#v: before the storm

[hyacinthsdiamonds]

I'm sorry but the irony of Nico calling Max unprofessional is sending me so bad like sir there's an entire garage full of people, who were literally in the trenches trying to survive the Brocedes fallout while just doing their jobs, who might have a few things to say about your (& Lewis') level of professionalism at that time 😭✋️

[stromuprisahat]

Siege and Storm- Chapter 21 (Leigh Bardugo)

What exactly was the goal of Keramzin upbringing? Because judging from Malina, it sure as hell wasn't the army- neither of them is able to follow simple orders or respect ranks.

The children are brought there are forced to forget their past.

They get decent education- drawing needed for mapmaking.

On one hand dormitories and no concept of privacy, but also luxurious environment and lack of supervision preventing them from using it.

They're taught at least some manners and attitudes of higher classes (disdain for religion, attending Masses for appearance's sake, eating fucking snails).

They're allowed to attend at least one celebration by the Duke's side.

They helped with chores, but act above serfs.

Women are supposed be chaste and obey their husbands. Marriage is the goal, passion and lust shameful.

The Duke is akin to god.

Monarchy's good and the King's position indisputable.

Being Grisha is "the greatest way that you may serve your King", but not a single word about servitude it entails. Anti-Grisha bias aren't supposed to be voiced out loud, but very much prevail. Grisha and "the army" are two separate entities.

Thinking generally isn't supported.

Harsh corporal punishments for children are okay.

Do NOT question THE authority (, but how does it fit in with their ineptitude for following military rules?).

I would understand if the Duke tried to keep his little puppets around for whatever purposes, but they're not prepared for the outside world, and I don't think they're of any use to him there.

[borealwrites]

Whenever there was a storm, Iruka remembers his parents hiding him away. The barrier seals that cover his windows dull the thunder into a low rumble, like how he remembers the sea, and all he can see through the glass is an inky darkness. Those seals are the first ones they teach him, and they tell him to always have them on hand.

When he’s a little older, he asks why he can’t watch the storm like his friends. They tell him that around when he was born, there was a terrible storm that lasted for weeks. In desperation, his grandfather prayed to the storm gods, offering up his newly born grandson as a sacrifice if they would make them stop. And the storms stopped. Unwilling to let such a fate befall their child, his parents took him and fled to Konoha.

Iruka isn’t sure he believes in storm gods, but he loves his parents. Then the kyuubi comes, and suddenly gods don’t seem so fake anymore. So he covers his room at the orphanage and then his apartment with wards, and bites back the defensiveness when Mizuki makes fun of him. It isn’t the thunder and lightning he’s afraid of, it’s what they could bring.

When storms are coming, he can feel his skin crawl, like someone is watching him. Iruka strengthens the wards on his apartment and doesn’t take missions, instead hiding away in the Hokage Tower, where nobody can touch him. Some storms make it feel like someone if pounding at his barriers. On those nights he tucks himself into the corner of his apartment, as far from his windows as he can, and huddles under a blanket, wishing he weren’t so alone.

But Iruka cannot outrun and avoid storms forever. There’s a stillness in the air when he’s assigned a mission with Hatake Kakashi that he cannot refuse. Overhead the clouds are full and heavy with rain, and there’s a tinge of ozone that sets Iruka’s nerves on edge. Thunder rumbles in the distant sky when they find the enemy’s trail, and the clouds burst upon first clash.

It takes every bit of Iruka’s skill to keep from being overwhelmed. The enemy is too strong, and his heart too soft. All the warnings his parents repeated tug at him, and he’s too distracted.

Lightning strikes the tree that Iruka’s opponent is crouched in, close enough he can feel the heat. The air is saturated with enough chakra that Iruka feels drunk off it, even as it makes his hair stand on end. Blinking to clear the searing light from his eyes, Iruka chokes on a gasp.

Before him stands Kakashi, his arm buried in the chest of the now very crispy enemy ninja, sparks of electricity arcing almost lazily across his body. With a flick of his wrist Kakashi’s arm is free, and he glares down at the corpse. Something feels wrong, and while Iruka’s common sense screams at him to move, he feels rooted to the spot. Two eyes, one storm cloud grey and the other heat lightning red, lock onto his.

Kakashi’s hand, the one that had just killed a man, cups Iruka’s cheek. Once, while experimenting with seals, Iruka had shocked himself with a raiton based seal. It had hurt, and left his arm numb for two days. The merest brush of Kakashi’s fingers brings the same feelings for half a second before subsiding into a strange tingling sensation.

“I can finally touch you, my Iruka, my bride,” Kakashi’s voice was a low growl, an almost predatory sound that made Iruka jerk back. As soon as he broke contact with Kakashi, it seemed like all of Iruka’s strength left him. Like a puppet with cut strings he collapsed, and was only saved by Kakashi gathering him into his arms.

“Rest, Iruka. I’ll take care of everything else,” Kakashi cooed, and Iruka found himself helpless to resist. His last thought before he sank into unconsciousness was if his parents would be disappointed he didn’t fight harder.

This can now be found, in an expanded version, on Ao3

[fluffypotatey]

y’all help i’ve got two hangster x twister aus haunting my brain and one is mostly silly and fun while the other is angsty Bradley character study

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

The Last Dragonborn, busting into Dragonsreach to tell Balgruuf the Greater about the dragons: To YOU it's a UFO. I know what it is.

[thedeadthree]

🌞 CYTHIA -`. the witcher • ♟️KAROLINA -`. btaj

🕯️ NYNEVE -`. vtm • 🐦‍⬛ IRINA (pre embrace) -`. vtm

🪩 ANAIS -`. vtm: night road • 🪞ILEANA -`. vtmb

🧚 ALKYONE -`. coral island • 🌪️ VAERMINA -`. bg3

TAGGED BY @crownrots, @corvosattano, @risingsh0t, @cloudofbutterflies92, @kyber-infinitygems, and @carlosoliveiraa to make a few of the dearies using this dollmaker !!!!! tyty!!

TAGGING: @seluneite, @jendoe, @sunites, @rosenfey, @lavampira, @leviiackrman, @unholymilf, @gwynbleidd, @queennymeria, @aezyrraeshh, @marazhaiaezyrraesh, @full---ofstarlight, @nightbloodbix, @jackiesarch, @florbelles, @marivenah, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @yharnams, @shadowglens, @anoras, @celticwoman, @pinkfey, @shellibisshe, @faerune, @alltoowelltv, @adelaidedrubman, @grapecaseschoices, @sussoro, @griffin-wood, @bloodofvalyria, @dickytwister, @loriane-elmuerto, @timdownie, @theviridianbunny, @riikugan, @vvanessaives, @raphaelsboudoir, @ryomenscurse, and you!!

[stormbreaker-290]

h elp me-

[imminent-danger-came]

thinking about how Macaque usually smiles when being more aggressive. Thinking about how monkeys usually ‘smile’ to show aggression. Thinking about MK smiling a shit ton durinf the Azure fight. THINKING ABOUT THE WARRIORS AND MKS REPRESSION GODD

Watching MK go completely unhinged while fighting Azure moodboard:

[ball-of-butter]

red queen tv show plz dont get shadow and boned plz i beg you

[all-thestories-aretrue]

Holy fuck y'all i should NOT be awake 😭

[symbologic]

I think it's very interesting that Zoro lost:

One parent to illness (like Usopp and Sanji)

The other parent to pirates (like Nami)

One of his best friends to a confusing, senseless death he had to hear about secondhand (like Luffy)

And yet, he is the only member of Luffy's core crew from East Blue who doesn't let personal problems push him away. He is also the only one of the original five who never doubts his place in the crew or Luffy's abilities

Obviously each character has their reasons for their own crises. But Zoro is so much more well-adjusted and centered than people give him credit for

[stromuprisahat]

Alina’s relationship with her powers, pt. 2

Before

Chapter 1

Alina’s health’s going to hell.

Sun Summoner isn’t a job! You never stop being Grisha! *glares at LB*

Even mentally, Alina’s not in the best place.

I don’t know, but the fact the Darkling looks better using merzost, than Alins not summoning...

He wore his weariness like an elegant cloak, but it was still there. Faint smudges showed beneath his eyes, and the hollows of his sharp cheekbones cut a little deeper.

Chapter 5

The fact Alina goes several times from not summoning at all to doing so in tense situations can’t be exactly healthy. How likely is that the adrenaline rush alongside her body’s natural reaction to summoning gets addictive to her?

Chapter 6

This also doesn’t sound well. I know Alina’s skills are incredibly limited, but creating possitive associations with “slicing someone in half" might not be the best idea ever. Especially is she’s worried she’d becoming “corrupted”.

Claiming of the Sea Whip.

I’m gonna repeat myself, but how could this go IF Alina were well-trained Grisha?

- I don't know where it came from.

~ It came from everywhere. Because you called upon it to come.

Alina × General Kirigan; Shadow and Bone 01×03: The Making at the Heart of the World

pt. 1

[umbracirrus]

WIP Wednesday 💛

Wednesday again!!! I've been trying to work some more on the next chapter for The Perfect Storm, because this Friday marks a year since I posted the first chapter!! I'm honestly so so happy that I'm still working on it now, after years without the heart to write, seventeen chapters in with many more to go!

Some more festival shenanigans with Elyse and Balgruuf, inspired by my discovery that one of Balgruuf's primary skills in Skyrim happens to be archery.

---------

Elyse groaned quietly as her arrow feebly clattered to the ground some feet before the target, and Balgruuf had to stifle a laugh as she started muttering to herself quietly. All that he could hear was her blaming both the cold and the bow, pale wisps of air dissipating around her as she grumbled. He had never expected her to be the sort of person who took losing or failing badly, but given how stubborn she could sometimes be… perhaps it wasn't as far-fetched as he had first thought.

Unfortunately, she heard him trying to conceal his amusement, and she continued mumbling for a moment longer before staring at him. “I saw that, and it isn't funny! This was a fluke, there’s only two bows I can use properly, and this isn’t like either of them!” she huffed, before taking a deep breath, walking over to him, and thrusting the bow into his hands. “How about you try? If my attempt was so amusing, then that must surely mean that you can do better than me.”

He barely had the chance to protest before she had more or less pushed him onto the mark indicated on the ground to shoot the target from. “Elyse, I wasn’t laughing at-“ He stopped speaking when he saw her hands on her hips and the raised eyebrow that she was giving him. “Oh, for the love of... Fine.”

Seemingly satisfied with his decision to go along with her demands, she called Elrindir over to ask for three more arrows.

It had been a while since he had used a bow himself, so he didn't have any high expectations of what he would be able to achieve, but… well, Elyse's arrows had barely made it halfway to the target. He was confident that he could manage at least a bit closer if he hadn't allowed himself to get too rusty in his abilities.

Balgruuf could feel Elyse’s eyes on him expectantly as he took one of the arrows he had been given, held the bow up, positioned his hands and arms, before letting the arrow loose. It sailed through the air, passing over the scattered arrows from her failed attempts, before embedding itself into the target. It wasn’t quite on the centre, but was decently close enough all things considered.

A quiet tut came from his side. “Show off. Probably just luck...”

The same happened with the second arrow. It was much closer to the edge of the target, but the wind had ended up picking up and no doubt had an impact on his aim. Elyse inhaled sharply at the very moment the arrow had landed, and from the corner of his eyes he could see her start fidgeting.

When the third arrow landed on the target she didn’t audibly react, but when he turned to face her, she had a dumbfounded stare plastered across her face. That look was quick to turn into a pout accompanied by her folding her arms over as he started laughing once more. She genuinely didn't take losing well at all.

[xluciifer]

@heartheaded

⸺ ❝ ...Errr... Nooo, no I'm not doing anything... Definitely not THAT. Hahaha! You're so funny, Char-Char! ❞

[kaerinio]

@messianique approached her grace: do you think i deserve this ? / from rhaegar!

it's early : early enough that most of the world around them still sleeps, and those stirring do so slowly, groggily, while nursing steaming mugs and questioning if returning to the sanctity of warm covers would cause some great offense. indeed, dawn has only barely broken on the horizon, its tentative rays spilling through the clouds, like yolk through the cracks of an eggshell ; but, for dany, night ( or, rather, sleep ) never came, nor had she invited it. rather, she spent the time nurturing her living dream : straightening books stacked upon tables and propped-up in displays, ensuring that the titles truly were aligned in order ( alphabetical, of course, and by every author's last name ), fluffing the pillows and cushions adorning every seat.

and between every single task came a pause, where she'd step outside to look upon the sign now gazing down at them. THE SILVER QUILL.

“of course i do. in fact, i believe you deserve more, rhaegar ——— much, much more,” she whispers in a voice swelling with pride and overflowing with love. a hand reaches, grasping musical fingers. “you are the one who introduced me to the true beauty of books, of reading.” for joy and for knowledge, not just for the escape. a quiet swallow drowns the tears threatening to rise and smothers the sob clawing at her throat. the unspoken hovers between them : a silent chorus of ‘you saved me. you saved me. you saved me.’

gingerly, between pearly teeth, she captures her quivering lip, and pulls herself ever-closer to her beloved brother. what a sound hold, as though there exists some fear that, in the day's rise, he may dissipate, evaporating like dew from a rose petal. resting a cheek against his arm, contentment blossoms in her heart, inviting a sweet smile. “i didn't think you'd appreciate a sign with your face hanging right over the door.” sparkling eyes of violet lift, intent upon his expression. “though, i did consider it.” she's teasing, no doubt, punctuating it all with a laugh that could warm, even, the emerging sun.

[cffidelityy]

i know when something’s wrong. - from frigga

"Everything is fine, I promise." She says, but her eyes deceive her. Surely Frigga couldn't already know? She hadn't even been to a healer yet-- the goddess was only running off the assumption based on symptoms. Not only that but she had hoped Loki would be the first she'd tell. "I think I just ate something that didn't agree with me at last night's feast. . . I'm sure it'll pass soon."