#this could've been full 'ordinary' post

[stromuprisahat]

Sansan is such an amazing Beauty and the Beast tale. I was meh about the pairing until I ventured into the fandom.

The best thing about Sansa/Sandor is that they complement each other beautifully. Whereas Sansa reminds Sandor of life's beauty and makes him softer,he's not afraid of showing her harsh truths and is the "beastly" defender.

To top it all,he will always keep his "beastly" appearance and retain some of his abrasive behavior - he needs to be better for himself and others,not softer,IMO. Some of the most generous, caring people I know aren't particularly sweet.

.

[vampiretendencies]

IDCNTLIKEDARKNESS MILESTONE EVENT ★

request; congratulations on the milestone. i was wondering if you could do a piece on this lyric, xi. "tell me how did i ever find you, babe, tell me now that you're never gonna' run" - heaven by the neighbourhood. just jj feeling lucky that he has his partner but also a little insecure but the partner reassures him that she not going to bail on him like his mom.

pairing; jj maybank x fem!reader

warnings; fluff, a bit sad, mention of depression

authors note; thank you !! & i love this concept, i changed the 'babe' in the lyrics to 'baby' cause i though it suited jj more. said i wouldn't have time to write cause i was busy but i managed to squeeze this out. this is a repost bc when i posted w the original ask it wasn't posting to the tags.

masterlist — jj masterlist — milestone masterlist

JJ wasn't sure if it was seasonal depression, or just a single day full of justifiable sorrow.

Always being difficult to process his emotions.

He's wandered out to his pickup truck going on an hour ago, saying something of 'needing a moment'— extremely out of the ordinary for JJ. The seedlings of his childhood, coming back to haunt him, moments seeming to strum in when he was actually managing his life for once.

There was this inkling of his father blemishing in his mind, 'your mama' always told me you wasn't gonna' be shit.'

And there were thoughts of what his mom would've been like if she was around.

Why didn't she take me with her?

Was I not good enough for her to stay?

Would she be proud of me and where I am now? Did I really fail her?

Do I look like her?

Why couldn't she have stuck around and shown me everything that it requires to be a man?

She left when JJ was so young, and he couldn't remember a thing. Never being able to wrap his head around that fact that his own mother abandoned him, so that meant anyone could.

His chest is tightening vigorously, those same stitches that you sowed back together for him with time, were bursting back open. He couldn't shead a tear, having wasted numerous tears over the span of his life from this deserted

perception.

Up until he met you, he aquired infatuation a chore for most to give to him. With you, it wasn't forced it was seamless.

The four corners of the relationship neatly folded together to create the most irrevocable, maximal and acme-like love story he could've hoped for.

An exact reminder of that is interrupting his thoughts upon his truck door slinging open, revealing a concerned you to pull him from his thoughts. Now, you knew better than to pester, you always waited for JJ to fully tell you what would disturb his usual mindset.

"Don't leave the door open, baby, get in."

He was ready.

His eyes were reddened from sheer discomfort and irritability, having lost himself. Red hat sat backwards atop his head, blonde tresses poking out of the sides. So saddened, but still so alluring. His chin was propped up on his hand, arm resting on the middle console. Welcoming your interjection with dainty gestures, patting his free hand to the empty seat.

"Been in here for a while, J."

He fears making eye contact, because then you'll see his bleeding soul; yet fully knowing so prior.

"Just had to take a break ... for a minute," he mumbled, speaking above a whisper. "Not from you but this shitty life."

He swallowed hard, swearing that the lump in his throat was there to stay, panicking in such a hallow shell. "But then I realized, that if it wasn't for this shitty life ... I wouldn't have you."

You sympathized for him, struggling to rid himself of the shedded skin his parents left behind.

"And I wouldn't have what we've built together."

Unable to resist any longer, he interlocks his elongated fingers with yours, squeezing in reassurance. Bringing the shared knuckles to his untouched mouth, innocently pressing sweet pecks to each bone. You wailed and weeped on the inside, his vulnerability was elegantly put; rich and tasteful for everything he was pondering on the inside.

"Just-just don't do what she did, my sweet girl."

It was always 'pretty girl', the 'sweet' being something new, describing the whole of what he envisioned on the spectrum of you being his for eons.

"Who?"

"My mom... just don't leave me like she did."

The mystery woman resonated with your thoughts, and two and two were finally piecing together. Your poor lover.

"Wouldn't dare do what she did J-"

"Don't know why you stay, but l'm lucky you've been keeping me around. Tell me how did I ever find you, baby, tell me now that you're never gonna' run."

He sequenced his emotions in such a jarring, heavy-load, you'd always be there to take away the pain even if it was just temporary.

"M'gonna be here until we have wrinkles.’

[punkeropercyjackson]

I'm gonna post my full Atsv rewrite in a few hours but first i wanna let out my rage at canon for making Gwen and Margo 'rivals' over Miles.They had literally no reason to hate eachother and literally every reason TO like eachother-Gwen wasn't open to The Mary Janes about her feelings because they were ordinary humans but Margo's a Spiderperson like her so she would trust her over that,Margo's got a difficult home life like Gwen does,Gwen was a gamer girl in the comics and nothing's said she's not here too,they have a similar fashion sense and as far as we saw they're the only Spidergirls who're both 16/15 so that alone should've been enough for them to stick close to eachother

We could've gotten refs to the Spiderman video games from them chatting,Gwen could've gushed about how happy she is to finally be understood by another girl her age(her transfemininity/Margo's blackness and how it makes them different from girls who're both white and cis and like eachother in important ways)to Miles in that one scene instead of Hobie being used as jealousy device,we would've gotten Margo being included in the Gwen and Hobie friendship because you canNOT tell me her and Hobie wouldn't have been tight as fuck if she was given proper screentime and a bunch of sweet scenes of the girls having eachother's back and Margo teasing Gwen for being a lil cringey white girl as a callback to her meeting Jefferson and Rio

This would've fixed the ONE problem i have with Gwen's writing and it's her treatment of Margo and the whole reason it's a problem is that it dosen't even make sense!And neither did Miles seeing Hobie as a romantic rival when mans was flirting with HIM more than he did Gwen!Who asked for this?Me and the other black women who have Gwen as their Spiderverse fave didn't,black women who have Margo as their Spiderverse fave did even less and i've never met a single Hobie and/or Miles stan who didn't think it was absolute ass!!!!Booooooo radioactive tomato tomato‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

[terrence-silver]

What do you think Terry’s bedroom would look like? I’d love to know how you think they’d look throughout the different eras <3

---

― What do we know about Terry as a kid? Born somewhere in the 50's, stemming from old money, possibly from multigenerational (very traditional?) dynastic wealth, I think his bedroom reflects that. Could've been a bit way too large for a young boy. Think colossal. A colossal Persian carpet. Colossal velvet draped windows. Ornate furniture. A bit way too lavish. Intimidating even for adults, least of all a child. Could've had all the airs of a rented Astoria suit for all we know. Like it was stuck in time, style-wise. Maybe a bit devoid of personal belongings, and while he might've had all the books, all the vetted, chosen and approved toys, all the trinkets, a spacious wardrobe full of tailored suits intended for a kid purely because his parents wanted to him to broadcast and image worthy of a Silver and always be presentable, I feel his room was empty for the mos part. Empty in a sense that it felt more like a lavish, extremely high-end, regal midcentury catalogue of a '''children's room''' rather than an actual children's room someone lived in; always tidy, perfect, admirable, awe-inspiring, controlled and immaculate and I think Terry was to discard of all childlike sentiments like toys very early on life because it was seen as unbecoming, possibly by his despotic father. Which in turn, made the room even more of a museum. A beautiful, extremely opulent museum, but a museum nonetheless. Of course, young Terry, or rather Twig, who came home from Vietnam to this, never lacked a thing, but I feel he wasn't really allowed to be a kid like any other kid, and he grew up in a bedroom like this:

― Of course, he carried on the taste for the finer things in life he was raised on right into the 80's and legitimately bought out a 20's brutalist Mayan-temple looking structure that was the root for a great many urban legends about it being haunted over the decades --- which might've been the selling point for Terry, to be honest, as I see him with someone with a very dark and morbid sense of humor. A haunted mansion atop of Beverly Hills which now, he in turn, can haunt? Sold! Of course, the very interiors of Ennis House which he presided in mainly, undoubtedly one of dozen places he owned, were extremely concrete made. Harsh. All bricks. All blocks. Shapes. All precise, measured, controlled and geometrical in pattern; which is, symbolically, a perfect fit for Terry, who is all corporate, calculated and a shrewd, Machiavellian Yuppie businessman in this time in his life, at the height of his game. His bedroom is just like that too, possibly even emptier than when he was a child, possibly Spartan, one would say. Minimalist and brutalist. Nothing much in there, except a huge, opulent bed, a fireplace and majestic square windows overlooking the skyline of LA. Everything is there for a reason. If Terry comes in there, he comes in there to sleep, which is a physical necessity, or to fuck, which is also a physical necessity, and practically meticulous and micromanaging as he is, he doesn't feel the need to put anything in there that might distract from the perfect order of things he designed in his mind. The result: a womb-like dungeon.

― Terry post-therapy? Reinvented Terry? Repressed Terry? Terry who neutered himself strategically? Terry who de-fanged himself to hide in plain sight? Dietary Terry? Green mindful Terry? Terry for a new, socially conscious age? Terry the Good Billionaire Silver? Friendly neighborhood business mogul retiree Terry? I think he understands the power of fashion, aesthetics, environment, suggestion, and he always has, which is why Terry in this period of time opts to make his Malibu sea-side home and by extension, his bedroom, look and feel safe. Basic. Nothing out of the ordinary. His estate is like a million other upper class estates you've ever seen anywhere else in all it's sleek Air Bnb glory. Nothing stands out. There is almost nothing unusual about it. He has artwork. He has a piano. He has balconies. And a wine cellar. A nice view. Wow. All the markers of wealth are there, minus the eccentricity and the sense of self, necessarily, which has elements of tragedy to it; everything is only slightly downplayed. There's a disconnect between house and owner. Even the piano he plays is only slightly too small for his size. His breakfast slightly too depressive. His connections slightly too fake. His dates have him going down to the wine basement to kick bottles into the wall in frustration. It's all beautiful and lovely and...expected? Industrial beige. Pastel. A scary type of clean and hygienic that is almost impossible to achieve. Terry is the male answer to a Stepford Wife. A Stepford man. His bedroom is that of a modern Stepford man too; minimalist, pale, white and cool. If Terry's individuality was nowhere to be seen it would've been in this period in his life specifically.

― Terry after he resumed along his old ways and habits? Turns out, Terry has been maintaining a full-blown separate mansion outside of the Malibu one entirely decked out with cobra decanters, Japanese historical Samurai swords, daggers, historic antiques and artwork, blades, armors, Kendo equipment, and hoo, boy, he has an actual lair he kept untouched for goodness knows how long. Maybe for decades even. Suffice to say, the aesthetic differences between the manor where he entertains the trite Tofu crowd and the manor where he invites Chozen over for dinner are starkly different and by the looks of it, the manor where Chozen is invited to seems like it fits infinitely closer to Terry's sensibilities as a whole and is just riddled with individuality to a staggering degree; a copious amount. Shamelessly displaying Terry's interests. All of them. Like has been using this house to collect everything he ever cared about, everything that fascinates him, almost like an overly eager kid stashing all those toys he was forced to give up way too early, doing so away from scrutiny and public eye and judgement, which is why it could've been so anger-inducing when it was broken into due to the fact it served as something of a safe-space for Terry; tucked away at what seemed like a forested patch of somewhere, all black wood and tiles, black marble hypermodern fountains, doorless walls, earthlier tones, veneers and barriers separating rooms from one another, this estate is avantgarde retreat and I figure the bedroom is just like that too. Finally, just as dark as Terry likes it:

[the-ratronaut]

Okay, so I just wanna ramble about some Alan Wake stuff. Particularly, what the fuck is going on with the character Thomas Zane and my theory on it. Fair warning, this has spoilers and also I am not completely done with my playthrough of AW2's final draft. I got a couple more chapters to go so if anything happens in the last few that makes me look stupid here that's my own fault for playing slowly.

This is a long post, so I'll keep it under a cut.

Okay, so what the fuck is going on with Zane? Every time he appears Tom has been radically different. We have the poet Tom from the original game, the clone of Alan from Control and the wild filmmaking auteur from 2. The games provide the explainations for Tom's changing background by saying the poet was a fictional character made up by the filmmaker Tom that he was taking the role of... but is that true? Personally, I think it is not, or at least was no, true.

There are multiple characters who still remember the poet and his works, Alan, Jesse Faden and Cynthia Weaver in particular. Now, I can't say exactly why that is with any authority, but I have a guess. All three of those people have something in common, they are deeply connected to the paranatural. Alan for obvious reasons, Jesse due to her connection to Polaris and Cynthia due to her connection to both the clicker, the angel lamp and Zane as an entity.

Now why does that matter? Simple, Saga Anderson and the Anderson brothers already showed in AW2 that due to their paranatural abilities as seers they are able to shrug off the changes in reality brought on by the Dark Place. Now we can't say for sure if this is true for all parautilitarians, we can say that there is precedence for it. If that fact applies to the three listed above, we can make an assumption about the truth about Zane.

If my leaps in logic are actually sound, then that implies that the original Zane was not a filmmaker, but was in fact a poet. It brings into question the current Zane. It implies that there must have been a shift in reality that changed Zane into a filmmaker. Now I can't say why this happened, there's a lot of failed plans that Alan had in the Dark Place and it could've been the result of one of those that brought about the current Zane... but that still doesn't explain everything, does it?

There was an ARG that Sam Lake put on after AW1 that centered around a blog called "This House of Dreams". It was about a woman moving into a house in a town called Ordinary (This happening 10 years after the Ordinary AWE). There's a lot going on in this blog but to sum it up she finds a shoebox full of poems by Zane and receives dreams explaining things further seemingly from Zane. The last of those dreams implying that the Zane we see in AW1 is not the original Zane, but a "bright presence" who Zane gave his body to as he dived into the Dark Place, using his last poem to create a safe haven within it for himself and the original Barbara Jagger.

So, that gives us a fourth Zane to account for, while also changing what we know about the Zanes we've already seen. This also implies that the Zane we know from AW1 was probably also a creation of Alan's as his fate doesn't match the one from This House of Dreams. It also solidifies the idea that the original Zane was not a filmmaker, as we see even more of his work. This all together means that no Zane we've met in a game has been unaltered by the story.

Not, what do I think this all means? I think there are at least two, but probably three separate Zanes. The solid two are the Poet who left this reality, and the Bright Presence who took Zane's form and is the one we know from AW1. Looking at the filmmaker Zane is where this gets weird. I believe one of two things is true. Either they are still the Bright Presence but they've been so heavily edited by Alan's writing that they are unrecognizable. Or they are a third entity that at some point latched onto Alan's writing for their own goals. If AW2 Zane is still the bright presence, it wouldn't explain the hostility and desperation he showed towards Alan, not unless Alan's rewrites really did change it to something very different from the benevolent diving suited entity in AW1. If it's a different being entirely, that begs the question of what the hell happened to the bright presence in the last 13 years. Not to mention why is the Control Zane so identical to Wake? Is that one some sort of form of the filmmaker that's still a WIP that Alan is writing? One where the details still needed to be filled out?

[sixofravens-reads]

Okay, some post-shower thoughts about Hummingbird Salamander (spoilers under the cut):

Overall, a solid thriller-mystery. Jane was an excellent anti-hero, smart and strong but still not so much that she could easily defeat any obstacle. A thrill-seeking office worker who's torn between boredom at her normal suburban life and a deep love for her family (though she tries to downplay it).

The mystery is complex, full of twists and dead-ends and doubling-back, but not so much so that it stops making sense. I love the settings - Vandermeer is very good at the urban-fantasy thing of making ordinary buildings or businesses into more than what they are. The backstory that's revealed throughout is heartbreaking as much as it is informative - telling us more about Jane as a person than anything she writes about the present.

I did feel like this book could've been about 50 pages shorter - maybe ending after Jack abandons her on the mountain, instead of her going to live in the woods for 5 years. Maybe she doesn't meet Silvina anyway, but after that climactic fight there's a bit of an unnecessary lull in the story. Or maybe after meeting Silvina she leaves for a few years, but either way it just seems like the ending is very delayed and a little anticlimactic.

I do wish we got more of the backstory of Silvina, Langer, and Jack's entanglement, because for a lot of the book even after we learn more about them, it still just seems like Jane's unwittingly stepped in some lover's quarrel. A lover's quarrel where everyone thinks one person built a bioweapon and therefore must never be found in case the finder somehow detonates said weapon.

Also, Silvina. She doesn't quite hit right for me. She's not mysterious enough to play the revered cult leader, or tangible enough to truly impact the story. Often I wondered why Jane kept going when there seemed little motivation to - there never seems to be any goal, even a vague one, especially since Jane thinks Silvina is dead for most of the book. Also, I understand the author wanted to ride the line of showing Slivina as a revered environmentalist and also showing her failures - she's a billionaire's daughter who, while her goals were good, did a whole lot of evil to get there - but at times it didn't seem like Jane even revered her enough to be following her. She was mysterious, but not intriguing enough to understand why Jane kept searching for her clues after the Larry incident.

I think since we know Jane is writing all of this, it would make more sense if she played up Silvina's mystery and goodness even more and the bad things were more subtly told to the reader (just like with Ned in the backstory).

Also, strangely for a book about climate change, it doesn't seem to make any huge statements about that. Like, yes, the earth does get very bad over the course of the book, but it's the same scenario we've seen a dozen times before in eco-apocalypse tales. Jane seems concerned by it, but also not. Silvina was definitely concerned by it, but for 75% of the book she's thought to be either an eco-terrorist trying to kill all humans or an animal-smuggling fake who gave up when the going got too tough and only managed to build a glorified strip mall.

At the end, instead of trying to save the world, she attempts to change herself (and Ronnie and Jane) and release a pathogen that will somehow make humans...care about the environment more because otherwise they'll be very uncomfortable? I think? I'm unclear on what the goal was there, or how it can stop this ball from rolling downhill. Either way, she most likely failed.

Actually, thinking back to Annihilation and Borne, Vandermeer's climate themes always seem to lean towards "humanity cannot save earth, we have to go through the apocalypse and be reborn for the world to be cleansed." Which...not something I personally agree with but definitely interesting to read.

All in all: a solid book, not one of my favourite Vandermeers (probably third from the bottom, I think, just above Dead Astronauts and Ambergris), but still intriguing and worth a read!

[imachildprodigy]

Ketterdam / Kaz Brekker x Reader

contains: angst, fluff at the end, bit of swearing trauma mentions

a/n: honestly ,i've finished this like three days ago, i just haven't posted it up until now. i haven't read the books so just let me know if there's anything inaccurate! enjoy!

warnings: swearing, trauma mentions, death mentions, angsty

word count: 1.6k+

You couldn't help but hopelessly gaze out to the bleak Ketterdam sky. Every night, although you had no idea why, you would expect to peer up to an enthralling sky, brought together with stars forming foreign constellations, the dark sky beyond the stars creating a handsome contrast to the eyes. But no, instead you were disappointed to be met with the dull Ketterdam sky. From the sheer light pollution, the stars had seemed to evaporated, not a single twinkling star in sight. The only visible 'stars' were the bright ones, but from further studies you were to realise that these 'stars' were in fact other planets. However, the moon certainly wasn't a let down.

On a full moon, the sky would become much more tolerable, the moonlight beaming down on Ketterdam as if it was thrashing its deadly streams of light on the city. The sky would light up, the angelic light producing the look of a candle in a dark room. Your early childhood years would be pervaded by the memories of staring up to the moon in your bed, wondering how the saints could've created such beauty. However, tonight the moon was waxed, and you hung onto the small crescent shaped light. Normally at times like these, you would think of your parents, and what you could've done to prevent what had happened.

The night was indeed a waxed crescent, except further out into the country, stars would paint the sky, if it hadn't been the middle of winter, with the bitter cold and the dull clouds. It snowed for majority of the year, however when summer came, the nostalgia began. The heatwaves you certainly weren't used to, but you'd remember your mother fussing over you when you came back from playing outside as a small child when they had occurred, your face being all puffed out and pink. When summer in Ketterdam came, you were nothing but enlightened to be looking forward to a heatwave, just to feel the same nostalgia you had felt every year.

Your parents had both been Grisha, and you certainly were expected to be one as well. Having both parents descent from Grisha heritage was almost guaranteed for the child to be one as well, but in your case, you weren't. Well if you were, you hadn't known, the chances were slim after all. You hadn't shown the signs of such powers when you were a toddler as your parents had, and no matter how much your father tried to engage your powers, no amount of training or encouragement could. This, of course, was before Grisha's had been granted the same freedoms as ordinary people, with your parents moving to the countryside to escape from being captured from the Druskelle.

Up into you were seven years old, your parents hideaway had worked. A small community of Grisha had lived just up the road, and you had lived off with whatever food they could manage to produce. Every now and then, there would be plenty of food dropped in front of your doorstep, courtesy of some kind Grisha without a doubt. While majority of Grisha had struggled to have farms with the small time period of warmth, there would be plenty of food for three months, and a smaller time period after that to enjoy the preserved food from harvest.

Thankfully, the village (if you could call it that) was entirely able to protect themselves. Not to mention, there was healers as well if there was ever to be trouble. So, when your parents had been captured, and taken away by the Druskelle, it was entirely unexpected. You'd had hoped that your parents were entirely capable of defending themselves when it was needed; you had seen their capabilities as Grisha. Your father was a Durast; and his powers were certainly not weak.

Everyone assumes that when your a Durast, your powers are entirely useless - this was of course, before General Kirigan had come along. What good would manipulating materials, or making flowers bloom do? The answer? Many things. Your father could've easily manipulated stone to be hurdled towards a large group of Druskelle easily if he pleased. He could easily move objects to be in his grasp; such as weapons. Practically, his powers included such useful things for battle and survival

As for your mother, she was a Heartrender. She was the only Heartrender in the village for all everyone knew. She hadn’t used her powers very much; as there wasn’t much of a use for them.

That night, when your parents were torn away from you, was traumatic. It was a vivid night, during the Spring. You remembered the breeze against your skin of that night as your helplessly ran out of the house, only in your nightgown. Being a child, you knew little of what to do, only to run up the road to the close community. You still had scars on the soles of your feet from the gravel puncturing your skin to crimson, but you hadn’t cared. The tears on your face had been wiped off from the wind tearing at it, your skin feeling oddly stiff.

This lady; you still hadn’t known her name to this day; but you leapt onto her. She clearly knew full well what had happened; seeing a child in such distress, tired, somewhat injured. Her face was kind, and her smile was sweet. She hushed you tenderly, cradling you in her lap. You looked beyond her face, up to the waxed crescent moon. But there it was; a cloud.

You had savoured this moment for what had seem to be a long time. It was cut short, when the Druskelle raided the village. The lady ran with you still in her arms, and you still remember the disturbing image of her worried face. The Druskelle were too powerful; she was an Inferno, and tried to ward off the Druskelle, but her attempts were unsuccessful.

A rope binded her body, and she was stuck; helpless. One Druskelle snatched you from her loving arms, and you remember being struck down into the back of a wagon; tied up. You had screamed for help, but your cries were muffled by cloth that they had stuck into your mouth. Eventually, your cries had become idle, and you fell into darkness.

You woke, being untied, blearing lights forced into your recently-awoken irises. Little did you know that you would have to get used to these lights for the next sixteen years.

"Are you even listening?" Kaz's voice drawled out. You were snapped back to reality, and at that point, you were grateful. Every time you had thought about your parents, about what had happened, you were sucked from what was happening right in front of you. You hadn't even noticed Kaz entering the room.

"No," you gulped. Kaz sighed, sauntering over to the window. The silence that followed was uncomfortable, and you opened your mouth to speak, but he cut you off. "I know you were thinking about your parents." You scoffed. "So what if I was? It's none of your damn business." The raven haired man ushered towards you, clenching his jaw and shaking his head.

"Look! It's been sixteen years! Just accept that your parents have died and move on!" You were taken aback; this man couldn't have been any more horrible, any more sour than he possibly was being right now. Anger, sadness, everything ran through you at that single moment. "Kaz! How dare you, I-" You stood up, and almost pushed him backwards by the shoulders, before he poked you hard in the stomach with his cane.

"Fucking hell!" You groaned. Kaz looked at you, in full seriousness; no amusement on his face at all. "You getting all droopy and sad isn't going to be well for our heist, especially with people on our back," he sighed. "Forget about your parents." You got up, not caring about the pain rumbling in your abdomen. "Forgetting about them is like me asking for you to take off your god damn gloves and stop being irrational!" Fuck.

You knew you had taken it way too far; you had expected for him to ask you to leave, or maybe even shout at you, but Kaz was better than that. "This is about you, not me." He acted as if he wasn't hurt by your comment, but inside, your words hit him like sandstone. Even you knew, you could see it in his bitter black eyes. "Can we agree on something?" He asked, impatient.

Obviously, you hadn't meant it, and he knew too, but you nodded. "Good," he began to wander out of the room. "Look, Kaz, I'm sorry about what I said, really." He turned around, his expression calm, yet significantly stern, and he raised his left eyebrow. "It was honestly just the heat of the moment, I swear," you blurted out.

He nodded curtly, yet still stared at you, seemingly as to take in your features. Your mouth fell agape and you treaded towards him. You looked down at his boots, as you were too worried to look up at him. Your hands trailed up to his shoulder, patting it gently, staring at his neck.

He was looking down at you. His cheeks grew hot, and sensed a sudden moment of idolisation. He backed away, shaking his head turning around, about to reach the door handle. "Don't worry about it," he disclosed, slipping out of the room and closing the door. You fell backwards almost, but caught yourself, and you shook your head. "Saints," you whispered, rubbing your hands over your face.

Kaz smirked to himself behind the door, but quickly composed himself. "It's nothing, he murmured.

[an-army-of-nightmares]

Porcelain Jekyll au

-

This is gonna be long so heres a tldr

TLDR: Jekyll gets taken to a sort of real nightmare party full of dolls, if he misbehaves they'll kill him and if he's a perfect gentleman he'll turn into a doll. There's a branch where he's rescued and two where he turns into a doll

--

•The au starts with Jekyll going to sleep, timeline honestly doesn't matter as long as Frankenstein, Jasper, and Jekyll are all around. Could start where tgs currently is? But Jasper doesn't accidentally wake Jekyll up in his panic

•"The Party of Dolls" is basically a supernatural nightmare? I haven't found a better explanation but basically it's a nightmare that's real and happening, while still "just" being a nightmare. It takes you to like a different dimension while you sleep basically? (The party of dolls isn't the only one but that's not relevant)

•The dolls invite specific people, they invite people who want to be perfect. People who dont want anyone to hate them or find a flaw. Jekyll fits this perfectly

•Jekyll is taken to the party. He tries to be polite despite being unnerved. There's another human at the party, he doesn't learn the man's name before the man gets ripped apart by the dolls for shouting

The dolls target specific people, but they can still take "fodder", people they know will immediately break the rules. So that their actual guests can learn what happens if they are impolite. The dolls also surround guest on all sides, and have them in the exact middle, so that the guest cannot just run out

•Jekyll is terrified, now knowing he'll die if he does something wrong, he tries his best to be perfect

•Unknown to Jekyll, if he's "perfect" he'll start turning into a doll. Ultimately it's a die or die situation

•Jekyll does start to notice the porcelain creeping up him, its be hard not to. He is very much (silently) panicking. But,, the more porcelain on him the more calm he becomes, the more he acts as if this is a simple party and nothing is wrong

•Eventually he reaches a point where he'd actively resist being taken away from the party, but still not fully covered by porcelain

A quick note, Hyde can't do anything about the situation. He wasn't invited and the dolls are suppressing him so much he can hardly even tell what's happening, or leave the mindscape. He's absolutely terrified about this because he can Feel something is wrong and everything is just becoming more and more suffocating

Now onto the branches! There are 2 and a half branches for this au!

Branch 1: Jekyll gets rescued

(Assuming this takes place at Chapter 11 Page 8)

•Jekyll is asleep on the couch, Jasper rushes in the room like his panic on the page except this time Jekyll does not wake up at Jasper's sudden entry. Jasper, noticing Jekyll is asleep, silently contemplates on if this problem is really worth waking Jekyll. Because on the one hand he's probably overreacting in his mind, but on the other Jekyll is really the only person he can panic to?

•He decides not to wake Jekyll, and wait until it's properly morning or noon?, now that the panic is a bit subdued he probably still has stuff to ask Jekyll

•He goes up to find Jekyll is still asleep, and Zosi frantically pawing at Jekyll's chest, occasionally nibbling him, and seemingly really wants to wake Jekyll up. Jasper tries to wake him up but it seems no matter how hard he tries Jekyll stays asleep

•Seeing how Lanyon probably isn't in the Society at the moment (and besides Jasper is pretty sure Robert dislikes him) and he's currently avoiding Rachel. Jasper cant ask Jekyll's friends if this is normal behavior. Why doesn't he ask the lodgers? Maybe a combination of they all seem busy and still being a bit intimidated by them? So he goes to his last best bet, Frankenstein. She's, kinda a doctor and has traveled quite a bit, so she may know whats up with Jekyll and why Zosi is panicking

Note: This whole decision happens in like a few seconds while Jasper is panicking

•Frankenstein does not ease Jasper's worries

•Ah, I guess there has to be some sort of tell, something that makes it clear someone is in one of these "supernatural nightmares" and that Jekyll is specifically in the party of dolls. Idk yet what that tell would be. But Frankenstein knows and thats all that matters

•They take Jekyll back to the attic, lock the entry, and make preparations for a rescue mission

•Frankenstein will be going in to try and distract the dolls while Jasper will be looking for Jekyll. Creature is there as plan B in case the dolls get hostile towards them (as Creature is fully capable of lifting them all up and running out of there. And the dolls are very likely to get hostile towards them)

•They get in, how? I have no clue. But they do. Probably a potion?

•Jasper quickly finds Jekyll and tries to convince him to leave. Much to Jasper's concern, Jekyll doesn't want to leave, and keeps brushing the danger off

Frankenstein and Jasper dont know much about the nightmare. Its likely all they know is that its filled with dolls and people who are "invited" are never seen again/found dead

•Frankenstein's distraction consists of pointing out flaws in how the dolls act. The dolls keep finding excuses, but eventually become agitated with her

•Japser notices the porcelain on Jekyll and loudly panics, attracting the already agitated dolls attention

•Creature picks them all up and runs towards the doors. Jekyll is greatly struggling against this rescue attempt, but once they get out of the building and onto the stretch of yard before the exit Jekyll calms down significantly

Jekyll did not actually calm down, but rather Hyde managed to weasel control after they left the building. Hyde absolutely does not want to be at this party, and Jekyll's struggling could've jeopardized the rescue

•They get back! Whatever porcelain was on Jekyll falls off him with ease. He's angry for maybe half a day or more. But when the doll's control completely leaves him, he's nothing but relieved

Sidenote: It seems reasonable that this whole experience would leave Jekyll with a fear of going to sleep. Perhaps give him something that can deter these types of nightmares? A desire for the comfort of another person, at least in the room, while he's asleep?

Branch 2: Jekyll fully turns into a doll

•Well either Jekyll went to sleep at his own home or some place where no one would think to look for him, as if he was right in the society they'd certainly take notice that something is wrong

•Jekyll fully turns to porcelain. Once he's a full doll they give him new clothes (the sand/beige colored suit I tend to draw porcelain Jekyll in)

Previously, Jekyll had been wearing the suit he wears at any formal party, like the ball in An Army Of Nightmares

•Porcelain Jekyll gets back to the real world. This is not entirely out of the ordinary for the dolls to do. If a guest was reasonably young or famous they'll be returned once a doll, to make themselves more known or respectable before they "die" and go back to the party full time

•Zosi notices something is Wrong while Jekyll is asleep and tries to wake him up to no avail, Zosi can't bark for attention and he's scared of leaving Jekyll alone, the few times he does go out to find someone he's largely ignored or avoided, or they misinterpret what the zombie pup wants. When Jekyll does wake up, Zosi immediately notices that it's not Jekyll, at least not anymore. Zosi knows he's supposed to get rid of any evil creatures, but this was once Jekyll. So the pup runs away and avoids him instead

•ooo I dont want to describe this whole branch? This has already taken way longer for me to write then I want XD, just check out this reblog chain about it bsksndks

•

Branch 2 ½: Jekyll dies

•Jekyll fully turns into a doll, however instead of entering the real world his real body simply dies. He's found rotting in bed. "Jekyll" however, is still in the party. (Fun fact, this was the original plan for the au)

-----

Extra notes:

▪All the dolls in the party were once people, except for maybe one or two? A handful? But it has long since been lost who's who. And it never mattered

▪Lanyon would not have ever been invited to the party. He doesn't seem to want to be a gentleman, and he knows too much about etiquette to be fodder either

▪Jasper is a proper candidate to be invited, and in branch 2 "Jekyll" is giving him alot more lessons on how to be a proper gentleman, planning to invite Jasper to the party at some point

▪The party always has a host that they cycle though, the host talks to guests a bit more than everyone else

▪Porcelain Jekyll gets to keep his new clothes when returning to the real world

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 5

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

The Qualifying Round

It’s time to VOTE!!

Hey guys time to vote! fics are below! It’s officially time to vote for the Qualifying Round of Chopped Madness! The structure is simple! Please rank the eighteen (18) fics, first (1) being your top choice, and last (18) being your last choice, in order of which author you think deserves to move on to Round 1! This ranking will also be used to help us order all the authors for the brackets for Round 1.

At the end of the voting period, we will announce the TWO (2) authors who have been Chopped!! If you are not Chopped, that means you will be moving on to the next round, so keep an eye out for that post to be sure! If you aren’t sure you can always send us a message to check! 

You can vote here!

Voting Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QLFJM7M

The 18 fics that we received for this round can be found below, or on AO3 here! Each fic follows the theme [Canonverse], includes the tropes [Fairy Tale AU] and [Write a villain as a good guy or a good guy as a villain], and has a central character focus on [Bellamy Blake]! When you vote, please be sure to take into consideration the USE of all these elements, because, as with all other Chopped events, the purpose is to select the authors who best utilize the requirements!

When the party’s over (Rated T) [Bellamy & Octavia]

Summary: Bellamy goes into the anomaly to save Octavia. What he finds, is a trail of bodies. {Or: a canonverse take on Hansel & Gretel}

don't be who you were (Rated T) [Bellamy & Diyoza]

Summary: Bellamy's forced to stay in the bunker, alone, for six years. Diyoza trapped alone on her ship. They find a way to help each other survive, because that's what they know how to do.

Straight On Until Morning (Rated G) [Bellamy & Kane]

Summary: Bellamy and his unruly band of Delinquents have been living life as they wish. Their days are filled with games and exploring while their nights are spent coordinating attacks against the dreaded Wanheda and her Mountain Men. It's all fun and games in a world where no one gets older.

But then a strange man appears one day and Marcus Kane provides a reality check to Bellamy that he's not prepared to accept.

Where is the path to Wonderland? (Rated T) [Bellamy x Clarke]

Summary: Separated from their friends in the Anomaly, Clarke and Bellamy find themselves lost in a world so different from their own.

The Sixth Bride (Rated M) [Bellamy x Roan]

Summary: For their wedding, Roan gifted him an antique skeleton key attached to a thin, leather cord. Rough, callous fingertips grazed the base of his neck as they secured the necklace in place. While his husband allowed him full reign of the tower, the key provided access to the only room he barred Bellamy from entering. He was never to set foot in the sole room on the highest floor. Into Roan's private reprieve from the world.

And to be fair, Bellamy respected Roan's right to privacy - for a while.

Gunning for Glory (Rated T) [Bellamy x Gina]

Summary: While on a routine mission for Kane, Bellamy comes across a mystery girl who points him towards a treasure trove that might prove useful for Arkadia, but danger lurks up every spiraling staircase. It may just be the distraction he needs, though, to get over Clarke leaving.

On the Ground and What Bellamy Found There (Rated G) [General]

Summary: Bellamy has a prophetic dream. An Alice in Wonderland AU.

to dream about a life (where you're the shining star) (Rated T) [Bellamy x Murphy]

Summary: Bellamy has been dreaming about going to the coalition's annual Camp Rock since he was a kid. The chance to escape his life and his step-father and spend his days travelling between clans and singing. This year, he finally has a chance to go--as a chef.

Murphy hated what came of Clarke's treaty with the Grounders, but even he knew it could've been worse. But that didn't mean he wanted to spend his time performing for the people who had kidnapped and tortured him. He could do it, though. He could sing at whatever the fuck Camp Rock was, and he could help pick whichever winner the Grounders wanted him to pick. He could play nice. That didn't mean he had to like it.

There’s Gonna Be a Party When the Wolf Comes Home (Rated T) [General]

Summary: “Dante?” she asks, her voice a mixture of confusion and surprise.

Bellamy straightens the nameplate on his desk, and the gold plaque reflects the dim fluorescent lights above him. He taps it twice, drawing her attention to the words “Dante Wallace” written in a fancy script.

“That’s what they call me.”

A Canon Divergent Fairy Tale AU staring Bellamy Blake

No Ordinary Apple (Rated T) [Bellamy & Josephine]

Summary: When Josephine awakens in Clarke Griffin's body, she has no reason to believe anything about her reincarnation is anything out of the ordinary.

Then she learns that Clarke was far from a willing host and meets Bellamy Blake.

She doesn't expect to become invested in their love story, and she certainly doesn't plan on risking her own like to make things right.

And yet, here she is. All in the name of true love.

Brother Knows Best (Rated G) [Bellamy & Octavia]

Summary: Octavia grew up in a cave, hidden from the world, with only her brother to care for her. He kept her safe, safe from a world where people like her, where nightbloods, were hunted and slaughtered.

But even with so much danger, she longs to see the world, so when a handsome stranger stumbles into their cave, she makes her escape to spend one night out under the stars.

But in just one night, she begins to wonder if everything she'd grown up believing was true after all.

seeds in silence (exploded in riot) (Rated T) [Bellamy & Clarke]

Summary: Seeds. Not the modified seeds Farm Station constantly churns out in unending batches. Genuine seeds. Earth seeds.

The kind of seeds that the scientists from Alpha will sell their souls for.

Doctor Griffin talks a lot about genetics and lost patterns, but Bellamy’s mind is a million miles away. He can get anything he wants for Octavia and his mom. He can make it so Octavia doesn’t have to live in hiding. He can bring the chancellor himself to his knees, if he’s careful enough.

i've got a heart in me (i swear) (Rating T) [Bellamy x Murphy]

Summary: Belonging was not a familiar word in the Book of John Murphy.

That was a fact that seemed grounded in concrete; what he wouldn't give to stumble upon a sledgehammer someday and be reunited with his bruised and feeble, but still beating, heart.

2199 Nights (Rated M) [Bellamy x Clarke]

Summary: Every day, the Commander Bellamy took a new wife and executed her the next morning, until one day his fleimkepa's daughter volunteered. She kept him entertained with tales of far-off places, sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise. . .

we'd up and fly (if there were wings for flying) (Rated G) [Bellamy x Clarke]

Summary: Bellamy and Wells are held captive and interrogated by the Grounders, and when he returns to Arkadia, Bellamy finds some things have changed.

The Storyteller (Rated T) [Bellamy x Clarke]

Summary: A heartbroken Commander, betrayed by her beloved, vows to slay each and every one of her future lovers after they’ve spent their first night together.

Bellamy Blake, the latest to be taken into the Commander of Death’s chambers, will try to save his life by weaving a succession of tales to the woman that lasts for one thousand and one nights.

How to Kill a Two-Headed Turkey (Rated T) [Bellamy & Octavia]

Summary: After everyone at camp collapses from a mysterious illness (thanks Murphy), Bellamy and Octavia are sent to hunt enough food for 100 sick teenagers. When they find themselves lost, far from camp, what else can they do but move forward? Thankfully, a kind woman took them in, but all is not as it seems. Anya's been waiting to meet these Skaikru...

simmer, simmer, simmer (Rated M) [Bellamy x Clarke]

Summary: When Sanctum falls to starvation, it is up to Bellamy and Clarke to find a solution. They aren't prepared for the horrors beyond the Sanctum barrier.

Chopped Madness AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Chopped_Madness