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larkspyrr · 7 months

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chapter iii — beat me up so i can fight for what i believe in (wc. 5k)

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You and Molly stepped away from the sprawling opulence of the Opera Epiclese and directly into a spiral stairwell leading to a lift, gears whirring softly as the sliding doors shifted shut and you were ferried away to another world. You couldn’t help but inhale sharply as the cabin was closing off, subconsciously trying to preserve a wisp of the outside world within you, tucked safely away in your lungs, for just one moment longer.

You were lowered to a hallway that smelled of stale water and kelp, dotted with a collection of orange-toned gas lamps that did little to warm the temperature or the atmosphere. Dim, greenish light filtered down into the elevator shaft from between the blades of a massive fan, where you and Molly looked at each other with twin unease. You moved forward, but there were no other people in the hallway but for two guards, who did not so much as look at you as you passed by and into what looked to be a lobby ahead. The echo of your footsteps bounced off the walls and ceilings overhead as you continued down the murky passageway — a dirge for the freedom of countless souls who had made the march before you.

The reception area was a huge space, centered around a long, bare desk manned by a bored young woman, tapping her chin absentmindedly in the eerie glow, eyes looking somewhere far away. Multiple fans like the first spun along the walls, though it seemed they did little to circulate the air, still somehow stifling and muggy despite the chill. Behind the desk was an aquabus sitting in a pool of shallow water, idling. A few people were scattered throughout the space, accompanied by guards or tearfully hugging loved ones farewell.

Above it all was an enormous sign embedded into the far wall over a large, circular portcullis. On it, engraved in bronze — those who do not work shall not eat. You swallowed, inexplicably nervous.

The woman noticed you at last, hand dropping lazily to the desk where it continued its absentminded percussion. "You must be her. The warden is expecting you," she drawled, gesturing to the aquabus behind her. "Hop in. Should only be a few minutes."

You thanked her and gingerly climbed into the aquabus, trying and failing to keep your hem dry as you stepped across the water to board. True to her word, a little lilac Melusine wordlessly hopped in only a minute later, fiddling with the machinery to get the bus going. There were only a small handful of the others aboard, guards and new inmates whose loved ones were left behind as they moved onward to their fates.

You thought the journey would never end, aquabus steadily rocking along the gloomy waterway, algae clinging to the cool stone. Unsurprisingly, it seemed none of the other passengers had much to say. You felt it would have been inappropriate to try and start a conversation with Molly, who still sat beside you, steady as ever, and instead decided to endure the uncomfortable silence.

Finally, the ferry came up upon its destination, a second portcullis yawning open to allow entry to another large chamber, better lit than the last. Water dripped down onto you from its teeth as you passed beneath it and bobbed into the next room.

As the aquabus entered the new chamber, you froze. Molly gasped softly at your side, hand reaching up to cover her open mouth. You only noticed out of the corner of your eye, suddenly unable to tear your gaze away from the sight that unfolded before you.

You were rooted in your seat before the almost paralyzing beauty of the sea in its mesmerizing entirety; three floor to ceiling windows, unveiling the heart of the Fontemer before you, as mighty and vibrant and captivating as a living painting. You were herded off the aquabus by an impatient Melusine; barely noticing it as you continued to walk along the windows, each shifted angle revealing something new and wonderful in the aquatic landscape lain before you. Fish swam in colorful schools past kelp as tall as any building in the Court. You could see towering structures far off in the distance, emitting streams of bubbles and piercing light. A group of rays danced by, opalescent wings catching the light of the day far above. A single otter swooped into view, tapping what looked like an oyster on the glass in front of your nose before zipping merrily off into parts unknown, leaving a thin trail of bubbles in its wake.

It was bewitching. Humbling. You’d never felt smaller.

After allowing yourself as much time as you could afford to simply look out at the depths, all the other passengers having long since departed with their escort, you took the last lift down, somehow further still into the depths.

You were deposited into a hallway that bustled with unexpected life, moving with as much energy and color as the sea from beyond those enchanting windows.

The Fortress of Meropide was both exactly and not at all what you had expected.

It felt like the underworld from Enkanomiyan mythology you had read about — guarded by three-headed dogs, the river of souls and her cold ferrymaster behind you, lined in frigid bronze. Briny air filled your lungs, the chill clinging to your skin as though it were a palpable entity, but it lacked the bite of the air from the journey down... and also smelled vaguely of food, fresh and delicious.

The architecture remained consistent with the previous levels, yet here at the bottom, the atmosphere could not have felt more different. You were surprised by the energy of the residents, inmates and guards alike. People milled about the floor, mingling with one another regardless of which uniform they wore. A bulletin board with a dozen colorful notices and drawings — was that a child's drawing? — stood proudly beside a huge offshoot tunnel, a couple of inmates chatting animatedly in front of it, gesturing towards a bulletin of interest. A couple of kids ran past, giggling, not a soul paying them or their ongoing game of tag any mind. You could hear a man unexpectedly hawking Fonta, of all things, over near what looked to be a cafeteria to your right. You realized at that same moment that the cafeteria must be the source of whatever smell had set your mouth to watering.

Above the cafeteria — the ‘Coupon Cafeteria’, you noted with mild curiosity — was that motto, yet again crowing at the inmates on the pitfalls of laziness. However, the threat seemed to mean little to the throng of people that went about their days just below its warning, laughing and eating and living.

The Fortress felt more like a town than a prison.

"State your business."

You looked up from your observations as a guard regarded you with a neutral expression. Behind him was a large, bronze door, crowned high above by the same three-headed beast that you’d seen before.

You cleared your throat, once again attempting to harness something vaguely resembling dignity as you realized you had been fully gawking at everything and everyone on the floor. "I’m here to see the duke. He should be expecting me," you said.

He grunted decisively, nodding. The guard on the opposite end of the walkway nodded as well, snapping a quick salute before gesturing for you to follow him. With you and Molly in tow, he approached the impressive, bronze door across the small bridge.

He knocked twice, hard, before leaning against the metal with what looked like his entire body weight. The heavy door swung open under his efforts with an unexpectedly soft groan, considering the sheer size of it.

"Your Grace?" the guard called, heading poking into the room beyond. "Your, uh… guests are here."

"Thanks, you can send them in," came a familiar voice, soft and echoing, inexplicably distant.

The guard saluted you once more before returning to his post. You entered what you realized must be Wriothesley’s office, a large circular space connected to another on a higher level by a bronze spiral staircase curling along the far left wall. You made your way up, dress in-hand to avoid tripping on your hem, still damp at the bottom with seawater from your journey. Molly waited politely by the door, hands folded in front of her waist. She offered you a reassuring nod, somehow detecting your nerves despite your efforts to appear composed. She knew you better than most.

The top of the stairs revealed a surprisingly inviting space — lit not only by more gas lamps, but by the sun, far above in the distance and filtered by a league of glittering seawater. The light moved around the room in ethereal, blue-hued shafts, the rays shepherded along by the slowly spinning blades of the overhead fan. The walls were a clean, interlocking stone, lined with bookshelves overflowing with hundreds of titles and items. There were two circular windows, their stained glass overlooking the strange little world that spun on just outside the office, where people surely still went about their days below as though it was the sky that hung over their heads and not the weight of an ocean. On the opposite side of the room was a classy, red couch and a long tea table, home to several stacks of books, letters, and a clearly expensive, elegant tea set. Steam piped pleasantly from the kettle. The room smelled nice — like freshly brewed chamomile and something warm and masculine, maybe the duke’s cologne. You couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was.

The curved desk at the center of the room was just as cluttered with various books and papers as the sitting area. There was a gramophone on the far end, playing light, melancholic piano music. A teacup rested near it, though it appeared empty. A red chair matching the lush couch was behind the desk. It looked surprisingly comfortable.

You wouldn’t have called the room cozy, necessarily, but it was much closer than you imagined a prison’s main office could get.

Finally, the man himself hummed from his place in the chair. His hair looked somehow messier than usual, a feat you’d previously thought highly improbable, almost as though he’d been running his hands through it over and over. "Welcome to the Fortress of Meropide," he said distractedly, not looking up from the parchment beneath his hands, and suddenly you'd never felt more like a stranger in your life. "Please give me just a moment to finish this. Then we can begin the tour."

You shifted your weight. "Of course," you said. "Take your time."

He look up at you then and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. Please feel free to take a seat," he said and gestured to the sitting area. "Tea in the kettle is still hot."

You smirked, an ounce of tension draining away as you sat at the end of the couch. "At least your priorities remain intact."

He made a noise that sounded vaguely like a laugh and got back to work.

The song continued to play in the quiet, the lilting melody filling the space as you waited, listening to the scratch of his pen against the parchment. You watched him — blue eyes narrowed as he scribbled away at whatever report he was filling out. He stopped for a moment, non-dominant hand rising to pull thoughtfully through his hair as he spun the pen between deft fingers in his other. You noted with an amused smile that the habit was likely a contributor to the constant state of his hair, despite his apparent efforts to tame it.

The humanity of it was somehow able to ease your nerves a bit further. Just a bit.

The moments passed quietly. You could hear Molly clear her throat from where she waited on the first level of the office. You had a feeling it was more for your benefit than hers.

Finally, Wriothesley sighed, putting the pen aside and standing from the desk, with a brief stretch of his shoulders and neck. "I’m sorry, I lost track of time. Thank you for waiting," he said gently. "I had intended to meet you at the entrance this morning. I know the journey down can be... daunting."

You rolled your eyes as you rose from the couch, swallowing down a relieved sigh as you felt the last remnants of your irrational anxieties fade. "Oh yes," you said, wry. "The murky and oppressive architecture was very charming. Quaint, even."

He snorted. "Unfortunately, that particular aspect of the onboarding experience was designed for our usual through-traffic, as opposed to lovely, law-abiding visitors such as yourself. Truly artfully done, isn’t it?" he mused, looking you over, mouth pulling into a small frown when he reached your feet. "Your dress is wet," he pointed out needlessly.

You lifted your hem a little, kicking at the heavy fabric around your heels. "I’m aware, believe it or not," you said sarcastically. You shot him a look. "No matter. I won’t be wearing it long." The duke raised an entertained eyebrow and your face immediately warmed. "That is to say," you continued quickly. "I can ask Molly to have it dried while we are in the Pankration Ring. When I change into training clothing. Which is when I won’t be wearing these particular clothes."

"Yeah," he said slowly. His lips quirked at the corner. "Of course."

You cleared your throat, arms crossing in front of you. You realized you were being teased. The duke looked dangerously close to smirking, to your consternation.

"Alright then," you said haughtily, attempting to resist the urge to fidget — and nearly failing. "Should we begin the tour, then?"

"This is the administrative floor," Wriothesley announced as the heavy door swung shut behind you.

You hummed appreciatively. "I didn’t get much of a chance, but I did have a quick look on the way in. I'm pleasantly surprised. This place is not at all what I expected."

He smiled, a satisfied look in his slightly downturned eyes. "We hear that a lot. It’s taken a lot of work to get the Fortress to where it is today. It wasn't always like this."

"I believe it."

"Follow me," he said, and you easily fell into step behind him as he began to speak. Molly remained at your side, curiously hanging onto his every word about the history and lifestyle of the Fortress. He walked you around the level along the moat, a clockwise circle from his office, remarking on an interesting feature or landmark every so often, demonstrating his wealth of knowledge. You asked questions here and there about whatever caught your eye and he was always more than happy to answer, rattling on and on, defying every rumor you'd ever heard about the 'taciturn' warden.

He was clearly very proud of how far they'd come. You had nothing to compare the current state of the prison to, but you'd heard dozens of stories spanning centuries of history and none of them were in any way 'feel-good' tales. None of them painted a picture like this. You could only imagine the true difference, if his pride was anything to go by.

Nearly done with a full lap of the administrative floor, Wriothesley stepped in front of the cafe, folding his arms behind his back. "And here is the notorious Coupon Cafeteria," he declared. "A favorite haunt of many of our residents, regardless of their criminal record or lack thereof. Wolsey is our head chef. Good guy, been here ages," he said with a friendly wave to the man behind the counter who you assumed must be Wolsey. The older man waved back before turning back to the woman standing at the kiosk, who had continued chatting away through the interruption, undeterred. "We can stop here to grab a bite to eat later. Wolsey's food is excellent. You can get a fortune too, if that’s your thing."

You chuckled quietly, looking over the cafe area, observing at least a half-dozen inmates trying and failing to look as though they weren’t actively analyzing the duke’s every move. You glanced at him, then to the engraved motto overhead, smiling sardonically at its foreboding declaration. "Don’t I have to work first?"

He sighed, hand going through his hair once again, pulling at the already tousled mess. His voice was weary. "Funny. That philosophy is outdated, barbaric, and ridiculous. Everyone here gets to eat."

"How generous."

"It’s not generosity. It’s a basic human right," Wriothesley explained. "Everyone gets a full meal, once a day, even if they don't work. But we do offer ample rewards to motivate the inmates to stay productive of their own volition. Honest pay for honest work and all that. It allows the Fortress to function, of course, but also helps the inmates themselves. Self-discipline is a skill many of the people who come here have never learned by the time they arrive. This system helps them to readjust to life back on the surface once their sentences end so they can reintegrate and become productive members of society who are less likely to reoffend."

You considered this. "That makes a lot of sense," you said approvingly. "I’m glad to see the philosophies of the past are being left where they belong."

"Glad you see it my way. Many of our peers do not share the sentiment." He offered you a tight smile. "Still, forgive me for the monologue. It’s becoming muscle memory, I think. I find myself having to defend my system more often than not these days. This experience is a novel one for me."

You laughed. "Don’t apologize, I'm genuinely curious. I was only poking fun. Plus, that makes two of us for novel experiences. It's not every day I receive in-depth historical tours of subaqueous prisons."

He looked out over the cafeteria, then at the children whose game of tag had long since ended and were now seated in a corner behind some boxes, scribbling on scraps of paper and chattering away. You'd asked about them during the turn around the administrative floor — orphans, Wriothesley had explained, born to inmates and with nowhere else to go. His eyes seemed to soften as he watched them. "It's not just a prison," he said finally. "Not just, anyway. For many people, this is home."

You were quiet for a moment as you followed his gaze. "Yeah?"

He paused, eyes far away, and nodded. "It offers people a second chance. A fresh start. For many of the people who live here, that is something they never could have hoped to be given in the overworld. Many of them decide to stay after their sentence ends. Leave their pasts behind them."

You could understand wanting to leave your past behind you for something new. Archons knew you wished you could. "So things run smoothly. If people are not only productive but content enough that some are even willing to stay, why would the Court wish to revoke its autonomy?"

Wriothesley scowled, brows furrowing over darkened eyes. "It's about mora, isn't it? Everything is," he said shortly. "This is a prison, but it’s also a successful and lucrative business. If the means of production were in the control of the Court, there would no longer be any fees associated with keeping the production zones running other than whatever it was they chose to allocate to it. Which, I promise you, would be a pittance."

"And you think they’d revoke a lot of the changes you’ve made."

He shook his head defiantly. "I know they would. Some have even told me as much. 'Why pay for wasteful endeavors like welfare meals when they work just fine when their only other option is to starve'," he rattled, clearly an echo of someone else's words. It sounded suspiciously like Lord Thibeault to you. "On top of that, if the Fortress were integrated as a formal entity of the Fontainian government, they would no longer need to purchase any of the items we produce here, from clocks to gardemeks, the funds for which currently go directly back into the prison itself. It would all simply be government property for them to provision as they so wished, whenever they wished. Driving production up and profits down in one fell swoop. You see the problem."

You did see. Your eyebrows drew together in concern. He painted a clear picture and the implications were not happy. "And what about you?"

He scoffed. "Well, I’d be unemployed at best, but it’s really not about me," he said. "Without this system, everything here in the prison would begin to break down. They would revert back to the way things used to be and then become worse. Credit coupons would be revoked without rhyme or reason. Inmates would receive no rehabilitation and then be forcibly ejected once their sentences end, left to flounder for a place in a world that no longer welcomes them. That they don’t know how to function in. People without coupons, for whatever reason — if they had them stolen, if they were sick, or injured, or unable to work — they would starve. People would be overworked to keep up with rising demand and receive no compensation for their labors. People would lose their purpose. The Fortress would lose its sense of community."

You were at a loss for words. "That's awful," you said at last. "That's how it used to be?"

His smile was humorless as he held your gaze. "Sure it is. I lived it."

You tilted your head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me this gossip has truly evaded you?"

You huffed, offended. "I’ve never been one to seek out gossip on purpose."

He looked at you hard for several long moments before coming to some internal decision and sighing in defeat. "I've spent the majority of my years here," he said. "Now as an administrator, but before, as an inmate."

You froze, scanning his face for any sign of deception or humor. You found none. "You’re serious, aren’t you?"

"As a heart attack," he said, hand to his chest. "Your father was in attendance at my trial. I was sure he would have told you."

You were sure he should have, at least, but couldn't say you were surprised he didn't. Perhaps he didn't remember.

You studied Wriothesley's face. It gave nothing away. "What was your crime?" you asked bluntly.

"How bold of you to ask," he intoned, inflectionless. His face tightened. "Look, I paid the price and served my time. That’s all there is to know. But you can understand now why my title means next to nothing to many members of the court."

You nodded, mind racing with hundreds of thoughts you didn't have names for. You decided to let it go for now. "I can," you agreed. "Alright. I understand your predicament better now. And that it’s not just your position at stake. I can respect that."

"Exactly," he said, exhaling. "Thank you. Most of these people are just those who have made a few bad decisions or hit rock bottom. They don't deserve the kind of life — not even life, the existence — they would have were we to have our autonomy taken from us. Of course, there are those who are better off never seeing the light of day again anyway," he said with a frown. "Luckily, Monsieur Neuvillette is as adept at administering the law as the Maison Gardiennage are at enforcing it. And beneath them, there’s me, just trying to give people down on their luck a second chance while trying to protect the overworld from those who need protecting from. Something I pride myself on being quite good at, considering my unique resume."

You looked at him approvingly. You still had questions, of course, but far be it from you to pry when he had clearly come so far and done something good with his life in the time since his incarceration.

"You are just full of surprises, aren't you, Wrio?" you said, offering him a faint smile.

"Yes, well," he said brusquely. He cleared his throat. You thought maybe he sounded a little relieved. "I like to keep people on their toes. Now! Enough with the doom and gloom. I still have several floors to show you."

You passed beneath a huge iron signboard depicting two crossed arms, hands fisted, its once-cheerful paint chipped and peeling. You boarded another lift, heading once more downwards to yet another lower level. It shuddered as you descended, seemingly trying to communicate that it was as exhausted with being put through its paces that afternoon as you were with riding it. You sighed.

It continued down. Molly seemed to press herself against the back wall as it caught and jumped a bit more vigorously than it had previously.

Wriothesley, by contrast, seemed quite at east. "This concludes our tour," Wriothesley announced as the lift came to a sudden stop, stepping out of the cabin, tugging the fingerless gloves off his hands. You paused for a moment in the lift before following him out, Molly trailing not far behind in a skittish hustle. The air on this level of the Fortress was much colder than the others; the deeper you got, you'd noticed, the more pronounced the chill on your skin.

"Good. Thank you for the tour, but I think I’ve taken enough lifts today to last me a lifetime," you droned. "Aren’t you going to show me around the ring, though? That's where we are, isn't it?"

"It is, but nope," he said, lips pulled into a wide grin. "You will get an interactive tour. Trial by fire, as they say."

"Is that so," you drawled, allowing your gaze to take in as much of the room as you can. Nestled between stone risers, wooden boxes, and mountains of boxing paraphernalia, was the ring — a well-made, raised platform ringed by a battered stone barrier. There was intricate masonry inlaid into the flooring — it hardly seemed a comfortable training area, though you imagined the number of amenities within the Fortress that could be considered 'comfortable' were likely tallyable on one hand.

"Clear the ring for the afternoon," Wriothesley was saying to a red-clad man so brawny he looked inflated. He was standing by a small metal board that held various charts and spreadsheets. "I need it for personal use."

"Yes, Your Grace," said the man quickly, nodding and starting to collect his things. You could feel, more than see, him sparing a few curious glances at the three of you as he finished shoving stuff into an enormous duffel bag. He scurried down the hall and into the elevator, pulling the lever to ascend without another word.

Alone at last and without a rapt audience to dissect your every word and gesture, you exhaled, letting your shoulders relax. "This is an impressive gym," you remarked.

"It's a favorite for many, that's for sure. It’s important for the inmates to have a physical outlet," Wriothesley said. "And I’ve found that having this ring dedicated to organized fights has drastically reduced violence in… unsupervised capacities. Here, they can work out their aggression, settle disputes, get exercise, so on. On the ring, everyone is on equal footing, just like in the Fortress as a whole. Noble, common, what have you. It is also a gathering place and a community for fighters and non-fighters to have fun and let off a little steam. Many of the inmates and guards have taken to placing bets on outcomes. It's another motivator for the inmates to get to work. Betting was never for me — I always preferred to fight — but I can see the appeal."

"You fight the inmates?" you asked incredulously.

He smiled, dry. "Not so much anymore. I join tournaments from time to time to let off some steam. Most people don't want to fight me, though, for some reason," he said, winking, "So this will be some good exercise for me as well. Ladies’ locker room is over there." He gestured to one of the doors off to the side of the ring, beneath one of the raised ledges. "Get changed. Meet me back here once you’re done."

You went in the direction he indicated, quickly finding the locker room in question. You were itching to get into the ring; to see what sort of training he'd be offering. You picked an arbitrary locker and stripped out of the many layers of your dress, with Molly’s assistance — changing into dark trousers, a white shirt, and short boots, suitable for mobility. Simple, but comfortable. No frills or heels or lace to get in the way.

You exited the locker room, allowing Molly to disappear to the laundry to clean and dry your waterlogged dress with a few quick words of gratitude. Wriothesley appeared to not have gone far — he was lacing up a different pair of boots as he looked up to meet you, having removed his jacket and some of the other accoutrements from his own attire. They were in a neat pile near the outer edge of the ring. In just his undershirt and vest, sleeves rolled up, and his usual dress trousers, his physique was even more on display than usual — strong and rugged and well-defined. You couldn’t help but to feel a twinge of trepidation as you looked him over. Whether he was a frequent competitor anymore or not, he looked as at home in the ring as he had anywhere. He looked formidable.

"Ready to start," you called, drawing his attention to you.

He looked up from his boots and froze for a second, eyes wide, before straightening back up to his full height. His gaze was heavy on you as he took in your change of attire. He shook his head quickly, not unlike a wet dog, and gestured towards the ring, eyes falling away from you. "Uh, alright, head on up. Let’s get started."

He hopped over the railing of the stairs and climbed up into the ring, tossing you a pair of lightly padded gloves that had been draped over the stone rail as you reached the base. You caught them deftly and followed him up. "Put these on," he told you. "We don’t need either of us leaving with a black eye today. I’m sure the ladies would call it 'unbecoming'."

You laughed, pulling the gloves onto your bare hands. "Astute observation. I’m afraid the ladies would find it very unbecoming of you indeed," you said airily, securing the gloves around each of your wrists.

"Such confidence! Almost enough to make a guy swoon," he said, flippant. He beamed at you then, eyes flashing. "This might actually be interesting. Okay! Now, to start — the most important thing to remember here is that it isn’t the fighter with the most strength who is going to win, nine times out of ten. It’s about speed and technique."

Without warning, he lunged forward, and you instinctively pulled your arms up before you in a defensive stance. He stopped his glove before it made contact. "Good. Always be on your guard. Reflexes can be honed."

You sniffed, lowering your hands. "I’ve already told you," you said primly. "I am not new to combat, only to boxing."

"So you did," he said, nodding. He looked far too smug for your liking. "But I’ve yet to see you in action myself. I’d like to know where you’re at before we go to town."

"I assure you," you countered, surging forward and jabbing your gloved fist into his rib with a smile. He stepped back with a soft, surprised laugh. "I am more than ready to ‘go to town’, Your Grace."

He watched you withdraw with a look approaching complete bafflement before his face morphed into something that you found... maybe a little intimidating.

"Careful," he said tauntingly, a mischievous glint to his eye as he widened his stance, bending at the knees, arms rising, "what you wish for."

"Hold on —"

He pounced.

You landed flat on your ass yet again, the air forcibly evacuating your lungs. You could hear Molly clapping excitedly from somewhere else in the gym, your dress long since dry. You allowed yourself to collapse backwards and tried to catch your breath.

You lay flat on the mat Wriothesley had dragged out for training, panting heavily, arms spread out, gloved palms up at either side of your body. You stared directly into the harsh golden light far above. You were starting to think, after all the time you’d spent looking at it, that maybe it was starting to stare back. Maybe it was just the adrenaline. You frowned at it for good measure. Just in case.

Wriothesley paced a few feet away, adjusting the dark wrappings around his forearm. Your ego was consoled by the fact that, even if he was looking worlds more composed than you were, at least he was sweating as well. If nothing else, he’d had to try at least a little bit, fearsome in the ring though he was.

You exhaled, air burning your throat. He truly was a sight to behold. You understood now where his unexpected grace and precision had come from on the ballroom floor; he demonstrated nearly identical fluidity and control in here. It was, quite frankly, captivating.

You also now understood why most people were hesitant to fight him, and it had nothing to do with his rank and title.

You pulled yourself back up into a semi-sitting position, resting on your elbows. You smiled broadly, mustering up all the bravado you had in your body.

"Almost had you that time," you lied.

He laughed, brighter than the sun a world away, the sound echoing throughout the room. He offered you a hand. You took it, groaning as he dragged you back to your feet.

"Not a chance," he said, grinning. "Let’s do it again."

a/n: poor molly, this entire chapter: 🧍

if anyone were to ask me, i'd say the fontemer is made of super duper special writer-friendly water that light passes through more easily bc i like the imagery

next up will be the other half of their little date

#wriothesley #wriothesley x reader #wrio #wrio x reader #genshin #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x you #genshin imagines #reader inserts #reader insert #lark.writes #🌊

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checkoutmybookshelf · 8 months

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Ok, I'm rereading Summer Knight for my ongoing reread of the Dresden Files, and it has just struck me that while the Dresdenverse is pretty open to all sorts of relationships and sexual orientations...there's kind of no space for asexual spectrum identities in the lore?

(I am putting a break here because we are about to get spoilerific up in here...be warned)

The vampire courts are all about either sex or death (and even Mavra gets weirdly horny all over Harry a couple of times, in a "if necrophilia is your kink" kind of way), and the Fae courts are literally run by sex kittens and cougars. Mab literally sexes the winter mantle onto Harry, and when Susan almost go full camp when she and Harry are locked down in his apartment, he has to sex the vamp into submission. The Denarians have a weird pseudo-incest kink happening, and we are introduced to Marcone's organization through his prostitutes.

Even the good guys tend to be overtly sexual and sexualized. The Alphas are horny college kids when we meet them and that is kind of always there in the background. Not to mention the implicit "Catholic Rabbits" dimension to the Knights of the Cross that Michael and Charity embody, and the Wardens--once we get to know them--are also horny as heck.

Sex and sexual violence are imbued in the world and the lore to the point where I actually think that an asexual character would be worldbreak-y.

Quite literally the only example I can think of where the magic and the lore went "no, sex is not the answer" is when Molly tries to seduce Ramirez in Alaska and that literally ends with the mantle giving her like...a sex vision while in reality she is actually breaking his spine in half because blah blah blah maiden/mother/crone triple Goddess thing grafted onto the fae courts nonsense. And I wouldn't call that good or healthy or "space for an asexual spectrum identity" either. It's more a magical loophole to take make sex with a fae lady actively horrifying.

Theoretically the thing where true love protects you from White Court vampires (Whampires?) could involve true love without sex, but the context of the Dresdenverse and the specific examples we get (Susan's love protects Harry, Justine's protects Thomas's) definitely involve sex, so this is theoretical at best.

The Dresdenverse lore is hornier than Commander William "my penis is a security risk to the fleet" Riker, and while sex positivity in fiction is great, we don't actually want to fall into compulsory allosexuality here, which I feel like we kind of have? Although I'm not sure what I expected from Butcher, given the givens.

If I've missed something egregious here, please let me know, because asexuality should never ever be a world-breaking thing so it has to be aggressively suppressed by compulsory allosexuality.

#the dresden files #harry dresden #dresden files spoilers #dresden files #urban fantasy #books #books and novels #books and reading #books & libraries

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friendly-books · 6 months

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Dresden files White Night live blog

Content warning: Transphobia

“That’s big or you, Mini Mouse” pg. 16 Ha

Interesting bit about Wiccan and the Bible

Cool that Murphy was able to tackle Molly while she was invisible

Molly, why are you here? This is a crime scene and you’re a civilian

“(In case it slipped by, Molly has authority issues)” pg. 31 Ha

So the victims were all women practitioners

I’m guessing by the way the women died our killer is a White Court Vampire or it could be more than one killer

“Finding things. Following things. Blowing things up, mostly” pg. 47 So Harry’s good at thaumaturgy and fighting magic. At least that’s what he likes he’s good at

Interesting to see the difference in training between Molly and Harry with calling up their wills.

“Despite all of that, the same folks I’d tried to help were afraid of me.

Even Mac” pg. 72 Aw poor Harry :(

“Then a couple of Red Court ghouls showed up and killed two kids.” pg. 79 Ah so that’s why Harry hates Ghouls so much understandable

“Kill them all” pg. 79 Psych much Murphy how’d you know Harry’s going to kill all the Red court?

Helen Beckitt is back?!?

“I mutter off-color limericks in my sleep” pg. 84 Ha

“You don’t always think clearly where women are concerned” pg. 84 Ha

Who wears a turtleneck if it’s warm out? Sus Could be a vampire and hiding her bite mark?

Is Helen Beckitt a minor practitioner?

Not liking how one of the possible suspects could be Thomas

Obviously it’s not Thomas

Harry maybe calm down, you're getting really angry Lasciel influence?

Oh no Murphy’s car

I love that Mister always slams into Harry’s shins

Wonderful acting Harry truly a great performance

“I was going to kill my brother later” pg. 127 Can’t wait for that confrontation

“An NBA-sized gay burger who works with a dog” pg. Ha

“I’d get plenty of sleep when I’m dead” pg. 134 You’d be surprised how little you get

“Okay Lash” It’s starting!

“Do I merit an affectionate nickname now?” pg. 135 Yes

“Could evil, true capital-E Evil, do such a thing? Help create something whole and lovely and precious” pg. 140 Interesting I wonder if even this soon after Naming Lash she began to change. I don’t she would have helped Harry with the music pre Naming

Elaine! I didn’t know you would be in this book

“He’s got a phychosis about charging to the rescue. I always thought it gave him a certain hapless charm” pg. 159 Yep and I agree that Harry has charm

Now people aren’t telling Harry information because he’s a Warden

Oh Elaine got into the PI business cool

The buildings on fire and Harry didn’t cause it shocking

“Okay, here’s the plan. We follow all the other flammable people out of the building before we burn to death” pg. 171 Ha

“Harry you jackass this is how getting yourself into trouble” pg. 177 Ha and at least you admit it

I hope it’s a warden so Harry can fight them

I’m glad Harry is being smart about chasing a bad guy

Mouse lore!

I hope Ancient Mai meets Mouse

“I wondered if I could find someone to make Mouse a Kevlar vest” pg. 192 Ha and I think that would be adorable

Little Chicago is so cool that Harry can use it listen into a conversation

“I doubt that. It would take a subtle worker of the Art to manage that. He isn’t one”

“He’s a thug,” the passenger said. “Plain and simple. His talents makes him good at destruction and little else. He’s a beast to be prodded and directed” pg. 199 Well the passenger clearly underestimates Harry

Cowl? It’s a bad guy convention

How did Cowl see Harry? It’s very cool but very bad for Harry

“Bring it, Darth Bathroom” pg. 212 Ha

I ask again how does Harry not have more brain damage or at least a concussion. He really shouldn’t poke your physic around things unprotected

“It would be more convincing if she weren’t holding the book upside down” pg. 219 Ha

“she didn’t score quite high enough to be considered for Council membership” pg. 229 Interesting so the Council has a test to decide who gets to get in. What constitutes high enough? Why does there need to be a test? Do the Wardens administer it? How does the test work? Did Harry take the test?

“Unless we keep losing people to the vamps, in which case I guess we lower our standards” pg. 229 What do you mean lower our standards? With a war going you should be happy with anyone joining. They don’t have to be powerful to be helpful. There are other areas that aren’t front line fighting that they could help with. This comment also shows how Carlos is the White Council’s golden boy prodigy compared to Harry’s black sheep.

So Elaine is under performing on the test.

“DuMorne was a warlock himself. Black wizard as bad as they come. He planned on training us up to be personal enforcers. Trained, strong wizards, under mental compulsion to be loyal to him. He nailed Elaine with it. I killed him” pg. 234 Interesting If we take what Harry said as true then why would Justin want or need enforcers? Was Justin trying to overthrow the White Council? Or was he planning on making an army? If he was then who or what was he planning on fighting? He clearly kept it a secret from the rest of the White Council as they don’t know about Elaine. Justin kept secrets from the White Council like Bob and Elaine I wonder what other secrets he had.

“the Wardens are a fine bunch of assholes. Presents company excluded” pg. 235 Ha and I agree

“I carefully did not lose my temper and barbecue her stupid face right then and there” pg. 245 Whoa there Harry let’s calm down

“She met my eyes for a moment, and though her lips didn’t move, I heard her voice quite distinctly”

“The communication spell between us was an old one” pg. 246 Oh fascinating so telepathy exists maybe. That brings into more questions. Do other wizards know telepathy? Is this gray magic? Now that Harry remembers it will he use it? Or is it a subtle magic that Harry isn’t good at?

“It was my brother” pg. 247 Oh no

“The Wardens would freak out if you went to them now, anyway” I said, “and reveled that you’d been hiding your talents from them” pg.252 Why do the Wardens care? Is it so they can draft her?

Why don’t you like boats Harry?

“In fact I haven’t had a good time this close to the lake in general” pg. 260 Harry I like you but I need to know those are fighting words What did Lake Michigan do to you? Lake Michigan is clearly the best lake out of the five.

“I’m not sure I could have made a focus for something like that. It took real skill” pg. 260 Yes Harry has skills

“Water Beetle” pg. 262 Ha is that a homage to the blue beetle?

“There’s no way the real Dresden would have come here with a woman like that instead of his dog” pg. 267 Ha

“Thunderstorm. Or I just plug it into any wall socket” pg. 268 Interesting I thought electricity and magic don’t go together. But if this works then magitek could be a thing in the Dresden files which would be so cool

“He’s not a thing” I snarled “His name is Thomas” pg. 269 Couldn’t agree more Elaine that was rude to call Thomas a thing

“Fucking boats” pg. 273 Ha

“In the space of a heartbeat the water between where I stood and the next dock froze over, a sudden sheet of hard white ice” pg. 285 So cool that Harry used a fire spell to freeze part of Lake Michigan

Oh no Madrial has a assault rifle

“Slim, dark-haired, pale, and handsome” pg. 289 Bi Harry 27

“Is there anything I could do to make you not trust me then?” I asked “Cause I don’t want to wear the cloak. No offense” pg. 297 Ha

Oh cool Lash can translate languages

Harry, how are you going to explain that you know these ancient languages when you’re bad at Latin?

“She was naked from the waist down” pg. 316 Why is naked from the waist? Never mind, I don't want to know. Bad implications

Well I agree that the ghouls need to die this definitely has some Lasciel influence with how brutal Harry is being cause this is just torture at this point

“I called up Hellfire again, and with a snarl cast out the simple spell I use to light candles.” pg. 318 Scary how Harry uses a not necessary harmless spell as it is a fire spell but a spell we’ve seen him use to light candles and fireplaces used in such a destructive way

“Sixteen, Carlos,” I said “Sixteen” pg. 319 Too young

“Never again” pg. 324 And Harry means it

“Oh sorry about that” I said, with all the sincerity of a three-year-old claiming he didn’t steal that cookie all over his face” pg. 336 Ha

“I love to see a good testosterone-laden alpha-male struggle as much as the next woman” pg. 336 Ha and it’s fun to see other people’s reactions to Harry and Thomas who aren’t in the know

Oh no three killers

I wish Harry and Thomas could talk to each other

Oh no Anna :(

Nope Mouse is alive just gotta keep telling myself that

What did Mouse do at the vet? Glad Harry could pay for the damages

Harry goes to Kim’s grave :(

“DuMorne’s methods of teaching us to discipline our emotions had not been gentle, but they worked” pg. 349 The more I learn about Justin DuMorne training the more convinced I am that it’s just child abuse

“She doesn’t have a lot of talent that way” pg. 356 Oh she does have some talent

“The Velvet Room? I thought I burned that plac- uh, that is, I thought some as-yet-unidentified perpetrator burned that place to the ground” pg. 365 Ha

Yes we’re getting Marcone!

“Marcone doesn’t like me,” I said “And it’s mutual”

“Marcone doesn’t like anybody,” Murphy replied. “But he respects you” pg. 366 Marcone likes Hendricks. Yes Marcone does respect Harry. He might like him a little bit considering he saved Harry’s life and offered him a job twice. Now the shipper in me is gleefully saying that Marcone likes Harry a lot.

“Murphy rapped her knuckles gently against mine” pg. 367 Yay fist bump

“Stallings and I found an autographed picture of Julie Newmar on eBay.” pg. 368 That’s a good gift

Harry’s a platinum member?

“Don’t ask me” I told her “I’m gay now” pg. 373 Ha

It’s nice that Marcone takes care of his employees

Hendricks!

Harry really notices what Marcone is wearing.

Also while I know it’s for the readers sake that Jim reminds us what characters look like so we don’t forget I find it amusing that Harry constantly describes people and their looks when he should know what they look like “his eyes were the color of worn dollar bills” pg. 379 yes Harry I remember what Marcone’s eye color is. You’ve described it in every book Marcone’s been in.

“I am under no illusion about your fondness for myself and my business. I regard it as a preventive measure. In my judgment, my buildings are considerably less likely to burn to the ground during one of your visits if you are disoriented from being treated like a sultan. I do, after all, recall the fate of the last Velvet Room”

“Murphy snorted without taking her wary eyes from Marcone “He’s got a point, Dresden.”

“That was one time” pg. 381 Ha and what Marcone is doing is working. Harry hasn’t set anything on fire yet. Also Harry you set fire to Marcone’s building that’s kind of hard to forget and I doubt he’d want it to happen again. Think of his insurance

“Marcone’s voice cracked like a whip. “Stop everyone”

We all did” pg. 381 Cool

“Marcone blinked once” pg. 382 Oh Marcone blinked that seems to be his tell I guess or at least he’s not as in control at this moment. It’s always interesting and I like that Harry notices it mostly because he causes them

“I don’t believe it’s polite to gloat” Helen murmured to him.

“If you knew this man, you would realize what a rare moment this is” he replied “I’m savoring it” pg. 384 Ha and I didn’t realize that Helen was now working for Marcone interesting

“He wasn’t wearing a business suit. He had on jeans and a black leather jacket. His hair was longish, a little mussed and he also sported a stubble of a beard that gave him a rakish look that would attract attention from the girls who fantasized about indulging with a bad boy” pg. 393 Bi Harry 28 I think. Just the girls Harry hm

“His eyes were still green-but they were the green of summer hunter’s blind, bright and intelligent and predatory, but touched with more…something. Humor, maybe. More life” pg. 393 Oh interesting I wonder if this event with Persephone is what caused his eyes to change or if age and world warily changed them

It’s fascinating that both Demeter and Marcone this is a defining moment. For Demeter it’s her daughter who she thinks died. For Marcone he watched an innocent girl “die” from a bullet that was meant for him. And that caused him to climb the ranks and clean up the streets.

“Owie” pg. 395 Sobbing

Wait if Pricscalla is Skavis and we’ve established that Skavis is a man…I swear if this book pulls a creepy cross dresser a la Psycho, Dressed to kill, and Silence of the lamb I’m going to lose it

Molly what are you doing here? It’s dangerous

“I. Am. Not. Yoda” pg. 401 Scary

The mini sun was scary it was definitely Lash influenced

“Sure, we’d face somethings as children that a lot kids don’t. Justin had qualified for his Junior de Sage Badge in his teaching methods for dealing with pain” pg. 416 Not sure what Junior de Sage Badge means but if Justin’s involved then it probably isn’t good

“Rather effeminate-looking man” pg. 424 COME ON! >:( this is so stupid and a bit transphobic Jim you didn’t have to have this villain nor this plot point. I hate the whole creepy cross dresser trope as I feel that it’s transphobic. I don’t have the right words to describe or articulate the many reasons why this is bad so I’m going to stick to this sucks

“Once you start thinking, Gee maybe that isn’t me thinking about suicide, it kind of falls apart” pg. 427 Interesting

“The sigil of angelic script, the only unburned flesh on my left hand, itched madly” pg. 440 Interesting

“I interpreted him purely because I knew how much it would annoy him” pg. 442 Ha

“Look, we both know you’re going to do it, and I’m too tired to dance” pg. 442 Ha

“There was a moment of silence that might have been vaguely irritated. Being adolescent at someone like Marcone is good for my morale” pg. 442 Ha

“We both know you need me, Dresden, and I’m too tired to dance.” I could practically see the shark smile on his face.” Ha

“Say please.” I stowed for a sullen minute before I realized that doing so was probably building Marcone’s morale, and I couldn’t have that. “Fine,” I said. “Please.”

“Pretty please,” Marcone prompted me.

Some pyromaniacal madman’s thoughts flooded my forebrain, but I took a deep breath, Tasered my pride, and said, “Pretty please.”

“With a cherry on top.”

“Fuck you,” I said, and hung up on him. I kicked the base of the vending machine and muttered a curse. Marcone was probably laughing his quiet mirthless little laugh. Jerk” pg. 443 Ha I love their banter and the way Harry brings Marcone down to his level of humor and it makes Marcone seem younger. Cause who else teases Marcone no one but Harry as far as I can see. Harry’s the only one stupid enough or brazen enough to do it. I love to see it. Can’t wait for more.

“Lasciel manifested her image to me again. The fallen angel’s manner was subdued, and her voice had something in it I had rarely heard there-uncertainty.” pg. 447 Interesting

“She was wearing the usual white tunic, though her hair seemed a little untidy” pg. 448 More interesting things she’s changing

“My head,” I told her “My rules. We aren’t finished” pg. 451 Ha and Harry’s not wrong

“Because you’re so noble” she purred” pg. 452 Purred?!?

“You. Cannot. Change. Me.”

“Lady, you ain't Lasciel” pg. 453 But he can and will

“How many shadows like you have ever stayed in a host like me longer than a few weeks, huh? Longer than three years?”

“Never” pg. 457 So cool

“Pretty much,” I said. “From a grumpy old Scot on a farm in the Ozarks” pg. 475 Ha and I would love to see Harry’s apprenticeship with Ebenezer

“A virgin” pg. 489 I was right about Carlos. Why would you come to the succubus vampire den and be a virgin? That doesn’t sound safe

“Fairies, tiny pixies, each surrounded by its own sphere of light, trapped and miserable, crouched in the cages” pg. 496 Oh no why would you do that to the Little Folk? What’d they ever do to you?

Justine!

“Groovy, I thought. Thanks, Lash

A started second passed. Then she replied, You are welcome” pg. 504 When was the last time Lashciel got thanked? Lash certainty seems shocked by it. When was the last time she was treated as a person?

“Damn, there aren’t nothing like a good entrance” pg. 509 Ha

“You can barely speak Latin, but you speak ghoul?” pg. 524 How are you going to explain this?

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen,” I hollered, “to Bowling for Vampires” pg. 536 Ha

Marcone to the rescue!

“His cold green eyes wrinkled at the corners” pg. 556 I think Marcone is amused by Harry’s antics

“No. Threats won’t deter you. We both know that. I can’t force you to do anything, and we both know that too.” I jerked my head at the cavern. “People are dying, John. Help me save them. God, please help me”

Marcone’s head rocked back as if I’d slapped him. After a second he asked “Who do you think I am, wizard?”

“Someone who can help them,” I said “Maybe the only one”

He stared at me with empty, opaque eyes.

Then he said, very quietly, “Yes.”

I felt a fierce smile stretch my mouth” pg. 559 bsbshjsvshjshejskanaj Ahh! I love this so much. Ok I need to stop giggling and kicking my legs like I’m 12 again. Ok I’m good now. My shipper heart loves this. Interesting how similar Marcone and Harry are with how threats and being forced to do things won’t work. I like that Harry calls Marcone by his first name. I like how before Harry said please begrudgingly with Marcone doing to annoy Harry but here with people’s lives on the line Harry does it easily and without hesitation. I love Marcone’s reaction he’s clearly shocked and didn’t expect it and he’s reeling. Then he asks Harry who considers him a bad person why he would choose Marcone to be good and Harry’s he thinks Marcone can help. When was the last time Marcone saved innocent lives without repayment or selflessness. Probably before he was part of the mob if ever. I love the description of opaque eyes as Marcone is letting Harry see his emotion and Marcone is clearly thinking about what to do. Harry believes and trusts Marcone to do the right thing or else he wouldn't have askedI. Harry’s banking on that little kernel of good that he saw in Marcone’s soul. I love that Marcone agreed to help but I doubt anyone heard him say yes except for Harry. I love that Harry’s response to that is to smile. I love that Harry can get such big reactions out of Marcone like back in Death Mask with with shroud and now with Harry asking Marcone for help.

You mentioned that when you write already in love Marcone you like White Night. I assume you were talking about this scene.

“Murph” I complained, “can’t you pick on someone your own size” pg. 560 Ha

“Hell’s Bells, I’m good” pg. 577 Ha

“Nice shot” Marcone noted” pg. 579 Oh Marcone complimented Harry

“Bloody Hell” he gasped “Harry. There’s a knife in my leg. When did that happen?”

“In the dual,” I told him. “Don’t you remember?”

“I thought you stepped on me and sprained my ankle,” Ramirez replied. Then he blinked again. “Bloody hell. There’s a knife in my guts.” He peered at them. “And they match” pg. 584 Ha

“Can you walk?”

“Yes. I can walk” I snapped

“I could get someone to carry you” Marcone said, his tone was solicitous and sincere.

“Bite me” pg. 585 Ha and that fact that Marcone was concerned and sincere in his response. I kinda want to know what would happen if Harry said yes. He’s so tall I feel it would a little silly

“No one likes a wiseass Harry” pg. 586 Ha and come on Murphy being a wiseass is Harry’s personality

“If you recall,” he said, “I agreed to extract you alive. I’m not leaving until I have done so” pg. 587 Marcone does keep his word

“My God” Marcone said, his voice hushed “It is the most beautiful nightmare I’ve ever seen” pg. 589 Ha glad to see even Marcone is affected by Lara and Thomas

I wonder what Marcone’s thinking about with Vittorio attack? Probably something to do with Amanda

Lash accelerating Harry’s brain is cool

“Why do you continue to be so stubborn about this my host?” pg. 593 Lash you’ve been in Harry’s head for three years. You should know how stubborn he is

“An Outsider,” Lasciel said. “I have felt such a presence before. This attack is drawn directly from the mind of an Outsider” pg. 597 Interesting

“If frying my brain got Murphy, Ramirez, Thomas, and Justine out of the mess I’d gotten them into, it would be worth it.” pg. 595 Harry just loves his friends so much

“She…doesn’t deserve you” pg. 595 If the shadow of a fallen angel thinks you’re too good for the real one that means something

“Kiss me. I know it seems weir-” pg. 608 Lara didn’t even let Harry finish his sentence

“There’s an outside chance that I have abandonment issues” pg. 615 Ha

“Still…a man like you and it’s been four years…” She shook her head. “I have enormous personal respect for you, wizard. But that’s just sad” pg. 615 Ha

“Lara looked back at me for a moment and then she…turned pink” pg. 615 Is Lara embarrassed?

“I looked slowly around the ruined room. There was a hole in house, almost perfectly round, right through the floors above us and the roof four stories. Bits and pieces were still falling” pg. 618 Ha

“Some Listerine,” I said “I’ve got a funny taste in my mouth” pg. 619 Ha

“We use the money. We expand the Ordo, build a network of contacts. A hotline for midddle-class practitioners. We contact groups like the Ordo in cities all around the country. We put the word out that if people are in some kind of supernatural fix, they can get word of it onto the network. Maybe if something like this starts happening again, we can hear about it early and stomp on the fire before it grows. We teach self-defense classes. We help people coordinate, cooperate, support one another. We act” pg. 635 Yes! I love this idea. This is what the White Council should be doing. I hope it grows and helps people.

“The Black Council,” I said.

“Oooh,” Ramirez muttered. “Yours is better” pg. 639 Ha

“You don’t leave an injured friend all alone.” pg. 640 Aw :)

“Tonight you will be visited by three spirits,” I announced “The ghosts of past, present, and future. They will teach you the true meaning of ‘you are still a scumbag criminal’” pg. 640 Ha

“Marcone was there, sitting behind the desk was Helen Beckitt, or maybe Helen Demeter, I supposed. She wore her professionally suggestive business suit and was sitting across Marcone’s lap. Her hair and suit looked slightly mussed. Marcone had his third shirt button undone.” pg. 641 jfhfjfyrhfjkgjfhdhd I shouldn’t have drank something before this ow my lungs pain. I hope Jim is happy with himself because my lungs hurt thanks to him. I knew that Marcone and Helen were sleeping together but I didn’t realize this is how we learn about it. Wait, Harry seems less shocked than I thought he’d be. Wait did Harry figure it out back in chapter 29? Before me even though I had prior knowledge what? Did I miss something? All Helen did was put her hand on Marcone’s shoulder. This does have more interesting implications.

“I cursed my timing. If I’d come ten minutes later, I’d had opened the door in media res. It would have been infinitely more awkward” pg. 641 Awkward for who Harry cause Marcone and Helen don’t seem like the type to get embarrassed. Also why would you want to walk in on them?

“You should see how much my insurance premiums go up after your visits, Dresden” pg. 641 Ha

“Maybe Helen deserved to know about her daughter. Hell she probably did. But whatever else Marcone was, he was no fool. If he thought the news of her daughter’s fate might shatter Helen, he was probably right. Sure, she should know. But did I have a right to make that decision” pg. 646 Interesting I’ve never wanted more than to crawl into Marcone’s head than I do now. What are you thinking Marcone?

“I looked at the third line.

Then I signed it, and left without another word. pg. 648 Oh interesting that Harry was Marcone’s third signing. Harry really did help Marcone with becoming the first freeloading accord member as I doubt Marcone could have gotten Lara’s if Marcone hadn’t come to the rescue

“Free will is horrible, Harry, believe me. I’m glad I don’t have it.” pg. 651 Are you sure you don’t have a little free will Bob? Cause back in Death Mask you didn’t do what Cowl wanted and instead helped Harry. That could be because Harry Named Bob

“Hey, Harry are you crying” pg. 652 Sobbing

“I started playing

Beautifully” pg. 652 More sobbing I knew this was coming but I’m still sad.

Thomas is a hair stylist yay!

Final thoughts

General thoughts about the book

I thought the fights were good and I found the book funny. We’re up to Bi Harry 28 moments. I’m counting Harry’s description of young Marcone and nobody can stop me. I always enjoy Marcone and Harry banter. I love that part where Marcone offers to get someone to carry Harry. Marcone was in the book so that’s always a good thing. I’m sad for Harry that people are scared of him now. That’s going to continue to happen now that he’s the Winter Knight. The ghouls got what they deserved. I loved the Mouse lore we got. If my math is right it’s been four years since Death Mask so Maggie is roughly three at this point. I can’t wait to see what Harry and Elaine do with this organization. Will the Alphas be a part of it? As always I have thoughts about this book.

White Council

Now about this test. What I’ve gotten from the world building is that there are small, mid, and high practitioners of the Art. The White Council only lets the high/mid practitioners in if they pass a test. I have so many questions about the lore. Elaine seems to know how to show talent but not enough to meet the membership requirements. Now onto Justin he just keeps getting more secrets. Why would Harry think that Justin was training Harry and Elaine if there’s not at least a little truth. Maybe that’s another reason the White Council doesn’t like Harry is that they’re afraid of him. It could explain why the wardens would be upset about Elaine. If so it seems really stupid on the White Council’s part as if they keep alienating Harry he’s not going to want to be a part of the Council. While the Council kicks Harry out instead of Harry leaving it will probably have the same effect as now Harry has no ties nor allegiance with them and I doubt he will be all that nice to them in the future. If the White Council keeps treating Harry as a black sheep or a monster, that's the fastest way Harry will become one. Self fulfilling prophecy and all that.

Priscilla reveal

I didn’t like it. I feel like the same plot point could have happened if Priscilla was a cis woman. I hope it was unintentional but what I got from this whole chapter is the creepy crossdresser serial killer like the villain in all the movies I mentioned. Which isn’t great for transgender men. As these tropes and media could lead the general public to think that transgender men are violent and dangerous. As statistically transgender men have been the victim of violence rather than the perpetrators. It perpetuates this myth that transgender men should be feared.

Lash

I knew she was going to die but her death still got to me. Redemption and self actualization are beautiful things. I wish we got to see more Lasciel and Lash moments in the books. To see what she was before and then to see what she could become. It would have been interesting to see how their dynamic would develop and how her character would evolve. As I feel like Lash became a separate entity entirely when she redeemed herself. As she was a shadow of a fallen angel with free will and choice that has got to do something. Her and Harry could have been a foil to the denarians in that Harry and Lash have an equal partnership. I love that she left him their music and I know this moment is when Bonnie is conceived. As I mentioned before, when was the last time anyone thanked Lash or now when was the last time anybody grieved for her? Surely after her fall God grieved for her and the choices she made. I doubt the denarians will. Harry must be so lonely now. He’s had Lash in his head for three years now. While they weren’t friends and they didn’t talk to each other much in three years is a long time. His head must be so quiet and lonely. He’s presumably the only one who will grieve for Lash. Well now I’ve made myself cry.

Marcone and Helen

Hooboy do I have questions. So Helen now works for Marcone. Presumably after she got out of prison. She probably wants to get close to Marcone so she can kill him. Surely Helen was the one who asked for a job and the one who brought up sleeping with Marcone. Why would Marcone agree to this? He doesn’t seem like the type to sleep with an employee. Why would he sleep with the mother of the child that’s currently in a coma that she blames Marcone for? This puts Helen in a unique position as I assume Marcone put two and two together about the Three Eye drug, Tommy Tomm, and Victor Sells. And he must know that Helen had a part to play in Tommy’s death. And Marcone hasn’t done anything to her. Given the fact that Marcone’s usual response to his men dying is fatal retribution it’s interesting that he hasn’t done anything to Helen. As for telling Helen that her child is alive. Yes, someone should tell her. That’s her daughter. Marcone doesn't know what Helen will do if she finds out. She deserves to know. And Marcone shouldn’t have kept Amanda a secret from Helen. That was not Marcone’s choice. Maybe it’ll stop her from trying to kill Marcone. Hopefully Harry will tell Helen now that Harry’s got Maggie and is a parent.

Onto the next book!

#dresden files #harry dresden is bi #wizardbaron #white night #tw transfobia

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the-hawthorns-ocs · 1 year

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The Hawthorns Allegiances!

This is the Allegiances for The Hawthorns Kinship at the start of where the story would begin! As I post designs and character bios I will link them in this Allegiance!

Along with the Allegiances, here is a link to The Hawthorns Family Tree!

Note: this is my first draft for the allegiances, as I design the characters and continue working on the plot, things will change! I'm almost certain that a lot of these descriptions will change after I design these guys!

The Hawthorns Allegiances

The Leadership

Monarch:

Spider'web - a slender, long furred, black molly with blue eyes. She has several scars, notably slash marks across her face. (3 cycles, 4 moons; ~29 Hyrs)

Vice:

Moth'heart - a slender, long furred, white tom with blue eyes. He has several scars, most notably over his blinded eye, over which he wears an eye patch.(3 cycles, 4 moons; ~29 Hyrs)

Soothsayer:

Spindle'stare - a scrawny, long limbed and short wiry furred, yellowy white molly with black and orange calico ears and tail. She has large round orange eyes and large bat-like ears. (3 cycles, 11 moons; ~31 Hyrs)

Warden:

Wax'hide - a muscular, hairless, gray skinned tom with yellow eyes, and several scars. (6 cycles, 10 moons; ~43 Hyrs)

Heir:

Night (Trainee) - a slender, long furred, black tom with small white specks throughout his coat and orange eyes. (11 moons; 15 Hyrs)

—

Head Herbalist:

Worm'soil - a large fluffy, brown and cream-white tolly with one missing eye and one brown eye. (4 cycles; 32 Hyrs)

Herbalist Apprentice:

Weevil - a short furred black tolly with red eyes. (1 cycle, 8 moons; ~21 Hyrs)

—

Head Guard:

Mantis'snare - a short furred, mostly white molly with cream patches and green eyes. (7 cycles, 4 moons; ~45 Hyrs)

Guards:

Owl'face - a light brown and white molly with brownish-amber eyes. (5 cycles, 8 moons; ~39 Hyrs)

Fungus'claw - a short furred red tom with yellow eyes. (4 cycles, 9 moons; 35 Hyrs)

Soot'storm - a short furred black tom with orange eyes. (3 cycles, 7 moons; ~30 Hyrs)

Guard Apprentice:

Geranium - a long furred calico molly with purple eyes. (1 cycle, 6 moons; 21 Hyrs)

—

Head Hunter:

Pine'fang - a slender, long furred, heavily scarred, graying dark brown molly with blue eyes and red pupils. (8 cycles, 9 moons; 51 Hyrs)

Hunters:

Poison'oak - a long furred red and brown molly with green eyes. (7 cycles, 10 moons; ~47 Hyrs)

Termite'tooth - a short, patchy furred, black tom with yellow eyes. (6 cycles, 10 moons; ~43 Hyrs)

Shadow'whisker - a short patchy furred furred black tom with orange eyes. (3 cycles, 7 moons; ~30 Hyrs)

—

Head Keeper:

Plum'pelt - a short furred red ticked tabby molly with blue eyes. (6 cycles, 7 moons; ~42 Hyrs)

Keepers:

Grub'belly - a long furred cream and white molly with green eyes. (5 cycles, 5 moons; ~37 Hyrs)

Salamander'mud - a short furred black and orange tortoiseshell tom with red eyes. (4 cycles, 3 moons; 33 Hyrs)

Starling'song - a chubby short furred black tabby molly with pink eyes. (2 cycles, 8 moons; ~25 Hyrs)

—

Head Crafter:

Stag'beetle - a gray and brown tolly with brownish-amber eyes. (5 cycles, 8 moons; ~39 Hyrs)

Crafters:

Asphodel'weaver - a short, patchy furred cream and gray tortoiseshell molly with blue eyes. (4 cycles, 9 moons; 35 Hyrs)

Possom'tail - a short furred gray and white molly with red eyes. (4 cycles, 3 moons; 33 Hyrs)

Crafter Apprentice:

Gnat - a short furred black and orange tortoiseshell molly with blue eyes. (1 cycle, 8 moons; ~21 Hyrs)

—

Trainees

Heir Night (mentioned twice) - a slender, long furred, black tom with orange eyes. (11 moons; 15 Hyrs)

Ash - a small, short furred grey molly with yellow eyes. (10 moons; 14 Hyrs)

Bone - a hairless, pink skinned tom with blue eyes. (10 moons; 14 Hyrs)

Aphid - a scrawny orange tom with green eyes. (9 moons; 13 Hyrs)

Wasp - a spikey, long furred white, yellow and gray molly with green eyes. (9 moons; 13 Hyrs)

—

Kits

None, but Kit Season is coming!

Starling'song and Owl'face are both expecting litters.

—

Elders

Apple'tree - a scrawny, very old, patchy, short furred, graying, orange tabby tom with one missing eye and one green eye. (14 cycles, 5 moons; ~73 Hyrs)

Boa'bite - a short furred black and brown molly with yellow eyes. (10 cycles, 8 moons; ~58 Hyrs)

Bee'briar - a buff, short furred solid ginger and orange tabby tortoiseshell molly with yellow eyes, a short bob-tail, one missing front leg. (8 cycles, 6 moons; 50 Hyrs) front leg. (8 cycles, 6 moons; 50 Hyrs)

#cryptid's the hawthorns #the hawthorns #Hawthorns Allegiances #Allegiances #family tree #warriors ocs #warrior cats ocs #warriors #warrior cats #ocs #xenofiction

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popculturebuffet · 9 months

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Based on an ask where you ranked the Disney Afternoon pilots, how would you rank the pilots of each of the newer set of Disney cartoons?The cutoff I'll use is starting with the batch from when Disney moved all their cartoons to Disney Channel in 2018,I'll simplify it by not including the ones after Owl House to cut down on it being a mouthful,Pilots are Star Comes to Earth,Going the Extra Milo,Woo-oo,Baymax Returns,Welcome Home(Big City Greens), Anne or Beast,Tangled Before Ever, and TOH's pilot

Tangled is taken out as I haven't watched that one. And to compensate i'll add in The Curse from Ghost and Molly McGee (Since I haven't seen Hailey's on it or hamster and gretel yet and i've only seen a bit of kiff's first episode) and for my own amusement (and because this is my answer so I can do what I like), Moon Girl Landing.

I"ll also say before this ranking that most of these are awesome first episodes that sell what the series is at that point well. Disney is really good at pilots and first episodes.

9. The Lying Witch and the Warden: Case in point this is the only one on this list that.. isn't good. It has good moments, but as i've talked to at length with many fellow owl house fans, paticuarlly @jess-the-vampire the pilot is very ...

It beats you over the head with it's theme of "BE YOURSELF. BEING WEIRD IS OKAY", when the rest of the series does a much better job of expressing it's messages way better. It also hurt Camilla's character and reputation SO BAD that her next two episodes had to go out of their way to explain WHY she sent luz to what came off as a metaphor for conversion therapy in the pilot, show it wasn't that, show she came back right after to help, and have her accept luz as is. The character as she is now is amazing but how badly the pilot botched the assigment with her still left an impact on the series and it's the only one hwere where something in the first episode had to be course corrected this badly.

8. Baymax Returns: A solid tv movie and a neat way to bring back our squishy soft boy. I've only seen bits of this series but it's pretty good which given who made it isn't suprising.

7. Welcome Home: this is a weird one as Space Chicken was the first ep aired and produced, so my first impression of the series.. isn't this episode. Still as an INTENDED first episode it's pretty good, sets up Bill, Cricket and Tilly well. I just slightly prefer space chicken as, even with Tilly being slightly off, it showcases the entire core cast.

6. The Curse: A really good opener that sets up who molly is, why she needs brighton to be her forever home, and who scratch is and why he needs a friend. I also love the scene with mollys family finding out about scratch.. and after the shock wears off all taking it in stride to his massive annoyance.

5. Moon Girl Landing: The most recent pilot here and it's up so high for a reason. This show is fantastic and the opening does a really good job fleshing both Lunella and Devil out while also having a throughly memorable villian that gives it real personal stakes. Sure we know the family rink won't be gone in the first episode, they spent the money making that setting, but the power going down in LES and so many people's livelyhoods being in danger gives realistic stakes to "Genius 13 year old and giant red dinosaur fight elctro daughter".

4. Anne or Beast?: Another banger. Ugly Ugly Hero is still a tremendous line and it gets across our core 4 incredibly well. Also we have a slug instead of betsy for some reason who I love only because I love slugs and snails. Such shrively little guys.. or big guys in this case. Where did that snail go? Whose his agent? Am I now his agent? It's remakable how fleshed out everyone is from day one in almost all of these. I mean granted as we've seen these aren't the PILOTS but even so many series still take time to get a grasp of the cast. Amphibia and what we're about to see had it day one. 3. Star Comes to Earth: While Star Vs had a weak finish i'll probably never entirely let go it had one hell of a strong start. Star Comes to Earth tells us everything we need to know about who star and marco are. Granted Marco being the "Saftey kid" never comes up again, but it served it's point: to show Marco's a bit in his shell and cautious but wants badly to not be the responsible one, and Star provides a way out of that. Also once again we have a gag that's damn perfect with "I'm a magical princess from another dimension". It's remarkable how in just 11 minutes they set up pretty much everything for season 1 and a lot of things for the series: Star's reckleness and how she has a pretty loose grasp on her magic but a great one of combat, marco's martial arts and safteyness, his awesome parents, star's disapproving mom and ludo and co. It's a snappy 11 minutes that really sets the tone for season 1. I really shoudl revisit it with a proper review.

2. Going the Extra Milo: Speaking of things that need a proper review hot damn do I love this episode. Just thinking back to it, it does what a pilot should do and I know I keep repeating myself but that's because a good pilot is setup, showing you who these characters are (even if they can sometims be slightly off) and showing off the premise. In this case it keeps it simple: Milo meets Zack, who as a new kid serves as a perfect window into the weird shit that happens to milo.... while also showing us why he can be so chipper and happy despite the worst happening to him. The "How can you live like this scene" Is really what lands this so high, showing that milo rather than see his constant misfortune as a terrible thing.. sees it as having fun lifethreanting adventures every day. He gets to have an intresting life and Zack sees that being around milo is dangeorus.. but it's also a lot of fun. And that more importantly.. milo's one heck of a guy. Melissa also gets a lot of fleshing out as we both see her faith in milo via the side bet and her hustler nature. Had this show actually got proper promotion this would've been another hit on this pilot alone. Alas we got what we got.. and at least the two seasons we got keep this level of quality up.

1. Woo-ooo!: Look ya'll know I love ducktales, so you likely saw this coming.. but even loving me some ducks woo-ooo is just .. objectively the best on here. It does everything I said a pilot shoudl do while also having some really gorgeous shots like scrooge putting his money in the bin o rthe sweeing intro of duckburg. I'll grant it has more time than most pilots but really it does a LOT of it's character exposition in the first 5 minutes: within that we get who the boys and donald are and where scrooge is now, while the rest shows us who he was and will be again, introduces webby, beakley and launchpad and even sets up the series final villian. The second half adding in Glomgold is just gravy at this point. It's honestly weirdly LESS awkward than the rest of early season 1, where it seems they struggle more to find the shows identity while this.. shows they had the core of it from the start.

#ducktales #the ghost and molly mcgee #the owl house #amphibia #milo murphy's law #star vs the forces of evil #big hero six #moon girl and devil dinosaur

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maryholmes94 · 3 months

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Favourite women from favourite shows

Piper Halliwell, 'Charmed'

Paige Matthews, 'Charmed'

Molly Hooper, 'Sherlock'

Eurus Holmes, 'Sherlock'

Elizabeth Warden and Hyacinth Bucket, 'Keeping up appearances'

Ruth Ellingham, 'Doc Martin'

Violet Crawley, 'Downton Abbey'

#InternationalWomen'sDay #Charmed #SherlockBBC #KeepingUpAppearances #DocMartin #DowntonAbbey #PiperHalliwell #PaigeMatthews #MollyHooper #EurusHolmes #HyacinthBucket #ElizabethWarden #RuthEllingham #VioletCrawley

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tired-truffle · 2 months

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Yet Broken Still You Breathe

An AlistairxOC fic

Chapter Word Count: 3.5k

Part 2/40

Trigger warnings: Mildly graphic descriptions of violence, cannon typical

“Inside me, something seethes. Inside me, some feral animal claws at my ribcage, trapped.” - Molly McCully Brown

Masterlist

Finding out that Darcy was also a Grey Warden was not a welcome surprise, but in the heat of battle, it was not something Gwen could use any brain power to digest, lest she get run through by the undead overwhelming them.

Gwen's dagger was slick with dark blood as she yanked it out of the undead's ribcage. She spun around just in time to see another creature lunging towards her. With swift reflexes, she brought both daggers down in a protective stance, ready to fend off the attack that she had sensed coming from behind. She could handle a slash or two to her limbs, but she was rather reticent to have her internal organs spill out on the cold, dirty ground. Through the haze of battle, her eyes focused on the grey and blue armour the figure was wearing and she faltered. It was Alistair, and instead of moving in to attack, he had his back to her, guarding her from the enemies surrounding them. If he hadn’t been there, she would have likely been skewered already. She’d gotten sloppy, though it was due to lack of sleep from fighting the never-ending onslaught of creatures for multiple nights in a row, she was still kicking herself for letting the Grey Warden sneak up on her like that. He could have very easily been waiting for her strength to wane and use that moment to strike, having realized the truth that rotted at her core.

“Thought you could use the help!” Alistair called to her over his shoulder as his mouth curved into a wide grin, revealing straight, white teeth. His eyes crinkled at the corners and shone with mischief and warmth.

“You’re enjoying this a concerning amount.” Gwen huffed, cutting down a corpse that had gotten too close, and moving to flank him as the undead pressed their attack

“What’s not to love about putting the dead back where they belong?” Alistair bashed one creature with his shield, sending it careening away, and slashing at another, aimed perfectly for its neck and severing its still gnashing head. He grunted in disgust, “They don’t know when to quit.”

Gwen laughed lowly, but all banter ceased as another wave emerged from the castle.

By the time they had dispatched the last of the undead, bodies littering the ground, Gwen was surprised to find herself still standing. She’d had her fair share of tough fights, still, the exhaustion from previous nights coupled with the sheer intensity of their enemies from the most recent fight had her staggering. She collapsed in a controlled fall onto the blood-soaked ground, catching herself on her hands and knees so she didn’t tilt forward and face plant in the grotesque remains of the body in front of her. She let her eyes close for a moment her breath coming rapid and hot as she took a moment to let the dizziness fade. The smell of sweat covered her, a mix of salt and stale air. Underneath the fabric of her bandana, there was a faint hint of metal, like the tang of iron after a rain. As she peeled it just an inch off her skin, the musty scent intensified, mixed with the thick odour of blood and death. The air beneath the cloth was thick and humid, carrying the metallic scent with each breath she took.

Gwen slowly opened her eyes, squinting against the harsh light that shone from the sun peeking over the horizon. As her vision adjusted, she saw a small glass container in front of her, filled with a bright red liquid that seemed to glow. It took her a moment to process what she was seeing, the tanned hand that held it registering as safe in her tired brain, despite her confusion, and she didn’t jump back any further. Instead, she looked up at the tired - yet still somehow cheery - face of the Grey Warden who had fought alongside her for most of the night. Not to be mistaken with the other Grey Warden who had fought closely with his dog and the apostate - whose sneer, Gwen had discovered, never left her face, no matter the situation.

“You look like you could use a health potion,” Alistair said as he shook the bottle enticingly.

Gwen kept her expression neutral, not moving from her spot, “I think the battle-weary look suits me.”

“Ah, my mistake, a hardened rogue such as yourself would have no use for petty luxuries such as this.” He spoke in a mock-formal tone, bowing his head to keep his goofy smile from ruining his charade.

Gwen grunted her reply, not having enough energy to bother with something coherent and lifted her heavy arm to accept it. Alistair grinned triumphantly and placed the potion in her outstretched hand.

Gwen waited for him to leave, but when it was apparent that he wasn’t budging, his eyes were fixed on her like a hawk stalking its prey, curious and eager for whatever surprise or deception she might unveil.

“Thanks?”

“You’re most welcome, My Lady,” Alistair replied, unmoving.

She uncorked the bottle, glancing to where he was still standing, watching her, his fists resting on his hips, seeming strangely pleased with himself. Her paranoia reared its head, she narrowed her eyes at him and sniffed the bottle.

Alistair’s face fell, “I didn’t poison it, who do you think I am, Morrigan?” His voice was a few octaves higher in his disbelief.

“I don’t know any of you,” Gwen pointed out.

“But… but we just fought together! Does our warrior's bond mean nothing to you?” Alistair whined dramatically, his shoulders slumping forward. Gwen was mildly sure it was all an act, the corners of her lips quirking up at his hysterics.

“I suppose you would have let me die on the battlefield if that was your goal.” Gwen conceded. Alistair immediately perked up and Gwen held back her laughter at the exuberance with which he did so. How he had so much energy after that fight was beyond her.

“See, we’re bonded, now you’ll never get rid of me.”

Gwen raised an eyebrow, “That remains to be seen.”

Alistair’s eyes glinted like the cat who’d caught the canary, “I’m always up for a challenge.”

“I can tell.”

Alistair’s smile turned to a frown, then back to a smile, only to return to a frown once more, “I can’t tell if that was a compliment or an insult.”

Gwen didn’t know either if she was telling the truth. This was the most she’d spoken amicably with anyone in a long time. She settled for staring at him, her face carefully composed into a neutral expression. She didn’t know what to say so she simply just didn’t speak.

Alistair shifted his weight uneasily, as her intense gaze bore into him. Good, She had a certain aloofness that she had worked hard to cultivate. No Grey Warden would come crashing through and shatter her carefully crafted demeanour. Of course, she would never let Alistair witness her drinking the potion - she couldn't risk his curiosity getting the best of him and peeking under the cloth she had draped over her face.

“Right,” He said, before giving her a lopsided grin, “I suppose I should check in with our other companions, can’t have them thinking I’m playing favourites.”

Gwen nodded her acknowledgment, and when Alistair finally seemed to understand that she was done talking, he left with a sigh she wasn’t sure if he meant for her to hear.

Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose, this boy was going to be a problem, too earnest and eager for his own good. He seemed interested to know her, but if she ever let him find out, she was sure he’d kill her on the spot. It was what Grey Wardens did, kill creatures like her. She couldn’t fault him for following his duty, but she had not come this close to her first Darkspawn encounter to stop now.

She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before lifting her bandana just enough to slip the potion underneath and chug it back. Warmth spread through her body as she felt little cuts and scraps start to heal, the weariness draining out of her bones, and for one blissful minute, the whispers ringing in her skull died down to a bare simmer.

It didn’t last long, but she’d take any relief she could get.

***

Gwen had been hoping the castle would have been deserted. Her mind was in turmoil as she thought back to all the times she had hoped for an easy solution. But each time, reality proved her wrong. It was as if the universe took pleasure in denying her desires as if there was a force determined to make her life harder. Yet, despite this knowledge, she couldn't help but wish for an easier path once again.

She’d met back up with the Warden crew once they’d spoken with Bann Teagan. Though they had let him likely let him go to his death, they’d at least gotten access to a back entrance to make their journey through the castle easier.

Or so they’d thought.

The castle was crawling with undead, sometimes literally. If Gwen thought she’d been exhausted before, she was now learning an entirely new definition of the word. They’d run out of healing potions a few rooms ago, and as Darcy opened the next one with a confident, “How many more undead can there even be?” they were promptly overrun.

Gwen didn’t know how much blood was her own, her companions, or the creatures’. Her muscles screamed with exertion, her lungs struggling to draw breath through the irritating piece of cloth she insisted on wearing at all times. If they saw her face now and decided to cut her down, she would barely be able to lift a finger against them. No, this was the price she paid.

Through the sea of undead pushing Gwen back, she saw her companions pulled further into the room, leaving her and three skeletal warriors pressing in on her.

But Gwen was not a quitter. She hadn’t made it this far, through all of the utter shit life had thrown at her, just to end up bleeding out on some pompous noble’s stone floor, killed by a creature made up of decaying skin and bones. Her body was a vessel of unbridled rage, every muscle coiled and ready to strike. She refused to accept defeat, determined to fight until the bitter end.

A snarl ripped out of her throat as she crouched, analyzing the corpses' weak points, their exposed spines glinting in the torchlight. She lunged at the nearest undead creature, driving her dagger deep into its rib cage and slicing through the thick bone with a sickening crunch. With one swift motion, she severed the body in half as it collapsed to the ground, its lifeless limbs clattering against the stone floor.

However, there were still two more creatures to deal with. These two were faster than the previous one Gwen had just taken down. Or perhaps she was just getting slower as she was worn down fight after fight.

The sharp edge of a sword sliced into Gwen's left wrist, causing her to scream in agony as she lost her grip on her dagger. She stumbled backwards, pressing her back against the unyielding wall as she gasped for air, her injured arm trembling with pain and shock. With her remaining strength, she brandished her other dagger in a desperate warning to stay away, lest she tear them apart like she had with the first of their comrades. But the dead did not listen to the living.

The corpse kicked her dropped dagger across the room where it slid under a large wooden cabinet. She swore under her breath, having been trying to figure out how to reach it, but there was no reaching it now. She had one less weapon and a useless arm as blood flowed from the wound that had sliced down to the bone. She glanced briefly towards the door leading to the other room, but all she could see was more undead flailing their weapons, her companions were nowhere in sight, but the sound of their combat reached her keen ears. She would have prayed for their safety but with her luck that would only spell their downfall.

The corpse closest to her, the bigger of the two, lashed out with its rusted long sword, aiming directly for her neck. Gwen ducked, rolling to the side, only to hit a surprisingly sturdy body that reeked of death and had her swallowing back a retch.

She had been right earlier, she was slower, they were faster, and smarter than the previous undead she’d fought. They had anticipated her move and the smaller corpse had rushed over to stand in her way, jostling her and abruptly disrupting her movement, unbalancing her as panic shot through her limbs like lightning.

She sucked in a breath of shock as her body recoiled - immediately regretting it as her stomach roiled with the stench wafting off their bodies - pain flaring up her previously uninjured arm, sharp and hot as metal tore through her shoulder. They’d trapped her and rendered her arms useless all within the span of a few seconds. She couldn’t let them get that many hits on her without retaliation or she was sure she would lose. With a surge of adrenaline, she swung blindly in front of her, striking something solid before feeling the satisfying resistance of flesh and bone as the blade buried itself deep into her attacker's chest.

Her knees buckled, her body hitting the ground and she barely managed to roll out of the way of another slash, her dagger now stuck in the crumbling body of the undead she’d just killed. At least her arm had lasted long enough to get one last good hit in.

Her arms trembled and burned with agony as she pushed herself up from the hard ground, her fingers digging into the dirt for support. Each movement caused a searing pain to shoot through her limbs, as if they were being torn apart from the inside. The fire continued to spread through her body, making it difficult to focus on anything else but the intense agony. She knew she needed to move, to defend herself, but each second felt like an eternity as the pain consumed her. Maker, did she ever hate these blasted creatures.

The corpse closed in on her, it had taken away her ability to defend herself and salivated at the thought of its assured victory. Or at least, that’s what it believed. It may have been smarter than most undead she’d faced, but even mortals often failed to realize what she kept hidden under her bandana.

She smiled to herself, like the Void she’d let this be her end.

With one firm tug from her least injured hand, the bandana hung around her neck, revealing her face to the creature charging at her. It did not falter, for it did not know fear, but even if it had, it would not have changed its fate. Gwen hissed, lowering herself to her haunches, looking all the more feral as she brandished her hidden weapon, the reason for her reclusiveness, and the years of memories from childhood she’d banished away to the darkest recesses of her mind. Her greatest shame and her best weapon.

Her large teeth glinted in the low light, sharp as the canines of a wolf, gritted together as she snarled. Her lips parted and so too did the flesh of her cheeks, the muscle and skin splitting in a grotesque charade of a smile until it stopped below her cheekbones. And when she let her jaw gape wide, like that of a snake’s before it devoured its prey, much wider than any human should be capable of, she sprang forth, pushing herself off the wall using the strength that still resided in her legs to kick the remaining corpse square in his chest, toppling it to the ground.

Gwen didn’t have the balance she needed to stay standing on its chest, but she didn’t need to. She pressed her knees against its writhing body and with primal ferocity, she sank her teeth into its neck, feeling the satisfying crunch of vertebrae between her jaws. She ripped back with all her might until the sound of tearing flesh drowned out all other noise. A vile taste filled her mouth - the long rotten blood of her enemy - as she clutched its severed head in her gaping maw, triumphant and unstoppable.

She spat the head onto the ground, gagging as the taste of mildew and gore filled her senses. She hunched over, her arms cradled to her stomach as she tried not to empty its contents. Her teeth were coated in a thick layer of black blood, dripping down her chin in a macabre display. Though she was a terrifying sight, at least she was still alive, her survival hard-won and evident in the fierce glint in her eyes as she surveyed the carnage around her.

“Gwen!” She heard Alistair shout her name, armoured footsteps pounding as he ran towards her. In her exhausted and nauseated daze, it took her a moment to realize that her face was bare and covered in evidence of her brutality.

No, no, no. He can’t see me like this, if he does he’ll know what I am, he’ll know I am a monster, and he’ll kill me without hesitation. Gwen thought in a panic as she scrambled, her bleeding and broken arms as coordinated as a doe learning to walk, barely managing to pull the cloth over her face a fraction of a second before Alistair burst through the doorway, sword and shield in hand as he surveyed the room and the carnage she had unleashed.

She watched him, panting from her hunched-over position, her eyes dull and her legs ready to spring forth and run should he turn his weapons on her.

Alistair’s jaw dropped. Darcy appeared at his side, wielding his dual swords, and let out a low whistle. “You know how to put up a good fight.”

“I have no intentions of dying today.” Gwen winced as her arms prickled with pain. Barkspawn peeked out from behind Darcy’s legs, tilting his head at her as though he didn’t understand what she was doing on the ground.

“Did you rip its head off?” Darcy asked with far too much glee in his voice.

“Do all Grey Wardens enjoy such violence or is it just the two of you?” Gwen deflected stonily. She could let him think she ripped its head off as long as he thought it was with her hands, and not her rather sharp teeth.

Darcy’s smile faltered and Alistair grimaced as he walked towards her, “We’re the only two Grey Wardens left in Ferelden, so in a way, you’re correct.” He said quietly, crouching beside her and putting a hand on her elbow with a gentleness she had not expected. He looked at her in question and she realized he was offering to help her stand.

“I’m sorry,” Gwen had no idea how to react in this situation, people didn’t usually come to her with their grief. They carried sorrowful expressions on their faces, their eyes downcast and their shoulders slumped. Despite their attempts to mask it, the sharpness of this loss was written all over their faces. Even Barkspawn's normally playful demeanour seemed subdued.

“No good heroes have happy backstories,” Darcy joked, though it fell flat. Gwen averted her gaze and allowed Alistair to help her up. He wrapped his arm under her shoulders as he walked her forward. She leaned more of her weight on him than she wanted to, but it was either that or pass out as the blood rushed to her toes and her vision swam, the whispers that plagued her ringing louder in her ears. Alistair pursued his lips as he watched her.

“No poisoned health potions to offer this time?” She wanted him to stop watching her with such intent concern, and given his penchant for making light of all situations, she reasoned a joke would distract him sufficiently.

The crease in Alistair’s brow eased as the corner of his lips quirked up, “You can borrow some of Morrigan’s.”

“None shall borrow anything of mine, lest they risk losing a hand,” Morrigan called from somewhere in the other room, having not bothered to come check on Gwen. She didn’t mind, it was clear that she preferred solitary company and was not used to being around others. As someone who often kept to herself, Gwen could understand the witch's behaviour. This experience was new for her, to be a part of a group, even if it was only temporary. Most people did not take too kindly to the quiet rogue who refused to show her face and she doubted it would take long before they started asking questions she was unwilling to answer.

“I borrow her brush when she’s not looking to give Barkspawn a good grooming,” Alistair whispered conspiratorially.

Gwen chuckled, “As long as you don’t drop me, your secret is safe with me.”

Alistair grinned, “Deal.”

Next Chapter

A/N: RIP Gwen, you would have loved straws (The meme format, not cause im gonna kill her, I promise)

#angst with a happy ending #slow burn #fluff #eventual smut #falling in love #humour #alistair x original character #alistair dao #alistair dragon age #alistair theirin #Alistair x OC #Gwen

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flashhwing · 1 year

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I know that Alistair dying fighting the archdemon is like by far the least common fate people have for him so I do wonder how many people, like me, see art of Alistair and get an overwhelming sense of sadness and tragedy

#it’s like seeing art of molly or vax to me #Alistair #dragon age #this has been a post #I mean like there are other endings that can be tragic for him #exile but I have a feeling that’s an ending for people who just don’t like him #various warden break up states whether romantic or platonic

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existence-is-useless · 10 months

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The Dresden Files headcannon:

Harry and Molly are cousins.

So, Molly's real name is Margaret. Just like Harry's mother, Margaret LaFey.

So, Charity has a gift for magic. So what if Charity and Margaret Lafey are half sisters? Not through McCoy.

So when Charity gets caught in with a cult and a sorcerer, Margaret finds out that her little sister Charity is involved. She tries to get the Wardens involved, but they won't bother. Unless the sorcerer is caught violating the Laws of Magic, they don't care.

So Margaret does the only thing she can. She finds a Knight of the Cross and asks him to stop the sorcerer. Michael. She doesn't tell Michael about her sister, but after stopping the sorcerer, he finds out that he has sold someone to a dragon and slays the dragon and rescues Charity.

Charity never tells Michael about her magic and since she abandons it and never mentions her family, he doesn't know it was her sister that brought them together.

But still, he names his first daughter after the wizard who brought them together, and years later, when he meets her son, Harry Dresden, he looks out for him and helps him. Treats him like family. Because he is.

#the dresden files #harry blackstone copperfield dresden #jim butcher #harry dresden

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superawesomelurkaccount · 3 months

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minecraft skins i made :3

molly guldemond and hatsune guldemiku. i had to use a base for the miku skin since miku’s outfit is difficult to make

i keep forgetting about minecraft but once i play it again i cant stop playing it… my computer can’t run mods, so i use resource packs, and i love messing around with the game. since i use optifine i get to use custom item textures, and i (unfortunately for everybody) learned how to make my own

minecraft funnies under the cut

Warden->Herobrine resource pack by Jumper_99 on Planet Minecraft

Custom paintings from mcpaintings.com

burger map art from a random player on the applecraft server, they dropped it on me in july while i was AFK and i have kept it ever since

#minecraft #mother mother #molly guldemond #shitposting

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sogno-ao3 · 1 year

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thoughts on the illness arc, still waters ch. 39-47

I thought it might be interesting to write down some thoughts about the last arc which just finished--let me know if you'd think this is something that should continue.

We open with the New Year--new beginnings and new perspectives. When I first conceived of the story in 2020, I never had much of a role for Ada, but as I've written Tommy and his family issues, she's become a central force in humanizing him and being a physical manifestation of the old Tommy, romantic and without cynicism. Despite Ada's friendliness and Mollie's predilection for being nice to about everyone, Mollie throughout the entire arc has remained detached--while she has no reason to believe that the information Ada tells her is untrue--she can naturally perceive the uncomfortable feeling of agenda.

Chapter 40, Voice, is the first exploration of what their relationship is now like after Tommy realizes that he needs her in his life--but also simultaneously realizing that everything he's done before has pushed her away. How do you get someone like Mollie to fall in love with you, and how do you deal with everything in the backdrop of your tragic romantic history? It's awkward--and he is visibly self-conscious for the first time in front of her, but they eventually share this tender moment, where he connects motherly figures in his life together--his mother, Ada, and ultimately Mollie, which also signals the relative position that he now accords her in his life.

The next chapter is an exercise in subtlety. First, the coughs--Mollie falls ill. Second, the herringbone suit--what Tommy brings into the tailor shop in the very first chapter to get re-tailored, he finally wears out in the open, a sign of the increasing publicness of their relationship. Tommy hadn't thought he would see her at the christening; he hadn't thought that Ada would hire her.

"Didn't expect to see you in there." He was leaning against a pillar, smoking. His coat was open, and I thought the cut of his suit looked extremely familiar, a gray-blue herringbone.

I just looked at him, knowing he would be able to deduce the rest.

Yet, he has the newspaper clipping--he was thinking of her--but just as in Chapter 40, he became anxious, his thoughts tormenting him even as he knows Mollie brings him such precious drops of happiness, and decides not to mention it to her until this opportunity presents itself, and he can't help himself, and he has to ask.

Chapter 42, All Still and Sunday-like, is the hallucination chapter--it starts off rather tame but still odd--Mollie's parents have been doing this forever, how could they mess up something like the weight of packages? The chapter is structured so it gets fantastically more and more unbelievable--culminating in a foreshadowing section where Tommy takes care of Mollie. Mollie also doesn't resist the coddling, and accepts it without question, which brings us to the mini-convalescence arc of Mollie's own.

The following chapter provides much-needed background, but is quite painful--for all the progress that Mollie and Tommy have made, has it regressed?

The title of chapter 44, Fruit, has an important secondary meaning; the effect of consequence of an action--perhaps Tommy's slow work on Mollie has finally borne fruit? She elaborates more on her wants and desires, but as the readers, we know that he has not gotten to the core, but still, she lets him in, even if a little more. He could push more, but he doesn't.

Ana is another example of a character not going exactly where I had first planned her. At first, I thought she would be a good friend to lean on in the lonely hospital, but then Nurse Evans and the warden came to naturally fill that role, and Ana...? I find Ana to be a tragic figure, really--she's controlled by her mother, she wants her family to regain their status, and she's trapped in a weak body; in some ways, her obsession with birds is this expression of how she wishes she was free, but in some sense, she's still content to observe them from afar until something moves her hand. Uncharacteristically, our sweet Mollie seems to dislike her from the very beginning, but is this really uncharacteristic? The role reversal between Tommy and Mollie continues to play itself out, and their shared, immediate dislike of Ana serves to show that they are two sides of the same coin, even if their own sides, on the surface, look vastly different from each other.

Chapter 45, Biscuits, makes the case that perhaps that not all progress is lost despite the intrusion of the illness, and Mollie begins to understand even a little of what it is that she does for him:

I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the drone of his voice. It was easier than I thought; soon, the words no longer made any sense; they were just clouds of sound, no sense of plot and direction. It was more pleasant to be on the receiving end than I had imagined; is this what he experienced every night? Is this why he insisted on this singular extravagance…?

The chapter culminates in Mollie coming to terms that she does enjoy his company, and for once, he is the patient one on the other side, and she's the one who has to rise to meet him.

In Chapter 46, Byzantine, Tommy's best wingperson, Ada, comes back to haunt Mollie. Finally, everything is laid out in the open for Mollie and she has to face the agonizing truth of where she stands, where she could stand, in the eyes of various Shelby family members. Polly is correct: to marry a Shelby is to marry into a family, and Tommy and Mollie have been in their own world for so long, and as they take even the smallest steps to be out in the world, there are so many societal and familial things that must be considered, to be overcome. Even if they do love each other in the end, can they even be together despite everything else...?

What he wants most in the world, to spend time with her, and so Mollie's test is cruel to him. He wants to make her happy, but he doesn't want to leave, but in the end, he chooses to listen to her, even as she refuses to do something for him in return. Mollie of previous chapters would have acquiesced, would have asked him what he wants--after this interaction, she becomes keenly aware of her upper hand.

The last chapter in the arc, Chapter 47, Eyelashes, was another one of those incredibly difficult things to write. The point of the entire arc is to show the progression of friendship between Mollie and Tommy, and I knew I wanted to end with something that resulted in Tommy finally letting go and a moment of joyful levity between the both of them. I've always considered Emily Brontë to be one of the original e-girls, and while the Brontë sisters did write literary masterpieces, they also were a bit silly and dramatic at times. Mollie and Tommy are not naturally serious people, but due to the circumstances that brought them together, their respective histories, they have become people who are naturally cautious around others. And so, from chapter 1 to chapter 47, we finally see the walls being broken down from both sides, and we can perhaps glimpse the beginning of Mollie starting to ponder her own feelings.

Mollie has always seen Tommy, but she's never truly looked at him. A lot of details, like his neck, his eyelashes, the creases below his eyes--they're new to her. She notices them, but at least right now, only those creases, she does deign to call beautiful.

The last item that I knew I wanted to include was continuing the pivot in Mollie's outlook and agency with her own life. Continuing with the last chapter in which she refuses Tommy the favor, we see Mollie growing more assertive, and she thinks:

I was ready to go home, ready to leave this state of purgatory, and finally take control of a world that had slipped away from me in this structured garden, tendril by tendril.

She knows that it's all been a fantasy world, that the true world outside has never stopped even if she's been cocooned away, and if she wants something, she'll have to seize it herself.

#stillwaters-ao3

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donner-mathis-official · 11 months

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Swap AU make my pea-sized brain ping around my head like one of those brick breaker games.

Mathis was on a flight to Great Bear to visit his son in prison. He booked a flight with Archer Remote Transport, flying with a serious woman named Molly who doesn’t seem to particularly like him. Their plane goes down, and he finds himself in a quiet apocalypse.

Molly is a pilot who hunts in her spare time. After her husband died in mysterious circumstances, she’s generally regarded with suspicion by the people around her, and it weighs heavily on her.

Astrid is a doctor in the small town of Thompson’s Crossing. Shes taken over the community centre as a clinic. She would go out and search for crash survivors, but the people here need all her attention.

Mackenzie is a convict who recently got transferred to Blackrock. After one of his guys, a stern man named Jeremiah, got sent here, he got himself sent up to break him out. By the time he reached the prison, that had already happened, so he started searching the island for someone who could get them off it.

Heller takes Jeremiah’s position almost exactly.

Jace takes Methuselah’s position, but isn’t quite as cryptic about it and instead speaks in scientific terms that leave Mathis like “please have mercy I got a C in high school physics”.

Lilith Barker takes Jace’s place, ensuring that Donner doesn’t escape. She was climbing Blackrock mountain when the first flare happened, and when she saw from above what was happening, she rushed down to try to help.

Vachon takes Hobbs’s place but isn’t as obviously dead meat after his cutscene though. Hobbs is the guy who they mentioned got shot with arrows (who is Leclerc in canon).

Mackenzie, in spite of being a convict, isn’t actually a bad guy. He’s exceedingly practical, but he cares for his people, and when he learns Mathis is trying to get to Blackrock, he immediately agrees to help him. Then a faction conflict happens in Blackrock because some dudes are like “hey fuck you and fuck this guy from solitary you’re not the boss of me”. So Mackenzie wrestles with that and keeps them in line while Mathis goes to do all the quests.

The warden and Father Thomas sort of swap places except the warden ends up more in Molly’s position. He went off the deep end a bit with the fire and brimstone and most people stopped attending his services, which he resents them for. He kills the convicts because “it’s the will of the Lord”. Just fully cuckoo bananas with the religion.

Grey Mother is Mackenzie’s other henchman because I think epic gun grandma should get to commit crime and also hang out with Mackenzie more. It’s part of why in this AU, Donner does actually escape; because Lily gets distracted by her mom being there.

Methuselah goes where Grey Mother does. He has the player go look for buffer memories instead so they can write down the story of Milton because he doesn’t want it to die. They need to go to the farmhouse to get the key to the office, not the lockbox.

Father Thomas isn’t locked up (because in this AU, the convicts didn’t murder everyone bc the staff weren’t as horrible to them) but he is completely useless in sorting out the conflict in the prison. Just like “oh no, please don’t— oh no you’re doing it anyways :(“

#the long dark #tld #will mackenzie #astrid greenwood #tld Molly #tld mathis #tld jace #tld heller #tld vachon #tld father thomas #tld Franklin #tld lily barker #tld methuselah #tld hobbs #tld Jeremiah #tld grey mother #there are so many ways to swap ppl here that could be interesting #Molly in Mackenzie’s role is particularly neat to me because they’re kinda similar but also SO different and I love it

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friendly-books · 5 months

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Turn Coat live blog

“I answered it and Morgan, half his face covered in blood, gasped, “The Wardens are coming. Hide me. Please.”

His eyes rolled back into his skull and he collapsed.

Super.” pg. 15 Ha and what a way to start the book.

“Truth be told, I still had nightmares occasionally, about being pursued by an implacable killer in a gray cloak,” pg. 18 Yep Morgan is the worst.

“Last place anyone would look for him be my guess.” pg. 18 Yep

“Oh bite me, wizard boy,” pg. 19 Ha

“I am. I’m helping him because I know what it feels like to have the Wardens on your ass for something you haven’t done.” pg. 22 Yep

“So. How are the headaches?” pg. 22 Bonnie! Would Bonnie’s conception count as an immaculate conception?

“Thank you-“

“Oh shut up” I said, shuddering. “Neither of us wants that conversation.” pg. 28 Ha

“Aleron LaFortier is dead.” pg. 29 I’m not too sad that he’s dead.

“Gosh. That was irrational of them, to jump to that conclusion.” pg. 30 Ha

“I went to bed two nights ago. I woke up at LaFortier’s private study in Edinburgh, with a lump on the back of my head and a bloody dagger in my hand. pg. 31 Suspicious

“Stars and stones. What on God’s green earth was that thing?” pg. 45 What did Harry see? Harry think of your poor brain and psyche. He’s got to stop poking things with his Sight. It’s bad for him. You’ve got brain damage now you’ve got to be careful.

Oh good Harry got to Georgia and Billy’s house

What is Harry muttering about the numbers?

Well now Harry’s using horrible memories to get use to the Sight of the Skinwalker.

“Kirby was the only clearly lit object in sight-an ideal target.” pg. 56 Oh no

Oh no Kirby :(

How long does someone need to be dead for it to be considered necromancy and not resurrection?

“You nuked it” pg. 77 So cool

Zero is strange

“That’s why this place is called Zero, I realized. Zero limits. Zero inhibitions. Zero restraints. It was a place of perfect, focused abandon, of indulgence, and it was intriguing and hideous, nauseating and viscerally hungry.” pg. 88 Not a fan of Zero

They seriously got a wanted poster for Morgan. Old school wild west style. Ha

Madeline? Like back in White Night with the thrall?

“You are Jessica Rabbit, right?” I asked. “All slinky and overblown and obvious?” pg. 102 Ha

Good for Thomas and Justine for attacking Madeline

“You aren’t doing her any favors by going easy on her, Dresden,” he said, more quietly “You aren’t preparing her for exams. She doesn’t receive a bad mark if she fails.” pg. 129 What happens if Molly fails the exam?

“She threw stones at me” pg. 129 Luccio why would you do that? Why not snowballs or water balloons? Does Luccio and Morgan have a paternal substitute similar to Harry and Ebenezar? Maybe that’s why Morgan lost it back in Dead Beat?

“Pain is an excellent motivator,” he said “And teaches one to control one’s emotions at the same time.” pg. 129 No that’s stupid.

Morgan stop calling Thomas a “it”

“You did a bad thing once” I said “It doesn’t make you a monster”

“What if it does?” pg. 134 No Molly isn’t a monster. Now Molly feels like a monster. I’m reminded of when Harry had similar thoughts back in Proven Guilty. Morgan sucks

“The Council is not divided” pg. 139 Oh Morgan you sweet summer child. Open your eyes and stop being such a Council supporter.

“You two play nice.” pg. 142 Ha

Alright let’s see if I can sus out this traitor. So it’s got to be one of the senior council members or staff. Merlin, McCoy, Listen-to-Winds, Librety, Mai, Gatekeeper, and Peabody. I don’t think it’s McCoy as he’s trying to get rid of the black council. I don’t think it’s Listen-to-Winds as he’s got a friendly raccoon buddy. I don’t think it’s Merlin as why would he be the traitor he’s in charge? I don’t think it’s Gatekeeper as he seems to be on Harry’s side. I don’t think it’s Mai as she’s got those guardian temple dogs. I don’t know enough about Liberty and Peabody. But Liberty seems to be on Harry’s side. So by some less than logical reasoning I thinks it’s Peabody as he’s the White Council scribe so he probably knows things. And he talked to Merlin at Molly’s trial.

“The only wizard I see less frequently than he is you.” pg. 153 Interesting I wonder why?

“When I’d been young man, hauled before the Council to be tried as a violator of the First Law of Magic, they brought me to Edinburgh. The musty, wet, mineral smell of the place had been almost all I knew while I waited, hooded and bound, in a cell for a full day. I remember being horribly cold and tortured by the knots my muscles worked themselves into after so many hours tried hand and foot. I remember feeling more alone than ever in my life, while I awaited whatever was going to happen.

I had been scared. So scared. I was sixteen. It was the same smell, and that scent had the power to animate the corpses of some of my darkest memories and bring them lurching back into the front of my thoughts.

Psychological necromancy.” pg. 158 Therapy please. This is trauma.

“You have too much history with Morgan. This has got to be dispassionate, and you’re just about the lest dispassionate person I know.” pg. 161 Ha

“As the mind grows older, it gets established.” pg. 161

Interesting that with time a person can’t be mind controlled. That does bring into question Luccio and her schrodinger cat position. As while her soul and personhood is centuries old the body she’s in isn’t. So would she be able to be mind controlled?

“Peabody gulped” pg. 164 Suspicious

“What he doses isn’t dramatic, but his organizational skills have been a critical asset since the outbreak of the war.” pg. 164 That would make him a good spy.

How did Ebenezar know that Harry was holding Morgan?

Did LaFortier not use a death curse? Why didn’t he use it?

So LaFortier was the point between the White Council and the other countries that weren’t in the Council.

In every scene Peabody in so far he’s having people sign paper. Could it be part of his plan? Hmm

“Peabody stopped before the Merlin, blinking.” pg. 182 Suspicious

“You are an untidy person.”

“I put my hand over my heart, grinning at him “Ow” pg. 184 Ha

Why does Peabody keep wanting to get people to sign paper? Is that part of his plan? An inkwell, seriously? Is it the inkwell? Is it an evil magic inkwell? I bet it is. Who uses inkwells nowadays. Just use a pen. There is such a thing as taking an aesthetic too far.

“Either LaFortier chose not to use it, or he was incapable of using it.” pg. 191 Interesting

So either LaFortier didn’t use his death curse or he couldn’t use it. If he couldn’t use it there aren’t many ways to counter a death curse. A sniper rifle could do it like what Kincaid said. But the wounds were defensive and no gunshot wounds. There aren’t many melee weapons that could stop magic. Wait hold up isn’t the Warden swords anti magic. So they can fight warlocks. So anyone with a sword could have killed LaFortier. The people who we’ve seen have swords are Morgan, Carlos, and Luccio. I don’t think it would be someone we don’t know. It isn’t Morgan as he claims he didn’t do it. And came to Harry for help. I don’t think it’s Carlos as he hasn’t really been mentioned. So that just leaves Luccio. With the mention of mind control magic and Peabody I think he mind controlled Luccio and got her to kill LaFortier. That brings us to Morgan and his suspicions of two day unconsciousness. I don’t think he was unconscious. I think he saw Luccio either kill LaFortier or stand over his body and take the blame.

Oh no Thomas is in trouble

Binder what kind of name is that?

“Binder gave me a gimlet stare. Then he rolled his eyes and shot a brief glance over his shoulder-then did a double take as his mouth dropped open.” pg. 212 Ha

“Ernest Armand Tinswhistle” pg. 213 Never mind his real name is so much worse.

“The sliver oak leaf.” pg. 222 Oh no

“Titania’s retainer told me. The entire Summer court has been laughing about it for months.” pg. 222 Ha

“I took it and pitched it into the haunted woods.” pg. 223 Ha

Toot-toot!

“‘Accomplice is an ugly word. So is ‘penitentiary’” pg. 233 Ha

“He is kind of a drama queen.” pg. 237 Ha

“Who said anything about magic?” pg. 237 What else is Molly going to do?

“I think your mother would scream bloody murder” pg. 237 I’m screaming bloody murder.

“Morgan made a low, appreciative sound as the door closed.” pg. 237 MORGAN NO

“Maybe. But that was just…just wrong.” pg. 237 Yep I agree completely. Wrong

“Received, one six foot traditional Ozark walking club from Mr. Smart-ass.

That’s Doctor Smart-ass to you. I didn’t spend eight years in insult collage to be called Mister.” pg. 241 Ha

“I’m sorry sir,” she said “but the addition-counseling center is on twenty-six.” pg. 242 Ha

“I debated several answers and decided to start things off by annoying her.

I know. Me. Shocking, right?” pg. 245 Ha

“Her eyes were wide, her expression a mixture of terror and awe as she stared up me.” pg. 252 Evelyn what did you see in the soul gaze. Why terror and awe?

Oh lovely another Mexican stand off now with Luccio.

“There are monsters from whom I’d expect better behavior, once they had accepted my hospitality. What’s more, they’d give it to me.” pg. 257 Ha

“Bitch, I know you didn’t just say that.” pg. 258 Whoa there Molly let’s calm down.

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” I said. “So think real careful about where this is coming from. Have you people ever considered talking when you’ve got a problem?” pg. 259 Ha

“Sorry,” I told him at once. “Four-footed nonvocalizing company expected.” pg. 260 Ha

“You,” I asked “and Morgan?” pg. 262 What? I didn’t clock that at all. I’m just as bad as Harry. I didn’t see Luccio/Harry, Lara/Harry, and now Morgan/Luccio. So Morgan loves Luccio romantically. He must be so upset that Luccio and Harry are dating.

“Who do I look like Kissinger?” pg. 266 I hope not. Kissinger is a terrible person. He commented war crimes.

“Is there any reason this can’t be civil visit?” pg. 270 Yes you brought Harry with you.

“Well. I couldn’t argue with that, but the words made Anastasia’s eyes narrow dangerously.” 277 I’m with Harry and Lara on their views on the White Council.

“It was Thomas’s necklace.” pg. 296 Oh no Thomas

“Because people in helpless situations come to you for help on a regular basis. And you help them. It’s what you do.” pg. 300 Yep that’s Harry in a nutshell.

“I always enjoy dealing with a man possessing a well-developed sense if self-worth.” pg. 302 Harry doesn’t have that.

“At what point did you forget that I am a vampire Dresden? A monster. A habitually neat, polite, civil, and effective monster. Her eyes drifted down the hallway, to where a well-muscled young man was being helped sit down, while a medic secured bandages over his eyes. Lara stared intently at him, the color of her eyes lightening to silver, her lips parted slightly. “So am I” pg. 307 Lara is scary

“He always worried that he’d never be able to talk to you. That the world he came from was so different. That he wouldn’t know enough about being human to relate. That he wouldn’t know about being a br-“ pg. 310 Aw Thomas

“You’re like family to me, Harry. You always care.” pg. 310 Aw :)

“She focused sharply on Anastasia for a moment-and then upon me.

Lara’s eyes flicked several shades paler as her ripe lips parted in dawning realization. A very slow smile crept over her mouth as she stared at me.” pg. 313 So Harry doesn’t have true love’s protection anymore. So that means Luccio doesn’t love him :(

“Margret. You selfish bitch.” pg. 315 Whoa Luccio not a fan of Margaret I see.

I kinda agree with Margret about the council.

I don’t agree with Luccio. That’s a whole separate comment about her argument.

“As harsh an experience as it created for you, Harry, the Laws of Magic are not about justice. The White Council is not about justice. They are about restraining power.” pg. 319 That’s my main issue with the White Council. I think they should be more about justice than they are.

“Over. My. Dead. Body.” pg. 321 Yep Harry cares about his family. I wonder how Luccio figured it out but not Elaine. While Luccio had help from Justine it’s surprising that Luccio was able to piece it together but not Harry’s other friends.

“Because you need your brother to be alright” pg. 325 Yep see previous comment.

“Then if you want my help, things are going to change. I’m not charging blindfold again. Not ever.” pg. 337 Yep stop keeping your friends in the dark.

“Then I made a fist and slugged his smug face hard enough to knock him over backward in the chair.” pg. 351 Ha

“The mighty Harry Dresden. Subcontracting detective work.” pg. 363 Ha

“Bear in mind that someone like him can do everything I can do and considerable besides. And even people on the bloody Council are nervous about that one.” pg. 367 Yep Harry can be scary.

“You lost a fight to one overgrown Boy Scout and one pint-sized mortal women, got yourself locked up by the police, of all the ridiculous things, and missed your chance to earn the reward.” pg. 369 Ha Harry is an overgrown Boy Scout. Why is it that these morally dubious people know that but the Council thinks he’s a black sheep/warlock?

“The air smelled of cordite. Mouse’s fur, all down his left foreleg, was matted and caked with blood.” pg. 380 Oh no Mouse :(

Oh no Molly broke a Law again. The same on too.

“I promise that I’ll be beside you,” I said. “I can’t promise anything else. Only that I’ll stand beside you for as long as I can.”

“Okay,” she whispered. She leaned against me.” pg. 393 Aw

So subtle mind control. Maybe that’s what Peabody is doing with the inkwell. I don’t trust anyone who uses an inkwell. Just use a pen.

“I think someone has tampered with Captain Luccio. I’d bet my life on it.” pg. 394 I knew it

“You were acting?” I said “To make it hit Molly harder?” pg. 394 Good for Mouse.

“A real party. Practically everyone who’d wanted to kill me lately would be there.” pg. 399 Harry given your track record with parties I don’t see this going well.

“That is the plan” I confirmed. Then I bent down and kissed her forehead and her mouth, gently, and leaned my forehead against hers. “Love you too,” I whispered.” pg. 492 Yay Harry/Murph moment!

“And yet here I am about to pop you in the nose,” I muttered. “Am I daring or what?” pg. 410 Ha and if it works on sharks it should work on Demonreach.

“It rocked back at the impact. Not much. Maybe half an inch, though that column of fire would have blown apart a brick wall. But I had moved it that half inch. There was no doubt about that.” pg. 418 So cool

“I am Harry Dresden, and I give thee a name, honored spirit. From this day on, be thou called Demonreach.” pg. 418 So cool

Demonreach is so cool. Harry names another. I wonder how this will play out.

“I slid will into my voice as I said, simply, “Thank you.” pg. 419 Aw :) Harry being nice to Deamonreach.

“I’ve got nothing going on in here at the moment.”

I realized what I had said just as the last word left my mouth, and glanced at Morgan. He lay on the bunk with his eyes closed. His mouth was turned up in small smile. “Too easy.”

Molly fought not to grin.” pg. 426 Ha

So cool that Harry challenged the entire Senior Council.

I like Toot-toot

Gatekeeper!

“I cannot decide,” he said “whether you are the most magnificent liar I’ve ever encountered in my life-or if you truly are as ignorant as you appear.”

I looked at him for a minute. Then I hooked my thumb up at my ridiculous head bandage.

“Dude” pg. 452 Ha

“There is the world that should be,” he growled, “and the world that is. We live in one.”

“And must create the other,” Ebenezar retorted “if it is ever to be” pg. 469 So cool

“And then it hit me. They were dealing with something far more dangerous than me, Harry Dresden, whose battered old Volkswagen was currently in the city impound. They were dealing with the potential demonic dark lord nightmare warlock they’d been busy fearing since I turned sixteen. They were dealing with the wizard who had faced the Heirs of Kemmler riding a zombie dinosaur, and emerged victorious from a fight that had flattened Morgan and Captain Luccio before they had even reached it. They were dealing with the man who had dropped a challenge to the entire Senior Council, and who had then actually showed, apparently willing to fight-on the shores of an entirely too creepy island in the middle of a freshwater sea.” pg. 471 So cool!

Not a fan of ancient Mai

“He was not truly your apprentice. You kept watch over him for a mere two years.” pg. 473 Yes Harry was an Ebenezer apprentice and it was an important two years!

I love that we got a glimpse into Harry’s appearance time. Yeah, having killed Justin a bunch of bully teenagers isn't all that scary in comparison.

“Lady Raith,” Ebenezer said, calmly. “Touch that boy again and only things left for your kin to bury will be your five-hundred-dollar shoes.” pg. 479 So cool! I love how much love Ebenezer has for Harry and vice versa.

“Wile E. Coyote” I said to him soberly. “Suuuuuuper Genius.” pg. 483 Ha

Ebenezer used a force choke. It was cool.

Ahhhhh!!!! Lara is terrifying. Madeline didn’t deserve that. Why would you do that Lara? I’m going to have nightmares. Lara is definitely a monster. I don’t want her anywhere near Maggie.

“Someone had to be human.” pg. 512 Yep

Poor Thomas :(

“Bring it! Bring it, you dickless freak!” pg. 530 Ha

Toot-toot to the rescue!

“Mother says you have no place here.”

“Father says you are ugly” pg. 539 Ha

“Just gonna kick your ass up between your ears.” pg. 540 Ha and Listen-to-winds is so cool.

“Retribution,” Ebenezer said. “Not justice” pg. 555 It definitely isn’t justice. It’s retribution and vengeance.

“I remind you that Dresden and his apprentice aided and abetted a fugitive from justice.” pg. 556 Stop calling it justice it’s not justice.

“Little guy like that, taking on something so far out of his weight class. That was a sight to see.”

Ebenezer snorted. “Yeah. Wonder where the pixie learned that.” pg. 558 Ha and where do you think Harry learned it from. Definitely not Justin.

I think Harry should learn from Listen-to-winds.

Oh no Ebenezer doesn’t know about Thomas. Maybe Harry and sit him down and they actually have a conversation about Thomas. I can dream ok.

Oh no poor Thomas what happened to you?

“Wile E. Coyote,” I said wisely. “ Suuuuuuper genius” pg. 569 Ha

“Ebenezar was of the opinion that apprentices were always hungry. Can’t imagine where he got that idea from.” pg. 576 Ha

Part 3

Ebenezer is a cool bookworm. I wonder if Harry got being a bookworm from Ebenezer.

“The Merlin has demanded that we put the boy under surveillance at once. I think he’s a damn fool.” pg. 578 Ebenezar is right. Harry would not be happy about that. White Council looks like a police state.

“But then again, I trusted Maggie’s too” pg. 578 Maggie as in Harry’s mom? Did Ebenezer teach Harry’s mom? Do they have a parental substitute dynamic? Actual parent and child? Look I’m going to get one of these relationships right I swear.

“Merlin,” pg. 579 As in the original Merlin?

“Mai looked daggers at Injun Joe” pg. 584 Not a fan of Ancient Mai

“Mai looked as if someone had hit her between the eyes with a sledgehammer. “That,” she said, in a breathless tone “is a Foo dog.” She stared at me “Where did you get such a thing? And why were you allowed to keep it?” pg. 588 First of all Mouse isn’t a thing or an it. He was the best boy there ever was. Second of all Harry didn’t pick Mouse, Mouse picked Harry.

“It is my belief that Peabody has been drugging the ink for the purpose of attempting greater mental influence over the decisions of members of the Senior Council, and that it is entirely possible that he has compromised the free will of the younger members of the Council tonight.” pg. 588 I was right!? I knew that inkwell was evil. Never trust an inkwell.

I will begrudgingly admit that Merlin is a little bit cool with the whole telepathy thing. Incredibly begrudgingly :/

Morgan, what are you doing about it? You should be resting. Keep doing this and it’ll kill you. Go line down.

I can’t believe I was right about Luccio's mind control. And with Peabody. Maybe I can be a P. I. like Harry lol

“I knew that you knew how it felt to be an innocent man hounded by the Wardens.” pg. 600 He admits it.

“He died less than a minute later.” pg. 600 He died! :0 Morgan’s died? What?

Harry’s got a cool eye scar now.

The Gray Council is cool.

“That the only alternative is to stand around and watch everything go to hell.” His voice hardened. “We’re not going to do that.”

“Damn right we’re not.” pg. 616 Good

“You’re not even forty.” pg. 622 So Harry’s still in his thirties. He’s grown so much.

Poor Thomas

Glad that Butters is joining Harry’s D&D group.

Final thoughts

Great way to start the book. No Bi Harry moments. I thought the book was funny. I wish we got more Marcone to see who he is and if he’s picked up the coin. My working theory is that he picked it up in the last book. Unsure if he touched it bare handed and just has it in his possession or if he has it and hasn’t given in like with Harry. They both have a lot of willpower. He partnered up with Namshiel after Harry died and there was no longer a wizard in Chicago. I hope he shows up in the next book. I loved Mouse in this. I loved the Harry and Murphy moment. I’m shocked I was right about Peabody. That wasn’t anywhere close to a logical conclusion in my deduction. The inkwell was a total guess on my end. Lara is terrifying. I’m sad that Morgan died and what happened to Luccio. Didn’t like the Morgan and Molly thing. Poor poor Thomas. I hope he can come back from this. Loved Toot-toot in this. Not the biggest fan of ancient Mai and glad she was shocked by Mouse. I’m glad Morgan sort of apologized to Harry at the end there. Harry’s reputation grows among the supernatural community. I loved all the Ebenezer and Harry moments in this book especially with the force choke on Lara. Interesting that Peabody had the stuff from outside reality. So this Black Council is in league with the Outsiders(Is that what they’re called?) my question is why? Presumably the Outsiders want to destroy reality so why would anyone want to side with them? Are they possessed? Also if they’re so bad how did Harry defeat one at 16? Glad Harry and Ebenezar are forming the Gray Council if Merlin isn’t going to do anything. Love that has a cool eye scar. Ebenezer really shaped how Harry views magic and life. That must have been such an important two years. Hope we get more glimpse into it. I’ll probably make a whole different comment on Luccio's argument and why I think it’s wrong.

Onto the next book! Oh boy it’s the big one.

#dresden files #Turn coat #battle ground spoilers

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