#the way i know this is supposed to be inspired by last twilight but i can only see vice versa

[stormyoceans]

https://x.com/Itsjuzm3/status/1791131184400855192

I'm🪦⚱️⚰️

SLACK JAWED SHAKING OUT OF MY SKIN CRYING SHITTING YELLING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS FOAMING AT THE MOUTH THROWING UP BLOOD WHILE IN A DEAD FAINT ON THE FLOOR EXPERIENCING THE ENTIRE RANGE OF HUMAN EMOTIONS

THE WAY AT A FIRST GLANCE I THOUGHT THIS WAS A PAINTING AND HAD TO DO A DOUBLE TAKE WHEN I REALIZED IT’S AN ACTUAL LEGITIMATE HONEST TO GOD REAL PICTURE FROM JIMMYSEA’S NEW MAGAZINE PHOTOSHOOT??????????? MY GRASP ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS TOO LIMITED TO EVEN ATTEMPT TO PUT INTO WORDS THE STATE OF ABSOLUTE AWE IM CURRENTLY IN LIKE THE COLORS?????????? THE VISUALS?????????? LITERALLY A MASTERPIECE IT SHOULD BE FRAMED AND HUNG IN EVERY SINGLE ART MUSEUM ALL AROUND THE WORLD AND ALSO ON EVERY SINGLE WALL OF MY PADDED ROOM

[ephemii]

𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐞! 🦇☁️🌙

⭑genre: fluff, romantic or platonic

⭑pairing: lilia/yuu

⭑cw: none!

✶notes: haven't posted in a hot second! got very busy with college, but i decided to write this as a treat! enjoy~

A long day had passed once again, leaving a relieving calm to wash over the campus. Golden afternoon glow gave way to lavender haze, a watercolor meld of dwindling daylight and the bleeding eve of night. It was on the last dredges of days like these that Yuu would be shedding their stress and aiming to unwind by themselves, weary after dealing with the troubles of their ever considerate headmage and two loveably idiotic best friends.

.... Well, that's what they would have loved to be doing, anyways. Intead, they were several dozen feet off the ground.

Their hands grip onto those of their fae friend like a lifeline, muscles pulled taut and straining as they fight to maintain a secure hold while they dangle precariously, reeling from the contrast of their fear for their life and Lilia's boisterous laughter ringing across the quiet horizon. If it were any other situation, Yuu could have mustered the praises that compiled at the tip of their tongue, admiring the way the deep magenta of his irises glinted like precious stones and the demure sunlight reflecting from beneath his flowing onyx locks of hair— alas, they were left to reserve their strength for the periodic yelps and shouts they emitted any moment they looked beneath them and the impressive height Lilia had managed to guide them through. They had never once thought that they would have such an epiphany— to realize that they had taken gravity itself for granted, they had to truly commend Lilia for making that a possibility to begin with.

"A youthful smile does you more justice, my little bat," Lilia giggled cheekily, his fangs glinting brilliantly, "why, you're on top of the world!"

"Set me DOWN, Lilia!!" Yuu ignored his spirited jargon, pleading vehemently.

Lilia’s laughter echoed like music in the crisp air, each note teasing and light. “But why would I do that when the view is simply exquisite?” He gestured expansively, as if presenting his life's work in an art gallery. Yuu screamed, scrambling to latch their now empty hand onto his sleeve, feeling like their heart had caught in their throat. Below them, the sprawling campus looked like a patchwork quilt stitched together with fading hues of the day, and once again they inwardly cursed the fae for not giving them an opportunity to admire it peacefully.

"Lilia, for Sevens' sake!!" Yuu clenched their teeth, the world swirling beneath them. “This isn’t exactly my idea of a good time!” they protested, their heart racing as they nearly whined in fear.

“Oh, come now! A little thrill never hurt anyone.” Lilia’s hair fluttered against a pleasant gust of wind, a flurry of iridescent colors that glinted in the twilight. He reveled in the sensation of weightlessness, the sheer excitement invigorating him. “You’ve been cooped up for far too long. A bit of adventure is good for the soul!”

Yuu squinted at the horizon, trying to focus on anything other than the dizzying height. “I thought you were supposed to be helping me relax, not give me a heart attack!”

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Lilia leaned in closer. Yuu looked up at him, eyes boring into his pleadingly— yet all their hopes were quickly shattered the moment his smile widened.

“How about this for a little fun?” Before Yuu could process what he meant, Lilia tossed them upward with a swift, strong heave.

Stars damn it all, they forgot he was that strong.

Yuu’s scream cut through the air as they soared for a split second, staring down at Lilia with wide, bewildered eyes. They didn't know whether to feel warmth or sheer anger at the way he laughed so exuberantly, looking like the very inspiration of joy, painted onto the backdrop of a calm autumn. Just as panic set in, and they were ready to pray to whatever gods safeguarded Twisted Wonderland, Lilia caught them with readily open arms, wrapping them up securely with his legs around them. Yuu grunted at the impact, gasping at the immediate relief rushing through them in dizzying waves.

“Surprise!” he giggled, clearly delighted by their shocked expression. “What did I tell you about living a little? How was that for a ride?”

Heart pounding, Yuu buried their face in his shoulder as they clung to him like a lifeline, mortified but unable to suppress a small, breathless laugh.

“You’re insane!” they lamented.

“Oh, but what is life without a healthy dose of heedlessness?” Lilia grinned onto their cheek, holding them tightly as they swayed gently in the air, “Look at you, all flustered. Isn’t it just the most exhilarating feeling?” he said with a reverence that made them wonder if he truly worshiped the thrill of the chase. The contrast of his deft fingers brushing through their hair caused a small shudder to wrack their limbs.

Yuu could feel their cheeks heat up as they took a deep breath, their initial fear giving way to a strange titillation. “I mean, maybe...." they admitted, peering out from their hiding spot. “...as long as you always catch me.”

Lilia processed their words for one quiet moment... Then he grinned, something more warm and tender as he looked down at them. Yuu averted their gaze, to which he chuckled quietly, that deep, melodious and quick staccato, his eyes crinkling with mirth.

“Then what say you to another round? I promise to catch you again, but you have to let go of that fear!”

With a mix of trepidation and enthralment, Yuu nodded, their heart racing in anticipation. Even then, they smiled delicately— No matter how hard they tried, they could never say no to him.

while i'm not inexperienced in writing, it's still a bit exciting finally writing for twst! i have a lot more in store, and hopefully i can finish them up and post them soon if time allows :] thank you for reading! 🤍🩷🤍

[genshin-side-piece]

The Collector

A/N: An expansion on this post. I've been struggling to be inspired, but this one has been sitting for awhile.

Warnings: Minors DNI, 18+, Yandere themes, Yandere Behavior, Power Imbalance, Dark themes, mentions of physical abuse, implied kidnapping, sexual themes, no actual smut (sorry), My bad writing

It wasn’t a horrible existence. After feeling like you had been here for an aeon, that’s what you had convinced yourself of. Your needs, at least in a basic sense, were met. The world in which you lived provided you ample food, clothing, and shelter. The weather was tolerable, despite the fact that it never changed, & you weren’t entirely alone. The odd little servant you had been given offered you some interesting conversation. Never anything stimulating or god forbid current, but interesting. You had taken many a nap to the dulcet tones of the bird like creature as it told you stories of battles won and successes enjoyed. Not of its own of course. It, like its brethren, were servants. They held no victories or successes, unless you counted the stain they had shifted from your clothes last week. No, the battles, the victories, the successes, all belonged to one individual. The only individual whose name you were allowed to hear about. Your supposed lord and savior, the reason for your present existence, the cause of your eternal misery; Rex Lapis.

Though, as you laid staring up at the false sky, it was hard to know if he was still your lord. The idea of him being overthrown was one you frequently entertained in your boredom. The potential fall of the Lord of Geo had provided you with many hours of amusement, but you had no way of knowing if it had actually happened or if it would happen. Rex would never allow your companion to tell you if it had. One thing was certain though; he was still alive. Your continued presence in the realm of his own making was proof of that. His visits to your little realm however, had dropped off. It felt like it had been a hundred years since you had last seen him. Maybe it had been that long, it was hard to know. Your realm, like you, was an eternal thing. It existed in a perpetual state of twilight, never giving away how long you had actually been here. Time, like the stars or the true sky or even current events, was not allowed. 

“Basking in the gilded light are we?” The deep, rich tone of his voice cut across you, shattering what was your peace. You shot up off the grass, your eyes boring holes into his golden ones the second you found them. He only answered with a soft smile. The same smile you had stupidly fallen for all those years ago. “Hello dearest.”  He was in a good mood or so you thought. Rex practically purred the word at you. “How wonderful it is to see you. I understand you’ve been quite well.” By that you knew he meant calm. Your last encounter with him, the one where you had verbally banished him from your life, had been a different affair. The circumstances of which you had since come to accept were still somewhat fresh then. You had felt betrayed, furious at his actions. You had demanded your release to the point of screaming it at him, only to be denied. Your rage had been met head on by his will. An unwinnable battle to be sure. On one side was the impenetrable wall of cold stone that shattered all who would refuse to yield and on the other was you. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what the result of your confrontation would be. Like everything else that came to blows with Rex Lapis, you too would lose. He would pick up whatever fragments were left and mold you to his will, just as he had the rest of Liyue. All he needed was time, a thing that thanks to him, neither of you had any shortage of. “I thought we might take a stroll together. The air here is quite pleasant.” He actually dared to seem bashful in front of you. After forbidding you any kind of real happiness he had the audacity to act like you were his first brush with love. “I have missed our chats. It would be nice to talk as we did before.” You swallowed. As you had before.

“You mean-“ A bitter laugh slipped past your lips. How many evenings had you spent arm in arm with him, parading through the empty plains, admiring how the setting sun cast them in a gilded light? The same field, and the same light you were now expected to endure for all eternity. “Before you tricked me.” Before he had trapped you. 

It had been so easy for him or rather, you had made yourself easy prey. Rex had played his cards regarding you well. He had expertly guided you down a primrose path, bringing you to its intended end when he had presented you with your very own teapot. A bespoke one, much like the hundreds of others that lined the walls of his home. You had always admired them. Always asked after the different designs on them. Each one was unique, a work of true art, much like the person he kept secretly locked inside. At the time of its presentation, yours had been plain and unexceptional. The simplicity of it was stunning, a thing to behold on its own, but a bit dull. After he had triggered his trap by bidding you to look down inside of it, you had to wonder how it had changed. Was it still simple or like the others, did it reflect your own preferences and personality? You would never know. Despite your many attempts to learn the truth, Rex wouldn’t tell you. The closest you had ever gotten was that it, like you, was a lovely thing. A wonderful addition to his ever growing collection.

“Now now-“ The gentle smile gave way to a frown. His features became harder, reflecting the disappointment he obviously felt by the harsh reminder of your feelings regarding your situation. When he was with you, he preferred not to be reminded that only one of you was a willing participant in this arrangement. He preferred the fantasy that despite his actions, you and he were still lovers. “Of all the paths we can choose to walk on this fine evening, let’s not select that one.” Not when there were prettier ones available to him.“The glaze lily’s have come into bloom. I thought we might discuss that.”

“Why? I thought you only enjoyed discussing the past.” Or was it the present? Maybe that’s why he refused to discuss anything of value with you. Your permanent stasis left you suspended somewhere between the past that he adored, the present he chose to ignore, and the future that in his mind didn’t exist. 

“Please don’t force me to be unkind. I should prefer this to be a pleasant visit.” As opposed to the others, which generally ended with you screaming at him or your own tears bleeding into the soft fabric of the bed after he’d had his fill. Sometimes it was both. This visit would be no different 

You knew why he had come. His attempt at small talk and a stroll were little more than foreplay for him seeding his desires. When his visits had been more regular, Rex would often attempt to pull the wool over your eyes with whatever served his motives best. So long as the encounter ended with him ridding himself of the carnal desires that plagued him without too much of a fuss from you, any effort he exerted was worth it. According to him, only you could quench his unyielding thirst. A night or day or however long it actually was would generally buy you a little peace. Sometimes you got longer or you believed you did. He had an eye for the exquisite, so when a new prize would present themselves to him. He would seize it.  He only returned to you when he had tired of the new favorite or they had disappointed him. He was fickle like that. Apparently not every gem was worthy of pleasing their lord. If they failed, they would be placed on a shelf, forgotten and abandoned for all time. You only knew that because he had threatened to do it to you. According to him, Rex would be remiss in removing you from your honored place near his bed should you continue to displease him. He would hate not to have you near, but that hatred wouldn’t stop him from setting you aside. Your current confinement was proof of that. “Will you walk with me dearest?” He held out his hand to you, his tone becoming less agitated with each word. He was trying to redirect the conversation and the mood to something more pliable, more pleasant. He could work with those. Force, while reliable, was always his last resort when it came to you. He had long learned that the rougher he got with you, the rougher it would be should he decide to call again. 

“Will you tell me about my family if I do?” He wouldn’t, his instant hesitation at the question was proof he wouldn’t. “Then perhaps how long you’ve held me captive? How many years have I rested next to your bed Rex?” If you were even still there. Like time, the teapot being moved didn’t affect you. The only concern you would have is if it were to be broken. 

“Dearest-“ He lowered his hand slightly, his gilded fingers curling in on themselves. “Please do not worry over such things…” You turned away from him not wanting to hear anymore. The idea that he was going to dismiss your plea for what you felt was the millionth time, annoyed you. 

Don’t worry. Don’t trouble yourself. Don’t think. Don’t feel. Stay as you are, as you were. Never change. Never grow old. Never move on. Never die. Just be. It was infuriating. It was maddening. How could you not think about it? How could you not worry over it when your surroundings were perpetual. Nothing ever changed in this place. Nothing would change in this place, not unless Rex willed it to be so. Since he hadn’t, nor was he likely to, your mind could only ever seem to dwell on what you weren’t allowed to know versus the lies he expected you to believe. 

“If you do not wish to walk, then I will join you in your rest. I am happy to converse with you here.” His outstretched hand fell back to his side in defeat. “The glaze lilies-” Gods above, to the abyss with him and his precious glaze lilies. You found yourself hating them more than you hated him. So much so, that you abruptly rose from your spot on the grass in a swirl of gold and silk, easily ignoring his hopeful look. “Have you changed your mind? Will you walk with me after all?” You turned, giving him a glare that you hoped would sour his aspirations once and for all. “If your goal is a leisurely stroll to the house so that you might engage in a conjugal visit, then save your breath. I have neither the will nor the inclination to listen to anything you wish to speak about. Just take what you want and leave.”  He didn’t respond, at least not right away. It allowed you a moment to try to get a head start on him. Regrettably, the opportunity for escape evaporated faster than steam dissolving into the air. Rex reached out to you, firmly taking hold of your wrist before you had the chance to get away. His grip was far from punishing, but the sudden contact startled you all the same. You made a slight effort to free yourself from him. It was a foolish attempt to be sure, but you still tried. Rex, for his part, didn’t entertain it. He silently responded by pulling you towards him, only ceasing when you were next to him. 

A quick glance into his eyes told you that you were in for a world of trouble. The amiable nature of which Rex had approached you had vanished. What replaced it was the version of Rex that you had become all too familiar with since coming here; the conqueror, the emperor, the archon. A version that unlike the former commanded both your submission and your obedience with a single glance. This version did not rely on simple benevolence or honeyed words to get his way. This version would, should he need to, level the world if it meant achieving his desired goal.

“When the time is right I will, as always, be happy to join you in the comfort of our bed dearest.” You flinched at the sharpness of his tone. It cut through you, causing you to temporarily regret the callousness of your invitation. While you hated him, the only thing you loathed more was awakening the temper that laid just below Rex’s cool surface. Beneath his upright facade laid a molten core, one that could easily explode with the right trigger. Your behavior, specifically your refusal of his initial request being that trigger. One glance into his eyes told you exactly how imminent that eruption truly was. He wasn’t interested in your antics, nor would he be especially tolerant of them. While he had come to you with a smile and warm intentions, both were little more than an illusion. A clever mask to hide his true reason for coming here. His already short temper coupled with his quick escalation of the situation spoke to a deeper problem. One that extended past the confines of your little world and into the real one. One that he had come to you to forget. That knowledge pinned you in place, a cold chill running the length of your spine. The last time you had seen this side of him crept back into your mind. It was an experience you weren’t keen to relive. 

While he had never harmed you to a severe degree, Rex had learned how to make things uncomfortable for you. He could twist your world how he liked, providing as little or as much as he wanted. When you displeased him, the general plenty you enjoyed could morph into austerity before he had even left. He would only return what he had taken when you decided acquiesce to whatever demand he had made of you. Then and only then would he physically reinforce his dominance over you, making sure you understood your place in his world before he restored what he had taken. The iron grip on your wrist was one such reminder. It was a warning of the discomfort to come, should you continue to be difficult. 

“That time though, is not now. My purpose in visiting you was not simply to sow my carnal desires and leave.” You tried to look away from him, but he tightened his grip on you, forcing you to look back. “I wish to enjoy your company.” His tone left no room for argument, despite your expressed need to do so.

You had wishes too. Ones that you had voiced over and over, only to have them fall on deaf ears. The idea that you wanted to be free to live your life, that you wanted to go home, that you wanted even the smallest chance to die were all preposterous notions in Rex’s eyes. He dismissed them as quickly as they came. Blocking each request with a practiced ease that only came from a millennia of ruling. The need to voice them again rose. The desire to pull your wrist away from his iron grip so that might walk away began to fill you. Still, for your own well being, you held both your tongue and your actions in check. Like him, you had enough experience to know that now was not the time to argue with him. His insistence had not reached the point of him dragging you behind him or hoisting you over his shoulder so that he might get his way. He merely had hold of you and for now, it wouldn’t go any further than that. The encounter wouldn’t end with you covered in bruises and unable to walk due to the force of which he took you. It could still end in an entirely civil, yet degrading manner. All you had to do was subject yourself to his desires. The question was, could you?

[thefandomsfervent]

Viktor x Reader Personal Pigments (Part 7) - Oro Scuro

IT'S HAPPENING, SLOW BURN INITIATED Find my imagine that inspired it here. Previous and next chapter will be linked at the bottom. Thank you for reading <3

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It's early when Jayce walks into the lab. The familiar sight of Viktor reading and a new compilation of notes for him to look over, settled on his chair. What's less familiar is you. Your hand dangling off the work table, head buried under your other arm. It didn’t look comfortable to sleep that way.  He would know.  On the rare occasions he pulled an all-nighter now, Viktor would wake him from that exact position. His neck and shoulders berating his every movement for hours after.

"What happened there?" He whispers to his partner. Viktor glances at him, then you. 

"She came back after you left." He didn't offer Jayce any more than that.

"Is she… okay?" He's taking in your desk. “Was that one of their burners?” The puzzled look on his face deepens, his mouth opening to ask more questions. But Viktor beats him to speaking.

"Probably, seemed like she had a lot to think about.  Came to work it out her own way I suppose." Viktor didn't share that he had moved your items for you after he was sure you had fallen asleep. You had adjusted several times over the twilight hours. You almost knocked over your beetle paint. Paint? Not paint yet? He might ask you more about it later. 

For now he just waited and read. Jayce was here, which meant that he would be forced to get some shut-eye himself. He's walked over to Viktor, large hands taking the book out of his own.

"You know the drill V." He’s still whispering.

"Yes, yes, no life changing discoveries without sleep." The sarcasm in his voice isn't there full force this morning. Hard to maintain sincere indifference with a yawn elongating his words. Viktor moves to stand, his knees popping with the effort. Jayce waits at his side, moving when he’s waved off. “I’m not an old man, Jayce.” 

“But you’re so grumpy.” The retort is laced with humor. Jayce puts both his hands up towards his chest, palms facing out, saying “sorry” in his gesture immediately. Viktor scoffs, walking over towards you. “You’re waking her up?” Jayce’s eyes were slowly widening with surprise.

“Oh, so I am the only one who has to leave?” Amber gaze narrowing at his friend.

“No, I just,” his golden hands moving to scratch his neck. 

“You are too easy to fluster.” This time it is Jayce who huffs in disapproval. The smile on Viktor’s face diffusing him instantly. He reaches down to wake you.

You feel a hand on your shoulder, it’s warm. You don't move. Savoring the heat that fills the spot there, as if it could warm all of you if you stayed still long enough. You feel yourself sinking back into sleep when it starts to move.  The hand pushing and pulling on you forcing you to rush towards consciousness. A grumble escapes you in response. The hand leaves and your grumble shifts to a disapproving hum. You open your eyes, light a bit too bright for your taste. Blinking blearily to adjust.

"You should go to bed" a familiar accented voice greets your ears.

“Viktor?” Your voice was thick with sleep, a slight rasp to it. His heart jumped to his throat. 

“Oh, this is new.” some part of him whispers, acknowledging the tug. When was the last time someone called his name like that? It felt tender, intimate even. Which is ridiculous because there was nothing abnormal about the situation. In fact, he and Jayce have both woken each other in the lab. Many times. He’s seen the sun shine on his partner’s golden skin and appreciated the glow he saw there before it was swallowed by black-brown hair. But something was different. What was different?

Has he noticed the dust before? The way it filters slowly in the still air of the lab. Weaving around the push and pull of someone’s breath? Swirling and settling. He’s getting a headache. 

“Did I,-” You're sitting up now.  “Did I fall asleep here?” You sound confused.

"You do not remember?" He tries not to look at you, at your sleep-addled movements. He is ignoring the way you have flattened your hair on one side. Ignoring this weird guilt and shame that's building in his gut. Like he's done something wrong for seeing you in this vulnerable state.  He glances at Jayce instead. "You poured your beetle juice into a filter and laid on the table." Jayce’s brows raise in question at that.

"They weren't beetles." You're stretching when you reply, it forces a yawn out of you. He catches the flinch when you realize that your range of movement is limited.  

"Yes, well. Beetle juice. Not beetle juice. You should lay down in bed.” He’s tilting his head when he looks at you. “Or is the table more comfortable for you?” You don’t miss the smirk there. You give a wordless reply, a simple hum as you stand. The joints in your body barking at you for your decisions. Twice now you’ve slept in an illy padded chair. 

He gives you space to move, watching as you make your way to the doors of the lab. “I’ll see you both later then.” Another yawn and you were gone. He’s turning back to his own seat, grabbing his cane when Jayce speaks.

“Beetle juice?” 

“She is making paint from bugs.” A factual statement said plainly does not take the absurdity of it out of the idea. He knows that. But it is funnier to watch Jayce be confused. 

“Bug paint.” 

“Yes.” 

“In our lab.”

“Yes.”

He knows when Viktor is trying to rile him up, he sulks anyway. Shoulders lowering in a temporary defeat. “Tea today. When you get back. Please?” 

“Tea does sound nice.” 

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The trek back to your room is a slow one. It’s early enough that not too many people see your disheveled state. You’re attempting to wipe dried drool from the corner of your mouth when you get to the door. Normally, you’d feel embarrassed. But you were too sore to really care. Your neck hurt, your back hurt, something in your left shoulder felt off. 

A mirror in your entryway shows dark circles under your eyes and your hair is a mess. Your clothes weren’t overly wrinkled yet they definitely could not be worn again today. Peeling them off as you walk to your bed, you nearly trip over the chair you left lying on the floor. You’ve got a sock in your hand when you move the chair back to its position. You were going to sleep. For a long time. The pigment could wait. It would take days to dry without a dehydrator anyway. 

You fall against your mattress, crawling your way under the covers. The ache in your left spine is soothed by laying flat, your neck is loving the soft pillow beneath it. You go to rub your shoulder, it’s still tense. Your palm is warm on the skin, working into the flesh slowly. 

Warmth, you had woken to warmth. And it hadn’t scared you.

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Viktor’s room was moved closer to the lab months ago, as was Jayce’s. He only needed to walk a few doors down. There’s the usual ache in his right leg, the same tightness in his shoulders from hunching. His right palm is buzzing, not residual pressure from his cane. But from you. The headache that started earlier was throbbing behind his eyes.

After you had well and truly fallen asleep, he had turned some of the lights off. They usually kept the lab naturally lit, so once the sun was down they had little light to work off of. You preferred the lights on, to help you see your drawings. Jayce did not mind the change, he had been getting on Viktor for weeks about straining his eyes. 

He was tired. Unusually tired. And it did not help that your voice kept echoing in his head. “Viktor?” He sneered at the mental sound. Barely had opened your eyes and you called his name. 

“Viktor?” Your voice was soft. Softer than it had been when you thanked him, for listening. “Unintentional”, he tells himself. You had been tired. He was tired. 

He needed to sleep, a couple hours, just enough to get moving. Then he would grab tea for the three of you and get back to work. No confusing thoughts to haunt him. He was simply tired, and unused to your presence. Yes, that was it. He lays down on the couch, not bothering to change or even go to his bed. Viktor’s closing his eyes, letting the dull buzzing dissipate. He lets the annoyance move through his body, out through his limbs, and he settles. Your voice not echoing, not a bug in his ear. Not helping him sleep.

╚═*✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*.·:·.✧-✦-✧.·:·.*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧*═╝

--------------.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ Part 6-.-Part 8.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .----------------

------------‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ♡ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙· Master Fic List *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ♡ ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊--------------

[lychniis]

⚘ ― EVENFALL ! ( valentines day event ).

( # )ㅤ evenfallㅤ —ㅤ twilight ; dusk. the period or the light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night.

syn. a valentines day / white day event inspired by hozier lyrics ( and also seconding as my 1000 follower event i suppose XD ). feel free to drop by and select a prompt from the list below alongside a flower / genre. you could always opt for more flowers. however please note that minors are not allowed to request for / interact with nsfw works. please note that the maximum character limit is three.

this was more of a last minute bout of silliness, but i'd love to write some requests for you guys after supporting me and my bs for nearly two years now XD. so hey hey, my inbox is open to be raided! i'm currently taking this event for genshin impact and honkai star rail!

prompts. the prompts and flowers available are listed below. you can request a single prompt + one of more flowers of your choice! you could also add some additional suggestions if you'd like, say a setting or an au or a scenario! requests close by the 20th of febuary. i'll start posting on white day, march 14th.

daisy — fluff.

hyacinth — angst.

tulip — crack / humor.

orchid — smut.

i. ❛ there’s nothing sweeter than my baby. ❜

ii. ❛ no grave can hold my body down, i’ll crawl home to her. ❜

iii. ❛ you knew who i was with every step that i ran to you. ❜

iv. ❛ some like to imagine. the dark caress of someone else. i guess any thrill will do. ❜

v. ❛ honey, when you kill the lights and kiss my eyes. i feel like a person for a moment of my life. ❜

vi. ❛ i’d suffer hell if you’d tell me what you’d do to me tonight. ❜

vii. ❛ honey please, try to love me. my love will never die. ❜

viii. ❛ know that i would gladly be the icarus to your certainty, oh my sunlight. ❜

ix. ❛ you don’t understand, you should never know, how easy you are to need. ❜

x. ❛ idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on his sword. ❜

xi. ❛ honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips. ❜

xii. ❛ i'm so full of love I could barely eat. ❜

xiii. ❛ honey you're familiar, like my mirror years ago. ❜

xiv. ❛ i know who i am when i’m alone. i’m something else when i see you. ❜

xv. ❛ there’s something tragic about you. ❜

xvi. ❛ there’s nothing sweeter than my baby. ❜

xvii. ❛ still my heart is heavy with the hate of some other man’s beliefs. ❜

xviii. ❛ i’ve known the warmth of your doorways. through the cold, i’ll find my way back to you. ❜

xix. ❛ screaming the name of a foreigner's god, the purest expression of grief. ❜

xx. ❛ i couldn’t utter my love when it counted, but i’m singing like a bird about it now.

xxi. ❛ the only heaven i’ll be sent to is when i’m alone with you. ❜

xxii. ❛ i’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies. ❜

xxiii. ❛ i have never known peace like the damp grass that yields to me. ❜

xxiv. ❛ honey please, try to love me. my love will never die. ❜

xxv. ❛ i had been lost to you, sunlight, and flew like a moth to you. ❜

xxvi. ❛ it’s not my arms that will fail me, but this world takes more strength than it gave me. ❜

xxvii. ❛ i need you to run to me, run until you feel your lungs bleeding. ❜

xxviii. ❛ i will not ask where you came from. i will not ask and neither should you. ❜

xxix. ❛ be still, my foolish heart. don't ruin this on me. ❜

xxx. ❛ honey, i wanna race you to the table, if you hesitate, the getting is gone. ❜

( all the dialog prompts presented here are taken from songs by hozier. i own none of them. )

EVENT WORKSㅤ •ㅤ ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN

[camellia-salazar]

Ed Edd n Eddy Pony Redesigns.

Ed Edd n Eddy; Friendships are Jawbreakers. (Ed Edd n Eddy rhymes with My Little Pony)

I did this last month, but for some reason put off posting it until now.

I was into both shows at the time, so it was easy for me to understand the characters as well as the rule set of the MLP universe.

I would tell you each explanation of their cutiemarks, but maybe in another post. For now, I'll explain at least a few distinct facts about each of them.

Ed: Him and Sarah's family are relatively stronger than the average earth pony thanks to them actually being hella strong in canon. AJ would be tripping on the sight of Ed casually lifting a boulder.

Edd: Does pretty well with certain spells, less than Twilight and Starlight, but more capable than most unicorns his age. It takes a lot of energy to even do them, tho, like teleport.

Eddy: Pretty much what Scootaloo has when it comes to his wings. A lot of his insecurities are from his lack of flying. He can barely hover for about 3 seconds but ultimately crashes hard at the end. He blames it on not being taught.

Kevin: Not many ponies ride bikes. He's one of the exception. Wanted to be a Wonder Bolt at one point, but eventually dropped it on account of the day he earned his cutiemark. (I'll explain eventually).

Nazz: Like all unicorns, her magical ability depends on her cutiemark/special talent. She can spark up visions that resonate the stories she would tell. She was also trained in defense magic to protect the kids she would babysit along with herself.

Rolf: His family is the only one that have a stipe across their torsos. It just develops like a cutiemark, but only when you figure out the role you play for the family. So basically, there's a little more pressure on this kiddo.

Sarah: If my pony version would be a version of the show, she and Jimmy would earn their cutiemarks at around season 3. She would be a teeny tiny bit more empathetic, too, since she's a pony now.

Jimmy: He and Sarah were a lot like the CMC prior to their cutiemarks. Mostly inspired by the fact that they act like so in canon, always trying new things essentially. He also struggles with his magic like Sweetie Belle did for a while.

Jonny 2×4: He acts a lot like Pinkie Pie and often would stim by bouncing on his tail. Also, much like how I thought of Sarah and Jimmy, he would learn to fly later on, but most likely the end of season 2, beginning of season 3. Most likely, the former.

Plank: Was supposed to be an imagined pony, but idk if I want to keep that or have him be a dragon. He would give off griffin vibes at times, tho. Idk. Maybe I should just draw his face like the OG so that the others would keep guessing.

Lee Kanker: I couldn't think of her with normal mare hooves, so she inherited her dad's hoof look. Rather, she shaved it, or it was just developed that way is pretty unknown. I thought of the latter at first.

Marie Kanker: Much like Kevin, she loves cloud bucking. The only difference is that she loves it while he sees it as more of a chore. She would often get away with chores because her mother would tell her to. But even then, she would have fun doing it.

May Kanker: Most would be threatened with her magic being red, that is, anyone but her sisters. Not only would anyone know it's her, but also red magic is usually frowned upon. The judgment doesn't bother her, tho, giving the fact that she's used to it.

Eddy's Bro: He got one of the biggest pare of wings anypony had seen on a pegasus. Because of his huge wings, Eddy would have another reason to not only look up to him but also envy him. Stupid bro taking all the flight genes.

So that's it for now, I went from EEnE to other things, so it'll take some time before I get back into EEnE again.

Thanks for reading all of this. Have a good one. 👍💖✨️

[gintrinsic-writing]

Redesigned

Inspired by this comic by mmelete, which is very cute and lighthearted! This short fic is not. CW implied body horror.

--

It was there, at the end of the hall—a splash of color on otherwise gray stones. Monster remains lay scattered beneath as though paid in homage. 

“No way,” Hyrule exclaimed. “Is that painting supposed to be Legend?”

Warriors took care to step over a segment of twitching jejunum. “It certainly looks like it. I wonder who or what did this?”

“Other monsters, maybe? But… Hm.” Hyrule glanced around as though the answer to their little mystery might suddenly present itself, ears twitching back and forth. The hall remained empty.

“Paint’s dry,” Warriors remarked, brushing his fingers across the little blue hat, “so it can’t be that new.”

“But not old enough for the colors to have faded.”

“Right. So…” 

“So?”

Warriors spread his hands wide, dousing the curiosity in Hyrule’s stare. “I don’t know. It’s weird as hell, but not the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Creepy?” Hyrule teased, leaning like he might playfully bump Warrior's shoulder. For both their sakes, he kept a sliver of distance between them. “I think it’s kind of fun.”

“You clearly haven’t encountered enough fanatics,” Warriors muttered.

“Ahh, well.” Hyrule laughed awkwardly. “Should we move on?”

“No, let’s stay put. There are no immediate threats, and between Twilight and Sky the others should be able to track us down easily enough. There’s no reason to risk getting turned around or running into whatever killed these monsters.”

“Right. That sounds logical.”

“Don’t look so glum,” Warriors said with a smirk. “You can explore to your heart’s content when we’re all reunited.”

Hyrule huffed. “As if.”

“Enjoy the break, kiddo. If this dungeon’s anything like the last, we’ll find chaos by the end of it.”

Hyrule’s returning smile was crooked and dimpled. “Yeah, fair. What should we do in the meantime?”

“Meditate? Count rocks? Contemplate all of our past regrets? I don’t know, don’t ask me.”

“Lame,” Hyrule concluded, channeling Wind as he faked a yawn. He glanced back at the little painting of Legend again. “I think his bracelet might be off.”

“What?”

“Legend’s bracelet, in the painting. The stone is supposed to be purple, isn’t it? But the artist made it all black and red.”

Warriors blinked, reevaluating the painting. “It’s not exactly a masterpiece, Hyrule. So what if some of the details are wrong?”

“I don’t know, I’m just saying.” He tilted his head, trying to imagine all the ways his friend and mentor were different from this childlike rendition of him. Then, curious to see if he could, Hyrule reached out and scraped his fingernail across the tip of one of Legend’s ears. Flecks of skin-toned paint came away under his nail. 

“Well,” Warriors drawled wryly, “I guess it’s not cursed. Thanks for that.”

“Oh hush,” Hyrule answered without looking back. “I would’ve sensed a curse. Probably.” He grinned suddenly. “Hey, can I have your makeup?”

“No. Why?”

Hyrule began searching through his own bag. “The ears are too long, and the eyes aren’t the right shape. Legend’s eyes are more, um… almond? And I want to fix his fingers.”

“You’re not wasting my makeup on this.”

“It’s not a waste, it’s creative inspiration—ah ha!” He pulled a clump of charcoal from his bag, along with several blackberries. "It's not like we have anything better to do."

Warriors made a futile effort not to look amused. “What are the berries for?”

“Color. The juice won’t be exactly red, but it’ll do.” He leaned away from the painting as if to get a better overall study of it, then started scratching away at Legend’s eye. 

“You’ll chip your nails doing that.”

“Don’t care.” Hyrule stuck out his tongue as he worked, using the charcoal to sharpen the slant of Legend’s eye. Once he was satisfied with the shape, he smeared a tiny amount of blackberry juice where the iris should be. “See? Much better.”

Warriors outright laughed, which earned him a half-hearted glare. “Keep your day job, hero.”

“Oh?” Hyrule attempted to sound haughty, but thought he sounded constipated instead. “I’d like to see you do better.”

“... Yeah, alright, shove over.” 

They worked on the painting for nearly half an hour, using stones, berries, and some of Warrior’s foundation (“sacrificed for a greater good”) to edit things as they pleased. On a whim, Warriors added bunny ears to the top of Legend’s head, and Hyrule erased, redrew, re-erased, then re-re-drew Legend’s left hand. 

“Fingers are hard,” Hyrule complained, frowning as he compared the drawing to his own hand. “Like, what?”

“I can’t get his nose down,” Warriors muttered. “Why do nostrils look so stupid?”

“Uh, guys? What are you doing?”

They both jumped in surprise, whirling around to see the other heroes entering the hall. “Nothing!” Hyrule blurted, then immediately changed his mind. “Look what we found. It’s Legend!”

Warriors stepped away from the painting as if he’d had nothing to do with it. “Everybody okay?”

“Yes,” Time answered, frowning as the seconds passed. “Legend drew himself?”

“No,” Hyrule answered. “We don’t know who—” He blinked, glancing between them all. “He’s not with you?”

“We thought he’d be here, with you,” Sky said, gesturing to the Master Sword. “Fi said so.”

As one, they all looked at the painting on the wall—redesigned with different proportions, half its nose missing, its fingers lengthened and crooked, bunny ears sprouting from its head, lips stretched in a rictus, its single eye smeared with blackberry juice. 

The paint beneath Hyrule’s fingernails itched. He absently picked it out, startled by the wetness he could feel. He must’ve cut his quicks on the stone. There was no other explanation for the blood. 

[horizon-verizon]

Twilight "Mates"

Have you ever wondered what the deal was with the Twilight movies and books having their vampire couples be called "mates"? Well, they aren't exactly soulmates.

I've had this information with me for literal years. I can forget what I had for lunch, but not this apparently. Now it's your turn to share in my misery.

For those that don't know, vampires in Twilight are not at all like the traditional, erotically charged vampires of modern popular media.

Like humans, vampires in Twilight can have many partners or have monogamous relationships but they cannot "break up" with their lovers and move on to new ones like humans can. At least not psychologically and truthfully enough to be in "real", new relationships. Vampire love-grief is a state or emotion they can't "forget" bc they literally cannot "forget" anything, and that's one of many unsettling things about Twilight vampires. which is why they never give up until the murderer of their mate is dead themselves, or if they are like Victoria, whoever they love the most or anything similar to their own sort of love, is dead. Either way, vampires will likely take their revenge. Vampires are forever stuck in the psychological state/personality they had right before they were turned. So they don’t respond to change all, and they really don’t need to except in special circumstances that require it, so they’re even less inclined to be psychologically adaptive. Only falling in love has the influence to significantly change them. As Meyer makes it. 

Because Meyer makes it that vampire’s enhancements apply to absolutely everything.

Twilight is a romance fantasy, not a vampire tale, but there is still a marked difference to how vampires versus humans form attachments, including their romantic ones, that all comes from their particular brand of "vampirism". The vampire lore is meant to build into and support the relationship of the main couple: Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. AND how vampires form lasting romantic connections are majorly inspired by Mormon celestial marriage and the exaltation principles.

A)

In Stephenie Meyer’s world, Bella and Edward are technically soulmates and Edward in Midnight Sun claims that Alice/Jasper and Rosalie/Emmett are, too. Other vampire couples don't seem to have the Cullen "privilege" or state of being soulmates who were drawn together emotionally, though:

AroxSulpicia

AthenodoraxCauis

AmunxKebi

JamesxVictoria

Descriptions:

Aro basically arranges his own mating by courting Sulplicia This clearly is not a spontaneous or freefall progression we'd imagine for how a bond b/t soulmates.

He and Caius lock up their mates so they could avoid the same debilitating grief and vulnerability that Marcus has. It is not necessarily for their wives’ sake.

Back in ancient Egypt when he was worshipped as a god, Amun picked Kebi out of all his slaves.

James had two main reasons to stop trying to kill Victoria when he hunted her down: he wasn’t able to AND he saw she'd useful. He later sees himself as having “won” anyway because now she’s with him forever by falling for him. To me, he considers their relationship to be him “owning” her and her gift, both useful for when he needs to get the hell out of Dodge.

These particular relationships reveal feelings and circumstances of ownership and selfishness, especially on the men’s part.

If soulmate relationships are supposed to be mutually compulsory between the two people, why the emotional incongruencies, power imbalances, and clear rationalization that goes into how most of the shown Twilight pairings are formed? 

And If someone is able to choose a romantic partner based on what they perceive are convenient and the motivation weren't pure-hearted or emotionally-driven...doesn’t it negate the one essential part of soulmateship? That someone out there is absolutely the best romantic option and the perfect match for you even when you didn’t choose them, and they were metaphysically given for both of your happiness?

At the same time, vampires can never forget their lover nor lose the memories of them, nor can those memories lose their sharpness, clarity and intensity. Makenna found herself still in love with Charles even after her first year as a newborn so she went back for him and turned him. He just so happened to still be in love with her after that year. Marcus literally can never forget how he feels about Didyme, nor can he feel less about her than when they first met or when they first acknowledged each other as their “person”.

B)

Soulmates (as a trope) have been depicted as anything from emotional/psychological prisons to psychologically safe havens. Sometimes both depending on the actual pairing’s dynamics, the action of the plot, and the themes of the story.

I think that the “both” sometimes happens in the romantic vision of Twilight when it comes to vampire mates.

This “both” still belies the very idea of a soulmate: that this one person is the best, inevitable, perfect, and only romantic option for one other person. 

If only one pairing are definitely true and real soulmates (as Twilight claims Bella/Edward are) and most of the others are circumstantial first-come-first-serves, can we really claim that mates in Twilight are definitively a destined soulmate? Or that soulmates even exist in the world of Twilight?

Instead, Twilight vampires experience another take/revision of the soulmates trope.

C)

THEREFORE: Twilight vampire mates are not supposed to be ideal nor true “soulmates” like those proposed by Plato and those portrayed in media ever since. 

There are no soulmates in Twilight. Not in either the "purest" nor original meaning of that word.

Instead, as a vampire, calling your "forever" romantic partner your “mate” is a both linguistic phenomenon and a narrative device that describes and realizes the potency, doggedness, and persistence that characterize how Twilight vampires love their "mates".

Meyer has her vampires use the term "mate" because:

Outside of the U.S. and in the U.K., the “mate” part of “soulmate” can be associated with the same word used for someone’s platonic companion or acquaintance. But in the U.S., it's used in with a scientific connotation--particularly observing nonhuman animals--. Thus it is regarded as too formal to seriously use in one’s casual day-to-day in the U.S., or it’s considered way too British and people who do use it casually do it either to be facetious or it's become a habit.

Meyer wanted to further distinguish vampires from humans and used their more animalistic, bestial qualities (their instincts to devour and attack) to characterize them as having “mates”. Paralleling them to nonhuman animals, which again, refers to how researchers and those taking care of the animals call their reproductive partners their “mate”. ironic since vampire women and girls cannot birth vampire or vampire hybrid offspring.

Twilight vampires dissociate themselves from humans, so of course they’d have a different term for their “important” lovers.

The term--or the idea behind the term--has been used in the vampire world of Twilight since before many vampires existed (Aro and Cauis) and I imagine that vampires would say, “why bother changing it now?” Unless it was a “recent” term, but no evidence suggests that.

Vampires canonically themselves don’t “change” values, philosophies, or mindsets without there being an intense catalyst, the strongest of which Meyer makes romantic (BellaxEdward) or very quasi-familial love (Tanya, Irina, Kate, and Sasha). 

Soulmates, as an idea, are supposed to be nonchanging and unavoidable, or “constant”, permanent, and position two people together inevitably. The word “mate“ illustrates the circumstance of not being able to change/display a “persistence” of the bond being out of the control of the singular vampire. They cannot determine their own romantic feelings but it's because they themselves cannot "change" (no matter how slippery the substance this is under closer inspection, that's the lore we're working with). The persistence associated with the nonhuman animal mate-bond and with any sort of social bond--human or nonhuman facilitates.

And following the assumption being made about nonhuman animals collectively being more creatures of instinct than humans are, like nonhuman animals Twilight vampires are also creatures of mostly instinct. They are “slaves” to their own instincts so that they often lose control and break things and people around them if they don’t practice not to.

D)

So finally, the word “mate” in the Twilight saga seems to be an associative term to express the reality of being a Twilight vampire in love.

Irina quite literally is willing to kill and die for Laurent, a person who didn’t like her as much as she liked him because she will never be able to forget Laurent nor the times they spent together and will always feel the pain of losing him with the same intensity as the first time of losing him.

Love in Twilight appears to be perilous and futile in the sense that it regularly makes vampires risk themselves in foolish ventures to ruin those who killed their mates. Yet (emotionally as well as thematically/symbolically) love for vampires is also necessary.

It both is one of only ways they get any sort of meaning or emotional satisfaction/compensation for their changeless lives. Yet it can easily become the cause of near self-destructive revenge missions that involve other vampires, perpetuating cycles of violence.

E) Mormonism

Meyer has Twilight vampires’ culture (and the central romance) centering itself around overlaps of love and danger when the stakes are desolation and eternal loneliness or loss of autonomy/power. However, if one is also familiar with Meyer’s loyalty to her Mormon faith and the Mormon principles of exaltation and eternal/”celestial” marriages, I think they’d notice that these two principles inform and provide the structure for both vampire matings and falling in the best kind of love.

Exaltation is a principle that:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) [teaches and believes in] that mankind can reach the highest level of salvation, to eternally live in God's presence, continue as families, become 'gods' or like God, create worlds, and have spirit children over which they will govern (Wiki).

So exaltation is when you become like God, you become "eternal" and live forever. Because you ha e died and have become literally closer to God. However, it is t enough to just die and go to heaven to be metaphysically/psychologically close to God.

Celestial marriages and sealings between family members--two requirements for exaltation--ensure that the marriage and the family are preserved after death until all the persons are in heaven together as “gods”.

And having children is a huge prerequisite for starting the type of families that religious Mormons seem to believe will bring them closer to God. Sexual reproduction/procreation is understood as a godly power because it provides the means for a devout to be like the creative God himself. God who made Adam and Eve and subsequently all of humanity. God who instructed Adam and Eve to go out and "multiply".

Adam and Eve took the apple from the tree to become more like God and to live in an “eternal relationship” (Weiss142) with God, each other, and their kids. The result, according to Mormons (including the LDS), is that humans struggle to triumph over their fallen state/human nature same term the “natural man”, who isn’t wicked so much as separate and alienated from God....but in practice is imagined as truly bad and wicked. Religious Mormons believe(d) the Joseph Smith (the 1830 Mormon founder) saw and understood all this reading of Adam and Eve in his first visions and wrote it into the Book of Mormon, which al provides the justification of exaltation and celestial marriages, etc.

Vampires in Twilight are very powerful due to venom and are like gods in the DC universe/Superman kind of way, but can’t procreate sexually--instead they have changeless lives and create other vampires usually through violence and carelessness. So they are both like gods but aren’t, possessing also the “natural man” state with their “bestiality”. They are, like Superman, very emotionally detached from humans and even from other vamps. They lack this “godly” power of procreation that humans and that Rosalie envies.

However, Bella gets to have true, valid, the “best” eternal life: a celestial marriage with Edward and having an immortal child that she, like Jesus and the perfect Mormon, put her body and very existence at risk for.

In the End

The idea of mates in Twilight is reserved for vampires and the nature of mating follows the soulmate trope without actually claiming to be the trope itself. 

Mates are not soulmates. It is a shallower re-invention that heavily depends on context and how language forms in a society to describe a social phenomenon set up by a steadfast interpretation of the reality of being a falling in love or entering a romantic relationship as a vampire. 

To repeat myself, when vampires take or recognize a mate, it’s not because that is the one and only person the universe/higher being grants them as a fit partner, so to speak. That person isn’t a mystical other half that completes them so much as the first and only person they fell deeply in love with or wanted to be so intimate with. First come, first serve. 

And the phrase above only applies when the person in love is a vampire in Twilight because it is an conventional, semi-arbitrary social term. Just how “spouse”, “girlfriend”, “lover”, “friends with benefits” are all social terms to label and describe a person who is meant to be one’s prioritized sexual/romantic partner.

So, to repeat myself, Twilight vampires are forever stuck in the psychological state/personality they had right before they were turned. Falling in love has the particular influence to significantly "change" them. As Meyer rules her lore. If they’re single and meet someone they eventually fall so deeply in love with (or become infatuated with), then that person will literally be the only person who could possibly romantically satisfy them. Ever.

In Twilight, mating can be either a decision (or coercion) or a circumstance or a mixture of both. It depends on the person’s intentions and desires and external circumstances. They must be in the right place at the right time to even be able to connect with others, as vampires are also solitary, very territorial and very violent. Still, humans similarly experience forming and getting into relationships circumstantially. 

[mysticsparklewings]

Terror in Six Words

----------

He didn't know

she'd been bitten.

----------

Hey, this isn’t an Obscutober piece! 😦

No, but you’re getting 2 art things from me today because there were some community events on DeviantArt I wanted to partake in, & as it happens a “scary” 6-word story in poetry magnets felt like a good way to do that. 😉

Same as the Obscutober pieces, if you’re curious to hear more about my process for how this all came together—and I promise it was much more involved than you’d think!—Click the "Keep Reading" and we'll talk a bit more about my general thoughts/process. ✨

⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

----------

So, again: Hmm. This doesn't look like an Obscutober piece, and yet...it looks kind of familiar, doesn't it? 😉 We all probably should've known that I'd break out the mini-magnets at least once this month, sooner or later. 🤭

This was actually supposed to be kind of a 2-in-1 piece, but this has been such a busy month and busy week in particular that I got my days mixed up and thought I had more time than I actually did...So it's no longer a 2-in-1, but it wasn't totally a waste, either.

DeviantArt, in typical fashion, is holding a Badge Event this month, and loyal Sparklers will know if it's a badge I like I have a hard time turning those down—We went through something similar last year! And on top of that, @CRLiterature was also holding a Tiny Tales of Terror Challenge...which ran through the 24th, and you'll notice today's date is the 26th. 😅

And to be clear: I'm mentioning the Tiny Tales Challenge not because I expect any kind of exception or what-have-you to be made for me, but just to be transparent about my motivations. It's my fault for missing the deadline and I accept that. The only reason I'm going ahead and posting it now, so soon after the missed deadline, instead of holding off until Halloween is because I am hoping to maybe squeeze in something else just for Halloween, and I've got a bunch of other things to try and scramble to get done on my to-do list before then; If I don't post it today, it may very well not get posted at all. 🫠

[Plot twist: I was thisclose to posting this yesterday, even, but yesterday was a particularly chaotic day so it just wasn't possible—yet more evidence that if I'm not careful and quick about it this artwork may be doomed to live behind the scenes forever.]

It would also be kind of disingenuous to discuss what I made without mentioning that challenge as that's where I got the entire idea to make this specifically a six-word-story from.

DeviantArt's Badge Event, for those who don't know, is encouraging people to make something inspired by some short stories they commissioned. So there was my starting point, and I had been considering breaking out the poetry magnets for a Halloween-ish one-off piece anyway, since I have really been missing them this month while I handle Inktober/Obscutober in a magnet-less way for the first time in years.

While I had those two thoughts at the back of my mind, the Tiny Tales Challenge came up, which asked people to write a scary story in six words or less. And since I'm personally most familiar with six-word-stories from magnetic poetry, it all just kinda came together as a perfect storm in my mind: A six-word story, told in magnets, inspired by one of the stories for the badge event. 💡

Now, that said, if you've read the four short stories for the badge event, you might be scratching your head and trying to figure out what my six words here have to do with any of them. I won't deny for a moment that any connection to the story I picked really isn't obvious, but all I can tell you Sparklers is that my brain is a strange place and you never know what off-the-wall connections are going to be made in there. 🤪

Of the four stories, the one that stuck with me the most was Survivor's Guilt. It has a kind of somber, Twilight-Zone-esque quality to it, and that's more what I personally favor in "horror" story over the typical heart-racing-scream-your-head off variety. [As I've probably talked about a bit before but I don't remember where.]

Somehow, I left that story with one of my favorite My Chemical Romance songs in my head—Early Sunsets Over Monroeville, which itself was inspired by Dawn of the Dead. And I was also reminded just a little of Carmilla, a vampire tale that actually predates Bram Stoker's Dracula.

As I said, my brain is a strange place that makes strange connections. 🥴 My best guess is that my subconscious really hitched onto the ending revelation of Survivor's Guilt, which I won't spoil for you here if you haven't read it. (You should though, it's good!)

Suffice to say: Something about how we don't know what we don't know and we want to understand, but sometimes gaining that understanding is it's own special kind of horror.

But just having those inspirations and making those strange connections alone wasn't enough, of course. I still had to string some actual words together, not just feelings. 😆 So I broke out my notebook for mini-magnet brainstorming and started scribbling.

Well, okay, first I had to search up and read some existing six-word-stories from across the internet because it's been so long since I last tried to write one that I was having trouble getting in what felt like the right headspace to work with so few words. Then I got scribbling.

In said scribbling, I was reminded very much of a few years ago—ironically, the first time I followed an Obscutober list—when I made another one-off mini-magnet piece that was also meant to be a scary story in few words. Granted, that was 50 words or less, so still a very different experience.

That is to say though: I was reminded that "scary" writing is not my strong suit. 😅 I just can't even seem to quite grasp the "punch" to properly shift the words from ominous into actually spooky territory. And that was not made any easier by having to work in so few words.

My main take away from my efforts in the notebook is that it's not actually that hard to come up with six word (or less!) sentences that sound spooky...if you think of them within a scary context. For example, "They ignored the warnings," can be scary if you're thinking of it as people ignoring warnings that will inevitably lead to something dangerous/harmful happening. But it can just as easily be not very scary at all if this "they" is just ignoring warnings of "Oh don't touch that, the paint's still wet and you'll get paint on your hands."

Context is also very important in the words being anything close to a story, and not just...well, just words, if that makes any sense. "There was a body," is a sentence, yes, and it could definitely lean scary if you picture "body" as a non-living person. But it's still a relatively "flat" statement of fact.

I think that's a large part of why I kept thinking of Early Sunsets, and kind of songs in general as I was trying to figure out where to go with my ideas and feelings. Good song lyrics can squeeze a whole lot of story and metaphor into just a few words, and I feel that's especially true with My Chemical Romance. [One of many reasons why they're my favorite.

"They're building a coffin your size," is what I would consider a pretty much perfect scary six-word-story, straight from their song Mama, to give you a better idea of where I'm coming from. And if this could have just been a recycled song quote, I totally would've used that—but this was not the time nor place. 😆

To be fair, despite everything I just described about my thought process, in the end I'm not sure I totally succeeded in getting everything I wanted out of my six words, but of the options I wrote down (that were actually my words to use), this was the one I kept coming back to.

It puts vampires in my head first and foremost—Most certainly because that's my favorite "traditional" monster archetype, and if you know me at all that comes as no surprise at all, I'm sure. But there are plenty of other instances where the answer to the unwritten question of "Bitten by what?" Would be rightly terrifying: Zombie (as more directly related to Early Sunsets), Werewolf, even non-Halloween-ish things like a rabid animal or disease-carrying mosquito.

...Okay the rabid animal could still be Halloween-ish if it was a rabid bat or something, but you get the idea.

Yet there are still ways to put a more metaphorical spin on it; That this "she" could've been "bitten by a bug" as in something that changed her way of thinking or motivations in life and made her into a scarier person than she was before, or something like that.

So perfect, no, but it was the closest to striking the right balance of all the different things I wanted that I was able to come up with.

Which leaves us with the visual component. The magnets are what they always are, but what is this background?

Well, if you remember when I mentioned I've done this short-story-in-few-words kind of thing before, there's actually a touch more irony there. Last time, I used a photo is from a "Tezza College Kit" that I actually won from a past DeviantArt contest as my base and made some additions and modifications to better fit the mood I was going for. Since I knew full-well I wouldn't have time to come up with something from scratch for this, that was the first other option that came to mind.

So I sifted through those photos for something that felt like either a good fit or at least a good place to start.

And I must disclose that at that point, I was actually still strongly considering one other assortment of six words—I was thinking of "cheating the system" and submitting two separate six-word-stories that kind of went together. I ultimately decided not to because the more I thought of the two together, the weaker the other one felt compared to this one.

But I mention that because my initial photo pulls from the kit were pretty different because I was hoping to get two photos that seemed to go together and still felt right thematically. As much as I love the base photo I picked here—so much so I strongly considered it at the time for that 50 word story I keep referring to—It wouldn't have worked for the two-story idea really at all because I just didn't have another photo that would pair well with it for what I wanted.

That said, the photo was a little plain—pure black and white—on it's own, so I ended up fiddling with the colors a bit and bringing up the reds for some more drama.

I will note though that dramatic red wasn't actually my first choice. I had planned to just use the fact that photographing black and white things without a filter is challenging to my advantage, but the photo that was the best of the ones I took in other ways didn't have much color alteration going on. Originally, I was just going to add a little warmth/hints of sepia like happened naturally in one of the other photos I took, but since I had Photoshop open anyway I decided to play just a little, and the red came about as a result of that playtime.

I very nearly actually went with an all-over red tone (except for the white space in the middle), but thought the look was ultimately too dark. I did the spot red after thinking things over and deciding I really didn't want to artificially brighten the image up and mess with the black contrast if I could help it.

Whew. 😮‍💨 ...Leave it to me to make six little words so complicated and particular, right? 😆

I think I ended up trying to make up for "lost time" in not doing more with magnetic poetry this year, even though they're only a very small part of the process. My subconscious thoroughly missed the memo that that wasn't necessary. 😅

Still, frustration at myself for getting the timeline jumbled up aside, I had fun. 🙂 The length of this description might speak more loudly to that than anything else. 🤣

Speaking of, I hate to end this kind of abruptly, but I think I have finally covered everything I wanted to about the art at hand and I still have to cross-post this and do the Obscutober piece for today, too. So if you Sparklers don't mind, I'll leave you to ponder these words, encourage you again to go check out Survivor's Guilt—and the other 3 Terror Tales, too!—and be on my way.

Don't you Sparklers get unknowingly bitten by anything in the meantime, alright? 😉

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Poem © me, MysticSparkleWings

Inspired by FridgePoetProject

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⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

[sodafrog13]

This is the same anon about the vaporwave stuff, and THANK YOU!!!! For over a year now I've been listening to mixtapes (Neon Palm Mall by SPLIFF Radio is the one that actually got me into vaporwave, I love love love it so much) and I really want to thank you for sharing! I've developed a deep love for this genre, but I didn't really know any albums specifically, so I'm glad I found you!

I also just wanted to dip my toe in the water with the previous ask, but if you have any other, I guess "advanced-listener" albums/mixtapes I'd love to hear them. I'm extremely open minded when it comes to music.

And, uh, I wouldn't mind hearing why the albums should be considered mixtapes, that is if you don't mind. I love learning! If you have any vapor wisdoms, I'd be very thankful to hear!

Last thing, I'm so jealous about your holo plaza gear. Congrats on getting the vinyl bro! 😭 Thanks again!!!

re: this ask right here! (ooooooo click for my vaporwave suggestions oooooooooo u wanna click so so bad)

anon u r literally so sweet, i don't think i can convey how excited your asks have made me LOL

admittedly there aren't many more... obscure? recommendations i can make, at least if you were to ask some like hardcore vaporwave fans lol but i can at least recommend a few more artists/albums i enjoy! i also recommend finding some artists you like to see if they collaborate with anyone and seeing if you like their works as well, usually a pretty easy way to find more people you'll like :] additionally, the Vapor Memory channel on yt posts full album streams from various artists; great way to find new stuff if you prefer to find things thru youtube rather than bandcamp! they even host virtual shows sometimes, which i think is awesome

RECOMMENDATIONS (pt 2 electric boogaloo; some of these r classics, some of them not, all of them on bandcamp and youtube except for the mixtapes):

Welcome to the Craft Store​​​!​​​® by nofriendsonline

🏜️ (鹿​​​児​​​島 砂漠) by desert sand feels warm at night and ⦓🍊⦔ タンジェリン (Kagoshima Tangerine)

Wellen by Voyage Futur

New Twilight Music Vol. 1 by various artists, published by Midwest Collective

A Million Miles Away by マクロスMACROSS 82-99

슈​퍼​마​켓​Yes! We​’​re Open by 식료품groceries

壊​滅​悲​し​み PT 2 by haircuts for men

Machines of Loving Grace by Dead The Long Year (this one's admittedly a bit of a wildcard; it's post-vaporwave, a subgenre i'm far less familiar w but as an album it's very dear to me so i had to recommend. it's quite different from most of the other things i've recommended, and far more somber. caretaker-esque? is how i'd describe it, as the caretaker is a direct inspiration for DTLY, but if that piques your interest at all i recommend giving it a go :])

-

MINIMUM WAGE (VAPORWAVE MIX) by SCRAVECROW/Allec Cortez

10 Hours Of Slushwave (Vaporwave Mix) by illusiDreams

and to answer yr question abt albums vs mixtapes: this stems fr the fact that a lot of vaporwave is based on theft. vaporwave is a VERY sample heavy genre, as i'm sure you're likely aware, and while samples are usually meant to be some manner of open secret, esp in earlier days it was uncommon to openly admit to exactly what yr using, as it was supposed to be like a fun little inside joke between you and your audience as to what you were using and how. fast forward, vaporwave isn't popular per se but it definitely has more eyes on it, and some of those eyes are a little more concerned as to the ethics of such heavy usage of sampling. some argue that a lot of vaporwave songs aren't original songs so much as they're just remixes, which is why they prefer the term mixtape to refer to certain projects rather than albums.

as new subgenres come and go, some artists/albums have caused more of a stir in this regard than others. there are still some people who say saint pepsi (despite his notoriety) doesn't make real vaporwave, whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean, because of how much he (and future funk in general) relies on samples and i know there were some people who were a little miffed about the fact that OSCOB's praise the sun god practically samples an entire album (Future Lounge 03 (2000) by various artists) without actually doing all that much to it (which can sort of be the nature of a lot of barber beats tracks). and for the record, i understand wanting other artists to be credit for their work, but also i think it's a little rich to try and harp about it when vaporwave is all about stealing from other people anyways (though sample-less vaporwave does exit. hakita/heaven pierce her (yes, of ULTRAKILL fame) actually makes sample-less vaporwave music!)

ultimately, i think it's up to the artists themselves what they'd like their work to be called (and some do indeed call their works mixtapes rather than albums) but also. like who cares man LMAO it's all theft and it's all fun, i don't think it rlly matters esp since vaporwave... well it's not exactly a lucrative business, is it? lol, a lot of vaporwave artists actually offer their entire discographies for free/cheap/some sort of name your price, so the only real money they make off their works is probably physical merch or live performances (as is the normal life of a music artist, really, but i digress).

if u wanna learn more abt vaporwave stuff, pad chennington's where you wanna look! he makes a lot of videos about more obscure things in music, especially vaporwave stuff and he's a pretty big deal in vaporwave spaces, relatively speaking.

and thank u!! i paid. way too much money for it LOL but it's ok i love it to death 🩵 i'm still hunting for a reasonably priced copy of it on cassette, as i deeply regret not getting one when +3 came out. but maybe one day!...

[mydisenchantedeulogy]

Unbreakable || Trafalgar Law || 1/3

A/n: As I stated before, this is a short inspired by the episode 'Meet in the Middle' of 'The Twilight Zone'. I have decided to break this one-shot into 3 parts because it's easier on me this way and I want to at least get something written and posted for it. If anyone wants to be added to the tag list, let me know. Please enjoy.

Warning(s): GN! Reader, awkward first conversation, modern AU, telepathy.

The gentle sound of water sloshing in the bathroom sink permeates your ears as you attempt to calm your irritation. It's been a rough shift, and the lazy employees giving you trouble are only adding to your stress one incident at a time. But at least it's almost over.

You take an uneasy breath and then shut off the water. It's time you went back. The last thing you need is for someone to report you or accuse you of milking the time. Glancing at yourself in the mirror, you force a smile. 

"You've got this. No one here is worth going to prison over."

Reluctantly leaving the bathroom, you return to work. For the next hour, you grin and bear the employees pressing your buttons. It's not easy to ignore, but your patience to do so impresses you, and once it's time to leave you rush from the building so fast you are certain the higher-ups will have you in the office tomorrow. 

Freedom, at last, you think to yourself in glee as you saunter down the street toward the crosswalk. 

You can't wait to get home. There is so much you want to do; relaxing, of course, being the main objective. But as you continue, an eerie yet deep pressure consumes your head, forcing you to halt for a moment. 

 I'm losing it.

You lurch in fear at the sudden deep and powerful voice in your ear. At first, you think someone must have snuck up on you, but glancing wildly around, you soon realize this is not the case. You are alone. So where did the voice come from? 

"It's in my head." There is no other explanation. "I must be sleep deprived."

But how does that explain the tone of the voice?

You and I both. 

Groaning in annoyance, you grab your head. The pressure makes it feel as though it's congested. You don't like this feeling at all. 

"What the fuck is going on?"

The voice laughs; a pleasant masculine sound that brings goosebumps to your skin. You wrap your arms tightly around yourself, sauntering toward the curb where other people are standing, waiting. 

It's as you said. We must be sleep deprived. Either that or…we're both suffering a mental break, the voice suggests.   

"I am not insane," you counter.

The voice hums. 

Look around, stranger-ya. Are you talking out loud? Because even if you aren't suffering a mental break, to everyone else you look a bit insane.

From the corner of your eye, you notice an unfamiliar woman give you an incredulous look and sidestep away from you. The voice is right. Your face heats up in embarrassment.

"This is just fucking great," you whisper in annoyance.

Turning your head to the side, you make sure no one is looking before you continue. 

"Are you my conscience or something? Because you haven't exactly been doing your job these past few years."

No, the voice merely retorts. 

You turn up your eyes in annoyance. 

"Right. Look…I don't have time for a mental breakdown so if you could stop talking I'd appreciate it."

Easier said than done, stranger-ya. You're in my head too, the voice retorts. It was you who reached me first, announcing your freedom, loudly. 

Heat spreads across your face. There is so much about this that doesn't make sense to you. Groaning, you cross the street when allowed and quicken your pace. You want to make sure no one witnesses you talking to yourself. 

"So, you're real?" You ask.

Yes, the voice answers. 

An annoyed sigh leaves your mouth. 

"You aren't exactly what one would call a social butterfly, are you?"

The voice snorts. 

Are you?

You shrug. 

"It depends. Though I suppose you have a point. We don't know one another. It's weird enough we're even talking to one another as is. I don't even know your name."

It's Law.

You raise a curious brow. His name doesn't sound familiar, though that doesn't mean he isn't from the area. Offering him your name, you hear him hum in response.

We are not from the same area, Law points out. I had assumed so. 

You don't see how. Perhaps he's from a small town though and knows the names of everyone who lives within it. You bite your bottom lip. 

"I see."

Honestly, you don't know what else to say. This entire ordeal is strange and you aren't convinced yet that your brain isn't making the entire thing up.

"Listen, I don't know how we can hear one another, but perhaps we should try to tune one another out. I mean…we're strangers," you state. 

You are right. Before, when your voice reached me, I felt a pressure in my head and I concentrated on it. We might be able to tune one another out this way, Law explains. 

You hum. It's true and though the concept seems easy enough, you aren't certain it will work. 

"Shall we try it?"

After you, retorts Law.

With a deep uneasy breath, you focus your thoughts on something other than Law; the color of the stoplights; the sound and smell of the world around you. The pressure in your head slowly fades until you no longer feel it. 

"He was right," you utter feeling much better. However, a sense of sadness washes over you. It had been awkward and unexpected but at least Law had a nice voice. "He sounded kind of hot."

I heard that…likewise. 

Shit. So long as you think about him, the link seems to broadcast your voice. Your face heats up in embarrassment and you apologize, tuning him out once again; the sound of his laugh is the last thing from him you hear. 

You have a feeling this isn't going to be easy.  

[lukas-dark-miracles]

Lukas Inspiration || Poetry weaving

"Lukas didn’t want to be a monster - although now he supposed that was his role in the stories now. If he was to be a part of a bigger plan, he shouldn’t have cared so much for a human who he didn’t know the name of. He should have let her die. He was supposed to further a new gospel of darkness, and show that there was harmony there. He was supposed to play a role and maybe out of kindness change her - but a part of him couldn’t. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t make her give up the choice and he couldn’t let her just die without trying. " From Jaws

" 'We need to show them the dark, then? People can be saved if we show them the dark?' Lukas said unsurely - like a small child trying to understand mortality. It almost made Lizzie smile - the fact that he was so simple to think that anyone would be saved.

'Exactly that, little mouse,'She said, watching him flinch slightly at the nickname. He must have remembered her whispering that when she was stabbing him. Pity she liked that endearment. 'Because we cannot show them through the light, we will show them through the dark. We will have people’s worse and not try to fix them but accept them. We will let them do their worst to test the light, and when it becomes a standstill, we will know that we were right.' " From A New Gospel

"He was used to that question by now, and carefully he had an answer that had happened quite organically after probing people on what they wanted in a group. It was actually pretty easy to cultivate a sense of belonging when you’re thinking of why others might feel alone." From Come with me Now

"Lukas wasn’t sure why he kept doing this, sitting outside in the courtyard of the Church he once ran. Perhaps part of him did it instinctually, he had on many occasions sat out here after all. It was a perfect place to contemplate everything, the good and the bad. Maybe it also reminded him of those twilights with his Sire, where she wasn’t so scary. The gardens of a church had been a place of peace - the last time he had peace. So he sat there quietly thinking, his hands clutching each other in a pretend version of a prayer, his head bowed for prayers he no longer thought God could hear. 

Maybe this just proved  he actually wanted to pray and turn to the light, but he was already a monster. He was chosen for this after all. Salvation for Lukas could only be through the darkness, so he should stop trying to hear the choirs from inside the church. He should stop trying to hold a rosary closely. He should move from his spot, even if just being near the old church gave him comfort. He didn’t need it anymore, and more importantly he didn’t deserve it. Surely though he could stay in the garden outside. After all, Eden was the place where good and evil were hand and hand until it tipped. Surely the snake had the same amount of rights to wander the place as did the rest of creations." From In the Garden of Good and Evil

" Lukas wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with the vampire in front of him but he knew well enough that people were willing to die for a lot of things. He stilled his face, in a similar way he had the day he died not wanting to set off whatever that was in the other. She reminded him a lot of his sire and he wasn’t quite sure if that was a survivable thing." From a Comforting Face

"'I don’t think most of the people here are going to live if someone doesn’t kill me. If I don’t kill them She will and I can’t stand to see the blood again. I keep asking God to kill me and he hasn’t, so everyone’s going to die and the only thing I can do is kill them before she tortures them in front of me again. No one is going to agree to go through this hell or be a puppet. I hate Her and her games,' Lukas said horrified, his eyes wide as the words seemed to pull from him before he could stop them. He hadn’t meant to say that and as soon as he did his mouth clenched. 'What exactly did you just do to me? What was that?” His voice was harsh, arms crossed as he felt the burns on his hands itch. He didn’t like thinking about this, and he didn’t know why it was pulled from him. " From Confessions in the Dark.

"He really was beautiful, and Lukas couldn’t help how his eyes widened and he paused. He only seemed to remember to breathe when Cassius stepped back slightly arm still wrapped around him as Lukas’s brain tried to catch up with what was being said and implied. The smile seemed too lovely to be for him, and part of him wanted to step back afraid of the last beautiful person that had turned him into a monster. While he had only wanted to be Lizzie’s friend, this close he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be Cassius’s. Not when he was this close to him. Hell -  he didn’t want to be, and he really didn’t know what to do with that information. So, he just looked for a moment, and then realizing that he did need to speak if only for the other’s sake he tried to form words. Clunky and not at all possessing the confidence of a former preacher he whispered, 'I don’t want you to let me go. I really don’t. That’s dangerous, Cassius.'" From a Totally Normal Date

Credits (in order) @mortemoppetere @realmackross @nightmaretist @muertarte @disinfernus @singdreamchild

Quotes (x)

[ladyhoneydee]

30 Day Song(fic) Challenge: Day 23

Today's Song(fic) Challenge prompt was "A song with a color in the title", and let me tell you, when I was planning these days out, I had a whole host of potential songs for this one! Too bad none of them inspired me on the night of, lol. After some desperate searching, I did hit on one, though: "August 30, 2023: Super Blue Moon" by Sleeping at Last. If you've never heard their work before, SaL does stunning instrumentals inspired by all kinds of things, including astronomical behavior, and this one just has such a peaceful, calming atmosphere that immediately gave me an image in my mind for what to write.

Under the Bluebell Moon

Game: Twilight Princess

Pairing: Link/Midna (nonsexual romantic love, as she's still in imp form)

Word Count: 1346

Keywords: rituals, longing, soothing

“On the night of the Bluebell Moon, everyone in the village goes out into the forest and the fields, and even the hills, if they’re careful. We each pick bluebells, and we give them to people we want to show our gratitude. For us, they mean something like…” He taps his chin in thought. “Fidelity, I suppose? Although that doesn’t quite cover it.” He tries again, with more words this time. “They mean love and gratefulness for who that person is, or what they’ve done for you in the last year, since the bluebells last bloomed, and the promise to love and care for them until they come back next year.” ... "If we were in Ordon tonight, I'd pick some for you."

Read the fic on Ao3, or under the cut!

The air smells of pine and safety.

Pine, because they’ve bedded down in soft fallen needles beneath a Lanayrish fir, on their way back south from a visit to Zora’s Domain. And safety, because Midna is lying next to him.

Next to, not on top of, or tucked within. In these warming summer nights, her small impish body doesn’t require his furry heat to be able to make it through to dawn without waking up from the force of her shivers. He finds he misses the feeling of her cuddled next to him. Less from any sense of pleasure the action could give, although it’s nice to be close to a person who knows and loves him so well. No, he longs for the vulnerability. Midna is just so good at pretending she doesn’t need anyone; doesn’t want anyone beyond what they can do for her. And maybe sharing body heat falls within those borders—it certainly did at the start, when she practically ordered him to keep her safe, mutt—but these days it’s something far more tender.

Past the evergreen canopy, he can see the full moon shining down. It’s the tenth one since they began their travels together. It’s a hard number to believe: it at once feels like he’s always been on the road, has nothing besides dust and travel and stone walls and sharp blades in his past; and like it was only yesterday that he was sneaking out to Ordon Spring with Ilia in the middle of the night, not because they had any reason to sneak or even go at all, but because they were kids, and that’s simply what kids do. 

“In Ordon, we have a name for the sixth full moon of the year,” he whispers. 

Midna says nothing, but he almost feels rather than hears her shift ever so slightly to face him. 

“We call it the Bluebell Moon.”

“Funny. It doesn’t look any more blue to me than normal.”

Link can’t tell if Midna is being sarcastic—well, she’s always sarcastic, but more at some times than others—or if, due to the Twilight Realm’s lack of celestial bodies, she actually doesn’t know.

“The moon doesn’t actually change colors,” Link hastens to correct her. “Well, I mean, sometimes it turns yellow or orange, especially in autumn, or when there’s a big wildfire. And sometimes it turns red, although no one knows why…” He trails off. He can practically feel Midna’s raised eyebrow and smirk through the darkness. “Well, it doesn’t turn blue, at any rate. We call it the Bluebell Moon because that’s when the bluebell flowers surrounding the village are at their peak.”

Midna is quiet for a moment. “Tell me more about them,” she eventually murmurs. Her voice is tired. Link wonders if she’s simply using the tones of his voice as a sleeping draught, but decides that whatever the case may be, he’s more than happy to do it for her. 

He stares up at the moon, at the crags on its surface. Each one with a different story. Each culture of Hyrule with a different belief. Even if he laid down his sword and started collecting the wisdom and tales of Hyrule tonight, he would die of old age before the anthology would be complete. The thought that the Twilight Realm might be the same is dizzying to the boy who has always loved a night of legends around the campfire. Even after he became one. 

“They’re called bluebells, but really, they come in all different colors,” he begins. “Sometimes they’re white or grey; some come up lilac or pink; some are a lighter blue than even the most worn and washed sleep shirt, and some are such a dark blue that they rival the depths of Lake Hylia.” This is how they’ve always been described in his village, but now, having plumbed the great lake’s furthest reaches himself, he can confirm it. 

“They really are a bell shape, though. A dozen can grow on a single stem, and they all point downward. I’m not sure what we must have called them before Hyrule began trading with us and introduced metal bells.” He ponders this for a moment. So much knowledge has been lost over the centuries, as generations of Ordonians slowly distanced themselves from their roots to the south in the name of sedentary fields stocked with corn and goats. 

“I’m not sure about other places, but in Ordon, we have our own seasonal rituals at this time of year. One of them…happens tonight.”

Midna turns to face him fully. Her eyes remain closed, but he can tell from her facial features alone that she is listening. 

“On the night of the Bluebell Moon, everyone in the village goes out into the forest and the fields, and even the hills, if they’re careful. We each pick bluebells, and we give them to people we want to show our gratitude to. For us, they mean something like…” He taps his chin in thought. “Fidelity, I suppose? Although that doesn’t quite cover it.” He tries again, using more words this time. “They mean love and gratefulness for who that person is, or what they’ve done for you since the bluebells last bloomed, and the promise to love and care for that person until they come back next year.”

He pictures this year’s Bluebell Moon, in a fantasy that blooms with both sweetness and pain in his chest. The children in Kakariko, with no bluebells nearby with which to keep to the tradition; he can only hope that they’ve found another way to celebrate one another and the village keeping them safe from harm. Hanch, Sera, Pergie, Jaggle, and Uli trading blooms, in gratitude for keeping one another going through the hardest year they’ve ever had to face. Rusl perusing the flower stalls of Castle Town’s market for any bluebells to give to the Resistance, or to keep in his room to represent his far-flung family. 

All of them missing pieces, all of them honoring what still remains, all of them hoping that they’ll be reunited by next year’s bluebells. 

And here Link is, laying beside the person he’s most grateful for, so very far from home. 

“If we were in Ordon tonight, I’d pick some for you.” His chest twinges, warm and sharp, at the confession. “There’s a patch that grows in the woods behind my house. I’d love to take you there.”

“I would pick some for you, too.” Midna’s eyes open in the dark. Scarlet set in yellow, glowing across the few inches between them. The opposite of the cool, watery tones of the bluebells back home, and yet they provide him with the same feeling of comfort. 

“I can warp us there, if you want,” she whispers. 

Link feels warmth rush through him like a summer rain. Midna is happy to offer warping when it comes to the needs of their quest or his physical body, but it’s taxing enough magically that she rarely supplies for emotional needs. That she would give him this chance now…

“No,” he breathes. “I know you’ll need all your strength for Hyrule Castle. But, Midna…” One leather-gloved hand reaches out to rest upon her own. “It means the world to me that you would do that for me.”

She purses her lips in that old familiar way. “Not just for you, wolf boy. I…” She takes a breath. “I’m thankful for you too, you know.”

She doesn’t speak the other words aloud—fidelity, love, the promise to stay by his side—but he feels them there, weighty and warm, in the darkness between them. Her small fingers lace between his and linger, for once not pulling away.

Link doesn’t know what next year’s Bluebell Moon will bring. If his family will be reunited at long last. If Midna will be there to hold his hand. If he’ll even be alive. 

But as he stares up at the moon, listening to the call of owls and nighthawks in the trees, with Midna beside him, he hopes, and hopes, and hopes. 

[solmarillion]

what would you trade the pain for?

Summary: A fleeting moment in the last days of Celebrimbor's life, in the dungeons below Eregion. Even if it hurts to kill the one he loves, even if Celebrimbor has forever changed him, it is too late for Sauron to turn back. Inspired by “Love From the Other Side” by Fall Out Boy. Trigger warnings for torture, non-graphic violence. Ao3 link

Eregion has fallen to ruin, set ablaze, reduced to ash. There is nothing left behind but the scorched remnants of a world that could have been perfect.

(A time when he was happy.)

No, it never could have been. No matter how sweet each little lie tasted on his lips, how gentle each caress felt on the curves of his skin, how soft the words of love rang in his ears- it was always ever meant to be a distraction, just a stepping stone on the road to what he always wanted.

(A world forsaken, made beautiful again.)

What did he want? Mairon— Annatar— Sauron isn’t sure anymore.

And Celebrimbor is dying.

In the deepest dungeons beneath the once-thriving city, Celebrimbor, Lord of Eregion, is dying.

That pure, uncorrupted, kindhearted fëa bound eternally to Annatar’s ëala, as if the soul of an Incarnate could ever hold sway over one of the Ainur— but it did, it still does, and it fills Sauron with rage. He was not supposed to feel this way. The master of Arda cannot have such volatile imperfections within him. And yet, he cannot purge it from his being.

Give up what you love, before it does you in, Mairon remembered hearing once. Was it Melkor who spoke those words, as if foretelling his fate? This was the way of the world, for those who defied the will of the One. Even Mairon, the single thing Melkor loved in a world he hated, was never meant to remain with him.

And every breath Celebrimbor takes now only reminds Sauron of what he could never have. “You didn’t... have to do this, Annatar,” the Noldo mutters, struggling to speak, only half-believing his words. “Not to me... not to yourself.”

“You know nothing, Tyelpë.” Sauron smiles, his face glowing with golden light, an expression so familiar, a horror altogether new, sunshine twisted into twilight. “You know nothing,” he repeats, with more disdain in his voice this time, pressing the knife in deeper. Celebrimbor does not wince anymore.

“You will martyr yourself. You will die for a war your kind will never win. And all this time, you have never once understood me.”

“Even if that were true... you are still deserving of love,” Celebrimbor asserts, fingers weakly grasping the blade pressed to his chest, struggling to keep his eyes open. “And nothing... nothing you do to me will destroy... what binds us together.”

“Are you not disgusted with yourself?” Sauron is losing his patience. While he fights with daggers, Celebrimbor fights with words. “What would your father say, knowing you are bound to me?” Sauron tightens his grip on the blade, resisting the urge to plunge it in further, tears forming in his eyes. For Tyelpë’s voice is still musical, even as he struggles to speak; his body is still breathtaking, even as it is broken; his fëa burning brightly even when chained by darkness.

And his silver eyes are beautiful, even as they close for the last time.

“I do not regret having loved,” Tyelpë admits, “and maybe one day... it will be enough to save you.”

Annatar holds Tyelpë close to his chest— of all the things his beloved could say now, on the verge of death, nothing is more terrifying than this. But perhaps all of this pain will be worth it, Sauron tells himself, once he finally holds the world in his hands.

[cutebutalsostabby]

LESS THAN 3 HOURS LEFT FOR TOTK CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Ok, so: Zonai, Sheikah, Twili, Wind Tribe and etc. We're running out of time to post pre-Tears of the Kingdom conspiracy theories about how all the dots connect assuming Nintendo actually tells us literally anything about the game tomorrow. SO LET'S MAKE THOSE LAST FEW HOURS COUNT.

UNHINGED UNPLANNED UNEDITED STREAM OF THOUGHT INFODUMP LET'S GO.

The Twili/Dark Tribe

The lore of both Twilight Princess and Four Swords Adventures references a "dark tribe"/interlopers who were banished using the Mirror of Twilight aka Dark Mirror. TP explains that they were banished because they attempted to steal the Triforce, which doesn't technically exist in FSA except in the form of the "light force" that Zelda possesses. But given the lore is the same, I think we assume it's the same tribe and the same mirror - the only issue with that being the fact that said mirror was destroyed at the end of TP and is still whole in FSA, which takes place directly afterwards. I think we can explain this away if we consider that there were two mirrors in the beginning but one was hidden away in the Lost Woods - or, alternatively, that the second mirror comes from somewhere WITHIN the Lost Woods, like a Termina-adjacent parallel universe. Lost Woods are weird ok. And that's where the second mirror is supposed to reside, before Ganondorf goes and steals it in time for FSA, presumably inspired by the Ganondorf from OoT.

SO! Lore.

Technically there were two dark tribes that attempted to seize the Triforce: first being Demise and his minions, and second being the one referenced in Hyrule Historia, which triggered the Era of Chaos. I'm going to assume the Twili are the latter, since they were sealed away by the Light Spirits rather Hylia or any of the other gods, and also based on their humanoid appearances. Interestingly, Hyrule Historia doesn't actually make this connection and treats the Twili as a third and/or fourth separate entity. BUT THAT'S WHY WE HAVE OUR RED STRING CORKBOARD. So: this dark tribe of sorcerers, aka the Twili, were sealed away in the Twilight Mirror right about the time that the Sacred Realm was also sealed away, with the Temple of Time built over the ruins of the former Sealed Temple. That's also around the time that the Kingdom of Hyrule was established - likely AS A RESULT of the conflict, noting that as far as Skyward Sword shows, there was no real hierarchy in Skyloft and no strong reason to establish one once they returned to the ground. Major conflict such as the war with that "dark tribe" could have created that impetus, and if the light spirits of Twilight Princess were the same dragon servants of Hylia from SS, they may have chosen to serve Hylia's descendant - who then a) became ruler of the kingdom and b) gained ownership of the shiny new Mirror of Twilight.

Now that's about all we hear from the "dark tribe" for several more years, but keep in mind that the lore of TP is that Hyrule was continually dumping the worst of its criminals into their realm all the way throughout its history. In the Child Timeline, Ganondorf theoretically becomes the last of those, since Midna destroys the mirror at the end of TP. Except, you know, for the OTHER mirror that apparently exists. In the FSA manga, that mirror also gets destroyed at the end of the game, but in the FSA game itself, Zelda gains possession of it, because the Hyrule Royal Family can of course be trusted with such things. TBC how that all goes, and whether they mend their ways and reconcile or if things go back to business as usual re convict disposal services.

Now, a lot of people have taken the reference to "twilight" in Breath of the Wild as meaning that the game takes place in the Child Timeline, BUT NO, BEHOLD MY FLAWLESS REASONING FOR DOWNFALL:

The Twili were sealed away long before the timeline split. See above for details.

Calamity Ganon. First off: Ganondorf DIES in all other timelines. He gets a sword through his head in WW and a sword through his chest in TP. He's human during those events. Humans die when those events happen.

Yes there's FSA Ganon but that's a different guy. I refuse to acknowledge him. What: you want Calamity Ganon to be the direct canonical result of Four Swords Adventures? I refuse. I also refuse to accept canonical Hyrule Warriors Ganon. It's the principle of the thing.

ALTTP references a prophecy of the Great Cataclysm where Ganondorf claimed the Triforce for himself. That matches up very neatly with the idea of "Calamity Ganon".

The history in Creating a Champion matches Zelda II lore, i.e. that all princesses must be named Zelda.

The BotW map supports this, e.g. the Great Plateau is the location of old Hyrule castle, which was destroyed by Ganon long ago in the Downfall and Adult timelines. You can also see Zelda II's Labyrinth Island in the top right corner.

Other reasons that I won't be listing but just keep in mind that I am CORRECT, DAMN IT.

Anyway. So the relevant thing here is that the events of Twilight Princess didn't actually happen in the Downfall Timeline - meaning that the mirror wasn't destroyed and the Hyrulean Royal family was given no reason to stop using it to cancel people they didn't like. On the other hand: Ganon took over both Hyrule Castle and the Forest Temple during his own reign of terror, and it's pretty likely that he found the mirror as part of that whole process. Of course, the Downfall side of the timeline split says that Ganon was sealed away in the Sacred Realm, and that probably happened shortly after Hyrule Castle was destroyed. So he probably didn't get a chance to grab the mirror on the way out, meaning that it was buried in the rubble and either a) left there forever or b) dug up by whoever excavated the castle ruins as part of the Hyrulean clean-up project.

And that's about all we know about the Downfall Timeline's Twili, except for the fact that there are a few aesthetic similarities with BotW's Sheikah tech. Interesting, that.

The Sheikah

The Sheikah tribe are servants of the Goddess Hylia, and later of the Hyrulean Royal Family as her descendants, but they are also described as the "shadow" of the royal family, who are strongly associated with darkness - including the Shadow Temple and Kakariko Village well in Ocarina of Time. This, along with the aesthetic similarities mentioned above, does suggest some sort of connection with the Twili as a "dark tribe" of sorcerers. It's a weak link in terms of lore, but the other thing to consider is that the Triforce's existence itself was a secret during Skyward Sword and probably still a secret up until the Era of Chaos and sealing of the Twili. So how did that secret get out?

My theory is that the Twili were originally part of the Sheikah, but someone within the tribe created a splinter group and aimed to take the Triforce for themself. Maybe that was even the first incarnation of Demise's hatred? Welp, now we're really pulling out the red string on the corkboard... anyway. Let's talk about their tech creds.

BotW introduces a lot of fancy new tech, but there is also similar technology in the Lanayru region in Skyward Sword and the Tabantha/Castor Wilds (regional differences in naming lol) in Minish Cap. Zelda II lore also introduces artificial intelligence and artificial life in the form of the Guardians of each Palace and the creatures in the Great Palace, which were supposedly created by the Royal Family. Each of these groups could either be the Sheikah, or have some form of connection with them. Behold my flawless reasoning below.

The Wind Tribe

The Wind Tribe only actually appears in Minish Cap, so there's not a lot of lore about them. That said, here's what we do know:

They used to live on the surface, but moved up to the sky "long ago".

They had a close relationship with the Minish, who created the Armos on their behalf.

The link to the Sheikah here is the fact that TP's Sheikah Tribe (or what is heavily implied to be TP's Sheikah Tribe) has a close relationship with those living in the heavens. As of the time of TP however, that may or may not be the Wind Tribe. The only tribe you actually meet in the heavens is the Oocca, which brings me to my next point:

The Oocca (Minish Mecha 2.0)

THE OOCCA ARE MINISH MECHA.

YOU CAN'T PROVE I'M WRONG.

I CAN PROVE I'M RIGHT.

The Ancient Robots (Minish Mecha 1.0)

Look, more to the point: adults aren't supposed to be able to see the Minish, so as the player character in both Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword: you can't prove they're not there.

Long before the Oocca, the the Ancient Robots in Skyward Sword were doing construction work on behalf of the Goddess Hylia. They're shown as one of the "surface tribes", but someone would have had to build them. That someone could very well be the Minish - especially since Lanayru also has ancient killer Armos knights similar to those from Minish Cap, which the Minish built on behalf of the Wind Tribe. So maybe the things the Minish built in Skyward Sword were also directed by the ancient Wind Tribe as servants of the Goddess, and maybe those ancient servants of goddess were also the Sheikah because IF NOT, THEN WHAT A WEIRD COINCIDENCE, LOOK AT MY CORKBOARD FOLKS.

So anyway. We have ancient Minish with heavy tech skills, plus TP Minish who theoretically stay in contact with the Sheikah, and eventually we get to the Golden Era and eventual Era of Decline in the Downfall Timeline.

The Royal Family and the Palaces

Back to Zelda I and Zelda II.

After Ganon is beaten back several times, it eventually sticks for a bit. The Kingdom prospers and grows, using the wish-granting magic of the Triforce to bring about a golden era. But eventually the king starts getting a kind of bad feeling about things, so he hides the Triforce of Courage. And hides it pretty damn well, really. He hides it in a giant palace full of monsters created by the royal family, up to and including the dang Thunderbird, and makes it so the seal on the front door won't even open until this one guy with a crest on his hand sets gems into a bunch of statues scattered around Hyrule, guarded by other artifical monstrosities.

That's a lot of work for one guy. So let's say he maybe delegates a couple of tasks. Let's say he delegates them to the Sheikah, as the shadow of the royal family. This also makes sense when you consider that the lore says that Impa is the one who recognises the crest on Link's hand, then gives him a bunch of gems and tells him how to build a reverse Belt of Deltora (probably her exact phrasing tbh).

As for how the Royal Family figured out how to create a bunch of monsters for their new "palaces": well, either we handwave it as "Triforce business" or we look to the Sheikah and their dark history, including whatever the heck was going on in Shadow Temple and Bottom of the Well. Or we look at the Mirror of Twilight and associated forms of dark magic, or the Dark World created by Ganon, which also canonically changes the form of anyone who enters it without a moon pearl (and damn do I hope TotK brings back the Dark World!!). Hard to say who created the monster-dev blueprints, but the Sheikah and Royal Family probably ended up owning them.

Now it's worth noting that although Ganon's minions are a pretty big presence in Zelda II, the end goal is just to awaken the princess. That kind of seems like a weird use of the Triforce, EXCEPT if we consider that awakening Zelda actually aligns with that goal. Either because she has the monster blueprints herself, or because, from the lore, the king from back then considered Zelda worthy of wielding the Triforce herself. So maybe Zelda goes off and starts building an anti-Ganon defence force while Link does a Triforce handoff and goes off to fight Ganon's monsters some more. Or maybe they get married or whatever idk. Important thing: the Hyrulean Royal Family one more possesses both the monster dev ability and the Triforce. And by the time we get to BotW's long lost era of technology, they're doing advanced monster dev. Minish mecha dev even. Prototyping Divine Beast Vah Oocca and all. It's not such a stretch to build a giant laser machine if you've already built several Armos and a Thunderbird.

Only going to touch on them relatively quickly because I have a lot of thoughts that would derail this whole post, BUT one thing worth mentioning here: I have a theory that the reason why the Lost Woods shifts from the south/south-east of the map to the north/north-west is that each of the OoT temples contained an entrance to the Sacred Realm which were fought over during the Imprisoning War - meaning that the Kokiri had to flee. Given the Deku Tree was still young, they could feasibly just... dig it up and move. But the reason why you have koroks in BotW is that Kokiri can't actually leave the forest, so they had to take other forms. Anyway. That's not super relevant to this post but tune in for whatever other conspiracy corkboard I feel like writing up at some point. Moving on.

The Zonai

Look, realistically we know zilch about these friendos except that there are a bunch of Sheikah shrines and death machines buried alongside the Zonai ruins. It is interesting to note that the island Labyrinth from BotW, which matches the location of the one from Zelda II, has Zonai designs. Thus the extra string on the corkboard. Also interesting that the main Zonai ruins are in Faron, which could be the location of the former Lost Woods. I have a whole separate theory about how the Lost Woods moved as a result of the Imprisoning War (i.e. aftereffects of the timeline split), but at the end of the day, I don't think the Zonai are connected with the Kokiri and I DO think they're connected with the Sheikah and potentially Minish. The Guardians are Minish mecha, you heard it here first.

Anyway. That's probably the limit of my corkboard and supply of red string. For now, at least.

TIME TO HEAR SOME ACTUAL OFFICIAL LORE MAYBE WOOOO.

[thisloveforyourmom]

review of acotar: solid 4/10, read it all and DNF'd the second book because i got off the plane and had better things to do LMAO. it's not very good but its also not so hilariously awful or off the wall that it becomes entertaining in its badness.

feyre as a main character is really not very inspired. everything before her going to fairy land is basically katniss everdeen with sisters who suck more - hunting in the woods, starving, one useless parent one dead parent, sibling who won't/can't help them survive, etc etc etc. and her name isn't pronounce 'fairy' but come on. she doesn't really shine until very late in the book, but she's a mildly interesting POV so whatever 5/10 for her.

tamlin is a complete nothing burger of a love interest. there's literally nothing about him and feyre's interactions that is at all compelling. at one point he goes feral and bites her and it's supposed to be all erotic and i don't know who that scene is for, considering if you want a dark romance this aint your book and tamlin never does anything like that again. all of feyre's attraction to him is explained by that bullshit romance authors sometimes do where it's like "and i didn't know why....but i wanted to see him again" girl i don't know why either

the entire setup for the curse is so. contrived. like wdym it's a lengthy and complicated curse but feyre JUST SO HAPPENS to have met every single weird requirement EXCEPT.....she doesn't do the last thing needed to break the curse! and even by her own admission she didn't know why!

the worldbuilding is...a Problem. the high fae aren't fairies they're elves. idgaf. they can lie no problem, they can touch iron, eating their food is totally safe, time passes the same way in the fairy land, etc etc etc. there are seven courts because SJM wanted to bring up the whole seven is a magic number, but she does that by making them autumn, winter, spring, summer, day, night, and...dawn? why not twilight? twilight applies to dawn and dusk, why have we just totally punted the dusk court into oblivion? the main villain does that whole "i said i'd free your love, but i didnt say WHEN!! i'll free him LATER!! he can be freed by DYING!! -evil laugh-" thing except we already established she CAN JUST LIE, so there's no reason to play word games

rhysand and lucien are by far the most compelling people feyre talks to. i think SJM is good at writing enemies-to-lovers because it forces her to actually give them scenes where they find common ground and have meaningful interactions to overcome their hatred.

i do appreciate how she takes the risk of actually getting into some dark stuff in the end of acotar and the beginning of the second book - i thought feyre wasn't going to go through with that, but then she did, and it actually eats her up from the inside out instead of just becoming a woe-is-me-pity-party situation, so props for that. i also don't think many authors would have been willing to toss out the whole LI of the first book, but she committed to that too, so good on u SJM taking risks.

THAT SAID she did him dirty. i would have liked it better if feyre and tamlin truly just became incompatible after their trauma and were forced to admit that loving each other wasn't enough, but it seems like they're full sending tamlin being some kind of villain, which i really hate. in general i think his and feyre's relationship should have been done better - i could absolutely see feyre not loving him, but feeling as though she SHOULD love him because of what he did for her, which solves the whole 'i didnt say i love you' thing AND gives her a reason to go save him and then break up with him as well. overall he is just. really a nothing character until the second book.

acotar as a whole feels like the drudgery SJM had to get through before she could write the second book. it really picks up there. but not enough for me to keep reading lmao see yall