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#the ancient laws of magic at work
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Rorke Garfield - Superforce - Samuel Weiser - 1976
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praise2ancientgods · 2 years
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Praise post
This is just a praise post to some spirits I've worked with lately.
Bime - you are incredible. Thank you for changing my financial situation.
Buer - you have healed me and I appreciate you so much for that.
Orobas - I can't remember what I asked you for but I want to acknowledge you here.
Bael - you are KING and I praise you for your protection.
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ochibrochi · 2 months
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spontaneous magic manifestation was NOT mentioned in the parenting handbook 😬
I know this isn’t how magic in dc works, but the fact that Damian’s ancestry includes some pretty powerful magic users is… INTERESTING 🤔? Drabble under the cut!
I wanna preface that I'M NOT SAYIN' that Damian should/does have magic powers, but there’s still so much unexplored potential with Damian's character, and the thought that he has a dormant adeptness in magic is somewhat compelling to me. Most importantly it would FREAK! BRUCE! OUT!!!!! What is this, magic puberty 😭??
By DC laws, anyone has the ability to learn magic, but it is also possible to be an innate ability. The Al Ghuls are no strangers to the occult-- Ra's has had increasingly been portrayed as a magic user, and the recent establishment of his mother being a sorceress/witch?? Even Talia dabbled in a bit of magic, I think. There is a catch that their power is suggested to be due to Lazarus exposure, but for arguments sake let's say the Al Ghul lineage is inherently proficient in magic (and Lazarus exposure simply enhances it).
I can't recall "magic" being a part of Damian's training/upbringing (I'm still slowly catching-up on Damian comics so apologies if I miss any canon examples of magic use). Not sure why Talia wouldn't want her little "heir to an ancient assassin empire baby" to learn magic, but it would at least give reason to Damian not knowing about his magic potential, or lack of interest in it.
Through the power of pseudo storytelling, what if Damian's encounter with Mother Soul could have triggered a manifestation of magic that was once dormant; like a pressure cooker waiting to explode with energy when it hasn't been given a safe outlet.
I've yet to read a satisfying arc where Damian truly gets to contemplate his Al Ghul roots outside of "dad is good guy, mum is bad guy". Damian's initial character growth stems from him running away from, and renouncing his association with the League (i.e. "I'm nothing like you, mother and grandfather!").
The most recent thing I've read was Robin (2021), and whilst Damian is much more cordial with his mother, there's still an emotional distance and sense of distrust/resentment (for good reason, even if the context was some cartoonishly evil writing). But there is a silver-lining that they still appear to be fond of each other, in a melancholy kind of way.
Realizing he's "genetically" primed for magic would be especially confronting to Damian. There's no denying his Al Ghul blood, forcing him to confront a facet of himself he can no longer ignore or reject. A family that he likely has to approach for help/guidance.
Damian is put in a position of acknowledging this power could be used for good, to be stronger, to fight crime, balancing it with the implication that what he possesses could be rooted in dark magic (Lazarus enchantment).
If he decides to embrace it, would that be too much of an endorsement of the Al Ghul's dark occultism? Can he separate the two ideas? What if he can't control it? What if he accidentally hurts someone? What if has the ability to save someone where his other skills fall short?
Ideally, I'd love for this hypothetical story to lead into Damian exploring his Al Ghul heritage more intimately, historically, and spiritually (à la RSoB: Year of Redemption adventures). Another little coming-of-age self discovery journey.
I have my own little personal thoughts on what Damian decides to do with his magic powers, but I'd like to leave that open to interpretation... By the end of it I hope that he will at least find some forgiveness over resentment, and a balance between accepting that side of his family a little easier. It is finally a sense of inner peace :)
Any thoughts? Did I get any characterisation wrong? Let's talk over on my DC blog @arkhamochi! I'm currently trying to read all Damian-centric comics until I catch up with the current run. I'm hungry for discussion and analysis!!!!!!
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Law of Attraction as we’ve been told is a LIE! Totally distorted... And NOT by accident either. On PURPOSE to MISLEAD us… And keep the .01% “puppet masters” in power. I know that’s not what we’re used to hearing. Maybe a little shocking. But, it’s 100% true! Visualization, meditation, and affirmations… all the things we’re told work… are FLAWED. They don’t clear the ROOT cause behind what blocks manifestation. And the REAL key to manifestation has been hidden from us! Until now. 3,000 year ago, the ancient monks developed a spiritual method called “Dream Yoga.” They realized during the night, the brain enters a magical free-flowing state. I’m talking... Rapid moving brainwaves… heart blood flow fully activated … and all barriers to the subconscious GONE. What I’ve come to call “The Moonlight Manifestation Window.” When we tap into this 60 minute time-frame during the night (takes 5 seconds before bed)... #dailyaffirmations #spirituality #motivation #spiritualawakening #meditation #selflove #manifestation #spiritual #thirdeyethoughts #manifest #believe #consciousness #loa #awakening #energy #abundance
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jinjeriffic · 4 months
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DC x DP prompt/ficlet
Throwing my hat in the ring with this idea that has been doing the zoomies in my brain for days. The Tim/Danny Accidental Ghost Marriage to Fake Dating to Friends to Lovers AU:
Pariah Dark was a piece of shit. Before his imprisonment, mortals would sometimes manage to bargain with the Ghost King for scraps of power. One of the "standard" deals was to send PD a "Bride" to play with and feed on (because I HC he feeds on fear and pain) and what better way than a little mortal battery that couldn't get away from him? The deal was sealed with a cursed amulet. Now in one instance, the contract was never fulfilled (maybe the petitioner died before he could complete his half) and the amulet was lost. After Pariah was imprisoned and couldn't make deals anymore the knowledge of the rituals needed was gradually forgotten since they didn't work anymore...
Eventually the amulet gets dug up by archeologists (maybe in Egypt or Mesopotamia?) and ends up in a traveling exhibit in Gotham. A Rogue robs the place (Riddler? Two-Face? doesn't really matter). When the Bats show up to foil the robbery, during the fight with the goons a drop of Red Robin's blood gets on the amulet, there's a blinding flash of green light and the amulet is suddenly glued to him.
While everyone is dazed by the ghostly magic flashbang, Fright Knight pops out of a portal, yoinks Red Robin across his saddle and jumps back through the portal before anyone can stop him. Cue the Bats trying to frantically figure out what in the multi-dimensional occult hell happened and where RR went?!
Meanwhile, Danny is disturbed to receive a ghostly missive in his college dorm to tell him that his Mail Order Bride has been delivered to his Ghost Zone Palace and is awaiting him so they can consummate their Unholy Matrimony.
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Danny: Wtf I have to study I don't have time to get MARRIED
Fright Knight: I'm sorry my liege, but according to the laws of ghosts, gods and magic you already ARE
Danny: Wtf. How did this happen?
RR: I would like to know that too
Danny: Oh shit, you're a superhero. Frighty, you can't just kidnap people! Especially not SUPERHEROES!
RR: While that's good to hear, I would really like to know about this supposed marriage..?
FK: I am not aware of the exact details, I was merely summoned to retrieve the Bride of the Ghost King. There used to be standard magical contracts for this, which went into effect when the Bride bled on the King's Token...
RR: Shit
Danny: Hold on, PARIAH got married? Multiple times??
FK: ...but we can always consult the Royal Archivist, if we can dig him out from under the several thousand years worth of paperwork that piled up while there was no King actively ruling...
Danny: Oh ancients, am I gonna have to deal with that?? I have exams to prepare for, dude!
RR: ...the dead still have to do exams? And paperwork?? *horror*
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Some time and explanations later...
Royal Archivist: It took some digging, but I believe I have found the contract in question. You are one Timothy Drake-Wayne, correct?
Tim: Fml
RA: Ahem. The contract was sealed with your mortal blood, as is standard procedure. Congratulations, you are officially King-Consort of the Infinite Realms! Until death do you part, and all that
Danny: Can I see that contract? ...This isn't in English
RA: Oh dear, looks like we will have to schedule your Royal Highness classes in reading cuneiform/hieroglyphics
Tim: Okay, does it say anywhere in that contract how to dissolve it? What's the procedure for a ghost divorce? Fright Knight mentioned the previous king being married multiple times
RA: Well usually, when Pariah tired of a consort he would simply devour their soul...
Danny: Ewwwww I am so not doing that
Tim: I concur. I can't imagine my soul would taste good anyway
Danny: That's what you took from that??
RA: ...but when you die and your soul passes into the Afterlife proper, the contract will be fulfilled. As long as you're not resurrected again.
Tim: Nuts, there goes that loophole
RA: Until then you are the Consort and duty-bound to fulfill his Royal Highness' every whim; ghostly, spiritual, carnal...
Danny: *sinks through the floor in embarrassment*
Tim: Can't he just... release me from the contract? Take the amulet off me or something?
RA: Not without obliterating your soul, no
Danny and Tim: Fuck
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Some time later, while Danny is away consulting other ghosts on possible ways of dissolving the contract, they discover the nasty little clause that if Tim isn't in regular physical contact with Danny the amulet starts draining his life force. To prevent victims from escaping you see... Danny really really hates Pariah right now.
They eventually return to the mortal plane to explain to the Batfam what the hell is going on and that they're still trying to fix it. In the meantime, Danny can't miss any more classes (studying areospace engineering at MIT or sth) and Tim has to stick close to him because of the curse...
Alfred: Oh dear, looks like Master Timothy will have to go to college after all *unflappable British Smugness*
Bruce pulls a lot of strings to fast track Tim getting his high school diploma and let him attend classes with Danny (he's not officially enrolled yet, but Money, Dear Boy). They never know when Danny has to respond to a ghost emergency or Red Robin to a Bat emergency, so they stay pretty much joined at the hip in their civilian lives. Of course there's gonna be rumors. Why did the Wayne CEO suddenly drop everything to go to college? So they make up a story about Danny and Tim having been secret boyfriends for a while and Tim becoming so smitten that he moves with him to Boston...
Cue the fake dates, interviews with magazines, couple photoshoots to really sell the bit... and the two young men gradually becoming friends... and then "Feelings?? But what do I do?? He was forced into this?" etc.
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mirtash · 1 month
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a lil bit of lore: Princess Luna had to banish her sister on the Sun for 1000 years  Luna doesn't have enough power to hold the sun on the sky for long enough because Celestia being in her nightmare form (it's not a Day Breaker but I don't have a name for her yet eeeee like Supernova or smth???) weakens Luna's connection with the sun (and also Luna holds less magic power than Celestia in general) what's more Nightmare Celestia cursed Luna's ponies to be "the creatures of the darkness where you belong", turning them into Bat Ponies. most of the ponies in Equestria are bat ponies. Pegasy Unicorns and Earth ponies only comes from ancient pure blood families like Apples, Pies, Glimmers, etc some as Rainbow and Rarity mostly look as regular pegasys and unicorn but they can hold trates of the bat ponies (fangs, ears, sometimes wings) Bat ponies and the hybrids don't feel good enough during daytime (their eyes works so much better in the dark, they flies faster during night time and prefer lower temperature) and that's another reason why Princess Luna has to hold moon at the sky longer than sun Apple Jack
- She puts flowers in her mane in the memory of her mother. In this AU Pear Butter is a very cool genetic. She died when Apple Bloom turns 5 and Apple Jack (who just turned 15) left absolutely heart broken. However this tragedy made Apple siblings much stronger and they've become closer than ever. That's when Apple Jack finally gets her cutie mark, representing her bond with apple family (three apples represent Apple Bloom, Apple Jack and Big Mac) - Apple Jack is one of the ponies who doesn't really enjoy Luna's reign mostly because she is a farmer and it's hard for her to take care of the various apple trees during longer night time. - The Apple family is VERY conservative they are one of the very few families in Equestria who still grows original sorts apples (and other crops), including a super rare Zap Apples and that need extra care due the lack of sunlight. - one of the Apple family ancestors happened to be the leader of the earth ponies rebellion that happened in the first years of Luna's reign. Luna's spirit was broken after she had to banish her sister and things didn't go very well in her kingdom. Hundred of angered ponies led by the "iron mare" Red Delicious broke into the Castle of the two Sisters. The guards didn't even try to stop them.  When ponies entered the throne room they saw The Princess of darkness, crying over her sister's broken throne. The room was filled with blooming Sunflowers, favorite flowers of Celestia. Then Luna turned to them and she spoke to them as a princess and they saw the power she holds and they realized she can destroy them all with a single spell. But she didn't. Red Delicious who was determined to fight "the princess of darkness" till the end finally saw the real Luna and she wasn't scared or angry anymore but started to feel the compassion for her. - Red Delicious herself helped Luna to make a plan on defeating hunger. Ponies were starving due the lack of crops and Red Delicious worked hard alongside with Luna to invent plants that would be able to grow effectively in the dark on the shortest time. Ponyville became the first night farmers city (very close to the Castle of the two sisters). 
Rainbow Dash - Her full name is Rainbow Stormcloud Dash. - Her mother and father are both pegasy and her grand grand father is a hybrid bat pony (she likes him sooo much he is super cool) However, she doesn't have any trates of bat pony except of the ability to see in the dark and flying at night. - Rainbow mane in different varieties is a very rare gene that only exists in her blood line a very long time ago one of her ancestors tried to save his friend from a dragon and flied so fast he broke the laws of physics and a Sonic Rainboom happened.  After that his mane turned rainbow colored. Pegasus with a rainbow mane was born once in a generation since then but a very few of them were able to perform a Sonic Rainboom. - Rainbow Dash is the first pegasus in Equestria history who was able to perform the Nocturnal Rainboom. - Her dream is to become a Shadow Bolt. They are the best flyers in Equestria!!! And most of them are bat ponies because it's hard for a pegasus to perform bat's tricks. Not for Rainbow though! 
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Random Plot Points
A little about me as a writer, I love daydreaming about adventure stories. I usually know the general set up and larger plot points but oftentimes struggle with the how, how do characters get from point A to point B. 
So, I made a list of random challenges for my characters that I look at when I'm stuck.
Sharing in case helpful to others! (intended for adventure, sci-fi, fantasy stories) 
characters are delayed/blocked/experience a natural disaster (storm, fire, flood, avalanche, earthquake, epidemic, etc) (BONUS and forced to take a detour from the original path)
character(s) is trapped (quick sand, fall through ice, in room filling with poison, on sinking ship, in a trash compactor on the Death Star, etc) (BONUS- fall into hidden room and discover something) 
characters go to a festival/ball/party/political summit (where inevitably it all goes wrong)
character(s) overhears a secret (at bar, at party, from a whispered conversation below them in a stairway, etc) 
characters are attacked by an animal or mysterious force 
characters(s) caught in a mob/riot
character wins/loses something in a bet
character is brainwashed or possessed 
character is stranded/lost
character is poisoned 
character succumbs to injury or illness 
characters are chased/ attacked by antagonists 
character is captured or arrested (and needs to be rescued)
character is kidnapped and kidnappers make a demand for their release (financial ransom, exchange of information, prisoner exchange, etc) 
character(s) go undercover to retrieve information
characters decide to steal something they need for their quest (weapon, magical object, money, information, etc). (BONUS- time for a well-planned heist!) 
characters need to protect/ retrieve/ destroy something 
characters uncover a network of spies (up to you if they're unexpected allies or antagonists)  
characters discover hidden passageway, room, ruins etc that leads to an important clue
characters forced to hide from someone/something
characters need to escape 
characters lured into trap set by villain (BONUS if the villain doesn't even care who wins but only goaded them to learn how a magical object works, the extent of heroes powers, emergency response system of a government, etc) 
characters set trap for villain (BONUS- use someone or something important as bait) (if in Act 2, they fail) 
characters reveal critical information to villain in disguise 
a character is mistaken for someone else (and then is wrongfully arrested, receives information not intended for them, etc) 
characters receive help (hitch a ride, get help hiding from captors, get help escaping somewhere, etc) from an unlikely new ally 
characters forced to team up with an unlikely ally/ morally grey character, etc
characters learn something from simple library research (an oldie but a goodie)
characters just literally just stumble upon or witness something important (secret weapon, secret society etc) 
characters uncover a secret map/ coded message on the back of an old unassuming document (time for a classic treasure hunt!) 
someone escapes from prison (an old villain or an old ally) that changes the quest 
someone is being blackmailed (or otherwise forced to act against the protagonists)
someone is discredited (rumor, disinformation campaign etc) 
something stolen from your characters 
something (document, magical object, money) turns out to be fake
OR, something unassuming turns out to have special powers or meaning  
something is hacked (defense system, infrastructure, bank, private records, etc)
something critical is attacked (important bridge, port, bank/ financial system, safehouse, capitol building, character's familial home, etc.)
a computer virus is unleashed 
a biological weapon is unleashed 
a piece of information the characters believed was true, is false 
an ancient myth turns out to be true 
a secret is made public 
A law is changed or a vote on a critical piece of legislation loses/wins 
a political opponent wins an election/ a political ally loses an election 
character(s) help a passerby (from raiders, local tyrant, beast, mystical force, etc) 
characters "follow the money" and realize someone who was thought to be their ally is actually working for... (crime syndicate, villain, local tyrant etc) 
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catpriciousmarjara · 7 months
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Okay so there's this dp x dc tumblr post about the JL finding the Ghost King's family tree or something and lots of misunderstandings happening but I can't find it anymore and would be grateful if someone would send it to me... Anyhow I was inspired by it and this is the result!
Also on ao3 if you wanna check it out there!
The Family Tree
"So you're telling me this is just a family tree?", Green Lantern asked with a frown on his face.
Bruce could see Constantine's eyes twitching at that question. As always, leave it to Hal Jordan to annoy people.
"This isn't just anything", the sorcerer said with narrowed eyes. "It's a Class-X magical artifact. If this thing is used as a focus for a ritual, the magnitude of magical energy would rise by at least 80 factors. For those of you non-magical or unfamiliar with magic, that's fucking huge."
Beside him Zatanna nodded, her gaze still fixed on the ancient manuscript. She hadn't taken her eyes off the scroll for more than a minute since she got to the Watch Tower and first saw it spread out on the containment room table. Constantine was the same. Captain Marvel was not present, working along with Superman, Hawkgirl, and Aquaman on a case, but his reactions have always been dissimilar from his magical colleagues, so his case might be anywhere between staying the hell away from it to trying to inhale it.
It was clear to Bruce that Zatanna coveted it, but was sensible and cautious enough to stay away from it. Constantine had no sense so he was a tossup. From where he was standing between Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter, the Gotham vigilante resolved to keep an eye on the two magicians. They most likely won't try to steal the artifact, considering the heavy dose of 'not messing with that thing' overshadowing the desire to possess it, but the scroll itself might be enchanted to encourage covetous feelings on those nearby. It wouldn't be the first time. Better safe than sorry.
It was Diana that stepped up towards the two JL Dark members to seek more clarification. As both a Demigod and as someone familiar with magic, she was usually the one taking point on such issues.
She gestured to the scroll innocently sitting inside the runic circle the two mages had constructed around it. "You have told us that the artifact is not destructive, that it is merely a record, and that the information it contains is not a spell, or a runic arrangement, or a magic circle. You have also told us that the strange energy readings coming from it are mostly due to the material it's made out of than any catastrophic sorcery enchanted into it. You have at last decoded it as a record of a family tree. Yet it is dangerous, a Class-X relic as you've said. Given all this information, I suppose the correct question to ask here is this: why is a family tree capable of raising magical energy output by 80 factors?"
The two magicians looked at each other. Zatanna finally pried her eyes away from the scroll and faced the room.
"Magic is a force that simultaneously has laws but at the same time adheres to none. It's confusing to explain but for the time being just keep that in mind."
She walked to the center of the room, followed by Constantine, visibly trying to collect her words. Bruce prepared himself for a complicated explanation and activated another one of the batsuit's recorders. He felt the urge to sigh, for a supposed unchained force, Magic was needlessly complex at times, and practically incomprehensible to non-magicals.
At the front, Zatanna took a deep breath and began.
"As you know there are multiple dimensions. But magical dimensions come under a different category. Depending on the overall magical potential of a particular magical dimension, we call it the World State Stable Thaumaturgical Output Capacity, we can classify these dimensions in grades and levels, as either higher or lower, with relation to each other. These levels are dependent on a multitude of variables like space, time, gravity, Events, Proximity, etc and as such are non-linear, and unfixed. That's the first thing."
Bruce could practically see the capitals on the last two. Looks like they would need to hold another meeting to clarify a lot of these concepts. Seeing the dawning of lost expressions on some of the members however, Bruce mentally amended that to many future meetings.
Zatanna continued. "Magical objects from higher dimensions become stronger in lower ones. The inverse is also true. This is all in relation to the Overture and the same polarity orientation of course but we don't need to get into that now-"
On the contrary Bruce thought they really needed more explanation on all of that.
"-In simple terms, a child's toy from a higher dimension could become the focus for an apocalyptic ritual in a much lower dimension, while an apocalyptic artifact from a lower dimension might as well be paperweight in a sufficiently higher one. There are ways around it, but if those methods are not implemented, then this is how it generally goes. The larger the level difference, the higher the power."
Now that wasn't concerning at all. Bruce really needed to update his contingency plans regarding magic.
Constantine continued from where Zatanna left off, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here.
"The second thing is that when it comes to magic, things that are indefinable or unquantifiable become definable and quantifiable. Stuff like love, hate, happiness, despair, fate, necessity, authority? All measurable. Not always needed of course, But definitely possible and frequently used in a variety of magical fields."
The sorcerer leaned against a nearby chair. "One such thing is Significance. The magic contained in true names for instance is mostly based on significance. A true name is significant to you, its a doorway to your soul, and therefore it holds power. Significance is also what we call a positive, additive factor in magic. In the absence of interfering variables, significance as a quantity is directly proportional to magical output. In other words-"
"-the more significant an object or an event, the higher the magical energy output, and consequently higher the magical power", J'onn finished. He looked towards the scroll. "The information recorded on it, the family tree as you've said, valuable in significance, most likely in terms of whose family it's a record of. In addition, the artifact is from a higher dimension with relation to ours, and that has a cumulative effect."
"Yeah exactly", said Constantine with a raised eyebrow. "Which means that if that hypothetical toy Zatanna mentioned? If that happened to be important enough, like a first toy, or a cherished gift or something like that, its significance increases, its potential increases, and in the right hands, or in the wrong hands really, that potential could be harnessed at a lower level."
There was a bout of thoughtful silence as they absorbed all of the information.
But Bruce felt as if he had been quiet enough and took the chance to ask a question of his own. "You mentioned something called the Overture, and polarity orientation. What do they mean?"
Constantine just sighed. "For fuck's sake Batsy those things aren't really important to the discussion..."
Bruce just stared.
..."Fine", the mage said in defeat. "There are many names for it, the Overture, Exordium, Legerdomain, Nascence...but the most accepted two are the Beforebirth, and the Womb. It's not a something as much as it's a someplace, but then again it's not really a place either. Simply put it's the birthplace of Magic, where it all began and all that. It can't be accessed without the Key and that's been lost for a long time. It's actually a mission for many magicals to find it you know? A holy quest for a lot of them. Some of them are straight up crazy though."
Bruce field that information safely away. Figure out a plan to combat fanatic magicians trying to find the birthplace of magic for sinister reasons. "And polarity?"
"Well", Zatanna began, "its how magic is classified according to the nature of...magic? Or rather the essence? It's hard to put in mundane terms...Anyhow broadly speaking there are two main polarities, the Obverse, and the Reverse."
For a moment, she struggled with the explanation before brightening, seemingly having found an idea.
"Picture a number line, but like on the y-axis! Zero is the Overture, Obverse dimensions are the positive number side, and Reverse dimensions are the negative numbers! The higher up the obverse dimension, the larger its magical output! Similarly, the lower down the reverse dimension, the higher its magical output."
Bruce had hardly parsed through that when their resident speedster spoke up.
"Guys", the red clad hero said, "I feel like we missed the obvious follow up question after Ollie over here...like I feel like this is important, but where exactly is the scroll from?"
As one everyone turned towards the artifact.
Constantine grimaced and Zatanna winced. They looked at each other as if asking who wanted to bite the bullet. Finally it looked as if Constantine lost. The sorcerer cursed under his breath.
"Well which dimension is the scroll from?", asked Wonder Woman.
Constantine took what looked like a fortifying breath.
"It's from the Infinite Realms."
Silence.
"What?", the Green Lantern asked intelligently.
"It's from the Infinite Realms. As in Infinite. As in end of the figurative fucking line, number line whatever!"
Everyone stared at the magicians as understanding slowly dawned.
There was what was essentially a magical nuke in the Watch Tower.
"Now", began Martian Manhunter, "this is unfortunate".
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mxtantrights · 3 months
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where you go, I go
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a/n: okay so while I'm writing this whole series for azriel just know that I had this other recurring dream about a plot like this. I couldn't really make it a fully fleshed out story with a happy ending so I decided to type it all out and make it a one-shot with angst and not a lot of comfort (this is your warning, this doesn't end happily) anyways with all of that said, if you decide to read this please enjoy and tell me what you think! <333 also happy valentines day <333
azriel x assassin!fem!reader
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The day court was home to many things. Vibrant colors, warm waters, ancient books and of course the very ancient and magical day blade. It's your job to know where that this is at all times.
You can't possibly understand why the shadow singer would try to steal it. Try being the operative word here. While you did sense him enter your court and break into the room where the blade was, it wouldn't have mattered.
Seeing as it is your job to protect the blade at all costs, it never leaves your sight. But that didn't mean you couldn't have fun with those who wanted so badly to get it.
In your pocket you feel a piece of paper appearing suddenly. You reach inside and unfold it. It's Helion. He's requesting your presence. You smile to yourself, this would be fun.
You leave your hiding place, the palace had many hidden rooms and hallways, and walk over to Helion's day room. As you approach from the hallway you can hear multiple conversations being had.
The door is closed so you open it slightly.
"There she is! Come in and greet my guests!" he says happily.
You make sure you face is kept neutral. You had an image to upkeep in this court.
The people respect you and fear you in the same breath. You don't go around killing people but you do often get justice in ways that aren't in the parameters of the law. Whether that be stringing up robbers and looters from their pants, or burning down the houses of dirty criminals.
You keep your eyes straight, not looking any of his guests in the eye. You walk until you are standing behind Helion who sits in his usual seat.
"I was just telling Feyre that I enjoy the new company. This is the inner circle." he says to you.
You nod once.
"She doesn't talk?" Nesta asks.
You know all of them. It's your duty to know The Who's who of the courts. The inner circle of the night court. High Lord Rhysand and High Lady Feyre-Curse breaker. Her sisters Elaine and Nesta. Rhysand's brothers Cassian and Azriel. Morrigan, past fiancee of Eris Vanserra. Amren, a mythical creature of serious power.
Helion laughs at Nesta's question. He knows you talk. He knows you very well, seeing as he practically raised you. But that information isn't public knowledge.
"She does, but not when theres something wrong." Helion answers.
You look at all of them now. How the girl closest to the shadow singer, Elaine, looks worried. And it's quick, you almost don't catch it, but you're so good at your job at this point.
"Trouble in the day court?" Rhysand says.
You lean over and whisper into Helion's ear about the blade. How the shadow singer came here to steal it, on a mission from his high lord. How he thinks he got away with it.
The room goes quiet as you pull back and Helion sits back in his chair. He loves the dramatics you pull off every single time someone tries to take the blade. The last person you caught was really delighted to be drowned in glitter, confetti and manure.
"Is there something you're forgetting?" Helion asks.
Rhysand looks at his inner circle with an incredulous smile. Then he looks to you, no doubt trying to read your mind. You can't imagine this will go over well either.
You can't feel it. The daemati powers that certain fae have don't work on you. You're not really sure why. Might have something to do with your unknown lineage. Or your overall hardheadedness-so Helion says.
Rhysand cocks his head to the side at your unmoving posture. He's still looking at you. You however are taking in the shadow singer. He's sitting there, not bothering to look at anyone. He must really think he got the blade.
"What would that be?" Feyre asks this time.
"Well, when you want something that another has you usually ask." Helion says.
At that everyone at the table grows grim. Caught red handed is what it seems like. You still manage to hide you smile though.
"Helion..." Rhysand starts.
"If you were anyone else I would have you locked up already. But lucky for me my security system is top notch." Helion smiles and grabs his glass for another sip of what could only be wine.
At his words the shadow singer now looks at the high lord. Your high lord. His face bares no emotion, like he can't afford to give a way a secret or smile.
You've heard about his reputation. But at this point that's all it is. He couldn't even steal from you correctly. This has to be the most interesting thing that's happened this year. You don't get around to much outsider business, you tend to stay out of it.
"I don't think it is." the shadow singer says.
Helion stifles a laugh. But you can hear it. And you know if you can hear it they all can. The room is big but not big enough that guests at a table can't hear things.
"Care to relieve them of their misery?" he looks up to you and asks.
You didn't really want to. But then again you'd have to play nice with them. Helion seems to like this group. Or most likely, his son is friends with this group and he wants to be friends with his son.
You sigh, "Take out the blade."
You watch in amusement as everyone at the table looks at each other. As if they all don't know what they really came here for. The shadow singer though, he's different. He's looking right at you.
His shadows materialize the blade right on the table for everyone to see. Cassian, gives him a look. But Azriel doesn't seem to see it or care.
"That's not the blade." Helion quips.
You call the blade to you with your powers. Being gifted with the ability to control sun made objects is fun most of the time. Most living things are sun made in a sense. So really you could control all things, to a certain extent.
The blade comes flying into your hand. As soon as it makes contact with your skin it transforms. The metal of the blade turns into a vibrant green stem. And the helm turns into the face of a sunflower.
Azriel seems to go through a range of emotions. First confusion. Then understanding. And then the last one, well you can't actually pin down the last one. You've gotten good at reading people but he's harder than others.
"The blade is safe in the day court, where it will remain until you ask for it." Helion says.
Rhysand lets of a breath, "I am sorry about lying, but we're short on time."
"And I thought our alliance was stronger than that. I am sorry too." Helion replies.
Helion stands from his seat, causing the others to match his actions. The sound of chairs on marble floors reaches your ears. You take a step back and cross your hands behind your back.
"We need the blade for a mission." Feyre speaks.
"It could be a simple mission or the end of the world. The fact that you have no respect to ask me tells me everything I need to know." Helion says casually.
You know that he is hurt by their lying. It's not deep, but it's there. He thought he could trust them. He thought because they had good relations with him before that they were better than the actions they are displaying right now.
Of course you know of the good bond between them. Which is why you don't understand why they didn't just ask. Unless there is a well justified reason. Why not ask the high lord for the blade unless he was implicated somehow.
How could Helion be implicated in a mission from the night court. He doesn't know anything, or he would have offered them the blade himself. No this is something he's not at the center of. But it still concerns him.
Lucien. You look at the guests around the room. He is no where to be found. True he's not part of the inner circle. He's an emissary. But if it was something the inner circle could simply ask Helion for, why not butter him up with his son?
Lucien may or may not know what going on.
"Where's Lucien?" you ask.
At you question all of the heads move to you. Right, you hadn't spoken to them this whole time. Well you weren't going to give them a smile and greet them kindly.
"What business do you have with him?" Nesta asks.
"He's in Spring. Managing relations." Rhysand answers.
You nod your head. Spring. If that answer can even be trusted. Let's say you do trust it for the moment.
The inner circle needs the day blade. They didn't want to ask for it. They didn't let Lucien come.
"Were you planning on returning it?" you ask again.
Nesta, rolls her eyes at your question. You can't help the giddiness you feel of getting under her skin. You hardly did anything to warrant it. But it felt kind of good.
"As soon as we were done." Azriel answers this time.
You don't ignore the stress he puts not he word soon. You also don't ignore the way his eyes seem to never leave yours.
"That blade is our most powerful weapon. We don't just give it out to anyone." Helion chimes in.
He maneuvers around his chair and stands behind you. When he grips both of your shoulders with his hands, you can tell he's smiling even if you can't see him.
"But I will let you use it," Helion continues, "on one condition."
"Go ahead." Rhysand says.
"Wherever the blade goes, she goes." Helion says.
"That won't be necessary." Nesta says.
At the same time Cassian says, "That's odd."
Helion shrugs his shoulders and lets go of you. He leans into your ear to whisper his next words very carefully. When you understand him and what he wants, you nod your head only once.
He grabs the sunflower from your hands as you uncross them from behind you. Helion stands next to you now. You watch as Helion brings the flower up to his nose and gives it a sniff.
"We agree to those terms." Azriel speaks up.
"Woah hold on-" Rhysand tries to cut in.
"Great. I think this will be beneficial to both courts." your high lord agrees.
You turn to face him now, your back towards the guests. Helion was looking at you with a very faint smile. You heard every word he whispered to you. And you understand the reason why: Family.
What you don't get it is why he won't just speak to Lucien himself. Why play nice with a high lord that knows his son when he can just reach out to him? Invite him to the day court or send him a letter.
Everyone in this room knows Lucien is Helion's son, except Lucien. And now your mission is to tell him so that he might finally have a true place to call home.
Helion wouldn't so easily agree to lending out the blade like this if it weren't for Lucien. And the night court wouldn't try to steal it if Lucien did know, because he could just ask on their behalf.
Your shoulders sag at the thought. You had no interactions with Lucien. You only ever heard of him from Helion and he only started referring to him as his son a couple of months ago.
It'll be you. You'll be the one to see him, come eye to eye to him, and tell him the truth.
You can see it in his eyes. The sadness. You'd do anything for him. He's a father figure to you. And you'll see this through, for his sake and Lucien's too.
"Promise me you'll smile a little bit during your trip." Helion says.
"The Sun Wraith doesn't smile." you answer.
"You're the Sun Wraith?" Cassian's voice asks.
You turn around and face the general. It's all over his face. The look of shock. It wasn't hard to become something of a legend in this court and the ones surrounding it.
"Even people in the night court are scared of you." Nesta says.
On her face seems to be another emotion. Not fear. Not shock. Something lighter amongst the surface. Admiration maybe? You aren't too sure.
"I'll grab my things." you say to no one in particular.
"And the blade." Azriel's voice sounds.
"I never go anywhere without it." you say, reaching behind you.
Grabbing the flaps of your yellow vest you flip it over and your hand wraps around the hilt of the blade. You pull it out for all of them to see.
"Best security in all of the courts." Helion jokes.
-
THREE WEEKS LATER
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The mission has barely begun and you hate it here. You hate it in the night court. The days are shorter and you feel pale without even looking into a mirror most days. Nothing beats the sun of the day court on your skin.
Amren had told you it would get better. After your first meeting she had taken a liking to you. You were told by several members in the inner court that it was no easy feat. She talked to you the most out of everyone.
Second to her, came Nesta who was just curious about the things you allegedly did or did not do. You held off on telling her anything too juicy. It was funny toying with her with the details. She also likes your fighting style. Morrigan too.
Azriel talks to you. Sometimes. He's friendly to a point. Cassian is more friendlier than him but you're starting to understand it's just in his nature. Feyre and Rhysand are cordial. Elaine is, well you've been told that she's nice but you haven't really seen it. She greets you but that's it.
The inner circle didn't get on your nerves. But you also had your own mission. Deliver the news to Lucien that Beron isn't his father, Helion is.
Which is why though this whirlwind of a mission you're laying down on path of grass outside of the House of Wind. Weird. What was even weirder was the fact that Velaris, a secret city inside of the night court, has existed for so long with no one none the wiser.
You squeeze your eyes shut. Trying to turn your brain off. It wasn't working. The sun wasn't the same, it does't feel the same. You can't call off this mission either.
"Is this what you do in the day court?"
You'd know that voice anywhere. Which is weird to say as you've known the male for a couple of weeks now. But it's true. Azriel's voice was distinguishable from others. A bit low, but still soft. Clear.
"Yes." you answer.
"Is that all the explanation you can give me?"
"Yes."
You think he'll go away. He plays nice because you have the blade. He needs the blade, which means he needs you. Once he no loner needs the blade he won't need you.
When you hear the sound of him getting closer you want so badly to open your eyes. But you don't. You keep them closed. As much as you want to open them and see what he's doing.
The sound of him laying down beside you on the grass is one you weren't expecting. Also the feeling of soft cold tendrils nipping at your arm.
"It feels...nice. A bit cold." he speaks.
Of course he'd complain about he cold. Nesta had told you that Illyrians were whiny babies. You'd seen it personally when Cassian couldn't get a certain dish because there were no more potatoes for the day.
And now here his brother is. Complaining.
You hold up your left hand, the one close to him.
"Give me your hand." you command.
You half expect him to decline. To maybe even get up and leave. Or maybe say that he doesn't mind the cold. The other half of you expects him to just listen you-to see where it goes.
He takes your hand. You focus on letting the additional warmth you normally feel from the sun flow from your hand and into his.
Out of all the things you half expect and do expect, his laugh is something you don't plan for. It's deep. It comes from his core. It's gentle too. Which you wouldn't get just from looking at him.
"It's warm." he says.
"That's how the sun feels in the day court." you answer.
"I think you just spoke more than three words to me."
You scoff, "Don't get used to it."
"That was four words."
"Shut up."
"Two. We're regressing."
"Azriel."
"I'll be quiet now."
This is how you spend your time. If you are not training with Morrigan, Amren and Nesta. Or not eating with Cassian in the kitchen. You are laying out on the grass with Azriel in the sun.
It happens more times than you care to admit as the mission goes on.
-
ONE MONTH LATER
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This place, Velaris, was starting to grow on you. You didn't want to admit that out loud, or in your letters to Helion. Or how well you were gettign on with Azriel. The trips into the city, the lingering glances and words with hidden layers.
You letters should only have on subject, Lucien.
He has been back from the spring court for two weeks now. You've taken that time to get to know him. You couldn't fathom unleashing the truth on him as a stranger. You don't need to be his friend. But he needs to at least trust the words coming out of your mouth when you say them.
Family dinner they called it. Even though only three of them were related to each other. But you guess that what makes their family unique. They choose each other, every day.
This meal was special. Seeing as you had finished the mission that Helion sent you on to protect the blade. There was a fae that needed to be tracked down and would only come out of hiding if he could see the sun blade.
Of course you didn't let him, but you did convince him that the fake blade you passed onto him was the real thing. When he found it wasn't after he revealed his intentions with it he got angry.
Angry enough to rain hellfire down on both you and Azriel. If it weren't for your fast thinking and powers you both wouldn't have made it out in one piece.
Now you're sat with the inner circle to celebrate your feat.
Someone clears their throat. This drags your gaze from the redheaded male to the dark haired one. The both of them were sitting in front of you.
How the mother is cruel and precious at the same time. One male is your mission which you planned for. The other male you didn't plan for, and yet...
"Az was asking if you miss home." Morrigan says from your side.
"Dearly. But its not bad here." You speak, not quite realizing what you just did.
You watch as Azriel's smile grows and grows on is lips. It hits you then.
"Wipe that smile off your face before I take it back." you say to him.
"No I don't think I will." he jokes.
You shake your head with a light laugh. You can pick up on his laugh too from across the table.
"Well if it means anything, you fit in well here." Amren speaks up.
Everyone at the table quiets down at that. You look over at her, peering around Morrigan. You nod once at the sentiment.
"You need to tell him." Elaine says suddenly.
You look to her sharply. She's gotten better about speaking to you. More than a greeting but still less than a conversation. It does weird you out some times but you let it go for the most part.
"Oh?" you ask rhetorically.
"Elaine I don't think we should discuss this here." Feyre starts.
"He needs to know." Elaine says again.
It upsets you. She is his mate. She is the one connected to him. She has known this secret longer than you. But you'll be the one to tell him? She doesn't want to get her hands dirty. None of them do.
"What do I need to know?" Lucien asks all of a sudden.
You look to him. Hoping nothin is being given away by your face. When no one answers him he scoffs lightly to himself and looks around at the table.
This is happening now.
"It's obviously about me, none of you can look me in the eye except for her." Lucien continues.
"I can tell you, in private." you offer.
He nods his head and gets up from his seat. You follow his lead and get up too. The two of you walk out of the dining room and onto the balcony. You pull the door close behind you.
"Before you say anything, do they all know about this?" he asks.
He can't be asking about Elaine. She's the whole reason you're having this conversation right now. No, he's talking about Feyre. His friend. Or who he thought was his friend.
What can be left of a friendship after a lie like this?
"Yes." you answer simply.
Lucien shakes his head, "Okay, you can tell me now."
You take him in. The tense shoulders. The bowed head. His hair is perfectly combed behind his back. In this light, he looks like Helion. Not too much, but just enough.
How do you up end someone's life?
"Lucien do you ever think about what it felt like growing up with Beron as your father?" you ask.
Lucien looks at you sharply, "It was unspeakable. I wouldn't wish that life on anyone."
"And it shouldn't have been yours either." you reply.
His brows furrow. Right in the middle like they want to meet so badly. You wonder if he's felt like an outsider before. If he's ever felt it amongst his brothers. The black sheep.
"When my mission is over here, do you think you could come back with me to the day court?" you ask softly.
His face goes from confusion to somewhat understanding. But you haven't told him enough for him to completely get what you're saying, what you're asking of him.
"A couple of times Eris tried to make me visit the day court." Lucien admits.
You nod your head at that. Of course. Ever the perfect actor. You knew him for a little slice of time in your life. A period in which you won't ever forget. He was your first kiss. You were young and kids, trying to figure out your own way in life.
Kissing Eris, the treacherous fox of the autumn court, was every bit exciting at your age. You gossiped, and word got around. But he didn't deny it. For all the lies and manipulation he pulled you thought he might say you were delusional, that you had made it all up. But he backed you claim.
Eris knew Lucien wasn't Beron's son. Eris probably protected him as best he could. In his own, Eris way. Whatever that means.
"You can invite him too." you say.
Lucien looks past you. No doubt at the inner circle lingering inside. If you were in his position you wouldn't even go back in there. You'd never talk to any of them again.
"I'll take my leave now, but thank you. For being honest." he says.
You give him a small smile, "To be clear I was to tell you the news in a gentle manner. What just happened was out of my hands."
"I get it. I'll see you around." he says.
You bid him goodbye. Then he's walking past you. You hear the door open and how voices inside seem to call his name. You don't hear him respond to any of them. You hear the front door slam.
With a breath you turn around and head back inside too. When you do everyone is looking right at you. It unnerves you. You hate it.
"I've done your dirty work now. I think I'll call it a night." you speak.
"He didn't deserve to find out like that." Feyre says.
"You're right, he deserved honesty from his friends." you retort.
"You were sent here to tell him the truth. Am I wrong?" Rhysand asks.
You turn to face him clearly. You can't believe he just said that. You cannot believe he formed the words with his mouth to say that to you.
Without saying another word you walk right out of the dinning room. You ignore Nesta and Amren calling out to you. And you ignore the shadow that walks with you right out of the room and into he hallway.
As soon as you get inside of your guest room the shadow disappears.
SUNRISE, THE NEXT DAY
You're skip training and packing for home instead. You wish you could pack faster but that isn’t possible. You don’t want to be here for another second. Not in this court, not among the inner circle.
When you throw in your last few shirts into the luggage a knock raps on the door. You don’t know who it is, but if it is Rhysand or Elaine you won’t open the door.
“Who is it?” You ask.
“It's me, can you open up?”
You go over to the door and open it. Standing there on the threshold is Azriel.
“I’ll be leaving soon.” You say.
His eyes seem to widen at that. You watch as he peers over you and takes in the bareness of the room, and the packed luggage. He straightens himself out.
“Why so soon? It feels like you just got here.” He replies. 
Based on his words alone he doesn’t want you to leave. You can feel it too. How it’s only been a month or so but the two of you are comfortable around each other. 
You sigh, “The mission is over.”
“And we’re back to this? Four word sentences?” He asks.
“Azriel.”
He looks down both sides of the hallway. His head turning left then right. Then he’s turning back to you. He looks nervous. Antsy. He doesn’t normally look that way. He’s usually so composed. 
He takes you by surprise. He side steps into the room and closes the door behind him. At that you know your eyes go wide. He holds up his hands in defense.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for that but I just—are you mad at me?” He asks.
You scoff, “Yes I am.”
“Okay I knew that, but I was also confused because on that mission you saved my life.”
“Hardly.” You answer simply.
He groans at your one word answer, “You made sure those arrows didn’t plant themselves in my wings. You made sure I was safe.”
“It was nothing.” 
“No it was something.” 
You’re catching on now to how tense he is. Tense or nervous you can’t tell. His eyes are frantic. His breathing is also uneven. And his shadows are fully out on display now.
You do the one thing you can think of. You reach out for his hand. He doesn’t even seem to notice it. When you make contact he looks you in the eye. “Please calm down.” You whisper.
He bows his head, his hair covering his face now. All of a sudden he sinks to his knees. The action catches you completely off guard. 
“I’m sorry.” He says again.
You focus on sending him warmth from your hand. In a second you can see his shoulders begin to shake. From this angle you can’t tell just yet if it’s what you think it is. 
So you bring your free hand to the side of his face. You feel it. In the palm of your hand you feel his wet cheek. He’s crying. Azriel the shadow singer is crying, on his knees in front of you.
“I could have died and for the first time in a very long time I felt this deep regret in the bottom of my belly.” He chokes out.
What would he have to regret? 
Slowly you drag you hand down his cheek. You place your pointer finger under his chin. Titling his head up, you meet his eyes. From this close you hadn’t realize how many shades of brown they hold.
“Azriel, you’re okay. I promise you you’re okay.” You whisper.
He shuts his eyes, more tears flowing down his face now. 
“I don’t think I will be.” He admits.
“Why?” You ask.
He opens his eyes again. 
“Because you hate us now, you’ll never come back here.” He answers.
In a sense he was right. Not totally. You didn’t hate the inner circle. You just couldn’t stand what they did last night. How they acted, how none of them would fess up. Even though some of them had known Lucien for a long time.
But you didn’t hate them. You didn’t hate him.
“I don’t hate you.” You reply.
“I could see it on your face last night. And now, you’re leaving so quickly. You want nothing to do with us.” He adds on.
There’s silence between the two of you. The emotions Azriel is feeling right now feel heavy. Way too heavy for someone he’s only spent about two months with. 
You had heard many rumors about him. But him being like this, wearing his heart on his sleeve like this? You don’t think you could have ever imagined it.
Remembering that he’s waiting for you to answer, you remember to speak.
“Yes I’m upset and I want to go home. But that doesn’t mean I never want to see you again. Azriel I really enjoyed my time with you.” You speak.
You don’t realize it but your hand is stroking his now. 
He gives you a look you can’t figure out, “Why does it feel like that time is over already? Like I’ll never see you again?” 
He reaches up and places your hand on his cheek again. You don’t emit the warmth from there but he nuzzles into your hand like you are. His thumb rubs back and forth on the back of your hand there.
“You talk like everything is set in stone. Like there is only one path.” You say.
“I can just, sense it.” He explains barely.
You shake you head, “Azriel I was always going to leave.”
“Not like this. Last night changed everything.” He says, but it comes out more like a whisper.
“Get up.” 
He looks at you, a bit of shock. You watch as he follows your command and gets back on his feet. He keeps your hand pressed to his face the whole time. Your other hand falls to your side.
“You can come visit me.” You say.
He’s silent. Silent but he nods his head at your words. You’re not sure if he believes you fully. But it’s enough. He wipes the tears from his face. His wings perk up, off the floor now.
You wrap your arms around his body before you can think against it. Instantly you feel his arms around you. Pulling you closer. He rests his head on top of yours. It feels right. It feels natural. No, it feels like something else too.
It feels the exact same way the sunlight in the day court feels on your skin. Like it is meant to be.
part two here!
317 notes · View notes
violet-eng · 3 months
Note
REMEMBER ME POOKIE? (THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FOLLOWING I APPRECIATE IT ♡♡♡♡
So Just think about it if zongli is your boyfriend right image he shows his dragon parts to u like tail and tongue scales horns👹👹👹
And dragon is a type of lizard so dose that mean he breeds whit his tongue and tail and he always wears gloves JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT GOODIES ARE UNDER THERE😚😚😚 GROWING FINGERS.
do u think he has 2 cocks?
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You.Need.Jesus... And so do I...
About the 2 cocks thing... I asked an expert (my college friend) and she said yes...
Btw I took a little creative freedom bc I had this "jealous scenario" long ago and wanted to try again some interaction with hybrid Zhongli.
Also, in case you want something more casual then just tell me and I'll give it a try.
Order ready. Enjoy.
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Jealous Hybrid! ¡Zhongli! x fem!reader | NSFW 🔞
Summary: You traveled to Fontaine where you became close friends with Neuvillette. That's why when you return to Liyue and Zhongli SMELLS Neuvillette in your clothes, he goes feral and (basically what was previously asked).
Advertencias: smut 🔞. MDNI. Established relationship. Dirty talk. Does this count as fucking a monster? Zhongli hybrid sex. size kink. Incorrect use of the dragon's tail (not just once, but twice 🎶fancyyy🎶). Two cocks. Piv, anal. Fingering. Does tail sucking count as a bJob? Unprotected sex. Overstimulation. Dacryphilia. Basically, daddy Geo goes wild.
4.1 k words.
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In a few days, you will return to Liyue Bay, to your comfortable apartment in the center above the jewelry store, next to your beloved Zhongli, who has not stopped answering your letters since you left for your work trip to Fontaine. The immense city had completely amazed you, and dazzled by the avant-garde facades of its buildings, the days had felt more like a vacation than work.
Despite the ostentatious façade of the city, you miss home and the delicate architecture between the mountains that guard the city. You also miss the ocean, so different from the primordial sea, full of ancient legends and tales of war. Most of all, you miss your dear counselor at the funeral parlor. Zhongli had been very encouraging about the idea of your trip, especially knowing how much you were interested in working at Meropide Fortress.
This, in your lover's words, would give you a fresh perspective and update your knowledge of the law, as well as a useful contact like the Duke. However, your dear Zhongli did not expect that your thirst for knowledge would be overshadowed by a reluctant desire to help the helpless.
Wriothesley was the first at Fontaine to notice this, so he didn't stop you when you offered your knowledge and help during a trial at the Opera Epiclese, a murder case that was quite scandalous, but not enough to horrify you…
As a paralegal, your knowledge had become indispensable in subsequent trials, so much so that you spent more time in the office of Iudex Neuvillette than in the Fortress. One day you had to attend to a poor robbery victim, the next day you had to observe the petitions and lawsuits of a Sumeru traveler who had come to town, another day you had to make sure that Liney had not been sued for one of those dangerous magic tricks, and then you had to return to the Opera for more cases… and so on for the months you spent there.
Mornings and afternoons you were busy, surrounded by paperwork and research. Fontaine's technology was indeed a welcome relief, and you counted the days to return to Liyue with plans for those strange machines….
As long as the sun was high, you kept your mind on your work, whether it was at a trial or in Monsieur Neuvillette's office. But when the moon rose, and even the Iudex warned you that you had worked too hard, you enjoyed the tourist wonders the city had to offer. The cuisine was very different from Liyue's, the clothes and the songs… ….
Neuvillette, like the good ruler he is, as a result of all the help you had given him, dedicated himself to being your guide during your stay there.
You had found in the Iudex a pleasant companion, whose stories and knowledge consumed you with curiosity. He reminded you of your Zhongli in many ways, and in that ancestral spirit they both radiate… After all, both of them had been great ancestral dragons at some point in their lives.
The farewell from Fontaine had been anything but sad, you had promised to come back, the Melusines had obliged you… and they had given you a box of macaroons. The return to Liyue is much easier than the departure, and when you finally see the red-and-green tiled roofs of the atavistic buildings, a warmth floods your heart. Home… you're finally back.
You hadn't told Zhongli about your return, so he's surprised when he catches your scent while drinking tea near the Wanmin Restaurant. He puts the cup down on the table and, with a subtle movement, closes his eyes, concentrating on the scent emanating from your skin. Yes… it is definitely you, it is the scent of your hair, the balm of your lips, the smell of the cream you use to moisturize your hands… how he missed that smell… how many times he had masturbated smelling your clothes, in the dark solitude of his apartment, longing for you to come back to him and let him take you on the floor, on the table or wherever…
He could perceive every bit of your cinnamon scent, of the lavender cologne you had bought a few months ago, of the floral soap with which you washed your clothes, even the new smells, the dew from the plants of Fontaine, the scent of the flour with which they prepared their famous cakes, the outflow of the sea in which you must have swum, and… what is that smell?
Zhongli frowns, no matter how expressive his face contorts as he turns his head toward the cobblestone streets of his city to meet your figure and your surprised, almost disappointed expression.
"It was supposed to be a surprise," you complain as you embrace him from behind and leave a kiss on his head, how much you missed the scent of his dark curls, the feel of the softness of his hair… the scent of the man he is… you can't wait to have him on top of you that night…
"I smelled you from miles away," he mentions as if it were something banal, though in a rather stern tone of voice. You can't help but dive into the deep doubts of that foul smell. It seems familiar to him…
"I missed you too, my dear… Ah… It's been a long trip, but I had fun… I learned a lot," you say smiling, "Wriothesley was very kind to me, he gave me a lot of freedom to work in the Fortress…" you begin to tell.
The Duke, Zhongli thinks, no… that smell doesn't belong to him….
"Clorinde saved me from trouble when I first came to Fontaine…" you continue.
No… neither did she, Zhongli tells himself.
"Oh, Lady Furina was also very hospitable to me, even though she had a terrible flu when I first started working with the Iudex Neuvillette… oh, I almost forgot to mention the Hydro Dragon to you," you laugh, "you two have a lot in common…"
That smell… that reptilian stench of primordial water. So that's the name the vermin is using now…
Zhongli, smelling Neuvillette's perfume on your clothes, on your skin, can't help but think of all the days you spent with this man… being with him instead. He starts to feel a burning spark inside him that could explode any moment. Jealousy, people would tell him, he would call it thirst for death and war….
For the rest of the afternoon, all he hears from you is how wonderful and interesting Monsieur Neuvillette is… Neuvillette this, Neuvillette that, Neuvillette complimented me, Neuvillette helped me… Although you talk little about him and more about the other friends you made during your stay in Fontaine, in your territorial friend's mind it feels like you're explaining to him what a catch Monsieur Neuvillette is, a dragon who's not afraid to rule his country... while he…. Well
"I didn't think he was such a dragon," you comment, recalling the time Liney insisted Neuvillette to show him his original form, lying that it was his birthday, something the kindly Iudex, who cherishes the friendship of such an interesting being as Monsieur Liney, cannot deny.
"Did he show you his draconic form?" asks Zhongli, as if out of a trance.
"Only for a few minutes, but that was only once. I think I saw him more often as a dragon-human hybrid when we were working in his office late at night," you comment, very unaware of the pressure cooker Zhongli is turning into.
How comfortable Neuvillette must have felt, Zhongli thinks, to show himself to her like that… did they…? No, he reproaches himself, y/n would never do such a thing. And surely Neuvillette was just being kind to a guest like her, who had been so helpful during her stay there.
"Well," Zhongli adds, in the mood to change the course of the conversation, feeling a little more relieved, shedding his primitive instincts, "how was the weather?" he already knows the answer… rainy as usual… ….
"Pretty sunny," you reply.
And that's the breaking point for the great Rex Lapis, who has so patiently endured this conversation.
You hadn't realized how quickly night had fallen on Liyue when Zhongli led you by the hand at a brisk pace to your shared apartment. His grip is strong, like a heavy chain on your wrist, and his steps are longer and faster.
"Zhongli," you mutter between gasps at the performance you must give for this feat… After your long journey, the workout is going badly for you, "slow down".
"Yes… practice," he says, "because soon you will ask me to go much slower."
Your voice catches in your throat, while a few hours ago you had the idea of intimacy with Zhongli, you were expecting something slow and loving, as it usually happens when you return from your crossings… not what this man has in mind.
You stumble up the stairs, covering your face in embarrassment at the curious looks of your neighbors as they watch the unchanging funeral consultant drag his girlfriend up the stairs and into the confines of his apartment.
"Zhongli, stop it," you say once inside, breaking free of his grip, "what will the neighbors think?"
"That I'm fucking you until your legs stop working," he says, locking the front door.
"Don't say things like that," you squeak as you cover your face, your face red as a tomato.
"I wonder if you were this embarrassing when you were with your dear, respectable Iudex Neuvillette," Zhongli whispers, a hoarse undertone rising from his throat.
"Wait, Zhongli, it's not what it looks like," you try to defend yourself, though your words seem futile as the former Archon has you pinned against the wall, his entire form dwarfing your diminutive humanity.
"I'll tell you what it looks like," Zhongli says, slurring his words, despite the darkness, you can see his figure changing, growing in front of you, and his eyes, like two amber fireflies, piercing, are the only glimpse of light in the house, "it looks like I have to remind you who is the only dragon that can impress you, who is the only dragon that can eat your pussy and penetrate you until you're split in two."
"Zhongli!" you try to push him away, even though deep down something has started to smoke between your legs.
"I can smell how I turn you on," Zongli hisses, sinking his nose into your neck and brushing your cheek with his… horns?
"These…" you bring your hands up to his head, running them along the curve of the appendages that spring from his forehead, tangled in a spiral.
"Do you like them?" Zhongli muses, so deep and seductive that your skin bristles and your core soaks at the mere sound.
"I've never seen them before…" you say, your voice cracking, something besides Zhongli's hands caressing your hips and sliding up your thigh.
A tail… you'd be sure it was a tail if it wasn't for the darkness…
You turn your face away from Zhongli to watch him closely, noticing a certain look in his amber eyes, a pupil of an unfamiliar shape, and the way his smile shows you his sharp, gleaming fangs.
"I hate that you smell like him," he growls, shaking his head, "you should smell like me."
"Zhongli…"
"Is that all you can say?" he teases, sensing the eager tone in your voice, the nerves coursing through you from the tip of your nose to your toes, overwhelming your body in a rising flame of bubbling pleasure.
Zhongli is subtle as he leads you to the carpet, lighting the fireplace with his breath of fire on the way, illuminating the room and drawing a gasp of surprise from you.
Zhongli's figure towers over you, slender, almost monstrous. You find yourself propped up on your elbows, your skin brushing against the fabric of the carpet, while before you were wondering why he didn't leave you on the bed, now you understand, and that is that he wouldn't fit.
"Do you like what you see?" asks Zhongli, a proud smile on his handsome face. He kneels over you, cupping your frame between his thighs, to remove his clothes, which would have been torn by now but for the subtlety of his movements.
The thin fabric of his cloak falls behind his back, as delicate as lilies in spring, while his vest slides under his shoulders, tracing the slender figure of the ancient Archon. His tie is undone with a practiced gesture, and his white shirt opens in two, revealing the sculpted figure of the man above you.
The golden details of his skin reflect the fire of the hearth, and his chest, as fiery as the flame beside you, rises proudly before your incredulous gaze. The distance between his shoulders has grown, his chiseled muscles flexing with every movement. He undoes his gloves with his teeth, and as perverse as you look, you can't help but wet your lips with your tongue. His digits, like the rest of his body, have grown in size.
"I can read on your face the myriad fantasies that plague your depraved mind," he muses, adding a snaky sound to the end of the sentence.
Saliva drips down your throat, sweat trickles down your forehead, and your fluids begin to soak your core, all wet.
Zhongli is very skilled at undressing you, he has always taken his time for this kind of prelude, warming you up for him and adjusting your body to his eager caresses… but this is not just any situation… no, in his mind, in the mind of the powerful and ancestral ruler of Liyue, the goal is not to show you what a fervent and devoted lover he can become, but to rip all traces of the unwanted water dragon from your head and body.
"Careful," you mewel as you feel his claws growing and tearing at the fabric of your blouse and skirt.
"If these rags are so important to you, you know I can buy much more graceful ones that flatter the divinity of your figure," he orders, he's a tough nut to crack… and damn, that makes you…
"It's not the clothes…" you look for support on his shoulders, he moves you as if you were a rag doll, "I'm afraid you'll rub my skin…"
"Precious," he inhales deep into the skin on your shoulder, "I'm very skilled at moving when I'm with you. I would never allow myself such an atrocity, to bruise this pristine skin would be punished with the worst of punishments".
"Still," you whisper, and he gives you a golden look, expecting what you will say, with a calm but instinctive depth, you feel the flame of his lust grow and spread.
"Calm down," Zhongli says, laying your back down on the carpet again and parting the fabric of your bra with his claws. Your breasts heave after the release, your face turned sideways with crimson cheeks. "You look so beautiful when you're embarrassed," he adds, dipping his nose between your breasts, taking a deep breath of your eager, warm scent, bathed in eroticism and anticipation.
Zhongli slides his nose over your belly and then between your legs, over your soaked lingerie. Without taking his eyes off you, his eyes locked with yours in an iron grip, he slides the elastic of your garment around your hips, sliding the thin fabric down your thighs and then your ankles. The movement is slow and painful, but exhilarating, just as the image he gives you by smelling your underwear is exhilarating.
His beautified figure towers over you, the fabric clenched in a fist to his nose, where a deep sniff brings Zhongli the ecstasy that no recreational tea leaf could ever provide. The nectar of your sex is the only delicacy he needs that night, whether in his mouth or around his cock…
Throwing the lingerie aside, Zhongli places his hand on his pants, ripping the dark fabric tightly from his muscular legs to reveal not one, but two huge, thick, throbbing cocks eager for you.
"What the fuck!" you exclaim as you watch Zhongli's monstrous appendages slam into his abdomen.
He seems to ignore your expression as he buries his face between your legs, kissing the inside of your thighs, inhaling the juice inside of you as it oozes from your center… Well, he tells himself, it doesn't smell like Neuvillette, at least not here.
"Do you hear me?" you call, lifting his face by the horns, "do you have two cocks?"
"'Indeed, yes," he answers, taciturn as always, "what a crude way to question me about my nature, dear," he says, while you notice his tail waving behind him, wagging from side to side like a predator about to hunt. .
"Did you learn these manners on your wonderful journey to the Nation of Justice?" Zhongli asks as his tail wraps around your thigh, grazing your skin with its scales as it moves closer to your center.
"No… but it was a coherent question I asked," you argue with him, so vainly that you look pathetic.
"And I guess you didn't learn how dragons mate either?"
"The Iudex and I," you start to speak, but your voice stops when you feel Zhongli's tail tempting your folds, "He and I never… no…"
"Too bad," Zhongli replies, "because at least his tail would be softer than mine."
The words catch in your throat, a gasp as Zhongli spreads your legs and the rough skin of his tail slowly slides into your pussy, shaping the surprised, wet, velvety walls around him.
"Ahg!" You cry out between painful moans, you haven't even had time to get used to his thickness and he's already reached the bottom.
You writhe on the rug, your hands clenched tightly against the fabric of the rug as Zhongli holds your legs apart, watching the embarrassing way your pussy clenches around his appendage.
Your back arched as you heard him laugh, sending vibrations to your center, as if everything in it was somehow connected.
"Nothing to add?" he asks, almost mocking you.
"I~…mmhh~" you mewl as your chest rises and falls heavily, waves of heat gather in your belly, the thickness of his tail hurts, burns, but he touches you in every place you could want, even though it seems if he went any further he could reach your throat, "Ahg~"
"Too big?" he asks, pulling back just in time to hit your cervix again.
"Ah!" you moan hotly.
"Speechless?" Zhongli plays with your mind as he withdraws again, this time further, to sink deep inside you again, this time harder.
You can't help but let out a high-pitched, almost heartbreaking scream as you feel him plunge his tail all the way in, welcomed by your walls as they get used to him. His tail is long, largely due to his draconic form, so each time it curls up to penetrate you, it reaches the bottom with a crushing fall, pressing down on the rubbery spot that suffocates you.
Zhongli crosses your legs over his shoulder and pumps his tail into your pussy as if he's cleaning something inside you. Your back jiggles in this position, your waist moves at the stimulus of his thrusts inside you, your throat emits the most outrageous cries of pleasure you've ever made.
He goes in and out, rubbing every corner of you in synchronicity and fervor, little patient with your tolerance and abusing your limits. It excites him to see you screaming for him, and it excites him even more to see pearly drops sliding from your eyes, glistening like the juices overflowing from your abused hole.
"Ahhg~ yes, yes~" each word shouted between moans and sighs, deepens in Zhongli an instinctive way that he has wanted to show you for a long time. Each thrust accelerates, becoming frantic and jerky, each stroke brimming with power, and his hands wrap around your legs, holding you in place so you don't move as he ejaculates inside you.
His tail spasms painfully and suddenly you feel a familiar warmth explode inside you. he has cum inside you, you know it because you are aware of the sensation of his seed overflowing from your pussy… although you doubt that it came from his tail…
"You…" you gasp, mesmerized by the dark new sensation Zhongli has given you.
"Looks like you enjoyed it more than I thought," he smiles, a dark smile.
His tail emerges from inside you and slides over your stomach and waist, turning your body until your knees and palms touch the carpet.
"You're not very swollen yet, are you?" he asks.
"Well, I… ah!" you moan in mid-sentence as you feel his fingers sink deep into you, almost as long as your insides, reaching the deepest valleys of your insides, "Zh…. Zhongli~."
He moves his fingers inside you, bigger and thicker than you remembered. He pulls them out to leave your fluids on his cocks and plunges his fingers back in to lubricate your ass this time.
"I never dared to ask you to do it from behind," he says as he spreads your buttocks with his hands, exposing your small hole to him, "perfectly made for me," Zhongli whispers to himself.
You feel his thick member slide into your pussy, your entrance getting used to his new length as it throbs around him. Almost immediately he enters your ass, slowly working his way inside you, your hole welcoming the new guest with contractions that elicit guttural moans from Zhongli.
"Not so hard, darling," he growls, "or you'll make me cum," he adds, placing his hands firmly on your hips, avoiding the way your body trembles at his intrusion.
"It hurts~" you let out with a moan, because indeed it hurts, but the feeling of being so full makes your body feel like you are on cloud nine, experiencing sensations you have never felt before. "Mmhhh ~ Zhongli ~," you unconsciously move your hips back and vulgarly ask him to start his thrusts.
"I'm going to move, dear. Need you to hold on as long as you can," he says, leaning into your ear, the warmth of his breath flooding your neck and cheek. He doesn't want to hurt you, in short, he's jealous of your new friendship in Fontaine, but he didn't want to make you a victim of his feelings. He loves you, he is madly in love with you, and that is why he is willing to show you, in the most draconic human way possible, who is the only one who deserves to have you.
"Please," you beg, grinding your hips against his, feeling his cocks sink deeper into you.
Zhongli, like the ardent lover he is, doesn't keep his beautiful lady waiting, not after how well you've just taken him. He rubs your insides with his cock, eliciting mellifluous moans from you, and in an arduous retreat, he enters you again, all the way in, again and again and again.
The sound of skin against skin fills the room, Zhongli rushes into you at a frenetic and almost deadly pace, one second you feel empty and the next you are completely full, his appendages bruise your insides, shaking your insides and churning your belly in skillful movements.
He throws his head back, enjoying the way you clench around him, completely hooked on you, trapped in your vicious holes. He takes one of your breasts in his hand, massaging the soft, sweaty flesh under his fingers as heartbreaking screams leave your throat, his tail trailing up your other nipple, wrapping around it as one of his hands massages your clit.
You're completely pampered by his limbs, screaming his name as if it would save you from the overwhelming storm of pleasure consuming your body. Your face is contorted with pleasure, your eyes are in the back of your head, your heart is pounding against your chest just as Zhongli is doing inside you. All in perfect synchronicity.
The climax of pleasure comes when Zhongli takes your hands and places them behind you while his tail splits your lips and slides over your tongue, down your throat. All your holes are completely filled, all subdued by him, entering relentlessly without stopping for you to rest.
Zhongli grunts and moans as he feels your throat close to his tail and as your ass begins to shake around his cock. And he does it even more when he thinks about how beautiful you will look completely bathed in his cum. That's why when he comes inside you, from your mouth and pussy, he can't help but move away from you to get a clear picture of you gagging as you try to just swallow his contents, and as the milky fluid gushes from your butt under your thighs.
You cough and wipe your lips with the back of your hand, looking over your shoulder at the way your legs and ankles are soaked with hIs seed. Dragon stuff, you think, because he's never given you a load of this size before.
"Charming," he whispers, enchanted by the image your corrupted form offers him, "divinely accommodating and beautiful. The most precious treasure I have found on my long journey," he adds, crawling towards you, wrapping your body in his arms as he surrounds you with his figure in fluid movements, pressing you against his chest.
You feel Zhongli's chest vibrate, and the way he has put you on his chest, between his arms, and covered you with his tail, gives you the impression that he is holding you in a shelter, you, his precious treasure.
"Tomorrow I will make you a nest, I have to build one so I can take care of you and our cubs," he whispers above your head.
"Did it really occur to you that I could cheat on you with another man?" you ask, taking advantage of the fact that Zhongli has let down his guard.
"It was my mistake to let my foolish thoughts control my actions. In fact, I think you are the most loyal person I have ever met in my life," he replies.
"If so… why doubt me?"
"Because you are too good for someone like me. Because your sense of help and perseverance is more like that of a dragon who decides to take care of his people than one like me… who leaves them to their own fate," there was a hint of melancholy in his words.
"You have been a good ruler, my dear Rex Lapis. Liyue is more than ready to be ruled by humans…don't think that you have left it to its fate…especially when you walk through its streets and talk to its people," you smile as you caress his chest.
"My dear y/n, you always have the words to make my cold heart warm and smooth," he plays with the strands of your hair, "I am deeply sorry that I ever doubted you…in the near future I will make it up to you, and maybe in the distant future we can remember this as a simple and shameful mistake of mine," he adds, joining his lips to yours in a kiss that shows you his painstaking sincerity, the doors of his emotions wide open for you.
Zhongli's tongue slides into your mouth, giving the kiss a more naughty touch… and you don't know how, but suddenly you find yourself at his mercy again, stretching your pussy with his two cocks inside you, shaping your walls with relentless attacks.
"I want to see you with a swollen belly," he moans, "you're going to be a beautiful mother…" he says, opening your legs, digging his claws into your thighs, watching as his two cocks disappear into your hole.
Now that you think about it… maybe Zhongli is in heat…
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sara-scribbles · 26 days
Text
Melting the Dragon King's Heart (Part 3)
Fandom: Twisted Wonderland Malleus Draconia/F!Reader Summary: After falling down some stairs, you wake up in the body of a villain from one of Idia's cheesy romance books. Destined to die a fiery death, you have to figure out a way to change your fate. Word Count: 7,661 Notes: Hey all, sorry for being off the grid for so long! I've been busy and haven't had much time to do anything besides study. But we're finally at the end! I hope everyone enjoyed the story! It was a lot of fun to try my hand at writing this. Malleus is a fun character to write for.
I might have some more isekai/regression/reincarnation stories for Leona and Jamil. It's something I've been thinking about but haven't fully committed. Let me know if these ideas sound interesting and you'd like me to write on them.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Warnings: Physical abuse, emotional abuse, attempted murder, actual murder, death
Despite being in the library often, it’s always a little daunting when you first step in. There are plenty of staff to help, but shelves upon shelves of texts are still a bit much. A lot of the texts near the back are quite old. A lot of them have to be handled with care or they might just fall apart.
After asking for books on enchanted weapons, with a strange look from the librarian, you sit down and try your best to go through as much as possible. After a few hours of no success, you feel a headache coming on. Leaning back, you let out a deep, tired breath. There are plenty of enchanted weapons, some real and some just legend, but there’s nothing about the specific weapon you’re looking for.
In the story, the dagger is described as being crimson with an obsidian handle. It was originally a sword blessed by a group of fairies to take down a corrupted dragon. However, once the blade had been dipped in the ancient dragon’s blood, the blessing turned into a curse. Somehow the sword was broken but enough remained to create a dagger. 
Any cut made by the blade could not be healed. No magic, no potion, no artifact could stop the bleeding. The wounded person would bleed to death. If the person was lucky, they could die in a matter of seconds. Those not so lucky would have an agonizingly slow death. Even if they were to cauterize the wound, the bleeding would continue. It would only stop once the wounded died.
“Very grim,” you mutter under your breath. For such a light hearted novel, the curse of the blade was surprising. However, it’s never used since the main protagonist is able to get it.
“Your highness, is everything alright?” the royal librarian.
Sitting up straight, you clear your throat. “I don’t think I’ll be able to find what I’m looking for. Could you put these back?” You close the book with a thump.
“Of course. Is there anything else you need?”
“No, thank you.” Deciding to head back to your office, you leave the library. By now you know how to navigate your way through the castle. 
Your feet move on autopilot as your mind wanders. There must be something you can do. The only other thing you can think of is returning home to see if they’ve found the cursed dagger. Of course this would require you to figure out the relative time frame of when Yūki meets Malleus to when it's found. However, you’re unsure if following the story timeline would even be helpful with how different everything is now.
Arriving back at your office, you eye the stack of documents still left for your review. Plopping down onto the chair unceremoniously, you rub your eyes. Instead of doing the work on your desk, you find the previous book you had been reading. You never thought books about laws would be interesting, but Briar Valley has some strange laws that make reading about them fascinating.
As you flip to the bookmark, you note with some irony that the next chapter is on divorce. Perhaps when your plan had been to divorce Malleus, this would have been helpful. Though, still curious, you decide to read it. Everything about Briar Valley’s laws are complicated, though maybe not as complicated as the Queendom of Roses. There are separate laws for fae, humans, and fae-human issues.
You skip to the section on fae-human divorce since that would apply to you. “ ‘Depending on whether the parties have participated in the soul ceremony, divorce can be rather difficult though not impossible.’ What’s a soul ceremony?”
Before you can continue, Diablo knocks on the door. “Your grace, lunch is being served.” You quickly close the book before following him.
---
You’re silently reading in bed while Malleus goes through some documents. The times he used to come to your room to “hold your hand” has extended to almost every night. Instead of holding your hand, you both comfortably sit in your bed either talking or reading.
Malleus still returns to his room once it’s time for bed. You almost asked him if he wanted to stay the previous night, but you lost your nerves. There’s something very different from just reading in bed to actually sleeping next to him. You wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with him, but it’s almost been an entire year of marriage and you haven’t once slept in the same bed, so you’re unsure about how to bring it up.
Malleus shuffles his papers with a deep sigh. Glancing over at him, he rubs the bridge of his nose while muttering to himself. “Something wrong?” you ask.
He sets the papers aside on the bedside table. “Nothing really. Just that grandmother will be visiting soon. And she’s already placed certain…demands on me.”
Your eyes nearly pop out of your head. “She is?!” You had only met her a handful of times. Yet, in those few formal visits, all you can recall is how intimidating both in magic and overall presence she is.
Chuckling, the fae reaches out and squeezes your hand. “No need to worry, my heart. I’ll take care of all the preparations.”
Book forgotten, you turn to him. “What did she ask for?”
“She wants her favorite room overlooking the gardens. She, of course, expects to have dinner with both of us. And a few other things about her daily walks around Briar Valley that I’m sure Diablo can take care of,” he answers, ticking off each one on his fingers.
Fiddling with the sheets, you ask, “Is there anything I can do?”
“Hmm… She didn’t say anything in her letters. But I’m sure she’ll let you know if she wants anything.” His gaze flickers over to the book in your lap.
“I should do something for her. Since it’s been awhile, maybe I can get her some flowers. Or maybe plan an outing? Do you think she’d want to have tea in the gardens? Or maybe…” As you ramble, Malleus takes the book from your lap.
He nods occasionally while he skims the page. His lips press together in a thin line. Brows furrowing, his eyes narrow. You pause when you finally notice he’s not listening. “Malleus?”
Turning away from the book, he asks in a serious tone, “Did I do something wrong?”
Blinking owlishly, you cycle back to the conversation. Yet, nothing comes to mind about what he is referring to. “What are you talking about?”
He gestures to the book. “You’re reading about divorce in regards to fae-human relationships. Did I do something wrong to make you consider divorce?” Though his tone is even, the stormy look in his eyes say otherwise. There’s a flash of lighting outside the window.
Ignoring the sudden change in weather, you shake your head. “I’m not planning to divorce you, Malleus.”
His shoulders relax and his gaze clears. “I see…”
Taking the book away from him, you set it aside. “I’ll tell you the truth. I may have considered divorce at the start of our marriage because I didn’t want you to be unhappy.” ‘I also didn’t want to die’ you add silently. “But I realized that it would be unfair to ask for divorce based on a few months together. And it would be selfish of me to not consider your own feelings.”
“If you aren’t happy here, I’d be fine with a divorce,” he says, his voice strained. “I want you to be happy.”
Leaning against his shoulder, you hum in agreement. “I am happy. And you’re happy too, right?”
“Of course,” he responds without missing a beat.
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Except the fact your parents possibly have a weapon that could kill him.
He wraps his arm around your middle, dragging you closer to his side so your head rests against his chest. He leans back against the pillows. You can hear the steady beating of his heart. A comfortable silence falls and you're almost lulled to sleep. The thought of sharing a room pops into your head once more.
“Hey, do you want to share a room?” you inquire, deciding to throw caution to the wind.
Malleus straightens up, which startles your comfortable position. “You wish to share a room?” His eyes are wide.
Sitting up, you find yourself picking at the sheets again. “Well, you basically come here every night, so that would be the most logical thing to do. And we are married, so it wouldn’t be strange if we decided to sleep in the same room.”
Shuffling out of bed, Malleus puts on his dragon slippers. “I will let Diablo know at once to prepare the master bedroom,” he says hurriedly. 
“M-Mallues?” He has already gathered his papers and is about to head out before he stops halfway.
He walks back over to you. With a large grin, he leans down and kisses the top of your head. “I almost forgot, my heart. Good night.” Eyes twinkling, he leaves without another word.
Your mouth hangs open for a bit before you snap it closed with a click.
---
In less than a day, your new bedroom is ready. Diablo has your things moved in while you're working. The old butler seems at ease and comments how Malleus is in a wonderful mood. Everyone you pass by smiles brightly at you. You’re almost embarrassed at the fact that it seems everyone knows why he’s in a good mood. But, it’s honestly adorable.
There is a nervous feeling that settles in your stomach as you think about the logistics of sharing a room. For one, you have to share a bathroom, which isn’t much of an issue considering how massive the bathrooms are. The only thing you’re concerned about is possibly being walked in on while changing. It isn’t like you haven’t seen another naked person, but you’re self conscious about the scars on your back.
No one, besides your parents and the few people who treated you on occasion when you were unable to, knows about the scars. They’re all thin and straight, but there are so many. They crisscross from the top of your back to the small of your back. Some are very old while others are only about a year old. 
You recall the faces of the few doctors who had seen the scars. Looks of shock and pity aren’t uncommon. One, you recall vividly, did not react at all, but you could see the way her hands shook. Yet, none dared to ask where the marks came from nor did they ever say anything to your parents. They valued their lives far more.
How could you blame them?
Shaking your head to clear out the bad thoughts, you decide you’ll figure out what to do when the time comes. For now, you have to decide what to do with two unexpected visitors. 
There had been a commotion at the palace gates that Diablo had come to you about this morning. When you heard what happened, you immediately went to meet them. Now in the drawing room, Yūki sits across from you looking sheepish. Grim happily munches on the food offered by Diablo.
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” you start. It’s true since Yūki and Grim are not supposed to come for another two months. It’s just another indication that the story is completely different.
Yūki sighs. “Grim kept nagging about wanting to visit. When he wants to do something, he typically won’t change his mind. I’m sorry for dropping in unannounced.”
You wave off their apology. “It’s fine. I just wanted to be able to prepare for your visit more. Diablo can prepare a guest room. It’s a little busy here because Malleus’s grandmother is visiting soon.” you explain.
“Should we leave? I don’t want to be intruding…” Grim doesn’t seem bothered as he downs a cup of tea. Diablo pours him a refill without missing a beat.
“No, it’s fine. She’s not supposed to be here for another month. So, how are your travels?” you ask, changing the subject.
They seem to relax a bit. “It’s great! We went to visit the Scalding Sands before coming here. We even got to ride a magic carpet!” Their eyes light up as they talk about their newest adventure.
You wonder how they felt in the original novel when they had to stay in Briar Valley at the end. The author didn’t mention much about what happened except that Yūki went on to rule alongside Malleus. It was implied that they never left Briar Valley. Could someone who loved traveling so much really be happy staying in one place?
At some point in the conversation Malleus comes in. He pauses when his gaze lands on Yūki. You watch as he regards them curiously. Yet, it’s only a brief pause before he turns to you to ask you a few questions about a document. He leaves right after without a second look.
A part of you is a little disappointed at the underwhelming moment of their first meeting. However, another part is happy that there isn’t some kind of instant connection between the two. You’re selfish.
“He’s scary,” Grim mutters once Malleus is gone.
“Grim!” Yūki looks at you apologetically.
“What?! I’m just telling the truth! The magic rolling off of him is intense!” The cat waves his paws around. “It’s suffocating! You might not be able to feel it henchhuman, but I can tell!”
“It’s alright. Malleus can seem rather intimidating, but he really isn’t. I promise he’s a gentle, kind soul,” you assure them with a laugh.
Yūki relaxes once more. “He obviously loves you very much,” they state while chewing on a macaron. You face warms. “He only has eyes for you,” they continue “and it seems the feelings are mutual…” A single eyebrow goes up.
Trying to hide your embarrassment, you take a long sip of tea. Clearing your throat, you can’t meet their amused eyes. “Well…yes, they are,” you say in a soft tone. You can’t lie about your feelings. “He has a good heart. We started off rocky, but we’re in a good place now.”
Yūki and Grim both glance at each other. You realize you’re probably smiling like a fool and quickly school your features as best as you can. You steer the conversation to a different topic.
Later, Diablo shows them to the guest room and you head back to your office. There’s still paperwork you need to finish. On your desk is some mail with many of them being letters from other foreign dignitaries. However, one letter causes your blood to run cold. You know that sharp but elegant script as you know the scars on your back.
Rarely have your parents sent letters. Slipping the letter opener under the envelope, you’re almost tempted to burn the letter without looking. But the fact that they sent a letter must mean something important. It’s only a single sheet with only three sentences. You blink a few times before setting down the paper. The page blurs as you feel your chest pounding and a distant, high pitched noise fills your ears.
Dearest child,
Your mother has passed. Come home so our country may mourn her. The funeral will be tomorrow.
Father
Before you can fully realize anything, the door to your office opens. Malleus steps inside with a concerned look in his gaze while holding a piece of paper. Breaking out of your daze, you zero in on the paper in his hand. It’s the same sharp writing. There’s nowhere to hide.
“My heart, I am so sorry,” he says, gently setting down the letter. You can see that your father wrote more to him in the letter. “Are you okay?”
He reaches out but pauses when he notices the look in your eyes. There’s a long pause before you find your voice. “I’m fine. Thank you…” You carefully take your own letter and fold it back into the envelope. “I should prepare to return…” you whisper.
Malleus gently takes your hand in his. “Take all the time you need. I know the mourning process can take time.”
Your heart aches at his kindness. But how can you tell him that you don’t want to go back? That you’re terrified of returning to a place that only holds bad memories? Malleus lost his parents, so he’s no stranger to loss. But you hold no sympathy for the woman who called herself your mother.
“I’ll inform Diablo. Finish up what you need here.” He presses a kiss to your forehead before leaving to find the old butler.
You stand there for a moment. Your heavy breathing is the only sound that you can hear. You stumble your way out of the study. As everything fades in the background, childhood memories come back. Memories of a younger version huddling on the bed, knees draw close to her chest. Always shaking but never crying because it would only lead to further punishment.
A voice calls out as you stumble and fall forward. You hit the ground face first but you don’t register the impact. A hand comes into your lines of vision and you instinctively jerk away.
“Don’t…” you cry out weakly.
Suddenly Yūki’s face appeared into your field of vision. They say something but you don’t really hear. They move away for a bit and return with some water. They press the cup into your hands. They place a gentle hand on your back while rubbing slow circles. Your hands shake as you stare into the cup. As your breathing slows down, the pressure in your chest lessens. After a little longer, you take a slow sip.
“Your highness?” Yūki hesitantly calls to you in a soft tone.
Swallowing, you look around. Somehow, you stumbled your way to Yūki’s guestroom. “I…I’m sorry for barging in on you…” you apologize.
Yūki offers their hand and guides you to a chair. Setting the cup on the table, you sag back into the chair. “Just take your time,” they say, taking a seat as well.
Glancing around, you note that Grim isn’t anywhere to be seen. As if reading your mind, Yūki adds, “Grim went to grab a snack from the kitchen. He probably won’t be back for a while.”
You fiddle with your hands trying to find the words. You’re sure Yūki isn’t the type to gossip, so whatever you tell them would be safe. But should you be dumping your personal problems on someone who you’ve only met a few times?
“I don’t want to burden you with my personal problems…but would you be willing to listen?” The weight of everything has always been there, but you had ignored it. But with the arrival of the letter, you can’t ignore it anymore. Perhaps hearing the advice of someone from the outside would help.
Nodding, Yūki offers an encouraging smile. So you tell them everything. Well almost everything. You tell them about the past, your parents’ plan to take over Briar Valley using your unique magic, the fact that you’ve been lying to Malleus from the beginning, that they may have the one weapon that could kill Malleus. Every word out of your mouth feels like a release. Yūki listens without saying a word and keeping their facial expression straight.
Finally, you finish and it feels like you’ve been speaking for hours. Your throat feels dry, but the weight has been lessened. You wait for Yūki to respond. It’s a lot of information to be telling someone in one sitting.
Clearing their throat, their brows draw together. “Well…sorry but fuck that’s a lot!”
Your eyebrows go up as you stare at each other. Then, you start laughing. You both burst into laughter. It’s the first time you’ve ever heard Yūki say something like that. Wiping away stray tears, you shake your head with a smile.
“Sorry for dumping all that on you. I think I just needed to tell someone.” You sigh. “I’ve been holding that in for so long, but it feels good to at least tell someone.”
They wave off your apology. “You’d be surprised how many of my friends I had to play therapist for. It’s nothing new.”
Despite the reassurance, you can see the slight sag in their shoulders. “Still, you shouldn’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m being a hypocrite since I just did the same thing, but I want you to know it’s okay to just turn away if something becomes too much. You don’t have to fix everyone’s problems.”
Looking away, Yūki chuckles softly. “You’re the first person to tell me that… Thank you.”
You want to tell them that you know about the things they have to go through in the story. But don’t because Yūki isn’t a character in Idia’s book. Despite starting out in what you understood to be a story, you’ve come to realize that the people you’ve interacted with are not characters. They’re people with their own emotions and wills.
Breathing in deeply, you flex your hands. “I’m going to tell Malleus everything. I think it’s time he knew the truth, and he can decide for himself what he wants to do.”
“That’s probably for the best. Lying usually ends up biting you in the ass later on.” You both laugh. “He clearly adores you. So, you just need to trust in him to understand.”
“Right.” You offer Yūki a wide smile. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
---
After a lively dinner thanks to Grim’s antics, you’re getting ready for bed. Malleus is already tucked in reading. Though you plan to tell him everything, you can’t help but move slowly. You had prepared a speech, but now you can’t remember a word.
Standing in the doorway of the bathroom, you regard Malleus. His shoulders are relaxed and his facial expression is almost serene. The stress from hosting his grandmother has all but disappeared. Your heart swells with affection for him. You want to live the rest of your life with him in peace and warmth. And the only way that it can happen is if you tell him the truth. Together you can figure out a way to take care of your parents.
Feeling your gaze, Malleus looks up. “My heart?” His head tilts to the side.
Taking a deep breath, you square your shoulders. “Malleus, I need to tell you something.”
He closes the book, giving you his full attention. “Why don’t you come here and we can talk?”
Hesitating, you shake your head. “I want to stand. What I’m going to tell you will be a lot.” He nods.
As you tell him everything about your life and your parents’ plans, he doesn’t react at all. You pour out all your feelings and thoughts. As the words leave your mouth, you feel even lighter. A sense of relief washes over you as you finish. You wait in agonizing silence as Malleus remains quiet. His gaze is distant as he takes in everything.
Finally, he looks at you. He doesn’t say a word as he holds his arms out to you. Tears prick the corner of your eyes as you walk over to the bed. Climbing in the bed, he wraps his arms around your form and pulls you close to him.
You bury your face in his chest. You can only mutter apologizes as he holds your tight. He doesn’t say anything as you quietly sob. After what feels like an eternity, you seem to run out of tears. Your eyes are sore and puffy.
He kisses the top of your head. “Thank you for telling me the truth. It must have been difficult,” he mumbles. “We’ll figure this out together.”
Ear pressed against his chest, you listen to the steady rhythm of his heart. “I wanted to tell you sooner, but I was too scared,” you admit. “I was afraid you’d hate me.”
“I could never hate you.” He gently wipes away the tears that have stained your cheeks. “However, I am upset. Very much so.”
His green eyes glow dangerously as he glances out the window. Dark clouds roll in and lightning strikes. “Should I go there myself?” he muses.
“Malleus…” Placing a hand against his cheek, you turn his head so he looks at you. “Don’t do anything rash. My father is to blame not the people of my country. You can’t just go in and wipe out the country.”
Frowning, he looks thoughtful before he smiles sharply. “How about I just kill him, my heart. Or I can give you the honor of doing that.”
Leaning against his chest, you shake your head. “He might have that weapon…”
“I’ll squish before he even has a chance to think about using it.”
“This would be considered a criminal act.”
“What your parents did to you and planned to do with me are criminal acts. I’m only ending this before it can lead to something worse.”
“I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Then I’ll do it for you.”
Letting out a deep sigh, you smile to yourself as you tighten your hold on Malleus. “Let’s talk about what to do tomorrow. But thank you for offering to help despite everything.”
“Of course. I would do anything for you.” 
---
The next day you wake up feeling at peace. Malleus knows the truth and he still cares about you. You don’t have to go back to that place. Stretching, Malleus tightens his hold around your waste. 
You still can’t believe that someone as regal as Malleus likes to cuddle. Most mornings you spend a few minutes trying to get out of his hold. He can be rather clingy first thing in the morning. It’s cute.
“We need to get up,” you say, trying to worm your way out of his hold. He hums before releasing you.
Malleus sits up as you find your slippers. You can feel his stare and quickly look up. He’s frowning with his brows pinched together. “What’s wrong?”
“Your scars…I didn’t realize…”
Right, you usually hide them long before he can see them. But last night’s confession had taken a lot out of both of you. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, Malleus.”
Eyes narrowing, he shakes his head. “I need to talk to Lilia about what we should do.” He pauses, his brow smooths as he regards you. “Can I tell him everything you told me?”
You hesitate for a second but agree. “Yes. You trust Lilia, so I’ll trust him too.” If you’re going to do this without blowing up an entire country, you’ll need help. And Lilia seems rather level-headed under all the teasing.
Malleus leans over to peck you on the cheek. “I’ll see him now. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I’m going to head to my office once I check up on Yūki and Grim.” You feel your mouth stretch into a goofy grin as he pulls away. You’re pretty sure the butterflies in your stomach when he kisses you will never go away.
Once you’re clean and dressed, you make your way to the guest room. Yūki and Grim are already out, though the feline looks half asleep. “Morning, you two.”
Yūki gives a short wave before a yawn overtakes them. They quickly cover their mouth. “Mornin’....”
“It’s too early to be up!” Grim grumbles.
You chuckle as he yawns. “I’m sure the cooks have prepared something tasty for breakfast.”
That perks him up. “What are we standing here for?! Let's go!” He rushes ahead as Yūki follows at a slower pace.
“So… is everything okay?” They give you a sideways glance.
“Yeah. He took it well.” You give a small nod. “Thank you for listening yesterday.”
“Of course.” They offer a reassuring smile. “I was also thinking about what you said yesterday…about not needing to fix everyone’s problems…”
“Yes?”
Chewing on their lower lip, they’re silent as you near the dining room. They relax a bit when Grim turns around to beckon for them to hurry up. “You’re right. I don’t need to fix everyone’s problems. I need to learn when to take a step back and say no. I’m going to work on that. I just wanted to let you know.”
“It might take a bit of practice, but it’s good you’re taking your own feelings and well-being into consideration.” Patting them on the back, you two share a look before they’re pulled away by Grim’s shouting.
A flash near the window catches your eye and your blood runs cold. “Your majesty?” Diablo calls to you, worry etched on his wizened face. He looks out but doesn’t react. “Is something the matter?”
“D-did you see him?” you ask, your hands curl into fists.
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I did not see anything. Should I have the guards take a look?”
You pause. You don’t want to cause a scene if it’s nothing. But you also wouldn’t put it past your father to show up uninvited to drag you home. “Yes, have someone take a look. If they find Duke Wynters, please send him away.”
Without further explanation, Diablo leaves. You let out a deep breath. It could just be your own fears playing tricks on you. Joining Grim and Yūki for breakfast, you try your best to forget about it.
However, after breakfast Diablo reports that the guards did not find anyone. Not even a trace of magic. Despite that, you’re still on edge as you head to your office. Hand hovering over the door knob, the hairs on the back of your neck prickle. Grasping the handle, you throw open the door to your study with a bang.
There’s no one inside. Everything is in its usual place. You let out another deep breath and shake your head. Taking a seat, you take the nearest stack of papers to start work. You throw the stack across the room as if burned.
The letter that you had burned flutters to the floor. You jump up. “Diab-!”
A cold hand clamps down on your arm. “Don’t.” Duke Wynter’s grip is strong despite his age. Old memories hold you in place as fear settles in.
“You know, I was so disappointed when you didn’t come home for your own mother’s funeral. Tsk…” His voice is calm, but you know better.
“H-how did you-” You hate that your voice shakes.
“Get in here? There are things magic artifacts can do that can even trick a mighty dragon.” He snorts. “Now, we’re going home. And I’m sure your dear husband will follow.” He bares his teeth in a ruthless smile.
Duke Wynters pulls a small pocket mirror from his breast pocket. He tosses it out and it expands into a full length mirror. A disembodied face stares back at you. “Take us back home, Mirror,” he orders.
“As you command,” the mirror murmurs. The surface of the mirror ripples and slowly changes until it shows the image of the manor. Gripping your arm tightly, he drags you toward it.
You don’t want to go, but fear grips your body. So, you let your panic swell along with your magic. The room becomes so cold you can see your own breath. Your vision blurs as Duke Wynters screams and something explodes.
Then everything goes black.
---
Malleus sends the doors of the study flying off. The entire study has been destroyed. The windows have been blown out and a thick layer of ice coats everything. His breath comes out in small puffs of fog.
He shouts your name. The frozen chandelier shakes.
Lilia places a hand on his arm. “They’re gone. Most likely back to his home. We need to leave now if we want to catch up to them.”
Turning to Sebek and Silver, Lilia gives them both a hard look. “Malleus and I will go after the queen. You both stay here and make sure everything is okay.”
They both give him a salute. “Please take care, father,” Silver says, forgoing the formalities.
“Stay safe, your majesty!” Sebek bows deeply to Malleus.
The two fae give one last nod before they vanish.
Standing at the entrance to your home, it’s oddly quiet and deserted. Dark, gloomy clouds loom threateningly in the distance. For a brief moment Malleus wishes he could have seen you during your childhood. But that thought quickly fades as he remembers the scars that criss-cross your back. Bitterness fills his mouth and anger boils to the surface.
The front gate is locked, but he simply blows it away with a snap of his fingers. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Lilia gives Malleus a reassuring squeeze. “Everything is going to be okay. But…maybe we shouldn’t destroy everything.”
There’s a beat of silence before Malleus calms himself, though his fists remain clenched. “Let’s head inside.”
They enter the home but there’s still not a soul to be found. There’s an eeriness to the dead silence. Passing rooms, there’s evidence of the occupants hastily leaving. The two fae follow the strong presence of magic. They enter an outdoor courtyard though it looks like it’s seen better days.
There in the middle sits a figure slumped over. Malleus’s eyes widen as he rushes over calling your name. However, he’s stopped by another voice. “I’m so glad you could come, your majesty.” Duke Wynters stands on a balcony that overlooks the courtyard. Malleus notes he seems to favor his left side. Small flecks of ice cling to his tattered coat sleeve.
Clenching his teeth, his hands itch to burn him without thought. But the smug look on the man’s face makes him cautious. He has something up his sleeve if he can confidently speak down to two powerful fae.
“Let her go,” he orders. “And I will make your death a merciful one.”
The duke cackles. He gestures to the still slumped over figure. “Unfortunately, I cannot give you my dear daughter unless you’re willing to make a deal.”
His eyes burn with disgust. “Or I could just kill you right now.”
“You could. But then you’d also be killing her.” Duke Wynters raises both hands and starts moving his fingers. Now, Malleus can see what’s going on. Thin strings of magic are connected to each of the duke’s fingers. And they’re attached to you.
Your body suddenly moves. You jerkily raise your head and stand up. You're holding a dagger in one hand. Like a puppet, you mechanically point the blade at him. The strange crimson metal gleams under the low light. However, Malleus can see the pain and panic in your eyes. Despite your body being controlled, you’re fully conscious of what’s going on.
The duke continues, “You see, my unique magic allows me to control a person’s body like a marionette. However, my life and their life are connected until I end the magic. I believe you’re a smart one, you understand what I’m saying.” He grins sharply.
“What do you want?” Malleus finally asks.
The man chuckles. “All you need to do is to take her place. Call off your man and promise no harm shall come to me. In return, I’ll release your beloved.”
“How can I guarantee that once I die, you’ll keep your word?”
“Malleus I don-” Lilia is cut off with a look.
The duke sighs. “Honestly, you should have more faith in your father-in-law. But I will make a magic oath with you.”
Malleus doesn’t hesitate. “I accept.”
A wide, crazed grin forms on the duke’s face. “I knew you’d make the smart choice!”
“Malleus!” Lilia protests. “Don’t do this!”
“What choice do I have, Lilia?” Tears are streaming down your face. “If I don’t do this, she’ll die. And if she’s gone, I…I might as well be dead.”
The older fae can’t find any words. Of course he wants the queen back. But if Briar Valley loses their king, he’s not sure what will happen. However, Lilia can’t think of a way out of this. If what the duke told them of his unique magic is true, then they can’t kill him without killing you. And even if it might not be true, Malleus isn’t the type to take that sort of gamble. Not with you on the line.
Duke Wynters sighs. “This could have all been avoided if my dear stupid child had followed the plan. Instead she goes and falls in love with you.” Clucking his tongue, he shakes his head with feigned sadness. “That blade she’s holding is special. We spent so much time and resources looking for something that could kill such a powerful creature like you. The blade is cursed so that no wound made with it can be healed with magic or potions.”
Suddenly you start to jerkily walk toward Malleus while wielding the blade. The fear in your eyes shines brightly as you hold the blade inches from where his heart is. Your hand shakes.
Malleus meets your gaze. He had vowed to never make you unhappy, but it seems he’s unable to keep that promise.  Reaching out, he cups your face and brushes away the tears. “Do not worry, my heart, everything will be okay.” Pressing a kiss to your forehead, he can feel the blade’s point press into him. He closes his eyes.
“NO!” The shout that breaks through the tense silence chills him to the bone. Eyes opening, he only briefly sees you smiling through your tears with the blade plunged deep into your chest. You crumble to the ground.
The duke lets out a horrified scream that turns into a choke gurgle. He clutches at his chest as he loses his balance. He falls forward and plummets from the balcony. His body hits the ground with a sickening crunch.
However, Malleus is preoccupied with the blood that seeps from your body. Holding you close to him, he attempts to use magic on the wound. He ignores the blood that soaks into his clothes. But the blade only seems to absorb it. He mutters an apology as he pulls the blade out and attempts to heal the wound. Still nothing happens.
His voice cracks, “Lilia, what do I do?!” For the first time, Malleus is powerless.
Lilia shakes his head. “I don’t know…”
Your eyes flutter open. You attempt to touch him but you have no energy, so your hand falls uselessly aside. Malleus cradles your body. “Don’t leave me! Please!”
Your eyes glaze over. “No!” Malleus screams your name, but you don’t move. Dark clouds block out the sky and the wind howls outside as green lightning flashes.
A loud, mournful roar shakes the very earth.
---
You wake to bright fluorescent lights and the sound of a steady beeping noise. There’s also the familiar music of Idia’s favorite idol game playing. Turning your head to the sound, you spot Idia sitting in a chair with his eyes glued to his phone. It’s strange seeing him. Your head feels like mush as you try to gather your thoughts. Your heart throbs painfully for a moment before the feeling fades.
“Idia?” you call him.
He looks up from his screen, eyes widening. “You’re finally awake!”
Trying to piece together the last thing you remember, you ask, “What’s going on?”
“You fell down the stairs to the subway.” He pauses his game. “The doctors said you might be confused. Do you still remember everything?”
Sitting up, you glance at the clock on the wall with a slow nod. “How long was I out?”
“About a day.”
Touching the back of your head, you wince. “Are you sure? I swear it feels like I’ve been asleep for a long time.”
“Yup. You left me a message yesterday. By the way, it’s not a cringe book! Only noobs like you would think that,” he scoffs.
“Book?” Your head feels like a jumbled mess.
He rummages through his backpack before pulling out a familiar book. “The one I lent you. ‘Melting the Dragon King’s Heart’ is a heartfelt strangers-to-friends-to-lovers royal romance! It has everything you could ask for! Evil queen, hot dragon fae, spunky protagonist and a talking cat!”
You take the book from him. Frowning, you stare at the cover. The dragon king looks like a generic dark haired man. Yet, it looks wrong. “Are you sure he always looked like this?”
“What’s wrong with the way Malford looks?” You can see the annoyance in his face.
“Malford? Are you sure that’s his name?” You point to the cover. “I swear he looked different…”
Idia shrugs. “The dragon king is Malford Drago. He’s always looked like that. Yeesh! I know you didn’t like the story but at least pay attention to the main leads.”
When trying to remember, your head throbs painfully. Letting out a deep sigh, you fall back into the pillow. “Maybe I did hit my head harder than I thought…”
Glancing at the time, India starts packing up. “Visiting hours are almost over. I’ll let the nurses know you’re awake and come back tomorrow. Do you want me to bring anything for you?”
“I’m good. Thanks, Idia.” Smiling briefly, you close your eyes as you suddenly feel tired. Even as you drift off again, you feel like something’s missing.
---
A month after your fall down the subway stairs, you’re darting across the street. Dodging cars and people, you shout into the phone pressed to your ear. “I’ll be there in a few hours, Idia! I promise! I just forgot to grab some food.”
“I have food,” he grumbles. You can hear battle music in the background. 
“You have cavity-inducing candy! I need real food!” You skillfully weave your way through the people. “The raid can wait, my stomach can’t. I’ll text you when I’m heading over.” You end the call before Idia can argue further.
Despite going back to your usual routine, something feels off. The doctor had reassured you that you might feel a bit confused, but that you would be fine. You feel like something is missing. When you’re sleeping, you have such vivid dreams. Yet, when you wake up, you can’t recall anything and there’s a painful throbbing in your chest. When you checked with your doctor, they just passed it off as part of your body’s response to the accident. You tried your best to ignore it since then.
Pausing, you realize you’re standing near the subway. The same place where you fell because you weren’t paying attention. Tucking your phone into your pocket, you carefully descend down the stairs. You’re only halfway down when someone bumps into you.
“Hey!” The perpetrator rushes down without looking back.
Grumbling under your breath, you take a step. But your foot misses. You briefly wonder what Idia will say when he finds out you're in the hospital again. However, the fall never comes because the person coming up the stairs reaches out to save you.
Pressed against them, you meet familiar green eyes. They’re wide with surprise. “Are you okay?” Something about the voice sends a spark through your body. You know that voice.
Righting yourself, you frantically nod. “Y-yes! Thank you!”
He smiles. “Of course.” He pauses, brows furrowing. “You’re the one from before.”
“Huh?” You’re pretty sure you’ve never met despite the strange feeling.
He nods. “Yes, I remember. You fell down the stairs a few weeks ago. I tried to catch you but unfortunately didn't make it. I’m glad to see you’re okay, though.”
So he was the voice that called to you when you fell. “I…thank you for catching me this time. I should be more careful.”
When he smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkle. “Maybe keep both eyes forward. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt again.”
“…” You don’t know what else to say. He’s breathtakingly beautiful and even more so when he smiles. His sharp green eyes are warm when they meet your gaze. You’re usually not the type to fall for a pretty face, but you can’t deny the instant attraction.
He seems to take your silence as the end of the conversation. “It’s nice to see you again. I hope you stay safe.” He nods before heading upstairs.
You stand there on the step frozen. The further he gets, the more your heart aches. Why? Touching your chest, you bite the inside of your cheek. Taking a deep breath, you rush back up. Looking around frantically, you see him already halfway down the street.
“W-wait!” you shout. Phone pressed to his ear, he turns with a slight frown, but his expression softens when he sees you.
You rush across the street, nearly getting hit by a car. They honk loudly while yelling unintelligible out the window. Ignoring them, you rush to him. Trying to calm your erratic heart, you take a deep breath.
“Let me call you back, Lilia,” you hear him say into the phone before ending the call and tucking the phone into his pocket. “Are you okay?” he asks, a single eyebrow raised.
You nod. “I-I wanted to ask if you’d like to grab a drink with me if you’re not busy. To thank you for saving me.” Yes, that sounds like a valid excuse. And it's not like Idia expects you anytime soon.
He tilts his head to the side. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to.” You swallow nervously. “If you want to, that is…”
He regards you silently before agreeing. “I’d love to.”
Beaming, you hold out your hand. “Great. I’m (Y/N).”
When he takes your hand to shake, butterflies fill your stomach. He eyes your clasped hands with interest. “I’m Malleus,” he replies.
You stand there like an idiot still holding his hand. But he doesn’t seem to want to let go either. Your heart feels full and for the first time since the accident, the pain is no longer there.
Tag list: @candlewitch-cryptic, @whatstheoccasion, @nimko, @yo4sblog, @mc-cos-charm, @mochiclouds, @41sh4, @unloadingdata, @noctifer-cynoct, @rincommittedarsin, @liesatemyocean , @mavix
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grey-sorcery · 7 months
Text
New to witchcraft? Awesome! Here's some things that you should avoid:
Divine [insert gender] or Sacred [insert gender]
Wicca (Especially "Wicca is ancient" bs)
Anything from Lewellyn Publishing
Visualization used as if it was energy work
Godphoning (talking to a deity for someone else, especially when it's non-consensual)
Spirit Animals
Spirit Shops
Spirit impreg
"Raising/higher Vibrations"
Contemporary/Western Reiki
New Age / Age of Aquarius
"Ascended Masters"
"Reptilians" (Aliens/pre-human terrestrials)
Emerald Tablets
Theosophy
New Thought
Anything related to Aleister Crowley
The Kybalion
"One True Way"
Witchcraft requiring a womb
"Men can't be witches" (Especially if they include trans women in this statement)
The Law of Attraction/Assumption
Spells purely with correspondences (Most spell candles/jars)
Appropriation (Dreamcatchers, Lilith, "Qabalah" or non-Jewish Kabbalah, Chakras, Kundalini, Yoga, Western Druidry, White Sage, voodoo, Hoodoo, etc outside of appropriate cultural context.)
"Black" or "White" magic
"Fae Council"
Claims of being a changeling
"Witchcraft requires sacrifice"
"Blood magic makes spells more powerful"
Reality Shifting
Magic/theology that requires self-harm
"Coven" (Especially if it's online)
If you see anyone endorsing anything on this list that is highlighted red, BLOCK THEM immediately.
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dduane · 7 months
Text
Re: Magic systems
kosmonaunt asked:
I have the weird hyper-fixation of wanting to know all their is about The Speech and just how everything works!! I love learning about how power systems work, and it helps since I’m trying to develop my own. I’m always stuck on soft or hard magic systems. Since I don’t know all there is to really know about my system. Do you have tips on crafting magic systems? How do you feel about someone being inspired by pieces of your system?
Inspiration is fine! What you want to make sure you do with whatever inspires you, though, is to work hard to make your own take on it different from or better than what you borrowed. Around here we refer to this as "the magpie principle:" if you're going to pick up and play with/make off with a bright and shiny idea, you need to be working to produce something even brighter and shinier as your part of the "exchange". Whether or not you succeed at this (or can succeed), either sometimes or never at all, isn't the point. The point is to always be trying.
As regards building magic systems: there were three different ones in the foreground or background of my first novel alone—all of them with features that at this end of time I can recognize as being inspired by elements of magic systems in other writers' work. But by the time I'd more fully developed them, each had become something unique. The system I'm probably better known for—the system based on the wizardly Speech and its use—sprang more or less automatically from the increasingly complex answers to the question, "What if there was a manual that could tell you the truth about/the secrets of what makes the world go?". (Because once you answer one question, another pops up. "Where did that manual come from? What're you supposed to do with it? What's wizardry for?" Etc., etc.) I've spent the last few decades, on and off, answering that question in ways that (intentionally) mirror the main characters' exploration of the art of wizardry, and what it means to engage in the business of errantry in a world that mostly thinks wizards are a fairy tale.
Before getting into describing my own approach to building a system, I needed to take a little time to look around and make sure I knew what you meant when you mentioned hard and soft magic. My best guess is that you're referring to what a lot of people are calling "Sanderson's Three Laws of Magic" (fairly enough, as Brandon calls them that himself). I had a look, and have come to the conclusion that they're more general guidelines than laws... as in each of his three essays on the subject, Brandon no sooner names his basic laws/principles than he starts punching holes through them to make room for systems that don't follow them rigidly. (And frankly I find this kind of endearing.)
With his first one, in particular, I have no quarrel at all: the concept that in one kind of magic, which for his purposes he defines as the "hard" kind, rules are extremely important. (Which is why I'm kind of horrified that he apparently got dogpiled about this take on a Worldcon panel, because to me it seems so intuitive. Some of the best fantasy storytellers I know, like this one, would agree with him.) Then later he gets on to the equally valid ideas that limitations on magic are really important, and that culturally interconnecting multiple systems is useful; and here too we're in agreement. This is reassuring to me, considering that I built my first four systems—all of which feature approaches resting on similar concepts—while Sanderson was between four and six years old. :)
People using Sanderson's Laws will look at the three systems in the Middle Kingdoms books and classify them as varying sorts of relatively hard magic, with their power rooted in two or maybe three different sources. (The blue Fire is a gift of the Divine, nearly lost since ancient times and much damaged, but now slowly being recovered: sorcery is a language-based art in which no one's terribly sure where its power comes from: and the so-called "royal magics" probably started out as a blood sorcery that over centuries was shifted toward very specific uses by the power of the demigod-descendants who employed it.)
The Young Wizards novels, though, feature an extremely hard magic deeply rooted in science and (more or less under the hood) very, very rules-intensive... while its power relies on correct use of the language used to create the Universe, and the active cooperation of the Powers still busy about that work. And this is the reason why, though people are going to naturally be curious about the Speech itself, no one's going to hear very much from me about its actual words.
This is because the Speech is canonically described as so powerful that its use is something you can feel in your body and mind (and theoretically your spirit): bone-shaking, life-changing, unmistakable. And there's no way that made-up words on the page can realistically be expected to evoke physical sensations like that in the reader... or like the sense of the universe going silent around you, leaning in to listen, as you speak your spell. The careful writer knows that it's unwise to attempt to produce responses in the reader that, when they fail, will only emphasize how that thing is not happening, and stands a good chance of shattering the illusion one’s trying to weave.
So a Speech-word gets dropped here and a phrase there, but no one's ever going to get enough of it out of me to try to build a spell. Readers are better at doing that work for themselves in their own heads, out of hints and whispers. Over ten books and their interstitial material, there are plenty of those scattered through the text: not to mention the most basic principles of wizardry, which are laid out before the end of the first chapter of the first book in the series. So I'll leave you to get on with deducing what you can from canon.
Meanwhile, if I was about to build a new system, I'd look at my main characters—in the setting of their home cultures—and ask myself for answers to these questions:
What do they want more than anything?
Why can't they have it?
What kind of power will help them get it?
When they do eventually get within reach of the power / the desired thing... what will its achievement cost them?
And will they pay the price?
...Because the payment of such prices is where you find out what your heroes are worth. (Or aren't.) The above arc succinctly describes, in broad strokes, both The Door into Fire and So You Want To Be A Wizard, and a good number of the books that follow them. (Because why abandon what works, or try to fix what's not broken?) :)
With answers to the questions above you can start feeling your way toward what you need—always looking closely at the cultures your characters spring from, and how those cultures will shape their response to the magic they seek. (Or that finds them.) Maybe it's no surprise that the preferred arc structure of a writer who was a psychiatric nurse will be deeply involved with questions of motivation: because motivation is at the heart of almost all human behavior. Find the motivation and you find the character's heart—and, often enough, what kind of magic they need to make their desire and intention overflow into triumph.
...There are quite a few "How to design your magic system" pages out there. You might glance at these to see if there's anything useful in them for you:
How To Build An Amazing Magic System For Your Fantasy Novel
How To Create A Magic System In Six Simple Steps
Building Your Magic System: A Full Recipe
How To Create A Rational Magic System
However, my favorite is the "So You Want To Write A Functional Magic System" page at TV Tropes, which is nicely arranged yet also completely nonprescriptive—a pick-'n'-mix jar of prompts, things other writers have done that've worked, and generally useful ideas. (And try not to vanish too far down the many interconnected rabbitholes...) :)
Now get out there, build the world, and make the magic(s).
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Vikings (TV) Masterlist
my requests for vikings are currently partially OPEN! please only request imagines, and not oneshots. for those waiting for a continuation of ‘searching home’ or ‘unexpected’ i am so sorry... finishing those two is going to take me a while :/
hmu/msg me to be added to a taglist!
main masterlist | request guidelines
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heorte til heorte
(msg me to be added to the taglist!)
relationship: athelstan x alethia stahl (oc) | summary: alethia wanted to go home, to return to her family. instead, she finds herself in ninth-century england. not speaking the language, and still processing the grief of her other life, she searches for an anchor - athelstan. | tags: angst, fluff, timetravel
masterlist | preview | read on ao3
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No romantic relationships // character x character
Queendom - relationship: Lagertha x Aslaug | summary: They’ve both loved and they’ve both lost. Perhaps it was time that their hearts warmed again. | tags: angst, fluff
The Lothbroks, aka, the European version of the Kardashians - relationships: none | summary: When Barbie Murray time travels, she finds out that pink isn’t available in Viking times. Luckily, her new besties all understand that boobs are the best and slay (literally?!) with her. | tags: crack, fluff, timetravel
I may be a bimbo, but I’m not stupid - relationships: slight oc/ oc | summary: Ivar kills Sigurd in a fit of rage, but Barbie isn't so quick to forgive cruelness. | tags: angst, crack, timetravel
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1st gen Vikings
Strange Woman  relationship: Rollo x timetraveler!reader | summary: The woman that appeared out of nowhere could be oh so dangerous, but even a stupid man would know that she was fascinating. | tags: fluff, timetravel
Friend of Thor - relationship: rollo x timetraveler!asgardian!reader | summary: The reader, a fellow Asgardian and friend of Thor and the new King of Asgard, Brunnhilde, falls through worlds as the new guardian of the Bifrost tampers with the magic. | tags: crack, fluff, timetravel
And the Gods wished they were me - relationship: Judith x viking!gn!reader | summary: Judith knows she should not mourn Athelstan. Nor should she even look at Norse heathens. She does both anyway, because Judith was named after a woman that had only rage and death, and she cannot escape her fate. | tags: angst, fluff
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Ubbe Ragnarsson
Another day / part 2 - relationship: Ubbe x reader | prompt: we live to fight another day. | tags: angst
Oldest - relationship: Ubbe x timetraveler!reader; platonic!Ivar x reader | summary:  It seems that few things change about being the oldest sibling, no matter which place – or time | tags: fluff, timetravel, slight angst
Yggdrasil relationship: Ubbe x reader; platonic!Ivar x reader; dad!Harald x reader | summary:  How can you tell your father what happened to you when he’d done it to so many others. | tags: angst, dark/gory
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Hvitserk 'Whiteshirt' Ragnarsson
Hvitserksdottir - relationship: Hvitserk x reader | prompt: “I think we need to talk about the fact that I’m in love with you and also that I’m pregnant.” | tags: angst, fluff
Floki’s Cabin - relationship: Hvitserk x reader | prompt: “Just trust me. Please. | tags: angst
Searching Home / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 - relationships: Hvitserk x reader; Ivar x reader | summary: When you stumble upon the ancient Spanish city of Algeciras, it takes you some time to realize that you’ve traveled through time. While that is terrible luck, a merchant couple takes you in. But your peace only lasts so long. | tags: angst, fluff, dark/gory, timetravel
Neither - relationship: genderfluid!reader x Hvitserk | Summary: Hvitserk finds out about genderfluidity and accepts he might not be completely straight | tags: fluff, timetravel
Law of conservation - relationship: Hvitserk x reader | summary: You’ve been working as a tutor at your high school for about a year now. When your parents throw a barbecue party for your new neighbors, their mother Aslaug asks you to tutor her son Hvitserk, who is already a notorious flirt at his school. | tags: fluff
Sandcastles - relationship: platonic!hvitserk x timetraveler!reader | summary: reader builds sandcastles, Ivar doesn’t get it and Hvitserk loves the idea of it | tags: fluff, timetravel
When in Bali... -  relationships: hvitserk x reader, ivar x freydís, sigurd x oc | summary: You were supposed to go to Bali with your partner for your one-year anniversary. Instead, you’re there alone, heartbroken. Will reuniting with a friend you know from a summer vacation in elementary school be able to fix it? | tags: fluff
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Ivar 'the Boneless' Ragnarsson
Unholy Matrimony - A Sham in Four Acts / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 - relationship: Ivar x reader | prompt: I’ve learnt to love you. | tags: angst, fluff smut
Insatiable Little Heathens  - relationship: ivar x reader | summary: drabble, for all of y’all who wanted more of Unholy Matrimony | tags: fluff
Resolve - relationship: ivar x reader | summary: Ivar’s legs hurt but he’s so fucking thickheaded | tags: fluff
My kind of witch - relationship: ivar x reader | summary: You wake up in an unfamiliar bed. The man with blazing blue eyes fascinates you as soon as you see him and as you realize the struggles he faces every day, your admiration for him grows into something more. | tags: fluff, timetravel
Red - relationship: ivar x reader | summary: Ivar finally meets his match. | tags: smut, dark/gory
Serve - relationship: sub!ivar x buff!reader | summary: Ivar keeps teasing you. You finally have enough and give him a taste of his own medicine | tags: smut
Searching home / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 -  relationships: Hvitserk x reader; Ivar x reader |  summary: When you stumble upon the ancient Spanish city of Algeciras, it takes you some time to realize that you’ve traveled through time. While that is terrible luck, a merchant couple takes you in. But your peace only lasts so long. | tags: angst, fluff, smut, dark/gory, timetravel
Totally artistic -  relationship: ivar x reader | summary: When inspiration hits, you can’t stop it | tags: fluff
Sandcastles - relationship: platonic!hvitserk, ivar x timetraveler!reader | summary: reader builds sandcastles, Ivar doesn’t get it and Hvitserk loves the idea of it | tags: fluff, timetravel
Brother - relationships: ivar x reader, hvitserk & reader, reader & oc | summary: You left your home and your brother behind for a reason. Now, a man is causing trouble at the borders of Kattegat, and as Ivar's queen, you take justice into your own hands. | tags: fluff
Unexpected / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 - relationship: ivar x thrall!reader | summary: Ivar finally decides to fuck the slave he’s been eyeing for so long, but when his angry side slips out, things take a turn for the wholly unexpected. | tags: smut
Tarot -  relationships: ivar x reader, hvitserk & reader | summary: Your day at the fair has been pretty slow – until a client like no other shows up. | tags: fluff
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Imagines
How the Vikings would react to an accidental time traveler and a quiz to see if you’d survive: https://uquiz.com/dVXpgW
Ragnarssons (+Gyda): First Kiss
Social Media 
How the Vikings would react to guns and snapchat filters 
How the Vikings would react to modern dancing 
How the Vikings would react to modern music, and what they’d like
How the Vikings would react to modern concepts of astronomy and space 
How the Vikings react to modern haircare 
Vikings and Astrology
How Vikings would react to THEM timetraveling
Vikings + getting sick 
Vikings + Halloween 
Vikings + realizing you’re pregnant
Vikings characters + how they'd react to finding Accidental Time Traveler crying somewhere and not knowing why 
Vikings + you on your period  (+ more hcs about Ivar)
Vikings + Legos
Vikings + reader being much less stressed in their time
Vikings + single mother
Vikings + Gender Neutral Thor
Vikings + modern food
Vikings + touch avoidant cuddler
Vikings + Kids
Vikings + their history
Ragnarssons + being possesive
Vikings + Maleficent/Fae!reader
Vikings + curls and afros
Vikings + sleeping habits
Vikings + contortionist/super flexible reader
Vikings as modern!uni students
Vikings + affectionate drunk!reader
timetraveling!Vikings + modern tv/movies
Vikings + gen z slang
Vikings + curly haired kids
timetraveling!Vikings + Christmas
Vikings + eras other than their own
Vikings + ivar being remembered/famous
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clockwayswrites · 11 months
Text
Like Betta Fish Do Part 19
Chapter 15 when on Ao3, Masterpost WC: 2870 CW: WARNING THESE ARE SPOILERY Canon Typical Violence, Blood, Injury,
Danny knew he was smiling like a love sick fool when he pulled back from the kiss, but he really didn’t care. It was still far to nice to be able to kiss Jason whenever he wanted: like when Jason was picking him up for their date.
“So, where are we going and what’s with the backpack?” Jason asked as he handed over the spare helmet.
“Nope.”
“Nope?”
“Nope, you don’t get to know where we’re going,” Danny said.
The flat stare he got in response was pretty impressive on Jason’s part. “Fish, I’m the one driving.”
“That you are,” Danny agreed. While Danny didn’t exactly inherit his dad’s driving habits, it was still better that Jason was the one behind the wheel (or the handle bars in this case).
Jason waited a long beat before giving an exasperated sigh. “Then I need to know where we’re going.”
“Your helmet bluetooths to your phone, right? I’ll pull up the directions and press go. You just have to follow them.”
“The directions it gives for the city are shit.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Then I’ll tell you the road we need to be on outside of the city and you can ignore it until then.”
“We’re leaving the city?” That seemed to get Jason’s interest at least.
“Yeah, so have a little sense of adventure and trust me, okay? I think you’ll like it.” Danny hoped Jason would like it. He couldn’t top the museum date, but he hoped this at least would still be a good one.
“Course I trust you, koi,” Jason said and followed up his words with a light kiss.
“Koi?”
“They’re good luck fish.”
“Oh, Ancients do you have the wrong person for that,” Danny said, laughing as he put on his helmet. “Now hand over your phone so I can get us going.”
“Bossy.”
“You like it,” Danny said as he pulled up the route to the small town.
“Damn right.”
-
The whole drive was a little magical, which Danny hoped boded well fro the rest of the date. The trees were in full fall color, the wind on the road wasn’t too cold yet, and, best of all, Danny got to spend it pressed up against Jason’s back.
There was no doubt that they were in the right place as soon as the passed the cheerfully painted wooden sign on the edge of town and the large banner next to it declaring it was the Fall Harvest Festival that weekend. The sign spanning the first set of streetlights in the old fashion downtown didn’t hurt either. Or all the stalls and people milling about. Or the smell of food.
“A harvest festival?” Jason asked, the words slightly distorted by the helmet.
“They have a market place set up and live music and food,” Danny explained quickly. Please, please like it. “But it’s really just good timing to make the trip worth it. Really we’re here for somewhere specific.”
“I don’t suppose I get to know what that is either?”
“Nope! I thought we’d grab lunch and something to drink first before we make our way there.” Please think the plan was okay.
“Something smells delicious, so I’m more than down for that,” Jason agreed easily, and Danny breathed a quiet sigh of relief. So far, so good.
Jason’s nose ended up leading them to cider, pulled pork sandwiches, and tornado potatoes- which were a spiraled monstrosity on a stick (as was only right for fair food). They were a little after lunch, which meant that they were able to find a place to eat at one of the many picnic tables set out across the town square.
Danny had to hand it to the town— it was nice. Sure, it was campy and the number of gourds used as decoration was little extreme, but it was all fit together in a way that was just the right level of quaint. Jason started them on an absurd game ‘tourist or resident’ as they ate. If they both agreed resident, they had to come up with what the person’s job or archetype in the town was.
It ended in a ten minute debate if one lady with truly impressive hair worked at the nail salon or florist.
“Receptionist at the law office,” the grey haired lady who had ended up sharing their table cut in.
Danny went beat red at having been caught out in their game.
“Guess or fact?” Jason asked, unbothered.
“Fact, sonny. I’ve been in this town for fifty-three years now, there ain’t nothing I don’t know,” she said with a proud sniff. “Good guess on the baker though, spot on where that one. Make sure you stop by that booth.”
“Will do, ma’am,” Jason said, balling up their trash to throw away.
Danny happily escaped the table with Jason.
“Ancients that was embarrassing.”
Jason had the audacity to just laugh. “Nah. She didn’t mind.”
“She’s going to tell everyone our guesses,” Danny said.
“So what? We didn’t say anything rude about anyone— well, other than that one set of clearly tourists who were being jerks so they deserved it. We’re just adding to the local flavor for this year.”
“If we go down in infamy and get blocked at the boarder next year, I’m blaming you.”
Jason just smiled softly at him. “Already planning for a next year?”
Danny floundered for a moment, opening and closing his mouth before he just shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
“Good, I like that. Now where’s next on our list?”
-
Next on their list turned out to be a bookstore. Not just a bookstore- one of those bookstores that had been in the same building for a century. Books were stacked on top of books, shelves formed a maze, organization was a myth: in short, it was a fire hazard and it was amazing.
Jason might have been a little in love.
“Wow.”
“Yeah?” Danny asked, shifting on his feet a little as he looked up at Jason from out under his bangs.
“Yeah, fish, this is great.”
Danny’s shoulders relaxed. “Good, then go look around and pick something out to take home, my treat.”
“I could be here for hours,” Jason warned, already starting down one of the narrow corridors.
“Then take hours,” Danny said, smiling indulgently as he followed him. “We just ate, the day is young. If I get done looking I’ll check out with anything I’ve found and just go read on a bench at the festival.”
“Text me if you do that?” Jason asked, tilting a book to see the title better.
“I will, promise, but right now I’ll stick with you.”
Jason reached out and squeezed Danny’s hand, taking them deeper into the shop. Danny followed along for about half an hour, Jason commenting to Danny on some of the things he was finding. He lost Danny what seemed to be the science section, of course, and continued to explore for almost another hour.
He really only stopped his exploring because he stumbled upon Danny in the back corner, curled up under a rosy light in an ancient armchair. Danny was completely engrossed in a book. Leaning against the bookcase, Jason took in the sight. There was a little, warmed part of him that almost ached at it. It was the sort of thing that he wanted to come home to.
After only a minute, Danny looked up, clearly feeling the eyes on him. Jason watched the smile bloom across Danny’s face.
“Hey,” Danny said quietly. “You look like you found quite a pile.”
“This?” Jason said, hefting the stack of books. “This is me being restrained.”
Danny laughed, uncurling and sliding off his seat before he grabbed another book from the end table beside him.
“You found some things also?” Jason asked as they walked towards the register.
“Yeah, a book on local ghost stories—” Jason couldn’t help the amused snort at that “—I know, I’m a walking cliché. And a journal of an inventor that I thought looked cool.”
“Ah, I see you’ve found your young man,” the elderly shopkeep said, putting down his own book. “Have you thought more about the astronomy book?”
“Oh, um, not today, I don’t have that much to spend,” Danny said, nearly mumbling the words.
Jason frowned a little. “I can get it for you, fish.”
“What, no! I’ve planned this date, I get to treat you,” Danny said.
“Alright,” Jason relented. “But only one of my books; you shouldn’t suffer because I’m a bibliophile.”
Danny narrowed his eyes at Jason for a moment before nodding. “Hum, fine, but not the cheapest ones.”
“I can settle on that,” Jason said with a little shrug.
While Danny was fishing his wallet out of his backpack, Jason caught the shopkeep’s eyes and mouthed at ‘Do you ship?’.
‘For your boy, I’ll make an exception’, the man wrote on the back of a business card that he tactfully slid over. Pleased, Jason subtly wrote out his address while the shop keep wrung them up, putting the astronomy book secretly on Jason’s bill. It did look like a lovely old book with the navy leather cover and gold foil. It could easily be a present for the holidays.
By the time they were back out out the street and walking through the market, Danny’s backpack hung heavy with the weight of the books, but he refused to let Jason carry it. Chivalry wasn’t dead, he insisted, which was ridiculous reason but Jason let him have it. The backpack filled up even more as they both bought a few things at the market to be presents (Jason thought Alfred would love the local tea blends especially).
More ciders and then hot chocolates were the drink of choice with dinner— potpie for Danny and fish cakes for Jason. As they ate a band set up in the pavilion in the middle of the square, playing with the setting sun. The light had just dipped below the horizon when Jason stood and offered Danny his hand.
“I will so step on your toes,” Danny warned, but he was smiling as he took Jason’s hand.
“That’s alright, I’ve got sturdy boots.”
They found a spot on the corner of the dance floor and Jason twirled Danny into his arms, earning a breathless little laugh for his efforts. It really was the perfect evening and a much needed break. Tomorrow he could get back to the city and being its protector and to the cases that were nagging at his mind, tonight was just about him and Danny and this odd little town.
-
Red Hood stumbled through the window of his safe house and hit the ground hard. The scream of pain choked off in the back of his throat as his body seized. Bloody fingers scrambled against the worn linoleum.
He needed to call someone. He wouldn’t make it if he didn’t call someone.
His comms were shorted out.
Something had had happened in the fight.
It had been the normal sort of trouble— a new shithead trying to bring new drug onto his streets. It should have been an easy bust. It had been an easy bust.
But then the feeling of burning had burst in Jason’s chest— a molten heat that he had felt so sure would consume him.
He had stumbled. It left an opening. Just enough space for a knife to catch him just wrong under the armpit. A bullet solved his immediate issues, but when Jason had tried his comms, there had only been static.
The staggering trip back to his closest safe house had been agonizing, but he needed to get to a working comm. He needed to get up and get to a working comm.
He got his arms under him. A scream of pain ripped from him as the twisting motion wrenched at the wound. Legs next. Push himself up.
Only a few feet to stagger.
Blood slicked fingers fumbled the comm. No no no— he couldn’t— Jason followed it to the ground as it dropped. He struggled to pick it up and activate it.
“Help.”
He couldn’t hear if anyone heard him. He didn’t even know what channel this comm was tuned to. Desperately, Jason ripped off his helmet and shoved the comm into his ear.
“Help.”
“Hood?”
Oh, it was Dick.
“Hood!?”
He sounded desperate.
Was he hurt? Someone was hurt. Jason had to…
“…help.”
-
Dick all but smashed through the window of the safe house. The only reason he didn’t break the glass was that if Jason was as hurt as Dick feared he was, Dick would need to be able to secure the safe house to treat Jason.
He was lucky that that the security was down.
He was terrified that the security was down.
Now worried of an ambush, Dick crept silently through the window. That was… that was a lot of blood.
“Jason, come on, please.” That was Fish’s voice.
Fish knew? Surely if Jason had told his boyfriend about the nightlife, he would have told Dick he had? What was…
Fish was cradling Jason to his chest, half propping him up. Blood pooled under them. Jason’s helmet was discarded to the side and his boyfriend had a tube of glowing green liquid lifted to Jason’s lips.
“Just drink up.”
Glowing green liquid.
“You’ll— you’ll be fine. Just drink up.”
Lazarus water.
“What the fuck are you doing to him?!?” Dick’s escrima sticks buzzed to life in his hands.
Fish’s head whipped towards him, color draining from his face. “It’s not— you have to let me—”
“Get the fuck away from him,” Dick growled, enunciating each word carefully.
The man slide his finger over the top of the tube, effectively capping it so not to spill. “Nightwing, he’s bleeding badly this can—”
Dick slid his foot forward just an inch, starting to shift his weight. “It can nothing. He would never want to use the Pit again!”
“It’s not— no, it’s not the Pit—”
He lunged.
The right stick hit, buzzing loudly on contact. The guy screamed at the impact, but held onto the vial of Lazarus water.
The guy’s other hand shot forward, Dick blocked with with his arm and twisted. His foot slipped— like stepping on wet sand. Dick contorted to compensate with his free hand.
His hand sunk into the floor.
Holy fuck—
Dick’s other hand was slammed down too, trapping it. No, no, no— Dick struggled against the floor that he was part sunk into, the cracking linoleum shifted slightly, but Dick was stuck.
“Oracle!”
Static answered him.
“What did you do to my comms,” Dick growled, watching as the guy pulled Jason back into his arms. Was this all a trap? Was Jason’s boyfriend sent by Talia or Ra’s and had just been binding his time? Was it all an act? Did the cheeky, laughing, bumbling man that Dick met last week not exist? Was the way that Danny looked at Jason a lie? “What did you do to Jason!?”
“I didn’t! I didn’t do anything, I found him like this,” he said. He used his thumb to part Jason’s lips.
“Stop it!”
He didn’t. He poured in that toxic, glowing green sludge down Jason’s throat, speaking softly in Jason’s ear the whole time.
Dick screamed and struggled against the floor. No, please no—
“…you can hate me. You can hate me and scream at me and hell, once Jason is stabilized I won’t try to stop you doing whatever you need to. But Jason is still bleeding out. The ectoshot will help, but it won’t fix it completely. I need you. I need you to help me sew up wherever he’s bleeding from and, I don’t know, get a transfusion going. I don’t know where things are in this place.” He looked up at Dick from under his bangs and Dick could see in the now glowing green eyes some of the same guy— the same fish that he had met last week. “Please, feel however you want about me, but help me save him. He needs both of us right now, okay?”
Dick didn’t know what to say; didn’t know if he was about to make a deal with the devil.
“Please. If I free you, will you help? Just— punch me after if you need to, just help me save him first.”
That devil was the only thing keeping Jason alive.
Why did it always end up like this for his brother?
“Let me up.” Fuck everything. “I promise, I won’t try anything until after Jason is safe.”
The guy studied him for a moment before nodding. He laid Jason down carefully and reached out to Dick. The buzzing tingled through Dick’s skin again and he was able to pull his hands and feet free of the floor, one at a time.
Dick really wanted punch the guy right then and there.
Jason was more important.
“Get Jason’s jacket off, I think it’s a torso wound— maybe his left arm,” he ordered instead as he moved to the fridge to get a blood bag to start it thawing. “Find it and put pressure on it.”
He could punch someone after Jason was saved.
-----
AN: You should never trust me when I have a character goes 'ah yes, I'll worry about that tomorrow'. But remember, if you pitchfork me, I can't write the rest of this~ I'll try to spare you all and have the next part next week if I can! It will go into how Danny was there too.
Special shout out to @mokulule for making it worse! Trapping Dick in the floor was her idea. As she pointed out- he'll have nightmares about this now. (So sorry Dick.)
But look how cute the first part of the chapter was! That's good, right? Stay delightful darlings, don't stab me!
Due to being shadow banned (likely from tagging) and the new post editor, I'm not longer tagging! Follow the link and subscribe to be notified instead!
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teriri-sayes · 6 months
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Reactions to the Lone Flame's Chapter 213
New title - 27. The Lone Flame in the Ice
TL;DR - Old man faints after seeing the half-blood dragon. Dragons say that mana and aura were "restricted" in this world. Raon can use mana but suffers from nosebleed, so Cale forbids using it. Some background history of the place.
Power Restrictions The old man fainted after seeing the half-blood dragon atop the castle, so Cale invited their group inside. But he had some discussions with the dragons about the use of mana here. What they learned was:
Mana was being 'restrained' in this world
Aura was also 'restrained', but not as bad as mana. CH could still use 20% of his aura.
The restriction was regardless of race, because Rosalyn could not use mana too
Mana is part of the laws of a world. So if a dragon could oppress the world, controlling its laws was also possible
Raon could use his mana, but with some exertion. But when he suffered from a nosebleed, Cale was alarmed and forbade Raon from using it without permission. And then we had this funny scene afterwards. 😂
Cale: You can use magic if Eruhaben-nim or Sheritt-nim give permission. But don't use it now. Raon: I understand! I won't do it! And I won't have a nosebleed again! I am not as feeble as you, human! Cale: *feels a bit offended, but nods* Yes, you're not as feeble as me. Raon: That's right! I am strong! I will be the strongest of all 7 year old dragons! Cale: *sees Raon's undeniably plump feet* Yes. That's right. You are right.
Of course, Cale felt troubled with the power restrictions in this world. But what puzzled me was that dragons could still use telepathy despite there being a restriction on magic? Is telepathy not magic then?
And what about his ancient powers? Can Cale use it? There was not a mention of it in today's chapter, so I guess we'll find out later.
You Know Nothing, Cale Snow We get an info dump about the place where they were in:
The old man was a village chief
They arrived at a high place near a village below
The land they were in was the northern part of the Har Kingdom
Behind the village was the Erghe Mountains, a rugged mountain range
Har used to be an empire, but became a kingdom after the last emperor died 200 years ago
The Har Empire was the last empire referred by the dead dragon Maxi in the crown lore she gave to Cale
The archduke's family fell into ruin after the archduke protected the last emperor of the Har Empire
Beyond the Erghe Mountains was the Holy Empire, the only empire in this world located in the center
The Holy Empire worships the living god, the dragon
Annually, the Holy Empire sends a punitive expedition to the Erghe Mountains
Their aim is to erase the dirty bloods living there, the beastkin who live in hiding in the Erghe Mountains
The archduke used to protect this land together with the beastkin warriors
The strongest beastkin warriors were the wolf beastkin
The archduke family were known for their blood red hair
The archduke family was called the Snow household
The archduke got the nickname "The Lone Flame Burning in the Ice" because the red-haired archduke was always surrounded by the Blue Wolf beastkin warriors (ice has a bluish tinge)
Oh yeah, I'm going to use the word "archduke" instead of "grand duke" from now on because of the majority vote on Discord.
Moving on, I thought Cale was in the world of a rofan, but he was actually in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones... 😂There's even a Snow surname here. 🤣🤣🤣 And there's a line in today's chapter where the old man thinks that the red-haired man really knew nothing (about this place). Oh, the meme! 🤣🤣🤣
Ending Remarks Lots of interesting stuff today because of the background lore. But now we have the fan theory that the Thames household used to be called the Snow household before migrating to Cale's world. The blue wolf tribe living in Cale's world also supports this theory if you consider that the blue wolf tribe worked together with the Snow household before. There's also the thing about the blue wolf tribe being abandoned by god, which in Aipotu translates to the living god (the dragon) abandoning (hunting/erasing) them. See?
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