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beobhcm · 3 months

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THE ENDLESS RULE

Chapter: 2/?

Category:

Multi

Fandoms:

The Sandman (Comics)The Sandman (TV 2022)

Relationships:

Desire of the Endless/Original Male Character(s)Desire of the Endless & Dream of the Endless | MorpheusDesire of the Endless & Dream of the EndlessDeath of the Endless & Dream of the EndlessDesire of the Endless/Roderick Burgess

Characters:

Desire of the EndlessDream of the Endless | MorpheusDream of the EndlessDeath of the EndlessDespair of the EndlessOriginal Male Character(s)Roderick BurgessAlexander BurgessPaul McGuire (The Sandman)(mentioned)

Additional Tags:

AngstHurt No ComfortDesire of the Endless has a Bad TimeImprisonmentDark Dream of the Endless | MorpheusManipulationAlternate Universe - Canon DivergenceDysfunctional Family

“Dream, I am standing in my gallery and placing my hand on your sigil. Come, quickly.” Death was calling her brother to join in an emergency meeting.

“Well meet, my sister. You seem a bit hurry. Is there anything I could do?” Dream appeared next to her.

“What have you done to Desire?” Death crossed her arms while confronting Dream. She was uneased and Dream could see the annoyance on her face.

“I did nothing, my sister.” He denied.

“Nothing? You helped Roderick to entrap Desire! And you said it’s nothing?”

Death had known everything because she was there, too. Turned out, at the night before the ritual happened, her brother had gone through Roderick’s dream. He felt that foolish mortal’s ‘desire’ to capture Death was very strong. Dream and Desire were similar, but he recognized it was his sibling’s meddling since he could tell the differences. Without hesitation, he decided to teach Desire a lesson, the one they would never forget in their life. By interfering with Dr. Hathaway’s dream and changing one item in the Grimoire, he had changed the target successfully. Everything went smoothly than he thought.

“It was the one started all of these first. It ‘made’ Roderick eager to capture you. The ritual was actually meant to target me but it could have been you. I am just showing it the consequences for meddling with us.” He was about to argue with Death when he felt like she was defending for their horrible sibling.

“Listen up, Dream. I know our brother-sister is usually up to no good, but I don’t want any of our family members to be put in such danger.” She rubbed her forehead as she tried to explain to Dream.

“It could call us for help.”

“You know full well he-she wouldn’t. Desire is as stubborn as you are. Not to say you even challenged him-her in another shitty twisted game? He-she rejected though Despair is begging them to call her because you had badly hurt his-her pride.” Death scolded.

“It was Desire’s choice. We must respect it since we endless have our own rules.”

“Go and tell him-her this foolish game is over. The universe is losing its balance owing to the loss of desire. The same thing used to happen when I abandoned my job, remember?” She quit her role once millions years ago. At that time, none creature could die, and the world had been put into chaos. Each Endless carried one important role. Without them, the whole galaxy would never be the same anymore.

“You or Despair should talk to it. It will listen to anyone except its big brother. Am I right? If there is nothing left, I might leave, my sister. I got many things to take care in my domain.” He disappeared, not wanting to debate any longer.

Death sighed. The conflictions between Dream and Desire always gave her headache. It was because of their nature or Desire was cruel themselves? They always found the way to harm her brother, then Dream took revenge on them, which created an infinite loop would never end. After all, she just wanted her two idiotic siblings to get along well as they used to be.

"Desire, could you please put everything aside and let us help you?"

Death and Despair had been asking their sibling to call their family to lend them a hand. They both received the rejection from Desire due to their goddamn stupid pride. How could they be this childish? Losing the game was not even a problem. Meanwhile, their absence had caused serious consequences to the entire universe. Could they at least think about their own responsibility?

----

“Rubbish!” Roderick was utterly furious. The jewelries he stole did not contain any magic or power. It meant he gained nothing from the ritual, and he had to carry a dangerous creature that could kill him instantly if it was set free. He prepared everything necessary to constrict the endless as much as he could according to what the pale man had shown him. Since the Magus still felt insecure, he hired many people to guard them. He paid the guards well with conditions: Not telling others about this stuff, not crossing the circle and not interacting with the figure.

“I wonder what kind of creature we are watching, Bernard.” There were three men sitting together in the dark and misty chamber. They were discussing about the figure laying and being bounded in front of their eyes.

“The Magus said it was something more than a god, an entity, I guess?”

“Entity? It looks…exactly like a human. I feel a little creepy when we are…keeping a woman in a basement…you know.” Two of the guards got worried since they were paid to do such thing that would lead them to a decade in jail, while the third was completely opposite.

“No one will know, pal.” The brown-hair man hummed as he seemed excited. He slightly grinned, and we could see the wrinkles on his face clearly. His blue eyes kept gluing itself on the creature with enthusiasm. While his fellows were reading newspaper or taking a quick nap to kill time, he repeated doing many meaningless things like tapping his fingers on the table, shaking his legs, standing up and sitting down for no purpose. In spite of his weird behaviors, he was the only one to focus on this assignment most.

Benard Bradley was one of Roderick’s followers and he also participated in the ritual. That was the most fascinating thing he had ever witnessed in his life. Though their group had failed to summon Death and got another endless instead, it still succeeded to him at least. For the first time he saw ‘it’, he was stunned immediately by its strange and remarkable beauty. That was the reason why he volunteered to be the night guard. Bernard had no idea whether it was a man or a woman since it usually changed its body shape according to his mood, but it didn’t matter. From now on, he could watch over this gorgeous creature every day.

The 2 guards worked with Bernard in his shift, and even himself, had their own mission to remind one another not to violate the rules, which was extremely hard for him to approach Desire. Furthermore, he was afraid, afraid of Roderick’s warnings, or maybe he wasn’t ready to face such powerful thing. Sometimes, he could hear it grunt and try to move. Surely, it had been struggling to find a way to escape, but the chains held too tight so it always failed entirely. Bernard kept doing his job, obeying the rules as he only spectated the endless from distance.

Months after months, years after years, Roderick had aged, and Alex, his son was in his adulthood. One day, Benard received a surprisingly shocking news: The Magus had died. At first, he had no idea and didn’t bother to care the reason why, until Alex, his current master, paid a visit to the basement. During Benard’s years of guarding there, neither Roderick nor Alex moved their feet to this chamber. He even found it even stranger when his young master stepped closed to the circle that entrapped the creature.

“Thanks for helping me. But I am afraid I couldn’t release you as I promised.” Alex Burgess felt guilty after saying those words. That was why he started to visit and check on the Endless more often.

Benard was extremely curious. He heard a rumor from the servants: That entity had granted Alex’s wish as he had a better life then, source of. Granting people wishes? So basically, the Magus wanted to capture these figures, which were called the Endless, to use for his own good? That old man must receive tons of rewards and he had been hiding this from everyone. What a rascal old man. But now he had found out the secret. Maybe he should give it a try, too. That night, he finally had a chance as his fellow guards were falling asleep. Benard approached the figure in silence. He gulped and took a look closely. Its golden eyes were the thing to catch his attention first in a peculiar way, which made he couldn’t stop. The more he looked at it, the more it evoked something inside him. Something he had been hiding for a long time. Yes. He remembered he used to get aroused every time he tortured…an animal. Benard was perfectly aware it was very sick of him, but he couldn’t stop those feelings. As he grew older, he finally gave up on doing horrible things thanks to the early treatments. Then, this entity once again reminded him about his most psychotic and deepest desire. Ruining its beautiful body, torturing it, making it suffer, those thoughts kept flowing as they turned into a voice echoed in his mind. Those were all what he wanted to do now.

“Hey, Bernard! What are you doing? We are not supposed to cross the line!” His fellow guard shouted at him.

“Oh, sorry.” He startled as he realized he had made a sound and woke his friend up “I…I drop my stuff there so I am picking it up.” He returned to his seat and planning for something. No one knew what was in his head.

#the sandman #desire of the endless #dream of the endless #sandman #death of the endless #the sandman fanfic #i believe in bottom desire supremacy

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cauldronwork · 2 years

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grimoire challenge tumblr accounts masterpost

grimoire challenge 2016 - 1

grimoire challenge 2019 - 1

grimoire challenge 2020 - 1

grimoire challenge 2021 - 1

grimoire challenge 2022 - 1

grimoire challenge 2024 - 1

#masterpost #grimoire #grimoire goals

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rosexknight · 2 years

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Day 79 of the 2022 challenge to draw an OC a day. This is in an effort to thin the amount of OC’s I have in general but also just because it’s fun. Gonna try and get back on these. I have given up on catching up, but I have a few sketched that I wanna finish. Anyway here’s Arvis Fairfax. He is the son of the mayor of the city of Wimbourne, a location in the first D&D game I have ever made. Wimbourne doesn't like magic, so he's had to keep his study of the art of Wizardry a secret. His grimoire is definitely not cursed and he's definitely not in a cult. Depending on the game. he might even be mind-controlled, who knows! Hope you enjoy~! Want art like this monthly? Why not join? My General Patreon, safe for all audiences: www.patreon.com/rosexknight My 18+ ADULT-ONLY Patreon: www.patreon.com/rosexxxknight

#dnd #mlp #arvis #breaktimedoodles

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sammbag · 1 year

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Cursed Relics 2022 drawing challenge pt. 1 - “GRIMOIRE”

#art #illustration #drawdrawdraw #drawing challenge #fantasy art #grimoire #penart

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wingedscribe · 2 years

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Divine Intervention

For the FFXIV Write 2022 Free Day, have how the Trial by Combat played out with these four heroes, ft. Hikari being melodramatic and Ciel judging both Ishgard and his friends. Also yes I just beat the Vault. I’m coping.

Ciel was fairly sure the only thing stopping Hikari from kicking down the door to the Congregation of Our Knights Most Heavenly was their burgeoning respect for Ser Aymeric de Borel--and that the only thing saving the doors from Askirael, who probably also respected the Lord Commander but was less likely to let that influence her actions, was that Hikari was faster. He followed behind the others, keeping pace with Rhel’ir, whose ears were flattened back along his head in worry. Not that Ciel couldn’t relate--hadn’t Alphinaud and Tataru been through enough? Hadn’t all of them been through enough?

They weren’t the first to arrive, though, which became clear when they entered to a familiar greeting, far more strained than usual. Haurchefant hurried over from where he had been speaking to Aymeric, who looked about as pleased as Ciel felt.

“Friends! I had but this moment resolved to go and fetch you,” Haurchefant said, rounding the edge of the table. Ciel forced himself to relax enough to offer a smile to the other man--not very hard, when it was Haurchefant. “I presume you have heard what happened, then?”

“The basics,” Askirael said, voice dark and low in the space. Next to her, Rhel’ir made a low, unhappy noise in the back of his throat--and Ciel didn’t blame him. Out of all of them, after all, he was the one who had been arrested, and the reminder couldn’t be pleasant.

“That they should regard the Scions with such suspicion even after you stood with us on the Steps of Faith...it is bad comedy,” Lucia said, low and vehement. “Yet unlike the grave injustice you suffered in Ul'dah, this wrong may swiftly be righted.”

“How?” Rhel’ir asked, tail lashing back and forth, and Lucia nodded toward Aymeric, who had stood from his chair to greet them.

“It has been too long--and I wish this visit came under happier circumstances,” he admitted, letting out a breath, one hand sliding flat across the smooth wood of his desk. “That Ser Grinnaux's accusations are baseless, I have no doubt,” he began, and Ciel felt a little of the tension leave his own frame--at the very least, they wouldn’t have to prove the Scions’ innocence to Aymeric, as well. “Refuting them will be difficult, however, as he is a knight of the Heavens' Ward.”

“I’m not familiar with that title,” Ciel noted, eyes narrowing, and Aymeric nodded.

“The personal guard of the Archbishop. The twelve finest knights in all Ishgard, carrying on the legacy of those who fought and died with the original King Thordan. Sworn to serve His Eminence alone. Suffice it to say, their testimony is unimpeachable, and I have not the authority to challenge their actions.” Aymeric’s tone was as measured as ever; surely any bitterness there was just Ciel projecting his own feelings onto the situation. Hikari let out a harsh breath, almost a hiss, from between their teeth.

“So we can’t just point out that they’re lying,” they summed up, and Aymeric nodded. Haurchefant’s face twisted with unhappiness.

“After all the Scions have done─routing the heretics and defeating Shiva, helping us to defend the Steps of Faith and drive back the Dravanian Horde─after proving themselves true allies on countless occasions, is there naught we can do!?”

“I fear the only path that remains open to us is to demand a trial by combat,” Aymeric said, looking up again to meet the eyes of each of the Scions’ group in turn.

“How would that work?” Hikari said, but their tone was more intrigued than angry, dropping a hand away from their grimoire to cross their arms instead, cocking their head to the side. Askirael, also, was leaning forward for the explanation. Of course, Ciel thought with no small amount of amusement, those two would be fascinated by the option to turn this into a fight.

Not that he couldn’t understand the impulse to fight someone over this.

“Under Ishgardian law, a trial by combat pits the accuser against the accused,” Aymeric explained, expression serious. “The victor’s claim is judged true regardless of who the loser is, as the Fury only grants victory to the righteous…in theory. In this instance, Master Alphinaud and Mistress Tataru would be expected to face Ser Grinnaux and a second of his choosing─another knight of the Heavens' Ward, most like.”

“Two of them?” Haurchefant sounded aghast. “By the Fury, that cannot be considered fair.”

“They’re that skilled, then,” Askirael’s tone was flat as ever, but Ciel didn’t miss the fire beginning in her mismatched eyes, and--well, in any other situation, he would be exasperated; he would say that this wasn’t the time to try picking fights just for the joy of a strong opponent. But…well, this Ser Grinneaux had accused Alphinaud and Tataru of heresy, and Ciel had seen how Ishgard treated heretics.

No, this time, Ciel would hold their tongue and let the consequences of Grinneaux’s actions happen to him.

“They are indeed exceptional knights,” Aymeric said. “I would not suggest this course of action lightly, or if I believed we had another option before us. Master Alphinaud's magical talents will not have gone unnoticed, meaning that he will have no choice but to participate,” He added, and Ciel winced--Alphinaud was talented, of course, but in no world should a teenager be forced to go up against a trained, decorated knight in combat for his life and liberty. “Mistress Tataru, on the other hand, is quite obviously bereft of martial skill, and should be afforded the right to name a champion to fight in her stead.”

“I see,” Hikari said, looking back and up to meet Askirael’s eyes with the same look they got in the moments before they summoned one of their Egis onto a battlefield.

“Lest you doubt, I am ready and willing to serve in this capacity, as I am sure is Lord Haurchefant,” Aymeric said, which Ciel appreciated even if he thought that Hikari and Ask would actually injure anyone who attempted to get between them and this chance. When Aymeric continued, his voice was tinged with slight, grim humor. “But it appears that will not be necessary, as the most accomplished warriors among us,and mayhap in the realm at large, are eager for the opportunity.”

“Ask,” Hikari began, and Askirael shook her head.

“With you and Alphinaud fighting, it would be two ranged mages against two close-range fighters. A bad matchup. I will take the field.” She sounded immovable on this point; Hikari turned to meet her gaze fully.

“You misunderstand. I will be taking the field, but not as a Summoner. I have a different skillset available to me.”

Oh. Hikari had been, well, understandably reticent to use their dragoon’s training within the walls of Ishgard thus far. Already, they got stared at for their horns and tail; openly being the second Azure Dragoon in a generation was asking for trouble, as they’d pointed out. But if trouble had come to find them already…

Without waiting for Ask’s response, Hikari turned back to Aymeric, who also seemed to have caught their meaning and looked, for one of the first times Ciel could remember, shocked.

“Would you mind answering a few questions for me, Lord Commander?” Hikari only used formal titles when they were extremely serious; all of their usual levity had fallen aside. At Aymeric’s nod, they continued. “I was told the history of the Azure Dragoon by Ser Alberic, but my education was by necessity focused on control and combat. But the position originated with Saint Haldrath, the son of King Thordan and one of--or at least, a contemporary of--those selfsame twelve knights the Heaven’s Ward serves as a legacy to?”

“It does indeed,” Aymeric said, tone guarded. Hikari let out a sigh, considering something for a moment.

“I had no intention of letting my status as Azure Dragoon be known outside of those Estinien and Ser Alberic have seen fit to tell,” they admitted. “But with this opportunity before me, it is hard to resist. Even should we win the fight, unless it is sufficiently overwhelming the High Houses will merely know this is a way to keep us tied up in political machinations--and while we are skilled, I’m not certain how many trials by combat against powerful knights we could weather. The Eorzean Alliance’s heroes arriving to fight sends one message, but…I suspect the Azure Dragoon, even if it is only an Azure Dragoon, fighting to combat a charge of heresy would be far more emphatic.”

“It would be almost unprecedented,” Haurchefant said, “and would certainly cast doubt on the accusation before even the first blades are crossed.”

Ciel tilted his head to the side, ears swiveling to follow the conversation even as he considered. “Hikari, are you proposing weaponizing the legacy of one of the first saints of the Ishgardian Orthodox Church? Not that I have any particular objections, but I want us to be clear in what we are proposing here.” He looked from Hikari to Haurchefant and Aymeric in turn, wondering how the two knights actually felt about this move.

“Ah. Yes, that was my next question,” Hikari said, wincing slightly. “I am…all too aware I lack the full context as to what my position means and implies. I do not intend to use Haldrath’s legacy for a political stunt; I would not do this if I did not genuinely believe it was the right thing to do. But I will not deny that part of that would be the spectacle, and impressing upon House Dzemael exactly who they are interfering with. However, should either of you have the slightest discomfort as to my plan, I will cede the position to Askirael, who doubtless can inflict a devastating loss herself with far less pageantry.”

“I have no objections,” Haurchefant said, unsurprisingly. “The Eye chose you; the mantle is yours to do with as you see fit, and none could deny this is a worthy cause.”

“Moreover,” Aymeric said, with more consideration, “House Dzemael has already brought the Holy See and the legacy of the Knights Twelve into this by having Ser Grinnaux be the one to offer the charges. It is only fair to respond in kind, although,” he added, offering a slight smile, “I do appreciate the concern.”

“Ask, then? Will you let me do this?”

“Could I stop you?” The roegadyn snorted, crossing her arms. “But very well. Don’t lose and make me regret this.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Hikari said, and their voice pitched down into what was almost a growl. “I have some preparations to make. I assume the trial will be at--the Tribunal, it was?”

“The Supreme Sacred Tribunal of Halonic Inquisitory Doctrine,” Rhel’ir remembered; he’d been quiet most of the conversation, but Ciel was glad to see some of the nervous tension had left his body as the conversation continued. “And--there will be an audience?”

“There will, and I will be in attendance, as will many others with a vested interest in the outcome,” Aymeric confirmed. “At the very least, I would assume that many of House Dzemael will be present to see the outcome of their actions, and I do not doubt Count Edmont will attend if he can.”

“Then I suppose I will see you all there,” Hikari said, nodding once, before turning on their heel and striding out of the room.

The viewing gallery was as full as Aymeric had implied it would be, but next to Count Edmont--and with Ask towering even over some of the elezen in the room--it wasn’t hard to find a spot next to where Aymeric was standing. Haurchefant, who had been speaking with Hikari outside, slid in late, managing to make his way next to Ciel.

“Hikari is prepared, then?” Ciel asked, keeping their voice low to avoid being overheard, and Haurchefant smiled when he nodded.

“Prepared and aware of how the trial will proceed,” he confirmed, before leaning forward to look over the Tribunal. Ciel, watching him rather than where he was looking, caught his eyes narrowing at the two white-armored knights standing on the other side of the space.

“Anything amiss?” Ciel asked, leaning closer, and Haurchefant blinked before shaking his head.

“Not unexpectedly so. It appears Ser Grinnaux has decided his second to be Ser Paulecrain de Fanouilley,” He nodded toward the elezen in an eyepatch. “Another of the more…formidable members of the Ward, although in truth they are all formidable. It is unsurprising he would volunteer for such a task as this.”

“Ah,” Ciel said, nodding both at what Haurchefant said and what went unspoken--he supposed it probably wasn’t wise to say “that man’s known for being cruel and it makes sense he would volunteer to fight a teenager” out loud in the Tribunal, but it was clear enough. “His weapon?”

“The spear,” Haurchefant said. “Ser Grinnaux prefers the axe.”

“Is he more skilled at the spear than Estinien?” Ciel asked, and Haurchefant paused, considering that.

“Their styles are rather different, as Ser Paulecrain is no dragoon, and I have never seen them fight. But…I do not believe so. Why do you ask?”

“Hikari has bested Estinien,” Ciel said, biting back a smile at Haruchefant’s look of shock. “So I don’t think this is any cause for concern.”

At the head of the room, the Adjudicator stood, gesturing for silence, and Ciel subsided, taking advantage of the cramped space to lean against Haurchefant’s side and catching the shudder of the other man’s muffled snort of laughter through both of their armor.

“We are gathered here today, under the watchful gaze of the Fury, to ascertain the guilt of two souls in a trial by combat! Petitioners, step forward!” At the man’s gesture, both of the white-armored knights stepped forward, their pristine armor drawing every eye in the room. It was…well, Ciel supposed pure white armor was a good symbolic choice for an Archbishop’s guard, but he had grown up in snow-cloaked mountains; he was aware how much could hide under a pristine surface. “Ser Grinnaux─for the benefit of all here present, I would ask you to repeat the charges which you have leveled against this man and this woman.”

“I, Ser Grinnaux de Dzemael, brother of the Heavens' Ward, did bear witness to these two foreigners consorting with heretics!” He was incredibly authoritative about what was, of course, a complete lie. Ciel almost respected it--and perhaps Grinnaux did believe they were heretics. Not that it mattered; regardless of what he believed, this shouldn’t have come this far in the first place. One man’s word, no matter who, shouldn’t jeopardize the lives of other people--

But he couldn’t let himself get too angry now. He was a spectator here, not a combatant, and retribution would be arriving soon enough, likely at the most dramatic possible moment. Hikari was one of Ciel’s dearest friends; he felt no guilt, then, in condemning them as loving nothing in the world so much as putting on a good show.

“Let the accused step forward!”

Alphinaud stepped forward, head up and shoulders back, indignant innocence pouring from every inch of his presentation--Tataru was more hesitant, understandably. Ciel was impressed at how well she was keeping her composure together, all told--with this on top of the horrors of the last month in general, all of their nerves were shot to the hells and back. “Alphinaud Leveilleur, Tataru Taru─you have heard the charges leveled against you. Will you take up arms to refute Ser Grinnaux's claim and thereby prove your innocence in the eyes of gods and men?”

“I, Alphinaud Leveilleur, am innocent of this charge,” Alphinaud said, with all the cold hauteur of a noble infuriated that the world sought to inconvenience him--not something Ciel usually appreciated, but Alphinaud had gotten far better at learning when to turn it on and off, and if there was ever a moment for it… “And I claim my right to trial by combat!”

Some of his confidence seemed to have passed to Tataru, who also raised her head to speak. “I, Tataru Taru, am also innocent of this charge.” She took a steadying breath. “But I am no warrior, and cannot fight, so I claim the right to name a champion!”

The Adjudicator looked down at her, considering. “To the old and the infirm, the young and the weak, this right we allow. Very well. Who will stand for this woman?”

Ciel prepared, but the moment of silence stretched long. One moment, two--even Haurchefant tensed, as whispers started to fill the room--

Wham. The great doors at the back of the room were thrown open. Even before the newcomer came into view of the gallery, everyone heard their footsteps; not quite the familiar clang of armored boots against ground, a strange additional resonance to the sound that Ciel couldn’t place initially, until--

Oh. Of course, Hikari was not in any of the outfits he’d seen them fight in as a lancer. Instead, the armored figure was clad in a twin of Estinien’s armor,the only differences being the stature and the color--the armor gleamed with a silver-blue sheen, far from Estinien’s grim black. Hikari’s visor was down, face obscured, but their lance--the same augmented ironworks lance that Ciel had watched Cid fine-tune--was unmistakable, a current of aetheric energy already running up its tip.

The Azure Dragoon looked up at the Adjudicator, face inscrutable. “I will.” The voice was Hikari’s, underlaid with the same growl that so frequently lingered under Estinien’s words. Whispers, momentarily quelled by Hikari’s entry, started again stronger than ever, which was probably for the best--Ciel overheard Alphinaud’s comment about the efficacy of the Ishgardian justice system, but doubted the assembled lords would like it much. The Adjudicator gestured for silence again, more vehemently.

“O Halone, render unto us Your judgment! Raise up the righteous, and cast down the wicked!”

There was something, Ciel thought absently, deeply disturbing about a judicial chamber that was so used to trial by combat that it was built to convert into a dueling arena; that said, though, he’d already decided to put aside his feelings about if this was a good method of resolving conflict in favor of the knowledge that, good or not, it was the method that was available to them, as Alphinaud moved to summon his Carbuncle and Hikari swung the augmented lance off of their back in a graceful, practiced motion.

“This one is mine, Ser Grinnaux,” Paulecrain said, lowly but not low enough to escape Ciel’s hearing. “Go and play with the boy.”

Hikari’s answering growl ripped through the room, and as they blurred into motion Ciel realized he had never seen them fight like this. He was more than familiar with the devastation they could rain down as a Summoner, of course, and had seen their fighting style as a lancer, but they’d been far more sparing with their lance since becoming Azure Dragoon. They’d seen dragoons fight, at the Steps of Faith, but had not marked any of them particularly--not enough to note how one’s style might differ from another.

Watching Hikari fight, it was unquestionable that they were not just an ordinary dragoon. As Ciel looked on, they vaulted further into the air than muscle alone could take them, landing lightly behind Paulecrain and moving instantly into a sequence of lance-thrusts that forced the knight backward. Behind them, Alphinaud had called up his Radiant Aegis, holding the barrier against Grinnaux’s axe as his carbuncle prepared to unleash an attack of its own. Certain that Alphinaud was, if nothing else, not going to fall quickly, Ciel felt he could turn back to watch Hikari without undue alarm.

And they were beautiful to watch, in a terrible, martial way. While initially caught off-guard, Paulecrain recovered quickly, and his position in the Heaven’s Ward was clearly earned; Ciel knew that most warriors, even skilled ones, would only last seconds against Hikari fighting at their full strength. But while he often couldn’t parry or avoid Hikari’s levin-quick strikes, those same strikes forced Hikari into his reach, and he seized every opportunity they gave.

Still, the first blood on the stone floor of the Tribunal was Paulecrain’s, the aether-enchanced blade of the ironworks lance burning away any blood left on its surface as Hikari flipped backwards, landing still too-lightly for an armored figure before charging back in. Next to Ciel, Haurchefant cheered; Rhel’ir, also, was lending his voice to the crowd’s fervor.

“I've had enough of your tricks,” Ser Grinnaux swore, drawing Ciel’s attention back to the other knight in time to see his axe cleave the Radiant Aegis aside, and in the moments before Alphinaud could recast it, a steel chain--directed by Grinnaux--wrap around the young mage’s wrists, throwing his grimoire to the side and binding him in close proximity with the knight, who smiled.

“Hikari, watch Alphinaud,” Ciel said before even thinking, his voice taking on the same tone he used to call out where to avoid on the battlefield and cutting through the gasps of the crowd, and without even turning to look Hikari took to the air in a gravity-defying leap, nearly reaching the vaulted ceiling of the Tribunal.

With every eye on them, Hikari seemed almost to hang in the air for a moment, flipping so that their lance pointed directly down and the rest of their body perched above that deadly point--and then, with a flare of aether Ciel didn’t recognize, dragoon and lance alike burst into flames.

The meteoric strike landed point-first in the center of Grinnaux’s chain, snapping it instantly and blasting both knights back from the point of impact. Hitting the ground that hard,Ciel thought absently, should probably have broken bones; Hikari stood easily, flipping the lance back up to point at the members of the Heaven’s Ward.

“Did you think the drachen mail was for show?” they asked, voice still rumbling with a growl, before launching into another set of attacks, flipping out of the way of an axe-strike even as one of the fighters--Grinnaux, Ciel suspected--called lightning onto the field and the knights redoubled their assault.

In the end, Paulecrain fell first--Hikari hooking his spear out of his hands and sending it spinning out of the dueling arena after the man fell to one knee--and Grinnaux soon after, Alphinaud’s magical assault devastating when combined with facing Hikari in close quarters. He did not stop fighting when sent to one knee, standing again until a blast from Topaz Carbuncle combined with a blow from Hikari sent him sprawling to his back, and the Adjudicator stood before Hikari could, Ciel suspected, follow their urge to physically pry the axe from the knight’s hands.

Silence reigned in the Tribunal for a long moment, broken only by Tataru’s quiet whisper of “We--we won?”

Hikari stood from the crouch they’d landed their last blow in, turning to face the Adjudicator and flipping their visor up. Now, not moving and with their face visible, it was clear the fight hadn’t been as effortless as it seemed--scorchmarks trailed up the side of their face to singed hair, and their gauntlets were marred with red-brown smears of blood. Still, they held their head high.

“The Fury has spoken!” The Adjudicator said, looking across the dueling ring and then the room at large. “Alphinaud Leveilleur, Tataru Taru─you are hereby acquitted of all charges. Blessed are we who receive of Her wisdom and see justice wrought by Her divine hand! Petitioners, accused─go forth in peace!”

Grinnaux and Paulecrain seemed less than satisfied, but clearly the Adjudicator was not to be questioned on this; they took their leave as Tataru ran over, hugging Hikari’s knees until Hikari knelt to properly hug her back. Ciel let out a breath, feeling himself relax.

“I thought you said there was no cause for concern?” Haurchefant asked, but underneath the teasing there was also a level of relief. Ciel elbowed him.

“There wasn’t. I don’t know what you’re speaking about,” he retorted, tone comically arch to draw a laugh from the Fortemps knight. “But I am glad to see they’re relatively unharmed--and Rhel’ir’s already gone to heal any scrapes that Hikari may have incurred.” Sure enough, the dark-furred man had vanished from the gallery almost immediately.

“In that case, I don’t want to miss the congratulations,” Haurchefant said, smiling. “In fact, there’s a gift I’ve been looking for the right occasion to offer--not that I think you would accept, unless there is any chance you will put aside your ironworks contraption for a proper chocobo, but I suspect your friends may have better sense.”

Ciel pretended to consider it. “From you? I’d think it over,” he said, smiling at the look of surprise on Haurchefant’s face. “However, I suspect Maggie would not, and I am rather at her mercy on this issue.”

Haurchefant’s laughter carried both of them out into the entryway, and into the clear skies of Ishgard beyond.

#ffxivwrite2022 #ffxivwrite #hikari sakamoto tag #ciel monnawesfv tag #listen i just want to live in the space where hauchefant cheered while i kicked two of the heavens' ward's asses ok #i'm coping #anyway i think that doing the trial as an azure dragoon is a fantastic power move

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somegirlsnerdywords2 · 1 year

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Top Anime 2022

1. Mob Psycho 100 III (Rating: 10/10 - 12 Episodes - Fall 2022)

Genres: Action, comedy, supernatural, superpower

Synopsis: After foiling a world-threatening plot, Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama returns to tackle the more exhausting aspects of his mundane life—starting with filling out his school's nerve-racking career form. Meanwhile, he continues to assist his mentor Arataka Reigen and the office's new recruit, Katsuya Serizawa, in solving paranormal cases of their clients. While continuing his duties, Mob also works on gaining more independence in his esper and human lives, as well as trying to integrate better with the people around him. However, new supernatural and ordinary challenges test Mob’s emotional stability and force him to confront the realities around him. As he strives to continue forward on the path to maturity, Mob must resolve his emotional crises and reassess the naivety he has held on for so long. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

2. Romantic Killer (Rating: 10/10 - 12 Episodes - Fall 2022)

Genres: Comedy, Romance, Reverse Harem, Shounen

Synopsis: Anzu Hoshino needs only three things in her life: video games, chocolate, and her beloved cat. Unlike other high school girls, Anzu has no time for or interest in romance. But as she begins playing a poorly programmed 3D otome game, a bizarre flying wizard named Riri emerges from the screen and calls Anzu "subject one," the first person who will experience a dating game harem storyline in real life. Despite Anzu's fiery protests, Riri confiscates her favorite things to force her to focus on love. Riri orchestrates a series of unlucky incidents and romantic cliches that lead her to meet Tsukasa Kazuki, one of the most attractive boys in her school. Still enraged, Anzu is adamant about resisting Tsukasa's charm. As all the ridiculous fabricated scenarios help Anzu warm up to Tsukasa's pleasant nature, Riri throws other stereotypical pretty boys her way—and avoiding romance quickly becomes almost impossible. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

3. The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2 (Rating: 9.5/10 - 12 Episodes - Winter 2022)

Genres: Supernatural, Historical, Vampire, Fantasy, Shounen

Synopsis: Vanitas and Noé Archiviste head out to the town of Gévaudan in search of the "Beast," an enormous wolf-like creature that has slaughtered hundreds of people. Suspecting that the Beast is a curse-bearing vampire, Vanitas primarily aims to heal it using the powers of his grimoire. Along the way, the two get separated and suddenly travel back to the past—to the exact moment the Beast is lurking in the woods. After a battle against the gigantic wolf and a vampire hunter, Vanitas decides to team up with Jeanne in order to find Noé. Despite being allies, Jeanne's goal is the opposite of Vanitas', as she was tasked to kill the Beast—suspecting it may be someone she used to know. Meanwhile, a severely wounded Noé is picked up by the mysterious Chloé d'Apchier and her servant. Like Noé, Chloé is a vampire whose existence was erased from the public's knowledge. She has been a guardian for future generations and once tried to find a way to become human again. While Noé is grateful to Chloé for her hospitality, little does he know that she might be siding with forces far more dangerous than the Beast itself. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

4. Bocchi the Rock! (Rating: 9.5/10 - 12 Episodes - Fall 2022)

Genres: Music, Comedy, Slice of Life

Synopsis: Yearning to make friends and perform live with a band, lonely and socially anxious Hitori "Bocchi" Gotou devotes her time to playing the guitar. On a fateful day, Bocchi meets the outgoing drummer Nijika Ijichi, who invites her to join Kessoku Band when their guitarist, Ikuyo Kita, flees before their first show. Soon after, Bocchi meets her final bandmate—the cool bassist Ryou Yamada. Although their first performance together is subpar, the girls feel empowered by their shared love for music, and they are soon rejoined by Kita. Finding happiness in performing, Bocchi and her bandmates put their hearts into improving as musicians while making the most of their fleeting high school days. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

5. Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (Rating: 9/10 - 12 Episodes - Winter 2022)

Genres: Romance, Slice of Life, Otaku culture, School, seinen

Synopsis: High school student Wakana Gojou spends his days perfecting the art of making hina dolls, hoping to eventually reach his grandfather's level of expertise. While his fellow teenagers busy themselves with pop culture, Gojou finds bliss in sewing clothes for his dolls. Nonetheless, he goes to great lengths to keep his unique hobby a secret, as he believes that he would be ridiculed were it revealed. Enter Marin Kitagawa, an extraordinarily pretty girl whose confidence and poise are in stark contrast to Gojou's meekness. It would defy common sense for the friendless Gojou to mix with the likes of Kitagawa, who is always surrounded by her peers. However, the unimaginable happens when Kitagawa discovers Gojou's prowess with a sewing machine and brightly confesses to him about her own hobby: cosplay. Because her sewing skills are pitiable, she decides to enlist his help. As Gojou and Kitagawa work together on one cosplay outfit after another, they cannot help but grow close—even though their lives are worlds apart. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

#romantic killer #the case study of Vanitas part 2 #mob psycho 100 3 #bocchi the rock!

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2022grimoirechallenge · 2 years

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May Week 3 - Shadow Work and Retrograde

Hello hello everyone and welcome to another week of the 2022 Grimoire Challenge! This week we’re gonna be looking into Shadow Work and its part in our personal lives and in our practice! As well as that dreaded Mercury Retrograde, along with some other fun topics!

So, without further posturing on my part, let us begin!

Part 1 - What is Shadow Work?

Make a page in your lab notebook, or journal, whichever is fine, where we’re going to define shadow work. What is it? Where did it start? Who coined the term? What are ‘shadows’? Dig deep into what shadow work is, before jumping into doing it.

Now that we know what it is, how do we perform shadow work? What are some methods for doing it? How does one go about facing their shadows? What can we learn and unlearn from doing shadow work? What things can be helpful or harmful when performing shadow work?

The more you know about shadow work, the world you live in, and yourself, the better you’re going to be at performing shadow work. This can be a heavy topic and a difficult thing to perform. Make sure you’re ready to truly observe and look at yourself and your life/ choices before you jump into the next part.

Part 2 - Facing the Shadows

Now that you know what shadow work is, and a little about how to go about it. This part of the challenge is going to be to start some shadow work. I say start, because doing shadow work isn’t a one off, one time, one day thing. It is a process that can take days, months, or even years.

So after looking up what shadow work is, what things in your life do you need to work on. What shadow work do you need to do in your own life?

Start the process now, or whenever you feel ready. We’ll circle back to this topic a few times through the rest of the year to see what progress we have all made!

Part 3 - Meditation/ Journal

This goes along with the above. When you start your shadow work, meditate on it, and then journal where you’re at mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually at the start of this process. How do you feel? Why do you feel that way? Where do your thoughts and emotions linger? How do your actions follow suit and/ or need to change?

Take time to do this. Sit with yourself, truly sit with yourself and look long and hard at yourself in the mirror both literally and metaphorically, in an attempt to better understand yourself.

Growth and change happens slowly over time, both good and bad, and in order for our shadow work to be successful we must take the time to look inward and outward to see ourselves in our personal world and in the greater world and the effects those two things have on one another and how they influence each other.

Part 4 - That Damned Retrograde

So this doesn’t have to be specific to Mercury Retrograde, but since it is currently in the stars, why not look it up. What is it? What does it mean? How does it work? What/ who does it affect and how?

How often does it occur? Do you feel it? Or are you only aware of it when someone else mentions it?

What stock do you take in astrology, if any? Do you feel the stars truly influence us or is it all arbitrary? I’m not one to judge anyone’s beliefs about anything, and this challenge is about helping you form a basis to grow from within our craft. So, use this as a baseline to build on to your beliefs, a place to start or continue learning from. The more we understand about ourselves, the better.

Part 5 - Navigating Planetary Changes

How do you navigate changes in the planetary alignments? Do they influence your life at all? Is it an actual thing, or do you feel a belief in the thing creates the chaos it inspires?

What other planetary movements do you know of? What others do you wish to know about? Make a list and look them up. What planetary alignments do you feel most connected and drawn to? How do they influence you?

Take your time with this one. Astrology is a huge topic to cover. So don’t feel obligated to limit this to one single day, or even one single page!

Part 6 - Fun activity

Since summer is basically here, get outside. Pick some flowers, Take a walk. Go for a swim! Plant something in your garden if you have one! Eat some fresh fruit. Lay in the grass and feel the sun on your skin. Just go enjoy being outdoors for a few minutes.

Enjoy this week’s challenge prompts and look forward to more!

-Mod Hazel

#2022 grimoire challenge #grimoire #grimoire challenge #witch #witchcraft #paganism #pagan #Witch challenge #witchy #witchy challenge #witchcraft challenge #book of shadows #2022 gc

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jasper-pagan-witch · 2 years

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Does anyone know what happened with @2022grimoirechallenge? I haven't heard anything from that blog since May - and last I heard, their family had caught Covid but they were recovering.

#just my luck that the first time i follow a year long challenge that this happens #2022 grimoire challenge #2022grimoirechallenge

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life-in-the-garden · 2 years

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2022 grimoire challenge, week one

here are the first week's prompts of this witchy challenge if you want to see them for yourself. These prompts and this year's challenge in general are designed for intermediate-level witches. I am in some sort of nebulous "semi-confident beginner" stage where I want to attempt more challenging things but am not sure I'll be able to perform them gracefully. Therefore, I'll be doing both the 2019 challenge (aimed at beginners) as well as this one. You can see the first part of my 2019 challenge here.

I'm extremely late for this challenge, because my university semester has been kicking my butt, but Spring Break is finally here so I can do something other than homework. Let's get into the actual spellwork, shall we?

2022 prompt 1.1 - create your lab notebook/grimoire

a "lab notebook" refers to all of the notes that one takes before, during, and after the process of executing experiments using the scientific method. A grimoire can be much the same, but the experiments are spells instead.

I decided to use google docs as my lab notebook, since it's easy to edit/organize and I have access to it just about wherever I go. (Note: I do have a physical grimoire in a bound notebook, but that's more for witchy musings, tarot records, and the occasional note-taking spree; I don't draft spells in there).

2022 prompt 1.2 - design your own spell

Okay, this is where I initially started to despair. I've never made my own spell before, mostly because I have some serious self-confidence issues. I understand the basic principles, but I've been afraid to actually do original spellwork; I'm terrified that the magic just won't work because I'm somehow inherently flawed as a person and/or inferior in some way. (It sounds silly when I write it out like this and can read my own thoughts in this post, but I swear it's true).

Ultimately, I decided to just dive in and do my best.

I recently saw "The Green Knight" (2021) movie with my partners, and was impressed with Gawain's struggle with his ideal for himself as a courageous, honorable knight vs. his fear of death. I wanted to use the Arthurian legend and its movie adaptation as the basis for a spell, and I started jotting down my ideas in Google Docs around the theme of inspiring courage in oneself. This is still very much a WIP, but I came up with:

name: Spell for Gawain's Courage (working title)

genre: pop culture witchcraft

ideas: spell jar vs. charm bracelet vs. sigil

Each of the ideas have pros and cons.

A spell jar requires a jar (which I have) as well as ingredients (I have some of the ingredients I'd like to use, but I would need to buy others). My biggest concern is time, since I'm already late for this challenge and sourcing ingredients from Etsy would be too much waiting.

A charm bracelet adheres very well to the symbolism of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (in the story, Gawain has an enchanted green belt that protects him from harm). However, I have none of the jewelry-making supplies that I need on hand, which means buying beads, charms, cordage, and a clasp... none of which will arrive quickly enough, but which will altogether cost upwards of 30 USD.

A sigil is something I have all necessary materials for, such as green ink and paper. Unfortunately, my itch to make lasting things decries this option as overly simplistic and insufficiently compelling.

In the interest of time, however, I think I'll go with a sigil. Mod Hazel mentions in this post that we shall return to old prompts over the course of the 2022 challenge, so I'll buy some items that have symbolic value not limited to this particular spell, such as oak leaf charms and bloodstone beads, which will be useful even if my ideas change or I switch to a different kind of spell.

Timing - Because "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (in both the original story and its movie adaptation) is a Christmas story, it takes place very close to the winter solstice. Because the plot of the movie symbolizes Gawain's symbolic death as a cowardly person and his rebirth as a courageous and honorable knight of the Round Table, I think that performing this spell under the dark/new moon would be best. The longest (and darkest) night of the year symbolizes the inner darkness of our deepest fears, which need to be illuminated by the flame of courage.

....unfortunately, the solstice and the new moon have passed, but I don't want to put off this spell, so I'm going to do it anyway. Fear can strike even without a cover of literal darkness, so I think that timing isn't the most important aspect of this particular spell.

Location - I'm a closet witch whose parents don't look too closely into my affairs, so I have some freedom to practice but not a lot. I don't have a dedicated workspace or altar yet. Location isn't an important aspect of this spell either.

Materials - This spell will require a candle. I'm choosing to use a green chime candle, since the color green (in the context of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight") is very important here. I'll also be using paper, some green India ink, and a size 0 watercolor brush to draw my sigil.

Method - I'm going to draw the sigil representing my fears, light the candle, meditate on my intention (or at least try to) of overcoming my fears while watching the candle burn down, then gather my energy and burn the sigil before the candle completely burns out.

I'm really nervous.

2022 prompt 1.3 - perform your original spell

I designed my sigil to look like the Green Knight's axe, for which Gawain must kneel and accept the blow that he expects to sever his head from his neck and end his life.

The candle is burning down and I'm trying to meditate, but my cat is desperate to get inside my room and is mewing and scratching at the door. I don't want to let her in, because the chime candle isn't in a holder and could be knocked over very easily. I can't meditate with this noise going on, so I'm going to just burn my sigil (in front of an open window) and call it quits.

Overall first "proper" spell experience? 4/10

I need to invest in proper chime candle holders, I think.

#2022 grimoire challenge #baby witch #witchling #sol's grimoire #sigil making #sigil magic #fledgling witch #witchcraft #witchblr

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