#thrall could have been anyone else and been better

[bookerdwitt]

also overwatch is crossing over with wow rn and let me tell you if i never get litch king reinhardt im blowing up blizzard hq

[aran-morinorea]

Tar-Telepta, Aran Morinórea: I want to hear about Annatar's Shit Paradigms, of course :D

...All right so here's the thing you don't get Annatar's Shit Paradigms because it needed so much groundwork before I can begin to write actual prose. But you do get this whole thing describing Annatar's interiority in the months after The Inciting Event for the whole au. Because I needed to pin it down so I can even start Annatar's Shit Paradigms.

--

Celebrimbor confronts Annatar - Tar-Mairon - about his activities in Mordor, gives him the “Your evil plans or me��� ultimatum, and then Mairon fucks off to go have a tantrum.

This tantrum involves: 

Going back to Barad-dur and killing some people who definitely 100% deserved it for sure. 

That thing where someone goes to a bathroom and splashes water on their face and looks in the mirror while leaning on the sink except it’s lava instead of water. 

Laying facedown in the fires of Mount Doom and rethinking his life. 

Causing multiple earthquakes. 

...Thinking about the joy of watching Celebrimbor learn and make things. 

Thinking about the satisfaction of working in partnership with someone else, someone as vibrant and strong and smart and wonderful as Celebrimbor. 

Thinking about going and taking Celebrimbor by force, laying siege to Ost-in-Edhil and putting him in chains and bringing him here and keeping him.

… Thinking about how strong and vibrant and stubborn and principled Celebrimbor is. 

Thinking about whether Celebrimbor would be one of those people who would rather die than live as a thrall. 

Realizing that yes, Celebrimbor absolutely would die for what he believes in, and it would be so much work to try keep his spirit around, and it wouldn’t be nearly the same as having him - really having him - having him to work and argue and play with - having his love.

Remembering that Celebrimbor still doesn’t know about the Sauron thing, and he might be able to keep it that way.

Remembering that Celebrimbor did not cast him out of his life unequivocally - he will not be the friend or lover of a slaver and an imperialist, but if Mairon takes steps to stop being those things -

Thinking about how hard it would be, really, to stop being those things.

Realizing he’s genuinely considering just giving up on the vision of Melkor.

Spontaneously filling the whole room with flames.

That was the throne room. He’d been sitting there, motionless and completely unresponsive, for four days.

There might have been people in there who will be annoying to replace. Mairon simply cannot care about it right now.

Remaining on fire while thinking about Melkor’s promises.

He said it was only a matter of time.

He said it would be better to put the rightful king on the throne of Arda quickly, and get back to the business of metals and fractals, than to fight a long defeat and be judged unworthy at the end, never having time for beauty again.

And then He lost.

Three times out of four.

As soon as the Valar bothered to interfere.

And maybe, at the end, after the final battle, it would be better, safer, to have been working toward His purposes the whole time He was gone, but -

Thinking about what would happen if the Valar bothered to interfere with his current projects.

…Thinking about how hard it would be, really, to be - in truth, even, maybe! - someone Celebrimbor could love.

How hard would it be to act within the boundaries of Celebrimbor’s principles?

He did not say “Believe what I believe.”

He did not say “Cease to be a monster.”

He said “Your policies are monstrous and I cannot support them,” which suggests that it is the action that matters most to him. That the problem is what he is doing, and not what he is.

Changing that does not seem so hard.

Perhaps it will be a fun challenge, like an arbitrary restriction for a jewelcraft competition.

And really - if anyone is going to change him - if he’s going to accept anyone’s judgement - if there’s anyone currently in Arda who Mairon thinks is right - would it not be Celebrimbor?

Of course it would.

Deciding that, you know what, Mairon would be willing to commit to Celebrimbor’s vision - if Celebrimbor will fucking commit to him.

This is so Mairon can keep him.

So that they will twine their souls together and be - be that partnership which is so full of joy.

Deciding that if Celebrimbor won’t do it - if he wants “Annatar” to give him this without giving anything in return - then - yes.

Then he will find another way to keep him. 

And it would not be as good, it would not be Mairon’s shining vision, but it would be something. And eventually Celebrimbor would see the value in Mairon’s methods. He’s sure of it.

When he’s finally done with his tantrum, Annatar climbs out of the magma-filled crevasse he'd been sulking in and goes up to draft the words to a wedding proposal.

[centuryberry]

lowkwy Highkey need to analyse those visions of the future and past Yue had like

You have no one else to blame but yourself! You did this! You’re the reason why she’s gone-!”

First of all I have so many guesses on who this could be I'm tweaking

“We shall leave it to the Four Guardian Beasts to ensure that balance is kept in the world. This is the only way to keep everyone safe. From them.”

Like those guardian animals guarding Nuwa's stones in LMK season 5?

From who????

Is this a celestial or is it not a celestial? Maybe Buddha or Guanyin? Or Nuwa? Maybe the Empress Mother

“Erase it. Erase every trace of her until the world forgets her name. I don’t care how you do it! Just erase it all!”

Jade Emperor dur

“Not my son! Please! Have mercy on my son! He has done nothing to offend you! Why are you doing this? And you! How can you call yourself a father when you’re standing aside and letting them–?”

Are they talking about Red Son here or someone else?

Sons: Nezha, Redson, MK, Ao something, one of the twins (but I doubt it)

“Look at what they’ve done to him! A pale shade of what he was! This isn’t justice, this is about control! My love, this is not the time to be careful. This is the time to –”

PIF is that you??

“Uncle! You have gone too far with this! They are just–!”

Nezha what happened?

Is he a thrall pls say nah

“I am sorry, my child. I have failed you.”

This is so vague 😭

Deadass could be anyone with a child and I'm too tired to write that my top 5 though: Nuwa, PIF, Empress Mother, Ao Lie, or literally any other parent.

“ – stay dormant through generations as long as the rings are secure and hidden. And before you say anything, this was because of your mistake. This wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t intervened! This is the best outcome considering the circumstances. For the good of–”

Whos mistake?

Also who or what's staying dormant? The Samadhi Fire?

Honestly the Samadhi fire prolly most likely gonna play a big ass role in this ice zombie apocalypse lmao they're literally White Walkers like the ones from Game of Thrones

“...seal…under the mountain…”

The Bull fam or Wukong

“ –spreading uncontrollably! It can’t be contained! At this rate, this will reach–!”

The infection

now for the futureee wtfd wjqkwbkqkq

"We remember. Even when Heaven wants us to forget you, we will always remember. Even after all the temples were destroyed, we still lit a candle for you.”

We know that was Ma about our girl

“...banished some, executed the others, and subdued the rest. We didn’t understand everything that was happening since we were so young, but we knew that much. So much suffering…”

The twins most likely

😭 give them their talkkkk

“...Island…Lantern…Moon…Scroll…find them all and release…from his shackles...”

Island - Wukong? Similar to the LMK series where flower fruit moment is

Lantern - Macaque oof he is probably been stuck their for centuries imagine waking up and your family's gone to shit most are dead or basically dead, your kids are grown up without you yikes.

I mean it's the same for the rest of them too yikes but damn the guilt from the parents is gonna be real

I thought this wasn't gonna be another major angst fic 😭

Curse you! There better NOT be major character death if any of my hoe's die PERMANENTLY like in "With a Little Soul That Could" imma find where you live 😭 and force you to rewrite that shit now

“Foolish child! This is greater than your petty grudges and old wrongs!”

Damn who we talking to?

“Learn your place, you filthy animals.”

I got nothing a celestial maybe?

“...even…fall…nothing lasts forever…never forgave…”

I feel like I should know but I don't

“Because I love you so much, I’ll give you a hint. What’s the lucky number? C’mon, babe, this is easy stuff! You’re the one who taught me, remember? What’s the lucky number?”

🤯😱

Xiaotian Fragment that you?!!!!

Or is it like those Tony stark pre death hologram videos

One of his clones?

Is it Xiaotian or am I tripping?

“...this world isn’t worth saving…”

Huh.

Lowkey highkey very ominous

Isn't that what Yue and LBD were thinking?

Can Yue hear thoughts or did someone say this aloud?

“Godkiller.”

Our Queen Yue 🎉

I cannot believe I am following another fic of yours 😭 I love it though incredibel writing and the foreshadowing is actually insane

You can't stOP mE frOm makinG My TheORies

Oh my god, "Little Soul" mention on a Tuesday morning???? I can't believe you followed me from the Undertale fandom to the LMK fandom.

Well, as a veteran of my older works, I'll briefly step away from my "no spoiler" stance to reveal this: Queen of the Mountain will have a happy ending. None of that bittersweet tragedy. It will have a happy ending. I will not kill off anyone important to Yue. The Monkey Fam will be together again. (Honestly, I wrote myself into a corner when writing "Little Soul" so I had to pick between forcing a happy ending or keeping the integral message even if the ending was tragic. That won't happen again. I've written so, so many fluffy AUs as an apology for that ending.)

Now, onto the commentary about your theories: These are super detailed! I love the thought you put into your guesses and your comments! We'll see how many of these theories come true in the coming chapters!

[lavender-romancer]

Winter

Ivar Ragnarsson x Reader CW: suicide mentions, conflict

You wanted to be his again, not owned by him but a part of him. But it had been so long since you'd felt close to Ivar that it felt out of reach as he descended into rage filled madness

”*°•.˜”*°•. ˜”*°•. ˜”*°••°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜

You were drifting apart more and more with every hastily made decision fueled by anger that Ivar made. He would curse you, berate you and you could do anything because you didn't trust that he wouldn't kill you himself. You knew something was deathly wrong when you kept finding yourself high on a hill looking over a rock face, moving closer to the edge every time and not feeling afraid. It was impossible to not feel that you were lost in the dark of Ivar's tyranny. But you still craved his adoration, his love and the affirmation that he only wanted you. All of these things would never happen now, you weren't good enough for him.

You needed him running through your veins like a sickness that couldn't be cured- a toxicity that fuelled your love and in turn, your hatred for him. You didn't want to need anyone, when you were younger your mother had always taught you to never need anyone more than yourself. To stay self-reliant and not let anyone control you but, it was impossible. When you met Ivar he was the son of Ragnar, a grumpy boy with no battle experience and a soft spot for you. Now, after 6 years of marriage you couldn't decide if you needed to try harder or just throw yourself on to that cliff face.

"It feels like he's trying to erase me, fade me out of his life and forget I was ever there." You told Helga as you sat descaling some fish with her.

"Ivar is… complicated, I'm sure I had this conversation with you when you started seeing him. He's a different type of person from us. Not as emotional," she tried to smile but could tell that her words weren't necessarily comforting.

"I was so convinced that he loved me then, that he would do anything for me. But he just wants power and money and meaningless sex, I just can't believe he deceived me into this marriage." Helga suddenly gripped your hand.

"This is not your fault. As you said, you were deceived by someone who claimed to love you. The boy has some kind of power. It pulls some people in and I don't know what it is but it captured you," She paused. "I think you should tell him."

"He wouldn't even see me, I can guarantee there's a thrall rooted to his lap right now." You clenched your teeth together and tried to hold in your rage.

"You need to let it out, your rage. Go to the top of a mountain and scream, allow yourself to feel it." Helga suggested and you nodded.

"What I really want is to have him, it's pathetic but I'm so in love with him it's hard to overcome." You placed down the fish and groaned.

"It will pass, and if it doesn't, meet someone else who will be more emotionally attentive. Ivar seems like the kind of man who needs other people's feelings laid out in front of him." Helga smiled and her dark rimmed eyes made contact with you as the two of you carried on with the fish.

Ivar was drunk out of his mind, two naked thralls sitting on his lap as he'd occasionally take their breasts into his mouth. Some days he would forget you were even his wife, you hardly saw each other. He wouldn't say it was an excuse for his behavior but it was definitely a promoting factor of it. You used to smother him, cover him in a blanket of affection and make him feel like no one could hurt him. Ivar didn't remember when that stopped but he also didn't remember when he began sleeping with other women. The crossover between the two was so seamless it made him feel less remorseful, as if your absence made his actions warranted.

When Ivar saw you walk into the Great hall he felt less than he thought he would. In some ways he was happy to see how miserable you looked, hopeful you'd come crawling back to him in pure adoration. Ivar couldn't think of a better way to gain a woman's affection than by making her jealous. Unaware of his ridiculous thought process, Ivar continued looking you up and down through his eyebrows. You could only glare back at him as you headed towards your room, but you annoyingly had to go past Ivar.

"You despise me, wife?" Ivar asked and you stopped in your tracks, sighing deeply.

"Yes." You said simply, even though you loved him you needed him to wake up.

"But… that's not. What?" He said confused, pushing the thralls to the floor, with a resounding yelp from both the women.

"What do you want, Ivar?" You looked at him with such disdain it genuinely surprised him.

"You cannot speak to me like that!" He yelled and you sighed again.

"Then kill me." You sounded defeated, you didn't care anymore. It would be easier for it to all be over so you didn't have to deal with the emotional turmoil of him.

"I'm not going-" he paused. "You are my wife! Why won't you respect me?" He yelled again and you almost winced at the level of noise he was making.

For a few moments all you could hear was the scrape of his crutch and the crackle of the fire, for a moment it felt surprisingly peaceful. You just wanted to exist in that scene, a beautiful fire with furs on the floor in front of it where the local children would sit and be told stories. There was such a serenity to watching children's faces as they listened to a story, they hadn't experienced the hurt or the pain. All they knew was that this was their favourite day because they could sit inside the great hall and feel important. Even Ivar couldn't take that sense of pride away from them.

"Are you going to say anything, wife?" Ivar broke the blissful silence and you couldn't quite believe how aggravating it all was.

"I hate you, I hate what you've done to me." Was all you said and he looked astonished.

"I won't have this bullshit!" He yelled even louder before calling for his guards. "Tie her to a tree in the forest." He swatted you away like you were a pest but, at this point you saw no reason to resist. Ivar would do whatever he wanted with his power and most of the time that would mean fucking you around.

Even the guards were uncomfortable as they threw a rope over a strong tree branch and tied you by your wrists so that your arms always had to be extended. It wasn't the worst punishment you could have got, you were surprised Ivar hadn't got a lust for blood when you disrespected him. He would continue to degrade you and debase you no matter what you did, even though you loved him it didn't matter anymore. Ivar was so consumed by greed or power or hatred for you that he couldn't focus on anything else.

Your heart felt cold and tight. There wasn't any room for any more love because you had given it all away to someone who didn't want it or didn't realise how much he needed it. In one breath you would hope that he would just come and kill you and in the other, you still hoped he would wait for you. That he would allow your coupling to at least attempt to survive. Sometimes when you were around Ivar, you would feel a tiny part of your body decompose. One part of you died because you couldn't hold on to someone who only wanted to break away from you. But all you wanted was to be taken back to when you were younger, you needed him, you wanted him and he would never be what he was again.

[sxypigeon]

Love Bombing

Wednesday x Enid

Wednesday wouldn't be a good cult leader, but she knows who would be.

A slice of life for the couple and their friends.

***

The mundanity of everyday life, though often dull and repetitive, can occasionally prove to be entertaining.

“Babe, I’m hurt.  Vampires are known for their thralls,” Yoko whined irritatingly.  “I would absolutely make for a bad ass cult leader!”

Divina rolled her eyes and pecked her girlfriend on the cheek, “Sweetie, you’re the laziest person I know, except for Ajax.  You wouldn’t even last a week before letting someone else take over because it would be too much work.”

“Delegating is an important life skill.”  The vampire crossed her arms and huffed childishly.  “So who do you think would be a better cult leader?  You and Bianca don’t count since you can just siren everybody into following you.”

Both sirens and Enid looked up from their phones at each other before simultaneous turning to look at Wednesday.

Since entering an amorous relationship with my technicolored wolf, I find myself unwilling to part with Enid longer than necessary.  As a result, I’m often among my peers, her friends, during our lunch hour.  Though I don’t usually participate in their mindless conversations, today it seems unavoidable.

Enid grinned her radiant smile as she nudged Wednesday’s shoulder, “How would you feel about leading a cult?  I bet you’d put Jim Jones to shame.”

“I’m flattered, but no I wouldn’t,” the seer looked up from her battered Old English copy of Beowulf and was momentarily blinded by her love’s beauty.  “I . . . I daresay you’d be a much better candidate.”

An exaggerated cough that sounded suspiciously like simp came from across the table.

“For real, Addams?” Bianca teased in a grating voice.  “Your girlfriend would be a better cult leader than you or Yoko?”

Everyone goes through phases as they age: in elementary school I was fascinated by medieval torture, in middle school it was serial killers, and most recently my guilty pleasure has been destructive cults.  Enid’s podcast recommendations on the subject have been surprisingly enjoyable.  

“What is the single most important trait of a non-siren cult leader?” Wednesday asked the table as she folded her hands on top of her closed AP lit reading assignment.

Divina cocked her head and frowned, “Charisma.”

The seer nodded shortly, grateful the siren had a few more brain cells than the vampire.  “And do I or the parasite have any relevant amount of charisma?”

“I’m very charismatic-”

“Yoko, people are just afraid of you because you’re a vampire,” Bianca interrupted.  

Enid giggled, the sound nearly as hypnotic as a siren’s song, and nudged her girlfriend again.  “I think you can be charismatic when you want to be.”

“Which is never.  You on the other hand possess the trait in excess,” Wednesday stated with confidence.  “Your gift for befriending our peers is truly extraordinary.”

The wolf was nearly vibrating out of her seat as she leaned further into her girlfriend.  “Wens, you’re literally the sweetest.”

“Okay, stop flirting for a sec.  We just decided Yoko couldn’t be a cult leader because she’s too lazy,” Bianca pointed out, skepticism dripping from her tone.  “Don’t you think your girlfriend is way too nice to manipulate anyone?”

“She is uncommonly kind and patient, yes,” Wednesday readily admitted.  “But Enid also has a drive to be exceptional at what she cares about, something the vampire lacks.  I believe that drive could overwhelm any perceived niceness.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment or-?” Bianca asked.

Wednesday slipped her book back into her bag.  “Simply an observation and a theory.”

“I’m gonna take it as a compliment,” Enid justifiably preened.

Tongue loosened by Enid’s proximity, the seer continued, “Aside from her personality, I also believe Enid would be a master at love bombing.”

Yoko petulantly threw her straw wrapper at Wednesday.  “We don’t need to hear about what you two get up to in your dorm.”

Why does Enid like this obnoxious tick?  I would much rather be there with her than here with this lot.

“Love bombing is a popular method employed by cults to quickly incorporate new members.”  Wednesday continued in a painfully even and measured tone, “Many individuals targeted by cults are social outcasts, those without families.  These people tend to be starved for affection, thus giving them that affection in high concentrations at the beginning of a relationship will quickly overwhelm them leading to something akin to addiction.  They’ll do nearly anything to continue receiving that love as a result.”

“So love can be a weapon?” Enid asked with a fang-filled smirk and a playful crinkle to her eyes.

Wednesday swallowed slowly, ignoring the blush trying to flood her face.  “In the right hands, yes.”

Yoko sighed loudly while rolling her eyes,  “Fine.  Enid, when are you going to start your cult?”

“I think I wanna graduate first,” the wolf said after an adorable snort of laughter.  “Maybe between sophomore and junior year of college?  Oh, what should my angle be?”

With no hope of stopping the flow of adoration, Wednesday spoke up.  “You are the personification of love and the moon incarnate.”  The seer continued, ignoring Enid’s- the rest of their friends, taking her love’s hands in her own, staring intently into her eyes.  “In a world filled with misery and pain, you would be an avatar of peace and acceptance.  Those blessed by your presence would instantly fall victim to your aura and gladly adore such a divine being.”

Silence lingered for a moment after the seer’s speech.  

Divina cleared her throat a bit awkwardly, “I know this is all hypothetical, but holy shit can Wednesday sell worshiping Enid, the cult leader.  Where do I sign up?”

“Underneath all that monochrome anger beats the heart of a romantic,” Bianca cooed teasingly, insufferably more than anything.

Enid threw herself at her lover, purposely almost knocking Wednesday over on the bench seat.  “Damn right it does,” she purred as she tried to hug the life out of the seer.

This is precisely why I don’t usually partake in these conversations.  The urge to shower my wolf with approbation is hard enough to contain without speaking.  There is no internal filter strong enough to resist the devotion begging to fall from my lips.  I can only hope my wolf follows through and suffocates me with her embrace and puts me out of my misery.

Whatever fear and mystic my reputation once held has surely been replaced with soft romanticism.  I fear I’m no longer as intimidating as I once was and perhaps never will be again.  I mourn the loss, painfully at times, but will gladly sacrifice it all again for just a moment of my wolf’s attention and affection.  

“How can someone so socially awkward have so much rizz?” Yoko groaned into her hands.  “You’re making the rest of us look bad.”

Divina rubbed soothing circles over the leech’s back.  “It’s not a competition, Sweetie.”  

“If anyone here has pressure to up their romantic-ness, it’s me,” Enid muttered, squeezing the seer once more before finally releasing her.  “I kid you not, she’s made me swoon before.”

Wednesday felt a wave of indignation crest upon her.  “You are more than adequate with your affection and love.  I doubt my sanity would remain intact if I were any more smitten with you.”

“Is no one gonna take that?  Really?” Bianca asked before muttering, “Low hanging fruit.”

“Are you claiming you were sane to begin with?!” Yoko shouted belatedly.

“Your wit is truly something to behold.”  The seer sighed and focused again on the only person worth her time at the table.  “The torment you inflict upon me is like none I have encountered before and, more often than not, leaves me overwhelmed in the best possible way.”

“Okay, this is getting a little too PG-13.  I’m gonna walk Yoko to her next class before she gets herself staked.”  Divina stood and pulled her girlfriend up with her.

“Make sure you get your head on straight before fencing,” Bianca added to the seer as she too stood.

“Okay, see you all later!” Enid shouted and waved as the group left the cafeteria.  She turned back to Wednesday and blinded her with a luminous smile.  “I kind of wanna skip the rest of today’s classes and torment you into insanity.”

“Mierda. . . Whatever you desire, mi amor.”

I never did make it to fencing.

[dingoat]

For BIRDMAN: alone, bound, break, failure, fear, future, hide, midnight, mistake, secret, wound. >3

[Answering for werewolf au Crow, aka Steel Crow, whose life experiences have gone on a very hard tangent to regular love-of-Ahuska's-life Crow as written by @koboldgirl ! I am still eternally grateful for having been allowed to bring him into this version of her life and astounded by the driving force he became for so many story twists. Banner image by @tehriel ! :D]

---

alone: How does your OC deal with loneliness? Have they ever been completely alone before? How do they act when there’s no one around to see them?

There's definitely a big difference between 'being alone' and being lonely. When he just happens to have moments on his own, I think Crow has a tendency to goof off, bop around, sing little ditties to himself. But actual loneliness hits him hard. He's so gregarious, so extroverted, without people around to experience life alongside, to care about and be noticed by and celebrate the silliest little things with, he becomes... empty, adrift, aching to find someone or something to connect to again.

bound: Has your OC ever been imprisoned or captured? What happened? How did they get out? Did the experience leave any scars?

Ohhh no. Crow had a very nasty experience being held in the thrall of a powerful renegade Sith Lord (who had used a butchered version of the werebeast procedure to turn himself into an Arkanian dragon), and was being used as a pawn with the eventual goal of taking revenge on Five. (Because let's face it, Five has a list seventy miles long of people he's crossed in his lifetime.) The Sith/dragon was using Crow to speak for him, and Crow was compelled to hold himself at gunpoint to ensure Thirteen's co-operation. It was an intense and nasty situation but, sadly for the Sith, he'd chosen a very bad time to play his hand- ie, when the boys were hanging out with Ulfran on a secluded island on Manaan, while Ahuska was having her early instruction in use of the Force and Blakk (stuck in fox-shape) was (and still is) invisible in the Force. So the Sith/dragon wound up having to contend with the righteous fury of a very powerful bunch, and ultimately lay in shreds across the beach, but not before Crow suffered pretty grievously. He definitely still carries some emotional scars from the incident; in fact, he hasn't brought himself to pick up a blaster since, which has not yet been properly addressed by anyone.

break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

I think the closest this version of Crow has come to completely breaking was very early on, when the little life he'd started to build fell to pieces under him- he helped Ahuska escape from under Nines' thumb, was dealing with intense fallout with Nines only for her to be killed by Thirteen, and then in his ensuing battle with Thirteen he lost his ship and his arm, and wound up with nothing and nobody. He wound up turning to the SIS, and indentured to them in return for being a test pilot for their latest cybernetic tech.

Naturally, that all wound up going completely sideways as well.

failure: What’s your OC’s greatest failure? Have they been able to move past it? Does anyone else know about it?

I think Crow would consider his lack of understanding of the reality of Ahuska's situation when held by Five as his biggest failure to date; he allowed what he hoped the situation was to overshadow the actual facts playing out in front of him, and feels hopelessly guilty for it. He wonders, endlessly, if he could have or should have acted sooner, just how much of her and Blakk's suffering he might have prevented. Weighing that up against whether or not he would have been able to stay with Thirteen or become a fugitive himself is more than he can bear. He's trying very hard to learn from his wilful ignorance to do better in the future, without really addressing or resolving his feelings

fear: What is your OC’s greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

Ooof, I mean it's not exactly an original fear but I think it would have to be losing the people he loves? It's not exactly something he discusses regularly or even actively worries about, but I think he'd just assume they'd... know.

Of course, he's left behind in the KotFE-future when Thirteen and Five wind up frozen in carbonite and presumed dead by the galaxy at large, which he basically deals with by refusing to believe they're dead and forsaking literally everyone and everything else in his campaign to find them and bring them back. Unfortunately his own concept of himself is one of the sacrifices he makes in the process.

future: What’s the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it’s a possibility?

Something something watching the people he loves destroy themselves something something rejected by them despite all his efforts...

Yeah um, I'm not sure Crow remotely foresaw the particular way his world crumbles around him after Thirteen and Five's eventual rescue and is floundering a little in finding a way to rein it all in. He misses them both desperately but feels like a stranger, an outsider in their world now, and it is not good.

hide: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it?

Crow has always been a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of guy; when he found out that Nines knew far more about Ahuska's werewolfy origins than she was letting on he couldn't bring himself to keep it from Ahuska, despite knowing the repercussions on him would be painful. But he definitely very purposefully and conscientiously hid his ongoing contact and association with her from the SIS while she was initially keeping low on Concord Dawn. He thought he was doing the same with Five later on, but in truth it was Five's decision to go with plausible deniability that kept him from wringing the truth out of Crow.

midnight: What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping?

I don't think Crow is typically the sort to spend a lot of time tossing and turning and dwelling, nor is he especially prone to nightmares. He has, however, wound up numerous times in situations where he's had his morals and loyalties pushed and pulled in various directions, and that's probably earned him a few little side servings of anxiety over the years. He prefers to take action, though, and has repeatedly come to blows with people who are the source any current angst. Bruises are far easier to fall asleep with than moral compromise.

mistake: What’s the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on?

I think Crow would probably say it was how much space he gave Thirteen and Five after their rescue from carbonite. He was insecure about how much he himself had changed since they'd been gone, and convinced himself he was doing them a kindness by not imposing, giving them a chance to adjust to a very changed galaxy and five years of lost time.

But in waiting for them to be ready to come to him, he let even more gaping chasms open up between them and the risk of losing them both- Five to the void slowly eating him from the inside, and Thirteen to Valkorion's empty promises- is very real.

I really hope he can rectify this mistake :c

secret: What’s one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Hmmmm probably how much he wishes Ahuska and Blakk were still living at Five's estate... and properly living there, as part of the family rather than captive, mind controlled and used.

wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What’s the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

HMM. Crow has definitely been through a decent amount of injury that he's handled with wild, gritted-teeth grins and cocky perseverance, hence his plethora of shiny cybernetics and the nickname Steel Crow. The mental/emotional wounds definitely build up over time and probably weigh on him more in general? But the worst he's been physically wounded would have to be what he suffered at the hands (well, teeth) of the Sith/dragon that briefly used him as a puppet. (Sorry, Thirteen, you might have taken lots of chunks out of Crow over the years but the dragon wins.)

Poor guy suffered both his kneecaps being broken before being strutted around for the dragon to use his voice... and once he stopped being useful in that regard, had his head crunched in dragon jaws before being tossed around like a ragdoll.

(He only lived through that thanks to Ahuska finally finding motivation to reach for the Force and discover one of her genuine skills, though in her untrained desperation she very nearly died herself in the process of healing him. Girl wound up in a three day coma on the beach, but thankfully all the boys were there to keep watch over her.)

[threerattsinatrenchcoat]

Kressa Bonedaughter Dialogue Notes

Overall:

Necromancer with a streak of fanaticism. She's called "Krustine, Mistress of Souls" in the mined dialogue, which... Ebony Dark'ness, eat your heart out.

Lots of references to decay and death. Definitely has a theme. Some religious terms during the blessing.

Not even the worms will want your carcass once I'm done with you!

I stitched you up just enough to keep you alive, then placed you within your crib - note the use of "crib" for pod

"that interrupts this consecration of the undying"

You are on sanctified ground.

It is not my blessing - I am merely a vessel for our Lord Myrkul's will.

Combos statements and orders with em dashes

I have no need for a thrall - you would merely get in the way

Go find Balthazar - he always has use for another body

Return to Balthazar - he may be able to correct your defects

Come - I will make better use of your bones than you do

Answer me - who are you?

Phrases

Tsk

Halt

And yet-

-, though?

By the Bone Lord/Bone Lord

How precious

This [statement], though [opposing statement], anyway

Surely

Why bother

I don't suppose

Let's ferry them

Swanning about

Beaten black and blue

It pains me

His shadow falls across you. Go forth and reap." - this is specifically used for the blessing, but Go forth and reap is too good to leave unmentioned

I did miss it - instead of "I missed it"

Cannot - doesn't seem to use any contractions

Insults:

Defective/defects

Poor, stupid thing

Compliments:

Arresting

Special one

Dear one - also says "dear General" in regards to Ketheric

Sweet one - a lot of "[compliment] one" in regards to Durge

Sweeter than

Curses: None

Placeholders: None

Misc:

Refers to thralls/corpses as "it", except once, when she uses "them"

Speaks much warmer to Durge than anyone else (most of the compliments are in response to Durge)

Recognizes Astarion as undead and calls him "pretty dead thing"

"Trying to pull rank? And yet not a word of concern for our dear General."

Lists observations and then the conclusion: General Thorm was attacked, the order to evacuate given. You should not be here. I conclude you are one of the attackers.

Durge Interactions (spoilers for Durge playthrough)

Referred to as a "hack-doctor", a grunt. She is the one who watched over Durge after they were tadpoled and became obsessed with them. Speaks to Durge with a lot of affection. Could be written as a caretaker to an invalid or like a lover to a lover

It has never been the same with another... All the other victims who come here just meekly obey. You thrashed, you fought, you were indomitable.

Adorable... I did miss it. Its simplicity, its fear, it thrashing its own head against its pod, cracking its skull again and again in a futile attempt to escape.

Bone Lord... you're the perfect being... All that is unnecessary stripped away... Primal... innocent... pure...

We're going to kill you, sweet one. But I promise I will stay with you afterwards.

I stitched you up just enough to keep you alive, then placed you within your crib.

I kept you as mine until you were needed by our superiors.

[mazahua-baddie]

Like a Moth to the Flames

Chapter 4: Song

Next: https://mazahua-baddie.tumblr.com/post/785267251268943873/chapter-5-attack

Previous: https://mazahua-baddie.tumblr.com/post/785166280578809856/chapter-3-rise

Violet's POV

The next afternoon, we were counting inventory as Mary and Stack were just hanging out by the bar.

“So we’ll need to order some more of that Vino Sangre stuff, some more lemons, and more coffee for the sober bar.” Patricia was holding a yellow notebook in her hand and had a pencil tucked into her ear.

“Okay, we can order that. What else?” Hernan had his own notebook.

“Well, we’re out of Lysol.”

“I hope the cabaret girls haven’t been using it again. Lord knows that we can only get so much without looking suspicious.” Hernan shook his head as he was trying to write something down.

“Why would they be-” I started. Then it hit me. “Oh.”

“There’s better things out there for that.” Mary was messing with her hair. “If that’s why they’re using it.”

“Yeah, I prescribed all kinds of shit to people for that. Pennyroyal, rue, tansy, Queen Anne’s lace….” I started.

“Damn, you sell herbs too?” Stack raised a brow.

“Sort of. I prefer to call them natural remedies.” I shrugged.

“You would have been my favorite person back when I was alive. I had to sneak in things to avoid getting pregnant by my husband. But now, I don’t think there’s any point to that.” Mary chuckled as she sat on the counter. “I don’t think I can get pregnant now.”

Ramiro entered the club, looking irritated as hell.

“¿Y viste al chamuco o qué?” Hernan asked. (Did you see the devil or what?)

“No, apparently our star for tonight got sick and can’t come in. Great, just great.” Ramiro groaned.

“I could step in for the night. But I’m not sleeping with anyone.” I told him.

“Are you sure?” Hernan asked me. “You normally don’t like performing.”

“It’s fine. We have to make money anyway.” I told him.

“Alright. You got three hours to practice, get dressed, whatever.” Hernan smiled at me, patting my back. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” I’m going to need it. Like a lot. I can definitely carry a tune and more but I’ve always been a nervous wreck when it comes to performing. “I should probably go figure and start to practice or something.”

“Yeah, also it takes you two hours to get ready for the grocery store so I would suggest doing both.” Patricia chuckled. Great, now I feel worse. Hopefully that doesn’t show up on stage or I’m going to jump off the roof.

****************************************

Remmick's POV

He entered the club after getting his ticket and making the bouncer invite him, ready to get his plan moving. He saw Stack and Mary talking to a woman at the bar. There were people serving drinks to others sitting on tables.

There were lots of potential thralls there.

“Buenas noches! (Good evening!)” A man in a navy suit came to the stage. “Our regular girl, Maxine, is out sick so tonight my little sister Violet will be covering for her. Welcome her to the stage.”

The crowd clapped. Remmick leaned against the wall as the curtains parted. The woman, Violet he was guessing, smiled as she came on stage in a forest green dress. Her hair was curly and dark. There was something warm and familiar about Violet.

It hit him like a pile of bricks. Líadan. It was her. She was back. Suddenly, all of Remmick's plans were out the window and he desperately wanted to run to the stage and grab her and leave with her.

The band started to play. The woman took a deep breath and started to sing in a different language. Despite not understanding what the song meant, he could pick up that it was a sad one, one about longing.

Remmick then noticed that Stack and Mary were looking right at him. At this point, he didn't care. Now he had to think about how to get Violet away from this crowd.

She continued to sing and wrapped up the song before starting another. This one sounded more like a romantic ballad. Remmick noticed that Stack and Mary were talking to a man and a woman behind the bar.

Violet looked at him for a moment and continued her song. There were people in the audience tearing up and one even let out a loud whoop.

The man and woman eyed him before talking to Stack and Mary again. Well, it was time to think of a new plan. Remmick started to walk away, heading towards the hall that went backstage.

Get over here. Any two of you. Whoever does will get the first pick of blood in here. He told the hivemind.

He could hear their thoughts buzzing. The only ones Remmick couldn't hear were Stack and Mary. They were one of the few who had been able to free themselves from him.

That irked him but it was whatever. Now Remmick just had to get Líadan back.

[mithraeris]

Minthara on her recruitment to the cult of The Absolute

CW: brainwashing, violence, murder, trauma Minthara (reflecting on her first encounter with the cult of the Absolute): A true soul came to my city preaching a message of togetherness, accompanied by two novices. Menzoberranzen is not fertile ground for such messages. I killed them, and hanged their bodies in my garden. Player (option 1): Decorative corpses. An interesting design choice. Minthara: I would have picked prettier corpses if my intentions had been aesthetic. This was a warning against heresy. I was not content with the warning though. I intended to wage war on their insolent god, and the rest of its followers. Even as the flesh sagged and sloughed away from their eyeless skulls, their audacity infuriated me. I had to know where they came from. And whoever sent them was counting on my curiosity overcoming my caution.

Player(option 2): They were fools to encroach on Lolth's territory. Minthara: I thought so too. This world is full of fools, after all. But in this instance, I was mistaken. Our visitors were not fools - they were bait. Player (option 3): Yet they recruited you all the same:

Minthara : Recruited ("recruited" with a shake of the head. She knows her "recruitment" was actually brain-washing). You could call it that. I intended to wage war on their god and the rest of its presumptive followers.

Player: You should have captured and interrogated them. Minthara: In a manner of speaking, I did. The dead cough up their secrets just as well as the living. All it took was a simple act of necromancy, and the corpses told me where I needed to strike - Moonrise Towers. Player: You mustn't have struck very hard - the tower is still standing.

Minthara (mild regret, and some anger. doesn't like admitting her failures): Despite Ketheric's best efforts, so are we. And we shall outlast the immortal general, and his tower. But he had the upper hand when we first met. I was arrogant enough to believe I had the better of him. As it turned out, to my shame, I was defeated without even drawing my weapon.

I came to Moonrise with a retinue of warriors and assassins - the best House Baenre had to offer. I expected a battle, but found a fully-laden feast table, and a welcome befitting a house matron. Ketheric expected us - expected me - and I fell for his flattery.

Ketheric proposed an alliance between Moonrise and Menzoberranzan. I admit, I was captivated by him.

He invited me to the head of his table, as his guest of honour. I was wary, of course. If I had been in his position, the food would have been poisoned. It was not the food I should have been wary of. It was the pale woman at the foot of the table - Orin the Red.

(regret and anxiety - she fears Orin the Red more than anyone else in the world)

We had barely begun to eat when she spoke for the first time. I only caught one word - my name. Then, quick as lightning, she climbed onto the table, a dagger in each hand, and skipped toward me, slicing the throats out of my men as she passed them. Few things frighten me. Orin is one of them. Ketheric held me still. His hand on my shoulder, the grip tight enough to crack the bone. When Orin stood before me, she touched the dagger to my eye, drawing out a tear of blood. I want this one, she said. Ketheric nodded his permission, and I was taken below. You've seen the horrors of the colony. Orin kept me there for days. She forced me to watch as my men were processed; some for food, others as thralls. And then she placed the tadpole in my eye herself. Player: You were too trusting. Minthara (Regret and sadness - she's being cruel to herself here, suggesting past trauma was deserved): I was. I deserved what happened to me, for my passivity, for my weakness. For my pride. .

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

TW: character death; blood

When Simon regained his wits, he finds no sign of the vampire lady that enthralled him. He also has no idea how long he's been under his thrall. He finds himself waking up to an empty, patchwork room. The walls were made from broken pieces of cement, assembled together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Thin sheets of tin metal was laid on top of the walls to resemble a roof, and barely managed to prevent exposure. Damp dirt, just dry enough to avoid becoming mud, served as the floor, with layers and layers of newspapers to act as some form of insulation.

Yet despite the lack of proper resources, someone ensured this post-apocalyptic shelter contained personal touches. Crayon drawings and half written lyrics were pinned on most flat surface. A mattress of scrap cloth was laid out beneath him, sewn together with wide clumsy stitches. And lying next to him, as if to keep him company, there sits a stuffed toy - its long, threadbare limbs fraying at the edges.

Simon woke up in Marceline's home. But Marceline was nowhere to be found. His hand automatically reaches up to his head, and his fingers brush the cold kiss of metal. She didn't take it off. Now, what could that mean? And where has Marcy gone? And why hasn't she come back?

He jumps to his feet, storms out the shelter, and runs - runs - runs. The sweet whispers of frost - no, shut up! Shut up! Something is wrong! He needs to go. Where? He doesn't - the Empress. She would know! He reaches into the Crown, pushing past its cold promises and seizes the heart of its power. He summons a howling wind that nearly knocks him off his feet before it carries him up and over and far - further - faster!

The sun is a sliver of orange in the horizon. The stars are already twinkling in the indigo sky. And perhaps, it would have been better if light had completely abandoned him - the whole damn universe already saw fit to forsake him, why not light as well? A shroud of immutable darkness would have shielded him from... from...

Simon never reaches the Empress - never finds her in whatever den of depravity she dug for herself. As a self-styled expert on lost and forgotten things, he is doomed to find precisely what he's looking for.

He spies an abandoned camp - torn tents and tossed supplies. He hears screaming - men, women, children. No, that's not important. No. There - pressed against the trees all broken and bent, there is a little girl. Except, she's not so little anymore. It's been years. He left her. He left her.

She was supposed to be safe.

He lands, soft as if afraid to wake her. But her eyes are wide open, staring sightlessly into the distance. A sharp thing - he cannot look. Her shirt is soaked through - there's so much. Her hand holds a stake - she hasn't let go.

Time stops for Simon Petrikov. His thoughts fade to depthless black. His body becomes a distant memory. The world dissolves around him like snowflake melting in his palm.

It's dark now. The sun sunk a long, long time ago. In the lack of light, he could almost, almost believe that he was looking at someone else - anyone else. This could be another girl with black hair, pointed ears, and grey skin. This could be another daughter of a different man.

The axe damns him. Its sharp blade nestled deep into her chest, sliding straight into the tree. The axe is bright red and sharper than the Devil's tongue.

She was supposed to be safe.

She was supposed to be protected.

She was supposed to have her father.

tHe CrOwn HuMS.

It sears with power, balancing on a precipice, awaiting his command. He only needs to ask. His will be done.

A branch snaps to his left. The bushes rustle as a creature leaps out, long fangs ready to sink into its next meal. Poor thing. It freezes mid-air, neither feet will ever touch the ground again.

Frost begins to sweep and curl across the ground. It swallows whole everything it touches - every leaf, every worm, every creature in its path. It crawls through the veins, solidfying lungs, entombing hearts. The living and the dead and everything else in between - all turn to ice.

No one is screaming now.

Simon grabs hold of the axe. His fingers brush against the embedded strings - her work, undoubtedly. He grits his teeth, letting every curse and cry rot within his throat. He pulls.

How does that old saying go? When hell freezes over? Well.

Simon can answer that one, can't he?

[heyitschartic]

I've been sitting on a cape for a while that I really love but just haven't gotten around to doing anything with. An ex-Heartbreaker thrall who is trying to hold onto the pieces of her life after Imp killed him. She gets put in the Parahumans asylum, for obvious reason, and is getting psychological assistance to hopefully deal with having her emotions all hollowed out. But she can't help but see enemies in everyone, doesn't trust her own feelings and judgement, and ultimately triggers from the realization she is never getting better.

She gets a thinker power that guides her actions by recreating feelings of comfort. She sees bright colors to know where she should go, feels soft velvet when she should take something, hears bright music down a hallway she should go down, etc. Possibly thought about slapping a trump power on too, still unsure on that

Part of the reason I never got around to her was because I realized this is just Harley Quinn. The other part is because i needed to gen a bunch of capes csuse she moves to Florida right after.l and gets involved in a lot of stuff. Still, I love her, just this flaming burnout heading towards oblivion. Weird how a lot of my OCs end up that way...

I let me power take me, and the world focused down into what I needed to see. What I needed to know.

The broken pool cue in my hand felt like silk, and for a second, I could see the reflection of Nikos in the officer's helmet. He wore the same smile he always did, the same confidence to his face, the same pressure in his gaze. It was the smile of a man that just made you want to love him.

For just that one moment, high on coke and drunk on wine, I remembered something I'd forgotten. Something that had gripped my heart and been pushed down again and again. Like junk tucked into drawers, dirty clothes shoved in a closet, my thoughts and feelings sealed up tight in a deep dark box.

I hated Nikos Vasil more than I had hated anyone else in my entire fucking life.

[itsalwayswellattheworldsend]

Book 2 Chapter 35 - Ralph Cometh To the Vale of the Tower

Text Audio

Synopsis:

Ralph comes to the Vale/Dale of the tower.

Summary:

"I have cheapened a likely thrall of Morfinn the Unmanned, and he is a gift to thee; and he hath given out that he is no ill player with the spear after the fashion of them of the west; and we are going to prove his word here in this meadow presently."

[1] In the morning, Ralph got up and saw the sun was shining brightly, so he threw on his shirt and immediately went out, turning eastward. He was hardly awake and at first through that the clouds on the eastern horizon were still thick after the previous night’s haze, but when his eyes cleared he realized that what he had thought was clouds was actually a huge wall of mountains, black and terrible, that rose up sharp and clear in the morning air, for there was neither cloud nor mist anywhere in the sky.

Ralph, although not used to the sight of great mountains, felt his heart rise rather than fall at the sight of them. He said: “Surely, there is something new for me beyond them, life or death: fair fame or the forgetting of all men.”[2] And for a long time, he could not look away from them.

As he was looking, Captain Otter came up to him and said: “Well, Knight, you have seen them this morning, even if you die before nightfall.”

“What do you think lies beyond them?”

“None of us really know,” said Otter. “Sometimes I think that if one were to cross them, there would be another great plain, like this one. Sometimes I think that there is nothing but mountains and more mountains beyond, like the waves of a huge stone sea. Sometimes I think that you’d come to the end of the world, a place that’s just a ledge and nothing below it but darkness and howling winds. Mostly I think that all those of us who lived in these parts would be nicer people and better off if that terrible wall were far away from us. It is as if we were thralls of the great mountains.”

Ralph said: “Is this the Wall of the World then?”

“It may be,” said Otter, “but sometimes, there is something else called by that name, which no one living among us has seen. It’s part of the tale of the seekers for the Well at the World’s End, which we spoke of the other day.”

“And the Dry Tree,” said Ralph, “do you know about that?”

“We have, not very far from Utterbol—and on this side of the mountains, a tree of great respect. But I have heard old men say that it is just a trinket, a glimpse of the one that is actually near the Well at the World’s End. But now hurry up and get dressed, we need to get on the road soon.”

“One last thing,” said Ralph; “you said that no one living among you has seen the Wall of the World?”

“No one alive; what the dead might see is another question.”

“But don’t you know of anyone from this land who has sought the Well, since it’s so close?”

“There have been those,” said Otter, “but if they found it, they found something beyond it, or else came west again by some other other road than through Utterbol, for none have ever come back to us.”[3]

Then he turned and went on, and David came up, alongside someone bringing food. David said: “Now, you lucky one, here is your breakfast! We’ll be leaving soon, so put on your clothes and eat up. Have you been looking at the mountains?”

“Yes,” said Ralph, “and the sight of them has done as little to hurt my mood as it has yours; you seem chipper this morning.”

David nodded and smiled and looked so happy that Ralph wondered if something were going on. Then he went to his tent and got dressed and ate his breakfast, then mounted his horse and rode along between two armed men, together with Otter, as David had ridden forward to speak with the Lord. Otter talked cheerfully, but Ralph hardly listened at times, his eyes always on the mountains. He could see that although they were so dark and filled up so much of the sky to the east, they were so far away that he could hardly see any detail, just that they were dark blue and huge, rising up one after another.

They rode like this through the hill country, until about two hours before noon, as they came over the brow of a long hill, they stood before a shallow dale, nicer-looking than anything else they had seen in the land. It was grassy and a little river ran through it, from which came little canals, so that much of the valley was a water meadow, and there were many cows and sheep grazing. There were willows around the banks of the river, and in one of its bends was a farm and its buildings, with many roofs half-hidden by groups of tall elm trees. There were other houses around in the vale, two or three cottages on the lower slope of the hill they were on, and another half-dozen or so around the farm buildings. Past all these and above them, on a mound somewhat away from the river and farmland, was a great square tower, with defenses and a walled yard, all set up for war, and with a banner of the Lord’s flying from it. But between the tower and the river stood a great pavilion of snow-white cloth striped with gold and purple, and around it were more tents, as though a little army had come into the valley.

So as they looked at this beautiful place, Otter stood up in his stirrups and threw his hands up in joy, crying out “Now, young knight, now we are home! How do you like my Lord’s land?”

“It’s a beautiful land,” said Ralph; “But has some army come to challenge your Lord for it? Whose tents are those?”

Otter laughed, saying: “No, no, it has not come to that yet. That’s my Lord’s wife, who has come to meet him—but in love, not battle—not yet at least. Though, I won’t say that the cup of love they share is overflowing. But it’s not mine to talk about, even if you are to be my brother-in-arms, since we’ll be tilting together soon. Look! there’s the tilt-yard, lad.”

He pointed to the broad, green meadow, but Ralph said: “How can you, a free man, be brothers-in-arms with a thrall?”

“Don��t let that bother you,” said Otter, “for I was once like you. Indeed, I still am, but I have the habit of staying cool in battle, which makes me valuable to my Lord, so that I’m treated quite well. In truth, free folk in my Lord’s land mean little, since they usually have to do what my Lord and his thralls tell them to. Indeed, brother, it is we who have the wits and luck to rise above the whippings and the shackles that are the greatest men around here. I say ‘we,’ because I think that you will do just as well. You have a lucky look in your eyes, and let’s put that to the test today.”

As he spoke, many glittering figures came out from the tents, and there was the sound of horns and the clashing of cymbals, and the traveling group’s horns answered with a sound of welcome. Then Ralph saw a man in golden armor of a strange, foreign design, sitting on a huge black horse beside the Lord’s palanquin.

Otter said: “Look! My lord, armed and on horseback, goes to meet my lady. She likes to see him like that, though just between you and me, he’s no great fighter. Not that he needs to be, since he has us for his defense.

Then they came onto the raised road that ran through the green meadows, and soon they stopped in front of the pavilion, standing in a half-circle facing about forty brightly-dressed warriors who had come with the Lady, and a crowd of people from her household. Then the Lord got off his horse and stood in his golden armor, and all the horns and other instruments began to play, and out of the great tent came the Lady with about ten of her women, dressed brightly in silk gowns in green, blue, and yellow, embroidered with silver and gold, but barefoot, and with iron rings on their arms, so that Ralph could tell they were slaves.[4] Something told him that the woman he sought would be among them, so he looked hard but—though they were pretty—there was no one like her.

As for the Queen, she was dressed in fine linen and gold, with gold shoes on her feet. Her arms were bare, and they were large, with large hands, but well-shaped and very white and rosy. Her hair was as yellow as hair can be, and it was plentiful, cascading down around her. Her eyes were blue and set wide apart, her nose a little  snubbed, and her mouth wide with full, smiling lips. She was very tall, a half-head taller than any of her women, and even about as tall as an above-average man.[5]

She came forward quickly with long strides and knelt before the Lord, but even as she kneeled she looked around with a smiling face. The Lord stooped down and took her by the hands, raised her up, and kissed her on the cheek, and he looked plain and unimpressive compared to her.[6]

He said: “Greetings to you, my Lady! You’ve come far from your home to see me, and I thank you for that. Is everything well with our House?”

She spoke, seeming carelessly and loud, and her voice was somewhat husky: “Yes, my Lord, all is well; things are in order and the harvest has been plentiful.” As she spoke, the Lord furrowed his brow and looked at the women behind her, as if looking for something. The Lady noted his gaze, smiling and seeming to redden in merriment.

But the Lord was silent for a while, and then his face cleared and he said: “Yes, Lady, you are thanked for coming to meet us, and your timing is good, since there is food and sport ready for you; I have bought a promising thrall from Morfinn the Unmanned, and he is a gift to you. Furthermore, he has said that he is good with a spear, like others from the west, and we are going to test his claims here in this meadow shortly.”

The Lady’s face grew happy, and she said, looking toward the ring of newcomers: “Yes, Lord, and which of these is he? If he’s here, that is.”

 The Lord turned a little to point at Ralph, but the Lady’s eyes had already found him, who was now blushing shyly for being shown off to such a great lady; but as for her, she flushed bright red all over her face and chest, and she looked away, her eyes growing troubled.

But the Lord said: “That’s the young man, in the green coat and without a sword. He looks promising, if he has not lied about his skill. And he can sing for you as well, tell old sad stories, and do all the other things nobles of the westlands are trained to do. Do you like the look of him? What do you think?”

The Lady still kept her eyes down, and she scuffed the turf with her foot, murmuring a little, for she had not yet re-gathered control of herself. The Lord looked at her sharply and said: “Well, when the tilting is over you will tell me what you think, and if he turns out to be a coward I don’t expect you to take him.”

Then the Lady lifted up her face and looked pale, but she forced words out: “It is well, Lord, but now come with me to my pavilion, for your meal is ready and it’s almost noon.” So he took her hand and led her into the pavilion, and all the men dismounted and got to pitching the tents and readying their food, but Otter took Ralph off to a corner of the farm and they ate their meal together.

Notes:

[1] The title of this chapter is “Vale” even though I think the narrative only calls it the “Dale of the Tower” (at least when saying the whole thing as a title). The two words mean the same thing, so either is correct, but it’s an odd inconsistency (though not one that surprises me).

[2] Was going to translate this last phrase, but I liked the original a lot. He’s saying “I’m either gonna make it big as a hero or die in obscurity, but I’m excited to see what happens.”

[3] To summarize: they call these mountains the Wall of the World, but the story goes that there’s another, greater range that’s the actual Wall, and they call these mountains that after the legend. The same goes for the famous tree nearby, which they call the Dry Tree, but which old folks say isn’t the real Dry Tree. Compare to the Order of the Dry Tree, which named themselves after the Dry Tree, using it as a symbol. Also, the presence of this tree fortifies my theory that Utterbol is named for being the “furthest tree” (or that’s how I choose to interpret it).

[4] In many cultures across time, slaves were made to remain barefoot, even when dressed-up for special occasions. I’m going to assume the reasons are 1) it marks them clearly as slaves, 2) it’s demeaning, and 3) it’s hard to run away while barefoot.

[5] I have stuff to say about the Lady of Utterbol, her physical description, and the physical descriptions of her servants (this will come up over the coming chapters), but am going to hold off for a little bit. I’m trying to get my hands on a book about beauty standards over the ages, at which point I’ll make a post comparing different characters’ physical descriptions and societal perceptions.

[6] Not a real note, just me pointing out that this last clause was originally a parenthetical, and leads into the following dialog with a colon (like a lot of sentences), so it looks like this: “(and he looked but little and of no presence beside her:)” which has :) like a little smiley face at the end of it.

Map:

[titanicfreija]

Something Else

Even before they got close, they could smell the death. The bodies strewn nearest the entrance clutched weapons and a few featured steaming green wounds. Not fresh but not old either.

"Our work?" asked Freija. "Looks like we've been here."

"I can't tell if it's us or Hive. It's really hard to tell," said Thomas. "It doesn't help that we take our enemies' weapons so often. There's definitely Hive magic here, but it could be relics or Thorn or Striga..." He shrugged.

"If it was the Hive, they'd still be here," Rex said.

"Then they've either gone or they've hidden their energy signatures," Sunny replied.

"Glimmer says the latter," Thomas agreed, checking his Perpetualis and adjusting his gloves.

Freija and Thomas ventured into the derelict Golden Age building, Ghosts over shoulders providing light. The lobby was empty except for puddles and dust and Eliksni corpses.

"I'm gonna guess you're more okay with genocide when it's Hive?" Thomas asked.

"In a cultural sense," Freija admitted. "Dunno about the species, but genocidal cultures get to die by the sword. Or gun. Whatever. It was your line, you know what I mean."

"It's another old one. Live by the sword, die by the sword," Thomas said. "I was being cynical at the time."

"I know. But Xivu is literally genocidal. There is no treaty to be had here. If-- when we get them down to the last thrall, it'll be trying to kill us just as hard as Xivu Arath herself, because all it wants is to kill. If this is where hunting to feed takes the Hive, they need a predator to keep them in check or they need to be wiped out."

"At least two entities in the universe believe that about us," Rex said snidely.

"I don't think they're wrong about us needing to kill, but we can kill each other just fine. If left to our own devices.... That's pretty much exactly what the Warlords did."

Rex didn't answer, but Thomas chuckled quietly. "He likes you."

"This looks a lot like hating you," Sunny said. "It means he'll actually hunt you down to be antagonistic."

"Oh. Then he's liked me for a while. Since the Imbaru Engine." Freija looked back at Thomas. "He all but stalked me any time I came back to the Tower, giving me shit about my names for the Hive symbols."

"Aww," teased Thomas. 

~

"If the Hive have been in here, they decided it wasn't worth nesting in," Freija said. "Looks like Guardian work."

"Corpse count is high. We're normally pretty bad about disintegrating everything."

"I don't see dead --ohhh."

The facility opened into a huge room of desks with screens, littered with Hive and Eliksni corpses. Mostly acolytes and dregs, with a couple of knights and Captains. A single wizard lay amongst them.

"If anyone survived, they fled," Thomas said. "Not that I blame them."

Sunny and Rex scanned the ruined computers while Thomas and Freija searched the room. Just corpses. Couple of ether tanks.

"There's another server room down the hall," Rex said. He and Thomas strode ahead while Freija watched his back.

Freija shot by reflex, immediately regretting it when she finally saw the dreg, but they didn't fall. They ran back into cover, glowing shield from its servitor saving it from the Guardian.

"Hey-- velaask?" Freija called.

Thomas watched the crack in the wall where they vanished into.

"I hate to kill a last survivor. Always feels dirty," Freija complained. "Why the fuck do they keep trying to fight?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"I'm immortal, that's different."

"If it was Hive?"

Freija's mouth twisted. "I wanna say I would be smarter than that but I'd be lying," she admitted. "So good point. Either way." She directed her external comm into the ruined wall. "Look, guy, we're here for data retrieval and nothing else. Not fighting. Get out. Illa tokal aaska."

Thomas turned back to his task, trusting her to handle this. "Your enunciation has gotten a lot better. You getting practice?"

"A little."

She deliberately moved past the gap so the alien could see her do it, went to a t-junction of the corridor, and pretended to ignore them. She watched her radar as they snuck through the wall and up the hall, away from them and toward the exit. She stuck her head into the room to check for others, finding nothing threatening.

Thomas banged around in the closed room and Freija did her best to keep still as he swore at the terminal and a chair he kicked, and the soft crackle of electricity immediately followed by a hiss of pain.

Sunny ventured in and Rex hovered out, refusing to look at any of them. Freija could hear the low hum of electric device working for the first time in centuries.

After a few minutes of silence, she called in. "Anything?"

"My name," Thomas said. "And an employment history. Apparently I did tech work. My name was-- You're kidding."

"What?"

"Ambros Zaunbrecher."

"What, like ambrosia? Or amber?"

"It translates to immortal. Roughly. Zaunbrecher means 'fence-breaker'."

Freija didn't make a sound, to the extent that Thomas wondered if she muted or changed channels.

"When we figure out time travel, I'm going to ask my original parents why," he promised himself. "I was cursed from the first life," he added under his breath. "Let me find out my middle name was wizard or something.... No. Schreiber. I think that might be worse. Cursed, cursed, cursed. And I'm a second! There's no way the other guy with this name is still dead! Suddenly I understand your feelings, Freija, calling him my father felt weird."

"Right? Even after Crow pointed out that dead family is still family. Got anything else?"

"Not much. I was with a Braytech subsidiary, doing network maintenance, according to this. Nearly ten years. Clean disciplinary file except one time listed as "insubordination" with no details, that sounds fun. Termination date 30-6-2471. Less than a year after that write-up."

"Sounds like you found the good dirt," Freija chuckled.

"With the name, I can find lots of other things, but not here. I won't have data in the Tower like you did, but first name and last name is fantastic. Secondary education was Heinmann Polytech, they're gonna have more details. Can maybe look up some news stories if I can find a good catalogue...."

"I could make a hobby of this," sighed Sunny happily.

"Did we want to make sure the Hive are cleared out?" Freija asked.

"What happened to sparing the last survivor?" Thomas teased.

"Shut up, I know it's a double standard, but Eliksni run and Hive don't," she grumbled. "I'll be right back."

~~

When Freija came back out, covered in ashes and carrying a lump of cloth, she found Thomas holding a glaive at the servitor's eye while it and the dreg dangled helplessly, tangled in green threads.

"I spared them for your sake," he told Freija. "But it shot first."

"I found why," Freija said, shifting the bundle. Thomas sucked a breath when he saw that the hatchling was dead.

The Eliksni struggled in its bonds with a harsh squawk and loud chittering. The servitor groaned as it tried to get an eye on them, fighting hard and losing.

"Tell me you didn't," he breathed. "And you brought it back up here?"

Freija shook her head solemnly and wrapped the bundle, securing the cloth. "I didn't. They wouldn't have gone if it was alive when we got here. They were guarding the body. They were trying to keep us away from it. Let them down." Thomas backed off and let the hold fall away. Instantly, the servitor shielded the Eliksni, which charged at Freija with two knives. She knocked one knife away and curled a shoulder as if protecting the hatchling. The Eliksni stopped short, stumbling back, second knife falling wayside.

Freija waited to make sure the attack stopped, and she held the bundle out. The Eliksni crept up cautiously and took it at the length of their reach. They brought the bundle to their chest, clutching it with their lower stumps and one upper arm. The other slowly moved across their torso to stop near the other shoulder, and they offered the subtlest of nods. Freija nodded in return and said, "Illa tokal aaska," again. "Sunny, can you give the servitor coordinates?"

"I... think so?"

"Can you send them to a waypoint and contact Three?"

Thomas almost cried out in surprise. "Three? You call up Three? Ever? Don't you guys hate each other?"

"Mutual distaste, but we agree on some stuff, including that the Eliksni need help, not war." Freija stepped away from the Eliksni, holding her hands clear of her weapons. Both Eliksni and servitor stepped backward, refusing to look away from the Guardians until they backed around the building's lobby door, out of sight.

Thomas watched Freija for several long moments, then sighed and shook his head. "I'll hear about this in the city later," he declared incredulously. "I'll go to the Eliksni quarter and I'm going to hear about this Guardian that found the sole survivor of a Hive attack and sent her a ride to the Tower with her dead hatchling for proper funeral rites. And you make this look easy, like it's easy to just peacemake, like she didn't try to kill both of us twice. You know fifteen words in their entire language and at least two of them are swears, and you--" he shook his head and turned away with a heavy breath. "You are something else."

"The Eliksni don't want to fight," Freija said with a shrug. "Most, anyway. Some of them are angry at us for stealing the Traveler, still, and some of them are angry because of what we've done to them and theirs, but fuckloads, even the raiders and warriors, would rather just fucking not. I can't do it in big groups or anything, laying down arms in front of an army is a great way to die, but one on one, one on a few, they  know I'm the biggest threat in the area, and if I stop, they don't wanna start."

Thomas nodded slowly and fixed his Perpetualis under his arm. "Something else," he repeated.

~~~

Request

Communication

The Database

Something Else

Campfire Stories

Jealousy 

Bickering 

Revealed

[oddcontroller]

okay month 1 Here’s my ranking but with a firm disclaimer of [It is obviously all red herringful all around but I don’t think that necessarily means things will get flipped on their head I don’t think the mystery of who the knight is is the focus it’s their motivations and what theyre doing and how theyre doing it that’s important. Things being led to don’t have to be only subverted in order to complicate where the story is going. The fact that this identity guessing is still the focus in theoryworld is incredibly funny to me but I’m also still holding onto the self awareness that Trickery is likely to happen]

1. carolknight (I would never in 1 million year have been lending carolknight any credence pre 3-4 it was like alvinknight or something where we dont know them much so it was just the people really into the idea of this offscreen character making it up so this underdog choice getting introduced so quickly and strongly sure was a surprise. But it makes narrative sense where the whole of it is filled in already and is where things are being led to. It’s compelling and I don’t have much doubt now. “Finding her” has been the like overarching goal alluded to for a while so it’s also no surprise at the same time that it ended up like this. Carolknight seems lower in popularity than dessknight right now which is funny. My red herring is better than your red herring

2. Knight is its own entity (not a preestablished character) Source: Titan flashback and this way it can be related to dess and carol and gaster all through the bunker inciting incident. And shadows and glass and most strongly the vestiges of dess or whatever. Titan born from the bunker. Things that haven’t been explained yet. I’m also half expecting it to possibly never be actually revealed.

3. Knight is the friends we made along the way (blanket slot for any situation where multiple people are responsible for the knight or its a projection or whatever the hell)

4. Jockington (Literally confirmed how can you not see this guys)

5. Dessknight seems the most evident to anyone whose only gotten to ch3 but once interrogated logistically it doesn’t hold up much I know I know like the claus or flowey shit being assumed but something else is going on with her man. She’s lost. There’s a divergence that happened with her that means she no longer fits in the fabric of the world. She tripped and fell and is lost. She’s got Unused scheduled for today she cant be doing all that she’s busy right now. She’s alluded to and trapped inbetween the code in a way that “major bossfight and walking around in the light world conspiring with the kid under the thrall of her pto mom and possibly directly with her pto mom that has neuroses around losing her” throws a wrench in. I don’t know it still could be proven different I guess. Let me have my female character that leaves a hole in the story and has a central narrative influence between the lines as an ominous symbol but can only be seen in the margins of its view and the assurance of knowing is never given

6. Anyone else that isnt kright or whatever the weird fringe choice is this time people take slightly too seriously. Rudy? They’re saying Rudy now?

7. Chara (Here’s how charaknight can still win i know since chapter1 we’ve left all thats left of this to be forgotten but please don’t leave Hear this ou (Okay i dont actually believe in charaknight but chara is still here I will defend this position to my last breath

8. If there’s anyone still believing in gasterknight i just have to respect that decision like when you see an old person in a fishing trip still staying in the same spot for an entire day and they just keep pulling up seaweed (I havent seen anyone doing this but i feel inside somewhere this is still going on)

9. When the roaring knights revealed youll find its really meeee you know im right because sans brother im not a new character im the same from undertalleeeee wd gaster easter egggggg i am papyrus undertaleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (instrumental break) because i am from undertale not new- from deltarunee and i am roaring knightttttt because ill hunt you in the dark evil pap papyrussss theres no date miniigameee, in this gameeeee

im not a knighter my domain is like eggworld and gaster and Being one of like 5 people still following the charaing in deltarune so i cant like fluently defend my points because i dont care that much. Let’s argue about the ownership of the undertale save files

[dial-up-heart]

The unfortunate techniques of the nparent

A narcissistic parent (nparent) views their children as an extension of themselves. They view their children as property to do with as they choose. In the narcissist's household the roles are strictly defined even if they aren't defined at all. The nparent is at the top of the pyramid and the children are at the bottom. You must know your place in the hierarchy because if you forget yourself it could be painful. Whether it will be psychologically traumatizing is not even up for debate. Psychological abuse is the nparents favorite weapon and they wield it every minute of every day.

Some of them stop at straightforward abuse, while others work a good-cop bad-cop routine in which they play both roles. Such a scenario is often sufficient to keep one or all of the children in thrall. A good-cop bad-cop routine is a tool that abusers of all stripes employ. It's very simple, a child does something the nparent doesn't like and an a wildly disproportionate amount of justice is applied by the parent. The use of the word justice is calculated because in the mind of the parent they are never wrong. Later after the child settles down and is getting ready for bed, the nparent will come in alone and tell you something about how they are only punishing you because they love you. So now they're throwing all of your emotions in a bowl and mixing them up so you never know how to feel.

The independence of the child from the parent is a thought that never even enters the nparent's mind. An independent child is very dangerous to the mind of the narcissist, who can never be wrong or make a mistake.

Only bad people make mistakes. I love my children and I would give anything for them. So why are they so bad? They must not love me.

I'm sure they all tell themselves that what they're doing is good for the child, if they even ever think about it at all.

When you're not yet a teenager you're very suggestive and a bad-cop good-cop routine where the good cop is really friendly can be enough to persuade the pre-teen to do just about anything, even abandon his own mother. Your stepmother could even tell you that the term mother applies to the woman who takes care of you and who loves you, not the one who gave birth to you. All things being equal, that is a true statement. Taken in context, it is quite something else. A nine-year-old child begins to believe it when they hear it repeatedly.

A narcissist will do anything to get their way. And when they have more resources, things simply get easier for them. Money talks, and when it does it has the tendency to drown out all other voices. That's just a fact of life in a country that places financial success above all other considerations. It's always been that way, of course, but in the age of social media it's pretty much the only thing anyone cares about anymore. We certainly don't care about each other and it's not looking for good for ever getting better. It goes beyond garden variety apathy, though. We actively hate each other, and we spend all day long trying to find new things to hate and new ways to express it. But I digress.

Always having to get your way to protect yourself from ego death requires strategies. Some of them take years to bear fruit. But that's ok because the narcissist operates on all levels and all planes of existence. The nparent plants trees 20 years ago as well as planting them today and every year in between. When the forest matures, the child is lost and trapped within it. The child is never given a saw and never even informed of their existence.

One strategy could be having a son and a stepson but treating them recklessly unequally. How is a child supposed to process the fact that when moving into a new house, the youngest son with a terminal case of learned helplessness is given a massive bedroom while you're in a broom closet? What if that son is so incapable he is unable to open a coke can and has to hand it to his mom to open while you sit there incredulous? You're 11 years old, and you already know this guy will never be able to tie his own shoes. But he's being given the world while you're being grounded 30 days for watching Good Morning Vietnam. The mistreatment happens in plain sight, but the nparent is telling you the treatment is equitable. In an extreme case such as the above bedroom story, a justification can easily be created out of thin air to dismiss your concerns and make it your fault all along. You could have had that bedroom if you had abandoned your own mother a few years prior.

Don't get me wrong, she did eventually succeed in getting me to abandon my own mother, but it wasn't soon enough for her so she wanted to constantly remind me of that with a physical reminder.

The nparent has so many tools at their disposal it makes Home Depot look like a hotel room sewing kit.

Another one could be a textbook case of entrapment. But hey, you're 15 now and even though you watched "Hill Street Blues", you aren't aware of this classic technique.

My parents went out to dinner and left a copy of Good Morning Vietnam out in the open. It was rated R. We weren't allowed to watch rated R movies. Of course, we watched it and it was fantastic. The next day when asked if we had watched it, I said something like, "We started to…" and trailed off. My stepbrother then spoke up and offered that we watched it. Guess who got punished, and who got grounded 30 days for lying?

Doesn't really matter that you are getting punished for lying again, you already know you'll never be able to tell the truth in their eyes because the truth is whatever they want it to be. The power dynamic keeps you in a box, and your maturity level at 15 tricks you into thinking you have good negotiation strategies.

You are so naive that you think words have meaning. Several years ago you tried to light one firework, but the matches were too wet, and you couldn't get it to light. No fireworks were set off, there was no spark, no explosion in the sky. But your parents are upset that you were “lighting fireworks”. In school, you learn that words ending in '-ing' are called Gerunds. It's a verb form to indicate action that is occurring at that very moment. Present tense can also imply this, but a gerund is specific. But who gives a fuck about what your teacher told you when your parents tell you its all wrong. I never lit a firework, but that didn't matter, they said I did, and that became reality for all four of us forever. A trap was set for me that day that I was never equipped to evade and that I would spend decades trying to escape. I was stuck on the meaning of words, but my parents were on another level entirely. That moment stuck with me for literal years. I was unable to process it until much later. I still sometimes fall prey to a childlike naivety about the world and I don't know where it comes from.

But that failure of understanding pales in comparison to the failure to understand the true nature of an nparent, how to deal with and defeat them. Here's the sad truth: Victory can be fleeting. It will never be total. You will never defeat an nparent. You can only hope to mitigate the damage and control. Likewise, you can't go back and change the past, and no one expects you to. The nparent controls everything you do because you are an extension of themselves. You are their literal property. Without self-determination, a person is unable to grow into their own person, which is exactly what the nparent seeks to prevent.

There is great power in understanding what you can control. But you can only exert this influence over your own life once you are no longer in thrall to the nparent. How to get there is up to each individual. It nearly always involves a forced distance.

I had it very bad, but some people are not as lucky as me. Some people do not have the privilege of having quality people in their life willing, ready, and able to throw you as many lifelines as you need until you finally are able to reach one and grasp it without letting go.

[bloodofthefates]

X. continued from here with @therogueprincedaemon

Iseult knew what she was doing when she’d concocted and hatched the ill-fated plan in her head. It was borne of jealousy and it was born of malice and she found she was no better than the courtiers she had remained shadowed from for so many years. The Seer’s patience was not an infinite well to be drawn from no matter how much counsel and peace she served to provide her King and the leering glares from his wife and her ladies, the insults and names whispered just loud enough for her ears were pushing her toward a breaking point. It came to a head during dinner when Laena lay claim to Daemon, asserting not only her position in title and rank but in command or possession of him too as she had asked him to visit her chambers that evening and to her disappointment he had agreed. Already in a foul mood, she’d sought vengeance against Laena but it came at the expense of Daemon’s anger directed toward her. It was a gesture innocent enough to anyone else, but with her eyes locked on only him, she’d ignored any and all attention from his wife from across the table as she licked clean the sweet syrupy sauce from dessert from her fingers. One at a time. It was his admonishment that came, quick and subtle as he gently but firmly brought her hand down against the table and ordered her to stop toying with him in an attempt to get back at Laena. Seeing him seek her out instead only irritated and infuriated her further, chest heaving and jaw set even as he turned to address her. “It is life I see in you when you look at me, there is nothing for you in her but empty promises and an even emptier womb.” She snapped, her hand curling into a fist as at first she tried to pull her hand away from him. “Respect?! Why should I respect her? It’s never just one night, don’t patronize me…She will ensnare you in her thrall for a week or more. Any excuse she can find to keep you from me.”   

“My Lady..” Iseult dutifully bowed her head, acknowledging Laena’s exit with downcast eyes but her teeth remain firmly gritted as the only expression of her anger for the other woman. She’d chosen her dismissive words pointedly and carefully and Iseult felt every jagged barb of them in her wake. Daemon retracting his hand from hers only stung further and when she lifted her shameful gaze, she would find no comfort in the eyes or arms of her lover this night.  It might not have been necessary or wise, but in the moment it had given her a sick and twisted sense of satisfaction. That with such a simple action she could elicit such a reaction from Daemon when even if she’d strode into the hall stark naked he would never feel for his wife what Iseult could make him feel with merely a look. She was acting childish and so he curbed her behavior like one, hand catching hold of her jaw to force her to look at him despite her immediate instinct to fight and pull away. “Then you shall both be as miserable as I am made to feel in your absence.” She grit her words out, huffing and glaring at him even as his threats sent a thrill through her. “Bold of you to assume I will have you after her with her scent all over you. I will remain in my own chambers, alone. I have nothing more to say I haven’t already until I am blue in the face. Good night my King.” Iseult dismissed herself with a low bow of her head, wood screeching against the stone floor with the speed by which she pushed her chair out and strode away from the table without so much as looking back.