFLING!!!” Lawyer begins to look for other interviews of actor and realizes that his answers to “What gave you inspiration to write this warm, cozy song?” always change and he gets fidgety or looks away from the camera.

-Seladon and Mayrin hear it on the radio which was playing internet hits at the time, and tell hippie, thinking it could be Tavra or Brea. Hippie (though hating technology) agrees to take them to the local library to look it up.

-Farm family gets the local paper (which Brea reads every morning to improve her human reading comprehension!) and discovers the gelfling as well. The oldest daughter takes Brea and Tavra to the library to find out more since the farm is remote.

-Happens to be same library hippie girl is at with her gelfling and Brea, Tavra, Seladon, and Mayrin reunite. Hippie and farm girl help look up actor and see that in interviews he mentioned auditioning for a theater a few states away from them so they set off to find him in case he knows how to get the gelfling home.

-Lawyer sees the actor as suspicious and looks him up, finding the theater the girls did and taking Rian and Ordon there, all hoping to find a way to bring them home.

-The three get to the theater where actor is rehearsing and try to figure out why the other is there. Lawyer notices their strangely large tote bag and they notices his heavy/unzipped backpack he used to carry around Ordon/Rian if they wanted to go out. They realize pretty quickly they���re there for the same reason and decide to jump the actor. After actor gets out of rehearsal, they confront him and he admits to knowing Naia and Kylan. They ask to see the other gelfling first but actor is too nervous for that. So, actor takes them all to the coffee shop he works at and takes the gelfling upstairs to find naia and Kylan.

-Naia is ashamed she got them into the mess but the gelfling assure her some good’s come out of it and they’ll return home. Mayrin helps naia redo the Maudra spell and they create a portal to go home. They don’t know if they’ll remember the human world, or what all happened, but they have a tearful good bye to their humans and leave.

-Back on Thra, they reunite with loved ones and don’t quite remember all that happened, but seem to be more stable after the disappearance. They return to their normal lives and all is well (of course until the canon AoR takes over 😉 ).

-Alternate part 2 would be after Gelfling leave humans get together one a year to commemorate their friends going home until one decides to look up what Gelfling and the dark crystal actually is. They see the draining, lose their minds, but luckily caught the Maudra spell via actor recording it on an old camera. They do the spell and go help their friends, but when they go to Thra, they forget about anything to do with the Gelfling being on earth and only recall their lives before meeting the Gelfling. Can they save their friends from the claws of the Skeksis or shall they become essence as well?

[emocatkeith]

day 598 of thinking that a bloodborne/dark souls-esque dark crystal game would go hard as fuck

[fenth-eiria]

You know what.. Why not post an Au of mine that is one of my best Aus.

The wonder twins that are referred are Rian and Brea.

@childlikegoblinqueen

Loti, and Jari are placeholder names for the librarian and Freckles the red head paladin.

[fiercenaia]

Mara and Rian don’t get along that much 😆😆😆😆

[multi-lefaiye]

okay hi here we go. gelf gender time, specifically in regards to kylan.

tagging the folks who were especially interested, and people i just wanna share some worldbuilding with: @vacantgodling @skitzo-kero @corvus-rose @anexor @chaieyestea @paradoxspir1t @invaderskoodge @approximately20eggs

as a note. for this post, i'll be referring to two genders among gelflings, but in the sense of assigned gender and gender roles, not biological sex. they don't have distinct sexes and very little sexual dimorphism, and determine gender based on other factors i admittedly haven't figured out yet.

this is essentially me diving into a character living in a strict gender binary who is pushed out of that binary. there are certainly other gelflings who don't fall under that binary and have different experiences, this is just kylan's experience.

cw: idk if this would necessarily fall under transphobia or exorsexism, but a big thing i'm talking about here is a character being degendered as an othering-slash-abuse tactic by his mother and the people around him, and how that affects him. tread lightly.

also, tread lightly for talks of: bullying, abusive parenting, and fantasy racism/xenophobia.

for context, kylan was raised by the leader of his clan, mera, after the death of his biological parents. no one else was willing to take in the half-clan orphan, and as such, it was mera's responsibility as clan leader to take care of him. and she made it pretty clear to him that he was a responsibility she wasn't particularly happy to take on, putting it lightly.

and now, a note about gelf gender roles, especially in the spriton clan where kylan was raised.

i'm still deciding how a lot of it plays out, but the key things to note. the spritons are a matriarchal society, one which places a lot of value on, for lack of a better way to put it, homemaking. tending to the home and family, feeding one's community, and maintaining the home and the nature around them. all of that is a top priority, and while men and women alike are both expected to contribute, they *are* considered to be more of the *women's* domain.

this is in large part why the spritons are exclusively matriarchal--women are considered to be inherently more in tune with the needs of the home and the community, and as such are the ones leading their community. men can still act as advisors and assist women, of course, but their specialties lie elsewhere.

men, meanwhile, are entrusted with more of the work that must be done *outside* the home. this especially includes interacting with the other clans, whether for trade or war. but this also includes much of the physical labor in the community, such as hunting or building--these are what men are expected to be able to handle. women are also expected to contribute and participate, and the women in power oversee these operations as well (especially when the other clans are involved), but as a whole this is more considered men's work.

and one last thing here, but among the spritons especially, learning magic is something only women usually have the chance to do. all gelflings are magical creatures and have the potential to learn, but for the most part men aren't formally taught as mages unless the maudra (clan leader) decides to make an exception. especially the forms of magic the spritons are most known for: dream-etching and dream-stitching, in which a gelfling uses magic for writing, carving, or embroidery.

and now, kylan.

kylan, as a half-clan gelfling, was already intensely othered by his clanmates, especially as a child. while spritons are more accepting of inter-clan relationships than some of the other gelfling clans, they're still not a fan, putting it mildly. and while kylan's only mistake was being born half-clan to begin with, that extended to him. he was a part of the clan!! but mostly because accepting him was the polite, correct thing to do, and he was painfully aware from a young age that many of his peers did not want him there.

anyway. kylan is a man. i still don't have an answer for how gelflings assign gender at birth, but kylan was assigned male and considers himself male as an adult, at least mostly. but even when he was young, he was notably... excluded, from a lot of the traditionally male activities the other gelfling children were doing. from the moment it became clear that he's not naturally athletic and struggled to keep up with his peers, the adults in charge just... had him sit out, for the most part. it was for his own good, they reasoned, especially when the other children teased him.

he *still* tried to participate, to join in on the exercise and play that the other boys were doing, only to usually be promptly humiliated and left in the dust. at which point, the adults would gently suggest that he just go sit out for the day.

it wasn't much better on the occasions he tried to play and learn with the girls his age. even as a child, he was quiet and awkward in a way many of the girls found irritating, and his clumsy young hands struggled to keep up as they practiced their weaving. they quickly excluded him from that as well, leaving kylan to mostly play by himself.

with little else to occupy himself with, kylan turned to storytelling. reading and writing brought him comfort, even if they weren't considered especially important in spriton society at the time. not to say that they disregarded it entirely, but less quote-unquote "practical" arts like writing were seen as, like... nice, but ultimately that's about it. just nice. it didn't help him fit in or find friends.

even as he later got into writing and playing music, another less quote-unquote "practical" but still decently respectable art form, he was still clearly seen as an Other. (perhaps even more so--after all, even though the stonewoods are a clan of warriors, they also have some of the best songtellers and musicians in the land.)

but in this, at least, his adopted mother, mera, encouraged him. she saw a real talent for music in the boy, and encouraged him to work harder at it and develop his skills. she told him that, well, if he's not good at anything else he's supposed to be good at, he can at least do this. at least he's good for something. it stung, hearing her say it so plainly, but even that fleeting scrap of approval and encouragement was what he craved, so he kept at it.

(this came up again several more times, but most notably when mera decided to teach kylan how to dream-etch. it was rare for a boy to learn such magic, but she reasoned that he was never really much of a man, not in a way that really mattered, which she explained to him during their lessons. he wasn't really a woman, either, but he was her only child at that point, and she needed to pass her knowledge of the craft to someone. might as well be him.)

as kylan continued to practice his music, learning songs of powerful warriors and clever tricksters, of epic adventures against impossible odds, the rest of the clan seemed to warm up to the idea of him being their resident songteller. he was an oddity, to be sure, but a harmless enough one, they supposed.

maudra mera in particular loved to brag to visiting dignitaries from other clans about her adopted son's talents, and she would have him play his music to entertain them during important events and festivals. as long as he didn't do anything to embarrass her, that is.

and as for how all of this comes to affect kylan... well. the bullying and years of being Othered by the people around him left him with extremely low self-worth, as you can imagine. part of why he puts so much into his music and art is that he feels like it's the only thing he's good for. they're not the only skills he has (for example, he's a very good cook), but the only things that really got him any kind of positive attention, even if it was fleeting and often backhanded.

and finally, back to what i wanted this post to be about in the first place. how does this affect kylan in a gender sense. well. like i said, kylan does consider himself male, but not in the way other men do, at least as far as he assumes. he's not good at anything a man's supposed to be at, so maybe he isn't really much of a man. but he's sure he's not a woman, either, for similar reasons.

the only reason i'm hesitating at all to call him non-binary is that this degendering is the product of years of bullying and emotional abuse, but that is pretty much how he feels much of the time. it's something that was done to him, and it's had an effect on him.

wanna talk about the gelfs worldbuilding when i have a breather at work

anyway. would y'all like to hear about the very specific way kylan gets degendered by the people around him and the effect that has on him and his perception of himself and his gender

[randominktm]

I have always head-cannoned that each of the different clans would have different wing types but I never really sketched them out too much until now!

I will now go into why I made them the way they are, read if you dare •_•

Spriton: felt like the speedy and strong combo fit them pretty well so of course we had to go with the dragonfly-like wings.

Drenchen: pretty standard from the books here, more fin than wing as they’re meant to be used in the water more than air

Stonewood: these guys always reminded me of your stereotypical moth for some reason, maybe it’s because they hang out in the forest flocking around this one really big light but hey that’s just me.

Grottan: speedy and good at turning since they’ve gotta navigate all those tight spaces in the caves. Which, speaking of caves, there aren’t really a whole lot of flying cave bugs to go off of for this so we’re just gonna say that since the Grottans are sister clans to the Vapra they’ve evolved from there.

Vapra: since their mascot is the unamoth I wanted to use similar wing shapes and combined it with a comet moth. They’ve very pretty wings what can I say. They are easily the biggest wings out of the other 7 clans, with Grottan or Sifa in a close second.

Dousan: the smallest wings out of the bunch since the Dousan might not fly on their own as much considering the hot hot sun and the use of crystal skimmers for transport. They’ve got the little wing-tassel bits cause I feel like it would fit their vibe.

Sifa: since the Sifa are kind of the melting pot of all the clans I wanted their wings to be a bit of everything, the top wing shape and size from the Grottan, Vapra, and spriton, with the wing tassel things from the Dousan, the bottom wing shape from the Stonewood, and some webbing(?) connecting the wings together from the Drenchen (they’re out on the water a lot, who says they aren’t water comparable?). Essentially they are a mess. Wings can change depending on if they are related more to one clan than another, and they are by far the most varied wings out of all 7 clans.

AND THAT IS ALL I AM NOW GOING TO BED GOODNIGHT EVERYONE.

[scientistservant]

I have never heard of the Dark Crystal until I saw your posts. What is it about, and what do you like about it?

Oh ho?

Sit down, anon, and let me tell you the tale of... The Dark Crystal.

*theme music plays*

In a world called Thra, there exists a powerful gem called the Crystal of Truth. It is in tune to all of Thra, including the planet's most civilized race, the Gelfling.

A thousand years ago, new beings came to Thra: the Skeksis. The Skeksis, wise, hedonistic and benevolent, were tasked with protecting the Crystal of Truth by Thra's avatar/mother-nature of sorts, Mother Aughra. Because of their wisdom the Skeksis also ruled over the Gelfling and their seven Clans, while Aughra journeyed the stars and space.

But one day, the Crystal cracked, causing the Crystal to become corrupted, and a miasma, the Darkening, to spread throughout Thra. In an attempt to fix the Crystal, the Skeksis discovered Essence - the soul or life-force of every creature on Thra. Instead of taking life from the Crystal, they decided to take life from something else - the Gelfling. Because the Gelfling are the closest creatures to Thra, their Essence is pure, more potent.

The Skeksis became obsessed with Essence, and obsessed with draining Gelfling, killing them and drinking their Essence to obtain eternal life and youthfulness. All Skeksis, but the Emperor especially, were terrified of death. For when Skeksis die they do not return to Thra.

And so, a genocide occurred, and all Gelfling perished.

All but one. For there was a prophecy, told of a young Gelfling named Jen, who is destined to heal the Crystal and bring the Skeksis reign to an end!

What I love about The Dark Crystal is its world-building and characters. Its cast isn't just black and white in morality, it's more than that. The protagonists can make mistakes, and so can the antagonists. The Skeksis were good once upon a time, they once cared about the Gelfling, but their greed and fear of death overtook them. Thra is beautiful with many different settings and wildlife, even the Castle of the Crystal is gorgeous with it's fantastical and alien gothic architecture.

I'm mainly talking about the prequel series, Age of Resistance, here. It was made almost 40 years after the original 1982 film, but unlike many modern sequels and prequels it's not a cash grab at all; it was made with love and respect to the original, expanding on the world of Thra. Not saying the original film was bad, it's a wonderful piece of media! I just think it's lacking a bit in world-building and context, and Age of Resistance helps immensely.

As for characters, I'll be talking about the Skeksis, Gelfling, and Mother Aughra. There are other characters and creatures too, but I don't want to venture into spoiler territory!

The Skeksis

As I said above, the Skeksis are not from Thra. They are reptile-like alien vultures with a very hedonistic lifestyle. They adore food, various forms of entertainment, the most lavish of robes, and being praised for their wisdom and status as Lords of the Crystal.

Each Skeksis has a title and role they must uphold. For example, the Ornamentalist makes his fellow Lords' robes and decor for the Castle, while the Scroll-Keeper is in charge of the Castle library and keeps records of tomes and scrolls going back a thousand years of Skeksis rule.

All the Skeksis are important and unique, but the most popular and well-known by far is the Chamberlain. He has a "whimper" as a tic and speaks in slight broken English, yet is the craftiest, manipulative, and cunning of the Skeksis. A very Starscream/Littlefinger-type character, he's fantastic to watch. (He's one of my favourite characters, but not my top favourite, that honour goes to the Scroll-Keeper.)

The Gelfling

The Gelfling are small, elf-like humanoids that vary in looks, culture and skill between their seven different species/Clans. There is the Stonewood, Vapran, Drenchen, Spriton, Dousan, Sifan, and Grottan. Unfortunately, many Gelfling tend to be xenophobic and untrustworthy towards other Clans, though some do manage to become friends despite their differences. Most Gelfling are also illiterate, but there are a very small few that can read and write.

Gelfling are the closest beings to Thra, and have the special ability to Dreamfast with one another - a rather intimate gesture that allows them to share their memories and thoughts by touching hands.

They also differ between genders; female Gelfling have wings, while male Gelfling do not.

Because of their small noses and large eyes and ears, some of the fandom tend to call Gelfling "fairy mice", even giving them whiskers and tails!

Mother Aughra

Mother Aughra is Thra, and Thra is Mother Aughra. She is as old as the planet itself, and perhaps as old as the Crystal of Truth, too. She is connected to the Crystal, able to tell when it is healthy and when it is not.

She and the Skeksis used to be friends, admiring their wisdom and beauty, yet that all ended when she discovered what they had done to the Crystal of Truth.

Aughra is sassy and somewhat grumpy, yet she loves and cares for all the creatures of Thra, especially the Gelfling, who see her as a mother-figure. She has the ability to remove her one eye and use it to spy on others or to see things up close, even from far away.

If you enjoy the fantasy genre, puppets, practical effects, and alien worlds, I highly, highly recommend The Dark Crystal and The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance! There are also graphic novels, and YA novels by J.M Lee.

The world of Thra must never die!

[snail-studios]

I'd love to hear about your loz x dark crystal au (if you want to)! Is it set in a particular game or a new iteration? What excites you the most about it?

!!!!!! Thank you for asking!!!

Have some doodles first

Being the person that i am im obviously making it focussed on mipha and link >:) not sure if you like them but I hope you'll hear me out o.oU

- mipha is a grottan, meaning she's lived in the caves all of her life and when she goes to the surface she needs to wear a blindfold. Luckily she's befriended by a band of picori who guide her around

- link is from the stonewood clan, meaning he's strong and a good warrior, but taught to respect all living things and never fight if necessary, and he meets Mipha. They quickly become fast friends over their shared goal go defeat the skeksis (idk what their loz equivalent could be)

- being a grottan, miphas eyes are nearly pitch black and her wings are bioluminescent.

- since link is stonewood he's stockier than he is iirc, and has a darker complexion.

I think mipha would be somewhat of a leader amongst the grottans (maybe a princess or the daughter of a leader?) so when other gelflings come down to rally them against the skeksis she's the person who has to go. Turns out the person who was meant to go with her is a bit of a deadbeat tho, so she's left out in the world blind and alone. Until she meets some picori (pretty much the equivalent of hup lol).

I'm most excited about Mipha's wings. I love making her all fae-like and magical!!

Thank you for the ask!! Lmk if you have more questions!

[dkscribe88]

The Twelve Days of Skekmas!

Hey all! Long time since I posted something. Apologies for missing last Christmas, but I believe I had COVID at the time, so you'll forgive me, I'm sure! Anyways, here is this year's classic Skekmas song, The Twelve Days of Skekmas!

On the first day of Skekmas my true love gave to me All of Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the second day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the third day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the fourth day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the fifth day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Five! Silverlings! Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the sixth day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Six Skeksis slaying, Five! Silverlings! Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the seventh day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Seven Clans uniting, Six Skeksis slaying, Five! Silverlings! Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the eighth day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Eight Grottan crawling, Seven Clans uniting, Six Skeksis slaying, Five! Silverlings! Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the ninth day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Nine Drenchen swimming, Eight Grottan crawling, Seven Clans uniting, Six Skeksis slaying, Five! Silverlings! Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the tenth day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Ten Dousan praying, Nine Drenchen swimming, Eight Grottan crawling, Seven Clans uniting, Six Skeksis slaying, Five! Silverlings! Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the eleventh day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Eleven Spriton singing, Ten Dousan praying, Nine Drenchen swimming, Eight Grottan crawling, Seven Clans uniting, Six Skeksis slaying, Five! Silverlings! Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

On the twelfth day of Skekmas my true love gave to me Twelve Sifa sailing, Eleven Spriton singing, Ten Dousan praying, Nine Drenchen swimming, Eight Grottan crawling, Seven Clans uniting, Six Skeksis slaying, Five! Silverlings! Four Stonewood guards, Three fizzgigs, Two Podling bars, And all Thra sa-aved from the Darkening!

Happy Skekmas, everyone! And Happy Holidays in general to all those who celebrate, and anyone else too!

[beasanfi1997]

Our actors before Dark Crystal Age of Resistance:

Taron Egerton in Kingsman

Anya Taylor-Joy in The Witch

Natalie Emmanuel in Game of Thrones

[talkin-tdc]

Ordon/Mayrin discussion

Small trigger warning for this discussion: talking ab parental abuse or the perception of it in the show/among the fanbase.

So in the show, do you guys see Ordon/Mayrin as abusive? I’ve spoken to some who do and honestly I just don’t see it out of the sliver of characterization we get for both (and I promise not just bc Ordon is my favorite). Like oh no he yelled at Rian when he was literally stealing and wasn’t overly affectionate what a tragedy /s. I guess you could say it’s about what he yelled, but though that wasn’t cool, it was also at work to be fair to him. If we saw him do it at home that’s a completely different story but we don’t. I’m also disregarding Rian’s “solider” line because unlike Mayrin and Seladon it sounds to be more of a feeling Rian had than it having any substantial proof such as Ordon saying so himself OUTSIDE OF WORK! Fr I see it a lot more for Mayrin since yeah she is super bad to Seladon, but she genuinely cares about her daughters a substantial amount just like Ordon. She regrets sending Tavra, properly punishes Brea, even tries to make Seladon a better ruler where she can and they hold each other accountable a lot.

Yeah, they have flaws (more than most gelfs we see), but Ordon personally leaves the guard in order to find Rian and hopefully heal him. When both learn the Skeksis are evil, they try to fight back. Idk calling them abusive to me seems a bit much, I’d classify more as misguided but if anyway has any opinions lmk what you guys think/see them as. For me atm they aren’t abusive even within a wide stretch of the imagination.

[gretchensinister]

@synisysm also gave me the word demagogue.

Demagogue

There has never been anyone like him. SkekSil is sure of that. If there had been, surely what he does would not be so easy.

He doesn’t pretend that he’s like SkekGra or SkekMal, SkekUng or SkekVar, or any of the other skeksis who drag their swords and claws across Thra to pull every gelfling into the particular seven clans that were already so deeply enmeshed within the system of roads and calendar and script and language that flowed from the Castle of the Crystal.

It’s not the violence—SkekSil loves blood as much as anyone, but he refuses to let it distract him.

It’s his purpose. His power. The way he can shape the world with words.

Even the sharpest sword can be blunt—a resisting town falls, and the gelfling there become Drenchen or Spriton or Stonewood. But do the gelfling feel it? Will a new Drenchen scorn a new Stonewood? Not without SkekSil’s guidance. His finer blades of words cut the gelfling into new shapes, showing them how they are like their new clan, how they fit so well together, they were always-already what they were named after the war. He teaches them to love their clan, and it works. He teaches them to scorn and be suspicious of the other clans, and it works even better.

He loves talking to them, and it feels that there is no end to what he can do. He makes the skeksis sacred to the gelfling, much more easily than SkekZok ever could. He makes them grateful for the tithes, and when skeksis demands strain the gelfling, he can make them blame other gelfling’s needs and never think about what they ever get back from the skeksis. He can erase the excesses of any of the other skeksis by making them into things other clans would do, into things that are done by those gelfling that are useless to the empire. He can even, in certain extremities, lay the blame at the feet of the mystics.

And they believe him. They want to believe him. He’s giving them something they want, though it’s really something only good for the skeksis. And for him.

There’s something wonderful about being able to reshape the world with his voice. It’s almost like magic. It has to be better than magic. It’s so wonderful it almost hurts. It’s so wonderful he’ll never stop.

[fenth-eiria]

Ordon and Ethri - Meeting of a lifetime

The dock of the Sifan clan were as busy as ever for today the Stonewood Maudra, Vala, was coming to talk about an alliance. Ethri raced to the Omerya only to collide with her brothers, causing Cadia and herself to fall over on their faces. Cadia was the first to rise, brushing the dust off himself calmly before helping his sister get onto her feet.

“I get that toda’ is a bus’ da’, but watch where ye’re walkin’, got it?” He gently warned, before his attention was diverted to his twin children who wanted their mother to pick them up. Ethri rolled her eyes a bit before sighing in agreement.

“Fine… Only because you are my brother.” She replied as Cadia motioned for her to hurry, once she arrived her father noticed her and silently asked for her to brush the rest of the sand off of herself. She quickly obeyed as she walked to her spot, bumping into a guard in the process. When she looked to the man in order to apologize, she saw a handsome, square jawed Stonewood with raven black hair, and chestnut eyes, causing her to stare and drool a bit. The man looked concerned as she continued to stare and drool.

“Uh? Your highness? Are you alright?” He asked, a bit worried that he had done something to upset her. She then blushed as she realized what she was doing.

“I am so sorry!! I just find you handsome and attractive, Sir.” She admitted before hearing him chuckle.

“Is that so? Well in that case, you should at least know my name.” He said before adding. “My name is Ordon, the son of the high advisor, Advor and his husband Eurias. And may I ask for your name, Princess?” She blushed profoundly when she heard his name and decided to give him hers.

“My name is Ethri, the daughter of Cadistin and Maudra Asdria.” She replied with a warm smile, which made him want to smile back.

“Milady, It is an honor to meet you. I’ve heard a big deal of you from Toyln, but I didn’t realize his description of you was accurate and truthful.” He admitted which made Ethri giggle at him, before looking at her with some embarrassment in his posture and expression. The Sifan princess felt a bit sorry for him, and decided to cheer him up a bit.

“Soo… What else did my brother tell you about me?”

sneak peak of a story I'm writing with a rare pair of mine and how they met in my au.

@childlikegoblinqueen

[multi-lefaiye]

nine lines, nine people tag

hehehehe :3 i was tagged by both the lovely @void-botanist and @vacantgodling! and i was so excited to share more gelf/heat wip content.

have some kylan thoughts,,,,,

cw: references to emotional abuse from a parent and fantasy racism/xenophobia.

There’s a fluidity to Rian’s movements that speaks to years of training, to being handed a sword and taught to fight practically from birth. He’s a soldier in every sense of the word, that much is plain to see. A champion in a clan of warriors. As Kylan watches him, he feels an ugly, twisting pang in his stomach that he recognizes as envy for the briefest moment. But just as quickly as it comes bubbling up in the back of his throat, he swallows his jealousy down, his ears pinning back as he averts his gaze. Still, it continues churning inside him, a festering whirlpool of anger he’s never allowed himself to feel. This is a son that Mera would be proud of, he thinks to himself, taken aback by the bitterness the thought brings. The Spritons may not be proud fighters the way the Stonewoods are, but they produce many fine warriors. And Kylan has always, always, fallen short of the expectations placed on him in that regard. It was rare that Mera ever said so directly, especially to him, but he knew that he wasn’t what she wanted him to be. The half-born son of two warrior clans, too soft and weak to even hold a sword without trembling. It sounds like a bad joke, but Kylan can’t quite find the humor in it.

this is a bit more than nine lines, but idc-

tagging, with no pressure to any of y'all <3: @corvus-rose @skitzo-kero @anexor @paradoxspir1t @albatris @transmasc-wizard @northwyrm @vacantgodling @void-botanist (tagging y'all again because i'm greedy and want more writing /silly)

edit: also tagging my bestie @potatolordofficial bc i CAN!!!

AND YOUUUU DEAR READER. consider this an open tag :3