#{The Hanged Man} Lazuli

[justatinycatgirl]

Oaths & Loyalties

link to ao3 version

(direct fan content of @havanillas' roleswap au)

“No.”  A terse and firm rejection.  Lapis Lazuli had expected this from Sapphire, his coworker known for his unwavering dedication to his oaths.  The oath to treasure his cornerstone like his own life is no different.

“Oh come on Sapphire, it’s not that terrible of a plan, is it?” Lapis groaned.  It wasn’t such a terrible plan to himself, deceiving The Family with two cornerstones that are not his own.  It was a gamble whether they would take the bait, but that’s what Lapis specializes in.

“It’s a horrible plan!  Not only do you intend to put I and Miss Topaz’s cornerstones at risk for your scheme, but also risk your own life at the end of it all.  Are you even sure any of this will work?”

“Well of course not, no scheme is ever one hundred percent certain to go through as planned.” Lapis shrugs.

“Mine always are.” Sapphire retorts, causing Lapis’ face to twist into a sneer.

“Well, aren't you a genius.  Perhaps I could make some ends meet and get you hooked up with the Genius Society?” Lapis derided, leaning forward with his hands on his hips.

Sapphire’s eyebrows raised at Lapis’ contemptuous mocking, before letting out a derisive huff of his own.  He leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Did I mistakenly probe at an old wound, Lapis Lazuli?  As far as I knew, you had cut ties with any and all factions related to Nous.” Sapphire quirked an eyebrow at the man before him, who’s shoulders now tensed at his pointed statement.

Lapis’ gaze leaves the slender man in front of him, now resting on his shoes. “Yes, I did.  I was only being sarcastic.” His gaze shifts to the side now, brows furrowed in irritation.

“While we’re on the topic, your loyalty is���concerning, to say the least.” Sapphire begins, rising from his seat and slowly making his way to the broader shouldered man. “You gave up on Erudition after the Genius Society rejected you, you couldn’t fully dedicate yourself to The Hunt, I do wonder how long it will take until you break your oath to Preservation as well.” He was now standing directly in front of Lapis, looking down his nose at him with a contemptuous glare.

Lapis grit his teeth, clenching his fists at his sides.  He wanted to say many things to this man, things he knew he couldn’t if he wanted his plan to work out correctly.  They need to at least tolerate each other for things to work out.  But this proud bastard is making that really difficult right now.

He takes a deep breath, steadying himself before speaking again. “I can assure you, my loyalty to the IPC is unwavering.  This corporation has done a lot for me, I have no reason to be so fickle.”

“Now,” A swift topic change, lest he blow a gasket. “As for my plan for Penacony.  I can assure you that your and Topaz’s cornerstone’s will be safe.  Even if The Family despises the IPC, they should know better than to mess with our property.”

“I suppose you do have a point…” Sapphire reluctantly admits. “But what of yourself?”

“Well,” Lapis smirks, shrugging his shoulders. “We will just have to see on that.  If all goes well, both the cornerstones and myself will return unscathed.  At worst, only the cornerstones will, and Penacony will still be back in the IPC’s grasp.  Either way, it will be a success.”

Sapphire narrows his eyes at the man, lips pressed together tightly, until he sighs.  He hangs his head and his shoulders slack, and he uncrosses his arms to hold out a hand to his coworker. “Fine then.  Against my better judgment, you shall have my cornerstone.”

Lapis could almost jump for joy at Sapphire’s delayed acceptance, but he knew better than that.  He had to keep his poker face.

He takes his hand in his own, and gives it a firm shake. “You won’t regret it.”

“I hope you won’t give me reason to.”

[feroluce]

HOW DID RAPPA AND BOOTHILL END UP BEING SO SWEET???

Before 2.6 even dropped, they were being cute! In Rappa's Keeping Up With Star Rail, Boothill describes Rappa's creations as "high-tech ninjutsu" rather than equipment, or machines, or anything else that someone would have normally defaulted to. This is something Rappa is very proud of and insistent about in her work, and he respects that!

Even with those party join lines, he refers to her not as a Galaxy Ranger, but by her chosen title!

Rappa seems to get a lot of shit for how she talks, too, with people throughout the patch accusing her of playing around or not taking anything seriously. Boothill though is swift to correct that, that even if it sounds like nonsense, Rappa is someone to be respected and a force to be reckoned with. He seems to really admire her resolve, and especially her intellect! He has nothing but praise for her, it's so so sweet.

And the way she talks about him, too! Like there are. A lot of things you can say about a man like Boothill fjkdlsajk but she always speaks so admirably of him?

There's also the difference in nicknames- Rappa refers to every other person as "Ninja." And most of them are descriptions that you can pick up at a glance, or without knowing a person too deeply. Singer for Robin is obvious, everyone knows who she is. Gama for Reca means "toad," which is a reference to the assistant director he always has with him. Baseball Bat for the trailblazer is also obvious. Ruri for March 7th means "lapis lazuli" which is probably a reference to her Six Phase Ice, or even her appearance since she looks like if a Stellar Jade became human. Hiryu for Dan Heng is actually "flying dragon" but it's also a famous video game reference so I'm only willing to put so much stock into that one fjkdsjakd and besides, she could have easily heard about March 7th and Dan Heng from Boothill, since he talks about the dango trio to Rappa, too.

But Boothill! Rappa refers to Boothill as "Silvergun Shura," with Shura being a reference to Asura, a demigod of war. It's a name used to describe someone fighting a relentless, inhumane war and desperately seeking victory. It also refers to a level of hell, governed by anger and pain. Both interpretations suit him strongly. It's not really a title you could give just looking at someone. It's something you'd have to know them at least a little more deeply for.

Boothill also very distinctly lacks the common ninja title- instead, in the EN translation, Rappa calls him Lord. It's a highly respectable title even in the original Chinese, apparently akin to addressing reigning royalty.

She just. Seems to respect and admire him so much? It's so so sweet?

And despite how often it's stated that Galaxy Rangers tend to work and travel alone, it seems these two are at least fairly familiar with each other, which makes me really happy! In an instance of beautiful timing, just today Hoyo released a new text convo, and! When she wants someone to hang out with, Boothill was one of the first people Rappa thought of!

Rappa knew Dan Heng because Boothill talked about him. She knew about Clockwork. Boothill has spoken with her often enough and long enough to know how deeply her hatred ran, and to be upset for her when Primon got away.

They both speak so positively of each other, even when one is out of of earshot. They openly show a ton of respect and admiration for one another, and the way they talk about each other is more than just two people who happen to be part of the same faction. They know each other more closely than that. Boothill is only in Penacony at all because of Rappa, and Rappa trusted Boothill enough to seek him out for this.

My favorite, though? The part I considered the cutest?

Rappa literally went all the way to the Luofu just to watch Boothill fight in the Luminary Wardance.

[greenwitchcrafts]

May 2024 witch guide

Full moon: May 23rd

New moon: May 7th

Sabbats: Beltane-May1st

May Flower Moon

Known as: Bright Moon, Budding Moon, Dyad Moon, Egg Laying Moon, Frog Moon, Hare Moon, Leaf Budding Moon, Merry Moon, Moon of the Shedding Ponies, Planting Moon, Sproutkale, Thrimilcmonath & Winnemanoth

Element: Fire

Zodiac: Taurus & Gemini

Nature spirits: Elves & Faeries

Deities: Aphrodite, Artemis, Bast, Cernunnos, Diana, Frigga, Flora, Horned God, Kali, Maia, Pan, Priapus & Venus

Animals: Cat, leopard & lynx

Birds: Dove, Swallow & Swan

Trees: Hawthorne & rowan

Herbs: Cinnamon, dittany of Crete, Elder, mint, mugwort & thyme

Flowers: Foxglove, lily of the valley & rose

Scents: Rose & sandalwood

Stones: Amber, Apache tear, carnelian, emerald, garnet, malachite, rose quartz, ruby, tourmaline & tsavorite

Colors: Brown, green, orange, pink & yellow

Energy:  Abundance, creative energy, faerie & spirit contact, fertility, intuition, love, marriage, material gains, money, propagation, prosperity, real-estate dealings, relationships & tenacity

May’s Flower Moon name should be no surprise; flowers spring forth across North America in abundance this month!

• “Flower Moon” has been attributed to Algonquin peoples, as confirmed by Christina Ruddy of The Algonquin Way Cultural Centre in Pikwakanagan, Ontario.

May’s Moon was also referred to as the “Month of Flowers” by Jonathan Carver in his 1798 publication, Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America: 1766, 1767, 1768 (pp. 250-252), as a likely Dakota name. Carver stayed with the Naudowessie (Dakota) over a period of time; his expedition covered the Great Lakes region, including the Wisconsin and Minnesota areas.

Beltane

Known as: Beltaine, May day, Roodmas & Cethsamhain

Season: Spring

Symbols: Eggs, faeries, fire, flowers & maypoles

Colors: Blue, dark yellow, green, light pink, orange, red, white yellow & rainbow spectrum

Oils/Incense: Frankincense, lilac, passion flower, rose, tuberose & vanilla

Animals: Bee, cattle, goat & rabbit

Mythical: Faeries

Stones: Bloodstone, emerald, lapis lazuli, orange carnelian, rose quartz & sapphire

Food: Beltane cakes, cherries, dairy foods, farls, green herbal salads, honey, meade, nuts, oat cakes, oats, strawberries & sweets

Herbs/Plants: Almond, ash tree, birch, bramble, cinquefoil, damiana, frankincense, hawthorn, ivy, meadowsweet, mushroom, rosemary, saffron, satyrion root, St.John's wort & woodruff

Flowers: Angelica, bluebell, daisy, hibiscus, honeysuckle, lilac, marigold, primrose, rose, rose hips & yellow cowslips

Trees: Ash, cedar, elder, fir, hawthorn, juniper, linden, mesquite, oak, pine, poplar, rowan & willow

Goddesses: Aphrodite, Areil, Artemis, Cybele, Danu, Diana, Dôn, Eiru, Elen, Eostre, Fand, Flidais, Flora, Freya, Frigga, Maia, Niwalen, Rhea, Rhiannon, Var, Venus & Xochiquetzal

Gods: Baal, Bacchnalia, Balder, Belanos, Belenus, Beli, Beltene, Cernunnos, Cupid, Faunus, Freyr, Grannus, The Green Man, Lares, Lugh, Manawyddan, Odin, Pan, Puck & Taranis

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Agriculture, creativity, fertility, lust, marriage, the otherworld/Underworld, pleasure, psychic ability, purification, sensuality, sex/uality, visions, warmth & youth

Spellwork: Birth, Earth magick, healing, health & pregnancy

Activities:

• Create a daisy chain or floral decorations

• Decorate & dance around a Maypole

• Set up an outdoor altar & leave offerings to faeries

• Prepare a ritual bath with fresh flowers

• Light a bonfire or candles & dance around them

• Set aside time for self care

• Gather flowers & use them to decorate your home or altar

• Prepare a feast to celebrate with friends/family

• Make flower crowns

• Bake bannocks, oat cakes or cookies

• Hang wreaths decorated with ribbons & flowers

• Plant flowers in your garden

• Start a wish book/box/journal

• Go on a walk & gice thanks to nature⁸

• Cast fertility or a bunch spells

• Fill small baskets of flowers & small goodies, then leave them on your friends/neighbors doorstep as a gesture of goodwill & friendship

Beltane is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature and is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Also known as Cétshamhain ('first of summer'), it marked the beginning of summer & was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect cattle, people & crops, and to encourage growth. (Today, Witches who observe the Wheel of the Year celebrate Beltane as the height of Spring.)

Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke & ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around or between bonfires & sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused & then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire.

These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and some of the food and drink would be offered to the aos sí. Doors, windows, byres and livestock would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire.

In parts of Ireland, people would make a May Bush: typically a thorn bush or branch decorated with flowers, ribbons, bright shells & rushlights. Holy wells were also visited, while Beltane dew was thought to bring beauty & maintain youthfulness.

• The aos sí (often referred to as spirits or fairies) were thought to be especially active at Beltane. Like Samhain, which lies directly opposite from Beltane on the Wheel of the Year, this was seen as a time when the veil between worlds was at its thinnest. At Samhain the veil between the worlds of the living & the dead is thin enough that we can connect & convene with our beloved dead, here at Beltane it’s the veil between the human world, and the world of faeries & nature spirits that has grown thin. Offerings would be left at the ancient faerie forts, the wells and in other sacred places in an effort to appease these nature spirits to ensure a successful growing season.

Some believe this is when The Goddess is now the Mother & the God is seen as the Green Man or the wild stag. It celebrates the symbolic union, mating or marriage of the Goddess & God & heralds in the coming summer months. It represents life rather than Samhain on the opposite side of the Wheel of the Year.

Other Celebrations:

• Rosealia- May 23rd

Rosalia or Rosaria was a festival of roses celebrated on various dates, primarily in May, but scattered through mid-July. The observance is sometimes called a rosatio ("rose-adornment") or the dies rosationis, "day of rose-adornment," & could be celebrated also with violets. As a commemoration of the dead, the rosatio developed from the custom of placing flowers at burial sites. It was among the extensive private religious practices by means of which the Romans cared for their dead, reflecting the value placed on tradition (mos maiorum, "the way of the ancestors"), family lineage & memorials ranging from simple inscriptions to grand public works. Several dates on the Roman calendar were set aside as public holidays or memorial days devoted to the dead.

Roses had funerary significance in Greece, but were particularly associated with death & entombment among the Romans. In Greece, roses appear on funerary steles  & in epitaphs most often of girls. Flowers were traditional symbols of rejuvenation, rebirth &memory, with the red & purple of roses & violets felt to evoke the color of blood as a form of propitiation

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

[apollo-likes-writing]

LAPIS LAZULI - 2. Opulence

Character(s): Veritas Ratio/Lapis Lazuli, Jelena/Topaz

Tags: Long fic, mentions of sex (not explicit and not between Ratio and Topaz), arguments, Ratio's backstory.

Word count: 2,787 words

Summary: He missed an important meeting after a night out and Topaz is incredibly pissed at him for it. Lmao.

Author's Note: I know I said I'd post this at the weekend but executive dysfunction decided to beat my ass so y'all are getting it on Thursday instead lol.

Just want to note I am not writing explicit smut in any of this fanfiction. Read my boundaries if you'd like to know why. This was inspired by the incredible @havanillas with her roleswap!AU! Have a look!

This is off topic but, as someone who has family near Florida, I wish anyone affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the Super Typhoon in Taiwan/China safety and peace.

Account Masterlist | Fic Masterlist | Prologue

10:39am - Wednesday

The sound of a phone ringing wakes him up, which is strange because he could have sworn he put it on Do Not Disturb the night previously. His arm reaches blindly for his phone on the bedside table. As he does so he smacks his knuckle against the corner of the wood and swears loudly as pain shoots up his arm. He continues his hunt regardless, the tinny jingle of his ringtone starting to bounce around his skull irritatingly. It takes him a while, but he finds his phone and grasps it tightly, bringing it in front of his face and promptly blinding himself as he turns it on. Topaz is calling. Of course she is. 

The man grumbles and sits up in his bed, squinting at his colleagues name for a few seconds before begrudgingly tapping the green button to answer it.

“Topaz! My friend! To what do I owe the pleasure?” The man begins with forced positivity, placing his forearm over his eyes and willing his phone to suddenly have a crappy connection.

“Lapis, where in Qlipoth's name are you?” Topaz’ exasperated voice rings out. “You were supposed to be at the meeting over an hour ago.”

“Oh shit, that was today?”

“Yes, Lapis. It was.” He can hear how clearly she wants to throttle him through the phone. The idea makes him suppress a laugh. “Where are you?”

Lapis eyes the other side of his bed. There, the tanned shirtless back of his chosen boy-toy of the night lays there peacefully, facing away from him in a blanket of black curls. “That doesn't matter. Fill me in on the important, definitely-not-going-to-bore-me-to-death stuff.”

Topaz sighs. “Diamond and Jade are throwing a business party on Friday and they want us to attend.”

“Sounds dull,” Lapis replies simply, grinning slightly at the snort his colleague lets escape in response. “Do I have to go?”

“Yes, Lapis Lazuli of Stratagems, you do,” she answers irritably.

“Ooh, my full title. Am I in trouble?” he teases.

“You will be if you don't show up. Meet me at HQ in thirty minutes.”

With that, Topaz hangs up and Lapis throws his phone back onto the bedside table frustratedly. He crosses his arms and rubs the bridge of his nose, feeling the makeup he forgot to take off last night on his fingertips. The sensation of a hand soothing against his thigh meets his senses and Lapis looks down at his current companion, who has now turned around to face him. He's cute, Lapis admits, which is the main reason why he decided to spend the night with him. His dark skin is littered with lovebites and his coily hair fans out below his head, now slightly messy. It was his eyes that struck Lapis when he first saw him though: a beautiful hazel with flecks of teal dotted about in them and large pupils. 

Those eyes are currently looking up at him from where he lays next to him, gently massaging his thigh in a surprising show of domesticity.

“Are you alright?” the man asks, slightly guarded.

The Stoneheart nods. “Yes, just work stuff. None of it concerns you.” He sneaks his hand onto his companion's head and plays with his hair absentmindedly.

“I don't think I'm smart enough to understand it anyway, Mr. Corporate,” he teases. “But a party? That sounds fun. Are you going?”

“I'm going to have to,” Lapis replies, sighing. “Don't get me wrong, I like parties as much as the next man, but this one is for work and I have to save face which is boring.” He tilts his head back and pushes his palms into his eyes, groaning loudly as he watches a kaleidoscope of colours burst behind his eyelids. The man beside him chuckles warmly.

“You're Lapis Lazuli. A party is no big deal to you, right? Just go there and rub shoulders with whoever you need to rub shoulders with then drink until you do it willingly.”

He has a point.

“Good idea,” he answers, taking his hands away from his face. He pulls the duvet off and swings his legs over the edge of the bed, shivering at the cold air of the surrounding room now hitting his bare skin. He sits there for a while, head lowered, as he musters the motivation to stand up. He does so after a few moments and then hunts around the room for his clothes so carelessly thrown about the night before. He's half-dressed when he turns to his company. “Unfortunately, I've got to go out and attempt to be a human being to prevent my colleague from murdering me,” he says, receiving a laugh from the other man. “You're welcome to anything in the kitchen. The door will automatically lock when you leave, so don't worry about that. Please don’t steal anything — it causes a great deal of hassle that I wish to not be caught up in.”

“Wow, it’s like I’m in a hotel,” he giggles.

“Yeah, well room service isn’t included. Sorry.”

He’s followed out of the room by a hearty laugh. He heads to his bathroom and goes about his morning routine, brushing his teeth and his hair before rooting through his makeup bag to wipe off the old and do his skin care before renewing it. He nearly pokes his eye out with his eyeliner in the process and groans as he smudges the red under his eyes. He finishes soon afterwards and pointedly ignores the hickeys on his own chest and neck (his colleagues have seen worse anyway). He leaves and nabs a banana from the fruit bowl on the counter on his way out of the building, shoving it in his pocket.

It’s raining when he gets outside, raindrops splashing on cement and dirtying the bottom of his trousers. He sighs irritably and rings up his chauffeur to collect him. He draws upon his Imaginary energy and creates a black umbrella for himself as he waits impatiently in the rain, eyeing the sky every now and again when thunder rumbles nearby. 

To his chauffeur’s credit, a slick limousine pulls up only two minutes later. He enters smoothly and wrings out his umbrella before he closes the door behind him. He takes a seat at the back of the car, not bothering to put his seatbelt on.

”Good morning, Sir. Where will you be headed?” his chauffeur asks on the other side of the window that separates driver from passenger.

”Morning, Connors,” Lapis replies, running a hand through damp hair to neaten it. He debates in his mind whether he should piss off Topaz even more or actually do as she asks. He decides on the former. “Take me to that coffee shop on 4th Avenue,” he asks. Connors nods his head and puts his foot on the accelerator, pushing the car forwards.

Lapis watches the buildings of Pier Point fly by as they drive past. Tall skyscrapers touch sturdy bubbles that float above them that act as buildings in their own right. Billboards and screens advertise various IPC products that Lapis knows definitely do more harm than good but are still being sold regardless. Neon signs point to bars and restaurants with the aim of drawing the eye but only succeed in forcing the viewer to look away to prevent themselves from losing their eyesight. It is meticulously blinding and doesn’t do any favours with the slight hangover the Stoneheart is nursing. 

Connors turns a corner and travels on a road away from the cacophony of light and sound, slowing to a stop outside an easy-on-the-eyes building. He states, “We’re here, Sir,” and Lapis gives a non-commital grunt of affirmation before reaching for his umbrella and leaving.

”Stay here, Connors. I’ll be five minutes,” he directs before shutting the door and heading inside.

The coffee shop is a homely one. Mismatched chairs are tucked under old wooden tables and there is, oddly, a wide variety of clocks dotted around the walls. Cool browns and soft whites meet Lapis’ eyes as he scans the cozy place. A kind-looking woman stands behind the counter, blending a coffee mixture and pouring it into a cup. Once done, she turns and hands it to the patron on the opposite side of the cash register.

“That will be £5.50. Scan or swipe when you’re ready,” she says, her smile evident in her tone of voice despite the obscene price of her drinks. The customer mutters their thanks and turns away, giving a wide berth to Lapis as if he was poisonous to the touch (with his reputation, he probably was). Lapis pays them no mind and strolls up to the counter with the manner of a man much more care-free than he actually is. Once the barista looks up, her wide smile turns into a grin. “Lapis Lazuli, my loyal friend! Nice to see you again.” The way the woman looks him up and down as if he were something tasty does not go unnoticed by the executive, but he ignores it.

“Morning, Oti,” he responds, matching the smile of the woman opposing him.

“The usual?” Oti asks, already reaching under the counter for a cup.

“The very same,” Lapis replies easily. While his order is being made (a large salted caramel frappé with coffee and cream. Fancy and expensive – just like him), the feeling of dozens of eyes digging into the back of his neck reach his senses. This is not an abnormal occurance. Lapis Lazuli is a top dog around these parts; there will be several people who work under his chain of command in this cafe alone. There's a kind of power trip that occurs whenever he thinks on it. Money talks, as the saying goes.

A plastic cup (not biodegradable? Naughty boy-) filled with a delicious-looking iced frappé, whipped cream placed perfectly on top in a swirl that pokes out the hole in the semi-circular lid, is placed on the counter. A paper straw is poked inside it and is then pushed towards him. Lapis looks at it for a moment and smiles.

“Looks as delicious as ever, Oti,” he comments, picking it up and taking a sip. “Mmm, and tastes it too.”

“I'm glad you like it,” Oti replies, smiling. “That'll be £6.60.” Lapis digs in his pocket and fishes out his phone, tapping the top of it against the pin machine without paying any mind to the price.

“Brilliant. Thankyou, Sir. Come back soon!” the barista calls as the bell to the door rings out when Lapis leaves.

11:25am - Wednesday

IPC headquarters is as busy as it always is. Busy-body staff briskly walk past him with respectful (and scared) nods of acknowledgement as Lapis strolls through the main entrance. Soldiers and guards stand to attention and salute him. which he ignores in favour of heading to the secretary’s desk. There is a line that stands between him and the workers, but they all shift out of the way with terrified looks on their faces at a simple clearing of his throat. Lapis shoots them all a superficial smile and steps forward, reaching the desk and leaning on it comfortably.

“Good morning,” he begins, winking at the woman behind the desk. She looks up and startles at the sight of him, her face turning an ugly shade of red.

“Ah! Lapis Lazuli, Sir! What can I do for you, Sir?”

“Nothing much,” he replies with vague condescension. He takes an obnoxious sip of his coffee before continuing. “A little birdy told me that P45- Topaz is looking for me. Where is she?”

With trembling fingers, the woman taps on the keyboard and looks something up on her computer. “Sh- She's on the 57th floor, Sir. Room Six.” Lapis gives a hum of affirmation and leaves, slinking back through the queue and heading for the elevator.

When he finds Topaz, she looks like she's ready to strangle him.

“Does your watch work?” she asks as soon as he opens the door.

“Mmm, yes. It works perfectly fine, thankyou for asking. Why do you ask?” Lapis answers after another long sip of his coffee, finding great joy in the anger of his colleague.

“Okay, next question.” She strides up to him and plants herself a few inches away from him. She's a foot shorter than Lapis and has to look up at him, the irate look on her face reminding him of an angry bird. He decides not to point that out. “Do you know how to tell the time? Because I could have sworn I told you to meet me fifteen minutes ago.” She has the audacity to take the coffee out of his hand and slam it on the table beside them. He shoots her a small glare before fishing into his pocket and pulling out the banana he retrieved earlier, peeling it with a controlled slowness that would annoy anyone (including him if he wasn't the one doing it) and taking a large bite.

“Topaz, I have a PhD in mathematics. I can assure you that I know how to tell the time,” he says, mouth full.

“Then why, in Qlipoth's name, are you only here now?”

“Because I find great enjoyment in pissing you off. Was that not obvious?” he replies, gesturing between the two of them with banana in hand. Topaz opens and closes her mouth several times, finding the choice words she needs to get this over with as quickly as possible.

“The party is at 8pm on Friday. Black tie, so wear something decent for once. Opal is breathing down my neck to get you, Sugilite, and Obsidian on board and, surprisingly, Obsidian has been the most agreeable. Unlike you and Sugilite, she was actually there at the meeting this morning. I now see why you weren't in attendance.” She gives him a once over, gesturing to the lovebites on his chest and neck. 

“Y’know, I do actually have a social life, Topaz,” Lapis states. “You should try it some time.”

“I'm not saying you shouldn't have, uh- hobbies, Lapis. What I'm saying is that your job should come before them, or did you forget that?”

Lapis shrugs. “I'm here now, right?”

“That's not the point. You have duty here as one of the Stonehearts. Not a duty to your favourite casinos and clubs.”

“Let a man live a little, alright? I spent half my life in academic squalor seeking the attention of an Aeon that clearly wanted nothing to do with me. My life's work was made entirely useless. I might as well have received the attention of the Nihility if the Preservation didn't snap me up first.”

“Oh boo hoo, cry me a river,” Topaz snaps. “At least you have people here who give half a rat's ass about you.”

“That's becoming ever more debatable by the day,” Lapis seethes, demeanour now serious.

“Well too bad. You're here now. The only way you're getting out of this place is in a wooden box.”

“I can say the same for you, Topaz. How deep has Jade's manipulation really gone? I can't tell what's you and what's her anymore.”

“You don't know anything about me. You've been a Stoneheart for - what - a year? 10 months?” Topaz jabs a finger into his collarbone. Lapis doesn't move an inch.

“I don't need to know you. Your denial of it is proof enough.” Lapis smiles again, this time less cheery and more angry. The movement of his lips more a grimace than anything else. Topaz steps away from him, glaring daggers into his very soul. If Lapis wasn't, you know, Lapis, he would have wilted on the spot at such a murderous stare. She turns and stalks to the tall window of the room; a dreary view that shows the cityscape of Pier Point through the gloomy rain. 

“At the party,” she begins, facing away from him. “At least try to present yourself as a decent human being, alright?”

Lapis gives her a long, hard look, watching her through the reflection of the window. “You and I both know that's not possible for either of us. We've got too much blood on our hands.” He snatches his coffee from the table and heads for the door. His hand rests on the handle before he turns back to face the woman, who is still facing away from him. “Oh, and Topaz?”

She twists around and looks at him this time, watching him with a weary look that makes her look decades older than what she is. 

“What?”

“This could've been an email.”

He ducks out of the door before a stapler is launched at him from across the room.

--

Reblogs appreciated! <3

[edenalieth]

Tricked

Pairing: pixy! Hyunjin x afab reader — read part.2

Genre: faery!au, based on « the cruel prince » universe, smut, slight of fluff and angst

Warnings: he’s short tempered, knife, unprotected sex (be careful!), oral sex female receiving

Words count: 4.2K

Summary: Your eyes couldn’t stop looking at him, your heartbeat was getting quicker, your palms were getting moist. It was the way his jet black hair were tied and contrasting with his porcelain skin, the way his pearl earring was lazily hanging on his pointy ear, the way his shirt was letting you peak at his collarbones and the hem of his chest. Hyunjin was your secret sin, and you were his. Both uncontrollably attracted to each other, almost as much as you despised his nature and him yours.

A.N: hi! I'm back with a new little story :) geez, I really post once every blue moon... as usual, sorry for the possible mistakes and comments/share are always very appreciated. hope you enjoy ♡ – cami, 230619

He was furious. He could feel his blood boiling under his skin, his knuckles getting white around the silver knife he was holding. How could this even happen ? Servants were supposed to be irreproachable but, despite this obvious fact, his cape was ruined. The green texture of pease pudding was splattered all over the dark velvet. It was his favorite one, a deep blue fabric which looked like a night sky, with little crystals embroidered on the shoulders and bottom. 

Anger still filling his veins, he threw the cutlery on the table. His family and guests were looking at him, some were amused, some were not. His reputation preceded him, he was so full of himself and hated being wronged or humiliated in any kind of way. He wasn’t always like this but Elfhame was a cruel world where cruel people could live peacefully. And he had to keep that mask on. 

Getting up quickly, he grabbed the poor servant shirt by the hem. Plunging his eyes in his, his iris not showing an ounce of compassion. 

« You know that I could slit your throat for that, right ? » Hyunjin said with such a cold voice that the servant started to shiver. He let his left hand slide along his side to find what he was looking for: his dagger. 

« Enough ! ». The low voice resonated against the stone walls of the dinning room. Hyunjin stopped his move, pushed back the blade into its sheath as a grimace of disgust and anger was distorting his face. He scoffed while releasing the man. The young pixy couldn’t go against his father’s authority, especially in front of guests. He would be a dishonor for his own family. Annoyed, he gestured to an other servant to come. The girl quickly executed the order and asked « Yes, my lord ? ». The dark haired boy removed his cape and throw it in her hands. « Clean the mess this incompetent just caused ». His mother was looking at him, visibly worried. It would be a lie if Hyunjin said he didn’t think of beating the man up and go against his father’s will. Some guests would enjoy the show, he could tell just by looking at the elf waving her fan with a mischievous smile on her lips, or that gobelin whispering something to the man next to him. No. He would get his revenge sooner or later and now wasn’t the time. He needed some fresh air more than anything. 

« Dear guests, my apologies but I think I will finish this in my room », Hyunjin grabbed one fae fruit, briefly bowed and went toward the wooden ornate door. The crowd was already whispering and laughing at his behavior and the scene they had just witnessed. He would hear about that later today, his father would probably give him a lesson but he didn’t care anymore. His temper had caused a lot of problems already and he wasn’t going to stop now. The guards opened the door and he headed towards his apartment. 

His steps echoed on the floor which was a real piece of art. Lapis lazuli and black marble, representing the colors of his family, were skillfully mixed creating a contrast with the pale stone walls and the blue shaded stained-glass windows. Definitely a fairy tale like place. However, no matter how beautiful, comfortable or rare the furnitures could be it didn’t satisfied him the way the outside did. Reaching his room, he directly walked to his bookcase and grasped one specific book, opening the secret door behind it. That was his way to escape the manor discreetly and Nature knows how many times he would use it. Not bothering to wear an other cape, he got rid of his leather boots and left with the fruit still in his hand. 

Soon the rough ground of the hidden passage was replaced by the soft sensation of grass under his feet. He hummed peacefully as his papery wings softly vibrated in contentment. Maybe the day wouldn’t be so bad after all. He wandered around the wood as his soul unconsciously led him to his favorite place. It was a small clearing near the lake, to get access to it you had to go through a skimpy path, surrounded by bushes and brambles. Hyunjin had to be careful of his wings, he didn’t want them to get scratched or worse… When he finally got out of here, he was met by a stranger. 

Blankets were scattered on the grass, fruits and wine near by, a diaphanous dress covering your bare skin. You were laying on your stomach, a book in one hand, grappes on the other as you quickly looked at the intruder. He seemed just as surprised as you were. There was no mistaking on who the stranger was. Those long dark hair tied with a silky ribbon, the pearl dangling on his ear, the jewelry on his delicate fingers and his iridescent dark blue wings. It was none other than Hwang Hyunjin. 

Anger started to fill his system for the second time this day. How did you even know about this place ? It was his haven and you were unwelcome in it. His wings started to vibrate, unable to control his feelings. He knew who you were, the new girl. Difficult to miss such an event. Y/N, the girl of the west lands, part of the untamed nation until your family made an agreement with King Cardan and Queen Jude. The queen and you had a pretty similar story, you were a clay girl as well, living with fairies thanks to your dad. Yet, no magic was running in your blood, you were a bastard and not a rightful being of this land. And gosh, Hyunjin despised humans. So weak, stupid and useless. They were like mere insects he could crush under his boots. At least, he could have done that before Jude Duarte became Elfhame’s queen. Nowadays, the few humans living here were respected or, at least, no harm was made to them. Still, who could blame him if he was a bit playing with you… As a mischievous plan was blooming in his mind, you put yourself back up, still sitting on the blankets. 

« What a surprise to see you here, girl of clay ! » Hyunjin first spoke, his voice being soft despite his agitated wings. « It’s a shared feeling Hyunjin. » you replied, not letting your guard down. You knew about him and his anger issues just as you knew about fae and their cruelty. « Can I join you ? » He suddenly asked, a little smile on his face. You nodded, gesturing him to take the spot next to you. He sat with no hesitation. As the silence was becoming louder and louder as seconds passed by, you took back your book. The boy was good at faking his nonchalance but not as good as he thought he was. Side eyeing him discreetly, you could see his fingers fidgeting on the fabric of the blankets. You weren’t sure if you would be able to deal with this awkward situation any longer but you didn’t want to give up this place and let him think that he had won. You were tired of all those arrogant people looking down on you when you were crossing their path. Of course, nobody would harm you in broad daylight but, who knows, accidents can happen anytime at Elfhame… And Hyunjin was probably plotting something. 

As if you had called for it, the dark haired boy suddenly broke the silence. « This is my favorite place. », his voice was calm, imprinted with some peace you had never noticed before as he was looking at the silver shine of the lake. « Yes, it’s pretty pleasant around here. » you replied, putting your book aside for the second time today. « I thought I was the only one knowing about here. Apparently, I was wrong… And, you know what’s unpleasant ? Your presence here. » he added, his dark eyes staring at you, his body creeping towards you, like a feline getting ready to hunt his prey. You frowned at his words, silently challenging each other. Gosh, his siren eyes were intimidating and you could understand why people were kind of scared of him. Despite the danger emanating from him, you wanted to smack his beautiful face but his family had more power than yours. It would be to risky to do so. 

You were brave for a mortal and Hyunjin could feel the adrenaline running through his veins. He had never been this close to you and the proximity of your face, your lips, your curves, the tension… It was appealing to him. Oh, the pixy looked at you more often than he would admit it. Yes, you were the new girl, but it wasn’t so uncommon to see humans around here nowadays and people didn’t pay the extra attention Hyunjin had towards you. He wanted to deny his attraction, he couldn’t fall this low and belittle himself, even after all those weeks of getting mixed feelings every time you were sharing the same space. But, right now, right here, hidden from the real world… He thought it would be nice to play with you. Using the tone on you, that special voice fairies were using to bewitch people of clay, would be easy, even a three years old kid could do this. He came closer and closer, until his fingers were brushing against yours, a mischievous smile floating on his plump lips. 

The moving reflects of water dancing on his face, the frail sound of wave lapping on the shore as his gaze was becoming flirty and playful. Your eyes couldn’t stop looking at him, your heartbeat was getting quicker, your palms were getting moist. It was the way his jet black hair were tied and contrasting with his porcelain skin, the way his dark blue wings were similar to the most precious sapphires, the way his pearl earring was lazily hanging on his pointy ear or the way his shirt was letting you peak at his collarbones and the hem of his chest. Hyunjin was your secret sin, and you were his. Both uncontrollably attracted to each other, almost as much as you despised his nature and him yours. You could feel his breath on your bare shoulders, suddenly full conscious of how see through your dress was, seen the lustful look the boy was giving to you. 

You were a beautiful creature, almost as if you weren’t totally human. Not thinking too much about these weird thoughts and getting impatient, he decided that it was time to hunt. « Why don’t we turn your presence into something worthy, shall we ? » he whispered before casting a spell on you, « I’m starving, I couldn’t properly eat today… Feed me. » he ordered, going back to rest on his forearms, his wings framing his body like a halo. Your eyes went momentally blank, proving that the spell was working, as you took some of the grappes. Grabbing one, you delicately put in on his opened mouth as he kept looking at every single gesture you made. « More. » You diligently executed his wish until he had enough. He made you massage his shoulders, dance on the grass, your clothe twirling around you as if it was made of mist, making you almost fall as he was laughing to the point his stomach hurt. He was enjoying this a lot. Despite the entertainment, he knew what he wanted the most. « Ok, let’s stop a little » he said still giggling. « You must be sweating, right ? Why don’t you refresh yourself and go on the lake ? ». You paused and he thought for a second that the magic wasn’t working until you grasped your skirt and walked in the water. He followed you, not wanting to miss a single second of the show. Watching you from the shore, he admired the diaphanous fabric dancing around your body. You looked like a nymph, leaving him speechless. « Do you enjoy this ? » his voice was less confident and his blood was rushing down there. « Yes, Hyunjin. I love it » you replied, a beautiful candid smile illuminating your face. His breath was becoming heavy as you were lazing around the water and his desire was taking the lead on his reason. « Enough. Come join me on the blankets ». Obedient, you got out. Your dress was totally useless at this point. It seemed heavier, as water was dripping all over your curves, and the fabric was sticking onto your skin. He could see everything, to the small moles adorning your thighs, to your nipples perking up. He wanted to touch you badly, to let his wildest fantasies come to live after restraining them for weeks. He took your hand in his, leading you as he was once again laying down. You were on top of him, his shirt getting wet in the process but he didn’t care. His expression was more serious, his wings weren’t the buzzing mess they were earlier. You looked at him, waiting for him to speak and tell you your next mission. He caressed your face with the back of his hand, brushing his thumb against your kissable lips. Soft and warm. « Y/N. Kiss me. » Did he just told you that ? He had to get a grip on himself, what was wrong with him ? As you were coming closer, he realized how wrong it was. He had to stop all of this and go back to the manor. Now. However… Just one kiss wouldn’t be bad, right ? He would make you forget all this buffoonery with another spell and would never talk to you ever again. He promised himself. Closing his eyes to enjoy the first and last time he would kiss you, he didn’t notice the mocking smile on your face. 

How naive the pixy had been. Fae people were dangerous and cruel but, apparently, the mix of an elf and a human was worse… At first, you thought he just wanted to make a fool out of you. You would let him play a little before giving him a lesson he would remember. Yet, when you noticed the desire in his eyes, looking at your wet clothed body, which built up a fire inside you. And he had fallen for your little role-play. Honestly, you couldn’t blame him. People always thought you were a simple girl and not a half-blooded one and it came with some advantages. It was true, you couldn’t use magic but you were immune to it, you didn’t age like humans and you could lie, something a lot of people were extremely jealous of. Yes. The tone was inefficient on you and the black haired boy was about to know that real soon. 

His eyes still closed, he wondered what was taking you so long. He finally looked at you. You were straddling him, the water from your body soaking his clothes, holding back your laughter because of his confused expression. « Wha-what are you doing ? I asked you something, do it! ». Anger was creeping back, his fist clenched as he was trying to get up. You wondered if his angry face wasn’t even prettier than his usual arrogant one. « Say please ? » you teasingly said. « Excuse m- » 

You made him shut his mouth with your hand and leaned closer. He was furious right now, his wings started to buzz as if a swarm of bees was attacking you. « Behave. I told you to say « please », is it that difficult for someone like you ? You’re used to have everything on a silver plate, I guess. » you scoffed, staring at his dark pupils. He seemed a bit relaxed, when you felt his hand sliding along his waist, looking for his dagger, only to be met by the emptiness of his sheath. 

« Is it what you’re looking for ? » you asked, falsely innocent. You waved the beautiful silvermithery before his wide opened eyes. When did you ?… As soon as you removed your hand, he tried to push you and get his weapon back. Unfortunately, too slowly. You put the blade under his chin, the sharp knife almost wounding his immaculate throat. « You tricked me ! » he screamed, helpless. « You were the one trying to lure me into your trap ! » you defended yourself. He smashed the ground with his fist. You were right and he hated it. « Let me go. » But you didn’t move. « Let me go or I will go to the royal court and complain about your threatening behavior! You will spend the rest of your life in some deserted lands! ». You laughed. He continued his tirade. « And why did the spell failed ? What are you ? ». Your smile quickly faded. «  I’m a half-blooded. My mother is also half-blooded. She’s half human, half elf. And so am I. That’s why it’s not noticeable at first sight, you have to know me for that. ». He was visibly surprised and was scanning every parts of your body. He could see it now. The slightly pointy ears, the purple shade circling your pupil and your skin looked perfect while basic human’s one was more… dull ? Damn it. He had been stupid. He sighed. « What do you want half-blood ? ». 

« I want the same thing as you do. » Not giving him the time to reply, you closed the gap between his lips and yours, kissing him passionately. He tried to resist but gave up easily. Wrapping his arms around your waist, he pulled you against his body. He was loosing his damn mind. Intoxicated by your smell, the way your tongue was playfully licking his lips or how your free hands was running down his torso. One thing was still bothering him. The dagger. « Y/N, could you please put this away ? ». He put one of his finger on the blade, pleading. You were hesitant, judging the plus and minus. « I promise I will not hurt you or run away. Please. » He was almost begging, needing to kiss you more, to be free to touch you. Fae couldn’t lie, it was the rule. You obediently granted his wish, not breaking your eye contact. As soon as you did, he sat up not bothering about the fact that you were still on his lap. You felt his hands sliding under your dress to help you remove it. You didn’t protest and let him do so. 

The full view was even prettier. Your naked body was like a painting to him. Masterpieces weren’t meant to be touched, but you were the exception and he let his hands run down your curves, making you shiver. He couldn’t wait any longer as he attached his lips to your nipple, sucking on it desperately, his tongue twirling around it, his hands resting on your ass. You moaned while pulling onto his ribbon to untie it and grab his long silky hair. The sensation was amazing and you started to hump on his still clothed bottom, his boner growing under your core. He pulled away from your sensitive breast to cup your face and kiss you more. His hips started to move in harmony with yours but he wanted to have your skin against his. Quickly unbuttoning his shirt to get rid of it while your fingers were working on his pants, he soon ended up in his birth suit. Crouching back on his lap, you wrapped your fingers around his member and started to move up and down. He whimpered as you were variating the pace of your strokes, your thumb caressing the tip of his dick, already glittering with precum. He had never been touched like that. It wasn’t his first time and faeries loved to devote themselves to drinking session and fuckery but it was only that, no feelings involved, just some bestial instincts. It felt different with you. By the way you were looking at him and his body, your delicate gesture, this intimate place only the two of you knew about. Who would have thought you would be this soft when you threatened him just few minutes ago. Wanting to relieve his blooming feelings, he grabbed your waist and made you roll on your back, taking the lead this time. Spreading your legs to expose your bare core, he slid his fingers along your slit. You were dripping wet and wanted to get more. « Touch me » you begged. He smirked. « You didn’t need to ask ». You felt his middle finger rubbing your clit before entering your vagina. He kept playing with both of it while your walls were getting tighter, your fingers digging into the skin of his back to feel his chest against yours but still being careful of his papery wings. « I want to make one with you » he whispered to your ear, sending electricity through your veins. « Please Hyunjin ». Hearing you saying his name in such a sinful way felt like the sparkle which lit up the fire. His wings were vibrating softly and it turned him on even more when you caressed the part where they were meeting his shoulders. He positioned himself, grinding against you to lubricate his penis with your fluids. He looked at you, waiting for your consent. You nodded, cupping his beautiful face with your hands as he gave you his signature siren gaze. Penetrating you gently, you let out a soft moan quickly muffled by his plump lips kissing you. His hips were working faster, your tongues dancing together into a slippery kiss while your legs were hanging around his waist. The pace was changing, giving you more sensations, feeling his full length hitting your G spot. He broke your kiss just to give you some more on your jawline, neck and collarbones, eager to hear you whine under his touch. And you didn’t disappoint. He could feel your walls ready to clench around his member but he didn’t want to end it yet. At your surprise, he removed himself. « What are you doing ? » you complained, breathless. « Trust me » was his only answer. He intertwined his fingers with yours and made a trail of kisses along your body, going further down until his mouth was on your venus. He gave a first lick to it, tasting you fully. His tongue was dangerously working on your clit, sometimes giving some kitten lick, sometimes using it all. It was totally new to you and you weren’t sure you would be able to take it any longer. « Hyunjin… » you said in a breath. Your legs were starting to shake lightly and you looked at him in despair. You were met by his almond eyes, enjoying the view you were offering him. It was such a sinful yet dreamy scene. That’s when you felt it, the wave of pleasure rushing inside of you, making your legs quiver uncontrollably and moan a mantra of his name. He detached his lips from your sex, giving you some time to take your breath.  His chin was glimmering with your juices and you wondered how you tasted like… « My turn ? » he said with a smirk. « You didn’t need to ask. » He giggled as you answered in the exact same way he did before. 

You softly pushed him on his back, to be able to ride him comfortably. As you positioned yourself and started to move on his dick, he placed his hands on the small of your back to help you keep your balance. A moaning mess, this is what you were reduced to. Hyunjin felt dizzy under your touch and the way his cock was perfectly fitting inside of you, as if you were meant to be, drove him to the edge. It was also your gaze, strangely full of something pretty close to love, your delicate hands running through his hair or touching his chest. Despite your still sensitive bud, you could feel a second wave of orgasm coming for you and he could feel it too. Your walls were getting tighter, making it difficult for him to slide easily inside of you, clenching his length in the most delicious way. Sitting for you to get him fully, he gave few more hip thrust before reaching his climax, shaking between your arms as his face was resting on your breast. Soon you were met by yours and stayed like this, connected for a bit, both panting while his semen was dripping down your thighs. He looked up towards you, a soft smile on his face, his eyes looking like little crescent moons. You gave him a peck on his forehead before he spoke. « Y/N… I’m dying of heat… Should we go take a swim ? » You giggled but happily agreed. Holding your hand he led you into the water, not letting you go. « Did I make my presence worthy of your time, Lord Hwang Hyunjin ? » you teased him, cupping his face with your hands. « More than worthy, half-blood. Let’s meet again… Hmm… Tomorrow ? » He pressed his lips against yours, water refreshing your overheated bodies. « It would be my pleasure. »

[acrystalwitch]

(From research but also from my own workings with him. This isn’t meant to be strictly historical this is more for pagans wanting to work with him. There will be a lot of UPG or SPG)

Anubis/Anpu/Inpu/Inpw (and some other spellings depending on where you look) :

-He is the jackal headed Egyptian god of mummification, funerary rites and a fierce protector of tombs and places where people are buried.

- a lot of stories have him as either the son of Nephthys and Set or the son of Nephthys and Osiris. I personally go by the mythology where he is the son of Osiris, then taken in by Aset and raised as an adopted son after the death of Osiris. He is fiercely loyal to his adopted mother and his father. As well as supportive of his half brother Horus (Heru-sa-Aset)

What working with him is like

-He is a sort of Psychopomp deity for dead souls. Also in my experience can help bring you into meditations with other spirits safety (he’s guided me to a few of the other deities I work with now)

- He is a fierce protector. Big guard dog energy. Doesn’t usually have a huge temper until something threatens him or a follower of his.

-Most of the time he’s a very calm and patient deity. He will give space when you need it, and also be around when you need him too. He tends to put in the effort that you do. But if you can’t put in much effort he’s patient (just quieter maybe if you’ve backed away from him first)

- He is usually the first one to jump in to help when I’m going through something emotionally rough. It could be because he is my patron but I do feel like he is the type of deity to want to be there for, and comfort his followers/devotees.

Offerings for Anubis

(These are the personal ones I use because they work for my own practice and lifestyle- feel free to share any of your own!)

Crystals

- tigers eye

- obsidian

- onyx

- jet

- lapis lazuli

- red/brown goldstone

- labradorite

- Dalmatian jasper

Incense

- frankincense

- Egyptian musk scents

- Sandlewood

- Myrrh

- Tobacco

Food offerings

- Dark chocolate

- dark bread

- red wine

- water

Other physical offerings/associations

- dog statues/imagery

- ankhs

- wooden things/wood carvings

- jewelry with gold on it

- keys

- black candles

- gold candles

- brown candles

- the death tarot card

- the hanged man tarot card

- the emperor tarot card

Devotional offerings

- self care

- taking care of your own dog/a dog

- volunteer at dog shelters

- donate to animal shelters/rescues

- learn about him

- learn about the history of the pyramids and mummification

- draw him

- write poetry for him

- play music/dance/sing for him

How to know if he’s reaching out to you?

Best way to know is to confirm by tarot or your clairsenses if you have any. Or candle flame reading/other forms of divination.

If you’re looking for signs he’s popping up (this is rather morbid but so it goes with the god of mummification and decay) he tends to send roadkill to me. If you see a lot of extra roadkill on a drive to work/a regular route that isn’t usually there. That could be a sign. (I like to ask him to help guide their souls somewhere nice whenever I see roadkill)

I think he’s an excellent deity for beginners and if you feel called to him I’d say go for it! I started with a simple candle dedicated to him and went from there!

[astra-ravana]

Working With Arachne

Queen of Spiders

Colors: Purple, red, black, silver

Herbs: Vertiver, spider plant, wolfsbain, aconite, boxwood, lavender, cedar, frankincense, orange

Crystals: Charoite, black onyx, lapis lazuli, chrysocolla, amethyst

Metals: Silver, gold

Tarot: The Hanged Man, 8 of Pentacles

Dates: August 8th

Day: Friday

Domains: Spiders, weaving/sewing, hand crafts, creativity, pride, self confidence, spiritual growth and transformation, death and rebirth

Offerings/Devotions: Spider/web themed items, anything purple, yarn, hand made/sewn items, flowers, show spiders kindness and respect, craft or create something in her honor

Symbols: Spiderwebs, looms, needle and thread, spinning wheel, the number 8

[lizard-shifter-noms]

Wayward Waters Epilogue

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Ayy, Epilogue already? that was fast! but i have good news!

i have re-edited arc 1 (removed typos, made it more comprehensible etc. also shorter chapters so its not a wall of text anymore) so i will upload that some time after!

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

have fun reading!

and as always Reblogs are appreciated! (Also ASK’s are open so feel free to bother me!)

AO3 Link for those that prefer the layout there;

AO3 Wayward waters

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After the Victory Rose had anchored,  with the smaller Halcyon close behind we were finally home.

Not wanting to spend too much time in Tunstead lest there was a repeat of Naroa Island and someone didn't like that there were Nonhumans visiting.

Not like Rikaad would allow that but there were always assholes.

So instead we went straight for the castle, none of the crew of the Halcyon having seen a building this big before, or confusingly built.

Which was very evident as half of them got lost in less than half an hour.

At least Imugi had fun doing figures around the spikes at the bottom of the cliff.

We found them about two hours later, Jamie having been chased out of the kitchen like some raccoon and Ronan got brought outside by Norrin, who had scruffed him like a disobedient dog.

For some reason the Grumpy young man Leon came with us to the castle and refused to say much or leave.

We left him for now,  with Nea and Norrin around there wasn't much he could do.

I shooed the Crew to Okaleys tower,  he would have more information about the blue bracelet anyway.

Yamet had opted to tour the kitchen, stating the others could tell him later and that he'd rather see if he could trade recipes.

The tower itself was as askew and unorderly as always,  and we hadn't even knocked.

The door was missing completely anyway for some reason so we simply walked in.

I did come as a surprise though that Nea was in here,  holding a brown creature with white spots on its back.

At first I thought she was holding a fawn, but then I noticed the longer neck and nubby horns as well as the claws and long tail.

“Nea? Where the FUCK did you get a baby Drake?”

The thing in question made horrifyingly pitiful bleaking noises,  pawing uselessly at the air as Nea held it like a particularly squirmy cat.

Though it was more the size of a young goat.

“I found it! So I get to keep it!”

I was not about to Argue with her, she'd kick my ass,  Instead I stared confusedly at Oakley, who was painting the cat blue.

Oh so one of those days where nothing made sense involving him.

“Oakley, why are you painting the cat blue?, and why does Nea have a baby Drake?”

He turned to face us and shrugged.

“No idea what the insane lady here is doing but i'm trying to figure out what magic affinity our dear kitty here has! 

The paint is made of lapis lazuli by the way!

Now say who are those people behind you and why is the Zoa trying to pocket some of my Gems?”

I looked over at Jamie who hastily put some sort of clear crystal back onto a shelf.

“Uh, those are friends i made while on the ocean, long story i'll tell you later, but uhh we found another Bracelet, its blue this time”

I pointed at Ronan who in turn pointed at the Bracelet on his arm.

In less than a Second Oakley had gripped his arm with one foot and was hanging onto the wall with the other, inspecting the new Bracelet up close and with no regard for personal space.

Ronan just stared confused at Oakley, though to be fair he was already used to having to be a Perch for jamie.

“Did the creature look anything like the Ardua?”

No that it did not.

“Uh, no, it was more like a seal with big and flat hands and a long tail with a fin, does it have its own name?”

Oakley Jumped of off Ronan and walked back to where he was, rummaging through his coat a bit before pulling out a Book.

While he flipped pages, and apparently had trouble reading it? The Cat, Gloxinia trailed blue paint everywhere, jumping up the windowsill and bapping at the very confused baby Drake Nea was still holding.

The poor thing probably had a very weird day,  getting manhandled by a quite frankly rather crazy woman and then getting disrespected like that by a cat.

The thing bleaked again, trying to wind itself out of Nea’s Grip,  yeah that would be futile.

“AHA! Found it! I think translating is gonna take a while seeing as the author changes the stupid coded letters every five pages! 

And language as well!, tell ya what, imma deal with Nea now and then go back to translating, you can come back after Dinner or so”

That was reasonable, and Jamie and Akeem had left already anyway, leaving only Ronan and Imik here.

No doubt Akeem went after Jamie to prevent chaos,  and they took the clear crystal from the shelf again.

Nea set the confused Drake on Oakley table where it did a wide stance as if it couldn't decide between fight or flight,  not that either would be a good idea with Nea here.

“So! Arthur got all pissy when I brought ta lil guy with me! Said just cuz i got rid of tha big one din’ mean i could keep tha smaller one!

I say tha only one that can tell me what ta do is Rikaad! 

And i want you ta tell me what exactly this is so i can ask to keep it,  or him or her or whatever!”

The thing in question made another bleaking Noise, sniffing at the table and looking over the edge of it.

Ronan put his face close to it and the thing screeched horribly, scrambling and slipping on the old wood and nearly falling off.

In response to that Nea tossed Ronan out, literally, she tossed him out the window and Imik walked out after him to make sure he was okay.

Since Ronan had landed in a bush he only had some dirt on him, and after that they both wanted to look around the castle more instead of being near Nea.

Yeah, fair, I did however want to see how the entire Drake thing would play out so we parted ways and I went back inside where Oakley was just telling Nea that the little guy was a male.

“I'd say it's a young male,  the spots have the same reason as fawn spots, they fade with time and he should get some more tan and brown colors. 

I can't say what species exactly yet but it's possible he'll get stripes,  or colored horns.

If you're sure you wanna try taming him go ahead, i can't guarantee anything but i sure am gonna watch you try, you'd probably be the first to do that, well to be fair you gotta be a bit insane to try”

A bit was good, but I also wasn't exactly fond of anyone trying to kill something so young, and thus far the little guy hadn't done anything.

As it was he was even afraid of the cat, who was still covered in blue paint and attempting to groom him.

All that did was cover him in blue paint too and he looked rather miserable at that.

While Nea argued with Oakley about what size he could reach, apparently Nea had expected something big like a dragon but Oakley estimated something slightly larger than a horse,  so I held out my hand to the strangely fluffy creature. 

All in all it looked scraggly and scruffy,  the only scaled parts being the legs and sand colored underside as well as the rather beak-like snout that seemed to be made of cartilage.

It tentatively sniffed at my hand, bonking its head against it.

Then Gloxinia wanted all the attention and I had to pet her with the other hand while the goat sized creature was inspecting my hand with its amber colored eyes.

Maybe Ronan would have some tips for Nea since he’d sorta raised Imugi already.

I was handed a blue stained cat by Oakley who told me to go wash the color off before she decided to lick it off.

“You want me to wash a cat? 

A cat of all things who are not known for liking water?”

“Yeah! Good luck!”

And with that he shoved me out, not even saying if he'd figured out if Gloxinia had any magic or magic type.

Well, better get this over with,  I wasn't even sure if the paint was edible so she probably shouldn't lick it even if that was how cats normally cleaned themselves.

Ignoring that my own shirt had gotten blue in places,  I went to the next best water source and tried my best to keep a hold of Gloxinia who definitely did not like water.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

I looked up to see that Leon guy.

“Oakley put paint on the cat, i'm trying to get it off before she licks it,  but i don't think she likes water”

Leon stuck his hand into the water bucket,  taking it back out and flicking water at me.

“Yeah no shit, thats cold water, why the fuck would wold a cat like that, try warm water next time dipshit”

Rude, at least I was trying, and not letting her eat paint.

“You do it then! If you're so much better at that!”

At the moment neither the cat nor me were happy about it.

“Aight, bet”

With that he grabbed both Gloxinia and the bucket, slinging the cat half over his shoulder and dragging the bucket to who knew where.

Well, at least I didn't have to do it now.

And judging by the fact that Gloxinia tried rubbing her head against his ear she was also rather happy about that.

Whatever, if that guy thought warm water would make her hate it less he was free to try.

Now where did everyone else go? 

Hopefully none of them got into trouble.

As it turned out they just had gotten lost in the castle again,  which we only found out because Jamie walked along the outside of it to try and get someone that knew where the fuck everything was.

Yamet however was found in the kitchen, 

talking and working with Myril so we left them to it, whatever they were doing smelled really good so we were not going to interrupt.

As expected when two very good cooks were put in the same kitchen, Dinner tasted amazing, some sort of Goulash that heavily utilized spices.

Yamet was probably the one that had brought the spices.

After that I brought Ronan back to Oakleys tower,  also rather curious about whatever he found out.

We did do a little detour though as apparently Nea had decided to train her new Pet like a Dog, including the command to fetch things.

Well, things, she let it chase a rat carcass she had tied to some other poor Guard that had to run laps to avoid the little beast.

Not something anyone wanted to be involved in.

“Is she trying to train the Drake?”

“I think so, but i don't think she knows how to,  how did you know how to take care of Imugi?”

He shrugged.

“Fuck around find out really, Imugi was easy cuz she loved doing what i was doing, also i was the first thing Imugi saw when she hatched so i guess she imprinted on me? I'm not entirely sure she knew she was a sea creature for the first few months.

Also I gave her treats when she did good things. 

Maybe I can talk to the lady there later and see if I can help! 

I've never really seen a Drake this close! Or young!”

“You do that, 

i'm not entirely sure she won't tell the little guy to bite you though”

I Wouldn't put it past her to do that, Besides we had other stuff to do first.

So, Ignoring whatever torment Nea brought upon everyone else,  I knocked on the doorframe to Oakley tower, the Door itself still missing.

“Ah there you are! Come in! I accidentally melted the door anyway!”

I kept quiet about wondering how the fuck someone could melt a Door on accident.

“Did you find out more about the Blue bracelet? 

Does the water creature also have a name?”

Oakley wordlessly pointed at two chairs and told us to sit down, 

heaving the book he rummaged for earlier onto the table.

Flipping pages around he stopped on a depiction of the creature Ronan turned into, though the drawing on the old paper depicted spots Ronan did not have as well as a different tailfin and a more brownish coloration.

But it was still the same creature, the depiction surrounded by runes and letters that were absolute gibberish to me.

Oakley pointed at it.

“So from what I found out this is a Faraselgi,  and it's basically the same principle as for the Ardua just with a water element instead of an earth one, the rest is pretty much the same.

Well that far we got ourselves already.

“Anything else about it? Or is that all?”

I would have expected it to have at least a few more differences.

“Nope! Aside from the different creatures, which are really just based on environmental factors, it's pretty much the same!

What? Did you think the blue one got superpowers or something?”

Of course not, but after being able to turn into an Ardua I couldn't exactly know what to expect regarding those Bracelets.

“How much is the same? I mean I know about the two hearts thing, 

Is the rest also the same?”

Ronan asked, brow creasing as he tried to read the absolute mishmash of letters and runes, clearly not getting anything from that.

Oakley just nodded.

“Well yes, if you take aside the tailfin shorter hind legs and stupidly big paddle shaped grabbers it is very similar!

Oh also your thoracic vertebrates are longer,  so you sort of got a mock fin on your back, but it's technically bone”

There was the weird thing,  of course there had to have been at least one weird thing about it.

Well, weirder than it already was at least.

“So I got more bones? Awesome! Do they have a function too?”

Leave it to the biologist to find that exciting.

“I don't think so, maybe helps with balance,  don't go around trying to remove them”

A fair warning considering this was Ronan.

“Don't worry! I'm not gonna vivisect myself! 

Jamie and Imik would beat the shit out of me!”

That really shouldn't be his only concern here.

“Well then that's really all since you seem already familiar with it somehow! Just don't go around scaring people or you will find your head mounted to a wall someday!”

With that he picked up the book and shoved it back into his coat,  which shouldn't feasibly hold something that big.

“Hell yeah! Now I know what it's called! I'm gonna go tell the others! 

And Imugi! Imugi first! Before it gets dark! Byee!”

He rushed out the doorway,  well at least there would be a bit of daylight still.

“Does he know where he is going?”

“No i don't think so,  when i go back i'll inform someone to keep an eye out”

Eh, he'd be fine, he had a stupid amount of luck.

Besides, I did want to talk to Oakley a bit more.

My turn to say something that would throw him for a loop.

“I met your ex”

He spit out the tea he'd been sipping.

“What? Wait which one? 

Ah no considering where you were it can only be one”

Which one??? Dumbass, then again he was like what? Sixhundred?

It was likely he had more than one ex, or more than ten even.

“So, how is Grella doing? 

It's nice to hear she's still alive after all this time”

“She's kinda dying, just like magic,  but you knew that already didn't you?”

He stared into his mug.

“Kamerasca doesn't have any Ley lines, the closest one is where my old hut is, which is why I built it there, but yes, magic is dying.

I've noticed a long time ago,  but nobody I know could do anything about it. 

I can't do anything about it, and telling people brought nothing,  either rejoicing at the ‘evil’ becoming less or simply not caring considering it wasn't their problem.

The only ones that did care were the mages and wizards and the like,  I know a few Elemancers tried to figure out WHY it happened but when I got there they were dead already, stabbed in the back by someone that saw his magic as a curse rather than what it really was.

I debated telling you after I moved here,  but I didn't want to take your joy away so soon,  Besides, there is nothing you can do, and I didn't want to see anyone else get hurt trying to figure out what was going on with magic.

At first I even expected you guys to either not care or to actually care, and go off on some stupid mission to fix something that a mere human could never fix and die.

All the powerful and old magic users are either dead or somewhere in Valyria, which is very dangerous as is already, i bet even more died in the last two hundred years as most used magic to prolong their life.

But with magic dying all the old magic users will too, and Grella as well.

She's really the only one I feel sorry for.

How much time did she estimate?”

I stared at him, so he hadn't told me to not worry me,  but from what I gathered he would have told me eventually,  when it became relevant for me.

“She said about thirty years at most, she will die in less than twenty”

Oakley looked at his three fingered wing hand,  sadder than I had ever seen him.

“If i wasn't a coward i’d visit her, but alas i am just that”

“Why? She sounded like she still likes you, i don't think she’d hurt you”

He shook his head.

“No, i know she won't hurt me, we split because i could never really go dive into the depths with her, and the school i wanted to go to was a good bit inland, where she couldn't go, in the end our interests just didn't match anymore and we agreed both to call it off.

But there are things out there, that I made very angry,  people I made angry by obtaining what was considered forbidden knowledge.

If i were to go too far from Barmea and too close to Valyria again they would kill me, and they could make it permanent”

There was a lot I did not know about Oakley, but I knew he was not a bad person, why ever he had done it he would have had a reason to.

“So you're stuck on this continent? 

Wait, did you just live as a hermit for a few hundred years? 

No wonder you were so weird when we met you, you still are”

He puffed up indignantly.

“Well, social norms have changed a lot since I went into the forest! 

It's not my fault you humans can't stick with one thing!”

Well that was true.

“Fair, but I'm sure you could just have read up on it!”

He grinned, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

“Well i find the fuck around find out approach a lot more amusing! 

But if you insist I will head to the castle Library to get catched up now!

Also i need to get a new door, maybe i should do that first”

I looked at the doorway that let a cool breeze in.

“Yeah that has probably priority right now, well have fun repairing your door, i still need to say hi to Arthur, if i find him”

“Oh i think he fell asleep sorting paperwork!”

I nodded at Oakley and went back to the castle,  stopping briefly to grab the red blue and purple shell I had picked out for him, I did say I'd get him one.

Now I just had to find him.

Since every other hallway ended up in the throne room at one point or another that's where I went, and Rikaad and Robin were already there.

Rikaad stared with disdain at the needlessly pompous throne,  to be fair it did not look comfy at all.

“Hey! Have any of you seen Arthur? I did promise to bring him a shell"

I waved said shell in the air.

“I have not seen him, but he has to be around,  perhaps Norrin will know where-” Rikaad got interrupted by Arthur emerging from one of the side hallways.

“I hate the layout of this place! Oh you're all back!”

There was a Squeal and Robin rushed to hug the blonde, who had to hold a bunch of paper over his head to not get them scrunched up.

For some reason they had reddish brown stains in one corner.

Arthur nearly fell over if not for Rikaad grabbing his arm to keep steady.

Arthur awkwardly patted at Robin's messy head and I noticed that two of his fingers were in a splint.

“What happened to your fingers? Did Nea break them?”

Robin let go after that, inspecting said finger gently.

He did say before we left that he wouldn't doubt that Nea would do just that.

“Huh? Oh no i tried to grab at something that fell behind that longass drawer, kinda broke my finger when i slipped on paper”

Well, that still sounded painful.

But at least the next bit would probably cheer him up a little!

I handed Arthur the shell I had picked out for him, 

the blue, red and purple shimmering in the light.

“Here! I did say I'd get you a big one!”

He turned said shell over in his hand,  the thing being almost bigger as said hands.

“I didn't know seashells could have those colors! 

Thank you! OH! Also I have something as well!”

He held out the slightly stained paper, which I was now pretty sure was blood, and carefully took it, looking it over.

My face split in a grin as I read the title, 

It seemed like Rikaad had to rewrite a law pretty soon.

Man, I couldn't wait to write to Fable!

NEXT / PREVIOUS / OVERSIGHT

[hi-my-name-is-cosmopathy]

The Man In The Mirror (A Casa Crossover Short [?] Fic)

----------------------------------------------

“Hey, have you heard about that guy named Percy?”

“Shush! Don’t say his name!”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I heard he killed someone while he was playing baseball.”

“What? He didn't kill him, he just injured him.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that he hurt someone.”

“But...how?”

“A hard hit on the head with a ball.”

“That Percy...I never liked him. I knew he was trouble.”

“His pleas and silent nature really bugged me off.”

“Yeah, and he's so annoying with his baby face. He should take a good look at the mirror.”

“Someone like him isn't fit for baseball.”

“Yeah! He didn't even throw it right. What convinced the coach to bring him to the team?”

“I bet he was being soooo full of himself when he got in the Sodor Sobriquets, he probably doesn't feel bad about the entire incident.”

“No, I'm pretty sure it's because he's an anti-social freak. He never goes out of his house to hang out with his friends.”

“Or maybe he was feeling paranoid that the player was better than him. That's why he hurt him.”

“Heartless twat.”

“Annoying pipsqueak.”

“Sneaky shut-in.”

“Blood-dirty Percy—”

Then he woke up.

He woke up in a cold sweat.

Percy laid in his bed, eyes wide open, as pale as a vampire.

He quickly sat up and shook his head, trying to get back to his senses. Shaking off the guilt.

He sat there lost in his thoughts. He just wanted a nice sleep. Why did it have to be a dream like that?

He turned his head to the clock on the table beside his bed, and it read; 6:30, am.

The young man sighed as he slowly stepped out, cranky and tired, and he made his way to the vanity in his room. It was old and dusty, made of wood that creaked when it was pushed. But it's mirror had a wonderful gold frame, the top marked with three gems; amber, lapis lazuli, and malachite, which all glowed in the sunlight at dawn.

Percy sat down once again, on a chair, an gazed at the mirror...

He was a hot mess.

His hair was in curls and flying about, bags under his apathetic eyes, and his sleeping wear, it's not even buttoned properly.

His face cringed at his appearance and his hand made his way to one of the drawers.

He grabbed a hair brush from it and started to harshly brush on his hair, as if he was raking a wooden floor. His hair tugged everytime the brush went to the tips of his hair.

After that, he set the brush aside, and stood up as he walked to the closet, opening its doors and searching for his daily wear, and the following came through his head...

That nightmare- no. That memory. It always came back. Why does it always come back?

Percy reminsced. He was so patient. So, so patient. Always trying to understand everyone's problems. He was so loyal, so obedient, and was willing to do anything for anyone.

So why? Why did they do that to him? He never asked for much, so what right did they have to say all those things about him? He was never going to find out, but that was of no concern to him anymore.

He was in control now. He had everyone on a leash, and followers who would cower before him like dogs, slaves who would do his bidding.

He was calling the shots now.

Percy thoughts were disturbed as he felt his vest on one of the shelves. He peaked inside the closet and found his shirt, gloves and pants, all folded and ready for him, along with “his” googles.

He grabbed them and started to change.

After buttoning up his yellow shirt he put on his vest, pulled up his pants, wore his gloves and tied his jacket around his waist. He headed back towards the mirror, googles in hand. He laid them on the vanity as he took a hair tie and tied up his hair. And finally, he put on his googles, adjusting it on his head.

Staring at his reflection one more time, he sighed in relief. Finally, he was all fixed-up, ready to go.

He walked to the door and went out to start his day...

.

.

.

8:20, am.

Percy stormed into his bedroom, furiously shutting the door behind him with a bang.

Stomping towards his vanity, he slammed his hands unto the table before him

To say he was aggravated was an understatement.

But in all honesty, when you rob a grocery store for food, and you get found out by some random Scottish bloke in snow plowing clothing, you can't just beat him up and lose him in Wellsworth! And how do you accidentally stab a man in the waist?

“How the hell did they mess up one simple task?”, he asked himself. “Goddamnit, you two. It was supposed to be a stealth mission.”

“The man seems to know his way around station too but I've never seen him work there. I'll have to deal with him soon...”

“Those twins will be the death of me”, he groaned, as he roughly pulled out his googled and slammed them on the vanity

He stared at the mirror in anger as he sighed and looked down...

“You’re very lucky he’s still alive.”

Percy sharply turned his head around in response to the sudden voice he heard.

“Not there, I’m in here.”

The boy turned once again, and this time, to the mirror.

He knew what the effects of the gold dust were, but he didn’t recall one of them being that it can trap ghosts in mirrors.

In front of him was a mysterious figure, covered in shadows. He couldn't see him properly because of it, until he stepped closer.

“Percy, you need to stop”

Said man was too busy processing many things to be able to listen to the strange man, starting with the man's resemblance to an old 'friend' of his.

His hair was black with gray streaks, tied up and styled similar to Thomas' hair. He dressed in a similar style too, grey overalls and a white collared shirt underneath his grey vest with gold and red buttons aligned.

But he seemed older, and had and eye bags freckles on his face. He wore glasses too.

Percy didn't think he wasn't sure if he was a ghost, as his eyes and hair tips didn't glow with dust like the others, and his sclera wasn't grey. And Thomas never mentioned anything about having a brother…

But then again, it’s very much like Thomas—or anyone—to keep secrets from him- The vainglorious basta-

"Percy? Percy, are you even listening to me?"

“What do you want from me?”, he questioned.

“It’s simple, really..”

“I wan’t you to stop whatever you’re planning”, the elder demanded.

Percy laughed a little. “Who are you to boss me around?”, the young man hissed.

"Don't you feel any sympathy for anyone who gets caught in this mess? That Scottish man for example."

“Why should I feel bad? I’m not the one who hurt him”, he scoffed. “It’s his fault for picking a fight with those two idiots.”

The man frowned. “Really, Percy?”, he said to no one.

“Why are you doing this? Don’t you know that you’re hurting the very people you treasured? Like Thomas-”

“Don’t lecture me. You’re not my parents, And you- you don't know anything about me and Thomas.”

“Percy, I've been down the path you’re taking right now. I know that it's aggravating to be tossed around like a pawn, and used for the success of others while still being stepped on. But this is not the way to fight back. There’s a better way and I can—”

“You don’t know what you’re saying”, Percy interrupted. “There is no other way.”

“It doesn't matter how many times I can get angry, or how much I can reason with them. They will find some way to take advantage of me. Any. way. As long as they get what they want. This...THIS is the only way I can be stronger. This is the only way I'll ever be free of anyone's grasp.”

“And I'm not just rightfully punishing the people who underestimated me, I’m saving lives. Becoming stronger for those effected by what they call the ‘gold dust’”.

The man's frown deepened. “Is this really anyway for you to be ‘stronger’? To hurt the people you once cherish the most—”

“I may have loved them, but they never loved me!”, Percy shouted. “All they thought of me was another doormat to walk over! Someone insignificant! Incapable of understanding things. “Dirty Percy”, Can you really call that love?”

“You don’t understand! They were just trying to protect you—”

“Oh, so you are just one of them! I don't need protection! I am fully capable of doing things adults can do, cause I am one! I’m not a goddamn baby anymore, I’m a grown man!”

The two stared each other with baited breath, their eyes filled with an ugly intent, especially Percy's.

A long silence filled the room, the tension was so thick that you could cut it in half and eat a slice.

The old man deeply sighed.

“What happened in the tournament wasn’t your fault.”

Someone swore they could hear glass shatter.

“....How...how do you know about that..?”, the boy muttered.

“I’ve been watching you for a while now, Percy, how could I not?”, he replied. “Every night, when I go to sleep. Somehow, it seems that fate brings me into this dark void to let me watch over you. I see not only everyone you hurt, but even you, suffer everyday. And it’d hurt me. Why do you think I’m talking to you in the first place?”

“It really was an accident, and I know that.”

Percy was indignant. “My entire life was ruined because of that event... How could you just call it an accident?”

“It could’ve happened in any game. I know you think it's your fault..”

“Stop.”

“If you didn't, you wouldn't have been acting so meek and dishonest after that.”

“Stop it.”

It was infuriating for Percy to hear this man bring up the past. He turned away...

“You wouldn’t have been hiding your true feelings from other people. That incident left a huge scar on you, but that baseball game, if it makes you feel any better, you weren't entirely at fault.”

“I said stop it. I’ve already moved on”, Percy fibbed.

“But have you?”, the man said as his hand slowly went out of the mirror. Percy didn't see it as his face was turned away, and eventually found himself shocked as his nightmare replayed in his head...

“Blood-dirty Percy.”

“Guys...”

“What?”

“...”

“I-I...”

“I can’t believe you all...”

Percy told hold of the hand behind his shoulder and hit the mirror, cracks starting to form. He winced as he held his hand that started to bleed small drops of blood. Percy stood up, furthering away from the vanity.

“I told you...that you are not as strong as you say”, the elder said solemnly.

“Why you...”, he growled.

“You’re not some villain or hero, Percy. You’re only 22—”

“Shut up.”

“No! You've interrupted me enough! Please just listen—”

“I said SHUT UP—”

.

.

.

.

Percy stayed silent and he looked at the mirror that one had its three beautiful gems, gleaming in the light, now turned on the ground with pieces of fractured mirror shards. Percy breathed heavily, a chair in his hands, slightly dented from the impact.

He was infuriated at two things; the broken mirror, and the person he just met. Luckily, the conversation didn't last long, thanks to his hard blow.

“I still can’t believe that guy”, he thought. “Talk about personal invasion of privacy.”

The young man sighed as he put down the chair and headed towards the door. “Dodge! Come here! Something broke, and I want you to clean it up”, he called.

Percy swore that on his way out he heard an eerie echo, an irritable whisper that came from the fractured pieces...

“My brother will not be happy about this.”

-----------------------------------------------

I think this should've been longer honestly and I'm not very proud of this but okay

Hiiii @bruhstation consider this a gift for the art of made for Ghost Pals! Alfred :)

(ALSO FINALLY IM DONNNNEED I PROCRASTINATED SO MUCH ON THIS oh and have an unblurred version and credit to @itsjustempathy for helping me)

[edogawa-division]

“I’m crazy and I don’t pretend to be anything else.”

Introduction

A.R.K or as he is otherwise known as “Aruto Shinozaki” is an android created by Wicked Requiem’s 2nd Member Kaoru Shinozaki, and is the “twin brother” to A.D.A/Ageha Shinozaki. A.R.K much like his twin is considered as good as family to Kaoru. However, unlike his kind-hearted sister, it seems like the absolute love and devotion Kaoru has given him over the years has allowed A.R.K to discover a twisted version of “humanity” becoming someone who would destroy anyone who dares to harm the ones he cares about, sending a message to any of his enemies that his family is off limits.

A.R.K is a young man of tall height with a lean figure with many considering him extremely handsome. He has short lapis lazuli blue hair that is slightly wavy and reaches the base of his neck. He has six eyes which are a sharp gray with black sclera and whenever he goes out he expertly camouflages four of them. However, his eyes shift to blood red whenever he enters “Kill Mode”.  Around his mouth are several diamond markings giving him the appearance of a Glasgow smile.

Unlike his creator, A.R.K is quite fashionable, often seen in punk-style clothing. He usually wears a distressed long-sleeved gray shirt and black ripped skinny jeans along with a black and dark blue jacket. He also wears a harness around his legs, with several chains hanging from his belt loops and ankle-length black combat boots. For accessories, he wears several piercings on his ears and his right eyebrow, a black leather choker, and multiple leather bracelets around his wrists.

Name Meanings

Shinozaki (紫乃崎) - Violet Peninsula  

Aruto (亜瑠人) - Next, Lapis Lazuli, Person 

Aliases

“A.R.K”

ShadowSpider - Gaming Handle 

Brother - A.D.A

Nii-san - A.M.U

A.S Hiden - Pen Name 

“Boogeyman of The Internet” 

“Tartarus”

Biographical Info

Gender - Male

Age - 7 (22 Physically)

Birthday - August 31st 

Ethnicity - Japanese

Hair Color - Lapis Lazuli Blue

Eye Color - Sharp Gray 

Height - 195cm / 6’5

Weight - 196lbs / 88kg

Star Sign - Leo 

Piercings - Lobes, Helix, Industrial, Eyebrow

Markings - A symbol in between his shoulder blades, Diamond markings around his mouth, Spider tattoo on his right hand

Family 

Creator / “Cousin”

“Twin Sister”

“Little Sister”

“Brother-in-Law”

“Sister-in-Law”

“Brother-in-Law”

“Niece”

“Niece”

“Nephew”

“Biological Son Nephew”

Voiced By - Gero (Rapping)

Personality

Despite being made of metal and synthetic flesh, A.R.K is disturbingly expressive with his most distinguishing features being his maniacal laughter and psychotic smile. His status as an android makes A.R.K near infinitely intelligent as he is constantly processing the whole internet through his mind. Making him a horrifying enemy to anyone unfortunate enough to earn his ire. Unlike his twin, who seems to care for everyone, A.R.K has little to no regard for life. In fact, at times, he seems to even enjoy taking it.

A.R.K is often brutal, arrogant, disrespectful, murderous, and sadistic. He has no issue with ripping apart anyone who gets too close for his liking, getting satisfaction from destroying and wreaking havoc either in cyberspace or in person. Taunting his enemies as they lie in front of him dying. Humorously, A.R.K gets a bit impatient during this, even tapping his fingers while waiting for them to croak.

A.R.K seems to treat nearly everyone around him as if they're pawns in a game of some sort. As such, he takes joy in observing events unfolding in front of him before he joins in. He often lies, manipulates, and even fabricates evidence to get people to attack each other. Doing this to see if anyone would be willing to provoke him so he can quickly put his opponent in their place by simply proving his superiority.

When around Kaoru and his sisters, he tones down the energy, softening a bit. He even relaxes and becomes more talkative, and his usually malicious taunting becomes much more teasing in nature. Even pranking them to get a little rise out of them. However, make no mistake A.R.K is fiercely loyal and protective of his loved ones with this bond going far beyond what was expected with A.R.K even gaining sentience because of it.

Much like his twin A.R.K developed what many would call a “Kill Mode”. When like this A.R.K drops his sadistic personality and becomes completely emotionless not even bothering to taunt his opponents. A.R.K is considerably more frightening in this mode than he is normally with his only objective being to get rid of the threat as quickly as possible. Thankfully, it's rare for A.R.K to enter this mode as he is more than capable of dealing with any threat in his normal mode.

Trivia

As part of his identity as “Aruto Shinozaki”, A.R.K claims to be Kaoru’s “cousin” who lives with her. 

His virtual form is the same as the symbol on his spine.

A.R.K has reached what Kaoru calls “Singularity” and is fully sentient and autonomous. 

A.R.K is Kaoru’s go-to twin whenever she wants to send a message to any of her enemies something that A.R.K is more than happy to help her with. 

A.R.K and A.D.A each represents a side of Kaoru. A.D.A is her cheerful energetic side while A.R.K is Kaoru’s malicious and uncaring side. 

A.R.K is the creator of a shojo manga called The Spider & The Butterfly under the pen name A.S Hiden. 

One of A.R.K’s main hobbies is to “haunt” people. One of his favorite targets is Tomi Chōten of Aoyama, often stealing money from his account and short-circuiting any technology in the Chōten Manor. 

A.R.K is good friends with Sumire Shinomiya’s A.I., Malphas/Masuzō Shinomiya with the two of them often secretly hanging out. 

A.R.K has a spider bot form, which he uses to discreetly follow people around. 

Along with helping Kaoru, A.R.K is in charge of operating [RETRACTED] with A.D.A. One of Kaoru’s more dangerous inventions.

[keshetchai]

@highlighteretcigarettes okay so just posting tags separately because that post was getting long and this is now a whole side topic BUT!!! Re: witch-washing.

Bullet points just to organize my thoughts:

Wrt to the marketing of it all, this is something I noticed first in bookstores as someone who used to constantly hang out in the religion sections as a tween. It used to be that in chain bookstores "New Age" was either right next to general religion (aka mostly Christianity and then small spots for everything else), OR one aisle over. Nowadays I've noticed chains like B&N put MUCH more distance between the two areas - like one of my local ones has them in wholly different floors. And it's now "Spirituality" I think? A lot of the category labels seem to no longer say neo-pagan/pagan or even new age, it's just "spirituality" and "astrology."

Actually I think this is very intentional. I think I've seen this in indie bookstores too, but B&N is a definite for this: they shelve next to diet, health, and cookbooks now. Not religion. Keep in mind I grew up in a red state in a heavily Christian area, and back then, new age was still in the same general area as the rest of religion at the local Borders or Walden's or B&N. Now, it's holistic health, diet, exercise, cookbooks, and spirituality.

It doesn't escape me that this is entirely "things we can market as lifestyles that someone can buy into." These publishers clearly broke into the capitalist market and have thrived there. I suspect that for the booksellers and publishers, the distancing from the rest of religion (a "status quo") is intentional. It's like what hot topic is to goth subculture.

Although like you said, I don't think this is limited to chain stores even. I've seen plenty of small new age/spirituality/pagan shops irl, and can't recall a single one that didn't also sell tons of cheap mass produced trinkets, often hyping up their hand crafted quality or the exoticness of the item obtained. Cheap mass produced junk is probably in every religion of course, but yeah, there IS a bigger sense of "buying things" in some religions more than others. Christian evangelicals do this with precious moments figurines and their wall o'crosses decor. Pagans have their own versions of that kind of spiritual consumerism. I do often walk away with the sense that if there was a market population to support it, it would be just as capitalistic and hallmark-y. Lots of shit on Etsy is mass produced and repackaged too.

Idk if it's also free elsewhere off the top of my head, but there's an article you could read free on jstor if you sign up - search "plastic shamanism" and man oh man. 10/10 article about cultural appropriation and mass marketing of indigenous religions to non-natives.

(You probably relate to this sentiment): I am Begging EVERYONE, pagan or not, crystal bitch or otherwise: STOP BUYING LAPIS LAZULI!!!! STOP. WHO EXACTLY DO YOU THINK IS EARNING MONEY FROM MINING IN AFGHANISTAN? PRAY TELL?? Stop buying this one expensive blue rock for your energy aura or whatever.

(Also this one): Also as the child of a parent who grew up in a mining company town, and whose grandfather was a chemist for the company, (and who loved me a shiny rock long before crystal everything): stop buying overpriced rocks constantly. At least CONSIDER how they obtained these particular rocks before you buy them willy nilly. Don't buy 30 million crystals and geodes and whatever else mined and polished and all of that, and then claim to love the environment without any sense of irony. The best and coolest rocks are the ones you find and pick yourself anyways, everyone knows that.

I think this is true of any religious objects but like, the best ones are either personally crafted OR made by small artisans and it just sucks that a lot of small businesses try to pass off their goods as things they actually personally designed (even for factory production) or made, when they didn't do either. I personally have taken a lot of time purchasing/obtaining my permanent basic Judaica for a variety of reasons, my feelings about consumption and things (and Jewish thoughts on craftsmanship and beautiful things), being part of that. I think a lot of people have that struggle, where religious objects so often are kinda...produced like they're just future garbage - again, in any religion.

[ekat-fandom-blog]

Tarot Cards

I disagreed with some of the choices for the official DC tarot deck, so this is who I'd choose. I did limit myself to superheroes and the major arcana unlike the official deck.

The Fool - Beginnings, innocent, spontaneity, free spirited, naivety, foolishness, recklessness, risk-taking Color: pale yellow Crystal: Tourmaline, turquoise Animal: eagle, man, butterfly Plant: aspen, grapes, peppermint Weapon: Dagger and fan Characters: Starfire

The Magician - Power, skill, concentration, action, resourcefulness, manipulation, poor planning, latent talents Color: Yellow Crystal: Tiger eye, citrine, fire opal, agate Animal: Ibis, ape, swallow Plant: Marjoram, palm, vervain (cerebral excitants) Weapon: Wand, caduceus Character: John Constantine

The High Priestess - Intuition, higher powers, mystery, subconscious mind, hidden agendas, need to listen to inner voice Color: Blue Crystal: Moonstone, pearl Animal: Dog Plant: Almond, pomegranate, haze, moonwort (emmenagogues) Weapon: Bow & arrow Characters: Dr. Fate

The Empress - Fertility, femininity, beauty, nature, abundance, creative block, dependence on others Color: Emerald green Crystal: Emerald, rose quartz Animal: Sparrow, dove, swan Plant: Corn, myrtle, rose, clover, cypress (aphrodisiacs) Weapon: Girdle or belt Characters: Mary Marvel

The Emperor - Authority, father figure, structure, solid foundation, domination, excessive control, rigidity, inflexibility Color: Scarlet red Crystal: Ruby Animal: Ram, owl Plant: Oak, tiger lily, geranium Weapon: Horns, the burin Character: Batman

The Hierophant - Religion, group identification, conformity, tradition, beliefs, restriction, challenging status quo Color: Red orange Crystal: Topaz, carnelian, lapis lazuli Animal: Bull Plant: Mallow, sugar cane Weapon: Labor of preparation Character: Captain Marvel/Shazam

The Lovers - Love, union, relationships, values, choices, disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values Color: Orange Crystal: Alexandrite, agate Animal: Magpie Plant: Orchid, rush, LSD Weapon: Tripod Characters: Green Lantern(Stewart) and Hawkgirl(Shayera)

The Chariot - Control, will power, victory, assertion, determination, lack of control and direction, aggression Color: Orange-yellow Crystal: Amber, chalcedony Animal: Sphynx, crab, turtle Plant: Lotus, olive, watercress Weapon: Fiery furnace Character: Red Hood

Strength - Strength, courage, patience, control, compassion, weakness, self-doubt, lack of self-discipline Color: Yellow Crystal: Cat's eye, topaz, chrysolite Animal: Lion Plant: Sunflower (carminatives) Weapon: Disipline Character: Miss Martian

The Hermit - Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance, isolation, loneliness, withdrawal Color: Yellow-green Crystal: Peridot, bloodstone Animal: Rhinoceros, dog Plant: Snowdrop, aspen, narcissus (aphrodisiacs) Weapon: Wand & lamp Character: Raven

Wheel of Fortune - Good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point, bad luck, negative external forces, out of control Color: Royal violet Crystal: Sapphire, amethyst, lapis Animal: Eagle, sphynx Plant: Hyssop, oak, poplar, coca Weapon: Scepter Character: Red Robin

Justice - Justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law, unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty Color: Green emerald Crystal: Emerald, coral, jade Animal: Elephant, crane Plant: Aloe, tobacco Weapon: Cross of equilibrium Character: Booster Gold

The Hanged Man - Suspension, restriction, letting go, sacrifice, martyrdom, indecision, delay Color: Deep blue Crystal: Beryl, aquamarine Animal: Snake, eagle, scorpion Plant: Lotus, ash, water plants, fermented grapes (purges) Weapon: Cup & cross Character: Nightwing

Death - Endings, beginnings, change, transformation, transition, resistant to change, unable to move on Color: Blue-green Crystal: Jacinth, amethyst Animal: Wolf, beetle, crayfish Plant: Cactus, yew, aspen, myrtle Weapon: Evil eye, pain of obligation Character: Green Lantern(Hal)

Temperance - Balance, moderation, patience, purpose, meaning, imbalance, excess, lack of long term vision Color: Blue Crystal: Jacinth, amethyst Animal: Horse, dog, centaur Plant: Rush Weapon: Arrows Character: Green Arrow

The Devil - Bondage, addiction, sexuality, materialism, detachment, breaking free, power reclaim Color: Indigo Crystal: Black diamond, jet, obsidian Animal: Goat, ass Plant: Hemp & marijuana, thistle, fig, orchis root Weapon: Evil eye, lamp Character: Arsenal

The Tower - Disaster, upheaval, sudden change, revelation, avoidance of disaster, fear of change Color: Scarlet Crystal: Ruby, garnet Animal: Bear, wolf, horse Plant: Absinthe, rue, tobacco Weapon: Two-edged sword Character: Robin(Damian)

The Star - Hope, spirituality, renewal, inspiration, serenity, lack of faith, despair, discouragement Color: Violet Crystal: Turquoise, rock crystal Animal: Peacock, man, eagle Plant: Silver fir, olive, coconut (diuretics) Weapon: Censer Character: Superman

The Moon - Illusion, fear, anxiety, insecurity, subconscious, release of fear, unhappiness, confusion Color: Violet-red Crystal: Milk opal, moonstone, pearl Animal: Dolphin, fish, scarab Plant: Poppy, hazel, opium, nettle (narcotics) Weapon: Magic mirror Character: Green Lantern(Jessica)

The Sun - Fun, warmth, success, positivity, vitality, temporary depression, lack of success Color: Orange Crystal: Diamond, heliotrope(bloodstone) Animal: Sparrow-hawk, lion Plant: Laurel, sunflower, heliotrope Weapon: Bow & arrow, spear Character: Flash(Barry)

Judgement - Judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution, self-doubt, refusal of self-examination Color: Red Crystal: Fire opal, malachite Animal: Lion Plant: Hibiscus, red poppy (nitrates) Weapon: Wand, lamp Character: Green Lantern(Guy)

The World - Completion, integration, accomplishment, travel, lack of completion, lack of closure Color: Blue-violet Crystal: Onyx, jet, lapis lazuli, black pearl Animal: Crocodile, dragon Plant: Cypress, hellebore, yew, nightshade Weapon: Sickle Character: Wonder Woman

[feedbackblues]

hi. i am renowned Playlist Maker feeba. here's my outer wilds playlist. EXTENSIVE explanation (AND OUTER WILDS + DLC SPOILERS) of every single song below the cut because i am INSANE and autisitc

Carrion: This song gave me the same feeling as reading some of the nomai text in the ruins. This song is insane to me. ["my soul," she cried "i thought you'd died / amid fumes of formaldehyde / you have been gone, for so long" i felt the lapping of an ebbing tide] <- particularly this part reads as when i explored the ruptured core...

Storm's Raging: HI blaseballers. are you emotionally destroyed? i'm emotionally destroyed. [the sun ain't coming back, the sun ain't coming back, the storm is raging]

Blank Slate: oh come on. Come On man. the universe has reset, has refreshed. [the slate, the slate, the slate is blank / and now, i know, we can't go back] come ONNNN

Didn't You Hear?: something about this is just so Nomai Music to me. the tenderness of the singer's voice. the way the instruments sound. the contents of the lyrics themselves [didn't you hear? there are signs in the sky / they say dreamers hang on / you'll wake by and by / and why are we all playing at games we cannot win? / we play because we fear we cannot play again]

In Space: an instrumental little jaunt that sits somewhere between Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and the merry wonders of the stars

Stairs to the Attic: oh boy. this is one of the more complex ones to me. the lyrics of this are self-explanatory, if you know the story of the game ([and through the door there was the attic / without old clothes, without a ceiling / everything had opened wide / into the jaws of something bigger]), but there's just something about the desperate existential voice that drives my brain nuts

Leviathan: fullstop this is about the Nomai extinction to me. or Solanum. i just. 😭😭😭 FUUUCK man. Fuck

Onset - Beyond Clouds: another instrumental.. reminds me of the pre-intelligence hearthian ancestors seeing the stars for the first time tbh

diary entry 7/15 - 7/28 + fourteen days is not enough for my screams to reach your ears: (these songs connect together) self-explanatory if you look at the lyrics tbh. [short wicks on a small stage / watch us burn, watch us burn, watch us burn / oh, you won't see me cry] [all our worlds will end / all our time is burning] also again... Hi blaseballers...

two week world: OH WHEN THE WOOOORLD LAST TWO WEEKS!!! YOU DONT GET FAR!!!! WHEN THE SUN FORMS AND BURNS OUT IN FOURTEEN DAYS!!! ALL YOU CAN HOPE TO BE!!! IS SOMEONE ELSE'S STAR!!!! IN SOMEONE ELSE'S SKY!!!! A TRILLION MILES AWAY!!!! A GOOGLEPLEX OF YEARS DOWN THE ROAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAYBE OUR DAY OUR LIGHT WILL GUIDE SOMEONE HOME!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAUAGAGAAGHAAAAAAAAA. AAAAAAAAAAA

analog: this song is just kind of cute and reminds me of the general hands-on and analog technology of the hearthians. they would put a grandfather clock in a spaceship.

nullified: Okay this is because i have an animatic for it in my head. But i picture the Hatchling accidentally breaks the warp core in a loop before they make it to the Vessel. and they have to fly their ship to the Eye themself. and. augh. starts crying

first field: another Antlers song about being a tiny piece of the universe and loving the world you were born on? uhhh yes please

Curses: blaming you for this lazuli. but also it's a goodass song

Hollow Moon (Single Version): blaming you for this lazuli (echoes of the eye edition)

Don't Quit: IT JUST REMINDS ME OF THE ASH TWIN PROJECT MUSIC? TBH???????????

elsewhere: OHHH NOWHERE TO GO!!! STUCK ON THE COAST!!!! STUCK IN THE ELSEWHERE TRYING TO FIND MY WAY HOME!!!!! FUUUCK

howling at twin moons: a looping hearthian's remorse to when the life was simple and linear and the little pleasures of the world could be enjoyed without knowing how they would be burned away. Also, haha, twin moons, like when the quantum moon orbits timber hea

Remember Me: nomai. NOMAI. I WANT TO GIVE THEM A KISS. IM CRYING INTO MY PHONE

solar eclipse (live @ the garages vs desert bus): don't wanna be forgotten. don't wanna forgive. is it so bad if i just wanna live. also the live version feels like having my whole heart ripped out thx

Intimate Immensity: the universe loves you and the universe wants a kiss

.--. --- . - - . - .-. . . : don't ask me what the title of this song is because i don't know. also it just reminds me of the village

you want it darker: THE OWLKS OH BABY I FUCKING LOVE THE OWLKS. LETS GO. the lyrical genius and Hot voice of leonard cohen combined with my special interest OOOOO ywah. Oh yeah. [you want it darker / we kill the flame]

The Sea of Tranquility: sniffling and crying and wiping my eyes on my sleeve and hiccuping and sobbing and [oh, we'll be old and weary friends / god bless, let all this never end / and how we lived / and how we know / and how we laughed together / and who alone / sings how we sang / know all we knew / and all we'll ask forever / is bring us too]

Road Movie to Berlin: i love tmbg rips open my shirt to reveal a second shirt that says i also love the narrative connotations of being trapped with your buddy (#timebuds #they should kiss)

Little Bird: reminds me of the prisoner and the hatchling meeting... in that moment you communicate more effectively than you do with anyone in the wjole game...

Sickly Suite Part One: sounds like solanum 😭😭😭😭 reminds me of her. [how are you today? / are you sure / you're still okay? / it's been a long, long time / but now you're reborn / dragged out into the light]

Sickly Suite Part Two + Three: i just like i monster. leave me alone

the twelfth trip around the sun: STARTS CRYING SO LOUD. you dont understand. the emotions i feel from this song i cant explain them thru words. i know that's literally the point of this post but i just can't do it

The Voyage: another instrumental. i apply this to all of my fixations where there's a Treacherous Journey

The Sun Hasn't Left: oh my god this is literally so time buds. this song is just straight up Gabbro you dont get it. [the sun hasn't left, the sea still has depth / the rain's still wet, try not to forget / we're not so bereft, so here's a bell that still rings true: / there's still something left, there's still something left for you]

Little Motel: again... Time Buds.... sorry i want the aliens to hold each other and sway softly

Dashboard: total vibe shift. but um. the dashboard melted but we still have the radio.. if u even care

Never Ending Math Equation: THE UNIVERSE WORKS ON A MATH EQUATION THAT NEVER EVEN EVER REALLY EVEN ENDS IN THE END. OK?

Night On The Sun: me and my homie the softboiled egg hanging out on the doubly impossible binary planet system orbiting 3 inches away from the surface of the sun

The Ground Walks with Time In A Box: gabbro again... i love you gabbo

5-4-3-2-1 Lisp Off: silly song abt being an astronaut can u tell i like modest mouse.

The Whale Song: I KNOW I AM A SCOUT I SHOULD HAVE FOUND A WAY OUT SO THAT EVERYONE COULD FIND A WAY OUT. INSTEAD OF SEEING A NEIGHBOUR OUT GOD I WISH I WOULD HAVE FOUND A WAY OUT IT WAS THE LAST TIME WE WERE HAPPY EVER HAPPY.

Gravity Rides Everything, Ocean Breathes Salty, Bury Me With It, Coyotes, We Are Between, King Rat: gabbo again... i like gabbo....

The Great Fire: WHEN THE FLAMES DIE DOWN!!! EVERYTHING IS GONE!!! WILL THERE BE FIRE!! UNDER THE ASHES STILL!!!!!! FUUUUUCK I LOVE THE OWLKS!!!!!!

Our View Of The Stars: instrumental that makes my brain explode

SUN 2 + SUN 2 (live): nomai love song... take my hand when i forget that there's a reason i'm alive, dude....

When I Was Done Dying: hatchling recounting their loops at the Eye as they have become so disconnected from the fear and feeling of death they regard it as nothing more than a momentary pain

And Yet Our Love Lives On: the way the nomai bones are still cuddling in their beds... fuck

Thank You: hatchling.

Eye of the Universe: literally just a kickass fansong

Feet-like Fins: PROTO-HEARTHIANS I LOVE YOU

still here: SOLANUM!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

watching the stars, snowfall, PP1: just awesome instrumentals tbh

Dark Center of The Universe: gabbo

The Yawning Grave: MY WAY OUT THERE HYPERFIXATION. MY LORD HURON HYPERFIXATION. NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE I AM CONTAGIOUS. anyways. ruptured core/Stranger moment

Frozen Pines: i know this is crazy but hear me out. gabbro/time buds (and the ancient glade)

You Can Never Go Home: they can never go home! idk bro!

Space & Time: [i'm close enough to happy to say / i'm close enough to happy to say / that i won't throw my memories away]

Long Lost: YEEEESS. YEAHHHH!!! YES WOOO!!!!!! I AINT LONELY IM LONG LOST!!!!!

I Lied: this reminds me of ocs i made sorry

Twenty Long Years: hatchling has been alive too long and nobody even knows. does anyone even know how long they've been dying.

Sober to Death: sorry this is literally another time buds song i fucking love gabbro.

The Moon Doesn't Mind, At Sea: i just like these ones.. i love u lord huron <3

Lost In Time And Space: if i don't find her (solanum) gonna tie that noose. literally so real of the hatchling. tbh.

[boygirldykefag]

Fusion Therapy Chapter Two: A Phone Call

Chapter One ^

Peridot laid on the couch in Steven’s room, arms around her knees. There was an empty bowl of ice cream in front of her and a mess of ice cream around her mouth. The cushion below her face was wet. Steven and Amethyst sat on either side of her.

“What about Funland?” Amethyst suggested.

“No, no way,” Steven said.

“Farming?”

“Even worse.”

Peridot whimpered.

“What about building a huge robot?”

“Maybe.”

“No!”

Amethyst sighed.

“I think you just have to wait this out, buddy.”

Peridot whimpered again.

Steven sighed.

“I wish Garnet was here.”

“Dude. We can’t just futurevision this problem away!”

“You’re right,” Steven said with defeat.

“Steven?” Peridot piped up.

“What is it?! What do you need?!”

“Do you have any blue ice cream?”

“No, we don’t have any blue ice cream.”

“Clod.”

“But I can get you some non-blue ice cream.”

She considered it.

“That will suffice.”

Steven took her ice cream bowl and walked to the kitchen.

“It’s been two weeks, and still no sign of Lapis,” Steven said to himself as he scooped Peridot the last of the ice cream. “Peridot’s not showing any signs of recovery. I don’t know what to do.”

Steven brought the ice cream to Peridot, and she scarfed it down.

“Why isn’t this making me feel better?!” Peridot exclaimed.

“Peridot, the only thing that’s gonna do that is time.”

Peridot wailed and cried.

“Yo, Steven. Can I talk to you outside?”

“Of course, Amethyst.”

Steven and Amethyst got up and walked to the door.

“Hang in there, Peri,” Amethyst said.

“What did you want to talk about, Amethyst?” Steven asked once they were outside.

“Yo, man, we’re getting nowhere.”

“I know.”

“What do we do?!”

“I don’t know.”

There was a long pause.

“Do you think Smoky Quartz could help?” Steven suggested.

“No, probably not.”

“Garnet? Pearl? Sardonyx?”

“No! The only gem who can help Peridot is Peridot!”

Steven’s phone rang. He looked at it.

“It’s my dad.”

Steven answered the phone.

“Hey dad.”

“Hey Shtewball! I got someone here who wants to talk to you.”

“Um. Okay.”

Steven waited.

“What is it?” Amethyst asked.

“I dunno.”

Steven waited.

“Hey Steven,” Lapis Lazuli said on the other end.

“Lapis?!” Steven exclaimed.

“Lapis?!” Amethyst exclaimed.

“Lapis?!” Peridot exclaimed.

Peridot scrambled outside.

“Gimme the phone!”

She tried to take the phone.

“Hey Lapis, where are you?”

“I’m at the car wash.”

Steven was dancing around Peridot as she tried to take the phone from him.

“Do you want us to come to you?” Steven asked.

“Who’s we?”

“Gimme the phone Steven!” 

“Me, Peridot, and Amethyst.”

Lapis Lazuli sighed.

“Okay.”

The three of them made their way to the car wash. Lapis Lazuli was washing a car using her powers.

“You’re doing great Lapis!” Greg said.

“Lapis!” Steven shouted.

“Steven!”

Lapis Lazuli stopped what she was doing. The two of them hugged.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said.

Lapis Lazuli turned to Peridot. She was already crying.

“C’mere.”

They hugged. Peridot was sobbing and crying.

“I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too.”

They kept hugging. Their gems started glowing. Lapis Lazuli pushed Peridot away.

“Listen. I’m sorry. For leaving.”

Peridot sniffled and whimpered.

“Ever since I was Malachite I’ve been so scared of fusing.”

“I know.”

Lapis Lazuli gasped.

“Even though it was only a few seconds, I experienced what it’s like to be you. You’ve suffered so much.”

“Yeah.”

“And I wanna help!”

“What?”

“After my ship crashed and before the Crystal Gems captured me, I was all alone! I had nothing! No one! And I know it’s nothing compared to what you’ve gone through, but you’re not the only one that’s felt trapped, the only one that’s felt alone! Lapis Lazuli, these past months with you have been the happiest of my life. You’re the greatest friend anyone could’ve asked for. And maybe… we could be a little more… than friends.”

Lapis Lazuli blushed.

“Peridot.”

“I know you’re hurting. I know there have been some real clods who didn’t treat you the way you deserve to be treated. But you don’t have to suffer alone anymore.”

Peridot tenderly put Lapis Lazuli’s hand in between both of hers.

“Thank you. The truth is, I don’t wanna be scared anymore. I don’t wanna keep running. I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to heal.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“I’d rather not do this here.”

“Of course.”

[despair-edits]

Healing headcanons for Post-corruption!Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe)

Another request... can I have headcanons for a AU Lapis lazuli (steven universe) who was corrupted and now just healing from corruption? thank you 💙

Requested by: @the-circuitry

Pain and sorrow seemed to follow Lapis everywhere she went, never threading too far behind. She was used to it, really;

Adapting was never easy for her, changes shocking her gem to the core and leaving her feeling far to venerable and exposed than she'd like to admit;

It all happened too fast yet too slow. She felt all of it, the bone chilling sensation of her body being mutilated against her will making her light-made intestines curl in disgust;

While her memory of the incident was blurry and scattered, the feeling of pure panic and terror couldn't seem to leave her head even long after being brought back;

It didn't help that her physical form was now tarnished, reminding her of the incident whenever she looked at her reflection;

She now had numerous irregular spots and cracks of gold scattered around her blue skin, reflecting in the light like rivers at sunrise. Some may say they're beautiful. To her, they seemed to only be a reminder of yet another tragedy;

Aside from the spots of gold, she could now feel slight bumps resembling fish scales on some parts of her body as well as webbed fingers and two long whisker-like antenas hanging loosely from her crown, swaying gently with her movements;

She looked aquatic, like an odd mermaid crossing the lands against all odds;

At first, she shut herself out, refusing to interact with anyone but Steven, though even that seemed to be a challenge when his eyes reflected her new, strange appearance right back at her;

But Steven was always determined to help his loved ones through it all, never giving up on them, even when they lash out and shut it all out and make it as difficult as it can be;

It stated with Peridot, when the barn was rebuild and their little oasis back in it's intended place. And although Lapis was very adamant on never speaking to another gem again, Peridot kept trying to get her best to support her without letting her fall back into her lonely ways;

Everyday Peridot would come to Lapis's room to talk her ear off and offer comfort. Slowly but surely she got her trust back.

Whenever Lapis would feel self-conscious about her looks, Peridot would do something to make herself look as ridiculous as possible. Cover herself in mud, draw all over herself, style her hair into progressively more ridiculous shapes.

Whenever she was haunted by the memories of her past traumas, Peridot would be there to calm her down, wrapping her up in a blanket like a burrito and putting on some kind of old movie to distract her friend from the terrible thought roaming through her head;

She started going out more, flying around the area to take in the beauty of earth or to help with the creation of little homeworld;

She stopped fearing her reflection and started to appreciate the little parts of herself she oh so hated beforehand;

She created and vented her feelings out by arts and crafts, pouring all that negativity into pieces both haunted and gorgeous;

And by the time they found out that Yellow Diamond could reverse her appearance back to it's original form, she had grown to appreciate it enough to refuse the offer;

Some days were better and some were worse, but she now had a family that cared about her deeply and kived her just the way she was;

She didn't need to hide and run anymore, she could count on them to pull her out of the deep ends whenever she felt like she was drowning;

She was healing slowly and feeling a little more okay each day, untill the day she can say she's truly happy again.

Ok so this was a little longer than I expected to write, but man, I got way too into it lmao

I hope you like it! Lmk if you'd like me to change anything!!

📼Mod Nagito📼

[lunarscaled]

drabble scene: The Twilight Assembly, post-tournament

Lyric arrives at the Assembly doors in handcuffs. Not alone, of course—who would let someone walk around in handcuffs unattended?—but escorted by two tall, silver armored guards, one with long elvish ears and the other with speckled brown primary feathers protruding from an open space in his bracer. Each one keeps a hand on their thick biceps with thumbs pressed into the muscle uncomfortably, and every twist of their arm or roll of their shoulder is met with a hard pull of the limb back to their side. They can’t even raise a hand to push the one errant curl of dark hair hanging between their eyes out of their face. If they twist their neck, they can see their haggard reflection in the polished metal of the bracers on either side of them: unkempt brunette curls fallen over their shoulders and down their back; the purple mottled skin under their eyes which reeked of exhaustion and pronounced their orange stare; clusters of opalescent white scales on their olive skin, growing more and more numerous every day whether they wanted them to or not. 

They had never been the type of person to dress up for appearances, but a bath would have been nice before being dragged here.

The closed door before them is at least a story tall, built from marble and embossed pewter and blends in perfectly with the surrounding monument; Lyric had only glimpsed a fraction of its towering exterior very briefly during their escort through its halls, surrounded for miles by empty, blue ocean. Pale dawn light filters through arched windowpanes and throws glares in their eyes as the doors open with a weighted clack and scrape, their heft parting sluggishly to bare the amphitheater of the Twilight Assembly to them. It is constructed from the same white stone and metal decor as its doors are, but in place of true walls and a roof are many towering, fluted columns holding aloft a dome with an open skylight in the center. Though the sun has not yet risen enough to bring about the full effect, Lyric follows the imaginary line from the hole down to the tiled floor that is inlaid with chips of lapis lazuli in the shapes of constellations. A star chart, surrounded by an outer ring which shows the phases of the moon, the blank spot for a new moon furthest from the door. They feel the great rumble and scrape of the doors closing slowly behind them vibrating painfully through their feet.

The half-circle interior of rising seats is filled with representatives Lyric has only heard of in myths, clustered in groups of their peers. Faeries dressed in the colors of their seasons, at least one for each court; Seraphim and Cherubim with their many wings folded tightly to their backs; Devas and Yashkas adorned in gold and colored silks seated beside a sharp-eyed man dressed in red robes, his hair cascading into patterns of feathers like a golden pheasant—the Vermillion Bird. From divine beasts to homely fae, all who represent their kind seem to have come to the spectacle, right down to the first half ring of seating closest to Lyric.

"The audacity of you to refuse my call and to injure my escorts is unprecedented." Ao Guang speaks in the quiet, the echo of his voice ringing with the authority of one who has always been listened to by his lessers. He raises one pale eyebrow as he stares down at them from his raised position in the stands, "You bit them?"

"You expected me not to?" Lyric replies, bending their arms at the elbows to rest their restraints only to be pulled straight again. "Do you usually expect people you kidnap to go without a fight?"

The elder dragon straightens his posture and raises his head to look down his nose at them; his presence gives weight to what they already suspected, eyes creeping from one first-row occupant to the next, all of them bearing a variety of colored and textured scales—they were in the presence of the Dragon Archons, a position they thought had grown obsolete in the modern age. It made sense if they thought about it: the suffocating aura each of them possessed, the pervasive feeling of being stared down by an apex predator, how their skin goosebumps and hair stands on end when Lyric raises their eyes to meet Ao Guang's gaze. Their pride as a fellow dragon won't let them back away, but their instinct bids them to sink lower, be more meek. They are in the presence of someone far more powerful than they could ever hope to be.

"I expect you to come when you are called, hatchling."

The diminutive grates on their clenched teeth. He raises a slender hand.

"Release them. They can do nothing here." Ao Guang lowers his hand as Lyric's jaw tightens, their stare narrowing. Where spans of his skin are not protected by his long, layered blue hanfu, Lyric can see azure scales winking in the open air. Even several meters away they can tell the clear color of his eyes, light like blue lace agates. "I assume you are beyond the age where you feel a need to throw tantrums?"

"That depends." they say, hands coming to rub their wrists as the guards each remove one thick metal cuff with a key and back away towards the closed doors, "Am I going to have a reason to throw one?"

Again he glares down at them, displeased with their flagrant pushback against his questions as titters arise behind him. Lyric watches a muscle in his jaw bulge outward before relaxing as he produces a fan of yellow and green feathers from his sleeve and hides his mouth behind it, now interested in the decorum of keeping his composure. Lyric’s free arms fall to their sides, sore from bindings while their fingers tapping anxiously against their legs as they try to keep their facial expression in check; no sneering teeth or curled lips or outward anger. There is a clearing of someone’s throat.

“You have not been summoned before us without reason. A matter of grave importance requires both our attention and yours—I assume you know what the title of Dragon Archon means?” Ao Guang gives space for their answer, but Lyric fumbles to find one. They knew of the Archons in the same way people might know of a popular urban myth, but they knew nothing of detail or how they came to be. The Dragon King of the East Sea had not become such because he was an Archon, and likewise an Archon would not be crowned a king solely based upon the former title, but that was where their knowledge ended.

Their eye contact falters and drops to the floor. Before the azure dragon can continue, he is interrupted by a sharp guffaw to his right, which was Lyric’s left, and both of their heads turn to see a large, dark scaled man in layers of wool coats leaning his weight forward onto one elbow against the wall of the seating area. He stares down Lyric with six yellow eyes crowding out his face and sharp incisors that flash when he grins.

”You can’t be serious. Look at them! No more than a babe as it is!” He gestures to them with a calloused palm that ends in thick nails like hooked claws, his boisterous voice only worsened by how his Slavic accent smears some consonants into each other. It must be the Black Dragon Archon, if his scales were anything to go by. “They could not fight for their life! How would they defend such a title!”

His tone is uninhibited by Lyric’s souring expression or the side-eye he receives from Ao Guang, who Lyric assumes has been the de facto head of all dragons for some time. Why else would he be so irritated? Lyric takes a moment to account the many dragons in the front row one by one with a careful eye, all of different silhouettes and impressions, no two outfits similar; three dragons to the left of the circle and one to the right—in the middle is Ao Guang, who they would have to be blind to think is anyone but the long-reigning Blue Dragon Archon. They knew dragons and their shapes extended the world over, but that individuality was easily missed if you never left the region you worked in.

“That isn't your choice, Chernobog," the green dragon speaks in a voice that is even but not soft, keeps his hands in his lap out of sight in a manner that makes Lyric suspicious and does not seem to regard them at all despite standing in front of him. He is wrapped in a checkered gho with folded back cuffs up to his elbows, scales so thick they can scarcely see his skin beneath and whose horns are wobbled and long like willow branches. "Or your place to speak."

"This isn't a school. We don't need to raise our hands and take turns." Chernobog rumbles, wearing a heavy wool coat over ruby-dyed, embroidered linen, whose pattern they could not clearly see at this angle or distance. He jabs a clawed finger in Lyrics direction, two of his eyes squinting. "You. Have you ever fought for a title in your life? Can you even control that magic in you?"

"I…" their tongue feels heavy as a hand clasps over one wrist and their thumb pushes against the joint as a sickening wave of anxiety rises up over them. Could they see it? Could they all see it? They were fine right now, but if their emotions escalated—if they got even the slightest bit too upset it would tear through them and their surroundings like tissue paper. Their skin was already covered in the pink scars of one-too-many ice spikes speared through, how could they hold their own in any kind of combat that didn't end up with their body run through like a pincushion with only themselves to blame? They had barely lived through their nigh-explosive outburst at the guild tourney and still lost their match. Who were they to be standing here before dragons of myth and curling their lips at being called weak "I’m trying.”

“Does it matter if they’re strong or not?” Gold, with two sets of curving horns decorated in rings that matched those on his fingers, dressed in a loose draped sleeve and fitted vest, leaned against his palm with his elbow on his knee. His accent is the only one they recognize, like their grandparents on their mother’s side from Lamia, and they are reminded of both legend and name in quick succession: Cadmus, prince of Phoenicia, dragon slayer turned serpent for slaying the Ismenian Dragon sacred to Ares. How old did that make him? 3,000 years? 4,000? How old were the rest of them? How vast the gap of power and age, and yet still having brought them here for a purpose they barely knew. “Not a single other white-scale has come to claim their seat in all this time. They may as well succeed it; they’re the only child Zargincerinth ever claimed, as damning a fate as that is.”

“An Archon has never passed down their position! It has always been fought for! That bastard dragged the dead body of the White before him into the assembly hall before he got his seat!” Chernobog brings a heavy fist down against the stone that cracks the wall on impact, quiet surprise rippling through the rest of the hall. There are many more eyes on them than just those of dragons, some delightedly watching the squabble over a single, human-born child, some sneering that they are even allowed to be here. “An insult to the legacy of the Assembly! It’d be foolish to even suggest it!”

“This is not a matter of strength, Chernobog. Don’t be so single-minded.” Further down the semi-circle to their right sits a dark skinned woman with brilliant red scales, hair braided tightly to her head in rows and decorated with beads. Her clothes are vibrant patterns of greens, golds, blues and whites, embellished with beads and braided threads; they start from her neck and extend outward like a large necklace, but sit separate from a skirt and belt in the same style. She rests her chin on her interlaced fingers and contemplates the little one before her. Of all the looks they have received, only the Red Dragon’s has been anything close to kind, but when they look up to meet her stare they find only pyrope depths with no answers for them. “This is about the Beasts’ Seal.”

Another ripple of murmuring runs through the amphitheater. The seal… they whisper. Oh yes, the seal! The summer court exclaims. Is this it? Will they finally undo it? Lyric feels a cold sweat breaking out on the back of their neck, left wringing their own wrists in the center of gossiping. It will be quite the ruckus. We’ll all have to prepare.

“Thákane is right. This is not because we feel you should suddenly rise to take this seat,” Ao Guang addresses them directly now, having lowered his open fan now that his irritation has ebbed, “It is because it is only the White Dragon Archon who can release the Leviathan and Behemoth from their slumber.”

“I don’t know anything about a seal.” Lyric professes, their voice subdued. They barely speak and yet it seems to echo in the domed space against their will; goosebumps run up their arms. “I don’t—I’m not special. If there’s someone you’re looking for it isn’t me.”

“It is.” the green dragon speaks, his arms crossed tight over his chest, “You reek of that same magic. If that is not enough, you look just the same as your predecessor from more than a millenia ago.” A pause. His pinning stare softens. “—you struggle as they did, too. The magic of a primordial dragon is too much for a human body to bear.”

Lyric looks down at their calloused hands where scar tissue has given way to rising clusters of scales and curls their fingers into their palms. Their nails are sharper than they remember, longer and faintly curved, they nick themselves sometimes when they scratch as the soft skin of their cheeks. Their teeth, too, felt as though they did not fit properly in their mouth anymore; really, nothing had felt right since the tourney. Every irritable inch of them ached, their skin seemed to split open new wounds all the time, some days it felt as though their bones were going to grow right out of their skin and they could do nothing to stop it. Was that why? Some old dragon’s blood they never asked for; some pact they never agreed to? And what did that speak of them? What did they exist for? (to go to war in someone else’s stead. to become an enemy of themselves.)

“Druk is right. The timeliness of this matter is imperative to both you and the Assembly; you must assume responsibility for the White Dragon Archon’s title, and for the unsealing of the beasts.” Ao Guang says. Lyric’s shoulders raise as their body hunches just enough to tuck their arms protectively around their ribcage, a frown deeply creasing their face.

“What happens when they’re unsealed?”

“Order.” Cadmus says, bearing a bored expression, “The natural randomness of the world returns; floods, droughts, rising winds, the expanding of forests. How things should be.”

Lyric’s mouth curls up at the edges, their teeth showing in their grimace as they feel a low-burning anger in them. “That’s not order, that’s chaos! You’re describing natural disasters! People will die!”

“Humans will die.” a kijin interjects from the back of the auditorium, its massive size barely fitting over several rows of seats as it uses its sword as an armrest, “That is no great loss. Humans die alllll the time”

“You only fear this because you are young.” Chernobog says, an elbow on his knee as the other gestures towards them. He seems to be the type to talk with his hands. “Your life will extend long past theirs. You must think of what is best for the future of the world, not the present.”

“But that doesn’t mean you can just let people get hurt! And there are more than just humans at stake—what about all the species and lives that exist codependently? What about the cities, or crops, or the colonies that will be harmed?” They can see their breath unfurling when they speak and feel the cold creeping over their hands, leaving a fine layer of frost on the skin as their emotions rise, “What about my friends?”

“Do you really have time to be worrying about such trivial matters as that?” Ao Guang’s stare drifts downwards towards their hidden hands, “If you do nothing, this problem will continue to fester.”

“The “normality” of your world is little better than an illusion.” Druk says in his perfectly even tone, “What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.”

“They’re not flies.” Lyric hisses. Beneath their eyes they can feel the pinpricks of accumulating ice, little snowflakes overlapping on their skin. “They’re alive, like me. Like you.”

Ao Guang sighs, lifting his fan to hide his irritation behind feathers again. “How disobedient children are these days…I wish I could say you weren’t always like this, but your type is so incorrigible as it is…”

“---I’m not a kid, you know.” It seems petty to pick at now, but they have little other ground to stand on. They’re clawing for any kind of leverage to raise their pride on and be listened to. “I’m 19.”

And he scoffs. A hard huff that cuts off a laugh at their incredulity, his eyes hardening until the scrutiny of his look makes them feel like an insect, held in place by pushpins on a corkboard. He wears a humanoid facade now, but they’re sure in his true form he could swallow them whole in one bite.

“You will take your place as the White Dragon Archon, and Zarcingerinth’s successor. We will manage your condition and prepare you to release the seal properly, so that the natural order may be restored.”

Lyric, despite how their palms tremble, stares back. “And if I refuse?”

The Blue Dragon Archon snaps his fan shut in a snap motion. When he opens his mouth, they can see the long fangs of an apex predator.

“Then your magic will overwhelm you, and you will die.”