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beebrainedstudios · 3 years

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Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile

Here’s a little hint of the Swapped AU! Specifically a rewrite of ADSOM’s opening chapter from a slightly-different-Kell’s perspective. No particular warnings here besides the briefest mentions of blood. If you have any thoughts, please share them- I’m curious- and if you’re a little confused about the AU, check out the tag adsom swapped au below. Enjoy!

Kell wore a very peculiar coat. It had many sides and many secrets and a personality all its own. Sometimes it ate what was slid into its pockets. Sometimes it spat out something new.

Presently, it was covered in blood.

Kell sighed and stopped walking, causing a few of the bolder passerby to nearly walk right into him; he didn’t spare the grumbling commoners a glance, far more preoccupied with the crimson dotting his coat’s hem, a mass of patches ranging from the size of a single coin to as large as his palm staining the thick white fabric. The blood was fresh, still dark, wet, and rich, its scent thick in the air. It coated the edge of his train until the entire thing was damp with it, even leaving its mark along the top of his boots from where they had met it as he walked. Most of the spots were smudged (smeared by both his passage into Red and the brush of his heels) but a few had managed to keep a solid border, the extra liquid seeping instead into the seams that ran along the coat’s edge. It had even made its way to the lining, darkening the grey fabric until it was the color of a night on fire.

He huffed, his mood souring as he started to shrug the coat from his shoulders. What a waste. He’d liked this one- it made him look bigger and was long enough to swish around his ankles, covering every inch of the bony mess he’d become and blowing dramatically as he walked. Now it was ruined. Kell supposed he had no one to blame but himself; he should have known Astrid would make him clean up the square after Lila’s escapade that morning. He’d been caught off guard by the command- getting ready to travel, packing his knives and gloves- and had already switched the coat around, leaving him trapped in it after the bond had sent him scrambling to finish the task.

Note to self, swap coats after the transfer next time.

The warm, breezy air of Red London sparked along his skin; it was far warmer than the blistering air of White, but it wasn’t enough, and he shivered as what little heat he’d managed to trap with his coat fled into the atmosphere. Arnes was in full summer, he was in half-sleeves, and still he felt like he’d stepped bare-chested into the Sijlt. He expected a little chill as a matter of course- an Antari’s magic was their source of warmth, an inner fire, and his had been doused with a bucket of ice water- but this was ridiculous. His magical coat was the only thing that kept his teeth from chattering; now he’d been forced to take it off, and even the few seconds exposed it took to change was enough to plunge him back into shivers.

After a minute of swapping his items from pocket to pocket, Kell set off once again for the palace, a new, dusky-red coat slowly warming his shoulders and replacing the lost heat. He kept a brisk pace, knocking people aside in his haste, eager to get away from the crowds and their peering eyes. Even a world away from home he kept his guard up, the distraction cooling his annoyance back into simmering discontent; he wasn’t allowed to waste time and he didn’t need to scuffle over stolen tokens, though the idea of a fight briefly warmed his smoldering magic. It had been too long since he’d unleashed his strength, even just a little. Perhaps he should goad Lila into a fight when he arrived back in White (not that she needed much goading). He’d regret it, but it would at least pass the time until nightfall and perhaps sate her long enough for him to catch a little sleep.

Focus.

Kell shook himself out of his thoughts, unsure if it was Astrid’s voice or his own in his ears, and looked up just in time to see a pair of royal guards spot him among the crowd. He was nearing the palace bridge, the red light of the river Isle beneath it visible even in the afternoon sun, and as the streets had approached it they had held more and more soldiers. The sight of the guards’ faces blanching white beneath their helmets lifted Kell’s spirits slightly; he liked it when the guards saw him, trying not to cower as they ran to alert the king. He gave this particular pair a cheeky wave and one of his special smiles, feeling it slip onto his lips the moment a palace-goer's eyes landed on him. Astrid’s hold tightened on his heart then, a flash of pressure, and vindictive as he was feeling he didn’t mind it. Just this once.

Smile, Kell. Let them see your teeth.

He ran his tongue along his sharpened teeth as he watched them go, their cloaks little more than white flags, savoring the fear on their faces. Then, he turned away from the street and set a new course for a nearby alleyway, already prepped for his arrival with the marks that would carve him a door into the palace. Walking through the streets of London was only necessary insofar as to get the guards’ attention; he never used the front door to the palace, preferring to slip in undetected as the guards informed the royals of the looming correspondence. A surprise visit forced Maxim to be honest, catching him off guard in the middle of some other task and letting Kell and his world slip unwanted into the forefront of his mind. Astrid approved.

With the flash of a knife and a tiny flicker of pain, the world of Red London bent around him until he was pulled through the alley wall and into the palace. He’d landed in the royal gardens, beside a mossy stone wall and a massive apple tree, its boughs still laden with fruit despite the dozen full baskets that had been laid out beneath it. Kell squinted at a particularly shiny specimen on a lower branch, observing it for a moment before reaching up and tearing it away from the tree. The air was thick with the scent of summer fruit, so full of it that Kell could practically taste the sweetness- the apple in his hand was no exception. He admired its dappled surface, wondering what spell had been cast to grow it- apples weren’t in season for another month or two- and what would happen if he actually ate it. On one hand, neither his queen nor his empress had expressly forbidden him to eat today, a slip of the mind no doubt, but they would still probably take the chance to discipline him. On the other, traveling was exhausting, it was right here, and he’d already torn it off of the tree.

Kell looked around, shrugged, and took a bite, mentally organizing his excuses as he ate. Well, they were sitting there unguarded and I thought it would aggravate the queen. She’s so manners-driven, she’d take it as an affront… Another bite, so sweet he nearly choked. Besides, I brought some back for you both… He bent down to retrieve two more apples from the baskets, searching for the best ones before sliding them into his coat pockets, which held them well despite their size. And you might be able to taste it in dinner’s blood, so it’s beneficial for everyone...

Astrid and Lila would still tear him to pieces for eating without permission, but that wasn’t any different from his usual living, and if four years of servitude had taught him anything it was when to pick his battles. Sometimes you had to let things go. Other times, you accepted the blows and picked the fight anyway because you would never get to eat or bare your teeth otherwise. Speaking of which-

“Master Kell!”

Kell caught the scent of a guard- they always stank of metal, though here he could also catch the faint chill of an air magician- and with a sigh he finished his treat and set the core aflame. The acrid burning sugar filled the air, smothering the copper tone of the guard’s magic, but Kell could already guess where his voice had come from. He turned towards a small arch carved in the wall, letting the ashes of the stolen fruit fall from his hand. A royal guard stood red-faced in the doorway, obviously winded from what Kell assumed was the hunt to find him. The man’s eyes trailed the burnt dust until it hit the ground, but he wisely decided to ignore it, instead nodding his head the way he had come. Kell didn’t miss the way he kept his gaze carefully averted; he distantly appreciated the guard’s concern, even if it wasn’t for his benefit, but it wasn’t much use for either of them. Kell’s cheeks had twisted up anyway.

Kell didn’t bother letting him speak. “Lovely weather, isn’t it?” He said, pushing past the guard and into the rest of the gardens. He sniffed the air and started to walk, trailing the tangled scents of magic, searching for heat, for gold, for lilies and perfume. The guard huffed and trotted after him, unwilling either to stop him or to leave him alone. “Let’s see, it took ten minutes this time for one of you,” Kell mused, speaking idly to his companion. The guard behind him flushed- they were usually much quicker about finding him, but in their defense he’d been quieter about his entrance so he could eat without discovery. “And I was seen almost what, half an hour ago? The royal family must be close. Taking tea by the pond?” Queen Emira was predictable- she always took her tea where she could relax and watch the fish while Maxim and Rhy bickered.

“I will show you to them-”

“No need,” Kell cut him off with a laugh, watching with delight as the panting guard went even redder. He’d already caught the scent, confirming his suspicions about the royals’ whereabouts. “I’m very good at finding my way.” He stopped suddenly, letting his follower stumble past him, before he pointed in the direction of another arch, several voices heard spilling through it. Their destination. A booming laugh cracked through the air, echoing off of the path and walls. Kell’s smile widened, more snarl then grin, but he kept his tone light. “Tell you what, why don’t you go ahead and tell your king I’m here since he obviously hasn’t heard yet, and we can both pretend that you found me when I first came. Deal?” The guard didn’t move, and Kell could practically see his mind turning, weighing the choice between showing incompetence and leaving a foreign magician unguarded. Kell’s eyes narrowed, and his smile twisted further into an angry grimace. The man went white at the sight, his eyes darting along Kell’s teeth, no doubt surprised by the four sharpened fangs and the twisting scars beside them.

Kell nodded towards the arch, this time unable to hide his impatience. “Go. Shoo. Now.” The guard jumped at the growl and with no more contemplation sprinted for the archway. As soon as he was alone, Kell sighed and rubbed the rigor mortis out of his cheeks, drifting over to one of the numerous statues filling the square, a jagged image of a roaring lion, an armed soldier mounted on its back. The blood on his arm was still fresh, and it took him no time at all to paint a new mark along the soldier’s shield. The palace staff would probably find it- there was no time to find a better hiding place- but he still had plenty of entrances stashed around, and this one would serve fine as a decoy. He then pulled his sleeve back down and returned his knife to his sheath, wondering what mood he’d find the king in today. Perhaps if he was lucky he’d manage to avoid the princes; Rhy was little more than a minor annoyance, all too-bright sunshine and confidence, but the other…

Play nice, Kell. My brother will be your king one day.

“Master Kell, the king will see you now.”

Another smile spread like frost across his face, tight as cord and just as binding. Kell looked towards the attendant who’d summoned him, wondering if Astrid’s smiles ever met his eyes. As he walked through the arch and into the next garden, he could guess probably not; the king, the royals, and the staff all looked politely uncomfortable, as if a wolf had asked them out to tea. Good. He didn’t want to get too chummy.

“Hello, your majesties.” He said, too loudly and with too much charm. “Did I hear it was somebody’s birthday?”

#if you thought kell was snippy before #swapped kell is worse #though to be fair #dealing with astrid and lila together can be a little stressful #adsom #adsom fic #a darker shade of magic #kell maresh #lila bard #rhy maresh #astrid dane #athos dane #the dane twins #bee writes #adsom swapped au #adsom fanfic #a faded shade of magic

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ashintheairlikesnow · 5 years

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Holland had come here to look at the wall.

It was blended together by dozens of those who focused on earth elements, built of a mixture of living wood and earth from the ground below them. It stretched along the riverbank, as far as the eye could see. On each side the surface was largely flat, a slippery sort of wood with no bark to rough it up.

He had been coming here since Ros was still king, in his furtive visits to a world he hated but could not stay away from. He’d found out about this festival and ever since, he’d been here for it. Even the Danes did not try to hold him.

Astrid and Athos had always understood the sharper pain came in seeing what you could not have, could not be. It would have hurt less to be stretched out on the king’s rack tonight - so of course they let him leave, this same night each year, and smiled at each other when he asked permission to go.

There were couples walking by, arm in arm, giggling with their heads together. He could see two people who thought they were being very private kissing madly under the shadow of a building. Larger groups of men and women, some young and some old, chattered happily in Arnesian as they strolled along the riverbank. Holland watched them all, thankful it was at least dark.

He stuck out less in the dark, although that did not mean he fit in, either.

He watched a little dark-haired girl pick up a paintbrush and, giggling, dip it in red paint and paint two dots for eyes and a half-circle, making a smiling face. A woman he assumed was her mother praised her, and the two hugged. Some paint got in the woman’s hair and she laughed.

They laughed, they all laughed, but it was not laughter he could join.

He came each year to see this wall take shape.

The Festival of Colors, an Arnesian holiday, was probably his favorite of this spoiled little world’s celebrations. Solstice was quieter, and so he liked that one, too, but this one had all the color and life and beauty that his own world lacked. They built this wall, each year, and they painted it. People came from miles outside of London to put their mark on the wall, watch the paint dry, and be with friends and family. The wall stayed up for one week, and then the same group of magicians who had built it reappeared, and they gave all the magic inherent in the art back to the earth.

No one bled for this festival. No one cut their wrist, no one died, no one was sacrificed for a good harvest. No one suffered to please the gods.

It was his favorite festival, and he hated them for it.

The people came and went, painting little pictures or messages on the wall. Sometimes it was like the little girl, hardly anything to write home about. One man off to the side was diligently working on what looked like an unsettlingly detailed portrait of Queen Emira herself, running back and forth as new colors were needed, an artist in his element, in the moment.

Holland stepped up to a woman surveying the wall, dressed in the telltale black and white the attendants of the festival wore, and cleared his throat. “May I try?” He asked politely. His accent took the Arnesian tongue and made it a little sing-song, soft on consonants and long on vowels.

She turned to look up at him, and he saw her do the slightest double-take at his pale skin, faded mossy green eye, the black eye barely hidden underneath a bit of charcoal-black hair. His unfamiliar clothing, a little heavy and warm for such a magically comfortable location, gave him away. It always did.

But Astrid never allowed him to dress like them, and he wouldn’t have wanted to if he could. This wasn’t his world, and these were not his people.

“Of course,” She said, handing him a paintbrush from the pile she was holding in her hands. “Of course, aven stranger. Everyone is welcome to add to the wall. You have come far to see us - please be welcome here.”

“Thank you for your welcome.” Holland smiled at her. It took some work; he had never been much for smiling, and it was harder these days than it had ever been. But he tried, and she smiled back at him, and so it must have been at least partially successful.

He wandered down the riverbank, looking over the wall, trying to find the perfect spot. People looked at him, sometimes whispered behind their hands about him, but mostly they left him alone, and that was all right.

Dark hair, pale skin, heavy clothes, heavy boots, heavy weight on his shoulders. Someone had probably told the king and queen by now that he was here when he was not scheduled to be. There was no doubt a guard trailing his every move, reporting back everything he did.

That was fine. At least they did not bother him.

Holland appreciated time to himself, more so than probably anyone in this magic-soaked, arrogant, rotted-out little world.

Eventually he found the right place, a part of the wall that was still empty of color. There were buckets of paint everywhere, and he picked up the bucket of white and carried it with him. No one was using the white paint; why use white, when there were so many bright and vibrant colors to choose from?

He set himself up, glaring at anyone who came too close, and the combination of his black Antari eye and his expression kept everyone away. He dipped the brush in the white, tested a few strokes down by the ground, and then set to painting.

He didn’t paint a picture; he painted words.

(Click to read the rest)

#writersmonth2019 #prompt: poetry #wm: day 18 #writing #fanfiction #fanfic #ao3 #archive of our own #fandom: shades of magic #adsom #Holland vosijk #kell maresh #poetry #shades of magic #rhy hits on everyone and that is very much the best #writer's month 2019 #fanfic writer

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grayantari-blog · 6 years

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A Token for some Trouble | Leo & Lila

@forlohrn

Male. Around her age, maybe 19. Prince-like. Possibly careless. Definitely had some valuables on him. Tired. Easy to steal from.

With her target in sight, Lila was ready. She had seen this guy in the Grand Hall for the past couple of days during breakfast time, and with the air he had around him, she knew he was going to be a fun target. Not only that, but the reward was sure to be great.

Nobody from Hiraeth was actually from the area. At least, that’s what Lila had deducted. Everyone had come from different worlds, ones that even an Antari couldn’t travel to. She had learned early on that even with her tokens, she wasn’t able to As Travars her way back to any of the Londons. Still, she planned on getting out of the place. And, with whatever she could steal from this guy, she could then use it as a token to travel to his world.

Lila silently followed him as he walked towards the Great Hall. Despite being easily visible in the hallway, there was a slim chance that he would notice her. It wasn’t uncommon for students to walk from the dorms to the hall in the morning, especially for breakfast. The food disappeared at seven on the dot, so nobody wanted to miss breakfast. In fact, there were a few other students in the hallway.

They got to the Great Hall, Lila taking a seat a bit further at the same table, making it seem normal. Then, while he wasn’t looking, she threw what looked to be a bowl of salsa at him. With the target now distracted, she ducked under the table, quickly crawled where he was sitting, carefully slipped her hand into his pocket, and took whatever was there. Before he looked up again, Lila was already back in her seat again, eating her toast with a bored expression on her face, concealing a triumphant smile.

She toyed with the object now in her pocket, not even knowing what exactly it was. Whatever it was, it was now hers.

#forlohrn #a token for some trouble #congrats ur the only one that doesn't get a fall out boy song title as the thread title lmao #hiraeth verse

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tinahere101 · 7 years

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Day 2: Geography of Theo

So this is going to brief as well because I haven’t developed too much on the map except for a couple provinces. But I’ll explain the biomes and the topography of the nation-continent of Theo.

The Climate and Biomes

So the general climate of the continent is hot lol. I modeled it somewhat after Africa because it has so much biome and climate diversity, and I personally haven’t worked with a fantasy world that isn’t tropical or outside of Europe, so I thought this would be my chance ;)

Moreover, the northern part of the continent resembles the Mediterranean in climate in the sense that there’s a wet and dry season and there’s beaches with lots of marine life, especially magical marine life. In this northern part there’s the capital province of Antari, where my story will be taking place.

Once we start to get near the middle of the continent, we start to approach the desert and fynbos biome, or shrubland biome. Here, smack dab in the middle of the continent, is a large uninhabitable part of desert called the Sinking Pool. Locals call it that because the sandstorms and the climate (not to mention the beasts lol) are so harsh, that they find dead bodies beneath the sand. Getting to the lower coastal area of the continent, there are tropical forests and even some oases that dot the nearby desert. Here, these parts are inhabited mostly because humans need water, so these are the closer water sources. On the southwest corner of the continent is the Githaru rainforest, which is the birthplace of one of my main characters. No, he was not raised in the wild lol, there’s an actual modern city within the forest. Kind of like elves, but not hidden by magic.

If you keep going west of that rainforest, there are three islands that are there. They are unnamed, but they have the same tropical biome. Then, southeast of the Githaru is more desert and some tropical savanah. And yes, people live in that climate too.

Topography

Time to talk about land bumps and stuff! I mean, mountains. Ahem. Well, let’s start with the northern region, shall we? One of the essential imports of Antari are crystals and stones, because they have powerful magnifying properties to a witch, and Antari having a heavy witch population, I need to have a close resource. There is a mountainous region southwest of the Antari province nicknamed the Dragon’s Tail because it kind of curves and turns into a point like the creature’s tail. But it’s formally called the Naijobi Mountain range because of some conquerer lol. There is where most of the stone material and metal resources comes from.

So that’s the northern slice of the map, now, onto the middle! The middle is boring to be honest. It’s sand, sand, and more sand. And death, but that’s not topography lol.

Going to the bottom of the Sinking Pool, there is a fynbos biome there, along with some gorgeous steppes. But that’s literally the other varied surface area in the middle.

The islands tend to be more cliffy and they have highlands as well, so if you’re into a vacation with a view, these islands are it lmao.

Conclusion

Well, that’s basically my map. The size is roughly larger than Australia. I’m sorry I don’t have an actual map for you because the drawing I made can barely be seen in photos. It’s just awful lol. If you have some comments to share with me about my world, shoot me an ask or reblog or reply to this post.

#day 2 #worldbuildingjune #wbj2017 #geography

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