eat or be eaten.

       when he met the great dragon,     they engaged in a fierce battle,     but when he heard it speak to him he hesitantly laid down his weapons.     ilya is the only one to discover,     or be let in on the well-kept,     magically bound secret,     that the beast was human.     all alone,     in the fleeting moments where zhyvian was human,    &     even as a dragon,     the two developed a friendship,     &     even further a romance.     the two got to know each other,     however,     ilya was not aware of just why zhyvian had been cursed to remain a dragon,     not knowing of his negligent cruelty.     they exchanged intimate moments together,     &     when ilya discovered just who zhyvian had been in his life,     he grew angry,     &     confronted him,     &     again the two battled.     ilya eventually helped zhyvian reconcile with himself,     but when they got back to the capitol,     it had been overthrown.     ilya had helped zhyvian so much,     &     not through coddling this man’s ego,     so zhyvian now had a chance to win back his people,     if not to become king,     but to at least undo his curse     &     rid the reach,     &     palemai in general of the darkness that was overtaking their land.

very private promo.

“ my heart cracked inside my body. ” “ no one is coming in and no one is getting out. ” “ i deserved someone who was willing to stay.” “ a dozen different thoughts tear through me each second. ” “ i envy the winds who still witness you. ” “ i could be anything in the world. ” “ but i wanted to be his. ” “ what does love look like? ” “ i realized how naive i have been. ” “ i’m about to get up and walk right out the door. ” “ you cannot walk in and out of me like a revolving door. ” “ you took the sun with you when you left. ” “ when you plunged the knife into me you also began bleeding. ” “ you will suffer the way you make me suffer. ” “ i think my body knew you would not stay. ” “ your absence is a missing limb. ” “ it must be hard to live with what ifs. ” “ how did we live through it and how are we still living? ” “ i can tell when you’re lying. ” “ the person i fell in love with was a mirage. ” “ i notice everything i do not have. ” “ i hardened under the last loss. ” “ all i dream is to soften. ” “ i barely feel like living. ” “ why are you so unkind to me? ” “ you are waiting for someone who is not coming back. ” “ i was the warmest place you knew. ” “ you turned me cold. ” “ the irony of loneliness is we all feel it at the same time. ” “ you must see no worth in yourself. ” “ worth is not something we transfer. ” “ growth is a process. ” “ your actions are not my responsibility. ” “ it’s okay to let others help pick up the pieces. ” “ i do not weep because i’m unhappy. ” “ i have everything and yet i am unhappy. ” “ nothing in this world was promised or belonged to you. ” “ all you own is yourself. ” “ you have already rotted. ” “ there is nothing left for me to do. ” “ what if nothing wants me because i do not want me? ” “ i am both the poison and the antidote. ” “ i have survived far too much to go quietly. ” “ my death will be grand. ” “ all i’ve ever known is pain. ” “ never feel guilty for starting again. ” “ i am the ghost of ghosts. ” “ there is god in you. ”  

“You could never back down, you never learned to take your time.” “He looked at me like I was stupid, I’m not stupid.” “Talk less. Smile more. Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for.” “Fools who run their mouth off wind up dead.” “Who’s the best? C'est moi!” “It’s hard to have intercourse over four sets of corsets.” “If you stand for nothing, what’ll you fall for?” “I will lay down my life if it sets us free.” “I imagine death so much it feels just like a memory.” “I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow, for the first time, I’m thinkin past tomorrow.” “I’m lookin for a mind at work.” “Excuse me, miss, I know it’s not funny, but your perfume smells like your daddy’s got money.” “You want a revolution? I want a revelation.” “Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.” “Chaos and bloodshed are not a solution.” “It’s hard to listen to you with a straight face.” “Chaos and bloodshed already haunt us, honestly you shouldn’t even talk.” “You say the price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay.” “You’ll be back. Soon you’ll see. You’ll remember you belong to me.” “When you’re gone I’ll go mad, so don’t throw away this thing we had.” “When push comes to shove, I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love.” “Close the door on your way out.” “Have I done something wrong?” “Dying is easy, living is harder.” “But what do we have in common?” “You walked in and my heart went ‘Boom’!” “I’m about to change your life.” “My love for you is never in doubt.” “I just might regret that night for the rest of my days.” “I’ll never forget the first time I saw your face.” “When you said “Hi” I forgot my dang name, set my heart aflame, ev'ry part aflame.“ “You’re like me. I’m never satisfied.” “He’s a bit of a flirt, but I’m ‘a give it a chance.” “I’m a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich.” “From what I hear, you’ve made yourself indispensable.” “Well, well, I heard you’ve got someone special on the side.” “I will never understand you.” “Love doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints.” “I am the one thing in life I can control.” “If there’s a reason I’m still alive when so many have died, then I’m willing to wait for it.” “Stay alive ‘til this horror show is past.” “I’m a general. Whee!!!!” “Yeah. He’s not the choice I would have gone with.” “Don’t do a thing. History will prove him wrong.” “I can’t disobey direct orders.” “Pick a place to die where it’s high and dry.” “Pray that hell or heaven lets you in.” “Should have shot him in the mouth. That would’ve shut him up.” “Watch your tone. I’m not a maiden in need of defending, I am grown.” “My name’s been through a lot, I can take it.” “The fact that you’re alive is a miracle.” “I don’t pretend to know the challenges you’re facing.” “If you could let me inside your heart…” “I’m never gonna stop until I make ‘em drop and burn ‘em up and scatter their remains.” “You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” “History has it’s eyes on you.” “So what happens if we win?” “If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me.” “Oceans rise. Empires fall. It’s much harder when it’s all your call.” “I swear that I’ll be around for you.” “Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?” “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” “Yo, who the f is this?” “What are you waiting for? What do you stall for?” “If I could grant you peace of mind, would that be enough?” “They are asking me to lead. I am doing the best I can.”

— Renée Vivien, tr. by Jeanette H. Foster, from “A Woman Appeared To Me,”

Meyye! Tahrodiis aanne! Him hinde pah liiv! Zu'u hin daan!

       *     one day,     king zhyvian vanished,     &     in his place there rose a wicked beast with a heart as black as coal,     blood     &     gore coating dagger teeth.     though no one would know of his true identity,     finally,     HE HAD BECOME SOMETHING THAT WAS AS COLD     &     CRUEL AS HE WAS INSIDE.