#the characters decided to have a moment

[herenya-writes]

Day 19: Plump

The forest was oddly quiet as the party approached the Lion’s Pavilion. It put Arlaros on edge, and his grip on his staff tightened as he began to pull magic from the Fade. Inquisition agents had lured the red templar responsible for manipulating the Freemen of the Dales here, and Arlaros and his companions had been sent in to kill him and put an end to his influence. Judging by the stillness of the forest, the red templar was already here. Arlaros doubted he had come alone.

He brought the group to a stop just out of sight of the pavilion. “The scouts reported that the Knight-Captain is almost completely under the influence of red lyrium. He’s retained his human form, but he’s stronger, faster, and wields some control over the other red templars. We need to kill him quickly.”

His companions nodded. “If he’s anything like the other lieutenants, he’ll have a group of templars with him, maybe some that have already turned into those terrors,” Blackwall said. “I can keep them focused on me while you kill the Knight-Captain.”

“Okay. Remember, we lured him here, so I want to utilize our element of surprise as much as we can.”

“It’s nice be on the other side of a trap for once,” Dorian mused, and Arlaros couldn’t help but agree. They had walked into too many ambushes for his liking.

“Dorian and Cole, I want you two to sneak behind the pavilion. My guess is that the Knight-Captain will be in the building itself, and I want you to surprise him. I’m going to walk up with Blackwall and keep the captain’s eyes on me for as long as possible.”

“Is Dorian capable of sneaking?” Blackwall asked dryly. “He fights like he’s entertaining a crowd.” It was an old barb, one Arlaros had made himself before. Still, Dorian tended to rise to it. This time, he stayed quiet, his eyes fixed on Arlaros.

“Shining, standing. A target on his back. Wish it was on mine. Too many eyes, too many swords.” It was Cole who said the words, but Arlaros had no doubt whose mind they were plucked from. He held Dorian’s eyes. He wasn’t going to back down from this. The red templars wanted to kill him, and he wasn’t afraid to use their single-mindedness against them.

After a long moment, Dorian dipped his head slightly.

Arlaros turned back to the group. “Blackwall and I will keep the templars’ attention but we won’t charge into battle right away. I want the captain to think we’re here to bargain. That’s when Cole and Dorian will strike.”

Everyone around the circle nodded, although there was reluctance in Dorian’s eyes.

“We’ll split up now. There should be a path that circles around the back for you two to take,” he said to Cole and Dorian. “We’ll give you a minute to get into position.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Cole was gone. It was as if the air around him warped and shimmered, cloaking him. Dorian had no such abilities, but he was quiet as he crept down the path toward the pavilion. Arlaros watched him for longer than he should have.

“It’s hard to love a soldier.” Blackwall’s words startled him, and he tore his gaze away from Dorian’s retreating form. There was a knowing, sad look in Blackwall’s eyes. “It’s even harder when there’s a difference in rank.”

Arlaros wanted to protest, but it was pointless. His relationship with Dorian was no secret, nor was it a secret that things between them had been tense ever since he had been severely injured when they had retaken a fort not long ago. Dorian was upset with him for taking unnecessary risks, and he was upset with Dorian for trying to shield him. He was the Inquisitor, risk came with the title.

“For what it’s worth, you two are managing this better than most people I’ve seen. You’ll get through this too.”

Arlaros nodded, unable to come up with a proper answer. He wanted to believe that what Blackwall said was true, but it wasn’t like their circumstances were going to change any time soon. He was still going to be the Inquisitor tomorrow, and he would still be forced to put Dorian and himself in danger.

He shook his head to clear it and adjusted his grip on his staff. It was time.

He and Blackwall strolled up the path to the pavilion. As they had expected, there were a few templars guarding the pavilion, and Arlaros could make out the hulking figure of the Knight-Commander inside. He came to a stop, and Blackwall moved a few steps in front of him, his shield raised.

“Knight-Captain Carrol,” he called, “I’ve come to speak with you.”

The Knight-Captain slung his hammer off of his back and took a menacing step forward. “The chosen of the Elder One don’t speak to lesser beings,” he snarled, and Arlaros had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. “Today you die, Inquisi--”

His threat was cut short by a groan of pain, as Cole buried his daggers into the captain’s back. The captain spun around, and the nearby templars leapt into action.

Blackwall let out a roar and charged the nearest templar, bashing the man in the face hard enough that Arlaros could hear the sickening crunch of a breaking nose. Two of the templars immediately turned toward Blackwall, giving Arlaros an opening to fire white-hot lightning at their backs. They twitched violently and collapsed.

The other templar in front of the pavilion must have taken more red lyrium than the others, because by the time Arlaros turned toward her, she was already transforming into one of those lyrium monsters. He blasted her with a few bolts of lightning, but her new form absorbed them easily.

He hated fighting these things. He hated that Corypheus had driven people to become monsters to serve his means. He hated that he was part of it. But none of that stopped him from slamming his staff into the ground and sending a powerful wave of lightning rippling toward the creature. She stumbled, and Arlaros sent three more bolts flying toward her in rapid succession. Electricity crackled over her twisted form, and she screamed as she died.

Arlaros was already running past her before she hit the floor.

He burst into the pavilion with a spell crackling at the tip of his staff, only to stop short. The Knight-Captain was gone, reduced to nothing more than a smoldering pile of ashes, as were the other two templars who had been guarding him. Even the plump pillows that were piled in one corner were smoldering. And there was Dorian, leaning heavily on his staff and glaring at the ashes as if he wanted to kill the man all over again.

Arlaros let his magic dissipate and leaned his staff against the nearest wall. Then, he took a few slow steps toward Dorian. Now that he was closer, he could see sweat beading on Dorian’s too pale face.

Dorian looked up from the ashes that were once the knight-captain and met his eyes. Then, he collapsed.

Arlaros darted forward and caught him before his head could crack against the ground. He pulled Dorian close as panic made his blood roar. It took him precious moments to forced his heartbeat back under control so he could listen for Dorian’s heartbeat. The relief that flooded him when he found it was sweeter than anything.

“He’s overextended his magic reserves,” he explained as he stood, lifting Dorian in his arms. “He’ll be okay, but he needs to rest.”

Blackwall nodded and stepped back to give them space. “I’ll keep watch. Shout if you need me.”

“Thank you.” Arlaros hoped he could hear his sincerity.

In the corner of his eye, Arlaros saw Cole extinguishing the few embers that had landed on the pillows. He nodded his gratitude and set Dorian on the pillows, leaning him carefully against the wall and then sitting beside him. He wanted to wrap his arms around him, but he wasn’t sure if Dorian would appreciate that right now.

“He is so bright, so bright, and burning. Burning for me and I didn’t ask him to.”

Arlaros gave a rueful smile. “No, I didn’t ask him to. But I keep putting him in situations where he feels like he has to overextend himself in order to keep me safe. That isn’t fair.”

Cole sat cross-legged across from him, a frown on his face. “You both want to keep each other safe, but the danger doesn’t stop. You’re hurting and hurting each other. Why?”

He wished he had an answer. He looked over at Dorian, whose face was slowly regaining its usual color. Even though he had pushed himself to collapse, he still looked gorgeous, and Arlaros’s heart ached in his chest.

“It’s hard to accept that Dorian is going to be in danger for as long as he follows me,” he finally said, eyes still fixed on Dorian’s face. “Everyone who follows the Inquisition banner is in danger, but Dorian isn’t following the banner. He’s following me. And I want nothing more than to keep him at my side, but the risks…” He sighed heavily. “I imagine Dorian feels similarly. He wants to keep me safe, but I keep throwing myself into situations where he can’t control what will happen. It’s hard to love a soldier.”

Silence fell. When Arlaros finally looked over to try and see what Cole was thinking, he was met with empty air. Cole was gone.

He shook his head and turned back to Dorian, finally giving into his urge to wrap an arm around him and pull him closer. A few minutes passed in silence as Arlaros counted each of Dorian’s breaths. Eventually, his lover began to stir, and Arlaros pulled back to give him space.

Dorian’s eyes blinked open and found his almost instantly.

“Hello,” Arlaros whispered, a sad smile on his face. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

Dorian blinked again and hummed. “And here I was hoping I’d get to nap a little longer. Still, I can’t think of a better sight to wake to.”

“Flatterer.”

“I speak only the truth when it comes to you, amatus.”

They slipped into silence. Moving slowly, Dorian stretched his arms and cracked his neck and summoned a small flame to his fingertips. He watched it dance in the slight breeze for a long moment before extinguishing it.

Arlaros swallowed. “This isn’t sustainable,” he said, praying that his voice would stay level. “I can’t watch you burn yourself up for me.”

Dorian hummed, still staring at his hands. “I will admit I may have acted rashly.” Then he looked up and met Arlaros’s eyes. “But how can I do any less if I know it will keep you safe? The Inquisitor is worth one crispy Tevinter mage.”

Anger rushed through Arlaros, and he let out a slow and measured breath. “Not to me. Do you know how hard it is for me to send you into situations like this? What if you and Cole had been caught? What if Blackwall and I hadn’t arrived in time? Being the Inquisitor means making those decisions, but it doesn’t make them easy.” He leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against Dorian’s. “I want you by my side, vhenan, but I don’t want to hurt you because of my selfishness.”

“If you’re selfish, what does that make me?” Dorian whispered. “If I had my way, you wouldn’t be out here, wading through templars and Maker knows what else.”

“That isn’t your choice to make.”

“No, no it isn’t. But I can choose to be by your side.” Dorian pulled back. “I don’t regret doing what I can to keep you safe, but I will try to be more aware of my own limits in the future. Burning that templar to ashes wasn’t, I suppose, strictly necessary.”

Arlaros leaned his head on Dorian’s shoulder. He murmured a thank you into his lover’s skin, and they allowed themselves a few more moments to sit in each other’s embrace before they forced themselves to rise.

[egophiliac]

WAIT when did he get FANGS

[spielzeugkaiser]

Day 6: Geralt + ocean Favourite 90's Anime

I switched the prompts around again today! The 90's anime prompt tickled my brain since I saw it, because while I didn't see it in the 90's, my favourite anime of that time period is Berserk, and doesn't Berserk live rentfree in my brain to this day-

[dol--blathanna]

I have mixed feelings about Zerxus in season 3 of TLOVM, but I’ve gotta say hearing him give a Totally Unbiased Account of EXU: Calamity with Definitely No Omissions Whatsoever was kind of funny. Like “ooh I thought I could count on my friends….they condemned our civilisation….” Ok Zerxus. Buddy. Last time I checked, Nydas was actually the only one trying to stop Laerryn from blighting the tree. You sat there like a chump and did not help whatsoever. And uh. “They condemned our civilisation with their hubris” ummm pal I think you’re missing an important detail there. Like yes the point of EXU: Calamity is that everyone played a role in the disaster, everyone was responsible in some ways for that ship crashing into the iceberg, but uh. Zerxus I think some people were maybe a little more responsible than others. Like, for example, the certain someone who pulled the Lord of the Hells into Exandria. I think that individual’s hubris is maaaaaybe a little bit more important than some of the other hubris on the table here.

And like, this isn’t me bashing the writing, I think it is in-character for TLOVM!Zerxus to say this, since he’s been a jaded miserable devil for a thousand years. But omg when he had the CHEEK to be like “in the chaos I found myself face-to-face with the Lord of Torment himself” like EXCUSE ME??? Buddy you just happened to “find yourself” face-to-face with Asmodeus huh??? Just coincidentally, on accident??? You were just taking a stroll around Avalir and he ran into you without warning??

Zerxus. Please. Be serious for a moment. Would you like to explain to Pike the exact circumstances of HOW you found yourself face-to-face with Asmodeus, hmmmmm? A certain “pulling Asmodeus through the tree and unleashing him upon the world” situation?

Like, I know it was meant to be a serious moment with lots of Calamity-related hype but like, it was really giving “Girl what were YOU doing at the devil’s sacrament” energy. In the most literal way possible

[zombie-bait]

Full Moon

Ok so I don’t normally post about Helluva Boss but the newest episode touched on an interesting concept I haven’t necessarily seen represented in media. Back when I was on Twitter (derogatory) a few years ago there was this now deleted viral thread where someone discussed how their struggles with mental health affected their relationship with their partner and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. 

This is such a good, short example of how anxiety and depression can play tricks on you. It becomes so easy to envision yourself as a nuisance, a constant burden to those closest to you because they cannot possibly genuinely enjoy your company, right? But in doing so you create this arbitrarily cruel version of the people you love, people who would otherwise never behave like this outside of your own mind.

It's mean. Because your mind wants to be mean to you under these circumstances. It wants to put everyone else's emotions and desires above yours, both in worthiness and validity. And that starts bleeding into your understanding of other people, especially those you care about.

Now. Helluva Boss.

"Can I get a fucking MINUTE to think after everything you put me through you pompous rich ASSHOLE? Treat me like one of your little butler imps, you can’t just dismiss me like that! I mean, you royal fucks think you can do this every time, like you can just play with our feelings because we’re smaller and not as important. Well I’m not letting you, BITCH! Let’s go!" - Blitz

I find it really interesting how Helluva Boss decided to approach this conflict between Stolas and Blitz. Obviously, the difference in power matters. It's the underlying tension of their entire relationship and their lives. Stolas is burdened by the mountain of expectations thrust upon him from a very young age while Blitz is constantly reminded that he can NEVER be part of that world, that he is "smaller and not as important" not just in Hell's hierarchy but in his own life and family. Stolas very literally has power over Blitz (through the grimoire, the arrangement, his position in society) and Blitz uses their relationship as an excuse to reverse those roles. But that power dynamic, in one form or another, never truly goes away. And for Blitz, it's a lot easier to paint Stolas as this manipulative symbol of power and himself as nothing more than Stolas' plaything. It's easier to be angry than to be vulnerable and accept that someone might care about him.

"Dismiss" is the keyword in that quote. All that Blitz has been able to process is that Stolas has decided to end the relationship that they have. He feels ls like a choice has been taken away from him so he lashes out because he's not ready to emotionally tackle what the rest of Stolas' offer might entail. If Stolas hates him, just wants to play with him, then he is justified in his anger, his self-destruction, his isolation. If the world is mean, you're "allowed" to be mean back.

But

In that moment he forgets that Stolas is someone he actually cares about. Someone he's known for way too long and clearly wants to keep in his life, no matter how reluctant he can be to admit it. Someone who is not innately cruel or manipulative but sad and desperate for connections in a lot of the same ways that Blitz is. And Blitz immediately sees that he's miscalculated something.

Somewhere along the way the fictional version of Stolas that he's allowed himself to be mad at and the real one that he's not ready to admit he cares about have merged into something real that he has actual power over. Stolas can get hurt and Blitz can be the one who does it. He has once again allowed his greatest fears (which Stolas so frequently symbolizes) to co-opt his loved ones, to give him an "out" even though he didn't actually want one in the first place.

I'm definitely not the first person to say this but I think this is an example of the miscommunication trope done right. Their individual struggles are what cause them to be unable to connect during this conversation or to even have a proper conversation in the first place. There is no convenient misunderstanding or third party fabricating this rift. Both of them have preconceived ideas of what the other one is thinking but those ideas are flawed and rooted in self-hatred. They also both shutdown in their unique ways when the conversation starts heading in the direction they'd feared it would.

Blitz and Stolas work because they're both fucked up in similar ways, because they want similar things. That's the same reason why they're uniquely designed to hurt one another. A fear of rejection and a yearning for happiness. To borrow a quote that has been used by literally everyone from Spiderman to Evangelical preachers, "hurt people hurt people."

anyway, I really liked this episode.

(twitter thread screenshots sourced from this reddit post)

[marley-manson]

bonus:

[wolves-in-the-world]

the thing about eliot spencer as a character, right. the thing about him.

(and as always your mileage may vary on my analyses so if we disagree that's cool actually)

is that he is in fact a somewhat emotionally constipated idiot who is occasionally sensitive about his perceived masculinity and gets defensive about emotional intimacy around other men (largely hardison, who's much more comfortable expressing affection and embracing a softer kind of masculinity), but eliot displays enough emotional awareness and sensitivity and respect for women etc etc that anyone who's been subjected to that era of television will put on rose-tinted glasses without even looking twice.

(and he is, don't get me wrong, incredibly emotionally aware for a professionally punchy guy with enough trauma to sink the titanic. it still startles me to see.)

on top of which we have the layers and the accessories and the excellent hair with the secret braids and the way he barely has an ego and he's good with kids and protective of his team without taking it too far, and some of us never stood a fucking chance.

[selenophany]

LAMIA 🪸🌴🪷

original video by Rexlent

𓇼 | Endless Count of Favorite Characters

[mushroominaforest]

Okay, I know I said I was gonna make art for Inv and Saint instead of Hunter and Arti again, but I really wanted to draw this one scene from my au lol

the art is under the cut, tw for body horror, there is an almost Hunter long legs in it (not quite fully rotted yet tho)

For those who don’t want to see that (fair enough) It’s basically Arti encountering Hunter having a not very good time while she’s on a hunting mission for the colony. This is the first time she’s seen him since she abandoned him btw.

Yay! Such a cute scene of the twins reuniting after so long of being apart! <3

[afsosville]

Ever After High, but make it a PIDW AU.

Imagine how fucked up it would be if Shen Jiu is up there doing the book signing ceremony that seals his destiny of becoming the next 'Shen Qingqiu', and the mirrors display him getting thrown away by his martial siblings at the trial, and his limbs being torn off and other despicable tortures, and being brought down so low that your humanity is stripped away from you, all for an audience to see. And they cheer. The crowd is ecstatic, perhaps even more so than when his father, Shen Qingqiu, was put on trial.

[fatedroses]

That one teacher/mentor moment and Zenos feeling embarrassed for the first time in years (and reacting just about as well as you'd expect him to).

[egophiliac]

I love your take on Crowley!

I know that the early, non-Diasomnia stories aren't really your thing, but are you reading the novels at all?

I have been following some of the fan translations and the second book seems intense! Would love to hear what you think about them.

thank you! 💚💚💚 I'm not really sure why you think I don't like the earlier arcs though, I love pretty much all the characters and their storis! (I think 5 and 1 are my favorite of the past episodes, though 6 infected me with the Shroud brainrot something fierce.) I just...ESPECIALLY love diasomnia. :') but there is room in my heart for all of these dweebs! like, who among us is not just as ride-or-die for Adeuce as they are for us.

that said, I don't really follow the other adaptations like the manga (aside from a dip-in just to see the new Yuus) or the novels, though I keep meaning to check them out! I do like seeing the differences between the different forms of media, and how certain things get adapted one way or another! but alas, time/a lack of accessibility stands in our way more often than not. :( someday...someday I will have time to consume all of the media...

[olasketches]

the fact that megumi was supposed to be the MC makes me giddy as hell. ITS ALL COMING TOGETHER GUYS

[dilf-phoenix-rights]

If y’all can forgive Edgeworth for knowingly participating in a rigged trial because he couldn’t accept ruining his perfect record, than you should be able to forgive Phoenix for presenting forged evidence when he was facing the possibility of execution and the man actually responsible for the murder he was accused of walks free and could go after his daughter if he decided taking vengeance out on Phoenix wasn’t enough.

[cosmicourple]

in my latest T.F.P/R.I.D2015 A.U, when I say that O.P avoids all the contact they can w/ other cybertronians + Cybertron, I actually mean almost. While running around in space, helpless on what to do with the situation he’s currently in AKA rapidly developing baby cooking in their chest, O.P had the GREATEST luck of all to be able to make some friends/acquaintances w/ various spaceship crews & either solo or smallish groups of travellers. Said groups were obvs very wary &/or hostile towards Optimus/Orion at first, but most of them quickly put their varying opinions of the so-called ‘heroic’ war legend aside when it was discovered that lil’ old Op’ was sparked. And great Solus and all things forged, THE MECH’S ALL ALONE AND SPARKED!?!??????!!!!!!???? WITH NO THOUGHT OR IDEA ON WHAT THEIR GOING TO DO ONCE THEY GO INTO LABOUR IN THE [MIDDLE OF NOWHERE SPACE WITH ALSO NO SIRE TO HELP AND NO EXPERIENCE WHEN IT COMES TO BIRTH APART FROM RETURNING INSTINCTS!!!!!!??!!?!!??!!????!??????!!!!!!!]

Ye, the whole situation of O.P’s acquaintance with these mecha is very much somewhat comforting &/or sweet but still a very complicated, ball of yarn-type mess lmao

[57sfinest]

also yall we need to step back from the harryvision and understand that kim, at his core, is a loser (affectionate) like everyone else. so much out there wants to portray him as limitless patience, great cook, super organized, good handwriting, nice tasteful living quarters etc and that's fun to contrast him to harry but well i am here to RUIN that we need to take off the du bois glasses and appreciate kim for the weirdguy that he is. he has horrific fits of road rage and harry genuinely fears for his life riding along with him and witnessing the generational curses this man is capable of unleashing upon the stupid little fucks that cut him off on the 8/81. he has never had the time or space or budget to learn to cook so he lives off deli sandwiches and butter noodles and the occasional grab-and-go fruit. he writes so much so frequently with such awful handwriting that he has invented a new form of shorthand and the moralintern is contacting him to create a cipher system for them. he has no resources to furnish and maintain a nice flat so it's like a slightly gentrified r/malelivingspace but with a table for his sewing machine and there's scrap fabric and thread and half-pinned half-hemmed pants strewn about the place. there are absolutely a bunch of shitty mockups of his old wirral character in the backs of his notebooks and he hasn't played it in years but if he ever picks it back up then his minmax high int high dex definitely-not-a-self-insert sidhe artificer is READY. everyone add your weirdguy kim thoughts NOW 👇