#luthecore

[damarcore]

listening to the damar series audiobooks like

[the-dot]

there’s a Prevailing Theory* that aerin’s mother was actually aerinha, the ancient and powerful damarian goddess who forged the hero’s crown and a bunch of other cool shit, and while i don’t personally agree, imagine aerin’s reaction if she found out.

aerin, slamming open the doors of luthe’s hall so hard they crack: WERE YOU EVER GOING TO MENTION THAT MY MOTHER WAS AERINHA?

luthe:

luthe: i did?? i thought i did. 

aerin: YOU MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT.

luthe: 

luthe:

[damarcore]

talat becomes immortal. in an effort to make it seem like her weirdly old horse isn't, you know, demonic or anything, aerin gives him a horse-friendly, magical dye job every so often. she pretends he's a new horse every once in a while and stages some awful, tragic accident for her horse's previous fake identity.

"aerin," tor says the second time this happens. "five different people saw you painting him orange today. horses don't even come in orange. what are you doing."

"he looks sick as hell," aerin says. talat whinnies his agreement.

they try to keep him hidden from prying eyes while aerin is "looking for a new horse". sometimes, he gets out; they're not sure where he goes, but aerin has an inkling.

("what the fuck," luthe says, staring at the horse in his kitchen attempting to chew his hair. "what the fuck??"

"neither doors nor death could ever stop me," talat would say if he had a human mouth. "neither can your silly magics. your hair is tasty." unfortunately, he doesn't have a human mouth, so he settles for snorting smugly and slobbering over luthe's shirt.)

[damarcore]

luthe, dangling in the air: do i even weigh anything to you?

aerin, holding him up by the scruff of his neck: no. it's like holding a couple of grapes.

[damarcore]

the hero and the crown characters rated by how good i think they would be at hugging

Aerin: a nice hug!! she's a little anxious about it, especially if she doesn't know you very well, but she's big and warm and solid, and for some reason eternally smells like an herby campfire if you're into that. 9/10

Arlbeth: it would be nice if you couldn't tell he's thinking of six million other things, because he smells nice and is Strong, but he's distracted and his grip is pretty weak. 4/10 not that bad during but leaves you feeling inadequate after

Galanna: she could give nice hugs if she wanted but she's awful. occasionally gives a hug if she needs to manipulate someone. 0.5/10 she smells nice i guess

Luthe: too spindly and bony to be very good at hugging, but he's not bad. if you really need a hug (provided you're his student/similar, or aerin or tor) he'll give you one. if he'll let you, he's better for being the recipient of a hug, because he's very bendy and willing to stay there for a looooong time. it's very grounding. 7/10

Perlith: -100/10 doesn't give hugs, would look down on you for needing one, why are you asking perlith for a hug in the first place go to literally anyone else

Talat: not great at hugs on account of having no arms and too many elbows. he'll probably chew on your hair, or if you're not aerin he'll bite you if you try to touch him. 2/10

Teka: often, hugging teka means you end up spilling all your problems, and if you don't she knows something's up anyway. she might not know what to do about them, but you feel better for having talked about it. 12/10 you probably get hot malak and a delicious meal or snack before she sends you on your way

Tor: 10000000000000/10 he's so good at hugs. he is broad and warm and strong and smells nice and he will listen to your woes and offer the most helpful advice he can. if he can't help he'll understand, and offer to do an Activity to take your mind off things if he's got time and you'd like to do that. why aren't more people hugging tor

[damarcore]

luthe: there's something i'm forgetting to do

aerin: *eats a whole branch of surka, giving herself fever and nightmares for years*

luthe: can't imagine what it is

aerin: *discovers kenet by setting herself repeatedly on fire*

luthe: hmmmmm......

aerin: *almost dies trying to kill maur with nothing but a bootknife*

luthe: aha! i remembered! time to see what the child is up to.

aerin: *has been laying in a stream for weeks, unable to move*

luthe: ah.

luthe:

luthe:

luthe: fuck.

[damarcore]

a series of questions:

1. who built luthe's hall?

2. if luthe built it, did he also etch the pictures of magical creatures and trees? is he secretly an artist??

2a. if luthe built it.......how? it's massive?? and made of stone?? did he use magic or did he use his twiggy tree branch arms to move giant blocks of marble?? did he have a team of people helping him??? did he hire them?? did his Magical Friends™ help??

3. if luthe DIDN'T build it, who did?? did he just rock up to a stone hall in the middle of nowhere and go "perfect, yes, i will start a school here"??

3a. it's implied in The Healer that the hall is sentient(???) or at least has some wacky magic shit going on that makes it so only Worthy People can cross the threshold, something luthe seemingly has no control over (or if he does, he doesn't use it where we can see). if luthe didn't build it, did he have to convince the hall to let him in?? what did that look like??

4. honestly just what the fuck is up with luthe/the lake of dreams/that hall

[damarcore]

i know i make fun of luthe a lot but honestly he had the right idea. *i* want to be self-sufficient on a magic mountain dreamscape, alone except for my shy magical creature neighbors, judging dumbasses from afar