#you obviously have rules but magic is a fun way to bend those rules.

[dreamofjoys]

DAY 2 KINKTOBER 2023

7 min in heaven? More like 7 days inside you!

Main Masterlist + Rules / Next Day of kinktober (3)

A/N: Please read the rules on my kinktober 2023 main masterlist before proceeding. Rule breakers will be blocked.

Characters involved (separated): Malleus draconia(TWST), Wriothlesly(Genshin), Ayato(Genshin), Nanook(HSR), Luo Cha(HSR)

Sypnosis: After getting officially married, you and your husband decided to finally go to your long awaited 7 days honeymoon in a resort at private island specially reserved by your husband! Those 7 days were meant to be fun and relaxing, but why are you so tired by the end of it?

C/W: Fem reader (reader is wearing a sundress), public cockwarming, malleus making his pp bigger(magic?), cursing in nanook's part, groping

BY OPENING THE TAB BELOW, YOU CONSENT TO READ DC/SMUT WRITING + HAVE READ THE RULES

Day 2 Scenario

You and your husband had decided to wake up early on the next day to watch the sunrise while eating the buffet breakfast in the resort's dining lounge. As expected, there was no other guest other than the both of you. The area was quiet with only the chefs busy cooking and a few servers standing by to assist whatever that the both of you need. "You are dismissed, we will call you if we need anything." The servers bowed in respect and retreated to their assigned stations after being instructed by your husband. You eyed at the desserts hungrily, mind already planning on what you will be eating. Admiring the sunrise while eating breakfast with your husband sounds like the most peaceful way to start the morning. However, your husband has some funny ideas in mind, which may not be so peaceful....... "Uh- Mu-must we do this here? At this timing?" You stuttered, trying to shift and stand up from husband's lap but he was quick to pull you down, cock slamming back into your pussy. "Mhmm why not? It's not like they will come in and disturb us." "But it's so obvious that we are doing something- AH!" You screeched when your husband jerks his hips up, the tip of his cock deliciously hitting onto your cervix. Your husband had you sitting on his lap, your sundress lifted up just to your waist. Your panties were pulled aside while he unzipped his flyer, freeing his gigantic girth and inserting it inside your cunt. Afraid that someone will catch the both of you, you tried pulling down your dress a little to cover up the indecent act, making it seem like you were purely just sitting on your husband's lap. Just as you were about to scold him, he starts pulling out the innocent card. "Pretty please? Cockwarm me while we enjoy breakfast?"

𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗨𝗦 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗔

Really, who are you to deny the soon-to-be the king of Briar Valley? His pouty lips and puppy dog eyes had you giving up on your resolve and go with his flow. Malleus was obviously happy seeing you give up and stab at your poor food with the fork, probably worried that someone will catch the both of you doing the dirty deed.

"Is my wife worried that someone will catch us?" Malleus nuzzles into your neck while hugging your waist. He inhales your scent, not even bothered by the fact that you didn't respond to him and just focusing on eating. "I'll make this good for you." He says, and you feel his cock growing bigger and bigger inside you, the tip already touching onto your womb and threatening to intrude in while his girth stretches your insides deliciously. You choked back a moan, trying not to attract anyone but it's been proving hard when all you want him do right now is to bend you down and fuck you.

𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗟𝗬

"This is a violation of Fontaine's law-"

"But we are not in Fontaine now, right?" Wriothlesly smirks at your defeated expression, hand reaching out to grab a sliced garlic bread, nudging it on your lips to open and eat it.

"What's so wrong with a couple eating breakfast together? There's no way we will go to jail for this." Wriothlesly diligently feeds you breakfast like a doting husband that he is, but if anything, he likes to tease you the most. He would fuck his cock in whenever you finish chewing the food, catching you off guard and letting a couple slips of moan out.

"H-hey! stop it!"

"Or what?"

"There's people outside!"

"I will just arrest them for looking at us if you are that scared."

𝗞𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧𝗢

You had known for a long time that Ayato is into cockwarming, simply because it was the best way to get intimate with you while he does his paperwork for the Yashiro commission. But still, you did not expect him to do this in public. And once again, you were unable to deny your husband's greedy request.

"Ah, you feel good there." Ayato murmurs, leaning back on the chair while he stares up at the ceiling, getting drunk off at the feeling of his cock being warmed by your pretty walls. He slips a hand under your dress, letting his fingers play with your clit like how he usually does. You moaned, subconsciously spreading your legs wider to give your husband more access to your sex.

"Of course, it is my duty to make my wife feel good too."

The food was left cold for 10 mins.

𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗢𝗞

"Fuck, you are definitely made for me." Nanook curses, hands gripping onto your inner thighs tightly just to keep you still on his lap. He could feel his head spinning at how tight and warm your walls feel around him. Sure, you were smaller in size as compared to him and he was worried for a moment if his cock alone would destroy your insides(literally) but it seems like he was just overthinking it.

"A-ah, do that again, pretty."

"D-do what?" Your face was flushed in deep red as you chewed on the bread, trying to ignore the fact that you were aroused by his words, and that your pussy just clenched and spasmed around him like crazy.

"You squeezed around me just now, do it again."

𝗟𝗨𝗢 𝗖𝗛𝗔

"This is quite an experience, won't you agree with me, honey?" Luocha comments while spreading his jam on the bread, unaware about your current predicament (or he at least pretends to).

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I-im fine." You were not fine at all. Your whole body is literally trembling like a leaf, mind a little fucked by your husband's cock nestling inside you.

He wasn't even doing anything! You clearly objected to this idea, but yet your the one now who seems horny and is desperate for a good fuck in the early morning. Instead of telling Luocha all this, you chose to bite back your tongue and eat your breakfast as planned.

"Mhm, sure." Luocha's large hands reached up to grope on your breast, giving it a few squeeze before returning back to his breakfast.

"I trust that you will tell me when you feel troubled."

Your breath hitches when you realised that he indeed know what you are craving for.

#kinktober 2023 #twisted wonderland #malleus draconia #dreamofjoystwst #imagines #diasomnia #y/n #twst malleus #twst smut #malleus draconia x reader #twst malleus smut #malleus smut #fem reader #nanook #nanook smut #hsr nanook #hsr nanook smut #honkai smut #honkai star rail smut #hsr luocha #luocha #hsr luocha smut #luocha smut #ayato smut #genshin impact smut #genshin x reader #ayato kamisato #ayato x reader #wriothesley smut #wriothesley x reader

[carrinth]

The (Re)Adventures of Marzel Amell

Sooooooo ok I ended up binge playing DA:O for the last two weeks. And it might as well have been a blind playthrough because I forgot almost everything ^_^;; Below are Carrinth's Random Observations or Things That Have Happened to Marzel (Redux):

DA armor is still ugly as sin. I'm sorry. Robes 4 lyfe.

Man I tell you, a single Heal spell makes ALL the difference. Especially early on when you don't have money or potions or skillz. Dying less apparently makes game moar fun! SHOCKING.

I have recruited Sten.

I have also recruited Shale for the first time. I love Shale. Shale is best rock. Squish me. (Not really pls don't Shale) DLC ftw!

Sten really, really, REALLY likes my warden this time wtf. His affection is the HIGHEST of everyone, second only to dog. I have no idea how that happened. O_O I just RP-ed Marzel as being very indifferent to Sten. "I'm not here to impress you, bruh." Sten is a tsundere confirmed.

I did the FADE quest. Again. I told myself it wasn't as bad this round and that I'm fine but obviously I'm not fine but you just have to hold it in and my bags are full of junk and I need to sell them bcos I needs the money but I can't leave pls pls let me out LET ME OUT!2111

Wynne talking about what makes an abomination made me have Anders/Justice feels. "If one retains one's humanity, one is not an abomination." 😥

Still bff with Jowan. We bros for life. Alistair didn't like that.

"Teagan! Who iZ dis mAN?" Idk but the second round I really enjoyed her voice-acting. She's a distraught mother close to hysterics. It's amazingly hilarious and compelling! <3

Wait. Wait. I totally forgot about Connor. So wait. We CAN CURE demonic possession??? I thought it was permanent?! No way of saving but death via a pokey sword yadda yadda?? Omg is this one of those 'we could cure you but it's too expensive and you can't afford it' scenarios? IT IS. Poor farmer's kid can't afford a pile of lyrium but if you're the son of an arl? No problem! Whole Circle bending over just to help you. Wow. Goddamn. Chantry/Circle seriously just kill mages because it's the cheaper alternative! >:O

MMmmmm. People say I should save Orzammar for last because it is harder. But. Oghren. But. Difficult. But OGHREN. But BROODMOTHER. DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THE SUFFERING OF DEEP ROADS?! .......... OGHREN. Marzel and friends died a lot. Mostly because I stubbornly wanted my party to consist of Oghren and Shale. That's like, two warriors ugh. We got by. Shale extra conversations were worth it ;)

Got Flemeth's grimoire for Morrigan. Formed a team made only of dude-bros to help Marzel get laid. Which meant they had to make do without any healing or bard song. I named them... the Snu Snu Squad (affectionate). Zevran died almost immediately. (Note: Dragon bum be dangerous position) Marzel stupidly killed his own self with blood magic while throwing his single Heal spell >_> MVP goes to Alistair for keeping alive long enough to whittle away Flemeth's health and died just exact moment Sten landed a killing blow. Grimoire was given and snu snu was had!

Marzel is in weird love triangle where all romancable persons love him. This cannot end well.

Why are there so many Desire demons? Holy crap, with the DLCs I have encountered no less than 4. Were there always this many?? Are Fereldans so horny?

People who challenge MAGES to duels deserve to die... from stupidity. I don't make the rules. You sir, have a pointy stick. Marzel can conjure blizzards and crushing barriers with his fingertips. We are not the same.

MANA CLASH IS OP.

Ok I just read codex that those Wild Sylvan trees are possessed by Rage demons?? Omg. They are Angry Trees. Low-key wanna see Justice fight Angry Trees while yelling about demons.

Haha I missed this game. Now onward to Sacred Ashes and moar stuff I can't remember!

#the return of marzel #ranting about dragon age again after a billion years #marzel amell #Dragon Age Stuff

[radioluminous]

now that the hype has died down... the witcher's (tv) magic seemed. really boring to me. visuals were probably as decent as you can get at that budget, but it felt pretty uninspired. definitely wanted to see more interesting takes on like. major powerful wizards. anything other than like lighting and teleportation/illusion magic.

#i saw owl house boards and i lost my shit and had to watch it. #its just like #you obviously have rules but magic is a fun way to bend those rules.

[the-dream-team]

Chlorine

A fluffy little one-shot for @efkgirldetective's summer of jily week two prompt: swimming with friends // Today we're younger than we're ever gonna be <3

“What in Merlin’s name is that smell?” gagged Sirius, bringing his towel up to cover his nose.

Mary swotted him with a bright green foam noodle. “That’s just the chlorine, you knob. It’s a chemical Muggles use to keep the water clean.”

“The water’s not clean?” squeaked Peter, his beady eyes widening.

“Take a look around Pettigrew,” laughed Mary, gesturing wildly. “There are about a trillion little kids running around with saggy trunks and juice-stained mouths, it’s not exactly the Prefect’s bathroom here.”

The group of teenagers took a moment to survey their surroundings. Sirius was right, the thick summer air reeked of chlorine wafting from unnaturally electric blue swimming pools, packed with screaming children, brightly colored floaties, and haggard parents. Behind the main pool, reaching up to the sky, stood two impressive slides, winding and bending in every direction before opening up into a smaller basin. Once every minute, the slide discarded a new, squealing child into the water with an eruptive splash.

Lily eyed the Muggle kids with some trepidation. “Are we too old to be here?” she asked, eyes shifting as she clutched her copy of Herbology for Potioneers a little closer to her chest. “It feels like everyone else is about a decade younger than us.”

“Don’t worry too much about that, Evans,” said James, a bright smile aimed in her direction. “Today we’re younger than we’re ever going to be, anyway!” He nudged her affectionately, resulting in a rosy hue that spread across her cheeks as their bare shoulders made contact.

“Alright,” announced Remus after barely dodging a rogue beach ball, “let’s find a place to put our towels before these buggers realize we’re easy targets.”

They managed to snag a row of plastic lounge chairs beside the wave pool to dump their belongings on before Sirius set his sights on the towering waterslides across the park.

“You said these slides were crazy fast, right MacDonald?” Sirius asked, a dangerous gleam in his eye.

“They’re the fastest in Britain,” grinned Mary, tossing her sunnies aside. “And you get some serious air on your way out, it’s the closest thing Muggles have to flying, I’d argue.”

Lily tensed and quickly diverted her attention to her book, though her eyes remained still as she stared at the pages. Almost no one noticed her sudden discomfort.

“That’s bloody brilliant,” grinned Sirius. “Last one to the top has to buy us a round of those mushie drinks.”

“They’re called slushies, Padfoot.”

“Call them whatever you want, Moony, but I want a blue one.” Sirius discarded his t-shirt onto a chair and kicked off his sandals in preperation. “Prongs, do you think we could convince the lifeguards to let us go down the slides together?”

But James wasn’t paying attention to Sirius. “Nah, go ahead without me,” he said, eyes trained on Lily as she continued intently staring at her book. “I think I’m gonna start out a little slower with the lazy river. Evans, care to keep me company?”

Lily’s eyes snapped up to see Sirius’ dropped jaw, Mary’s raised eyebrows, and James’ steady smile.

“Oh,” she said, her voice finding a higher octave than usual, “sure, I could join you.”

“Fine,” grumbled Sirius, pulling the others along with him, “but I’m coming to find you at that dopey river after our first round on the slides. I won’t let you be boring all day, Prongs.”

James shrugged, barely paying the others any mind as he extended a hand to Lily. She watched their friends saunter off before accepting his help to stand up.

“Hold on there, Evans,” said James, plucking her book from her hands and tossing it back onto their pile of towels, “I can’t have you doing homework; today is all about having fun!”

“Then why aren’t you going with the others to the slides?”

He paused, considering her question with a smile. “Because you’re way more fun than a couple of waterslides.”

Before she had a chance to respond, James pulled her away from the chairs and towards the center of the park, their bare feet slapping against sizzling cement as they navigated around young children and indifferent lifeguards.

The lazy river lived directly across from the concession stand, perfectly situated for parents who wanted to keep an eye on their floating kids while they enjoyed a cool beer and a basket of hot chips. The river wound itself around an impressive structure resembling a fairytale castle, complete with canons that sprayed water onto passerbys and waterfalls that poured over plastered mountainsides and into its surrounding moat.

At the water’s edge sat a pile of tubes, growing hot under the unrelenting midday sun. James released Lily’s hand to secure them two floats, missing her subtle disappointed huff at the loss of his grip when he turned his back on her. But by the time he handed over her tube, she’d managed to rearrange her face into a neutral smile.

“After you, Evans,” he said with a little bow, extending an arm towards the gently rolling river.

She rolled her eyes at the exaggerated chivalry, but stepped forward nonetheless, carefully placing her tube in the water and lowering herself into the center. The water, cool and refreshing, lapped against her backside and kissed her heels as she hung her legs over the tempered rubber.

James took a different approach, choosing to throw his own tube unceremoniously into the water before giving himself a running start to cannonball onto it. Lily screeched as he nearly jumped directly on top of her.

“You prat!” she laughed, splashing water on his face, covering his glasses in little droplets.

“You know you love me,” he teased, a glint in his eye.

The pink glow that spread across her cheeks could have passed as a light sunburn, but the way James’ eyes flashed suggested he’d picked up on the truth. His dimples appeared despite the attempt to keep his grin at bay.

“So, Potter,” she started, choosing to change the subject, “what drew you to the lazy river, other than the obvious similarities you share?”

James drove an imaginary dagger into his chest. “You wound me, Evans! But if you must know, I thought it’d be the perfect place to chat with you.”

If the river’s current hadn’t continued pulling them along, Lily might have thought time had stood still. “To chat?”

“Yeah,” he responded as though it were obvious, “the playground would be too noisy with all the kids running around, it seems like we would’ve spent more time underwater than above it at the wave pool, and the hot tubs are simply not weather appropriate.”

“With me?”

It was finally James’ turn to look surprised. “Of course! I’ve spent my whole summer mucking about with the boys, but I’ve hardly seen you since Peter’s party and I missed talking with you.”

Lily tried passing off her pleased burst of laughter as a scoff. “I always forget how forthright you are.”

“I’m an open book,” he replied, sticking her with a pointed stare she couldn’t see as she averted her own gaze, attempting to hide her growing blush he had already clocked.

“I wish I could be more like that,” she spoke to the distance, to the cloudless expanse of sky, hoping it would relay the message to the boy whose intertube continued bouncing rhythmically against her own as they traveled in endless circles.

“As a kid,” she continued, “I loved playgrounds. Gravity melted away when I sailed off swings and soared through slides, when my magic took over before I even knew what I was. But the uncontrollable flying always scared my parents, so when my family visited parks, I’d be kept on the sidelines, hidden away to avoid causing a scene. I guess I got pretty good at hiding.”

“Do you want help practicing?”

Lily jerked her attention back to James and his easy eyes, his ruffled hair. “What?”

“Do you want help practicing being an open book?” he repeated simply. “I happen to be an expert and I’d be happy to lend my talents.”

His cheeky grin earned him a light splashing and an only-slightly-exasperated huff. “You know what, fine. Teach me your ways, Potter.”

“Alright,” he said, eyes brightening as he adjusted his position on his tube to face her more fully, “we’ll start with easy questions and then get gradually harder from there. The only rule is that you have to answer honestly.”

Lily sunk slightly into the hole of her intertube, but nodded, resting her chin on her folded arms, fingers mindlessly dipping in and out of the passing water below.

“First off, who is your best friend?”

“That’s your easy question?” Lily guffawed.

“What?” asked James, watching her curiously. “I already know the basics. Your favourite colour is forest green, you like chocolate biscuits best, and your sister is a piece of work. Now, who is your best friend?”

“Mary, I guess?” said Lily, brows furrowed slightly. “We immediately clicked since we first met, what with us both being Muggleborn, and after Sev was out of the picture…”

“I’m familiar with this part,” James grimaced, his focus shifting to his fingernails. “So, next question. If you had to be sorted into a different house, which one would you choose?”

“Hufflepuff,” she responded without blinking. “Closest to the kitchens, obviously. Next question.”

“Respectable,” he chuckled. “How about… do you prefer Butterbeer or Firewhiskey?”

She paused, catching his eye for longer than she’d planned. “You probably already know the answer.”

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards with a jolt of hope. “Butterbeer spiked with Firewhiskey?”

“Butterbeer spiked with Firewhiskey.”

James leaned forward slightly, his arm extending absentmindedly to reach for the cloth handles on Lily’s tube to pull her closer. “Like the ones we made at Peter’s birthday party last month?”

Their hands mingled together in the water between their tubes, pruned fingers brushing against each other as the current pushed them together. “Exactly like the ones from Peter’s birthday.”

He was near enough to count every sunkissed freckle spattered across her nose. She could practically fall into his growing dimples.

“Oi, Prongs!” came the disappointing voice of Sirius Black from the concession stand’s picnic tables. “You can’t hide from us all day, mate!”

“Maybe not,” James called back, a lopsided smirk sliding across his face, “but I can try!”

Before Sirius had a chance to respond, James sunk through the center of his intertube and disappeared under the water’s surface. Lily peered into the river, wondering if he could have possibly brought his Invisibility Cloak with him to the park, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted when a hand grabbed her ankle under the water. It tugged lightly, willing her out of her tube and into the depths of the lazy river.

Once fully submerged in the water, Lily squinted her eyes open to see her new surroundings, blue like the sky with ripples of sunlight refracting through the flowing stream, circular shadows overhead from the tubes they left on the surface, roaming away like drifting clouds searching for different horizons. A hand found her arm and spun her around, bringing her face to face with James, his glasses attempting an escape into the river’s flow, tiny air bubbles escaping through his nose and growing smile.

He pulled her across the width of the river, through a shower of bubbles from the underside of a waterfall, and into still water again before finally leading them both to the surface. They broke back into the world with gasping breaths and laughter, finding themselves in a dark, quiet alcove behind one of the castle’s waterfall features. The lazy river continued on as they stood together in their hidden cave, separated only by a wall of tumbling water. Despite no longer being pulled by the river’s current, the two found themselves drifting closer and closer to one another.

“Do you have any more questions?” asked Lily, her whisper echoing around and joining in with the soft roar of the waterfall.

James tried to control the beating of his heart, which must have been reverberating all around their little retreat based on how loudly he heard it pounding in his ears.

He cleared his throat. “Did you want me to kiss you that night at Peter’s party?”

She inhaled sharply. “Yes. Next question.”

“Do you want me to kiss you now?”

“Yes.”

She barely got the word out before James’ lips found hers, crashing down like a wave against the shore, pulling them into a riptide of racing hearts, fluttering eyelashes, and sighing breaths. They kissed and kissed and kissed until their heads spun, either drunk off the thrill of new beginnings or thoughts of Firewhiskey-spiked Butterbeer. Or possibly it was the intoxicating combination of magic mixed with chlorine.

#summerofjily #jily fic #jily #i wanted to float on a lazy river #so i decided to live vicariously through lily and james #emma these prompts are so good!! #this was super fun #and also the perfect distraction from the excessively depressing remus chapter of tiny photographs #lily evans #james potter #yada yada yada #<3

[wilted3sunflowers]

characters made for @oznitus​ dorm, ling already knows Mara but now they also get to meet the new group on the block

They all hail from The Emerald Plains 

Mara Malice Species: human Inspired by: Madam Morrible  Height: 5′7″ Age: 21 Favorite Food: salt water taffy Hated Food: Corn [popcorn is the only corn allowed]  Fun Fact: Would have been part an important family but her father ran off with his “true love” in poverty instead of just marrying who he was arranged with. Mara doesn’t know this.  Unique Magic: The Fates Design She can set the goal and things will fall into place, if its further into the future or a very hard to accomplish goal it will take a lot of magic, and even saps magic from her a bit for each day as fate gets rolling into place like she wanted. so shes not seen doing a lot of magic, especially if she has plans going on behind the scenes. Most don’t know her unique magic. 

A teachers assistant that typically while helping grade and work on other things is stationed in Oznitus. Kind of like a baby sitter but not that Crowley would say that. She’s actually earned the nickname ‘mama’ from some more ornery students. As her first year being a teachers assistant she kind of wants to put the best example forward and typically will just say white lies.

“Oh no, Trien sir, i just passed those students in the library. Are you sure that it was them you saw? Come, let’s talk this out, i’d love to help you solve this mystery” taking his arm and leading him off meanwhile the students in question hiding under her desk or throughout the room just out of sight.  Actually has grown close friends with the main Oznitus trio, especially Mika who she talks a lot more casually with and interacting more with him like a best friend especially when off the clock so to say. Gets along well with Evett and Theo too.  Mika started a joke of telling the first years to call Mara and Evett ‘Mama’ and ‘Pops’ because they can be quite the more paternal of them trying to keep everyone in line and orderly 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Viridian Hunter Species: Human Inspired by: The gate keeper Height: 5′1″ Favorite Food: Filet Mignon Hated Food: Chocolate covered Cherries Year: 2nd Age: 18 Class: 2-D  Best Subject: Summoning Club: Light Music - he feels remiss they don’t actually practice their instruments much and a lot of it is just ‘socializing’  Fun Fact: Thinks women are amazing, it’s a common thought from the Emerald plains that the women are the more highly regarded ones. Typically better at magic than the others Though has that actually been put to the test? Where are those stats? How did they test the magic? Seems a bit of just another one of Viridian’s biases  Unique Magic: Lock and Key  He can make anything un-openable but also he can just as easily open anything he wishes with a magic formed skeleton key. He usually can’t open things enchanted though. he’s trying to see if he can though, he wants to see if he can eventually get to that level. 

Met Tsavorite while very young and actually was an orphan the family took in and while they technically adopted him it was very clear he was more of a live in friend because Tsavorite wanted him around. Playing a lot of dress up, playing fun games, telling Viridian to break some rules that were in place that usually would get Viridian so worried and wound up but bending to Tsavorites will to do as she asked and if he got caught Tsavorite would just coolly say “ I told him to.” and that was the end of the conversation. She has surprised him by saying this when he was caught once actually trying to sneak seconds in the middle of the night because he didn’t eat much that day from playing all day with Tsavorite. They sat there in the kitchen with Tsavorite eating with him after the staff made something fresh. It’s one of his most appreciated memories. 

He admires Tsavorite greatly and does anything she asks of him. To him Tsavorite can’t do wrong, he knows rules, he knows morallly that some of the things she does do....isn’t the best. But rules don’t apply to Tsavorite. He learned that one early on. 

He is more akin to a butler and handmaiden for Tsavorite, picking out outfits, getting them clean, making appointments, doing Tsavorites hair, he even bathes her as if she was a genuine princess that gets pampered. Though Berenice was the one to point out that was a bit ‘odd’ before Tsavorite hushed her and told her she could do it if she found it so ‘odd’ which had Berenice not saying another word on the matter. 

Viridian is slightly jealous of the fact Berenice seems to be the favorite, though he does sometimes wonder if it’s actual favoritism considering Berenice does get called ‘Little Kitten’ and petted often as if she was an actual pet and more closely scrutinized by Tsavorite if shes not groomed to the usual expectation and wearing what she told her to. Though he often shrugs this thought off to the back of his mind. After all he was Tsavorites doll first before Berenice came into the picture. Tsavorite cares about those close to her, even if she shows it in...odd ways. He’s sure of it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tsavorite Diona Proserpine Species: Human ( ? ) has some fae blood in her Inspired by: The Emerald City Height: 6′ 6″ Favorite Food: Green Apple slices with Caramel  Hated Food: Tapioca Pudding Year: 2nd Age: 19 Class: 2-E Best Subject: Magic Practice Club: Gargoyle research facility  Fun Fact: Doesn’t yet know how to genuinely interact with people on a personable level, even those closest to her don’t get the full her and her emotions she keeps locked tight. Kind of considers those closest to her more like pets or toys with appreciation but it feels there’s not actual thought of them as their own free willed people. She needs to work on this.  Unique Magic: Emerald Spires Creating dazzling green stone columns and working more and more each day to forming them into other shapes and see how far she can stretch them. She has successfully been able to make walls which, if you think about it, is just a horizontal column...kind of. 

Tsavorite Proserpine. A name that strikes fear into those of the Emerald Plains. Those who are smart enough to know who really runs the capital. Coming from a long family who’s said to even started the capital base of the Emerald Plains. Born with a Silver spoon in her mouth and treated more like royalty than just simply someone rich due to the power of both financials and magic prowess her and her family possesses. What Tsavorite wants, Tsavorite gets. 

She knows money and power get you everything and connections are how you strengthen keeping your station. She very much lives by the ‘Keep your enemies close’ rule but it should be no shock that Berenice and Viridian are the closest to her. While it may seem that she treats them as lackeys, those who actually have seen Tsavorite interacting with general working class staff and those who she’s not close to that Viridian and Berenice are obviously more favored by her with more ‘niceties’ given to them. 

Viridian is the one trusted fully to handle her appointments, her outfits, keeping everything organized and in place. He’s trusted enough that she knows he could never do anything of his free volition that would come at her. If something caused him to turn on her, she would no doubt know it was a fake or a spell that caused something like that to change 

Berenice she finds simply adorable, such a predator, such a beauty, Berenice has a lot of physical power but she’s just such a lap cat, its where she should be is what Tsavorite thinks of her. A powerful girl by her side, dressed looking cute how she likes. She thinks the meekness she can have is cute but finds her unique magic the most interesting aspect of her. Such contradictions in Berenice. It’s fun. She doesn’t fully trust Berenice though. Not yet. Not on Viridians level.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Berenice Kelly Lemongrass Species: Lion beast folk Inspired by: The cowardly lion Height: 5′10″ Favorite Food: Seared Ahi Tuna Hated Food: granola bars Year: 2nd Age: 19 Class: 2-B  Best Subject: Flying skills Club: Basketball Fun Fact: doesn’t originally hail from The Emerald Plains, her family moved there when she was 12  Unique Magic: Trapped Her magic inflicts psychological damage trapping people in their minds for a short period of time with fears and horrible memories coming back to eat at them. Rarely used longer than a few minutes, if used longer the victim will pass out, if used too long...they might not be the same person they were at the start. But she hasn’t used it that long and doesn’t know what might happen. 

The supposed Bodyguard of Lady Tsavorite and while she is strong she’s just...not cut out for being that intimidating or strong willed. Often more easily curling in on herself and doing whats told of her. Lady Tsavorite personally decided she’d be her ‘bodyguard’ even if her magic is more impressive than Berenice’s and can go on much longer using it than Berenice as well. Berenice does have genuine power and strength and does her best to keep it up. 

Lady Tsavorite typically calls Berenice pet names, but immediately shuts down others who try saying any pet name to Berenice. Her favorite to use is usually “Little Kitten”. It was Lady Tsavorite who chose how she gets her hair down and expressed to her to wear those cute bows and make up as well and what Lady Tsavorite says, goes. 

Berenice thinks Viridian is the favorite, Lady Tsavorite doesn’t snap at him for his outfits or make up but then again...he’s never out of proper attire or looking ‘sloppy’ or ‘messy’ but also she wonders just how close two people can be. She’d consider them the closest people two can be platonically really that it’s almost admirable but she can’t feel at ease with Lady Tsavorites behaviors sometimes. While its nice having her head pat and ears scratched always needing to be dressed to her standards is kind of tiresome and does get her worried to being a rough around the edges as she can be sometimes as she likes to run and honestly she has a little bit of dramatic flair and has tried out for theatre. She’s quite good at getting into dramatic proses. 

#oznitus #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland oc #my art #twisted oc #twst oc #twisted wonderland oznitus #mara malice #Viridian Hunter #berenice lemongrass #tsavorite proserpine #tsavorite needs to be a better person #viridian needs to stop being a tool for tsavorite #berenice well she can do better

[elmflowers]

New writing challenge I just write in a Tumblr post and post the result.

[story below the cut it's witch au tommy]

It's been a very very long time since anything lived here.

Nothing was supposed to live here in the first place, just happenstance and incredibly stubborn characters forcing their way into the forest clearing that could not have screamed danger more than it did now. Saying fuck you, I want to live here. I'm going to build a sick shack. The fuck are you (nebulous and malicious beings) going to do about it?

And the clearing with it's dainty flowers and two short trees, one big, and the small pond in the middle with the lilypads, could not have cared less. The beings that would live there, that took the chance to be that ballsy, already knew the malice that came with the place. Young witches trying to become more powerful made up quite a few of the previous tenants.

They knew how cruel this place was and still tried to make it home. It didn't work, obviously, thus why there's nothing that lives here anyways.

And then, one afternoon identical to all of the rest, it changed.

There was a new person, a young boy wearing a witch's hat dressed in red and white. Blonde hair and bright neon blue eyes, with an expression looking focused and tense, he walked into the clearing with a guitar case slung over his shoulder and a red and white composition ruled notebook tucked under his arm.

The clearing, if it could, raised it's eyebrow minutely up. It's been a while since a intrepid witch came to try and tame the place. Apparently, it had been considered quite the challenge among witches. None quite strong enough to bend the land to their will and make a companion out of the malice.

He looked around the clearing. There wasn't much there, nice grass, a small pond front and center with a big tree growing next to it, another smaller tree on the other side with a similarly sized small tree near it.

He grinned to himself.

"Oh yeah. The great Tommy, witch of many, very manly things, has got the best project yet." Smiling wide, he slung the guitar case off of his shoulder and set it on the floor.

"Tommy" was the name of this tenant, huh? Well, he seems awfully sure of himself. The clearing thinks that this one might be fun to watch try his best. And fail regardless.

Opening the case, he brings out a tent that should not have conceivably fit within it. But it did anyways because magic doesn't work with "conceivables" and "inconceivables".

The clearing watches from it's many hidden eyes as the kid sets up shop. Getting out the tent fabric and poles, setting it up wrong the first time and being forced to redo the process, cursing as the rock he grabbed from the clearing (oh so rudely, may it add) accidently hit his fingers while nailing in the stakes, the works.

The tent is under the big tree and emits a warm glow from inside. A beacon of kindness, harmonizing with the soul of the young witch.

And really, young is the best word to describe him. He couldn't've been older than thirteen, practically a new fledgling leaving the nest (quite literally, too. Witches tend to forge their own identity and leave home at thirteen). Bright eyed and slightly unsure in his movements but genuine nonetheless.

This place was going to kill him.

He hums a short tune while sitting himself down by the water. Opening the notebook, he motions with his hand like he's magically pulling out something, and a empty glass bottle stretches out like a smear frame, and pops into existence. Grabbing the bottle in midair (fumbling a little but that's a detail only for Tommy and the clearing to know), he bottles a bit of the pond water.

He repeats the same bottle creation technique, and the wildflowers and grass can't help but be a little impressed. His magic is very strong, just in need of a little refining is all.

Instead of bottling pond water this time, he start putting in petals of water lilies, wildflowers, blades of grass, leaves from the old willow, bits of rock, and whatever else he could get his hands on. The bottles were lined up nice and neat like soldiers ready for battle on his guitar case.

He then closed his notebook (at this point the clearing assumes it's his grimoire) and then opened it again as if he was opening a laptop and. No, the book is straight up now working like a laptop. It still looks like a notebook, but the top page is now like a laptop screen and the bottom page has a keyboard with buttons overlayed on the page. It looks like the page is projected onto a keyboard, or if the page was stretched over it like lamination.

Tommy clicks away at the notebook-laptop, turning his body to face the line of bottles and setting the seeing glass (hung in the notebook as a bookmark, presumably) as if it was a camera, and then returning both hands to the keyboard.

A large mouse cursor appeared in the air in front of him, seemingly projected from the seeing glass still hanging in the air where Tommy set it. Selecting all of the bottles in front of him like apps on a computer and dragging it back towards the computer until it landed in with a "krr-THUNK".

Some more clicking, he seemed satisfied with his work. He closed the grimoire and set it within the Mary Poppins guitar case.

He's been quietly talking to himself the entire time, laughing at his own jokes. The clearing has been tuning the one sided conversation out, until it suddenly stops and there's a sound missing.

He looks over the horizon at the setting sun and frowns.

He pulls out the grimoire again, ripping off a tab of paper from a bigger piece (much like those adverts with phone numbers attached) and threw it on the ground.

It spontaneously combusted.

Tommy doesn't pay it any mind as the fire started to create a campfire and tended to itself, while he pulled out a cauldron from the guitar case and bottles of stuff from the notebook.

Setting the cauldron over the fire, he set about uncorking the bottles. The clearing realizes that those are the bottles he used to capture some of the clearing's stuff, like the pond water and petals.

He dropped in a bit of everything, half a cup of pond water, a couple of petals, one daisy, etc. Until the cauldron was boiling and gurgling, ready to be cast.

Tommy whispered to the cauldron something no one could hear, not even the clearing. The mixture swelled until it popped into a. Pineapple and steak sandwich.

Tommy grimaced. Okay, he probably should've expected that for a first location meal in a new place. And especially this clearing.

He took a bite of the sandwich. He hates it. He takes another.

"One day, you will be my land." He says to the clearing while chewing his sandwich. "One day you will be my companion."

It's been a long time since anything lived here.

It cant wait to see how long this one lasts.

#elm rambles #dsmp #tommyinnit #my art #i shoukd make a tag for this #in case if i do anyting more with ut #tommy clearing au #yep that works #no beta no proof resdung didnthisball in one go

[crossoverworldtree]

Psychic Powers

Many psychic powers have been covered before, but few of the Cinematic ones are present. To be honest, Psychic Powers are just the sci-fi writers’ way of saying "Magic". A Magical Philosophy (Described eslewhere) can work and fully cover the abilities given to Psychics throughout fiction with ease.

But for those who want to maintain the Psychic-Magic-Ki distinctions, here are some qualities to do that.

Combat Visions (6 Point Quality, Pre-requisite (Supernatural Senses, Magic, Telepathy, or similar quality))

Using your secondary senses, the character gains an added insight against their enemies, granting them a +2 bonus to combat against them. Without this quality, a mental action must be spent to gain this insight with a Perception and Notice or Magic and Notice roll. Depending on the senses, the creatures targeted may be immune or resistant to it (such as Robots and the Undead being immune to Telepathy).

Hypnosis/Mesmerism

Just as a note, double the cost to hypnotize more than one person at a time (Roll Willpower (Doubled) to figure how many are affected (Int per Success Level)). Otherwise, one mental action is needed per target.

Remote Viewing (4-Point Quality)

The ability to see events and places over long distances. This usually requires meditation lasting at least several minutes. A Perception and Notice test is needed to determine what is seen and how far off.

1: The range is only 1 Yard per Perception level. 2: 10 Yards per Perception Level. 3: 100 Yards per Perception level 4: 500 Yards per Perception level. 5-9: SL Miles per Perception Level. 10+: 50 Miles per Perception level

A second Intelligence (Doubled) test is needed to recall all the information gathered. Use the Psychometry chart in Angel for this.

-Kinesis

These qualities all use Telekinesis are their basis, and unless contradicted, operate on the same wavelength.

Bio-Kinesis: 5 points per level

Bio-Kinetics are better called Protein Kinetics. But they do horrible things to animal life with just the merest thought or wonderful things. Bio-Kinetics can heal 2 damage per SL in a Willpower + BK test or deal Armor-ignoring damage to any target within range at the same rate. This is extremely painful and forces a Willpower + Constitution + Resistance (Pain) or Resistance (Powers) test against the attack roll to avoid being paralyzed with screaming pain. Biokinetics naturally heal slightly better than regular humans. Where they heal their constitution per day of rest, they heal their Constitution + Biokinetics level. It's very tempting for BKs to make minute changes in the body to cause massive harm, but the limits are what they are. Unless they have X-Ray Microscopic vision, targeting small parts to cause heart attacks and strokes is a no-go. What occurs when a BK attack is mass spectrum rupturing of cells that are insanely hard to focus. Strokes and heart attacks are the results of powerful BK attacks.

Electro-Magnetic Kinesis: 3 Points per level

This ability has had some stuff on it before, but I'll expand here. This is an Energy-manipulating ability that can also affect metals. On its own, it can create EM Shields (AV SL x 2/SL x 4 vs. Metal) or create sparks of energy dealing SL Electrical Damage at pistol ranges, and forcing electronics to make Constitution (or equivalent) rolls against the attack roll to resist shut down. Alternatively, against the flesh, it can be used to create a stream of stunning electrical current (resisted by either Con x 2 or Con + Will), putting a -2 to all actions for SL turns, dealing 1 damage per SL. This also halves the damage of an electrical attack.

When using Metals, it works like TK, but shields made of metal are either 3 x SL in AV or 4 x SL, depending on if it's a soft metal (like Gold or Copper) or a harder material (lead, iron, or steel).

It also has the basic abilities of material Kinesis types.

Material-Kinesis: 3 Points per level

Earth, Water, Air, and Wood. These elements are all commonly manipulated under the label of specific psychic powers. There are two ways to do this. One is to have TK with the Limited Use drawback applied once to the character. This is the more complex method.

The basic rule of being able to lift and manipulate SL Strength worth of material still holds, but in some cases, more fun can be had with the results.

Various constructs can be formed by manipulating the elements (each lasting 1 turn per level of Willpower per Success Level) to defend or attack enemies. This is also true of TK, but few Telekinetic see a need to do this out of sheer sloth and overconfidence.

To construct a weapon, she must decide what weapon she wants and gain enough success levels equal to the damage multiplier of the weapon. So, a pig sticker needs only 1 success level, but a claymore needs 5.

Each element has its own effects, and a subset element (such as paper) can have up to 3 points worth of special abilities in addition to the elemental abilities. Success Levels can be instead used by special abilities for the weapon, such as converting it to ranged (-3 Success levels) or other weapon modifiers expanded upon in other places, with 1 success level equal to 2 points. Making a rock spear Armor-Piercing would need 4 success levels.

Other items she can create (such as ride-able paper airplanes and ropes) are treated as transmutation spells, requiring the psychic to achieve a number of success levels equal to the cost of the spell effect as determined by the GM, but the time limit remains.

All elemental Kinetics need to have the material on hand to effect it, obviously.

Earthen Elements (Rocks, not metals) Are the sturdiest and toughest. Armor created with it varies depending on what's available. Soft materials (Sand, loose dirt) grant 2 x SL AV either as an armor constructor, or a quick shield. This increases to 3 x SL with softer rocks (Sandstone, mudstone) and 4 x SL for harder stones (Granite, Marble). All constructs grant a +1 to Strength when used. Outside of softer rocks, fine manipulation of sand and harder stones is done at a -2 Difficulty depending on the task. Soft materials have trouble forming hard weapons and objects/barriers well, and hard rocks have problems moving and being flexible/fast.

Water is the most common natural liquid manipulated. Controlling other liquids is possible, but invokes the limited use options. Changing water between its elemental forms takes only a single action. Water grants 3 points when forming bizarre weapons and abilities for its constructs instead of 2. Shields erected with water grant 3 x SL armor.

Air is the weird one. Because it's everywhere, there's always enough of it, but because it's invisible, it grants a +2 to all combat actions taken with it. When forming armor and defenses with it, though, it only provides 1 AV per SL or can be used to deflection bonus for other defense actions (1/2 SL added to the attempt).

Plants or Chlorophyll are also pretty weird. Wood and even green plants can provide the user with 3 x SL AV when used defensively. The Chloro-Kinetic can, however, generate and promote/restrict plant growth to always have the force they need (Depending on the species). This grants them a very effective green thumb and can even force plants to flower or produce fruits with simple tests.

Umbrakinesis – This strange ability manipulates darkness. It works as Telekinesis but has penalties or bonuses based on how much darkness there is around them. High Noon sunlight or being under a spotlight puts a -5 to the tests. Indoor Lightning puts things at -3. A windowed room with the lights off is at 0.

A room with the lights off and the blinds closed grants a +1. A night street in a city grants a +3. Midnight in the middle of the wilderness far from any city grants a +5.

By bending shadows, it can also provide a bonus to hiding, at +1 per 2 Success levels. Like Telekinesis, it can be maintained for several rounds.

Technopathy (5-Points per Level Quality)

You ARE a WIFI hotspot.

You can connect to electronic devices with your mind. This generally is limited to the normal operations of such devices. It works off similar ranges and attributes to Telepathy, but machines without AI do not really resist. Anti-Virus programs can interfere with your ‘hack’ of more advanced electronics (Difficulty set by the GM, usually negating 1 to 4 success levels depending on complexity) to similar results of a failed telepathy check. And Viruses can affect your mind if you aren't careful (resisted by Willpower).

Some Technopaths can power on devices when they were turned off. This is a Technopathy (not doubled) test to perform.

Telepathy (5-Points per Level Quality)

This functions as described in Angel, but each level extends the range and adds to all Telepathy rolls for each level beyond the first (range penalties apply, this describes the normal range). Use the basis set on the Supernatural Senses range chart.

1. Contact 2. 2 yards per Willpower 3. 10 yards per Willpower 4. 50 Yards per Willpower 5. 100 Yards per level of Willpower. Line of sight is no longer needed. 6. 200 Yards per level of Willpower. 7. 500 Yards per Willpower 8. 1 Mile per Willpower 9. 50 Miles per Willpower 10. 100 Miles per Willpower

Further, with a Willpower, Telepathy level, and Wild Card: Psychic Powers task, the psychic can attempt a psionic attack. This over-stimulates the brain and does minor damage, but largely is there to stun and knock out. This is resisted by a Willpower (doubled) roll from the target. On a failure, they must make a consciousness test against the attack or fall unconscious. If they remain conscious, all actions for a number of turns equal to the success levels of the attack, they are at a -1 penalty to all actions. If they pass the first roll, they just suffer a flat -1 to their actions for a full turn. This is an extremely draining move, no matter how powerful the telepath, it always incurs a -2 cumulative penalty to use which only dissipates when the psychic rests.

For extreme mental manipulations (altering memories and so on) an Intelligence + Telepathy + Wild Card (Psychic Powers) tasks are needed, but is hampered by the intelligence of the target (subtract target's intelligence from the roll) and is resisted by Willpower (doubled) roll. Simple minds are easy to influence, but the proud and the stubborn are difficult to manage (so qualities related to such things can be used to resist). Other factors and certain memory things can work to alter any such test.

If the roll fails, it deals the target's willpower in damage to the telepath from the backlash. Prepare for a nosebleed when this happens.

Psychics can defend against such attacks with a Willpower + Wild Card (Psychic Powers) task. Sorcerers and Mages can defend against Psychic attack/intrusion with a Willpower + Occultism + Magic test. Iron Mind, of course, negates it completely.

Note: messing with people’s memories is actually a HUGE DEAL with vast moral complications. Also, the White Council of Wizards may assume you’re a mage and try to chop off your head. This is less damaging than mental magic but still isn’t pretty or nice.

Telepathic Translator (5-Point Quality, Prerequisite: Telepathy)

You can make telepathic contact with a being and translate what they say automatically. This requires having the targets or the translation (for all parties) be in the range of the standard telepathic contact for its level. Once the link is established, the range it can be maintained is 3 steps higher than the Telepath’s normal level. Because it would be very awkward to hold a conversation while someone has a hand on both people’s heads.

Since the translation is automatic, nuance and details can be lost rather easily, though the full intent comes through. This does nothing for written languages.

#Powers #Abilities #Crossover Universe #Psychic

[goose-books]

darklingverse & magic

as promised! a look at the magical system in my speculative fiction loose-retelling-of-king-lear WIP, which you can find out more about here and here! this is a terribly, terribly long post, so i’m sticking most of it under a cut, but i can guarantee there are at least a few fun diagrams in there. (all character images used are from this picrew by cinnasmores!)

shoutout to waya @harehearts​ for helping me work out some of the kinks in this by asking incredibly helpful questions... waya i will untag you if you want i just wanted to appreciate your contribution. also going to tag @suits-of-woe​ because you mentioned wanting to see this!

Jasper’s dad talks about it like oil. Petroleum has to be refined before you can put it in your car. Unrefined, it’ll just as soon kill you as anything else. The natural clock ticks. A mage hits twelve, or thirteen, or fourteen. And then it’s roaring under their skin, like an electric volt, like a fever, burning in them, fighting tooth and nail to get out.

It always gets out. You pick the route. Or you don’t.

The first thing Vee ever learned was duplication. Small objects only. Jasper was crawling through stacks of post-it notes for weeks. It was like an illness: Vee would get too itchy, his magic nipping at his neck, and he’d clench his fists and then they’d have another goddamn stack of stickies. “He has to get it out somehow,” Dad had admonished Jasper, when he’d complained. “Otherwise it’ll hurt him. I do it, too. The difference is I’m useful.” And he had demonstrated by snapping his fingers and cleaning all the house’s dishes at once.

Jasper is loath to give his father props for anything. But he was, on that particular occasion, right. Within a year Vee could flick his hands and shut windows, heat leftovers, unlock doors, send laundry skittering across the floor into the hamper.

It makes sense; Vee’s an infuriatingly quick study, magically and academically. And he inherited their dad’s style of magic. Easygoing. Quiet. Unobtrusive. Less explosive, more creative. Nowadays the worst that happens when he gets hot under the collar is that he spawns another houseplant and Jasper has to brush the leaves off the kitchen table.

Because Vee followed Dad’s instructions. He annotated all of his textbooks. He mastered it early, by seventeen, because of-fucking-course he did, but he was already in control by fifteen. Everyone learns to control their magic eventually.

Most people do eventually.

— darkling, segment iv: control

okay so let’s get into this!!!

isn’t darkling a modern king lear retelling? what do you mean, “the magic system?”

great question! darkling is, in fact, a modern king lear retelling (well, very loosely; it’s my city now and i reserve the right to do what i want). it takes place entirely in and around a city called dovermorry, an extremely isolated place secluded in the mountains, surrounded by wilderness for hundreds of miles, and only reachable via a single train through the mountains. dovermorry is loosely in the american northwest, sort of, i guess. by which i mean that’s kind of where i’m picturing it, but also it’s incredibly vague and honestly i don’t really know. dovermorry is, like, you know… [gesturing] it’s around. [kicking any kind of definable map under the rug]

the plot is set in the modern day with modern technology. the magic that exists is woven into daily life alongside said modern technology, which is the primary reason i’m calling darkling speculative fiction. most people in darklingverse aren’t actually heavily affected by magic (for reasons i’ll get into but which basically boil down to “they don’t have much”); however, dovermorry as a city is mostly known for being The Place Where Mages Go. most of the families in the city have been there for a long time; they’re old money families with powerful magic who use their inheritances to study increasingly esoteric forms of magic that aren’t very helpful in praxis. this is because dovermorry is home to the large and powerful Mage’s Guild, which is in charge of setting the laws around what kind of magic can be practiced in the city and by who. if you want to study magic at a scholarly level, you’d better pay your dues to the guild, otherwise you’re gonna get the boot.

every large city has a guild, but dovermorry’s in specific is Really Big and, unusually, has more political power than the actual mayor / government of the city. partially because leovald stayer, the guild’s president, is just… ughghhebwfbefbdsbfbdsfsd. That Way. in dovermorry if you’re not getting the boot you’re licking it

“wait, slow down. what is a mage anyway?”

well, technically, anyone! everyone in darklingverse has at least a little bit of natural magic (though it might be very little) that develops during puberty/adolescence! so by its literal definition, A Person Who Does Magic, everyone is a mage. that said, in colloquial terms, the word mage has taken on a connotation that basically means… exactly the kind of people who live in dovermorry. like i just said: scholarly, probably rich, probably a little elitist. so your average working-class person is TECHNICALLY a mage, but if you asked they’d say something like, “oh, mages are those hoity-toity folks who join guilds and stuff, WE’RE just regular folks over here.”

“you keep saying magic. what are you talking about. magic is a word that means so many things”

don’t worry, in darkling it just means [gestures vaguely]. re: everyone has magic, it develops in puberty, and there aren’t really specifications - it isn’t like some folks get fire magic and others get shapeshifting magic or etc. it’s more like everyone has a certain amount of raw energy inside them that can be drawn out and funneled into different tasks/spells. some ground rules:

1. you can’t change the amount of magic you have. your magic develops naturally, and maybe you get a lot of raw energy, or maybe you only get a little, but that’s what you’re stuck with and no amount of practicing is gonna give you more.

2. that said, magic is hard to control when it first develops - and practicing WILL help you get better at controlling it. so while you’ll always have the same base amount, you’ll get faster and more efficient about concentrating it into tasks.

3. re: amount of raw energy: that shit isn’t limitless. whether you have a lot or a little, it will eventually run out and you’ll have to wait for your juice to recharge. like a battery. you are a battery. how long this recharge period takes depends on how much magic you have, how fast you used it all up (if you push your limits to do something Really Big, you’re gonna be wiped), and also just how you’re doing physically in general? if you use up all of your magic in one go and you haven’t slept in a while, you might want to, like, sit down. drink a juice box. take a nap

4. while magic isn’t limitless, you can’t just NOT use it, either. when you aren’t using your magic, that raw magical energy builds up in you. and builds up. and builds up. and it does not particularly want to be in you. it wants to be out in the world, actually, and by god your fragile human meatsack is not going to stop it. so if you don’t choose a task to funnel your magical energy into (eg, i use my built-up energy to send my socks scuttling across the floor of their own accord to get into the laundry basket), that energy will eventually decide to just come out on its own. more on this later.

5. like i said, the mage’s guild of any particular city sets the rules, but there’s generally one core rule and that’s “don’t do necromancy.” like, obviously you’re not allowed to kill someone magically, but you’re also not allowed to kill someone NONMAGICALLY, so that’s kind of a given? but necromancy is something only a few very powerful mages can do and it is a BIG no-no. don’t fuck around with death, man. people don’t come back right, but also, just, like, let them rest, all right? let the dead rest.

[image description: the “society if X” meme, showing a futuristic “ideal” society full of green landscapes, smooth silver buildings, and flying cars. the text on the top reads “society if no one did necromancy.” the text on the bottom reads “this post made by the official mage’s guild don’t do necromancy you freaks bottom text.” in the corner you can see the imgflip.com watermark that i could have erased were i less lazy.]

“so what CAN you do with magic?”

the average joe? not much. again, there aren’t specific categories of magic; there aren’t any ATLA-style bending divisions. if you and i have the same raw amount of energy, there’s no reason we can’t both learn the same spells.

that said, the average person doesn’t have a lot of magic! it is much less dramatic than i’ve made it sound. there are not big magical firefights happening marvel-movie-style on every city street. if you want to talk to your friend, you use your iphone, not some kind of distance-speaking spell (which would be hard to maintain anyway and oh my god the phone lines are right there). the average person, on a daily basis, will use their small amounts of magic to heat their coffee up, or to wipe up a mess or spill, or to clean their floor re: the socks i mentioned earlier. (while writing this post, i had to begrudgingly admit that the socks were not going to scuttle anywhere, and i was forced to pick them up with my hands, manually. tragic, i know.)

again. dovermorry is the exception to this rule. most of the people in dovermorry have a little too much money and a little too much magic and not nearly enough chill. but dovermorry has also been festering like a petri dish alone up in the mountains for decades so what can you do.

“hold on, are you telling me that people in darklingverse didn’t immediately start wielding innate magic quantities as a tool of classism? sounds fake”

regretfully i cannot retcon classism out of darklingverse as it is relevant to the plot. this is because the plot is “Incredible: This Rich White Guy Has Never Been Told No And Doesn’t Know How To Handle It Without Crytyping!”

[image description: a picrew of leovald stayer, a pale-skinned man with short blond hair and an angry-looking frown, plus tears that i drew onto him with the paint tool in paint.net. beside his head is red crytyping text reading “ii’mm sso; so..rryy i didn’t[ mme  a nit wwhy . are yu,,o suiiicdee .bai,,it,ing MMe gr;;acen im yuour da[d,,,”]

the general implicit belief across the country, but especially in highly stratified cities like dovermorry, is that upper-class people from distinguished noble families are just naturally born with more magic, and lower-class people are born with progressively less as we trip down the social ladder. is this kind of true, demographically? yeah but everyone’s got their cause-and-effect turned around. class doesn’t dictate natural magic so much as natural magic dictates class. the people on top like to be on top. and having jacked-up magic is a nice way to stay on top. so rip to the rich kids born with piddly little amounts of raw magic, because your family probably is not going to help you get places. and rip to everyone else born with piddly little amounts of magic, too, because unless you’re REALLY good at something nonmagical, you probably are not going to Strike It Big because those in power are gonna keep you down. and if you DO make it to the top you’ll be viewed as an exception that proves the rule.

there is some magic that is genuinely naturally harder to work with. the upper classes are personally really invested in making sure that kind of magic is painted as rough and lower-class. this is because it is threatening to them! and they do not want to be threatened. unless, of course, it’s them with the hard-to-handle magic. and then they’re fine with it.

“but didn’t you say everyone’s magic is basically the same?”

everyone’s magic can be wielded to do basically the same things. you can’t control how much flows through you. you CAN control where/how it gets out. and everyone’s pathways for how to let it out are basically the same (see the examples i mentioned above!). but some magic is a lot easier to control than other magic.

you can’t just not use magic, because if you don’t use it, it will use itself. it will Do Shit On Its Own. and that’s where this gets sticky.

so let’s get into that.

active vs. passive magic

now with fun diagrams!

[image description: a rainbow spectrum stretching from blue to red. the leftmost end (blue) is labeled “’passive’ magic” and “way down here you can mostly do fun party tricks.” the rightmost end (red) is labeled “’active’ magic” and “way down here you’re officially a ‘witch’ lol.”]

when i say active vs. passive magic, i should specify that this is not a strict binary! i’m about to use the terms in a sort of binary way to simplify this post down, but magic exists on a spectrum.* generally the less raw magic energy you have, the more “passive” your magic will be, but that’s not a hard and fast rule! characters vee and rory, for example, both have comparatively passive magic; however, rory’s is smaller and generally good for party tricks, illusions, and sleight of hand, while vee has more magic that he finds is really good for things like Growing Plants Really Fast and Making The Plants Do What You Want.

*i know this looks like some kind of metaphor for gender but i swear it’s not. you can trans your gender no matter WHAT your magic looks like i promise <3

i mentioned that if it builds up for too long unused, magic will Do Shit On Its Own. with passive magic, the Shit It Does is, like, accidentally growing a plant where plants shouldn’t grow, or changing your hair color when you aren’t looking. slow seeping magic that just kind of oozes out of you until you notice, “wait, shit, my hair didn’t used to be blue.” with active magic, if you don’t control it, it will Break Shit and it will not be nice about it.

active magic is - if we simplify both the magic binary and human genetics until they’re really really blurry - the dominant trait. if you made a middle school biology punnet square, active magic would be the dominant allele and passive the recessive allele. (i haven’t taken a bio class in two years no one get my ass for this analogy.) the child’s magic will take after whichever parent has more active magic. so, to illustrate that, let’s look at a normal family with a normal non-scandalous family tree. by which of course i mean the greenwoods. [canned laugh track playing in the studio]

here are ara, griffin, and medea (parents) charted by how active their magic is:

[image description: the same spectrum, now featuring three picrews of characters. ara, a dark-skinned woman with wavy black hair, freckles, and glasses, is placed leftmost, closest to the blue/passive end. griffin, a dark-skinned man with short black hair and glasses, is placed near the middle of the spectrum, slightly to the left. medea, a pale-skinned woman with spiky white hair, freckles, and gold hoop earrings, is placed rightmost, at the very edge of the red/active end.]

...and here’s how that went for them, progeny-wise:

[image description: a little family tree. ara and griffin’s child, vee, a dark-skinned person with wavy black hair, a worried look, and band-aids on his face, is labeled “quiet unobtrusive plant-based magic” in green text. medea and griffin’s child, jasper, a lighter-skinned person with spiky brown hair and freckles, is labeled “once accidentally shattered 50 champagne glasses at his dad’s birthday party” in red text.]

(yes, i know i said there aren’t any ATLA-esque magical divisions; that’s still true; vee just happens to get on really, really well with plants. much like jasper gets on really really well with entropy and causing problems on purpose.)

so the thing about “active” magic is that it’s usually more powerful, but if it’s too powerful it gets incredibly destructive. like i said earlier - if you’re part of the upper class, it shakes out fine; otherwise not so much. your choices with this kind of dangerous magic are to either fight it and keep it tamped down, or to lean completely into it and embrace your massive amounts of dangerous power. if you are rich, you can do that second thing! that’s what leovald stayer does, and he’s the president of the mage’s guild! good for him! [i say, through gritted teeth.] but if you aren’t rich, you had better try to keep that shit on lockdown, unless you want to be branded a reckless uncultured social deviant and - in most cases - a witch.

mages vs. witches

everyone with magic is a mage. only a few mages are witches. it’s like squares and rectangles, you know? you can hear gracen talk about that here in nice prose (plus baby cressida!), but the bottom line is that “witch” is shorthand for “woman* who has magic so powerful it’s unsafe, who uses it to break shit and be reckless,” and anyone with the “wrong” type of magic who doesn’t have a trust fund to back them up is getting tarred with that brush. they’re nothing like those elegant learned mages casting down benevolent laws from their ivory towers, you see.

*this isn’t a gender specific thing but usually women are the ones who get called witches because Women Should Know How To Control Themselves But Men Are Just Like That. god we love misogyny <3

tl;dr: misogyny and classism real. if you have hard-to-control magic that breaks shit then you’re destined to be a pariah UNLESS of course you’re rich and powerful and then it’s COOL that if you got too out-of-control you could collapse a building or cause a monumental storm or something. you know. cool.

[image description: the same magic spectrum. medea is still there, placed exactly where she was before. leovald’s face is also there, right above hers; in terms of magic, they are equally placed on the spectrum. leovald is labeled “runs the whole city” and medea is labeled “lives in a cave in the woods,” both in white text. there are three thinking emojis at the very top of the image.]

funny how these things work out.

in conclusion

in conclusion, if you’ve read all of this, you’re braver than the marines and have my undying love. if you’re down here for a tl;dr: magic is a natural force everyone is born with; some magic is comparatively harder to control; classism & other social structures affect the way a person’s magic is viewed (there are a lot of double standards); i really enjoy making little oc diagrams.

if you have questions, comments, etc, about this post or darkling in general, my ask box is always open! thank you for reading! [blowing you a kiss]

#i dream of hitting leovald stayer with rocks <3 #anyway this is terribly long but i had a friend scan through it and they said it was comprehensive and helpful so! #oh also i hope the image descriptions work i should start doing those... if anyone has concrit on that come shout into my inbox #this post could also be called 'reasons why jasper acts like a neurotic prey animal all the time' #though i did try not to delve into specific characters unless i was using them as examples. this here crash course doesn't need 2 get longer #max.txt #darkling tag #leovald stayer #ara greenwood #griffin greenwood #medea the witch #vee greenwood #jasper greenwood

[hecohansen31]

The Magic Words Is:

F&R! Michael Langdon+Inscure! Reader

(A/N): Hello there, lovely!

This suckety suck...

But also I don’t like keeping my things to myself and also... honestly... you have read worse from me, so...

This came up when I was talking with @blakewaterxx and she jokingly said, after I apologized a few too many times that if I kept doing that she would make Michael punish me... and I took it a bit more seriously than I should have... 

So here comes this...

Have fun reading it!

Let me know what you think, and I also let’s hope this doesn’t die as my all my fics lately... I am just too done to deal with that right noq!

WARNINGS: Dom-Sub Relationship, Spanking, Punishment, Sexual Themes, Mention of Sexual SItuations, Nudity, Mention of Self-Harm.

It wasn’t that Michael despised that you had this kind of gentleness and frailty to you.

No, he actually enjoyed it.

But he couldn’t tolerate anybody else taking advantage of it.

Aside him, obviously.

It was mostly because it would show some kind of emotion he had defined as weak since it would show your submission to someone else…

… that wasn’t him.

That morning: Jeff and Mutt had tormented you for the entire morning under Michael’s attentive gaze, and although he had wanted to intervene, he couldn’t do much, mostly because you personally didn’t want him to intervene in your work life, but also because he had wanted to see how far this would all go.

To see if you would fight them back.

Through the entire morning you had bended yourself to Jeff and Mutt’s will, the two cokeheads taking extreme advantage of your willingness to please, till it brought you over to the edge of a big psychotic attack, since their coke-burned brain thought that you could much more than it was humanly possible.

But you instead of shutting them off or fighting them off… you had continued on undergoing their humiliations, but worse of all, apologizing for any mistake they made you notice, although half the time it wasn’t your fault, and the other half… you didn’t do it on purpose.

He hated whenever you would apologize with no reason for it.

He desperately had tried to force that attitude away from you, in a calm way, simply trying to make you notice the error of your way, but apparently it wasn’t enough.

He had to use something that would get into your little insecure mind.

He had called you after lunch, making sure that the two cokeheads watched as his arrival accidentally burned their newest stash of purest coke and he made no secret of his link to you.

You never wanted to let your relationship be out in public, so this was a big no against all your rules.

“It wouldn’t be professional” you chanted gently, whenever the argument would be brought up, as he looked at you confused, mostly because he knew how much you liked being taken over the desk at work, but he didn’t dare intervene on such things, preferring to leave you the control of it.

But he had had enough, today.

“Mr Langdon, what did you need me for?” your eyes shone already bright as you closed the door behind you and he settled on his work-chair, preparing yourself to a session of hard sex, knowing all too well that Michael was a man that liked to be pleased at his own orders and commands and who requested extreme discipline.

“(Y/N)” but something broke your mental scenario as you heard him calling you like that.

You usually roleplayed since it was a kink you both shared, mostly if something was going down in the office, but whenever he called by your name not only it meant he wasn’t in the mood to play, but he wanted the true “(Y/N)”, not some doe-eyed and sex-starved secretary as in your shared fantasies.

It also, most of the time, meant trouble.

“Michael” you knew better than to answer with anything other than his name, since it shared some kind of deep intimacy Michael ached for, more than the sex and the thrill.

“… you do realize what you did today, don’t you?”.

You actually didn’t but you also knew that if Michael was using that tone you had done something bad for sure so there was no use in pretending.

“I don’t know, sir, but I am sure that it was something bad” because whenever you were Michael’s “good girl” he wouldn’t have that flaming look.

“Then why don’t we go over your morning?” he replied, mentioning for you to sit onto his lap, something that made you huff a breath of relief, although you knew it wasn’t over.

But the fact that you were allowed to touch Michael was something that made you truly happy, and wouldn’t always be allowed during your punishments, making everything even more hurtful.

“… I came in early as always…” mostly because it would be just you and Michael and more time than not, before he had to give an important discourse, he would love to have a quickie with you, so you had to be there for him… or you might get punished.

(One time you hadn’t been able to come at work because of a terrible stomach flu and hadn’t even been able to raise from the bed to tell the Cooperative that you would be taking a sick day and Michael had strangely surprised you to your apartment.

You had half-expected him to want sex or anything, but he had just explained to you all the research he had done on how to cure stomach flu, parading yourself with an entire pharmacy, and asking whether you felt up to eat something so that he could order someone to cook it for you.

You had tried to excuse your terrible state, but Michael had ignored all your “sorry”s and just pushed you again in bed, gently pushing away your sweat-filled hair from your forehead, meanwhile he cooed you to sleep and relax).

And from that memory you realized what you had done wrong.

“…is this because I said ‘sorry’ too many times?” because Michael had shushed you every time it would happen, mostly when it was about things you couldn’t control, like Jeff and Mutt’s stupidity.

He smirked, but his smile was in no way reassuring.

“Oh, don’t I have a smart girl on my lap?” he praised you and gently leaned down to kiss you, his hand securely lacing though your hair pulling on them lightly, but enough to make you moan in his mouth “… then you’ll know what you get for this”.

You nodded, already trying to make your way to his laps, in order to lay with your tummy flat against his them, but he kept his hold onto your hair tight, keeping you in place.

“… but first I need you to tell me what you did wrong and why it is so wrong”.

His tone was extremely honeyed, and he made sure to look at you in the eyes, another technique that you couldn’t stand, since when he had first met you, you would barely be able to hold his gaze, and although it still embarrassed you, mostly during sex, you had gotten better.

And Michael didn’t mind the little blush on your cheeks.

He actually cherished it.

“I showed no concern for my own physical and mental health, letting those two idiots…” Michael’s grin grew bigger, since before him you wouldn’t have even brought yourself to think even something remotely wrong about your colleagues, but he had influenced you, in some way…

… well it truly showed that he could corrupt even the purest of souls.

“Continue, (Y/N)”.

You trembled at the mention of your name, and he gently pushed a kiss onto your forehead: the stillness in his movement acting as some kind of calm before the storm.

“… and I let them bully me, and most importantly I acted as if it was my fault for every mistake they had done, hence apologizing uselessly and degrading myself to a position that doesn’t belong to me”.

“What is your natural position, lovely?” he asked and grabbed strongly onto your chin, making you face him, feeling the slight warmth of your heated cheeks.

“By your side, on your lap or down on my knees…” you replied, without thinking, something that pleased Michael to his oblivion, since he was rather glad that his pet knew her place “… solely belonging to you”.

“That is a good answer, sweetheart” he mumbled, but his gaze didn’t show any kind of mercy and he didn’t help you in the slightest as you pushed yourself to face the desk, moving your body so that your arms could rest onto it, meanwhile you moved away from Michael’s lap, pushing your toes to meet the ground and stay there.

Then your spread your thighs, although you didn’t dare to remove your skirt.

It was a frilly thing that Michael had gotten you for a day-event you had attended with him.

He hadn’t minded too much about the design or the price the most important thing to him was the easy access of the entire thing, barely needing for Michael to raise it and push your underwear apart to enter you.

…had you worn panties.

Which didn’t happen today.

Michael snickered at your improper condition and gently mouthed a small kiss onto your shoulder, over the silky fabric of your blouse, and then he blew some soothing air in your ear, making you shiver, the perfect occasion for him to remind you to stay still.

“I’ll need you to count…” he whispered in your ear, gently palming your perfect ass, a little lighter than the rest of your body, almost as a proof of your innocence, which he couldn’t wait to taint “… or I’ll lose the count and end up being a bit too rough, understood, lovely?”.

You nodded, but to Michael it wasn’t enough and pulled again on your hair.

“… yes, sir” you mumbled, and he welcomed your obedience with a caress on your lower back, which, although had some kind of calming effect, it didn’t make you less aware of what was going to happen.

“They’ll be fifteen slaps” he explained to you, meanwhile he got the skirt completely out of the way and you gripped onto the edge of his desk “… one for each time you said ‘sorry’, today“.

You rolled your eyes (you were almost thankful that he couldn’t see your face) at the thought that he had actually counted them.

You knew it pissed him off, but you didn’t expect him to get this serious about it, although it all worked in your favor, seeing as you could already feel wetness between your thighs and arousal pool in your stomach, making you quite excited.

You already knew it would have been a tough session, it always happened when you weren’t roleplaying.

But you were ready for it.

You almost ached for it.

“Understood, sir”.

The first slap was always the hardest one, and not because Michael could be vicious, but more because of the surprise effect it always had, not matter the fact that you knew it would be coming.

You swallowed and Michael hung his hand back, waiting for your response which came in a low squeal, mumbling “one” and a “thank you, sir”.

He smirked satisfied and leaned closer to you, who immediately shifted lightly away from him, again for the surprise and anxiety than for the actual hurt, which was soothed by his big hand, gently palming it.

“Good girl…” he mumbled in your ear, before he laid there a kiss, his hair tickling your shoulder.

The praise and the tickling sensation made you giggle, but another slap shushed you, pushing you further away on the desk.

The came an another.

And a fourth one.

Fifth and sixth where were you got used to the feeling, the constant burn of your ass, dulling a bit the following hits, meanwhile wetness kept on dribbling from your cunt

As you went to reach your tenth slap, you were lightly overwhelmed, since Michael had slapped your cunt instead of your ass, on the previous, making you yelp at the pleasurable pain and you were sure that one of your manicured nail had etched itself on his desk, at the sudden wave of pleasure.

You tried to calm your breath but the tenth was too sudden, again hitting your clit and setting it on fire and you screamed more out of instinct than actual thought:

“Yellow”.

Yellow was the color to make Michael slow down and he did, gently pushing himself away from you, meanwhile you took some deep breaths, trying to shift away your focus from your cunt and ass, both aching, but for different reason, hence making you even more confused and overwhelmed.

Michael brushed some strands of hair away from your face and solely in that moment you realized they were drenched with sweat, and your bottom lip being not only swollen from your compulsive biting, but also wet due to the saliva that had gotten on it.

“Was it too much” he asked, trying to keep his tone even and neutral.

He wanted to seem distanced, as he always did when you would either say your safe-word.

He thought that he could pretend he didn’t care, but you knew all too well he did.

He would hug you a bit too tight after those session, worried that you might run away.

“No, I just need a breather” you commented as soon as you regained your voice, calming yourself from the messy sensations going through your body, trying to focus on regaining control over it, meanwhile Michael gently caressed your back.

“I am ok, you can start again, sir” you commented once you felt comfortable again, gently setting down so that you wouldn’t get stabbed in the stomach by Michael’s laptop onto the desk.

He set himself up behind you, again, but before he went on to carry on the rest of the punishment he pulled you against him and not only you felt his breath against your ear, but you understood that you weren’t the only one affected by this situation, feeling him gently press his hard length against you.

“Do I have to avoid something, (YN)?” again your name meant that he was serious, and you just shook your head, but Michael needed again vocal confirmation.

“No, I am fine” and when he searched your eyes, you added “... seriously”.

At the start of your relationship you had used the harsh sex and the punishments as a way to cope with some awful things that had been going through you, hence it had been extremely painful for you, enough that although you should have safe-worded, you hadn’t.

This had reached a point that broke you internally, and Michael had known it…

… and he had brought you back from it.

He knew that he was supposed to be happy of your broken and corrupted soul, but he had realized that you didn’t deserve it.

And that was the moment he had realized that he loved you.

And would cherish you and protect you to the end of the world.

“… then you have five more, don’t you”.

You nodded your head eagerly, opening your mouth to answer him and he made you close it with a harsh slap, although he avoided your cunt this time, hitting the fullness of your blossom, so the hit was less painful.

The twelfth wasn’t, since he hit were the skin was more red and hurt, and you were sure that his handprint would already show on your ass and they would remain for even the following day.

You didn’t mind it.

The thirteenth was also strong and the fourteenth was slowed only by Michael’s own hand hurting, and it stilled on your ass, slowly moving to cup your cunt, making you gasp lowly and you closed your eyes at the sudden sensation of pleasure, already ready for the fifteenth slap to end this torment.

Would you have to beg Michael for the sweet release, or would he have given it to you as a reward?

“Sometimes I wonder whether I am truly punishing or indulging your little flaws” he mumbled, against your ear.

You could feel his hand being left in the air, halfway through meeting your ass, and you closed your eyes, squeezing them together, already ready for the pain.

But the fifteenth slap was a simple pat on your ass.

Which didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt, since your ass was irritated and swollen, but wasn’t what you expected, showing you a softness which was unusual with Michael, but you knew he held just for you.

It was what had brought you back after you had been thoroughly broken.

Michael wasn’t careful with you as a china-doll but he surely knew better than you your body.

“… but I also can’t deny that this has some kind of allure to me too” he said as he cupped your cunt and collected some wetness from there, swiftly turning you around and pushing you onto the desk, his laptop effectively burying and marking your back, but you didn’t care.

Not as Michael tasted you as if you were his favorite meal, gently swirling his tongue around his finger in a show of tongue that almost got impressed in your mind, and made you ignore his question.

This time a light tap was delivered to your thigh making you bite down onto your tongue and Michael sent you a harsh glare, although he did repeat what he asked of you.

“Why did I punish you pet?”.

“Because I put my health to risk, undervaluing myself” you knew it.

It was hard to fight that sense when you just felt so damn insecure all the time.

But slowly Michael was making it all better.

“It wasn’t you who was bad, was it?” he mumbled, gently pushing his fingers away from your thighs, moving onto your inner thighs, meanwhile he came closer enveloping you gently, being careful to avoid brushing your ass.

“No, it wasn’t me who was bad, it was my actions that were bad”.

“… and bad actions always have consequences” he finished softly, before he suddenly sank to his knees, between your thighs, a truly magical sight “… but good ones do also have some consequences. Are you ready pet for your reward?”.

Well this time, all you could say was “thank you”.

---

Tagging some of the few that are on my taglist:

@blakewaterxx @emmyrosee @1-800-bitchcraft @rocketgirl2410 @ladynuwanda @frenchbread4ever @lovelylangdonx @kaetastic @lathraios @rosegoldrichie

#michael langdon #michael langdon reader #michael langdon x reader #michael langdon imagine #michael langdon smut #f&r michael langdon #michael langdon moodboard #michael langdon fic #michael langdon oneshot #michael langdon one shot #michael langdon fanfic #michael langdon fan fic #michael langdon x female reader #ahs writing #american horror story #ahs #ahs imagine #ahs apocalypse

[one-leaf-grimoire]

Illusion (chapter 5)

Grey Deer Fic chapter 5! Here’s the link to the full story: link.

As you can see, I changed the name bc I wasn’t vibing with the other one.

WARNING: slight implication of *Sex* (but not with Julius, unfortunately...)

As always, I would really love to hear what you think of this chapter!

"Captain, do you have a minute-"

I stop talking as soon as I poke my head into Captain Hervey's office. It's a sizable room, with rich wood paneling and blue wallpaper making it seem cozy. Several stuffed deer heads are hanging above the severe man's desk, where he sits across from his vice captains. Both Malota and Julius turn around to look at me; obviously I'm interrupting a meeting. "A-Ah, sorry, I'll come back later-"

"Nonsense, spit it out. But make it quick." Hervey gestures me closer, and I gulp and enter the room, a paper clutched in my hands. "What's that?"

This is always a little awkward, even though I've given several of these requests to him over the years. But it's his fault for having the "only registered guests only" rule for our base. "Lawrence wants to come visit tomorrow, can I get your approval?"

Hervey lets out a snort of laughter. "Your fiance? He was here pretty recently, wasn't he? Why do you keep inviting him here, just go visit him yourself."

"Ah, well, he insists. I can't really say no to him..."

But you can, sir. I watch as he takes the paper and looks at it carefully, as if he's making up his mind. Meanwhile, I'm praying that he says NO so I have a good reason to avoid seeing Lawrence tomorrow. Malota looks bored and lets a sigh out through her vulture-like nose. Julius stares at the Captain's table silently. Another reason why I wanted to avoid asking in front of other people is because it becomes awkward like this. Neither of our Vice Captains want to hear about my personal life, I'm sure. 

"Very well. But he better be gone by dinner time, I'm not feeding him, even if he is a prince!"

Fuck! I force a smile as he signs the paper, a magical chill moving through the room as he does so. Somehow, Hervey can manipulate the barrier spell he cast around the base to let authorized guests enter after he signs off on it. His ice magic is some of the most powerful I've ever seen, and he's able to upkeep such a potent spell all day and night, subconsciously. He really is amazing, despite his faults, and it's easy to see why he's captain. "Thank you, sir, sorry for interrupting." With that, I turn and shuffle out of the room, feeling a small weight of dread in the pit of my stomach.

Why, though? Why are you dreading this? Lawrence is your Fiance, your future Husband! Shouldn't you be happy to see him?

That's probably what you're thinking, but it couldn't be farther from the truth. I tolerate Lawrence Kira, and that's all. He's 5 years older than me, always acts like he's my superior (which he is, but come on!), and really isn't the most considerate person. He always talks about how great things are expected of him, and how he needs a supportive wife to help him achieve those things and continue the Kira line. "One day." he always tells me. "One day, our children could be the King. Wouldn't you like that?"

No... Not really, actually.

But I can't tell him that. If I show any disrespect, he'll bring the hammer down, on both me and my parents. We're already on thin ice, and this marriage is supposed to save my family. When the engagement was first decided, I was only 5 years old and had no idea what it even meant. As I grew older, I was told how romantic it was going to be. Doesn't every girl want to marry a prince? I was excited to live out what seemed like a fairy tale.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It soon became clear that Lawrence would never actually love me. At least not all of me. Not only that, but like I said, he's older than me, and as we spent more and more time together, he started to force me to grow up a bit faster than I should have. I'm sure you can guess what I mean. 

If I didn't have Alice, I don't know what I would have done. But when I came to her and revealed that I didn't want to marry this prince, she didn't shun me or say I was crazy. She held me, and told me that we were going to get out of this, together. And so, I joined the magic knights, as the first step of my plan. The wedding that was supposed to be when I turned 18 was postponed. Luckily, the Magic Knights are a very esteemed and legitimate career path for both Royalty and nobility, so I was able to get away with it. Lawrence's family even said they were proud that their son would be marrying a magic knight.

Well... it's been 7 years since then. There's no plans for a wedding yet. This engagement can only go on so long before Lawrence decides to break it off. By that time, I'll be able to support my family myself! I don't need a marriage, and I'll finally be free to do what I want.

That's my secret, the secret only Alice and I know. My one hope for tomorrow is that Lawrence will coldly tell me that he can't wait around any longer, and will break it off right then and there.

Of course, it's never that easy.

"Hello, Lawrence."

I stand outside the base to meet him as he transports in with the help of a spatial mage. He brushes himself off before looking up, his grey eyes quickly meeting mine. Unintentionally, I feel a cold chill down my back, something that's always happened when he looks at me like that. "It's been too long, have you really been that busy?" Lawrence asks as he walks over, pulling his cloak a little tighter around himself. The snow has long melted, but its freeze still hangs lightly in the air around us.

"Er, yes, pretty busy." I let him take my hand and pull it up to his lips, not bothering to bend over. A royal shouldn't bow to anyone, after all. His lips are cold on my skin as he kisses the back of my hand, before dropping it immediately. "I actually had a pretty big mission a few days ago, I was able to beat five guys-"

"Yeah, I'm sure. You can tell it to me over lunch." Lawrence dismisses my story kind of quickly before turning to walk towards the base. I wince and hold out a hand to stop him. "Uh-er, we can't eat here!"

"Hmm? Why not?" Lawrence throws a glance over his shoulder.

"Captain Hervey said, uh... we can't spare food right now for outsiders."

"Hmph. Fine. We'll eat in town." Lawrence sighs and turns to walk back to me, grabbing my hand as he does. "Also, what did I tell you about using filler words? Stop saying um and er so much."

"R-right, sorry." I let him pull me along, away from the base.

"Man... are they really in love?" 

Giles leans on the windowsill as the others gather around him, peeping down at me and Lawrence as we walk off out of sight. "Every time he comes, she looks like she'd rather be somewhere else."

"It's true," Alice pipes up, leaning against the wall and not bothering to look. "He's a real piece of work, you know."

"How can that be? He's a prince." Elia crosses her arms. "Who wouldn't want to marry a prince?"

"She just wants to live a normal life, I think. She's not cut out for that royalty stuff anyway."

"Nigel, shut up."

Meanwhile, Lawrence and I reach town and make our way towards my favorite resteraunt there. "There's really no other place to eat?" Lawrence asks, pulling his hood up over his head, his eyes darting around the street.

"It's my favorite! I think you'll like it, too." I squeeze his hand, causing him to smile for a moment. "You're afraid of being recognized."

"Yeah... I have a pretty big fanclub you know!"

... I doubt that...

Our base is located in a forest right outside the limits of the noble realm. We're close enough to town so we can get all of our supplies, but secluded enough that Captain Hervey is able to put up our barrier. It honestly feels like a little sanctuary for the squad, but I still like going in to town to see the usual hustle-and-bustle of civilization.

"You know, this type of place does have a little charm." Lawrence talks to me as he quietly sips his beer. His eyes keep darting around the restaurant, as if he were analyzing everything in sight. He's always been like that, cool and calculated, always scheming or sizing the world up. He's really an intelligent man, someone who can keep a level head in any situation. His magic is very strong, too, and it's interesting that he never joined the Magic Knights. When I asked him why a long time ago, he simply said that it wasn't his style. I have a feeling he'd rather be involved in the government down the line.

"I'm glad you think so. I guess not all Royals are so stuffy," I answer, playfully nudging his foot under the table. Lawrence narrows his eyes at me but can't conceal his smile. Ah! I need to stop being so cute around him, remember?

"I'm not that stuffy, am I? I can have fun... what do you and the squad do for fun, anyway?" Lawrence yawns a little, scratching his chin under his hood.

"Hmm..." I think over the past for a moment. "Well, we have little parties in our base now and then. Oh, also, the Captain lets us go to the beach on our days off! We also like to come to town to go drinking some nights."

"Ah... that sounds like fun. A little crude, but fun." Lawrence nods along with my words. "Maybe I'll take you to the beach sometime, just the two of us."

Just the two of us.

"...yeah, sure."

By the time lunch is done, it's obvious to me that Lawrence isn't about to break up with me or anything. In fact, I've somehow managed to warm him back up to me after more than a month of absence, and now...

"Let's go back to the base."

"Huh? Er- Lawrence, I told you before-"

"Stop saying ER! And I don't want to eat. Is your roommate around?"

"...probably not..."

"Good."

This is my least favorite part of his visits. Lawrence hates showing affection out in public, but as soon as we're alone and away from prying eyes, he basically pounces on me. I can't really do much but hold on as his lips crash into mine hungrily. We were each other's first kisses, but I'm pretty sure he's pretty good at it. The way he moves his lips against mine always makes me dizzy, at least. He pushes me until we're both flat on my twin bed, one of his hands bunching up the sheets next to my head. The biggest drawback of avoiding him for so long is that he gets... needy. 

However, his affection doesn't last long. As soon as he's done, Lawrence simply pulls the covers over me and gets up. I roll over, feeling a bit sore, and watch as he starts to re-dress himself. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah." Lawrence buttons up his shirt, his fingers fumbling slightly. "I assume I'm not allowed to stay for dinner." He sits back down on the bed to start pulling his shoes and socks on. "I'll come back to visit soon, don't avoid me any more, you hear?"

"...yeah. No guarantees, though." I gulp nervously, pulling the covers over myself more as he looks down at me again. "I'm a magic knight, you know! I have a duty-"

"Your duty should be our future," Lawrence cuts me off, his gaze moving away from me again. "...do you really feel like this is where you belong?"

I open my mouth to respond the answer that I always do: Yes, of course. I'm meant to be a magic knight! 

But... I can't say that any more, can I?

Because, for whatever reason, someone on my very own squad wanted me gone.

"Hey... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

I didn't even notice the tears trailing down my face until Lawrence reaches out to cup my cheek gently. I look up into his grey eyes, which are filled with warmth, for once. But I still get that chill.

"If something's bothering you... you know where to find me, okay? You're going to be my wife one day, hopefully soon. We can put all this Magic Knights business behind you, but you'll always carry that honor. I'll take care of you, I promise."

... "Alright." I nod slowly, reaching up to hold his hand for a second before he pulls it away. "Write me some letters."

"I will. See you soon!"

Lawrence gives me a small smile and a wave, before quietly leaving me alone in my room once again.

I stay there for a while, curling up under my sheets like a cocoon. For just a couple minutes, I feel safe.

Lawrence really isn't so bad, is he? I mean... at least I know what he wants. My attackers won't show themselves again, not yet, and they won't tell me why they want me gone. Maybe... maybe I should just listen to them, and leave...

No. That's stupid. I squeeze my eyes shut as memories start to flood back.

I can't leave... because then I'll marry Lawrence. I don't want to be near him at all! Slowly, I sit up, letting the sheets fall off my body as the more pleasant chill of the base hits my skin. I'll find out who attacked me, and purge them from this squad! I'm meant to be here, I'm meant to be a magic knight.

Eventually, I get up to get dressed, cleaning myself off before heading to the bathroom. I splash some water on my face before looking up at my reflection. I look tired and a little stressed out... but alive.

"Hello there! Enjoy your day off?"

I'm on my way down to dinner when I run into none other than Julius. I haven't seen him all day, not since yesterday's meeting, but he's heading the same way as me now. "Ah, yeah. I haven't seen my fiance in a while, so it was nice to have lunch with him."

"Your fiance? Oh, right, Prince Lawrence." Julius nods as he falls into step next to me. I glance up at the taller man, not able to read any emotion other than his usual neutrally-happy expression. Even so, his presence puts me at ease, although I doubt anyone would attack me now while everyone is awake in the base. "Is the wedding happening soon?"

"Oh, definitely not. We haven't even started planning it!" I smirk a little. And if I have my way... it won't ever be planned!

"I see... I guess, eventually, you're going to outrank us all."

"Huh?" I look up to see him smiling teasingly down at me. 

"You'll be a princess, right?"

"P-Princess?" My eyes widen as I realize that he's right. Then, I shake my head. "Ah! I don't even want to think about that..."

"Why not?"

"Too much pressure?"

"Ah, well, I think it suits you."

I look back up at him, aghast, just in time to catch his wink. "Hey! Jul- I mean, sir, that's a long way in the future-"

"Julius is fine-" He lets out a warm laugh before gesturing for me to keep up with him. "Come on... a princess can't be late for dinner."

..... AHHHHHH.

I swallow my pride and quickly catch up, pouting a bit to myself. Princess... I can't even imagine becoming royalty. And I don't want to! I'll never be a princess, not if I have anything to say about it.

Slowly, though, I feel my cheeks heat up, and it takes everything I have to keep from glancing back up at Julius's face.

Still...

It didn't sound so bad when he called me that...

#grey deer fic #fic #julius novachrono x reader #julius novachrono #black clover

[toast-the-unknowing]

any tips for writing dialogue? i struggle so bad to make it sound authentic and as a result always turn to descriptive imagery instead. (which is fine if im writing something angsty, but not cute and fluffy ya feel?) any tips would be greatly appreciated! ty

The other day in my D&D party, our hedgewitch (who learns his magic through intense study of books and nature) asked our sorcerer (who has innate magic powers and also sometimes just blows shit up on accident) if she could teach him how she cast fireball. Our sorcerer said "you, uh, you know -- " and she waved her hands around " -- you do. The spell."

I am kind of feeling like our sorcerer right now, because dialogue more than anything else about writing is the part that just sorta happens for me, and when I try to articulate how I do it, it is hard to say anything other than "the voices say stuff and I write it down real fast before I can forget."

I will say, because dialogue is often the first thing I am writing in a new scene or a new story, it gets written out in long chunks with very few other words popping up. I might note the emotions a character is having or the way a piece of dialogue is delivered, or jot down what the character is thinking that isn't getting said so I have it for frame of reference later, and I will write down an action that's essential to my understanding of what is happening in the scene, but it's really mostly just the dialogue. I'm not even doing tags or punctuation at this point. Without knowing your process, writing dialogue JUST as dialogue may help you find a flow, which generally results in more natural sounding lines. It's a theory I have, anyway.

The absolute hardest bits of dialogue for me are when I have a chunk of dialogue from the beginning of a scene, and a chunk of dialogue from later in that scene, and I have to connect them, because oh man it's so hard to force dialogue down a specific pathway. The dialogue wants to run rampant! It wants to be free! It doesn't WANT to go over there where the plot needs it to! Generally there's a way that I could stitch up the hole in these scenes in two lines that would take us LOGICALLY from point a to point b, but that just...doesn't sound good, and doesn't feel natural.

Sometimes I just literally can't get there from here, and either the earlier dialogue or the later dialogue needs to go, but usually what works is to just follow the last line I have with, "okay what's something that the character might say in response to that. What's something the other character might say in response to that. Is that line something that would evoke an emotional reaction from this character? Is it something that would make them think of another topic of conversation?" And just keep writing and seeing where the conversation goes until I find a more natural bridge to the later dialogue.

This may be helpful even if you aren't looking for a connection per se, but are just trying to make dialogue happen, or if you know the general beats your scene needs to be hitting but don't have anything laid out. We often know what we want a scene to ACCOMPLISH, in terms of the plot or the character arc or the relationship, and that can sometimes put pressure on the dialogue to address that. Asking yourself when you get stuck "how would he feel about that" or "what would she have to say about that" or "what mood or agenda or thought process is this person having that their conversation partner doesn't know about" can get you unstuck and ground the dialogue in what's natural for your characters.

Maybe the way the conversation goes when you do that is not where you thought it would or where you need it to. That's awesome! I love letting a conversation wander and just see where it goes. I used to watch one of those shows with a giant ensemble and a dozen story lines every week, and I noticed after a while that there would be scenes where a character would walk into a room, say all of the things that were important to the plot, and then leave, without anyone reacting. Obviously that's a pacing problem, they just had too much story to tell and not enough time, but it was SO WEIRD. And it was boring. The little moments in a conversation where the characters are talking about something "unimportant" are the best moments, I love those! So if you're worried your dialogue is getting off point, maybe follow it, it might lead you to a really authentic moment.

Obviously, don't just have your characters talk for five minutes about, like, the latest Marvel movie, just for the sake of saying something off topic. But this is a really good way of incorporating other elements from your story. Is there something that's thematically relevant to the story even if it doesn't have anything to do with the plot? Is there a side character who's not in this scene that your characters might be worried about, or annoyed with, or making fun of? Is there something that exists in the space because you created it with your descriptive imagery, and now that it exists the characters might comment on it or be affected by it? Is there something that happened earlier in the story that has been dealt with on a plot level but that your characters might still be having some residual emotions about?

I do realize that this tip for writing dialogue basically turned into "write more dialogue," but maybe in and of itself that would help! Practice makes perfect?

I will say, keep each character’s turn with the talking stick SHORT. Speeches rarely sound authentic. You want back and forth. Short lines are good. Short sentences within lines are good, too, although I fully admit to having a weakness for stupidly long sentences. But dialogue lets you bend the rules, go ahead and break out the sentence fragments.

Dialogue also sounds better if it has a chance to breathe; this is something I do actively work at, because it's the part of dialogue that isn't dialogue. If one character says something kind of heavy, or something unexpected, or something that puts a pin on the current topic of conversation, there's probably going to be a beat before anyone else says anything. Sometimes the character needs to take a beat FOR THEMSELVES before they continue with the thing they were saying! Screenwriters have it so fucking easy here, man, because they just get to write (beat) and then the directors get some close ups of actors' faces and the editor cuts that moment to breathe in for them. Prose writers gotta do it for themselves.

For a little beat, sometimes just placing your dialogue tag where you need it to be -- e.g. "he says" before the dialogue instead of after -- can do it. Sometimes you gotta get creative. This is where you can get cliched things like characters constantly raising their eyebrows or shrugging or smirking, which, cliches become cliches for a reason, they work, but you don't want to overdo it. Sometimes it helps to draw on the surroundings and the set up. Put your characters in a setting where things are happening around them, then you can take a beat while you describe one of those things that’s happening. Give the characters an activity to do, and intersperse that action through the dialogue. For the "this is a place that hurts" conversation in it all will fall, fall right into place, I knew I was going to want to have LOTS of beats in that conversation, so I made them go get lunch, and every time Adam wasn't able to say something one of them would eat some pizza or pick up a napkin. I am not a very visual thinker and I write all my dialogue first, so I have to find ways to fill these beats after the fact, and sometimes I struggle with it. This might be something that you can do a great job with, if descriptions and imagery are happening in your head anyway! Put them to work!

The flip side of "keep it short" and "let the dialogue breathe" is don't write superfluous lines. Look for places that you can condense. If you have a conversation where one character isn't really saying anything of substance, but is just kind of interjecting questions like a sidekick asking the late night host "no, I don't know, who was it?" that's probably a place you can crunch your back-and-forth down into one (not too long) line delivery.

Also, seriously, if descriptive imagery is what's easy for you, lean into it! You can totally write fluff that is more narration-heavy than dialogue-heavy, for one thing. But beyond that, is there a reason that descriptions are easier for you to write? Are there tools you use in that writing that you can apply to dialogue? If you're a visual thinker, can you use that to visualize where the characters are to help get in their heads? If you like finding fun little turns of phrase for your description, oh man, puts some fun turns of phrase in that dialogue. I think dialogue can seem like a completely different thing from narration, but at the end of the day, they're both writing. If you can do the one I absolutely have faith you can find a way to do the other. Good luck!

#writing #eyescllsed #as always NO idea if any of this is helpful so I just threw a LOT of spaghetti at that wall #hey at least this time I didn't recommend improv classes #(....take some improv classes)

[mysticsparklewings]

On The Edge

It feels like it's been quite some time since I sat down and got to work on a more involved mixed-media project. And in plenty of ways it has, but I have been working on other artsy projects behind the scenes, which I should be posting sometime soon, I hope. Anyway, this artwork had to be moved to the top of my priority list and also my upload schedule (some of those other projects are already finished, just back-logged) because this is my entry into the Arteza Awards hosted by, shocker, Arteza, and the deadline to enter was the 24th. I actually started working on this piece a week or two early, but me being me, I procrastinated and only just barely got it posted to Instagram with the appropriate tags (per the contest rules) with about 20 minutes to spare.  Then again, maybe that's a good thing because I've been known in the past to pull some of my better work out of thin air at the last minute. If that proves the case this time, it would certainly be to my advantage. Anyway. There was no set theme for the contest. The main rules were that you had to use Arteza supplies and they needed to be visible in the image posted to Instagram. I understand why, but I normally don't photograph my art with the supplies because I can usually get more accurate colors and proportions with a scan, and you can pretty much always see the details way better on a scan. But considering the prizes on offer, I wasn't about to let that stop me. I figured I'd just post the supply image first, then add the scan so you could swipe to see it. That way I could have my nice scanned version and still follow the rules. (Also, since they specify Instagram is the main platform for the contest, I'm assuming it doesn't matter if I don't post the supply picture everywhere else. If it does...whoops :P ) For reasons I don't think I should get into here, I knew I needed to go for something kind of high-impact when you first glance at it. But it also needed to not be too involved, lest I be working on it well after the entry window closed and my efforts become somewhat less valuable. I'm not exactly sure how, but this led me around to a concept I've had floating around in my head for a while: A girl (because I am one and know I can draw them better) standing on a mountain top, that looks as if she's one step from free-falling. Originally, I dreamed up this idea hoping to make it into an acrylic painting, but (aside from that fact that I didn't get around to executing the idea until now) I do not own Arteza'a acrylic paints (though I have wanted them for quite some time--It just hasn't happened yet) and also acrylics are not my strongest suit, so now did not seem like the time for an impulse-purchase that could compromise the integrity of my work and therefore my chances in the contest. Although for the day I do get my hands on their acrylics, I now have a solid idea to use to test them out.  ;) The Arteza supplies I do have at my disposal are their tube watercolors, woodless watercolor pencils, and 72 expert colored pencils. Which as I learned the last time entered a contest hosted by Arteza, is a fairly limited variety as to what I can actually do. The watercolors by far as the most versatile and my personal favorite of the three though, so they're what I used the most of here. Also, somewhere between deciding to run with my standing-on-the-edge idea and actually doing it, I also decided to add-in the wings in this constellation style I've used somewhere infrequently but am very fond of. As a result, the whole concept has a very similar feel to me as this artwork that I found here on dA years ago and fell so in love with that it spent a good few months as my desktop wallpaper. Obviously, the two images are very different, but to me the idea of the wings is similar: Their structural integrity to fly is questionable, as the wings in the original image appear to be made of glass. Maybe it matters, maybe not. Same thing here: Maybe the wings are really there and just look like a constellation, or maybe this girl just stood in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time. Is the girl even there? Is she real? Can she die? Does it matter if she falls? Would she choose to fly at all, whether the wings work or not? It's sort of a Schrodinger's Cat situation, and something about that is really intriguing to me. Anyway. I started out with a digital sketch this time, mostly to iron out the kinks with...well, everything. I knew getting the right pose would be difficult, and I actually had a pretty different one of her looking out over the edge, maybe clutching her chest or something, originally, but I just couldn't get it to work the way I wanted to and I really struggled to find references for it, so I went with the pose you see here, that I found references for by accident while looking for the other one. I have to admit, seeing the final product I think this pose might actually have been the better choice anyway. The mountain/cliff/whatever I was also having a hard time finding references for, at least for exactly what I wanted, so in the end I had to mostly wing it. I think it turned out okay, though. The wings were probably the most challenging part to plan because I wanted something between traditional butterfly/fairy wings and something that stretches out farther like bird or bat wings. I toyed with the lines for a long time until I got something I was happy with, and then I actually went in and did the constellation lines for both sides by hand instead of doing one side and making a flipped copy, because I wanted to make sure I kept the overall shape of the wing on the (our)right (her left), as after all the warping I did to get the original lines, I wasn't sure I could replicate the process again. I also drew 2 or 3 versions of a simple dress over the figure before giving up because I wasn't happy with how any of them were turning out and decided that I would instead preserve her modesty with magically misty cloud-things. Although, it's kind of a shame because that ended up mostly hiding the one piece of hair clinging over her left (our right) shoulder. :P But once the digital sketch was done so I had some idea of what I was doing, it was time to move on to the traditional, actual artwork. I cut a piece of my 100% cotton paper down to size (nice paper because I didn't want to be held back in that regard--go big or go home, as they say) and then held it up to me screen to trace my cliff lines into place, and some vague markers for the figure and her wings. My idea from the very beginning was to make the galaxy largely with watercolor in such a way that it gives the wings color and focus, without having to actually color all the individual segments. This means lighter colors towards the main area of the wings, and getting darker as I moved out/away from them. Now, because it has been a while since I was painting with watercolors regularly, I did set aside a smaller piece of the same paper and busted out a practice baby galaxy before diving into the final. I learned very quickly I was going to have to be extremely careful with my placement of this orangey color and black, less either of them ends up mixing with colors they weren't supposed to and leaving me with a big muddy mess. (The practice piece did survive though and I'll be posting it some other time.) Before I could get to the fun part [the galaxy] though, I painted the mountain with a mixture of black and blue, which actually went a lot smoother than I thought it would. It took several light layers of blending out the paint built up slowly, but ultimately I'm pretty happy with how the color for it turned out...Even if it's still kind of up for debate how much it looks like a "mountain" or "cliff-edge" or not.   With that out of the way, I cut some paper to act as a mask for that section and then spent far too long going back and forth, putting down layers of color and blending them out, dabbing color on and waiting for it to dry, rinse, repeat, trying to get the Galaxy portion just right. I was actually having a fair amount of trouble getting the right color balance, and as sometimes happens with these things, I was pretty worried about how it was looking before I went to bed that night. (I had procrastinated just long enough that I had 2 nights to do this is; the bulk of the painting took place on night 2) But the next day, once it was fully dry, it didn't look so bad. It did need just a few more touches before I went in and added the splatter/stars, though. So I broke out the colored pencils, which I really should have done sooner because they were much easier to blend out and had a bit more covering power over the watercolor than...more watercolor because watercolor is often transparent and there it can be hard to cover with it. Admittedly, I still had more worries about the "naked" galaxy, but then I went to splatter town with the white, added a few pointed stars, and as it usually does, that really brought everything together and made it look a lot better. Never underestimate the power of a good splatter-fest! ;)  I must say though, I underestimated the combination of the white watercolor and white colored pencil together when I moved on to the figure and wings. I was trying very hard to not use my white gel pen (because the rules for the contest didn't say if it was okay to use non-Arteza supplies in conjunction with Arteza supplies or not) and so I was sort of bending over backward to find another way with my limited resources. (Although I assumed using a lightbox to see the lines underneath the paint, as is a normal practice for me, wouldn't really matter because it's not like you can really tell from the final product anyway.) Still, even though a mixture of paint lifting, the white colored pencil, and the white watercolor were better than I expected, I still ended up having to punch the lines up a bit digitally to get them to pop the way I wanted them to. But oh well, at least it made a nice glowing effect and mostly worked for the cloud-mist covering. :P  Overall though, I do really like how it turned out. If it weren't a little on the small side I might actually consider using it as my new wallpaper/banner art everywhere. Maybe that's a conversion project of some kind for another day? Point being, I'm pleased. I probably won't place in the contest because I'm just too small of a fish in this pond, but I made some pretty art and it was mostly fun, so no harm done. :)  Actually, if this could maybe be the excuse my brain needs to get back into posting regularly, that would actually be really great. I miss it, despite what my most recent journal entry and my spotty activity levels might lead one to believe. If it is, I hope you guys don't mind seeing some crafty things thrown into the mix! :D  ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings 

____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[thefloatingstone]

Y'know what? Give us the long answer. Have fun with it. Go wild.

The full title of the show is “Revolutionary Girl Utena”. It has 39 episodes and was released in 1997. The series director, Kunihiko Ikuhara, previously worked on the anime version of Sailor Moon, and was the main force behind turning Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune from simple team partners into a romantic lesbian couple, turning Sailor Uranus from an androgynous person who changed gender at will into a masculine lesbian, and Sailor Neptune from a borderline “background character” into a character in her own right, motivated by her romance with Sailor Uranus.

Revolutionary Girl Utena was originally an idea to have a Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune spin-off show until somebody told Ikuhara that the story he wanted to tell wouldn’t make sense with those characters. Instead, he decided to make the Utena anime. The anime IS based on a manga which had not yet concluded at the time of the anime’s creation, but the anime deviates from its source material in the extremes.

SO! Revolutionary Girl Utena!!

I am going to answer “What is it about?” with 2 answers because both are true but just giving you the plot summary doesn’t actually tell you shit about what the show is….about.

Answer 1:

We open with what appears to be a fairy tale. Long ago, there was a young princess whose parents had recently died and she was very sad. One day, a beautiful prince smelling of roses came to her, and told her “Beautiful princess who holds up alone in such sadness, never lose that nobility even when you are grown”. He then gives her a ring with a rose crest on it and promises they’ll meet again. The fairy story ends with “That’s all well and good, but so impressed was she by him that she decided to become a prince too. But was that really such a good idea?”

The story follows 14 year old Tenjou Utena. She attends the prestigious Ohtori Academy with her best friend, the rather unremarkable Wakaba. (Basically think the “Magical Girl Trope” of Sailor Moon and her “best friend” character Naru. Utena is doing the trope on purpose). Utena says she enrolled in the school because it has the same rose crest as its symbol as the ring she has, which was given to her by “a prince” long ago, and she hopes to meet him again one day.

Utena is admired by practically every person in school, both girls AND boys. The boys admire her as a very talented athlete, specializing in basketball and playing on the boy’s team, and the girls admire her because she’s a girl who comes to school wearing the boys’ uniform (even though it doesn’t resemble any of the boys’ uniforms), refers to herself with the male “Boku” rather than the feminine “Watashi” and for her self confidence and energetic and positive personality, as well as her disregard for authority figures (like the teacher who confronts her for wearing “inappropriate” clothing, pointing out that the student rule book only says students have to wear the inform. Not that they have to wear the specific gendered uniform)

The story follows Utena, as she accidentally, while trying to defend her best friend Wakaba, getting involved in a “game” which involves the 4 members of the school’s student council, Juri, Saionji, Miki and the council president, Touga. The game involves a mysterious dueling arena in the middle of the forest which can only be accessed by people who have a rose crest ring, that looks exactly like Utena’s childhood ring. There, they duel in sword fights as an upside down figment of a castle looms over them. The winner of a duel becomes “engaged” to the female student, “Anthy Himemiya” who is called “The Rose Bride”. The Rose Bride gives her current fiance the power to use “The Sword of Dios” which she pulls from her chest, and the duelists believe that the one who is engaged to the rose bride can eventually enter the castle in the sky, wherein lies the power to revolutionise the world. Each member of the Student council believes this to be something completely different, each one of them thinking it will change their current situation in the real world into one they wish. One believes the castle contains the ability to create “True Friendship”, another “The ability to create miracles” another “A return to purity” etc etc.

Utena, who wins the duel in the first episode and ends up accidentally engaged to Anthy, has no interest in the castle or the rose bride or any of this dueling stuff. But she sees Anthy as a girl in distress, played around with and handed back and forth between people to use, and so Utena decides to, effectively, become Anthy’s “Prince Charming” to rescue the fair maiden in distress. Anthy is a very demure, introverted, and ultimately strange girl. She and Utena share a dorm together as is apparently Utena’s right as her “fiance”, and Utena starts building a friendship with Anthy, as well as learning what all these duels actually are, what is inside the castle, what IS the “power to revolutionise the world” and how she can save Anthy from this twisted game.

So…. that’s what the STORY of Utena is about…. but that has nothing to do with what Utena’s about…

Answer 2:

Utena is, at its core, about MANY strong themes, but to pick one out to talk about first, it’s about the human psyche. And I know that sounds like pretentious garbage but hear me out;

Utena is about how human  beings will trap themselves in their own destructive behaviours, constantly going round and round and round about something they can’t change in their life and their desire to change the OUTSIDE world to fulfill something that has gone wrong on the INSIDE of them. Every character believes the world to be a certain way, and what they believe the world is like means they can never achieve happiness or what they truly want, but none of the characters realise the ONLY way for them to be happy, TRULY happy, is in fact to let go of the desires and hang ups and psychological barriers that are keeping them trapped in unhappiness.

Utena is a 39 episode show talking in extensive detail “This is why you’re so fucked up”. And it pulls NO punches. Dealing with subjects like abuse, incest, rape, manipulation, sexual awakening, homosexuality, unrequited feelings, projecting your wants and desires onto other people, the list goes on.

The OTHER major theme of Utena is, and again I am not being pretentious here, this is what the show is about, the oppression of not only women, but of toxic beliefs surrounding what women’s roles in life “should” be, and how society as a whole uses this oppression and, frankly, abuse, to further people’s own desires and wants, and how society and those most toxic parts of it, try and break and bend women’s empowerment into something “more desirable” with complete disregard for how women in question actually FEEL about this supposed “place” they should be filling. It draws strong parallels between personal, one on one abuse, and a larger problem with women’s treatment of society as a whole.

And the OTHER other major theme of Utena, is sexuality as a whole. Not just Utena’s but literally every single character. The show is about sexual awakening (which is why the main characters are 14 but look older) and all the psychological hang-ups that comes with it, and how it shapes your opinion of the world and, in turn, how the world tries its best to shape YOU into something it WANTS you to be, rather than what you are. Female sexuality, Lesbian sexuality, Bisexuality, Sexual repulsion, Sex used as a weapon to control others, Sex as a metaphor for adulthood. Utena is an entire thesis on human sexuality, the form it takes in different individuals, the freedom it offers, as well as how predators use sexual attraction in terrible terrible ways to control others through manipulation, adoration, or domination.

The show is about trauma, both personal as well as on a societal level. it’s about abuse. It’s about what abuse turns people into. It’s about shutting off who you really are so tightly that NOBODY is able to pull it out. It’s about how being naive and “pure” is incredibly damaging, both to yourself and those you care about. It’s about confronting reality. It’s about confronting the adult world. It’s about breaking cycles. Both the ones we keep ourselves in which are self destructive, as well as the ones caused by abuse.

The OTHER thing Utena is about is “Speaking all of its plot, character motivations, themes, and story in metaphor so thick you need to be a psychology student to figure out half of this shit”

The first time I watched the show, I didn’t understand the ending AT ALL. And it took scouring the MANY essays written by people smarter than me on https://ohtori.nu/analysis/introduction.html for me to not only fully grasp what the ending was trying to say, but also literally 60% of the show which went completely over my head because I was 22 and a lot of the more adult themes was something I just didn’t pick up on, or fell into a complete trap with, thinking the same as the overly naive Utena, rather than understanding the reality of the situations and story.

My favourite scene to use as an example is in episode 5, where Miki runs into his twin sister Kozue in the school’s music room.

Miki had just finished telling Utena how he and his sister Kozue use to play the piano together, but something happened and Kozue refuses to play the piano with him any more. He and Kozue use to be very close in many ways, but these days Kozue has greatly distanced herself from him, and is very obviously slutting around the school, something Miki is disgusted in. It makes him want to distance himself from her all the more while also enraging him on a personal level. He has discovered, however, that Anthy (the Rose Bride) is very talented at playing the piano, and he hears in her playing something he feels he’s lost with his sister. Something calm and innocent which is no longer there between him and his twin. And he falls in love with Anthy.

He runs into Kozue as he goes to play the piano. He bumps into her unexpectedly. Her shirt is unbuttoned, her necktie undone, and she visibly adjusts her skirt. Inside the music room we see Touga, notorious school playboy, leaning idly against the windowsill, his own shirt unbuttoned.

Miki enters the room because he was intending to play the piano. Then THIS conversation happens;

This is one of the more obvious ones. But in case it wasn’t clear;

Neither of them are talking about playing the piano.

So take what I just told you about this situation… Read that info again…. THEN look at what they’re saying to each other… THEN look at how the show has chosen to place its camera angles.

Miki and his sister Kozue use to be very close, but have grown distant due to some event (which Miki says involves playing the piano. But that’s what Miki says). Miki yearns for when he and his sister use to be very close. a… “More innocent and pure” time… His sister has apparently completely embraced her sexuality, whereas Miki obviously sees her openly being slutty as extremely enraging and something he finds repulsive. He sees Anthy has in her the “purity and innocence” he lost with his sister. He falls in love with Anthy.

He runs into Kozue. She gives him…. THAT look. Up close and personal. When Miki speaks to her first, the camera ZOOMS back. Far away. a Great distance. Kozue asks him “Are you here to get me to play again?” She says, pointedly adjusting her skirt as she does so. She’s framed as towering over him. “I don’t have any more hope for you.” Miki dismisses her, as her presence looms over him.

They use to “play” together before they became distant. Kozue teases him about how he must miss playing with her. He scoffs. He’s no longer interested in her. They’re not talking about pianos.

Every single scene, exchange of dialogue, ever camera angle, every pose, every micro expression, every character’s body language, every bizarre visual or item that seems out of place in every shot… EVERYTHING in this show is a metaphor, or a hint, or a double meaning, or talking about something completely different than what they’re talking about.

Every second of this show is like this. If you wanna watch it… you’re gonna have to pay attention. Idly just letting it play while you take in the pretty visuals, and you’re not gonna understand one moment of what’s really being said, or shown.

And finally, everything that Utena is about, is in its intro’s lyrics. In fact the intro’s visuals all actually give away the entire story. But you know what? I can TELL you that because it is so heavy in symbolism and double meaning that even if I tell you that STRAIGHT OUT… you’re not gonna be able to understand what the hell it means until you reach the final episode.

Lets live with good grace and style.(just a long long time)Even if the two of us are ever torn apart…(let go of me)Take my revolution

In a sunlit schoolyard (garden), We took each other by the handDrawing close for comfort, we both swore:Never again would we ever fall in love.(Every time)

In that photograph of us, standing cheek-to-cheek,A touch of loneliness fills our smiling faces. (Revolution)

Even though we dream, even though we cry, even though we hurt ourselves, Reality keeps on approaching frantically,

I want to find my place, the worth of my existenceThe person I’ve been until nowAnd find the strength to throw it all away. Strip down to nothing at all.Become like rose petals blowing free

Even if the two of us are ever torn apartI swear to you, I will change the world.

#C-Puff answers #Utena #SKU #long post #video #anime #90s #Anonymous #tumblr why the hell did you format it like this???

[fictional-semantics]

12/12/12

Thank you so much to @musicofglassandwords for tagging me! This looks super fun, so let’s do it!

Rules: answer 12 questions in character as an OC, ask 12 questions, & tag 12 people!

All questions below are answered by Rivrin from my book For the Lost!

1. Do you have any magical abilities/secret talents?

“Magical abilities?” Rivrin repeats the question under his breath before he sighs. “Well, obviously. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. But yes. I can perform most basic magic forms, though I enjoy bending quite a bit. It’s fun, and I have a knack for it.”

You give him a strange look. Not that he could see that, of course. You just couldn’t really figure him out.

Rivrin sighs again. “Yeah, I get it, I’m weird. Stop staring, kid. It makes you look like a creep.” He turns his head towards you with a raised eyebrow. Startled, you then remember that he does have magic at his disposal. He was probably also used to being stared at.

As he cut off, he pauses for a moment. “And as for secret talents...” a proud smile grows on his face as he clears his throat twice and taps against his neck lightly.

“I can do some wacky shit with my voice.” He says, his voice coming out in an octave lower than before. The proud smile never leaves his face. You can’t help but smile as well at the childish pride.

2. Who do you love most in the world?

“No one,” he says darkly. “I am forever alone—“

“RIVRINNN!” Another voice joins the conversation as a tall teenage boy stumbles over, covered in soot and smoke spewing from his clothes. A look of helplessness crosses his face and he clutches what looked like an old textbook to his chest.

You watch as a look of what looked like annoyance and amusement dances across Rivrin’s face. “Oh my gods, Alexos, what have you done now?” He demands, the look vanishing before you can be sure. “You absolutely reek of smoke.”

“I, um, was trying to prank Keahi,” the boy says sheepishly. You briefly wonder who that was before the boy continues. “I must have done something wrong...”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Rivrin’s remark is snarky, but his tone holds no bite as he flips through the book and runs his hand along the Braille. A fond look flickers on his face before he closes the book. “You probably got the incantation wrong again. Try again, and you better nail that asshole.”

“Okay! You got it! You won’t be disappointed!” A grin spreads on the other boy’s face before he dashes off in the direction he came. You have started smiling without realizing it. There is something going on there.

“Um...” Rivrin mutters, drawing your attention. His head is bent towards the ground, a sheepish expression on his face. “Please don’t tell anyone about that...”

3. What do you hate the most?

“If I’m being honest? I don’t hate a lot of things,” Rivrin leans nonchalantly against one of the trees in the courtyard. “I dislike a lot of things, but hate is a word I rarely use. I feel like people throw it around a bit too much. It takes away from the meaning.”

You suppose he had a point there, but are a bit apprehensive as to where he was going with this.

“Don’t be apprehensive,” He says casually. “There’s really no trick to it.”

You’re beginning to wonder whether he was lying about not being able to read minds.

“Anywho,” Rivrin waves a hand, brushing aside your concerns. “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s Killingfield and the monsters that throw us in there. Their lack of humanity and empathy is chilling. How they laugh as we rot away in those cells. How they discard lives like they’re nothing... that’s what I hate most.”

You stop, surprised by the straightforward answer and the depth he went into. You imagine it must be hard to talk about.

“Oh, and politicians.” Rivrin adds.

4. In three words, how would your friends and family describe you?

“Deadly. Cinnamon. Roll.” Rivrin counts on his fingers, a perplexed expression on his face. “I don’t know why, I don’t know how. They just call me that. I don’t know whether I should be flattered or offended.”

5. What do you do in your free time?

“I practice my combat and I study.” He shrugs. “As for hobbies, I like doing gymnastics and going for walks.”

6. Flowers or thorns? Rivers or forests? Icebergs or oceans?

“Thorns, because you don’t notice them until it’s too late,” Rivrin grins. “And I can’t exactly enjoy flowers. And... rivers. I feel more at ease around water for some reason. And... icebergs. There aren’t enough of them, with climate change and all. Plus... that iceberg in Titanic really moved me.”

“SAVE THE WHALES!!” A voice screams in the distance.

“FUCK THE WHALES!” Rivrin yells back, his nose scrunched up. “ONE OF THEM NEARLY KILLED ME!”

“YOU WERE TEN WHAT THE HELL?!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH TO TRAUMATIZE A BOY!”

7. What’s your favorite food?

“Well, I’ve always had a soft spot for sesame chicken,” Rivrin admits, scratching his neck.  “But I don’t usually have it. I also really like pineapple for some reason.”

“HE PUTS PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA!”

“YEAH, SO WHAT?!” Rivrin shouts back. You could only watch as he and Elias continue to argue.

8. What languages do you speak?

“My first language is Korean,” Rivrin starts.

You had figured, given his accent.

“But I speak English, Morse code, Chinese, Spanish, and French fluently.” Rivrin counts off his fingers, his expression casual. “I’m adept in Navajo, because my mother spoke it, and I speak Faerie and Siren, because my mother was a merchant and often traded with them.”

9. What’s your family like?

“I usually don’t make a habit of talking about my family,” Rivrin states, turning his head away from you, probably so you won’t be able to see his face. You guess it must be painful for him to remember.

“It’s a bit of a painful subject, but when they were alive they were the best family I could ask for and I miss them something fierce.”

10. What’s a typical outfit for you?

“Half the time I have no idea what I’m wearing,” Rivrin admits nonchalantly, examining his nails. “I just throw on what feels the most comfortable. Because, obviously, I can’t really get a sense of what I’m wearing. Often times I put things on backwards or inside out.”

11. What do you look like? Are you satisfied with your appearance?

“Y’know,” Rivrin starts, shrugging with his palms up with a sarcastic grin. “One of the things about being blind is I really don’t know what I look like.” He waves a hand over his eyes to emphasize his point. “So how can I be satisfied with something I can’t see?”

12. Are you good with confrontation or do you shy away from it?

“Well,” Rivrin begins slowly, processing the question. “I’d say I’m good with confrontation. I don’t have a problem with most people, but if they test me one too many times I will not hesitate to punch them in the throat.”

He hummed to himself before saying, “Well, I’d recommend leaving while you can. The campus is about to close and I don’t think you wanna get in security’s way.”

You turn to leave, but not before hearing him call, “By the way, the Loch Ness likes having his nose scratched.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

My twelve questions are:

What most annoys you about (your mom, dad, brother, sister, wife, son, daughter, best friend, boss, co-worker)?

How often do you exercise? What are your exercise goals?

Who would you really like to tell off?

If you could describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say?

Of all your memories, which stands out most clearly?

How would you describe your energy levels? Are you more of a hummingbird or a sloth?

When someone wrongs you, do you respond with revenge or forgiveness?

How much do you care what people think about you?

If you could be reincarnated as any animal, what would you come back as?

If you could have any superpower, what would it be? (Assuming of course that you don’t already have one…)

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

What achievement are you most proud of?

——————————————————————————————————————————

And I’m tagging @eluari @imintheunderworld @astroswords @christinawritesfiction @alasyorickimagraveobber @writings-of-a-narwhal @shattered-starrs @writing-with-melon @igotablankpage @andiwriteunderthemoon @quilloftheclouds @owl-writes

Have fun guys!

#character sheet #prompts #writing meme #tagged!!! #wip: for the lost #rivrin #original character