zahryaofspring:
“That’s your problem Robin. You draw lines and make distinctions that don’t matter. Humans, drow, the Eye, the Senate, it’s all a waste. They envy us all the same, they bleed all the same. When pounded beneath the heavy fists of a changeling, all those who would do us harm are nothing but runny puddles of mess. The war we fight is on our very divinity. Anyone who would have us live less than our truths or gifts is our enemy. The notion that we must play by rules created by inferiors is an affront to what we are. Spring wasn’t my only teacher, I had innumerable vile mortals seek me out as an innocent child just to do me harm. And though he never spoke Asterion taught me more about who I am than anyone else. Apparently, you still fail to grasp who you are.” How any eladrin could learn who they were without a changeling to guide them was beyond Zahrya, but that’s where he stood completely apart from his people. They didn’t know so they didn’t understand. The younger generation confused him as much as they saddened him. None had the vast fields and endless skies of the Labyrinth to express themselves freely. They were repressed and lost, so much so that when given a directive from Titania herself they dared to question the faith she placed in him. Absolutely pathetic. “My domain is whatever my sovereign demands. Her Majesty said we were to have no mercy for this realm. If that is something you’re too weak to bring to fruition, then that is your deficiency. I served the Queen for longer than you’ve drawn breath. I know who I am. Whether or not someone is prepared for the storm doesn’t matter, because a storm rips apart weak strongholds as easily as it decimates fortified structures. At least mine do, because I was born to be powerful. I’ll weep for the future of your court if inaction is all you have to offer them.”
...
“Because life has meaning Zahrya!” Robin finally snaps, the hum of magic turning the air sweltering around them as she raises her chin to glare at the Spring Chancellor from where she sits on the ground. “Life has meaning, and so does it’s ending and ignoring this because you were isolated of the world it’s not the solution. Your lack of empathy and worthless sense of superiority is going to get us all killed if you keep underestimating those who act against us, and you can’t see it. It only takes one mistake for a fey to die, and many of our enemies known how to do just that. Your reckless ignorance of how the world works outside of your Court is shameful, ignorant and will bite you in the fucking ass if you keep going this way. “ There is a noise of frustration as she raises from her sitting position, flames flickering on her fingertips before she clenches her first and takes a deep breath. “I am well aware that I am young and I have not been train in my position, but I know who am I. I know that the whole cannot be judged by the actions of the few, because if they were we would be just like the exile that has joined hands with Asphodel. We would be just like Fen’harel, traitorous and willing to overthrow our rules for power. But we are not, and that alone shows me that you know nothing of people, that the only reason you received your role is because you are powerful but witless. The storm might destroy the fortress and it’s inhabitants, but by numbers alone there will always be more to replace them, more waiting on the shadows to strike when we grow tired. For fucks’ sake, think things strategically for once in your life,“ She hisses out, a ran running over her face as she speaks. She is committing a mistake, she is aware, but she has grown tired of being condescended merely for having a different set of ideals than Zahrya. There is no denying that eladrins are inherently superiors, no denying that they have every advantage. And yet, countless have fallen at the hands of the Eye, countless have been hunted by vampires, witches and humans alike. “If it were power alone that granted us safety, we would not have lost the Otherworld, and my Court would be without dangers because despite what your ignorance has led you to believe, old witless fool, I am powerful and I am acting. I am just not stupid enough to put a target in my back.”
i’m a simple bisexual. i see a pretty person, i [aggrieved noise]
"Me," she purrs in agreement, and in a fit of mischief, she stands once more and stalks closer to the wandering fey whose dashing rescue had featured in countless daydreams and wet dreams as well. A slow languid smile graces her lips as she moves, movements feline and predatorial as she approaches the woman she owes a life debt to. Carefully, gently, she raises her hand to place a single finger beneath the other's chin and raises her head just enough so that she can meet her eyes. There is still something ancient and predatory within her eyes— it belongs there after her confirmation as Chancellor and she will not get rid of it — but there is warmth as well, as recognition flickers once more and she finally gets the privilege of drinking in the delicate features adorning the other's face. "I did not get the honor of admiring your beauty, back when you saved me, but now that I have? I can say without a doubt that there was no better high elf to play the role of dashing saviour."
There is something playful to her tone as she speaks, breath fanning over the others cheekbones as she memorizes the depth of her eyes. Then and only then, Robin steps back, breaking the electrifying tension between the two of them as she sits on the edge of her desk and places her hands to her sides.
"Of course I remember, darling. I owe you a life debt, and I am not one to forget that," she informs her, amusement clear even as she makes herself as transparent as possible. "I assume you have a request, if you asked me here in the middle of festivities. In honor to the aforementioned life debt, as long as it is on my hands and it will bring no harm to my people, I will consider fulfilling it."
Thank the Gods the Chancellor was understanding, hopefully as welcoming as the Lunar Chancellor had been to her sibling. But her train of thought abruptly derailed as the cadence of the woman's voice finally hit Hesperia and filled her with a sense of familiarity. Hesperia looked up, straightening slowly as the Chancellor gestured for her to stand. But her eyes and her concentration centered on the familiarity of her face, no longer obscured so much by the dark and gloom of the Otherworld.
It was a fleeting moment, one of darkness and chaos that had enveloped them both. Hesperia was practiced in evasion and hiding, an expert in caring for herself and for her sibling in the worst parts of the Otherworld. There were moments, however, when the path was made clear to her and she knew it would be a particularly difficult one. The Tranquil would be left bound, silent and hidden in a place Hesperia that picked out and enchanted for brief periods of time while the autumn fey went on to scout the trail. Monsters would be dispatched or their presense noted so she could avoid them with her sibling. On one of those very scouting nights she remembered the sensation of nearby fey magic, something she hadn't felt in so long. Hesperia avoided confrontation with the creatures of the Otherworld, if only because she was often not strong enough to dispatch them on her own. So she knew how to evade them but clearly this other fey hadn't been so knowing or so lucky. Hesperia remembered following the trail of bodies left behind of other creatures when finally the sight of her fellow fey came to view, a noble exhausted to the end of her energy by the creatures that had kept finding her.
"You," she blurts out before she could stop herself. What happened to her decorum? Far too long spent away from the Court of the fey. Hesperia's gaze falters with embarrassment from the outburst before she looks back up at Chancellor Robin. "I- I've seen you once, Chancellor. I don't know if you remember... The circumstances weren't ideal."
Tati Gabrielle as Jo Braddock Uncharted (2022) Dir. Ruben Fleischer
wadecalhoun:
“Hell, I thought we were friends,” Wade snickered as a hand was held over his heart, as if Robin had uttered a moral offense that could not be remedied. “Just doin’ my obligated duties as bein’ a good friend an’ all that nonsense.” A smile laden with the shards of grief that he is incapable of swallowing down takes hold, matches the detachment in Robin’s eyes, but he’s good at deflecting, always has been. It’s how Wade has computed survival into himself, a prominent and almost primal sense as he has somehow survived things most humans would perish beneath. He’d battled supernaturals through grit teeth and broken bones, blood staining his clothes and flesh, only to come out stronger each time. Wade fiddles with the packets of sugar that are always automatically lingering upon the table, tearing open the brown packet and pouring it onto the napkin that sat in front of the position he now occupied, “Just haven’t seen ya’ since all that ruckus at the Pluto Palace,” he puts an obnoxious flair and emphasis on the destroyed palace’s name, flippantly disregarding all they’d lost.
....
“That we are, my dear southerner,” Robin drawls, her smile turning smaller but gaining a soft twist as she raises her hand and swipes away a couple of strays tears before focusing her full attention back on the hunter. The grief is still settled upon her chest, and she is aware she must let it out at some point, but not right now, not in front of someone who would care. Silently, she wraps her hands around the mug in front of her and lets the warmth seep into her fingers as she feels a measure of fondness settle on her chest at his subtle concern. She takes another second or so to compose herself, pull back the tears but keep the grief on her eyes that match his. Then, carefully, she reaches forward to place a hand upon his and squeeze softly. It’s a small gesture, meant to comfort and to show her empathy, before she pulls her hand back and wraps it once again around the cup. “I have been rather busy, but I do apologize for not reaching out. My newest promotion to Chancellor might have me busy, but I should have made time.”
TATI GABRIELLE Filmed by Robert Marrero for Wonderland Magazine (Winter 22/23)
who? @farenduil where? the last bean notes: doing the randomize top songs thing and got my type by saint motel
"A little bird told me that Aurora's favorite beverage flavor is pumpkin pie, do you think it's accurate?" She muses loudly as she falls next to Farenduil in line, a smirk of mischief on her lips as she glances up with a wink, making abundantly clear of what she had meant, but not breaching the topic openly for the new human's benefit. "Although, I must admit, this place have quite the delicious winter brews."
who? @senatusstarters where? hall of mirrors
"I do wonder if they are going to check the entire palace after the party," she hums thoughtfully as she eyes the mirrors and their magic signatures with great interest. She gives herself half an hour more, at most, before she gives in and begins jump into the mirrors to snoop around the palace with an excuse. When will she have the same excuse to explore? No one shall judge her if she admits she got lost after walking into a magic mirror. "An awful lot of poor unassuming souls might end up trapped in places they weren't meant to be if they don't."