#tirs lilt

[mystery-salad]

FELLIN REAL HEROIC IN THIS GAME TONIGHT LET'S GO LADIES!!!

[mystery-salad]

YEAAAAAAAAAAAA this is so beautiful, I'm chewing on your art Tirs looks stunningggggggg!!! Always a delight to commission you Vex thank you so much 💜💛

Tirs for @mystery-salad 🥰💖

[teirabhaile-a]

Some basics becuz I'll nOT be making bio & lore any time soon sorry, here go:

Caitriona is a faerie, she's being trained & educated on all sorts of magic & things to help her become a good chieftess. She loves her land & her ppl but she's also very tired a lot of the time becuz of them.

She's 16 years old & 4'8", she's literally 2 apples tall :(

Very regal & elegant with a touch of wilderness, she's tending to her clan she's frolicking in the fields she's haunting the forests she's good-natured but the fey urge to go out and cause a little chaos can't be helped sometimes.

Grey eyes & very very long red hair. Also being a faerie, she's naturally extremely stunning to human eyes.

She can ride horses, she hasn't figured out what weapon works better with her so she's trying a lot of them. She's also training to cast spells and maybe curse your bloodline. She's not a really good musician, but she can lilt her way into anyone's heart.

She's often seen riding a sleek black horse with bright golden eyes. It's, in fact, not a horse. It's a shape-shifting puka who's sworn her loyalty & friendship very long ago. Acts as her personal guardian & ride but also they're best friends. If you want to be Caitriona's friend you have to win the horse's trust first.

teirabhaile "teir abhaile" means go home, think of the Celtic Woman song "Go home, Meiri" cuz it was one of my biggest inspirations when writing cait many years ago. also go listen to Tir na nog by Celtic Woman, FOR THE VIBES!!!!!

Caitriona is autumn!!!!!!!! She's the cloudy days and the thrill of change she's the kind winds & the dying leaves she's the decay & the life that thrive upon it she's the nostalgia & the horror. she's in your walls and she just wants to say hi :>

[muutos]

" so you're a mage duncan recruited from the circle, yeah? " leaning against a broken stone pillar, daveth pulls his best smile, visage transforming to the cunning, devilish charmer of denerim's most wanted whilst looking amell up and down thoroughly. " i'll be sure to protect you when the time comes, then. wouldn't want to get blood all over that pretty face of yours now would we? "

SHE WAS STILL BRIGHT A EYED AND BUSHY TAILED MAIDEN, albeit a little shaken from the recent and tragic events that had landed her here in the first place. for naivety had not ceased to seize a kind heart, sheltered by the wall of templars and chantry rhetoric, but not incapable of dreaming. SHE HAD ALL BUT BEGGED DUNCAN TO ALLOW HER TO SERVE FERELDEN AS A GREY WARDEN, desperate to fulfill her life long dreams of doing important work outside of the circle. THIS SEEMED LIKE THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY, and she was ready to see the wild-world, removed from her guided cage. SHE'S STILL STARRY-EYED FROM MEETING THE KING, CAILAN, AND TEYRN LOGHAIN MAC TIR OF GWAREN. the hero of river dane. even alistair was a mystic presence, if only because he was a warden already. REGARDING HIM AS A HERO BASED ON TITLE ALONE.

and when the junior warden had pointed out daveth as one of her fellow new recruits on the way to duncan's tent, SHE HAD ROSY-CHEEKS PUSHED FORTH BY EXCITED GRIN, AS SHE STEPS POLITELY FORWARD. expecting, again with naivety, that he would be gallant and kind. HOWEVER, SHE WAS SORELY MISTAKEN. perhaps not her first or even a particularly hard lesson at a glance, but a lesson nonetheless. one that would no doubt twist at her guts, later. SHE NODS. "yes! that's me." . . . eyebrows twitch downward in noting the lilt of his voice and sweep of his eyes as he continues. yet she keeps her smile wide, if only until teeth are inevitably veiled by her lips. SOMETHING WORRIED RADIATING IN HER WIDE, EXPRESSIVE EYES. her heart is in her throat, even when mouth opens to speak. perhaps in-part from the attention, and the subversion of expectations. "i hadn't expected to shirk my duties, sir. i realize we are to fight the darkspawn." she blushes more harshly, looking down at the dirt below her boots. "i - well, i have never taken a life before, but i -" she pauses, pursing her lips as she dares to meet his eye again. cheeks burning brighter than before. "thank you."

@omniterror

[emsartwork]

ask dump pt. 2

1. Cinderella is bound to the source of craftsmanship, covering glass and metal found along the french Italian border. Pythia, the major fairy of prophecy is bound to the prophecy source, covering time and divination magics. Mulan is the major fairy of war who was training Nebula to take over before the wizards trapped Tir Nan Og, she has the same source as Nebula in Norway. Vasilisa is the major fairy of transformation, her source deals with change and a little bit of time magic, and can be found deep in a Russian forest. Scheherazade is bound to the source that deals with narratives, connection, and some night related magic, in the desert on the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. Maria “La Muerte’s” is the major fairy of life and death, a uniquely dual source in central America, while this source contains incredible healing powers, it also deals with a magic concerning the soul and for a long time people who encountered it were either spontaneously healed or randomly died if they didn’t have the proper magical protections in place.   @drops-of-moonlights 2. nah, it’s just lynphea. I guess the sun they orbit could be called Marigold? but its def a planet not a moon. 3. about 10 years. 4. Yeah I can do a chart for Male magic users and witches! it wouldn’t look the same as the fairies one lol. Yeah no anybody that tried for sirenix while Daphne was tied to it basically died. I’m still thinking on the religion one.... cus like the great dragon is kind of real??? so is it a faith or a reality or both??? Red fountain is a boys only school and they don’t have any satellite schools. There are lady paladins for sure tho!! The alfea staff are either non-human (paladium and wizgiz) or they are a magic wielding paladin (avalon), or they use fairy transformations(faragonda is actually a nymph and griselda uses enchantix primarily). You can only use one transformation at a time, and the enitial act of transforming uses a lot of power that is sustable only because of the looping connection between the core and the wings(like a car battery) so while a fairy COULD switch between transformations at will, they would be absolutely drained and is they push too far could die. 5. most pick their title based on what spells they like to use. Bloom is tied to the dragon flame so that is predetermined, but she could call herself something else if she wanted to hide it. Stella is also tied to the second sun of solaria through her bloodline, but since she’s half luna she calls herself the fairy of the sun and moon. @nondescriptfrenchfry 6. that is the exact mood i was going for, og pythia is NOT sunshiney lmao 7. It was actually just based on which hand would show the bracelet better lol! @x-i-l-verify 8. Thank you! and youre welcome lol i enjoy drawing the girls @greetings-fiends 9. its possible but not advisable because it messes with the magic users head. Most of the transformations are highly specialized and cannot be used at the same time as another so no the bars would be still be separate. 10. I might try to include the magic of joy just based on the pretty outfits, and food is at least....... a real concept....... but sports and paintix are all kinda boring and don’t seem to serve a purpose. I might try to make greenix a full fledged nature transformation since my version of sophix is just a boosted version of believix lol 11. hmmmm.... i”ll probably end up drawing their nymphix forms but idk if they woudl really need it.... i could see bloom earning it because daphne did, and weirdly maybe flora? idk why tho 12. Yaaasss helia  --Helia’s dads’ would let him paint little doodles on their arms and stuff but Helia used to secretly mix paint into his dads’ food because he “wanted the pretty colors to be inside too” and accidentally gave them food poisoning several times before they figured out what was going on lol @jackiewinters 13. nah. there isn’t really a “standard” wedding, usually it depends on where they live (like if a Lynphean and Zenithian are getting married but they’re living on Lynphea they would do a Lynphean wedding) but if its on magix or in a big mixed races city people pick and choose what ceremonies they want.  14. Yes i will!  15. I FEEL THE POWER OF THE OOOoooOOOOCEAN, CONNECTING WITH THE DEEPEST PART OF MEEeh sirenix is a boring af transformation but the song is an EARWORM @simplychillcakes 16. oh wow, so im not super good with stuff like this but i’ll try my best. Lynpheans have rich soothing voices, usually deeper toned with long pauses. Zenithians are snappy, not because they’re mad, but because they are quick and efficient and taking time to breath isn’t really a concept for them. Melodians vary a lot, but all have a very clear, crisp, almost ringing way of speaking. Solarians are loud and quick, usually mid to high range tones. Dominians speak a lot with their throat (think scotish/israli) and have mid range tones. Andros has a lilting (think japanese....weirdly enough) pattern of speech, and their talking speed varies HEAVILY based on their mood @its-all-about-that-fan 17. so Bloom has the great dragon which might be a natural source or might be more etheral but idk. But she would probably use a flame or lava related source. Stella is almost basically able to use danix because of her family’s reliance on the second sun of solaria, so she would probably use that. Aisha would be a major fairy wind and water, so like a cliffside source. Flora would probably use nature in general(like diana) or specifically a source of trees and forests. Musa would probably use the caves under the golden auditorium, and be the major fairy of sound. Tecna could connect to the core of zenith and be the major fairy of electricity and mechanism.  18. mostly good? like every family has its issues.  musa is close to her dad, and he’s come around to supporting her music career but theres still some unspoken hurt there for both of them. Aisha isn’t super close with her parents, as she’s grown up shes tried to get to know them as people, but she still holds bitterness over them isolating her for most of her childhood.  tecna is, by zenithian standards, outrageously close with her parents, which by other standards is decently close. They can go pretty long with out speaking tho it wouldnt be weird to them.  flora is closer to her mom than her dad, not that she doesn’t love him or anything its just she has more in common with her mom.  Stella loves both her mom and dad, and if its just the two of them with out the other parent she has a great relationship, as soon as radius and luna interact tho Stella ends up feeling torn and hurt and guilty. She’s trying to stop blaming herself but that would release her deep seated anger towards both her parents for putting her through that. Bloom still feels a little awkward with her bio parents, but tries to spend every other week on domino when she’s not on a mission or at alfea. She spends the other week on earth. Mike and Vanessa are always pretty flexible with Bloom’s magical oddities, and they encourage her to spend time on domino. Bloom will always have a place with them, but now that she’s essentially moved out, they’re thinking about adopting another kid. 

[tirmorheir]

"oh I'm sorry, I disturbed you" most wouldn't apologize but Elora always felt bad for doing so. The ring upon her finger sparkled multi coloured as the moonstone glistened within its gold band. The moonstone was a gemstone found frequently within Tir-Mor. She placed the helmet on the table, even in armour there was something ethereal about her, the way the sun hit her hair making it glow like the sun. "I was just wondering if you had any more sleeping drafts?" She asked, plagued with nightmares most nights. "I could have asked Gaius but I wanted to ask you" at the end of the day Merlin was a friend. "I'm also nervous for this ceremony tonight" she was to be crowned officially as a Princess given she was now in her twenties.

"Ask me to command armies,fine.. but this, I do not feel as if I am ready" She admitted giving a small shrug of her shoulders. "My people believed that all life is sacred, even the trees" Blue eyes looked out briefly a small smile forming on her features as she felt the sun upon her face. "In our language we would say Tumnë talmar rahtainë nixenen umir" Elora turned her head again toward Merlin, fiddling a little with the ring. "It means, the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost." Elora rarely spoke her mother tongue if at all, afraid that some would see it as words of magic, for it had the same lilt, but she trusted Merlin more than anyone. "I realise I am no longer that same girl who first entered Camelot, that I am older and supposedly wiser.. but the uncertainty that lies ahead is what I fear most"

@destinedlightt gets another thing

For nine years Elora had been in Camelot where she had learned to grow as both a person and a leader, in both politics and fighting. She had become a formidable opponent, that much had been clear very quickly. Armour had been made specifically, gold detailing in the silver, the sign of a star upon the chest piece, her sword had also been specifically made with gold detailing upon the hilt. She had been known as the evenstar of Tir-Mor, and so Elora wanted that to be clear in her armour too.

She headed toward Gaius and Merlin's chambers, helmet under her arm, long silver blonde waves resting upon her shoulders, piercing blue hues had become wiser throughout the years and yet her beauty was still ever apparent. "Merlin?" Elora called after knocking upon the door, she had grown in height by a good couple of inches, the once girl was now a woman. "Merlin?" Elora called again, unlike Arthur she was fairer to the manservant.

[karlaaqualight]

Legend of Zelda: In The Land Of Spirits Ch.1

Please, note that I have never played a Zelda game in my life but I have always been fascinated by its characters. I have become a trash of @figmentforms ’ A Tale of Two Rulers as well as @s-kinnaly , @mintiture , @ridersoftheapocalypse. I thank them all for the inspiration, this is for you guys.

Go check their work, people. Seriously. I apologize for the messy writing and grammar errors. English is not my native language. And it’s quite short.

-Edit-

Post it again because Tumblr. Thanks @mrneighbourlove.

-----o-----

Chapter 1

Okay. Alright…This was the third time he spots the mark on the bark of the tree. I’m officially lost, Kerugan thought with a grunt of annoyance. The jungle was a mass labyrinth of dense bushes and trees, the sun followed him like a lodestar through the tangled heads of the trees. But he couldn’t pick up what time it was.

He has traveled for hours or that seemed. Kerugan suspected that he was walking in circles. Just when thought that had advanced, went to see the mark he has done with one of his daggers. No matter how much he tried, he could not change his way.

A frustrated growl escaped from his mouth. He was confuse, hungry and quite tired. Sighing heavy, he continued his journey. It didn’t pass more than a few minutes when he came to hear male laughing at the distant.

He rapidly approaches to where presumably heard them to find no one. Kerugan frowned. Was he imaging things already? He shouldn’t be surprise if the heat was playing tricks to his mind, it was almost unbearable. Even more so with his Northern attire.

He had felt the heat of Loreidi forests, where his cousin, Queen Luimaya, ruled and he had become accustomed of it by the few times he had visit. But this jungle was like burning oven. Kerugan continued to walk under the shadow of trees towering over him. A sudden cold breeze traveled through the leaves, whispering a secret. Kerugan stops momentarily, his guard up. Listening very carefully.

Watching the sun quickly disappeared behind the clouds as they gather in the sky. The beautiful cocktail-blue shade, with which he arrived to these lands, was beginning to darken into gravel-grey. A pattering soothing sound came to his ears and Kerugan began to walk again, quicken his pace. But not even a drop of water fell. Probably because it had yet to pass the emergent layer of the rainforest.

He was tented to use his magic to either locate or be located by his sister and their men. But he stopped himself. He couldn’t risk attracting the unwanted attention of savages animals or enemies. And something, or someone, was watching him. He could feel it, even before getting separate from Audlin.

The feeling was unnerving but he made no obvious movement or statements about it. Giving the illusion of been oblivious of his watcher. Until he saw a pair of brilliant eyes watch him in the distance, between the raptures of branches and everlasting green leaves.

Kerugan couldn’t make out what it was, but they were hypnotic. As if it was whispering, luring him. He took a few steps towards. It was unwise, but he did it anyway. However, when he turns around Audlin and the group of scouts were gone. And so was the pair of eyes. Now he was in this predicament for his curiosity. He smiled to himself. His sister will never let go of this.

He gave himself the task to look for a shelter, water and food for the time been, because even if Audlin send men to look for him, Kerugan was sure it was going to take a while until they find him.

In the distance, a screaming roar, ragged and terrible. Along with a soft crack of thunder from the sky. A shiver spangled up his back. Whatever it was that thing, it was a big.

Kerugan’s heart began to quicken as the thought of running came to him. The forest was silent, save the sound of rain falling. He waited, crouched on his feet. Again the dreadful roar. It was enough to tell a direction. He plunged through the woods.

He ran like a deer, slipping over and around some obstacles, then ripping through others in his haste. Pearls of rain dropped, soaking his clothes and hair. The sound was like the glassy clinking of a champagne flute, lilting and clear. And soon a sheet of rain passed over him and the sound intensified.

He sped up, leaping a wide gorge, setting a group of startled bats and birds into iridescent flight. He landed gracefully on the other side and touched his daggers and sword, making sure they were still on his back.

Another roar shivered the air, suddenly too loud, too close. Kerugan pulled up short so quickly he nearly lost his balance. He slipped over to a massive tree, where the shadows of the trunk would hide him. He tried to quiet his heaving breaths, flicking a bead of sweat and rain from his eyes. His heart thudded in his ears, drowning out the forest sounds.

He hissed suddenly when a sharp pain traveled through his right hand. He jerked his hand to loosen whatever bit him, quickly looking at the wound. Two small punctures on the back of his hand. The thing fall in the sloppy ground gyrating away through grass and dirty; a snake. Just his luck.

He forced himself to calm down, listening to his heart as it gradually slowed. Good, slow breathing.

And then the ground trembled under her feet. And again. Again.

Something huge was approaching, pounding closer to the other side of the trunk. He lifted his face to the air and his nose flared as his scented the breeze – an antelope, he knew. But only one. It must have been separated from a herd nearby.

Kerugan’s mouth was suddenly dry with fear when a thought came to his mind, and his heart was again in his throat. The coming beast had set a trap for this animal, and he had walked right into it. He pressed his back against the tree trunk, casting about with wide, concern eyes. He didn’t dare move. He didn’t dare breath.

On the other side of the tree, he heard the animal give a startled snort, as it too tasted the air. Perhaps smelling Kerugan, or sensing the approaching predator, the antelope suddenly turned and rushed away. Another thunder strikes, louder this time. Kerugan sighed quietly and stepped away from the tree.

The roar this time shattered the air, left his ears ringing. From around the tree facing Kerugan the predator’s massive armored head emerged. It’s bristling quills from his neck and spinal portion twitched and vibrated, and it turned to look straight at him with eyes red of hate. It was muscular with the height and weight of an adult werewolf, with a massive distensible jaw and long sharp teeth. Its skin burnished in black and dark brown.

He fled as fast as he could, because he noticed with desperation that his breathing changed dramatically and his vision started blurred. The snake was poisonous. He wouldn’t make it that far, but there was even less hope of fighting it. He cursed himself. This trip was full of surprises.

He went lithe through the forest scrambling through roots, dodging through thickets of grass and brambles, trailing a spray of blood where a thorn ripped through his skin. Rushing black monster, closing the distance, bending and splintering trees, smelling blood and meat and fear. It leaped.

Kerugan screamed as the beast’s paw knocked his to the ground. He yanked himself along the ground, gritting his teeth as the behemoth’s giant claws tore gashed down his back. He regained his feet, disoriented, and stumbled forward again, hearing nothing but a high sliding sound of his sword out of his scabbard.

The beast leaped up beside his and swept its armored tail at his back, sending him sprawling again to the ground. He groaned, coughing blood into the dirt, and then he was up again, his sword out of reach.

He heard the beast leap again, felt the breath of his strike, and formed a desperate plan in that instant. The Direnor warrior leaped forward and twisted in the air, throwing two daggers as he fell to the ground. With the daggers stuck on his back, slavering, growling in pain, the dark beast fell from above, dwarfing him. He held another dagger, the burning sensation while gripping it intensified.

The dark beast wrestled, snarling, trying to get Kerugan’s head as the wolf with his left hand strangling and using all his strength to keep it away. The explosive roar shakes his ears when with the dagger pierced the tender area of the beast jugular.

Kerugan twisted the blade to aggravate the wound rolled away as the beast rearing up on its back legs, stumbling from the massive blood lost from his neck. It landed heavily on its feet again and hissed at Kerugan, crest rising and falling. Then it staggered to one side and fell heavily to the ground.

He scrambled away from the body, lightheaded with shock and blood loss. He shook his head and fell to his knees, and all the sound of the rain and his own ragged breathing came back to his ears.

He stared dumbly at the huge creature. He could have defeated it by transforming, but he normally avoids it and uses it as a last resort. He stumbled away, looking repeatedly over his shoulder at the non-breathing monster until it was out of sight.

The beast’s tail had broken something in his back – each step was sharp, bubbling pain. He was bleeding heavily from the slashes in his back, less so from a dozen other wounds. Not to mention his hand was bright red and swelled up where the snake had bite him, the venom burning through his veins. He wanted to stop, at least to heal himself a little.

He moaned when his knees gave in and his shoulder hit a tree, falling to the mud. Then, he saw a figure. Kerugan couldn’t see its face, it was raining too heavily and the hood on its head wasn’t helping. But of what he could distinguish from his clouded vision, he recognized it as a female.

She started walking to him and Kerugan panicked. Was she responsible for the beast’s attack? Was she there to kill him? He could only lie there, threading in and out of consciousness, unable to make himself move. He was weak and so tired.

“Who…?” he said weakly.

The figure didn’t respond. She simply kneel down by Kerugan’s side moving her hand to his head and gently caressing his wet hair. In the way you try to comfort a hurt animal. His heart beat lowered, but not enough to give up…yet.

Eventually, mercifully, unconsciousness claimed him.

[dk-thrive]

Strong one moment, vulnerable the next

YouTube. Early into the performance (1980— A Piece by Pina Bausch), a woman begins to skip around the stage in a large circle, waving a white handkerchief. “I am tir-ed, I am tir-ed,” she chants in a lilting rhythm while Brahms’s Lullaby plays in the background. Round and round she continues as real exhaustion catches up with her. Her chant grows halting, her steps clumsy. Her arm quakes with the effort of holding the handkerchief in the air. Pina Bausch created this work soon after her longtime companion and closest collaborator, Rolf Borzik, died of leukemia. Sometimes we falter not because the ground beneath our feet is unstable but because it’s exhausting to keep moving, to keep trying, to keep performing the same actions again and again.  Strong one moment, vulnerable the next, we falter because we are alive, and with any luck we recover.

~ Kyo Maclear, Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation (Scribner. January, 2017)

[mystery-salad]

Words can not describe how much I LOVE this, look at those two wonderful gals this is so beautiful 💜

don’t let your dreams be dreams~

@mystery-salad has a beautiful salad whomst Rho needed to kiss

[mystery-salad]

How ‘bout those new boots!!!

[aelockhart]

Spam for Samhain

“Help me with the sword, Annie!”

Annie grabbed the silver prop and gasped, drawing her hand back.

“Ouch! Real weapons in a library, the children’s department of all places? Dr. McKee, have you lost your mind?”

McKee pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. “Here, let me wrap that for you. It’s not bleeding much. I’m so sorry. I must be more careful.”

The telephone rang. McKee patted her hand and strode to the desk. “Mount Union Public Library, Children’s Department, Dr. Errol McKee, director, speaking … hello? … hello?”

“Hang up, Dr. McKee. It’s another spam call. They’re coming every day lately. I must learn how to block them.”

McKee hung up and returned to fussing over Annie’s hand. “Spam calls! I think not. That call came from Tir na Nog. The liminal time has begun. Samhain is here. The fairies want a feast set for them.”

An ache pulsed behind Annie’s eyes. “Dr. McKee, I quit my last job because of the stress. Some days working here makes Goldman Sachs look like child’s play.”

McKee high-stepped to the window, knees slapping against his open hands. “Today’s story time will be epic, my dear! My brother is coming to play Aillen, the fire-breathing giant. Of course, I’ll be Finn McCool, legendary warrior who slays Aillen. My brother performs with a burlesque troupe, have I told you? He actually is a fire breather!”

The phone rang again. This time it was the mother of a first-grader who had been traumatized at last year’s Halloween celebration when McKee had built a Samhain bonfire that caught a piece of carpet and razed an entire wall of young adult fiction before the fire department had arrived.

“Yes, Ms. Simon, it was very upsetting. I have no idea why it took so long, the fire house is right across the street. I made sure they’re on standby today, … I know. … I assure you, little Joey will be fine. I’ll carve the gourds and the children will bob for apples, so … no, nobody will drown.  … well, no, I can’t promise … Ms. Simon, please—”

Annie rubbed her temple and endured the interrogation.

At 3:30, several princesses, a few pirates, and three Supermen arrived at the children’s reading room gripping plastic pumpkin pails. Annie shepherded them to the table and picked up Child of Faerie, Child of Earth, by Jane Yolen. Children’s hands shot up.

“Is Dr. McKee going to set the library on fire again?”

“Are the fairies coming to get us like Dr. McKee said they would?”

“Do you have Band-Aids this time, just in case?”

“Who’s going to throw up this year?”

The phone rang. Annie answered. Nothing. She hung up and willed her heart to stop pounding. A wail rose from the stairwell and an answer sounded from behind the bookshelf.

“Hark! I hear the fire-breather, Aillen! Come no closer, demon! I’ll not let you pass!”

McKee heel-kicked his way into the room, sword glinting at his side, a smile alighting his lips.

The children clapped and giggled as McKee danced and hummed. The wailing resumed.

“Fear not, children! I will protect you from this monster!”

McKee’s brother, in the shape of Aillen, burst from the stairwell, his head thrown back, a plume of flame rising from his open mouth. The children shrieked and crouched behind Annie.

“Dr. McKee! That is quite enough!” Annie clapped twice and the brothers McKee stopped in their tracks. “Out! Both of you! At once!”

Aillen shrugged. “I’ll see you at Ma’s for dinner, bro. Be good.” He bounded back up the stairs.

McKee looked at Annie, who had already pulled out gourds and was putting apples in a big bowl of water. She didn’t look up.

“Out! Man the desk, sir. The phones need answering.”

McKee walked to the main desk and sat down. Failure pressed on his chest. The phone rang.

“Mount Union Public Library, Children’s Department, Dr. Errol McKee, director, speaking … hello? … hello?”

The silence on the other end of the phone cheered him. He didn’t care what Annie said, he didn’t believe in spam.

He hung up and looked out the window. Mist had begun to curl around the historic oak tree that fronted the library. Within minutes, the entire tree was shrouded.

“What in the world—” McKee stepped outside and advanced on the hidden tree. A ball of yarn rolled toward him, green as shamrocks, the loose end resting a foot from where he stood.

He reached for it. At his touch, the ball rolled backward, into the fog. He held the yarn and followed, step by halting step.

By 5:30, Annie had finished wiping up the last of the splashed water. She had cleared the gourd guts and reshelved the books. At closing time, she walked into the fog, pleased with the day.

Annie returned at 8:15 the next morning in sunshine and good spirits. McKee had been upset when she’d sent him out yesterday, but she knew she could bring him around. She would play the voicemails that had come in from mothers whose kids had come home with candy and gourds—and no injuries. She would credit him with the win.

When McKee didn’t arrive by 9:30, Annie began to worry. She called his home. There was no answer. She noticed his car where it had been parked the day before. A flash of green caught her eye. Annie walked outside toward the oak tree. An unspooled ball of yarn stretched from the sidewalk to a ravel at the base of the tree. She bent to touch it and stopped, a lilting tune filling her head.

Annie ran back inside, grabbed the phone, and dialed 9-1-1. “This is Annie Belmont at the library. I’m calling to report a missing person. I need the chief to come down here right away. … I don’t know what’s happened. All I have is some yarn and a feeling.”

This story secured my advance into Round 2 of YeahWrite Super Challenge 6. Happy Halloween!

[a-byronic-heroine]

Kly’s eyes narrowed as she watched the figure reveal itself. Human more than likely. Far too clunky to be an elf. Even a half breed like one of the Aen Seidhe. Unlikely to be anything more than a bandit or wanderer. The village was off the main trade routes, so it wasn’t likely to be any kind of mercenary. Much like her, he wore a cloak that his many key features which made putting him into any sort of category outside “not-elven” difficult. She took pause, however, when she saw his eyes. Perhaps he wasn’t human after all. Then she recalled having seen eyes like that before, but only once. Back in her home dimension in Tir na Lia, where the creature called Gwynbleidd had been held hostage. He’d been used to draw out that half-breed girl. The one of the Hen Ichaer line. Zireael. The name alone was enough to raise her ire.

“They hardly need their belongings anymore,” she said, her voice had a lilting accent quite obviously not used to the grunting words of the common tongue. “Besides, I’m well aware of the dangers of the Wild Hunt. Likely more aware than even you, stranger. But what of you? What is someone like you doing snooping around a mass grave such as this? My intentions are quite obvious,” she tossed the coin purse in her hand in the air and caught it again. “But you...are still a mystery. Like you said, it’s quite unsafe to ride the coattails of the Hunt.”

onemusemanyfandoms:

Kly pulled her cloak closer around her as she walked through the abandoned village. Well, not abandoned. Slaughtered and pillaged was a more accurate description. While the air outside the village was actually quite mild, the temperature in the village was frigid. Cold enough that an unnatural ice and snow hung from the hollow buildings. Kly recognized all of this. The Wild Hunt had been there. She had laid a false trail leading there, and they followed it. This confirmed her suspicions then: they were still coming after her. Ever since she’d had her throat cut, she’d been careful. She touched the still healing magical scar carefully. It was still red and inflamed and tender. She walked among the corpses, taking coin purses or belongings from them as she went. She walked over the bodies of men and children without blinking an eye. No women though. So they’d taken slaves. She’d seen and done worse than slaughter a village of filthy humans. This was nothing. Their lives meant nothing. The humans would just make more. Plenty where these came from. She paused though in her looking around and scavenging when she heard something behind her. She whipped around but saw nothing. “Who’s there?” she barked.

“Creative, looting after you’ve let someone else do the dirty work.” The voice belongs to a Northerner. A keen ear would recognize him as Kaedwini. From the shadows of a half-burned hut emerges a rather short man with a travelling cloak drawn over him, thus obscuring the look of his armor or any weaponry he might carry. From beneath the hood, however, two unnatural, sickly golden eyes shine with the brightness of an animal caught in torchlight on a dark night. “Not that I’m judging, necessarily…just not something I’ve seen very often. Especially when it comes to an enemy as dangerous as the fucking Wild Hunt. But…then again…”

Something’s different here. Something about this stranger isn’t registering correctly. He wasn’t expecting to find anyone here- no, he was chasing signs of the Hunt, with goals of his own in mind. To find someone brave enough to pick through the wreckage suggests a connection, or utter idiocrasy. It’s evident the first must be the answer from the guarded reaction.

“No need to shout. Might wake up something else you don’t want to meet face-to face.”

[mystery-salad]

oh oh and for the ship bingo: terizzi/quaille, tirs/her ex, and falke/sonia or ennyet/octa :D

There is no "or" here we are doing ALL OF EM BABYYYYYYY

Terizzi/Quaille: listen I'm obsessed with them I've had Terizzi for years and so suddenly once I made Quaille the two clicked. They're physically falling apart but emotionally they have their shit together so well, the only ones who can survive each other its so beautiful ;;

Tirs/Envert: absolute disaster duo, Envert is why Tirs has commitment problems and doesn't trust anyone with more than a one night stand. Envert wrecked her life and stalked her after, and it's awful, but they're both thriving as much as they can now in their various completely separate lives for what that's worth lmaooooooo

Falke/Sonia: THE DOOMED YURI there's something about a love that transcends an inevitable disaster yet can never change it...they will lose each other until the whole of existence ends, but they're both deteriorating in a way that prevents them both getting the comfort they need from it while occasionally feeling it so viscerally...........IM HOLDING THEM SO GENTLY IM PUTTING THEM IN A LITTLE CUBBY TOGETHER I LOVE THEM

Ennyet/Octa: we popped off with these two, I'm punting Ennyet and telling Octa to have better standards, but also I know Ennyet will never let her leave and loves her so deeply...these two had the potential to be a fast flame kinda thing if Ennyet never had her eyes opened to the eternal alchemy, just an intense fling until something went wrong. But instead here we are and they're in a cycle together of amnesia and rebirth and obsession! 🫶 We love to see it~

[mystery-salad]

3, 4, 12 and 19 for Tirs from the newest ask list? :D

TIRS TIME WE LOVE TO SEE IT 💛💜

3. Are they an outsider? Do they feel like one?

To an extent she is, just by virtue of traveling constantly and avoiding strong connections due to trust issues. But she's also such a genuinely fun person to be around and very to know that she doesn't really have the energy of a typical outsider! Most people she meets assume she's more open than she really is, until they try to be closer to her.

4. How do they feel about their past/younger self?

She feels sorry for her younger self. And wishes she could go back to stop the relationship that ruined her trust. She knows none of it was truly her fault but she missed signs she should've seen if she hadn't been wearing rose-tinted glasses.

12. Generally, what's most people's first impression of them? + What impression do they *want* to leave on others?

That she's carefree and fun, such a free soul constantly looking for thrills and adventure! This is intentional and exactly the energy she wants to give off. She genuinely wants to have a great time and live life to the fullest. So long as she can keep people at an emotional arms length away to avoid getting too attached to notice warning signs again. She tries to make sure no one gets the impression that she wants a deeper connection.

19. Do they love easily (platonic, familial, romantic, etc)? Is love easy for them to express?

She used to love so easily, but now she's much more critical and closed off! It's tragic because love really is so easy for her and she's so earnest in it...but she's been burned badly and she's terrified to have it happen again. She makes friends easily everywhere she goes and has flings all the time, but familial/romantic relationships are carefully guarded against these days.

[mystery-salad]

From shame and secrets: 2 and 3 for Marta and 10 and 11 for Tirs? :3c

Ooooh yes girl time!!!!!

TIRS

2. Does your oc have any embarrassing memories?

Oh so many, it took her a while to really get her footing on the outside world and how to interact with people she thinks are pretty! Tirs had a learning curve to becoming as cool and suave as she is, and she's intent on keeping that learning portion far in her past where it can't embarrass her now ;3

3. Is there any weird habits your oc has?

She's a bit fidgety, will pick at dried leaves on herself like some people pick at peely skin. If there's a dog in the area she needs to talk with the owner and make sure it's being taken care of. If there's a sylvan hound in the area she will derail anything to go pet it and just hug it for a moment.

MARTA

10. Is there anything your oc wants or likes that they have to keep secret, like a guilty pleasure? Anything that would get them ostracized, attacked, or just insulted for saying it out loud?

Not really, her favorite hobbies include reading, hunting, and tanning leather. She's a very handy person to have out on a trip and is well spoken and skilled. Not to mention any hobbies she has that others would consider silly, she would consider the person silly for ridiculing her for it. Every hobby has its place, what makes someone better than others for disliking one?

She does have a moment she tries to hide from those she can though, and that was her time as Jormag's champion. Not a great look among other norn.

11. If your oc could go back in time and change one moment from their life, would they, and what moment would they change?

She wouldn't have helped Jormag, she would've told herself to ignore their words and turn away. Having the power to protect norn homelands wasn't worth the control she lost in the deal.

[mystery-salad]

you KNOW I'm here for the Tirs Lilt dating sim

YOU HAVE ARRIVED!!! I am ushering u forward to skip the line in getting the dating sim game, I am handing u a direct guide to Tirs 💛

Her route would be both easy and incredibly tricky, in that you could soft lock yourself in the "booty call" ending while aiming to date her. Both endings would be great, but! It'd be easy to get locked out of actually romantically dating her.

Tirs is an extremely private person, with good reason to be wary of trusting potential partners again, but she's also extremely lesbian and always down for a good time. You'd find her in a bar after she drifted into town and she would buy you a drink! Easy excuse to start talking to her. You'd have a nice introductory talk, and then once it's done, if you caught her interest enough she would suggest you follow her to the nearby motel. You can say yes or no and still have a shot at dating her, but yes opens the option of getting the bootycall ending too so it becomes significantly harder to get the actual romantic sense of dating ending.

The ending where you just have a fun time whenever she rolls into town is great, it would probably be my go-to route! It would be tons of fun, she would show you a great time! There's really no downside here, unless you want to unlock her backstory and actually be called her girlfriend.

Her romantic route would take a lot more effort though. You'd have to pick up on the tiniest tidbits from the conversations with her, and missing any of them could lead to you failing later trivia mini games. She keeps her trauma close to herself and rarely shares enough to know. You have to prove that you really pay attention, and you're really here for her whenever she songs by. That you remember her intimately between time skips where she's traveling.

At one point, you'll have the chance to get her a very meaningful gift, and there will be one right answer through which you'll seal the deal. It'll be a fern puppy that you get not for her to care for, but yourself. But you'll let her name it, and you'll promise it's all but hers whenever she visits. And that dog's happiness and trust is gonna carry you for miles in her trusting you, because you get it and this dog is safe with you. You're not asking her to suddenly commit, just to trust that you can commit to her and what she wants in life.

In the epilog of the romantic ending she eventually sets down roots in your town, still traveling, but always coming home to you in between.